The FIA has confirmed that there will be no German GP this year

Hockenheim: Said earlier this week that it was too late to step in and host race

The FIA announced on Friday that there will be no German GP this year, reducing the season’s F1 calendar to 19 races.

Final confirmation that a deal could not be reached came after a meeting of the governing body’s World Motor Sport Council in Geneva. However, the writing had been on the wall for some time.

Although the Nurburgring had been scheduled to host this year’s race, which was scheduled for July 17-19, long-standing financial problems intervened.

Speaking in January, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone declared that the track could not stage the race “because there's nobody there” and confirmed he was in talks with Hockenheim to become the sole host.

Hockenheim and the Nurburgring have alternated staging the race in recent years in order to ease the financial burden.

Yet ahead of the Australian GP, Ecclestone went a stage further. “The German Grand Prix is dead at the moment,” he told The Independent. “It won’t get replaced if it doesn’t happen. As with any race, if it is cancelled it is cancelled. There’s not much we can do.”

Any hopes of a late reprieve were dashed earlier this week when Hockenheim’s circuit boss said that it was now too late to step in.

The decision therefore means that there will be no German GP for the first time since 1960, with the race also absent from the calendar five years before that.

It comes even though Mercedes currently dominate the sport, while four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has just joined Ferrari.

Even so, it could also be argued that interest has been on the wane ever since Michael Schumacher finally retired from the sport at the end of 2012, with large sections of the Hockenheim grandstands empty last year when Nico Rosberg won his home race.

The news also means that the calendar will be rather threadbare at the height of summer, with just one race - the British GP at Silverstone on July 5 - held between the Austrian GP (June 21) and Hungarian GP (July 26).

Daniel Ricciardo hoping for a better performance from Red Bull in Malaysia

Daniel Ricciardo: Finished sixth in Melbourne

Daniel Ricciardo hopes Red Bull can have a much "smoother" race in next week’s Malaysia GP after their difficulties in Melbourne.

With Mercedes dominating the first race of the season, Red Bull struggled by contrast as Ricciardo came home a lapped sixth in his home grand prix.

Reliability problems for new team-mate Daniil Kvyat, meanwhile, meant that the Russian couldn’t even start.

Speaking afterwards, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner criticised engine supplier Renault, labelling their updated power unit “undriveable” and saying that progress had gone backwards over the winter.

And with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg finishing half-a-minute clear of the rest, Horner also suggested that the FIA should rein in the world champions’ advantage.    

There have even been suggestions that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz might look to sell up. Ricciardo, however, is focusing on the matter in hand.

“I’m feeling good coming into Malaysia, I know we have a lot of things to improve on and I’m optimistic that we can achieve some of those in Malaysia, which will give us some more performance. I’m just hanging out waiting to drive now, but it’s good,” Ricciardo said in a press release on Friday.

“The season has started now and I think if anyone had any first race jitters they’re gone and I think Malaysia should run a lot smoother for everyone.”

Although Kvyat summed up his first race weekend at Red Bull as “challenging” he added that they “learnt many things”.

“Of course, the race wasn’t as I would’ve liked but it happened this way and now I’m just looking forward to the challenges ahead,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s good Malaysia is so soon.

“After Australia, I wanted to leave the weekend behind me as soon as possible and start focusing on Malaysia. We have good potential which we will be looking to use and hope to extract.”

Daniil Kvyat: Lack of oil pressure caused retirement in Australia

Meanwhile, Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan revealed that the gearbox failure forcing Kvyat’s withdrawal on his way to the grid last weekend was caused by a lack of oil pressure.

“As a factory we have been working hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Monaghan said. “Last year the progress we made from the third test to the first race was significant and one of our strengths is our development rate.

“We have the best team in place to repeat our success and we are working as hard as we can to improve as much as possible ahead of Malaysia.”

Valtteri Bottas says he's making progress after suffering back injury

Valtteri Bottas: Suffered back injury in Melbourne

Valtteri Bottas says he is making progress overcoming the back injury he suffered in Australia and fully intends racing in next weekend’s Malaysian GP.

The Finn sustained soft tissue damage to his lower back during qualifying in Melbourne, necessitating an overnight stay in hospital.

Bottas returned to Albert Park on race day, when the FIA’s medical delegatedeclared him unfit to take part.

