Adam Cooper F1

Alexander Rossi has parted company with Caterham, putting an end to plans for him to take part in FP1 in Austin again this year.

Rossi has also left the Caterham GP2 team, although it is does not come under the same new ownership as the F1 outfit. Rossi last drove the F1 car in FP1 in Canada in June.

Speaking on Twitter, he said: “It’s been an emotional couple of years with Caterham F1. The highlight being driving with them in Austin last year. Now it’s time to move on.”

The debut of Pirelli’s low profile concept tyres was the highlight of today’s testing at Silverstone.

Charles Pic ran 14 laps on the 18ins tyres at the wheel of the current Lotus E22. With few adjustments made to accommodate the very different wheel sizes – and the lack of suspension movement provide by the tyre – he was well off the normal pace. However, the point of the exercise was mainly to allow the sport’s key players to judge the appearance of the new tyres.

Pirelli is keen to make the switch in order to encourage road relevance, and says that it could be ready to supply the new rubber as early as 2016.

“In our view, the new tyres looked stunning fitted to the Lotus,” said Pirelli F1 boss Paul Hembery. “And the reaction has already been felt all over the world. These are just a prototype concept, but if the teams decided that they wanted us to proceed in this direction, we have the capability to carry on development in this area and come up with a production-ready version in a comparatively short space of time.

“We’ve heard a lot of opinions already and we look forward to canvassing other opinions in the coming weeks and months. Even though performance wasn’t by any means priority here, the new tyres still behaved exactly in line with our expectations, so we’re clearly potentially at the beginning of a huge development curve, with the wheel and tyre size rules having remained unaltered for many years.”

Pirelli says that the stiffer sidewall helps retain the structural rigidity of the tyre, and it’s also easier to maintain a constant pressure, as there is less air inside it.

Pirelli adds: “The new tyres tested today have the same width as the current 13-inch tyres (245mm at the front and 325mm at the rear) but a diameter that is bigger by 30mm. The weight is approximately the same as the 13-inch tyre, because although the diameter is bigger, there is a smaller sidewall. The total weight, including the rim, is around 4 kilograms heavier.”

The FIA is planning a clampdown on ‘FRIC’ or front-to-rear interconnected suspension systems, which have been in widespread use in recent seasons as a tool for controlling constant ride height.

In essence Charlie Whiting has decided that teams have been pushing the limits – and feels that systems planned for 2015, and that the FIA is already aware of, will be a step too far. He has cited the rule that outlaws moveable aerodynamic devices.

As has sometimes happened in the past with contentious technical items, Whiting’s view is that such systems can remain in use until the end of this season. However, in order to green light that approach all 11 teams have to agree – and clearly some have more to lose or gain should FRIC systems be banned immediately.

If there is no agreement, then the stewards of an upcoming event could look into the matter.

A technical directive sent from Whiting to the teams today read: “Having now seen and studied nearly every current design of front-to-rear linked suspension system, as well as reviewing future developments some teams have shared with us, we are firmly of the view that the legality of all such systems could be called into question, particularly with respect to compliance with Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations.

“As these systems, in one form or another, have been in use for some time we are inclined to permit their continued use for the remainder of the current season, however, we feel we would need the agreement of all participating teams to take this approach. We would therefore be very grateful if you could indicate whether you may be in a position to agree with such an approach.

“Failing this, we would have to consider making a report to the stewards about the non-compliance of any car fitted with a system which appears to allow the response of the suspension at either or both of the rear corners to drive the response of the suspension at either or both of the front corners (or vice versa).”

If a ban is imposed in the short term it will clearly cause problems for the teams who have most successfully optimised it, while those who hadn’t will hope to benefit.

One team insider told this writer: “We should have had clarity on this a long time ago not in the middle of the season.”

Carlos Sainz Jr has emerged as a possible candidate for Caterham thanks to the team’s relationship with Red Bull – and a deal has been discussed for the Spaniard to race as early as this season.

Sainz Jr, his father and Dr Helmut Marko were seen paying a visit to the Caterham motorhome during the course of the Silverstone weekend.

Giving Sainz some race mileage now, prior to a full season at Caterham or possible move to STR for 2015, would be a logical step. However, a senior Red Bull source said that in the short term the company wants Sainz Jr to focus on winning the Renault 3.5 series, which he currently leads after nine of 17 rounds – although none of the remaining races clash with the F1 calendar.

