Formula 1 - 2017

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Autosport Podcast: Why Toro Rosso is benching Kvyat for Gasly

Pierre Gasly's imminent Formula 1 debut in this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix is the topic of the latest edition of The Autosport Podcast.

On Tuesday, Toro Rosso announced Daniil Kvyat would be benched for Sepang, with reigning GP2 champion Gasly stepping in ahead of a possible full-time drive next season.

Marcus Simmons and Glenn Freeman join Edd Straw to talk about Gasly's career and what it is about him that has encouraged Red Bull to give him his chance this year.

There's a discussion of Gasly's successes in Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 3.5 and GP2 as well as a look at his performance in Japan's Super Formula.

And Kvyat's struggles are also considered, with the Russian having been outpaced by Renault-bound team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr recently.

The Autosport Podcast is available to subscribe to free via iTunes and other podcast suppliers - simply search for 'Autosport'.

 

 

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PIRELLI ANNOUNCE TYRE CHOICES FOR SUZUKA

Red Bull drivers have gone aggressive with their tyre choices for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, a week after this weekend’s Round 15 in Malaysia.

Both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have opted for nine sets of Pirelli red band supersoft tyres, three sets of the softs and a set each of the mediums.

World Championship title contenders Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) have chosen exact same tyres for the three days, each selecting seven sets of supersofts, five sets of the softs and a set of mediums.

Their respective teammates Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen have also mimicked one another as they will each have seven sets of supersofts, four softs and two sets of the mediums.

Most aggressive with their tyre choices for Suzuka are McLaren whose, drivers Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, will take ten sets of supersofts, two sets of softs and a set of mediums to Honda’s home race.

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Just a quick heads up....

The news after today might be a bit light as I'll be away on leave for my sons school holidays.

Will be good to take a break

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VETTEL: WE CAN STILL WIN IT AND I WILL KEEP FIGHTING

Despite watching his Formula 1 title rival win three races in a row and his championship lead reversed so that he now trails by 28 points, Sebastian Vettel remains convinced that he can win the title with six rounds remaining in the championship.

Speaking to Sport Bild, for the first time since his Singapore Grand Prix start-line crash, Vettel said, “There are enough GPs left to catch up. I take it from race to race and I strongly believe that we can still win it. So the setback must be put behind us. I will keep fighting.”

Vettel is not fazed by the fact that many pundits and fans have blamed him for the incident in Singapore that eliminated his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and of course himself, which in turn allowed title rival Lewis Hamilton to cruise to victory and extend the points gap from three points before the race to 28 by the night’s end.

With regards to the criticism the German said, “I can live with that. It is always easy to form an opinion from the outside. In this case about an incident that happened in the space of five seconds.”

“Basically, I try to always get the best out of a situation – and yes, without trying to mess up. But I am not a hamster who backs off and takes the points without a fight. I have never been that way.”

“But don’t misunderstand me, I am also not a junkie who does anything to get to the front. If there is a chance to make a stand or defend a place, you have to do it. That is my credo,” added the four times F1 World Champion.

Vettel has won the forthcoming Malaysian Grand Prix on four occasions, a fifth victory on Sunday is vital to keep his title hopes alive, “I believe we have a strong package and we are full of confidence.”

“Even if the results have been missing in the last three races and we lost the championship lead, my team still gives me hope. The car is fast and because there are a few things we have planned I believe in us,” concluded Vettel.

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KVYAT DEMOTION COULD BE FOR ONLY TWO RACES

Daniil Kvyat’s career in Formula 1 has taken another major blow as he has been forced to step down from his seat with Toro Rosso to make way for Pierre Gasly, but a team sponsor claims that the Russian will only miss two races and will be back in the cockpit for the United States Grand Prix weekend.

Serguei Beloussov, boss of technology compnay Acronis who sponsor Toro Rosso, said, “Daniil is only substituted for two races while Gasly is being tested. Carlos Sainz leaves the team at then end of this season, so everything is still open.”

Kvyat’s career in Formula 1 has been checkered, starting off as a Toro Rosso driver in 2014 he impressed and was quickly promoted to Red Bull for 2015. But a series of incidents, and the rapid emergence of Max Verstappen within the Red Bull ranks, led to Kvyat’s demotion after the Russian Grand Prix last year.

Since then Kvyat has been comprehensively out-performed by Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz. This year the Spaniard has scored 48 of the team’s total of 52 points, while Kvyat has only managed four. The writing has been on the wall for some time.

But Red Bull’s remarkable patience with Kvyat finally caved in and they have sidelined Kvyat as they assess Gasly’s state of readiness for a full season with Toro Rosso in 2018.

With Sainz departing, to Renault on loan, a seat still remains with the team for next season with no other Red Bull junior driver ready to step up. This no doubt gives Kvyat and his minders hope that he will be on the F1 grid next year.

Igor Ermilin, President of the Russian Automobile Association, remains confident, “In the face of the change to Honda engines next year, they can afford this experiment. I think that Daniil missing these two races will not affect him or the team in any way. And I do not think they have decided what will happen next year.”

The switch from Renault power to Honda could weigh in favour of Kvyat who, thanks to his experience, would be able to provide valuable feedback when comparing the two power units.

However the Red Bull driver programme, headed by Helmut Marko, is notoriously ruthless and any future decisions regarding drivers hard to predict. The Gasly promotion a case in point.

Meanwhile a return to the F1 grid in Texas for Kvyat is likely, as the weekend clashes with the Japanese Super Formula season finale where Gasly has a chance to win the championship with Honda backed Team Mugen.

The Frenchman is half a point behind the series leader, with the Suzuka double header to decide the championship on 22 October.

Whether Gasly will replace Kvyat for the races thereafter, in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, is not known as yet.

