| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, November 30th 2012, 10:29 GMT |
Ferrari considers the controversy surrounding Sebastian Vettel's overtaking move of Jean-Eric Vergne in the Brazilian Grand Prix now 'closed', after receiving an official response from the FIA.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, November 30th 2012, 10:51 GMT |
Red Bull faces a $3.26 million payout on Friday as the deadline for entry fees for next year's Formula 1 world championship closes.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, November 30th 2012, 11:50 GMT |
Red Bull has expressed its satisfaction - but not surprise - that the controversy over Sebastian Vettel's overtaking move on Jean-Eric Vergne is at an end.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, November 29th 2012, 10:08 GMT |
Mark Webber remains determined to beat Sebastian Vettel and insists he will not play a supporting role to the world champion
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| By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, November 29th 2012, 10:52 GMT |
Formula 1's ruling body, the FIA, says there is "no case" to answer in the controversy involving Sebastian Vettel's overtaking of Jean-Eric Vergne during the Brazilian Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 29th 2012, 11:45 GMT |
Exclusive analysis: Why Vettel's pass was legal
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| By Sam Tremayne and Matt Beer | Tuesday, November 27th 2012, 17:58 GMT |
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has thanked Michael Schumacher for his 'gracious' gesture of handing sixth place to Sebastian Vettel at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, November 28th 2012, 11:00 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas will race alongside Pastor Maldonado at the Williams team during the 2013 Formula 1 season, the British squad confirmed on Wednesday
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, November 28th 2012, 11:20 GMT |
Bruno Senna said he knew it was likely that Valtteri Bottas would replace him at the Williams team for the 2013 season
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, November 27th 2012, 10:22 GMT |
Red Bull's delight at securing a hat-trick of Formula 1 world championship successes will be shortlived, reckons Mercedes boss Ross Brawn
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, November 27th 2012, 10:31 GMT |
Kamui Kobayashi has thanked the fans who have tried to help save his Formula 1 career by backing a fundraising website
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, November 27th 2012, 11:55 GMT |
McLaren must use the momentum of its strong end to the season to prevent another world championship slipping through its grasp next year, according to team boss Martin Whitmarsh
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, November 26th 2012, 11:03 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner accepts the 'dirty tricks' from rivals that upset Sebastian Vettel so much are simply a consequence of his outfit being so successful
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| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Monday, November 26th 2012, 11:05 GMT |
Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley described the safety car that negated Nico Hulkenberg's early Brazilian Grand Prix lead as "a joke".
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, November 26th 2012, 11:53 GMT |
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has paid tribute to the efforts of both Fernando Alonso and the Ferrari crew for taking the title fight to the final round of the Formula 1 season.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, November 25th 2012, 11:45 GMT |
Fernando Alonso says even if he is unsuccessful in his bid to win the Formula 1 world championship in the Brazilian Grand Prix, he and Ferrari should still be immensely proud of having taken the title fight to the season finale
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| By Gerhard Kuntschik and Jonathan Noble | Sunday, November 25th 2012, 11:51 GMT |
Red Bull believes that it does not need any good fortune for Sebastian Vettel to win the championship - it just needs to avoid any bad luck
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, November 25th 2012, 11:56 GMT |
Japanese car manufacturer Infiniti is to increase its Formula 1 involvement with Red Bull next year after agreeing to become title sponsor of the team
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| Friday, November 23rd 2012, 20:30 GMT |
Brazil Friday quotes: Lotus
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, November 23rd 2012, 20:32 GMT |
Ferrari can head into the Brazilian Grand Prix with a level of confidence about its chances of fighting Red Bull wheel-to-wheel after an encouraging opening day of practice, reckons Felipe Massa
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| Friday, November 23rd 2012, 22:15 GMT |
Friday's press conference - Brazil
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Matt Beer | Friday, November 23rd 2012, 11:11 GMT |
