FORMULA 1 - 2015

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Max Verstappen scares Jos during Monaco lap

Max Verstappen has yet to pass his driving test, therefore his father, Jos Verstappen, has yet to ride in the passenger seat whilst his son takes him for a spin. So what better place to do it for the first time than Monaco's tight, twisty streets?

Whilst the captions aren't accurate (in fact they're entirely made up) the reaction on Jos Verstappen's face says it all, particularly at the Chicane and Swimming Pool section.

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Button: 'Canada's straights won't suit our car'

Jenson Button has urged caution ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix as it's a circuit which will highlight McLaren's weaknesses and he is therefore expecting the team to struggle.

The team scored its first points last time out in Monaco since rekindling its relationship with Honda after Button secured eighth. The tight circuit however suited the MP4-30.

The next few races are high-speed power circuits which will hurt those with a power deficit, starting with the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with its multiple high-speed straights.

"Every race we have gained a couple of places in qualifying, we've got closer and closer, a general step forward we've had every race," said Button.

"But I think the next race we won't have a step forward in terms of performance because there are a lot of long straights. It is a circuit that won't suit us well.

"But you never know, we might still get some points there."

Whilst Button is cautious and therefore setting his expectations lower, he's hopeful that further upgrades over the next couple of races will help them to score more points in the latter half of the year.

"We both enjoy Canada, but it won't be as easy there to score points, and then we're on to Austria where we have some more updates," he added.

"Hopefully we will see better performances more consistently through to the end of the year."

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Lauda: The Untold Story - Film Review

Motorsport.com reviews the latest cinematic offering aimed at motor racing aficionados - Hannes M. Schalle's documentary Lauda: The Untold Story.

Formula 1 fans have been treated to an abundance of motor racing films in recent years – from the magnificent documentary Senna to Ron Howard’s superb portrayal of the Hunt-Lauda rivalry in Rush and the fascinating historical survey of safety in the sport in 1: Life on the Limit.

Joining this list of cinematic treats now is Austrian filmmaker Hannes M.Schalle’s Lauda: The Untold Story, a documentary that takes a closer look at the three-time champion’s infamous 1976 crash at the Nurburgring and its aftermath, as well as taking a look at subsequent safety developments.

Lauda inevitably covers much of the same ground as Rush, although the use of real-life footage with contemporary and modern interviews with the likes of Jochen Mass, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Jackie Stewart – as well as Lauda himself, of course – allows the film to differentiate itself sufficiently.

Schalle also took the unorthodox decision to split his work up into five discreet chapters, starting with the fiery shunt at the ‘Green Hell’ itself, then taking a step back to briefly examine Lauda’s career up until that point, before returning to 1976 for the third and most interesting segment.

The strongest part of the film, chapter three features plenty of hitherto unseen material related to the Austrian’s recovery, with even the most knowledgeable F1 fan all but certain to learn something new about the miraculous sequence of events that led to Lauda’s Monza comeback.

It’s after this that the film loses its way somewhat, as the fourth and longest section commences by going back in time to the dawn of motor racing at the tail end of the 19th century, and examining advances in safety in the sport from that point on.

In doing so, Lauda attempts to deal with much of the same subject matter as 1, but does so in a less engaging and less slickly produced manner, featuring detailed insights into very specific technical areas that are unlikely to be of interest to all but the hardiest of fans.

Casual viewers may also be put off by the fact that much of the interview material throughout the film (well over half) is in German with English subtitles – perhaps unsurprising given the origins of the film, but hardly conducive to enthralling English-speaking audiences.

Interviews with Stewart, David Coulthard and Ferrari team manager Daniele Audetto are all happily conducted in English however, and the current Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg also make late cameos to explain certain aspects of modern grand prix machinery.

But all of this material, worthy though it is, is cobbled together in a somewhat haphazard way – particularly in the history of safety chapter, which is comfortably the longest part of the film, swallowing up around 40 minutes of the relatively modest 90 minute run-time.

It was unfortunate that the filmmakers felt it necessary to devote so much time to the subject, as it detracts from what should have been the primary focus all along – Niki Lauda.

The insights into Lauda’s recovery from his near-fatal crash are easily the most captivating part of the film, and it would have been a better use of the run-time to see similarly in-depth treatment given to his post-1976 career that viewers of Rush may not be so clued up on.

Admittedly, the fifth and final section does deal with this topic, but only in a brief five minute postscript that smacks of being little more than an afterthought.

And that, in many ways, sums up Lauda: The Untold Story – Schalle and his team deserve credit for the breadth of material they were able to assemble, but the way it’s all been sequenced and pieced together makes the end product tough to recommend to the casual viewer.

Lauda: The Untold Story will be given a limited cinematic release in the UK on 2 July 2015.

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Romain Grosjean determined not to be an F1 'nearly man'

Grosjean is in his fourth year at Lotus and in that time has experienced the highs of podium finishes in 2013 and the lows of struggling for points in 2014. This season Lotus is more competitive than a year ago, but still a long way off the pace of the front runners.

Comparing his career to fellow midfield driver Nico Hulkenberg, Grosjean said he is still performing at a high level despite no longer being on the podium.

"In 2013 we were the two that everybody was talking about and he was doing a good job at Sauber and I was doing a good job at Lotus, but then we both had difficult years and of course you are no longer on the front page of the newspaper.

"But you know what you are doing is still the best you can do and hopefully people that take the decision still know you are doing a good job. As long as you are in front of your team-mate and you are getting good results, every time there is an opportunity you are on it then that is what you are aiming for."

Asked if he was eager to leave Lotus soon for a team further up the grid, Grosjean added: "Not really. It depends on the opportunity you can get and what's going on in the [driver] market and the paddock. It's a good team to be at, as I said last year, we have been capable of winning races with Kimi [Raikkonen] and being close with myself and then we had a difficult year.

"Now we are building back up again from a strong base and it's a good team to be at. We are not going to challenge Ferrari and Mercedes right now for the championship, but again it depends on the opportunities you can get. At the minute I am pretty happy here."

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Ferrari’s Own Game of Thrones

Ferrari's 86-years-old history has evolved throughout the decades in no way second to "A Game of Thrones" - and it an epic that continues to be written...

Ferrari's 86-years-old history has evolved throughout the decades into a true epic saga, in no way second to "A Game of Thrones".

Enzo Ferrari is Aegon "the Conqueror", the first king of House Targaryen and the warlord who founded the city of King's Landing, that is to say Maranello. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is Rhaegar Targaryen, the heir and last great champion of his dynasty. Sergio Marchionne is Robert Baratheon, who killed Rhaegar-Montezemolo at the climax of the war and claimed his throne. And George R R Martin, the man who recounted this dramatic series of events? He is Leo Turrini, specialist journalist and writer, renowned insider, the man who, according to his influential colleague Mathias Brunner, "knows everything when it comes to Ferrari".

Born in Sassuolo, seven kms from Maranello, in 1960, he lived and told all the three eras of the Scuderia, since he began covering the team's stories for the local press at 16. "My first visit to the Fiorano track was in 1976, during Lauda's first test just 40 days after his accident in Nurburgring", he remembers. And the young Turrini was one of the closest journalists to Enzo Ferrari, who used to give him interviews even during his frequent periods of news blackouts, and whose story he ended up writing as his biographer. That was the very beginning of Ferrari's legendary saga.

“Ferrari is a religion,” Turrini commences. “And, as it happens in all religions, Enzo Ferrari was the prophet. He founded the myth of speed and racing, and the idea of cars as luxury objects, artworks. I compare him to Steve Jobs: a unique man, a nonconformist. That's why he never spent a penny on advertising, thinking that the best way to promote his brand was racing. His obsession was that racing cars and road cars had a close link, which most of his contemporaries regarded as freaky. But this very obsession led to the use on everyday cars of the modern windscreen wipers, which Ferrari developed for Le Mans 24 Hours.”

Then came Luca di Montezemolo, who began his career in 1973 as Enzo Ferrari's assistant and then manager of the Scuderia, leading it to victory in two Formula One world championships with Niki Lauda. In 1991, he came back to Ferrari, this time appointed as president: his reign would last for 23 year, marked with six more world titles.

“Luca di Montezemolo was Ferrari's heir,” Turrini goes on, “the man who rationalised the legend and brought it into the new millennium, though never betraying the founder's legacy.

