FORMULA 1 - 2015

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IN TERMS OF ENGINE WE ARE WORSE THAN LAST YEAR

Red Bull looks set to start dead last on the grid for its home race, the Austrian Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring, next weekendas the team acknowledge that they have taken a step backwards compared to 2014.

The embattled energy drink owned team has acknowledged that, after burning through unreliable Renault engines early this year, grid penalties for fitting unscheduled fifth units will inevitably strike.

It was suggested that a good place to begin taking the pain would be in Canada, where Red Bull knew it would struggle but the Montreal layout would at least provide an opportunity to fight back with overtaking moves.

But even though Red Bull owns the ‘Red Bull Ring’ and promotes its Austrian home race, it appears the team has decided next weekend is strategically better for Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat to serve penalties.

In Canada, Red Bull was badly off the pace, and the finger was squarely pointed at the performance of the Renault engine.

“In terms of the engine,” Helmut Marko told Auto Motor und Sport, “we are in a worse position even than last year. The GPS comparisons on the straights are frightening.”

Indeed, while every other major team improved between Canada 2014 and Canada 2015, Red Bull actually took a step backwards to the tune of half a second per lap.

It means Red Bull’s best hopes for a decent result in the near future lie in Hungary, on the tight, twisty, Monaco-like Budapest circuit.

“It will be probably our strongest track for the year,” said team boss Christian Horner, “so it is important that we start as high up as possible.”

Before then, however, F1 will travel to Austria, and so Horner said taking a tactical penalty there makes the most sense.

“We must expect that we will be on the last row of the grid,” he is quoted as saying, adding that Ricciardo and Kvyat may also be penalised further if they cannot serve their full penalties by qualifying in the top ten.

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BOULLIER: TOTO AND NIKI ARE CONCERNED ABOUT F1 FUTURE

McLaren boss Eric Boullier has predicted that Mercedes will compromise over the current F1 engine rules, as he believes the dominant team’s bosses are also concerned about the image of F1 and the road ahead.

Christian Horner, boss of the struggling Red Bull team, said this week that if the so-called ‘engine freeze’ rules are not relaxed, F1 must be prepared to wave “goodbye” to Renault.

A complex ‘token’ system is giving Ferrari, Renault and Honda a chance to catch up to dominant Mercedes during the 2015 season, but that loophole has been closed for 2016.

Not only that, the amount of allowed out-of-season development also tapers off for 2016 and beyond.

Asked if Mercedes will agree to tweak the rules, Horner said: “They don’t have to obviously but it is at a precarious point in terms of Renault’s commitment to the future.”

Also notably struggling under the existing regime in 2015 is Honda, the Japanese manufacturer who returned to F1 this year in partnership with McLaren.

But McLaren boss Boullier tipped Mercedes to “listen” to the concerns of its rivals who are pushing for rule changes, “Honestly, they are (listening) already.”

Indeed, Boullier was among those who attended the conspicuous ‘gang of four’ meeting last Friday in Montreal, also featuring Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

“Having spoken to Toto (Wolff) and Niki (Lauda), they are concerned about formula one. I’m sure there is some room to change if you look at the overall picture,” he said.

McLaren-Honda has admitted it would benefit from any freeing up of the current engine rules restrictions.

“I’m pretty sure Renault would feel the same way,” managing director Jonathan Neale said recently. “They’re investing in the sport, they’re a big organisation, it’s important for their brand as well that they have some degree of glide-path on this.”

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FERNLEY: GANG OF FOUR WANT TO THROW US OUT

Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley has accused Formula 1’s biggest teams of conspiring against the smaller outfits, in an effort to oust them from the sport.

On Friday in Montreal, a meeting convened by McLaren’s Ron Dennis was attended only by representatives of three other teams – fellow grandees Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

Even the strategy group members Williams and Force India were excluded, and the latter’s deputy chief Fernley thinks he knows why.

“The intention is clear,” he is quoted by Autosprint. “They want to throw us out.”

The ‘gang of four’ meeting was chiefly about the issue of customer cars, or ‘franchise teams’ as now described by Mercedes chief Toto Wolff.

“We know that the other teams do not want it,” Wolff acknowledged, “but we have to think of an alternative. We cannot end up with 14 or 16 cars a week before the next grand prix. If things remain as they are now, it will not be needed.”

Briefly, the plan agreed between the ‘gang of four’ is that they will offer full car packages to potential ‘franchise teams’ for €50 million a season.

Bernie Ecclestone reacted by saying he doubts he will “let that happen”.

“How can you allow one competitor to supply things to another competitor?” he told British television Sky in Canada.

But at the very least, Force India’s Fernley says he knows what the big teams are trying to do, “Not only have they not accepted our proposals to reduce the cost of the power unit, introduce a budget cap or revise the distribution of income, now they want to take everything — even our money.”

“They want the independent teams to disappear and to replace them with small customer teams. Then all the other money will end up with them (the big teams).

“Customer cars is just a way for them to take the part of the income that they don’t already have,” Fernley charged.

MIKA: I often share Fernleys thoughts but in this instance, he's full of S**t... Throw out Williams, Sauber, Force India et al, is plain ridiculous. Will never happen. Formula 1 needs these teams.

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RED BULL RELATIONSHIP STILL GOOD CLAIMS VETTEL

Sebastian Vettel says he maintains a good relationship with Red Bull – the team he won four F1 world championship titles with – and the energy drink company’s billionaire owener Dietrich Mateschitz.

Although now a Ferrari driver, Vettel was groomed from boyhood by Red Bull’s junior programme, going on to win four world championships in the familiar dark blue.

