FORMULA 1 - 2015

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‘Are you sure it’s best to stay out?’ Radio call which cost Hamilton victory revealed

The radio message which cost Lewis Hamilton a likely victory in the Monaco Grand Prix has been revealed for the first time.

Hamilton was leading the Monaco Grand Prix when a pit stop during a Safety Car period at the end of the race handed victory to his team mate Nico Rosberg.

As Hamilton admitted afterwards, his team had originally said he should stay out but he queries the call and was concerned his rivals would take the opportunity to switch to super-soft tyres.

The decision was then taken for Hamilton to pit, as Mercedes incorrectly believed he would be able to do so and remain in the lead.

The pivotal radio message was not broadcast during the race, but can be heard in the edited highlights of the Monaco Grand Prix video on the official Formula One website. It includes the following exchange between Hamilton and race engineer Peter Bonnington:

Peter Bonnington to Lewis Hamilton "Safety Car, Safety Car. So we are staying out."

Lewis Hamilton to Peter Bonnington Are you sure it’s the best thing to stay out? These tyres have lost all their temperature. Everyone’s going to be on [super-softs] now.

Peter Bonnington to Lewis Hamilton OK. Copy, copy. Box, box.

After the race Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff said “I’m sorry for Lewis that we made the mistake and I’m sorry for Lewis”. He described the decision as “a misjudgement in the heat of the moment”.

Other radio messages which were not broadcast during the race which can be heard in the video include Daniel Ricciardo saying “get out of my way” as he passed Kimi Raikkonen, in a move the Ferrari driver claimed deserved a penalty.

MIKA: So....WTF is Lewis complaining and acting all cut up about!?

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20 years ago today: F1’s last race with a full grid

The last Formula One race to feature a full grid of 26 cars took place on this day in 1995. The Monaco Grand Prix, round five of the championship, was contested by 13 constructors each fielding two cars.

The collapse of the Simtek team following the race left Formula One without enough cars to fill the grid – a situation which has persisted ever since.

The race saw the continuation of the rivalry between reigning champion Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill, who had been runner-up the previous year. Ahead of the most prestigious grand prix of the year, each had won two of the previous four races and Schumacher led Hill by a single point.

Mansell departs

The organisers had expected to see two world champions among the 26 drivers, but that changed just days before practice was due to start. In a far from unexpected move, McLaren announced Nigel Mansell had stepped down from the team.

Mansell had returned from IndyCar racing part-way through 1994 to perform as an occasional substitute for the late Ayrton Senna at Williams. After winning the final race of the season at Adelaide, Mansell was expected to make a full-time return with the team, but instead they selected the inexperienced David Coulthard.

In a situation not unlike this year, McLaren was embarking on a difficult first season with a new engine supplier – in this case Mercedes. Title sponsor Marlboro was anxious not to miss the opportunity to sign a world champion, and pressed for Mansell’s appointment alongside Mika Hakkinen.

The marriage did not last. At the launch of the inelegant MP4-10 the assembled media wondered why Mansell was perched on the side of the car instead of sat in it. The rumours he couldn’t fit in the cockpit were later revealed, embarrassingly, to be true. He missed the opening rounds in Brazil and Argentina while McLaren constructed a chassis wide enough to accommodate his frame.

But once Mansell returned, he did not enjoy what he found. The car handled poorly, and the team’s young charge ran rings around him. After two unhappy appearances at the San Marino and Spanish rounds, the 1992 world champion bade farewell to F1. Mark Blundell, who had stood in for him at the beginning of the season, returned to the cockpit.

There was another change in the field from the previous race. Twelve months earlier Karl Wendlinger had been left in a coma after crashing at Monaco’s harbour front chicane. Wendlinger had returned to the Sauber team at the beginning of 1995 but with team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen out-qualifying him to the tune of two seconds all was clearly not well.

Rather than subject him to the pressures of competing at the track which maimed him the year before, Sauber swapped him for Williams test driver and reigning Formula 3000 champion Jean-Christophe Boullion.

Taki Inoue inverts

In previous seasons ‘qualifying’ had meant exactly that: as there were more cars entered than there were places on the grid, the purpose of qualifying (and sometimes pre-qualifying) was to eject the slower entrants. This ceased to be the case at the end of 1994 as the Lotus and Larrousse teams collapsed. Only the arrival of Forti meant there were enough cars for a full grid.

The last driver to occupy 26th place on an F1 grid has his preparations for the race wrecked – quite literally – by a shocking lapse on the part of the organisers.

Taki Inoue spun at Mirabeau during the Saturday morning practice session and had to wait until the chequered flag had fallen to be recovered by a tow truck. While this was happening rally driver Jean Ragnotti was treating an FIA delegate to a high-speed tour of the circuit. Arriving at the Swimming Pool complex, where the entrance was blind, Ragnotti slammed into Inoue’s car with enough force to flip it over.

Inoue – who fortunately had his helmet on but unfortunately was not strapped in – was thrown clear. His car’s roll hoop was too badly damaged for the chassis to be used so the organisers permitted him to use his spare car. This proved academic, as Inoue was not ruled fit to drive again until Sunday, so he remained rooted to the bottom of the times sheets.

Hill heads frantic session

Rain disrupted Thursday’s first qualifying session but the decisive hour of action on Saturday was dramatic.

Gerhard Berger hustled Ferrari’s last V12 car around the circuit to dramatic effect, but his efforts were only good enough for fourth on the times sheet. Before the end of the session he had to give his car up to team mate Jean Alesi, who had suffered an hydraulic failure on his car. But Alesi’s attempt to recover the provisional pole position he held after Thursday was thwarted when Eddie Irvine smashed his Jordan into the barrier at Tabac.

Schumacher and Hill had traded best times but it was the Williams driver who came out on top. Coulthard took a strong third on his debut in front of the two Ferraris. Next was Schumacher’s team mate Johnny Herbert, who had discovered that the flow of information at Benetton only towards Schumacher, and not from the world champion to his team mate.

