FORMULA 1 - 2016

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Is Sochi the most affordable race to see on the F1 calendar?

Thanks to a favourable exchange rate, Russia’s round of the World Championship could be F1’s best-kept secret as a destination to visit.

It's no secret that Formula 1's status as the “pinnacle of motorsport” is quite a serious financial commitment. It's a commitment for the teams, the yearly budget of which is counted in hundreds of millions of dollars.

It's a commitment for the championship's partners and sponsors, who likewise have to shell out serious sums of money for the right to have their logos displayed on tracks, cars and the drivers' racesuits.

Unfortunately, it's also a financial commitment for many fans – if you have already been to a Formula 1 round or are simply familiar with the basic economics of the event, you are surely aware of how expensive attending a race can be for a motorsport fan.

The price of a grandstand ticket usually starts out at around $400 and can end up as high as $700 or $900, depending on the event. And if you're planning to view a race while sipping champagne from the comfort of the VIP hospitality Paddock Club, you probably know the amount of cash spent on that can be limited only by your own imagination.

Add to that the price of food at the track, the price of plane tickets and accommodation and you'll get an overall sum that is comparable to spending two weeks at a holiday resort. Unless, of course, you are lucky enough to have an invitation from one of the sponsors – or are an owner of a house that overlooks the Monte Carlo circuit.

Half the usual budget

Is it all bad then? Well, no, it isn't. This year, F1 fans have an easy way to make a trip to a Grand Prix on around half the usual budget. And the reason for that is the currency exchange rate.

After all, the Russian currency – the Ruble – is now worth around half of what it was last year compared to the US Dollar or the Euro. And how does that affect the price of the trip? Well, it's around twice as cheap!

On the Sochi Autodrom's website, you can find that a spot at a trackside grandstand with a good view would set you back around 8000-12000 rubles, which, going by the current exchange rate, is just $110-$170.

The local hotels likewise set their pricetags in rubles, meaning that, for the equivalent of $250 a week, you can get a great room just a few metres away from the track and the massive Olympic Park. You can check prices and book your tickets – and a hotel – right on the website of the Russian Grand Prix's track, http://sochiautodrom.ru

And while the racing's all well and good, when going abroad for a Formula 1 event, many also prefer to do some sightseeing and experience local cuisine, nature and so on. And for that, Sochi is a truly unique spot on the globe – something that many found out for themselves during the recent Winter Olympic Games.

A unique environment

“Only here can you go relax on a warm beach one day and then go mountain skiing on the very next day. It's a unique opportunity,” said Sergey Vorobyev, the promoter of the Russian Grand Prix.

And so it is that Sochi, which is located on the coast of the Black Sea in a subtropical climate, presents the choice between sunbathing under palm trees and sunbathing on snowy hills, which not so long ago hosted the Winter Olympics – and which are only an hour's drive away from the Autodrom.

Apart from the winter sports, you can visit the AJ Hackett skypark to test your bravery by walking on the world's longest suspended pedestrian walkway; or bungee jumping into the abyss from a height of 207 metres; or swing on the world's highest swingset. All in all, for fans of the extreme, this particular place is a must.

It's worth noting, meanwhile, that all public transportation between Sochi, the Autodrom and the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort is completely free when the grand prix is in town.

Entertainment

But it's probably fair to say that Formula 1 and the unique environment aren't the only reasons to go to Sochi.

The city also features the exotics of the Russian Caucases, famous for their delicious home-cooked cuisine – made even more attractive by the fact a sizable meal will only set you back $10-15 per person.

Also, near the Autodrom you will find a large museum of Russian cars, filled to the brim with a variety of exhibits. Another car museum – of exotic machines and sportscars – is even closer, in the building of the main grandstand.

And it goes without saying that the Autodrom features a theme park with the massive rollercoasters that you probably saw during TV coverage of the preceding years' grands prix.

The racing itself

There's no doubt that the Russian Grand Prix is a spectacle worth witnessing. In 2015, Sochi hosted one of the most interesting races of the season, and with F1 introducing new tyre regulations this year, the third edition of the race is likely to be the most engrossing thus far.

Every side of the grand prix that drew praise during the last couple of years is still there — the high level of organisation, which saw Sochi named as the best round of the season in 2014, and a varied itinerary for fans, with a lot of racing and a lot of other entertainment, including concerts featuring stars of the local musical scene.

Among the new developments this year is the addition of an extra grandstand in Turn 11, the very place where Carlos Sainz crashed in free practice last year and where a host of events happened both in the grand prix and in the races of the junior classes.

All in all, if you're looking to attend a Formula 1 race or are open to discovering a new fascinating spot on the map and getting a lot of positive new experiences (and saving quite a bit of money), then you'd be wise to hurry – there's now less than a month left before the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.