“Hi guys! Progress is being made and every day is a good step forward. Can't wait for Malaysia!” the Williams driver tweeted on Friday.

Williams' Valtteri Bottas has been ruled out of the Australian GP, after tearing a disc in his lower back during Saturday's qualifying session.

Speaking after Bottas qualified sixth on Saturday, Williams' Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley told Sky Sports F1: "We don’t know what it was, he just started complaining about it in the middle of the second qualifying saying that the small of his back was hurting.

“We had a look behind him and his seat and there was nothing in there. So I don’t know if he has jarred his back or something."

Williams started the season hoping to lead the pack chasing the dominant Mercedes team, but Ferrari out-performed them in Melbourne, with Sebastian Vettel finishing third ahead of Felipe Massa.

The Grove team will also want Bottas back in the car as soon as possible because, despite having Susie Wolff and GP3 champion Alex Lynn performing test and development duties, they do not have a reserve driver.

Renault eye swift progress despite 100bhp deficit to Mercedes

Renault's power unit in the season-opening Australian GP is believed to have been a massive 100bhp down on Mercedes's field-leading package.

Under fire and under power, the French manufacturer have come under fresh public criticism from Red Bull in the wake of the former world champions’ dire start to the season in Melbourne when they only finished sixth and were lapped by both Mercedes drivers.

Red Bull chief Christian Horner hit out at Renault’s lack of progress after the race, describing their V6 unit as “undriveable” and claiming the firm had even managed to go backwards since the final winter test at the start of the month.

“We're probably 100bhp [brake horsepower] down on Mercedes at the moment,” a downbeat Horner revealed.

Given Renault had been optimistic of closing the gap to Mercedes in 2015, the engine maker has expressed frustration that the improvements it insists were made during the winter weren’t carried through to the race engines used in Australia.

“We know that we made genuine progress over the winter but we could not show it here and in fact we would even seem to have moved backwards,” Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul said.

Red Bull slipped behind Ferrari at the first race

“Given the pace at which we conducted our development programme towards the last few weeks of the winter, there may not be lots to change to be able to access these improvements.”

Remi Taffin, Renault’s direction of operations, added: “It’s related to the maps, or the way the power unit is configured, so while it’s definitely not an easy fix, it does not require a complete redesign.”

Writing in his Sky Sports F1 column, expert analyst Mark Hughes suggested that had Renault’s simulations been correct for the first race then Red Bull would likely have been between Mercedes and Ferrari in the pecking order.

“With a year’s worth of development it was expected that Renault could reduce that [40bhp] deficit, but the version of the engine delivered for Melbourne, which was expected to have 50bhp more than that used in Barcelona testing, actually had less power and much worse driveability,” Hughes wrote.

“In Melbourne it was as much as 100bhp down on the Mercedes, which has gained an extra 50bhp since 2014. Had Renault delivered what its simulation had promised, the Red Bull’s pace would likely have been somewhere between Mercedes and the much improved Ferrari and the competitive picture would not have looked so dire.”

Somewhat embarrassingly, there ended up being little difference between Red Bull and Toro Rosso in Melbourne – although Horner denied the company’s junior team was having fewer problems with the Renault power unit.

“It [engine underperformance] masks so many things. Corner entry, corner exit, degradation, slip control of the tyre, you’re not able to drive the car properly,” he explained.

“You then start moving your brake balance around to try and compensate and you are so far away from optimum. They are struggling the same amount, it’s just having a more dramatic effect on our car.”

Red Bull also experienced unreliability during testing

Renault’s power deficit is likely to be a particular handicap at next week’s Malaysia GP with the Sepang circuit featuring back-to-back long straights at the end of the lap.

“We’ve got a lot to do and it’s going to be a busy few weeks,” Horner added. "It’s disappointing but we will get our heads down and work hard at it. We’ll push and work with Renault as best we can.”

Renault’s latest engines struggles have come amid further speculation about their future in F1, with suggestions continuing that they may look to restablish their own team. Reports in recent days have said that representatives from the company have visited Toro Rosso, Force India and Lotus factories.

Speaking at the final winter test, Taffin said that Renault's engine department would simply adapt to the company’s wider F1 strategy were things to change.

“My view is I rely on my boss to deal with these things. He told me we have to achieve the best power unit for this year which we do and if we have to achieve the best car in the future then we will do the same thing,” he said.

