FORMULA 1 - 2014

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What Formula One can learn from the Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is the organisation that organises the national sports of Ireland, namely hurling and gaelic football, which are very popular on the emerald isle and also amid Irish communities around the globe. Obviously it is not easy to sell the TV rights to these sports in places like China, because the numbers of people interested is unlikely to attract advertisers to pay back the costs of the purchase of the rights, but the GAA has decided that the best way to handle the situation is to cut out the middle men and stream both sports on the Internet, charging fans around the world $19 per game, or $150 for a season pass.

This is a great deal cheaper than buying a Formula 1 subscription, although Sky TV in the UK is now offering a Day Pass for UK viewers at $17. With the BBC now broadcasting nine races live, that means that fans can see live coverage of F1 at every event for a total of $170, which is a lot cheaper than the full Sky package. In the longer term, however, there is nothing to stop the Formula One group following the GAA lead and taking out the middle man and charging fans direct, all over the world.

The global live TV audience for each F1 race these days is down to an average of around 25 million people. This generates around $600 million per season in revenues for the Formula One group, which then splits the money with the teams.

The sport has been playing with full pay-per-view in recent years, but the high costs charged by people like Sky mean that the fan base is not happy and refuses to pay, getting its coverage instead by either pirating signals from other broadcasters or not watching F1 any longer. The viewing figures for Sky in the UK are pretty poor, although they get a massive amount of access, which is hard to fathom when one considers that Brazil’s TV Globo has a far bigger audience than anyone else and it will be many, many years (if ever) before pay-per-view attracts those kinds of numbers.

This is presumably the reason that Sky has introduced its $17 deal. It is not clear whether this is helping, but in the meantime F1 sponsors are looking more closely at the eyeballs they are getting and wondering if they are doing the right thing. Sky is making money despite the poor figures, and despite paying $72 million a year from the rights it has. That deal runs until 2018 and the company’s goal is to increase the numbers and the revenues before the next negotiation, but at the same time the drop in the viewer numbers is making it harder for the teams to find sponsors and thus the teams are arguing, quite rightly, that they should be paid more of the overall revenues.

In order to get the same level of revenue from an audience being charged $17 a race, it would require only around 10 percent of the current global viewers. Lower that price to, say, $5 a race and it would require only 25 percent of the audience to double the revenues of today. That sounds plausible. The trouble with pay-per-view is that it does not really advertise the product – because everything is happening behind a pay-wall and so people are loathe to sign up to something that they might end up feeling was a waste of money.

If the money men in the sport poured some back into the game and used the Internet and TV to advertise the sport (a foreign concept for them) then they might even aspire to 50 percent of the current audience and four times the revenues. Spending $100 million a year to gain billions sounds like a reasonable investment to me.

Some say that in time all sport will be available only on pay-per-view and there is a certain logic to that. The people involved are putting on a show and one does not expect to go to the cinema or the theatre without paying to watch, does one? Other more traditional folk argue that sport should not be a business, but the fact is that it is. The other question is whether or not the future generations will care about sports if they have alternative things to do that they find more exciting. This is why all sports and F1 in particular need to wake up to the Internet and start working to get the next generation excited about racing cars. There is a natural affinity for kids and cars but these days the interest seems to wane at seven and eight as they start disappearing off to virtual worlds that offer unreal excitement.

In the interim, the question of TV coverage is finding the right balance between free-to-air and pay-per-view, hoping to keep the team sponsors happy and yet at the same time, cutting down the number of viewers. Ironically, as the pay-per-view numbers increase so does the logic in favour of cutting out the middle men in the TV, satellite and cable companies – and deal directly with one’s own audience.

If F1 attracted the same audience as today at $5 a race, the revenues would be $2.3 billion a year. At $10 a race it would be $4.6 billion. These are wildly impressive figures, but the chances are that the audience will reduce rather than increase given the competition for attention. In order to achieve the best results F1 needs to get into the richer markets (such as the US), where people are used to pay-per-view. If the pay-per-view TV audience increases dramatically the advertisers will want to be seen on those feeds – so that sponsorship available to F1 will come back – but there is a lot of work to do before that starts to happen.

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2014 Spanish Grand Prix fans’ video gallery

The Ferrari garage during practice

The marshals’ view

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2014 Spanish Grand Prix fans’ video gallery - #2

Turn one braking zone

Human pyramid

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2014 Spanish Grand Prix fans’ video gallery - #3

Marshal chases Alonso for autograph

Alonso acknowledges his fans

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2014 Spanish Grand Prix fans’ video gallery - #4

Start

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McLaren leaving seat empty on F1 board

According to The Independent, McLaren has an opportunity to place an executive on the board of Formula One but has failed to do so. The offer is open but according to F1 boss Bernie Eccelstone, the Woking-based group has yet to provide a person to take the role:

“McLaren could have a director if they made their mind up,” said Bernie Ecclestone. “It was going to be one of the Bahrainis but they haven’t got a director at the moment.”

The article goes on the suggest that there could be a bit of a power struggle happening at the company with 50% of McLaren owned by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat sovereign wealth fund and 25% held by Ron Dennis with the other 25% owned by Saudi Mansour Ojjeh.

Ojjeh has been having some health issues for the last year or so and perhaps this is why Dennis is back at the helm of the race team. A spokesman for McLaren said:

“It is a right available to us that for various reasons we have chosen not to take up thus far. However, we continue to review the option.”

It is also interesting to note that the article suggests that Dennis is wooing Chinese cash to help him buyout the other two shareholders and regain control of the entire company. If this is all truly happening, it would be easy to get distracted from your recalcitrant car on the 2014 grid wouldn’t it?

Very strange that they’ve yet to offer up anyone to represent the team(s) on the F1 board though. That does smack of internal politics.

