FORMULA 1 - 2015

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McLaren duo believe Monaco could be team's best chance

Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso agree that the Monaco Grand Prix could give McLaren-Honda its best opportunity for a good result in the near future.

Outright power is less critical in the principality than elsewhere on the F1 calendar, but the fact that the MP4-30 chassis is consistent, and inspires confidence, is also important.

"I think already in Barcelona you will see a good step," said Button when asked by Motorsport.com.

"But we've got a lot happening before Monaco with the car, so hopefully there will be a good step, not just with the power, but also with the aerodynamic grip. I've got a good feeling about it.

"There are a few areas where the car needs to be stronger right now for Monaco, if we're going to go there tomorrow, but it will be an interesting place to drive this car, definitely.

"It's such a tricky circuit to find the limit, and if you have a car that you are confident in, it makes a massive difference.

"I remember Jean Alesi in a Prost doing a really good job round there because he had confidence in the car and the balance was there. It worked for him and it gave him confidence, and that's a thing that you need around there.

"You need it anywhere, really. Most drivers are talented, but it's a real mental game, especially at Monaco, because it's so unforgiving."

Alonso agrees the Monte Carlo race may be the best chance for his team given Honda's lack of power.

"Lower power effect circuits will help us at the moment," said Alonso. "So Monaco is the first circuit that we may enjoy a little bit of a better result.

"We'll see. I think we need to think race-by-race, and Barcelona at the moment is the first step."

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Hulkenberg says his future may lie in the WEC with Porsche

Nico Hulkenberg says his career's future may lie in the World Endurance Championship with Porsche if he fails to find a competitive Formula 1 drive.

The German, considered as one of the star drivers in grand prix racing in recent years, will race with Porsche in the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the WEC round at Spa this year.

Hulkenberg currently races in Formula 1 with Force India, but he has endured a difficult start to the 2015 season as the Silverstone-based squad was the last of the F1 teams to run its 2015 car during pre-season testing.

Force India has also delayed the introduction of a B-spec car, and both Hulkenberg and teammate Sergio Perez are expecting difficult times until then.

Hulkenberg, who says he has not been in contact with any other teams, suggested Porsche may be where his future lies.

"Maybe this [Porsche] is a new home for the future," the 27-year-old told Germany's Sky.

"I'm still working on it to try to bring my career forwards. My goal to win races and become world champion remains."

He added: "At the moment everything is quiet. It's only April."

The German driver insisted Force India could struggle until it introduces the heavily-updated B-spec car in the Austrian Grand Prix, the eighth round of the championship.

"It is not an easy situation at the moment," Hulkenberg admitted.

"I think in the next two months - until Austria - not too much should be expected from us.

"At least we have something to work towards, but the reality is that right now we are simply too slow and can't do very much."

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Teams agree to fifth engine for 2015

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the introduction of a fifth penalty-free engine for the 2015 F1 season is now just a formality.

Drivers have had their allocation cut to four per car for this season, but with unreliability proving an issue for a number of teams, and others already limiting their running in practice sessions to preserve mileage, moves have been afoot to allow an extra power unit to be used.

"We unanimously agreed on it [the fifth engine] in Malaysia," Horner said. "That was all the teams, including Bernie Ecclestone, so it only has to formally go through the strategy group and permission to be signed, and that can be done by fax vote."

An electronic vote would negate waiting for the next scheduled meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in June and the extra allowance cannot come soon enough for Red Bull after Daniel Ricciardo lost his third engine in four races when his Renault unit blew out at the finish line in Bahrain.

"All the fireworks went off and the engine felt like it needed to join in!" Horner joked. "It was a fairly spectacular finish, failing 200 metres before the line, but he had enough momentum to cross it.

"I think that engine will be a coffee table in the future! But that's three out of four, so he will be on engine four for the next race in Barcelona."

The main reason behind limiting engine usage to four units was cost cutting, but Horner feels the price per powerplant is too high to begin with.

“The biggest thing we are struggling with as a paddock is the cost of the power unit,” he told Sky Sports F1. "From the top teams to the back of the grid we are seeing that some of the teams are on the limit with it. I think we have to get the costs down, we have enormously expensive technology and we need to find a way of controlling that and reducing the costs significantly.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Bernie Ecclestone who is willing to stick with the V6 hybrids, provided they are made affordable for the teams.