Equalising the unequal?

After seeing his Renault-powered car lapped by Mercedes in Melbourne and soundly beaten by a Ferrari-powered Sauber, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner reiterated his call for the FIA to introduce engine-equalising measures in F1.

“The FIA have a torque sensor on every engine,” he said. “They can see how much every power unit is producing. They have the facts and could quite easily come up with a way of some form of equalisation.”

This is not the first time Horner has made this call; following the disappointing performance of the Renault power units in the first season of the new formula in 2014, he argued that F1 was suffering because of the Mercedes dominance and that moves were needed to level the playing field. But this time, with the Mercedes advantage apparently increased since last year, Bernie Ecclestone appears to be getting behind the idea. On Monday, the commercial rights representative said: "There is a rule that I think Max [Mosley] put in when he was there that in the event... that a particular team or engine supplier did something magic – which Mercedes have done – the FIA can level up things.”

Natalie Pinkham is joined by David Brabham and Mike Gascoyne on the F1 Midweek Report and discuss Red Bull's threat to quit the sport if regulations aren't

The regulation he is referring to is not immediately apparent in either the sporting or the technical regulations. However, it would not be the first time that an existing piece of regulatory wording has been contrived to be applied to something for which it was not intended. The governing body can reinterpret its own rules to achieve a desired end and in the past has done so.

“When we were winning we never had this [size of] advantage,” said Horner, “but double diffusers were banned, exhausts moved, flexible bodywork prohibited, mid-season engine mapping changes. And that wasn’t unique to us. It happened in previous years to Williams and McLaren…The FIA have within the rules an equalisation mechanism, something they perhaps need to look at.”

It raises the question of sporting purity versus entertainment, a conflict that F1 has long struggled with. Mercedes has achieved what it has through doing a better job under regulations that gave the other engine manufacturers exactly the same opportunity. If F1 applies a penalty to a competitor for having achieved an advantage, could it really call itself a sport? On the other hand, such a one-sided competition as looks in prospect for the season on the evidence of Melbourne would be very bad commercial news for F1 – which is facing very real concerns about declining viewing numbers in certain territories.

What has triggered the latest call for some brake to be put on Mercedes is the under-performance of the Renault engines in the Red Bull. Last year, with an engine around 60bhp down on that in the works Mercedes, Red Bull was semi-competitive and able to win three races (albeit only those in which both Mercedes had problems). With a year’s worth of development it was expected that Renault could reduce that deficit, but the version of the engine delivered for Melbourne, which was expected to have 50bhp more than that used in Barcelona testing, actually had less power and much worse driveability. In Melbourne it was as much as 100bhp down on the Mercedes, which has gained an extra 50bhp since 2014.

Ted Kravitz brings you all the latest news following the Australian Grand Prix.

Had Renault delivered what its simulation had promised, the Red Bull’s pace would likely have been somewhere between Mercedes and the much improved Ferrari and the competitive picture would not have looked so dire.

Ecclestone’s apparent agreement with Horner’s stance suggests that something may be about to change. But it should also be borne in mind that the commercial rights holder and the governing body are not in full accord on a variety of subjects in F1 at the moment – three-car teams being one. So, unlike in the days when Ecclestone and former FIA President Max Mosley acted as one, re-interpreting the regulations on a whim may not be so simple this time around.  

'Red Bull no longer in harmony'

Natalie Pinkham is joined by David Brabham & Mike Gascoyne on the F1 Midweek Report and discuss Red Bull's threat to quit the sport if rules aren't changed

Red Bull’s threat to quit the sport unless regulations are changed could be indicative of discord behind the scenes, according to the guests on this week’s edition of The F1 Midweek Report.

In the wake of a depressing start to the season for the former world champions at the Australian GP, when the team finished a lap behind Mercedes, Helmut Marko, a close confidant of Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz, suggested that the Austrian billionaire could contemplate an F1 withdrawal if he was “totally dissatisfied” with the direction the sport was headed.

Discussing Marko’s comments on the latest edition of The F1 Midweek Report which airs on Sky Sports F1 on Wednesday night at 8.30pm, guests David Brabham and Mike Gascoyne suggested all was not well at the sport’s former dominant force.

Brabham, a former F1 driver, said of Red Bull’s quit threat: “I’ve heard that from Ferrari a few times over the years too.