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Ricciardo: It’s a good feeling to make Sebastian work for his money

Red Bull’s fresh-faced newcomer Daniel Ricciardo is enjoying the moment as he has been showing a clean pair of heels to his teammate, Formula 1′s reigning quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Early in 2014, Ricciardo has settled in quickly and stunned the Formula 1 world by generally outshining Vettel, the winner of the last four world titles and the last nine grands prix of 2013 on the trot.

It is widely accepted that Ricciardo has been the more impressive Red Bull driver so far this year – a fact not lost on the always-grinning 24-year-old.

“It’s a good feeling to be making Sebastian work for his money,” Ricciardo joked to Sport Bild.

Mere podiums, however, are not the only meal on the menu for the Perth-born driver, “I’m hungrier than ever for wins, and I can eat a lot!”

But he is also keen to play down any talk of tension between himself, the easy-going newcomer, and Vettel, the beleaguered world champion.

“We get on really well, for teammates,” said Ricciardo. “We often have breakfast together, and I would say that’s unusual for teammates.

“At the moment it’s going well for me, but I also know that it won’t be long before Seb is getting everything out of his car. He hasn’t forgotten how to drive!”

Reporters, however, made a fuss about Vettel being outpaced by female driver Susie Wolff on day two of the Barcelona test on Wednesday.

“Time for me to quit, then?” Vettel hit back with a wry smile.

In fact, even Formula 1 history is still on Vettel’s side. In 1987, it was the eighth race before Nelson Piquet won his first grand prix of the season, but he went on to seal his third world championship.

However, in a statistic more sure to please Lewis Hamilton, No Formula 1 driver has never won four races in a row and not gone on to be that year’s champion.

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Ferrari new boss Mattiacci is as silent as a lamb

Although he is the boss of the sport’s most famous racing team, Marco Mattiacci is officially the lowest-profile team boss in Formula 1, two respected correspondents have declared.

Just ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix last month, Stefano Domenicali quit Ferrari, with President Luca di Montezemolo appointing the 44-year-old Italian Mattiacci to replace him.

Mattiacci’s motor racing experience is almost nil, but even in that context, a team press conference in Barcelona last weekend was bizarre, Speed Week correspondent Mathias Brunner reports.

He said Montezemolo made his usual rallying calls, while Mattiacci sat beside him in complete silence, “Apart from a brief message on the Ferrari website and a press conference in China, the former head of Ferrari North America has been silent.”

In the Ferrari website message, the Maranello team said that Mattiacci is “continuing with the task of analysing and evaluating the team and its working methods”.

But Leo Turrini, an authoritative correspondent and source on Ferrari matters, pointed out that Mattiacci has now been in place as the head of the famous team for a month.

“During this time, he has almost never opened his mouth” publicly, he said on his Quotidiano blog. “Now, we all agree that the Cavallino needs facts and not words, yet for decades, at least at the end of a Grand Prix, the boss has offered his version of events.”

“Cesare Fiorio did it, Jean Todt, Stefano Domenicali. Mattiacci’s silence is deafening,” said Turrini.

Montezemolo, however, is backing Mattiacci to deliver eventually for beleaguered Ferrari.

“When he came, Todt was criticised a lot because he knew nothing about Formula 1, but then he managed to do a great job,” he said. “So it’s like going back in time and I am sure that Mattiacci will do a good job.”

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Vandoorne wracks up Superlicence miles

Stoffel Vandoorne has hailed his "fantastic" debut having tested a McLaren F1 car for the first time on Wednesday.

The McLaren protege was in action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Day Two of the two-day test, replacing regular driver Jenson Button.

With his day reserved exclusively for testing Pirelli's tyres, Vandoorne completed 136 trouble-free laps with a best time of 1:28.441.

"This has been a fantastic day for me: my first experience in a Formula 1 car, and a really great opportunity to get plenty of laps under my belt," said the 22-year-old.

"I want to say a big thank-you to the team - everyone has been incredibly helpful and positive."

Such was the Belgium driver's mileage on Wednesday that he accrued enough mileage to earn a Formula 1 Superlicence.

"It's also great to have been able to contribute to the test programme: 136 laps was a fantastic achievement, and it's great that it's earned me the right to be granted a Formula 1 Superlicence."

But it is now back to GP2 with ART Grand Prix and the Monaco race where Vandoorne is hoping to bounce back after a difficult time in Spain.

"Now my focus turns towards my next event - the GP2 races in Monte-Carlo next Friday and Saturday. I'm looking forward to bouncing back from a tricky weekend in Barcelona, and would love to get some great results in Monaco."

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PIRELLI OPEN TO CHANGING TYRE CHOICES IF TOO CONSERVATIVE THIS YEAR

Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hambery has said that Pirelli did the right thing in bringing conservative tyre choices for the start of 2014, but says that they may relax this as the year goes on and predicts that the 2014 cars will soon be faster than 2013 cars in many venues.

At this stage last year Pirelli were at the centre of the story in F1, with some tyre failures which culminated in the multiple failures at Silverstone and the change of tyre specification mid season.

This year it’s been quiet on the tyre front as the focus has been on the new hybrid turbo engines, the noise they make and their effect on the racing, which is only just being evaluated now.

The four compounds are set for the year. Hembery has said this week that while the tyres have generally performed robustly, with one stop less at most venues than last season and two stops less in Spain, the company is open to bringing less conservative tyres at future races. Many teams would welcome this as they are struggling to get optimum grip from the tyres at the moment.

“Maybe sometimes we will see during the season – as the cars improve – that probably some of our choices are a bit conservative, because as they reduce the amount of wheel spin and the amount of sliding, that means that there is less problem from the tyre overheating,” he told the official Formula1.com site.

“And maybe we have to review our choices for the season going forward once we understand the effects of the rate of development of the cars.”

Many teams have struggled to get grip in races like Spain.

