FORMULA 1 - 2016

[MIKA27]

Williams got Bahrain GP strategy wrong, Felipe Massa admits

Felipe Massa says Williams simply got its race strategy wrong for Formula 1's Bahrain Grand Prix, after dropping from second on the first lap to finish eighth.

Both Williams made strong getaways with Massa slotting in behind leader Nico Rosberg after team-mate Valtteri Bottas hit Lewis Hamilton, but continued with damage in third.

Massa showed reasonable pace on the super-soft tyres but that speed fell away when he swapped to the mediums as the team attempted to make a two-stop strategy work.

"I started really well but it didn't finish the way we started," Massa told Autosport.

"I was so happy after Turn 1, after going from seventh to second, and so I'm disappointed I finished eighth.

"Definitely we did not do the right strategy compared to the other teams.

"We tried a two-stop strategy but the pace was so slow.

"I don't believe we could have been on the podium, but it was possible to fight [Daniel] Ricciardo for fourth.

"We just chose the wrong strategy. The pace of the car on the mediums was so slow - we couldn't do anything."

Massa added it wasn't a case of the team not having enough sets of the right compounds but rather that it had always planned to run two stints on the mediums.

Williams ran a new nose and front wing on Massa's car in Bahrain after rushing to fly it out in time for final practice on Saturday.

Massa felt it was tricky to learn much from it in race conditions given his struggles and added it will take time to optimise it.

"It was a race we were supposed to learn more on front wing but we couldn't," he said.

"It was difficult to feel anything different on the nose in the race. We need a little bit of time on that.

"I hope all the numbers can be important for engineers and help choose right package for the next race.

"I hope we can be strong in the next race - and also do a better strategy."

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PIRELLI TESTING TARGETS DELAYING F1 TYRE CONTRACT

Formula 1’s new tyre contract with Pirelli from 2017 has yet to be signed off with the sport’s governing body, despite being agreed in October, as the Italian firm wants specific targets and testing guarantees written in.

International Automobile Federation (FIA) race director and technical head Charlie Whiting told reporters at the weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix the delay was not unusual, however.

“Pirelli wanted the targets that they were asked to achieve to be put into the contract. They want more specific items in the contract regarding testing. They really just want a guarantee of testing,” he said.

“If we are going to set them targets, they want the tools with which to achieve those targets. Those are really the only points. I think everything else is sorted but they just want this guarantee of tests.

“We’ve put it into the regulations but they’d like a little comfort and also the possibility to test with their own car…I think it’s all quite achievable in the short term,” added Whiting.

The new sole supplier agreement, already agreed with the commercial rights holder but needing to be signed off by the FIA, is for three years.

Formula One is preparing for major rule changes next season aimed at making cars faster, harder to drive and with more downforce.

As part of those plans, wider tyres will be subjected to heavier loading and faster cornering speeds.

Teams are currently subject to strict limits on track testing before and during the season but the regulations now allow for 12 days of tyre testing.

Pirelli are seeking clarity on what kind of car and which drivers could be used.

“The key for 2017 is that we have a very clear written mission of what it is they expect us to deliver…and allow us then to be in a condition to actually deliver that,” Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said earlier in the year.

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Why Fernando Alonso's not done yet

Stuff happens. Take for example a man who has had a spectacular crash in a motor race. He feels OK afterwards but in the following days the pain lingers. Checks reveal he has, among other things, a broken rib.

He turns up to the next round hopefully to drive, but the powers that be don’t let him take part. Mainly on the sensible grounds that were he to have another accident that already detached rib is near to his lungs and other organs.

So far, so straightforward. As I said, stuff happens. That is, unless that is your name is Fernando Alonso in which case stuff doesn’t happen. Everything no matter how normal on the surface has a sub-plot. Must do.

So it was in the matters outlined above with his barrel roll in Australia and resultant injury that forced him to sit out of Bahrain proceedings two weeks later. Rather than being taken as an episode in which stuff happened once again, instead there was in response the usual, inevitable, murmurings that there was more to this. That Alonso was finished. Was dodging the race. Was about to walk from F1.

The BBC for reasons best known to itself later on the same day that Alonso’s benching was confirmed published an online article that read rather like an obituary. Then during Friday practice, presumably in an attempt at humour, published an online poll which read “If you were Fernando Alonso would you…

A: Continue and fight for that quite frankly non-existent world title;

B: Quit now and save the ageing body;

C: See out the contract and enjoy the money.”

I even stumbled across an online comment elsewhere opining that, given that this followed on from Alonso missing a race last year due to concussion sustained in a testing accident in Barcelona, it must be indicative of an underlying medical problem. I’m not a doctor admittedly. But I struggle to understand how a concussion and a broken rib sustained in separate accidents can be linked…

But it was all trumped by Johnny Herbert. Herbert is a good pundit in my opinion as well as seems a pleasant person. But for whatever reason in his Sky F1 column published early on Saturday morning during the Bahrain weekend, written about Alonso and all that, he succeeded in being wrong on a multitude of levels.

“I don’t think Fernando should come back,” Herbert said. “He seems to be out of motivation and all these elements add to the performances you don’t expect of a two-time world champion.

“He had the incident in Barcelona and he didn’t go racing, but when a driver has an accident usually they want to get back in the car – when I crashed I told everyone I wanted to get back in the car. But even with his crash in Australia we still didn’t get that”.

