FORMULA 1 - 2016


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Nico Rosberg: Sebastian Vettel phoned and apologised for first corner crash

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Nico Rosberg has revealed that Sebastian Vettel phoned him after the race to apologise for the first corner collision which dropped the Mercedes driver to the back of the grid.

Vettel, starting fifth, came up the inside of Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the first corner but found himself unable to slow down as Rosberg closed the door on the pair. The two made contact, which span the Mercedes round. Whilst Rosberg was able to continue, Vettel retired with damaged front suspension.

Speaking after the race, Vettel took blame for the incident - which the stewards handed down a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Japan - but didn't go as far as apologising to Rosberg.

But he did so later in the day according to Rosberg: "Sebastian called me actually, he apologised, which is nice.

"It doesn't get me back the points that I lost, but it's still nice to hear that."

Meanwhile Rosberg sympathised with team-mate Lewis Hamilton after his engine failed whilst he was leading the race.

"Points wise it was a good day for me, even though not for the right reasons, because I want to get them on merit," he added.

"I can understand Lewis's situation because I've been there as well and it's horrible when you deserve to win a race and the technology lets you down.

"I'm sure he's really, really gutted, that's very understandable."

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He screwed himself.  No one forced him to drive that aggressively onto the curb.  Did drivers get screwed by the wall in Monaco when they slam into it?  By qualifying everyone knew what the curbs were

Ha Ha

I thought it was a fairly entertaining race. McLaren had some speed, Alonso would would've been a p7 or 8 had he not had that horrific crash. Renault engines, when the work, look to have decent pace

'Finally everything came together' to score first point - Jolyon Palmer

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Renault driver Jolyon Palmer says he is “really happy” to finish 10th in the Malaysian Grand Prix and score his first point, admitting “everything came together”.

Palmer started down in 19th place and used a one-stop strategy to move steadily up the order, moving into the top 10 in the closing stages.

He started on the hard tyre and went all the way to lap 31 before stopping for a set of the soft Pirelli compound.

The British driver finished 10th to score his first point in Formula 1, at the 16th round of the 2016 season.

“Point-scorer: It feels good,” he said. “I’m really happy, I think the whole week has been really positive.

“The race was really smooth – I wish it was always so straightforward. I was really disappointed with how qualifying went especially as I’d been feeling strong all weekend, so I’m glad the race went really well and we could make up for it.

“The car gave me everything I needed, we handled the tyres well and the team did a great job with strategy and pit stops.

“We got a little bit of a break as well; finally everything came together and we got it home to P10.”

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Haas unsure what caused Sepang race retirements

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Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner says the American outfit is unsure what caused its cars to both retire from the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Romain Grosjean spun into the gravel at the final corner in the early stages of the race after a brake problem.

His team-mate Esteban Gutierrez then retired from the race after his front-left wheel came loose on lap 41.

Haas was fined €5000 for the incident, which took place just after Gutierrez had pitted for a new set of tyres.

“After we saw light at the end of the tunnel after qualifying, where I think we did a pretty good job, it got dark again [on Sunday],” Steiner said.

“We don’t really know yet what happened with both of the cars. One had a brake failure and the other, obviously, lost a wheel.

“We’ll have to see what exactly failed with the brakes on Romain’s car. We lost a wheel on Esteban’s car, but we’re not sure yet why.

“The pitstop seemed to be ok and he got going. We need to see if a mechanical part failed or if it wasn’t tight, but we don’t know yet.

“Obviously, we’re moving on to Japan. We’ll try to put ourselves in a better position again there.”

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Hamilton retains best reliability rate of any champion

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Sepang International Circuit, 2016

Lewis Hamilton had good reason to be frustrated after retiring from the lead with an engine failure on Sunday.

It followed a string of faults earlier this year. However it was the first time this season either Mercedes had dropped out of a race due to a technical failure.
It may come as some consolation to Hamilton to learn that he has had the most reliable cars during his career out of all of Formula One’s 32 world champions. Sunday’s DNF was the 11th time in his 183 starts so far that he has not been classified due to a technical problem. That’s a failure rate of just 6%.

The driver with the next-lowest failure rate is Sebastian Vettel on 8.7%. The other three world champions on the grid are Fernando Alonso (10.1%), Jenson Button (11.3%) and Kimi Raikkonen (13%). You can find the figures for past world champions here.

Nico Rosberg has also enjoyed an excellent finishing rate. In his 201 starts he’s had just 14 non-classifications due to technical problems: a failure rate of 7%. But even if Hamilton’s W07 broke down in each of the five remaining races, he would still have the highest reliability rate of any world champion.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Sepang International Circuit, 2016

Hamilton’s retirement and Vettel’s first-lap assault on Rosberg meant Mercedes missed a chance to equal McLaren’s record for the most consecutive wins by a team for the second time this year.

The Spanish Grand Prix also could have been their 11th win in a row, but Hamilton and Rosberg collided on the first lap and retired. On Sunday Hamilton’s engine failure scuppered their chances of winning for the 11th race running, although Mercedes power did achieve its 150th consecutive points-scoring finish.

