MOTORSPORT: Mercedes snookers Honda

Mercedes has changed its plans, or at least the schedule, for upgrades to its power unit that dominated the first year of Formula One's hybrid era – to wrong-foot newcomer Honda.

Improvements to the F1 power units are governed by a weird system of tokens, with a total of 66 tokens for a complete unit – weighted individually between one and three, depending on importance.

Manufacturers will be allowed to use set maximum numbers of tokens a year on a sliding scale until 2020.

The power units comprise three elements – 1.6-litre, V6 internal combustion engines, turbochargers and energy recovery systems. Fuel capacity and the fuel flow rate are limited and rigorously policed.

It had been thought for a long time that changes to the power units – other than for reliability, safety or cost-saving reasons – would have to be locked in by the end of February each year and then "frozen".

However, Ferrari discovered a loophole in the regulations, and the governing Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) agreed recently that development can be staggered throughout a season.

Honda – coming back to F1 with McLaren in the season starting in Melbourne in mid-March, a year after Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari began racing hybrids – sought clarification after that FIA decision on whether it would be allowed upgrades, and to what extent, this year.

The initial three manufacturers are allowed to use 32 tokens this season – amounting to changes to 48 per cent of their power units – while the FIA has said Honda can use an average of the tokens unused by the other three at the start of the season.

After the loophole was discovered but before the concession to allow Honda any changes this year, Mercedes could have started – and indeed it seems was going to start – the season with its 2014 unit which so dominated last year, winning 16 of 19 races.

Retaining that 2014 unit initially this season would have allowed Mercedes to store its 32 tokens until after the Australian season-opener and introduce more upgrades throughout the year – but it would have meant a higher average of unused tokens among the initial three manufacturers and allowed Honda more room for quick development.

Michael Schmidt, F1 correspondent for Germany's Auto Motor und Sport and perhaps the best-informed journalist in Grand Prix racing, has reported that Mercedes changed its plans because of the Honda ruling.

Schmidt said Mercedes probably will arrive in Melbourne with only six tokens left for this year, while Renault – under massive pressure from Red Bull Racing to make big advances – is expected to have seven and Ferrari 12.

That would mean Honda can only use eight tokens on development this year, rather than the 32 had Mercedes stuck with its 2014 unit at the start of this season.

Honda, which already flew top Japanese executives to the FIA headquarters in Paris to get any concession, reportedly is unhappy now that it may be so restricted in its development.

"They are asking for a further clarification. They want to be like everyone else, with 32 tokens for development," Spanish sports daily AS reported.

Spanish dual world champion Fernando Alonso, back with McLaren after five frustrating years at Ferrari, will be the first to drive the Honda-powered McLaren MP4-30 car when F1 testing begins in Spain on February 1.

The team's British driver, Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, then will alternate with Alonso over the first four-day test.

The Williams team, last year's big improver, released images of its FW37 model this week, while Force India displayed last year's model with a livery downplaying its usual Indian colour scheme but a revised, 2015 nose in Mexico – which returns to the championship calendar in November.

McLaren and Ferrari will unveil their new models late next week, with most teams simply rolling them out at the first test at the Jerez circuit.

Two other tests will be held at the Barcelona circuit, while Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda is critical that there is no pre-season test in the Middle East after the one in Bahrain last year.

"We will have three tests in Spain and none in the [Persian] Gulf area, which would be a much better preparation for Melbourne weather – and temperature-wise," Lauda said.

FIA honchos sue ex-F1 driver over safety comments
FIA president Jean Todt and medical commission chief Gerard Saillant are suing fellow Frenchman and former F1 driver Philippe Streiff for defamation over comments about the panel that investigated Jules Bianchi's crash in last October's Japanese GP.

Streiff has said the panel's 396-page report was "a document prepared by a group of 10 friends ... to clear the errors of the FIA ... shame on Jean Todt".

Bianchi has severe head injuries after his 700kg Marussia car ran off the rain-drenched Suzuka circuit and hit – at 126kmh in bad light – a 6.5-tonne mobile crane recovering the Sauber car that Adrian Sutil had crashed on the previous lap.

