Latest F1 news in brief

TV ratings are down in Brazil. Why? No more Brazilian drivers. Same reason why TV ratings are historically low in the USA – No American drivers in a winning car

Liberty refunds money after F1 streaming launch
Sainz future depends on Red Bull talks – Abiteboul
Vandoorne not looking to leave McLaren
Lauda tips Mercedes to keep drivers
Wolff denies Pirelli helped Mercedes
Vettel hits out at 2019 rule changes
FIA tells Ferrari to remove Halo winglets
McLaren takes 'big step' in Barcelona
Williams will struggle to replace Martini – Lowe

Liberty refunds money after F1 streaming launch
(GMM) F1 fans are getting a refund after a shambolic debut for Liberty Media's new live streaming service.

Following a delay, F1 TV was finally launched in Barcelona, but Germany's Auto Bild reports that the transmission has been problematic.

"We acknowledge the problems with the live stream on F1 TV Pro and will reimburse all customers for this weekend," confirmed Liberty spokesman Luca Colajanni.

"In motor racing you have these engine failures, but at the next race you try again and even win," he added.

It is not the only bad news for new F1 owner Liberty Media.

Writing in the Independent, F1 business journalist Christian Sylt reports that despite better track action, television ratings are down so far in 2018.

F1 chief executive Chase Carey said there are two main slumping markets — Italy, which has moved to pay TV, and Brazil.

"Brazil is a country without Felipe Massa racing. He was our Brazilian driver so that has an impact on viewership there," said Carey.

"Actually, the majority of our countries, take the top 20 countries, the majority of them are up but the impact in those two markets brings it sort of down mid-single digits," he added.

Sainz Jr. future depends on Red Bull talks – Abiteboul

Junior's future depends on what Ricciardo does

(GMM) Renault has admitted it might lose Carlos Sainz Jr. at the end of 2018.

Boss Cyril Abiteboul told Marca sports newspaper that the Spaniard is a "potential world champion".

But he is only 'on loan' from Red Bull — and Renault is considering switching from Renault to Honda power for 2019.

"It is not a secret that if Carlos is with us today, it is possible because of what we share with Red Bull and that is part of the conversations we have now with Helmut Marko," said Abiteboul.

"I would be surprised if we did not talk about it in the conversations about the engine, but that hasn't begun yet," he added.

Sainz's father, rallying legend Carlos Sainz, echoed Abiteboul's words about the 23-year-old's future.

"Unfortunately he is in a situation in which his future does not depend on him," Sainz snr said.

"I hope that soon he can sign a contract that gives him two years, instead of getting to the fourth place and having to discuss what he will do next year.

"Until now he has not been able to work with tranquility," he added.

Vandoorne not looking to leave McLaren

Stoffel Vandoorne's speed in GP2 (now F2) did not translate to F1

(GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne insists he is not eyeing a move to another F1 team.

The Belgian entered F1 as a highly rated rookie, but so far McLaren has struggled both with Honda and now Renault power.

Vandoorne's reputation is arguably being damaged, also because he is alongside Fernando Alonso, who is normally ahead of him.

But the 26-year-old told El Pais: "I don't think there is much between Fernando and I.

"Fernando is one of the most complete drivers on the grid in terms of getting everything from the car he drives, but we are not as far apart as it may sometimes appear."

And so Vandoorne said he is happy to stick with McLaren.

"I do not look at any other option except McLaren," he insisted.

"I have a very good relationship with the company, I occupy a very important position and I think the team has a very high potential for the future.

"Despite not having met expectations, there is a group of people who are very capable of designing a fast car," said Vandoorne.

Lauda tips Mercedes to keep drivers

Bottas and Hamilton are not going anywhere. When you have the best car you don't leave

(GMM) Niki Lauda says he is confident Mercedes will head into 2019 with the same drivers.

Currently, talks with Lewis Hamilton have been delayed and there is speculation Valtteri Bottas might be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo, a Mercedes junior, or even Fernando Alonso.

But boss Toto Wolff played down the Alonso rumors.

"I think he's a great driver," he said, "and if the fallout of the previous relationship did not exist then I think he would have ten championships."

Wolff may be referring to Alonso's broken paddock relationships as a result of his previous stints at McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari.

He explained: "F1 has become a game of relationships and a long-term strategy is needed. And I think Fernando may still be suffering from things that happened ten years ago, even if he is a different person now."

Meanwhile, referring to Hamilton's delayed contract, team chairman Lauda told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: "We have no time pressure. It will 110 per cent happen.

"We have agreed on everything, but whether he signs now or in three weeks doesn't matter," he added.

And when asked about Bottas' similarly expiring contract, Lauda said: "In the last three races he was faster than Lewis.

"If you look at him objectively, he is doing really well. Rosberg-like," he added.

Wolff denies Pirelli helped Mercedes

Aldo Costa (R) is why the Mercedes is fast. Shown here during a recent test run he made in one of his creations, Costa designs the best F1 cars for Mercedes

Aldo Costa (R) is why the Mercedes is fast, not the tires. Shown here during a recent test run he made in one of his creations, Costa designs the best F1 cars for Mercedes

(GMM) Toto Wolff has scoffed at suggestions Pirelli favored the German team with a tweak to the 2018 tire design.

