FORMULA 1 - 2012

[MIKA27]

well no team in particular, I've always rooted for the british and canadian drivers. so this year i'm a mclaren guy since they have two brits on the team.

I like your thinking and McLaren are a great team to go for. Especially Jensen Button, one of the best drivers in the field, was very underrated a few years back but is now one of the most respected.

[MIKA27]

Paul di Resta happy despite low-key start to F1 testing at Barcelona

Paul di Resta is not concerned about Force India's low-key start to the final pre-season test in Barcelona.The Scot completed 98 laps today, winding out the final session seventh fastest with a best of 1m24.395s, one second behind chart-topper Romain Grosjean.

But di Resta has no concerns about not being closer to the top of the timesheets, claiming that the data gathered from today - particularly during this afternoon's longer runs – will be crucial for the team to push for more performance later in the test.

"I think [our feeling] is relatively positive," he said. "We cleared all of our objectives today. It's the first day of four, at the last test, so I suppose there is a lot of correlation on this day.

"[We had] some new bits on the car [to] see how they perform, and to get an idea ahead of what the main focus should be, which is performance, and set-up direction – which we'll head into tomorrow."

Nico Hulkenberg will take over running of the VJM05 tomorrow, with di Resta expecting the car to look more competitive when he jumps back in on Saturday.

"I'm out of the car tomorrow, Nico is taking the seat, but I'll be back in the car for day three and hopefully there will be another step forward," he added.

"But I think we're on an upward slope, so as long as that progression continues, from what we can see around about us, we should be relatively clear."

[riazp]

I want to see mercedes do well though. always loved schumi and nico is a great driver as well.

[MIKA27]

I want to see mercedes do well though. always loved schumi and nico is a great driver as well.

Hopefully good things will eventuate for the team this season. Fingers crossed!!

[MIKA27]

Red Bull and McLaren very close - Brundle

Formula One pundit and former driver Martin Brundle believes it's close between Red Bull and McLaren as to which has the fastest car.Brundle spent Thursday watching the cars trackside and whilst Red Bull impressed, he is of the opinion that they won't enjoy the dominance they did at the start of the 2011 season.

"The teams are doing a lot of long runs with high fuels so I don't think the absolute lap times are that important, but I have to say I've had a couple of hours right beside the race-track this afternoon and the McLaren is looking very good," he told Sky Sports.

"The Red Bull looks good, like the McLaren, but it is not glued to the track like it was last year," he added. "You can see Mark Webber working quite hard at the wheel so I can understand why some of my mates in the paddock, who I would trust to tell me about these sort of things, are saying it's looking really close. The Red Bull doesn't look head and shoulders above the other cars like it did, say, in the second half of last year."

Whilst last years champions and runner up are impressing, Brundle isn't so sure about Ferrari who, according to him, is still getting to grips with its car, the F2012.

"The Ferrari looks a bit of a handful, especially when it's coming out of a corner trying to put the power down. Instead of doing long runs, like the Red Bull and McLaren, they are still trying to sort their car. There's time yet, and they will put a lot of new parts on before Melbourne, and it doesn't look as bad as the McLaren did last year, but they've got some issues - there's no doubt about it."

[MIKA27]

Rubens Barrichello commits to full IndyCar season with KV Racing

Rubens Barrichello will race full-time in the IndyCar Series with KV Racing in 2012, it was announced on Thursday.

The most experienced driver in Formula 1 history will contest the full season - including ovals - driving the #8 entry for the team co-owned by 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser.

"I am thrilled, it is something very new to me," Barrichello said. "I need to thank everyone involved, especially Tony [Kanaan] because he has been involved for a long time.

"I will start as a rookie, but I think I will get better as the year progresses. My main thing is to be an addition to the team.

"They have been doing very well and Tony brought them to a different level last year, so I hope with my contribution we can build on this and take the team to another level. I am extremely happy and have a big smile on my face."

KV also confirmed that Kanaan, who joined from Andretti Autosport ahead of the 2011 season, will remain with the team for the next two years.

"I am very excited to be returning to KV Racing Technology not only with a two year deal but also to have Rubens as my team-mate," Kanaan said.

"We have always dreamed about racing together but never imagined it would actually happen and certainly not in the near future or in Indycars."

Team co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven added: "I was at Sebring when Rubens first got into an Indycar. The smile when he got out of the car was a great moment and lasted for three days.

"Teamed with his 'brother' Tony Kanaan this is going to be an exciting season for the drivers, the team and the fans."

Barrichello has tested several times for KV in recent weeks, most recently at Sears Point last weekend. On the final day of running, his best lap was 0.9s adrift of the pace set by Penske's Will Power.

[MIKA27]

Schumi: Merc suffering tyre degradation

Michael Schumacher has revealed that Mercedes are not getting the same mileage from their Pirelli tyres as many of their rivals achieve.

Last season, Mercedes also failed to get the most out of their Pirelli tyres and it appears as if this is a problem that has continued with this year's W03.

