Latest F1 news in brief

Dr. Helmut Marko

Marko unimpressed by works Renault team
F1 stars no longer 'riding a cannonball' – Berger
Pope Francis praying for Schumacher – Todt
F1 'must be careful' with 2017 changes – Hembery
Nikolas Tombazis joins Manor F1 Team as Chief Aerodynamicist
Spanish GP funding slashed
Prost calls for complete overhaul of F1
Ferrari & Mercedes customers get 'a lot less power'

Marko unimpressed by works Renault team
(GMM) Renault would be wiser to direct the bulk of its effort into Red Bull.

That is the view of Dr Helmut Marko, just as the French carmaker turns a sharp corner with the direction of its F1 program.

In recent years, Red Bull has been considered the de-facto 'works' Renault team, but for 2016 the manufacturer has bought Lotus and will supply only 'Tag-Heuer'-branded power units to the energy drink outfit.

But Marko told the German-language motorsport-magazin.com: "When I consider the current Lotus team, which is now the Renault factory team, then if they (Renault) were in their right mind they would put everything on us."

The outspoken Red Bull official said he expects little from the Enstone team in 2016, especially "with that team and with those drivers".

He is referring to Pastor Maldonado and Jolyon Palmer, although there is speculation Maldonado could be replaced by the former McLaren junior Kevin Magnussen.

France's L'Equipe reports that Renault is looking to immediately hire more than thirty new staff in all areas at Enstone ahead of the 2016 season.

But Marko says that, for Red Bull at least, little is changing.

"Renault has its own team but we were always a paying customer," he insisted.

And he said even though Red Bull is no longer Renault's premier team, it has "contractually secured" the promise that Red Bull will always be up-to-date with the latest engine developments.

In the meantime, the junior outfit Toro Rosso has switched to 2015-spec Ferrari power.

"If we start with the existing power figures," said Marko, "then Toro Rosso has an advantage of about five to six tenths per lap.

"But they have the drawback that they cannot have the current (Ferrari) engine, and with no development.

"If there is the status quo from last year, then Toro Rosso for sure will be ahead of us at the first race. Although this is not pleasant, it is not a problem," Marko said.

"We are a family and the main team, Red Bull Racing, must just try harder. But I'm sure that with engine development we will at least come to the level of the (2015) Ferrari engines during the season," he added.

Gerhard Berger

F1 stars no longer 'riding a cannonball' – Berger
(GMM) Gerhard Berger thinks F1 is not the spectacle it once was.

"Yes," the Austrian F1 legend and former McLaren and Ferrari driver told German-language motorsport-magazin.com at amid the Kitzbuhel ski slopes. "We have a somewhat difficult time in formula one.

"On the one hand we have seen a very dominant Mercedes. Of course, if someone has done their homework and performed well, they deserve respect and should be rewarded," said Berger.

But he also thinks F1 has lost some of the excitement of the past.

"In my time," said the 56-year-old, "it was not clear after the first corner who would win the race. If everything is normal and Hamilton or Rosberg are first after the first corner, he will win the race.

"In my time you ran out of fuel, the gearbox broke, someone's engine failed. You never knew."

And there are other reasons for F1's more lackluster 'show' of today, Berger explained.

"Driving mistakes in my time were punished," he said. "You were in the barrier or at least the gravel. Today, the run-off is paved and if you're lucky you don't even lose a place as you come back to the track."

The cars, Berger continued, are also not the same today.

"We had 1300 or 1400 hp without automatic transmissions, without electronic aids and without today's aerodynamics. It was like riding on a cannonball.

"Now the cars have 850 horse power, and you also see sports cars on the road with 850hp, if not more. And the whole thing is so stable with today's aerodynamics."

Formerly a teammate to the great Ayrton Senna, Berger said he now sees only MotoGP as the stage for true motor racing heroes.

"When I see these very spectacular races with 270hp and 160kg (bikes), we know that this is riding on a cannonball. In F1 we have to go back so that the driver is the determining factor and only three, four or five guys are able to master it," he said.

Having acknowledged the issue, F1 had intended to dramatically spice up the rules for 2017 and 2018 so that the cars are five seconds a lap faster, and in excess of 1000hp.

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko blames Mercedes for an apparent watering-down of those plans.

"Mercedes claims that the tires would not cope," Austrian media reports quote him as saying, "but this is a poor excuse.

"They are in a position of advantage and naturally don't want anything to change."

But Marko said that, for the sake of F1, something must change.

"Formula one is much too sterile now," he insisted. "The driver is no longer in charge, it is the engineers in the background (who are)."

The Pope to pray for a miracle for Michael Schumacher

Pope Francis praying for Schumacher – Todt
(GMM) Pope Francis has promised to pray for Michael Schumacher.

That was the claim of the beleaguered F1 great's friend, former Ferrari boss and current president Jean Todt, after the Frenchman met this week with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Todt sat with the Pope to discuss road safety, but "in view of the positive atmosphere of our conversation", the topic turned to Schumacher, he revealed.

"Michael is close to my heart, as everyone knows," Todt told Vatican Radio. "He is part of my family.

"I asked him (Francis) if he would like to pray for him (Schumacher), and he gladly accepted," Todt added. "Francis knows of Schumacher and had also heard of his accident."

Todt said he phoned Schumacher's wife, Corinna, after the meeting to inform her.

Paul Hembery

F1 'must be careful' with 2017 changes – Hembery
(GMM) Paul Hembery has played down claims that Pirelli was behind the reported watering-down of planned radical chassis changes for 2017.

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, though, blames Mercedes.

"Mercedes claims that the tires would not cope," Austrian media reports quote him as saying, "but this is a poor excuse.

"They are in a position of advantage and naturally don't want anything to change."

