FORMULA 1 - 2015

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SIR STIRLING MOSS: LEWIS NOT AN F1 GREAT YET BUT SEBASTIAN IS

Formula 1 legend Sir Stirling Moss has admitted he is an avowed fan of Sebastian Vettel, and also revealed that he does not rate Lewis Hamilton as a great just yet.

That is despite the fact that it is Moss’ fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton who is dominating formula one at present.

But “I don’t think Lewis is great yet,” the 85-year-old, commonly referred to as the best driver never to win a F1 title, told the Guardian.

Moss also questions Hamilton’s focus, surmising that “The thing Lewis is really interested in is music, not driving”.

At the same time, Moss does not hide his admiration of Ferrari driver Vettel, and told Auto Bild, “I’m a big fan of Sebastian. He’s a great guy and a great driver. I even got a mini-helmet autographed by him!”

Asked what he most likes about the quadruple world champion, Moss answered: “He is a big fan of the sport, and passion like that is important if you want to be a great racing driver.

“Despite his success, he has kept his feet on the ground. He is a likeable young man who respects his opponents, which reminds me of Fangio. He was also a very well-balanced personality like that.

“I also admire his courage in going to Ferrari,” Moss continued, “and how quickly he has brought order into that team.

“At least since his Ferrari win, Sebastian is one of the greatest of our sport.”

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VETTEL: IT WILL TAKE A WHILE TO BE LEVEL WITH MERCEDES

Sebastian Vettel has admitted that Ferrari continues to trail Formula 1 pacesetter Mercedes, and reeling them in will take a while.

At the wheel of his resurgent red car, the German won the Malaysian grand prix while Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen came close to challenging for victory two weeks ago in Bahrain.

“We are trying to bother Mercedes,” Vettel told Welt am Sonntag newspaper, “and we must be right behind them and pounce if something goes wrong with them. But it is also important that we are not passed by other teams.

“Mercedes still have the strongest package,” he acknowledged. “You don’t make up such a deficit quickly. Ferrari have taken a step forward in the winter but it will take a while to be on the same level as Mercedes.”

However, Finland’s MTV3 reports that Raikkonen may benefit from a Ferrari engine upgrade this weekend in Barcelona.

And the Maranello team will also reportedly race a raft of aerodynamic upgrades at the Spanish grand prix.

“Yes, I expect that Ferrari will be even closer to Mercedes” there, said MTV’s F1 expert Ossi Oikarinen.

But F1 legend Gerhard Berger said he is not sure Vettel is now close to being able to mount a serious challenge for the 2015 title.

“Ferrari did a giant step over the winter,” he told Auto Bild. “Whether it is enough for the title, I doubt it. For me, Mercedes’ lead still seems too big.”

Vettel’s former boss and mentor at Red Bull, however, Austrian Dr Helmut Marko, is more confident.

“Sebastian is already going for this year’s world title,” he said, referring to the fact that Vettel is just a point behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, after four races.

“Vettel has shown all his critics who told him he had forgotten how to drive a car last season,” Marko added.

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RICCIARDO: RED BULL IS NOT IN THIS SPORT TO MAKE UP THE NUMBERS

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he is not sure Red Bull’s Formula 1 quit threats are real and what the future holds, but knows that his team is not in Formula 1 to make up the numbers.

When the extent of Red Bull’s 2015 struggle and dissatisfaction with the rules and engine partner Renault became clear earlier this season, the team’s Austrian faction headed by Helmut Marko and owner Dietrich Mateschitz indicated the energy drink company might pull out of the sport.

Forbes’ F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, however, says Red Bull Racing has in fact committed to the sport until 2020 in its own annual financial statements.

However, Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that if Red Bull is determined to pull out, “there is nothing we could do”.

Australian Ricciardo, who is Red Bull’s most senior F1 driver, has admitted he is “not blind” to the reports.

“When I hear about it and the frustrations with Mateschitz, I completely understand as he’s not in this sport to make up the numbers,” he is quoted by the Brisbane Times.

“If we as drivers are frustrated, I’m sure he’s just as – if not more – frustrated, because it’s his brand, his money and his image.”

“Whether these exit threats are real or directly coming from him, I don’t know. But I do hear them — it’s hard not to,” Ricciardo added.

Red Bull has already acknowledged that it will be unable to compete for the title this year, and not just because of the RB11 package’s below-par performance.

Ricciardo will begin to use his fourth and final ‘power unit’ allocated for the entire 2015 season this weekend in Barcelona, with further changes to begin to incur grid penalties.

“It’s not too riveting at the moment,” the 25-year-old smiled. “It’s not how I want to go racing, but it’s what I’ve got at the moment. It’s more difficult when you’re not fighting right up the front, but you need to keep a bit of hope.”

Ricciardo said that, with Sebastian Vettel now at Ferrari, he finds himself in a de-facto leadership position at Red Bull, with a responsibility to keep his troops motivated.

“It’s a fine line,” he added, “because at times you want to have a bit of a tantrum. But I’m aware what that would look like, and it wouldn’t help. Everyone knows the situation we’re in, so there’s no point me putting fuel on that fire.”

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ARRIVABENE: WHY DO I NEED HAMILTON WHEN I HAVE VETTEL?

Ferrari F1 boss Maurizio Arrivabene has poured cold water on speculation that Lewis Hamilton is being lined up to race for the Maranello outfit in the future.

