| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, March 31st 2015, 12:01 GMT |
The Manor Formula 1 team insists there is no reason why it cannot run both its cars at the same time, following speculation over Will Stevens' Malaysian Grand Prix absence
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Tuesday, March 31st 2015, 10:27 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton says it is a "huge thing" for his brother Nicolas to be contesting selected rounds of the British Touring Car Championship this season
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| By Lawrence Barretto and Matt Beer | Tuesday, March 31st 2015, 13:38 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas believes he and Williams Formula 1 team-mate Felipe Massa have proved they can be trusted to race without team orders after their Malaysian Grand Prix battle
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| By Gary Watkins | Monday, March 30th 2015, 15:50 GMT |
DTM legend Bernd Schneider is set to contest the first three rounds of the Blancpain Sprint Series with the new GT Russia Mercedes squad
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| Monday, March 30th 2015, 14:30 GMT |
Valentino Rossi says his last-lap Qatar Grand Prix battle with Andrea Dovizioso was among the greatest of his MotoGP career
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Monday, March 30th 2015, 14:59 GMT |
Williams has to develop the whole car package and improve operations if it is to remain a Formula 1 frontrunner, according to performance chief Rob Smedley
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| By Edd Straw and Andrew van Leeuwen | Sunday, March 29th 2015, 12:38 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says he had a "poor" Malaysian Grand Prix, despite finishing fourth for the Ferrari Formula 1 team at Sepang
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| By Edd Straw and James Bolton | Sunday, March 29th 2015, 12:33 GMT |
Red Bull Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo said he was "just a passenger" in the Malaysian Grand Prix as he struggled to 10th position with damage and brake problems
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| Sunday, March 29th 2015, 15:52 GMT |
Jann Mardenborough has been released from hospital after the Nurburgring Nordschleife accident in which a spectator died on Saturday, while GT3 cars have been temporarily banned from the famous track.
Mardenborough's Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 became airborne in the accident at the Flugplatz corner, hitting the barriers and then flipping over the debris fence.
One spectator was killed and others were taken to hospital, with the last two released on Sunday.
The Nissan had been contesting the opening round of the VLN endurance series in preparation for its Nurburgring 24 Hours entry this year.
A Nissan statement said: "After the terrible events during yesterday's VLN race, Nissan is pleased to have received information that the two injured spectators have been released from hospital.
"Jann Mardenborough has completed a series of medical tests and has also been released from hospital.
"Naturally he is very distressed about the outcome of yesterday's accident.
"The vehicle has been impounded by the German authorities and Nissan has offered full cooperation in their investigation.
"Everyone at Nissan would like to again extend their deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased and to the spectators who were hurt.
"Nissan would also like to thank everyone for the support they have shown for the fans involved, the team and for Jann Mardenborough."
German motorsport's governing body the DMSB has announced that GT3 cars have been barred from competition on the Nordschleife until further notice following the accident.
GT3 machinery has been the headline category in both the VLN and the 24 Hours.
| By Lawrence Barretto | Saturday, March 28th 2015, 14:33 GMT |
Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says that he was not blocked by Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix
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| By Lawrence Barretto and Andrew van Leeuwen | Saturday, March 28th 2015, 14:20 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel is not ruling out fighting for a Ferrari Formula 1 victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix, after splitting the Mercedes drivers in qualifying
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| By Edd Straw | Saturday, March 28th 2015, 14:42 GMT |
The Williams Formula 1 team's disappointing performance in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix was a result of not operating the tyres correctly, according to performance chief Rob Smedley
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| By Gary Watkins | Friday, March 27th 2015, 13:03 GMT |
Porsche led the way in the opening session of the official World Endurance Championship test at Paul Ricard
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| Friday, March 27th 2015, 15:41 GMT |
Reigning GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer will make his Formula 1 free practice debut with Lotus at the Chinese Grand Prix next month
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| Friday, March 27th 2015, 15:14 GMT |
Andretti Autosport will run an additional car for Justin Wilson at IndyCar's two Indianapolis races this season
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| By Gary Watkins | Thursday, March 26th 2015, 15:04 GMT |
Porsche will move up to the eight megajoule hybrid sub-class for its assault on this year's World Endurance Championship with its 919 Hybrid LMP1 racer
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| By Ben Anderson | Thursday, March 26th 2015, 12:36 GMT |
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has admitted his call for equalisation in Formula 1 is unlikely to become reality and is "probably not" right for the sport
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| By Gary Watkins | Thursday, March 26th 2015, 15:19 GMT |
The three Porsche 919 Hybrids entered for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June will each run in a different livery
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| By David Evans | Wednesday, March 25th 2015, 14:46 GMT |
World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier has called for a balanced approach to any potential safety changes in response to Ott Tanak's dramatic crash into a lake during Rally Mexico
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| By Mitchell Adam | Wednesday, March 25th 2015, 14:39 GMT |
Cal Crutchlow is looking to regain the momentum his MotoGP career lost during an injury-disrupted season with Ducati, following his 2015 switch to LCR Honda
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Wednesday, March 25th 2015, 15:09 GMT |
Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene says there is no need to panic about the advantage Mercedes currently has in Formula 1
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| By Mitchell Adam | Tuesday, March 24th 2015, 13:39 GMT |
British youngster Scott Redding has set his sights on claiming a MotoGP podium during his first season on a factory specification bike
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| Tuesday, March 24th 2015, 15:06 GMT |
Audi will field four of its new second-generation R8 LMS GT3 contenders in both the 24-hour classics at the Nurburgring and Spa
