| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 31st 2012, 09:29 GMT |
Heikki Kovalainen is waiting on Caterham team principal Tony Fernandes to make a decision on whether he will be retained by the team in 2013.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, October 31st 2012, 09:48 GMT |
Mercedes has conceded that it may elect not to race with a passive double-DRS next season, thanks to the difficulties it has experienced in getting the system to work so far this year
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| Wednesday, October 31st 2012, 10:49 GMT |
Abu Dhabi preview quotes: Force India
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, October 30th 2012, 11:18 GMT |
Lotus is highly unlikely to run its double DRS in the remaining races of the 2012 Formula 1 season, despite planning to work on it at the Abu Dhabi young driver test
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| Tuesday, October 30th 2012, 11:24 GMT |
Abu Dhabi GP: Mercedes preview quotes
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| Tuesday, October 30th 2012, 11:38 GMT |
Abu Dhabi GP: Lotus preview quotes
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 29th 2012, 09:45 GMT |
McLaren believes a lack of speed on the soft tyre ruined its chances of landing a podium finish in the Indian Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 29th 2012, 09:54 GMT |
Lotus team owner Genii remains fully committed to the Formula 1 squad's future, despite speculation that it has been looking at selling a stake in the outfit.
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| By Edd Straw and Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 29th 2012, 10:45 GMT |
Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali says there is no point in his team 'crying' over the fact it does not have the fastest car in Formula 1 at the moment.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 08:32 GMT |
Jenson Button reckons McLaren has little chance of denying Sebastian Vettel Indian Grand Prix victory unless it can get among the Red Bulls at the start
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| By Matt Beer | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 11:07 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel stretched his Formula 1 world championship lead to 13 points with a fourth straight dominant victory in the Indian Grand Prix.
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| Sunday, October 28th 2012, 11:40 GMT |
India Sunday quotes: Caterham
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Sam Tremayne | Saturday, October 27th 2012, 11:44 GMT |
Sergio Perez admits his qualifying pace came as a surprise after Sauber failed to break into the top 10 in any of the three practice sessions at the Buddh circuit.
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| Saturday, October 27th 2012, 11:52 GMT |
India Saturday quotes: Red Bull
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| Saturday, October 27th 2012, 11:59 GMT |
India Saturday quotes: Lotus
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| Friday, October 26th 2012, 11:54 GMT |
India Friday quotes: Pirelli
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| Friday, October 26th 2012, 11:59 GMT |
Indian GP: Mercedes Friday quotes
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Simon Strang | Friday, October 26th 2012, 12:00 GMT |
Nico Rosberg and Mercedes believe that the German's fourth position in second free practice for the Indian Grand Prix is not a true reflection of the car's actual pace this weekend.
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| By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, October 25th 2012, 10:53 GMT |
Pastor Maldonado is confident that Williams has identified the problems that caused it to produce what he labeled as the team's worst race of the season in Korea
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| By Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, October 25th 2012, 10:04 GMT |
Kamui Kobayashi says he is working to try and secure the funding needed to stay at Sauber next year
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 25th 2012, 10:11 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen believes the current competitiveness of his Lotus team means a 2007-style last ditch turnaround to help him win the title is unlikely.
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| Wednesday, October 24th 2012, 08:21 GMT |
India preview quotes: Marussia
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, October 24th 2012, 11:13 GMT |
McLaren has vowed to push to the bitter end in the 2012 title race despite both its drivers effectively ruling themselves out of championship contention.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, October 24th 2012, 11:15 GMT |
Luiz Razia and Johnny Cecotto Jr will join Toro Rosso for the young driver test at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 23rd 2012, 10:51 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner insists he is not worried that his team's determination to stand up for what it believes in often puts it in conflict with its rivals
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| Tuesday, October 23rd 2012, 10:57 GMT |
Indian GP: Caterham preview quotes
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 23rd 2012, 11:01 GMT |
Giedo van der Garde will drive for Caterham again during Friday practice for the Indian Grand Prix
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| By Simon Strang | Monday, October 22nd 2012, 10:08 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton believes he is driving 'better than ever' even if recent results have masked his true form.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Monday, October 22nd 2012, 11:13 GMT |
Antonio Felix da Costa and Robin Frijns will drive for Red Bull during the young driver test at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi
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| By Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde | Monday, October 22nd 2012, 11:23 GMT |
Pedro de la Rosa has no doubts he will be with the HRT Formula 1 team in the 2013 season
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| By Matt Beer | Sunday, October 21st 2012, 08:23 GMT |
Romain Grosjean now needs to let go of any remaining stress over his run of startline crashes, according to his Lotus team boss Eric Boullier
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| By Matt Beer | Friday, October 19th 2012, 21:19 GMT |
Former FIA president Max Mosley believes his successor Jean Todt will have to become 'more confrontational' to achieve what he wants with Formula 1
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 21st 2012, 09:55 GMT |
Williams is adamant that it can rediscover its frontrunning form before the end of the campaign, despite some recent frustrations
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 19th 2012, 15:52 GMT |
Formula 1 drivers should have a better chance of overtaking at the 2012 Indian Grand Prix thanks to the introduction of an extended DRS area for this year's race
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| Friday, October 19th 2012, 18:54 GMT |
Indian GP: Red Bull preview quotes
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Matt Beer | Friday, October 19th 2012, 21:19 GMT |
Former FIA president Max Mosley believes his successor Jean Todt will have to become 'more confrontational' to achieve what he wants with Formula 1
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 19th 2012, 10:24 GMT |
McLaren has confirmed that Gary Paffett, Oliver Turvey and Kevin Magnussen will be behind the wheel for it during the post-Abu Dhabi Grand Prix young driver test
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 19th 2012, 11:09 GMT |
Luiz Razia is upbeat about the progress he is making in talks with Formula 1 teams about 2013 race seats
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 19th 2012, 11:36 GMT |
McLaren believes that rival Red Bull remains 'within reach' over the final four races, despite Sebastian Vettel's dominant hat trick of victories
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 18th 2012, 11:15 GMT |
Formula 1 teams are pushing to ensure there will be no repeat of the 'shock' they faced in dealing with tyres at the start of this season, after getting hold of Pirelli's 2013 specifications for the first time.
