Sports Mole rounds up all of the latest news regarding Formula 1 on Tuesday, September 15.
Tuesday morning's Formula 1 news roundup:
Verstappen 'sick' of repeat Honda problems
© Reuters
Max Verstappen admitted he was "sick" of the repeat Honda-related technical problems at both Monza and Mugello.
The Dutchman, who according to his boss Dr Helmut Marko could have challenged Mercedes for victory on Sunday, retired from a race for the second time within seven days at Mugello.
"It seems that it was the same problem as last week in Monza," the Red Bull driver told Ziggo Sport.
"The start was good, but when I went full throttle, I had that problem again. I could already feel it on the way to the grid."
When told that his actual retirement was caused by the crash, Verstappen responded: "That's what you get when you end up in situations like that. I would have dropped out anyway."
He stopped short of pointing the finger directly at Honda, but admitted: "It is not normal for it to happen two races in a row. At the moment I'm sick of it. It doesn't matter that much to me anymore."
Indeed, with Lewis Hamilton winning again, Verstappen's points deficit to the lead Mercedes is now 80 points.
Honda's technical boss Toyoharu Tanabe admitted he was disappointed to see "PU problems when we were showing speed".
On the brighter side, Alex Albon secured a timely podium at Mugello, in the wake of swirling speculation that he might be dropped by Red Bull.
Team boss Christian Horner thinks the result will be like a "turbocharger" for the British-born Thai driver's confidence.
"It seems that the slightly unstable rear-end behaviour inherent in our car, which does not affect Max's driving in any way, has hindered both Alex this season and Pierre Gasly in the previous one," Horner said.
"It's not so much a problem for Alex now. He has learned how to cope with it better."
2020 Ferrari 'project' is fundamentally flawed - Binotto
© Reuters
Mattia Binotto says Ferrari is yet to get its head around a fundamental problem with the woefully uncompetitive 2020 car.
So far in 2020, the narrative has been that Ferrari's struggles are mainly because of the 2019 engine legality saga, which has obviously left the famous team underpowered.
But the drivers insist that they are not sure what else is wrong with the car.
"We aren't fast enough. Why? It's a good question," said Sebastian Vettel after the race at Ferrari-owned Mugello. "There's more than one reason."
Indeed, Charles Leclerc had better single-lap pace at Mugello and was even running third early on Sunday's race. He finished just eighth.
"We need to understand what's wrong with this car," he said afterwards.
Even their boss, team principal Binotto, admits that the extent to Ferrari's problems are not yet clear.
"At the moment there is no explanation," he said. "It is clear we had a degradation of the tyres and I think this is because of the profound difficulty with our project that is not difficult to get out of."
Binotto told Sky Italia that even car upgrades at the next race in Russia will not be enough to make an impact.
"We will have some small updates in the next race but it does not make a difference," he said.
"We are also working hard at home to correct the basic project, especially for the car for next year.
"Our opponents are in a different situation to us as they have been bringing upgrades since the beginning of the season. Our problem is the basis of our project and we need more time than just small developments," Binotto added.
More news from Formula 1:
F1 steward Salo says Bottas 'did nothing wrong'
Mugello steward Mika Salo insists that Valtteri Bottas "did nothing wrong" before the midfield race re-start pileup last Sunday. Read more.
Mercedes denies 'bringing politics into F1'
Mercedes has denied "bringing politics into Formula 1". Read more.
Richest team 'will always win' in current F1 - Sainz
Carlos Sainz has admitted to "frustration" that the current situation in Formula 1 means that the richest team is always the most likely to win. Read more.
Lewis Hamilton accuses Formula 1 chiefs of putting drivers' lives at risk
Lewis Hamilton said the crash was the result of the safety car lights being turned off too late. Read more.
Wolff denies Ineos to buy Mercedes for $900m
Toto Wolff has rubbished suggestions Mercedes could be about to be taken over in a sensational $900 million deal by 2020 sponsor Ineos. Read more.
FIA hits out at Lewis Hamilton over "offensive" safety comments
Lewis Hamilton is also being investigated by the FIA because of the T-shirt he wore before and after Sunday's race. Read more.
Sporting weekend in pictures: Premier League returns, Dominic Thiem wins US Open
The Premier League returned while Dominic Thiem outlasted Alexander Zverev to win the US Open men's title. Read more.
Nurburgring hopes for Friday run for Schumacher
The boss of the Nurburgring hopes the rumours are true that Mick Schumacher will get a Friday practice outing at the German circuit next month. Read more.
Vettel denies fatigue behind F1 incidents
Sebastian Vettel has denied that driver fatigue could be behind a spate of recent incidents in Formula 1. Read more.
2021 can be 'much better' for Ferrari - Sainz
Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri hopes "flexibility" in the F1 rules helps the famous Maranello team pull itself out of its "hole". Read more.