“Choosing him as president, in 1991, was one of Gianni Agnelli's few good intuitions . Luca was born and raised surrounded by Ferrari's myth, that's why he was the only one who didn't consider the presidency as a stepstone for a career into the Fiat group. His era was a great one,for both sporting and industrial results. I personally think that it was inevitable and logical to change the president after some 23 years. But I didn't like the brutal way the shareholders did it. I agree with Montezemolo when he says he would have expected a bigger 'thank you' from Marchionne.”

Which brings us to the present day. Last September, Montezemolo resigned as president following increasing tensions with his would-be successor, Fiat Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne. That was the beginning of the third era in the history of Ferrari: “Marchionne's era began in October and you'll have to wait at least three years to judge him”, the Italian journalist reckons. “Regarding Formula One, his first moves seem to be working.”

But even the most powerful of kings can achieve nothing without a faithful and capable commander-in-chief, that is to say team principal. Montezemolo had the triumphal Jean Todt, followed by the disappointing Stefano Domenicali and Marco Mattiacci; Marchionne has chosen former Marlboro man Maurizio Arrivabene

“I have known Arrivabene since 1990,” Turrini reveals, “and I think he's the right man at the right place: he is very passionate, for racing and for Ferrari, and he has a direct and positive approach towards the need to change Formula One's organization. Having taken care of commercial aspects throughout his career at Philip Morris, he is one of the few to understand what the average fan wants.”

Follow the money

So far, we summed up the saga exactly as history books tell it. But what really happened behind the scenes during the last decades at Ferrari. The transition from Todt's winning times to Domenicali's and Mattiacci's long starvation up to Arrivabene's resurgence was all just a matter of brilliance and incompetence? “A team principal has one need: that the team owners give him enough resources to be able win,” Turrini explains. “Jean Todt was great, but he had Montezemolo behind him, who since the mid '90s has guaranteed him the new wind tunnel and 100 million dollars a year to hire Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and all the best technical staff available. When Marchionne became president at Ferrari, he stated a revolution was necessary because to him it was intolerable that the team wasn't winning. Since in F1 you can't win without money, one has to deduce that he will invest enough resources to reach his goal.”

According to the most respected insider, therefore, Ferrari obtained their repeated wins during the 2000s and, most recently, ramped up their attack on Mercedes in the easiest way, namely by throwing money in their team. Lots of money, it turned out, as Italian press reported earlier this year that the F1 budget of the Scuderia had been increased over the winter from EUR 270 to 370 million.

“Stefano Domenicali was unlucky, because he led the team during a period when, for a number of reasons, there were less resources available,” this is the opinion of the experienced journalist. “That's because, in 2008, Formula One embraced costs cut. In Todt's era, Schumacher used to have four engines per Grand Prix: one on Fridays, two on Saturdays, one on Sundays. And the team principal, like his biggest opponents, had complete authority on limitless spending. The main reason why Ferrari was winning was that they had a test team of a hundred people, between engineers and mechanics. They tested the car around the clock; their whole work method was based on continuous track testing. And they had a big advantage, because they were the only team to own two different private tracks.

There were days when Schumacher was in Fiorano, Barrichello in Mugello and Badoer in Vallelunga. Whatever team wanted to compete with Ferrari, therefore, had to spend loads of money only to rent the circuits. But when FIA limited the number of test days and of engines, they pretty much stripped Ferrari of their advantages. And in the last few years, they have been working to get it back.

Finally, this year Ferrari can use their wind tunnel in Fiorano again, while until last year they had to fly to Cologne and rent Toyota's. Domenicali had a very different situation than Todt's at Ferrari, but despite this he lost three world championships for a total of less than 10 points: in 2008, 2010 and 2012. If only a couple of races had a different story, Domenicali would have been considered one of the best team principals in Ferrari's history. Often, in motorsports as in life, details are those which make all the difference.”

Now, with the additional 100 million in the team's coffins, the resources shouldn't be a problem anymore. The question, anyway, remains: will the new Ferrari king Sergio Marchionne and his faithful commander-in-chief Maurizio Arrivabene enjoy a long-standing reign like the one of their most successful predecessors? Or will they be forced to abdicate soon and leave the throne to another, unknown monarch? This part of the saga is still to be written.

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DANIEL RICCIARDO: KISS IT TOO HARD AND THAT’S IT!

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo scored his maiden Formula 1 victory at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix, etching his name in the sport’s folklore forever and now a year later he returns to the scene of his career defining triumph with great memories and a job to do.

For sure the venue of his first win, and this year Round 7 of the Formula 1 World Championship at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Ile Notre-Dame in Montreal, will forever be special but the big smiling Aussie reveals that it was love at first sight.

“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. 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,” recalled Ricciardo.

“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,” he explained.

The exit of the final turn is officially part of the Quebec Chicane, but over the years has been nicknamed ‘Wall of Champions’ because it has been a magnet to just about every F1 champion who have raced on the man-made island in the St. Lawrence River.”

“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,” said Ricciardo ahead of the weekend in Canada.

The temptation to go beyond the limit is always there, “It’s a clear choice: some guys will play it safe and sacrifice half a tenth to get through there cleanly; others who will take a risk and go flat out trying to find a little bit.”

“The nearer you are, the faster you’ll go. Give the wall a kiss and you feel pretty good: Kiss it too hard and that’s it!” he warned.

Montreal is a popular destination for the F1 fraternity, “Great places to eat and drink – plus the fact Crescent Street is closed off for a big party is very, very cool. The whole city gets involved in the race and you get the impression that the grand prix is really embraced.”

Recalling the celebrations of a year ago, Ricciardo said, “There was [a celebration party] but I was very restrained and in bed by 1.30am. There’s a point where the adrenaline wears off and suddenly you’re absolutely exhausted.”

“I remember falling into bed, thinking: wow, crazy day! Out went the lights. Fortunately the crew are made of sterner stuff and kept the party going. They were not a pretty sight at breakfast the following day…” remembered Ricciardo, who will start his 76th grand prix on Sunday.

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MONTREAL IS MY FAVOURITE CIRCUIT ON THE XBOX

Romain Grosjean has fond memories of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, having finished second at the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix and is looking forward to another strong showing at the legendary venue on the Ile Notre-Dame.

Speaking ahead of the weekend in Montreal, Grosjean said, “I have very good memories from 2012 when I went from seventh on the grid to my first second place in Formula 1. It was a really great day and it was really a strong team result as we used a one-stop strategy to get on the podium after a disappointing qualifying session the day before.”

But added, ” The last couple of years haven’t been so good for me, I had to retire from last year’s race and in 2013 we struggled in the wet weather conditions. As for Montréal itself, it’s a wonderful city to visit.”

“There are obviously a lot of French speakers so it’s like another home race for me, and the fans are so welcoming and knowledgeable. There are also some very good restaurants in Montréal which is always a bonus.”

Like all of his contemporaries, the Frenchman enjoys the perilous challenges of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, “Montréal is in-between a normal circuit and a street circuit. The walls are very close in some places.”

“While other parts are similar to a European circuit. It’s definitely unique and we normally bring a different downforce package for that reason, which adds another unknown factor to the weekend.”

“The circuit is not used for the rest of the year so the grip will change a lot – something we’ll have to adapt to – and the weather can also be tricky. Hopefully it’ll be nice and sunny because it’s a race I really like – and it’s my favourite circuit to race on the Xbox. The last chicane is a notable feature and overall it’s a good track.”

“I enjoy the sensation of being close to the walls. Montréal is different from Monaco as there are some long straights and some big braking moments. The track surface can also present challenges as we’ve seen in other seasons.”

“It will be interesting to see what the grip level is like this year and that will certainly be on your mind as you take to the track for the first time over the weekend,” explained Grosjean.

Last time out at the Monaco Grand Prix, Grosjean was crashed into by Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen, and much has been said of the incident since then, but Grosjean is focusing on the positives.

“Despite not finishing in the points, there are quite a few positives from Monaco. The circuit itself is a good test of how a car behaves in low-speed corners, and the E23 worked well.”

We also were able to employ a good strategy to get back into a point-scoring position after the gearbox penalty meant we started pretty far back on the grid. We also showed that the E23 has pretty strong rear suspension, even when attacked by another car,” concluded Grosjean.

