Latest F1 news in brief

Kimi Raikkonen hoping Ferrari picks up his option

Raikkonen says Ferrari to decide on 2016 'option'
Manor drivers hope 2015 car can be ready soon
Ericsson happy to put Caterham in the past
Massa's glass is half full in 2015
Rosberg wishes he kept complaints quieter
Historic Monza must pay for F1 privilege – Ecclestone
Vettel would prefer day race in Bahrain
Alonso, Vettel have 'number 1' status – Hamilton
Alonso plays down Twitter insult saga

Raikkonen says Ferrari to decide on 2016 'option'
(GMM) Kimi Raikkonen says it is up to Ferrari whether he stays at the Italian team beyond 2015.

Reports in recent days have suggested that after his 2014 slump, Raikkonen's return to form has piqued Ferrari's interest in keeping him alongside Sebastian Vettel for 2016.

The guaranteed two-year term of the 35-year-old's contract expires at the end of this year.

When asked about staying in 2016, Raikkonen said in Bahrain: "That is up to the team to decide.

"They have an option on my services — go and ask them!" he told F1's official website.

In the paddock, Raikkonen told reporters he remains motivated, and is enjoying the atmosphere at Ferrari in 2015.

He is uniquely positioned to comment, having raced in red in the Jean Todt era, through the unstable Domenicali-Mattiacci turmoil, and now under Maurizio Arrivabene's reign.

"This year is the best (atmosphere) that I have had in any team," said Raikkonen. "That tells you a lot. I'm very happy."

German Vettel said on Thursday he would be happy if Raikkonen, his personal friend, stays in 2016.

"I have a good relationship with Kimi," he said, "better than with any teammate I've had.

"I think he's doing a good job and the team knows it. Also last year I think he was closer to Fernando Alonso than people remember.

"I don't know the details of his contract, but there is a lot of interest in fast and experienced drivers. I think he has his future in his own hands," added Vettel.

Manor drivers hope 2015 car can be ready soon
(GMM) Will Stevens is looking forward to getting at the wheel of an all-new Manor, so that he can race against more than one rival.

Currently, the former Marussia team is struggling alone at the back of the grid with a 2014 car hurriedly cobbled together to comply with this year's rules.

"We have no rivals," Briton Stevens was quoted as saying on Thursday.

"The only person I am fighting is my teammate," he explained, referring to fellow rookie, Spaniard Roberto Merhi.

Manor is caught in a difficult situation at present, as with certainly F1's smallest budget it is loath to spend too much improving a car that will soon be obsolete.

"Our priority," Stevens confirmed, "is to get the new car as quickly as possible.

"I think we will then be much more competitive."

Merhi told Spain's AS newspaper that the 2015 car is "80 per cent" complete, with hopes that it will be finished in the summer.

In the meantime, he and Stevens are struggling to shine at the very back of the field.

"I want to prove that I am ready for a career in formula one," said Stevens. "It helps that we are able to compare what we are doing with what the (Marussia) drivers did last year.

"But my only real rival is my teammate, so the goal is to be ahead of him in every session," added Stevens.

As for Merhi, he said his goal for Bahrain is exactly the same, despite struggling for the past week with a sore back due to a poorly-fitting seat.

"I'm better now," he said, "no problems, and we are making a new seat."

Ericsson happy to put Caterham in the past
(GMM) More than a year into his F1 career, Marcus Ericsson is happy to finally have an outlet to show his potential.

Last year, the Swede made his debut for the now-defunct backmarker Caterham.

"Yes, it's a big difference," he said in China, referring to the fact that pundits and fans are finally beginning to notice his driving skills.

"Obviously last year it was difficult to demonstrate my potential and make a good impression, but now I am in a position to fight for points at every weekend."

For 24-year-old Ericsson, the difference is called Sauber.

"Sauber is definitely one of the most pleasant surprises of the first three races," Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda agreed, according to the Swiss newspaper Blick.

Although teammate Felipe Nasr has made a bigger bang so far in 2015, Ericsson has at least been able to neutralize some of the criticism of his almost anonymous 2014 season.

"The other thing is that I was 10 kilograms heavier than (2014 teammate) Kamui Kobayashi," Ericsson explained.

"The situation was not easy — there were many problems."

Massa's glass is half full in 2015
(GMM) For Felipe Massa, 2015 so far is like a glass half-full.

The empty half is that Williams – last year a main rival to title-winner Mercedes – has fallen behind the resurgent Ferrari.

"Last year we managed to beat Ferrari with a smaller budget," said Massa's teammate Valtteri Bottas in China. "I see no reason why we can't do it again."

Brazilian Massa, however, is not so sure.

"If two teams are working in the right direction and one of them has half the budget, then eventually you will notice that," he said.

Massa thinks Ferrari, his old team, has discovered something very special about how to manage Pirelli's tricky tires.

"In qualifying in China, they (Ferrari) were one second behind Mercedes," he said. "In the race they were on par.

"They are obviously doing something completely different to all the other teams with their tires," added Massa.

The half glass full for Massa, however, is that he has arguably set the pace at Williams this year, despite the much-vaunted talents of his younger teammate Bottas.

Rob Smedley, Williams' chief engineer who also worked hand-in-hand with Massa at Ferrari, thinks the 33-year-old has finally rediscovered the kind of form that drove him to the title showdown against Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

"For the comparison with Ferrari, I don't want to talk in more detail," said Massa, who has said previously he is now much happier than in his final years in red.

"This is in the past now," he added.

Rosberg wishes he kept complaints quieter
(GMM) Nico Rosberg has acknowledged he may have kicked an own goal by hitting out at his teammate Lewis Hamilton after the Chinese grand prix.

