FORMULA 1 - 2016

[MIKA27]

Happy Holidays from Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen!

Daniel and Max Team up for one final 1.92 Second Challenge... this time with a festive twist! A very Happy Holidays to all our fans from the Team and thank you for your support in 2016!

[MIKA27]

Johnnie Walker set for Force India deal

Force India will run Johnnie Walker branding in Formula 1 next season as part of a new multi-year deal, according to Motorsport.com's sister publication Autosport.

The Diageo brand has been in Formula 1 since 2005, when it joined forces with McLaren.

After celebrating a 10-year partnership with the team, it extended its deal in early 2016, with next year the final season of that agreement.

That means Johnnie Walker branding will feature on both Force India and McLaren cars next year, although it is expected to be more prominent on the cars of the Silverstone-based team.

Diageo, which in recent years has acquired a controlling stake Mallya's former business United Spirits, has been involved with Force India through its Smirnoff brand since 2014.

Johnnie Walker logos will replace Smirnoff on Force India's cars for next year.

Force India enjoyed its best F1 season in 2016, finishing fourth in the constructors' championship for the first time, two places ahead of McLaren.

[MIKA27]

WOLFF: I WANTED A PLACE FOR MAX AT MERCEDES BUT THERE WAS NONE

Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff has revealed how he was forced to let Max Verstappen go to Red Bull simply because there was no way the Silver Arrows organisation could accommodate the young Dutchman when he and his father Jos Verstappen came knocking.

Wolf told the Express newspaper, “He was an exceptional kid in karts. Then he won in the Formula Three championship against all odds with an inferior car. Esteban Ocon [now Mercedes young driver programme member] was his opponent then – that says a lot.”

“But yes, the real test is F1 – and now we see the result. But we simply had no availability for him, so Red Bull was his best option. We are not disappointed with anything in the past. I was very conscious about him.”

“I wanted to find him a place, but with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg we had the perfect driver pairing, so there was the logical thing, to stay with those two,” mused Wolff.

In contrast Red Bull jumped in where Mercedes were reluctant to tread and fast tracked the Dutch teenager into their junior driver programme by funding the second half of his 2014 F3 season and handing him a Toro Rosso drive in 2015.

Against the odds and defying many skeptics, Verstappen rose to the occasion and by May this year they promoted him to the Red Bull team in place of Daniil Kvyat… and the rest is now history.

Wolff is not bitter that he missed out on the sport’s brightest prospect, instead hails the advent of a new generation of driver whose talents have carved their way to the door of Formula 1 thanks to special junior driver programmes.

The Mercedes chief pointed out, “Maybe there is now a generation coming up that is different,. There was a time when money paved your way into F1, but that seems to be different now, as not only Red Bull have a junior program.”

“We have also picked it up and now I see five or six youngsters coming up who are ballsy – and my guess is that in the near future we will have a range of young drivers that will be exceptional,” added Wolff.

Indeed Mercedes have nurtured and financed the careers of Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon who both made their Formula 1 forays with Manor. Ocon has impressed enough to be signed by Force India.

Ironically the World Champion team are stalling on making a decision to replace retired Nico Rosberg, senior management not sure that Wehrlein is ready to step up to be Lewis Hamilton’ teammate.

[MIKA27]

RON DENNIS IN THE FRAME TO TAKEOVER AT MANOR

A Formula 1 off-season which was expected to be nice and quiet, but instead has exploded with news and speculation since the chequered flag waved at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, fired up by seismic events (for the sport) such as Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement and the coup d’equipe which ousted Ron Dennis from the helm of McLaren.

Much has and is being written about Rosberg’s decision and his replacement, now former McLaren chief Dennis is in the news again as reports emerge that he may find his way back into Formula 1 with Manor.

A number of sources are linking Dennis to a buyout of Manor, whose current owner Stephen Fitzpatrick is keen to off-load the team to the highest bidder in an effort to recover some €30-million he pumped in to save the outfit in 2015.

In the running until recently was a consortium headed by well connected American businessman Tavo Hellmund. However this deal appears to have stalled at the eleventh hour, which has triggered interest from other parties.

Former Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon and Indonesian billionaire businessman Ricardo Gelael have emerged as a group of potential buyers. Gelael already involved in the sport through Jagonya Ayam – KFC Indonesia) and already sponsors Ferrari’s recently appointed reserve Antonio Giovinazzi.

Gelael’s son, GP2 Series driver Sean Galeal, is making his way up the ladder with Formula 1 in his sights, hence the interest by his father to buy into an F1 team to streamline the process of his son making it onto the grid.

Now Dennis has entered the picture as a potential buyer through his connection to Manor racing director Dave Ryan, who was McLaren since the James Hunt era in the seventies and moved up through the ranks to sporting director before departing in 2009.

[MIKA27]

MARCHIONNE: VETTEL MUST BE MORE CALM AND LESS AGITATED

Ferrari team chief Sergio Marchionne has issued a thinly veiled warning to Sebastian Vettel, urging the four times Formula 1 World Champion to up his game by cutting down on the tantrums and focus on his driving.

Speaking to reporters during the end of the year media function at Maranello, Marchionne said, “With Vettel it doesn’t make sense to talk about renewal now, we must first understand if he feels comfortable with us in 2017.”

“We must give him a winning car, otherwise talking about the future is useless. He wants to win with us, we know that. Can we guarantee that for him?”

“In exchange, he must drive with composure, be more calm, less agitated. He must think about winning on the track and beat the other cars, not about getting into personal feuds.”

With Kimi Raikkonen reaching the end of his career and Vettel a work in progress within the team, the Ferrari big boss pointed out that the team are looking beyond 2017 for driver options.

