Latest F1 news in brief

Fernando Alonso

Alonso not happy as Pirelli 'goes soft'
Alonso hits back after 'dark and moody' jibe
Massa 'not worried' about Williams future
Hulkenberg 'no F1 critic' after Porsche debut
Ricciardo cool on struggling Kvyat's contribution
Vettel happy if Raikkonen stays
'Party animal' Hamilton vs 'couch potato' Rosberg
Lotus weighing up 'Crashtor' Maldonado
Video: Fernando Alonso stands alongside a hologram of his idol Ayrton Senna

Alonso not happy as Pirelli 'goes soft'
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has criticized Pirelli's decision to 'go soft' for the rest of the 2015 season.

The official F1 supplier's Paul Hembery declared this week that, in an effort to prompt more exciting three-stop strategies, Pirelli will lean towards bringing the softer compound tires in its range to races from now on.

"It's their decision," McLaren driver Alonso said in Barcelona.

But "I'm not a huge fan of changing philosophy in the middle of the championship — you should stay with the original idea and the philosophy," the Spaniard, recognized as one of the very best drivers in formula one, added.

Alonso said softer compounds may actually help struggling McLaren, but he remains unenthusiastic about a mid-season philosophy switch.

"I say that they should stay with whatever was the original plan because they could change the result of the championship," he insisted.

Fernando Alonso

Alonso hits back after 'dark and moody' jibe
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has hit back at former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo's claim that the Spaniard was "dark and moody" last year.

Although the Italian team's long-time president is also no longer wearing red, Montezemolo claimed he participated in the decision to look into the future with Sebastian Vettel.

Alonso hit back on Thursday.

"I think it's normal" that Montezemolo would say that, Alonso is quoted by Spain's El Mundo Deportivo in Barcelona.

"They see you happy and satisfied and it's maybe difficult to accept the decisions I took last year, especially because I had an offer to stay in Ferrari until 2019," he revealed.

"It has to be hard to be told no," Alonso added.

Now, however, the overwhelming feeling in the paddock is that Alonso, 33, made a serious error in leaving Ferrari just as the team was entering a period of resurgence.

And now McLaren team boss Eric Boullier is saying McLaren-Honda might take up to four years to get up to title-winning speed.

"Well," Alonso said on Thursday, "if I could sign now that in four years I will win, yes (I would) — but it is no guarantee."

Teammate Jenson Button – also a former world champion – told a reporter on Thursday that McLaren is "definitely not" in crisis.

But the Spanish daily Marca reports that Honda officials are actually housing themselves in a separate 'motor home' in the Barcelona paddock this weekend.

Button insisted: "They're not an engine supplier, they're a partner."

And Alonso says he definitely has the "patience" to wait for success.

"I never had any clear expectations," said the Spaniard. "It is true that the difficulties are a bit bigger than we – everybody in the team – thought," he told F1's official website.

"But at the same time the recovery is better than we thought."

Finally, Alonso said he has "no concerns" about racing through Barcelona's turn three this weekend, even though a mysterious crash there in winter testing sidelined him for a month.

The FIA has now ordered an additional video camera be placed in the corner, in apparent recognition that it is not sure exactly what happened on February 22.

"I'm back here with full confidence," Alonso insisted, "and full motivation to deliver a good result in front of a home crowd."

Felipe Massa

Massa 'not worried' about Williams future
(GMM) Felipe Massa had a simple message as he prepared for the Spanish grand prix — I'm not worried.

The paddock rumor mill is whispering loudly about the Ferrari-themed future of his current Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Former Ferrari driver Massa, on the other hand, is hoping he will stay at Grove for another year.

It is believed Massa, 34, signed a two-year contract when he arrived last season, with the team able to trigger a further one-year 'option' this July.

"I see no reason to worry about the future," the 11-time grand prix winner told Brazil's Globo in Barcelona.

"I also see no reason for Williams to think about changing something. So I am calm."

Massa also insisted he is not worried that Williams' resurgence appears now to be coming to an end, after it was overtaken by Ferrari so far in 2015.

Not only that, the hugely-resourced Red Bull team has arrived in Barcelona with a big upgrade package, and also making rapid progress is the McLaren-Honda giant.

"With what we have, we are doing a great job," Massa said.