Regarding 2016, Arrivabene’s mind appears to be made up amid reports that world champion Lewis Hamilton could be heading to Maranello from Mercedes, therefore, is dismissed.

“Why do I need Lewis Hamilton when I have a heavyweight like Vettel?” said Arrivabene. “I would rather look around for a young, talented driver to unite with Sebastian.”

Meanwhile, in the light of Arrivabene’s philosophy on drivers, he has not ruled out a move to Maranello team for Valtteri Bottas in 2017.

The Italian was interviewed by Bild am Sonntag newspaper following speculation that Bottas may already have inked a pre-agreement with Ferrari to move from Williams at the end of the season.

Finnish sources played down those reports, but elsewhere it was suggested that the Ferrari-Bottas link was actually referring to 2017.

Indeed, Arrivabene on Sunday indicated that Kimi Raikkonen is likely to keep his place alongside teammate and friend Sebastian Vettel next year.

“If he continues like this, we will extend for another year,” he said, referring to 35-year-old Raikkonen, who like Bottas is also Finnish.

“But performance alone is only one thing — I also like how he (Raikkonen) and Seb work together. They even sometimes travel together, so these are things that do influence a decision.”

Arrivabene added, “I promised in the pre-season that I would never lie to you [the media], but for this question it is too early to give a precise answer.”

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MCLAREN NEW LIVERY SPECULATION OFF THE MARK

Reports that McLaren may appear with a radical new livery this weekend in Barcelona – possibly even reverting to the old Marlboro dayglo colors or the historic orange livery – are apparently well wide of the mark, and the changes are merely dropping the chrome bits in the livery.

A McLaren spokesperson confirmed: “We have revised our car’s livery, improving its visual impact, optimising it for not only bright sunshine but also for the floodlights increasingly used in twilight and night races.”

“The result is a dynamic, predatory, graphite-grey colouration, complemented by McLaren-dayglo ‘Speedmarks’ and keylines, reducing the reflection issues caused by our latest chrome-silver treatment.”

Earlier this week an official McLaren ‘tweet’ triggered a new wave of speculation when the team published a poster including the words ‘A legend returns’, the date 7 May and an image of an iconic Ayrton Senna-piloted red and white McLaren alongside Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

The small print even suggested TAG Heuer is involved, sparking suggestions McLaren may finally be unveiling a title sponsor and a return to its iconic livery of the 80s.

Actually, the ‘poster’ was referring merely to a TAG Heuer event taking place in Barcelona on Thursday, where the late Senna will appear as a hologram.

The social media-powered misunderstanding is undoubtedly the result of McLaren-Honda having not yet met expectations in 2015.

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HONDA STILL TARGETING PODIUM IN 2015

Honda is not yet abandoning the ambition of powering McLaren to the podium during the course of the 2015 season.

Amid all the hype about the reunion of the ultra-successful names in formula one, McLaren-Honda has struggled so far this season.

But the MP4-30 has made significant progress since the Melbourne season opener, and star driver Fernando Alonso has suggested Q3 and a points finish might be a realistic target for his home race in Barcelona this weekend.

“Day by day,” agreed Honda’s F1 chief Yasuhisa Arai, “we can see real progress.

“I am confident that our efforts will yield results,” he told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

Arai admitted that Bahrain was a terrible weekend for Jenson Button, whose troublesome car did not even make the grid, “but I am sure that we will be able to solve the problems”.

“We have worked hard for the first European race,” added Arai. “We have not yet achieved the results we wanted, but we have already been able to improve a lot, which we could see with Alonso’s qualifying and race performance.”

“I would say that we are on the way up the mountain now, although not yet at the top. The podium is our hope and aspiration for the remaining 15 races.”

Asked if F1’s new ‘power unit’ era has proved more difficult for Honda than first imagined, Arai answered: “I would not say more difficult, but more diverse.

“It is important for Honda to change its working culture, so we are fine-tuning the harmonisation, mechanical work, learning and leadership,” he revealed.

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IRAN PLANNING FORMULA 1 TRACK

Iran is once again being mentioned as a potential Formula 1 host in the future.

In 2011, the country bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq came onto the F1 radar when it emerged officials had approved plans for a circuit close to the capital Tehran.

International journalists described the thought of an Iranian grand prix as “unlikely” and even “bizarre”, and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said at the time: “I don’t think Iran is top of our list.”

But the Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Sunday that Iran has a new plan to build a F1 track in Qeshm, a large island just off the mainland.

The report said the news had been broken by Masoud Soltanifar, who is Iran’s head of tourism and heritage.

“He made the remarks during his recent visit to the Qeshm island,” the IRNA agency said.

“Iran has so many young people with an increasing tendency for driving. Formula one has a great future in Iran,” the official reportedly added.

However, F1 sponsorship expert Zak Brown said the sport’s move away from traditional European markets like Germany has resulted in “disappointment” among already dissatisfied sponsors.

“With Italy (removed) there will be the same reaction,” he told Reuters.

“We are adding some good ones, but then there is speculation of a third race in the Middle East. How can you have three races there and none in Germany?” wondered Brown, boss of the motor sport sponsorship agency Just Marketing.

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NASR SAYS ALONSO, VETTEL AND SCHUMI WERE ONCE PAY DRIVERS

Felipe Nasr has hit back at lingering claims he might be written off as a typical Formula 1 pay driver.

