FORMULA 1 - 2015

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Baku waiting for Formula 1 circuit approval from FIA

The organisers behind the inaugural Formula 1 race in Azerbaijan in 2016 are currently awaiting approval from the FIA with regard to the homologation of the circuit.

Plans have been submitted for the event, to be known as the European Grand Prix and scheduled to take place on July 15-17 next year in the country's capital city Baku.

The Hermann Tilke-designed circuit runs for 6.05kilometres and features 20 turns, with one particular section encircling the old part of the city

Regarding the progress of the track, Baku Grand Prix CEO Arif Rahimov told AUTOSPORT: "There are a few minor changes to be implemented which are to be discussed, they are not confirmed yet.

"We're trying to reduce the number of structures necessary for the race to make sure we can easily install and remove them.

"In terms of the layout it is agreed. The design is complete.

"We've sent it to [the FIA for] homologation, but it still hasn't come back. It hasn't been passed yet.

"But we're quite sure it should be OK. Even if there are a few tweaks in some of the corners that won't affect the general layout."

Rahimov has confirmed discussions are ongoing with numerous federations with regard to the marshalling of the grand prix.

The Baku race chief was in Monaco earlier this year to see and understand how F1's blue-riband street race is organised and marshalled, and he is also planning to attend the Singapore Grand Prix in September to further expand his learning.

"At the moment we are talking to a few different federations trying to work out who we are going to work with with regard to training [the marshals]," Rahimov added.

"This is ongoing and we will probably make our decision within the next month or two.

"We will definitely have a federation helping us for the first year or two.

"Hopefully by the end of the year we'll have a strong team of officials and marshals of our own."

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ABITEBOUL: RENAULT DECISION IN SEPTEMBER

Renault is giving itself more time to decide its future according to a report in La Gazzetta dello Sport, amid earlier reports that the French carmaker is now on the cusp of announcing its return to full works status by buying the Enstone team Lotus.

“Decision in September,” F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul was quoted as saying by the authoritative sports daily.

It has been said Renault’s final call could rock formula one, prompting divorce with the two Red Bull teams and a domino effect with regards to engine supply at other teams.

Abiteboul, however, insists: “We will honour our contract with Red Bull and Toro Rosso in 2016, as they are two fantastic and very demanding teams. Then we will evaluate the various options.

“We are working on a lot of things, including trying to make our engine more competitive. We want to make sure to take the best decision possible, reflecting a long term strategy.”

Finally, Abiteboul reassured the racing world that, whatever the final decision, “Renault will remain a major player in the motor sport world.”

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GUTIERREZ KEEN TO EXPLOIT 2016 OPPORTUNITIES

Esteban Gutierrez has admitted there may be “opportunities” for him to return to the F1 grid next year.

Last week, the new 2016 entrant Haas’ founder Gene Haas confirmed reports that the Mexican driver, as well as Jean-Eric Vergne and Nico Hulkenberg, may be in the running for a race seat.

“Two of them are reserve drivers from Ferrari, so they are certainly a possibility,” said the Californian.

Actually, the most prominent Ferrari test driver this year is Gutierrez, while Jean-Eric Vergne is a test and development driver focused most specifically on simulator work.

Gutierrez, 23, has kept a high profile in the Ferrari pits and paddock this year, and is tipped even to get an outing on Friday morning as his native Mexico returns to the calendar.

“Ferrari wants to give me a chance,” a Spanish-language report by the Associated Press quoted him saying. “It would be something special but it depends on many things.

“Maurizio Arrivabene told me that it will depend on how things are going in the championship at that point of the season,” Gutierrez added. More important than a Friday outing to Gutierrez is his longer term future, having lost his Sauber race seat at the end of last year.

Asked about the prospect of racing again in 2016, he answered: “Of course it would mean a lot to have my own seat again.

“I am now third driver but with a purpose and a vision. Obviously I took a risk to get out of the seat I had because it is possible you will not go back in.

“But I think I am in a project where things are going well with Ferrari and I have tried to make the most of it. Being here has opened up opportunities that I could exploit for next season,” Gutierrez added.

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MERCEDES TECH BOSS BACKS AUGUST F1 SHUTDOWN

Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe has backed Formula 1’s now traditional August shutdown.

Tension is brewing between Bernie Ecclestone and the teams at present, as the four-week summer gap in the calendar has been shrunk to three weeks on the expanded calendar for 2016.

For the past several seasons, the month-long hiatus has meant teams have enough time to – for instance this year – regroup after Hungary, shut down completely for two full weeks, and then prepare for the Belgian grand prix in late August.

“It is a very good system,” Lowe is quoted by Brazil’s UOL. “It is designed to save money, which is its primary purpose,” he explained, but Lowe said it is also crucial simply to give staff a mid-year break.

“F1 used to be cyclical, with more intense and then quieter periods. Now it’s year-round, so now that we have these two weeks it is a sort of ceasefire so that people can have a real vacation.

“F1 has a habit of attracting people who are addicted to work and their families are the ones that suffer,” Lowe added.