“Two things: those who supply the engines have to supply the same engine to the teams – if it’s the current one upgraded to 1,000bhp, then good,” the 84-year-old said.

“But at a price they can afford to pay. Maybe make the cars more difficult to drive.”

Engines have been a limiting factor in Red Bull’s performance this season and led to a public row between themselves and supplier Renault. However, it appears both sides are now working together.

“It is a long season and we have a long way to go,” Horner said.

“We are not where we want to be at the moment and we have to engineer our way out of it. Renault know that and there have been some constructive discussions with the senior board members there and they are getting behind it and putting the necessary resources into Viry-Chatillon where the engines are made to turn things around.”

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New images reveal how 2015 Mexican GP will look

New images from circuit designer Hermann Tilke have revealed more details of how the revised Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will look for this year’s Mexican Grand Prix.

The circuit was last used for Formula One racing in 1992. Tilke, who has designed all or part of almost every venue on the current F1 calendar, has altered almost every corner on the old circuit to bring it in line with current F1 safety standards.

The most significant change has taken place at the final corner, Peraltada, where cars are diverted away from the old, high-speed 180-degree corner and into a new, slower section which passed through a grandstand.

This configuration was first used by Champ Car racing in the early 2000s, but the latest revisions to it should reduce corner speeds further before the cars arrive at the start/finish line and pit entrance.

From the starting grid drivers should have one of the longest runs to turn one of the season, after which they enter a tightened opening sequence of corners. The clockwise layout measures 4.438 kilometres, putting it among the shortest on the calendar, with a projected race distance of 69 laps.

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MONTEZEMOLO: FORMULA 1 IN DANGER IF CVC DO NOT INVEST NOW

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo warns that Formula 1 needs to urgently reform, indicating that the onus is on the sport’s owners – headed by major shareholder CVC – to pull F1 from the brink of a lull that is risking its long-term future.

“The owners have to invest, they must set clear priorities, and they need to engage a management team that is fully focused on those new objectives,” he said in an interview that will appear in the German monthly Manager Magazin on Friday.

Italian Montezemolo, involved in Formula 1 for decades until he was ousted by Ferrari’s new president Sergio Marchionne, said F1 needs a clear plan for 2020.

Montezemolo suggested CVC needs to either commit fully to formula one, or leave, “They must decide now: do we want to sell or not?:

If they do not, “they must change their business philosophy” and finally invest in the sport. “Otherwise it could be really dangerous for Formula 1.”

He said the priority should be to massively reduce costs for struggling teams, but another problem is dwindling television and trackside audiences.

Montezemolo, today the chairman of the Italian airline Alitalia, said F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone should remain in charge, “But he needs top people and experts for finance, marketing and the digital world.”

With the country’s grand prix already now gone, Montezemolo said Ecclestone should also “be careful that Germany is not lost as one of the core markets”.

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HORNER: THERE WILL WILL BE NO SHORT-TERM FIXES

Staying with Renault represents Red Bull’s best hope of Formula 1 success but there will be no short-term fixes for the team’s current woes, according to principal Christian Horner.

The former world champions have been plagued with reliability problems this season and are 136 points adrift of leaders Mercedes after just four of 19 races.

“We are not remotely in the position that we expected to be – or wanted to be. Some of our problems are beyond our control and all we can do is offer our support where possible,” Horner told the official formula1.com website.

“For sure we need to improve the car. But we have compromised the set-up a lot to address other issues that we have. So you end up in a vicious circle.”

Red Bull won four successive drivers’ and constructors’ titles with Renault engines from 2010 to 2013 but have been off the pace since the introduction last year of a new V6 turbo hybrid power unit.

The two partners have expressed their frustration increasingly, with both raising the possibility of walking away from the sport.

“We have a contract with Renault for 2015 and 2016 and it is in Renault’s interest as much as in ours to sort the current issues out as quickly as possible,” said Horner in the interview.

“In reality our best chance is with Renault – and vice versa. We have won 50 Grands Prix and eight world championships together so sometimes frustration boils over.”

