Category Archives: F1 News

The Giedo van der Garde v Sauber case looks set to come to a conclusion in the next couple of days after the parties finalised a settlement.

The bones of the deal were put in place in Australia on Friday, which is why the court action was dropped, and Sauber was able to compete.

It’s understood that the figure involved is €15m, a substantial sum given the obvious financial predicament of the team.

Bernie Ecclestone has in effect fined Manor for its failure to participate in the Australian GP weekend – despite the FIA decreeing that the team had fulfilled its obligations.

While most observers are sympathetic with Manor’s predicament – given the timescale involved – the bottom line is that there has been a battle between Bernie and the FIA over whether the team should be allowed in. The fact that it had entered just before it went into administration was the key.

As explained here on Sunday, Bernie is of the view that the team committed to properly taking part from the start of the season, and he clearly contends that the team knew some time ago that it would not be able to run the cars. Having already paid $10m to the revived team he feels he has been duped.

Indeed, one observer phrased it thus: “They bullshitted Bernie, and you don’t bullshit Bernie…”

It’s understood Bernie was seriously underwhelmed with new owner Stephen Fitzpatrick and team chairman Justin King when he realised what scenario was playing out in Australia.

As noted on Sunday, Bernie had already suggested that a fourth non-participation after the three at the end of last year would be the end of the team.

He has not gone that far – presumably because the FIA Stewards gave the team the benefit of the doubt and that legally they are seen to have participated – but he has ‘fined’ the team by making it pay the freight costs to Australia.

“We should have never ever, ever allowed Manor to do what they’ve done. It’s our fault. I predicted this would happen,” Ecclestone told Reuters.

“They had no intention of racing in Australia. Zero. They couldn’t have raced if someone had gone there with a machine gun and put it to their head. It was impossible. So they had no intention.”

Regarding the freight he said: “They are not competing so they have to pay for that.”

It’s clear that it Manor fails to take to the track in Malaysia, or fails to play by Bernie’s rules in any way, the consequences could be serious…

Meanwhile this is what I wrote before the race on Sunday: https://adamcooperf1.com/2015/03/15/could-manor-be-in-big-trouble-with-ecclestone/

Not surprisingly Bernie Ecclestone has backed Christian Horner and Helmut Marko’s suggestion that the FIA should attempt top level the playing field in the light of the Mercedes domination in Australia.

Ecclestone and Horner remain close, and their opinions rarely diverge.

“They are absolutely 100 percent right,” Ecclestone told Reuters. “There is a rule that I think Max [Mosley] put in when he was there that in the event that a particular team or engine supplier did something magic – which Mercedes have done – the FIA can level up things.

“They have done a first class job which everybody acknowledges. We need to change things a little bit now and try and level things up a little bit.

“What we should have done was frozen the Mercedes engine and leave everybody else to do what they want so they could have caught up. We should support the FIA to make changes.”

It’s not clear what rule Ecclestone is referring to. However it may be Article 2.5 of the Tehcnical Regulations:

“New systems or technologies : Any new system, procedure or technology not specifically covered by these regulations, but which is deemed permissible by the FIA Formula One Technical Department, will only be admitted until the end of the Championship during which it is introduced. Following this the Formula One Commission will be asked to review the technology concerned and, if they feel it adds no value to Formula One in general, it will be specifically prohibited. Any team whose technology is prohibited in this way will then be required to publish full technical details of the relevant system or procedure.”

If it is what Bernie is referring to it might be stretch to find a way to apply it – the FIA view is that there are no ‘new technologies’ in the W06 package – and in any case it clearly states it allows teams to keep their advantage for the season.

Red Bull Racing’s struggles in Melbourne come in tandem with a much bigger picture as sources continue to suggest that Dietrich Mateschitz wants to sell the team that won the 2010-13 World Championships.

Indeed Bernie Ecclestone has been telling people that such a scenario is in the works.

Asked about it by this writer after the race Christian Horner said: “You’re wide of the mark. There’s been statements from Dietrich to clarify that, It’s a non-issue.”

However just minutes later Helmut Marko revved things up by telling German speaking media that it was possible, adding that every year the company conducts a cost/benefit analysis and that F1 has to pay for itself.

