FORMULA 1 - 2015

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When the head of F1 says that more people need to be like Lewis Hamilton and hang out with the likes of the Karashian's to improve the popularity of the sport there is something seriously wrong . . .

"Realistically the fight is between the pair of them, with Mercedes still enjoying a significant advantage over the rest of the field. But it is one made all the more interesting by their starkly contrasting characters. Recently Bernie Ecclestone emphasised this when in conversation with Rosberg.

“When it comes to F1 I am a huge Lewis fan because he is a super promoter of the sport. From a pure business aspect – sorry, Nico, if I have to say this – you are not so good for my business,” he said. “I still believe that Lewis is the best champion that we have had in a long, long time. He manages to get to all different walks of life: red carpet, fashion, business, and music – you name it. That is not your [Nico’s] fault or his. You two are just very different characters.”

As the sport’s promoter, it is hardly surprising Ecclestone is in favour of the attention Hamilton’s lifestyle brings to Formula One. But he also has a point, amply demonstrated by Rosberg’s level-headed response. “He wants some movement out there, and Lewis does a lot of that in his own way,” he said. “I’m a bit more reserved in that sense, so it is not something that surprised me.”"

The day the Kardashians start hanging out in Formula 1, I'm switching off

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RAIKKONEN: WHEN I RETIRE I DON’T WANT TO BE COMING BACK HERE

Under pressure Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen is hoping to win at least one grand prix in 2015, and admits that if he retires from the sport he is unlikely to visit the F1 paddock ever again.

After boss Maurizio Arrivabene gave the Finn qualifying homework to do after Monaco, Raikkonen duly lined up third on the grid in Montreal.

But at the same time, Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel suffered technical problems and also a further grid demotion for a red flag infraction in practice.

And then in the race, Raikkonen angered Arrivabene by spinning and “throwing away” a podium. Only later did Arrivabene acknowledge that a technical issue contributed to the spin.

“Everything indicates that a technical problem was the cause, as we saw from the data that the throttle behaved in a brutal way,” Arrivabene is quoted by Speed Week. “Kimi’s race pace was good.”

However, a Ferrari insider said the timing of Raikkonen’s spin was nonetheless bad, as he is trying to convince Arrivabene to extend his contract for 2016.

“Even if the technology was a factor, the mistake came at the most inconvenient time possible,” the insider was quoted as saying. “Ferrari is giving a lot of thought to the issue of the second driver for 2016.”

For his part, Raikkonen said he remains focused on 2015, telling Sky Italia this week: “I would be happy to win at least one race by the end of the season.

“I’m sure we can improve, to be more competitive and catch Mercedes, but it’s hard to say. We need time,” Raikkonen added.

Finally, Raikkonen admitted that he hopes his five month old son Robin chooses a career other than formula one.

“Why? Because when I retire, I don’t want to be coming back here (to the paddock),” said the Finn who has a well known dislike for anything other than racing in F1.

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ROSBERG: NO DIFFERENCE HOW TEAM TREATED US AS DRIVERS

Nico Rosberg has played down a controversy about an episode of apparent radio coaching which prompted accusations leveled at Mercedes that they favoured winner Lewis Hamilton during the Canadian Grand Prix.

During the Montreal race, Lewis Hamilton’s engineer told the British driver that while his Mercedes teammate Rosberg has no problems with fuel consumption, the German’s brake situation was “critical”.

But when Rosberg asked about the state of Hamilton’s car, his engineer replied that the ‘radio coaching’ ban meant he was not allowed to answer.

Told that the episode might imply favouritism towards Hamilton, team boss Toto Wolff insisted: “We have already clarified the matter internally.

“The statement from Lewis’ engineer had no impact on the race. I stress once again: the drivers have absolutely equal treatment.”

In his latest column for Bild newspaper, Rosberg has backed Wolff’s claim that both Mercedes drivers are treated equally.

“There has been a lot of debate about whether Lewis received more information than me during our battle,” he said.

“But there is definitely no difference in how the team treated us as drivers,” Rosberg insisted, “no matter what they said to Lewis” during the race. I have 100 per cent confidence in the team.”

He said that level of equality actually makes it harder for him to fight Hamilton during a race.

“People often ask me why I don’t just push a bit harder and overtake Lewis,” said Rosberg. “But you can’t forget that my main rival has exactly the same car as me, and also that it is always possible for the other side to look at my settings and copy them.”

“In this situation, I just need to be ahead on Saturday, as qualifying is now more important than ever,” he added.

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MALLYA OFF TO LE MANS TO WATCH HULKENBERG

Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg wasted no time after the Canadian grand prix as he looked ahead to his next race outing, and watching with interest in France will be his boss Vijay Mallya.

The German is completing the ultra-rare feat in 2015 of combining a full-time F1 seat with a programme to contest the fabled Le Mans 24 hours.

From the Le Mans pitlane on Tuesday, Hulkenberg posted on Twitter a ‘selfie’ with his Porsche prototype and the caption “She’s ready!”

An interested spectator at Le Mans this weekend will be Hulkenberg’s Force India boss Mallya, who will be trackside in a motor home, Auto Motor und Sport reports.

“Vijay said he would only release me for the race if he could come and watch,” Hulkenberg joked.

Fernando Alonso also wanted to combine F1 with Le Mans this year, but McLaren-Honda was not as keen as Mallya to allow it to happen. The Spaniard, who watched the race last year, was reportedly disappointed.

“The technology is very high,” he said. “You can do two stints on one set of tyres, with the laptimes going up by more than a second. “We only dream about that in formula one.”

