Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Mercedes on Track, Vettel, McLaren, More

Mercedes have become the first Formula One team to show off the 2015 challenger in motion. The defending world champions stole a little bit of McLaren's launch-day thunder by releasing images and video from a promotional event at Silverstone.

But McLaren did at least get all the attention for a short while. Their online reveal of the MP4-30 was the talk of the F1 world—as was its lack of sponsorship.

Elsewhere, Daniel Ricciardo has played down his boss Christian Horner's claim Sebastian Vettel almost quit in 2014, Force India expect they will make it to the second test and new Williams tester Alex Lynn has confirmed he has split with Red Bull.

Read on for a full roundup of the week's top stories.

Mercedes W06 Revealed in Photos and Video

Mercedes have given us a glimpse of their 2015 car in videos and pictures shot during a filming day at Silverstone.

Article 22 of the Sporting Regulations states each team is permitted two such "promotional event" days each year. On each, they may cover no more than 100 kilometres and must use tyres specifically designed for this purpose.

Mercedes appear to have used the day to perform checks and ensure everything was running smoothly before the first test.

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Get the lowdown on today's events with the #F1 W06 Hybrid right here -> http://t.co/kgSYl4DIX4 #BackToWork #W06Spy pic.twitter.com/wNSvjkiwVG

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) January 29, 2015"

Nico Rosberg took the car out for its first run at a cold and frosty Silverstone on Thursday before handing over to Lewis Hamilton. The team website says the pair did 18 laps between them. The distance covered, 47.2 kilometres, suggests they were using the venue's short National Circuit.

Unfortunately, Pirelli didn't send any snow tyres. The day's running was cut short by a blizzard.

Daniel Ricciardo Rubbishes Boss Horner's Vettel Quit Claims

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo has rubbished claims Sebastian Vettel almost quit last season after failing to get to grips with the new regulations.

They were made by Ricciardo's current and Vettel's former boss, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. He was quoted in the Guardian, saying, per Paul Weaver:

"

Seb didn’t enjoy the regulation changes. He didn’t enjoy the new engine, the feel from the new system, the power unit, the brake by wire, the lack of downforce. You could tell he wasn’t happy.

He was preoccupied and to compound that his team-mate [Daniel Ricciardo] won three races. There was that feeling ‘am I enjoying this as much as I thought I was?’

It was like someone had taken his toy away. It took him a while to get to grips with that. It was not something he was used to. He went through a period of disillusionment about the direction Formula One was going in. There was a stage last year when he thought whether he wanted to stop or not, whether he was getting the same level of enjoyment or not and whether or not he wanted to continue.

"

But when asked about those comments, Ricciardo disagreed. Per William Esler of Sky Sports, Ricciardo said on Thursday:

"

From what I saw he was never going to leave. He’s way too passionate about the sport to just walk away.

With Ferrari this year he’s going to have a challenge, but I think he’ll come out of his shell some more and try and get them going again.

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Vettel has achieved enormous success, winning four world titles and 39 races. If he did choose to leave, few could blame him—still only 27, he has more than enough time to try a second career doing anything he wished.

But one suspects Ricciardo is right. Horner's choice of words—"taken his toy away"—hints at mind games; though Vettel didn't appear as happy as usual in 2014, he never had the demeanour of a man who looked ready to go.

Besides, if he left now, the question marks raised by his poor 2014 would always remain. He has something to prove again—what better motivation to stick around and go for a fifth world title?

McLaren Launched with No Title Sponsor for 2nd Year in a Row

McLaren

McLaren have revealed their 2015 challenger, showing off a silver and black livery with splashes of red in an online launch on Thursday.

The MP4-30 features a longer nose than the other three cars seen to date (Williams, Lotus and Mercedes), a tightly packaged rear end and the new front wing trialled during free practice for last season's final race.