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FORMER F1 DRIVER URGES MANOR TO FOLLOW HAAS APPROACH

Former F1 driver Stefan Johansson has urged Manor to consider following the lead of the 2016 entrant Haas.

Manor, the former Marussia team and clear 2015 backmarker, has admitted in recent days it is wary of the threat posed by the incoming Haas’ novel approach to F1.

Haas is pushing to the limit of the existing rules in terms of ‘customer cars’, buying as much as possible from its close technical partner Ferrari.

“They’re pushing it as close to that as the rules will allow currently,” Swede Johansson, who raced until the early 90s for teams including Ferrari and McLaren, said. “They’ve done their homework, they’ve listened to the right people and it’s the way to do it.”

However, Haas’ rival small teams are pushing back hard against the push to free the ‘customer car’ model in F1, insisting that manufacturing a chassis almost entirely alone is part of the DNA of the sport.

“Well, I don’t understand the attitude of some the smaller teams,” Johansson told his website.

“At the same time they’re scrambling for every penny because the cars are so expensive to make now and they can’t afford to pay their people or their suppliers in many cases. “If I was Manor and I was offered a Ferrari I’d jump at it,” said Johansson.

“Who wouldn’t? Their budget would be less than it is now. The car would already be developed and sorted and you could run the team with probably 60 people. It just makes business sense.

“With a customer car you still get to be part of the show, you still get money from Bernie and you could actually make some money if you do it right. As far as I’m concerned it’s the way to go,” he added.

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Lewis keen on MotoGP test and NASCAR

He is currently on top of his game in Formula 1, but Lewis Hamilton admits motorbikes have always been his first love.

The Mercedes driver became a two-time F1 World Champion last year and he currently sits top of the Drivers' Championship with only nine races still left this campaign.

Should he win this year's crown then he will join the likes of Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda on three titles with only Sebastian Vettel (4), Alain Prost (4), Juan Manuel Fangio (5) and Michael Schumacher (7) ahead of him.

Yet Hamilton says he was initially more interested in motorbikes and hopes to one day test a MotoGP bike.

"When I was a kid I wanted to race motorbikes," he told Britain's Mirror. "When my dad bought me my first go-kart I actually wanted a motorbike.

"I’m not disappointed how things have turned out but bikes were my first love I suppose.

"I’d also love to test a MotoGP bike just to see what it’s like. Naturally I’d know the lines but I’d love to know if I could even do it."

Formula 1 and MotoGP are not his only interests though as he is also keen giving NASCAR a go.

He added: "I’d really like to do a NASCAR race one day."

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Williams F1's Valtteri Bottas resigned to career of back exercises

Williams Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas has revealed he will have to do special back exercises for the rest of his career following the injury he sustained earlier this year.

The Finn sat out the Australian Grand Prix after suffering what Williams described as "a small tear in the annular part of a disc" but returned to F1 in Malaysia having made changes to the position of the car's pedal and seat.

While Bottas said he does not feel any pain now, he has a series of exercises which he will do while he remains in Formula 1.

"I'm still doing specific exercises for my lower back and those muscles three or four times a week," Bottas told AUTOSPORT.

"I think I'm going to continue that all my career just to make sure it's not going to happen again. "

Since the injury, Bottas has gone on to score points in seven of the last nine races to sit fourth in the championship, one point clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

When asked if he felt he had been playing catch-up after missing the season opener, Bottas said: "Maybe a little bit.

"I think that on the first qualifying after that, for the first week, for sure you are not 100 per cent," he said.

"You're upset you missed the race, all the time you're aware of if the back is going to hold on or not, so it doesn't make things easy.

"But I think after that it's been ok, you know lately no problems."

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Renault gives its side of the story in Red Bull spat

Renault says its relationship with Red Bull should have been a perfect fit, but admits a split at the end of 2016 is likely if an unwillingness to work together continues.

The contract between engine supplier and team is set to expire at the end of 2016 and it is looking increasingly likely the two will not renew their deal. The cracks in the relationship have been obvious since the opening round of the season when Red Bull publicly slated the Renault power unit and the French manufacturer started reconsidering its position in the sport. Renault is now seriously evaluating a deal to set up a works team, while Red Bull has been linked to a Mercedes engine deal in an attempt to return to the front of the grid.

Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul admits the power unit has not been a match for its rivals, but believes part of the reason is because Red Bull did not follow through on its promise to work with Renault as a single works team.

"They expressed a desire, but for some reason - and maybe the reasons are not completely on their side - we have not managed to move from the uniform statements to acts," Abiteboul told ESPN. "It's one thing to state that Red Bull is our team and a works team of Renault, but it's another to make it happen.

"When you are a works team, for example Mercedes, it has one budget. At the start of the year the first decision that they have to make is how much is going into the engine side and how much into the team side and in order to do that you look at the regulations, you look at your overall performance and you look in particular at the break down in performance between chassis, engine and driver. You make your plans and distribute the money and budget that you have available between those three elements. For me it's a no brainer and that should be the way forward."