“I admit we are looking around us for the future, by carefully analysing the others’ situations. That doesn’t mean we don’t have confidence in our drivers, but it’s fair to say they are under scrutiny,” admitted Marchionne

“I’m happy with Raikkonen’s season – he will race again in 2017, but what about after that? Does he want to retire or carry on?” questioned the Ferrari boss.

At the same function it was announced that Italian driver Antonio Giovinazzi will be Ferrari’s Formula 1 reserve driver next season.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari rejected proposal to hire Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says the Italian team rejected a proposal to hire Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe, as the Briton looks set to step down from his position at the championship-winning outfit.

Lowe has been instrumental in Mercedes' recent success, but it's believed he is looking to switch teams as Mercedes have reportedly hired ex-Ferrari man James Allison to take up a similar role.

With Lowe on the market, Marchionne revealed to Italian publication La Reppublica that they turned down hiring him.

"We had a proposal [from Lowe], but the role was already covered," he said during a media Christmas lunch this week.

"We are not looking for a Ross Brawn-like saviour who can solve all the problems," he added. "Together, we can pull through by working the right way.

"I don’t want to be constantly changing the team."

It's expected Lowe will now replace Pat Symonds at Williams and could even take a shareholding in the team.

Marchionne meanwhile believes Ferrari has the right people in place to improve, but has stopped short of promising big things in 2017 – something which backfired this year when he promised the team would challenge for wins, when in fact they failed to win a single race.

"Now I only want us to do better than in 2016, which doesn't seem too hard to me," he said.

"Should we continue not to win, then the blame lies at my feet. I’ve already told Ferrari fans who approach me on the street and complain about our win drought: 'that’s my mistake, wait for 2017'.

"I am confident about the new car, confident that we have taken action and done a good job in all areas, starting with the aerodynamics."

[MIKA27]

Nico Rosberg drives W07 F1 car for final time

Watch the recently-retired Nico Rosberg drive his championship-winning Mercedes W07 Formula 1 car for what could well be the final time , while also taking a brilliant selfie in the process.

 

[MIKA27]

Verstappen wins Sportsman of the Year award in the Netherlands

Max Verstappen has been named Sportsman of the Year in his home country during an award ceremony on Wednesday evening.

The Red Bull Racing driver became the youngest ever Formula 1 Grand Prix winner and the first Dutch GP winner in F1 history when he defeated the Ferraris in Barcelona this year. The victory came after the season’s dominant cars, the two Mercedes-Benz W07s, collided with each other on the opening lap. 

Verstappen was not present to collect the award – it was collected on his behalf by former Dutch Grand Prix driver and sportscar star Jan Lammers. But Verstappen told the audience via a video message that he was ‘very honored’ to receive it.

“It’s been a superb season for me with many highlights,” he said. “Something I will always remember, of course, is the victory. That was a very emotional moment.

“It’s something you work very hard for from a very young age. I think everybody in the audience will understand this.”

     

The 19-year-old went on to finish fifth in the championship, despite spending the first four races of the year at Scuderia Toro Rosso, with whom he made his F1 debut in 2015.

Verstappen also mentioned Johan Cruyff, the Dutch football legend who passed away in March this year, and who had paid Verstappen a visit during pre-season testing at Barcelona, just weeks before his passing.

“I am very glad to have met him,” said Verstappen. “Of course this was something very, very emotional after the victory.”

Referring to Cruyff’s iconic #14, which Dutch team Ajax retired in his honor back in 2007, Verstappen said: “I’ve read his book and it mentioned that he was fascinated by numbers. My victory was one hour, 41 minutes and forty seconds, so two times fourteen [1:41.40]. I think this makes it extra special.”

[MIKA27]

Well guys, news in F1 is getting scarce, there's a lot of stuff but who knows what is true, false, speculation..?

I am currently on leave for the Holidays, I might stop here and leave the 2016 thread and put it to bed.

I'll keep an eye out for the remainder of the year in case Mercedes reveal who will drive for them in 2017, it seems even without their announcement, it will be Bottas, seeing there are several reports from several sources that Massa will remain at Williams.

It has been a great year in Formula 1, I am looking forward to see how good or bad the 2017 cars, rules and regulations will be and thank you all for reading and contributing to the thread over this season. It's always nice to get comments and contributions from the members here on the forum.

@OZCUBAN knows me pretty well and I have stated over the years that this will be the last of the thread for at least one season, I think this thread may very well be the last for at least a year, I need a break, it can get quite taxing sourcing and reading the articles each day. I'm about 70% certain I might just have a break from it in 2017, will see how I feel after a break over Christmas. 

Merry Christmas to you all and your families, be well, be safe.

[OZCUBAN]

Thanks mate for all your hard work much appreciated by ALL F-1 fans  here on the forum I know I say it every year but you have the two best threads on the forum bar none 

cheers and merry Xmas to all 

will be in touch mate 

[Baldy]

Merry Christmas to you and yours @MIKA27

If you do decided to take a year off it's well deserve and I completely understand.  Understand too that you provide a great service for many of us here with this thread.

Yes interesting year with 2017 promising more intrigue.  I'll wait and see how McLaren will fare next year.  Not good I suspect and hope I'm not witnessing something similar to the Titanic.

 

[skalls]

Merry christmas @MIKA27.  Thanks for doing this again this year!

[LLC]

Merry Christmas@MIKA27 and all the best for 2017. Always enjoy reading and getting my F1 news from you. Enjoy the holidays!


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[Bartolomeo]

Thanks pal for all of your efforts all year long

 

Merry Christmas!

[capitalpg]

Terrific job with the thread Mika!