Auto Racing

Speculation is mounting that Formula One is about to be revamped by a U.S. takeover that could bring new life and a higher profile for a sport that is struggling to attract new fans.

Media reports suggest that F1's largest and controlling shareholder, the hedge fund CVC Capital Partners, is preparing to sell the business to U.S. media conglomerate Liberty Media for around $8.5 billion; more than four times CVC's original outlay in 2006.

At last weekend's Italian Grand Prix, Formula One's commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone met with CVC co-chairman Donald Mackenzie, whose rare appearance in the paddock fueled speculation of an imminent deal. When speaking at Monza, however, the 85-year-old Ecclestone would not confirm whether or not a sale is going ahead.

Liberty, a multi-billion dollar, mass-media company is run by 75-year-old John Malone. He is ranked 184th on the Forbes list of billionaires — 69th in the U.S. — with a net worth of $7.1 billion, and Forbes credits him as being the "nation's biggest individual landowner, with over two million acres across seven states."

Malone would not be a newcomer to the high-end world of sport, since Liberty owns Major League Baseball side Atlanta Braves.

Reportedly, with Malone in charge, F1's new chairman would become Chase Carey, the executive vice-chairman of 21st Century Fox.

Despite its American base, Ecclestone was skeptical as to whether a takeover by Liberty would increase F1's success in the United States, which currently hosts only one of 21 races on the calendar and has no drivers competing in the championship. The only U.S. representative on the grid is the U.S.-backed Haas team, which arrived in F1 this season and has done reasonably well thanks to experienced French driver Romain Grosjean.

"To open the American market you need to have 10 races in America, sell tickets cheap and have a huge number of hamburger stands — but then it would not be F1 any longer," Ecclestone told F1.com, the sport's official website. "But if all that scenario of the takeover is happening, then they can do what they want."

CVC is F1's biggest shareholder with a 35.5 percent stake, followed by U.S. fund manager Waddell & Reed with just over 20 percent. Ecclestone has 5.3 percent stake in F1 but his family Bambino Trust has a further 8.5 percent, rounding up his involvement up to about 14 percent.

Ecclestone's own position in the event of a Liberty buyout is another subject of interest in the F1 paddock.

When asked about it, the British billionaire replied in his trademark enigmatic style: "I haven't got a clue."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who welcomed Liberty's interest, could not foresee a near-term exit for Ecclestone even under new management.

"It could be a really exciting deal for Formula One if it happens," Horner told reporters at Monza.

"But for a new group to come in without him being there would be very difficult, so I'd assume he'll be around for some time."

Like Horner, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes head of motorsport, is enthusiastic about the prospect of a change of ownership - despite being a close ally of Ecclestone.

Wolff, who was interviewed alongside Ecclestone by F1.com, highlighted that the sport's longstanding business boss "has built an empire and we are benefiting from it."

However, Wolff is also aware that a new investor could boost F1 — which is in a transition period as it tries to win back flagging TV audiences, battles against falling crowds and plans to implement new rule changes for 2017 designed at increasing speed and overtaking.

Veterans like Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso are edging close to retirement, and a wave of talented young drivers, led by 18-year-old Dutch star Max Verstappen and 19-year-old Frenchman Esteban Ocon, is breaking through.

Along with fresh investment, Wolff thinks the sport would also benefit from U.S. expertise in promoting sports in a digital world. By contrast, Ecclestone has been reluctant to open F1 up more to social media.

"There are things we can learn from the American way, particularly in the digital areas," Wolff said. "They will have a close look and then analyze what they think needs to be changed and what needs to remain.

"There is a reason why these guys can afford to buy this."

Montreal, QC – Back in June, we witnessed Daniel Sanham – the 2015 European winner of the Infiniti Engineering Academy – share his story to students at McGill University. For 2016, Canada was one of seven countries/continents to hold its own competition for one engineering student to earn a one-year paid internship split between six months at Infiniti’s European Technical Center in Cranfield, UK and the other six with the Renault Sport Formula One team.

Sanham's speech was both inspirational and educational to those on hand at McGill, and it wasn't surprising to hear that two of the ten chosen finalists out of thousands of entries were in Montreal that day.