In action at Barcelona on Friday, Schumacher posted his best time of the day at the start of an eight-lap stint. However, according to reports, by the end of the run his times had dropped off by almost four seconds.

"The best is if you have (no degradation)," he told Autosport.

"Everybody has some. I don't know where we are compared to the others, but I have seen some can do better. So, certainly, we can improve."

Schumacher's efforts on Friday where also hampered by stoppages, two of which where caused by the seven-time World Champ.

"It was a bit of a slow start in the morning," he said.

"We stopped twice ourselves, and had other red flag issues, but the afternoon was straightforward. We made most of the work we needed to do, so it's okay."

[MIKA27]

Red Bull's 'new' RB8 makes its debut

Red Bull's new-look RB8, which features a heavily revised exhaust, put in its first laps at Barcelona on Saturday with Mark Webber behind the wheel.

Such is the difference in this car to the one that was out on track on Friday, the Red Bull opted to fly out a new chassis rather than attempt to fit all the new parts on the old one.

The car features a revised exhaust, similar to that of Sauber, as well as a new front wing to name just two notable differences.

"We've had our first glimpse of the new parts on the Red Bull and it's effectively a completely new car," technical analyst Gary Anderson told BBC Sport.

"The chassis is the same, I'm sure, but there's a new front wing and a completely redesigned underfloor and coke-bottle area at the back.

"The exhaust exits are fairly far forward but there is a down-feeding duct behind them and an inlet on the top of the floor. It seems they're trying to get the exhaust flow down into that inlet to feed the diffuser.

"The first impressions are that the Red Bull is a really nicely detailed car - there are ducts and bits and pieces everywhere. It's a very complicated bodywork set-up and it will take some more looking at to understand what's going on."

[MIKA27]

Button laments lost track time

Jenson Button was left to rue a hydraulic issue that cost him vital time out on track on the penultimate day of pre-season testing.

On a day when McLaren introduced several new parts for their MP4-27, the amount of time spent out on track was drastically reduced by a hydraulic problem during the morning's session.

The problem was further compounded late in the afternoon when it began to rain with just over an hour of play left.

And although Button only managed 44 laps, he was at least quick, finishing the day in second place, just 0.009s off the pace.

"When you get new parts, you want to go out and put lots of laps on it in order to compare it to what you had previously - but we weren't able to do that today. We had a hydraulics issue in the morning, which meant we didn't do much running.

"So it wasn't the easiest morning - and then we didn't do much running in the afternoon either because of the rain. We put a couple of good laps in but didn't get any set-up work done - because of the rain.

"It was nice to drive the new package, and I have a good feeling about it, but I need to work with it for a bit longer to find the right balance for it.

"Hopefully, Lewis will put some more laps on the car tomorrow."

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen: At least we got some runs

A power steering problem that necessitated a steering rack change have been blamed for Kimi Raikkonen's aborted track-time on Saturday.

In action on the second last day of pre-season testing, Raikkonen had hoped to make the most of his time behind the wheel of the E20 especially after the team were forced to cancel last week's outing due to chassis issues.

But, it was not to be.

The Finn managed just 17 laps in the morning with the team revealing that he was having troubles with his steering column while out on track in the afternoon, he added just 26 laps to his tally before the rain came down.

Raikkonen finished the day last on the timesheets, 3.285s off the pace but still managed to find the positives.

"It was good to get in the E20 after missing testing last week," he said.

"We had an issue with the power steering in the morning then we didn't run in the wet, so it was quite a short time for me in the car today.

"At least we got some runs.

"The car was reliable when on track meaning we gained some good data for the team. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow and we can complete more laps."

[MIKA27]

Webber: Not massively different

Mark Webber has downplayed Red Bull's dramatic changes to their RB8, saying the car still feels very much the same.

On Saturday, the penultimate day of pre-season testing, Red Bull introduced a host of upgrades for their RB8, which included a new front wing and a new exhaust layout.

Webber was the driver behind the wheel for the day and covered 70 laps in the revised car.

Asked by Autosport whether the car felt different, the Aussie said: "Not massively to be honest.

"A few changes but not massively different, and we got through our normal programme.

"There are a few more things coming tomorrow, but nothing drastic. We will just keep working away."

The Red Bull racer also downplayed his 1:22.662, which despite being only 0.568s off the pace, put him down in eighth place.

"It is important for us to keep focusing on the programme here," he said. "It is impossible to know what other people are doing, and there are clearly some very, very fast teams out there.

"Everyone today was in the 1m22s so that is not hanging around at Barcelona these days. So there are a lot of quick teams, a lot of fast cars and we need to continue to work hard.

"People can talk all they want about us but until we are at the top of the time sheets we have work to do. So there is still a long way to go."

[MIKA27]

Perez shines as the rain falls

Sergio Perez was assured of a P1 finish to Saturday's penultimate day of testing as the rain came down at Barcelona in the final hour.

The Sauber driver worked his way to the top of the timesheets half an hour before the lunch-break, clocking a 1:22.094 on the soft Pirelli tyres.

