FORMULA 1 - 2016

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MANOR: BOTH DRIVERS DID A GREAT JOB

The Shanghai International Circuit played host to an exciting and chaotic Chinese Grand Prix today; Pascal was running as high as 4th at one stage!

As was the case with the rest of the weekend, tyres were the biggest factor over the 56 laps and 6 stops made it a busy day for our pit crew. Towards the end of the race, we spotted an opportunity for Pascal, already keeping four cars behind him, to reel in the Renault of Kevin Magnussen, running directly ahead on worn tyres.

We opted for our only Supersoft stint of the race and Pascal took 6.6 secs out of Kev’s advantage over 10 laps but at the flag had to settle for 18th place. Rio came home in P21, ahead of Palmer, securing our second two-car finish of the season.

Pascal Wehrlein: “It was a good race, with some positives to take away. Once again we were fighting with some other cars and managed to overtake a few as well. The start went well and then the first few corners were a bit hairy with cars and debris all over the place. We did well to avoid the chaos and made up 17 places from the start to be 4th for a few laps. That was a nice feeling, although I knew it would be short-lived. The car was working fine but I think 18th place is where the car is right now at this event. At the end we saw the chance to gain on Magnussen, which is why we went for the Supersofts. It was a good feeling to be hunting him down but we only had a limited window on those tyres and it wasn’t quite enough in the end. Everyone finished, so with no DNFs we got ahead of four other cars on merit, but we have to make a good step forward now to make a big difference in the races ahead.”

Rio Haryanto: “In the early part of the race we were in the mix with Sauber, as we have been at various parts of the weekend, and also with Haas, but towards the end we were just lacking pace a little bit. I managed to hold off Palmer until the end which was good, so while I’m happy that we managed to get both cars to the chequered flag again, I was hoping for more of a fight today. The signs are good though and I think we know what we need to do to improve and make that possible. My thanks to my crew and the team and let’s keep pushing for Russia.”

Dave Ryan, Racing Director: “Both drivers did a great job today and made the best of the car’s potential. The opening lap mêlée presented a few opportunities for a while and it was nice to see Pascal riding as high as 4th and Rio in 8th. These situations shake out eventually, although Pascal did hold on to the top 10 for a good few laps and fought hard to stay in touch with our immediate competitors until the flag. For his final stint we saw an opportunity to reel in Magnussen, who was on old Soft tyres in the dying stages of the race, so we opted for Supersofts which enabled Pascal to take a good chunk out of the Renault, getting the gap down from 10s to as little 3.8. It wasn’t quite enough in the end but it was a good feeling to be racing all the way to the finish. Rio didn’t have the pace to close up to Nasr, so the objective with him in the final stint was to keep Palmer at bay, which he did quite easily. In short, a better day than yesterday and not a bad outcome, getting two cars to the finish. However, we need to do better and try to get on top of the issues that are holding us back.”

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BOULLIER: RETIREMENT FOR ALONSO IS STILL FAR AWAY

McLaren-Honda has opened the door for Fernando Alonso to renew his contract beyond the end of next season.

“If he continues working and driving in the same way for us, we would like him to stay,” team boss Eric Boullier told the Spanish sports daily Marca in China.

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert caused a stir in Bahrain recently when, as the Spanish driver recovered from chest injuries, the Briton urged Alonso to retire.

But Boullier said: “It has been a difficult four weeks for Fernando, but he has behaved like a really motivated driver whose sole ambition was to return to the car as soon as possible.

“We told him he could go home in Bahrain to rest, but he preferred to stay with us,” the Frenchman revealed.

When asked about speculation Alonso is close to calling time on his career anyway, Boullier answered: “Everyone can think what he wants, but I think retirement for him is still far away.”

As for Herbert’s criticism, he continued: “It is his opinion, but mine could not be more different. I have not seen anyone as motivated as Fernando. He is one of the main pillars of this team.”

And Boullier said Alonso will have noticed the progress McLaren-Honda has made so far in 2016, revealing: “We are seeing light at the end of the tunnel now. By Monaco we will have one of the best chassis and we could reach the podium, why not?”

He dismissed the suggestion McLaren is actually a formerly great team on a downwards spiral, demonstrated by the fact the Woking team has failed to sign up a title sponsor.

“No problem,” said Boullier. “We have a group of sponsors that is enough, including Honda, so we do not mind not having a title sponsor.

“Last year we did not win (much) money being ninth place in the world championship, but this year being around fifth, we will,” he added. McLaren-Honda is currently eighth in the standings with a single point. The team, as a company, has always made money,” Boullier explained.