Well, where to start… For one thing if Herbert is suggesting that Alonso 12 months ago should have raced in the week or so after a concussion then I suggest he reads up on secondary impacts, and pronto. Admittedly such dangers are fairly newly-discovered and precautions fairly newly-applied, but still…

And without wanting to give the claims more credibility than they deserve the thought occurred that hadAlonso been minded to skip this one as Herbert and others have hinted strongly at, then for several reasons it would have made more sense for Alonso to have made the call before flying out to Bahrain. It also doesn’t fit with that up to the end of Friday Alonso and Ron Dennis still were haranguing the FIA to let him behind the wheel; Martin Brundle adding that “Behind the scenes McLaren and Alonso have been knocking on every door and kicking every desk to get him in the car”. Apparently too in the doctor’s assessment on Thursday Nando went so far as to do some press-ups in an attempt to demonstrate his readiness. And with all of this Herbert’s central premise that Alonso didn’t “want to get back in the car” falls down.

It doesn’t fit either that Alonso then chose to hang around the McLaren garage for the rest of the weekend, keeping a close and active involvement and aiding his rookie replacement Stoffel Vandoorne to the point that the young Belgian paid public thanks.

As Phillip Horton noted dryly on Twitter just after Friday’s practice running: “Alonso, who wanted to race a midfield car with a fractured rib, helping a rookie to acclimatise. But I thought he was not committed...”

Perhaps though it was all an elaborate ruse to put us off the scent. Mighty dastardly that Nando, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Herbert wasn’t done though. “If it was a race-winning car and possibly there was a world championship at stake I think he would be in the car,” he insisted. “You always find a way, just like Niki Lauda did after his burns in 1976.”

There are at least two problems here. One is that Lauda’s case was 40 years when the sport’s medical precautions barely existed. Another is that Lauda in fact missed two races following that notorious fiery Nurburgring shunt. Perhaps Johnny views that as evidence of a lack of motivation too.

Lauda also in his F1 career missed a grand total of seven races with injuries. This includes the Spanish race in 1977 which he sat out with, you guessed it, a broken rib. In addition he sat out two more races in late 1977 because he’d fallen out with his team, meaning nine Grands Prix missed by him all told. Alonso with only two has nothing on him. Niki doesn’t provide the best analogy for Herbert’s purposes.

One wonders too whether each of these occasions were accompanied at the time by ‘Lauda to quit’ rumours and yelps. Particularly given that post 1979 Lauda had a previous for walking from the sport at literally a moment’s notice. I think we can guess the answer though.

And quite how, as Alonso himself explained patiently to at least one interviewer on Thursday, he’s supposed to “find a way” in Herbert’s words to drive when the FIA forbids it is anyone’s guess too.

Moreover, proof of the pudding, there is nothing in Alonso’s driving lately to suggest a man letting things relent. Throughout the Melbourne weekend just passed he looked utterly committed on track and habitually a step or two ahead of Button on the stopwatch. In short it was the sort of performance expected since his McLaren switch but not always delivered last season.

Think too of debutant Jolyon Palmer after the race, talking in awe of Alonso after his dice with the Spaniard on lap one, which needless to say Alonso came out on top of.

“We spent the first half a lap wheel to wheel” said Jolyon. “I chucked it up the inside of Turn 5 and thought, ‘I’ve got him’ and suddenly he turns up on my inside. He’s a wily old fox still…”.

Habitual trackside observer Brundle added also in refuting his Sky colleague Herbert’s view that “when I see him [Alonso] on the track he’s as committed and as fast as anyone”.

Herbert went on though. “He doesn’t like these new cars which is another reason for him to quit”. Well that puts him alongside Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and many others.

And on. “The mistake we saw in Australia was an error on his side” Herbert continued. “One incident that flashes before my mind is how similar it was to the Michael Schumacher-Jean-Eric Vergne incident in Singapore.” Sorry Johnny but you’re largely on your own on that one. Alonso’s Australian accident was more readily explained by an unfortunate range of circumstances coinciding – and the stewards agreed. Two cars fighting furiously in a braking zone; the one behind braking later with much fresher tyres; the one ahead moving a little to reclaim his line and for good measure his power unit’s energy harvesting kicking in losing him horsepower at the worst moment. You know, stuff happens.

Herbert even so wasn’t done. “He’s commented that he’d be happy to leave F1 with two world championships – that is a man who has not just given up the chance of winning another, but that effectively is giving up on racing.”

This follows presumably from an interview Alonso gave to Channel 4 prior to the Australia race. Alonso did in this look noticeably at ease, and did as Herbert noted speak of ending his F1 career possibly without winning more championships. A point that got a few tongues wagging.

Yet perhaps we’re misinterpreting. If nothing else in Japan last year when Alonso by contrast showed audible frustration with his predicament it was interpreted just as widely and with as much certainty, including by Herbert, as a portent to him quitting too. It seems we’re sometimes guilty of starting with a firm outcome in mind and then interpreting all evidence as being in support of it.

But more broadly being relaxed is not necessarily debilitating to your performances, it’s just as often reinforcing. Ask those who were at McLaren in the 1980s, they’ll tell you that it was once Alain Prost learned how to lighten up, to tone down on the worry and micromanagement, that we saw him at his absolute best behind the wheel. And this was something Prost himself acknowledged.

