FORMULA 1 - 2015

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Further delays for Force India

Force India may only introduce a B-spec car at the British Grand Prix, round nine of the season, revealed Sergio Perez.

Ever since the opening race of this season, which got underway with minimal pre-season running for Force India, the Silverstone team has been speaking about introducing a major upgrade.

Such is the magnitude of the changes but it would be a B-spec of the current VJM07.

There has been talk of the revised car debuting in Monaco, which was later pushed back to Austria. Now Perez says it may only run for the first time at July's British GP.

"We are obviously pushing very hard back at the factory, trying to bring the package together," he said.

"We would love to have the package for Barcelona, which didn't happen. I think Silverstone will be the first time we have a new package."

But despite that set-back, Perez feels his team has done an "amazing" job to even be sitting on 11 points from the opening four grands prix.

"I think the first four races have been better than expected.

"When you look at our position right now, we've done an amazing job, the whole team.

"We're only one point away from Lotus, 12 points from Red Bull. It's been a pretty good effort considering where the car is."

However, he fears this weekend's Spanish GP could be a trying one for the team but no more so than in previous races.

"I expect to have a difficult one, but on the other hand, not any more difficult than other weekends," he added.

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Niki Lauda wary of Ferrari challenge

Having closed the gap to "zero", Niki Lauda is expecting Ferrari will challenge Mercedes all the way to the final lap of the campaign.

This season has seen a rejuvinated Ferrari team out on track as Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have taken the fight to the Mercedes pairing.

Vettel is the only driver aside from Lewis Hamilton to have won a grand prix while Ferrari is the only team aside from Mercedes to have featured on the podium.

Their improvement, though, has been largely overshadowed by Hamilton's incredible form.

The British racer has claimed three of the opening four race wins and finished second to Vettel to Malaysia, easing him to a healthy 27-point lead in the Drivers' Championship.

Lauda, though, is adamant the battle has only just begun.

"The season is not finished," he told Press Association.

"Ferrari is very strong, there is no question about it, and as a racing team you should never think that nobody can catch you, then you make a big mistake.

"Ferrari has closed the gap from last year to this year to zero.

"I think they increased their engine by about 45 horsepower, so my estimate at the moment is that they have the same engine power as the Mercedes has and now it depends on the car and what the drivers can do - and there will be close racing all the way through the season."

The triple World Champion added: "The best of the rest at the moment is Ferrari, there is no question, and then Williams for me is a little bit disappointing at the moment, but I know that they will bring some upgrades, so then they should be okay."

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Video: Don’t crack under pressure – A legend returns

Celebrating thirty of years of partnership with McLaren, TAG Heuer presents 'Don't Crack Under Pressure'.

This unique film features the most iconic car in the 30 year partnership, the MP4/4, and witnesses Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button following in the footsteps of racing legend, Ayrton Senna.

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Drivers hoping Monza keeps place on Formula 1 calendar

Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso are hoping the threatened Italian Grand Prix keeps its place on the F1 calendar.

Italy is one of only two countries to have held a round of the world championship since the series began but Formula One Management boss Bernie Ecclestone has indicated it could lose its slot in future as another of F1’s historic races, the German Grand Prix, did earlier this year.

“Monza is one of the legendary tracks so of course it is important to the F1 calendar just as the German Grand Prix is important,” said Rosberg.

“Of course I definitely wish that we continue to race there in front of the Tifosi, the atmosphere is always awesome. It’s important to F1, that race.”

Alonso, who won the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver in 2010, agreed with Rosberg but pointed out that just because a race is considered “important” does not mean it will hold onto its place in F1.

“It’s one of the best races of the year,” said Alonso. “The podium is amazing there with all the fans on the main straight. And it is the home of Ferrari so it’s very important for Formula One.”

“But as Nico said also the German Grand Prix is very important and it’s not any more this year, so who knows?”

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Hot and dry conditions for Spanish Grand Prix

Sunny and very warm weather is forecast for the Spanish Grand Prix – although the hottest conditions will be seen before the competitive action takes place.

The mercury will be approaching 30C when the cars take to the track for the second practice session to hone their set-ups for race day. The grand prix itself is expected to see slightly cooler conditions, with air temperatures reaching a maximum of 27C.

However a generous helping of Sunday sunshine should make for some hot track temperatures which, combined with the punishing nature of the Catalunya track, will make severe demands of Pirelli’s hard and medium tyre compounds.

The more exposed parts of the circuit, particularly the high-speed Campsa corner, can be tricky for drivers when the wind is high. Friday is expected to be fairly gusty, but conditions will settle as the weekend goes on, and the threat of rain is negligible.

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Hamilton taking nothing for granted as rivals chase Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton isn't taking anything for granted about the form of Mercedes as rival teams continue to develop their cars and try to close the gap.

The Brackley-based squad has started 2015 where it left off at the end of the previous season, comfortably in command of the constructors' table with Hamilton leading the drivers' standings from teammate Nico Rosberg.

But Hamilton insists that Mercedes can't afford to rest on its laurels, particularly with a rejuvenated Ferrari now nipping at the team's heels, saying: “We're by no means in the clear; we've got a long, long way to go.

"I know that others are working very, very hard to close that gap, so I've got to really stay on my toes, really kind of continue to be innovative with the things I do on the track and my engineers to really extract the most from the car, and even more if possible.

However, the two-time champion says he remains assured that his team is still on top of the situation.

“I feel confident that the team has done everything we could to be as strong as we can this weekend, and to improve,” he said.

“Others have definitely improved as well, but I'm confident in my guys. We've not come with a ton of upgrades – it's generally not the philosophy of the team to just pile on lots of different things.

"We've come with quality upgrades, not quantity. Hopefully we'll be good, but it's a guess.”

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Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix: Ricciardo targets Williams, Ferrari with RBR upgrades

Daniel Ricciardo says he expects Red Bull to be challenging Williams and getting 'closer' to Ferrari in the Spanish Grand Prix on the back of its performance upgrades, even if he says the Renault must be cautious with its power unit.

The Australian comes into the fifth round of the season already onto his fourth Renault power unit following a spate of reliability issues during the first portion of 2015.

