FORMULA 1 - 2014

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Maldonado: If everything goes well then a top five is possible

Pastor Maldonado has not enjoyed the season he would have expected with Lotus after engineering his release from Williams, nevertheless the Venezuelan remains upbeat as the Formula 1 circus descends on Circuit de Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, which also happens to be the venue of Maldonado’s first (and as yet only) grand prix victory.

What did you take away from China?

We had a good start and first lap, but then because of the lack of top-end speed we were struggling to overtake and lost a lot of time behind slower cars, which compromised our final result. Lap by lap our pace was improving, but it was not enough to pass more people. I think we need to work very hard to increase the top speed so that we can attack more during the race. Otherwise the car is not too bad and it can only improve from here. We achieved a good step forward for the Chinese race. Now we have time to review the data and try to do the same again in Spain, hopefully giving us a good chance to fight for points.

Tell us about the Circuit de Catalunya?

The circuit has certainly been very good for me in the past, with the win in 2012 being the highlight. A top ten in qualifying will be our first focus and then it’ll be a very tough race in terms of tyre management, with a lot of pit stops and strategy. Last year most did four stops but Lotus F1 Team were able to make three stops to finish second. Overall Catalunya is tough for the cars, drivers and teams because everyone knows the track so well and you have to fight for every thousandth of a second. There are obviously races that are much closer to Venezuela in a geographic sense, but Barcelona is special for me because there is a huge community of Venezuelans close by and of course my mother tongue is Spanish. So I hope to see a lot of flags around the track and some great support as usual. It’s always good to race in front of your fans and I am determined to continue my good record there.

What do you remember about the win in 2012?

It was a great day in my career, a strong race and victory over Fernando Alonso in his home event. We really deserved it because we did it on merit and under big pressure from the Ferrari all race. People forget that we were outside the top ten on Friday and then everything came together. We qualified second – pole after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified – and I knew there was a chance to win the race. I just felt so calm and ready to win. That weekend, after being 17th in first practice, shows why you must never give up in Formula 1. It also gave me more confidence because my first year in F1 had been difficult, but as soon as the car was competitive I was up there, fighting with the top drivers. My mentality changed and this now drives me forward when times are tough.

What would be a realistic target for Barcelona this season?

I’m expecting to be more competitive. It will be very important to start scoring some points, but if everything goes well and we get some luck too then a top five is possible. It is going to be difficult – there are the two Mercedes and two Red Bulls and then others who have shown good pace in recent races like Force India – but if we get 100% from the car we can fight all of the other teams and come away with something good to build on.

What are you expecting from the technical updates?

Clearly we expect the updates to be positive, but it’s difficult to say how big the relative improvement will be because everybody will bring updates and nothing stands still in Formula 1. The bottom line is that we must keep improving and pushing. We won’t get to the end of this season and look back to think we could have done more. Everyone is fighting 100% to get back to the front of the grid. When we get there it will be even sweeter.

How important is it to get points as soon as possible?

It is vital because this team and the drivers are used to scoring lots of them. But more importantly it will act as a trigger for more confidence throughout the team and it will mean we can act on that and feed off it. The races after Barcelona are Monaco and Montreal where many variables usually happen. We have to be in the right place to take advantage of these and to enable a good platform for the summer.

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Grosjean: As a team we have to stay united, it will make us stronger as a unit

After seeing a top ten start thwarted by a rare gearbox issue on his Lotus E22 at during the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, Romain Grosjean is determined to see the team’s progress rewarded in Barcelona where the Formula 1 circus gathers for Round 5 of the 2014 Formula World Championship.

Is it a case of glass ‘half full’ or ‘half empty’ after China?

The gearbox problem was obviously a big disappointment. But the overall picture for the whole weekend was 90% positive. We didn’t get a reward at the end, but we know we made a step in the right direction with the car. Before the problem in the race we were the second Renault [powered] team, also in front of the McLarens and fighting with Force India. That was positive.

Do you think the car is now delivering its potential?

I think it is getting there. It is still not as good as we believe it can be. The aim in Barcelona is to keep improving, but we know we have a decent platform to work from and solve the remaining issues. Of course power unit wise we are not yet equal to the best and from our side we are still behind the top Renault team.

How do you explain the progression made at the last race?

On the exterior the car looks the same however we had a number of mechanical upgrades and also improvements that came from Renault Sport F1. Also, we continue to learn and understand the E22 and how to exploit areas we can continue to improve on.

It seemed that the team made a bigger step than the other Renault teams in China?

Yes. On paper we made a big relative improvement in China but it wasn’t just one thing. We took the Renault updates and our own updates as well and moved forward. Altogether we made a big step, even though there were no massive changes on the car – we’re just trying to make everything work together better. There is more to come for Barcelona.

What does returning to Barcelona mean for you?

Barcelona means the start of the European season. That also means we can travel less, which is good because I’ve now seen every single movie on the plane! But seriously it’s easier for the engineers to bring new parts to the track and it’s always nice to see European fans. I’m happy to be back in Barcelona. I have some good memories and it’s a track where I finished 4th back in 2012. It is a circuit everyone knows well, so as a team we go to Barcelona intent on getting much more performance from the car. We are concentrating on this goal. We just have to push as hard as we can and stay as positive as possible even when the going gets tough. As a team we have to stay united, it will make us stronger as a unit.

