Adam Cooper F1

Talks between Fernando Alonso’s manager and Christian Horner have set up the intriguing possibility of the Spanish star emerging as a candidate for a Red Bull seat.

While he obviously has a Ferrari contract it’s no secret that Alonso has been frustrated by the team’s failure to win the championship since he joined in 2010 – and especially the poor one-lap form the red cars have shown over the past three and half years, which has left him having to fight through the field. He may also have reservations about Ferrari’s 2014 powertrain. The bottom line is he turns 32 on Monday, and the clock is ticking…

The big question is whether he has a way of getting out of his contract due to a performance clause of some sort.

There is also the very obvious question of how Red Bull could work with both Vettel and Alonso on board, although on the other hand the marketing advantages would be huge – and at the same time the Ferrari package would be weakened.

The whole saga also appears to weaken Kimi Raikkonen’s hand. It’s no secret that Christian Horner has been supporting the Finn’s cause and Helmut Marko is behind Daniel Ricciardo, but Alonso adds a new dimension to the search for Mark Webber’s replacement.

One far-fetched suggestion is that 2014 would be the perfect time for Vettel to move to Ferrari in a straight swap, and give himself a new challenge.

Asked about that by this writer Horner said: “That will never happen. I wouldn’t swap Sebastian for anybody.” As for the general prospect of hiring Alonso he added that, “You’d be amazed at who we have had interest from…”

Later when quizzed by the media Horner elaborated on the situation.

“We’re in the fortunate position where there’s quite a lot of interest obviously in the seat for next year. We’ve also been able to have a good look at Daniel [Ricciardo] at the test last week, and we’ll take a bit of time over the summer just to reflect on the options that are open to us and look to make the right decision to put the right driver alongside Sebastian next year.”

Asked if he would confirm or deny contact with Alonso, he said: “I think any conversations between any of the drivers or any of the parties are always going to remain confidential, but of course there’s been quite a few drivers who have expressed interest in the seat, as you can imagine.

“We’re going to take a bit of time to make sure we make the right decision, we’ve got some great options. We don’t need to be in  rush.”

Pressed further Alonso, he said: “Is he available? I don’t know, you ask him…”

Meanwhile Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali made it clear that he intends to hang on to Alonso, although perhaps he didn’t sound quite as convincing as you might expect.

“First of all we have a contract with him, and for sure everyone knows about it. Fernando is an asset for the team and we need him to work closely with everyone, above all in this difficult moment of the season.”

Asked about what Ferrari had to do to retain Alonso, he said: “It’s a team work. We have to deliver a job, full stop, and at all levels. But this is for everyone, not only for the team.”

Notwithstanding the Ferrari contract those who think the Alonso/Red Bull scenario is far fetched should recall the reaction to early rumours of Lewis Hamilton’s defection from McLaren to Mercedes. Stranger things have happened…

Kimi Raikkonen kept his World Championship challenge on track by rising from sixth to second in Hungary – and gaining a few vital points on leader Sebastian Vettel.

Having opted for a two-stop strategy Raikkonen said he was confident that he could keep Vettel at bay in the closing laps, despite the RBR driver having significantly younger tyres.

“I knew that my tyres are pretty OK and I was good through the last sector, so I was pretty sure there was no chance to try to overtake me into the first corner,” said Raikkonen. “But then obviously turn two was a bit more tricky for me all race. He got a good run, Sebastian, once before, and then a second time and I defended. Maybe I’m over a bit on the right and it’s a bit tight, but then I kept him behind, and that was the only time he had a good run on me. In there it is very difficult to overtake, because it is so narrow on top of the hill.

“After that I had no issues. That was the only part of the circuit that I really had some problems with the tyres. But it was good work for the team, the car was working well but unfortunately Saturdays keep making the race a bit difficult for myself. Hopefully we can fix that a little bit, and be a bit more on the front at the beginning of the race.”

Regarding the Lotus team’s current form he said: “Obviously we always hope for more, myself and the team hopes for more. I think we’ve made progress, for sure. Now we have tyres that are a little bit different and I wasn’t so happy with how things ran on Friday and yesterday – more happy in qualifying than the whole weekend before that but still not ideal and in the race we usually run better than in qualifying.

“I was happy with the car in the race but obviously when you start from such a bad starting place it’s difficult to make big progress on this kind of circuit but I managed to do two stops and we’re still pretty competitive so we’re happy how we’ve done.

“But we’re here to try to win races and if we keep finishing second and third like we’ve done many times this year, it’s probably not enough for the championship. The best thing today when we finished second we gained a few points on Sebastian, so it’s better than nothing, but with a win it would have been a much bigger difference.”

Ferrari has been fined €15,000 for a DRS infringement on Fernando Alonso’s car in Hungary, but the Spaniard has held on to his fifth place.

