Adam Cooper F1

Manor team boss John Booth says that the return Suzuka a year after Jules Bianchi’s accident will be an emotional experience for everyone in the team – including drivers Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi, who were both present in 2014.

Booth has made it clear thar he wants the F1 paddock and media to respect the team’s privacy.

“There is no escaping the fact that this will be an extremely emotional week for us,” he said in a team race preview. “Many of the team members who were with us in 2014 are back with us this year, including our colleagues at Scuderia Ferrari and of course Will and Alexander, both of whom were in Suzuka last year in their roles as Reserve Drivers. It will also be a different emotional experience again from Monaco, a place full of so many special memories for our team, and Hungary, where we all had to say a very difficult goodbye to a greatly-loved friend and colleague.

“We think of Jules every single day; he will forever be a huge part of our team. Without doubt, our memories are overwhelmingly happy ones, celebrating his incredible achievements in our race cars and the enjoyable times we shared along the way. Jules’ funeral reminded us that he was a special gift to so many people, not least of all the magnificent Bianchi family, who are always in our thoughts and prayers.

“We were Jules’ team, and with that in mind I would ask everyone to understand and respect that, this weekend, we wish to deal with the experience of returning to Suzuka in a very private way. Our commitments will reflect this. It is my job to provide the team with the right environment in which to be able to do their job in spite of very difficult circumstances. This will be my primary focus. Jules has not only been constantly in our thoughts since that terrible day in 2014, but his name has also been on our car at every single race. That tribute, our incredibly fond memories of Jules and the camaraderie we have within our team are all we need to race on in his honour in Suzuka this weekend.”

Lotus has confirmed that Pastor Maldonado will stay on for the 2016 season.

The news was announced by the team in the middle of the night Singapore time. Maldonado and sponsor PDVSA always had one more year on his contract with the team, but his position appeared to be in limbo given the ongoing negotiations with Renault. His manage Nicolas Todt was seen talking to both the team management and to Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul over the Singapore weekend.

Team boss Gerard Lopez said: “It’s a positive for the future of Lotus F1 Team that we are able to confirm publically that Pastor remains with us for next season. Everyone at Enstone will testify that Pastor is a terrific person to work with and we all know the performances he is capable of on track. Pastor joined us with a multi-year deal so this confirmation is a reiteration of our belief in him. We hope to be able to make further positive announcements regarding the team in the near future.”

Maldonado added: “It’s great that the team can confirm my position as race driver for 2016. Obviously, there has been a lot of speculation about the future and whilst I have remained focused on my job on track it is also positive to know that my future is confirmed. This season has presented us with some challenges but the quality of the squad at Enstone is clear to see. I really feel part of the family at Enstone and I’m looking forward to building on the work done this year to deliver better results in 2016.”

Lewis Hamilton was at a loss to explain why Mercedes is so far off the pace in Singapore after he and Nico Rosberg qualified only fifth and sixth tonight.

Hamilton said he was happy with the feel of the car, but was mystified by the loss of speed relative to rivals.

“The only way I can really explain it is it’s a bit like doing a good lap on the prime tyre, then you go and do exactly the same lap on an option tyre, but it’s a second and a half faster,” he said. “And then I do the lap, and say it’s a really good lap, but it’s a second and a half slower than the guys up ahead. We’ve not lost any performance on our car, the drivers have not lost any performance, so there’s only one way it can come from, and that’s obviously the rubber. But I don’t know why it is the case.

“I’m very interested to find out. I actually challenge all of you guys to go and find what the reasons may be, I’m challenging my team to find out what is, where we lost time, whether it’s in tyre pressures, temperarures blankets, ride heights, I’m challenging everyone to find out, because I want to go and win tomorrow.”

Jenson Button is adamant that he’s not interested in a drive with Haas – and says that if he’s in F1 next year, it will be with McLaren.

Gene Haas has made it clear that he’s waiting for the silly season to shake out before committing to a 2016 driver line-up, and he remains keen to employ one driver who raced this season.

Along with Romain Grosjean Button is one of the few logical candidates who has yet to be confirmed for next year. However, he insists that joining a new project did not appeal.

“If I’m in F1 it will be with this team,” he said when asked by this writer. “I’ve had some tough times with this team, but I’ve got a lot of respect for the whole team and for Honda. I think this team is the team for the future. I don’t think there’s any point in looking at a smaller, younger start-up programme.

“To be fair to this team it’s very young still in terms of our relationship with Honda, and the powerplant itself, and also the direction of the aerodynamics, with ‘Prod’ [Peter Prodromou] it’s completely different to every other McLaren, so that’s young as well.”

Asked what the timescale on any McLaren news might be, he said: “I said the next couple of weeks at the last race, and I was wrong. I think the next couple of weeks… So by the end of the month, definitely.”

It’s understood that McLaren’s option on Jenson’s services ends on September 30. Meanwhile Button said he was not frustrated by the wait.

“Not at all. It matters whose decision it is. Not frustrating at all. There’s a lot you’ve got to think about over that period of time. It’s an important couple of weeks. I’m in a good place.”

He added: “I think it’s a massive different to last year, I think everyone’s learned from last year being a bit of a mess. It’s nothing like last year, it’s a very different situation. I’m very happy with what I’ve done this year and I think the team are as well. It’s not what you might think. Hopefully the fans understand, whatever happens.”

Meanwhile Jenson says he’s paying close attention to McLaren’s future prospects.

“Of course, you look forward and you look at how many years it will be until you’re fighting at the front, because that’s what we’re here to do in the grand scheme of things. We’ve both been World Champions and we have that hunger for winning, and addition to winning.

“This year’s been interesting, because I’ve had Fernando as a team mate, and it’s been great. I’ve really enjoyed the year. When you’re fighting near the back you’ve still got the challenge of fighting with someone who’s very talented, and has experience like myself in the sport.

“That’s been a lot of fun, bit it doesn’t last that feeling, and you want to start winning races very soon. I do feel that everyone is working very hard at MTC and Sakura, they’re not just waiting for things to happen they are making things happen, but it’s a time thing. Who knows. At the moment it’s very difficult to know how long it’s going to take, but I’m a very positive person as I think Fernando is, and you hope for the best.”