FORMULA 1 - 2015

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AUSTRALIAN GP BOSS WALKER SURVIVES CANCER

Australian Grand Prix supremo Ron Walker is cancer-free, the 75-year-old has confirmed.

A famously close ally of Bernie Ecclestone, the influential Australian businessman was instrumental in the race’s switch from Adelaide some two decades ago.

His last race as chairman of the Australian grand prix corporation was the 2015 season opener in March.

Walker had made the decision to step down when he was fighting for his life for three years with cancer, but he has now told Fairfax Media that he is in remission.

“I’m the luckiest guy that ever walked,” he said.

That is because local doctors had told him he would almost certainly die from the disease, prompting Walker to go to America to take an experimental drug that “wasn’t cheap”.

“I’m very lucky it (the cancer) is gone,” he said. “It was in my brain, my bones, my lungs, my heart, everything.

“If I had stayed in Melbourne and just done nothing, I wouldn’t be here today talking to you”, Walker added.

The media report said Walker, with key political contacts including the prime minister Tony Abbott, has now successfully lobbied to have the drug made available in Australia.

“It’s given hope to people who thought they were going to die,” he said. “Now they’re not going to die.”

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Massa: I'm racing to win

Felipe Massa is adamant he's not racing to make up the numbers; he's in Formula 1 to win.

The Brazilian joined Williams from Ferrari at the end of the 2013 Championship and initially thought that the team, which managed just five points that year, was his "last chance" to be in Formula 1.

However, a year later it was clear that Williams had hit a sweet spot and Massa and his team-mate Valtteri Bottas were fighting for podium positions and the 'best of the rest' tag.

And although this year Williams are a bit down on pace, Massa still believes he can succeed with the Grove team.

"I thought [Williams] was the last chance. Things will go well now or maybe we're finished!" he said in an interview with F1i.com.

"Sometimes things change in a way which you don't expect and you can really change yourself because of that. It's so nice what has happened and it’s still nice and still happening. I still believe many other things can happen.

"I'm racing to win. I'm not racing to participate. I raced to win all my career and I won many races in all my career and in many championships.

"When you get to the first race and see you're 1.4s slower it’s a bit frustrating, but what can you do? We need to keep fighting and if we can’t win the championship we have to be the best of the rest."

Two races into this season, Massa is fourth in the Championsip on 20 points while Bottas, who sat out the opening race due to a back injury, has ten.

Massa, though, insists he took no joy from getting the jump on his team-mate in the standings.

"Sometimes people think ‘OK in the first race you raced alone and Valtteri wasn't there so you were happy’. I was not happy, I was f***ing pissed off because we know how important points are for the championship and I want to see the team at the top.

"Honestly, I'm not in the position anymore just to fight with my team-mate, maybe doing something to beat them. I'm here to bring experience and to bring responsibility to give the best I can to the team."

In fact he reckons it is lack of gamesmanship with his team-mates in the past that ensured his longevity at his previous team Ferrari.

"No, I think I lost because of that as well," he told F1i.com when asked if he played 'tricks' on his team-mates.

"But if I changed my style at Ferrari maybe I was not going to be there for so long, maybe the would have fired me before. So what I did at Ferrari I think was totally correct, I used my intelligence to stay there and wait for the right moment to leave, which is what happened, fortunately."

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Robert De Niro to play legendary Enzo Ferrari in ‘movie epic’

Hollywood superstar Robert De Niro has revealed that he is to play Enzo Ferrari in a big-budget biopic of the legendary Italian marque founder.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, De Niro has announced that this project will have his top priority, and that production will begin soon.

The film, which will be produced in Italy, is expected to be released in 2016.

The New York-born actor – star of Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and Cape Fear – is now 71. He will play Ferrari, who founded the famous car manufacturer in 1947 and died in 1988, aged 90.

His team, Scuderia Ferrari, has been active since 1929 – first running Alfa Romeos – and went on to win a record 16 Formula 1 Constructors' titles since 1950.

“For me it is an honour and a joy to tell the life of an extraordinary man who revolutionised the automotive world and across historical periods,” said De Niro.

The film will be produced by former photographer Gianni Bozzacchi, owner of Triworld Cinema, in collaboration with De Niro’s Tribeca Enterprises concern.

"The film will be titled Ferrari and will be based on an epic story," said Bozzacchi, "It will have a high budget and will cover a wide span – from 1945 to the eighties in a twisted game of eras and episodes.”

Clint Eastwood has been approached to direct the film, and Bozzacchi claims he was “very interested” but wanted to read the script. The writers of Oliver Stone’s Nixon, Stephen J Rivele and Christoper Wilkinson, have also been linked to the movie.

De Niro has been linked to playing Ferrari as early as 1993, when he was expected to play the lead in a production directed by Michael Mann with a budget of $65 million, but this fell through.

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Manor kicks off 2015 development programme

The Manor Formula 1 team says it has kicked off its 2015 development programme thanks to Roberto Merhi completing a race distance in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Manor has used an updated version of the 2014 Marussia car in the first two events, although the car did not turn a wheel in Australia and only Merhi took part in qualifying and in the race at Sepang.

Teammate Will Stevens was unable to run after final practice following a fuel system problem.

Merhi completed the race, although he finished three laps down.

Team boss John Booth said the running has helped Manor begin a development programme.

