FORMULA 1 - 2015

[MIKA27]

Consortium wants to revive Valencia race

A Singapore development consortium has set its sights on bringing Formula 1 back to Valencia by building "the best urban resort in Europe" in the Spanish port city.

Valencia joined the F1 calendar back in 2008 as host of the European Grand Prix but it was dropped after the 2012 edition due to the financial difficulties with the costs of hosting races too high for organisers.

It was last reported that the street circuit was in a state of disrepair and "a bridge that cost two million [is] now only used by vagrants to spend the night".

However, Singapore firm ARC Resorts is set to pump millions into the region and plans to construct the facility, which will house a six-star hotel and casino among other things, at Juan Carlos I Royal Marina with the aim of making it the "best resort within a city in Europe".

In addition to the casino project, ARC Resorts is willing to invest a further €600m to revive the European Grand Prix.

Motorsport.com reports that "ARC said it has 'very good relations' with the sport's officials, and said revenues earned through the marina project would 'more than justify' hosting Formula 1".

Officials are also eager to use the venue for the Formula E series.

[MIKA27]

Force India make tyre pitch to Pirelli

Force India believe they have come up with an idea to spice Formula 1 up and it involves Pirelli tyre selections.

Under current sporting regulations, Italian manufacturer Pirelli elects which two compounds will be used during a specific grand prix and teams and drivers can then decide their strategies for the race according to those selections.

However, Force India's chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer believes things would be more interesting if teams are actually allowed to decide which two compounds they want for different races.

"Pirelli has four different compounds on offer. Why can't each team select its two options individually?" he told Germany's Auto Motor Und Sport.

"If the team inform Pirelli four weeks in advance about the combinations they want for each grand prix, the tires can be produced in time. It doesn't cost more.

"The choice is then a secret until the Thursday before each race. So then early on Thursday we have a topic that everyone is talking about."

MIKA: NICE!

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How Raikkonen's helmet is made by Bell

We take a look at how Bell's facility in Bahrain manufactures Kimi Raikkonen's Formula 1 helmet, from start to finish.

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VW chairman Piech quits, opening door for F1 entry

Volkswagen Automobile Group (***) chairman Ferdinand Piech has surprised the board of the German car giant by resigning from his role.

An internal power struggle between Piech and chief executive Martin Winterkorn, which saw the former attempt to oust the latter, resulted in the board throwing their support behind Winterkorn who has helped turn the manufacturer into Europe's largest.

78-year-old Piech is known to be against entering Formula 1 with one of the brands controlled by ***, which include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda among others.

He is believed to dislike F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone and sources close to Piech cite that as one of the biggest reasons why VW and its subsidiaries have stayed away from the sport.

Ecclestone recently said he himself would resign if it convinced Piech to field an F1 team, but that is now uneccessary given Saturday's announcement.

The door could now be open to the company - likely through the Audi brand - joining the F1 grid, as Winterkorn is a big motorsport fan and is particularly supportive of Audi's involvement in the DTM racing series.

Audi recently hired three ex-F1 staff members, including former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, former BMW and Williams engineer Jorg Zander and former Ferrari simulator specialist Gabriele Delicolli.

The company is also known to have conducted a feasibility study into F1 and its potential benefits, with a favourable outcome.

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo burns rubber on Vienna's streets

60,000 motorsport fans lined Vienna’s Rathausplatz square to follow the first Formula 1 show run in the Austrian capital up close.

Daniel Ricciardo put the pedal to the metal in the world championship-winning car from 2012, converting the space between the Vienna Burgtheater and the Rathaus into a racing circuit ripe for burning rubber.

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Villeneuve: Alonso "may not win any more races" in F1

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Fernando Alonso might have blown his chance of ever winning a third title by switching to McLaren-Honda this year.

The 1997 world champion said that Alonso's decision to walk away from Ferrari, for the burgeoning McLaren-Honda project, was an error.

Alonso's replacement Sebastian Vettel has already won a race for Ferrari in only his second start with the team, and is currently third in the championship standings. Alonso's best result has been 11th.

"Leaving Ferrari was clearly a mistake," Villeneuve told the Spanish sports daily AS.

"I think Alonso would have fought for the title with this Ferrari. With this move, Alonso may have ended his career – he may not win any more titles or even races.

"He could have spent three or four more years with them and then retired or gone to McLaren, if he wanted to win with them as he did in 2007."

Doubts over 'slow culture' at Honda

Villeneuve, who raced in F1 with Honda power for four years, says he has little faith that the Japanese manufacturer can quickly rise to the front of the grid.

"I worked with them," he said, "and know it can be a very slow culture and one that prevents them from doing certain things."

[MIKA27]

Lotus E23 makes Grosjean a happy driver

Romain Grosjean says this year's Lotus E23 has made him a much happier driver after the struggles with the 2014 car.

