FORMULA 1 - 2015

[Baldy]

MIKA: Unbelievable! What happened to levelling things up for the 4 seasons RBR absolutely blew other teams away and made races processional?

Isn't this a sport where there are winners and losers? The losers should just put a sock in it and move on...

I agree 100% I don't want legislation to bring everyone to Renault's level even though it would instantly make my lawn mower powered McLaren-Honda competitive. I don't want to watch Indy car and Nascar where everyone is legislated to use the same everything. Why not remove the great drivers too, that would tighten up the field. Is the intent here to have everyone finish within a 1/10th of each other or is the intent to promote greatness. IMO, less legislation is always better even on the aero side.

I'm a huge McLaren-Honda fan and I don't find this race boring at all. Actually I found it was the opposite. This is despite my team's woeful lawn mower powered unreliable performance. RBR is only bitching because "they" decided to use a Renault engine. To bad suck it up buttercups. RBR did nothing to improve F1 during their dominate years. At least back then they weren't crying and bitching that much.

[MIKA27]

ARRIVABENE: SECOND BEST NOT ENOUGH WE HAVE TO AIM HIGHER

In preseason testing Ferrari showed signs of a revival with their new SF15-T and at the season opening Australian Grand Prix it came to pass that the Reds had made a significant step forward in the Formula 1 pecking order, but team chief Maurizio Arrivabene says second best is not enough for the Maranello outfit.

Arrivabene said, “I’m only half happy today, because the real joy comes when you win. I am happy about the podium and for Seb, but above all I am pleased for the team, because this is a good starting point, although it’s definitely not the end of the road.”

Sebastian Vettel finished third, which was the team’s first podium since Hungary last year, while Kimi Raikkonen also showed strongly in the race and appeared heading for fourth place until a stubborn wheelnut forced him to retire. But the message was clear: Ferrari were bettered only by Mercedes.

“I am sorry for Kimi, because everyone could see how strong he was in the race,” reflected Arrivabene. “But at the second pit stop, there was a problem with a wheelnut on which the threads had already been crossed during the first one.”

“We realised there was a possible problem and we decided to stop the car immediately, because safety is the number one priority.”

“Looking to Malaysia, we will keep our feet on the ground, because the Albert Park is a rather unusual track. If the second Williams had also been racing today,there would have been a clearer picture of the opposition we face.”

“But now we have realised we can do well, we must begin to stop thinking about being second best and start aiming higher,” declared Arrivabene.

[MIKA27]

Remi Taffin: There is no easy fix

Worryingly for Red Bull Racing, Remi Taffin has admitted there is "not an easy fix" to the issues that plagued Renault in Melbourne.

Red Bull had a torrid weekend in Australia as Daniel Ricciardo lost the first of his four engines for the season in Friday's practice.

The team's woes were compounded on Sunday when a gearbox issue force Daniil Kvyat out of the race even before the start. And according to reports, it may have been vibrations from the engine that caused the problem.

Renault's troubles, though, weren't limited to Red Bull as Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen retired from the grand prix with an Internal Combustion Engine issue.

Taffin said: "From the start of the weekend we've faced a number of technical issues, both at Red Bull and Toro Rosso.

"Reliability has been below par, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen suffering ICE problems. The two are not related and we are already investigating a recovery programme to make sure we do not see a repeat.

"The biggest issue has been the driveability, which has made it hard for all the drivers to feel comfortable in the cars. It affects pedal application and confidence in the corners so has cost lap time and points this weekend.

"It's related to the maps, or the way the Power Unit is configured, so while it's definitely not an easy fix, it does not require a complete redesign.

"We have got a lot of work to do before Malaysia but equally a lot of motivation to not repeat the same issues we had this weekend."

[MIKA27]

Magnussen: Lessons will be learnt

Despite failing to make the start in Australia, Kevin Magnussen has adopted a positive approach, saying McLaren can learn from his engine's failure.

Making his way to the grid for Sunday's grand prix, the reserve driver's McLaren-Honda broke down on his out-lap.

Billed by McLaren as an "as-yet-unspecified power unit glitch", what could be Magnussen's only grand prix of the year ended before it even began.

