FORMULA 1 - 2015

[MIKA27]

Button set to stay as McLaren clears up situation

Jenson Button looks set to remain at McLaren next season, despite yet another difficult race with the Woking outfit which saw him finish 16th, a lap down on winner Lewis Hamilton.

It's believed Button was due to announce his retirement from the sport at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, yet no announcement came.

The Briton has not only become tired with McLaren and particularly Honda's performance, but a major factor is his decision to quit was that of McLaren failing to communicate their desire to keep the 2009 champion in 2016.

Chairman Ron Dennis revealed that on Thursday ahead of the race, he sat down and spoke to Button to clear up any doubts he might have about their commitment and confirmed their desire to keep him alongside Fernando Alonso.

"Jenson has a two-year contract," Dennis confirmed. "The only thing is I should have taken away any doubt over our commitment to him earlier than I did.

"I didn't speak to him until Thursday. It would have been more constructive if he'd known I had no intention of exercising our option to terminate [his contract]."

Dennis admitted had he spoken to Button earlier, they might not be in the situation they are with regards his future.

"These sorts of decisions are not mine and mine alone. They have to be supported by the shareholders, and as much as I hate consensus, I informed Jenson accordingly.

"I could have done it a couple of days earlier. If I had I don't think it would have been an issue now."

Meanwhile Button has been sending out mixed signals with regards his decision, but it's believed the teams reassurance could be enough to sway him.

[MIKA27]

Ron Dennis unhappy with Alonso's unprofessional comments

McLaren chairman Ron Dennis has admitted to being unhappy with Fernando Alonso's criticism of the team over the radio during the Japanese Grand Prix, describing it as unhelpful.

Alonso had been running in nine when he was easily overtaken, which led him to declare the situation "embarrassing, very embarrassing". Several laps later, locked in a battle over tenth, he was then passed again and radioed: "GP2 engine, GP2 engine, arghh".

After the race, Dennis was asked whether Alonso's messages has a particular motive with Honda's top bosses present at their home race, to which he replied: "I'm not going to condone those sort of things.

"It doesn't show the professionalism I would like all our drivers to show.

"He is in the car, he is frustrated, and his remarks to the technical staff were not a particularly constructive way to communicate with everybody.

Do I condone it, no. Will I go ballistic, no," he added. "The way for me to deal with drivers is through the management channels of Eric [boullier, racing director] or in certain circumstances to talk to them myself.

"But whatever I choose to do, however it is done, it remains a team matter."

Meanwhile Dennis admitted to be confused by the Spaniard's response to a reporter asking whether he'll be at McLaren next season.

"I don't know," Alonso said. "Next year is what we are looking for and my intention is to stay and win."

Dennis later said of Alonso's response: "I don't know what he means by that comment.

"I spoke to Fernando earlier today, he's got a contract, he understands the contract. I'm surprised at the comment."

[MIKA27]

Mercedes want meeting to discuss lack of TV coverage

Mercedes' non executive chairman Niki Lauda says he was surprised to see such little TV coverage of the Mercedes cars during the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Austrian has demanded a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone to address the matter as the cars were only seen on very few occasions for a few seconds at a time.

"It was funny, to be honest, because I was watching TV, it rolled along and funny enough I saw Saubers and a lot of Honda cars," he said.

"I don't know why: someone must do the filming here, I have to ask what is wrong with him.

"So I have to ask – I want to see Bernie next week and ask him what is the reason? If you ask the question, you get an answer.

"At the moment I can't say much but it was funny today, with the pitstop of Lewis, the leader, you only saw him driving out. You didn't even see how he changed his wheels, so it was interesting to see."

There were many conspiracy theories doing the rounds on social media, one of which related to Mercedes' decision to refuse Red Bull engines, something which is known to have angered Ecclestone.

Lauda doesn't believe the two are related however: "You cannot go in that direction because I spoke to Bernie on a couple of occasions about this engine deal and it was very clear that [Dietrich] Mateschitz never really approached us, for the reasons that he never really liked Mercedes from the past."

[MIKA27]

Vettel thinks strategy cost him second

Sebastian Vettel believes he could have finished second in the Japanese Grand Prix had he managed to stay in front of Nico Rosberg in the second round of pitstops.

Vettel moved from fourth on the grid to second at the start, while Rosberg dropped to fourth place from pole position.

Rosberg eventually undercut his way past Vettel in the second round of pitstops after the Ferrari driver pitted later than the Mercedes.

Post-race, Vettel admitted the strategy proved to be a mistake that probably cost him second.

"I think we were surprised by the out-lap that he pulled," said Vettel. "I guess we thought the gap was big enough so you can say we made a mistake.

"In the end it's a bit of a shame when you cross the line because I think we could have stayed ahead and it would have been difficult for him to pass.

"It's not easy to get close. We saw he struggled for a long time with Bottas. So in the end we have to accept they were just a little bit quicker and for that reason they deserve to be ahead.

