WATCH: Ricciardo's winter regime

So what exactly does a Formula 1 driver do in the off-season?
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Vote: Zoom picture of the year

Vote for your favourite picture from the shortlist below to win picture of the year at the Zoom Auction in aid of the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
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Prost: To win Ferrari need less mood swings

Alain Prost knows a thing or two about working at Ferrari when times are good and also when times are bad, and he suggests that the legendary Italian team need stability and composure to succeed again in Formula 1.

In the aftermath of the Maranello revolution at the end of 2014, which resulted in Sergio Marchionne taking over as president, Maurizio Arrivabene thrust into the role of team principal and Sebastian Vettel slotting into the garage alongside Kimi Raikkonen, results have hardly been stellar.

Granted in 2015 Vettel delivered three victories and 12 podiums, but in 2016 the team went without a win and fell to third in the F1 world championship pecking order when the scores were tallied up at the end of the season.

In the light of this, Prost told Repubblica, “I spent two years in Italy [with Ferrari]. One year was beautiful, the other terrible. This is due to the specific character of the Italians.”

“I say that in order to win a series as competitive as the Formula 1 World Championship, you have to work in a more linear and stable manner, with less mood swings. And every word should be chosen wisely,” ventured Prost who was a Ferrari driver in 1990 and 1991.

“One thing is clear: if the title is promised at the beginning of a season, then later when things go badly it becomes very difficult to keep the calm,” added the four times F1 World Champion in clear condemnation of Marchionne whose 2016 preseason expectations which put the entire team under huge pressure before a wheel had turned in anger.

Invariably the Reds wobbled during the course of last season, not helped by reports of internal strife and instability coupled to Marchionne’s lack of understanding of the sport. Although it is fair to say he has been a fast learner, appearing far more contrite and modest in his expectations ahead of 2017, so far.

Prost added, “It is not easy to achieve a real stability at Ferrari. You can see that nervousness prevails there, and this is not a racing team that knows how to deal with it.”

“This is a team that needs composure to come to the fore and play a leading role again as it did at the time of Todt, Brawn and Schumacher. This is the only way to do it,” predicted Prost.

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247

Ferrari counting on piston innovation and 3D printing for F1 2017

Ferrari is counting on 3D printing technology for an innovative piston design it believes could produce be a major boost for its 2017 Formula 1 engine.

Having failed to match its bold 2016 pre-season predictions, this year Ferrari's efforts are taking place under a shroud of secrecy - ordered by president Sergio Marchionne.

Development of the 668 project is well advanced, and it is on schedule to make its public debut with a filming day at Fiorano and online launch on February 24.

The power unit initially fitted for testing is likely to be just a first step.

Engine department chief designer Sassi Lorenzo and Enrico Gualteri, responsible for assembly, are hoping to finalise bold changes that technical director Mattia Binotto, who transferred from the engine team, expects to be a major breakthrough.

Combustion is tipped to be the main focus, with the chamber set for a considerable increase in pressure thanks to the latest work on the Turbulent Jet Ignition System.

It is suggested that a new micro-injector design from Magneti Marelli will help ensure the perfect flame for the ignition chamber to increase performance, but also minimise fuel use.

The changes will put the engine under tremendous forces - with 400 bar pressure possible plus a big increase in temperature that can be a threat to reliability.

To meet its targets, Ferrari is having to revolutionise its approach to engine design

It is now testing a novel piston design concept that uses a new steel alloy.

Although the FIA limits the materials manufacturers can use, Ferrari is looking to move away from the common practice of aluminium.

Aluminium alloys are lighter than steel allows, but they have less ability to resist deformation and not break in extreme temperatures.

To help Ferrari's quest for the right alloy, Maranello engineers are evaluating the latest 3D printing technologies - known in the industry as Additive Manufacturing.

Using this technique allows engineers to build up thin layers on material one at a time, so it is possible to create complex shapes that have not been possible before using traditional casting and machining methods.

The degree of freedom that comes from 3D printing, allied to the speed of production, has opened up a new frontier of design development for something that was once limited to prototyping plastic parts for windtunnel models.

The use of materials such as steel alloys - which in normal casting processes would be unsuitable for the production of an F1 piston - can now be considered because it is no longer necessary to manufacture full surfaces.