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HAMILTON: WE’LL GET UP AND TRY HARDER THE NEXT TIME

Defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton feels he has a “dark cloud” over him after his early-season struggles continued with a disappointing seventh-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, but the Mercedes driver is trying to stay positive with a long season ahead of him.

After dominating Formula One for much of the past two seasons, Hamilton has now failed to win in six straight races — his longest drought since 2013. His seventh-place finish in Shanghai is also his worst performance in a race that he’s completed since the Brazilian Grand Prix at the end of 2013.

Hamilton’s troubles have come as his teammate, Nico Rosberg, has surged to the top, winning the past six races to take a 36-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ standings this season — 75 to 39.

It’s a large deficit to make up, but not as daunting as Hamilton initially thought.

“I thought it was 50 points,” he said with a laugh after the race.

Hamilton also trailed Rosberg by 29 points midway through the 2014 season and was able to win six of the final seven races to capture the championship. He said it might be harder to do the same this year, but hopefully not impossible.

“It doesn’t feel any nicer than it did back then. If anything, it feels worse perhaps now because it’s obviously just gone one negative after the other,” Hamilton said. “But, of course, there’s a long, long way to go. A lot’s going to happen. It’s just that I have no more jokers available, really.”

Hamilton’s season hasn’t lacked for drama. At the Australian Grand Prix, he got off to a poor start and finished runner-up to Rosberg. Then, at the Bahrain Grand Prix, there was another poor start and a collision with Valtteri Bottas at the first corner that left him with a damaged gearbox and a third-place finish.

This week in Shanghai, Hamilton picked up a five-place grid penalty for making an early gearbox change, then failed to set a time in qualifying after a separate problem with his power unit, relegating him to the last row for the race.

Another collision during the first lap at Shanghai damaged the front wing of his car and led to the first of five pit stops for the British driver.

“Definitely never felt the dark cloud I’ve had over me right now,” Hamilton said. “Of course, it’s a trying time. For sure, lots of different emotions and thoughts are going through my mind.”

“As you see the season start the wrong way, you see a championship which your goals and your eyes are focused on move further away from you as you’re approaching it. But this is a part of motor racing. If we fail this weekend, we’ll get up and try harder the next time.”

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ROSBERG: LEWIS WILL NEVER GIVE UP

Nico Rosberg is refusing to get ahead of himself after extending his perfect start to the 2016 Formula One season with a crushing victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The German became the 10th driver to win the first three races of the season in Shanghai – the previous nine all going on to win the world title.

Rosberg quickly dismissed that statistic, however, pointing at the brooding figure of Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton, who has form when it comes to wiping out chunky leads.

“They didn’t have Lewis Hamilton as a teammate, those other nine,” Rosberg told reporters after pushing his championship lead over Hamilton to 36 points.

“It’s a handful of races in the longest season ever, another 18 to go. To win the first three is awesome, but I never expected it to go that way,” he added with the next race in Russia on May 1 already looking pivotal.

“It’s great to win, it’s what I race for. But Lewis Hamilton is my team mate, triple world champion, hard to beat in the previous two, three years. Lewis will never give up.”

Rosberg also became only the fourth driver to win six consecutive races – joining Sebastian Vettel (nine), Alberto Ascari (seven) and Michael Schumacher (six) – after winning the last three of 2015.

Hamilton, yet to win since clinching his third world title in Texas last October, was licking his wounds after he battled back to finish seventh from last on the grid after a mechanical failure in qualifying.

The Briton erased a 29-point Rosberg lead to win the 2014 championship, a stark reminder to Rosberg of the danger lurking on the other side of the Mercedes garage.

“It doesn’t feel any nicer than it did back then,” said Hamilton. “There are lots of different emotions when you see your season go the wrong way. But it’s part of the journey and it makes us stronger.”

As Rosberg celebrated, Ferrari were hopping mad after their race was compromised by a clash between Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat at turn one.

Vettel, who slammed the Russian as “a madman” and “suicidal” in a withering attack, fought back brilliantly from 15th to take second, while Raikkonen took fifth despite damaging his front wing and sustaining a puncture in the mayhem.

But after struggling with engine trouble in Australia and Bahrain, it was scant consolation for Ferrari after a weekend when the Italian team had shown real pace.

“Ferrari really haven’t shown what they can do at all yet,” warned Rosberg. “We really think that they’re very, very close to us so we have to keep our heads down and keep pushing.”

Red Bull made strides with Kvyat finishing on the podium and Daniel Ricciardo taking fourth after suffering an early puncture when leading, suggesting they too could be a threat at the next stop in Sochi.

