McLaren F1 team in final push to hire Vettel or Alonso

McLaren is making a final push to convince Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso to lead the team in its new Honda era.
Team chiefs Eric Boullier and Ron Dennis are focusing their efforts on securing the two highly-rated F1's top stars as soon as they can.
Although both drivers are under contract for the immediate future - with Vettel committed at Red Bull until the end of 2015 and Alonso a year longer at Ferrari - that has not proved a turn-off for McLaren.
In fact, the team is eager to get a firm commitment on both drivers' plans over the next few years, and has told them it is ready to wait until 2016 or 2017 for them if it must.
Getting such a commitment now would then allow it to finalise driver plans in the shorter term, or even open the door on a deal being reached to land its big star earlier.
This is why McLaren is refusing to sort out its 2015 line-up until it knows exactly what Vettel and Alonso are doing longer term, which means current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button are being left in limbo.
Racing director Boullier made it clear that McLaren was doing all it could to win over Vettel and Alonso, and would refuse to give up its chase until both drivers had categorically said no.
When asked about the chances of getting one of the big star names, Boullier said: "I will try any driver that will suit our strategy for the future.
"We are still pushing and we will take the time we need. We don't want to do a mistake - we have one shot and we don't want to miss it.
"McLaren is a top team, a big team, with a lot of history and we want to be back where we should be.
"So if we can afford to take the time to think and to prepare our strategy then we have to do it."
It is understood that McLaren has been told it will get an answer from Vettel and Alonso very soon, and it wants to sort out its 2015 driver plans before the final flyaway races that begin with the Singapore Grand Prix next month.
Boullier refused to elaborate on the exact timing of a decision, but made clear it would not wait until the winter before knowing its 2015 line-up.
"It will be soon, a few weeks," he said.

Sebastian Vettel to get new F1 chassis for Italian GP

Sebastian Vettel will be given a new chassis for the Italian Grand Prix as his Red Bull team tries to get to the bottom of his recent struggles.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit was left mystified as to why the reigning world champion struggled for pace in the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend after being so competitive in qualifying.
Team principal Christian Horner said Vettel's form was so unusual at Spa that he suspects something was broken on the car.
"A lot of things have gone wrong for him - even this weekend [in Spa] with a spark plug failure on Friday that robbed him of a lot of time," explained Horner after the race.
"We need to check to see if anything has actually broken on the car. It was extremely unusual what we saw."
Investigations on the car that Vettel used in Belgium are ongoing, but the team is taking no risks and has elected to give Vettel a new chassis for Monza.
The chassis change for Italy will be the second time that Vettel has switched cars this season.
The German swapped over for the Spanish Grand Prix following early season troubles that he and the team could not explain.
NEW ENGINEER CONFIRMED
Red Bull also officially confirmed on Wednesday that Vettel will have a new race engineer in 2015 as Guillaume Rocquelin moves to a more senior role at the team.
Rocquelin, who is more commonly known as 'Rocky', is to become head of race engineering and will oversee both Vettel and Ricciardo next year.
His place will be taken by Gianpiero Lambiase, who is to join the team from Force India.

Daniel Ricciardo Q&A: Great to taste winner’s champagne again!

Daniel Ricciardo has proved himself a master at seizing opportunities in 2014, and as soon as the Mercedes drivers hit trouble in Belgium, the Red Bull star took control of the race. After becoming the first Australian to win at Spa-Francorchamps since Jack Brabham in 1960, Ricciardo spoke about his triumph...

Q: Daniel, your third win of the season - can you believe it?
DR: I can’t really (laughs). It feels a bit surreal again I guess, especially around here - Spa. Everyone was saying ‘you won’t have a chance around here’ but I think we had some really good pace today and surprised ourselves. Another win… it’s very cool.

Q: Christian Horner described it as ‘a roll of the dice’ to leave you out there on that last set of tyres for so long. How much pressure did you feel under to nurse your tyres to the end and still keep right on it to the chequered flag?
DR: Yeah, that was difficult. When you’re the leader you always feel like you’re the most vulnerable when it comes to a pit stop and what to do. But basically Simon [Rennie] my engineer came on the radio and said ‘there are 11 laps left - can these tyres get to the end?’ I replied that I thought we could keep the pace, and we were able to. The last lap I got a few more tenths out of it, so I was having a bit of fun then.

Q: Does it make the victory all the sweeter, the fact that you’re developing every aspect of your racing?
DR: Yeah, I think there have been a lot of good things from the win today. The last two [wins] came from a more, let’s say, aggressive kind of race but today was more calculated. I don’t mean to talk myself up - if it sounds like that I’m sorry - but it was nice to win under different circumstances.

Q: Mercedes seem to be taking chunks out of each other which is only benefitting you…
DR: Yeah, I mean I haven’t seen anything. Obviously I saw some of the aftermath with Lewis [Hamilton] in the gravel, so I was aware they had some contact. Nico [Rosberg] got peppered with a few questions in the press conference about it, so it will be interesting to have a look and get my view on it. But as I say, I haven’t seen anything now and I’d rather focus on the positives of our race today because it was a beauty!

Q: You must have felt under quite a lot of pressure with Rosberg behind you…
DR: Yeah, there was a bit of pressure. It probably looked a bit easier on TV - I had the lead from pretty early on and then just had to control it. We knew in the first stint when we caught Nico that he had some damage. I knew once he fixed his front wing he’d come on and be strong at the end. We couldn’t really rest. When I heard he came in for a third [pit] stop we knew he was going to come charging hard. I was just hoping my tyres didn’t fall off the cliff and stay strong and they did. It was a nice consistent drive and it’s nice to lead a few more laps and taste the champagne again.

Q: You’re the only driver out there who has managed to beat a Mercedes driver, you must be on cloud 9 this season...
DR: It couldn’t have gone better, considering everything, particularly pre-season. It’s been awesome - I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I’m happy to keep it up like this and let it continue. Monza will be challenging but then we’ve got Singapore and suzuka which should be fun for us. We’ll just keep going and if they [Mercedes] slip up then we’ll be there to capitalise.

FIA will not re-open Rosberg/Hamilton Spa collision investigation

The FIA is standing firm that there are no grounds for a fresh investigation into the Mercedes' Spa collision despite Lewis Hamilton's account of Nico Rosberg's post-race comments.
Hamilton's claims that Rosberg confessed in private after the Belgian Grand Prix that he had deliberately not avoided contact "to prove a point" fuelled speculation the championship leader could face sanctions.
The pair touched at Les Combes on lap two of the Spa Formula 1 race, with Rosberg's front wing clipping Hamilton's right rear tyre and causing a puncture.
Afterwards Hamilton revealed: "He basically said he did it on purpose. He said he could have avoided it. He said 'I did it to prove a point'."
The FIA's own stewards had already looked at the Rosberg/Hamilton accident during the GP on Sunday, but decided that it was nothing more than a racing incident.
A mid-season change of policy, where punishments for drivers are only handed down in the event of a party being wholly to blame for a crash, meant there were insufficient grounds for Rosberg to be punished.
However, the revelation from Hamilton about Rosberg's post-race admission prompted wild speculation that the FIA could have reason to reconvene stewards to look at the matter again.
'NEW ELEMENT' REQUIRED
Article 13.10 of the FIA International Sporting Code allows for a fresh hearing to take place in the event of new evidence coming to light.
The rule states: "If, in competitions forming part of an FIA championship, cup, trophy, challenge or series, a new element is discovered, whether or not the stewards have already given a ruling, these stewards or, failing this, those designated by the FIA, must meet on a date agreed amongst themselves, summoning the party or parties concerned to hear any relevant explanations and to judge in the light of the facts and elements brought before them."
Despite Hamilton's claims of what Rosberg said being viewed by some as justification for a review, the FIA has been adamant since Sunday evening at Spa that the Rosberg claims do not constitute the required 'new element'.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff made it clear that Rosberg had not confessed in the meeting to deliberately crashing into his team-mate - only to leaving himself in a position where there could be an accident if Hamilton did not allow space.
"He thought it was for Lewis to leave him space, and that Lewis didn't leave him space," said Wolff.
"So they agreed to disagree in a very heated discussion amongst ourselves, but it wasn't deliberately crashing. That is nonsense."
The only circumstance in which the FIA would act would be if Mercedes or Hamilton lodged a formal complaint about the matter and asked for an investigation - something that is highly unlikely to happen.

