Latest F1 news in brief – Saturday

• Lauda and Verstappen say Red Bull will run with Ferrari power as rumored by AR1.com

  Lauda sure Ferrari will supply engines to Red Bull

• Ferrari 'obviously' new Red Bull supplier – Verstappen
• Singapore trains threaten hybrid F1 cars – report
• Bottas 'surprised' by 'underrated' Massa
• Two-tier engine caps, wind tunnel bans may never fire
• Penalties for illegal tire pressures still unclear
• Hamilton works as hard as Rosberg – Willis
• Lack of sponsors led to Manor seat exit – Merhi

Lauda sure Ferrari will supply engines to Red Bull
(GMM) Along with a clear quit threat, Red Bull has announced that it is splitting with long-time engine supplier Renault.

"The separation from our engine partner at the end of the season is by mutual agreement," the energy drink owned stable's owner Dietrich Mateschitz declared to his local newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten.

"There was no sense in working together anymore. You couldn't put the teams through that any longer."

Curiously, Red Bull made the decision to split – "a few weeks ago", according to Mateschitz – whilst still in mere discussions with alternative suppliers Mercedes and Ferrari.

"Now we are working on an amicable settlement of the things that are associated with it (the Renault partnership)," Dr Helmut Marko told the Austrian broadcaster ORF.

In the meantime, Mercedes told Red Bull categorically that it will not supply the Austrian outfit with engines.

Mateschitz admits that, "Not long ago, Mercedes was our preferred (new) partner".

Ferrari engines for Red Bull and Toro Rosso in 2016

So with Honda faring even worse than Renault, it leaves Ferrari as Red Bull's only option — but a deal is still not done.

There remains speculation Red Bull could tie up with Audi, with former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan declaring on Friday that the VW Group is actually close to buying Red Bull.

But Mateschitz said a deal with Ferrari would be "perfectly acceptable" for at least the next two or three years.

"In the winter, and especially since the early season tests, Ferrari has done an incredible job," the billionaire said.

But Mateschitz warned that Ferrari is only a solution to take Red Bull back to the podium, not to the world championship.

"If (Sebastian) Vettel cannot win the title with the Ferrari works team, then it will not be possible for us as a customer," he said.

"But we can go back to the first three rows of the grid and from there fight for the podium," said Mateschitz.

He warned that unless a deal is done, Red Bull will have to quit formula one. The threat was repeated in Singapore by team chiefs Christian Horner and Marko.

"This is not poker, but a serious statement," declared Marko.

And Mateschitz said: "Should we leave formula one, we would find new jobs for all of our employees."

Having said 'no' to Red Bull, however, Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda is sure his former employer Ferrari will work with the energy drink-owned stable.

"Actually nobody (from Red Bull) asked us, but I do believe that Ferrari would have interest and would be able to give engines to Red Bull," he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

Jos Verstappen with son Max

Ferrari 'obviously' new Red Bull supplier – Verstappen
(GMM) Former F1 driver Jos Verstappen is sure that splitting with Renault is the best move for the Red Bull camp.

As speculation swirls in the Singapore paddock, the Dutchman admitted that his "only concern" is the interests of his son Max, who drives for the Red Bull-owned junior team Toro Rosso.

"This year we have had too many engine-related issues," he wrote in his column for De Telegraaf newspaper.

"My feeling is that a different engine will significantly push us forward and that's what it is all about for me," added Verstappen, 43.

On the face of it, Red Bull's patience with Renault in the new power unit era ran out, while the French carmaker got tired of the constant sniping about its technology.

Carlos Ghosn, the Renault CEO, declared recently that as a mere engine supplier, Red Bull got all the credit for its world championships, and nothing but criticism in the losing period.

"Of course," Jos commented, "it is true that a lot depends on how, as a business, you deal with criticism.

"Over the last weeks a months, a lot has been said and written about the engines. If think if the problem had been solved, they (Renault) would have got nothing but praise for how they managed to recover."

Ultimately, that didn't happen, and Verstappen said it is because Mercedes invested more money and did a better job.

