Formula 1's Latest Rumours, Talk: Red Bull, Fernando Alonso-Lewis Hamilton, More
In Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, Red Bull have arguably the strongest, most exciting driver lineup in Formula One, and with two great drivers comes a great responsibility for the team to manage them effectively.
Having eased the tensions between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber to win four consecutive world championships between 2010 and '13, Red Bull know more than most about the challenges that come with employing two very capable drivers.
And team principal Christian Horner has admitted the team are already preparing to deal with their current drivers when—not if—the Verstappen-Ricciardo relationship begins to turn nasty.
Fernando Alonso is no stranger to inter-team rivalries after being hounded out of McLaren after one season in 2007, when some kid called Lewis Hamilton proved to be a little too fast for the two-time world champion's liking.
Almost a decade since the pair came close to tearing the team apart, Alonso has explained why his relationship with Hamilton would be very different if they were to become team-mates again.
Romain Grosjean has frequently outperformed his team-mate Esteban Gutierrez in 2016, but his performances for Haas still weren't enough for him to earn a promotion to Ferrari for next season.
Despite being overlooked on this occasion, the Frenchman has staying at Haas—who have a technical partnership with Ferrari—represents his best chance of climbing onto the Prancing Horse's saddle in the near future.
Elsewhere, Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds has revealed the team are now ready to sign a star driver, while Felipe Nasr has hinted he would be happy to remain with Sauber for a third season in 2017.
Here's this week's roundup.
Red Bull Expecting Daniel Ricciardo-Max Verstappen Rivalry to Explode
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Horner has admitted it is almost inevitable the relationship between Ricciardo and Verstappen will become strained in the coming years.
The two drivers have established a productive partnership in their eight races as team-mates, with the pair registering a combined total of seven podium finishes, including Verstappen's maiden victory in May's Spanish GP.
Ricciardo recently told Sky Sports' Pete Gill the drivers "will cross paths" if Red Bull emerge as title contenders in the near future. The Australian said that how they and the team "deal with it" will be the key to avoiding "any conflict."
Horner successfully managed a difficult relationship between Vettel and Webber to lead Red Bull to four consecutive drivers' and constructors' world championships, and he has acknowledged the Verstappen-Ricciardo relationship may become just as competitive.
He told Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper:
"With Max and Daniel we've got one of—if not the most—exciting driver pairings in F1.
It's down to them and what they do on the track at the end of the day. The relationship is sufficiently young at the moment that it isn't an issue.
But inevitably if they are racing with each other over the next two or three years, and racing for the same bit of tarmac...
I think as long as we deal with it in an open and honest manner, and it's clear what the objectives of the team are, we'll deal with any speed bumps that come our way.
"
Horner told the same source Verstappen has been "sensational" since replacing Daniil Kvyat in the aftermath of the Russian GP, describing how the teenager has already "marked himself out as a real star for the future."
He added Ricciardo should be even "stronger" in the final nine races of 2016 after he was plagued by misfortune in the first half of the season.
Fernando Alonso Thinks Lewis Hamilton Relationship Would Be 'Very Different' Now
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Alonso believes his relationship with Hamilton would be much healthier compared to 2007 if they were to ever become team-mates again.
After winning two consecutive world championships with Renault in 2005 and '06, Alonso joined McLaren at the beginning of 2007, when he was partnered with a rookie in Hamilton.
Despite his lack of experience, Hamilton quickly emerged as a serious threat to the two-time champion—who blocked the British driver during Hungarian GP qualifying—with the McLaren drivers both missing out on the title to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen by a single point at the final race of the season.
Alonso left McLaren soon after and has failed to win a world championship since, while Hamilton—now with Mercedes—is on course to secure a fourth title, and a third in succession, in 2016.
Alonso—who rejoined McLaren at the start of 2015—said he would enjoy a far more productive partnership with Hamilton today but only if they were in contention for the title, citing his current alliance with Jenson Button as an example of what can happen when two champions are given uncompetitive cars.
He told ESPN F1's Laurence Edmondson:
"I think it would be different. I'm more mature, he's more mature. The teams now are, in a way, more prepared for all the situations.
If I was teammate of Lewis one day I think it would be very different, because we have learned and we are very different people. We no longer have that...let's say that stress of winning on the side because I think we respect each other a lot.
