Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Sauber, McLaren, Melbourne and More
The legal battle between Giedo van der Garde and Sauber will resume on Saturday after hearings on Friday failed to resolve the issue.
The team missed the first practice session, but Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr both took to the track in second practice. Reports suggest a settlement between the two sides may be close.
This is also the case in a more good-natured Formula One contract saga, that of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. With the first race of the year coming up fast, indications are that terms are close to being signed.
Elsewhere, Jenson Button says McLaren are aiming for quantity over quality in Australia, Nico Rosberg admits he still has room to improve and Sebastian Vettel expects the same thing we all do—that Mercedes will be ahead early in the season.
Read on for a full roundup of the top stories heading into the 2015 Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Giedo van der Garde and Sauber's Legal Tussle Continues
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The legal fight between Sauber and Giedo van der Garde will resume on Saturday after several hours in court failed to produce a conclusion to their dispute.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Victoria threw out Sauber's appeal against an earlier ruling that Van der Garde must drive for the team in 2015 as he had a binding contract to do so.
Journalist Adam Cooper followed the case closely, and tweeted that Van der Garde had applied to the court for the order for him to race to be enforced. Arguments on this subject were heard on Friday, and Van der Garde made a fleeting appearance in the team's garage, borrowing Ericsson's race suit as he had a seat fitting.
Neither Ericsson nor Nasr made an appearance on the track in the opening session after the court was briefly adjourned, but both went out for second practice as the hearing resumed. Van der Garde was nowhere to be seen.
Cooper was again present in court and tweeted the outcome of the day's proceedings.
"So it's over for today - and we're back at 0930 Saturday for more. But clearly the two sides are talking now...
— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperF1) March 13, 2015"
It's difficult to fault Van der Garde in this; he is fighting for what is rightfully his, that is, a race seat with Sauber. Per Sky Sports, Nico Hulkenberg was among fellow drivers to give him their support.
The team have behaved in an unprofessional and unfair manner, and while it's natural to feel sympathy for the employees affected—and we should include Nasr and Ericsson in that category—the team management must carry the blame for this whole sorry mess.
Those in charge will argue they were only doing what was necessary to ensure the team's survival, and they'll have a point. Kate Walker of Motorsport.com reports it is thought that upfront payments from Ericsson allowed the team to stay afloat toward the end of 2014.
But Van der Garde's existing contract should have been dealt with in a respectful manner back when he was replaced—not in a courtroom during the first race weekend of the season.
Nico Rosberg Admits He Has to Improve
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Nico Rosberg feels he has plenty of scope for improvement after falling short in his duel with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in 2014.
The German took an impressive 11 pole positions over the course of the year but lost out on race day; only three of his poles resulted in race wins. By contrast, Hamilton converted six of his seven poles.
Rosberg was quoted by Autosport, saying:
"I need to find a little bit more and I'm pushing hard to get that. I'm surely not at my peak of Formula 1 performance yet—I'm only 29.
I think I have a little bit of room left to improve and come back even stronger, and I'm looking to find that at the moment.
I'm extremely motivated for this year because I saw glimpses of success last year—and I want to make it happen this year.
It's my dream to be Formula One world champion and it is likely I will have an opportunity to get that this year.
"
Asked which areas he was most focused on, he said:
"It's just everything. Being an F1 driver is so multi-faceted, it's not just about turning the steering wheel.
It's about being fit and having your whole life around you sorted, so your focus and energy is on doing the perfect job in the car.
And it's about working with the team and understanding the technology of the car—there are so many new things this year.
"
Identifying that a problem exists is the first step toward fixing it, but needless to say, improving ones driving is easier said than done.
In terms of preparation and experience in F1 cars, Rosberg matches and perhaps exceeds Hamilton, but the difference between the pair appears more down to "natural" ability than acquired skill.
Feeling the car in the race, knowing when to push and possessing that rare killer instinct in duels—these things cannot necessarily be learned.
But if anyone can pick these things up, the famously studious and intelligent Rosberg can.
He made a good start to the season, too—fastest in both free practice sessions, a whisker ahead of Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel Not Expecting Miracles in Melbourne
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Sebastian Vettel thinks Mercedes will be clearly ahead in Melbourne, but doesn't expect the real order to be revealed until F1 returns to Europe.
In an interview with the official F1 website, Vettel was asked what the Australian weekend was about for Ferrari. He said:
"It’s about catching up. That already is an ambitious goal. Mercedes was the absolute benchmark last season—and you don’t lose that over a winter, not even when those behind put in a huge effort.
My guess is that they've even made a step forward. Of course others did make their steps as well—so it will be interesting to see what kind of pecking order we will see on Sunday. At least partially, the real order will probably become visible once we start the European campaign.
