FORMULA 1

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MICHAEL SCHUMACHER NOT MOVING TO MALLORCA VILLAGE

Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is not being moved from his home in Switzerland to the Spanish island of Mallorca, a spokeswoman Sabine Kehm told AFP on Thursday, refuting a report by a Swiss magazine.

Swiss news magazine L’Illustre reported this week that the seven-time Formula 1 world champion, who sustained serious head injuries in a 2013 skiing accident, was being moved to a vast property in the village of Andratx on Mallorca, recently purchased by his wife Corinna.

A number of media around the world have picked up the story in recent days, prompting the family to exit its habitual silence on all private manners.

“The Schumacher family does not plan to move to Mallorca,” family spokeswoman Sabine Kehm told AFP in an email.

L’Illustre based its story on a comment from Andratx mayor Katia Rouarch, saying she could “officially confirm” the 49-year-old German sportsman would be settling in the village.

“Everything is being put in place to accommodate him,” she told the magazine.

But it appears that the vast property that Corinna Schumacher reportedly bought from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in Andratx for some $34-million is meant to be used as a vacation home for her and the couple’s two adult children.

Schumacher fell and hit his head against a rock while skiing in the French Alps with his family in December 2013.

He spent time in hospital in Grenoble and Lausanne before being brought to his home on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland in September 2014 to continue his rehabilitation.

Schumacher’s family has avoided providing any details about his health, insisting it is not a public issue, and his current condition remains a mystery.

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CARLOS SAINZ TO RACE FOR MCLAREN FROM 2019

The jigsaw pieces continue to appear helping the 2019 Formula 1 grid take shape, and a very different one it will be as McLaren confirmed what we expected: Carlos Sainz will drive in orange next season replacing his departing teammate, countryman and early idol Fernando Alonso.

Clearly, negotiations have been going on behind-the-scenes for some time between Sainz’s minders at Red Bull and McLaren as they plotted a future for the young Spaniard.

Daniel Riccardo’s shock decision to join Renault, triggered a flurry of possible knock-on deals which gained even more momentum when Alonso announced he will quit F1 at the end of this season.

With Red Bull rather ridding themselves of the driver they nurtured from his junior years than team him up with Max Verstappen in the Red Bull senior team. Fireworks between the pair would have been guaranteed.

Fortunately, Alonso’s ‘timely’ departure frees up the #14 car instead, it will carry #55 of the Spaniard from Madrid, his father also Carlos a rally legend.

Sainz will arrive at Woking at a time of much change and tumult within the team as a new rookie leadership plots a way back to the front of the grid.

As much as it will be played down for obvious reasons by mainstream media, Sainz looks the big loser here as he was next in line for Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.

Clearly, the shift to Honda would have impacted decisions, if he had the choice between Red Bull and McLaren, only time will tell if he made the right call because a crucial one it will prove to be.

McLaren Statement:

McLaren Racing today (Thursday) confirms that Carlos Sainz will race for the team in Formula 1 from the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Carlos, 23, from Madrid, Spain, has signed a multi-year deal with the team, replacing Fernando Alonso. Carlos will enter his fifth season of Formula 1 when he joins the team as a McLaren driver in 2019. He currently sits 11th in the drivers’ championship standings with 30 points.

Part of a legendary racing dynasty, in his early racing career Carlos won the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship and came runner-up in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, both in 2011. He made his debut in Formula 1 at the start of the 2015 season as reigning Formula Renault 3.5 series champion, with seven poles and seven wins.

Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Racing, commented: “We’re incredibly excited to have Carlos join us as a McLaren driver. We’ve been assessing him for some time now and rate him very highly among the next generation of young talent emerging through the ranks in Formula 1.

“Carlos brings with him the perfect blend of youth and experience. Although he’s just 23, he’ll be starting his fifth season in the sport with us and will bring with him a huge amount of racing experience, both in Formula 1 and with our partner Renault.

“It’s no secret that Carlos is a huge admirer of Fernando’s, and it’s fitting that he will be stepping into his seat as a Spaniard with a legendary name in motorsport. We think he’ll be a great fit for McLaren and we’re really excited to have him join us from next season and beyond.”

Carlos Sainz commented: “I’m delighted to finally be able to confirm that I’ll be a McLaren driver from the 2019 season. It’s something I’ve been looking at for a while and I’m very excited about this next chapter in my career.

“I’ve been a McLaren fan for as long as I can remember. It’s a great name in the sport with an incredible heritage, and the list of drivers that have raced for McLaren over the years are among the heroes of Formula 1.

“Fernando is of course one of them, so it’s particularly special that I’ll be taking his seat as part of the next generation of Spanish racing drivers behind the wheel of a McLaren.

“Finally, I’d like to thank everyone at McLaren for giving me this opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream. The team has a long-term plan for the future and I’m very much looking forward to playing a key role in its journey back to success.”

McLaren will communicate its full driver line-up for the 2019 season in due course.

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HAAS: A LOT OF F1 TEAMS DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT RACING’S ABOUT

Gene Haas operates uniquely in the far removed worlds of Formula and Nascar, in the latter his Stewart-Haas Racing team has nine wins and is the so-called ‘big cheese’ in the All-American series while living life at the top of the midfield pack in the former.

The Haas F1 team owner has been in Formula 1 since 2016 and has been a fast learner. This year his team is battling for best of the rest behind the big three.

Without some erratic and costly performances by Romain Grosjean, the team could be further ahead of their midfield rivals and fourth place in the constructors’ standings by the end of the season is a real possibility.

The contrast in fortunes, between his Nascar operation and his F1 effort, does not impact the enthusiasm Haas has for his team in the top flight and he told Autoweek, “We’re really doing well. I learned a lot in NASCAR – it’s kind of the people you know, the relationships you’ve formed, and putting people in charge who really understand racing.”

“A lot of the other Formula 1 teams have business hierarchies that really don’t understand what racing’s about. I think they have a tendency to make some decisions that are a little more judgmental than, say, from a racing point of view.”

“In our third year, we kind of look at it as we keep moving the bar up. I think we’ve gotten into Q3 (third qualifying session) five or six times. We’ve double-scored points twice. Those are things that maybe don’t mean a lot to the big teams, but for us, that’s an accomplishment. If we finish fifth, we won. That’s what we think.”

“It makes life interesting to do a lot of different things. Racing and machine tools, for me, have always been one and the same. I feel very comfortable with that, but on the other hand, I have a lot of other racers who help with the racing.”

“Obviously, I have Tony Stewart as a partner (in NASCAR) and I have Guenther Steiner in Formula 1. So, if anything, they’re always keeping me apprised of what’s going on. I feel fairly confident with what they’re doing. They ask my opinion and as best I can, I give it to them.”

“I’m really just doing the same thing I did when I was 16 years old. I’m working on cars and building machines,” added Haas one imagines with the enthusiasm of a teenager.

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ABITEBOUL: WE’LL CATCH OR OVERTAKE MERCEDES AND FERRARI IN 2019

Renault sporting director Cyril Abiteboul is adamant that his company build a race-winning Formula 1 power unit, the only problem is their chassis which prevents them from delivering results, citing Red Bull as proof of what they have at their disposal and warns that next year the French outfit is looking to beat Mercedes and Ferrari.

In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Abiteboul was asked to explain the one second or so deficit they have to the pacesetters, “It’s the chassis. The engine is good enough to put a car in pole position, to win races and fight for the title. Red Bull has proven this.”

“Without their problems, they would now be fully in the title fight. Only two of their problems had to do with the engine. Here we are on track with our catching up. I am convinced that we’ll catch up with Mercedes and Ferrari in 2019, maybe even overtake them.”

“I am satisfied with the performance increase but not yet with reliability. On the chassis side, we are still lagging aerodynamically.”

As for the exact problem, Abiteboul said, “If I knew that, we would be a second faster. It’s about details. These regulations reward constant improvement in detail. Right down to the car’s surfaces. And then there are many things under the skin that make the difference.”

