FORMULA 1 - 2015

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Legendary designer Byrne back at Ferrari

The Ferrari revolution continues with legendary designer Rory Byrne back at Maranello as a mentor.

Byrne helped design Benetton's title-winning car in 1995 before moving to Ferrari where he was part of the so called "Dream Team" that turned the Scuderia's floundering fortunes around with the outfit winning six Constructors' and five Drivers' Championships from 1999 to 2004.

With Ferrari once again going through a lean period, new team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has made several changes since taking over in November and one of them has seen Byrne return to Ferrari.

The 71-year-old South African is now the mentor for chief designer Simone Resta.

"Rory is working with Simone, he's as a mentor because of his experience and he's working on some detail of the car. Most people might think Rory is part of history, I don't think so. We are talking about the chief designer guru all the time but Rory isn't one of the guys who didn't win, he's one of the guys who won a lot," Arrivavene is quoted as saying by ESPNF1.

"Having a father or mentor for Simone is not a bad thing especially not when his enthusiasm is going up to the sky. I was talking to James [Allison] about it and he said 'why not?'. Rory has my utmost respect, especially for that night I saw him eating with the light inside his eyes."

Arrivavene says Byrne still has the enthusiasm he had during his first spell with the team.

"I have to tell you something funny," he said. "I spoke with Rory, I've known him for a long time. I asked him 'are you keen to work together with us, with your success, in the future to be a bit more involved?' Without taking anything away from Simone Resta, who is our chief designer.

"And you know, I saw in Rory a kind of light. It's unbelievable, a guy like this of his age, and he's still enthusiastic like a baby. I was really surprised. One night near to Christmas I went to a restaurant and I found Rory, who was eating very, very quickly, and I said 'Rory, calm down, where do you have to run!?' He had to run immediately back to the factory for a meeting with Resta."

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Tost not in favour of tests in Europe

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost believes Formula 1 would be better off hosting winter tests in warmer climates like Bahrain.

While two of last year's pre-season tests were held in Bahrain, this year's events are all taking place in Spain with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya staging the final two.

The colder conditions have made the lives of the teams difficult, and Tost feels it puts everyone on the back foot ahead of the new season.

"I have to say it's really difficult to estimate our own performance or the other teams', as track and ambient temperatures are far too low. At the races where we expect much higher ones, the tyre management will be completely different," he said.

"Personally, I don't like the tests in February here in Europe, as you don’t get the feedback on all the technical topics you need to be well prepared for the start of the season. Last year's test in Bahrain was much more useful."

Toro Rosso nevertheless had a solid week in Barcelona with Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr completing 411 laps between them.

"We now look forward to another four days of testing here in Barcelona next week, where we will also be introducing new aero parts on the car," Tost said.

"I’m pleased with how the whole team is working in the build-up to the start of the season. We now have to continue in this direction, analyse all the valuable data we’ve gathered this week and come back for the final test even stronger."

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Williams frustrated by red flags

Williams were forced to curtail their testing programme on Sunday due to numerous red flags with chief test and support engineer Rod Nelson joking "it was like having Ralf Schumacher back".

Valtteri Bottas was in the cockpit of the FW37 on the final day of testing in Barcelona, but it was a stop-start affair in the afternoon session due to several red flags.

It meant the team were unable to complete their race simulation and plans to run on Pirelli's soft tyres.

"Well the race sim was punctuated by about three red flags, which messed us up a bit!" Nelson said. "It also meant we couldn't do the runs on soft tyres we'd originally planned for the afternoon.

"The original plan was to do the race sim immediately after lunch and then get on to some performance work but we only managed one run and then we had Nasr's red flag at the end. It was a day of red flags - it was like having Ralf Schumacher back!"

Bottas, though, was still productive as he clocked 129 laps on Sunday and posted the fifth fastest time of the day.

"I think it's reasonable to say Mercedes has the legs on everyone at the moment," the Finn said.

"Red Bull maybe not so clear but we're reasonably, not satisfied, but we know where are, we know our performance deficits and we know where we've got to do additional work."

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Kvyat: Only time will tell

Daniil Kvyat believes there were plenty of "good and encouraging" signs for Red Bull in Barcelona, but he knows it's too early to say where they are in the pecking order.

After struggling for reliability during the opening test at Jerez, Red Bull took a major stride forward at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with Kvyat and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo clocking more than 400 laps between them over the four days.

Naturally the Russian is feeling optimistic after a positive week.

"I think I'm still learning a few things myself and getting used to the car and the team and each other," he said. "I think the steps we are making are good and encouraging. There is big potential, but how big only time will show.

"Regardless of the lap times of the other teams, we obviously have to aim for an improvement and we are always aiming like that and trying to improve. Hopefully we are going to make it."

Kvyat is in his second year in Formula 1, but this year will mark his debut season with Red Bull and he would love to follow in Ricciardo's footsteps with the Australian winning three races last year.

However, he knows it is important not to look too far into the future.

