Latest F1 news in brief

Bernie Ecclestone tells Lewis Hamilton how his bosses Toto and Nicki will see the error of their ways and give in to him

F1 racing ahead for 2017 rule changes
Rosberg 'must turn around slump' – Lauda
'No more pain' as Bottas bounces back
Alonso aiming for Q3 in Barcelona
Mattiacci to rebuild career in US
All eyes on unconfirmed Ferrari, Mercedes seats
Manufacturers want to stick with V6 for new 1000bhp formula

F1 racing ahead for 2017 rule changes
(GMM) Technical change is coming to formula one.

Days ago, Bernie Ecclestone told La Gazzetta dello Sport his ideal scenario would be to scrap the quiet, expensive and complex turbo V6s and replace them with 1000 horse power V8s.

"The people would return, the show would return, the sponsors would return," the F1 supremo predicted.

Talks with F1 team bosses were then held in Bahrain.

Ecclestone, 84, would clearly like to impose his changes "as soon as possible", but the realistic aim is for 2017.

The Briton has accused Mercedes and Toto Wolff of blocking any proposals and "killing" the sport, but Wolff said in Bahrain: "I think the rules are going to get changed for 2017."

He told F1's official website the talks this weekend have been about making the cars "more spectacular and quicker".

"That is happening," Wolff added.

He told Britain's Sky that the "chassis side and the power unit side" will be tweaked, amid rumors one of the changes could be twin-turbos and a relaxing of the fuel flow limit, which would also make the engines louder.

Reverting to the old V8 technology, however, is unlikely.

"This (V6) is where the technology of road cars goes, so this is important for car manufacturers. But we can do a lot on the chassis side," said Wolff.

Rosberg 'must turn around slump' – Lauda
(GMM) Nico Rosberg's downwards spiral has only worsened in Bahrain.

With teammate Lewis Hamilton riding a wave of form and confidence, German Rosberg headed to the desert Kingdom determined to bounce back.

But it backfired spectacularly in qualifying, as the 29-year-old slumped to third place, behind not only Hamilton but also Sebastian Vettel's resurgent Ferrari.

"The starting point for Lewis is perfect as always," Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"But the six tenths gap between Nico and Lewis is worrisome," he added.

On German television RTL, however, Lauda insisted Rosberg cannot be written off.

But "from the first race in Melbourne, Lewis has simply done everything better. Nico needs to turn this around now.

"He needs to think about the counter-strategy he can do. It's not just about going faster, but thinking about something new to try to beat him," Lauda added.

The F1 legend said Rosberg is also psychologically weaker at present, having erred in complaining about Hamilton's race tactics in China a week ago.

"Basically, Nico has realized that complaining after the race was not good for him," he said. "On the other hand, Lewis' answer was correct when he said 'I'm here to win the race'."

So for now, F1 2015 appears headed for a two-horse title race, with the protagonists – silver-clad Hamilton and Vettel in the red corner – on the front row on Sunday.

"Ferrari is fast now because they started with the development of their car much earlier than us last year," said Wolff. "Because we were fighting for the title!

"What is clear is that the era of the easy one-two victories is over," he admitted.

'No more pain' as Bottas bounces back
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas has finally put his back problems in the past.

The Finn even had to sit out the Melbourne season opener with a torn disc, but he returned in Malaysia and China with a new seat and driving position.

But despite being earlier hailed an absolute star of the new generation, 25-year-old Bottas has been outshone in 2015 by his Williams teammate Felipe Massa.

Bottas, however, finally got the upper hand in Bahrain qualifying.

And he declared afterwards: "My back is no longer a problem. I have no more pain.

"The change in the seating position has really paid off — I am not even worried that the problem could recur now."

The biggest problem for Williams now is that the Grove team has clearly slipped behind Ferrari as the first force after Mercedes.

"At least there is no real threat from behind us," said Bottas, referring to the gap between Williams and the big chasing pack including Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Sauber and Lotus.

Alonso aiming for Q3 in Barcelona
(GMM) For Fernando Alonso, the next target is Q3.

The Spaniard's new project with McLaren-Honda started literally at rock bottom, but in the space of a month he has powered from his hospital bed to the back of the grid and now a spot in the 'Q2' qualifying segment in Bahrain.

"Although it is a small step," he is quoted by EFE news agency, "it was important to get into Q2 and we expect Q3 in Barcelona."

In his native Spain in three weeks, McLaren is expected to introduce a major aerodynamic package whilst works partner Honda debts a new engine specification.

Alonso added in Bahrain: "It's sad to be happy with Q2, but it was needed for the whole team, the mechanics and engineers who were working on the cars until 5 o'clock in the morning. We are seeing progress now."

But he said one major worry is reliability, after an abysmal weekend for teammate Jenson Button.

Alonso said McLaren-Honda is "not where we should be" in terms of reliability.

"When you're behind it is easy to get lost and panic," he said. "But before you run you have to learn to walk."

Alonso is also quoted by the sports daily Marca: "We must examine Jenson's car to the tiniest detail, as there were too many problems this weekend."

