Latest F1 news in brief – Tuesday (Update)
02/03/15
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Mercedes has been sandbagging allowing Vettel to be fastest for Ferrari Ecclestone 'sad' at 2015 German GP demise
- Haas in no rush to sign 2016 drivers
- Vettel pace raises hopes of Ferrari revival
- Dennis upbeat despite horror start for McLaren-Honda
- Wolff not expecting driver 'harmony' in 2015
- 2015 Mercedes F1 Launch Interviews New
- F1 has turned up engine volume for 2015 New
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| Is the German GP nearing the end? Or is Bernie Ecclestone up to his old tricks? |
Ecclestone 'sad' at 2015 German GP demise
(GMM) The fate of this year's German grand prix remains dim, as local reports suggest Bernie Ecclestone has now written off the scheduled July race.
Amid the Nurburgring's ownership troubles and Hockenheim not agreeing a replacement deal for 2015, the Rhein Zeitung newspaper on Monday quoted F1 supremo Ecclestone as saying: "I'm as sad as the fans that there will be no formula one race in Germany."
But the 84-year-old backpedalled slightly in the hours after the publication of the report, with the major daily Bild quoting the Briton as saying: "We are trying to save it, but it does not look good."
Haas in no rush to sign 2016 drivers
(GMM) Gene Haas says he is in no rush to sign a pair of drivers for his 2016 F1 team.
Accompanied by his team principal Gunther Steiner, the Californian is this week visiting the Jerez test, even though his Ferrari-powered outfit will not go racing for more than a full 12 months from now.
Haas told France's F1i.com, however, that preparations for 2016 are "going well".
"We came here at the invitation of Ferrari and I must admit that I like what I see.
"The SF15-T seems to be born well and we will rely on many systems supplied by Ferrari. The FIA has relaxed some rules for 2016 and we will make the most of them.
"Contrary to what has been written," he explained, "we have not bought Marussia or the intellectual property of the 2015 chassis.
"We have only acquired the plant in Banbury, now known as the 'Haas Building' to avoid confusion."
The North Carolina-based Nascar team co-owner also said he has bought a F1 driver simulator and has commenced working with Dallara on the 2016 car, which will be wind tunnel tested at technical partner Ferrari's Maranello factory.
"Our approach is pragmatic," Haas said, "very American, and probably more effective than the European way of managing a budget.
"We expect to shake down the car in December, but we will not take to the track officially before the preliminary tests for the 2016 season, in exactly one year.
"So far, we are following our program to the letter and we should be on time."
Haas said the highly anticipated race driver choice is not yet a priority.
"All in good time," he insisted. "We will see how the market has evolved by next summer.
"We will have an experienced driver with knowledge of F1, ideally having taken part in the 2015 season, while at the same time we are ready to have a rookie, but it does not necessarily have to be an American.
"No, I will not mention any names, as I myself do not even know who our drivers will be. At the moment we are recruiting engineers and mechanics and the drivers will come later," Haas added.
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| Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari |
Vettel pace raises hopes of Ferrari revival
(GMM) Ferrari is emerging as a shock contender to take on mighty title defenders Mercedes in 2015.
After Nico Rosberg stunned the paddock with his 157 laps on the W06's debut on Sunday, world champion Lewis Hamilton could manage 'only' 91 on Monday amid a water leak.
But the Mercedes driver said at Jerez: "It (the 2015 car) feels the same as it did last year which is a good thing."
Hamilton also said ultimate pace at this stage of the winter is "irrelevant", but it is nonetheless noteworthy that Sebastian Vettel has topped the times on both test days so far.
"Things could definitely be worse," the Ferrari newcomer smiled, "such as they were last year."
Vettel is referring to Red Bull's dismal start to its pre-season campaign a year ago, before the team went on to finish the championship as runner-up behind Mercedes.
So if 'Red Bull 2014' is the model, Ferrari appears in very good shape so far, despite losing the highly-rated Fernando Alonso to the currently-troubled McLaren-Honda project.
There is an air of excitement about Ferrari's prospects, with the Corriere dello Sport borrowing a phrase from Vettel's former team by declaring: "Ferrari has wings."
Indeed, even the ultra-dominant Mercedes camp is taking Ferrari's fast-start seriously.
Bild newspaper said team chairman Niki Lauda accompanied Mercedes designers Andy Cowell and Aldo Costa to a trackside vantage point on Monday.
"I wanted them to see just how fast the new Ferrari is going through the corners," F1 legend Lauda confirmed.
"We could not compare it with our car, though, because it was not running at the time."
Also notably quick so far at Jerez is the new Sauber, despite the Swiss team's awful 2014.
An ideal reference for Sauber is its new race driver Felipe Nasr, who last year was the reserve driver at Mercedes-powered Williams.
