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LOWE: BEING LAST IS A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR ME

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Paddy Lowe’s career has seen him work with the best of the best at McLaren and Mercedes before his appointment to galvanise Williams into winning entity once again, but the team’s technical chief admits that being at the wrong end of the Formula 1 grid is unfamiliar territory for him.

The 56-year-old Englishman began his career with Williams starting in 1987 and was part of the team for the next seven years in which they won five F1 world titles. He then moved to McLaren in 1993 during which he collected three world titles.

In 2014 he was hired by Mercedes to replace Ross Brawn and thus was part of what must be called the Mercedes ‘superteam’ that has dominated the sport for the past five years. He departed to join Williams in early 2017.

Lowe explained in an interview, “I’ve been fortunate in my career not to work in a team that wasn’t at or within reach of the front, performance wise. That’s where we were always playing. In the top ten, towards the front end of the top ten or at the very front.”

“So it’s a new experience for me which has a lot of work to do to get back to where we want to be. So that creates some new challenges for me personally. I’m learning all the time.”

This time around Lowe headed the technical team which included the once revered Dirk de Beer and much was expected of the new era at Grove, but the FW41 has been a huge disappointment and has sunk the team to the lowest level in memory.

It’s been a disaster of a season for the team with only one point finish for either of their cars, which by all accounts are the worst to drive on the grid and described by Claire Williams as “evil” to drive.

“Some things you get right. Some things, if I looked back, I could do differently. But that’s the nature of life, you face challenges and you learn from them. And, you hope that builds your experience to do a better job next time,” reasoned Lowe.

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F1 teams back decision to avoid repeat of triple header

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Formula 1 teams have expressed relief that next year’s calendar will not feature a repeat of the triple header that the sport has just completed.

This year’s calendar was the first in history to feature three championship events across successive weekends, with Grands Prix held in France, Austria and Britain.

Next year’s roster is set to feature either 20 or 21 events, with Miami lined up for a provisional October date, and Germany dropped from the calendar.

If the 2019 schedule does match 2018’s record-equalling 21 Grands Prix calendar then it is set to be more spread out, ensuring that there are no cases of three events in three weekends.

“It’s the first one that we’ve ever had, and it’s a bit tiring on the guys to go from one to the other to the other,” said Force India Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer.

“I can see it in the mechanics and the service personnel there. They’re pretty much exhausted. I didn’t anticipate that it would be this bad.

“People told me beforehand that it was going to be very difficult, but I just thought ‘yeah, sure’. But it really is.”

McLaren chief Zak Brown added: “I think it’s been difficult, the three races back-to-back.

“I think most of the teams, if not all of the team – I’ll let them speak for themselves – would probably not prefer three races.

Claire Williams joked that “it means our season will be over quicker” but stressed “the most important thing is about the people.

“Taking into account, the guys, the boys and girls that work for us, they put in an enormous effort, and to put in a triple-header, when they’re not able to get home, is a tough thing for them and for their families.

“We’ve had to do quite a lot of work around ensuring our guys can get a break and to go home.”

From the perspective of a driver, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo said he “would happily race more if the weekends were shorter.

“For example, I started doing stuff on Tuesday [for Silverstone].

“So if we had more races, but then our week [was] getting more and more spread out with commitments, then it is too much.

“But if it is a three-day weekend, if we flew in Friday, left Sunday, we could do more.

“But the way the commitments seem to expand make it harder. That would be not so enjoyable. I want to race more, I want to talk less, basically.”

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F1 should be 'exclusive' with points – Fernando Alonso

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Fernando Alonso does not agree with plans to shake-up the point system in Formula 1 as he feels it should be "exclusive" and something to be rewarded.

It was revealed by Force India boss Vijay Mallya during the British Grand Prix weekend that F1 bosses are discussing plans to potentially redistribute the points system in order for more competitors to score.

The current system which began in 2010 runs from first to 10th, with 25 points awarded to the winner and one point for the driver who finished at the back of the top 10.

The Spaniard admits he isn't overly concerned by the proposed changes but does admit there should an air of exclusivity in rewarding those who have come through the pack to get a big result. 

When asked if he felt the changes would devalue the concept of scoring points he said: "I don't know.

"I think F1 has been always quite difficult to get points. Some elite guys got the big points and it was kind of a big reward when you even scored just two points or something.

"I remember now when Jules [Bianchi] scored the ninth position in Monaco it was some kind of miracle and that was a big moment for the sport. If everyone is scoring points now then maybe we lose that unique feeling in F1.

"Whatever they decide will be OK but definitely F1 feels like it should be more exclusive."

Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, who scored a point on his debut for McLaren in Alonso's absence at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, agrees with the double-world champion by adding: "I just feel it should be an achievement to score points, it shouldn’t be points awarded for everyone."

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Pirelli goes aggressive with Mexican Grand Prix tyre picks

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Pirelli has taken an aggressive approach to its tyre selections for the Mexican Grand Prix, the antepenultimate race on the 2018 Formula 1 calendar.

The sole tyre supplier will make available its three softest compounds, the red Supersoft, purple Ultrasoft and pink Hypersoft – the same combination used in Monaco and Canada, where tyre degradation is low.

Mexico tends to see slightly higher degradation than both Monaco and Canada as it features a high-speed sector two which is made up of high-speed sweeping turns, however sectors one and three feature almost exclusively low-speed corners.

Last year Pirelli used the Soft, Supersoft and Ultrasoft, therefore it has chosen to take a more aggressive approach by introducing the Hypersoft, which is essentially two steps softer than 2017's Ultrasoft.

As per the rules, one set of the softest available compound (Hypersoft) must be set aside for use only in Q3, while one set of the other two compounds must be run for one stint of the race.

Teams and drivers are free to choose their remaining compounds for the other 10 sets, giving a total allocation of 13.

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CLAIRE WILLIAMS: WE NEVER SAW IT COMING IT’S A BIG SHOCK

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria. Saturday 21 June 2014. Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal, Williams F1, with Sir Frank Williams, Team Principal, Williams F1. World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic. ref: Digital Image _89P6501 -------------------- Glenn Dunbar / Williams 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship Austrian Grand Prix 21 June 2014 ©2014 Glenn Dunbar / Williams all rights reserved

The once mighty Williams team has this season reached the lowest ebb of its illustrious history, long gone are victories and titles that made it one of the most feared teams on the grid, reduced to the wretched state it now is: the worst team on the grid.

Jacques Villeneuve, who won Williams’ last drivers’ title in 1997, kicked the hornet’s nest last week when he roundly slammed bad management at the Grove outfit and squarely put the blame on 41-year old Claire’s shoulders. The straight-talking Canadian added that promoting her to lead the team, triggered by Sir Frank Williams’ deteriorating health, was a bad call.

Statistics show that since Claire’s appointment as deputy team principal in March 2013, running the show in lieu of her father, the team has suffered a steady decline despite occasional flashes of hope such as in 2014 and 2015 when they finished third in the constructors’ championship.

