Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes contract talks nearing end game

Lewis Hamilton’s contract renewal talks with Mercedes are now “down to the details”, according to Toto Wolff, with the team boss hopeful of concluding discussions with the world champion “soon”.

Questions on the state of contract talks between F1’s world champion driver and team have been a recurring theme in Mercedes’ press conferences since their triumphant end to last season. Hamilton’s existing Mercedes contract, which he signed in September 2012 to join the team for the following season, now has just nine months left to run.

The topic of Hamilton’s future was broached again when the Briton appeared alongside Wolff and team-mate Nico Rosberg at St Kilda beach in Melbourne on Thursday morning ahead of the opening weekend of the 2015 season.

Although Wolff said in February that “we should aim to finish the discussions before the start of the season”, he has repeatedly stressed that there is no deadline on the process, adding on Thursday that negotiations were continuing to progress well.

“This is a very important topic and we didn’t set ourselves any deadlines because deadlines put you under pressure,” Wolff said.

“Our discussions are very positive; it’s down to the detail. None of us have ever spoken to anybody else and our aim is to do it as soon as possible.

“It’s an ongoing discussion and hopefully we’ll have some news soon.”

F1’s “big brothers” have some light-hearted and friendly advice for youngster Max Verstappen, who at 17, will become the youngest ever F1 driver

After splitting with his former management company, XIX Entertainment, last season, Hamilton has for the first time been conducting his contract renegotiations himself with the assistance of his long-time lawyer.  

Speculation in recent weeks has suggested that two-time champion Hamilton is aiming to establish himself as the best-paid driver in F1 following the bumper deals signed by Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso at Ferrari and McLaren respectively in recent months.

“We are pretty much there. The lawyers are now doing their thing and we are left to focus on the weekend,” Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ. “It’s not been a particularly enjoyable process. I don’t know if I would choose to do it myself again but I’m hoping I have done myself proud at least.”

Sky Sports F1 will be broadcasting every race in 2015, starting with live and exclusive coverage of the Australian GP on March 15. The race starts at 5am UK Time on Sunday.

The Haas F1 Team have confirmed they have purchased Marussia’s Banbury base

The Haas F1 Team have confirmed they have purchased Marussia’s Banbury base and have named ex- Ferrari and Red Bull staff in key positions.

Haas are set to enter F1 in 2016 and were keen to supplement their North Carolina factory with a European base for logistical purposes.

They have also appointed Dave O’Neill as team manager, Rob Taylor as chief designer and Ben Agathangelou as chief aerodynamicist.

O’Neill is well experienced in the role of team manager having held the position at Jordan between 1998 and 2005, before moving to A1GP and latterly Marussia.

“O’Neill’s experience is quite valuable to Haas F1 Team, for his task upon joining Manor was to set up a Formula 1 team in six months,” the team said in a statement. “Recruitment of personnel, the purchase of equipment and infrastructure, oversight of car design and supplier selection were just a few of O’Neill’s many duties.”

He is joined at Haas by Taylor who was senior design team leader at McLaren from 2006 until 2010 having previously been head of vehicle design for Red Bull. Taylor has also worked for Ferrari, Arrows and Benetton during a long F1 career.

Agathangelou also joins with a wealth of experience having been head of aerodynamics at Red Bull between 2002 and 2007 and also worked on the design and development of the current IndyCar chassis.

What could happen to McLaren at the Australian GP this weekend?

After a nightmare pre-season, how could the Australian Grand Prix weekend go for McLaren?

They could win the race

They could…although it is highly unlikely. Both McLaren drivers are available for the race win at 80/1 with SkyBet making them rank outsiders, but surprisingly the bookies do favour them more than Toro Rosso, Lotus, Force India, Sauber and Manor. Given that the MP4-30 was the slowest car in Barcelona and only completed 380 laps during winter testing, it would be a considerable shock if either McLaren car finished in the points this weekend. As for the idea the team could actually win the race, if we are going to be that outlandish then we might as well discuss the likelihood of an alien invasion midway through the Grand Prix.