Australian Daniel Ricciardo is already on his fourth engine for the season out of an allocation of four, although teams are set to agree an increase to five, making grid penalties inevitable.

Horner said the allowance would need to extend to seven, eight or nine engines for Red Bull to avoid a penalty and again called for engine development to be opened up even if that proved more expensive.

He defended both Ricciardo and Russian newcomer Daniil Kvyat, whom he said had yet to have a fair run for the team, but painted a gloomy picture for the rest of the year.

“To be realistic: our problems are not short term so there will not be any short-term fixes. We have to take a bit of a pain at the moment,” he said. “And if that is the foundation for a better future then you’ve got to take the pain.”

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MARKO: WE MAY MATCH MERCEDES AND FERRARI BY END OF SEASON

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko has admitted the Austrian Grand Prix trophy will probably be passed into Mercedes’ hands, and he does not expect a revival by the energy drinks season until the latter part of the season.

The June race at the former A1-Ring, now known as the Red Bull Ring, is promoted by the energy drink company.

This week, Red Bull’s Marko and Daniel Ricciardo unveiled the carved wood and iron trophy that will be presented to the winner of the Austrian grand prix.

Referring to fellow Austrian and Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, Marko smiled: “It probably will not be us but Niki (Lauda) who takes it home.

“What could save us is rain in Q3 and then (more rain) ten minutes after the start of the race. Then we could get involved.”

Marko told Wirtschaftsblatt newspaper that Red Bull’s engine partner Renault is some way from ending its 2015 crisis.

“Realistically, it will be only at the end of the season that we will have the power numbers of Mercedes and Ferrari,” he said.

“We have made every effort to put together the best chassis. But motor sport without an engine is difficult.”

Marko explained that before Renault can put down the throttle in terms of performance, it needs to get to the bottom of its constant reliability troubles.

“It is important for the next race to at least achieve a certain amount of reliability,” he said. “Only then do you work on driveability, and finally the power.”

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MCLAREN DENIES BUTTON LOST HIS COOL WITH THE TEAM IN BAHRAIN

McLaren has denied reports that their driver Jenson Button lost his temper with the team’s situation after a woeful Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 2009 world champion had a horror weekend of unreliability in the island Kingdom, and then could not even take his Honda-powered car to the grid on Sunday.

“The chances of it (the energy recovery system) failing were quite high so we decided it was better not to run it,” McLaren supremo Ron Dennis said.

Britain’s Mirror newspaper claims Button, 35, then “failed to fulfil his media obligations” as he stormed out of the circuit.

McLaren on Thursday said those claims are “complete and utter nonsense”, penned by “desperate headline writers”.

“Jenson watched the Bahrain grand prix on the TV screens in our paddock hospitality area, writing a series of insightful and entertaining tweets as he did so,” director of communications Matt Bishop told us.

“At the end of the race, he and his wife Jessica left the circuit. They did so with the full knowledge and consent of the team, saying polite goodbyes as they did so.

“To say that Jenson ‘stormed out’, as a few desperate headline writers have misreported, is complete and utter nonsense,” Bishop added.

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SAUBER AND INTER CONTINUE PARTNERSHIP

Press Release: The Sauber F1 Team is pleased to announce the extension of the partnership with Inter, the market leader in insurance brokerage in Latin America. The collaboration goes into its fourth consecutive year. The company’s logos are displayed on the seat belts of the Sauber C34-Ferrari.

Inter is a Mexican firm with over 35 years of experience delivering bespoke products to its clients. The company has more than 4,000 corporate customers in over 150 countries. Its business goal is to generate increasing profitability and provide the best brokerage services, being an expert in integrated risk consulting.

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “We are delighted to be able to continue our successful partnership with Inter. In 2015 we go into the fourth year of our cooperation. It is exciting to see the Mexican Grand Prix returning to the Formula One calendar this year. We will do the utmost to present Inter with a platform that provides it with a high visibility, not only in Mexico, but also worldwide.“

Juan Ignacio Casanueva, CEO Inter: “Inter is committed to the highest standards with both our clients and our partners – a philosophy that is reflected by the approach of the Sauber F1 Team. It’s exciting to continue our partnership with this great team in the year that Formula One returns to Mexico City after a 23-year absence. The association with the Sauber F1 Team demonstrates Inter’s desire to continue building its international business base by capitalising on the unique global reach of Formula One. We are excited to be part of the Sauber F1 Team’s journey and we are looking forward to sharing in the team’s success in the coming seasons.”