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FIA eases overtaking worries about 2017 F1 cars

Formula 1 driver concerns that the new 2017 car rules will make overtaking much harder have been dismissed by the FIA.

F1 is planning to deliver cars that are up to five seconds per lap faster next year, as part of an effort to make it harder for drivers and to lift excitement levels.

But that speed leap has prompted concern from a number of leading stars, who reckon that a dramatic increase in downforce levels will make it almost impossible to follow other cars close enough to be able to overtake.

Lewis Hamilton is one who has spoken out several times about the changes, which he thinks are going to add nothing to the show.

"I think we need more mechanical grip and less aero wake coming off the back of the cars so we can get close and overtake," he said.

"Give us five seconds' worth of lap time from aero and nothing will change - we'll just be driving faster."

Mechanical grip

But F1 race director Charlie Whiting thinks such concerns are unfounded, because a lot of next year's speed increase is going to come from mechanical grip due to bigger tyres.

"We've had countless meetings with the technical directors of every team, and we have had a whole range of proposals from what appears to be a huge amount of downforce to a very low level of downforce," explained Whiting, about the process that the FIA has gone through.

"But it is all based on the premise that we will have a significant increase in mechanical grip. So what we have ended up, inevitably, is somewhere in the middle.

"It is incorrect to say that the anticipated lap time improvement will all come from downforce, because it simply shouldn't be."

He added: "The whole idea is that half of that will come from mechanical grip, and the other half will come from aerodynamic downforce.

"One of the things that we have been talking all along is the fact that we must not make it more difficult to follow another car, and that has been one of the underlying principles. So, we've done I believe the best we can, given we have to take everyone's views in to account."

Overtaking mandate

FIA president Jean Todt made it clear over the Bahrain weekend that one of the key considerations for the 2017 rules package was that overtaking was not ignored.

"The mandate is how to make F1 show that it is the pinnacle of motorsport, how to make cars quicker, more spectacular and facilitate overtaking but remaining inside some decent budget," he said. "That is the mandate."

Pirelli briefing

One important component of the 2017 package is that Pirelli delivers the right kind of tyres that will allow the cars to perform better.

Whiting said that within the next few days, the FIA should be ready to provide F1's tyre supplier with a briefing document explaining exactly what type of tyre characteristics is required.

"We have discussed it at length with Pirelli," he said. "We had a meeting in Milan with Pirelli in the beginning of February and we were asked to present them with the targets that we believe Pirelli should achieve during the course of their new contract.

"We are literally ready to supply Pirelli with a set of targets that we feel they need to achieve during the course of their renewed contract. It is all ongoing stuff."

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Ricciardo says new F1 tyre rules good for the show

Daniel Ricciardo believes that the addition of a third compound on F1 race weekends in 2016 has added excitement to the show.

In Bahrain,nine different strategies were used by the top 10 finishers, with only Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen following the same route.

"So far we've had two races this year, and having that extra set of tyres, that extra compound choice, for me it's made it really exciting," said Ricciardo.

"Even throughout practice and qualifying things change, and for the race you can go for different strategies.

"It creates a bit more excitement, it's another factor, another variable for the race, and something else for the driver and team to think about."

Red Bull third

The Australian showed in Bahrain that the Red Bull is the third best car at the moment, earning fourth place after Sebastian Vettel failed to make the start.

"I saw some some smoke out of Seb's car on the warm-up lap, and I knew pretty much immediately that that was his race done. The target was fifth, and it made that fourth, and obviously we finished fourth.

"There was a bit going on in the first corner, I tried to sort of capitalise on that, but I got tangled up in it, and we damaged the front wing.

"I was a bit worried that we'd have to come in and change it – I saw a big part fly off it – but it was not as affected as I thought, and I just carried on. Fourth was a bit lonely at times, but we couldn't expect much more."

At one stage he had a fight with Romain Grosjean, who ran his first three stints on supersoft tyres: "I saw him coming and I was bit surprised about his pace but in the end I knew what strategy he was on, and knew if we just kept it clean fourth was looking good."

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Renault keen to extend Ilmor deal for multiple years

Renault is looking at extending its involvement with engine specialists Ilmor over multiple years as it looks to catch up with rival manufacturers Mercedes and Ferrari.

Ilmor started working with Renault last year to help develop its underperforming power unit and it has remained in the fold now that the French manufacturer has set up its own works team. Despite spending just seven of its 32 development tokens over the winter, Renault has made significant progress with its engine and technical director Bob Bell said the collaboration with Ilmor has contributed both new ideas and more test facilities.

"There is an option for a multi-year programme with Ilmor and they represent an important development strand to us," he told ESPN. "They are a very experienced organisation and they bring a new and fresh view and a different way of looking at the problem. I think that can be very enlightening and stimulating for the existing group [of engineers from Renault].

