Formula One 2015

[EddieG]

And how many of them won 3 consecutive world championships?

[Rich]

If that was why they had it rather than the excuse that they were of historical significance then fair enough. But the reality is they have in effect bought it with the money pumped in to the teams their parent company own.

[Adam]

They may have "bought it" but Formula 1 is a sport built and sustained almost entirely around enormous amounts of money, so it isn't exactly out of the ordinary.

It isn't really a "historic teams" thing anyway, is it. It's an "all the big boys" categorisation, regardless of the name.

[Rich]

Doesn't mean I have to like it!

 

also Perez's roll today was entertaining 

[JasonM]

That was arguably the best race of the season by a country mile, and it was simply insane to watch it unfold.

Vettel and Kimi jump both Mercs at the start and take 1-2 early, Hamilton has a major cock-up of epic proportions and falls down to 13th...

Maldonado decides to reach the crescendo of being an incompetent bellend by getting not just 1, not 2, but three penalties in a single race going for the hat-trick of being the worst driver on the grid. Collission, Speeding in pit lane, and overtaking under a safety car, he really went all out in being terrible.

Then Hülkenberg's front wing exploded into a million pieces meaning safety car and the entire race turns upside down. Cars go through the pit-lane as the track is sweeped giving an amazing visual to an already amazing race.

Then Kimi's MGU-K breaks down ending with him having to retire from the race, ending the potentiality of a Ferrari 1-2... Compounding to the exicetement Rosberg collides with Ricciardo causing a massive puncture for the German and a broken wing for the Aussie.

Vettel just keeps storming to the end getting the finish and the second win of the season. And Daniil Kvyat gets his first podium of his career by getting second place with Ricciardo rounding out the podium escaping a penalty that would've put him in fourth... Also who is the guy who finished in fourth, it's 17 year old Max Verstappen who survived a drive-through of his own and had a great drive and almost becoming the youngest podium driver ever (Would he have even gotten champagne if it had happened?)

Rounding out the top ten also includes the first time both McHonda's finished in points as Alonso gets fifth place and Button gets 9th place for even more points for a team that has been shit all season.

Needless to say, a race for the ages which was exciting from start to finish... I feel gutted for Kimi who has another bad finish thanks to mechanical failure. But easily the best and most exciting race of the year, possible even the best of the V6-Era...

[EddieG]

He was a drive through penalty away from equaling his dad's first podium ('94, rookie season Hungary race. His second and last (ever) was Spa '94 so fingers crossed).

[Lineker]

Fucking hell I need a cigarette after watching that race.

[Lineker]

[Rich]

All the feels

[Lineker]

To find out what the most dedicated motorsport fans think of Formula 1, AUTOSPORT,F1 Racing and Motorsport News launched a global fan survey in May.

Nearly 35,000 people responded, and the results, published in full below, cover everything from why you watch F1, your likes and dislikes, to how you would change it in the future.

The idea of the survey was to help identify F1's weaknesses while amplifying its strengths, and the thinking behind publishing the results in full is to give fans' voices as much exposure as possible.

Some of the findings are surprising, but they provide a fully-independent insight into the thinking of serious fans of Formula 1 - 36 per cent of respondents watch every session of a grand prix weekend, and nearly 65 per cent have been following F1 for at least 15 years.

First up, every current driver, team and grand prix ranked in order of popularity:

Full order

1 Lewis Hamilton

2 Kimi Raikkonen

3 Fernando Alonso

= Jenson Button

5 Sebastian Vettel

6 No favourite

7 Daniel Ricciardo

8 Valtteri Bottas

9 Felipe Massa

10 Nico Rosberg

11 Max Verstappen

12 Nico Hulkenberg

13 Romain Grosjean

14 Marcus Ericsson

15 Daniil Kvyat

16 Sergio Perez

17 Felipe Nasr

18 Carlos Sainz Jr

19 Pastor Maldonado

20 Will Stevens

21 Roberto Merhi

Full order

1 Ferrari

2 McLaren

3 No favourite

4 Williams

5 Mercedes

6 Red Bull

7 Lotus

8 Force India

9 Sauber

10 Toro Rosso

11 Manor

Full order

1 Belgium

2 Monaco

3 Canada

4 Great Britain

5 Italy

6 No favourite

7 Hungary

8 USA

9 Brazil

10 Japan

11 Singapore

12 Australia

13 Abu Dhabi

14 Austria

15 Bahrain

16 Spain

17 Malaysia

18 China

19 Russia

20 Mexico

How long have you been following F1?