Red Bull and Renault won four drivers' and four constructors' championships together under the V8 era when engine development was frozen, but Abiteboul said the relationship did not change enough in 2014 to reflect the extra investment and support needed to develop the current V6 turbo power units.

"You can afford to think differently and act differently when the engine is frozen because our engine costs were much lower, but when there is an arms race in engine technology and the return on money spent is higher on the engine than it is going to be on a front wing then you have to review the whole economic view.

"Okay, frankly, we are not where we want to be from an engine perspective, but I don't think the blame is entirely on our side, I think it's much more complex. I don't want to play the blame game, but clearly the association we have with Red Bull is of use to them and of use to us, but it does not work and does not deliver any more.

"In my opinion it is related to the fact that the evolution of the engines has dramatically changed and the kind of relationship that we could afford to have, which honestly was not very sophisticated, was possible when the engine was frozen, but is not possible any more. In a context where the engine is not frozen and there is a bit of an arms race on engine technology, you can't have the engine partner on one side and the team on the other; it doesn't work that way anymore.

"If we want to have a long-term presence in F1 we have to change this model. Frankly, I would have thought it could be possible with Red Bull, it's in their interest and it's in our interest. So if it is possible with Red Bull fantastic, but if it's not possible they will have to find a different way forward and we will have to find a different way forward after 2016."

Abiteboul believes a Red Bull/Renault split will represent a "huge wasted opportunity".

"Theoretically there was a way forward. I think they are a brand that in many respects is a fit for our customers. We are Renault, we are not posh, we are not elitist - we are about energy, we are about dynamism and being able to afford a decent lifestyle to a young generation of people.

"So in many respects there is a brand fit, which is why if we don't manage to find a way forward it will be a huge wasted opportunity. What we want to get is to get control, control our communication, control our brand, to control our technical road map and control our performance - why we perform and why we don't perform."

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The Wing Man - Robin Herd

On the 50th anniversary of joining Bruce McLaren’s racing team, we meet Robin Herd, the man who designed the first McLaren Formula 1 car.

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Pirelli looking into ‘super-super soft’ compounds for 2016

Pirelli says it is looking into ideas to develop an additional compound for the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship season that would be used primarily on street circuits.

The firm came into criticism during the Monaco Grand Prix for the softest of the four dry weather compounds still being too hard for the high downforce circuit, with many struggling to get heat into the rubber in qualifying and the races.

With this in mind, Motorsport Director Paul Hembery says Pirelli is reacting to the feedback by looking into whether it can introduce a 'super-super' soft tyre for use on street-type circuits, namely Canada, Monaco and Singapore.

“We're still hoping to develop some ideas where we can address, certainly, the harder tyre, which is in need of a modification, and a product that can be used on the true street circuits,” he said. “Maybe four circuits – Canada, Monaco, Singapore for example – where you need a much softer tyre than what we currently have with the supersoft.”

Reflecting on the season thus far, Hembery says he is pleased and 'surprised' by the quality and durability of the tyres, even if he accepts this has perhaps not quite fulfilled the objectives it has been set by the FIA and the commercial rights holder.

“I have to say we're pleased – and a little bit surprised – at some of the results we've had. We've had such limitations on testing, or no testing, and we wanted to ensure that we had less tendency towards blistering and, perhaps, chunking, which we've certainly achieved.

“Having said that, with hindsight, we've probably been a little bit conservative on some of the choices so we're not hitting the target which we've always been asked to do, which is a two- or three-stop race, and that is something we hope to address for next season.”

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Manor turning its attentions to 2016

Graeme Lowdon says Manor is turning its attentions to better preparing itself for the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship season, whilst maintaining a push to the end of this year.

Formerly known as Marussia, the team – now better known as Manor - was saved from the brink of collapse just two weeks before the start of the 2015 season, making it onto track with updated versions of its 2014 MR03 chassis with last year's Ferrari engine.

Since then, Manor has steadily introduced updates and announced new backers alongside an original plan to bring an all-new car to the grid before the year was out.

However, as F1 prepares for the second-half of the 2015 season, Manor chief executive officer Lowdon has hinted that it may now push this focus to introducing the car for 2016 instead.

“I think we're getting more established now, the team's getting more up to strength in terms of personnel, we're getting the premises, the new factory sorted out, so everything's moving in the right direction and I think once everyone draws breath after having a rest during the summer break, we'll push as hard as we can in the second half of this season but really have our eyes fixed on 2016.

Looking back on Manor's 2015 season so far, from the rush to get the cars out to Albert Park, to the introduction of new sponsors – including Airbnb and FlexBox -, Lowdon says the team has overcome many hurdles to get itself into a relatively comfortable position.

“We've had the strangest set of challenges that you can imagine, but I think what underlies everything is that we have got respect for this championship.

“We were ninth in the Formula One World Constructors' Championship last year, in no small part due to Jules' drive in Monaco, so we have a rightful place to be here but we have not had the benefit of being able to plan how we would correctly like to plan for the 2015 season.

“We think we're making the optimum decisions going forward.”

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Jenson Button believes F1 drivers are now helped too much by data

Jenson Button believes the proliferation of data in Formula 1 has made it far easier for drivers in recent years compared to the early stages of his career.

