Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Mercedes, Max Verstappen and More
Lewis Hamilton questioned Mercedes' Formula One strategy as he hunted down team-mate Nico Rosberg during Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
While Hamilton appeared to be faster than the German at the halfway stage of the race, the British driver was unable to get close enough to pass Rosberg and asked his team to consider changing their tactics to help the three-time world champion take the lead.
The request was denied, though, and Mercedes' team boss Toto Wolff has explained why the Silver Arrows will never consider switching their strategies.
As Hamilton struggled to follow the car ahead at Interlagos, Max Verstappen was completing spectacular overtaking manoeuvres left, right and centre. His pass on Sergio Perez at Turn 1, in particular, will be ranked alongside the finest overtakes of the season.
And the boy wonder has explained how he managed to compete the move, revealing he took inspiration from a battle between Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen three years ago.
Verstappen's points finish was a respectable result given the Renault engine's deficit in terms of straight-line speed, but it seemed the French manufacturer had found a solution to their problems in Brazil.
Daniel Ricciardo ran a heavily upgraded power unit, which was expected to provide Red Bull with a welcome boost in performance, but the new engine proved to be no better than the old one after Renault were unable to make all of their intended improvements.
It is unclear whether the fully updated engine will appear at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but one man who will definitely not participate at the Yas Marina circuit is Alexander Rossi, whose five-race deal with Manor came to an end in Brazil.
The American driver has thanked the team for offering him the opportunity to make his long-awaited F1 debut, and he could yet remain with Manor for 2016.
If he is retained by the team, Rossi is likely to find himself in a very different environment next season as Manor continue their restructuring process, with former F1 driver Alexander Wurz reportedly set to become the new team principal.
Here's this week's roundup.
Mercedes Won't Change Strategy 'Principles' Despite Lewis Hamilton Complaints
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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has insisted the team will not alter their tyre-strategy approach, despite Lewis Hamilton's frustration during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Unable to pass Nico Rosberg for the lead on track, Hamilton—as heard over the FIA television feed—pleaded with the team to consider switching him onto an alternative strategy at Interlagos as he searched for his 11th victory of 2015.
The team, however, rejected his request and Hamilton, like Rosberg, made three pit stops during the race.
In the interests of fairness, Mercedes—whenever possible—always provide their drivers with identical strategies, giving both Hamilton and Rosberg an equal chance of victory.
And despite Hamilton's complaints, Wolff is adamant the team will not consider changing their long-standing policy, claiming the three-time world champion—without the telemetry data at his disposal to make an informed strategy decision—was simply caught up in the heat of the moment.
The Austrian told Autosport's Ian Parkes:
"We have had our principles on the same strategy since 2013, and it worked well for the team, and we will not change that.
In the car you don't have the complete picture.
The driver in the car, when he is being emotional, it's understandable.
We hired guard dogs. We don't want puppies! That's why you can understand. We want them to be guard dogs. Sometimes it's a bit more intense, but that's OK.
"
Paddy Lowe, Mercedes' technical chief, echoed Wolff's thoughts, suggesting that switching strategies would reflect poorly on the team and encourage Rosberg and Hamilton to perform dirty tricks on each other.
"We couldn't just do that for Lewis and not Nico because that wouldn't be right," he told Pete Gill and Mike Wise of Sky Sports F1.
Max Verstappen's Brazil Pass Inspired by Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen
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Max Verstappen has admitted that his overtake on Sergio Perez at Turn 1 in the Brazilian Grand Prix was inspired by the battle between Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen at the same corner in 2012.
On Lap 32 of the Interlagos race, Verstappen challenged ninth-placed Perez at Turn 1, muscling his way around the outside of the Force India and claiming the inside line for Turn 2 to claim the position.
As noted after the race, that pass—as well as his later move on Sauber's Felipe Nasr—was reminiscent of some of the most spectacular overtaking manoeuvres in recent F1 history, including the scuffles between Schumacher and Raikkonen in 2006 and 2012.
And Verstappen, who went on to finish 10th (which became ninth following Felipe Massa's disqualification), has claimed it was no coincidence that his move almost mirrored the Raikkonen-Schumacher moment.
Praising Perez for his fairness in wheel-to-wheel battle, Verstappen told Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble:
"I saw it a few years ago between Raikkonen and Schumacher. I thought that looked nice and then I had the opportunity to do it. ...
You can do your best, but if the other one doesn't care and smashes you off track then it is over. Luckily Checo is very fair, so we had a great fight.
