Latest F1 news in brief

Can Ferrari develop their car fast enough to catch Mercedes?

'Arms race' to decide 2015 title – Vettel
'Leaked' calendar is pressure on GP hosts – reports
Second chance likely for struggling Kvyat
Pirelli to go soft to spice up F1 – Hembery
Arm surgery for Arrivabene before Barcelona
Mercedes-Benz support for Esteban Ocon in 2015
Schuberth and Nico Rosberg mark the tenth anniversary of their partnership

'Arms race' to decide 2015 title – Vettel
(GMM) Mercedes is now set for a head-to-head fight with Ferrari starting in Barcelona this weekend.

That is the view of the reigning world champion team's F1 chairman Niki Lauda, who is certain Mercedes no longer wields a horse power advantage over the resurgent camp in red.

"Ferrari has closed the gap from last year to this year to zero," the F1 legend said in an interview published by Red Bull.

"I think they increased their engine by about 45 horse power, so my estimate at the moment is that they have the same engine power as the Mercedes has and now it depends on the car and what the drivers can do," Lauda added.

If that is true, then the speed of in-season development will be especially crucial as the European phase of the calendar now begins.

Germany's Bild newspaper says Ferrari has brought new wings, floor and engine software to Barcelona, which in the Maranello simulator showed a three to four tenths per lap improvement.

Mercedes, meanwhile, has a new floor, brake ducts and front wing endplates in its luggage, but for now is sticking with the same engine configuration.

"Our engine is as reliable as a Mercedes should be," boss Toto Wolff told Sport Bild. "So there will be no new unit in Barcelona."

Mercedes is so far ahead Vettel can hardly see them

But Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel is not sure even a big Barcelona package for the SF15-T will be enough to overtake Mercedes.

"Mercedes still have the strongest package," he insisted to Welt newspaper, adding that Ferrari is trying to eat into that advantage through a series of "small steps".

"The development arms race always decides the world championship," Vettel explained.

"If you do not improve from the first to the last race, you never win the title, even if you start with clearly the best car.

"We want to catch Mercedes," he told Sport Bild, "even if this is a very ambitious goal."

Mercedes' Wolff agrees with Vettel that the German team needs to keep improving if it wants to stay in front of Ferrari.

"We take Ferrari as an opponent very seriously," he said, "so we will be bringing any sort of update to the car as quickly as possible."

Finally, Wolff also backed Nico Rosberg to bounce back, even though many observers say teammate Lewis Hamilton already has him firmly under control in 2015.

"Even last year he was often written off and he always came back," said Wolff. "So I would be very careful not to say that it will be difficult for him now."

'Leaked' calendar is pressure on GP hosts – reports
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone is ramping up the pressure with his "leaked" provisional calendar for 2015.

"It would appear that the proposed 2016 calendar has been leaked," the F1 supremo's Formula One Management said in a statement after the 21-race schedule began to emerge on the internet recently.

"This calendar has not yet been approved."

Undoubtedly, Ecclestone wanted the world to know that the leaked calendar, squeezing an unprecedented 21 grands prix into a condensed eight-month timeframe, was accurate but at the same time not final.

It is widely known that teams want to attend an absolute maximum of 20 grands prix per year, so the obvious conclusion is that at least one race on the leaked calendar will be dropped.

Roger Benoit, one of the most experienced journalists in the paddock, says the 84-year-old is putting the most pressure on historic Monza.

The Italian grand prix is on the leaked calendar, but Ecclestone has repeatedly warned that he wants organizers to spend more on their race fee.

At the same time, he has designated newcomer Azerbaijan – a country bounded by Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran – as the new 'European' grand prix.

In the Swiss newspaper Blick, Benoit quoted Ecclestone as saying: "As the teams are crying out for more and more money, we need to find it outside of Europe."

Benoit said that while European hosts are now struggling to find a dozen million euros to give Ecclestone, new promoters such as Mexico – scheduled for late October next year – are reportedly prepared to spend many multiples more than that.

Luis Vasconcelos, a correspondent for Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, also interprets Ecclestone's calendar leak as the putting of "deliberate pressure" on some race hosts.

Amongst other anomalies, he noted the strange provisional race dates for Russia and Malaysia and the "almost impossible" Australia-to-China back-to-back at the start of the season.

