| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 30th 2014, 15:13 GMT |
Niki Lauda insists that Formula 1 does not need former team boss Flavio Briatore to help find ways to make itself more popular
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| By Ben Anderson | Thursday, July 31st 2014, 10:26 GMT |
The Ferrari Formula 1 team requires a "360-degree" improvement before it can get back to where it wants to be in the competitive order, according to team boss Marco Mattiacci
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| By Jonathan Noble and Ben Anderson | Thursday, July 31st 2014, 10:40 GMT |
The Mercedes Formula 1 team says fixing recent reliability problems is its main priority, rather than diffusing the team orders controversy at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 30th 2014, 10:23 GMT |
Formula 1 teams must stop trying to control their drivers so much if the sport is going to make them heroes again, reckons Red Bull boss Christian Horner
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| Wednesday, July 30th 2014, 10:53 GMT |
A line-up of 20 iconic Formula 1 cars will race on the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix support bill this season
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 30th 2014, 11:25 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton thinks the loss of FRIC suspension is going to help him to come back stronger when the Formula 1 season resumes after the summer break
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| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, July 29th 2014, 09:39 GMT |
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has vowed to improve the way his Formula 1 team makes strategic decisions, following the blunder that cost Jenson Button in the Hungarian Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 29th 2014, 09:24 GMT |
Mercedes has admitted that it could have been harder with Lewis Hamilton after he ignored team orders in Hungary, but it felt the situation was "difficult to judge"
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 29th 2014, 11:25 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton did the right thing in ignoring team orders from Mercedes at the Hungarian Grand Prix, says rival Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 28th 2014, 08:22 GMT |
The Mercedes Formula 1 team is to consider a total rethink of how it lets Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg race, following the Hungarian Grand Prix team orders row
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 28th 2014, 08:31 GMT |
The Caterham Formula 1 team's new owners are facing legal action from around 40 of its former staff, after they were axed in the wake of its recent takeover
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 28th 2014, 11:01 GMT |
The Red Bull Formula 1 team says its Hungarian Grand Prix victory was better than its triumph in Canada earlier this year because the dominant Mercedes cars didn't hit trouble
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, July 26th 2014, 16:41 GMT |
Mercedes says the run of reliability problems that have hit its Formula 1 drivers in recent races are unacceptable
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, July 26th 2014, 16:44 GMT |
Former Formula 1 team boss Flavio Briatore is to be involved in a new working group being set up by Bernie Ecclestone to look at ways of making the sport more popular
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| Saturday, July 26th 2014, 17:36 GMT |
DRIVERS 1 - Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes) 2 - Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing) 3 - Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, July 25th 2014, 17:32 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has blasted the media for focusing too much on the negativity surrounding Formula 1, rather than promoting its virtues
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 25th 2014, 17:14 GMT |
Renault is hopeful it will be able to run its latest software updates at maximum capacity for the Hungarian Grand Prix, after they did not deliver the step expected at Hockenheim.
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| By Edd Straw | Saturday, July 26th 2014, 10:03 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton cemented his status as favourite for pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix by topping Saturday morning free practice
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, July 25th 2014, 09:32 GMT |
Mercedes underlined its dominant position at the front of Formula 1 by comfortably leading the way in the first free practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 25th 2014, 09:47 GMT |
Nico Rosberg has admitted that it is hard trying to get the right balance in his relationship with Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 25th 2014, 10:40 GMT |
Former Formula 1 driver Ivan Capelli is behind a fresh push to keep the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, following Bernie Ecclestone's threat to drop the race.