“It probably highlights what’s going on behind the scenes. Four years of dominance means a team in harmony, Red Bull don’t seem to be a team in harmony at the moment like Mercedes. There are reasons behind that which we don’t necessary know.

“So when you come up with statements like that it generally is because there is a bit of trouble behind the scenes.”

Since clinching their fourth successive world championship double in 2013, Red Bull have had to contend with a number of high-profile departures to rivals with star driver Sebastian Vettel and aerodynamics chief Peter Prodromou among those to leave, the pair heading for Ferrari and McLaren respectively. Design guru Adrian Newey, meanwhile, has also scaled back his front-line F1 involvement.

This week, Natalie Pinkham is joined by former F1 driver David Brabham and former F1 Technical Director Mike Gascoyne to discuss the opening race of the 20

Gascoyne, a former technical director at a host of teams including Toyota, Renault and Caterham, agrees there is more to the situation than meets the eye and reckons Red Bull will find it tough to re-establish pre-eminence on the grid.

“A lot of the reports over the last year or two have been about Red Bull staff leaving. We don’t know, but there are other reasons behind there as well,” he said.

“It’s tough when that’s happening to rebuild that team and get back to the top. Then of course if your engine manufacturer isn’t performing as well, and clearly Renault aren’t, then it’s going to be difficult.”

The root of Red Bull’s fall down the order since the advent of F1’s turbo regulations last season has been the underperformance of their Renault power unit, which Christian Horner claiming post-race in Melbourne that the French manufacturer “appear to have made a retrograde step” over the winter.

Daniel Ricciardo

Public tensions between team and engine supplier seemingly reached a nadir last summer when Marko suggested Red Bull could look to make their own engines from 2016, however Gascoyne now reckons the relationship is on rocky ground.

“You contrast that with McLaren and Honda where they’ve been very together in what they’ve been saying in the press,” he said.

“[For Red Bull] to be this vocal about it, for a team that supplies you with free engines, you’ve got to think that something’s going to happen there.”

But after just one race of the new campaign, Gascoyne reckons Red Bull’s warnings are oddly timed.

“They’ve always been pretty vocal. A lot of people would sit there and look at them and say ‘you weren’t complaining when you were winning four championships in a row and you didn’t mind there being dominance’." he said.

“Their argument is there were rule changes during that period to knock them back. But we’re only one race in. They won three races last year, they’ve won four of the last five championships. It seems pretty strange at this stage to be threatening to pull out.

Manor Marussia will pay unsecured creditors 1.262p in the pound

Sky Sports has learnt Manor Marussia will pay unsecured creditors, including Ferrari and McLaren, 1.262p for every pound they were owed when the team entered administration.

The team exited administration via a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in February and returned to the F1 paddock in Melbourne, albeit without taking part in a session, having missed the final three races of 2014.

According to documents obtained by Sky Sports, unsecured creditors would have been paid 1.110p in the pound had the team’s assets been auctioned off.

The company’s liabilities when Marussia exited administration to unsecured creditors totalled over £35 million.

At the time of the team's collapse in November Ferrari and McLaren were owed £16m and £7m respectively from engine and technical partnership deals. Both teams were consulted before Marussia's revival and voted in favour of the team exiting administration last month.

The CVA required a contribution from a third party of to enable 'a sum of £500k to be available for distribution to unsecured creditors'.

The contribution was also 'required to permit for preferential creditors (estimated at £116k) to be paid in full'.

The preferential claims include staff who 'are restricted to £800 for arrears of salary'.

The team have changed their name to Manor Marussia for 2015 and their new investor was formally revealed as Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of energy company OVO, in early March. Former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King was named the team’s interim chairman.

Despite travelling to Australia, neither car left the garage throughout the grand prix weekend and while a stewards enquiry ruled the team had used 'all reasonable endeavours' to take part, Bernie Ecclestone has said they must pay their own transport costs to and from Melbourne.

The chassis and team wear was also noticeably devoid of sponsors leading to speculation as to the extent of the investment the team have found.

Giedo van der Garde & Sauber hit out at each other after settlement

Giedo van der Garde

Sauber say they are “surprised” by Giedo van der Garde’s comments regarding their contract settlement and “cannot understand” his reasoning.