Vettel samples Russia's new F1 track in Sochi

Sebastian Vettel has become the first Formula One driver to lap the newly completed Sochi Autodrom, the circuit which will host Russia’s inaugural Grand Prix in October.

The Red Bull Racing driver travelled straight to Sochi from Spa-Francorchamps after finishing fifth in Sunday’s 2014 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix.

After a tour of the venue’s facilities, the four-time world champion completed a number of high speed laps of the full 5.8 km Hermann Tilke-designed circuit in an Infiniti road car.

Commenting on the experience, Vettel said: “It is great to be back in Sochi and the venue has been transformed since I was last here [April 2013] when it was really just a construction site.

"Having driven the full circuit for the first time in the Infiniti Q50 today, it’s an interesting layout with a good mix of high speed corners and technical sections.

“It’s going to be a huge challenge in a Formula One car for sure and I’m really looking forward to coming back in October.”

The 2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix takes place on October 10-12.

Mercedes: 'Unacceptable' clash must never be repeated

Mercedes-Benz's head of motorsport Toto Wolff says the "unacceptable" collision between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton at Spa-Francorchamps "cannot - and will not - happen again".

The pair clashed at Les Combes on lap two of the 2014 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix. Rosberg had moved alongside Hamilton down the Kemmel straight, but as the Briton held his line through Les Combes, Rosberg's front wing hit the left rear of Hamilton's car, with the subsequent puncture and damage effectively ending the Briton's race hopes.

Wolff said the accident was a clear transgression of the fundamental rules Mercedes have laid down in an effort to allow the pair to race together without compromising the team's overall objectives.

"Today we saw our worst case scenario when the drivers made contact on lap two - and that ultimately cost us a one-two finish today, because we saw that our car had that kind of performance in it," Wolff said.

"It has been our clear policy to let the drivers race this year but rule number one is: don't hit each other. To see that kind of contact, so early in the race, is an unacceptable level of risk to be taking out on track.

"It cannot - and will not - happen again."

Wolff added it was absolutely imperative for the team to convert their performance advantage into silverware - an objective threatened by the lap-two clash.

"Overall, not a good day for the team - and it is clear that we need to strengthen our focus on securing the constructors' championship by delivering the potential of both cars in the next races," he said.

"Now we need to regroup and come back stronger in Monza."

After having a chance to review the incident on TV, Rosberg said: “It was a racing incident, that’s the best way to describe it, and that’s how the stewards saw it."

Asked whether he thought it might have been a better idea to have waited for another opportunity to overtake Hamilton later in the race, the German added: “I didn’t see any risk in trying to overtake, so why should I not try? The opportunity was there [to overtake], even without DRS because I was so much quicker, so I gave it a go.

“[Going] inside was not possible so I tried around the outside. To ask ‘should I have waited?’ is very hypothetical because who knows what happens afterwards. The opportunity was there and for me it was not a risky situation.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, said he was devastated to retire, insisting he had given Rosberg enough room.

"I'm gutted with the result - not just for my own championship hopes but for the team, as we really should have had a one-two today," he said.

"I didn't fully understand what had happened until I saw the replay just now, but I gave him plenty of space, took the corner like I usually do and suddenly felt a big hit from behind. There was nothing I could do about it and that was effectively my race over.

"What happens next is not my call - that's one for the bosses to make. But I'm now almost 30 points behind in the championship so that's the main thing on my mind. It's a big gap and it will be hard to recover from here."

Belgian GP: Ricciardo wins as Mercedes' Hamilton/Rosberg collide

Daniel Ricciardo recorded his second consecutive victory in Formula 1, as championship protagonists Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided in the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull racer is making a habit of picking up the pieces when Mercedes trips up, and the Australian executed another flawless race to fend off the recovering Rosberg by just 3.3 seconds and record the third victory of his flourishing grand prix career.
Rosberg extended his championship lead after a recovery drive to second, while Mercedes team-mate Hamilton posted his third retirement of the season.
Kimi Raikkonen looked set to score his first podium of the season for Ferrari, but ultimately lost out to the Williams of Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages, while world champion Sebastian Vettel won a thrilling late battle for fifth with the McLarens of Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button, and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari.
The Mercedes drivers locked out the front row by some distance in wet qualifying, but collided on lap two of the race, as slow-starting poleman Rosberg attempted to re-pass Hamilton for the lead on the run to Les Combes.
Rosberg had a look around the outside of his team-mate but clipped Hamilton's left rear tyre as he backed out of the move and tried to tuck back in.
Hamilton limped back to the pits with a puncture and floor damage from a brief excursion, and spent the rest of his race battling a lack of pace in his W05 - and pleading with his team to retire his car to save engine mileage. He eventually retired to the pits with five laps to run.
Rosberg was told to stay out with a slightly damaged front wing after the incident.
That made the championship leader vulnerable, but he retained the lead as the top six ran in a close train early on, before the German dived into the pits to begin the first round of stops on lap eight of 44 and took a new nose.
That dropped him behind Raikkonen's Ferrari, which stopped on the same lap as Rosberg and leapt up from sixth to second as the first round of stops played out.
Rosberg's delay in the pits dropped him to fourth, behind Vettel's Red Bull, while new leader Ricciardo (who crucially passed his Red Bull team-mate when the reigning Vettel saved a wild moment on the exit of Pouhon on lap five) eased away from Raikkonen at the front.
Rosberg switched to an alternative three-stop strategy against the conventional two, and dived into the pits for an early second stop on lap 17, having failed to pass Vettel and fallen behind the Williams of Bottas.
Rosberg used his second set of medium Pirelli tyres to good effect, despite concerns over a front vibration, and rose back up to second when the other frontrunners made their final stops.
Rosberg had to pit for a third time with 10 laps to go, which relieved the pressure on Ricciardo and dropped the Mercedes back to fourth, behind Raikkonen and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas, which slipstreamed past on the run to Les Combes.
Rosberg was quickly back through to third on his fresh set of tyres, passing Bottas at Blanchimont and then nailing Raikkonen easily on the Kemmel straight on the following lap.
Rosberg trailed Ricciardo by just under 20s with eight laps to run and needed to be around 2.5s per lap faster than the Australian to overhaul him, but he ultimately fell short by a handful of seconds.
Bottas recorded his fourth podium of the season in third, while Raikkonen recorded the best result of his season in fourth.
Vettel had been in podium contention, but had to come back through the pack after switching to a three-stop strategy.
He took advantage of the battling between Magnussen, Alonso and Button to claim fifth, while Magnussen just held off McLaren team-mate Button for sixth.
Alonso - who incurred a five-second penalty for his Ferrari mechanics being late away from the grid - damaged his Ferrari in the late battling, which included a three-abreast moment at Les Combes, and trailed home eighth after starting fourth.
Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat rounded out the points scorers in ninth and 10th, with Kvyat just holding off Perez's Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg by 0.3s.
The second Williams of Felipe Massa finished a disappointing 13th, behind the second Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne.