He said: "Thanks to our first full race distance at Sepang, we've been able to use the data gathered there to get our 2015 development programme underway and we're looking forward to applying what we have learned from that in the field this weekend."

The team has retained both Merhi and Stevens for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

Manor has stated it plans to unveil a 2015 car at some point during the season.

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Focus on if Ferrari's form can continue in Chinese GP

Sebastian Vettel's shock defeat of Lewis Hamilton in Malaysia helped re-invigorate Formula 1, but the focus now switches to if that momentum can continue.

Every F1 fan will tune into this Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix hoping for a race as exciting as the last.

But the likelihood of this weekend's Shanghai race playing out in similar fashion is probably slim.

The Malaysian GP took place on 62°C asphalt, whereas China is set for temperatures much closer to those seen at the season opener in Melbourne.

In actual fact temperatures are likely to be even cooler - putting conditions somewhere between those witnessed in Australia and the final pre-season test at Barcelona in February, where Mercedes was outstanding.

Cooler conditions should help alleviate the sort of extreme tyre degradation the W06 and its drivers struggled to manage last time out.

The Shanghai layout also switches the emphasis of tyre management, placing more strain on the fronts than the rears.

So perhaps any inherent set-up advantage Ferrari held over Mercedes in Malaysia won't necessarily translate here.

The tyres Pirelli has chosen for this race are a step softer than those used in Malaysia, but ambient temperatures aren't expected to top 20°C in Shanghai on Sunday, so it's doubtful we'll see the sort of strategic variation we saw in Sepang either.

If China ends up being a two-stop certainty - like last year's race, in similar conditions, on the same tyre compounds - it will bolster Mercedes twofold, because its drivers won't be so concerned with managing rubber, while the team is unlikely to face the sort of strategic pressure under which it creaked in Malaysia.

A straightforward race is ultimately good for Mercedes because it still fundamentally possesses the fastest car in Formula 1.

As team boss Toto Wolff acknowledged in the aftermath of his squad's Sepang defeat, Ferrari has done a "good job", but it hasn't yet got enough pace from the SF15-T to challenge race in, race out.

Ferrari technical chief James Allison certainly thinks his team will be in for a tougher time this weekend.

"There is a lot of work to do until we can come to a race weekend confident we can hunt for victory from the first session," he told reporters after Ferrari's Malaysian success.

"But we do have a fairly exciting development program, so it should be an interesting season at least to see if we can catch up.

"Quite what problems are being carried over in Mercland I don't know, but I'm fairly sure we will have our work cut out in China to do anything like as impressive a job as we have here."

In short, without the sort of extreme conditions witnessed in Malaysia don't expect another red miracle in China this weekend.

But do expect Ferrari to put Mercedes under greater pressure as the campaign wears on, which should ultimately make this season more unpredictable than the last.

That's surely something every Formula 1 fan wants to see.

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F1 teams should help grand prix promoters, says Franz Tost

Formula 1 teams must better support race promoters to help improve the overall show for fans, according to Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost.

Television audiences are suffering a decline in some markets while several venues are battling against falling spectator attendances.

The problems were highlighted when the German Grand Prix, which has been on the calendar since 1960, recently fell off the 2015 schedule.

"We need to show the people a fantastic race with fights on track and overtaking moves," Tost said.

"We must also support the promoters with their requests because the races must be promoted in advance and the race weekends must have more entertainment.

"It means more [support] races and maybe concerts. It must be a fantastic event because Formula 1 is only once in every country.

"If this is promoted enough, the people will have the feeling to go there as it's the highlight go the year. This is how I see it."

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RAIKKONEN: SINCE LAST YEAR THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LOT

On the eve of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, Kimi Raikkonen addressed questions from the media, most of which focused on his predictions for the weekend ahead.

“Obviously we have to put in a clean weekend with no issues, then I’ m sure we could be pretty happy with the result, ” said Raikkonen. “This is a different track but so far the car has been working well in all kind of conditions on every place and I don’t see reasons why it should be different here.”

“Here it can be a little bit different because it’s cold and the track is challenging, but of course if you have a good car it helps. We’ll go out and see but I don’t expect big surprises,” predicted the Finn.

When asked if Ferrari can again challenge Mercedes even if, unlike Sepang, the weather here is not so hot and this one is not a rear tyre limited track, he said, “All tracks are different and every condition too, and one car can behave better in a place that in another one.”

“Maybe we are not where we would like to be, but compared to last year things have changed a lot even if we still have a lot to do.”

Sebastian Vettel’s win in Malaysia surprised most of the paddock, but Raikkonen was an exception, “We knew from testing we have a good package but the two first races for me have been pretty difficult , although I could take some good points in Malaysia.”

“We keep pushing as hard as we can trying to do things right knowing that every race can be different, but generally I think we can be quite strong everywhere.”

“In general we know we have the speed but we have to get rid of all the issues even if they are not our fault like the puncture,” added the 2007 world champion who won in Shanghai for Ferrari that year.

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ALONSO: I WILL END MY F1 CAREER WITH MCLAREN

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso expects to end his Formula One career at McLaren, the 33-year-old Spaniard said, confirming that the team he joined from Ferrari at the end of last season was likely to be his last.

Alonso made his debut as a 19-year-old with Minardi in 2001 and has since claimed 32 victories in 236 races with this season representing his 14th in the sport, excluding the year he spent on the sidelines as a test driver for Renault.