"In real practical terms, it's 20 percent extra capacity or something like that. It brings very real benefits and we have to make sure we align the work done at Ilmor with the work done in Paris so that it's completely complimentary and guided in one direction, which I'm sure is eminently doable. They are a great group of guys at Ilmor and they are working well with the guys at Paris, so it's a great resource to have on tap."

Asked when the option for future involvement with Ilmor needs to be taken up, Bell added: "As with most contracts in life, there are always points at which you can get out. I think for both parties it's important that the relationship is working for them, and it needs to work for Ilmor as much as it needs to work for Renault. We will judge it on a year-by-year basis, but I think all of the intention is to see it run for multiple years."

Bell said the key to turning the Renault engine programme around has been pinpointing what went wrong over the last two years.

"When you look at what happened with the 2014 engine and the 2015 engine there are two issues that you have to deal with. One is that the engines from a pure technological standpoint were not as good as the best and there were elements missing from within the technology portfolio. So you have to rectify that, identify where they were weak and fix those physical issues with the power unit.

"But perhaps even more importantly that that we have to look at the organisation and say 'why did that happen?' We need to understand what failings in the organisation and what weaknesses in the organisation led to a development programme that delivered those power units?

"We need to try to understand the structural changes that need to be made in the organisation in order that we don't repeat those situations. In a sense we are developing the engine and we are developing the organisation in parallel. We need to do both."

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Jean Todt adamant 2017 Formula 1 rules will be finalised this month

FIA president Jean Todt is adamant the 2017 Formula 1 sporting and technical regulations will be decided by the revised date of April 30.

The original deadline of February 29 was pushed back as lengthy discussions took place regarding power units and aero changes.

The aero regulations are said to be close to being finalised, with the bodywork changes for more dramatic-looking cars already approved last month.

But there is still some work to be done on the engine rules, with cost, performance, noise and supply of power units the focus.

"The final regulations will be decided by 30 April," said Todt, who added that only a majority rather unanimity is required to push the rules through.

"At the last meeting we had, I asked the engine manufacturers to drop the price of the engine to make sure every competitor in F1 will have the possibility of having one engine supplied.

"We have also asked them to agree on engine convergence and to make some proposals to increase further, as it already has been one step, the noise of the engine.

"As we did not have a proposal which was satisfactory, we unanimously agreed to delay the introduction of the 2017 regulations to the 30 April."

There has been a desire to make the cars significantly faster next year but that has caused concern among drivers who feel that will make it tougher to overtake.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting believes those involved have done the best they can to take everyone's views into account to come up with a set of rules.

"We have had countless meetings with technical directors of every team and we have had a range of proposals [ranging] from what appears to be a huge amount of downforce to a very low level of downforce," he said.

"But it's all based on the premise that we have a significant increase in mechanical grip so what we have ended up with is somewhere in the middle.

"It's incorrect to say the anticipated laptime improvement will all come from downforce because it simply shouldn't.

"The idea is half will come from mechanical grip and the other half from aerodynamic downforce.

"One of the things we have been talking all along is the fact we shouldn't make it more difficult to follow another car.

"We've done the best we can, I believe, given we have to take everyone's views into account."

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Romain Grosjean has paid for himself already, Haas F1 team says

Romain Grosjean's performance has vindicated the Haas Formula 1 team's decision to sign him for his experience, rather recruiting a pay driver.

The Frenchman gave the team points on its F1 debut with sixth in Australia and followed that up with fifth in Bahrain.

That leaves Haas fifth in the constructors' championship on 18 points already, which will be crucial in terms of prizemoney at the end of the season.

Several of the smaller teams have chosen pay drivers to provide part of the finances required to stay afloat but Haas resisted that when it recruited Grosjean.

"I think he has paid for himself already," said team principal Gunther Steiner.

"We needed a known quantity.

"If we had someone else, a pay driver, maybe we would not be where we are.

"We would question ourselves, 'is the material good enough'? 'Is the car good enough?'

"We know now because he pulled it off. We know now where we are.

"That is what you want to achieve with getting a driver of his calibre."

Grosjean has been influential behind the scenes, working long hours to help get the team up to speed and was even in the garage late during testing, preparing his own race seat while mechanics worked on other things.

It is that commitment, as well as that of Esteban Gutierrez, that has proved so useful to Haas, according to Steiner.

"He has been important not in the last few races but across the board," he said.

"When he says the car is good or as good as what I had before, it gives you confidence.

"We look at him when we ask where are we? Esteban is doing a fantastic job as well. It's a very good combination."

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FIA AND FOM CAPITULATE AS F1 REVERTS TO 2015 QUALIFYING FORMAT

Formula 1 is set to revert back to last year’s qualifying format after team bosses knocked back the sport’s latest proposal on Thursday.