Charles Pic will move from Marussia to Caterham for the 2013 Formula 1 season, having signed a multi-year deal
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| By Glenn Freeman | Friday, November 23rd 2012, 11:18 GMT |
Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robin Frijns has joined Sauber as the team's reserve driver
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| By Dan Cross | Friday, November 23rd 2012, 11:54 GMT |
Romain Grosjean believes he can conclude his first full-time season in Formula 1 with a top-three finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, November 21st 2012, 15:09 GMT |
Force India has been given a boost ahead of the 2013 season with the news of the approval of a £50 million investment programme
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 22nd 2012, 10:31 GMT |
Sauber will name its second driver for 2013 at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 22nd 2012, 11:38 GMT |
Ross Brawn has backed his Mercedes team's decision to gamble on splitting its exhaust strategies at the United States Grand Prix, even though it again failed to score points
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| By Matt Beer | Wednesday, November 21st 2012, 09:38 GMT |
Felipe Massa's upturn in form is a major boost for Ferrari's Formula 1 world championship aspirations going into the Brazilian Grand Prix season finale, reckons team boss Stefano Domenicali
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| Wednesday, November 21st 2012, 09:50 GMT |
Brazil preview quotes: McLaren
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, November 21st 2012, 10:12 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton is determined to try to end his spell at McLaren on a high and has set his sights on winning the season finale in Brazil
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, November 20th 2012, 11:18 GMT |
Sauber believes it can still beat Mercedes for fifth in the constructors' championship, despite being 12 points behind the German marque going into the season finale
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| Tuesday, November 20th 2012, 11:21 GMT |
Brazilian GP: Mercedes preview quotes
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| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, November 20th 2012, 11:31 GMT |
Michael Schumacher reckons his second Formula 1 farewell at Interlagos this weekend will be "less emotional" than his original retirement at the end of 2006
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, November 19th 2012, 00:36 GMT |
Red Bull has admitted that the latest alternator failure suffered by the team is a 'worry' ahead of the season finale in Brazil.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, November 19th 2012, 10:20 GMT |
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says the United States Grand Prix at Austin proved to be a bigger success than even he anticipated
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, November 19th 2012, 10:49 GMT |
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh believes that Lewis Hamilton's victory in the United States Grand Prix was vital for the team after its recent reliability troubles
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| By Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde | Saturday, November 17th 2012, 22:57 GMT |
Marussia's sporting director Graeme Lowdon was surprised Sergio Perez got away without a penalty following his clash with Charles Pic during final practice at Austin
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| By Dieter Rencken and Matt Beer | Saturday, November 17th 2012, 23:11 GMT |
Mercedes stands by its decision to switch Nico Rosberg back to an older car specification for United States Grand Prix qualifying, despite him struggling to 17th on the grid as a result.
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| By Edd Straw | Sunday, November 18th 2012, 09:43 GMT |
Teams predict that backmarkers will play a key part in the United States Grand Prix, with the high-speed section from Turns 3 to 9 allowing little room to overtake
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| Saturday, November 17th 2012, 00:29 GMT |
Friday's press conference - US
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Edd Straw | Saturday, November 17th 2012, 09:11 GMT |
Pedro de la Rosa says HRT will struggle to make the 107 per cent qualifying cut-off for the United States Grand Prix if the new Austin circuit's grip levels do not improve.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, November 17th 2012, 10:36 GMT |
McLaren insists it is not amid a reliability crisis, despite Lewis Hamilton's string of problems continuing with his Abu Dhabi Grand Prix retirement
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 15th 2012, 23:47 GMT |
Formula 1 chiefs are considering revising the qualifying rules for next season to remove ambiguity over what is a justifiable reason for cars not completing their in-laps.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 15th 2012, 23:16 GMT |
Formula 1 teams will face tougher front wing tests next year, with the FIA keen to clamp down on team's exploiting the flexible bodywork rules.
