Latest F1 news in brief

Nasr supported by Raikkonen

Raikkonen invested in Nasr's career
Vergne sees 'chance' for 2016 return
Pirelli's Hembery wants F1 changes for 2017
Both drivers attended pre-China meeting – Lauda
Merhi confident of China GP race seat
Mother insists Verstappen is Belgian
Van der Garde hopes Sauber saga 'changes F1'
McLaren drivers 'happy with the car' – Dennis

Raikkonen invested in Nasr's career
(GMM) Felipe Nasr has revealed that Kimi Raikkonen helped to fund his rise to formula one.

In the first two grands prix of his career, Brazilian rookie Nasr clashed on track with Ferrari's Raikkonen.

But the 22-year-old has told the broadcaster Canal Latin America that he is in fact close to Finn Raikkonen.

In 2010, Nasr drove in F3 for the 'Double R' team, founded by Raikkonen and his manager Steve Robertson.

Robertson is now also Nasr's manager.

Nasr said: "Kimi is one of the people who put money into my career, when my family could no longer afford it."

Nasr had a good start to his F1 career, with his fifth place in Melbourne meaning he remains ahead of some grandee rivals like Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo.

Nonetheless, his strong backing by the sponsor Banco do Brasil means some still refer to him as a 'pay driver'.

"What is the problem with having a sponsor on my car?" he insists. "What is the difference being supported by Red Bull and they will pay for your drive than having a (different) sponsor that wants to be with you?"

Jean Eric Vergne

Vergne sees 'chance' for 2016 return
(GMM) Jean-Eric Vergne says he will try to return to the F1 grid in 2016.

The Frenchman was dropped by Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso at the end of last year, and he is now a simulator driver for Ferrari whilst racing in the Formula E series.

He says he is enjoying Formula E.

"You know, when you come from formula one but you are not in the best team and you need to beat a teammate who has a weight advantage, the whole of the season, and then you arrive in a car where everybody has the same, no weight disadvantage or these kinds of problems -– it's extremely easy," Vergne, 24, told Current E Insights.

He said Formula E is "more fun" than F1.

"In F1, if you touch one wheel or one white line, then you've got a drive through penalty or a 10 second penalty," said Vergne. "I don't find that it's really racing so much anymore."

But Vergne said he does not think his F1 opportunity has passed.

"I don't feel bad," Vergne insisted. "I quit Toro Rosso but I arrived in Ferrari and I still have chance to get back next year.

"I wouldn't say you'd get a chance after being away for two years, but after just one year, there's a chance."

Paul Hembery

Pirelli's Hembery wants F1 changes for 2017
(GMM) Paul Hembery has urged F1 to make changes before Pirelli commits to a new contract.

The Italian tire supplier's F1 chief told the Guardian newspaper that he fully supports efforts by Bernie Ecclestone to spice up the 'show'.

Hembery admitted one good change has been the ban on driver helmet livery changes.

"The driver has to become an international superstar, like David Beckham," said the Briton. "But we've got drivers who don't understand why it's crap to change a helmet every race, and moan and bitch about it."

Now, ahead of the next official tender process to be the sport's official tire supplier, Hembery said Pirelli wants even more changes.

In Malaysia, Ecclestone talked about all-female F1 races, mixed up grids, mid-race sprinklers and the return of double-points.

Hembery said: "I thought qualifying on Friday night was a good idea, so you can actually win something, and the promoters have something to sell. And maybe a sprint race on the Saturday, an extra product, so Saturday fans actually see a result and podium places.

"It's not for us to tell people what should change, and how it should change, but change is needed," he added.

"We're anxious to understand what's going to happen in 2017, when we will be looking at a new contract. We'd like to see what the plan is.

"We are in the entertainment business," said Hembery. "Some people get ruffled by that idea, but if we don't entertain people don't watch us, and then the sponsors won't come, and the cycle continues.

"The current business model is clearly not working for enough people. Change is needed and the current mechanism for change is very cumbersome and very slow. We've got too many people with different vested interests.

"Someone has got to put a marker in the ground and say this is it. We can't spend another year going round in circles trying to find the big compromise," added Hembery.

Using Lewis Hamilton's recent run of success as an example, he feels it is a "shame" that some, while applauding the Brit's victories, will also be thinking that it is in part down to the car.

"We have a sport which is very much dominated by technology. But I'd like to see the drivers positioned so that they are the kings, the stars who people are following and looking up to," he said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper.

"I'd like to see the drivers becoming the heroes. The fans want a hero. They want an iconic person to follow. And they want to know that when driver X is winning he's actually making a difference.

"When people sit in a bar and watch Lewis Hamilton win a race they think great, but they also think that five other drivers in that Mercedes car could have done the same job, and that is a shame."

The other shake-up Hembery would like to see is for teams and drivers to become more accessible.

Visiting the Las Vegas speedway in recent weeks, he cited NASCAR as a great example of this as not only is the sport open to the fans but drivers understand the role they play in the game.

"The garages at the back of the pits had glass windows, so the fans were looking into the garages, and they also had a window which slid open at the back of the garage and the stars were giving autographs. And this was an event that had 100,000 people, so people can't say more people go to F1."

He added: "In NASCAR the driver is the king. Even the guy at the bottom is a superstar with a multi-million dollar contract. I would love to see our drivers held in that esteem.

"In F1 the driver has to become an international superstar, like David Beckham. But we’ve got drivers who don’t understand why it’s crap to change a helmet every race, and moan and bitch about it.

"Everyone knows an iconic driver’s helmet, going back to Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna. It’s part of their identity, because fans can’t see them with their hats on. So it was a very good thing telling them to register a helmet design and keep with it."

