FORMULA 1 - 2016

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Button claims McLaren and Honda have taken a 'big step'

Jenson Button ended the first day of pre-season testing with a smile on his face, having completed more running in a single day than McLaren managed across all four days of the first test last year.

The Brition might have only finished sixth fastest, 1.8 seconds down on Sebastian Vettel's chart-topping time, but an 84-lap tally left Button with a positive outlook for the remainder of the test, particularly as Honda seems to have cured its ERS deployment issues which plagued the team last year.

"It is difficult to say [where we are] in terms of power because this won't be the engine we take to the first race," said Button. "The deployment is so much better. I don't know if it is the same as the other guys have but it feels like it is. That is a big step for us.

"This isn't a track where you struggle for deployment over one timed lap, but over a long run [last year] we were struggling massively and losing four or five tenths on a lap, whereas now we don't so we have gained lap time back over a long run.

"It is much better, very easy to understand the deployment and to play with it and it listens to change which is good. It is good to see all the hard work over the winter has paid off."

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Manor hoping for 'respectability and competitiveness' in 2016 - Ryan

Manor’s racing director Dave Ryan says the team is aiming for “respectability and competitiveness” in the 2016 F1 season.

The Banbury-based outfit unveiled its all-new MRT05 on the first day of winter testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Pascal Wehrlein exiting the pit lane to complete its first lap.

Featuring a new red and blue livery, Manor will also field Rio Haryanto in F1 this season, making it an all-rookie driver line-up.

Following a difficult 2015, where the team ran an updated version of the previous year’s car, Manor is hoping technical partnerships with Mercedes and Williams will power the MRT05 to improved results.

"Respectability and competitiveness," Ryan said when asked what people should expect from Manor in 2016. "We are done with just turning up just to make everyone else look good and every single person in this team is looking forward to the first race in Melbourne in a few weeks’ time.

"We know we have to improve in every area and in no way do we underestimate the opposition, but we have assembled a great group of people, we have a fantastic technical partnership with Mercedes-Benz and Williams Advanced Engineering and now it’s up to us to deliver."

Replying to a question about how the team’s relationships with Mercedes and Williams are going, he explained: "Fantastically well. Our Mercedes HPP and Williams Advanced Engineering personnel have been installed in the factory for quite some time now and both of their headquarters are less than an hour away from our factory in Banbury.

"So we have all the resource and support we need pretty much on tap. It’s a really nice, easy relationship, with everyone working together very closely on our factory floor. The transition has been pretty seamless."

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Mallya: Williams and Red Bull in Force India's sights

Force India boss Vijay Mallya says the team has its sights set on challenging Williams and Red Bull Racing in the 2016 F1 season.

The VJM09 was officially unveiled in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya pit lane on Monday morning, ahead of the opening day of winter testing.

Force India enjoyed its best constructors’ championship finish ever in 2015, ending the year fifth overall with 136 points. The Silverstone-based squad retains Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez for a third season.

"I’m always wary of making bold predictions so early in the season, but I’m optimistic we can stay at the front of the midfield battle," Mallya told the Force India website when asked about the team’s main opposition in 2016.

"If you look at the second half of last year, after the summer break, we outscored Red Bull Racing by six points and were only nine points behind Williams - so we’ve got to begin the new season with those teams firmly in our sights.

"We set the bar high in 2015 and we should try and push it higher in 2016. At the very least our target must be to maintain fifth place and target fourth place as a stretch objective.

"At the same time, we are conscious of the threat from McLaren, Toro Rosso and Renault. All those teams have the potential to make big steps over the winter and will be scoring points. I think it’s fair to say the midfield has never been more competitive and we need to work hard to stay at the front of that fight."

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Vettel: SF16-H a definite step forward

While happy with his P1 on the opening day of pre-season testing, Sebastian Vettel admits it is “better to be first in one month’s time.”

The Ferrari driver debuted the SF16-H at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday, covering 69 laps with a best time of 1:24.939.

That put him 0.470s ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was the busiest driver out on track as he amassed 155 laps.

But while Vettel would have liked to have done more himself, he insisted Ferrari are “very happy” with the new SF16-H.

“I think it is a definite step forward,” declared the four-time World Champ.

“It was our first proper day and our first impression was good.

“We are very happy with the car and would have liked to have done a few more laps.

“I wouldn’t say we had problems, but naturally when everything is new, you have issues. You stop and have a look. These things take time.”

As for his P1, while pleased to be leading the way Vettel admits: “It’s better to be first in one month’s time. It’s better than being last but it’s not really important.”