The very fact that the likes of Hulkenberg, Alonso and full-time Porsche driver Mark Webber rate Le Mans so highly is an indictment of the state of F1 at present.

The Canadian grand prix was condemned by the international media, with not even the usually-customary safety car spicing up the racing action.

“Some would say they (the drivers) weren’t pushing hard enough to crash but that’s too harsh,” former F1 driver turned commentator for British television Sky said.

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THE PROS AND (NO) CONS OF F1 REFUELING

Much has been written about the possible return of refueling to spice up Formula 1 races and I admit that I am a big fan of the concept.

For me refueling will add a very intersting dimension to strategy, and is far more acceptable in terms of real racing than DRS and even KERS to a certain extent. DRS in particular is a gimmick which in my opiion has no place at the pinnacle of the sport.

How exciting is DRS? The driver presses a button and a flap drops and wow that’s exciting! And KERS? Even the live TV coverage these days omits reference of the BHP enhancing gizmo. It’s there, but no one cares.

Refueling is spectacular, a show of big balls and real teamwork which is an integral part of Indycars, WEC and Nascar. Technology to fill race cars rapidly with highly combustible liquid, very quickly, is almost failure-proof these days.

Nevertheless the safety card is bandied about by the nay-sayers which in turn has lately prompted vigorous re-use of the Benetton bonfire that engulfed Jos Verstappen during his pitstop at the 1994 German Grand Prix.

Now this annoys me because that fire was caused not by unsafe equipment being used to refuel F1 cars at that time, but rather by deliberate tampering of the fuel rig by Benetton to seek an advantage during pitstops.

After an FIA led investigation at the Benetton factory it was found that the team, led then by Flavio Briatore, was found to have been using an illegal fuel valve without a fuel filter that allowed fuel into the car 12.5% faster than a legal fuel valve. Which translated to a chunk of time on track.

Ironically fuel stops had been re-introduced that year to spice up the show as dwindling TV figures were a concern to the powers that be. They banned it again in 2010.

Don’t get me wrong refueling adds an extra element of danger to proceedings, but relatively acceptable considering the nature of the sport. And think of the strategy options that refueling will add to the the race weekend.

No more fully fuel laden cars circultaing half a dozen seconds off their qualifying pace in the early stages of a race – instead a myriad of endless and intriguing possibilities for drivers and engineers to try outsmart their rivals. It would rock big time in my book.

Perhaps the only justifiable excuse is the expense of it all, namely the rigs and related equipment. But then is it really such a big expense for teams relative to the entire budget of a race weekend? Or a season for that matter.

I don’t buy the cost excuse, but then I am not forking out for over-priced canapes, clothing freebies, rent-a-celeb fees, entertaining shady fake investors and all those grand prix weekend essentials expenses – so what do I know?

Also cause for thought is the fact that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is chief lobbyist for refueling not to return. Now his team ain’t cash strapped is it? So why would he be so vehment in his crusade to have the idea shelved? Could it be he fears his Keystone Cops-like crew will blunder too often? Makes me wonder…

In closing I share some maths (at which I suck) for you to consider:

• Hamilton’s winning time in Canada was 1 hour and 31 minutes which is an average time of 1:30 per lap. Notably for the first 52 laps he did not dip below 1:18 having started with 100kg fuel and his single pitstop time was 23.708 (pit-in to pit-out).
• In a refueling scenario, with three stops with him starting with 25kg fuel, Hamilton would be good for lap times in the 1:15 zone, add to that the three stops of a highly conservative 30 seconds (giving extra time for refuel at say 12 KGs per second) would have resulted in a race time of around 1 hour and 30 minutes at an average time of 1:28 per lap. I rest my case.

I am sure cleverer guys will disprove my primitive calculations, but at least the whole exercise is food for thought and interesting even if you, like me, are not into maths.

But throw into that some teams opting for two stops, others one stopping and others even pushing the envelope with four stops. This opens up an intriguing element to every race weekend which is not fake and contrived.

So bring on Formula 1 refueling irrespective of what Toto and his gang of supporters have to say.

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HONDA PRESIDENT WILL BE IN AUSTRIA TO ASSESS NIGHTMARE

Eric Boullier insists that McLaren-Honda is still united despite a nightmare start to their Formula 1 project, but this is not stopping Takahiro Hachigo, Honda Motor Co.’s new president and CEO from attending the forthcoming Austrian Grand Prix to assess the situation first hand.

Star driver Fernando Alonso let his frustration show on the radio during the Canadian grand prix, but Boullier says the Spaniard knows 2015 is little more than a “test year”.

“It’s a strange situation for Alonso,” said Corriere dello Sport. “A star who has to concede to drivers who are not as good but better equipped.”

Tuttosport added: “Alonso is yet to prove that his move to McLaren was not a mistake.”

Boullier smiled: “If it is still like this next year, Fernando maybe will go mad. But he is happy with the team and where he is now.”

Whether McLaren-Honda as a whole is happy could be another question. The ultimate test could be in Austria next weekend, where Honda is expecting more from its upgraded engine and McLaren plans to unleash a raft of car improvements.

At the same time, international media is declaring that McLaren-Honda’s performance in 2015 has been little short of embarrassing, and far outweighing the crisis being suffered by Red Bull and Renault.

But Boullier insists that he will not let McLaren-Honda turn into that sort of “media sh*tstorm”.

“Throwing a brick or pointing a finger at someone does not help the situation or make it go away,” agreed Jenson Button.

But the situation is perhaps particularly difficult for the 2009 world champion, as he is struggling to demonstrate his potential in a poor car and under pressure from McLaren’s rising stars including Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Button said it is “not true” McLaren is already in the process of deciding to oust him.