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Nigel Stepney killed in car crash

Former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney, who was sacked by the Italian Formula 1 team after being accused of sabotage and leaking confidential data to McLaren in 2007, has died in a road accident, his sportscar team has said.

The JRM team said that their technical director and team manager was killed on Friday morning.

Kent Police said in a separate statement that a 56-year-old, confirmed by the team to be Stepney, was hit by a truck at 1.28 am after stopping his van on the hard shoulder of the M20 motorway at Ashford.

“For reasons yet to be established, the man appears to have entered the carriageway and was then in collision with an articulated goods vehicle. He was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the police said.

McLaren were fined a record $100 million by the International Automobile Federation and stripped of all their constructors’ points in 2007 after being found guilty of possessing a 780-page dossier of Ferrari data.

Stepney and McLaren’s then-chief designer Mike Coughlan, who had the information at his home, were sacked by their teams.

The FIA took no formal action against Stepney, since he was not a licence holder of the governing body, but recommended that teams should have no professional ties with him for two years.

He never worked in Formula One again.

Ferrari had also accused their employee of attempted sabotage, allegations Stepney denied. The team had claimed that a mysterious powder was found around the fuel caps of both their cars before the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix.

Some of the same powder turned up in Stepney’s trouser pocket but the Briton said that he was set up.

In 2010, an Italian court sentenced Stepney to a 20 months in jail, as well as a € 600 fine, but a plea bargain meant he did not have to serve any time.

Before the ‘Spygate’ affair, one of the biggest scandals to hit Formula One in the modern era, Stepney had an impressive Formula One resume.

He had worked with Brazilian Ayrton Senna at Lotus and was at Ferrari when Michael Schumacher won five world championships in a row between 2000 and 2004.

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Lotus pay homage to El Greco with special Barcelona livery

Lotus F1 Team, on the initiative of owner Gérard Lopez, will pay homage to Spanish painter El Greco with a special livery for the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix on 9-11 May.

The team’s E22 will feature branding of the major El Greco exhibition currently taking place in Toledo which commemorates the 400 years since the death of the leading figure of the Spanish Renaissance through his work as a painter.

A commemorative helmet will be presented to the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy on May 8th in La Moncloa, and to His Majesty King Juan Carlos I during his planned visit to the Lotus F1 Team motorhome at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday May 11.

Gérard Lopez, Owner, co-Chairman and Team Principal, Lotus F1 Team: “This is the first time a Formula 1 team has publicised a Spanish cultural event so prominently. We will promote the El Greco exhibition – for no commercial fee – to a global TV audience of over 600 million people. Through this the legend of El Greco will be displayed in support of Spanish Culture and cultural tourism in Spain.”

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Sauber targeting points in Spain with revamped C33

Struggling Sauber hope to score their first points of the Formula One season in Spain next week after making the car significantly lighter.

The Swiss team’s head of track engineering Giampaolo Dall’Ara said the cars had seen an “extensive weight reduction” since the last race in China.

Drivers Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez have both drawn a blank in the first four races.

Dall’Ara said a “significant” aerodynamic update included a modified front wing, new engine cover and side-pod fins and deflectors.

“Besides that, we will also have a software improvement which will enable us to use the potential of the power unit in a better way,” he said in a team preview for the first European race of the season.

Sutil hoped to see a step forward: “After three retirements in a row, we need to finish this race. I am looking forward, and I think that our performance will be stronger than in the previous races,” said the German.

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Williams shows profit despite tough 2013 season

Williams Formula 1 team returned to profit last year, despite a poor season on the track for the former world champions, helped by a one-off payment from outgoing sponsor PDVSA.

State-owned Venezuelan oil company PDVSA paid out for an early termination of its sponsorship deal when driver Pastor Maldonado left Williams for Lotus at the end of last season.

That payment helped Williams, the only Formula One team with a stock market listing, to increase revenues to 132 million pounds ($223 million) in 2013, from 106 million the previous year.

The group, which is developing an engineering business to commercialize its racing technology, reported an operating profit of 12 million pounds, a turnaround after having lost five million in 2012.

The return to profit will fuel the sense of optimism at Williams, who have a new title sponsor in Italian drinks company Martini and have shown better form on the track.

“We have started the 2014 Formula One season well and hope we can continue to improve our performance,” said team founder and principal Frank Williams.

“We made good progress commercially through the winter months and Williams continues to attract an enthusiastic and very loyal group of partners and fans.”

Williams have already scored 36 points after four races this season, having managed only five in the whole of last season.

The group confirmed it had closed a technology centre it had set up in Qatar where it employed around 30 people. The work and some of the staff have been moved back to its headquarters in Oxfordshire, part of what is known as “Motor Sport Valley” in the heart of England.

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Maldonado paid Williams $25 million to end contract

A $25 million contract termination payment from Pastor Maldonado’s sponsor PDVSA helped to driveWilliams back into profit.

The publicly-listed British team released its 2013 financial results on Friday, showing a $20m operating profit despite a poor season on track.