He added: "I have been thinking of course, but there is nothing I can say right now. We can only achieve something once we are there, so we have to be patient and come there ready enough. Doing many laps at this test helps and I am getting more confident with the team. It's very helpful, it's very good."

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Conspiracy theories run wildfire after Alonso crash

Fernando Alonso's testing crash in his new McLaren-Honda has triggered wild speculation about the cause.

So far, McLaren is saying nothing about Fernando Alonso's mysterious accident in testing at Barcelona yesterday, except that it was a "normal" crash necessitating medical checks.

"Fernando's accident was just one of those things that happens in testing," said team boss Eric Boullier.

"Inevitably, some media reports have sought to exaggerate the severity of the incident – it was just a normal testing accident."

However, paddock insiders and eyewitnesses insist that aspects of the Alonso crash remain unexplained.

McLaren did not return to the track on the final day of Barcelona running, despite Boullier admitting the crash had not damaged the MP4-30 "particularly badly".

He added: "It was enough of an impact to warrant quite a lengthy check of the gearbox and power unit systems. Given the time needed to carry out such an analysis, we decided to bring the curtain down on our test a few hours earlier than anticipated."

Not much damage to car

Photos also do not depict heavy damage to the car, despite reports Alonso was initially unresponsive and then had to be sedated for his trip to hospital.

"Why does a photographer report that his head was bent to the side before the crash?" German correspondent Ralf Bach wrote on his blog f1-insider.com.

"And why so much secrecy from McLaren-Honda?"

Sebastian Vettel was travelling directly behind Alonso at the time of the crash, and he said the sight of the slow-moving McLaren suddenly swerving into the wall was "strange".

"It did not look like an accident," he said. "He then bumped a few times down the wall until I lost sight of him."

Wild speculation in Germany

The German newspaper Bild is also asking questions, particularly after F1 newcomer Honda's recent troubles with its electronic energy-recovery systems.

"Was Alonso unconscious or drowsy already because he inhaled toxic battery fumes?" its report speculated. "Did he receive an electric shock?"

Even the authoritative Auto Motor und Sport reported: "Photographers reported that it looked as though Alonso deliberately steered into the wall."

Manager blames gust of wind

Alonso's manager Luis Garcia Abad denied that dizziness could have been the cause of the crash.

"There was a tremendous wind," he told Spanish reporters, "and it pushed him against the wall."

That theory was initially ridiculed by insiders, but Toro Rosso rookie Carlos Sainz also crashed at Turn 3 on Sunday, and he blamed the "very high" and "very inconsistent" wind.

Abad also played down suggestions of suspension or front wing failure, insisting "The impact with the wall caused everything else".

"Everything happened in a normal situation for Formula One," he said.

"Anyway it's not the time to talk about this. There is a man in hospital.

"We have not talked to him (Alonso) about it but we know that everything happened in conditions with a normal car."

As for Vettel's comments that the crash was "strange", Abad answered: "Mr Vettel can say what he wants to say, that's fine."

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ALONSO DOES NOT REMEMBER CRASH AND MAY MISS NEXT TEST

Fernando Alonso does not remember the crash that has landed him in a Barcelona hospital, according to his former manager and mentor Flavio Briatore.

McLaren has denied wild conspiracy theories about the cause of the accident that so far has seen the Spanish driver spend two nights in hospital recovering from concussion and the effects of his post-crash sedation.

His manager, Luis Garcia Abad, eased the F1 world’s gravest fears late on Monday when he published to social media a photo of the 33-year-old smiling and giving a thumbs-up whilst sitting in his hospital bed.

And Flavio Briatore, a guiding hand throughout Alonso’s F1 career, also played down the wilder speculation about the cause of the crash.

“It was just an accident,” he told RAI. “From the telemetry we see that he was trying to keep the car on the track.”

“It is the second serious accident of his career, the first (above) being in 2003 when he took a really hard impact in Sao Paulo,” the former Renault boss added.

“The important thing is that the [medical] tests are all negative,” Briatore revealed. “He does not remember the incident, but that is normal. I think [Tuesday] he will be out of the hospital.”

The 64-year-old denied wild rumours about the crash, including that Alonso was electrocuted by struggling Honda’s new energy recovery system.

“I do not understand those stories,” Briatore said. “It was a normal accident. Unfortunately, these things happen – even with a driver like Fernando – as the G-forces are tremendous. At other times you can have a much more spectacular crash and nothing happens to you.”

Meanwhile it has emerged that Alonso may sit out the final test of the 2015 pre-season in the wake of his Barcelona crash.

Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad says the results of every medical test since the crash have been clear, and he further eased the F1 world’s fears late on Monday when he revealed a photo of the smiling 33-year-old sitting up in bed.

But Abad also said Alonso may need to stay in hospital for longer. The final four-day test of the winter, also to be held in Barcelona, begins on Thursday.

Abad said: “He will remain here [in hospital) for the time we need to be sure everything is right and he gets out of here and back to normal life.

“The impact was quite hard. We have to be sure everything is fine, so I can’t say if it is one, two or three days more,” he told reporters on Monday.

McLaren-Honda admitted that it could mean Alonso misses the test, which is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, just two weeks before Melbourne season opener.

