FORMULA 1 - 2014

[MIKA27]

Williams: It’s bittersweet as the car was quick

Valtteri Bottas finished seventh and Felipe Massa 15th in the Chinese Grand Prix. Felipe had a great start but then had contact with a defending Fernando Alonso, whilst Valtteri was hit by Nico Rosberg who was braking hard in response to the action ahead.

Felipe recovered to sixth with Valtteri in eighth before the first round of pitstops but a problem in Felipe’s first pitstop then dropped him to the back of the field. Valtteri meanwhile chased the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg eventually finishing just half a second behind, as Felipe fought hard to gain positions back to 15th.

Rob Smedley, Head of Vehicle Performance: “It’s bittersweet really as the car was quick. We had a good strategy and the team worked well together. It’s a real shame for Felipe and the whole team about the pitstop and it is something that we need to investigate to ensure it doesn’t happen again, as it cost us points today. To have one car in the top ten shows that we have the pace and that gives us continued optimism, so we will take the positives forward to Spain.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was a good race for me despite some hard contact at the start which cost me a few positions. I also had to drive the whole race without telemetry which isn’t the easiest thing to do. We made progress over the whole weekend which is good. It’s great to make steps forward and we are looking to do the same in Spain in a three weeks’ time.”

Felipe Massa: “I had another great start today and we were fighting at the top. I felt some contact with Fernando but luckily the car wasn’t damaged so I could carry on. There was a mistake at the first pitstop and that effectively lost me the race as I came back out on track in last position. It is a frustrating situation and something we need to work on to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. We have time now to work hard and improve the car for Spain.”

[MIKA27]

Sauber: We are going through a tough time

The Chinese Grand Prix in Shangahi ended for the Sauber F1 Team with a big disappointment.

Adrian Sutil was forced to retire on lap six due to an engine problem.

Esteban Gutiérrez had a decent pace in the early stages of the race, but then the rear tyres lost most of their grip which forced him to change from the planned two stop strategy to three stops. He finished the fourth round of the 2014 World Championship in 16th.

Esteban Gutiérrez:

Start on soft tyres tyres, after 14 laps change to medium tyres, after 27 laps change to medium tyres and after 40 laps change to soft tyres

“It was a very complicated race in terms of tyre management. With these kind of temperatures the prime tyres were not really working for us. We had to do a three stop strategy, which ended up as a disadvantage for us. With our current pace we could not have higher expectations in terms of our results. I have total faith in my team, everybody is putting their best efforts into everything. I believe that Barcelona is the place where we can recover, make a step forward and fight for better positions and points.”

Adrian Sutil:

Start on soft tyres – DNF on lap 6

“Unfortunately it was a very short race for me. During the formation lap I already had problems. As it was a quite slow formation lap, I was not able to identify what the problem was. I just realised the engine was not working properly. At the start I had almost no power. Going into the first corner I noticed there was a problem with the engine. I lost a lot of positions during the first lap and fell back to last. I did a few more laps, but then went back to the pits. The team tried to solve the issue, but we could not do it quickly. I had to retire. However, I am still positive and looking forward.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “Of course it’s a shame that Adrian suffered an engine problem after only a few laps and was never really able to get into the race. In Esteban’s case, we have to analyse everything in order to understand why the rear tyres suddenly lost so much grip. We are obviously not happy with this kind of performance. We are going through a tough time, but this is no reason for us to bury our heads in the sand. We need to continue working in a very focused way and make sure we get the maximum from our development package for the next race in Barcelona.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “This was obiously not the the result we wanted. For Adrian, the race was over before it had really started. His car suffered a major engine problem, which Ferrari will have to investigate. For Esteban, the beginning of the race was quite okay. He started on the soft tyres, and, as expected, they grained. Then on the medium tyre things went quite well in the beginning, but from lap 25 on the rear tyres lost grip massively, which forced us to change from the planned two stop strategy to three stops. We have to analyse what exactly was the problem. The only chance we had was to get the maximum from the new tyres, but the performance was simply not good enough today.”

[MIKA27]

Lotus: We took another step forward in terms of pace

Pastor Maldonado finished in fourteenth position whilst Romain Grosjean was forced to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix on lap 28 because of a gearbox problem. Romain made the team’s first top ten start of 2014 and was fighting for points before his early exit, whilst Pastor made eight positions during the course of the race after having started from back of the grid due to engine-related issues forcing him to miss Saturday’s qualifying.

