F1 gossip: Chilton, Indycar, Red Bull, Horner, Verstappen, McLaren, Hartley

Monday, 12 March

British former F1 driver Max Chilton finished 19th for new team Carlin in the season-opening race of the Indycar season as France’s Sebastien Bourdais claimed victory in St Petersburg, Florida. (Carlin)

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Ferrari are “wrong to hold F1 to ransom” after the Italian team threatened to quit the sport over new proposals by F1 owners Liberty Media. (El Confidencial via Wheels24)

Max Verstappen says his Red Bull outfit need to be within three tenths of pole position at this month’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix to be in the fight for victory in the race. (F1i.com)

McLaren chief Eric Boullier says the last three years were difficult for the team but they have to be “ambitious” for the 2018 season and to do so they will have to “take risks”. (Planet F1)

Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley believes the team can increase their targets for the first race in Melbourne after exceeding expectations in testing. (Autosport)

Sunday, 11 March

World champion Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes’ W09 car – new for the 2018 season – is a lot faster than its W08 predecessor and believes the team have “as much information as we could” with preparations for the new season. (TheCheckeredFlag)

Red Bull chief engineer Pierre Wache has been promoted to the newly-created role of technical director in a move the team calls “part of the evolution” of their structure. (Autosport)

Williams might have to wait until the latter parts of the 2018 Formula One season to fully optimise the potential of their car, according to technical chief Paddy Lowe. (ESPN)

Valtteri Bottas has denied a claim that Mercedes are a full second per lap ahead of F1’s other top teams heading into this month’s Australian Grand Prix. (GrandPrix.com)

Formula 1 rookie Charles Leclerc says he was angered by the spin that contributed to almost five hours of lost running time on the final test day before his debut. (Motorsport.com)

Saturday, 10 March

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says opting to run a different fuel to engine supplier Renault is not a “strategic mistake” as Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff has suggested.(PlanetF1.com)

McLaren’s new partnership with Renault got off to an inauspicious start as the team finished with the lowest mileage of pre-season testing, but racing director Eric Boullier says they were right to be “aggressive” with their car design. (Formula1.com)

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen believes his team have delivered a “strong package” for the 2018 Formula 1 season and that they could have gone faster during pre-season testing. (Motorsportweek)

World champions Mercedes say the only doubt they have over their new car is how well it can perform on Pirelli’s softer tyres. (Autosport)

Daniel Ricciardo recorded 92 laps in the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, finishing fourth fastest overall, and believes the team “are close enough to be in the hunt”. (thecheckeredflag)

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