Less than a year 0.4%

Between 1-3 years 5.0%

Between 4-15 years 30.1%

More than 15 years 64.5%

How many grands prix have you attended in the last 10 years?

None 44.8%

Between 1-5 41.3%

Between 6-12 8.9%

More than 12 5.0%

Would you, or have you, visited a different country from the one you live in to watch a grand prix?

Yes 67.6%

No 32.4%

 

If you don't plan to attend a grand prix, why not?

Too expensive 37.6%

Too far to travel 4.5%

Not enough access 3.3%

Prefer watching on TV 10.5%

Other 4.2%

I do plan to attend a GP 39.9%

What is the main reason you watch Formula 1?

Rivalry and competitiveness between drivers and teams 42.6%

The speed and risks involved 14.8%

To follow one driver or team 6.3%

Technical innovations 14%

Glamour of F1 2.7%

History and prestige 14.2%

Other 5.4%

Which of the following would give you more insight into F1?

More interviews with drivers or team personnel over a GP weekend 14.6%

More information about teams' headquarters 6.7%

More social media access 8.7%

Opportunities for fans to access the F1 paddock 24.5%

Better on-screen info graphics 29.8%

Better camera angles (in and out of car) 15.7%

Do you subscribe to watch F1 on TV?

Yes 34.7%

No 33.3 %

Not necessary with my TV package 32%

If you have access to live TV coverage, how much do you usually watch at home during a GP weekend?

Practice, qualifying and the race 19.4%

All sessions plus pre- and post-race discussion 36.0%

Qualifying and the race 36.7%

Just the race 3.8%

Only highlights 1%

No access to live coverage 3%

When watching a grand prix do you use a second screen to access live timing through the F1 app or formula1.com website?

Yes 21.3%

No 49.8%

Sometimes 28.9%

How often do you record coverage of sessions and then watch 'as live' at another time of day?

Always 17.1%

Sometimes 52.9%

Never 30%

 

 

 

 

Do you think teams should be allowed to run third cars?

Yes 26.5%

Yes but only for young drivers 39.5%

No 28.2%

No opinion 5.7%

Do you think F1 should abolish the rule about running two specs of tyre compound in the race?

Yes 52.3%

No 37.5%

No opinion 10.2%

Should F1 ban testing and use Fridays as an open test day instead?

Yes 34.4%

No 50.1%

No opinion 15.6%

Do you agree with having a two-tier F1 race that has manufacturers competing in a different class to independent teams with a spec engine or chassis?

Yes 18.9%

No 70.5%

No opinion 10.7%

 

Do you think F1 has to be environmentally friendly?

Yes 41.1%

No 50.9%

No opinion 8%

Do you think it's important that Formula 1 is at the cutting edge of technology?

Yes 90.1%

No 7.6%

No opinion 2.2%

Would you like to see an open tyre formula to allow rival companies to compete against each other?

Yes 77.9%

No 15.3%

No opinion 6.9%

Would you be happy to see F1 become a spec series using identical chassis and engine, like GP2, in a bit to reduce costs?

Yes 9.6%

No 86%

No opinion 4.4%

Is it important that F1 engines are capable of producing over 1000bhp?

Yes 48.1%

No 37.9%

No opinion 14.1%

Would you favour slowing outright performance of F1 cars down to promote better racing?

Yes 21.3%

No 69.1%

No opinion 9.7%

Do you like F1 visiting new territories such as Korea, Russia and Azerbaijan?

Yes 37.4%

No 45.2%

No opinion 17.5%

Do you think F1 benefits from having car manufacturers competing in the sport?

Yes 88.4%

No 6.4%

No opinion 5.2%

 

Do you agree with the statement that F1 is a business first and a sport second?

Yes 48.5%

No 45.2%

No opinion 6.3%

What is your gender?

Male 92.2%

Female 7.8%

What is your age?

Under 18 3.9%

18-40 59.3%

41-60 27.3%

61+ 9.4%

[Lineker]

In a heist that sounds practically ripped from the movies, Formula One star Jenson Button, his wife and their three friends were reportedly gassed in Button's mansion in Saint-Tropez, France, before burglars made away with possessions totaling over £300,000, per the Sun's Dan Wootton.

Authorities told the Sun that they believed the culprits "pumped an anaesthetic gas into the property through its air conditioning vents" and that among the items stolen was Jessica Michibata's £250,000 engagement ring. 

Button and Michibata were married in December.