"
Vettel left Red Bull at the end of 2014 after six years to become Ferrari's new star driver. While the Scuderia do appear to have made a step forward over the winter, free practice times suggest they remain a long way behind Mercedes.
They do, however, look a touch ahead of Williams—a team they were expected to be behind, at least as far as single-lap pace is concerned. Vettel's best time was over eight tenths of a second quicker than the best by Williams' Valtteri Bottas.
But practice is not always an accurate representation of pace, with different teams running different fuel loads, engine modes and programmes.
We'll only find out where Ferrari—and the rest of the field—really are when everyone takes to the track on Saturday for qualifying.
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Lewis Hamilton Contract Close to Being Signed
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The saga of Lewis Hamilton's new Mercedes contract appears to finally be drawing to a close.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff both made positive noises. Writing in his BBC Sport column, Hamilton spoke of why it had taken so long and rubbished rumours he'd asked for an astronomical salary. He said:
"I heard about one story that I had been asking for £1 million a week. That is the biggest piece of rubbish that has been written for some time.
I keep getting asked why it is taking so long, but that isn't really the case. It's just circumstances. The team wanted to have discussions during last season, but I preferred to concentrate on the racing.
We planned to talk about it at the end of the season but I had a whirlwind two or three weeks after winning the championship and I simply didn't have a moment to sit there and think about it before I went away for my winter break.
We spoke on the phone a little bit while I was away in Colorado but it wasn't until I got back to Europe for the start of pre-season testing that I reached out and said: 'Let's have a chat.'
"
He added there were only a few minor details left to discuss.
Wolff was similarly upbeat, quoted by Sky Sports saying:
"This is a very important topic and we didn't set ourselves any deadlines because deadlines put you under pressure.
Our discussions are very positive; it’s down to the detail. None of us have ever spoken to anybody else and our aim is to do it as soon as possible.
It’s an ongoing discussion and hopefully we’ll have some news soon.
"
Hamilton's current deal expires at the end of 2015, and having split with his management company late last year has negotiated for himself. This can be a complex task—basic salary is simple enough, but details such as release clauses, performance bonuses and even sponsor duties need to be worked out.
It seems these things have now finally fallen into place.
Unless he fancies a new challenge—for example, winning the title with a third different team—there's little reason for Hamilton to move on. Mercedes, looking by far the strongest team for the year ahead, are almost certain to remain competitive into 2016 as well.
For his part, Hamilton is one of the quickest drivers on the grid. Remaining together is the best option for both parties.
Jenson Button Aiming for Quantity over Quality in Australia
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McLaren are aiming for quantity over quality as they head into the Australian Grand Prix on the back of a dreadful winter of testing.
The team managed just 380 laps across 12 days of pre-season running. While their rivals were completing race simulations, the Woking team struggled to string a dozen laps together.
Ahead of Sunday's 58-lap race, driver Jenson Button admitted he isn't targeting a strong result—he just wants to see the chequered flag. He told the press (h/t ESPN):
"I have no aim in terms of position, but I believe we can finish the race. You are going to have doubts and it would be stupid not to have doubts when you look at winter testing because we haven't completed a simulated race distance yet. It would be incorrect for me to sit here and say we are going to finish, but who knows?
The aim is to finish and I have confidence that we can get enough mileage under our belts this weekend to sort out niggly problems, but I think the most important thing is to just get out there and see what we have.
We had a lot of testing, so we have done a lot of development work and basic testing—that's the key for us to understand the car a bit more and do set-up work and see progress.
"
McLaren's primary issue throughout testing was a series of small but costly problems with their new Honda power unit. The other manufacturers have had a year of experience to iron out difficulties, but the Japanese car maker is new to the regulations.
Unfortunately for them, little appears to have changed between testing and the present.
McLaren did just 13 laps in first practice, and it got worse early in the second session when Kevin Magnussen—standing in for Fernando Alonso—crashed at Turn 6.
"The crash was my mistake. Just lost the rear on the entry and unfortunately hit the wall and damaged the left front. Another day tomorrow!
— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) March 13, 2015"
Button kept it out of the wall and completed a fairly respectable 21 laps.
But his session also came to a premature halt, BBC Sport reporting he suffered a loss of power with just five minutes to go. His quickest lap was one minute, 31.387 seconds—a whopping 3.7 seconds down on Nico Rosberg's session-best.
McLaren appear to lack both pace and reliability; it's looking more and more likely they will qualify on the back row and fail to finish the race.
Practice time and lap total data throughout sourced from Formula1.com.
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