The accusations about Hamilton's tactical trickery caused a global media stir and opened the door for the reigning world champion to claim the psychological edge and the moral high ground.

"I just do my talking on the track. That's how I've been since I was eight years old," said Hamilton.

Indeed, Rosberg's claim that Hamilton drove deliberately slowly in the lead was ridiculed in some quarters, but the German has found a couple of allies.

"I can understand why Nico was uncomfortable," Sebastian Vettel said on Thursday.

And another German, Nico Hulkenberg, was quoted by DPA news agency: "Honestly, I see no problem that someone expresses his opinion, especially right after a race when emotions are running high anyway.

"But then you're always going to get people responding.

"There is also the argument that he should have overtaken, but that's not so easy with these modern formula one cars," Hulkenberg added.

However, Rosberg is now having to paddle backwards out of the controversy, insisting what he said and what happened in Shanghai was "not such a big deal".

"We have had more difficult times in our duel," he added, referring to Hamilton.

Rosberg says he stands by his comments, which he insists were based only on "facts".

But does he wish he had saved the discussion only for the internal team briefing?

"Maybe, because I'm standing here and answering all these questions," Rosberg told a swarm of journalists in Bahrain.

"I would not do anything different, apart from discussing it with you," he added.

Historic Monza must pay for F1 privilege – Ecclestone
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has repeated his warning that Monza risks falling off the F1 calendar.

"It's very simple," he told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "There is a contract for the race this year, but not for the future."

The F1 supremo has called the financial terms of the current deal a "disaster", even if the Autodromo Nazionale is one of the most iconic circuits in F1 history.

It has raised the question of whether he is asking for too much money.

"No, it's what the other organizers manage to pay," the 84-year-old insisted.

"Why should they (Monza) have different conditions than Zeltweg (Austria) or Spa? I have asked for the same numbers and the same terms."

When told Monza has a special status as one of F1's iconic venues, Ecclestone agreed: "Yes, but for F1 you also have to pay."

He denied being too driven by the financial side of running the world of formula one.

"I manage the business side of what CVC owns," Ecclestone explained. "Then I divide the money up for the teams. I try to do the best job I can."

Vettel would prefer day race in Bahrain
(GMM) It may be a glistening, floodlit spectacle, but Sebastian Vettel would prefer if the sun did not set on this weekend's Bahrain action.

The island Kingdom is suitably hot for the 2015 Ferrari package, which in the searing Malaysian sun was able to power the German driver to victory.

In cooler Melbourne and Shanghai, however, Mercedes' dominance came to the fore.

"The problem here is that the sun goes down," smiled Vettel, referring to the fact that the Bahrain grand prix is held at night.

"That's why I don't expect it to be quite the same as what we saw in Malaysia," he added.

Vettel's other option is to hope that championship leader Lewis Hamilton's off-track row with his teammate Nico Rosberg ends up in a collision.

Vettel said that scenario would be "most welcome. But I do not expect it to happen.

"I think both of them are reasonable and will know how to handle it."

Alonso, Vettel have 'number 1' status – Hamilton
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton has denied "ever" asking for number 1 status at a formula one team.

With the world champion's new Mercedes contract now repeatedly delayed, boss Toto Wolff on Thursday denied a sticking point is that Hamilton has asked for preferential status over Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton, 30, concurs: "I have never asked to be number 1 in a contract.

"Vettel may have that clause," he is quoted by the Spanish newspaper El Pais, "or Alonso, who always asks for it.

"But I want to beat the guy at my side on equal terms. I know many people in the paddock would be happy with it (number 1 status), but it is not for me," added Hamilton.

Also in Bahrain, however, Alonso denied his 2007 McLaren teammate's claims.

"The press always says that I ask to be treated as the first driver," he said, "but it's not true.

"Just now in China, Jenson (Button) ran with a diffuser that I did not have, because there was only one," added Alonso, referring to his current McLaren teammate.

Alonso plays down Twitter insult saga
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has played down the controversy about an insulting 'tweet'.

After a presenter for the Italian broadcaster attacked the Spaniard with a derogatory comment on Twitter, Alonso reportedly refused to take questions from Sky Italia last weekend in China.

Reportedly, the presenter, Paola Saluzzi, was suspended.

"I do not feel attacked by anyone," Alonso insisted in Bahrain on Thursday.

"She apologized and we move on. It's nothing serious," the McLaren-Honda driver is quoted by the Spanish daily Marca.

However, he did say that any criticism should be "respectful".

"Especially when it comes to such things as accidents where your family is involved and it is difficult times for everyone. I think these things must be left alone," said Alonso.

That aside, Alonso said he does not have a problem with being criticized.

Indeed, "We should be criticized, because the level we (McLaren-Honda) are showing at the moment is very low. When we win, maybe we will not be criticized for anything anymore."

Saluzzi had initially defended her 'tweet' on the basis that she is an ardent Ferrari fan.

But Alonso said many Italians actually support him, despite their passion and his Ferrari exit, reportedly amid some acrimony.

"People would be surprised by the support I get from Italy," he insisted.

"There are small episodes here and there, but if you consider there are 50 or 60 million people in Italy, I get a lot of affection from Italy, and I have the same (affection) for Italy too," Alonso added.

Meanwhile, although Alonso admits Bahrain may be difficult for McLaren-Honda, he is confident the team will start to make big progress once it is back in Europe, starting with Barcelona next month.

"This is one of the last races in which we will be lapped and at the back of the pack," he is quoted by El Confidencial.

"Soon we will begin to enjoy a bit more."