Adam Cooper F1

Longtime McLaren sponsor Hugo Boss is to jump ship and join Mercedes GP next season.

Boss has been with McLaren since the early days of Ron Dennis’s involvement with McLaren, and while it has not been a major sponsor it is an iconic one, and thus its loss must be disappointing – not least because the German company has followed the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Paddy Lowe and indeed Mercedes itself in beating a path from Woking to the Brackley team.

Asked by this writer to confirm the news, a McLaren spokesman said: “The McLaren-Hugo Boss association has been an outstandingly successful F1 partnership for more than 30 years. However, Hugo Boss has recently decided to co-operate with Mercedes-Benz on a number of international marketing projects unrelated to F1.

“That being the case, it would be inappropriate for Hugo Boss to continue in partnership with an F1 competitor to Mercedes-Benz, however successful that partnership has been in the past and remains now.”

McLaren has yet to confirm any sponsorship plans for next season, despte promising to reveal a title sponsor on December 1 last year. However the team announced in its most recent annual report that its business model changes completely next year thanks to Honda’s input.

It’s worth noting that Kevin Magnussen’s career has been heavily supported by the Danish-owned Bestseller clothing company, which now has the opportunity to become involved with the team.

Pastor Maldonado has been excluded from qualifying for the British GP after failing to have enough fuel left in the tank of his Lotus to meet the requirements for the FIA fuel sample.

The Venezuelan was told to stop on track in Q2 and finished the session in 15th, ahead only of Adrian Sutil, who did not do a time.

The rules specify that he goes to the back of the grid, but in this instance he will start in 20th ahead of the two Caterhams – who failed to meet the 107% rule in Q1, and thus had to be given dispensation by the stewards to be allowed to start.

A Lotus source said Renault engineers were to blame for the error in fuelling the car.

Meanwhile with Max Chilton receiving a five place grid penalty for a gearbox change, and Esteban Gutierrez carrying a 10 place penalty for an unsafe release in Austria, some of those who had bad days today will gain up to three places.

Lotus is run an experimental 18ins low profile tyre in next week’s Silverstone test as Pirelli continues its push for road relevance.

The company has long believed that current 13ins tyre sizes are anachronistic and have limited connection to its regular products. In the past the FIA has been opposed to low profile tyres, and a change would have huge consequences for the teams, as clearly the suspension characteristics of the tyres would be drastically different.

In a statement Pirelli said: “Larger wheel and tyre sizes reflect modern market trends; with the adoption of a larger size invariably leading to even greater technology transfer between Formula One tyres and road car tyres.

“Pirelli would only progress this initiative if there were a genuine desire from the teams, promoter and other stakeholders to move in such a direction. This is in accordance with the Italian firm’s consistent philosophy of being a technical partner and sponsor entirely at the service of the teams and the sport, in order to benefit the spectacle as a whole.

“These tyres, developed and created by Pirelli’s engineers as part of the company’s premium strategy, serve only as an example of what is possible. However, the technology is in place already to produce this type of tyre with the same standards of performance and reliability set by the current 13-inch rubber. Indeed, with a new tyre concept right at the beginning of its development curve, the possibilities are almost limitless. These include even larger sizes in future.

“A new 18-inch tyre would not be without its technical challenges to produce, although the pay-off would be increased rigidity through having less flexibility in the sidewalls. Nonetheless, this necessary movement forms an important part of the current Formula One car’s suspension and damping.

“A smaller sidewall would also inevitably lead to drastically reduced branding space. In spite of this, Pirelli is completely ready and capable to move ahead with development of such a tyre should the teams wish for it to happen. And proof of this proactive capability lies in the existence of the tyres that will be circulating around Silverstone next week.

“The decision to demonstrate this ground-breaking prototype at Silverstone has been taken at the very top of the company, in order to showcase Pirelli’s reactivity and technical know-how.”

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “The 13-inch tyre is no longer relevant to the everyday road user, because even an 18-inch tyre is used by standard vehicles these days. While 18-inch tyres would be a big step for Formula One, there are many other motorsport series that already use this size. So there’s scope to go even bigger than that in Formula One in years to come.

“In order to underline F1’s role as a test bed for future mobility solutions, we believe that it benefits everybody to have as close a link between road car tyres and competition tyres as possible: a belief we have held ever since we introduced the low profile tyre from competition to road use back in the 1970s. However, we’d like to emphasise that this move is not something that we are actively pushing for, as our role in Formula One is not to instigate changes. Instead, it’s to help teams and drivers make the most out of the equipment, regulations and resources they have at their disposal – whatever they decide that framework is going to be.”

Gene Haas is to become a sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari before launching his own team in 2016, the Italian team has announced. Haas logos will appear on the F14 T from this weekend’s race in Britain.

Ferrari has always been the intended partner for Haas, despite Mercedes also being mentioned. However today’s announcement stopped short of confirming that a deal for Haas to use Ferrari engines and other technology has been done, saying only that discussions are still ongoing.

Rule changes for 2015 mean that Haas needs only to own the IP of his chassis and bodywork, and he can buy everything else he needs from Ferrari.

“Haas Automation is a premium brand, and there’s no better way to drive that point home than to connect it with Scuderia Ferrari on motor racing’s biggest stage,” said Haas. “Scuderia Ferrari is F1’s most prestigious and decorated team with a large, loyal and passionate fan base. Exposing Scuderia Ferrari fans and Ferrari customers to the quality of Haas Automation CNC machine tools is an important first step to expanding our global reach.”

“We are pleased to welcome Haas Automation as our newest Official Supplier,” said Marco Mattiacci. “This agreement strengthens our existing connections with the USA, an important market not only for our company, but also for Scuderia Ferrari, as it is one where the team already benefits from several important partnerships.

“Over the past few months, we have been exploring with Haas a number of potential areas of collaboration, and this agreement is an immediate opportunity that we are pursuing, which proves Haas’ interest in Formula One.

“This collaboration will enable Haas Automation to reinforce its brand awareness and promote its products and services around the world, thanks to the appeal of Scuderia Ferrari and the global reach of Formula One. We are therefore delighted to make this announcement, which sees another premium brand join our portfolio of partners.

“In parallel, but as a separate project, Haas is committed to entering Formula One with its own team, a testimony to the growing appeal of our sport in the USA and on this front, technical discussions are ongoing between us.”