Latest F1 news in brief

Ecclestone screwed the F1 race promoters royally and now Carey and Liberty have to deal with their unhappiness

Disgruntled promoters making 'noise' – Carey
Ferrari parent could now buy Sauber
Sirotkin hopes Williams improves in 2019
Force India now 'Racing Point' for 2019
Hamilton can afford to take skydiving risks – Verstappen
Max is the man Hamilton fears the most, says Horner
FIA publishes 2019 Formula 1 entry list

Disgruntled promoters making 'noise' – Carey

(GMM) Chase Carey, F1's chief executive, says the major group of disgruntled race promoters is making "noise".

Earlier, 16 of the sport's 21 race organisers hit out at Liberty Media's management, particularly the large annual fees paid to the F1 owner.

"It's part of life," American Carey, who took over from long-time F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, told ESPN.

Christian Horner, boss of the Red Bull team, thinks Carey has run into problems because of his desire to run F1 democratically.

"You would have never heard a promoter talk out about Bernie, because they wouldn't have had a grand prix the following year," he said.

Carey dismissed the promoters' complaints as "noise".

"You are going to find a bunch of people who have something to complain about and are going to make noise," he said. "It's not going to change what we are doing," he said.

Organisers of the grand prix in Azerbaijan's Baku are apparently not among those at loggerheads with Liberty.

On its official F1 website, Liberty announced that a new contract will see that the popular street race "will be part of the F1 calendar until at least 2023".

"I would like to extend my special gratitude to Mr. Carey and everyone at F1 for proving themselves to be such great friends to our race," said race official Azad Rahimov.

"Extending our contract was never in question and we are delighted to stay in this wonderful sport for another five years at least."

Ferrari parent could now buy Sauber

Charles Leclerc in the Sauber at Monza

(GMM) Fiat Chrysler could buy the team formerly known as Sauber.

Earlier, it was announced that after more than a quarter of a century on the grid, the Sauber name will be replaced completely by Alfa Romeo from 2019.

The deal has been criticized.

"Sauber is now under the Alfa Romeo flag," said respected German journalist Michael Schmidt, "but the team has nothing to do with Alfa Romeo except that the money comes from Italy.

"F1 is doing itself no favors with these such things," the Auto Motor und Sport editor added.

Indeed, Sauber Motorsport will continue to operate the team from Hinwil, with the Alfa branding reflective of the deepening alignment with Ferrari.

Auto Bild, a German magazine, says Fiat could now buy Sauber altogether.

The report said Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari's parent company, bought the Sauber naming rights for EUR 6 million.

"We have learned that Fiat boss John Elkann also has a purchase option that can be used until the summer," wrote journalist Ralf Bach.

"One thing is certain: for Ferrari, the close cooperation with Alfa not only means more political power, but the Scuderia almost benefits from a sporting perspective," he added.

Not everyone is critical of the Sauber-Fiat alliance. Giampaolo Dallara, a well-known Italian F1 chassis designer, said Alfa's involvement makes it a "leading player in F1".

"I believe that over the years, Alfa Romeo will be able to aspire to become a competitor of the great teams, escaping with time from the role as the so-called Ferrari junior team," he told the Italian magazine Autosprint.

"I do not see any negative aspect and therefore I am very curious to see the next steps," Dallara added.

Sirotkin hopes Williams improves in 2019

Sergey Sirotkin

(GMM) Sergey Sirotkin says he hopes Williams improves in 2019.

The Russian admits he was devastated to learn that he would be left out of this year's driver lineup.

Williams is instead lining up with Robert Kubica and F2 champion George Russell.

"It is a rather strange sensation," Sirotkin, who is still with the SMP Racing program and will contest Le Mans this year, told Izvestia newspaper.

"On the one hand, the passions diminished. I returned to Moscow," he said.

"On the other hand, of course, it was a blow to my ambitions. I was offended to leave formula one after such a difficult season and the work that I did with the car."

Sirotkin, 23, says F1 is "an environment that changes you not only as a driver, as an engineer, but also as a person".

"Constant pressure, attention of the press, exhausting training. All this makes you set a much higher goal," he explained. "I can confidently say that my life was divided into before and after when a was a Williams race driver."

Sirotkin says his father Oleg Sirotkin, head of Russia's National Institute of Aviation Technologies, "is just as upset as I am".

"Dad gave me support," he said. "We have the same idea of why it happened, we understand this decision."

As for whether he will return to F1, Sirotkin answered: "So far I cannot say anything on this topic. Let's wait a bit."

He was also asked what he thought of Williams' chances for 2019, given the loss of Rob Smedley and the team having finished dead last in 2018.

"This year, the rules are changing so you could say that the chances of the teams are levelled. No one will initially have an additional advantage, which makes it possible to improve in some areas and be competitive," Sirotkin said.

"I only want to wish Williams good luck. I spent a year in the team, putting a lot of effort into the development of the car, and so I hope that, despite a number of internal difficulties, the team will develop.

"I am not sure that will be so vividly visible from the results," Sirotkin added.

At the same time, he expects Mercedes to remain at the front, but with the regulation change, "It will be very difficult for them to maintain the leadership".

"I think that this will be the most difficult season for Mercedes of the past five years," Sirotkin concluded.

Force India now 'Racing Point' for 2019

(GMM) The Force India name is now officially gone from F1.

The name began to fade over the past few years, amid Vijay Mallya and Subrata Roy's legal troubles and the team's belief that it must internationalize its branding.