“I definitely feel I would’ve been spraying champagne,” said the Australian Ricciardo, who qualified second on the grid. “But part of me is smiling inside because I know that can happen more times this year.”

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ALONSO: RESPECT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WINNING TITLES

Double Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso says feeling the respect of the paddock is more important to him than adding a third world championship title to his tally.

The Spaniard reacted angrily two weeks ago in Bahrain, when while he was recovering from chest injuries, former F1 driver Johnny Herbert urged him to retire.

“Actually,” Alonso told the Spanish sports daily AS in Shanghai, “after the years at Ferrari I feel I have more respect in the paddock than ever.

“I won two world championships but I have to say that the Renault was very good with reliability in that year (2005) compared to McLaren. And in the second (2016), the Michelin tyres were better than the Bridgestones.

“But now after 16 years in F1, I feel there are fewer discussions about those things and people respect me much more thanks to many races and performances I have done every week. Sometimes you win and sometimes not,” the 34-year-old added.

Indeed, Alonso says he is “very happy with my life right now” even though he is at McLaren-Honda, where last year in particular the performance of the car was awful.

So he played down the notion that the title is the only thing that matters in F1, “No I don’t think so. (Gilles) Villeneuve is one of the great drivers in Ferrari history and yet … to the media it is important only to win titles.”

When pressed to explain his view, he continued: “The philosophy of the media is to win many titles, but the athlete that has the recognition and the respect around the world also thinks about other things.

“To win in this sport is more or less a matter of being in the right car at the right time,” explained Alonso. “When people talk about you and respect you even when you have the wrong car at the wrong time, that is more important than winning a title.”

“That respect, that prestige, is more than titles. Of course I would like to have more trophies at home, but it is the way it is and I would not change a single day of my career in formula one. I am very happy,” he added.

So Alonso said it would be wrong to say that leaving McLaren at the end of 2007, or Ferrari at the end of 2014, were key ‘mistakes’ in the planning of his career.

“No,” he answered. “I am sure that looking back it is always easy to find better ways or change some decisions, but if you change any of your life, you would not be the person you are now.

“The decisions I made are a reflection of my personality and it shows how I was and how I am now. And I’m happy with what I am now.

“I know I could maybe have more trophies at home or made better decisions about cars, but at the time I made those decisions I thought they were right.

“I have always followed my instincts and what makes me happy. So I cannot regret anything that happened because I think I could be in a better car.

“I have driven for Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren-Honda and I think any driver in the world would sign for this to be his F1 career.

“Yes I could have driven for Red Bull,” he admitted, “and Mercedes as well, but for example when Michael (Schumacher) came back to F1 and signed for Mercedes it was because it was a good project, but he was out of Q3 for the last three years he was in F1.”

Alonso also hit out at the paddock notion that Ferrari may even have got a boost from his departure in 2014, as Sebastian Vettel now has his sights on the title.

“Now there is this feeling that when you leave a team it gets better, but I wish someone would explain to me why when I left Renault in 2006, they stopped winning races,” said Alonso. “And when I left McLaren they won the title the next year with Hamilton, but nothing more.”

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GROSJEAN: WE CAME DOWN TO EARTH

Romain Grosjean was jolted awake from his dream start for Formula One newcomers Haas F1 by a nightmare Chinese Grand Prix.

The Frenchman, celebrating his 30th birthday on Sunday, survived first-corner contact with the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson which required a new front wing to limp home 19th of the 22 finishers.

“A bad race but half-positive,” Grosjean, who has struggled with problems all weekend, told reporters. “Today we came down to earth (to learn) that Formula One is a complicated world.

“Our performance is not exactly where we should be even though our two first races we took advantage of a lot of things and our performance was a bit higher than what we should have been capable of.”

Haas had a dream debut particularly with Grosjean. The former Lotus-driver finished sixth in the team’s first race in Australia and followed that up with a top-five result in Bahrain.

Those results have placed Haas, who entered Formula One on the back of a technical collaboration with the sport’s most successful team Ferrari, fifth in the 11-team constructors’ standings.

The other Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez finished 14th in Shanghai. The Mexican did not complete either of the opening two races of the season was pleased to make the finish on Sunday.

“It was fun out there today and to finish the races was a big step,” Gutierrez said.

“We now need to finish inside the points and that’s what we’ll be focusing on, so I’m really looking forward to the next one.”

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VANDOORNE IN DEMAND FOR 2017

McLaren may not be Stoffel Vandoorne’s only option to step up into a full-time Formula 1 cockpit for 2017.

The Belgian, strongly backed by the British team, made an impressive debut recently in Bahrain, where Fernando Alonso sat out the race with chest injuries.