After the dramas of past seasons, Pirelli has been very conservative this year. They were concerned that the higher torque of the 2014 engines would cause significant problems with the high degradation family of tyres they were using in F1, so in Hembery’s words they “took a step back” this year.

The 2014 Pirelli was designed and produced without ever running on the car it was designated to be used by, a strange phenomenon caused by the radical rule change for this year.

With teams focussed at the start of the year on sorting out the hugely complex new hybrid turbo power units, it has taken time for them to be able to focus on getting the most from the tyres. Hembery says that some teams are now getting stuck into that work,

“We have already seen today that teams are starting to work to maximize tyre performance,” he said. “At the start of the season they clearly had other challenges. Now starts the detailed work with the teams that we’ve seen in previous years.

“My guess is that at the end of the season we will see cars lapping quicker than we have seen last year.”

A combination of the conservative tyres and a significant reduction in downforce with the banning of exhaust blowing led to the pole time in Spain being set 4.5 seconds slower than 2013 and back marker times being comparable with GP2.

This week four teams took part in testing development tyres with some work carried out on 2015 ideas. Sauber and Toro Rosso tested on the first day, with Force India and McLaren running test tyres on day two.

In the days following the Silverstone test, Ferrari, Lotus, Red Bull and Marussia will test for Pirelli.

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Todt dismisses fans, Hembery listens to fans

The debate over Formula 1’s current regulatory impact continues as Mercedes tried out a new exhaust trumpet to increase the sound of the car. Whether it worked or not has not been the topic of discussion rather the lampooning of the concept and appearance of the contraption.

While FIA president Jean Todt has transformed the cause célèbre of the organization from safety to sustainability, the regulations have brought a raft of earth-saving technology initiatives due to pressure the car manufacturers placed on F1 as a contingency to their involvement.

The changes were antithetical to the other “noteworthy” cause of the FIA which was cost-cutting and budget caps. Teams struggling under the stable regulations of 2013 and prior are now faced with meteoric rises in their costs to participate in this year’s specification.

Certainly saving F1 was a major concern and keeping manufacturers involved was important. Many suggest that F1 was being threatened by Mercedes and Renault if they didn’t make the 2014 engine regulation changes. Meanwhile, teams such as Sauber, Caterham and Marussia can barely stomach the massive cost increases.

Jean Todt told AUTOSPORT that the overwhelming concern from fans regarding the sound of the cars will simply go away:

“It is a question of taste,” he said. “I don’t have any problem with the noise, but I need to take it into account if a lot of people say they want more noise.

“I never heard any complaint about the noise in Spa [at the World Endurance Championship round]. And in Spain, again, those who complain they are more vocal than those who do not complain.

“We have asked some manufacturers to prepare some suggestions.

“But believe me, in a few months’ time, nobody will speak any more about the noise. We will have found something else.”

Amidst the debate, and unlikely champion of plain thinking has emerged in the form of Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery. Leave it to a supplier to make the most sense of the F1 errors and nonsensical moves. AUTOSPORT has the call:

“When you are in business, the first thing you do is try to understand your customer,” said Hembery, speaking before the Mercedes exhaust test.

“I think it is very dangerous for a sport like F1 to invent rules, regulations and ideas without extensively understanding what the customer expects from it.

“It is the fans we need to appeal to. What do they want to see? What do they expect to see?

“Do they expect a WWF version of motorsport? Or do they expect a technology race? Those are the two extremes – what is it that the public expects from the pinnacle of motorsport? Once you understand that, they you can start.

“At the moment, you risk putting the cart before the horse in trying to solve the problem without actually knowing what the problem is.”

Perhaps Todt is hoping it will go away but as Hembery points out, the circus isn’t providing what the majority of the fans want. Todt says that there is a silent majority who prefer the new changes in F1 and those who don’t like it are a vocal minority. We could spend an hour discussing how that actually works with topics such as Sustainability, politics, cultural diversity and more but that’s for another blog.

In the end, we’ll see if F1 loses viewers and attendees over the very expensive regulatory changes and current Mercedes domination. Teams and sponsors are getting nervous and nothing changes F1 quite like a reduction of income. Hembery’s notion of WWF(E) style racing may still be a pertinent element but there is an agenda that is being pressed as well and as we’ve seen from daily headlines, that agenda is not a unanimously endorsed concept.

Whatever changes are made will require unanimity amongst the teams and that will be a very difficult element in the desire to change F1. Honda has been labeled as company who’s motivation for returning is the new engine/hybrid format. Renault and Mercedes have been labeled as bullying F1 into the new engine format as well. Can F1 make changes that will keep these three happy?

In the end, it’s nice to see how F1 pundits are all speaking for fans and making bold statements as to what we will and won’t watch and what is important to us. It will be more interesting to see who is closer to interpreting the fan sentiments than others.

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Lauda furious as his name dropped from Red Bull Ring corner

Niki Lauda has hit out at Red Bull for dropping his name from a corner at the Austrian Grand Prix venue owned by the energy drinks company. The Austrian GP makes a return to the calendar this season, after a long absence.

Now called the Red Bull Ring, the former A1-Ring was demolished and totally rebuilt by the energy drinks company, and next month it will host its first grand prix since 2003.

Prior to the Red Bull takeover, one of the corners at the A1-Ring was called the Niki Lauda Kurve, in honour of the Austrian great and triple world champion.

Now, the same corner has been renamed Pirelli. Also gone is the Gerhard Berger Kurve, replaced by Wurth, a German tool company.

“I’m very disappointed,” Lauda told Kleine Zeitung newspaper. “I can only presume it is because I am now at Mercedes and we are beating Red Bull,” he added.

So far, the Jochen Rindt Kurve – named after the posthumous 1970 world champion – has survived the Red Bull Ring’s search for sponsor dollars. But correspondent Gerald Pototschnig said that even that corner could be renamed if a sponsor makes an attractive enough offer.

