Latest F1 news in brief

Ecclestone under pressure again

Top teams in leadership move against Ecclestone
Raikkonen under fire over motocross track
Mercedes' Sochi engines survived race – report
Dennis disputes new engine supply rule – report
Sauber staff waiting for wages again – report
Renault seeks champion driver of 2020 – Vasseur
MotoGP hot on F1's heels – Marko
Honda questions need for louder F1
Ecclestone tells Hamilton to stop 'moaning'
Small F1 teams really struggling with added 2017 costs
F1 Race Dir Charlie Whiting Calls For Safety Measures
Sauber gets latest Ferrari engine for Spain

Top teams in leadership move against Ecclestone
(GMM) Mercedes and Red Bull have joined Ferrari in reportedly moving against F1's long-time 'supremo' Bernie Ecclestone.

Reports recently suggested Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne had proposed that the 85-year-old Briton be replaced by a new, three-pronged leadership team.

When asked about the viability of Ecclestone's continuing reign, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff told the German news agency DPA: "Some may think they are immortal, and that performance remains the same.

"However, there is a great responsibility to the sport to do what is right for the future," he added.

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko has a similar view, backing Marchionne's vision of a three-person leadership team perhaps involving Niki Lauda.

"When I think about the sporting side, then for me Niki Lauda is one of the hottest candidates," he told Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper, referring to the F1 legend and Mercedes' team chairman and co-owner.

As for rumors Wolff might be another candidate, the 44-year-old himself answered: "I have a plan, but it's too early to talk about it. I enjoy the role I have at Mercedes.

"I have the support of the board, Daimler and the team, so in this respect I have very good conditions to pursue my objectives with Mercedes," Wolff added.

What is clear, however, is that the anti-Ecclestone rhetoric is heating up amid an intense political climate in F1 at present.

Referring to recent headlines attracted by controversial comments by Ecclestone, Wolff said: "Irrationality and excessive emotion has no place in the job.

"Times change, we live in a digital world and to cause headlines like that every few days without thinking about it is certainly not the right way," he added.

Kimi Raikkonen

Raikkonen under fire over motocross track
(GMM) Kimi Raikkonen is under fire for building a motocross circuit on his land in Finland without obtaining the necessary permits.

Yle, the Finnish broadcaster, reports that local residents have complained to authorities about the noise made by those using the circuit in Kirkkonummi, in the south of Finland.

One resident said: "As I see it, Raikkonen's motocross track was built against the provisions of the Acts."

A local official commented: "We have requested that the landowner gives us an account of the facility. When we get it we can decide whether permission is needed."

Yle said an agent representing Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion who drives for Ferrari, declined to comment to the media.

The Mercedes Power Unit is more reliable than Ferrari's

Mercedes' Sochi engines survived race – report
(GMM) The engines used by Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton last Sunday at Sochi can be used again.

That is the news of Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, following Mercedes' admission that both drivers suffered reliability problems during the Russian grand prix.

The team claimed on Wednesday that Briton Hamilton somehow finished the Sochi race despite losing all water pressure.

Auto Motor und Sport said that, in the past days at Brixworth, the cause of the problem was identified as a crack in the carbon, probably due to fatigue.

"We do not believe that the engine has suffered too much or been damaged irreparably," team chairman Niki Lauda said.

As for the strange values identified by in-race telemetry on Rosberg's winning engine in Russia, the German report quoted Lauda as adding: "We understand the problem and will do differently in the future."

Meanwhile, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene left Russia concerned that Sebastian Vettel's crashes with Daniil Kvyat might have caused damage to the gearbox.

According to Speed Week, an investigation showed that there was damage, and so a new gearbox will be installed for Barcelona. The German driver will not suffer a penalty.

As for the current Mercedes versus Ferrari pecking order, Toto Wolff warned that not too much should be read into Sochi.

"Our conclusion is that, if our lead was bigger at Sochi, then primarily it was due to the circuit characteristics," said the Mercedes team boss.

Ron Dennis digs his heels in

Dennis disputes new engine supply rule – report
(GMM) Ron Dennis has reportedly warned that he will not accept a new FIA regulation regarding the supply of engines to customer teams.