The Telegraph newspaper said the result was helped by a one-off termination payment made by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, who wanted to move their backing of driver Maldonado to the Lotus team for 2014.

The report said the payment “is believed to be in the region of $25m”, in the wake of a more than $8 million loss recorded by Williams just a year ago.

“We made good progress commercially through the winter months and Williams continues to attract an enthusiastic and very loyal group of partners and fans,” team boss Sir Frank Williams said in Friday’s statement.

“These annual results demonstrate that we continue to manage our business in a fiscally responsible way and provide the foundation from which we can continue to grow.

“We have started the 2014 Formula 1 season well and hope we can continue to improve our performance,” he added.

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LOTUS WORTH WATCHING IN BARCELONA

“Definitely, we had the most gains to make, but we still look to be very much on an upward trajectory,” said Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi ahead of next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The first European Grand Prix always sees lots of upgrades and developments on the cars. But as every team makes them, usually it has the effect that everyone moves forward without necessarily changing the order much.

This year, with such new technology as we have this year in F1 – and a big disparity in performance and readiness at the start of the year between teams and engine builders – there is the possibility of some quite significant changes in the pecking order next weekend. As Gastaldi says, Lotus has the most gains to make, given their previous standing. It will be interesting to see if they can keep moving back towards the front.

The Enstone team has yet to get off the mark this season, in contrast to last year, where it won a race and scored podiums in the early flyaway races, amassing 93 points.

But after a nightmare start to the season in testing and the early races, the team was running in the top ten in China, thanks to improvements particularly on the Renault power unit side and for Barcelona it will be interesting to see if the upward trajectory continues.

“We made a big relative improvement in China but it wasn’t just one thing. We took the Renault updates and our own updates as well and moved forward,” said lead driver Romain Grosjean. “There is more to come for Barcelona.”

As for what Lotus has planned for the next race, technical director Nick Chester has identified some key areas of the upgrade package.

“We’ve got further improvements on engine mapping, which should give us another step forward. We’ve got a new cooling and bodywork package coming – quite a big upgrade – plus some updates to the rear wing and various other bodywork parts.

“All of the developments that we’ve brought for the car so far have been an improvement, which is highly satisfying and validates the hard work being done back at the factory. We also received more horsepower from Renault Sport F1 in China and I hope we’ll get a further step-up in Barcelona, which will make a massive difference.

“There are a lot of aero improvements we want to bring to make the car more predictable for the drivers. We also want to do more work on tyre temperatures. The latest generation of tyres are quite hard in compound and it can be difficult to keep them in the optimum operating window. On the other hand braking is definitely better now. We’ve made some good improvements in terms of how the drivers can control the brakes and manage the power unit during braking.”

The team is also set to premier a new film called Human Ignition, which has been funded by one of its sponsors, Burn, which looks at visions of F1 in the future.

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British GP to allow fans access to circuit centre

British Grand Prix organisers have announced that race fans will have access to the centre of the circuit for the first time since 2003.

Fans will be able to access the north section of the centre of the circuit, where the GP2, GP3 and Porsche Supercup support paddocks are situated.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the British GP at Silverstone, the centre will also feature a 50th Grand Prix Heritage Paddock, hosting a display of winning cars from the previous 49 Grands Prix.

In addition, on each day there will be parade laps featuring British Grand Prix winning cars where a host of British legends will be reunited with the cars they drove to victory.

Sir Jackie Stewart’s 1969 British Grand Prix winning Matra MS80 has already been confirmed to take part in the celebrations, as well as two more iconic winning cars: Nigel Mansell’s 1987 Williams-Honda FW11b and Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23, which he drove to World Championship winning glory in 2008.

Lewis Hamilton, who won the event in 2008, is looking forward to the celebrations. "The British Grand Prix is the race I look forward to most in any season obviously, but this year will be even more special with the circuit hosting its 50th Grand Prix.

"Silverstone and Formula 1 come hand in hand and you just have to look at the list of winners there to appreciate its history. But it’s not just the history – British fans are the most knowledgeable and passionate in the world. As drivers, we're really lucky to have that level of home support and it’s not something I take for granted."

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Flashback: Silver Arrows 1-2 at the 1939 Tripoli Grand Prix

Silver Arrows drivers Hermann Lang and Rudolf Caracciola outclassed the competition with a double victory in the then completely new Mercedes-Benz W165 1.5-litre racing car at the Tripoli Grand Prix on the Mellaha circuit on 7 May 1939.

The triumph in Libya was particularly significant because the Italian motor sports association, who were organising the Grand Prix, had intended to impede the successful German formula racing cars by changing the rules.

Following three victories by the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows (Caracciola 1935, Lang 1937 and 1938) and a race won by the Auto Union (Achille Varzi 1936), they announced that the 1939 season Tripoli Grand Prix would be for the voiturette class of 1.5-litre racing cars only.

Mercedes-Benz reacted with sporting ambition, developing the completely new racing car W165 specifically for this class in less than eight months – and Lang and Caracciola seized victory.

When he sat in the new Mercedes-Benz W165 Silver Arrow for the first time in April 1939 at the Hockenheimring, Hermann Lang was completely thrilled as he recalls in his autobiography “From racing mechanic to master driver: “Goodness me, the little athlete could go! You’d hardly got into one gear before you were switching to the next.”