“I think after 15 or 16 or 17 years in Formula One, whatever it will be, it’s enough,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

“I will close the loop, I will close part of my life,” he said, addressing a question about whether he would remain in the sport in some capacity once a driving career that brought him back-to-back world titles from 2005 ended.

“I started with a McLaren when I was three years old,” he joked of a replica car bought for him by his father. I will finish with a McLaren but the real one in Formula 1 and that will be one-third of my life with a great experience, with great memories, with great friendships.”

Widely regarded as the best driver of his generation, Alonso has often found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He joined McLaren at the start of this year from Ferrari, returning to a team he had left following a single acrimonious season in 2007.

He then spent five frustrating seasons with the sport’s most glamorous team from 2010, during which time he came close but failed to add to his world title tally.

The timing of his move to McLaren could also be questioned as the team are at the start of a new engine partnership with Japanese manufacturer Honda, who have struggled to come to terms with the sport’s turbo-hybrid rules.

The combination that once dominated Formula 1 is now a regular fixture near the back of the field while Ferrari have returned to winning ways with Alonso’s replacement Sebastian Vettel claiming victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix last month.

However, Alonso said that while he had enjoyed his time at Ferrari, he did not regret his move and felt inspired by the challenge of helping the eight-time constructors’ champions return to the front of the pack.

“Five fantastic years, we’ve been very close two times to winning the championship and I only have good memories and good feelings,” Alonso said of his time at Ferrari.

“But it was enough. To keep doing lap after lap, year after year, that was not anymore my motivation.

“It’s challenging but I’m looking forward, starting in a new team, with a new project… This makes me happy and makes me full. I was not happy with my mind and my soul anymore.”

After Australia, Alonso said Mercedes’ continuing dominance means he has no regrets about leaving Ferrari — even if the Italian team is much more competitive in 2015. But how does he feel after Vettel’s Sepang breakthrough?

“Ferrari win the race and I was out in Q3 – the perfect time to ask!” Alonso laughed. “If they (Ferrari) win the championship, well, then I’d probably have a different opinion. If they finish second or third, then I am happy with my decision.”

“We [Ferrari] had good starts – I remember we won in China in 2013. But I want to win also in November, and we never did.”

Alonso, now 33, also said that as a double world champion and arguably the best driver in F1, his priorities have changed after a decade and a half on the grid.

“Obviously I like to win because we are sportsmen,” he said. “But also, with my age and in the moment of my career, you start to look for other things.

“Now, sometimes I feel more happy and more proud of my job and my team doing the things we are doing now than winning a trophy.

“It’s like last year with Ferrari,” said Alonso. “I didn’t win, but I drove better than ever, as you could see in the comparison with Kimi.”

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BOTTAS: WE SHOULD BE CLOSER TO MERCEDES AND FERRARI IN CHINA

First, the good news about Valtteri Bottas – he is no longer worried about his bad back – however he is concerned that the Williams FW37 has dropped down the pecking order but believes they can take the fight to the pace setters.

“It is not giving me any more trouble,” the Finn said of his back in Shanghai. “With the new seat, I am using different muscles, because the legs are positioned differently.”

A bigger problem for Bottas now is that, unlike the very end of 2014, he is no longer ‘best of the rest’ behind the two Mercedes.

Ferrari has stepped up to that role, while Williams is some way behind in third place. In Malaysia, the problem for the FW37 was overheating rear tyres.

“Our rear tyres were hotter than we expected,” Bottas confirmed. “This has an effect on traction,” he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

As teammate Felipe Massa revealed to reporters in China, the team has some new parts on the car this weekend.

“The tyre problem has priority,” chief engineer Rob Smedley confirms. “We are doing everything that might help: aero balance, setup, brake temperatures, driveability.”

Bottas continued: “The car was actually designed to look after the rear tyres more, so the problems in Malaysia were surprising.”

Luckily, high temperatures should not be a problem in chilly China, “We should be closer to Mercedes and Ferrari here.”

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NICO ROSBERG: A LOT OF POINTS TO WIN SO NO REASON TO PANIC

Nico Rosberg is looking on the bright side of his defeat to not one but two drivers in Malaysia,and is adamant that he has plenty time before he has to press the panic button.

The German has been outpaced by teammate Lewis Hamilton so far in 2015, and at Sepang both Silvber Arrows drivers were beaten by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. But Rosberg said Vettel’s form can actually help his quest to be 2015 champion.

“Already in Malaysia he was (a help),” he said in Shanghai. “Lewis only took 3 points from me, not 7. Of course, he (Vettel) will be a big problem if he keeps winning races.”

Malaysia, he admitted, was indeed “a shock” for Mercedes, who had utterly dominated just two weeks earlier in Melbourne.

There could be some more Ferrari-coloured shocks to come, although probably not in the cold temperatures of Shanghai.

But a Mercedes team figure told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport that Bahrain in just a week should be good for Ferrari.

It has prompted some changes. Rosberg said the significantly different front wing for his and Hamilton’s W06 this weekend “looks good”. And Mercedes is undergoing a strategy re-think.

“If Ferrari continues to put pressure on us, it could happen more often that we (the two Mercedes drivers) need to adopt different strategies to ensure we are winning the race at the front,” said Rosberg.

Logically, that means one driver gets the preferred strategy, while the other does not.

Rosberg noted: “But sometimes the theoretically inferior strategy turns out to be the better one.”