It’s worth remembering that in 2011 Red Bull placed Daniel Ricciardo at HRT in the middle of his Renault 3.5 season, in a deal brokered by current Caterham advisor Colin Kolles.

Caterham has long used a Red Bull gearbox, and next year it will be the only team using a Renault power unit alongside RBR and Scuderia Toro Rosso. The departure of Lotus to Mercedes for 2015 allows Red Bull to forge closer links with Renault F1’s Viry base, and Caterham is in turn moving closer to RBR.

Nico Rosberg lost his shot at winning the British GP to a mechanical gearbox problem that left him stranded at trackside on the 29th lap.

Rosberg was just ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the time, and it was not yet clear how their respective strategies would play out. It was his first retirement of the year after he had finished first or second in the eight previous races, and it leaves him just four points clear of Hamilton.

Rosberg said he’d seen signs of an issue earlier in the race.

“There was one thing already before the start,” he said, “Or just after or something like that, which was weird. And then after that it sort of got worse and worse from lap 20 onwards. There were some occasions where I had neutral so I had to pull the clutch and go again, and then it just got worse and worse.

“My mentality changed to, ‘OK, let’s stop racing Lewis, and let’s just try and get this thing to the end somehow,’ because I have such a pace advantage, and I know that I can do some pretty radical things to try and keep this gearbox alive. But it was a mechanical problem, and there wasn’t anything that could be done.”

Rosberg said he would try find some positives: “What can I say, it was just a reliability problem, and a pity. So now we need to review it, and as always we need to push on and try and keep on working on any small reliability issues that we’re having, as we have done, and as we’re still doing.

“It’s difficult to find so many good feelings today, but tomorrow we’ll try to look for them again. I’m in the lead of the championship.”

Lewis Hamilton turned his frustration after Saturday’s qualifying session at Silverstone into elation today as he delighted the home crowd with his first win since Spain in May.

What might have been a sensational battle to the flag with Nico Rosberg ended when the German retired, but nevertheless it was a deserved victory for the Briton, who did everything right. He is now only four points behind his team mate.

“Yesterday was a really difficult day,” Hamilton admitted. “Obviously you never think situations like that would come up the way they did and I went away feeling terrible for the fans. They all turned up and there’s so much support here, I felt that I had let them down, not only them but the team and myself. Coming back today, trying to turn that serious emptiness and negativity into a positive today was really my priority.

“The support has been incredible this weekend. Just thinking of the history of this circuit, the great drivers that have won in the past, leading last year and not being able to see it through. It’s been since 2008 I had the win and I just feel very, very grateful for the opportunity. I honestly feel that I had the pace today.

“I was catching Nico in the first stint. I was able to extend my first stint longer than ever before. I was feeling pretty comfortable. Of course, you never want a team-mate to fall away, to win like that. I was looking forward to a wheel-to-wheel battle but I’m sure we’ll get many in the future.”

Hamilton conceded that his qualifying session was something of a wake-up call.

“We’ve had four wins, now five wins, but I’ve had the four wins and I think my hunger is on a par with any other year that I’ve ever raced in – but yesterday was a real kick in the balls. I really had to pick up, pull up my socks and get on it if I want to win this world championship, and I can’t have situations like yesterday. The last two races I’ve easily had the pace to be pole position and I’ve not put it there. I’ve put it much further back, made it much harder for myself but now I’m going to try to rectify that for the future.

“We’ll draw a line under that last nine races and now it’s attack mode, start again and now, utilising that pace and utilising the car’s pace. There are still some things we need to improve on. I wasn’t too worried about the time lost in the pit stop today as I knew the next one would be better. I’d been working on my position so I didn’t lose time in that but qualifying really – just getting myself back to my normal qualifying mode and that, I think, will be good.”

Esteban Gutierrez has received a three-place grid penalty for the German GP after his clash with Pastor Maldonado at Silverstone.

The two made contact at Club corner while battling with Jules Bianchi, and the damage led to the Sauber driver going off into the gravel a few corners later.

Gutierrez said: ” When I tried to overtake him in turn 16 he braked and did not leave me enough space. I was already beside him and could not avoid a collision with him.”

The FIA stewards determined that he was “predominantly at fault” for the incident.

Gutierrez had a 10-place unsafe release penalty at Silverstone and picked up five more places for a gearbox change, but in the end he lost only five in total as the rules ensured that three other cars had to start behind him.