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| By Scott Mitchell | Tuesday, March 24th 2015, 15:28 GMT |
The British Touring Car Championship-winning WSR team will run as a constructor in 2015, competing alongside the factory MG, Honda and Infiniti outfits
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| Monday, March 23rd 2015, 15:13 GMT |
Ferrari protege Raffaele Marciello will make his Formula 1 grand prix weekend debut in Malaysia, when he contests Friday's first practice session with Sauber
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| By Glenn Freeman | Monday, March 23rd 2015, 14:15 GMT |
McLaren has revealed that Fernando Alonso felt the steering of his Formula 1 car went 'heavy' in the moments before his testing crash at Barcelona last month
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| By Hal Ridge | Monday, March 23rd 2015, 15:46 GMT |
Former single-seater racer Tamas Pal Kiss will make a full time move to rallycross this season, including occasional appearances in the world championship
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| By Gary Watkins | Saturday, March 21st 2015, 21:13 GMT |
Chip Ganassi Racing led the Sebring 12 Hours with its Riley-Ford EcoBoost DP at half distance
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| By Gary Watkins | Sunday, March 22nd 2015, 03:04 GMT |
Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais claimed a clear victory in the Sebring 12 Hours for the Action Express Racing team
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Sunday, March 22nd 2015, 11:42 GMT |
Williams is confident it can outdevelop any of its Formula 1 rivals and maintain a consistent challenge throughout the 2015 season, despite falling behind Ferrari in the Australian Grand Prix
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| Saturday, March 21st 2015, 01:11 GMT |
Kurt Busch dominated qualifying for the fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season at Fontana, only his second event back after suspension.
The Stewart-Haas driver had topped the earlier practice session and set the fastest times in the second and final segments of qualifying to head team-mate - and winner of the last two Cup races - Kevin Harvick.
Busch had sat out the first three races of 2015 during a legal case over assault allegations.
Last year's Fontana polesitter Matt Kenseth managed third after setting the fastest time of the entire session in the first qualifying instalment, followed by David Ragan - subbing for an injured Kyle Busch in the #18 Joe Gibbs Toyota - and 2014 Fontana race runner-up Kyle Larson.
The most notable absentee from the final qualifying showdown was Joey Logano, who was only able to muster 13th and missed out on the final qualifying segment for the first time since Talladega last year.
Behind Logano and also missing out was Jimmie Johnson. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has five wins and a pole in 20 races at the track but struggled in Turn 1 and 2 during his second qualifying lap, leaving him 14th.
Last week's Phoenix runner-up Jamie McMurray had a difficult session and failed to progress past the first segment of qualifying. The Ganassi driver could only manage 26th.
Roush Fenway Racing particularly struggled on the aero-dependant Fontana track, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr its highest-placed car in 27th. Greg Biffle managed 29th and Trevor Bayne 36th.
Brett Moffitt qualified the #55 Michael Waltrip Racing car in 30th, after Brian Vickers was ruled out of the weekend following a recurrence of blood clots that interrupted his racing in 2010 and '13.
Front Row Motorsport is now onto its third driver change of the year after losing Ragan to Gibbs and Moffitt to Waltrip.
Chris Buescher took over the #34 Front Row entry and made his Cup qualifying debut in the process, taking 33rd.
Reed Sorenson and Travis Kvapil failed to qualify.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 38.889s | - |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 38.909s | 0.020s |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.926s | 0.037s |
| 4 | David Ragan | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 38.943s | 0.054s |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 39.059s | 0.170s |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 39.081s | 0.192s |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.112s | 0.223s |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 39.117s | 0.228s |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 39.189s | 0.300s |
| 10 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 39.257s | 0.368s |
| 11 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 39.262s | 0.373s |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 39.280s | 0.391s |
| 13 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 39.275s | - |
| 14 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.289s | - |
| 15 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 39.349s | - |
| 16 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 39.365s | - |
| 17 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.377s | - |
| 18 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 39.395s | - |
| 19 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.399s | - |
| 20 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 39.464s | - |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 39.486s | - |
| 22 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 39.530s | - |
| 23 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 39.604s | - |
| 24 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.912s | - |
| 25 | Brian Scott | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 39.611s | - |
| 26 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 39.642s | - |
| 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 39.657s | - |
| 28 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 39.684s | - |
| 29 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 39.693s | - |
| 30 | Brett Moffitt | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 39.731s | - |
| 31 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 39.780s | - |
| 32 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 39.876s | - |
| 33 | Chris Buescher | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 39.888s | - |
| 34 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 39.995s | - |
| 35 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 40.050s | - |
| 36 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 40.153s | - |
| 37 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 40.212s | - |
| 38 | Brendan Gaughan | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 40.312s | - |
| 39 | Mike Bliss | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 40.375s | - |
| 40 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 40.501s | - |
| 41 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota | 40.798s | - |
| 42 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 40.886s | - |
| 43 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 41.041s | - |
| 44 | Travis Kvapil | Team Xtreme Racing | Chevrolet | 40.431s | - |
| 45 | Reed Sorenson | RAB Racing | Toyota | 40.706s | - |
| By Gary Watkins | Friday, March 20th 2015, 22:41 GMT |
Olivier Pla set two laps good enough for pole position aboard the Krohn Racing Ligier-Judd/BMW JSP2 in qualifying for the Sebring 12 Hours.