"But we had the chance. We could have done differently with hindsight, but with hindsight it's always easy."

Vettel was still encouraged by Ferrari's performance after finishing less than two seconds behind Rosberg.

"We responded well, and we have a good car today in the race," he said. "Not enough to be a real challenger, especially for Lewis, but there were no safety cars or anything and we were a lot closer than in previous races on that type of circuit.

"I think all in all there's plenty of reason to be happy."

[MIKA27]

Red Bull exit could trigger third cars plan

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says that if Red Bull's two teams pull out of Formula 1, other top teams might be asked to run third cars.

The process of introducing third cars could in theory be kick-started if the 2016 grid drops below 20 cars.

Red Bull has said repeatedly it will likely quit the sport unless it can get a works engine deal with Ferrari next season, having decided to part ways with Renault.

Mateschitz's threat to quit Formula 1 has been taken seriously up and down the paddock.

"If a team would leave, and we have had the discussion around Lotus a while ago, third cars are a solution to fill up the grid," Wolff said when asked by Motorsport.com.

"For me personally it's a pretty exciting idea.

"I'd rather have Red Bull in the sport and third cars, and a grid of 27 or 28 cars, and some exciting young drivers in those third cars. But this is definitely one of the fall-back positions."

Wolff said, however, that the situation had not yet been discussed in connection with Red Bull: "I think priority number one is to keep them in the sport."

Wolff admitted that it would be a huge blow to F1 if Red Bull went through with its threat to quit.

"You can't close your eyes to the fact that this is a platform, and it needs players, and it needs a competitive environment, and it needs competitive teams, and that was part of our consideration.

"Red Bull is a hip brand, and it's good for F1 that Red Bull is in here.

"But then it is also an environment where you need to look at yourself and the team's performance with a priority.

"So it comes to the decision of whether you'd rather go with the platform, or with the good sport, or you'd rather go with your team's perspective, and it's clear from our point of view that you need to prioritise your own competitiveness.

"Of course it would harm the platform, of course there would be bad news around it. It isn't the best of news if a brand like Red Bull or a team with the pedigree of Red Bull would leave the sport.

"This is absolutely clear, and we are very conscious about it. So I hope whatever decision they take they are going to decide in favour of F1, and grow F1, and take it from the competitive side."

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen admits fourth the best on offer

Despite admitting that missing the podium by just one place wasn't his idea of a good race, Kimi Raikkonen insisted that fourth in the Japanese Grand Prix was still a solid result at a circuit where Ferrari was always playing second fiddle.

The Finn started sixth after what he described as a 'sh*t end result' to a qualifying session that promised so much more, but benefited from the start-line contact between Felipe Massa and Daniel Ricciardo to move up one spot in the early running and said he took a look at adding to Nico Rosberg's turn two woe after the Mercedes driver almost came together with team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Having settled into fifth, however, Raikkonen was reminded of just how difficult it is to pass around the serpentine Suzuka circuit as he was unable to pass countryman Valtteri Bottas until pit-stop strategy came into play.

“The race was fine but, obviously, you start behind people for certain times so then the race comes to trying to pass them one way or another,” he explained, “We got stuck and then I was looking at fourth, which was more of less the best we could do from the position where we started.”

Raikkonen revealed that, having been close to Ricciardo when he clipped Massa's Williams, his own race could have ended – or been compromised in the same way – at the first corner, before then presenting an opportunity at the second.

“I saw Ricciardo coming,” he noted, “I had a good start I think, but he got a good jump and then I think he got stuck in the middle. I didn't see exactly what happened after that, honestly, but it was close.

“I almost tried to pass the second Williams but then it was a bit tight and there was a Mercedes. It all got a bit more… not messy, but it kept changing and, when I tried the Mercedes in one of the left-handers, I kind of went next to him but then he just sped up.”

Having lost all of Friday's preparation time to rain, and then seen a potential second row start evaporate under the red flag that halted qualifying, Raikkonen was happy with the performance of his Ferrari, but conceded that, even running an alternative tyre strategy to most of the field, the Scuderia was unlikely to have challenged Mercedes on this occasion.

“I'd tried to challenge them at the beginning, but it was just not possible to get past them on the circuit, so I just tried to save tyres and push through,” he said, “The feeling [with the car] was fine, and everything seemed to work well.

“We had really good pit-stops where we managed to jump the Williams and, while I think it's not ideal to finish fourth - third and fourth - obviously we knew that this wasn't going to be our strongest place and I think, looking at that point, we must be happy with being the second-best team [behind Mercedes].

“We tried the harder tyres in qualifying and they felt pretty good so, without a doubt, there was a feeling from both drivers that we felt that the hard tyres would be the correct choice for the race. The way it played out, all the work we did, I think we did the correct things and we did the maximum we could from the position where we started, so obviously it played out pretty well.