As for changes to the race weekend's format, Friday night qualifying and a Saturday sprint race are high on Hembery's list.

Both drivers attended pre-China meeting – Lauda
(GMM) Mercedes is pulling together to fend off the new threat posed by Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel's Sepang win was a shock to the formerly-dominant reigning champions, prompting a rare factory get-together involving both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg late last week.

Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper said that, previously, meetings at Brackley usually involved Hamilton and Rosberg attending on different days.

"This time we were all there," said team chairman Niki Lauda. "We analyzed the (Malaysia) race as one big group and now we are well equipped for China.

"We need to all pull on the same rope against Ferrari and Vettel," the F1 legend added, "and have no fighting within the team."

Meanwhile, f1-insider.com reports that the respective lawyers for Hamilton and Mercedes have finally approved a contract for the British driver beyond 2016.

The estimated EUR 40 million per year deal is expected to be announced before next weekend's Chinese grand prix.

Merhi confident of China GP race seat
(GMM) Roberto Merhi is confident he will return to the cockpit of the Manor car in China.

And Spain's Diario Sport said that if the 24-year-old rookie does reprise his race role in Shanghai, he will surely also appear in Bahrain just seven days later.

Merhi said he was honored to have been nominated for the racing role by the former Marussia team in the days before the 2015 season opener in Melbourne.

"I drove for them in F3 in 2009," he recalled, "competing against Bottas, Bianchi, Ricciardo and other drivers who also reached F1.

"It helped me a lot in that the team now believes in me," added Merhi.

He openly admits, however, that if the struggling backmarker concludes a lucrative deal with a pay-driver, he will have to make way.

But for China, "It is not yet official but everyone in the team is sure I will be on track", Merhi revealed.

"I have been very impressed that the team trusts me even if I have no support or sponsor."

Max Verstappen is Belgian

Mother insists Verstappen is Belgian
(GMM) Max Verstappen's mother says the 17-year-old is in fact Belgian.

The Toro Rosso rookie, now making waves as the youngest ever driver and points-scorer in F1 history, is the son of former grand prix star Jos Verstappen.

Jos is Dutch, and Max now competes with a Dutch racing license.

But the youngster was, in fact, born in Belgium, the native country of his mother Sophie Kumpen.

Kumpen is a famous female kart star, who fell out badly with Jos some years ago.

Their dispute involved the police and went all the way to court, with Verstappen snr said to have been threatened with jail at one point for alleged harassment and assault.

Now, Kumpen has told Het Laatste Nieuws, a Dutch-language Belgian newspaper, that her son is in fact Belgian.

"The only identification that Max has is Belgian," she claimed.

"He turns 18 on September 30, and on that date, and not before, he can opt for Dutch nationality.

"In the meantime, he is Belgian and nothing else," Kumpen insisted.

Van der Garde hopes Sauber saga 'changes F1'
(GMM) Giedo van der Garde has revealed the awkwardness of his situation at the 2015 season opener, as he pressed his claim against Sauber.

Ultimately, the Swiss team settled its dispute with the Dutch driver with a reportedly multi-million euro payment.

But until then, van der Garde argued hard that his valid 2015 race contract should be honored by the team.

A Melbourne judge ordered that he be granted access to the Sauber garage at Albert Park for a seat fitting, and the 29-year-old now admits: "It felt very strange.

"I find it hard to describe what I really went through — (girlfriend) Denise can confirm that. But I knew that I must remain cool," van der Garde told the Dutch magazine Formule 1.

"I should have gone to the team and said 'Hello, I'm here to drive'. But then I went to the motorhome and nobody said anything. All those people I worked with before, ignored me.

"Nobody looks at you and you think to yourself 'What's going on?'

"I walked to (team manager) Beat (Zehnder) and he shoved me a race suit and shoes and said 'Here'. I dressed in the garage to have the seat fitting, but the pedals were set up for (Marcus) Ericsson. Nothing could be changed.

"They didn't adjust the foam — nothing. Just two mechanics (were there), as everyone else was sent away. That was very weird, because normally they would be there, working.

"I don't know what the team told those guys, but if they are honest, they would acknowledge that they only received their salaries because of our early payment in 2014. And then suddenly we are the enemies, which is of course bullshit," said van der Garde.

"I understand that they were worried their jobs were in jeopardy, but I think we deserved a little more credit," he continued.

"Only the engineers behaved normally, saying 'If I was treated like that, I too would stand up for my rights'. It's nice when you get respect like that, including from many drivers and team bosses.

"All in all it's been good," said van der Garde. "Sure, I'm out of the seat, my dream is gone, but I think it might change F1 now.

"I have spoken to Alexander Wurz, the chairman of the GPDA, and he is adamant that there should be better fairness in formula one. I hope he succeeds, because this must never happen again," he concluded.

Dennis (R) says Alonso and Button are happy with the McLaren

McLaren drivers 'happy with the car' – Dennis
(GMM) McLaren supremo Ron Dennis is confident the team can emerge from the early troubles of the new Honda era.

He is quoted by France's L'Equipe as saying the bright side of the early bad reliability and lack of pace is that drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are happy with the MP4-30 car.

Referring to Malaysia, Dennis said: "Both drivers were happy with the performance of the car in the fast corners and under braking at Sepang.

"There are many positives," he added, "even though neither we nor Honda can be satisfied, but we are working hard.

"We want to win races and titles and I'm sure we will succeed sooner than people think," said Dennis.

Team boss Eric Boullier agrees: "We are not yet in the points, but we are in front of Force India even though this is not our goal.

"But for now, rather than focusing on performance, we are looking at the progress we are making with respect to winter testing, and the difference is huge," he added.