Romain started from tenth position on new soft compound tyres, changing to new medium tyres on lap nine. He retired from the race with 28 laps completed.

Pastor started from 22nd position on new soft tyres, changing to new mediums on laps 11 and 32.

Romain Grosjean, DNF, E22-03: “We started by losing fourth gear but it got worse and essentially we lost all gears. It’s the first time we’ve had a problem like this so we’ll have to understand what happened. It had been quite nice in the race as we’d been fighting for ninth position so we were in the points, which is a good improvement from before. We didn’t make it to the end of the race today but let’s hope we finish in the points in Barcelona.”

Pastor Maldonado, P14, E22-01: “Today wasn’t my best race ever but we finished. My pace wasn’t fantastic but at least we moved forwards and I pushed as hard as I could. We will look at the data as we seemed to lack pace on the straights which made it difficult to overtake and also difficult to defend. It will be nice to have a race weekend without any problems, and that’s what we are all working for when we head to Europe.”

Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: “For Romain it was another frustrating day but we can see there is clear progress as he qualified and was racing in the top ten for points. For Pastor, it was a tough day as he was forced to start from the back due to yesterday’s problems, but he delivered everything we wanted from him with some strong lap times during the course of his race. We took another step forward in terms of pace here and we are pushing for another step forward in Barcelona.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Romain suffered from a gearbox issue which meant he lost fourth gear and then other gears meaning his race could not continue. Obviously, this is not ideal and we’re investigating the cause. It’s a shame as Romain had been running reasonably well in the points and able to race his rivals, and a points finish was realistic. Pastor did a great job from the back of the grid to finish in fourteenth. For Barcelona we have more upgrades for the chassis and engine so we should be more competitive there.”

Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 Team Support Leader: “We’ve made some real progress this weekend and for the first time since Melbourne we could show we had the pace for points, which is why today is so disappointing. We have identified some further development with the power unit here so with the three weeks between this race and Spain we’ll work with the team to capitalise on the potential.”

[MIKA27]

Whitmarsh set for $10-million McLaren payout

Ousted McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh could walk away from the Woking outfit with a $10 million payout.

Last month, when Eric Boullier became the British team’s new chief in the wake of supremo Ron Dennis’ return to power, it was reported Whitmarsh agreed not to speak to the media while his contract payout is negotiated.

“Martin is a friend,” Dennis said in March. “Some decisions you take in life are not that easy, and I will not elaborate.”

Britain’s Daily Mail now reports that while Whitmarsh’s severance package is still being negotiated, it is “likely” to be around $10 million.

Correspondent Jonathan McEvoy said the figure is more than $400,000 for each of the 24 years Whitmarsh served at McLaren.

[MIKA27]

"Total fuel" damaging fuel sensor claims FIA

The fuel supplied by French oil giant Total could be causing Red Bull’s repeated problems with the mandatory fuel flow sensor in 2014.

It emerges that in qualifying in Shanghai, the reigning world champions struck trouble with the Gill-supplied device yet again.

To avoid a Melbourne-style disqualification, Red Bull reportedly adhered to an interim agreement reached with the governing FIA to revert to other measurements in the event of a sensor failure.

In the meantime, the search for the problem continues.

Speed Week correspondent Matthias Brunner has quoted the FIA’s technical expert Fabrice Lom as explaining that the Total-supplied fuel is probably the culprit.

“On the sensor there is a seal that the chemical composition of the Total fuel could be damaging,” Lom reportedly said.

“If this is happening, then the sensor would not work correctly.”

Less clear, however, is why the Total fuel is damaging mainly Red Bull’s sensors, rather than the ones used by the other three Renault-powered teams.

Meanwhile, it appears Red Bull is not ready to forgive rival Mercedes, after the German team called on the reigning world champions to be banned for three races for appealing Daniel Ricciardo’s Melbourne disqualification.

Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda on Saturday made a peace-offering in the form of a Sachertorte, a famous recipe of Vienna chocolate cake.

But Red Bull’s Helmut Marko told Bild: “He thinks everything is over with a cake. I think the next time he wants to eat with us, he should put on a bulletproof vest.”

[MIKA27]

Newey with Webber at Silverstone not in China

Adrian Newey chose overcast Silverstone over smoggy Shanghai for the weekend of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Speed Week reports that Red Bull’s technical boss was not on the Shanghai pitwall on Sunday because he was actually trackside at Silverstone.