“[From here] we will keep doing the progress and going in the right direction, doing the right things. We just have to keep working and doing the same things and I'm sure we'll keep improving.”

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo not ready to play blame game in Massa incident

Daniel Ricciardo says he wants to review footage of his start at the Japanese Grand Prix before determining who – if anyone – was at fault for the first lap scrape that ruined his afternoon and that of Felipe Massa.

The Australian made a better getaway than either of the drivers on the third row but was left with little option when it came to using his initial pace, diving into the only gap he could see – which just happened to be between Massa's Williams and the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. While the Finn later admitted to having seen the Red Bull flying through, Massa drifted towards the #3 machine, with the inevitable contact fortunately being restricted to punctures on both cars and a damaged wing on the Williams.

“At the start, the best line for me was straight down the middle,” Ricciardo confirmed, “I saw the gap between Kimi and Felipe and I knew it was close, but I thought they would make a bit of room. I haven't seen the footage and don't want to put the blame on anyone, so we'll call it a racing incident for now.”

Having hoped for a battle with Williams and Ferrari over a place in the top five, Ricciardo was left to battle his way from the back of the field, eventually reaching 15th place by the chequered flag.

“It's a shame for the team,” he admitted, “I think we could have gained some positions off the line and then the race would have been completely different. But we had the puncture, and that damaged the floor, so we lost some downforce.

“I tried to do what I could, and we started to catch some cars towards the end, but, by then, I didn't have the grip to do anything.”

Massa, meanwhile, took even longer to limp his hobbled car back to the pits, and only narrowly avoided having to move over for the leaders as they came around to complete their second lap. Once behind on the count, however, the Brazilian was always fighting a losing battle and had to content himself with racing to unlap himself from the slower runners.

“It was a very tough day for me today, right from the first lap,” he sighed, “I had a bad start and then had contact with Ricciardo and it took me a long time to get back to the pits. From there, it was the end of the race barring any miracle.

“We have scored some decent points for the constructors' championship with Valtteri [bottas]' fifth place, but I had the car to contribute a good haul of points as well. We have to regroup and get those points back at the next race.”

[MIKA27]

Max Verstappen revels in eight-place rise

Max Verstappen continues to weave himself into the story of the 2015 F1 season, following up already strong showings in Singapore, Hungary and Malaysia with a fighting drive into the points in the Japanese Grand Prix.

While not quite as up against it as he was when relegated to the back of the pack in Marina Bay, the young Dutchman had to overcome non-participation in Q2 – plus a penalty for some dodgy parking of a stricken Toro Rosso – before he could begin the race at Suzuka, but once again overcame the odds to claim a points finish.

Starting from 17th, Verstappen had already picked up three places in the opening laps courtesy of others' misfortune before picking off the Sauber of Felipe Nasr for good measure. Although he eventually had to cede the place back to the Brazilian, the Toro Rosso driver kept his nose clean through the first part of the race, and again when caught up behind Daniil Kvyat and Fernando Alonso through the middle of the 53-lap event.

Rating his pass on the Spanish veteran as his best of the race, Verstappen also picked off STR team-mate Carlos Sainz to claim an eventual ninth place in a race that had promised little overnight.

“It was a great race!” he enthused, “I think the start was good and I was able to overtake Nasr straight away in sector one1, even though he got me back in the hairpin because I got a bit blocked and didn't want to take too many risks!

“That was a shame, because I then got stuck behind him for quite a lot of laps and lost some time with the other cars ahead but, after my first pit-stop, I was able to push again until I got stuck behind Kvyat and then Alonso. But I didn't give up and, in the end we were able to end up in front, which is very positive.

“To go from P17 to P9 at a track like this one is a good result and I'm happy to have scored points again. It was a very good day.”

With Sainz following his team-mate across the line, Toro Rosso was able to celebrate another double points finish, which moves it slightly further ahead of Sauber in the battle for seventh in the constructors' table.

“For Max to go from P17 to P9 demonstrates how strong his race was,” team boss Franz Tost confirmed, “From a strategy point of view, I think we made the most out of it and in the end, it was a good race for us, finishing with both cars in the points for the second time in a row. We are now looking forward to Sochi, where I expect to be more competitive than here...”

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg welcomes return to points

Nico Hulkenberg bounced back from his contact-fuelled exit from the Singapore Grand Prix and overcame the resulting grid penalty to claim a hard-earned sixth place in Japan.

The German held his hand up to not giving Felipe Massa enough room as the Williams driver left the pits in last weekend's race, and copped a three-place penalty for Suzuka that dropped from his now customary eleventh on the grid. A good getaway from the sloping Japanese grid, however, allowed Hulkenberg to pick up a couple of places almost immediately – at the expense of Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso – before Force India team-mate Sergio Perez took a trip through the gravel and Massa made contact with Daniel Ricciardo to boost him several more.