It also postponed their constructors’ championship celebrations. Mercedes went into the race needing only to preserve their existing points lead over Red Bull to seal the title, but against the run of play this year they failed to do that. They will win the title at Suzuka this weekend unless Red Bull out-score them by 23 points.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Sepang International Circuit, 2016

With team mate Max Verstappen following him home second, they gave Red Bull its first one-two finish of the V6 hybrid turbo era. Their last came at the final race of the V8 engine era, when Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber home at Interlagos in 2013.

Ricciardo became the fourth different driver to win a race this year, something we haven’t had in the past two seasons. However for the third year running only two different teams have won races so far.

Rosberg claimed his 20th fastest lap and Hamilton took the 57th pole position of his career. This was also Hamilton’s 100th front row start, something only two drivers in F1 history have achieved, the other being Michael Schumacher. Hamilton has started 56.4% of his races from the front row.

Jolyon Palmer became the third different driver this year to score their first F1 points, joining Stoffel Vandoorne and Pascal Wehrlein.

Jenson Button, McLaren, Sepang International Circuit, 2016

Finally, Jenson Button marked his 300th grand prix by qualifying and finishing inside the top ten. He is only the third driver in F1 history to start 300 races. Rubens Barrichello did 326 between 1993 and 2011, and Michael Schumacher started 306 from 1991 to 2012.

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Massa says Bottas result shows what could have been

Massa says Bottas result shows what could have been

Felipe Massa says his Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas' strong fifth place finish at Sepang shows what could have been possible had he enjoyed a trouble-free race.

The Brazilian endured another frustrating race in Malaysia as the clock continues to wind down on his Formula 1 career.

Massa had to start from the pitlane at Sepang after he suffered a throttle issue at the start of the formation lap, and after it was rectified he suffered an early puncture that left him at the back of the field.

He eventually finished 13th, while Bottas took his best result since the Canadian Grand Prix in fifth.

"It was a very difficult race, everything happened at the same moment," said Massa.

"First of all they switched on the engine and the throttle was not working, for a software issue or whatever. They switched off and switched on again, and it worked.

"So I started, we changed the tyres at the first Virtual Safety Car, I did maybe two or three laps.

"There was so much debris on the track, maybe I took one, and I just had a puncture on the front left, and I had to stop again.

"And my race was completely finished. Unfortunately it could have been a different race."

He added: "On the one hand it's really good, because he did a great job, and a great race, the pace was really good, even to fight with the Force Indias.

"On the other hand it could have been both cars at the front. At least he did a good job, that's the important thing. So let's concentrate on the next races."

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Horner: F1 teams should not be 'bullied' into testing at Bahrain

Horner: F1 teams should not be 'bullied' into testing at Bahrain

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has labelled a push by Mercedes to run a pre-season test at Bahrain next year as ‘irresponsible’ - and says teams should not be ‘bullied’ into taking part.

As revealed by Motorsport.com recently, F1 teams have agreed that both pre-season tests ahead of the 2017 season will take place at Barcelona.

This comes despite F1 tyre supplier Pirelli having expressed its desire to run in the warmer temperatures of the Middle East because it would be better for evaluating the true impact of next year’s car design on wider tyres.

However, it emerged over the Malaysian GP weekend that Mercedes was trying to rally support for teams to be given the green light to test at Bahrain – either by switching the second test there or by offering teams an option to run there or Barcelona.

The plans received some support from Pirelli, which is still eager to run in more representative conditions.

Any plan to test in Bahrain will in theory need unanimous support of the teams – as the current F1 Sporting Regulations state the two pre-season events can only take places at tracks in Europe.

But Red Bull boss Christian Horner has made clear that his outfit is against the move – and is unhappy that Mercedes is pushing for something that could be a financial burden on smaller outfits.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 Team W07   (L to R): Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal and Toto Wolff, Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder and Executive Director in the FIA Press Conference

“My personal preference is that we should stick in Europe,” he explained. “We have got probably 65-75 per cent of the grid that are struggling for budgets, struggling for finance.

"So to be more than an hour and a half away from the factory, at the point you are developing your car, and a new concept car as well, at a time of year when in Spain in late February, early March, is already the temperature is warming up, to me it seems irresponsible financially.

“Unless there is a huge subsidy which I don’t believe there is – unless Mercedes are going to pay for everybody’s freight to go to Bahrain – I think it is a bit irresponsible to be honest with you to be dictating and bullying teams into making that test.

“We are a team that can afford to go to Bahrain, but I believe it is better that we should test in Barcelona.”

Horner also questioned the value of testing in Bahrain ahead of the season, considering there is a three-team test of new tyres in Abu Dhabi at the end of this year to finalise next year’s wider rubber.

“We are already testing Pirelli tyres in Abu Dhabi for three tests, one collective test in December,” he said.

“The tyres will be decided for the first races out of that tyre testing so I don’t see the logic in incurring an enormous amount of expense unnecessarily.”

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Explaining Petronas' Winning Formula on track

PETRONAS representatives attend every Formula One race weekend, working in a special laboratory at the back of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS garage to ensure the fuels and lubricants are in optimum condition to deliver ultimate performance on track. Have a watch to find out more.

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Sauber now needs luck to score F1 points in 2016, Nasr concedes

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Felipe Nasr acknowledges that Sauber will need luck or safety-car assistance to end its drought and score points between now and the end of the Formula 1 season.

