| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 3rd 2013, 11:05 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has hit back at talk his team has been running some form of illegal traction control.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 3rd 2013, 11:26 GMT |
Bahrain has won the battle to hold the final two pre-season tests next year.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 3rd 2013, 11:50 GMT |
Nico Hulkenberg expects the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) to look in to growing concerns that heavier drivers will be hindered next year unless the minimum weight limit for cars is lifted.
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 2nd 2013, 09:37 GMT |
Force India is in no rush to finalise its driver line-up for 2014, according to deputy team principal Bob Fernley.
AUTOSPORT understands that Paul di Resta is under contract for next season and that Adrian Sutil has options in his contract, but despite that the team has yet to finalise either seat.
But while Fernley believes his current driver line up is strong and he sees no reason to make a change, he insists that the team owners will not start to consider their options until the Indian Grand Prix.
"Our decision process is one that takes place around the Indian Grand Prix, it's a shareholder decision and that's always the timing for us.
"We have excellent drivers that are already with us and equally there are some excellent drivers at the moment who are looking around.
"But there is no reason to change at the moment."
Ex-Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg is understood to have approached the team as a fallback should his hopes of moving to Lotus not be fulfilled.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa has also been linked to the team and Fernley believes that if a change was made, there would be no shortage of strong candidates given that Force India is one of the highest-placed teams on the grid with potential vacancies.
As in previous years, Fernley and the race team will compile their recommendations, although the final decision will be made by the board.
"You would be surprised how many good quality drivers there are but if you are being realistic, there are probably three seats for four quality drivers," he said.
"That's obviously one at Lotus and two at Force India.
"But nobody is going to be looking at a massive change for 2014.
"Our job is to look at what's available, make the recommendations [to the shareholders] and provide the information."
| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, October 2nd 2013, 10:34 GMT |
FIA presidential hopeful David Ward would welcome more candidates in the election battle, and would even consider withdrawing from the contest if a rival promised to take on his reform agenda.
Ward is pushing for a major overhaul of the way motor racing's governing body operates, with new election processes, the appointment of a CEO to run the FIA on a day-to-day basis and the president taking on non-executive functions.
Amid mounting speculation that Mohammed bin Sulayem is considering becoming a third candidate, Ward would be happy for the election fight to open up.
However, well aware of the complications caused by the election system that demands candidates get 26 clubs to nominate them, Ward has said he would be willing to throw his weight behind a rival as long as the reforms he wants were taken on.
"If he [bin Sulayem] throws his hat in the ring, and I don't know if he will, I would welcome there is someone else in the race," he told AUTOSPORT.
"Because of this strange nominating process though, it does create a problem of how many candidates there are, because you have to assemble your vice presidents and your deputies plus your 26 nominees.
"So it is very hard to have any more than three candidates - and I would have to look carefully at what I did.
"In the end I am running for the governance reforms, not because David Ward should be president of the FIA. I think the FIA should have these changes.
"If Mohammed thinks that my reform agenda is worthwhile and, if he is prepared to give solid undertakings and commitments to introduce it, then it [standing aside] is something that I should look at.
"It would be incredible folly to stand, and not do well, and have my reform agenda disappear down the plug hole. That would be completely counter productive to my ultimate aim, so I am simply going to wait and see."
Ward thinks there is no guarantee that bin Sulayem will choose to take on Todt though, because of his profile role in Middle Eastern motorsport.
"It is quite a big decision and, in a way, it is a harder decision for him than me," he said.
"I am in a particular moment where it doesn't matter to me.
"He has got a position to defend in his club; he has a regional role, so he has to weigh up a lot of things. We will wait and see with interested.
"People are asking if I am a stalking horse – but if my running has opened up the election process, then I feel that I have won something already."
For a full interview with David Ward about his plans for the FIA and motor racing, click here.
| Wednesday, October 2nd 2013, 11:45 GMT |
Nico Rosberg: "I like the layout of the Korea International Circuit very much. It's a good combination of long straights and hairpins where it is ideal to overtake. There is also a very fast flowing section with many linked corners round the back which is a big driving challenge. I hope we can achieve a strong team result in Korea to improve our position in the championship and we will all be pushing very hard to achieve this."
Lewis Hamilton: "I'm looking forward to getting to Korea this week and going racing again. I've had a couple of decent results at the Korea International Circuit over the past three years and I do enjoy the circuit layout. It's a good racing track with places that you can attack to overtake which makes it a good challenge for the drivers. We'll be hoping to improve our qualifying performance this weekend to give the best possible chance in the race and I hope we can have a strong weekend in Korea."
Ross Brawn: "This will be our fourth visit to the Korea International Circuit and the first race of an intense period with six Grands Prix in just eight weeks before the end of the season. The track itself has a reasonably slow layout but is a good challenge for the cars and drivers. The long straights at the start of the lap are followed by a tight and twisty second half which is closely pinned in by the walls. Our focus for the last few races is very much to improve and then retain our position in the Constructors' Championship and to end the season on a high. Of course, we would love another race win but consistency and strong points finishes to achieve our aim are more important for the team and both of our drivers."