Last year they dropped to fifth in the standings and this year they are stone last with little chance their drivers, 19-year-old Lance Stroll and rookie Sergey Sirotkin, will score points this season as the FW41 is not only slow but also unpredictable, difficult to drive and perhaps even dangerous as Claire hinted.

The appointment of Paddy Lowe to technical chief last year was supposed to kick-start the renaissance, but the former Mercedes man and the crew he assembled produced a colossal flop of a car.

Lowe has pointed to hitherto unseen were phenomenon stumping the team, while Williams herself is on record saying her drivers “keep putting their helmets on and getting into that car which is pretty evil” and adding “I wouldn’t want to get into it.”

In an in-depth interview with the New York Times, Claire described the anguish of these challenging times and admitted, “We never saw it coming. Clearly, it’s been a big shock. It’s like experiencing grief.”

“It is my team, it’s very personal to me, and I’ve always said the team is like another sibling. I care for it deeply, and all I do is try and nurture it. At the moment, my team is in the wars, and I take that personally.”

“As much as I have my dreams of winning races again, of trying to fight with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull again, I’ve tempered those dreams.”

Although it’s the same for their rivals, Williams felt the brunt of Formula 1’s tripleheader weekend perhaps more than the others, as their car has a bucketful of unsolved problems, every weekend a slog for their drivers and crew in general for scant reward on track.

With regards to the three trying back-to-back grand prix weekends, Williams said, “At the moment everything that comes feels like a body blow, particularly when we’re at the end of a tripleheader and you know the next race is going to be as bad as the previous one. But you’ve got to keep the faith and keep working through it.”

For the lemon that the team produced, the once highly rated (former Ferrari aero man) Dirk De Beer was the high-level fall guy who was sent packing and it seems more heads could roll, according to paddock whispers even Lowe might not be immune to the chop.

Claire conceded that the winds of change may continue to blow through the offices at Grove, “You are constantly looking at the team you have to ensure it operates as effectively and efficiently as it can, and that does sometimes involve some difficult decisions.”

Along with McLaren, Williams are the last of the ‘garagistes’ that made up the backbone of Formula 1’s commercial era which dawned in the late seventies, took off in the eighties and boomed in the nineties.

Under the controversial but shrewd leadership of Bernie Ecclestone, mechanics and wheeler-dealers turned Formula 1 team bosses became multi-millionaires overnight, wealthier than they ever were in their wildest dreams.

Sir Frank was one that profited greatly from the Ecclestone-led boom of that period, partnered by the legendary Patrick Head they produced the best-engineered cars on the grid and by the late seventies they established themselves as a Formula 1 superpower where they remained for decades.

Relentless success was the reward which saw them rack up nine constructors F1 world titles, second only to Ferrari. At the same time, seven different drivers won seven F1 championship titles with the team.

The last time Williams won in Formula 1 was with Pastor Maldonado at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, it was their 114th triumph at the pinnacle of the sport.

A year later, when Claire was made deputy team principal she had very big shoes to fill, “You never want to let your parents down. When you’re younger you don’t really care that much, but when you’re older you really want them to be proud of you. Dad has really put his trust in me. I’m always worried he is going to tell me to go home, but he doesn’t.”

“I’m not starting a team from scratch. I’ve inherited a team that’s 40 years old, and with that comes issues within itself, so dad is there, and he is a huge tower of strength for me. Seeing him reminds me why I’m doing it, that I’m doing it for him and the family at the end of the day.”

Claire, who gave birth to a boy late last year, went on to reveal, “I’ve given 16 years to the team, I’ve really given my all. I’ve put a lot of things on hold and made a lot of personal sacrifices.”

“That’s not through obligation, but because I wanted to, so this year was supposed to be my time and to enjoy my little boy and husband, and I haven’t been able to do that.”

In retrospect the team shot itself in the foot before the start of this season when they opted for two inexperienced pay drivers, the pair bringing anything up to $40-million this season for the ‘privilege’ of driving the cars.

Sirotkin has been solid for a rookie, however, he simply does not have the tools to do anything but try to keep the beast of a car on the road.

Stroll is pulsing frustration after a neat rookie season last year alongside veteran Felipe Massa. This year with the least cool toy on the grid the billionaire-teenager is way out at sea, lost, sulking and lacking confidence in the kit provided by the team which has banked Lawrence Stroll signed cheques for substantial amounts over the past two years.

Nevertheless, Claire advised her drivers, “All you can do is enjoy that challenge, to do more than a rookie driver is required to do. Once we get over the problems and get the results as a team, then we will be more proud of what we will have achieved, and it will be very much deserved.”

“Formula 1 is an amazing sport, but it’s a cutthroat sport, a difficult sport, and it’s made me realize what an extraordinary job Toto Wolff and Christian Horner do to achieve what they have managed to achieve, and I haven’t achieved it yet.”

“I’m going to give it a damn good go, but then winning isn’t easy. It takes a huge amount from within you to be successful, and at the moment I’m testing myself to see whether I have that within me,” insisted Claire.

Right now, Claire’s management skills are being severely tested but perhaps the two big questions keeping her awake at night are, one: whether Lowe is the man for the job, or two: maybe it is time for her to step aside and allow her marginalised brother Jonathan Williams take over the reigns of Daddy’s business.

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HAVE FERRARI DITCHED MERCEDES AND SIDED WITH LIBERTY?

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Liberty Media’s vision of a future Formula 1 includes a “not negotiable” budget cap for teams, Ferrari who along with Mercedes opposed such a restriction is now said to be on board as they pave the way for their own exclusive deal with the sport’s owners for 2021 and beyond.

In the aftermath of a meeting before the Austrian Grand Prix between F1 chief Chase Carey, FIA President Jean Todt and Ferrari’s Sergio Marchionne, it appears that the Maranello boss and his team were convinced by what was presented to them at the said encounter.

Earlier this year Mercedes and Ferrari bosses were in accord with regards to the future vision for F1, and theirs did not include a budget cap. This, in turn, created two blocs, the two big teams on one side with Liberty and their supporters on the other.

The latest development would mean that Mercedes now stand alone on this one.

Auto Motor und Sport report that Marchionne’s about-turn came in the wake of Niki Lauda’s criticism of the Reds during the ‘oil in fuel’ saga, which the Mercedes chief ramped up during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. This did not go down well in Italy and clearly the big boss does not forget.

The Big-2 alliance – if there really ever was one – between the sport’s most potent teams now appears to be a thing of the past.

Ferrari’s about-turn comes as a surprise because Liberty Media had initially promoted the idea of a $150-million budget cap but, these days, appears to have taken up the cause of the smaller teams who will accept costs capped at $170-million in 2021 reduced by a further $10-million a year later.

The big teams have pushed for a $200-million limit starting 2021 reduced to $175-million in 2022.

In both instances the exact areas in which expenditure will be limited are unknown, however, it is expected that the cap will not include driver salaries, the wages of the highest paid (non-driver) employee and marketing related costs.

Where compromise was reached between Ferrari and Liberty Media is uncertain, but it would be safe to assume that the $170-million budget cap is acceptable for the Reds, but instead of starting it in 2021 it appears they have negotiated for the cap to be introduced only in 2023.