"If you are not on the right track with a lower budget, then you have a serious problem. But the proof that Williams is on the right track is that we are the team that has signed the most new sponsors," he insisted.

Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg 'no F1 critic' after Porsche debut
(GMM) Nico Hulkenberg has played down his reported deliberations over a full-time future at Le Mans.

Between Bahrain and Barcelona, the German made his world endurance sports car debut driving Porsche's prototype at Spa, ahead of his high-profile Le Mans bow next month.

Reports after Spa suggested Hulkenberg is now considering a permanent switch to the increasingly popular world of sports cars, particularly as his F1 career has stalled for now.

Earlier, the struggling Force India team said it was targeting an Austrian grand prix debut for its much-needed 'B car', but now it emerges that the wait will go on until Silverstone two weeks later.

"That (the news about Austria) was probably a communication error," Hulkenberg, towing the line that Silverstone was always the intended debut date, is quoted by DPA news agency.

Indeed, technical boss Andy Green says Silverstone is the only race that makes sense for the 'B' debut, given that the car can be tested for two days after Austria at the Red Bull Ring.

"To race the car there (in Austria) without any preparation would make no sense," he told Auto Motor und Sport, "as there is so much on it that is new."

Until then, Hulkenberg admits, Force India will struggle.

"In Barcelona you need downforce," he said, "and that is what we lack. The hard tires are also not good for us, and unlike the other teams we have not improved the car."

Many are therefore wondering if it would not make more sense for Hulkenberg to follow Mark Webber's lead and switch permanently to Porsche.

Given his recent experience at Spa, Hulkenberg was asked whether he likes F1 or prototype racing better now.

"That's like comparing apples and oranges," he told Speed Week.

"I'm not one of these great critics of formula one. For me, it's two different things.

"Both are racing, they're both on a track, but they cannot be compared," Hulkenberg, 27, insisted.

Daniel Ricciardo happy to work with Kvyat

Ricciardo cool on struggling Kvyat's contribution
(GMM) In the space of four races, Daniil Kvyat has gone from rising sensation to arguable liability.

Outspoken 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Red Bull is now paying for its "arrogant" driver choice in having replaced the Ferrari-bound quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel with a 20-year-old Russian wielding only a year of F1 experience.

It is true that Red Bull is struggling in 2015, and also true is that rumors the team is considering replacing Kvyat with new sensation Max Verstappen for 2016 are swirling around the paddock.

Daniel Ricciardo, now Red Bull's senior driver, was asked in Barcelona if Kvyat's lack of experience is hurting the team following Vettel's exit.

"It's hard to say," the Australian answered, according to Speed Week.

"Of course, Sebastian built up a good relationship with the team and also gave good feedback thanks to his experience," said Ricciardo.

"Daniil also gives his feedback and it's hard to say whether it's right or wrong.

"I don't know if Sebastian's departure has hurt us — I hope not. We are both doing our best to help the team."

What is undeniable is that Kvyat's star has faded dramatically over the course of his travels through Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain.

"You just have to keep believing in your abilities," the young Russian told f1news.ru in Spain, "without paying attention to what, let's say the less-informed people are saying."

Vettel wants Raikkonen to stay on

Vettel happy if Raikkonen stays
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel says he would be happy if Kimi Raikkonen remains his teammate beyond 2015.

Williams' Valtteri Bottas on Thursday did not deny that he might be driving for a different team in 2016, amid rumors the young Finn's future is Ferrari-red.

The existing Maranello duo of Vettel and personal friend Raikkonen, however, currently has the backing of their boss Maurizio Arrivabene, even though he is refusing to lock it in for 2016 just yet.

"If I am going to say yes (to Raikkonen), I don't want the driver to fall asleep. I want to keep him awake," Arrivabene said three weeks ago in Bahrain.

German Vettel said he would be happy if Raikkonen stays.

"My contract lasts longer than his," the German is quoted by Italy's Autosprint, "but if he does continue with us next year it would be a good thing.

"We work well together and I think the team knows it," Vettel added.

For the moment, the more pressing issue for the Ferrari duo is making up ground to F1 pacesetter Mercedes.

Mercedes' team chairman Niki Lauda said this week that, heading into Barcelona, there is now nothing separating the silver and red competitors.

"Lauda said so? I think Niki says many things," Vettel smiled in Barcelona.