Benetton’s priority in the opening races had been to regain their lost initiative. Despite having joined Williams in using Renault’s powerful V10 engine, ahead of the Spanish round designer Pat Symonds admitted Schumacher was having a much more difficult time than he had 12 months ago, when he swept to victory in the first five races.

Schumacher won the season-opener at Interlagos, but only after a suspension problem eliminated Hill. The Williams driver responded with wins at Buenos Aires and Imola – Schumacher crashing out of the latter.

The fourth round at the Circuit de Catalunya was Benetton’s breakthrough – Schumacher won from pole. But Hill, who lost precious points with a last-lap gearbox failure in Spain, now had a chance to emulate one of his father’s five Monaco Grand Prix wins.

Simtek outpaced fellow newcomers Pacific in 1994 and had clearly made further gains in their second season. They now benefitted from the use of Benetton gearboxes and the arrival of that team’s test driver, Jos Verstappen, who took them to the heights of 14th on the grid in Argentina.

But there were worried faces at Monaco. The team’s debts were mounting up, and manager Nick Wirth admitted that if further funding did not materialise before the next round in Canada they would have to close. Monaco was the one venue where the possibility of a high rate of retirement could give them cause for optimism – but it would prove to be a crushing disappointment.

Coulthard tangles with the Ferraris

The drivers had been advised that in the event of a crash at the first corner the Safety Car, introduced to grand prix racing a few years earlier, would be deployed. However when that very scenario unfolded the decision was taken to red-flag and restart the race.

Starting his first Monaco Grand Prix from third on the grid, David Coulthard was too busy steering clear of Berger’s Ferrari on his left that he didn’t notice Alesi in the other red car appearing on his right. Contact was made, and Coulthard arrived at Sainte Devote facing in the wrong direction and tangled up with both the Ferraris.

The red flags duly appeared. This was a relief for Coulthard and the Ferrari drivers, who all had spare cars available to take the restart in, but a disappointment for Martin Brundle, whose Ligier had emerged from the melee in third place.

And for Simtek the red flag marked the end of their F1 adventure. Schiattarella’s damaged car was pushed away, and a damaged gearbox kept Verstappen from taking the restart. Never again would 26 cars take the start of an F1 race.

Schumacher outmanouevres Hill

The second time around Coulthard made a much better start – so much so that instead of worrying about the Ferraris he had a speculative look down the inside of Schumacher as they braked for Sainte Devote. From then on, however, the Benetton ahead diminished in his vision as Hill and Schumacher quickly drew clear of the chasing pack.

Not everyone had got away so cleanly, however. The recent introduction of automatic jump start sensors – replacing the start line judges used before – caught out no fewer than six drivers: Gianni Morbidelli (who pitted soon after the start to have a tyre blanket cord removed from his wheel), Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Rubens Barrichello, Andrea Montermini and the Ligiers of Panis and Brundle.

These delayed drivers were among the clutch of backmarkers which Hill and Schumacher began to catch around lap 20, by which time a gearbox failure had sidelined Coulthard. Schumacher had put Hill under fierce pressure initially then dropped back, but as lapped traffic 20 years ago were not obliged to move aside as quickly as they are today, the delayed Hill was soon caught again by his rival.

In-race refuelling had been reintroduced to Formula One at the beginning of the previous season at Bernie Ecclestone’s urging, out of a desire to ‘improve the show’. It shaped the outcome of the race on a few occasions, and when it proved decisive it usually showed Benetton had sussed its nuances more quickly than Williams.

Monaco supplied evidence that in the second year of refuelling this was still the case. Williams took the opportunity to get Hill away from the slower cars, bringing him in for the first of what would be two pit stops. Theoretically a two-stop strategy could be faster than one.

But Benetton understood that building up the necessary gap over a rival to justify an extra pit stop would always be difficult at Monaco, where overtaking is difficult. Unlike today, backmarkers 20 years ago did not have to pull over immediately once they had been shown three blue flags.

Sure enough, soon after his pit stop Hill was back in traffic again. So was Schumacher, albeit with the benefit of a lighter car, allowing him to take advantage of clear air ahead when he had it. Even so he raised his arm in frustration as he lapped Blundell, having spent almost two laps behind the McLaren.

Schumacher eventually headed to the pits on lap 36, having gone 12 laps further than Hill, and he lost the lead not to the Williams driver, but Alesi. The Ferrari was also one-stopping, and though he spent just a single lap in the lead, after making his pit stop he also returned to the track in front of Hill.

It seemed as though Williams’ strategy had dropped Hill from first to third, but he was grappling with other problems as well. A faulty differential left him grappling with pronounced understeer, though the problem wasn’t diagnosed until his car was stripped down post-race.

Alesi was destined not to finish ahead of Hill, however. Four laps after his pit stop he was trying to lap Brundle when the Ligier hit the barrier at Tabac and Alesi was unable to avoid getting tangled up in the accident.

Berger, whose replacement Ferrari was not as powerful as his original car, therefore inherited third place. Johnny Herbert moved up to second in front of Blundell. And Minardi’s Luca Badoer gained two places, briefly putting him on course for his first points finish, until his pit stop dropped him behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

Schumacher seizes the initiative

With his second consecutive Monaco Grand Prix victory, Schumacher had regained the initiative in the drivers’ championship contest. Hill would only take one more win that year – in Hungary – before Schumacher clinched the title.

Benetton also scored a coup by giving their new engine supplier Renault their first ever victory in their principality. None had come during their time as a works constructor, nor when supplying Lotus with engines or even when Renault’s V10 powered the all-conquering Williams cars of 1992 and 1993.

Williams had nowhere to hide after losing the most prestigious race on the calendar through a clear strategic error. Williams technical director Patrick Head later admitted Benetton had exposed them as being “operationally poor” in 1995.

Others in the team laid the blame for the poor season elsewhere. Design mastermind Adrian Newey reckoned Hill “wasn’t the driver in 1995 that he had been in the previous year” and that Mansell “would have won the championship” in the FW17. Later that same day, Jacques Villeneuve won the Indianapolis 500, and within a few months Williams had hired him to take Coulthard’s place for 1996. Before the year was out, Hill’s seat had also been earmarked for another driver – Heinz-Harald Frentzen – from 1997.

