Ferrari chief happy to consider possibility of Hamilton move

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The prospect of six-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton driving for Ferrari in the future may not be as far-fetched as it once seemed.

Hamilton is one of several F1 drivers whose contracts expire at the end of next year, and Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto did not dismiss the tantalizing idea of poaching the Mercedes star when asked on Friday if he would be interested in signing him.


“Lewis is certainly an outstanding driver, a fantastic driver,” Binotto said at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “Knowing that he’s available in 2021 can make us only happy, but honestly it’s too early for any decision.”

Four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc are also out of contract at the end of 2020.

So is Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, and Red Bull’s eight-time race winner, Max Verstappen, thus increasing the prospect of a merry-go-round for the 2021 campaign with experienced drivers potentially changing seats.

“We are happy with the drivers we’ve got at the moment,” Binotto said, referring to Vettel and the highly promising Leclerc. “Certainly at one stage next season we will start discussing and understanding what to do.”

Although Hamilton has previously expressed his admiration for Ferrari as a marquee name in F1, the British driver has made no mention of wanting to leave an all-conquering Mercedes team which has won a record six straight drivers’ and constructors’ championships under the inspired leadership of team principal Toto Wolff.

Wolff and Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 — with Hamilton replacing seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher following his retirement — and they have formed a very tight bond based on the highest mutual respect.

Flatteringly, Hamilton even recently suggested his own future at Mercedes is linked to Wolff’s future with the German manufacturer.

“Lewis and I have grown close over the last seven years … and I think we have built up a lot of trust. For him to say that is nice,” Wolff said on Friday. “I’d also like to know where he goes or if he stays in the future. Can I shed more light? No, for me it was important to finish the season in Abu Dhabi. There are many things to be decided on and we will see over the winter.”

Bottas, too, is keeping his options for 2021 open after winning a career-best four races this season and beating Hamilton in pole positions.



“I can’t remember a time when so many drivers’ contracts are expiring. If I had to decide on my future for 2021 (right now) it would be a no-brainer to continue with this team,” Bottas said. “There are many elements that have to come together, at the same time I have to keep my eyes open and be open-minded about the future.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Formula One plays the blame game after Vettel smash

LONDON - Sebastian Vettel's temperament is under the spotlight again after the Ferrari driver's hopes of seizing back the Formula One lead disappeared in a few seconds of mayhem at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.

The German, his fast-starting team mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen crashed out as they raced to the first corner.

Stewards summoned all three drivers after the race but decided none was wholly or predominantly to blame.

The view was not shared by others who either pointed the finger at Verstappen, in his last race as a teenager, or accused Vettel of needless aggression at a key point in the championship.

Long before Hamilton had stretched his lead to 28 points with six races remaining, Ferrari's official Twitter feed stated that "VER (Verstappen) took #Kimi7 out and then he went to #Seb5."

"What we tweeted was a factual description of events. No need to speculate on this," it added later as reaction on social media flared.

Television footage and in-car cameras showed Raikkonen making a storming getaway from fourth on the grid and around Verstappen on the outside.

Vettel, on pole, was slower off the line and steered left to squeeze Verstappen, who kept his car straight and was pincered by the Ferraris.

The Dutch teenager and Raikkonen tangled wheels, with the Finn's car slewing sideways and into Vettel's before again careering into the Red Bull and also collecting Fernando Alonso's McLaren.

"I think initially Sebastian saw I was a little bit better off the line than him so he wanted to close me. So he drove to the left," said Verstappen.

"Maybe he didn't see Kimi on the left but what do you expect, I cannot just move out of the way... I think it was just not very clever."

Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, was disappointed to see Vettel "pretty much blow his and Ferrari's championships into smithereens."

"Nice one Seb. You're better than that. Need to watch that short fuse," said the Briton in a blog post.

Vettel made a public apology in July after he banged into Hamilton's Mercedes in a moment of 'road rage' at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while both were following the safety car.

Former Williams, McLaren and Red Bull racer David Coulthard told Britain's Channel 4 viewers that the crash was "instigated by Seb."

Retired Australian driver turned pundit Mark Webber, who had a few clashes with Vettel as Red Bull team mates, defended Verstappen.

"If you were pushed for someone to blame then it looks like Seb because he's the one doing the biggest movement," he said in the Times newspaper.