So while insisting “throwing a brick” will not help, 35-year-old Button agrees that simply exonerating the obviously struggling Honda is also no solution.

“You have to say what needs to be improved and you work towards it,” said the Briton. “You just don’t want to do it in public.”

AS claims Honda is still about 70 horse power down on the leading power units in F1. Boullier admits Honda is “far behind”.

“There is so much pressure on this team,” Button conceded. “We are trying to be quicker but when you do that, you risk reliability. It is a really difficult balance. You think we all just say ‘Sh*t happens’ after the race?

“We won’t get a podium this year,” he acknowledged. “Next year will be a lot more exciting than 2015 but you cannot just jump to 2016. You have to do the work, otherwise you don’t deserve the good results.”

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HAAS: FOR DANICA TO MAKE F1 MOVE IS A BIG RISK

Haas F1 Team, the sport’s new American entrant for 2016, has played down the prospect of Danica Patrick making the switch from Nascar to Formula 1.

Patrick, 33, is one of the highest profile racing drivers in the world, and she already drives for Gene Haas in the premier stock car series.

“It would put us on the map one way or another,” Haas F1 team principal Gunther Steiner admitted to British Sky television in Canada.

“But I think Danica is quite happy where she is at the moment. For her to make the move is a big risk; I don’t she really wants to do it at this stage in her career,” he added.

Steiner said the right move for Haas would be to focus on finding an experienced driver for 2016 rather than a rookie American.

One name increasingly linked with Haas is Nico Hulkenberg. The German admitted again on Friday that he is “definitely impatient” at present as he waits for struggling Force India’s B-car to debut later this year.

At the same time, the German has diluted his focus on F1 in 2015 to also race at Le Mans, and will in fact board a plane to the scene of the fabled 24 hour event immediately after Sunday’s chequered flag in Montreal.

Force India’s Vijay Mallya says he wants Hulkenberg to stay in 2016, but the 27-year-old German is also keeping his options open.

“Yes,” he told F1’s official website, “you need to have a good idea when a possible door could open. You need to be ready.”

Linking up with Haas would be one way for Hulkenberg to take a step closer to Ferrari.

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RICCIARDO: THINGS SHOULDN’T BE GETTING WORSE BUT THEY ARE

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo admitted in Canada that it is becoming difficult to maintain his famously wide grin amid his team’s struggles with a woefully out of sorts Renault power unit.

A year after his famous maiden win in Montreal, the Australian found himself toiling behind not only Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams but now found himself staring at the rear-end of Lotus and Force India.

Ricciardo summed up his afternoon at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, “It’s been a strange weekend for me and I am a little confused about today’s race. I was lacking pace and we are not sure why. There was nothing that felt especially wrong but we just couldn’t get any pace out of the car.”

“It’s frustrating. One year later, things shouldn’t be getting worse, but they are,” the Australian told reporters in Montreal.

The ‘one year on’ comment is a reference to 2014 in Canada, where after a difficult start to the new ‘power unit’ era for Red Bull-Renault, Ricciardo nonetheless broke through for his first ever race win.

So instead of his usual big grin, Ricciardo said after qualifying ninth that it left him “p*ssed off” as the team appears stuck in a rut of little progress.

“We don’t seem to be propelling forward at the moment which is disappointing,” said the 25-year-old.

Ricciardo is already being linked with a move away from Red Bull, perhaps to Ferrari who are holding fire on signing the option in Kimi Raikkonen’s contract at present.

Boss Christian Horner has already played down that prospect, insisting Ricciardo has a long term deal.

Even Ricciardo admitted to the Telegraph that he is committed to Red Bull for 2016, “I’ll be here next year and we’ll see how we go.”

At the same time, there are mixed messages coming from both Red Bull and Renault about their respective futures in F1, so Ricciardo admitted that “for my career, I need to be aware of what’s happening”.

He sounds wary of following in the footsteps of Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg, who looked destined for F1 greatness only for their careers to stagnate.

“I don’t want to be one of the champions who never was,” Ricciardo admitted. “If we’re to get these results again next year, and don’t move forward, then I won’t be happy.”

“It’s a tough one,” he added. “I’m confident in the guys, in the team, I know they’re winners. I’m confident they’ll make a change if it needs to be done, and turn it around, but until it happens and we get back on the podium it’s difficult to know.”

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HAUG SLAMS SPECULATION ON SCHUMACHER CONDITION

Former Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug says he has his fingers crossed for his old friend Michael Schumacher.

The hunger in the media for news about the F1 legend is so strong that it emerged recently that paparazzi fly helicopters and even camera ‘drones’ above his mansion on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Official information about the health and condition of the former Ferrari and Mercedes driver has been closely guarded following his late 2013 skiing crash, but manager Sabine Kehm says the 46-year-old has always been fiercely private.

“You have to rely on what his management and family say,” Haug, the former Mercedes motor racing vice-president, told Austrian broadcaster Servus TV this week.

“Speculating is not right,” the German, whose relationship and career with Schumacher dates back decades, added. “One can only pray and keep our fingers crossed.”

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ARRIVABENE SAYS NO TEAM ORDERS AT FERRARI

Sebastian Vettel is not Ferrari’s number one driver, according to team boss Maurizio Arrivabene and for that reason there were no team orders in Canada which might have bolstered the German drivers’ title aspirations.

Earlier, the Italian said one of the first things he told Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in 2015 is that the hierarchical days of Schumacher and Alonso are over.

That is despite Arrivabene leaving Montreal on Sunday admitting his anger with Raikkonen following a spin that cost Ferrari a sure podium.