In short, Rosberg said his championship campaign remains on track, “I am only 10 points behind the championship leader, and there are still a lot of points to win. There is no reason to panic.”

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SEBASTIAN VETTEL COOL ON CHINA PROSPECTS AS SENNA MILESTONE BECKONS

Sebastian Vettel is playing down the prospect of repeating his shock Malaysian Grand Prix victory in Shanghai this weekend, despite standing on the brink of emulating a feat achieved by one of Formula One’s most revered drivers.

Vettel recorded an emotional maiden Ferrari triumph at a sweltering Sepang circuit a fortnight ago, moving him to 40 career victories and just one shy of the late, great Brazilian Ayrton Senna’s haul of wins.

The triumph also allowed him to follow in the footsteps of German compatriot and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher of winning for Ferrari, although Vettel achieved the feat in just his second race for the sport’s most successful team.

Schumacher recorded his first victory for Ferrari in his seventh race.

“I think it’s very special,” Vettel told reporters of Senna’s milestone at a chilly Shanghai International Circuit on Thursday.

“Obviously it took me a while to get number 40 done. Hopefully, the next one is not that far away. But, yeah, I think it would certainly mean a lot for any driver.”

Vettel is known to take a keen interest in the history of the sport and was tempted away from Red Bull, where he won four consecutive world titles, by the lure of Ferrari and a chance to join Formula One’s most prestigious team.

However, he grew up idolising Schumacher and admitted he was not aware he was within touching distance of the benchmark set by Senna, arguably the sport’s most respected driver, who was killed following a crash at the Imola circuit in 1994.

“First of all I wasn’t aware to be honest,” added Vettel, who is currently fourth on the all-time list of Grand Prix winners. “I know Michael’s number but that’s just ridiculous if you look at numbers.”

Schumacher leads that tally with 91 victories, followed by Senna’s rival and four-time world champion Alain Prost on 51, while the Brazilian lies third.

Vettel’s win in Malaysia was his first since the 2013 season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix and Ferrari’s first since the Spanish Grand Prix that same year.

It also snapped an eight-race winning streak for Mercedes, giving the sport a much-needed shot in the arm at a time when the German team appeared to be streets ahead of their Formula One rivals.

But Vettel, who benefited from a strategic gamble by his race engineers and the searing temperatures in Malaysia, is less confident of scoring a second consecutive win in the cooler temperatures expected in China.

“It was obviously nice for us to see that we were so competitive,” he said. “There were also a couple of circumstances coming together but most important we managed to capitalise and get a very good result and win the race.

“We managed to do a very good job in Malaysia. But for here and for the next races, we have to be realistic about what we want to achieve.”

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RICCIARDO: WE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE WHOLE RB11 PACKAGE

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that Red Bull’s problems run deeper than Renault power, and in fact the entire RB11 package is not quite up to scratch.

Particularly after Australia, bosses of the former world championship-dominant team pointed the finger angrily at its French engine partner.

Renault hit back with equal venom, accusing Red Bull of pedalling “lies” about its only issue in 2015 being the struggling turbo V6.

Asked directly if it is right to say the engine is the only problem, senior Red Bull driver Ricciardo admitted ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend: “It’s the whole package. But this means that we have the opportunity now to look in many areas for improvement.”

After two races, Ricciardo lies a distant eighth in the 2015 drivers’ standings, despite finishing last season ‘best of the rest’ behind the Mercedes duo.

“Put it this way — it’s been challenging,” he smiled. “But the season is still young and many things can change. We will just have to have some patience.”

However, Ricciardo admitted it was difficult to cope two weeks ago when a driver he notably defeated last year – former teammate Sebastian Vettel – lapped him en route to victory in a Ferrari.

“I was surprised,” he said. “We saw in winter testing that Ferrari looks good, but to beat Mercedes in the second race of the season surprised everybody I think.”

“On the other hand, it’s good for our sport that another car is at the front — good for Ferrari obviously but also for everybody else. It shows that Mercedes is not unbeatable,” he added.

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AFTER TWO MISSES STEVENS HOPING TO FINALLY RACE IN CHINA

Will Stevens is hoping third time lucky in China after Manor stayed in the pits in Australia, teammate Roberto Merhi got up and running in Malaysia but British rookie Stevens could not qualify or race due to technical problems.

But the 23-year-old Briton, who actually made his grand prix debut for Caterham in the 2014 finale, says the resurrected Manor team should now be ready to push him to his grid hatching in Shanghai.

“Coming here we’re in a much better position again and I’d like to think I’ll be racing,” he told reporters in China. So third time lucky and I hope this weekend will be good.”

Stevens said he has kept his composure to date because he already knew the early races would be tough for the struggling backmarker, who mere months ago were locked in administration.

“I’m part of the team and I need to understand everything that is going on. As I do, it makes problems easier to get through,” he insisted.

“It’s great the team are here (in F1) and I understand the effort that has gone into that. We’re as sure as we can be that this weekend we should be running smoothly,” said Stevens.

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ABITEBOUL: I SEE NO REASON WHY WE CANNOT CATCH MERCEDES

Renault insists it will not lobby for a change of Formula 1 rules to help it catch up with the pacesetters, and the engine manufacturer’s boss is adamant Mercedes can be caught.

After the Silver Arrows dominated last season as the new turbo V6 era began, Ferrari has demonstrated already in 2015 that it has caught up.