The engineers of the Stuttgart brand developed the vehicle in the record time of just eight months for a single race, the 1939 season Tripoli Grand Prix (Gran Premio di Tripoli), which took place on 7 May on the Mellaha circuit.

Rudolf Caracciola, for whom Lang had become strong competition during the 1939 season, highlighted the racing and development division’s outstanding achievement in his 1958 memoirs, “My World”: “Engineers, mechanics, the entire technical staff, they all applied themselves enthusiastically to the challenge posed, and they rendered the seemingly impossible possible: within the space of eight months, they created a 1,500 cubic centimetre [powered] racing car!”

The Stuttgart brand’s announcement that two Mercedes-Benz 1.5-litre racing cars would start at the Tripoli Grand Prix came as a complete surprise to the international public – and particularly to the event organisers and other competing racing teams. Even the racing world had not considered such an achievement possible.

Hermann Lang was considered a Tripoli specialist by Mercedes-Benz: in 1937 he started the race, the debut for the newly developed W125, in 5th position and went on to win the Grand Prix ahead of Bernd Rosemeyer (Auto Union). Following the end of the 750-kilogram formula, Mercedes-Benz developed the W154 Grand Prix racing car, with mechanically supercharged 3-litre V12 engine, for the 1938 season.

Lang started the race in pole position in this vehicle and went on to lead the Mercedes-Benz triple victory ahead of his team mates Manfred von Brauchitsch and Rudolf Caracciola.

In 1939, Lang was again on the first row of the starting grid, although Luigi Villoresi, driving a Maserati, was the fastest in training. After a perfect start, the former racing mechanic from Stuttgart in the W 165 positioned himself at the front of the field.

Halfway through the race he was already 1.5 minutes ahead of Caracciola in 2nd position, and the Mercedes-Benz racing drivers would go on to cross the finishing line in that order. Emilio Villoresi, driving an Alfa Romeo, attained third place, finishing almost 10 minutes behind the victor.

The double victory of rivals Lang and Caracciola marked the culmination of two strings of success: Lang had won the Tripoli Grand Prix three times in three different Mercedes-Benz racing cars, and Mercedes-Benz had won the race with each of the four Silver Arrows, which dominated racing in Europe from 1934-1939. This series of successes was started by Caracciola in 1935, when he won the race in Libya, a former Italian province, in the Mercedes-Benz W 25.

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Ricciardo: I want to race the best version of Seb and he wants to race the best version of me

Daniel Ricciardo says he accepts the responsibility of sometimes having to move over for his Red Bull teammate, but expects the same to apply should the roles be reversed.

Team orders is currently a hot topic inside the reigning world champion team, after reigning quadruple title winner Sebastian Vettel answered “tough luck” last time out in China when he was told to let Australian Ricciardo through.

Ricciardo, however, said orders must be followed.

“It’s not always nice if you are being told to move over. It’s not nice being that slower car, it’s frustrating,” he told the West Australian newspaper.

“(But) it is our responsibility to obey it, unless it’s completely out of order and then we can obviously try and put up a fight and give our reasons.

“But the team are doing all the calculations on the pitwall during the race and you have to respect what they’re saying,” Ricciardo insisted.

Some believe Vettel’s initial reluctance to play the team game in China was due to the tension created by Red Bull newcomer Ricciardo’s superior pace so far in 2014.

But Ricciardo thinks that even in the context of his huge recent achievements, Vettel is up for a fight.

“We know it ourselves and even told each other that we want to race hard,” he said. “I want to race the best version of Seb and he wants to race the best version of me. At the end of the day I think we’ll both respect whoever’s done a better job.

“If Seb has done a better job this year, I won’t like it, but I’ll definitely respect him for it and give him the credit he deserves. I think that’s a two-way street. We understand what a fair fight is and we enjoy that,” added Ricciardo.

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Vettel: Under braking and in the corners I have an absolute lack of confidence

Quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel has renewed his attack on the new era Formula 1, after he was rebuked by the FIA for earlier calling the mild sound of the V6 engines “sh*t”, and now admitting that he has now confidence in the car.

Now with more refined comments, the reigning quadruple world champion does not hide his obvious disdain for the sport’s new configuration.

“We are a sport that is famous for being loud and dangerous,” Red Bull driver Vettel told the German newsmagazine Focus.

“We run the risk of losing the essence of motor sports,” he charged.

When asked about the new, quiet and V6-powered engines, Vettel responded: “I would prefer a V10 or V12 with 1000 horse power — lots of power.

“I would like to drive cars that are as fast as they can be — I need to feel as though I am taming a dragon or a beast,” he explained.

“Compared to last season, this impression has diminished an awful lot,” said Vettel, who has struggled in 2014 alongside his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

“The car does not know what I want,” explained the 26-year-old, referring to the Adrian Newey-penned new RB10 and his troubles at the wheel.

“Under braking and in the corners I have an absolute lack of confidence,” added Vettel.

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Mercedes against megaphone F1 engine noise solution

One proposed solution to the supposed sound problem afflicting the new V6 turbo engines in Formula 1 this year is a megaphone-style exhaust.