Results - 54 laps

Pos Driver                Team                    Time/Gap
 1. Daniel Ricciardo      Red Bull-Renault        1h24m36.556s
 2. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                +3.383s
 3. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Mercedes       +28.032s
 4. Kimi Raikkonen        Ferrari                 +36.815s
 5. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        +52.196s
 6. Kevin Magnussen       McLaren-Mercedes        +54.262s
 7. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        +54.580s
 8. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 +1m01.162s
 9. Sergio Perez          Force India-Mercedes    +1m04.293s
10. Daniil Kvyat          Toro Rosso-Renault      +1m05.347s
11. Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes    +1m05.697s
12. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Renault      +1m11.920s
13. Felipe Massa          Williams-Mercedes       +1m15.975s
14. Adrian Sutil          Sauber-Ferrari          +1m22.447s
15. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari          +1m30.825s
16. Max Chilton           Marussia-Ferrari        -1 lap
17. Marcus Ericsson       Caterham-Renault        -1 lap
18. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Ferrari        -5 laps

Retirements

    Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes                 38 laps
    Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault            332 lap
    Pastor Maldonado      Lotus-Renault            1 lap
    Andre Lotterer        Caterham-Renault         1 lap


Drivers' championship              Constructors' champiuonship: 

 1. Nico Rosberg         220        1. Mercedes               411          
 2. Lewis Hamilton       191        2. Red Bull/Renault       254      
 3. Daniel Ricciardo     156        3. Ferrari                158
 4. Fernando Alonso      119        4. Williams/Mercedes      150
 5. Valtteri Bottas      110        5. McLaren/Mercedes       111
 6. Sebastian Vettel     98         6. Force India/Mercedes   100
 7. Nico Hülkenberg      69         7. Toro Rosso/Renault     18 
 8. Jenson Button        66         8. Lotus/Renault          8  
 9. Kevin Magnussen      45         9. Marussia/Ferrari       2  
10. Felipe Massa         40        10. Sauber/Ferrari         0  
11. Kimi Räikkönen       39        11. Caterham/Renault       0  
12. Sergio Pérez         31                                        
13. Jean-Éric Vergne     11                                        
14. Romain Grosjean      8       
15. Daniil Kvyat         7       
16. Jules Bianchi        2       

Rally Germany: Thierry Neuville, Hyundai take maiden WRC win

Thierry Neuville took his maiden World Rally Championship victory, as well as the first for his Hyundai team, in an incident-filled Rally Germany.
The Belgian was gifted the lead of the rally with two stages to go after both Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke both crashed out of the lead in successive stages on Sunday morning.
Latvala had been in control of proceedings after his Volkswagen team-mate Sebastien Ogier retired from the rally early on following two crashes, the Finn pulling out a lead of 56 seconds over Meeke going into the final day.
Meeke then assumed the lead after Latvala buried his Polo R WRC in a vineyard on Stage 15, before a faulty pace-note led to the Ulsterman's Citroen DS3 WRC hitting a wall at the very start of the next stage.
That left Neuville with a handsome 37-second advantage over Hyundai team-mate Dani Sordo at the start of the penultimate stage, which he duly extended to 40 seconds by the end of the day to seal his and his team's first WRC win.
It marked the end of an incredible recovery for Neuville after destroying his i20 WRC with a series of rolls during Thursday's shakedown.
Behind Sordo, Andreas Mikkelsen was the only VW driver to make the finish in third, 17.3s adrift of the Spaniard, losing time with a spin on the final day at the very same place where Latvala crashed out.
Elfyn Evans was just five seconds shy of his maiden WRC podium, though the M-Sport Ford driver could take solace in taking three bonus points for a power stage win ahead of Neuville and Mikko Hirvonen, who finished 6.9s behind his team-mate in fifth.
Rounding out the top six was the sole remaining works Citroen of Mads Ostberg, who had struggled for pace during the entire rally. The Norwegian finished comfortably ahead of the Fords of Martin Prokop and Dennis Kuipers.
M-Sport's Robert Kubica was another high-profile retiree, the Pole suffering gearbox problem en route to the start of the Sunday morning loop of stages.
Bryan Bouffier in the third works Hyundai also failed to finish after throwing his car into the vines at the very start of the final stage, having already destroyed it after contact with a rock earlier in the rally.
In WRC2, Pontus Tidemand stole victory from Ott Tanak in the very last stage of the rally. The Swede had held the lead earlier in the rally before dropping back with a puncture, before battling his way back to win on the final day by just 1.8s from Tanak.
Sebastien Lefebvre meanwhile took honours in the Juniors, beating home driver Christian Riedemann by a margin of 9.4s.

Nico Rosberg Q&A: First Spa-Francorchamps pole special

Nico Rosberg is getting used to pole positions - he has now scored seven this season. But that doesn’t mean his latest - at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Saturday - wasn’t special. And with Mercedes dominating the field, it has set up the prospect of another epic showdown with team mate Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s Belgian race…

Q: Nico, we are straight into the second half of the season - with very difficult conditions here at Spa. How fierce will the team mate battle be this weekend?
Nico Rosberg: Well, I think that we have the fastest car again as we demonstrated today - even though we were not as fast on the straight as at some other tracks. It is interesting to observe how the car changes from one track to the other. Red Bull Racing is fast on the straights in race trim - and they did very well in qualifying today - so we will have to analyse our situation this evening. But overall, yes, it is looking pretty promising for us. But Budapest has taught us that the race is on Sunday - and not on Saturday afternoon.

Q: It’s your forth pole position in a row. How much better can it get?
NR: Yes, isn’t it fantastic. Now the race wins should also roll in in the same manner! But to tell the truth it was a challenging afternoon. The track was pretty tricky - even if we were able to run completely on intermediates. It is my first Spa pole, so that is something very special.

Q: When looking at the times Mercedes are a world away from the rest - two seconds clear of Red Bull - so it’s clear it will be your team mate rather than other teams challenging you here. How tight will the team mate battle be here? Another wheel-to-wheel fight?
NR: Yes, when looking at the times I was surprised how big our gap to the others is. And yes, it will be very tight again with Lewis, believe me. But this is a track were you always have the chance to do something with the tyres during the race when you’re on a smart strategy, so it would be wrong to only focus on the qualifying result. Here you always have to put some race considerations into your qualifying set-up on Saturday.

Q: Eau Rouge is one of the legendary fast corners of the calendar - a real racer’s corner. How much fun is that corner in these new cars?
NR: It is still a challenge. That will never change with Eau Rouge. If you have a full tank and the tyre degradation starts on the back tyres you start to slip - and then you come to a point where it’s no more full throttle - and that makes it really interesting. You have to be so precise. That is really awesome.

Q: Is it still the best track?
NR: It is one of the best tracks. It is probably more difficult this year as you have a lower downforce level and that makes the cars slip more - and the more it slips, the more difficult it gets. And this afternoon was the best example. To keep the car on the track needed a lot of precision. But we know that Spa is always tricky with the weather, so you come here prepared for unpredictable conditions.

Q: How are you going about the race tomorrow?
NR: The aim is to have a good start, a clean race and a clear win. Let’s see if it works out this way. No objections from my side to this plan! (laughs)

Belgian GP: Nico Rosberg takes pole position at wet Spa

Nico Rosberg claimed his fourth consecutive Formula 1 pole position in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Rain meant that the majority of qualifying was run using intermediate tyres and Rosberg's first flying lap at the start of Q3, a 2m05.591s, proved to be good enough for pole position.
Although Rosberg did switch to a fresh set of intermediates and made a small improvement, he had already done enough to be sure of top spot. He ended up just over two tenths clear of world championship rival and Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton, who set a slow time on his first flier, which was compromised by sliding wide at the first corner, leading him to ease off, before improving on his second.
He then pitted for fresh intermediates and got down to a 2m05.819s on his final flier, but it was only enough for second.
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel was third fastest, over two seconds slower than Rosberg, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fourth.
The pair had held third and fourth after the first runs, but improvements later on served only to defend their positions with the Mercedes pairing out of reach.
Daniel Ricciardo, who had an off-track moment on his final attempt, was fifth fastest ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the best of the Williams cars.
Kevin Magnussen outqualified McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, the duo ending up seventh and 10th.
In between them were Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, with the Finn the biggest loser after the first runs and being bumped from fifth down to eighth.
Scuderia Toro Rosso pairing Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne were the fastest of those eliminated in Q2.
Kvyat put in a lap that temporarily put him eighth in the closing stages of the session, but he was shuffled down the order by improvements by Magnussen, Button and Vettel, all of which were in the drop zone at times late on.
Sergio Perez was 13th ahead of Sauber driver Adrian Sutil, with Romain Grosjean 15th.
Although Jules Bianchi was slowest in the middle part of qualifying, the Marussia driver was one of the stars of the afternoon after reaching Q2 at Spa for the second consecutive year.
Pastor Maldonado appeared to have made it through to Q2 by improving his time on his final flying lap in a Q1 session that started off wet but improved throughout.
But the Lotus driver was bumped back down to 17th when Sutil also improved in the dying moments, with all the runners by then using intermediate rubber.
This also led to Force India's Nico Hulkenberg being eliminated as he slipped down to 18th ahead of Marussia's Max Chilton having been ahead of both Maldonado and Sutil as they started their final laps.
Hulkenberg admitted to making a mistake at the end of his final lap, which cost him a couple of tenths, also complaining of a lack of braking feel.
Esteban Gutierrez did not have the chance for a proper qualifying attempt as his Sauber stopped on his fifth lap while he was still on wet tyres.
This meant that the Mexican did not get to run in the best of the conditions, ending up ahead of only the two Caterhams.
Remarkably, Andre Lotterer outpaced Caterham team-mate Marcus Ericsson to avoid starting his debut grand prix last, with the gap between the two almost one second.

