Formula One 2016

[Lineker]

Channel 4 has named ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard as the first member of its on-screen presenting team for the upcoming season.

The channel is taking over UK F1 terrestrial television rights in a three-year deal from 2016 after the BBC ended its agreement earlier.

Coulthard was part of the BBC's team during the last six seasons after the coverage moved across from ITV.

Channel 4's head of TV events and sport Ed Harvard said: "We are delighted that David Coulthard will be at the heart of Channel 4's coverage and look forward to announcing the full presenting team in the coming weeks."

The news comes as Whisper Films was awarded the production contract for Channel 4's F1 coverage, with a number of BBC production staff to form part of the team.

Coulthard, former BBC F1 presenter Jake Humphrey and ex-BBC Sport F1 producer Sunil Patel set up Whisper Films in 2010.

Channel 4 took a minority stake in the production company in 2015 as part of its Indie Growth Fund.

"The F1 world has been incredibly impressed with what Whisper has delivered over the last five years and Channel 4's decision is testament to that," said Coulthard.

"I'm looking forward to being part of an exciting new era for Formula 1, with Whisper Films and our proven level of creativity and innovation very much at the heart of that."

Whisper Films executive producer Patel added: "Whisper Films has an unrivalled production team with over 20 years' experience in Formula 1 and unique contacts throughout the sport.

"Channel 4 and the sport have talked about a new approach and we believe we are ideally placed to deliver this."

North One Television, which was responsible for ITV's F1 coverage when it had the rights, will work with Channel 4 to produce a number of accompanying F1 programmes.

Channel 4 will screen 10 grands prix live and without advertising breaks per season, with the remainder to be shown as highlights.

[JasonM]

Well there go those rumours of DC being part of the Top Gear reboot.

But seeing him and Humphrey back together is nice, from what I remember of the old F1 coverage on BBC they were great together, the only thing they'd need is EJ to really relive old days.

Naturally I don't have access to Ch4 in The Netherlands, but I might stream it a few times if Sky coverage falls back into their circlejerking ways.

[Chris2K]

The way the BBC contracts are currently I can't see it being a problem for him to work for C4 and still do Top Gear. Chris Evans himself was working on C4 last month.

[FestiveJack]

More likely is that Chris Evans is refusing to have any other presenters than himself, he's reportedly on another ego trip.

[Meacon Keaton]

I missed discussion with you guys at the end of last season, but I'm quite looking forward to this season with you chaps.

[Lineker]

Pastor Maldonado is in danger of losing his drive at Renault this year as a result of late payment of funds.

The Venezuelan's sponsor - national oil company PDVSA - pays the team a reputed $50m (£35m), but the money is several weeks overdue, sources say.

Maldonado, 30, will be replaced by former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen if the payment is not made soon.

Renault have taken over the Lotus team and need confirmed drivers in time for a major media launch in early February.

British novice Jolyon Palmer is Renault's other driver for the 2016 season, which starts in Australia on 20 March.

A Renault spokesman said: "It's speculation at the moment. We have a contract with Pastor. That is the current situation.

"Who knows what could happen by Australia but, at the moment, we are going forward with Pastor and Jolyon."

Maldonado's manager, Nicolas Todt, was not available for comment.

Magnussen was given a tour of the Renault factory in Oxfordshire last week in full view of the whole team.

Insiders believe the situation has been leaked as a tactic to try to put pressure on PDVSA to pay the money it owes, but the Venezuelan economy is struggling as a result of a huge drop in oil prices.

Maldonado owes his position in F1 to former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who arranged for the sponsorship as a means of boosting the country's prestige.

Chavez died in 2013 but Maldonado's funding has continued under current president Nicolas Maduro.

Maldonado has won one race - the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix for Williams - in an F1 career that has been notable for its volatility.

His propensity for incident has led to the nickname 'Crash-tor' and has even spawned a satirical website devoted to his accident record.

Renault was reluctant to keep Maldonado for 2016, but he was signed by Lotus before the takeover was complete.

Magnussen, 23, is a free agent having been released by McLaren following a year as their reserve driver in 2015.