And while it was Daniel Ricciardo who challenged Perez for the P1 slot ahead of lunch, it was Jenson Button who did so at the end of the day's play.

The McLaren driver had a slow start, completing just 17 laps with a best time of 1:23.409 as a hydraulic issue sidelined him for much of the morning.

But, out on track after the break, Button came to the fore, taking second place, just 0.009s behind Perez. The McLaren driver, though, only managed a total of 44 laps the entire day.

Ricciardo dropped to third, finishing ahead of Felipe Massa. The Ferrari driver was 0,319s off the pace having set his best time during a short-distance run during the morning's session.

Swapping to a race distance in the afternoon, Massa covered 122 laps on Saturday.

Paul di Rest was fifth quickest ahead of Bruno Senna while Heikki Kovalainen had a great day for Caterham as he brought his CT01 home in seventh place, just over half a second off the pace.

Mark Webber, driving Red Bull's heavily revised RB8, was eighth, 0.568s down. The Aussie amassed only 70 laps and only once completed a run of more than five laps.

Nico Rosberg in ninth place was under a second off the pace while the same cannot be said of Kimi Raikkonen. With steering column problems hampering his day, he finished last, three seconds off the pace and with only 43 laps under his belt.

The day's play, though, was interuptted late in the afternoon when the rain came down with an hour remaining. Most drivers did opt to test Pirellis intermediate and wet tyres.

[MIKA27]

FRANK WILLIAMS: ANOTHER STAGE CLOSER TO HANDING OVER THE TEAM

Sir Frank Williams, who oversaw the eight world constructors’ championships for his team between 1980 and 1997, has taken another step back with the announcement Friday that he is to step down from the board of the team he founded.

This highly phased process follows on from his partner Patrick Head withdrawing from the F1 team at the end of last year.

Williams, who will be 70 years old next month, described it as “the next stage in the gradual, but inevitable process of handing over the reins”. He remains team principal for the moment, but that will surely change at some point too.

Williams is the last of the “old guard” team principals, like Ron Dennis, Jean Todt and Flavio Briatore, all of whom have moved on from running F1 teams.

At the same time, Williams’ daughter Claire has been promoted to the board. Claire has worked her way up through the business, mainly in the communications side and she now takes over the critical responsibility for sponsorship, media and communications. She will also represent the Williams’ family’s interests on the board. Her father is still a 51% shareholder, even if Head has now sold the majority of his shares via last year’s flotation.

Adam Parr, Williams chairman said, “Claire will be accountable for acquiring new partners for the Williams F1 Team as well as continuing to be responsible for ensuring effective communication about the team and the Group as a whole.”

That’s a very significant responsibility; one that has been handled recently by Dominic Reilly, who’s leaving the team to set up his own business. Although there are indications that his business will work alongside Williams in some areas.

“This is an opportune moment,” said Sir Frank. “For me to consider my own role in the team. I turn 70 in April and I have decided to signal the next stage in the gradual but inevitable process of handing over the reins to the next generation by stepping down from the Board at the end of this month. This is not as dramatic a move as it may appear: I shall continue to work full-time as Team Principal and I shall continue to attend all Board meetings as observer".

[MIKA27]

F1: Pirelli completes nearly 50,000 kilometres of testing

The accent was placed firmly on tyre strategy preparation for the first Grand Prix of the year in just two weeks' time, as pre-season testing finished in Barcelona today - with nearly 50,000 kilometres completed after three tests. With the season just about to begin, the teams have now completed 48,987 kilometres on all of Pirelli's 2012 compounds - which have been specifically designed for the latest Formula One regulations - throughout 12 days of testing at Jerez and Barcelona. The rain that fell on the third day of the Barcelona test meant that the teams were able to try out the Cinturato Green intermediate tyre and Cinturato Blue full wet tyre for the first time.

In Barcelona - also the venue for the previous four-day test last week - the teams covered a total of 16,775 kilometres and 3674 laps, with the fastest time set on the last day by Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen: 1m22.030s, using P Zero Yellow soft tyres.

This was three-tenths of a second faster than the quickest time set at the previous Barcelona test. Several different parameters are assessed during testing, making it hard to draw a direct comparison, but the emphasis in Barcelona over the last four days was firmly on race preparation.

A key part of preparing for the races is understanding fully how the latest P Zero tyres behave with the new cars. A car that is kind to its tyres has more flexibility when it comes to race strategy, which can give a decisive advantage. With the cars heading to Australia straight after the Barcelona test, the teams concentrated on longer runs and race simulations, particularly during the warmer and more stable conditions of the afternoon. The teams also took the opportunity to practice pit stops, which can win or lose a race.

Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery said: "The teams and ourselves focussed on gathering as much information as possible for the first race of the season at this final test in Barcelona. We saw long runs and race simulations over all four days, concentrating mostly on the P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero White medium compounds, although it was good that we were finally able to get some running on the wet weather tyres as well.