"I can understand a little of what Ghosn says," Verstappen said, "but in my experience, Renault did get noticed in those earlier successes.

"Moving on, it is obvious that both teams (Red Bull and Toro Rosso) will now get Ferrari engines.

"It's true that with its bigger budget, Red Bull will have the advantage over Toro Rosso, but still I think Toro Rosso is a strong team with good people.

"This year, after all, they managed to build a very good car. So I have every confidence going forwards," the Dutchman added.

Will F1's all technology, no driver talent required, cars grind to a halt in Singapore?

Singapore trains threaten hybrid F1 cars – report
(GMM) Team engineers are nervous each time their cars approach Singapore's Anderson Bridge, according to a report in the German newspaper Bild.

It is said that a strange magnetic or electrical interference, probably related to subway lines that run nearby and underground, is threatening to grind the sophisticated, hybrid F1 cars of 2015 to a halt.

"The sensors are showing some odd numbers," confirmed McLaren technical boss Tim Goss. "If the cars get this electrical pulse during a gear change, it can disturb the workings between the throttle, clutch and gearbox."

Bild said Mercedes, the world champion team, has built in some shielding against the interference.

But "We are still a little worried," technical chief Paddy Lowe admitted.

Bottas 'surprised' by 'underrated' Massa
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas admits his teammate Felipe Massa is a definite thorn in his side as he bids to up his credentials in formula one.

Earlier, the 26-year-old was the hot favorite to oust fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next year, until Williams refused to let the Italian team buy out Bottas' contract.

But another variation of the story is that Ferrari simply baulked at paying all those buyout millions for a driver who is often being beaten by Massa.

34-year-old Brazilian Massa, after all, drove for the Maranello team until 2013, when he was ousted for regularly struggling alongside Fernando Alonso.

But now, he is enjoying a renaissance at Williams, with many comparing Massa's form to 2008 and 2009, when he fought for the title and humbled then teammate Raikkonen.

"I knew that he is a fast guy but yes, maybe I was a little surprised," Bottas, when asked about Massa's strong form in 2015, told the Finnish broadcaster MTV.

"He is quite an underrated guy," Bottas added. "I have to work very hard in order to beat him."

Toto Wolff laughs when he hears F1 wants Mercedes to sell engines for a financial loss. Will never happen. Why don't the mental midgets of F1 switch back to a screaming normally aspirated V8 at a fraction of the cost so everyone can afford them?

Two-tier engine caps, wind tunnel bans may never fire
(GMM) The engines may never fire on two cost-cutting proposals that have leaked out of this week's strategy group meeting.

The first proposal, reportedly carried through a majority vote, is that a cap should be put on the cost of a 'power unit' for customer teams.

Currently, a team like Williams reportedly pays a supplier like Mercedes a cool EUR 25 million per season. The proposal is that the cost is slashed to just EUR 12 million.

Rumors indicate that would mean an actual loss for Mercedes, with fellow engine supplier Ferrari reportedly strongly opposed to the proposal.

So too is Mercedes.

"I have my opinion on fixing any price and there's a pretty simple legal view," said Toto Wolff in Singapore, "but that's going much too far for a press conference after a practice session."

The Mercedes team boss also moved to rubbish the rumored numbers, calling them "pure speculation, borderline nonsense".

For the record, the strategy group rumors say suppliers would offer an 'A' version for just EUR 12 million, and a year-old power unit for a further 4 million euros less.

The idea is not popular, even among the smaller teams.

"I'm totally against the usage of a one year old engine because then we have a two class team on the grid and this will not close the gap," said Toro Rosso's Franz Tost.

Another rumored proposal that may never see light of day is a total ban on wind tunnels.

Monisha Kaltenborn, a regular critic of the strategy group that her independent Swiss team Sauber is not a part of, did not have the details.

"I've heard different views. Some say they have been banned, some say they haven't," she said.

Even John Booth, whose struggling backmarker Manor (formerly Marussia and Virgin) famously entered F1 without a wind tunnel in 2010, is no fan of the idea.

"Probably not," he said. "I can see a time in the future when wind tunnels are banned totally but maybe not for the next two or three years."