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| By Ben Anderson | Wednesday, July 23rd 2014, 12:58 GMT |
Mercedes Formula 1 bosses Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe were injured during a team-building event in Austria on Tuesday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 23rd 2014, 14:55 GMT |
Red Bull says there is no point in it stopping development of this year's Formula 1 car in favour of focusing on its 2015 design.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 23rd 2014, 20:38 GMT |
Mexico will return to the Formula 1 calendar next season after a 23-year absence, organisers said on Wednesday.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 23rd 2014, 08:28 GMT |
Formula 1 drivers have been reminded to rejoin tracks safely in future, after Kimi Raikkonen was told he was lucky to escape a penalty for his British Grand Prix crash.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 22nd 2014, 15:16 GMT |
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says Felipe Massa was wrong to blame Kevin Magnussen for their German Grand Prix collision, because the FIA's report proves the Dane was totally innocent
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 23rd 2014, 09:06 GMT |
Williams's hopes of hunting down Red Bull in the Formula 1 constructors' championship will be boosted by a big update package coming for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
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| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, July 22nd 2014, 08:51 GMT |
Mercedes reckons Formula 1 has made a mistake by deciding to award double points for its 2014 season finale in Abu Dhabi
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| Tuesday, July 22nd 2014, 11:08 GMT |
Auto GP driver Kevin Giovesi has become the second addition to the Caterham Formula 1 team's new driver development programme
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 22nd 2014, 11:32 GMT |
Renault is considering adopting the Mercedes split concept on its turbo for next season, as it works to overhaul its current Formula 1 engine
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 21st 2014, 09:09 GMT |
Felipe Massa has called on Formula 1's younger drivers to calm down, following his first corner crash with Kevin Magnussen at the German Grand Prix
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| By Ben Anderson | Monday, July 21st 2014, 10:40 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says he is now happier with the feel of Ferrari's Formula 1 car, despite another difficult race at the German Grand Prix
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| By Ben Anderson and Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 21st 2014, 11:05 GMT |
Fernando Alonso reckons Formula 1 rival Daniel Ricciardo is doing an "unbelievable" job since stepping up from Toro Rosso to the championship-winning Red Bull outfit
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, July 20th 2014, 10:07 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton will start from his 20th slot on the German Grand Prix grid after the FIA accepted that changing brake disc suppliers did not breach Formula 1's regulations
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, July 20th 2014, 10:52 GMT |
The FIA has clarified the track limits situation for the German Grand Prix, having decided against the zero tolerance approach it had for the Austrian and British rounds
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, July 20th 2014, 11:20 GMT |
Marcus Ericsson will have to start the German Grand Prix from the pitlane, plus serve a 10-second stop/go penalty, due to Caterham breaching Formula 1's parc ferme rules on Saturday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 18th 2014, 17:42 GMT |
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes that Formula 1 may have to ask tough questions of itself if the German GP does not attract a big crowd.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 18th 2014, 17:35 GMT |
Ferrari has backed the FIA's handling of the FRIC controversy, even though Formula 1 teams have faced a headache in removing the suspension systems from their cars.
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| By Stuart Codling | Saturday, July 19th 2014, 10:03 GMT |
Nico Rosberg was 0.601s faster than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third practice for the 2014 Formula 1 German Grand Prix.
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| By Stuart Codling | Friday, July 18th 2014, 09:36 GMT |
Nico Rosberg went fastest for Mercedes in first practice for the 2014 Formula 1 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 18th 2014, 09:12 GMT |
Jenson Button says the McLaren Formula 1 team's recovery plan is running ahead of schedule, with a radical new rear wing arriving early for this weekend's German Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, July 17th 2014, 17:45 GMT |
Formula 1 teams have all removed their FRIC suspension systems for the German Grand Prix, ending fears that the weekend could be overshadowed by protests
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, July 17th 2014, 10:22 GMT |
Formula 1 is braced for a crunch day on the FRIC suspension system controversy, as teams face a final call on whether or not to keep it on their cars.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, July 17th 2014, 08:19 GMT |
Caterham has axed more than 40 members of staff as part of a major restructuring that has taken place under its new owners.
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| Thursday, July 17th 2014, 10:42 GMT |
FIA president Jean Todt has backed Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo's call for Formula 1 to hold a summit meeting to discuss the future of the sport
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| Wednesday, July 16th 2014, 08:37 GMT |
Alexander Rossi has parted company with the Caterham Formula 1 and GP2 teams, the American announced on Wednesday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 16th 2014, 09:51 GMT |
Red Bull is the latest frontrunning Formula 1 team to confirm that it will remove its FRIC suspension system for this weekend's German Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 16th 2014, 10:46 GMT |
Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, thinks it is unrealistic to expect the sport's rules to be made simpler to help boost the show.