The Dane, though, says there are positives to be found as McLaren and Honda can learn something from his engine failure.

He said: "It was frustrating for me - I really wanted to race the car - but it's been good to get out here this weekend. I've really enjoyed it.

"Even though I couldn't make the start, the team can learn something from my car's problem."

McLaren, though, did at least get one car to the chequered flag as Jenson Button completed the race in 11th place.

He was, however, two laps down on race winner Lewis Hamilton and was also the only driver to finish the grand prix and not score a point.

But, as Magnussen points out, at least he finished.

He added: "We can take positives from Jenson finishing the race, too - we came here to learn, and that's what we did.

"Finishing is a small victory for the team - I don't think we expected to be able to do that.

"Now we can get a car to the finish line, we can start to accelerate our learning.

"We got 56 valuable laps under our belts, and that's a great way for McLaren and Honda to start our journey together."

[MIKA27]

Smedley backs Mercedes amid calls for equalisation

Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley has backed Mercedes, amid calls for the FIA to step in and equalise engine performance.

Red Bull have called on the governing body to make drastic changes to keep the grid competitive and to halt Mercedes' dominance. Bernie Ecclestone has also thrown his support behind the proposal.

However Smedley, whose Williams team uses Mercedes engines, believes the Anglo-German team deserves the success it's currently enjoying because it did a better job than its rivals.

"I don't think it is bad for the sport at all," he said. "I think Formula 1 is about levels of excellence. I think they [Mercedes] are now the absolute benchmark, the levels of excellence that they have attained in the whole operation is outstanding, and I take my hat off to them.

"They have done an absolutely fantastic job I'm not going to ***** and moan that they are quicker than us."

Smedley worked with Ferrari when it enjoyed success and he says it's only fair that a team is rewarded for their hard work, which can't simply be undone by a rule to penalise them and to make others happy.

"I've been in situations in a team where we have been dominant and now I'm in a team where there is another team which is dominant.

"If you work hard enough and you do everything right then there are rewards and they have worked hard," he added.

"I think it is good for the sport because it shows how hard everyone is pushing. It shows they are pushing really hard and the sport should be about technical excellence.

"We at Williams shouldn't be waiting for them to drop the ball, we should be looking to try an obtain and surpass what they are doing."

That's a view shared by Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff who called on his rivals to "get their heads down and work harder" to catch up.

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone attacks Manor over Australia no-show

Bernie Ecclestone says the Manor Marussia F1 Team will have to pay for its own freight to be shipped from Australia to Malaysia as punishment for failing to take part in the opening race of the season.

The 84-year-old launched a scatching attack on the rescued team which, due to a software issue with its cars, failed to participate in any of three practice sessions, qualifying or the race.

"We are trying very hard but it is a tough thing to do in the time available," explained Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon.

However he received no sympathy from Ecclestone who was clearly angered by their no-show which contributed to the smallest F1 grid since 1963.

"We should have never ever, ever allowed Manor to do what they've done. It's our fault. I predicted this would happen," Ecclestone told Reuters.

"They had no intention of racing in Australia. Zero. They couldn't have raced if someone had gone there with a machine gun and put it to their head.

"It was impossible. So they had no intention. We'll have to see now. And they will have to pay their way to get there and get out of there," he added.

Meanwhile, their non-participation could have wider implications. Although the FIA deemed their explanation reasonable enough not to warrant punishment, Ecclestone may see it differently.

As each team is allowed to miss three events during the length of their contract, if deemed not to have taken part, it would be Manor's fourth missed race which could see their £34 million ($50m) prize money withdrawn.

However, it's unclear whether their presence in the paddock with two cars which passed scrutineering is enough to be deemed participants in the race weekend.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton closing on Vettel and Senna after 34th win

Lewis Hamilton took his 34th F1 win in the Australian Grand Prix and now looks likely to surpass Sebastian Vettel as the most successful active driver later this year.

Vettel hasn’t added to his total of 39 wins since the end of 2013. Hamilton has won 12 races in that time, and the stunning pace Mercedes demonstrated yesterday gave every indication he will enjoy a similarly rewarding 2015.

And if this year is as good as last year was for Hamilton he could even overtake his F1 hero Ayrton Senna as the third most successful driver of all time in terms of wins. Senna scored 41 Formula One victories.

