McLaren start new Honda era on back row of F1 grid

McLaren's worst fears were realized on Saturday when they suffered a humiliating start to the Formula One season with a woeful Australian Grand Prix qualifying session that left both cars at the back of the grid.

The sport's second most successful team in terms of race wins, McLaren endured one of their worst qualifying performances in decades and at the start of a new partnership with Honda.

Former champion Jenson Button, a three-time winner in Australia, will start 17th with team mate Kevin Magnussen alongside.

The Dane, a stand-in for Spaniard Fernando Alonso, qualified last in a field of 18 after Manor Marussia failed to get their cars running.

"It's going to be a really difficult race for us," Button said. "We haven't done a race distance yet. We want to do the best we can.

"We're not going to be fighting for points," he added.

McLaren always knew 2015 would be difficult as they begin rebuilding for the future but few expected them to be the slowest team on the grid.

The return of Honda, who powered the team in some of their greatest years with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, may take McLaren back to the summit but that still looks a long way off.

Even with the dominant Mercedes engine last year, McLaren still failed to win a race.

"It was never going to be super-competitive here, it wasn't even going to be competitive but there's a good feeling about the car, even though we are so far off," Button said.

"The basic car is there and we've just got to build on it now...obviously there's a lot more to come."

The team suffered an unexpected setback in testing when Alonso, the double world champion signed from Ferrari, was told to miss Australia after a heavy crash.

He was replaced by Magnussen, who raced for McLaren last season and finished second in Australia after local hero Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified for Red Bull.

But the Dane was not expecting any repeat this time, with McLaren struggling in testing to get laps under their belt due to persistent troubles with the new V6 turbo hybrid power unit.

"I don't think we expected anything else. It's tough," Magnussen said. "It's very new. The main priority is to finish the race and try and learn from the race.

"It's a learning process right now, we've just got to be patient." - Reuters

Rosberg promises 'maximum attack' in 2015

Nico Rosberg vowed 'maximum attack' in a new title battle with Formula One world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday as Mercedes unveiled their 2015 car before pre-season testing started in Jerez.

"I know the feeling of winning and of fighting for a championship after last year, but I also know the feeling of not winning in the end and I don't want to repeat that," said the German.

"It's an extra boost and it gives me so much motivation for the year ahead."

Rosberg, son of Finland's 1982 champion Keke, won five races last year to Hamilton's 11 and finished runner-up in a dominant season for his team and one that saw the drivers' relationship tested to the limit.

Mercedes are again expected to set the pace, even if the cars have not changed dramatically since last year's debut of the new V6 turbo hybrid power units and rivals hope to have closed the gap.

"It will be massively tough to repeat what we achieved in 2014 but we all want to keep that momentum going and to dominate the sport for many years to come," said Rosberg.

"We know the opposition will be right there, so we have to keep pushing flat out to have any chance of doing that. Nothing is for certain but, whatever happens, I know it will be another great battle with Lewis.

"This year is the rematch for me and I'm massively motivated for it."

Hamilton, now a double world champion after taking his first title with McLaren in 2008, agreed that there could be no complacency.

The Briton said he was also fired up for the season which starts in Australia on March 15.

"You hear about people who achieve a lot but then lose their focus and you wonder; at what point does it fade off? I'm grateful that the fire is still there in me," he said.

"I think subconsciously the taste of success spurs me on. I like that feeling and I want to feel it again and again," added the 30-year-old.

"I'm glad me and Nico had the battle we did last year. I love winning races but it just feels so much better when you have to fight for it. I just want to get back out there, race hard, be the best I can be and hopefully win some more." - Reuters

Schumacher out of coma, shifted to Swiss hospital

PARIS/LAUSANNE - Formula One ex-champion Michael Schumacher, who sustained severe head injuries in a ski accident in late 2013, is out of a coma and was transferred on Monday from a French to a Swiss hospital to continue rehabilitation, officials said.

"Michael has left the CHU Grenoble [hospital] to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore," spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said in a statement.

"For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye," Kehm said of Schumacher, who turned 45 earlier this year.