It was said the Brazilian’s arrival at Sauber with his sponsor Banco do Brasil – whose blue and yellow colours now dominate the 2015 livery – helped to save the embattled Swiss team.

But Nasr has also been a standout rookie so far this year, contributing the vast bulk of the team’s points so far and powering Sauber to an unlikely fifth in the championship.

“I have won several championships,” the 22-year-old driver of Arabic descent told the Portuguese edition of Playboy.

“These criticisms (about being a pay driver) represent a mistaken view,” he insisted, “because drivers have been arriving with sponsorship for a long time — Alonso, Vettel, even Schumacher,” he said.

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The Rise Of A Sleeping Giant?

Ferrari is synonymous with Formula One, so when they're having a bad time even fans of other teams understand that something is not quite right. In the doldrums since the SpyGate affair and without a title since 2007 the Scuderia have found themselves going through the motions season after season, seemingly unable to recover ground on the opposition. As the team finally start to make strides back toward the front of the grid I'm going to look at what went wrong, what's changed and perhaps what the future holds.

Formula One teams are a secretive bunch and although they all work from the same technical regulations how they operate is often like looking at different cultures. In the wake of SpyGate both Ferrari and McLaren seemingly changed their approach, becoming more insular. This in the gestation period for a technical regulation shake up (2009), where the old methods employed by these stalwarts would be upset by the new guard, eager to make an impact on the sport. Initially it seems they were unable to accept that the world around them had changed, gone were the days of mass producing parts and traipsing around a test track to your hearts content. Instead, simulation and the wind tunnel were the only methods in which to extract performance away from the race track.

You might argue that wind tunnels aren't new to the world of F1 and you'd be quite right, how they have been used post 2008 changed things dramatically though. During his tenure Ferrari chairman Luca Di Montezemolo often campaigned for a return to in-season testing, even if scaled back, as Ferrari were so accustomed to that methodology. Suffice to say he didn't prevail and like everyone else the Scuderia were forced to adapt, something they have struggled with over the years, especially when correlating data between CFD, the scale wind tunnel models and at track. The wind tunnel has been seen as their Achilles heel throughout that period with the team operating from the Toyota wind tunnel facility in Cologne late in 2010, in tandem with their own tunnel in Maranello to try and improve their processes. Although the facilities in Cologne are world leading having all personnel on site, unified is a different prospect and so they finally bit the bullet and improved their facility, returning to Maranello full time during 2013.

The correlation issues over the last few seasons have been both fascinating and heartbreaking to watch, as updates were bought to the car, used in Free Practice sessions and then cast aside again for older specifications as the results didn't come as expected. Bearing witness to a team trying up to four different front wing specifications in one free practice session shows just how at sea their correlation work was. Not far off their rivals and chasing instant performance the team were stuck in a perpetual loop, throwing parts at the car but missing the fundamental flaws. James Allison's arrival in 2013 from Lotus saw him take on the role of Technical Director, under whose leadership the team have revised their practices and goals, changing their ethos to a more deliberate development programme, rather than the smattering tactic previously being employed. Their new ethos of validating updates may see them lose a little ground representative to their rivals on occasions but that is the ebb and flow of development and means more time spent on car setup during Free Practice than correlation work.

2014 represented a landmark for Formula One, a technological revolution, where the beating heart of the car would once again represent a challenge to the engineers to best their rivals. Enzo Ferrari's statement “Aerodynamics are for those that cannot build engines” must have been reverberating around Marenello, as the scarlet team tried to reprise their role at the head of the grid. In fairness to Mr Ferrari I doubt he could envisage a time where motorsport would be dominated by many components to make up a powerunit rather than just an engine. However, as a 'Works' team we would expect Ferrari to integrate this technology in a way that even the customer teams they supply could not. However, with the powerunit just one of the issues of the 2014 challenger it is difficult to imagine the type of turnaround we have seen for the team, as they emerge as a challenger to Mercedes in 2015. Although 2014 had been seen as a chance for the prancing horse to return to the top echelon, placing in fourth at the end of the season was my no means a disaster. Much had been learnt during the year that could help to shape the performance characteristics of the F15-T, whilst behind the scenes a restructured design team had developed.

Fans tend to want problems narrowed down to a singular component as it's just easier to digest but in reality the F14-T suffered from many small issues, that add up to a larger deficit. Over the course of the next few parts in this mini series we'll delve into the key technical areas that Ferrari have made improvements.

Changes made by Ferrari that has provided their performance leap.

Improvement in F1 is a prerequisite of developing race winning machinery but some performance advantages are "baked in", things that are almost impossible for other teams to incorporate during a season as they are part of a car's DNA. Having dabbled with the concept in the past and then consigned it to the scrap heap when it didn't do as advertised, Ferrari have opted to use the blown axle concept in 2015. This is a decision that was taken early in the design process by Ferrari as not only is it difficult to retrospectively apply, to fully exploit its potential it also requires many other airflow structures to work in unison with it, paramount to this is the Front Wing.

