Latest F1 news on brief

The only thing missing from last year's British GP at Silverstone were the floats for the boring Mercedes procession

Silverstone makes 'plea' for better F1 show
Alesi concerned by Mick Schumacher 'media exposure'
Rosberg should 'start from scratch' in 2015 – Lauda
2016 season to get late start in April
Red Bull to finally debut 'short nose' in Spain
Alonso move not necessarily a mistake – Gene
Sutil still working towards Sauber agreement
Button sets personal best at London Marathon
Force India: Let teams choose tire compounds

Silverstone makes 'plea' for better F1 show
(GMM) Silverstone chief Patrick Allen has added his voice to calls for a rules shakeup in formula one.

He has told British newspapers that races are too predictable because of the dominance of technology, joking that the winning "technical directors" should stand at the top of the podium rather than the drivers.

Allen said ticket sales are up 25 per cent for July's British grand prix, but mainly because of local driver and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton's success.

"When Lewis wins every week how long will it be before people say it is too predictable?" he said.

As smaller teams fight for survival and grandees like Red Bull-Renault and McLaren-Honda struggle for success in the new turbo V6 era, F1 officials have been discussing a major overhaul of the regulations for the 2017 season.

"We need some help from the FIA and FOM in terms of the rules to make it more exciting," Silverstone director Allen said.

Asked whether he thinks Silverstone's voice will help to bring about the change, he admitted: "It is a plea rather than an influence.

"It seems you could put anyone in the cars and win the race. When you have Verstappen coming straight in from F3, how hard are they to drive?

"It would be nice to see a bit more of a competitive edge to things. You don't see it in formula one and I wonder if the product is right in F1 currently.

"If we get to a point where, five, six, seven years from now the fans are dwindling away because the product isn't interesting we have a problem," Allen added, saying the "noise" of the engines also remains a big issue.

He said traditional race hosts, particularly those in Europe, rely heavily on their grands prix for revenue, but F1 has shed Germany and now Monza is in doubt.

Allen urged those who are left to band together.

"As you get fewer and fewer, it becomes like the World Wildlife Fund — you need to protect it," he said.

Too much media pressure for 16-year old Schumacher?

Alesi concerned by Mick Schumacher 'media exposure'
(GMM) Former F1 driver Jean Alesi has expressed alarm at the "media exposure" surrounding Michael Schumacher's 16-year-old son.

Mick Schumacher's step from karting to the German Formula 4 series this year has captured the imagination of the world's media.

But former Ferrari driver Alesi's 15-year-old son, Giuliano, also made the move into F4 this year, in the French edition of the junior category.

Already in 2015, Alesi junior – who wears his father's familiar helmet livery – has won two races from pole position.

Mick has also won a race early in his car racing career, but many around the world might not have even known that Alesi has a son that had begun his own rise to formula one.

On the other hand, Italian outlets like Tuttosport have hailed the young Schumacher, proclaiming: "With his debut, it is clear that the genes of his father have been passed on."

Alesi insisted: "There is no jealously, in fact for me Mick is like a child.

"I also understand the special situation that Michael is in now has had an effect on all of this attention — I think he (Michael) would not have allowed this media exposure," he added.

Frenchman Alesi also thinks he made the right choice to direct Giuliano into French F4, "because there are no teams — the 20 cars are all operated by the French academy that launched Bourdais, Grosjean and Vergne".

"So there are no excuses," Alesi added, "it is the driver making the difference and not the team."

Nico Rosberg a beaten man

Rosberg should 'start from scratch' in 2015 – Lauda
(GMM) Nico Rosberg needs to "start from scratch" as he tries to take on teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2015.

That is the advice of Mercedes' team chairman Niki Lauda, who is also one of the most famous names in F1 history.

After fighting Hamilton hard throughout 2014, German Rosberg has notably struggled this season and is already 27 points behind after four races.

Austrian legend Lauda, a former triple world champion, sympathizes.

"Nico has the hardest job imaginable," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "Lewis is in top form at the moment — he makes virtually no errors and his self-confidence is boundless."

Rosberg, on the other hand, is known as the ultimate F1 'thinker', so that after losing to Hamilton by six tenths in Bahrain qualifying, he tried to over-analyze the reasons.

But "He should forget the complicated explanations and just say 'I made a mistake'," Lauda advises.

"Get the ballast out of your head and do your race as though the world championship is starting from scratch every time."

Another former F1 driver, Gerhard Berger, says Lauda's advice will be useful to Rosberg.

"It's ok for him (Rosberg) to ask Niki how to become champion if you apparently don't have the speed of your rival," he said, probably referring to Lauda's famous half-point victory against McLaren teammate Alain Prost in 1984.

"Above all, Nico must continue to believe in himself," Berger added, according to f1-insider.com. "That's the most important thing."

Lauda, meanwhile, says the most important thing for Rosberg is to urgently put a stop to Hamilton's run of form.

"Nico has to break this run from Lewis," he insisted, "and put him under pressure. If he beats him just once, then the other one (Hamilton) will start to think about it."

2016 season to get late start in April
(GMM) The F1 season will get off to a late start next year.

Australian media reports say the Melbourne race, which is guaranteed the opening spot on the sport's annual calendar, will be held on April 3, 2016.

In the past few years, the season-opening Australian grand prix has been held a couple of weeks earlier, in mid-March.

AAP news agency said the 2016 change is due to daylight savings.