“As punishment,” the angry Lauda said, “Mercedes will be happy to celebrate a one-two in Spielberg.”

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Lotus hit back after Renault late payment claims

Lotus team boss Gerard Lopez has slammed Renault, after the Formula 1 engine suppliers revealed that some of their customers are behind in engine bill payments.

Although Renault chief Jean-Michel Jalinier’s comments in Barcelona also triggered reports about the future of Caterham, suspicion also fell on Lotus, who last year were famously late in paying Kimi Raikkonen.

But driver Romain Grosjean was also not paid by struggling Lotus in 2013, although the Frenchman said last month he kept the problem quiet.

“I never opened my mouth in front of the media because it was my own business, my personal thing,” he said.

Indeed, team owner Lopez has now hit back at Renault for suggesting that some teams have failed to pay for their new turbo V6 engines this season.

“I said to them if they are going to say things, then name the team that is an issue,” he is quoted by the Daily Mail. “Don’t just say ‘teams’ and then expect people to make their own judgements.”

“If there is [a team that has not paid], it must be somebody else, but I’m not even sure there is, to be honest with you,” Lopez added.

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Turning up F1 engine volume artificially is absurd says Minardi

Ex Formula 1 team owner, turned columnist Gian Carlo Minardi has slammed as “absurd” Formula 1′s efforts to turn up the volume of the new V6 turbo engines.

Mercedes fitted an unseemly, trombone-shaped exhaust to its car at this week’s Barcelona test, but it failed to deliver the sound boost that many in Formula 1 – including Bernie Ecclestone and race promoter Ron Walker – are seeking.

Minardi, the founder of Faenza based team Toro Rosso’s original guise, is not impressed, “I find it absurd that the focus is on the noise, when it definitely is not the primary problem.”

Minardi said teams should stop the efforts to turn up the volume and focus instead on being “more competitive”.

“In Spain we saw a gap of 49 seconds between Mercedes and the first pursuer, Red Bull. An abyss,” he said on his website.

Indeed, many are predicting that Mercedes’ advantage is so big that the German team could go on to win every single race on the 19-Grand Prix 2014 calendar.

A 100 per cent winning record is unprecedented in Formula 1 history, but even Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda acknowledges that it is a possibility in 2014.

“At the moment it looks like it,” the Formula 1 great told Osterreich newspaper.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I am calm,” said Lauda. “I think if you have the pace advantage that we had at a circuit like Barcelona, then the others need at least four to five races to catch up [in development].”

And he thinks new championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who has won the last four grands prix on the trot, is likely to beat Nico Rosberg to the 2014 title.

“Lewis is in a league that I have rarely seen,” said Lauda. “Flawless. Beating him at the moment I would say is almost impossible, but thanks to his tactical approach I think Nico can get closer.”

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Saxo Bank increases branding on Lotus at Monaco

Saxo Bank will be on the grid with Lotus F1 Team for the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix where the leading online trading and investment specialist will increase its branding of the team’s 2014 challenger, the E22, as driven by Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.

As an endorsement and reinforcement of the exposure and business-to-business opportunities Saxo Bank has enjoyed since becoming Lotus F1 Team Official Business Partner at the start of this season, the E22’s sidepods will feature the distinctive Saxo Bank logo for the Monaco Grand Prix as a highlight of the bank’s activation of the partnership.

Federico Gastaldi, Lotus F1 Team Deputy Team Principal: “We are delighted to take our relationship with Saxo Bank to the next level. Both companies share a similar outlook and enjoy taking on the more established and bigger players in their respective domains, with an equal appetite for success. The backdrop of the Monaco Grand Prix is an excellent canvas for an enterprise such as Saxo Bank to be showcased in front of an exceptional worldwide audience. It is no secret that as a team we have had a tough start to our season, but this additional support from Saxo Bank is a strong endorsement of all the strong progress we are making.”

Lars Seier Christensen, co-CEO and co-founder, Saxo Bank A/S: “Sponsoring high performance sports like Formula 1, World Series by Renault and Pro Tour Cycling is the embodiment of Saxo Bank’s general approach on how to excel in our line of business. Our sports sponsorships are always ambitious. We are in it to win and to give our clients and partners great experiences. At Saxo Bank, we are proud to be supporting the whole Lotus F1 Team, and especially Denmark’s very own Marco Sørensen, the official Lotus F1 Team Reserve and Development driver. The Monaco Grand Prix weekend is especially unique since Saxo Bank will be featured on five race cars – the two Lotus F1 Team cars, the Tech 1 Formula Renault 3.5 race car driven by Marco Sørensen and the two Lotus Formula Renault 3.5 team cars.”

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Grosjean: I’ve been super quick at Monaco, but also hit the walls!

Romain Grosjean heads to the Monaco Grand Prix, as close as it gets to his home race, with points in his pocket and plenty of local support as the Lotus E22 is starting to show promise after a troubled start to the season, which gives the Frenchman the opportunity to strut his stuff at a race where he has suffered two DNFs in the two Formula 1 races he has contested on the streets of the principality.

How did it feel to score the team’s first points of the year in Spain?

Romain Grosjean: It’s great for all the team and they certainly deserved it. They’ve been working very hard at Enstone and at the track and if you look at where we were in Australia and where we are now, it’s a massive step forward. So I’m proud of them all and happy with what we’re doing. It was a good reward for all of us.

What does Monaco mean to you?

RG: It’s kind of the unofficial French Grand Prix first of all! It was great to see so much French support last year, with all the flags and banners. Then there are the unique challenges of such a special circuit. As a driver you have to stay calm and relaxed on a track that doesn’t allow for any mistakes. I’ve been super quick in the past, but also hit the walls! It’s an exciting and glamorous grand prix and always a step into the unknown, because it’s difficult to predict how well each car will work there. It’s a crazy week with all the focus and attention, but everyone loves Monaco.