Honeycomb designs are possible and bring the advantage of strength without the drawback of weight.

While Ferrari is unlikely to be alone in looking at this technology, Binotto is hoping to get the performance improvements on track as soon as possible - potentially the start of the season.

Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Todt: Do not put Mick under too much pressure

FIA president Jean Todt has known Mick Schumacher since he was a toddler, thanks to his close relationship with his father Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, and is asking that media and fans to not put too much pressure on the youngster.

Speaking during a session at SPOBIS, Todt told delegates, “Mick is a wonderful boy, I can only ask everyone to go easy on him and not put the kid under so much pressure.”

“Mick is supposed to go his own way, he loves racing, and he has shown in Formula 4 what he can do. But we should be allowed to work it out in peace,” added Todt.

17 year old Mick Schumacher, who was one year old when his father claimed his first F1 world championship title as a Ferrari driver, will drive in Formula 3 this year with the Prema Powerteam after a string showing in Formula 4 last year.

Recently Ferrari indicated that the red carpet to the Ferrari Driver Academy is ready whenever Mick decides to follow in his father’s footsteps to Maranello.

Schumacher senior won five F1 world drivers’ titles and 72 Grands Prix for the Italian team.

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247

How likely is a London GP?

One of Formula 1's long-held dreams was being reimagined within days of Liberty Media's takeover of the sport last week - a London Grand Prix.
Read the full story at SkySports | News

Renault supplied by Formula 1 engine gains in 2016

Renault engine chief Remi Taffin has admitted the French manufacturer was surprised by the gains it made during the 2016 Formula 1 season.

Renault endured a torrid time during 2014 and '15, suffering a multitude of performance and reliability problems with its V6 turbo hybrid.

But it increased investment and was much stronger last season, with a solid start to the year built on by gains made with updates introduced in-season.

Though its works team struggled after a late takeover of Lotus, customer Red Bull flourished and ended the year second in the constructors' championship behind Mercedes.

Italy's high-speed Monza circuit was a good barometer, as the stats below show, with Renault-powered cars closer in qualifying, the race and in the speed traps.

"We're sort of surprised that things have changed but we are now in a normal situation, so we should not be surprised," Taffin told Autosport.

"We've actually improved the product, it's reliable and we can work on it and get the most out of it."

Reliability was a cornerstone of Renault's season, which Taffin says in turn allowed those back at its base in Viry to push for performance.

"It has allowed most of the people back in Viry to have a free mind, be creative and go forwards.

"It's opposite to looking what's going to happen tomorrow, we can look a bit further forward.

"When you draw up a plan in the winter, you just follow the plan and try to bring as much performance as you can.

"We're happy with the year.

"We know that we still have some work to do and we've got the strong baseline now."

Taffin added the boost in form has inspired a return of confidence among the staff at Viry.

"We never stopped working all together but you could say confidence is back," he said.

"When you say 'yes, we will bring power' and you deliver on track and you can measure the power, that's job done.

"There are no more question marks on 'are we going to achieve that?'.

"That's encouraging and is the sort of thing we need to keep working on to get the most out of the group."

RENAULT ENGINES AT THE ITALIAN GP 2015-16
Based on best performing Renault-powered car

QUALIFYING GAP TO POLE
2015: Renault +2.249s (Hamilton v Sainz)
2016: Renault +1.254s (Hamilton v Ricciardo)

RACE RESULT
2015: Ricciardo 8th, +1 lap
2016: Ricciardo 5th, +45.295s

SPEED TRAP
2015:
Qualifying - 340.9km/h, Kvyat (-13.7km/h)
Race - 347.9km/hr, Verstappen (-10.4km/h)

2016:
Qualifying - 352.2km/h, Magnussen (-5.4km/h)
Race - 356.4km/h, Ricciardo (-2.6km/h)

Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Rosberg: Schumacher inspired and motivated me

Nico Rosberg has credited Michael Schumacher as an essential element in the success of Mercedes in Formula 1 over the past three years, while admitting that Formula 1’s greatest driver was inspirational in his own championship winning year.

Speaking during a television interview, Rosberg recalled the 2010 to 2012 when he was Schumacher’s teammate at Mercedes, “It was an exciting time and a big challenge. This is an enormous effort to have such a strong team-mate. You can see why he is seven times world champion.”