The teams, in a united letter to FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s chief executive, expressed their desire to return to the 2015 system as well as turning down Formula One’s latest proposal based on aggregate times.

The following statement was released by the FIA and FOM:

“At the unanimous request of the teams in a letter received today, Jean Todt, President of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, commercial rights holder representative, accepted, in the interests of the Championship, to submit a proposal to the F1 Commission and World Motor Sport Council to revert to the qualifying format in force in 2015.”

“This proposal, if approved by the F1 governing bodies, will take effect as from the Chinese Grand Prix and will apply for the rest of the season.”

“Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone welcomed the idea put forward by the teams to have a global assessment of the format of the weekend for 2017.”

Both Todt and Ecclestone had opposed such a change, but the unanimity among the sport’s 11 teams has forced them into a re-think ahead of next week’s Chinese Grand Prix.

A cryptic message on Ferrari’s Twitter account read: “Unity is the only way to overcome difficulties.”

The sport requires unanimity between the teams, Todt and Ecclestone for any rule change, so a return to the 2015 format would suggest Todt and Ecclestone have relented in the face of strong opposition.

Following a 90-minute meeting between team bosses, as well as Todt and Ecclestone, in the paddock ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, a new format, based on the aggregate timings of two laps in each of the three phases of qualifying, was put forward for a vote on Thursday, where it was rejected by teams.

Reflecting on the aggregate proposal, Sebastian Vettel, the four-time world champion said in Bahrain: “It’s time to go to the circus. 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.”

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo added: “Qualifying is one lap, that one perfect lap. To have an aggregate it starts to sound more like endurance racing, or something. I wouldn’t be too keen on that, no.”

And speaking after the race on Sunday, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “All the teams had the same opinion, to go back to the 2015 format, but there are various agendas and this morning’s meeting proved that it is not an easy one.”

Asked why the sport cannot reach a unanimous verdict on the correct path forward for qualifying, Wolff replied: ”Simple explanation? Madness.”

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FERRARI BEATS MERCEDES IN F1 TEAM PAYOUTS

Ferrari is set to receive $20 million (€17.8 million) more in revenue payments than reigning Formula 1 world champion Mercedes for its performance in the 2015 season, according to figures leaked to media in Bahrain.

The information again outlines the financial disparity which exists within the sport – an issue that has led to two of its teams taking to European competition authorities in protest. Ferrari finished second to Mercedes in the constructors’ world championship last season, nevertheless stated that the historic Italian marque stands to receive $192 million – a 17 per cent increase on 2015.

Formula One Management (FOM), which has not officially confirmed the figures, draws revenue from hosting fees, media rights and other sources such as trackside sponsorship and hospitality.

The report states that the 2015 total rose nine per cent year-on-year to $965 million and will be distributed across 10 teams through nine monthly payments from April with a final “check” payment – when definitive revenues have been calculated – early in 2017.

Ferrari is the only team to have competed in Formula One since the championship’s formation in 1950. As a result it is set to benefit from $105 million in historic/constructors’ championship bonuses, as well as $87 million in performance payments.

By contrast, Mercedes, winners of both constructors’ and drivers’ championships for the past two seasons, will get $171 million in total and third-placed Williams $87 million.

Red Bull Racing, which finished fourth in 2015, is set to gain $144 million, aided by two other significant negotiated payments of $35 million and $39 million – the latter a constructors’ championship bonus for their four successive titles between 2010 and 2013.

McLaren, which endured its worst season in 2015 to finish ninth, will still receive $82 million thanks to a $32 million constructors’ bonus. Meanwhile, eighth-placed Sauber will only receive $54 million, while Force India, which achieved a best ever championship finish of fifth, will stand to gain $67 million.

Force India and Sauber in September filed an official complaint to the European Union’s Competition Commission concerning the championship’s governance and revenue distribution model.

The two teams are battling what they claim is a privileged financial position bestowed upon the sport’s five biggest teams – Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Williams – by F1’s commercial rights-holder and main shareholder CVC Capital Partners.

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HAMILTON: DRIVER COACHING IS A BUNCH OF CR@P

Triple Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton believes the current trend of race driver coaches is a problem with modern racing.

Speaking in a video on Twitter Hamilton said, “There is a problem in racing, you have all these driver coaches coming along, mind coaches and it’s all a bunch of cr@p.”

“Insecure people think you need those things, they don’t… they just get lost but you don’t need it,” he insisted.

Hamilton continued, “You have to trust yourself. Everyone has their own unique way of doing it. I think people start to look at certain things, that’s not there. All the small, little noises which is not the important stuff.”

He also revealed that in 2015, the year of his third F1 title triumph,was not all plain sailing, “Last year I was struggling for some reason and I was trying to figure out what it was.”