Hamilton is making similar inroads on Vettel in the all-time pole positions table. He started at the sharp end for the 39th time this weekend, and Vettel has 45 pole positions.

For the sixth time in his career, Hamilton scored a ‘hat trick’ of win, pole position and fastest lap. The latter was his 21st, putting him level with Fernando Alonso and Gerhard Berger.

Hamilton has decided against using the number one on his car which is reserved for a world champions, making this the first race since the 1994 Australian Grand Prix not to feature a car carrying the number one. For the second year in a row no one has chosen to be number two, and not since the Monaco Grand Prix in 1994 have both those numbers been missing from an F1 grid.

There was some good news for Vettel, however, as he finished on the podium in his first race for Ferrari. Both his new team mate Kimi Raikkonen and predecessor Fernando Alonso won on their Ferrari debuts – the latter after Vettel’s car failed while leading in Bahrain – but under the circumstances it’s unlikely Vettel was ever going to beat either of the W06s.

This was the 30th win for Mercedes, 20th consecutive podium appearance and also their 40th points score in a row. Williams were in the points for the 20th race running.

Three drivers claimed the first points of their career in the race, and two of those were rookies. Felipe Nasr brought his Sauber home in fifth place – the best result ever for a Brazilian driver on his debut.

Carlos Sainz Jnr also took points home from his first race after finishing ninth. Marcus Ericsson broke his duck after joining Sauber, becoming the first Swedish F1 driver to score points since Stefan Johansson’s remarkable podium finish for Onyx in the Portuguese Grand Prix 26 years ago.

And while he didn’t score a point, at 17 years and 170 days old Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to start an F1 race, beating the previous record by almost two years.

Having failed to score at all in 2014, fifth and eighth for Sauber was their best two-car finish since Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez came in sixth and seventh in Japan two years ago.

However it was a difficult start for the revived McLaren-Honda partnership. Starting their first race together since 1992 – which coincidentally was also in Australia – Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen could manage no higher than 16th and 17th on the grid. This was McLaren’s worst combined qualifying performance since the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, where Button started tenth and Hamilton 24th after being excluded from qualifying.

Small grid in Melbourne

By any standards, Formula 1 showed up with a small field in Australia. But this can be measured in different ways.

There were 20 entries admitted, 17 of them qualified (excluding Valtteri Bottas who withdrew and was removed from the official grid) and 15 actually started the race. Not since 1966 has Formula 1 had as few as 17 cars on the grid for the first race of the year, and you have to go back to 1958 to find a season that started with 15 or fewer. The latter was the smallest field ever seen for the opening race of a season – just ten cars made it to Argentina for that year’s curtain-raiser.

In terms of races other than the first event of the year, it’s ten years since F1 had a race with fewer than 15 starters. This, of course, was the notorious United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2005 where just six cars took to the start after the fourteen Michelin runners pulled into the pits at the end of the formation lap due to tyre safety concerns. Schumacher won the race.

The last time F1 had fewer than 17 cars on the official grid was the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix, where a boycott by several of the top teams meant just 14 cars turned up, and two of those failed to take the start.

When the chequered flag came down just eleven cars were classified, the smallest number since the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, where eight drivers were classified and only six were still running at the end.

[MIKA27]

Renault confirms Bell working as a consultant

Red Bull's engine supplier Renault has confirmed former Mercedes technical director Bob Bell is now working with the French manufacturer as a consultant.

Bell, who had previously worked at the Renault F1 tam as a technical director, left Mercedes at the end of last year.

The Briton joined Mercedes from Renault in 2011, having been with the French marque since 2001.

He was the team's technical director during the highly successful 2005 and 2006 seasons and was named team principal after Flavio Briatore left following the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix scandal.

A Renault spokesperson confirmed to Motorsport.com: "Bob is an external consultant on a variety of matters."

Renault is evaluating plans to expand its F1 operation for a better marketing return, perhaps with a takeover of one of the current teams.

Toro Rosso is understood to be favourite, although Sauber and Force India are also being considered.

Bell has joined Renault's managing director Cyril Abiteboul in visiting factories as part of the evaluation process as the French car manufacturer considers its long-term options.