Rosberg and Schumacher spear-headed the Silver Arrows return to Formula 1 as a works team in 2010, with the seven times F1 World Champion ending a three year sabbatical from the sport.

The period coincided with Red Bull’s dominant streak at the pinnacle of the sport. In 56 races Schumacher scored only one podium, but laid the foundation for the success that followed in the wake of his departure.

Rosberg acknowledged that Schumacher had a “significant part in the fact that I am a Formula 1 World Champion.”

“His attitude, his keep-fighting spirit as he took the whole team forward with him, inspired and motivated me,” added the 2016 Formula 1 World Champion.

Ross Brawn, who was Mercedes team principal at the time recalled, “We no longer had the success of earlier years [at Ferrari], but his dedication was the same.

“Winning was still a part of his DNA. No one should underestimate how much Michael did for the success that the Mercedes team now enjoys,” added Brawn

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247

What Manor design images reveal about Formula 1 2017

The Manor Formula 1 team's demise came just when it should have been close to signing off its 2017 car.

Images of the MRT07 that emerged last week give a glimpse into what to expect from F1 2017 and the new regulations.

Manor's two chassis had been constructed and were positioned in their respective race bays at the factory but little else was ready - the diminishing cashflow having meant supplier payments were on hold.

The chassis' rear indicates that Manor had decided to run a liquid-air cooler sandwiched between the fuel cell and front face of the engine, following Mercedes' 2014-16 practice.

It is also understood it had decided to move some of the electronics from within the sidepods to this crevice in order to maximise aerodynamic performance from the car's flanks.

The deltoid shaping of the front wing is a requirement of the new regulations, with the addition of a wedge shape forming the leading edge of the neutral centre section.

The wide shallow nose has been set as far back over the neutral section as possible, rather than perched out over it like its predecessor.

The position of the nose tip has been a focus for teams since the neutral section was introduced in 2009.

Its proximity and shape changes how the neutral section behaves, using it to generate downforce and improve performance downstream.

The front wing has been subject to numerous changes, taking into account the increased width and the tyre.

A more aggressive outwash tunnel is complemented by numerous upper elements, with an outward turning 'r' cascade sat slightly inboard of a three-element open-ended cascade, with lower surfaces curved to match those of the flaps below.

This is a design feature used by both Williams and Caterham on the FW36 and CT05 respectively, and has likely been revived by a need to break up airflow across the face of the wider tyre and push it out around it.

The outwardly curved endplate is also furnished with an upwash canard, assisting in this redirection of airflow around the tyre and improving the shape of the wake shed by the tyre.

The main plane is separated into two main elements and supplemented by additional slots above the curvature of the outwash tunnel.

The upper flaps have been redesigned, their tips meeting as the lower of the two is upturned to meet the other.

There will likely be moves to employ more complex structural designs to improve aerodynamic impact.

The delta shape of the sidepod has expanded the role of the bargeboards for 2017.

The Manor windtunnel model's examples wrap around the sidepod's front face and meet with an extended axe head section on the corner of the floor.

Their forward most section draws alongside the car's splitter, and the serrations help to improve efficiency while the leading serration curves over to form both a support and a horizontal aero surface.

The sidepods have grown in width to suit the car's overall girth and allow the team to play around with the orientation of the radiators and intercoolers to improve internal airflow efficiency.

They are still flanked by an upper leading edge slat, stretching from the cockpit and mounted astride a single vortex generator, before curving around the sidepod's shoulder and finishing several inches above the floor, in a similar fashion to the appendages used circa 2005-08.

The slat and conditioner sit further away from the sidepod's surface compared to recent years' trends.

Having reached their maximum width at the front, the sidepods swiftly taper around the internal structures toward the cooling outlets, which are raised to improve the undercut and expose the floor.

The tyre squirt deck ahead of the rear tyre has two large L-shaped cut-outs, in order to shape the airflow as it is pushed laterally off the tyre into the diffuser, which starts 175mm ahead of the rear wheel centre line rather than on it like its predecessor.

Toward the rear of the car, the 'shark fins' have returned.

The shorter, slanted wings of 2017 will protect the rear wing from turbulent airflow generated upstream that could be problematic to the lower assembly.