What is your favourite part of the track?

RG: Certainly not the walls! I do like the Casino corner which is quite nice, high-speed with a little bit of banking. The most difficult part would be the next section – Mirabeau, Loews and then the two Portier corners because you have to ‘create’ some speed.

How challenging will the new generation of F1 cars be to drive at Monaco?

RG: It will be a challenge. There will be less grip than in the past, so we will have to be careful with the right foot. In terms of mapping, torque, energy and fuel saving I actually think it will be easier than most tracks because the race distance is shorter so we shouldn’t have to worry too much. Of course we’ll need the best driveability possible around the tricky sections, but the most important thing in Monaco is to trust your car and have confidence in it.

How satisfying is it when you put everything together for a good lap around Monaco?

RG: When you finish a lap and you know it’s quick because you’ve given everything and you’re so close to the walls at every corner, it is something special. Finding the balance between pushing too hard and not enough makes a huge difference in Monaco.

Is it hard to keep your focus during such a busy event?

RG: It's true that there are almost too many things to do. I will try to find some time for myself in my room and keep focusing on what I have to do. It’s a home grand prix for the sponsors, so very important for them and for us.

Do you think the recent improvements to the E22 will pay off in Monte Carlo?

RG: The emphasis at Monaco is on low speed corners, which is not our greatest strength, but the team worked with Monaco in mind during the Barcelona test. Bumpy straights and a low grip surface are the other main Monaco characteristics and how well you adapt to them can make or break your weekend. We’ll do our best with set-up – of course Monaco is less engine dependent than most circuits, which is better for us. It was nice not only to score points in Barcelona, but also to be fifth on the grid in Qualifying – if we can do that again in Monaco it’ll be very good for us…

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Maldonado: The car has made a big step forward

After setting the pace at the Barcelona post-race test a few days after the Spanish Grand Prix, Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado is primed for the Monaco Grand Prix weekend where he is hoping that he can turn around his season which has been a major disappointment so far the Venezuelan and his fans.

Was the Barcelona test as good as it looked?

Pastro Maldonado: Yes. I would say it was our first ‘normal’ test without any problems and we were able to complete our entire schedule. It was really important and a very positive test because we learnt so much more about the car. Everything is getting better and better in my opinion. Of course I’m happy with the result as well.

Can you feel the progress when you are driving the car?

PM: The car has made a big step forward from where we were. The focus of the test was to continue to develop settings and try new ideas. It was a busy programme to be honest, but hopefully the rest of the season will be much better for us. We got a lot of data which our engineers took back to the factory to analyse in detail.

What’s the significance of such a positive test for the team?

PM: I think it’s a great boost for everyone at Enstone and of course as a driver it gives me more confidence in the car so I can aim to achieve better results. If you think about where we were and where we are now it is an incredible step forward – particularly when the other teams are moving forward with their development too. It’s a true testament to the team’s capabilities and I hope we can start to get the results on track that we so deserve.

Looking ahead to Monaco, what makes it so special for you?

PM: First of all it’s such a historic grand prix and an iconic race for Formula 1. I really love it. I’ve been very quick in the past and I think it is one of the most special weekends of the year. The atmosphere is unique. The track is really challenging and changes a lot over the sessions, which you need to anticipate. It’s difficult to be quick [so] close to the walls and overall it’s a very tough race, demanding in terms of concentration and stressful physically and mentally. The only negative thing is that it is quite difficult to overtake, but it is not impossible.

What are your favourite parts of the circuit?

PM: I really like the Casino and Swimming Pool sections. Every corner in Monaco has its own challenge, and own individual approach needed – that is probably the beauty of the circuit there. It’s where I live now so I might be biased, but it’s a very special place.

What are your early memories of Monaco?

PM: Monaco was always my favourite track when I was watching Formula 1 on TV as a kid. Then the first time I went to a grand prix was also Monaco, in 2003, which was my first year in Formula Renault. Juan Pablo Montoya won and it was amazing to see how close they were to the wall and how quick the cars were, because they had V10 engines then. Another good Monaco memory for me is winning in GP2 in 2007 and 2009.

How difficult do you think it will be to drive the new F1 cars at Monaco, with all the new switches and settings?

PM: We will be very busy in the cockpit with all the switches and changes to be made. We’re also going to face a big challenge as the tyres are harder than those we’ve used in Monaco in the past. In Barcelona we ran with the Super-soft and were able to finish the lap without causing problems for the tyres, which was not the case in the past. So that’ll be a big question mark. For sure Mercedes is the strongest team at the moment but we are focused and pushing hard to catch them.

There has been a lot of talk about changes to improve Formula One, what would you like to see?

PM: It’s difficult because ultimately the rules are the same for everyone. But I would like the performance of the cars to be closer. That is the main thing. Whatever the cars, whatever the teams, we need better competition. That’s certainly what we’re pushing for as a team; to be closer to the front.

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Renault recollect an era of 1300 horsepower turbo engines

In 1977 Renault created F1 history when it became the first-ever manufacturer to race a turbocharged car in the championship. Nobody had dared to pursue the turbocharged route until Renault debuted the highly experimental RS01 at the British GP on 17 July 1977. Powered by a 1.5l V6 turbo engine, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jabouille became the first driver to ever compete in a championship race with a turbo-powered car.

Renault paid homage to this history today with a demonstration of some of the most significant turbo powered cars to have raced in the championship. Of course this year a new generation of turbos will return to the circuit where history was written.

The RS01 was on display alongside the Renault RE40, the British GP-winning car driven in 1983 by Alain Prost, and the Lotus 98T, one of the fastest-ever turbocharged cars built, driven by Ayrton Senna in 1986.