After being out of the points for nearly 11 months, Grosjean made it two scores in eight days when he followed up seventh in China with the same result in Bahrain.

The Frenchman agrees that the Lotus E23 has put the smile back on his face after a dreadful 2014 season.

"I've had it since day one," Grosjean told Motorsport.com.

"At least I can understand the car, I can play around with it, I can push hard, and it makes such a big difference to last year, where it was doing whatever it wanted, so I really hated it."

He agreed that the double points finish was a big boost: "It's good for all of our guys, and myself as well. I think we worked hard, we deserved them.

"The [bahrain] weekend didn't start in the best way, I had really a lot of struggle, and the first time we had a good car was qualifying.

"They did a good job to guess the set-up and go for it in the race. I'm very happy with that. A lot of tyre management of course, but it's good to score some more points.

"Everything was on target. Having a new set of options would have helped the second stint, we should have managed to keep one from qualy, as Red Bull did and other top guys. But the strategy was perfect, so that was good."

Grosjean expects the close battle with Red Bull Racing to continue.

"In China in the race they were less quick, here they were quicker," he said.

"It's good to fight with them, and also in qualifying Sauber is quite quick as well, so there is a good group around who we can fight with."

[MIKA27]

Fernando Alonso bemoans lack of driver influence in Formula 1

Two-time Formula 1 World Championship Fernando Alonso says the vested interests of businesses and manufacturers have made their opinion 'more powerful' than that of a driver.

One of the sport's most successful competitors, the 2005 and 2006 champion is currently in the midst of his 14th season in F1 having made the switch from Ferrari to McLaren over the winter. As a measure of experience, only Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen have raced as long.

However, Alonso admits he is frustrated that even with experience on his side, his opinion as a driver is still less regarded than those of the teams and businesses involved in F1.

“It is tough,” when asked if drivers can enact change in F1. “As a driver, you are in position to ask for many things, but there is so much interest, businesses and manufacturers in the sport, they are more powerful than a driver's opinion.”

Expanding on his point about whether he still 'loves' competing in F1 compared with the various guises of the sport he has competed in, Alonso doesn't give the current era a resounding thumbs up.

“I think the cars are different – slower, heavier… In China, the pace in the race was 1min 43 and in 2004 the pace was 1min 33, so it is 10secs difference. When you drive 10 seconds slower you don't have the same feelings.

“On the other hand, the DNA of the sport remains the same, which is competing against the others, beating the others and being cleverer than the others. When I go go-karting with friends, I have so much fun and I am doing 50kph, so it doesn't matter how much quicker or slower you are, you just enjoy the competition."

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Monisha Kaltenborn pleased with balanced line-up

Now that the furore over Sauber's driver line-up appears to be in the rear-view mirror, team principal Monisha Kaltenborn believes that the current pairing of Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson is ideal for driving the team on.

Sauber has enjoyed a resurgence after last year's dire campaign resulted in zero points and a spot behind Marussia in the final teams' ranking. Both rookie Nasr and second-year driver Ericsson have featured in the points – the Swede for the first time in F1 since moving over from Caterham during the winter break – and Sauber currently sits a promising fifth in the 2015 constructors' table, just behind Red Bull and ahead of Lotus, Toro Rosso and Force India.

With two scoring finishes in four races, including a stunning fifth on debut amid the chaos of Giedo van der Garde's presence in Melbourne, Nasr holds down a place inside the drivers' top ten, while Ericsson has been unfortunate not to do better than eighth and tenth, and 14th in the overall standings.

“If you look at how close they are to each other, one is faster one time then, next time, it's the other one, so it's very well balanced,” Kaltenborn said of her two protégés, “That shows you what level they are [at], what level the car is and it just depends on who has the better day as to who is ahead.”

Sauber's scoring has gone in waves, with both drivers in the top ten in Australia and China, but missing out in Malaysia and Bahrain, often through no fault of their own. Kaltenborn admits that both should have recorded points in Sakhir, with a sticky wheel denying Ericsson his third score in four races but allowing the Swede to stand out in adversity

“Something didn't come off when they removed the wheel, so they had to remove it again and take that [part] manually off,” she explained, “Only then could the new wheel be attached. It was very unfortunate because I am sure he was in the points. He had shown a fantastic race and, even afterwards, he didn't give up at all. It's just one of those things.”

Despite the ups and downs, however, Kaltenborn is satisfied with the way things have gone for Sauber through the four 'flyaway' rounds, and is looking forward to more of the same as the season unfolds through Europe this summer.

“I think we've had a great start to the season, scoring points straight away,” she reflected, “In Malaysia, mistakes were made, but that's all part of it, and, in China, again, we were strong in a tough race. [in Bahrain], we were looking very good even if we didn't score points, and I think the race was a strong and impressive performance by the drivers. The car is competitive, the drivers have done a fantastic job – both of them – so that gives us a lot of optimism.”