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VERSTAPPEN: IN A FERRARI OR MERCEDES I’D BE A TITLE CONTENDER

Max Verstappen has a had a luckless year so far as technical issues have plagued his second season with red Bull, but the teenager is adamant that in a Mercedes or Ferrari cockpit he would be a contender for the 2017 World Championship.

I an interview, with Auto Motor und Sport, Verstappen was asked if he was driving a Mercedes or Ferrari this year would he be World Champion, he replied, “I’m 100% convinced of this.”

Prior to the start of this season Red Bull were expected to challenge for the world title but this did not transpire, Verstappen explained, “I think we underestimated the competition. Then we had correlation problems with the wind tunnel. Now we have to catch up and be ready for next year.”

On the subject of 2018 the 19 year old expanded, “It is difficult to predict what will happen in Formula 1. I can only promise so much: we will do our best to build the best car. I believe in my team and our technical team is in a position to do this, but we need the complete package to achieve our goals.”

As for the team’s engine supplier Renault, he added, “They work very hard to sort out the technical problems and try to get more power out of the package. But I am not involved in the development. I am honest and straightforward, I do not lie. The only thing I want is a winner car.”

Although Verstappen is beating teammate Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying 10-4, the Australian has had a lot more success in the championship. Winning once in Baku and after 14 races, Ricciardo is fourth in the championship standings with 162 points, while his younger teammate is sixth but only has 68 points to his credit.

Verstappen acknowledges, “Of course the one side of the garage is happier than the other because of all the difficulties that we have had on my car. But in general the mood in the team is getting better and better. Especially when compared to the start of the season in Melbourne. The car is getting faster, we are getting more competitive.”

“I just try to stay positive. I have to see the positive sides of the season. This has always been qualifying, the speed is there. Even in the races I was always in good positions before the failures. On the other hand, the results do not reflect what I am doing this season.”

The question has been asked if perhaps the young Dutchman’s style is too aggressive and hard for his car, thus he has suffered the bulk of the DNFs.

But Verstappen insists, “My approach is correct. I’ve just had bad luck. Why should I change something? I’m fast. We can see from the telemetry that I do not do anything wrong or contrary to Daniel. It is just funny that the problems on race day always only appear on my car.”

“I am honest and straightforward and I do not lie. The only thing I want is a winning car. This is not an absurd wish. I am very self-confident because if I were not I would still be racing karts.”

With regards to the in-season development race he revealed, “Everything is going in the right direction, but we do not only have to develop our car. The whole package needs to get better. Much of it is out of our hands, but the car is subject to our control and that’s where we need to make the most of it.”

“In the corners we are close. Often, however, we also use less downforce to compensate for our power deficit on the straights. That is why it is hard to say exactly where we need to improve. My gut feeling is that we need a bit more downforce and a little more mechanical grip.”

Verstappen has taken the Formula 1 scene by storm since his debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, but he has only 54 grand prix starts on his CV, however one thing is sure he will be at the pinnacle of the sport for a long stretch.

As for the future, the youngster has clear ambitions, “I’m not interested in pole records or  having the most victories. I just want to win. Then we’ll see what’s going on at the end of my career. One must also be lucky enough to win seven titles like Michael Schumacher. You must be in the right team at the right time.”

And finally added that he wants “ten dominant years in F1, the rest is not so important.”

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F1 working on exhaust microphones to boost TV sound

Formula 1 hopes to solve its sound problem by introducing exhaust microphones to improve the experience for television viewers, the sport's commercial managing director Sean Bratches has revealed.

F1 has suffered from a lack of sound thanks to quieter hybrid engines, and whilst the sport's bosses have tried various 'fixes', such as a trumpet attachment and the addition of a third exhaust exit, the extreme noise and emotion produced by the V8, V10 and V12 engines before, remains a distant memory.

It's hoped the problem will be addressed when the next generation of engines is introduced in 2021, but until then, it's hoped the addition of an exhaust microphone will boost the volume and provide TV audiences with a more visceral experience.

"One of the things that we want to amplify going forward are the sounds of the sport, because they are viscerally moving to fans and critically important in all the research that we do," Bratches revealed to Reuters.

F1 is working with respected Australian producer David Hill on the innovation, which will require a microphone capable of withstanding extreme temperatures.

"He’s [Hill] working with a German concern to develop a ceramic microphone that we can actually adhere to the exhaust pipe to get the true amplification of sound for fans."

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Schumacher’s final Monaco winner to be auctioned in New York

The Ferrari that Michael Schumacher drove to his last ever Monaco Grand Prix victory is up for auction in Sotheby’s Contemporary Fine Art auction in New York on November 16.

Chassis #211 is also the F2001 in which the seven-time world champion secured his fourth world title, with victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The car is expected to fetch around US$4million when it goes under the hammer.

The F2001 was a product of the fabled Ferrari ‘dream team’ led by Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Paolo Martinelli, and it was the dominant machine of the season. It allowed Schumacher to match the outright record for Formula 1 wins – 51, held since 1993 by Alain Prost – and he would then surpass it on his way to a new mark of 53 wins by season’s end.

During the 2001 season, Schumacher won a total of nine grands prix in the F2001, taking the title in this very chassis in Hungary. His points tally of 123 almost doubled that of his nearest challenger, David Coulthard, who scored 65.

  

Schumacher’s 2001 title was his fourth of seven and his second consecutive title for Ferrari. It came during a sequence of five straight drivers’ and constructors’ title wins for Michael and Ferrari between 2000 and 2004 – a period during which team and driver achieved new standards of excellence.

The F2001 represented early noughties state-of-the-art F1 chassis design, with its tightly-sculpted Coke-bottle rear-end surround. Ferrari found further advantage by working hand-in-glove with Japanese tyre partner Bridgestone, which was fine-tuning its compounds and constructions to suit Schumacher’s particular requirements.

