Latest F1 news in brief

Alonso must be on some hallucinogen again. Costa or Newey didn't design the McLaren, he isn't going to win

Alonso not backing Brown's 'no wins' claim
'No bluffing' in 2017 test season – Lauda
Mercedes to consider Vettel for 2018 – Rosberg
Bottas targets beating Hamilton to 2017 title
Magnussen admits he voted against Halo for 2018
Physio doubts Alonso set to retire
Dallara hits out at F1's radical new rules
Key F1 dates for 2017

Alonso not backing Brown's 'no wins' claim
(GMM) Fernando Alonso is not willing to join new McLaren boss Zak Brown in playing down the chance of race wins in 2017.

As McLaren races into the post-Ron Dennis era, new team executive Brown rounded out last week by admitted: "We are not going to be winning any races" this year.

"I read what Zak Brown said, but who knows?" Speed Week quoted Spaniard Alonso as responding.

"I am keeping a positive attitude, preparing for the championship as intensely as ever, and I will do everything in my power," the two-time title winner added.

Alonso also responded to speculation that McLaren might be about to switch to an orange livery in 2017.

"I have read that it could be something orange, black or white," he said. "I asked Eric (Boullier) but he said I would see at the launch.

"What I hope is that it is fast," Alonso concluded.

He said he has been training hard for this year's faster cars, including 50 kilometers of cycling per day and over 5kms of daily running.

"90 per cent of the drivers on the grid have only driven an F1 car that is slightly faster than a GP2 car, but I have driven cars that we will never see again.

"If we are going to improve a few seconds this year maybe it will be similar, but I don't think it will radically change the physical requirement," Alonso said.

As for whether 2017 will be his final year in F1, the 35-year-old answered: "We'll see. We'll go step by step."

'No bluffing' in 2017 test season – Lauda

Lauda says fans will like the look of the new car. The racing will suck but at least the cars will look great

(GMM) Valtteri Bottas is pushing hard to be ready for the 2017 season.

That is the news from Niki Lauda, the F1 legend and team chairman at Mercedes.

He is referring to Finn Bottas, who was Mercedes' eleventh hour pick to replace the suddenly-retired world champion Nico Rosberg for 2017.

"I'm always on the phone with Bottas," Lauda told the Swiss newspaper Blick. "He wants to know everything, which is motivating me as well. He is getting full support from all of us."

After Mercedes won the last three titles, F1 is all change for 2017, with wider tires and much faster cars set to fill the grid.

Lauda said the picture will start to emerge from the second Barcelona test.

"The first four days in Barcelona will be getting to know the new regulations," he said. "Then the four day break will be to make updates.

"Then at the second test, no one will bluff anymore because we will all want to know where we stand before Melbourne," added Lauda.

"The first three races are on totally different tracks," he continued, "so by then we will know where we are heading."

Lauda said he has seen the broad shape of the 2017 Mercedes car and he was "immediately enthusiastic". "The fans will surely like what they see," he added.

Mercedes to consider Vettel for 2018 – Rosberg

Vettel will smile if he ever got to drive an Aldo Costa designed car

(GMM) Nico Rosberg says Sebastian Vettel will be in the running for a sensational switch to Mercedes for 2018.

For 2017, the German outfit has signed up Valtteri Bottas, following Rosberg's eleventh-hour decision to quit F1 after winning the 2016 title.

"I understand that the 'Bottas solution' made sense for Mercedes," Rosberg told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

But Finn Bottas has been put on a mere one-year contract, reportedly to leave the door open for a big-name option for 2018 like Fernando Alonso or Vettel.

"Vettel's contract at Ferrari ends this year," agreed Rosberg, "so he'd be a sensible option for Mercedes and one I'm sure they'll contemplate."

Bottas targets beating Hamilton to 2017 title

It's OK to dream

(GMM) Valtteri Bottas is targeting the world championship for 2017.

With Finn Bottas switching from Williams, Lewis Hamilton's father warned just days ago that the triple world champion is nothing short of a "career killer".

But Bottas told the Finnish broadcaster MTV that he intends to beat Hamilton.

"My goal is the championship and I really have the opportunity to get it," he said.

And that means taking Hamilton on, head-to-head.

"The immediate objective is to fight against him," Bottas said.

