F1 teams agree to cut costs

The FIA, in conjunction with the Formula One teams have announced a raft of proposals in a bid to cut escalating costs.

Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Monte Carlo, the key components of the changes will see savings on engine costs, a ban on in-season testing outside GP weekends and a reduction in staff numbers.
Engines will be available to the independent teams from 2010 for less than US$6.7million (£4.5million) per team per season, supplied by an independent supplier or a manufacturer backed by guarantees of continuity.
There will be no in-season testing from next year except during a race weekend and during scheduled practice.
The teams have also agreed manpower will be reduced by means of a number of measures, including sharing information on tyres and fuel to eliminate the need for 'spotters'.
The FIA estimate the list of changes for 2009 will save the manufacturer teams approximately 30% of their budgets compared to 2008, with the savings for independent teams even greater.

Alonso's agent rejects accident talk

Fernando Alonso's agent has denied reports that the Formula One star was involved in a minor plane accident on Sunday.

There had been suggestions the two-time world champion was flying back from a holiday in Kenya with his wife when the light aircraft he was travelling in brushed a building on take-off, damaging a wing.
But the agent for the Renault driver insisted it was not as serious as reported.
"It seems that the plane took a blow while they were parking it," said Luis Garcia Abad. "Fernando wasn't even inside the aircraft.
"We didn't give it the slightest importance and because of that this commotion surprises us. It doesn't even qualify as an accident."

Formula 1, Alonso fastest in practice

Fernando Alonso denied Lewis Hamilton the prospect of setting the fastest overall lap in Saturday's practice.

Hamilton led the way for virtually the entire hour-long session on Saturday, bar for a few seconds late on when McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen briefly nudged the Briton off his lofty perch.
But within seconds Hamilton again topped the timesheets with a lap of one minute 12.212 seconds, just under a tenth quicker than that of Alonso's best on Friday when the Spaniard held sway.
But in the dying moments after the clock had ticked down to zero and the chequered flag had fallen, Alonso was the last to cross the line, and he pipped Hamilton by 0.071secs.
The Renault driver clearly appears intent on grabbing pole ahead of the title-deciding clash at Interlagos between Hamilton and Felipe Massa, who was fourth quickest in his Ferrari.
Should that be the case, it would put an interesting twist on the start of the race given the controversial year he faced at McLaren last season.
Although Alonso this week has said he has no beef with Hamilton, he has made it clear he wants anyone other than McLaren to claim the crown.
Nevertheless, it was still a strong session from Hamilton who holds a seven-point lead over Massa and only has to finish in the top five to become F1's youngest champion.
Behind the leading duo came Kovalainen, finally showing some speed in his McLaren, although both he and Hamilton are already showing significant tyre wear and that could prove an issue in the race.
Massa was 0.171secs down on Alonso, with a competitive session underlined by the fact the next 13 drivers were also within a second of the two-time world champion.
Sebastian Vettel in his Toro Rosso was the best of the rest ahead of Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber and the second Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais.
Mark Webber, Nelson Piquet and Jarno Trulli completed the top 10 in their Red Bull, Renault and Toyota respectively, with the latter just 0.316secs down.

Formula 1, Single engine will spice up F1: Piquet

Nelson Piquet Jr feels the FIA's proposed introduction of a standard engine in Formula One in 2010 may well be positive move.
By Shreyas Sharma
F1 giants like Ferrari and Toyota have even threatened to pull out of the sport if the governing body goes ahead with its plans.
Piquet was in New Delhi for the Renault F1 Roadshow, organized at the historic Rajpath on Sunday, and opined that a standard engine would actually prove the superiority of good cars, and lead to a far more open world championship. The Brazilian said: "I think it's more fun. The problem was that when they (FIA) put a freeze on engine development, some teams continued to develop it a little bit. That's why the gap between the big teams and the medium teams got wider. So a standard engine would give the smaller teams a chance to catch up. If all the teams spend similar amounts, it can be something interesting. It can bring more out of the driver, and the teams will be encouraged to set up the car better. It's only the engine that'll be standard, the car development will still continue. So whoever has the best car will be quicker."
Looking back on his first season in F1, the son of former triple world champ Nelson Piquet Sr said it had been a learning experience for him, and with Renault confirming him for 2009 as well, he is confident of a much better season. He said: "I had one year to learn, and hopefully next year I'll be much closer to them (the rest of the field), and fight race-by-race very closely."
Piquet, who finished 12th in the drivers' standings with 19 points, and was out-qualified by teammate Fernando Alonso in all 18 events, admitted that a lot of improvement was still needed for him to be competitive: "I need to do better. Qualifying obviously wasn't my strong point, but race after race, I was getting quicker. I was quite unlucky a lot of the time, but by the last race, I was only a tenth off Fernando. So next year is going to be much better."
The 23-year-old also said that he had high expectations from India as an F1 destination, now that he had been to the country and driven here. Piquet said: "India already has an F1 team (Force India), they have a very good GP2 driver in Karun Chandhok, and are now coming up with a Grand Prix in 2011. They have the whole package!"