Pirelli has made its final decision on the modifications it is making to next year's rubber following the recent conclusion of its private testing programme.
This information has been provided to the teams, so they can incorporate that knowledge into the designs of next year's cars.
The company is modifying both the compounds and constructions of its products for next year in a bid to ensure the racing is kept exciting.
It is also revising the tyres so that teams do not face as difficult a time as they had in 2012 of getting the rubber into the right operating window.
On the back of Pirelli submitting its 2013 data, F1 team engineers have conceded that they did not react as well as they should have to the changes made for 2012, which is why they will be taking matters much more seriously this time out.
McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe told AUTOSPORT: "Certainly it was a bit of a shock to the system for all the teams this year - and we have learned from that.
"What we had this year relative to last year was quite a big surprise to everybody, but the data [supplied beforehand] did not really indicate that; so we will really have to see.
"The data tells you certain hard facts, like the weight and shape, and these are things you can use in development. But in terms of how the compounds behave in their life there isn't really data about that, these are things you discover when you use them. We will be working hard on that."
Williams chief operations engineer Mark Gillan said: "We still haven't got all the information about what is happening for next year, but we are definitely paying closer attention to what is happening."
When asked by AUTOSPORT if teams had underestimated the changes made for 2012, he said: "Probably. I don't think anybody, certainly from our side, would have thought the season would have progressed and evolved as it has done - which made for exciting racing."
Although Pirelli is reluctant to offer a detailed explanation yet of the changes it is making to its tyres, Lowe says that as well as a revised shape, the rubber will weigh more in 2013.
"They [the tyres] are quite a bit heavier, which was a surprise to me," he said. "Considering the changes are not supposed to be very substantial, which to me would indicate not a big weight change, there is quite a big weight change."
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said about the situation: "We have started explaining to the teams and they are getting that information now.
"We do a lot of indoor testing and data creation to help them run their models. We put that data on a central server so they have access in real time together. They get it at the same time, so nobody has an advantage and that is being supplied to a timetable now.
"We are making some changes to the tyres – and it will have a difference particularly on aero. The tyre will also behave dynamically different."
The lack of understanding that teams had of the tyres at the start of this season led to an unpredictable start to the campaign, with seven different winners from the first seven races.
| By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, October 18th 2012, 09:57 GMT |
Michael Schumacher says he will not compete in any other forms of motor racing after he leaves Formula 1 at the end of the season.
The seven-time world champion announced earlier this month that he would call time on his F1 career following a three-year stint with the Mercedes team.
Schumacher had previously retired from the sport at the end of the 2006 season, but made a return with the German squad in 2010.
While he was away from Formula 1, the 43-year-old took part in some bike competitions, including the German Superbike championship. This time, however, Schumacher says he is stopping altogether.
"No, it's not in my plans," Schumacher told Gazzetta dello Sport when asked if he will race elsewhere. "Formula 1 offers the maximum as far as emotions, speed and work completeness are concerned.
"Another type of cars wouldn't give me the same feelings. I'm stopping here completely."
He added, laughing: "I think I'll do Western riding competitions. My wife Corinna, who has done this sort of competitions for years, has already chosen the right horse for me. I'll go for it..."
Schumacher insisted he has no regrets about his decision to leave the sport, despite conceding he feels relieved to be putting an end to his career.
The Mercedes driver, the most successful racer in the history of the sport, says his second Formula 1 stint has taught him what losing means.
"[It is] a relief, because I have no regrets, just joy for what I've done. From now on life will offer me plenty of new possibilities. I'm looking forward to them.
"If I look into my life's rear-view mirror, I find myself happy and smiling. I've had two distinct careers: one where I won everything, and a second one where I discovered what losing means.
"Yes, I've learned how to lose, but this has made me more mature and more patient too, partly thanks to my age. Today I have to consider what I have done overall and I'm satisfied with myself."
When asked how he wanted to be remembered, he said: "Everyone describes me a racing legend. I prefer to be described as a fighter, someone who never backed down."
| By Edd Straw and Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 18th 2012, 10:52 GMT |
Nico Hulkenberg says his Force India team cannot take it for granted that its recent run of good form will continue for the remainder of the season.
The German was one of the stars of the Korean Grand Prix - pulling off an audacious overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean – to take a sixth place finish that moves him ahead of team-mate Paul di Resta in the standings.
But although Force India still has its sights on closing down the gap to Sauber in the constructors' championship, Hulkenberg thinks the team is going to need to push extra hard if it is going to carry on scoring well.
"The team is doing a good job, and I feel more comfortable in the job," said Hulkenberg, who is closing in on a deal to move to Sauber next year.
"We have nice rhythm and momentum, which is so important in F1 and it is running well. But two race weekends ago in Singapore I had a more rough weekend, so we need to make sure we get four more weekends like this one.
