Latest F1 news in brief

Nico Rosberg does not want his kids racing

Rosberg would forbid daughters from racing
Sainz hoping for better McLaren in 2019
Hamilton focused on building 'brand'
Ocon has no regrets as F1 career stalls
Verstappen says Red Bull didn't want Alonso
Magnussen could do Daytona, Le Mans
Sochi not ruling out night race
Leclerc to drive for Ferrari in Pirelli F1 tire test
Aldo Costa delivers 2019 upgrades to Hamilton to make him unbeatable in 2018

Rosberg would forbid daughters from racing
(GMM) Nico Rosberg says he would forbid his daughters from becoming racing drivers.

The now 33-year-old quit formula one altogether immediately after winning the 2016 world championship.

Asked about his young daughters Naila and Alaia and the prospect of them wanting careers in motor racing, German Rosberg said that would be his "biggest nightmare".

"I would not allow that," he told Bunte magazine.

Rosberg's wife Vivian agrees, saying: "We've been together for 15 years, and for all of that time, fear was my companion."

Sainz Jr. hoping for better McLaren in 2019

Sainz Jr. better go to church and pray for a miracle

(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr. is hoping McLaren can make him a much better car for 2019.

The Spaniard is switching from Renault to the once-great British team on a two-year contract starting next year.

McLaren has struggled in recent years but Sainz says he is optimistic.

"I have to be optimistic because it's my nature, but I really am optimistic because I think McLaren has learned a lot this year.

"By using the same engine as Red Bull and Renault, they have realized that they have to make changes in many areas. And from when they realized they did not have a sufficiently competitive car, they begun to turn the team around," he told Marca.

"I hope that those changes will already be noticed in 2019."

At any rate, he is better off than the likes of Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne, who look set to lose their respective places in F1 altogether.

"I do think I'm privileged, but I also believe that I've deserved it rather than won the lottery.

"Ocon of course has also earned a place and Vandoorne could perfectly well stay, but F1 is a competitive sport in which you depend not only on yourself," Sainz said.

Even so, Sainz might be forgiven for being disappointed to have been ousted by Renault.

"Well, you don't have to explain much when it's Ricciardo," the 23-year-old said.

"For a driver like Daniel to place his trust in Renault is a very big message and I think very intelligent on the part of Renault.

"As for me I was depending on negotiations with Red Bull, and Renault was not very willing to wait," Sainz explained.

Finally, Sainz commented on reports that Honda could be set to pass Renault in the horse power stakes, leaving Renault with the least competitive power unit in F1.

"Wherever Honda has gone they have made a very competitive package and I have a great respect for them," he said.

"But I am confident that Renault will continue to take steps forward and I believe that more than ever we need a big step next year."

And set to race alongside rookie Lando Norris next year, that leaves Sainz as the de-facto McLaren 'number 1'.

"At McLaren right now we are not fighting for world championships, we are fighting to recover and gradually approach those top positions again," he said.

"For this we need two good drivers who bring as many points as possible. Although my experience says that I am number 1, we are both going to push to the maximum to bring McLaren up."

Hamilton focused on building 'brand'

Hamilton posing for photo shoot

(GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he is focused on building himself up as a "brand".

The quadruple world champion, who looks to be heading for a fifth title in 2018, is also interested in the worlds of fashion, music, celebrity and pop culture.

"I'm a brand and formula one is part of that brand," the 33-year-old Briton told Socrates sports magazine.

"Of course, formula one made sure that I could build a brand, but now much more is needed," Hamilton added.

He says he always focused very hard on racing as a child, but found that he needed to spread his wings once he was established in F1.

"I came to that deep, deep part of the ocean, where there are seemingly endless options and you cannot see the bottom," said Hamilton.

He's now a multi-millionaire jetsetter who rubs shoulders with celebrities, but Hamilton said he never forgets Stevenage, where he grew up in England.

"My formula one career didn't come to fruition in Stevenage, but I did learn to handle the highs and lows of life," said Hamilton.

Ocon has no regrets as F1 career stalls

Esteban Ocon does not have a big check to buy an F1 ride

(GMM) Esteban Ocon says he has no regrets even though his F1 career looks set to stall.

Many in the paddock are joining the Frenchman in his disappointment that, despite his talent, he looks set to lose his place at Force India to the son of new team owner Lawrence Stroll.

"I am disappointed that other factors are taking precedence over results," Ocon told France's Auto Hebdo.

"I'm disappointed that two months ago we had two strong options and we have nothing today."

Those two options were Renault and McLaren, and some believe that he lost the McLaren option because he was holding out for a works Renault seat.

Asked if he regrets that, the 22-year-old answered: "If I did it again, I wouldn't change any of the decisions made.

"I've gone through it 100 times in my head and I always come to the conclusion that based on the information we had, we made the right decision.

"It was impossible to see how things would turn against me as they did," Ocon said.

Verstappen says Red Bull didn't want Alonso

Red Bull could not risk Alonso destroying their protege

(GMM) Max Verstappen says Red Bull never considered signing up Fernando Alonso for 2019.