The German also revealed that the Scuderia had also taken a step forward with their engine over the winter.

“We tried to make improvements,” he said. “Last year, the guys did a miracle and they’ve been working hard so naturally it is better than it was.”

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Hulkenberg: Lost track time not ideal

Nico Hulkenberg says it is "not ideal" that both Force India's race drivers are losing track-time to make way for test driver Alfonso Celis.

While both Hulkenberg and Perez were on hand for Monday's unveiling of the VJM09, they had to step and watch as the rookie put in the first laps in the new car.

Celis is testing on days one and two of the opening pre-season testing meaning Hulkenberg and Perez will only have one day each in the car.

"Not ideal, for sure," Hulkenberg told Motorsport.com.

"Today there are lots of installation checks and stuff, so there is a bit of time there which is not hurting so much.

"That is what the team had decided and that is what we will go with."

However it is not just days of testing that Hulkenberg will miss out on, the German will also give way for Celis in some FP1 sessions this season.

"Yes, that will happen," he said. "I've had it before. It's not a huge deal."

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First laps for Renault’s RS16

Renault returned to the track as a full works team on Monday morning as Jolyon Palmer put in the first laps in the RS16.

Late last year Renault’s acquisition of the Lotus team got the go-ahead which meant a late change from Mercedes to Renault engines.

Despite the rush the team’s RS16 was ready for the start of pre-season testing and took to the track on Monday morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Palmer, who was promoted to a race-seat having spent 2015 as Lotus’ test driver, had the honour of debuting the car.

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High down-force back on F1 agenda for 2017

Plans for dramatic aerodynamic changes for 2017 are back on the agenda for Tuesday's meetings of the F1 Strategy Group and F1 Commission in Geneva, despite having seemingly been dropped after earlier discussions.

Red Bull had led the push for major changes, which including a significant hike in downforce helped by a larger diffuser. However, Mercedes led the dissenters after its research indicated that overall lap times would be slower because Pirelli would have to run higher tyre pressures, which in turn reduced grip.

Thus, the watered-down package, without the bigger diffuser, was subsequently voted on by the F1 Commission – although Red Bull and two other teams disagreed.

After further debate by team technical directors via the forum of the Technical Regulations Meeting group, and in the less formal setting of a gathering of teams and drivers at Pirelli's Milan HQ earlier this month, no consensus could be found, although a compromise proposal from McLaren gathered some support.

However in recent days the high downforce and more radical package as favoured by Red Bull has returned to the agenda, and sources indicate that both Bernie Ecclestone and Jean Todt now want it to happen.

Given that until February 29 only a majority agreement is needed, the high downforce plans could yet be pushed through if Ecclestone and Todt can sway the room in Geneva. After March 1, unanimity will be required for 2017 changes.

"If it goes into March, forget it"

“I think it'll be an interesting day,” said Christian Horner. “We've got the strategy meeting in the morning, which is usually a good old argument, and then we've got the commission meeting in the afternoon, where hopefully something will get agreed.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for F1 to address the rules for 2017, and I think it will be a great shame for that opportunity to be missed by not grabbing the bull by the horns.

“If it gets delayed, I think it will be disappointing for the fans and for everyone. I think there's a real opportunity with a relatively clean sheet of paper to do something really good and address the fundamentals that we really set out almost 12 months ago - to make the cars more exciting, harder to drive, to see a bigger differential between the drivers' skill, for them to be more aggressive, and absolutely to see driver and machine at the limit.”

Horner hinted that Ecclestone and Todt will be the key: “The thing that concerns me is obviously that each team has a different vested interest, and when that happens, things get diluted.

"We really need to see hopefully strong governance and leadership, and the commercial rights holder and the governing body aligned tomorrow in what they want F1 to be moving forward.

"Because if it goes beyond February, then it has to be unanimous, then you may as well forget it.”

Pirelli used as "scapegoat"

Horner suggested that some people were using the tyre issue as an excuse not to pursue the radical change route, and he insisted that Pirelli is capable of building tyres for whatever rules are thrown at them.

“We had a very productive meeting with Pirelli several weeks ago where several teams and drivers went to Milan and Pirelli's HQ and met with [company chairman] Marco Tronchetti Provera to go through any concerns, and it was made very, very clear to us at that meeting: 'Come up with the regulations and we'll make whatever tyres you want to suit those regulations.'

“I think it's wrong to use Pirelli as a scapegoat to compromise regulations. I think F1 has to come up with a car that it feels it wants and it needs, and I'm sure that Pirelli can make the necessary product, as their chairman stated.”