“I made a really good start and jumped a couple of cars away from the line, and then stayed on the inside going into turn one - which turned out to be a good decision,” Hulkenberg smiled, “By turn two, I was up in eighth, close behind the Lotuses, who were holding me up during the first stint.”

With Suzuka renowned for not being an easy track to pass on, Force India played the strategy card, propelling Hulkenberg past the two black-and-gold machines on the undercut and allowing him to make good on sixth place – only his second result in five races, following two DNFs and a non-start in Belgium.

“The team pitted me early to undercut them and we then out-raced them with our stronger pace,” he confirmed, “After that, it was a lonely race for me, but an effective one - and the result is very welcome.

“Realistically, sixth was the maximum we could achieve when you remember that I started from P13. The team did a great job today and I think we deserved these eight points.”

Deputy team principal Robert Fernley had equal praise for his driver, claiming that Hulkenberg had driven an astute race while accepting that a top five remained beyond the team's grasp.

“Nico drove a tactically brilliant race,” Fernley enthused, “He made another great start to regain the ground he had lost through his grid penalty and then had a fairly lonely race.

“He executed our strategy perfectly, leapfrogging the two Lotuses during the first pit-stop window and, from then on, he worked hard to continuously increase his gap. Sixth was the maximum he could have got today but it's just the result Nico needed after a difficult run of races.”

[davidsan]

The race was routine and borning but I'm loving Romain's driving at the moment, a lot more happening off the track than on.

How's that Ron Dennis interview on Skyf1 and the footage of Niki talking to Ron after his pre-qualifying comments. Wouldn't hurt Ron to rock a bit of Mclaren team wear every once in a while.

Classic Alonso 'GP2 engine' comments, with the President of Honda attending the race.

No way it was a coincidence that we didn't see any Merc footage on Sunday's race - the puppet master at it again.

[MIKA27]

KVYAT: CAN I F*CKING USE THE OVERTAKE BUTTON OR NOT?

Daniil Kvyat called the Japanese Grand Prix “boring” after a race he spent snarled up in traffic in the spare Red Bull and swearing down the team radio as his frustration boiled over in the cockpit.

The Russian had been fortunate to be driving at all after wrecking his car in a hair-raising crash in Saturday’s qualifying and he started the race from the pitlane.

“It was pretty boring for me out there this afternoon, because I had to just sit back and was unable to attack,” said Kvyat, who finished 13th. “I had a completely new car, so that wasn’t easy.

“We had difficulty with the tyres, the brakes and the overtake button, which made life complicated. It’s frustrating and annoying.”

Australian Daniel Ricciardo came home in 15th after bumping Felipe Massa at the start, leaving team boss Christian Horner perplexed.

“Daniel made a great start, then found himself the cheese in a sandwich between Massa and (Kimi) Raikkonen, resulting in a puncture,” said Horner. “This cost him a huge amount of time and catching up was a tough task.”

Kvyat turned the air blue as he looked desperately to find a way past Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber, barking at Red Bull mechanics: “Can I ******* use the overtake button or not?”

Each time he pleaded to be allowed to push the magic button, he was met with a haughty “negative”, sending his frustration levels sky-rocketing.

At other points in the race, as the Russian yelped “I’m losing the brakes again… absolutely no brakes!” his race appeared anything but boring.

“It was a busy afternoon for Dany,” said Horner. “It was a frustrating race for the team and our first non-scoring race of the season. But the boys in the garage did an incredible job on Dany’s car overnight.”

Meanwhile in the sister Red Bull, Ricciardo refused to allocate blame for his shredded tyre, although television replays suggested he had been over-ambitious.

“At the start, the best line for me was straight down the middle,” he said. “I saw the gap between Kimi and Felipe and I knew it was close, but I thought they would make a bit of room.

“I haven’t seen the footage and don’t want to put the blame on anyone so we’ll call it a racing incident for now.”

“It was another blinder,” the Australian added of his start. “It was actually too good. I didn’t know where to go. I figured that once I was there they’d see me in the mirrors and give me some space.”

Sunday’s result represented a major step backwards for a Red Bull team, whose future in Formula One has been plunged into doubt in recent weeks.

Ricciardo finished second behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in Singapore as Kvyat took sixth, but their performance was overshadowed by a threat to pull out of the sport if the Austrian team cannot secure a competitive engine next year.

[capitalpg]

Race concluded as expected, sadly. Pleasantly surprised by Hulkenburg.

Appears Lotus buyout is moving beyond just rumors...

[MIKA27]

RENAULT SET FOR MAJORITY STAKE IN LOTUS TO RETURN AS F1 WORKS TEAM

French car maker Renault on Monday announced it would buy a majority stake in the financially stretched Lotus Formula 1 motor racing team in a move that could allow it return as a team in time for the 2016 season.

Lotus, one of the sport’s iconic names and the team that won world championships with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso in previous guises of Benetton and Renault, are hoping to be rescued by Renault.

