Formula 1's Latest Rumours, Talk: Haas' Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen, More
Having won Formula One's new Driver of the Day award in the first two races of 2016, Romain Grosjean could be forgiven for feeling a little smug.
Many feared the Frenchman had thrown his career away at the end of last year, when he decided to leave his spiritual home of Lotus—on the verge of being purchased by Renault—for the brand-new Haas team.
But after two top-six finishes in Australia and Bahrain, Grosjean has revealed he is taking much satisfaction from proving his doubters wrong.
While Haas sit fifth in the constructors' championship, Renault are among the three teams yet to score a point this season, but Kevin Magnussen is convinced the Enstone-based outfit will have the last laugh.
The Dane has endured an unfortunate start to 2016, suffering a first-lap puncture at Albert Park before being forced to start from the pit lane at Sakhir, yet Magnussen has insisted this year doesn't really matter to Renault, reiterating his belief that the team can challenge for the title in the near future.
The major regulation changes planned for 2017 will offer Renault a golden opportunity to leap up F1's competitive order, but it remains unclear how the new rules will affect the racing.
The FIA recently made an effort to reassure fans that increased downforce will not result in a lack of overtaking, but current championship leader Nico Rosberg has joined the long list of those to question the path the sport has decided to pursue from next season.
Rosberg's criticism of the 2017 regulations is likely to further infuriate 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who believes the drivers should keep quiet in debates concerning new rules, regulations and the general governance of F1.
Closing this week's latest roundup is Nico Hulkenberg, one of the few drivers eager to look on the bright side of modern F1, who has explained why he is unlikely to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2017.
Romain Grosjean Glad to Prove Critics Wrong over Haas Move
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Romain Grosjean believes his points finishes in the first two races of the season have justified his switch to the brand-new Haas team for 2016.
After claiming 10 podium finishes in four full seasons with Lotus, the Frenchman decided to leave the Enstone-based outfit at the end of 2015 to join Haas, the first new team to arrive on the grid in six years.
Despite fears that Grosjean was following in the footsteps of Timo Glock, whose F1 career never recovered from his move to backmarkers Manor at the beginning of 2010, the Frenchman claimed sixth place in Haas' first race in Australia last month before producing an assured drive to fifth in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
While Haas currently sit fifth in the constructors' championship, Grosjean's former employers—now competing under the Renault banner—are among the three teams yet to register a points finish this season.
And the 29-year-old—who recently claimed Haas' VF-16 chassis is among "the best" cars he has "ever driven, per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders—feels his early results have proven he made the right move at the right time.
Per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, he said:
"Some people said it was a career suicide, but I think they were wrong, so sorry guys.
I am very glad. I say thanks to [sponsor] Total, to Renault, to all those guys at Enstone who helped me, but I made my choice. I believed in the project and I had seen enough to think that in few years in F1 that it could be good.
Now we see the truth, and so yes it has probably allowed me to grow up in a different environment, where they are more welcome.
They really wanted an experienced driver, they rely on me, and although after races [like Bahrain] we are tired as we have to give a lot of energy, on the other hand it fills you up with the confidence they put on you. It's very nice.
"
Following the Bahrain GP, team principal Gunther Steiner told F1i.com's Julien Billiotte how Haas intend to score points in each race in 2016, claiming the team are yet to discover the true "potential" of the Ferrari-powered VF-16.
Despite the team's relatively small nature, Grosjean has told Noble that Steiner "is going to push" to ensure the team maintain their current performance level and further develop the car, suggesting Haas have a "clear direction" in mind.
Meanwhile, Steiner has told Autosport's Lawrence Barretto of his "hope" that Haas' success will encourage more new teams to enter F1 in the coming years.
Kevin Magnussen Aiming to Win Titles with Renault
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Kevin Magnussen has spoken of his desire to win world championships with Renault in the coming years but has admitted the team are yet to identify a clear target for the 2016 season.
Following their takeover of the Enstone-based Lotus outfit last December, Renault are taking a long-term approach upon their return to the grid, with chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn claiming it will take the team "two or three years" to become truly competitive, per Autosport's Lawrence Barretto.
Renault made an impressive start to the season in Australia, where their drivers finished just outside of the points, but were brought back down to earth at the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, where Magnussen was forced to start from the pit lane and team-mate Jolyon Palmer failed to even start the race.
Ahead of this weekend's Chinese GP, Magnussen told the team's official website of his confidence of registering Renault's first points of the season if he can enjoy a "normal," trouble-free race.
But, according to Crash.net's Rob Wilkins, the Dane has insisted that Renault's ultimate goal is to win titles once more, stating:
"We still don't have a goal for the season because it is a transition year. The goal is to ramp everything up again, and we don't know where we can get to. We have to do our best at the moment and see where it takes us.
The overall goal, however, is to become world champion, for the team to win the world championship. That's the goal, and we know it can't happen this year or probably not next year.
[But] that is what we are working towards and this year doesn't matter so much. ...
The main thing for me is to be around when Renault is winning world championships.
I want it to be me that is winning them.
"
Per F1i.com's Andrew Lewin, Renault racing director Frederic Vasseur shared Magnussen's view that the Enstone-based outfit are at the beginning of a "long term project" but is adamant the team will not "sit back" in 2016.
