Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Jenson Button, Manor-Mercedes, More
Jenson Button will remain in Formula One after McLaren confirmed he would definitely be one of their race drivers for 2016.
The announcement, made early on Thursday, ends months of speculation and rumours about whether or not he was set to retire—but it raises fresh questions over the future of McLaren-backed youngsters Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne.
The once-mighty British team have struggled this year with an uncompetitive engine, but such worries are set to become a thing of the past for F1's smallest outfit. Mercedes have announced that Manor will replace Lotus as their third power unit customer from 2016 onward.
The minnows will also receive suspension and transmission components from Williams. If Honda don't make substantial gains, Button and team-mate Fernando Alonso may soon find themselves with two new cars to race with.
Elsewhere, Pirelli has said it would consider its own future participation in F1 if the two Red Bull teams quit, the FIA has revealed a number of small tweaks to the 2016 regulations and it looks like Nico Hulkenberg will be unable to defend his crown at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Read on for a full roundup of the top stories from the last few days.
Jenson Button Will Stay at McLaren in 2016
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McLaren have ended months of speculation by officially confirming Jenson Button will have a race seat with the team in 2016.
The 2009 world champion's future in the sport had been in doubt after neither side appeared entirely clear on what was going to happen.
As recently as the Thursday before Suzuka, Button, 35, was unable to answer questions about where he would be next season.
But early on Thursday, the team released a statement on their website that put an end to all the rumours and guessing.
In it, McLaren chief executive officer Ron Dennis said:
"Jenson and I have been discussing his plans in private for the past few weeks, and the fact that our talks have led to today’s announcement is very pleasing to both of us and will delight and motivate all at McLaren-Honda.
As I have made clear whenever I have been asked about the subject, Jenson’s current contract is of two years’ duration [2015 and 2016]. There is a ‘terminate after year one’ option that McLaren could have triggered if we had wished to do so, but, once it became clear from my many conversations with Jenson that he remained as enthusiastic and as committed and as focused as ever, that option immediately became an irrelevance. That being the case, Jenson will race for McLaren-Honda next year, under the terms and conditions as set out in the two-year contract that both parties entered into a year ago.
"
Button added:
"Over the past month or so I have done quite a lot of thinking, and it is no secret that I was at one point in two minds about my future.
But I have been a McLaren driver for six seasons now [2010-2015], and in that time I have got to know Ron very well. He and I have had some very good chats these past few weeks, and during those chats it has become clear to me that Ron is both utterly determined and uniquely equipped to lead our team through its current difficulties to great successes in the future. That gives me great confidence, and it is for that reason that, together, he and I have decided to continue our partnership; and, as soon as I had made that decision, straight away I realised it was the correct one.
"
The announcement is good news for Button, McLaren and F1 in general—he still has more than enough speed and consistency to perform at the highest level and as fans we should all be happy he'll be around for at least one more year.
But not everyone will be thrilled at the news, because it leaves the futures of two other McLaren drivers—both deserving of a 2016 race seat—very much up in the air.
Kevin Magnussen, 22, drove for the team in 2014 but was dropped at the end of the year to make way for Fernando Alonso. He served as McLaren's reserve driver in 2015, but he won't be content with another year of watching from the garage.
And Stoffel Vandoorne, currently dominating the GP2 series, has also seen a door slam shut in his face. The 23-year-old had been heavily linked with Button's seat for next year; indeed, less than a week ago, Sky Sports F1's David Croft and Ted Kravitz predicted it would be Vandoorne, not Button, in the second McLaren seat for 2016.
Both men are more than good enough for a place on the grid, but—unless Fernando Alonso decides he's had enough of Honda's power unit—neither of them looks likely to get one.
The F1 world isn't always fair.
FIA Publishes New 2016 Formula 1 Calendar; Nico Hulkenberg out of Le Mans?
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A new provisional 2015 calendar has been published by the FIA following a number of issues with previous versions.
Sky Sports F1 reported both Red Bull and McLaren were against plans for a later start—originally, the season-opening race was scheduled for April—while Williams were among teams who told Motorsport.com the planned three-week summer break was not long enough.
These concerns have now been addressed. The new calendar moves the Australian Grand Prix back into its regular March slot, while a four-week gap between races in August will give adequate time for a proper summer break.
The full provisional calendar, featuring a record 21 races, is:
| March 20 | Australia |
| April 3 | Bahrain |
| April 17 | China |
| May 1 | Russia |
| May 15 | Spain |
| May 29 | Monaco |
| June 12 | Canada |
| June 19 | Europe (Azerbaijan) |
| July 3 | Austria |
| July 10 | Britain |
| July 24 | Hungary |
| July 31 | Germany |
| August 28 | Belgium |
| September 4 | Italy |
| September 18 | Singapore |
| October 2 | Malaysia |
| October 9 | Japan |
| October 23 | United States |
| November 6 | Mexico |
| November 13 | Brazil |
| November 27 | Abu Dhabi |
The new schedule sees the Russian Grand Prix moved from Autumn to Spring, while the Malaysian race has been moved into a late-season slot two weeks after Singapore.
Six back-to-back pairs are included, one of which is somewhat unusual. Following the Canadian Grand Prix, the teams will have to ship their all their equipment and personnel almost 9,000 kilometres to Baku for the Grand Prix of Europe.
This is more than possible in the modern age, but it could prove challenging because Baku is a city-based street circuit with no experience of hosting a grand prix.
Its position on June 19 also means it clashes with the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans. Though the grand prix's start time will be planned so the two events are not running at the same time, Nico Hulkenberg will be unable to defend his crown in France if no further changes are made to the calendar.
Unless, of course, Force India give him the weekend off...