“Also very complex suspension systems. Mechanical grip and tire management are areas where we lag behind. We cannot bring changes to the car fast enough. The path from the concept to the wind tunnel model and the race track takes too long. We worked hard to increase the design office efficiency. Now it’s time for production capacity.”

As a works outfit, Renault get beat every race just about by their customers Red Bull, but Abiteboul believes his team are hitting the targets, “We have met almost all our goals so far, the only thing we have not managed to do is get closer to the top. That is an important element. We have to look into why that did not work out yet.”

“Two things: First, our team is still in the start-up phase which will not help us in our quest to finish fourth this year. You can also see it in our consistency, we make very few mistakes. It helps us that our opponents have bigger ups-amd-downs than we do.”

“On the other hand, we are not able to develop fast enough to close the gap. The gap has remained the same since the beginning of the season. This reflects the state of Formula 1 now where you need certain factors to be successful. Investment, money, people, resources.”

“We are not there yet, where we want to be and 2018 is the last year of our growth phase. We are still training people, uniting with new partners, rebuilding the management structure, increasing resources.”

After four years of dominant success from 2010 to 2013, Red Bull and Renault became uneasy partners on the first day that the blue cars rolled out with Renault hybrid-turbo power units packaged at the back of the chassis.

Renault got the new engine formula wrong, Mercedes were in another league, as were Ferrari soon enough, meanwhile Red Bull moaned and the divorce finally happened, they will cease to be partners after the November season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Abiteboul was not surprised when the call came to finalise the split, “It’s a decision we expected. The separation of Toro Rosso was the first step and we had to expect that also Red Bull would follow to start a joint project with Honda.”

“We still have McLaren for three years. The separation is a p[ositive step as it sends a clear signal to everyone in the team that we now have to do it ourselves. Red Bull showed us how to race with our engine and win with a good chassis.”

“This is a challenge for the team at Enstone. The marriage with Red Bull was demanding and sometimes very exhausting for us, the thing is they set a fantastic benchmark for us to reach. That platform gave us the opportunity to compare our engine with the others. Unfortunately, we have not yet managed to win a constructors’ championship with this engine.”

“Red Bull had reasons to do what they did and we have to accept that. For them, it’s better to build something together with Toro Rosso around Honda, which equals factory status. We could not offer that anymore. For us, Red Bull would have been just a customer.”

At the end of the day “talk is cheap but it takes money to buy whisky” so really how far are Abiteboul and his crew from challenging Mercedes and Ferrari?

“That’s hard to express in numbers because everyone has different numbers,” ventured the Frenchman. “We believe that in the race we are still five to ten kilowatts behind Ferrari and Mercedes and between 20 and 30 kilowatts ahead of Honda.”

“It’s a bit harder to quantify in qualifying. The chassis plays too big a role and, with Red Bull the comparison is unfair because they lag behind in fuel development compared to us.”

Love him or not Abiteboul did engineer a masterstroke by luring Daniel Ricciardo away from Honda bound Red Bull, a sign of the renewed commitment shown by Renault when they scooped the Aussie with an ambush offer that stunned the energy drinks outfit.

Abiteboul confirmed, “Daniel’s commitment proves our objective to accelerate the catching-up process to the top teams next season. It is also recognition by him of the work we have done over the past two and a half years.”

“The talent and charisma of Daniel is a big bonus for the team. We have to repay our trust in ourselves by providing him with the best possible car,” added Abiteboul who along with Ricciardo has Nico Hulkenberg in the other car, a formidable driver line-up who only require a good chassis because the Renault power unit is a race winner… just ask Cyril!

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Brendon Hartley: I can 'hold my head high' irrespective of future

Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley says he can "hold my head high" in terms of his performances, even if he loses his Formula 1 seat at the end of 2018.

Ex-Red Bull junior and WEC/Le Mans champion Hartley was drafted into Toro Rosso’s line-up at the back end of 2017 and retained his seat for this season, alongside Pierre Gasly.

Hartley, though, has scored just a couple of points compared to the 26 amassed by Gasly, and Red Bull has explored alternatives for 2019, including a highly-publicised chase of McLaren junior Lando Norris.

Hartley explained that this year has "made me realise where my energy needs to be" and that "it has made things a lot clearer for me on where my mind needs to be focused".

"If Formula 1 finishes at the end of the year I’ll hold my head high as I know the job I’m doing behind-the-scenes and I’m giving it everything I can, not everyone knows the full story.

"I feel in a good place and hope that I consolidate the momentum I’ve had in the last weekends even if I didn’t have the results, hopefully can turn that into more results in the next races."

When questioned on whether he had the feeling he could be axed at the end of 2018, Hartley replied: “Not at all, I guess the fact that two months ago everyone was questioning [me].

"I was getting asked questions every second if my F1 career was over, and all these things, I guess it changed my attitude a little bit and I feel very strong about it, feel confident I can do the job. 

"I guess my point is that a lot of things are out of my control and I feel content I’m doing the best I can, working with the team the best I can, and hope the results can follow."

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Fernando Alonso's legacy is tainted? Not so fast…

The word ‘retire’ was absent. Fernando Alonso left the door ajar indeed for a McLaren return sometime should things improve. But you’d hardly know it. And, as a matter of probability, we have cause for doubt. For him time is not to be denied. We may recall also that previous McLaren pilots Jenson Button and Mika Hakkinen didn’t officially retire when they as good as retired. 

It seems we’ve all made our minds up anyway, judging by the flood of reviews of Alonso as man and driver that have followed in the short time since his announcement that he won’t be an F1 driver next year. All have come with an air of finality. 

And that’s not the only thing unusual about them. There have been, as we would expect, grand tributes to the undoubted driving skills of the twice world champion. Yet vying with them have been equally familiar lines.

Unfulfilled potential. Tainted legacy. Talent wasted. Flawed. Lost opportunities. Difficult character. Mis-steps. Burnt bridges. Career statistics that don’t do him justice.

That he’d have many more than his two world titles had he not alienated so many people along the way. This, they say, made him near enough unemployable for the top teams in his later years in F1 and consigned him to hopeless equipment. Serves him right.

Well, even parking that it’s a stretch to say being in a two-time champion club alongside Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mika Hakkinen is a bad thing, one point to make is should we just accept this as received wisdom? The notion that teams won’t employ the best person for a job because they’ve decided dealings with them will be ‘a bit difficult’ strikes me as a rank dereliction of duty rather than received wisdom.

Perhaps it’s a matter of my generation, as I grew up with Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell as the driving stars. All were magnificent talents. All were trouble of the highest order. But their teams and those watching on for the most part didn’t clutch pearls, everyone got on with it as they got the job done. F1 it seems changed in the intervening period, and got precious. 

But I digress, and in any case I’ve grumbled about this before so I won’t re-tread.

There’s also the point of fine margins. As has also been noted – though it hasn’t impacted many conclusions it seems – with eight points more in the right places Alonso would be a five-time champion rather than two. It wouldn’t have taken much to get that – the odd card falling the other way, such as Romain Grosjean deciding he wasn’t going to drive like a hooligan at Spa’s turn 1 in 2012. And in that scenario the tributes presumably would have a very different slant.

But I’ve digressed again. My main point is that the confident talk of Alonso’s tainted legacies has a fundamental problem. It assumes that F1 legacies are a function of career statistics, and they’re not. Well not necessarily at any rate. 

There is a vague influence of course, but by no means is there a direct correlation. If it was we’d never have debates on who the best F1 driver is – we’d just count up the numbers. Michael Schumacher would be unequivocally the greatest ever (this is not to say he isn’t – rather that it’s a point that can be debated). But of course it’s not nearly that simple.

In F1 we have our quintessential example of Stirling Moss, and his zero world championships. It’s a statistic that does not diminish his legacy one scintilla. In a pseudo-Alonso parallel it reflects Moss not being in top-line machinery particularly towards the end of his F1 time, though in Stirling’s case it was due to a distaste for factory teams rather than him falling out with people. I do not recall anyone talking of Stirling’s career in terms of unfulfilled potential and talent wasted.