“All I did was raise my seat up and all of a sudden a new world appeared… it was like: now I can see. All I did is raise my seat five millimetres and that’s it,” he added.

Cool video:

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VETTEL’S BLOWN BAHRAIN ENGINE IS BEYOND REPAIR

Sebastian Vettel is down to four power units for the remaining 19 races this year, following his smoky retirement on the parade lap in Bahrain.

Earlier, the Ferrari media insider Leo Turrini said the problem had been traced to an injector, but he now clarifies that the fault was actually caused by “a bug on the electronic mapping”. That is good news for the Maranello team, as the fix will presumably be easier.

“It was an electronic problem rather than the failure of a mechanical part,” agreed a report in La Repubblica newspaper.

The report explained that the electronic glitch occurred in a certain gear at precise revs “causing a sort of blackout that affected the engine” so badly that it was damaged “irreparably”.

“In China, Seb switches to power unit two”, Turrini wrote in a follow-up post on his Quotidiano blog.

Meanwhile, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Ferrari is working on an innovative system for its F1 ‘power unit’ called HCCI that would help the team track down Mercedes’ power advantage, particularly in qualifying.

Whether it will come quick enough for Sebastian Vettel’s 2016 title challenge is unclear, but F1 legend Gerhard Berger said the German will not lose his cool.

“Seb will not lose his patience,” the former F1 driver told Sport Bild. “He did not think he would have such a good first year, so I assume that he was ready to say the world championship would take three years.”

But F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said alarmingly this week that he thinks Mercedes’ current advantage is so great that Ferrari will not win a title by 2020.

Vettel replied: “My contract is not even that long, so that’s the first thing I need to sort out! Apart from that, by then I will already be an old man. So yes, I am confident.”

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VANDOORNE PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE SECOND RACE IN CHINA

F1 rookie Stoffel Vandoorne says he will remain race-ready ahead of next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix after making his impressive debut in Bahrain.

Although Fernando Alonso was getting CT scans done early last week, the Spaniard’s chest injuries clearly caught McLaren by surprise once in Bahrain.

That is because when the FIA ruled him out of action on Thursday, reserve driver Vandoorne was thousands of kilometres away in Japan, testing his Super Formula car.

“At the beginning of the Japanese season there are only four days of testing, which is why we sent him there,” McLaren team boss Eric Boullier is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport. “The (Super Formula) series is important for him as he needs to stay race sharp.”

And now, the impressive Belgian rookie will need to be race-sharp again, as Alonso cannot get the green light to return next week in China until follow-up examinations by the FIA.

“I will be in the simulator tomorrow so I am a little calmer for the weekend,” Vandoorne told Belgian radio Sporza. “Next week I will go to China and we’ll see if I’ll be in the car or not.”

Asked what his chances are, Vandoorne answered: “It’s very difficult to say. Fernando will have more tests after the weekend and then a decision will be made.

“After my first race weekend, it won’t be easy for me to be back on the sidelines, but I knew that’s what my situation would be like this year,” he said.

“Perhaps the race in Bahrain was my real test. I think I proved that I’m definitely ready for it. I made a good impression on the team and the F1 world, which can only help me for the future,” Vandoorne added.

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IS IT TOO LATE TO CALL OFF 2017 F1 REVOLUTION?

Speculation that the touted Formula 1 rules revolution for 2017 could be called off at the eleventh hour are being played down on all sides.

Amid suggestions in Bahrain that eight of the eleven teams are in fact now opposed, FIA president Jean Todt insisted that the April 30 decision deadline will be met.

Two of the three teams still in favour are Red Bull-owned Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso, with the latter’s boss Franz Tost saying deferring is no longer an option.

“To come now and say ‘This is not good’ is too late — because this (the 2017 car blueprint) has been defined.”

The other team still in favour is McLaren, who came up with the basic blueprint of the ‘compromise’ rules — halfway between the original ultra-fast concept and what will now form the basis of the cars for 2017.

“It is not carried as far as we would have liked – it’s a compromise solution – so let’s see,” Red Bull’s Christian Horner told the official F1 website. “It is better than standing still.”

Still, with the strategy group split into three voting blocks – the teams, FOM and the FIA – there remains some lingering uncertainty.

“I think I should have applied ‘hopefully’ to both,” said Williams deputy Claire Williams, when speaking about not only the 2017 chassis rules but also changes to the power unit regulations.

“We have a strategy group meeting that’s just been scheduled coming up, and as we all know in formula one, things are fluid. I said ‘hopefully’ just to temper it. I don’t think you should put too much emphasis on that word,” she said.