The reduction in wing span from 1800mm to 1650mm in 2014 was met differently by each team, as they looked to recover their losses, using the cascades and endplates to turn the airflow over and around the front tyre. You might say "75mm that's not a big deal?" In airflow terms it most certainly is, as the front tyres' wake can be detrimental to the aerodynamic performance of all the components downstream, which is clearly an issue when we are talking of downforce generating devices such as (and not limited to) the diffuser. Drag is also a substantial issue caused by the exposed wheels of an F1 car and so being able to control their influence will create an uptake in performance. The use of the blown axle to control how airflow moves around the front wheel means that the front wing components can be more focused on downforce generation and conditioning flow over the entire tyre span, reducing drag. Ferrari introduced their 2015 specification front wing in the last pre-season test without issue, unlike previous seasons and are now pursuing the same concept going forward.

The ongoing use and performance being generated from the front wing and blown axle can be seen as a signal that Ferrari have resolved some of the inherent problems that they have suffered from in the past. In the next article in this mini series I'll investigate changes made by Ferrari to their suspension for 2015.

Ferrari's use of pull rod suspension at the front of their most recent challengers has been one of the areas that caused people to point fingers, suggesting that it was to blame for their poor performance. Suffice to say those doubters have been silenced this season, as although the SF15-T still features pull rod all round, both ends of the cars suspension have seen revision.

At the front of the car, the team adopted the more aerodynamically efficient conjoined lower wishbone that Mercedes pioneered in 2014 (marked in yellow). They've also increased the installation stiffness, as the suspensions more flimsy predecessor not only compromised feel for the drivers but robbed the car of aerodynamic consistency. At the rear of the car the team have revised the geometry, which has not only improved the SF15-T's handling characteristics but also tractability, especially important considering the increased torque generated by the new powerunits.

Changes to the suspension can therefore be earmarked as one of the pivotal improvements by the Scuderia, improving stability, aero and driver confidence. The other upshot is how the team can now use the tyres much more effectively, keeping them within their ideal working range which in turn allows them to run much longer stints, whilst providing the same level of performance. Ferrari may lack the absolute raw pace that Mercedes possess but the longevity and performance they can extract from the tyres places them in a position to fight with them on strategy throughout a race.

Temperature is key to this as outside of the tyres operating window it doesn't yield the grip that's desired and reduces the tyres lifespan in doing so, meaning we often see or hear of drivers driving to a delta, rather than the pure pace of the car. The working range of the tyres is as follows:

Hard - high working range - 105-135°

Medium - low working range - 90-120°

Soft - high working range - 100-125°

Supersoft - low working range 85-115°

(Degrees Celsius)

Up to and including Barcelona, Pirelli's tyre choice has resulted in the Medium compound being a mainstay, with Ferrari adjusting their setup to extract the most from that tyre. Therefore, it'll be interesting to see from Monaco onwards how they fare, with Pirelli announcing they'll use the two softest tyres available to them for Monaco, Canada and Austria (soft and super soft). I suspect, much like the Lotus of two seasons ago, that also went well on the harder compounds, Ferrari will struggle with the softer compounds too.

Ferrari's V6 hybrid powerunit

At the core of the SF15-T lies Ferrari's V6 hybrid powerunit, an area where they've made strides in 2015. Having found the loophole in the regulations that meant the engine manufacturers weren't held to a homologation deadline in 2015, the Scuderia spent 22 of their development tokens ahead of the season, leaving 10 to be spent during the season.

The actual design philosophy employed by Ferrari on their powerunit components was sound, it was predominantly the packaging and implementation of the turbo, wastegate and exhausts that compromised performance during 2014. The Scuderia spent upwards of 4 of their tokens re-designing this area of the powerunit for 2015, replacing the overtly complex wastegate solution, repositioning the turbine inlet(s) and providing a more compact exhaust. Having gathered ground throughout 2014 the team continue to work closely with Shell to further extract power gains through fuel design, with both perhaps a little naïve to the gains that could be had, changing from naturally aspirated V8 engines to the turbocharged V6 powerunits.

Perhaps one of the key areas that Ferrari have made strides is with the SF15-T's cooling package, which not only assists the progression made with the powerunit but comes with some aerodynamic advantages too. Ferrari have retained the air-liquid-air cooler which is sandwiched between the powerunits V whilst radiators are placed in the each sidepod. The innovative radiator layout not only sees the team orienting the radiators differently but using flow conditioning components to increase efficiency. I've illustrated the radiator layout on the image above with the radiator in blue and conditioning devices in green and yellow.

Rather than just being rotated around one axis the Scuderia have done so around two, with the radiator shaped to follow the curvature of the sidepods outer wall and elongated to maximise its aspect ratio. The elements placed in the sidepods inlet (green) are shaped like airfoils and further increase efficiency, as they condition the airflow to the full surface area of the radiator. Meanwhile, the tray mounted above the radiator (yellow) captures the airflow passing through the radiator and reworks it along its upper surface, further maximising radiator performance. Several ducts reside along the trays length and release airflow in a more controlled manner into the sidepods internal airflow volume. Internal airflow can have a dramatic effect on the performance of the car, treating the airflow in the way Ferrari is allows the team to reduce the cars thermal footprint. This means that the team have thus far only had to make very minor bodywork amendments to the cooling outlets, even at some of the hotter races so far this season. The net result is an increase in aerodynamic performance, as opening up the rear of the car for cooling creates unwanted drag and disturbs the performance of key downforce generating devices.