Grid gets smaller

At the other end of the grid, the loss of Simtek brought an end to years of full fields for Formula 1 races. Just six years earlier races were regularly attended by 50% more cars than there were spaces for them on the grid – nearly twice as many as there are today.

Those running the sport, however, felt that further obstacles needed to be put in the way of F1’s smallest teams. From 1996 a new rule prevented any driver who did not lap within 107% of the pole position time from starting.

That year just 22 cars started the first race of the year, and the grid has rarely risen above that level since. Today the figure is just 20, and it is only that high thanks to the 11th-hour rescue of the Manor team.

Later, new teams were required to lodge a multi-million pound bond with the FIA. Today no one can enter the sport without submitting a tender to the sport’s governing body. Given the huge cost of competition and revenue system skewed in favour of a small number of preferred teams, there are unsurprisingly few takers.

Twenty years on, full Formula 1 grids are a thing of the past, and that is undoubtedly by design.

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Ferrari given all-clear after FIA wind tunnel inspection

Ferrari has been given the all-clear by the FIA following a detailed inspection of its wind tunnel facilities after the Spanish Grand Prix to ensure it was complying with Formula 1's rules, Motorsport.com has learned.

The scale of the car upgrade that the Maranello team was able to deliver at Barcelona, despite new wind tunnel and CFD restrictions, prompted suggestions from other teams that the outfit could be exploiting the regulations. (Let me guess, RBR?)

One theory was that Ferrari was making use of extra wind tunnel time through its technical partnership with Haas, and there may even have been sharing of knowledge, personnel or parts.

With Ferrari's rivals making clear their frustrations to the FIA, Motorsport.com has learned that the governing body dispatched one of its senior technical inspectors to Maranello to investigate.

FIA visits Ferrari

The FIA's F1 Technical and Sporting Co-ordinator Marcin Budkowski, who was the former chief aerodynamicist of McLaren and used to work at Ferrari, was sent to Maranello to look closely at the Ferrari wind tunnel programme.

But after a detailed look, he was satisfied that Ferrari was operating within the rules and that its relationship with Haas was fully above board.

An FIA spokesman confirmed to Motorsport.com that the governing body had looked into how the relationship was working between Ferrari and Haas and has no cause for alarm.

"There is a unique arrangement between Ferrari and Haas, and we felt it necessary to check that things were being operated as agreed," he said.

"This was done in considerable detail during the week after the Spanish Grand Prix, and everything was satisfactory."

Ferrari and Haas separate

Although Ferrari and Haas are embarking on a close technical partnership for 2016, both teams are ensuring that they operate within the regulations.

Haas has been clear from the start that it will use as many technical parts as it can from Ferrari but will ensure it owns the IP for the parts it has to design itself.

A Ferrari spokesman confirmed that Haas was using the Maranello wind tunnel as part of its partnership, but rubbished talk that there was any sharing of knowledge, parts or staff.

"Ferrari has an agreement with Haas to provide it with a power unit and we also have a technical partnership," he told Motorsport.com

"As is allowed under the existing regulations, we are allowing them to use the wind tunnel in Maranello. But we do not have a shared wind tunnel programme.

"In aerodynamic terms we are two completely separate entities. The use of the wind tunnel is separate; there are separate models and parts. And also personnel are completely different. We do not share staff."

He added: "We were visited by Mr. Budkowski on behalf of the FIA. They have confirmed that everything is in order and we are well within the regulations."

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Formula 1 Strategy Group has 'no strategy', claims Manor team

Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon believes Formula 1's Strategy Group is failing to address fundamental questions in its attempt to overhaul F1.

While plans are in place to ensure cars are five to six seconds quicker than at present come 2017, there are also moves afoot behind the scenes to bring in customer or franchise cars.

Manor would appear to be a prime target to adopt such a proposal given it is a team still trying to find its financial feet again after emerging from the brink of extinction earlier this year.

Lowdon, though, has suggested to AUTOSPORT the Strategy Group is failing in its duty to come up with clear and concise plans.

"From what I have seen there is no strategy that has ever been articulated out of the Strategy Group," said Lowdon.

"A strategy is first analysing, then setting goals and objectives, then working out how you are going to operate and creating a plan that can be followed.

"What the Strategy Group appear to be doing is cherry-picking bits of ideas, whether it's refuelling, customer cars, franchise cars, or whatever.

"Refuelling and customer cars are not strategies. A strategy articulates a road map of how you are going to get somewhere.

"To my mind, they are ignoring one of the most fundamental things, and that is, what is the overall strategy for Formula 1? What is it we are trying to do?

"I would hope the growth strategy for Formula 1 is something that could be articulated to everybody so people can understand how it is growing.

"Any large international company will tell you defining and evaluating strategies is fundamental to running their business. It's difficult as it takes time and effort."

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

While Lowdon can at least appreciate the cost savings in heading down the route of customer cars, he feels such a plan is not being properly thought through.

"Will a customer car be cheaper for someone to buy? Well, yes, obviously," he said.

"Is it a good or a bad thing? You can only really judge that by assessing whether the sport will grow. It's the same with the franchise idea.

"It's all about asking the right questions, and at the moment I'm not sure the right questions are being asked.

"With customer cars, or something else like that, it is inherently going to mean some sort of two-tier formula.

"Is that what the fans want? Somebody prove that is the case, or evaluate the strategy and say 'this is the best strategy for Formula 1'.

"In my view there is an awful lot of effort being made in trying to answer questions, but maybe the questions are wrong.

"One of the worst things you can do is pose the wrong question and get everybody busy trying to solve the wrong problem."

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Villeneuve: It’s dangerous for Formula 1 to ask fans for views

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes it is "dangerous" to ask fans for their views on shaping the future of Formula 1.

Last week, AUTOSPORT, F1 Racing and Motorsport News unveiled a global fan survey, which closes today, with the Grand Prix Drivers' Association following suit.

But Villeneuve disagreed with the idea of getting fans involved and added that the sport should stop trying to attract more fans and instead focus on entertaining the current following.