Lotus have faced a series of legal actions against them this season, with bailiffs impounding their cars after the Belgian Grand Prix in a dispute with former reserve Charles Pic.

In Japan, they were locked out of a hospitality unit intended for their use after they failed to pay circuit organisers.

Lotus were due in court on Monday, where they were confident of avoiding administration even if money owed to Britain’s tax authorities remains outstanding.

“Physically, cash doesn’t have to be in a bank account,” Lotus Chief Executive Matthew Carter told Reuters at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday when asked about the technicalities.

Official Media Statement:

Renault Group and Gravity Motorsports S.a.r.l., an affiliate of Genii Capital SA, are pleased to announce the signature of a Letter of Intent regarding the potential acquisition by Renault of a controlling stake in Lotus F1 Team Ltd.

The signature of this Letter of Intent marks Renault’s first step towards the project of a Renault Formula 1 team from the 2016 racing season thereby extending 38 years of commitment of the brand to world’s premier motorsport championship series.

Renault Group and Gravity will work together in the coming weeks to eventually turn this initial undertaking into a definitive transaction provided all terms and conditions are met between them and other interested parties.

[MIKA27]

ARAI: IN TERMS OF THE MCLAREN CHASSIS WE ARE SUFFERING A LOT

As the struggling McLaren-Honda partnership hit a new low at Suzuka, Yasuhisa Arai suggests the one-way blame game needs to stop.

In front of the Japanese carmaker’s highest-ranking officials at the Honda-owned track, the new alliance with McLaren appeared on the brink of total collapse.

Jenson Button is threatening to quit, Fernando Alonso flirted with being sacked by saying racing Honda’s “GP2 engine” is “embarrassing”, and earlier this month at Monza, an attack on Honda’s F1 chief Arai during a press conference was interpreted by most as having been orchestrated by McLaren.

Asked how things are going between McLaren and Honda, Arai told Spain’s El Pais in Japan: “The communication is very good, and better every day.

“So I do not quite understand the harassment and attack I had lately, especially at Monza, where I was subjected to the third degree,” said the Japanese.

He is referring to Monza, where reporters – mainly British – demanded Arai apologise to McLaren for its woeful ‘power unit’ and also consider quitting the project.

Arai insisted: “Honda is aware of the difference between us and the top teams, and we know what we are doing to work on it. But I am sorry and sad that we take all of the blame.”

Increasingly, the McLaren-Honda alliance appears to be crumbling, but team supremo Ron Dennis pulled himself out of his sick-bed on Sunday to insist that – despite all the apparent turmoil and fraying tempers – they remain united.

Asked if Honda feels supported by McLaren, Arai answered: “From the technical point of view, yes. But, and if I may return to Monza, the acrimony of the press should not have reached that level. Of course we are disappointed too, but that negativity does not help.”

Asked if he expected more from McLaren, Arai admitted: “Honestly, yes. It is the responsibility of the team not to create situations like this. As one team we do everything possible to be united and not create division.”

“Honda has always been honest, we explained where we are and what we need to improve, but that has not been done as a team and it would have been better to tell everyone that.”

Arai admitted that, in hindsight, it might have been better for Honda to keep working on its ‘power unit’ behind the scenes this year, rather than in the harsh F1 spotlight, “We knew it would be very difficult but at the same time, being here in 2015 has allowed us to learn a lot.”

“But again, everything is not the responsibility of the engine. Also in terms of the chassis it (the project) is suffering a lot.”

But he also acknowledged that, while insisting Honda’s combustion engine is good, a big problem is the energy-recovery side, where at tracks like Suzuka with long straights, the drivers are left 160 horse power down at times.

“To solve it this year will be difficult,” said Arai, “because it requires a re-design. But we are already working on it with a view to next season.”

[MIKA27]

LAUDA: LOOKS LIKE MATESCHITZ HAS LOST INTEREST IN F1

Red Bull’s billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz appears to have lost interest in Formula 1 and could go through with threats to quit, according to triple world champion and Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda.

Lauda, who knows his fellow-Austrian well, said Mateschitz had taken much more of a back seat than he had in the past as his two teams search for a new engine partner to replace Renault.

Champions Mercedes have said they do not want to supply a rival that could threaten their dominance but Lauda said Mateschitz had no real interest in them because of a historic dislike of the brand.

“I tell you simply, he does not do it,” he said when asked at the Japanese Grand Prix whether the Austrian might make a fresh approach to Mercedes despite ongoing talks with Ferrari.

“Mateschitz at the moment, my feeling is he’s not pushing hard himself… he is not the leader like he was in the past.”

Asked whether he felt Mateschitz had lost interest, Lauda agreed: “It looks like it to me, yes. I’ve known him a long time and normally he’s the master of all this. But he never gets involved at the moment.

“It’s hard for me to say from a distance but the way Didi is acting at the moment, he could consider it [pulling his teams out of F1],” he added.