No decision has yet been made about what it will do.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes F1 warns it could be even stronger in Malaysian GP

Mercedes could be even more dominant in the second race of the Formula 1 season in two weeks' time, according to its motorsport boss Toto Wolff.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg locked out the front row in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, with nearest challenger Felipe Massa's Williams more than one second off the pole position time.

The pair then raced to an unchallenged one-two finish, over half-a-minute ahead of third-placed Sebastian Vettel.

But with the team confident in the fast-corner performance of its car aerodynamically, Wolff suspects the gap could be larger.

"Potentially yes," he said when asked if he expected the gap to be larger at Sepang.

"Aero-wise, we are doing well and on the power unit side we are doing well; the integration went well."

While much of the focus has been on the strength of the engine package, the 2015 Mercedes is a formidable car aerodynamically.

Although the car builds on the success of last year's design, there have been substantial changes under the skin, which have allowed major strides to be taken aerodynamically.

Wolff said earlier in the Australian GP weekend that these gains mean that the W06 is not superior to its closest rivals in terms of top speed.

"We see a deficit from our car on the straights compared with the Williams and Ferrari," he said.

"Both of them have much more straight-line speed, by much more I mean we've seen 10-12km/h difference at the last track [testing at Barcelona].

"The most difference we see is in high-speed corners - downforce - that seems to be the strength of the car.

"It used to be the strength of the Red Bulls, it's now where we seem to have the most."

Wolff stressed that this increased performance is the result of the team's hard work over the winter.

But the Austrian also warned that what happened in Australia - the team's 12th one-two finish in 20 races since the start of 2014 - cannot be expected to be the norm.

"This was a perfect weekend, a faultless car, faultless drivers and then you have a result with one and two," he said.

"I don't think you can expect that to go on like this.

"The team is really synchronised. I have the feeling I am more tired now after the winter than I was at the end of last season and you can see the result."

Australian GP runner-up Nico Rosberg admitted after the race that he recognised the importance of closer competition at the front of the field.

[ptrthgr8]

Unbelievable! What happened to levelling things up for the 4 seasons RBR absolutely blew other teams away and made races processional?

Isn't this a sport where there are winners and losers? The losers should just put a sock in it and move on...

Apples and oranges, man. I don't seem to recall Vettel and Webber finishing 1-2 *every single* race. There was always a chance that another team would get 1 or 2 spots on the podium. And there was more of a chance that another constructor might do well. That's not what we have now at all. Mercedes is so far ahead of the field that they might as well give Hamilton another title and declare Mercedes the constructors champ now just to save everyone else the expense and hassle of participating in the season. Hell, the FIA is so concerned about being green... imagine how much smaller their carbon footprint would be if they called the season after one race. LOL

It's going to be a looooong and painful season.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Apples and oranges, man. I don't seem to recall Vettel and Webber finishing 1-2 *every single* race. There was always a chance that another team would get 1 or 2 spots on the podium. And there was more of a chance that another constructor might do well. That's not what we have now at all. Mercedes is so far ahead of the field that they might as well give Hamilton another title and declare Mercedes the constructors champ now just to save everyone else the expense and hassle of participating in the season. Hell, the FIA is so concerned about being green... imagine how much smaller their carbon footprint would be if they called the season after one race. LOL

It's going to be a looooong and painful season.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

You might be right and I see what you mean but again, everyone has had the same restrictions and guidelines to follow, only Mercedes have come up with the best OVERALL package. Good on them for doing so and as a Formula 1 fan myself, of course I'd love a more level playing field, but what can you do if the others have slept through the small development time frame?

I would agree though in saying, it would be great for in season testing, maybe giving some of the smaller teams an extra test week would be nice to see.

Malaysia is next, I've never been a huge fan of this race even when the cars were on par with each other. Hoping from race 3 onwards will be more interesting. I think the way Ferrari are going, and yes it is still early days to assume, but if they keep up their development, I think we can look forward to some closer battles.....