Asked if there is a chance the strategy group will shoot down the 2017 plans altogether, Williams answered: “I doubt it. I think it’s becoming far too late in the day. I think we pushed the date anyway and we need to get these signed off if we’re all to be ready for 2017.”

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Ferrari cleared of wrongdoing over coded pitboard message

Ferrari has been cleared of any wrongdoing when it used a coded message during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The FIA recently clamped down on team-to-driver communications which includes radio and pitboard messages. The governing body made it clear that coded messages wouldn't be permitted either.

However during the Australian GP, a rival team spotted Ferrari using what it believed was an illegal message and reported the matter to the race stewards.

That coded message, delivered by a pitboard to Sebastian Vettel, read: "-3.2 LFS6 P1".

Following an investigation, in which Ferrari provided the FIA with an explanation as to the meaning of the message, it has been decided that whilst the message would be banned under normal conditions, due to the circumstances, no action would be taken.

During the race, a mid-race red flag caused by Fernando Alonso's crash, led to a problem with the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and the way it dealt with the stoppage. A fuel miscalculation meant a manual change to the mixture ratio was required, something a driver can do on their steering wheel.

Vettel's times after the change were roughly 0.2 seconds a lap slower, indicating that he was likely using a rich mixture which would have seen him run out come the end of the race.

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Sainz expects more Verstappen battles

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz has admitted that he would not be surprised if he and his teammate Max Verstappen ever got into another battle during the course of the 2016 season.

Sainz, who stood his ground against Verstappen in Melbourne and refused to let him pass, said that if the team does not order him to move aside then he will fight as hard as he can for his position, especially if they are on the same race strategy.

"We are always very close on track, in qualifying and everything, so the result is defined by the small details at the end," the Spaniard told crash.net.

"There will be occasions probably that will be like in Melbourne, but I think hopefully I am mature enough to handle the situation to get the most out of my personal result and the result of the team.

"In the end, that's what we're here for, to help the team score P5 in the championship and I'm sure that if we manage that, Toro Rosso and Red Bull will be really happy with both of us.

"If we are not on the same strategy, we are on different strategies and Max is coming from behind on the supersofts and I'm on the medium there would be no point in fighting him. If we are on the same strategy, if we are both on the same tyre, predicted pretty much the same stop lap and the same tyres to the end of the race I would be more than happy to fight Max for position.

"I'll fight with Max and fight with all the other 20 drivers out there. It's what I came to Formula One for, to fight the best 21 drivers of the world and I'm here. It's what excites me, not to ask for someone to let me past or something like that."

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Boullier: Alonso should be ready for China

After McLaren-Honda driver Fernando Alonso was declared unfit to race at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Racing Director Eric Boullier has said that the Spaniard should be ready for the Chinese GP.

Alonso was involved in a crash with Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The following Thursday before the Bahrain race weekend commenced, FIA doctors decided not give him the Double World Champion the go-ahead.

However, as the race in China approaches, Boullier is confident that the 34-year-old will be back in the Honda-powered car in time for the Grand Prix.

“Yeah, I think so. He is going to go again for some scans and then the FIA will inspect them and decide yes or no,” he told ESPN.

On Alonso’s replacement in Sakhir, Boullier added that Stoffel Vandoorne impressed everyone at McLaren by scoring their first points of the season.

“It was a good experience [for Alonso] as well. He enjoyed being around and he made some very nice comments on the radio,” the Frenchman revealed.

“You know what he went through and he is obviously only going to be better, if he is racing again, which we don’t wish, but if he has to, the team is now confident he can do the job.

“I think having done such a weekend for him it is a massive boost to his confidence. It is also a boost I guess for his career. I know a lot of people have some eyes on him. So it is good for him.”

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Why an F1 car is more energy efficient than an electric car

Thanks to efficiency gains made under the current set of engine regulations, Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W07 Hybrid is more energy efficient than the average electric road car.

News last week that Tesla has received more than 276,000 pre-orders for its new family-sized electric car, underlines the shift in thinking in the automotive industry towards electric vehicles. Yet in a county like the U.S.A. where at least 66 percent of electricity comes from coal- and oil-fired energy stations, with just 13 percent coming from renewables, an F1 car is arguably greener.

The thermal efficiency of Mercedes' class-leading hybrid F1 engine has now exceeded 45 percent, with 50 percent thermal efficiency a very real target in the next couple of seasons. By contrast, coal and oil power stations achieve thermal efficiency of around 33 percent, meaning the power used to drive an electric car is likely to be coming from a less efficient source than an F1 engine.

Mercedes technical director Paddy Lowe believes F1 technology could offer a more efficient future for the automotive industry, but says the message is not being spread widely enough.

"Electric cars are seen as green and the solution to all carbon emissions, but they are absolutely not," Lowe told ESPN. "It all depends where you get the electricity from and in a typical country with a regular profile of electricity generation, a Formula One car is massively more efficient than any electric car being charged from a power plant which is burning hydrocarbons. It is incredible that we've done that, but nobody is really talking about it that much."