The Dutchman announced he had reached an agreement with the Swiss team terminate his deal to drive for them in 2015. He had previously won court cases at the Arbitration Institution in Switzerland and the Supreme Court of Victoria, successfully claiming he had a valid contract.

"We have reached a settlement with Sauber and my driver contract with the team has been ended by mutual consent," a statement on Van der Garde’s Facebook page read.

"As a passionate race driver, I feel sad and am very disappointed. I have worked very hard my entire career, ever since starting with go-karts at the age of eight, to live my dream and become a successful Formula One driver.

"I had hoped at last to be able to show what I am capable of, driving a car for a respected midfield team in the 2015 season. This dream has been taken away from me and I know that my future in Formula One is probably over.

"I had a valid driver contract for the entire 2015 season and enforceable rights to it. I pushed very hard until last Saturday in Melbourne to get the drive that I was entitled to.

"This legal process started in 2014 and has taken a great deal of effort. It was never a last-minute thing, but it only became public in the last week when we tried to force the team to accept the rulings of a succession of legal authorities and courts."

Van der Garde said  it was clear team principal Monisha Kaltenborn did not want to work with him and that continuing to pursue the case could have seen the team fold.

"I am a race driver and all I want is to race. However, the team principal was adamant not to let me drive, notwithstanding my legal rights to do so and a series of rulings and court orders in my favour and despite my race driving abilities," he said.

"I will never understand this. I could have persisted, but the team principal had taken a decision contrary to my contract that she would not work with me and this became painfully clear in the paddock in Melbourne.

"To push on against this determination might have brought down the team, it would most certainly have wrecked the opening Grand Prix in Melbourne because the team´s cars would have been seized by the court, it may have ruined the careers of two young drivers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. Possibly the team´s directors would even be taken into custody."

As expected the deal has seen Van der Garde accept financial recompense to end his deal – a figure he says is significant.

"Sauber’s financial decision-making in this case is bizarre and makes no sense to me," the statement read. "I am not at liberty to discuss details, but Sauber paid significant compensation to avoid honouring the contract they had with me. Only in that respect can I be satisfied that my rights have finally been recognised and that at least some justice has been done."

Sauber hit back with their own post on Facebook and questioned the Dutchman’s motives.

“Many of you read today’s statement on Giedo van der Garde’s Facebook page,” their statement said.

“So have we and we were, indeed, rather surprised. We don’t know about Giedo’s intentions. He may try to present himself as a winner, while we had actually hoped to come to rest after our agreement. Giedo decided to take a different approach – the reasoning behind we cannot understand.

“With this in mind we’d like to encourage you to form your own opinion about what happened, however critical it may be.”

Sauber F1 statement in full

Dear Sauber F1 Team fans,

Many of you read today’s statement on Giedo van der Garde’s Facebook page. So have we and we were, indeed, rather surprised. We don’t know about Giedo’s intentions. He may try to present himself as a winner, while we had actually hoped to come to rest after our agreement. Giedo decided to take a different approach – the reasoning behind we cannot understand.

We’d have very good answers to the many statements and accusations in Giedo’s post. But to expand on this wouldn’t help our race team nor our fans and partners. It would only encourage a mud fight via the media and we will not lend ourselves to that. The next race in Malaysia is where our focus is and that’s where we will build up on last weekend’s success together with our drivers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. All our efforts are drawn to this objective.

With this in mind we’d like to encourage you to form your own opinion about what happened, however critical it may be. From our side we herewith close the matter and look already forward to celebrating future achievements at the race track together with you.

Yours sincerely,

Sauber F1 Team

‪#‎LetsRaceNotFight

Giedo van der Garde statement in full

“We have reached a settlement with Sauber and my driver contract with the team has been ended by mutual consent. As a passionate race driver, I feel sad and am very disappointed. I have worked very hard my entire career, ever since starting with go-karts at the age of eight, to live my dream and become a successful Formula One driver. I had hoped at last to be able to show what I am capable of, driving a car for a respected midfield team in the 2015 season. This dream has been taken away from me and I know that my future in Formula One is probably over.

I had a valid driver contract for the entire 2015 season and enforceable rights to it. I pushed very hard until last Saturday in Melbourne to get the drive that I was entitled to. This legal process started in 2014 and has taken a great deal of effort. It was never a last minute thing, but it only became public in the last week when we tried to force the team to accept the rulings of a succession of legal authorities and courts.