Following its appearance in 1977 the RS01 ushered in a new engine formula. The RS01 scored its first win on home ground in the 1979 French GP at Dijon, signalling that the turbocharged route was the way to go. One-by-one other teams developed the turbo, in effect acknowledging that Renault had got its sums right. A move to twin turbos, improvements in cooling and reductions in vibrations and friction allowed power and speeds to reach unprecedented levels, with more than 1,000bhp seen on race day and 1,300bhp in qualifying by the mid-80s – just seven years after the turbo made its first appearance.

Jean Pierre Jabouille’s Renault RS01

A move to twin turbos, improvements in cooling and reductions in vibrations and friction allowed power and speeds to reach unprecedented levels, with more than 1,000bhp seen on race day and 1,300bhp in qualifying by the mid-80s – just seven years after the turbo made its first appearance.

Romain Grosjean, who is powered by the Renault Energy F1-2014 in this year’s F1 championship, completed a demonstration run of Silverstone in the car Renault ambassador and four-times world champion Alain Prost raced to second in the 1983 championship.

The car is powered by a twin-turbo evolution V6 engine that produced around 880bhp at the time. Prost claimed victories in France, Belgium, Silverstone and Austria with podium positions at San Marino, Monaco and Brands Hatch.

He was in the running for the championship title but unfortunately just missed out at the last race of the year in South Africa when, ironically, the turbo failed. Nelson Piquet clinched the title by two points. The 1983 season was Renault’s best in the turbo period, with second place in the constructors’ ranking.

Alain Prost came close to the 1983 title with the Renault RE40

After the run Romain, who is one of the few drivers to have direct experience of both turbo periods, said: “It felt the same as driving an F1 today at some points, but very different in others. The main difference is the driving position and the fact you feel you are sitting on the front wheel axle.”

“The driveability of the engine is of course very different – you feel there is no power and then all of a sudden it kicks in and the emotions and feelings go crazy. Then the gearbox is very different and takes some time to get used to. You can feel the braking, the downforce, the car sliding, and the car is going where it wants to go. It was very nice to drive though and I wish I could have done more laps!”

“You can really feel the difference in the turbos from this year. In these old cars, you need to get to 2.2bars of pressure and then it kicks in. It would have been tough in the race. Rob White [Renault Sport F1 deputy managing director] came to see me afterwards and said ‘now you won’t complain about the response this year any more!’ and I said no, I definitely won’t! The technology we have this year makes the turbo seem very easy in comparison to drive. The RE40 won in 1983 with Alain and I hope my car can do again this year.”

Renault turbo engine from a bygone era

Alongside the RS01 and RE40 was the Lotus 98T. The car was the last of the famous JPS cars. Driven by Ayrton Senna and Johnny Dumfries it achieved significant success, particularly in qualifying. The last of the unrestricted turbos, the car was powered by the trailblazing Renault V6 engine in its final EF15 configuration. With race power rated at just above 1,000bhp and qualifying power estimated to exceed 1,300bhp the engine proved nevertheless to be remarkably drivable.

The car features several novel systems including driver adjustable ride height and water injection. To this day the car remains the fastest Lotus of the period to have been built, having clocked 215mph at the Mexican Grand Prix of 1986.

This year, almost 37 years to the day of the first turbo debut, the turbos will make their return to Silverstone. Again, Renault is one of the pioneers of the new generation of F1 engines with its Energy F1-2014. This year, the cars are powered by a turbocharged internal combustion engine coupled to sophisticated energy recovery systems.

The internal combustion engine produces approx. 600bhp through consumption of traditional carbon-based fuel, while a further 160bhp is produced from electrical energy harvested from exhaust and braking through two motor generator units. The two systems work in harmony, with teams and drivers balancing the use of the two types of energy throughout the race.

Romain Grosjean drives the Renault RE40 at Silverstone

Renault Sport F1 technical director Rob White compared the old and new turbo engines: “The turbos of the 70s are obviously where it all started for Renault in F1. At the time the 1.5 litre engines were unlike anything we had seen before. I can remember seeing them at the British GP and being seriously impressed with how quick and powerful they seemed. I’m no less impressed today, seeing them back on track. They may look brutal but the technology under the bodywork was seriously cutting edge.”

“This year we have a very different challenge with the turbos, which are fitted to extremely sophisticated energy recovery systems. Nevertheless it’s evident that there are powerful similarities between the eras: avant-garde technology, constant innovation and flat out racing.”

The turbos were also on display with two British GP race winning cars, the Williams FW14B from 1992 driven by Nigel Mansell and Williams FW18, driven by Damon Hill in 1996.

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Smaller teams less committed to F1 claims Ecclestone

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at criticism of the Strategy Group.

The decision-making group features only six of the sport’s eleven competing teams – powerful Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren, 2013′s fourth-placed Lotus and, for historical reasons, Williams.

But after plans for budget caps were recently scrapped, the smaller teams angrily hit back by claiming they have been “disenfranchised”.

They have even questioned the legality of the Strategy Group against European anti-competition laws.

Formula 1 Chief Executive Ecclestone, however, has justified the exclusion of smaller teams Sauber, Force India, Marussia and Caterham.

“There are four teams that are not in the Strategy Group and why not?” he told business journalist Christian Sylt.

“Because the people that are [in the group] have committed to racing in Formula 1 to 2020 and have put up sensible guarantees if they don’t [race],” Ecclestone is quoted by the Independent.

The small teams obviously take issue with that view.

“The voice of Caterham does not count as much as the voice of Ferrari,” Caterham chief Cyril Abiteboul acknowledged in Barcelona last weekend, “but it doesn’t mean that we cannot be part of the discussion, at least for the sake of transparency.”

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Button: Rosberg will rise above

Jenson Button is adamant Nico Rosberg is too strong and intelligent to be undone by any mind games Lewis Hamilton may play.

If the early season form is anything to go by, this year's Championship will be decided between the two Mercedes team-mates.

