Latest F1 news in brief

Pirelli begins testing 2017 tires

No testing for Sauber, Pirelli starts 2017 running
Renault right to revive Magnussen's career – Coulthard
McLaren-Honda can target podium in 2016 – Alonso
McLaren happy with 2017 rule changes – Boullier
Briatore rules out return to 'boring' F1
Ecclestone holds threat over engine agreement
Pirelli reveals Spanish GP tire selections
Hamilton: Stewards are out to get me
Unions formed so Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz closes his TV station

No testing for Sauber, Pirelli starts 2017 running
(GMM) Sauber will sit out the first in-season test of the 2016 season after next weekend's Spanish grand prix.

The Swiss team, openly struggling financially this year, said one reason for the decision is because it "will not introduce a car update" in Barcelona.

And secondly, according to a Sauber update on Twitter, "We do not have a young test driver available that fulfills the requirements."

F1 rules say at least two of the four days must be dedicated to young driver testing.

Apart from the post-Spanish GP test in Barcelona, there will only be one more in-season test in 2016, following the British grand prix in July.

However, Pirelli has already kicked off its testing program for the all-new 2017 tires, with Jean-Eric Vergne running in a 2014 Ferrari at Fiorano.

"The test today is the first with a formula one car after Pirelli began testing for 2017 with Pastor Maldonado, who drove a GP2 car at Mugello and Montmelo (Barcelona)," revealed Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Kevin Magnussen

Renault right to revive Magnussen's career – Coulthard
(GMM) David Coulthard has hailed the performance of Kevin Magnussen after the Dane opened Renault's points account in Russia last weekend.

The occupant of the sister yellow car, Jolyon Palmer, is under pressure to up his game but former F1 driver Coulthard said Magnussen is doing a good job.

"It was a great performance," said the Scot after Russia, "and exactly why Renault brought him back into formula one."

Coulthard, now a presenter and commentator for British television, was referring to former McLaren driver Magnussen's feat of finishing seventh at Sochi at the wheel of the uncompetitive works Renault.

He told Viasat: "He took the opportunity and was humble enough to say that the result was due to exploiting others' mistakes."

Coulthard predicts a potentially bright future for the 23-year-old.

"He has the potential to win races," said the former Red Bull and McLaren driver, "and once you do that, then you are a potential world champion.

"Right now with the car he has he cannot show that potential and the situation he came out of at McLaren was slightly stale, which is how it is sometimes in formula one.

"But he possesses all the necessary skills," Coulthard added. "I hope he will get the opportunity to show them."

Alonso tells Dennis he thinks the car is getting fast enough to target podiums

McLaren-Honda can target podium in 2016 – Alonso
(GMM) Fernando Alonso says a podium goal might not be too far away for McLaren-Honda in 2016.

The Spaniard opened his points account at Sochi with a strong sixth place, although he admitted the result flattered the true pace of the Anglo-British team's package.

"We are happy with how things are going and we want to win, but Mercedes is in another league," Alonso told Spanish radio Cadena Cope this week.

"In 2016 we started slowly but we are always improving in leaps and bounds, race after race, and always with high expectations," he added.

"Everything we introduce is as expected, but in Russia we were also lucky. It is a circuit that favors us and we also benefited from several accidents in a race that was not normal," said Alonso.

McLaren-Honda at least had a good weekend when it comes to reliability, with Alonso contrasting a "perfect" Sochi 2016 to "the races last year when more or less we were tossing a coin for things to go wrong".

The continuing Achilles Heel, however, is the Honda power unit, amid suggestions the Japanese manufacturer will take its time to introduce upgrades this year.

"In the next few races we are going to get very important things in terms of aerodynamics and the chassis," said Alonso. "It's not envisaged that there is anything important for the engine in the next races but the goal of having the best chassis on the grid is getting closer.

"In Barcelona we will basically have a new car," he revealed.

"Until we get something for engine power, let's think about going fast in the corners. Circuits like Barcelona and Monaco are coming where the chassis is important and the engine not so much. Then we have a good chance.