Powering him was a Ferrari Tipo 050 three-litre V10 engine, pushing out over 800bhp through a seven-speed semi-automatic transmission. 

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New F1 plan eyes Leicester City-like shocks

Equalising competition in Formula 1 to allow shock results like Leicester City winning the Premier League is part of a five-point plan created to improve grand prix racing.

Leicester was tipped for relegation in the 2015/16 season but instead won the championship, its shock title triumph making it only the sixth different club to win the league in 24 years of the Premier League.

The season was also the first time since Nottingham Forest’s 1977/78 success that a new winner had claimed the first-division title in England.

F1’s commercial boss Sean Bratches believes a motor-racing equivalent is not possible at the moment because of the disparity in budget and performance across the F1 grid.

Although independent teams Red Bull and Brawn have won titles in the previous decade, Red Bull’s quartet came at significant expense – and as the de facto Renault works team – while Brawn’s sole season was a takeover of the axed-but-heavily-developed Honda programme.

Bratches said a newly-conducted study had revealed five “north stars” that F1 wanted to focus on, with the first theme prioritising fairer racing.

"'Revel in the racing’ is all about creating a better competition on the grid,” he said. “Right now there are no Leicester Cities in F1.

“The back of the grid is way too far behind the front of the grid. It’s not a meritocracy.

“Through costs caps, reapportionment of revenue, or governance, we’re actually going to create a better spectacle, a better racing environment, a competitive one, for fans.”

The ‘Breaking borders’ theme is aimed at tackling F1’s “cloak of exclusivity”, according to Bratches, and finding a way for fans to “touch and play at certain levels”.

Bratches said his tender to “create fan festivals in city centres, in proximity to grands prix next year” was the way to tackle ‘putting the spectacular back into the spectacle’.

Telling the “extraordinary” story of F1’s technology is the motivation behind ‘Taste the oil’, while ‘Feel the blood boil’ focuses on putting the spotlight on its “gladiator” drivers.

The plan emerged from a study Bratches claims has “never been done at F1”.

“We went to four continents, we talked to 10 avid fans, in each continent, for seven hours over two days,” he said.

“Our mission statement as a company came out of this – to ‘unleash the greatest racing spectacle on the planet’.”

Liberty Media is celebrating a year since it inked its deal to take over F1’s commercial rights from CVC.

“I think I’ve credited an excellent edit of senior executives with a wealth of experience to take this commercial side of the business and allow F1 to punch where its weight class is,” said Bratches.

“I think it’s been under-punching to date.”

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Plans revealed for 2020 Danish Grand Prix project

A consortium backing a grand prix in Danish capital Copenhagen for 2020 is in advanced talks with Formula 1 bosses, Motorsport.com has learned.

A group led by Helge Sander, former Danish Minister of Science, Technology and Development, and Lars Seier Christensen, ex-owner of Saxo Bank, has proposed a circuit that would run through Copenhagen’s city centre, passing landmarks such as the parliament building and crossing two major bridges.

Sander met with F1 CEO Chase Carey, his commercial chief Sean Bratches and director of promoters Chloe Targett-Adams over the Singapore GP weekend to discuss the plans in detail.

Danish ex-F1 driver Jan Magnussen has helped design the circuit, along with F1 track architect Hermann Tilke, and the layout has been described as ‘Baku-like’. Magnussen reckoned the layout would make the circuit “one of the most spectacular in F1”.

Motorsport.com understands that Copenhagen town planners have already been briefed to interrogate the proposal and assess the impact a race would have on the functioning of the city centre.

The project has received further support from the Danish government, the royal family and the Copenhagen city government, although all parties are seeking private funding to make the project viable.

At the recent Singapore Grand Prix, organisers revealed that it cost the city state approximately £80m per year to stage and host the race, 60% of which was government-funded, with the remainder coming from promoters.

The Copenhagen scheme has already met with opposition from the Danish green lobby and there are further concerns that any race would effectively shut down the city centre for a week.

Sander said: “We have had some very positive meetings with Formula One Management and my feeling is that they would love to have a grand prix in Copenhagen.”

Denmark’s Ministry of Industry Brian Mikkelsen added: “We have discussed this with the private investors for some time and we’re now talking openly about the project, because I think it looks more and more realistic. F1 would give Copenhagen enormous branding.”

Christensen, whose Saxo Bank was previously a sponsor of the Lotus F1 team said he was convinced any Danish Grand Prix would be a huge hit with fans, given the enormous popularity of Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in his home country.

“We will have no problems selling tickets for a grand prix in Copenhagen,” he said.

“There are currently four Nordic drivers in F1 [Magnussen, Swede Marcus Ericsson, plus Finns Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas], and at the moment, their fans have to go to Belgium or the south of Germany to see them race.

“For the Nordic countries and also for the north of Germany, Copenhagen will be the ‘local’ F1 circuit. But we’ll need both public and private investors for a project of this magnitude.”

When contacted by Motorsport.com about the possibility of a Danish GP, a Formula 1 spokesman said: “We have received, and are receiving, a number of proposals from various race promoters keen to host a Formula 1 grand prix.”

Denmark has never hosted a round of the Formula 1 world championship, although Roskilde, the Magnussens’ home town, did host two non-championship F1 events in 1961-62 at the Roskilde Ring circuit. The ’61 race was won by Stirling Moss, the ’62 race by Jack Brabham.

A Danish Grand Prix was staged 11 more times between 1960 and 1995, for Formula Junior, F3 and F2 events. Red Bull also staged an F1 street demonstration in Copenhagen in 2012.

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Vandoorne says bad times have made him a better driver

Stoffel Vandoorne says the tough times he faced during the early season struggles with McLaren-Honda have helped make him a stronger Formula 1 driver.

After scoring on his debut for McLaren at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, when he stood in for Fernando Alonso, the Belgian hoped to hit the ground running at the start of his first full campaign this year.