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VETTEL BECOMES FORMULA 4 PATRON TO KEEP EYE ON YOUNG SCHUMI

Sebastian Vettel has become a patron of this year’s Formula 4 series, Bild reports, whose German junior single-seater category kicks off at Oschersleben this weekend.

“I know some of the young drivers on the start list,” Ferrari driver Vettel said.

All of Vettel’s four titles at Red Bull were won at the wheel of an Adrian Newey-penned car. The Briton’s teenage son Harrison will star in Formula 4 this year.

But Vettel is also referring to Mick Schumacher, the 16-year-old son of his friend, mentor and F1 legend Michael.

The 27-year-old admitted recently he regrets not being able to turn to Schumacher, 46, for forthright advice as he weighed up joining Ferrari in 2015.

“I think I missed that part a lot,” said Vettel, “simply because I knew he would tell me the truth of what he thinks.

“The honesty he had in giving me advice over the years is probably the most special thing about it.”

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MERHI LOOKS SET TO KEEP MANOR SEAT FOR NOW

Spanish rookie Roberto Merhi looks set to hang onto his Manor seat at least for another race.

While his F1 rivals take the weekend off, 24-year-old Merhi is currently in his native Spain, preparing for the opening race of the Formula Renault 3.5 series.

But EFE news agency quoted Merhi as indicating he is also expecting to return to the wheel of his Manor car and keep “improving gradually”.

Merhi also said he hopes Manor “gives me a good car as soon as possible”.

He has struggled against his full-time Manor teammate Will Stevens so far in 2015, admitting that it has been difficult to cope with the “huge” differences between his car and those he is competing against.

“It almost seems a little unfair that all the different cars compete together,” he added, explaining that Formula Renault races are “more of a sprint” compared to F1, and that much of the racing at the pinnacle of motor sport is about “saving the tyres”.

And Formula Renault 3.5, Merhi continued, can also be more fun, “because with my formula one car I am always observing the blue flags”.

After Formula Renault’s opening Spanish round, the next race falls on the same weekend as the Monaco grand prix.

Both take place on the streets of the Principality.

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ALEX WURZ BACKS SAUBER OVER ENGINE COST LIMITS

GPDA chief Alex Wurz has backed Sauber over the future direction of Formula 1’s engine rules.

Former Williams driver Wurz, now chairman of the F1 drivers’ union, linked on Twitter to a story promoted by a news agency headed by his wife Julia.

The story said that amid talks for louder and more powerful engines for 2017, Sauber chief Monisha Kaltenborn was calling for a reduction in cost.

“Very much agree with Sauber,” Austrian Wurz said. “First engine rule must be ‘customer cost limitation’ to ensure sustainability.”

“Annual cost of F1 power unit shall have upper cost cap rule,” Wurz added. “Otherwise F1 customer teams fund engine manufacturers F1 activity.”

Cosworth’s former F1 chief Mark Gallagher agreed: “This is what Cosworth proposed in 2010-11 when new rules were under development. None of the OEMs (manufacturers) was interested. The regs, costs, engine sound etc were set in early 2011. Teams? Not involved in the detail.

“Bernie (Ecclestone) was not consulted on the regs or prices of the new power units. Nothing to do with him,” Gallagher concluded.

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'Merc need two number one drivers'

Toto Wolff has firmly stated that Mercedes will not hand number one status to either driver as the team needs both to "push the team".

In recent weeks, as his contract negotiations rumble on without a signature in sight, rumours have emerged suggesting that Lewis Hamilton is holding out for the number one berth at Mercedes.

The Brit, who won last year's World title with the Brackley outfit, has had the upper hand over Nico Rosberg throughout the opening races in 2015 and, allegedly, wants that to be cemented in a contract.

And while Wolff has already denied that Hamilton has made such demands, he has now made it clear that there will never be a number one and number two at Mercedes.

"We need two number one drivers to push the team and the performance of the car," the Mercedes motorsport boss told Formula1.com.

"I have no doubt that [a number one and number two] is not a situation we will end up in with Nico and Lewis."