The Frenchman ended up on a 1m51.152s during the 15-minute prototype class qualifying session, which put him three tenths ahead of Ryan Dalziel's Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b.
Dalziel had trailed Pla by seven tenths, but he improved on his last flying lap to a 1m51.455s.
Pla said: "It is something special to be on pole at Sebring.
"The more laps we did, the quicker we went, and I think I had another lap in my pocket if I needed it.
"The track changed a lot because the wind was a lot stronger; it changed the balance and made it loose at the rear."
Joao Barbosa set the best time in a Daytona Prototype to line up third behind the two LMP2 cars in the lead Action Express Racing Coyote-Chevrolet Corvette DP.
The reigning Tudor United SportsCar champion finished on a 1m52.128s, putting him just ahead of Oswaldo Negri Jr in the Michael Shank Racing Ligier-Honda JSP2, which only just made qualifying after an engine change in the wake of final free practice.
The factory CORE Porsche team blocked out the front two positions in GT Le Mans with Frederic Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet.
Makowiecki jumped ahead of Antonio Garcia's Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to take the class pole with a 1m58.587s and then Pilet improved his best to put the #911 Porsche 911 RSR second with a 1m58.806s.
Garcia ended up third, his 1m58.828s leaving him just ahead of Rahal BMW driver Dirk Werner.
Martin Plowman led the way in the prototype challenge class with a 1m55.257s aboard the BAR1 ORECA-Chevrolet FLM09.
That put him a tenth up on Colin Braun in the CORE Autosport entry.
Jeroen Bleekemolen snatched pole for the GT Daytona class at the wheel of the Riley Motorsports Dodge SRT Viper GT3-R from Mario Farnbacher's Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America.
The Dutchman crossed the line in 2m03.485s to eclipse Farnbacher's best by just five hundredths of a second.
The top two were more than half a second ahead of third-placed Spencer Pumpelly, who ended up on a 2m04.106s in his Park Place Porsche.
QUALIFYING RESULTS
| Pos | Class | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | Olivier Pla | Krohn Racing | Ligier/Judd | 1m51.152s | - |
| 2 | P | Ryan Dalziel | Tequila Patron ESM | HPD | 1m51.455s | 0.303s |
| 3 | P | Joao Barbosa | Action Express Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m52.128s | 0.976s |
| 4 | P | Oswaldo Negri Jr. | Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Ligier/HPD | 1m52.170s | 1.018s |
| 5 | P | Dane Cameron | Action Express Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m52.490s | 1.338s |
| 6 | P | Richard Westbrook | visitflorida.com Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m52.691s | 1.539s |
| 7 | P | Ricky Taylor | Wayne Taylor Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m52.720s | 1.568s |
| 8 | P | Johannes van Overbeek | Tequila Patron ESM | HPD | 1m53.047s | 1.895s |
| 9 | P | Joey Hand | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Riley/Ford | 1m53.329s | 2.177s |
| 10 | P | Memo Rojas | Claro / TracFone DeltaWing Racing | DeltaWing/Elan | 1m55.223s | 4.071s |
| 11 | PC | Martin Plowman | BAR1 Motorsports | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m55.257s | 4.105s |
| 12 | PC | Colin Braun | CORE Autosport | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m55.327s | 4.175s |
| 13 | PC | Tom Kimber-Smith | PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m55.416s | 4.264s |
| 14 | PC | Conor Daly | Performance Tech Motorsports | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m55.748s | 4.596s |
| 15 | PC | Chris Cumming | RSR Racing | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m56.450s | 5.298s |
| 16 | PC | Rusty Mitchell | JDC/Miller Motorsports | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m57.248s | 6.096s |
| 17 | P | Tristan Nunez | Speedsource | Mazda | 1m57.421s | 6.269s |
| 18 | PC | Alex Popow | Starworks Motorsport | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m57.842s | 6.690s |
| 19 | GTLM | Frederic Makowiecki | Porsche North America | Porsche | 1m58.587s | 7.435s |
| 20 | GTLM | Patrick Pilet | Porsche North America | Porsche | 1m58.806s | 7.654s |
| 21 | GTLM | Antonio Garcia | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet | 1m58.828s | 7.676s |
| 22 | GTLM | Dirk Werner | BMW Team RLL | BMW | 1m58.842s | 7.690s |
| 23 | GTLM | Giancarlo Fisichella | Risi Competizione | Ferrari | 1m58.927s | 7.775s |
| 24 | GTLM | Lucas Luhr | BMW Team RLL | BMW | 1m58.930s | 7.778s |
| 25 | GTLM | Tommy Milner | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet | 1m59.451s | 8.299s |
| 26 | GTLM | Wolf Henzler | Team Falken Tire | Porsche | 1m59.787s | 8.635s |
| 27 | GTLM | Pedro Lamy | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 1m59.896s | 8.744s |