Mattiacci to rebuild career in US
(GMM) Marco Mattiacci is set to rebuild his tattered career in America.

Just a year ago, the 44-year-old was the highly respected chief executive of Ferrari's North America unit when he was unexpectedly called up to replace axed team boss Stefano Domenicali.

As well as causing a stir with his first paddock appearance wearing dark sunglasses in China, Mattiacci might now be remembered for reaching the technical deal with 2016 entrant Haas as well as signing up Sebastian Vettel.

Mattiacci, however, has also been blamed for souring Ferrari's relationship with Fernando Alonso, but he did oversee the rise to prominence of the team's respected new technical boss James Allison.

But a report in the Spanish newspaper El Pais says there remains "no trace" of Mattiacci at the resurgent Ferrari in 2015.

He has also departed the Fiat Chrysler group altogether, as the newspaper said Mattiacci was spotted in Milan a few days ago.

He is reportedly now preparing to return to New York, "where he has found work in a company linked to entertainment" that is not connected to the motoring sector.

All eyes on unconfirmed Ferrari, Mercedes seats
(GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene says Kimi Raikkonen approached him to enquire about staying with Ferrari in 2016.

In the Bahrain paddock, rumors are swirling about the possibility of a Ferrari 'dream team' for next year starring Sebastian Vettel alongside Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton's contract negotiations with Mercedes appear terminally stalled, with a source at the German giant admitting: "If Ferrari tries to sign a driver with an unlimited amount of money, it would no doubt succeed."

Boss Toto Wolff is trying to stay calm.

"We have seen teams without any drivers in November," he told Britain's Sky, "and we are in April, so we are feeling ok."

Clearly, Ferrari is leaving the door slightly ajar for now, with Arrivabene revealing in Bahrain he has told Raikkonen to his face that he is not ready to sign him up.

"He (Raikkonen) asked me about the contract and how to proceed," the Ferrari team boss told Finland's MTV3. "I said 'You just have to be good on the track'.

"'And if you do it, the contract is yours'. It is therefore very simple," the Italian explained.

"I think Kimi is someone who appreciates this, and I appreciate that he did not send in his manager to talk to me about it. We know each other and we met eye-to-eye."

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Raikkonen has a good chance of retaining his seat, even though he has not yet proven a match for Vettel in 2015.

"If he keeps driving like this, why wouldn't Ferrari keep him?" the Canadian told Turun Sanomat newspaper.

"The whole team seems to be in good spirits with a lot of energy. So who else would they take?

"If Lewis Hamilton is available, he would probably be Ferrari's first choice, but I don't think Ferrari cares so much if Kimi wins races or not.

"There is not really the need for two winning drivers. They need one driver to win and another to be a strong support," added Villeneuve.

So for now, all eyes are on the unconfirmed seats at both Ferrari and Mercedes.

"Only fools are confident," said Wolff, "and it's only a contract once it is signed."

Manufacturers want to stick with V6 for new 1000bhp formula
The F1 engine manufacturers have agreed than any move towards 1000bhp engines for 2017 has to involve using the current V6 as a starting point.

None of them wants to go in the V8 direction that has been suggested by Bernie Ecclestone, and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says that the V6 plan now has priority.

"The discussion about a 1000bhp engine has been around quite a while," he said. "And I appreciate very well that it needs to be a spectacular formula, and if that’s the way forward then we should continue to work on it. But there are various groups coming together in terms of how the 2017 rules can look like in terms of power unit, and in terms of the chassis side. Yesterday there was a very valuable meeting, Charlie [Whiting] was there, Bernie was there, and concepts have been put in place to make it a spectacular new formula in 2017.

"All engine manufacturers are pretty clear that the current engine architecture with a hybrid component needs to stay in place. This is the direction we’ve headed to, and this is at least at the moment the current status between Ferrari, Renault, Honda and Mercedes."

Wolff says that the current engines will in any case gain power as they are developed, and that a change to the fuel flow rules would be the easiest way to provide an extra boost.

"I think by 2017 those engines, between all manufacturers, are going to have north of 900bhp. Then it’s a question of how do you want to market that? Does it make a big difference between having 950bhp or 1000? I think there are pretty easy tools to increase the horsepower, and this is increasing fuel flow. If you want to increase the fuel flow by 10kgs an hour or 20kgs or whatever it is, then you are going to have more than 1000bhp.

"But you need to redesign crucial components of the engine, you need to make them more reliable, and that again involves a lot of development costs. We all understand that we want to have a spectacular formula, not only on the chassis side but also on the power unit side, and this is what’s being discussed at the moment – how to achieve it.

"There’s a governance in place and for 2017 you need a simple majority in the F1 Commission to change the rules, and this is the reality. So if you’re being a hardliner and you’re blocking everything, you’re going to be run over. So at least let’s stay on the table and discuss in a sensible way what we can do and what is for the benefit of the sport and the good of the sport, and this is what we’re trying to do." Adam Cooper's F1 Blog