FORMULA 1 - 2012

[MIKA27]

Sutil withdraws GBH appeal

Adrian Sutil has withdrawn his appeal against the guilty verdict for causing grievous bodily harm, saying he wants to close the door on the matter.

In January, Sutil was found guilty of stabbing Lotus's Eric Lux in the neck with a champagne glass during an incident at a Shanghai nightclub in 2011.

Although the former Force India driver avoided bail, he was put on probation for 18 months and hit with a hefty fine.

Sutil appealed the ruling, however, two months later has decided rather to let the matter rest.

"I am very happy that I have been able to express myself to Eric Lux and don't have to go to trial again," Sutil told Bild.

"I don't want to again go through a year like this last one.

"I am finished with the topic and want to return as quickly as possible to what I do best: race in Formula One."

Sutil's manager Manfred Zimmermann added: "We are pleased that Eric Lux and Adrian have spoken and that this topic is now closed.

"From now on we will concentrate on the sport and do everything to see that Adrian gets back in Formula One as quickly as possible."

[MIKA27]

Perez chasing 'big team' dream

With rumours of a pending move to Ferrari refusing to die down, Sergio Perez says he wants a title-winning car within "two or three" years.

The 22-year-old has been the talk of Formula One since the Malaysian Grand Prix where he finished second in the tricky wet conditions, losing out to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Perez's brilliant performance coupled with Felipe Massa's dismal outing immediately had the rumour-mill saying he could replace the Brazilian at Ferrari. And that he could even do it during the course of this season.

The rumours have been downplayed by all with Perez saying that he intends seeing out this season with Sauber.

That, however, doesn't mean he doesn't want a join a Championship-winning team in the not-too-distant future.

"In the future my goal is to be in a big team and to be fighting for victories," Perez told NDTV.

"The most important thing is having a car that gives me the chance to win races."

The Mexican's success at Sepang has led to comparisons in Latin American between himself and triple World Champ Ayrton Senna.

"It makes me proud that people compare me to someone like Senna, but I've still got a lot to do in my career to receive that kind of praise," Perez said.

"I believe that in two or three years I will be fighting for the World Championship."

[MIKA27]

F1 2012 - Sauber Ferrari - Dive into the world of motorsports (Season trailer)

MIKA: I love this trailer, nice slow motion captured video.

[MIKA27]

Formula 1 comes to America! - David Coulthardt & Red Bull Racing takes first lap in Texas:

Saddle up as the Red Bull Racing team and the F1 showcar gets chased by cowboys on the ranch and goes off-road onto the under-construction Circuit of the Americas track.

MIKA: Another brilliant video here with one of my favourite drivers, David Coulthardt!

[MIKA27]

F1: Vettel not in trouble, Marko insists

Dr Helmut Marko has denied reports Sebastian Vettel was summoned to Red Bull's headquarters this week to explain his behaviour at the recent Malaysian grand prix.

The Narain Karthikeyan-saga aside, reports suggested the German deliberately ignored his bosses' instruction that he retire his RB8 - ostensibly due to a brake issue - so that he could fit a new gearbox without penalty in China.

The reports suggested Vettel had confessed immediately after the race that he heard the instruction but chose to ignore it.

"That is all nonsense," Red Bull's motor racing consultant Marko told Sport Bild.

"Sebastian did nothing - absolutely nothing - that was against our wishes."

Marko said Vettel's visit to Milton Keynes this week was scheduled long ago, adding that he will be working inside the driver simulator amongst other things.

He also hit back at claims the 24-year-old could be penalised by the FIA for breaching the code of conduct when he showed the 'middle finger' to Karthikeyan.

"The matter was resolved during the meeting with the stewards (in Malaysia). For me, the case is closed."

Speaking to Kolner Express newspaper, however, an FIA spokesman confirmed that the code of conduct forbids superlicense holders from insulting their rivals.

But he added: "I imagine the application of this paragraph was considered by the stewards in Malaysia."

And Sebastian Vettel's spokeswoman said: "We know of no investigation."

MIKA: Sebastian....... BEWARE, 'The Eye!'

[MIKA27]

F1: No Mercedes talks with Hamilton - Haug

Norbert Haug has dismissed reports linking Lewis Hamilton with a switch to Mercedes for 2013.

With the 2008 world champion's McLaren contract expiring, speculation had linked Briton Hamilton with the race seat currently occupied by Michael Schumacher.