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MCLAREN: WE’VE TAKEN ANOTHER STEP UPWARDS AS A TEAM

After the slow-speed demands of Monaco, Formula 1 heads across the pond to one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, situated on an island in the St Lawrence River in Montreal, is the first high-speed challenge of the 2015 campaign. It requires the teams to focus on three main areas of performance: braking, traction and top speed.

The cars exceed 300km/h (186mph) on four occasions around the lap and each time they have to brake into a slow-speed chicane or hairpin. Such high levels of deceleration put the brakes under huge amounts of stress and, as a result, they require careful monitoring throughout the 70-lap race.

Other important areas of performance are traction and mechanical grip. The circuit has an old, low-grip surface, on which it’s easy to get too much wheelspin under acceleration. Good driveability from the power unit is vital because there are six second-gear corners around the lap, all leading onto long straights.

In cooler temperatures it can also be difficult to get the front axle working properly, emphasising the importance of mechanical grip. To help this, Pirelli is taking the two softest compounds in its range: the Soft (Prime) and the Supersoft (Option). These are the same compounds as in Monaco a fortnight ago.

From a driving point of view, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has no fast corners, but it’s still a hard track to tame. The walls are close and the drivers need to be very precise with their lines; the smallest of errors can have serious consequences.

The final corner has claimed many star names over the years; Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel have all crashed there, leading to the outside barrier being known colloquially as ‘The Wall of Champions’.

McLaren has an impressive record in Canada, having won the race 13 times. Among those victories is Jenson Button’s memorable win in 2011.

Did you know? The Canadian Grand Prix is the spiritual home of the Safety Car. Formula One’s first ever Safety Car was deployed during the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix, at Mosport – a race won by McLaren’s Peter Revson.

Technical words of wisdom, Jonathan Neale, chief operating officer and acting CEO: “Everyone loves racing in Canada; it’s one of the truly historic circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. The racing is always tough and it’s a challenging circuit for the cars.

“From a technical point of view, the one area you’d pick out is braking. The cars are low-drag, high-power, and there are big stopping momentums. Brake wear is something that all of the teams are concerned about, and not just from a safety point of view; there’s a lot of performance in it.

“You want to maximise the effectiveness of the brakes, while trying not to compromise other areas of performance. Brake wear and temperatures have to be carefully monitored.”

Our most memorable Canadian Grand Prix: 2011

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button ran inside the top six early on, but disaster struck on lap eight when they touched and Lewis was forced to retire with broken rear suspension.

Torrential rain at one-third distance brought out the red flag. When the race was re-started, Jenson was forced to pit immediately after contact with Fernando Alonso. With 30 laps to go, he was in last position.

Another Safety Car period closed up the field and Jenson, on newer option tyres than most of the other cars, was able to carve his way up the order. He took second place with five laps to go and passed Sebastian Vettel for the lead on the final lap of the race. “My best win,” was how Jenson described it afterwards.

Fernando Alonso: “It’s great to be going back to North America. Montreal is a great city and the circuit is up there with the most exciting tracks on the calendar. It has so much history and some great battles have happened there between legendary drivers, so it’s always special to get in the car and experience this circuit and all the unpredictable elements that go with it – it’s a really exhilarating place.

“Jenson’s points in Monaco were a great boost for the whole team and more proof of the progress we are making race by race. On my side of the garage, it’s disappointing to have had two technical issues in a row, but as usual we’re working extremely hard to understand these problems. Reliability is always the most important factor, so before performance we must focus on making sure we start the weekend positively and maximise the practice sessions to get our car properly set up for this track.

“The circuit itself is tricky – that’s what makes it so special – and always provides great racing. It’s obviously very different from Monaco because it’s so high-speed, but, like Monaco, there are lots of technical corners that mean you need to focus on having good balance and downforce in the car, especially under braking. Despite the reliability issues I’ve had in the last two races, the car has felt good, so our priority is to have a trouble-free weekend and get the maximum performance out of our package.”

Jenson Button: “After the whirlwind that is Monaco I’m really looking forward to heading back to Montreal. I love the city, the people are friendly, the atmosphere is buzzing and it’s just a really great place to be. The fans there are incredible and they always give us such a warm welcome.

“The circuit is a real racer’s track and I absolutely love it, it’s definitely one of my favourites. It’s the place where I had probably my most famous victory back in 2011, so it’ll be interesting to see what the changeable weather will throw at us this year – it’s something that’s definitely part of Montreal’s charm!

“Getting points on the board has been really positive and shows that we’re continuing to make big strides, but, if anything, it’s spurred us on even more to keep pushing until we reach where we want to be. Fernando hasn’t had much luck in the last few races so we all need to keep our heads down and keep fighting to make sure we get both cars to the flag. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve requires good top speed, so we can’t underestimate the challenge, but anything can happen there – and usually does – so we’ll be getting stuck in right from the word go.”

Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: “From Monaco to Montreal – two very different racetracks but ones that share a lot of similar characteristics. Like Monaco, Montreal is a real racer’s track, but for very different reasons: there’s lots of sweeping corners and it’s a complex technical challenge for our engineers. For McLaren, it’s a very special place – we’ve won 13 grands prix there – and it’s a circuit that always produces fantastic racing.

“Of course, we can’t be pleased with eighth position, and we’re still a long way behind where we want to be. Nonetheless, I’m proud of our progress and the rate of development we’re maintaining, and we’re continuing this push with every grand prix. Although I don’t like to dwell on the past too much, comparing the pre-season tests with our current performance shows just how hard we’ve worked to fight towards the front.

“Our more promising performances have been scuppered by frustrating technical issues though, most recently on Fernando’s side of the garage, so we’re working hard to iron these out so that we can really see the potential of both cars and keep developing. We must target improved reliability and consistency in order to achieve our maximum potential. While the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve doesn’t play to our car’s strengths, Montreal is a great place to put our car to the test; it’s a world-class city with world-class fans and we’ll be working very hard as usual to put on a good show for our loyal supporters.”

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “At Monaco, I was very happy that McLaren-Honda scored its first championship points. This was down to the continuous hard work of the team. Of course, it was unfortunate Fernando retired as we were hoping to get both cars home in the points, but we gain more confidence as the season goes on. Our power unit is progressing in the right direction, and we’ve taken another step upwards as a team.

“The Canadian GP will be very different. This track is flat with long and fast straights, where the throttle is often fully open, which is tough on the power unit and fuel economy. Furthermore, hard braking is required. All in all, the circuit needs a completely different power unit setting from Monaco. We’ll prepare the power unit so that it performs to its full potential during the weekend.”

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SAUBER: ON TARGET TO SCORE MORE POINTS

After the two European races in Barcelona and Monaco, the Sauber F1 Team is once again going to a have longer trip to the Canadian Grand Prix, which will take place from the 5th to 7th June on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve at Montreal’s Notre Dame Island.

Marcus Ericsson: “I am looking forward to the Canadian Grand Prix. I like the track, it is a combination of a street and permanent circuit. It is a traditional race with a lot of history and I will enjoy to race there. Montreal is one of the tracks that should suits our car better mainly because of the long straights. As we do have a high top speed, it could be positive for us. Besides the engine power, braking stability as well as a good change of direction will be important. The many long straights also make overtaking easier on this track. Due to the track characteristics, I think our performance should be stronger in Montreal.”

Felipe Nasr: “It will be my first time driving on this track in Montreal. It is a challenging circuit because there are some tricky chicanes, but I think I am going to enjoy driving there. In oder to prepare well I will watch on-board videos. I am confident the many long straights could be a benefit for us as we do have a competitive straightline speed. The track also requires good braking stability and traction.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “Although we managed to score two points at Monaco, the last two races have been rather difficult for the Sauber F1 team. Our main target for the Canadian grand prix is to turn this around. The nature of the Montreal circuit is remarkably different and we expect it to fit the C34 better: straight-line speed, braking and generally low-speed cornering performance dominate for lap time. Depending on the weather, at times rainy, the track allows to alter the aerodynamic configuration of the car trading off downforce for drag reduction. We will have again the soft and supersoft tyres. It will be important to place our drivers further up the grid, and from there target to score more points.”

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HUGE F1 DRIVER SALARIES ABSURD CLAIMS MOSLEY

Formula 1 teams should have less money to squander on absurd driver salaries claims FIA president Max Mosley, speaking to the men’s magazine GQ not long after Lewis Hamilton’s lucrative new deal was signed.