Spaniard Alonso was back in action this weekend, but 24-year-old Vandoorne, the reigning GP2 champion, made his point two weeks ago in Bahrain.

“At this stage I don’t think he (Vandoorne) has to prove anything more,” McLaren team boss Eric Boullier said in China. “It’s just a question of having an opportunity.”

That opportunity could come in 2017, with reports suggesting F1 veteran Jenson Button might have to switch to Williams in order to continue his long career.

“This year I was already close to a permanent race seat,” Vandoorne told De Telegraaf. “Right now it’s too early to talk about 2017, but the coming months will be interesting. McLaren and some other teams have already expressed their interest in me.”

Vandoorne’s talent and potential is being mentioned in similar tones to that of Max Verstappen, who is from the Netherlands.

Verstappen said it would be good for another driver from a Benelux country to shine in F1.

“It would be nice if we can dominate as drivers from the Lage Landen (low countries),” the 18-year-old said, before smiling: “But with me first and Stoffel in second place.”

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BUTTON AND ALONSO SLAM FOM AND F1 OFFICIALS

Senior drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were critical of Formula 1’s management during the weekend in Shanghai.

First, 17-year veteran Button joined a chorus of those wondering why Pascal Wehrlein’s qualifying crash after losing control on a damp bump required a 20-minute red flag period.

“In the 20 minutes, nothing changed,” said the McLaren-Honda driver. “Obviously water was running down from the roof. People running back and forth on the track didn’t alter that.”

After the session resumed, the Briton got on the radio in disbelief that Shanghai officials had parked a circuit car on the entry to the pitlane.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes that the car that had been taken out to the damp spot was parked right where we come flying into the pitlane,” said Button. “If one of us had had a problem, we would have flown straight into it. Unbelievable!”

Meanwhile, according to Speed Week, Fernando Alonso pointed his ironic rebuke in the direction of Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management, who aired an embarrassing radio transmission from the Spaniard’s car on Saturday.

When told there was no time to make a bid for Q3, McLaren-Honda’s Alonso let out three bizarre groans of disappointment.

“In the last five years not much was heard from me on the radio,” Alonso said when told the moans had gone out to millions of television viewers.

“But more recently, I seem to have become very attractive,” he added, surely referring to his radio calls of last year, when he described the Honda as a GP2 engine. “The respect from FOM is obviously still there.”

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NASR SET TO GET NEW CHASSIS IN RUSSIA

Felipe Nasr is hoping his bad start to the 2016 Formula 1 season finally ends in Russia.

In Australia, Bahrain and now China, the Brazilian has suggested that amid Sauber’s obvious financial problems, he is suffering from a fundamental chassis flaw in comparison to the car raced by his teammate Marcus Ericsson.

“I feel I did a very good lap,” Nasr, 23, is quoted by Brazil’s UOL, after qualifying behind Swede Ericsson in Shanghai.

“I am suffering from some problems with braking, as happened in the first two races,” he insisted. “I am confident that the team will resolve it soon.”

UOL suggested Nasr will get an all-new Sauber chassis for the forthcoming Russian grand prix.

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KVYAT GETS DRIVER OF THE DAY FOR EXPLOITS IN CHINA

Formula 1 fans voted Daniil Kvyat their “Driver of the Day” on Monday after the Russian finished third in China for a revived Red Bull team breathing down the necks of unhappy rivals Ferrari.

Kvyat was involved in a spat with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in Shanghai on Sunday after the German collided with team mate Kimi Raikkonen at the first corner while the Red Bull steamed through on the inside.

Vettel accused the Russian of driving like a madman, saying he launched his car like a torpedo, but the result of the vote on the official F1 website left no doubt about who won the argument.

The driver award is new for this season, with an online vote through the website after each race, as a move to increase fan engagement in a sport that has seen declining television audiences.

With perfect timing, ahead of next week’s Russian Grand Prix on the May Day holiday in Sochi, Kvyat took the second podium finish of his career and delighted his bosses.

Team principal Christian Horner, whose bid to secure a Ferrari engine was rebuffed last year, rubbed salt in his former driver Vettel’s wounds by saying Kvyat had put in a “very measured drive”.

Vettel won four world championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 and finished second in China but 37 seconds behind Mercedes winner Nico Rosberg, who is now on a six-race winning streak.

“Mercedes are still a step ahead, but we’re snapping at the ankles of Ferrari,” Horner told reporters.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo had started on the front row, ahead of Vettel and Raikkonen, but his hopes were wrecked by a puncture on the second lap when he ran over debris.