As we have read above, these last few articles there is no silver bullet to the new found performance of Ferrari, rather it's several measured steps in the right direction. However, the battle isn't won just yet, they still need to find more performance to take the fight directly to Mercedes. Whilst continuing the progression we have already seen, to keep the likes of Williams and Red Bull at bay.

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Pirelli banking on two-stoppers

Formula 1 is in for a two-stopping Spanish Grand Prix at the Barcelona circuit, that's the prediction of Pirelli's Paul Hembery.

Last season, the three drivers on the Spanish GP podium all opted for two-stop strategies and this year should be more of the same.

With the hard and medium tyres on offer, the biggest challenge the drivers will face is wear and degradation while Pirelli estimate the gap between the two compounds could be as much as 1.2seconds.

Hembery, the tyre company's motorsport director, said: "Spain is obviously one of the more familiar venues that we go to, as there has already been plenty of data gathered during testing. One of the things we have noticed so far is that this year Barcelona will once again be a front-limited circuit, from a tyre perspective.

"Last year, the increase in traction and torque from the cars meant that for the first time the race became a rear-limited event, with the useful life of the rear tyres dictating the pit stop strategy. Thanks to the improvements we made to the rear tyre construction for this year, we're back to Barcelona being a front-limited circuit again.

"However, we do not expect this to mean that there will necessarily be more pit stops this year: last year the majority of competitors used a two-stop strategy and that will probably be the case again.

"The biggest unknown factor will be the weather: in the past we have seen some very hot weather in Barcelona, but it isn’t always guaranteed.

"The start of the European season traditionally means that many teams bring important upgrades, and it will be very interesting to see how these interact with our 2015 tyres."

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Haas refute Ferrari B-team claims

Despite using Ferrari engines and parts, the Haas F1 team insists they will not become the Scuderia's B-team.

Last year, Haas signed a multi-year agreement with Ferrari that will allow the American outfit to use Ferrari power and 'non-listed' parts.

The move has led to some suggesting that makes Haas Ferrari's B-team and that the Italian stable could even have a say in their drive line-up.

That has been denied by team principal Gunther Steiner.

"I think they [Ferrari] are for us like a good partner, which helps us to get into F1," Steiner said in an interview with Autosport.

"We didn't speak about drivers with them. There is no plan to be their B-team and to do whatever they want. That's not the plan.

"There is a very good relationship, yes, and we want to go F1 racing and we asked them if they want to be our technical partner.

"The cars will not just be yellow Ferraris, because the bodywork will be different and the chassis is different."

The former Red Bull and Jaguar man also believes Haas will enter F1 as a competitive outfit, fighting for points in their very first season.

"[The goal is] to be respectable. Qualifying lower to mid-grid...12th, 14th, something like this, and knocking on the door of points initially. Then who knows?

"We want to score as many points as possible next year - I can give you one stupid answer, I've got the freedom of one stupid answer without facts!

"We'll review those objectives every year."

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Lotus 'could open some eyes'

Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi is hoping for a strong showing from the team at Barcelona as they introduce new updates.

After last year's disappointment, much was expected of Lotus this season as the team swapped Renault power for Mercedes engines.

However, on-track collisions and other issues have cost the team dearly, leaving them sixth in the Championship on 12 points.

The team, though, is hoping for an improved showing next weekend in Spain where they will introduce planned upgrades for the E23.

"We've been working hard on improving the E23 and how we use it, whether through the progress made in our technical debriefs, or the parts being fabricated here in Enstone," Gastaldi stated.

"There's potential for some things which could open some eyes in Barcelona and then at the next race in Monaco too. It's fair to say it's busy times at Enstone."

He also weighed in on his drivers' performances this season, saying while Romain Grosjean has impressed, his team-mate Pastor Maldonado has been the "victim of other drivers' mistakes."

He said: "Romain delivered another textbook driving display in Bahrain and he continues to impress us and other seasoned F1 observers with his on track prowess. He is very focused this year and this means he's making the most of every moment in the car.

"We're still waiting for those first 2015 points with Pastor and no-one wants them more than the man himself. Pastor is driving really well and has been the victim of other drivers' mistakes rather too much this year.

"We know he likes the E23 and can get it to deliver very good pace. Pastor enjoyed great success in Barcelona a few years ago so hopefully that is a good omen for him."

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Boullier keen on 2017 changes

Eric Boullier says McLaren would welcome regulation changes in 2017 because the team will be fully prepared to exploit them compared to this season.

Honda’s arrival has been hailed as McLaren’s best opportunity to beat Mercedes having previously been a customer of the 2014 constructors’ champions. However, so far McLaren has struggled due to reliability issues and the team has failed to score a point in the opening four rounds of the season.

With Toto Wolff saying the sport could be set for “a spectacular new formula in 2017", McLaren racing director Boullier says a change in regulations would be seen as an opportunity for his team.

“I’m trying to make my car fast, he has some time to do politics and make some jokes,” Boullier said when informed of Wolff’s comments. “Any changes we support, because we are ready and especially in two years we would be more than ready to fight.”

Honda is the only engine manufacturer at present which was not competing in F1 at the start of the current regulations, with Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault all developing their power units for the start of the 2014 season.

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Haas to announce driver line-up around September

The Haas F1 Team plans to announce its driver line-up for its debut season in September according to team principal Gunther Steiner.

The all-American outfit is preparing for its inaugural season, but with less than eight months until testing for 2016 kicks off, they've yet to sign a driver.