Streiff drove more than 50 GPs in the 1980s and finished third in Australia's first F1 race in Adelaide. He has been in a wheelchair since a testing accident in Brazil in 1989.

Todt and Professor Saillant say Streiff's comments were "insulting and defamatory, utterly unfounded and demonstrate malicious intent" and that they "only serve to add to the suffering of Jules Bianchi's family".

Streiff has fallen out with Michael Schumacher's family and medical team over comments he has made about the seven-time world champion's conditions since his skiing accident more than a year ago.

One of the recommendations of the Bianchi crash panel's report has led to the start of this year's Australian GP being brought forward from 5pm to 4pm to reduce the chances of the race ending in bad light.

He will join the squad for the car's second five-day test in Bahrain early next month.

Porsche's Fritz Enzinger said the Abu Dhabi trip had been "a very productive first test".

The latest 919 retains a 2.0-litre V4 turbocharged engine, but Porsche has not yet said which hybrid subclass it will compete in at Le Mans in June.

Last year's model ran in the 6MJ class (six megajoules of hybrid capacity), but there is speculation this year's may race in 8MJ.

Davison, cousin of V8 Supercar star Will Davison and enduro driver Alex, is racing an Aston Martin Vantage at the Florida track in the GTD class – contested by GT3, Grand-Am GT, and GTX cars.

It is the 28-year-old's fifth straight class pole position in the United Sportscar Championship – after four at the end of last season.

Davison's one flying lap before a red flag came out edged Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen in a Dodge Viper.

The Vantage will be 33rd on the 53-car grid.

Brazilian Oswaldo Negri put a Honda-engined Ligier JSP2 in outright pole position. It is an LMP2 car – the second category in the World Endurance Championship (although the Daytona 24-Hour is not part of that series, and LMP1 cars do not race there) – and proved faster than the more American Daytona prototypes (DPs).

New Zealander Scott Dixon is one of Chip Ganassi's Riley-Fords that has qualified second, while Brendon Hartley – Mark Webber's Kiwi teammate in Porsche's WEC squad – is in a BMW-powered Riley that will start eighth with Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello as one of his co-drivers.

The Chevrolet Corvette that long-time Aussie expatriate Ryan Briscoe is sharing will start 24th and the Porsche in which Kiwi V8 Supercar ace Shane Van Gisbergen is one of four drivers has qualified 43rd.

Loeb gets Monte jump but Ogier almost squares it up
It's one-all among France's great rally drivers after two stages of the Monte Carlo Rally – both run at night.

Nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb won the first stage for Citroen in his first World Rally Championship outing for a year, then Sebastien Ogier, world champion the past two years, took the second for Volkswagen.

Starting 14th worked in Loeb's favour on stage one but against him on the next, although he remained 13.3 seconds ahead of Ogier overnight with 13 more stages to be run.

Estonian Ott Tanak was a surprise second on the opening stage, in a Ford Fiesta, with Ogier third.

Frenchman Bryan Bouffier, a star of The Monte last year, crashed on stage two, while Polish ex-F1 winner Robert  Kubica has had a major electrical problem already, costing him almost five minutes, and Spaniard Dani Sordo has been off the road in his Hyundai.

Prepared by 68-year-old Swede Per Eklund's Eklund Motorsport, it has been approved but is not homologated.

"The Beetle is the perfect base because it is so wide as standard – the dimensions make it a really good platform," Eklund said.

"We are going to use a custom engine."

Custom engine regulations have been introduced to World RX to ensure 2.0-litre motors even if manufacturers do not produce one as standard for a model.

A three-time winner of the Daytona 500 and five times the victor in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, Gordon has spent his entire 23-year career in No. 24 Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports.

He was won the Cup four times – in 1995, '97, '98 and 2001 – and his 92 race wins, including four last season, is third only to the incomparable Richard Petty's 200 and David Pearson's 105.

Gordon, 43, said there was "always the possibility I'll compete in selected events [beyond this year]".