Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Haas Budget, Fernando Alonso, More

Honda are set to introduce an upgraded version of the power unit ahead of the 2015 Formula One Russian Grand Prix, but only Fernando Alonso will be using it.

Time constraints have meant the Japanese manufacturer was only able to produce one set of the new components in time for the coming race.

McLaren have decided Alonso will receive the parts, less than two weeks after he savagely criticised Honda on the team radio during their home grand prix.

With the real GP2 engines roaring back into action at Sochi—and McLaren youngster Stoffel Vandoorne looking to wrap up the support-series title with two rounds to spare—the Spaniard will at least have something to compare his updated unit to.

Force India's Bob Fernley has also been critical of late. The deputy team principal has once again put forward his case for the F1 revenue-sharing model to be changed, warning the current system is not sustainable and hurts competition in the sport.

Elsewhere, Gene Haas has revealed his team will have a relatively small budget for 2016, Pirelli and the FIA are looking at new methods of keeping race tracks clean and—after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff expressed enthusiasm for the idea—Jenson Button hopes third cars will never become a reality.

Read on for a full roundup of the top stories from the last few days.

Gene Haas has revealed his new team will have a budget of just $100-$110 million (£66-£72 million) for the 2016 season.

The Haas F1 Team will make their debut on the grid next March in Australia, with Romain Grosjean at the wheel of one of their cars. While the other driver is yet to be announced, Ferrari reserve Esteban Gutierrez looks a shoo-in for the role.

But they'll be driving for a team that will spend relatively little and have far fewer staff than existing midfield outfits.

Speaking to Italian publication Autosprint (h/t Autoweek for the English translation), Haas revealed:

In some ways, the numbers are quite similar to our commitment in NASCAR, even if we are talking about only two cars.

At full capacity, it will be about 200 people, nearly half of teams like Williams or Force India. Our construction activities for the car will be very limited. At least compared to the other teams.

[...]

For the first year, we have planned a budget of $100 to 110 million. So with two cars in F1, it's similar to us with four cars in NASCAR.

If you talk about just the costs of the car, NASCAR is about $20 million per car, while F1 is about $35 million per car.

The figures correspond roughly to those of the Marussia team in 2014. BBC Sport's Andrew Benson estimated their budget at £70 million; when they went into administration, the BBC revealed their staff numbers to be around 200.

Haas hope to spend the same but achieve more because they are taking a different approach. As many components as the regulations permit will be supplied by engine partner Ferrari, while the chassis will be built by Dallara—not by Haas.

But even so, £70 million isn't a lot in F1 terms. The Ferrari engines and components are not free, even if they do get a small discount for running Gutierrez, and Dallara won't be working for peanuts. Nor will Grosjean.

It'll be very interesting to see where Haas stand in the competitive order when the cars line up in Australia—and more importantly, whether they can keep up with the higher-budget constructors in the season-long development race.

Jenson Button hopes teams will not need to run third cars to fill up the grid, days after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff backed their introduction.

Speaking earlier in the week, Wolff was quoted by Autosport as saying he liked the idea as a means to fill up a depleted grid should Red Bull leave.

But he also indicated support for using them to boost the current grid, saying, "I'd rather have Red Bull in the sport and third cars and a grid of 27-28 cars, and some exciting young drivers in those third cars."

Button, however, feels differently. Asked by Autosport for his views on the subject, the 2009 world champion said: "If they have to introduce them, they have to introduce them. All the top teams who are able will put a third car forward but at the moment, we hope that isn't the case. We hope we will have a full grid in 2016."

Wolff's support for third cars is understandable. Mercedes, currently the team to beat, will undoubtedly be strong again in 2016, and a third W07 on the grid would be an extra buffer against the cars behind.

Furthermore, any team running three cars would see their importance and political position within the sport strengthened; if the withdrawal of a two-car team would be bad, losing a three-car team would be worse.

But for teams in the midfield—and, for now at least, Button's McLaren outfit—third cars would be a disaster. They already have to pick at the scraps left behind by the big boys, snatching whatever minor points finishes they can.

With three Mercedes, three Ferraris, three Red Bulls and three Williams, a team like Sauber or Force India could be restricted to just one or two top-10 results per season.

Such an existence wouldn't be tolerable to them or their sponsors, and if—or rather, when—they departed, the political power and influence of the big teams would grow stronger still.

And with fewer teams around, there'd be fewer mouths to feed—so the commercial rights holders, led by Bernie Ecclestone, would also financially benefit as they could keep a bigger slice of the pie.

There's a good argument that putting a young driver in a third car would help in talent development, but it's really a debate centred around personal interest.

Only the drivers, fans and perhaps the FIA can have anything like an objective viewpoint.

Force India deupty team principal Bob Fernley has warned that F1 needs to change if it's to survive in its present form.

The financial difficulties the midfield teams publicly pushed out into the open toward the end of the 2014 season have not gone away, with Lotus in particular under immense short-term pressure.

Speaking to Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, Fernley said:

The one thing we were most concerned about last year is beginning to unfold again.

We have got poor Lotus under huge financial pressures and hopefully that gets resolved.

But it is really symptomatic of the agreements that we have that a team like Lotus and Force India and Williams, are not getting the funding coming through with the distribution of income.

Fernley went on to repeat calls for a change in the way the sport's commercial revenues are divided up, saying:

If you want to compete in F1 rather than participate, there is a certain price at the moment that you have to work at.