The Finn argued that an engine setting caused the spin, but Arrivabene charged: “We have thrown away a podium, that’s the truth. There are no excuses.”

Raikkonen ultimately finished fourth, and just a few seconds in front of teammate Sebastian Vettel, who had impressively charged through the field from the back.

Arrivabene, however, said he never considered ordering Vettel past Raikkonen, even though it is the German who is the closest rival to the Mercedes drivers in the championship.

Asked if he thought about team orders in Canada, Arrivabene insisted: “No, not at all, we did not speak about it. We made it clear before the season that both drivers have a free run.”

He said that might change if the situation in the championship was closer, “We have to keep our feet on the ground. Our goal has not changed.

“We have said that if we win twice this year, then we can be satisfied. We must not forget where we came from — we have never talked about the world title.”

In that way, Arrivabene – although initially angry after Montreal – said he is happy with how the upgraded engine performed in Canada.

“Yes. We achieved what we wanted to,” he said. “We have to admit that they (Mercedes) are simply stronger than us at the moment. It is not realistic to say that we have closed the gap to Mercedes, but we are on the right track.”

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Jenson Button urges Formula 1 critics to give McLaren-Honda a break

Jenson Button has called on McLaren-Honda's critics to give the team a break following its wretched start to the Formula 1 season, amplified by a Canadian Grand Prix to forget.

The weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve included two engine changes, and a new MGU-H and turbo charger for Button's car before a double retirement with unrelated exhaust issues.

A swathe of criticism has naturally followed, with many questioning whether the Woking-based team will return to the front of the grid at all this season.

Button can understand the flak in part, given McLaren's history and heritage, but also feels it is unfounded as the reunited McLaren-Honda partnership attempts to get on top of its issues.

"The problem is when you are a team that has won grands prix and world championships you are massively under pressure, and nobody gives this team a break," said Button.

"But when you look at the improvements we've made, it's been massive.

"This is such a competitive sport and that is why we want to take part in it, and the reason why manufacturers take part in it.

"To come in two years younger than the rest of the manufacturers is a big deal, and I personally feel that we have done a great job.

"Confidence is high in the team, and Honda understands that help from McLaren is always positive and vice versa, so it's a good partnership.

"I feel we have the package to achieve great things in the future."

Immediately after the race, Button described the weekend as "painful" as the team appeared to take backward steps - rather than forwards as expected, on the basis of Honda using tokens to upgrade the power unit.

But as the team discovered, the car was again lacking in not only speed, but also reliability.

Team-mate Fernando Alonso went so far as to say he believed he was made to look like "an amateur driver" during the race.

"It's always a tricky balance; we all want to perform. We're also pressurised to perform. You feel it," added Button.

"It's very difficult, especially for the young guys in the team. Everyone is asking, 'when are you going to win?', so you push the boundaries.

"But we were weak in both reliability and outright pace. Hopefully in a few weeks we can solve those issues.

"What happened, though, won't hurt this team. We scored points in Monaco, which no one expected.

"So we have to take the rough with the smooth and look at the season as a whole, and know we've improved every race."

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VETTEL: I WONDER HOW ANYONE CAN REALLY FOLLOW FORMULA 1

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel has admitted he is worried about the future of Formula 1 and the fact that fans are turning away from the sport, not only on TV but also at the races themselves.

The latest alarming news is from the Ferrari driver’s native Germany, where on Sunday the TV ratings for the Canadian grand prix were outpaced by a women’s football game.

But Vettel tells Sport Bild magazine: “The best indicator is the spectators at the track, and we can see that the numbers are no longer as high as they were.”

It is one reason the F1 drivers’ union GPDA, of which Vettel is a director, commissioned a global online survey, asking the fans what they think of F1. He said the results will be fed back to the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.

Vettel said he remains a “big fan” of F1, but is concerned that the races “have become too complicated”.

“I have to wonder how anyone can really follow it if they are not involved in formula one seven days a week, as I am,” the quadruple world champion added.

“Most importantly, is that the tickets are just too expensive. How can a normal family afford to go to the circuits anymore?” questioned Vettel.

He said if it was up to him, he would make the F1 cars “faster again, whether that is through more power and downforce or better tyres”.

“It must be a challenge again to tame these beasts, so that the wheat is separated from the chaff,” added Vettel.

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FORMULA 1 GRAPPLING WITH VISION OF THE FUTURE

Formula 1 is still grappling with its vision of the future, as a stalemate appears to have been reached on the way forward for the sport.

Last month, when the latest Strategy Group meeting ended, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA jointly announced that sweeping changes are coming for 2017.

But over the Monaco and now Canadian race weekends, subsequent meetings between team bosses have chipped away at the earlier plan. The reintroduction of refuelling, for instance, is scrapped.

“It came out that it is expensive and would not improve the racing,” a spokesman for Mercedes is quoted by Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

A plan to move from the outdated 13-inch wheel rims to more road-relevant 18 or 19-inch ones has also fallen by the wayside.

“I think the broad consensus is that going to bigger wheels is not a good direction,” Mercedes’ Paddy Lowe said on Friday. That move alone may be enough to dissuade Michelin from applying to be the 2017 supplier, as an official for the French marque said this week that 13-inch is “the opposite of our philosophy”.

What has been broadly decided is that the F1 tyres and cars will be wider in 2017, but Mercedes’ team chairman Niki Lauda is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: “Wider cars and wider tyres will not be enough”.

Team boss Toto Wolff agrees: “F1 has to become more extreme. “If a 30-year-old guy goes into a cinema and sees The Fast and the Furious, he thinks it’s pretty normal to finish a race backwards,” he told the Toronto Star newspaper.