Ricciardo still finished fourth, for the third race in a row, with Raikkonen fifth.

He said the puncture and a further setback caused by the deployment of the safety car, which left him with even more places to make up, was “like getting punched in the stomach by a heavyweight”.

He added however that his recovery had been one of the best races of his life and saw plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.

“It’s really promising for sure. Right now three races in, every weekend we’ve shown a strength at some point and it’s been a strength we didn’t think we would have at this point in the year,” he said.

Red Bull failed to win a race in a bad-tempered 2015 overshadowed by a rift, later patched up, between them and engine partners Renault over the lack of performance from the power unit.

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PIRELLI COULD LEAVE F1 IF NO TEST DEAL

Sole supplier Pirelli has warned that it could walk away from Formula One after the current season if the sport fails to ratify tyre testing plans by close of play on Monday.

Media website quoted Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery as saying there would not be enough time to prepare new, wider tyres planned for 2017 if the governing FIA’s Formula One commission stalled on approving rule changes.

Pirelli won a tender for the 2017-19 contract in October but that has yet to be signed off with the International Automobile Federation (FIA) due to the testing issues.

“When I land (in Europe after the Chinese Grand Prix), if I don’t have an email confirming it’s approved, or something else positive, then you will be calling me for a different story,” said Hembery.

“This is it. We cannot do our job without this. We cannot deliver. We are being asked to make very significant changes, by changing the driveability of the tyres.”

Hembery and the FIA were not immediately available for comment.

Pirelli reportedly wrote to the FIA earlier in April to make clear that it would withdraw from the 2017-19 contract if the test programme was not sorted immediately.

The website said FIA race director Charlie Whiting had recently visited senior Pirelli representatives in Milan to push the testing agreement forward.

It added, however, that an agreement had been reached in Shanghai, during the weekend’s third round of the championship, for five teams to join a programme to run from July for a period of 25 car days.

“There are big changes happening. We are being asked to make big changes, the drivers are asking for change – and yet we are being left without the tools to do it. People can argue we don’t need to test, but we do,” said Hembery.

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 the 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 also want clarification on what cars and drivers they can use.

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MARCHIONNE: WE HAVE TO GET ALFA ROMEO BACK TO F1

Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler president Sergio Marchionne has not dismissed speculation the struggling Swiss team Sauber could become Alfa Romeo.

Marchionne has been saying repeatedly in the past weeks and months that Alfa Romeo could revive its historic place on the Formula 1 grid.

“This (F1) is the maximum technological expression of the automotive world,” he said on a rare paddock visit in Shanghai, “and so considering the objectives of Alfa Romeo, I think the option should be considered.

“The Alfa myth was born with racing and F1, and somehow we have to get back there,” Marchionne added. “When will it happen? I don’t know.”

The other pressing question is precisely how it will happen, amid speculation Alfa Romeo could enter F1 as another Haas-like satellite outfit.

But there have also been rumours Alfa Romeo could simply take over the ailing Sauber outfit, whose facilities in Hinwil, Switzerland, are state-of-the-art in the wake of BMW’s former F1 project.

It has emerged that there has been contact between accountants and auditors of both the Swiss and Ferrari to set the groundwork for a possible merger and even a take-over, to the point that the Ferrari chief is aware that there are some substantial debts to be serviced.

Asked directly about the Sauber buyout speculation, Marchionne is quoted by Autosprint as answering simply: “If someone will assume all the debts…”

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MAGNUSSEN IMPRESSES RENAULT BOSS ABITEBOUL

Renault official Cyril Abiteboul says he has been impressed with the team’s 2016 race driver Kevin Magnussen.

The young Dane joined the new works Renault project at Enstone this year having been dropped as McLaren’s reserve driver.

“He is a natural leader,” Renault official Abiteboul told the Danish newspaper BT in China.

“Kevin has just a one-year contract initially, but with the work he has done until now, I see no reason why we should not continue to cooperate.”

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ERICSSON HITS BACK AT UNPROFESSIONAL GROSJEAN

Marcus Ericsson has hit back at unprofessional rival Romain Grosjean after the two clashed during the Chinese Grand Prix.

After two dream points finishes for the brand new Haas team, Frenchman Grosjean endured a nightmare weekend in Shanghai.

He slammed “ridiculous” Pirelli tyre pressures and, on the occasion of his 30th birthday on Sunday, collided with Marcus Ericsson and reportedly confronted the Swede afterwards.

“Romain ran up to me and called me all sorts of words,” Ericsson, who drives for Sauber, told Aftonbladet. “He said that I was an idiot, I’m blind – Grosjean was not behaving like a mature adult.”