"I can dismiss that speculation out of hand, as it was only ever conjured by putting two and two together," the German marque's Haug told Sport Bild.

"Lewis was and is a Mercedes man," added the competition director, "but there are no agreements or conversations in that direction.

"At the moment we have one interest only -- making our car as fast and reliable as possible, and then we'll see where we stand.

"Only then will we talk to Michael about a possible extension," said Haug.

[MIKA27]

Maldonado: Knocking on the door of points

Pastor Maldonado is targeting a top five result finish in China, confident that his first points of the season are close at hand.

Discounting the final two laps of this year's grands prix, Maldonado has had a great start to the Championship, running inside the top ten in both Australia and Malaysia.

But instead of netting points he has suffered two retirements.

The Williams driver spun out in Australia when he was chasing down Fernando Alonso for fifth place while in Malaysia he suffered an engine problem on lap 55, dropping him out of the points.

Maldonado, though, is refusing to let his lack of points get to him, confident that he can and will achieve a solid result at the next race in China.

"I think with a good strategy we can be among the top five," he told Venezuelan state channel VTV.

"We're there at the door of the points.

"A little luck is all that separated us from those points but we are working very hard and eventually we will be fighting for top positions."

He added: "We are focusing on the weaknesses of the car to attack and already, for the coming races, to incorporate innovations that will improve on our weaknesses."

[MIKA27]

Pressure mounts to cancel Bahrain

Pressure is mounting on F1 to cancel this month's Bahrain GP after demonstrators protested against the race resulting in clashes with the police.

On Sunday, dozens of protesters demonstrated in the streets of two Shia villages, Abu Saiba and Tubli. Police reportedly fired tear gas on the crowds and arrested demonstrators.

The protests were aimed specifically against the April 22nd Bahrain GP, which F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is insisting will go ahead.

According to Aljazeera, a youth dressed in a white death shroud and a black hood was filmed reading a statement that said: "We (object to) holding a sports race that belittles the sacrifices of our children and ignores our suffering and wounds.

"Do not tarnish the reputation of the respected auto sport with the blood of Bahrain victims."

Demonstrators have also been using Twitter to get their message across with a campaign devoted to seeing the Formula One grand prix cancelled.

"Stop, my blood is flowing" and "Race over blood" were two slogans posted on Twitter while hash-tags saying "BloodyF1" and "NoF1" are also being used.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that one protester was killed this weekend when, according to his cousin, he was shot when "militia members in an unmarked car opened fire on him."

[MIKA27]

HRT FILLS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR ROLE FROM WITHIN:

The HRT team has finally filled the void left by Geoff Willis following the Briton's departure to Mercedes towards the end of last year by promoting chief race and test engineer Toni Cuquerella to the role of technical director.

Cuquerella has been with the team since its turbulent early days as Campos in late 2009, the 38-year-old Spaniard having previously worked in F1 circles as a race engineer at Super Aguri before joining BMW Sauber, where he was engineer to Robert Kubica.

Under his new role he will continue to lead the team's engineering direction at the race track, but with the wider remit also be charged with overseeing a programme of improvements for the F112 as the team look to centralise design and development after the 2012 challenger was put together by the German Holzer Engineering firm in Munich and the team's chief of aerodynamics Stephane Chosse under the supervision of Jacky Eeckelaert.

Cuquerella said of his new position and his initial remit: "The role of Technical Director implies a great amount of responsibility in terms of coordination and decision making. That's why I'm very proud that the management considers me to be the most adequate person to carry it out.

"Until now there was a lot of dispersion from within the technical team and that had its repercussions in the concept and quality of the F112. My priority is to solve the current car's problems to then develop it to its maximum potential, whilst also unifying and expanding the technical department, but I'm confident that we have a good work base and a clear direction to advance and have a good project for the future."

Since the team's second takeover by Thesan Capital mid-way through last year the new ownership has sought to create a clearer Spanish identity at the squad, with Luis-Perez Sala taking over from Colin Kolles as team principal, the veteran Pedro de la Rosa being hired to drive alongside Narain Karthikeyan and the move to new headquarters in Madrid underway. The latest reorganisation again heavily compromised the team's pre-season efforts and, after conducting just a brief shakedown with the F112, failed to qualify first time out in Australia, before making the 107% cut in Malaysia.