With the acquisition by billionaire Lawrence Stroll, Force India introduced the 'Racing Point' name in 2018, but said other names were also being explored.

Well-known motor racing names including Lola and Brabham were among the possibilities, but last week the Silverstone based team told the FIA that Racing Point is staying.

The new name is yet to feature on the official Force India website, but on Twitter, the 'ForceIndiaF1' handle now redirects users to 'RacingPointF1'.

"Serious (but polite) question: why Racing Point?" McLaren's former communications boss Matt Bishop asked the team on Twitter.

Hamilton can afford to take skydiving risks – Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton Sky Diving

(GMM) Max Verstappen insists he will not be following five time world champion Lewis Hamilton out of the back of a plane any time soon.

Earlier, it emerged that reigning champion Hamilton had obtained his solo skydiving license as he enjoys the pre-season period before testing.

Asked if he too will be jumping out of planes soon, Verstappen told De Telegraaf newspaper: "At the moment certainly not."

Verstappen, 21, has clear number 1 status at Red Bull this year, with the team tipped to potentially take on Mercedes and Ferrari with its new works Honda power.

That is why the Dutch driver rules out skydiving.

"Lewis is of course already 34 years old," he said. "Of course I do not know what my life will look like in 13 years."

Verstappen said that with his five titles, Hamilton can afford to take extra life risks.

"Lewis has already won so much," he said. "So skydiving, why not? You also have to enjoy a bit of life, of course.

"But for me the risks are greater. Of course I do not want to get injured so that I might not be able to win the championship. So even skydiving is not available for me now."

Verstappen said he enjoyed a break from training for a couple of weeks over the winter, "but now we have been busy for a while".

The 21-year-old revealed that he will be first at the wheel of the 2019 Red Bull-Honda at the forthcoming Barcelona test.

"I feel like going out that first time," said Verstappen. "To see how the Honda engine feels. I'm already looking forward to that."

He said that if the Honda is within striking distance of the Mercedes and Ferrari, he has no excuse to not be a championship contender along with Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

"I cannot keep saying that I am very young and I have a lot to learn," Verstappen insisted. "I already have four years in formula one behind me.

"Of course you can always be better and you continue to learn, but I have already gained so much experience. I am no longer a young talent. I must be completely consistent now."

Max is the man Hamilton fears the most, says Horner

Horner talks up his driver

Max Verstappen is the driver five times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will fear the most this season, his Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Dutchman won two races last year, with a third victory snatched from his grasp after a collision while leading in Brazil, and ended the season fourth overall.

Hamilton, now 34, won 11 races for Mercedes on his way to the title while four times world champion Vettel, 31, was runner-up having won five.

“Max, if you look at his performance in the second half of the (last) year, was the second highest points scorer to Lewis," Horner told reporters.

“I don’t think he lacks anything that they have, if we can provide him the tools to do the job. I think he’s probably the driver that they fear the most."

Horner said the years would eventually take their toll on Hamilton and Vettel and saw Verstappen, now the main man at the team after Australian Daniel Ricciardo left for Renault, as heir apparent.

“I think his maturity has increased, we saw that during the course of last year. He’s just much more rounded through experience," said the Briton.

“He’s just more worldly, more experienced, he’s just in a better place to be able to deal with the pressures that are placed on him."

Verstappen hit the headlines after Brazil, when he was ordered to do two days of public service for shoving French driver Esteban Ocon after the collision.

He did one day by accompanying the stewards at a Formula E race in Morocco last month.

“He came back and went, ‘Crikey, these guys have got difficult decisions to make. Whether you penalize or not.’ I think that was actually a useful exercise for him to see the other side of the fence," said Horner.

FIA publishes 2019 Formula 1 entry list

Alfa Romeo Racing's Formula 1 cars will not bear the Sauber name at all in 2019, while the Force India is now officially the Racing Point team

No.	Driver	Company	Team	Chassis	Engine
44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport	Mercedes	Mercedes
77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport	Mercedes	Mercedes
5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari Spa	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	Ferrari	Ferrari
16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari Spa	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	Ferrari	Ferrari
33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Limited	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	Red Bull Racing	Honda
10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing Limited	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	Red Bull Racing	Honda
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault Sport Racing Limited	Renault F1 Team	Renault	Renault
27	Nicolas HÃ¼lkenberg	Renault Sport Racing Limited	Renault F1 Team	Renault	Renault
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Formula LLC	Rich Energy Haas F1 Team	Haas	Ferrari
20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Formula LLC	Rich Energy Haas F1 Team	Haas	Ferrari
55	Carlos Sainz Jr	McLaren Racing Limited	McLaren F1 Team	McLaren	Renault
4	Lando Norris	McLaren Racing Limited	McLaren F1 Team	McLaren	Renault
11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point UK Limited	Racing Point F1 Team	Racing Point	Mercedes
18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point UK Limited	Racing Point F1 Team	Racing Point	Mercedes
7	Kimi Raikkonen	Sauber Motorsport	Alfa Romeo Racing	Alfa Romeo Racing	Ferrari
99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber Motorsport	Alfa Romeo Racing	Alfa Romeo Racing	Ferrari
26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso S.P.A	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Honda
23	Alexander Albon	Scuderia Toro Rosso S.P.A	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Honda
63	George Russell	Willams Grand Prix Engineering	Williams Racing	Williams	Mercedes
88	Robert Kubica	Willams Grand Prix Engineering	Williams Racing	Williams	Mercedes