Latest F1 news in brief

Marko accuses Mercedes of helping Ferrari catch up

Marko accuses Mercedes of 'helping' Ferrari catch up
Ricciardo on 'same level' as Vettel – Marko
Sainz believes he can beat 'new Senna' Verstappen
Verstappen feels 'respect' of F1 drivers
Maldonado 'refused' to sit out Friday practice
Sparks can 'dazzle' drivers – Sainz
No title charge until 2017 – Boullier
Hamilton at Mercedes for next three years – Lauda
German GP demise good for Austria – Lauda
Bottas not sure Williams can catch top teams
Horner says RBR interested in Ecclestone 'parity' engine plan
Ecclestone's warning to engine suppliers

Dr. Helmut Marko

Marko accuses Mercedes of 'helping' Ferrari catch up
(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has accused Mercedes of actively helping Ferrari to catch the reigning world champions in 2015.

According to Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, it is no surprise that Ferrari is much more competitive this year.

"If you look at how much we won last year," said the F1 legend, "it was clear that it would not always be like that."

Red Bull official Marko, however, smells a rat.

"It is difficult to prove, but I am sure that Mercedes helped Ferrari," he told the German magazine Sport Bild. "And we all know why."

Austrian Marko reportedly senses a political motive, and not just Mercedes' desire to halt suggestions it is damaging F1 by dominating so easily.

He might also be referring to the engine rules, with Ferrari having now joined Mercedes in backing the current turbo V6 era, even beyond 2017.

Sport Bild suggests Mercedes may even have slowed its own development program over the winter, and recommended that Ferrari sign up its hybrid specialist Wolf Zimmermann.

"We expected an improvement," said Sauber engineer Giampaolo Dall'Ara, referring to Ferrari's 2015 engine, "but such great progress in such a short space of time is difficult to explain."

Ricciardo on 'same level' as Vettel – Marko
(GMM) Red Bull is happy with its current driver lineup, Dr Helmut Marko insists.

The struggling team lost its quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari over the winter.

"It was a relationship that was built up over years but that does not mean we are left with nothing," team official Dr Helmut Marko said in Vienna this week.

"Daniel (Ricciardo) has proved that he is on the same level," he insisted.

Indeed, Red Bull won three races last year, with Australian Ricciardo standing on the top step of the podium on every occasion.

Marko, however, said that does not mean Red Bull is happier without Vettel.

"Of course, Sebastian was strong but Daniel showed last year that he is not inferior in terms of speed," the Austrian is quoted by Germany's Auto Bild.

Red Bull replaced Vettel with the Russian youngster Daniil Kvyat, but the 20-year-old has failed to shine so far amid the team's troubled start to 2015.

"Sebastian had a lot more experience," Ricciardo said this week, "but Daniil has learned quickly to understand the technical aspects.

"I think he just needs a decent weekend to begin to show his full potential," he added, "but we are working well together to help the team."

It is on other fronts that Red Bull is working hard on for the future.

One rumor is that Red Bull might help team boss Christian Horner to bring his GP2 outfit Arden into F1 so that it can be a 'B' team, along the lines of Ferrari's new alliance with the 2016 entrant Haas.

Another is that Red Bull might promote Toro Rosso technical director James Key to the senior team.

And Red Bull is also having to pin its hopes on engine supplier Renault, despite the fact they recently appeared on the verge of divorce.

"We need to work together to get out of this crisis," Marko acknowledged.

It may, however, be too late to rescue the 2015 campaign.

"We know that the season has gone," Marko admitted. "Now we just need to make the best of it."

Grid penalties for exceeding the four-engine-per-driver rule are definitely looming on the horizon, he revealed.

"Fifth engine, sixth engine, it's pretty irrelevant now," said Marko. "We know that at some point we will take a penalty, we can only hope that it doesn't happen in the worst possible place, like Monaco for example.

"We had problems with our chassis at the beginning," he added, "but what is holding us back now is the lack of engine reliability and performance.

"But we are trying to help Renault as much as possible," Marko said.

