Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and More
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr. formed one of the most exciting, dynamic partnerships in Formula One in 2015, but it has only taken one race of the new season for civil war to break out at Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Verstappen appeared to be on course to equal or even surpass his career-best finish during the first phase of the Australian Grand Prix, but his afternoon quickly "went downhill," as he admitted via his official Twitter account, and the Dutchman ultimately finished a distant 10th.
The teenager struggled to accept his fall down the pecking order and frequently criticised the pit wall and his team-mate during the race. Although Sainz tried his best to keep the peace, Verstappen has turned nasty, suggesting the Spaniard isn't fast enough to keep up with him in normal circumstances.
If the 18-year-old thought he had a bad day, his start to the season was relatively tranquil compared to that of Fernando Alonso, whose race ended with his McLaren-Honda rolling into the gravel after a collision with Esteban Gutierrez, which ironically led to the chain of events that led to Verstappen's race turning on its head.
Alonso has walked away unscathed from a number of frightening incidents over the course of his long F1 career, but the two-time world champion has explained why his Australian GP crash was his biggest yet.
As well as ruining Verstappen's afternoon, Alonso's shunt gave Mercedes the opportunity they needed to force their way back into the race, with Nico Rosberg claiming his 15th career victory after Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel made a costly strategic error.
And Niki Lauda believes starting the season on the top step of the podium will help Rosberg take the fight to team-mate Lewis Hamilton in what is expected to be a three-man fight for the title.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Hamilton became the only driver to set pole position under the universally unpopular and short-lived elimination-style qualifying format, which is to be replaced by the previous system in time for the next race in Bahrain.
But despite the failed experiment at Albert Park, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has insisted F1 should not give up on an elimination-style qualifying concept just yet.
Closing this week's roundup is Jost Capito, the latest McLaren-Honda signing, who believes Volkswagen will leave the door open to a potential F1 adventure despite currently being uninterested in competing in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Max Verstappen Angered by Toro Rosso, Carlos Sainz Jr. After Australian GP
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Max Verstappen has expressed his frustration with Scuderia Toro Rosso and team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. following his 10th place finish in the Australian Grand Prix.
After claiming his best-ever grid position of fifth in qualifying, the teenager excelled in the first phase of the race, withstanding pressure from reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton in the fight for fourth place until the crash between Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez led to a red-flag stoppage.
Despite switching to the soft-compound tyres, Verstappen remained on course to equal his best result of fourth until his final pit stop, when his mechanics were not prepared for his arrival.
The youngster struggled to hide his frustration for the remainder of the race, frequently criticising Toro Rosso over pit-to-car radio as both drivers were bottled up behind Jolyon Palmer before Verstappen collided with Sainz and spun in the latter stages.
Verstappen was forced to settle for just one point as the last in a train of drivers headed by Romain Grosjean, who claimed sixth place in the debut race for the brand-new Haas team, and the 18-year-old felt Toro Rosso missed an opportunity to claim a strong result, telling ESPN F1's Nate Saunders:
"I think you could hear how upset I was. It is a very disappointing race in general.
[...]If you see Grosjean finishing sixth with the Haas on their first race ... I think we could have done much better than that.
Started off very good, I had a great start. From there onwards it was all going well -- the first pit stop went well and we were in a good position. Then after the red flag, where luckily no-one was hurt, we made a miscommunication with the second stop and from there on wards it was a bit unlucky and not good.
"
Sainz's refusal to move aside for Verstappen as the pair tracked Palmer's Renault was viewed as an act of revenge for last year's Singapore GP, when the 18-year-old ignored team instructions to let the Spaniard past, but Sainz insisted he has "absolutely no issues with anyone," per F1i.com's Phillip van Osten.
Per the same source, the 21-year-old claimed both drivers were simply "frustrated" with "poor top speed and no traction," but he was adamant he did "nothing wrong" by refusing to concede his position to Verstappen.
Verstappen, however, has told Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble that he doesn't "care" how Toro Rosso implement team orders in the future because he "should be miles ahead" of Sainz regardless.
Fernando Alonso Believes Australian GP Crash Was the Biggest of His Career
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Fernando Alonso admitted he was fortunate to emerge unscathed from his crash in the Australian Grand Prix, claiming the Albert Park incident was the biggest of his Formula One career.
