Renault: 2017 driver decision expected early September

Renault team principal Fred Vasseur has refused to give anything away about the French squad’s line-up for next season - only than that it is likely to be confirmed early next month.

Vasseur praised current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer, denying that they have been making too many mistakes as Renault battle to re-establish themselves as a works team.

“It’s not easy for them either,” he told Formula1.com earlier. “They have been used to winning in the past - and now they are cut off from that.

“I see both of them improving. Keep in mind that Jo (Palmer) is rookie and Kevin did only one season [of F1] before - and that was two years ago.

“Jo has been improving a lot - true he spun in Hungary, but so far he did a good job. And that also goes for Kevin. Both have a very optimistic approach. They are a good support for the team.”

Vasseur hinted that this ability to inspire and motivate colleagues could play a key role in Renault’s choice of drivers for next season, when they will be looking to move up the grid after what has thus far been a tough 2016 campaign.

“If you look at the success stories of the past, success was always built around a driver: Schumacher and Ferrari, Vettel and Red Bull, Lewis and Mercedes, and also Alonso and Renault in the past - so the driver is important,” said Vasseur.

“A driver is not only about performance, but about being capable of leading a team. Right now we have more or less a thousand people in the team, if you take Viry and Enstone together, and that needs some sort of emotional leadership - and that is the job for a driver! We need a driver who is super-motivated and able to super-motivate everybody else.”

Asked if Magnussen and Palmer fit that bill, and when a decision might be made, Vasseur stated : “They are improving! We know we are on the grid, so ‘improving’ is written in capital letters for us. It is too early to make any decision right here and now. We will probably do it at the beginning of September."

Other men thought to be in the frame for a 2017 Renault seat include Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who after serving as their reserve this season will make his F1 race debut - with Manor - in Belgium later this month.

(source: f1.com)

Get your tickets to Spa!

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Three Generations of F1 Driver go Go Karting

Häkkinen is still that fast even though he is heavy and hasn't raced in F1 since 2001! What a driver!

2016 German Grand Prix - Thursday and Friday Press Conferences

Some of you said that I didn't post these before the previous GP. Sorry if I forgot but I had other stuff to post that week and totally forgot. If someone still wants to watch these then here they are. Enjoy!

The F1 driver market: Who goes where in 2017?

Only three teams have confirmed their full driver line-ups for the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship. As the silly season rages over summer, we look at who is sitting pretty for next year, which teams are keeping their options open - and which drivers are in contention for all the vacancies...

Neither seat confirmed...

Williams

With both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa's contracts expiring at the end of the season, Williams are in the driver's seat (if you'll pardon the pun) when it comes to their 2017 line-up. If they change things up, test and reserve drivers Paul di Resta and GP2 ace Alex Lynn might be considered, as might ex-tester (and current Sauber man) Felipe Nasr, but the name that keeps coming up is Jenson Button's, particularly since Williams openly admitted their admiration for the Briton.

But, if a Button deal goes ahead, who would make way? Bottas has talked of having 'unfinished' business with the team, and the Finn's form presents a strong case: nine podiums in three years (Massa has five) and a 10-2 qualifying record against his team mate so far in 2016. Bottas has also finished ahead of Massa in the championship in 2014 and '15, and has the upper hand again this year. Massa though - at 35 - insists his hunger is undiminished, and that he still has plenty to offer Williams - or a rival team...

Renault

Renault have been open about their desire to secure someone they can build a team around - but it's not clear whether that means current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer are in their future plans, especially as the likes of Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas have all been linked to the French squad. Esteban Ocon is another in the frame, and having already impressed the team in his limited Friday outings, the Frenchman could do his prospects no end of good with a strong showing for Manor in the last nine races of the season.

Of the list of potential candidates, Perez is perhaps worth watching most. Force India are determined to hold onto the Mexican, who has been in a rich vein of form this year and comes with significant backing. He and his sponsors appear to be seriously considering their options though - with Perez quoted as saying his next move is 'key' if he is to move up the order in the coming years.

As for Renault's current incumbents, Palmer will be almost used to the speculation by now - the Briton even had to answer rumours that he would lose his seat, potentially to Ocon, during the current season. Magnussen, meanwhile, has said he is not looking beyond Renault for next year. It is not difficult to see why - they may have struggled for form this year, but with full manufacturer backing and a revamped technical structure, Renault are putting in place all they need to return to the front of the F1 grid.

Don't expect any breaking news, however - Renault have said they won't reveal plans until September at the earliest.