Carlos Sainz Jr. expects to beat teammate Verstappen

Sainz believes he can beat 'new Senna' Verstappen
(GMM) Carlos Sainz is confident he can hold his own against his highly-rated teammate Max Verstappen.

The pair both made their debuts for Toro Rosso this year, but it is only the 17-year-old Verstappen who is being compared with the sport's greats.

"They say that he is the new Senna," Spaniard Sainz, 20, said during a visit this week to Rome's Universita Roma Tre.

"But it is very difficult to assess the quality of the drivers in F1 today.

"You can only be compared with your teammate, and Max and I are similar in terms of driving," he insisted.

"Max is very strong," Sainz acknowledged, "and it is true that journalists talk a lot more about him than they about me.

"That puts a little more pressure on me but I have so much confidence in myself and I always think that I can beat him."

Verstappen, on the other hand, says that despite their rivalry, the rookie pair are getting along well so far.

"It's going very well between Carlos and me," said the Dutchman on a visit to Zandvoort this week.

"I think that's very important — that we can work well together to improve the car."

Many insiders believe their car, the James Key-headed STR10, might even be better than the one fielded by big-brother team Red Bull Racing.

But Sainz says the Faenza outfit knows it cannot compete for ever with the 'other' Red Bull team.

"Their budget is 400 million, ours 100," he insisted. "Often, the first four races of a season are not indicative of what happens later on.

"We are aiming for fifth place," Sainz added.

Verstappen feels 'respect' of F1 drivers
(GMM) Max Verstappen says he is steadily earning the respect of his fellow F1 drivers.

When the season began, the sport was collectively skeptical of the 17-year-old Dutchman as he smashed the record to become the youngest ever grand prix driver.

But in his first four grands prix, Verstappen has also become the youngest ever points scorer, won praise for his daring overtaking moves and impressed with his obvious maturity in dealing with engineers and the international media.

And he told Germany's Welt newspaper that he is also earning the respect of his fellow drivers.

"They do have more respect for me," said Verstappen. "I can feel it quite clearly.

"They shake my hand, they stop when they see me to say I did a good race. It shows me that I am on the right track.

"I think many of them have probably realized that in the end your age is not what is important, only your racing skills."

Verstappen may now be forgiven for thinking that, like his predecessor Daniil Kvyat, he might already have done enough to convince Red Bull to promote him up the grid.

"That is hypothetical," he insists. "My focus at the moment is to be as successful as possible. What comes after that, we'll see.

"I'm not here to dream about the future, my job is to do my best right now."

Maldonado's reaction when he's asked to make way for Palmer

Maldonado 'refused' to sit out Friday practice
(GMM) Pastor Maldonado is refusing to budge as Lotus attempts to accommodate 'Friday' driver Jolyon Palmer.

In China and Bahrain, Maldonado's race teammate Romain Grosjean sat out Friday practice sessions so that Briton Palmer could drive his black and gold car.

"This is not ideal for the racing drivers as we lose an hour and a half of practice and we are not delighted to be giving up our 'baby'," said the Frenchman.

"But we have an economic reality today that means F1 is not easy. And the teams need to look at every possible solution to finance the budgets," Grosjean added.

Finland's Turun Sanomat reports that the Enstone team's deputy Federico Gastaldi has now asked Maldonado to take his turn on the Friday bench, but the driver and his entourage "refused".

Maldonado, who is strongly backed by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, "made it clear to the team that his agreement gives him the right to drive in each session at every grand prix," correspondent Luis Vasconcelos reported.

Sparks can 'dazzle' drivers – Sainz
(GMM) Not everyone loves F1's new sparks.

Last year, also to beef up the safety of the cars, F1 decided to return to its spark-laden past by adding titanium to the skid blocks in 2015.

So far, the result has been spectacular — particularly under the night skies and floodlights in Bahrain.

"Loving the sparks from the cars," Jenson Button, who had to simply watch the race from the paddock after his McLaren-Honda was sidelined, 'tweeted'.