"And I certainly wouldn't expect it just like that. It will be hard work so we need to stretch ourselves to achieve it every single time now."
| By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde | Tuesday, October 16th 2012, 14:27 GMT |
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali is convinced Felipe Massa will repay the faith the Italian squad had put in him by extending his contract.
The Maranello-based outfit confirmed on Tuesday that Massa will continue to partner Fernando Alonso next year, ending months of speculation about the Brazilian's future.
Although Ferrari admitted it had talked to other drivers regarding the second seat, Domenicali has no doubts Massa will prove that keeping him onboard is the right decision.
"We are happy to have lengthened the relationship with Felipe for one further year," Domenicali said.
"He has been part of our family for more than 10 years and he has demonstrated, especially in this last part of the season, to be again competitive at the maximum levels, as is expected of every driver at the wheel of a Ferrari.
"We have always supported Felipe, even during the most difficult moments of his career, and we are certain of his worth and that he will be able to repay the faith that has again been put on him."
Massa, who has driven for the team since 2006, said he was elated after securing a new deal.
"I'm extremely happy with this agreement," said the Brazilian.
"Ferrari is my sporting family and I've always raced in Formula 1 with engines built in Maranello: I can't see myself at the wheel of a single-seater powered by other engines.
"I want to first of all thank president Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali, who have put their faith in me and have always supported me, even at the most difficult times.
"Both of them, the team and every fan can be certain that I will do everything within my possibilities to help the Scuderia in reaching the goals it sets for itself every year."
| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, October 17th 2012, 08:42 GMT |
Sauber remains fully confident it can beat rival Mercedes to fifth position in this year's constructors' championship.
Although Sauber failed to score any points in the previous race in Korea, the Swiss squad is still within striking distance of Mercedes, 20 points ahead with four races to go.
Mercedes has not scored any points in the last two grands prix.
Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn believes her team has every reason to be proud of what it has achieved so far, but she is convinced that catching Mercedes is still possible.
"With four podium places and now 116 world championship points, we can certainly be proud of our achievements so far as a private team," said Kaltenborn.
"Of course there have been races where things didn't go to plan and we forfeited valuable points.
"Our car is a great success and has proved competitive on virtually any kind of circuit. Some describe it as one of the best cars on the grid. Now it's a matter of carrying the impetus forward into the remaining four races.
"Our ambitious goal remains to finish fifth in the constructors' championship. And I have the utmost confidence both in our team at Hinwil and in the crew at the track along with our two drivers."
The team has scored four podiums this year - three with Sergio Perez and one with Kamui Kobayashi - and Kaltenborn admits the Japanese's drive to third place at Suzuka has been the highlight of her season.
"To answer that I'm going to have to take off my sober, objective hat for a moment: it was just so emotional when Kamui finished third in Japan," she said.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, October 17th 2012, 11:03 GMT |
Formula One Management has confirmed that the NBC Sports group will be the exclusive Formula 1 broadcaster in the United States for the next four years.
FOM said the NBC Sports group will broadcast all 20 races of the 2013 season - four on NBC and 16 on NBC Sports Network - as well as practice sessions and qualifying.
NBC replaces Speed as F1 broadcaster in the US after a 17-year run.
"NBC and its various media assets have a huge profile throughout the United States and I am obviously delighted to have concluded this agreement," said F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
"I feel that they will promote Formula 1 to a level not seen before in the United States.
"I very much look forward to working with NBC. Together, we will endeavour to broaden the scope of Formula 1 coverage available to US viewers incorporating additional digital content in particular that has not been available before."
The Canadian Grand Prix and the final three races of the year will air on NBC, while the remaining events will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.
"We are thrilled to add the top international open-wheel racing series to our already-strong motorsports portfolio," said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network.
"Formula 1 is a perfect fit for the NBC Sports Group as it provides content across three platforms - broadcast, cable and digital - for nine months a year with more than 100 hours of premier programming annually."
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 16th 2012, 09:28 GMT |
Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Massa's imminent deals at Sauber and Ferrari respectively mean the battle for the leading seats in Formula 1 is now over.
Massa is due to visit Ferrari's factory on Tuesday for talks with team chiefs to thrash out a new contract for next year, which could be announced before the Indian Grand Prix.
And with options at the top teams having gone, Hulkenberg has already made his move, as the German is understood to have signed a deal with Sauber in the hours after the Korean Grand Prix.
At the front of the grid the seats are now all settled. Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes have all officially confirmed their line-ups, while Lotus will retain Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean even though their contracts have not yet been signed.
The identity of Hulkenberg's team-mate is not yet known, with Sauber likely to wait until it has a clearer picture of its financial strength for 2013 later in the campaign.
The Swiss outfit is just 20 points behind Mercedes in the constructors' championship. If it can overhaul the German manufacturer it would earn several millions of pounds in commercial rights income, which could lessen the need for a pay driver in the second seat.
There will be pressure from Mexican sponsor Telmex to slot GP2 race winner Esteban Gutierrez in for 2013, but there are concerns that his inexperience could prove costly in such a competitive F1 field.
One option could be for Sauber to run Gutierrez in Friday practice sessions to help build his knowledge of F1. It could then give the second race seat to an experienced driver like Kamui Kobayashi, Jaime Alguersuari or Adrian Sutil.
Drivers chasing the second seat at Sauber are also pushing hard to secure a place at Force India, where Paul di Resta is set to remain for another year.
Force India is open-minded about its options, with a list of contenders that includes Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi, Kobayashi and the team's Friday test driver Jules Bianchi.
Williams will retain Pastor Maldonado for 2013, while Valtteri Bottas' impressive performances for the team on Fridays this year - allied to the struggles that Bruno Senna has endured - makes it likely the Finn will be given a race chance.
