Formula 1's Latest Rumours, Talk: Manor's Pascal Wehrlein, Carmen Jorda and More
Pascal Wehrlein will make his grand prix debut in the 2016 Formula One season after joining the new-look Manor Racing team.
The German, who participated in test sessions for Mercedes and Force India in 2015, had been expected to graduate to the pinnacle of motorsport after winning last year's DTM title.
Wehrlein's links to Mercedes, who will provide engines to Manor in 2016, undoubtedly played an influential role in his signing, and the 21-year-old has spoken of his joy at securing a place on the grid as well as outlining his targets for his rookie season.
Wehrlein could emerge as a star of the future in 2016, but the same, unfortunately, cannot be said of Carmen Jorda.
With Pastor Maldonado's career now over following his departure from Renault, Jorda seems to have become the embodiment of all that is wrong with modern-day F1 and has attracted criticism from a driver who was forced to abandon his single-seater career.
The Spaniard, however, has hit back, suggesting she was more than a match for Romain Grosjean in Lotus' simulator in 2015.
With Sauber's new car not due to appear until the final pre-season test, Felipe Nasr may have to spend a little more time in the simulator than first thought ahead of the new season.
But the Brazilian has defended the team's decision to suffer short-term pain for long-term gain, insisting Sauber have to try something different in 2016.
Like Sauber, Williams will also be taking a more aggressive development path this season, and Pat Symonds is adamant the Grove-based outfit will always prioritise their car over any driver—including a driver as talented as Fernando Alonso.
Closing our latest roundup is Nelson Piquet Jr., Alonso's former team-mate, who has reflected on his F1 career and admitted he stopped trying to regain his place on the grid some time ago.
Pascal Wehrlein Keen to Score Points in 2016 After Joining Manor
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Wehrlein believes Manor are capable of scoring points in the 2016 Formula One season after securing a race seat with the team.
After winning the DTM German touring-car series in 2015, the German had been widely expected to join Manor after the perennial backmarkers agreed on a deal to use the all-conquering Mercedes engines from this year.
Despite his links to the Silver Arrows, Wehrlein's place on the grid seemed far from assured after Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff claimed Manor, who entered administration in late 2014, were likely to gain more money from signing so-called pay drivers instead, per ESPN F1's Laurence Edmondson.
However, following Renault's signing of Kevin Magnussen, a leading contender for one of the two seats, Wehrlein re-emerged as the overwhelming favourite to join Manor, according to Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, with the deal finally confirmed on Wednesday.
As well as running Mercedes power units in 2016, Manor will use Williams components and are currently in the midst of a vast restructuring process under owner Stephen Fitzpatrick, which has seen highly experienced figures Dave Ryan, Nikolas Tombazis and Pat Fry arrive at the team.
Despite Manor claiming just one points finish in six seasons, Wehrlein—who tested for Mercedes and Force India over the course of last year—believes those changes will allow him to race competitively in his debut campaign, telling the team's official Facebook page:
"Manor Racing is a great place for me to start my Formula One racing career—I’m very pleased to be here. It’s a small and totally focused team and I soon hope to know everyone. Though it’s my first F1 season my aim is to help Stephen and the guys achieve their goals. It will be a tough challenge but I think we should be able to challenge for points along the way. It’s going to be good fun. A word for my racing family at Mercedes-Benz, and particularly for Toto, who have guided my career this far and made this opportunity possible. Thanks for the incredible support to help me achieve my dream; now it’s down to me to grab the moment and perform on track.
"
Per the same source, Fitzpatrick spoke of his excitement of the capture of Wehrlein, whom he referred to as a "sharp driver with a very promising future" who has "the talent and hunger to match our own on-track ambitions."
According to Autosport's Ian Parkes, Wehrlein's one-year contract is "believed to be worth" up to €6 million to Manor, who will be offered access to Mercedes' Brackley-based 50 per cent wind tunnel.
Wehrlein has chosen No. 94 as his official race number in honour of the year of his birth, and he will keep his role as Mercedes' reserve driver, with Parkes claiming the Silver Arrows can "recall" the 21-year-old to deputise for Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg.