"I think that with more improvements and a little more power, and a race such as Russia where we finished sixth with relative ease, why can't we finish second or third?" said Alonso.

"There are 17 grands prix remaining and we will not throw in the towel," he added.

Eric Boullier happy with changes

McLaren happy with 2017 rule changes – Boullier
(GMM) One team happy with the new rules for 2017 is McLaren-Honda, according to its boss Eric Boullier.

Many drivers and some teams, like Mercedes, voiced opposition to the changes but Boullier said "Mercedes was against it because they are dominating" under the current regime.

For 2017, the cars and tires are getting bigger and faster, while over the next two years the engine regulations are also being significantly tweaked.

"The elimination of the (engine) token system from 2017 is quite clearly important," Frenchman Boullier told Speed Week correspondent Agnes Carlier.

"It is also good that the cost for customer teams will be capped, which will help them," he added.

Boullier suggested, however, that the changes could actually have gone further.

"It was a very long process, the teams invested many hours in changing for the future although I'm not sure if it will really change very much," he said.

The car regulations compromise was actually based on a blueprint devised by McLaren. "As the rules change even a bit, we have a better chance," said Boullier.

"The competitors however have established their chassis over several years and while we are catching up, it takes time."

But he said 2017 and beyond should be better for those teams who specialize in making the chassis, predicting: "In the coming years Red Bull and us will have a solid chassis."

Boullier said key F1 rivals have already noticed the progress McLaren is making.

"Daniel Ricciardo praised our chassis and said that they are watching us very closely. That's a sign. McLaren and Red Bull are perhaps the best organized teams," he said.

"We are not far away now and the engine will be repeatedly upgraded all season," Boullier revealed.

The first big chassis step is coming for Barcelona, he revealed, arguing that McLaren is already "behind Williams and Toro Rosso" in the pecking order.

Then, added Boullier, it will be up to Honda to also keep improving.

"It is important that Honda can speed up the process," he said, "and understand that formula one means first actions and decisions and then analysis and planning."

The new Briatore (L)

Briatore rules out return to 'boring' F1
(GMM) Flavio Briatore has ruled out returning to formula one.

The flamboyant Italian left F1 in disgrace amid the 'crashgate' scandal, but he is still close to Bernie Ecclestone and recently attended a meeting over the future of Monza's embattled race.

But he told Chi, an Italian gossip weekly: "The circuit is not a place for me anymore. Mine was a final goodbye.

"The 'show' of racing has gone to MotoGP," Briatore, who won world championships as boss of Benetton and Renault, said.

"F1 is much more advanced (than MotoGP) technologically-speaking, but it is boring and has moved away from the public."

Briatore, 66, said he has even given up on the idea of entering politics.

"Now it is just rumors. I thought about it," Briatore admitted, "but now I think of it no more."

Finally, Briatore responded to those who have seen recent photographs of him and concluded that he has obviously had plastic surgery.

"I said goodbye to my old image by going on a crash diet, but do I need to answer to or justify myself to anyone? I don't think so," he said.

Ecclestone can threaten engine parity, but the Aldo Costa designed Mercedes will always be fastest

Ecclestone holds threat over engine agreement
Bernie Ecclestone says he will look to tear up Formula One's recent engine agreement if the manufacturers cannot achieve performance convergence.

The FIA announced a new "global agreement" on power unit regulations last week aimed at reducing power unit supply costs by â‚¬4 million in two years, ensuring a supply of up-to-date power units for all teams, encouraging performance converge between manufacturers and improving the noise of the engines. Since the introduction of the current V6 turbo hybrids, Mercedes has held an advantage over its rivals which Ferrari, Renault and Honda have struggled to close.

In order to bring about performance convergence in the next two seasons, the FIA will introduce constraints on boost pressure and limit the materials used by manufacturers in their power units. It will also remove the token system for next year, which currently limits the amount of upgrades a manufacturer can bring to the track each season.

The agreement was voted through by the F1 Commission last week, but Ecclestone said he was only really concerned with performance convergence.

"I didn't mind which way it went, it doesn't make any difference to us," he said. "The only thing was that we just wanted the engines to be equal."