Mercedes' Toto Wolff is also opposed, declaring: "It (the use of a wind tunnel) is a safety aspect and certainly formula one shouldn't be the playground for funny experiments for opportunistic reasons."

Mercedes car like low tire pressures

Penalties for illegal tire pressures still unclear
(GMM) After the FIA and Pirelli moved to clear up the tire pressure controversy, it still is not clear whether drivers might be penalized this weekend in Singapore and beyond.

Instead of disqualifying Lewis Hamilton at Monza, after his tire was found to be 0.3 PSI under Pirelli's mandated minimum, F1's governing body declared that the process for measuring the pressures should be cleared up.

Teams were informed of the new procedure, in the form of a FIA technical directive, in Singapore.

Now, after the five-minute board is shown ahead of the race, Pirelli and the FIA can scour the grid and check that the cars are conforming to the rules.

But Pirelli chief Paul Hembery said on Friday that if a team like Mercedes is found to be beneath the minimum, they will have the opportunity to simply rectify it.

"We can check all the cars if we want to," he said.

Whether penalties or potential exclusion will be applied for infractions, however, is unclear.

"I cannot talk about penalties. That is not our (Pirelli's) responsibility," Hembery insisted.

Meanwhile, the Briton said negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone are still taking place as to whether Pirelli or Michelin will be awarded the 2017 tire contract.

"I believe it will be completed by the end of October," Pirelli said in Singapore.

Der Spiegel, a German publication, said the current Pirelli deal is worth about EUR 100 million to formula one, mainly through advertising deals.

Finally, Hembery revealed that Pirelli will be able to test the proposed tires for 2016 over two days after the Abu Dhabi finale in late November.

Party animal Lewis Hamilton works hard when the party is over

Hamilton works as hard as Rosberg – Willis
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton works just as hard for success as his teammate Nico Rosberg.

That is the claim of Mercedes technical boss Geoff Willis, just days after F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone declared that the reigning world champion's extravagant lifestyle is spinning out of control.

"Thanks to Facebook or Twitter, he lets everyone think that he is a playboy. But between the races he trains just as intensely as Nico," Willis told Germany's Auto Bild.

Indeed, some might have surmised that, given Hamilton's lifestyle excesses and his increasing dominance of F1, the sport is not as challenging as it once was, at least physically.

But Willis said: "Lewis works hard to be as good as he is."

In contrast, teammate Rosberg is newly married and now also a proud new father, with his wife Viviane revealing the name of baby Alaia on Twitter.

But the Rosberg family and Hamilton actually live in the same Monaco apartment building.

"No, not at all," the German told Welt newspaper in Singapore when asked if he shares personal time with his neighbor.

"We have no personal contact. Our lives are too different.

"The will to succeed and our ambition to be the best is too strong now, but I believe there is no alternative. I understand that and I think Lewis does too," Rosberg explained.

Merhi's check just wasn't big enough

Lack of sponsors led to Manor seat exit – Merhi
(GMM) Roberto Merhi has admitted his lack of sponsorship backing opened the door for Alexander Rossi to take his place at Manor.

Spaniard Merhi said he only found out about his sidelining once he had actually travelled to Singapore for this weekend's race.

"I was looking forward to Singapore already since Monaco, where I did well," the 24-year-old, who only gave up his parallel race seat in the F.Renault 3.5 series last week due to F1 'clashes', told Antena 3 television.

"Not racing here is difficult," Merhi admitted in Singapore.

"Less than 48 hours ago I thought I was racing. This is something that happens, we knew it could happen, thank god it happened later but it was difficult to continue with this situation without financial support and sponsors," he said.

Merhi said he is happy at least that he will return to the car in Russia and Abu Dhabi, when Californian Rossi is completing his front-running GP2 campaign.

"I will try to do my best, although I don't think they are favorable circuits for us."

Merhi refused to gloat about Californian Rossi's practice crash on Friday, saying it was just "bad luck".

"It's a difficult circuit like Monaco where these things can happen," he said. "Maybe it's not the best track to debut, but these are things that can happen to anyone."