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| By Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde | Friday, November 16th 2012, 11:17 GMT |
Pastor Maldonado says he would like to secure a long-term deal with Williams, although he insists there is still no confirmation that he will be at the team next year
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, November 14th 2012, 21:05 GMT |
Formula 1 is to have a new medical rescue co-ordinator next year, after the FIA decided not to renew the contract of the long-serving Gary Hartstein beyond the end of this season
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 15th 2012, 08:12 GMT |
Formula 1 track designer Hermann Tilke believes the spectacular layout of the new United States Grand Prix track could provide one of the biggest challenges of the season for drivers and teams
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 15th 2012, 08:17 GMT |
Every great Formula 1 track needs an iconic corner. For Spa, think Eau Rouge (old Spa had the Masta Kink). For Silverstone, think the new Becketts. For Suzuka, think 130R. For Austin, it's Turn 1
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| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, November 13th 2012, 15:27 GMT |
Formula 1 has a better chance than ever of cracking the American market now that DRS and Pirelli's tyres have made the sport more unpredictable, reckons McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh
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| By Dieter Rencken and Matt Beer | Wednesday, November 14th 2012, 10:01 GMT |
Sauber has not made a development push to try and catch Mercedes for fifth in the constructors' championship because it believes it can do the job just by 'getting its act together'.
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| By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, November 14th 2012, 10:35 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel still needs to mature as a Formula 1 driver according to former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who believes the German "reacts like a child"
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| Monday, November 12th 2012, 16:04 GMT |
US preview quotes: Force India
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| Tuesday, November 13th 2012, 09:45 GMT |
United States Grand Prix: Caterham preview quotes
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| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, November 13th 2012, 09:51 GMT |
Caterham test driver Alexander Rossi says he no qualms about missing out on the chance to drive in Friday practice at his home grand prix in the United States this weekend
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| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Sunday, November 11th 2012, 10:36 GMT |
Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug accepts that his team's recent performances merit criticism, but says Mercedes' current form is a necessary blip in preparation for a stronger future
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Monday, November 12th 2012, 10:10 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel believes he and Fernando Alonso are equally worthy of the 2012 F1 title given their similar share of misfortunes across the season
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| Monday, November 12th 2012, 11:41 GMT |
US preview quotes: HRT
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Saturday, November 10th 2012, 11:35 GMT |
Jean-Eric Vergne believes his new Toro Rosso deal proves the team has faith that he can deliver much more than he has in his Formula 1 rookie season so far
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| Friday, November 9th 2012, 17:27 GMT |
US preview quotes:Red Bull
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Sunday, November 11th 2012, 10:36 GMT |
Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug accepts that his team's recent performances merit criticism, but says Mercedes' current form is a necessary blip in preparation for a stronger future
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Friday, November 9th 2012, 17:07 GMT |
Formula 3 Euro Series and European F3 champion Daniel Juncadella completed his Formula 1 test with Ferrari at the Vallelunga circuit on Friday
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| Friday, November 9th 2012, 17:27 GMT |
US preview quotes:Red Bull
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Saturday, November 10th 2012, 11:35 GMT |
Jean-Eric Vergne believes his new Toro Rosso deal proves the team has faith that he can deliver much more than he has in his Formula 1 rookie season so far
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| Friday, November 9th 2012, 10:48 GMT |
US preview quotes: Mercedes
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Glenn Freeman | Friday, November 9th 2012, 11:16 GMT |
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh believes that Lewis Hamilton has had moments of regret about moving to Mercedes for 2013 since the deal was announced.
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| Friday, November 9th 2012, 11:31 GMT |
US preview quotes: Sauber
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, November 7th 2012, 16:08 GMT |
Esteban Gutierrez's previous experience with Sauber proved a significant benefit on his first day driving in the Abu Dhabi young driver test.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, November 8th 2012, 10:28 GMT |
Paul di Resta says he feels ready to lead Force India next season if the outfit elects to place a less experienced driver alongside him.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, November 8th 2012, 11:05 GMT |
Cyril Abiteboul has replaced Tony Fernandes as team principal of Caterham's Formula 1 team with immediate effect
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, November 7th 2012, 09:49 GMT |
Renault believes a calibration problem with fuelling equipment is the most likely explanation as to why Sebastian Vettel did not have enough petrol in his car for qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, November 7th 2012, 10:27 GMT |
The FIA has agreed to delay the introduction of a rule that will force cars to run under electrical power only in the pit lane from the start of 2014, AUTOSPORT can reveal.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, November 7th 2012, 11:17 GMT |
HRT insists Pedro de la Rosa is the only driver confirmed for the 2013 season, denying reports that Ma Qing Hua has already signed to race with the team next year
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, November 6th 2012, 10:10 GMT |
Lotus boss Eric Boullier says he has no concerns about Romain Grosjean's latest crashes in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, November 6th 2012, 10:18 GMT |
FIA president Jean Todt thinks it is only right that the richest Formula 1 teams and drivers pay a greater fee to compete in the world championship from next year
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| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Tuesday, November 6th 2012, 11:38 GMT |
Force India believes it must switch its focus in the constructors' championship to defending from Williams rather than attacking Sauber, following its low score in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, November 4th 2012, 09:00 GMT |
Michael Schumacher insists he is not getting frustrated about the struggles he is facing as his Formula 1 career comes to an end
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, November 4th 2012, 10:20 GMT |
McLaren sees no reason why its strong Abu Dhabi Grand Prix form cannot be carried through to the race, despite the tyre problems it suffered in India last weekend.