“I am a race driver and all I want is to race. However, the team principal was adamant not to let me drive, notwithstanding my legal rights to do so and a series of rulings and court orders in my favour and despite my race driving abilities. I will never understand this. I could have persisted, but the team principal had taken a decision contrary to my contract that she would not work with me and this became painfully clear in the paddock in Melbourne. To push on against this determination might have brought down the team, it would most certainly have wrecked the opening Grand Prix in Melbourne because the team´s cars would have been seized by the court, it may have ruined the careers of two young drivers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. Possibly the team´s directors would even be taken into custody. I decided I did not want to live with that idea, even though it was only the team’s management that was responsible for the bizarre situation I found myself in.

I am very grateful to my fans and many friends in Formula One who have given me a lot of support during the last couple of months. This period has been very difficult for me especially since I could not talk to anybody about the pending proceedings. Last week, many drivers on the grid gave me their support and several of them did so openly in the media as well. The same goes for several leading figures in the paddock who include team bosses and reputable former Formula One drivers. I thank them as well.

“My future in motorsport has not finished: on the contrary, I see this as a new beginning. I will sit down with my management in the coming weeks to discuss my future plans. I would love to take part in the WEC and the Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP1 car. Former Formula One drivers do very well in this series. We also have our eye on other series such as the DTM in 2016 and beyond.

There has been a lot of speculation in the media over the past week, so I want to set out clearly that my sponsors paid the sponsorship fee related to the 2015 season in its entirety to Sauber in the first half of 2014. This was simply in good faith and to help the team deal with its cash problems at the time. Effectively, it was my sponsor’s advanced payments that helped the team survive in 2014.

“Sauber’s financial decision-making in this case is bizarre and makes no sense to me. I am not at liberty to discuss details, but Sauber paid significant compensation to avoid honouring the contract they had with me. Only in that respect can I be satisfied that my rights have finally been recognised and that at least some justice has been done.

“...Finally, I would like to direct a few words to the teams, drivers, future drivers, their managers and the Formula One governing bodies. I sincerely hope that what has happened to me will start a movement aimed at setting new standards and bringing about new regulations to help protect the rights of drivers. I would like to think that the values and business ethics that apply in any other business should be equally applicable in Formula One. I am lucky to have had Marcel and Jeroen on my side. Both of them have extensive backgrounds in business and bring a lot of expertise to the table when it comes to resolving complicated business affairs. Without them, I would have remained empty-handed in the wake of this extraordinary affair. There are numerous examples of talented drivers with good intentions but without the sort of professional support that I have had, who have been broken by Formula One and who have seen their careers destroyed. I therefore hope that my unprecedented case which was heard last week by the Supreme Court of Victoria at Melbourne will serve as an example to illustrate what should change, and that new regulations will be implemented to help protect driver rights.”

Manor's team principal says they will run at the Malaysia GP

John Booth with his drivers Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens

Manor team principal John Booth says they will be ready to take to the track for Friday practice at next week’s Malaysia Grand Prix.

The squad which rose from the ashes of Marussia were present in Australia for the season-opening race in Melbourne, but failed to leave their garage for any session.

They were summoned to the stewards at Albert Park, but the FIA ruled they had used 'all reasonable endeavours' to take part and no penalty was issued.

However, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was less sympathetic and has said the team will have to fund their own transport to and from Australia. The freight costs are usually borne by Formula 1 Management for all the teams.

Booth says the situation will be very different in Malaysia and that his squad will be in action at the Sepang International Circuit.

"Absolutely,” was his defiant response when asked if Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi would drive in Friday practice.

"We're in a massively different place now than where we were at the start of last week.

"The progress was colossal, just not quite enough, but now we'll get to Malaysia on Monday, start setting up at the circuit on Tuesday, and for sure we'll be ready to run on Friday."

Some sceptics felt Manor simply travelled to Australia to claim the approximate £30 million of prize money owed to them by Ecclestone after back-to-back top-10 finishes in the constructors' championship.

"We're entered in the Formula 1 World Championship and we felt it important to be present in Australia and try and compete,” Booth added.

"I can understand people being cynical, but if that was the case we wouldn't have brought 30 tonnes of equipment, 40 people, fulfilled our contracts with all suppliers - Pirelli, Ferrari, whoever - with our best endeavours to go round and round a circuit."

Manor work on their car in the garage in Australia