Senna's best hopes of staying on the grid in 2013 could rest on a move to Caterham, where the future of both Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov are unclear.
Kovalainen has been in talks with the team, while Petrov still has valuable backing from Russian sponsors despite suggestions there may not be enough to secure him a place in 2013.
Marussia will keep Timo Glock for next year, while Max Chilton is expected to line-up alongside him. Charles Pic, who has impressed in his rookie season, has been most strongly linked with a move to Caterham.
Pedro de la Rosa is staying at HRT, while his team-mate will be decided over the winter.
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 16th 2012, 09:43 GMT |
Mark Webber has been told that he remains free to race team-mate Sebastian Vettel, despite the world championship being so finely poised.
Webber is 63 points adrift of Vettel in the drivers' standings with just four races remaining, while the German is locked in a close fight at the top with Fernando Alonso.
And although it would be logical for Red Bull to elect to throw all its support behind Vettel, team boss Christian Horner says no thought has been given to imposing team orders.
"Not yet," Horner said. "Sebastian has moved into the lead [of the title chase] and Mark still has a chance of winning this championship.
"I think it would be wrong to impose team orders, while Mark still mathematically has a chance of winning.
"They demonstrated in Korea that they race each other fairly, and that is all we ask of them."
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 16th 2012, 11:05 GMT |
Formula 1 teams have won an important concession over the future governance of the sport ahead of next week's crunch meeting with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone, AUTOSPORT has learned.
FIA president Jean Todt and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone are to meet the teams in Paris on October 23 to try and make progress in nailing down a new Concorde Agreement.
Sources have revealed that the FIA and Ecclestone have backed away from plans to limit an influence over the rule making process to just the six top teams, which had been singled out as an important issue.
AUTOSPORT revealed last month that seven teams had written to Todt voicing their worries about possible changes to the way the sport is run.
Other concerns - which cannot be addressed prior to the meeting - included a dramatic hike in entry fees, and a demand that the FIA gets tougher in controlling costs.
The teams had written: "The Teams ... accept there may be the need to review the composition and operation of an F1 Commission, but do not wish to diminish the authority of the Teams in such a forum.
"In relation to the structure of the revamped Formula One Commission from 2013 onwards, the Teams are concerned over the proposed composition, with a reduction from twelve Teams to only six. Retaining the status quo is the preferred option."
Ecclestone had originally been keen to revise the F1 Commission to an 18-man body, made up of six team representatives, six FIA members and six members from Formula One Management.
The presence of just six teams - which were going to be Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, Williams and Lotus – meant that other outfits would effectively be left with no say in how rules were proposed to the FIA.
Amid concern about the situation from several quarters, however, AUTOSPORT has learned that the future governance structure is to be revised.
A current more streamlined version of the F1 Commission – which will include representatives of all the teams – will remain in place as the final body to approve or reject rule changes before they are submitted to the FIA.
The 18-man body of team/FIA/FOM members will now become a 'Steering Committee' that will work on long-term strategic decisions for the sport and act as the first point of debate for rule changes or improvements to the sport.
It will be tasked with mandating the FIA to consult outfits directly on specific matters and will then vote on how best to implement regulation changes.
Once it has approved matters, these will then be submitted to the F1 Commission, which will only have the power to approve or reject rules that are proposed to it. It will not be able to amend them.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told AUTOSPORT that despite strong feelings about entry fees and cost control, the rule-making process in F1 was the key agenda to finalise at the October 23 meeting.
"The most important thing for the long term is obviously governance," he said. "How regulations are created; the process that regulations are created, which then obviously have an impact on cost.
"I think that is a critical factor moving forward."
| By Pablo Elizalde | Monday, October 15th 2012, 09:33 GMT |
Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes is closing the gap on rival McLaren, despite the team's failure to score a point in the Korean Grand Prix
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| By Edd Straw and Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 15th 2012, 09:46 GMT |
Romain Grosjean's trouble free run to score points in the Korean Grand Prix is proof that the Frenchman is well on the way to getting his career back on track, says his Lotus boss
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| By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde | Monday, October 15th 2012, 11:20 GMT |
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has played down talk of Sebastian Vettel joining Fernando Alonso at Ferrari in the future, suggesting Felipe Massa is a more suitable second driver.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Sunday, October 14th 2012, 10:49 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen believes fifth place was the best possible result for him in the Korean Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 14th 2012, 10:54 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a podium finish in the Korean Grand Prix were wrecked by a rear anti-roll bar failure.
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| Sunday, October 14th 2012, 11:17 GMT |
Korea Sunday quotes: Williams
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Edd Straw | Saturday, October 13th 2012, 10:12 GMT |
Mercedes has been hit with a €10,000 fine for an unsafe release of Michael Schumacher's car during qualifying.
The German was sent out of the garage moments after Lewis Hamilton's McLaren was, leading to the 2008 world champion having to drive around him in the pits.
The race stewards, including former Lotus and Arrows racer Martin Donnelly, deemed that Mercedes was in breach of Article 23.12 of the sporting regulations, which deems it to be "the responsibility of the competitor to release his car after a pitstop only when it is safe to do so".
Hamilton did not have a problem with the incident and was just happy to have got ahead of Schumacher before the pit exit.
"I didn't have any problems," he said.
"I was let out of my garage before he was and then they tried to get him ahead of me but he was coming out slowly so I overtook him because I was already on the speed limiter, which is 100 km/h, and he was doing maybe 20 or 30 km/h.
"But it gained position, which is very important."