Until then it is suggested that team budgets should be reduced in three stages, however, the detail and timeline for such an endeavour is not known at this point.

Furthermore, talk in the paddock is that Ferrari are playing ball with Liberty in an effort to retain the substantial financial ‘heritage bonus’ the team earns for merely turning up at races, as they have been receiving for decades under Bernie Ecclestone’s divide-and-conquer rule.

The thinking is that Marchionne is personally angling to have these traditional payments retained in whatever guise Liberty can justify making them and Mercedes were merely a pawn in this their ultimate objective.

Last year Ferrari were paid $90-million tabled as ‘historical earnings’ while a ‘bonus fund’ provided Red Bull with $60-million and McLaren with $34-million. Williams and Mercedes receive $30-million each also as historical earnings.

This is an unexpected and intriguing development in the direction Formula 1 is heading with Liberty at the helm, although nothing is official – and may never be – it is certain that Mercedes bosses will have taken notice of the defection by Ferrari and how they respond now should be telling. 

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VILLENEUVE: CHOOSING CLAIRE OVER JONATHAN A BIG MISTAKE

Jonathan Williams

Jacques Villeneuve does not mince his words when he talks about the team that took him to his one Formula 1 World Championship title in 1997, already indefinitely banned from the Williams paddock compound he has now fired a wicked salvo at deputy team principal Claire Williams.

Villeneuve, driver turned pundit for Sky Italia, did not hold back when analysing the dire situation at his former team during an embarrassing British Grand Prix weekend on home turf for the Grove outfit,

“The team is dead, I do not see anything there… There is simply no management,” declared Villeneuve in his worst rant about the team since he took on Lance Stroll for his poor performances late last year.

Villeneuve references the family feud that ultimately led to Claire Williams being made the heir apparent to Sir Frank Williams’ in the role as team principal, chosen over her brother Jonathan Williams who now runs the heritage side of the business.

At the time it is believed Sir Frank did not trust that Jonathan had the chutzpah to run the Formula 1 team. In retrospect it appears to be a bad call, now in a time of trouble, he may end up being their saviour.

Villeneuve made no secret of where he believes it all went wrong, “There was an alternative back then: one of the two would be heir and they chose Claire instead of Jonathan – a big mistake, you just have to look where the team is today. ”

“When it comes to a team you first have to look at the top of the pyramid, the fish starts to stink at the head, they’re completely blind when It’s all about understanding where the team stands. They have to admit they messed up. I do not see how the team is going to get out of it, I just do not see it,” lamented Villeneuve.

With a grossly uncompetitive car, no likelihood of meaningful improvement and headlines trumpeting their every failure… and there have been many, the team also faces the prospect of Martini cheques no longer adding to the coffers.

Their freefall in the pecking order also means less prize money when it is awarded at the end of the season, throw in two very miserable pay drivers who are already looking elsewhere and suddenly we looking at a big hole in their future income.

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VETTEL: I COOK, I DO THE SCHOOL RUN, I GO SHOPPING, I TAKE THE BUS

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Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is intensely private when not spending weekends in the high-powered spotlight of Formula 1, in a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian the four times Formula 1 World Champion opens up as he has seldom done this year.

Helped by his most recent victory at the British Grand Prix, his second at Silverstone, Vettel leads the championship standings by eight points after ten rounds from arch-rival Lewis Hamilton and is relishing the ups-and-downs of a most unpredictable contest that has unfolded this season

Vettel said, “It is something you want, you want to be in a close rivalry. You want to be in a position so you can fight for victory, that is the ultimate satisfaction, of course, it is more intense when it is closer.”

His Formula 1 record is stellar with four world titles and 51 victories in 216 grand prix starts. He made his debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix (aged 19 years) and is now tied with Prost in third on the most F1 wins list. He has started from pole 54 occasions which he turned into podiums on 105 occasions.

Now at 31-years of age Vettel knows little other than a life mixed with the inevitable glare of Formula 1 and the self-imposed exile of his private life, “Obviously F1 is a big part of my life but it is not the most important thing. It is not who I am, it is what I do. They are linked but it is important there is a lot of time where it doesn’t define who I am.”

“I don’t feel special because of what I do for a job. It is part of me, my identity but it would be the wrong answer if I asked myself: ‘Who are you?’ and I said: ‘I am an F1 driver.’ I am a lot of other things as well. It doesn’t define me as a person.”

Vettel lives in Switzerland with Hanna Prater with whom he has two daughters, Emilie (4) and Matilda (3) who are seldom at the races and when they do attend they avoid the paddock and sit in the stands.

“I am happy to do things that people think are boring but for me they are not, being at home, mowing the lawn. I cook, not so good, but from time to time. I do the school run, I go shopping, I take the metro and the bus.”

“I am sportsman, I am not celebrity. So when I go somewhere and somebody recognises me I think they are interested in sport and not in how I do my hair, or which shoes I am wearing or that bollocks.”

“People would be surprised. They have the image that drivers under the helmet are all ‘Arggh’. You have to be calm in the way you drive because it takes all your concentration. But of course I am excited at times and feel the adrenalin.”

“I think it’s just normal to be normal,” concluded the German with a smile on his face, targeting his fifth world title this year – his first with Ferrari.

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LOWE: WE’RE IN POSITION TO START TURNING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

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Much was expected of Paddy Lowe when he joined Williams from Mercedes in March last year, triggering talk of a renaissance at Grove, however, the first car built under his watch has been hopeless and has sunk the team to the lowest level in its illustrious history.

If Lowe survives in his post he has to fix the costly blunder rather quickly as the team is facing a departing title sponsor as well some very frustrated pay drivers who are already looking elsewhere for alternatives.

Nevertheless, Lowe believes he and his team have what it takes to turn the tide, “I have some really great people around me. There are some reinforcements needed, but we have the core of a really great team, so I think we’re in a position to start turning in the right direction.”

To start with they have to figure out why their car is a brick, described by team chief Claire Williams as “evil” to drive, a potentially dangerous one too as their drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin will testify. Without a solution to the fundamental problems, they risk compromising next year’s car too.

Lowe admits they were stumped by a never before seen aero phenomenon and acknowledged, “Many of the problems of this year’s car are simply exaggerations of those we had last year.”

“The degree of instability of our car has been very extreme this year. Last year’s car was not great in terms of stability, but that feature has become even worse on this year’s car.”

“You have to go right into the heart of what you are doing and some core science of how you are generating performance,” explained Lowe who now has the spotlight firmly on him as he engineers a solution to lift Williams from the doldrums.

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German GP: The spirit of old Hockenheim

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The spirit of the old Hockenheim circuit still lurks in the forests beyond the current layout, as Motorsport Week discovered during the build-up to the most recent German Grand Prix in 2016.

To those uninitiated to the world of motorsport, a walk through the forests to the east of the sleepy and amenable town of Hockenheim is merely a pleasant voyage through quiet countryside in the warm summer sun. To those with memories of watching TV pictures of Formula 1 cars blasting between the trees, it is an eerie monument to what has been lost, heightened by the uncertain future of the German Grand Prix.