In reaction to the Red Bull saga of late 2015, a new rule has been published in the 2017 rules whereby the FIA has the power to enforce deals between the engine manufacturers and teams struggling to secure a customer contract.

As an example, the regulation says that according to a new equation, it is possible that "each manufacturer must, if called upon to do so by the FIA, supply at least 3 teams".

However, McLaren supremo Dennis reportedly disputes the legality of the clause, insisting it clashes with his contract with Honda that guarantees exclusivity for the British team.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport quoted Dennis as telling Red Bull's Christian Horner at the most recent strategy group meeting: "You will never get an engine from Honda.

"Rather, I would sue the FIA over the new rule."

Finally, the newly-published 2017 rules contain something that cheeky insiders are calling the 'Red Bull clause', following the dispute between the former champions and Renault last year.

It said customer teams will not be allowed to make "deceptive, misleading or disparaging or negative comments" about their engine suppliers.

Monisha Kaltenborn running Sauber into the ground

Sauber staff waiting for wages again – report
(GMM) Sauber's financial struggle rolls on, with the Swiss newspaper Blick reporting that team staff are now waiting for their April wages.

Team boss and co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn says she is waiting for a key sponsorship payment.

"I hope the money comes in the next days," she said, "but we will solve the problem."

Sauber's financial problems are obvious, with the departure of technical boss Mark Smith, chief engineer Tim Malyon and now the decision to pull out of the post-Spanish grand prix test.

And team manager Beat Zehnder is only expecting the situation to get worse as Sauber prepares for 2017.

Radical new regulations for next year have now been approved, and Auto Motor und Sport claims they will force up budgets by at least another EUR 8 million.

"It's not only the cars and not being able to carry over parts from one year to the other, it's tire heating blankets, and, and, and… We're talking about millions and millions here, so for a smaller team it's really a difficult time," said Zehnder.

Indeed, Auto Motor und Sport said the wider wheels and wings, for example, will require new lightweight transport containers, at a cost of several thousand euros apiece.

"The financial impact is massive and for a small team like Sauber it's really difficult," said Zehnder.

Frederic Vasseur knows Renault's current driver lineup not championship material

Renault seeks champion driver of 2020 – Vasseur
(GMM) Frederic Vasseur says Renault is looking to re-create its glory of the past by building towards success with a promising new driver.

The French carmaker returned to full works team status for 2016 with Kevin Magnussen, a formerly McLaren-backed Dane, and the 2014 GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer.

And nipping at the race duo's heels are Esteban Ocon, the team's highly-rated reserve driver, and the new SMP Racing-backed tester Sergey Sirotkin.

"The best thing now is to find a driver who will be the world champion in, say, 2020 and 2021," Vasseur, Renault team boss, is quoted by Russia's Championat.

"So it is necessary to start work now. If you look at the past, something like what Red Bull did with Vettel, Renault with Alonso and Benetton with Schumacher.

"But we need a few years for such a cooperation to gain momentum," he added.

Indeed, the Frenchman said he doubts even the radical rule changes for 2017 will give Renault the opportunity to immediately leap up the grid.

"It's not just about the rules but the structure of the team," said Vasseur. "Yes, a rule change could give us an advantage, but I don't think we can immediately reduce the gap."

MotoGP is much more exciting than the Mercedes parade series

MotoGP hot on F1's heels – Marko
(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has acknowledged that F1 is coming under threat by its two-wheeled equivalent when it comes to being the best form of top motor racing.

As he this week ruled out returning to formula one, Flavio Briatore insisted: "The 'show' of racing has gone to MotoGP."

Marko, the head of Red Bull's driver program, does not disagree.

"With MotoGP we can see that the most important thing is the rider, who stands clearly in the foreground," he told the Austrian newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung.

"There is also a more balanced situation there with the top three manufacturers, with four riders always able to win," Marko added. "So it is never clearly recognizable who will win qualifying or the race.

"MotoGP is also closer to the fans, and the tickets are 50 per cent cheaper," he said. "All this contributes to the boost they have at the moment."

But F1 is making key changes for the future, even though the revised chassis and engine rules for 2017 and beyond were hotly contested.