There also is the case of Chris Amon, his dubious distinction having zero Formula 1 world championship race wins. Another with Alonso parallels, in his case an uncanny ability to make poor career choices including walking out on Ferrari at precisely the wrong moment. Yet Amon’s legacy is stronger than any number of drivers who did see the chequered flag first in F1, including plenty of multiple winners.

Then there’s Gilles Villeneuve whose career statistics – six wins; two pole positions – read like those of little more than a solid trier. But of course we know he was much more than that.

More broadly sportspeople from the past get rediscovered and un-discovered all the time and for all sorts of reasons, often which have nothing to do with the sport itself. We can think of how interest in Senna was given a second wind by the Senna film, and how Prost’s legacy was trashed with it. We can think of in football how interest in manager Brian Clough soared with the David Peace book The Damned United and its subsequent film adaptation. Just as often the shifts have nothing to do even with anything that tangible. Sometimes they just happen. Historical legacies are funny things. They can’t often be predicted.

And with this there’s something else the case for the prosecution against Alonso hasn’t considered it seems. That perhaps the ‘missed opportunities’ – and moreover the poignancy that comes with it – actually helps a legacy. It’s not as silly as it might sound – after all, we all love a story of what might have been.

We’ve mentioned Moss and Amon and they indeed are fine examples of this, but we can turn to cricket for perhaps the most apt. Therein Don Bradman is considered beyond contention its finest ever batsman. Some even reckon he’s the best sportsperson ever if it’s measured by what they did versus what anyone else in the same pursuit has managed.

Yet all cricket lovers know the story of Bradman’s test batting average. It’s 99.94. And they also all know that had he scored just four runs in his final test innings he’d have finished with an average of 100+. But he was out for nought.

A matter of regret? Sure – but were his average actually 100 or more would the story be told so often? You could make a case that we’d just say ‘what a great average’ and leave it at that.

There’s another related point too, that there’s been evidence of in recent days indeed. In Alonso we have someone whom we’re now five years on from his last Grand Prix win, yet he still gets so much interest and encourages such fierce debate. That should tell us something. It’s precisely that sort who gets remembered. 

One high profile motorsport publication has since the announcement published an article seeking to pick apart the many layers of Alonso’s complex persona; another saying that someone will need to step into F1’s all-important pantomime villain role after he departs. While I’ve no idea what moral is to be drawn with this, it also tells us something. That we don’t half seem to love an anti-hero.

Again it applies in other sports too. In football the wayward, self-destructive sort such as Diego Maradona and George Best get harked back to just as readily – perhaps more readily – as the angelic Pele who made the very best of everything he had. In Maradona’s case you can add that he didn’t always play by the rules. We’ve already mentioned the hardly saintly Clough.

And in F1 we again have our quintessential example, this time in the shape of Senna. Were Senna not the unquietly flawed complex genius, willing to take things beyond the edge, were he instead an upright bastion of rectitude, would we then and now have found him so fascinating? So worthy of exploration?

No Suzuka 1990, no Senna film? It’s possible.

It goes beyond sport too. Orson Welles’ story in film is another often told, doing his best work before he was 30 and all. But say Welles had made Citizen Kane as the last act of his career as a grand crescendo rather than one of his first would we talk about him, and the film, as much? Possibly not.

On this point such reviews of Alonso’s F1 legacy put me in mind of Stephen Fry talking on TV after legendary comedian Peter Cook had passed away (it’s on YouTube if you’re interested). Cook’s career trajectory as it was perceived is another with echoes of Alonso’s – much tangible achievement early (Beyond the Fringe, Not Only…But Also etc) followed by what was thought a lingering, destructive, alienating decline. And as with Alonso the retrospectives for Cook never failed to cover that side of things liberally. Fry though was scathing of the sententious tone adopted.

“Why commentators have to write and talk about extraordinary people as if they’re composing school reports is beyond me – ‘a fair term’s work but Peter must concentrate more on writing stage plays this year…’,” Fry said with contempt.

“’Flawed’? Well I’d be very happy to hear of a list of unflawed human beings. ‘Unrealised potential’ – what does that mean?”

Cook, incidentally, in a ranking by fellow comedians not so long ago was voted as the best ever.

And, again one imagines, the what might have been, the wasted opportunities – it all was part of it.

They say Alonso’s legacy is tainted. I say not so fast.

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Mid-season review: Ferrari in the title hunt

Ferrari fell short in 2017 amid driver errors, mechanical gremlins and Mercedes’ eventual superiority, but its admirable attempt proved that it was a force to be reckoned with once more. This year it has taken another step forward, producing a strong chassis, complemented by striking engine gains that have lifted it firmly into – and perhaps above – Mercedes territory. The team has also remained strong after last season’s setbacks, shirking the slump it has previously entered into, and has worked diligently where required, often emerging as a potent threat on Saturdays after indifferent Fridays. It has had the pace to score more wins than its current tally and only in Hungary did it truly drop the ball in terms of strategy. The biggest question is whether they can sustain this current form. Last year also looked very promising – and last year Sebastian Vettel in fact held the title advantage at this stage. A title triumph in either category would be a fitting tribute to Sergio Marchionne. 

This has been a frustratingly perplexing campaign from a driver who has sometimes been untouchable and elsewhere made very costly mistakes. Vettel opportunistically triumphed in Australia, was masterful in Bahrain, totally dominant in Canada, and fought back to take a deserved win in Britain with a classy and perfectly judged pass on Valtteri Bottas. But in Azerbaijan his post-restart move on Bottas backfired, in France he was sucked into a first-lap clash, and in Germany the most minor of misjudgements had major ramifications as he agonisingly skated into the gravel. Those three races alone count for a loss of 43 points, and as in 2017 they soon add up in the context of a closely-fought title fight, especially with Lewis Hamilton in the silver corner. He does, though, extract the maximum from his machinery over one-lap, as testified by his advantage over Kimi Raikkonen, and the fact his wet-weather hesitancy in Hungary was his first non-top-three of the year. But in already facing a 24-point deficit Vettel will have to be bulletproof when Formula 1 returns from its summer break, for any more slip-ups will surely be terminally punished. 

Missed Q3 opportunities? Check. Decent, but not quite great, performances? Check. Ably supporting Sebastian Vettel? Check. Kimi Raikkonen has had a solid 2018 campaign even if the top step of the podium has remained elusive, with eight top-three finishes to his credit in 12 Grands Prix. The pair of retirements he suffered were not his fault, and only in Canada did he put in a thoroughly dismal display, finishing a lacklustre sixth as Vettel triumphed. In Austria his initial first lap heroics descending into a loss of two positions, that ultimately cost him the win, perhaps epitomised his second Ferrari stint – close, but no cigar. He has sagely played the team game, though hints of frustration crept into view in Britain, and more prominently Germany, where the engineers were very vocally made to state their instructions. Internal upheaval higher up within Ferrari’s corporate structure is surely good news for Raikkonen’s 2019 prospects, but can he finally end his five-year win drought when the summer break concludes? 

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Alonso: lack of track action prompted me to quit F1 for 2019 season

Fernando Alonso says a lack of track action in Formula 1, rather than recent poor results, prompted his decision to turn his back on the sport at the end of this year.

The two-time champion announced earlier this week that he would not be competing in F1 in 2019, but has not ruled out a return in the longer term if the right opportunity came up.

Speaking for the first time on Thursday about the call not to carry on in F1, Alonso said that the predictability of grand prix racing and the lack of excitement proved to be major turn offs for him.

“The action on track is not the one I dreamed of when I joined F1, or when I was in different series, or the action on track that I experienced in other years,” said Alonso ahead of this weekend’s WEC round at Silverstone, where he will be driving for Toyota.

“I stopped because the action on track in my opinion I feel is very poor. In fact, what we talk about more in F1, is off track. We talk about polemics. We talk about radio messages. We talk about all these things, and when we talk so many times about those things, it is a bad sign. 