They are outside the 107% rule and aren’t allowed to race

The unthinkable worst case scenario for McLaren but an alarmingly realistic possibility after the Barcelona test, where the MP4-30's fastest lap time was 2.4 seconds adrift of the benchmark set by Mercedes. In dry conditions, pole position should be secured at Albert Park in about 85 seconds, giving McLaren approximately five seconds' leeway if they are to avoid the 107% cut-off. They should manage it, but if unreliability is once again an issue and a representative time hasn’t been set in any practice session either, could the stewards really permit McLaren to race?

They qualify on the back row

Imagine the mighty McLaren being out-qualified by minnows Marussia using a modified 2014 car. Unfortunately, that thought is a very real possibility if the team aren’t able to extract more from their Honda engine this weekend. If the MP4-30's pace in testing in Barcelona relative to the rest of the field is repeated in Melbourne then McLaren will surely start the season at the back of the grid alongside the likes of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi.

 Formula 1

March 13, 2015

They run in mid-pack and both cars breakdown

Even during their recent disappointing campaigns, McLaren have at least managed to stay in the gap between the frontrunning teams and the small independent teams. Yet even if they avoid the ignominy of fighting with the Manors, it's difficult to foresee Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen faring any higher than fighting with a Sauber for 15th place in Australia. And given that the car has yet to complete a race distance and has struggled just to reach double figures during a stint, completing 58 laps of Albert Park looks unlikely.

They use Australia as a glorified fourth pre-season test

This looks a likely scenario as the team try to rack up much needed mileage on the MP4-30 and the Honda power unit. Only Force India head to Australia with fewer laps done in their 2015 challenger – but then the VJM08 only ran over the final two and a half days in Barcelona!

Given the distance between Woking and Melbourne, transporting new parts out to test could prove an issue, but the three practice sessions should at least allow more time to work through any technical gremlins. If they can find a solid base, the team may then able to start experimenting with the MP4-30's set-up - a luxury they were denied during winter testing.

The fastest lap by each team during the two Barcelona tests

Giedo van der Garde does have race seat with Sauber F1 team, Australian court rules

An Australian court has ruled that Giedo van der Garde does have the right to race for Sauber in Melbourne this weekend.

Van der Garde last week asked the Supreme Court of Victoria to enforce a previous ruling that he is entitled to a race seat with the team this season.

And a delayed judgement on Wednesday came down on the side of the Dutchman, who will now hope to race in this weekend's opening grand prix of 2015 at the expense of either Marcus Ericsson or Felipe Nasr.

 Formula 1

Sauber admitted the court's verdict was "unfortunately not as expected" and reiterated previously-stated concerns over the safety of allowing Van der Garde to race. The team are appealing the ruling, with a hearing set for Thursday morning in Melbourne.

“We are disappointed with this decision and now need to take time to understand what it means and the impact it will have on the start of our season," said Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn.

"What we cannot do is jeopardise the safety of our team, or any other driver on the track, by having an unprepared driver in a car that has now been tailored to two other assigned drivers.”

Sauber immediately lodged an appeal against the decision with an initial hearing on Wednesday afternoon adjourned until 9.30am on Thursday morning Australian time. 

The team will have to nominate their two race drivers for the Australian GP when their cars pass through scrutineering in the Melbourne paddock on Thursday, although alterations can still be made thereafter.

Van der Garde served as test driver for Sauber last year after being axed by Caterham and claimed he was offered a race seat for this season in June 2014.

He had already taken his case to the Arbitration Institution in Switzerland, which ruled that Sauber should retain him.

Sauber’s lawyer argued in court that allowing van der Garde to race would be "reckless and dangerous" given his lack of testing and would put other drivers and support staff at an "unacceptable" risk.