‘Old Hockenheim’, as it has now been dubbed, began life in the 1930s, and soon became recognised as a high-speed trip between the forests, until it was truncated in 2002, amid political pressure, the desire for spectators to witness more and the financial strain a large area of land placed on circuit owners.

Upon attending Hockenheim, tracking down the old circuit is a must, for parts of it remain traceable. A trip along the paved Ernst Wilhelm Sachs-Straße leaves you walking parallel to the modern circuit, exiting Turn 1, and up to the Jim Clark memorial, an understated tribute for one of the sport’s greatest talents, as the post-2002 layout stretches away towards the right.

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This is where the old circuit used to be, shortly after the exit of the current Turn 2

The section of old circuit between Turns 2 and the exit of Ostkurve was entirely bulldozed and given over to nature, with the growth in just 15 years startling. You cannot walk exactly where the old circuit used to be, only on a parallel pathway, though an intersection halfway between the current Turn 2 and the old Jim Clark chicane provides a brief glimpse of the old track due to the treetops along that thin strip being lower than the rest of the foliage.

That public path, which initially runs adjacent to the overgrown old circuit, splinters in different directions at the aforementioned intersection and thus finding the Jim Clark chicane means heading off the beaten track to climb through knee-height grass and stinging nettles, while swatting away relentless swarms of insects that have gathered in the hot summer evening. Eventually, a clearing appears between the impenetrable thickets. The area is now a sandy and grassy pit, the soft sand at times difficult to traverse, with a pool of water at the basin, though it at least remains possible to visualise the layout. 

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This is where the first chicane used to be

Ostkurve, further around the forest that runs parallel to the tiny Hardtbach river, is much the same, though the nature of the clearing, and the raised bank, means it is easier to grasp the old layout, especially while standing on the grass once occupied by tarmac. In a peculiar way, Ostkurve is a sadder setting. It is so quiet, but for the gentle rustling of grass, while the greater ability to envisage the old layout acts as a more vivid reminder of past eras. A pantheon of greats wrestled machinery through this piece of land: Lauda, Piquet, Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Häkkinen; spectators packed onto the banking to be left agape at their talents; marshals kept a watchful eye on proceedings; photographers captured the moments for evermore… now it’s just grass and a variety of bushes. They don’t race here anymore. They never will. 

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Standing at the former Ostkurve complex, looking towards corner entry

The exit of Ostkurve is marked by a dense and tall hedge, on the other side of which is a fully tarmacked public path, part of which acted as the pre-2002 layout. A smattering of cyclists mosey along as the evening wears on, while the fences that mark the boundary of the modern facility, as well as the Mercedes tribune, are just about visible in the distance amid the heat haze. The relics of the old circuit are still apparent: white lines that used to define the circuit boundary, and a thin strip of grass on either side of the long straight demonstrating where the run-off used to be, the once luscious green now faded. The straight is hauntingly evocative, stirring memories of the V10s or V12s that used to scream along before braking for the Ayrton Senna chicane, located roughly at the spot now occupied by the modern-day hairpin.   

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The long run from Ostkurve towards the modern venue - the Mercedes tribune is visible on the horizon

The current circuit is not a bad layout by any stretch of the imagination – it often provides entertaining racing – but it will always be in the shadow of the past. Old Hockenheim, irrespective of the quality of racing, was a different challenge, and would present teams with set-up headaches, as well as test different elements of the package, both man and machine. Is there a wistful air of rose-tinted spectacles? Yes, of course. Life must move on and develop to new places with new faces, though there will always be an element of regret that the iconic circuit no longer exists for any form of racing or even demonstration runs. It is not wrong to be pensive about the past while simultaneously enthusiastic about the future; the two are not polarised. Yet the future is precisely what is troubling regarding the German Grand Prix. Does Formula 1 have a long-term place in the country?

This year’s German Grand Prix is the last under the current contact. Formula 1 may return to Hockenheim in 2020, but there is every reason to believe that it will not. And the aura of Old Hockenheim will continue to seep away as nature gradually reclaims the land.

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Bottas on Mercedes' "required level" despite winless run

Bottas on Mercedes' "required level" despite winless run

Valtteri Bottas says Mercedes is aware of his strong performances this Formula 1 season, and feels this is adequate consolation for his current winless run.
The Finnish driver missed out on wins in China and Azerbaijan thanks to a safety car and late puncture respectively, then retired thanks to a mechanical failure after starting from pole in Austria.

Bottas entered the 2018 season needing to impress Mercedes to earn a new contract after being handed a one-year extension during his debut season with the team in 2017.

Speaking in the build-up to the British GP, which extended his winless run this year to 10 races, Bottas said: “It puts me in a decent place this year that even though I’ve not scored the points I would have wanted, I have always performed at the level the team requires me to do.

“I’m more or less on the level I want personally. That’s a good thing even though only the team sees in great detail how I perform every week.

“Having a few wins never does anything bad for you for the future but at least the team knows exactly how I’m performing and the direction I’m going with my improvement.”

The average qualifying gap between Bottas and Hamilton this season is 0.059s in favour of the Briton.

Bottas believes he has eliminated the bigger gaps Hamilton established at times last season, particularly at tracks where Mercedes was its strongest.

“I’ve felt I have been able to improve my weaknesses, and strengths,” said Bottas.

“Overall performance has just been closer, there have been less bigger gaps between me and Lewis.

“No matter if the car’s been good to drive or very difficult to drive, I feel I’ve been able to extract what there is and it’s been quite close.”

Bottas was denied victory again at Silverstone last weekend, when a strategy call from Mercedes vaulted him into the lead under a safety car but then left him vulnerable to attack from Sebastian Vettel on fresh tyres.

Though Bottas rebuffed three consecutive attacks into Brooklands, he was then caught out at the same corner five laps from the end.

“After the second safety car initially it was fine but he started to get really close and I had to push every lap like a qualifying lap,” said Bottas.

“It was about five laps before the end, it was like driving on ice – I started to lost a lot of grip, especially the rear end, and traction was getting weaker.

“That’s why he could always get close to me out of slow-speed corners and get the DRS. I was trying everything I could to defend but it was a matter of time.

“I really tried but there was nothing we could do really.”

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Gasly fears "huge" engine gap will decide Sauber fight

Gasly fears "huge" engine gap will decide Sauber fight

Pierre Gasly fears Toro Rosso will be overhauled by Sauber in Formula 1's teams’ championship fight because of the “huge difference” Ferrari’s engine has made to the Swiss team’s revival.
Sauber has almost caught Toro Rosso for eighth in the constructors’ championship already, having scored points in six races this season, and would have leapfrogged the Red Bull junior team had Charles Leclerc not retired from the British Grand Prix following a botched pitstop.

After finishing last in the constructors’ championship in 2017, Sauber is on the up with new ownership and a new management team with Frederic Vasseur as team principal.

Gasly said: “Sauber is really fast, so I think it will really, really difficult to keep them behind with the pace we have because they have a stronger package.