After five grands prix it is Hamilton who has the advantage out on the track and in the standings having claimed four wins to his team-mate's one. As a result, he now leads the German by three World Championship points.

And although it all seems calm and happy at Mercedes at the moment, there are some suggestions that Hamilton is already playing mind games with his team-mate.

Although he claimed pole position and the victory last weekend in Spain, Hamilton insisted several times that Rosberg had been the quicker driver. The implication of that being, and yet he still beat him.

Button, though, is confident Rosberg won't allow the Brit into his head.

"I am sure there will - if there aren't already - be mind games going on. There were a few things he played on me," Button, who partnered Hamilton at McLaren, told BT Sport.

"It would work on some drivers, whereas others it just makes them stronger because they laugh it off.

"Nico is intelligent to know if Lewis is playing mind games or not, which in some ways could help Nico or harm him. He might just end up getting fed up with it.

"But Lewis is full of confidence at the moment and he is a fierce competitor when he is like that, even when he is not having a good day."

So far this season Mercedes have played fair with both drivers even allow them to race side-by-side in Bahrain and to the line in Spain.

Button reckons the Brackley team, for their sake and for F1, will continue to keep a level playing field.

"The thing is with that team is because they are going to walk away with it - I know we are only five races in, but they have such a big lead - they're not going to favour just one driver.

"They will let their drivers race because they need to keep the show going, and we need them to keep the show going and let both drivers race.

"So there is no point trying to get the team behind you because they won't. I think they will be very fair, and they need to be for the sport."

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Sutil aims to continue Monaco run

Adrian Sutil is hoping to score his first points for Sauber in Monaco, a race he has often finished inside the top-ten.

Although Sutil had a difficult time around the streets of the Principality when he first entered Formula One, the German has secured points in his last three visits.

From eighth to seventh to fifth, Sutil has steadily progressed up the order.

However, whether he can add a fourth points-finish remains to be seen as so far this season Sauber have struggled.

The team is one of just three without a single point in the campaign, joining Marussia and Caterham at the bottom of the standings.

"The Monaco Grand Prix is a very nice event every year," said Sutil. "I really like the track.

"For us, the most important aspect will be that our car works well and we can achieve a good performance. My objective is to travel back home with some points in my pocket.

"Looking back, I have good memories from the races in Monte Carlo as I collected some points almost every year. Last year it was an exciting race for me which I finished in fifth position.

"It is always a special grand prix, and I am looking forward to it."

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Horner: Renault paying for late start

Outdone by Mercedes at the start of this season, Christian Horner fears Red Bull are paying for Renault's late start to the new V6 era.

This season has been all about Mercedes and Mercedes power while Red Bull's Renault engine have struggled with reliability and power.

The Renault-powered teams all had a torrid pre-season, spending a great deal of it on the sidelines due to engine and cooling issues.

Once on track in Australia, the situation did improve and has steadily since, however, Renault are still lagging some way behind Mercedes.

And Horner believes that is due to the French manufacturer making a late start in the development of their 1.6-litre V6 engine.

"It's quite simple really: we've had a massive engine regulation change and Renault have turned up and they weren't as ready as some of their competitors were," the Red Bull Team Principal told Sky Sports F1.

"So we've been playing catch-up. They're working tremendously hard at it and we're slowly closing that gap down.

"As you can see we've got a very good chassis, I just think that they started too late. It's as simple as that."

Pressed as to why he believed Renault had made a late start, the Red Bull team boss said: "That's a very good question and perhaps one you should ask Renault because they were the guys who pushed very hard for this regulation change, so one would have thought that they'd have been the most prepared for it.

"The guys are having to recover lost ground and they've got a recovery plan, they're working to that, they're trying to close that gap.

"Mercedes, take nothing away from them, they've done a fantastic job and turned up with a very strong engine unit this year."

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Prost: F1 needs to explain new rules

Alain Prost feels Formula 1 should have done more to promote its new greener regulations and explain the fundamentals.

This season, the sport moved towards greener power, adopting a 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine with ERS.

However, other noise complaints, four-time World Champion Prost says very little has been explained to the public about the new regulations.

Speaking to Press Association Sport, Prost said: "Formula One has moved to a very different engine.

"What they are doing is fantastic in a way, but has not been very well explained, and that is a problem.

"At least everybody knows that with Formula E what you see is an electric car, but in Formula One there is sometimes a little bit of confusion.

"I was in London when the first (F1) test took place earlier this year, which was a disaster, but it was not important that one team did five laps or 10 laps.

"What was important was that people, and the media, understood what Formula One was doing and explained what was being done and why.

"At the moment it is not fantastic, it is not really the case because right now the cars have the same power, but are using 30 to 40 per cent less fuel, which is amazing, so big.

"But the fans perhaps do not care too much, so there is a little bit of confusion and young people aren't following and aren't interested.

"With Formula E it is much more interesting, and with the organisers we are all in the same boat. We're bringing new ideas, and that's what I like."

Speaking earlier this week when the first Formula E cars were delivered to their teams, the 59-year-old is confident that series such as Formula E will not impact on Formula 1's popularity.

"I don't think you can replace Formula One with something like this, and that is the good thing," said the Frenchman.

"It's something new, a new formula, a new area, so you can't compare.

"Having a new discipline, going so far into the technology, it's the way to go, and I must say what has so far been done on the technical and marketing side is absolutely exceptional.

"The whole world is talking about Formula E.

"The only things I would say are the same as F1 is that you need to find the money, the sponsors and you need to win, which is part of the game of motor racing."

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Sir Jack Brabham 1926 – 2014

Jack Brabham has died at the age of 88. He was a towering figure of his era, becoming a triple World Champion in Formula 1, the first motor racing knight of the modern era. He started his own Brabham team and won the World Championship with it in 1966, while also achieving success as a racing car manufacturer. He ultimately became the head of a family of racers, the third generation of which is now beginning to flower.