“We intend to give him every opportunity to make a rapid and complete recovery,” said the British-Japanese team, “and will evaluate in due course whether or not he will participate in the next Barcelona test.”

Manager Abad, however, said Alonso is already keen to get back to work, “Fernando is very good. Very optimistic and we are struggling to hold him back.”

Abad does not rule out Alonso being sufficiently recovered to test this week, “We’ll see what the doctors say, but right now the important thing is not winning the Barcelona test in February, but being able to fight for the championship until the month of November.”

He also rubbished the wilder speculation about the cause of the crash, “There were no explosions or alien abductions or anything like that. Alonso was driving the car and reducing speed before the impact, which is something you cannot do if you are not fully aware.”

But Michael Schmidt, one of the most respected journalists in the paddock, pointed the finger at McLaren for triggering the wilder of the crash-cause theories.

“The Fernando Alonso accident shows that F1 still needs lessons in public relations,” he wrote in Auto Motor und Sport.

“McLaren’s policy of silence allowed the speculation to run wild,” Schmidt argues. “It [McLaren] could have stopped the problems with open communication.”

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WILL PECKING ORDER IN FORMULA 1 CHANGE IN 2015?

A low-profile winter of testing for Williams is beginning to raise questions about the Grove team’s 2015 season prospects, which suggests that the pecking order in Formula 1 ahead of the new season has changed.

Last year, Williams with Mercedes power for the first time emerged from a deep slump to finish the championship third overall, and with arguably the second-fastest car behind the similarly-powered works outfit.

But the new FW37, although solid, failed to make a great impact throughout its Jerez test debut.

It was a similar story at Barcelona last week, with the fastest aggregate laptime for Williams being Felipe Massa’s, and outpaced not only by 2014 rivals Mercedes and Red Bull but also Ferrari and Lotus.

Chief engineer Rod Nelson is not drawing any firm conclusions, nor raising alarm bells, “I think it’s reasonable to say Mercedes has the legs on everyone at the moment.”

“Red Bull maybe not so clear, but while we’re not satisfied, we know where we are, we know our performance deficits and we know where we’ve got to do additional work.”

Fabio Seixas, an expert pundit for Portuguese-language Sportv, concludes that Williams may now have lost its position as Mercedes’ main challenger to the likes of Ferrari.

“Their [Ferrari’s] car is better than in 2014, holding now the ‘second force’ position that Williams had at the end of last season. But the gap [to Mercedes] is still great,” Seixas concluded.

Even Williams’ drivers are not disputing the obvious step forward made by Ferrari since the end of last year.

“They are better than last year,” Valtteri Bottas admitted, “and I imagine a chunk of that has come from the engine.

“But although you cannot dismiss them, they do tend to be competitive in winter testing and maybe not when we start going racing,” he added.

Teammate Massa, on the other hand, indicated that Williams could be set to unleash more potential this week, when Barcelona hosts the final winter test.

“The car is really good,” the Brazilian insisted to Auto Motor und Sport. “Next week we will add the new parts — until now we have had half a year-old car almost. I think we will have a good season.”

Finn Bottas, meanwhile, recalls Williams’ trend of 2014, when it built its full competitiveness over time, and was stronger in the races than in practice.

Asked if that will happen again in 2015, he smiled to the broadcaster MTV3: “I hope so.”

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BRIATORE: WE NOW HAVE A CHAMPIONSHIP FOR ENGINES

The nature of the ‘new era’ Formula 1 means Mercedes will again be hard to beat during the course of the 2015 season.

That is the claim of former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore, who is no fan of the regulation changes that saw Mercedes utterly dominate in 2014 with its turbo V6. Now, he is expecting more of the same in 2015.

“The road is uphill for everyone except for Mercedes,” Briatore told RAI. “We now have a championship for engines, not one for drivers.”

“We should have a couple of tenths between the various teams, but we have one power unit that is much more powerful.”

“Sooner or later we will have to go back to something more normal,” Briatore, referring to talks to shake-up the technical rules for 2017, added.

“What we have now does nothing to improve the show, it is just a case of spending so much money for nothing new that is good.”

The flamboyant Italian said it would be premature to say that, after struggling with its first V6 effort last year, Ferrari has caught up for 2015.

“You do not know if teams are testing with a lot of fuel in the tank or not,” said Briatore. What is important is that Raikkonen is saying the new car is more driveable, because he represents continuity.”

“But it is better to be cautious than to risk disappointment. In F1, Ferrari has to win but for this year, there will be one (team) that is hard to beat,” he added.

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Button: Difficult to predict field

Jenson Button admits he "doesn't have a clue what's going on" in terms of the pecking order ahead of the first race of the season.

Although Mercedes are once again expected to be the team to beat this year, pre-season testing has thrown up some surprising results with Ferrari, Sauber and Lotus all setting the pace at one point or another.

"I have had time to look at the screens but I haven't got a clue what is going on," Button said. "In terms of who is quick and who isn't, it is really difficult to read.