The teams are rapidly extending and refining their knowledge of our 2012 tyres, seeing how long they can make them last over the course of race simulations, both on full and lighter fuel tanks. This is going to be key to the strategy in Australia. The feedback we've had remains very positive: the drivers like the grip that our new tyres generate, which is improved from last year, and they are also pleased by the way that the tyre's behaviour has become more linear and predictable. However much you test though there is no substitute for actual racing, which is why we're all now looking forward to seeing the real picture emerge in Australia."

TESTING FACTS:

Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen are the only drivers to have gone fastest on two days of testing in 2012. Each fastest time during the other days of testing this year has been set by different drivers: Schumacher, Rosberg, Alonso, Vettel, Hulkenberg, Maldonado, Kobayashi and Perez.

The P Zero Yellow soft tyre set the fastest time during all four days of the test. Along with the P Zero White medium, this is the nominated tyre for the first race of the year in Australia.

The driver to complete the most laps at Barcelona was Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes who did 257 laps (the equivalent of 1196 kilometres).

The driver who has completed the most laps of combined testing at Jerez and Barcelona is also Rosberg, who has driven 2996 kilometres in total. The driver who has done the least distance is Force India's Jules Bianchi, who has completed 213 kilometres.

In addition to the official testing dates, teams are allowed a filming day restricted to 100 kilometres. Pirelli supplies demonstration tyres for these purposes, which are a different specification to the race tyres and not designed for speed.

Testing numbers:

Total number of sets brought to Barcelona: 360 sets which equals 1440 tyres

Of which Supersoft tyres: 38 sets

Of which Soft tyres: 94 sets

Of which Medium tyres: 114 sets

Of which Hard tyres: 69 sets

Of which Intermediate tyres: 31 sets

Of which Wet tyres: 14 sets

Total amount of sets used: 301

Of which Supersoft tyres: 22 sets

Of which Soft tyres: 100 sets

Of which Medium tyres: 111 sets

Of which Hard tyres: 58 sets

Of which Intermediate tyres: 6 sets

Of which Wet tyres: 4 sets

Longest run:

27 laps on the Hard compound

21 laps on the Medium compound

18 laps on the Soft compound

7 laps on the Supersoft compound

Highest / lowest ambient temperature over four days: 7 °C / 23 °C

Highest / lowest track temperature over four days: 7 °C / 30 °C

Tyre summary:

Day 11. Grosjean 1'23"252 on Soft New

2. Button 1'23"510 on Soft New

3. Perez 1'23"820 on Medium New

Day 21. Grosjean 1'22''614 on Soft New

2. Vergne 1'23''126 on Soft New

3. Vettel 1'23''361 on Medium New

Day 3 1. Perez 1'22''094 on Soft New

2. Button 1'22''103 on Soft New

3. Ricciardo 1'22''155 on Supersoft New

Day 41. Raikkonen 1'22"030 on Soft New

2. Alonso 1'22"250 on Soft New

3. Senna 1'22"296 on Soft New

[MIKA27]

F1: Raikkonen leads the way for Lotus on final testing day at Barcelona

Yesterday, on the final day of pre-season testing for the FIA Formula One World Championship, Lotus was again fastest as Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheets with a lap of 1m22.030s, and also set the fastest time overall recorded during the last two Barcelona tests this week and last week. In total Lotus led the way on four test days, Raikkonen was also fastest during the first day in Jerez, while Romain Grosjean dominated the first two days of this week’s testing at Barcelona. Second today was Fernando Alonso who ended just 0.220s behind the Finn, after completing 115 laps. Bruno Senna was third, but he had already set his time in the morning session, and had to hand over the Williams to Pastor Maldonado in the afternoon.

Senna was positive after the last test day of the year, “We had a productive morning completing a number of tyre tests and aero runs. It has been interesting to see the car developing. Overall we've had a good few days of running here in Barcelona. We are still improving, but I feel we are in a solid position to go to Australia.”

Business as usual in the morning at the Circuit the Catalunya, no fog or rain, a clear blue sky and a warm dry track was awaiting the drivers for the final pre-season test day of the year. Early pace-setters were Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Hulkenberg, Kobayashi recorded a time of 1m24.922s on the medium Pirellis. Hulkenberg took second place in the Force India with a lap of 1m26.701s, but he moved to third place as Daniel Ricciardo took possession of first place after putting a lap of 1m24.727s on the clock just 30 minutes into the morning session.

Also out early was Senna, who shared duties with Maldonado today, the Williams was again on unmarked tyres which made it difficult to make a correct assessment of the lap times. Hamilton was keen to go faster in the McLaren and took over first position, but not for long as others soon joined the hunt for first spot.

Raikkonen lost a lot of track time the day prior when he encountered a problem with the power steering of the Lotus E20, but today the Iceman was happy with his car and quickly moved to second position at the time on the medium Pirellis. Soon lap times went down into the 1m22s, the time to beat was Perez’ lap of 1m22.094s, which he recorded yesterday on the medium rubber compound. Just before the lunch break Raikkonen put his Lotus on top of the time sheets with a lap of 1m22.030s on the softs, also finally beating Perez’ record.