The Swiss outfit is the only team yet to score a point this year, with Manor having grabbed one in the Austrian Grand Prix to currently occupy the vital 10th place in F1's constructors' championship.

Sauber now has five races to avoid its second point-less season in F1, which would be its second in three campaigns.

Nasr fears its current pace is unlikely to be enough to change that, even with another update - believed to be a revised floor - due for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

"We have some minor updates coming into Japan so let's reassess where we're going to be," he said.

"We just need a bit of luck, we need the safety car playing in our hands.

"At the moment, external facts have to come together and then we might get a point that way but purely on pace, myself or Marcus [Ericsson], we don't have the pace to be in the points."

Nasr was running in 15th place in last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix when he was forced to retire due to a brake-by-wire issue with 10 laps remaining.

The Brazilian felt the pedal go long on the approach to the final corner, pulling into the pits to retire.

"Unfortunately, we had to abandon the race," Nasr told Autosport.

"We had a brake-by-wire system failure so we had to box the car for that.

"It happened in Turn 15. The pedal just went long."

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Sauber will also investigate a potential clutch problem, following slow starts made by Nasr and team-mate Ericsson at Sepang.

Both drivers got away from the line cleanly, but struggled in the second phase of the start.

"I had an awful start off the line," Nasr said.

"We got the bite on the formation lap, it was good.

"We went to the start, I just dropped massively going into Turn 1.

"They are looking at the clutch, as Marcus had a similar thing as well.

"If you look at the footage, we had quite a good jump and then we stay [there], we don't drive off the next 100 metres, it's just really poor."

Ericsson finished the race in 12th place, his drinks system having stopped working on the opening lap as cockpit temperatures reached 60C.

"I had to go through the whole race distance without any liquids," he said. "That was really tough."

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Toro Rosso's Sainz surprised Malaysian GP start not delayed

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Carlos Sainz Jr was "surprised" FIA Formula 1 director Charlie Whiting did not abort the start of the Malaysian Grand Prix when his Toro Rosso stalled on the grid.

Felipe Massa's Williams was left stranded as cars left the Sepang grid for the formation lap, but cleared by the time the F1 field returned and Sainz's Ferrari engine switched off.

Quick thinking from Sainz and his engineer ensured the car was restarted through the MGU-K, and the Spaniard even moved from 15th to 11th on the first lap.

But amid a hold before the first of the five red lights came on, with yellow lights also flashing, Sainz did not expect the race to start as normal.

"They were waiting for me, probably," Sainz said, when asked about the start by Autosport.

"I guess that was because they didn't know whether or not to put a yellow [flag] to do another [formation] lap.

"But I don't understand how, when the lights started to turn on, they did a start with a car completely stopped.

"I was definitely surprised the race started."

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Sainz was also at a loss to explain why the engine switched off, while warming the clutch.

"Normally when you are doing a clutch warming, and you do it a bit aggressively, you catch some anti-stall," he said.

"This time it didn't happen, so it was a very surprising event, but we managed to switch the engine back on with the one thing we have on the steering wheel to do that.

"I was aware of it because we tried it earlier in the season, but when the engine switches off the only thing you think of is, 'shit, it's all over!'

"Suddenly my engineer reminded me on the radio quickly, but the first time we tried to switch it on it didn't work.

"The second time, thank God again it happened just when the five lights were on, and at that point, 'voom', I was off when the lights went off."

Despite his first-lap gains, Sainz had to settle for 11th after failing to close in on Jolyon Palmer in the final stint, on soft tyres that were six laps fresher.

Renault put Palmer on a one-stop strategy, compared to Sainz's two, which helped him take the final point after Lewis Hamilton's late retirement.

"[Renault's] strategy definitely paid off," said Sainz.

"They were also ahead in qualifying, so they were always going to have better pace than us [in the race], especially with Kevin [Magnussen].

"He qualified with a used set [of soft tyres], and he had three tenths on us.

"In the last stint I had fresher tyres, and I was pushing for 16 quali laps, but they were a tiny bit quicker, which we don't like. We didn't expect that."

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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX: WILLIAMS PREVIEW SUZUKA

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If you ask any Formula One driver to list their favourite tracks, the Suzuka Circuit will always feature high on the list with its traditional features and unique figure of eight layout.

It’s a narrow, high speed circuit with very little run off and is therefore the ultimate test of man and machine. Sector one is a particular highlight with high speed changes of direction placing a premium on aerodynamic downforce.

For Japan, Pirelli have made available the soft, medium and hard tyres

Pat Symonds: “Japan is my favourite circuit, which is a view shared by many of the drivers and engineers. It presents so many challenges to us from the fast first corner and 130R, to the very difficult continual changes of direction that are found from turn two up to turn seven. Couple this with the long high-loading through the Spoon Curves (T13-14) one can begin to understand how it challenges the cars, drivers and tyres. For Japan, Mercedes are also introducing their final power unit upgrade of the year, which will be available to all its customers, and is one which we hope will allow us to improve our performance for the remaining races of the season.”