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| By Glenn Freeman and Gerhard Kuntschik | Tuesday, July 15th 2014, 09:22 GMT |
Carlos Sainz Jr has been told by Red Bull that winning Formula Renault 3.5 this year must come before any push to get him in to Formula 1
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 14th 2014, 19:01 GMT |
McLaren has become the first Formula 1 team to confirm intentions to remove its FRIC suspension system for the German Grand Prix
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| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, July 15th 2014, 10:44 GMT |
Sergio Perez has backed Formula 1's move to be more lenient on drivers who make contact during races
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| By Ben Anderson | Monday, July 14th 2014, 10:08 GMT |
Esteban Gutierrez says Sauber is "stuck" trying to find a solution to the problems with its 2014 Formula 1 car.
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| By Ben Anderson | Monday, July 14th 2014, 09:11 GMT |
Reigning Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel says it would be "stupid" to rule himself out of this year's title race until it is mathematically impossible to retain his crown.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 14th 2014, 11:37 GMT |
Formula 1 teams may have to decide for themselves if they wish to protest rivals over FRIC suspension systems, with the FIA unlikely to step in on their behalf.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 11th 2014, 14:23 GMT |
Driving costs down in Formula 1, rather than a conspiracy to slow down the dominant Mercedes team, is the real reason behind an FIA push to get rid of FRIC suspension systems.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 11th 2014, 12:40 GMT |
The Caterham Formula 1 team's new owners have given the green light to invest in a major update package that it hopes will be ready for the Belgian Grand Prix
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, July 11th 2014, 16:08 GMT |
Kevin Magnussen reckons the pressure being applied to McLaren to raise its game by Group CEO Ron Dennis is healthy for the Formula 1 team.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 11th 2014, 14:23 GMT |
Driving costs down in Formula 1, rather than a conspiracy to slow down the dominant Mercedes team, is the real reason behind an FIA push to get rid of FRIC suspension systems.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 11th 2014, 12:40 GMT |
The Caterham Formula 1 team's new owners have given the green light to invest in a major update package that it hopes will be ready for the Belgian Grand Prix
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Friday, July 11th 2014, 16:08 GMT |
Kevin Magnussen reckons the pressure being applied to McLaren to raise its game by Group CEO Ron Dennis is healthy for the Formula 1 team.
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| By Ben Anderson | Thursday, July 10th 2014, 15:57 GMT |
Daniel Ricciardo is certain his Red Bull Formula 1 team-mate Sebastian Vettel will soon rediscover his best form, after a difficult start to the season.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 11th 2014, 10:47 GMT |
Formula 1's top teams are ready to remove their FRIC suspension systems for the German Grand Prix, amid doubts that there will be unanimous support for delaying a ban
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| By Ben Anderson | Friday, July 11th 2014, 11:54 GMT |
Fernando Alonso says his main priority is improving Ferrari's current Formula 1 form, rather than thinking about staying with the Scuderia when his current deal expires after 2016.
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, July 9th 2014, 18:08 GMT |
Charles Pic believes both teams and drivers would face a "big challenge" if the Formula 1's potential switch to 18-inch tyres is given the go-ahead.
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| By Edd Straw | Thursday, July 10th 2014, 09:16 GMT |
Jules Bianchi is hopeful that his performance for Ferrari in the Silverstone Formula 1 test will boost his chances of a race seat with the Scuderia in the future.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, July 10th 2014, 10:09 GMT |
The FIA has rejected claims that Kimi Raikkonen should have been punished for his crash in the British Grand Prix, and that the red flag delay was too long.
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| By Craig Scarborough | Wednesday, July 9th 2014, 11:45 GMT |
Following the British Grand Prix, Formula 1 teams received an FIA technical directive that aims to ban hydraulically interconnected suspension, better known as FRIC.
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| By Gerhard Kuntschik | Wednesday, July 9th 2014, 09:39 GMT |
Red Bull and Renault will catch up with Mercedes during the 2015 Formula 1 season, the drinks firm's motorsport director Helmut Marko has declared.