“I am much better than I was,” he said in late 1985, after his first title was won. “Maybe the biggest influence on me has been Jacques [Laffite]. We are very close friends, we love all sports, and he has shown me you don’t have to be at the circuit for hours worrying about the car. Sometimes it’s better to get away, have a swim or something…”

“Detroit, for example, I hate. But this year I went back to my hotel room after the warm up, and watched the golf for a couple of hours. I relaxed, forgot about the race; but I never could have done that a few years ago”.

We can hypothesise that similar happened with Ayrton Senna who drove his best in 1992 and 1993 when he’d shed the almost frightening intensity of before, helped by Gerhard Berger just as Prost was by Laffite. We all know about Senna’s stunning drives of early 1993, not least that at Donington. Less widely remembered was that at that point Senna was driving on race-by-race contracts, sometimes signed mereminutes before Friday practice started, and more than once him missing the weekend altogether looked a genuine possibility. And for much of the intervening periods Ayrton was sunning himself on Brazilian beaches…

Senna was aged 33 then, and this brings me neatly onto another point. One of my pet hates. We heard the BBC light comedy department refer to Alonso’s “ageing body” (though all bodies are ageing, technically), and they’re just the latest to talk of Alonso as one on the point of being pensioned off. Yet Alonso is 34, which despite the insistence of some these days really for an F1 driver is no age. Indeed for the overwhelming bulk of the sport’s history it’s been thought roughly the point that F1 drivers are at their peak. Certainly it’s not the point where they should be forced out of F1’s door, almost like a timer somewhere has reached zero and set a ringer off that indicates it’s their automatic time to quit.

Take a few historical examples. Prost was 34 in 1989. Michael Schumacher was 34 in 2003. Both at these points had plenty more years, and championships, in them and there wasn’t much of a noticeable decline of their performance in the years immediately after either. When Schumi ‘retired’ for the first time he was 37 and by consensus going about as well as ever, then a year later he returned to do some tyre testing for Ferrari and was immediately faster than the regular pilots, including Kimi Raikkonen who’d just claimed the drivers’ title for the Scuderia himself. Heck Nigel Mansell was 39 when he finally took his sole drivers’ championship.

And if you’re tempted to say ‘yeah but things were different then’, it’s hard to make a case that it was much less demanding for drivers. Indeed in this age of gumball Pirellis the main complaint is that drivers have to drive within themselves, and feel at the end of a race could quite easily do another right away. The main change instead has been in the sport’s apparent mind set, that at some point it’s got infatuated with youth.

So in other words Alonso has plenty more in the tank. The only consideration is whether Alonso is minded to continue. And the best evidence is that he is. Plenty have been determined to write him off before. None of them, yet, have been proved right.

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FERRARI MAY BAIL OUT SAUBER TO PAVE WAY FOR ALFA-ROMEO RETURN

Sauber’s financial woes are now well known and there are signs the team will struggle to make it to the forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix, but now it is emerging that a saviour in the form of Ferrari, specifically Alfa Romeo, is in the pipeline.

The Swiss team attracted headlines when February wage payments to its 300 staff were delayed. Furthermore, team co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn was not present in Bahrain, fueling suggestions that she stayed behind in Hinwil to address Sauber’s financial crisis.

Now it appears that Ferrari, their long time engine partners, may step in to save the embattled outfit – the fourth oldest team on the grid – from closing down.

Recently Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler and Ferrari Chairman, has championed the idea of the group’s Alfa-Romeo brand returning to Formula 1 as a pseudo-junior team to Ferrari, in the mould of Toro Rosso and Red Bull.

In January, Marchionne said, “It would be difficult for Alfa Romeo to return without the support of another team. An association with Formula One, that would be ideal.”

“It’s incredible how the Alfa marque remains in people’s hearts. For that very reason we are thinking about bringing it back, as our competitor, to racing, to Formula One. It’s important for Alfa to return,” insisted Marchionne at the time.

Alfa-Romeo has a fine pedigree in Formula 1 with Nino Farina winning the inaugural F1 World Championship in 1951 and a year later Juan Manuel Fangio was world champion for the marque. The team competed in 110 grands prix, winning ten times.

The team supplied engines to F1 teams between 1961 and 1979 before returning as a fully fledged works team between 1979 and 1985. Their final race at the pinnacle of the sport was at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix.

Apart from legends Farina and Fangio, other drivers who raced for the team included the likes of Bruno Giacomelli, Mario Andretti, Andrea de Cesaris, Patrick Depailler, Eddie Cheever and Riccardo Patrese.

Ironically Enzo Ferrari founded Scuderia Ferrari team in 1929 to become the racing team of Alfa Romeo, building and racing cars for the Italian marque at the time.

Italian media reported that during the Red Bull versus Renault crisis last year, there were discussions regarding Red Bull or Toro Rosso using Alfa Romeo badged Ferrari engines, but Red Bull stuck with Renault power (now branded as TAG-Heuer) while Toro Rosso opted for year old Ferrari power units.

Marchionne’s passion for the Alfa Romeo legacy in F1 is obvious, “I was at the Ferrari museum and you can see the story with a great closeness to Alfa Romeo.”

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BOULLIER: VANDOORNE WILL BE THE NEXT ALONSO

Stoffel Vandoorne appears to have put his F1 career on the fast track after making an impressive race debut in Bahrain.

Although Fernando Alonso says he is “99 per cent” sure his chest injuries will be in the past by China in ten days, McLaren now sounds more convinced than ever that it has one of F1’s very best new talents in its hands.