So as F1 moves on to the Red Bull-organised Austrian grand prix next weekend, Vettel admitted he is looking forward to the race at the Red Bull Ring.

“Even though I am no longer part of Red Bull, I do still feel connected in some way,” he told APA news agency.

Vettel, now 27, says he still has a “very, very good relationship” with Mateschitz, even though he split professionally with the Austrian billionaire after 2014.

“It’s not as though we had a dispute. On the contrary,” said the German, who said he would be happy to catch up with Mateschitz next weekend.

As for the Austrian grand prix, Vettel said he knows “how much effort” is put into organising it, and retains relationships with other Red Bull officials.

“That’s why for me it is a more intimate race than perhaps somewhere else, even though Monza is now more of a home race,” he added.

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ARRIVABENE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT ALONSO’S IMPOLITENESS

Amid a torrid return to McLaren, Fernando Alonso has justified his move away from Ferrari by stating he was tired of being “second forever” which in turn earned a rebuke from his former team’s new boss.

When asked about that comment, Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said, “People can say whatever they want. I know that what he said is not polite, but I don’t care.”

Although Alonso insists he has made the right career move, his frustration came to light during the Canadian Grand Prix, when the Spaniard said he rejected a radio instruction to save fuel because it made him look like an “amateur”.

Managing director Jonathan Neale excused the outburst, “Fernando is great. He’s dynamite and if he wants to speak his mind, we’ll let him do it.”

“I do believe progress isn’t made by reasonable men, so why would I expect my drivers to be reasonable?”

Some, however, think Alonso’s notorious character might now begin to increasingly emerge in 2015, as his patience for the faltering project runs out.

Watch this space…

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KUBICA BACKS ALONSO’S HUGE MCLAREN CHALLENGE

Former F1 driver Robert Kubica has backed his old friend Fernando Alonso’s decision to join McLaren-Honda, despite the struggle to be competitive.

Much has been made of Spaniard Alonso’s Ferrari departure, especially on the eve of the Italian team’s resurgence in 2015.

Kubica, who was one of Alonso’s closest friends in the paddock until his own F1 career ended some years ago, backed the Spaniard’s McLaren switch.

“Any person, and especially a driver, needs new challenges,” the Pole, now a rally driver in the wake of his early 2011 crash and injuries, told Sky.

“When Fernando went to Ferrari, everyone including myself expected him to win titles. But it wasn’t like that.

“So he has had to find new ideas and a different way,” said Kubica. “What he has now is a huge challenge, but like any great challenge, when you make it to the finish line there is an even greater satisfaction.”

“It is a risk, but he is one of the strongest drivers, if not the strongest driver there has been in recent years,” he added.

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F1 needs to be 'more dangerous' says Kimi

Kimi Raikkonen doesn't believe Formula 1 is dangerous enough in the current era and has called for changes to ensure it's more exciting for those watching in the grandstands and at home.

The Ferrari driver's concerns are similar to those voiced by a number of drivers and team bosses, including 13-time race winner David Coulthard who recently said "drivers are no longer enjoying these cars".

Raikkonen, speaking to Canal+, says danger is part of F1, but at present it's incredibly safe and that's taken some of the excitement away for the fans and the drivers.

"When I came into Formula 1, it was more exciting for everybody, it was like really the top, it was a long time ago," he said, referencing the speed of the cars.

"We would have expected that cars would be faster and more exciting [now], but there are the rules changes…they try to make it slower.

"I'm sure something has to be done to make it more exciting to people to watch and also to really see the speed and make it a little bit more dangerous - it is part of the game.

"We don't want anybody to get hurt but it also makes it more exciting."

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More Friday outings for Palmer

Jolyon Palmer will get plenty of time in the Lotus cockpit over the next few months with the team confirming him for five FP1 outings as well as the in-season test in Austria.

The 24-year-old, who joined Lotus as a reserve driver at the start of the year, has already had a number of Friday practice drives while he was also behind the wheel of the E23 at the in-season test in Barcelona.

And he will get several more opportunities as he will also be in action in Austria, Britain, Hungary, Belgium and Italy as well as the final in-season test at the Red Bull Ring.

"I’m really looking forward to driving the E23 again in FP1 and then at the in-season test in Austria especially after not having been in the cockpit these past couple of races," the reigning GP2 champion told the official Lotus website.

"The pace of the car looked very strong in Montréal so the car has come on quite well since the last in-season testing I did in Barcelona. It’ll be good for me to do some more mileage and be in a more competitive car since the last time I drove it."

After a slow start to the season, Lotus are finally finding their feet with both Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean finishing in the points in Canada.

Palmer feels they can make even more progress over the next few races.

"The car looked really good in Canada. The E23 looked strong on the Friday straight out of the box," he said.

"Maybe on the outside some might have thought that we were running quite low on fuel and then in qualifying we surprised everyone.

"The pace in the race itself could have been a little bit better but definitely the overall pace of the car is strong and shows a big step. Hopefully we can keep up the good work and make more progress these upcoming races."

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Manor dismiss Merhi exit talk

Manor have eased fears that the arrival of Fabio Leimer could signal the end of Roberto Merhi's racing days with the team.

The Dinnington-based squad confirmed the signing of 2013 GP2 champion Leimer ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, leading to speculation that Merhi could be on his way out.

Merhi joined Manor at the start of the 2015 campaign with the team initially stating that he had been contracted for the "opening few races", but seven races later he is still with the team.