“In terms of chassis we are still ahead of them but in terms of engine and power unit package that they get from Ferrari they just make a huge difference with that.

“I expect them to score consistently in the points now, so it will be really difficult to keep them behind but we will try what we can.”

Gasly finished fourth in Bahrain and seventh in Monaco and lost a point at Silverstone last weekend following a “ridiculous” post-race penalty, while teammate Brendon Hartley scored his only point of the campaign thus far with 10th in Azerbaijan.

“We need to make sure that when there are opportunities like Bahrain and Monaco we are there to score points,” said Gasly.

“In normal conditions at the moment we don’t have the package and speed to fight there.

“Haas is really fast and Sauber is really fast with the Ferrari engine. We saw Force India is doing well and Renault has a really strong package between the chassis and the power unit.

“The chassis is good but with the engine we have we lose too much time.

“Budapest is a track where we could have an opportunity and we need to make sure we do everything perfectly to get the few points if we have the possibility.”

As well as using Ferrari’s latest-spec F1 engine, having run a year-old product in 2017, Sauber has been investing significantly in its Hinwil team.

Renault’s Carlos Sainz said Sauber’s progress this season, the team having made Q3 twice in three races with Leclerc, is proof of Ferrari helping its customers make “giant steps forward”.

“If you look at where Sauber started in Australia and where they are now is worthy of admiration,” he added.

Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson said the team’s current position was “a massive difference” to 12 months ago.

“The financial platform is a lot strong and then everything builds on from there,” he said.

“We’re getting some great people into the team and then the people [already there] have grown with motivation.

“We are in a completely different world compared to 12 months ago.

“I think it’s very impressive to see the way we have developed as a team.”

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FIA calls teams to meeting over F1 mirror safety

FIA calls teams to meeting over F1 mirror safety

Formula 1 technical chiefs have been called to a special meeting with the FIA at the Hungarian Grand Prix in a bid to agree new mirror rules to help improve driver visibility.
Amid growing concerns that the current generation of car design is limiting what drivers can see behind them, motor racing's governing body has decided to act.

An initial intention by the FIA to push through new rules in time for the Singapore Grand Prix on safety grounds had to be abandoned because it needed World Motor Sport Council approval.

So instead, the FIA has told F1 teams that it wants to meet with technical directors at the Hungaroring in a fortnight's time to discuss what can be done for 2018 and 2019.

Vettel near-miss

Although the FIA has been looking at mirror designs for a while, fresh momentum behind a push to change came at the Austrian Grand Prix when there was a near miss between Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel in qualifying.

F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer was later spotted conducting some visibility tests with Vettel and his Ferrari to check on exactly how much the German could see.

Earlier this week the FIA wrote a technical directive to teams informing them that new rules were being pushed through on safety grounds from the Singapore GP.

F1's head of technical matters for single seaters Nikolas Tombazis suggested that the evolution of current car designs had meant that the upper surface of the sidepod and the lower regions of the rear wing were blocking out vision at the rear.

Furthermore, he suggested that the growing trend for high rake cars had made mirrors much less effective in showing drivers what was going on behind them.

Rather than giving teams an area of the car to choose where they place the mirrors, the FIA said it intended to stipulate a specific location for the mirrors.

It wanted the centre point of a car's mirrors to be 640mm above the reference plane and 450mm from the car's centre point. A 5mm tolerance would be allowed.

Previously, mirrors had to just be situated between 200mm and 550mm from the car centre line and there was no limit on height.

However, with the change in rules requiring approval by the WMSC, and amid some question marks about potential loopholes in what had been proposed, the FIA withdrew the directive and instead will hold fire on plans until after the Hungary meeting.

Mercedes tests

At the British Grand Prix last weekend, and unaware the FIA was about to act, Mercedes trialled a new location for its rear view mirrors in a bid to try to see if it could find something better for Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

The new mirror was mounted below the normal one (see red arrow below) to offer a reference point to the drivers to see if it was better for rearward visibility, and was worth evaluating further.

Mercedes AMG F1 W09 mirrors

Mercedes AMG F1 W09 mirrors

However, the FIA's clarification this week about new mirror positions for the Singapore Grand Prix means that Mercedes' Silverstone test version will have to be scrapped and a new higher mirror prepared.

Structural challenge

The new positioning of the mirrors has also opened up the opportunity for the FIA to re-examine the controversy over mirror supports that could potentially bring aerodynamic benefits.

With Ferrari having been told to remove a support on its halo mirrors that appeared at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Italian team was unhappy that Mercedes appeared with a new support to its sidepod mirrors as part of an update at the Austrian GP.

Mercedes F1 AMG W09 side pods Austrian GP

Mercedes F1 AMG W09 side pods Austrian GP

The FIA was adamant, however, that the Mercedes version complied fully to the rules.

With teams needing to revise the location of their mirrors, the FIA has indicated that the design of any future supports should be approved by the governing body to avoid any potential legality problems.

Tombazis added: "For the sake of completeness, I would re-iterate our previously expressed position that the mirror mountings must have a primary purpose of structurally supporting the mirrors, and any aerodynamic benefit should be incidental.

"I would suggest that the new mirror position stipulated above lends itself to a sensible mounting to the side pod, and would encourage teams to send images of their proposed new designs in order to avoid unnecessary discussions."

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The 'stupid' F1 tyre conspiracy theory that can finally die

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The completion of Formula 1's triple-header last weekend should kill off a "stupid" conspiracy theory that was surviving despite mounting evidence it was nonsense.

When Pirelli announced it would make tyres with a 0.4mm thinner tread for the races in Spain, France and Britain to avoid blistering, some considered it was to help Mercedes after the champion team experienced problems during pre-season testing.

Suggestions of favouritism emerged particularly prominently during the Spanish GP weekend and returned in France and Britain, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton on pole for all three races and winning two of them.

But Pirelli's modified tyre was introduced after "all the teams" were affected during pre-season, according to its F1 boss Mario Isola.

Barcelona and Silverstone were resurfaced over the winter, and those tracks would now generate a lot of grip that put a lot of energy through the tyres.

This would not wear the tyres physically but would drive surface temperature up, causing blistering, and Pirelli considered that Paul Ricard's smooth, high-speed circuit would also leave it subject to the same problem.

"I'm sure we were not far from blistering at Silverstone," says Isola of last weekend's British Grand Prix. "With standard tread we probably had blistering.

"With this reduced gauge, it was possible to have a real race, looking at the real performance of the car, without any external effect that was changing the balance."

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Sebastian Vettel tried the normal Pirelli tyres in the post-Spanish GP test in May and admitted Ferrari would have been worse off in the race without the modified rubber.

While France was not a problematic race for tyres, in Britain Vettel struggled with his front-left and fell vulnerable to Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas at the end of the first stint and again as the second wore on.

Ferrari's vulnerability at Silverstone could be linked to its car's upgrade floor and diffuser, which boosted overall performance but may have also stressed the tyres more.

Car set-up has a significant impact on how teams prevent or trigger blistering and Vettel experiencing some difficulty at Silverstone is similar to Barcelona, where Ferrari trialled its new rear suspension for the first time.