“He had a spectacular weekend,” team boss Eric Boullier is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo. “I was surprised that he made not the slightest mistake, he was always very calm and had no problems with the setup.”

“There is this new generation of drivers with a lot of strength that will be relieving many current drivers, and we want Stoffel to be one of them. He will surely be the next Alonso, the next Button,” said Boullier.

The newspaper said Boullier would not comment on whether Vandoorne, 24, will make his full-time debut for McLaren in 2017.

But Button is out of contract at the end of the season, while Spaniard Alonso in Bahrain angrily rejected claims he should retire due to fading motivation.

MIKA: I think Button's days are numbered...

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VETTEL: WITH THIS SH*T IDEA IT’S TIME TO GO TO THE CIRCUS

Quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel is once again leading the fierce criticism amid the latest installment of the 2016 Formula 1 qualifying format debacle which flopped once again, this time in Bahrain.

The Ferrari driver did not hide his anger when F1 switched to the hated ‘musical chairs’ system without the backing of drivers and engineers, and now he has blasted news that the next move could be an all-new aggregate format.

“It’s time to go to the circus,” Vettel sneered when asked about the idea of aggregating the drivers’ two best laptimes in the Q1, Q2 and Q3 sessions from China.

He is quoted by the Mirror: “It’s a good idea if you want random things to happen, but formula one should be about racing. It’s a sh*t idea.”

At a meeting with bosses in Bahrain, FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone reportedly told the teams that reverting to the popular and tested 2015 format is no longer an option.

“A simple explanation? Madness,” Mercedes chief Toto Wolff is quoted by AFP news agency when asked how F1 got itself into this situation.

Bosses will get together on Thursday to consider the FIA’s latest proposal.

“After two pretty decent races do we really need to mess around with qualifying?” wondered Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

Daniel Ricciardo also joined his old teammate Vettel in criticising the aggregate idea, “Qualifying is one lap, that one perfect lap. To have an aggregate it starts to sound more like endurance racing. I wouldn’t be too keen on that, no.”

But F1 veteran Jenson Button said that if the aggregate format is the only option on the table, the sport needs to vote for it.

“It’s better than this (musical chairs) one,” said the McLaren driver. “Everything is better than this one. Drivers driving with one eye closed would be better than this one.”

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MOST TEAMS OPPOSE FASTER F1 CARS FOR 2017

Almost every team in pitlane is now opposed to the plan to speed up Formula 1 cars with more downforce starting in 2017.

Although designers are already turning their minds to what are expected to be vastly different regulations next year, Auto Motor und Sport revealed that eight of the eleven teams are actually opposed.

An April 30 deadline has been set for finalisation of the new rules, to feature wider cars and tyres and bigger diffusers and wings for a laptime boost of several seconds.

But we reported this week that there is now some uncertainty, and not just because of the delay in the release of wind tunnel tyres by Pirelli, who are yet to sign an actual contract for 2017 and beyond with the governing FIA.

It was believed Mercedes, Williams and Force India had backed views shared by the likes of world champion Lewis Hamilton, who thinks more downforce is not the answer to F1’s problems.

“If we commit ourselves to wider cars,” a source warned, “there is no turning back like with the qualifying format.”

Another source told Auto Motor und Sport in Bahrain: “Eight of the eleven teams are now opposed to the introduction of the new car.”

One of the three teams still in favour is McLaren, who came up with the blueprint for the 2017 car concept. The other two are Red Bull and Toro Rosso, with Red Bull’s Adrian Newey always relishing a new set of aero rules.

However, even with the majority of teams opposed, the 2017 rules could still go through.

“With their voices in the strategy group, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA could theoretically stop a move in this direction,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said.

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F1 CAR SEIZED AMID FITTIPALDI’S MOUNTING DEBTS

Two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi is facing serious financial difficulties in Brazil, with authorities seizing trophies and racing cars from his personal museum.

Among the cars seized was the one he used to win the 1993 Indy 500, as well as one driven by the Brazilian in Formula One.

Fittipaldi’s press office released a statement saying that the difficulties are “the result of an unstable financial and political scenario” in Brazil, which is in political turmoil and facing its worst recession in decades.

Fittipaldi’s struggles surfaced after a report aired by Brazil’s Record TV over the weekend. The revelations came as a surprise to most Brazilians, as Fittipaldi was largely seen as a very successful businessman following his racing days.

Tuesday’s statement sent to The Associated Press said the two-time F1 champion was optimistic about overcoming this situation.

“Emerson Fittipaldi believes that he will solve this issue with more work. He has confidence in the future economic outlook and financial health of his companies,” the statement said, adding that the driver never hid his financial struggles or denied interviews on the subject. “He is seeking partnerships and solutions for this situation.”

In addition to the seized cars and memorabilia, authorities also took computers and furniture from the Sao Paulo mansion where his personal museum is located. Record TV showed images of the cars being towed into trucks and the trophies being carried by officials. Other properties and assets by the former driver have also been blocked, Record TV said.

“The racing cars and the trophies earned by the two-time F1 and Indy 500 champion belong to a museum dedicated to all racing fans in Brazil,” the statement said. “As soon as this issue is solved, they will return to their place. Emerson laments what has happened, but is not discouraged by these difficulties and is confident that these problems will be solved.”

Fittipaldi is reportedly facing more than 60 lawsuits from banks and other businesses seeking payments. Record TV said Fittipaldi’s debts reach nearly 27 million reals ($8 million).