[Lotusguy]

Apples and oranges, man. I don't seem to recall Vettel and Webber finishing 1-2 *every single* race. There was always a chance that another team would get 1 or 2 spots on the podium. And there was more of a chance that another constructor might do well. That's not what we have now at all. Mercedes is so far ahead of the field that they might as well give Hamilton another title and declare Mercedes the constructors champ now just to save everyone else the expense and hassle of participating in the season. Hell, the FIA is so concerned about being green... imagine how much smaller their carbon footprint would be if they called the season after one race. LOL

It's going to be a looooong and painful season.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Couldn't agree more!!! Red Bull was never even close to being this dominant. It's bad for the sport.

[MIKA27]

'Wolff isn't a reserve driver'

Susie Wolff will not replace Valtteri Bottas should the Finn be declared unfit to race at Sepang as she is "not" Williams' reserve driver.

Wolff was handed a promotion ahead of this year's Championship, making the step up from development to test driver.

However, unlike in many teams where the test driver is also the reserve driver, this year at Williams that is not the case.

As such, should Bottas, who sat out Sunday's Australian GP after suffering soft tissue damage to his back, not be cleared to race, Wolff will not replace him.

"She is not actually our reserve driver, she is our test driver," Symonds told Sky Sports F1.

He added that Williams are "looking at some plans" should the Finn fail to race.

MIKA: Maybe Williams can ask Alonso or Button when the new Honda McLaren doesn't start?

[MIKA27]

Seb 2, Nico 0 in press conference

Sebastian Vettel certainly got the better of Nico Rosberg in the post-race press conference in Melbourne as he teased the Merc driver over some of his comments.

Mercedes dominated the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday with Lewis Hamilton beating team-mate Rosberg by 1.3s to take the victory while Vettel was 34s behind in third place.

Formula 1 fans are no doubt hoping that the rest of the pack can catch up to make it a closer contest at the front and Rosberg also admitted after the race that he wants Ferrari to be up there.

"I hope we can have a good fight. That would be awesome. I think the next couple of races we’re going to be leading the way for sure, and we’re going to try and keep it that way, but we know it would be good if they can come a bit closer, as long as they don’t come too close..." the German said.

The comments raised an eyebrow from Vettel and he interjected: "Be honest. Do you really hope so? Seriously? You finished 30 seconds ahead of us and you hope it’s going to be closer? So you hope you slow down? Is that what you’re saying?"

Rosberg's replied that it is "important for the sport and for the fans" that the battle up front is closer, but Vettel wasn't going to let it die.

"First suggestion, if you don’t mind, I think your garage becomes public for Malaysia and everyone can have a look. No? I’m joking," he said.

Rosberg: "You can come if you want, we can invite you..."

Vettel: "OK, thank you for the invite, I’ll come."

Rosberg: "Friday Malaysia, OK.

Vettel: "Engineers’ room? Debrief, I’ll be there."

The teasing didn't quite end there as Rosberg later suggested that Vettel wasn't too unhappy to see Kimi Raikkonen retire on lap 40, asking: "You find it a shame that your teammate didn’t finish..."

Vettel once again got the better of his compatriot, saying: "Yes. I don’t know how much you like each other but Kimi and myself we get along, so I think it is a shame."

[MIKA27]

Vettel sure 'brave' Honda will recover

Four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel says he is certain that Honda will overcome its early-season problems, and has praised the manufacturer for returning to the sport with McLaren.

Formula 1 switched from V8 engines to turbocharged V6 power units for 2014, but while Mercedes hit the ground running, rival brands Renault and Ferrari struggled for reliability and performance.

Honda, entering the sport a year into the latest engine cycle, encountered similar problems throughout the pre-season phase, with the MP4-30 beset by a string of technical issues.

Another power unit glitch saw Kevin Magnussen stop on the lap to the grid for the Australian Grand Prix, although Jenson Button was at least able to get his car to the chequered flag.

"It's great to see that we have a new competitor in the game with Honda," said Vettel, who was speaking after finishing third on his Ferrari debut.

"I think they have been very brave to face that challenge, even though now the price they're paying is very high, but I'm sure they will come back.

"I think everyone has, more or less, been through that process with the exception of [Mercedes] last year, so it seems to be part of the game."

Sunday's grid featured just 15 cars, with Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull also stopping on the lap to the grid, Williams driver Valtteri Bottas ruled out with a back issue, and the Manor cars failing to run at all.