Honda's down on power and unreliable engine put paid to those hopes though – as Vandoorne also faced a period where he struggled to get the most out of the chassis.

But progress from Honda on the engine front, allied to a better understanding on what he needed from his car's setup, have helped Vandoorne lift his game, and he delivered a career-best seventh placed finish in the Singapore Grand Prix.

Reflecting on the progress on his campaign, Vandoorne admitted that he had actually learned more about himself and how to adapt to a car because of the tough times earlier this year, than he would have if he had enjoyed instant success.

"It's the first time in my career I've had a difficult time," Vandoorne told Motorsport.com. "In all the junior series I was competing, usually I was winning all the time. And of course every now and then you have a difficult race.

"But I've never really experienced this where you are not competitive enough to fight for any results. In a way it's made me much stronger, focusing on different details. And working with Fernando as well, it's definitely prepared me much more.

  

"It's not a situation I wish to be, but when times will turn and when we will be competitive, this will definitely have helped."

Vandoorne said the lack of mileage early on as the result of Honda's poor reliability hurt especially because it limited him getting to grips with what he needed from the car.

"Missing a lot of the mileage we should have had kind of disturbed the interaction with the engineers," he explained.

"As it turned out, my driving style is quite different to Fernando, so I required a few different things from the car as well.

"Lately everything has been going much more my way in terms of setting up the car. Also myself adapting to a few of the things got better.

"Just the whole relationship with the team and the effort I've put in has definitely helped a lot to understand each other and translate that into the results."

Vandoorne has confessed that he found the early stages of the season difficult to cope with, as there seemed little hope of Honda making quick progress.

"At the start it was not easy," he said. "Before the season it had been two difficult years for the team, and I think everyone was sensing a very good improvement, a much more positive season. That hasn't turned out to be.

"Since winter testing it was very tough. We lost a lot of mileage, and the first races were not easy. Since then things have turned round a lot.

"You find new ways of motivating yourself. Finding new things to focus on. Now I go to every weekend very motivated, even though there's not much to play for. I just go to every weekend trying to make the most out of it. I'm sure once the car will be competitive that will pay off."

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Daniel Ricciardo unplugged

 

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Malaysian Grand Prix preview - Scuderia Ferrari 2017

 

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Daniel and Max take the Durian Fruit Challenge

It's known as the 'King of Fruits', is reckoned to be something of a delicacy, and it's banned from most hotels across Asia. Brilliant – during the Singapore GP weekend, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo both had a sample and let's just say, they weren't impressed.

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GROSJEAN BLOW-OUT PROMPTS SEPANG TRACK SAFETY CHECKS

Formula 1 officials and marshals launched an inspection of every drain cover at the Sepang circuit on Friday after Romain Grosjean suffered a high-speed, scary tyre explosion during Malaysian Grand Prix free practice.

A drain grille, which should have been welded down securely, popped up at a kerb on turn nine after Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari drove over it.

A few seconds later Grosjean hit the same spot at more than 200 kilometres an hour, with disastrous effect. The impact instantly ripped his right rear tyre from its rim and threw his Haas into the barriers.

Happily Grosjean was able to walk away, and declared “I’m all right” as the second practice session was red-flagged with 20 minutes remaining with a gaping hole left in the track.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner later slammed the incident as unacceptable, “Thank God he didn’t get hurt or anything. In my opinion, things like this in 2017 shouldn’t happen on a permanent circuit, they shouldn’t happen on any circuit.

“This is in my opinion not acceptable, it is not up to the standards… in the race this would have been a bigger disaster,” added Steiner.

Grosjean had no idea what had caused his crash until he saw TV replays, “I’ve just seen the footage. I didn’t see anything. The next thing I knew was that the car was not there any more. It was just spinning and heading for the wall.”

Race director Charlie Whiting said that the cover had been welded down but had broken loose and would be replaced, They’ve been welded a long time I expect. So we shall re-weld where necessary and then tonight we shall check everything. We have to get it fixed for tomorrow.”

Asked if that meant his crew now had to inspect and repair every drain cover on the 5.543-kilometre layout, Whiting said: “Yes. For the rest of the day [Friday] we shall concentrate on that. ”

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo said it was not something that any driver wanted to worry about when entering a corner at high speed, “Hopefully they check all the drains tonight.”

“Obviously it needs some attention. Because you do not want to think about it in the race. Some corners you really need to use the kerbs to let the corner flow and to use the momentum flow. So hopefully they fix it all,” added Ricciardo.

Meanwhile Haas will be allowed to carry out repairs on Grosjean’s damaged car overnight thanks to a special dispensation granted by officials.

Teams are obliged to observe a strict overnight curfew, where work on cars is prohibited. However, Sepang stewards have granted Haas a one-off waiver due to the unusual nature of the incident.

Officials said that they “consider that the circumstances causing the crash of Car 8 were entirely and clearly beyond the control of the Driver and the Competitor (and any other driver or competitor) and consider them as ‘force majeure’.”

All teams are allowed two exceptions to the curfew per season, but Haas’s special dispensation in Malaysia will not count as one of those.

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WOLFF: ONE OF THE WORST FRIDAYS I CAN REMEMBER

Formula 1 reigning world champions Mercedes have a “fundamental issue” to resolve with their cars after a painful and well below par practice day for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday.

Team chief Toto Wolff said it had been an afternoon to forget, “The lap time is reality, the stopwatch always tells the truth. The lap time today showed that we are not quick enough.”

“The car seems to be unbalanced and that triggers an awful lot of consequences and it was certainly one of the worst Fridays I can remember.”

Triple F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton will be hoping they can come up with an overnight solution after the championship leader was only sixth fastest with teammate Valterri Bottas seventh.