Haas

Romain Grosjean has played the starring role so far for Haas, who lit up the first two Grands Prix of the season and have showed strongly throughout the opening 12 races of their fledgling F1 campaign. The Frenchman's name was therefore widely mentioned when Kimi Raikkonen's future at Ferrari was subjected to its apparently annual scrutiny. The Prancing Horse's subsequent decision to extend Raikkonen's deal took that option off the table, suggesting Grosjean will remain at Haas - a situation the man himself has openly welcomed.

Esteban Gutierrez's season has been compromised by several technical issues, but he too has shown good turns of pace, coming close to the points with four 11th-place finishes. Retaining both drivers could make good sense for Haas too, giving them stability in their formative years - but GP3 championship leader Charles Leclerc - who like Gutierrez is one of technical partner Ferrari's stable of drivers - could be an outside bet.

Sauber

Their future secured by the arrival of new owners, Sauber's attention now turns to improving their fortunes on track - and therefore inevitably to their driver line-up. Marcus Ericsson's backers reportedly have links with the new owners, but team principal Monisha Kaltenborn insists that won't be a factor when it comes to deciding which men the team take on.

Manor

Manor came into 2016 with an all-new driver pairing in Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto, and made a further change in the summer when the latter's funds ran out, drafting in the promising Esteban Ocon for the final nine races of the season. Both current drivers are seen to have a bright future in the sport, and both are affiliated with engine partner Mercedes. Wehrlein, 21, scored Manor's only point of the year in Austria, whilst his qualifying performance at the same venue prompted Silver Arrows chief Toto Wolff to describe him as 'special'. Ocon, 19, has shown well in practice outings for Renault, and has a stellar CV that includes beating Max Verstappen to the FIA European F3 title in 2014.

With a spot at Mercedes not open until 2019 at the earliest, both men could yet make a switch to another team - Wehrlein, for example, could be in contention at Force India should Sergio Perez decide his future lies elsewhere. Ocon, meanwhile, has been strongly linked to a drive with Renault in 2017, the Frenchman recently insisting he would be ready and willing to take any opportunity that arises.

Should a seat open up, Haryanto and the likes of Alex Rossi - who drove for the team in 2015 and is excelling in IndyCar - will be in the frame, although Manor also have a strong history of bringing new faces into the sport.


One seat still available

McLaren

One of the big questions of the silly season is who McLaren decide to place alongside the already signed Fernando Alonso in 2017. Two men are in contention: Jenson Button and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Button's quality hardly needs stating: the 2009 world champion is the third most experienced driver in F1 history, has a strong working relationship with Alonso, and has been a fundamental part of the team's ceaseless drive to make up ground over the past two seasons. He is also on form this year, scoring points on five separate occasions (Alonso has scored in three races). Little wonder that Williams have spoken of their interest in Button, should he depart.

Reserve driver Vandoorne, meanwhile, is pushing hard. McLaren do not want to lose the classy 24-year-old Belgian, who demonstrated his potential by scoring a point on debut when filling in for the injured Alonso in Bahrain this year. Rival teams have admitted their admiration for Vandoorne, with the runaway 2015 GP2 champion suggesting he could look at options away from McLaren in order to secure a race seat in 2017.

Two into one doesn't go, leaving McLaren with a very tough choice...

Force India

While Nico Hulkenberg is confirmed, team mate Sergio Perez has become one of the key figures in the silly season. Force India want to keep the Mexican, who has scored podiums in all of the last three seasons (and has two already this year).

That form has not gone unnoticed. Renault and Williams are believed to be interested in a move for Perez, who has the added attraction of a strong set of personal sponsors and backers. Perez has said any decision will be made in conjunction with those backers, and in the knowledge that his next move could be 'key' if he is to step up in the coming years. Still only 26, the ball is firmly in his court.

Toro Rosso

Despite the somewhat bizarre rumours that Carlos Sainz could be traded to Renault, the Spaniard will stay at Toro Rosso for a third consecutive season. The Red Bull junior team doesn't make a habit of keeping the same driver for a such a long period, but Sainz's form has been exceptional, and his case irresisitble. At 21, the Spaniard is a coming force in F1, so it's no wonder his option was picked up.

Who partners him in 2017 is less certain. Daniil Kvyat has struggled for form since his 'demotion' from Red Bull, trailing Sainz 6-2 in qualifying and 5-0 in races where both men have finished. Red Bull have so far pledged patience, confident that the 22-year-old Russian can rediscover the sort of form that lifted him to a seat at the senior team after just one year in the sport. But they do have other options, most notably in the shape of 20-year-old Pierre Gasly, who currently sits second in GP2.