In Barcelona, despite Ferrari having the fastest car in recent races, Mercedes burst back to the front row of the grid for the Spanish grand prix.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel thinks it could be because of a tweak to the thickness of the tire compounds for Barcelona.

"I think the tire change helped them a bit," he said.

"It's hard to say how much, but somehow it has been positive for them."

But some have gone even a step further, alleging that Mercedes successfully lobbied Pirelli to alter the tire design for performance reasons.

"That's just nonsense," team boss Wolff blasted.

"All the teams had heavy blistering during the winter tests — Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, us. So Pirelli changed the thickness of the tread.

"I think they did a good job because we did not see any blistering on the tires today," he added.

"I don't know who would think we influence Pirelli or the FIA. That's not how it works in formula one," said Wolff.

Vettel hits out at 2019 rule changes

Vettel want drivers to have input into new cars

Vettel wants drivers to have input into aero changes

(GMM) Sebastian Vettel has hit out at the aerodynamic changes set to debut in formula one next year.

Red Bull's Christian Horner has already blasted the "half baked" new front wing design intended to boost overtaking next year.

"I agree. I find it a bit comical," Ferrari's Vettel said in Barcelona.

"In 2009 we went 'let's go less aerodynamics for better racing'. I think it didn't change too much," he said.

"Then we said 'let's put more aerodynamics and make them wider, more spectacular'," Vettel added.

World champion Lewis Hamilton agrees that the estimated 1.5 second laptime loss for 2019 is not the right direction for F1.

"We want to push the boundaries and the limits," said the Mercedes driver. "One of the exciting things this year has been that we are breaking records."

Vettel agrees that slowing down the cars for 2019 is plain wrong.

"All the drivers' feedback was 'Thank you very much, spectacular, that's what we like'. More challenging, you see us more exhausted after the race.

"And now we want to make them slower again? It's a bit like cruising to America and changing direction 100 times," said the German.

Vettel said a better idea is to let the drivers have a real say about the basic structure of the car regulations.

"Not to say that we know everything, but we know how the cars feel," he said. "And their limitations to overtake. But we're not really asked."

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo agrees: "We should also participate. We're not engineers, but we know exactly what's going on with the cars during the racing.

"Our opinions should at least be heard."

FIA tells Ferrari to remove Halo winglets

The Ferrari mirrors are great and only a moron would think they make the car faster

(GMM) Ferrari has been told to remove the winglets currently attached to the 2018 car's Halo device after Sunday's Spanish grand prix.

The FIA said recently that teams are allowed to attach the rearview mirrors to the controversial Halo concept.

But Ferrari arrived in Barcelona also with winglets on the Halo.

"The FIA received letters of complaint," Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports.

"Ferrari has now been asked to bring a modified solution to Monaco," it added. "The mirror may still be attached to the Halo, but without aerodynamic elements."

Renault has said it is also working on a mirror concept for its Halo, while Force India is preferring to sit it out for now while the FIA rules on legality.

"The performance gain is not that big," said technical boss Andy Green. "First we want to see what the others are doing and then we'll copy the best one."

McLaren takes 'big step' in Barcelona

McLaren's new nose in Spain. Now with Renault engine, McLaren is forced to admit their chassis is inferior

(GMM) McLaren says it has taken a "big step" in Barcelona.

The team touched down in Spain with what is effectively a 'B' spec car, featuring a radical nose design.

Fernando Alonso then qualified 8th.

"So far we've qualified 13th on average," the Spaniard said. "This is a big step forward. Everything feels faster and better."

And team boss Eric Boullier said more good progress from the once-great British team is on the way.

"The big step will be followed by many small ones," he said. "The plan is to bring new parts to every race."

Asked if McLaren can catch up with Red Bull, Alonso answered: "It's up to us. We have the same engine. So it's just the chassis that makes all the difference."

Williams will struggle to replace Martini – Lowe

Stroll in the hapless Williams

(GMM) Paddy Lowe has admitted that Williams will struggle to replace departing sponsor Martini for 2019.

Martini announced it is leaving the British team at the worst possible time, just before Williams' performance badly slumped and designer Ed Wood inexplicably left.

When asked about Martini's departure and how the money will be replaced, technical boss Lowe said in Barcelona: "It's a difficult situation.

"There's no easy answer to that question. It's clear that we, and I include myself in that, did not work well enough and for the past two months did not achieve the progress we should have.

"It complicates the commercial situation but that's the sport we're in," Lowe added.

However, he denied there is a link between long-time designer Wood's departure and the dire performance of the 2018 car.

"Ed decided to leave to do other things, but it had nothing to do with the problems we're having on the track," said Lowe.

"His departure creates a vacancy but there's no rush to fill it," he added.

Lowe said Williams is working hard on fixing the 2018 car's problems, but cautioned that it will take some time before they see the track.

"None of the solutions that will help to improve the situation have been implemented, which is why we have such serious problems on this track," Lowe said in Barcelona. "Barcelona does not forgive shortcomings.

"But I'm not writing off the season. Yes our pace is really bad, but this is because the drivers are prevented from driving it properly.

"The car has its advantages, but certain shortcomings do not allow them to be seen."