Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Romain Grosjean, Sebastian Vettel and More

Romain Grosjean has spent his entire Formula One career at Lotus but will bring his four-year spell with the team to an end at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of 2015.

The Frenchman has agreed a move to the new Haas team for 2016, and Grosjean, having claimed 10 podium finishes in his 82 appearances for Lotus, is steeling himself for an emotional farewell.

Grosjean's switch to Haas is likely to put him in contention to join Ferrari in 2017, when he would almost certainly partner Sebastian Vettel.

With three victories and 10 further podium finishes, the four-time world champion has been one of the most impressive drivers of 2015

But the Ferrari driver has revealed his stars of the season are Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen, the Scuderia Toro Rosso rookies, whom he believes are on course for great things.

Vettel's backing, however, is unlikely to improve the mood of Sainz, who has vented his frustration with Toro Rosso's wretched reliability record following his latest retirement in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard has now suffered seven DNFs in 2015, and while he admits his frequent spells on the sidelines have done little to change the paddock's perception of him, Sainz fears he has been prevented from gaining vital experience.

As Sainz spent most of his time sat in the garage at Interlagos, Mercedes were testing several new parts ahead of the 2016 campaign.

And team boss Toto Wolff has admitted the two-time constructors' champions may take an aggressive, inventive approach to the design of their new car.

Closing this week's roundup is the news of F1's latest Strategy Group meeting, where the 2017 engines and aerodynamic regulations will be up for discussion.

Romain Grosjean believes this weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be among the most emotional races of his career as he prepares to leave Lotus.

The Frenchman has spent his entire Formula One career at Team Enstone, joining the outfit as a test driver in 2008 and contesting six races at the end of '09 before earning a full-time seat at the beginning of the 2012 campaign.

Grosjean has matured beyond belief over his time at Lotus, recovering from an error-prone rookie season—which saw him receive a one-race ban for causing a first-corner accident at Spa-Francorchamps—to become one of the most dependable, fastest drivers on the current grid, scoring 10 podium finishes.

Ahead of his switch to the brand new Haas team, where he will partner former Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez in 2016, Grosjean is expecting his 83rd and last race for Team Enstone to be a sentimental occasion.

And the 29-year-old has vowed to go out with a bang for Lotus, who've struggled with financial problems for much of 2015, telling the official F1 website:

Of course the priority over the race weekend is to score as many points as possible, but it will be quite poignant to be having my last meetings, meals, track walk and other things with the team. I’ve shared so many good and also so many character-building times through my years at Enstone so we’ll have some good laughs. Of course, before I leave Enstone I will make a visit to the factory to see all the people I’ve worked with over so many years. I’m sure that will be an emotional day.

[...]

I’ll be fighting all the way. There’s no point holding back in the race or over the weekend. It’s the last time the E23s will be used in race action so I’ll be looking to give my car a good send off. The engine will be turned up to 11, I’ll be racing my heart out and I know all the guys and girls at Enstone want to see a great end to the season.

Meanwhile, Lotus team principal Federico Gastaldi has claimed a move away from his spiritual home will have a positive effect on Grosjean, telling F1i.com's Chris Medland that "it’s good for the drivers to have other options, other experiences."

As Grosjean prepares for his final race at Lotus, Haas are already preparing for his arrival, with the American outfit tweeting a video of their drivers' race numbers being plastered onto the walls of their Banbury-based factory.

Sebastian Vettel has revealed he has been impressed by Max Verstappen's performances over the course of his debut season in Formula One.

At the tender age of 17, Verstappen became the youngest-ever driver to start a grand prix at the beginning of 2015, but any fears over his lack of experience were soon extinguished with a number of outstanding displays.

The Toro Rosso driver qualified sixth in Malaysia in just his second F1 appearance, scoring his first points the following day, and has gone on to register fourth-place finishes in Hungary and the United States.

With his undoubted speed, maturity and confidence in wheel-to-wheel combat, Verstappen has been regarded as the most exciting talent to emerge from Red Bull's young-driver scheme since Vettel, who won four consecutive world championships with Red Bull Racing between 2010 and 2013.

And the German, now of Ferrari, believes Verstappen is also on course for great things, telling Autosport's Dieter Rencken and Lawrence Barretto:

Max has been a surprise because he's been very aggressive, sometimes too aggressive.

But in the end, he had done a very good season so far, he has had two fourth places.

He is one to be up there in the future. With his age, he has a lot of time.

I'm sure he'll make us worried, the older generation, which I'm part of now. 

As well as hailing Verstappen, Vettel also praised Carlos Sainz Jr. for his performances at Toro Rosso throughout 2015, adding that he worked alongside the Spaniard during his time at Red Bull.

He told the same source:

Carlos and Max have done a very good job. Those two stood out this season.

