Ten F1 stories to follow after the summer break

Will the start changes introduced in Belgium shake things up?

That’s the intention. “These measures will bring back the driver in full control of the car, enhancing races excitement and unpredictability,” the FIA asserted in July when it announced the changes to start procedures. Clearly the hope is that the changes, which will forbid drivers from receiving guidance on setting the clutch bite point ahead of race starts, will bring more of what we saw at Silverstone and in Hungary, when both Mercedes cars got bogged down at the lights, paving the way for a pair of exciting races.

"What goes on from after this race is going to be very interesting," mused world champion Lewis Hamilton in Hungary. "The starts might not change or they might be disastrous. Who knows?"

Will Lewis Hamilton do what he did this time last year?

Using the grievance he felt after Spa as a springboard 12 months ago, Hamilton hoovered up victories in the second half of the season with gusto, with Nico Rosberg winning just the once in Brazil.

This time around, the world champion is better placed – 21 points ahead of Rosberg rather than 11 points behind - than he was, while the use of double points last year also ensured that the title battle ran to the wire. If Hamilton’s domination then was such that a sudden derailment of his momentum in Abu Dhabi would have felt like a huge injustice, the thing about the world champion is that you never can tell what’s going to happen. But the feeling now is that he’s in his prime and if Hungary demonstrated that maturity doesn’t necessarily mean compromising an aggressive approach, there have been plenty of other races this season – not to mention a record of nine pole positions in 10 attempts – that have offered ample proof of a driver on top of his game.  

Can Ferrari, or anyone else for that matter, beat Mercedes again?

The type of winning run Hamilton went on last year has become a familiar one in recent seasons, thanks, of course, to Sebastian Vettel. This time around, however, Vettel has a different role to play – the potential pooper at Merc’s party. It’s a role he’s performed well enough so far and although hopes of a more concerted Ferrari challenge post-Malaysia proved over-optimistic, Hungary again showed that the world champions don’t always finish the job properly.

Relative performance suggests that Mercedes’ dropping the ball remains the only way anyone else is going to get a look-in, with track characteristics – Williams to the fore at Monza, for example, and Red Bull in Singapore? – probably deciding who, besides a Ferrari driver, might stand a chance. 

Raikkonen out, Bottas in at Ferrari?

Underwhelming in qualifying and the perpetrator of crucial mistakes on race days, a general feeling of struggle has hung over Kimi Raikkonen in 2015, above and beyond the watery-eyed, shoulder-shrugging weariness he usually gives off.

According to the Italian media, Raikkonen's days at Ferrari are probably numbered, with Valtteri Bottas poised to replace him provided Ferrari can buy the fellow Finn out of his Williams contract. Yet there’s also a nagging feeling, particularly in recent races, that Bottas hasn’t perhaps delivered performances with the requisite sprinkling of stardust. Ferrari normally like to get things sorted around Italian GP time, so expect an announcement next month.

What sort of progress will McLaren-Honda make?

Slowly but surely their mantra – “We’re getting better, really we are. You might not be able to see it, but it’s happening” – is being realised, culminating in a double points finish in Hungary. But even there, as fifth-placed Fernando Alonso acknowledged, the result didn’t really reflect their performance. Honda is promising a power upgrade in Belgium which, considering they’re thought to be a good 130bhp down on Mercedes, is what’s most needed. It’ll certainly be required at Spa and Monza.

But when you consider the talk earlier in the season of McLaren-Honda having podium finishes under their belts by now it’s probably best not to get too carried away just yet. And Alonso and Jenson Button have since insured themselves against precisely this sort of thing by saying winning is what matters and so they’re already looking to next season. In that sense, the balance of 2015 effectively amounts to a glorified test session.

Will Renault buy Lotus?

All the indications are that a buy-out of Lotus by Renault is in the offing - assuming Renault wants to stay in F1 and CEO Carlos Ghosn gives it his blessing. It’s a link-up which makes sense, not least because the Enstone team was owned by Renault as recently as 2009 and were world champions not long before that.

From the French manufacturer’s point of view, it would herald a divorce from their partnership with Red Bull – the source of so much negative publicity in recent times. Any such decision would be a volte face from Lotus’ point of view considering they only switched from Renault to Mercedes power this season, but their recent struggles to pay their bills fly in the face of their public assertion that they’re not for sale.

Could Button return to Williams?

The 2009 world champion started his career there, of course, and later bought himself out of an agreement to return to Williams just as Honda's last attempt at F1 was ramping up. That didn't exactly turn out as they would have liked, yet with Button's aspirations entwined with those of the underperforming Japanese giant once more, questions naturally arise about his whereabouts next season.

As things stand Button has a two-year deal with McLaren-Honda, although it's believed they have an option on his services for 2016 and it could be that Ron Dennis prefers either Kevin Magnussen (who, if the stories are to be believed, he wanted instead of Button this season) or Stoffel Vandoorne alongside Fernando Alonso. Softening any blow from Button's point of view could be McLaren's competitive state: certainly Williams have more to offer at present, although of course a lot depends on whether Valtteri Bottas leaves for Ferrari. There's even been talk of a TV presenting job - though surely any such option sits bottom of the list of a man who does triathlons for fun. But might his career come full circle?  

Might Fernando Alonso really go to another category?

If we’re looking for a moment that sums up Fernando Alonso’s season so far the sight of him pushing his McLaren-Honda back to the pits in Hungary is hard to beat - not just because it points out the blatantly obvious, but also because it demonstrates what many have refused to believe: that the Spaniard isn’t going to wobble 2007-style and that he’s committed to making the project work.

The same weekend, Alonso spoke of being tempted by other categories but the comments were more symptom of a frustration with the current cars and the lack of testing McLaren and Honda need to get where they need to go. They’ll have even less chance to test next season but at least Alonso has the prospect of a faster, more aggressive-looking McLaren-Honda to drive in 2017 when the rules change. Of course, that thought only begs more questions of performance, expectations and Alonso’s patience. For now, though, the signs are that he’s in it for the long haul.

Can Monza survive the pinch?

Hopes that Monza, which first staged the Italian GP in 1922, can continue to host the race have been raised after the Italian parliament agreed (at the second time of asking) to make a €20m investment from the local Lombardy region exempt from tax.

The current contract expires in 2016 but the fact the deal was described as a “disaster” by Bernie Ecclestone tells us all we need to know about its worth to him. Hopefully, then, the swelled coffers will turn disaster into triumph because the loss of Monza would be a disaster for just about everyone else with an interest in the sport. A race-share with Imola has also been mooted, which would be better than nothing, but even a fan with just a passing interest in the sport’s history would know that half-measures are not what F1 needs.

Who will Haas appoint?

Probably the main interest so far has been in who the team, due to join the grid as F1's 12th team in 2016, have already ruled out. “I think Danica [Patrick] is quite happy where she is at the moment,” Haas team boss Guenther Steiner told Sky Sports News HQ at the Canadian GP in June. “For her to make the move is a big risk; I don't think she really wants to do it at this stage in her career." As a way of saying ‘We’re not interested, even if she is’ it’s certainly polite. Instead, Steiner said Haas are looking for a “known quantity” but added that there’s “no rush”.

At the time of writing, the likes of Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez have been mentioned and given the links both driver and team have to Ferrari, the Mexican’s appointment certainly makes sense. The names of Jean-Eric Vergne (who has a Ferrari test contract) and Alexander Rossi (who is a GP2 front-runner and American) have also been bandied about, with Haas saying that they hope to make an announcement next month. But with the driver market still up in the air, whether they actually do or not depends on the degree to which it’s resolved itself by then.