Asked by F1i.com if Merhi was under pressure due to Leimer's arrival, sporting director Graeme Lowdon said: "No, not at all. We’d been running without a reserve driver and although we have various arrangements in place to cover that situation, it’s better to have that sort of area covered with someone who’s with the team all the time.

"These cars are so complex now, it’s not a case of just strapping someone in. So there are huge advantages to having a third driver and yes, you’re quite right, it keeps everyone honest and there’s no harm in that.

"These guys all know each other and feed off each other and the other thing is that with the way regulations are going it’s harder to find the right drivers with the right experience."

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Horner wants 'flat-out racing'

If Christian Horner was in charge of F1 then grands prix would be shorter, there would be no fuel saving, no one-stop races and it would all be "flat out".

Formula 1 has come in for some criticism in the wake of the Canadian Grand Prix after several drivers voiced their unhappiness at being told to save fuel during the race.

BBC F1 commentator and former McLaren driver David Coulthard has also joined the queue of those criticising the sport, saying: "The sad reality is that the drivers are not enjoying the current F1. They are just not tested sufficiently."

There have been a lot of discussions in recent weeks about how to spice things up and Red Bull team boss Horner has some ideas.

"If you are a fan sitting at home watching that, you don't want to hear that," he said of fuel-saving calls.

"You want to see the guys going flat-out racing each other, so it's something we need to take on aboard and react to."

Horner added: "One-stop races aren't good for F1. You need to have two to three stops. That is important.

"The tyres that we have are a bit too conservative.

"The other thing that is not good for F1 is fuel saving. I think it should be a sprint race: and lift and coast doesn't belong in a sprint race.

"That is not the message that F1 should be putting across."

Asked how he would change things, the Brit said: "Shorten the race by five laps or whatever it is.

"Either a bit more fuel or a bit less distance. It needs to be a flat-out sprint race from start to finish."

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Michelin "50/50" on F1 tyre tender decision

Michelin competitions director Pascal Couasnon says that a decision on whether the French manufacturer will apply for the 2017 Formula 1 supply tender is still undecided and "at least 50/50".

The FIA opened up the tyre tender contract for the sport recently and invited companies to apply for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 contract.

Speaking to Motorsport.com today, Couasnon said a decision by Michelin is expected over the next few days.

"We are giving ourselves a few days to decide but as we stand now it is at least 50/50," Couasnon told Motorsport.com.

"We have our ideas and we have talked about these ideas and we want to give the possibility to the teams to apply them well, so I would say that in the next few days we will finally decide and next week we will know what is happening."

Michelin has already indicated it will not supply a 13-inch F1 tyre and is believed to back free compound choice and larger product diameters.

"It is clear that Michelin is open and willing to discuss things like this (the current diameter tyre) but we believe it would not make sense in respecting the tire so it will be extremely difficult for us," concluded Couasnon.

Tyre makers have until June 17 to lodge their applications and it is understood that a formal internal decision from Michelin will be decided on Monday.

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Ferrari planning Monza engine boost

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has suggested it will now likely wait until its home Italian Grand Prix before introducing a next major upgrade to its engine.

After a huge effort to close the gap to Mercedes this season, Ferrari used the first of its engine development tokens in Canada last weekend.

Although it failed to finish on the podium, the team believes that its improvements should show more at the next few tracks.

And, welcoming the opportunity his outfit has to improve its power unit after challenging the FIA's interpretation of the engine homologation rules, Marchionne is sensing a strong end to the campaign.

When asked by Motorsport.com about his feelings on Ferrari's form, Marchionne said: "2015 has been a good year in the sense we have been able to roll out the use of tokens throughout the season. That has been very helpful.

"If we had frozen the engine and car as the rules arguably called for, we would have had a severe handicap compared to the opposition. I think those days are gone.

"This is a big step today and we will see some gradual improvements going forward. Monza is going to be another key point in the development of the car."

New regime sorted car

Ferrari's step forward in 2015 has been one of the surprises of the year, as it has bounced back from the disappointment of last season.

Despite winning the Malaysian Grand Prix, Marchionne says the team is not yet in a position to feel 'satisfied' with the job it has done – but he welcomes the amazing job done over the winter.

And in particular he thinks the key to its recovery was the effort made from October last year when the outfit realised the trouble it was in for this season.

"I don't think anyone in this sport here is remotely satisfied," he said. "But I'm pleased with the amount of work that's gone on and the results we've achieved so far.

"People underestimate the level of deficiencies we had back in October when we finished the 2014 season.

"There were a lot of happy-go-lucky statements made about how all the work that was done for the 2015 season was already in our belly. That's not true.

"So I am incredibly thankful that this group of people here have done what they've done.

"Without the fearless determination to try to improve the car, we would not be here today. I'm pleased we used some of the tokens for this race. Hopefully we'll see an improvement in engine performance.

"But we need to continue to make improvements to the car as we go forward."

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Felipe Massa: Williams facing 'important' moment

Williams must prepare itself for an 'important' moment in its Formula 1 season if it wants to really pile the pressure on rivals Ferrari, reckons Felipe Massa.

Valtteri Bottas delivered Williams its first podium finish of the season in the Canadian Grand Prix, as Ferrari failed to make the most of a new engine upgrade.

Ahead of a major revamp of its car for the Austrian GP, Massa thinks that it is vital Williams seizes the opportunity it has.

“Looking as they [Ferrari] had these upgrades on the engine and the difference [between us] is still similar, it shows that we can still fight,” said the Brazilian.

“We should have an upgrade on the car in the next race and I hope we can catch them even more.