It is the second time this weekend that Mercedes has been in trouble with the stewards after Schumacher was given a reprimand for impeding the HRTs of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan during Friday practice.
Mercedes has been punished for an unsafe release once previously this season after it sent Schumacher's car onto the track with a wheel not properly attached during the Chinese Grand Prix.
| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Saturday, October 13th 2012, 09:46 GMT |
Daniel Ricciardo expects to receive a gearbox-change penalty for the Korean Grand Prix after his qualifying problems.
The Australian's Toro Rosso ground to a halt at the end of Q2 with what the team now believes was a driveshaft issue.
He was 16th fastest but reckons he will now start 21st.
"It looks like it was driveshaft-related. Unfortunately it look like they're probably going to have to get into the gearbox and make sure everything's OK so it looks like I'll probably start five places further back," Ricciardo told AUTOSPORT.
Jean-Eric Vergne and Ricciardo were sixth and seventh in Q1. The latter said the car had top-10 potential but that his lap was not going to be quite that good even before the failure. Vergne rued a mistake after ending up 17th.
"After Q1 it looked promising. We could've had a crack at Q3," Ricciardo said.
"But looking at the lap up until then, I don't think we would've been in Q3. I don't think we would've got the time we wanted out of that second set [of tyres].
"We maybe could've had a crack at Pastor [Maldonado] and Paul [di Resta]. If we couldn't have got them, it would've been very, very close."
Despite potentially starting on row 11, Ricciardo remains upbeat about Toro Rosso's progress.
"The overall qualifying result isn't really what we wanted, but in Q1 we definitely showed good signs today," he said.
"It was looking more promising so that's positive and it backs up the last few weekends.
"Tomorrow should be interesting."
| By Edd Straw | Saturday, October 13th 2012, 11:26 GMT |
Bruno Senna has blamed his failure to make Q2 for the third time this season on a lack of meaningful practice time.
The Brazilian sat out first practice in Korea in favour of reserve driver Valtteri Bottas and his Saturday morning practice running was compromised by a front wing problem despite completing 18 laps.
"It's a typical result of losing the first session on Friday, then having an OK second session but a bad third session with technical problems," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT what went wrong.
"When you lose a session and then lose another session because of problems, that's it.
"On a tight grid like this, you don't have a half-second margin to play around with.
"I'm not surprised that we had a struggle after the morning session when we were chasing front wing problems and not really working on set-up."
Senna described his Q2 lap as "OK" but set-up shortcomings caused by his practice problems restricted the potential of the car.
Although team-mate Pastor Maldonado was four tenths of a second faster than him, Senna believes that the set-up problems were to blame for the gap.
"It wasn't a bad lap - it was an OK lap, nothing special with no mistakes but the car set-up was out of the window," said Senna.
"We made some decision on car set-up in the afternoon and went the wrong way, which is understandable.
"The result is where we are in qualifying.
"We are not particularly quick anyway, but it looks worse than it is."
Senna did attempt a second flying lap on his second run in Q2.
He would have bumped McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton had he been able to match Maldonado's time.
"I improved a little bit in the first sector, but by the halfway point of the lap the tyres had given up already.
"It's a one-lap tyre and [the track is] very hard on the tyres with he long corners.
"I needed to try another lap because I knew that it wasn't good enough but it didn't happen."
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 12th 2012, 09:32 GMT |
Formula 1's title contenders could be forced to delay the introduction of vital car updates because of the risk of potential customs delays in India.
With the championship battle finely poised at the moment, teams are eager to bring forward performance improvements because of the big impact that could have on their chances.
However, because of the bureaucratic nature of the Indian customs where the next race takes place on October 28, there is the chance that new parts getting flown in at the last minute may not make it through to the track in time.
That means teams are now weighing up whether or not it is worth fast-tracking items for the next race, or elect instead to take them to Abu Dhabi.
Ferrari's sporting director Massimo Rivola said on Friday in Korea that his outfit was aware of the issues, but that because of its competitive situation it would have to think hard about what it did with developments it has planned.
"It is a bit of a problem, that is a fact," he said, when asked by AUTOSPORT about the Indian customs implications.
"We try to maximise what we can do at the factory in order not to go to India with an extra shipment, because the risk is that we won't get the extra shipment on the track.
"And also, even if you get it there, you won't know if you can bring it to the following race. So, it is a bit of a gamble.
"As always when you gamble you take a bit of a risk. We will see."
McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe reckons the only safe option for teams was to ensure that any updates for India were transported straight from Korea as part of the official F1 freight consignment.
"It [India] is the most awkward race of the year in that respect, so everything - like the way the carnets are arranged - needs to be done thoroughly.
"Everything needs to go in freight from here to India, and it is very difficult to add anything to that from source."
| Friday, October 12th 2012, 09:27 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen - 10th: "The circuit is okay; it's surprisingly bumpy in some parts but it's quite different from other places we race. It's difficult for me to say about the exhaust until I've sat down with the engineers and gone through the data. We'll try to improve the car for tomorrow as it wasn't very easy to drive and get a good lap today. Let's see if we can get it completely right and maybe we can be in the top five in qualifying."
Romain Grosjean - 11th: "It's not been the easiest day. I think we still have some work to do with the car to get the best out of the tyres so tomorrow morning will be important. The track is interesting but it's not been so hard to learn. The trickiest part is definitely Turns 11 & 12 which are not easy to get exactly right but overall it's not too bad. On the positive side we've had a good amount of time learning the circuit and gathered a lot of data, so hopefully we can analyse things overnight and see an improved performance by the time we get to qualifying."