"The revised 2016 date will see the event follow Easter and take place after daylight savings, the absence of which will see the race start earlier in the day," race organizers confirmed.

The Albert Park promoters also confirmed that the April start will "condense the season" on the 2016 calendar, which will conclude as per usual in November.

"The new date will see an earlier start time, and fans can expect the same great on-track action and off-track entertainment across the four days," said Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief Andrew Westacott.

The full 2016 calendar has not been revealed.

What good will the short nose be for Red Bull if the Renault engine keeps failing?

Red Bull to finally debut 'short nose' in Spain
(GMM) Red Bull is tipped to finally debut the so-called 'short nose' version of its 2015 car at the forthcoming Spanish grand prix.

"The modified car is arguably an RB11 'B'," declared Spain's El Mundo Deportivo.

The former world champions, who have struggled so far in 2015 with both the car and its Renault 'power unit', made multiple attempts to pass the mandatory FIA crash tests with the very short nose that is now expected to debut in Barcelona.

Speed Week claims Red Bull in fact failed the tests "several dozen" times.

El Mundo said the modified Red Bull will be shorter even than other short-nosed designs on the grid like the Mercedes and Williams, making it "very difficult to copy".

Speed Week continued: "Red Bull is hoping for an improvement that brings it in line with Ferrari."

Paddy Lowe, the technical boss at Mercedes, says the role being played by aerodynamics in the new 'turbo V6' era has been underestimated.

"So much is spoken about the power units and the energy recovery," he is quoted as saying, "but I do not think aerodynamics have played a minor role."

And Toro Rosso technical chief James Key added: "The short nose was the most difficult part of my work on the 2015 car."

Marc Gene

Alonso move not necessarily a mistake – Gene
(GMM) Ferrari test driver Marc Gene does not agree that Fernando Alonso's decision to leave the Italian team has been proved definitely wrong.

As the famous Spaniard slumped deep into the midfield at McLaren-Honda, while his successor-in-red Sebastian Vettel races into title contention, many observers have concluded that Alonso seriously erred in making the switch.

But Gene, a Spanish test driver at Ferrari, does not necessarily agree.

"A change in results is not everything," he told Spain's Diario Sport, "especially when you are considering a period of many years.

"For example, I now make decisions not so much because of results but because of where I want to be," said Gene, who also drives for Peugeot's Le Mans team.

Referring to Alonso's move, the 41-year-old continued: "Time will tell if the level of his results is right or wrong and what his level of personal satisfaction is.

"If he has said that he is happy where he is, then clearly it is the decision that he wanted to take.

"If you focus on what we have seen in 2015," Gene added, "then undoubtedly the best option was to stay at Ferrari.

"But I guess he made the decision thinking more about the medium term, because no one forced him, the decision was his and he thought about it carefully."

At the same time, however, Gene acknowledged that Alonso was not the only former or current Ferrari member caught by surprise by the team's 2015 resurgence.

"In the 15 years that I have been in F1," he said, "I've never seen a jump like this from one year to the next without a change in the regulations."

And he said the leap has been so big that even taking on Mercedes for the world title is not being ruled out at Ferrari.

"If we keep improving then there is still time to compete for the championship, definitely," said Gene.

"It was not our goal before the start of the season, and we know we are not the favorites, but we are close enough at least to try."

Sutil still working towards Sauber agreement
Adrian Sutil's representatives have confirmed that they are still in discussions with Sauber in an attempt to resolve his contractual situation with the team.

Sutil joined Sauber from Force India ahead of the 2014 season, but the German and team-mate Esteban Gutiérrez were replaced by Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr for 2015.

Ahead of the 2015 opener, Sauber found itself in a legal battle with Giedo van der Garde, who successfully argued that the outfit reneged on his contract to race one of their cars.

Van der Garde and Sauber later reached a settlement, with the Dutchman stepping aside.

When questioned over Sutil's current position by GPUpdate.net, his manager, Manfred Zimmermann, explained that talks are ongoing with Sauber "to solve the problem".

Sutil, 32, joined Williams as the team's reserve driver last month.

Jenson Button

Button sets personal best at London Marathon
McLaren driver Jenson Button set his new personal best time at the London Marathon on Sunday.

Button, running for Cancer Research UK, set himself a goal of two hours 58 minutes but came across the line with a time of two hours, 52 minutes and 30 seconds.

Button is a keen competitor in triathlons and marathons but it was his first attempt at the famous race in London.

"The most amazing thing is, I've done quite a bit of training but there are so many people in front of me," Button told BBC Sport.

"People have put in so much effort and it's actually quite emotional. It was really cool."

Manor Marussia CEO Graeme Lowdon also took part in the event, setting a time of four hours, 27 minutes.

Force India: Let teams choose tire compounds
Force India's Chief Operating Officer, Otmar Szafnauer, has suggested that teams should be allowed to select their two preferred tire compounds for each Grand Prix.

Pirelli's current dry-weather range comprises Super Soft, Soft, Medium and Hard rubber, with the manufacturer itself making the Option and Prime nominations for all rounds.

"If teams indicate four weeks before a race which two compounds they would like to use, there is still time for Pirelli to produce them," Szafnauer told Auto Motor und Sport.

"The tire choices we make could be kept a secret until the Thursday before a race. We would then have something to talk about throughout that day again."

Opening up tire choice could lead to much greater variation in race strategies, with teams able to select the compounds that best suit the characteristics of their cars.