| 28 | GTD | Jeroen Bleekemolen | Riley Motorsports | Dodge | 2m03.485s | 12.333s |
| 29 | GTD | Mario Farnbacher | Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing | Porsche | 2m03.538s | 12.386s |
| 30 | GTD | Spencer Pumpelly | Park Place Motorsports | Porsche | 2m04.106s | 12.954s |
| 31 | GTD | Leh Keen | Alex Job Racing | Porsche | 2m04.339s | 13.187s |
| 32 | GTD | James Davison | TRG-AMR | Aston Martin | 2m04.855s | 13.703s |
| 33 | GTD | Damien Faulkner | GB Autosport | Porsche | 2m04.930s | 13.778s |
| 34 | GTD | Andy Lally | Magnus Racing | Porsche | 2m04.944s | 13.792s |
| 35 | GTD | Jan Heylen | Wright Motorsports | Porsche | 2m05.059s | 13.907s |
| 36 | GTD | Ben Keating | Riley Motorsports | Dodge | 2m05.081s | 13.929s |
| 37 | GTD | Bryce Miller | Paul Miller Racing | Audi | 2m05.265s | 14.113s |
| 38 | GTD | Marco Holzer | Flying Lizard Motorsports | Audi | 2m05.499s | 14.347s |
| 39 | GTD | Marco Cioci | AF Corse | Ferrari | 2m05.781s | 14.629s |
| 40 | GTD | Anthony Lazzaro | Scuderia Corsa | Ferrari | 2m06.479s | 15.327s |
| 41 | GTD | Boris Said | Turner Motorsport | BMW | 2m07.373s | 16.221s |
| 42 | P | T.Long, J.Miller, B.Devlin, S.Tremblay | Speedsource | Mazda | - | - |
| 43 | P | J.Pace, B.Defoor, D.Hinton, D.Schroeder | Fifty Plus Racing | Riley/BMW | - | - |
| By Edd Straw | Saturday, March 21st 2015, 12:15 GMT |
Sauber Formula 1 team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted she is surprised by the size of the step Ferrari has made with its 2015 engine
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Friday, March 20th 2015, 14:55 GMT |
Pirelli says it would be difficult to commit to a contract extension that goes beyond 2016 until it knows Formula 1's plans for a rules revolution the following year.
Discussions have taken place over a rapid overhaul of car regulations that would result in wider cars, bigger tyres, 1000bhp and bodywork revisions for 2017 - but nothing has yet been agreed.
Pirelli, which became F1's sole supplier in 2011, said earlier this year that it would favour increasing tyre size to bring the "wow factor" back.
But with a tyre contract expected to go up for tender later this year for 2017 onwards, Pirelli motorsport chief Paul Hembery said that the Italian manufacturer needs plenty of notice of any changes.
"We want to see what is happening in 2017," said Hembery. "If you're going to have a tender process you want to know what you're signing up to.
"What sort of sport are we talking about?"
When asked if Pirelli would sign up without knowing what the rules will be, Hembery said: "It would be hard to, almost impossible to go to the board if there are changes in the offing.
"If you don't know what those changes are, how can you possibly make decisions costing a substantial amount of money? It would be a bit remiss to do that.
"We've not heard any more. When they do the tender process, which we believe will be in the next three months, then we would want that to include what is selected.
"We are happy to do the right thing for the sport. Do they want 19-inch tyres or do we want to stay with 13-inch?
"It's down to the sport, but it has a big impact in the amount of work involved, we need to know when we can do verification testing.
"If the changes are as they described, with 1000bhp and huge rear wings etc, you'd want to be do running in October and November the previous year."
| By Mitchell Adam | Friday, March 20th 2015, 12:11 GMT |
Former DTM champion Gary Paffett isn't expecting many pitstops during Saturday races in 2015, following the release of the series' new double-header weekend format.
Each event will feature a 40-minute race on Saturday and a 60-minute Sunday race, with grids set by standalone qualifying sessions.
The biggest difference, though, is that pitstops to change tyres will be optional on Saturday and mandatory on Sunday.
Paffett told AUTOSPORT that he believes teams will manage the shorter race so as to avoid stopping.
"I think everybody will," he said.
"There was some discussion as to whether the tyre supplier wanted to have a pitstop or not in a 40-minute race.
"But with the tyres we are using, the majority of the circuits are low deg, so I don't expect that in a 40-minute race anyone will want to make a pitstop.
"It's not going to be an advantage, competitiveness-wise, so I don't see anyone wanting to stop."
BETTER TITLE FIGHT PREDICTED
The Mercedes veteran, who switches to DTM newcomer ART Grand Prix for the 2015 season, is a big fan of the returning double-header format.
"I've been saying for years that we don't have enough races," he said.
"First of all there's not enough actual races, so you don't get enough time to score points.
"If you have a bad race, or a failure, you can lose a tenth of your points and it's very tough to make that up over the course of a season.