Caterham’s Vitaly Petrov had complained about his seat and the position of the pedals earlier this week, but with a new custom made seat the Russian finally felt comfortable in the car. After some 43 laps in the morning he ended up on seventh place, just behind Lewis Hamilton, but ahead of Michael Schumacher in the Mercedes.

Caterham’s Mike Gascoyne commented, “Both drivers have made the sort of progress we targeted, particularly Vitaly who had his proper race seat today and is starting to find a balance he can really use. We still have some work to do to help him optimise the braking system, but that is about fine tuning his setup and I am sure we can have that ready for him in Melbourne.”

Also a busy morning for Alonso and Ferrari, the Spanish driver completed many laps again with multiple stints on the soft and medium tyres, as well as practicing pit stops and standing starts, much to the delight of his fans who were watching him from the grandstands.

McLaren was another team to play catch-up today, they also lost a lot of valuable track time yesterday, hydraulic problems had hampered Jenson Button’s progress and it was now up to Hamilton to gather the much needed data, the 2008 Champion finished 60 laps on the Barcelona circuit before the chequered flag signaled the end of the morning test session.

The morning action ended with Raikkonen on top of the time table, he was followed by Alonso, Senna, Hulkenberg, Kobayashi, Hamilton, Petrov, Schumacher, Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, who was last for Red Bull, he had only completed 15 laps before the lunch break.

Again testing new parts was the priority today, and like yesterday, Red Bull tried to hide the rear of the car, especially the exhausts area, with tailor-made covers and umbrellas every time it entered or left the garage. Red Bull designer Adrian Newey was apparently impressed with the exhaust configuration of the Sauber, and had quickly designed a similar one for the Red Bull RB08.

When the green flags were waved to mark the start of the afternoon session, Schumacher was quickly out for a five-lap run on the softs to test the degradation and to record the accompanying drop of lap times.

Most teams were out on the circuit to test simulation race conditions with long runs and pit stops for new tyres, changing from soft to medium, and back to the softs again. Raikkonen and Alonso were also lapping the circuit, Alonso was recording consistent times on the softs.

Big question before the first race in Melbourne is the position of Ferrari, the team from Maranello has been very hush-hush about their progress, if they made any, and have consistently kept their drivers out of the spotlight, no interviews with the media, and a lot of meaningless information on the Ferrari website.

“It’s going to be difficult,” is what Alonso recently said, “We have a lot of work ahead us”, is what Technical Director Pat Fry said yesterday, and Felipe Massa has been busy denying the rumors he had already been ditched by his team, but nothing at all about the current status of the Reds. Not unusual, but this time Ferrari has kept a total radio silence when it comes to giving an evaluation of their test programme, and not one word on where the team expects to be when the season kicks off in two weeks time.

It was also very silent in the Red Bull garage, with only 90 minutes to go the "by Newey" designed machine was still stationary in the garage, and no sign of Vettel who was supposed to put in a lot more laps than Webber did yesterday. Soon the news emerged, Vettel’s car had a faulty gearbox which had to be replaced, on top of that he had already earlier in the morning destroyed a new front wing which really didn’t help him either.

At the same time red flags were waved for the first time, as Kobayashi’s Sauber was spotted at the exit of Turn 4, there was no damage to the car and after marshals had removed it 15 minutes later, the green flag was shown again.

Looking at the number of laps, the order with just 75 minutes to go was: Hamilton, who had completed 108 laps, followed by Raikkonen (101), Alonso (96), Hulkenberg (86), Petrov (80), Ricciardo (78), Schumacher (77), Kobayashi (72), Senna (53) and Maldonado (20), the latter two did not drive all day. But still on 11th and last place was Vettel, who was still waiting in the garage to start his 16th lap.

With just one hour to go the morning lap times had not been improved, and there was still no sign of the Red Bull or its driver, this time the team didn’t need any covers or umbrellas to hide the tail end of the car, as it was still well-hidden in the garage.

Schumacher, Alonso, Raikkonen and Maldonado were able to put in the test laps they needed, and continued making long stints during the rest of the afternoon. With just 20 minutes left on the clock the red flag came out again, Petrov had left the track at Turn 4 and his Caterham CT01 had stopped just before the barrier.

There was not much time left for a long stint, perhaps there was enough time left for a quick dash for first place on today’s rankings, but the temperature of the track had already dropped and there were no fresh soft tyres available, nevertheless Alonso could give it a try as he was just 0.220s behind leader Raikkonen.

But Vettel was the first to go out with just seven minutes to go but the 2010 and 2011 Champion couldn’t really do much and couldn’t even improve his fastest time of the morning session. Soon the others joined him, Raikkonen tried the super softs but these were, according to Pirelli, even slower than the softs here in Barcelona, so the order remained the same as in the morning, Raikkonen was first, Alonso second and Senna in the Williams was third.