Teams should be allowed to help

Meanwhile, Adrian Newey fears that the 2017 rules could be a compromise, and said the problem was that in recent weeks teams have not been able to contribute new research to the debate, as an earlier opportunity to run CFD studies had ended.

“I think that is a legitimate concern,” said the Red Bull technical chief. “The 2017 chassis regulations were first proposed some time ago and the teams have been allowed a period when they could do initial CFD studies, and feedback to the FIA on the results of those studies.

"Still I feel they are slightly immature, if you go back to the current regulations, while they can be criticised, you can say they did have a decent amount of research behind them. These have had work in a different way with the teams doing some of the work, through that CFD amnesty period where teams were allowed to do some research and feedback.

“The problem is that period stopped, and then there have been all sorts of attempts to dive in and change those regulations, from that amnesty period to now, so no further work has been done on it, which I think is a wasted opportunity. That is where we are.”

He added: “I think we just want as much freedom as possible. The danger is that then creates a spending frenzy of more investment and more research budgets are rewarded with more performance. That is my personal opinion and one that is not supported by everyone inside the team.

"I think if we had a more open set of aero regulations coupled with a form of restriction of size of the aero teams, then that would be a more creative atmosphere for everybody.”

MIKA: And what is Red Bulls vested interest...?

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Haas ships strengthened front wing to Barcelona after failure

Haas is shipping a new strengthened front wing for its Formula 1 car to the Barcelona test on Tuesday following Romain Grosjean's failure on the first day.

Grosjean's front wing broke off on the start-finish straight before lunch when the support pillars broke – for reasons that the American outfit has not yet fully found out.

While the team was able to continue running, albeit for shorter distances so it could monitor its spare wing, it has elected to ship a new design from its Banbury factory.

Team principal Gunther Steiner said: “We evaluated what was wrong and we are still checking, but we fixed one up for the afternoon.

“We went out there, but we just did short runs to always keep an eye on it. We get a complete fixed wing tomorrow for 8am – strenghtened.”

He added: “We don't know why it broke but we know where to reinforce it. We have a solution that we know we can keep running.”

Still positives

Although the wing failure was a frustration for the team, Steiner said early running of the new VF-16 had been encouraging up until that point – and there were at least some good lessons learned.

“With the team being new it is quite difficult,” he explained. “A simple operation for Ferrari or Mercedes or one of the teams that are here a long time; it is new for us but not so easy for us.

“It is a situation we handled professionally. We got a solution, we went out again and we did some running. We are still gathering cooling data, brake data, but we got quite a lot done anyway.

“As much as we are unhappy, we are happy because we got work done. It would have been nice to do 70-80 laps instead of 31, but sometimes that is why we are here to learn about the car and test.”

Good pace

Regarding the overall form of the car, Steiner said: “I think we are pretty happy. It is more a question for the driver I would say - what he feels about the car, or how he feels confident.

“But we didn't discover any big issues, it is not like overheating or anything like this. We are in control and we are happy with the package.”

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Software issues cause "painful" first day for Renault

Renault driver Jolyon Palmer has rued software issues that saw him log just 37 laps on the opening day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Palmer, who will be making his F1 race debut in Melbourne, finished the day last in the RS-16, almost four and a half seconds off pacesetter Sebastian Vettel - and with only Haas F1 Team's Romain Grosjean recording fewer laps.

"Disappointing first day, it's been challenging," Palmer said. "[it was] usual first-day issues, but we definitely would have liked to get more laps under our belt.

"It's painful - they've already cut down from 12 days to eight days and now I've only gotten 37 laps out of one. It's not ideal.

"I had a lot of mileage last year, the car's an evolution from last year, so it didn't feel massively different. But we didn't really do a lot of performance running... any performance running. It's frustrating but I've got three more days, it's plenty of laps."

The Briton clarified that it was a software problem limiting the RS16's running and expects it to be solved by Tuesday.

"It wasn't a power unit issue, it was a software issue," he said. "Whether that's coming from the power unit, we need to understand.

"The guys have been working all day, trying to get on top of [the problem]. We made progress throughout the day, hopefully overnight we can fix it for good."

Engine "obviously" not as powerful

Having gotten a number of practice outings in last year's Mercedes-engined Lotus car, Palmer has conceded that the difference between that power unit and the Renault engine used after the takeover was noticeable.

"There's a difference - it's obviously not as powerful as the Mercedes engine and you can feel that," he said.

"But there's benefits as well - the driveability is good, the Renault engine guys are working very well. We've been working with them over the winter and they've got a good handle on the procedures, the driveability of the engine.

"But, at the moment now, still definitely behind Mercedes on power."