"I don't know when Mercedes will put some upgrades on our engines, when they give some upgrades, because then we can even get more stronger on that area.

“So I think things are going in a good line. After this race it was an important moment for us. We have a good track coming up in Austria, and it is an important moment for us to put some pressure on Ferrari.”

Williams elected not to bring its aerodynamic upgrade for the start of the European season, as it instead preferred to wait for Austria.

Massa has suggested that the revamp of its car could be pretty extensive, as it bids for a repeat of the front-row lock out it achieved last year.

“I think maybe it can be the biggest upgrade we have during the season,” he said.

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Does Pastor Maldonado deserve his bad F1 reputation?

Pastor Maldonado doesn't usually make positive headlines in Formula 1, but his points finish in the Canadian Grand Prix gave cause to discuss him for good reasons for a change.

Maldonado has a bad reputation in F1, and in a world where perception is nine tenths of the law that's a difficult thing to shake off.

Many fans appear to regard him as something of a comic character, principally because they've decided he's a 'pay driver' and a habitual crasher.

It's commonplace nowadays to see Twitter come alive with mock-up pictures every time Maldonado gets involved in another scrape.

And many people also dislike the fact Venezuelan petro-dollars have funded his career, even though having your career financially backed for patriotic reasons is a pastime as old as grand prix racing itself.

The pay driver tag is something Maldonado will never escape, unless he somehow ends up driving for a top team and becomes regularly successful, but beyond the money and the frequent incidents lurks a capable driver, just one who cannot seem to harness his capabilities consistently enough to be taken more seriously.

WHERE ARE THE POINTS PASTOR?

Since graduating to F1 as the reigning GP2 champion in 2011, Maldonado has scored points in less than 10 of the 83 grands prix he's started. His seventh placed finish for Lotus in last Sunday's Canadian GP was just the ninth points finish of his career.

It's true he has a poor scoring and finishing record in F1, but for reasons not entirely of his own making.

Maldonado has retired from 28 of the 83 races he's started in F1 (34 per cent), but 16 of those retirements (57 per cent) were down to technical problems.

Only four times has he retired for reasons entirely his own (spins), so what of the other nine?

Well therein lies the rub. Many of the incidents that define Maldonado's reputation are collisions with other drivers, but (contrary to popular opinion) they are not always clearly his fault.

What could he do, for example, about Lewis Hamilton driving into him in Monaco in 2011, or Max Chilton at the same event two years later?

He's had three accidents with other drivers this season alone, but in all three cases he was hit from behind...

Unfortunately, when Maldonado does trigger collisions the incident usually sticks in the mind - driving into Paul di Resta's Force India while trying to get into the pits in Belgium in 2013, for example, or tipping Esteban Gutierrez into a roll in Bahrain last year.

HAS HE TURNED A CORNER?

But it's not fair to criticise Maldonado without acknowledging the good. This is, after all, the same driver who beat Fernando Alonso's Ferrari to victory in the 2012 Spanish GP fair and square.

That stands as Williams's only victory since the last race of 2004...

"His problems are silly little slip-ups he makes," Alan Permane, Lotus's head of trackside operations, told AUTOSPORT.

"He's quick, he's consistent, he can look after tyres, his feedback is fantastic; his problem is the little errors.

"He knows that and he's working hard to stop that.

"In a very tricky situation [in Canada], doing a long stint, having to concentrate, having to look after brakes, he didn't put a foot wrong.

"Let us hope it is a little bit of a turning point for him."

It's a start, certainly, but Maldonado will need many more trouble-free races before he can leave his bad reputation behind.

MALDONADO'S POINTS FINISHES IN F1

Seventh in the recent Canadian GP actually represents Maldonado's third-best finish in F1. Here's the full list of his nine scoring results:

10th in 2011 Belgian GP
8th in 2012 Chinese GP
1st in 2012 Spanish GP
8th in 2012 Japanese GP
5th in 2012 Abu Dhabi GP
9th in 2012 US GP
10th in 2013 Hungarian GP
9th in 2014 US GP
7th in 2015 Canadian GP

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Pirelli: Slower than expected 2015 F1 pace helping cause one-stops

Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery says better car balance and teams finding less pace than expected have contributed to Formula 1 reverting to more one-stop grands prix.

The F1 tyre manufacturer had intended two-to-three-stop races would be the norm in 2015.

For the last two grands prix in Monaco and Canada the majority of drivers have only had to make one trip into the pits to take on fresh rubber.

After Sunday's race at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner bemoaned one-stop races as "not good for Formula 1", suggesting Pirelli had now gone "too conservative" with its tyre choice.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT in response, Hembery said: "If we wanted to be self-critical we are finding this year wear and degradation levels are improved over last year, and the cars are maximising the tyres for a far greater number of laps.

"Canada was a one-or-two-stop race, and we have been given the task of creating a two-to-three, so we are a few laps shy of that at the moment.

"The reason being is we did some work on the rear tyre and that has allowed the teams to balance all four corners of the car much better.

"We're seeing no great differences between the teams this year. It's very minor, with more laps being gained out of the tyres.

"That rear tyre has enabled them to set the car up differently and balance things out."

Pirelli has also been caught out by the slower-than-anticipated pace gains made by the teams.

Hembery added: "We've not seen the performance improvements anticipated at the start of the year, and which were suggested in winter testing and Melbourne.

"There has only been a marginal pace improvement over last year, which has again been a bit of a surprise.

"Even with a two-second improvement you can imagine there is a lot more energy going into the tyre and that can rapidly change what is happening in terms of race strategy, wear and degradation levels."