All ten gathered in a room at Le Westin Montreal with a strange combination of fear and determination in their eyes. They didn't know what the challenges were, nor the expectations; they didn't know their competition; and what's with all of the cameras and media hovering around?

Each and every one of them had to rely on their inner confidence. In reality, they were all intelligent in their craft, but smarts can only get you so far. The three judges – Andy Todd, Director of Body and Exterior Engineering at Nissan UK; Ralph Koyess, Vehicle Performance Engineer at Renault Sport Formula One; and Stephen Lester, Managing Director of Infiniti Canada – were looking for how each individual worked as a leader, as well as how they worked as part of a team. But maybe the one most important tool they needed to show was whether the judges could see them blending in as a valuable asset with Infiniti and the Renault Sport F1 team.

The students chose their own groups of five and they would stay in those groupings for most of the competition, outside of a reshuffle on the second day for a separate task of designing their own factory.

The main challenge was to build and race a miniature hybrid drag racing car – in a best of five heat format on a 20 metres long track – with only the parts provided. The only difference between the two teams was their choice of secondary motor: one team had a geared bottom electric motor; the other went with the electrolytic cell.

As the finalists got more comfortable with the challenges and their team, front-runners started to emerge. One of those was Gatineau-native Felix Lamy, a mechanical engineering student, currently in his second year at McGill University.

The 21-year-old Lamy showed fire on the first day as his team battled to get ideas across, as well as an unexpected journalist teammate thrown into the mix. On the second day, Lamy showed that same passion with new teammates during the facility design, and during the final prep ahead of the big race.

Other impressive students included Matteo Putt and Rachel Kendall, both mechanical engineering students from McGill University and the University of Manitoba, respectively. Putt and Kendall showed off the range of talent at this competition with the former being only 19-years old and the latter soon to graduate.

It was a tough task for the three judges, but it was Lamy who would an emerge victorious to become the first Infiniti Engineering Academy student from Canada for the career opportunity of a lifetime.

Lamy's team would eventually win the drag race, but that came secondary to his positive contribution and leadership abilities shown throughout the competition. What stood Lamy apart from the rest – a question asked by all of us to each contestant – was his motorsport background working at Exclusive Autosport, as well as his true understanding of what it takes to survive in the world of Formula One.

“I am absolutely ecstatic to land the job I had previously thought was out of reach before learning about the Infiniti Engineering Academy,” said Lamy. “The competition was fierce, the nine other finalists were all very impressive in different ways…I still can’t quite believe it. Working in the United Kingdom with Infiniti and the Renault Sport Formula One team is going to be an amazing experience and I look forward to all of the challenges that come along with it.”

Lamy's next life chapter will begin in October, as his schooling takes a one-year postponement. There's no doubt he will learn a lot on the job, but he will also become an ambassador for Infiniti Canada. The automotive company, along with the Renault Sport Formula One team are committed to this program and are looking for bright Canadian engineers for years to come.

“We are harvesting the best young minds that engineering has to offer and, for us, this is a story we can continue to tell and support as we go beyond,” said Lester.

Montreal, QC – Montreal has always been a second home to Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and he used the Canadian stop for his second win in a row closing the drivers' championship gap on his teammate Nico Rosberg to nine points.

It was Hamilton's fifth victory at the Canadian Grand Prix after starting on pole position for the fourth time. However, it wasn't a clear cut race for the 31-year old Brit who lost the lead on the first corner of the race as Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took the inside lane to gain an advantage and an early 1.2 second cushion over the defending champion.

The start of the race was exciting, but it was pit stop strategies that would determine the outcome. Vettel would be the first driver to the pits on Lap 11 – a two-stop strategy that didn't pay off for Ferrari – and he wouldn't be able to recover that lost time as Hamilton would brilliantly only pit once, while managing his ultra-soft and soft tired to the finish line.

“I was really enjoying this race,” said Hamilton. “They [Vettel's Ferrari] really gave us a run for our money and I just happened to be on a one-stop.”

In the end, Hamilton would finish five seconds ahead of Vettel – the closest gap thus far in the season between Mercedes and Ferrari.

