Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Marussia's Monaco Memories, Lotus Row, More
The Monaco Grand Prix usually showcases all that is good about Formula One and is an event to savour and celebrate. But there will only be sadness and reflection within the Manor Marussia garage this weekend.
Sunday's race will mark a year since Jules Bianchi claimed the team's first (and only) points finish with an immaculate drive from the rear of the field. It was the type of performance—one of skill, speed and heart—that seemed set to elevate both team and driver to bigger and better things.
But 12 months on, Bianchi is continuing his fight for life in hospital after an accident in the 2014 Japanese GP, while Manor are still in the process of finding their feet having entered and exited administration.
As the race weekend approaches, Manor boss Graeme Lowdon has recalled the memories of Monaco '14 and explained just how he will feel when he stands in the very pit lane where he and Bianchi celebrated the 25-year-old's ninth-place finish a year ago.
While Manor, a close-knit outfit, are set to come together this weekend, the Lotus team seem close to falling apart in the driver department.
The Enstone-based outfit's reserve, Jolyon Palmer, has had plenty of track time so far this season, much to the irritation of lead driver Romain Grosjean. And although Palmer and Grosjean have had a slight war of words, could it, in fact, be Pastor Maldonado at the root of the inter-team tension?
Daniil Kvyat, meanwhile, will no doubt be feeling the tension after a less than impressive start to life at Red Bull, which has seen the Russian score just five points thus far.
With Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen performing well at Scuderia Toro Rosso, the pressure on his shoulders will only increase, but Kvyat's former boss has predicted the Russian will soon prove his doubters wrong.
Felipe Nasr is currently proving many wrong having made a seamless transition to Formula One, and the Sauber driver's countryman Felipe Massa believes the rookie can be a regular presence on the grid for years to come.
Closing this week's roundup is the fallout from the recent Strategy Group meeting, with one team owner admitting an F1 entry could be on the cards.
Manor Marussia Braced for Emotional Monaco GP
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Manor Marussia are bracing themselves for an emotional Monaco Grand Prix weekend as the team return to the scene of Jules Bianchi's heroics for the first time since the Frenchman's life-threatening accident.
It was at the Monte Carlo race in 2014 where Marussia scored their first ever points in Formula One after a four-year wait, with Bianchi producing a stunning drive to claim ninth place, which ultimately allowed the team to beat Sauber and Caterham to ninth spot in the constructors' championship.
After starting 21st on the grid, Bianchi was relentless in his pursuit of points, completing a particularly brave overtaking move on Kamui Kobayashi and overcoming not one, but two penalties to cross the finish line in eighth, which became ninth when the second punishment was applied.
Bianchi, a member of Ferrari's young driver program, seemed destined for great things until he left the track in last October's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka and collided with a recovery vehicle, leaving the 25-year-old with serious head injuries.
The driver's father told Nice-Matin (h/t MailOnline) in April that Bianchi, who is continuing his rehabilitation in his hometown of Nice, "remains unconscious" despite his organs "working without assistance."
And ahead of the Monaco GP, Graeme Lowdon, Manor Marussia's sporting director, has admitted that it will be harder for the team to return to the principality than Suzuka, telling F1i.com's Chris Medland:
"I think there will be quite a lot of emotion because it’s obviously the scene of some very, very happy times.
[...]
It (the 2014 Monaco GP) was a real roller coaster but I remember Jules crossing the line and it was a great feeling for everyone in the team. I’m sure everyone will have some thoughts when they’re there because we had such good memories.
"
In the buildup to the race weekend, Manor Marussia have posted a number of tributes to Bianchi on their official Twitter account, including images of the Frenchman embracing Lowdon and the post-race celebrations in the pit lane.
Lotus Reserve Jolyon Palmer Dismisses Romain Grosjean's Concerns
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Team-mate feuds are commonplace in Formula One, but rarely do you see a reserve driver at the centre of an inter-team row.
That seems to be the case at Lotus, however, where Jolyon Palmer has hit back at Romain Grosjean's concerns over a shortage of track time.
Palmer has deputised for Grosjean in the first free practice sessions at each of the last three grand prix weekends in China, Bahrain and Spain.
Although missing FP1 doesn't seem to have had an impact on his performances—the Frenchman has finished no lower than eighth in those races—Grosjean recently voiced his frustrations over Palmer's presence to Sky Sports' James Galloway, explaining his difficulties in finding an ideal setup for qualifying and the race.
Palmer, however, has shrugged off Grosjean's gripes, claiming the 29-year-old's recent results serve as proof that the French driver is not affected by his appearances in the 90-minute sessions.
The 2014 GP2 champion, son of former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer, told Autosport's Ian Parkes:
"I don't know what the effect is because I don't know what more he could have done (in those races).
[...]
Obviously he's not happy because it's never nice to be not driving. I'm quite aware of that because I'm not driving a lot.
But overall I think he understands, and it's really not having an effect at the moment.
"
Could it be, though, that the mini-quarrel between Palmer and Grosjean is a result of a wider problem at the Enstone-based outfit?
According to Turun Sanomat's Luis Vasconcelos (h/t FOX Sports), Grosjean's team-mate, Pastor Maldonado, has rejected Lotus' request to sit out an FP1 session, leaving the team with no choice but to force the Frenchman on the sidelines.
Toro Rosso Boss Confident Daniil Kvyat Will Come Good at Red Bull
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Daniil Kvyat has endured an underwhelming start to his career at Red Bull Racing, but Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has backed the Russian to come good in time.