Vettel says the gremlins only serve to highlight how complex Formula 1's current regulations are.

"They [the spectators] want to see the cars and if the cars break before even starting the race that's not right, but what can I say?" Vettel added.

"It's a difficult challenge; it is complicated, maybe got a bit too complicated, but for now it is what it is. The people still enjoy it so we need to do the best to keep it up."

[MIKA27]

What Goes Into Training A Formula One Driver?

Any form of racing necessitates being fit, with great reaction times and enough muscle mass to handle the regular and sustained punishment that comes from throwing yourself around a race track. But when you’re a Formula 1 driver, pushing a 450kW-plus, sub-750kg purpose-built cornering machine around a track at speeds topping 300km/h, you have to be the best. And the way you get there is with a lot of hard work.

Many Formula One drivers get their starts when they’re young racing karts and open-wheelers — that was the proving ground for current Mercedes front-runners Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg — or come up through the ranks of the World Endurance Championship. That breeding ground naturally brings the best to the top, and a fitness regime goes hand in hand with that.

But once they’re in the sport, they have to maintain both their fitness and their cognition. For McLaren Honda, the way that comes about is through a partnership with the GSK Human Performance Lab. GSK’s HPL is already working with the McLaren team, testing and training both drivers and mechanics to help them perform as optimally as possible.

The kind of data that is captured is extensive; everything from reaction times to body fluid loss during exercise is monitored, and an ongoing program has been developed that’ll run the length of the 2015 F1 season. Already in the first race of the season, down in Melbourne over the weekend, both McLaren Honda drivers had a personalised electrolyte drink tailored to perfectly replenish the loss of those vital minerals through sweat. (Of course, Kevin Magnussen wasn’t able to race on Sunday due to a blown engine, but Button was drinking the GSK HPL Kool-Aid.)

The program started in February of this year and will see the drivers and the entire team undergo continual assessments at different Grands Prix throughout the racing season. Whether it makes a hugedifference remains to be seen, but F1 is a sport of milliseconds and this kind of thing might just be the difference between championship success and failure.

Here’s another fun fact — Jenson Button’s average reaction time is 613 milliseconds according to the GSK HPL tests, about 0.6 of a second. Wikipedia tells us that the average human reaction time is between 0.2 and 0.25 seconds, so either Jenson is uncharacteristically slow — it certainly wouldn't seem likely — or people on the internet are wrong.

[MIKA27]

MOANING RED BULL FINDING LITTLE SYMPATHY FROM F1 WORLD

So far, Red Bull is finding little support in its quest for immediate changes to the Formula 1 rules after a below par weekend in Australia for the team whose bosses have hinted at a possible withdrawal from the sport.

Ferrari has already made clear it is content for now, particularly as it has leapfrogged Red Bull and Williams to be the second force behind dominant Mercedes.

“Our job is to attack Mercedes on the track,” said boss Maurizio Arrivabene, “not to change the rules.”

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff told his Red Bull counterparts to take their complaints to the Wailing Wall, and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton advises the energy drink owned team to “hire better people”.

Rob Smedley, lead engineer at Williams, told Auto Motor und Sport: “I have worked for a team (Ferrari) that dominated.

“Now they (Mercedes) dominate. It’s the result of hard work. They have done everything right, so you just have to take your hat off to them,” said the Briton.

Also with no sympathy for Red Bull’s situation is Force India deputy Bob Fernley, whose calls for financial help at the end of last year fell on deaf ears.

“The four big teams, including Red Bull, were adamant nothing needed to be done, and now Red Bull are getting squeezed a bit, and probably coming under pressure from their owners,” he is quoted by AAP news agency.

“The reality is now setting in — welcome to the real world,” added Fernley. “You can’t blame Mercedes for doing a good job. Everybody else has the same opportunity.”

Interestingly, Fernley also suggested that Red Bull is wrong to blame not only F1’s rules, but also its struggling engine supplier Renault, for its problems.

“Is it entirely Renault?” he asked. “Their sister car (Toro Rosso) performed reasonably well (in Australia) and with two young guys in the car.”