"Now we have one less weekend, but we have 18 races, which is 18 opportunities to score points.
"I think the move to two races is a great decision.
"The length of the races, to us it doesn't really matter as long as we have one race with a pitstop for a bit of strategy, so it's not a problem to have a sprint race on the Saturday."
Audi's head of DTM Dieter Gass backed up Paffett's claims that the move to 18 races will be better for the title fight.
"One or two races without points does not automatically mean there is no longer a chance of winning the championship," said Gass, who described not stopping in the Saturday races as "basically not a problem".
"I'm assuming that we're going to see more drivers in the battle for the title for a longer time.
"We extensively discussed the new format for a long time. I think we came up with a good approach."
| By Gary Watkins | Friday, March 20th 2015, 15:09 GMT |
Michael Shank Racing Ligier driver Oswaldo Negri Jr claimed the top spot in final free practice ahead of Friday afternoon's qualifying session for the Sebring 12 Hours.
The Brazilian, who was on pole for the opening round of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship at Daytona in January, set a best time 1m52.096s aboard the MSR Ligier-Honda JSP2.
That put him nearly half a second ahead of Joao Barbosa in the lead Action Express Racing Coyote-Chevrolet Corvette DP, which finished on 1m52.588s at the end of the one-hour session.
The Judd/BMW-engined Ligier LMP2 coupe fielded by Krohn Racing, which had been fastest in practice sessions two and three, ended up third in Nic Jonsson's hands on a 1m52.797s.
Ryan Dalziel was fourth fastest aboard Extreme Speed Motorsports' HPD ARX-03b with a time a further tenth back.
BMW was fastest in GT Le Mans for the third session out of four, with Dirk Werner leading the way in the #25 Rahal BMW Z4 GTE on a 1m59.085s.
Corvette Racing was second fastest with Tommy Milner, who was just two hundredths down on a 1m59.104s.
The Prototype Challenge class was led by Martin Plowman in the BAR1 Motorsports ORECA-Chevrolet FLM09 and GT Daytona by Spencer Pumpelly in the Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America.
LEADING PRACTICE FOUR TIMES:
| Pos | Class | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | J.Pew, O.Negri, J.Wilson | Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Ligier/HPD | 1m52.096s | - |
| 2 | P | T.Krohn, N.Jonsson, O.Pla | Krohn Racing | Ligier/Judd | 1m52.578s | 0.482s |
| 3 | P | J.Barbosa, C.Fittipaldi, S.Bourdais | Action Express Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m52.588s | 0.492s |
| 4 | P | S.Sharp, R.Dalziel, D.Hansson | Tequila Patron ESM | HPD | 1m52.899s | 0.803s |
| 5 | P | E.Curran, D.Cameron, M.Papis | Action Express Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m53.270s | 1.174s |
| 6 | P | J.Hand, S.Pruett, S.Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Riley/Ford | 1m53.278s | 1.182s |
| 7 | P | R.Westbrook, M.Valiante, M.Rockenfeller | visitflorida.com Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m53.483s | 1.387s |
| 8 | P | R.Taylor, J.Taylor, M.Angelelli | Wayne Taylor Racing | Corvette/Chevrolet | 1m54.211s | 2.115s |
| 9 | PC | M.Drumwright, T.Drissi, D.Cheng, M.Plowman | BAR1 Motorsports | ORECA/Chevrolet | 1m54.857s | 2.761s |
| 10 | P | E.Brown, J.van Overbeek, J.Fogarty | Tequila Patron ESM | HPD | 1m54.924s | 2.828s |
| By David Evans | Thursday, March 19th 2015, 14:40 GMT |
World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier still expects the new running order rules to cost him wins this season, even though he overcame them to win last time out in Mexico
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| By Gary Watkins | Thursday, March 19th 2015, 15:30 GMT |
Joao Barbosa topped the times for the Action Express Racing team in the opening session of practice ahead of Saturday's Sebring 12 Hours round of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship
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| By Edd Straw | Thursday, March 19th 2015, 15:35 GMT |
The Force India Formula 1 team's morale has been given a boost after a difficult winter by its double points finish in the Australian Grand Prix
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| Wednesday, March 18th 2015, 14:59 GMT |
The Sauber Formula 1 team has declared itself "surprised" by Giedo van der Garde's account of their contract row, but wants to move on from the affair
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| By Gary Watkins | Wednesday, March 18th 2015, 14:14 GMT |
Former grand prix driver Jarno Trulli is undecided about whether to continue driving for his Formula E team beyond this season
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, March 18th 2015, 15:02 GMT |
The Williams Formula 1 team is making every effort to ensure Valtteri Bottas can return to the cockpit for the Malaysian Grand Prix, according to deputy team principal Claire Williams
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| By Scott Mitchell | Tuesday, March 17th 2015, 14:27 GMT |
Goodwood claims its future would be thrown into doubt if an application for hundreds of homes to be built near the circuit is approved
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| By Gary Watkins | Tuesday, March 17th 2015, 14:33 GMT |
The stake taken in Formula E by two allied US media groups earlier this month makes them the combined largest shareholder in the championship, series boss Alejandro Agag has admitted
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, March 17th 2015, 14:45 GMT |
Hockenheim boss Georg Seiler says his track has given up hope of hosting Formula 1's German Grand Prix this year
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| By Gary Watkins | Monday, March 16th 2015, 14:02 GMT |
DTM driver Mike Rockenfeller will make a return to Audi's LMP1 squad as reserve driver at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year
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| By Scott Mitchell | Monday, March 16th 2015, 15:44 GMT |