[MIKA27]

Jensen Button completes London Marathon

Jenson Button has completed his first London Marathon in a shade under three hours, raising funds for Cancer Research UK.

The 2009 world champion and current McLaren F1 driver recorded a 2hrs 52mins 30secs time for the 26-mile course around the capital, coming home just 16mins behind women's world record holder Paula Radcliffe.

Button is no stranger to the long-distance run, and comfortably beat his previous personal best of 2hrs 58mins as he campaigned on behalf of his chosen charity. The 35-year old was involved in a head-to-head with former Olympic rowing champion and London Marathon regular James Cracknell, running for brain injury association Headway, who eventually finished a little way up the road.

“I've done a lot of training and think I'm pretty fit, but there were so many people ahead of me,” Button told the BBC as he marvelled at the kaleidoscopic field.

Button and Cracknell were joined in the race by a host of other sports stars, including 1968 Olympic 400m hurdles gold medallist David Hemery, now 70, Welsh weightlifter Michaela Breeze, rugby star Shane Williams and Cracknell's fellow rower Zac Purchase.

"Oh my, that was a tough day," Button tweeted later, "Loved the London Marathon though and very happy with my time. Thank you so much to the crowd today, what an amazing atmosphere.

"Got beaten by a rower, which my engineer Tom Stallard will find hilarious! James is a machine - well done fella!"

Button was also far from the only F1 representative on the course, with several teams featured amongst the runners, none less than Manor-Marussia's Graeme Lowdon, who crossed the line after 4hrs 27mins.

Button's wife, Jessica, meanwhile, was still on the course as he was being interviewed by the media, also aiming for a finish in around four hours....

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Jean Todt and FIA delegates 'safe and accounted for' after Nepal earthquake

The FIA has confirmed president Jean Todt and 44 other delegates from motorsport's governing body are "safe and accounted for" after attending a convention in the earthquake-hit city of Kathmandu in Nepal.

The group had been attending the first Asia-Pacific Sport Regional Congress when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck an area of central Nepal between Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara. It has been followed by a number of aftershocks and the rising death toll currently exceeds 2,000.

On Sunday the FIA confirmed all the delegates are safe.

"This week the FIA conducted its inaugural Asia-Pacific Sport Regional Congress in Kathmandu, Nepal," a statement said. "The event was attended by 45 delegates from 14 countries in the region, as well as FIA officials including President Jean Todt, Road Safety Ambassador Michelle Yeoh, and Deputy President for Sport, Graham Stoker.

"During the running of the Congress the country of Nepal, including its capital Kathmandu, was subjected to a massive earthquake that has taken a shocking toll on the country. All members of the FIA party and Congress delegates are safe and accounted for. The FIA greatly thanks the local National Sporting Authority, the Nepal Auto Sports Association (NASA) for its efforts in helping to ensure this outcome."

The statement concluded with words of support for those affected by the earthquake.

"The effects of this earthquake on Nepal, with such a drastic scale of human loss, have been devastating. The FIA, on behalf of the broader motor sport community, wishes to convey its most heartfelt condolences to the Nepal people - our collective thoughts are with them as they deal with this tragedy.

"The recovery and reparation efforts will be immense for the country. In the coming days, the FIA will investigate the possibility of establishing a fund for charitable donations to be made to the people of Nepal as they attempt to rebuild their lives from this disaster."

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Mick Schumacher wins in first weekend of Formula 4

Mick Schumacher has won on his first weekend of German Formula 4.

Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula One champion Michael, finished ninth on his German ADAC F4 debut on Saturday, before crossing 12th in the second race of the weekend on Sunday. For the third and final race at Oschersleben Schumacher lined up second on the reserve grid and quickly moved into the lead.

The Van Amersfoort Racing driver had to fend off a late charge from Australian Joseph Mawson after a period behind the safety car but held his nerve to finish with an advantage of half a second, clinching the first win of his single-seater career. The 16-year-old is fifth in the championship with 27 points after the first three races, but leads the rookie championship. Team-mate Harrison Newey, son of Red Bull design guru Adrian, is 12th in the standings after the opening weekend.

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Romain Grosjean: From first-lap nutcase to overtaker extraordinaire

Once described as a "first-lap nutcase", Romain Grosjean says he has now learned to control his aggression and use it to his advantage.

Grosjean got his first full season in Formula One off to a bad start with a series of early-race incidents, including a four-car pile-up at the first corner of the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. He was banned from taking part in the following race in Italy but just three races later hit Mark Webber at Turn 2 in Japan, leading to the unfortunate "first-lap nutcase" nickname.

Two seasons later and Grosjean has a very different reputation, built on a series of good performances in 2013 and a year without any major incidents in 2014. Speaking about his early career, Grosjean said he managed to pinpoint where he was going wrong and now uses his aggression to get the most out of his car.

"I've been learning a lot and if we take 2012 it was always in the same place, it was always at the start and it was a mistake from taking the wrong objective as the start was going on," he said. "When you learn that and you understand what you're doing wrong then you can change.

