Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and More
When, at the end of the 2015 Formula One season, Toto Wolff warned Mercedes would be prepared to change their driver lineup despite retaining the world championship, the team boss sent a clear message to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
If the drivers were unable to put aside their personal differences for the sake of the team, one of them would lose the honour and privilege of driving the fastest car in the sport.
And Wolff's words appear to have done the trick, with Hamilton revealing his relationship with Rosberg is—surprisingly given the 24-point gap between the pair in the drivers' standings—healthier than it has been for some time.
The ever-strengthening bond between the team-mates is likely to be good news for the German, who is hoping to earn a contract extension with Mercedes for 2017 and beyond.
Ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, a race he dominated in 2014 and 2015, Rosberg has admitted he is relaxed about his future and intends to remain with the Silver Arrows for several years having joined the team at the beginning of 2010.
After struggling with the high-speed demands of the Spielberg circuit in recent seasons, Red Bull will finally enter their home event in a reasonably competitive state this year.
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen will lead the four-time world champions' charge at the Red Bull Ring, and the Australian has explained why various disappointments over the last 18 months have made him a better driver.
Ricciardo admitted he is attracting interest from Ferrari, with Sergio Perez's two podium finishes in the last three races resulting in the Mexican being linked to replacing Kimi Raikkonen. But Bob Fernley has expressed his confidence that Perez will remain with Force India for 2017.
Closing our latest roundup is Guenther Steiner, who has insisted Haas are not prioritising Romain Grosjean over Esteban Gutierrez, who is yet to score a point this season.
Lewis Hamilton Reveals Relationship with Nico Rosberg Is 'Really Good'
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Lewis Hamilton has insisted his relationship with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg is "really good" despite their head-to-head battle for the 2016 world championship.
Hamilton and Rosberg were team-mates in karting and reunited at Mercedes at the beginning of 2013, yet their bond has been frequently strained since the Silver Arrows became F1's dominant force in 2014.
A number of on-track collisions, as well as the infamous cap-throwing incident after the United States Grand Prix in 2015, had seen tensions rise at Mercedes to the point where Toto Wolff told Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble the team would change their driver lineup if Hamilton and Rosberg were unable to establish a healthy working relationship.
But Hamilton, who trails the German by 24 points after the first eight races of the season, is adamant he is currently on good terms with Rosberg, suggesting both men are now able to deal with potential flashpoints in a mature manner.
The three-time world champion told the Mail on Sunday's Oliver Holt:
"It’s actually really good with Nico at the moment. Really, really good. Surprisingly. I would definitely not have expected it to be where it is. I guess it is probably with age. He’s a family man. He’s got a kid. He has probably grown in that process and I have grown and come of age. The respect that we have always talked about is bigger than it has ever been.
So now we generally just discuss things. Whether we’re unhappy about something or not, we discuss it face to face. If I have a problem, I knock on his door and ask if I can speak to him privately. We never address it publicly or in front of the team. So far, at least. We say straight up, "Hey man, I wasn’t cool with that." And he does that to me as often as I do to him. The other day, I was swimming in my pool—the building we live in in Monaco, there is a shared communal pool—and I guess he saw me from his apartment and came down and sat on the diving board and when I finished a few laps, we sat and talked for 20 minutes or half an hour. In a relaxed state.
We are going to have our ups and downs and there are going to be times where we hate each other and when we like each other but ultimately, when we have all retired and got kids and stuff, the respect is always going to be there.
"
Despite his courteous relationship with Rosberg, Hamilton has been known to distance himself from his fellow competitors and often stands alone during the pre-race drivers' parade.
The 31-year-old has defended his more detached approach, telling the same source: "I’m definitely not one of the boys in F1. I don’t really know how to go and yap to everyone. I am generally relatively quiet. I don’t start a conversation with someone for no reason."
Nico Rosberg Confident of 'Many More Years' at Mercedes
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Nico Rosberg has expressed his confidence of earning a contract extension at Mercedes, insisting he wants to drive for the team for "many more years."