"In Barcelona it was very important to have the test after the race to show that we didn't make this [change] to give an advantage to anybody," Isola says.

"Sorry to say, it's stupid. We are supplying everybody, any team that is winning a race is on a Pirelli tyre.

"There is no real advantage for us to give support to one or another."

The bottom line is teams that are supposedly kinder on the tyres than Mercedes should not have suffered problems when the tyres were tweaked to handle that better.

Evidently, this was not the case.

Pirelli's modified tyres were only planned to be used for those three races, so the non-issue should finally be over.

If they do return, this year or next, the conspiracy theory should not re-emerge with them.

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Why Red Bull F1 team gave Ricciardo and Verstappen different wings

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Red Bull-Renault's long-standing power deficit to Formula 1 rivals Mercedes and Ferrari has often forced it to be aggressive with its wing settings to minimise its straightline time loss.

It regularly trims out its wings, and it has not been unknown for Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo to experiment with wildly different wing levels.

The high-speed characteristics of Silverstone, with the flat-out corners effectively being treated as straights, meant that Red Bull had to go pretty extreme last weekend.

Both Mercedes and Ferrari ran with the low-drag style wings that were used in Baku, which forced Red Bull to try to go with an even smaller angle.

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The above image taken from the British Grand Prix gives an indication of how little angle Red Bull is running compared to Ferrari and Mercedes.

It also put Ricciardo and Verstappen on entirely different front wing designs to try to find the best way forward.

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Verstappen pressed on with a design Red Bull has already deployed when it needs to reduce downforce this season, and that last appeared in Montreal.

The wing features a revised flapped section, taking up much less space than is possible (arrow) at the maximum amount, to help reduce the downforce being generated so the aero balance is in line with what is being run at the rear of the car.

It's a tactic that Red Bull has commonly utilised, but it is more difficult for the team to find gains by doing this at high-speed circuits where Mercedes and Ferrari also start trimming downforce levels.

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Ricciardo took things a little further than Verstappen with his front wing, running a design with an even more aggressive flap configuration.

He started out with a Gurney strip attached to the trailing edge of the uppermost flap in Friday's first free practice session, as he looked to balance the car through the high-speed corners.

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For qualifying and the race he sacrificed that balance and extra downforce in search of more straightline speed by removing the Gurney strip.

In the end, unfortunately, Red Bull's power deficit was too much to allow its chassis to overcome the time lost on the straights and it spent the weekend a clear third-best.

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An overview of the FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

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I never get tired of visiting F1's night race, the Singapore Grand Prix.

I've been to all of them, from 2008 onwards. It's so exciting under the lights when the cars come blasting down the straight at the start, with the huge crowds there and the camera flashes going off, with the giant wheel of the Singapore Flyer on the skyline in the background. It's unique. At the end of the race, they let off a massive fireworks display as the winner takes the chequered flag - it's mind-blowing.

As well as being a favourite of F1 insiders and fans alike, it's become one of the most important races of the season.

I'd say that, along with the Monaco GP, Singapore is the only other host venue on the calendar that does more for F1 than F1 does for the venue. The way they bundle up the racing, the entertainment and the festival atmosphere is wonderful. I've seen some great acts there over the years. One real highlight was Robbie Williams in 2014.

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This year they have The Killers, Liam Gallagher, Martin Garrix, Dua Lipa and Jay Chou headlining, with Simply Red and The Sugarhill Gang among the acts playing on other stages.

The race is always held in September, which is a good time to visit as the climate is pretty stable; until last year, they had managed to have nine Grand Prix events with no rain on race day!

Last year was different, and a rain shower just before the start made for some amazing action - it levels the playing field quite a bit. There was also the spectacular collision into Turn 1 involving both Ferraris and Verstappen, which was one of the defining moments of the season.

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This year, I'm excited to see some of the new things on both the racing and the entertainment sides. These 2018 specification cars, with high downforce wings and softer compound tyres are now setting the fastest lap times we have ever seen in F1. I can't wait to see the top guys going for pole position on Saturday night: we are going to see some record speeds and they'll be brushing the walls for sure.

I know the organisers really well and they always have new ideas to try to give the fans something extra. They do a special experience, for example, for fans of a particular team: the fans can sit opposite their team's garage in the Pit Grandstand, along with enjoying an exclusive hospitality experience hosted by the team at the Formula 1 Paddock Club. They did it with Red Bull Racing in the past; this year, it's with the Mercedes team for the second year running. Last year, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas dropped in to meet the guests.

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Some friends of mine have done the walkabout ticket, which (as the name suggests) allows fans to move around between different viewing locations, including the fantastic opening sequence of corners, the final turns with the pit lane entry and exit, as well as along the sweeping right-hander at Turn 5.

I've been lucky to have visited Singapore so many times for the race and it has also given me the chance to extend my stay by a day or two and to see some of the other attractions that the country has to offer. I'd really recommend it.

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I'm a big fan of the food on offer, from the fine dining restaurants to the vibrant street food stalls you find in the many night markets. These are popular with the F1 crowd, as they often don't finish work until three or four am. There's something always open to serve local favourites such as satay or noodles to enjoy with a beer!

The Singapore Airlines schedule works really well for me, as I arrive late on Wednesday night and can sleep ahead of a busy day at the track on Thursday. Then the return flight to London is at 9am, which means you can have a great night after the race ends and then relax on the way home the next day.

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HORNER: HONDA HAVE STRENGTH AND DEPTH OF RESOURCE PLUS DESIRE

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Red Bull chief Christian Horner has revealed how making the decision to switch from Renault to Honda was clear-cut from the moment they realised how intent the Japanese giant is on getting it right in Formula 1.

Speaking to RaceFans, Horner said, “Renault now having their own works team, the customer-supplier relationship has only become more exaggerated over the last couple of seasons. Honda have the strength and depth of resource, the desire and of course we will be their exclusive focus and attention.”

With Toro Rosso taking on board the engines that were junked by McLaren in a complex deal that not only resulted in the engine swap, but also a loan agreement for Carlos Sainz to Renault.

Horner explained the benefits to the energy drinks organisation and their F1 programme, “It puts Red Bull in a position where both of its teams share the same power unit with the full focus of an OEM[original equipment manufacturer] with the resource and facilities and investment Honda have made and the progress they have made – particularly in the last six months – for us it was a particularly straightforward decision.”

Also, a sweetener for Horner is the fact that for the first time in his team’s history they will not be paying for engines, which translates to a substantial saving.

But Horner makes clear where the focus will be, “The agreements that we have with Honda are very much focused on performance and the decision behind the change was driven by engineering reasons opposed to fiscal gain.”

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ABITEBOUL: GO AGGRESSIVE CUT CHAMPIONSHIP TO 15 ROUNDS

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Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul is convinced that increasing rounds on the world championship calendar will dilute interest in the sport and argues a case for reducing the series to 15 races per season.