Steiner says they're in no rush as they continue to assess the driver market, with negotiations planned for the end of the year before an announcement is made.

"Our plan is to be clear of talks by August/September and then announce them," he confirmed to Autosport on Tuesday.

"The market is getting clearer and a lot of people are getting into contact with us now, because it's both ways.

"We are in no hurry, because we have to see who is on the market, who is doing good and who wants to move."

Whilst the team will have a European headquarters in the UK, the cars will be designed and constructed at its North Carolina base in the US.

Therefore the team is keen to hire an American driver, but it's not necessarily a must according to Steiner, who is keen to see an experienced driver in the car to help with development.

"We are looking at American drivers, but being American doesn't give you an automatic drive," he added.

"We need to have a known factor in this team. The team is new, everything is new, so if you throw in new drivers - if we have a problem we don't know where we got it wrong."

WHO THEN?

At present, the only American with experience in modern F1 machinery is former Caterham and Marussia test driver Alexander Rossi.

Meanwhile, the team could look to drivers like Heikki Kovalainen, Kamui Kobayashi, Jean-Eric Vergne and Adrian Sutil, all of whom are without a drive whilst having the necessary experience to help develop a car.

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An extraordinary press release

I don’t know much about an organisation called FEVR. What I do know (from looking it up) is that it is a French acronym for the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims. This organisation is an international NGO that provides assistance to road traffic victims and their relatives and supports organisations in many countries to achieve this aim. It is presided over by a lady called Brigitte Chaudhry, who 25 years ago established a charity called Roadpeace and later came up with the idea of organising the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Her efforts in this sector have been recognised with the award of an MBE in Britain.

The other thing I know, thanks to an extraordinary press release, is that her organisation is none too impressed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s decision to appoint Jean Todt as his special envoy for road safety.

“We don’t consider the FIA president, who certainly does a good job in his domain of the racing industry, as the right personality to be a credible advocate for all road users, particularly where the most vulnerable are concerned, pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities,” FEVR wrote.

This shows three things: that FEVR is not up to speed on views about the FIA in F1 circles; that the FIA is seen largely as a racing organisation (as I mentioned yesterday) and that feelings must be running very high if such an organisation is issuing press releases on this matter.

“EVR was shocked to learn at the end of last week that UN General Secretary has nominated Mr. Jean Todt, president of the FIA International Automobile Federation – as special UN Envoy for Road Safety,” the organisation said. “We believe a wrong signal is being sent to the world, especially NGOs working for safer roads and justice for road crash victims, which will be detrimental to tackling ‘the global road safety’. We were extremely disappointed to hear the news. FEVR has now been left with no alternative, but to formally dissociate itself from this appointment.

“FEVR is not against cars, we also have to use them sometimes. We are also not against racing in closed circuits. We are further very much in favour of ensuring that the safety features, which are so effective in cars sold in Europe, are extended to all cars sold in developing countries. But we are against this appointment.”

The organisation said it was shocked and saddened by the appointment of a motor sport representative to the position of UN Road Safety Envoy, especially as this was done without consultation with relevant NGOs and stakeholders, following initial denials of such an appointment.”

Wow… Strong stuff.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull F1 future rests on Audi - Montezemolo

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz will walk away from Formula 1 unless he can convince Audi to join the sport.

Red Bull has repeatedly threatened to leave Formula 1 after struggling to be competitive, in part due to the problems with the Renault power unit.

The French manufacturer has also admitted it is considering its future in the sport, and Red Bull has suggested it could be forced out of F1 if Renault leaves, as it would be left without an engine supplier.

Amid speculation linking the Volkswagen group with a move to F1, Montezemolo revealed Mateschitz is trying to lure Audi to join the field.

Speaking with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Montezemolo said Red Bull has "imploded" this year, adding that he thinks Ferrari has been lucky to regain its form while others have struggled.

"I honestly think they [Ferrari] have been a bit lucky: This year, apart from Mercedes, they have no other rivals," Montezemolo said.

"Williams has not improved and Red Bull has imploded - I know that Mateschitz is thinking of selling - 'I either convince Audi to enter or I'm leaving,' a mutual friend has told me - and McLaren is in crisis...

"In short, Ferrari starts every race with a podium in its pocket. But luck is useless if you don't take advantage of it."

Hybrid engine a mistake

Montezemolo also admitted he regrets the decision not to have blocked a move to V6 turbo engines when Ferrari was not prepared enough to be a match for the dominant Mercedes.

"Hybrid engines are the future, but in hindsight it would have been better to oppose them," he said.

The Italian, who left Ferrari halfway through last season, said he realised early that the team's engine was not good, and ordered former team boss Stefano Domenicali to switch focus to 2015, a decision he reckons it is now paying dividends.

"I called Domenicali and we started working immediately on 2015," he said. "We were confident about the chassis: we were back in our new, efficient wind tunnel after years of exile in Toyota's."

He added: "But I knew we had worked well ahead of 2015. So the moment when Vettel crossed the finish line at Sepang, I had confirmation that I had not only left a healthy company, but also a competitive team."

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F1 Spanish Grand Prix: Williams heading to Spain ‘with a lot of confidence’

Rob Smedley is confident Williams will have something more to offer when the 2015 F1 season resumes with round five and the Spanish Grand Prix.