Pos Driver                Team                  Time       Gap   
 1. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              2m05.591s            
 2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes              2m05.819s  +0.228s   
 3. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      2m07.717s  +2.126s   
 4. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               2m07.786s  +2.195s   
 5. Daniel Ricciardo      Red Bull-Renault      2m07.911s  +2.320s   
 6. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Mercedes     2m08.049s  +2.458s   
 7. Kevin Magnussen       McLaren-Mercedes      2m08.679s  +3.088s   
 8. Kimi Raikkonen        Ferrari               2m08.780s  +3.189s   
 9. Felipe Massa          Williams-Mercedes     2m09.178s  +3.587s   
10. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      2m09.776s  +4.185s   
Q2 cut-off time: 2m09.272s                                 Gap **
11. Daniil Kvyat          Toro Rosso-Renault    2m09.377s  +2.768s
12. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Renault    2m09.805s  +3.196s
13. Sergio Perez          Force India-Mercedes  2m10.084s  +3.475s
14. Adrian Sutil          Sauber-Ferrari        2m10.238s  +3.629s
15. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         2m11.087s  +4.478s
16. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Ferrari      2m12.470s  +5.861s
Q1 cut-off time: 2m11.081s                                 Gap *
17. Pastor Maldonado      Lotus-Renault         2m11.261s  +4.131s
18. Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  2m11.267s  +4.137s
19. Max Chilton           Marussia-Ferrari      2m12.566s  +5.436s
20. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari        2m13.414s  +6.284s
21. Andre Lotterer        Caterham-Renault      2m13.469s  +6.339s
22. Marcus Ericsson       Caterham-Renault      2m14.438s  +7.308s

Belgian GP: Vettel will avoid grid penalty despite engine scare

Renault says reigning Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will escape a grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix by reverting to the engine he used in Hungary.
Vettel sat out most of Friday practice at Spa because of an engine failure in FP1 on his Red Bull.
He completed just 11 laps before an ignition problem damaged his new unit, which Renault said was running in "similar" specification to the previous race.
Vettel has now fitted the maximum five permitted engines for the season and the German told reporters after Friday's sessions that he fears grid penalties will be inevitable over the course of the rest of the season.
But Renault's head of track operations, Remi Taffin, said Vettel would revert to an old unit to escape any sanction in Belgium.
"It was a fresh engine this morning, but he had an ignition problem," Taffin explained.
"Basically we lost power from one of the cylinders and it was traced to the ignition.
"Unfortunately we had to revert to an old engine, but this is OK because the spare one was used in Budapest.
"We haven't got the time to investigate too much so we go for the easy solution."
Taffin said Vettel's MGU-K was also damaged by overheating caused by the engine problem, which he also said was unrelated to Renault's "minor" summer developments.
Taffin said both components should be salvaged for future races.
"As a consequence [of the ignition problem] we had a broken exhaust, so you have a lot of overheating with the bodywork," Taffin added.
"You have to check quite a lot of looms and parts in the power unit to make sure it will work again. It should be OK for this engine to come back again next race."
This means Vettel should be able to delay taking a grid penalty for a further engine change until September's Italian GP at the earliest, but Taffin agreed a penalty was inevitable for Vettel before the end of the campaign.
"We can say from the next race onwards we could have the potential [for a penalty], but it could become a bit strategic so it's difficult to predict," Taffin said.
"[There is a] 99 per cent chance we will have a sixth one at some point."

Belgian GP: Nico Rosberg quickest in opening practice session

Mercedes was fastest in first practice for the 2014 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, with Nico Rosberg outpacing Lewis Hamilton by 0.097s.
As expected, Mercedes­-engined cars dominated the top 10, with the 'works' cars trading quickest times in the final half hour.
Rosberg topped the timesheets for the first half of the session with a 1m51.724s lap before Hamilton edged ahead, but Rosberg hit back by going another tenth of a second faster.
Hamilton's race engineer Peter Bonnington informed him that the time came from Rosberg being quicker through the chicane and picking up more mid­-corner ­to ­exit speed at Pouhon.
Both Mercedes then returned to the circuit in the final minutes but did not improve their times.
Ferrari arrived at Spa with a revised low­-downforce aero package and proved to be the fastest non­-Mercedes team. Fernando Alonso was especially impressive, third fastest and just two tenths off Rosberg's benchmark.
Kimi Raikkonen, so often a Spa specialist, continued to fight his F14 T but finished fifth fastest, albeit a second slower than his team-­mate.
The Ferraris sandwiched the McLaren of fourth-­placed Jenson Button, who survived a brief scare when his DRS stuck open. Button was a comfortable half­ second faster than team-­mate Kevin Magnussen.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was the only other top 10 runner without a Mercedes engine, closing the session in ninth place, behind Magnussen and the two Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
Ricciardo's team-­mate Sebastian Vettel was two places adrift after an eventful session. He reported gearshift problems and ran off ­track at Pouhon, then ran just another handful of laps before returning to the garage with a temperature-­related exhaust failure.
Valtteri Bottas was the only Williams driver to finish inside the top 10, seven tenths quicker than team-­mate Felipe Massa.
While 1.595s separated P1 from P10, the gap from fastest to slowest on the entire grid was a substantial 6.4s, with the usual suspects propping up the order.
Alexander Rossi, who will not now drive in the grand prix, was over a second slower than Marussia team-­mate Jules Bianchi.
It only took F1 debutant Andre Lotterer 10 laps at the wheel of the newly upgraded Caterham to overhaul team-­mate Marcus Ericsson, who spun at La Source in response.

Pos Driver                Team                      Time       Gap     Laps
 1. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                  1m51.577s           25    
 2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes                  1m51.674s  +0.097s  24    
 3. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                   1m51.805s  +0.228s  16    
 4. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes          1m52.404s  +0.827s  21    
 5. Kimi Raikkonen        Ferrari                   1m52.818s  +1.241s  17    
 6. Sergio Perez          Force India-Mercedes      1m52.903s  +1.326s  24    
 7. Kevin Magnussen       McLaren-Mercedes          1m52.922s  +1.345s  23    
 8. Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes      1m52.937s  +1.360s  22    
 9. Daniel Ricciardo      Red Bull-Renault          1m52.972s  +1.395s  19    
10. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Mercedes         1m53.172s  +1.595s  20    
11. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault          1m53.369s  +1.792s  11    
12. Daniil Kvyat          Toro Rosso-Renault        1m53.594s  +2.017s  21    
13. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault             1m53.597s  +2.020s  20    
14. Adrian Sutil          Sauber-Ferrari            1m53.703s  +2.126s  14    
15. Felipe Massa          Williams-Mercedes         1m53.968s  +2.391s  20    
16. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Renault        1m54.189s  +2.612s  20    
17. Giedo van der Garde   Sauber-Ferrari            1m54.335s  +2.758s  16    
18. Pastor Maldonado      Lotus-Renault             1m55.336s  +3.759s  21    
19. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Ferrari          1m55.782s  +4.205s  19    
20. Alexander Rossi       Marussia-Ferrari          1m57.232s  +5.655s  20    
21. Andre Lotterer        Caterham-Renault          1m57.886s  +6.309s  24    
22. Marcus Ericsson       Caterham-Renault          1m57.977s  +6.400s  24 

Williams F1 team says eliminating blame culture key to resurgence

Eliminating a 'blame culture' has played a significant role in the Williams Formula 1 team's turnaround, according to performance chief Rob Smedley.
Williams has made significant strides during the 2014 F1 season both in terms of results and operational strength.
Smedley believes that focusing on troubleshooting problems rather than trying to blame individuals has played a big part in that.
"Perhaps Williams was a bit guilty in the past, and it's not the only team, of having a bit of a blame culture on the technical side."
"Pat [Symonds, chief technical officer] and I both have the same core value that you absolutely must not have a blame culture.
"When you have a blame culture, people spend 60-90 per cent of their effort covering what they have done rather than doing anything positive and understanding the problem, making the car go quicker or making operations slicker.
"I know that because I've seen it many times before, but if you actually say to people 'look, that's my job, the buck stops with me, it's actually my fault' no matter who made the call the situation is diffused very quickly.
"We're not looking for someone to sack or looking for scapegoats, meaning people end up focusing on something positive.
"That's the culture we are trying to build up here and slowly it is working."
Smedley also believes that the race team and the factory are working together more effectively than before.
This has often been a weakness at Williams in the past, but the impressive hit-rate of the upgrades the team has introduced this season shows it is no longer the case.
While Symonds is focused on the work done at the factory as well as attending races, Smedley's role as head of vehicle performance means he is in day-to-day charge of the race team.
"I really like the way the axis is working," said Smedley.
"Pat is, far and away, the best boss I have had and there is a great deal of trust there between the two of us.
"I'm in constant contact with him when we're here at the track and when stuff needs doing he's the link back to the factory.
"We have these conversations and bounce ideas off each other and then that goes back, and it is a way to feed back ideas back to the factory."