Valtteri Bottas: “If I had to choose one track as my favourite, it would have to be Suzuka because of the high speed nature of the circuit. It’s a proper race track really built for Formula One cars. On top of that, the atmosphere is very special. The Japanese fans get so excited about the race. There’s a lot of support for me there, which I really appreciate. It’s always nice to go to Japan, it’s a favourite for a lot of people because it’s such a great track and overall a great weekend with a really good atmosphere – one I always look forward to.”

Felipe Massa: “I think Suzuka is one of the best places to race. I love the layout and the high speed sections. Sector one I think is the most incredible sector in the world. I really love Japan. I love the people and I love to go there to spend some time in Tokyo. I’m really looking forward to my last Formula One race in Japan and I can’t wait to enjoy it with the amazing Japanese fans.”

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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX: RED BULL DRIVERS PREVIEW SUZUKA

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Red Bull drivers preview the Japanese Grand Prix, Round 17 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, at Suzuka.

Max Verstappen: “I will spend a couple of days in Tokyo before heading to the track, which will be nice. Japan will always be a special place for me because I made my F1 debut there during Friday practice. Suzuka is a really cool track as well, especially Sector 1, it’s very fast and that’s what drivers enjoy. There is not much run off either, so you have to be very precise; it’s a proper old-school track, very challenging and demanding. Japan has some of the most passionate fans, they’re very sweet and the support we get from them is really nice. They give us all kinds of gifts as well, which they put a lot of effort into. I really enjoy Japan and it’s always good to go back there.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “Japan I have always loved, it’s tough for a driver, a proper racer’s circuit. The first section you have to connect all the dots because all the corners flow really nicely if you get it right. I love the food and people in Japan. I’m going to spend some days in Tokyo between the races and hopefully see a lot more of the city, try some more authentic food and experience a bit of the culture. There is Jiro’s sushi restaurant that I really want to try, it had a documentary made about it and is apparently really special so would love to eat there.”

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VETTEL IN CRISIS AS ITALIAN MEDIA TURN ON HIM

GP MALESIA F1/2016 vettel

Questions are being asked by Italian media about Sebastian Vettel in the wake of the Malaysian Grand Prix where the four times world champion made a rookie error and was eliminated, in Turn 1, on the opening lap of the race.

After making a good start, Vettel braked too late diving into the first turn at Sepang, the Ferrari tagging both Nico Rosberg ahead of him and Max Verstappen to his left.

Race stewards investigated the incident and deemed it to be Vettel’s fault and penalised him with a three place grid penalty for the forthcoming Japanese Grand Prix.

Vettel’s antics – not the first time he has been involved in costly first lap scuffles this year – triggered stern criticism from the Italian media who are starting to question the German’s value to the team amid Red Bull’s resurgence.

Most of the major sports sections in the leading Italian newspapers are asking the same question: “Whats going on with Vettel?”

Corriere della Sera quoted Niki Lauda after the race, “Vettel is in crisis, when Verstappen did this at Spa we called him a madman, now Vettel did the same thing. The error was Vettel’s who cost the team important points on the day.”

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The report added: “Vettel made a mistake in Malaysia and it is not the first this season. There is a problem. As always the first step to solving it is to acknowledge the problem and stop the talk of bad luck.”

“Is it a real crisis? It clearly is and coincides with the resurgence of Red Bull. Significantly the points scored by the drivers of the two teams since the Austrian Grand Prix are as follows:  Ricciardo 116, Verstappen 93, Raikkonen 79, Vettel 57.”

La Repubblica asked in an editorial: “Has Maranello destroyed the highest paid driver in Ferrari history, or has Vettel lost his talent and speed?”

Corriere dello Sport wrote: “Sad to see that Vettel does not accept the responsibility for his actions.”

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggested that the crisis was multi-faceted: “Sebastian is in a crisis, but it is also the fault of Ferrari”.

Meanwhile Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene said after the race at Sepang, “Clearly, this was not the result we had wanted. In a very tactical race like the one we had, having both cars on track would have been of fundamental importance.”

“As for Seb’s incident at the start, I talked to him and I’d rather not comment on the stewards’ decision,” added the team boss.

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MERCEDES TAKES UP AN OPTION TO ENTER FORMULA E

Großer Preis von Bahrain 2016Großer Preis von Bahrain 2016 ;;

Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd (MGP) and Formula E Operations Ltd have signed an agreement by which Mercedes takes an option to enter the FIA Formula E Championship in Season 5.

According to the option agreement, Mercedes may choose to be one of the maximum of 12 entries to be proposed by the Championship Promoter to the FIA to enter the 2018-19 Formula E Championship.

Mercedes could take one of the two new entries that will be allocated in season five – subject to approval of the FIA – when the all-electric racing series goes from the current format of two cars per driver, to a single car for the entire event.

The current 10 teams in Formula E are all expected to continue in Season 5 and beyond, on their current format, or joining forces with other OEM’s.

Alejandro Agag said: “We are delighted to confirm that we have reserved one of our two new entries in Season 5 for MGP. Formula E wants to become the platform where car manufacturers test and develop the technologies that they will then introduce on their road cars.”

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“Having the chance to include in the future a brand like Mercedes our Championship would be a major boost to achieve that objective.”