Marko said: "As usual, what we have is a compromise, but at least there is a change on the chassis side.

"With the engines, a so-called (performance) convergence method is being introduced," he added, "so we will have to see if it really achieves a more balanced competition."

Honda questions need for louder F1
(GMM) Honda has questioned moves to further turn up the volume of F1's current 'power units'.

With many believing the turbo V6 engines are not loud enough for the 'show', for 2016 additional 'wastegate' exhaust pipes were added.

But the sound only went up by a few decibels, causing the FIA to announce that manufacturers are now doing "promising research" about increasing the volume even more by 2018.

Honda's F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa said: "For the noise, I personally do not agree. I'm not sure what we really need is for F1 to be deafening," he is quoted by Italy's Autosprint.

"I question the need for an artificial system to amplify the sound, but if FOM introduces it, we will follow the rules," said the Japanese.

Ecclestone tells Hamilton to stop crying

Ecclestone tells Hamilton to stop 'moaning'
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has told reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton to stop "moaning".

Although the Mercedes driver has been generally more cheerful in 2016, the F1 supremo was apparently referring to Hamilton saying recent stewards decisions remind him of an "a——" karting official in his past.

"I told him to get on with it because there are 17 races left," Ecclestone told London's Times newspaper.

"It is not the end of the world. He wasn't moaning when he was winning, was he? Lewis has to learn," the 85-year-old Briton added.

"He is still going to win this world championship. I absolutely believe that," said Ecclestone.

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, however, is not so sure, arguing that Nico Rosberg currently looks strong enough to stay ahead of Hamilton.

"This year he is more hungry for success than Lewis is," the Canadian told Russia's Championat. "I think that makes a difference in their results at the moment.

"Of course Hamilton still wants to win, but my feeling is that success is no longer as important to him as before, for some reason.

"But I'm sure he will wake up at some point," Villeneuve added. "He will start to be criticized and will lose fans, which he won't like."

The F1 minnows are near bankruptcy

Small F1 teams really struggling with added 2017 costs
Formula 1's smaller teams are really struggling with the additional costs of splitting development between 2016 and 2017 cars, according to Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder.

With an agreement in place to dramatically change the way the cars look with wider tires, wings and chassis, as well as larger diffusers, teams are having to split resources to ensure they don't slip behind and allow their competitors to get a head start.

That, according to Zehnder, is a huge financial burden for a team which is already struggling.

"We've been in a more comfortable situation," said Zehnder. "We have financial difficulties, it's not a secret, but the good thing is we are still around.

"We're working hard to solve all the problems, but it's not easy," he admitted. "An annual budget this year is a massive one and to cover it by sponsors and the income from Bernie [Ecclestone] is just not sufficient at the moment."

Sauber have already confirmed they will miss the first in-season test of the season and have also confirmed news that employee wages have been delayed more than once, with a sponsor stepping in to cover the shortfall.

"The financial impact [for '17] is massive and for a small team like Sauber it's really difficult," he added.

"It's not only the cars and not being able to carry over parts from one year to the other, it's the list of investments you have to make starting with tire heating blankets and… and… and…

"We're talking about millions and millions here, so for a smaller team it's really a difficult time."

F1 Race Dir Charlie Whiting Calls For Safety Measures
F1 Race Dir Charlie Whiting "has insisted that the sport must adopt cockpit safety measures despite opposition from drivers."

He said that he believes "it would be remiss of the FIA not to act when it has identified a fundamental threat to drivers’ safety."

Whiting: "That we are aware that accidents like this can take drivers’ lives and we are aware of a solution — then I think it is incumbent on us to do our best to make sure we can protect drivers more. I do not think there is any doubt about that"

Sauber gets latest Ferrari engine so they must be paying that bill

Sauber gets latest Ferrari engine for Spain
Sauber plans to run the new Ferrari-spec Formula 1 engine at next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Ferrari spent three tokens as part of an upgrade that it introduced for its works team at the Russian GP. Customer Sauber will now receive the same spec and it has decided to use it immediately. As a result, Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson will move onto the second of their five allocated internal combustion engines.