Lewis Hamilton ended Red Bull's recent domination of qualifying with a brilliant pole position at Yas Marina on Saturday.
It was the first time since the Japanese GP that one of the RB8s had not qualified at the front of the field.
Although McLaren headed in to last weekend's event at Buddh equally upbeat about strong race form, both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button struggled to find pace on soft tyres in the first stage of the race.
McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe is confident that the team will not encounter a repeat of the struggles it had on the soft rubber last time out.
"There is a little bit of a trend here of slow warm-up, so it is difficult to get tyres [bedded] in," he said.
"That could emerge as an issue between the two types of tyre in the race, but it is nowhere like as extreme as it was in India. So it is not a big worry.
"We were optimistic as, if you look at the times in FP3, there was an indication of our speed. The Red Bulls didn't look quite so sparkly as they have in the last few races, so we were crossing our fingers, and in Q1 that pattern was maintained.
"Lewis's ultimate lap was more about just hoping we could string together a good lap as he had done in previous sessions, and he did exactly that. That seemed to be the right ranking."
Lowe believes that the key to McLare's step forward in form compared to Red Bull this weekend is down to the layout of the Yas Marina circuit, which suits his team's car better.
"I think it is track characteristics, as they are a big player. I guess we saw this a lot more earlier in the season and it hasn't completely gone away.
"It is one of those tracks we go well at. We go well at Montreal. We go well at the Hungaroring. We are normally pretty good at Spa and Monza. Then there are races where it is the other way around. Valencia historically we seem to be quite poor at."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh thinks that McLaren's strong form is the result of it being able extract all the performance out of its car this weekend; - something it has struggled to do recently
"We have been strong here, and the car is not too bad," he said. "We have under-delivered to our drivers in terms of giving them the car we should have done in the last few races.
"Whether we have made ourselves look worse, or made Red Bull look better, I don't know.
"This weekend so far it has come together but, with no points on the board yet, we have to make sure we don't make mistakes.
"We are in a good position to be able to win but there is a one hour and 45 minutes fast and furious race that we have to deliver in."
| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, November 4th 2012, 11:11 GMT |
Red Bull has made major changes to the set-up of Sebastian Vettel's car ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a bid to help his chances of charging through the field
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, November 3rd 2012, 09:33 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says he has already seen enough of Lotus's latest updates to feel the team can take a step forward in performance for the rest of the season.
The Enstone-based outfit began the second half of the campaign with high hopes that a development push could take its Finnish driver to the title success.
But a failure to match the development spend of rival teams Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari has left the team to endure a few tough races during the Autumn and dropped its lead driver out of the hunt for the title.
However, a change in exhaust philosophy towards the Coanda-effect concept has helped. A second iteration of that design, aimed at recouping some of the lost horsepower appears to be working well.
Raikkonen reckons his Friday performance in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice offered only a glimpse of what is possible for the rest of the weekend once the car is properly set-up.
"We have improved," he said. "But while you gain some downforce, you give away some horsepower, so we'll try to get it back.
"But it is not a very easy thing, and with time we will come back with normal horsepower and still have the downforce.
"It is a good thing that we at least bring parts to the car this year and we learn things, so we are much better with the new car with those things.