[MIKA27]

HAMILTON: RED BULL BETTER HIRE SOME BETTER PEOPLE

Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has stepped up his rhetoric against rival Red Bull’s complaints that the sport is becoming boring and even threatening to pull out.

After the British driver won dominantly in Australia, Red Bull declared the gap to Mercedes was too big and the rules too ‘complicated’ for Formula 1.

“It’s not (too complicated) for us,” the reigning world champion told Australia’s Seven Network on Tuesday during a visit to Sydney.

Red Bull chiefs are arguing the current rules are “killing” the sport, and have threatened to quit, “It’s been interesting to see some of those comments.”

Asked if Red Bull is simply guilty of sour grapes, he answered: “I don’t want to get into the political side of things. I just drive.”

But Hamilton did observe: “People are always unhappy when they’re not winning.”

As for Red Bull’s failure to keep up amid the new turbo V6 era, the 30-year-old pointed out that Ferrari has managed to make a big step forward over the winter.

So Hamilton advised Red Bull: “You better hire some better people, I guess. We’ve hired great people and we’ve done a great job, and we weren’t complaining when they were doing it.”

[MIKA27]

VAN DER GARDE SAGA ENDS WITH €15 MILLION SETTLEMENT

Dutch media reports on Tuesday said Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was involved in negotiations that have ended the Giedo van der Garde versus Sauber saga.

De Volkskrant refers to compensation for the Dutch driver in the order of €15 million, with other reports saying the money will flow from a Credit Suisse account in the coming hours.

Another daily, Algemeen Dagblad, reported that van der Garde’s manager Jan-Paul ten Hoopen will have something to say on the matter later this week.

It seems the financial compensation, calculated on the basis of van der Garde’s two contracted years at Sauber (2014 and 2015) as well as legal fees, will result in the 29-year-old dropping the case in full.

It is believed F1 supremo Ecclestone, from his office in London, got involved in the frantic negotiations last weekend as the negative headlines swirled from the Melbourne courts and paddock throughout the world.

Algemeen Dagblad said the 84-year-old Briton personally contacted fellow billionaire Marcel Boekhoorn, who is van der Garde’s backer and father-in-law.

It is rumoured part of the deal might involve Boekhoorn taking shares in the embattled Swiss team.

[MIKA27]

MANOR WILL RACE IN MALAYSIA PROMISES BOOTH

Manor founder and boss John Booth insists his team is travelling to Malaysia next weekend to race unlike their plight in Melbourne where neither car turned a wheel.

The FIA investigated the former Marussia team in Australia, amid suspicions the cars, drivers and mechanics only appeared in the Melbourne pits so that Manor remains eligible for its millions in official 2014 prize-money.

Bernie Ecclestone is convinced the team had “zero” intention of actually competing in the 2015 season opener, and has vowed to bill Manor chiefs for freight transportation.

Booth, however, insists the F1 supremo is actually supportive, “Bernie just misses nothing, does he? He has been kept aware at every stage of the process.”

The team argues it was kept grounded in Australia due to a software issue, but Booth says there is enough time before Malaysia to now solve it.

“We’re in a massively different place now than where we were at the start of last week,” he said.

“The progress was colossal, just not quite enough, but now we’ll get to Malaysia on Monday, start setting up at the circuit on Tuesday, and for sure we’ll be ready to run on Friday,” added Booth.

[MIKA27]

JOS VERSTAPPEN SLAMS RENAULT FOR ANTI-CLIMAX TO FAIRYTALE

Former F1 driver Jos Verstappen has admitted he was really upset after watching his son retire from his debut garnd prix in Melbourne and has pointed a finger of blame to Renault

The Dutchman, whose 17-year-old son Max has just made his high-profile debut for Toro Rosso, is known to be a hard taskmaster.

Once, during their kart racing days, Max crashed and his father refused to speak to him — for seven days, “I really wanted to teach him a point that it should hurt him.”

This time, it is Toro Rosso’s struggling engine partner Renault that has incurred Verstappen snr’s wrath.

In Australia, it was Verstappen’s fellow rookie and teammate Carlos Sainz who scooped up the plaudits, while the sister car driven by its teenaged occupant broke down.

“I was really angry,” Verstappen, 43, is quoted by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. “It was an anti-climax of what could have been a fairytale.”