As for the hold-up in Hamilton's new contract, Wolff has put that down to the finer details, saying the "critical" points had already been agreed.

The Austrian revealed: ""It is down to the details - I would say that we are beyond the point of the critical topics.

"And believe me, [Lewis] is [negotiating] very well.

"The level that he does it is quite surprising considering the fact that he has not done it in the past.”

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Mika Hakkinen 'surprised' by Alonso talk

Mika Hakkinen says he is "quite surprised" that Fernando Alonso is already talking about retirement while facing a "massive task" with McLaren.

Joining McLaren at the start of this season, Alonso has made it clear that the Woking team will be his last in Formula 1.

Earlier this month the Spaniard, who is now in his 15th season as a F1 driver, stated: "After 15 or 16 or 17 years of Formula 1 - whatever it will be - it's enough.

"I started with McLaren-Honda when I was three years old - a replica of my father; I will finish with McLaren-Honda, but the real one in Formula 1, and that will be one third of my life."

His comments have worried former McLaren World champion Hakkinen.

The Finn, winner of the 1998 and 1999 Drivers' Championship, revealed he's concerned that Alonso may lose the motivation to improve McLaren if he's already talking about retirement.

Asked if winning should be the only thing on a drivers' mind, Hakkinen told the Daily Express: "You are right, if you start talking about things more important than winning or this is more important than racing, then something is not matching.

"I have not spoken to Fernando Alonso personally about that kind of subject but I was quite surprised how it was written that he was already planning retirement.

"He has taken a massive task to go with the brand new engine manufacturer and go to this development problem which is going to take a long time to get back to the top.

"McLaren has definitely great resources and a great team generally and great finances and I am very confident they can reach great results in the future – but it can take a long time.

"So you are right, is Fernando ready to work next two, three, maybe four years in a situation when you are not close to winning?

"It can be a really boring process because it's not only 15, 16 races in the season, it's a long year, travelling around the world, it's really, really tough, so can he motivate himself all the time?"

Added to that, Alonso also has to deal with the pressure of the world always watching over his shoulder.

Hakkinen added: "The world does not let him work in peace. Everybody is going to pressurise him to the maximum, saying, 'What's going on here? Come on!'.

"Because that's where the line is, all the time we keep pushing people to win and it will take a lot of patience and a lot of nerves from him to achieve being able to return to winning ways one day."

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No human rights concerns as Azerbaijan gets green light

Bernie Ecclestone says the proposed F1 race in Azerbaijan is ready to go ahead in 2016, insisting he is satisfied that there are no concerns of human rights violations taking place in the country.

The nation, located in the Caucasus region, will host a street event around its capital city of Baku under the 'Baku European Grand Prix' title in 2016.

Azerbaijan's addition to the calendar, however, has drawn criticism from human rights groups, which have condemned it for the imprisonment of journalists, activists and opposition politicians in recent years.

However, Ecclestone insists F1 has undertaken its due diligence and checked Baku's human rights record before confirming its race there, saying 'everybody seems to be happy'.

“Yes [it will go ahead], no problem. That is going to be another good race. I think everybody seems to be happy, there doesn't seem to be big problems.”

Designed by Hermann Tilke, the proposed 6km layout is set to wend between some of Baku's historic monuments and trace the Baku Boulevard overlooking the Caspian Sea.

Azerbaijan, which has hosted rounds of the FIA GT/Blancpain series in the last two seasons on a different Baku street circuit, has rapidly developed in recent years on the back of a boom in oil and natural gas extraction. The nation has applied (unsuccessfully) to host the Olympic Games on two occasions, but will this year host the inaugural European Games.

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Ecclestone believes two-engine types Formula 1 is viable

Bernie Ecclestone says that Formula 1's engine options for 2017 remain open, insisting the sport could cope with two engine types.

Ecclestone has led calls for a return to a V8/KERS package, and that remains on the table as a cheaper option for struggling teams.

There have also been suggestions that a 'budget' twin-turbo V6 with KERS could be made available to teams as a possible alternative.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, however, stated last weekend that all four current manufacturers want to keep a version of the current V6 for any new 1000bhp rules.