"I felt very little difference between the new version of Ferrari (engine) and the Mercedes I had last year," the Brazilian is quoted by Globo.
"I did not expect it, which makes me believe that, now with a better engine, Ferrari and us can improve," Nasr added.
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| Not a good start to 2015 for Ron Dennis, McLaren, and Honda |
Dennis upbeat despite horror start for McLaren-Honda
(GMM) McLaren are continuing to put a brave face on its troubled start to the 2015 pre-season.
After two of the 12 official test days before Melbourne, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have each managed just 6 laps apiece in the Honda-powered MP4-30.
"At least they are consistent," a paddock insider smirked, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
McLaren, however, insists it is delighted with what it is referring to as its 'size-zero' car, in reference to its ultra-slim packaging around the small Honda V6.
"I definitely didn't think we would go out and pound around," Button said after lapping painfully off the pace on Monday.
Also at Jerez is the McLaren supremo Ron Dennis, who is upbeat not only about the Woking-produced 2015 car, but also new works partner Honda's turbo design.
Some reports suggest that, under the skin, the Honda architecture is more akin to the dominant Mercedes than the Ferrari or Renault.
And Dennis is quoted by Spain's Diario Sport: "This engine (at Jerez) is two or three steps behind what we will race, so let's keep developing it until the last test.
"The key word for everyone in the team is patience," he said. "We just have to live with the frustrations that almost everyone had anticipated."
He gushed about the design of the MP4-30, insisting the "level of detail and precision exceeds anything McLaren has done before".
"In addition, there has been so much work around the ERS and the technologies we are using; some of which did not even exist before now," Dennis revealed.
"I don't even think we will even know in Australia where we are; we will have to wait for two or three races," he added.
Outside the team, however, there are concerns. Writing for Spain's Marca, correspondent Marco Canseco said the noise produced by the new Honda is "strong and rough, far from anything we have ever heard in F1".
"If it is just a hallmark of the power unit or the consequence of a malfunction will be seen over time," he added.
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| Mercedes boss Toto Wolff doesn't expect the rivalry between his drivers to subside any in 2015 |
Wolff not expecting driver 'harmony' in 2015
(GMM) Toto Wolff is not expecting the current mood of peace between Mercedes' drivers to last.
Last year, the relationship between teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg deteriorated badly amid their two-horse duel for the 2014 title.
But as soon as the final checkered flag waved in Abu Dhabi, German Rosberg congratulated the world champion Hamilton and peace and even the odd text message has now reigned through the winter.
Team boss Wolff, however, warned: "I have no illusions that 2015 will be an easier year.
"At this stage in their lives, they are teammates and competitors," he told reporters at Jerez, the first of three pre-season tests before Melbourne.
"This is how it is. It makes no sense to hope for harmony when no harmony can be expected."
Wolff explained that rivalry between competitive teammates is actually good for a team in terms of getting the most from the drivers and developing the car.
"That is when a team is getting pushed forward," he said.
"The downside – the intense competition – we will live with," Wolff added. "We have learned from last season. We have matured as a team, including the drivers."
2015 Mercedes F1 Launch Interviews
F1 has turned up engine volume for 2015
(GMM) F1 has turned up the volume for 2015.
As per the engine 'freeze' rules, 2014 manufacturers Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari have been allowed to upgrade their turbo V6s by a value of up to 48 per cent since the end of last season.
Still, the slight relaxing of the homologation rules – the so-called 'unfreeze' – continues to cause controversy.
After the 2014 suppliers found a loophole to keep upgrading their engines beyond the start of the forthcoming season, newcomer Honda pushed for the same right.
The FIA eventually compromised, allowing McLaren's new works supplier to keep upgrading beyond Melbourne but only to the tune of the average amount of performance 'tokens' left over by its three rivals.
According to Auto Motor und Sport on Tuesday, however, Ron Dennis is not happy with that.
The German publication said the McLaren supremo in fact wants Honda to be allowed to use the highest number of tokens left over by Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari.
For instance, if Mercedes has 10 tokens left in Melbourne, Renault 8 and Ferrari 6, Dennis thinks Honda should be granted 10 tokens for 2015 rather than the average value, which in this case would be 8.
Correspondent Michael Schmidt said Dennis will raise the issue at the strategy group meeting in Paris on Thursday.
"He will meet with resistance," said Schmidt, "especially from Ferrari."
Meanwhile, those at the opening test at Jerez this week have noticed that the upgraded 2015-spec turbo V6s are definitely louder than last year's.
Schmidt said: "And the tone is more like a racing engine than a lawn mower."
Mercedes' engine boss Andy Cowell said: "I don't know why this is so, as we have definitely not done anything deliberate to make them louder."
Auto Motor und Sport speculated that the improved sound has been due to changes in exhaust length made solely for performance reasons.