“He shouted at me, I told him to calm down but he didn’t want to. Instead he went and said the same thing to journalists. I think it’s immature, unprofessional and disrespectful,” said Ericsson.

“He was probably upset about a bad race, but to hear this from the driver who was suspended (in 2012) for dangerous driving, I think it’s a little strange,” he said.

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RENAULT MAY HALT 2016 DEVELOPMENT TO FOCUS ON 2017

Renault is close to deciding to abandon development of its 2016 car, according to the Danish newspaper BT.

It follows a mainly uncompetitive start to the season for the Enstone team, following the eleventh hour takeover of Lotus.

“At the moment there will be small, aerodynamic improvements,” said Renault official Cyril Abiteboul in Shanghai, “and especially for Spain we have a major update.

“But right now we are deciding about the car with respect to 2016 and 2017,” added the Frenchman. “We are yet to decide how much we will improve in 2016, but the improvements that do come must in all cases help also for 2017.”

Renault, yet to score a single point this year, always acknowledged that 2016 would be difficult, given the lateness of the decision to switch from Mercedes power and in view of the sweeping rule changes for 2017.

“To be honest,” said Abiteboul, “within the team, there are different opinions about this, because it also makes sense to develop the current car.

“It could improve our performance, therefore giving us a better finishing position in the championship this year,” he added, probably referring to the sport’s income-distribution system.

“But there are big changes in the aerodynamic regulations in 2017 and so we need to determine when we decide to focus on the new car. It is a decision we have to take within the next two weeks, and it is a decision that could mean that more or less we stop developing the 2016 car,” Abiteboul said.

The ‘power unit’, however, is an entirely different matter, with Abiteboul saying Renault is “fighting like mad” to develop it.

“No matter what we do with the car, we must have a more competitive engine,” he said, amid reports a major upgrade is coming for Canada in June.

“I cannot put a precise figure on the extra horse power that comes from the new engine, but we think the gap that we currently have to Mercedes will be halved.”

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Bottas: We should have taken advantage of Ferrari collision

Williams driver Valterri Bottas expressed his disappointment that he wasn’t able to take advantage of the Ferrari’s colliding with each other in the first lap of the Chinese Grand Prix.

When the green light was showed, drivers across the grid all fought viciously for position before the first corner, which resulted in Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel crashing into his teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

Bottas also added that the medium compound tyres seemed to be a problem on the Shanghai International Circuit as they were significantly slower compared to the other drivers.

"It's a shame I couldn't gain anything from that [the Ferraris colliding]," the Finn, who finished in P10 on Sunday, told Autosport.

"I just lost many places so it compromised my race a bit.

"It was going OK until the last stint, I was making up places and the pace was OK.

"But then with the medium tyres it was just terrible, terrible overall grip and especially towards the end of the stint I struggled so much."

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Arrivabene: This is racing, it’s not monopoly

Maurizio Arrivabene has absolved Daniil Kvyat of any blame in Ferrari’s opening lap collision in Shanghai, insisting “it was an accident.”

Sebastian Vettel lashed out at the Red Bull Racing, labelling him a “mad man” as the German felt Kvyat’s antics at the start of the Chinese GP left him without any room on the track.

As such Vettel committed the worse sin in Formula 1 as he collided with his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, causing damaging to the Finn’s Ferrari.

But while Vettel was fuming, his team boss saw nothing wrong with the incident.

“I think pointing the finger at somebody isn’t correct,” said Arrivabene.

“Kvyat was doing his race coming into the curve at high speed but Seb and Kimi were doing the same thing in Kvyat’s position.

“Of course if you want to defend your position you move away but unfortunately Kimi was there.

“But this is racing, it’s not monopoly.”

He added: “It was an accident.

“I think they are part of the race but of course when you have your two drivers in a collision with each other it’s not good.

“What can I say more than that?”

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Sainz unhappy with Hulkenberg’s ‘dangerous’ driving

Carlos Sainz says Force India's antics in China were "really dangerous" as Nico Hulkenberg was penalised for driving "unnecessarily slowly" in the pit entry.

With the Safety Car out on Lap 4 of the Chinese Grand Prix, Force India decided to pit both drivers at the same time with Sergio Perez coming in ahead of Hulkenberg.

But as just one position separated the team-mates, Hulkenberg was forced to stack up behind his team-mate.

In a bid to avoid losing as much time as possible, the German drove "unnecessarily slowly" in the pit entry, a move that backed up those behind him and led to Sebastian Vettel overtaking two cars on the grass.

Hulkenberg was later hit with a five-second time penalty by the stewards.