"It would be interesting to know what sort of game Ecclestone is playing with the hosts," said Vasconcelos, "and what the next calendar looks like at the end of July."

Daniil Kvyat under pressure

Second chance likely for struggling Kvyat
(GMM) Daniil Kvyat looks set to be given a second chance to shine at Red Bull.

After his meteoric debut at the mere age of 19 for the junior team Toro Rosso last year, the confident Russian was promoted to replace the Ferrari-bound quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel for 2015.

Kvyat's start at the former championship winning team, however, has been almost as disastrous as it was anonymous.

It has even triggered early rumors that, now just 21, Kvyat could be dispensed at the end of the year to make room for Red Bull's new teen sensation Max Verstappen.

But team boss Christian Horner says Red Bull-Renault is taking the blame at the moment, also excusing Daniel Ricciardo as the pair struggle so far in 2015.

"Daniel Ricciardo's still smiling as much as he ever has done and young Kvyat, again, has had a tough hand at the moment, yet is not letting it get to him," he said.

Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, meanwhile, also thinks it is too early to write off Kvyat, indicating he thinks the real judgement should wait until later.

He told Sport360 that Australian countryman Ricciardo, however, has already proved his talent.

"You don't win too many races by fluking them," said Webber, referring to Ricciardo's standout season in 2014. "He's clearly got very good pedigree.

"Daniil, time will tell whether he can operate at that level week in week out towards the end of this year. They (Red Bull) will be back next year," he predicted.

Red Bull, however, is unveiling a significant upgrade package for Barcelona, reportedly centered around a radically-short nose for the RB11 car.

And Renault is also pushing on, announcing a "modified spec" of its troubled turbo V6 for the Spanish grand prix weekend.

Horner said: "We want to try and make a good step forward over the coming races and try and put Williams, and maybe even Ferrari, under a bit of pressure."

But Webber thinks the real sights have already been turned to 2016.

"Red Bull want to be fighting for a world championship next year," he said. "If there's any positives about having a brutal season, it's that you can cut your losses and focus on next year's car."

Pirelli Motorsports boss Paul Hembrey

Pirelli to go soft to spice up F1 – Hembery
(GMM) Pirelli is aiming to spice up races by leaning towards soft-compound tire choices as the 2015 season progresses.

Having faced intense criticism of its deliberately heavily-degrading tires of the past, F1's official supplier went notably more conservative for the start of the new 'power unit' era last year.

Pirelli vowed to ramp down that conservatism for this year as experience of the new regulations increases, but chief Paul Hembery acknowledged that the target of mainly three-stop races has yet to be achieved.

"We aim to bring the softer compounds (to races) more and more," he told Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, "and in particular we want to be using the super-soft.

"Maybe we should have taken that tire to Bahrain," Hembery added, "as it would have meant a three-stop race."

However, Lotus engineer Mark Slade says that, as far as Pirelli's approach to F1 goes, things have changed since Kimi Raikkonen was winning races for the Enstone team with ultra-soft tires in 2012 and 2013.

"Even if they still call them 'super-soft'," he said, "they really are just soft compounds. The names have changed but the tires are harder now."

Slade said he doubts Pirelli is really shaping up to change its current approach to F1.

"I don't think they're going to make radical changes," said the Briton, "as they are satisfied with the current situation."

Arm surgery for Arrivabene before Barcelona
(GMM) Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has headed to Barcelona just a few days after undergoing surgery under general anesthetic.

That is the news of renowned Ferrari insider Leo Turrini, who said the 58-year-old Italian is likely to be wearing a sling ahead of the Spanish grand prix.

In Bahrain, insiders had already noticed that Arrivabene, in his first season as Ferrari team boss, had his left wrist strapped.

On his right arm, Arrivabene wears an eye-catching tattoo, but that is not the only reason the similarly-decorated Kimi Raikkonen likes his new boss.

"Maurizio is exactly the guy that Ferrari needed," the Finn told CNN. "He's a very hard-working guy and very fair but if something is not correct he will tell you."

Arrivabene's repaired arm will not be the only new Ferrari component in Barcelona.

Turrini said "70 per cent" of the SF15-T car has been renewed for the first race of the European season, with only the front of the car to be recognizable.

"It's a well-known fact that all the teams turn up for the first European race with practically new cars compared to what we saw in Bahrain," confirmed Ferrari's strategy chief Inaki Rueda ahead of Barcelona.

