Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/715731
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 17 AUGUST 2016 23 RENAULT team boss Frédéric Vasseur says that the outfit is likely to make a decision over its 2017 line-up early next month, though remains coy over which drivers it will choose. Renault returned to Formula 1 as a fully-f ledged manufacturer this season, with 2014 GP2 cham- pion Jolyon Palmer and former McLaren driver Kevin Magnus- sen filling its race seats. Vasseur praised both drivers for their efforts, as Renault gets back up to speed in the sport, but stopped short of confirming that either of them will remain on- board for another term. "I see both of them improving. Keep in mind that Jo [Palmer] is a rookie and Kevin did only one season before," Vasseur explained to the official Formula 1 website, ref lecting on their seasons so far. "Jo has been improving a lot – true he spun in Hungary, but so far he did a good job. And that also goes for Kevin. Both have a very optimistic approach. They are a good support for the team." Vasseur added that he wants a driver to push the Renault work- force forward. "If you look at the success sto- ries of the past, success was al- ways built around a driver," he said. "[Michael] Schumacher and Ferrari, [Sebastian] Vettel and Red Bull, Lewis [Hamilton] and Mercedes, and also [Fernando] Alonso and Renault in the past – so the driver is important. "A driver is not only about per- formance, but about being capa- ble of leading a team. "Right now we have more or less a thousand people in the team, if you take Viry-Châtillon and En- stone together, and that needs some sort of emotional leader- ship – and that is the job for a driver! "We need a driver who is super- motivated and able to super-mo- tivate everybody else." Asked if Palmer or Magnussen would be up to the job, and when a decision may be made, Vasseur stated: "They are improving! We know we are on the grid, so 'im- proving' is written in capital let- ters for us. "It is too early to make any deci- sion. We will probably do it at the beginning of September." Force India's Sergio Pérez and Williams' Valtteri Bottas have been linked to Renault for 2017, along with Esteban Ocon – pre- paring to make his debut with Manor – and GP2 leader Sergey Sirotkin. Sport Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Fine or partly cloudy VISIBILITY: Good WIND: West Northwest force 3 locally force 4 backing West Southwest SEA: Slight SWELL: Negligible Sea Temp.: 25°C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. PARTLY CLOUDY 30 º C / 21 º C UV INDEX: 9 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Across 1. Capital (5-4) 8. Clock pointers (5) 9. Task (5) 10. Placard (6) 12. Slip (4) 14. Inheritor (4) 15. Closer (6) 17. White-and-black bear-like mammal (5) 18. Small hard particle (5) 20. Telegraph messages (9) Down 2. Slender metal fastener (3) 3. Christian festival (6) 4. Rooster (4) 5. Sensational novel (7) 6. In good order (9) 7. Agent for destroying odours (9) 11. Systematically arranged body of facts (7) 13. Act of merging (6) 16. Walk in water (4) 19. Direct a gun (3) Bd1+ Kb4 Nd3+ mate FORMULA 1 Driver decision expected next month - Renault