“It is because the on-track action was very poor on that weekend, and that is what I feel in F1 now, and I think there are other series that maybe offer better action, more joy and more happiness, so that is what I try to find.”

Although Alonso concedes that a realistic prospect of winning a third world title in 2019 may have been enough to convince him to stay, he is clear that F1 has become something that no longer enthuses him.

“When I was in 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011, I was not winning [many] races in those years. But it was difficult to predict [then] what could happen in Spa and Monza. 

“Now, we can write down what is going to happen at Spa and Monza. We can put the first 15 positions with maybe one or two mistakes. So how predictable everything became is tough. 

“We go to Barcelona and we test the first day of winter testing and you know what you will do until November in Abu Dhabi and it is tough. For me, it is not too much of a problem because after 18 years, as I said before, I achieved more than what I dreamed of. 

“But for young drivers or different drivers, it is tough because they just hope that next year the team does an unbelievable step or they receive a call from one or two teams. It became difficult for ambitious drivers.

"[For] a driver with some kind of ambition, it will be tough for the future if things don’t change.”

Door open to F1 return

Alonso only expects to firm up his 2019 plans later this year, with him weighing up options in IndyCar as well as his WEC commitments with Toyota.

But despite not racing in F1 in 2019, he has made clear that a statement suggesting he is open to a return from 2020 is logical because he would be stupid to close off the opportunity now.

“I think the door open is more because I think I am driving at the best level of my career now," he explained. "And why to close doors if anything could happen in the future? 

“I am still young. I am not 45 years old. I feel strong and I am doing this year 27 races, so my thinking is to stop. And that is why I stop. But who knows? That is the reason why.”

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Ocon says Mercedes drive "just a matter of time"

Esteban Ocon believes a Mercedes Formula 1 drive is "just a matter of time" and says his future lies with the German manufacturer regardless of his 2019 team.
The Mercedes junior is halfway through his second year racing with its engine customer Force India, and was in the running for a drive with the works team for next season.

Mercedes has opted to retain Valtteri Bottas for one more year, with an option to extend that deal to 2020.

Ocon had been linked with a move to Renault in 2019, on loan from Mercedes, but Daniel Ricciardo's shock decision to leave Red Bull has closed that door.

Speaking to Motorsport.com in Hungary before Ricciardo's U-turn, Ocon said: "The bosses [at Mercedes] have plans for me that are 'not yet'.

"It's not the plan for now. I think they want me to have more experience before I jump in that car. I knew that already. I have targets I have to respect.

"At the moment they are happy with the job I'm doing. It's just a matter of time, I think."

Ocon said he had tried not to think about next season but was kept informed by Mercedes about its driver plans and was "not surprised" when Bottas was announced.

He said he had no concerns about position, and said Mercedes was "definitely" his longer-term plan regardless of what happens next season.

"My future will be sorted out soon," he said. "I'm not worried at all. I'm not in a position [with] the knife under my chin.

"The job we are doing with Force India this year is strong and everyone is happy with that.

"I'm not in a position where I have to perform at any cost, and take massive risks in the race – I don't feel like that."

Ocon has been a Mercedes protege since his GP3 title-winning season in 2015.

He moved into the DTM with the marque the following year, and was parachuted into the Manor team mid-season to partner Pascal Wehrlein in an all-Mercedes junior line-up.

Ocon then beat Wehrlein to a Force India seat for 2017 and remained with the Silverstone-based team for 2018.

"What I'm sure of is that Mercedes is doing a great job with my management since I joined them," said Ocon. "They always put me in the best sporting position for me. I don't have to be worried, it's all going to be OK.

"If I stay here [Force India] or go somewhere else, I don't know. But I will have a great position for sure next year."

With Renault no longer an option, it is understood that remaining with Force India or moving to McLaren on loan are the likeliest outcomes for Ocon.

If he commits to a third season with Force India he is expected to partner Lance Stroll, after the Canadian’s father Lawrence led the consortium that saved Force India from administration, forcing current teammate Sergio Perez to seek a drive elsewhere.

A move to McLaren, likely alongside Carlos Sainz, would be expected to be on similar loan terms to what Mercedes was prepared to make with Renault.

MIKA: Ocon will destroy Stroll at Force India. [ That's my Jacques Villeneuve impression ]

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BILLIONAIRE RACING DADS BATTLED FOR CONTROL OF FORCE INDIA

Russian potash producer Uralkali, co-owned by billionaire businessman Dmitry Mazepin, has questioned the process behind the sale of the Force India Formula 1 team after losing out in a battle between billionaire fathers of young racing drivers.

Uralkali chief Mazepin is the father of 19-year-old Nikita, who races in the junior GP3 series and is a development driver for Force India, with whom he has enjoyed testing and a number of outings FP1 for the team in this capacity.

Force India were put into administration at the end of July with a rescue deal led by Canadian Lawrence Stroll, the father of 19-year-old Williams F1 racer Lance, announced on 7 August.

Uralkali, whose shares are quoted on the Moscow stock exchange, said in a statement on Tuesday that it had bid unsuccessfully for the outfit previously co-owned by troubled Indian magnate Vijay Mallya.

The statement did not mention Mazepin by name: “Uralkali considers that the process conducted by the administrator may not be in the best interests of Force India creditors and other stakeholders, and the sport in general.”

Joint administrators Geoff Rowley and Jason Baker, for FRP Advisory LLP, responded by saying that “all bidders were given equal opportunity to submit the best deal.

“Throughout, we (the Joint Administrators) have closely followed our statutory duties and objectives as administrators and had the advice of experienced legal counsel,” they added in a separate statement.

Uralkali said it submitted a proposal comprising two options on 3 August: “Both options proposed sufficient funding to satisfy claims of all creditors in full and included an undertaking to provide significant working capital and new investment program over a five-year term to ensure success of Force India.”

Uralkali said the administrator had then set deadlines that were not achievable for securing a binding agreement with Force India shareholders and consent from Indian banks with a claim on Mallya’s assets.

The company added it was subsequently informed by email that the administrator had entered into an exclusivity arrangement with another bidder.

Lance Stroll is now expected to switch in 2019 from under-performing Williams to Force India, who have punched above their weight and finished fourth for the last two years. Both use Mercedes engines.

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PIERRE GASLY TO RACE FOR RED BULL IN 2019

Red Bull have wasted little time in confirming Pierre Gasly as the replacement for Renault bound Daniel Ricciardo, pitting the 22-year-old Frenchman up alongside the team’s 20-year-old Dutch superstar Max Verstappen.

In the wake of Ricciardo’s shock decision and Carlos Sainz being snapped up by McLaren, Gasly was clearly the next best contender for the seat and the one the Red Bull management really wanted to be promoted.

The Sainz alternative had doom written all over it as he and Verstappen were uneasy teammates when they raced for Toro Rosso in their rookie season.

Gasly has had the better of teammate Brendon Hartley, and it is understandable that Gasly got the nod on sheer performance and potential shown in his rookie season relative to the New Zealander whose future will remain shaky in F1 until he can raise his game.

Toro Rosso will now have to look into their pool of drivers to ascertain who next to follow in Gasly’s footsteps.

Red Bull Press Release:

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing is delighted to announce that Pierre Gasly will join the Team from the beginning of the 2019 season, to race alongside Max Verstappen.

Pierre who had his first competitive taste of Formula One last year, joining our sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso from the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, has had an impressive first full season in the sport this year, notably driving superbly to finish fourth at the Bahrain Grand Prix and notching two further top ten finishes in the first half of the season.