It is believed Hamilton’s Mercedes deal brings him in line with the dozens of millions also earned by top champions like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

“It is absurd,” Mosley said. “If I was a dictator in the sport, each team would have the same money and you could spend more on the driver or less on the car or vice versa.”

“All the driver worries about is what he earns compared with the other guy,” he added.

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KALTENBORN FEARED GOING TO JAIL DURING VAN DER GARDE SAGA

Sauber F1 team boss Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted she feared starting her 2015 season in an Australian jail.

Until now, Kaltenborn has not spoken at length about the Giedo van der Garde saga that risked derailing the Swiss team earlier this year.

“There was a real risk,” Kaltenborn admitted, when asked by UOL Esporte if suggestions the Melbourne court drama could have ended with her imprisonment are true.

“Legally, I have my position and we had a decision contrary to that and made a deal, but the story could have been very different,” she said.

Kaltenborn, who is a trained lawyer, added: “It was very stressful for me, but it was clear what I had to protect – my team and my drivers.”

“I was placed in a situation that was totally misunderstood by the media,” she said, “but I was not in a position to comment because I had to protect the staff.”

She said Dutchman van der Garde, who pressed his claim hard for the race seat, could never have raced in Melbourne because the FIA was very clear about him not having a super licence.

“We were in a very difficult situation because we couldn’t say anything, and yet most people who wrote about it had no idea what was going on but still gave their opinion – and very strong opinions,” said Kaltenborn.

MIKA: Jail? In Australia!? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

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MANOR ANNOUNCE KEY TECHNICAL APPOINTMENTS

As part of its long term strategy, the Manor Marussia F1 Team is pleased to announce new appointments to its technical and engineering teams.

Under the technical leadership of John McQuilliam, Technical Director, the team welcomes Luca Furbatto (pictured above) in the role of Head of Design. Luca previously held the position of Chief Designer with Scuderia Toro Rosso, prior to which he spent nearly a decade with McLaren Racing.

The team also welcomes Gianluca Pisanello in the role of Chief Engineer. Most recently, Gianluca held the role of Head of Engineering Operations with Caterham F1 Team. Before this, he worked in various engineering positions with Caterham and Toyota Motorsport GmbH. Gianluca will lead a young and highly ambitious group of race, performance and strategy engineers supporting Manor’s race drivers.

The team is also delighted to announce that assisting the team for the 2015 season is Bob Bell, the former technical director of the Mercedes F1 and team principal of Renault F1 teams, whose career has spanned roles at McLaren, Benetton and Jordan and includes winning two Constructors Championships.

Bob will act as a technical consultant, applying his considerable industry experience supporting and advising Manor’s senior management as they rebuild the team and formulate an ambitious long term plan.

John Booth, Team Principal, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Bob, Luca, and Gianluca to the team. It’s been a dramatic but rewarding start to our 2015 season, and we’re only now able to settle into more of a rhythm, allowing us to look to the future. Our focus this season is to re-build the foundations of the team and develop our internal capabilities. As ever in Formula One, we rely on the experience, tenacity and drive of our colleagues, so we’re delighted to welcome our new teammates. Each of them brings a huge amount of experience from within the sport, adding further dimensions to our existing technical and engineering capability. Whilst we seek to optimise our performance during the remainder of the 2015 season, we can also turn our attention to the next exciting chapter in our story – 2016 and beyond.”

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MANOR: WE HOPE TO EXTEND OUR RUN OF TWO-CAR FINISHES

The next pit stop on Formula One’s world tour is Montreal, for Round 7 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015. And it’s a firm favourite – for the fans and teams alike.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a real handful of a racetrack, low downforce with long straights, big braking areas and plenty of challenges to keep the drivers on their toes.

‘The Wall of Champions’ has a long and distinguished history of catching out even the very best of drivers, as they seek out the sweet spot between ‘brief kiss’ and ‘wide berth’ that is so key to a quick lap here.

John Booth: “It’s a real treat to have a race like Canada taking place hot on the heels of Monaco. Two fantastic Formula One destinations, but two very different racetracks as we switch from very high downforce to low downforce specification for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. This track is all about power and brakes, as the long straights see drivers touching 335km/h and on full throttle for over 50 per cent of the lap, before giving way to some very slow sections, with some turns being taken at sub-100kmh. At the hairpin, they’re braking hard down to 60km/h. There’s also the ‘Wall’ to think about, so it’s a real challenge for the drivers to put together a quick and clean lap here. Coupled with the fantastic street parties and incredible atmosphere in downtown Montreal, this is a great race for the fans and, naturally, one where we hope to extend our run of two-car finishes. We look forward to seeing what Will and Roberto can do here.”

Will Stevens: “After the luxury of a couple of races at tracks I’m quite familiar with, it’s a step back outside the comfort zone for Montreal and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. I’m pleased with the way I acclimatise to new circuits, although this is certainly one to be respected as it’s pretty unique; a lot of fun but with more than its fair share of challenges. It has that street circuit feel like Monaco, because the walls are so close, but the similarity ends there and it’s a track where we really have to look after the brakes. And of course, the right hand side of the car at ‘The Wall of Champions’! Avoiding that will be my first objective, but bigger picture, I hope to have a stronger race than I experienced in Monaco but another great team result with both cars taking the chequered flag.”

Roberto Merhi: “The races are coming thick and fast now and it feels like we are in a good rhythm, which certainly made a difference for me in Monaco. I was very happy with my performance there. I’m looking forward to Canada next, as the track looks pretty challenging but also a lot of fun; a real adrenaline rush. The mix of long straights and really slow sections is interesting and I know the weather can play a big part in mixing things up a bit. I hear great things about Montreal also; plenty of events for the fans and a fantastic city to experience. Monaco gave me a real boost, so I can’t wait to be back in the car at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, picking up where I left off there in performance terms and extracting as much as possible from the current package.”

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FORCE INDIA: WE NEED TO MAXIMISE OUR OPPORTUNITIES

Force India boss and drivers preview the Canadian Grand Prix, Round 7 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Ile Notre-Dame in Montreal.

Team Principal, Dr Vijay Mallya, reflects on points in Monaco and looks forward to the challenge of Montreal.

VJM: “Coming away from Monaco with six points was a fantastic result. I’ve been saying we need to maximise our opportunities and continue picking up points, and that’s exactly what we delivered in Monaco. Sergio was outstanding all weekend and we could not have asked any more of him. It was a very mature performance and a well-deserved result. Nico also showed his class, but bad luck kept him just outside the points.

“The Monaco result keeps us well placed in the championship. We’re in sixth place and have scored points in half of the races so far this season. That’s a tremendous achievement and I’m extremely proud of everyone in the team. It keeps us where we need to be as we work hard to add more performance to the car.

“The team is in a good place as we head to Canada. We’ve often gone well in Montreal and it’s one of those races where anything can happen – as we saw last year with Sergio challenging for the victory. The track layout means it should be one of our better circuits so it’s another opportunity to continue our fight for fifth place in the championship.”

Nico Hulkenberg gets set for Montreal, one of his favourite races of the year.

Nico: “I am looking forward to getting back to racing in Canada after leaving Monaco empty-handed. I feel we could have been in the points but obviously the incident on the first lap robbed us of a chance to maximise our result.

“The track in Montreal should be one that suits us. It’s a power circuit because of the long straights and you need good traction to get out of the low-speed corners. To be quick you need to attack the kerbs and be brave enough to get close to the walls. We will have soft and supersoft tyres again, which worked quite well for us in Monaco, so I think we can target points this weekend.

“It’s an unusual circuit, but I enjoy driving there and I really like the Canadian Grand Prix as an event. It’s one of my favourite races of the year. The city is cool, with a great buzz, and everybody gives us a warm welcome. There’s definitely a special feeling throughout the city during Grand Prix week.”

Sergio Perez talks about Monaco and sets his sights on more points in Montreal.

Sergio: “I’m very positive at the moment. I feel I’m driving at my best and getting the most from every race. Monaco was pretty much a perfect weekend in terms of maximising our potential. I don’t think I could have come away with more from that race. So it was a very satisfying result for the whole team.

“Montreal is one of my favourite tracks. I still remember my podium there in 2012 – that was such a special result. Last year’s race was also one of my best, until the final lap! It was a race we had a real chance to win, but things just didn’t go our way in the end.

