Latest F1 news in brief

No hard orange tires at Silverstone

Pirelli axes hard tires for Silverstone
Carey expects 'turbulent' F1 talks
Brawn says Vettel 'key to Ferrari success'
Trailing Bottas still not 'no.2' – Wolff
Magnussen-manager dispute heads to court
Marko rules out Le Mans for Red Bull

Pirelli axes hard tires for Silverstone
(GMM) Pirelli has agreed to axe its selection of hard tires for a forthcoming grand prix.

In Barcelona recently, drivers openly complained about the F1 supplier's selection of compounds.

"In the drivers' briefing we brought up the tires because we would prefer not to have these hard tires anymore — at any track.

"We're supposed to use them in Silverstone but we're going to try to stop that," the Red Bull driver added.

Now, Speed Week reports that the drivers have been successful in their campaign.

Pirelli's Mario Isola said: "We agreed with the teams about the tires for Spain.

"We only had data from the winter tests and it wasn't enough. We also had to take into account the warmer temperatures compared to February and March," he explained."

Speed Week said the decision has been taken at Pirelli's Milan headquarters to take the medium, soft and super-soft tires to the British grand prix in July.

Carey expects 'turbulent' F1 talks

Chase Carey (C) will have to drive a hard bargain

(GMM) Chase Carey is expecting "turbulent" times ahead as negotiations with teams look set to kick off.

As Liberty Media takes over and the Bernie Ecclestone era is put in the past, attention is already turning to the end of the current 'Concorde' agreements with teams.

But as those post-2020 talks begin, new chief executive Carey's 'honeymoon period' may suddenly end.

"I'm not sure my 'honeymoon period' as you put it lasted more than 24 hours," American Carey told the latest edition of France's Auto Hebdo.

"The discussions will not be easy, and that's why we first must agree on our global vision of the sport. If we all work on the same project, the dialogue will be facilitated.

"But life is not a long, quiet river — I expect turbulence," Carey said.

Brawn says Vettel 'key to Ferrari success'

Sebastian Vettel has brought Ferrari back from the grave

(GMM) Ross Brawn has hailed Sebastian Vettel's personal contribution to the excitement of the 2017 season.

Brawn, famous for his key role in the ultra-successful Todt-Schumacher era at Ferrari, is now F1's new sporting boss in the Liberty Media era.

He told Sport Bild: "What Sebastian is doing in the red car is great advertising for formula one.

"Most fans want to see a successful Ferrari team, and Sebastian is the key to it," he added.

So far in 2017, Vettel and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton have each won two grands prix, but Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko sees the German driver with the advantage.

"Mercedes is driving more on the limit, while Sebastian is apparently comfortably on the podium always. The Ferrari is more consistent," he said.

Trailing Bottas still not 'no.2' – Wolff

Bottas is not No. 2 yet

(GMM) Toto Wolff says Mercedes remains committed to not designating Valtteri Bottas the 'number 2' driver for 2017.

A mere 6 points separates Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and top Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton so far this year.

But when asked about the much bigger points gap – 35 points – between teammates Hamilton and Bottas, team boss Wolff sounded reluctant about adopting a clear team hierarchy in the interests of securing the drivers' title.

"Yes, the gap is quite big now after the Spanish grand prix," he is quoted by Speed Week.

"But we have just five races behind us and fifteen still ahead. So there is no reason for us to favor a driver and certainly not at such an early stage of the season.

"No, we will continue as before," said Wolff.

Magnussen-manager dispute heads to court

Kevin Magnussen

(GMM) A broken relationship between Kevin Magnussen and his former manager is heading to court.

After his McLaren seat fell through after a single year, Magnussen reportedly split with his long-time manager Dorte Riis Madsen.

We reported last year that the 24-year-old Dane had negotiated his own 2016 Renault seat, and was also assisted by his billionaire sponsor Anders Holch Povlsen as he put together his new multi-year Haas deal.

Now, Ekstra Bladet newspaper says a court battle with Riis Madsen will begin on June 1.

The case will be heard in Copenhagen, with Magnussen's former manager claiming damages for the driver's current and future income over breach of contract.

"Attempts at an out of court settlement have failed," the Danish newspaper claimed.

Former Danish racing driver Jason Watt said disputes over long-term contracts in motor racing are nothing new.

"Contract lengths of 10-15 years are not unusual," he said. "A manager puts in money to build a career and it may take years before there is a return."

Riis Madsen would not comment, and Magnussen said only: "I have nothing to say at this time."

Marko rules out Le Mans for Red Bull

No LeMans for Red Bull

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says Red Bull will not be heading to Le Mans any time soon.

The energy drink company has two teams in F1 and been represented at the highest level of just about every series.

But Red Bull is conspicuously absent at Le Mans, the most famous endurance sports car race.

When asked if the brand might consider a foray in the world endurance championship, Red Bull official Marko answered: "No. We are concentrated on formula one.

"If you look at it, the costs are very high for the championship, but there's only one race that matters or is covered," he told Spain's El Confidencial.

When asked if Red Bull would even consider a major team sponsorship deal at Le Mans, he added: "No."

As for Red Bull's plight in F1 this year, Marko insisted that the brand has not given up on the title despite clearly trailing Mercedes and Ferrari so far.

"No," he said, "otherwise we would not be making the effort that we are.

"But this power unit in formula one is not a normal engine," Marko continued. "So if your combustion system is better, the electrical part is better.

"After the first four races Ferrari seemed like the big favorite, but it seems that in Barcelona Mercedes took a big leap with the engine. You change the engine and 'bang!', you take a big leap again," he said.