Hamilton is 28 points clear of Sebastian Vettel with six races remaining, but the Ferrari driver end day one 1.3 seconds faster than the Mercedes driver.

The Briton is on a hot streak and has won the last three races, including the latest in Singapore that was gifted to him after the Ferrari pair collided into the first corner.

Hamilton said at the end of the afternoon, “It’s been a very difficult day. I’ve been struggling with the car today, so we have to review and try to understand where we have gone wrong with the balance. We’re hoping that we’re able to find our bearings overnight and regroup for tomorrow.”

Hamilton started last year’s race in Malaysia on pole position and led before the engine expired. That failure cost him 25 points and ultimately the title that went to now-retired team mate Nico Rosberg.

Speaking to Sky Sports television, Wolff said the team had struggled from the start and in both wet and dry conditions with a temperamental car he has previously described as being a bit of a “diva”.

“At the moment the car is unbalanced and you slide all over the place, the fronts and the rears, you overheat them and then nothing goes any more. There is a gremlin in the car,” he explained.

“There is a fundamental issue in the car that we need to find out. They are very complex, so it can be a tiny detail that just unsettles the car.”

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BUDKOWSKI CONFLICT OF INTEREST QUESTIONED BY F1 TEAM BOSSES

Formula 1 teams fear expensive and closely-guarded secrets could leak to rivals once the former head of the FIA’s F1 technical department has served a three month period of gardening leave which team chiefs believe is not long enough considering the information he has been exposed to.

Marcin Budkowski, who worked at several teams before joining the International Automobile Federation (FIA), quit this week and is barred from starting any new employment for the next three months.

His next move remains unclear but paddock talk suggests that Budkowski will join Renault in January, well ahead of next season.

Team bosses told reporters at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday that it would be unacceptable for someone in his position to return with a competitor so soon after departing.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner said, “We take major issue with that if he does end up with another team. In the role that Marcin has been responsible for, he has been in an extremely privileged position and recently he has been in people’s wind tunnels and looking at intimate details of knowledge of next year’s cars.”

“I think three months’ notice period for him to then turn up in a competitor team in Formula One is entirely inappropriate. I certainly hope that isn’t the case…”

Horner and others expected the matter to be discussed at the next meeting of the sport’s strategy group. Teams regularly consult the FIA in confidence on the legality of technical developments they are working that could give them an advantage.

Now is the time of the year when they are ramping up work on the cars that will be racing in the 2018 season starting in March.

“It’s vital that the teams have trust and faith in the governing body that they can discuss their technical know-how, their technical secrets in many respects, which cost millions and millions of pounds, in confidence that that information doesn’t have the ability to end up in a rival team,” said Horner.

Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer said a year would be a more suitable period of gardening leave to ensure that any technology transfer was no longer on the cutting-edge.

He pointed out that the rules already prohibited the sale of cars until they were at least a year old, “I think industry standard for the type of role that Marcin has been performing would be anywhere between 12 and 18 months.”

Toto Wolff, boss of champions Mercedes, said a lot of his team’s information was potentially exposed, “In order to have the full trust of the teams, it’s important to have a certain stability and understanding how quick somebody can leave the FIA and join another competitive team.”

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McLaren lifted by upgrades after Fernando Alonso's practice pace

McLaren feels that it has taken a step forward after fitting an upgrade package, which included a new floor, to Fernando Alonso’s car during practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Alonso, having been third fastest in rain-affected conditions in the opening session, placed fifth in the dry second session, behind only the Ferrari and Red Bull quartet.

Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, did not run with the upgrades, and placed only 13th, 1.1 seconds behind his team-mate, leaving McLaren encouraged by the new parts added to Alonso’s MCL32.

“We trialled some new components on Fernando’s car today, and they look to be a useful new addition,” said Racing Director Eric Boullier.

“They perhaps also explain a large part of the disparity between drivers, as Fernando’s package was slightly better suited to the characteristics of the particular circuit.”

Alonso added: “In the second session, on a dry track, the car continued to behave well, and we had no big things we need to change for tomorrow.

“We tried several different configurations, and they proved all positive, so we need to go through the data tonight to decide what to do.

“The car feels good on this circuit, with a lot of grip when using the Supersoft tyre.”

Vandoorne, who has never raced at Sepang, is hopeful that McLaren can build on its Friday performance, after a combined 50 minutes of track time was lost due to wet weather in FP1 and Romain Grosjean’s FP2 crash.

“Fernando and I tested some different-spec floors today,” said Vandoorne.

“There was only one set available, and Fernando was running that today. It looks like a useful step forward.

“I’m looking forward to some more stable conditions tomorrow so we can carry our momentum forward.”

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Ferrari pace stronger than expected - Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo says Ferrari was stronger than anticipated after Sebastian Vettel led the way during Friday practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Vettel set the quickest time in the dry second session at Sepang, six-tenths clear of team-mate Kimi Räikkönen, with Ricciardo third overall, eight-tenths behind the German.

Ricciardo believes Red Bull is “not looking too bad”, but that Ferrari was faster than expected.

“Ferrari looked a bit stronger than we thought, I’d say,” said Ricciardo.

“I kind of thought Mercedes would lead the pack, and then we would be a bit closer to Ferrari.

“Mercedes had a few issues today by the looks of it. I saw some of Lewis’ onboard and it looked like they were fighting the car – maybe they’re running 80kg of fuel, I don’t know!

“Ferrari was a bit stronger than we thought. We’ve still got a bit of work to do, but we’re OK, we’re not looking too bad.”

Max Verstappen headed the wet opening session, after regularly trading places with Ricciardo, and finished fourth in the afternoon, just 0.010s behind his team-mate.

“In the dry at the moment not, I think Sebastian is really quick,” he said.

“From our side, especially from my side, I was struggling with quite a few things on the car and it didn’t really work out with the new tyres, on the Super Soft.