Rally Germany: Thierry Neuville to start despite major crash

Thierry Neuville will make the start of Rally Germany, despite rolling his Hyundai i20 WRC six times on Thursday morning's shakedown.
But the Belgian might have to walk over the start ramp as his car may not be ready for the evening ceremony.
Neuville crashed out of his third run at the shakedown stage close to Trier, but the German-based team is confident of getting the i20 fixed in time for Friday morning's first competitive stage.
A Hyundai spokesperson said: "We have a little bit of work to do, but the car's OK.
"It just needs some panels, doors, maybe wings, a windscreen and a little bit of tape and it'll be fine.
"There's no major mechanical issues with the car at all and the roll cage wasn't damaged."
Hyundai believes Neuville was fortunate with where he rolled.
"The car did roll six times, but it was into the vineyards and it looks like they took some of the impact," the spokesperson added.
"Whether it's ready for the ceremonial start this evening, we don't know - but we are not obliged to make this; the first control is tomorrow morning.
"The crew can walk across the ramp if they need to."
Neuville, who finished second on last year's Rally Germany driving an M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC, will be relieved at the lack of roll cage damage as this was the cause of his early retirement from Rally Finland earlier this month.

Fernando Alonso expects tough races for Ferrari F1 team

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari must brace itself for a tough time in the next two Formula 1 races, as he expects main rival Williams to have the edge in Belgium and Italy.
With the Spaniard accepting that it is 'unrealistic' for Ferrari to believe it can win races on pace this season, its main ambition in the final eight races of the campaign is to beat Williams to third place in the championship.
But with the next two circuits of Spa-Francorchamps and Monza set to play perfectly to the power strengths of the Mercedes-powered Williams team, Alonso knows that the next few weeks will not be easy.
When asked during a Shell media event promoting its Eco-marathon cars at Spa on Thursday if there were hopes of winning a race before the end of the season, Alonso said: "Honestly, I think our target has to be lower.
"It has to be fighting for the constructors' championship in the highest position possible. But it is quite a big competition, a tough competition, with Williams.
"The next two races are quite good for them, so we expect to have tough weekends at the moment against Williams here and in Monza, and we need to cope with that.
"We need damage limitation in the next two races in terms of points, and then attack in the last part [of the season]. I think a grand prix win this year is a little bit unrealistic."
Ferrari is only seven points ahead of Williams in the fight for third place in the constructors' championship.
RAIKKONEN HOPES UPTURN CONTINUES
While Alonso is realistic about Ferrari's prospects in the next few races, team-mate Kimi Raikkonen is hopeful that progress he made in Hungary carries on.
The Finn enjoyed a step forward in form in the last race, and he is encouraged that he may have turned the corner on what has been a difficult campaign so far.
But although he has an amazing record at Spa - having won the Belgian GP four times - he knows that his previous form counts for nothing this time out.
"It doesn't help really what happened in the past," said the Finn.
"Obviously, it has been a pretty difficult season so far, but the last race it felt a bit more normal.
"I could finally drive a bit more like I wanted and it was more fun also. So hopefully when we start here tomorrow it feels similar."

Belgium preview quotes - Mercedes, Ferrari & more

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
2013 Qualifying - 2nd, 2013 Race - 1st
“The race in Spa started our series of nine victories last year, which I always like to remember. The Belgian circuit offers all possible turns and manoeuvres: ultra-fast, medium-speed, heavy braking and fast straights. The height difference is so great that you always have the feeling of riding a roller coaster - especially in Eau Rouge. The weather can also be very unpredictable and a challenge for drivers and teams, it should never be underestimated: within minutes it can change from heavy rain to sunshine. As well as that, the safety car often comes out at Spa. The track is one of my favourites of the year because it feels like it has grown out of the nature that is all around it - it blends with the natural setting perfectly.”

Daniel Ricciardo
2013 Qualifying - 19th, 2013 Race - 10th
“Above all, Spa is a racing circuit - one that really encourages exciting wheel-to-wheel action. That said, F1 has changed over the years and whereas Eau Rouge and Blanchimont were once the standout sections, now it’s probably the Pouhon downhill left-hander at Turns 10 and 11. That’s seriously, seriously fast - and probably a good place to watch the race from for anyone prepared for a bit of a hike through the Ardennes. Of course, given the Belgium Grand Prix draws in all the petrolheads, everyone’s perfectly happy to slog through the woods to find the best view. You bump into people who’ve been going to the race for five decades. And if you ever go into a pub or restaurant in one of the villages around the circuit, chances are you’ll see pictures on the wall of great drivers from back in the day, standing where you are and doing what you’re doing. It’s great stuff.”

Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen
2013 Qualifying - 8th, 2013 Race - DNF
“Spa is probably my favourite circuit because it’s an old-style track which climbs and drops through the forest and I like the fact it’s fast and flowing. Also, it usually provides good racing to watch for the spectators. I think you can make a difference as a driver at every part of the circuit, but as with every track, it’s a combination of factors. At Turn 1, the hairpin, you can actually lose or gain a lot of time and you need good speed out of it because after it comes the very long straight including Eau Rouge. That corner has been easily flat out for quite a long time now, although actually, with this year’s cars, that might not be the case. Last time I drove here in a Ferrari (in 2009) I won, and that was in a year when we had been struggling since the start. But in Spa we managed to get things going a bit more in the right direction and it would be good if the same thing could happen this year. That would hopefully mean the racing would be a bit more fun. It’s always more fun when we get the results!”

Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
2013 Qualifying - 1st, 2013 Race - 3rd
"The summer break was a good chance to relax and to reflect on what's been an incredible start to the year for us as a team. But personally, I can't wait to get back in the car and back into the battle for the championship. I had some difficult weekends in the first part of the season, but then a bit of good fortune at the last race in Budapest kept me from damaging my car on the wall during that first lap, so hopefully that was a sign that my fortunes are changing at just the right time. There were so many positives to take from the opening 11 races, but both myself and the team always want more and know we are capable of more. The aim is to put the more difficult times of some of the previous weekends behind us and to recreate the best moments at every race from now on. I love driving at Spa, so there are few better places to start. I had good results there in 2008 and on my first visit to the circuit with this team last year, plus the win in 2010 of course. I haven't won there as many times as I'd like but that win was a really special one, so I really want to add to that and that's definitely the target this weekend."

Nico Rosberg
2013 Qualifying - 4th, 2013 Race - 4th
"It's good to be back after the break and to see everyone looking really refreshed and up for the fight in the remaining months of the season. The last race didn't turn out how I had hoped after taking pole in tricky conditions the day before, but I still managed to come away with my championship lead intact and that's a good place to be heading into the next part of the year. Although we have had a great start with plenty of good results, that race showed that the other teams are never too far away. In Formula One you just can't afford to give away any advantage and I know that both the team and myself will be working harder than ever to keep improving and maintain our position right to the very end. On top of that, the battle with Lewis has been so close all season - and it could well stay that way right up to the final race - so every last point will be crucial in that contest too. Next up, of course, we have Belgium, which is definitely one of the most spectacular races of the year. The circuit is just unreal and it's one I think every driver looks forward to. My record there hasn't been as good as at some other circuits in the past, but I'm determined to change that and get the season kicked off again in style!"

Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"It has been good for the sport to take a break during these past two weeks after an intense start to the season. Aside from the demanding schedule which we encounter each and every year, the challenges of this new formula have placed an extra demand on all the people who have worked so hard to produce what is an almost entirely new car for these revolutionary regulations. The big positive from that, however, is that what we have already seen an impressive display in terms of both the technology underneath the drivers and some spectacular racing on track. Looking ahead to Spa, and also reflecting on our recent performances, it is clear that reliability must be a key focus for the team if we are to maintain the hard-earned advantage established in the opening stages of the year. We approach the remaining eight races with the firm target of making this next phase of the season even better than what we have achieved so far. Although the team has done a fantastic job, we are fully aware that this championship is far from decided - as demonstrated clearly in Hungary by the performance of some of our competitors. As always, we are taking nothing for granted."

Williams poised for best chances of 2014 F1 win at Spa and Monza

Williams has its best chances of the 2014 Formula 1 season to take wins at the next races in Belgium and Italy, reckons Valtteri Bottas.
The power advantage provided by the team's Mercedes engines, as well as an aerodynamically efficient car, are set to pay dividends at the high-speed Spa and Monza circuits.
Although Bottas says that good results should not be ruled out elsewhere, he knows that there is a real chance of success coming up at the next two grands prix.
"I think in theory Spa and Monza should be the next really good ones for us, maybe the best opportunities of the season," explained Bottas.
"But we need to aim to be strong in other places and we can't just rely on our good top speed and doing well at Spa and Monza."
Williams performance chief Rob Smedley thinks that Spa could be particularly good for the team, and not just because of its straightline speed.
Speaking about the opportunity of Belgium and Italy, Smedley said: "Both of those tracks will suit our car very well I would have thought - mainly due to the fact the power sensitivity at those tracks is very high; every horsepower you have is worth more there than at other tracks.
"The drag sensitivity - especially at Spa - is very high. And we know our car is very strong in those areas.
"Additionally, I think at somewhere like Spa, with harder compounds, it can sometimes be quite difficult to get the tyres turned on and I think our car can do that - especially when it's a front-end problem.
"I'm reasonably confident our car can go well in both of those races, but I've said before that we don't fear anywhere."
STRONG END TO CAMPAIGN
Felipe Massa is bullish about the prospects for Williams over the entire second half of the campaign - and does not view Spa and Monza as the only decent opportunities remaining for victory.
"I think Monza, Spa, maybe USA, maybe Brazil - and also at the last race [Abu Dhabi] you have some good straights," said the Brazilian.
"I think the car can be competitive at many tracks, not just the fastest. Maybe at Spa we can be more competitive than on the others, but I think we need to concentrate and think we can have a good car in most tracks."
When asked if Williams could be ahead of Mercedes on pure pace terms at any of the races, Massa said: "I think it won't be easy, but it's not impossible. Maybe at a few of these tracks we can have more chance."

Toro Rosso picks youth in Max Verstappen but team is maturing

Toro Rosso's decision to take Max Verstappen alongside Daniil Kvyat in 2015 has fanned excitement about the potential of the youngest driver line-up in Formula 1 history.
But away from the men in the cockpit, the Faenza-based team's hopes of real progress on track are becoming more realistic thanks to its maturing structure.
Although current results are not as good as they were during its Sebastian Vettel days - when the use of a Red Bull-designed chassis helped Toro Rosso win the 2008 Italian Grand Prix - a ramping up of facilities in recent years should leave the team in its best ever shape by the end of next year.
Team principal Franz Tost said: "You can't compare it to the car of 2007 or 2008 but now as a constructor, Toro Rosso has for sure reached a very high level during this development period.
"The infrastructure must bring us into the position that, from 2016 onwards, we belong to the five top teams in Formula 1."
FACTORY EXPANSION
Laying down the foundations for Toro Rosso to stand on its own feet as a constructor was never going to be the work of the moment, but new facilities and a jump in headcount for 2015 means Tost is optimistic.
"We started two months ago on the second building which will be finished at the end of next year, so then we will have everything under one roof," he said.
"It means that the co-operation between the different departments will become much easier and communication should increase.
"This is the second part of the building in Faenza, where we bring in all the engineers, the hydraulic department, the fabrication and also the race preparation.
"The windtunnel and aero department will stay in Bicester and the infrastructure has also increased there.
"We have invested a lot of money and I think from the aero point of view we have reached a good level because our car is quite competitive.

"Concentrating on the future, we are bringing in more engineers in the coming months and they will be coming into the drawing office and vehicle performance department, which should bring us into a competitive position going into 2015."
JAMES KEY A MAJOR BOOST
Tost also believes that technical director James Key has played a significant role in pushing things forward.
"It has been a massive boost for the team because he brought in a lot of new ideas and also new engineers," he said.
"It meant we refreshed the knowledge at Toro Rosso, and gained experience, and that was really a very important step for the team.
"We are still in this learning and development process, but with James I am quite confident that we are absolutely in the right way."

Belgium preview quotes - Red Bull, McLaren, Williams & more

   

Refreshed and revitalised after their summer break, the members of the F1 paddock are raring to go racing once more as they journey to the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit for this weekend’s 2014 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix. Those involved discuss their prospects...

Lotus
Romain Grosjean
2013 Qualifying - 7th, 2013 Race - 8th
"I come back to the paddock refreshed and with energy restored for the next phase of the season. Despite the difficulties so far, I feel positive for the rest of the season to come. We have seen that there have been many issues since the start of the year and even before, but as with everything in life you have to look forward and this is exactly what I am doing. Since Monaco we have had a succession of really hard races where for many reasons we have not been in the position to claim any points. For Spa I am hoping that there will be some improvements so we can show the potential which has been seen on a few occasions, like at Barcelona. We have to reverse the problems that have held us back and I believe that if we get that then we can post more points on the board. Spa as we all know is one of the best tracks we go to, if not the best of them all. As a driver it is like a dream circuit with elevation change, quick corners, medium speed technical corners and some good straights for overtaking. It's a circuit with a soul."

Pastor Maldonado
2013 Qualifying - 17th, 2013 Race - 17th
"It has been a very hard season and one in which there have been lots of issues. But now that is behind us and we have to believe that we can get some points on the board and complete the season strongly. That way it will give some good momentum to start afresh in 2015 with a whole new exciting package. It would be difficult to give a clear aim other than improvement and fighting for points every race. We have seen flashes of big promise from the E22. If everything is running right and the team continues to push then we can get more points for sure. As a team we will stay together with a clear mission to achieve the maximum. If we can have a clean weekend technically, without any power unit or other issues, then we will be in a good position to challenge for points. Spa always throws up some variables with the weather being the obvious one. It would be nice to be higher up than the last few races. If we can achieve this and we have a good package then I believe we can come away with something very positive from Belgium."

McLaren
Jenson Button
2013 Qualifying - 6th, 2013 Race - 6th
"I go into the second half of the season feeling incredibly refreshed and positive. There's no better place to resume the season than at Spa-Francorchamps. It's one of the best circuits in the world, and it's a place where driving a Formula One car always feels incredible. As ever, I'm really looking forward to driving out of the pits for the first time on Friday morning, and just throwing the car into some of the greatest corners in motorsport.

"I had one of my best weekends of the year at Spa last year, qualifying and finishing sixth after running closely with a bunch of cars through the whole race. It wasn't my best finish of the year, but it was positive because I got the maximum out of the package we had, and was able to fight closely with a number of other drivers, which felt satisfying. Hopefully, there will be positives to take out of this weekend as well."

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
2013 Qualifying - 2nd, 2013 Race - 1st
“The race in Spa started our series of nine victories last year, which I always like to remember. The Belgian circuit offers all possible turns and manoeuvres: ultra-fast, medium-speed, heavy braking and fast straights. The height difference is so great that you always have the feeling of riding a roller coaster - especially in Eau Rouge. The weather can also be very unpredictable and a challenge for drivers and teams, it should never be underestimated: within minutes it can change from heavy rain to sunshine. As well as that, the safety car often comes out at Spa. The track is one of my favourites of the year because it feels like it has grown out of the nature that is all around it - it blends with the natural setting perfectly.”