He put the blame squarely at Renault’s door, “Things are clearly not in order. Renault needs to work harder and deliver.”

“It is frustrating for Max. It is good that he is in Formula 1 to gain experience, but if he was here with another brand of engine, he could really make an impression.”

MIKA: I watched the race and when Max DNF'd Jos was truly ticked off... He has anger issues no doubt about it.

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES SAY WORKS AND CUSTOMER ENGINES THE SAME

After dominating the Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes has hit back at claims it is not supplying the same specification of engine to its Formula 1 customers.

In Australia, Williams’ Felipe Massa was the fastest non-works Mercedes driver in qualifying, but the gap to Lewis Hamilton’s pole time was a massive 1.4 seconds.

Brazilian Massa admitted he suspects Mercedes might be supplying inferior equipment to its Grove-based customer.

“If we have the same engine the difference should be in the car,” he said. “I hope we have the same engine. I believe we have the same engine, so it’s the car.”

“Maybe,” said Massa.

That was on Saturday. After the race, Massa admitted he still has his doubts. “I cannot say 100 per cent” that the engines in the Mercedes and the Williams are the same, he is quoted as saying.

According to Mercedes’ engine boss Andy Cowell, however, the works and customer engines are exactly the same.

“They all have the same engines,” he is quoted by Speed Week. “Firstly, that way the engineers are able to learn the most, and secondly, we owe that (service) to our customers.”

“Third,” Cowell explained, “it would be too costly from a parts point of view to go around with different engine specifications.”

MIKA: I like Massa but he's always whining when things don't go his way...

[wabashcr]

Don't the factory teams always have the advantage with engines? They can start with the same engine they're selling to Williams and Lotus, but surely their engineers are going to have a head start with their own engine.

[MIKA27]

Renault says last-minute push to blame for F1 woes

Renault has blamed its Australian Grand Prix problems on being too aggressive with late developments on its 2015 Formula One engine, but insists the issues can be solved.

The French car manufacturer has come under fire from partner Red Bull after a disappointing Melbourne weekend.

After losing a power unit early in the event, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth in Melbourne, one lap behind the winning Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, and his fastest lap was nearly two seconds slower.

Team boss Christian Horner described the engine as "undriveable" while tech chief Adrian Newey said he saw no "light at the end of the tunnel" in finding a cure.

Renault's managing director Cyril Abiteboul admits Renault pushed too hard during the winter, to the point where it had to use new methods to follow what he described as a "ferocious" development race started by Red Bull.

"We had last-minute developments on the engine that by-passed our usual validation process, notably the test bench," he said in an interview with L'Equipe.

"And these changes caused problems at Melbourne. This is what we will focus on upon returning to the factory before heading to Sepang."

He added: "We were very aggressive because Red Bull has taken us on a ferocious race in development.

"We have to ask ourselves questions as to how we have proceeded with them so far, and forgetting our traditional methods.

"We've been producing F1 engines for 37 years now. We know what to do."

Red Bull must do its part too

Abiteboul insists the way Renault turned things around last year shows that it is still possible to have a strong season, even though he has ruled out beating Mercedes on pure performance.

"Last year, if I said we would win three races, you would have laughed. Will we win races due to outright performance? No.

"But it can come back just as quickly as it left. However, fighting wheel to wheel with Mercedes won't happen right away."

When asked about the difficult period the Red Bull/Renault partnership is going through, he said: "We've won together and today we're not comfortable together. Up until now, we've followed them, and listened to them.

"Perhaps today they are realising that there are different universes between chassis and engine and that everyone must do their part."

Toro Rosso buyout possible

Abiteboul confirmed Renault is looking at the possibility of buying a current F1 team to race under its own name, but said the main priority is to first solve the engine problems.

"Toro Rosso is still a possibility. It could be the answer to whether to do more F1 or less. But before thinking about chassis development, we have to make sure the engine issues are corrected.

"That's the priority and we must react."

[ptrthgr8]

Agreed. If anyone actually believes that the Silver Arrows are running with the exact same engines as the the customer teams, well... then I've got a bridge for sale in Brooklyn.

Just. Plain. Stupid.

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