Asked if he thought that would happen, he said: "Let's wait and see. If not, it will all be torn up and we will start again with a new set of regulations where the engines might be easier.

"The normally aspirated [V8] engines that we had before were more or less equal. There was little difference and they had more or less reached the maximum. It was just a case of bolting on the hybrid stuff that works, and that's where the problems would start."

Ecclestone said engines would not have become so political if Mercedes or Ferrari had been willing to supply Red Bull with power units this year.

"We wouldn't have had this discussion, and we wouldn't have any problems trying to change anything, had Mercedes or Ferrari agreed to supply Red Bull an engine," he added.

Pirelli reveals Spanish GP tire selections
Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli has revealed the tire compound selections which drivers have made for next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, under revised 2016 regulations.

For 2016, each driver will receive 13 dry-weather sets per Grand Prix, with Pirelli choosing two sets for the race (only one of which must be used), and a set of the softest compound, only for use in Q3.

Drivers are free to select any combination of the chosen compounds for the other 10 sets.

For the first time this year, the orange-marked Hard tire will be used at a race weekend, alongside the Medium and Soft compounds.

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have both opted for one set of Hards, five Mediums and seven Softs.

Ferrari, meanwhile, have selected an extra set of Soft tires at the expense of a set of Mediums, compared to their rivals from Mercedes.

Williams has mirrored Mercedes' choice, while Red Bull has selected two sets of Hard tires, four Mediums and seven Softs.

The yellow-marked Soft tires are favored by the majority of the teams.

Spanish Grand Prix tire choices (Hard/Medium/Soft):
Lewis Hamilton: 1/5/7
Nico Rosberg: 1/5/7
Sebastian Vettel: 1/4/8
Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen: 1/4/8
Felipe Massa: 1/5/7
Valtteri Bottas: 1/5/7
Daniel Ricciardo: 2/4/7
Daniil Kvyat: 2/4/7
Nico HÃ¼lkenberg: 2/5/6
Sergio Pérez: 2/5/6
Kevin Magnussen: 2/4/7
Jolyon Palmer: 1/5/7
Max Verstappen: 1/6/6
Carlos Sainz Jr.: 2/5/6
Fernando Alonso: 1/5/7
Jenson Button: 1/5/7
Marcus Ericsson: 2/6/5
Felipe Nasr: 2/6/5
Pascal Wehrlein: 2/5/6
Rio Haryanto: 2/5/6
Romain Grosjean: 2/3/8
Esteban Gutiérrez: 1/4/8

Hamilton is paranoid

Hamilton: Stewards are out to get me
After narrowly avoiding a grid penalty during the Russian Grand Prix weekend, World Champion Lewis Hamilton has claimed that F1 stewards are out to get him.

The Mercedes driver received his second reprimand of the season after the he rejoined the track incorrectly during the qualifying sessions. This coming after the Brit was reprimanded in Bahrain for reversing in the pitlane.

If for some reason Hamilton gets a third warning, he will get a ten-place grid penalty, something he says is bound to happen while also adding that he is no stranger to being picked on by officials.

“I’m just aware that there’s most likely going to be at least one ten-place penalty in the future because I’ve got one more reprimand to go," the 31-year-old revealed to Sky Sports.

“The last one was bloody ridiculous.

“It’s quite funny. When I was in karting there was one steward, he was just there to make everyone’s weekend a bad weekend. And I’m starting to have reminiscent experiences.

“Families would turn up and spend so much money to be there for weekend. There was one guy– complete a***hole this guy was, I heard he’s still there — he was just there to ruin peoples weekend. I’m starting to see signs of him."

Unions formed so Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz closes his TV station
Red Bull founder and Formula 1 team owner Dietrich Mateschitz is pulling the plug on his private television channel ServusTV by the end of June.

Mateschitz saw a recent circulation of an email "outside ServusTV" asking employees to vote internally on the formation of a representation of employees supported by unions, the latter much disliked by the 71-year-old.

On Tuesday night the employees of ServusTV began an initiative to persuade Mateschitz to reconsider his decision, stressing they would need no representation or union.
Mateschitz has so far not responded.