It is at the British Grand Prix venue that the season opener of the world endurance sports car championship is taking place, and Newey has been spotted chatting with Red Bull’s newly-retired driver Mark Webber.

This weekend, Australian Webber is kicking off his new career as Porsche’s lead prototype driver.

“It was just a shorter journey to Silverstone than it was to Shanghai,” a smiling Newey explained.

[MIKA27]

Father Jan at races distracting says Magnussen

It seems former Formula 1 driver Jan Magnussen will not be a regular fixture at grands prix this year.

Magnussen senior had to miss his son Kevin’s Grand Prix debut in Melbourne last month because he was racing a sports car on the other side of the world.

“Being 6000 miles away watching the race was not a lot of fun,” said Magnussen, 40. “I do not want to do that too often.”

He was trackside for race two in Malaysia, amid his deliberations about whether to quit his own racing career in order to support his son’s.

“Now Kevin is in Formula 1 I’ve thought a lot about how long my career will go on,” said Magnussen snr, who was a teenager when Kevin was born.

“I’ve got to decide whether I can focus on what I’m doing or whether I’d rather be with Kevin.”

But in China for the fourth round of the season, Kevin has now revealed he prefers to travel the world alone.

Asked by the Guardian if he would welcome his father quitting his own career to support his, the 21-year-old paused before replying: “Not really.

“I’m quite happy to be alone. For the reason that if I have family round I feel a distraction.”

Magnussen said he enjoys talking with his father about racing and Formula 1, “but it’s not a help at the race.”

[MIKA27]

Female lawyer to help Ecclestone run Formula 1

Bernie Ecclestone will lean heavily on the help of a 44-year-old woman when his corruption trial begins next week in Germany.

The Formula 1 chief executive has already admitted he will need extra help when he is tied up in court for two days of every week in a bid to stay out of jail.

Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper revealed that the person to whom the 83-year-old Briton’s load will fall is Australian Sacha Woodward-Hill, already Formula 1′s chief legal officer.

“She has been involved in every major deal of recent years and holds 17 directorships in Formula 1-connected businesses,” said correspondent Jonathan McEvoy.

An insider confirmed: “He (Ecclestone) will rely on her more than ever while the court stuff is going on. She’ll be Bernie’s rock.”

Ecclestone, whose trial begins next Thursday, is not in China this weekend.

[MIKA27]

Button: I don't know what we're doing

Jenson Button will leave Shanghai a very disappointed man after another bad weekend for McLaren.

After looking like they've turned the corner during the first race of the season in Australia with two podium spots, the Woking squad have struggled in the last two races.

Button started the Chinese GP in 12th place and he failed to have much of an impact as he finished 11th while his team-mate Kevin Magnussen was another two places adrift.

"It's pretty painful out there," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "I don't know what we're doing, really. When you have as bad a result as this it's tough for everyone. Hopefully the team can stay positive and update the car because this isn't good enough."

Despite being downbeat, the former World Champion is hopeful the team will be able to turn their fortunes around when the European season kicks off in Spain in three weeks.

"We've got a few upgrades for the next grand prix, in Barcelona, but they won't be enough to close our performance gap to the fastest cars," he said. "But the guys are doing their best, and a result like this is disappointing for everyone, especially for the mechanics and the guys back at the factory, because they've all been working so hard."

[MIKA27]

Massa's 'nightmare'

Having been bumped at the start followed by a shoddy pit stop, Felipe Massa says his Chinese GP was nothing short of a "nightmare."

Massa made a flying start to Sunday's race at the Shanghai circuit, shooting up the outside by the pit wall to make up ground.

However, moving back into the thick of things, he and Fernando Alonso collided with the two cars literally bouncing off each other.

Both managed to continue and Massa was running in sixth place when he came in for his first stop.

That, though, was a disaster.

First Williams mixed up the rear left and right and then they struggled to put the rear left on.

Costing Massa time, he eventually exited down in 20th place and was only able to recover to 15th.

"It was a bit of a nightmare," he told Autosport of the stop. "I lost my race there.

"I came out last, there wasn't much I could have done.

"I don't know what happened, I just know something happened to the back of the car.

"I don't know if it was a mistake, a problem on the wheel nut, I don't know."

The Brazilian, though, is refusing to let the problem get him down, adamant Williams will fight back at the next race in Spain.

"That's how we ended up where we were, but chin up, we'll keep fighting our way back into it."

