Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: German GP, Alonso and Bottas Progress, More

Fernando Alonso looks on course to return at Formula One's Malaysian Grand Prix after passing medical tests on Sunday. The Spaniard faces further examinations by FIA officials on Thursday, but his manager describes these as a "formality."

Unfortunately, the short-term outlook is less positive for his team. Still struggling with their problematic new Honda power unit, McLaren are again expected to be way off the pace at Sepang.

Racing director Eric Boullier says he isn't surprised by how far behind the Japanese manufacturer is, given how new the V6 turbo engines and current set of regulations are. He also admitted it could be years before the other suppliers are on a par with Mercedes.

Elsewhere, former driver Olivier Panis has spoken out against artificially equalising the teams, Valtteri Bottas is also aiming to return in Malaysia and it has emerged Mercedes offered a multi-million euro package to try to save the 2015 German Grand Prix.

Sadly for all concerned, it still wasn't enough.

Read on for a full roundup of the top stories of the last few days.

Fernando Alonso Looking Set for Return in Malaysia

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Fernando Alonso appears set to return at the Malaysian Grand Prix after passing tests to prove his fitness.

Sky Sports F1 reports he had the memory and reflex tests in Cambridge on Sunday, and will now travel to Malaysia as planned. He faces further FIA tests on Thursday, but his manager described these as a "formality."

"

BREAKING: Fernando Alonso will fly to Malaysia for Grand Prix after passing medical tests following concussion. #SSNHQ

— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) March 22, 2015"

Alonso's return will be a welcome boost to McLaren. The team are struggling with a difficult new Honda power unit and ran around four seconds per lap off the pace in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Having their (unofficial) top driver back will be a boost for everyone at Woking.

But as good as the Spaniard is, the car will not suddenly become competitive the moment he sits in the cockpit; indeed, the team may be forced to sacrifice a little bit on the aerodynamic side to ensure sufficient cooling for the famously hot and humid Sepang.

McLaren have a long road ahead of them and are unlikely to be anywhere near even the midfield before the start of the "European season" in early May.

Mercedes Offered Financial Aid to Keep German Grand Prix Alive

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Mercedes offered to cover half the losses of a German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in a vain attempt to keep it on the 2015 calendar.

The race was officially cancelled at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Friday 20 March. The FIA said it was "withdrawn as the CRH [commercial rights holder] and promoter did not reach agreement."

The Observer's Paul Weaver reported the reigning champions also offered to pay to promote the race, but the circuit owners rejected the offer. Weaver quotes a Mercedes spokesman as saying:

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The organisation of the race calendar and of individual events is a matter for the FIA, the commercial rights holder and the individual promoters. In principle, we do not believe it is the job of the competing teams to provide financial support for individual events and we do not believe this is a sustainable model for the future.

Nevertheless, the German GP is a core race on the Formula One calendar and we have a significant interest in this race taking place. Mercedes-Benz has participated in discussions and offered a significant contribution to support a successful German GP, at the Hockenheimring, in 2015. This offer was, unfortunately, not accepted.

"

The 2015 race was originally scheduled for the Nurburgring, but per ESPN, the circuit dropped out for financial reasons. Hockenheim was its last hope, but even with Mercedes' assistance a deal could not be reached.

A German Grand Prix will most likely return in 2016, when it is scheduled per the race's alternating contract to be at Hockenheim. But sadly, the long-term prospects of F1 in the homeland of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel look bleak.

"

No German Grand Prix? Unthinkable a few years ago but sadly unsurprising in the current climate. Such a shame a deal couldn't be reached

— David Croft (@CroftyF1) March 20, 2015"

The commercial rights holder (headed up by Bernie Ecclestone) appears intent on chasing the races willing to pay the highest hosting fees, putting profit ahead of history. Traditional European venues, usually lacking sufficient state assistance, are finding it harder and harder to compete.

France has already fallen by the wayside, and in the not-too-distant future we're likely to be reading about threats to the races in Italy, Britain, Belgium and Spain.

But hey, look on the bright side—we'll still have Abu Dhabi, Russia and Azerbaijan to look forward to...

Olivier Panis Slams Calls for Equalisation

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Olivier Panis celebrated his 150th race start in 2004.

Former F1 driver Olivier Panis has hit out at claims by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner that the sport needs to level the playing field.

Horner was speaking after seeing his team's lead driver struggle to a sixth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix, behind Sauber, Ferrari, Williams and the two dominant Mercedes. Per Autosport, he said, "The FIA, within the rules, have an equalisation mechanism; I think it's something that perhaps they need to look at."

He was backed by commercial rights chief Bernie Ecclestone.