The beauty of F1's drive for efficiency is that it is the only way to gain more performance. By limiting the amount of fuel and its flow rate to the engine, the only way to have a more powerful engine is by making better use of the fuel available.

"The really exciting point is that because the regulations drive us to get more efficiency, the only way to get more performance is to be more efficient," Lowe explains. "And while we have already achieved 45 percent, we are not even stopping and so we will probably in two or three years' time achieve 50 percent efficiency. When you bear in mind that road cars have been stuck around 30 percent for the last 50 years that is just mind blowing."

Lowe believes the biggest failing of the current engine regulations, which are still talked down by F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone, is the sport's inability to convey its successes to the outside world.

"The 2014 changes were all geared around efficiency, an environmental message and a road-relevance message. I think they've been very successful and one of the least successful aspects is how we talk about that and what has been achieved and leverage that as a success story and how that may influence the public and the automotive industry, as it was intended to do.

"We set out with that objective, we achieved it technically, but we haven't gone and harvested the intent, which is a bit strange for me. The technical stories in there are absolutely amazing. We have hybrid engines now that are more than 45% efficient."

Although the latest F1 technology has yet to filter into road cars, the potential for it to do so is realistic, as explained by Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell.

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Romain Grosjean: Haas still 0.5s off true potential

Romain Grosjean says there is potential to unlock as much as 0.5s of one-lap performance from the Haas in the coming races.

Grosjean got his first season with the new American team off to a dream start, with a sixth-place finish in Australia and and fifth in Bahrain, putting him fifth in the standings ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Qualifying has been a slightly different story after the team did not make it out of Q1 in Australia, before qualifying ninth with Grosjean in Bahrain.

An extra 0.5s of performance would have put him sixth in Q2 in Bahrain, splitting the two Williams, and Grosjean said the team is setting its targets high for coming races.

"Behind Ferrari would be nice!" he said. "On paper we are not miles off Ferrari. Lap time wise ... I don't know how much was track evolution but let's look at the end of Q2 where we are one second away, a bit more than that. It's not ridiculous if we get everything right we should have another 0.4-0.5s possibly to gain."

Grosjean is also confident there is race pace to be found in the car's set-up, which means scoring regular points is a realistic proposition.

"Yes, in the race there is more performance coming as we're not at 100% of the set-up. There are going to be circuits that suit us better than others and we have to keep working, but yeah, I think we can [continue to aim for points]. We are a new team - it's not like the car is perfect and we can put it on track and that's where we are. We have a very good baseline, but there are a few things that we can improve."

Asked where the team needs to improve, Grosjean said: "There are a few things... You want more downforce with no more drag on the car; you want a few places to be improved - I think this weekend we have a few ideas what we can do on the mechanical set-up as well.

"You are used to numbers from the past and you come here and the numbers are different so it tends to go in one direction and then the numbers one day don't mean what they used to mean, so you have to kind of reset your mind and it's not easy to do."

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THIS IS REAL QUALIFYING

Amid the qualifying stupidity that has tarnished the start of the 2016 Formula 1 season, I've discovered this gem from 2005 Monaco Grand Prix qualy – no more words required…

On his flying lap around Monza during qualifying for the 2004 Italian grand Prix, Colombia’s Juan-Pablo Montoya averaged almost 163 mph which is the fastest ever. Enough said…

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THIS IS REAL QUALIFYING II

Ayrton Senna’s legendary qualifying lap from the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix. Later, Senna said, “I was kind of driving it by instinct. I was in a different dimension, I was in a tunnel, well beyond my conscious understanding.” This clip is from the 2013 documentary, “1”, which captions the on-board footage erroneously as being from 1989. The music is part of the movie.

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THIS IS REAL QUALIFYING III

Michael Schumacher powers his Ferrari to pole position during qualifying for the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix. It's funny but I still recall watching this exact Qualy, funny how some things stand out.

F1 Spa 2000 Qualifying - Mika Häkkinen VS Michael Schumacher - My All Time Favourite

Old time classic and personal favourite battle from qualifying for the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix at the epic Spa-Francorchamps. As good as it gets in the Mika Hakkinen versus Michael Schumacher,McLaren versus Ferrari war that year.

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MONZA BOOSTS F1 HOPES WITH CAPELLI EXIT

Amid intense and faltering negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone, former F1 driver Ivan Capelli has resigned as a chief of Monza’s circuit operator Sias.

Just last weekend in Bahrain, F1 supremo Ecclestone had admitted a new deal for the historic Italian grand prix beyond 2016 was being held up over local politics.

“I know it’s very, very political,” the 85-year-old said.