With almost a fortnight until the first of two pre-season tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya begins, Manor have limited time to confirm Wehrlein's team-mate, with Will Stevens, Rio Haryanto and Alexander Rossi all thought to be in contention.
Rossi recently told Sky Sports' William Esler how his chances of securing the second Manor seat are "looking positive," claiming discussions are taking place "every day."
Carmen Jorda Dismisses Former Lotus Driver's '12 Seconds Slower' Claim
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Jorda has rejected claims by former Lotus youngster Marco Sorensen that she was 12 seconds slower than him in the team's Formula One simulator.
Despite an underwhelming junior career, Jorda joined Lotus in a development-driver role at the beginning of 2015 and attended a number of races throughout last season. Her signing achieved much criticism from those who deemed her unworthy of such an opportunity—including her fellow drivers.
Although Sorensen's departure from Lotus, according to Autoweek, was linked to the loss of sponsor Saxo Bank, the 25-year-old Dane—who currently competes in the World Endurance Championship having won races in GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5—claimed he left the team in protest against the privileges handed to Jorda.
He told Danish publication Ekstra Bladet (h/t Autoweek):
"She was 12 seconds slower than me in the simulator. Still, she ran away with all the rewards.
For the past two years I have spent at least 60 days in the simulator, which is about the same as Kevin (Magnussen) at McLaren. So I felt violated to the point that it finally became too much and I had to stop.
"
Fellow GP2 race winner Richie Stanaway supported Sorensen's view, as Stanaway tweeted Jorda: "If you didn't finish last in every GP3 race people would not make jokes."
After responding to Sorensen on Twitter, Jorda has rubbished the Dane's comments, claiming her simulator times were comparable to those of 10-time F1 podium finisher Romain Grosjean, who left Lotus to join Haas at the end of last season. She told Spanish outlet AS (h/t Motorsport.com):
"I honestly don't know who he is. I haven't ever seen him in Enstone. Last year he was not part of the team.
I would like him to focus on his career. It's not right that for him to highlight his achievements, he needs to use others, and me specifically.
I think it's incredible that [Sorensen] says that.
Last year in the simulator I used to be more or less within a second of Grosjean.
If you trust Sorensen's numbers...if someone was 11 seconds up on Romain, I'm sure that all the F1 teams on the grid would sign them.
"
Although Renault's takeover of Lotus had raised doubts over her future at the Enstone-based team, Jorda will continue in a similar role in 2016.
Felipe Nasr Downplays Significance of Sauber Delay
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Nasr believes Sauber are taking a worthwhile risk by opting to delay the introduction of their 2016 car until the second and final pre-season test.
After running a relatively unchanged chassis in 2014 and 2015, the Swiss team are developing an all-new car for the upcoming season, with Nasr telling Motorsport.com's Pablo Elizalde that the C35 will be "very different" and "a little bit more aggressive" than its predecessors.
In pursuing a new design concept under the leadership of new technical director Mark Smith, however, Sauber's new car will miss the first test, where they will run a modified version of last year's chassis, which allowed the team to claim eighth place in the constructors' championship.
With the number of pre-season tests reduced from three to two for 2016, the teams will have a maximum of eight official days of testing to prepare their cars for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 20.
But despite facing the prospect of having just four days to get to grips with the C35, Nasr, who claimed two top-six results in his rookie season in 2015, believes Sauber are taking a necessary risk in their pursuit of regular points finishes. He told Motorsport.com's Jamie Klein:
"It's not ideal, but we will have a little more time to work on the new car.
I don’t think that it will be a big problem, even though we have only four days to understand the car before going to Melbourne.
There will be many innovations on the car, including the packaging of the Ferrari power unit. I do not expect the first steps to be easy; it will take a bit of time to optimise everything.
Last year we finished the season with the same car with which we began in Australia, except for a few changes. There weren’t the resources to support a development programme.
We took all the opportunities that we had, because we were aware we wouldn’t have many chances during the whole season.
