Latest F1 news in brief

Vettel: Our first goal is to be first after the Mercedes

Ferrari plays down title hopes
Verstappen 'more Dutch than Belgian' – father
Williams slams Force India over wind tunnel jibe
Lauda tells Rosberg to 'sort himself out'
McLaren-Honda ready to race away from Q1
Manor leaving 107pc headache behind – Merhi
Quirky Chinese F1 enthusiasm spills over
Hamilton 'not worth $200 million' – Rosberg
F1 would thrive with '20 Mercedes engines' – Lauda

Ferrari plays down title hopes
(GMM) Ferrari's technical boss has played down hopes the fabled Maranello marque might already be ready to charge for the title.

Sebastian Vettel won in Malaysia, is just three points behind Mercedes' championship leader Lewis Hamilton, and teammate Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest in China on Friday.

"That was very surprising," 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve told Sky Italia. "Ferrari seems to have continued where it left in Malaysia, even without the heat."

But Briton James Allison, the man widely credited with putting Ferrari back on track after a tumultuous period, is trying to keep expectations low for now.

"Mercedes have a bit more horse power than us," he said in China, "and a bit more downforce than us.

"Until we've closed those two gaps it's not realistic to talk about title challenges," Allison insisted.

So although Vettel has already won a grand prix after just two races in 2015, Allison said the pre-season objective of "a couple of wins" is still more realistic.

German Vettel is also kicking a low ball for now.

"We are only in the third race," he is quoted by France's L'Equipe, when asked if Ferrari has proved it is back where it belongs at the front of F1.

"Let's be patient. Our first goal is to be first after the Mercedes. That was the case today (Friday)," Vettel added.

Max Verstappen

Verstappen 'more Dutch than Belgian' – father
(GMM) Max Verstappen's father has hit back at claims the 17-year-old is really Belgian.

The issue hit the headlines a week ago, when the Toro Rosso rookie's mother Sophie Kumpen said the Belgian-born driver cannot apply for Dutch nationality until he turns 18 in September.

"In the meantime, he is Belgian and nothing else," said Kumpen, who in the past has accused Max's father Jos, a former grand prix driver and Dutchman, of assault and harassment.

Verstappen, 43, told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: "Everyone wants a piece of Max.

"On the one hand it is a nice compliment to him. He is doing very well.

"So in the eyes of the Belgian media, suddenly Max is Belgian. But until a few months ago hardly anything was said about him in Belgium and now suddenly they are claiming him as theirs.

"The situation," Jos added, "is that Max has both nationalities, as Sophie and I were married at the time he was born.

"But as he races with a Dutch license, he is more Dutch than Belgium. He feels that too.

"When he is 18 and will choose, it will be for the Dutch nationality," Verstappen revealed.

Williams slams Force India over wind tunnel jibe
(GMM) Williams' Pat Symonds has slammed Force India for dismissing wind tunnels as "dinosaur technology".

Red Bull has controversially proposed that wind tunnels be banned from formula one.

It did not receive widespread support, except from the Force India deputy chief Bob Fernley, who said in Malaysia two weeks ago that F1 should move on.

"If F1 is the pinnacle of motor sport," he said, "it should be pushing the boundaries, and the boundaries are in CFD and hybrid.

"And I think environmentally it (wind tunnels) is sending the wrong message as well, as these things are huge consumers of electricity," added Fernley.

Williams technical boss Symonds, however, on Friday lashed back at Fernley's "clearly ridiculous" statement that wind tunnels are now a "dinosaur technology".

"Our wind tunnels are anything but dinosaurs," he said of the Grove based team.

For 2015, Force India has abandoned its own wind tunnel in Brackley, admittedly because it is "old" and not capable of taking the now-standard 60 per cent scale models.

The team is now using Toyota's facility in Cologne.

Symonds continued: "Just because a technology has been around for a while doesn't mean that it joins the reptiles of old.

"Cars have been around for a long while — are cars dinosaur technology?

"Maybe Bob ought to come and have a look at a decent wind tunnel and just see how technically advanced they are," Symonds added.

Nico Rosberg appears to be suffering from a lack of confidence

Lauda tells Rosberg to 'sort himself out'
(GMM) Niki Lauda has urged Nico Rosberg to "sort himself out" after a mediocre start to the 2015 season.

German Rosberg battled Hamilton all the way to the 2014 finale, but so far this year has conspicuously lagged behind the new reigning champion.

"Yes, Nico is definitely a little bit behind Lewis," F1 legend Lauda, the team chairman at Mercedes, told the Daily Mail. "He has to sort himself out."

It is a particularly awkward time for Rosberg to be struggling, after both silver-clad drivers were beaten in Malaysia by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

It prompted boss Toto Wolff to muse that the team might have to stop being so fair with its strategies, and instead make decisions to win races that might be "unpopular with the Germans or the English".

Rosberg has denied the implication that, as the struggling driver, he might now become the 'number 2'.

But he does seem to admit that he could be on the receiving end of less favorable race strategies.

"For me as a driver this is a bit of an uneasy situation," Rosberg admitted. "But if it happens, it happens," he told F1's official website.

"First and foremost I drive for Mercedes — and in this early stage of the season we have to focus primarily on the team. The team has priority."

McLaren-Honda ready to race away from Q1
(GMM) McLaren-Honda might already be leaping into the F1 midfield.

Initially dead-last in 2015, upbeat members of the new Anglo-Japanese collaboration have insisted much of the progress made in recent weeks has been invisible publicly.

But the cat might be out of the bag in China.

"I was looking for Alonso's name in the times and couldn't find it," Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, 16th on Friday, said after practice in Shanghai.