British Touring Car Championship race-winning team Motorbase will miss at least the first half of the 2015 season due to a lack of funding
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| By Gary Watkins | Monday, March 16th 2015, 15:51 GMT |
Spectators at the Battersea Park Formula E finale in June will stand on small terraces rather than sitting in grandstand seats
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Sunday, March 15th 2015, 10:17 GMT |
Williams performance chief Rob Smedley said there was nothing strategically different the team could have done to beat Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix
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| By Edd Straw | Sunday, March 15th 2015, 10:18 GMT |
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has called on the FIA to take action to equalise engine performance and close up the Formula 1 field
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| By Edd Straw | Sunday, March 15th 2015, 10:42 GMT |
Red Bull suspects that the gearbox problem that prevented Daniil Kvyat from starting the Australian Grand Prix was caused by vibrations from the engine
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| By Gary Watkins | Saturday, March 14th 2015, 14:32 GMT |
Free practice for Saturday's round of the Formula E Championship has been delayed by two and a half hours while the 1.35-mile Miami ePrix circuit is completed
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| By Lawrence Barretto and Dieter Rencken | Saturday, March 14th 2015, 15:38 GMT |
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff thinks a ban on windtunnel use in Formula 1 is "not going to happen"
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| By Gary Watkins | Saturday, March 14th 2015, 15:50 GMT |
Sam Bird topped the times in what had become the only session of free practice ahead of qualifying for the Miami round of the Formula E Championship
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| By Scott Mitchell | Friday, March 13th 2015, 11:53 GMT |
Freddie Hunt, the son of 1976 Formula 1 world champion James Hunt, will race in the British Touring Car Championship-supporting Renault UK Clio Cup this season
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| By Ben Anderson and Jonathan Noble | Friday, March 13th 2015, 10:29 GMT |
Lotus Formula 1 duo Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado were both hampered by pipe problems on the opening day of running at the Australian Grand Prix
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| By Mitchell Adam | Friday, March 13th 2015, 14:03 GMT |
The DTM has revealed full details of its new two-race format for 2015, with pitstops being optional during the Saturday races
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| By David Evans | Thursday, March 12th 2015, 13:27 GMT |
Ott Tanak has called on the FIA to make changes to its organisation, following his crash into a lake on last week's Rally Mexico
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| By Marcus Simmons | Thursday, March 12th 2015, 11:30 GMT |
Formula 3 European Championship rookie Nicolas Beer suffered concussion in a big testing crash at Imola on Wednesday
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Thursday, March 12th 2015, 15:40 GMT |
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg says he has not yet reached his peak in Formula 1 and expects to be stronger in 2015 after missing out on last year's title
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| By Gary Watkins | Wednesday, March 11th 2015, 13:34 GMT |
Former GP2 driver Adrian Quaife-Hobbs will make a full-time switch to sportscars for 2015 with the VonRyan McLaren team in the Blancpain Endurance Series
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| Wednesday, March 11th 2015, 13:46 GMT |
GP2 newcomer Status Grand Prix ended 2015's first pre-season test on top of the timesheets, with New Zealand rookie Richie Stanaway leading the way
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| By Ben Anderson and Matt Beer | Wednesday, March 11th 2015, 15:28 GMT |
Discounting McLaren-Honda's chances in the 2015 Formula 1 season would be foolhardy, reckons Williams technical chief Pat Symonds, despite the Woking team's tough winter
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| By Ben Anderson and Matt Beer | Tuesday, March 10th 2015, 14:57 GMT |
Williams hopes to get an advantage over the factory Mercedes Formula 1 team through fuel development during the 2015 season
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| By Gary Watkins | Tuesday, March 10th 2015, 13:55 GMT |
Nissan has revealed the driver combinations for its LMP1 assault on this year's World Endurance Championship
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| Tuesday, March 10th 2015, 14:42 GMT |
Alex Lynn kept DAMS at the top of the timesheets on the second day of GP2's opening pre-season test in Abu Dhabi
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| By Stuart Codling | Monday, March 9th 2015, 14:17 GMT |
Honda privateer Dusan Borkovic raced in Sunday's opening round of the 2015 World Touring Car Championship in Argentina in spite of medical advice to the contrary, it has emerged
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| Monday, March 9th 2015, 14:01 GMT |
Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly picked up where he left off in 2014 by topping the opening GP2 pre-season test of 2015 in Abu Dhabi
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| Monday, March 9th 2015, 15:02 GMT |
Factory Audi LMP1 driver Loic Duval will make his Formula E debut with Dragon Racing in Miami this weekend
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| Sunday, March 8th 2015, 00:40 GMT |
Sebastien Ogier is on the brink of Rally Mexico victory as Mads Ostberg and Andreas Mikkelsen continue to engage in a fierce fight for second behind
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| By Stuart Codling | Saturday, March 7th 2015, 22:10 GMT |
Lada driver Rob Huff called the performance of the new Vesta a "genuine surprise" after going quickest in first qualifying at the World Touring Car Championship opener in Argentina