As said, a complete disaster for Red Bull, only 23 laps were completed, and not even all the umbrellas and covers could hide the frustrations of the Austrian team. "I'd love to be able to say more about today, but this morning I had an issue, I went off track and broke the front wing and had to come in," said Vettel.

And he added, “"Summing up, I think that with testing you always have something you'd run differently but you have to accept what you get. There aren't many years you can give yourself a 10 out of 10, because it's likely that things break or you stop for precautionary reasons. Overall, though, I think we can be quite happy with how we've done this time.”

[MIKA27]

Ferrari ruling out podiums in early races

Ferrari's technical director Pat Fry doesn't believe the F2012 will be fighting for podium finishes in the opening few races.

The former McLaren designer, who joined Ferrari at the end of the 2010 season, admits the outfit has a lot of work on its hands before the opening race of the season.

When asked if he thought podium finishes were out of reach for now, he replied: "At the moment, I'd say yes. But I suppose I'm always slightly pessimistic.

"I am disappointed by our performance level at the moment," added Fry. "I think we've got a lot of work to do. We've obviously still got a lot of work going on at the factory and we'll have new bits to test in Melbourne."

Fry acknowledges that the times have been hard to read without knowing what their rivals are doing in regards to fuel loads, but going on historic data, he's sure the F2012 isn't a frontrunner yet.

"Testing is always hard to see exactly where you are," he continued. "We knew historically what fuel levels people have run, so we've got an idea where they are, but if they've changed what they've done for the last two or three years, I could either be depressed, more disappointed or less disappointed, I don't know."

[MIKA27]

Schumi: Merc are well prepared

Michael Schumacher is confident that Mercedes will head to Australia in the best shape possible but how that compares to his rivals he isn't saying.

The seven-time World Champ wrapped up the final day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday, concentrating on set-up runs and aerodynamic evaluations.

Covering exactly 100 laps on the final day, Schumacher's best time was a 1:22.939, which put him within a second of the P1 time.

And although that also put him eighth out of the 11 drivers in action, Schumacher says he's happy with the progress made during the final test.

"After four intensive days of testing this week, we are soon heading to Australia and it's really time for the season to start," said Schumacher.

"We are very happy with all the work we have been able to achieve, covering a lot of kilometres and learning a lot about our car which gives us a good basis to work from.

"The car felt good from the very beginning, and we have managed to improve it over the test days, so I think we can say that we are very well prepared.

"Again, what this means compared to our competitors is something I want only to go into after some races, as we all know that testing does not show everything.

"What we can say though is that the field is tighter than it has been, so we are looking forward to an exciting season."

[MIKA27]

'Sauber are looking fine'

Kamui Kobayashi reckons Sauber are in a good place ahead of the new season despite an engine problem robbing him on a final hour of running.Kobayashi was in action for Sauber on the 12th and final day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday.

The Japanese driver completed 72 laps with a best time of 1:22.386, which put him just 0.356s off the pace.

However, his running was cut short when an engine problem an hour and a half before the close of play forced him to stop out on track.

"My test programme for today had foreseen several longer breaks for changes to the car but of course not the early end because of the engine," he said.

"These things happen, but I am still happy with our achievements.

"We did a lot of work to learn about the huge variety of set-up and aero options the new car offers. We made progress and of course there is still room for improvement."

But, just moments after testing had concluded, Kobayashi's focus had already switched to the first race of the season, the Australian GP.

"Personally I have not found the perfect set-up for me yet, at least not for Barcelona; Melbourne might be a different story anyway.

"I think performance wise we are looking fine and our simulation work for racing was really good. I feel confident, well and fit - and I think we could race tomorrow if we had to."

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg 'pleased' with pre-season tests

As he gears up for his return to Formula One racing, Nico Hulkenberg says he's happy with Force India's progress during pre-season testing.

Hulkenberg was in action on the final day of testing, completing 101 laps as he embarked on a race weekend simulation.

However, the German's race distance was cut short when the red flags came out late in the day.

But despite losing some time, Hulkenberg, who finished fourth quickest, just 0.282s off the pace, is confident Force India have made steady progress.

"We managed to fit a lot and hopefully when we have been through all the data we will have learned a lot, too." Hulkenberg said.

"The race weekend simulation was useful, but unfortunately my race distance was cut short, so we will rely more on the data from Paul's run.

"We were also busy trying all the tyre compounds to learn more about tyre management and how to get the most from them."

He added: "You always want more time in the car, but I think we can be pleased with how our three tests have gone.

"We still need to find some more performance because the whole grid looks very close and competitive, and I expect the grid in Melbourne to be extremely tight."

[mikec]

Schumi: Merc are well prepared

Michael Schumacher is confident that Mercedes will head to Australia in the best shape possible but how that compares to his rivals he isn't saying.

The seven-time World Champ wrapped up the final day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday, concentrating on set-up runs and aerodynamic evaluations.

Covering exactly 100 laps on the final day, Schumacher's best time was a 1:22.939, which put him within a second of the P1 time.

And although that also put him eighth out of the 11 drivers in action, Schumacher says he's happy with the progress made during the final test.