Formula , Di Grassi grateful for Renault chance

Reanult’s test driver Lucas Di Grassi spoke to Mobile ESPN’s Rajat Mahendru before a roadshow on the Rajpath in New Delhi.

Rajat Mahendru: What's your future if you don't pass the Honda test?
Lucas Di Grassi: Ahhh...It's difficault to say. It's better if we wait for the test to happen. But to rate my chances I think it's very difficult to quantify. They will anyway choose what best suits them and that's not my decision. All I can do is the best I can, but for the moment I am with Renault and I have been for a long time. I am very glad that Renault gave me this opportunity to test.
RM: How have your experiences on the world circuit shaped your path in to Formula One?
LG: Well, I started with karting and then I moved to Formula 3 and then GP 2 (Team Durango in 2006, ART Grand Prix in 2007 and Campos Grand Prix - current team) of course. I was always very successful in every category, that's why I got to drive in the F1. And as far as I know, I think even Renault is quite pleased with my job as a test driver.
RM: Coming from Brazil, a country that has produced so many great drivers, who is your idol?
LG: I don't have any! I just admire work and dedication. Not an idol.
RM: Recently, (F1 CEO) Bernie Ecclestone came up with the idea of doing away with the points system and instead giving medals to drivers (gold, silver, and bronze). How will one decide the constructor's championship?
LG: Huh?? I have no idea about this new plan from Mr. Ecclestone! (Even Nelson Piquet Jr. is not aware of the idea!) I don't know! But I think it's strange because then, finishing fourth would be as good as finishing 20! So if finishing fourth is same as finishing 20, it would not be very interesting to watch. Instead, I think they should open up the points system even more. They should give points to everyone like in the NASCAR, because then if you finish 11th or 15th then you will be awarded differently.
RM: The Indian Grand Prix has been shifted to 2011 from 2010. You have seen the roads or tracks here, so do you think India will be up for the task?
LG: Yeah! I think it will be a massive event. It's a huge country, a huge market for everybody so I think that F1 definitely needs to come to India and I think it will be very good.

Alonso fastest in practice

Fernando Alonso denied Lewis Hamilton the prospect of setting the fastest overall lap in Saturday's practice.
Hamilton led the way for virtually the entire hour-long session on Saturday, bar for a few seconds late on when McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen briefly nudged the Briton off his lofty perch.
But within seconds Hamilton again topped the timesheets with a lap of one minute 12.212 seconds, just under a tenth quicker than that of Alonso's best on Friday when the Spaniard held sway.
But in the dying moments after the clock had ticked down to zero and the chequered flag had fallen, Alonso was the last to cross the line, and he pipped Hamilton by 0.071secs.
The Renault driver clearly appears intent on grabbing pole ahead of the title-deciding clash at Interlagos between Hamilton and Felipe Massa, who was fourth quickest in his Ferrari.
Should that be the case, it would put an interesting twist on the start of the race given the controversial year he faced at McLaren last season.
Although Alonso this week has said he has no beef with Hamilton, he has made it clear he wants anyone other than McLaren to claim the crown.
Nevertheless, it was still a strong session from Hamilton who holds a seven-point lead over Massa and only has to finish in the top five to become F1's youngest champion.
Behind the leading duo came Kovalainen, finally showing some speed in his McLaren, although both he and Hamilton are already showing significant tyre wear and that could prove an issue in the race.
Massa was 0.171secs down on Alonso, with a competitive session underlined by the fact the next 13 drivers were also within a second of the two-time world champion.
Sebastian Vettel in his Toro Rosso was the best of the rest ahead of Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber and the second Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais.
Mark Webber, Nelson Piquet and Jarno Trulli completed the top 10 in their Red Bull, Renault and Toyota respectively, with the latter just 0.316secs down.