As for Rosberg, it was a challenging afternoon that saw him make tire contact with Hamilton after the first turn on Lap 1. Hamilton would call the incident unintentional, but it sent the German off track and back into ninth position. Rosberg would work his way into the top-five setting up a exhilarating battle with young sensation Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. Rosberg would attempt several moves including a pass on the outside of turn 13 on the final lap, but he would spin out while trying to complete the turn and pass. Rosberg recovered to finish fifth as no other challenger was in striking distance.

Rounding out the podium was Williams' Valtteri Bottas for his second consecutive third place finish in Canada.

“Montreal has been pretty good to me, and to us as a team,” said Bottas. “We've been really pleased with what we have done and it didn't come easy.”

After winning the race, Hamilton dedicated the victory to the late Muhammad Ali. He even did a few boxing dances in his memory to the feverish chants of the Montreal crowd.

“I never dedicate wins to anyone, but Ali really inspired me throughout my life,” said Hamilton. “For the last 15 laps, all I could think about was him: Rumble in the Jungle. This win is to him and his family.”

Hamilton went on to talk about what Ali meant to him in the press conference following the race.

“More importantly it was his political views that inspired me. To not let anyone dictate what you have to be...he was someone to look up to.”

The drivers will not have much time to reminisce about Canada as the next race will be in Baku, Azerbaijan in one weeks time. It's the latest new addition on the Formula One calendar, making it a level playing field for all the competitors. Can Hamilton make it three-in-a-row and take over the lead in the driver's championship? We will have to wait-and-see.

The Renault name has been synonymous with Formula One since 1977. It has had its glory years in the mid-2000s with back-to-back driver championship from Fernando Alonso, but most recently the Renault name has lurked in the background as an engine supplier.

Things changed this February for the fourth largest automotive group in the world when they completed its takeover of the Lotus F1 team to once again become part of the constructors' championship. The Renault name is nothing new to the grid, but the people leading the way have changed and appear to have their act together with a three-to-five year plan in the works straight from the top, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

At the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, I was able to spend some time with a few of the top brass from the Renault Sport Formula One team including President at Renault Sport Jerome Stoll, Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur and Canadian test driver Nicolas Latifi.

Renault Sport might have had to make a quick decision ahead of Lotus' insolvency, but the plan according to Stoll took a while and had many people involved in that decision.

“The decision to come back to Formula One as a manufacturer was not an easy one,” said Stoll. “We felt it was right for Carlos [Ghosn] to make that announcement, because the project was not just to come back to racing; it was to develop awareness for the brand and use different marketing tools to attract more road customers.”

Being competitive and eventually winning is the No. 1 goal for the Renault Sport team, but they also want to tap into the information received from testing and racing and transfer it back to regular road cars for all of its brands that include Nissan and Infiniti in Canada. Additionally, making the engine more compact is essential to the Nissan-Renault group for the reduction of emissions, as well as changing the minds of customers that you can have a 1.6-litre engine with plenty of power. 

“This year is a transitional year for us,” adds Vasseur. “As our leader Ghosn says, the plan is to be competing for a podium in three years and then fighting for the top spot in five years time.”

Many teams talk about success with little backing behind those words. For Renault, it may seem strange given the fact that the team has scored six points from six races in 2016, however, the team is committed to this cause and not financially strapped like others on the grid. They have the full backing of its fearsome leader Ghosn, along with Stoll and Vasseur.

That leads us to Vasseur. The name may be new to the Formula One grid, but it's a household name in France and in the world of racing after 10 years of building his ART racing team. Perhaps the perfect individual to lead this young crop of drivers that include Denmark's Kevin Magnussen, UK's Jolyon Palmer, as well as a young core of test drivers that has a sprinkle of Canadian content in 20-year old Nicolas Latifi.

If anyone can get this group up to speed, it would be Vasseur, a man who developed the talents of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean, to name a few. All of those drivers came up through ART in Formula3, GP2 and GP3. According to Vasseur, 60 per cent of the grid came through ART at some point.

Currently competing in GP2, Latifi is still wet behind the ears, but is chomping at the bit to get into Renault's new Formula One car. He has a future test planned later this year, but for now his only ride experience has been in a 2012 iteration at Silverstone. Right now, it's all about the learning process and getting acclimated with the team mostly through observation and simulation.