“It’s going to be pretty tough for us to challenge that, but you see what attracts audiences — it is definitely spectacular racing and something F1 has to shoot for,” Wolff added.

Team bosses, however, are still arguing about how to implement that vision. It is believed there are still several proposals on the table about how to handle the issue of ‘free tyre compound choice’ for next year.

“We are all convinced that something has to change,” said Lotus’ Alan Permane. “But we need more time together in order to talk through the details.”

Arguably the most divisive issue is ‘customer cars’, as small teams like Force India and Sauber rail against the idea their status as full constructors could be taken away.

After the latest meetings in Montreal, Auto Motor und Sport claims it has been decided that customer cars should only be introduced as a last and temporary resort.

In that way, big teams might licence a ‘franchise’ to a smaller outfit, who would pay €50 million for the complete two-car package. Former Ferrari and Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine thinks F1 is paying the price for changing too many rules over the past decade.

“They’ve just bastardised the whole of formula one for the sake of chasing viewers that never arrived,” he told Beanbagsports. “They didn’t care about the fans who knew the history and the circuits and those who really worshipped the way it was.”

Sauber chief and co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn thinks a solution for the sport would be to abandon its current governance system and give the rule-making power to the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.

“I think this would be a sensible approach,” she is quoted by AFP news agency.

“The sport is about racing on one side, in which the commercial rights holder has a vested interest, and the federation on the other side, which sets the rules.

“We could take some things from the system we had before, like working groups which would consider the teams’ views and where ideas or strategies could be discussed, but they (the rules) would be decided somewhere else,” Kaltenborn added.

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DC: Drivers are not enjoying F1

Former McLaren driver David Coulthard has warned that Formula 1 is no longer enjoyable for drivers as they are not being pushed physically or mentally.

F1 has traditionally been seen as the pinnacle of motorsport where drivers are pushed to their limits in an all-out battle. However, in recent years this has not been the case, with Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix an example of a drop in intensity.

The most frequent message on driver radios in Montreal was from engineers imploring their men to conserve fuel and not push too hard. These calls irked many members of the field, with Fernando Alonso eventually deciding to dismiss the instructions.

"When you are in the middle of a battle, fuel is a low priority," the Spaniard asserted after the race. "After three or four reminders of fuel, I just said let me race and let me have some fun."

Coulthard believes that drivers are suffering due to the fact that F1 has become more about managing a car than racing one.

"It seems to me that this is the biggest issue at the heart of complaints that Formula 1 is not what it should be, in terms of a test of man and machine on the limit at all times," Coulthard said in his BBC column.

"The sport has gone from the bucking bronco cars driven by Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell, to an exercise in systems management which Fernando Alonso likened to piloting airliners."

He added: "The sad reality is that the drivers are not enjoying the current F1. They are just not tested sufficiently.

"Of course, the cars are hard to drive. They remain the fastest and most sophisticated racing cars in the world. But they are not difficult enough."

Coulthard believes that the lack of true racing is one of the reasons that F1 is suffering a dip in viewership.

"Of course, drivers do not have all the answers. But if you are not challenging the best guys, you are short-changing both them and the audience," said the Scot.

"I remember getting out of my car in Montreal one year and struggling to see because I was so dehydrated.

"The sort of thing we saw in Canada last weekend was more like the challenge traditionally posed by endurance racing.

"F1 has to be sexy and have a frisson of danger. At the moment, it is in danger of losing that aspect.

"It is no secret that in some countries F1 is losing its audience. I can't believe that is a coincidence."

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McLaren not interested in public 's*** fight'

McLaren have vowed not to air their dirty laundry in the media despite their current "embarrassing" plight, saying they will continue to look for solutions with Honda in private.

Having scored their first points of the campaign in Monaco, there was plenty of optimism in the camp in the build-up to the Canadian Grand Prix, especially after Honda opted to use two of the in-season engine development tokens.

However, it turned into another nightmare weekend for the Woking squad as Jenson Button was forced to miss qualifying due to an ERS problem on his MP4-30 while Fernando Alonso failed to make it out of Q1.

That wasn't the end though as both drivers again failed to see the chequered flag due to engine problems and, to add insult to injury, Alonso had an outburst after the race as he felt he was being made to "look like an amateur" with continued calls to save fuel.

Although the problems with their Honda engine continue to mount, racing director Eric Boullier insists they won't go down the same route as Red Bull-Renault, who have had several public spats.

"It is hard; it's a management exercise because we don't want to handle it like Red Bull and Renault, s*** fighting in the media. This is nonsense," he said. "There is a proper reason why we moved to Honda and we are happy with the move, even if it's frustrating now.

"You need to just keep your people regularly informed. Yes it's painful, yes it's maybe embarrassing, but it's Formula 1 - the technology is huge and complex for anybody who wants to enter Formula 1 today and do well."

McLaren have already had six retirements in the first seven races with most of their problems engine related, but Button has already cautioned against putting all the blame on Honda.

Boullier also insists it's a "partnership".

"It's easy to blame the partner but as a partner you have to be supportive. Part of it is not in our hands directly but we have offered our support to help accelerate this recovery time. To be fair to Honda they decided to join Formula One two years ago and this is Formula One, it's not easy to be quick and to win. I guess we always say we have a mountain to climb but it looks like a very high mountain and we need to make sure we are equipped to do it.

"In terms of timing, when you want to catch up, you need to put more resources on the programme. If you want to do it short term you need to bring more experienced resources. We have some software, IT, whatever it is now, we have that experience at home so McLaren can offer Honda some support in this domain to allow them to shift resources onto the other one and their power unit expertise."