“Formula E is becoming an exciting mix of consolidated manufacturers like Renault, Citroen-DS, Audi, Mahindra or Jaguar, and new futuristic brands like Faraday Future, NextEV, or the likes of major component manufacturers like Schaeffler and ZF. Mercedes would be a great addition to that growing line up,” added Agag.

Toto Wolff said: “We have been watching the growth of Formula E with great interest. At the current time, we are looking at all the options available in the future of motor racing, and we are very pleased with an agreement that secures us an opportunity to enter the series in Season 5.”

“Electrification will play a major role in the future of the automotive industry. Racing has always been a technology R&D platform for industry and this will make Formula E very relevant in the future,” concluded Wolff.

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F1 FANS ARRESTED OVER MALAYSIA-FLAG UNDIES AT GRAND PRIX

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Malaysian police have arrested nine Australian men who stripped down during Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix to reveal underwear bearing a Malaysia-flag print.

The spectators were arrested around the time the race ended on Sunday afternoon and were being investigated for “intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace” and public indecency, state news agency Bernama quoted police saying on Monday.

The nine men, aged between 25 and 29, would be held in remand for four days, Abdul Aziz Ali, police chief of the town of Sepang, told Bernama.

Abdul Aziz said the Australians were tourists who had come to watch the Malaysian Grand Prix, held at the Sepang circuit outside the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Photos of the men flaunting the country’s national colours went viral in Malaysia following the race, provoking angry comments from some social media users who accused them of insulting the country.

Displays of public indecency are not tolerated by authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia, with foreign offenders typically assessed a fine before being deported.

MIKA: Must be Perth boys... ;)

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BAKU RACE SET TO BE RENAMED AZERBAIJANI GRAND PRIX

Baku pit lane

The Grand Prix of Europe is requesting a name change to the Azerbaijani Grand Prix, Nigar Arpadarai, head of marketing and communications at Baku City Circuit, told reporters in Baku.

“We have made an appeal to Formula 1 management,” said Arpadarai, “And it appears they have no objections. Therefore we hope the next race will be held under the name of the Azerbaijani Grand Prix,” she added.

Arpadarai said the purpose of renaming the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe is to present many European values of Baku to the wider international community.

“We successfully held Formula 1 in the capital for the first time. Therefore, it is time to link the name of this event with our country,” she noted.

“We believe that from 2017 our race will be named the Formula 1 Azerbaijani Grand Prix,” added Arpadarai.

Azerbaijan hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe for the first time on 17-19 June, 2016, in Baku.

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MCLAREN PREVIEW THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

Jenson Button on track ahead of Fernando Alonso.

Owned by the Honda Motor Company, Suzuka Circuit has been a regular fixture on the F1 calendar since 1987. It was designed by Dutchman John Hugenholtz in 1962, since when it’s become renowned as an excellent test track due to its eclectic mix of corners.

What makes it unique
The figure-of-eight layout. This is the only circuit on the F1 calendar that has this configuration (crossing at Degner Two/130R), creating a relatively equal split of right and left-handers.

Grip levels
High. The asphalt is relatively old, which means the roughness of the surface helps to provide grip. Combine the asphalt with the aerodynamic loads created by the cars at high-speed and grip levels at Suzuka are deemed to be good.

Run-off
Medium. The track is narrow and it has a predominance of gravel traps in its run-off areas, so cars can end up beached after only a relatively minor mistake.

Watch out for…
Rivers. Suzuka’s coastal location means the weather conditions can change quickly, particularly at this time of year. When it rains, the undulations mean rivers flow across the track, which can lead to aquaplaning.

Fernando Alonso: “Like me, many drivers love going back to Suzuka every year and it’s easy to see why. It’s a classic ‘drivers’ circuit’ and its configuration is unusual, demanding and very unforgiving, so putting together a good lap is really satisfying, and all these characteristics make it really popular with both drivers and fans. It’s a difficult circuit to set up the car perfectly for because the track temperatures change so much with the unpredictable weather, but we know this circuit well and will use the Friday sessions to dial the car in to the conditions and get the most out of it. Japan is an incredible place and a country I always love visiting. The support we receive is phenomenal and makes the whole experience even more special. I love the people, the food and the culture, and our few days there for the Japanese Grand Prix are something I look forward to each year. I hope we can start the weekend on a positive note and keep pushing forward – we’ve maximised our package well over the past few races and it would be fantastic to finish in the points again at the team’s second home race.”

Jenson Button: “The Suzuka circuit is incredible – almost in a class of its own on the calendar. It’s as close to a ‘perfect’ track as you can get in terms of having all of the different elements you would want as a driver. It’s fast, technical, difficult, rewarding, and really fun to drive, so it’s up there among the best. My win there in 2011 is definitely one of my favourites because to do well there you have to put so much into it, and when you get a good result it’s the best feeling. The Japanese Grand Prix is always one of my highlights of the year. I love going back to Japan and the fans there make it incredibly special. They give us 110% support throughout the whole week, right from the minute we arrive in Tokyo, and as drivers we really feed off that enthusiasm. As it’s another home race for us, we’ll be very busy in the lead up to the weekend itself, and it’s an important grand prix for the whole team, so I hope we can fight hard and get the best result we can to give something back to the enthusiastic fans.”

