Formula 1 gossip: Ricciardo, Grosjean, Sauber, Button

Sunday, 17 April

Daniel Ricciardo described his Chinese Grand Prix comeback drive as "one of the best races of his life". (Fox Sports)

Fan's a fan of Formula 1: Chinese actress and X-men star Fan Bingbing was at Sunday's race in Shanghai

Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn has denied suggestions that the Swiss team is in danger of failing to finish the 2016 season. (Motorsport.com)

Jenson Button hopes strategy and not a lack of pace was to blame for his disappointing 13th-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix.(ESPN)

Kimi Raikkonen says the first-lap crash involving himself and Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel was "not a disaster". (Planet-F1)

Romain Grosjean turned 30 on Sunday but was unable to celebrate with a third successive finish inside the points as he struggled home 19th at the Chinese Grand Prix

Saturday, 16 April

Four-time F1 drivers' champion Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari's tyre strategy could be an advantage over the one chosen by Chinese Grand Prix polesitter Nico Rosberg. (Motorsport.com)

Beans and bacon in a bow, Max? No-one eats beans and bacon in a bowl, surely?

Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen tweeted a picture of him at breakfast. The Duthcman, who was to qualify ninth on the grid, said: "Getting ready for qualifying day! It's a rainy one but we like that 😎"

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo's mum might be in two minds about wanting her son to win in China after his boss Christian Horner revealed they had a bet that if he wins the race he has to keep his new haircut for a year. Horner said the haircut was something "his mother will kill him for". (Fox Sports)

Horner also says that Red Bull may trial its F1 cockpit protection device at some point over the Russian Grand Prix weekend. (Eurosport)

McLaren posted a touching tweet wishing Williams founder Sir Frank Williams a happy 74th birthday. It features two pictures of him talking to McLaren team principal Ron Dennis 20 years apart.

Sir Frank Williams has been in a wheelchair since a car accident in 1986

Current F1 drivers' champion Lewis Hamilton will need to back up his recent comments that he is more mentally resilient when he starts last of the grid in China after ERS problems. (Telegraph)

McLaren is set to open negotiations with Fernando Alonso about renewing his contract beyond the end of next year. (Inautonews via Marca)

Kimi Raikkonen says it is a "shame" he qualified third for the Chinese Grand Prix believing he had a chance to put his Ferrari on pole. (Crash.net)

Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton spray Sir Jackie Stewart on the podium

Thursday, 14 April

Sir Jackie Stewart says that if he was running Mercedes, he would pull the German carmaker out of Formula 1. (Globo Esporte via Inautonews)

Critics who describe the Haas Formula 1 car as a Ferrari in different colours are just jealous, says their driver Romain Grosjean. (Autosport)

Pirelli has released its wind tunnel tyres to F1 teams in a move which will allow them to push on unhindered with designs for 2017.(Motorsport.com)

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley says the upgrades Force India introduced at the Bahrain Grand Prix will "benefit" the team this weekend in China. (Autosport)

Former Benetton and Jaguar driver Johnny Herbert stands by his recent criticism of Fernando Alonso, despite the Spaniard's angry reaction.(Marca)

McLaren-Honda driver Jenson Button posted this picture on Instagram of the F1 drivers enjoying a meal together in Shanghai.

Wednesday, 13 April

Williams has played down any suggestion that its deal with development driver Lance Stroll could be a precursor to his father, fashion entrepreneur Lawrence, becoming a shareholder in the team. (Motorsport.com)

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz believes Red Bull are "as quick as Mercedes, if not more" through medium and low-speed corners. (Autosport)

Williams, Manor and Force India will attempt to complete the season with four engines rather than five to save on the amount they have to pay Mercedes. (Auto Motor und Sport - in German)

McLaren-Honda racing director Eric Boullier says reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne is ready to jump back into the car if Fernando Alonso fails his FIA medical checks. (Crash.net)

Williams driver Felipe Massa was pleased with the reception he received in China, tweeting: "Love you guys #chinesefans".