After four races, Williams has firmly established itself as the 'third' team of F1 behind Mercedes and Ferrari, but comfortably ahead of Red Bull, with Smedley saying Williams is now focused on closing the gap down to the duo in front.

Indeed, With the first European race of the season set to see teams bring a raft of updates and upgrades, Smedley believes Williams can head to Spain with 'a lot of confidence'.

“We're heading into the European season after a reasonably successful campaign that has put us a solid third position in the championship. Our aim now is to keep moving forward and close the gap to the teams in front. Barcelona is a good measure of everyone's upgrade packages and shows how well teams have developed their cars.

“The circuit is an excellent test of a Formula One car with Turn 3 offering a long, high speed test and sector three always being demanding on the car as it exposes its performance levels.

“We are heading into the weekend with a lot of confidence but there will be a lot of work to do leading up to qualifying as we learn about the new updated package.

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Force India expects upgrades to have big impact

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya believes the closeness of the mid-field means its impending upgrades could see it make a big stride up the order.

Following the late appearance of its VJM08, Force India has been sceptical of its chances around its rivals, but after making the most of a high attrition rate in Australia to score there, a charging drive to eighth by Sergio Perez suggested the team turned a corner in Bahrain in terms of pure pace.

Indeed, though Force India maintains it is 'not where it wants to be' at this time, the closely-matched form of the mid-field teams all the way up to Red Bull – which is currently fourth in the constructors' standings – gives Mallya confidence that the upcoming upgrades will make a significant difference.

“It's fair to say that we've had mixed fortunes during the opening four races. On the positive side, we've scored points in half the races and I've been impressed by the fighting spirit of the team. On the other hand, we know the VJM08 is not where we want it to be and that we need to work hard to unlock more of its potential.

“It's still early days in the season, but it's worth noting how closely-matched the midfield teams remain. There are times when we see up to ten cars within half a second of each other, which means that any improvements we can bring to the car will have a big impact on our results.

“Our pace has been improving with each race, but we will need to wait a little longer before we can make a big step. I'm optimistic about the updates we have planned and we are working hard to get them to the track as soon as possible. The priority over the next few races is to stay in touch with the teams around us. As it stands, fourth place in the championship is just 12 points ahead of us, so we need to keep fighting hard and picking up points when we can.”

Having originally wanted to bring its big upgrade package for the Spanish Grand Prix, Force India is likely to wait until the Austrian Grand Prix next month to bring its revised car.

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Fernando Alonso drives Ayrton Senna's 1988 McLaren

Fernando Alonso has shared a video of him behind the wheel of Ayrton Senna's iconic title-winning MP4/4.

The Spaniard posted a video to Twitter which sees himself and team-mate Jenson Button driving at the Circuit de Catalunya, with the Spaniard in the MP4/4 and the Brit in this season's MP4-30, while the voice of Senna speaks over the footage. The video is a trailer for "Don't Crack Under Pressure", a film campaign McLaren has launched to celebrate its 30-year partnership with TAG Heuer.

Alonso posted the video to his followers on Tuesday afternoon:

The video comes with McLaren expected to reveal a tweaked livery in Barcelona, though it seems unlikely the team will adopt the iconic red and white colours of the Honda-powered MP4/4. The 1988 challenger is one of the most dominant cars in F1 history, winning all but one race and claiming all but one pole that season. Senna pipped team-mate and rival Alain Prost to the championship, which was the first of his career.

The full film will be released on May 7 in Barcelona.

[MIKA27]

Current F1 cars feel very slow - Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso says current Formula One cars feel very slow in comparison to the cars he drove in the early stages of his career, but he has given up trying to influence the future direction of the sport.

F1 is at a crossroads at the moment with some stakeholders looking to alter the regulations in 2017 despite a complete overhaul of the formula last year. High on the agenda for 2017 are proposals to make the cars more powerful and more difficult to drive, but it remains to be seen whether they would be able to match the lap times of the cars from 2004, which still hold most lap records.

"I think the cars are different, the cars are slower and heavier," Alonso said. "In China, the pace in the race was 1:43s and in 2004 the pace was 1:33s, so it is 10 seconds difference. When you drive 10 seconds slower you don't have the same feelings, but 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 you are doing 50kph, so it doesn't matter how much quicker or slower you are, you just enjoy the competition. In terms of pure Formula One feelings, of course as a driver we are very slow at the moment."

Alonso said drivers are not in a position to influence the regulations because teams and manufacturers in the sport have more power.

"It is tough, it is difficult. As a driver, you're in a position to ask for many things but I think there is so many interests, so many businesses in the sport and manufacturers involved, they are more powerful than any driver's opinion. You enjoy driving even go-karts, so it just a matter of trying to win."

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McLaren-Honda won't use F1 engine tokens for Spanish GP

McLaren's Formula 1 engine supplier Honda has chosen not to use any of its engine token allocation as part of its updated package for the Spanish GP.

The McLaren-Honda alliance promised a significant update both to the chassis and engine for Barcelona as it searches for its first points of the current campaign.

Team principal Eric Boullier hinted in Bahrain last month that Honda could use some of its nine tokens in a bid to bridge the gap to its rivals.

However, the Japanese manufacturer has not dipped into that allocation, which allows for in-season engine development and can be used at any time, instead focusing on improving its current package.

The updates centre around reliability and drivability and improving the manufacturing quality of small components on the power unit.