We can either be a Manor, which is participating, or we can be a Lotus, Force India, Toro Rosso or Williams, which is competing. That bit in the middle has the value.

There isn't the income in the world market of sponsorship that you can make up the differences and the fact that it is all going to one end of the field is what is causing the damage.

So if [the prize money] was distributed in a better way, and we got rid of the silly Strategy Group process for governance, hopefully we could start to see some stability coming back in.

Currently, the larger teams hoover up far more than their "fair" share, as revealed by Autosport's Dieter Rencken.

In 2014, the top five teams shared $627 million (£410.7 million)—including $249 million (£163.1 million) in "thanks for turning up" bonuses that are paid on top of their prize money. Payments to Ferrari and Red Bull alone accounted for $320 million (£209.5 million) of that figure.

The smallest five received just $257 million (£168.3 million) between them. Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Williams also have permanent seats on F1's rule-making Strategy Group; the smaller teams have to scrap over one remaining seat, awarded to the highest-placed team in the previous year's constructors' championship.

Force India and Sauber lodged formal complaints about the revenue sharing and governance model with the European Union in September. A Sauber statement published by Sky Sports revealed they feel it is a "violation of European Competition Law."

But the EU doesn't have a reputation for moving quickly—the small teams could well go bust long before a decision is made, so they will continue to seek voluntary change.

For the good of the sport, let's hope they succeed.

The FIA and Pirelli are investigating alternative methods of clearing debris from race tracks in a bid to reduce the chances of tyres picking up cuts or other damage.

August's Belgian Grand Prix weekend saw both Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel suffer high-speed tyre failures.

Pirelli was criticised by fans and drivers alike and responded with a statement blaming an unusually high amount of debris on and around the circuit.

Now, it is working with the FIA to seek alternatives to the fingers and brooms currently used by marshals to clean the tracks.

Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery told Autosport:

As you can imagine it's not actually our job to define the process.

But given the discussions we've had with the FIA I believe there is a recognition that maybe there needs to be a definition of a type of system that is used to clear the track, in particular when there are incidents.

That could be a certain type of equipment used around the world to allow a standardised cleaning procedure.

It is something I know is being looked at and I'm hopeful that going forward it is something that could be introduced.

Asked if the solution could be a mechanical one—such as the vehicle-mounted fans used in many American racing series—Hembery said:

That is the sort of thing I'm suggesting.

Maybe there is something that could be done, that doesn't involve massive expense, which provides a standardised process. Maybe a blower of some sort that can go on to the track when there are incidents.

Some incidents do leave a significant amount of debris on the track, large pieces of car in some instances. It's something we've talked about for quite a while.

Pirelli's post-Spa statement revealed the company found 63 cuts in tyres over the course of the Belgian weekend. It added that only 1.2 cuts are found during an "average" meeting, which strongly suggests the issue was Spa-specific.

However, F1 knees are, understandably, prone to jerking in response to safety concerns, and new, higher tyre pressure limits were introduced from Monza onward. Higher pressures reduce the likelihood of a tyre being damaged by debris—but at the expense of tyre (and therefore, car) performance.

The changes do the job they're designed for, but they are a bit of a fudge rather than a permanent fix. A "proper" solution such as improved track cleaning would be better for all concerned.

And no one would complain if it meant marshals were taken out of the firing line.

Fernando Alonso will receive an upgraded Honda power unit for the Russian Grand Prix after the manufacturer elected to spend its four remaining tokens.

Jenson Button must make do with an older spec until the next race in the United States because only one set of the new parts could be produced in time.

But the Brit will at least get to start from where he qualifies. Alonso's upgrade will mean he has to take new power unit components—and the grid-drop penalties that come with them.

A Honda spokesman revealed in a statement (h/t Pitpass):

We have used the remaining tokens [four] on ICE upgrade, to improve the combustion characteristics of the engine. Due to manufacturing timeline, it was only possible to apply one car with an updated engine. Based on past usage of the ICE, the team has decided to apply this on car 14.

McLaren have struggled in 2015 due to a string of issues with the underpowered and unreliable Honda unit. While both drivers have maintained a positive, PR-friendly outlook at press conferences and in interviews, Alonso's frustration with Honda boiled over during the Japanese Grand Prix.

His angry team radio messages, calling the situation "embarrassing," likening his power unit to a GP2 engine and expressing sympathy for the drivers behind him were broadcast on the live TV feed for the whole world to hear.

McLaren CEO Ron Dennis later spoke to Sky Sports F1's presenting team and didn't seem happy, saying Alonso's comments were not "particularly constructive"—but we could hear more of the same in Russia.

Whatever upgrade Alonso is receiving will not have any significant impact on the power output of his Honda engine—four tokens will barely scratch the surface—and the Russian circuit features two lengthy straights.

Making matters worse, it's a very thirsty layout. F1 Fanatic reported last year that several drivers complained they had to do far too much fuel-saving at Sochi.

And not only is the Honda engine slow and fragile, it also suffers from high fuel consumption, per Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle.

So as well as starting at or very near the back of the grid and losing massive chunks of time on the straights, Alonso will almost certainly have to endure periods of aggressive fuel-saving—and this was the cause of his first angry team radio outburst of the year, back in Canada.

If the Spaniard's race engineer Mark Temple has any holiday days left, now might be a good time to use them.