[MIKA27]

F1 BUDGET CAP BACK ON THE AGENDA, BUT TOP TEAMS STILL SET AGAINST IT:

Over the past couple of weeks the majority of F1 teams have reached commercial agreements with Bernie Ecclestone to stay in the sport until 2020. Next will come a process by which other details of the next Concorde Agreement will be generated.

One of the most important aspects of securing a stable sport will be agreeing the best method of cost control going forward. Ecclestone has been pushing recently the thorny subject of budget caps and it's interesting to note that on the official F1 site today, Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn endorses the idea.

Kaltenborn says that the Resource Restriction Agreement, which was put in place by the teams at the end of 2008 when the economic crisis hit and which ultimately led to the break up of the F1 Teams' Association, because of disagreements over it, has served its purpose to this point. But she added that it's not the right tool for the next step,

"We now have to evolve it to the next step, and in my view the future should indeed lie in some kind of budget cap under which each and every team could do what they want to, because we all have different strengths," she said. "Looking at our team, for example, we have a good infrastructure and a good wind tunnel, so it would allow us to benefit from that. Others have other assets.

"Overall I think it would make Formula 1 more interesting as it would also mean that we would all use different strategies and take different approaches to the business and the sport."

Of course different approaches are what we have at the moment anyway, with Ferrari a completely different type of business from Red Bull Racing, which in turn is different from Sauber. And for this reason it's very tricky to square the circle and find a 'one size fits all' cost control mechanism.

What is interesting about Kaltenborn's interjection here is that Sauber is politically very close to Ferrari always has been and yet is pedalling an idea that is very much against Ferrari's interests. Ferrari was so against the budget cap idea when it was put forward by then FIA president Max Mosley in 2009, that it was prepared to breakaway from the sport rather than accept it. Part of that was Mosley's methodology and it's worth noting that this time around the agreement of the majority of teams has been reached with hardly any fuss or polemics, which team bosses tell me, has a lot to do with Mosley not being part of the process.

Ferrari does not agree with budget caps because of the difficulties inherent in policing them and because a cap is hard to define. The larger teams are always going to push back on the budget cap idea because they have invested heavily to become bigger and that's where their competitive advantage comes from.

Kaltenborn's wider point is that the big teams need to think beyond themselves and remember that without the midfield teams the spectacle of the sport would be greatly diminished. It's an interesting moment to raise this point because the commercial rights holder has now reached agreements with most of the F1 teams, with the exception, as I understand it of Mercedes and a couple of the smaller teams. So those who are in, are in it for quite a long time and their income has increased under the new deals. Whether or not they can be sustainable and even profitable is down to cost control. Mercedes are important to the sport for a couple of reasons; they bring prestige as one of the world's leading car brands since the invention of the internal combustion engine (which they had a hand in) and as a supplier of engines to a quarter of the grid.

"I think by now even the big teams should appreciate that Formula One with four teams would not be overwhelmingly attractive to fans," said the Sauber boss. "That would be a very wrong message. So my hope and I have to say that most of them have already supported the RRA and have now signalled that they would give their support to taking the next step is that something is happening very soon."

The discussions on the best way forward are ongoing. Ideally it would be good to have a way forward agreed for the start of the 2013 season.

There is some support for focussing spending limits on the 'tangible' elements, like the number of updates each team may make per year, but Red Bull believe that the RRA ultimately failed because of the impossibility of measuring 'intangible' things, like how much support a manufacturer backed team gets from the manufacturers's off-site resources.

Putting the RRA into a new structure whereby it is managed by a third party and subject to arbitration in the event of dispute is the logical next step it's being discussed now and one that sounds like it is agreeable to Ferrari, but Red Bull and its sister team Toro Rosso need some persuading.

A budget cap remains a step too far; however much the midfield and backmarker teams might want it.

MIKA: I am totally against budget caps myself. The way I look at it and it's very clichet, if you can't afford to be in F1, you should get out.

I do not agree with the statement that "without the midfield teams the spectacle of the sport would be greatly diminished". Teams such as Marousia, HRT and the like perform poorly, then in turn, I believe it degrades the sport. There will always be manufacturers and other teams looking to get into F1 and in the end, there are only 3 podiums in every race so there will always be runners up no matter if all teams spent the same or not. If you have all the teams being of a higher quality in design, engineering, racing pedigree, this sport will be better off than compared to the likes of HRT ruining it. Just my two cents worth.

[MIKA27]

'Ferrari wanted Button to replace Massa'

Jenson Button reportedly had an "offer" from Ferrari last season to leave McLaren and replace Felipe Massa at the Italian stable.