"It is dangerous to ask the fans what they want, because a lot of modern F1 is what the fans wanted," the 1997 world champion told AUTOSPORT.

"Obviously it doesn't work. It is knowing what is required which is very intricate.

"You can't just come up with something in five seconds.

"We have a tonne more overtaking than we have ever had, but people are more bored than they ever were.

"What we are missing is a special Formula 1.

"Formula 1 should stop trying to get more fans and concentrate on the fans it already has."

When asked what he considered to be a "special Formula 1", the 11-­time F1 race winner replied: "What is special is a car that no-one can drive.

"It is a car that only 10 guys in the world can drive properly and 10 others can survive properly in it. Like it used to be.

"It is a car that is crazy fast. F1 should be the extremes of everything."

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Ecclestone urges Indian GP promoters to make a decision

Bernie Ecclestone says the future of the Indian Grand Prix is in the promoter’s hands, and that he is waiting on the Jaypee Group to “come back to me”.

The race has been absent from the Formula 1 calendar since 2013, the contract between promoters the Jaypee Group and Ecclestone having been frozen three races into a five-race deal.

Ecclestone, however, claims that he is happy to add India back to the calendar for 2016, and that he is just waiting on the okay from the Jaypee Group.

“I hope we have a race in India next year. I am waiting for the promoters to come back to me,” he told the Press Trust of India.

“We will do whatever is needed to make sure India is back. There are no added challenges to the event.

“We just need the Jaypee Group to say that 'we are happy to carry on' and we can revive the existing contract.”

Ecclestone also stressed that the organisers had to make their minds up fast should they want to have a race on what is an already bulging draft schedule for 2016.

“They need to be in a hurry. Within the next two months, we need to know,” Ecclestone added.

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Mexico: No complacency despite sell-out F1 return

Mexican Grand Prix chiefs insist that a sell-out crowd for this year's Formula 1 race will not allow them to believe their job is done in securing the event's long-term future.

Interest in F1's return to Mexico for the first time since 1992 has caught race organisers by surprise, with general admission tickets being snapped up within a matter of minutes when they were released earlier this year.

But despite a 300,000 weekend attendance predicted for the GP, track bosses know that their real challenge comes in keeping audiences coming back from 2016 onwards.

Federico Gonzalez, the Mexican GP's managing director, told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview: "There are several reasons why this year is such a success.

"We haven't had the race for 23 years, so that helps. We have a 20 million population in the city, which helps. And the prices are reasonable, which helps. It is a bunch of things that help.

"But the real challenge is to keep that spirit of fans continuously going to the race. That is the most challenging thing, not the first one. The first event is all happiness. The challenge will come over the following years."

Sell-out in minutes

Although Mexico has not hosted an F1 race since 1992, interest in the sport has been boosted by the presence of drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez in recent years.

Rodrigo Sanchez, director of marketing, said that ticket sales could not have gone better – as the circuit evaluates adding more grandstands.

"We launched our ticket sales in March and the response was just astonishing," he said.

"Not wishing to sound cocky or anything, I think we were expecting a good reaction, because I think we did our homework well. But the response was just astonishing.

"Within minutes, 3-5 minutes in some cases, the tickets sold out in a majority of the areas – so it has been great. It has been a great experience…."

Sanchez said that although the sale of tickets was a success, it was important that Mexico now delivered a great fan experience to ensure people came back in the future

"Right now the focus is to fully execute a successful GP," he said. "We have done well on ticket sales but it is not the end. There is still so much to do.

"For us, we need to guarantee that the experience at the track is a world class experience, that people are happy, and that international people who come get a true taste of what Mexico is.

"From there we need to look at years two, three, four or five."

Help to American foothold

Preparations for the Mexican GP are on schedule, with the new asphalt being laid this week and preparation on the pit and paddock facility now 75 per cent complete.

Sanchez thinks that the fact Mexico is forming a double-header with Austin will be a boost to the sport on the American continent.

"I think it reinforces the message of F1 in America. As you know, at European races, there is a strong tradition of F1 because they have been consistently having races in these places for many, many years.

"On the American continent, we haven't had the fortune of continuity of F1 throughout the years.

"This is the third time that F1 comes to Mexico. We had our first round in the 1960's, then the 1980's and early 1990's and then after 23 years F1 will be back to Mexico in 2015.

"In the USA, they have jumped from Dallas to Detroit to Phoenix to Indy to Austin. There was talk about New Jersey, but there hasn't really been a consistent face of 15-20 years of F1 in the American continent overall.

"For us, having a partner like Austin reinforces the message. It creates more fanbase and it is really important to try to reach out to the new fanbase and kids especially. In the end, this new fanbase will be the next generation of ticket buyers."

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Four arrested in Red Bull trophies robbery

Four men have been arrested by UK Police in connection with the theft of trophies from the Red Bull factory late last year.

A total of 60 trophies were stolen from Red Bull Racing's factory in Milton Keynes on December 6, with some 20 recovered from a lake 10 days later.

According to the BBC's Crimewatch TV show, four men allegedly involved in the robbery had been arrested, although there has been no official confirmation from the Thames Valley Police yet.

"In January we appealed for your help following the theft of trophies from the Infinity [Red Bull] Formula 1 team's headquarters in Milton Keynes," said presenter Sonali Shah.

"The latest is that four men have now been arrested in connection with the thefts and are currently in custody."

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HAMILTON’S FORMER GP2 TEAM SET TO BE MCLAREN-HONDA F1 B-TEAM

An early frontrunner to be the twelfth team in 2016 has already emerged after the FIA surprised the F1 world by announcing it is searching for another team to join newcomer Haas F1 Team, perhaps as soon as 2016.

Given it is already almost June, Auto Motor und Sport on Friday suggested the only possible way a brand new team could be ready for 2016 is if ‘customer cars’ are given the green light.

Another possibility is that the identity of the twelfth team is already quietly known. Auto Motor und Sport’s Michael Schmidt thinks one candidate makes a lot of sense – the leading GP2 team ART Grand Prix – which helped power Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg into Formula 1.