On Lap 17 of the Melbourne race, Alonso was challenging Esteban Gutierrez for 13th place at Turn 3 when his front-right tyre collided with the Haas driver's rear-left, with the Spaniard smashing into the outside wall before rolling into the gravel trap, where it eventually came to a rest upside down.
Alonso walked away from the wreckage and, in a post on his official Instagram account, admitted that he had "spent some of the remaining luck in (his) life," thanking his McLaren-Honda team and the FIA for the safety standards of modern F1 cars and acknowledging his "colleagues and fans for the concern and unconditional support."
The 34-year-old has survived a number of frightening accidents over the course of his career, hitting a stationary wheel in the wet 2003 Brazilian GP and avoiding injury when Romain Grosjean's Lotus flew over his Ferrari's monocoque at Spa in 2012.
Alonso has explained the thoughts that went through his mind as his MP4-31 car rolled in mid-air and acknowledged that it topped his Interlagos shunt as the biggest crash of his career, telling Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble:
"No, this was probably harder than the Brazil one.
You are a bit scared after the first impact and when you see you are in the air, you hope to land the right and not against a wall or head-on or something.
When you are rolling you want it to stop, but you feel it's never stopping. Then when it stopped I saw a small hole to get out and I thought I'd get out quickly, because at home they'd want me to get out quickly. That's the first thing I thought.
[...]
Everything hurts a bit because everything inside your body moves when you are going so fast.
The knees hurt a bit, because you are crashing against the cockpit and the steering column. Tomorrow (Monday) I'll need some ice but other than that, all fine, and very lucky.
"
Alonso's team-mate, Jenson Button, was among those who expressed their relieved to see the Spaniard walk away from the incident, with the 2009 champion claiming the accident "shows how far we have come with safety" via his official Instagram account.
Safety standards are set to improve next season when the "halo" head-protection concept, which was trialled by Ferrari in pre-season testing, is implemented on F1 machinery despite concerns over drivers evacuating the cockpits when their cars are upside down or in the event of a fire.
But Button has claimed the halo would have had no effect on Alonso's crash, telling Motorsport.com's Charles Bradley that his team-mate "didn't need to get out" of his car in a hurry.
Nico Rosberg's Australian GP Victory Crucial for Confidence, Says Niki Lauda
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Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda believes Nico Rosberg's victory in the Australian Grand Prix was important for the German's confidence in the 2016 season.
After being dominated by team-mate Lewis Hamilton for much of last year, Rosberg embarked upon a run of six pole positions at the end of 2015, winning the final three races in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Ahead of the first grand prix of 2016, one of the biggest themes was whether Rosberg could maintain that form over the course of a full season, yet the German endured a difficult start to the Albert Park weekend, crashing in wet conditions in Friday practice before qualifying a distant second to Hamilton.
Yet he performed smartly in the race and inherited the lead and the win—his second in three seasons in Australia—following Ferrari's strategic mistake with Sebastian Vettel at the restart.
As well as praising the quality of the grand prix, which he felt was the most exciting in the history of F1 and made up for the disastrous, elimination-style qualifying format on Saturday, Lauda believes Rosberg's victory will give him much confidence ahead of another title battle.
The three-time world champion told F1i.com's Julien Billiotte:
"You need this to have a good start to the season because it gives [Rosberg] confidence. If it had been the other way around and Lewis had won, he would have suffered because he always suffers when Lewis is there.
For him this race was important to mentally stay strong and have a good baseline for the next one. It’s good for him and for us, because the more they fight each other the better it is for me!
It was an exciting race first of all. I have never seen anything like this in the last three years and I have to say, to be fair to the sport, the race was half decided at the start because Ferrari did an incredible start with both cars.
We screwed up and we have to find out why, but then the race took its way. I think it was the best start ever in Formula One, and the race we had showed that to everybody.
"
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, however, claimed Rosberg's victory wasn't quite as routine as it seemed, telling Motorsport.com's Valentin Khorounzhiy the team considered retiring the No. 6 car at one stage due to concerns over high brake caliper temperatures before worrying about Rosberg's tyres running out of grip.