In either case the idea is that low-cost customer engines would run alongside their works counterparts, which brings up the difficult question of how the FIA would ensure some form of parity.

"It depends what we're going to do," Ecclestone told Motorsport.com. "Toto does a lot of talking, but no action, if you know what I mean.

"It's not good talking about, 'This is what I'd like.' They are one team.

"I never wanted to go back to V8s, I wanted to set up a single engine to be in F1, which they could run for let's say 10 per cent of what these manufacturers spend. It would be a different regulation, which would be cheaper.

"If the manufacturers then decide this would be a good thing, then that's OK. Or if they want to supply [current] engines at a realistic price to the teams, then good."

Asked about how two types of engine could compete in parallel, he said: "We used to run turbos with normally aspirated engines before. You can do either."

Pressure to lower engine prices

How the likes of Mercedes or Ferrari would react if they face stiff competition from a good team equipped with a 'budget' engine remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the discussions could also be seen as a way of putting pressure on the manufacturers to lower the prices for the current engines.

Costs went up considerably in the move from V8s to the hybrid last year, and midfield teams feel that they are funding the R&D of the works operations.

"You never have everybody happy," Ecclestone added. "At the moment they are doing a very good R&D project supporting by the teams that are paying. That engine will never be used in any car or a boat or anything. It was never designed to do that.

"Just the regulations were put out, the engineers got hold of it, and said this is what they can do. They've done a super job, but it has to be cheaper."

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Senna's Toleman up for sale for £1 million

The Toleman-Hart car with which Ayrton Senna made his Formula 1 debut has been put up for sale, for £1 million.

The TG184-2, the car which Senna used during his rookie season in 1984, can be viewed by appointment at Prindiville's London showroom.

Previous owners of the car include former F1 driver Stefan Johansson.

The Toleman is in "exceptional condition" and retains the livery used by Senna during the spectacular 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, where the Brazilian drove to second place behind Alain Prost.

"I don't believe in the paranormal," said Prindiville's founder Alex Prindiville, "but sometimes when I'm working in our London showroom late at night I feel a presence, a change in the atmospherics of the room.

"This only started happening after we took delivery of the ex-Ayrton Senna Toleman-Hart F1 car that we're selling on behalf of its owners. It's not a spooky feeling, but I definitely get the sensation that I'm not alone.

"Then again, perhaps the goosebumps are simply because I know what a fantastic history this car has, and its ultimate association with one of motorsport's great heroes and great tragedies."

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HAMILTON: ALONSO IS ONE OF THE BEST DRIVERS F1 HAS EVER SEEN

Lewis Hamilton has for some time made no secret of the fact that he regards Fernando Alonso as his biggest rival in Formula 1 and the one he respects the most, thus the Briton laments the fact that the Spaniard is currently enduring such a tough time in his career.

Writing in his column for the BBC, Hamilton said, “For Fernando’s sake, I hope he is back battling at the front where he belongs as soon as possible. I’ve said many times that I regard him as my fastest and most talented rival – I think he is one of the best drivers F1 has ever seen.”

Ironically Alonso is back at McLaren, the team which groomed Hamilton from karting to Formula 1. Also the team where Hamilton and Alonso went toe-to-toe for the title in 2007 – they both lost out and the split was acrimonious as Alonso departed, while Hamilton stayed on and in 2008 claimed his first F1 world title.

But that now is water under the bridge and Hamilton right now feels Alonso’s pain of toiling hard at the back of the field as the new McLaren Honda era gets off to a tedious and problem packed start.

Hamilton explained, “Fernando chose to leave Ferrari at the end of last season to go to McLaren, who are now at the back after a difficult start to their new engine partnership with Honda.”

“As an F1 driver, these choices are very tough. When you decide where to drive, you never really know how it is going to work out. I was relating Fernando’s situation to mine, when I decided to leave McLaren at the end of 2012 and come to Mercedes,” reflected Hamilton.

But pointed out, “That worked out well for me. Had I not done that, I would have had a terrible 2013 and I would not have won the title last year.”

“Fernando stuck with Ferrari for five years without getting a car in which he could win the title,” mused Hamilton. “I don’t know what happened between them, but he had obviously had enough and decided to go somewhere else. It’s unfortunate for him that the following year the Ferrari car is amazing.”