The lower, wider, slanted rear wing maintains leading edge slots to take airflow inboard even with the regulated curvature of the new endplate surfaces.

The open-ended louvres pioneered by Toro Rosso and used by several teams last season to displace the vortex generated at the wings tips are also present.

With Manor's difficult financial position clear in early January, the team had begun work an interim solution that required modifying the 2016 car to be designated the MRT05B.

It is understood the changes included a revised underbelly and wing pillars for the nose, a revised splitter and plank installation, bargeboards, sidepod upper covers, a new floor, rear wing and revisions to the height of the diffuser.

Manor's planned MRT07 may well have been the car with the fewest details but it does show how complex aero development is likely to be in 2017.

Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Magnussen: New F1 cars will suit my style

New Haas driver Kevin Magnussen is looking forward to the the 2017 Formula 1 cars which will have more grip and more power while relishing the prospect of teaming up with Romain Grosjean.

Magnussen said in an interview, “I’m a driver that, if I have a problem, it’s most of the time because I’m over-driving. I naturally tend to overdrive the car. And these new cars will probably suit that better than less downforce. So, I’m looking forward to it.”

“It’s going to be fun to try. If our expectations are true, then they’re going to be the fastest Formula 1 cars ever, probably, so that would be exciting.”

Magnussen spent 2016 as teammate to rookie Jolyon Palmer at Renault, and while praising the Briton he admitted that he is looking forward to partnering Grosjean.

The Dane said, “I learned from Jolyon last year, but from Romain I’m sure I’ll learn more, because he’s an extremely fast racing driver. Jolyon is fast as well, but Romain is also very experienced.”

“I prefer to have an experienced team-mate. It’s good for the team but it’s also good for me as a driver to have someone that I can really learn from,” added Magnussen.

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247

Alonso: I’m 100% confident we have the power we want

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso has revealed that he is confident that Honda will attain the power levels that they have targeted in 2017, but at the same time admits that aerodynamics is an area which can make or break teams in the forthcoming season.

Alonso told F1i, “Let’s say that Mercedes, the top power, will be difficult to reach, we know that – not only for us, but for everyone.”

“I think we can be close enough that we can fight. I’m 100% confident we will reach the power that we want to reach, on aerodynamics I think it is more of a question mark.”

Alonso’s latest comments suggest that the figures that are being attained, on the dyno, by Honda’s all new power unit are impressive and that now the team will be depending on the Woking built chassis to do the business on track.

The two times Formula 1 World Champion explained, “When there are new rules you can be lucky or unlucky. It depends on how every team interprets the rules, how the philosophy of the car goes.”

“Maybe you choose to go right and someone in the paddock chooses to go left and you find in race four or five that your package aerodynamically goes to the left because you started wrongly.

“Hopefully we are one of those who does the job from the beginning,” added Alonso.

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247

Ricciardo: Lewis won’t have anything easy

For the past three years, since he was promoted to the Red Bull senior team, Daniel Ricciardo has been one of the few thorns in the side of the Mercedes juggernaut and now the Australian believes things are going to get even tougher for the reigning Formula 1 World Champions in 2017.

Asked, in an interview with the official F1 website, if he felt he would be able to challenge Lewis Hamilton in the Silver Arrows, he replied, “I think we can challenge, yes. If we make the same improvements we did last year then he won’t have anything easy, believe me.”

Red Bull won the only two races Mercedes did not win last year, a season which Ricciardo looks back on fondly, “2016 was really encouraging for the whole team. We found ourselves fighting again for wins, podiums and pole positions. It was a great step closer to where we want to return to. And from what I hear about the new car, I would definitely risk a bet in our favour.”

Nico Rosberg’s retirement was one of the biggest surprises at the end of the 2016 season, freeing up the most coveted seat in Formula 1.

The Australian, who regularly shared private jet flights with Rosberg, admitted, “At first it was a surprise, but once I went through it in my head and put myself in his shoes I understood it a lot better. He has a family now, he’s been involved in the sport even before he was racing himself through his dad Keke, so it’s a long career in that respect.”

“It drains you with all the travel and commitments and he reached what he wanted, so now it’s time for him to chill out. I get it mate!”