"We have improved, but everyone else makes improvements too. We are closer than we were at Monza or Spa for example with the laptime."
| By Dieter Rencken and Jonathan Noble | Saturday, November 3rd 2012, 10:20 GMT |
Pirelli believes that forgiving track surfaces, rather than circuit layouts, are the main reason behind the recent spate of comparatively dull races.
Indications from the opening day of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice suggest that this weekend's race will be a straightforward one-stopper, as was the case in India.
This is in stark contrast to the thrilling events that dominated the early part of the season.
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery has admitted he is surprised by the lack of degradation encountered this weekend, but thinks there is a straightforward explanation as to why races have been less exciting recently.
Reflecting on criticism from fans after the Indian GP, in which there was little overtaking, Hembery told AUTOSPORT: "You are not going to please everybody.
"It was a small minority who were pleased, but the vast majority were quite outspoken and said boring races are what could happen if we are not careful.
"We need to find the right balance and over 20 races we have found a pretty good one.
"But the new circuits we get near end of season probably also fall into those basket of circuits that are easier on tyres; they have a new and forgiving surface.
"If you put the Malaysian asphalt on the layout we have here at Yas Marina, it would be a very different race. The surface used here is very forgiving.
"There is a specification of asphalt being used which, for what we are trying to achieve, is not very useful. If we could take the Malaysian track surface around with us, then we would have more interesting races."
Hembery expects most cars to employ a one-stop strategy in the Abu Dhabi GP.
"We have half a second difference between the medium and soft compounds, and wear levels are particularly low," he said.
"We have seen low degradation levels, which is a bit of a surprise as we thought we would have some thermal degradation here.
"It probably represents what we've in the last few races. The teams and drivers have an idea of what they need to do to reduce excessive degradation and maybe move towards a one-stop strategy."
| By Jamie O'Leary | Saturday, November 3rd 2012, 11:09 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in final practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix while Formula 1 world championship leader Sebastian Vettel's preparations were severely hampered by a brake problem.
Hamilton sailed to the top of the timesheets on his first flying lap of the Yas Marina circuit in 1m44.264s, and continued to bring his marker down, the McLaren driver ending up on 1m42.130s.
That time, which came on soft-compound Pirelli tyres, was significantly only 0.148 seconds faster than he managed on medium rubber.
While Hamilton's team-mate Jenson Button and Red Bull's Mark Webber were going second and third fastest, 0.290s and 0.613s adrift of the 2008 world champion respectively, Vettel was sat in the pits and looking unlikely to take to the track.
The double world champion's Red Bull mechanics were seen working busily on his RB8's braking system during the session, and completed the job to allow Vettel to take to the track with a little under five minutes of the hour remaining.
The German's only true flying lap - completed after the chequered flag had flown - put him third on the timesheets, 0.4s behind Hamilton. Significantly, he also managed to set the best time in sector two.
His lap knocked Webber back to fourth with Force India's Nico Hulkenberg fifth and Romain Grosjean sixth in the best of the Lotus cars, the Frenchman losing track time late on as his front brakes were bled in the pits.
Pastor Maldonado had a brief stint at the head of the times, but slipped back to seventh for Williams. Fernando Alonso, Vettel's closest threat for the world title, Kimi Raikkonen and Paul di Resta completed the top 10.
Raikkonen nearly collided with Webber right at the end of the session as the Red Bull, travelling slowly, turned sharply into the pits as the Lotus was closing in rapidly before the final corner.
