Latest F1 news in brief

Marchionne targets a Ferrari win in Melbourne. Good luck with that.

Marchionne targets Melbourne win for Ferrari
Vettel not sure Verstappen ready for Ferrari
Mercedes drivers understand team axe warning – Wolff
21-race calendar 'not feasible' for F1 teams – Wolff
Manor talks about Wehrlein to last 'weeks' – Wolff
Prost also worried about F1's downforce plan
Dennis steadfast on high McLaren sponsor 'rate card'
Force India: Celis Jr. must earn race seat
Rossi encouraged by F1 growth in the US

Marchionne targets Melbourne win for Ferrari
(GMM) Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says the Maranello team should start 2016 with an immediate win.

After a tumultuous 2014 campaign, the Italian outfit regrouped impressively this year, but Sebastian Vettel only won three times versus Mercedes' combined 16.

"Mercedes will continue to be strong next year," F1 legend Alain Prost predicted in an interview with Bild newspaper.

Former Ferrari designer Aldo Costa now designs the Mercedes F1 car. Marchionne is dreaming if he thinks the Ferrari can beat the Mercedes. The German camp actually increased the gap this year.

"Ferrari will move closer again, but I see Mercedes in front of them, and then Red Bull," the Frenchman added.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo agrees that Mercedes may be too big a challenge for its main rivals in 2016, telling Perth Now that he thinks the German camp actually "increased the gap this year".

"I don't want to get too excited," said the Australian. "Obviously I probably set too high expectations at the start of the year, so I think the next goal is to play it down and see what happens."

Ferrari's Vettel has a similar view, arguing that Mercedes' level of dominance is perhaps unprecedented — and greater even than his run of four consecutive titles at Red Bull between 2010-2013.

"Honestly, we never had that level of domination," the German told the Spanish sports daily Marca.

"The first year I won by a few points only to Fernando (Alonso), Mark (Webber) and Lewis (Hamilton). And then in 2012, the first seven races had seven different winners.

"That's very different to what we have now," said Vettel.

"The rules are not changing much for next year," he continued, "and it is likely that Mercedes will be very strong again."

As far as official goals go, however, Ferrari chiefs Marchionne and team boss Maurizio Arrivabene are targeting nothing but the best.

"If I'm completely honest," Arrivabene also said at Ferrari's Christmas party, "we do not want to be closer to Mercedes, but ahead of them. With all humility, just being close to Mercedes cannot be our goal."

President Marchionne agrees.

"The balance sheet of Ferrari is good," he is quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "What we need now is results on the track. It is important to win the first race of the season in Australia.

"I know the work that has been done quietly by the team, without making a fuss. But now we win," Marchionne added.

Vettel thinks Verstappen needs more seasoning. After all, he was outqualified by his teammate this year, then drove like a maniac in the races.

Vettel not sure Verstappen ready for Ferrari
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel is not sure F1 teen sensation Max Verstappen is ready for a Ferrari seat.

Showered with praise and awards at the end of his exciting and impressive rookie season, 18-year-old Dutchman Verstappen has also been linked with a move to a top team.

Max will stay at Toro Rosso next year, but his father Jos has is keeping the door wide open for a change of scene for 2017, even though Red Bull says he has a long-term contract.

Speaking of contracts, Kimi Raikkonen's deal at Ferrari will end next year and the 36-year-old Finn has said speculation about Verstappen is to be expected.

"It wouldn't have been normal if there wasn't talk," he said.

"There was a lot of talk that he was too young but he has done a good job and you can have a lot of experience even when you're young — these days they start young," Raikkonen added.

But although they get on well, Raikkonen's Ferrari teammate Vettel is not sure he agrees with the assessment that Verstappen is ready for a top drive.

"Next year Kimi is clearly here (at Ferrari) and then I don't know, but I hope he stays," the German told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

Told that Verstappen reminds many experts, insiders and pundits of a young Schumacher, or even a young Vettel, Sebastian answered: "I don't know. There are many drivers coming up, some younger than others.

"All I know is that he is much younger than Michael or even myself were when we started in F1. I think it is always difficult to compare.

"You can try to (compare) with numbers, but people are always different. Max has been brilliant in many races and deserves congratulations, but he is also very young and still has a very long way to go," Vettel added.

Toto Wolff

Mercedes drivers understand team axe warning – Wolff
(GMM) Mercedes chief Toto Wolff thinks the dominant team's two drivers have heard his warning about the intensity of their feud.

As the 2015 season ended recently with the silver camp sweeping 16 of the 19 wins, Wolff nonetheless warned that if Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's bickering spills into the overall "team spirit", Mercedes would have to make a change.

"The drivers know what I meant," Wolff said at the weekend at Mercedes' end-of-year 'Stars and Cars' event in Stuttgart, when asked about his recent comments.

"The spirit of the team is essential — it is one of the qualities that makes us what we are now."

Nico Rosberg, however, said he thinks that spirit is intact, adding: "I have to thank Toto for his great management. If he has a few extra grey hairs, I guess that is our fault!"

And Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport also quoted world champion Lewis Hamilton as adding: "I very much agree with Nico — I don't think there was anything negative about our competition this year.

"We will continue to communicate and correct ourselves if there are problems — but there isn't a problem," said the Briton.

Wolff, meanwhile, continued: "We do not want this to be understood in any way as us limiting the duel between Lewis in Nico. Our philosophy was clear that we wanted to have two top drivers in the team in order to win the world championship.

"But although we are very competitive, it is important to know how to contain the situation and prevent damage to the team," he added.

Finally, Hamilton spoke about his mysterious end-of-year form slump, in which Rosberg rounded out the season with a hat-trick of dominant wins from pole.

"Actually I look at it as a blessing in disguise," he is quoted as saying.

"If I had won them, I would have had so many wins in the season and I might have approached next one with less of a buzz," said Hamilton.

Trying to explain the reason for the slump, meanwhile, he added: "I'm sure it was a combination of things.

"First there is the great job done by Nico, then I believe he adapted very well to the changes to the car, and once I won the championship – although I was still pushing – maybe subconsciously I was a bit more relaxed," he said.

Wolff against longer calendar

21-race calendar 'not feasible' for F1 teams – Wolff
(GMM) F1 is pushing teams beyond breaking point by expanding the calendar to an unprecedented 21 races in 2016.

That is the warning of Toto Wolff, who said that although Mercedes once again dominated this year, the 19-race calendar pushed some team members to the brink.

"We have already seen that 19 races is pushing the physical and mental limits," he is quoted by the German news agency SID in Stuttgart.

So Wolff said adding another two grands prix next year – the debut of the race in Azerbaijan, and Germany's return to the calendar – is simply too much.

"It is no longer possible in my opinion," said the Austrian. "This is simply no longer feasible."

The previous maximum number of races allowed under the provisions of the Concorde Agreement – 20 – was raised to 21 by a vote at the recent World Motor Sport Council.

Wolff said: "This is a complex issue. Maybe we need to introduce a second layer (of staff) in order to give our people some more recovery time.

"We want to get the maximum performance from the team, and that does not happen if they are working 365 days a year," he added.

Mercedes will almost definitely put Wehrlein in one of the two Manor seats

Manor talks about Wehrlein to last 'weeks' – Wolff
(GMM) It will be "weeks" before Manor is ready to announce its drivers for 2016.

That is the claim of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who is privy to the British backmarker's apparent timescale because of his negotiations over the future of Pascal Wehrlein.

German Wehrlein, 21, is waiting patiently for news but says he is also open to defending his title in DTM or even switching to GP2, following a recent test in Abu Dhabi.

"Of course it would be nice if I could drive in F1," the 2015 Mercedes reserve is quoted by Sueddeutsche newspaper, "but it is not in my hands."

Manor is now the last F1 team whose driver plans for 2016 are completely unclear, with Will Stevens, Alexander Rossi and Indonesian GP2 driver Rio Haryanto all also in the running.

"In four or five weeks we should have clarity," Wolff is quoted by SID news agency.

"The situation is that we want to have the right cockpit for him. Pascal has what it takes to succeed in formula one, but everything needs to be right as well."

He is referring to what he calls the "financial reality" of the talks, with Manor understood to be charging as much as EUR 15 million per Mercedes-powered seat for 2016.

"If it doesn't work out and Pascal stays in DTM, then we would give him many kilometers in our formula one cars," Wolff promised.

Wehrlein added: "If it does not work for next year, then I'm very happy to go back to DTM and try again for 2017."

Alain Prost. The lame cars just need to sound better

Prost also worried about F1's downforce plan
(GMM) Alain Prost has backed Lewis Hamilton in worrying about F1's plans for the future.

With the sport acknowledging the need to speed up, world champion Hamilton nonetheless blasted an apparent plan to slash laptimes simply by adding downforce to the cars.

"That's the worst idea and just shows people don't know what they are trying to solve," said the Briton, who thinks the biggest problem with F1 is how difficult it is to follow and pass a rival.

And F1 legend and quadruple world champion Prost, to be involved with the new Renault works team for 2016, has obviously heard similar plans about 2017 and beyond.

When asked by the German newspaper Bild about the regulations of today, the 60-year-old admitted: "The show could be better. There are a few things I would change.

"I would like to see the cars with more power and more mechanical grip. The tires should be wide and the aerodynamics not playing a major role.

"Actually, the exact opposite of what they are planning now!" the famous Frenchman laughed.

Asked what else should change, Prost continued: "The driver should not get as much help as he is, so the communication with the pits should be restricted.

"The big problem with formula one is that they are messing about with certain issues (rules), when actually the whole thing should be dealt with as a whole."

Stubborn Ron Dennis – running McLaren into the ground

Dennis steadfast on high McLaren sponsor 'rate card'
Ron Dennis has assured that McLaren remains in a favorable financial situation despite the loss of key sponsors in recent years and a forthcoming drop in prize money after its dismal 2015 F1 season, insisting he won't drop rates in order to lure more backers.