"I think Mercedes will be quickest, looking at the long runs but Ferrari seems pretty strong, Williams is difficult to read, and Sauber looks good, so good for them - Red Bull too.

"It is tricky, you put the soft tyre on and some gain 1.5secs, others gain four tenths, so it is a bit random. I think it makes it great for the first race and exciting. You could read last year that Mercedes and Williams were quickest, but this year I haven't got a clue so it could be a mixed up field for the first race."

McLaren have had a difficult time so far as the team are yet to come to grips with their new Honda power unit, but Button is confident the MP4-30 will improve once the season gets underway.

"We've had some pretty tough pre-seasons before and we have had it at McLaren," he added. "We had the hoover exhaust I think in 2010 that kept falling apart. Pre-season testing has a lot of the time been very tough but most of the time we can pull it together reasonably well.

"This year you will see, more than ever, the big steps forward, which is exciting, but it needs to start relatively soon."

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Nasr: Sauber can get back in the points

Felipe Nasr sees no reason why Sauber can't challenge for points again this year after making major improvements during the winter break.

The 2014 campaign was one to forget for the Hinwil squad as the team failed to score a single point during for the first time in its F1 history. Not only did they have issues with their chassis, but the Ferrari engines were also not up to scratch.

However, if pre-season is anything to go by then Sauber could be in for a good season as Nasr and team-mate Marcus Ericsson have done well during testing.

Asked if points were still the main focus for Sauber, Nasr is quoted as saying by ESPNF1: "Completely. We are completely focused on those points and all want to get back to [scoring] points. We all want to get back to points and I think we need to go back to the areas we saw over the winter and from the car last year that we need to improve.

"I would say it's not only one area but many areas that have had to improve. We know we are lacking downforce [last year], this is quite clear. But from the chassis side I think there is some improvements, this is quite clear, and of course the Ferrari engine is a step ahead from where it was last year."

Sauber set the pace on day three of the Jerez test while they were second on the other three days. Although they had one or two issues on the final two days in Barcelona last week, the C34 still produced some solid performances.

Nasr, though, knows it's difficult to predict the pecking order.

"It's difficult to say because you need to have other teams as a reference as well," he said. "It's difficult to judge where our main rivals are at the moment because we don't know.

"For us, we've been working a lot on our performance side and I can say to you there is a step forward from last year and a step forward from Jerez to here. The whole car got a bit more consistent and we improved our long runs as well, how we managed the tyres, a little bit better. It's a steady process but it's all going in the right direction."

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Gerard Ducarouge – 1941-2015

A key figure in Ayrton Senna's formative F1 career – the former Matra, Ligier, Alfa Romeo and Lotus designer Gerard Ducarouge has died at the age of 73.

Born in 1941, Ducarouge was qualified in aeronautical engineering. He first came to prominence with Matra, where he was responsible for the cars that won Le Mans in 1972, '73 and '74.

After Matra closed its works team he joined Guy Ligier, who was creating a Matra-powered F1 car for 1976. Ducarouge designed the JS5, famous for the 'teapot' airbox that it used in the first few races of the season.

Jacques Laffite took pole for that year's Italian GP, and then gave Ligier its first GP victory with the JS7 in 1977.

One of his greatest creations

Ducarouge is perhaps best remembered for the JS11. The car dominated the early part of the 1979 World Championship in the hands of Laffite and Patrick Depailler, although later in the year the team was overhauled by both Ferrari and Williams. The updated JS11/15 was also a frontunner in 1980, when Didier Pironi joined the team. Laffite then won two more GPs in 1981 with the JS17.

Ducarouge subsequently fell out with Ligier and joined the works Alfa Romeo F1 team, where he designed the 182, with which Andrea de Cesaris took pole at Long Beach.

Lotus move meant spell with Senna

In May 1983 he turned down the chance to join Renault and instead made a move to Lotus.

The team had lost founder Colin Chapman at the end of the previous year, and new boss Peter Warr was keen to find a 'name' to help placate sponsors JPS. In fact he had been offered a job by Chapman in the past, but had turned it down.

Employing a more methodical approach than that associated with ideas man Chapman, Ducarouge helped Lotus create the 94T almost overnight in the middle of the 1983 season, working with Martin Ogilvie. In 1985 Ayrton Senna joined the team, and the Brazilian formed a close bond with Ducarouge.

Senna scored his first GP wins in Portugal and Belgium with the Renault-powered 97T. He added four more successes over the next two years with the 98T and the Honda-equipped 99T, before moving on to McLaren.

Ducarouge himself left the team after a disappointing 1988 season and joined the team run by his former Matra colleague Gerard Larrousse, before returning to Ligier for a second spell in the early nineties, where he was involved with the JS39 that ran in 1993-'94.

Subsequently he drifted away from F1 and rejoined Matra to work on other projects.

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Horner says Renault engine has power distribution issue

Renault has made progress but not enough yet to topple dominant Mercedes.

That is the admission of Red Bull chiefs Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko, although they are confident works supplier Renault is on track with a better engine for 2015.

