Latest F1 news in brief

Bottas the Villain? Hamilton will destroy him again this year

Bottas prepared to be the 'villain' in 2019
Ramirez hopes McLaren has 'patience' to rebuild
Verstappen had 'good time' in community service
Ferrari rivals 'bluffing' – Leclerc
Kubica 'not worried' amid Williams crisis
Renault fast but 'Red Bull faster' – Hulkenberg
Osaka mayor wants to hold Japan's first F1 street race

Bottas prepared to be the 'villain' in 2019

(GMM) A bullish Valtteri Bottas says he is determined to beat Lewis Hamilton in 2019.

The Finn was disappointed with his performance last year, and could lose his place at Mercedes for 2020 to new team reserve Esteban Ocon.

Bottas admits that his new look is a signal of his intention to turn things around in 2019.

"I did not shave in the winter, I liked how it looks and it fits with what I want to convey," he is quoted as saying at the Barcelona test.

Bottas said he told himself after last season that "This will never happen again".

"I'm ready to do what's necessary this year to achieve my goals, and if I have to work harder in some places, that's part of it," he added.

Lewis Hamilton

Many observers believe Bottas needs to drop the 'nice guy' personality in order to beat Hamilton.

"If he wants to be on an equal footing with Lewis, he must try to be more of the villain," Nico Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the title in 2016, told Kolner Express newspaper.

"I was naturally not like that either so I had to learn the hardness of my colleagues," he added.

Bottas is showing every sign that he is willing to do that.

For instance, he says he will no longer always fall in line with a team order as he has at times at Mercedes.

"In that situation, if I was there again, I would act differently," Bottas confirmed.

"I only have one career, and if I always support instead of attack for myself, I will never reach my goals," he said.

"I've been in F1 for six years now and I'm not where I want to be. I want to be able to say at the end of the year: I did everything. I could not have done better."

When asked if he has consulted with a psychologist for help, Bottas answered: "Just one — the man in the mirror."

Finally, 29-year-old Bottas admitted that Ferrari is currently ahead of Mercedes in the winter testing pecking order.

"No matter what settings or the fuel, Ferrari seems to be very fast," he said.

"But everyone's car will be different in Australia, so things can look different by then."

Ramirez hopes McLaren has 'patience' to rebuild

This year's McLaren is a bit more competitive

(GMM) Jo Ramirez says he hopes McLaren has learned to be 'patient' as it aims for better results in 2019 and beyond.

The famous British team has struggled ever since the beginning of the Honda era, including the switch to customer Renault power last year.

McLaren has had a more positive start to the 2019 winter season, and now former team coordinator Ramirez says he hopes the team can exercise "patience" as it rebuilds.

"The car is probably better than last year, although if you think about it that is not very difficult," the Mexican told Spain's AS newspaper.

"It's a new project, two or three years minimum, to start to take some podiums. So we hope that everyone has the patience that they did not have with Honda."

Indeed, after the McLaren split, Honda made steady progress with Toro Rosso in 2018 and might now be ready for race wins with Red Bull in 2019.

"Yes, this year it (McLaren-Honda) could have worked out," Ramirez said, "but Honda took five years and the relationships were lost.

"Wasting a driver like Fernando Alonso for four years was a shame, and nobody expected it after the great years we had in the 80s," he added.

As for Alonso's replacement, Ramirez puts his support behind Carlos Sainz.

"He is very motivated and very focused," he said. "He already lives in Woking and as a driver he is very good.

"Lando Norris? I do not know how he will go. He is too young and lacks a bit of charisma and drive, so I hope it's not another Stoffel Vandoorne.

"Those drivers want to get to F1 but when they do, they stop there. These days the drivers are too young," Ramirez added.

As for the 2019 pecking order, he confirmed that Ferrari appears to have the lead.

"I am surprised that Mercedes has been so slow," said Ramirez, 77. "But you never know what they are hiding.

"Ferrari is very fast and the atmosphere has changed a lot with Binotto," he added. "They are all smiling, and that's something we didn't see last year."

Verstappen had 'good time' in community service

Max Verstappen

(GMM) Max Verstappen smiled as he said he had a "good time" serving his so-called FIA community service over the winter break.

The audacious Red Bull driver received the penalty for violently confronting Esteban Ocon after the Brazilian grand prix.

His first day of punishment occurred at the Formula E race in Morocco, where he had to observe the stewards.

"It was not that bad," the Dutchman is quoted by De Telegraaf newspaper.

"I had a nice day in Marrakesh," he added. "I sat with the stewards all day long.

"Vitantonio Liuzzi was also there, so we talked a bit about karting and the past. I entertained myself as well.

"If you have to go, you might as well make the best of it," said Verstappen, 21.

He then moved on to Geneva, for a big meeting of FIA stewards.

"All the stewards from around the world were there, and I even saw Jens Marquardt and Andy Priaulx, which was good to meet them. There's nothing wrong with that," said Verstappen.

When asked what he learned from the community service, Verstappen smiled: "I just had a good time.

"I also saw Formula E in real life. I heard how the stewards think about things, where usually I see them for ten minutes. This time it was ten hours."

As for his new Red Bull-Honda, Verstappen said the team is yet to show its full performance but revealed that the car is "not bad".

"We do not have much to say right now. We just have to make sure the car is fast," he added.

And when asked about the new front wings designed to make overtaking easier in 2019, Verstappen answered: "Actually, it is just 15 million euros flushed down the drain."