Pierre’s career in motorsport has gone from strength to strength. Following a start in karting he competed in the French F4 Championship in 2011 before graduating to Formula Renault 2.0, winning that title in 2013. Now as part of the Red Bull Junior Programme he moved to the 3.5 Renault series racing for Arden Motorsport before stepping up to GP2 in 2015 and becoming Red Bull Racing’s reserve driver. He won the 2016 GP2 Drivers’ Championship at the end of a thrilling season racing for the Prema Powerteam. In 2017 he competed in Japan’s Super Formula Championship, finishing runner-up while having already begun his F1 career, racing at Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Christian Horner, Team Principal said: “Since Pierre first stepped into a Formula One seat with Scuderia Toro Rosso less than a year ago he has proved the undoubted talent that Red Bull has nurtured since his early career. His stellar performances this year at the Honda-powered team, in only his first full season in Formula One, have only enhanced his reputation as one of the most exciting young drivers in motorsport and we look forward to Pierre bringing his speed, skill and attitude to the team in 2019. While our immediate focus remains fully on achieving our best result in the 2018 World Championship, we look forward to competing in 2019 with Max and Pierre at the wheel of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.”

Pierre Gasly commented: “To be awarded a drive at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing from 2019 is a dream come true for me, I’m so excited to be joining this top team. It has been my goal to race for this team since I joined the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme in 2013, and this incredible opportunity is another step forward in my ambition to win Grands Prix and compete for World Championships. Red Bull has always looked to fight for championships or victories and that’s what I want. I’m a really competitive guy and when I do something it’s always to fight for the best and top positions.

“As hugely exciting a moment as this is, I am fully aware of the challenge this special opportunity offers me and the expectations that faces any driver at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. I’m looking forward to rewarding the faith that Dietrich Mateschitz, Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko have placed in me. The first phase of that is to keep pushing for ultimate performance and the best results in 2018 that I can achieve for my team, Scuderia Toro Rosso. I wish to thank Franz Tost and everyone at Toro Rosso and the factory in Faenza for giving me the golden opportunity of a drive in Formula One and their amazing commitment and support, which I know will continue for the rest of this season. My focus now is to do everything I can to give them a season to celebrate.”

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MARKO: I DON’T UNDERSTAND RICCIARDO’S MOVE

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko is struggling to come to terms with Daniel Ricciardo packing his bags and leaving Red Bull to join Renault for two years starting next year.

Marko and Red Bull management were convinced the big smiling Australian would sign a new deal with them. It was such a surprise that team chief Christian Horner revealed how he thought Ricciardo was joking when he got the call.

The team bosses, including Dieter Mateschitz, believed after the Austrian Grand Prix that they would have their man for another two or three years, but they were as shocked as anyone else in the sporting world by the news.

Speaking on Servus TV, Marko said of Ricciardo’s decision, “I don’t understand it. It was a very strange situation anyhow.”

“The negotiations were difficult but Wednesday before the Austrian Grand Prix we were talking for two hours and came to an agreement. During the weekend, we were talking and renegotiating again.”

“In Hungary, he told Mr.Mateschitz and me that he was OK with everything and that he was going to sign during the test on Tuesday. But he didn’t.”

“On Thursday, he then called and told me he was going to Renault. I can only assume that maybe he doesn’t believe in the Honda project or that Renault offered him a lot of money,” ventured Marko.

ESPN report that a source close to Ricciardo refutes Marko’s version of events, but acknowledging there was a deal on the table and signatures were close to being inked, but there was no timeline for an agreement.

Meanwhile Red Bull have acted swiftly to confirm that their Toro Rosso rookie Pierre Gasly will step up to the partner Max Verstappen in place of Ricciardo in 2019.

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BRATCHES: I WISH ALONSO WAS AROUND FOR ANOTHER 10 YEARS

Formula 1 managing director Sean Bratches  said that Fernando Alonso can be an ambassador for the sport after the double world champion bows out at the end of the season, the sport’s managing director Sean Bratches said on Tuesday

Speaking at a Black Book Motorsport Forum, the American said he was disappointed “from a business standpoint” that the 37-year-old Spaniard had decided to call it a day but respected the decision.

He also agreed with the McLaren driver’s view that Formula 1 had become too predictable.

“I hope we can engage him to be an ambassador for this great sport of ours going forward,” said Bratches.

Alonso, a double Monaco Grand Prix winner who won the Le Mans 24 Hours on his debut last June, will continue in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with Toyota next year and is expected to return to Indianapolis.

A victory in the Indy 500 is all that stands between him and the “Triple Crown of Motorsport”, a feat so far achieved only by the late Briton Graham Hill.

Alonso won his world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006 but last won a race with Ferrari in 2013. He joined former champions McLaren in 2015 and will bow out after 17 seasons in the sport, and 32 wins.

He said at last week’s Silverstone Six Hours WEC race that Formula One lacked excitement in its current form and had become too predictable, “I stopped because the action on-track in my opinion I feel is very poor. In fact, what we talk about more in Formula One is off-track.’

“We talk about polemics, we talk about radio messages, we talk about all these things. I think there are other series that maybe offer better action, more joy, and I think more happiness,” added the man from Oviedo.

Bratches said he would have advised the Spaniard to use different words but could not argue with the substance, “There is an opportunity for Formula One to be less predictable and I think its important that we get there.”

“Since 2015, only three teams have won a grand prix. So it is pretty predictable. So I think he’s right and we have a plan too fix it. I wish he was around for another 10 years to be part of that. He’s been such a phenomenal ambassador for the sport, such a hero and a legend,” added Bratches.

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VETTEL: PEOPLE CONFUSE WHY I JOINED FERRARI

Sebastian Vettel is a modern Formula 1 icon, recognisable and respected some even considering him the successor to Michael Schumacher, but the mantle lies awkwardly around his neck as this was never the younger German’s intention.

Although Vettel was too young to race against Schumacher in the latter’s Ferrari heyday, they were rivals when the seven times Formula world champion returned with Mercedes from 2010 to 2012 – in those years Vettel won three world titles.

In an interview with the official F1 website, Vettel said, “Many times people confuse the fact I joined Ferrari as me trying to do something similar to Michael.”

“If we can go anywhere near what Michael achieved that would be a great success but times have changed and what lies behind us is not really what should drive us in the future.”

A trait he does share with Schumacher is his ability to galvanise a team around him. He did it at Red Bull and was rewarded with 39 grand prix wins and four titles.

Now, at Ferrari, he has a team that is all geared to make him world champion again in a similar manner to Schumacher’s two decades ago.

Vettel explained, “A driver’s role outside of the team is quite important. I’m not trying to stand out, I’m just trying to be one of the guys, one of the team, trying to help the team win.”

Vettel’s record of 51 wins, 106 podiums, 55 pole positions and 34 fastest laps is up there with the legends of the sport.

But according to the 31-year-old German, he was not sure he had a future in motor racing let alone Formula 1, “When I was growing up and coming through different categories, it wasn’t until very late that I was convinced I could have a successful career in racing”

“You just focus on what you’re doing at the time. Every single step. The target was to reach F1, but still, even when I reached F1, I wasn’t convinced.”

“After a couple of years and winning some races, then you realise you have a career. But before that, I never really liked to call it a career.”

As he heads for his 211th Grand Prix start in Belgium this weekend, Vettel revealed, “Your approach has to change on the fly so clearly you know what you have to do after so many years and so many races, but still every race and every day is different so you have to react on the fly and trust your preparation but also trust your instincts.

“Sometimes you’re right and sometimes you’re not. That is what happens in life,” mused Vettel.

Heading to daunting Spa-Francorchamps for Round 13 of the championship, Vettel should be leading the championship and not be trailing by 24 points if not for his headline-grabbing gaffe with victory in sight at his home German Grand Prix a month ago.

“I don’t need pity,” he admitted. “It was my fault. When everything goes well you are cheered, and if you make mistakes you are criticised. So I don’t care much about what people say. I have to be at peace with myself.”

Truth is, and he knows in his heart, it might be the race that cost him a fifth title, but if anyone can turn around the 24 points deficit to championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the nine remaining races it has to be Vettel and Ferrari.

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BUTTON: IS SAINZ STEPPING UP WITH MCLAREN?

Jenson Button questions whether Carlos Sainz moving to McLaren is such a sweet deal for the Spaniard who was overlooked by Red Bull – Max Verstappen’s Team – and also ditched by Renault who swooped for Daniel Ricciardo thus leaving the young Spaniard few options.

With Fernando Alonso retired from F1 and out the door at the end of the season, McLaren signed Sainz – replacing one Spaniard with another.