Having won the World title in 2009 with Brawn GP, Button was linked to a role with Ferrari.

However, instead the Brit opted to sign a two-year deal with McLaren which included an option for a third, 2012.

That, though, didn't seem to dampen Ferrari's interest with reports in the Brazilian media claiming he was approached by the Italian stable last season when they were looking for someone to replace the under-fire Massa.

But instead of swapping over, Button opted to commit his long-term future to McLaren.

Asked to comment on the report, Button told Estadao Esportes: "I was happy to see that my work is appreciated. I heard what some teams had to offer me."

[OZCUBAN]

  On 4/3/2012 at 1:37 AM, MIKA27 said:

F1 BUDGET CAP BACK ON THE AGENDA, BUT TOP TEAMS STILL SET AGAINST IT:

Over the past couple of weeks the majority of F1 teams have reached commercial agreements with Bernie Ecclestone to stay in the sport until 2020. Next will come a process by which other details of the next Concorde Agreement will be generated.

One of the most important aspects of securing a stable sport will be agreeing the best method of cost control going forward. Ecclestone has been pushing recently the thorny subject of budget caps and it's interesting to note that on the official F1 site today, Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn endorses the idea.

Kaltenborn says that the Resource Restriction Agreement, which was put in place by the teams at the end of 2008 when the economic crisis hit and which ultimately led to the break up of the F1 Teams' Association, because of disagreements over it, has served its purpose to this point. But she added that it's not the right tool for the next step,

"We now have to evolve it to the next step, and in my view the future should indeed lie in some kind of budget cap under which each and every team could do what they want to, because we all have different strengths," she said. "Looking at our team, for example, we have a good infrastructure and a good wind tunnel, so it would allow us to benefit from that. Others have other assets.

"Overall I think it would make Formula 1 more interesting as it would also mean that we would all use different strategies and take different approaches to the business and the sport."

Of course different approaches are what we have at the moment anyway, with Ferrari a completely different type of business from Red Bull Racing, which in turn is different from Sauber. And for this reason it's very tricky to square the circle and find a 'one size fits all' cost control mechanism.

What is interesting about Kaltenborn's interjection here is that Sauber is politically very close to Ferrari – always has been – and yet is pedalling an idea that is very much against Ferrari's interests. Ferrari was so against the budget cap idea when it was put forward by then FIA president Max Mosley in 2009, that it was prepared to breakaway from the sport rather than accept it. Part of that was Mosley's methodology – and it's worth noting that this time around the agreement of the majority of teams has been reached with hardly any fuss or polemics, which team bosses tell me, has a lot to do with Mosley not being part of the process.

Ferrari does not agree with budget caps because of the difficulties inherent in policing them and because a cap is hard to define. The larger teams are always going to push back on the budget cap idea because they have invested heavily to become bigger and that's where their competitive advantage comes from.

Kaltenborn's wider point is that the big teams need to think beyond themselves and remember that without the midfield teams the spectacle of the sport would be greatly diminished. It's an interesting moment to raise this point because the commercial rights holder has now reached agreements with most of the F1 teams, with the exception, as I understand it of Mercedes and a couple of the smaller teams. So those who are in, are in it for quite a long time and their income has increased under the new deals. Whether or not they can be sustainable and even profitable is down to cost control. Mercedes are important to the sport for a couple of reasons; they bring prestige as one of the world's leading car brands since the invention of the internal combustion engine (which they had a hand in) and as a supplier of engines to a quarter of the grid.

"I think by now even the big teams should appreciate that Formula One with four teams would not be overwhelmingly attractive to fans," said the Sauber boss. "That would be a very wrong message. So my hope – and I have to say that most of them have already supported the RRA and have now signalled that they would give their support to taking the next step – is that something is happening very soon."

The discussions on the best way forward are ongoing. Ideally it would be good to have a way forward agreed for the start of the 2013 season.

There is some support for focussing spending limits on the 'tangible' elements, like the number of updates each team may make per year, but Red Bull believe that the RRA ultimately failed because of the impossibility of measuring 'intangible' things, like how much support a manufacturer backed team gets from the manufacturers's off-site resources.

Putting the RRA into a new structure whereby it is managed by a third party and subject to arbitration in the event of dispute is the logical next step – it's being discussed now – and one that sounds like it is agreeable to Ferrari, but Red Bull and its sister team Toro Rosso need some persuading.