Red Bull, drivers’ and constructors’ champions for four years in a row from 2010, have fallen out with underperforming Renault and are casting around for a replacement engine provider with Ferrari their only real option given Honda’s woes.

However they have made clear they need a competitive engine if they are to stay in the sport.

“There is an option to stop F1. That is a scenario. If we don’t have an engine that allows us to compete at the very front we will prefer to stop,” Marko warned last week.

Horner has said Mercedes were approached at the British Grand Prix but recognised it was “always going to be a bit of a long shot” and Ferrari was the main focus.

Lauda felt however that Mateschitz was never really serious about doing a deal with the German carmaker, “I know the reason. He doesn’t like Mercedes. I know him very well. So Ferrari is his option now and it’s up to him whether he wants to take it or not.”

[MIKA27]

ARRIVABENE: IN SOME RESPECTS VETTEL IS BETTER THAN MICHAEL

Sebastian Vettel is “better in some ways” even than Formula 1’s most successful driver of all time, according to Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene.

The Italian team boss contrasted Vettel and long-time Ferrari driver and F1 legend Schumacher in the pages of Corriere della Sera.

“Many said that Seb only wins because he has the best car and at times I thought so too,” Arrivabene said. “Now that I work with him, I can say that, in some respects, he is even better than Michael.

“Especially his character, because Michael was an introvert who opened up to only a small group of people, while Seb is regarded by the guys as one of them,” observed the Maranello team chief.

Schumacher of course galvanised the Ferrari team in the late nineties and turned the team into a mighty force winning five back-to-back world titles between 2000 and 2004.

A decade later, between 2010 and 2012, Vettel did a similar job at Red Bull winning three consecutive F1 world titles in the process.

Although Schumacher had little impact or influence on Vettel’s junior career, the pair became closer once the younger German graduated into Formula 1.

The pair became teammates in the Race of Champions event held each year, and together won six Nations’ Cup titles at the annual event.

Vettel told media when he joined Ferrari, “When I grew up Michael was my hero, and for all of us – and I speak for all of the kids at the go-kart track at the time in Germany – we looked up to him. When he turned up every year, and to look after us a little bit, it made our lives.”

Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo recalled during a recent interview, “The first to speak well of Vettel at Ferrari was Schumacher. It was the summer when he had to get back racing to replace Massa. He said: The perfect driver for you is Seb.”

After his recent win in Singapore Vettel mused, “Michael’s [record] is just ridiculous: number of wins, number of poles, number of fastest laps. I think all the statistics you can go for you compare yourself to him or anyone to him, so I think that’s far away.”

“So if you have 23 corners in Singapore, I consider myself being in turn one and Michael in turn 23. I’m not really looking at that. I’m having a great time. I think I can consider myself very lucky and blessed the way things have turned out,” added Vettel.

[skalls]

Please tell me I'm not the only one that is just tired of red bull complaining left and right?

[MIKA27]

LOTUS CONFIDENT AHEAD OF DECISIVE COURT HEARING

The Lotus Formula 1 team are confident they can escape going into administration even if money owed to Britain’s tax authorities remains outstanding before a London High Court hearing on Monday.

“Physically, cash doesn’t have to be in a bank account,” Lotus chief executive Matthew Carter told Reuters during the Japanese Grand Prix weekendwhen asked about the technicalities.

“There needs to be intention, a show that things are heading in the right direction. That’s what everyone wants,” added the Briton. “There’s clearly movement. I know from our level that things have moved in the last seven days. We’re confident.”

Lotus, one of the sport’s iconic names and the team that won world championships with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso in previous guises of Benetton and Renault, are hoping to be rescued by Renault.

However takeover talks have dragged on, with Renault still to rule out leaving the sport entirely after years as engine suppliers, and a series of creditors have begun to lose patience.

At the last High Court hearing on 18 September the court heard that Lotus owed the tax authorities three missed payments of 905,000 pounds ($1.37 million) each plus interest.

The judge, Mr Justice Birss, agreed to a final adjournment on the basis there was “genuinely a real prospect” of the first stage of a deal being signed which would allow significant funding into the company..

“We are very confident that it will get resolved tomorrow, as we have been through the whole situation as it’s gone on,” said Carter.

“It’s clearly not in any one’s best interests for the company to be put into administration — creditors, HMRC, anyone at all. I think it’s just a case of making sure that we keep everyone happy and give everyone exactly what they need tomorrow.”

Lotus have faced a series of legal actions against them this season, with bailiffs impounding their cars after the Belgian Grand Prix in a dispute with former reserve Charles Pic.

In Japan, they have been locked out of a hospitality unit intended for their use after they failed to pay circuit organisers.

Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who is not in Japan, arranged for the team’s hungry mechanics to be fed with staff of the VIP paddock club.