The grandson of a Londoner who emigrated to Australia in 1885 and opened a grocer’s shop in Adelaide, Brabham was born in Sydney where his father worked as a dealer in flour. Brabham grew up fascinated by machinery. He was studying mechanical engineering when he was called up to work for the Royal Australian Air Force in World War II and worked as a mechanic on Beaufighters based in Australia. When the war ended he was demobilised and he immediately began to build a midget racer which was raced by an American called Johnny Schonberg. When Schonberg decided to stop racing Brabham thought he might try himself and he took part in his first race at the Paramattta Speedway in the suburbs of Sydney. He was soon winning races and in the years that followed he became one of the stars of the midget racing scene in Australia until his original engine blew itself up.

Brabham very nearly quit the sport after that, but a meeting with a young engineer called Ron Tauranac resulted in a switch to hillclimbing in 1951 and from there he moved into road racing with a Cooper-Bristol which had been shipped out from Europe. He found sponsorship to run the car but the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport forced him to remove the name of his sponsor from the car and Brabham decided that he would go racing in New Zealand instead. This brought him into contact with a number of international drivers who raced each winter in New Zealand and in 1955, and having seen that he could be competitive with some of the best international racers, Brabham headed off to England where he raced a Cooper-Alta without much success. It was not until he switched to a Bristol engine that thing began to improve and he was soon working at the Cooper Car Company in Surbiton where in lieu of payment, he was allowed to build a car which he raced and then sold. This enabled him to buy a Maserati 250F for the 1956 season. That initiative was not a success and so Brabham went back to Cooper, racing for the factory team in Formula 2 and in sports car events.

In 1957 the Climax engine in his Cooper F2 car was stretched to 2.2-litres and Brabham went to Monaco for the Grand Prix. He crashed. A deal was struck with Rob Walker to put Brabham’s engine into one of Walker’s chassis and Jack raced the car. He was running third with three laps to go when the engine failed, although he pushed the car to the finish and was classified sixth.

Brabham and Cooper continued to develop the car and the engine and in 1959 Brabhham began to win F1 races, his first being the Daily Express Trophy. This was followed by wins in the British and Monaco Grands Prix and these successes took him to the World Championship. The following year he did it again but Cooper’s domination waned with a change in the rules which ended up with Ferrari dominant in 1961. It was during that year that Jack and Tauranac established Motor Racing Developments Ltd and began building a Formula Junior car in a shed in Esher. The project was kept secret as Brabham was still a Cooper driver. At the end of the year Brabham left Cooper and the Brabham company moved into new workshops in Surbiton and began to design a Formula 1 car.

Brabham bought a Lotus with which to start the 1962 season and then in July 1962 the Brabham BT3 finally appeared at the German GP. Cars for other championships followed but success in F1 did not come until 1964 when Brabham driver Dan Gurney won the team’s first Grand Prix at Rouen. Brabham himself did not win a race in one of his own cars until 1966.

A new engine formula was introduced that year and in preparation for that Brabham convinced the Repco company in Australia to build an engine for his team, based on an aluminium Oldsmobile V8. This proved to be the most effective engine of 1966 and 1967 and enabled Brabham to win his third Drivers’ Championship and the team’s first Constructors’ title. In 1967 the team won again with Denny Hulme taking the title.

In 1966 Brabham was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to motor racing.

In 1968 a new Repco unit proved to be less effective and the arrival of the Cosworth DFV left all opposition standing and Brabham duly became a DFV user in 1968. He continued to win races but at the end of 1970, at the age of 44, he decided to retire and sold his half of Brabham to Tauranac and went back to Australia. The following year, he and former Repco engineer John Judd set up Engine Developments Ltd, originally marketed as as Jack Brabham Conversions.

His three sons Geoff, Gary and David all enjoyed successful racing careers, David getting to Formula 1 with Brabham and later with the ill-fated Simtek team, in which Brabham was a shareholder.

Brabham was knighted in 1979.

He competed in a total of 128 Grands Prix in his 15-year F1 career, winning 14 of them. In Australia he was one of the greatest sporting legends, while in the wider world he was one of the view whose name became synonymous with the sport.

On behalf of the family, Jack’s youngest son David said: “It’s a very sad day for all of us. My father passed away peacefully at home at the age of 88 this morning. He lived an incredible life, achieving more than anyone would ever dream of and he will continue to live on through the astounding legacy he leaves behind.”

One of the greats has gone.

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Ferrari prepared to break bank to get Newey

Luca di Montezemolo has hinted that he will increase Ferrari’s Formula One budget in order to catch up with dominant Mercedes, including upping their offer to lure Adrian Newey to Maranello.

The fabled Italian marque has struggled early this season, prompting the exit of team boss Stefano Domenicali.

But recent reports suggest Ferrari is now prepared to ‘break the bank’ to woo Formula 1′s highest-paid engineer, Newey, to the team.

Ferrari can afford him. The Financial Times reports that the company recorded “record revenues, profits and cash flow” last year, with net profit up to €246 million.

Montezemolo is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport as saying that while the exclusivity of Ferrari road cars remains a priority, that is a challenge “given heavy investment and Formula 1, which requires an exceptional effort economically to recover the gap to the opposition”.

Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo reports that one Ferrari recruit is to be the retired 68-year-old Jean-Jacques His, an engine expert best known for leading Renault’s technical efforts during the French manufacturer’s dominant era.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is only too aware of how much rivals covet Newey, “It is almost an annual thing that there is speculation about his future. But he has always made clear his feeling towards the team, the paternal feeling he has for Red Bull.”

“He has been involved since the beginning and he is much more involved in this team than he has been at any other. He enjoys the environment that he is working in so I think the speculation is purely that, but you can understand why Ferrari would be looking,” added Horner.