F1 gossip: Brawn, Button, Haas

Ross Brawn believes Formula 1 should consider radical ideas like a Saturday qualifying race in its push to become more popular in the future.(Sky Sports), external

Gene Haas is still smarting over Haas' double DNF in Australia and says "for sure" they're going to miss those 22 points come the end of this season. (Planet-F1), external

One-time Formula 1 champion Jenson Button and his Team Kunimitsu team-mate Naoki Yamamoto finished second in the Super GT season opener at Okayama. (Autosport), external

The FIA has approved Pirelli's plans to reduce the tread of its Formula 1 tyres for three races through the 2018 season due to the new asphalt that has been laid at the circuits. (Crash.net), external

Williams driver Lance Stroll says he no longer listens to criticism from fellow Canadian and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.(Autosport), external

Ferrari will retain a special payment from Formula 1 under a blueprint for the sport's future. The Italian team receives $100million a year (about £70m) as a heritage bonus in recognition of their status as the only team to have contested every season since the start of the world championship in 1950. (Daily Mail), external

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says that Formula 1 needs to pursue an aggressive timetable of "a couple of months" on achieving agreement on the sport's future. (F1i.com), external

Marcus Ericsson says he is pleased with Sauber's straight-line speed in 2018, saying it is a big difference from last year. (F1today.net), external

Renault's Carlos Sainz still drives a Volkswagen golf when away from the track, the first car he ever bought. (CNN), external

World champion Lewis Hamilton is set to sign a three-year deal worth £39.3m (45m euros) to stay at Mercedes. (Bild, via Daily Express), external

McLaren's Fernando Alonso thinks it is "sad" that Formula 1's competitive order has become so predictable. (Motorsport), external

Nico Hulkenberg says Renault's new car is "not good enough" with its performance and balance yet, despite an encouraging start to the season. (Autosport), external

Haas has reshuffled their pit crew and introduced an extra fail-safe system to help prevent a repeat of the Australian Grand Prix tyre-change blunders that led to the early retirements of both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. (Motorsport), external

Honda has been forced into making component changes to the engines of both Toro Rosso cars before the Bahrain Grand Prix. (ESPN), external

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has urged Liberty Media to ignore feedback from drivers, who he says "don't care about making the show better". (Crash.net), external

Fernando Alonso has warned his McLaren team they "must not get complacent" after the Spaniard finished fifth in the opening race of the season in Melbourne. (F1i.com), external

Sebastian Vettel says his Ferrari has "huge potential" but is not yet "spot on", despite winning the season opener in Australia. (ESPN), external

Lewis Hamilton can equal a Formula 1 record on Sunday as he has finished in the points in his past 26 races. Kimi Raikkonen currently holds the record outright with 27 successive points finishes while at Lotus in 2012-13. (Reuters), external

Mercedes are expecting a close battle with Ferrari at this weekend's Bahrain GP, with team boss Toto Wolff wary of Ferrari's straight-line speed. (Sky Sports), external

Esteban Ocon insists there is "no panic" after a bad start to the season for Force India. (F1Today.net), external

Dutch driver Nyck de Vries, 23, says he has been promised a seat at McLaren in 2019 if he wins this year's FIA Formula 2 Championship, which starts this weekend in Bahrain. (The Chequered Flag), external

Williams F1 deputy team principal Claire Williams has praised Renault's "phenomenal turnaround". Renault finished sixth, one place behind Williams, in the Constructors' Championship last season but saw both Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz finish in the top 10 in Australia. (F1i.com), external

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo believes he has the attributes to become world champion and feels it is right to weigh up his options before signing a new contract. (Sky Sports F1), external

Mercedes say their engines have three basic modes over the course of a grand prix weekend - one for the majority of the free practice sessions, one for the majority of qualifying and one for the majority of the race. (Pitpass), external

The famous Monaco Grand Prix layout could be tweaked by 2025. Forbes' F1 business journalist Christian Sylt said a two-billion-euro project to reclaim 25 acres of land, located just before the F1 circuit's tunnel entrance, is already under way. (GrandPrix.com), external

Formula 1's managing director of motorsports, Ross Brawn, says he found it "personally offensive" when Ferrari's chairman Sergio Marchionne accused him of "dumbing down" the sport. (ESPN), external

Sauber has bolstered its technical department by drafting in Jan Monchaux as their new head of aerodynamics. Monchaux held the role of head of vehicle engineering and aerodynamics at Audi Sport for the last five years, having previously worked at Toyota and Ferrari. (Formula1.com), external

Haas driver Romain Grosjean has a suggestion for a debate on favourite helmet design - his own.

Fernando Alonso believes McLaren can "forget" about their midfield rivals, and target Red Bull in the coming races. (Autosport), external

Formula 1 chiefs are considering the prospect of changing qualifying to a sprint race. (Auto Motor und Sport via PlanetF1), external

Carlos Sainz says being on loan from Red Bull to Renault is a "bit of a strange situation". (Motorsport.com), external

Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer says his team will use a new front wing for the Bahrain Grand Prix (Crash.net), external

Haas driver Romain Grosjean says describing the team as a "Ferrari B team" is insulting to their engineers. (PlanetF1.com), external

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel says he is confused why Formula 1 bosses opted to drop the use of grid girls and switch race start times. (Crash.net), external

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari's pace was better than it appeared at the season-opening race in Australia. (Motorsport Week), external

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo believes the width of modern F1 cars is making overtaking more difficult. (Autosport) , external

Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly says Honda has a "big, big plan" for development in 2018 that is designed to "show everyone they can do proper engines" in Formula 1. (Motorsport), external

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting says he has no concern over the legality of Haas' 2018 car. (F1i.com), external

Haas boss Guenther Steiner is sure his team can prevent a repeat of the pit-stop mistakes which ruined their Australian Grand Prix and push for a good points haul in Bahrain. (ESPN), external