A budget cap remains a step too far; however much the midfield and backmarker teams might want it.

MIKA: I am totally against budget caps myself. The way I look at it and it's very clichet, if you can't afford to be in F1, you should get out.

I do not agree with the statement that "without the midfield teams the spectacle of the sport would be greatly diminished". Teams such as Marousia, HRT and the like perform poorly, then in turn, I believe it degrades the sport. There will always be manufacturers and other teams looking to get into F1 and in the end, there are only 3 podiums in every race so there will always be runners up no matter if all teams spent the same or not. If you have all the teams being of a higher quality in design, engineering, racing pedigree, this sport will be better off than compared to the likes of HRT ruining it. Just my two cents worth.

I am in total agreement Mika well said "If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen"

OZ

[MIKA27]

Lotus chasing third in development race

Lotus' trackside operations director Alan Permane is confident that his team's E20 has race pace, they just need a "normal" Sunday afternoon to show it.

Lotus has been one of the top teams in qualifying this season with Romain Grosjean third on the grid in Australia and Kimi Raikkonen qualifying P5 in Malaysia before he was hit with a gearbox penalty.

The team's race results, though, have yet to match their Saturday afternoon performances.

Grosjean retired on lap 1 in Australia and was involved in another first lap incident in Malaysia while Raikkonen, who has been suffering with steering problems, was seventh and fifth in the two races.

"It would be nice to have a straightforward race with no penalties, and no crashes from Romain after the first couple of corners," Permane told Autosport.

"I think it is McLaren and Red Bull Racing at the front, and then I think we are there.

"I know Mercedes were third on the grid in Malaysia, but their race pace is nothing special.

"We saw (Nico) Rosberg pit for some new inters in Malaysia when we were racing him, and I thought we were going to be in trouble there. But his pace was then the same, if not worse than ours. Mercedes will get on top of it, but at the moment their race pace isn't a threat.

"And although Ferrari did a great job in the race in Malaysia, if they are going to be qualifying 10th or 12th, while we are third and fifth and a second ahead of them in qualifying, it is going to make a difference.

"It will not take them long to improve, and they will throw everything that have got at it, but we have got stuff coming as well.

"It's going to be a good battle. To be in a development race with them, Red Bull Racing and McLaren - who are proper big boys - means it will take everything we've got to stay with them."

As for claims that Lotus are lacking in race pace when compared to their speed over a single flying lap in qualifying, Parmane said: "In qualifying trim we've shown our car is good. We could have been on the front row, or even right at the front, with Kimi in Malaysia.

"On race pace it is more difficult to say, because we haven't seen it, but there is no reason to think it won't be good. All through testing the car has looked easy on the tyres, and if you have the raw pace then you just need to put the fuel in and go.

"We won't see that though until we get a normal race. So we just want to qualify both cars in the top ten, have no penalties, no gearbox problems, no crashes at the first few corners and then have a good dry race. Hopefully in China we can do that."

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen has mixed emotions after two races

Kimi Raikkonen has mixed emotions after two races with Lotus, admitting that on one hand the start has been encouraging, but on the other it's been frustrating.

The Finn made his return to Formula 1 with the Enstone based outfit in Australia in March, but a qualifying mix-up meant he started a lowly 18th before climbing to seventh.

The next race in Malaysia was a little more straight forward on Saturday with Raikkonen managing fifth, but a five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox, then torrential rain during the race has masked his and the E20's true pace.

"I think we've got off to an encouraging start," said the 32-year-old, "[but] it's been frustrating sometimes with the chassis issues in testing, the qualifying mix-up in Australia and the gearbox change in Malaysia, but we've shown we can deal with any problems and come back stronger."

Raikkonen is hoping for some better luck in the next few races as he's confident the car has the potential to challenge the front-runners.

"It feels like I've never been away; the team has done a good job and I'm working well with them which makes things easier," he added. "The car feels good and we clearly have the pace to be at the front; we just need some better luck."

The 2007 world champion believes the atmosphere within the Lotus team has helped him to feel more at home than in previous years, allowing him to focus on racing.

"I'm still the same person as I was before," he said. "Maybe people see me as more relaxed, which I think is down to the team. It's a different atmosphere to what I've experienced before; everyone is very open and laid back but at the same time they work extremely hard and pay a lot of attention to detail.

"I feel comfortable here which helps me to focus on racing; I guess that's why people seem to think I'm a different person, but I'm just as focused and motivated as before."