"I think then the aggressivity I can have driving in qualifying is my strength as well. You can do a good lap and then in the race at some key moments it's important to have it. Of course you need to control it and you need to know that there is 500 people working hard for you to build a car and they don't want you to crash."

Grosjean still has a reputation for taking on brave overtaking manoeuvres, including a remarkable move around the outside of Felipe Massa at Turn 4 in Hungary two years ago for which he was later penalised for having all four wheels off track.

"You don't want to do something crazy and take stupid risks. There is a lot in a very short amount of time when you decide to go for the overtaking manoeuvre there's a lot going on so you have to think 'Is that a good place? How is it going?' And you don't want to crash. It's intense inside the car, there's a lot to think about and that's why taking the right or wrong decision is not being stupid or too brave it's just that sometimes you can point to little things to getting it right or wrong."

This year Grosjean attempted a bold move around the outside of Sergio Perez in Malaysia only for the Force India to make contact with the rear of his car and pitch him into a spin.

"You do calculate the risk. Like Malaysia on the outside of Turn 12 that was a bit of a risky one. I assumed Perez would give me room, which basically didn't happen.

"I think it's good for the show, I've always been an aggressive driver, sometimes too much but I think that overtaking manoeuvre was working and then I would have had the DRS to get [Nico] Hulkenberg which would have been two places straightforward. So I like it."

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RB11 the last true Adrian Newey-inspired Red Bull

Red Bull's 2016 car will be the first to be designed without significant input from Adrian Newey.

Newey announced a step back from the F1 team last year and has already shifted his focus to new projects. However, Red Bull insists this year's RB11 is still very much a Newey car and the RB12 will be the first to be developed without his leadership.

"He has taken a step back but he is involved in the RB11 as in every previous car," Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Formula One's official website. "The difference will come from RB12 onwards. Yes, he is not that close any more - but he was in Bahrain. He is still mentoring and guiding the technical team."

Despite Newey's involvement in the car Red Bull has made its worse start to the season since 2008, but Horner says the full potential of the RB11 has yet to be unleashed.

"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 - less downforce, etc. - which creates other problems. We are not in an optimal position with the RB11 yet - but it is definitely an Adrian car..."

Horner admits there are no short-term fixes for Red Bull.

"The only answer right now: terrible start - great finish! But 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. And if that is the foundation for a better future then you've got to take the pain."

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WILLIAMS REVEALS MORE THAN $50 MILLION LOSS

The Williams Formula One team made a loss of 42.5 million pounds ($64.34 million) in 2014 but said on Monday they expected a significant improvement next year once they are over the lingering ‘hangover’ of past failure.

“What we are reporting today is essentially a hangover,” Chief Executive Mike O’Driscoll told reporters.

The team loss, with turnover of 71.2 million, compared to a profit of 11.9 million and turnover of 106.0 million in 2013.

Frankfurt-listed Williams Grand Prix Holdings said the group as a whole reported turnover of 90.2 million in 2014 with a loss of 34.3 million, compared to 130.4 million and profit of 11.9 million in 2013.

However, O’Driscoll said the 2013 figures had been inflated by a 20 million pound settlement from departing Venezuelan sponsor PDVSA that covered 2014 but had to be recognised in the previous year’s accounts.

The 2014 figures also included bonus payments of 3,000 pounds for each of the group’s 660 employees as a result of the team finishing third overall last season, while engine costs doubled with the debut of a new hybrid power unit.

Former champions Williams, currently third after four races this year, reversed a “decade of decline” in 2014 after the nadir of ninth overall in 2013.

Revenues from the commercial rights holder are paid a year in arrears, however, meaning that the 2014 figures reflect the previous year’s dismal showing and reduced sponsorship income.

O’Driscoll said Williams had pressed the reset button in 2013, with a change of key personnel as well as a decision to divest the company of non-core businesses and develop advanced engineering.

While 2014 at first glance was disappointing, it really was exactly what we anticipated. We’re on track,” he added. “We expect 2015 to be materially, significantly, better than 2014.

“We’re going to see higher commercial rights revenue flow through, in fact we are starting to see that flow through now… and we are starting to see higher revenue flow through from increased sponsorship deals.”

Williams can also expect a 60 percent increase in revenues from F1’s commercial rights holder to boost their 2015 figures.

Champions Mercedes, who provide Williams’s engines, Ferrari and Red Bull operate on significantly greater budgets — at least double — than the Grove-based team but deputy principal Claire Williams said they could hold their own.

“We have to work harder and smarter,” she said.

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NICO: I NEED TO BEAT LEWIS IN QUALIFYING

Nico Rosberg insists he is not focusing on the championship standings at present, but is more intent on challenging Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying.

After just four of the nineteen races this year, the German is already 27 points behind his Mercedes teammate and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.

