Latest F1 news in brief

Rosberg curious how Bottas does compared to him against Lewis Hamilton

Rosberg "curious" to watch successor Bottas
Lauda 'tension' gone after Bottas signing
Alonso 'not afraid' of rookie Vandoorne
Liberty still seeking FIA green light
Lotus F1 foray 'not a failure' – Lopez
Kovalainen made bid to replace Bottas
'No problems' in Bottas-Hamilton pairing – Kovalainen

Rosberg "curious" to watch successor Bottas

(GMM) World champion Nico Rosberg says he is looking forward to seeing a "great battle" between Mercedes' new driving duo in 2017.

After an eleventh hour scrabble to replace Rosberg after the German sensationally quit Mercedes and F1, the team announced this week that Lewis Hamilton's new teammate will be Williams driver Valtteri Bottas.

"I was hoping the team would quickly find a perfect successor for me," DPA news agency quotes Rosberg as saying at a sponsor event.

"Valtteri is fast and reliable," he is also quoted as saying by Bild newspaper, "and now he has the best cockpit in formula one, so I hope he'll have fun.

"I'm glad the team has found a great replacement in such a short time," Rosberg added.

Finn Bottas, 27, said this week that he is ready to take on triple world champion Hamilton in 2017, but the Briton and Rosberg clashed at times over the past few years.

"Good luck for the fight with Lewis," Rosberg smiled. "It will surely be an interesting battle.

"I'm curious to see what he will achieve, and how he will do with Lewis."

Lauda 'tension' gone after Bottas signing

Lauda breathing easier now

(GMM) Niki Lauda says he feels relaxed now that Valtteri Bottas has been signed up for 2017.

Earlier, the F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman sounded almost angry that Rosberg had left the world champions in the lurch by quitting after winning his title.

"My tension, which had resulted from the withdrawal of Nico, has completely disappeared," Lauda told the German broadcaster RTL.

"Bottas is the best man for the job."

Mercedes had briefly looked into trying to secure a top driver to pair with Lewis Hamilton, and also considered promoting its junior Pascal Wehrlein.

Lauda explained: "Experience and speed were the reasons we signed Bottas. I believe he can drive as fast as Nico. I believe he can win the world championship."

Alonso 'not afraid' of rookie Vandoorne

Alonso with former McLaren boss Ron Dennis

(GMM) Fernando Alonso says he is "not worried" even though he has a rookie teammate for 2017.

It is now a full decade ago that the Spaniard, then as a reigning back-to-back champion, thought he had a clear run at McLaren only to be paired with rookie Lewis Hamilton.

Now, history could repeat itself at the Woking team, as Honda-powered McLaren pair 35-year-old Alonso with highly rated rookie Stoffel Vandoorne for 2017.

Alonso admits the Belgian is good, as he watched him make his one-off race debut last year while recovering from his Melbourne crash.

"Being a rookie and getting a result immediately is not easy, but he did very well," he is quoted by the Spanish sports daily AS.

Nonetheless, Alonso said he is not worried now that Vandoorne is replacing the retiring Jenson Button full-time.

"I remember when I went back to Renault I had (Nelson) Piquet. Then came (Romain) Grosjean who was also going to be very fast and was not.

"The same happened (at Ferrari) with Felipe (Massa): he was at Ferrari for many years and he was not faster. Then Kimi (Raikkonen), who everyone said is a world champion but he was not faster.

"So let's see what happens now. I'm not worried, I'm not afraid," said Alonso.

"He (Vandoorne) is not a driver to fight for the title against me now, because our goal is something else. We must fight but also work together and help the team to make this difficult period as short as possible.

"He (Vandoorne) is a very good driver, he brings fresh air, he's very talented as he demonstrated in GP2 and in Japan last year," Alonso concluded.

Liberty still seeking FIA green light

(GMM) Only one hurdle remains as F1's new owner Liberty Media looks to complete its buyout of the sport.