Though he admits measures have been taken to ensure the current power unit last as long as possible before another failure lands Ricciardo a penalty, he is more positive about the introduction of upgrades by Red Bull itself.

“We have a few aero parts, which should help us,” he said. “These are things we have tried to push through as soon as possible. The time since Bahrain has given us more time to get it on the car in the right way, so it should work well here. Everyone has some parts, but we feel this is the biggest step we should make since Melbourne.

“It should give more downforce. It is hardtop quantify how much but the basic thing is more downforce, so more grip on the front.”

Indeed, Ricciardo has lofty hopes for the upgrades, saying it should return Red Bull into a fight with Williams and possibly get within range of Ferrari.

“I don't want to get too excited but I think this weekend has the potential to put us back in that fight, at least with Williams, and get us closer to Ferrari. The aero gains we should make should definitely put us closer, but it depends what the other guys have done. Curing some of the balance issues we have had, these updates sound promising.”

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Sainz hopes for unforgettable maiden Spanish GP

Carlos Sainz Jr says he wants to make his maiden home Formula 1 Grand Prix a race he will never forget and is hoping to make the Spanish fans proud.

The Spaniard is preparing for his first Formula 1 race on home soil and says he is raring to go at a circuit he is familiar with after the flyaway rounds.

“Being Spanish, the Spanish Grand Prix will always be the highlight of the year and the most special race of the season for me,” Sainz Jr said. “I will have family and friends around and obviously, my first Formula 1 race on home soil will be something I will never forget.”

The Barcelona circuit hosted two pre-season Formula 1 tests earlier in the year and represents the first track the young Spaniard has competed on before.

However, circuit conditions are expected to be much hotter compared to the tests and the 22-year-old says his Toro Rosso team will have a very different set up with its STR10.

“The track temperature will be much higher so the car balance will change completely,” he explained. “It will be challenging to see how much of a change there is between winter testing and May.”

The Madrid-born driver has ruled out any detailed finishing targets but is hoping to achieve a result to make the Spanish fans proud.

"I'm really looking forward to the weekend ahead and it would be really nice to achieve a good result in front of my home crowd.”

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VETTEL: WE WAIT AND SEE IF OUR UPGRADES WILL BE EFFECTIVE

Ferrari, along with most other teams, will have a truck load of new development upgrades for their car in Barcelona but Sebastian Vettel is managing expectations by adopting a wait and see approach for the weekend in Barcelona.

Speaking from the paddock in Circuit de Catalunya, Vettel said, “I think everybody is right: we have to wait and see what’s happening on Sunday as Barcelona has always been historically the track where to bring updates, sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller.”

“We’re doing as all the other teams, bringing updates to catch up who’s in front of us. Every time you bring new parts you have to wait and see if they’re working well or not when you’re on the track and it also depends on how big is the step that the other teams has done,” said the four times worldchampion.

Reports suggest that Ferrari have a vastly revised SF15-T which they will unleash in Spain, as the Maranello outfit pursue pace setters Mercedes.

“Compared to the gap to the other teams we’ve seen here during the winter test session three months ago, we’ve improved a lot, but the gap [to Mercedes] is still there.”

“What we really need is to be faster, in every condition: it’s true that we know this track very well, but it is also true that we have very different conditions compared to the winter session. It is 15-20 degrees hotter now and I don’t need to explain you what does it mean,” added Vettel.

The German lies third in the F1 world championship standings with a victory to his credit after four races.

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ROSBERG: IT’S NOT REALLY COME TOGETHER UNTIL NOW

Nico Rosberg on Thursday dismissed the notion that he has slowed down this season, in relation to teammate Lewis Hamilton, and instead suggested he can win this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, if he “maximises” his performance.

The 29-year-old German, who is 27 points behind the 30-year-old Briton in this year’s drivers’ championship after the opening four races, was in bullish form on Thursday.

“Of course, the results speak for themselves and it is pretty clear,” he conceded, when asked specifically about his disappointing form this year and theories that he is already struggling to match world champion Hamilton.

“But, for me, Barcelona is a race on its own and I come here after a personal boost from Bahrain and I just want to optimise this weekend. That’s it and I am not really thinking about it more than that.”

In each of the four Grands Prix so far, Hamilton has been dominant, beating his teammate in qualifying and the races.

“It’s just a matter of maximising the weekend and it’s not really come together until now. Parts have gone well, but other parts not so well and I just need to put it all together. Of course I will try to do that from now onwards.”

Looking composed in a regulation black team t-shirt, Rosberg said red was the colour that he and Mercedes now feared most in the form of Ferrari.

“We expect it to be similar now to the last couple of races,” he said.

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FORCE INDIA DRIVERS TO FLIP COIN OVER NEW CAR

Force India may have to flick a coin to decide whether Sergio Perez or Nico Hulkenberg is first to race their upgraded Formula 1 car.

Deputy principal Bob Fernley told Reuters at the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday that the team hoped to get the long-awaited ‘B specification’ car on track in time for the race in Austria on June 21.

However, there may be only one car ready due to the need for crash tests.

“At the moment it’s on schedule for, hopefully, the race (in Austria). At least one car. But if not the race, the test (also in Austria the week after),” said Fernley.

“If it’s on the race, it will be a flick of the coin. It will be completely fair… if we can deliver a car it would be beneficial to both drivers to get it out for the Austrian race weekend just to give us a head start.”

Force India started the season on the back foot due to cash flow problems that delayed the car build and restricted parts from suppliers.

The car they are currently racing did not make its track debut until the third and final pre-season test in Barcelona in March, some two weeks before the opening race in Australia.

The Silverstone-based team are currently eighth overall, with 11 points from the first four races, a point behind Lotus and Toro Rosso and eight adrift of fifth-placed Sauber.

Fernley said the basic chassis and suspension of the current car was new for 2015 but the B spec one would have revised aerodynamics.

“We’ve run the same car since Barcelona effectively. I think the team have done a great job,” he added.

Force India’s two major co-owners are Indian drinks tycoon Vijay Mallya and jailed Sahara Group chairman Subrata Roy.