It has now been tested at Jerez and Barcelona, and lead driver Daniel Ricciardo revealed last week the 2016 power unit "definitely has some more ponies".

"It does have more power," team boss Horner confirmed to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, "but it is not evenly distributed.

"There is still a problem with driveability," he added.

The possibility

However, his Austrian colleague Marko said some of that problem can be solved through "software changes".

"Then we will have caught up a large part of Mercedes lead," he predicted.

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Alonso wanted to leave Ferrari years ago - Massa

Fernando Alonso reportedly wanted to quit Ferrari to join a rival team "two or three years ago" according to former team-mate Felipe Massa.

The Spaniard has finally managed to achieve that by way of a favour from ex-president Luca di Montezemolo, allowing the 33-year-old to join McLaren-Honda for the 2015 season.

"I think Fernando tried to leave the team two or three years ago, even when I was still at the team, but he couldn't," the Williams driver told the official F1 website.

"I think maybe last year the car was not so good, the results were not there but he kept fighting, kept trying to change the team. But the team was already changing completely inside and they decided to change even Alonso.

"But they are also losing a fantastic driver in Fernando. He's very quick and knows how to score a big amount of points during the championship."

Massa is unsure whether the change will benefit Ferrari, however he does believe it will be good for Kimi Raikkonen who he expects to perform better alongside Sebastian Vettel.

"It's a new team, but it's a team you can never close your eyes to," he added. "Sebastian knows how to win - he's won many championships - and I think Kimi will work much better without Fernando in the team.

"So maybe the team can work better. We need to wait and see if it's better or worse."

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McLaren's unique top-mounted radiator - part of the reason behind its slim sidepods

McLaren have continually referred to the MP4-30 as the "first size zero" Formula 1 car because it has such a compact rear, allowing for slimmer sidepods (see Fig.1) which allows greater airflow to reach the diffuser.

But how exactly have they achieved this? Well the answer - at least some of it - might have been uncovered in the above photo which shows the MP4-30 with its engine cover removed.

If you take a look at our anotated version (below), then you'll see that the airbox (see Fig.2) is split in two. Most cars have one or more airboxes to feed certain areas of the power unit, so this isn't uncommon.

McLaren's version is however unique in that located on top of the airflow ducts is multiple small radiators. Traditionally a car would have a radiator located in each sidepod, one to cool the engine/oil and one to deal with the ERS and turbo.

By placing a radiator above the airflow duct, it allows cool air to enter the airbox [1] and be channelled directly through the radiators [2] where it then travels down the spine of the engine cover to the large exit (see Fig.3) at the rear of the car [3].

A second airbox and duct [4] provides cool airflow for the remaining systems which require it, such as the power unit's compressor [5].

By relocating part or all of one radiator unit, it allows McLaren to split the second radiator into two, with half in each sidepod, allowing for them to be far slimmer.

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Ferrari challenges rivals to create their own F1 concepts

Ferrari has challenged rival teams to produce their own future Formula 1 concept car following the release of its own vision for the future of the sport.

The Italian outfit chose to make public its renders of a futuristic F1 car it hopes will 'provoke' other teams and rulemakers into making the sport more appealing, in an attempt to end the declining TV audiences.

"That car was a provocation," explained Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene. "A provocation that is not far away from the reality we can achieve in the future.

"Our message was mainly 'try to liberate the creativity and create a beautiful car'. We will not be saying we were first or second, or ours is better. We are happy to try to move the status quo.

"I'm going to ask every team to try to produce a concept car. In this way we are going to move something. That was a provocation."

Red Bull and McLaren have both produced their own concepts already, but both refused to make them public.

Arrivabene believes it's important that F1 appeals to younger fans and he says by making the cars look more similar to computer games, the sport can achieve that appeal.

"Our other competitors are other cars on a video game. If you are asking to guys who are 18-years-old if they prefer to play one hour on a video game, he'll prefer to do that than watch a grand prix. This is our competition, so the look of a car is very important."

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MARCHIONNE HINTS AT ALFA ROMEO RETURN TO FORMULA 1

Up until late last year Sergio Marchionne kept a low profile at Maranello, but since then he has orchestrated a massive revolution within Ferrari and has now hinted that Alfa Romeo, who have a branding presence on this year’s SF15-T, may return Formula 1.

Marchionne explained the reasoning behind adding the iconic Alfa Romeo badge to the livery of this year’s Ferrari.

“I was at the Ferrari museum,” said the Italian-Canadian, “and you can see the story with a great closeness to Alfa Romeo.”

Asked if the association between F1 and Alfa Romeo might be developed in the future, Marchionne added: “Maybe. Who knows. Anything is possible.”

Alfa Romeo made it’s grand prix debut at the first ever Formula 1 World Championship race of the modern era, the 1950 British Grand Prix.

The team competed in 110 grands prix, winning ten times and claiming two drivers’ world titles in 1950 and 1951 with Nini Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio respectively.

The team pulled out of Formula 1 in 1952, and thereafter Alfa Romeo engines powered a number of privateer teams with limited success and little factory backing or interest..

