Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Carlos Sainz Jr., Romain Grosjean and More

The rookies at Scuderia Toro Rosso might be making it look simple, but Carlos Sainz Jr. is adamant that Formula One cars are, contrary to popular belief, not easy to drive.

Sainz and Max Verstappen have excelled in the first six races of the 2015 season, fuelling the idea that F1 needs a rethink to ensure the driving challenge remains.

But while the Spaniard openly admits the physical demands of driving a grand prix machine may have been lost, there is still plenty going on in the cockpit to tire drivers out in other ways.

Someone who must wish F1 was easier is Romain Grosjean, who has found his route to success blocked through no fault of his own.

The Frenchman was a star of the future just two years ago, but without competitive machinery at his disposal, he has struggled to build on the promise he showed and has been discussing how his fall from grace has affected how he approaches his racing.

Sauber have also endured a difficult time since 2013, but unlike Grosjean, seem set to turn a corner. With a better car, and with Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson doing a decent job on the track, the Swiss outfit have forced their way back into the paddock's consciousness.

And the team may be set to reap the rewards for a promising start to the season with Sauber seemingly set to secure new partners in their quest back up the pecking order.

Williams, meanwhile, fell down the pecking order at the Monaco Grand Prix and failed to score a point for the first time this season as Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas failed to even threaten the top 10.

However, Massa is adamant that the Grove-based team's loss of form was very much a one-off and is predicting great things ahead of the races in Canada, Austria and Britain.

With a look at the latest member to join the Manor Marussia team, here's this week's roundup.

Carlos Sainz Jr. Insists F1 Cars Remain Hard to Drive

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Are modern Formula One cars really so easy to drive?

Nowadays, you rarely see drivers staggering their way around parc ferme at the end of a race or, thankfully, collapsing at the finish line in the style of Nigel Mansell, suggesting F1 machines are not as physically punishing as they once were.

But while the challenge on drivers' bodies may have been diminished, the strain on their minds is greater than ever before.

That is the opinion of Carlos Sainz Jr., who believes the perception that anyone could get behind the wheel of an F1 car is severely wide of the mark.

The seamless transition of 20-year-old Sainz and his Scuderia Toro Rosso team-mate, 17-year-old Max Verstappen, to the pinnacle of motorsport in 2015 has only strengthened the belief that F1 cars are easy to drive, with both rookies producing a number of strong performances across the first six races of their respective careers.

Although both youngsters raised eyebrows with their qualifying displays—Verstappen hauled his car to sixth on the grid in Malaysia, Sainz to fifth in Spain—arguably the most impressive result of Toro Rosso's season was their double-points finish at the Sepang International Circuit, which, due to its intense heat and humidity, is regarded as the most physically challenging venue on the calendar.

Sainz and Verstappen passing the Malaysia test with flying colours seemed to confirm that F1 cars are too easy to drive, but the former believes to focus only on the physical demands is to ignore the mental challenge, which is more intense with the V6 turbo power unit components and tyre-saving.

The Spaniard told Autosport's Lawrence Barretto: 

"

It's not so physically demanding as it was 10 years ago, but mentally it's horrible...

Mentally it's really, really tough to go through all of those switches while at the same time you're trying to save your tyres.

At the same time you're trying to handle your battery and your brake balance for every different corner. It's tough, but in a different way.

I would prefer to simplify a bit of that stuff and just make the cars quicker and make me focus more on making my car quicker.

"

With the F1 Strategy Group recently vowing to make the cars faster by up to six seconds per lap for 2017, Sainz's wish may soon come true.

Romain Grosjean Keen to Avoid Forgotten-Man Status

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Almost two years ago, Romain Grosjean's Formula One career was transformed.

It was at the 2013 German Grand Prix where Grosjean ended a point-scoring drought of four races to finish third on an afternoon when the Frenchman and then-Lotus team-mate Kimi Raikkonen challenged Sebastian Vettel for victory.

That result was the catalyst for an improved run of form as Grosjean strung together a run of points finishes before ending that season with four podiums in the final six races, emerging as a potential future world champion.

However, since the end of 2013 his career has been paused, and these days, a mere points finish is regarded as a good result.

Grosjean, a victim of Lotus' fall from competitiveness, has become just another driver on a grid awash with exciting, young talents such as Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, who are now thought of as the stars of the future and those most likely to land seats with front-running teams.

Like Nico Hulkenberg—who also had the world at his feet at the close of 2013 but has been unable to build on his promise—Grosjean has been left behind by F1.

