Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Aston Martin is receiving interest from several teams to purchase engines in 2021 as they consider whether to return to Formula 1 as suppliers, Autosport has reported.

The British carmaker has given a positive response to initial proposals put forward by owners Liberty Media and the FIA last October, with CEO Andy Palmer insisting Aston would only become a supplier if the financial aspect was controlled.

However, the changes put forward are from being confirmed as the new engine regulations with talks now ongoing to appease the strong backlash from current F1 manufacturers, notably Ferrari and Mercedes.

Aston Martin are increasing their profile in the sport regardless, becoming the title sponsor of Red Bull Racing in 2018 with the new logo revealed on Tuesday and the Milton Keynes outfit is believed to be the the first in the queue if the company do go ahead with an engine project.

Other manufacturers are being linked to a return in 2021, including Cosworth and Porsche, but Aston has been the most proactive with two former Ferrari engine men in Joerg Ross and Luca Marmorini employed and starting work on a concept design.

That has attracted interest from more than just Red Bull according to the British publication and Palmer didn't shut the door on supplying multiple teams.

"I have some rough maths in terms of what cost and what price," he said. "With all of this stuff in F1, you have to factor in intangibles because you're talking about a marketing return, not necessarily a physical return."

Part of that marketing strategy is to use F1 as a platform to compete with those Aston also target with their road cars.

"This is to seed the soil for when we bring a mid-engined car to compete with the Ferrari 488, which is what the Valkyrie [sportscar] was about," Palmer explained. "It's about creating credibility ready for when we go mainstream face-to-face with Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren on the road.

"The timing of the 2021 regulations work really well, because it is about the time we'll be bringing that car out."

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Fernando Alonso has given Lewis Hamilton the highest compliment possible, claiming the four-time world champion is "one of the greatest" drivers in Formula 1.

The pair are well-known for their turbulent season together at McLaren in 2007, and the Briton has admitted he could never work with the Spaniard, but they have grown a respect for each other in the decade since.

Many would arguably put Alonso ahead of Hamilton in terms of talent, putting his lack of success in comparison down to some poor decisions but the 36-year-old believes Lewis has proven himself at different stages.

“Lewis is one of the greatest drivers in our sport and he showed that, especially in McLaren times when they were struggling," he said in Brazil.

Also Read:

The current McLaren driver also brushes aside those that put Hamilton's achievements down to limited competition, particularly since 2014.

"The last three championships obviously the Mercedes has been the dominant car, but he deserves the success that he is having now because he showed that talent many, many times," he claimed.

 

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Esteban Ocon is sure he will get his opportunity at Mercedes in the future as he continues to focus on doing the best he can at current team Force India.

The Frenchman's future will be up for debate in 2018 as he out of contract for next year and, following his remarkable first season at the Silverstone outfit where he scored points in 18 of 20 races, there is already talk as to whether he could replace Valtteri Bottas.

Ocon, who is a member of Mercedes' young driver program, is not getting ahead of himself, however, instead, the former European F3 and GP3 champion merely wants to maintain the form he showed under the weight of higher expectations this year.

"Force India and also Mercedes are happy with what I'm doing," the 21-year-old told Autosport. "So if everyone is happy, I just have to continue and do everything I can."

Related Stories:

The competition will be incredibly strong for the second seat at the German manufacturer, with Bottas keen to maintain it and Daniel Ricciardo weighing up his options away from Red Bull, but Ocon is prepared to wait and maintains this time will come.

"If you do a strong job, there will always be opportunities," he claimed. "You need to focus on the job you're doing on track and the job you're doing with the engineers.

"I'm fully trusting my management with Mercedes, I know they have always done a good job for me and good choices."

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Former triple world champion Niki Lauda claims Mercedes, where he is now the Non-Executive Chairman, and other Formula 1 teams share concerns over the potential vision of owners Liberty Media.

In recent months, some have become more outspoken about the current management, headed by CEO Chase Carey, and pondered whether they have understood the sport they bought in 2016 and completed their takeover of almost a year ago.

Their first major proposal, which saw a concept idea for changes to the engines for 2021, was met by backlash from manufacturers, with Ferrari and Mercedes threatening to quit, and the Austrian says that is not the only area where questions are being asked.

"We had to give them time to identify the DNA of the series but I can already say that for Mercedes, and from what I have talked about with other teams too, there are things that worry us," he stated.