[MIKA27]

Grosjean: It's a shame

Romain Grosjean's run in China ended on lap 29 when a gearbox problem forced him into retirement.

Grosjean had qualified tenth for Sunday's race at the Shanghai circuit and had been running inside the top ten in the early stages.

However, midway through the race, he reported "a problem with fourth gear."

Told to avoid using it or get a "DNF", Grosjean continued out on track only for the problem to worsen to the point that he had to park his E22.

"We lost fourth gear for five or six laps and then lost all the gears," said the Lotus driver.

"It's a shame.

"we worked hard all weekend long, tried to get a good car.

"Not very rewarding for now."

The Frenchman, though, is hoping for "better" at the next race in Barcelona.

[Bartolomeo]

I still think Alonso is best driver on the grid, look what he did today w/ a crap car. Put him in the best car now(Mercedes) and he will be even quicker than those guys. Good to see Ferrari get a podium. I still think new Ferrari guy is in over his head but we shall see

Poor Massa w that pit luck

Race was OK w some highlights but Mercs still too tough overall

Riccardo still continues to impress

I am excited about US race team in 2015-2016

[Reevzy]

What are you talking about? God forbid a 4 time champ would want to actually race. Besides, he obviously let Danny go by shortly after the team order.

Yes he did let him by on the next lap but over the years Sebastian has been quite vocal about Webber either being slow to respond to team orders or ignoring them entirely.

Vettel has proved in the past and on this occasion that he doesn't like team orders being barked his way.

I'm not getting at who is or was the better driver, it's all about team orders and politics.

I'm definitely not a fan of team orders myself but that's just how Formula 1 is nowadays.

Just ask Rubens Barrichello or Felipe Massa

[NaFFe]

I agree that team orders are rubbish but Riccardo was less then 4seconds off Alonso. That could have been a podium finish if Vettel stuffed him around by holding him up.

[MIKA27]

Alonso: I think this podium should be dedicated to Stefano Domenicali

Fernando Alonso earned Ferrari their first podium finish of the Formula One season on Sunday and handed some of the credit to former team boss Stefano Domenicali.

The Spaniard said his third place in China, the fourth race of the year, was a confidence boost for Formula One’s most glamorous team after a difficult start to the season led to Domenicali’s resignation last week.

“I think this podium should be dedicated to Stefano, as everything we [will] do up to July will also be the result of his efforts,” said Alonso.

“We have definitely made a step forward, because compared to two weeks ago, we have partly closed the gap to the leaders, but we are well aware there’s still a long way to go and we have to keep our feet on the ground.”

Mercedes have won every race this year, with Lewis Hamilton leading Nico Rosberg in a one-two finish in the last three including China.

Alonso was only ninth and way off the pace in Bahrain two weeks earlier but Ferrari’s improved form, with new Principal Marco Mattiacci watching from the pit wall, will be good for morale as the team tries to catch up.

“We felt more competitive and now … being here on the podium is some kind of surprise for us, a nice surprise finally,” Alonso said from the podium.

“We didn’t have the start of the season that we would like but at the end of the day we’re still in the fight.”

The double world champion is third in the standings, 38 points adrift of Rosberg.

Ferrari are fourth overall with 52 points, 102 behind Mercedes.

“This weekend we made some progress and in general, the speed of the car has increased, both in the corners and on the straights,” said technical head Pat Fry.

“But we have to be realistic about our current potential and continue working, because the gap to Mercedes is still big and no one within our team has any intention of giving up.”

[MIKA27]

Good to see Ferrari get a podium. I still think new Ferrari guy is in over his head but we shall see

The new guy is over his head - He was only an Observer the last race on the pit wall. Can't believe they removed Domenicalli.

Much like McLaren removing Whitmarsh, now look at them, still under performing which I'm sure Ron Dennis will attribute to the ousted member of the team.

[MIKA27]

Lotus progress halted as gearbox gremlins strike in Shanghai

Romain Grosjean’s hopes of scoring Lotus’s first points of the 2014 Formula One season were dashed on Sunday when the Frenchman was forced out of the Chinese Grand Prix by a gearbox problem.

Grosjean had qualified 10th in treacherous conditions on Saturday and was gunning for a ninth-place finish when his race engineer came on the radio asking him not to shift into fourth gear.

The problem then worsened until the car lost all gears.