Former Williams and McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya recently suggested F1 should get rid of gadgets such as the tyre and temperature sensors, claiming "the racing would get better by 10 per cent, I'm certain of that".

Button, who raced against Montoya during the Colombian's F1 career that ran from 2001-2006, feels the current IndyCar Series leader has a point.

"Juan Pablo, when he raced, there weren't all these sensors," said Button.

"When we were both racing back then, when you got into Formula 1, it was about learning about the tyres, about finding your feet, learning stuff for yourself.

"It wasn't about the team telling you how hard to push through one corner and how hot the tyres are getting through another.

"You had to feel it for yourself. For me that was a lot more fun.

"There's a lot more information on offer now, which you're going to take if you're a new driver.

"But for me it was an area where you could work and improve yourself, and you could do a better job than other drivers and it could make a difference.

"Now it's not the case, so I agree with Juan Pablo, which is very unusual!"

Speaking at last month's FIA Sport Conference in Mexico City, current IndyCar points leader Montoya said: "The driver is now lazy. There's no feel.

"They see [the temperature] is too much they back off the pace.

"Look at the tyres, back off the pace, look at the brakes, back off the pace.

"If you take all that away it becomes a feel thing again. If you drive it too hard you're going to wear the tyres.

"The driver and the team just have too much information.

"It's OK to have the information in practice, but that information shouldn't be there in the race for the drivers. It's got to be a feel thing.

"Also it will mean you will start to see the talented people coming through."

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ARAI: WE DIDN’T IMAGINE THAT IT WOULD BE THIS HARD

Yasuhisa Arai, Chief Officer of Motorsport at Honda R&D, discussed the first half of Honda’s 2015 Formula 1 season – their return to the pinnacle of the sport with partners McLaren..

Despite struggling at the back of the grid, the quiet Japanese team have kept their calm throughout, and there now appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Can you please summarise the first half of the 2015 season?

Yasuhisa Arai: It has been a really tough start to our Formula 1 return. We have had a lot of issues to contend with, not only during the first few race weekends, but also during pre-season testing. Thankfully most of those issues have now been overcome and we can start concentrating on moving forward. We are definitely feeling more positive about the second half of the season.

In which areas specifically have you struggled?

YA: We believe that our compact power unit layout will prove to be very competitive; however we knew from the start that it would cause problems with heat rejection. We now know which area is affected, and in the second half of the season we will apply new parts to resolve the issue and apply more horsepower to improve our competitiveness.

Have you underestimated the challenge of returning to Formula One?

YA: Expectations were always going to be high because of our illustrious history with McLaren. Most of the fans have a great image of McLaren-Honda’s heritage so they expected us to return to Formula One and be competitive immediately. Obviously this has not been the case. The sport has changed immensely since the McLaren-Honda ‘glory days’. The current technology is much more sophisticated and it is tough to make a good racing car. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but perhaps we didn’t imagine that it would be this hard. I certainly didn’t imagine technology wise what we would be facing, but I have complete confidence in the direction we have taken with our power unit. We needed to create something radical in order to beat the top teams, and that is our ultimate goal – to beat the best.

Which area of the technology is not what you expected?

YA: The current regulations of the whole power unit package are very complicated so one small component triggers a domino effect of other items leading to the issues that we have been seeing. Let me put this concept of the domino effect into a technical example: if you try to harvest energy using the MGU-H, it puts a strenuous workload on the turbo. When the turbo is under stress, it cannot do what it is supposed to do, which is to force more air into the engine, thus leading to decreased power output. This is the result of one component working against the others, instead of working together. These types of technical chain reactions which lead to vehicle stoppage were definitely more than we calculated, or more than we envisioned. The difficulty with this is that you cannot calculate precisely without running the car in actual conditions, on track.

What can you expect to achieve during the second half of the season?

YA: First of all, Hungaroring was a small turning point for us from a technical point of view. Our engineers worked very hard to maximise the power out of the hardware we had at the track, through energy mapping and deployment suited to the track and the driving characteristics of the two drivers. The Hungaroring is a busy circuit for the power unit, with undulations that require constant power adjustment at every corner and it is not as easy to do as it sounds. However, going into the second half of the season, knowing that we are progressing is reassuring. I am confident that our reliability problems are now behind us which means we can turn our attention to increasing power. After the summer shutdown our plan is to apply a new spec engine using some of our remaining seven tokens.

In what areas will you use the tokens?

YA: The most important area for us to concentrate on is the combustion. Current regulations require high efficiency of the combustion so we want to change the characteristic with the chamber design and intake and exhaust system layout. Another issue we will be addressing is reducing mechanical friction by changing the gear train system along with the combustion. Not all of our upgrades will be in place for the Belgium Grand Prix; some parts will be applied for Spa and the rest during the weeks that follow. Our plan is to keep improving race-by-race for the remainder of the season.

Are you getting pressure from Honda board members to resign?