However, Button is clearly not convinced that the move is wise and asked of reporters at Silverstone, “It’s good news but is it really stepping up?”

The 2009 F1 world champion continued, “He was racing for the works Renault team who are performing very well this year. Now he is moving to McLaren, whether it’s the right move I don’t know.”

“I think he obviously didn’t have the option to race at Renault this year with Daniel moving there, so I guess it’s the right decision,” explained Button.

In terms of on-track results and performances, McLaren are at their the lowest point in their illustrious history. A new management team has moved in to change the team radically and away from the Ron Dennis led heyday.

The MP4 became MCL and the latest MCL33 has proved to be a dud of a Formula 1 car, a year after they boasted from Woking – led by Alonso – how they had the best chassis on the grid, only limited by Honda.

Hoping and, obviously, guessing that the costly switch to Renault customer power units would solve all their problems and they would win again this season. Unfortunately for the team, the opposite has transpired at a frightening rate.

In the wake of Sainz signing Button warns that patience will be required from the young gun, “I don’t think the pace of the car is going to turn around for next season. They have dropped a long way back, so it’s going to be difficult.”

“[McLaren] is a big team, a team that has won multiple F1 world championships so they will find a way back, but I think it’s going to take a little bit of time.”

“I guess [Sainz] must to understand that it’s going to take a few years of working hard and making himself feel present and making his opinion count, and hopefully moving the car forward.”

Button was Alonso’s teammate at McLaren for two years and has some advice for the younger Spaniard who will replace him, “Fernando has retired and he knows what he’s doing. He is getting the most out of the car every weekend.

“So it’s always going to be a tough act to follow, but they wouldn’t have chosen [Sainz] if they didn’t think he was worthy for the drive,” added Button.

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VETTEL HUNTING HAMILTON RESUMES AT SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

Formula 1 returns from its summer break when the world’s leading drivers converge on Spa-Francorchamps to battle it out for the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.

The big six contenders for the chequered flag might now be pared down to a big five after Daniel Ricciardo’s dramatic announcement.

The Australian revealed that he will leave Red Bull for Renault at the end of the season, and the team may now throw all its weight behind wunderkind Max Verstappen. But can the young Dutch driver usurp Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas?

Red Bull has a strong record at Spa-Francorchamps. Vettel won the race for the team in 2013 and Ricciardo took the chequered flag the following year. The Red Bulls struggled in 2015, but Ricciardo finished second in 2016 and third last year.

Verstappen has had no joy on this famous track, but that could all change at the weekend. Red Bull boss Christian Horner said Ricciardo is leaving because he fears the threat of Verstappen’s talent, and the team should now make him its main man for the rest of the season.

Yet an examination of the lines will tell you that Verstappen is very much an outsider for this race, do some research for Betonline sportsbook before placing any action. Vettel and Hamilton are neck at neck at the top of the betting, both priced at around 11/8, while you can find both Raikkonen and Bottas at around the 8/1 mark.

Then Verstappen is 16/1 and Ricciardo is out at 18/1. The Australian would love to make a statement by seizing this race, and he already has two victories under his belt this season, but his strained relationship with his team could hamper his chances.

As is often the case, this race could once again boil down to a straight fight between Hamilton and Vettel. The German has been solid all season, but Mercedes’ recent dominance in this race surely gives it the psychological edge.

The team has won the Belgian Grand Prix in comfortable fashion for the last three years, with Hamilton seizing glory in 2015 and 2017. The defending champion has won this race three times, and he should be full of confidence after winning with a dominant performance in Hungary last time out.

Last season, Hamilton came into his own after the summer break and ground out a thrilling victory in the Drivers’ Championship. The odds are in favour of him doing so again this year, but the Brit warns how tough it will be.

“This year Ferrari really do have the upper hand pace-wise,” he said. “But I think all around, as a whole, we have hopefully done a slightly better job. We’ve got work to do; we’ve got things to improve. We’ve got to try and catch them – but we’ve got to continue to keep rising with all the other elements, which allows us to beat Ferrari when they don’t bring their A-game.”

Ferrari certainly seems to have stolen a march when it comes to engine development, but the Italian team has been unable to translate that into dominance. It trails Mercedes by 10 points in the Constructors’ Championship, while Hamilton leads Vettel by 24 points in the race for individual glory. This year the pendulum seems to swing once this side, once that side,” said the German.

“Obviously if it’s like this, consistency is the key. Scoring points. I didn’t do myself a favour in Germany, but I think it’s part of racing. Last year we lost the championship because our car wasn’t quick enough to be a match in the final part of the season, despite what happened with the DNFs.”

He added: “This year has shown so far that our car is more efficient, our car is stronger and still has a lot of potential to unleash. I’m quite confident with what’s in the pipeline that we can improve. It should be an exciting second part of the year.”

It really should turn into a fascinating denouement to an intriguing season, with the Red Bull sub-plot providing further drama.

The second half of the season is always intense, and Hamilton and Mercedes have always dominated in recent times, so Vettel will need a win on Sunday if he is to set the tone for a changing of the guard.

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Sauber must aim for double Spa/Monza points - Marcus Ericsson

Sauber must use Ferrari’s power unit strength to good use at the upcoming two events in Belgium and Italy, according to Marcus Ericsson.

Ferrari has made strides with its power unit in 2018 and its engine is now widely regarded to be the benchmark, with the improved form of Haas and Sauber have drawn into attention.

Both Spa-Francorchamps, and predominantly Monza, place a strong emphasis on engine prowess, with Mercedes unbeaten at the latter in the hybrid era.

But with Ferrari now setting the pace in terms of power units Ericsson reckons Sauber must capitalise on its anticipated advantage if it is to overhaul Toro Rosso in the standings.

“I think Spa and Monza can be good tracks for us, it’s tracks we like,” said Ericsson.

“We know it’s [the engine update] working, we tried it in Hungary, was working fine, means we can use it to the fullest atSpa and Monza.

“We need to score points in both races with both cars, that’s the aim.

“For sure these two tracks will be good for us, our target needs to be to score points both weekends, especially what Toro Rosso did in Hungary.

“We were hoping to be ahead of them going into summer and they had a strong score so we need to bounce back atSpa/Monza, they will be two good tracks for us and maybe weaker for them.”

Ericsson and team-mate Charles Leclerc both took on Ferrari’s updated Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger and MGU-H at the pre-summer Hungarian Grand Prix.

Neither Ferrari driver ran the updated specification, a repeat of the strategy the manufacturer took by giving its customers the upgraded parts in Monaco before installing them to the works cars in Canada.

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Sergey Sirotkin: Perfect drives masked by car's weaknesses

Sergey Sirotkin says he and Williams have occasionally carried out "perfect" races in 2018 that are being masked by the weaknesses of its FW41.

Ex-Sauber and Renault tester Sirotkin captured a race seat with Williams for 2018 but his graduation coincided with the team’s regression to the rear of the field, amid deficiencies with its recalcitrant FW41.

Sirotkin is the only driver on the 2018 grid yet to score a point and has failed to even complete a race lap within the top 10 positions, but expressed confidence over his own displays.

"It's been quite a good year so far," said Sirotkin. "I mean obviously not in terms of results, but being realistic in the position where we saw ourselves after Australia and Bahrain it really changed the approach of the team with [their] expectations. 

"I think since then, for sure it was a tough year, it’s been quite difficult to make any impression – it doesn’t really matter how good the job you are doing, even from where we are it’s quite difficult [to impress].

"If you do a perfect job it just looks like… there were a couple of occasions where I was sitting here [with the media] and I wanted to say that I did a perfect job but from the outside it never looks like this.

“From where we are, a very good job just looks okay and then you go up here and don’t even feel [that it’s] nice to say we were performing very well, so this is difficult to make any bright stories from it. 

“At the same time you always need to perform well because from where we are as soon as you kind of underperform a little bit it’s so visible that everybody starts to talk about it and so on. 