She did not say what Schumacher's next destination was.

Soon afterwards, a spokeswoman at University Hospital of Lausanne in western Switzerland said Schumacher had been admitted there. "He is here, he arrived this morning," Darcy Christen told Reuters.

Christen declined to say what unit Schumacher, whose family home is in a town between Lausanne and Geneva, was being treated in, citing medical secrecy and family privacy.

The German, who won a record 91 Grand Prix victories and left motor racing in 2013 after a disappointing three-year comeback, bashed his head on a rock while skiing off-piste in the French Alps resort of Meribel on December 29. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Rosberg reluctant to fuel the flames

MONTREAL - Nico Rosberg steered clear of fighting talk on Thursday (Friday, PHL time) but recognized relations with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton had become trickier since the Formula One championship turned into a duel between the two.

The red hot rivalry between the title contenders has been the talk of Formula One for weeks and both drivers did their best to avoid stirring things up ahead of Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.

"Of course it is more difficult," Rosberg told reporters as he faced the same wall of cameras and tape recorders that had greeted Hamilton earlier in the day at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "We are fighting every single race weekend.

"There is more at stake, there is the opportunity of winning the championship this year and that is the ultimate goal in racing so there is a lot at stake," added the championship leader.

With six wins from six races so far, Mercedes are in a dominant position. Hamilton had taken four successive victories before Rosberg won and seized back the overall lead in Monaco two weeks ago.

That last race saw the rivalry turned up a notch with Hamilton suggesting the German had deliberately run wide in the final seconds of qualifying, bringing out yellow warning flags and forcing the 2008 world champion to slow when he might have taken pole.

The battles on the track and war of words off it have rekindled memories of the fierce rivalry between McLaren team mates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost that captivated Formula One during the 1988-89 campaigns.

"In a way I am honored to hear those comparisons because that was an extremely high level, a big battle at the time," said Rosberg. "But I leave it at that. I don't compare myself to that era I just want to do my own thing and go my own way."

Before arriving in Canada, Hamilton and Rosberg met to discuss the situation.

Rosberg refused to reveal details of what was said, only that he and his British teammate - who have been challenging each other on the track since their go-karting days - had settled their differences.

"I didn't see it as too unusual. We have always had periods where it was more difficult and we have that base respect that goes back 15 years and that's the important thing," said Rosberg. "As a result we always discuss things and move on.

"That's how it's been this time too."

The 28-year-old made clear he saw the bigger picture, and what was good for his team and Formula One.

"I want to win races," offered Rosberg. "Everything I do is focused on that.

"You are all trying to build it into a war which I can understand because it makes it all the more exciting but I want to try and avoid putting extra fuel on it.

"I was in the factory this week talking to everybody and for them the Constructors' [championship] is so important so if we take each other out [on track], for all our team members that would be a disaster.

"In the end we are a team and I do think about everybody else too."  - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Hamilton wins Malaysian Grand Prix in Mercedes one-two

SEPANG - Briton's Lewis Hamilton won the Malaysian Grand Prix with a pole-to-flag victory ahead of Nico Rosberg on Sunday in a first Mercedes one-two since they returned to Formula One as a works team in 2010.

The 2008 Formula One world champion easily pulled away from his rivals on a dry track with a three-stop strategy to win the race by 17.3 seconds, his 23rd career victory and first in Malaysia at the eighth attempt.

"Incredibly happy, it's my eighth year here [at Sepang] and finally I got that win," the Briton told reporters after taking the checkered flag for his second win for Mercedes since he joined them last year and first points of the season.

"Its quite special to get a one-two, I haven't had many in my career, so that makes it even more special. A great day," added the former McLaren driver.

Rosberg, who won the season opener in Australia two weeks ago, started in third place but squeezed past quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel into the first corner and was able to keep the Red Bull at bay and stay top of the driver standings.

It was Mercedes' first one-two since 1955, their last year as a works team before 2010.

Rosberg almost touched the wall as he took Vettel at the start and struggled to manage his rear tires in the early stages as the two Germans remained close before the Mercedes driver pulled away over the closing laps.