YA: I think Honda’s development method is very different to Formula 1 and McLaren. Of course I have big pressure on my shoulders – especially from the fans, the Honda board and my colleagues, but this is completely normal. I think that I have what it takes to drive this project, but I can’t decide my own future, neither can the media or McLaren board members. I hope to continue driving this project and I believe that our board members trust me emphatically.

Is it true that there are issues within the McLaren-Honda relationship?

YA: Every step of this new project has been discussed with McLaren management. Every day we are in discussion. I know that they are under pressure from sponsors, but we trust and help each other to come up with good, innovative ideas. Working with the two different cultures within the team has made us stronger and more creative. It’s a very good relationship and a very good team. I trust everyone in the team, and we wouldn’t be McLaren-Honda without each and every one of them. We wouldn’t be fighting as hard as we are without their support and hard work. We are one team which means McLaren puts 100% into their job, and so does Honda. The fact that sometimes we are colliding means were putting 100% in everything we do and both sides of the partnership are extremely passionate – this is positive not negative.

When will you start focussing on 2016?

YA: Were already focussed on 2016 of course, but we are still concentrating on second half of the 2015 season too. We value 2015 as much as 2016 because the regulations will remain the same. This means we can develop an idea for 2016, and if it works we can implement it in 2015. Unfortunately we will have more penalties during the coming months, but you will also see big improvements from both sides – chassis and power unit. After Spa we aim to improve every race, and hopefully we can start fighting for podiums. We will never stop fighting in 2015!

Is there anything else you would like to say?

YA: Just that Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport that involves many different people with many different talents. It requires a team. Everything else except the skill of the driver is down to the team. It’s not down to one person or one item. Moving forward I hope that their hard work gets more focus, rather than one person or one comment being in the spotlight. Of course there is a lot to talk about in Formula 1, but it is the team members that give their all and they should be praised for their hard work.

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SYMONDS: FERRARI INTEREST IN BOTTAS HAS DESTABILISED TEAM

Pat Symonds has hit out at Ferrari, accusing the Italian team of triggering and sustaining the speculation about Valtteri Bottas’ future.

Finn Bottas has clearly been targeted by Ferrari for 2016, but the 25-year-old driver is already firmly under contract to Williams.

So when asked by Autosprint magazine if he can imagine Bottas replacing Kimi Raikkonen next year, Williams technical boss Symonds furrowed his brow.

“I think at the moment Bottas is a Williams driver, and right now I don’t see anything that will change that,” said the Briton.

“But there are a few things I want to emphasise. I think Ferrari’s behaviour in its approach to Bottas has been very clear.

“It has been done so that everyone is aware, and from our point of view that is very destabilising not only for the driver but also the whole team,” Symonds charged.

“It will inevitably end up affecting the relationship between the driver and the team, and while Ferrari is doing nothing wrong, I think we would clearly have a different approach.”

Interestingly, both Bottas’ manager and the driver himself have also denounced the public nature of the rumours about 2016 as “not fair”.

Manager Didier Coton had said in Hungary: “Frankly, it is not right either to this team [Williams] or to Ferrari’s driver [Raikkonen] to spread those rumours. It’s not fair.”

And at a sponsor event last week, Bottas himself commented: “Those [rumours] are not true and they are not fair for Williams and not fair for Kimi.”

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Seb looking to rekindle Ferrari glory days

He knows it won't be easy to catch up with Mercedes, but Sebastian Vettel is confident Ferrari will turn things around and "repeat the magic of the past".

The four-time World Champion realised his childhood dream when he joined Ferrari from Red Bull at the end of the 2014 season, but the job is far from being complete as he wants to win titles with the Scuderia.

However, Mercedes are currently standing in his and Ferrari's way as they are the pacesetters with Lewis Hamilton winning the title last year and again leading the Drivers' Championship after 10 races this season.

Although Merc still have the best car on the grid, Vettel has certainly given them something to think about as he has claimed two victories and five podiums already.

"A second victory [at the Hungarian Grand Prix], several podiums - which came on the back of some major changes at the team during the winter break," he told Germany's Sport Bild. "Our plan is still on target."

Of course the ultimate goal remains to win Championships with the Italian outfit and, although he concedes they face a huge task with Merc in their way, he believes the "potential" is there to take Ferrari back to the top.

"Now that I'm at Ferrari, I want to be a World Champion with Ferrari. We want to repeat the magic of the past. This is an ambitious goal, but the potential that I see is huge."

He added: "We will of course try to catch up with Mercedes as soon as possible. It is not so easy. They have a powerful engine, a strong car and two strong drivers. But we are getting closer and closer and at some point we will turn the situation around."

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Dan and Dan partnership impresses Horner

Team principal Christian Horner believes the line-up of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat is "as strong a pairing" as Red Bull have had.

Red Bull were slow out of the blocks this year due to the much publicised problems with their Renault power unit, but they have upped their game in recent months.

Kvyat and Ricciardo finished fourth and fifth respectively in Monaco with the former initially told to move aside for the Australian so that he can have a go at a possible podium place. When that didn't come off, Ricciardo was then told to allow the Russian to re-pass him.