Rosberg was GP2 champion in 2005 with Art Grand Prix, and a year later Hamilton won the title – both stepped up into Formula 1 after their GP2 championship years – Rosberg with Williams and Hamilton with McLaren.

The team have won three GP2 titles since the series began in 2005, more than any other team with the abovementioned and Pastor Maldonado who was champion in 2010 before progressing to F1 with Williams.

It is headed by Nicolas Todt, whose father is the FIA president Jean Todt, and already features the impressive McLaren junior Stoffel Vandoorne at the wheel. Stoffel Vandoorne as well as highly rated Honda backed Japanese driver. Nobuharu Matsushita

As a McLaren-Honda B-team, ART’s F1 debut could also provide a route back onto the grid for Kevin Magnussen.

Asked if the FIA already knows the identity of the new 2016 team, spokesman Matteo Bonciani said on Friday: “The FIA has no particular candidate in mind. It could also be that a carmaker will apply.

“In the event that it is possible, we must put in place the necessary procedure, and that is what we have done,” he added.

Last week, McLaren supremo Ron Dennis travelled with official reserve Magnussen to Copenhagen and made an appeal to the Danish business community to back the 22-year-old’s return to the grid.

Dennis was quoted by the local Ekstra Bladet as saying that, with champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button at McLaren currently, “Perhaps that means I have to help him (Magnussen) into another team for another learning year”.

But as for the talk of ART becoming a McLaren ‘B’ team, a spokesman for the Woking based outfit told us: “We have no such plans and have had no such discussions.”

Currently in Formula 1 only Red Bull have a defacto B-team in the guise of Toro Rosso, but Ferrari have in the past used Marussia as a test bed for their young drivers and next year are well entwined with the Haas F1 Team.

Mercedes have in the past had a strong tie-up with Force India, and more recently with Williams.

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GROSJEAN: WHAT WOULD I ACHIEVE BRAKE TESTING MAX?

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean has hit back at Max Verstappen’s claim he “brake-tested” the Toro Rosso rookie Dutchman in Monaco.

It was 17-year-old Verstappen who was penalised by the FIA following his heavy Ste Devote crash, but the Toro Rosso driver nonetheless claimed he was “brake-tested”.

Already denied this week by Lotus chief Alan Permane, Grosjean has now also admitted to being “annoyed” by the finger-pointing.

Asked specifically if he “brake-tested” Verstappen, the Lotus driver said: “Of course not, what would that possibly achieve?”

Grosjean said that while it is “easy” to keep a car behind in Monaco, “the difficult bit is for the guy trying to get past” and pointed out that the data even showed he braked five metres later than usual on the fateful

lap.

“The FIA are pretty thorough in their investigations and I don’t know which annoyed me more; being hit and knocked out of the points, or having to go through the inquiry afterwards for something that was clearly not my fault,” added Grosjean.

“Ultimately, Max caught himself out by driving too aggressively on the wrong circuit to attempt a move like he did and we both felt the consequences. He’ll learn; he’s a very talented driver,” he said.

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DENNIS: CHOOSING AN F1 DRIVER IS NOT ONLY ABOUT THEIR TALENT

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis jetted into Denmark this week to ask local companies to help power Kevin Magnussen back onto the Formula 1 grid, rather sooner than later and ominously declared that drivers need to bring funding to F1 teams irrespective of their talent.

“When teams are choosing between these young drivers,” he said during his trip, “unfortunately it’s not only about their talent.”

“It’s also about the support they have from companies or countries. Kevin will succeed with or without your help, but it’s just a much bigger challenge for him when his opponents are young people from countries with huge support.”

As Fernando Alonso was drafted in for the start of the works McLaren-Honda era, Danish rookie Magnussen was relegated to the reserve driver role despite a promising first season where he scored a podium finish in his debut race.

But now the 22-year-old is pushing to race again in 2016, and on Friday was being linked in the media with a potential McLaren ‘B’ team in the form of the French GP2 outfit ART.

Dennis, meanwhile, sat alongside Magnussen in Copenhagen, urging the Danish business community to get behind a national ‘hero’.

Asked if Magnussen will be on the 2016 grid with McLaren, Dennis was quoted by the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet: “I think Kevin has the ability to race next year. At the same time, he also knows that we live in the real world.

“I have two world champions who are among the very best. So he has to prove himself. Perhaps that means I have to help him into another team for another learning year,” he added.

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INSIDE LINE: IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGY IN MODERN F1

We often think that it is the Formula 1 driver who wins the Grand Prix, but we seldom see what goes on in the back end of the team.

Strategy is arguably one of the most important aspects of a successful Formula 1 campaign. No matter whether you are in the fastest car or the fastest driver on the grid, without a winning strategy, you can never really win.

Lewis Hamilton led the recent Monaco Grand Prix for almost 65 laps and had built a comfortable 20 second lead over second placed Nico Rosberg. The world champion was cruising to his second career win on the streets of Monaco.

Alas, this time around the safety car had to come out, after rookie Max Verstappen went on to hit Romain Grosjean on the first turn and rammed into the barriers – thankfully they were lucky to escape without any injuries.

At this point, Hamilton’s tyres were going off and he felt that he could be caught by Rosberg and Vettel if they both pit for fresh tyres under the safety car. The team inexplicably called the reigning champ in for a fresh set of tyres and totally miscalculated the gap between first and second place.

This ensured that when Lewis came out of the pits, Rosberg had already gone ahead and Vettel was a nose of the Mercedes – the trio behind the safety car. Thereafter there was no way for Lewis to pass the German jockey in the prancing horse and he had to settle for the last of the podium places.

Hamilton was rightfully dejected after the race and who knows this could very well be a huge momentum shift that Rosberg needed to kick off his 2015 bid for the driver’s championship and (who knows?) Sunday in Monaco may well be decisive in the title race come the year end.

High profile strategy blunders are hardly unique to the sport, and there are two relatively recent incidents which come to mind when I think of failed strategies that cost drivers the championship.