Both have hit trouble in India, with a consortium of largely state-run Indian banks seeking repayment of more than $1 billion of loans from Mallya’s failed Kingfisher Airlines, which has not flown since 2012.

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HAMILTON: NICO WILL BE QUICK, I JUST NEED TO BE QUICKER

Defending champion and series leader Lewis Hamilton outpaced Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg to top the practice times on Friday despite feeling worried about his car’s inconsistent performance in gusty winds at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The 30-year-old Briton conceded that he was concerned by the set-up of his car and the conditions. Asked if he was happy with the balance of the Mercedes, Hamilton replied: “At the moment I’m not.

“I don’t really know why. It felt very inconsistent throughout the lap because the wind is up and down. In some places you’re getting gusts, but sometimes you’re not getting a gust.

“Sometimes it’s over-steer, sometimes its under-steer. Sometimes it’s fine, perfect. Then, the next lap, it’s different.

“So that makes it very difficult to find the set-up. I don’t know if there is less grip because this is what we started with – it’s like Melbourne.”

Hamilton added that he was also concerned at the determined manner in which Rosberg had applied himself on Friday.

“I think he’s going to be quick. I just need to be quicker,” said Hamilton who has won three of the four races this season, opening a 27-point lead.

Driving with his usual elan and precision, the two-time world champion clocked a best lap in one minute and 26.852 seconds to finish almost half a second clear of nearest rival four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.

Rosberg, given a reprimand during the morning for infringing the pit-lane entry lines as he worked his way to the fastest lap of that session, wound up seven-tenths of a second back in third place.

The reprimand was his first since last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix. It’s always a compromise between long run and short run, set-up wise and everything,” said the German.

“And especially in these conditions. It’s very hot so very tough on the tyres, on a long run, but for sure I need to work on my one lap pace for tomorrow. Mainly it was that I worked the tyres too hard on the out lap so, starting the flying lap, they were just too hot.”

“All in all it was a good day. I have to say, for the race especially, it was looking pretty good, especially compared to Ferrari, which is important, and compared to Lewis, it was close.”

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ALONSO: I SAID NO TO FERRARI OFFER TO STAY UNTIL 2019

Fernando Alonso has hit back at former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo’s claim that the Spaniard was “dark and moody” last year, and revealed that the Maranello outfit made him an offer to stay with the team until the end of this decade.

Although the Italian team’s long-time president is also no longer wearing red, Montezemolo claimed he participated in the decision to look into the future with Sebastian Vettel. Alonso hit back on Thursday.

“I think it’s normal” that Montezemolo would say that, Alonso is quoted by Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo in Barcelona. “They see you happy and satisfied and it’s maybe difficult to accept the decisions I took last year.”

“Especially because I had an offer to stay in Ferrari until 2019. It has to be hard to be told no,” Alonso added.

Now, however, the overwhelming feeling in the paddock is that Alonso, 33, made a serious error in leaving Ferrari just as the team was entering a period of resurgence.

And now McLaren team boss Eric Boullier is saying McLaren-Honda might take up to four years to get up to title-winning speed.

“Well,” Alonso said on Thursday, “if I could sign now that in four years I will win, yes (I would) — but it is no guarantee.”

Teammate Jenson Button – also a former world champion – told a reporter on Thursday that McLaren is “definitely not” in crisis.

But the Spanish daily Marca reports that Honda officials are actually housing themselves in a separate ‘motor home’ in the Barcelona paddock this weekend.

Button insisted: “They’re not an engine supplier, they’re a partner.”

And Alonso says he definitely has the “patience” to wait for success, “I never had any clear expectations. It is true that the difficulties are a bit bigger than we – everybody in the team – thought. But at the same time the recovery is better than we thought.”

Finally, Alonso said he has “no concerns” about racing through Barcelona’s turn three this weekend, even though a mysterious crash there in winter testing sidelined him for a month.

The FIA has now ordered an additional video camera be placed in the corner, in apparent recognition that it is not sure exactly what happened on February 22.

“I’m back here with full confidence,” Alonso insisted, “and full motivation to deliver a good result in front of a home crowd.”

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Barcelona renews F1 deal until 2019

Formula 1 will return to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya until 2019 after organisers agreed a contract extension with Bernie Ecclestone.

Formula 1 first raced at the Spanish track back in 1991 and this year marks the 25th edition of the grand prix.

The current deal was set to expire after this weekend's race but the relationship that is now set to continue for a further three years.

"We are extremely proud to announce this renewal in such a special year, marking the 25th anniversary of Formula 1 Grand Prix being hosted uninterruptedly at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya," said circuit President Vicenç Aguilera.

"We thus extend this fruitful relationship with Formula 1 and we look forward to the next 25 years."

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Dan hopes to avoid Monaco penalty

Once again blighted by engine woes, Daniel Ricciardo is hoping his new power unit will at least make it to the end of the next race in Monaco.

The Aussie sat out the bulk of Friday's second practice for the Spanish GP as yet again his RB11 required an engine change.

The new power unit was installed and he managed to venture out for the final few minutes of the session, clocking a 1:29.098 to finish P13.

However, Ricciardo has more worries that just this weekend's Spanish GP.

Now on his fourth engine, he will be hit with a grid penalty in Monaco if he needs a fifth any time this weekend or in Monte Carlo.

He lamented: "We expected today to be limited with mileage.

"The main thing is to try to get this engine to the end of Monaco.

"That's the last place you want to take a penalty, so fingers crossed this engine lasts at least two weekends and then we'll assess everything after that.

"We've got to save mileage so we wouldn't have done much more this afternoon - probably one more run.

"Unfortunately we have to be aware that I'm already onto the last one. It's not something we can ignore.

"We're doing what we can, and we hope this engine will get us through at least Monaco so we don't have a penalty on a street circuit."

The Red Bull racer will now turn to his team-mate Daniil Kvyat to garner any information about the track.

And, having witnessed the Russian driver's P5 on Friday, Ricciardo at least feels there is the possibility of a good result - if his engine doesn't break down.

He added: "Dany had a cleaner session and we'll also look at his data and try to learn a few things for tomorrow.

"There's a lot of potential with the upgrades and tomorrow's qualifying is what counts."