Plenty of updates coming up

The RS16's predecessor Lotus E23 famously got little in the way of upgrades over the 2015 season - and, with it serving as the base for the new car, Palmer has suggested that there will be lots of changes to the RS16 before Melbourne.

"There's plenty to go through," he said. "It was fairly last-minute to get it ready and the guys did a really good job to roll out for 9 o'clock.

"But there's a lot to go on, so over the next few days, next week and Melbourne as well it's gonna be quite different."

The Briton will continue driving the car on Tuesday, before handing it over to Kevin Magnussen for the remainder of the first test.

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P Zero Purple: the new Ultrasoft tyre

Purple is the sidewall colour of the new tyre for dry conditions. Will the first day of testing be enough to tell us something about the Ultrasoft tyre?

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BARCELONA DAY 2: FERRARI FASTEST AS TEAMS DO SERIOUS MILEAGE

Sebastian Vettel continued to show good pace with Ferrari in Formula One’s preseason testing on Tuesday, setting the fastest time for the second consecutive day.

Vettel was seven tenths of a second faster than Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, who also used Pirelli’s new ultra-soft tire compound.

Vettel’s time of 1:22.810 seconds at the Circuito de Barcelona was almost two seconds quicker than the pole position in Spain last year on the same track. Vettel also was fastest on Monday, ahead of defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

The only setback for Ferrari came just minutes before the end of the afternoon session, when Vettel’s car stopped on the track with an apparent mechanical problem, bringing out the red flag.

Sergio Perez was third with Force India on soft tires, and Nico Rosberg was fourth with Mercedes on medium tires, two seconds slower than Vettel’s time. Rosberg ran 172 laps, the most of any driver. Vettel had 126. Hamilton drove 156 laps on Monday.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso made his debut in testing by driving 119 laps, another promising sign for McLaren after a disappointing season last year. Teammate Jenson Button had completed a total of 84 laps on Monday without any major reliability problems.

Alonso was only ninth fastest among the 11 drivers on the track on Tuesday, more than three seconds behind Vettel.

Marcus Ericsson was fifth with Sauber, which will only debut its 2016 car when teams return to Barcelona for the final tests of the season on 1-4 March .

Esteban Gutierrez finished sixth in a good second day for Haas, the American-led team debuting in F1 this season. The team had to reinforce its front wings after a failure in the car driven by Romain Grosjean, who finished 10th on Monday.

Renault, returning to F1 as a full team after taking over Lotus, endured problems for the second consecutive day. British rookie driver Jolyon Palmer ran only 37 laps after software issues on Monday, then completed 42 on Tuesday before his car stopped on the track with a power-unit problem.

Kevin Magnussen will take over for the last two days of testing on Wednesday and Thursday.

A red flag came out near the end of the morning session when Max Verstappen stopped on Turn 13 with a mechanical failure in his Toro Rosso. The car had to be towed back to the garage.

Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto was scheduled to make his debut for Manor on Tuesday, but the team changed plans and said it decided to keep German Pascal Wehrlein in the driver’s seat the entire day. Wehrlein was eighth fastest.

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ARAI AXED AS HE PAYS THE PRICE FOR HONDA’S F1 FAILINGS

Honda has confirmed the departure as Formula 1 boss of Yasuhisa Arai, who has been shifted within the company as senior managing director of R&D.

Earlier, we reported speculation from Barcelona that Arai could lose his job following the disastrous start in 2015 to the new McLaren-Honda works collaboration.

“Yusuke Hasegawa has been assigned to replace Yasuhisa Arai to oversee the development, manufacturing and management of the F1 project,” Honda confirmed.

Last year when it became evident that Honda was grossly unprepared for the challenge of modern F1, Arai was asked by reporters whether he had apologised for wasting a year of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso’s careers, “I always talk with both drivers,” and added, “I don’t answer.”

Pressed further regarding making an apology, Arai appeared flustered and replied: “Why? Why?”

In an interview during the mid-season last year Arai admitted, “The current technology is much more sophisticated and it is tough to make a good racing car.”

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but perhaps we didn’t imagine that it would be this hard. I certainly didn’t imagine technology wise what we would be facing,” he added.

Honda Statement:

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced today its annual organizational and personnel changes, including Operating Officers and Directors’ changes, effective April 1, 2016. In line with this decision, Honda has implemented changes in its managerial structure that oversees Honda’s Formula One (F1) project.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd will appoint a new Director role to oversee and supervise all F1 related undertakings to strengthen the organizational structure for Honda’s F1 project.