"After four intensive days of testing this week, we are soon heading to Australia and it's really time for the season to start," said Schumacher.

"We are very happy with all the work we have been able to achieve, covering a lot of kilometres and learning a lot about our car which gives us a good basis to work from.

"The car felt good from the very beginning, and we have managed to improve it over the test days, so I think we can say that we are very well prepared.

"Again, what this means compared to our competitors is something I want only to go into after some races, as we all know that testing does not show everything.

"What we can say though is that the field is tighter than it has been, so we are looking forward to an exciting season."

I think Merc are as ready as they are going to be and I also still believe that they are sandbagging to a certain extent. There's just too much good feeling coming from this camp which makes me suspect they are on to something. I do believe they will win a race or two but that will be the extent of Mercs 2012 season and that's fine with me. If Michael doesn't win a race this year I think he will retire and Hamilton will take his seat in 2013 unless the Macca have an incredible season this year which is quite possible. Look for Lotus and Kimi to WIN in the first few outings then slide back to the battle for best of the rest. Ferrari are once again in big trouble and look for them to introduce a B spec car by Monaco. Now what I would like to know is what you think Mika of the general order of affairs here and a list of how the teams stand in your humble opinion.

[MIKA27]

mikec I think Merc are as ready as they are going to be and I also still believe that they are sandbagging to a certain extent. There's just too much good feeling coming from this camp which makes me suspect they are on to something. I do believe they will win a race or two but that will be the extent of Mercs 2012 season and that's fine with me. If Michael doesn't win a race this year I think he will retire and Hamilton will take his seat in 2013 unless the Macca have an incredible season this year which is quite possible. Look for Lotus and Kimi to WIN in the first few outings then slide back to the battle for best of the rest. Ferrari are once again in big trouble and look for them to introduce a B spec car by Monaco. Now what I would like to know is what you think Mika of the general order of affairs here and a list of how the teams stand in your humble opinion.

Hi Mike.

Well I myself am no expert but a fan and I think the most seasoned people in F1 can never quite accurately guess what the order of affairs, the winners and losers will be in F1 because we have seen so much change in the sport over the years and the changes are not always for the better.

Looking at the teams and how well they have faired in testing, I would say the following will do well.

- RBR will undoubtedly be one of the top players in the field along with Jensen Button in the McLaren. (I have ruled out Hamilton only because of his immature form and attitude the past couple seasons which has effected his racecraft BUT in saying this, if his new management team can help him focus, Hamilton will be a top challenger because the guy has great talent) Vettel and Webber will put up a great show, I hope Webber can return to his 2010 form!

- Watch out for the Lotus (Kimi) provided the car is reliable. Last season, Renault/Lotus was looking good and I believe this season they will be even better and will get some podiums) Kimi showed no evidence of being rusty.

- Mercedes do have a few tricks up their sleeve and I too think they will do exceptionally well this season. The car looks super reliable, Schumacher has commented on the rubber as being alot better this season and we all know that was his major complaint last season especially the rear tyres which he had trouble managing so fingers crossed Mercedes can bag some P1's and podiums in general to tally up the points and be in the running in the championship. Hopefuly Mercedes inovation will prevail! Will Schumacher extend his contract? As a fan I sure hope so but I think this will only happen if Mercedes provide a car that is able to challenge for race wins.

- Sauber (Koboyashi) and Force India will not only be midfielders BUT will also challenge for podium finishes, especially Force India who have been strong the past couple seasons. Force India will do VERY well.

- Ferrari may seem down at the moment, but I don't believe they will be out. Alonso has a way to bring out the most from what he's got so they may end up being midfielders to start with but come Europe, they'll be back.

- Do I need to say anything about HRT and Marusia??

This season is unique in that we will have 6 world champions and a field of cars that are pretty well matched in certain aspects. I can't wait to see the amazing duels between the world champions as well as some younger talent like Hulkenberg, Di resta, Grosjean, Maldonado and Senna.

[MIKA27]

F1: Mercedes ready to push top teams in 2012 - Lauda

Niki Lauda has tipped Mercedes to flirt with the top positions in 2012.After February's winter group tests, rivals and pundits are now assessing the likely pecking-order less than two weeks before the season opener in Australia.

"My feeling is that McLaren and Red Bull are almost equal," triple world champion Lauda told Austrian television ORF's Sport am Sonntag programme.

"The big positive surprise is Mercedes. They have chosen a different way," said the 63-year-old.

"The nose is relatively small, making the car look quite different to the others, because they have the (front wing innovation) F-duct.

"For me, it's the most innovative car, and it also looks to me as through the (F-duct) mechanism works very well."

Lauda said a strong Mercedes will be the first real test for Michael Schumacher since the great German returned to F1 in 2010.

"It's a very important year for him," he said, "because for the first time he and us will really know the answer to how he stands against Rosberg.

"Michael needs to prove to us all how good he really is -- which of course is difficult, since logically you do not get faster with age."