In 1976 Bernie Ecclestone did a deal for his Brabham Formula 1 team to use Alfa Romeo engines based on their new flat-12 sports car unit.

A year later, led by engineer Carlo Chiti, Alfa Romeo gave Autodelta permission to start developing a Formula 1 car on their behalf. Thus named the Alfa Romeo 177, the car made its debut at the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix.

What followed were six years of under achievement and the 1985 Australian Grand Prix was there final race.

Meanwhile it has emerged that Marchionne has backed the move to delay any major technical revolution in Formula 1 until 2017.

It had appeared that Ferrari was leading the charge for rapid change, when on the very day the F1 Commission met to vote on proposed changes for 2016, it published images of its radical-looking ‘concept car’.

But Marchionne, the Fiat Chrysler and Ferrari president, told Italian-language reporters at the Barcelona test that he was actually not in favour of 1,000 horse power engines and radically different cars making their bow next year.

“Do not confuse what can be done in 2015 for 2016 and what can be done for 2017,” he is quoted as saying.

“The changes for 2016 would have created big problems in the management both for us and for Mercedes,” Marchionne insisted.

“We decided to address the matter of bigger tyres, wider cars and more powerful engines for 2017,” he explained.

“The current regulations will remain valid also next year. To change the rules from scratch would have created huge problems. We should not mess around: these are bullets on the track and they are not invented overnight.”

“It is easy to make changes on paper, but you have to make them work on the track,” said Marchionne.

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ALONSO LEAVES HOSPITAL BUT WILL MISS FINAL TEST

After three nights in hospital and amid feverish speculation regarding the circumstances of his testing crash, Fernando Alonso is finally going home, but it appears he will not take part in the final preseason test in Barcelona starting Thursday.

El Mundo Deportivo, reported that the McLaren-Honda driver is “going home to Oviedo to rest” with Reuters reporting that Alonso, smiled and waved as he left at around 1430 local time.

Alonso will “not take part in the test this week at the Circuit de Catalunya,” the newspaper added, which is “only a precaution to ensure that he arrives in the best physical shape for the first race in Australia”.

Earlier, El Mundo Deportivo said doctors had held Alonso in hospital for three nights due to headaches and pain in his shoulder and back.

The Spanish news agency EFE, meanwhile, said McLaren team boss Eric Boullier visited Alonso in hospital on Wednesday.

Meanwhile McLaren-Honda has confirmed that Alonso will sit out the final test of the winter this week.

The team said in a statement that Alonso will now spend the next few days in “further rest and recuperation” rather than returning to the wheel of the MP4-30 this week.

The newly Honda-powered team said its reserve Kevin Magnussen will replace him.

“Jenson will be testing the McLaren-Honda car [Thursday],” McLaren added.

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FORCE INDIA VJM08 BREAKS COVER AT LAST

Force India has finally released a picture of its long-delayed 2015 Formula 1 car – designated the VJM08 which Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez will campaign this season.

Amid rumours of financial and supplier trouble, the Silverstone based team was missing at the first Jerez test, and ran only with its 2014 car in Barcelona last week.

Now, the embattled Vijay Mallya-run team has announced that its VJM08 – revealed only in the form of a single, computer-generated image – is set to debut not on the opening day of the final Barcelona test on Thursday, but one day later.

“The VJM08 will arrive in Barcelona on Friday morning and the final set up will take place in the garage at the track,” said chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer on Wednesday.

“We are aiming to get out on Friday and the new car will run as much as possible over the weekend.”

In an interview published by the team, Szafnauer did not elaborate on the 2015 car’s long delay except to say its build had “progressed well over the last few days”.

“We have seen a tremendous effort from every department over the last few months to get us to this stage and we’re looking forward to seeing the car take to the track later this week,” he added.

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TECHNICAL GURU SAYS IMPROVED FERRARI TEAM BACK ON TRACK

One of Formula 1’s most respected technical journalists agrees that Ferrari is back on track after its disappointing 2014, with strong leadership in place along with two like minded drivers in Kimi Raikkonen and newcomer Sebastian Vettel.

Giorgio Piola, a veteran of hundreds of grands prix as a technical illustrator, said the biggest step forward taken by the Maranello team is on the ‘power unit’ side.

“The car seems better overall and certain fundamental errors were eliminated,” he told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

Piola claims Ferrari’s 2014 engine was designed with the car’s aerodynamics in mind, but it resulted in a lack of power and efficiency from the crucial ‘energy recovery’ and turbo side.

“This side has been fixed and now it works in the same way as most competitors,” he said.

Piola also said the move away from bosses like Stefano Domenicali and Marco Mattiacci has helped, as last year the team “seemed confused due to a lack of control”.

“Jean Todt had a lot of discipline,” he recalls, “and now I see Sergio Marchione and Maurizio Arrivabenen also as strong leaders.”

Piola also said the change of drivers is helpful to Ferrari, as the driving styles employed by Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso last year was so different.

“Now, Kimi and Sebastian Vettel’s styles are largely similar,” he explained, “and all the car development can be done in the same direction.”