“It’s the first time we’ve had a problem like this so we’ll have to understand what happened,” said the French driver, whose team were regularly challenging for the podium last year and finished fourth overall in 2013.

“It had been quite nice in the race as we’d been fighting for ninth position so we were in the points, which is a good improvement from before.”

Grosjean’s team-mate Pastor Maldonado, who had start from the back of the grid after being unable to compete in Qualifying, finished 14th.

“Today wasn’t my best race ever but we finished. My pace wasn’t fantastic but at least we moved forwards and I pushed as hard as I could,” said the Venezuelan.

“It will be nice to have a race weekend without any problems, and that’s what we are all working for when we head to Europe.”

Lotus have had a trying start to their season with chronic unreliability holding back the Enstone-based team.

[MIKA27]

Horner: No Vettel issues

Christian Horner has played down suggestions that Sebastian Vettel once again defied team orders during Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix...

Like in Bahrain a fortnight ago, where the German was asked by Horner to let team-mate Daniel Ricciardo pass because the Australian was on a different tyre strategy, Vettel again received the order to let the sister Red Bull past in Shanghai on Sunday.

"Tough luck," Vettel replied to the order when he learnt that they were on the same tyre strategy this time around.

Team Principal Horner, though, quickly moved to dismiss claims that the German was unhappy about the status quo within the team, saying that Vettel's statement came when he thought they were on identical strategies, when they weren't in fact because Ricciardo's soft compound Pirellis had lasted several laps longer than those on the four-time World Champion's RB10.

"He's a racer and, of course, he asked first of all what tyre was Daniel on," Horner said of Vettel when asked by crash.net of the incident.

"Then, at that point, what he didn't realise was that we were looking at a different strategy - because Seb was going through the tyre phases quicker - to convert Sebastian on to a three-stop.

"I think he was understanding that they were on the same tyres and that they were on the same strategy and he wanted to race. The situation was that, obviously, his tyres were quite a bit older at that stage, he was going through the tyre quicker and it looked very much like a three-stop [race].

"As soon as he understood that, he immediately let him through and could see that he just simply didn't have the pace to hold him back, therefore it was pointless."

After eventually getting past Vettel, Ricciardo challenged Fernando Alonso for the final podium position, but ultimately ran out of laps to close the gap to the Spaniard.

Horner, though, insisted that the Australian's race wasn't hampered by Vettel.

"I think that, arguably, he would have been a second further up the road, but [Vettel] did the right thing for the team and let his team-mate through," Horner continued.

"Catching [Alonso] was one thing but, with the deficit that we have on the kilometre-long straight here, I think passing was going to be something quite different.

"The problem was that the windows of traffic weren't opening up for him behind [and] we could see with our lack of straight-line pace that overtaking despite fresher tyres would be very difficult, so therefore in the end we concluded that actually a two stop would be the best strategy for him as well."

[MIKA27]

Red Bull plead innocence in Fallows row

Red Bull maintain that they aren't behind aero chief Dan Fallows' about turn, as the dispute between McLaren and the Milton Keynes outfit heads to the High Court.

McLaren are reportedly planning legal action against Red Bull for encouraging Fallows to break a binding contract with them, although Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner refuses to acknowledge that the reigning Constructors' Champions did anything wrong.

"The situation with Dan is very clear," Horner told Autosport.

"Dan decided that he was going to leave Red Bull for reasons of his own.

"With the changes that have happened at McLaren [such as Martin Whitmarsh being moved aside], he decided that he didn't want to join.

"It was 100 percent his decision to approach us and see if there was a situation still open.

"It was his choice and I think that getting lawyers involved, if that is the way that McLaren want to act, then that is what will have to be done."

Horner also dismissed the merits of McLaren's legal claim, adding that the Woking outfit would be better off if they were focused on improving their car rather than waste time and money on legal fees.

"It is very easy for McLaren to be drawing focus away from their bigger issues," Horner added.

"It is obvious why they are looking for aerodynamicists. I would have thought their focus should be a little bit closer to home.

"I don't know how it can question the integrity of the team.

"It is the choice of the individual. Nobody can be forced to do a job.

"Slavery was abolished years ago and I don't think anybody can be forced to do a job against their will.

"Situations change - as Ron well knows. Probably more so than others, with the vast amount of experience that he has."

[MIKA27]

McLaren form dictated by the weather

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier has admitted that their form this year seems to be dependent on the weather conditions.

Both Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen failed to finish in the points this week in Shanghai, where their lack of downforce, in the slow corners particularly, was brutally exposed.