“It’s been tough in those terms, honestly I think I managed it quite well, again I don’t want to be too optimistic about myself but I can be quite happy with what I did.

“But again it’s quite tough to keep proving yourself in such a position.”

Team-mate Lance Stroll scored Williams’ only four points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in April, although Sirotkin holds a slender 6-5 advantage across one-lap over Stroll.

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A motorsport fans dream...COTA planning luxury trackside apartments

It's the stuff of dreams for any motorsport fan, the opportunity to stand at the window of your own home and watch Formula 1 cars flying past on a purpose built circuit and then the following weekend head out on the very same track in your own car.

That could become a reality for some lucky motorsport fans if the Circuit of the Americas, home to the United States Grand Prix, receives approval to build four luxury apartment towers right next to the circuit.

In a joint partnership between COTA and developer Forza, planning approval has been submitted for four-towers housing 150 apartments and ten penthouses with views over 90% of the circuit. If approval is granted, it's hoped construction will begin in late-2019.

The exclusive penthouses come with private infinity pools and balconies and range from 2,000 square feet to 6,500 square feet and also feature two-to four-car glass garages that allow residents to proudly display their own car collection.

But if you don't have your own supercar, you could always borrow one of the 40 available to residents should they feel the need to stretch their legs on the 3.4-mile circuit.

Unfortunately it all comes with a rather hefty price tag, with apartments starting at $1.5 million (£1.17m) and topping out at $8.9m (£7m).

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Lando Norris to replace Fernando Alonso for opening Belgian GP session

McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris will make his Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend debut during the opening practice session in Belgium on Friday.

Norris joined McLaren’s young driver scheme at the start of 2017 and this year stepped up to the role of reserve driver, making selected test outings, most recently at the post-race gathering in Hungary.

Norris is a contender for the vacant 2019 McLaren seat next to newly-signed Carlos Sainz Jr., the Renault driver having been recruited to replace the outgoing Fernando Alonso.

Norris will drive Alonso’s MCL33 during the opening practice session at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday, before Alonso returns to action in the second session.

“This is not only part of his ongoing development, but also the evaluation and performance evolution of the car,” said Sporting Director Gil de Ferran.

“We’ll be taking a strategic view race-by-race at where else this might be beneficial for us over the coming grands prix.”

Norris will line up alongside Stoffel Vandoorne in the session, with the Belgian under pressure ahead of his home event after a difficult sophomore campaign for McLaren, having scored just eight points compared to the 48 amassed by Alonso.

Norris, 18, holds second place in the Formula 2 standings, 12 points behind Mercedes-backed George Russell, having stepped up to the series as the reigning Formula 3 champion.

The Briton will resume his Formula 2 duties with Carlin at Spa-Francorchamps immediately after his FP1 outing.

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Why STR should go left-field with 2019 driver choice

Formula 1’s silly season exploded into life during the summer break with a handful of major moves that will have ramifications elsewhere. Should matters unravel as expected then Toro Rosso may be in need of a driver. Motorsport Week takes a slight fantastical look at the situation and suggests whether it should be a case of two wheels good, four wheels better.

The Formula 1 'silly season' has kicked into top gear, with Daniel Ricciardo departing Red Bull for Renault, Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly set to fill his spot, Fernando Alonso stepping away from the championship and Carlos Sainz Jr taking his hero’s place at McLaren.

Once the music stops, however, there will be a glaring void to be filled on the grid.

Gasly's likely promotion to Red Bull may give the struggling Brendon Hartley a reprieve, and he looks more certain to stay in F1 next year with Toro Rosso. The identity of his potential team-mate though, is less than clear, as the available options are sparse, and its desired candidates lack the required Super License points.

Pedrosa will leave MotoGP in the next months

After 18 years, Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa will hang up his leathers at the end of this season – at least from full-time racing. The Spaniard is currently being courted by HRC and KTM to join their test teams.

But what if the 31-year-old were to opt for a different career path? A Honda loyalist throughout his career and deeply woven into the Red Bull web, Pedrosa could be the solution to Toro Rosso's problem.

The subject of MotoGP riders stepping over to F1 to replicate the achievements of the late, great John Surtees is one often debated. Nine-times World Champion Mike Hailwood tried and failed to win the F1 title, though did secure the European Formula 2 championship – driving for Surtees – in 1972, tallied up two F1 podiums and was awarded the George Medal for pulling Clay Regazzoni from his burning BRM in South Africa in 1973.

Nine-times World Champion Valentino Rossi gave F1 serious consideration back in the mid-2000s, impressing in several tests with Ferrari. Deciding on MotoGP instead, the Italian was the last rider to realistically come close to making the switch.

A test at the Red Bull Ring in June in a Hard tyre-shod 2012 Red Bull RB8 (in Toro Rosso colours) for HRC duo Marc Marquez and Pedrosa reignited hopes that one day someone might ‘try a Surtees'. Reports suggest that both were more than handy behind the wheel, with Pedrosa a little over five seconds off the current 1:06.9s lap record set this year by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Of course, if Pedrosa was to step over to F1 and succeed, Surtees' record would remain intact, as Pedrosa will leave MotoGP without a premier class title.

Pedrosa in action at the Red Bull Ring

But Pedrosa moving to F1 would be nonetheless a massive coup for the series, even if it was just for a season or two until Red Bull replenishes its young driver programme and Toro Rosso can return to its prime directive.

From Red Bull's point of view, Pedrosa moving from MotoGP to F1 – one extreme to the other – fits perfectly with its sporting brand image of pushing boundaries and making headlines, while MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports would most definitely benefit from the exposure such a move would create.

Alonso's departure from F1 at the end of the year plunges the series' future in Spain into massive uncertainty. The local government is not exactly pro-Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya, and Sainz is not a large enough draw to keep the Alonso-mad crowd coming back for more.

However, Pedrosa certainly is, perhaps more so than Alonso in a country whose motorsport heritage really began on two wheels with the late '12+1' World Champion Angel Nieto. Liberty Media needs to prove it can do reasonable deals with existing venues, and losing the Spanish Grand Prix would be a huge blow for its credibility in this respect. The massive following for the popular Pedrosa in his native land, plus the sheer magnitude of a MotoGP legend racing in F1, would be enough to keep the Spanish coming back for more.

There are some obvious hurdles. Pedrosa does not currently qualify for a Super License under the FIA's stipulations. However, he is a 31-time MotoGP winner, three-times a championship runner-up, double 250cc title winner and ex-125cc champion. While his achievements have been on half the wheel count, he has demonstrated enough racing quality to surely be granted special dispensation. Plus, the FIA and FIM are rumoured to have an agreement in place to sort the finer details should such a move occur.

Pedrosa has battered himself over the years, suffering injuries that would have ended the careers of most competitors. The strains of racing in MotoGP and F1 are substantially different, but the Honda has proven to be a beastly bike to manhandle, and Pedrosa has met that challenge. Adapting to F1 should therefore not be a problem, assuming Pedrosa can attain the required level of pace.

From a performance standpoint, Pedrosa is hardly going to get anywhere near replicating the wins Surtees enjoyed, or the odd podium visit Hailwood made in their F1 careers. Toro Rosso is a solid midfield team, and so it is likely to remain, even with the incoming regulation shake-up for 2021.

But the positives almost certainly outweigh any negatives which may arise if Pedrosa was to make a shock switch to F1. Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Liberty and Dorna get to reap the unending benefits of such a high-publicity move, and Pedrosa's place among the pantheons of MotoGP greats – not that it should ever be doubted – can be cemented by doing something many thought would never happen again.

Of course, Toro Rosso will probably take on one of McLaren's employees, whether that be Stoffel Vandoorne or impressive junior Lando Norris on loan, while Pedrosa will rack up lonely laps aboard an RC213V or an RC16 next year and we are left to ponder…what if?

It is a far-fetched idea, but Pedrosa fits numerous bills Toro Rosso needs to establish its line-up for next year. As mad as it sounds, Pedrosa to F1 is not as mad an idea as you might think.