However, their highlight of the season came in Hungary last weekend when Kvyat claimed a career-best P2 with his team-mate taking the final podium spot.

Horner admits he is impressed by the chemistry between the two.

"They just need to continue the way they are, to keep pushing each other," he told Autosport. "What we saw in Monaco was unprecedented in comparison to other team-mates where Kvyat gave up position to Ricciardo to have a go at a podium.

"It was on the understanding if Daniel couldn't get into a podium position then he would give it back, which he did at the last corner.

"That shows the drivers are working extremely well within the team, and for the team.

"They get on very well. They both grew up in the junior programme, so they know each other pretty well.

"There is a small age gap between the two of them, but it's a very strong dynamic. They're as strong a pairing as we've had."

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Perez still dreaming of title

Sergio Perez has not given up on his dreams of becoming a Formula 1 World Champion, adding he is still looking for another opportunity at one of the big teams.

The Mexican had a meteoric rise in Formula 1 during the early stages of his career as he found himself at McLaren just two years after he made his debut with Sauber.

A lot was expected from Perez as he managed to score three podiums with a Sauber car that wasn't the fastest on the grid, but things didn't go according to plan at McLaren as the Woking-based squad dropped to the midfield and failed to challenge for podiums and victories.

He was let go after one season with McLaren and joined Force India, but that doesn't mean he believes his chance to win the title is gone for good.

"Definitely, it’s my dream. I want to become a World Champion and it’s what I’m looking for; the big opportunity, obviously, to be in a position to be able to win the title," he told F1i.com in an interview.

Although things didn't work out at McLaren, Perez believes he is a more "complete driver" thanks to the experience he picked up.

"I think purely experience. You know, I’ve learned so much throughout the years. When I was at McLaren it was just two years ago but two years in Formula One you grow in many areas," he said. "I learned a lot, I’m a more complete driver and I’m sure if I had the opportunity now with a big team I’m sure I can do the job and perform well against anyone.

"So I’m confident in my driving and I’m driving well. As I told you before I’ve had maybe two or three races during the year where I haven’t taken the maximum out of the car but in general I think I have been performing quite well."

After being dropped by McLaren, Force India snapped up the Mexican and he has done a solid job, helping the squad to their best-ever finish of sixth in the Constructors' standings last year while they are again punching above their weight this season.

"I feel very welcome at the team, very happy and really at home. I’m enjoying working with the team, I think we’ve improved," he said. "Last year we had the best year in the history of the team. Right now we’ve had a tough start to the year but when we look back it’s amazing what we’ve scored up until now.

"The last few races for myself haven’t been spectacular but I’m sure I will improve. We know fully the reasons for those difficult weekends so definitely I see plenty of positives coming up for the rest of the year."

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Lotus F1 expecting "great things" from Maldonado after break

Lotus trackside operations director Alan Permane is expecting "great things" from Pastor Maldonado in the second-half of the Formula 1 season.

Maldonado scored points in two successive F1 races for only the second time in his career earlier this year, but they have been his only points-scoring finishes.

However, Permane remains convinced of the Venezuelan's speed and is confident the final nine races of the season will prove to be more fruitful.

"Pastor's had two very strong races this season and has been quick in all the other ones," Permane told AUTOSPORT.

"I'm expecting great things from him in the second half of the season."

Permane suggested that part of the reason for Maldonado's lack of results this year was down to him trying too hard.

In the last race before the summer break, Maldonado finished 14th at the Hungaroring after serving a drive-through penalty for a clash with Force India's Sergio Perez.

"All the races that he's done, he's been strong," added Permane.

"In Bahrain, he started almost from the back because we had a problem in qualifying with the brake system, and he would've finished seventh with a three-stop strategy from the back, but he made an error there.

"And in China he made a silly error coming into the pitlane.

"But they're all errors made by him trying too hard, if you like.

"It's not a lack of concentration, he's trying to gain the last hundredth of a second."

Maldonado receives considerable support from home country as well as significant backing from state oil company PDVSA.

But Permane believes that while that puts a lot of expectation on Maldonado's shoulders, from the outside he deals with it very well.

"He gets far more pressure from home, from the sponsors and his home people," said Permane.

"I don't know if he lets that get on top of him but I know that he feels the pressure and that's the pressure he puts himself under.

"Of course he wants to do well for the team but out of the car he's very relaxed and gives good feedback.

"He doesn't get hysterical and is a joy to work with."

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Shell: Nothing to hide in Ferrari F1 oil following FIA analysis

The company that supplies oil to the Ferrari Formula 1 team says it has "nothing to hide" with regards to the engine lubrication systems recently investigated by the FIA.

F1's governing body analysed oil samples taken from Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari during June's Canadian Grand Prix, to see whether either team was using auxiliary oil tanks to boost engine performance.

After an extensive analysis, officials said it was satisfied neither team was in breach of the regulations.

Guy Lovett, Shell's technology manager for Ferrari, told AUTOSPORT his organisation is happy to continue working with the FIA to ensure the rules concerning fuel and combustion are policed correctly.