The second place finish moved him on to 43 points in the standings, 18 clear of Hamilton with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third on 24 points after his second fourth of the season.

Mercedes took the lead from McLaren in the constructors' standings.

"I had a really good start.. got away well and I thought Sebastian was going to put me into the wall but he stopped just before so thank-you for that," Rosberg said.

"My heart skipped a beat a little bit but it was OK. I was trying to chase Lewis but he was a bit too quick today."

Vettel third

Vettel finished third, 7.2 seconds behind Rosberg, for his first points of the season following an early retirement in Australia as he struggled to make an impact on the Mercedes pair without the rain that helped his qualifying bid on Saturday.

Having endured a tricky time during offseason testing, Vettel was delighted to make the podium.

"Congratulations to them, they are bloody quick, the package they have is very, very strong," Vettel told reporters.

"For us there is mostly positives. It's much better than what we expected during the winter."

Alonso was involved in a tight battle with Force India's Nico Hulkenberg in the closing stages before finally overtaking the German, although he will be disappointed that once again the Ferrari looked well short of challenging the Mercedes duo.

McLaren's Jenson Button was sixth with Felipe Massa of Williams seventh just ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas after the Brazilian refused to yield to his Finnish teammate despite team orders to do so.

The row, at a circuit where team orders blew up into a major controversy last season at both Red Bull and Mercedes, threatened to cause friction for the coming races between the new teammates.

McLaren's Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen and Toro Rosso's Russian newcomer Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10 of a race that suffered just a couple of light drops of rain despite concerns about possible thunderstorms.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who was disqualified in Australia pending an appeal, missed out on points for the second race in a row after a disastrous third pit stop when he was in fourth.

The Australian pulled away before his front left wheel was fully attached with engineers sprinting down the pitlane to push him back and fix the issue.

Ricciardo was then given a 10 second penalty for the unsafe release but his chances of points were already over after he shredded a tire and damaged a wing shortly before the stewards' decision and he retired before the end.

"Deep down I'm really disappointed but at the same time there's a little bit in me which is happy because I think I've come out how I wanted to," the Australian said of his start to the season.

"I still want to improve but we've started off on the right foot. So for that I'm pleased. I know a little bit of luck will turn around soon and I'll get my revenge and get some points."  - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Hamilton on pole for Malaysian GP

SEPANG - Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton made it two poles in two races after emerging unscathed from an incident-packed and rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.

The Briton saw off Red Bull's quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel by 0.055 of a second in a session with two red flags, grid penalties, a 50 minute rain delay and more downpours throughout that left drivers struggling for visibility.

The pole was the 33rd of Hamilton's career, equalling the British record held by the late Jim Clark since 1964, and was secured in a time of one minute 59.431 seconds.

"I'm really happy with how well we've done over the weekend, but today was incredible, how heavy was the rain?" Hamilton told reporters.

"It was tricky out there for everyone because at the end it was almost impossible to see. I couldn't see where the track went, where the corners were, where to break.

"I had to bail out of my final fast lap, so it was very close."

Vettel's lap was an impressive turnaround for the German, who retired in Melbourne two weeks ago, after he was called back to the pits after only three laps of the first phase of qualifying with an energy store problem.

The champion re-emerged after a reset of the system and became progressively competitive as the rain grew stronger and felt he could have taken pole had he been able to get in another lap in the final 15 minute session.

"At the beginning of Q1 [the first phase, the heartbeat was rising very quickly when we realized there was an issue," Vettel said.

"Q3 was not perfect. I would have loved to have a second go. My first attempt, I felt there was time to gain here and there.

"It was very close, too close. I should be on the good side for tomorrow but it depends on how good the start is. I'm happy with the result."

Rosberg starts third
Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, winner in Australia, will start from third place with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso joining him on the second row despite an earlier collision with Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso that required hurried repairs.

Alonso was on the outside and turned into Kvyat with the incident reviewed by stewards, who opted against any penalty.

"I didn't see him coming, Obviously it was a little bit of an aggressive move on the out-lap with that sort of visibility," the double world champion Spaniard said.

