Latest F1 news in brief

No problem with teammate says Pastor Maldonado

'No problem' between Lotus duo – Maldonado
Marko's 'exceptional juniors' pile pressure on Kvyat
Marko denies making Audi ultimatum
Candidates line up for Force India role
Rosberg happy if Hamilton signs new deal
Briatore facing jail over tax fraud
Michelin pushing for F1 return
Mercedes won't tell me to stop racing again – Lewis Hamilton

'No problem' between Lotus duo – Maldonado
(GMM) Pastor Maldonado has not ramped up the tension with his teammate Romain Grosjean.

In Barcelona, it emerged that tension between the pair was growing over the 'Friday practice' issue, as it is always Grosjean who is giving up his cockpit for reserve Jolyon Palmer.

The strongly PDVSA-backed Maldonado has reportedly refused to budge as his contract guarantees him the seat in each session, but he apparently told journalists in Barcelona that he is willing to give up his car on a Friday if he is asked.

"I have raised it already ten times, and still nothing happens," Grosjean claimed.

Then, on Sunday in Barcelona, the two black E23s collided, resulting in Venezuelan Maldonado having to carry around substantial damage to his rear wing, and eventually retire.

Maldonado, however, claims there is "no problem" between himself and Grosjean, despite their coming-together.

"I talked to him, but there is no problem," he is quoted by Universo.

"It was a very light touch, there was no intention on either side so it is very clear — it's something that happens."

Maldonado has retired from four of the five races so far this year, and is yet to score a single point.

Frenchman Grosjean, meanwhile, says the Enstone team needs to improve.

"We now have a car that is a good base," he told RMC Sport, "but we need new parts as the ones we have are getting a bit old."

Kvyat beginning to look over his shoulder

Marko's 'exceptional juniors' pile pressure on Kvyat
(GMM) Toro Rosso's "exceptional" drivers are free to race their counterparts in the senior Red Bull team.

That is the news of Dr Helmut Marko, the infamous boss of the energy drink company's F1 driver program.

The senior team, headed in the cockpit by Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, is in a deep trough in 2015, caused not only by the Renault engine but also the Milton Keynes-designed car.

Also clear is that the James Key-produced Toro Rosso is arguably the best ever produced by the former Minardi team.

"But we also have two exceptional junior drivers," Marko insisted to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Marko's priority may be to help the senior team out of its rut, but the Austrian is never shy to ramp up the pressure on his Red Bull-stabled drivers.

So he announced there will be no 'team orders' requiring juniors Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz to give way in the races to Ricciardo and Kvyat.

"If we were to tell our young drivers to hold back, that would be completely counterproductive," said Marko. "How would that motivate them?"

Clearly the most pressure is on the shoulders of young Russian Kvyat, who has struggled to shine at Red Bull following his rapid promotion from Toro Rosso this year.

Marko said: "Kvyat lost two seconds each time he was lapping (another car). And Sainz exploited that."

Ultimately, the pair collided right at the end of the Spanish grand prix, but were not penalized by the FIA.

But it is believed that, inside the Red Bull 'energy station' after the race, it was Kvyat who was squarely blamed.

Indeed, Sainz revealed at a sponsor event in Barcelona on Tuesday: "The stewards were asking all of the questions to him."

Meanwhile, British newspapers report that local police have finally arrested the thieves who stole 60 trophies from Red Bull's Milton Keynes factory in January.

"The trophies are slowly being returned", The Times newspaper revealed.

Marko (L) talks with Niki Lauda

Marko denies making Audi ultimatum
(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at reports he issued a new ultimatum about Red Bull's involvement in formula one.

The BBC on Monday quoted the Austrian as declaring: "If we don't have a competitive engine in the near future, then either Audi is coming or we are out."

But Marko now says he was misquoted.

"This what an English journalist published," he is quoted by Bild newspaper, "but it is not the truth."

To Red Bull's own broadcaster Servus TV, Marko added: "The interview was completely distorted — we have the original.

"In short, everything that was published was nonsense but it went all around the world.

"The starting point was that Gerhard Berger expressed a personal opinion that Red Bull and Audi should get together," he explained.

"About this I say: 'Well, that's Gerhard's opinion'. But we currently have a contract with Renault, which still applies until the end of 2016.

"We are in a difficult situation, but we can only get out of it by working together.

"Officially, Audi has spoken neither with us or anyone else — I believe the VW Group has other worries at the moment than taking care of formula one," added Marko.

Esteban Ocon

Candidates line up for Force India role
(GMM) The candidates are lining up to be Force India's official reserve driver.

"We are looking," confirmed deputy team boss Bob Fernley.

Pascal Wehrlein, who is already Mercedes' reserve, was scheduled to drive the Mercedes-powered Force India on the first day of this week's Barcelona test.

But media reports said his outing was called off because the young German has the flu.

So Nick Yelloly, a British midfield driver in GP2, on Tuesday had his Force India debut fast-forwarded.

And reportedly driving the Silverstone-made car on Wednesday will be Esteban Ocon, a highly-promising French 18-year-old driver, who last year beat Max Verstappen in European F3.

Days ago, Mercedes announced that it has signed Ocon to its development program, and he immediately reinforced his promise by winning on debut in GP3.

Ocon is now Mercedes' official reserve driver in the DTM series, with the German carmaker saying he could become "a fully-fledged Mercedes-Benz driver in the future".