And added, “It was a crazy position it put Mercedes in. I’m sure every driver called, or thought about calling Toto (Wolff) and Niki (Lauda). It’s been interesting to see it evolve and now Bottas has his big chance. We’ll see how he goes. For me, I am best where I am: at Red Bull Racing.”

The new season is packed with new rules to make cars faster and more spectacular, he gave his take on what lies ahead, “Hopefully it gets better and better in the course of the season because from Melbourne on we can race each other hard again without having penalties looming over our heads all the time. I’ll try my best to keep it exciting for the fans!”

Red Bull were among the teams that sampled the wider and bigger 2017 Pirelli F1 tyres, but Ricciardo is not sure the team will have an advantage as a result of the testing.

“It was hard to really evaluate. Sure, I felt more grip from the bigger tyres, but the car was a kind of random/hybrid set-up so wouldn’t have given the real 2017 feel.”

“But the tyres seemed fun, so I expect good things when we get on track in Barcelona. From what we’ve seen in the simulator it will be a real challenge. But Barcelona will show the real thing,” added Ricciardo who will line up for his 110th grand prix at the 2017 season opener in Melbourne on 26 March.

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247

Young guns ready to shine in new Formula 1 era

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If a week is a long time in politics, a European winter off-season is a long time in Formula One.

Just four months after Nico Rosberg claimed his first and only crown as world champion, a new championship is approaching – and with Melbourne ready to greet a new era and new generation of drivers.

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 26 will be unique in welcoming the F1 circus back to Albert Park without a champion to put on show.

Instead, and in a period of transition that has seen Bernie Ecclestone replaced as the sport’s long-serving day-to-day boss by Chase Carey, a reshuffle with the introduction of a new set of technical regulations offers the prospect of ‘a whole new ball game’.

That in turn is expected to usher in a new generation of youthful young stars led by Dutch teenager Max Verstappen – a young man who will not celebrate his 20th birthday until the end of September.

The son of Jos has been a boy in a hurry all his life and is sure to fancy his chances this year of not only adding to his famous debut victory in last year’s Spanish Grand Prix, but also mounting a serious title challenge in his own name.

Alongside Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull team that will fancy their chances in an Adrian Newey designed car that should look good in a ‘new’ formula that is expected to be the onus back on aerodynamics, Max is mentally tough, mature beyond his years and widely seen to be a champion in waiting.

But he is not the only of a new young crop that includes the understated Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne, 25, of McLaren Honda, Canadian rookie Lance Stroll, who is only 18, of Williams, Frenchman Sebastian Ocon, 20, of Force India, and German prodigy Pascal Wehrlein, 22, of Sauber, who is likely to shine.

In a year of transition at all levels of Formula One, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Ricciardo are likely to find they have their mirrors filled frequently by the sight of one or other of these young tyros pushing to make his mark.

Vandoorne, who raced in place of the injured Spaniard Fernando Alonso in Bahrain last year, impressed with his speed and poise – and scored a point. He is unlikely to be fazed in any way by taking over now from retired world champion Briton Jenson Button.

Alonso, who could be a surprise title contender if McLaren have found the package they need this time with Honda power, will need to be consistently fast to keep the Belgian boy at bay.

Stroll, highly-rated and likely to create a few upsets, will need time to bed into the circus after leaving his home in Montreal to partner returning-from-retirement veteran Brazilian Felipe Massa, but many have forecast big things for him – and Frank Williams is not one to make many errors of judgement with drivers.

Ocon, who delivered a series of mature-beyond-his-years performances last year when he took his chance at Manor, is similarly expected to create upsets.

Fast, composed and ambitious, the Normandy born Frenchman will push his partner Mexican Sergio Perez and it will be an interesting test of his consistency to see how this intra-team battle works out.

His team-mate at Manor last season was Wehrlein, who in turn was a contender to make the big leap to Mercedes to partner Hamilton, before the team opted for Finn Valtteri Bottas.

That left the young German unexpectedly without a top seat to take and he opted swiftly to take his chance with the revamped Sauber team that is under new ownership.

His exploits with Manor included scoring the team’s only point last year and it will fascinating to see if he can live up to his billing as the best of the crop to emerge from the Mercedes junior school production line.