Toto Wolff: "In the three races since the summer break, our team has scored an average of 20 points per Grand Prix. But it's a measure of our expectations now that we have left each circuit disappointed that we didn't achieve even more. That's a feeling we'll be looking to change this weekend. The Yeongam circuit is a combination of long straights and mainly slow to medium-speed corners that should suit our car, which will also receive an aerodynamic update for this race. We have six races to go this season and a clear target of securing second place in the Constructors' Championship. To achieve that, we need to maximise every opportunity that comes our way with both Nico and Lewis, beginning this weekend."
| By Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, October 1st 2013, 11:16 GMT |
While Michael admits teams could be forced to draw upon additional support personnel - particularly for a potential triple-header of Monaco, New Jersey and Canada - he says adapting to the new schedule will not prove too taxing.
Asked by AUTOSPORT if he was concerned about F1's possible record 22 events next year, Michael told a Vodafone phone-in: "I guess anything is possible; we just need to adapt if that is what is required.
"We can do a double-header, so once you've done that you can do a triple-header in terms of logistics and moving freight.
"So equipment wise you can be covered, but equipment and planes don't get tired; people do.
"It means you have to perhaps consider a support crew who would come and set up at a grand prix.
"At the moment you can use your race crew to do a lot of the set-up of garages and things. If you get into triple headers you may have to use a handful of people to go out and set up a structure before the race team arrives.
"You may eventually get to the point where you have separate crews, to crew or even engineer the cars, but I'm not sure we're quite at that point yet."
And while team bosses have previously warned that F1 is 'reaching a limit on what we can subject our people to',� Michael contended that the calendar expansion was simply a new challenge for F1 teams to adapt to.
He said the cost of additional support crews would also be easily offset by the additional income of extra races.
"I'm not concerned, it's a matter of F1 adapting and adjusting to whatever the business needs are," he said when asked if F1 risked overdoing it.
"F1 is all about change. I've been through plenty of examples previously in my F1 career where I've thought 'there is no way they can do that', and they do.
"From a human point it's where you put all your energy in to make sure people are fit and healthy and covered properly - not just to cope with jet lag and do and a normal 16-18 hour day, but also in the case of the pit crew they have an athletic job to do.
"I think that the cost of using people from McLaren - they're not necessarily additional employees - would be marginal compared to the income of additional grands prix."
"F1 is about achieving things that are not normally possible, and this is far from the worst challenge we have had."
| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, October 1st 2013, 09:02 GMT |
Daniel Ricciardo heads into the 2014 season with nothing to lose, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
The 24-year-old Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was announced as a Red Bull driver at the start of September.
While expectations are high for the long-term, Horner believes the pressure will be off in the early races as the attention will be on whether team-mate Sebastian Vettel can continue to dominate.
"In many respects, the pressure is off Daniel certainly for the initial races because he has got nothing to lose," Horner told AUTOSPORT.
"There is more expectation than he will have had before in a Toro Rosso, but there is way less than there is for a multiple world champion.
"He will learn a huge amount from driving alongside and working with Sebastian.
"It is a tough role for him because to be judged against Sebastian isn't easy."
Horner is confident Ricciardo will prove to be a quick learner next season.
He also suggests that contrary to some critics, who suggest a more experienced driver is needed during a transition to new regulations, the timing is logical.
"I have no doubt that Daniel will continue to grow and continue to get stronger," said Horner.
"There is a big regulation change coming next year, in many ways it feels the right time to be introducing something as fundamental as a driver change.
"There are no guarantees with any drivers that you put in. The underlying fact is that he's quick, he's intelligent and will have two-and-a-half years of experience under his belt, so he's not going in as a rookie."
Horner also believes it is too easy for people to underestimate how well Ricciardo has done at Toro Rosso.
As well as the limitations of the equipment, Ricciardo has had to contend with limits on seat-time that prevent newcomers from making an instant impression, as Lewis Hamilton famously did in 2007.
"Nobody knows how good the Toro Rosso is and Jean-Eric is no slouch," said Horner of the quality of Ricciardo's performances.
"We are fortunate we have two very talented youngsters and it's easy to overlook what they are doing.
"Today it is very rare, almost impossible, to see drivers come in and make an immediate impact because there is no testing and very limited seat time.
"It takes a couple of seasons before you see very talented youngsters start to emerge."
| By Jonathan Noble and Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, October 1st 2013, 10:30 GMT |
Grosjean has been comprehensively outscored by Raikkonen over the past two seasons, and this year is almost 100 points adrift of the Finn.
He has been more of a match over the last five grands prix however, outqualifying Raikkonen on three occasions and outscoring him twice.
While Lotus has admitted it fought to keep star driver Raikkonen for next year, it says Grosjean must now step up and prove he can thrive once out of Raikkonen's shadow.
Asked by AUTOSPORT if Raikkonen's departure made Grosjean's role safer, Boullier said: "Not more secure I would say, but it gives him the opportunity to stand up.
"When you are a young driver and you are racing against Kimi and obviously the personality and charisma and results - it is good to grow up.
"But to stand up is more difficult, so now Kimi is leaving it is the right opportunity for Romain to show us what he can do.
"It is up to him. He did a good job in the last four races, nobody complains and I am happy, so he now needs to do the same, plus..."
Grosjean, who narrowly missed out on the front row at Singapore, said last month that his 2013 form had helped him shed the image of being Formula 1's "black sheep".
| By Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw | Monday, September 30th 2013, 09:54 GMT |
Alain Prost believes all three engine manufacturers will suffer from unreliability at the start of the 2014 Formula 1 season, when the new 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 regulations are introduced
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