“I came in again, changed the car, but you always know then with the used tyres it’s not fantastic to do a lap.

“I still improved my lap time by four-tenths, so for sure tomorrow it will be better, but we still need to improve to beat Ferrari tomorrow.”

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F1 to 'turn pink' in Austin for Breast Cancer Awareness

Formula 1 is to ‘turn pink’ at next month’s United States Grand Prix after announcing a partnership with Susan G Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organisation.

The United States Grand Prix coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness month and there will be a number of on-and-off-track activities across the course of the Austin weekend.

Sponsors, race promoters, teams, broadcasters and the FIA will join the cause to help turn the race weekend ‘pink’, with themed merchandise also set to be available for fans.

There will also be a social media campaign, with spectators encouraged to share their own stories.

“This ground-breaking partnership will mark a very special moment on this year’s Formula 1 calendar as we physically alter key elements of a Grand Prix weekend to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Formula 1 commercial chief Sean Bratches.

“We are in a unique position as one of the most watched sports in the world – and the only truly global sport that competes annually – with over half a billion fans across the globe to help elevate awareness for such an important cause.

“This is an opportunity to use the Formula 1 platforms as a force for social good and rally support for the fight against breast cancer, a disease which affects millions of people every year.

“It is gratifying to see the entire Formula 1 community, from the teams, drivers, the FIA, sponsors and broadcasters, unite and focus its collective will to give back.”

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Fernando Alonso wants McLaren Formula 1 future sorted by Austin

Fernando Alonso wants his Formula 1 future decided before next month's United States Grand Prix, with suggestions the two-time champion has outlined a one-year extension with McLaren.

Alonso insists he still needs convincing about McLaren's potential, having secured a switch to Renault engines following its disastrous Honda spell.

Despite a visit to McLaren's factory last week, where Alonso was likely to have discussed his future, he says it will still take time before he is ready to commit to his 2018 plans.

When asked about a timeline for his decision, Alonso said: "Probably in the next break it will be good to make the final decision,"

"I think between Malaysia and Japan, we will be busy here working at the track.

"But definitely after Japan that will probably be my wish, my deadline, to make the decision happen - and choose whatever I feel is the best.

"I want to be competitive next year. I want to be back on the podiums. I want to be back in victory. I want to fight for the world championship, and I still need some more information to make this decision.

"But at the same time I remain optimistic, because McLaren is one of the best, or the best team in the history of the sport in F1. So I think we have everything to make it happen."

2018 chances

Although McLaren is convinced about its ability to improve next year with Renault supplying its engines, Alonso thinks nothing is guaranteed.

But he is aware that McLaren is well-placed to make a step forward next season.

"I think every team will have some doubts next year, because there are minimum changes of regulations," he said.

"But at the same time, I think the rate of development this year has been very high because of the new regulations, so there will be some extra development over the winter.

"You can also change something in the cars that you could not do in season, so there will be always a certain risk for everyone. But all those risks are a little bit less when you are in a big team.

"And as I said, McLaren has been dominating the sport for many years and in the worst years, even when they had some problems in 2009, 2011, when they had straight sidepods and things like that, they kept winning two or three grands prix a year.

"So, that is why McLaren is a big team."

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Lewis Hamilton determined to avoid Mercedes team orders

Lewis Hamilton says he does not want to call on Mercedes team orders to help his 2017 Formula 1 championship bid, and hopes to be ahead of Valtteri Bottas anyway.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix in July, Bottas let the faster Hamilton through to see if he could attack the leading Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

Having failed to make progress, Hamilton slowed and gave third place back to Bottas on the final lap.

Hamilton, who now leads Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by 28 points in the championship with Bottas a further 23 adrift, hopes that will be the only time such tactics are required.

"Hungary happened at the right time, and I think it happened the right way," he said.

"Valtteri will make his own decisions at whatever point, if he ever feels that he's out of contention for example.

"My goal is to make sure that we're not in the position for them to have to do that [team orders].

"My goal is to make sure I do the better job each weekend, which is not always the case, and Valtteri's getting stronger with understanding the car."

Hamilton also downplayed the suggestion that handing the place back to Bottas in Hungary had helped to forge a bond between them.

"Valtteri afterwards actually came and said to me he didn't expect me to let him back past. I was like, 'shit!'" said Hamilton.

"I felt like I'd made the right decision. I think even I'd stayed ahead, he would have understood.

"I don't think he would have been fussed by it. I was seven seconds up the road. If he was right behind me, then perhaps.

"It could only have made things better, but if it was the other way around, it could have gone sour.

"There is a lot of talk about our relationship, and I think it's just a good working relationship.

"Valtteri wants to beat me on the track just as much as I want to beat him.

"Don't ever get it twisted that we don't want to kill each other out there, but there's a respect for one another's ability, and where we come from, and that really works well for us at the moment."

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Felipe Massa reckons Williams F1 team is split over 2018 drivers

Felipe Massa believes the Williams Formula 1 team is split over whether to keep him for 2018.

Massa reckons Williams engineers favour him but suggested other factions might not.

"The team knows 100% my points to stay another year," he said.

"I was always a professional driver, and I stay and I will finish as a professional driver, like I started my career.

"That's the most important thing for me. The team knows what I can give.

"I would say definitely I have all the people that understand about motor racing on my side inside the team - engineers and everything. That's what counts for me.

"Then you have some other decisions which are not depending on the talent of the driver, or what you can give to the team on the driving point of view."

Asked if he meant that elements in the team management did not want to keep him, Massa replied: "To be honest I'm just saying what I know, what I believe, and definitely it's not the engineers who decide.

"The people in the management have their own way to decide, which hopefully is in the right direction as a top team."

Autosport understands Williams is choosing between Massa, reserve driver Paul di Resta and Robert Kubica for its second seat alongside Lance Stroll next year.