Fittipaldi raced 11 seasons in F1 from 1970-80, winning the world title with Lotus in 1972 and with McLaren in 1974. He started racing in the United States in 1983, winning his first Indy 500 in 1989, when he also clinched the CART Series title.

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PIRELLI REVEAL CHINESE GRAND PRIX DRIVERS’ TYRE CHOICES

The FIA has communicated to Pirelli each team’s tyre choices for the forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix, Round 2 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship.

Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have opted for similar tyre choices as have drivers for Red Bull, Force India, McLaren, Sauber and Manor.

Mercedes duo have chosen to go separate paths with championship leader Nico Rosberg opting for three sets of Mediums and five sets of Softs as well as five sets of Supersofts.

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton has opted for four sets of Medium, four sets of Softs and five sets of Supersofts.

Williams driver Felipe Massa has made the most aggressive choice by selecting only one set of Mediums, five sets of Softs and seven sets of Supersofts.

Below is the full allocation for the race weekend in China:

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JOS VERSTAPPEN SAYS MAX WAS VERY MATURE IN BAHRAIN

After the criticism of Australia, Toro Rosso teenager Max Verstappen put his reputation back on track in Bahrain.

That is the view of his father Jos, after the 18-year-old Toro Rosso driver lashed out at his team and teammate Carlos Sainz during the 2016 season opener. Verstappen then finished sixth in Bahrain.

“Yes, it comes at a good time,” father Jos told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf when asked about the result. “I think he was very strong and very mature how he went about the past few days and also during the race.”

Verstappen, bidding to move into a top car for 2017, had been blasted as being immature after the fiery radio outbursts in Melbourne.

“I think it was a bit blown up in the media, because I think between us there is no problem,” the youngster, sitting alongside his teammate Sainz, told the French broadcaster Canal Plus.

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HORNER BACKS UNDER PRESSURE KVYAT

Team principal Christian Horner has moved to lift the pressure from the shoulders of Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat.

There is speculation the energy drink company may need to promote the meteoric teenager Max Verstappen from Toro Rosso or risk losing him to a major rival like Mercedes or Ferrari for 2017.

It could be Kvyat who needs to switch back to the junior camp to make room, and amid the speculation the 21-year-old suffered an awful and mysterious qualifying performance in Bahrain.

The Russian also struggled in Australia, but Horner says Kvyat’s recovery to seventh place in Bahrain last Sunday showed he is back on track.

“It was a good performance from him,” the Red Bull team boss said.

“I think this race will completely restore his confidence, if there was something not right with that. He was strong in every area. I think everything will be fine,” Horner is quoted by Russia’s Sportbox.

“We still need to fully understand what happened in qualifying, but it’s 90 per cent that it had something to do with the tyre temperature.”

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Hamilton: No need for Bottas to apologise

Lewis Hamilton has said that Valteri Bottas doesn't need to apologise after the two collided at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Before the race day, Hamilton earned himself pole position in Sakhir and was deemed the favourite to cross the finish line before anyone else on the grid.

However, after the Brit’s poor start and collision with Bottas, it made it very difficult for him to gain the lead again but still managed to finish in a respectable third position behind his team-mate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen.

"I told my engineers that it's only the start. It's two races out of 21," the 31-year-old told Auto Motor und Sport.

"I know what I can do. I have an excellent foundation with this car as both times I've been on pole.

"Valtteri doesn't need to apologise It was a normal racing incident. I have learned to deal with days such as these."

On the incident in the desert, Bottas told Sky Sports: "When I was coming into Turn One, at the point I brake I was turning into the corner. Everyone seemed to go very tight inside and it was too late. I was trying to brake as hard as I could. I got a penalty and I'm sure he lost some places because of that. It's a shame."

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Haas elects for aggressive Chinese GP tyre strategy

Pirelli has revealed the teams' chosen tyre allocation for the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix, with the Haas team once again opting for an aggressive strategy with the most sets of supersofts.

Both the team's drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez will have seven sets of supersoft rubber at their disposal in Shanghai, setting up a potential repeat of the supersoft-heavy strategy employed to great effect by Grosjean in Bahrain.

McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have opted for a similar strategy, as have the Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas after the medium tyre let down the Grove-based squad in Bahrain.

Indeed, Massa and Grosjean have elected for just one set of medium tyres apiece, with Bottas, Alonso, Button and Gutierrez all using two sets of the hardest available compound.

Mercedes splits strategies

As mentioned in an earlier post, Mercedes has once again chosen to split the tyre strategies of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, with the former getting an extra set of mediums and the latter going for one more set of softs. Both will have five sets of supersofts.

Ferrari has gone for a slightly more aggressive strategy with its drivers, both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen getting six sets of supersofts - along with both Red Bulls, Force Indias and Renaults.

Manor and Sauber both have just four sets of supersofts for both drivers, with Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr the only men to have five sets of the mediums available in China.

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Mercedes seeking clutch solution to poor starts

Mercedes is working with parent company Daimler on hardware changes to its clutch in a bid to get on top of its troubled starts so far this year.

Despite locking out the front row of the grid in Australia and Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have both faced troubles getting away at the starts.

In Australia, the pair of them were jumped by Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen away from the line, while in Bahrain a poor getaway hindered Hamilton and he got caught up in a first corner incident with Valtteri Bottas.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has revealed that the team believes the issues it faces are related to hardware problems with its clutch – and a fix is being worked on.

