Latest F1 news in brief

The new 'blue' Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso 'not blue Mercedes' – Key
Ferrari's low-profile winter 'like therapy'
Massa admits 2017 Mercedes 'beautiful'
'No problems' with 2017 Renault engine – Marko
Wolff's family to travel with him
Mercedes wanted 'a Bottas or a Wehrlein' – Alonso
Ecclestone's right-hand man leaves F1
McLaren budget 'big enough' for 2017
McLaren joins rivals with controversial suspension
Vandoorne under less 'time pressure' than Alonso

Toro Rosso 'not blue Mercedes' – Key
(GMM) Technical boss James Key has played down suggestions the new Toro Rosso 'looks like a blue Mercedes'.

When the new Renault-powered STR12 was revealed, some observed that its philosophy and features seemed to resemble those of the title-defending new Mercedes.

"All just coincidence," Key is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport. "We did not get any new people from Mercedes or vice versa.

"When I saw the pictures of the Mercedes last Thursday, I was a bit annoyed at first. But then it pleased me — if Mercedes has the same ideas as us, we can't be far wrong.

"Now I hope that our Renault engine is as good as the Mercedes," he added.

One notable similarity between the new Toro Rosso and the Mercedes is the front suspension, and Key said: "To be honest, I'm surprised that only Mercedes and us have gone in this direction."

As for the other newly-revealed 2017 cars, Key answered: "The Ferrari looks interesting in the area of the sidepods. This is a completely new approach that we need to look at more closely.

"There are also some interesting aspects on the McLaren and the Haas," he added.

Ferrari's low-profile winter 'like therapy'

Ferrari's new F1 creation was done in secret

(GMM) Ferrari extended its ultra-low-profile approach to the 2017 season into the official reveal of its new car.

Pino Allievi, arguably the most respected Italian journalist, called the lack of grand proclamations or launch glitz and glamour "a kind of therapy" as the fabled team looks to finally end a ten-year title drought.

Kimi Raikkonen gave the new red car, whose obvious technical innovations have been hailed in some quarters, a tentative thumbs-up after debuting it at Fiorano.

"The real work starts only in Barcelona, but so far so good," said the Finn.

And Sebastian Vettel is quoted by La Repubblica newspaper: "Obviously it's too early to make judgements, but I would say that this car is a major step forward."

Massa admits 2017 Mercedes 'beautiful'

The latest Aldo Costa creation is not only fast, it is beautiful

(GMM) Although every 2017 car is now officially unveiled, Felipe Massa is not willing to guess who will have the edge in Melbourne.

On the eve of winter testing in Barcelona, the veteran Brazilian said: "The Mercedes is very beautiful to look at.

"The Ferrari has various things on it, while you could see almost nothing of the Red Bull from the video they released.

"In Melbourne we will have a better idea, but here we may already get some idea," he told Brazil's Globo in Barcelona.

Massa, 35, may be forgiven for feeling slightly odd on the eve of the 2017 season, having actually retired at the end of last year.

He has returned to Williams to replace Valtteri Bottas, who has switched to Mercedes following Nico Rosberg's sudden retirement.

"When I announced my retirement I said that I was leaving because I didn't want to race on a small, under-resourced team," Massa explained.

Massa rolls out to test in Barcelona with a T-wing now in place

Massa rolls out to test in Barcelona this morning with a T-wing now in place. Ditto for the Haas team

"Everything changed when Claire Williams phoned me."

Massa also revealed that he did some F1 running in January, as his new teenaged-teammate Lance Stroll continued his unprecedented private test program in the 2014 car.

"I went to Bahrain, drove one day for him to create references for him and the team," he said.

"He is very fortunate to be able to test before these (official) tests, which is very difficult these days in F1, and especially important because this year the difference between Formula 3 and F1 is very great.

"I met him when he was 8, and I know quite a lot about his father too," Massa revealed. "Knowing that boy is my teammate today is very pleasant for me."

'No problems' with 2017 Renault engine – Marko

Marko and Mateschitz pray the Renault engine is competitive

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has played down reports Renault's 2017 engine came out of the blocks with an apparent technical failure.

It emerged last week that, with the French marque taking a bold step over the winter to catch up with Mercedes, the 2017 engine broke down as Toro Rosso did its track roll-out in Italy.

But Red Bull Racing's Marko told Auto Bild: "We believe in Renault, and at the moment there are no problems with the engine."

However, the entire pitlane is nervous about rumors that the already-dominant Mercedes has possibly made an equally big engine step for 2017.

"What scares me the most is not the Mercedes team," said Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz, "because it is not on our radar.

"What scares me more is that Force India and Williams could have even more power. I am convinced that in previous years we could have beaten them with the same engine, so hopefully this year we will have an engine that will allow us to fight," he told the Spanish press in Barcelona.

Wolff's family to travel with him

Pregnant wife Suzie will now travel with Toto

(GMM) Toto Wolff says his new family will accompany him around the F1 calendar.