"The FIA conducted the analysis because it's completely illegal to inject fuel downstream of the fuel sensor," he said.

"If you put a fuel component within the oil there is a chance it could get to the combustion chamber, [because] there is, in any engine, passage of oil from the sump via the rings to the combustion chamber.

"How big a performance gain you're going to get from that is questionable, quite frankly.

"Nevertheless, that is a grey area, and quite clearly something the FIA wanted to investigate and close off.

"We're very happy to continue working with the FIA to make sure that particular aspect of the regulations is policed correctly.

"[We have] nothing to hide there."

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VERSTAPPEN TO REPLACE RAIKKONEN AT FERRARI FROM 2017

Red Bull driver boss Helmut Marko has played down the latest Silly Season speculation swirling around Formula 1 teen sensation Max Verstappen, suggesting the Dutchman is headed to Maranello in 2017 with Kimi Raikkonen set for a swansong with the Reds in

The Red Bull official, who heads the energy drink outfit’s highly successful young driver programme, has already denied speculation 17-year-old Verstappen is in the running for a race seat next year at Ferrari.

It was said Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was a shoo-in for that drive, but it is believed Kimi Raikkonen now stands a better chance of having his contract extended, having stepped up his form at recent races.

When asked about the older Finn’s 2015 form, Gerhard Berger said: “It’s difficult to say. Certainly Sebastian (Vettel) is a step ahead.

“But what makes Kimi so likeable is that he is not at all political, he just tries to do his job as best as he can in peace. So together they are a good driver combination,” the Austrian and F1 legend told German-language f1-insider website.

Asked if Ferrari should keep him for next year, Berger added: “That’s Ferrari’s decision.

“At some point they will need to find someone younger. But it depends on when there is the ideal opportunity for that. Which is perhaps not right now,” said Berger, a former race winner for Ferrari and McLaren.

Indeed, the latest speculation is that Ferrari may simply stick with Raikkonen alongside Vettel for next year, before making a move for Verstappen for 2017.

“I find that very interesting,” smiled Marko, who has already said the young Dutchman will definitely still be driving a Toro Rosso next year.

“However, I know that Max has a long-term contract with Red Bull, which also includes 2017,” he added.

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CLAIRE WILLIAMS: IT’S NOT BECAUSE F1 IS A MAN’S WORLD

Formula 1 is not the “man’s world” it once was, according to female deputy team boss Claire Williams who has witnessed a shift in the gender balance of power at the pinnacle of the sport.

“Formula one is quite different to how it was ten years – or even five years – ago,” she told Der Tagesspiegel.

As well as 39-year-old Williams’ prominent role at her father’s Grove based team, Monisha Kaltenborn is the boss and co-owner at Sauber. And Williams’ test driver is Susie Wolff.

“There are now many influential women in motor sport,” Williams insisted. “We have mechanics, engineers, aerodynamicists. Eight per cent of our engineers at Williams are women.

“That might not sound a lot, but four years ago it was zero per cent. We are not there yet, there is still a lot to do, but it’s getting better,” she said.

Williams does not, however, think that another step in the right direction is to ban grid girls from F1, as has been done at Le Mans.

And in Monaco earlier this year, there were – controversially – ‘grid boys’ instead of ‘grid girls’.

“Grid girls is simply a long tradition in motor sports,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s necessary to ban them. Why should that be an outdated image of women? They’re not forced to do it, are they?”

But Williams says F1 nonetheless has a long way to go, as she tried and failed to find female-oriented companies to sponsor Susie Wolff’s path to the grid.

“Many of our partners see it as a good thing that we have women in prominent positions and take advantage of what myself and Susie are doing,” she said. “But it is a fact that there are no purely female brands in formula one.”

“We have Unilever, a unisex brand, but the purely female brands don’t want to be here and I don’t know why,” added Williams. “It’s not because it’s a man’s world — 38 per cent of our audience is female.”

Perhaps it is because the perception of some female drivers is that they reach F1 only because of their gender — and in Wolff’s case, her husband Toto is the boss of the Mercedes team.

Asked why Wolff is at Williams, Claire insists: “Only because of her performance. If you don’t believe me, talk to the engineering team that works with her.

“She has helped to develop the car that our drivers race at every grand prix. And if she was not doing well, do you really think that we would keep her?

“We have a world championship team with huge ambitions and I would not put our future at risk by using a driver that does not know what she is doing.

“For me, Susie is a valuable part of our team with a specific role, and she does it very effectively. Otherwise she would not be here,” she added.

Williams admitted, however, that 32-year-old Wolff has to fight hard against the perception that she does not really deserve her job.

“She has had to fight for decades against all of that, and yet she made it into formula one. People should pay her more respect,” said Claire.

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TOST: RECOVERY VEHICLES ARE STILL A PROBLEM

The issue of recovery vehicles in Formula 1 still needs to be addressed according to Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost, as the sport continues to reflect on the tragic death of talented French driver Jules Bianchi.

It was F1’s first race driver death since Ayrton Senna in 1994, following a long period of immense safety improvements.