It has triggered suggestions Rosberg is no longer capable of mounting the sort of season-long championship challenge to Hamilton as he did last year.

“Time is already running out for Rosberg this season,” agreed former F1 driver and BBC commentator Allan McNish. “If he wants to mount a challenge for the championship, he has to turn the tables on Lewis Hamilton sharpish.”

“Fortunately, there is now a decent break before the next race in Spain for him to have a think about what to do next,” McNish added.

29-year-old Rosberg has told Auto Motor und Sport that he is dealing with his current situation by taking each race at a time.

“I have been looking at the championship standings with one eye,” he is quoted as saying. “But it’s not my focus. I just want to have some good races,” he added.

Rosberg will also be concentrating on beating Hamilton in qualifying, as he suggested his Mercedes teammate is too easily controlling races from the front.

“He controls it easily,” said Rosberg. “At the beginning of the stints he takes it easy and then he pulls it back out again. With the same car, you can’t do anything about it.”

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PEREZ: WITH THE RIGHT CAR I WOULD WIN RACES AND FIGHT FOR THE TITLE

Sergio Perez is expecting Force India to struggle in Spain next weekend, but despite a below par start to the season believes he has the capacity to win races and fight for the title.

Having earlier admitted the Silverstone based team’s lack of competitiveness was affecting his motivation, Mexican Perez then had a good weekend in Bahrain, finishing eighth.

But Perez is not expecting a similar weekend in Barcelona, “Definitely we will suffer a lot in Barcelona, as it is very demanding aerodynamically with a lot of very fast and medium-speed corners, which is where we suffer most.”

Perez, 25, and teammate Nico Hulkenberg are now looking ahead to June’s Austrian grand prix, where the team is aiming to launch its ‘B’-spec car.

But there are rumours the car will in fact not be ready until the next race at Silverstone.

Perez admitted: “It’s a very big frustration as a driver when you know that with the right car you would be winning. I am sure that if I had that (right) car, I would win races and fight for the championship.”

Perez said that while he finished a surprise eighth in Bahrain, he laments the fact that the performance was essentially overlooked.

“It’s hard to explain to people that you did a great race when you are ninth or tenth,” he insisted. “But when you are two tenths a lap faster than your teammate, who is one of the best drivers in the world.”

“At the end you are 15 seconds in front of him, it is in fact an excellent race. Obviously, it’s hard for people to see that from the outside,” he lamented.

However, the former McLaren driver is hoping the right people in the paddock do recognise his talents eventually.

“In my five years in F1 I have never had a winning car or even a car capable of being on the podium,” he said, “but I made it to the podium four times.

“Some drivers reach the top quickly, for others it takes longer, but I hope to show my talent – whether in this car or not – and it opens the door for me to reach the top of F1,” the Mexican added.

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HAVE MERCEDES SHOWN FERRARI THE MAGIC BUTTON?

In his usual brash style Helmut Marko has come out and accused Mercedes of colluding with Ferrari, hence the reason why the Maranello outfit has made such huge strides since last season and now is second only to Mercedes in the Formula 1 pecking order.

Marko said recently, “It is difficult to prove, but I am sure that Mercedes helped Ferrari. And we all know why.”

The Red Bull consultant is not the only one to believe this, with elements in the German and Italian media reporting already on the possibility of some sort of collaboration between the two marques.

Formula 1 folk like to deny the existence of the so called Magic Button, but I personally believe it has been in F1 since the first season back in 1950, albeit in different forms and guises – be it aero or horsepower or whatever. For sure Mercedes found a Magic Button last year.

I recall Colin Chapman, of real Lotus fame found, the Magic Button in the early seventies (when I started following F1) and again in the late seventies. Then Patrick Head found it for Williams, before McLaren became custodians of it, first with John Barnard and later with Gordon Murray. The latter first finding it with Brabham in the early eighties.

Adrian Newey found the Magic Button for Williams in the early nineties, Ross Brawn and his crew had it in the mid-nineties with Benetton, before Newey and Head got it back for Williams.

Then Newey cheekily took the Magic Button to McLaren for the last two years of the previous century, before Brawn and his crew discovered it and clung on to it for five years in a row at Ferrari.

Renault claimed the Magic Button to end Ferrari’s greedy streak and what followed was a couple of years of no one really having that elusive Button.

Brawn’s eponymous team found it in 2009, before Red Bull discovered it with Newey and clutched on to it for four years. And now, as mentioned, Mercedes are clearly in possession of Formula 1’s holy grail.

Problem is that times have changed and dominance in sport is no longer admired, but rather scorned upon as we live in a time when everyone is a winner…

So instead of the Silver Arrows being applauded for their mighty achievement, they are villified for ruining the sport. Bernie Ecclestone even had a stab when he declared, “Toto can have a lovely inscription on his gravestone that says: I helped to kill Formula 1.”