 

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Mid-season review: Mercedes on top, but under threat

Mercedes set the benchmark in Formula 1 in dominant fashion for the first three years of the hybrid era and remained ahead last year amid renewed pressure from Ferrari. But through little fault of its own it now faces the prospect of trying to win the title with a potentially inferior car – a testament to its initial prowess, Ferrari’s gains, and the gradual convergence of chassis and engine between the title contenders. Mercedes remains a force to be reckoned with on aerodynamically-dependent circuits such as Barcelona and Paul Ricard, though now has to extract the maximum from every inch of its machinery and drivers to combat the threat posed by Ferrari. It has largely done so, but strategic blunders in Australia and China proved costly, and would have done so in Austria but for the mechanical failures that halted its charge. Another reliability setback could have been more keenly felt in Germany had a Hollywood-script-esque race not unfolded to save Mercedes’ and Lewis Hamilton’s bacon. Mercedes remains the stand out team. But it perhaps no longer possesses the stand out car. 

Lewis Hamilton is still the man to beat, his position atop the standings a combination of supreme talent, fortune and the chinks in the armour of his title rival. Hamilton has not had the perfect season by his own lofty standards, with a few off-colour displays such as China, Azerbaijan and Canada, but when he is on top of his game he is unbeatable. His pole position lap in Australia was spellbinding, Grands Prix such as Spain and France effortlessly controlled, his recovery to second on home turf impressive, and his back-to-back wins in Germany and Hungary as unexpected as they were spectacular. As for weaknesses? He can occasionally become trapped in a negative spiral when he feels unsportsmanlike behaviour has benefited others, though few of his rivals – unlike Nico Rosberg – have attempted to tap into this. That he has so few chinks in his armour, and has had the rub of the green at crucial stages this year, makes him an incredibly difficult opponent to dethrone. 

Valtteri Bottas had a 2017 campaign that could be described as encouraging but disjointed. This year, Australia crash and Hungary calamity aside, he has been much improved and vastly more consistent. But he holds only fourth in the standings, his title hopes surely over, with no wins and just one pole. How has that happened? There are a multitude of reasons. In Bahrain he was criticised for his passive last-lap stance but such an approach was understandable after a miserable Australian weekend, and he could easily have taken successive wins in China and Azerbaijan but for the hand of fate. Bottas’ in-and-out laps in China were mesmerising as he jumped Vettel – the subsequent Safety Car wrecked his chance, leaving him helpless to defend versus Daniel Ricciardo. And as for Azerbaijan, it was Bottas’ misfortune to strike a minor piece of debris while travelling at 200mph, and for that to perfectly cut the tyre. Just after he’d gone past the pits. Just three laps from home. The image of Bottas slumped prostrate against his W09 was heart-breaking. In Germany he could have been victorious but for Mercedes’ confused strategy calls under the Safety Car and Hamilton’s subsequent super defensive work and the team orders. There have, of course, been faults – Bottas can not realistically reach the highs that Hamilton can attain, but his team work is well-received by Mercedes, and a deficit of 81 points is not reflective of his season. That he has finished runner-up five times is evidence. 

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Vergne says he's been approached by F1 team for 2019

Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne says returning to Formula 1 is a possibility next season after being approached by a team.
Vergne was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2014 after three seasons racing for its junior team Toro Rosso.

He has since become a leading FE and LMP2 driver, clinching the electric single-seater series' 2017/18 title and racing in the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series.

Vergne told Motorsport.com that the aftershocks of Daniel Ricciardo's surprise move from Red Bull to Renault could facilitate an unexpected comeback as he has "talked to a team, but it's not Red Bull".

"It's very funny, two years ago F1 was something that would never open its doors to me," said Vergne, speaking on the latest episode of The Autosport Podcast.

"Today, it's not completely opened, but I'm talking to some teams and things are starting to move a little bit. With Daniel going to Renault it changed completely the driver market.

"To have some teams calling me to know what I'm going to do next it feels like 'ah, I exist!' for Formula 1.

"What would be really nice is to have a proper chance in F1.

"I have got some unfinished business there and with everything I've learned lately, how much I've improved, I think it would be a completely different story."

Mercedes is retaining Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas next season, with Ferrari set to pair Sebastian Vettel with either Kimi Raikkonen or Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly to be Max Verstappen's new Red Bull teammate.

Carlos Sainz will move to McLaren to replace the outgoing Fernando Alonso, with his teammate, plus seats at the other midfield teams – Force India, Haas, Sauber, Toro Rosso and Williams – to be confirmed.

Vergne said he would only go back to F1 if he has the chance to do more than make up the numbers and believes he has become a "credible" option for teams.

"It's a possibility," he said. "I wouldn't like to go back to a team where I wouldn't have the chance to prove myself.

"I have a certain level of popularity, I go to a team that cannot score points – after one year everything I worked hard for will disappear.

"Maybe not in one year, but I don't want to put all the hard work and risk it going back to F1 going to a team that could not give me a car that could not fight for [better] positions."

Vergne missed out on the chance to race for Red Bull's senior team when it picked Ricciardo to take Mark Webber's vacated seat for 2014 and was overlooked again a year later as Daniil Kvyat replaced the Ferrari-bound Vettel.

"I'm thankful to everything that has happened to me in Formula 1, bad and good," said Vergne. "With who I am [now], definitely things would turn out in a completely different way."

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Fresh fears over Monza future amid fall in ticket sales

A fall in ticket sales for the Italian Grand Prix has left the country's motorsport president worried that it may not be able to afford to keep the Formula 1 race after its current contract expires.
Monza's deal to host the Italian GP runs out after next year's race, with some fraught negotiations back in 2016 to put together a short term arrangement.

But despite Ferrari's resurgent form in F1, it does not appear to have been enough to interest fans and a decline in sales for next month's race has raised fresh concerns about the future of the grand prix.

Angelo Sticchi Damiani, the president of the Automobile Club d'Italia, told Gazzetta dello Sport: "A year ago Vettel had gone on holiday as the world [championship] leader, now he is in the role of pursuer.

"My wish is the exact opposite of what happened a year ago, when from Monza onwards Mercedes took off."

The decline in sales will put fresh financial pressure on Italian officials and Damiani is worried that the money situation is unsustainable unless the rights fee paid to F1 is reduced.

"We closed last year's race with a strong loss, and the 2018 budget will not be different either," he said. "It is clear that such a situation is not sustainable in the long term. The ACI is ready to do its part, but not under any conditions.

"[Chase] Carey has always told me that an F1 without Monza is unthinkable, and in four years it will celebrate its centenary. We agree on that, but we must also deal in facts."

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RED BULL DRIVERS PREVIEW THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

Red Bull drivers preview the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Round 13 of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship, at Spa-Francorchamps.

Daniel Ricciardo: “I was third at Spa last year, second the year before and I won in 2014. It’s a cool place and a very historic track. The lap is long but it’s one where you feel that if you make a little mistake somewhere, maybe you can get it back, as there are so many corners and it’s never over until the full lap is done. It’s not like Austria, where if you make a mistake at the first corner your lap is pretty much ruined. At Spa you can make some time back towards the end of the lap, but obviously you would prefer each lap to be perfect! I really like the flowing middle sector, I enjoy quick changes of direction and it has plenty of that. Pouhon, Turn 10 is one of the fastest and coolest corners on the calendar. Spa is good for overtaking, has big slipstreams and is high speed – so it’s a fun track. What’s not to like.”

Max Verstappen: “Racing at Spa is always special. I was born just an hour down the road so it is pretty much a home race for me. You can see by the orange crowds and campsites full of Dutch caravans that the fans come out in force, this only adds to the home race feel. The track is set in the forest which makes it different to drive from other circuits. Eau Rouge is of course special but my favourite part is Pouhon, the fast lefts feel really nice. While at Spa you have to try the Waffles and Frites, they are a tradition and delicious. The win in Austria was amazing as it was Red Bull’s home race and there was a massive Dutch following. To win in Spa would be similar, orange and flags everywhere, I hope we can make them smile this year.”