Everyone respects us a lot and we would drive as fast as we can but with another level of respect.
I think everyone would love it, but only if the team is competitive, because it is the same case as Jenson and me. We have a strong team now and we could fight for many important things, but when the car is not competitive your weekends are a little bit anonymous. You come here, you do your race and you go and no one will notice if you did a fantastic qualifying lap, if you did a mistake in qualifying and you are out of Q1.
We had some mistakes this year, we had some traffic in Baku—where we were more or less competitive—and we were 14th and 15th in qualifying because of the traffic. Who noticed that? No one, because all the things in the weekend are a little bit anonymous when you are not fighting for the world championship. I think yes, Formula One, or the fans, or everyone will love to see the big names, or the champions, fighting for the wins but this is probably not possible because in the DNA of the sport only one team can win.
"
With Button likely to be replaced by 2015 GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne ahead of next season, Alonso may soon face a similar situation to when Hamilton joined McLaren at the beginning of '07.
Per the same source, the Spaniard has said Vandoorne presents a very different challenge to Hamilton, who he felt "was very protected by McLaren from a very young age."
He added: "We had a very competitive car so we were certainly fighting for the world championship when no one was expecting...and [Hamilton] was British. So, Stoffel is not British. That's enough of the difference, I think [to avoid a repeat]."
Meanwhile, Alonso has reiterated his belief that the new-for-2017 regulations will determine his future, telling Motorsport.com's Andrew van Leeuwen and Jonathan Noble even the promise of a competitive car would not stop his walking away from F1 if he didn't enjoy driving the cars.
According to the same source, the 35-year-old described how veteran motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi has inspired him to keep driving at a high level despite his lack of results in recent years.
Alonso's praise of Rossi comes just months after Hamilton admitted he is determined to have the longevity of the Italian, per Motorsport.com's Noble and Roberto Chinchero.
Haas' Romain Grosjean Still Hopeful of Ferrari Opportunity
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Grosjean is still hopeful he will be offered the chance to drive for Ferrari in the near future despite being overlooked for a 2017 seat.
When Grosjean left Lotus to join the Ferrari-affiliated Haas team at the end of last season, it was widely thought the Frenchman had put himself in pole position to replace Raikkonen for 2017.
But despite a strong start to 2016, when he registered two top-six finishes in Australia and Bahrain, his hopes of graduating to Ferrari were extinguished over the British GP weekend, when Ferrari announced Raikkonen had signed a contract extension.
That news raised question marks over Grosjean's future plans and whether he would view his switch to Haas as a gamble that failed to pay off.
But the 10-time podium finisher has said he remains committed to Haas, suggesting he could still land a Ferrari drive in the coming years.
According to Crash.net, he explained:
"I'm sure there's a reason behind the decision [to keep Raikkonen]. With the new regulations, big changes, you kind of want to keep the same driver line-up. On the other hand, I am pretty happy here. We are doing a great job and I really want to put Haas on the podium at one point. There's some work to do to achieve that, but who knows? Everything is possible.
[...]
I know that I've got the Ferrari engine, I work with Ferrari engineers and they know how I work. I know I've been on the podium a few times in my career, which always helps to go to a big team. After that, I hope I am [in pole position] but I don't know. As I say, I'm very happy here. Yes, if there's a chance to go to Ferrari, there's no way I would say no. That's a team I've loved since I was eight years old. I want to be a world champion and I think that's where you get a good shot at it, so we'll see.
But you never know in racing. Your day may come or it may never. I want to win races, I want to be world champion. That's why I'm racing in F1. To do that, you need the car and there isn't many teams that can give you the car to be world champion—maybe three or four on the grid. You need to be in a good time in a good place, [but] sometimes it never happens and you may never have the chance.There are always talks and I never hide the fact that I wanted one day to drive for Ferrari but, so far, [staying at Haas] not a problem at all. Being here is a great experience, I don't regret anything from changing teams and I really feel very good here. I think I've got quite an important role in the team and, for me, in terms of experience and in terms of career, it's a great thing.
"
Per Motorsport.com's Pablo Elizalde and Noble, team principal Guenther Steiner recently said Haas will not delay the announcement of their 2017 driver lineup, which is expected to occur around the time of September's Italian GP at Monza.
Although Grosjean is almost certain to remain with Haas, doubts remain over the future of Gutierrez, who has failed to score a point in the first 12 races of this season.
