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From GMM

Given Mercedes' dominance in Australia, the German marque's rivals have now begun their chase.

Second on the road in Melbourne was the later-disqualified Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo.

"When you think about where they were three weeks ago," said Mercedes' Toto Wolff, "then we need to be really aware of what they are capable of.

"We are yet to see a reliable Vettel, and when that happens he'll be really fast," the German told Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper.

Williams is currently regarded as the second-fastest team behind Mercedes, but technical boss Pat Symonds is expecting a tough fight in 2014.

"Look at how quickly Renault has caught up. Three weeks ago they were nowhere, suddenly they have a car that can be second," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) chasing Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) in Australia with the other drivers. (Photo: WRi2)

Indeed, a lot of the responsibility for Red Bull's issues is in engine supplier Renault's court.

"It is obvious that we are slower on the straights than Mercedes," the French marque's Remi Taffin is quoted by Italiaracing.

"I don't know if it's a second, and it's definitely more than a tenth, but there are no unsolvable problems," he insisted.

Also chasing Mercedes hard are McLaren and Ferrari.

"We believe that their (Mercedes') advantage is between five tenths and three quarters of a second," McLaren team boss Eric Boullier is quoted by France's Auto Hebdo.

"From our side we wanted above all to develop a reliable car, as we think it is essential to win a lot of points early in the season. Then we will have a very aggressive development. We need to catch up with Mercedes but also other teams that will be successful when their engine is as well," said Boullier.

Ferrari agrees that, despite a disappointing opening weekend in Australia, nothing is lost in terms of the overall battle for the 2014 title.

"I honestly believe that there is time for this team to fight for this world championship," boss Stefano Domenicali is quoted by the Spanish sports newspaper AS.

"Sure, it will not be easy, but of course there is time and we have the resources to do everything possible to bring it about."

From wrc.com

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has edged a step closer to a World Rally Championship return after a spokesman for the Japanese manufacturer's motorsport arm told wrc.com that it enjoyed a positive first gravel test of its new Yaris World Rally Car.

The car, known as the TMG Yaris WRC, is fitted with Toyota's 1.6-litre turbo Global Race Engine and was tested in Italy this week by experienced Finn Sebastien Lindholm and former Subaru driver Stephane Sarrazin.

The test was coordinated by Mini's former WRC partner, Motorsport Italia.

Toyota's motorsport division, TMG, is keeping details of the test private, but a spokesperson revealed that the team was happy with how it had gone. He also confirmed that it was the first of several tests planned for this year, as part of a long-term project.

Toyota was one of the most successful WRC manufacturers of the 1990s, achieving four drivers' and three constructors' titles before switching its focus to F1 in 1999.

Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda said on a Japanese WRC TV programme in January that the firm would like to come back to the WRC, but he did not say when this might happen.

It is certain that any return will not be with the car currently on test, however, as the spokesman confirmed that the TMG Yaris WRC will not be homologated for competition.

It is more likely that Toyota will return with a different car, conforming to new WRC technical regulations that come into effect in 2017.

The soon-to-be-launched FIA Formula E Championship for electric single seaters attracts more and more former Formula 1 drivers.

The series will begin September 14 on the street course de Beijing, China. Ten teams will be entering 20 drivers each round.

Former test and race F1 drivers Sam Bird, Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld and Jerome d'Ambrosio have added their names to the burgeoning Formula E Drivers' Club and in doing so showing their support for the new global electric racing series.

The Club includes several experienced drivers such as Tonio Liuzzi, Sebastien Buemi, Oriol Servia, Christian Klien, Marco Andretti, Giorgio Pantano, Adrien Tambay, Sebastien Bourdais, Franck Montagny, Nicolas Minassian and Marco Bonanomi.

From GMM

Williams remains one of the top favourites in 2014, despite the events in Melbourne.

Piloted by Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, the new Mercedes-powered FW36 was a standout of the winter season, but it struggled in the wet qualifying session last weekend.

In the race, Massa was punted out at the first corner while Bottas finished sixth, fighting through the pack after hitting the wall and damaging his wheel.

Pat Symonds says the Finn should thank former team driver Pastor Maldonado for the robustness of the car's suspension.

"Our suspension is very strong," Williams' technical boss told Auto Motor und Sport. "Pastor pushed the limits very often in the past and that probably had an influence on the design."

Pat Symonds said that if Massa and Bottas had clean races, they would have set their sights on the podium.

Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

Former F1 driver Mika Salo told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3: "Williams' car is the second fastest after Mercedes."

According to Turun Sanomat newspaper, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff agrees: "If their weekend had gone normally, most likely they would have been driving for the podium."

Asked if Williams can now challenge every single team except Mercedes, Symonds insisted: "I want to beat Mercedes as well. Our view is that Mercedes is at the front, and then there is a group of cars and we feel that in optimal conditions, we are narrowly at the front of that group."

From GMM

Former team boss Flavio Briatore has slammed the new face of formula one.

The 63-year-old Italian, absent from F1 in the wake of the 'crashgate' scandal, said he watched the Melbourne race last weekend and thought it was "disrespectful" to the spectators and television audience.