Alonso was reported to the stewards after the race after data showed that he had apparently used the DRS on three occasions when he was not within a second of the car ahead.

In essence the team forgot to change the DRS from qualifying to race settings. The drivers always anticipate DRS use by pressing the button as they approach the zone, and in practice and qualifying they can use it every lap.

In the race they press the button if they think they might be within a second and when they are, it activates. In this case when Alonso pressed the button the DRS activated anyway as it was still in qualifying mode.

On two occasions he used it for the whole straight and on the other he was told to switch off.

Thereafter he had to wait until told by the team that he could activate it, and thus in effect potentially lost more than the second that the FIA estimated that he had gained with the illegal DRS uses. Thus it was deemed that a fine was sufficient.

Lewis Hamilton’s first win for Mercedes came in his 10^th start for the team, and resulted from a superb performance by the former World Champion.

Hamilton didn’t put a foot wrong all afternoon, not only keeping up a good pace while conserving his tyres, but also making decisive passing moves that ensured he didn’t lose time behind other cars that were still due a pit stop.

“It’s been a great weekend, really a great weekend,” said Hamilton. “I really didn’t expect it coming in. It’s probably been one of the toughest weeks for me. Obviously we hadn’t had the test, we were on the back foot when we came in. I really wasn’t even expecting to be on pole.

“Really surprised with that, and then at the start of the race the pace was OK. I think maybe Sebastian perhaps was just as quick or a little bit quicker but fortunately he was behind and my tyres went off just maybe a lap or two before his. I think I called the pitstop just right – the first one – and after that it was just managing the gap.

“I had to make sure I got past people. I thought when I came behind Jenson I thought it was just my luck, because that’s what usually happens. But I got past him and was surprised to see Sebastian and the others get stuck behind him as well. I guess he did me a favour there. But I think generally we had the pace on everyone today.

“I know I was really controlling the pace, particularly through the second, third and last stint, particularly on the last stint. This is just down to an exceptional job from the team. We came here with upgrades and constantly doing work to try and understand these tyres. I think today we bolted them on and they just worked for us.”

Hamilton conceded that the new tyres seem to suit Mercedes.

“As I said, coming into the weekend, we are making improvements, but not big enough to make the difference it did today so I’m assuming that a large part of that was the tyres. I really wasn’t expecting it. Our long runs didn’t look that great in P2 but I got the balance just spot on today with the front wing and yeah, if we can be quick here in a race with these track temperatures then I’m very hopeful that we can be competitive everywhere else, so this could be a good turning point for us.”

He said that the first Mercedes win was special for him: “I think it feels different. It always feels like it’s the first time, that’s for sure, when you win. I remember the first time I won it was exceptional, an exceptional feeling and today it was a really calming, relaxing feeling when I came across the line. I really wasn’t expecting it. As I said yesterday, I talked it down a lot because I really was expecting a real tough race today, I thought we were going to fall behind.

“The experiences I had at McLaren were some of my greatest but I think this is one of the highlights of my career up to now. Moving to a new team and a team that was struggling massively last year and to finally get a win with them after the first nine or ten races is a great feeling.”

Romain Grosjean’s car failed a floor deflection test after qualifying in Hungary, but after investigating the matter the FIA Stewards did not give a penalty.

The top three cars were subjected to an “asymmetric front floor RHS deflection test,” and Grosjean’s deflected more than 5mm vertically.

They accepted that the floor stay was broken after a high vertical loading was caused by hitting a kerb at Turn 11. In fact it was deemed to have ranged from -7.3g to + 11.1g.

The stewards also examined an identical part from Kimi Raikkonen’s car and accepted that Grosjean’s had done 600kms, including a race distance.

They stewards thus decreed that “this is deemed to be a case of accidental daamge, not a case of non-compliance.”

Lewis Hamilton admits that he was surprised to be on pole in Hungary after feeling that he hadn’t done a particularly good lap.

“I was really surprised when I came across the line and they said I got pole,” said Hamilton. “I was expecting Sebastian to get it because he had shown some serious pace before. And it didn’t even feel that great a lap, so that’s why I was quite surprised.

“We bought some upgrades this weekend. The guys have been working incredibly hard to try to catch everyone and they’re just doing a phenomenal job. It’s a result of all the hard work they’ve put in.”

However Lewis is under no illusions about Sunday’s race, and he expects that once again Mercedes will struggle on race pace.

“It’s been the same for a long time. We don’t come into the race and it’s a surprise to us. That’s what it is. It’s great to have the pole position but it doesn’t really mean a lot throughout the weekend. Obviously the race is where we score the points. It’s going to be tough tomorrow. It didn’t feel like a disaster through our long runs but it definitely wasn’t as good as the guys next to me. So, that’s the way it is.