"I see that they are suddenly far ahead of us," the German is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Indeed, Fernando Alonso was twelfth in the second session, but teammate Jenson Button was as high as tenth.

Suddenly, getting out of Q1 seems not so high a mountain, Alonso admitted.

"It seems we are on the right track, approaching the group in the middle of the grid," the Spaniard is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.

"We did not expect to step forward here, so we are doubly happy," he said.

"I think qualifying will be harder, as everyone can use a bit more power but that's not something we can do yet," Alonso explained.

"But Q2 is a real goal for us for this race."

On the downside, poor reliability so far means that Alonso and Button have eaten into their allocation of 'power units' for 2015 more than any other drivers in the field.

"Penalties are inevitable," Alonso acknowledged. "It is only a question of when, but that is just part of our learning curve at the moment.

"Let's just try to learn from everything that is happening to us to find solutions and keep going," he added.

Manor leaving 107pc headache behind – Merhi
(GMM) Manor looks set to put its '107 per cent' headache in the past.

That is the claim of Roberto Merhi, who said the struggling former Marussia team is now taking "giant steps" after a stuttering and controversial start to its season.

"I am very satisfied with the work we have done," the rookie Spaniard is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.

"In the second session, with the soft tire we set a time that makes us optimistic about the rest of the weekend as we were very clearly within the 107 per cent limit and very close to our goal of being at 105pc," added Merhi in Shanghai after Friday practice.

He hinted, however, that Manor – currently running a modified version of the 2014 Marussia – will eventually have to work towards introducing a 2015 car.

"We have room to keep improving and approaching the rest of the grid," said Merhi, "although it is clear that there is currently a definite ceiling in terms of our grid position."

Quirky Chinese F1 enthusiasm spills over
(GMM) The quirkiness of the Chinese fans spilled over at the scene of the 2015 race in Shanghai.

Even before travelling to the sprawling city, world champion Lewis Hamilton was bracing for the unique fan experience.

"I don't know how they know but from the moment we land at the airport they know we're there," he smiled.

"I go to a restaurant, they beat me there, and then I leave and they beat me back to the hotel," Hamilton beamed. "I don't know how they do it."

Drivers are showered with trinkets and treats wherever they go, but Nico Rosberg admitted to France's RMC Sport that the enthusiasm went into overdrive earlier this week.

"What was most impressive was that they (the fans) were in my hotel," he revealed. "I had to change. I don't know how they know where I am going to be."

And the unique enthusiasm of the Chinese fans scaled new and dangerous heights during Friday practice, when a spectator – clutching a grandstand ticket – scaled a fence and ran across the main straight, over the pitwall and towards the Ferrari pits.

"I want a car!" he reportedly exclaimed in Mandarin. "I've got a ticket!"

Instead, he was arrested, prompting F1 race director Charlie Whiting to redouble security around the circuit perimeter.

One of the drivers who had a close encounter with the daring spectator was Nico Hulkenberg, who told Bild newspaper: "I thought 'What's going on?'

"At that point I'm doing probably 270kph. Luckily, he was far enough away."

Hamilton 'not worth $200 million' – Rosberg
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton's monetary value has a limit, according to Nico Rosberg.

While the German has struggled so far in 2015, reigning world champion Hamilton is leading the 2015 standings and on top form.

Off-track, however, Hamilton's season has been less smooth as he handles his own negotiations for a new Mercedes contract beyond 2015.

As the saga has continually dragged, the feeling in the paddock is that the Briton may have set his price too high even though Mercedes does want to retain him.

"I think he deserves a lot of money," Rosberg told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, before laughing: "But I wouldn't give him 200 million!"

Indeed, some reports have suggested Hamilton might be demanding up to $150 million — as much as $50m per year for a three-season deal.

The 30-year-old was visibly uncomfortable in Shanghai when a journalist asked him if he should be the highest-paid Mercedes employee, above even chairman Dieter Zetsche.

"I don't really know what to say to that," Hamilton shrugged.

Even boss Toto Wolff is now putting public pressure on the Briton to end the saga, telling British reporters it is causing "instability" within the team.

"It's not ideal," he said. "The insecurity is not good for the team."

Hinting that the sticking point might be money, Wolff added: "You need to honor what a driver is worth." But he also suggested the last hurdles are just "tiny details" of Hamilton's new contract.

"It must come to a point – and this is what I will do – where you sit down and say 'Right, this is the final five points'. It's details, tiny details.

"Everyone has a value and you have to respect that. It's always the best compromise and give and take," Wolff added.

F1 would thrive with '20 Mercedes engines' – Lauda
(GMM) Niki Lauda has lashed out at Mercedes' struggling engine rivals, daring them to quit formula one.

Although Ferrari has closed the gap in 2015, rival manufacturers Renault and Honda are still struggling to match Mercedes under the new turbo V6 rules.

It has led to calls to scrap the hybrid engine formula altogether, or at least open the door for 'equalization' measures in order to spice up the competition.

But Lauda, the F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman, has reacted furiously to that sort of talk, insisting the sport should not even fear the withdrawal of the struggling carmakers.

"If Honda and Renault decide to leave formula one, I couldn't care less," he is quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"If despite their spending they are not able to fight for the win, that should not be a problem of Mercedes," Lauda charged.

"When I won the championship there were two Ferrari engines and 20 Cosworth engines," he said, "and no one complained.

"If Renault and Honda go, we will give 20 Mercedes engines to everyone and what is the problem?" added Lauda.

Until now, Renault has resisted joining those arguing publicly for a rule change.

But the French carmaker's chief competitive officer Thierry Bollore now says: "It is true that these are regulations that were approved by everyone.

"But it is nonsense to think that those who have made a mistake cannot fix it during the season because everything is frozen," he added.