Eric Boullier, McLaren-Honda Racing Director: “I know I can speak for the whole team when I talk about the Japanese Grand Prix being one of the most important milestones in the Formula 1 calendar for everyone at McLaren-Honda. It marks the end of the sequence of races in east Asia and, with Silverstone, a venue that very much feels like a second home. Suzuka circuit is steeped in a huge amount of racing history, and one that McLaren-Honda has played a significant part in, both as one team and as individual entities. Its fast, flowing corners and technical demands mean it fully deserves its legendary status and, combined with the unrivalled support we receive from the ever-enthusiastic Japanese fans, the warm hospitality and fascinating culture, it’s easy to see why we look forward to returning to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix each year. Our double points finish in Sepang was great encouragement and reward for the relentless hard work happening behind the scenes in Woking and Sakura, and we’ll take this motivation to Suzuka, where we hope to achieve similar results. The race itself is sure to be dramatic – it often is at this prestigious circuit – so we hope to maximise the potential our package has shown recently and put on a good show for the incredible fans.”

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: “Suzuka is a very special place and an important race weekend, of course for Honda but also for me personally – I have great memories of racing there with Formula 1 in years gone by. I am thankful for all the very knowledgeable and enthusiastic F1 fans, who expect a lot from us, but are very understanding at the same time. I hope that our team’s progress encourages more spectators to join us at Suzuka and help increase McLaren-Honda’s fan base. Suzuka is a track highly rated by the drivers for its technical and complex nature. In order to succeed there, there must be a good balance between the power unit and chassis. We will do our utmost to set up the car to hopefully score more points and be within reach of the top three teams. I hope that we can have a race that we can be proud of, and that our fans can be proud of, too.”

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Helmut Marko claims Red Bull pressured Lewis Hamilton into engine failure

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Red Bull's Helmut Marko claims the pressure applied by both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in Malaysia forced Lewis Hamilton's power unit to fail whilst leading the race.

The Briton was leading comfortably when his engine failed spectacularly, costing him 25 points and the lead of the championship. Whilst Mercedes have yet to confirm the cause, Marko suspects Hamilton was using maximum power to build a gap to the charging Bulls, and that caused the failure.

"We clearly had the upper hand [in the race]!" Marko told the official Formula 1 website. "My guess is that we very likely forced [Hamilton] into that engine failure!

"We permanently put pressure on him, challenging his lead, as he knew he had to create a gap – and to go permanently full throttle was probably not the best thing for his engine."

Even without the failure, Marko believes a Red Bull victory would still have been possible.

"We had some things up our sleeves – I will not say what – just that with both cars on different strategies we would have challenged him anyway towards the end of the race."

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New Sao Paulo mayor says he will privatise Brazil's Interlagos circuit

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The Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, which currently plays host to the Brazilian Grand Prix, will be privatised according to new city mayor Joao Doria Jr.

The circuit, which first debuted on the Formula 1 calendar in 1973 and has been a feature every year since bar a ten-year period when Rio di Janerio's Jacarepagua played host, has relied on state funding to finance the grand prix.

That looks set to change, with Doria Jr. telling Brazil's Globo TV that funds used for the race would be diverted elsewhere and the circuit sold off.

"We will maintain the Interlagos Park, which will still be open to general public," he said. "We'll do some improvements on safety and access.

"But we'll privatise the circuit and kart circuit. The amount previously committed to the circuit will be relocated in areas such as health services and education.

"We want to maintain Formula 1 and other activities there, and also bring other events. But a private company will lead the management and investments, not the state."

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Smedley: Massa suffered an electrical issue

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At the start of the formation lap before the Malaysian Grand Prix, Williams driver Felipe Massa couldn't get his car working  due to an electronics glitch, head of Williams performance Rob Smedley revealed.

The incident caused the Brazilian to start from the pitlane after he qualified P10 before the day before.

Despite the Grove-based mechanics fixing the issue and getting his car back out on the Sepang International Circuit, the Brazilian's last ever Malaysian Grand Prix suffered yet another mishap after he punctured his front left tyre four laps later.

"It was an electronics issue surrounding the torque map on the car, which then defaulted to turn the car off on the grid," Smedley said.

"We then had to push it in the pit lane and get the car started, which we could do after power-cycling it.

"It was not ideal, the in-lap with that puncture cost [Felipe] a lot of time and then we had a slow pit stop because of the puncture. From that point, we converted his race into an effective one-stop.

"Both things put him completely out of contention. With the pace in the car, if he had not had that second incident, he probably would have been 30 seconds up the road, which was just on the back end of the points.

"Even starting from the pit lane, the car was good enough to get a point, something like that, which would have made a difference to us."

Massa ended the race P13, while his team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished in a respectable P5.

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Renault to change fuel system design after fire

Kevin Magnussen, Renault, Sepang International Circuit, 2016

Renault will change the design of its fuel system in time for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix following Kevin Magnussen’s fire during practice at Sepang.

Magnussen’s car caught fire following his first installation lap at the Malaysian circuit on Friday. He had been running with a full tank of fuel when a problem with the breather caused a build-up of pressure within the tank. Magnussen was running new development parts at the time which were not on Jolyon Palmer’s car.
The team’s technical director Nick Chester said a “combination of factors” led to the fire, which forced the stoppage of practice and took several minutes to extinguish.