This week, Liberty's shareholders got together in Colorado to vote on the F1 acquisition, the company headed by US media tycoon John Malone confirmed in a statement.

It said shareholders duly "approved" the purchase, including an official change of name to "Formula One Group".

Liberty said: "The closing of the acquisition remains conditioned upon approval from the FIA, the governing body of formula one."

The company said that approval is likely "before the end of the first quarter in 2017".

Lotus F1 foray 'not a failure' – Lopez

Gerard Lopez

(GMM) Former F1 team owner Gerard Lopez has defended his record in the sport, insisting the Lotus foray was "not a failure".

The Luxembourg entrepreneur, who is now buying the French football club Losc Lille, sold the Enstone based Lotus team to Renault at the end of 2015 for a symbolic single Euro.

But Lopez told the French news agency AFP: "My foray with Lotus was not a failure.

"We took over the team by investing EUR 40 million in debt repurchasing and saved 450 jobs," said Lopez.

"The team had no sponsors but we attracted many of them," he added.

"But when we reached an operational equilibrium, the costs exploded and the sponsors left. We could have closed but we decided to sell, to save 540 employees," said Lopez.

"The team had no debts to its suppliers when we sold to Renault. There was EUR 130 million in debt but that was to the shareholders," he insisted.

Lopez also denied that he left F1 owing wages to team staff.

He continued: "Despite what I have read, Bernie Ecclestone did not take money out of his pocket to pay wages. Lotus was entitled to that money, which was used in part to pay wages."

Kovalainen made bid to replace Bottas

Heikki Kovalainen

(GMM) Former F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen has admitted he made a bid to replace the Mercedes-bound Valtteri Bottas at Williams for 2017.

Amid strong speculation that Bottas would leave the British team, Kovalainen said he recently offered his services to replace his fellow Finn at Williams.

"Yes, I sent Claire (Williams) an email," the 35-year-old, who also drove for Renault and Caterham, told the Finnish broadcaster MTV.

"But they had other plans. Probably many other drivers had sent the same message," added 2008 Hungarian GP winner Kovalainen, who won the Japanese category Super GT in 2016.

Kovalainen said he is now happy with his GT career in Japan.

But he said he will watch the progress of his countryman Valtteri Bottas with interest this year, as the younger Finn replaces reigning world champion Nico Rosberg at Mercedes.

Bottas' teammate is Lewis Hamilton, who was paired at McLaren with Kovalainen in 2008 and 2009.

"I'm not going to predict how Valtteri will go, but he is a very good driver," Kovalainen told Ilta Sanomat newspaper.

"Valtteri has sufficient ability to be at the top. I also believe the cooperation between Valtteri and Lewis will go well. Both are professional drivers," he said.

'No problems' in Bottas-Hamilton pairing – Kovalainen

Kovalainen in 2008 at McLaren when he was Hamilton's teammate

(GMM) Lewis Hamilton's former teammate says Valtteri Bottas should not have any trouble working with the triple world champion in 2017.

"I have good memories with Lewis," said Finn Heikki Kovalainen, who was Hamilton's teammate at McLaren in 2008 and 2009.

"He is a tough teammate and an extremely fast driver but it was nice to work with him," he told Ilta Sanomat newspaper.

"At least I had no problem with him. Lewis is a tough teammate, but there was nothing earth-shattering in terms of what he did.

"He is strong in every way but I don't think it is a problem for Valtteri or any other driver. I do not think there will be any problems," Kovalainen added.

Kovalainen, now the reigning champion of the Japanese Super GT series, admitted that his experience of working with Hamilton is different to the Briton's public perception.

Asked why that is, Kovalainen answered: "I don't want to speculate or guess, but I don't like the image of him myself. I know him better in terms of how he works.

"When you're not in the car, everyone can do as he pleases."

Finally, Kovalainen was asked about the news that Bottas has only been signed by Mercedes for a single year.

He said: "Even if you have a long contract, if it doesn't work out it can in the end be a short contract.

"If it does work and you do good results, then a one year contract can work out well for you."