And on its official website, the energy drink company Red Bull published a spectacular montage of 'spark'-themed photographs from Bahrain, remarking: "Welcome back sparks, welcome back."

F1 rookie Carlos Sainz, however, said he has mixed feelings at best.

"It looks good on TV," the Spaniard is quoted by Marca newspaper, "but for us (drivers) it can be unpleasant, dazzling us as the sparks hit the visor."

Two more loser years ahead for Alonso?

No title charge until 2017 – Boullier
(GMM) It will be 2017 before McLaren is ready to charge for the title.

That is the admission of team boss Eric Boullier, who said that despite a difficult start for the new McLaren-Honda collaboration, he retains the support of team supremo Ron Dennis.

"Ron knows what I have done, he knows also what we are doing with Honda, and I am pushing Honda very hard," the Frenchman told the New York Times.

"Ron supports me rather than questions me."

Having started right at the back of the grid early in 2015, Boullier said McLaren-Honda has made rapid progress since then and is now knocking on the door of points and Q3.

But having watched Honda's rival suppliers Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault begin to race their turbo V6s in 2014, he said the new collaboration now needs some time.

"We can become competitive this year," he insisted. "We will be regularly competitive next year. I think that before the end of next year, we will be there.

"It's the year and a half that we missed, to catch up."

Boullier insists that McLaren is not following in the footsteps of other traditional and successful teams like Tyrrell and the original Lotus who steadily dropped down the grid before disappearing altogether.

"Because, first, I know what is happening behind the scenes," he said. "Already, as I said, the car itself is not yet a winning car, but it soon will be.

"Our engine partner will also gain in maturity, and we know we will grow in strength. McLaren is back, no worries," Boullier added.

Hamilton at Mercedes for next three years – Lauda
(GMM) Niki Lauda has issued a "guarantee" that Lewis Hamilton is staying at Mercedes.

The reigning world champion's talks over a contract beyond 2015 have been publicly long and repeatedly delayed, but team chairman Lauda said earlier this week that the saga will have come to an end by the forthcoming Spanish grand prix.

"Lewis will drive for Mercedes next year, I can guarantee you that," the F1 legend Lauda, who was instrumental in wooing Hamilton from McLaren in 2013, said.

"And another two years on top of that as well."

Indeed, Hamilton had been linked with a shock move to Ferrari, but when asked during an interview with Germany's RTL if he will be Sebastian Vettel's next teammate wearing red, the Briton answered: "Not any time soon."

Maurizio Arrivabene, the new Ferrari team boss, is also now playing down the Hamilton rumors.

"Did Lewis Hamilton call you?" he smiled to reporters last weekend in Bahrain. "Because he never called me."

No German GP should mean larger crowd for Austria

German GP demise good for Austria – Lauda
(GMM) Niki Lauda insists he has no sympathy for organizers of the now-defunct 2015 German grand prix.

After a six-decade run for the key German market on the F1 calendar, neither Hockenheim nor the Nurburgring could agree a deal with Bernie Ecclestone for this year.

"We would have accepted 50 per cent of the price of the contract for one year," the F1 supremo said in Bahrain. "It still left them in trouble."

Ecclestone added that the same fate could now befall organizers of the fabled Italian grand prix at Monza, as he warned: "Nobody is indispensable.

"We have other great races that can step in," the 84-year-old is quoted by Speed Week.

Ecclestone's argument is that if European hosts like Spa can afford to pay the fee, so too can those in Germany and Italy.

The Austrian grand prix, for instance, is now run by the energy drink company Red Bull at the former A1-Ring circuit.

"When you see how hard Asia and other places have worked to get a race, I would have never believed that we would get it here," Austrian F1 legend Gerhard Berger said in Vienna this week.

Ecclestone has said repeatedly that although "There are lots of things some people would like, they don't have them because they can't afford them".

Mercedes team chairman Lauda, therefore, insists he has no sympathy for the stricken German race promoters.

"They complain about having to pay Bernie Ecclestone but only have themselves to blame," the triple world champion said.