Flashback to 2010, the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi; Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari was third on the grid and Vettel was on pole. Alonso went into the race with a healthy points lead over Vettel and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber.

Come the safety car in the early stages of the race and Red Bull pitted Webber. Ferrari, very anxious at that time, covered Webber by bringing Alonso in the very next lap but did not cover Vettel.

As a result, Alonso got stuck behind traffic and managed to finish the race out of the top four, while Vettel in clear air at the front went on to win the race and his first Formula 1 title.

Ferrari had inadvertently put Alonso behind slower cars during the safety car period and the Spaniard could not make up further places and that cost him his third championship. Heads rolled that winter at Maranello.

Rewind further back to 2007, Hamilton’s impressive debut season in Formula 1. He was all set to win his first championship as a rookie. But what happens along the way? Strategy ruins it and handed the title to Kimi Raikkonen.

It was at the Chinese Grand prix and it was raining, with all the teams were on the wet weather tyres. Hamilton delayed his pit stop by one lap… just one lap. When he finally came into the pits, his tyres were so badly worn out that he simply had no grip and slithered straight into the gravel outside the pit lane.

He beached his McLaren just a less than fifty metres from his pit box. As a result he scored no points in this race and this gave Raikkonen the chance to close the gap and ****** the title in Brazil.

Strategy is a key element to success in modern Formula 1. If you’re not the best at everything you do in this sport, there is no way that you can be at the top of the championship – and strategy is arguably the most important elements to get right… all the time.

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HAAS: DRIVERS’ INTEREST IN OUR PROJECT IS PICKING UP

Haas F1 Team is now turning its attention to drivers ahead of their debut season in 2016, and may well contract existing Formula 1 drivers whose teams have delivered below expectations.

It emerged recently that due to his link to the team’s technology partner Ferrari, Esteban Gutierrez appears in pole position for one seat.

But Californian GP2 driver Alexander Rossi might also be a contender, while team owner Gene Haas has not ruled out a spectacular switch from Nascar for Danica Patrick.

The shortlist, however, is undoubtedly much longer than that, Haas indicated in a recent interview with USA Today, “I think the seriousness of the interest is picking up quite a bit. Right now there’s a lot of churning in the garage there in Formula 1.”

“Some people are doing really well and everybody else is doing really bad. Some of the teams they thought would do good really missed it. The drivers we would probably be getting are drivers who have gone to another team and aren’t happy with that team’s progress.”

“It’s a real chess game of figuring out who is going to wind up where. We’re just another alternative. I think drivers are very cognizant of the fact that if they choose the wrong venue, they can screw their careers.”

“Because when there’s technological issues they haven’t overcome, they’re wasting a whole year. And they don’t like to do that,” he explained.

He might be talking about Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, who have been openly disappointed with Force India’s progress in 2016.

That is despite team boss Vijay Mallya declaring to F1’s official website this week that “the chances that I will keep them (Hulkenberg and Perez) are absolutely very high”.

Haas said: “The drivers we would probably be getting are drivers who have gone to another team and aren’t happy with that team’s progress.

“I think drivers are very cognisant of the fact that if they choose the wrong venue, they can screw their careers,” he explained. “Because when there’s technological issues they haven’t overcome, they’re wasting a whole year.”

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RED BULL OPEN TO PROMOTING VERSTAPPEN IN 2016

Red Bull is open to changing its driver line-up for the 2016 Formula 1 season, according to De Telegraaf following Dutch teenager Max Verstappen’s meteoric debut for the junior outfit Toro Rosso this year, even though his progress hit a bump in Monaco with his heavy crash and subsequent penalties.

But until then, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner was declaring both Verstappen and fellow rookie Carlos Sainz’s debuts this year as “one of the positive stories in formula one at the moment”.

At the same time, pressure is mounting on the shoulders of Red Bull’s struggling Russian Daniil Kvyat, while lead driver Daniel Ricciardo is reportedly out of contract at the end of the season.

“According to a source within Red Bull,” said De Telegraaf, “replacing the current lineup of the team is certainly an option.”

The newspaper identified Kvyat as clearly the most endangered, as it was “noteworthy that only Ricciardo, Sainz and Verstappen were used for commercial activities by Red Bull in Monaco”.

De Telegraaf said Australian Ricciardo, on the other hand, is being eyed by Williams and Ferrari, whose drivers Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen could be leaving their respectively British and Italian teams at the end of the season.

At the same time, 17-year-old Verstappen is vowing not to let his Monaco crash with Romain Grosjean and subsequent penalties affect him.

“These things happen and will only make me stronger,” he declared on his website.

L’Equipe quotes him as saying: “I have learned many lessons since the beginning of the season, and I’m happy with the way things are going. Experience is essential, as it will enable me to achieve success in a top team.”

“Carlos and I are rookies, so when we make mistakes, we are more easily forgiven. But if I want to go to Red Bull, I have no right to make them,” Verstappen added.

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MASSA: WHAT HAPPENED IN MONACO WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN

Felipe Massa has backed his Williams team to recover immediately from a well below par weekend in Monaco, where the often front runners were nowhere among the leaders.

Valtteri Bottas said after the street race that it was the “second year in succession” the British team struggled in Monaco.

Technical boss Pat Symonds told Auto Motor und Sport: “There is no excuse. We had the same thing last year and obviously learned nothing from it.”

Massa, Bottas’ teammate, agreed: “We suffered in the practice sessions, in qualifying and in the race and I’m not sure it was just the tyres.”

But “I think what happened last week will not happen again,” the Brazilian is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.

“This was the worst circuit for us so I am very confident that in Canada and Austria, and even Silverstone that our car will be better again.”

In fact, Massa said Williams can expect to bounce back even stronger than before Monaco, “I don’t know what new parts we have for Canada but definitely for Austria we should take a big step.”

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KEHM EXPLAINS HANDLING OF SCHUMACHER PRIVACY

Michael Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm has defended her handling of the media since the F1 legend’s death defying skiing crash seventeen months ago.

Kehm and Schumacher’s wife Corinna have often been criticised for guarding privacy so fiercely since the late December 2013 accident.