"We tend to believe that it is more a hardware issue that a control electronics problem," he explained.

"We cannot solve that from one race to another, and we are working on trying to sort it out.

"The way we assess clutches, the way we run them and the way we calibrate them, and how the drivers use them, needs to be optimised.

"The collaboration with Daimler is about optimising the hardware and that takes a little bit of time. When we will have results, we are not sure yet."

Driver variability

The Mercedes starts problem is made more complicated by the fact that the issues both drivers have faced have not been identical.

Furthermore, Hamilton has had worse getaways that teammate Rosberg, despite there being no logical explanation for it.

Wolff believed, however, that there may be no proper explanation for why that is, and it could just be circumstance.

"I think it is more random," said Wolff. "When you look at Nico's start to the formation lap [in Bahrain] by mistake, he chose second gear. It went into anti-stall. All that is possible and that was the purpose of the change of regulations.

"[After that] both starts were average so before pre-empting the root cause of the problem I would rather refrain from saying something."

MIKA: How about the fact that perhaps drivers are human and there isn't any issue with the clutch but they just simply need to work on their starts? Just saying!

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Lewis Hamilton prepared for 'psychological battle' with Nico Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton is not concerned about finishing behind Nico Rosberg at the first two races of the 2016 season as he prepares himself for a psychological battle with his Mercedes team-mate this year.

Rosberg has won the opening two races of the year, to add to his run of three victories in the last three races of 2015, and already has a 17-point lead in the championship over Hamilton. But after taking pole position at the first two races, Hamilton is still confident he is the quicker driver and compares the battle with Rosberg to Muhammad Ali's 'rope-a-dope' tactics against George Foreman at the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

"This is a psychological game and a battle, but I guess with age and experience I am in the most solid place I have been psychologically and there is very little if not anything that can penetrate that," he said. "Nobody likes losing and of course the guys at the factory work so hard, my engineers do such a fantastic job.

"We could have easily converted that to a win, we had the pace. We didn't, so we all feel the pain jointly together. I told them there is a long way to go, so don't stress it, you can't win them all.

"Not that this is the same, but Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle, got the other dude to believe he was winning and he didn't!"

When it was put to Hamilton that he had lost the last five races to team-mate Rosberg, he rejected the statistic.

"I don't consider the last five... couldn't care less if it's five, it's two this season. It doesn't count, the last five. You win consecutively in a season, five over two seasons doesn't count. Ultimately, I feel positive even though we lost the two races.

"The foundation building work my engineers have done, considering we have been working four years now, the communication is better than ever. The team, the strength is stronger than ever so I know it will come good.

"When you guys ask me if I am worried I am not because we have had two poles and we will get more because there are no flaws in how we are working. That's what gives me hope we will continue."

[MIKA27]

Mercedes' data shows Toro Rosso has least powerful engine in F1

Toro Rosso's year-old power unit is the least powerful engine on the grid, according to Mercedes' data.

Toro Rosso is the only team running a 2015 power unit this year, with all the other outfits benefitting from upgrades from their engine manufacturers over the winter. Much of Toro Rosso's impressive start to the year has been attributed to its Ferrari power unit having more power than Renault and Honda, but data gathered from GPS readings by Mercedes suggests all the 2016 power units are already ahead of the year-old Ferrari.

"You may not know this, but the engine with the least power on the grid is actually the Ferrari in the Toro Rosso," Mercedes technical boss Paddy Lowe told ESPN. "The Renault and the Honda are not so far behind the Ferrari Mercedes, so there is not a lot of difference now between the power units."

The current engine formula is based around efficiency, with manufacturers tasked with extracting as much power as possible from the restricted 100kg/hour flow rate of fuel to the engine. Mercedes has recently trumpeted its achievement of utilising more than 45 percent of the potential energy in the fuel, compared to 29 percent in the V8 era, but Lowe says rival manufacturers are not only a couple of percent behind at most.

"Even the worst engines in Formula One, and people complain like hell about them, are still fantastically efficient by any absolute standard. They just happen to be one or two percent worse than the best engines."

The news also underlines the remarkable job Toro Rosso has managed with its car this year after Max Verstappen finished sixth in last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. The Bahrain International Circuit is a power sensitive circuit where fuel usage is critical, but Toro Rosso still managed to hold off more powerful opposition.

After qualifying in Bahrain, Verstappen said he could see a big difference between his car's power output and that of the 2016-spec engine.

"If you are behind a factory Ferrari you can see that they have more power, yeah. But we have to be happy with what we have because it's very reliable and for us that is a good start."

[capitalpg]

FERRARI MAY BAIL OUT SAUBER TO PAVE WAY FOR ALFA-ROMEO RETURN

Sauber’s financial woes are now well known and there are signs the team will struggle to make it to the forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix, but now it is emerging that a saviour in the form of Ferrari, specifically Alfa Romeo, is in the pipeline.

The Swiss team attracted headlines when February wage payments to its 300 staff were delayed. Furthermore, team co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn was not present in Bahrain, fueling suggestions that she stayed behind in Hinwil to address Sauber’s financial crisis.

Now it appears that Ferrari, their long time engine partners, may step in to save the embattled outfit – the fourth oldest team on the grid – from closing down.

Recently Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler and Ferrari Chairman, has championed the idea of the group’s Alfa-Romeo brand returning to Formula 1 as a pseudo-junior team to Ferrari, in the mould of Toro Rosso and Red Bull.