He said Ferrari has also made changes in the area of front suspension, with the 2014 layout unable to be adapted that resulted in Raikkonen’s season-long struggle.

“Ferrari’s unique pullrod suspension is difficult to adapt,” said Piola, “but now with the new car, even this has been improved.”

At the end of the day, however, Piola does not think the changes have been enough to totally catch up with Mercedes.

“Certainly, we know that Mercedes is stronger,” he said. “How much? It is still impossible to say during winter testing.”

MIKA: Ha! Top picture is funny with the front and centre refuelling rig which NO ONE uses any more. Bring back THOSE days!!

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WEBBER: RED BULL MAY MISS VETTEL’S EXPERIENCE

Sebastian Vettel’s team switch from Red Bull to Ferrari may harm the quadruple champion’s former team claims of the ex-Red Bull driver Mark Webber, even though the pair were the best of enemies as teammates.

During their time as Red Bull teammates between 2009 until Webber’s retirement in 2013, Vettel won 38 grands prix compared to the Australian’s nine.

So today, Webber freely admits his total respect for Vettel’s talent, and backed his move to Ferrari on the basis that he needed “fresh motivation and a change”.

As for the impact it will have on Red Bull, Webber told the Herald Sun: “The line is not ‘they won’t miss Vettel’, the line is that when he wants to do something else and be in a different environment, then he is better off going somewhere he might feel he will get more out of himself.

“That’s definitely a question for the team halfway through the season, whether they are missing some of that experience,” he added.

Webber’s countryman Daniel Ricciardo has stepped into Vettel’s old number 1 role for 2015, and given the Australian’s impressive 2014 campaign, Webber is expecting another “solid” year for the energy drink-owned team.

“Obviously a wealth of knowledge and Daniel’s experience is only going to help him,” he said. “They are lacking a little bit of continuity at Red Bull now – there are a few people who have left the team.”

“So that will be interesting to see how technically good the car is over the course of a full season, not just at the start.

“Mercedes are the clear favourites,” he insisted. “They had a great season last year and should come out of the gates very strongly.”

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MANOR SIGN STEVENS AMID RUSH TO JOIN THE F1 GRID

The former Marussia Formula 1 team, now Manor, on Wednesday said it is back on track for the 2015 season.

Now called Manor, founded for the junior categories by John Booth 25 years ago, the outfit has exited administration, set up camp at the old F3 headquarters in South Yorkshire, and is working hard on preparing a car.

Earlier, Force India threw a spanner in the works by blocking an application to race 2014-spec machines this year, but Manor announced on Wednesday that a car for this season is in fact in an “advanced stage of build”.

In a statement, the team said personnel are “working 24-7 towards the air freight despatch date of 6 March” – next Friday – ahead of the season opener in Melbourne.

And now, Manor has its first race driver for 2015.

British rookie Will Stevens’ backers helped Caterham make its Abu Dhabi return last November against the odds, and the 23-year-old has now been signed up by Manor.

“It’s very exciting to see everything coming together at Manor after the tremendous effort that has gone into saving the team,” said Stevens, who late last year was also a reserve driver at Marussia.

“It would not have been possible without the incredible support we have received from all the suppliers and from within the sport, but most of all the fantastic team of people at Manor who are working around the clock to ensure we are ready for Melbourne,” he added.

“My thanks to the team for their confidence in me and I can’t wait to see all the hard work rewarded when we line up on the grid in two weeks’ time.”

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WOLFF SELLS MORE OF HIS WILLIAMS SHARES

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has offloaded more of his stake in the Williams team.

Ever since the Austrian bought into Mercedes early in 2013 and began working as its F1 and motor racing chief, his more than 15 per cent share in Williams has been quietly on the market.

In June of last year, it emerged that five percent of Wolff’s stake was bought by US private healthcare businessman Brad Hollinger.

Then in September, it was reported that Hollinger in fact has an additional 2pc option on the Grove based team.

Now, Reuters is reporting on Wednesday that Hollinger has increased his stake to 10 per cent.

At a media briefing, Wolff confirmed that the deal leaves him “just short” of a 5 per cent stake.

“I have no plans to change it,” he added.

Williams’ major shareholder is Sir Frank Williams with 52 per cent, followed by co-founder Patrick Head and now Hollinger each with 10pc, while 20pc is listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange and 3pc in an employee trust, Reuters said.

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ARRIVABENE DENIES GUTIERREZ IS FERRARI PAY DRIVER

Ferrari team boss has denied that even the great Italian team is now heading down the pay driver road with the hiring of well funded Mexican Esteban Gutierrez

Outspoken former F1 driver Mark Webber insisted this week that the fact drivers have so readily “paid their way” onto the grid in recent years is “rubbish”.

“That’s not what we want in the sport,” he told the Herald Sun newspaper.

But until now, the concept of taking on drivers who promise vast sums of money and sponsorship has been the reserve of mainly small and struggling teams.

Gutierrez, for instance, debuted at Sauber with close ties to the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, and logos of the brands Telmex, Telcel and Claro were duly added to the livery of the Swiss-made car.