It means the great German has not been seen publicly, while the nature of his health condition and recovery from brain injuries is largely unknown.

But Kehm told Der Spiegel, a German weekly: “Michael always had strict rules that we worked out together.”

“He kept his job strictly separately from the private side, and he never deviated from that,” she insisted. “There was never a ‘home story’, and no journalist ever had his phone number.”

Spiegel said that since Schumacher, now 46, returned home to his Swiss villa last September, photographers almost constantly hide in the nearby woods or attempt to catch a glimpse at the seven time world champion in low-flying helicopters.

The report said Kehm and the family are supported by Felix Damm, a media lawyer.

“For their privacy,” he said, “you have to imagine an island floating in a seat of tabloids.”

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RENAULT NOT SURPRISED BY FIA CLAMPDOWN

Renault says it is not surprised the FIA is clamping down on supposedly non-performance engine upgrades in Formula 1.

As the mid-year month of June approaches, it is believed Honda – for example – has found 50 horse power since Melbourne without spending a single ‘token’.

Amid the so-called ‘engine freeze’, the FIA’s token system gives manufacturers some limited scope to improve the performance of their power units during the season. But many changes, ostensibly for reliability reasons, can be done without exchanging tokens.

Honda is not alone. Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault also have not used a single token between them so far during the grand prix season, Omnicorse reports.

So over the Monaco weekend, the FIA issued a directive warning that any modifications to the engines from now on can only be made with 8 days notice, and accompanied by reams of explanatory data.

“I’m not surprised,” Renault’s F1 chief, Cyril Abiteboul, said. “Like last year, there were about 50 requests for modifying the engines put forward by the manufacturers.”

“It must not be easy to manage all of these requests so I am not surprised if the FIA wants to have more control over the situation,” the Frenchman added.

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GERMAN FANS COULD LOSE FREE TV COVERAGE

Formula 1’s struggling German market could be dealt yet another major blow, as the free-to-air coverage of the sport may end.

The country’s traditional spot on the race calendar was axed for 2015, and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone last week blasted top German stars Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg for inadequately promoting the sport.

“As the cancellation of the German grand prix indicates, Germany is a terrible market for formula one,” Ecclestone told F1’s official website.

Now it emerges that, in the not-too-distant future, German fans may be unable to watch formula one on free-to-air television.

The Hamburger Morgenpost reports that the quarter-century-old deal between F1 and the terrestrial broadcaster RTL is in danger, “It is said that RTL will invest all its energy into football,.”

An RTL spokesman played down the claims. “We have been the TV broadcaster of formula one in Germany for 24 years, and have always stressed that we would like to continue with this commitment.”

“For this we are in talks with formula one, and are wary of commenting on rumours and speculation.”

The Hamburger Morgenpost claims that RTL is asking for a reduction in the price of the broadcasting rights, due to flagging ratings and lower advertising returns.

If a new deal is not struck, it is suggested the German pay-broadcaster Sky is willing to step up to an exclusive deal.

MIKA: It's happening everywhere, here we used to have every race Live and free in HD, now this season, we have 50% of the season broadcast for free and I truly believe next season will be all pay TV.

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FIA SEEK TO MONITOR AND SHOW LIVE DRIVER BIOMETRICS

Formula 1’s governing body wants to plug the drivers into telemetry, with the FIA set to test the real-time collection of heart, respiratory and temperature biometrics of drivers on track later this year.

The ambition is to eventually mandate the collection of ‘human telemetry’, in the name of safety, something already being used and shown to viewers during Indycar races (above).

The report said the move would arm medical staff with crucial information in the event of crashes, such as those suffered by Jules Bianchi in Japan last year, or the mysterious winter testing incident that hospitalised Fernando Alonso.

As recently as two weeks ago, McLaren admitted that the cause of Alonso’s Barcelona crash might remain a mystery forever.

“We could see everything through the telemetry and he was fine and the way he describes the locking sensation and the moment he crashed the car, we can see it,” managing director Jonathan Neale is quoted by Express newspaper.

“In the three weeks that followed,” he added, “we went through a meticulous process with the FIA. We took that car apart, ran bench tests, combed through the data, opened it all up.

“The FIA were brilliant and gave us the data they had and we shared everything with them, we could not find anything,” said Neale.

“Poor Fernando too, he was like a pin cushion when they finished with him. He had been through so many different tests.

“I have got nothing more to be able to sift through,” Neale added. “He (Alonso) was thoroughly put through his paces. The reality is none of us really knows (what happened).”

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Kimi wants 'more challenging' F1

As F1 debates prospective rule changes, Kimi Raikkonen has urged those in charge to make it "more interesting" and "more challenge" for the drivers.

Following this month's Strategy Group meeting, F1 agreed to make the sport "five to six seconds" faster by introducing wider rear tyres, aerodynamic changes and reducing the weight of the cars.

Added to that, they also voted on higher revving engines, increased noise and the possibility of refuelling making a return.

But whatever they do, Raikkonen says he wants it to also be "more challenging" for the drivers.

"I mean obviously something has to change for the future to make it more interesting, to make it more challenging for us also," he told Crash.net.

"It would be nice to see the cars going faster and all those things."

The Finn also weighed in on the possibility of the current ban on some radio communication being extended to all communications.

And while he feels the current format has had little impact, he says a full ban would lead to drivers not finishing races.

He explained: "Overall I think it's not such a big deal to anybody but obviously taking the radio out completely would change a lot and probably in the beginning we wouldn't finish races.

"I don't think that's the way of making F1 more interesting."

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Silverstone 95 per cent sold out

Silverstone is once again heading towards a sell-out as only "5 per cent of total capacity" is still available.

With just a month to go before the British Grand Prix, fans still wanting tickets need to hurry.

In a statement, organisers revealed that a "combination of factors including recent ticket promotions and a revised child pricing policy have resulted in record sales for this year's event and only 5 per cent of total capacity remains available to sell."

In order to accommodate more fans, additional space at Club and Becketts corners has been made available while there are some general admission tickets still for sale.

Silverstone Managing Director Patrick Allen said: "Thanks to recent pricing initiatives and opening up the event to make it more affordable for families we are now almost full.