Hembery concedes there is little Pirelli can do at present as any major changes now will have to wait until next season.

"There are a few races this year that as we go forward we can maybe look at making a little change," he said.

"But even then it's marginal because circuits can often pre-determine what we can choose, and the open choices we have are very few and far between."

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NICO HULKENBERG ECHOES THE PAST AS CURRENT F1 RACER LINES UP AT LE MANS

In the ‘good old days’, F1 drivers used to race the Le Mans 24 hours every year and take part in regular sportscar races, but the tradition died out in modern times. Nico Hulkenberg is winding back the clock and racing for Porsche at Le Mans this weekend in between the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix. Today he is driving in practice.

The 27 year old German is having a season to forget in F1 so far, with results way short of expectations for the Force India team. THe 2015 car was late due to problems with suppliers and they’ve not matched their performances last season; Hulkenberg picked up an 8th place finish in Canada on Sunday, his team mate Perez took 7th in Monaco.

They hope that situation will turn around with the B spec car due to appear at Silverstone next month. But in the mean time he’s amusing himself with Porsche at Le Mans.

“I just want to do my best and have fun,” he said at the weekend. “Driving at Le Mans is fascinating. It’s an old track for ‘real men’.

The straights go on for ever, I was surprised how quickly you go on them, the corners are exciting. And there is the unknown of the slower cars to navigate around – you have to really pay attention!

“We have a great car, but a 24 hour race is so unpredictable; you need a lot of luck.”

He had a warm up race at Spa last month and finished sixth.

In the 1950s and 1960s all the big name F1 drivers would be at Le Mans; Hawthorn, Fangio, Moss, Clark, they would all combine their F1 programme with sportscars. 1961 world champion Phil Hill won Le Mans the same year with Ferrari. Graham Hill won the 1972 event while still an F1 driver and there are many other examples from those times.

More recently Johnny Herbert won in 1991 with Mazda in a season when he did 8 Grands Prix with Lotus, but full time F1 stars have got out of the habit of racing at Le Mans, partly because of the longer F1 seasons, partly because they didn’t need the extra money like the early era drivers did. But also the practice petered out because of the risks of Le Mans; the large speed differentials between the elite cars and the privateers are huge and so are the accidents.

F1 teams are reluctant to release their valuable stars if there is a risk they’ll be hospitalised.

Which is a shame, because it is one of the world’s great races and the World Endurance Championship is in good shape at the moment, arguably a more natural home for hybrid turbo engines, creating heavy cars that need ‘managing’ over a race distance, than F1, which should be all about lightweight, thoroughbred sprint cars.

The most recent one-off like this was Sebastian Bourdais, who did the race in 2009 while at Toro Rosso. He finished second.

Force India owner Vijay Mallya supported the move and is rumoured to be going to view his driver at Le Mans this weekend.

Hulkenberg lines up for Porsche against the mighty Audi and Toyota squads. Audi are hot favourites again for the race, but the Porsche is faster and is expected to take pole. Former F1 star Mark Webber is getting to grips with WEC racing with Porsche, now in his second season. He’s quite old fashioned in many ways and has done Le Mans in the past before his F1 career took off. He took off, literally, in the Mercedes in 1999.

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MANSELL: LET DRIVERS RACE AND DRIVE THE CARS LIKE WE USED TO

Nigel Mansell says the titanium screws in his left shoulder are a reminder of Formula One’s “good old days” when drivers were not pampered with electronic aids.

The 1992 world champion believes gadgets like Drag Reduction Technology (DRS) and thinner, less grippy tyres have taken the thrill out of F1, leaving both fans and drivers short-changed.

“We need a bit of magic,” Mansell, who won 31 grands prix, said in a Sky Sports interview on Thursday.

“Let the drivers drive and race the cars like we used to. Some of the rules need tweaking, DRS is a false overtaking aid in my opinion and doesn’t give the driver the opportunity to slipstream properly and demonstrate a bit of a chess game and perhaps plan lap by lap, where to pass.

“Also, although Pirelli have doen a great job with the tyres on what they’ve been asked to do I think they should go back to the old tyres where they had plenty of grip.

“Then if a driver wants to deliver the car into a corner and brake really late, put the power on and get sideways he can do it. It’s very exciting for the fans to watch that.”

Mansell said the power steering in today’s F1 cars means the penalties for hitting curbs or going off line are too light.

“All the tracks I drove on were before all the changes and we had a lot of dangerous corners,” he said.

“We used to go flying into corners knowing if we got it wrong we would have a massive accident so we respected the car and the corners. If we hit the curb too hard the feedback would actually tweak your wrists and you could damage yourself.

“We had to do physical training just to be able to hang on to the car, now drivers can drive with a couple of fingers.”

Lewis Hamilton has already surpassed Mansell’s total of wins and could break Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world titles, according to Mansell who does not share F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s view that the Briton is the best world champion ever.

“Lewis is a great world champion but there are many more great world champions as well, it’s just that he’s got the unbelievable backing of an incredible manufacturer,” he said.

“Everyone knows I’m a Lewis fan, he is doing a great job and the equipment he’s got is fantastic, Mercedes are the best of the best at the moment by far.”

Mansell – who drove for Lotus, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren – competed in 187 grands prix, starting 32 of them from pole position, winning 31 times and scoring 59 podiums. His last F1 race was at the 1995 Spanish Grand Prix.

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ARRIVABENE: YOU CANNOT TELL KIMI WHAT TO DO

July 31 is a date etched into the diaries of Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen when, according to Corriere dello Sport, Ferrari’s ‘option’ to extend the Finnish driver’s current contract runs out.