Kvyat excelled throughout his rookie season in 2014, becoming the youngest ever point-scorer in his debut race in Australia, qualifying fifth on the grid at his home grand prix at the Sochi Autodrom and matching the established Jean-Eric Vergne for pace.
Although Kvyat scored 14 points fewer than Vergne across the campaign, the sheer quality and consistency of his performances meant the 20-year-old, rather than Frenchman, was promoted to Red Bull when four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel opted to join Ferrari for 2015.
In the opening five races of the year, however, Kvyat has struggled to fill Vettel's shoes, registering just five points compared to the 25 scored by team leader Daniel Ricciardo.
Having failed to start the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the Russian collided with Nico Hulkenberg en route to ninth in Malaysia before his car burst into flames just 15 laps into the Chinese GP. Another ninth place followed in Bahrain, but Kvyat could only manage 10th in Spain, where he hit Carlos Sainz Jr., his replacement at Toro Rosso, on the final lap.
Despite Kvyat appearing to come under pressure at Red Bull—Helmut Marko, the team's advisor, issued a warning to the Russian and Ricciardo following the Spanish GP, according to Kleine Zeitung (h/t Motorsport.com)—Tost believes his former driver will settle at the team as he gains more experience.
And the Austrian has implied that Kvyat may be a victim of his own success having been promoted to a team of Red Bull's calibre after just one full season, telling the official Formula One website:
"It takes time to mature in an F1 car. That is why I say that I want to work with drivers for three years—and then hand them over (to Red Bull). He (Kvyat) is facing car troubles and is simply not as experienced as Daniel Ricciardo... Daniil is a very highly skilled driver and I am convinced that if his car is reliable he will be very fast. He will have a successful future. He is very, very skilled—he has the champion gene.
"
Although there is every chance Kvyat will live up to expectations, it is perhaps not beyond the realms of possibility that Red Bull could break their drive-ditching habit and demote the Russian back to Toro Rosso for 2016.
With the team's young driver program currently stronger than ever, it would offer Sainz or Verstappen a shot at the big-time and provide Kvyat with the time he may require to refine those skills.
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Felipe Massa Hopes Felipe Nasr Will Become Brazil's Latest F1 Star
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In Felipe Massa and Felipe Nasr, Brazil has two representatives on the 2015 grid.
While Massa, at the age of 34, is coming toward the end of his career, 22-year-old Nasr potentially has many years ahead of him in Formula One. And the latter is backing the Sauber youngster to become Brazil's latest F1 superstar.
Brazilian drivers have enjoyed considerable success in the pinnacle of motorsport, with Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna claiming a combined total of eight world championships.
Rubens Barrichello, meanwhile, finished runner-up in the drivers' standings in 2002 and 2004, and Massa himself came within a point of winning the title in '08.
Although Massa continues to perform strongly for Williams, whom he joined at the beginning of 2014 after an eight-season stint at Ferrari, the 11-time race-winner's best days are almost certainly behind him.
And with few Brazilian drivers on the horizon, Massa believes the nation's hopes could depend on Nasr, who secured an outstanding fifth-place finish on his F1 debut in the Australian Grand Prix, to enjoy a long and successful career.
Massa was quoted by Crash.net as stating: "I hope Felipe can have a good career here in F1, that he stays and can be fighting for victories and championships."
"We know how important it is for our country—Brazil has had great drivers in F1, but we have been struggling a lot in past years to create drivers so I hope we can have some more."
Prior to joining Sauber for 2015, Nasr combined his 2014 GP2 championship assault with a test role with Williams, for whom he participated in a number of free practice sessions.
And Massa has revealed that he offered his compatriot plenty of guidance throughout his year alongside Nasr, telling the same source: "I tried to pass all the experience and information I had to him. He's a nice boy, and an intelligent guy as well, so I am sure it helped him and it is good to see that he is doing well."
ART Grand Prix Open to Formula 1 Move
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ART Grand Prix are among the most recognisable names in the junior formulae, helping drivers such as Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg up the motorsport ladder in the last decade.
But could the team be set for a graduation to Formula One themselves?
After last week's F1 Strategy Group meeting, the subject of customer cars is very much back on the agenda after McLaren-Honda chief Ron Dennis, according to Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper, encouraged his fellow bigwigs to "formally support an official study" on the issue.
ART are closely affiliated with McLaren, with the outfit sporting an identical livery to the F1 team and currently leading the GP2 championship with Stoffel Vandoorne, the latest product of a McLaren young driver scheme that has gifted the likes of Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen in recent years. Meanwhile, Vandoorne's team-mate, Nobuharu Matsushita, has links to Honda, McLaren's new power unit supplier.
Should ART step to F1, the French squad would almost certainly establish a technical tie-in with the eight-time constructors' champions, effectively becoming McLaren's B-team.
ART's co-owner, Nicolas Todt, has admitted that an F1 entry is possible, but only under the right conditions.
The 37-year-old, son of former Ferrari team boss and current FIA president Jean Todt, told Motorsport.com's Cooper: "I don’t have any particular comment to make regarding what has been announced. Entering F1 is however something that ART could consider, but only if it makes real sense to us, and therefore if all the pieces of the jigsaw are there."
ART initially intended to enter F1 in 2011 but, as reported by GPUpdate.net at the time, withdrew their application in mid-2010 due to financial concerns.
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