Daniel Ricciardo
2013 Qualifying - 19th, 2013 Race - 10th
“Above all, Spa is a racing circuit - one that really encourages exciting wheel-to-wheel action. That said, F1 has changed over the years and whereas Eau Rouge and Blanchimont were once the standout sections, now it’s probably the Pouhon downhill left-hander at Turns 10 and 11. That’s seriously, seriously fast - and probably a good place to watch the race from for anyone prepared for a bit of a hike through the Ardennes. Of course, given the Belgium Grand Prix draws in all the petrolheads, everyone’s perfectly happy to slog through the woods to find the best view. You bump into people who’ve been going to the race for five decades. And if you ever go into a pub or restaurant in one of the villages around the circuit, chances are you’ll see pictures on the wall of great drivers from back in the day, standing where you are and doing what you’re doing. It’s great stuff.”

Williams
Felipe Massa
2013 Qualifying - 10th, 2013 Race - 7th
"I love Spa, it's one of my favourite tracks because of the long straights and high speed corners, and it's a track we all look forward to racing at. The long straights should suit our car and we can kick the second half of the season off with some success. I won here in 2008 and so I know what it takes to win. I have had a really nice summer break but am ready to get back to racing. We have some great tracks to look forward to and I hope we can carry on developing our car like we did the first half of the season, and continue to be near the front."

Analysis: Why Max Verstappen can handle F1

Max Verstappen is the most exciting driver to come along in a generation.That doesn't mean to say he's the best - yet. Just that whenever he drives, there's electricity in the air.
When you're standing trackside, sometimes it's hard to appreciate individual talent in a Formula 3 car. But that's not the case with Verstappen, who seems so much at one with his machine that it's like watching a kid flinging a BMX bike around an off-road course.
Pau was the extreme. On a street circuit that the 16-year-old Dutchman had never seen, he was throwing his car around from the first laps of free practice.
There's a little chicane at Pau, just before the flat-out sweepers to the start-finish line. It has a downhill approach through a right-hand kink, through which Verstappen would be powersliding his car before stamping on the brakes for the chicane, the arrest of momentum instantly flicking the back end around to give him a perfect trajectory through the left-handed chicane entry.
It showed an audacity that sent shivers down the spine and, wherever you watched on the circuit, Verstappen's approach was eagerly anticipated.
Some have idly speculated that the form of championship leader Esteban Ocon and Verstappen - rookies both - means that this isn't a strong year for European F3.
This is utter nonsense, with many seasoned experts - engineers, team managers, driver coaches - reckoning it's the best crop we've had for years. Tom Blomqvist, in a seat that at last has given him the opportunity to show his talent, has been the star of the returning F3 'veterans'.

And you only have to look at the struggles of Felix Rosenqvist, Lucas Auer and Jordan King - all drivers who in any normal year would have been worthy title protagonists (as indeed Rosenqvist was in 2013) - to keep up with Ocon and Verstappen to realise that this is a truly special year for talent.
Forget his age. Verstappen will not be out of his depth in a Formula 1 car.
His F3 form has shown that he has absolutely no time for preconceived wisdom of what should or should not be possible, and he will translate this into any machine he cares to slide himself into.
Many reckon they've been watching a future multiple world champion in action this year. Then again, many said the same about his dad. But what is without doubt is that - at the very least - Max Verstappen's progress will be spectacular.
To an outside world that is bored by F1's corporate image, a soon-to-be-17-year-old with a totally fearless character - who's thoroughly personable and sometimes outspoken to boot - will be a breath of fresh air.
F1 doesn't need a 64-year-old Italian to revive itself in the public eye. It needs young stars like Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen to race with Toro Rosso F1 team in 2015

Max Verstappen will race in Formula 1 at the age of 17 when he joins the Toro Rosso team next year, the Red Bull-owned squad announced on Monday.
The Dutchman, currently competing in the Formula 3 European Championship, will join Russian Daniil Kvyat, replacing Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne.
Verstappen, the son of former grand prix driver Jos, had joined the Red Bull F1 junior programme just last week.
He has won seven F3 races in his maiden season of car racing, having competing in karting until last year.
As revealed earlier this month, he had been linked with the Mercedes F1 junior programme as well.
Verstappen will become the youngest ever driver to be on the F1 grid when he races in next year's Australian Grand Prix.
The previous record holder was Jaime Alguersuari, who made his GP debut at 19 years and 125 days of age, also with Toro Rosso.
"Ever since I was seven years old, Formula 1 has been my career goal, so this opportunity is truly a dream come true," said Verstappen.
His team-mate Kvyat made his debut this year at the age of 19.
"We are happy to welcome Max into the Toro Rosso family," said team boss Franz Tost.
"It's great to see how the Red Bull Junior Programme continues to find talented young drivers and gives them the opportunity to come into Formula 1.
"We consider Max to be as one of the most skilled young drivers of the new generation and we believe he has the necessary maturity and mental strength to take on this challenge successfully."
The news means Vergne's future in Formula 1 will depend on finding a drive elsewhere.
"I would also like to thank Jean-Eric Vergne for all his hard work," added Tost.
"He has produced strong performances, but unfortunately he was also hindered by some reliability problems, especially in the first half of the current season.
"We hope that we have resolved these problems and that he will be able to end the second half of this season on a high note and thereby show that he still deserves another opportunity in Formula 1."

Germany countdown: The challenge

As the first pure asphalt round of the season, ADAC Rallye Deutschland (21 - 24 August) will throw a host of challenges at drivers, some of whom will taste sealed surface special stages for the first time in their current cars.

What are the main challenges that will confront them during the three-day event?

Hinkelsteins

One renowned source describes a hinkelstein as the term for menhir – or standing stone - in the local Hessian dialect, after a menhir discovered in 1866 in Monsheim in southern Germany. So what has all that got to do with a round of the FIA World Rally Championship?

In simple terms, they are huge kerbstones buried in the ground alongside roads on the Baumholder military area, which the rally visits on Saturday for four stages. They are designed to keep errant tanks on the training tracks and if a wayward car decides to take one on, there is only going to be one winner…

Few drivers escape an impact with a hinkelstein without suffering immediate retirement.
Baumholder
This military training land, used by the US Army, was once described as the ‘Safari Rally of asphalt rallying’. The terrain might not be quite as rough as Kenya’s finest, but the stages there pose perhaps the most severe asphalt test of the season.

Smooth wide roads contrasts with narrow cobbles and rough broken concrete. A fine layer of sand on the surface makes conditions slippery in the dry and treacherous in the wet. And all the while there are those hinkelsteins in the back of drivers’ minds.

Vineyards

The Mosel vineyards offer some of Germany’s finest grapes, but they also provide some of the country’s best rally roads.
They are extremely narrow, lightning quick and linked by a series of impossibly tight hairpins as they climb and descend the hillsides.

The vines often overhang the roads, making visibility of entry and exit points of corners tricky and there are few drivers who haven’t a tale to tell about a quick visit into the Riesling grapes.
The weather
The weather could also play a key role: the end of August could see extremely high temperatures soar above the 30-degree mark, but is also well capable of producing continuous heavy rainfall. Most difficult however is a bit of both, as grip is notoriously difficult to gauge in drying conditions and the narrow vineyard roads offer little margin for error.