Haas driver Romain Grosjean placed fifth after running three sets of super-soft tyres and then a final set of softs in Bahrain

Tuesday, 12 April

Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe is expecting the use of supersoft tyres at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix to produce more "extreme" strategies like those seen in Bahrain.(Motorsport)

Williams have announced a return to profit, turning a £31.5m loss in 2014 into a £0.2m gain for 2015. (Telegraph)

The Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams has called for a fairer distribution of F1 revenues.(Autosport)

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner says there are "developments coming" as they look to improve their Ferrari-powered VF-16. (Crash.net)

Red Bull's Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo wasn't too impressed after letting a friend have a go at cutting his hair. "We made some late night calls and got Vince over to finish the mess that is seen on the left,"he posted on Instagram.

Monday, 11 April

Formula 1 drivers should "shut up" and stop criticising the sport's rule-makers, says 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve. (Autosport)

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has warned that rule changes for 2017 will limit the amount of overtaking seen in races.(ESPN)

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo says F1 is no longer thrilling enough, adding that he would like to see drivers not to have to worry about fuel and tyre saving. (Crash.net)

Renault's British driver Jolyon Palmer says he is confident of bouncing back from a "challenging" Bahrain Grand Prix at next weekend's race in China.(Grand Prix Times)

Briton Hamilton finished third at the most recent F1 race in Bahrain, with his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg claiming victory ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen

World champion Lewis Hamilton was on the move on Sunday, posting this photo on his Twitter account as he made his way to China. "Another flight. Off to China! See you there!" he wrote.

Sunday, 10 April

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the addition of more downforce for the 2017 season is the "wrong decision". (Grand Prix Times)

Romain Grosjean says critics who said it was career "suicide" to join the new Haas team have already been proved wrong. (Motorsport.com)

Renault's Kevin Magnussen wants the opportunity to show what he can do in a "normal" race after a frustrating start to the F1 season. (F1i.com)

F1's return to Mexico last year had "maybe the biggest economic impact" on the country since the football World Cup in 1986, say officials. (Autosport)

Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael, was victorious in his first two races in the Italian F4 series. (Motorsport.com)

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg enjoyed some family time away from the track

Saturday, 9 April

Former San Marino Grand Prix venue Imola is ready to host F1 again in the future with its chief Selvatico Estense meeting Bernie Ecclestone in Bahrain to discuss the possibility. (Autosport)

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg is concerned F1 is heading in the wrong direction with the proposed 2017 regulations and fears overtaking will become even more difficult. (Sky Sports)

Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean will be looking to climb the driver standings when he takes part in next weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, but first he had a big wall to scale, as his recent post on Twitter shows...

Romain Grosjean is currently fifth in the F1 drivers standings

Jaguar Land Rover have until July to negotiate a deal to purchase the Silverstone circuit after being handed the right to exclusive negotiations. (Planet F1)

Friday, 8 April

Sauber are reportedly behind with full salary payments to their 300 staff in Switzerland. (AutoWeek)

Racing director Eric Boullier says there is "no pressure" on McLaren to confirm their 2017 line-up, despite interest from rivals in Belgian reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne, 24. (Planet F1)

Ferrari have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the FIA over a pit board message used during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. (Fox Sports)

Sebastian Vettel is set to use his second power unit of the 2016 Formula 1 season in next weekend's Chinese Grand Prix following his Ferrari's failure in Bahrain. (Autosport)

Thursday, 7 April

Lewis Hamilton is not a fan of driver and mind coaches in Formula 1 and aired his views on the subject in a new video about how to be a world champion. (Daily Mail)

Ferrari will receive more money than any of their rivals for the 2015 season, despite finishing a distant second in the constructors' championship. (Autosport)

Renault is considering extending their involvement with engine specialists Ilmor to make it a long-term partnership as they try to catch up with the leading teams in F1. (ESPN)