As well as owning a team, Renault remain engine suppliers to four-time world champions Red Bull this season, with Christian Horner praising the French manufacturer's increased "determination and urgency" since their full-time return to the grid, per the official F1 website.
Nico Rosberg Unconvinced by 2017 Regulations Despite FIA Assurances
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Nico Rosberg has become the latest driver to question the wisdom behind the proposed 2017 regulation changes, claiming the new rules are almost certain to result in less overtaking.
In an effort to enhance the spectacle of the sport, F1 is set to overhaul the technical regulations next season, when cars are expected to be more visually spectacular and several seconds per lap faster than the current machines due to changes to the bodywork and tyres.
Rosberg's Mercedes team-mate, three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, has frequently criticised the new rules, telling Sky Sports' Mike Wise how plans to increase aerodynamic downforce is "the worst idea" and proves the rulemakers "don't really know what they're trying to solve."
In response to those concerns, F1 race director Charlie Whiting recently told Autosport's Lawrence Barretto that a desire to increase overtaking has been among the main driving forces behind the new rules, which are set to be finalised by the end of April.
But Rosberg, the current leader of the drivers' championship by 17 points following his victories in Australia and Bahrain, has admitted he is unconvinced that the new regulations will have the desired effect, telling Sky Sports' William Esler:
"I'm concerned about the fact that we are trying to make the racing more exciting and so I am worried that it is the wrong direction.
We know that to go quicker we need more downforce which is what we are aiming for and with more downforce it is more difficult to follow other cars. We know that, that is a fact.
So I'm worried that it is not the right direction.
"
Per the same source, Hamilton reiterated his desire for a "better" brand of F1, claiming drivers "should be pushing flat out the full race."
In a video produced by Mercedes' official YouTube channel, meanwhile, team boss Toto Wolff also criticised the move to increase downforce, referring to it as "a mistake" and "the wrong decision."
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Jacques Villeneuve Calls for F1 Drivers to 'Shut Up' over Rules
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Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion, has urged F1 drivers to stop complaining about the condition of the sport, claiming it has a negative effect on its image.
Just three days after the season-opening Australian GP, the Grand Prix Drivers' Association published an open letter referring to F1's decision-making process as "obsolete and ill-structured," claiming "some recent rule changes" are not only "disruptive" but "could jeopardise" the "future success" of F1.
Led by chairman Alexander Wurz, the former Benetton, McLaren and Williams driver, the GPDA has sought increased influence in F1, with the Austrian telling BBC Sport's Andrew Benson in January that the drivers are pushing for increased head protection and more durable, "sticky" tyres.
But Villeneuve believes the drivers should refrain from criticising F1 and concentrate firmly on driving, telling Autosport's Lawrence Barretto:
"The way the drivers have been complaining is terrible for F1. It's not their problem.
They should just shut up. It's not their problem how good or bad the show is on TV.
They should just get on with their job.
In a classroom, how many of your classmates would be able to make educated decisions? Not many.
Take a group of 20 drivers. Take maybe two of them and the rest should just shut up.
So why would you want to give them power?
"
Villeneuve added that one way F1 can solve its decision-making issues is to "stop changing the rules full stop," claiming more "noble sports like tennis and football" earn "respect" by keeping relatively stable regulations.
Following the recent saga concerning F1's qualifying format, the Canadian also told the same source of his support for a return of single-lap qualifying, which was last used in 2005.
Nico Hulkenberg Anticipates Another F1, Le Mans Clash in 2017
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Nico Hulkenberg fears he will not be allowed to participate in the Le Mans 24 Hours again in 2017 after a calendar clash prevented the German from defending his crown this season.
Driving alongside Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber for Porsche, Hulkenberg became the first active F1 driver since 1991 to win the iconic endurance event in 2015.
With this year's European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, occurring on the same weekend as Le Mans, however, Hulkenberg will be unable to return to the Circuit de la Sarthe due to his commitments with Force India.
At a time several drivers, including two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, have admitted to being dissatisfied with the current state of F1, the calendar clash has been interpreted as a cynical move to prevent grand prix drivers sampling alternative forms of motorsport.
But while Hulkenberg believes F1 is not deliberately restricting opportunities for drivers, the 28-year-old is pessimistic about his chances of returning to Le Mans next year, telling Motorsport.com's Jamie Klein:
"At the moment it’s still far away, but I guess I have a feeling the calendar will be clashing again.
I'm pretty sure we [Porsche and I] would be talking. I mean it’s still a long way to look ahead, we have only just started this year, and I don't know what will be the case next year. ...
I think F1 is not holding back drivers.
But obviously if you are contracted to a team of a manufacturer they would not allow you to go and drive for another manufacturer in a different series.
I think that is the problem.
"
In a separate Motorsport.com article, Hulkenberg told Pablo Elizalde that F1 remains a "very sexy and good product" despite the current negativity but confessed he would like to see the return of louder engines and lighter, more "dynamic" cars.
Meanwhile, Force India development driver Alfonso Celis has expressed his desire to be considered for a full-time F1 seat next season after making the first of seven free-practice appearances of the 2016 campaign in Bahrain, per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders.
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