Considered one of the strongest brands in the sport having forged iconic relationships with the likes of Marlboro, West and Vodafone over the years, McLaren has nonetheless struggled to build on its portfolio of sponsors since then.

Having failed to replace Vodafone as its title sponsor, McLaren had persevered with less lucrative partnerships with Diageo (Johnnie Walker), TAG Heuer and ExxonMobil, but the former two will likely defect to Force India and Red Bull for 2016.

Coupled to a plummeting prize money fund as a legacy of its dismal 2015 season, the first year in its high profile relationship with engine supplier and key partner Honda, it has been suggested that McLaren may be forced to budget more stringently for 2016.

However, Dennis refutes this, saying other strands of the business are performing very well, while it hasn't had to direct funds to erstwhile engine supplier Mercedes either.

"Do I lose sleep over sponsors? No I don't. We're strong, very strong, financially and the equity value of our company is now well over Â£1bn and all of our businesses are profitable," he said. "We're profitable and our technology company, which lost last year, will report a nominal profit this year. There was a lot of non-repairing cost last year as we transcended from Mercedes, who were pretty severe on us fiscally in the last year, and we had a lot of restructuring costs and things like that."

Reflecting on whether McLaren's brand has become diluted, Dennis plays down the defections, but maintains he will remain 'robust on the rate card' and not entice more sponsors to have a prominent presence for less money.

"Things are rarely as they appear to be and certainly, in this instance, the simple fact is that we didn't lose Vodafone, they chose to stop," he continued. "There's a big difference because big corporations have senior management changes and it's inevitable when you have senior management changes, they have a different perspective. In respect of Vodafone, we were just caught up in these changes.

"Then there are inevitably other challenges, which is, when you start to wrestle with competitiveness, people inevitably try to use that to optimize their commercial relationship with the team. I'm very robust on rate card so I have the overview as chief executive of the group where the revenue streams are, and it's my job to predict where we're going to go.

"You don't need to be an Einstein to know that the climate for F1 and sports sponsorship overall is challenging – I don't think you've seen a new sponsor at Ferrari in the last two years for example – and the worst thing you can do is get into a situation where you drop your rate card and everything spins out of control." Crash.net

Alfonso Celis Jr.

Force India: Celis Jr. must earn race seat
Alfonso Celis Jr. has been given no guarantees that his new development role will lead to a race seat, according to Force India Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer.

Mexican driver Celis Jr., who joined the team last month, recently made his Formula 1 test debut in Abu Dhabi, and is set to take part in seven practice sessions next year.

While the packed program indicates that Force India is preparing him for a full-time drive in the future, Szafnauer says Celis Jr., 19, needs to earn a promotion.

"We're going to do the best we can for Alfonso, and then you've got to go and earn your race seat – it's not automatic," Szafnauer explained to GPUpdate.net.

"We only put drivers in the car that we think are better than the ones we have today, so there's no reason [to change the driver line-up] if somebody isn't capable.

"We're here to do the best we can on the track, that's our focus."

Sergio Pérez and Nico HÃ¼lkenberg are to continue as team-mates for a third successive season in 2016, and Szafnauer admits it would take a lot to prompt a change for 2017.

"It will be hard for somebody to break into that, but we'll give him the best opportunity," added Szafnauer.

"If we develop him we'll put him in. If not he may develop to a level where somebody else will take him.

"That happened with Jules Bianchi, for example, who went from a development driver role here at Force India to Marussia, so there are opportunities, not just here, but at other teams."

Celis Jr. spent the 2015 campaign competing in both Formula Renault 3.5 and GP3, recording one podium finish in the latter category at the Spa-Francorchamps round.

Alexander Rossi knows he has to buy a seat in the backmarker Manor team. If he can't raise enough money, he won't have a ride, regardless of how good he is.

Rossi encouraged by F1 growth in the US
Alexander Rossi says he is encouraged by the growth of Formula 1 in his native United States, but is wary that it could be a long process before it is recognized as a major sport in the country.

The United States has long been targeted as an important market for Formula 1, with the situation aided by the presence of the Circuit of the Americas, which joined the calendar in 2012, and the debut of Rossi, who participated in five Grands Prix for Manor Marussia in 2015.

One of those events was his home race in Austin and Rossi pointed out that the commitment of fans, in spite of relentless adverse weather conditions, demonstrates Formula 1's growing popularity in the nation.

"Definitely, it's growing," Rossi told GPUpdate.net, when asked about Formula 1's popularity in the US.

"It's a slow growth, but the interest is increasing and the fan base is increasing. I think the people that are fans of Formula 1 are hardcore fans.

"Just look at the people who stood through the weather we had in Austin, which was absolutely diabolical.

"The fact that they stood there for three days, in soaking-wet conditions, with cars not running, shows that they're very committed to the sport."

Rossi reckons the arrival of the new US-based Haas outfit will further boost awareness of the sport.

"I think that having Haas come next year is a big bonus for the American fan base," he explained.

"Hopefully I can get a full-time [Formula 1] seat. It will continue to grow, but it's a long process and there's still quite a long way to gain the traction of NASCAR or any of the ball sports.

"But it's definitely going up, which is better than going down."