F1 gossip: Vettel, Hamilton, Brawn, Red Bull, Mercedes

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Sunday, 1 April

Image source, Reuters
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Sebastian Vettel beat pole sitter Lewis Hamilton to victory at the Australian GP

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel says he does not have an issue with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton's comments about wanting to wipe the smile off his face after qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.(Planet F1), external

Red Bull want the FIA to ban "party modes" by making drivers qualify and race with the same engine settings after Mercedes turned up their engine power during qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix. (Autosport), external

Mercedes will only find out on Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix whether there is any issue concerning driver Lewis Hamilton's engine after a slight overheating issue at the season-opening race in Australia. (F1i.com), external

F1's technical boss Ross Brawn and his team are working on measures to make overtaking easier and reducing the "force field" around a car when a rival "gets within 1.5 to 2.0 seconds of the car in front". (Pitpass), external

Renault's Nick Chester believes a one-year gardening leave period is probably enough for F1 staff leaving the FIA and joining one of the sport's teams. (Crash.net), external

Saturday, 31 March

Image source, AFP
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Lewis Hamilton dominated the Australian Grand Prix from pole position but Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took an unexpected victory

Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen says Lewis Hamilton was on "a different level to everybody" at the Australian Grand Prix despite Mercedes' failure to win the race. (Express), external

Lap times at the British Grand Prix are expected to be one second faster this season after Silverstone's resurfacing project was completed. (Autosport), external

Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul says his team are encouraged by their trouble-free start to the season at the Australian Grand Prix. The manufacturer faced an array of issues towards the end of 2017. (crash.net), external

McLaren boss Eric Boullier says the team were forced to delay their planned upgrade in Australia because of reliability troubles during winter testing. (planetf1.com), external

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo is hoping for a first ever podium finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix this year after missing out at his home race in Australia. (Express) , external

Valtteri Bottas says Mercedes is "not miles clear" of the field despite Lewis Hamilton's dominance at the wheel. Bottas anticipates a strong fight with Ferrari in 2018. (crash.net), external

Friday, 30 March

Image source, Getty Images
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Stoffel Vandoorne has his sights set on the Bathurst 1000, a 1,000km touring car race held annually in New South Wales, Australia.

McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne says he would like to compete in the "very cool" Bathurst 1000 race when his F1 career is over. (f1i.com), external

Britain's Lewis Hamilton expects to face a "rapid" Ferrari in Bahrain next weekend as he searches for his first win of the new season. (planetf1.com), external

Former F1 driver Jean-Eric Vergne says it is "rather amusing" that Red Bull decided to bring Brendon Hartley back to the sport. (planetf1.com), external

Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul wants F1 to halt all engine development for the 2019-2020 interim seasons. (f1i.com), external

Keeping Red Bull's Max Verstappen behind him was "tough" in Melbourne, according to the account of their first on-track encounter by McLaren's Fernando Alonso. (racefans.net), external

Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff says the team are nearing the conclusion to contract talks with world champion Lewis Hamilton with a view to extending his stay deal beyond the end of the season. (crash.net), external

Wednesday, 28 March

Image source, EPA
Image caption,

There were only five on-track passes at the Australian Grand Prix after the order settled on the opening lap

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen said he would have "turned off the TV" if he was a viewer watching the Australian Grand Prix last weekend. (Autosport), external

Haas will not will not sack any of their mechanics despite the pit-stop troubles that saw drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean retire in Australia. (SportsMole), external

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was unfairly penalised by the FIA for his failure to slow sufficiently for a red flag in practice for the Australian Grand Prix, according to three-time world champion Niki Lauda, who added that "Formula 1 is going back in the wrong direction" with such decisions. (F1Today), external

Red Bull Boss Christian Horner has criticised Mercedes' use of "party mode" in their engine during qualifying to increase performance, and says cars should remain in the same engine mode from qualifying to the end of the race. (Sky Sports), external

Lewis Hamilton believes none of his rival have the same hunger for success as him, and credits his determination as the reason behind his four world championships. (Express), external

Tuesday, 27 March

Image source, EPA
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Lance Stroll's season did not get off to the best of starts

Formula 1 sporting boss Ross Brawn says the season-opening Australian Grand Prix missed the "vital ingredient" of overtaking, and the problem cannot be fixed until the sport takes a structured approach towards rectifying it. (Reuters), external

Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin says a plastic sandwich bag that went into a brake duct was behind his retirement five laps into Sunday's race in Melbourne. (Formula1.com), external

Lance Stroll says Williams are "surviving" rather than racing after he finished 14th at the Australian Grand Prix. (Autosport), external

Nico Rosberg has told his official YouTube channel he believes Lewis Hamilton would have "massively" deserved to win the Australian Grand Prix were it not for Mercedes' misfortune. (YouTube), external

Hamilton has admitted his drive in Australia was geared towards trying to save his engine for another day. (Autoweek), external

Monday, 26 March

Cross-threaded wheel nuts caused Haas' double retirement at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with their drivers running fourth and fifth and en route to a best ever result. (Formula1.com), external

Image source, Getty Images
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Haas' French driver Romain Grosjean was running fifth when he retired from the Australian Grand Prix

Red Bull drivers say their race pace is almost on a par with Australian Grand Prix winners Ferrari, despite failing to make the podium. (ESPN), external

Mercedes blame a software glitch for not providing the correct lap times Lewis Hamilton needed, allowing rival Sebastian Vettel to capitalise and take victory in Australia. (Formula1.com), external

McLaren drivers insist their strong showing in Australia - their cars finished fifth and ninth - was "a big contrast" to the team's initial struggles last year. (Autosport), external

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting used his discretion in deciding not to penalise Max Verstappen for passing Fernando Alonso under yellow flags during the Australian GP. (Autosport), external

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko says Mercedes' 'party mode' button means rivals are going to struggle to beat them this year unless the FIA intervenes. (Planetf1.com), external

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