Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and More
Since arriving at Mercedes at the beginning of the 2013 season, Lewis Hamilton has cemented his status as a legend of Formula One.
In the last two seasons alone, he has claimed 18 pole positions, 21 grand prix victories and, of course, world championships in 2014 and 2015. He is the only British driver in history to win consecutive titles and will enter 2016 as the third-most successful driver of all time in terms of race wins, behind only Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.
But it could have been so very different.
Christian Horner has revealed Hamilton twice tried to join Red Bull Racing at the height of the team's success as he became increasingly disillusioned with life at McLaren, with the team principal explaining how he encouraged Mercedes to sign Hamilton.
Horner's reluctance to sign Hamilton partly stemmed from his loyalty to Sebastian Vettel, who won four world championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013.
Considering that Red Bull endured their first winless season since 2008 last year, Vettel timed his move to Ferrari to perfection, and the German returned to where it all began this week, testing the Scuderia's 2014 car at Fiorano, Italy.
While Hamilton and Vettel have developed a knack of being in the right place at the right time, Fernando Alonso tends to make all the wrong moves at the wrong time.
It is one of the two-time world champion's few weaknesses, and Alonso paid for his poor judgement in 2015 as he was restricted to just two points finishes with McLaren-Honda.
And Alonso's protege, Carlos Sainz Jr., has explained why his fellow Spaniard's struggles enhanced his learning experience during his rookie year with Toro Rosso.
The final chapters of our latest roundup are dominated by engines, with Williams responding to suggestions they should switch to Honda power units and news of a deal being struck to ensure there are enough engines to go around.
Lewis Hamilton Was 'Desperate' to Join Red Bull, Claims Christian Horner
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed Lewis Hamilton tried to join the team on two separate occasions before switching to Mercedes at the beginning of the 2013 season.
After winning his first world championship in 2008, Hamilton failed to finish any higher than fourth in the drivers' standings in the next four years as McLaren were unable to provide him with a title-winning car.
His frustration with only occasional race wins, and the dominance of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel—who won four consecutive titles between 2010 and 2013—saw Hamilton explore other options.
As reported by BBC Sport, Hamilton approached Horner at the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, where the pair had a 15-minute discussion, and his surprise move to Mercedes was announced just over a year later.
Hamilton has gone to claim 21 grand prix victories and two world championships since the beginning of 2014, with Mercedes dominating the V6 turbo era, and Horner has taken some credit for his success.
Reluctant to place a driver of Hamilton's calibre alongside Vettel, Horner claims he advised Niki Lauda—the non-executive chairman of Mercedes, who had been restricted to just one victory in three seasons at that point—to sign the British driver for 2013 in the hope of weakening McLaren.
But he has admitted his scheme didn't quite go to plan, telling F1 Racing magazine (h/t Julien Billiotte for F1i.com):
"He was desperate to drive for the team. In 2012, he wanted to come and drive for us, but there was no way we could accommodate him while Sebastian was with us. Then before he signed for Mercedes he was very keen to drive for Red Bull for 2013.
The McLaren had been very competitive in 2011 and 2012 and I thought it would probably be better for us for him to be at Mercedes than McLaren, so in the event of us not being able to sign him I encouraged Niki Lauda to sign him to weaken McLaren, not envisaging that Mercedes would become the absolute powerhouse they are today.
"
Having employed three different drivers—Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso—alongside Jenson Button since the end of 2012, McLaren have failed to win a race since Hamilton's departure, while Red Bull suffered their first winless campaign in seven years in 2015.
Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari Begin 2016 Preparations with Fiorano Test
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The love story between Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari began in November 2014 when the four-time world champion tested the F2012—the car that almost beat him to the 2012 title—on a cold, wet morning at Fiorano.
And he returned to the Ferrari-owned circuit on Tuesday to formally begin his preparations for the 2016 campaign, when he hopes to topple the might of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton to secure his fifth crown.
Although the first of two pre-season tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is not due to begin until February 22, F1 regulations allow teams to run two-year old cars.
And Vettel—who will participate in the upcoming Pirelli wet-tyre test at Paul Ricard, France—drove a number of laps behind the wheel of the F14-T, which became the first winless Ferrari car in two decades in 2014. A short video of the test, filmed by Twitter user Alex Mariani, can be viewed here.
As reported by Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, the purpose behind the test was unclear, although "it will either be to get a head-start on preparation for the forthcoming season or being used for promotional/sponsor reasons."
The same source claims that Ferrari received permission from the FIA, the sport's governing body, to conduct the test and were "not permitted to try out any 2016 components" under the current regulations.
Ferrari's preparations for the 2015 season were defined by a large restructuring process undertaken by president Sergio Marchionne and team principal Maurizio Arrivabene.
And there has been more reshuffling ahead of the upcoming campaign, with Motorsport.com's Pablo Elizalde reporting that sporting director Massimo Rivola will replace Luca Baldisserri as the head of Ferrari's young-driver scheme.
In his new role, Rivola will oversee the development of the stars of tomorrow, including Mick Schumacher—the 16-year-old son of seven-time world champion Michael—who recently joined the Ferrari Driver Academy, per F1i.com's Pierre Van Vliet.
One driver who will no longer receive support from Ferrari, however, is GP2 driver Raffaele Marciello, who told Italian publication Autosprint (h/t F1i.com) of his departure from the Prancing Horse due to a troubled relationship with Arrivabene.
Carlos Sainz Jr. Was Fascinated to Watch Fernando Alonso's 2015 Struggles
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Carlos Sainz Jr. has reiterated his admiration for Fernando Alonso, claiming he learned much from the two-time world champion's handling of McLaren-Honda's disastrous 2015 campaign.