Eric Boullier prepared to 'bruise egos' to fix McLaren F1 team

Eric Boullier says he is prepared to "bruise some egos" as he continues his work to return McLaren to the front of the Formula 1 grid.
McLaren racing director Boullier and F1 CEO Jonathan Neale have restructured the Woking squad since Boullier arrived from Lotus last winter.
The process has also included hiring new aerodynamicists.
Boullier revealed the most recent phase of his restructure has been focused on getting the team's departments to work together more harmoniously, and he vowed to make more changes if necessary.
"It's the same people that have won many, many races in the world championship."
"It's about why they can't work together and why they can't reach the target.
"It's more about the culture and bringing back the right leadership, the right management and putting the right processes in place.
"It will take time and it may bruise some egos, but there will be some changes in the team because we have to close the book and start a new one.
"We want to be as successful, as we were before - McLaren has very successful heritage - this is why we won't be starting from scratch.
"I think we are on top of it now. It's not completely processed, but it will be done soon."
ON THE RIGHT PATH
McLaren scored a double podium finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but currently lies sixth in the constructors' championship - it's worst placing since it finished there in 1981.
However, better form in recent races has convinced Boullier the team is on the right path to re-discovering the form it will need when it enters its new works engine partnership with Honda in 2015.
"We have definitely stopped getting 'down' and in the past couple of months we have got back on track," Boullier added.
"It's always difficult to stop a downwards spiral, but it now looks like we have stopped it.
"We know it is going to take time to get back to the top. We have to be realistic, but at least now it looks like we are coming up.
"I think by the end of the year 95 per cent will be completed and the foundation of McLaren for the next 10 years will be in place."
WELCOMING CHANGE

Former McLaren driver Alain Prost said earlier this year that his old team needed to "rethink" its approach in order to win again in Formula 1.
Boullier agreed with this sentiment and said he was surprised by how willing McLaren personnel were to accept the need for change.
"They knew that something was going wrong and most of the people were open-minded and happy to welcome changes."
"My feeling is they are starting to accept the change and are beginning to get motivated again.
"I expect the team to be much stronger next year and it will be good if we can deliver straight away."
AGGRESSIVE UPGRADES
McLaren has pursued an aggressive upgrade programme with its MP4-29 so far this season and Boullier said this would continue when the campaign resumes at Spa next weekend after F1's summer shutdown.
"We have some updates coming after the summer shutdown," Boullier confirmed.
"We have major upgrades and they will be part of the process to see what we can deliver and seeing if we can reach our achievable targets."

F1 teams need advance warning over 18-inch wheel move - Allison

Ferrari technical director James Allison thinks it vital that Formula 1 teams get sufficient advance warning before the possible introduction of 18-inch wheels in the sport.
Last month, F1 tyre supplier Pirelli evaluated the bigger wheels during testing with a view at introducing them in the near future.
The Italian manufacturer said it would be ready to provide 18-inch tyres as early as 2016 if F1 wanted.
Allison says, however, that the introduction of the bigger wheels must be planned carefully and with plenty of time, as he warned that teams would need the new tyres at least a year before they are raced in order to develop their cars properly.
"One of the things that is extremely important to all of us teams is that we have accurate windtunnel tyres, because one of the most aerodynamically important things on the car is the tyre," said Allison.
"It has an extremely first-order effect on how much downforce you have and accurately reproducing the shape of the real tyre in the windtunnel and in CFD is of critical importance to accurately simulating downforce in those tools.
"So whoever gets the tyre tender for 2017, if it is an 18-inch thing, they need to be providing windtunnel tyres about a year before we use the real tyres on the track.
"So ensuring that the tyre tender is set up so that the schedule of that delivery is correct for the teams is going to be important."
Allison also thinks the introduction of bigger wheels would have a significant impact on new engineering ideas.
"It will be a substantially interesting project because the tyres will have very different characteristics," he said.
"The space that it will free up in the wheels will allow for a fair amount of research and engineering, and it is something that will have to be unfolded in a quite well planned way for the entire sport."

Volkswagen out to settle scores at home

Volkswagen will start this week’s Rallye Deutschland determined to make up for a miserable outing on home ground last year and with the chance of securing a trio of FIA World Rally Championship titles.

WRC round nine is the first opportunity for defending champions Volkswagen to seal this year’s manufacturers’ title. And with its three crews leading the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings, a good result could guarantee that two more trophies are on their way to Wolfsburg.

In 2013 much was expected of the team by its home crowd. But after the pre-event withdrawal of Andreas Mikkelsen, and crashes for Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala, it turned out to be only round of the season in which no VW driver made it onto the podium.

Now, as it prepares to tackle the asphalt roads around Trier for a second time, Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito accepted the pressure was on.

Capito: "The pressure is really high"

He said: “We have a score to settle with the Rally Germany since last year, as missing out on the podium at our home event is not a nice memory to have.
“The pressure is really high and we expect a better result and that’s what we are working for this year. We are working hard, with all of our energy focused.
"The approach will be the same as all rallies this season: we’ve got to do our best and to deliver to our bosses the right result on that rally.”
After the team’s one-two victory in Finland, Capito said he would like to secure the manufacturers’ title in Germany 'in style, preferably with a rally win.'

Number crunching: What will secure the titles for VW?

Manufacturers:

Volkswagen has a lead in the manufacturers’ standings of 175 points over closest rival Citroën. If it manages to keep a gap of at least 172 after Rally Germany, Volkswagen will win the manufacturers’ world championship.

Drivers and co-drivers

Defending champions Ogier and Ingrassia have a lead of 121 points over the best non-Volkswagen duo, Citroen’s Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson. If they still have a lead of 112 points after Germany, it will definitely be a Volkswagen duo who will celebrate victory in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings. Ogier/Ingrassia are currently in the lead on 187 points, followed by teammates Latvala/Anttila (143 points) and Mikkelsen (95 points).

Max Mosley: Budget cap still Formula 1's only hope for cost control

Formula 1's bid to control costs will only ever succeed if the sport accepts the need for a budget cap, reckons former FIA president Max Mosley.
With F1's chiefs and teams having failed to agree on changes that will drastically cut spending next year, grand prix racing's smaller outfits are resigned to an ongoing struggle to keep finances in check.
Mosley, who during his reign as FIA president from 1993 to 2009 campaigned hard to control costs, thinks F1 has to face up to the fact that trying to control budgets through ever-tighter regulations will end in failure.
"In the end I'm as guilty as anybody, because from 2000 onwards, I focused on the regulations." 
"The theory was, if you get the regulations right, you can bring the costs down. We found that wasn't true.
"For example, we tried to reduce the freedom for the engine builders - but it made no difference to the expenditure. Our achievement was simply to reduce the horsepower gained per million dollars spent. That's all.
"Then, following a logical sequence, we froze the engines. All the experts told me 'that's it now'.
"So what did [the engine manufacturers] do? They spent fortunes on the research to the airbox. And I think they found 30 horsepower. It's fascinating when they look at something nobody's bothered with.
"Eventually I realised that it didn't matter what we did with the regulations. We demonstrated that you cannot control costs through regulations. We had to bring in a cost cap."
Mosley's original push to introduce a budget cap in F1 in 2009 faced strong resistance from teams - and he had difficulties taking on the big manufacturers in the wake of the News of the World controversy that overshadowed his final months in charge of the FIA.
COMPETITIVE INCENTIVES
While Mosley understands the reasons why the sport's biggest teams do not want a cost cap imposed, he reckons incentives to boost the competitiveness of smaller outfits may weaken their stance.

"Why not allow a Formula 1 team which is prepared to operate within a very small budget to have greater technical freedom to bring them within a second or so of the frontrunners?" he said.
"To me that is so logical. It lets you demonstrate that somebody sitting in the grandstand will not be able to see the difference between the £50million team and the £500million team."
Mosley also believes that a more equal split of F1's commercial rights income would solve a lot of the teams' financial problems.
"If you ran it rationally, you would give everybody the same money," he said. "You would then arrange the budgets so the cost [of a season] was less than or equal to the amount of money you're giving them.
"You would then say to them [the teams] whatever sponsorship money you get, that's your profit. There's nothing wrong with making a profit, and it would just be a perfectly run thing. But life's not like that is it?"

Team orders expectation surprised Mercedes F1 squad

The Mercedes Formula 1 team says it was surprised by an expectation it would employ team orders to manage the title rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg this season.
F1 2014's dominant team has allowed its drivers to race freely since the start of the season, which has created some tensions within the squad.
Rosberg and Hamilton rowed internally over misuse of engine settings in Bahrain and Spain, before publicly refusing to speak during the Monaco Grand Prix when Rosberg guaranteed himself pole position at Hamilton's expense after going off in the closing stages of qualifying.
Regardless of the flashpoints, Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe reckons his team made the right decision to allow its drivers to race freely.
"People at the beginning of this season were surprised we weren't running any team orders, and there was a bit of criticism against us as if we were idiots for not imposing them."
"By Bahrain, it was like 'you're going to have to stop it now, look what they got up to.'
"People even thinking like that is almost an inversion of how you should be, probably generated by that [Michael Schumacher] Ferrari era [in the 2000s, where Schumacher had undisputed number-one status in the team].
"Before that era no one would have ever thought about it.
"Of course you're going to race, that's what you do in Formula 1. It's a natural thing to do."