"One is that they have restructured F1, hiring a number of professionals at a cost of $70 million a year, which could mean less money for the teams and every time we talk, I get the feeling they want the NASCAR system, where all the teams are the same so that everyone can win but this is the opposite of F1.

"In our competition, we honour the best car, the best designers and the best drivers and that's something (Managing Director of Motorsport) Ross (Brawn) should know because he was a part of this F1."

Also Read:

Some are backing Liberty, however, with McLaren and Red Bull both urging greater cooperation but Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff seemed to echo Lauda when offering his view.

"Bernie Ecclestone invented something and made it into something great over 50 years," he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "And we now have the responsibility to keep it great."

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Former Head of Honda's Formula 1 operation, Yusuke Hasegawa has revealed a batch of engines will be maintained to the specification which ended the 2017 season for this year in case of further problems.

The Japanese manufacturer made significant progress with their troubled power unit in the second half of last year which enabled former partner McLaren to have one car in the points at five of the last seven races. However, despite regular upgrades, they would fail to fully implement the 'Spec 4' unit the had looked to introduce since the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August.

For 2018, Honda has a renewed optimism thanks to a new collaboration with Toro Rosso and Hasegawa remains positive that the worst is behind them.

“I’m sure we can start the season well next year,” he told Autosport. “We modified the engine concept from last year (2016) to this year (2017) and we are thinking it was the right direction.”

Related Stories:

In an effort to close the significant performance gap to their engine rivals, Honda sought help from external parties with even a tie-up with Mercedes hinted at but never coming to fruition.

"We can see results from that project," the ex-boss claimed, insisting those assisting would remain anonymous. “We will continue those collaborations – there’s no reason to stop – we even have to enhance the collaboration more.

“I understand most people think Honda has tried to do it by themselves but it’s not right. We’re happy to invite outside resource and we do.”

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier has praised what he described as the "fluid" transition from Honda to Renault engines for the 2018 Formula 1 season.

Next year will mark the first time in its history that the British team will have worked with the French manufacturer, though for Boullier he has had plenty of past experience with the Viry-based operation from his time at Lotus.

The switch has also brought with it high expectations of a return to the front of the grid and potentially ending their five-year wait for a win but for now, the focus is on ensuring the partnership is established in the strongest way possible.

"It has been a very fluid change, it is something that we are pleased about," he told Spain's Marca. "We are very well organised and the job is almost finished. Now it is just a matter of development and performance.

"The changes have motivated the team and everyone at McLaren is looking forward to being in Melbourne."

Also Read:

This year saw McLaren return to an orange livery, their traditional racing colour, but it wasn't the exact shade that founder Bruce McLaren used. Instead, that was seen on the specially designed IndyCar which Fernando Alonso raced with at the Indianapolis 500 but now there is speculation papaya orange could be used on the MCL33.

"We are seriously considering it," Boullier acknowledged. "It is very possible that we will change next year."

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff admits his team could be interested in following what he described as a "visionary" path taken by Ferrari by forming 'B-Team' alliances with those further down the grid.

The Scuderia has broadened the scale of its partnerships in recent years, offering significant technical support to the Haas F1 team before and during their first two years on the grid and in 2018, Sauber will become effectively a junior team with academy member Charles Leclerc racing and Antonio Giovinazzi as the reserve.

Ferrari also used the renewal of their two-decade collaboration with the Swiss team to revive the Alfa Romeo name in Formula 1 for the first time since 1985, with both companies coming under the Fiat Chrysler umbrella, and it is something that has made Wolff stand up and take notice.

"I think what [Ferrari President] Sergio Marchionne and [Team Principal] Maurizio [Arrivabene] are doing is very clever," the Austrian told ESPN. "They've had a good relationship with Haas and what they are doing now with Sauber is very visionary.

"With Fred [Vassuer] he has a team principal on the other side who knows the business inside out and it can be an alliance that can be dangerous for us."

Despite the competitive nature of F1, these kind of partnerships are far from new. McLaren has worked with other teams including Force India in the past providing technical help and Red Bull has had a 'B-Team' in Toro Rosso since 2006.

"It's something that we are considering," Wolff added. "It's not easy because you don't want to distract your own organisation with a collaboration with another team on the other side. We are not the only ones who are having intelligent ideas and we are having discussions but nothing is done yet."

Mercedes wouldn't be short of options either with Williams and Force India both current engine customers. The latter has become perhaps the most closely associated offering opportunities for the likes of Pascal Wehrlein, Esteban Ocon and George Russell, all drivers linked to the German manufacturer, to gain F1 experience.