Ahead of the driver decision, Gutierrez has apologised for frequently criticising the team in public, telling Autosport (h/t Eurosport) he was "a bit too much on certain occasions."
After suffering several reliability problems in the early months of 2016, the Mexican told Autosport (h/t Eurosport) how Haas' issues were making him "look very bad as a driver" and spoiling the "f--king great job" he was doing behind the scenes.
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Williams Now Ready for a Big-Name Driver, Admits Pat Symonds
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Symonds has declared Williams are now ready to sign a star driver amid mounting speculation that 2009 world champion Button could join the team for 2017.
With Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa behind the wheel of their cars, Williams finished third in the constructors' championship in 2014 and '15 but currently sit fourth in the 2016 standings with nine races remaining.
Claire Williams has openly admitted the team are eager to freshen up their driver lineup next season, with the deputy team principal recently telling the Press Association (h/t Motorsport.com's Noble) of Williams' interest in Button and Force India's Sergio Perez.
In February, Symonds said Williams would always prioritise the development of their car over the signing of a "superstar," telling Autosport (h/t Eurosport) the team "may not eat for a year" if they had to accommodate a driver of the calibre of Alonso.
And while he would be "happy" to keep the Bottas-Massa partnership for 2017, when the major regulation changes are introduced, Symonds has admitted the time is right to sign a superstar, telling Autosport (h/t Eurosport):
"In 2014, people were asking why don't you go and get Alonso and things like that and I said no, we weren't ready as a team and we weren't ready financially.
As a team now, I would welcome any driver.
We can produce the goods but we're not a big budget team.
One of the skills of a team like ours is to allocate resource correctly whether it's human resource or financial resource and that includes the resource spent on drivers.
So one would need a balance.
Continuity is an important thing, particularly when you're moving into a relatively new set of technical regulations, but you can't have the same drivers forever.
Because we have two equally matched drivers, I hope we keep at least one of them, if not both.
I'd be happy if we had both of them.
Being in racing for 40 years, I've had a lot of years where I have had one really good team driver and one not so good.
I've had years where I've had two that were not so good.
I honestly think the last three years I've never had two drivers who have worked together so well and are such good team members.
It's taken me a long while to get to that joyous place.
"
Another driver in contention for a 2017 Williams seat is Alex Lynn, who has held a development driver role with the team since the beginning of 2015.
The GP2 race winner has told F1i.com's Chris Medland that Williams' interest in Button, a fellow Briton, could enhance his prospects of securing a full-time drive, suggesting his existing relationship with the team is "a really big thing."
Felipe Nasr Happy to Remain with 'Very Attractive' Sauber for 2017
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Nasr has admitted he would be happy to remain with Sauber for 2017 following their change of ownership, but he is still "open" to other options for next season.
The Brazilian enjoyed a solid debut season in 2015, registering six points finishes—including two top-six results in Australia and Russia—but remains without a point after the first 12 races of this season.
In June, Nasr told Brazilian television station Globo (h/t Crash.net) he was plotting a way out of Sauber for 2017, revealing he had several options available to him.
But after Longbow Finance S.A.'s purchase of the team was confirmed in July, securing the Swiss outfit's long-term future, Nasr has admitted the prospect of remaining with Sauber for a third season is appealing.
However, with seats still potentially available at Renault, Force India and Williams—where he held a reserve role in 2014—Nasr is reluctant to commit to Sauber just yet, telling Autosport (h/t Eurosport):
"I'm still open to the options.
Sauber is on the priority list because I've been here for the team and I know the plans they have for next year.
I have seen the plans they have on the 2017 car and there are a lot of promising things that can happen here.
Looking at Sauber, they have always been able to build some competitive cars.
If they have the right people and the key things in place, I believe they can do a pretty good job.
There is a lot more stability now since the new investors took over.
I would target 2017 as being the year they are focusing on.
I still consider Sauber a very attractive option but we're still open to other things as well.
"
According to the same source, Ericsson's links to Longbow Finance are almost certain to see him stay with Sauber for 2017, but the Swede has admitted his future is yet to be sorted.
Ericsson said he "should know what is happening" between the Belgian and Italian grands prix, stressing that while he "can see [himself] staying" at Sauber, he needs "to look at other options and see what is available."
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