This is largely due to McLaren's small operating window in terms of temperature, during which the tyres provide optimal levels of grip.

"We are missing downforce, so we cannot exploit the tyres as easily as Mercedes and Red Bull," Boullier told Autosport when asked about their varied form this year.

"So it seems the performance range our car works in is weather dependent. If it is too hot we are out, if it is too cold we are out.

"What is difficult to explain is that if you look at Bahrain, except for Mercedes, we were chasing the Force Indias and we could have, with a better strategy, even finished on the podium."

After claiming two podiums in the season-open in Australia, McLaren has now failed to score points in consecutive races, although Boullier admitted last week's performance in Shanghai was far more frustrating than the race in Bahrain.

In Bahrain, both drivers retired with clutch failures after the team fiddled with their gear rations in an attempt to find more lap time. In China, though, they were just significantly off the pace.

"It is obviously bad - but it is even worse, to be honest," Boullier said of their performance in Shanghai.

"If you try something [like the Bahrain gear-change gamble] because you are under pressure that is one thing. I accept an honest mistake.

"I don't accept it because something went wrong, but you can make this kind of mistake. But to have a DNS (did not score) - that hurts."

[MIKA27]

Lauda calls for Mercedes calm

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has urged the team to continue improving the car, despite their dominant start to the 2014 season.

Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have dominated proceedings so far this year, with Rosberg winning the first race and Hamilton winning the next three as they secured back-to-back-to-back 1-2s for the Brackley outfit.

Lauda, a three-time World Champion himself, has reminded that team that nothing can be taken for granted, particularly as reigning Constructors' Champions Red Bull continue to improve their package.

"It is looking good, but let's be careful," Lauda told Autosport.

"There are a lot of races to come.

"The Red Bulls are famous for coming back, and [Adrian] Newey is there.

"He wasn't here [in China], so he sends something new for Barcelona I'm afraid.

"Things can go wrong in any way. But, at least the start point for us is not a bad one."

With the focus during the early stages of the season clearly on reliability and performance of the various power units, aerodynamic developments have been neglected so far this season.

Most teams are planning a major aero upgrade in the next race in Barcelona, though, and Lauda believes it is in Catalonia that the season will really start.

"For me the biggest worry, which I am always worried about, is that we keep on working," he said.

"We can't just breathe once and say we are the best. This will not happen.

"The most important time is the next three weeks, as everyone will come up with a new package.

"Plus Barcelona is a very particular circuit. It is hard on tyres, and not so much about engine alone. You need a good car/engine combination.

"There will be the next level of measuring about who did the best upgrades? Who is the quickest there? And who will win the race?

"This will be very important information for me personally to see how the season will continue. If you are on top of the game in Barcelona, then it is a bit easier.

"After that, you have to watch it again after the summer break, but Barcelona for me is a key race."

[MIKA27]

Tech Talk: Ferrari's blown wheel-nuts in China

Ferrari made a step forward at the weekend to close in on, or possibly even pass, Red Bull as the second quickest team in race-trim after Fernando Alonso took third behind the Mercedes duo.

One of the noticeable upgrades was the Italian team's blown front wheel hubs. This certainly isn't a new concept, with both Red Bull and Williams using similar systems last year. However this year, both have dropped the innovation. Not because it doesn't work, but because the FIA introduced tighter wheel-nut regulations to include a fail-safe should a wheel not be secured properly.

This rendered both Red Bull and Williams solutions unusable without major redesigns - of which they're most likely working on.

Ferrari have managed to design their blown-hubs with the fail-safe included - the idea is actually believed to have come from Lotus after Ferrari signed their head of aerodynamics, Dirk de Beer, late last year.

Lotus are expected to race their version soon.

The innovation takes airflow from the new enlarged brake-ducts which feed a channel running through the spinning axle. The airflow then exits out of the centre of the wheel-nut (see hollow wheel-nut above). Without the blowing effect (see green arrows below), the airflow coming off the front-wing endplate hits the front-tyre and then, due to the curved shape of the wheel, follows the contour and is directed toward the cooling opening.

This is a waste of critical flow. By pushing air through the wheel-nut, it pushes the wake coming off the front-wing endplate further outward (see orange arrows as they meet the blue arrows). This improves the outwash effect and channels the airflow toward the sidepods and crucially, toward the diffuser. The additional airflow also reduces drag by decreasing the low pressure area behind the front tyre and increases brake cooling efficiency.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes engine advantage explained

Mercedes have an obvious advantage over their rivals in the power unit department thanks to a clever design innovation which has been widely discussed.