Much is expected of him, just as it is of all the new boys due to make an impact this year. Above all, however, it is going to be Verstappen who will carry the greatest hopes.

Report courtesy of Australian Grand Prix website here>>>

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247

Ricci: Lewis won't have it easy

Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull can challenge Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for the F1 titles in 2017.
Read the full story at SkySports | News

Esteban Gutierrez admits he was 'too confident' over Haas F1 seat

Esteban Gutierrez admits he was "too confident things were taken care of" regarding his Formula 1 future, before losing his Haas drive to Kevin Magnussen.

Gutierrez initially expressed full confidence he would be racing in F1 in 2017, but ran out of options once Haas signed Magnussen to partner Romain Grosjean, a move that was announced during last November's Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver called the decision to replace him unfair, requested talks with Haas team boss Gunther Steiner, and also appointed ex-CART IndyCar driver Adrian Fernandez to be his new manager in the wake of the decision.

Having held those talks with Steiner "by phone" after last year's season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, Gutierrez says the situation still isn't "fully clear", but reckons he should have realised sooner that his seat was not as safe as he thought.

"The timing for me in F1 in general hasn't been great in the years I've been there - that, together with the fact I was too confident things were taken care of, created another difficult situation for me," Gutierrez told Autosport.

"There was a lot of energy put in by a lot of people to build up the team. It was tricky to have a full package for two cars.

"At the beginning of the season things started very slowly on my car - there were a lot of inconsistencies.

"That started to be something that led to miscommunication inside the team as to what the situation actually was, and why certain things were happening.

"In my opinion, certain things were not completely understood.

"The mistake I made was to be too confident that these things around were taken care of.

"I was too focused on the people that were specifically around me at that stage.

"Not that they did a bad job, but there was a bit of confusion around and I focused too much on the results.

"That's why things just took time and time, and by the time I decided to look after what was going on further around the team it was too late."

Gutierrez is planning to contest his home Formula E round in Mexico City on April 1 and potentially further races, and is also in talks with a top F1 team about becoming its test driver this year.

He says he has now moved on from the disappointment of losing his Haas drive.

"I still feel very grateful to them," Gutierrez added.

"How things developed through the year is still a bit unclear to me, but that's in the past and I don't carry that with me anymore.

"I don't regret how things were for me, but I now know how I can do things better.

"I take that experience and work for the future."

Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Ricci ready to challenge Merc

Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull can challenge Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for the F1 titles in 2017.
Read the full story at SkySports | News

McLaren Applied Technology wins F1 engine-sensor supply tender

McLaren Applied Technology has won the tender to supply engine pressure and temperature sensors for Formula 1 engines for three seasons from 2018.

As part of an effort to cut costs, the FIA opened up an invitation to tender last July for a series of standard sensors, with McLaren's technology arm chosen as the winning bid.

It is the first time such sensors will be sourced from a single supplier, and comes against the backdrop of McLaren Applied Technology also having supplied the Electronic Control Unit used by all teams since 2008.

"We're delighted McLaren Applied Technologies has been chosen by the FIA to be the trusted sole provider of engine pressure and temperature sensors for the 2018 to 2020 FIA Formula 1 world championships," Rodi Basso, motorsport director of McLaren Applied Technologies, said.

"From the ECU technology in every Formula 1 car to the engineers supporting teams at the track, McLaren Applied Technologies continues to be at the heart of motorsport.

"Our mission is to provide an unrivalled service, ensuring the world's premier race teams and series can continue to grow and delight fans around the world."

Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Toro Rosso took risks in 2016 F1 season to counter engine deficit

Toro Rosso took risks during the 2016 Formula 1 season to counter the deficit of running a year-old Ferrari engine, according to team principal Franz Tost.

The Italian team had a stopgap year with Ferrari's end-of-2015 power unit, while its rivals ran new specification engines that were developed throughout the campaign.

While it matched its 2015 constructors' championship result of seventh, Toro Rosso went from its drivers qualifying fifth and seventh for the season opener in Australia to 14th and 15th in the penultimate round in Brazil, before its puncture- finale.

In a bid to offset that slide, Toro Rosso introduced a new aero package in Germany, but spent several races trying to understand if it was a step forward relative to its rivals.