Ecclestone explained that who gets “the credit” for funding Monza’s new deal was one stumbling block, but it is also known that he was clashing personally with some of the current Italian officials.

“It is a fact that as men we are talking,” he said two weeks ago, “although I don’t know why Federico Bendinelli went as he was a smart person and we understood each other.”

So in reporting that Capelli has now gone, Italy’s Autosprint confirmed that Ecclestone had “no confidence in the management” of Sias and fundamentally clashed over Monza’s desire to reshape the track to suit MotoGP racing.

Another Italian media source, Tuttosport, agreed that Capelli’s departure is “a move to end the stalemate in the negotiations with Ecclestone”.

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SILVER ARROWS SHOW

On this week’s Silver Arrows Show Rosanna finds out how Lewis Hamilton and the team salvaged a podium finish after his car sustained damage on the first lap. She also puts your questions to team boss Toto Wolff and Aldo Costa shares his podium story.

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BOTTAS: I WANT TO WIN BUT AT THE MOMENT IT IS DIFFICULT

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas has refused to rule out playing a starring role in this year’s silly season, telling media he wants to win races.

Last year, the Finn admitted strong rumours linking him with a potential switch to Ferrari were a distraction.

Now, an opening at the fabled Maranello team will once again be up for grabs for 2017, amid similar potential vacancies at other teams including Mercedes.

“There are just two races gone so it’s too early” for team switch reports, Bottas was quoted by Turun Sanomat newspaper on a marketing visit to his native Finland this week. “But it is quite clear that I want to win, and at the moment that looks very difficult.”

Now 26, Bottas has driven throughout his career at Williams and he had hoped openly for an improvement in 2016 after two consecutive seasons of the British team finishing third.

“We have improved aerodynamically,” he said, “but the others have as well. So after Bahrain we know that we need to keep improving.

“Mercedes and Ferrari have gone forward massively and others have come closer to us,” added Bottas. “We are not satisfied with where our car is but we’re working hard.”

Asked by another Finnish newspaper, Ilta Sanomat, if he thinks Williams can win races in 2016, Bottas answered: “I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but at the moment it is very difficult. As the season progresses, we will see how we develop and how close we can get.”

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KALTENBORN: WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DEFUSING THE SITUATION

Monisha Kaltenborn has revealed that Sauber management is working hard to find “a lasting solution” to its glaring financial problems whicha have captured headlines for most of this month.

The struggling Swiss team was late to pay wages to its 300 staff in February and March, with driver Felipe Nasr also revealing that the delayed launch of the 2016 car was due to “non-payment of suppliers”.

Brazilian Nasr left Bahrain last weekend vocally unhappy that his car was not up to scratch with that raced by teammate Marcus Ericsson.

“Marcus is using the chassis that we had in Barcelona and it works well,” he told Globo. “Mine is new and, as I said, it was only assembled in Albert Park.

“Now they will disassemble and reassemble it before the first practice in China to see if they discover what is wrong,” Nasr added.

But even though some sources are downplaying it, there are reports Sauber may not have the money to make the trip next week to Shanghai.

Team boss Kaltenborn was not even in Bahrain, citing ‘personal reasons’ for skipping the official FIA press conference but reportedly in crucial talks with a potential saviour.

Blick, a Swiss publication famously close to Sauber, said Kaltenborn’s talks are not just with a sponsor but an entity that could take a “majority stake in the team”.

Kaltenborn commented: “We are in the process of defusing the (current) situation and finding a lasting solution to the problems.”

Last month, Kaltenborn had promised staff their wages would be made on time in the future, but as they face another delay now, the 44-year-old could only apologise.

“I regret this further delay and apologise,” said the Indian-born Austrian. “I have to thank the staff for their understanding and their loyalty during this difficult time.”

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REMEMBERING JIM CLARK AT HIS LAST RACE

It so happened that 1968 started as his lucky year: in South Africa the Scot Jim Clark took his 25th grand prix victory and was therefore down as the most successful driver in the 18 year history of Formula 1.

Just weeks later, Clark was killed in a low profile Formula 2 race in Germany at the daunting Hockenheimring. The cause of this fatal accident was put down to a puncture during a run through the forest section of the high speed circuit – but there were no eyewitnesses.

His death shook the entire sporting to its core, motorsport lost a true hero. Clark, son of a sheep farmer, was seen as virtuoso at the steering wheel and will always be regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time.

On that fateful day, a young camera man, Marten Taege, was documenting proceedings at an event from which very little footage and very few photos exist – tragically it would be Clark’s last race.

This clip provides a valuable glimpse into the final hours of a truly great Formula 1 driver.

In closing, imagine Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel (or any of the modern day drivers) tightening wheel nuts or pouring petrol into their race cars…