That is despite the fact that, recently, retiring Spaniard Alonso and Red Bull chiefs were locked in a dispute over whether the energy drink company wanted him to fill a cockpit.

"I had (an offer) in 2007, in 2009, in 2011, in 2013, and two this year, one in Monaco, and one in August," Alonso said.

But Dutchman Verstappen, who drives for Red Bull Racing, disagrees.

"Alonso was not an option for 2019. It's something I know," he is quoted by AS newspaper as saying at a sponsor event in his home country.

Instead, Red Bull has chosen from its own talent pool to replace the Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo.

"I think I can get along very well with Pierre (Gasly) and I think they have also evaluated that, so I am satisfied knowing that they have chosen him," Verstappen said.

The 20-year-old, who is a regular critic of Red Bull's current Renault power, said he is hopeful the team can take a step forward with Honda engines next year.

"We have the best car on the grid, as we saw in Singapore," said Verstappen.

"We hope that next year with the arrival of Honda, and its budget that is much higher than that of our current engine supplier, we will continue in the right direction," he added.

"We have the right people, it's just the full package has not been ideal. It will be difficult to get it next year, but I hope we have an opportunity in 2020.

"As a team we already have the winning mentality, and now we will also have it on the engine side as well," said Verstappen.

Magnussen could do Daytona, Le Mans

Kevin Magnussen

(GMM) Kevin Magnussen could be about to join Fernando Alonso in adding some endurance sports car racing to his schedule.

Denmark's BT newspaper reports that the Haas driver wants to join his father Jan at Corvette for the 24 hour races of Daytona and Le Mans.

"Corvette can see the potential of a father and son team at Le Mans," Jan, who raced in F1 for McLaren and Stewart in the 90s, said.

"But they need a team for four races and the problem is that Kevin can only do the two 24 hour races because the other two coincide with formula one.

"I'm trying to make them change their mind so that Kevin can do the two," Jan Magnussen added.

Kevin, though, is not hopeful a deal will be struck.

"We are working on it, but not very seriously," he said. "I don't think it will happen in 2019."

At any rate, Magnussen's F1 team Haas will not prevent the 25-year-old from racing outside of F1 if the opportunity does arise.

"As long as it does not clash with our formula one program, we will not stand in the way," said team owner Gene Haas.

Sochi not ruling out night race

Sochi

(GMM) Russia is not ruling out making its grand prix a night race in future.

Although Sochi has been on the calendar since 2014, the organization of the event has been taken over by a company called Rosgonki.

It is headed by Alexei Titov, and he told Ria Novosti news agency that a night race is on the table for the future.

"We are always trying to find the best option that would be convenient for the fans and economically justified," he said.

"Now we seem to have the best option, with the Olympic Park against the backdrop of the sea and the mountains that look great on the TV in beautiful September.

"But we cannot rule out the option that one of the races will be at night," Titov added.

Leclerc to drive for Ferrari in Pirelli F1 tire test

Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc will drive the team's current Formula 1 car in a Pirelli test at Paul Ricard this week.

Ferrari and Mercedes are both testing for Pirelli at the French Grand Prix venue on Thursday and Friday as the F1 tire supplier approaches the conclusion of its 2019 development.

"We are testing at Paul Ricard for two days," said Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola when asked by Autosport about the test.

"We are still developing the product for next year.

"The test is as usual blind for them. We are evaluating a number of constructions, and we are evaluating also some new compounds.

"In terms of construction we are at the end of our development, because October 1 is our deadline to supply the data for the new construction, so it's final validation.

"We tested different constructions during the year, converging towards the final one for next year.

"We still have to test some new ideas and constructions, and obviously from this test we have to define the 2019 tires.

"To have the two top teams is important to ensure that the validation is successful."

Aldo Costa delivers 2019 upgrades to Hamilton to make him unbeatable in 2018

Aldo Costa makes Hamilton unbeatable by delivering some of his design upgrades for 2019 now

Lewis Hamilton has called on his Mercedes team to bring forward developments planned for the 2019 Formula 1 season because he wants to "feel it on a race weekend".

Mercedes was expected to struggle compared to Ferrari in last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, but Hamilton dominated the race from pole position while his championship rival Sebastian Vettel qualified and finished a disappointed third.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff credited the team's upswing in performance to an intense period of soul-searching after a disappointing Belgian Grand Prix, as a result of which it brought forward an upgrade planned for Singapore to Monza.

Hamilton now wants to capitalize on the "energy"' within the engineering group to evaluate 2019 concepts in races this season rather than waiting for winter testing – by which time it might have lost the initiative.

"I had this meeting with the guys, and if you can see this energy with everyone, it is really – I find it really inspiring," he said.

"We started off the year, I felt great, and then we tailed off and we had some struggles with the understanding of the car, how to utilize the equipment that we had tire-wise and balance-wise, we had a couple of so-so races, and then luckily we found our footing.

"We're going from strength to strength as a team in our understanding of the car, how to utilize the tools that we have.

"We are far more comfortable at our job right now – six races ago we were definitely questioning, but I think we've now figured the car out, we know where we are and we know what we have got to do.

"Also in those meetings I pushed them a lot about next year's car. I know what I need improving." Autosport