As you can see in our power unit diagram of the Mercedes V6 above, they have split the turbo. The 'turbo cool' (charge air) is located at the front of the engine near the driver, whereas the 'turbo hot' is at the back of the engine toward the exhaust outlet.

This is unique to the Mercedes power unit. The reason for this is to keep the charge air (blue) as cool as possible. As you can see on the Renault V6 diagram below, the French manufacturer has followed the traditional route of placing the compressor and turbine together.

The heat generated by the red turbo transfers to the blue, reducing its efficiency. Despite some heat shielding between the two, heat transfer still occurs.

To make matters worse, the MGU-H to the left creates additional heat. Mercedes have circumnavigated this problem. A shaft running through the 'V' of the engine block keeps the turbo connected, but keeps the cooler element away from the heat generated by the MGU-H and the turbo heat.

A cooler charge air increases the efficiency of the turbo and thus increases the power from the engine. It also means Mercedes have to run less cooling pipework.

That has other tangible benefits such as saving weight, allowing them to run a smaller intercooler which reduces the need for large sidepods which increases airflow to the diffuser, making it more efficient.

Another bonus comes from the fact that the MGU-H is located in the middle. This could allow Mercedes to have either or both sides working through one-way clutches, making the complete unit more efficient.

The way in which this system generates electrical power, feeding the MGU-K, again increases power and reduces turbo-lag, providing immediate power the driver.

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen thinks F1 driving style hurt him during Chinese GP

Kimi Raikkonen suspects his Formula 1 driving style was the reason for his lack of competitiveness in the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Finn finished eighth at the Shanghai circuit, while Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso battled Nico Rosberg's Mercedes and the Red Bulls to record the Scuderia's first podium of 2014.

"It's probably more to do with my driving style plus these cold conditions and not getting the tyres to work properly," said Raikkonen, when asked if a new chassis - given to him after his old one developed a crack while Alonso was testing in Bahrain recently - had possibly developed a problem.

"If there was an issue with the car it would not be fast on new tyres.

"I think it's a combination of cold conditions, circuit layout and my driving style."

Ferrari has upgraded the front suspension on Raikkonen's car in an effort to make him feel more comfortable in the F14 T, but the 2007 world champion struggled for grip in China and reckoned his driving style failed to generate sufficient front tyre temperature for him to be competitive.

"I don't think I work the tyres very hard, so when it's wet and cold it's hard to get the tyres working," he said.

"The new tyre works well until the grip from the rear tyres goes away, then you have to go slower and you start cooling down the tyres more and everything goes around and around and you cannot fix it.

"There's not just a magic thing I can suddenly change in my driving and fix. It works for you in some places and against you in some.

"We just have to work and find some solutions when we have this and hopefully not end up in similar situations.

"Once you end up there it's hard to get out - especially in the race."

[MIKA27]

Mark Webber says Porsche 919 debut WEC podium is a "massive step"

Mark Webber has heralded Porsche's podium in the Silverstone World Endurance Championship opener at the weekend as "massive step" for the German manufacturer on its return to top-flight sportscar racing.

The nine-time grand prix winner finished third with Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley behind the two Toyota TS040 HYBRIDs, after what he described as an "astronomical" effort from the Porsche team.

"It is a great day for sportscar racing to have Porsche back on the podium and it is a massive step for us," he said.

"It is a nice surprise for us to be as competitive as we were. It's been a brilliant day — and we are going to work hard for the next race [spa on May 3].

"I'm happy to have played a small role in the effort that's gone in from the team and everyone back at the factory to get to this point.

"We were a bit overawed at pulling the whole weekend together to be honest: we all concentrated on our roles and, it is a bit of a cliche, but that is probably what got us through."

The two Porsche 919 Hybrids qualified third and sixth, both within half a second of the pole-winning Toyota over a four-lap average.

The Porsches were handicapped in the damp and wet conditions because they were running in low-downforce configuration as part of their preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours, but Webber was able to run with Stephane Sarrazin in the second-placed Toyota during the penultimate hour of the race.

The second 919, which was shared by Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, retired early in the second hour with an undisclosed driveline problem.

This followed suspension repairs following the loss of the left front wheel straight after the car's first pitstop.