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas says he could have avoided his turn one collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Bahrain GP had he braked earlier. (Motorsport.com)

Wednesday, 6 April

FIA president Jean Todt does not see Formula 1's governance changing before the current Concorde Agreement and commercial contracts with teams expire in 2020. (ESPN)

Brazilian authorities have seized trophies and racing cars from two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi's personal museum. (USA Today)

Stoffel Vandoorne's championship point on his F1 debut for McLaren has advanced the 24-year-old's quest for a full-time seat next season. (New Zealand Herald)

Toto Wolff says F1 is now 90% about politics, which is overshadowing the battle brewing between his Mercedes team and rivals Ferrari. (ESPN)

Haas have set their sights on scoring points at every F1 race from now on after Romain Grosjean, 29, finished fifth in Bahrain. (motorsport.com)

McLaren's Fernando Alonso sums up his schedule in a series of emojis on Twitter

Tuesday, 5 April

Formula 1 world championship leader Nico Rosberg, 30, thinks Ferrari are closer to Mercedes than results have suggested in this season's two races. (Reuters)

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, 28, is not impressed with F1's proposed new qualifying format. (Mirror)

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted the clutch problems Lewis Hamilton, 31, experienced in Bahrain may not be solved in time for the next round in China.(Mail)

Jenson Button believes his McLaren team made significant progress despite the 36-year-old's early exit from the Bahrain Grand Prix. (Western Daily Press)

F1's new tyre contract with Pirelli from 2017 has yet to be signed off with the sport's governing body, despite being agreed in October, as the Italian firm wants specific targets and testing guarantees written in.(Reuters)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton enjoys some time away from the track

Monday, 4 April

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says it is "too early" to determine whether Nico Rosberg, 30, holds the upper hand over Lewis Hamilton in this year's Formula 1 World Championship race. (Daily Mail)

The Brackley-based team are open to reigning world champion Hamilton, 31, trying out a MotoGP bike. (Gazetta dello Sport via Inautonews)

Azerbaijan says fighting with separatists from the region of Nagorno-Karabakh will not threaten its first-ever F1 race in June. (ABC News)

Romain Grosjean, 29, said he was living "the American dream" after a fifth-placed finish for Haas in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix. (Fox Sports)

Haas were delighted with Romain Grosjean's fifth place in Bahrain

Saturday, 2 April

Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone says drivers complaining about the governance of the sport are "windbags". (Telegraph)

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg enjoys a gym session ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix

World champion Lewis Hamilton has defied Ecclestone's directive on the use of social media by posting a video of footage from the paddock. (Daily Mirror)

Max Verstappen has apologised to Toro Rosso staff for his angry radio exchanges with the team the during the Australian Grand Prix. (Autosport)

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel says Formula 1's new qualifying format is "the exact opposite" of what fans want, and that the sport's administrators would struggle to sell ice-cream correctly. (Daily Mail)

Friday, 1 April

Las Vegas could host a second US race on the Formula 1 calendar in a few years' time but a deal has yet to be agreed, says the sport's boss Bernie Ecclestone. (Reuters)

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg says he can be Formula 1's version of Leicester City, the Premier League outsiders who are on course for a shock title.(Sky Sports)

Three-time Formula 1 world champion Jackie Stewart believes that the Halo cockpit safety device is the "correct step" for the sport. (Auto Motor und Sport, via NBC Sports)

Listen: BBC Radio 5 live Bahrain preview

Jenson Button expects Stoffel Vandoorne to be a quick learner when the Belgian makes his Formula 1 race debut for McLaren in Bahrain this weekend after Fernando Alonso was ruled out on medical grounds. (Reuters)

McLaren have put the final touches to Stoffel Vandoorne's car before he makes his F1 debut at the age of 24

An excited Stoffel Vandoorne ‏writes on Twitter: "About to board for Bahrain, a bit earlier than expected but so much looking forward to it. Will do my very best for the team."