He also said the demise of the German grand prix will now help June's race in Austria.

"As there is no race in Germany now, many people will come here instead," said Lauda.

Bottas not sure Williams can catch top teams
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas has joined team engineer Rob Smedley in playing down Williams' chances of chasing down Ferrari in 2015.

Team deputy Claire Williams admitted in Bahrain that the Grove team had hoped to build on its promise of last year and take on champions Mercedes in 2015.

"That's what we wanted to do this year," she said, "and it hasn't worked out like that."

But Williams insisted the famous British team will "keep plugging away" at the factory despite its smaller budget, culminating in significant upgrades for the FW37 to debut in Barcelona next month.

Chief engineer Smedley, however, warned that not only will Williams struggle to "rapidly increase our pace" and catch Mercedes and Ferrari, but that fending off a late surge from Red Bull may also prove difficult.

He said Red Bull is "a huge organization, well equipped and with a very considerable resource".

Nonetheless, Finnish team driver Bottas said he is hopeful the Barcelona upgrades will enable Williams to keep pushing ahead.

"But this year it will be difficult to completely close the gap because Ferrari made a huge step forward since the first race," he said.

"I'm confident that we will keep improving, but of course it will then depend on how much the teams in front improve as to whether we can catch up with them or not," added Bottas.

The 25-year-old has returned to his home in Monaco this week, pleased that a back injury that sidelined him in Melbourne has now completely healed.

"Bahrain was the first weekend since Melbourne in which my back gave me no problems at all," said Bottas.

"But I will still do a bit of work on it to complete what (rehabilitation) was planned."

Horner's only hope is for a parity plan to help hapless Renault

Horner says RBR interested in Ecclestone 'parity' engine plan
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner says he's open to the idea of two types of engine competing in F1 from 2017.

Bernie Ecclestone wants to introduce a cheaper engine for the struggling midfield teams – potentially a V8 or twin-turbo V6, in either case with KERS – which would race alongside the current hybrid V6s.

Intriguingly, if the idea gains support it could open the door for Renault to make a version of such an engine.

Given the ongoing problems with the Renault hybrid V6 that could potentially give Red Bull Racing an alternative future path, and a chance to level the playing field, depending on how the FIA manages parity between the two types of engines.

"It's an interesting concept," Horner told this writer. "We ought to have a good look at it and explore the pros and cons, to be honest with you. It's happened before, and you might get certain engines competitive at different tracks, and it might move things around a bit. It's certainly worth a good debate.

"It's certainly interesting. I would think Renault would certainly consider it – it's more of a question for Renault than it is for me. But I would have thought they would certainly consider it."

The biggest challenge is how the FIA would ensure that there's far competition between the two types.

"There are all kinds of permutations that clever engineers can come up with, but first of all let's have a look at the concept. These days simulation is very accurate, we can simulate what the outcome could be, and then decisions could be made on an informed basis rather than guessing."

Asked what the odds were on F1 ending up with two engine specs in the future Horner said: "No idea. Ask me in a month…" Adam Cooper's F1 Blog

Ecclestone warns 'factory' teams

Ecclestone's warning to engine suppliers
Bernie Ecclestone has warned engine suppliers they need to ensure customers are receiving the same specification power units as the manufacturer teams.

Mercedes has been dominant under the new V6 regulations, despite supplying its power unit to Williams, Force India and McLaren last season. At the start of this year, the 2014 constructors' champions appeared to have extended its advantage over the rest of the field in Melbourne, which led to some customers questioning whether it has the same power unit as the factory team.

While Ferrari has since shown itself to be a challenger to Mercedes, Ecclestone says he wants any future regulation changes – which have been discussed over the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend – to ensure customers are receiving the same equipment.

"The two things that have to happen are whoever supplies engines to the teams has to supply the same engine as they current use," Ecclestone said. "If it's going to be the current engine, upgraded to 1,000bhp, good. And they need to supply them at a price that the teams can afford to pay." F1i.com