There was a bit of clear air, and I braked around the outside, trying not to lock up. He was trying to push me wide, and we had a little touch in to Turn 2. But that was good for me as it meant I could get the job done.
"
Verstappen told the same source that he was content with "a very positive race," and the two points he earned at Interlagos have kept his Toro Rosso team in contention for sixth place in the constructors' championship.
The Red Bull B-team currently trail Lotus by seven points with just one race remaining.
Renault's Brazil-Spec Engine Was Only a 'Partial' Upgrade
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Daniel Ricciardo, the Red Bull driver, finally ran the updated Renault power unit over the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
According to Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, the new-specification engine was supposed to provide a power boost worth around 0.2 seconds per lap, but Ricciardo knew at an early stage that the long-awaited upgrade was, in fact, a degrade.
After qualifying ninth—two places behind team-mate Daniil Kvyat, who was still using the old-spec engine—the Australian told Sky Sports' James Galloway and Mike Wise that the new powertrain hadn't "given us anything we're after."
Ricciardo's weekend failed to get any better in the race, where he could only recover to 12th after a 10-place grid penalty.
And it has emerged why Renault's update was so disappointing.
As reported by Autosport's Lawrence Barretto, the French manufacturer initially intended to spend 11 of its 12 remaining engine-development tokens on the engine, but it could only use seven for Ricciardo's Brazil-spec engine.
Those "partial" improvements were made only on the internal-combustion element of the engine, with issues relating to "part availability and compatibility with the exhaust system" preventing Renault from spending the extra four tokens and introducing updates to its turbocharger at the Interlagos event.
Renault, Barretto notes, is yet to decide whether the fully upgraded engine will be made available in time for the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, which could significantly hinder the manufacturer's development plans ahead of the 2016 campaign.
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Alexander Rossi Pleased with F1 Experience After Manor Deal Ends
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Alexander Rossi has thanked the Manor team for offering him the opportunity to race in Formula One after his deal with the team came to an end at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ahead of September's Singapore GP, the perennial backmarkers announced that Rossi would replace Roberto Merhi for five of the final seven races of the 2015 season, becoming the first American driver to race in Formula One since 2007.
Despite his lack of experience behind the wheel of modern F1 machinery, Rossi performed strongly alongside team-mate Will Stevens, beating the British driver in four of his five appearances and gaining many admirers in the process.
Despite a disappointing end to his time at the team at Interlagos, where he struggled with his car's handling and finished behind Stevens in 18th, Rossi has declared himself pleased with his efforts over the course of his five-race spell with Manor.
The 24-year-old, who will return to the GP2 feeder series at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, told the team's official website:
"I would have liked my final F1 round of 2015 to have a better outcome, but I look back at the five races I’ve had since Japan and I’m pretty happy overall. It’s been a totally positive experience and I know I’ve given it everything I’ve got. So now we wait and see what the future brings, but I want to thank the team for this incredible opportunity to show what I can do and I hope I’ve done that.
"
Rossi may be preparing to say goodbye, but he will stop short of bidding farewell to Manor for now as he looks to secure a full-time seat for the 2016 campaign.
At the Mexican GP, Rossi told Sky Sports' James Galloway that he had a "very good" chance of earning a race seat for next season, claiming he and his backers were "working very hard to finalise something soon."
Alexander Wurz to Become Manor Team Principal?
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Alexander Wurz, the former grand prix driver, has emerged as a contender to lead the new-look Manor team in the 2016 Formula One season.
Following the resignations of long-serving team principal John Booth and sporting director Graeme Lowdon, as reported by the Telegraph's Daniel Johnson over the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, Manor are set to make a number of changes in personnel over the winter.
The team confirmed the signing of former McLaren employee Dave Ryan to the new role of racing director at the Brazilian GP, and Wurz may be in line to become the new Manor team principal.
The 41-year-old, who raced for Benetton, McLaren and Williams over the course of a long career, recently announced his retirement from professional motorsport and—as the current chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association—is likely to move into a managerial role of some description.
And Wurz has revealed that he has already been asked to move into an executive position, admitting he has been contacted by Manor owner Stephen Fitzpatrick with a view to succeeding Booth.
"I was approached," he told BBC Sport's Andrew Benson. "I would have preferred it not be out in public, but I can't deny it."
Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, suggested Wurz was just one of several candidates in contention for the position for team boss, telling Autosport's Ian Parkes: "We have spoken to a number of people about senior roles within the team. I have met Alex several times, but to clarify recent speculation we have not offered anyone the role of team principal."
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