So the way I figure it is: Wolff, and his pack, in possession of their Magic Button first try help out the Mercedes B-team, namely Williams, who find a surge of competitiveness in 2014 which lifted them from the doldrums to second in the F1 pecking order.

That was an easy move for Wolff as he has shares in the Grove outfit, his wife is their development driver and their young Finnish Valterri Bottas star is managed by him. Problem is no one cares any more that Williams challenge Mercedes. It is still Mercedes versus Mercedes, so the street-cred is pretty much zero for the nouveau fan.

What was needed is Mercedes beating Ferrari – concluded the wise men of Stuttgart – but it must be a close contest. Thus I can imagine a scenario where Wolff and his pack sit at a round table and agree not to give the Magic Button to Ferrari, but at least give them the road map to help the Maranello men find it.

Hence I imagine a Gmail account being created and a map to the Magic Button (maybe there are two) is sent off anonymously to [email protected] and eventually it ends up on James Allison’s desk.

And presto Ferrari are up there slugging it out with Mercedes. Example: this year during China qualifying Sebastian Vettel was shy of pole by a mere 0.042 of a second. A year earlier Fernando Alonso was 1.777 seconds off the pole time… Lewis Hamilton and Merc were on pole on both occasions.

Of course Ferrari are not going to let the cat-out-the-bag and acknowledge help from the Silver Arrows, but Wolff is struggling to keep his mouth shut of late and, like no other team principal ever, is playing up a rival’s resurgence every time he can.

Recently in Bahrian Wolff hailed Ferrari’s effort in qualifying, “Ferrari has done a great job and they are snapping at our heels.”

Prior to Bahrain, Wolff warned, “The Ferrari looked the quickest car out there. Very stable quick tyres… quick lap times.”

“We can see from GPS that their engine is very powerful and the car is very good. I think it’s only a matter of time before they reach us, because Ferrari as a team has everything you need to do that,” said Wolff during preseason testing.

Wolff is desperate to show that his team is beating a resurgent Ferrari, and he knows that the fact that Ferrari is challenging for wins is a big boost for the sport. Love them or not Ferrari are the sport’s pre-eminent race team, and their fortunes impact the sport in a major way.

So the “we all know why” Mercedes have helped Ferrari declaration by Marko perhaps is not merely a mean way of deriding the current situation. In other words there may be truth in it all.

Maybe because I am naive, I for one am not 100% convinced that Mercedes has shown Ferrari the way to the Magic Button, and tried hard to reason against it but as this piece confirms I am finding it hard to argue against Marko’s theory.

What next? Mercedes badge on a Ferrari!

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SUTIL SET TO ADD MORE LEGAL TROUBLE FOR SAUBER

Sauber’s ongoing legal troubles could be set to explode again next week in Spain.

Ahead of the 2015 season opener, the Swiss team found itself in a near-terminal court struggle with Giedo van der Garde.

The Dutchman ultimately escaped with a reported EUR 15 million in compensation, after Sauber unilaterally reneged on his signed and sealed 2015 race deal.

Now, Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper reports that, with a near-identical 2015 contract in his pocket, German driver Adrian Sutil is now set to take action against the Hinwil based team next week in Barcelona ahead of the Spanish grand prix.

One month ago, Sutil’s manager Manfred Zimmermann told us: “The problem with Sauber has not been solved. We are still trying to solve it.”

Sutil, 32, is now Williams’ reserve driver.

Zimmermann told us on Monday: “Unfortunately nothing has changed. We are still in discussion with Sauber to find a solution.”

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HAKKINEN NOT SURE FERRARI SHOULD KEEP RAIKKONEN

Mika Hakkinen is not sure he would advise Ferrari to keep his fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen beyond 2015.

Finn Raikkonen, who replaced Hakkinen at McLaren some 13 years ago, is currently pushing to be retained by Ferrari and in Bahrain finished second behind Lewis Hamilton.

But when asked about Ferrari’s deliberations, Hakkinen said: “At this stage, it is difficult to analyse whether this would be the right or wrong decision for them.”

Today, 46-year-old Hakkinen is a part of Finn Valtteri Bottas’ management team, and the Williams driver is often referred to as a logical successor to Raikkonen at Ferrari.

While Raikkonen impressed in Bahrain, so too did Hakkinen’s 25-year-old charge Bottas, as he resisted late-race pressure from top Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.

“Valtteri showed how well he can handle the pressure,” Hakkinen told his sponsor Hermes in an interview.

“It was exactly the sort of strong nerves that drivers need in the fight for world championships,” he insisted.

As for Raikkonen’s race to second place after a fallow period for the 2007 world champion, Hakkinen remarked: “Kimi drove the race as he should have.

“We already know what Kimi’s speed and talent is. A very experienced driver like him must regularly be showing the performance that could be seen in Bahrain,” he added.

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Van der Garde 'not' interested in Manor

Although revealing Manor have contacted Giedo van der Garde, his manager says that is "not something" they are working towards.