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| By Matt Beer and Edd Straw | Wednesday, July 9th 2014, 11:53 GMT |
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has revealed that his team was surprised by the FIA's attempt to outlaw interconnected Formula 1 suspension systems.
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| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, July 8th 2014, 08:31 GMT |
The latest of Formula 1's in-season tests kicked off at Silverstone on Tuesday morning
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| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, July 8th 2014, 09:16 GMT |
Ferrari Formula 1 boss Marco Mattiacci says the Scuderia will be a "different team" next season, once he has finished his restructuring process
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 8th 2014, 11:10 GMT |
Pirelli has revealed images of what its prototype 18-inch Formula 1 tyres will look like, ahead of testing them on a Lotus at Silverstone on Wednesday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 7th 2014, 09:09 GMT |
Three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda said he could not understand Kimi Raikkonen's driving in the accident that delayed the British Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 7th 2014, 09:47 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner thinks excessive Formula 1 regulations were to blame for the radio moans from Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso during the British Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, July 7th 2014, 10:16 GMT |
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff insists Lewis Hamilton was not struggling with the pressure of his Formula 1 title fight with Nico Rosberg prior to his British Grand Prix victory
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| By Ben Anderson | Saturday, July 5th 2014, 17:46 GMT |
Daniel Ricciardo says he made a "rookie error" deciding to stay in the pits during the final part of qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, July 5th 2014, 17:17 GMT |
Pastor Maldonado has been excluded from qualifying for the British Grand Prix after failing a post-session technical inspection.
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| By Edd Straw | Saturday, July 5th 2014, 17:58 GMT |
Nico Rosberg heads the grid for the British Grand Prix, with a number of reshuffles outside of the top 10 changing the order significantly.
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| By Stuart Codling | Friday, July 4th 2014, 10:36 GMT |
Nico Rosberg was quickest in first practice for the 2014 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, 0.731s faster than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 4th 2014, 10:46 GMT |
The FIA says that Formula 1 teams must now decide for themselves if is worth continuing efforts to improve the sound of the cars
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, July 4th 2014, 11:08 GMT |
Formula 1's teams have been given upgraded fuel-flow sensors for this weekend's British Grand Prix, in a bid to overcome early-season problems with the systems.
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| By Ben Anderson and Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 2nd 2014, 15:22 GMT |
Red Bull has ruled out switching to any of Renault's rival Formula 1 engine manufacturers because it believes its chances will be limited if it becomes a mere customer team
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| Thursday, July 3rd 2014, 08:42 GMT |
Former Caterham Formula 1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul is returning to Renault as the French manufacturer attempts to turn its F1 engine programme around.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, July 3rd 2014, 10:47 GMT |
Renault says that Sebastian Vettel's engine problem in Austria was caused by a glitch with the way Formula 1's standard ECU interacted with its own mapping software
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| By Ben Anderson and Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 2nd 2014, 09:29 GMT |
Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that Formula 1's drivers made clear their unhappiness at the introduction of standing starts after safety cars in 2015 when consulted by teams.
The decision to force drivers to form up the grid for a restart after caution periods has drawn much criticism since it was approved by teams and the FIA.
And, with Ricciardo questioning both the sporting fairness and safety aspects of it, he says his unease at the move is not unique.
When asked if F1 drivers had been asked for their opinion on the idea and discussed it, he said: "We did, we all pretty much disagreed as far as I am aware.
"I will let the veteran drivers speak their minds. I said I don't think it is the best thing. We will see what other drivers say about it."
FIA explains how restart rules will work
Ricciardo thinks both the fairness issues and safety matters are as important as each other in relation to the new rule.
"I don't want to go into it too much, but if you are leading the race by 20 seconds, the safety car comes out and you lose that 20 seconds advantage, then what was looking like an easy victory is still questionable.
"That is already a big disadvantage for the leader who has worked hard to build up that gap.
"To then put him on the start, and anything can happen at the starts, not only an accident, but you get a poor start you can be from first to fourth before Turn 1, it seems harsh on the leader.
"Then what is happening with the tyres? If you cannot change them you will lose a lot of temperature. At first my argument was the big disadvantage for the leader, but the big one that everyone is talking about is safety.