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Rosberg reprimanded for pit lane entry infringement

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has been hit with a reprimand for crossing the white line which denotes the entry to the pit lane, during practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The German fell foul of Article 12.1.1.i, Appendix L of the Sporting Regulations which stipulates a driver must not cross the white line on the far side of the bollard, which marks the start of the pit lane entrance.

It's Rosberg's first reprimand since the 2014 Bahrain GP, therefore this is his first of the current season.

The FIA stewards, which include 1980 world champion Alan Jones, reviewed video footage of the incident before making their decision. They issued the following statement on Friday: "The driver crossed the line separating the pit entry from the track and did not stay to the right of the bollard, as required in the race director's event notes.

The race director's notes, issued by Charlie Whiting on Thursday stated that "for safety reasons, drivers must keep to the right of the bollard at the pit entry."

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ROSBERG CLAIMS POLE IN SPAIN AND FINALLY TRUMPS HAMILTON

Nico Rosberg delivered one of his best qualifying performances ever to claim pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, trumping his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the process and with it putting the Formula 1 championship leader on the back foot for the first time this season.

Rosberg signalled his intent by topping the timing sheets in the morning FP3 session, and a few hours later dug deep to blitz around the Circuit de Catalunya in a pole winning lap time of 1:24.681 – a quarter second up on Hamilton, who had to settle for second best in qualifying for the first time this season.

For Rosberg it was crucial that he started the European campaign attacking, and on the day he did just that on his way to his 16th career pole position.

In Q2 he showed his hand by going top of the timing screens, then followed that up with a scorching first lap in Q3 which in the end was enough to claim top spot on the grid.

Rosberg summed up his afternoon, “Of course I needed it [pole position] sooner rather than later. It is one step in the right direction to winning the race. It was a good day in the office.”

And added, “Strategy is important. It’s a big advantage to have new set of used tyres for the race. Overtaking is more difficult around here, so starting in front is a big advantage.”

Hamilton admitted that he simply had no answer to his teammate, the Briton was 0.267 of a second off the top time with his first attempt. His second attempt was also short.

“Nico did a great job. I didn’t have the balance where I liked. [in the race] there’s still a lot to play for,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t think I was on the back foot, I just didn’t have pace and didn’t do a great job.”

Once again Mercedes were in another class, ominously on the hard tyres in Q1 the Silver Arrows were about 1.5 seconds quicker than the next best which was Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari.

The quadruple world champion was three quarters of a second down (on the softer tyres) when the chequered flag dropped to end qualifying, nevertheless he had done enough to claim third on the grid but well short of challenging the Mercedes duo.

Vettel said, “I think it is great for Ferrari to keep confirming how close we are. This is a great race for us it is very nearly a home race for us.”

“You have to say the two guys sat at the side of me [Rosberg and Hamilton] are doing a good job, hopefully tomorrow we can be closer than today but they are doing a good job,” added the Ferrari driver.

Kimi Raikkonen who has been out of sorts all weekend, ended nearly a second down on Vettel, which was only good for seventh.

Valterri Bottas was fourth in the Williams, suggesting a turn around in fortunes for the Grove outfit who have under-delivered on expectations, but Felipe Massa was over a second slower than his teammate and ended the session in ninth.

Stars of the qualifying show in Barcelona have to be the Toro Rosso rookies, with Carlos Sainz fifth quickest, and his teenage teammate Max Verstappen sixth, both out-qualifying their Red Bull ‘big brothers’ in the process. Daniil Kvyat was eighth and Daniel Ricciardo tenth.

Lotus pair of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado were just out of the top ten and will share row six on the grid for the race.

A massive McLaren renaissance did not happen in Barcelona, but they did both make it beyond Q3 for the first time with both cars, their two world champions, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, were 13th and 14th respectively.

It was a depressing outcome for Force India on the day as both Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez failed to make it beyond Q1.

In closing it is noteworthy that since the first race at Circuit de Catalunya in 1991, 92% of the 24 races at the circuit have been won from the front row, with 18 of those wins from pole and four from second place on the grid.

Statistics favour Rosberg and pole position gives him the upper-hand, now he has to do the business and bring it home first in the race. Anything less will be a blow to his title aspirations and will dash his hopes of seriously challenging Hamilton for the biggest prize in motorsport.

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LOTUS GETS INTO MAD MAX MODE

Lotus F1 Team, in co-operation with Warner Bros. Pictures, has prepared a radical-looking proposal for an alternative Formula 1 future.

The vehicle – designated the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid – is a fusion of Formula 1 technology reimagined for a post-apocalyptic future to coincide with the 15 May 2015 launch of the epic action adventure Mad Max: Fury Road, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures.

More than a decade in the making, Mad Max: Fury Road is filmmaking mastermind George Miller’s keenly anticipated return to the post-apocalyptic world he created more than 30 years ago with the seminal Mad Max trilogy.

Fitted with special accessories and heavy modifications for a world gone mad, the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid was unveiled at the Barcelona International Motor Show at the Montjuïc Exhibition Centre – at the same location for four Spanish Grand Prix between 1969-1975 – in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday, 8 May, along with two custom, drivable vehicles designed and created for the film: Nux’s car and the iconic Mad Max Interceptor.

Accompanying the vehicles was Lotus F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, both of whom will drive Mad Max: Fury Road-branded cars competing in the Spanish Grand Prix, held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 9-10 May 2015.

Matthew Carter, Lotus F1 Team, CEO: “Lotus F1 Team is always viewed as a challenger team, so this was a fantastic opportunity to work with Warner Bros. Pictures on the concept of producing a Formula 1 car for the ultimate challenge of the nightmare scenario of an apocalyptic society seemingly headed for oblivion. This car acknowledges the tenacious nature of Lotus F1 Team; no matter what the rules in Formula 1’s future, we are here to stay and compete.”

Con Gornell, executive vice president of European marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures: “Powerful cars and high speeds are in the DNA of Mad Max, and the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid is emblematic of that spirit. We’re delighted to work with Lotus F1 Team bring a little of the Wasteland to the Spanish Grand Prix.”