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| By Ben Anderson | Sunday, March 8th 2015, 12:58 GMT |
Ferrari Formula 1 boss Maurizio Arrivabene believes Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are the "perfect combination" for the Scuderia this season
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| By Stuart Codling | Saturday, March 7th 2015, 12:45 GMT |
Reigning World Touring Car champion Jose Maria Lopez laid down a marker for his rivals by setting the pace in first practice for the 2015 season-opener in Argentina
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| By Ben Anderson and Matt Beer | Saturday, March 7th 2015, 13:58 GMT |
Williams was caught off-guard by just how far ahead Mercedes was when it unleashed more performance late in winter Formula 1 testing, admits Pat Symonds
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| By Stuart Codling | Saturday, March 7th 2015, 15:36 GMT |
Jose Maria Lopez saw off the challenge of Citroen team-mate and arch rival Yvan Muller to go quickest in an eventful second World Touring Car Championship practice session in Argentina
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| Friday, March 6th 2015, 14:29 GMT |
ART has confirmed that Marvin Kirchhofer will remain in its GP3 line-up for 2015, as predicted by AUTOSPORT earlier this week, and expects him to be a leading title contender
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Friday, March 6th 2015, 13:33 GMT |
Matheo Tuscher will stay with Jenzer Motorsport for a second season of GP3 in 2015, joined by fellow Swiss teenager Ralph Boschung
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| By Marcus Simmons | Friday, March 6th 2015, 15:39 GMT |
The Formula 3 European Championship has attracted a record 35 entries for the 2015 season
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| By Ben Anderson | Thursday, March 5th 2015, 12:51 GMT |
World champion Lewis Hamilton would prefer having drivers from multiple teams fighting for the title, because it is "more exciting" for Formula 1 fans than an exclusive fight between team-mates
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| By Jonathan Noble and Andrew van Leeuwen | Thursday, March 5th 2015, 15:27 GMT |
DTM's three manufacturers are pushing the FIA to reconsider its new Formula 1 superlicence system so the category is not excluded from the list of series that qualify a driver
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| Thursday, March 5th 2015, 15:45 GMT |
Aprilia emphasised that 2015 must be regarded as purely a development season as it launched its factory return to MotoGP on Thursday
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| Wednesday, March 4th 2015, 14:52 GMT |
GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 race-winner Nick Yelloly will switch full-time to sportscars in 2015 with Jota Sport in the European Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hours
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| By Lawrence Barretto | Wednesday, March 4th 2015, 13:33 GMT |
Sergio Perez believes Force India is "a couple of steps" behind its Formula 1 rivals after the team completed just two-and-a-half days of pre-season testing
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| By Mitchell Adam | Wednesday, March 4th 2015, 15:06 GMT |
Pirelli has confirmed it will take the same line-up of tyre compounds to the opening four Formula 1 grands prix of the new season as it did in 2014
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| Tuesday, March 3rd 2015, 12:54 GMT |
The new ORECA LMP2 coupe was given the seal of approval by Toyota factory driver Stephane Sarrazin after its maiden run yesterday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, March 3rd 2015, 12:16 GMT |
Fernando Alonso has pulled out of the Australian Grand Prix after doctors advised him against getting back in a Formula 1 car just yet
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| By Stuart Codling | Tuesday, March 3rd 2015, 14:30 GMT |
The World Touring Car Championship replaced its blue-riband event in Macau with a night race in Qatar to obtain a more favourable timeslot for television, says series chief Francois Ribeiro
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| By David Evans | Monday, March 2nd 2015, 13:10 GMT |
MSA chief executive Rob Jones has issued a stark warning to British rally fans that they could jeopardise the sport's future with unsafe behaviour
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| Monday, March 2nd 2015, 13:01 GMT |
The drivers on McLaren's new young driver programme, Ross Wylie and Andrew Watson, will team up for an attack on the 2015 British GT championship with the VonRyan Racing squad
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| By David Evans | Monday, March 2nd 2015, 15:44 GMT |
Ex-Formula 1 racer Robert Kubica believes he made one of the biggest steps forward in his World Rally Championship career last time out in Rally Sweden
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mitchell Adam | Sunday, March 1st 2015, 12:12 GMT |
Williams driver Valtteri Bottas topped the final morning of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona, as McLaren only managed two laps.
Like his team-mate Felipe Massa a day earlier, Bottas completed a qualifying simulation on super-soft tyres before lunch, recording a time of 1m23.063s.
The lap was two-tenths faster than Massa's effort but still 0.041 seconds slower than Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton went on softs on Saturday afternoon.
McLaren endured another disastrous session with the Australian Grand Prix looming large.
An hour into the day, the team confirmed it was undertaking "system checks", and a sensor problem eventually required the removal of the Honda engine before Jenson Button could emerge five minutes before the break.
There was trouble for Red Bull, too, with Daniel Ricciardo turning only 10 laps due to an ERS problem that caused the Australian to stop at the end of pitlane and prompted the morning's only red flag.