“I’m not worried about it at all. Time will tell,” Raikkonen said recently, but he made that comment before team boss Maurizio Arrivabene warned him to improve his qualifying form, and also before the spin that cost him a podium in Canada.

“As I said, it’s dependent on the results,” Arrivabene is now quoted by F1’s official website when asked if Raikkonen will stay in 2016. “If he is achieving the objective that I gave to him – why not?”

Speculation is mounting that Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo are at the top of Ferrari’s shortlist in the event Raikkonen does not stay.

Red Bull, however, insists it has a “bulletproof” deal for 2016 with Ricciardo, while it is also believed Williams can automatically keep Bottas by triggering a contract option.

“It’s too early to say,” Bottas said recently when asked about his future. “At the moment I am completely focusing on getting the best results at this team (Williams).”

According to some sources, Ferrari’s most likely course of action will be to hang onto Raikkonen in 2016 and wait for Bottas and Ricciardo to be on the market. But Arrivabene said Ferrari will never be short of options.

“I am concentrating on our two guys right now and I know very well that if needed you can have a driver that is ready to jump in a Ferrari any minute,” he said. “That is not a problem.”

Arrivabene said in Canada that he is working to get the most out of Raikkonen. Before July 31 arrives, there are only three grands prix – Austria, Silverstone and Hungary.

“You cannot tell Kimi what to do,” Arrivabene admitted, “instead you have to talk to him and show him that you trust him, because sometimes he is his own greatest enemy. But if you show him that you trust him 100 per cent, then he can give you 120 per cent in return.”

Raikkonen, meanwhile, sounds keen to keep his job in red when he told Canal Plus, “There are many good teams in F1 but Ferrari is different.”

“I think the team this year is the best I’ve been in, how it works, all the atmosphere, like I said, Ferrari is Ferrari. You would always choose it if you can,” added the 2007 F1 world champion.

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MARKO: RICCIARDO WILL DEFINITELY BE WITH RED BULL IN 2016

Red Bull has ruled Daniel Ricciardo out of the running for a Ferrari seat in 2016, and are adamant that the Australian of Italian heritage is staying put.

Already linked with the place currently occupied by Kimi Raikkonen, Australian Ricciardo fired the Ferrari rumours even more in Canada when he admitted his growing frustration with Red Bull.

“For my career, I need to be aware of what’s happening,” he said. “I don’t want to be one of the champions who never was.”

Team boss Christian Horner, however, played down the prospect of losing Ricciardo at the end of the year, insisting the 25-year-old has a “long term” deal.

And Helmut Marko, boss of Red Bull’s driver programme, has now told Sport Bild: “Daniel has a bulletproof contract with us.”

He said there is “nothing at all” to the current rumours of Ricciardo’s departure, “He will definitely be with us in 2016.”

And Even Ricciardo admits he is committed to Red Bull for 2016, and told the Telegraph, “I’ll be here next year and we’ll see how we go.”

After emerging as a standout prospect in the Red Bull junior programme, Ricciardo’s career in Formula 1 has been bank-rolled by the energy drinks organisation who financed his grand prix debut in 2011 with HRT, before promoting him to Toro Rosso in 2012.

In 2014 the big smiling Aussie replaced Mark Webber to partner quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel in the senior team.

After a stellar season with the Red Bull senior team, Ricciardo became the team leader after Vettel’s departure to Ferrari.

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DRIVERS WANT TO BE CONSULTED ON FUTURE OF F1

Jenson Button hopes Formula 1 drivers are consulted in an effort to create a blueprint for the sport with the aim of creating a more exciting future.

The concerned group of current drivers recently commissioned an online global fan survey, and director Sebastian Vettel said this week the results will be fed back to the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.

As for whether the drivers are being directly consulted as to the shape of the eventual rules revolution for 2017, Jenson Button said: “Not yet but I’m sure we will be.

“I think we’ve got a lot to give, a lot of opinions about how to make the sport better for us but also for everyone else.

“I think there’s a lot that can be done,” Button, F1’s most experienced active driver, added. “With the experience that we have of driving different cars and putting ourselves in different situations, we can help out.”

He acknowledged, however, that the 2017 revolution will have its limits, particularly as the current turbo V6 ‘power unit’ era is locked in for now.

“For me, the best years from a driver’s point of view was 2004,” said Button. “We had V10 engines, three litre, 900hp, they revved to 21,000rpm, we had a tyre war. It was great — but times change.

“The costs and everything have to be taken into account and I don’t really know where that puts us for the future,” the McLaren-Honda driver added.

Monisha Kaltenborn, the boss and co-owner of the struggling independent team Sauber, agrees that costs are an issue.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that the current proposals, involving widening the cars and tyres, reducing weight and increasing downforce “could cost EUR 10 million extra”, Kaltenborn said.

The motivation to spice up the sport, however, is high.

“To say that (Bernie) Ecclestone, myself and the rest of the teams are happy with the development of the sport over the last four or five years would be wrong,” Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is quoted by El Confidencial.

Acknowledging some of the problems with the rules and the current generation of cars, F1 intends to slash 5-6 seconds from average laptimes from 2017.

2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen admitted that would be nice, “I’m sure something has to be done to make it more exciting for people to watch and also to really see the speed and make it a little bit more dangerous.”

F1 legend Nigel Mansell, the 1992 title winner, agrees that the direction the sport has taken has removed some of the “magic” of the past.