[MIKA27]

Final decision on Mercedes F-duct in China

The questions surrounding Mercedes F-duct are likely to come to a close during the weekend of the Chinese Grand Prix.

The FIA's technical delegate Charlie Whiting is expected to give his final assessment of the DRS activated F-duct which feeds air through two openings in the rear-wing, revealed when the DRS is active, which is then channeled to the front-wing, stalling it and increasing the cars top-speed.

Despite the FIA claiming it completely passive, therefore legal, it's believed three other teams have joined Red Bull and Lotus in wanting the concept banned on the grounds that it is driver activated.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, speaking to Sky Sports F1, hopes to draw a line under the saga in a fortnight, but couldn't guarantee that his team wouldn't protest the decision if Whiting agrees with the governing body's original stance.

"Charlie Whiting, the [FIA] technical delegate, has been taking it all into consideration and there were several discussions with him over the [Malaysian GP] weekend," said Horner. "I think he wanted to have a think about it and of course we'll respect his position when he makes that clear to us in China.

"Then the teams are faced with alternatives. Either accept it and get on it and maybe look at your own solution if that fits your car. You've got the opportunity to protest if we were to feel, or any other team were to feel, that we didn't agree with Charlie's interpretation."

Horner said Red Bull would only start working on their own version of the Mercedes pioneered system if it were deemed 100% legal.

"As with all devices like this it's how it interacts with the rest of the car. Of course I'm sure all the designers certainly at the front end of the grid have been looking at how the device works, how you would incorporate it into your own design," he added.

"Before we pursue constructing parts and expense to it, for us it's quite important to know that, yes, it's going to be permissible for the rest of the year. And quite often we see technical clarifications come out that deem things to be not in compliance with the regulations."

[MIKA27]

Silverstone boosts capacity to meet demand

Silverstone has boosted its capacity by a further 3,500 seats to meet the demand of this years Britsh Grand Prix following a sell-out race last season.Two new grandstands - the Luffield Complex Grandstand and the Silverstone Grandstand - have been constructed to boost the circuits total capacity to over 125,000.

Sales of tickest for this years race are already up by 10 per cent on the same period in 2011, with the strong showing from McLaren drivers Lewis Hamiltion and Jenson Button the likely cause.

"We had fantastic crowds on all three days of last year's British Grand Prix and interest in this year's event has been even higher," said the circuit's managing director Richard Phillips.

"Increasing our capacity will enable even more fans to experience the spectacle, excitement and drama of Formula One at Silverstone.

"We pride ourselves on striving to provide the best experience for fans – with grandstands and General Admission areas offering exceptional views of the track, first class spectator facilities and a host of exhilarating off-track entertainment, the fans can expect another fantastic three days at this year's British Grand Prix."

[rckymtn22]

  On 4/3/2012 at 1:40 AM, OzCuban said:

I am in total agreement Mika well said "If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen"

OZ

I am going disagree. The 2nd/3rd level teams help feed drivers to the top level teams. If there is only 3-4 teams in F1 the series will slowly disappear or become irrelevant. Look at Indy racing.

[MIKA27]

F1: 'New' HRT not in third F1 season - Gracia

Martin Brundle has admitted he is surprised HRT is still struggling so much at the start of its third season in formula one.

Better known then as 'Hispania', the Spanish team was founded by Adrian Campos after former FIA president Max Mosley opened up three new places in pitlane for the start of the 2010 season.

But last year, the team's second group of owners - the Carabante family - passed the baton yet again to Thesan Capital, who have rebuilt HRT in the wake of the management and infrastructure that was brought by former boss Colin Kolles.

Even so, the highly respected British commentator and former grand prix veteran Martin Brundle is surprised that Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan are struggling so much with the team's Cosworth-powered 2012 car.

"Somebody's got to be at the front, somebody's got to be at the back," the Briton told the BBC motoring programme Top Gear's website.

"(But) the HRT is particularly poor at the moment, and it confuses me why in year three it's worse than it was in year one."

Carlos Gracia, an FIA vice-president and head of Spain's motor racing federation, doesn't fully agree.

Speaking to the sports newspaper Marca, he explained that veteran de la Rosa faces a "handicap" as the Spaniard races with HRT this year.

"He knows where he is; in a brand new team, although some people believe it is their third year.

"They have begun again, but it seems that they are in a situation where they have only just started and yet they have to clean up the image of the other years.