Earlier this month reports surfaced claiming that backmarkers Manor were keen on signing van der Garde as they need someone with experience to help develop the car.

It was suggested that the Dutchman, who parted ways with Sauber at the Australian GP, could start with the team at the Monaco Grand Prix.

However, his manager Jan Paul ten Hoopen has downplayed the prospect, revealing van der Garde is instead focused on securing a 2016 DTM drive.

"We are aware that Manor are looking for an experienced driver," he told GPUpdate.net.

"They have contacted us, but this is not something we are working on.

"We are fully focused on 2016. We are looking at DTM and LMP1 and will be visiting the DTM next week."

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Kvyat: Progress over promises

Daniil Kvyat says he does not want promises from Renault, he wants action and to see the French manufacturer upping their game.

Entering the second season with V6 engines, Renault's problems from last season having continued into the new campaign.

Not only is their engine lacking in performance compared to the Mercedes power unit but reliability is once again letting them down.

Renault have vowed to take steps forward, promising improvement at the next race in Spain.

However, Kvyat says he doesn't want words, he wants action.

"I think we don't want any promises: we just want to see the progress itself," he told Autosport.

"Both as a team and on the engine side, we all want to improve.

"That means working with Renault, working with the chassis, me as well, working out where I can pick up the pace.

"It is a long process and hopefully we will come up with something."

But it is not just Renault who need to upgrade their package, it's also Red Bull.

The team is expected to debut new updates at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona.

The Russian driver added: "We plan some [upgrades], like many other teams.

"Hopefully it will work well, and I am confident that the team is going to move forwards from now on because we have been going backwards."

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Mark Webber: 'I want F1 to be awesome again'

Mark Webber has never been scared to express an opinion, no matter whom it might upset and nothing has changed just because he’s racing in WEC these days. In Bahrain, over the race weekend, the Australian was frustrated to see his GP2 protégé Mitch Evans lose a potential podium finish because of that old bugbear, tyre management and he posted this rant on Twitter.

Blood's boiling watching most single seater categories including F1 become completely dependant on extreme tyre management

Let drivers push.

“Actually, it wasn’t just that, because Mitch has benefited (from the tyre management situation) in the past and even had wins thanks to it, so it wasn’t just that I was talking about,” Webber told me when we spoke a few days after Bahrain. “F1 has changed so much in the last five or six years, so that today, the engineers are constantly focussing on tyre performance and even in GP2 and GP3, a driver’s performance is all about how he manages the tyres.”

In case you hadn’t noticed, as from this season, GP2 has mimicked Formula 1 and introduced the Downforce Reduction System, aimed at facilitating overtaking and this is another aspect of the sport that Webber, a nine times Grand Prix winner, is not keen on.

“If you look at sports like football or tennis at an elite level, there hasn’t been a huge amount of change,” states Webber. “If you make the goals bigger in football is Messi happier? Probably not, because he has the ability. Unfortunately, people now expect to see 20 passing moves per grand prix, it’s sort of standard now. I think we could do with racing with less overtaking and better quality across the board. It’s absolutely not the drivers’ problem, it’s just that’s what they’re having to deal with.

“I’m talking on behalf of the drivers at the front of the grid because they can’t say what they really feel. But I’m talking to them now. I’d love someone to do a stat on race pace with the 2015 race compared to the mid-2000s – probably Montoya would have lapped Seb in Malaysia three and a half times! But people aren’t looking at this. In the past, the limitation over the back part of the track in Malaysia used to be balls and how fit you were. Now its ‘save your tyres.’”

What Webber wants to see in Formula 1, and who would disagree with him, is a better balance between the show and the sport so that the best drivers can shine and are pushed to the limit.

“It’s just a shame they haven’t found the right balance,” affirms the Australian. “Probably the best thing they’ve done in the last 5 years is to add some sparks! There needs to be more of a physical component and more reward for guys who’ve been more disciplined in that area. In tennis, I don’t think Roger Federer wants to have the net lowered. Drivers need to be stimulated. I mean I didn’t have the talent of some of the guys I was racing with, which is why I only got the results I did, but the guys that have got more talent were not happy. Michael (Schumacher) was very disappointed when he made his comeback: Yeah, he wasn’t at his peak but clearly he was disappointed that the racing wasn’t the way it had been.”

Webber believes the current F1 technology is interesting but wonders why it’s the overriding topic.

“There are certain things going on and we seem to have to tell everyone what we are doing with the technical and sporting regs and what’s happening. Why not just get on with things? There is no need to wash your laundry in public. The end result is what it is. You don’t need to try and explain everything. Most people I talk to are intimidated by what DRS is, what the Softs and Supersofts are, they feel they can’t just turn on the TV and understand what they are watching.

“All these vast changes, whether it’s to the regulations or the penalties or the tokens – who cares? When you’re inside the sport, you think it’s important, but when you’re outside, people are just not bothered, they just want to see cracking good car racing with the best guys fighting it out.”