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: "We're happy with how the new exhaust worked from a performance perspective and now need to assess if there are any potential reliability implications due to the hot exhaust gas running in different areas than usual. Early impressions are certainly good and we expect to retain it for the rest of the weekend with Kimi. Both drivers learnt the circuit very quickly. Romain complained of a little too much oversteer and with Kimi there's still potential with the setup, especially as we learn more about the new exhaust. Both drivers reported that they were very happy with the balance of the car when on high fuel loads and degradation levels look manageable from the tyres so it's been a productive first day."
| By Jonathan Noble and Matt Beer | Friday, October 12th 2012, 09:49 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen has admitted that he was underwhelmed by the improvements Lotus's major upgrade package made to the E20 in Korean Grand Prix practice.
The Finn felt it was too early to make a definitive judgement about the new developments, which include the much-vaunted Coanda-effect exhaust.
Lotus had hoped that the upgrade would get it back into victory contention after its form tailed off in recent races.
When asked for his opinion on the new package, Raikkonen replied: "I think it's too early still. We'll look at all the data and see how it is.
"We probably expect a bit more than what we've seen so far, but it's too early to say."
He conceded the car had been tough to drive in practice, where he ended up 10th fastest.
"It's not very easy to get the car right," said Raikkonen. "Hopefully tomorrow will be better."
The 2007 world champion felt that as the Yeongam circuit has so little in common with Suzuka, the venue for last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, making technical comparisons is even harder than usual.
"They're completely different places, you cannot compare," Raikkonen said when asked if the upgraded car felt better than it had in Japan.
He remains optimistic that Lotus will have a competitive weekend as it get to grips with the upgrade.
"I think we are more or less where we usually are on Fridays. Hopefully we can improve the car and be faster tomorrow," said Raikkonen.
"The car didn't feel good today and we were one second off the pace, so if we can it right we can get higher, but other people might improve."
| By Edd Straw and Glenn Freeman | Thursday, October 11th 2012, 10:01 GMT |
Michael Schumacher believes Mercedes will need to improve 'significantly' if he is to land another top result before he retires from Formula 1 at the end of the season.
The seven-time world champion took the only podium finish since his comeback at Valencia earlier this year, while Nico Rosberg won the Chinese Grand Prix just five races before that.
However, Mercedes has scored just 44 points in the races since Schumacher's 155th podium, and the 43-year-old has not finished higher than sixth during that time.
"It all depends on whether we can significantly improve our car or not," Schumacher said of his hopes of scoring another big result in 2012.
"Where we have been [in recent races], we know that it needs quite a bit of luck, and we cannot only base our results on luck.
"So we are still working on this car, and still hoping to improve it. But it depends on the rate we can do that."
Schumacher admitted that his mindset ahead of his second retirement from Formula 1 was "very different" compared to when he was preparing to stop in 2006.
"That time, 2006, I was still fighting for the championship," he said. "It finished two races from the end when I retired in Suzuka.
"I don't think I am close to that, yet! So the mindset is quite different, yes."
He added that he hopes the layout of the Korean circuit will enable Mercedes to fight for places in Q3, after the team had a Saturday to forget at Suzuka a week ago.
"In terms of the characteristics of the track, here our package should be reasonably OK," he said.
"I don't know exactly what that means but I hope it means we can be in the top 10 for qualifying and we'll see from there on.
"If you look at the pace we had in the race [in Japan], that wasn't too bad. We didn't look great in qualifying, but in the race my fastest lap wasn't that far off the fastest laps from the leaders."
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 11th 2012, 10:22 GMT |
Felipe Massa is sure that he is no longer driving for his Formula 1 future at Ferrari, after delivering a podium finish in Japan last weekend.
The Brazilian finished in the top three of a grand prix for the first time in three years at Suzuka, with a result that will have boosted his chances of remaining at the Italian outfit next year.
And although no final decision has been taken by Ferrari chiefs about who will line-up alongside Fernando Alonso next year, Massa reckons that he has done enough now to prove he is worthy of a fresh contract at the Maranello outfit.
When asked whether he believed the podium finish in Japan was a boost for his career, Massa said: "I think it was very important for me actually.
"I am here to try and achieve results. I never raced to be just on the track, to just drive a car that I like to drive. I never raced for that. I raced to achieve the results, and I was always able to achieve in the categories that I did.
"So I think that is what gives me happiness, because when you stay a long time without the results you are not happy.
"I think it [the podium] was very, very important for me, more than anything - important for the future, important for all the way you work, the way the team is happy. So I think for sure it was very important for everything."
He added: "I don't think the result of this race will be important for my future, it is nothing to do with that – I am 100% sure. I think I am really in the right direction now."
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 11th 2012, 11:10 GMT |
Jenson Button is adamant that McLaren's season is not at risk of being derailed by Red Bull's form and talk of tension between him and team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Button moved on Thursday to brush off talk that there is any friction between himself and Hamilton over comments posted by his team-mate on Twitter earlier this week.
Instead, he said his priority is helping McLaren catch Red Bull in the constructors' championship.
"It is 41 points, which is not massive at all," explained Button in Korea about his focus on his team's battle.
"We didn't have a great race in Japan and only lost a couple of points. We can claw that back in one race which is the great thing.
"The constructors' championship is definitely on. Winning races is my focus but when I get out of the car at the end of the race and look at points, that [the constructors'] is the bit I look at.
"Winning the drivers' [title], is such a slim opportunity, if it happens it happens. But I am not going to get excited about it."