"But in the end he wasn't the one who crashed into Max. It was Kimi who crashed into Max. Max was innocent in this."

Retired triple world champion Niki Lauda, now the Mercedes team's non-executive chairman, said it was an incident Vettel could have avoided.

"If he (Vettel) would not have moved (across) he could have won the race, there's no question about it. They were unlucky really, in a big way," said the Austrian. — Reuters

Red Bull dismisses Vettel tantrum report

Formula One champions Red Bull recognized on Saturday they were well behind rivals in preseason testing but dismissed reports that Sebastian Vettel had "thrown a hissy fit" about the situation.

Four-time champion Vettel and his team have suffered a string of setbacks due to the new Renault power unit and the problems continued in Bahrain on Saturday with the German breaking down on his first lap of the day.

Vettel helped marshals push the stricken RB10 back to the garage.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports News that speculation Vettel had thrown a tantrum when he first tested the car back in January was "complete and utter rubbish."

"I don't know where that came from about Sebastian," he added. "He is fine, he understands that there are issues and he is trying to help the team where he can.

"There has not been one raised voice, one bit of discontent. He has just got his head down and he has a huge amount of trust in the team."

The Red Bull website also carried a highly sarcastic report from their "F1 Spy" about the rumor mill.

Vettel, it joked, had sent the team a postcard to say sorry and decided to spend a couple of weeks chilling out watching daytime soaps and eating chips at former teammate Mark Webber's house.

While Red Bull and some of the other Renault-engined teams have been struggling to string a significant number of laps together, Mercedes and Ferrari-powered rivals have been doing race simulations.

Vettel's new Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo, preparing for a home season-opener in Melbourne on March 16, said on Thursday the team was still "not up to scratch" with time running out.

Ricciardo had a more positive day on Friday but Saturday brought more gloom and Horner said the team was "still definitely on the back foot.

"This is the 10th day of testing and we are about 10 days behind I reckon," he added.

Horner said cooling issues that had sidelined the team during the first team in Jerez, Spain, had been addressed and Red Bull were working hard with Renault to fix other problems that had emerged.

"We still have another two weeks before Melbourne, for sure we will be bringing more parts to Melbourne. It would just be great if we could have another couple of days like we had yesterday." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

F1 bosses taken aback by double points storm

JEREZ - Formula One may have to 'revisit' a controversial rule change awarding double points for the final race of the season because of the backlash from fans, according to Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff.

"I think obviously the shitstorm we got afterwards was something which was not expected," the Austrian told reporters at preseason testing in southern Spain when asked about the decision.

"We discussed it up and down and the reason [for the decision] was that for the last years we have seen the dominance of a driver and team and the [television] audiences were not as expected.

"Was it the right move or not? Ninety-nine percent of our fans and spectators, and this is what counts, told us it was the wrong move. So perhaps it is something to revisit."

Social media has been abuzz with opposition to what many see as a needless gimmick ever since the sport's rulers announced the change in December as a means of keeping the title battle open for longer.

Red Bull has won four drivers' and constructors' titles in a row, with Sebastian Vettel wrapping up his fourth straight championship with three races to spare last year.

Vettel has called the rule change 'absurd', Caterham team owner Tony Fernandes dubbed it a 'fake fix' and Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo finds it too artificial for his liking.

However, a meeting of Formula One's strategy group in Switzerland this month failed to overturn it and the change remains in the 2014 regulations.

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"We decided to keep it for the moment," said Wolff. "There are discussions ongoing.

"There are some arguments [in favor]," added the Austrian, whose team finished runners-up last year and could dethrone Red Bull this season if their new V6 power unit proves to be the pick of the field.

"If for whatever reason we have the same kind of power situation with one of the teams, you add a little spice towards the end of the season," said Wolff.

"Things need to be done, and when you see TV audiences generally dropping then you need to try out things. This maybe wasn't the right thing, but maybe we need to find out."

Red Bull principal Christian Horner said the fans had to be listened to.

"I don't think that it's any secret that I wasn't particularly in favor of it [double points]," he added.

"I can understand why the governing body and the promoter are keen to keep the championship alive, or hope in the championship alive, until the last race but two out of the last four years it's gone to the last race under the previous points scoring system.

"It would probably be better... to look at three races to take away an element of lottery over that last race." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com