Force India's Nico Hulkenburg finished seventh with McLaren's Kevin Magnussen eighth as he and his team chopped and changed with intermediate and wet tires throughout as they struggled to second guess the weather.

Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne and McLaren's Jenson Button rounded out the top 10 with Williams once again struggling despite some promising pre-season tests.

Felipe Massa will start in 13th while Valtteri Bottas finished 15th but was demoted three places after stewards deemed the Finn blocked Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified fifth, on a flying lap.

"He was on his out-lap. I'll have a word with him," said the Australian driver, who was disqualified after finishing second in Melbourne because of a fuel flow issue.

Lotus's woes continued with Romain Grosjean complaining about his car after qualifying 15th, while teammate Pastor Maldonado failed to make it out of the first phase and will start in 17th.

The first phase of qualifying ended 30 seconds early after Swede Marcus Ericsson lost control of his Caterham, hit the wall before flying back across the track leaving debris and almost hitting Esteban Gutierrez's Sauber. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Red Bull still not in best shape, says Vettel

MELBOURNE - Red Bull will put a "very different" car on the track for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from the model which disappointed during the last test in Bahrain, reigning champion Sebastian Vettel said on Thursday.

Vettel, bidding for a fifth consecutive title, comes into Sunday's race at Albert Park with his team scrambling to come to grips with the new hybrid turbo era in Formula One.

Red Bull, one of four teams using the troubled Renault power unit, was unable to finish a race simulation for either Vettel or his new Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo, and badly lagged rivals Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of mileage.

"It will be a very different car," the 26-year-old told reporters at Albert Park.


"Obviously, we had a lot of problems during the tests, we didn't get to test a lot of stuff and we hope to do some more running here."

Red Bull's struggles to adapt to the new V6 engine have given rival teams hope of ending their four-year stranglehold on the constructors' and drivers' championships, or at a minimum end the German's run of nine consecutive race victories.

Vettel, who has not lost a race since July, said little to lift the gloom hanging over his team's garage, but was adamant that just finishing the race was not the limit of Red Bull's ambitions in Melbourne.

"We know that we are not in the best shape yet. There are a lot of things we need to sort," said Vettel, a 2011 winner at Albert Park and third last year.

"Unfortunately, you can't solve all of them overnight. We'd love to but we cant. We really have to go step-by-step together with Daniel.

"It's no secret you need very, very strong reliability to be a title contender.

"I'm going out of here not trying to just make it round, I'm going round here to push to the maximum and do the best I can, and then we'll see where we are and how far we get.

"The target, for sure, is to finish, and the target for sure is to finish in the best possible position. That's the mindset, it's fairly straightforward.

"We have a strong team, good people on board ... I'm confident we should progress as the season goes on."

After an occasionally tempestuous five years with the plain-spoken Mark Webber, Vettel has a younger Australian teammate in the garage in Ricciardo, who graduated from sister team Toro Rosso.

Vettel joked that he had little advice to give the 24-year-old after preseason testing.

"Not much, we didn't drive that much this year, so there's not much I could talk about," he said.

"Obviously you do your own thing once you're in the car."

Having battled manfully through countless media appearances in the leadup to his home grand prix, Ricciardo will face a huge task holding his own against his more senior teammate out on the track.

"For now, [I’ll] just focus on what I've done for the last few years," he said. "Just keep doing what I've been doing to get to this point and then see how it's feeling.

"Obviously I get a good view behind the scenes with the engineers, and also with how Seb works with his guys and understand a bit more through that but for now it's just do my thing and see where I stand." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Glock leaves Marussia F1 team

LONDON - German Formula One driver Timo Glock has left Marussia with immediate effect and by mutual consent, the Russian-licensed team said on Monday.



They added that a replacement would be announced in due course. The team's other driver is British newcomer Max Chilton.



"The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future. Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula One teams included," said principal John Booth in a statement.



"We would like to thank Timo for working with us to reach this decision, especially as he had a valid contract, and also for the contribution he has made to our team."  - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com