The only other incidents of note came when Hamilton locked his right-front wheel with a few minutes remaining and ran off the track, missing Turns 4-5, and when Narain Karthikeyan ran wide at Turn 16 earlier on.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m42.130s 18 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m42.420s + 0.290s 17 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m42.614s + 0.484s 7 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m42.743s + 0.613s 18 5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m42.750s + 0.620s 19 6. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m43.015s + 0.885s 18 7. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m43.064s + 0.934s 19 8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m43.133s + 1.003s 15 9. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m43.184s + 1.054s 22 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m43.338s + 1.208s 19 11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m43.480s + 1.350s 17 12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m43.571s + 1.441s 20 13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m43.593s + 1.463s 20 14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m43.635s + 1.505s 19 15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m44.010s + 1.880s 22 16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m44.025s + 1.895s 18 17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m44.071s + 1.941s 19 18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m44.149s + 2.019s 19 19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m45.301s + 3.171s 22 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m45.879s + 3.749s 19 21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m46.036s + 3.906s 19 22. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m46.261s + 4.131s 22 23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m46.554s + 4.424s 20 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m47.032s + 4.902s 22 All timing unofficial
| By Jonathan Noble and Dieter Rencken | Friday, November 2nd 2012, 10:18 GMT |
Lotus boss Eric Boullier says he will finalise a fresh contract with Romain Grosjean as soon as he is convinced that the Frenchman is back to his best.
The Enstone-based outfit announced Kimi Raikkonen's contract extension earlier this week, but has not yet elected to sort out a fresh deal with Grosjean.
Boullier says that he wants to take a bit more time to evaluate Grosjean's recovery from his recent first-lap issues - but sees no reason why a deal will not be sorted out in the end.
Speaking to AUTOSPORT, Boullier said: "Obviously he impressed a lot of people by his speed and by the fact he had solid races and scored some podiums, which is not bad for a rookie season.
"But there is the story of his starts and the fact he had a race ban. So we are monitoring it very closely how he is recovering and getting back from this story.
"In Korea and India he did a great job, and this is the Romain Grosjean we expected to have. We would be more pleased if he had a better qualifying, but this is racing.
"So we will monitor it and when we are ready to go for a longer plan we will announce it. We are monitoring it on a day by day basis."
Grosjean said ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that he was relaxed about his contractual situation, and said that his confidence was slowly returning.
"I think the idea was to be conservative for one minute thirty, which is the first lap, and then just push as normal, like I did in Korea and India," he explained.
"I don't think it's going to change much my approach. If there's opportunities here I will go for it, but I won't try anything else."
| By Jamie O'Leary | Friday, November 2nd 2012, 10:32 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton headed Jenson Button as McLaren dominated the first free practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday morning.
Hamilton set his table-topping 1m43.285s lap with 25 of the 90 minutes remaining, and beat his countryman and team-mate by 0.333s, with title protagonists Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso third and fourth.
More than 35 minutes had elapsed when most of the drivers took to the track, surface temperatures having exceeded 45 degrees Celsius by that point.
Jean-Eric Vergne set the initial pace, and brought his marker down from 1m48.9s to 1m46.6s before Valtteri Bottas, Michael Schumacher and Alonso took turns at the top, the latter in 1m45.1s with 50 minutes gone.
Championship leader Vettel was the first driver to break into the 1m44s shortly afterwards, but his spell at the top lasted less than a minute as Hamilton took a lead he would not relinquish.
Button improved his time before the end of the session as Hamilton experimented with a number of different fuel settings during the final half-hour.
Vettel ended up third, despite the double world champion running wide at Turn 16 after getting his Red Bull crossed up on the kerb at the corner's entry.
Ferrari driver Alonso, who had dropped to sixth, set his best time in the final minute of the session to climb back up to fourth, ahead of Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and Michael Schumacher's Mercedes.
Pastor Maldonado and Nico Rosberg completed the top eight while Bottas was the best of the test drivers in action in his Williams. He was ninth overall, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus.
Sauber driver Sergio Perez had a scary moment at the pit entrance with 12 minutes to go. Attempting to simulate a full-speed, race entry, the Mexican ran wide as he turned right and was forced to drive over the run-off area and back onto the race track to avoid contact with the barrier.
Heikki Kovalainen was the only one of the Caterham drivers to set a time as Giedo van der Garde spent the session in the garage as his team tried to rectify an engine installation issue.
Marussia's Max Chilton did get out though, to undertake a series of aero tests in his maiden F1 practice outing.
His team-mate Timo Glock, 20th, suffered a series of lock-ups and wide moments. He lost a potentially strong laptime with 25 minutes left when he was impeded by Schumacher's Mercedes under braking for the left-hander at the end of the main straight.