Authorities believed two burglars were responsible for the heist and had been staking out the house during Button's time on vacation, waiting until they believed all of the occupants were asleep before pumping gas into the house. 

[Lineker]

Formula 1's technical chiefs have been tasked by the Strategy Group to increase opportunities for overtaking in grands prix, AUTOSPORT has learned.

F1 is currently looking to improve the show in 2017 with the introduction of cars five seconds per lap faster, more aggressive looking with wider front and rear wings and fatter rear tyres, and potentially with 1000bhp engines.

The FIA has yet to formulate a set of regulations for 2017, which is causing a number of technical directors concern given the rules have to be in place by March of next year, beyond which they cannot be altered.

Now the Strategy Group has added to the workload by calling for a review of overtaking, and potential ideas on how the number of moves in a race can be increased, with a meeting set for August 18 ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

Force India technical director Andrew Green told AUTOSPORT: "Recently we've had a directive from the Strategy Group that they want to improve the overtaking.

"It's something we've not yet discussed. There was supposed to have been a meeting before the summer break, but that was postponed, and it's now the Tuesday before Spa.

"All I can say is the design we have on the table [for 2017] is not necessarily something that would cover that."

Green explained that the way F1 cars generate downforce could need an overhaul.

"At the moment we're still very dependent on the front of the car generating downforce for the whole car," he said.

"The effect of that is as a car approaches the one in front it doesn't just lose downforce from the front of the car, but the whole of the car, so maybe that's something we will be looking at in the next meeting.

"Is that something we can do something about, or is that a function of the cars as they are? That's what I expect to be discussing."

[Lineker]

Two teams have been unsuccessful in the FIA's latest selection process to enter Formula 1 in 2016 or '17, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Motorsport's governing body invited candidates to submit their interest in May and set a deadline of June to do so, before extending that to July 23.

Two teams submitted applications, but neither met the governing body's criteria, meaning the grid will not grow beyond Haas' 2016 entry.

An FIA spokesman said: "We can confirm that the FIA received two candidate Formula 1 team applications for vacant grid slots.

"We subsequently put these through our comprehensive diligence processes.

"Unfortunately none of the applicants were able to meet the FIA's criteria for new teams despite being granted every opportunity of doing so, and we now consider this round of applications to be closed."

The identities of the two teams is unknown, although it is understood neither was leading GP2 outfit ART Grand Prix.

The FIA spokesman said it was not up to the governing body to reveal the names of the applicants.

When the FIA announced the new selection process, it stated a decision would be made based on "the overall long-term interests of the championship", and it would not select an additional team if there is no viable candidate.

The FIA said it would assess:

• The technical ability and resources of the team
• The ability of the team to raise and maintain sufficient funding to allow participation in the championship at a competitive level
• The team's experience and human resources
• The value the candidate may bring to the championship as a whole

This means 11 teams will contest the Formula 1 world championship next season. 

[JasonM]

So I assume that Romanian outfit (Forza Rossa?) isn't going to be joining F1..
Well makes sense, since we heard jack shit from it other than rumour.

[Lineker]

That was a weird one. They were announced alongside Haas only to then disappear without a trace from the face of the earth.

[Katsuya]

So Kimi is staying at Ferrari next year, which seems bizarre on a lot of levels.

[Lineker]

Lotus is embroiled in a legal battle with former reserve driver Charles Pic that could result in its cars being unable to leave Spa following Sunday's Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Former Marussia and Caterham driver Pic was signed early last year by Lotus as back up to regulars Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, and subsequently released at the end of the season.

The 25-year-old Frenchman, however, opted to take Lotus to court, believing the Enstone-based team reneged on its deal to provide him with a certain number of days behind the wheel of its E22.

Lotus encountered major issues early last season with Renault's power unit following the introduction of the 1.6-litre V6 turbo-charged systems.

Once subsequently up to speed the team then took the decision to allow Grosjean and Maldonado the time required to become accustomed to the car and power unit.

An aggrieved Pic, however, has sought legal redress, and the matter is currently in the hands of an arbitration court.

In trying to expedite matters, Pic yesterday managed to acquire an attachment order from a Belgian court that effectively prevents Lotus' cars and equipment from leaving the circuit come the conclusion of the grand prix.

It is understood Lotus believe the 'conservatory impounding' to be invalid as the matter is presently in the hands of the arbitration court.

Lawyers from both parties are currently locked in discussions designed to find a solution.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT, Lotus co-owner Gerard Lopez said he is confident the issue will be resolved ahead of the race.