"That's his handicap, but the team will have credibility because of Pedro and also because of a good business investment," added Gracia.

MIKA:

[MIKA27]

  On 4/3/2012 at 1:53 AM, rckymtn22 said:

I am going disagree. The 2nd/3rd level teams help feed drivers to the top level teams. If there is only 3-4 teams in F1 the series will slowly disappear or become irrelevant. Look at Indy racing.

Yes but who said only have 3 or 4 teams?

My argument is to have teams like HRT (Who are underperforming by large) replaced with other teams who are waiting to move into F1 and there are quite a few showing interest.

I too enjoy many teams competing BUT teams that are worthy of being in this sport. HRT have had three years and they are nOt improving, actually seem like they are becomming worse.

I do not see the likes of HRT being in the same 'Class' as Formula 1 but more like GP2 and GP3 NOT F1. Every sport that exists have differing grades and classes that one can compete in, but not necessarily up to Olympic standard or in this case, Formula 1 standards. This is what I am trying to express.

[MIKA27]

Whitmarsh happy with MP4-27 improvements

Determined to stay ahead of the pack as the Formula One circus heads to China, McLaren have made a number of improvements to their MP4-27.

The Woking squad appear to be the team to beat, especially in qualifying, after they locked out the front row of the grid in both Australia and Malaysia and claimed a 1-3 finish in Melbourne.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh, though, is the first to admit that McLaren - who will be gunning for their 150th pole in Shanghai - can't rest on their laurels as all the teams will continue to develop their cars ahead of the next race.

"A 150th pole for the team would be a great result but a lot of things can happen before then," he told Sky Sports News.

"China comes after a three-week gap and all of the teams will be pressing to improve their cars, including ourselves, and it's as simple as that: if someone has improved their car more than us then they could come out of the box even quicker than us in China."

The McLaren boss added that they are "quite happy" with the changes they have made to the car since the Malaysian GP last Sunday.

"We're not complacent. We have to improve our car, we have to find performance improvements - and fortunately we have," he said.

"Whether they are enough, remains to be seen, but I think we are quite happy with the programme we have put together."

[MIKA27]

Supersofts to make 2012 bow in Monaco

Pirelli has confirmed its tyre compound selection for the next three grands prix in Bahrain, Spain and Monaco.

The medium (white) and soft (yellow) tyres will be used at the Bahrain Grand Prix while the silver-banded hard tyres and softs will be available for the race at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The Monte Carlo Grand Prix will see the Italian manufacturer's red supersofts on display for the first time this year and it will be used alongside the softs to maximise the grip available on the slow and twisty street circuit.

"Our nominations this year are designed to push the envelope of performance, as can be seen from our latest choices," said Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery.

"Only the supersoft tyre is the same compound as last year: the other compounds are softer and therefore faster, designed to encourage closer racing as well as a wider variety of strategies."

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Barrichello advises Massa to 'enjoy racing'

Rubens Barrichello has advised his good friend and fellow countryman Felipe Massa, to refocus and remember why he races.

Massa has struggled to match the performance of his team-mate Fernando Alonso since the Spaniard joined the team in 2010.

The Brazilian hasn't been on the podium since the 2010 Korean GP and is yet to score a single point in the previous two races, compared to Alonso who leads the championship with 35.

This has prompted fans to call for the 30-year-old to be replaced, but F1 veteran Barrichello says Massa should remember why he races and he'll soon return to his previous form.

"It isn't a speed problem, it's something that he has to solve himself," Barrichello told GloboSport.com. "He has to close his eyes, enjoy himself and remember that he is doing this because he likes it.

"All of the times when I lost myself a little bit, I had forgotten that and reminded myself that I am doing this because I like it too. So we have to relax - and then we can improve. It's just a moment, and every moment in Formula 1 is a cycle of life," he added.

"Ferrari has a love for Alonso, because he is one of the best, if not the best in F1. So, Felipe has a tough hurdle to overcome."

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F1: KERS unlikely for HRT in 2012 - Sala

HRT's team boss has admitted installing KERS is an unlikely goal for the struggling Spanish team this year.

Luis Perez Sala said the new F112 was designed to accommodate the energy-recovery technology, but qualifying comfortably within the 107 per cent rule is a better target for now."We have a car we are yet to discover," he told El Confidencial.

Indeed, HRT travelled to Australia last month having hardly run its new Cosworth-powered car, and failed to qualify for the season opener.