"They thought we would lose a lot of downforce, but that's not the case at all. You can already see the laptimes here," he said in Barcelona. "We are already very fast."

Ferrari rivals 'bluffing' – Leclerc

Leclerc says we won't know true pace of everyone until Melbourne

(GMM) Charles Leclerc has played down Ferrari's new status as the 2019 favorite by saying teams 'bluff' in winter testing.

After the first test in Barcelona, both Mercedes and Red Bull are saying the Maranello team has a clear advantage with its new car.

What Leclerc will admit to is how easily he has adapted to the 2019 Ferrari.

"It is a very easy car to drive, which makes it easier for me as a driver," he smiled.

However, the 21-year-old said it is too early to say that Ferrari's rivals are off the pace.

"In the tests there is always bluffing, so we should not read too much into the times," Leclerc insisted.

"I'm sure Mercedes has not revealed all of its cards, and neither have we. We know we have a strong car, but we do not know how good our opponents are."

As for himself, Leclerc moved to ease the huge pressure on his shoulders, having just taken over from Ferrari veteran and former champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Many, including Max Verstappen, think the former Sauber driver will immediately challenge Sebastian Vettel.

"I think so, because he is very fast and intelligent," Verstappen said.

"Yes he lacks some experience to Vettel, maybe over the race distance. But he will be faster than Kimi Raikkonen anyway," he claimed.

Leclerc said in Barcelona that "people should not forget that this is only my second season".

"I need time to grow into this role," said the Monaco-born driver.

"I'm not coming to Australia to win the first race. My aim is to do a good job," Leclerc added.

As for how he is dealing with the huge pressure, he answered: "Ferrari is the biggest team in the world, a legend. But you do not think about that when you're driving."

But even Lewis Hamilton says he can imagine Leclerc creating a situation at Ferrari similar to his own McLaren debut in 2007, when he clashed with Fernando Alonso.

Leclerc said: "I will try to start the season in good shape, and if Mattia (Binotto) has a problem with two fast drivers, it means that I am doing my job well."

Kubica 'not worried' amid Williams crisis

Despite Paddy Lowe's Williams being the slowest car in F1, Robert Kubica says he is not worried

(GMM) Robert Kubica insists he is "not worried" despite Williams' catastrophic start to its 2019 campaign.

Rumors have been flying about in the Barcelona paddock, after the once-great British team's 2019 car was two days late and then woefully off the pace.

Former Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin told Russia's Championat: "When I was in the simulator, the (2019) car was two seconds slower (than the 2018 car)."

Pole Kubica is making his highly anticipated return to F1 this year after eight years on the sideline with serious injury.

But he is now facing a full season at the back.

"I'm not worried," he said in Barcelona.

"It's the way it is. Of course it would be better if we had learned more about our car this week, but the reality is we are late.

"I hope it will not hurt us in the first race."

On Wednesday, the FW42 was an alarming 8 seconds off the leading pace. The drivers slashed that to four seconds on Thursday.

"It's easy to find four seconds when your deficit is eight seconds," Kubica smiled. "We certainly cannot do that again, but we also cannot focus on laptimes at the moment."

When asked what the 2019 car is like, he answered: "In some areas we have been able to take a step forward, but the rules mean that we have had to take small steps backwards as well.

"One thing is for sure: we have to take a bigger step than our competitors do for us to catch up.

"The guys certainly did a good job to build up the car five times faster than normal, but the preparation takes that long for a good reason as well," he added.

The question now is whether Williams can head to Australia next month fully prepared, having had a notably bad start to the season.

"Well, the others didn't start testing from day one just for fun," Kubica said.

"But the situation is as it is. Everyone has their job on the team and I try to do mine as well as possible."

Renault fast but 'Red Bull faster' – Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg

(GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says Renault has a fight on its hands to stay fourth in 2019.

The German actually ended the Barcelona test with the fastest time overall, but he admits that doesn't mean Renault is about to leapfrog the top three teams.

Hulkenberg's new teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, has switched over the winter from Red Bull, and the pair admit that the energy drink team is still ahead.

"We know where Red Bull is faster, but we would like to know why," the German said.

As for what the gap to the top three teams is, Hulkenberg added: "I honestly am not bothered with that. First of all we have to go through our program and optimize our car."

He admitted he is expecting a tough fight at the top of the midfield.

"It is very closely balanced," said Hulkenberg. "We are by no means comfortably fourth."

That, though, doesn't mean he is not satisfied with Renault's current situation.

"I feel good about the car," said Hulkenberg. "We have managed to recover the downforce that we should actually have lost with the new rules.

"The car actually feels like last year. Like someone pressed the copy-paste button."

Osaka mayor wants to hold Japan's first F1 street race

Today Yumeshima Island looks like a dump but big plans are in the works

The mayor of Japan’s third-largest city wants it to hold a Formula 1 street race on a man-made island which will host the 2025 World Exposition.

In a press conference on Thursday mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said “we would very much like to realize the Osaka F1 Grand Prix" on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay, according to Japan Today.

Yoshimura is looking for backers to invest in the project to build an entertainment complex including a casino on the island.

“If we can attract investment from the world, we’ll be able to achieve things we currently can’t realize in Japan," said Yoshimura. “Racing on a street circuit might be achievable at Yumeshima."

“It would be difficult to use regular asphalt roads," he added. “We should develop better quality ones."