The German joined Mercedes from Williams at the beginning of 2010 and played an integral role in the Silver Arrows' two consecutive championship triumphs in 2014 and 2015, with Rosberg and team-mate Lewis Hamilton winning 32 of a possible 38 races between them.
After winning each of the opening four races of 2016, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff suggested discussions regarding a new deal were "under control," per ESPN F1's Laurence Edmondson, but Italian publication Corriere della Serra (h/t GrandPrix247.com) recently reported Rosberg has held talks with Ferrari.
After seeing his 43-point advantage over Hamilton sliced to nine following the Monaco and Canadian grand prix weekends, Rosberg extended the gap to 24 with his fifth victory of 2016 in the European GP.
And the 31-year-old, whose contract discussions are being led by former McLaren and Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger, is adamant he is happy at Mercedes and is in no hurry to conclude a deal.
According to Autosport (h/t Eurosport), Rosberg explained:
"It's not something I think about at the moment.
It's not a priority at the moment because there is no pressure anyway.
I'm feeling great, we are all happy to be together.
I'm going to be here for many more years and that's it.
There is no need to rush.
"
Per the same source, Wolff referred to Rosberg's recruitment of Berger as a masterstroke, allowing the driver to focus exclusively on his on-track exploits. The Austrian shared the German's belief that an agreement will be reached in good time, adding:
"First of all he had a brilliant adviser who is pretty experienced in negotiating good contacts.
That was very clever because he took himself out of it and I don't think it affects him at all.
We are in good discussions.
I have no doubt that Nico and us, we want to continue for a while.
We just need to be patient.
"
In May, Wolff told Spanish newspaper El Mundo (h/t F1i.com) how two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will be considered to replace Rosberg if the driver "does not want to renew" his contract.
Mercedes protege Pascal Wehrlein, who is competing in his debut season with Manor, is also a potential successor to Rosberg, having insisted he "would be ready" to join Mercedes as early as 2017, per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders.
Daniel Ricciardo Feels Recent 'Frustrations' Have Made Him Stronger
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Daniel Ricciardo believes the difficulties he has faced over the last 18 months have made him more determined to succeed in F1, suggesting his Red Bull team are capable of mounting a title challenge in 2017.
The Australian won three races during his breakthrough season at Red Bull in 2014, but he was restricted to just two podium appearances last year as the four-time world champions endured their first winless campaign in seven years.
With a standard-setting chassis design and an ever-improving Renault power unit, Red Bull have mounted something of a resurgence in 2016, yet Ricciardo has just one podium finish to show for the team's start to the season.
After two fourth-place finishes in Australia and Bahrain, Ricciardo suffered a puncture while leading the Chinese GP, with Red Bull's decision to switch to a three-stop tyre strategy in Spain costing him a potential victory on a day new team-mate Max Verstappen won his debut race for the team.
Another costly error occurred at the following round in Monaco, where Ricciardo—having claimed his maiden pole position—was forced to settle for second after a blunder during his second pit stop gifted the advantage to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.
The 26-year-old believes such frustrations are ultimately having a positive effect on his development and feels—with a driver of Verstappen's calibre alongside him—Red Bull will be in a position to regain the championship next season.
Ahead of Red Bull's home event in Austria, Ricciardo told Autosport (h/t Eurosport):
"I feel that each year in the sport, I'm learning more but I'm also wanting more out of it. This is good for my hunger.
It can lead to some frustrations when things don't go well but I don't feel it's affecting me in the car.
If anything, it's extracting more out of me.
With Max now it's been really cool.
We are pushing each other and the team sees that and they are excited about the line-up we have.
We are all super-competitive but it's pushing the team in a good direction, and a strong direction.
In my mind it's pushing us towards a championship car in 2017 and I hope that's what we can get for the next step.
The chassis, we can lean on it and you can feel it work and that's good.
You get that confidence back in the car; you get the confidence like in Monaco to show it.
"
In a separate Autosport (h/t Eurosport) article, Ricciardo admitted he is "aware" Ferrari are interested in him as a potential replacement for Kimi Raikkonen but insisted he hasn't been approached by the Prancing Horse.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently told Sky Sports' Pete Gill and Craig Slater how Ricciardo's current contract is not due to expire until the end of 2018.