Yoshiyuki Matsumoto

• Senior Managing Officer and Director, Supervising Director of F1 Project, Honda Motor Co., Ltd
• President, Chief Executive Officer and Representative Director, Honda R&D Co., Ltd.

Furthermore, in accordance with the organizational changes in Honda R&D Co., Ltd,

Yusuke Hasegawa has been assigned to replace Yasuhisa ARAI to oversee the development, manufacturing and management of the F1 project.

Yusuke Hasegawa

• Executive Chief Engineer and Head of F1 Project, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. As of March 1, 2016

Yasuhisa Arai

• Senior Managing Officer, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. As of March 1, 2016

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PALMER: I FEEL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MERCEDES AND RENAULT

Now a fully-fledged race driver for a new works team, Jolyon Palmer nonetheless cut a disappointed figure on Monday.

Renault’s 2016 car is an obvious evolution of its Mercedes-powered Lotus predecessor, which Palmer drove throughout last season as third driver, but he admitted, “The car feels not so different.”

But he managed only 37 laps, and was dead last on the timesheets. The difference, it seems, is the team’s switch from Mercedes to Renault power.

“We knew that it would not be easy and we wouldn’t do 100 laps. But 37 laps is not the ideal start,” said Palmer. “That’s basically one of my four days gone.”

Regarding the engine, “You could feel the difference,” he admitted. “The Mercedes has more power but the Renault has advantages for example with driveability.”

Similarly, Toro Rosso has switched the other way – from Renault to Ferrari power – and Carlos Sainz liked the feel of more horse power on Monday.

“The car is an evolution of last year,” he told the AS sports daily, “so what I’ve noticed so far is the engine. I can only say positive things about Ferrari.”

And Sainz said more power is not the only advantage of having moved away from Renault.

“Everything is also much simpler,” he explained. “There are fewer changes to make on the steering wheel — fewer buttons, more (is) automatic, more power.”

As for a team that has stayed with Renault power, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo said after Monday’s running: “It feels pretty much like the end of last season.”

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BOULLIER: NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Whispers filled the Barcelona paddock late on Monday that Yasuhisa Arai is leaving the McLaren-Honda project – this is now confirmed.

Initially, it seemed the Japanese might have fallen on his sword because, amid the desperate need to improve, the brand new Honda engine also struggled out of the box.

“Not good enough,” was McLaren team boss Eric Boullier’s initial appraisal in the morning.

Later, the Frenchman’s mood had improved as Jenson Button ran in the middle of the pack with a decent haul of laps, with Boullier saying the 2016 package is “definitely better” than its woeful predecessor.

As for a prediction of wins, however, “I will not say anything on that.”

“I think they (Honda) have made some good progress with the engine,” Boullier added. “They are clearly on the right track and have solved some problems from the past year, which is good.”

Other than that, he was saying little about Honda’s progress. “I am responsible for the chassis and the drivers, and in these matters, as I understand it, we are at the right level.”

“As for the engine, these issues need to be put to the people from Honda. The team will begin to win when we have the best drivers, the best chassis and the best engine,” Boullier added.

Alongside the Arai-exit rumours, it is also rumoured in Barcelona that Fernando Alonso has warned McLaren that unless the 2016 package is immediately much better than the 2015 machine, he could quit the team.

Bookmakers are even giving odds of 3-1 that the Spaniard will quit before the chequered flag in 2016.

“He was in the factory in the past week and was very pleased with what he saw of the car,” said Boullier. “More than this I think is better to ask him. He will be here tonight or tomorrow.”

“He’s ok — he gives the impression of a happy man. We gave him all our figures and today I was pleased to tell him that these expectations were confirmed,” Boullier revealed.

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FORMULA 1 CARS NOT MUCH LOUDER FOR 2016

Formula 1 is louder but not loud enough to meet the expectations of its audience, one correspondent at the Barcelona test reported on Monday.

For 2016, following widespread complaints that the ‘power unit’ era has left the previously screaming sport with little more than a whimper, the F1 rules were tweaked.

Teams have had to install a separate tailpipe for the so-called ‘wastegate’, for the sole benefit of turning up the volume of the turbo V6 engines.

Bild am Sonntag reports that Mercedes’ 2016 unit is 12 per cent louder than its predecessor, cranking it up from 96 to 108 decibels.

As for what it sounds like in reality, Autosprint’s Cesare Maria Mannucci said from Barcelona: “The noise is a bit higher, but nothing in comparison to the V8 and V10s.

“There are 11 cars on the track” in Barcelona, Mannucci added, “but it does not seem that the noise level has increased so much. Or at least to what the viewers were hoping for.”