Winning at GP2 is Latifi's focus right now, but he's soaking in the atmosphere at the Canadian Grand Prix and picking the brains of Vasseur, Magnussen and Palmer will go a long way in becoming the first Canadian on a Formula One grid since Jacques Villeneuve in 2006.

The Renault Sport team has a little of old and a little of new, but still a long way to go in terms of being competitive. One thing is for certain though, they have a clear vision in mind to not only gain knowledge for the track, but also for the street. The message is clear and distinct from the top down without any wavering whether it's from Ghosn, Stoll or Vasseur.

Now, we just have to play the wait-and-see game to see if Renault can be as successful on the track as they are at  the dealerships.

Formula One is considered one of the wealthiest sports to be a part of, whether you're a team owner, driver, or fan. However, there are certain special occasions, where getting back in the Formula One field can be on the cheap.

Just before the Christmas break, Renault successfully got back into Formula One by reacquiring 90 per cent of the Lotus team for a measly £1. It sounds great for a headliner, but there's a little more to it.

Less than a year ago, the Lotus racing team were said to be in debt up to $200 million and Renault swooped in to pay off a $4 million tax bill. The debt never went away, so under this new agreement, Renault will take control of Lotus' debt.

Renault purchased 90 per cent stake in the company with a deal through its majority shareholders Genii Capital and Gravity Motorsports. Those two companies have retained the final 10 per cent stake in the team. In order for this deal to take place, Genii Capital had to first purchase the six million-plus shares from Whiterock Alliance Ltd.

Renault first owned the Lotus team back in 2000 after acquiring it from Benetton. Eventually, Renault got away from the Formula One game and transferred ownership to Genii Capital in 2009.

Grigny, a subsidiary of Renault is the actual company that hold all the shares, but the team will be under the Renault name.

Plans for what will happen next should occur in the new year.

Montreal, QC – The 2015 Canadian Grand Prix was dominated by Mercedes with a 1-2 finish at the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve race track. Nothing new based on what's been happening this season, making it six wins out of seven on the season for the German racing outfit.

Lewis Hamilton led the race from pole to take his fourth win of the season, as well as his fourth career win in Montreal. Hamilton had a steady lead ranging between 1-2 seconds throughout the majority of the race over teammate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton expanded his lead late, eventually ending with a 2.2 second gap.

“I love Montreal, I love this track,” said the victorious Hamilton. “The team did an amazing job, and I'm really just proud to be up here and I said, my first grand prix win was here back in 2007, so to be back up here feels really historic.”

The battle between Hamilton and Rosberg was intense throughout, but Rosberg never got under 1 second to really make a charge. On lap 65, Rosberg had concerns in regards to his fuel levels, as well as his teammates who were both on a one-stop strategy, but under new FIA rules, they were not allowed to divvy up that vital information. Rosberg would end up losing plenty of time after that interaction making it a cruise to the finish for the defending driver's champion.

“I wanted to know if Lewis would run into trouble or not, and see when I can put the pressure on,” said Rosberg in the post-race press conference. “Unfortunately, it's been banned...that's the way it is.”

The 2015 Canadian Grand Prix was filled with quality racing at the top, but uneventful throughout the rest of the field for the most part. The only two big movers during the overcast Montreal afternoon was Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Williams' Felipe Massa.

Vettel started the race in 19th position, after a disappointing qualifying session that saw him end up in 16th, but then get assessed a five-place grid penalty landing him in 19th, as McLaren's Jenson Button would start from the pits. Vettel made his way through the field eventually finishing in fifth position in impressive fashion passing numerous drivers along the way.

It was a similar poor qualifying session for Massa, minus the penalty. He started in the 15th spot, but manoeuvred his way all the way up to 6th with a strategy that had him the last driver to pit.

It was Massa's teammate, Valtteri Bottas that rounded out the podium in third place for his best finish of the season. Rounding out the top-10 was Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen in fourth, Lotus' Pastor Maldonado in seventh, followed by Force India's Niko Hülkenberg, Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniil Kvyat and Lotus' Romain Grosjean.

The McLaren team of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, both previous winners in Montreal, had a disastrous weekend that ended up with them rounding out the field in the bottom two places with DNFs.