Massa has already made clear he would like Williams to make an early commitment if it wants to keep him.

"I'm totally motivated to carry on another year," he said.

"I'm staying if the team really wants to have me as a professional.

"And I'm quite relaxed. If I stay here next year I'm sure I will do the best I can.

"But if not, I'm relaxed to find a different way of life as well.

"I will not wait until December. To be honest I don't put a timeline on it, but I hope it will be in the next weeks.

"I don't want to arrive maybe at the last two races not knowing about my future."

He is confident Williams is set for a stronger 2018 season.

"I want to have definitely a better car, I want to have opportunities to fight and to improve in the right way," said Massa.

"From what I saw of the development from now on to the next year, I believe it can be different.

"The last three years we've seen how the car started and how the car finished.

"It was not great. It was like going backwards, not to the front.

"I believe maybe next year can be different to what I saw until now, apart from 2014."

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MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX: VERSTAPPEN WINS AS VETTEL LIMITS DAMAGE

Max Verstappen’s 20th birthday gift came a day late, but when it did the Red Bull driver unwrapped the winner’s trophy on the top step of the Malaysian Grand Prix podium as he claimed his second career victory, this time beating Lewis Hamilton fair and square at Sepang.

In terms of the world championship battle, Hamilton extended his lead to 34 points over Sebastian Vettel who recovered from 20th on the grid, after missing out on qualifying, to fourth place at the end of the race at which point his car was destroyed – proper damage control in terms of points (but not the car!) from the Ferrari driver on a forgettable weekend for the Reds.

Verstappen won the race by 12 seconds after starting from third on the grid, from the moment the red lights went dark he tucked in behind the Mercedes of pole sitter Hamilton, stalked him until lap four when he pounced to claim the lead where he stayed until the chequered flag waved.

The Dutchman managed the lead to around 10 seconds, controlled the pace and in the end cruised to his second career victory, at the last grand prix at Sepang for the foreseeable future. 

Verstappen said on the podium, “In the beginning straight away the car felt good and I saw Lewis was struggling a bit with traction. I used my battery as much as I could and of course he has more to lose than me in the championship so I went for it in Turn One and then I could do my own race. The car was unbelievable, if I had to speed up I could. It was a very tough race and incredible to win.”

Hamilton settled for second place as he clearly had no answer for the winning Red Bull driver. The Mercedes was not at ease around the twists of Sepang, however relative to his teammate Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton managed to squeeze substantially more out of the car. Bottas was fifth, crossing the finish line 44 seconds behind his teammate.

Hamilton said of his afternoon, “Big congratulations to Max and happy birthday, he did a fantastic job today. The race was a tough one, obviously they just had the upper hand on us today. We love driving this track, it is the most difficult circuit so it’s a great thing.

“I feel good but I think we have some work to do with the car. Obviously we didn’t have the pace this weekend so there’s still work to do, still races ahead. There’s some that we can win but we have to keep pushing.” added Hamilton.

Ricciardo made it two Red Bull’s on the podium after another strong performance. His overtake on Bottas was riveting stuff and a superb example of proper wheel-to-wheel racing without the tears.

Thereafter there was not much action among the top three during the course of the race. This changed briefly towards the end when Ricciardo had his mirrors full of the red Ferrari. 

Vettel closed up and looked set to snatch third, but the Aussie was smart with his defence and managed to keep the red car at bay. Soon after Vettel appeared to lose the will, or ability, to fight and allowed Ricciardo to increase the gap and cross the finish line unchallenged in third.

Ricciardo summed up, “At the start it looked like Mercedes were struggling. I tried to get Bottas as fast as possible but he defended well. Seb came really quick at the end and I thought he was going to be a handful, but he only had one strong attack and then we were able to pull away.”

“I guess it was pretty lonely, but it was hot and physical so nice to get a podium. Congrats to Max, he drove great all weekend and a good race for the team,” added Ricciardo.

Hot on the heals of the mayhem in Singapore, Ferrari’s run of misfortune continued at Sepang after Vettel’s lack of running in qualifying, due to a turbo issue, things got worse when Kimi Raikkonen – second on the grid – failed to start the race due to a technical problem.

Vettel starting from last would have been happy to have limited the damage as much as he did, perhaps only ruing a missed podium which at one point seemed possible until he ran out of firepower at the very end.

Fourth was as good as it got, but Lady Luck (or make that Lady Bad-Luck) was not finished with the Maranello outfit…

With the race over, on the slow down lap, Vettel collided with the slowing Williams of Lance Stroll, the Ferrari ending up with the left rear tyre ripped off and sitting on the engine cowling.

A truly bizarre end to the race, with Vettel coming to a halt in his three-wheeler before receiving a lift to the pits on the Sauber of Pascal Wehrlein.

The German reflected on his incident packed afternoon, “I went on the outside to pick up a bit of rubber –  I think Lance wasn’t looking and wanted to do the same. I was there already and we had contact – it was completely unnecessary. I think he just didn’t look. It’s not my fault if someone decides to pick up rubber and hit another car.

“I think we had a very good car – if we start ahead I think we win the race. Obviously that didn’t happen today. I think we were the quickest car for the majority of the race but we had to start last. Obviously with Kimi retiring before we started it was a tough race,” added Vettel.

It was a disappointing weekend for Bottas, who simply had no answer to his Mercedes teammate’s pace in qualifying and in the race. Nevertheless the Finn managed to salvage fifth place in what must rate as his worst showing in silver.

Force India enjoyed another strong double points finish, with Sergio Perez in sixth at a venue he always excels at, while Esteban Ocon grabbed the final point for tenth place after an incident packed afternoon for the Frenchman, which included a puncture early on in the race.