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner is hoping a more level playing field in terms of engine performance will boost competitiveness in 2018.

The Anglo-Austrian team made great progress with their chassis after a difficult start, but the Renault power unit continued to be their weakness without the special modes of their rivals which offer brief boosts in performance.

This particularly hampered their drivers in Q3 in qualifying, as fifth and sixth was a common result and also in wheel-to-wheel situations against Mercedes and Ferrari and Horner sees this area as the final piece of the puzzle.

"We're seeing a bit of convergence on race day but still in qualifying, there is still quite a differential certainly," he told Motorsport.com. "The stopwatch doesn't lie. We're now going into year five of the hybrid so one would hope they [Renault] do start to understand some of the issues they have been struggling with."

Also Read:

The other problem the French manufacturer has faced has been a lack of reliability with the lack of performance with claims Renault were running out of parts in the final races of the season.

"Reliability-wise, engine reliability, it's probably been the worst year we've had since 2006," Horner claimed. "Our engine partner is working hard to address that over the winter, they need it for their own team as well.

"Hopefully we can then put a campaign together to really challenge Ferrari and Mercedes, who will not be standing still either during the course of next year."

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Double world champion Mika Hakkinen has praised the quality of drivers coming through in Formula 1 for the next generation believing it could be the best ever.

Though obtaining a seat on the grid is proving very difficult for some, the standard of those behind the wheel is among the strongest seen in some time with new names making their mark against established veterans.

Next year will see more promising talent join in Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly but naturally, the 'Flying Finn' began with the optimism surrounding his fellow countryman now at Mercedes.

"I was really delighted to see Valtteri [Bottas] win two Grands Prix," he wrote on his blog for Unibet. "He is a strong, balanced guy, and the wins in Russia and Austria showed he is fully capable.

"He had some tough times in the middle part of the season, but I know how hard he has worked to get to where he is, and you can be sure he will use the off-season to build on everything he has learned."

Hakkinen also couldn't overlook the potential of the driver many expect to lead the way in F1 for the next decade and beyond.

"Max Verstappen was the standout driver of the season because he is so exciting to watch," he claimed. "The two wins in Malaysia and Mexico showed that both he and the team have been getting stronger, and with Daniel Ricciardo winning in Baku, it means Ferrari and Mercedes could never relax."

But his attention was also on those further down the grid and could well be expected to move up and fill the shoes of the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso in the future.

"Stoffel Vandoorne, Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz Jr. are exciting to watch," Mika claimed. "When you consider that their team-mates Fernando Alonso, Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg are very quick, the driving talent in F1 today is probably among the best it has ever been."

As a legend of McLaren, Hakkinen is also keen to see his former team rise from their recent slump with a renewed optimism created by their switch to Renault engine for 2018.

"I know just how excited everyone at McLaren is to start a new chapter in its history, and there is huge determination to win again after a difficult few seasons," he said. "Everyone in the McLaren organisation is working hard to make sure that much better times lie ahead."

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted he would rather see Formula 1 return to Magny-Cours for next year's French Grand Prix rather than its new venue at Paul Ricard.

Two races will be re-joining the calendar in 2018 with Hockenheim continuing the host the German Grand Prix on a biannual basis but the wait has been a little longer for France with the last event held at Magny-Cours in 2008.

Though Hamilton never really had any success at the circuit, with a best of third in his two F1 visits, he simply isn't a fan of the well-known test circuit at Paul Ricard, which hasn't seen an F1 race since 1990.

"Honestly I don't like it, just to be straight with you," the British driver told French broadcaster Canal +. "I loved it when we used to have the Grand Prix in Magny-Cours. [Paul Ricard] is in a beautiful place but the track, when I say I don't like it, it's not as great as Magny-Cours."

Also Read:

The 32-year-old is pleased France is back on the F1 schedule, however, with the country seeing a burst of new talent in recent years including Romain Grosjean, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, with Jules Bianchi of course never to be forgotten.

"The most important thing is that we do have a Grand Prix back in France because it's an important part of Europe, it's an important part of the European tour," Hamilton said.

But if the Mercedes driver was to name his absolute prefered host for the race...

"France has so many beautiful, beautiful circuits – Le Mans, for example – and for some reason, we don't have it at the most beautiful track."

 

         

 

 

Search