Widely regarded as the most complete driver of his generation, Alonso is accustomed to fighting for podiums, grand prix victories and world championships, but he was restricted to just two points finishes last season as McLaren struggled with their underpowered Honda engine.
As the most successful Spanish racing driver to have ever lived, Alonso is a natural role model for Sainz, who was just 11 when the former claimed his first world title with Renault in 2005.
Sainz—who claimed seven points finishes in his rookie season with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2015—has made no secret of his respect for Alonso, and ahead of last season's Spanish Grand Prix, he tweeted an image of the pair meeting at the same race in '05.
Despite a highly impressive campaign alongside Max Verstappen, Sainz suffered a number of disappointments in 2015 as he retired from a total of seven races, including four consecutive DNFs between the Austrian and Belgian grands prix.
And Sainz believes it was instructive to watch a driver as successful as Alonso suffer so much last season, telling Autosport's Lawrence Barretto:
"He's a very good role model.
He's now going through a tough moment in his career so it is interesting to see how he reacts, how he still switches on and how he deals with all these things.
It's interesting to see, to observe, to learn. Last year was all about learning.
Fernando doesn't need to advise me because I always look and observe him.
He hasn't come to me and said, 'maybe try this or think about doing that'.
Just by speaking to him in the drivers parade, as you see me always, or around in the paddock. I can learn from him.
It's been a bit like a mirror, where to see yourself.
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The respect between the leading Spanish drivers is reciprocated, with Alonso speaking of his support for Sainz in December.
Per Spanish publication AS (h/t GMM Newswire, via Fox Sports), the two-time world champion claimed Sainz is "the best" young driver to emerge from the junior categories in recent years, adding his strong performances alongside a driver as talented as Verstappen allowed him to "gain the respect of everyone."
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Williams Happy with Mercedes Engines Despite Honda Talk
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Rob Smedley, Williams' head of vehicle performance, has insisted the team are content with Mercedes engines despite 1996 world champion Damon Hill's suggestion that they should join forces with Honda.
Since switching from Renault to the all-conquering Mercedes power units at the beginning of 2014, Williams have experienced something of a resurgence, claiming a total of 13 podium finishes and consecutive third-place finishes in the constructors' championship.
The team, however, are without a grand prix victory since May 2012, and deputy team principal Claire Williams recently told F1i.com's Julien Billiotte that a return to winning ways represents the "hardest piece of the puzzle."
Those comments were followed by Hill's claim, per Sky Sports, that Williams should sacrifice their status as a Mercedes customer to take advantage of McLaren's current struggles and become the leading Honda-powered outfit.
But Smedley is adamant that Williams, who last competed with Honda engines in 1987, are content with the support they receive from Mercedes High-Performance Powertrains, the German manufacturer's engine division.
He told Sky Sports' William Esler:
"First of all we are really, really happy with the level of service and the power unit itself we get from MHPP.
There was a small difference in performance late in the season between ourselves and the works team, but that is not normal.
There is only a finite amount of engines that can be supplied, that is one of the reasons. But I think ultimately we are really happy, they are a very professional outfit and they supply an incredible power unit as well.
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Per the same source, Smedley added that Williams are aiming to finish in the top three in the standings for a third successive season in 2016, but he predicted the likes of Force India, Red Bull and Renault will provide stiff competition.
Meanwhile, Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper has reported that Adrian Sutil is to leave Williams ahead of the upcoming season, having held a reserve-driver role in 2015.
The German, who made a total of 128 grand prix appearances between 2007 and 2014, is thought to be "close to signing a deal outside of F1," potentially in the World Endurance Championship, the DTM touring-car series or Japanese Super GT.
V6 Engines Here to Stay Until 2020 After Manufacturers Agree to Lower Costs
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If the sound produced by Formula One's current hybrid engines drives you to tears, and you still struggle to tell your MGU-H from your MGU-K, it's probably for the best that you look away now.
Because the V6 turbo power units, which have received much criticism since their introduction at the beginning of the 2014 season, will remain in F1 until at least 2020 after a compromise deal was struck between the sport's leading figures.
As reported by BBC Sport's Andrew Benson, FIA sources have claimed "two days of talks" have resulted in the decision to safeguard the future of the hybrid powertrains after manufacturers agreed to reduce the cost of supply deals for customer teams from 2018, ensuring each team will have an engine.
Benson claims the FIA has succeeded in cutting the cost of the engines from around £13.8 million to £17.7 million to "a figure in the region of £7.9 million to £9.5 million" and banishing the threat of a cut-price, alternative engine being introduced.
Drivers will also be forced to use just three gearboxes per season—"down from the current limit of five"—as the sport continues to cut costs.
The reduction in price of the engines comes after several teams suffered financial difficulties over the last two years, with Caterham and Marussia both entering administration in the space of six days in October 2014.
The Enstone-based Lotus team, meanwhile, suffered a number of financial-related embarrassments in 2015 prior to Renault's takeover, while deputy team principal Bob Fernley told Sky Sports' Pete Gill that "cash-flow issues" were behind Force India's late start to last season.
Red Bull's dramas in the closing months of last season, when the four-time world champions' future was cast in doubt after Mercedes and Ferrari were reluctant to supply engines to the team, also influenced the deal.
Meanwhile, F1 enthusiasts will be encouraged to vote for their "driver of the day" after each race as the sport seeks to improve its interaction with fans, per Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper. The idea, in addition to a similar vote for the best overtaking manoeuvre, could be implemented as early as this season.
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