MIKA: “The noise is a bit higher, but nothing in comparison to the V8 and V10s." - Well of course not! It's a V6

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BRIATORE ADVISES MONZA TO PAY ECCLESTONE’S PRICE

Flavio Briatore has warned organisers of the Italian grand prix not to play hardball with Bernie Ecclestone.

As negotiations over a new deal for Monza drag on, regional Lombardy president Roberto Maroni warned last week that “There can be no formula one without Monza”.

“I think Maroni’s right,” Briatore told RAI. “That the Italian grand prix remaining at Monza is 90 per cent, as long as the ACI (Italian automobile club) pays Ecclestone’s price.”

“There is still an important difference,” the Italian, a long-time friend and business partner of Ecclestone’s, added. “Bernie is not interested in who pays him, but that he is paid.”

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NEWEY NOT EXPECTING BIG STEP FORWARD FOR RED BULL

On the opening day of Formula 1 preseason testing in Barcelona, Adrian Newey has admitted he does not expect Red Bull to take a “huge step forward” in 2016.

After the engine supply crisis of late last year, the team has returned to F1 for the new year with rebranded Renault power.

But designer Newey is optimistic and told Speedweek, “I think our engine supplier had a good winter.”

“The gap to the top is still significant, but (at Renault) there are new people, more budget, a different approach, and all that should help us to close the gap slowly but surely.”

That aside, Newey admitted that 2016 is unlikely to be the breakthrough return to title contention for Red Bull.

“We are in the third year of these regulations, which I think are quite restrictive,” he said. “So I do not expect a huge step forward.

“But we have learned some lessons from 2015 and made certain changes to the car that caused problems with the handling. We developed the car well last year and want to keep it going in 2016,” Newey added.

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HAAS: THE FIRST IMPRESSION IS REALLY GOOD

After a physical unveil of the VF-16 at 7:50 a.m. CET, Haas F1 Team hit the track for its first official test at 10 a.m. sharp with Romain Grosjean at the wheel.

The Ferrari 061 turbo V-6 ran flawlessly, providing a valuable reconnaissance lap for the team to check all the car’s systems. Twelve laps were made prior to the lunch break, and on the sixth lap, Grosjean recorded his fastest lap of the day (1:28.399).

More laps would’ve been made, but a front wing failure cut the stint short. After careful analysis, a diagnosis was made and a new wing was reengineered for the afternoon.

The quick work allowed Grosjean to make three five-lap runs, the last one coming with 24 minutes remaining in the session. When the clock struck 6 p.m. and the track went cold, Grosjean was credited with 31 laps, all on the Pirelli P Zero White medium.

Romain Grosjean: “It was a pretty exciting day. The morning went very well until we had a small front wing failure. It compromised our afternoon a little, but it was good that we could put some laps on the car later. We don’t have any big problems. I’m very happy with the first day. It’s been a really good start for the team. It’s been a positive day. Of course, you always want more and more, but I think the most important thing is that I’m happy with the car. The first impression is really good. The car balance is there straight away.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team: “We had a good start to the day and then we had a problem with the front wing. Obviously, we had to stop and evaluate the problem and find a solution. We found an interim solution, but we will have to find a solution by tomorrow morning. We got out running again and got a lot of data. It would have been nice to run more, but we still got some laps under our belt and we look forward to tomorrow.”

Esteban Gutiérrez takes the wheel of the VF-16 Tuesday in preseason testing at Barcelona. Testing runs through Thursday, with Grosjean back in the car on Wednesday and Gutiérrez in on Thursday. After a four-day break, teams return to Barcelona for a second and final round of preseason testing March 1-4. Gutiérrez will drive March 1-2 and Grosjean finishes up the test March 3-4.

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HULKENBERG NOT KEEN ON CLOSED F1 COCKPIT

Nico Hulkenberg has admitted he is not among those who support the closing of the cockpits in Formula 1.

It is believed F1 is close to adopting the so-called ‘halo’ concept for 2017, to reduce the risk of head injuries.

GPDA chief Alex Wurz had said the initiative has the full support of the drivers, but Hulkenberg said: “For me it’s a personal thing, but I just think formula one cars should remain open.”

Asked if he simply doesn’t like the look of the ‘halo’, he added: “No, nothing like that. I just think that in general, open-wheel cockpits should be open.”

Hulkenberg’s view is interesting given that, in 2015, he won Le Mans with the closed-cockpit Porsche, but he explained: “That’s something else. Prototypes have always looked like that.

“Single seaters were always open and they should stay open,” the German added.