Stoffel Vandoorne was seventh for McLaren, on a weekend in which he had the edge over teammate Fernando Alonso who was 11th when the chequered waved, 

Williams were also double points scorers with Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa finishing eighth and ninth respectively. The pair going wheel-to-wheel on a couple of occasions, with the Canadian teenager getting the better of the Brazilian veteran.

Of his collision with Vettel, Stroll said, “It was the in-lap, I was just driving very slowly back to the pitlane. I think we’ll have to go to the stewards, but it was a very strange incident. The race wasn’t going on so there was no intention from either of us.”

Pierre Gasly had a solid debut for Toro Rosso despite not having access to his drinks bottle in the hot and humid conditions that prevailed on the day. Although his teammate Carlos Sainz was well up the road before he was forced to retire, Gasly did all that was asked of him in his first Formula 1 race by bringing the car home in 14th.

With regards to the unexpected victory for his team, Red Bull boss Christian Horner concluded, “To beat Mercedes fair and square was beyond our expectation. I thought we had a great race car but I didn’t think it was going to be quite that great.

“Max has endured so much bad luck this year and the race he drove today was absolutely dominant. A brilliantly controlled race. He’s never let his head drop too much. I’m so pleased for him because the last time he was on the podium was in April, this was just the injection that he needed,” added Horner.

Blow-By-Blow

There was drama before the start as on his laps to grid, Räikkönen reported a loss of power. Ferrari attempted to resolve the problem on the grid but eventually the decision was taken to roll the Finn’s car back to the garage to fix the issue.

In the end, however, no solution could be found and Räikkönen, who was set to start from second on the grid was handed a DNS instead.

When the lights went out, pole position man Hamilton held his advantage and led from Verstappen. Bottas made a good start and managed to get past fourth-on-the-grid Ricciardo. Further back, Vettel quickly began to carve his way through the pack and by the end of lap one he was up to 13th place from 20th on the grid.

Verstappen, though, was the man on the move and on the next tour he used DRS well to attack Hamilton in Turn 1 with surprising ease and the Red Bull driver took the race lead.

Ricciardo also attacked Bottas but the Finn resisted the threat and held third place. Vettel, meanwhile, continued to press forward and by lap seven he was in 11th place behind Alonso, and by lap 10 the German had overtaken the McLaren driver and passed Magnussen to take P9.

Ricciardo also found a way to move ahead, launching an attack on Bottas into Turn 1. The Finn fought back and they tussled hard through the next three turns before Ricciardo at last drew ahead and firmly shut the door on any further resistance.

Vettel’s march continued. By lap 14 Vettel was setting purple sector times and was running in sixth place, just under 30 seconds behind leader Verstappen, and 23s adrift of title rival Hamilton. On lap 21, Vettel made his next move, tucking in behind Perez and passing the Mexican under DRS into Turn 1.

The Ferrari driver then quickly closed on fourth-placed Bottas but before he could pass the Finn on the track, Hamilton triggered a round of pit stops for the front-runners on lap 27 by moving to softs. Verstappen followed on lap 28 with Vettel also heading towards the pit lane.

But while the Red Bull driver swapped starting supersofts for soft tyres, Vettel made the opposite switch. Bottas was the last of the top five to pit and when he did so he had lost fourth place to Vettel. At the front, Verstappen now led Hamilton by 6.5s, with Ricciardo a further 11.7s back.

The race among the top three then settled as Verstappen held the gap to Hamilton at around nine seconds and Ricciardo edged towards to the Mercedes driver.

Vettel, though, was continuing to push ahead and by lap 42 he was just 4.4s behind Ricciardo and on lap 46 the German slipped inside DRS range of the Red Bull.

Ricciardo’s defence was solid, however, as he bypassed traffic and dropped back-markers into the space between himself and Vettel and then invited attacks in an effort to make the German burn his tyres. The tactic evidently worked as the final laps began Vettel drifted out to three seconds behind the Australian.

Ahead, Verstappen was coasting and after 56 laps the Dutchman crossed the line to take his second career win in his 55th grand prix.

Hamilton held a useful second to open out a 34-point lead over Vettel who finished fourth behind Ricciardo. Just as there had been drama before the race began for Ferrari, there was more after the flag as on the slow down lap Stroll collided with Vettel, destroying the rear of the German’s car.

Behind Vettel, Bottas took fifth place, with Perez finishing a solid sixth after starting the race in ninth place.  Vandoorne took seventh ahead of Stroll, Williams team-mate Massa and the second Force India of Ocon.

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Malaysian GP: Mercedes has 'work to do' in title battle – Hamilton

Formula 1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes has "work to do" with its car to stay ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in the title battle.

Hamilton extended his lead over Vettel to 34 points with second place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, helped by the Ferrari driver having to start from the back of the grid.

But Vettel's pace as he charged through to finish fourth, and the fact that Hamilton had no answer to the speed of race winner Max Verstappen, highlighted that Mercedes is going to face a challenge in the final five races of the season.

When asked about the championship situation with Vettel, Hamilton said: "I feel good but we have some work to do with the car.

"We didn't have the pace here this weekend. There are still races ahead, and some we can win, but we've got to keep pushing.

"I struggled on both sets [of tyre compound], the car was good in some places and in some others, the issues we have with the car are magnified.

"There is still work to do - but it is a fundamental issue with this year's car."

Verstappen made short work of Hamilton to take the lead in the early stages, and while the Mercedes was slow on the straights at that stage because his battery pack was de-rating, he conceded that it was unlikely he could have kept the Red Bull behind anyway.

"Big congrats to Max, he did a fantastic job today," said Hamilton. "The race was a tough one.

"Obviously they [Red Bull] had the upper hand on us today.

"I was having problems with de-rate at the beginning of the race and struggling with battery power.

"I went to defend but didn't want to risk it, so didn't completely close the door and be aggressive.

"At the end of the day Max had more pace than me, so it was going to be a struggle to stay ahead."