Twitter incident
Button's relationship with his team-mate was put under the spotlight earlier this week when Hamilton questioned his team-mate's 'respect' for him in a Tweet where he mistakenly suggested that he had been unfollowed. Hamilton later apologised for the mistake.
When asked if he had been surprised at Hamilton's attitude, Button said: "People have their own opinion...for me it is just amazing that we are sat here talking about it. Lewis came and apologised which is good."
Hamilton was also keen to move on from the Twitter incident.
"I just have to put my hand up. I made a mistake," Hamilton said. "Sometimes we do that, sometimes we say things in the heat of the moment and you don't actually mean what you say.
"But there's nothing we can do about it. I apologise. That is it. We move forward.
"I apologised to him. I couldn't get hold of him on phone, he had a late night out on Sunday, and then he replied, and I saw him."
The 2008 world champion, who also landed himself in trouble with tweets over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, admitted that he might have to rethink his approach to social media.
"Perhaps me and Twitter don't go too well," he said. "I don't know what I am going to do.
"I like it because I like to be able to share the great experiences I have with the fans, but lots of people get it wrong - and I am one of those - so I will try and improve."
Drivers fine
McLaren chiefs are also comfortable that the relationship between its drivers will not become disruptive.
Speaking in a Vodafone teleconference on Thursday, McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said: "Does it concern us in terms of the relationship within the team going forwards in our assault on the championship? It doesn't.
"Lewis has already spoken to Jenson out in Mokpo in Korea so I don't have any concerns about that. I think, as for Twitter itself, it's obviously an important part of marketing in news space, but it also has its drawbacks too, which is just one of those things.
"You just have to shrug your shoulders and consider it unfortunate. Lewis corrected the error he's made and he has spoken to Jenson. From inside the team we're fine and looking forward to this weekend actually."
| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 10th 2012, 08:58 GMT |
Caterham boss Tony Fernandes is hopeful that the team will be able to reach an agreement with Heikki Kovalainen for next season soon.
The Finn said in Japan that he was confident of a new deal being signed before the end of the current campaign.
But the relationship between Caterham and Kovalainen's management, IMG, has not always been smooth.
Fernandes criticism of Kovalainen's manager on Finnish television after the Singapore Grand Prix, for example, led to question marks about the ex-McLaren driver's future.
"I'm hopeful," Fernandes told AUTOSPORT. "It's no secret that I have a very close relationship with Heikki and I think that he has enjoyed himself here.
"But as a driver, everyone wants to be a world champion, so you can't begrudge him for wanting to be at a better team.
"I've said that I think the management could have handled it better but by no means is the relationship damaged."
Despite both sides being upbeat about a new deal, it's not a foregone conclusion that Kovalainen will be given a new contract.
A number of drivers capable of bringing money to the team have been in discussions, with the likes of Marussia driver Charles Pic and Caterham GP2 driver Giedo van der Garde among the contenders.
"Correct, you can't discount that," he said when asked if it was no foregone conclusion that the team would keep Kovalainen because there were drivers available who could bring commercial backing.
"I'd be lying to say that we're not [looking at that].
"The most important thing now for me is to give whoever is driving that car a good car and then the driver really makes a difference.
"Right now, if I had Vettel in the car, he isn't going to guarantee me a point so my focus is on making sure we have the right car."
| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, October 10th 2012, 09:29 GMT |
Maria de Villota has revealed that she remembers everything from the life-threatening Formula 1 testing accident in which she lost her right eye earlier this year.
The Spanish driver was carrying out a straight-line test for Marussia before the British Grand Prix, when she crashed into the back of a team transporter.
De Villota suffered serious injuries in the accident and spent a month in hospital before she was well enough to return home.
Although she was unconscious for a long time, de Villota says she can recall all the details of the crash and its aftermath.
She also says that as well as her eye injuries, she continues to suffer from headaches and has lost her sense of smell and taste.
"I remember everything - even the moment of the impact," di Villota told the Spanish Hola magazine, in her first interview since the crash.
"When I woke up everybody was around me and they didn't even know if I was going to speak, or how I was going to speak. I started speaking in English because I thought I was on an FIA check-up and that the nurse was a trainer.
"Then my dad said 'Please, Maria, speak Spanish, because your mother is missing half the things', and then I became aware of everything: of what had happened, where I was and why."
The 32-year-old says her injuries have made her realise the value of other things in life beyond racing.
"The accident has given me a new perspective about life, about the things that matter," she said. "It has taught me that to achieve what you want you have to educate yourself in sacrifice through effort.
"Now I have just one eye maybe I perceive more things than before. Before this, my life was a race against the clock, and now I see you have to stop and measure things in a different way."
De Villota admitted she was shocked the first time she saw her injuries, but she is sure that the worst is now behind her.
"In the beginning they were covering it [the eye] so I couldn't see it," she added. "The first day I looked at myself in the mirror I had 140 black stitches on my face, and they looked like they had been stitched with a boat rope, and I had lost my right eye. I was terrified.
"I have to undergo more surgery soon, but the worst is now behind."
She added: "I have headaches that they don't know how long will last - maybe years.
"I have to control my efforts a lot because of the cranial pressure. I have also lost smell, and taste, which is linked to smell. Now I like things with a very strong taste."
| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, October 10th 2012, 09:40 GMT |
Maria de Villota has not yet decided if she wants to return to racing in the future.
The Spaniard lost her right eye in a Formula 1 testing accident in July, and is currently pondering whether or not to get back in the cockpit.
She is well aware, however, that one of the biggest factors is if motor racing's authorities will allow her to race because of her injury.