Toro Rosso's Sainz, who was caught behind the slow-paced Hulkenberg, says the German's driving was dangerous as the pitlane is not the place to "create chaos."

"It is fairly common but it is really dangerous," he explained to Autosport.

"You're in the pitlane at 80km/h – that might seem slow but it's still 80km/h – and suddenly he locks the brakes and you can run into him and there are people standing next to you.

"You could hit him and have two cars in the middle of the pitlane spinning around.

"It was definitely a really tricky situation. I went to pass him on the grass and Seb came, so I decided not to tangle with Seb.

"The pitlane should be a safe place, not a place to race and create chaos."

[MIKA27]

Arrest warrant issued for Mallya

India’s Enforcement Directorate announced on Monday that a court in Mumbai has granted its request for an arrest warrant to seek Mallya. The agency wishes to question him about allegations that a $135,000 loan from the IDBI bank was used to buy property overseas. Mallya’s UB Group put out a statement saying that the warrant was “unjustified,” saying that it would provide details to account for the money.

Last week, India suspended Mallya’s diplomatic passport at the request of the Enforcement Directorate. The tycoon left India on March 2 and has been in England ever since

[MIKA27]

Formula 1 approves Pirelli test plan

The Formula 1 Commission has approved plans to alter testing rules in order to give Pirelli more track time to prepare its 2017 tyres.

Pirelli had warned on Monday that it would have to quit the sport if its 2017 testing programme was not ratified by the end of Monday, as it felt it would have no time to get the new tyres ready in time.

The Italian manufacturer had written to the FIA to emphasise that its 2017 plans needed to be sorted immediately, or else it would leave Formula 1.

The deadline for the approval was 4pm CET today.

On Monday afternoon, however, the F1 Commission and the Strategy Group voted unanimously to approve the regulations to allow Pirelli to go ahead with its scheduled programme.

Pirelli boss Paul Hembery had said earlier this month that it was vital for testing plans to be finalised in order to be ready for the new demands that will be imposed on tyres when new regulations come into play next yeare.

"In practice, we are at the limit already," Hembery told Motorsport.com. "There are only six months of work left in order to study and implement the whole thing, and it's not easy.

"The teams want a perfect tyre but week after week it is becoming less and less feasible. Our deadline is [the end of] April.

"If we can not work as we want, it becomes impossible to deliver what is required of us. We do not want to put our name at risk for the sake of not having the tests nor information necessary to do a good job.

"We have already seen that if then there are problems, then it is our fault."

[MIKA27]

Ferrari: Red Bull pace proves engine deal would've been "a mistake"

Red Bull's return to form at the Chinese Grand Prix has proven to Ferrari what a huge 'mistake' it would have been to supply it with engines this year.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit had been pursuing an engine deal with Ferrari after talks with Mercedes collapsed last summer.

But both manufacturers were reluctant to get involved with a deal because of competitive concerns, and in the end Red Bull did a deal to run rebranded Renault engines.

Having started the season stronger than it expected, Red Bull took spot on the front row in China with Daniel Ricciardo and ended Mercedes and Ferrari's lock out of the podium finishes with Daniil Kvyat.

For Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne, the fact that Red Bull has already shown potential to beat it with a less powerful engine, proves that his company was right to block an engine deal.

"We would have made an enormous mistake," explained Marchionne about the prospect of having supplied Red Bull with engines.

"That said, they should not be in front of us, and this confirms the mistakes made [in qualifying]."

Three-way fight

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff had been adamant from the outset that a deal with Red Bull was not in his team's best interests.

But after seeing what Red Bull was capable in China, as Ricciardo led early on, he actually welcomed the possibility of a three-way fight for wins from now on – because it could help hold Ferrari back

"If you look at the pace they have [in the race], it is very strong," he said. "It would be good if they bounce back, considering that Ricciardo lost his race with the puncture.

"You can imagine that he would have given Vettel quite some competition. So looking at this weekend, they seem to have gained quite some performance."

[MIKA27]

New front wing to blame for Grosjean's handling woes in China

Romain Grosjean's struggles with his Haas car in China were triggered in part by the necessity to switch to a new front wing design after his first-lap contact with Marcus Ericsson.

The team had briefly tried the new wing on Friday, but decided to switch back to the older spec after Esteban Gutierrez was sidelined by a brake issue.

The thinking was that, with less track time between the two cars, it would be better for Grosjean to switch to standard spec.

However, with parts at a premium, the new front wing was designated as Grosjean's spare for the race. It was duly pressed into service, but it was not a good match for the existing set-up, leaving the Frenchman struggling.