But Austrian Tost said the sort of recovery vehicle that Bianchi hit at Suzuka last year remains a hazard that has not been addressed.

“The recovery vehicles themselves are still a problem,” he told Auto Bild. “Virtual safety car or not, if a car has a broken suspension or even a puncture, it can still go off.

“And with these vehicles and their height, there is always the risk of serious injuries if a car goes underneath — even at lower speeds,” Tost insisted.

“I have said with Michael Schumacher in 1994 that these things are dangerous and that they should be better protected,” he added.

“You would need a guardrail around the vehicle so that a formula one car cannot slip underneath it. Only in this way can we prevent serious head injuries like that.”

Another way, however, is for the drivers to be more vigilant, particularly with the FIA having found that Bianchi was travelling too fast for the yellow flags at the time of his crash.

Manor driver Roberto Merhi said: “I was in Hungary with the [Formula Renault 3.5] world series [in June] and a car crashed in the fastest corner.

“A tractor came out to get the car and when I saw the situation and the yellow flag I immediately drove slower. In the past, I might not have gone off the throttle,” the Spaniard admitted.

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BIG MESS EXPECTED AT SPA WITH START CLAMPDOWN

Formula 1 engineers are concerned that the FIA’s mid-season clampdown on grand prix start procedures has not been properly thought through, and are predicting chaos when the new rules come in to effect at the forthcoming Belgian Grand Prix.

Initially, the measure to put more onus on the actual drivers rather than the technology and engineers barking detailed instructions was widely welcomed.

But it will come into effect at next weekend’s Belgian grand prix at Spa-Francorchamps — and according to Auto Motor und Sport, some teams are worried they cannot properly adapt their 2015 systems for the new rules.

“Some engineers are predicting a big mess at Spa,” wrote respected correspondent Michael Schmidt, adding that some teams are now ‘critical’ of the mid-year clampdown.

“The FIA has been bombarded in recent weeks with requests from the teams about what is allowed and what is not,” he added.

The German magazine explains that the 2015-specification technology was designed to function with sophisticated software that needs to be adjusted for the optimal clutch settings – which differ from start to start based on a plethora of factors.

So if the driver now gets it wrong, “He will either have a bad start or he will burn it up [the clutch] later in the race,” one engineer was quoted as saying.

And Force India’s team manager Andy Stevenson adds: “The driver will know in advance that he will have a bad start and will not be able to do anything about it.”

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BUTTON ON TRACK FOR SPA AFTER MYSTERY ROBBERY

Jenson Button is back on track after his robbery scare while holidaying in St Tropez last week, after burglars broke into the rented villa as the McLaren driver, his wife and some friends slept.

Reports had said Button was “convinced” the burglars pumped anaesthetic gas into the air conditioning before the break-in, but St Tropez police are sceptical.

A French police source suggesting that the couple had not needed to be rendered unconscious as they appeared to be suffering from hangovers.

“They were obviously the worse for wear that morning and they may have been embarrassed because they didn’t wake up,” the source said.

“People come here to party and there’s lots of drinking. In this case, it seems likely that they had been drinking the night before. The stories of people being gassed are a myth.”

The Royal College of Anesthetists issued a similar statement last year amid claims that Britons were being gassed and burgled in motor homes.

It read: “Despite the increasing numbers of reports of people being gassed in motor-homes or commercial trucks in France, and the warning put out by the Foreign Office for travelers to be aware of this danger, this College remains of the view that this is a myth.

“It is the view of the College that it would not be possible to render someone unconscious by blowing ether, chloroform or any of the currently used volatile anaesthetic agents, through the window of a motor-home without their knowledge, even if they were sleeping at the time.

“If there was a totally safe, odourless, potent, cheap anesthetic agent available to thieves for this purpose it is likely the medical profession would know about it and be investigating its use in anaesthetic practice.”

The police spokesman added: “Mr Button’s entourage has made this claim as the driver didn’t feel well the next day. We have taken blood samples which will be analysed.”

Nevertheless 35-year-old Button, appears back on track ahead of next weekend’s resumption of action at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

Strava, a running and cycling GPS tracker app, shows that the 2009 world champion has done a 10km run and well over 100kms of cycling in the wake of the incident.

And Button’s manager Richard Goddard said: “Jenson’s preparation for the next race in Spa will not be affected.”

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ECCLESTONE WOULD WELCOME GRAND PRIX IN FINLAND

Finland could be the next new stop on the F1 calendar in the near future according to Ilta Sanomat newspaper, reporting that Bernie Ecclestone is not ruling out the concept of a street race in Helsinki.

The report said the F1 supremo had talks during the Hungarian grand prix weekend recently with the former wife of Robert Lappalainen, who in the mid-90s promoted DTM races in the Finnish capital.

“He (Ecclestone) would welcome the championship to Helsinki, and showed the green light to our plan,” Marja-Leena Lappalainen confirmed.

However, Helsinki mayor Jussi Pajunen said: “I have never been to a formula one race, but judging from what I saw on TV, that would be a very ambitious project. I think that to organise a race like that in Helsinki is not very realistic.”