"Demand has been tremendous and we are 95 per cent sold and predicting that 2015 will be a record breaking crowd."

The British GP takes place from 3-5 July.

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Symonds: Williams unlikely to win in 2015

Williams' chief technical officer Pat Symonds has lamented the team's failure to score race victories in 2014, and admits they are also unlikely to win this season.

While Mercedes were in a different class last year, Williams were often the "best of the rest" and Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa scored nine podiums between them.

However, they came up short in terms of victories with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo the only non-Mercedes driver to win last year.

The start of the 2015 season has not gone as expected as the Grove squad have fallen behind Ferrari in the pecking order.

"Are we in that position [to win races]? No we are not," Symonds told Sky Sports F1.

"In 2015 we have a couple of teams, one of which is significantly in front of us and the other is the one which has put itself in the position of picking up the pieces when things go wrong.

"Interestingly, last year we probably were in the right position. But on the three occasions when Mercedes did fail it happened to be Red Bull that picked up the pieces. It could just as easily have been Williams."

Although things are not looking good in the short-term, Symonds is confident they are heading in the right direction and will eventually return to the top step of the podium.

"That is not a position we want to be in, it is not a position we want to go racing in, we want to be racing at the front and we want to be racing for wins so that is what our long term strategy is based around," he added.

"I think we can be quite successful at it because we have thought it through quite carefully. It is not a sort of random thing of let’s go racing and see what happens. We have plans in place which I believe will improve our competitiveness and will give us the wins."

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Positive vibe at Toro Rosso

Team principal Franz Tost has hailed the atmosphere at Toro Rosso while he also believes the squad have "two fantastic drivers".

It is easy to see the reason for the optimism in the Toro Rosso camp as they have made a solid start to the 2015 season despite opting for F1's youngest ever driver line-up in Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.

The Faenza-based squad have been very competitive so far and even beat sister squad Red Bull in Malaysia.

"Feelings are positive, we know we have a competitive car, we have two fantastic drivers, who are doing a really good job, who are confirming the expectations that Red Bull and Toro Rosso expect of them," Tost told Formulaspy.com.

"The team is also improving. And so far up to now, we are in most of the races quite competitive and I don’t know if it is confidence, or that we are close to them (Red Bull), but generally speaking the team has improved in comparison to last year and this is quite positive."

The 20-year-old Sainz and Verstappen, who is the youngest F1 driver at 17, have already scored 15 points between them, but have produced several excellent displays.

"They are performing at the level we expected, or otherwise they would not drive for us. Both drivers are highly skilled, very committed, real positive attitude and up to now have had a steep learning curve," Tost said.

However, Tost and Toro Rosso have nurtured the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo in the past and he knows his current drivers still have some way to go.

Asked about a timeframe to develop drivers, he replied: "Two to three years. Why do I say this? You come to Formula 1 and the first year you just have to learn from the driving side and race tracks. I am not talking about the corners, they know the corners. I am talking about what angle to go over the curbs in qualifying, then in qualifying runs, the sun is shining more, when it’s colder…how to use the tyres more. What does the tarmac look like? It is changing everywhere. You cannot expect from a driver on their first day to know everything. He can’t know everything.

"So... when they work with the press, work with the sponsors, the marketing side they learn a little bit of everything in the first year.

"The second year you look a bit more deeply into different things. You learn the complete environment of Formula 1 more.

"The third year you know you must do this, this, this to become successful. And then you are ready to be fighting for victories, Championships, whatever. That is the reason why. This is simply my, personal plan, my personal point of view how long a driver needs to understand Formula 1 because Formula 1 is quite complex. How you can get the most out it, most out of the engineers, most out of the car, most out of the tyres. Now you are organised."

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Ricciardo excited about Montreal return

Daniel Ricciardo admits he cannot get enough of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, saying "it's just a ridiculous amount of fun".

It's not really a surprise though as the Red Bull driver won his maiden Formula 1 race in Canada last year, but his love affair with the track started long before that.

"Possibly winning has made me love it a little bit more but really I’ve loved it since my first lap, back when I was driving for Toro Rosso," the Australian said. "I remember coming back into the pits and saying "what a circuit", I was amazed at how good it was – and I’d only done an install."

He added: "It’s just a ridiculous amount of fun. You can jump across the kerbs and really get the car bouncing around. It’s like getting back to go-kart days, you really feel like you own it – and I love that.

"You can get aggressive with it, and aim to just brush the wall. There’s a lot of risk but that brings a lot of adrenaline with it. It’d be wonderful if you were doing it in isolation but with 100,000 screaming fans urging you on, it’s just mega."

Team-mate Daniil Kvyat retired in his debut race last year with Toro Rosso, but the circuit also left a lasting impression.

"Yes, it’s quite intense but in a very different way," the Russian said. "The straights are long but you have these big braking zones. It has a little bit of the feeling of street circuit because of the walls but it is more of a traditional, classic track.

"It has a unique feeling though and it’s a great place for racing. It’s great for drivers and the races are usually very exciting, so I’m looking forward to it."

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Mercedes not dipping into development tokens yet

Canada marks the perfect point in which to introduce an upgraded power unit for Mercedes, but that won't be the case as the German marque has decided against dipping into its seven development tokens.

With just four engines to last 19 rounds, each must complete around five races. Canda is the seventh race on the calendar and a power hungry circuit, therefore any gains in performance translate to huge laptime improvements.

However Mercedes have elected against using its tokens and chosen to instead focus on reliability, despite suffering just one failure across eight cars.

It's a decision which will disappoint Lotus CEO Matthew Carter who believed an upgraded engine was on its way, telling Sky Sports:

"It is a new engine and an upgrade as well," he said earlier this week. "I think they may have [used tokens], we definitely have an upgraded engine."

That however isn't the case, with the team confirming plans to use its tokens later in the year when it introduces engines three and four around the Italian and United States grands prix if all goes to plan.

Rival manufacturers Ferrari, Renault and Honda are also focussing on reliability, with none of the three planning performance steps next weekend.