In January, Marchionne said, “It would be difficult for Alfa Romeo to return without the support of another team. An association with Formula One, that would be ideal.”

“It’s incredible how the Alfa marque remains in people’s hearts. For that very reason we are thinking about bringing it back, as our competitor, to racing, to Formula One. It’s important for Alfa to return,” insisted Marchionne at the time.

Alfa-Romeo has a fine pedigree in Formula 1 with Nino Farina winning the inaugural F1 World Championship in 1951 and a year later Juan Manuel Fangio was world champion for the marque. The team competed in 110 grands prix, winning ten times.

The team supplied engines to F1 teams between 1961 and 1979 before returning as a fully fledged works team between 1979 and 1985. Their final race at the pinnacle of the sport was at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix.

Apart from legends Farina and Fangio, other drivers who raced for the team included the likes of Bruno Giacomelli, Mario Andretti, Andrea de Cesaris, Patrick Depailler, Eddie Cheever and Riccardo Patrese.

Ironically Enzo Ferrari founded Scuderia Ferrari team in 1929 to become the racing team of Alfa Romeo, building and racing cars for the Italian marque at the time.

Italian media reported that during the Red Bull versus Renault crisis last year, there were discussions regarding Red Bull or Toro Rosso using Alfa Romeo badged Ferrari engines, but Red Bull stuck with Renault power (now branded as TAG-Heuer) while Toro Rosso opted for year old Ferrari power units.

Marchionne’s passion for the Alfa Romeo legacy in F1 is obvious, “I was at the Ferrari museum and you can see the story with a great closeness to Alfa Romeo.”

This would be fantastic! I've always had a soft spot for Alfa - terrific cars & impressive history. Just love the way Alfa feels on the road.

My first car when I turned 16 was a '74 GTV 2.0L... Still have it in mom's garage!

[MIKA27]

Teams signal tentative approval for new F1 qualifying format

Team bosses have shown some tentative support for the revised qualifying format proposed by the FIA to be discussed and voted upon during another meeting between the F1 stakeholders on Thursday.

With elimination qualifying receiving another drubbing on social media by fans and by teams in the paddock during the Bahrain Grand Prix, a crunch meeting between FIA President Jean Todt, commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone and the team bosses took place ahead of the race but yielded no formal solutions.

However, one new idea was tabled with an aggregate format being proposed that will see a driver's two best times in each of the three knockout sessions combined to set the order.

Set to be discussed and voted upon during another meeting on Thursday, though the new format hasn't received a ringing endorsement from a selection of team bosses, it is receiving a more positive response compared with the current format.

“I think it is a vote yes, but to be honest we don't even know,” declared McLaren's Eric Boullier, while Ferrari's Maurizio Arrivabene said 'it doesn't sound that bad'. Claire Williams has also suggested her support by saying it seems a well-thought out idea.

Teams had hoped to persuade the Todt and Ecclestone to simply revert back to the universally liked knockout format in place from 2006 to 2015, but both have made it clear this is not an option. Calling the situation a 'political mess', Toto Wolff alludes to various agendas still playing out despite the increasing scrutiny on the governing bodies.

“I think we have expressed our opinion and I think all teams have the opinion that we need to be coming back to 2015 but there are various agendas and the meeting this morning showed that it is not an easy one so I can't really help you. Last time I told you [we would go back to 2015 format], I was totally wrong…”

Regardless of initial opinion, the new format still requires unanimous support but if it proves to be the only alternative available to team bosses – or face elimination qualifying staying in place indefinitely – there is an expectation it will be passed this time.

[MIKA27]

Calendar could swell to 22 races as Vegas talks ramp up

Bernie Ecclestone says he is prepared to swell the Formula 1 calendar to include as many as 22 races as part of a plan to introduce a second American race, potentially in Las Vegas, to the schedule.

The F1 calendar has steadily grown over the last few years from 17 races back in 2000, to 19 as recently as last year to this season's record 21 events, which accommodates the returning German Grand Prix and the new Grand Prix of Europe to be held on the streets of the Azerbaijan capital Baku.

With a race being held now on alternate or back-to-back weekends – save for the mid-summer break – between March and November, F1 has come into some criticism for the growing schedule, with teams feeling it is too much travel for trackside staff, especially those with families.

Undeterred, Ecclestone says he is prepared to increase the schedule to 22 races as he negotiates a deal that could see F1 head to Las Vegas as early as 2018.

Part of the F1 supremo's ongoing desire to have two American events on the schedule, Las Vegas has previously hosted F1, with two poorly-received races taking place in the car park of the renowned Caesars' Palace Hotel in 1981 and 1982, but new plans are in place to return with a street race.

“I don't know at the moment [what will happen]. I was talking to them last night. They've always had a contract.”

Asked whether Las Vegas would result in another event losing its spot, Ecclestone replied:

“I think not. I think another couple of races.

Quizzed further on whether he believes the teams would agree to a 22 race calendar, Ecclestone said 'he doesn't need to ask'.

Either way, several races remain under threat on the current schedule, with the Italian Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix both undecided beyond this season.

[Baldy]

MIKA: How about the fact that perhaps drivers are human and there isn't any issue with the clutch but they just simply need to work on their starts? Just saying!

I'm a Hamilton fan. I really like the new rules that the engineers can't tell the drivers and practically set everything up for the drivers during the start. It's now up to the drivers. IMO, this is where Nico is superior than Hamilton.