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New Jersey F1 race back on following fresh talks?

New Jersey could make a fresh bid to be included on the Formula 1 calendar in the near future following fresh talks between Bernie Ecclestone and race organiser Leo Hindery Jr.

The event, title the Grand Prix of America, was scheduled to originally join the calendar in 2013, but was then delayed to 2014 due to funding and infrastructure delays.

The project then hit further financial hurdles, with Hindery unable to find the necessary backing required to get the streets of New Jersey ready to host an F1 race, effectively killing the idea.

This was despite Ecclestone himself loaning the organisers a substantial sum in order to kick-start the project, confirming the 84-year-old's desire to see the event finally happen.

Happen it didn't. But it might not be a complete loss. It's been revealed that Ecclestone and Hindery met during the Canadian GP to discuss resurrecting the race for possibly 2017 or 2018.

It would be far too soon to complete the work and include it on the 2016 calendar as very little work was originally carried out, other than the construction of pit and paddock buildings which currently serve as a multi-storey car park.

Ecclestone is keen to see more races in America to make up for a dwindling number of European organisers willing to pay huge sums of money to host F1.

Under rules agreed between Ecclestone and the teams, half of all races must be held in Europe or America, therefore he must find more willing hosts in 'the western world' if he's to add further Asian and Middle Eastern events.

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McLaren back engine development rule change

McLaren are hopeful that Mercedes will agree to allow in-season engine development during the 2016 season, similar to what has been agreed this year.

Currently the four engine manufacturers can use their leftover development tokens to upgrade their engines during the season, but this is set to change in 2016 with all tokens expiring after February 28.

All but one manufacturer is campaigning the FIA to re-open the loophole and to allow in-season development to allow them to close up to the dominant Mercedes.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier admits his team and engine supplier Honda are keen to see the rules changed and hope Mercedes will be supportive.

"It's all about negotiating," he said. "They [Mercedes] are willing to listen, to be honest," he is quoted by Autosport.

"I'm sure there is some room for change. You just need to look at the whole picture."

Whilst Boullier is aware that everyone agreed to the engine rules in the first place, he says a degree of flexibility is required to ensure everyone can compete on a fair basis.

"The position is clear. We want to have as much room [to develop] as possible because F1 has become an engine formula, and it's too much now.

"Looking at the situation, with the chassis you can develop that when you want; engine, you are locked into a situation and now engine manufacturers cannot recover or compete fairly, let's say.

"Of course, the regulation is the same for everybody, and everybody knew the regulation beforehand, but there needs to be a degree of flexibility for that. It needs to be changed.

"We cornered ourselves in Formula 1 with this regulation, but now we need to be clever to rethink how to change it."

[MIKA27]

Mercedes not underestimating Ferrari upgrade

Mercedes says it is too early to declare that Ferrari's engine upgrades did not deliver the step the team needed, despite being beaten at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ferrari elected to use some of its engine development tokens ahead of the Montreal race in a bid to close down the gap to championship leader Mercedes.

But reliability problems for Sebastian Vettel in qualifying, and a spin caused by an aggressive engine map for Kimi Raikkonen, meant that the team failed to finish on the podium for the first time this year.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff insists that the outcome of the race should not be judged to be the limit of Ferrari's potential.

"I think we must not underestimate the upgrade they have brought because we have seen a very strong pace on the Friday," he said, referring to the long run form of the team.

"Maybe these [new] bits made it on to the car or not in the mapping they would have wanted to run, so my assumption without really knowing it it is we haven't seen the best of Ferrari.

"Sebastian had a very difficult Saturday and started from the very back. He had a messy race with a shunt with [Nico] Hulkenberg, and ran into backmarker traffic.

"Kimi obviously spun and that does not make a two-stop work. So let's not underestimate them. I think they will bounce back strong in Austria."

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Ferrari not looking for Raikkonen replacement

Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene says he is not looking for a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, and insists the Finn will get a new contract if he delivers.

Raikkonen's contract with Ferrari expires at the end of the current season, and the 2007 world champion has already stated he is ready to extend his stay at Ferrari after feeling much more comfortable with the car than last year.

Arrivabene says he is not considering any other drivers at the moment, as he is sure any racer would jump at the chance of driving for Ferrari should he decide to replace Raikkonen.

"I am concentrating on our two guys right now and I know very well that if needed you can have a driver that is ready to jump in a Ferrari any minute," Arrivabene told the official Formula 1 website.

"That is not a problem. The problem is to work with the driver that we have and make sure that he is giving us the best performance.

"As I said: that's dependent on the results. If he is achieving the objective that I gave to him - why not [give him a new contract]?

Raikkonen is fourth in the championship, 36 points behind teammate Sebastian Vettel.

When asked what Raikkonen needed to secure a new deal, Arrivabene said: "A good performance. To add points to the team tally. I am working for a team with a strong tradition and Enzo Ferrari dictated this tradition.

"For Enzo Ferrari the constructors' championship was always of greater value than the drivers' title. So for us the constructors' championship is very important.

"To win this title you need both drivers delivering. I talked with Kimi straightforwardly, and he knows very well: the more points he can deliver, the better his chances to stay!"

[MIKA27]

Massa happy despite podium miss

Felipe Massa insists that there were positives to take away from the Canadian Grand prix, despite believing that he had the pace to finish on the podium.

While the claim may not seem too outlandish given Williams' pace on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished third from fourth on the grid – Massa was coming from the inside of row eight following problems in qualifying that saw him fail to progress beyond the first phase on Saturday afternoon.