To that end, the 27-year-old recently called the man he is replacing, world champion Nico Rosberg, with whom Hamilton shared an acrimonious relationship.

"It was good to talk to him," Bottas said.

"Nico has been in the team for a long time and knows very well how things work from the driver's point of view.

"The most important thing is to know how the team works and how to collaborate with them to get the most out of the car," he added.

Magnussen admits he voted against Halo for 2018

Kevin Magnussen testing the Halo

(GMM) Kevin Magnussen has admitted he was among the group of F1 drivers who actively voted against introducing 'Halo' next year.

The controversial cockpit-protection concept was already delayed for 2017, and now it emerges that following a driver vote, it might be put on the back burner for a further year.

A German media report earlier this month said 16 drivers had responded to the FIA's request, and 7 were against the Halo, 5 in favor, and 4 abstained.

"I voted no," Haas driver Magnussen confirmed to the Danish newspaper BT.

"I think it is against formula one's DNA," he explained.

"Halo undoubtedly reduces the risk if you were hit by a wheel or debris from another car," the 24-year-old admitted. "But I just think that there are many other things we should look at first to improve safety."

Magnussen says it is not right to link the potential introduction of Halo with the death of Jules Bianchi.

"What happened to Jules was deeply tragic," he said. "And also bad luck. The sport must learn from what happened in Suzuka, but a Halo would not have changed anything about that accident."

Physio doubts Alonso set to retire

Alonso training hard for 2017

(GMM) Fernando Alonso's long-time physio does not think the Spaniard is shaping up to quit formula one.

Alonso, 35, is set to begin the last season on his current McLaren-Honda contract, and has warned that unless 2017 is more enjoyable he could hang up his F1 helmet.

But Fabrizio Borra, the two-time champion's ever-present physio and co-trainer, told Spanish radio Cadena Cope: "I do not see a Fernando who thinks this may be his last season in formula one.

"He is working very hard, as he did in his early years. I see him very calm and motivated," Borra explained.

McLaren boss Zak Brown is playing down the prospect of race wins this year, but Borra said the Alonso crew always prepare for each season the same.

"We always get to the first test convinced that the year will be positive," he said. "The mental focus is the same as when fighting for the title.

"He is training for about six hours a day," Borra revealed.

"For the younger drivers, the physical preparation changes a lot, but not so much for the veterans. Fernando has a plan similar to the one he has done since he made his debut.

"The cars he started with were physically more demanding even than we will see in 2017, even if the speed in corners this year will require more from the drivers than we have seen in recent seasons," he said.

Dallara hits out at F1's radical new rules

Gian Paolo Dallara is saying what AR1.com said a year ago, the new F1 rules will make the racing worse

(GMM) F1 car designer Gian Paolo Dallara has hit at out the sport's 2017 rules revolution.

The 80-year-old, whose company is involved in collaboration with the Ferrari-linked American team Haas, doubts the much faster cars this year will actually make the F1 'show' better.

"As an engineer I do not know why they decided to focus on higher downforce," Dallara told the well-known Italian blogger Leo Turrini.

"Technically it will make it almost impossible to overtake, because no one will be able to follow the one in front of him. We complain about the lack of 'show' in F1 and then go in the opposite direction," he added.

Like many, Dallara suggests the 'Americanization' of formula one in the new Liberty Media era could change the sport.

"As you know, we (Dallara) are very present in America, where there is an obsession to level the competition in every way.

"But F1 follows a different philosophy — they even invented the virtual safety car to maintain the gaps between the cars. It's almost a cultural clash," Dallara said.

"Do not ask me what is better, I would be partisan," he added.

Turrini also asked Dallara about Ferrari's chances for 2017, but he answered: "You know much more than me and I know that you are extraordinarily cautious.

"Let's say it like this: when you start playing with a pack of completely new cars, who was losing has a better chance," he said.

Key F1 dates for 2017
2017 car launches:

February 20: Sauber
February 21: Renault
February 22: Force India
February 23: Mercedes
February 24: Ferrari
February 24: McLaren
February 26: Toro Rosso

2017 pre-season tests:

February 27 – March 2: Barcelona
March 7 – March 10: Barcelona

2017 season opener:

March 26 – Australian Grand Prix