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First official pics of the #McLarenHonda MP4-30 revealed. Get the full story: http://t.co/WNEETF4eks #MakeHistory pic.twitter.com/9F6OvDHbPm

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) January 29, 2015"

It's an attractive car, but, as in 2014, it features a lot of empty space. Despite their position as one of the "great" teams in F1, McLaren still lack a title sponsor. Racing director Eric Boullier explained the team's position early in January, telling ESPN:

"

It sounds arrogant, but I promise you it's not, we can afford to run without a title sponsor; that's a privilege. We want it because it's another step we can go and we have many projects we would like to do, but to be honest, today, we can afford to run without.

I'm not saying we don't want one, we want one and we still have some stuff to do. Let's have the right one at the right moment. We will not go like other teams, let's say, and go cheap.

"

The final sentence suggests McLaren have received offers but their valuation was not met, and echoes almost identical comments made by Ron Dennis and reported by Chris Medland on crash.net almost a year ago.

It appears that though the team's recent performance has been midfield at best, their price has remained at the level of a title contender.

Perhaps something will be in place before the start of the year.

Force India Expect to Be at the Second Pre-Season Test

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Force India say they expect to be at the second pre-season test despite missing the first.

Rumours had surfaced earlier in the week that the team was facing severe financial difficulties. Sport Bild journalist Ralf Bach had claimed on his f1-insider.com website (h/t grandprix.com for English reporting) that the Indian team was "facing financial collapse"—delaying the 2015 car.

But COO Otmar Szafnauer has denied this. He is quoted by F1i's Chris Medland, saying:

"

Both the engine and transmission are being tested by Mercedes, so we’d rather focus our resources on fine-tuning the chassis. We are 90 percent certain we can introduce it in Barcelona for the second test.

We currently employ 380 people and all salaries have been paid. Same with our suppliers. We’ve just announced new sponsors in Mexico, so everything is looking good. I can confirm that things are going as planned and that we are on target to achieve our working programme.

"

With the grid already down to 18 cars, the thought of another team going under doesn't bear thinking about. Losing Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez on top of that would make it a disaster.

Hopefully this rumour is just that, a rumour, and the team will be on the grid in Melbourne.

But it's a concern Szafnauer is only 90 percent confident they'll make the second test. It's almost three weeks away—surely enough time to finish that fine-tuning and erase that 10 percent of doubt?

Alex Lynn Confirms Red Bull Split

Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Lynn driving for Lotus at the Abu Dhabi post-season test.

Reigning GP3 champion Alex Lynn has confirmed his split from Red Bull after joining Williams as a development driver.

The team announced the link-up on Wednesday. Lynn will work in the team's simulator and take part in the official test at the Circuit de Catalunya in May. The news was not expected, as Lynn was thought to be a member of the Red Bull Junior Team.

However, the 21-year-old Brit has revealed he is no longer affiliated with the programme. He told Simon Spurgeon of the Braintree and Witham Times:

"

My attachment to Red Bull has now come to an end. It was a very amicable decision for both of us.

Fair enough, they made their decision over appointing their F1 drivers and I knew that there would be no opportunity there to race with Red Bull in the next two years and that would be too late for me. They appreciate that.

They were happy for me to stay, but they said they knew they couldn't stop me from chasing my dream. I’ll always be grateful to them for the opportunity they gave me last year as it has helped bring me to where I am today.

Without that backing it might have been different and things like that and my win at the Macau Grand Prix [in 2013] have all brought me to the present situation.

The snowball effect of things you do in this sport is huge and I’m extremely thankful to Red Bull. I've left them on good terms.

"

Lynn has made a brave decision to leave Red Bull, whose Junior Team has promoted a number of drivers to F1 in recent years. Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat all got their break via the programme.

It also funds drives in the lower formulae, allowing youngsters to progress through the ranks.

But as Lynn said, the two Toro Rosso seats appear to be filled until at least the end of 2016. He clearly wants to be in F1 before 2017, and that isn't likely to happen with Red Bull.

Perhaps the opportunity will arise with Williams instead.