I know them, Carlos in particular, from the past from my time at Red Bull Racing.

He was helping a lot on the simulator, doing a lot of work for us, so it's good to see them racing.

Vettel, who has three wins and one pole position to his name in 2015, warmed up for this weekend's Abu Dhabi GP by winning the Race of Champions—the end-of-season, stadium-based event—at London's Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

Although he has the support of Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz Jr. has revealed his frustration with Scuderia Toro Rosso's ongoing reliability problems after his latest retirement at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

As his fellow rookie team-mate, 18-year-old Max Verstappen, impressed with a string of overtaking manoeuvres, Sainz had a troubled weekend at Interlagos, where he was hindered by electrical issues in the final free-practice session and qualifying.

The Spaniard suffered yet more problems on race day, when his STR10 slowed to a halt on the reconnaissance lap, forcing him to start from the pit lane before stopping after just five corners of the 71-lap race.

One of just two Renault-powered teams on the 2015 grid, Toro Rosso have struggled with reliability since the V6 turbo regulations were introduced at the beginning of last season.

And Sainz, who retired from four consecutive races between the Austrian and Belgian grands prix as a result of technical issues, has admitted he is running out of patience, telling Autosport's Ben Anderson:

I'm honestly very p----d off and angry with the situation, because I think we had a great opportunity to score points.

It's the seventh time in the whole season. It means 50 per cent of the races not finishing.

Obviously, it being my rookie year it's not what you want and it's not what you're here for.

You're here to gain experience and to learn, so it's clearly not a good balance of retirements this season.

You just hope that next year you have a clean season and that's it.

Despite his mounting number of DNFs, Sainz admitted he is relieved to have created "an impression in the F1 paddock" as a result of his performances alongside Verstappen in 2015, claiming he is "happy" with his debut season.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, has admitted that the two-time champions are willing to make a number of aggressive design changes to maintain their performance advantage in the 2016 season.

As noted by Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, the Silver Arrows trialled a number of new parts in free practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix, including an interpretation of the S-duct—the bulge visible on the W06 car's nose in the above image—as well as a "new suspension design."

With both the drivers' and constructors' titles secured with races to spare, Mercedes—who introduced an early incarnation of their 2016-specification engine at September's Italian GP—have had the luxury of being able evaluate potential changes to their car ahead of next season.

And Wolff, who has overseen a combined total of 31 grand prix victories for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg since the beginning of 2014, has admitted the team may adopt an adventurous approach with next year's W07 car at a time Ferrari are talking up their chances.

The Austrian told the same source:

You can get it pretty wrong if you go for an evolution of a car that performs pretty well already.

So, we are not quite sure yet. There is some interesting stuff being drawn, being tested in the tunnel and looked at. One of those very interesting areas, bits of it were on the car on Friday.

It is a permanent evaluation between evolution and revolution, and it is not yet clear whether we want to take it a bit more innovative or not. But at the moment it is good to have secured the championship and be able to look at things.

Noble claims the suspension design seen in Brazil could indicate that Mercedes are "developing a new form of hydraulic suspension that interconnects the left and right hand side of the car" after the Front-and-Rear Inter Connected (FRIC) system was banned at the halfway stage of the 2014 campaign.

The official F1 website, meanwhile, suggested the front-suspension changes, which featured "new mounting points," were made to "evaluate how the car would work with a higher chassis, clearly something Mercedes are developing for next year to improve airflow under the chassis."

The Formula One Strategy Group will hold its latest meeting in Paris on Tuesday, according to Autosport's Dieter Rencken and Lawrence Barretto, when the subject of an "alternative," affordable engine will be up for discussion.

Ferrari recently blocked a plan by FIA president Jean Todt to reduce the customer price of the current V6 turbo power units from $20 million to $12 million. 

The Italian manufacturer's reluctance to cut the costs led to the FIA and F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone proposing the introduction of a cheaper engine with similar performance levels to the current powertrains for 2017.

As reported by Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper, Advanced Engine Research and the Mario Illien-led Ilmoor Engineering operation have already applied to manufacture the engine—which will not feature an energy recovery system—and the finer details of the plan will top the agenda in the French capital.

As well as the alternative engine, per the Autosport report, the large wave of aerodynamic changes planned for 2017—which are still yet to be finalised little more than a year ahead of their introduction—will be among the hot topics as Red Bull Racing continue the push for "the return of ground effect underbodies."

"Minor aerodynamic changes for next season" will also be evaluated, as will the subject of tyre testing and the prospect of a "mule car" for Pirelli, which requires a 2017-specification chassis to test and develop new tyres ahead of the potential rule changes.

A name change for the Manor-Marussia team, who are currently in the midst of a restructuring process following the resignations of stalwarts John Booth and Graeme Lowdon, is also to be discussed as F1 focuses on the future.

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