Romain Grosjean, who came a surprise sixth in Melbourne, believes Haas will continue to shock the rest of Formula 1, and says there has been "jealousy" from other teams. (Formula 1.com)

Kevin Magnussen is confident that Renault can score their first points of the season in this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. (NBC Sports)

Carlos Sainz stands his ground over his dispute with Max Verstappen, saying his Toro Rosso team-mate's radio outbursts in Australia were not necessary. (Crash)

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was not put off by the wet weather in Bahrain and decided to go skateboarding

Thursday, 31 March

Lewis Hamilton is confident he has the pace to beat Nico Rosberg at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.(ESPN)

From Salford to the Sakhir Circuit. Nico Hulkenberg made an appearance on A Question of Sport ahead of the Bahrain GP

Mark Webber says he is dumbfounded over Formula 1's decision to stick with the deeply unpopular new elimination qualifying format for the Bahrain Grand Prix. (Daily Mail)

'The much-hated qualifying farce remains, the drivers are in open revolt against Bernie Ecclestone, and the teams are furious at the end of British terrestrial coverage from 2019' - Telegraph Sport asks why F1 is in such turmoil before the Bahrain GP. (Daily Telegraph)

Jenson Button went off-road ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, sharing this photo on Instagram with the caption: Fun afternoon in the sand dunes and rocks of Bahrain

Manor are confident the team have the resources to start moving up the Formula 1 grid. (Autosport)

Wednesday, 30 March

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso, 34, could be forced to miss the Bahrain Grand Prix as a precaution after his crash in Australia. (Sun)

Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has been preparing for this weekend's race with a spot of skydiving - on an indoor simulator. (Daily Mail)

Hamilton clearly enjoyed his 'skydiving' experience

FIA Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has dismissed claims this year's new radio restrictions pose safety risks because communication to drivers is so limited. (Autosport)

Teams face delays in designing their 2017 cars because the lack of a contract between the FIA and Pirelli means much-needed wind tunnel tyres have not been released. (Motorsport.com)

Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul would like to see the current fuel limit rules removed because he says they are making Formula 1 more like endurance events than flat-out racing. (F1i.com)

Formula 1 drivers are beginning to arrive in Bahrain for this weekend's grand prix, including Williams driver Valtteri Bottas. (Gulf Digital News)

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, judging by his Twitter post, is happy with his Bahrain accommodation...

Tuesday, 29 March

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has criticised the decision to keep the highly controversial 'musical chairs' qualifying format - in which the slowest car is eliminated every 90 seconds - in place for Bahrain, describing the innovation as "rubbish". (Inautonews)

Button finished 14th in the season's opening grand prix at Melbourne

Jenson Button has been showing off his new #22 McLaren team kit for 2016 on Instagram.

World champion Lewis Hamilton has urged the sport not to pursue its revised 2017 regulations aiming to make cars five seconds a lap quicker, claiming lapping quicker "won't deliver better racing". (Crash.net)

Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn believes the financial problems hitting F1's smaller teams prove there is something "fundamentally wrong" with the sport. (ESPN)

Christian Horner says Red Bull's pace at the start of the season has given him belief that his team can catch Ferrari later in the year. (F1i.com)

Monday, 28 March

Ferrari senior performance engineer Jock Clear believes he will add another F1 title to his CV, following previous success with Williams and Mercedes. (ESPN)

Red Bull boss Christian Horner is confident his team can overhaul Ferrari as Mercedes' major challengers as the season goes on, after Daniel Ricciardo's fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix. (F1i.com)

Ricciardo, meanwhile, says the Bahrain Grand Prix is more exciting as a night race. (Formulaspy.com)

Renault's Jolyon Palmer is looking forward to Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir, a track on which he has already won. (Formula1.com)

Sauber driver Felipe Nasr predicts an ongoing struggle for his team after he finished 15th in the Australian Grand Prix. (Autosport)

Lewis Hamilton's brother Nicolas, a touring car racer, celebrates his 24th birthday on Monday