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HUGS BACK IN FASHION AS FERRARI REDISCOVER LOVING FEELING

Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene was wearing a red sling on Friday as he patrolled the Italian team’s garage and pit wall at the Spanish Grand Prix.

It was emblazoned with the number 27 and signalled a respectful memory of one of the scuderia’s most revered drivers, Canadian Gilles Villeneuve, who died at Zolder, in Belgium, on this day in 1982.

During afternoon practice, current Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, an instinctive racer, complained of boredom when asked to continue lapping the track in a session that, to him, offered little sense of purpose.

His maverick attitude provoked a ripple of laughter as it was relayed, via a broadcast of the team’s radio communications, to reporters in the media centre at the Circuit de Catalunya. ‘Give him an ice-cream’, was the universal cry.

The two incidents are linked. Together, they offer an insight into what has changed at Ferrari this year –- and explain why, in part, the team appears to be happier, the drivers more determined and the cars are going faster.

A management revamp has changed the atmosphere and rekindled Ferrari’s humanity. Another reason is the way in which four-time champion Sebastian Vettel has settled in after moving from Red Bull.

His humour and energy have fitted perfectly with the new regime ushered in with Arrivabene whose sling is a legacy of recent arm surgery.

Only a lunchtime delivery of Lambrusco is required now to help revive memories of the old days when team founder Enzo Ferrari was still in charge and the mechanics were ‘fed and watered’ in a traditionally Italian fashion.

If 2014 was a year of dark and unrelenting misery for most at Maranello, as the company president Luca di Montezemolo, No 1 driver Fernando Alonso, two bosses and a series of other senior staff departed, then 2015 has, so far, seen the sun shine again.

This has been manifested most clearly in the behaviour of Raikkonen. A career worst 12th in the championship last year, he has shaken off that forlorn form.

In Bahrain, three weeks ago, he beat Vettel and finished third, claiming his first podium since 2013.

On Thursday, in Barcelona, he was reported to have revelled in a chance to speak and enjoy himself when invited to make an appearance at a marketing function. In the past, he has been known to regard three successive words as a long answer.

“It is all different now,” he explained. “We have a different boss and we have a different relationship. It is not the same as last year.

“I know Maurizio from before [when he worked for Ferrari sponsor Marlboro] and we had a very good relationship. Yeh, there is a difference how the team’s being run this year and how things are being done inside the team.

“I think it’s only a good change and it’s the only way how it should be run and be good for the team.”

After years of an un-Italian pursuit of technical brilliance allied to a more sterile style of management, Arrivabene has apparently brought back unchecked emotions.

Hugs are back in fashion and Latin passion, once a Ferrari cliché, is apparent again. For Raikkonen, it has delivered a return of equality between the two drivers and encouragement to compete, in the interests of the team.

“In the end, in the team, there are two cars and two drivers and we fight for the drivers’ championship, but the team wants to win the constructors’ championship – and you need two cars for that.

“In the end Ferrari wants Ferrari to win and they will give us both the same chances and fair treatment so it is up to us. We try to behave as well as we can against each other. If we have to race, we try to beat each other, but in a good way, and in the interests of the team. It’s a lot better than it was last year.”

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RED BULL CRISIS DEEPENS IN BARCELONA

Renault has turned down the performance of its troubled power unit as it stands on the cusp of an embarrassing run of Formula 1 grid penalties.

Drivers powered by the French engines are rapidly running through their allocation of four units for the whole 2015 season.

So when asked about the performance of his V6 turbo in Barcelona, Daniel Ricciardo forced his customary smile as he quipped: “Let’s just say it’s not very scary.”

Renault is having to openly admit that, now a quarter of the way into the season, is still has not solved a fundamental problem with the pistons.

“We will run with conservative settings until we get to the bottom of it,” the marque’s Remi Taffin confirmed to Auto Motor und Sport.

But Renault is not Red Bull’s only problem. On Saturday, to the delight of his countrymen in the grandstands, Carlos Sainz outqualified both Red Bull cars. And so did his Toro Rosso teammate Max Verstappen.

“It’s not good for us to be half a second behind the Toro Rosso,” Ricciardo admitted. “That’s not just [because of] the engine.”

Earlier in Spain, Christian Horner extolled the “masterpiece” that is Red Bull’s new ultra-short nose, but “It’s hard to say something positive when you’re two seconds off the pace”, Ricciardo insisted.

Indeed, at the Red Bull junior team, Sainz was delighted with his Barcelona feat, but also a bit baffled by the under-performing ‘big brother’ team.

“We should not be ahead of them,” he told Spanish reporters. “They will come back and improve and be back where they should be.”

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko is furious with the situation, F1’s regulations and Renault, but he said one bright spot is the shining form of his rookies Sainz and Verstappen.

“I received a lot of criticism for believing in them,” he proudly told El Confidencial.

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ROSBERG CRUISES TO VICTORY IN SPAIN AS HAMILTON FUMBLES

Nico Rosberg finally opened his victory account for the 2015 Formula 1 season with a well controlled victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, while Mercedes teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton fumbled the start and spent his afternoon working hard just to finish second.

After qualifying on pole with a scintillating lap, Rosberg made a perfect start and then proceeded to control the race, virtually unchallenged, right to the very end and with it bagged maximum points in what was a pretty dull affair at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona.

Sebastian Vettel claimed the final podium spot, but never looked like challenging Rosberg and also had little ammunition to fight off a resurgent Hamilton who the Ferrari driver beat off the line at the start.

Credit to Rosberg who did not rise to the bait and kept it steady all the way to the flag, making it all look terribly easy on a sunny afternoon in Spain and with it injecting some much needed life into the championship battle.

In fact Rosberg arrived in Barcelona with his game face on, and knowing that psychologically he had to own the Spanish Grand Prix. Which he did starting by out qualifying Hamilton by a quarter of a second and then doing the business when it really mattered – he sent out a clear signal: game on!

Rosberg said on the podium, “It was a perfect weekend. Perfect to be on pole and then to win the race like this. The car has been awesome all weekend. Really perfect.”