“Montreal is a race where anything can happen and it’s quite unpredictable. You need to be brave and keep fighting all the way. I hope this year we can be strong once again. It’s definitely a power track where the engine counts for a lot and the circuit always produces a good race.”

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Renault yet to decide F1 future

Renault insist there is "no doubt" they will honour their current contract and "at some point" will decide whether they continue in F1.

In the midst of yet another trying season under the 1.6-litre V6 rules, Renault have again struggled for both pace and reliability.

Already, after just six races, some Renault runners are onto their fourth engine and will incur penalties when a fifth is required.

Facing a barrage of criticism from their F1 clients and fans, questions have been raised about Renault's continuation in the sport. And if they do remain, whether that will be as an engine supplier or a full works team.

Last week Renault's F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul sat down with his bosses as well as F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to discuss the future.

"I think the meeting was of use," Abiteboul told Autosport.

"It is no secret we have a binding contract until the end of 2016 so firstly it was to reassure everyone that we will honour that contract. There is no doubt.

"At some point, we have to make up our mind if we go further than that. So that's the first step, these discussions. We'll see.

"Monaco is the usual catch up between Renault senior management and Formula 1 stakeholders, in particular Bernie.

"It was a good meeting to catch up and to try and clarify Renault's position when a lot of things are said on behalf of Renault by non-Renault representatives.

"We wanted to first have that discussion with Bernie and discuss possible options and that's absolutely it for now."

Abiteboul also hinted that returning to a full works team could be on the cards as Renault look to get "more value" out of Formula 1.

"We're looking at the return on our investment, at the value we get," said Abiteboul.

"We want more value for what we are doing in the sport.

"We want to see if there is another option for us to get more return for what we're doing inside of F1."

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Flav: In Formula 1 you need gladiators

Flavio Briatore has joined the cry for smaller teams to get a larger share of the money, adding that F1 should be about racing not technology.

With even F1's midfield teams struggling to pay the bills in recent years, sparking fears that one or more may not survive, there have been calls for a fairer distribution of F1's prize money.

At present the top teams get a larger portion even though they are able to bring in more money through sponsorship deals.

Briatore reckons that is not right as it prevents the smaller teams from competing and therefore has an impact on the racing.

"I believe the distribution of the money is not correct," he told motorsport.com.

"You give the money to the rich; you don't give the money to the poor. That makes no sense if you want to compete in the same league.

"The costs in the last 10 years have been too heavy to have a race, and you take out a lot of people. For me, F1 needs to get back to a race.

"Instead of talking all the time about consuming the fuel or consuming the tyres, I want to talk about the fight between the drivers. And the more the cars are similar, the better race we will have.

"It is not a big a secret. F1 is very simple; we need a race. In the end the product is the race."

The Italian, a former team boss, also weighed in on F1's proposed changes to the regulations over the next two years.

In a bid to make cars five to six seconds per lap quicker, the Strategy Group recently voted in favour of wider tyres, refuelling, aero changes and reducing the weight of the cars.

"I believe F1 is about the race," Briatore said.

"It is not a technology trial all the time. I believe the race is the key thing; and afterwards if you want to do technology, you do it.

"I believe in F1 you need gladiators, you need a fight, you need the show, you need a race. And you don't need to worry about if you have fuel or no fuel in the car.

"I remember four years ago, the drivers were doing 60 laps of qualifying. Now everything is more strategic, the fuel flow and this and that. Maybe it is better [for some], but I don't know if it is better or not."

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Nick Chester downplays refuelling impact

Nick Chester has denied that a return to refuelling would shake up grand prix Sundays but says drivers would at least be able to push "a little bit" more.

Refuelling was banned in the wake of the 2009 F1 Championship because of safety and costs.

However, last month F1's Strategy Group voted in favour of bringing it back if it proves to be cost effective.

There have been mixed responses with some believing it could be the answer to all F1's problems. Chester, though, has downplayed the impact it would have.

The Lotus technical director said: "There has been a lot of talk to bring lap times down in 2017 and refuelling will do so by running less fuel in the first couple of stints during the race.

"It may not change the strategies that much as everyone will re-optimise for it.

"It may mean though that drivers can push a little bit harder on their tyres as they'd not carry as much fuel.

"The challenge would be to bring refuelling times down to the times we can do a tyre pit stop nowadays and that would prove quite difficult."

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Ferrari and Honda dip into engine development tokens

Whilst Mercedes and Renault have confirmed they have yet to use any of their engine development tokens, it's been revealed that both Ferrari and Honda have dipped into their allocation ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ferrari had previously hinted that they might bring an upgraded power unit to Canada, but that was dismissed by team principal Maurizio Arrivabene during the Monaco GP weekend.

"In Canada we will not use the tokens," he stated. "But do not ask me when we will do it, because I do not want to give the information to the Germans [Mercedes]."

However it has been revealed in a document distributed amongst the teams this week that Ferrari have used three of their ten tokens, whilst Honda have used two of their nine.

Arrivabene's comments in Monaco could just be a bluff to gain a surprise short-term advantage against Mercedes, but it's likely that he's telling the truth and the team have upgraded the power unit, but might not introduce it until later in the season.

This is a strategy which Honda are believed to have adopted. It's expected the Japanese manufacturer will bring an upgraded unit to the following race in Austria which, like Canada, is a power hungry circuit.

Honda are instead focussing on reliability in Canada before bringing more power following a spate of technical troubles which have hampered McLaren's progress.

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Alonso wants focus on reliability over performance

Fernando Alonso has urged McLaren-Honda to get on top of its reliability issues, which have hampered the Spaniard in both Spain and Monaco, before turning its attention to performance.

Alonso looked set for his first points of the season in Monaco, but a technical issue brought his race to an abrupt end.

The 33-year-old is therefore pushing the team to focus on ironing out its reliability before it focuses on making the car competitive.

"Jenson's points in Monaco were a great boost for the whole team and more proof of the progress we are making race by race," he said. "On my side of the garage, it's disappointing to have had two technical issues in a row, but as usual we're working extremely hard to understand these problems.

"Reliability is always the most important factor, so before performance we must focus on making sure we start the weekend positively and maximise the practice sessions to get our car properly set up for this track."

Racing director Eric Boullier is also conscious of the MP4-30's fragility, adding that reliability is their main focus at the moment as they head to Canada.

"Our more promising performances have been scuppered by frustrating technical issues though, most recently on Fernando's side of the garage, so we're working hard to iron these out so that we can really see the potential of both cars and keep developing.

"We must target improved reliability and consistency in order to achieve our maximum potential."

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Technical analysis: The power behind Formula 1’s fuel war

Nothing has highlighted the importance of what goes into the engine in Formula 1 this year than the numerous technical directives relating to fuel flow and pressure.

But while the issue has grabbed the headlines, behind the scenes tremendous work has been going on from F1’s fuel suppliers to integrate their efforts with the power units like never before.

In fact, according to Philippe Girard, a scientific delegate for the Total group, never have fuel suppliers and the car makers worked so closely together to try to deliver performance.

It is a world away from how development went in F1’s V8 era.

“The V8s were in a completely frozen configuration,” he told Motorsport.com. “We had come to a point where we almost didn’t gain any more power with fuel.

“But last year, with the new regulations, we gained 4% more power, which makes 22-23 kilowatts – almost 30 horsepower.”

Fuel directly linked to engine power

This performance gain was partly linked to fuel – even though manufacturers and suppliers still like to keep details about how big a role they played a secret.

Last year it was widely known that Mercedes partner Petronas had worked on perfecting the fuel for the German car manufacturer from the moment the power unit was conceived.

That early effort contributed in part to a power advantage of more than 50bhp over its rivals throughout last year.

The role of the fuel was clear too when it came to working out where the performance difference came between the Mercedes works team supplied with Petronas’ best products and other customer teams using products that were not so well optimised.

Fuel a talking point once more

Unlike V8s, V6s make fossil fuels prominent – and mean F1 has become a valuable technological training ground for petrol companies.

The new internal combustion engines use direct injection, which means that the fuel goes directly to the combustion chamber, like a normal diesel engine. As a consequence, the fuel needs to vaporise quickly in order to get the most out of it.

“Turbo engines work like diesels, with a big air excess,” Girard explained. “We try to make the best use of the developed energy, while with the turbo from the 80’s, we would just put as much fuel and air as possible.”