He communicated his annoyance with a waved hand, but immediately saw Schumacher pull off the track and gesturing a wave of his own in the Marussia's direction by way of apology.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.285 20 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.618s + 0.333 18 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m44.050s + 0.765 21 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m44.366s + 1.081 20 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m44.542s + 1.257 21 6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m44.694s + 1.409 21 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m45.194s + 1.909 19 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m45.347s + 2.062 24 9. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m45.347s + 2.062 23 10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m45.422s + 2.137 15 11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m45.567s + 2.282 23 12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m45.587s + 2.302 18 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m45.722s + 2.437 19 14. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m45.743s + 2.458 19 15. Jules Bianchi Force India-Mercedes 1m45.769s + 2.484 21 16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m45.811s + 2.526 21 17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m46.649s + 3.364 22 18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m46.708s + 3.423 24 19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m47.418s + 4.133 22 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m47.891s + 4.606 19 21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m48.354s + 5.069 21 22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m48.887s + 5.602 21 23. Ma Qing Hua HRT-Cosworth 1m50.487s + 7.202 20 24. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault no time 3 All Timing Unofficial
| By Jonathan Noble and Dieter Rencken | Friday, November 2nd 2012, 11:15 GMT |
Sauber is convinced that the arrival of Nico Hulkenberg next year will be a big boost to the team in allowing it to fully capitalise on the performance of its car.
Although Sauber has delivered four podium finishes this year, it has also seen other strong results slip from its grasp.
Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn believes that Hulkenberg's experience both before and in F1 should help the team make more of its opportunities, which will be vital for constructors' championship positions.
"Nico is a very strong driver," explained Kaltenborn. "He has been so far very successful in the series he has driven before F1, and he won all of them.
"If you look at this year he has shown how fast he is and especially how efficient he is, because every time there was an opportunity open up, he has got the points home.
"I think that is something we have not done on some occasions this year, and we hope with him we can utilise the potential of our car better than this year."
Although Kaltenborn did not go as far as criticising Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi for not having delivered all that the car was capable of, she did drop a firm hint that perhaps the outfit needed more experienced men in the cockpit.
"I don't think one should criticise the drivers for that because they are inexperienced and you cannot reproach them for that," she said. "It is a fact how long they have been in F1 and you cannot compare them to drivers who are five or six years in the sport - that is part of the deal.
"It shows even more when you have a car that is so competitive that it is not easy for a young driver to handle, so I would not say it is any way a criticism.
"As a team we have to say that there have been occasions when we could have done things differently and should have got points home. But we know we have those drivers, so maybe we should have prepared them in a different way.
"It is too easy to blame it on the drivers, which is not right, but we have to take the mistake as a team mistake, and try to correct it - which we are trying to address with this kind of a driver."
| By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, November 1st 2012, 11:07 GMT |
Paul di Resta believes Nico Hulkenberg would have been better off staying at Force India rather than leaving to drive for Sauber.
After weeks of speculation about his future, Hulkenberg was confirmed as a Sauber driver for the 2013 season on Wednesday.
Force India team-mate di Resta admitted he was surprised by Hulkenberg's decision, as he doubts Sauber is a step up from his current team.
"I was surprised that Nico left this team, to be fair, for an immediate competitor," said di Resta in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
"I don't see it as being a step up, to be perfectly honest. I see it as an equal kind of status.
"Long term where you see this team is going, I think it is probably better [at Force India]."
Although Sauber is ahead of Force India in the standings this year, di Resta feels his team has been more consistent in its performances over past seasons.
"They [Sauber] have had a couple of remarkable results, and I am not going to deny that. But in terms of consistency, we have got a lot. It may be different.
"Next year may be different, and I don't know the full reasons why Nico has gone there."
Although the Scot admitted recently that he was disappointed he had not been picked by a top team for next season, he said he was happy to stay at Force India, which he reckons it is still growing.
"There is progression, and the way this team is structured and going forward, I am content where I am."
AUTOSPORT says...
By AUTOSPORT F1 editor Edd Straw
While Nico Hulkenberg's move from Force India to Sauber, which is just one place higher in the constructors' championship, appears superficially to be a sideways one, it would have been a far easier decision to make than he suggests, despite Paul di Resta's scepticism.