The news was revealed by Toto Wolff, a chief at one of Formula 1′s three current engine suppliers, Mercedes.

Together with Ferrari and Renault, the engine-making trio is currently looking into how to turn up the controversially low volume of this year’s new 1.6 litre V6 turbos.

Nico Rosberg, a Mercedes race driver, tipped a solution to be found ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix late this month.

“We will soon be in Monaco and I think we will hear a different sound there,” the German said last weekend whilst visiting the DTM season opener at Hockenheim.

“I think it’s important that we do work on it, because the noise is part of the show.”

Last week, a meeting involving Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt and all 11 Formula 1 team bosses took place in London, and top of the billing was the issue of cost cuts.

But also on the agenda was noise.

“We discussed what solutions there might be, and us at Mercedes also have our approaches and proposals,” Wolff, also at Hockenheim for the DTM opener, is quoted by Speed Week.

He said some of the proposed solutions will be tested at the post-Spanish Grand Prix test next week.

“We will try them out on the car in Barcelona and see if they have the effect that we are looking for,” said Wolff.

He revealed that the solutions are all focused on the area of the engine exhaust.

“We have some highly complex solutions within the exhaust system,” said Wolff, “and also one like a ‘megaphone’ that simply opens up at the end — with all the problems that brings with it,” said Wolff.

“I do not know if the latter is what we should be doing in Formula 1, but nevertheless we will come with our suggestions and approaches and see in Barcelona.”

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Leimer’s $14 million could not buy him a seat with Sauber

Even with a hefty $14 million in his hand, reigning GP2 Series champion Fabio Leimer could not buy his way into Formula 1 this season.

The 25-year-old Swiss, who will instead race sports cars in 2014, was healthily backed by his wealthy long-time sponsor Rainer Gantenbein.

The veteran correspondent for Blick newspaper, Roger Benoit, claims Gantenbein offered Sauber almost $14 million in exchange for one of the Hinwil based team’s race seats this year.

But Leimer has reportedly told some insiders that Sauber’s counter-proposal was no less than $28 million — slightly less than what Esteban Gutierrez’s Mexican backers pay.

Instead, Sauber signed the experienced Adrian Sutil to be Gutierrez’s new teammate. But Benoit claims that Sutil’s seat for 2015 is in doubt.

He said reserve driver Giedo van der Garde and his Dutch sponsors are promising “many millions” to Sauber for a race seat next year.

A sign the 29-year-old van der Garde may even have a “preliminary agreement” with Sauber is the fact that not only will he be in action on Friday morning in Barcelona, but also during the post-race test at the same Spanish Grand Prix venue.

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Russian Grand Prix threatened as war looms

A big question mark is still hovering above this year’s inaugural hosting of the Russian Grand Prix.

Earlier, Formula 1 legend and Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda dismissed suggestions the sport should boycott the Sochi event amid the escalating Crimean crisis.

But last month, it emerged that the burgeoning Formula 1 career of Sauber test driver Sergey Sirotkin was suddenly in doubt, after his sponsor SMP Bank was subject to US and European sanctions.

Sirotkin’s backer, Boris Rotenberg, is reportedly close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, with many other Russian athletes also being affected by his frozen bank accounts.

Now, a prominent British politician has cast doubt on the viability of Russia’s October Grand Prix as the threat of open war between Moscow and Ukraine closes in.

Sir Richard Ottaway, chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, told the Times newspaper that the Crimean crisis had made the prospect of the Formula 1 race “wildly unrealistic”.

“If a new round of tougher sanctions is introduced, Formula 1 may find it impossible to put on a race because of restrictions on the flow of cash,” he said.

Times correspondent Kevin Eason also said the Formula 1 teams “will be anxious” about the Russian Grand Prix in the wake of the Bahrain political controversies, while leading sponsors “may want to distance themselves” from Russia’s behaviour.

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Formula 1 could axe Friday morning practice to cut costs

Formula 1 could axe Friday morning free practice sessions next year, as teams study how to cut costs in the absence of a mandatory budget cap.

Although keenly supported by the small teams, and championed by FIA president Jean Todt, the 2015 budget cap was vetoed by the powerful ‘Strategy Group’ teams including grandees Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes.

The smaller teams are furious, but in a crisis meeting in London last week, they were asked to come back in a fortnight with some cost-cutting rule proposals of their own.

Sport Bild claims that one of the measures under consideration is reducing the Grand Prix weekend by one 90-minute practice session from 2015.

Another proposed rule change is the extension of the current ‘parc ferme’ regulations.

Currently, the specification of the cars is effectively ‘frozen’ only after qualifying, meaning that until then new parts are almost constantly flown in from the teams’ European factories at huge expense.

It is now proposed that, for 2015, ‘parc ferme’ is to come into effect immediately after a sole practice session on Friday afternoon.

Sport Bild reports that, at Biggin Hill last week, the teams also discussed limiting aerodynamic updates – for example a maximum of four front wing specification changes per season – but could not unanimously agree.

“There was a meeting last week,” confirmed Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, “and costs were discussed. It is the unanimous opinion of the teams that costs must be drastically reduced.”