In other words, the problem posed by V6s is not pushing them to the limit but getting as much performance as possible out of a limited amount of fuel - knowing that cars are limited to 100 kilograms of fuel per race and that drivers can rely on two electric systems of energy recovery.

Cooling a factor too

The second problem posed by V6 engines is the management of cooling systems.

Girard added: “The naturally-aspirated V8s were doing 18,000 RPM, which is 300 revs per second. The V6s are turbo engines, so they are supercharged.

“When the intake air is hot, you try and cool it down as much as possible, but it is a lot hotter than with V8s.”

Then you also have to take in to account the energy delivered by energy recovery systems.

Furthermore, unlike the radical rules that fuel has to follow, lubricants are a lot freer. The aim is to reduce contact between the various mechanical parts of the engine, notably during fuel combustion.

“We put some everywhere with mechanical contact and with potentially high pressure.”

Different components are therefore used: for the engine, the gearbox and hydraulics.

“This is restricting but important, it enables us to be a good partner, developing the fuel. It would be annoying if we had nothing more to do!

“We’re opening the field of possibilities, we’re finding solutions. Mercedes has done it very well.”

It is clear that the battle between fuel companies is as intense as that between the engine makers themselves.

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PROST VS SENNA: A REAL INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE

For many years the climax of the Formula 1 season has frequently had its fair share of drama. A blend of many of the fascinating strands that makes the sport so compelling, which even could be called a soap opera! The duel, with all its intrigue, of watching two team mates battling for the world championship.

It is said that one of the best ways to understand the future is to look back at history. Twenty five years ago, the 1989 World Championship had the lot – the season long feud between the top two drivers, heavy rain at the final race, with treacherous conditions bringing out the red flag not once but twice! Adelaide 1989, the season finale and my first Australian Grand Prix.

Whilst I had already worked in the marketing department at McLaren for four years, 1989 was the first year that I regularly attended all of the races – and what a year! The ingredients of the two best drivers in the world competing in the two best cars, had been simmering nicely the year before, with McLaren winning 15 out of 16 races, 15 out of 16 pole positions and leading 97% of all laps, with Ayrton Senna claiming the world championship for the first time with 8 race wins to 7 wins from his team mate, double World Champion Alain Prost.

If you think that double points at the final race in 2014 is a bizarre way to conclude the championship, 1988 in retrospect now seems equally strange! Only the best 11 results counted towards the championship. Alain Prost had scored 105 points during the year, but only 87 of those points were counted toward the championship.

Ayrton Senna meanwhile had scored 94 points, 90 points of which counted towards the championship by virtue of winning more races. Thus, Senna became the World Champion, even though he did not score the most points over the course of the year.

Therefore from a simmer, the following year was perfectly set to come to the boil!

My first race of the season was the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, the start of the races in Europe. My role was to look after the sponsors, plus I also carried the team media pass although all of the press releases were actually issued by Honda. I also had to liaise with the drivers on their promotional commitments with the sponsors and at the start of the race weekend I had to sit down with the drivers to brief them.

Both drivers had different styles. Alain would be relaxed and agree, provided that you continued to remind me. Ayrton was much more precise. You had to go through the details, what was required and most importantly for him, how long would it last, or rather, how little of his time would it take.

You had to be very correct with him and deliver on what you said, because once he accepted what he had to do then there was no room for deviation from the schedule.

It was fascinating to watch the transformation of his character as the weekend unfolded. On Thursday he was fairly open, but as the race weekend progressed that degree of openness progressively narrowed until it was almost closed when he was sitting in the car on the grid on Sunday, totally focused waiting for the lights to go out, with all that stored, built up energy and adrenaline ready to explode into the race.

On the track at Imola, with both drivers on the front row, the perceived logic was that it made no sense for them battle against each other at the start, so they agreed between them that whoever made the best start would be untroubled by the other and they wouldn’t race each other until after the first corner, Tosa. Ayrton made the better start and held a 2.7 second lead over Alain after three laps.

However Gerhard Berger had a spectacular accident at Tamburello where his Ferrari caught fire. Standing in the pit garage watching it live on the TV it looked horrendous and the race was stopped to rescue Gerhard, who fortunately escaped with minor burns and a broken rib.

Before the restart Ayrton and Alain again agreed to hold to the agreement. This time Alain made the better start and believing that he would not be challenged, held the racing line as they approached Tosa, only for Ayrton, who was slip-streaming behind, to pass him before the first corner to take the lead, which he would never relinquish. Alain was furious.

Although he finished second, he was so angry that he left the track and missed the post race press conference, which cost him a $5,000 fine.

The following week the team were testing at the Pembrey circuit in Wales and Ron Dennis summoned both drivers to attend to attempt to heal the rift. Eventually under enormous pressure and on the basis that it was for the good of the team, Ayrton made a formal statement of apology, although he was not happy about doing this.

When Ron returned to Woking by helicopter he believed all was well. However a few days later Alain did an interview in the French press where he called Ayrton a dishonest man who couldn’t keep his word. Ayrton was so furious and regretted even more making his reluctant apology and decided not to speak to Alain again. From Monaco they hardly spoke to each other, which didn’t make life easy within the team!

However, having said that, I do recall occasions when they did attend functions together and did have to communicate, albeit awkwardly. In Mexico at a Marlboro press conference, there was the unique opportunity to observe the two world champions share the podium with five times world champion Juan Manual Fangio, who didn’t speak English, so his words were translated by a young interpreter.

What made it fascinating was that if you closed your eyes and listened, not just to the voices, but also to the opinions and the way they were expressed, you would have thought that Fangio was the youngest!

I also remember that weekend going to a dinner with both drivers and the team management where Alain bet Ron Dennis $1,000 to eat a whole bowl of hot chillies. Never one to turn down a bet, RD duly accepted. Whilst he went a colour similar to the Marlboro red, drank numerous pints of water and went very quiet for a quite a long time, he duly demolished the whole bowl! I, having always liked hot food, would have duly done the bet for half the money!

I seem to recall Ayrton’s words about it not being a good idea to bet against Ron. No doubt mindful of the occasion when on their original contract negotiation when they reached a stalemate, Ron proposed that they toss a coin to decide the difference. Once explained Ayrton agreed, Ron tossed the coin and won.

It was only afterwards that Ayrton realised that the difference was not one year at $500,000, but three years at $500,000 per year. He never made that mistake again and this information was duly computed to be used as added ammunition when they next came to negotiate!

The following weekend was the USA Grand Prix in Phoenix, which in June was approaching the hottest part of the year. From the large crowd in Mexico, the street circuit in Phoenix was quite a contrast and it was rumoured that a local ostrich race attracted a larger crowd than for the Grand Prix! We were fortunate to stay at the Phoenician Resort, a spectacular hotel on 152 acres in Scottsdale.

Another of my other duties was settling the hotel bills for the team management and drivers, and I can clearly remember the cold sweat as the clock ticked by with the flight departure time getting ever closer whilst still sorting out the endless bills, which I seem to remember giving a hammering to my company American Express card to the tune of $25,000!

That weekend was Ron Dennis’ birthday and a party was held at yet another Mexican restaurant, complete with the band members of ZZ Top amongst other American celebrities.

That weekend also showed me a demonstration of the more gentler side of Ayrton Senna. As it was the American Grand Prix, present were a number of senior executives and guests of Philip Morris and we had a number of Marlboro promotional activities for the drivers to do.

Whilst Ayrton was never a great fan of going to these functions, once there he always performed well, albeit with one eye on the clock ready to make an early exit. At that time there was an ongoing debate as to how long a driver should appear at a function. Marlboro were of the old school of keeping the driver as long as possible, however the McLaren view championed by Ron, under pressure from the drivers, principally Ayrton, was to keep the time to a minimum.

Actually as we subsequently proved you can achieve more with a driver with a short punchy appearance than with something long and drawn out – leave the crowd wanting more as they say. However this was in the early days of the debate and being the US there was lots of demands on the drivers time.

On this particular occasion we had two Marlboro functions back to back, but held on opposite ends of the hotel. My job was to make sure that Ayrton went to both. After the first function we walked the vast empty corridors of this huge hotel, just the two of us. Suddenly we became aware of a young girl coming towards us.

Now the awareness and interest in F1 in Phoenix was not great, but this lady was a fan and more particularly a fan of Ayrton and to come face to face with him in a hotel corridor left her speechless. Much as she wanted to converse with her hero, she was frozen to the spot, with tears welling up in her eyes.