For a start, Sauber is a more 'complete' team with a better-equipped factory. That means that its ultimate potential is greater than Force India's, even though the Silverstone-based team is continually developing better facilities.
Then there's the fact that Sauber has gradually been on an impressive upward curve since BMW's pull-out. But for Sergio Perez's mistake late in the Malaysian Grand Prix, it would have a win to its name this year.
Then there's the Ferrari factor. Despite missing out on a possible switch either to the Scuderia or McLaren, Hulkenberg knows that he still has a long-term future with a top team.
Ferrari's influence at Sauber will mean that it can monitor his progress very closely, while the prospect of fighting for podiums, rather than the odd fourth, fifth or sixth place at Force India, means that he can show his ability to other top teams as well.
Hulkenberg knows how good he is and by moving to Sauber, he has probably taken one step sideways to go two or three forward in the long run.
| By Matt Beer | Thursday, November 1st 2012, 11:25 GMT |
The Indian Grand Prix's dearth of excitement was a one-off due to a misjudged DRS zone, reckons McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe.
Last weekend's Buddh race was one of the least exciting rounds of what has been a largely entertaining 2012 Formula 1 season.
While Red Bull's domination and the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres has been blamed, Lowe believes if the DRS zone had been positioned differently, fans would still have seen plenty of overtaking.
The FIA extended the Buddh DRS zone for this season. The race included 26 overtaking manoeuvres in total, but also cars trapped in traffic for some time.
McLaren's Jenson Button spent part of the middle of the race unable to overtake Romain Grosjean's Lotus, which was on a different strategy, while Grosjean's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was held up by Felipe Massa's slower Ferrari for most of the afternoon.
"Generally it has been quite an exciting season but I suppose in terms of overtaking the DRS seemed particularly ineffective there," said Lowe in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes teleconference.
"Several people were stuck behind slower cars for a long time. Kimi was probably the most extreme example.
"When you saw Lewis [Hamilton] at the end trying to overtake [Mark] Webber, it seemed to be you could close up but then through the corner sequence you'd lose out again, so you never got quite close enough again.
"There's something about that particular track's DRS that we need to investigate. We've seen a lot of circuits where it worked very well. I think it's specific to that circuit."
While Lowe believes that there is no fundamental reason why F1's current package of DRS, KERS and Pirelli's compounds cannot generate action later in the season, he warned that this weekend's Abu Dhabi GP might also be relatively tame.
"Let's see how this event goes," he cautioned. "Abu Dhabi has been one of the more difficult circuits [for overtaking] even with DRS.
"If [a lack of overtaking] happens again, it doesn't discount my theory, as I'd say this circuit is also quite difficult for DRS."
| By Matt Beer | Thursday, November 1st 2012, 11:35 GMT |
McLaren can stop worrying about championship points and just push for a string of wins in the final races of the 2012 Formula 1 season, says its technical director Paddy Lowe.
With the Woking team now 101 points behind constructors' championship leader Red Bull with 129 available before the end of the campaign, and Ferrari ahead of it in second place, McLaren's title hopes appear all but dead.
It is also drifting out of contention in the drivers' championship race. Lewis Hamilton's only hope is to win the next three events and count on Sebastian Vettel not scoring again, while Jenson Button is now too far behind to become champion.
Speaking in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes teleconference, Lowe said the team could now forget about championship mathematics and just try to win every race and see where it ends up.
"We'll still go out to try and win all of the last three races," he promised.
"Realistically the championship is now very difficult, but of course we won't give up yet.
"And the best way of not giving up is to say we'll keep trying to win races and get both our guys on the podium.
"If it pops out at the end that's we've won the championship because we've achieved that [three wins] and others have had problems, that will be fantastic."
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said earlier this week that McLaren's drift out of championship contention made it all the more determined to end 2012 in style.
"We have underperformed in the couple of races coming [to India], so the motivation is very high," he said.
"You can sense it in Lewis, you can sense it is everyone in the team. We want to go out and win some more races before the end of this year. That is what we will focus on."