Pirelli May Consider Its Formula 1 Future If Red Bull Teams Depart
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Pirelli would consider its own future in Formula One if Red Bull and Toro Rosso decide to leave.
Red Bull have threatened to quit if they cannot secure a competitive engine for 2016 onward, having cut their ties with Renault.
This would also mean the end of their junior team, Toro Rosso—and Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery says the loss of both would be a "disaster" for the sport.
Asked by Autosport if the tyre company would think about following them, Hembery said:
"It would make us think very heavily, yes.
To lose two high quality, well-funded, professional teams—and I can't imagine there would be immediate replacements, even though we have Haas entering next year—then you are going to be worried.
I know people say teams come and go, but we are talking about a very serious investment made over a significant number of years by Red Bull, and from our point of view, it would weaken the sport dramatically.
"
He went on:
"They're also a team that goes outside of the F1 circus to promote the sport, they invest significant sums of money in going to new locations, taking F1 to the streets of cities that don't stage F1 to try and create interest.
So from our point of view, as a sponsor, any risk of losing both those teams would be a significant disaster for F1.
"
The future of the two teams appears to now be largely in the hands of Ferrari. The Italian team is happy to supply Red Bull with customer engines, but Adam Cooper reports they have, thus far, only offered to sell them 2015 power units.
Such an arrangement would leave Red Bull significantly handicapped in terms of power and almost certainly unable to compete with the works Ferraris or Mercedes. After two years of suffering the same issue with Renault—and with this being the reason they are ending their relationship with the French manufacturer—this is unacceptable to the team.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed during the official FIA pre-race press conference in Japan that the threats to quit are very real.
The "we have a high budget, so we have a right to win" attitude of Red Bull, along with their constant, public criticism of Renault, hasn't won them many fans in recent years. Furthermore, they dug this hole themselves by splitting with Renault before they'd arranged a replacement.
If they did go, few tears would be shed over the loss of the team itself.
But it would be terrible to see four quality drivers left without race seats for 2016, and—love them or loathe them—a competitive Red Bull team would be good for F1, especially if they could take the fight to Mercedes.
Hopefully some kind of agreement can be reached.
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Manor Will Use Mercedes Engines from 2016 Onward
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Mercedes have confirmed Manor will become a power unit customer from 2016 onward.
The minnows will also benefit from a renewal of their technical partnership with Williams, who will supply them with transmission and suspension components.
The news was announced on the Mercedes website, with Manor team principal John Booth saying:
"I am delighted to announce our new Power Unit partnership with Mercedes-Benz for the 2016 season and beyond. Although there were many factors governing our selection of an engine partner to help power us towards our long-term ambitions, ultimately the strength of the Mercedes-Benz package speaks for itself.
2015 has been a rebuilding year in every aspect of our operation. Although we have not been able to make the incremental strides in competitiveness that the team has enjoyed in previous seasons, we have put in place a strong foundation from which to progress. Together with the potential we are seeing with our 2016 car in the wind tunnel, the Mercedes-Benz Power Unit will assist our return to aggressive performance development with effect from next season.
"
Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff revealed Manor were taking over the engine supply set to be vacated by Lotus when Renault complete their expected purchase. He added:
"It is a great pleasure to welcome the Manor Marussia F1 Team to our stable of customers at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. They are a team of real racers with great spirit and impressive determination to succeed. We enjoy strong relationships with all our customer teams, and take pride in delivering a standard of hardware and service that reflects the high standards that Mercedes-Benz stands for. Furthermore, this new agreement should enable us to keep our supply roster at three customer teams for 2016, which is our ideal level in terms of technical and logistical capacity.
"
Manor's competitiveness in 2015 has been severely hampered by both their chassis—a modified, barely developed version of their 2014 car—and their year-old Ferrari engines. Next season they will have a brand new chassis and a power unit equal to that being used by Mercedes, Williams and Force India.
The team missed the final three races of the 2014 season and only a last-minute investment saved them from folding entirely.
Now, less than nine months after exiting administration, they can look forward to what should be their best-ever season.
With a new car, the best engine in the field and potentially a new driver lineup, their days of being three seconds off the pace are almost certainly over.
Minor Rule Tweaks for 2016 Revealed; Details of 2017 Changes Expected Soon
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A number of tweaks to the regulations have been announced for the 2016 season, including an exhaust layout change designed to increase the volume of the cars.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council statement, released on Wednesday, said: "For 2016, all cars must have a separate exhaust wastegate tailpipe through which all and only wastegate exhaust gases must pass. This measure has been undertaken to increase the noise of the cars and will not have any significant effect on power or emissions."
This will see the cars return to a twin exhaust layout, but anyone hoping for a return to V8- or V10-era noise levels should prepare to be disappointed.
The WMSC also revealed the rules on sticking to the track limits will be "clarified," and the sporting regulations will now state that drivers "must make every reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not deliberately leave the track without a justifiable reason."
Exactly what impact, if any, this will have is unclear.
The issue of where drivers start the race after penalties for gearbox and engine changes is also addressed. Penalties for changes made before qualifying "will be applied based on the time of use." Should a change be made after qualifying, "preference will be given to the driver whose team first informed the technical delegate that a change will occur."
And any driver deemed to have caused an aborted start will now, regardless of the circumstances, be forced to start from the pit lane.
These changes—aside from the exhaust layout—are so minor we probably wouldn't even have noticed they'd happened if no one had told us. But substantial and very noticeable regulation changes are planned for 2017.
Wider tyres, a big increase in downforce and more aggressive-looking cars are set to transform the sport.
Sky Sports reveal final decisions on what will be altered—and how—will be made before the end of October, so we won't have long to wait.
Let's just hope they get it right...
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