“Finally I got a perfect start, it’s been a long time coming. I’m just enjoying the day today. Winning here in Barcelona is great and then we’ll look forward to the next race.”

“At one point I thought maybe, who knows, maybe Sebastian can keep Lewis behind, which on the one side isn’t good for the team, but in terms of my points, it’s always a compromise, for my points that would have been better.”

“Seven points is better than nothing and a fantastic team result to be first and second, especially after the two and a half week break. Everybody brought upgrades here but still we’re dominating in such a way and that’s fantastic to see and more than at the last race,” added Rosberg

Hamilton’s early mistake inadvertently injected some interest into the race, after dropping down to third (almost fourth in fact) he then chased Vettel to the first stop where he attempted to undercut the German, but a tardy pit-stop messed up that plan.

His crew then reverted to a three stop strategy, with Hamilton delivering an enormous stint with the harder Pirelli tyres, which saw him do enough to leapfrog Vettel in his third and final stop and even looked game to give Rosberg a run to the line.

The reigning world champion gamely pursued Rosberg, and even when asked to hold station by the pitwall he popped two laps that were each 1.5 seconds better than the leader, but then ran out of laps to really challenge and by the end his tyres had cried enough.

He reflected, “I just clearly got a bad start, got lots of wheel spin but I’m grateful to get back up to second place. This is a difficult weekend for me, I’ll take it,”

“I did enough in the first stint. I had a very long pit stop and then had to do it all again but at the end on a three stop had enough to get by. Grateful to get points for team but it was damage limitation,” conceded Hamilton who still leads the standings by a healthy 20 points after five rounds.

Ferrari talked a good race prior to Barcelona, but in the end Vettel was 45 seconds down on the winner and at no stage did he look like challenging Rosberg, and when it came to defending second place he was forced to capitulate without a fight and third it was.

Vettel summed up his day at the office, “We were hanging there pretty well. We had a good start, able to get past Lewis and we did the right thing covering him at the first stop.”

“But when they switched to the three-stop we couldn’t keep up, they were too quick. We tried everything we could. Going through traffic is never easy. Sometimes you’re lucky and sometime you lose a bit more,” added the quadruple world champion.

Fourth place was a Finnish civil war as Valtteri Bottas in the Williams slugged it out with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. The latter reeling in his younger compatriot, but then faced a brick wall as the Williams had the legs on the straight and Bottas had the racecraft to keep the red car behind. They crossed the line fourth and fifth respectively.

Up next in sixth was Felipe Massa in the Williams, ahead of seventh placed Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull. Both having a low key, out of the limelight, afternoon.

Romain Grosjean in the Lotus survived an early wheel-to-wheel skirmish with teammate Pastor Maldonado, which damaged the Venezuelan’s rear wing and in the end led to his retirement. His French teammate finished eighth despite knocking over his front jackman during a pitstop.

Right at the very end of the race there was a mighty threeway battle between the other three Red Bull backed drivers – Carlos Sainz versus Daniil Kvyat versus Max Verstappen.

Local hero Sainz, who shone in qualifying, botched his start and spent the afternoon fighting for places, including wheel banging with Kvyat on the final lap with Sainz coming off better to finish ninth. The Russian bagging the final point while Verstappen finished eleventh.

At time of writing race stewards were investigating the Sainz-Kvyat incident…

It was another torrid day for McLaren-Honda, and if there was any progress it has been snail paced because the two world champions tasked with driving the heap were way off the pace, and make that the mid-field pace.

Fernando Alonso struggled gamely before he ran out of brakes and also nearly hospitalised his front jackman before he retired the car. This was only the second time in Alonso’s career that he has failed to finish the Spanish GP, 2008 being the other one.

Teammate Jenson Button toiled at the back only quicker than the woeful (slower than GP2 cars) Manor duo.

The situation at the back of the F1 field is really sad and that McLaren is down there, with little if any light at the end of the tunnel, is even sadder.

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HAMILTON: THERE’S A LONG, LONG WAY TO GO

For the first time this season Lewis Hamilton had to play second fiddle to his teammate Nico Rosberg, as the reigning world champion was forced to work hard for second place in the Spanish Grand Prix after he botched his start. He spoke at the end of a race where he chased all afternoon to finish second, but still left Barcelona topping the standings by 20 points.

The biggest chance was at the start, what happened there?

Lewis Hamilton: I just clearly got a bad start. I had lots of wheelspin. But as Nico said, it was a good race, he did a fantastic job and I’m grateful that I could get back up to the podium for the team.

You’re on the podium, your 75th podium, and also looking at the championship you’re still leading the championship.

LH: Yeah, but there’s a long, long way to go. This was a difficult weekend for me, I’ll definitely take it… looking forward to Monaco. It’s going to be a very tough race for sure but I’m looking forward to it.

A lot of talking points from your afternoon. Essentially you ended up where you started but the work you had to put in to get back to that second place was pretty phenomenal. Tell us about your race, your start and then the decision to switch to a three-stop strategy…

LH: Yeah, obviously I had quite a poor start. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a poor start. I tried my best to recover – I nearly dropped back to fourth at the start so I was very fortunate to keep third – and then it was just trying to fight… Unfortunately, this track isn’t very good for overtaking. Actually it’s the worst for overtaking. It’s impossible to follow here, which is a shame. I don’t know how it was further back but for the guys at the front it’s just… it doesn’t matter what you do you cannot get close enough even with the DRS, which is a shame. Nonetheless, I did everything I could behind Sebastian and did enough, I think, in the first stint but then I had a very long pit stop and then had to kind of do it all again. But fortunately towards the end it was enough to get it done on a three-stopper, I was able to get by. Yeah, if I was behind him in traffic I wouldn’t have got past. I’m grateful I could gain those points for the team and it’s kind of damage limitation for me, so it’s not bad.

What exactly happened at the start? Was it just the worse line you were standing on, that left you out to Sebastian? And then, theoretically, would it have been possible to finish the race on the third set of tyres – the hard one – if you wanted?

LH: Wheelspin off the start – nothing different just wheelspin. I don’t know if the inside line got worse but mine definitely wasn’t good. And it wouldn’t have been good to stay out, no. We choose to do a three stop quite early on.