No room at the inn

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton signed a deal to be at Mercedes through to 2018 last year. Nico Rosberg had more scrutiny, given that his contract expired at the end of the current season, but negotiations began early and despite rumoured interest from Ferrari both parties confirmed a two-year extension in July, shortly before Rosberg's home race.

Ferrari

The now annual speculation about Kimi Raikkonen's future at the Scuderia hadn't even reached full swing when Ferrari announced the Finn would be retained for 2017. Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said the early deal would take pressure off Raikkonen, who will therefore partner Sebastian Vettel for the third straight season.

Red Bull

In Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, Red Bull have one of the most dynamic, aggressive and talented pairings on the grid - little wonder they opted against changes for 2017. So far Ricciardo has had the best of qualifying, with honours on Sunday far more evenly matched. Perhaps most encouraging is the manner in which both men are pushing each other on while also working collaboratively - leading team principal Christian Horner to hail them as 'fantastic' after they shared a podium for the first time in Germany.

(source: f1.com)

Inside The F1 Paddock's Motorhomes

Team by team - the season so far

Which driver has out-qualified his team mate more often than not but trails him by 15 points in the standings? Which driver pairing is most well-matched - and which is the most one-sided? As the teams enjoy a well-earned summer break, we look back at how they have fared so far - and which drivers have played starring roles...

Mercedes - 415 points

For a season that hasn't been devoid of issues, Mercedes have emerged arguably even more dominant in 2016 than in the past two years. Eleven wins from 12 races represents the team's best ever return, and equals the best in history alongside McLaren in 1988 and Ferrari in 2004. What's more, the only blot was 'self-inflicted' as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided in Spain. As ever, the pair's rivalry has been the undercurrent to everything on track, helped along by the notable shifts in momentum - Rosberg was the dominant force early on, but Hamilton has ratcheted up the pressure by winning six of the last seven Grands Prix, in which time Rosberg has just three podiums and has been penalised twice - once for his collision with the Briton in Austria and once for forcing Max Verstappen off track in Germany. Many are predicting Hamilton to surge ahead - but Rosberg has form in the latter half of the season, winning 65 percent of races post-summer in 2014 and 2015...

Red Bull - 256 points

If swapping Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen mid-season caused a sensation, it was immediately dwarfed by the sight of the 18-year-old winning in his first race with his new team - and becoming the youngest victor in F1 history in the process. It was no fluke either: since his switch in Spain, Verstappen has scored more points than every other driver bar one - Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman is not having it all his own way though: Daniel Ricciardo has been at his brilliant best almost throughout. Sensational in qualifying - he has been out-qualified by a team mate just once this season, and is the only non-Mercedes driver to claim pole - the Australian has also upped his game on Sundays in response to Verstappen's pressure, culminating in two podiums in the last two races. He was also mightily unlucky to lose out in Monaco. Red Bull undoubtedly have one of the youngest and most exciting line-ups on the grid - but perhaps more importantly they now sit above Ferrari in the standings for the first time since 2014.

Ferrari - 242 points

By their own superlative standards, it's hard to argue that 2016 hasn't been a disappointment for the Scuderia. It started reasonably brightly, with early reliability problems offset by podiums in the first five races which hinted at a genuine challenge. But rather than push on the team have instead fallen back, jumped by Red Bull as they have struggled to match the pace of rivals' development. As if to compound the dynamic, when Mercedes' undoing provided the opportunity to spring victory in Spain, it was Red Bull who snatched it, Verstappen holding off Kimi Raikkonen for an historic win. With technical director James Allison having departed suddenly, questions have been asked over who is steering the ship - and what direction it is heading in. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are at least a superb pairing, and could be invaluable in getting Ferrari back on track.

Williams - 96 points

Having taken third in the standings for the last two years, Williams suspected they’d have a fight on their hands to hold onto that position in 2016, and so it has proved. To some extent it’s been a double-edged sword - Red Bull have surged forwards while at the same time the Grove-based team have struggled in their own development, despite introducing new parts to the FW38. In the driver stakes, Valtteri Bottas has more often than not led the way - his qualifying head-to-head is the second best on the grid, while his third place in Canada gave the team a welcome first podium. Felipe Massa, meanwhile, scored points in all of the first six races - the only driver to do so - but has failed to register in his last four Grands Prix. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his future at the team for 2017 remains a subject of intense rumour and scrutiny.