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Qualifying gets radical overhaul for 2016 season

Formula 1 is set to introduce a radical tweak to the current qualifying format which will see drivers eliminated every 90 seconds, which the sport’s bosses hope will improve the show.

Team bosses met with FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday in Geneva to discuss 2017 rule changes, but also took the opportunity to discuss other ideas, qualifying amongst many others.

A change to qualifying’s current format gained majority support and it is therefore likely it will be introduced and pushed through for the 2016 season, though could be delayed until 2017, pending a World Motor Sport Council vote.

It involves the slowest car being eliminated every 90 seconds after a set period of time, which it’s hoped will ensure constant on-track action and a more unpredictable outcome.

Exact details have yet to be confirmed, but will be over the next few days.

Qualifying would retain the current Q1, Q2 and Q3 sessions, but would last 16, 15 and 14 minutes with a ‘safe period’ of between seven, six and five minutes respectively where drivers can set a time without the fear of being knocked out.

However, after that ‘safe period’ has ended, the slowest driver will be eliminated every 90 seconds until just 15 remain for Q1 and eight for Q2. The final pole shoot-out would therefore feature eight drivers, with further knockouts until just two are left to fight for pole in the final 90 seconds.

Another proposal would see time ballast added in order of championship standing. For example, the championship leader would have a set amount of time added to their lap, with those behind in the standings receiving less time ballast up until tenth in the standings.

[MIKA27]

Updates due for Toro Rosso at second pre-season test

Max Verstappen has revealed that Toro Rosso will bring more updates to the second pre-season Formula 1 test in Barcelona next week as the impact of its late change in engine supplier continues to be felt.

Toro Rosso made a late switch from Renault to Ferrari power units for 2016, leaving the team with a race against time to get the new car ready for the first test.

Although the STR11 did make it to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the start of testing on Monday, there are still parts to be added to the car according to Verstappen which are due next week.

"For sure we will get new parts," Verstappen confirmed. "I’m very happy about that, of course.

"Because the engine decision was very late it was very difficult to get the car here, so definitely we don’t have all the parts yet. They are still in production."

Verstappen completed 121 laps behind the wheel of the STR11 on Tuesday in Barcelona, with one minor interruption due to an electrical issue on the car that prompted the team to stop out on track as a precaution.

"We already had a few small chassis-side updates today, which appear to be working okay," Toro Rosso technical director James Key said.

"Generally, the reliability was also good. This morning we had a minor electrical issue that needed a reset in the garage and after that it was OK.

"To cover 121 laps on day two of the test is extremely encouraging given that this week is all about putting mileage on the car and concentrating on all the new systems that we’ve had to introduce quickly. So we can be happy with today’s progress.”

[MIKA27]

Former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali appointed Lamborghini CEO

Former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has been appointed president and CEO of Lamborghini, replacing Stephan Winkelmann, with effect from March 15.

Domenicali led Ferrari for seven years between 2007 and 2014, overseeing their last championship victory in 2008, before he was forced out as part of an organisational restructure.

The Italian was taken on by Audi with the aim of exploring new business initiatives. That included evaluating a Formula 1 works team and what it would cost to win the championship.

That report is believed to have been used by Audi’s parent company Volkswagen to assess a possible deal to power and eventually takeover Red Bull Racing - before the emissions scandal killed the idea.

Business at Lamborghini, a subsidiary of Audi, is currently booming with sales up 19 per cent in 2014 and a further 28 per cent in 2015 with sales of 3,245 cars. The company is currently undergoing an expansion which includes the introduction of its new SUV, the Urus, as well as an additional 500 employees.

The company hopes to double sales over the next two years.

Domenicali’s appointment to the top job will likely spark further rumours that Lamborghini could consider an F1 foray, particularly with its plans for expansion.

Outgoing president and CEO Winkelmann will take on the role of head of Audi’s high-performance car division, Quattro GmbH.

[MIKA27]

Alonso: McLaren could have best chassis by start of European season

Fernando Alonso believes that McLaren could have the best chassis on the Formula 1 grid by the start of the European season in May.

Alonso enjoyed his first run in the new McLaren-Honda MP4-31 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday, completing 119 laps en route to ninth position overall.

It was a far cry from the maiden outing of the Honda-powered McLaren in 2015, when Alonso was blighted by issues throughout testing that continued into the season.

Speaking after his first run on Tuesday, Alonso expressed his pride in McLaren and said that it was reasonable to target having the best chassis on the grid by the start of the European season.

"I’m very proud of the team, of what we achieved in the past couple of months," Alonso said.