However, he defended the big teams’ decision to veto the budget cap.

“We have to be honest,” he is quoted by Speed Week. “There are big differences in the agendas of the teams.

“If you think about Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari – and also McLaren who are with Honda from next year – the main objective is to represent a multinational, global brand.

“And that is of course very different from the small teams who are simply there to race in Formula 1.

“But Formula 1 is all of these teams together, the big and the small, and you have to respect that and find solutions that will help everyone in the long term.

“The budget cap is a difficult one, because there are some teams who do not want it. And also by their very design it would be very difficult to control, such as for Ferrari who have the Formula 1 team all under the same roof as the major global company,” Wolff explained.

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Ecclestone case: New twist doesn’t make sense

The German court case against Bernie Ecclestone seems to be a question of timing if you ask me but then again, I’m no attorney nor is anyone asking. Today it was revealed that the German prosecution is now adding some icing to their otherwise bitter cake.

According to an article in the Mail, prosecutors are now suggesting that Ecclestone did not honor his pledge to pay Gribkowsky until the incarcerated ex-banker blackmailed him to do so by putting pressure on the Formula 1 boss by suggesting he would tell British taxation authorities (Inland Revenue) that he was the person who set up the Bambino family trust which would have subjected him to 40% taxation equaling millions.

Now color me reactionary but if the alleged bribe wasn’t paid to Gribkowsky prior to the sell of BayernLB’s interest in F1, it seems a bit hard to suggest that the bribe money was supposed to be paid after the sale or at worst, Gribkowsky was challenging Germany’s current holder of the dullest man in the country label.

Why would a banker put his entire credentials on the line by greasing the sell of his employer’s assets before ensuring he was paid the bribe money to do so? He fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book…”the check is in the mail”? I can’t imagine he was that dull.

Prosecution is suggesting that the bribe was agreed to and the amount fixed and Gribkowsky gave the green light to sell and coerced his employer to do so. Then, after the sale, he was not paid the bribe money so he blackmailed Ecclestone for it by threatening to tell Inland Revenue that Bambino was Bernie’s baby?

As I said, it seems to come down to timing and if I were a judge in this case, which I am not, I would have serious doubts as to the timing. Why would Gribkowsky make the entire sale happen prior to receiving a dime of some promised bribe to actually make it happen?

That all sounds as if someone is knitting a case of bribe and blackmail together in a timeline that is inclusive of both in order to keep them in play, legally speaking, but still show a bribe took place. Well there was a bribe and yes, he was blackmailed but only after the bribe and because he did not pay. Hmmm.

What if the bank sold the assets and during those proceedings a very opportunistic person discovered a way in which he could fleece some extra dosh out of Ecclestone in the process by implicating him of tax evasion unless he paid him an exorbitant fee? A sort of “thank you for helping in the sale of F1 sort of comeuppance”?

It seems very strange to me that a bribe would be executed around a post-dated check. That isn’t how bribes work the last time I checked. You could argue that Ecclestone said that he will pay the bribe money only after everything is settled and while that could explain the timing, it still betrays the rudimentary wisdom of anyone clever enough to even take a bribe in the first place.

The simple fact is that Ecclestone had no reason to bribe Gribkowsky in order to keep his job as former FIA president Max Mosley suggested as that organization had the final trump card on any potential buyer and could easily trump anyone who intended to relieve Ecclestone of his post.

Gribkowksy’s lawyer admitted in December that:

‘it’s an open secret that Mr. Ecclestone is the deciding man behind Bambino.’

Well, that’s what Ecclestone has said all along. I find the entire issue a bit dodgy from a timing perspective and as an incarcerated man who legitimately did evade taxes and is serving time, I suspect his word may not be the most trustworthy.

The court will decide as it will but there is reason for pause in this case because I’m not sure suggesting that a bribe was simply agreed to by word of mouth and never paid up and then the blackmail occurred in order to get the bribe money paid is a case worthy of 10 years in jail.

If they have no document or recording of any agreed-to bribe or special consulting fee that was to be paid for ushering the sale of F1 to CVC Capital, then I think this case is bust. If Gribkowsky’s bank account shows the deposit of money prior to the sale of F1, then they may have a case but if not, I can’t see this as anything but speculation.

[MIKA27]

Rosberg: Pole position will be very important in the battle with Lewis

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg is fired up and talking the talk ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in Barcelona

The German, although still leading the drivers’ world championship by a few points, has seen his teammate Lewis Hamilton win the last three races on the trot.

But far from expecting to fall in line behind the Briton when the battle resumes in Barcelona, Rosberg told German television RTL his plan for Spain is “full attack”.

“To know I have the fastest car to drive is so inspiring,” said the 28-year-old.

Rosberg said that the goal for Barcelona is not to hold Hamilton off but to “extend the championship lead”, which will almost certainly require him to beat his on-form teammate on the track.

He won in Australia when Hamilton retired, but in Malaysia, Bahrain and China, Rosberg saw the other Silver Arrows with the upper hand.

Bahrain, however, was a true and rare wheel-to-wheel battle, with Rosberg claiming that when all was well with the two Brackley-built cars in 2014, the Mercedes pecking order is undecided.

“I was better in the dry, him in the rain,” said Rosberg.