"Starts in F1 are already quite tight a lot of the time and that is with new tyres, and tyre warmers.
"If we have tyres with 20 laps on them or even more, because when there is a lot of rubber that has been taken off the tyres, they don't hold temperature, it will be significantly more difficult."
F1 tyre supplier Pirelli suggested this week that proper research was needed to understand the safety implications of cars starting on used tyres.
| By Ben Anderson | Wednesday, July 2nd 2014, 10:30 GMT |
The McLaren Formula 1 team says it is in no rush to decide whether to retain Jenson Button in its driver line-up for next season.
The 2009 world champion is out of contract with the Woking-based team after this year, but has repeatedly expressed his desire to remain with McLaren for Honda's impending return to the sport in 2015.
The Briton told reporters at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this month there had been "no progress" on a fresh deal, but reiterated his desire to remain with the team.
Those comments were followed by McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis telling Sky Sports he wanted to see Button "try harder" in response to the challenge of rookie team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who has outqualified him for four of 2014's eight grands prix so far.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has recently implemented a major restructure of the team in a bid to return it to winning ways in the longer term, but the Frenchman remained non-committal on Button's future when quizzed by AUTOSPORT.
"It's the question where I cannot say yes and I cannot say no," said Boullier, when asked by AUTOSPORT whether McLaren intended to retain Button for next season.
"We are evaluating strategies and we are lucky to have two drivers who want to commit to us for the future.
"We have contractually some options we can pick up, so we are not in a rush to decide next year or the future driver line-up."
CONFIDENT OF HONDA PROGRESS
Boullier is confident the changes he has made at the team, coupled with a new works engine partnership with Honda for next year, will improve McLaren's prospects by 2015.
"I do have confidence we will have a good car for next year, just because we addressed all the issues internally and I believe we made all the right changes," Boullier added.
"This [the Honda engine deal] is a big project and it takes months, even years, to build up.
"Having a works engine allows you to play with much more channels, data and set-up possibilities than if you have a customer engine.
"So far, everything is in order and matching the path we have until the first race of next year."
| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, July 2nd 2014, 11:57 GMT |
Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff thinks Bernie Ecclestone is wrong to let Formula 1 ignore social media for money reasons.
Ecclestone has dismissed the need for F1 to officially embrace the millions of people who use platforms like Twitter and Facebook because he sees no instant profit in it.
But Wolff suggests that grand prix racing is missing out on a potential huge audience, and should be preparing better for when social media does start delivering income.
"I had quite a long row with Bernie in a meeting," said Wolff about Ecclestone's dislike of social media.
"We were talking each other down again and saying, we have lost 30 per cent of TV audience in Italy and we have lost some of the audience in Germany - although interestingly the UK is growing.
OPINION: F1 needs to wake up to new media
"Then you wonder why the audience is not growing and is diminishing if you sell the rights from free TV to pay TV. That is completely normal.
"But the other thing I mentioned was that we are having such an explosive growth in online activities - before Bernie said, 'those guys are not paying and half our profit is TV.'
"Sure the [social media] model does not work yet as you cannot monetise it, but I can tell each of my sponsors that the audience seeing his logo is growing even though TV figures are down.
"Even the big players like Twitter have not worked out how to monetise it, but it is just a matter of time before we do that."
Last month, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo called on Ecclestone to arrange a workshop with F1's key players to work out how it could attract a younger audience.
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 1st 2014, 09:12 GMT |
Niki Lauda says 'alarm bells' are ringing at Mercedes over the fact that its Formula 1 rivals have closed down on it in recent races.
Having been totally dominant earlier in the campaign, Mercedes was beaten to the race win in Canada by Red Bull and then lost out on pole position to Williams in Austria.
But despite still appearing to have the fastest car, Mercedes non executive chairman Lauda says the team needs to react to the stronger challenges it has faced.
"The alarm bell is ringing that the competition is coming closer," said Lauda.
"But if the alarm bell rings in time you can do something.
"If you sit back, which we don't try to do, you miss out. So what we have to do is keep developing the car."