"I think the target to have the best car, the best chassis, is reachable, is something very possible. Maybe by the European races or something like that, and motivation is very high. So who knows.

"There is not a magic solution or a crystal ball, but I would like to be competitive and to be fighting for something important. But honestly I don’t know."

Alonso said that he could notice an improvement in the Honda power unit and its deployment, but believed that this was to be expected anyway.

"Definitely yes, but this is let’s say an answer that I had no doubt," Alonso said when asked if he could feel an improvement.

"We could not have any doubts because the starting point of the power and the deficit we had last year compared to the top teams, it was just too high. We did improve all areas of the car.

"I think on the aerodynamic side there are some parts which are quite innovative and quite new in our car. The others had these ideas in the past but for us they are new. We need a little bit of time to mature the project, the package, and the power unit the same thing.

"For us last year was a lot of learning, a lot of pain, but we learned many things. Now with a completely new design and a completely new philosophy of power unit, we still need a little bit of time to understand and to explore the potential."

[MIKA27]

Engines still not loud enough – Vettel

Sebastian Vettel says F1’s engine have got louder this year but believes they need to increase the volume further.

Changes to the exhaust configuration have been required by the rules in 2016 in an attempt to increase the noise produced by the current generation of V6 turbo hybrids.

“About the engine, I can say it is nice to have a bit more sound coming back,” said Vettel after the second day of testing. “It is still not as loud as it could or should be but it is a lot better than it was, now sounds a bit more like Formula One.”

Vettel revealed he had an off-track moment during today’s second session, in which he was fastest for the second day running. He said he was pleased with the feedback from the new SF16-H but added it is “crucial that Kimi [Raikkonen] has a similar impression” when his team mate drives the car for the first time tomorrow.

“We tried to understand how the car reacts, obviously we had an idea and certain expectation, but when you run the car on track it is always a bit different, you are then dealing with temperatures, cooling etc…”

“Sometimes you have to stop a bit longer than necessary or than you really want, just to check, other times the driver goes off track, like I did this morning. But these things happen. Overall we are happy, but we know that we need now a lot of mileage, so there is a lot of work ahead of us. ”

[MIKA27]

Should F1 use reverse grids?

Using reverse grids for F1 races is on the agenda at a crunch meeting of F1 chiefs in Geneva to set the rules for 2017.

Would putting the fast cars at the back make for more exciting F1 races – or are reverse grids just another gimmick grand prix racing doesn’t really need?

For

There is an appealing simplicity to the argument for reverse grids. Most races start with the quicker cars in front of slower ones which means there is little overtaking. To create more overtaking, put the faster cars behind the slower ones at the start.

It’s obvious that this would create an increase in overtaking. The performance difference between F1 cars is such that it’s impossible to imagine a Mercedes being stuck behind a Manor for any length of time.

There are already examples of how this can create memorable races. The 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, which culminated in Kimi Raikkonen overtaking Giancarlo Fisichella for victory on the final lap, was made great because rain during qualifying left several of the quickest drivers near the rear of the field.

Against

Races like Suzuka 2005 were only great because they were unusual. If every race started with the fast cars at the back the novelty would quickly wear off.

Nor is it likely that, given the current state of F1, much excitement would be created from the overtaking. Instead we may merely see the slower cars let the faster ones through having been told not to destroy their tyres by needlessly holding up a car they are unlikely to finish ahead of – something which already happens.

It would likely have other undesirable effects too. Qualifying would become meaningless, reducing Saturday circuit attendance and television audiences. And it would be hard not to inadvertently create incentives for teams to deliberately under-perform or retire from races in order to secure a better starting position at the next round.

My THoughts

Formula One has an unhealthy habit of seizing on a single rule change as the potential cure for all its problems. It’s not hard to imagine how it could make the same mistake with reverse grids that it has with other gimmicks like double points and DRS.

While some believe the subject of reverse grids has only been raised by Bernie Ecclestone as a negotiating tactic other publications such as Autosport have repeatedly pressed the case for it.

I have watched hundreds of reverse and part-reverse grid races in series like GP2, GP3 and touring cars and find it an artificial spectacle which produces less worthy winners. I thought it was very telling that when Rio Haryanto was signed by Manor many were quick to point out his three GP2 victories had all come from part-reversed grid spint races and therefore were not as impressive as if he’d won feature races where normal qualifying sessions are used.

While it’s one thing for minor championships to dabble with the idea, for F1 to embrace it in response to its plummeting viewing figures would be another sign of desperation which would probably turn off more long-term viewers than it would attract new ones.

Reverse grids would be yet another sticking-plaster solution when F1’s real problems lie elsewhere.