"It is designed to carry KERS but in the short term we will not (use it). We don't think we're going to race with it this year," he added.

"So, in this respect, it's not perfect. Right now, we have assembled the car in a hurry and so the private testing at Mugello, just after Bahrain, will be very important to us."

Sala, having rebuilt HRT following the departure of team boss Colin Kolles, was speaking from HRT's new headquarters at the Caja Magica (Magic Box).

"After Bahrain, we will have the cars here. From the Spanish grand prix, we will begin to function more effectively.

"In China and Bahrain we will improve things in the car and the team, but it is a slow process that will last all year.

"As I sit here (in Madrid), some people are in Valencia, others in Germany, England ... the cars are flying to China and we need to address issues of reliability, not just performance."

It is a tough situation for HRT, but Sala concedes that the 'paddock perception' of the team is that it has gone backwards since debuting in 2010.

"It is really our first year," he insists.

He reveals that Bernie Ecclestone, once a staunch critic of the struggling backmarkers, is "quiet".

"We have not had any problems, I think he is calm," said Sala.

It is also a busy time off the track for HRT, as many rival teams are busily signing the new Concorde Agreement for 2013.

"There are teams that are more advanced than others; for us, the negotiations are still at the beginning," he said.

The most obvious goals right now, Sala insists, are to have "a team that works together, has a reliable car and a small team that can develop it, and we're around 105pc off the pole".

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F1: Pecking order could change again in Europe - Sauber

With the pecking-order still not entirely clear after two races, it could be set to change all over again in the near future.

That is the view of Peter Sauber, the Hinwil based team's owner and boss who witnessed his Mexican driver Sergio Perez display almost race-winning form at Sepang recently with the impressive new C31 car.

He argues that the real key to 2012 is ongoing car development.

"The decisive factor of course is how quickly can the teams develop their cars," he wrote in his column for the Swiss newspaper Blick.

"Most will have small improvements in the next two races in China and Bahrain, before the major development stages are triggered for the start of the European season in Barcelona.

"Then, the balance of power could change," said Sauber.

Currently fourth in the constructors' championship, Sauber has after just two races in 2012 already scored almost 70 per cent of the final points tallies collected by the formerly BMW-owned team in the past two seasons.

But not only Sauber has been impressive, so too has almost the entire field of 2012.

"The quality in formula one has never been as great as it is today," he said. "If you don't get everything right in qualifying, you lose a number of positions.

"Also, the midfield has moved significantly closer to the front, which can mean an unusually mixed order on the grid," said Sauber.

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Sauber says qualifying improvement now key to maintaining podium form

Sauber is targeting a much-needed improvement to its qualifying pace for the Chinese Grand Prix, so it can capitalise on the kind of race form that helped Sergio Perez challenge for victory in Malaysia.

The Swiss outfit is confident that its C31 has the speed to deliver more podium finishes this year, but it feels its chances of doing that will be compromised if it cannot get its drivers nearer the front of the grid.

Sauber's chief designer Matt Morris thinks the team has made gains in qualifying pace since last year, but reckons there is still room for improvement - which is why changes will come for the next race at Shanghai.

"I think we have a better balance between qualifying and the race, but we still need to find more performance in qualifying because we are not qualifying where the pace of the car is," he told AUTOSPORT. "That is something that we accept and are concentrating on now."

Morris said the team was working hard on both set-up tweaks that will help bring its tyres into a better performance window, as well as car upgrades.

"There are lots of things you can do in terms of set-up," he said. "There are also some parts that we will bring to Shanghai to test, as it will be a lot cooler there than it was in Malaysia.

"Clearly we have a competitive car, and we have to keep the momentum up now. We need to push on and score some more points because to have what we have already got after the first two races is a dream start for us."

And with Morris believing that the Malaysia circuit with its long straights did not play to the strengths of the C31, he reckons there are grounds to feel confident about what can be achieved at venues that will be better for his car.

"It is very circuit dependent and, with our car, the layout of Malaysia was not best suited to it," he said. "So to come away from there with what we came away with was great. To be competitive there bodes well.

"It was a great effort from the team, and the guys back at the factory. We knew in Melbourne that we have a competitive car this year, and we can build on this. We need to put more performance on the car and continue to score more points and podiums."

Sauber is planning a big development upgrade for its car for the Spanish Grand Prix, as well as further tweaks to its DRS to help its overtaking potential.