“We were running test parts related to the fuel system for Mexico, which is a race at a much higher altitude and lower atmospheric pressure than we encounter at other races.”

Kevin Magnussen, Renault, Sepang International Circuit, 2016

“This highlighted a flaw in our fuel cell assembly that we would have not have seen otherwise. We are modifying our fuel cell assembly ahead of Suzuka and revising the fuel system update for Mexico in light of what we saw.”

Team principal Frederic Vasseur said the team will continue to look into what can be learned from the incident.

“Firstly we need to continue to investigate the whys – why this has happened and procedures to put into place for it not to happen again,” he said.

“Secondly – and I’ve spoken to the guys involved – seeing the incredible reaction of the mechanics handling the situation was amazing. It really shows the commitment, determination and professionalism of the team. This is the best guarantee we have for the future.”

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Haas refuses to blame bad luck for run of problems

Haas refuses to blame bad luck for run of problems

Haas F1 boss Gunther Steiner is refusing to blame bad luck for the team's run of problems in recent races.

Both Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez retired with car failures from the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Frenchman suffering a brake problems while the Mexican lost a wheel during the race.

Grosjean had not been able to start the previous race in Singapore after suffering an issue with the throttle, completing a weekend full of problems.

Although Steiner concedes that some of the problems the team has suffered are out of its control, the Austrian insisted Haas just needs to work harder to get out of the difficult situation.

"It's difficult to say we are unlucky because that always sounds like an excuse, because you make your own luck in life, but I think there's a lot of thing that happened that are out of our control," said Steiner.

"We just try to get them together. We call it unlucky, but it's still our fault.

"We just need to keep on dealing with them. We are grown-ups, it happens all the time. You show how strong you are when you are in the dumps, to come out of it.

"We work hard to find our way out. The only way to get out of this stuff is to keep on working. You can say you are unlucky, but again, you make your own luck."

Guenther Steiner, Haas F1 Team Prinicipal   Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1 Team VF-16 with a puncture at the start of the race   Romain Grosjean, Haas F1 Team VF-16 crashed out of the race

Malaysia issues investigated

Grosjean suffered the explosion of a brake disc on lap eight of the Malaysian GP, and Steiner said the team was still unsure about the root of the problem.

"The disc failed, a complete disc exploded, and we don't know why. We could see in the data some vibration before but nothing other than that.

"It's a different failure than we had with Esteban in Bahrain, but it just broke. We don't know why, so we need to investigate."

When asked about Grosjean's reaction to another DNF, Steiner joked: "He came and thanked me. He obviously didn't.

"It's out of our hands, because we don't make the discs, so we need to see what actually happened. We need to give the supplier a fair chance to analyse why it broke."

Haas was also fined 5000 euros for the unsafe release of Gutierrez after the Mexican lost a wheel on lap 21.

Steiner admitted the team did not know what the reason for that problem was either.

"On Esteban, we are not sure what could have gone wrong. We sent everything back to Italy to investigate what actually happened, because we are not clear. It's too early to jump to conclusions."

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Sainz says VSC "useless" and not what F1 needs

Sainz says VSC

Carlos Sainz has blasted Formula 1's Virtual Safety Car as a "useless" feature, saying it is not what the championship needs at this moment in time.

The Spaniard believes the VSC is a detriment to those running in the midfield, and adds that many drivers can gain an unfair advantage during that period.

“In my opinion, they [VSC periods] are a bit useless, I don’t like it, it is not something that I enjoy,” he said after the Malaysian Grand Prix, which saw three separate VSC periods.

“Because when you are a midfielder, you prefer safety cars all the time, proper safety cars to regroup the field.

“It works as it should, but obviously people play a lot with it to warm their tyres, to create their own gaps before the pitstops.

“You can play a lot with it to your advantage or disadvantage of the others, so I don’t really enjoy it. I don’t that it is something that is contributing in F1, that’s my personal opinion.”

The Toro Rosso driver added that the VSC makes for an inherent advantage for the race leader, and stresses that's not what Formula 1 needs in its current state.

“If I am a race leader, I probably like it, if I am a midfielder, I probably don’t like it,” he said. “I have been in many racing series where you have a 10-second lead, suddenly a safety car comes out and you have to battle again.

“But looking [at it], maybe it’s a bit more fair, but I don’t think it’s what Formula 1 needs, especially for a midfielder.”

Carlos Sainz Jr., Scuderia Toro Rosso   Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB10 during a practice of the Virtual Safety Car   Carlos Sainz Jr., Scuderia Toro Rosso STR11 leads Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-31

Didn’t expect to be beaten by Renault

For the fourth race in succession Sainz failed to score a point, finishing 11th behind Jolyon Palmer in the Renault.

The Spanish driver said that the French squad seemed quicker from qualifying, and conceded that Sepang wasn't a track where Toro Rosso expected to lose out to Renault.

“[One-stop strategy] definitely paid off for them [Renault]," said Sainz.

"They were ahead in qualy, so they were always going to have a bit of a better pace than us, especially because Kevin qualified with a used tyre.