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F1 May Revisit Elimination-Style Qualifying Despite Australian GP Failure
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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes Formula One should examine alternative ways to implement an elimination-style qualifying format, despite the failed experiment at the Australian Grand Prix.
Less than a month until the start of the 2016 season, the FIA confirmed the F1 Commission had "unanimously accepted" the introduction of a new qualifying system designed to create more excitement and unpredictability on a race weekend.
Despite fears that the revised format would actually lead to less excitement, the sport pressed ahead with the changes, and F1 was humiliated at Albert Park on Saturday, when no cars were on track at the supposed climax of the hour-long session.
As reported by BBC Sport's Andrew Benson, the teams held a meeting ahead of the race and decided to revert to the previous format, which was first introduced in 2006, despite Lewis Hamilton's reluctance to "go back to the old way," per Sky Sports' William Esler.
Per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, the change has yet to be approved by the Strategy Group and F1 Commission, but Wolff is confident the previous system will return in time for the second round in Bahrain.
And the Austrian believes the driving challenge offered by the one-off format means F1 should explore another way of introducing an elimination-style system in the coming years, telling Noble:
"I think in hindsight, all the teams had a pretty equal opinion about qualifying and I think that the F1 Commission will listen to the teams' opinion, especially if it's unanimous.
I'm sure there is a way to optimise it, but I think it needs time and structure and process and analysis in order to have the right decisions and have the right format.
Lewis' opinion is interesting and I heard another opinion like this—Max Verstappen said the same: that it is quite a challenge and tricky to be out there, you need to perform, you can't really let go, because you could be out.
There are some drivers out there who like the challenge—and I think it is an exciting format, a shoot-out, as long as you're capable of really transmitting that in the right way onto the television.
The spectator needs to be able to follow it—and the feedback we had from the guys watching it is that it's very difficult. Either you watched the timing and you didn't look at the cars out there, or it wasn't really clear who was in and who was out.
And Q3 we all have the same opinion: that it's rubbish.
"
Per the same source, Wolff added that the teams decided to revisit the subject of the elimination concept "next winter, maybe during the season, and analyse what we can do in order to optimise it and come up with a solution that really works."
McLaren Signing Jost Capito Believes Volkswagen Open to Future F1 Entry
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Jost Capito, the incoming chief executive officer at McLaren-Honda, believes Formula One remains an attractive proposition for Volkswagen but admits a switch to the pinnacle of motorsport is not currently in the German manufacturer's plans.
Volkswagen was heavily linked with an F1 entry throughout 2015, with Eddie Jordan claiming it was close to purchasing four-time world champions Red Bull Racing last September, per BBC Sport.
In October, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted discussions had taken place in an FIA press conference, but acknowledged that the emissions scandal meant F1 was "the last thing on their mind."
In February, Volkswagen Group motorsport chief Wolfgang Durheimer told F1i.com's Phillip van Osten that F1 is not on the company's "agenda right now," suggesting the technical regulations and issues "on the ownership side" are "not predictable enough to make the kind of investment required."
And Capito, who has led Volkswagen to three consecutive World Rally Championship titles with Sebastien Ogier, has backed Durheimer's stance, telling German publication Bild am Sonntag (h/t Inautonews.com's Mircea Serafim):
"For a company like Volkswagen, Formula One is always a topic.
[...]
It depends on the timing.
Currently there are several reasons why it makes no sense, but that could change.
F1 needs a long-term stable business structure and especially long-term technical regulations. If you want to be in formula one you need a huge investment, so you have to have security with your planning.
And that is not currently there for a newcomer.
"
Per the same source, Capito suggested that even the atmosphere within F1 may have to change for Volkswagen consider a switch to F1, sharing an unpleasant experience from his visit to the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix.
He added: "I think F1 has a lot to learn. Last year I was in Malaysia for the grand prix and on the return flight I walked past two drivers and briefly congratulated them, but they did not accept it. That sort of arrogance would never happen with rally drivers."
Having led Volkswagen to victory in each of the opening three rounds of the 2016 WRC season, Capito is expected to begin work with McLaren in April or May, per Autosport (h/t Eurosport).
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