F1's Latest Rumours, Talk: Fernando Alonso to Mercedes, Pascal Wehrlein and More
After Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided on the opening lap of last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, it didn't take long for rumours surrounding Mercedes' Formula One driver lineup to resurface.
Rosberg's contract is set to expire at the end of 2016, and despite his strong start to the season—the German has won four of the opening five races of the campaign—there is a risk his latest on-track incident with Hamilton could push him toward the exit door.
With speculation that the championship leader has opened discussions with Ferrari, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso would be a leading candidate to partner Hamilton for 2017 if Rosberg decides to join Sebastian Vettel at the Prancing Horse.
Wolff's comments are unlikely to be music to the ears of Pascal Wehrlein, who after joining the Silver Arrows in 2014 is widely regarded as a future Mercedes driver.
The German is participating in his debut season in F1 with Manor, and after testing for Mercedes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week, Wehrlein has insisted he would be ready to join the reigning world champions for next season.
After sampling the new-and-improved Renault power unit at the post-Spanish GP test, meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo are convinced the engine is a major step forward and have pleaded with the French manufacturer to take it to Monaco.
As Renault and Red Bull were evaluating short-term fixes at Barcelona, Williams were taking a more long-term view by simulating the increased downforce levels of the 2017-specification F1 cars.
Although the team's priority was to enhance their chances of success next year, Felipe Massa believes Williams can use the data gathered to improve their current car.
While Williams are refusing to give up on their 2016 chassis, Force India are close to switching their entire focus to the development of their 2017 car.
Here's our latest roundup.
Fernando Alonso Will Be Considered by Mercedes If Nico Rosberg Leaves
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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has suggested the Silver Arrows "will consider" signing two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to partner Lewis Hamilton if Nico Rosberg decides against extending his contract beyond 2016.
Having arrived at the Brackley-based outfit at the beginning of 2010, Rosberg is the longest-serving driver at the team and has taken each of his 18 career victories in the colours of Mercedes, but his existing deal is set to expire at the close of the current campaign.
After his win in April's Chinese Grand Prix, Wolff told ESPN F1's Laurence Edmondson Rosberg was edging closer to a contract extension, but his race-ending collision with Hamilton on the opening lap of last weekend's Spanish GP is likely to lead to fresh questions over his future.
Despite failing to win a race for three years, Alonso is widely regarded as the most complete driver on the current grid, and in March he told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser (h/t Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble) how he tried to engineer a seat swap with Hamilton at the end of 2014.
In January 2015, Wolff told Italian publication Gazetta dello Sport (h/t Reuters, via the Guardian) Alonso would be "the first alternative" if Hamilton or Rosberg decided to leave the team.
And while he has reiterated his admiration for the 34-year-old, Wolff has insisted Mercedes will remain loyal to Rosberg, telling Spanish newspaper El Mundo (h/t F1i.com's Phillip van Osten):
"Fernando is one of the best drivers in history and I like his character, but our priority now is Nico.
When he spoke to us, we could not negotiate as we promised Lewis that while we tried to renew his deal we would not talk with other drivers and we did not.
But if Rosberg does not want to renew, then we will consider other options, like Fernando. His age is not a problem—his speed and his motivation are still there.
"
According to Italian publication Corriere della Sera (h/t GrandPrix247.com), Rosberg has opened discussions with Ferrari with a view to replacing 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen next season.
When asked to comment on the report that Rosberg is flirting with the Italian team, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel said, per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders: "As long as he's not flirting with me it's good news! Everything else you need to ask our boss which is Maurizio [Arrivabene]."
Manor's Pascal Wehrlein Convinced He Will Be Ready to Drive for Mercedes in 2017
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Pascal Wehrlein is adamant he will be ready to race for Mercedes next season after representing the team in the first in-season test of 2016.
The German joined Mercedes in a reserve-driver role in September 2014 and is currently competing in his debut season in F1 with backmarkers Manor after winning the DTM touring car championship last year.
Despite his Manor commitments, Wehrlein participated in the post-Spanish GP test for Mercedes on Wednesday and completed 133 laps behind the wheel of the W07 car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
With Nico Rosberg's future yet to be resolved, the 21-year-old is likely to be among those in contention to partner Lewis Hamilton in 2017.
And although he has only made five grand prix appearances to date, Wehrlein—who has frequently tested for the team over the last two years—has insisted he feels ready to graduate to Mercedes.
Per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders, he said:
"Yes I would be ready.
You always are [auditioning], you cannot relax, step back, hope or be sure of what happens next year or the next years so you always need to push, always need to push yourself and make the best out of it.
[...] I'm pushing as hard as I can, that I can't win a race this year is clear. You never know what happens in the future. At the moment, I just focus on my job this year, I want to learn as much as possible and get the best results out of the car. Other decisions, I'm the wrong person [to ask].
"
Wehrlein's appearance on Day 2, following Rosberg's session in the W07 on Tuesday, means Hamilton will not participate in a test for the remainder of this year, with teams forced to use drivers who have started no more than two grands prix on at least two in-season test days.
Mercedes' official Twitter account confirmed Esteban Ocon, who was forced to make way for Wehrlein in Barcelona, will take part in the second in-season test at Silverstone in July.
Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo Want New Renault Engine for Monaco GP
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Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo are in agreement that Renault's upgraded power unit represents a genuine improvement, with the drivers calling for the French manufacturer to fast-track the engine to the Monaco Grand Prix.
Despite Red Bull Racing's four victories since the beginning of 2014, Renault has generally struggled for power, reliability and driveability since the V6 turbo regulations were introduced, but it has shown signs of promise in the early months of this season.
Both the Renault factory team and Red Bull evaluated an updated engine, which is not scheduled to race until June's Canadian GP, in this week's two-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
When asked whether he would want to be armed with the new powertrain in Monaco, Magnussen said, per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble:
"Yeah, definitely. Whether we get it or not [I don't know]. I would like to have it, but I am not deciding that.
To be honest the engine feels nice to drive. The driveability is better than the old engine. More power too.
[...]
This power unit is actually better than the old one and we haven't had much time to work on it. Straight away out of the box it has better driveability—and hopefully the power is a good step as well.
"
With the RB12 already competitive in slow-speed corners, Red Bull are likely to be in contention for victory on the streets of Monte Carlo regardless of their engine choice.
And after sampling the engine, which is thought to be worth 0.4 seconds per lap, Ricciardo told Noble "the progress is definitely there."
He added: "We will try to take what we can [for Monaco], but we will see. If we can get it, for sure we would love it. It will be a matter of time for now."
Per Noble, Renault technical director Bob Bell admitted the manufacturer has yet to decide whether to take the upgrade to Monaco, insisting Renault needs to get the engine "in a good state to race it."
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Felipe Massa Hopes 'Double-Decker' Rear Wing Can Aid 2016 Development
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Felipe Massa believes the unusual "double-decker" rear wing evaluated by Williams during the post-Spanish Grand Prix test can help the development of their 2016 car.
Ahead of the 2017 regulation changes, Williams ran with a unique rear-wing concept, as well as appendages on the nose and front-wing areas, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in an effort to simulate the increased levels in downforce planned for next season.
Over the course of the two-day test, Massa and development driver Alex Lynn completed a combined total of 186 laps, with chief test and support engineer Rod Nelson telling the team's official website how Williams gained useful data for both the 2016 and '17 cars.
As the only team to score points in all of the opening five races, Williams currently sit fourth in the constructors' standings, and Massa is hopeful the information gained from the test can be used to further improve the Mercedes-powered FW38.
Per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, he said:
"In these two days we worked just in aerodynamics, as you could see we had so many strange things around the car.
But they were related to our work on developments for the future and I think it was a pretty interesting test for us. So, as you could see, we weren't here to do lap times, we were here to work on future developments.
I hope they're not for a too distant future, I hope we can have some of the things we had here quickly and I hope we understood things that can be important to make our car quicker.
We tried a lot of things. Some of them didn't work, but the general feeling was very positive and we found things that were important to lead us in the direction we think we should be heading into to develop this car.
For sure it's a long-term project, it's not something that will lead to having completely different specs in the car tomorrow.
I hope we can bring some things forward and I hope we understand things that we need to. I believe we are understanding them, to make the car better.
"
After testing the appendages on Tuesday, Lynn told Motorsport.com's Pablo Elizalde he was only "allowed" to "push" the car in the tight and twisty third sector as the team tried "to simulate the slow speed."
Lynn made a winning start to his second season in the GP2 feeder series at Barcelona last weekend, with the 22-year-old recently expressing his determination to earn a full-time seat with Williams in 2017, per F1 journalist James Allen.
Force India Close to Switching Focus to 2017 Car
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Deputy team principal Bob Fernley has admitted Force India are close to abandoning the development of their 2016 car as they prioritise making a strong start under the new-for-2017 regulations.
After claiming their best-ever finish of fifth in the championship in 2015, the Silverstone-based outfit have suffered an unfortunate start to this season and sit seventh in the constructors' standings after the opening five races.
Force India introduced several upgrades—including a revised front wing, floor and sidepods—at last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, but the improvements had a limited effect on the performance of the Mercedes-powered VJM09, with Nico Hulkenberg suffering a second consecutive retirement and Sergio Perez finishing seventh.
With the 2017 rule changes set to force smaller teams to carefully manage their resources, the likes of Force India will need to sacrifice the development of this season's car to remain competitive next season.
Fernley has revealed Force India have already started working on their 2017 chassis and are edging nearer to a time when they will devote their efforts to the new car, telling Autosport's Ian Parkes:
"We're already doing some work on it now, as I'm sure everybody is.
It's just a matter of when we do the full switchover, and that is probably not far away.
Pace-wise, with the right run of results, can we get our position where we need to be [in 2016]?
That's the bit we're looking for, with still a long old season to go.
"
Hulkenberg recently told the official F1 website how Force India were "a bit outdeveloped" by their rivals over the winter break, suggesting the team will "introduce" further updates to the VJM09 later this season.
Meanwhile, Fernley informed Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper that Force India, along with fellow minnows Sauber, have written to the FIA and F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone to express their concerns over the recent engine agreement.
Cooper suggested that while the deal "was designed in part to give smaller teams lower engine prices in the future, it's understood that the two teams feel that not enough help has been offered."
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