Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Renault Engine Delay, Lotus Boss, More
Lotus chairman Gerard Lopez has launched a stinging attack on Formula One's management, describing its structure as "archaic" and blaming it for many of the sport's problems.
He suggested potential sponsors are not attracted by the way F1 is run, highlighting the unequal revenue distribution model and lack of coherent marketing policy as off-putting to anyone considering an investment.
His team will be among nine present at the second pre-season test, due to start at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday. Force India have confirmed that both their race drivers will be in action but did not deny rumours that Mercedes-backed Pascal Wehrlein would also be driving the VJM07.
Elsewhere, McLaren have used two "promotional days" to give their problematic MP4-30 a bit of extra track time, Renault are considering delaying power-unit upgrades with a view to 2016 and Carlos Sainz Jr. is aiming for consistency in his rookie year.
He's also aiming to shake off the shadow of his rally legend father, Carlos Sr.
Read on for a full roundup of the top stories of the last few days.
Lotus Boss Gerard Lopez Slams Formula 1's Management
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Lotus chief Gerard Lopez has hit out at the management structure of F1, saying it should carry the blame for failing to bring more and better sponsors to the sport.
Speaking to French publication AutoHebdo (h/t ESPN.co.uk), Lopez said:
"Formula One TV ratings are declining steeply whereas the show on track is exceptional, albeit still improvable. The sport must reach out to the younger fans, namely engage them not only through TV but also and above all via the Internet and social media.
What's more, F1 does not have any genuine marketing department, which means there exists a significant untapped potential for commercial opportunities. According to the experts I meet regularly and who invest in other sports, Formula One remains the only activity offering a global platform likely to attract world companies. And yet, there seems to be some sort of blockage.
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His call for the sport to attract more young viewers stands in sharp contrast to comments made by F1's commercial rights chief, Bernie Ecclestone, late in 2014. Speaking to Campaign Asia-Pacific, Ecclestone indicated younger fans were unimportant as they could not afford to buy into the brands being advertised.
But the lack of new fans coming in to replace old ones is starting to show. NBC Sports reported on Saturday that F1 has seen a massive drop in worldwide viewing figures.
From a peak of 600 million in 2008, the number now stands at 425 million—175 million down.
At the same time, more and more teams are encountering financial difficulties as the gap between rich and poor grows. Lopez feels this reflects badly on the sport's image and, coupled with an "archaic" management structure, pushes potential sponsors away:
"Why do these potential sponsors never make the leap when they are not really undaunted by the amounts requested in F1. What's holding them back? Is it because of the sport's archaic management and organisation? While around $900 million are redistributed to the teams every year, the system keeps giving too much to the haves and too little to the have-nots.
The gap is constantly growing, which in turn tarnish the overall image of F1. Therefore, potential sponsors tend to show wariness when it comes to invest in the sport. All this could be fixed pretty easily but unfortunately none of the [other] teams shares the same vision, nor the same agenda.
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Lopez entered F1 when Genii Capital, the company he founded alongside Eric Lux, bought a controlling stake of the team now called Lotus. When Eric Boullier moved to McLaren at the start of 2014, Lopez took over as team principal.
His background is in business, and he understands the way money is made. His team also punches way above its weight on social media—per a Repucom report referenced by James Allen, Lotus were the fourth-most talked-about team in 2014, despite finishing a lowly eighth in the standings.
The Lotus boss is certainly speaking with some self-interest, but the things he mentions—attracting more fans and sponsors and ensuring all the teams have sufficient income to survive—are in the best interest of the sport as well as his own team.
Sadly, it's unlikely those in charge will listen.
Renault May Delay Power-Unit Upgrades
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Renault have revealed they may sacrifice engine development this season in order to make greater gains in 2016.
The French manufacturer's power unit was uncompetitive in 2014, down on both "normal" and electrical power compared to the Mercedes model. Renault teams Red Bull and Toro Rosso are hopeful of a major step forward in 2015, but this may come later in the year than they had hoped.
Speaking to Autosport, Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul said:
"We have been capable of not only thinking of the next few races or next season, but the next seasons.
Even though we have two years of partnership [with Red Bull] to go before hopefully there is a renewal, we need to maximise the value of money from the token allocation that we have.
I think that there is a bit of strategic thinking to employ for this decision and therefore for the in-season development strategy for 2015.
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All the teams (with the exception of Honda, as they are new entrants) have 32 power-unit-development tokens to spend in 2015. These were supposed to be spent before the end of February, but a loophole in the regulations means they can be used at any point throughout the year.
Abiteboul suggests Renault may decide their early gains have been sufficient to hold back some of this year's tokens. These would be used later in the season with a view toward even greater benefits in 2016. He explained:
"I think we need to stay calm. I believe, and I hope I am not wrong, that we have enough of a performance step in order to look and envisage carefully the options for in-season engine development and do the right thing, not only for 2015 but also for 2016.