This is when you saw the very gentle and humble side of Ayrton. Seeing the state she was in, he put his arms around her, calmed her down and gave her his autograph. As we walked away onto the function, she still remained frozen to the spot, but with a great big smile on her face!

On the track the tension between the best two drivers in the world was intensifying. Alain was becoming increasingly convinced that Ayrton was receiving better engines from Honda, claiming that he had more speed on the straight.

McLaren took this very seriously. Whilst the collection of car data through the telemetry was in its early stages, especially when compared to today, I do remember having the data explained to me that the reason Ayrton was quicker on the straight was that he was quicker coming out of the corners!

The battle increasingly intensified throughout the season and then we came to the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, the penultimate round of the World Championship with Alain leading the championship by 18 points. By now it had been announced that Alain was going to leave McLaren to join Ferrari and the atmosphere in the team was tense to say the least!

From pole position Alain made the better start and started to pull away, however after the pit stop for new tyres Ayrton found more speed and progressively closed the gap. Somehow you knew that this would not end well! As they approached the chicane on lap 47 Ayrton saw an opportunity and determinedly went for the gap.

However Alain wasn’t prepared to give way and shut the door. Inevitably they touched and both cars came to a stop in the middle of the chicane. If both drivers were out Alain was World Champion. Thinking it was all over Alain undid his belts and got out of the car. However Ayrton, ever determined as always, got the marshals to push start him and got back on the circuit.

We watched this unfold on the big screen in the pit lane. Ayrton headed for the pits to replace the broken nose. It was like watching a film in slow motion as the Japanese marshals under orders tried to prevent the mechanics from changing the nose, but were ceremonially disposed of.

Once unleashed, Ayrton accelerated hard down the pit lane, as there was no pit lane speed limit then, in pursuit of race leader Alessandro Nannini in the Benetton who he duly caught and overtook to take the chequered flag. However Ayrton was not credited with the race win as he was disqualified on the grounds that he had cut the chicane and didn’t rejoin the track at the point at which he had left it!

There then followed weeks of drama which F1 has become known for. Alain was the new World Champion to take the coveted Number One to Ferrari, Ayrton was excluded, which was appealed and then upheld with the added bonus, to the FIA, of a $100,000 fine, and he received a six months suspended ban. And then there were the press conferences and media briefings.

The week following the appeal we did two press conferences to explain the McLaren position. The first at the Penta Hotel at London’s Heathrow airport and the second in Adelaide at the Hilton Hotel. Ron made it very clear to the assembled media that he thought that the exclusion was unjust, based on Ayrton’s manner of rejoining the track.

This was supported by a series of video clips, which featured some historic footage of driving through chicanes unpenalised, which humorously demonstrated just how farcical the ruling was. In Adelaide, as the marketing person, I was volunteered to be operator of the video machine and press the buttons when required.

Ron had arrived in Australia earlier on the Thursday morning and I went to his room to show him the video tape which had been prepared for Adelaide. After looking briefly at it on the video player in his room, he then went to get changed.

“Shouldn’t we rewind the tape for the conference?” I enquired. “No it will be alright” he replied. When it came to the conference it wasn’t and guess who publicly got the blame? However to be fair, Ron did apologise later saying that he blamed the technical operator to hide his embarrassment.

As the holder of the McLaren media pass, I was the one who usually escorted Ayrton to the press conferences. He clearly was very upset, but focused and I can clearly remember his delivery when talking to the assemble media with watery eyes:

“They are treating me like a criminal … I never caused the incident. I am aggressive, I am determined and dedicated to my profession .. but the version given to you about the Suzuka incidents … presented me as a lunatic who was breaking the rules”.

In Adelaide he was determined to emphasis his point. Australia is famous for being known as the land of sunshine, which it normally is, with the possible exception of Grand Prix race days. In fact I became known at the Shell Hospitality suite as the man who said that “it always was rains in Australia”, which was often my opening line when giving race day briefings to the guests.

In fact in later years, at the 1992 Grand Prix I can remember the race being red flagged because of the wet conditions, followed by the race restart being repeatedly delayed until the race was finally abandoned.

Gerhard Berger, who was by then driving for McLaren had even changed into his normal clothes and was sitting in the hospitality area, when his engineer Steve Hallam in a panic came telling Gerhard to put on his overalls and get up to the podium.

If you look closely at any of the podium pictures of Adelaide in 1992 you might have thought that Gerhard had put on a few kilos. In fact his more Michelin man appearance was due to the fact that his overalls were squeezed over his normal clothes!

Coming back to race day in 1989 there was torrential rain which never looked like easing. This caused the race start to be delayed by 30 minutes, during which time debate raged, with Alain at the forefront, as to whether the race should indeed be held, with some of the drivers believing that the conditions were bordering on the suicidal.

As all this drama was going on, Ayrton remained resolutely sat in his car on the grid in the pole position slot, demonstrating that he was prepared to race, come what may. Trying to get the drivers to all agree not to race was akin to trying to herd cats and eventually all 26 drivers went to the grid.

The race started under heavy rain, with sections of the track covered by water. On the second lap an incident blocked the track causing the race to be red flagged, but not before Alain came in on the first lap to withdraw in protest, taking off his helmet and slamming it down onto the work counter in the pit garage.

At the restart Ayrton again stormed into the lead, pushing as hard as he could in the conditions, which was significantly quicker than anyone else could. Even with a huge lead, he pushed hard to extend it even further, despite spinning more than once. Eventually even his luck ran out as he came across the added challenge of overtaking back makers.

As he went to pass a Lotus he ran straight into the back of Martin Brundle’s Brabham which was totally obscured by the spray. As we watched on TV the replay of the onboard rearward footage from Martin’s car, it was like a scene from the movie Jaws as the nose of the McLaren suddenly appeared out of nowhere to attack.

This caused Ayrton to spin three times, before he managed to limp back to the pits where the mechanics automatically sprang into action to change wheels. That is all except those on the front left hand corner, which had been ripped off in the accident.

You could almost imagine Ayrton sitting in the car with a broad smile on his face, watching the mechanics make the change and then seeing them realise what had happened. Ayrton’s race was definitely over!

We flew back from Adelaide to London on the Monday afternoon on a full flight packed with F1 people, which included Ayrton up the front. The British Airways flight via Singapore arrived in London early on an autumnal morning and whilst we sleepily assembled to collect our bags, we were entertained by Ayrton demonstrating his Adelaide spin with a luggage trolley.

True to realism, he got the trolley to spin a whole three times in front of the amused F1 crowd of onlookers who enthusiastically counted the number of spins.

Because my car was at the airport, having only left for Adelaide on the previous Tuesday night after the London press conference, somehow I ended up giving Ayrton a lift back to the factory in Woking.

It was always a daunting task driving with a racing driver as a passenger, especially when it is a World Champion. In my first year in the job I was tasked to collect Alain from London’s Heathrow airport just after he had won the 1985 World Championship, in one of the early edition Range Rovers, which had the tendency to roll around corners like a yacht in full sail!

Driving back to Woking with Ayrton I can clearly remember the words coming from the back seat in the distinctive voice: “Peter, I can’t believe that you, as a member of the Honda Marlboro McLaren team are driving a Renault!”

I know that I have focused more on Ayrton than Alain. This was very much because I had much more to do with Ayrton. Alain was the old boy of the team and from a marketing point of view knew what he had to do, albeit it with a bit of prompting, plus he knew the sponsors much better than I did. Ayrton and I were still in many ways the new boys, so both learning as we went along.

Although I do remember those chilling words: “I know that I am obligated to do it, but I am not going to!” which sent shivers of terror down my spine when thinking of how on earth I was going to explain that to the sponsor!

To me Alain Prost was always a gentlemen, very good natured and friendly, who in typical polite French fashion, would, and still does, always shake your hand.

I feel tremendously privileged to have known and worked with two of the very best ever drivers in the world, in what was at the time, the very best team.

Inside Line by Peter Burns (above) who spent 17 years in Formula One with McLaren between 1985 to 2002 as Senior Marketing Manager and has over 30 years experience in the global motorsport industry.

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IS BOB BELL LEADING RENAULT TAKE OVER OF MANOR?