The Dane raced for the team in 2014 as team-mate to Briton Jenson Button and was second on his debut in Australia that year.

He is regarded as one of the most talented drivers without a current place on the F1 grid for 2016.

[Lineker]

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Renault officials are currently in Venezuela in a bid to conclude sponsorship negotiations with PDVSA that would confirm Pastor Maldonado's drive for the forthcoming Formula 1 season, Autosport understands.

It was announced on the Sunday of last year's Singapore Grand Prix that Maldonado would continue with Lotus for a third year in 2016.

At the time Lotus was in talks with Renault regarding the French manufacturer acquiring a majority stake in the Enstone-based squad, with Renault apparently happy for Maldonado to retain his seat.

But as time progressed, and with the deal to takeover Lotus drawing towards a conclusion, Renault then took stock of the sponsors it wanted to be associated with.

At the time there was still debate as to which sponsors to bring on board, that included Venezuela's state-owned oil and gas giant PDVSA that has supported Maldonado's motorsport career for many years.

Renault felt with significant livery changes to be made to the car - scheduled to be unveiled in early February - affecting the available space on it, that would in turn change the existing contract.

The situation surrounding Maldonado's seat has been further complicated by the fact a parliamentary election was held in Venezuela in early December, which president Nicolas Maduro lost.

With Maduro's grip on power threatened, political chaos is unfolding in Maldonado's homeland, allied to which is economic instability on the back of the plunging price of oil.

These are all reasons why, after Renault announced the signing of principal contracts for its takeover of Lotus on December 3, CEO Carlos Ghosn was vague on confirming the driver line-up.

Renault has since decided to continue with Maldonado, and obviously PDVSA, with discussions currently ongoing to finalise a new deal.

Despite the fact Maldonado has a valid driver contract in place, Renault has been forced to look at a plan B should PDVSA opt not to continue.

It is believed former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen, released by the team at the end of last season, is on Renault's shortlist.

Despite the situation regarding Maldonado, Jolyon Palmer's seat - and therefore debut F1 campaign this year - is in no way affected.

 

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Spain and Great Britain are set to each hold two-day Formula 1 in-season tests in 2016, Autosport has learned.

Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya and British Grand Prix venue Silverstone will be the hosts.

The Tuesday and Wednesday tests will take place following the Spanish GP, on May 17-18, and the British GP, on July 12-13.

The 2016 F1 sporting regulations allow for two team tests of no more than two consecutive days duration.

They must take place at circuits where a grand prix has just been held and begin no less than 36 hours later.

The regulations add that each team must allocate at least two of the four days for young driver testing.

Barcelona and the Red Bull Ring hosted in-season tests last year, and Silverstone was last used for F1 testing in 2014.

The running will be in addition to the two pre-season tests, which take place in Barcelona between February 22-25 and March 1-4.

There will also be a number of days dedicated to tyre testing to allow Pirelli to test rubber for the planned 2017 rule revamp, though these dates are to be confirmed.

[Lineker]

Aston Martin's return to Formula 1 via a tie-up with Force India has been placed on hold.

Autosport revealed at the end of October the Aston Martin name was poised to return to F1 this season after a 55-year absence.

In early December Force India's chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer stated a conclusion to the deal was "close", suggesting the team would be in a position to confirm details by the middle of the month.

Unfortunately Force India's hopes of being rebranded as Aston Martin Racing in 2016 have fallen through, with discussions now on the backburner.

Szafanuer insists a deal "is not dead", and there remain hopes for 2017, telling Autosport: "It probably won't happen for 2016, but we're still talking.

"It's flattering for a company like Aston to be talking to Force India, to want to partner with us and come into Formula 1, but the story isn't final there yet."

As to the reasoning behind Aston's decision, Szafnauer added: "They have a lot of initiatives and they're changing their line-up of cars.

"They're a great company with very exciting times ahead of them, and you never know when they'll choose Formula 1 as a marketing tool.

"So for 2016 I don't think that will happen, but for the future there are still possibilities.

"The use of Formula 1 for them was going to be many fold, and perhaps the timing of a future year is better for those objectives."