“I hope we have a race with those guys (Ferrari),” championship leader Lewis Hamilton, beaten two weeks ago by Sebastian Vettel in Malaysia, said ahead of the Chinese grand prix.

“They are just as quick as us on the straights and they had amazing pace in the last race,” he told Sky.

Conspicuously lagging behind, however, is Renault, as works partner Red Bull suggests the French manufacturer even made a “retrograde” step compared to 2014.

Red Bull has arguing stridently for a change of rules, or ‘equalisation’ measures, fearing the status quo could see it and Renault permanently stranded.

But Renault’s F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul insists it can catch up, “And for that we need no change in the regulations,” he argued, according to Speed Week.

“I would never ask for a change in the regulations to catch up with a competitor,” he insisted. “I see no reason why we cannot come up to the level of Mercedes. It’s just a matter of time,” said the Frenchman.

Indeed, after an admittedly bad start in Melbourne, Renault says it upped its game for Malaysia and is set to improve yet further this weekend in China.

“Performance was improved in Malaysia, although we did keep some in reserve to safeguard reliability,” said operations chief Remi Taffin.

“Now we are getting more confident in this area we can afford to be more aggressive and we should see better results on the straights, with a higher top speed,” he added.

Abiteboul continued: “In Malaysia, we improved in terms of driveability but it was not possible to solve all the problems between Melbourne and Sepang.

“I would say we have solved 60 per cent of the problems, but that has already made a huge difference.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said in Malaysia that the thought of Shanghai’s extremely long straights was “depressing”, given Renault’s problems.

But Abiteboul said: “I do not think we will be miles behind Mercedes. We can see that from our simulations. We know what to do.”

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Red Bull in fresh quit threat

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has once again threatened to quit the sport, saying he'll only stick around if he has a "competitive" team.

Having won four consecutive Championship doubles from 2010 to 2013, Red Bull Racing lost out to Mercedes last season.

The first year under the 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines heralded a change at the top as Mercedes produced the best engine in the field while Renault, who supply Red Bull, struggled with reliability and pace.

That form has continued into this season leading to yet more threats from Red Bull to withdraw from the sport.

"We'll only stay in Formula One if we have a competitive team, and we need a competitive power unit for that," Mateschitz told the Austrian Press Agency.

"If we don't have one, we can race with the best car and the best drivers and still have no chance of competing for victory."

Mateschitz also ruled out Red Bull producing their own engines.

He said: "The problem is, we can't control it.

"We are not a car manufacturer who could justify the investment. So we rely on Renault to close the gap to Ferrari and, above all, Mercedes."

The Austrian businessman also didn't rule out their current lack of form resulting in Renault pulling out of F1.

"Of course Renault can also weigh its options, including a pullout," he said.

"As a manufacturer, it's your task to deliver a competitive power unit. If you can do that, it's great. If, for whatever reason, you can't do that, you should pull out.

"Then the consequences for us would be clear, too."

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Grosjean: Perez apologised

Sergio Perez, despite initially calling Romain Grosjean's pass at Sepang "risky", subsequently apologised to the Lotus driver.

The duo collided at the Malaysian Grand Prix as Grosjean tried to pull off an outside-line pass.

Perez was blamed for the coming together, which pitched Grosjean's E23 into a high-speed spin, and was handed a 10-second penalty.

The Mexican racer felt that was unjust but later went to speak to his rival and apologised.

"Sergio came to see me and just apologised," Grosjean revealed during Thursday's press conference in China.

"He had no more tyres at that point of the race and he just went a bit wide."

As for the Force India driver's penalty, he says it is a warning to other drivers to be more careful through high speed corners.

He added: "He got a penalty. He didn't bring back by flat tyres of my spin the time lost but I think you just need to be careful in the high speed corners, not to get wheels in between other wheels."

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Drivers keen to see more fans at Chinese GP

F1 drivers say they can tell the sport is taking off in China from the attention they get at their hotels, but are puzzled why more fans don’t turn up to the race.

Speaking in a press conference today Felipe Massa suggested the cost of ticket prices may put some fans off attending the race.

“We just need a little bit more people to watch the race,” he said, “because here – I don’t know if it’s too expensive or what – but people they are always in the hotel waiting for you, a lot of fans, but maybe they are not here on the track. We need to push on that.”

Jenson Button says he has seen an increase in interest in the race but suspects it needs to be promoted better to Chinese fans.

“I actually think the last couple of years we’ve had more people at the race, more supporters,” he said. “Obviously the first year there was quite a lot because it was new and exciting but I think the last couple of years have been pretty good.”

“It still looks like we need more advertising in the city because when you’re in the city you don’t know there’s a grand prix going on apart from the fans outside of the hotel.

“It’s great to see how passionate they are about the sport and it’s men and women as well, which is good. Hopefully it can just keep growing like obviously China’s economy has.”

Massa also praised the improvements made in the transport network around the circuit. “Since I came here for the first time, it was 2004, until now you see how much this place developed,” he said.

“I remember in the first year it was taking more than two hours in traffic to be from the city to the track and now it’s much better to see how much this country developed and see how much nicer it is to be here, the people. So it’s nice, I enjoy a lot to come here in China and it’s also a nice track.”

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SHANGHAI FP1: HAMILTON AND MERCEDES REGAIN UPPER HAND

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets ahead of Nico Rosberg as Mercedes regained their dominant stride in the first free practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday.