It was not easy, but I appreciated the honesty of the team: I was never promised things which then were not delivered. When I signed the contract with the team I was already aware of the limitations that we had.
I think we have a lot of room for improvement [for this year], and I hope we will make a big step forward.
"
Although the C35 will not appear until March 1 at the earliest, Sauber have become the latest team to confirm their 2016 car has passed the mandatory FIA crash tests, announcing the news via their official Twitter account.
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Williams to Prioritise Car Development over Signing Big-Name Driver
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Pat Symonds, Williams' technical director, has insisted the team will always prefer to focus on the development of their car rather than trying to sign a big-name driver.
Despite claiming third place in the constructors' championship in 2014 and '15, the Grove-based team are "understood to have only the fifth-biggest budget in F1," per Autosport's Lawrence Barretto.
As an independent outfit, and therefore without the limitless funds available to the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, Williams must choose to spend their budget wisely, and Symonds has reiterated his belief that the team will always spend it on their cars rather than their drivers.
In November 2014, Symonds told German publication Auto Motor und Sport (h/t Motorsport.com) that although he regarded Fernando Alonso, whom he worked alongside at Renault, as "the best driver in the sport," he felt Williams were not yet in a position to accommodate a driver of the two-time world champion's calibre.
Clarifying his comments, he has admitted that while Williams would work well alongside a leading driver, the financial pressures placed on the team mean it would be impossible to sign a so-called superstar, telling Barretto:
"When I've said it in the past, I didn't meant we couldn't exploit what superstar drivers have got, but they cost money.
But at the moment, we are deficient in areas which I would prioritise over a superstar driver.
So if Alonso came to drive for us, we would make full use of him and we'd work well with him.
We'd give him what we needed, there's no doubt about it, but if we had to pay his salary, we may not eat for a year.
"
Williams' current drivers, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, are set to begin their third season as team-mates in 2016, and Symonds has revealed that he would still employ both drivers even if Williams could sign anyone on the current grid, telling the same source:
"I think they are perfect for our team, they work so well together.
They are such team players and they push each other really hard because they are actually very similar in performance.
They push each other in a pleasant way and it helps to get the whole team working nicely.
Honestly, if I had a totally free hand, I'd keep exactly what we have got and it's not often I would say that.
"
Rob Smedley, the head of vehicle performance, has reiterated his belief that Massa is currently performing "as good" as he did when the Brazilian came within a point of winning the world championship in 2008, per Autosport's Ben Anderson and Jack Cozens.
Nelson Piquet Jr. Accepts F1 Career Is over
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Piquet Jr. has admitted his Formula One career is over after failing to secure a return to the pinnacle of motorsport since 2009.
The son of a three-time world champion, Piquet made 28 grand prix appearances over two-and-a-half seasons at Renault in 2008 and '09, when the Brazilian often struggled alongside team-mate Fernando Alonso despite claiming a podium finish at Hockenheim.
Piquet's time in F1 is best remembered for his role in the infamous Crashgate scandal of 2009, which centered around his deliberate crash in the previous year's Singapore Grand Prix, which contributed directly to Alonso's victory at Marina Bay.
Since being dropped by Renault in mid-2009, Piquet has participated in a range of disciplines, including NASCAR, Rallycross, American open-wheel racing and Formula E, becoming the inaugural champion of the all-electric series in 2015.
Reflecting on his time in F1 ahead of a season when Renault will mark their return to the grid, Piquet has admitted he is pleased to have found a new home in Formula E, telling Argentinian publication Ole (h/t F1i.com):
"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it happens.
I am very realistic about my time in Formula 1, as every driver would like to be on a team that allows you to win races. But I had a podium in my first year and did many things that others would not do in five or six years.
Today my career is Formula E and I don’t think much about returning to F1. There are at least six drivers who have the money and the sponsors to take the places from the others.
I’m happy with my career. And I have had several challenges—not everything is about F1.
"
Piquet's Formula E title defence has not exactly gone to plan thus far, with the Brazilian currently sitting a lowly 15th in the drivers' standings with just four points to his name following the fourth round of the 2015-16 season in Buenos Aires.
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