Formula 1 this year is amid a record-equalling season of 21 races, including an exhaustive three grands prix over 17 days, back-to-back races in France, Austria and the UK. Meanwhile, Liberty Media are looking to add more venues to the championship which could stretch to 24 or 25 races in years to come.

Abiteboul told Motorsport Network, “We need to be able to engage with fans but it has to remain something special. We are already way above what should be the figure for something special.”

“We need to convey a message of pride, of motivation, of energy. With the calendar that we have now, the enthusiasm is not the same as when we were only travelling 15 times per year. If we don’t have that energy, it is going to be very difficult to convey that externally.”

“It is almost becoming routine. It should not be a day-to-day job. We’ve tipped that balance, so we need to be extremely careful. I appreciate the reason why, commercially we need to grow the calendar, but as far as I’m concerned, I would be for a massive contraction of the sport.”

“If you were to go very aggressive and say 15 races, you have to tell the 21 races you have right now, ‘Look guys there are going to be six of you that will be dropped: compete’. You completely reverse the pattern of the market. It would be very interesting to see the reaction.

“I understand it would be a gamble, that it is not something within the current set-up of Formula 1, that acquires more money every year, more people, more tracks, more prize-fund, more of everything, but at some point there will be a crunch time and maybe we will see if we can switch the balance,” argued Abiteboul.

An expanded calendar will extend resources and will hit the smaller teams far harder than the bigger outfits, further widening the increasing divide between the haves and the have-nots in the sport.

The first Formula 1 World Championship season in 1950 consisted of seven rounds, notably there were 16 non-championship races that year where the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Luigi Villoresi duelled for prestige and prize money which, along with appearance money, was the business model that existed at the time which allowed the sport to thrive in the early days.

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Access to Formula 1 drivers has gone "too far" - Webber

Access to Formula 1 drivers has gone "too far" - Webber

Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber believes Formula 1 has already gone "too far" with fan access and that the series is in danger of "trivialising" drivers.
F1 has often been criticised for being too closed off to fans, but, after his debut in the World Endurance Championship, Fernando Alonso said that the access fans have in the WEC would not work in F1 as it would cause drivers to "hide even more".

Webber, who won the WEC with Porsche in 2015 and is a regular fixture on Channel 4's F1 coverage, sided with Alonso.

He told Motorsport.com: "You've got to be very careful because the drivers still need to be heroes and something that's still a little bit hard to touch and feel.

"We might have gone a bit too far with that in terms of access and social media. We've got to be careful we don't trivialise their profession.

"Roger Federer is not doing any interviews before Wimbledon. Access has absolutely got to be kept an eye on."

Webber, who won nine grand prix, was speaking at the Goodwood Festival of Speed as Porsche celebrated its 70th anniversary.

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When asked what F1 could learn from the sold-out, 150,000-spectator event, Webber said: "I think just fast decisions, the openness, the genuineness, the demographic too of families – we've got kids, we've got granddad here, mum and dad.

"There's something for everyone: a bit of fireworks, a bit of motocross. You've got to have that diversity."

"The Duke of Richmond [who owns the Goodwood estate] is before his time on that thinking.

"It's the best [event] in the world and I don't know who's second, but it's a long, long way behind.

"In society now, it's hard to get permissions for all these things. [The Duke] can make decisions, he's very proactive, dynamic and this is what society misses now."

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Honda hopes for more F1 engine gains this year

Honda hopes for more F1 engine gains this year

Honda hopes it will be able to upgrade its combustion engine technology again before the end of the 2018 Formula 1 season.
The Japanese manufacturer introduced an improved V6 in Canada earlier this year which played a key role in convincing Red Bull to switch from Renault to Honda for 2019.

Honda has worked on improving the reliability of its MGU-H this season but has otherwise avoided setting performance targets for its energy recovery systems.

In the British Grand Prix, Honda's deficit to Mercedes and Ferrari was estimated at a second of laptime around Silverstone, as Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly lamented his lack of straightline speed.

That was exacerbated by Silverstone's circuit layout, particularly the flat-out Abbey and Copse corners that effectively extend two straights, but Honda is still keen to find more performance this year with its combustion engine.

"I cannot tell you exactly yes or not, but we are still working on the ICE," Honda's F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe told Motorsport.com.

"I hope we will have some update and improvement within this season.

"[On Gasly's Silverstone] qualifying data we saw the performance difference on the straights.

"Of course we have [corners] here, where you can go full throttle, especially in qualifying.

"That gave us a hard time. It meant the PU performance difference here was more than at other circuits."

Honda's progress early in the season, particularly compared to Renault, buoyed Red Bull and left it optimistic about the other gains the engine maker will find before the start of the 2019 campaign.

Gasly said his frustration was not with Honda, which he said is "improving a lot", but rather with the reality that starting further behind the other engine makers gave it a "deficit that is really difficult to recover".

"It's more in terms of just pure performance and power from the engine, but I know they are working on it and they have a couple of ideas," said Gasly.

"I just need to give them time to bring it to the track, but at the moment we still lose quite a lot in terms of straightline speed.

"We still have to understand exactly how to get the best out of the Spec 2 engine."

Gasly finished 10th at Silverstone, although lost that world championship point to a post-race penalty, while his team-mate Brendon Hartley retired after one lap.

Hartley had to start from the pitlane after a suspension failure in practice destroyed his car and forced him to miss qualifying.

He was late out of the garage because of a problem installing new Honda engine parts, which led his immediate return to the pits.

"While fixing the car we had an issue with the installation on the PU side that caused an improper function," explained Tanabe.

"We saw unusual data on the PU side and we retired. I think the components are OK. We will check carefully for any damage."

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Ricciardo: Mercedes looks vulnerable now

Ricciardo: Mercedes looks vulnerable now

Daniel Ricciardo says Mercedes looks vulnerable in Formula 1 this season but believes it is still the toughest package to beat despite showing signs of weakness.
Mercedes swept to four straight drivers' and constructors' titles from 2014 to 2017 but has been locked in a to-and-fro fight with Ferrari this season.

Lewis Hamilton has fallen behind Sebastian Vettel in the championship, mainly because of Mercedes' double-retirement in Austria, where it had already come under fire during the race for a bad strategy call while Hamilton was leading.

That was one of several in-race decisions this season that have led to scrutiny of the championship-winning team, and Red Bull driver Ricciardo said: "They are not as dominant as they have been the last few years.

"That was inevitably going to start to mellow out at some point.

"I still think they are the overall toughest package to beat on the grid but for sure they've shown some signs of weaknesses in some areas.

"Compared to how they've been, yeah they look vulnerable, but still in the big scheme of things they are a strong team and difficult to beat."

Ricciardo was waiting to see if Mercedes might offer him an alternative to Red Bull for 2019 but now appears set to stay with the team that is yet to give him the platform for a title challenge.

Red Bull has won three of the first 10 races in 2018, but Ricciardo's success in China and Max Verstappen's victory in Austria were down to fortunate race circumstances.

Ricciardo is certain Red Bull will win more races this season but its package's lack of "real pace" means he has accepted his title chance is slim.