“If he was to finish his career without adding to his two world championships, it would be a tragedy, because it would certainly not be due to his driving,” declared Hamilton who leads the 2015 F1 drivers’ championship and is now firm favourite to win his third title at the pinnacle of the sport.

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MARKO: I AM SURE THAT MERCEDES HELPED FERRARI

Outspoken and often controversial Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko has accused Mercedes of actively helping Ferrari to catch the reigning Formula 1 world champions in 2015 so as to help prop-up the credibility of the sport at the highest level.

According to Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, it is no surprise that Ferrari is much more competitive this year.

“If you look at how much we won last year,” said the F1 legend, “it was clear that it would not always be like that.”

Red Bull official Marko, however, smells a rat and told Sport Bild, “It is difficult to prove, but I am sure that Mercedes helped Ferrari. And we all know why.”

Austrian Marko reportedly senses a political motive, and not just Mercedes’ desire to halt suggestions it is damaging F1 by dominating so easily.

He might also be referring to the engine rules, with Ferrari having now joined Mercedes in backing the current turbo V6 era, even beyond 2017.

Sport Bild suggests Mercedes may even have slowed its own development programme over the winter, and recommended that Ferrari sign up its hybrid specialist Wolf Zimmermann.

“We expected an improvement,” said Sauber engineer Giampaolo Dall’Ara, referring to Ferrari’s 2015 engine, “but such great progress in such a short space of time is difficult to explain.”

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MARKO: RICCIARDO IS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS VETTEL

Red Bull is happy with its current driver lineup, Helmut Marko insists, while claiming that Daniel Ricciardo is on the same level as four times Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel .

The former world champions lost quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari over the winter,and have struggled so far in 2015.

“It was a relationship that was built up over years but that does not mean we are left with nothing,” team consultant Helmut Marko said in Vienna this week. “Daniel [Ricciardo] has proved that he is on the same level.”

Indeed, Red Bull won three races last year, with Australian Ricciardo standing on the top step of the podium on every occasion. Marko, however, said that does not mean Red Bull is happier without Vettel.

“Of course, Sebastian was strong but Daniel showed last year that he is not inferior in terms of speed,” the Austrian is quoted by Auto Bild.

Red Bull replaced Vettel with the Russian youngster Daniil Kvyat, but the 20-year-old has failed to shine so far amid the team’s troubled start to 2015.

“Sebastian had a lot more experience,” Ricciardo said this week, “but Daniil has learned quickly to understand the technical aspects.

“I think he just needs a decent weekend to begin to show his full potential,” he added, “but we are working well together to help the team.”

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MALDONADO REFUSES TO SIT OUT FP1 FOR PALMER

Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado is refusing to budge as his team attempts to accommodate Friday driver Jolyon Palmer.

In China and Bahrain, Maldonado’s race teammate Romain Grosjean sat out Friday practice sessions so that Briton Palmer could drive his black and gold car.

“This is not ideal for the racing drivers as we lose an hour and a half of practice and we are not delighted to be giving up our ‘baby’,” said the Frenchman.

“But we have an economic reality today that means F1 is not easy. And the teams need to look at every possible solution to finance the budgets,” Grosjean added.

Turun Sanomat reports that the Enstone team’s deputy Federico Gastaldi has now asked Maldonado to take his turn on the Friday bench, but the driver and his entourage refused.

Maldonado, who is strongly backed by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, “made it clear to the team that his agreement gives him the right to drive in each session at every grand prix,” correspondent Luis Vasconcelos reported.

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SAINZ WARY OF UNPLEASANT SPARKS HITTING VISOR

Not everyone loves Formula 1’s new sparks, introduced this year to beef up the safety of the cars, the powers that be decided to return to its spark-laden past by adding titanium to the skid blocks in 2015.

So far, the result has been spectacular — particularly under the night skies and floodlights in Bahrain.

“Loving the sparks from the cars,” Jenson Button, who had to simply watch the race from the paddock after his McLaren-Honda was sidelined, ‘tweeted’.

And on its official website, the energy drink company Red Bull published a spectacular montage of ‘spark’-themed photographs from Bahrain, remarking: “Welcome back sparks, welcome back.”