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Force India 'Very Confident' of Keeping Sergio Perez Despite Ferrari Speculation
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Deputy team principal Bob Fernley is adamant Force India are "very, very confident" of keeping Sergio Perez for 2017, but he has admitted "the might of Ferrari" would be hard to turn down.
Having claimed podium finishes in two of the last three grands prix, Perez is currently enjoying the best run of form of his F1 career and may be set to play a lead role in this year's driver market.
With doubts over Kimi Raikkonen's future, Perez—a former member of Ferrari's young-driver scheme—has been regarded as a potential No. 2 to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in 2017.
After his third-place finish in Monaco, the Mexican—who has claimed four podium finishes in less than three seasons with Force India, helping the team secure a best-ever finish of fifth in the 2015 constructors' championship—insists he is "ready" to join a leading team, per Sky Sports.
Although Fernley has hinted it would be difficult to stand in Perez's way if Ferrari come calling, he has insisted the team are yet to receive an approach for the 26-year-old, telling Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble:
"I am very, very confident we will have Checo [Perez] next year, but you can never say never in F1. Things can happen, especially when you are dealing with the might of Ferrari.
If there is interest, and we don’t know of any, and there has been no approach or anything like that—so it is more media speculation than coming from the team—then you have to give full credit to Checo for getting people's attention.
We’ve only got four teams ahead of us, and the choice is very minimal.
"
Per the same source, Fernley suggested Force India are hopeful of securing Perez's stay in the not-too-distant future, adding: "I think we will always work to do it in a timely manner, but it has to be something that everybody signs up to."
Force India's Otmar Szafnauer has told German publication Auto Motor und Sport (h/t Planet F1) Ferrari must buy Perez out of his contract in order to sign the Mexican, with Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko suggesting Ferrari must pay a transfer fee if they decide to sign Carlos Sainz Jr., the Toro Rosso youngster.
Meanwhile, four-time world champion Alain Prost has questioned why Ferrari would want to replace Raikkonen, with the 2007 world champion acting as a clear No. 2 to Vettel, per Autosport (h/t Eurosport).
Haas Insist Esteban Gutierrez, Romain Grosjean Receiving Equal Treatment
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Team principal Guenther Steiner has insisted Haas are not offering Romain Grosjean preferential treatment despite the Frenchman's advantage over team-mate Esteban Gutierrez in 2016.
With three points finishes—including two top-six results in Australia and Bahrain—in the first eight races, former Lotus driver Grosjean sits in 11th place in the championship, while Gutierrez is among the six drivers yet to score a point.
Having claimed just one top-10 finish in his previous F1 stint with Sauber in 2013 and 2014, the Mexican has struggled upon his return to the grid this season, causing start-line collisions in the Russian and European grands prix and suffering a number of reliability glitches.
In May, the former Ferrari reserve driver voiced his frustration with Haas' problems, suggesting the issues were making him "look very bad to the outside" and spoiling "the f--king great job" he is doing behind the scenes, per Autosport (h/t Eurosport).
But Steiner has denied Haas are favouring Grosjean, who made 10 podium appearances in four full seasons with Lotus between 2012 and 2015. He told the official F1 website:
"Esteban was not in an F1 car for one year—and that does not help—but he also was pretty unlucky at the first couple of races. ...
On the material side both drivers have always been treated equally: the same car, the same equipment—and both had the same chances. There was probably the impression from the outside that Romain was our No. 1 driver because he is older and has more experience. But inside the team we don’t have any favouritism. We want both drivers to be in the points, yes, but if it is only one we don’t care who it is.
"
Per the same source, Steiner expressed his delight that Haas—despite failing to score a point since Russia—are "still mingling" with the likes of Williams, Force India and Toro Rosso and have "gained the respect of everybody in the paddock."
Meanwhile, Haas have confirmed Ferrari junior driver Charles Leclerc will take to the wheel of Gutierrez's car in the first practice sessions in Britain, Hungary, Germany, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.
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