So what’s happening? Mateschitz was frustrated by the downturn in form last year, and even before this race weekend had recognised that if anything life would be tougher this year. In addition the talismanic Sebastian Vettel, with whom he is very close, has moved on.

Meanwhile RBR has been embarrassed by Toro Rosso in Melbourne, and it’s clear that the relationship with Renault has completely broken down.

A reorganisation of Renault last year, led by the returning Cyril Abiteboul, was supposed to improve the situation – as was the departure of Lotus to Mercedes, which left the two Red Bull teams able to forge a closer works-style relationship with the French manufacturer.

Renault in turn is hugely frustrated with Red Bull, feeling it has received little credit for its contribution to four World Championships – and in particular for example for the exhaust blowing technology it developed. That was followed by the very public criticism of Renault from the Red Bull camp last year.

That’s why Renault has been urgently seeking a partnership with another team which it could support as a de facto works effort. Renault has visited the obvious candidates such as Sauber, Toro Rosso, Force India and even its former works partner Lotus. Indeed the second Red Bull team could end up in the hands of Renault.

As for Red Bull Racing, the disenchanted Mateschitz has a problem in that having had a very good deal when he took the team off Jaguar’s hands at the end of 2004 and then invested huge sums to build it up it is now a very valuable property – and very different from a struggling team with debts that could be acquired for a relatively modest sum.

Realistically the only potential buyer is a car manufacturer, and that means VW/Audi. Sources suggest that the company’s consultant Stefano Domenicali has backed a plan to take over Milton Keynes and turn it into a works team – and not simply join as a partner. However Ferdinand Piech, the man who really matters, continues to procrastinate about whether or not he wants Audi to commit to such a project.

The struggles of Honda, which reflect how difficult it is to come into F1 with one team and restricted testing, have probably not impressed Audi. In addition there’s uncertainty about the future direction of the F1 rules.
Meanwhile if RBR and Renault are heading for a divorce, and Audi isn’t somewhere in the mix for 2016, then the team would need another engine supplier. Last year this blog broke the story that Mario Ilien was in the frame – and that there was now a possibility that Red Bull would pursue its own engine. At that time it looked likely to be done with a TAG Porsche-style partnership with Renault, but that now seems unlikely to say the least.

Mercedes already has four teams, and in any case historically Mateschitz has a very poor relationship with Stuttgart. Red Bull used Ferrari engines in its early days but offloaded the deal to STR at the first opportunity, and it’s hard to see a reunion happening. Honda does not appear to be a bet for the forseeable future, and it’s hard to see Ron Dennis sanctioning RBR as a second Honda team.

All of this means that the pressure is now really on RBR and in particular Horner, which helps to explain chat about banning wind tunnels and equalising the field. Watch this space…

Christian Horner made his frustration with Renault clear once again after Daniel Ricciardo finished a lapped sixth in Australia.

Horner insisted that the engine masked the true potential of the RB11

“It’s been a tough weekend for Renault,” he said. “The engine is just quite undriveable. You can see and hear that from the comments the drivers are making. The most clear evidence is that off the start Daniel got a reasonable initial start and then driveability comes in, and you can see the holes that are in the power delivery, so a lot to be done.”

Elaborating on the symptoms he said: “I think it masks so many things regarding corner entry, corner exit, degradation, slip control of the tyre. You’re not able to drive the car properly. So you then start moving your brake balance around to try to compensate, so you are so far away from optimum. You start to lose temperature in brakes, and then the tyres aren’t working as they should. It’s a spiralling effect.”

He insisted that Renault has to have solutions in hand.

“They need to have, and they need to quickly. You can see that Ferrari made a step forward, Sauber all respect to them, but I doubt they found much on their chassis from last year to this year because most of it’s the same, same front wing, same rear wing, but you can see Ferrari have made a good step. Renault at this stage appear to have made a retrograde step.

“It’s frustrating that effectively we are further back than where we were in Abu Dhabi in both power and driveability.”

Asked by this writer where the unravelling RBR/Renault relationship would develop from here he said: “Obviously after this weekend it’s important that we regroup with Renault and we try and offer support where we can, because obviously they are in a bit of a moment and need to understand things quickly. Across the four cars we’ve had two engine failures, one within five laps, and a whole bunch of driveability issues, so it’s not the start that Renault can afford to have.”