“We used the new parts on Romain's car on Friday, but we didn't learn anything,” team boss Guenther Steiner told Motorsport.com.

“When we had the problem with Esteban we decided to stop developing the car. We needed to get to a base set-up, do what we know how to do.

"We did one run but we said no, we are too far off, and now we only have one car we don't do it. And so we stopped.

“However we put the wing on the car in the race because that was our spare wing. But it wasn't set-up for the rest of the car, the car wasn't balanced, we didn't know enough about it.

"The whole race for Romain was compromised. He wasn't happy with his car the whole weekend.”

Steiner did add there was a positive: “Esteban was pretty happy with it, he showed that he deserves to be here as well, which is good for his morale. Hopefully at the next one we have a better Friday with both cars.”

[MIKA27]

WERE FERRARI FASTER THAN MERCEDES IN CHINA?

Sebastian Vettel was furious after the Chinese Grand Prix, but he actually has reason to smile according to former F1 driver Franck Montagny, even though the first turn incident Shanghai meant Vettel had to settle for second place.

But Montagny told Le Point magazine: “I think Ferrari were the fastest cars in the weekend. They did no better than second and fifth but they suffered many misadventures in the race.

“Vettel was aware he could have won and so the clash with his teammate made him crazy!” the Frenchman added, referring to the post-race argument with Daniil Kvyat.

Another former F1 driver, Robert Doornbos, agrees that Vettel’s anger with Kvyat was unjustified.

“I liked Kvyat’s reaction,” the Dutchman told Ziggo Sport Totaal. “To say ‘This is racing’ is the only answer he could give. Vettel should stop whining and just go racing.”

According to the Italian press, the German and his resurgent teammate Kimi Raikkonen should be able to do that in the coming races, thanks to the strong 2016 Ferrari.

“Ferrari finally instils fear in its rivals,” Corriere dello Sport declared after China. “Even with a damaged car, and although (Nico) Rosberg’s win was easy, Vettel was fast and reliable.”

[MIKA27]

KVYAT: MERCEDES IS NOT A LONG WAY AHEAD OF US

Daniil Kvyat is expecting Red Bull to challenge Formula 1 pacesetter world champion Mercedes team later in 2016.

The Russian surprised with his podium finish in China last weekend, the day after teammate Daniel Ricciardo qualified on the front row of the grid.

“I believe the Red Bull is the best chassis on the grid,” works Renault driver Kevin Magnussen told the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet.

And so with Renault expected to dramatically improve Red Bull’s Tag Heuer-branded power unit in the coming weeks, Kvyat is confident of more podium finishes.

“Sunday’s race has given us a lot of confidence,” Kvyat is quoted by Russia’s Sportbox. “I think our pace was almost comparable to Ferrari’s, and we have proved we are already the third team.

“Mercedes is still a long way ahead of us, but we are planning large updates around the Canada race,” the 21-year-old added. “Perhaps they will allow us to compete on an even footing with Mercedes”

[MIKA27]

WILL ALONSO REMAIN PATIENT WITH MCLAREN-HONDA?

Mika Hakkinen hopes Fernando Alonso has the “patience” to wait for McLaren-Honda to succeed in Formula 1 as the outfit looks destined for another season at the wrong end of the grid.

Reigning back-to-back world champion Lewis Hamilton, Alonso’s 2007 teammate, grinned a clear “No!” on Monday when asked if he would feel good to be in the Spaniard’s current shoes.

“It reminds me of the decision I made,” the Briton, referring to his decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes in late 2012, told the Spanish news agency EFE in Berlin.

“I could have stayed too but it turns out I made the right decision,” Hamilton added. “Fernando took a similar decision to leave Ferrari, but McLaren are having a lot of problems now,” Hamilton added.

“It’s a test for him,” he said. “Now he has to try to keep his morale high, which is definitely hard to do.”

Another highly successful former McLaren driver is Mika Hakkinen, who tipped the now Honda-powered outfit to eventually return to the top of the order.

“All they can do and must do is keep working hard,” said the Finn. “There are no miracles, no short cuts. Only development and finding solutions. And some day, things will start to go the right way.”

“The big question is: How long will it take? For me, it took many, many years until I won my first race in Formula 1. So now it could take a few years for Fernando to win again.

“He has been in formula one for many years, he has been world champion twice. Will he have enough patience? That is the question. But I hope so. Fernando is a great guy and a great driver,” Hakkinen added.

MIKA: Patience I say. It took Mercedes three seasons to develop after Brawn before they started winning. This is but the second year for McLaren Honda. Imagine Fernando left next season and McLaren were competitive...