With Mercedes power at his back, however, the Brazilian made relatively rapid progress through the midfield, despite a brief and entertaining hiatus behind Marcus Ericsson, and had risen to seventh by lap 20 and fifth within another ten laps as pit-stops took effect. Massa's own pit-stop – the only one he made as he followed a one-stop strategy – dropped him to the foot of the points positions, before steady progress in the closing stages returned him to sixth by the chequered flag.

“It was a good race but, in a way not, because we could have finished on the podium,” the diminutive veteran reflected, “For sure, I was very happy with my race, very happy with my overtaking, with the pace, strategy - especially the pace with the option was really good. I was really happy with that.

“The car shows very good performance, so the only negative thing of the weekend was qualifying and the problem we had with the wastegate. That was the only negative thing because the race was very good today.”

With only two Mercedes, his team-mate and the Ferraris ahead of him at the flag, Massa was quick to dismiss Williams' perceived pre-race target, claiming that Red Bull, in Montreal at least, was not a high enough target.

“Our target was to beat everybody we could on the track, so it was not just Red Bull,” he insisted, “We saw that Red Bull didn't have good pace so I think, after ten laps of the race, it was maybe a little bit easier thinking we could finish in front of both Red Bulls. But the target was to beat everybody we could on the track and I think that was the right one.”

Although his progress through the field provided some entertainment in a relatively quiet Canadian race, Massa admitted that his battle with Ericsson had been a highlight, albeit an unexpected one.

“It was okay - close, but it was okay,” he smiled, “For sure, it was not an easy race but, when you do some good overtakes, you really enjoy.

“It's maybe the only race I remember when we didn't have a safety car here, which is not normal. It's a very easy track to have a safety car but, maybe this time, people behaved a little bit better – and, to be honest, the weather was good as well.”

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It's not Mercedes' job to make F1 entertaining - Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda dismissed suggestions Mercedes' dominance is making Formula One boring, saying the team is focused on "winning every bloody race" rather than the overall spectacle.

Lewis Hamilton led a comfortable Mercedes one-two in Canada, with the nearest challenger the Williams of Valtteri Bottas 40 seconds down the road. Mercedes has won 22 of the 26 races since the start of the V6 turbo era and looks increasingly unlikely to be challenged on outright pace this year despite the regulation loophole allowing in-season engine development.

When asked if the drab Canadian Grand Prix was a good day for Mercedes but a bad day for F1, Lauda, the team's non-executive chairman, cut the question short and said: "Guys, I'm not here in charge of your politics. I can only run, with Toto [Wolff] together, the team in the best possible professional way. Win every bloody race, that's what I'm here for and the rest I don't know."

The future of the sport remains unclear, with the proposed return to refuelling appearing to be dead in the water following "100% negative" feedback from those within F1. Improving the spectacle is high on the agenda, with Mercedes' rivals pushing for the engine homologation rules to be opened up to make the field more competitive next season.

When it was suggested Mercedes should take the lead on changing F1, Lauda replied: "We do take a lead for the sport, we win the races for you. Look at the Canadians - 12% more people here for this so-called boring sport, you are trying to tell me, with no noise. Only Canadians are crazy here. I just said to Austrian TV 'you crazy Austrians, think like the Canadians and all come to Spielberg!'"

[ptrthgr8]

FORMULA 1 GRAPPLING WITH VISION OF THE FUTURE

Formula 1 is still grappling with its vision of the future, as a stalemate appears to have been reached on the way forward for the sport.

Last month, when the latest Strategy Group meeting ended, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA jointly announced that sweeping changes are coming for 2017.

But over the Monaco and now Canadian race weekends, subsequent meetings between team bosses have chipped away at the earlier plan. The reintroduction of refuelling, for instance, is scrapped.

“It came out that it is expensive and would not improve the racing,” a spokesman for Mercedes is quoted by Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

A plan to move from the outdated 13-inch wheel rims to more road-relevant 18 or 19-inch ones has also fallen by the wayside.

“I think the broad consensus is that going to bigger wheels is not a good direction,” Mercedes’ Paddy Lowe said on Friday. That move alone may be enough to dissuade Michelin from applying to be the 2017 supplier, as an official for the French marque said this week that 13-inch is “the opposite of our philosophy”.

What has been broadly decided is that the F1 tyres and cars will be wider in 2017, but Mercedes’ team chairman Niki Lauda is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: “Wider cars and wider tyres will not be enough”.

Team boss Toto Wolff agrees: “F1 has to become more extreme. “If a 30-year-old guy goes into a cinema and sees The Fast and the Furious, he thinks it’s pretty normal to finish a race backwards,” he told the Toronto Star newspaper.

“It’s going to be pretty tough for us to challenge that, but you see what attracts audiences — it is definitely spectacular racing and something F1 has to shoot for,” Wolff added.

Team bosses, however, are still arguing about how to implement that vision. It is believed there are still several proposals on the table about how to handle the issue of ‘free tyre compound choice’ for next year.

“We are all convinced that something has to change,” said Lotus’ Alan Permane. “But we need more time together in order to talk through the details.”

Arguably the most divisive issue is ‘customer cars’, as small teams like Force India and Sauber rail against the idea their status as full constructors could be taken away.

After the latest meetings in Montreal, Auto Motor und Sport claims it has been decided that customer cars should only be introduced as a last and temporary resort.

In that way, big teams might licence a ‘franchise’ to a smaller outfit, who would pay €50 million for the complete two-car package. Former Ferrari and Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine thinks F1 is paying the price for changing too many rules over the past decade.

“They’ve just bastardised the whole of formula one for the sake of chasing viewers that never arrived,” he told Beanbagsports. “They didn’t care about the fans who knew the history and the circuits and those who really worshipped the way it was.”