So what should Formula 1 be like today, Mark?

“Formula 1 should be 15 seconds (a lap) clear of any other category and as drivers and spectators you should experience nothing else like it, it should blow you away. But currently you have at least two other categories that are within 2 seconds in a race. Maybe we should enter an F1 race with a WEC car, we might score some points and we are 250 kilos heavier!

“F1 needs to be the pinnacle and, on an engineering and technical side, it is. But in terms of the drivers pushing on the limit for two hours, it is questionable at the moment. The current drivers are frustrated, they want more, I know they do. I’m not saying undo everything, because even in the mid-2000s there were boring races. But why were the grandstands full back then? Because the fans were watching something they’d never seen before.

“I just want it to come across that I want it to be awesome again. I’m not sticking up for WEC particularly, I’m trying to take a balanced view. If you watched the Silverstone race, (the opening round of the current WEC championship) it was a good car race, but you don’t expect the fans to sit down and watch all six hours, or at least not many of them, but that’s the way the sport is.

“But plenty watched Murray v Djokovic in the Australian Open for four hours, because every point was important and you knew they were on the edge, which is what Formula 1 should be. It should be about people going to the limit. You also need to bring earplugs back! You need that, you need to be able to hear the cars five kilometres from the track!”

Webber feels the sport is not unpredictable enough any more, with just about every conceivable situation covered before the cars turn up at the track.

“It’s like Valentino Rossi said, it’s nearly like it’s almost over before it starts,” adds Mark. “There are no rough edges anymore; everyone turns up to races and everything is executed to perfection with such precision, but honestly, I don’t know the way round it.”

In simple terms, Webber would like the modern Grand Prix car to be a bit more of a beast.

“There’s no doubt that Verstappen is a talent but after just a handful of races, he’s already ahead of the car. F1 shouldn’t be like that. F1 cars should command more respect. When you warm one of them up in the garage for the first time it should be a case of ‘f***ing hell! I’ve made it to here and now I have to crack this final mission.’

“When I quit F1 I said to someone about the current cars, ‘we’re qualified, we’ve come through the ranks, so that effectively we’re qualified to fly F18s, but now we’re flying passenger jets. Talk to drivers who started in Formula 1 around the same time I did: we all came away from the first F1 test thinking ‘I’m not too sure about this,’ which is completely how it should be and that resonates with the fans. But I definitely don’t have all the answers…”

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Arrivabene eyes strong Ferrari update in Barcelona

Maurizio Arrivabene believes Ferrari will have "a good package" of updates at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The start of the European season traditionally sees teams bringing their first major upgrades to the cars, with minimal changes having been made during the opening four flyaway races.

While aware Mercedes is likely to be bringing new parts to its car too, Arrivabene is keen not to put pressure on Ferrari to make a big step forward in Barcelona but says the team has been working hard on a major update.

“I heard that a lot of teams are coming with new things," Arrivabene said. "We are now preparing as all the others some solutions for Barcelona. I don’t really like to talk about this because afterwards you create expectations and so on.

"We are doing all our development step by step but I think in Barcelona we are going to take finally a good package.”

Ferrari has enjoyed a strong start to the season, with Sebastian Vettel winning the Malaysian Grand Prix and Kimi Raikkonen finishing a close second to Lewis Hamilton at the last race in Bahrain.

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Force India owner Mallya under pressure to resign from USL board

Force India owner Vijay Mallya is facing calls to resign from the board of United Spirits Ltd after an internal enquiry said he had allegedly diverted funds to other companies.

United Spirits Ltd is an Indian liquor maker controlled by Diageo Plc of which Mallya is chairman and director.

Diageo, which recently bought a controlling stake in United Spirits, has asked Mallya to resign after it found "various improprieties and legal violations" after conducting a probe into loans given by United Spirits to other companies in the group, including Kingfisher Airlines, which sponsors the Force India Formula 1 team.

Kingfisher, established in 2003, was grounded in October 2012 after years of financial issues.

"The inquiry revealed that between 2010 and 2013, funds involved in many of these transactions were diverted from the company and/or its subsidiaries to certain UB Group companies, including in particular, Kingfisher Airlines," the United Spirits board said.

"In the event Mallya declines to step down, the board also resolved that it would recommend to the shareholders of the company, the removal of Mallya as a director and as the chairman of the board."

It added: "In light of the above, and without making any determination as to fault or culpability, the directors noted that they had lost confidence in Vijay Mallya continuing in his role as a director and as chairman and therefore, the Board called upon Mallya to resign forthwith as a director and as the Chairman of the Board and step down from his positions in the company's subsidiaries."

Mallya has refuted the claims and says he has no intention to step down.

"All I wish to say is that I intend to continue as Chairman of USL in the normal manner. This includes chairing monthly operating review meetings and board meetings," he said in a statement.