"I still don't know, it's about the licence," de Villota told the Spanish Hola magazine in her first interview since the accident. "There are drivers in the United States who have lost an eye and still have a licence.
"What's true is that you lose the sense of depth, because it's both eyes that give you the perspective.
"What I'm wondering now is if my future is being a racing driver or if there's something else I have to do with my life. I still don't know what I need to do."
De Villota says she now wants to have an active role in making sure safety is improved in the kind of tests she had her accident in.
"We all want to see if there are lessons to learn from what happened, so we can avoid accidents like that in the future," she said.
"My intention is to help with a view to the future, improve safety, especially in aero tests, because at the circuits everything is under control, but not in this kind of test."
She admitted she has been overwhelmed by the support she had received since the accident.
"I felt deeply loved, highly respected by my colleagues and everybody in the world of motorsport," de Villota said.
"My new life goes beyond my dreams, because my dream was Formula 1 and I achieved it. I'm a driver, I feel like a driver."
| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, October 9th 2012, 09:00 GMT |
Sauber has every chance of overhauling Mercedes for fifth place in the constructors' championship, according to chief designer Matt Morris.
The Swiss team claimed its fourth podium finish of the season in Japan after a strong drive from Kamui Kobayashi, while Mercedes failed to score.
This closed the gap between the pair to just 20 points and Morris believes that Sauber has the potential to outscore Mercedes in the remaining five races.
"We have got a faster car than them at the moment," Morris told AUTOSPORT.
"I doubt they will be putting any big upgrade packages on for the rest of the year, so we just have to be clever and composed and take points out of them every race weekend.
"There's absolutely no reason why we can't beat them."
Sauber has no major upgrades planned for the rest of the season after bringing new parts to both the Singapore and Japanese grands prix.
But Morris believes that there is still some untapped potential in the car that will allow Sauber to continue to improve.
"In terms of big update parts, this is what we have got now," said Morris.
"Suzuka was the first circuit where we had the full upgrade package and could look at how it's working.
"We still think there is still more to come in Friday testing and hopefully in Korea we will get more out of it.
"The updates have taken a little bit of understanding, but now we feel that we understand the car well.
"There are a few bits related to it that we can understand further in the rest of the races, so hopefully we will have a good end to the season."
Morris also hailed Kamui Kobayashi's third place as the most satisfying of the team's four podium finishes.
While Sergio Perez's near-win in Malaysia and third places in Canada and Italy were also high points, this is the first time that the team has managed to qualify and race so far up the order in one weekend.
"It is," he said when asked if it was the most satisfying race of the season.
"We have been trying to do that year, with strong qualifying and a strong race and finally we managed to do it."
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 9th 2012, 08:46 GMT |
Lotus is to become the latest team to introduce Coanda-effect exhausts, with the concept set to be part of the major upgrade package the team is introducing in Korea.
As AUTOSPORT revealed last month, Lotus is pinning hopes of a late-season surge in form on a raft of developments to its E20.
The team has revealed that these will include the downwashed exhausts - that makes use of the Coanda effect to utilise exhaust gases for a boost to the car's aerodynamics.
Technical director James Allison believes the changes for Korea are significant, as the outfit chases its first win of the season to put itself firmly in the hunt for the title.
"The upgrades for Korea are a big step; it is the opening of a new era for us," he explained.
"We expect that they are going to work, but of course it's always a difficult task to find the correct setup for the car when you are also evaluating new parts."
Allison said that work on the new exhausts in the wind tunnel highlighted how much performance his team had been missing in not having the concept used by a number of teams – including Ferrari, McLaren and Sauber.
"We've been ploughing something of a lonely furrow on the circuit with our relatively straightforward, power-maximizing exhaust," he said.
"However, since well before the launch of the E20 and to the present day we've been carrying out parallel developments in our wind tunnel programme based around a Coanda effect exhaust.
"Once we saw the potential gain of the Coanda system surpasses that of our current design it was clear that we needed to implement it, both for the benefit we could get in the last quarter of this season and also for learning experience it presents us for next year.
"We will run our first version of this style of exhaust in Korea."
Allison also revealed that the team's double-DRS, which has proved troublesome to get working properly, will now not return to the car until the young driver test that takes places after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"We haven't had the happiest of introductions with the system," he explained. "It's been harder than I anticipated to make it switch effectively with only the limited opportunity afforded in free practice.
"We're going to take it away, have another think and most likely give it another go in the Abu Dhabi young driver test where we'll have more time to develop it in a systematic fashion."
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 9th 2012, 09:22 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says his outfit is not bothered that it was not invited to a FOTA-chaired meeting in Japan last weekend.
10 of the 12 team principals got together on race morning to discuss a range of pressing issues - including the future governance of F1, the rise in entry fees and cost controls.
It comes ahead of a crunch meeting with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone in Paris on October 23 to try and reach agreement on the future direction of the sport.
Neither Red Bull nor its sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso were invited to the Suzuka meeting – which was the first time that fellow non-FOTA members Ferrari and Sauber have joined talks for some time.
Speaking about the meeting that took place, Horner said: "I don't know what they talked about in the meeting so I couldn't comment on that.
"You have got FOTA that doesn't consist of some teams but does consist of others. I have no idea what the topic of discussion was; they obviously feel that it doesn't apply to Red Bull.
"So I cannot really comment on something that I don't really know about."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who is chairman of FOTA, said that not too much significance should have been given to the fact that Ferrari and Sauber joined the meeting.
"We were just talking about life and times in F1," he said.
"I am not worried about FOTA. It is sensible for teams to try and share some of the issues we have got and try and work together."