"You could see really in the last stint that the Renault, even though I had a bit fresher tyres and I was pushing quali laps for 16 laps, they were just a tiny bit quicker, which we don’t like, [and] we didn’t expect in this race track.”

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Renault's new target is scoring with both cars - Vasseur

Renault's new target is scoring with both cars - Vasseur

Renault team principal Frederic Vasseur says his team's next target is getting both of its cars into the top 10 in a grand prix.

The French manufacturer's drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer have generated some encouragement by earning a 10th place apiece in the last two races.

And while there is no more development in the pipeline for the Renault RS16, Vasseur is certain the team is continuously getting better and can strive for higher goals.

“I think we are improving,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com. “We are now fighting with the Toro Rosso and the Haas. It’s another step, but we have to be consistently in this position.

"Next target will be to have two cars into the points. We are not so far from the top of Q2, and that will be the next target for us.

“I think in the exploitation [of the package] we can make progress, and we are making progress race after race. We have to continue like this.

"We don’t expect a huge step because we won’t introduce any updates, but I think it’s the same for everybody, and the grid will stay more or less consistent. We have to pay attention to details.”

Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team on the grid   Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16   Frederic Vasseur, Renault Sport F1 Team Racing Director

Impressed with Palmer

Vasseur praised Palmer’s drive at Sepang, where the Briton used an aggressive one-stop strategy to go from 19th on the grid to 10th in the race.

“The strategy was a good one, and Jo did a very good job on the tyre management also," said Vasseur.

"He was able to push when we asked him to do it, and be very conservative at some other stages of the race. Now we have to build up the results, to continue like this.

“He was very close to scoring points in Budapest, until a couple of laps before the end. He was very disappointed after quali because I think the pace was there, and he could have expected a much better result than he got.”

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Red Bull F1 team developing at its best, Ricciardo believes

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Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull has developed its Formula 1 car better in 2016 than in any season since he joined the team.

The Australian was promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull in 2014, which coincided with its dip in form after winning four successive F1 drivers' and constructors' titles.

But with an improved relationship with engine supplier Renault and an impressive rate of development on its RB12 chassis, Red Bull has emerged as pace-setter Mercedes' closest challenger as this season has passed.

"Everything we put on the car, maybe our feedback is helping as well, but all the updates seem to be going in the right direction," Ricciardo said.

"Since I've been with Red Bull it's been the best year for that.

"A lot of things we've used or put on the car have worked."

Ricciardo secured his first win since August 2014 last Sunday in Malaysia, with team-mate Max Verstappen finishing second to secure Red Bull's first one-two finish since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Red Bull moved further clear of Ferrari in the constructors' championship, extending its advantage to 46 points with five races to go.

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Having already said that Verstappen's arrival has made him raise his level in F1, Ricciardo added that the strong performance of both drivers is helping the team push forward.

"The level me and Max are maintaining is helping the team," he said.

"We're certainly pushing each other. We're both driving at a pretty good level."

Verstappen believes he has also had to respond to compete with Ricciardo since earning promotion from Toro Rosso before the Spanish Grand Prix in May.

"I also had to step up," he said.

"Straight away there was a good connection. It's good to work with Daniel - he's very open, a relaxed guy.

"We share everything and that's bringing the performance up as well."

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Fernando Alonso suggests F1 halo should be removable for safety

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Fernando Alonso has suggested Formula 1's halo cockpit protection device needs to be removable after watching Kevin Magnussen's exit from his blazing Renault during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.

Magnussen was forced to leap from his car that had caught fire in the pitlane in first practice on Friday at Sepang.

It raised immediate concerns about how swift Magnussen's escape would have been if the halo - that is due to be mandatory on all cars in 2018 - had been in place.

Asked whether he was concerned the halo would have caused complications, double world champion Alonso said: "I think so, yes.

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"When I tried the halo in Singapore, one of the things I noticed was getting out of the car is a little bit uncomfortable, where you have to put the feet and where you have to jump.

"For this reason they have delayed its introduction just to make sure we cover all of the possibilities.

"Maybe there is a way of making the halo somehow removable in a way we can jump out of the car a little bit quicker."

The halo was due to be introduced next year, only for its implementation to be delayed until 2018, with the FIA carrying out further tests.

In recent practice sessions the drivers have been testing out the halo on their cars for short runs, while behind the scenes they have also been carrying out extraction tests.

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That has been the main area of concern for all drivers, with Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Jr adding: "My first thought [seeing the Magnussen incident] was it was dangerous, and safety because of the halo.

"What would have happened there?

"When you have to jump out that quickly it could be tricky, so what could we do to protect the head without getting ourselves out of the car slower because the way Kevin jumped out of the car was pretty fast."

Asked if the halo would have been an issue if in place, Sainz replied: "From the test I did, my extraction test, a bit, yes.

"I cannot tell you exactly how much slower it was because I don't remember, but it was a bit slower.

"It's not as quick, but it's normal when you have something there."

Sainz feels what happened with Magnussen will have given the FIA something to consider.

"It's a good example for the FIA to analyse, and one more to improve and to think about, so another good example," added Sainz.

"It's about getting examples and situations for them to get the whole picture and see what we can do better."

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