Meanwhile, Lauda agrees with speculation sweeping the F1 world about Ferrari's current pre-season crisis.

"They're behind, no doubt about it," said the Austrian. "The car is pretty unstable, slipping at the front as well -- I think they could be two or three tenths behind the top three.

"At the beginning of this year, that's quite a lot," explained Lauda.

"In Alonso they really have a top man, but if the car is too far behind then he can't do anything about it, especially as he has a not-so-strong teammate in Massa who is not going to push him."

[MIKA27]

F1: The HRT F112 covers its first kilometres at Montmeló

All the hard work has finally paid off today as the F112, the car with which HRT Formula 1 Team will compete this season, completed its first laps at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona.

Since the car passed the last crash test and was homologated, the team has carried out work shifts to cover 24 hours a day to make sure it could make it, for the first time in its history, to the first Grand Prix of the season having run previously.

The car was able to run after the team took advantage of one of the filming days available during the season.

The car made it to the circuit from Munich, Germany, just after one in the afternoon and the mechanics and engineers got straight down to business, working on relevant adjustments. It was a combined team effort, working against the clock, which saw its rewards four hours later when Narain Karthikeyan led the car out onto the track. Pedro de la Rosa, Dani Clos and Tonio Liuzzi were also present, as were Carlos Gracia, President of the Spanish Motorsports Federation and Salvador Servià, General Director of the Circuit de Catalunya.

The tests were carried out without any setbacks and the car carried out over ten laps. The team was able to check that the car functioned properly both from a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view as from a systems standpoint.

The team will prepare the necessary material in the upcoming days and head down under for the first Grand Prix of the season which will take place at Melbourne, Australia, in just two weeks.

Narain Karthikeyan:

"Today was a shakedown of the F112 and I have had the honour to be the first driver to test it. The first impressions are quite good; it's definitely a step up from last year. We couldn't do any set-up work or stuff like that but everything seems to be working fine and there are no major problems so we can look forward to the season now. Everyone has worked hard and the new team management has put everything together in a very short period of time. They've done a proper job with the car and I'm sure that it's a big step forward from last year, so hopefully we can take the competition to the teams we were fighting last year".

Pedro de la Rosa:

"Today has been a very special day because the car saw the light for the first time; Narain did some installation laps and then various times laps without any issues. This is very important, it might not seem like it, but any sort of mileage before Australia is vital to see that the car is in good conditions. From here it is our job to try and improve it and make it progress".

Luis Péres-Sala, Team Principal:

"I'm very satisfied today as it is a very important day for us because we were able to test some things out with the new car during this filming day. I'm very proud of each and every member of this team because everyone has contributed their little bit for this to be possible. Now we have to focus on Australia because we still have a lot ahead".

[MIKA27]

F1: Red Bull may revert to 'old' RB8 for Melbourne - report

Red Bull is considering taking the 'old' version of its new car to Melbourne for the 2012 season opener.That is the claim of Germany's authoritative Auto Motor und Sport magazine, after the radically updated model made a troubled debut late last week as the pre-season test period ended.

Rivals and pundits believe the reigning champions are still leading the field, but the latest Barcelona-spec car - featuring a significantly different exhaust layout - did not complete many laps.

Moreover, it also did not appear fast.

"When I watched Webber's long run on Saturday afternoon," said an engineer for a rival team, "it was nothing special -- not the laptimes nor the tyre wear."

Also unconvinced are the drivers, with Mark Webber saying the new car did not feel "massively different" to the earlier launch-version RB8.

Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, was dead last after just 23 laps on Sunday, and is quoted as saying: "It wouldn't be fair for me to judge the upgrades, so we have to rely on the data collected by Mark."

Another rival engineer said there is visual evidence that the exhaust gases on the revised layout "are not going where they (Red Bull) want them to go".

[MIKA27]

Marussia unveil & shakedown the MR01

Marussia unveiled their 2012 challenger, the MR01, at Silverstone on Monday as they looked to put some laps on the new car.Marusssia did not contest a single day of pre-season testing with their new car after failing to pass the mandatory FIA crash tests.

The team fell short of the mark, passing just 17 of the 18 tests. However, under this year's regulations, all cars must pass all the test before being permitted to run.

As a result, Marussia were forced to delay the new car's debut until Monday morning when they took the covers off at the Silverstone circuit.

The MR01 can, according to the team, 'best be described as a significant evolution of its predecessors.'

"We are very pleased to be running the new MR01 for the first time this morning," said team boss John Booth.

"It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team but we can now get back on track - literally - and start working towards the first race of the season in Australia next weekend.

"Today is the first of two promotional events, so while the drivers will be able to get a feel for the car, they won't be able to draw any real conclusions until we start running in anger in Melbourne.

"Nevertheless, this is an important day for us and we'll enjoy every minute on track with the new car."

Although Marussia may not run a full day of testing with the 2012 Pirelli tyres, they are permitted a shakedown using outdated Pirelli rubber.

Marussia have signed rookie driver Charles Pic as Timo Glock's 2012 team-mate.