There have also been updates to the engine mapping software as the alliance looks to improve on Fernando Alonso's 11th place finish in Bahrain.

"The short break before the Spanish GP has been good for Honda, to calmly reflect on what has happened in the first four races, to analyse what we have done well or not so well, and to make preparations ahead of the European races," said Honda motorsport chief Yasuhisa Arai.

"We hope that Spain will see another incremental step forward for Honda, in which we've prepared updates on the power unit to help with driveability and reliability.

"And like us, McLaren has had a productive two weeks and will be bringing more updates to test at the track and we'll see how the car will run together as one.

"We're confident that every step we take together as a team is in the right direction, and hopefully this weekend will once again prove our continuing progress."

Remaining engine development tokens

Renault 12

Ferrari 10

Honda 9

Mercedes 7

[LLC]

I'm getting sick of all this talk of Red Bull quitting F1. If they feel they can't compete leave already, the sport will continue on without them.

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MCLAREN REVEALS REVISED LIVERY

McLaren confirmed reports it is tweaking the livery on their Honda powered livery ahead of the Spanish grand prix.

Earlier media reports suggested the works Honda-powered team was set to drop the chrome from its identity, perhaps as it is too closely related to its Mercedes-linked past.

Some had even speculated that McLaren might return to the iconic, Senna and Marlboro-esque white and red of the highly-successful 80s, while others said grey and ‘rocket red’ would in fact be the MP4-30’s new look.

“We have revised our car’s livery,” a McLaren spokesman told us, “improving its visual impact, optimising it for not only bright sunshine but also for the floodlights increasingly used in twilight and night races.

“The result is a dynamic, predatory, graphite-grey colouration, complemented by McLaren-dayglo ‘Speedmarks’ and keylines, reducing the reflection issues caused by our latest chrome-silver treatment,” he added.

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MONTEZEMOLO: DOMENICALI WANTED VETTEL AT ALL COSTS

Fernando Alonso had become dark and moody by the time Ferrari realised it needed a change according to ousted former long-time Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, and revealed that Sebastian Vettel had been on Ferrari radar for a long time.

Montezemolo this week hit back at suggestions it was in fact his successor Sergio Marchionne who made the decisive move for Sebastian Vettel.

“The first to speak about Vettel at Ferrari was Schumacher,” he told La Repubblica newspaper. “It was the summer when he was to replace Massa. He said: Seb would be perfect for you.”

“Domenicali wanted him at all costs,” Montezemolo continued. “He took him to my house in Bologna and Vettel showed up with a box of Swiss chocolates.

“Mattiacci continued the work, and when Marchionne saw that Alonso had become dark and moody and continually manifested distrust in the team, we decided to change,” he revealed.

Montezemolo claims that Vettel has also brought a financial benefit to Maranello, “Vettel certainly earns less than Alonso had asked for a renewal. And then Arrivabene really helped to impose a new and positive climate.”

Backing Montezemolo’s claims that Ferrari needed the Alonso-Vettel switch is former test driver Pedro de la Rosa.

“Fernando has always said that the McLaren project is for the medium and long term,” he insisted to the Spanish newspaper Diario Sport. “He knows better than anyone what he had [at Ferrari].”

“But knowing as I do the atmosphere in the last months at Ferrari, it was something that needed change and that’s why I always supported Fernando’s decision, even if it is something that affected me,” de la Rosa added.

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LOMBARDI FEAT A MERE FOOTNOTE TO TRAGIC 1975 SPANISH GRAND PRIX

The 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona’s Montjuich circuit has gone down in Formula 1 history as a safety shambles after a deadly accident that might have been prevented.

It also entered the record books, almost as a footnote, for a unique result that remains unrivalled 40 years on as Formula 1 returns to Spain for Sunday’s race at the modern Circuit de Catalunya.

Finishing sixth, two laps behind McLaren winner Jochen Mass in a race stopped at one third distance with only half points awarded, was Italian Maria Grazia ‘Lella’ Lombardi in her March car.

Even if race reports focused more on her ability to keep out of harm’s way from the back of the field, it was the best ever result by a woman driver and made her the only one to finish in the points — in only her second race.

No other driver has scored only half a point in their entire F1 career. Only eight cars finished the Spanish race, and there was little to celebrate.

A photographer, fireman and three spectators died when the high rear wing on Rolf Stommelen’s Lola Hill broke, sending the car over barriers with flying debris hitting bystanders. The German driver survived with broken bones.

The potential for tragedy had been flagged up before the start, with some drivers threatening a boycott when they turned up at the circuit to find hastily-assembled temporary barriers unbolted or tied together with thin wire.

The teams sent out their own mechanics to fix the problems as far as possible but even that was not enough for some drivers.

Defending world champion Emerson Fittipaldi declared the situation unacceptable and refused to race. When told by then FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre that he would be banned from the following race in Monaco, the McLaren driver did one lap and retired.

Fittipaldi went on to race in Monaco but Lombardi, a butcher’s daughter from a village near Turin, was absent after failing to qualify — along with the likes of Jacques Laffite and Graham Hill.

Although she managed a seventh place in Germany that year — when only the top six earned points — and finished ahead of American Mario Andretti in 10th, the Italian left F1 in 1976. She died of cancer at the age of 48 in 1992.

Montjuich never again hosted a grand prix and Mass never won another either.