Mercedes aiming to show Singapore was just a blip, as Red Bull's uncertainty goes on, and Verstappen returns to where it all began
Thursday 24 September 2015 10:55, UK
Mercedes: A blip or a bigger problem?
The F1 paddock loves a conspiracy theory and there were certainly quite a number to be had in Singapore as people tried to get their head round Mercedes' sudden - and wholly unexpected - slump in form. In the absence of any concrete explanation from the team themselves as to why the tyres caused them untold problems around the street circuit, the paddock attempted to come up with some 'theories' of their own.
The conspiracies went something like this: either the world champions had been instructed from up high to go easy on the competition to make the championship battle more interesting - perhaps in response to 'deflategate' - or, somehow, they had been slowed by being given a disguised version of Pirelli's medium tyre instead of the soft.
Both suggestions are pretty implausible, of course, but it's not often an F1 team - and the reigning world champions at that - are stumped as to the extent Mercedes still were on Sunday night. Nonetheless, Toto Wolff was confident their advantage from Monza, which was around half a second a lap on race day, hadn't suddenly evaporated: "I don't believe that somebody found a second and a half from one weekend to the other. It's the tyre."
The sheer size of the pace turnaround from Italy to Singapore - 0.3 seconds ahead of Ferrari in qualifying to 1.4s behind - certainly pointed towards a track-specific problem as even F1 development doesn't operate at such rapid speed. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg both admitted they had never seen a turnaround like it.
So what should we expect from Mercedes in Japan? While Ferrari's recent engine and aerodynamic upgrades have undoubtedly brought the Scuderia closer to their rivals - especially over a qualifying lap - the shock of Singapore would be nothing if the W06 also lags behind the SF15-T around the fast sweeps of Suzuka.
We'll truly know about 8am UK time on Saturday, when Q3 concludes, whether F1 2015 really suddenly has a two-team title battle on its hands or normal service has been resumed. JG
Engine demands (and VW crisis) cast fresh doubts on Red Bull
Plotted on a graph, VW's share price resembles one of their diesel cars plunging off a cliff. And every time you look at the news, their crisis deepens. At first, half-a-million cars in the US were affected; now it's 11 million worldwide. The figures - potential fines of $18bn in America alone - are mind-boggling and chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned on Wednesday.
It's fair to say, then, that F1 is not at the top of VW/Audi's agenda right now. The rumours of their involvement have been around a while - about 20 years according to Audi motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich - and returned as, first, Red Bull's relationship with Renault went pear-shaped and then Winterkorn ousted previous chairman Ferdinand Piech earlier this year.
Red Bull themselves have always said the rumours are wide of the mark but they never really went away. And with the question marks now surrounding their engine supply, it wasn't really a surprise that they intensified once more -coincidentally on the same day, the Friday of the Singapore GP, that news of the emissions scandal first broke.
It's unlikely Red Bull will say anything this weekend, seeing as though they've said next to nothing on the subject of VW/Audi to date. But indications have for some time pointed towards a big, shiny new manufacturer waiting in the wings. Might that change now?
In contrast, Red Bull have had lots to say about their more immediate future now the Renault deal is all-but over. Talks are ongoing with Ferrari, but with Red Bull demanding that their engines must have the exactly same performance as those in the works cars, one can't help but wonder whether Dietrich Mateschitz's suggestion that the deal might work for the next two or three years (itself a hint of new manufacturer involvement further down the line) is a touch optimistic…
Then again, there's the argument that by enabling Red Bull and Toro Rosso to continue in the absence of other options, Ferrari would be seen as coming to F1's rescue. But even if they said yes, would Mateschitz want to continue if no manufacturer was on the horizon to buy him out? Things are changing quickly. But Red Bull's pressing engine demands, not to mention the mess VW finds itself in, only casts fresh doubt on their future. MW
Verstappen returns to where it all began
One year ago Max Verstappen made his F1 bow in Practice One in Japan a matter of weeks after his maiden test for Toro Rosso in Italy. That initial outing saw him complete enough kilometres to qualify for his super licence and the rest is history as they say.
Verstappen finished his first F1 session just four tenths behind Daniil Kvyat, who had been in the car all year - and subsequently impressed Red Bull enough to be promoted to the senior team two days later. Twelve months on, the Dutchman has established himself as a potentially a future world champion, with his racing instinct and brave overtaking impressing many.
He does head to Japan with a cloud hanging over him, however, with that racing instinct causing him to disobey team-orders in Singapore. Verstappen refused to surrender eighth place to team-mate Carlos Sainz - who with fresher tyres thought he could score more points for the team - in the closing laps.
While the refusal may have appeared that of a petulant teenager - Verstappen doesn't turn 18 until next week - it has in fact impressed some in the paddock. "Team bosses can moan and threaten but the result is in the bag and secretly they will admire you rather than see you as an easy touch," Martin Brundle wrote in his latest column. Indeed, speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost gave his backing to Verstappen.
But perhaps it's the words of his father Jos that will stick in Max's mind if the situation re-occurs. "He told me if I had let him past he would have kicked me in the nuts," Verstappen told reporters in Singapore. Ouch! WE
Don't miss Sky Sports F1's live coverage of the 2015 Japanese GP. Race-day coverage begins on Sunday at 4.30am with lights out at 6am. Watch the Japanese GP for £6.99 with NOW TV