The top four drivers all set their times on the super-softs, with Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Nasr and Sergio Perez doing so in the hour before lunch.
Nasr was the busiest driver of the morning, completing 73 laps in his Sauber, while Perez turned 54 to continue Force India's reliable run since rolling out its new car on Friday morning.
Nico Rosberg ended the morning an unfamiliar fifth, having focused on medium and hard compound programmes, including longer runs.
MORNING TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1m 23.063s | - | 45 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m 23.469s | 0.406s | 52 |
| 3 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m 24.023s | 0.960s | 72 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m 25.113s | 2.050s | 54 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m 25.186s | 2.123s | 69 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m 26.267s | 3.204s | 49 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m 26.587s | 3.524s | 10 |
| 8 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus/Mercedes | 1m 28.272s | 5.209s | 35 |
| 9 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | - | - | 2 |
| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, March 1st 2015, 11:18 GMT |
McLaren's new Formula 1 chassis definitely addresses the weaknesses of last year's car, reckons Kevin Magnussen.
The Dane was drafted in for the penultimate day of pre-season F1 testing at Barcelona on Saturday after Fernando Alonso was forced to stay at home on medical grounds following his recent crash.
Although he only managed 39 laps before being stopped by an oil leak, Magnussen said he had felt enough to know that the MP4-30 had great potential.
"The first feeling, on low-ish fuel, was very good and very consistent," he said. "It was very stable with no surprises.
"Last year's car was a bit more unpredictable, and it is nice to see the work we did last year and the direction we wanted to go has definitely proved to be right for this car.
"We don't know for sure yet but it feels right, and that is nice to see."
Magnussen said the 2015 car's handling felt totally different to how last year's MP4-29 behaved.
"It definitely feels like a completely different car," he said. "It does not feel related to last year's car. It is not an evolution of last year's car, it feels completely different.
"It is very consistent, very predictable, and very smooth in a way. Just driveable.
"Whereas last year's car probably had more downforce, it was much more sharp, on the limit and unpredictable in a way.
"On many occasions that was a problem, because when you wear out your tyres and the rear starts to move around more you want a predictable car.
"The front end of last year's car was much less predictable and sharp. This year's car is more smooth and predictable and driveable.
"There is some way to go yet because it is a completely new idea and a completely new car. But it is a very good base and, for me, it is going to be a good car, maybe a bit later in the season."
HONDA ENGINE 'SMOOTH'
Magnussen was also happy with the power delivery of the new Honda engine too - something that Jenson Button has also singled out for praise.
"I was quite surprised about the torque delivery and upshifts," he said. "Although there is still some way to go, I was surprised how smooth it was.
"Honda is completely new with this type of power unit now in F1, so I was quite surprised how well they have done in that short time they have had.
"We still need the reliability to improve before the first race, which I am sure they will. But I am pleasantly surprised how smooth it all is."
McLaren's tough build-up continued on Sunday morning when the need for what it described as systems checks kept Button in the garage through the opening hours.
| By Lawrence Barretto | Sunday, March 1st 2015, 11:41 GMT |
Force India is in discussions with Bernie Ecclestone over financial support, but deputy team principal Bob Fernley insists it will compete in Formula 1's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
F1 has been embroiled in a debate over costs for months, with Force India, Sauber and Lotus leading a push for more assistance for small teams following Caterham and Marussia going into administration last year.
There had been speculation over Force India's participation in the 2015 season after it suffered a number of delays with the build of its new car, which only ran for the first time on Friday - two and a half days before the end of winter testing.
Deputy team principal Bob Fernley told AUTOSPORT that the delay was because of a combination of factors that included having to pay suppliers earlier than expected, which impacted on cashflow.
He confirmed that his team has also appealed to Ecclestone for assistance, when asked if Force India had requested any advance Formula One Management payments.
"We have not had any help to date, but hopefully we will get some help," he said. "We are in discussions on it.
"Bernie has been extremely understanding. He's a racer. He understands from his days how difficult it is. I think he realises this is serious."
DIETER RENCKEN: Why struggling teams want 'core car' plan
When asked if the team would be in Australia, Fernley said: "It's going to be very tough, but as always we will get through.
"At this point, we are working through the build of the second car. Everything is getting there but it is not going to be easy, it hasn't been easy all the way through the winter.
"We have made it clear to the commercial rights holder that we have problems, as have Lotus and Sauber. It's not isolated to one team."
There have also been suggestions that Lotus and Sauber may not compete in the season opener owing to financial difficulties.
A Sauber spokesperson told AUTOSPORT: "We are doing our best - we will be there [in Australia]."
Lotus declined to comment on its financial situation but implied that it would be in Melbourne.
MARUSSIA/CATERHAM WOES HURT FORCE INDIA
Fernley added that some F1 suppliers had been put under pressure when Marussia and Caterham went into administration last year, which meant other teams had to make payments earlier.
"You can't underestimate what the administration of Caterham and Marussia did to suppliers," he said. "It was huge - and still is.
"Those poor guys have had a tough old time. They're incredible and have supported us through all these years.
"And we have had to support them this year, but in doing so that's hurt our programme."