When did it become clear to you that you were in fact not racing Nico but only Sebastian and did you think in the last stint that it was still possible to catch Nico?

LH: Well actually, I think Nico was quite far up ahead. He was 22 seconds ahead by the time I got onto my last stint and I had 15 laps to go so that was a huge amount of time for me to try and catch up. I pushed very hard to see if I could have the pace on him in order to close it but it was than less than a second really – on occasions sometimes a second so I think I pushed right until there was like six laps to go and I still had 13 seconds to go so after that I kind of realised that I should bring the car home and live to fight another day.

You spoke [saturday] about tinkering quite a lot with the set-up of the car for qualifying. Are you now very conscious that you have to do something like that in qualifying for the rest of the season? Is it something that you approach differently?

LH: Well, you can’t change the car in qualifying but throughout practice I was tinkering, trying to get it ready for qualifying and ultimately it wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t bad in the race but yeah, today was a very very tough day, obviously, because I had to make up from the bad start and perhaps my true pace… I wasn’t really able to show it compared to Nico, as I was further behind.

Have you been able to adapt to all the changes that have been made this year in the regulations?

LH: Well, not very much changed in the regulations. The things that we have… the front nose changed and the rear tyres. What else? Otherwise it’s pretty similar to last year so this year is really trying to improve on last year. We had such an amazing year, kind of record-breaking as a team. For us it was hard to imagine trying to do that again or trying to beat it and that’s our goal this year and I think we’re definitely on the right route to doing that so I’m proud of everyone and very much enjoying the car.

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ROSBERG: IT WAS A PREFECT WEEKEND

Nico Rosberg arrived in Barcelona under immense pressure to beat his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, having failed to do so since last year, and the German delivered by producing a polished and clinical drive to victory in the Spanish Grand Prix and with it ignite his 2015 title ambitions. He spoke after his ninth grand prix victory.

First win here in Barcelona and first win of the season.

Nico Rosberg: It was a prefect weekend. Great to be on pole and great to win the race like this. Very, very happy. Also thanks to the team, the car has been awesome, all weekend perfect, so yeah, really great.

You looked very strong, especially strong in the first stint and at the start, where you held onto [the lead].

NR: Yeah, finally I got a great start as well. It’s been a while coming but today it worked out really well.

Now you’re bouncing back. Turning point here in Barcelona and we’re going to Monaco. Home race, pole last year and victory last year.

NR: Yeah, but I’m just enjoying the day today, you know. Winning here in Barcelona was great and just enjoy that with the team tonight and then we look towards the next race.

What does this win means to you really and where you go from here?

NR: Just a fantastic weekend. Everything worked out on Saturday and Sunday. It all came together. I’m very happy and that’s it.

Closing in a bit on the points?

NR: Yeah, of course, seven points. At one point I thought maybe, who knows, maybe Sebastian can keep Lewis behind, which on the one side isn’t good for the team, but in terms of my points… it’s always a compromise, for my points that would have been better. But that’s the way it is. Seven points is better than nothing and a fantastic team result today to be first and second, especially after the two-and-a half-week break. Everybody brought upgrades here but still we’re dominating in such a way and that’s fantastic to see and more than at the last race.

Is this the best Mothers’ Day gift you have given to your mother – and all in all, was this a so-called ‘perfect weekend’ for you?

NR: Well, I hope my Mum is happy – that would be great. And I’m sure she is, and I’m sure they’re having a good time at home now. So that’s nice. And then, perfect weekend? Yeah, it was a perfect weekend. Everything worked out: the car was great, nailed the setup for the race, for qualifying. Everything came together so very happy with that.

In terms of preparation, is there anything significant that you did otherwise in the past period – because in the whole weekend you were so much more dominant than in the past few weeks.

NR: No, no, nothing different. Sorry. Just the same approach, keep on going, and this weekend it all came good. That’s all.

How important is it to break the domination of Lewis until now – and how did you manage the situation after Bahrain? In Bahrain you seemed a little bit upset. And how do you think now in having Monaco next race… you won last year and were quite strong.

NR: So, Bahrain was a long time ago and I’m not really thinking about the past too much. Bahrain was an exciting race, which gave me a boost and the only thing that was wrong as the result – and I wanted to change that for this weekend. Now the result came as well so I’m very happy with that today. We’re just going to enjoy this win as an individual race. It’s great to close up seven points to Lewis, great to go to Monaco next – I really like that track – that’s it. Early days.

What exactly did you change on the clutch?

NR: I just went to a different spec, back to last year’s one.

The next race is Monaco – your home race – what do you particularly look forward to for this Grand Prix?

NR: It’s the most legendary race in the calendar and it’s the most exciting track to drive on and the most challenging track. The whole weekend, the atmosphere is very very special, everything very unusual, so all these things come together. And of course, sleeping at home is an awesome thing also, and also very strange to be home and then walking or taking the scooter to the racetrack. It’s very cool. Those are the things

Did you fear that you had to push or even before Lewis’s last stop, you were just cruising for the victory?

NR: From the team, it was pretty clear that my position was very safe because the gap was so big so it was comfortable but of course you never know, so I still tried to keep my pace up in some way and then I could see the gap, that it was under control so it was good.

We know you are running a dominant car but in some ways the advantage you had today is surprising you or not?

NR: Well yes, because it’s much more than we’ve seen recently, much more than Bahrain, much more than Shanghai, Malaysia, so it’s really a big step in the right direction for us. That is a bit of a surprise but it just shows that we have an awesome team at the moment, everybody’s doing a fantastic job and in the development race, again we won the development race this weekend, compared to Ferrari so that’s an important indication for the rest of the season.

On that subject, they always say the final sector here is a good indicator for the Monaco Grand Prix. Looking at yesterday’s qualifying, you were half a second faster than the Ferraris. Is that giving you a lot of encouragement, the performance in that final sector?

NR: I don’t know how… well, yeah, for sure it’s not a bad thing definitely. I don’t know if it’s 100 percent representative but it’s definitely looking good, yeah.