F1 rookie Carlos Sainz, however, said he has mixed feelings at best.

“It looks good on TV,” the Spaniard is quoted by Marca newspaper, “but for us (drivers) it can be unpleasant, dazzling us as the sparks hit the visor.”

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GERMAN GP DEMISE GOOD FOR AUSTRIA BELIEVES LAUDA

Mercedes F1 chief Niki Lauda insists he has no sympathy for organisers of the now-defunct 2015 German grand prix.

After a six-decade run for the key German market on the F1 calendar, neither Hockenheim nor the Nurburgring could agree a deal with Bernie Ecclestone for this year.

“We would have accepted 50 per cent of the price of the contract for one year,” the F1 supremo said in Bahrain. “It still left them in trouble.”

Ecclestone told Speedweek that the same fate could now befall organisers of the fabled Italian grand prix at Monza, as he warned: “Nobody is indispensible. We have other great races that can step in.”

Ecclestone’s argument is that if European hosts like Spa can afford to pay the fee, so too can those in Germany and Italy.

The Austrian grand prix, for instance, is now run by the energy drink company Red Bull at the former A1-Ring circuit.

“When you see how hard Asia and other places have worked to get a race, I would have never believed that we would get it here,” Austrian F1 legend Gerhard Berger said in Vienna this week.

Ecclestone has said repeatedly that although “There are lots of things some people would like, they don’t have them because they can’t afford them”.

Mercedes team chairman Lauda, therefore, insists he has no sympathy for the stricken German race promoters, “They complain about having to pay Bernie Ecclestone but only have themselves to blame.”

He also said the demise of the German grand prix will now help June’s race in Austria, “As there is no race in Germany now, many people will come here instead..”

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FORMULA 1 TECHNOLOGY MOVES THE FREEZER DEPARMENT

Formula 1’s cutting-edge aerodynamic technology is moving into the supermarket chill cabinet.Williams Advanced Engineering announced on Friday they had partnered with start-up Aerofoil Energy to develop a device that will save money and energy by keeping more cold air inside open-fronted refrigerators.

Such multi-deck appliances account for a significant proportion of supermarket operating costs, with cold air spilling out into the aisles.

Williams said their aerofoil system, modelled with computation fluid dynamics and tested at their F1 factory in central England, can be attached onto each shelf to redirect the air flow.

Sainsbury’s, Britain’s second largest supermarket chain with 1 100 stores, is among retailers testing the product.”

Aerofoils help the airflow around Formula One cars and can improve their performance – and that’s exactly how they help the fridges in our stores, by keeping the cold air in,” said Sainsbury’s head of refrigeration John Skelton.

“This Formula One inspired innovation has already shown it can cut carbon produced by major refrigerators.

“Williams Advanced Engineering managing director Craig Wilson said the Formula One derived technology had global potential.

“The savings in operational costs and emissions are extremely promising,” he added.Williams estimated that supermarkets and convenience stores accounted for some five to 10 percent of Britain’s total energy use, with 60-70 percent of that energy consumed by refrigerators.

It said tests of the aerofoils had produced energy savings ranging from 18 to 41.5 percent.

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Di Montezemolo urges 'new' plan

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo believes F1 needs to undergo a major revival in time for 2020 and that it must include "massively" reduced costs.

At present the sport's powers-that-be are looking into upping engine horsepower for 2017 as well as other factors aimed at attracting more fans to the sport.

However, di Montezemolo says even more needs to be done includings CVC and others investing more money in the sport.

"The owners have to invest, they must establish clear priorities and must include a management team that is fully focused on new goals," he said in an interview with Manager magazine.

He added that Formula 1 needs a "clear plan a 2020."

The one aspect the Italian highlighted was a need to "massively reduce" costs, which he says would involve getting the stakeholders, broadcasters and race organisers all on board.

There was some good news for Bernie Ecclestone as di Montezemolo feels the 84-year-old should remain the man in charge.

"But," he added, "he needs top people in addition to experts from finance, marketing and the digital world."

In a separate interview he called on CVC, who own approximately 35 percent of F1, to "decide now: do they want to sell or not."

And if not, he reckons they "must change their business philosophy" and invest in the sport "otherwise it will be really dangerous for Formula 1."