[MIKA27]

I'm a Hamilton fan. I really like the new rules that the engineers can't tell the drivers and practically set everything up for the drivers during the start. It's now up to the drivers. IMO, this is where Nico is superior than Hamilton.

I completely agree Baldy. Its about time they changed such a simple rule and revert back the onus to the driver. It can still be done better but it's good that the driver factor comes into play. You can qualify P1 but its worthless if you don't get a good start. Kind of like Mark Webber, brilliant qualifier but slept most of the times at the start

[skalls]

Tickets were expensive, but I'm at turn 4, section 3 row 25.

Wanted turn 12 but those were way above my comfort level. Should be a fun time

[MIKA27]

ALARM BELLS RING FOR FERRARI AS RELIABILITY PROBLEMS PERSIST

Ferrari is confident it will quickly solve the engine flaw that stopped Sebastian Vettel from even starting the Bahrain Grand Prix and hopefully curb the reliability issues that have plagued the team in the first two races of the season

Kimi Raikkonen’s failure was with the turbo in Australia, and so teammate Vettel’s smoky exit on the parade lap in Bahrain had ramped up speculation the Italian team is grappling with fundamental reliability issues in 2016.

“When you seek to improve your performance, as you need to do to try to get closer to Mercedes, sometimes you take risks and have problems with reliability,” F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart told Brazil’s Globo last weekend. “That’s how F1 works.”

According to Tuttosport, Australia and Bahrain will have set off “alarm bells” at Maranello, where boss Maurizio Arrivabene has already said staff will be working “Saturdays and Sundays” to fix the problems before China.

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, however, is looking on the bright side for the fabled Italian team and told La Gazzetta dello Sport, “It’s better an engine breaks when you’re on the second row than to never break an engine on the eighth (row).”

“I recall in 1996 when Michael Schumacher’s engine broke on the parade lap in Magny Cours but then we won at Spa and Monza,” Montezemolo added. “As always in formula one, there is much work to do but I hope that Sunday was a good sign with parallels to those (Schumacher) years.”

Leo Turrini, a reliable Ferrari media insider, wrote on his Quotidiano blog that Ferrari has traced Vettel’s Bahrain failure to an injector that will now be re-designed, “In Maranello, they believe they can remedy the situation.”

The on-track foibles are in stark contrast to what Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne had in mind before the season started when he declared confidently, “We want to present ourselves in Australia as the team to beat. We know that our rivals are strong, but we are not afraid of them as we are the most successful team in the history of Formula 1.”

“2016 should be the year for us to return to the top. Our investments have not been lacking,” added the Ferrari chief at the time.

[MIKA27]

STEWART: ALONSO IS ONE OF THE BEST DRIVERS ON THE GRID

Fernando Alonso has resumed training as he fights to be fit to return to the cockpit of his McLaren-Honda in China.

On the Bahrain grid last Sunday, with Stoffel Vandoorne filling in, Alonso said he was “99 per cent” sure his chest injuries would not stop him from racing in China in two weeks.

It turned out to be a difficult weekend for the former double world champion, sidelined by FIA doctors and also goaded by British F1 pundit Johnny Herbert to retire.

Alonso reacted angrily by gatecrashing Herbert live on television, declaring later that he thought the former Sauber driver had been “aggressive”.

When also asked about Herbert’s criticism, F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart told the Spanish newspaper AS: “I read something that Herbert said — that he (Alonso) would not or should not drive again. I don’t agree, obviously.”

“He will return soon, hopefully in China, but it’s ok for him to lose a race or two, he can afford it, although he is important to the team,” the great Scot added.

“Alonso is one of the best drivers on the grid, possibly the best,” said Stewart, “and certainly the one with the greatest mental strength. He is a very complete driver who always takes the most minimal opportunity to win.”

Meanwhile, the Spaniard has posted on Instagram of a picture of himself on a gym exercise bike at the hotel.

Now, a sweaty Alonso in cycling bibs and pulling on an exercise elastic has posted a new photo, explaining: “Return the training, in the next few days I hope to do also cycling and swim. Step by step.”

[MIKA27]

Vettel pleads for cheaper power units

Despite Ferrari being against 'normally aspirated' engines, team racer Sebastian Vettel has pleaded for Formula 1 to introduce them as the current cost of power units are too expensive.

Vettel also explained that it will improve the car's general performance on the track and that it would be beneficial for the sport.

Adding to his views against the price of the power units, the four-time World Champion was also one of the drivers that co-signed a letter from the Grand Prix Drivers' Association blasting the current decision-making and regulations that the sport has adopted.

"I personally think the current power unit regulations are too expensive and I think it would be beneficial for all the team and the whole sport to go to something normally aspirated," the 30-year-old told crash.net.

"I stick to what I said, which is that these power units are too expensive. They have cost a lot of money already and they will keep costing a lot of money and think everything else that we have been trying to do with adaptations and changes of rules doesn't change the key problem.

"A lot of problems that we face now go back to the fact that it was just the wrong way to go. It's easy to raise your hand and admit that, but we are still stuck with what we have.

"I can't change the rules, but I think it's a good thing that you don't let one driver or one person make the rules, but equally we've addressed that the way it is currently set up is not the best either.

"It's clear that we drivers are not here to make the rules. In no sports does a sportsman make the rules, so that's clear and we don't want to be the ones who decide where the sport is going."