Sauber chief and co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn thinks a solution for the sport would be to abandon its current governance system and give the rule-making power to the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.

“I think this would be a sensible approach,” she is quoted by AFP news agency.

“The sport is about racing on one side, in which the commercial rights holder has a vested interest, and the federation on the other side, which sets the rules.

“We could take some things from the system we had before, like working groups which would consider the teams’ views and where ideas or strategies could be discussed, but they (the rules) would be decided somewhere else,” Kaltenborn added.

They are indeed making this entirely too complicated. You want to fix F1? The answer is simple: make it a truly Unlimited class. Anything goes, as long as it's still safe. Whoever can design the fastest, best handling, and most reliable car wins. Period. F1 needs to be truly innovative in order to be able to say it's the pinnacle of motor racing. So remove the stupid rules, dump all the PC/hippy/green bullcrap, let designers design, and drivers race

Problem solved.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[ptrthgr8]

And let drivers race. No more penalties at the slightest contact, no fuel saving restrictions, no tire limits or requirements to use two compounds in a race, relax testing restrictions, allow in season engine development, etc

Exactly. A truly Unlimited class. You want to put 8 wheels on the car? Strap a turbo fan to the chassis? Cool. Whatever gets your car around the track fastest. It would be so very choice.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

IS CHRISTIAN HORNER THE RIGHT MAN FOR FORMULA 1 TOP JOB?

Two authoritative Formula 1 correspondents have identified Christian Horner as the ideal man to take charge of the sport’s future.

Writing in the British newspaper The Times, Kevin Eason said F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone “must start to hand over now.”

The call comes amid a near-unprecedented round of introspection for the pinnacle of motor racing, as audiences decline, small teams falter and the stakeholders wonder how to recapture the ‘heyday’ of formula one.

Eason said the F1 of today, run by 84-year-old Ecclestone, is “not ready to move into the 21st century with the rest of us” and added “but it has to sooner rather than later.”

“And the man he (Ecclestone) should hand over to should be Christian Horner. Take him out of Red Bull and give him the keys. Horner is young, smart, modern and in touch,” added Eason.

Jonathan McEvoy, the correspondent for another British newspaper, the Daily Mail, also thinks 41-year-old Horner is the right man for the job.

“It is an intelligent, preferably young, energetic, articulate, successful, fair-minded dictator the sport needs to replace this Horlicks of self-interest,” he wrote.

“Horner has proved during his stewardship of Red Bull that he has these qualities. Anointing Horner may yet be Ecclestone’s last great legacy to formula one,” McEvoy added.

It is clear that Ecclestone has over-stayed his welcome. It cannot be denied that he revolutionised the sport in last century, but over the past decade he has become it’s own worst enemy. The sooner he goes the better.

As for Horner, does he have the personality to dictate at the highest level? Because that is exactly what F1 needs. It will take a big man, with big balls coupled to being a master in diplomacy to take control and deliver for the sport.

So we will sit on the fence and ponder the Horner question some more, while inviting our readers to state their opinions – which in the end is what matters: what do real F1 fans really want?

MIKA: I would say yes, Horner is the man that could run Formula 1 HOWEVER and only if he can be neutral in decision making and stop his whining. Hopefully that stops when he's not running a team.

[MIKA27]

MARCHIONNE: A LOT OF TIME SPENT TO REMEDY INHERENT PROBLEMS

Ferrari big boss Sergio Marchionne says he was never under any illusion about the challenge faced by the Maranello based team in 2015, to match and try and usurp Mercedes at the summit of the F1 pecking order with the added burden of sorting out a fundamentally flawed car.

Marchionne, who only took over from Luca di Montezemolo late last year, said Ferrari’s will to improve in 2015 is not diminished, “We’re spending a lot of time to make sure we continue to remedy the problems that we knew were inherent in this car.”

He insists what happened in Canada was no real surprise, “We always knew, and I had a long discussion with our team about this, that despite knowing the gap to Mercedes, they also would not stand still.”

“And that’s what we saw here,” added Marchionne, whose Montreal visit was his first appearance in a grand prix paddock as Ferrari president.

Sebastian Vettel’s breakthrough victory for Ferrari came early this season, raising hopes the resurgent team might be ready to challenge Mercedes’ utter dominance.

But five races have now passed without a follow-up Ferrari victory, even in Canada last weekend, where the Maranello team debuted an updated engine, Mercedes scored another emphatic one-two in Montreal.

“Psychologically, I guess it’s good that when a competitor expects more performance, you are able to stay on top,” said that team’s chief Toto Wolff.

At the same time, Mercedes insists that even though it was able to fend off the Ferrari challenge in Canada, the red camp may not have demonstrated its full potential at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Indeed, Vettel started from the back of the grid following technical problems and a penalty, while Kimi Raikkonen was heading for a podium when he spun.

So championship leader Lewis Hamilton rejects the notion that the 2015 title battle is definitely now a two-horse race with his teammate Nico Rosberg.

“I think it’s pretty much impossible for you to come to that conclusion,” said Hamilton. “Sebastian wasn’t there (in the Canada race) and obviously Sebastian has generally been the quicker of the two so far this season so we didn’t really get to see Ferrari’s true pace.”

Wolff agrees, “On Friday we noticed this great step they (Ferrari) have made, so maybe the problems they had on Saturday meant they were not able to show their true potential after that. I think we will see that (potential) in Austria,” predicted the Silver Arrows boss.

Ferrari have scored 180 points so far this year in the F1 constructors’ title race and trail Mercedes by 105 points.