And the Frenchman has opened up about the sadness of being unable to enhance his career prospects, explaining how all he can do is beat his team-mate, Pastor Maldonado, on a regular basis and hope the influential paddock figures take notice.

Grosjean told ESPN F1's Laurence Edmondson: 

"

In 2013 we were the two that everybody was talking about and [Hulkenberg] was doing a good job at Sauber and I was doing a good job at Lotus, but then we both had difficult years and of course you are no longer on the front page of the newspaper.

But you know what you are doing is still the best you can do and hopefully people that take the decision still know you are doing a good job. As long as you are in front of your team-mate and you are getting good results, every time there is an opportunity you are on it then that is what you are aiming for.

"

Despite airing his discontent with his career prospects, Grosjean told the same source he is "pretty happy" to remain at Lotus.

Sauber Hope to Cash in on Good Start to Season

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Sauber's decent start to 2015 could soon pave the way for the team to attract a host of new sponsors.

Last season was the worst in the team's history, with Sauber failing to score a single point across the 19 races of 2014. The effects of their downturn in form were evident when, in January, the Swiss outfit launched their C34 car, which featured very few sponsorship decals.

Despite this year's chassis being only a minor evolution of the 2014 car, its updated Ferrari power unit has been crucial to the team's change of fortune, with Sauber currently leading the battle for fifth in the constructors' standings having registered 21 points.

Felipe Nasr, the Brazilian rookie, secured the Sauber's best finish since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix with fifth place in the season-opening Australian GP, and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn is confident the increased exposure generated by the improvement in form will naturally result in more potential sponsors seeking to come on board.

Although Kaltenborn admits it will be difficult for Sauber to maintain their current position ahead of the likes of Force India, Lotus, Scuderia Toro Rosso and McLaren-Honda, she believes the team can utilise a boost in funds to further develop their car, telling Autosport's Ian Parkes:

"

A lot of good talks are going on, but it always takes a lot more than just good results.

We saw that in 2012 (when Sauber secured four podium finishes). You can have a lot more people calling and talking to you, but to close a deal is still very difficult.

Hopefully the talks will lead to something and there will be more sponsors on the car in the coming races.

"

Should the C34 benefit from a little decoration over the next few grands prix, Sauber will have plenty to celebrate both on and off the track.

Felipe Massa Confident Williams Will Recover from Monaco Shock

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Williams had a weekend to forget in Monaco as both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were off the pace all weekend, ultimately finishing 14th and 15th, respectively.

But the Brazilian is certain the team will return to form in the upcoming races in Canada, Austria and Britain on circuits that suit the characteristics of Williams' car.

Like last year's machine, the FW37 performs at its best on tracks with long straights, allowing the team to extract the most from their Mercedes power unit and slippery aerodynamics.

Massa was a contender for victory in Canada last year before colliding with Sergio Perez and set pole position in Austria, with Bottas securing the first podium finishes of his career in consecutive races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone. 

The next three races could represent the biggest chance for Williams to record their first victory since 2012, and Massa, himself without a win since 2008, is confident the team can produce their best performances of the season.

The 34-year-old told Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble: 

"

I am very confident for Canada, I am very confident for Austria, even for Silverstone. We are going to good tracks for us, so I am sure we can forget what happened here. I think we can be even stronger on these tracks maybe compared to what we have been doing up until now.

"

Manor Marussia Sign Bob Bell to Aid Recovery

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In a coup for the team, Manor Marussia have signed Bob Bell as a technical consultant.

According to Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, Bell, an ex-technical director at Renault and Mercedes, has arrived "as part of a ramp-up of engineering staff" and is set to "help guide the team's long-term plans" following their recovery from administration at the end of last season.

Bell is the latest big-name addition at the team formerly known as Marussia, who employed Pat Symonds—the man currently charged with leading Williams' resurgence to the top of Formula One—in a similar role between 2011 and 2013.

To many F1 enthusiasts, Bell will be most fondly remembered as the poor chap who adopted the role of team principal at the works Renault team in the immediate aftermath of the infamous "Crashgate" affair of 2009. He left world champions Mercedes at the end of last season before, as Noble writes, acting as a consultant for Renault.

With a strong reputation and the knowledge of what is required to succeed in the modern era of F1, Bell will be a valuable asset to Manor, who, according to Noble, have also signed Scuderia Toro Rosso's Luca Furbatto, who will become the head of design, and Gianluca Pisanello as the head of engineering.