Massa plays down home expectations

Felipe Massa insists the pressure from his fans will vanish once he steps inside the cockpit of his Ferrari at Interlagos on Saturday.


Around 100,000 fans at Interlagos will expect Massa to put his car on pole for the third successive year, so putting himself in the best possible position to clinch victory.
If the 27-year-old follows up by taking the chequered flag, whether he then pips Lewis Hamilton to the title is in the lap of the gods.
Massa knows all he can do is finish either first or second, while hoping McLaren's Hamilton suffers as he did in last year's race in Brazil, when he missed out on the championship by a point.
But like Hamilton has already stated, the title, the pressure, the crowd, will be far from his mind once he is embroiled in the race.
"It doesn't matter whether you are in Formula One, go-karts, or whatever, when you get inside the car you think about racing," said Massa.
"You are not thinking about being in Formula One, that it is the most important motorsport.
"You think about doing your best, about fighting, and for me that is the same whether I'm fighting for the championship in Formula One, or for a victory, even in a go-kart.
"When you are in a go-kart, you want to win. It is your dream and your motivation to win that race or championship.
"Similarly, you don't think about Formula One as you live for that moment.
"For sure, you have much more expectation and pressure, but when you are driving you don't think about that."
Team boss Stefano Domenicali has assured Massa he has their total support, despite the fact the constructors' championship is within their grasp.
With Ferrari leading McLaren by 11 points, Domenicali said: "We are very focused on the constructors' championship.
"But we will do the maximum for Felipe because he is fighting with Lewis after a great season."
Massa certainly began the weekend in fine form, finishing with the second fastest time of the day overall behind Renault's Fernando Alonso after Friday's two 90-minute practice sessions.
"It was important to get off on the right foot on the weekend that will decide the outcome of both world titles," added Domenicali.
"First impressions seem positive, and now we will concentrate on being as well prepared as possible for the rest of the weekend."
With the will of the crowd, Massa knows what he has to do
"My aim? To be in front of everyone, both today and tomorrow, and then we can do the maths when it's over," said Massa starkly.
"But racing at home, with the crowd on my side is great motivation for me, a fantastic feeling, but it is difficult to put it into words."

Hamilton: Losing will not be a disaster

Lewis Hamilton knows he is on the verge of creating history but he insisted he is still young if he fails to win the title.

Hamilton has the opportunity to banish memories of what occurred at the end of last year when he threw away a title that appeared to be in his grasp with two races remaining.
But it was not to be as the 23-year-old missed out by a point to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who overcame a 17-point gap - and seven in the final race in Brazil - to pip the Briton.
A year on, and it is Raikkonen's Ferrari team-mate, Felipe Massa, who is staring at a seven-point deficit to McLaren star Hamilton.
It appears inconceivable Hamilton could again miss out, but he is keen to adopt a philosophical approach, suggesting it would not be the end of the world if he did so.
"Every championship is big, but every year you step up you get to a bigger and better championship," assessed Hamilton.
"This is that final step, and this is the pinnacle, the crown at the top, and for sure this would be my biggest achievement.
"But I've plenty of time yet. I'm still at the early stages of my Formula One career, so I've room. It's not like it's my last year."
Asked whether it would be a disaster if he missed out, Hamilton was keen to play down such a suggestion.
"When you lose a game of tennis, it's a disaster," smiled Hamilton.
He then added: "It's just another competition. We've still had a good season, and I've done a pretty good job.
"But I would say I want to do a better job next year."
Even the prospect of being the youngest champion in F1 history does not hold much water with Hamilton.
"It doesn't make any difference," insisted Hamilton.
"Whether you are the youngest or oldest, no difference."
Although Hamilton appears to be dismissive, it is more to do with the relaxed air he is keen to exude throughout what is certain to be a tense weekend.
"Last year I didn't enjoy this race at all," admitted Hamilton on the subject of his spectacular collapse.
"But this year already I'm enjoying it, and I will do for the rest of the weekend.
"I'm happy for the weekend to take its time. I've come a long, long way, and just to wish it to go quickly is not the way forward.
"It will be a great weekend. It will come and go very quickly anyway, so it's important we enjoy the moment and the experience.
"That means I've come here with the correct discipline as I did in the last race.
"We went there to win, but if we hadn't have won, it would not have been the end of the world.
"It's the same here. We've come to win, and if we don't it's not the end of the world. That's how we'll approach it."
Hamilton finished the first day's practice fourth fastest overall behind Renault's Fernando Alonso, Massa and Toyota's Jarno Trulli.