But Panis, winner of the brilliant and chaotic 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (highlights available for UK viewers here), disagrees. Speaking to Motorsport.com, the Frenchman said:

"

For me, that wouldn’t be F1 anymore. I already find that F1 has evolved in a way that I don’t appreciate, maybe because I’m from the former generation. But if you say now that performances need to be restricted, then you might as well create a one-make series. But if you want to attract constructors, you will deter them by doing that.

Formula One must remain Formula One—we’ve obviously seen supremely dominant Mercedes cars, you can’t blame nor criticize them, they have been doing a better job than everyone else, be it chassis-wise or engine-wise.

"

He added, referring to the dreary Australian race:

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Ferrari is back at the front of the grid. Despite a tough grand prix, Renault and Red Bull should be there soon. As far as the others are concerned, Sauber has performed very well, there still are some good surprises.

Let’s keep positive while hoping for a much better Grand Prix next time.

"

Panis started 157 races in his 11-year F1 career and, as someone not affiliated with any current team, is in a good place to comment on the sport's current situation.

The idea that F1 should use artificial means to reign in Mercedes' advantage after barely a season shouldn't even be considered; the sport is a competition in which teams and engine partners fight it out to have the best combination of driver, chassis and engine.

There is indeed an argument that the sport would be more "entertaining" if everyone had a similar engine. Does anyone not miss the bitter, multi-team battles of years gone by?

But if the engines should be equal, it's only fair that aerodynamics should be as well. Like Panis says, the only way to ensure equality is to turn F1 into a one-make series, and no one wants that.

Besides, Mercedes invested massive amounts of time, energy and employee excellence into doing the best job under regulations everyone agreed to. Like McLaren, Williams, Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull in years gone by, they earned their advantage.

And they did it without bending any rules.

Of course, it would be good to see them challenged and even beaten. But only by hard work and brilliant engineering—not by lazy moaning and artificial handicapping.

Eric Boullier Admits It Could Take Years to Catch Mercedes

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McLaren racing director Eric Boullier feels it may take more than two years for the other engine manufacturers to get on a par with Mercedes.

However, he doesn't feel this is a bad thing for the sport.

Discussing the differing fortunes of the four current power-unit suppliers, Boullier is quoted by ESPN saying:

"

I don't [think] this is bad for the sport. Of course, everyone wants all the cars racing together like we had in 2012, but any technical change in the regulations is opening the door to creating gaps and loopholes. I'm not surprised, this is the price you pay if you change the regulations as drastically as has been changed. You have to be patient to catch up.

In our case, Mercedes has been developing the engine for more than three years, and Honda for 18 months—that's already a huge part of the answer. For Ferrari and Renault I don't have any answers, but Mercedes has a good team in place and have done a pretty good job already last year, so you can expect them to do an even better job.

I'm not very surprised. These engines still have a lot of potential to unlock, so it may take more than a couple of years to catch up.

"

His comments won't go down well with those wanting an end to Mercedes domination, but even if he's right, it doesn't necessarily mean no one else will be able to challenge the German team.

Sufficiently good aerodynamics, fuel economy, tyre management, engine driveability, reliability and driver quality can make up for a small deficit in pure engine power.

We saw last season how Red Bull and sometimes Ferrari, despite being significantly down on power, were able to challenge the Mercedes-powered Williams FW36s.

Taking down the works team will of course be tougher—no one will do it in 2015.

But history shows periods of domination never last, and even great teams can lose their way. The reigns of Ferrari in the 2000s and Red Bull more recently came to an end; the Mercedes era inevitably will as well.

Valtteri Bottas Working Hard for Sepang Comeback

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Valtteri Bottas is continuing his efforts to be fit to race in the Malaysian Grand Prix, after being forced to miss the Australian race with a back injury.

The Finn suffered an annular disc tear in his lower back, first feeling it during Q2 on Saturday. He completed Q3 and qualified sixth after a final corner error, but had to be helped from the car and was deemed unfit to participate in the race.

Since then, he has been working on a return to full fitness. His manager, Didier Coton, posted an update on Twitter on Sunday.

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Impatient to go to Malaysia, #Aces @ValtteriBottas continues his hard work, even on Sunday! All good so far! pic.twitter.com/oriqpAC4Ye

— Didier_Coton (@didi_aces) March 22, 2015"

Bottas' return would be a welcome boost for Williams as they aim to retake the early initiative from Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel beat Felipe Massa to third in the Australian Grand Prix and the Scuderia look to be marginally quicker at this time.

Having Bottas back in the fold may even things up a little.

Should he be unable to return, a replacement will need to be found. The team are yet to make any public comment over who that will be and are unlikely to do so until a decision is taken on whether or not Bottas can race.