With this win, Hamilton's lead in the driver's standings improves to a 17-point gap over Rosberg (151-134), and breaks Rosberg's momentum after two consecutive victories. Vettel rounds out the top three with 108 points, but Hamilton believes the season is still not a two-horse race.

“Kimi spun and we didn't get to see Sebastian, and he's been the fastest of the two,” said Hamilton. We were not able to see Ferrari's true pace.”

With 12 races to go, it's possible we will be seeing a Mercedes battle until the end. But for now, the many attendees rejoiced in a Hamilton victory with chants of “Lewis” ringing out over and over again as he raised the trophy.

Montreal, QC – Two years ago, Infiniti Red Bull Racing could do no wrong. They won the Formula One World Constructor's Championship four years in a row with its top driver Sebastian Vettel winning those driver's championships.

2014 saw the end of Infiniti Red Bull Racing's reign, as Mercedes dominated the season thanks to a new hybrid turbo power unit that created the perfect aerodynamics. The challenges have been rough for Team Principal Christian Horner, who has first-hand witnessed the glory, but now sees his race team an astonishing fourth in the Constructor's Championship heading into the 2015 Canadian Grand Prix.

We had a chance to chat with Horner after Saturday's qualifying round about his thoughts on the team's chances this weekend and what he expects in the future.

Horner didn't skirt around the team's troubles and took a practical approach to their chances. “The Canadian Grand Prix exposes our weaknesses,” said Horner. “Mercedes has powerful cars and Ferrari is right there with them bringing in a new engine. It's like going into a horse race with a pony.”

Bold statements from a team principal that ended up victorious in Montreal, just one year ago. It was a glorious race for the team that saw Australian Daniel Ricciardo get his first win at the Formula One level. More importantly, it was the race that ended six consecutive Mercedes' victories to open the season.

Horner downplayed the victory, calling it a fortuitous win that was largely based off of strategy and failure from the front runners. But he did keep one glimmer of hope by adding that anything can happen on the fast Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver's Daniil Kvyat and Ricciardo both made it to the third round of qualifying and will start eighth and ninth, respectively.

“That's the best the team could have got out of today,” added Horner when asked about how he felt about the qualifying results.

We will have to wait and see at 2pm ET if the Canadian Grand Prix turns out another surprise winner, and if there's any magic left in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing camp.

Montreal, QC – Not all of the regulars made it to the final round of qualifying, but in the end, the same dominant duo of Mercedes drivers will sit on row one of the 2015 Canadian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton took pole with a best time of 1:14.393 over his teammate Nico Rosberg by close to three-tenths of a second. Mercedes has won all seven poles this year with sixth of them going to Hamilton, the reigning driver's champion and current leader by 10 points over Rosberg.

“I won my first Grand Prix here in 2007 and that was incredibly special, so to be back here and to finally...get another pole and it be the 44th that's very, very special to me,” said Hamilton.

Rounding out the top ten was Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen, Williams' Valtteri Bottas, Lotus' Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo, and Force India's Sergio Perez.

What's fascinating about that list above are the names that aren't there. McLaren's Fernando Alonso will start 14th, Williams' Felipe Massa 16th, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel 18th or 19th (we will tell you further down) and Jenson Button will start from the pits making him the 20th runner in the race.

It was a disastrous day for Vettel, the four time driver's champion, who not only failed to make it to the second round of qualification, but was assessed a drop of five grid position penalty moving him down in the order, but it's still not sure if he will start above or below Torro Rosso's Max Verstappen, who was given a 10-grid penalty.
Furthermore, Vettel will lose three points, which puts a sting in the momentum he was carrying, sitting third in the driver's standings.

The incident occurred when Vettel overtook Marussia's Roberto Mehri during a red flag period. After watching video evidence, and Vettel admitting fault, the stewards had no decision, but to penalize the German. Vettel's starting position will be a big blow to the many faithful Ferrari fans that always come out in droves in Montreal.

Verstappen's penalty stems from a fifth engine change to their Renault unit, plus a five-place drop after sparking the collision with Grosjean at the Monaco Grand Prix. The full penalty cannot be applied, as he ended up in 12th position, so Verstappen will serve a 10-second penalty at some point during tomorrow's race.

The Canadian Grand Prix will begin at 2pm ET, and can be seen live on TSN.