Hamilton lapped the 5.451 km Shanghai International Circuit in 1:39.033 seconds, the Briton half a second quicker than his German team mate – the pair the only two to dip below the 100 seconds mark.

The Ferraris were the next quickest as Sebastian Vettel finished the 90-minute session third, over a second down on the top time, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen with Mercedes all too aware of the threat posed by their Italian rivals.

“So that’s a wrap chapettes and chaps. P1 for Mr Hamilton, P2 for Mr Rosberg. Our Italian friends lurking ominously in P3 and P4,” Mercedes tweeted at the end of the session.

Vettel had roared to a shock maiden win for Ferrari at the last race in Malaysia, benefiting from a bold strategy and searing track temperatures to end Mercedes eight-race winning streak.

However, the cooler Shanghai weather appears to have relegated Ferrari to the role of best-of-the-rest once more, with Vettel ending the morning more than a second slower than Hamilton’s benchmark despite a late improvement.

Sauber’s Felipe Nasr continued the bright start to his rookie season as a race driver by ending the session fifth quickest, possibly inspired by the word “victory” emblazoned on the side of his helmet in Arabic.

The Brazilian came home ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, who were driving with new brakes after the team changed suppliers for this weekend after struggling in Malaysia.

Carlos Sainz was eighth quickest in a Toro Rosso as Williams, who emerged as Mercedes’ closest challengers at the end of last season but have been overtaken by Ferrari this year, kept a low-profile throughout the morning.

Valtteri Bottas set the ninth-fastest time while Massa, who spun late in the session, rounded out the top 10.

McLaren will have been encouraged by their morning’s work as the team again appears to have made some minor progress after a troubled start to the season.

Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso had qualified 17th and 18th in Malaysia before both cars retired during the race and the pair had expected the team’s struggles to continue in China.

However, the Briton briefly breached the top-10 before eventually ending the opening morning 13th fastest with his Spanish team mate (17th) a further three-tenths of a second behind in a tightly-packed mid-division.

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CHINA QUALIFYING: HAMILTON ON POLE AS ROSBERG COMES CLOSE

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton stormed to his third successive pole position of the season, and third in a row in China, after edging team-mate Nico Rosberg in a front-row lockout for Mercedes on Saturday.

Hamilton, unbeaten in qualifying so far this year, lapped the 5.451 km Shanghai International Circuit in 1:35.782 seconds to take his 41st career pole just 0.042 of a second clear of Rosberg.

Hamilton said, “China is continuing to be generally a good circuit for me. The car is handling fantastically well this weekend, a lot better compared to how it was in Malaysia.”

As for the lessons learned in Malaysia the Briton said, “There’s too many to mention but obviously it wasn’t the tidiest weekend for us.”

“For us on my side of the garage, we’ve tried to get our full programme in, we’ve not had any problems this weekend. We’ve still a tough race ahead because the Ferraris are good on long-run pace, so it’s not over by any means,” predicted Hamilton.

The reigning world champion posted his pole winning lap on his first flying lap in Q3, which at that point was three tenths up on Rosberg. Hamilton’s second flyer was not an improvement, leaving Rosberg an opportunity which he did not seize and fell short by the narrowest of margins.

“Oh, come on guys,” exclaimed a frustrated Rosberg when informed over the radio that he had lost out by such a small margin.

He added afterwards, “When it’s four hundredths… that’s nothing. I’m frustrated because it’s so close.”

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, winner of the previous race in Malaysia, will start third. Ferrari, who were helped by a bold strategy gamble and searing temperatures at Sepang, continued to lead the chasing pack but were unable to match Mercedes’ formidable one-lap pace in the cooler conditions.

Vettel’s best time was nearly a second off Hamilton’s benchmark, but the quadruple world champion was content,

“Happy with today – it was a different strategy for us today in Q3, going only once on used set. Mercedes were quicker than expected – P3 was the maximum we could have expected today.”

“Hopefully tomorrow will be closer – we’re looking forward to going racing – it’s not far to turn one. And it’s a track where tyres are important.”

Brazilian Felipe Massa and Finland’s Valtteri Bottas, seeking to re-establish their Williams team as Mercedes’ closest challengers, were fourth and fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari in sixth.

Former champions Red Bull, who had looked the third-best team after final practice, dropped back with Australian Daniel Ricciardo only seventh.

His Russian team-mate Daniil Kvyat, meanwhile, failed to even make it through to the top 10.

McLaren had another bleak afternoon and failed to make it past the first session of qualifying for the third successive weekend, once again qualifying ahead of only the backmarking Manor Marussias.

Both Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso had hoped to make it into the second phase after an encouraging Friday but in the end missed the cut by just over two tenths of a second and will start 17th and 18th, respectively.

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LAUDA: IF RENAULT AND HONDA GO MERCEDES WILL SUPPLY 20 ENGINES

Niki Lauda has lashed out at Mercedes’ struggling engine rivals, daring them to quit Formula 1, and insists that should engine manufacturers pull out Mercedes would gladly supply the entire grid.

Although Ferrari has closed the gap in 2015, rival manufacturers Renault and Honda are still struggling to match Mercedes under the new turbo V6 rules.

It has led to calls to scrap the hybrid engine formula altogether, or at least open the door for ‘equalisation’ measures in order to spice up the competition.