"I still don't think we've got the real pace every weekend to convince ourselves that we can be there [in the title fight]," said Ricciardo.

"I guess Max and myself probably take too many points away from each other - Lewis and Seb are doing all the winning there [at Mercedes and Ferrari].

"We are good enough to win more races. We need to find a little bit to be there on more tracks.

"Hopefully the ones we expect to be quick on, we are. If we come fifth and sixth in Budapest, we're probably going to be pretty pissed off."

As well as the race in Hungary, the races in Singapore and Mexico should give Red Bull opportunity to fight for victory this season.

However, Ricciardo will likely take a grid penalty in this weekend's German GP, which hurts his chances of closing the 65-point gap to Vettel.

Ricciardo has gone three races without a podium and would be closer had he not retired in Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Austria.

He said he was doing "pretty well" considering he has failed to finish three races but said "doing alright is not enough".

"The odds are against us but I still don't think it's impossible," he added. "There's still too long to go to say it's out."

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Haas: There is not really a midfield anymore

Haas: There is not really a midfield anymore

With the likes of Sauber getting involved in regular point-scoring battles, Guenther Steiner says F1 no longer has a genuine midfield: there’s the top-three and then the rest.

This year’s championship has once again seen Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull in a race of their own while Renault, Haas, Force India, McLaren, Toro Rosso and even Sauber are squabbling over the remaining points.

Renault are leading the tussle on 70 points while Sauber in ninth have 16.

“After [pre-season] testing, we were cautiously optimistic that could be achieved, but it’s still a difficult task as all the other teams in Formula One are very good teams – there is nobody who is uncompetitive,” Steiner said.

“There is not really a midfield anymore. It’s just the rest. There’s the top-three and then the rest.

“Everybody from fourth to 10th can be competing for points this year, as we’ve all seen. Now, being fifth, it’s nice to be there.

“After testing it was realistic to think we could be there, but we were very conscious that it would be hard work, and it is hard work, actually.”

At the end of it all the position that Haas are aiming for is fourth.

The team has bagged 51 points having squandered opportunities through crashes and bungled pit stops.

Steiner, Haas’ team boss, added: “I think with the potential of the car we have shown over the last three races, it is possible to aim for fourth.

“If we achieve it or not, that’s a different question. I don’t want to be arrogant and say we will finish fourth, because by no means is it a given.

“We are competing with three very strong teams for this position. We will try, we will give it our best and, hopefully, we end up fourth.”

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MCLAREN PREVIEW THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX

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McLaren preview the German Grand Prix weekend, Round 11 of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship, at Hockenheim.

Fernando Alonso: “I enjoy racing at Hockenheim and have won there three times so it’s great to be back after a break last year. The track is viewed as one of the classics, it’s fun to drive and there are a couple of overtaking opportunities – and an extra DRS zone this year – so hopefully we can fight with the cars around us.

“We know we need to work on our qualifying performances to give ourselves the best chance on Sunday, but we’ve also seen that during the race we can push forward and secure points, so the aim is to achieve the same in Germany next weekend.

“The next couple of races before the summer break are on very different tracks. We need to work hard, and do as much as possible to adapt our set-up for each of them to maximise our chances. We know this weekend won’t be an easy track for us but we’ll give it our best as always.”

Stoffel Vandoorne: “Although it’s the only grand prix on the current calendar that I haven’t raced at in Formula 1, I did race at Hockenheim in GP2 and got a podium, so there’s definitely good memories there for me.

“We know that the Hockenheimring is a challenging track, with long, fast straights that require a lot of power and also a slower, tighter section at the end of the lap where you need good car balance and traction out of the corners.

“The addition of the third DRS zone will mix things up a bit and the extra overtaking opportunity will hopefully mean an exciting race, where we can have some good battles for the fans. The German crowd really love their motorsport so I think there’ll be a great atmosphere there after two years away.”

Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: “After the tough triple-header, the team have had a few days back with their families and friends before we go again with a final push in Germany and Hungary prior to the summer break.

“It’s great that Formula 1 is returning to Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix after two years. Both of our drivers have experience at this track and its revered as a real racer’s circuit.

“Given that none of the teams have visited this circuit for two years means Friday will be a busy day on-track for us all, as we work hard to correlate our sim work and fine-tune our package for Saturday and Sunday.”

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WILLIAMS PREVIEW THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX

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Formula One’s first ever triple-header drew to a conclusion after three long, busy weeks on the road. but after a week at home and back at base, the team’s suitcases are packed and it’s time for the return of the popular German Grand Prix.

After a brief hiatus in 2017, Hockenheim returns to the F1 calendar to host the first of another back-to-back race weekend. For Germany, Pirelli has made available the medium, soft and ultrasoft tyres.

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: It’s good to be going back to Germany after a one-year pause as it’s a place we enjoy racing, an important circuit in Formula One history, as well as being the home of our partner Mercedes. The German fans always come out in force, which gives the Stadium section a great atmosphere come race day! The track was redesigned back in 2002 and was significantly shortened, removing the long runs through the forest, but it produces some great racing, so I hope we can put on a good show for the fans.

Lance Stroll: This is a cool track that has a great flow and I know it really well. I have very fond memories of driving there and it has always treated me well. I have won three races there in the past and our Formula 3 car always worked pretty well there. I have not seen an F1 race there, but I’m told that the atmosphere in the stadium section is electric. The town itself is not much of a place and usually there is not much happening there, but I am sure that will be very different when the F1 fans get back there after not having had a German race for two years.

Sergey Sirotkin: I have very good memories from Hockenheim. I like this track, and it should suit our car better than other tracks have done. It will be exciting to see what our recent upgrades can bring us before the summer break. It will be an important weekend for the team and I am looking forward to it.

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RENAULT PREVIEW THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX

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Renault Sport Formula One Team previews the eleventh race weekend of the 2018 Formula 1 season, the Emirates German Grand Prix.

Drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz share their thoughts on the return of the German Grand Prix to the calendar at Hockenheim, while our management and technical staff give the latest on the team and on the Renault R.S.18-R.E.18 package.

Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director, Renault Sport Racing: “The German Grand Prix arrives after Formula 1’s first triple-header, which, for us, proved to be a challenge and a test of our capabilities and stamina. We’ve completed this busy period still in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, but this position doesn’t highlight the mid-season wake-up call we’ve received in recent races; we’re fully aware that the fight for fourth place will not be easy and will continue throughout the second half of the season.”

Nico Hülkenberg: “It’s very special to have the German Grand Prix back on the calendar. A home race is extremely motivating, as you carry that extra ounce of determination to do well in front of the home fans. We missed it last season, but now it’s back at Hockenheim, we’ll really enjoy every moment throughout the weekend.”

Carlos Sainz: “I’m happy to be back racing in Germany. I’m especially looking forward to it as we have a few updates there – including a new front wing – to help us get back on the pace we showed at the beginning of the year. Hockenheim is a track I’ve won at in the past, so it’s one I’m looking ahead to. It’s Nico’s home race too, so that’ll be special for him – like for me in Spain – and that will help us both push hard on track all weekend.”

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