"We risked a lot," Tost told Autosport. "We had to risk a lot and we came up with a completely new aero package.

"We had already a very good car on the aerodynamic side.

"With a new aero package we got more downforce and the car was better, but of course if you have more downforce sometimes there's a little more drag.

"The others made some progress with the power unit and everything together meant that we simply didn't have any more of a chance to be permanently close to them.

"We couldn't catch up any more, it was too much.

"There was no way to develop the chassis to a level that we successfully could compete against the other teams where the power unit as well was developed."

Despite the struggles, Tost praised Ferrari for the job it did ahead of the team's return to current-spec Renault engines this year for Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat.

"It had nothing to do directly with Ferrari's power unit as it didn't drop off," said Tost.

"It was always the question mark from me because you must see that the output from the power unit was always the same, all over the season.

"Ferrari did a fantastic job, was always the same."

Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

McLaren's Alonso sure some F1 teams will get new rules wrong

Formula 1 teams face a high chance of getting the 2017 rules wrong, believes Fernando Alonso.

After three years of rules stability, the overhaul of the aerodynamic regulations for the coming season has the potential to shuffle the order as well as achieving its stated goal of significantly-faster lap times.

Alonso suspects some teams will quickly realise others have found better interpretations of the new designs.

"When there are new rules you can be lucky or unlucky," said the McLaren driver.

"It depends on how every team interprets the rules, how the philosophy of the car goes.

"Maybe you choose to go right and someone in the paddock chooses to go left and you find in race four or five that your package aerodynamically goes to the left because you started wrongly.

"Hopefully we are one of those who does the job from the beginning."

Though McLaren's performance has been largely determined in recent years by Honda's struggle to get on terms with rival engine manufacturers, Alonso believes it will be how well his team masters the new aerodynamics that decides 2017 form rather than power output.

"Let's say that Mercedes, the top power, will be difficult to reach, we know that - not for us, but for everyone," he said.

"But I think we can be close enough that we can fight.

"I'm 100% confident we will reach the power that we want to reach, on aerodynamics I think it is more of a question mark."

Alonso admitted his focus in 2015 "was just to arrive to the Monday after Abu Dhabi and forget about" the year, but that McLaren and Honda's joint improvement last year was encouraging.

Coupled with the possibility of a major shake-up, the 35-year-old said his motivation was "high" going into the new season.

"The rules change which will mix things a little bit," he said.

"There is the progress that Honda made, which I think is very positive and gives me confidence for 2017 as well.

"I'm really looking forward to Australia in March."

Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Hülkenberg: The new car feels brutally fast

Renault’s new signing Nico Hülkenberg is expecting exceptionally fast Formula 1 cars in 2017 after sampling exactly what he can expect during a series of simulator runs which he has been doing regularly.

Hulkenberg has revealed that he is astonished at the increase in speed and told Auto Motor und Sport, “The new car feels brutally fast.”

No doubt Hulkenberg is not the only 2017 driver to have sampled what to expect in 2017, as Ferrari, Red Bull McLaren and Mercedes also have sophisticated simulators for their drivers to train with. They will also know what is in the bag ahead of testing in Barcelona next month.

Engineers expect 20 to 30 percent more downforce. Depending on the track this could equate to cars being anything between two and five seconds per lap quicker than their predecessors.

Venues with high speed sectors such as Barcelona, ​​Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka are expected to be a daunting challenge.

High speed corners become flat-out sections of track, while medium speed corners become the new ‘ballsy’ corners.

Hulkenberg said of his simulator experience around Circuit de Catalunya, venue for the two preseason tests and the Spanish Grand Prix, “Turn 3 and Turn 9 are absolutely full throttle. Previously only Red Bull or Mercedes could have managed that.”

Force India technical chief Andy Green said, “You can see that the cars are faster even without looking at the lap times. Not only in the curves, but also braking distances are even shorter thanks to the downforce and wider tires.”

Some are predicting that overtaking will be a lot more difficult in 2017, pointing at increased downforce and greater traction as the ‘culprits’ for this.

But Hulkenberg predicted, “The DRS effect is much more pronounced than in the 2016 cars.”

However he did concede, “In Monte Carlo you will no longer be able to overtake. You just drive in the middle of the road with the wide cars and that’s it.”

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