But that argument was rejected by Justice Clyde Croft in Melbourne on Wednesday, who said: "The application is successful and...will be enforced."

The court also suggested that the ruling allowing Van der Garde to race "applies to the whole of the 2015 Formula 1 season" and not just this weekend.

The Swiss team opted not to retain any of their 2014 line-up for the forthcoming season, with Ericsson and Nasr replacing Adrian Sutil and Esteban Guterriez as the race drivers and Raffaele Marciello taking the reserve role.

The 2015 Australian GP preview: Everything you need to know about the race

The race switched to the temporary circuit through Albert Park in Melbourne in 1996 and has become a firm favourite with fans and drivers alike during the last 20 years.Find out everything you could ever want to know about the Australian GP as the F1 season starts once more in Melbourne.

After a year of Mercedes domination in 2014 the question on everyone’s lips is whether anyone can take the fight to the Silver Arrows this season?

So read on below as Sky Sports Digital provides your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the season-opening grand prix weekend.

The 2015 Australian GP in a nutshell

Track: Albert Park. Temporary circuit.

Race start time: 5am UK time Sunday (4pm local).

Laps: 58.

Track length: 5.303 km.

Tyre allocation: Medium (white) and Soft (yellow).

DRS Zones: Two with one detection point (Pit Straight and between Turns Two and Three).

Driver steward: TBA.

Lap record: Michael Schumacher - 1:24.125 (Ferrari; 2004).

2014 pole: Lewis Hamilton - 1:44.231 (Mercedes).

Lewis Hamilton: Took pole in 2014

Sky Sports F1 schedule

Thursday March 12

4am - Drivers’ Press Conference - Live!

8:15pm - Drivers’ Press Conference - replay.

8:45pm - Paddock Uncut: Australia.

9pm - Classic F1 - 1996 Australian GP.

Friday March 13

1am - Australian GP Practice One - Live!

5:15am - Australian GP Practice Two - Live!

7:30am - Team Principals’ Press Conference - Live!

9:30am - The F1 Show - Live!

11:40am - Australian GP Practice One - replay.

2pm - Australian GP Practice Two - replay.

Saturday March 14

2:45am - Australian GP Practice Three - Live!

5am - Australian GP Qualifying - Live!

10:15am - Australian GP Qualifying replay.

1pm - Ted’s Qualifying Notebook.

3pm - Australian GP Qualifying replay.

Sunday March 15

3:30am - The 2015 Australian GP - Track Parade - Live!

4am - The 2015 Australian GP - Pitlane - Live!

4:30am - The 2015 Australian GP - Race - Live!

7:30am - The 2015 Australian GP - Paddock Live!

9:45am - 2015 Australian GP highlights.

11:30am - The 2015 Australian GP - replay.

6pm - 2015 Australian GP highlights.

7pm - Ted’s Race Notebook.

Form guide

Jenson Button is the most successful driver on the current grid with three victories in Melbourne, whilst Kimi Raikkonen’s 2013 triumph makes him the only other multiple winner still racing. Each of the last nine races has been won by a different constructor than the previous season - you have to go back to Renault’s 2005 and 2006 successes with Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso respectively for back-to-back wins - proving just how unpredictable the GP can be.

2014 result: 1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes); 2. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren); 3. Jenson Button (McLaren); 4. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari); 5. Valtteri Bottas (Williams); 6. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India); 7. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari); 8. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso); 9. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso); 10. Sergio Perez (Force India)

Last five winners in Australia: 2014: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes); 2013: Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus); 2012: Jenson Button (McLaren); 2011: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull); 2010: Jenson Button (McLaren).

Nico Rosberg: Victorious in 2014

Tyre allocation

Pirelli will bring the white-marked medium and yellow-banded soft compounds to the Albert Park Circuit for the opening race of the season.

The Italian firm say these compounds are "well-suited to the varied demands and wide range of potential weather conditions experienced at the semi-permanent Albert Park facility in Melbourne".