"Esteban is a mega-talented young guy and one of the stars of the future," said Toto Wolff.

If Hamilton re-signs with Mercedes, Rosberg (L) will never be world champion

Rosberg happy if Hamilton signs new deal
(GMM) Nico Rosberg says he is happy if Lewis Hamilton stays at Mercedes beyond 2015.

After a long period of negotiation and speculation, the latest reports suggest reigning world champion Hamilton's new contract will finally be unveiled in Monaco.

But "I don't know what will happen," Italy's Autosprint quoted Rosberg as saying at the Barcelona test on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the German utterly humbled the rest of the test field, even improving his pole position time.

It is rumored Mercedes was running a performance evolution of its already-dominant 'power unit', although a smiling Rosberg would not confirm that.

But his mood was undoubtedly also boosted by his form in the Spanish grand prix, having finally broken Hamilton's run of utter superiority.

"I don't know about all that, but I can say that I dominated the weekend and I'm very happy," said Rosberg.

But is he just as happy to hear that Hamilton is reportedly staying at Mercedes in 2016?

"I don't know what will happen," Rosberg began. "But I like to race with him. We have a good rivalry and the atmosphere within the team is good enough.

"Of course it's a hard battle," he added, "but that's what it's like in this sport."

Flavio Briatore sticks tongue at Italian tax collectors

Briatore facing jail over tax fraud
(GMM) Flavio Briatore could face four years in jail over alleged tax fraud.

Five years ago, Italian police seized the former Renault chief's 60-metre luxury yacht Force Blue, saying it was improperly registered as a charter for tax purposes.

The case returned to the Genoa courts this week, according to Italian media reports.

Prosecutors accuse 65-year-old Briatore – who was banned from F1 in 2009 over his involvement in the 'crashgate' scandal – of faking the charter registration to avoid sales, mooring and fuel taxes.

In court this week, "Prosecutors Patrizia Petruzziollo and Walter Cotugno demanded four years in prison for Flavio Briatore", one Italian newspaper said.

Prosecutors, who are also pursuing Briatore's associates, reportedly allege that the unpaid taxes amount to EUR 3.6 million.

Briatore said in January: "If the Guardia di Finanza (tax police) had told me I had to pay, I would have done so without problems."

Michelin pushing for F1 return
(GMM) Michelin has confirmed its interest in returning to formula one.

Italy's Autosprint reported that the former F1 tire supplier could go head-to-head with Pirelli in the forthcoming tender process to become the sport's official partner from 2017.

As the 'tire war' era ended at the end of 2006, and also due to its difficult relationship with the governing FIA, the French marque left F1.

But now, Michelin is eyeing a return.

"We are open to it," said motor sport director Pascal Couasnon, "but there are certain conditions.

"Formula one needs to change the technical regulations — the tire must again be a technical object rather than a tool for a spectacular show," he insisted.

F1 is already considering a change of regulations for 2017, with the current generation of Pirelli tires often criticized for their heavy degradation and low performance.

Today, Michelin is involved in sports cars, world rally and Formula E.

As for F1, Couasnon said: "We want 18-inch tires that we will use in Formula E, and soon in other series.

"If formula one takes our proposals into account, then we are prepared and we have a strong will to return.

"If things stay as they are, we are not interested. So we will submit our application, then it's up to (Bernie) Ecclestone and the FIA whether they accept or not," he added.

Couasnon said Michelin is no longer demanding a new 'tire war', but not if becoming the sole supplier means following the example of the past few years.

He said F1 tires "should have a stable performance and grip level. It is not normal for drivers to say after a few laps 'I have to slow down to save the tires'. This should not be.

"Today formula one drivers cannot show their talent because the tires do not allow it.

"This happens when there is only one manufacturer and no motivation to improve. But if there is a technically interesting rulebook, then you have to develop your best product even if you are the only supplier," he added.

Mercedes won't tell me to stop racing again – Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton was not happy with Mercedes' radio message asking him to back off in the final stint of the Spanish Grand Prix, saying he ignored the call and will make sure it is not made again.

Hamilton's race was compromised by a slow start from second on the grid and a slow first pit stop, which meant he had to adopt a three-stop strategy to get second place back from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. After his final stop he was comfortably ahead of Vettel and had fresh tires on which to attack an 18-second gap to race-leader Rosberg.

When he asked the pit wall about the possibility of catching Rosberg, his engineer, Peter Bonnington, said it was "impossible" and told him to back off. Bonnington proved to be correct, but it was not what Hamilton wanted to hear.

"It's not nice for a driver to hear that," Hamilton said. "I'm here to race, not to finish second so actually I ignored that. Then I was really putting the car on the edge and when I realized that I had seven laps to go and there was still 13 seconds and I was only 0.7s per lap faster, I had to take the smart approach and bring the car home. Still, it's not something you want to hear so I will definitely be making sure that is not said again."

Asked whether he could see Mercedes' point that he should look after the engine, he added: "I think the engine is fine. Naturally, by me pushing he [Rosberg] has to push and that puts both cars at risk I guess."

Hamilton is in no doubt he will fight back at the next round in Monaco.

"I know that I can rectify things at the next race and that's what I plan to do. I've not won that race for a long, long time and this is going to be my third chance with this great team and with a great car. Hopefully third time lucky."