“We need a bit of magic,” the 61-year-old is quoted by Express newspaper. “Let the drivers drive and race the cars like we used to.”

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MANOR NEW CAR PLANS MAY BE SHELVED UNTIL 2016

Struggling back-marker team Manor is reportedly contemplating shelving its plans to introduce a new car in 2015.

Earlier, having hurriedly modified the 2014 machine for the 2015 rule changes, the former Marussia outfit announced its intention to debut an all-new car after the summer break.

But Speed Week now reports that, as the current car is comfortably qualifying within 107 per cent, the team is wondering whether it should instead turn its focus towards the 2016 season.

The news follows Manor having signed up some new and experienced faces, including the former Renault and Mercedes chief Bob Bell as advisor.

Team president Graeme Lowdon admitted that Bell has put his immediate focus on “the big picture”.

“We had a very efficient and effective technical team who were on a path to deliver a very neat car and package for 2015,” he explained.

“Obviously that progress was interrupted and we’re now in a phase that is quite unusual — having to rebuild things whilst also looking at the bigger picture and the bigger strategy.

“We don’t want to get too focused on, if you like, the day-to-day problems of getting back up to pace,” said Lowdon.

Another key signing recently was 2013 GP2 champion Fabio Leimer as reserve driver.

It is believed the Swiss driver’s management is working to compile a sponsorship package to kick off Friday driving duties as soon as next week in Austria.

And beyond that, Leimer might be a danger to race regular Roberto Merhi’s race seat.

Lowdon, however, denied that. “The signing of Fabio does not mean that Merhi’s days with us are numbered,” he is quoted by Speed Week.

“But we did want to have a reserve driver in order to be prepared for any eventuality, and Leimer is ideal for that.”

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New chassis for Ricciardo

Following his Canadian GP woes, Daniel Ricciardo will be racing a new chassis at the next grand prix in Austria.

Ricciardo struggled with pace during last Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, a race the Red Bull driver started in ninth place.

But rather than battle for points, he dropped down the order, finishing in a disappointing 13th place.

Rating it as his "worst" grand prix, Ricciardo has revealed he'll be getting a new chassis for the upcoming Austrian GP which will hopefully see him pick up the pace.

"It was my worst race," he revealed.

"I can still laugh because I know that there was something fundamentally wrong with the car.

"I'm not a second slower than [Daniil] Kvyat and I haven't suddenly forgotten how to drive.

"We will know in Austria, as I am scheduled to get a new chassis there.

"I don't think that it's the chassis, as I've never been wild with the kerbs or hit the wall or anything – there is nothing that could explain that sort of damage."

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WHY FORMULA 1 CARS FIND IT SO HARD TO FOLLOW EACH OTHER FOR AN OVERTAKE IN 2015

We heard this week that McLaren has had some challenges getting its new short nose configuration through crash testing, but what is behind this fashion for the short nose on F1 cars this season? And is there any connection with the mandatory low noses now in F1 with cars struggling to follow each other this season in preparation for an overtake?

Here, with the help of our F1 technical adviser Dominic Harlow, former chief race engineer for Force India and visual renderings from Giorgio Piola, we can try to explain.

Low noses became mandatory because of safety concerns; cars T-boning other cars could be very dangerous for the driver if the nose of another car hits his cockpit area.

But the noses we saw in 2014 were not only ugly, they also hurt the aerodynamics. This year they’ve made some regulation changes to improve the look, but the teams have also pushed hard to improve the aero, Mercedes are there, Red Bull got there too recently. So far there is no sign from Ferrari, but it’s probably just a matter of time.

What’s the issue here with the low noses?

The biggest effect of the low noses (above) is that on the neutral area in the middle of the front wing. F1 aerodynamics is all about generating a vortex in key areas. This one is crucial because it conditions the way the air passes under the front of the monocoque, where the drivers legs are, and channels down to the key downforce generating areas of the floor, diffuser and underbody.

The low nose gets in the way of that work and has a negative and disruptive effect on the vortices going to the floor and diffuser.

So by shortening the nose section (above), while still maintaining the regulation dimensions of the front of the car, you can see that a lot more air passes over that key transition in the neutral area at the centre of the front wing, managing the airflow better to the sensitive areas, which generate so much of an F1 car’s downforce.

Why are F1 cars finding it hard to follow each other closely to set up an overtake this year?

There have been many complaints from drivers about not being able to follow other cars this season, that have been broadcast on the TV world feed. This is not a new complaint, but the transmission of the messages makes it front of mind for fans.

The 2014 regulations moved the front wing endplates inwards (above) in comparison with the previous generation of cars (below), so they have a narrower front wing.

The idea of the wider front wings, brought in for 2009, was that by washing air outwards around the front wheels the front wing would be less sensitive to the dirty air coming off the car in front, so you should be able to get close. Your car wouldn’t be so affected by what was coming off the diffuser of the car in front. This was one of the ideas of the Overtaking Working Group, which also reduced the rear wing size and ultimately produced the DRS system.

The front wing idea didn’t work from an overtaking perspective; it wasn’t very obvious because Pirelli tyre degradation and DRS contributed to a significant increase in overtaking anyway post 2011. It did make the cars faster though.

What makes it hard to follow another car is the net level of downforce. If the car in front has more downforce it creates a bigger hole in the air and more disruption for your car.

But that means with high downforce cars there will always be a problem following other cars. Looked at another way, it means that there is not really an answer to overtaking if you want the cars to be very fast through the corners. The only way to do it is to artificially increase the downforce on the car behind in corners (the moveable front flap idea of a few years ago), or reduce it significantly on the straights (which is what DRS is today). The problem with these systems is that there are a lot of fans who don’t like them and think that they take away from the driver’s skill.