Asked if there was disappointment such a brand would not be in F1 this year, Szafnauer said: "Our expectations were such that we discussed it and had a good business case to go forward.

"We did it with the objective of it happening in the short term. If it now happens in the long term, is there disappointment? Probably not.

"Is short term better? That's what we are still working towards as there is still an opportunity somewhere down the line, maybe even from '17.

"We're still in communication with them all the time, and definitely it's not dead."

The McLaren Formula 1 team has appointed Volkswagen's director of motorsport Jost Capito as its new chief executive officer.

According to McLaren, Capito will take up the position in due course as he will remain at VW until a replacement is secured.

Capito's arrival means Jonathan Neale, who has served in the role as acting CEO at McLaren Racing for the past 22 months, moves across to the newly-created role of chief operating officer for the McLaren Technology Group (MTG).

In March 2014, MTG executive chairman and CEO Ron Dennis began a restructuring of the organisation, doing away with the role of team principal and appointing Eric Boullier as racing director.

At the time then managing director Neale took up the CEO position on a provisional basis, with Dennis conceding he was in no rush to make a full-time appointment.

Dennis now finally has his man, and he said: "Consistent with McLaren Technology Group's strategy of driving continuous growth, Jonathan has been promoted to the position of COO.

"He has done an excellent job as acting CEO of McLaren Racing, and that experience, together with the expertise he has attained in non-motorsport industry positions previously, makes him ideally suited to such an important new role at McLaren Technology Group.

"I first approached Jost last summer. He is an extremely impressive, competitive and ambitious individual, who comes to us with a very wide range of automotive and motorsport experience, encompassing senior positions at BMW, Porsche, Ford, Sauber and, since 2012, Volkswagen, leading the latter company's World Rally Championship team to consecutive world titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

"From a motorsport perspective he has experience in not only the World Rally Championship but also sportscars, touring cars, motorcycle racing and Formula 1, about which he is hugely knowledgeable and infectiously passionate.

"I am therefore delighted to welcome Jost to McLaren, and I am certain he will work extremely well with Eric and all at McLaren Racing, building on the very good work they have already done to take the McLaren-Honda programme forward towards grand prix victories and world championship successes."

Neale claims he is "moving up to take on a wider remit", but will still be supporting Capito and Dennis "to optimise the future success of the McLaren-Honda programme".

Neale added: "But I am equally conscious of my new areas of responsibility and influence within McLaren Technology Group, and I am particularly keen to bring to bear my wider industry expertise and experience [principally with British Aerospace, now BAE Systems] to drive forward our strategy to grow each of our Group businesses."

Capito took charge of VW's motorsport programmes in mid-2012 and has led its domination of the WRC for the past three seasons.

Frank Welsch, VW board member for the management of the passenger cars brand and development, praised Capito's "exceptionally dedicated and successful" contribution.

"The three World Rally Championship titles with the Polo R WRC represent the greatest sporting achievements in the history of the Volkswagen brand and underscore the technical competence of our company," he said.

"With his transparent and far-sighted leadership, Jost Capito has been instrumental in this success."

[Lineker]

Channel 4 has revealed details of which 2016 grands prix it will broadcast live after recently taking over Formula 1's UK terrestrial television rights from the BBC.

Its live broadcasts begin with round two in Bahrain, and also include Azerbaijan's first GP, the British event at Silverstone and the finale in Abu Dhabi.

It was announced just before Christmas C4 would take up the remaining three years on the BBC's contract and screen F1 from this season through to 2018.

The BBC was forced to pull out with immediate effect in a bid to make significant savings, with C4 stepping into the breach.

A week ago C4 confirmed former F1 racer David Coulthard had become the first member of its commentary team, with Whisper Films handed the production contract.

Following a selection process with Sky Sports F1, which shows every race live, C4 has announced Bahrain, Spain, Europe (Azerbaijan), Britain, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico and Abu Dhabi as its live broadcasts. There will be no advertisement breaks during the races.

For the remaining 11 grands prix Channel 4 will show a comprehensive highlights package.