"We are having our legal department look at it. This will be solved, and solved in a manner that is adequate," said Lopez.

"We know there is a difference in the number of the days [Pic should have driven], but I know we'll find an amicable solution, and the show goes on.

"I think the cars will leave as planned. I don't envisage there being an issue. I know there will be a resolution."

The situation was further complicated for Lotus on Thursday as three members of its personnel - team manager, technical director and team co-ordinator - remained behind to 'guard' the cars and equipment beyond F1's 11pm curfew.

As the trio were deemed to be 'associated with the operation of the car', they were forced to explain their presence to the stewards on Friday morning.

Due to what has been described as "extraneous circumstances" by the stewards they decided the "incident will not be considered as one of the two [curfew] exceptions" allowed under the sporting regulations.

A statement added: "The reason is this matter was neither sporting nor technical in nature, and involved no work being performed by the team."

Deputy team principal Federico Gastaldo told AUTOSPORT: "There is an order that took place last night related to one of our third drivers, that has not been resolved and has been going on for some time now.

"The lawyers are talking and we're trying to find a solution for this weekend.

"We are hopeful of doing that, of trying to find a balanced agreement."

On track, both McLaren's as well as Max Verstappen will suffer grid penalties for changing parts of their engines.

[JasonM]

McLaren has a total combined grid penalty of 105 spots...

Yeah...

[Bobfoc]

That's a case of hilarious "sledgehammer to crack a nut" shenanigans. I hope their next punishment involves Bernie Ecclestone waving his arms to try to banish them from space and time.

[Lineker]

Lewis pole again. But Bernie 'the farmer' drinking milk was the image of the day!

 

Red Bull is considering terminating its contract with engine supplier Renault at the end of the 2015 Formula 1 season, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Tensions between Red Bull and Renault, who have a deal through 2016, have increased as the French manufacturer struggles with performance and reliability.

It is believed there are performances clauses in the contract and AUTOSPORT understands Red Bull is strongly considering activating these.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner told AUTOSPORT: "We can't afford to have another season like this season.

"There is still a long way to go in this season, we're very working hard to turn it around.

"But it is very damaging and very expensive when you get into this scenario.

"We have put an awful lot of funding into the engine, we paid for the engine - it's not a free engine.

"When you're using a customer product, that's when frustration sometimes boils over."

Another factor in the situation is the prospect of Renault again becoming a works team.

AUTOSPORT understands buyout talks are at an advanced stage between Renault and Lotus, with the possibility a deal could be confirmed by the end of the month.

"We have an agreement until 2016 and it's important to understand what Renault's plans are," said Horner. "Then we can react accordingly.

"We want to see what Renault's commitment is in the long term regarding Formula 1."

It would leave Red Bull requiring a new engine partner, with Mercedes strongly mooted as the likely candidate.

Modern design techniques are such that lead times are shortening and any decision on the engine supply could be delayed until November.

When asked if it would be easy to adapt the concept for next year's car to a different engine, Horner said: "Nothing is ever impossible.

"Look at what Ross Brawn did [with the 2009 title-winning Brawn GP], he didn't find out what engine he'd got in 2009 until December.

"Where there is a will, there's always a way."

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff, however, has made clear he will not interfere in the relationship between Red Bull and Renault.

Should the possibility of a partnership arise, Wolff has told AUTOSPORT many factors would have to be considered before talks could even commence.

"We are aware, and been made aware by all parties, there is an existing contractual relationship between Red Bull and Renault and we are not going to interfere in that," said Wolff.

"So that is being sorted out between those two anyway, and it's none of our concern they should do that.

"If you look at it from Mercedes' perspective it is probably the wrong thing to do to supply an engine to a fifth customer as it would put stress on the organisation.

 F1's engine silly season about to kick off

"Additionally, supplying one of your championship contenders with big resources, it needs to be carefully judged and balanced as to whether we would want to do that.

"But then from a global perspective Red Bull is a really phenomenal brand which attracts younger audiences and consumers.

"Therefore you cannot wipe it off the table and say 'From the team's perspective it doesn't make any sense, so we are not looking at it'.

"No, you carefully analyse the pros and cons, and then obviously make a decision.

"We haven't reached that phase yet because the opportunity doesn't exist at the moment because of the relationship between Red Bull and Renault, which we honour."

The Mercedes executive management board is believed to be split regarding a tie-up, while it is understood Williams has a premium customer contract with Mercedes, which could impact any deal with Red Bull.