Hamilton has also hogged the qualifying limelight so far this year, but last year at the Circuit de Catalunya, it was Rosberg on pole ahead of the 2008 world champion.

Now, “pole position will be very important for the battle with Lewis” this weekend, said a feisty Rosberg ahead of the 2014 Spanish race.

Hamilton and Rosberg’s relationship dates right back to their boyhoods, but suddenly the prize is the biggest in the entire world of motor sport – the Formula 1 title.

Rosberg admits that is making their personal relationship a bit harder than in the past.

“But luckily we have experienced it all before, even right back to karting,” he said.

[MIKA27]

Spain has been a happy hunting ground for Ferrari over the years

Sunday sees the 44th Spanish Grand Prix take place at the Circuit de Catalunya and for Scuderia Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso it’s his home race.

A year ago he triumphed here after a winning drive, that was partly down to a very on-form F138, which also helped Felipe Massa make it to the third step of the podium.

Since the Spanish Grand Prix was first held in 1951 at Pedralbes, Barcelona, Ferrari has won the race 12 times, which is a 28% hit rate. The first victory came here in 1954, courtesy of Mike Hawthorn.

When the race returned to the calendar in 1968, it was held at Jarama on the outskirts of Madrid. Here in 1974, Ferrari won thanks to Niki Lauda who, at the wheel of a 312 B3-74. Niki also took pole position and the race fastest lap.

Gilles Villeneuve winner at Jarama in 1981

The last time the Spanish GP was held at Jarama in 1981, it produced one of Gilles Villeneuve’s greatest performances. At the wheel of a 126 CK, he drove an incredible race, holding up a whole train of cars that were faster than his in the corners, but not on the straights, where the Ferrari managed to hold its own.

In the Ligier, Jaques Laffite pulled alongside him several times through the turns, but on the straights, Villeneuve managed to keep ahead of the Frenchman. The race result paints an accurate picture of the race, as the top five all finished within 1.240 seconds.

In 1986, the Spanish Grand Prix made Jerez de la Frontera its home. Ferrari put its name on the winner’s trophy in 1990, with Alain Prost first past the flag, which opened up the title fight again with Ayrton Senna, who had to retire his McLaren.

The grand prix’s current home is the Catalunya circuit, at Montmelo, on the outskirts of Barcelona. Ferrari and Michael Schumacher racked up a lot of wins here, including the German’s first ever victory with the Scuderia, when he was majestic in atrociously wet conditions in 1996.

2004 Spanish Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher

The Schumacher-Ferrari combination also triumphed in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2007, victory went to Felipe Massa. On that day, Fernando Alonso got away well in the McLaren, with the Spaniard trying to pass the Brazilian at the first corner.

However, Felipe never lifted off, the F2007 and the McLaren collided and Alonso ended up in the run-off area. The following year, victory went to Kimi Raikkonen, with Massa completing a one-two for the Scuderia.

In its time, the Spanish GP has also been held at the Montjuich street circuit, again in Barcelona. Tragedy struck here in 1975, when five people were killed by Rolf Stommelen in the Hill.

The race was also notable as it is, to date, the only time a woman driver has finished in the points, that honour going to the Italian Lella Lombardi, who was sixth in the March.

[MIKA27]

Hulk reveals Force India target

After making a strong start to the season, Force India can finish in third place in the Constructors' Championship, Nico Hulkenberg believes.

While Sergio Perez's podium in Bahrain is the highlight of the season to date, Force India have been one of the most consistent packages in the paddock and have scored points in every race so far.

After four races of the season, Hulkenberg lies in fourth place on the Drivers' Championships standings after finishing in the top six in each race, and with Force India in third place overall, the German believes they can maintain their current form throughout the year.

"I think this team has always been hungry and that's still very much the case," Hulkenberg told crash.net.

"We're up in third in the championship and we want to stay there. The hard work over the winter is paying off, but we know that Formula One is always a development race and things can change from one weekend to the next. So we need to keep working hard to maintain our good position.

"I've enjoyed the first part of the year. It's probably gone better than we were expecting after winter testing and it's good to keep picking up the points.

"I'm fourth with 36 points and I think that's a big achievement. The car has worked well everywhere

[MIKA27]

Kvyat relishes Catalunya return

Ahead of this week's Spanish Grand Prix, Toro Rosso rookie Daniil Kvyat is looking forward to return to a track he has "learned many valuable lessons" during his fledgling career.

The European leg of the Formula One season starts at the Circuit de Catalunya this week and the Russian is pleased to have the opportunity to compete at a track he has excelled at during his time in other formulae.

"Like all the drivers, I have spent a lot of time at this circuit, racing and testing," Kvyat told crash.net ahead of this week's Spanish Grand Prix.

"I've had some good results there, I particularly remember a Eurocup race in 2011, when I started from twentieth and finished third. There were also some painful memories, when I lost the Eurocup there one year later, but overall, I have learned many valuable lessons at the Catalunya circuit."

Although the 20-year-old is clearly comfortable around the Barcelona circuit, he is unsure how quick his Toro Rosso STR9 will be there this week.

"I'm looking forward to being back in Europe and having some shorter flights. It will all feel more familiar to me," he added.