But Lauda, the F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman, has reacted furiously to that sort of talk, insisting the sport should not even fear the withdrawal of the struggling carmakers.

“If Honda and Renault decide to leave Formula 1, I couldn’t care less,” he is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport. “If despite their spending they are not able to fight for the win, that should not be a problem of Mercedes.”

“When I won the championship there were two Ferrari engines and 20 Cosworth engines,” he said, “and no one complained. If Renault and Honda go, we will give 20 Mercedes engines to everyone and what is the problem?”

Until now, Renault has resisted joining those arguing publicly for a rule change. But the French carmaker’s chief competitive officer Thierry Bollore now says: “It is true that these are regulations that were approved by everyone.

“But it is nonsense to think that those who have made a mistake cannot fix it during the season because everything is frozen,” he added.

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SYMONDS AND ALLISON REJECT PROSPECT OF WINDTUNNEL BAN

Formula 1 technical gurus have defended the use of expensive wind-tunnels after Force India deputy principal Bob Fernley suggested they were old-fashioned technology that should be banned to save money.

“I think it’s a clearly ridiculous provocative statement,” Williams engineering head Pat Symonds told reporters at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday.

“Our windtunnels are anything but dinosaurs. Just because a technology has been around for a while doesn’t mean that it joins those reptiles of old. Cars have been around for a long while. Are cars dinosaur technology?

“Maybe Bob ought to come and have a look at a decent windtunnel and just see how technically advanced they are,” added the Briton.

Fernley, who has called for cost-cutting measures and a greater share of the revenues for teams struggling to survive, said last month that big savings could be made by replacing the tunnels with computer technology.

“Formula One is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport, we’re supposed to be pushing the limits of technology,” he told autosport.com. “But we’re using a device in our aero departments which is archaic and is incredibly expensive to operate and to purchase.

“So why aren’t we pushing the limits of CFD (computational fluid dynamics)? It does two things; it will make F1 more sustainable for all teams, particularly the independent teams, and it lowers the entry barrier for new teams coming in.”

Force India, who struggled to get their 2015 car ready for the season due to cash flow problems, are using the Toyota windtunnel in Cologne, Germany.

Fernley estimated the annual cost of operating a windtunnel at $15-20 million compared to an investment of around $1 million on CFD with minimal running expenses.

Red Bull principal Christian Horner, whose team have been struggling on the track this season, has suggested a ban should be considered as a radical step but Ferrari technical head James Allison agreed with Symonds.

“The techniques we develop in both those spheres, in both windtunnel and CFD, are impressive by any measure,” he said.

“We, as an industry, have caused the CFD tools for low speed aerodynamics to be pushed forward very nicely to the benefit of more than just Formula One so I don’t think there’s any need to worry about us using dinosaur technology.”

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MCLAREN: WE’D ALL HOPED FOR A LITTLE MORE

McLaren-Honda will start 17th (Jenson Button) and 18th (Fernando Alonso) in tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Jenson’s first Q1 run saw him set a 1m39.936s lap-time. After boxing for fresh rubber, he improved to a 1m39.276s, set using the Option tyre. His time was just 0.060s behind 16th position, and two tenths short of making it into Q2.

Fernando completed a quick installation lap at the start of Q1 to ensure that his car was working following his early departure from FP3 with an engine ignition problem this morning. He then followed up with two runs, both on Option tyres, initially setting a 1m40.327s, then bettering it with a 1m39.280s. He will start 18th.

Jenson Button: “I guess we hoped we might be just a bit closer than we were today; in practice, we’d looked a bit more competitive, certainly. We’d found a reasonably good balance with the car, in fact, but the lap-time isn’t quite there yet. In addition, the cars in front of us seemed to make a big leap forward this afternoon – whereas we didn’t – so we’ll need to find out why that was. So, overall, we’ve made some improvements this weekend, but qualifying just didn’t go our way. Hopefully, things will be better tomorrow, and we’ll be able to race some of the cars that will start in front of us on the grid.”

Fernando Alonso: “We were two tenths away from the mid-pack – and close to getting into Q2 – today. We’re getting there, and this is another step forward, but we’re still under-performing, so we need to keep improving. Our main priority now is to finish tomorrow’s race; that’ll allow us to learn more about the car and uncover any possible problems. Obviously, two DNFs in Malaysia wasn’t an ideal situation for us, so, regardless of the result, we need to make the finish here in China. This has been another positive weekend – everyone in the team is excited about the progress we’re making.”

Eric Boullier, racing director, McLaren-Honda: “I’d hesitate to use the word ‘disappointing’ to describe this afternoon’s qualifying performance, but I think we’d all hoped for a little more, particularly after looking like we’d made a respectable improvement in all three of this weekend’s practice sessions. Fernando’s afternoon was obviously affected by the car failure on his out-lap in FP3 this morning, but he responded magnificently, and the parity between our drivers today demonstrated exactly why we hired them: because they can get absolutely everything from the car, and leave nothing out on track. Superbe! Additionally, both Fernando and Jenson know how important it will be to finish tomorrow’s race. Hopefully, it will give us another opportunity to narrow the gap to the cars in front. In fact, while today’s grid positions of 17th and 18th don’t necessarily reflect it, this weekend does indeed mark another step forward: in Australia we were 2.836s off the best Q1 time; in Malaysia the gap was 2.367s, and here it was 1.774s. That gives everyone in the team reason to feel encouraged.”