We have options. We have to see how we play with the resources we have to develop this year's engine or bring forward a bit of next year's engine regulations.
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They may also take this option if he is wrong—and Renault remain a long way behind Mercedes.
If it becomes clear early in the season that this is the case and the remaining tokens would not be enough to catch up, Red Bull and Renault may together decide that effectively writing off a large part of 2015 in favour of a much stronger 2016 would be a wise move.
In theory at least, the longer Renault can take developing and perfecting their 2015 upgrades before spending the tokens to install them, the better those upgrades will be.
They may be sufficiently good that the part will not need upgrading again for 2016. This would leave them more scope to improve the rest of the power unit using the 25 tokens they will receive at the end of this season.
McLaren Use Promotional Day to Put a Few More Laps on the MP4-30
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McLaren have taken the opportunity to put a few more laps under their new car's belt at the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the second test.
Having endured a troubled first test in which it covered just 79 laps, the Honda-powered MP4-30 took to the Barcelona circuit on Monday and Tuesday for promotional "filming days."
"Time for your close-up, JB. Filming in a sunny Barcelona gets under way. pic.twitter.com/7SMW4hzCNC
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 16, 2015"
Each team is permitted two such track days per year. On each, they may cover no more than 100 kilometres and must use special non-representative tyres from Pirelli.
Ostensibly, these days exist in the regulations to allow the teams to take photo and video of their cars for promotional purposes. However, if a team is struggling to get its power unit operating properly—and McLaren are—they can double up as a light form of testing.
Details of such days, such as how many laps a car was able to cover and at what sort of speed, are not usually revealed.
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Force India Confirm Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez for Catalunya
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Force India have confirmed both Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez will drive at the forthcoming second pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Rumours published in Germany's SportBild and reported in English by Crash.net suggested Mercedes-backed youngster Pascal Wehrlein would drive the VJM07.
It was thought he would be given the track time in exchange for part of an engine-supply payment Force India had failed to make in time.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, the team did not deny Wehrlein would take part but confirmed both their regular race drivers would. A spokesperson said, "As yet the driving schedule for Barcelona is not finalised. Both Nico and Sergio will be in action this week."
A tweet from the team backed this up:
"Ready to shake winter off, our Dynamic Duo of Checo and Nico are ready for their first taste of F1 in 2015 in Barça! pic.twitter.com/ZwLWVBrwu7
— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) February 16, 2015"
Force India missed the opening test at Jerez and are running in Barcelona with their 2014 car. Rumours have long persisted that the team is in serious financial trouble, and Auto Motor und Sport (h/t Autoweek) reported that delays in paying suppliers were behind the team's apparent lack of progress on their 2015 challenger.
The rumours were denied, and every fibre of every F1 fan's body should be hoping they are not true. But if the team cannot produce their VJM08 in time for the third test, many more questions will need to be asked.
The first will be a worrying one: Will they even make it to the first race?
Carlos Sainz Aiming for Consistency and Ownership of His Name
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Carlos Sainz Jr. is aiming to be as consistent as possible as he starts his rookie year with Toro Rosso.
He'll be one of three youngsters making their F1 bow, the others being his team-mate Max Verstappen and GP2 graduate Felipe Nasr at Sauber. All will want to impress with their raw speed, but Sainz's primary target is clear: to make the smallest number of mistakes possible.
Speaking to F1i's Chris Medland, he said:
"I would say my main target is to look the least rookie as possible. Obviously I am going to be a rookie, I will make rookie mistakes but I would like to show everyone that even if I’m a rookie then I make the least rookie mistakes as possible.
I think this is already a tough thing to achieve. To be consistent in your first season in Formula One should be my main target.
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The Spaniard also spoke about living in the shadow of his legendary father and wanting to claim the name (without the suffix "Junior") for himself. The "original" Carlos Sainz won the World Rally Championship twice, finished in the championship top three on nine further occasions and won 26 events.
Sainz the younger is unfortunate in that he shares his father's name—escaping the "Junior" tag may prove impossible. But he is nevertheless aiming to do so:
"It’s the case of stopping people saying I’m ‘the son of’, but he will never be ‘the father of’! He will always be Carlos Sainz in rallies, and hopefully now you will have a long version of Carlos Sainz in F1.
That’s good because it would have been very easy to compare me with my dad if I had gone rallying. Now it’s impossible to compare us; it’s a completely different discipline and you can have the two versions now.
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Unless he eclipses his father's achievements, it's difficult to see this happening. The most well-known and successful owner of a name will always come to mind when it is spoken, and for now that's his father.
But maybe in the meantime, "Carlito" Sainz would be an acceptable, junior-free option.
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