Here at this track, you need to find the right compromise between the high speed and slow sections, so finding the right balance in the set-up is the key to a quick lap.

"I have no idea how the track will suit the STR9, except that so far this year, we have been okay in the high speed corners. We won't know until Friday."

[MIKA27]

'Dragon-tamer' Vettel laments F1 changes

Sebastian Vettel has once again criticised the 'new' Formula One era, saying the sport has lost the essence of what made it popular before.

Speaking to German publication Focus, the four-time Drivers' Championship winner said that he doesn't have the same level of confidence in this season's cars.

"We are a sport that is famous for being loud and dangerous," the Red Bull driver told Focus.

"Compared to last season, this impression has diminished an awful lot.

"We run the risk of losing the essence of motor sports.

"I would prefer a V10 or V12 with 1000 horse power - lots of power.

"I would like to drive cars that are as fast as they can be - I need to feel as though I am taming a dragon or a beast.

"The car does not know what I want, under braking and in the corners I have an absolute lack of confidence."

[MIKA27]

MARKO QUESTIONS WHETHER MODERN F1 DRIVERS HAVE THE FIGHTING SPIRIT OF LEGENDS LIKE SENNA

“It would be unfair to compare today’s drivers (with Ayrton Senna), as they have a completely different socialization to back then.

“Today they grow up with their IT gadgets so they have never developed that down-to-earth race fanaticism – that fighting for every inch and sacrificing everything for it. It is a different generation.”

This was the quote from Red Bull Racing director Helmut Marko, when asked by Formula 1.com for its Senna tribute section.

It is an interesting concept, an observation from a man in his 60s who has been around racing for many years and who raced himself at a time when drivers were regularly killed. Marko himself lost an eye racing.

Do modern F1 drivers project passion? And as a consequence, does the crowd at the track and the TV audience have less passion to feed off?

As part of the ongoing discussion about F1 and what it stands for, this argument is worth noting, as the drivers are the ultimate showcase for F1, its most popular asset. Marko, who has overseen the progress of almost 100 young drivers through the Red Bull development programme, is suggesting that modern F1 drivers don’t project the passion for the sport that drivers like Senna did 20 years ago, “that down-to-earth race fanaticism – that fighting for every inch and sacrificing everything for it”.

I suspect that drivers like Fernando Alonso would agree with this.

Drivers arrive in F1 now having been on a conveyor belt since karting, funded by wealthy fathers or sponsors and thus highly professionalised from a young age, studying telemetry and data from the earliest days of karting. Are they motorsport fanatics or just drivers on a conveyor belt? That is Marko’s thesis.

Does seeing the world through a series of gadgets create a mood of disengagement in drivers, as many parents worry that it does in their children?

Marko contends that the young drivers of today are reared on Play Station games, iPads and gadgets and as a result they see F1 as a kind of technical exercise. No doubt the fact that the cars are safer -which can only be a good thing – plays a part in their mindset.

The flip side of this, of course, is that social media makes today’s drivers more accessible to the fans than drivers of Senna’s era. They can have a direct connection with the drivers.

He goes on, “If I were to pick three attributes for Senna it would be speed, charisma and ruthlessness. He was a driver with such a huge level of commitment – in all his races – and somebody who acquired an unbelievable charisma over the years.

“On the driving side you probably would find one or another driver who could match Ayrton, but charisma is something that you either have or you don’t have.”

It’s an interesting thesis....

[Bartolomeo]

That Senna movie was the best, very sad but detailed in lots of moments the casual fan never gets to see, such as drivers meetings, pit box talks, etc

[MIKA27]

Brawn says he is visiting as many vineyards as possible after being spotted in Maranello

Few journalists in Formula 1 have the real inside line with all news related to Ferrari like Leo Turrini and therefore when he reports of a Ross Brawn spotting in the area then it is time to sit up and take notice.

Turrini reports that Brawn, who was part of the Ferrari wonder years, was at Maranello – Fiorano to be precise – on Monday.

In his typical tongue-in cheek-style Turrini speculated that Brawn was in town because:

• he picked up some boxes of bananas from a grocer who he frequented regularly between 1997 and 2006;
• he had an unsettled bill at Pancani’s gas station which he had decided to settle;
• he was in town to hand pick and buy a brand new Ferrari with all the millions he has earned;
• new Ferrari Formula 1 race director Marco Mattiacci is a very intelligent person and possibly very convincing…

Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher are part of the Ferrari legend

Meanwhile Brawn told Gazzetta Dello Sport that his group tried out two Ferrari road cars, including the new LaFerrari hypercar, at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track.

He said his trip was focused on visiting some of the route used by the historic Mille Miglia race across Italy “and as many vineyards as possible”.

But a Ferrari spokesman said Brawn’s visit was “simply an Italian fantasy tour with friends scheduled for some time”.

There has been much speculation regarding Brawn’s plans in the aftermath of his departure from Mercedes, with reports linking him not only to Ferrari but also to a top spot at McLaren.

Brawn was part of the legendary Ferrari team led by Ross Brawn and included Michael Schumacher and Rory Byrne – the quartet leading the Italian team to Formula 1 constructors’ world titles in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.