Bob Bell’s shock switch to financially struggling Formula 1 back-marker Manor team has added fuel to speculation about the future of engine supplier Renault, and that the move is the first step by the French manufacturer to return to the grand prix grid as a fully fledged works team.

Earlier, former Mercedes technical chief Bell was said to have returned to Renault, where in 2009 he emerged unscathed through the ‘Crashgate’ scandal to be installed as the works team’s boss in place of disgraced Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds.

After that, Renault sold its Enstone based outfit to Lotus, and Bell moved to Mercedes. But he left the Silver Arrows camp last year and was reportedly once again a central figure at Renault as the French carmaker considers its next steps in Formula 1.

Renault has been openly contemplating returning to full works team status in F1, given its tumultuous relationship with Red Bull in the new V6 turbo power unit era.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that Renault officials met in Monaco with Matthew Carter, the Lotus team chief executive, about buying back Enstone.

But the report also said Renault chairman Carlos Ghosn was trackside in Monte Carlo, where he joined a representative of French oil partner Total in a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone.

“It is clear that Renault wants to return to being its own team,” wrote correspondent Michael Schmidt.

The move by Renault-linked Bell to Manor was completely unexpected and has taken the F1 world by surprise. Also noteworthy is that, joining Bell in switching to the former Marussia team is engineer Gianluca Pisanello, formerly of Caterham and Toyota.

All heavy hitters for a team who appear to survive only from race-to-race, and many in the paddock predicting it’s demise, in its current form, before the season ends.

Schmidt reports that both Bell and Pisanello have in recent weeks been linked with the proposed new Renault works team being championed by Cyril Abiteboul and brand ambassador Alain Prost.

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SMALL F1 TEAMS RESISTING CUSTOMER CAR PUSH BY BIG TEAMS

Formula 1’s smaller teams are resisting hard against the latest moves to introduce customer cars by the bigger constructors..

Four teams – Manor, Force India, Sauber and Lotus – are reportedly at risk of financial collapse, and perhaps as soon as 2015, according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

They are pleading for lower engine bills and a fairer distribution of the sport’s billion dollars in official income. But the solution put forward by Bernie Ecclestone and the big teams is ‘customer cars’.

The latest iteration is that grandees like Ferrari and Mercedes would make four cars apiece, supplying two to a satellite partner who would lose their status as a full ‘constructor’.

“We would lose our independence,” Force India’s Bob Fernley insists. “They would tell us what drivers to run and who we should vote for and we don’t want it.”

Also gravely concerned is Pat Symonds, a veteran engineer who has seen F1 from the perspective of title-winning teams, from the very back of the grid, and currently with Williams.

“I’ve never really worried about formula one as I do now,” he admitted. “Customer cars are one way of sending the sport to the grave.”

Fernley explained: “Once a customer, always a customer. We would have to dismiss our designers, sell our machines, give up our expertise. There is no going back. As a customer, we would be only the puppet of a manufacturer.”

Sauber knows that story well, having given up making its own gearboxes during the BMW era, because the German carmaker developed its technology in Munich. Now, with BMW long gone, the Swiss team has to buy a complete gearbox from Ferrari.

“We no longer have the expertise to do it,” admitted Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder. And “It would be the same in every other area” if customer cars came in, he added.

Symonds said he knows why the big teams are proposing customer cars rather than accepting the need to ramp down their huge budgets, “If all the teams had to race tomorrow with the 120 million pounds that we have to live with, Williams would win the world championship. Because we are used to operating efficiently with that sort of money.”

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MERCEDES: MAIN THEMES FOR MONTREAL ARE POWER AND BRAKES

The 2015 Formula One World Championship season continues with Round Seven, the Canadian Grand Prix, held at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

Lewis Hamilton: “I think everything that needs to be said about Monaco has already been said. Obviously, it was a huge disappointment for me and also for the team. But we’ll learn from it and move forwards together like we always do. I just want to get back out there and bounce back – and I could hardly ask for a better place to do that than Montreal. This is always one of my favourite weekends. The racing is fantastic, the city is a lot of fun and the crowds are really enthusiastic. I haven’t always had the best of luck in Canada – but I’ve never finished off the podium there either and it’s given me some great memories, including my first win. I know I’ve got the car underneath me and the team behind me to do it again, so I’m aiming for nothing less.”

Nico Rosberg: “I still can’t quite believe I was standing on the top step in Monaco for the third time the other week. It was all very surreal and I don’t think I’ve ever been so lucky. However, that weekend also showed that I need to raise my game even further in the battle this year. I’ve got the boost of two wins behind me now, there is a long way to go this season and I know there is more to come from me personally, so it’s all to play for. Next up it’s Canada, which was a really difficult race for us last year but an exciting one too. Hopefully we will avoid the traps that caught us out last year and it’ll be another good battle for the fans to enjoy.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Monaco has been tough for all of us to swallow. You can never afford to drop points and this was a reminder that any error can prove costly. However, we must also remember how far we have come to be disappointed with a P1 and P3 finish in Monaco. So, we take it on the chin as a team, learn from our mistakes and now look ahead to the next race in Canada. It’s a circuit that is tough on the car so good preparation will be crucial. We saw Nico produce one of the drives of the season there last year and Lewis has an exceptional record in Montreal, so we know we can rely on them to do the job. But there is no room for complacency, with our rivals ready and waiting to jump on any opportunity. There is still a long way to go this season and many points to be won.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “There has been a great deal of comment concerning our mistake in Monaco and its consequences. On behalf of the team, this error should be put into context. It was a single error made in a split second based on incorrect data. Sport is all about split-second decisions, trading risk with reward, and we do not always get these decisions right. But in my opinion this team gets them right more than most. However, as in all aspects we must always improve, and the failure in Monaco will undoubtedly play its part in that process. Moving on to Canada: this is one of the team’s favourite venues and presents a rather unique circuit with long straights, mostly slow corners and hence a lot of very big stops. So the main themes for the weekend are power and brakes! We will bring new Power Units to this event, the second units of 2015 for each driver. Our first Power Units were used for six complete race weekends, an incredible achievement by the team at Brixworth that saw both achieve total mileages of over 4,000 km. We suspect our competitors may also bring new Power Units, which this year may be upgraded in-season using development tokens, so it will be interesting to see whether and how the ‘balance of power’ is shifted this weekend. The Montreal track is hard on the whole car, not just the engine and brakes, so we are concentrating our efforts to get two cars to the finish, something we did not manage last year. We take nothing for granted performance-wise, either; the uniqueness of the track means that there will be a lot to get right if we are to bring home the top prizes.”

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WILLIAMS: CANADA SHOULD VERY MUCH SUIT OUR CAR

Situated on the man-made Ile Notre Dame in the St Lawrence river, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a true high speed challenge with the cars averaging 130mph over the course of a lap. The circuit combines long straights with tight chicanes and each team sets up their car to maximise straight line speed.

This race is a firm favourite on the calendar due to its unrivalled atmosphere. Montreal becomes a party town during the race weekend and the locals create a fantastic atmosphere from the grandstands. The team has secured four wins in Canada to date, with the last coming in 1996 with Damon Hill at the wheel of the FW18.

Rob Smedley: “I think that, regardless of the result in Monaco, Canada should very much suit the Williams car, especially in race trim. We are confident heading into the weekend that we can get some good points. It’s a great track, with medium/high efficiency and a strong trend towards low drag and high power, which are two areas that we are fairly well off in. We need to get the car set-up and tyre management under control early on in the race weekend, which will then give us the opportunity to then tweak and hone our package to maximise our points haul. Montreal’s also a great place; a nice cosmopolitan city with very passionate and welcoming fans.”

Valtteri Bottas: “Montreal is a great track and a great city. Every year I really look forward to this race, as the circuit is fast and enjoyable to drive plus the fans really make it a special one. The track is a street circuit so improves a lot during practice and qualifying. You need a good power unit and efficient aerodynamics from the car to be quick here, as well as good traction out of the slow chicanes and hairpins. With the improvements to the car that we are taking to Montreal, I think we will be able to fight for a strong points finish.”

Felipe Massa: “Last year was a good race and we showed strong pace all weekend, but unfortunately for me it didn’t end in the best possible way. We know the FW37 is similar and so should be quick at this particular track. The Montreal circuit is completely different to the last race and we fully expect our performance levels to be back to where they were at the start of the season. We should be able to start getting closer to Ferrari and have a real battle with them and the other teams around us.”