The full presenting and commentary team is to be announced in due course.

[Lineker]

The former Marussia Formula 1 team will compete as Manor Racing in 2016.

The revived F1 squad raced as Manor Marussia last year, but has confirmed its rebrand with a new logo on Twitter.

Further details are promised on February 22, the first day of the opening pre-season test in Barcelona.

The outfit confirmed last Friday that its Mercedes-powered 2016 car had passed its final crash test, and that it had recruited ex-Ferrari designer Nikolas Tombazis as its new chief aerodynamicist.

Following its last-minute reprieve to make the grid, Manor Marussia failed to score a point last year with its outdated package, and former chiefs John Booth and Graeme Lowdon left at the end of the season.

Manor Racing remains the only team yet to confirm its drivers for the 2016 season.

[Lineker]

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Formula 1 has agreed a way forward with regard to the cost and supply of power units, Autosport has learned.

With no formal announcement expected from the FIA, news has emerged following a two-day meeting in Geneva, initially of the Strategy Group on Monday, followed by the F1 Commission on Tuesday.

The four engine manufacturers - Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda - have agreed to a reduction in cost to supply the 1.6-litre V6 turbo-charged hybrid systems to €12million per season to a customer team.

They have also provided assurances the whole grid will be supplied, with new regulations due to come into force in 2018 and, once written, to remain stable for three seasons through to the end of 2020.

Such moves are to be implemented in a positive response to the threat of an independent engine, as proposed by FIA president Jean Todt and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone late last year.

Towards the end of 2015, the manufacturers were charged with the task of addressing a number of issues, which also included the simplification of the technical specification and an improvement in noise.

The quartet had until January 15 to present their proposals to Ecclestone and Todt ahead of this week's Geneva meetings, from which a positive outcome has emerged.

There is currently formal approval for the aforementioned plans, which will help ease the cost burden on the smaller teams, who were paying around €20-25million per annum for an engine supply.

It means the independent engine idea is now firmly off the table, pending final agreement amongst the teams, to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council in March.

By way of further cost reduction, drivers are to be limited to three gearboxes per season.

[JasonM]

That's pretty shocking that they could find unilateral approval on something. This will be a huge boon for the smaller teams to stay running.

[Meacon Keaton]

So before I pledge my allegiance to Sebastian Vettel, is there anything I should know about him?

Does he hate black people, or kill children, or blow up puppies or anything?

[JasonM]

8 minutes ago, Meacon said:

So before I pledge my allegiance to Sebastian Vettel, is there anything I should know about him?

Does he hate black people, or kill children, or blow up puppies or anything?

He's German, some people have issues with Germans in F1...

[FestiveJack]

Smug dick when he's winning, but then again, I think that's more part of the German consciousness.

I think I like him better than Hamilton.

[Meacon Keaton]

14 minutes ago, Jasonmufc said:

He's German

So he very well may hate black people.

[JasonM]

47 minutes ago, Mad Jack said:

Smug dick when he's winning, but then again, I think that's more part of the German consciousness.

I think I like him better than Hamilton.

Well Hamilton is a smug dick always, it's hard to say whether he's worse when he's losing or winning because he's pretty much a smug twat.
Vettel at least has some sort of decency about himself and isn't tossing toys around because he didn't win a race.

True character is shown when a winning driver doesn't win. And Vettel has shown over the past two seasons that he's a standup guy who doesn't throw hissy fits when he doesn't win. The dickishness from his 4x WDC days are gone.

[Lineker]

Vettel's likability shot up the moment he left Red Bull.

[Rainiac]

One of Vettel's standout moments for me last season was during one of the post-race interviews. Rosberg had won I think, Vettel was 2nd & Hamilton 3rd. Hamilton clearly didn't want to say much of anything. Just as they're about to wrap the interview up with all three guys Vettel blurts out "I'm happy!", which made me laugh a lot harder than it probably should have. Doesn't exactly hurt that he's a phenomenally good racing driver too

[EddieG]

I prefer the time at the post-race press conference where Hamilton won the WDC, and someone asked what it feels like to be world champion and Vettel said "Let Nico answer that one"