Force India - 81 points

Force India took a while to get up and running in 2016 - scoring just eight points in the first four races - but since Spain, where Sergio Perez was a solid seventh, they haven't looked back, registering 73 further points. The Silverstone-based team now have their sights set on closing the gap to Williams and an historical high of fourth in the constructors' standings. The aforementioned Perez has captured most of the headlines, with superb podiums and Driver of the Day performances in Monaco and Azerbaijan. Team mate Hulkenberg, however, while 5-5 with Perez on race head-to-heads and 7-5 up in qualifying, has not had quite as much to shout about, though he did score a remarkable front-row start in Austria. The team are going all out to keep both men on their books next year, even if Perez is yet to confirm where his future lies.

Toro Rosso - 45 points

Toro Rosso had no right to start the season in such competitive fashion, having had to contend with a last-minute switch from Renault to year-old Ferrari power units. Under the guidance of technical director James Key, however, the team made superb work of the transition, and began the year with both cars in the top seven in Australian qualifying, and top 10 in the race. Max Verstappen's departure for Red Bull dented momentum slightly, particularly as the returning Daniil Kvyat has struggled to recapture his past swagger behind the wheel, but that was offset by the superb form of Carlos Sainz, who continues to dazzle despite being overlooked for promotion. But - and it's a big but - the drawbacks of using an old engine while rivals develop their own units has begun to tell: the team are still scoring regularly - and still developing the STR11 - but they haven't finished higher than eighth since Canada.

McLaren - 42 points

If form is temporary and class permanent, 2016 will perhaps come to be seen as the year McLaren got themselves back on track. The long-awaited improvements have finally started to pay dividends, and while the team are still not permanent fixtures in Q3 and the top ten, they have cracked both on a more regular basis - and in Hungary (a track that masks the MP4-31's power deficiencies) they got both cars into the final part of qualifying for the first time since 2014. But if the chassis is much improved, reliability and outright performance continue to be areas to address for Honda, with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button both running at the chequered flag on just six occasions (half the races) so far. Of the two, it is the Spaniard who has had a slight edge - which hasn't exactly helped dispel rumours that Button and the team could potentially part ways at the end of the year, especially after Stoffel Vandoorne's point-scoring cameo in Bahrain.

Haas - 28 points

What to make of an opening half of a debut season that yielded a top-six and top-five in the first two races, but just two more points finishes in the next 10 races? In isolation, that sort of negative trend might be cause for disappointment - but in the context of a first year in the sport, Haas had no right to extract such success so quickly. Gene Haas's eponymous outfit have learned quickly and looked competitive at almost every race - a validation of their model, ethos and approach that is impossible not to applaud. Romain Grosjean has been the star turn, even winning the fan-voted Driver of the Day award twice - but Esteban Gutierrez has finished ahead of the Frenchman in each of the last two races. Indeed the Mexican has been unlucky not to have scored points thus far, having finished 11th on four separate occasions.

Renault - 6 points

With such history and pedigree in the sport, Renault's return to F1 as a fully-fledged manufacturer was rightly greeted with much fanfare. The reality, though, is that they were always likely to struggle given how little time they had to overhaul the set-up, funding and staffing that had existed under Lotus. Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer were brought in to lead the charge, and while both challenged for Q3 and points in the opening race, they have struggled to recapture such form since - indeed Palmer's best finish remains his 11th in the curtain-raiser. Magnussen did at least score points in Russia, although the positions of both men are reportedly still up in the air for 2017 - which could make for an interesting second half of the season...

Manor - 1 point

Manor's season has arguably already met the criteria for success given Pascal Wehrlein's emotional points-finish in Monaco - only the second time Manor, including their former guises, have managed to break into the top 10. Wehrlein's class has shown with feats like qualifying 12th in Austria, suggesting Mercedes' belief in his long-term future is well-placed - but given that, Rio Haryanto also performed admirably, out-qualifying his oft-lauded team mate five times. The Indonesian never managed to best Wehrlein on a Sunday though - something his replacement Esteban Ocon will look to put right in the second half of the season.

Sauber - 0 points

On the face of it, this has been one of the gloomiest starts to a season in Sauber's history: no points, a best finish of 12th, and both cars exiting in Q1 in all but three races so far. What's more, money issues have meant a lack of updates and a lack of testing, meaning Sauber's on-track struggles have been magnified as the season has progressed. Happily, then, the first half of 2016 has also included light at the end of the tunnel: new owners were revealed in July, securing the future of the team and enabling them to expedite new updates - including a front wing that is set to be used from Belgium onward.

(source: f1.com)