Carter said the failures of the Caterham and Marussia teams last year, with both placed into administration and only the latter finding a new owner and emerging to fight another day, had made creditors nervous.

“We as a team have obviously lost sponsors since last year, we finished lower down in the order which has given us less of a budget,” he said.

“And it’s very public that we are trying to negotiate a sale of the team. And while that sale process has been ongoing, money has been held back and it’s just made things very tight.”

Lotus, whose major sponsor is the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA that backs race driver Pastor Maldonado, finished fourth overall in 2013 but slumped to eighth in 2014 with just 10 points.

Previously owned by Renault, they were sold to Gerard Lopez’s Genii Capital after it emerged in 2009 that Brazilian Nelson Piquet junior had been ordered to crash deliberately at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix won by team mate Alonso.

That scandal also led to the departure of flamboyant Italian principal Flavio Briatore. Luxembourg-based Lopez, an early investor in Skype, is the current principal although he has attended few races this season.

The team employs around 400 staff at their factory at Enstone.

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Please tell me I'm not the only one that is just tired of red bull complaining left and right?

You're not the only one mate - Horner, Helmut Marko and now Dietrich Mateschitz moaning is becoming a nightmare. Even while they were winning they mouaned each time another team came up with a new aero package, Horner would secretly file a complaint and question the rules.

If they leave, then I hope they do. It would be bad for the sport but equally good because F1 will recover and move forward. I'd feel bad for those drivers in the teams. Look at Toro Rosso, sister team kicking butt over RBR. Franz Tost isn't moaning about it.

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BUTTON SCOFFS AT DENNIS’ CLAIM THAT 2016 DEAL IS DONE

There were plenty of shattered pieces to pick up after McLaren-Honda’s struggling partnership continued to fall apart in Japan.

Even Mercedes’ Niki Lauda was drawn into the saga, having suggested that his old team boss Ron Dennis should end the uncertainty about Jenson Button’s future by simply coughing up the agreed money.

Lauda was publicly rebuked on the grid by Dennis on Sunday, “I just wanted to help “to keep Jenson in formula one as the last gentleman in this sport.”Dennis, reportedly sick in bed with a virus on Saturday, also tried to repair the damage on Sunday by saying he always intended to keep Button on the team for 2016.

But when told about Dennis’ confirmation, Button was unimpressed, “That’s his choice, but I’m not going to comment on something that I don’t know the future of.

“It’s a private matter that shouldn’t be publicised,” Button added. “It’s not the right time to say anything because nothing is done.”

Dennis had said the matter of Button’s contract was “simple”, but Button insisted: “There’s been a lot going on. It’s not been straightforward.”

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ARRIVABENE EXPLAINS ‘VETTEL BETTER THAN SCHUMIE’ COMMENT

Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene was on the defensive after suggesting Sebastian Vettel is “better” than the F1 legend Michael Schumacher.

In an Italian newspaper interview, the Ferrari chief said Vettel is better than his German countryman Schumacher “especially in his character”.

“Michael was an introvert who opened up to only a small group of people, while Seb is regarded by the guys as one of them,” Arrivabene told Corriere della Sera.

Unsurprisingly, given seven time world champion Schumacher’s achievements but also his ongoing recovery from brain injuries, the comments were controversial.

Gerhard Berger told Bild am Sonntag ,”It hurt when I read that. Above all with the situation that Michael is in now, but apart from that Michael has a strong character.”

“But in principle I fight when people talk about people who, like Michael now, cannot defend themselves. Michael won five – and I said five – titles for Ferrari, so I think these statements were not fair,” Berger added.

And Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm agreed: “I am delighted for Ferrari, Sebastian and Maurizio that things are already going so well, but I don’t like to make comparisons with Michael.

“Michael in his Ferrari days was definitely not an extroverted type, but that says nothing about the quality of his character.

“I remember well how popular he was with the mechanics and the whole team, not only because of his achievements, but also because of his nature and his leadership,” Kehm added.

Arrivabene, however, accused the media of making a “big story out of nothing”.

“With all due respect I have always said that Michael and Sebastian are both great champions, two great people, and of course they are different,” he told the broadcaster RTL.

And as for Schumacher’s recovery, Arrivabene insisted: “I pray for him. He is always in my heart.

“Michael is a fantastic, great champion and man, just like Sebastian — that’s what I said. But both are different people when you meet them, Michael introverted, Seb extroverted. That’s all I said. I was very surprised by this reaction,” he added.

Arrivabene also said: “Both (Schumacher and Vettel) are very good friends of mine, and if you got to know Michael well, then you know what a super guy he is.

“With Seb it’s just easier to get to know him,” he added, “but my comments should not be taken as contempt for Michael — quite the opposite.”

MIKA: I see alot of pics with Seb and Arrivabene and I say: "Get a room"

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SILVERSTONE BOSS ADMITS 2016 RACE AXE POSSIBLE

A dark cloud has moved above the future of the British Grand Prix as a report in the Telegraph newspaper quotes Silverstone’s managing director Patrick Allen as saying funding has become a problem, raising the prospect the historic race will be scratched.