Ferrari's upgrade package for Spain is arguably bigger than Mercedes', but Raikkonen also takes issue with claims the pair are now level-pegging.

"We know that they (Mercedes) have the best engine and chassis, so we are still working hard to reduce the gap," said the Finn.

"It's normal that everyone brings new parts to the first race in Europe, so I don't think the situation is going to change very much this weekend," he added.

Knowing the 2015 F1 title is his, Hamilton is partying hard

'Party animal' Hamilton vs 'couch potato' Rosberg
(GMM) As far as one German newspaper is concerned, the contrast between Mercedes' two drivers could not be more stark.

In the three-week 'break' between Bahrain and Spain, Nico Rosberg stayed with his pregnant wife in their Monaco apartment and made one trip to their second home in Ibiza.

Hamilton, on the other hand, is the "party animal" to Rosberg's "couch potato", the major German daily Bild headlined.

The newspaper said Hamilton racked up 45,000 kilometers in his red, $30 million private Bombardier jet during the F1 calendar gap.

He collected his dog Roscoe from Monaco and travelled to London, from there flew to a photo shoot in Mallorca, attended a Mercedes event at Monza, visited friends in Los Angeles and then watched the Floyd Mayweather fight in Las Vegas before heading to a fashion show in New York.

World champion Hamilton, who is dominating the 2015 season so far, then returned to Europe for a stint in Mercedes' simulator before travelling to Barcelona.

According to Bild, it was akin to circumnavigating the globe.

"I am probably the happiest I have been for a long, long time. Career-wise and then outside (F1)," said the Briton as he prepared for the Spanish grand prix on Thursday.

Elsewhere, German Rosberg was being asked by a reporter in Barcelona if he has become "a bit slower" in 2015, perhaps as a result of losing the "psychological" war to his on-form teammate.

"Thank you very much for your kind question!" Rosberg replied sarcastically.

"Of course the results speak for themselves. It's pretty clear. That's it."

But as well as getting on terms with Hamilton, the struggling 29-year-old Rosberg must also look nervously over his shoulder, as Sebastian Vettel is just a single point behind and this weekend at the wheel of a vastly-upgraded Ferrari.

"Yes, there's not much in it," Rosberg told Bild.

"But I have a better car and in qualifying our advantage is even bigger," he added.

Pastor 'Crash' Maldonado

Lotus weighing up 'Crashtor' Maldonado
(GMM) Pastor Maldonado seems to be losing the battle in trying to shake off his 'Crashtor' nickname.

One dedicated website mischievously asks 'HasMaldonadoCrashedToday.com'?, but until now it has been assumed the Venezuelan driver's lucrative, government-backed sponsorship almost guarantees him a place on the grid.

But Lotus chief executive Matthew Carter this week insisted "no driver" is immune from the need to perform in formula one, even though Maldonado undoubtedly helps to balance the budget.

"Pastor's had a bit of an eventful start to his season and his car seems to have a target painted on it for other drivers," deputy team boss Federico Gastaldi argued recently.

Maldonado, meanwhile, insists all the criticism doesn't bother him.

"Not at all," he told Britain's Sky. "For sure, sometimes you are reading it and looking at the social networks, but it's normal.

"It seems like every time I have a mistake or a crash, even coming from other drivers, it's my fault."

Maldonado does not only blame his racing critics, but also "political opponents" of the ruling party in Venezuela, given his controversial backing by the state-owned oil company PDVSA.

"For sure it's a big pressure, but at the same time you survive with it. Formula one is like that — it's all about pressure, isn't it?" the 30-year-old added.

But some of that pressure may now also be coming from within the team itself, perhaps as it weighs up Maldonado's personal contribution against the rumored $30-40 million he brings to the bottom line.

This year, Lotus is trying to bounce back from its dismal 2014 season with a top Mercedes engine and a tidy car, but Maldonado is yet to score a single point compared to teammate Romain Grosjean's 12.

"Pastor is clearly helping the team financially," Frenchman Grosjean told F1's official website in Barcelona.

"And he is quick as well. Of course we need both cars to score points, but that is not something I can influence. So I am doing my thing, and no hard feelings," he added.

Video: Fernando Alonso stands alongside a hologram of his idol Ayrton Senna