"They (the spectators) do not understand why the drivers do not attack, why and how they're saving fuel, and why champion drivers refuse even to defend their position. This was a strange spectacle, leaving behind the most beautiful sport in the world," Briatore told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

2014 Australian Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

He said it was wrong to let the car manufacturers succeed in their push for the all-new regulations, featuring 'greener' engines that use less fuel.

"They delegated the writing of rules to engineers who do not care about the fans or entertainment," said Briatore.

"The result is terrible. Of course it is true that the principles of the rules are correct, but we must not forget that formula one must be about the competition between drivers. Obliging them to drive slowly is contrary to common sense. It's like introducing a rule that means Ronaldo can only touch the ball ten times in a match. Now we have the stars (drivers) forced to behave on the track like accountants.

"If formula one does not change again in the near future, then the audience will be lost. Look at the comments on the internet, in blogs, on Twitter -- they did not like the Australian grand prix.

"It was an indecipherable and depressing show. This new F1 came too fast with too little testing, so at the very beginning Vettel and Hamilton were missing from the fight. This is unacceptable and now we have chaos."

Also unhappy with the 'new' F1 is the flamboyant MotoGP veteran Valentino Rossi.

"I was expecting something different from the new formula one rules, instead I just found it boring," the Italian is quoted by Tuttosport.

"I think motorcycles and cars should race with the fuel they need, but what is happening now is just an exercise for the engineers," added Rossi.

From GMM

"Cooling" will be the buzzword in Malaysia, according to Mercedes.

The German marque dominated in Melbourne, but Sepang is always among the very hottest destinations on the F1 calendar -- and the new 'power unit' rules for 2014 are posing much greater cooling problems for the teams.

"New GP, new problems," Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda told Osterreich newspaper.

He also told German broadcaster RTL: "Malaysia will be more difficult (than Melbourne).

"In Sepang actually we are starting from scratch because of the high humidity and temperature -- I doubt it will be below 35C. In such circumstances, effective cooling of the power unit would indeed be a problem. We will have to make changes to the car to resolve the issue."

Lauda's Mercedes colleague Toto Wolff agrees: "I think all the teams are seeking to create the most efficient cooling system.

"Every test or race weekend has been more difficult than we expected, so it will be difficult to cope with the heat in Malaysia," he admitted.

The Mercedes engine installed in the W05. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

It is "absurd" to suggest formula one should urgently turn up the volume of the new turbo V6 engines.

That is the view of Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, who days ago in Melbourne admitted the sound of the 22 cars charging to the first corner left him underwhelmed.

Williams technical boss Pat Symonds agrees: "For me the start is the most exciting part of the race, and I loved it when the 22 drivers revved up their engines.

"I don't generally complain about the sound, but at the start (in Melbourne) it did seem a bit quiet," he told Auto Motor und Sport.

Start of the 2014 Australian Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

Niki Lauda, however, said: "The debate about the engine noise is absurd -- you can't change that now. It was decided by all parties five years ago that they wanted turbo engines, and so we put in a turbocharger before the exhaust. It has a different sound, any child knows that. If you take the turbo away, you don't have hybrid engines anymore."

As for the duller sound, "We have to get used to it," Niki Lauda insisted in the Osterreich newspaper.

With a slightly more open attitude, however, is Lauda's Mercedes colleague Toto Wolff.

"I'm not much of an engineer," he told Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper. "These things will be looked at. If it is decided that something must be done, then we would have to think about it carefully. I would think that it is possible, but whether it is right, I don't know.

"The V8 engines sounded fantastic, but I saw this race (Melbourne) up close and I can assure you that F1 is still the top of motor sports, it's not GP2.

"This (move to V6) was the right step," Toto Wolff insisted.

From GMM

After Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified in Melbourne, Red Bull argued that it went its own way with the new fuel consumption rules because FIA's mandatory sensors were not accurate enough.

However, engine supplier Renault's rivals Mercedes and Ferrari backed the FIA in the wake of the ruling, while the sensor supplier Gill insisted it has the full support of F1's governing body.

Now, Mercedes-powered McLaren says it was aware of some problems with the sensors for some weeks.

Former F1 driver Mika Salo thinks the Ricciardo controversy will not be the only fuel-related rule drama in 2014.

"I believe we will see it quite a lot," he told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

Mika Salo said Red Bull will appeal the disqualification, so "let's see what the FIA does. The teams have complained about it a lot."

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

However, McLaren team boss Eric Boullier insists: "The FIA made clear in Bahrain that their sensors were the only reference for the calculation of the flow.

"We knew we had to be extremely careful. It is true that there were some problems, but it is also true that in the end we were consistent (with fuel flow) during the race and, like almost all the teams, even during the whole weekend," he is quoted by Italiaracing.

From GMM

Pedro de la Rosa wants to step down as president of the F1 drivers' association, the GPDA.

Speed Week said the Ferrari reserve driver's decision became clear last weekend in Australia, with a vote on his successor likely to take place next week ahead of the Malaysian grand prix.

"Wanted: a driver with experience," said correspondent Mathias Brunner.

Alongside 43-year-old Spaniard de la Rosa, the other GPDA directors at present are Jenson Button and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

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