Future Mercedes F1 driver Esteban Ocon – as fast or faster than Max Verstappen

Mercedes-Benz support for Esteban Ocon in 2015
Ahead of the opening rounds of the 2015 GP3 Series in Barcelona, Mercedes-Benz is pleased to announce that the reigning FIA Formula 3 European champion Esteban Ocon (18, France) will be supported by the brand during the new season.

Esteban is widely considered to be one of the foremost young talents in motorsport today. He secured last year's European Formula 3 title against the strongest field in a generation, with Mercedes-Benz power propelling him to a total of nine wins and 21 podium finishes.

For 2015, Esteban will compete in the GP3 Series on Formula 1 weekends with ART Grand Prix, a long-standing partner of Mercedes-Benz. In addition to his racing commitments, Esteban will perform the role of official Test and Reserve Driver for the Mercedes AMG DTM team, bringing him valuable experience of technical development programs that are not part of the junior single seater formulae.

As part of the package of Mercedes-Benz support, Esteban has signed a contractual option that could see him become a fully-fledged Mercedes-Benz driver in the future.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
"Esteban is a mega-talented young guy and one of the stars of the future. I'm pleased we've found a good path to continue his relationship with Mercedes-Benz, because we have a strong tradition of supporting the best young drivers with a view to their long-term potential. We will be watching Esteban's progress with a lot of interest and I hope this year will be the first of many working together."

Esteban Ocon:
"I'm really proud to have the support of Mercedes-Benz this season and that the Mercedes AMG DTM team has trusted me with the important role of test and reserve driver. I spent last weekend with the DTM team in Hockenheim and hope that I can play a valuable role this year. But my main focus is on the opening races of the GP3 Series this weekend. I am proud to be racing with support from Mercedes-Benz and in a fantastic team like ART Grand Prix. I hope that I can compete for the title this year, starting with strong results in Barcelona."

Nico Rosberg

Schuberth and Nico Rosberg mark the tenth anniversary of their partnership
Nico Rosberg puts his safety in the hands of Schuberth helmets. The Mercedes driver and the helmet experts from Magdeburg are celebrating the tenth anniversary of their partnership at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Barcelona. To mark this milestone, the German will be presented with a very special helmet at his 171st race in the pinnacle of motor racing. Nico Rosberg has been wearing high-quality Schuberth racing helmets since 2005.

As luck would have it, it all began in Barcelona – at the second weekend of the season in the GP2 junior series. What started as a relatively short-term affair – the two parties had not tested together prior to that weekend – developed into a reliable partnership. Rosberg's maiden GP2 victory came in France – and the RF1 Schuberth helmet was there with him, just as it was at his first Formula 1 tests with Williams and his debut in the pinnacle of motor racing, at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix. The SF1, which Rosberg was wearing when he clinched his maiden Formula 1 victory in China in 2012, inevitably became the German's favorite helmet.

"I am delighted with the partnership with Schuberth, which is now in its tenth year. I have now been wearing Schuberth helmets for the majority of my career," said Rosberg. "A good helmet is very important, particularly in Formula 1, and I believe that Schuberth has for many years contributed to making racing safer. Thank you for ten years of support and great service at the racetrack."

Jan-Christian Becker, Managing Director of Schuberth, said: "From a teenager in GP2 to a Formula 1 star – we are proud to have accompanied Nico Rosberg's successful career for the last ten years. Our company can look back on a long tradition within motorsport. Nico's feedback provides us with valuable findings, which we are then able to incorporate into our series production. We are able to benefit from each other, thanks to the reliable and amicable partnership we have built up over the years. Together, we want to ensure that we maintain the highest safety standards in future years."

The safety of the tried-and-tested helmet from Magdeburg was put to the test in rather curious circumstances in Bahrain in 2012: whilst racing at high speed during practice, a bird collided with Rosberg's helmet – Rosberg, the helmet and the visor withstood the enormous contact unharmed. When Rosberg arrives in Barcelona for his 171st Formula 1 Grand Prix this weekend, Schuberth will once again provide him with three helmets. And they have come up with something special to mark the anniversary of their partnership: Rosberg will be presented with the latest Metropolitan 1 motorcycle helmet in a special design. As such, the 29-year-old will not only be well equipped on the Formula 1 track, but also on shopping trips on his scooter around his home of Monte Carlo.