For 2015, those logos have switched from Sauber to Ferrari, and Gutierrez is now Ferrari’s new official reserve driver.

“I’ve heard and read a lot of criticism because of Esteban’s signing,” Ferrari’s new chief Maurizio Arrivabene, formerly an executive of the Ferrari sponsor Marlboro, is quoted by Speed Week.

“For instance, that he only got his job at Ferrari because of the large budget of America Movil,” he said.

“But that is not true,” Arrivabene insists. “The negotiations with America Movil and Carlos Slim did not involve Esteban, because I myself am friends with Carlos. I called him and we agreed.”

Arrivabene thinks Ferrari can now do a better job of preparing Gutierrez for his return to the race grid.

“Esteban came into formula one too early,” he said. “I do not want to be disrespectful, but he also came to a team that had a lot of problems. That [sauber] was not the place for him.”

“These two aspects must be taken into account, if one wants to evaluate his performance. Among other reasons, we have signed Esteban because he knows our engine of last year.”

“He works at Maranello every day and starts now by attending a day of filming with us and working in Barcelona. This is the right way to make a young driver familiar with formula one,” Arrivabene added.

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COMPLEX PROBLEMS RENDER MONZA F1 FUTURE UNCERTAIN

A heavy cloud of uncertainty continues to loom over the future of the Italian Grand Prix at the legendary Monza circuit

Last year, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone warned that because the current contractual terms are “a disaster”, once the deal expires after the 2016 race, formula one will say “bye-bye” to Monza.

Worsening the situation, it then emerged that the new, so-called ‘stability law’ passing through parliament could cost Monza up to about € 20 million in tax exemptions.

Francesco Ferri, the new director of the Monza race organiser Sias, said in the Italian press at the time: “2017 will arrive anyway, with or without Bernie Ecclestone”.

But Angelo Sticchi Damiani, the president of the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI), insisted this week that every effort is being made to save the grand prix.

“Monza is the oldest circuit in Formula 1, a record that we don’t want to lose,” he said during an awards ceremony on Tuesday. “The matter is complex and difficult. There is no room for mistakes.”

“We have to work together to see how to reach our target, which is Monza remaining the venue of the Italian GP from 2017 to 2020,” added Damiani, according to the Italian news source AGI.

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BARCELONA DAY 1: MASSA AND WILLIAMS SHOW THEIR HAND

After two tests in which it largely succeeded in operating under the radar, Williams finally showed its hand on the first of the final pre-season F1 test, with Felipe Massa recording the fastest time seen at any test so far this year.

The Brazilian clocked a time of 1:23.500 midway through the afternoon session, with his FW36 running on soft tyres as the team conducted a qualifying-style run.

That put Massa ahead of Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. The Swede spent much of the day working through aero work and then a race simulation but late in the day he took on soft tyres to claim third spot and then bolted on supersoft rubber to register a time of 1:24.276, just over a second off Massa’s benchmark. Ercisson also recorded the day’s biggest mileage, lapping 122 times.

The day’s third fastest time was set by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. The world champion seized control of the control of the timesheet early in the morning session, registering time of 1:24.881 on the medium tyre compound.

That was as quick a Hamilton would go, however. The morning session was effectively ended when rain began to fall an hour before the lunch break. Hamilton, with Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat for company, tested the conditions briefly but both returned to the pit lane to wait for improved conditions.

However, after lunch Hamilton made no return to the track and an hour before the chequered flag Mercedes announced that an MGU-K failure on its W05 car had ended their running for the day.

McLaren’s announcement that it was throwing in the day one towel arrived earlier. The troubled Honda-powered team turned just seven single laps in the morning with Jenson Button at the wheel before it announced that a hydraulic leak had cut short their day, as the repairs would mean a change of power unit.

Button is likely to be at the wheel again on day two, with reserve driver Kevin Magnussen also waiting in the wings. Fernando Alonso has been ruled out of the test while he recovers from his crash at last week’s test in Barcelona.

With Hamilton third fourth place went to Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat, who had a tricky day. The Russian brought out the red flags with his first outing of the day when he stopped at the end of the pit lane, but thereafter he ran without problem in the morning, logging 45 laps. He had been set for an afternoon race simulation but early in the long run he suffered a mechanical problem and returned to the garage where the team adjusted its plan, favouring short runs as it waited on the arrival of new parts.

Behind the Red Bull driver, Lotus’ Romain Grosjean was fifth fastest with a time of 1:26.177. It was an unspectacular day at Ferrari where Kimi Raikkonen completed 80 laps for a best time of 1:26.327 and sixth on the timesheet.

The Finn finished ahead of Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr. The Italian squad have brought a substantially upgraded car to this final test and Sainz andf the team seemed to struggle to get the best from it. The Spanish rookie brought out the red flags midway through the afternoon when he stopped at Turn 10. He returned to the action later on, however, and ended the day with 86 laps under his belt and in seventh place on the timesheet. Button, in the McLaren was eighth.

Force India missed the opening day of the finial test but is expected to debut its 2015 car, the VJM08, on day two.