NOT HIDING ADVANTAGE
Fernando Alonso, who was the only non-Mercedes powered drivers to finish in the top seven in Austria, suggested after the race that the German car manufacturer has the pace to lap the entire field.
The Spaniard said: "They seem to use the maximum power on a few laps in the race and then they have so much advantage that they play a little bit.
"I closed with [Felipe] Massa at the end and then when I was close I think he pulled away. It was the same with [Lewis] Hamilton on the first lap.
"It is unbelievable the difference between the two cars. If they run with those settings they would lap everyone, but they cannot do it for the whole race."
Lauda sees things very differently though and insists that Mercedes is pushing as hard as it can to maintain its place at the front.
"We were fighting Williams [in Austria] and how far behind were they in the end? Six seconds or something.
"We were going flat out. We were not playing around at the front. They were fighting each other and the Williams was just six seconds away.
"Then look at Nico and Lewis. One would go quicker and then the other would respond, because they are fighting from beginning to end.
"They went full blast from start to finish, like all the other races. The other races we won by 49 seconds, but in Austria it was just six."
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 1st 2014, 10:11 GMT |
Formula 1's plan to introduce standing starts after safety car periods for 2015 has become one of more controversial changes to have been agreed by the sport's chiefs.
But despite widespread criticism from fans about the idea, the details of the new regulations have now been officially laid out in the FIA's F1 sporting regulations for next year.
Pirelli: Standing restarts need research
Here is how the new standing start system will work:
The procedure of the safety car will remain the same as it is now until after backmarkers have been allowed to unlap themselves and move to the rear of the field.
Then, when F1's race director deems it is safe enough to call in the safety car, a 'safety car in this lap' message will be displayed on the official notice system.
The safety car will pull into the pits and the cars will carry on for another lap - with the pit exit lights turning red until the whole field has passed the end of the pitlane.
Team personnel who normally sit on the pit wall will have to move to the safety of the garages, with the exception of two people from each outfit.
The drivers will then proceed to the starting grid to stop in their respective positions, and the five-light starting system procedure that is used at the beginning of races now will be run through.
There are circumstances, however, when a standing start will not be used following a safety car.
That will happen if the safety car has been deployed within two laps of the start of the race, of if there are less than five laps of the race remaining.
Furthermore, F1's race director has the right for the race to get going without cars forming up on the grid if he considers 'conditions are unsuitable for a standing restart'.
In those circumstances, the rolling safety car restart where the leader dictates the pace, as has been common in F1 in recent years, will be used.
Also, the rules state that there will be no standing start if the race began under safety car conditions.
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, July 1st 2014, 11:59 GMT |
Felipe Massa is able to perform better than he has for years because the atmosphere at Williams is helping him, reckons Rob Smedley.
The Brazilian claimed his first pole position since 2008 at the Austrian Grand Prix as Williams emerged as the main threat to the dominant Mercedes team.
And having recaptured the kind of form that had been missing in recent years at Ferrari, Smedley is convinced that it is the way the team works with Massa that is having a huge impact.
Smedley, who is Williams' head of vehicle performance, said: "He is slightly more comfortable in himself, comfortable in his surroundings and what that brings out is a more relaxed approach to how he drives.
"Certainly you see him make much fewer mistakes than the last few years. I am sure he feels less pressure.
"There is a great deal of pressure in a team like Ferrari and for a team like Williams there is less.
"That is something that he needed: to get his head above water, and catch his breath. I am massively impressed at the minute."
Smedley also thinks that having escaped the constant pressure that Fernando Alonso puts on his team-mates has been a boost to Massa.
"Fernando is an incredible competitor, really one of the very best drivers of all time I would say," he said.
"Having Fernando Alonso as a team-mate is never easy, as Kimi [Raikkonen] is finding out now, and we all know Kimi is an incredible driver.
"But Fernando just delivers: and it is not weekend in, weekend out, it is session in, session out.
"The guy hardly ever puts a foot wrong and that puts you under pressure because it is normal when you have got to battle against somebody who is so very good that you do feel pressure.
"Here [at Williams] we do have a more equal pairing between the drivers and that has helped Felipe to relax a little bit and relax into his role."