Writers Christian Sylt, Caroline Reid and Lucy Morson explained that with track bosses a year behind in the race fee to Bernie Ecclestone, a ‘letter of credit’ is now necessary to guarantee the 2016 race is not axed.

F1 CEO Ecclestone confirmed: “They (Silverstone) are paying next year for this year’s race because I have allowed them to do this otherwise they would have closed before.”

And Allen said: “Can I guarantee the future? No I can’t. Could I hand on heart say to Mr Ecclestone, ‘Don’t worry, your money is absolutely safe for the next 10 years’? No I couldn’t.”

“To pull the contract would be a sad thing for Silverstone, it would be a sad thing for motor racing and it would be a very sad thing for Britain,” he added.

The solution, Allen suggested, is for Silverstone to find a buyer, “You want somebody that has got lots of money, who loves motor racing, who really wants to run Silverstone profitably but has the capital to inject into the business so it fixes the balance sheet and takes the risk profile away.”

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MELBOURNE HAPPY WITH MARCH DATE FOR SEASON OPENER

Australian Grand Prix organisers say they will accept an earlier-than-planned race date on the 2016 Formula 1 world championship calendar.

Although tickets for a race in early April next year are already being sold, reports on Monday suggested Bernie Ecclestone has now re-shaped the schedule in order to restore a full four-week summer break next August.

It means Melbourne is reportedly moving back to 20 March, two weeks earlier than planned, with the new date set to be put to the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday for ratification.

“It’s not a problem,” Australian grand prix corporation chief Andrew Westacott said.

“We’ll conduct the race on whatever date suits the requirements of the global F1 calendar except Easter (March 27). Otherwise, we’re open-minded,” he added.

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THREE-CAR F1 TEAMS CONCEPT BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The spectre of three cars per team in Formula 1 has raised its head in the Suzuka paddock, as Red Bull inches closer to quitting the grid.

Earlier in Japan, it seemed a rescue deal between F1’s energy drink camp and Ferrari over a supply of A-spec engines was now very close.

“The racing should be on the track, not in advance,” Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene told Corriere della Sera.

“We, like Mercedes, sell cars and engines, so we can speak with anyone without problems. Then it is obvious that for a deal it is a matter of supply and demand,” he added.

Not only that, Gerhard Berger – famously close to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz – hinted that Mercedes may also be back in the fray. But by Sunday, the situation has clearly changed.

“After careful analysis, we took a clear position,” Mercedes’ Toto Wolff declared. “We do not want to do it (supply Red Bull).

“Red Bull is a good brand for formula one but first of all we have to think about ourselves,” he insisted.

Mercedes has decided instead to align with the backmarker Manor, which would open up a race seat for 2016 for its reserve and DTM driver Pascal Wehrlein.

“It could well be that it will work out like that,” said Wolff, “but first of all some pieces need to fall into place. And to a certain extent we are on hold because of the situation with Lotus.”

Indeed, struggling Lotus has a Mercedes engine contract in place for 2016, but the Enstone team could either collapse or be bought out by Renault.

The final option for Red Bull is therefore Ferrari, but Germany’s Sport Bild reports that the Maranello team is shying away from offering an ‘A spec’.

Red Bull, however, says it would rather quit F1 than run a ‘B’ engine.

“Our position is different to that of Ferrari, McLaren or Williams,” said Christian Horner.

“For us, the sport must be worthwhile from a marketing perspective, and to ensure that, we must not be limited in terms of having access to the best tools,” the Red Bull chief added.

And so the spectre of Red Bull and Toro Rosso’s withdrawal looms, and the very real possibility of F1 filling the gaps on the grid with three-car teams returns.

Auto Motor und Sport said the small teams like Force India wouldn’t mind, with official Otmar Szafnauer suggesting it may result in the team being paid “25 million more” to cover the costs. Mercedes also sees a bright side.

“There are many good young drivers on the market,” said Wolff. “You could put them in competitive cars and have a strong field of 24 cars. But the priority must be to keep Red Bull on the grid.”

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GASLY IS NEW RED BULL RESERVE

GP2 Series driver Pierre Gasly is the new reserve driver at Red Bull.

Late last year, the energy drink company re-appointed for 2015 its regular reserve Sebastien Buemi, but the Swiss also has duties at Le Mans and Formula E.

With GP2 races no longer clashing with grands prix, Gasly appeared in Red Bull colours in Japan and now appears to be the most promising member of Red Bull’s development programme who is on the cusp of breaking into F1.

“Yes,” the 19-year-old confirmed at Suzuka. “I will remain the reserve driver at least until the year of the year, in Mexico and Brazil as well as the tracks where there are GP2 races.

“It is a nice sign that the team is satisfied with my work,” said Gasly.