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VETTEL: I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE GAP TO MERCEDES

Ferrari arrived in Barcelona expecting to make a jump forward in the development race, instead Sebastian Vettel was sent to battle in the Spanish Grand Prix with a car which was no match for Mercedes. Nevertheless the four times world champion finished third and afterwards spoke about his afternoon in the cockpit.

Once again on the podium this season. Was the second position and option?

Sebastian Vettel: I think it was. Obviously we were hanging in there pretty well. We had a good start, we were able to get past Lewis and then we did the right thing, covering him at the first stop. But then unfortunately they switched to a three-stop and they were just too quick. So we couldn’t really keep up with the pace they had today, third is the best we could do and very happy. The car is great and it’s great to see the fans, all the Ferrari flags, so very happy.

You didn’t mirror their strategy and also you were complaining a little bit about traffic. Do you think that maybe a three-stopper would have given you a chance?

SV: I think as a racing driver you always complain about something, especially if you’re German! I think we tried everything we could. Obviously going through traffic is never easy but in the end it’s the same for all of us – sometimes you’re a bit luckier and other times you lose a little bit more.

You’re on the podium again. The bad: the 45-second margin back to the race winner, which I’m sure you didn’t probably expect through here. Did you think it was on to keep Lewis behind you or did you feel that once he started to gain pace on those harder tyres that it was getting away from you?

SV: To be honest I thought it would be tricky to keep him behind because they were a fair amount quicker, as we saw, at the end of the race. Obviously we were a bit lucky with the first pit stop – Lewis had a problem – so we were able to stay ahead, I think we reacted well and we did everything we could. Then obviously they decided to pit very early, go for a three-stop. I think it was our best chance to stay out, which is what we did. Unfortunately then I came out a bit in traffic after the second stop and lost maybe a couple of second, maybe two or three seconds, which would have been maybe just enough to stay in front but arguably with the speed they had you have to be fair and accept that they deserved to finish in front of us today, so well done to both of them. For us I’m pretty confident we will get closer again pretty soon, so hopefully in two weeks’ time it’s a different picture. I think we have done a step forward as a team in terms of performance. Obviously it doesn’t really show here but I’m quite confident that in the next couple of race we’ll be stepping up our game again and I’m looking forward to that.

You think the big gap you have, for example, to Nico, you have on the same strategy, is it related to the characteristics of the track or maybe the reality now between Ferrari and Mercedes?

SV: I don’t think it’s the reality. If you take the average of the first five races, then you have your reality. I think you have to be fair and accept that on some tracks you’re a bit more competitive than on others. It seems that for some reason we were not that competitive here – even though I think we have improved our car. So, not happy with the gap, to be honest. Not happy at all. Obviously they had a pretty easy race at the front, controlling the gaps, controlling the tyres, which then obviously allows you to push when you need to. Whereas for us, we are pushing as hard as we could and that’s where we were at the end. So, not happy with today’s result in terms of the gap to the front – but in terms of points scored and global result, I think we can be very happy. It’s nice to be back on the podium.

Do you think it would have been worth to cover Lewis when he went in for his second stop? It was a bit strange that you went in about seven or eight laps later. And, considering this gap, which is pretty big, do you still think you’re fighting in the championship?

SV: The fact that we stayed seven- or something laps longer is obviously due to the fact we were on a different strategy: we were on two stops, Lewis was on three stops, so I think covering him would have been difficult. Obviously in the first stop, I guess we reacted because Lewis has such a poor stop – I don’t know what happened to him – so we were able to cover him. That was a nice invitation and we took it. After that, as I said earlier, him pulling in so early was clear he’s diverting, or going on a three stop, which was not our plan today, so we stayed out. All in all, they were probably a little bit too quick to really put more pressure on them. Yes, I think I’m in the fight. We are able to improve our car. I think there’s some good steps coming. Obviously our opponent is the favourite for the whole year and was untouchable last year to be fair, so I think the way you need to look at it is not that Mercedes is so strong, the way you need to look at it is that Ferrari was able to close the gap more than anyone else. I think we can be proud of that and we are very much willing to take our chance. Obviously we need to start turning things around very soon – but we are pushing to our maximum, trying to beat them soon.

At the end of the weekend, can you judge the updates you’ve had on the car as really a step forward or in your opinion do you have to reconsider them or change them a little bit?

SV: It’s a good question. Obviously, if you look at the gap in the race it was the biggest gap we’ve had so far so your conclusion might be that it’s not so good, but I think we’re quite confident that we’re going in the right direction. For some reason, I don’t think we were so competitive here which explains the gap. Now we’re obviously trying to understand and find the reasons. Either this track didn’t suit us or the conditions really suited Mercedes. I think it’s more likely to be one of the two, because if you take the average, obviously we’ve been closer in the last couple of races, so I’m looking forward to Monaco and looking forward to being closer to them again.

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STEWARDS TAKE NO ACTION OVER KVYAT-SAINZ INCIDENT

Spanish Grand Prix race stewards decided no further action was required in the aftermath of the incident between Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz in the closing stages of the race in Barcelona

Toro Rosso rookie Sainz overtook Red Bull’s Kvyat going into Turn 1, the duo touched wheels and Sainz used the run-off area to avoid further contact. Kvyat was alleged to have changed direction on multiple occasions, a little earlier, on the start-finish straight.

The stewards deemed: “On each alleged breach, no further action is deemed warranted,” read a report from the stewards. In relation to the alleged breach of Article 20.3 [Kvyat changing direction] the stewards accept the statement of the driver of Car 26, the concurrence of the driver of Car 55 and confirmation from the video evidence, that the first two moves were not defensive and that only the third move was defensive.”

“In relation to the alleged breach of Article 16.1 [minor contact] the stewards agree with the assertions of the drivers and team representatives that this was a racing incident. In relation to the alleged breach of Article 20.2 [sainz re-joining] the stewards consider that Car 55 was in front at the time it entered the corner and accept the evidence of the driver that he slowed in re-joining the track at Turn 2 and gave room at Turn 3 for Car 26, in order to avoid gaining a lasting advantage. The driver of Car 26 also admitted that he slowed at Turn 2 and gave room for Car 55 to re-join the track.”

Sainz thus keeps ninth-place finish, with Kvyat tenth.