This is something that the rule makers and teams are wrestling with now. The call is for cars that are 5-6 seconds per lap faster than now, but also for cars that can follow each other closely through the corners to initiate an overtake. To make a car that much faster it will have to come from downforce and from faster tyres.

To get that kind of lap time gain will need a much more powerful rear wing and a larger diffuser, both of which will create a larger hole in the air for the car behind. A wider car with a wider front wing and a significant reduction in weight will also be needed.

At a fan event on Saturday night in Montreal, there was widespread approval for the idea of cars whose downforce is mainly generated in the floor, with small wings that are only used for putting stickers on and much gripper tyres putting the emphasis on mechanical grip.

The biggest external factor is the track layout; there are some tracks that promote good overtaking very time and some that do not. Shanghai, for example, sees over 30 normal overtakes a race plus over 40 DRS overtakes. Austin is heavily slanted towards DRS overtakes, with 16 versus just two from normal overtakes in the 2013 event, for example.

Things which spread the field out, like slow chicanes, tend to disrupt overtaking.

The FIA, Bernie Ecclestone and the teams are currently aiming to have a sensible plan for re-imaginging F1 cars from 2017 onwards in place to put to the FIA World Motor Sport Council on 9th/10th July.

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HULKENBERG WINS LE MANS WITH BAMBER AND TANDY FOR PORSCHE

Porsche ended Audi’s winning run at the Le Mans 24 Hours race on Sunday with a one-two finish and Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg triumphant at his first attempt.

The German, driving the number 19 works Porsche he shared with New Zealand’s Earl Bamber and Briton Nick Tandy, took the chequered flag for the marque’s first win at the Sarthe circuit since 1998.

It was Porsche’s 17th Le Mans triumph, extending their own record.

The number 17 Porsche of Australian Mark Webber, New Zealand’s Brendon Hartley and Germany’s Timo Bernhard finished second.

Audi’s defending champions Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Faessler completed the podium places in the 83rd edition of the endurance race.

“I’m speechless right now, to be honest,” said Hulkenberg before lifting the heavy trophy with the help of his team mates. “It’s been a fantastic week, I won with two great drivers, who are good guys. I’m happy to have written a chapter into the history books of Le Mans, I hope to return next year.”

“It’s amazing to come here, first attempt. Super happy… we wrote history today,” added the 27-year-old, the first active F1 driver to win since Britain’s Johnny Herbert in 1991.

“We couldn’t expect such a thing,” said the German, who arrived in Le Mans straight from the Canadian Grand Prix and will be heading to Austria for next weekend’s grand prix after a few days off.

The winning trio were the least experienced of the three Porsche works crews, with Hulkenberg completely unfamiliar with Le Mans until testing two weeks ago.

Tandy, the only one of the three with prior Le Mans experience, became the 30th British winner of the event.

“I couldn’t think of two guys I’d rather share the car with,” said the Englishman. “I could retire from racing tomorrow and look back on today and I am sure I would be happy for the rest of my life.”

Bamber was only the third New Zealander, following in the footsteps of Formula One drivers Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon in 1966, to win Le Mans.

Audi had won 13 of the last 15 editions but Porsche, who returned with a full factory effort last year, had looked dangerous from the moment they swept the top three grid places in qualifying.

There had been little to separate the two Volkswagen stable mates going into the night but things started to unwind for Audi after daybreak.

Fassler had to pit when a large part of bodywork flew off without warning, costing seven minutes for repairs. The number nine and eight Audis also suffered mechanical problems.

Webber led at the quarter distance but fell back when Hartley collected a one minute ‘stop and go’ penalty for overtaking through a slow zone imposed around the Mulsanne corner during the third safety car interlude.

The safety cars came out for a fourth time around the 17 hour mark when an Aston Martin crashed heavily.

The safety cars, three of them to cope with the long Le Mans lap, made their first appearance after the first hour when a three car collision dumped oil on the track at the first chicane.

There was a much longer safety car period at the end of the third hour, when Frenchman Loic Duval spun and hit the barriers in the number eight Audi at the Indianapolis corner.

Denmark’s retired nine times winner Tom Kristensen had waved the 83rd edition of the race away in bright sunshine on Saturday, watched by a crowd of around 250,000 spectators enjoying a festival atmosphere.

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Vettel: Better than anyone expected

With five podium results from seven races, Sebastian Vettel says he has been "positively surprised" by the potential at Ferrari.

Having spent his entire F1 career under the Red Bull stable, winning four World titles, Vettel moved over to the struggling Ferrari at the start of this year.

And the move has proved to be the right one for both the driver and the team.

Vettel secured his first podium for Ferrari upon his debut in Australia and has since added another four top-three finishes including the victory in Malaysia.

"Since the moment I started getting to know the team, I have been positively surprised about the potential and manpower and the passion for the brand," he said in an interview with Autosport.

"I think it was difficult to know what to expect.

"In principle, it has been a great start for us and I'm very happy with where I am.

"This is a dream coming true.

"So far, it has been better than what anyone expected."

His results have put him third in the Drivers' standings on 108 points, 43 behind Championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

But while the World title may be a step too far, Vettel sees no reason why he won't win more races before the season is over.

"We have more reasons to keep dreaming.

"We know where we want to be. There is a bit of a way to go. We are happy to give everything we have.

"The challenge is to bring Ferrari back to the top and we are working very hard on that currently.

"We had a great start to the season. The aim is to have some more wins."