“We’ve got a good car, so I think if we didn’t have the tyre issues we would be able to compete with the guys in the race. It sucks in the way that I’m not able to have a race with these guys but we will do the best we can tomorrow.

“The tyre degradation is an issue and no matter what rules change or whatever solutions we find, so far, generally it seems very difficult for us to improve. But we’re just working away at it and hopefully we will get there before the rules change again for next year, different tyres come in. Otherwise it’s just trying to get as many points as we can and trying to hold on to Sebastian for as long as I can.”

Hamilton has in Hungary won three times in the past, but he doesn’t expect a repeat.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have had a good car for quite a few years when I’ve come here with McLaren and I was privileged to have the opportunity with them and obviously now we are in a good position but now I don’t envisage tomorrow being a win for us.

“We’ve got a steep hill to climb tomorrow with these tyres and in these conditions. If we did win it would be a miracle and I would be really happy with it of course but I still feel the win is a while off.”

However he acknowledged that starting from pole was better than nothing: “It definitely helps. It’s very difficult to follow here. It’s a long way down to Turn One from the start but if you can get into Turn One first, try and hold your position then it’s definitely advantageous. But looking after the tyres in these conditions is going to be, as always, trouble.”

Kimi Raikkonen will start the Hungarian GP from only sixth place, three spots behind Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean.

Raikkonen, who missed the Silverstone test, admits that he’s struggled to get fully on top of the new tyres.

“Not ideal, but I think it’s been a difficult weekend so far for me,” said the Finn. “With the new tyres it’s more hard to get the car as I want. Qualifying wasn’t too bad, but I’m still missing a little bit of speed.

“We’ve seen a lot of places won or lost in the race in the past years. We’ll do our best, and if we can make the car work well on the tyres, we can make a lot of places, or it can go either way.”

Asked how he though the tyres would last, he said: “I have no idea, we’ll see tomorrow.”

The FIA and the F1 Group say that the long running saga of the Concorde Agreement is about to conclude.

The sport has operated without one since the end of last year, and the final hold-up involved arrangements between the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone, rather than the teams.

The two parties released a joint statement saying that the new seven-year deal is now just waiting for final approval and signatures:

The Formula 1 Group and the FIA have signed an agreement setting out the framework for implementation of the 2013 Concorde Agreement.

This agreement will come into force upon approval by the respective governing bodies of the signatory parties in the coming weeks.

Further information on this agreement will be available after receipt of such approval.

Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost has taken the pressure off Jean-Eric Vergne by confirming that the Frenchman will have a seat at the team next year.

Vergne dropped out of consideration for a Red Bull seat some weeks ago as Daniel Ricciardo became the man most likely to be promoted to the senior team. In recenet races Ricciardo has been clearly ahaead most of the time.

“I’m convinced that Jean-Eric Vergne will race next year for Toro Rosso,” said Tost today. “We must not forget that Jean-Eric came later into Formula One [than Ricciardo], and why Red Bull Racing is thinking about racing with Daniel Ricciardo next year, it’s simply because he is more experienced. He showed very good performance in the first half of the season but Jean-Eric Vergne is quite close to him. It’s not that Jean-Eric is out of the team. As far as I’m thinking, next year he is with Toro Rosso.”

Regarding the possibility of Ricciardo going to Red Bull, Tost said: “It’s not decided yet from Red Bull but we must not forget Dietrich Mateschitz and Red Bull bought Minardi in those days to give young drivers from the Red Bull driver pool a chance to come into Formula One.

“Toro Rosso is the team to educate young drivers and I see it as positive because it shows that a) drivers are skilled and b) that the team has done so far a good job – and therefore if they choose Daniel I am quite happy with this decision.”

Ominously for the opposition the Red Bull pair of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber topped both sessions in Hungary today, although Lotus is keeping RBR on its toes.

Vettel was 0.287s ahead of third placed Kimi Raikkonen in the morning, and 0.153s in front of Romain Grosjean in the afternoon. The German remains cautious about his prospects.

“It’s the beginning of the weekend, and it’s good to have a certain speed in the car, which I think we have,” he said. “The car feels fine. But surely there’s a lot of work, and still quite some room for improvement.

“It was a good day for us I think, with quite some work in the background. It’s obviously always nice when you feel in control of the car and you can do what you like to play around. I think the car suits the track.”

Asked if he thought Red Bull could be dominant this weekend, he said: “I hope so! But I think it’s too early to tell. Surely practice one and practice two were very good for us, both of us, which I think was a bit of a surprise. You try to do what you can but you don’t know where the others are. I think tomorrow will be close so we need to make sure that we get everything out of the car tomorrow.”

Vettel said that the new tyres have not made much difference.

“Obviously we have no comparison here, but it’s a step in the right direction. It’s not a massive difference in the car, similar to the test last week, it’s very difficult to feel the difference. The most important thing is that the tyres are safe. So far nobody had any issues.”