Reportedly, Pirelli was also opposed to the original plans, where significantly higher aerodynamic loads may have proved too much for the tires to cope without dramatically increasing pressures.

Hembery, Pirelli's F1 chief, denies that.

"We can make a tire that can withstand any load we want, but it will not be the same as today," he is quoted by Italy's Autosprint.

"An increase of 50 or 60 per cent (downforce) will not see the type of tires we have used in recent seasons."

Hembery suggested that trying to spice up F1 through aerodynamics is not the right road to take.

"I remember when we came into F1, Ross Brawn was the head of the working group for tires and one of the first things he said was 'We do not want faster cornering'.

"So we need to be careful. People need to understand that performance in formula one is already very high and an increase of 5 seconds (per laps in pace) is huge. We must be sure that we go in the right direction," he insisted.

Another issue, he explained, is that Pirelli needs to do much more testing in order to prepare for the 2017 changes, and currently the teams are not in agreement about how it should be done.

Nikolas Tombazis

Nikolas Tombazis joins Manor F1 Team as Chief Aerodynamicist
(GMM) Former Ferrari designer Nikolas Tombazis is returning to formula one.

After nine years with the fabled Maranello team, the Greek engineer was ousted amid Ferrari's wide-ranging team shakeup at the end of 2014.

Also a prominent former McLaren designer, the 47-year-old has now signed up with the newly Mercedes-powered backmarker Manor for 2016.

In a statement, Manor – to also use a Williams gearbox this year – said he will be chief aerodynamicist.

"The team has impressive plans and is investing in all the right areas to achieve its on-track ambitions, so I am very much looking forward to being part of that journey," said Tombazis.

John McQuilliam, Technical Director, Manor F1 Team
"I am delighted to announce Nikolas in the position of Chief Aerodynamicist. I believe this appointment will help to amplify the efforts of a very talented design team that, in recent years, has not had the opportunity to showcase the full extent of their experience and capabilities. I am confident that, together with our new Mercedes power unit and Williams gearbox and technical partnership, our new aero structure will provide us with the strength to design and develop consistently competitive racing cars to help steer us towards our long-term ambitions."

Nikolas Tombazis
"I am very happy to be joining the Manor F1 Team at this exciting time in its development. The team has impressive plans and is investing in all the right areas to achieve its on-track ambitions, so I am very much looking forward to being part of that journey. The existing design team is already very strong and I look forward to working with a great group of people to make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead to help us progress through the field over the next few seasons."

How long can the Spanish GP last without government backing?

Spanish GP funding slashed
According to a crash.net report, the Spanish Grand Prix will reportedly have its local government funding cut by half this year.

Barcelona's city council plans to cut its contribution toward the event from $4.3 million to $2.2 million this year as it moves to phase out its support entirely.

The event has a deal in place until 2019, having inked a new contract last spring. However, with the loss of $4.3 million there is a good chance the race will go belly-up well before that.

Alain Prost

Prost calls for complete overhaul of F1
Four-time drivers' champion Alain Prost says Formula One needs a complete overhaul with a long-term vision to strengthen the sport.

A meeting of the World Motor Sport Council [WMSC] in December saw FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone handed more power to make recommendations and decisions over key issues in F1. With planned aerodynamic regulation changes for 2017 set to be watered down and engine manufacturers meeting to deliver proposals to reduce costs, Prost says an overall view of the sport is needed to make major change.

"I don't want to enter too much into this perspective and I'll tell you why: people only talk about one thing and that is the problem with F1," Prost told Motorsport.com. "People look at the engine, the chassis and then the sporting regulations. But, in my opinion, we need to have a complete package and that is going to take a long time.

"So I don't want to see things going out in the press, as I can see sometimes quotes that don't reflect what I think. There are a lot of things that you need to change altogether."

And Prost says he agrees with both Todt and Ecclestone's concerns that changes need to be made.

"Yes, but as I said I think the better way is by having a full package [of changes]. It is not only the engine, or the chassis. It is revenues, it is sporting regulations, it is everything altogether.

"You need to give the possibility to small teams to be more competitive, not only by adding more money, but by finding different ways in the regulations, [especially] the technical regulations."

Ecclestone knows Hamilton or Rosberg will win the title again because they have the most HP and the best chassis designer in Aldo Costa

Ferrari & Mercedes customers get 'a lot less power'
Bernie Ecclestone says it is unlikely Mercedes and Ferrari will face much opposition this year as they give their engine customers much less powerful equipment.

Reiterating his opposition to the current generation of power units in an interview with TSN (below), Ecclestone said: "Mercedes supply four of these power units to the smaller teams and obviously they supply them with a lot less power than they have in their own cars. So you've got rid of four teams."

Mercedes' 2015 engine customers"The other teams, Ferrari supply three teams in exactly the same way. Ferrari's not as powerful, their engine, as Mercedes, but it's getting there. Anyway they supply other teams and the teams they supply the engine's not as good."

"So all we've got really and truly is Mercedes and Ferrari — I hope — racing each other."

Last week Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey urged the FIA to introduce rules forcing engine manufacturers to provide the same specification of engine hardware, software and fuel to their customers.

Ecclestone doubts Mercedes, who have won 32 of the last 38 races, will be seriously challenged again this year. "I wish I could say 'yes' but I can't because I think the bottom line is a very good team, the engine is certainly better than anyone else and they've got obviously one of the best drivers," he said. "So it's going to be difficult for anyone to beat them."

Formula One's commercial chief also dampened hopes Formula One could have a female racing driver again. "I doubt it," he said when asked about the possibility.

"Because if there was somebody that was capable they wouldn't be taken serious anyway. So they would never have a car that's capable of competing."

"There was a girl that was driving in GP3 for a whole season," he added. "So it's not something that hasn't happened."