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “In FP3 we had a small ignition system issue on Fernando’s car, so we couldn’t ride the momentum that we’d gathered during yesterday’s positive FP1 and FP2 sessions. It’s an unfortunate result, especially since we’d been closing the gap. I want to say a big thank-you to all the mechanics for their hard work to get Fernando’s car ready for qualifying. And we hope that the race tomorrow will bring us some positive results.”

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SAUBER: RESULT CAME AS A LITTLE BIT OF A SURPRISE

Strong performance by the Sauber F1 Team in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix on the Shanghai International Circuit. Both Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson put in strong drives in the Sauber C34-Ferrari and managed to make it into Q3. Felipe Nasr came ninth, and Marcus Ericsson tenth. They now have a promising platform from which to fight for points in the race.

Marcus Ericsson: “It is a great achievement for the whole team to get both cars into Q3 – for the race team as well as everyone back at the factory in Hinwil. This weekend has been extremely tight as the lap times are quite close. Felipe and I put in good performances today and placed the cars in a promising position for tomorrow. It will be an exciting race, and I think, we have good chances for another positive day.”

Felipe Nasr: “It is a great day for the team being able to have both cars in Q3. We seem to have the cars back on the pace we expected to have here. Therefore, I am confident for the race tomorrow. Hopefully we can get back into the points, and I will do my best to finish the race in the top ten.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “This is a strong qualifying result, which came as a little bit of a surprise considering the lap times in FP3. Looking at our strong long-runs yesterday, it was important to also be fast in qualifying on a sinlge lap, in order to have good grid positions. We managed to achieve this, which is great. Both drivers used the full potential of the car and were rewarded by making it into Q3. Now we will concentrate fully on the race.“

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “In the morning we concentrated on refining the set-up of our cars, and building on what we learned yesterday. It was particularly about maximising the peak performance of the tyres, which yesterday was a bit of a problem for one of the cars. By qualifying we had managed to put everything together, so everybody did a good job with the two drivers extracting the full performance from the cars. We can build on a strong qualifying position with both cars in the top ten. Now we will work hard in order to convert that into a positive result in the race.“

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LOTUS: WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO A STRONG RACE

Romain Grosjean placed eighth and Pastor Maldonado eleventh in mild and pleasant conditions during qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Pastor suffered from unwanted oversteer on his final qualifying lap and was just shy of breaking into the top ten. Romain made it into the final top ten and dug deep for his P8 lap, a 1min 37.905secs.

Romain Grosjean: “It was a very tight qualifying session which made it very exciting in the car and I’m sure exciting to watch too. We made some good changes from yesterday which gave me a nice balance and I think that was about the best possible from the car at the moment. It’s going to be a long race and I think the key will be to take care of your front left tyres. I’m enjoying driving the E23 and I think we’ve found a strong baseline set-up which is important for me.”

Pastor Maldonado: “I expect to fight in Q3 but it’s been harder for me so far this weekend than it has in the previous two races. For whatever reason we’ve struggled through the weekend to find the right balance from the car which means I can’t be fully confident to push on this type of track. That said, I’m looking forward to tomorrow as we’re stronger on race pace so will be much more competitive hunting down those points we want.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “We qualified where we should have done with the current pace of the E23, meaning both drivers did good jobs. Romain made cleaner progress through the sessions and was able to get a strong final lap for his P8 position. Pastor didn’t have the cleanest of laps at the end of Q2 so was unlucky to just miss out on being in the top ten. We have good tyre management and the weather prediction is for dry and mild conditions so it’s a case of deducing where the best opportunities lie. We’ve seen a mix of two and three stops here before and I’m sure we’ll be in that range tomorrow. Both tyre compounds are behaving well with a reasonable lap time difference between them so there shouldn’t be too much to catch us out. We’re looking forward to a strong race.”

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FORCE INDIA: THERE WERE NO MAJOR SURPRISES

Today’s qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix saw Sergio Perez qualify in P15 just ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg in P16.

Nico Hulkenberg: “It was disappointing to go out in Q1 but unfortunately the final lap just was not quick enough. I lost a bit of lap time with a small mistake as I was pushing hard, trying to get everything out of the car and that caused us to miss out. We know there is a lot of work ahead of us to develop this car and get its performance to the level we expect from it, but we know this is a process that takes time: it is just a matter of pushing hard to get better week after week. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we are aiming to be fighting for some points. It is not going to be an easy task but we will give it our best shot.”

Sergio Perez:“I had a couple of pretty good, clean laps in Q1 and that was enough to take me through to Q2. I think we got the maximum from the first session and that’s why we approached Q2 with the race in mind because having enough sets of new tyres will make an important difference on Sunday. I’m looking forward to the race and seeing what we can do. We need to look at the strategy options tonight to make sure we pick the right one. If we can make a good start and find a nice rhythm tomorrow, we can certainly look at challenging for points.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “There were no major surprises in today’s qualifying session. Sergio did a great job in Q1 and was able to deliver a good lap when he was called to do it. He didn’t have much of a chance to improve his position in Q2 as we opted to shift our focus to the strategy for tomorrow’s race. Nico was unlucky to get knocked out in Q1: he was improving his final lap but unfortunately all the sectors didn’t come together. We still line up in P15 and P16 and this should give us a chance to be in the fight for points, which was our objective coming into this weekend.”