The Mercedes boss is married to former Williams tester Susie Wolff, and they are currently expecting their first child together.

But Wolff told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper: "I give everything – my whole life – to this job.

"365 days of the year, I think about nothing else than this team, and I don't want it any other way."

So he said that when his child is born, "We will be a travelling family".

"Recently we saw Roger Federer's wife sitting in the grandstand with both twins and Susie said 'If people with four children can do it, we can do it too'."

Mercedes wanted 'a Bottas or a Wehrlein' – Alonso
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has finally confirmed reports Mercedes expressed interest in signing him up for 2017.

Ultimately, the German team replaced the suddenly-retired Nico Rosberg with Valtteri Bottas, but not before a reported round of phone calls to some of F1's top drivers.

"I think Rosberg caught Mercedes by surprise and so they made a round of calls to everyone," Spaniard Alonso told Cadena Cope radio.

"They even said 'All the drivers called us' and I think it may be true. Whether they called them or the drivers called, I think they talked to the entire grid to have information and know every situation.

"I was no different," Alonso explained. "Toto Wolff called me in an informative, very calm way but I told him I had a contract with McLaren, that I was happy here and had no plans to do anything crazy.

"I think they also had a driver profile in mind – a Bottas or Wehrlein type – to fit with the Mercedes program and not put too many obstacles for Hamilton," he said.

"It was a two or three minute conversation and nothing more than information."

Ecclestone's right-hand man leaves F1
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone's long-time right hand man has also left F1.

For years, Pasquale Lattuneddu was the recently-ousted F1 supremo's most trusted aide, in charge of media accreditation, paddock layout, procedures and VIP guests, according to reports including La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Lattuneddu was the 'yes' or 'no' man," the Spanish sports newspaper AS explained.

"He was Ecclestone's second shadow," the report added.

McLaren budget 'big enough' for 2017

Zak Brown (L) hasn't landed a McLaren sponsor yet

(GMM) McLaren has played down claims it may struggle to keep up with F1's bigger-spending teams in 2017.

Given the major regulations change, the pace of car development will be particularly fast and crucial this year.

So when asked if the former grandee McLaren has enough money to keep up, new executive Zak Brown is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: "Our budget is big enough."

However, it is notable that as McLaren switched from dark grey to orange and black for 2017, the move has not accompanied an influx of sponsors.

Team boss Eric Boullier insists: "Don't forget that McLaren is made up of many successful companies.

"We do not have as much money as Mercedes or Red Bull, but we have enough to win races."

And aerodynamic boss Peter Prodromou indicated that McLaren also has a big enough budget to be right on song with the latest technical developments — like the Mercedes 'T-wing'.

"We are also working on a similar solution," he said.

A lot will depend on Honda, and whether McLaren's Japanese engine supplier can get much closer to the top engines.

F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa, for instance, sounded alarmed amid reports Mercedes is set to take another big step forward in 2017.

"We have made progress but we're not yet on Mercedes' level," he said. "The plan is to finish the season (right) behind Mercedes."

As for the car, Prodromou admits that the Mercedes is also particularly impressive.

"The Mercedes has made the biggest impression on me so far," he said. "The detail and the amount of work on it stands out from the crowd."

McLaren joins rivals with controversial suspension
(GMM) Another team has joined Mercedes and Red Bull in planning to field a controversial suspension system in 2017.

A protest threat is currently hanging over the forthcoming Melbourne season opener, as Ferrari in particular takes issue with an active suspension-mimicking suspension concept.

We reported last week that McLaren was staying "neutral" in that debate.

And that's because, as Auto Motor und Sport now reveals, McLaren has its own system on board its newly revealed orange and black 2017 car.

"We have a system that we believe is legal," technical chief Matt Morris confirmed.

"If someone wants to protest, the rules have to be changed. The most useful thing would be to discuss things and then clarify it for 2018," he added.

Vandoorne under less 'time pressure' than Alonso

Alonso (L) and Vandoorne

(GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne agrees he is under less pressure than Fernando Alonso to reach his career ambitions in the next years with McLaren.

Although already 24, the Belgian is a highly rated rookie in 2017 and he said he is patient to build up towards winning races and the title with the famous British team.

During an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper, Vandoorne admitted that he is under less time pressure than the 35-year-old Alonso to win a title.

"You are right that I still have time so I can afford to build up for the future, and that is what I want to do with this team," he said.

"But that does not change that the sooner I can win, the better," Vandoorne added.

He also denied that the meteoric impact made recently by teenager Max Verstappen puts more pressure on him to similarly impress.

"Well, that's the least of my worries," said Vandoorne. "Building up with this team for the future is more important than comparing with other drivers."

Finally, Vandoorne said he is happy with the new orange and black McLaren, after two less than successful years for the Honda-powered team.

"With the numbers in the simulator and on the engine bench, and when I see some other cars, I have the impression that ours is maybe more advanced, more developed.

"With the change of regulations, we have in any case a great opportunity to close the gap of the last two years," he added.