FORMULA 1 - 2012

[MIKA27]

Ferrari deny Key reports

Ferrari have dismissed media speculation linking them with a move for former Sauber technical director James Key.

Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport, BBC Sport and Bild in Germany have all reported that the Scuderia are looking to add the 40-year-old Key to their technical department.

'Ferrari have approached former Sauber technical director James Key about taking a role with the team,' BBC Sport reported on Thursday.

However, the team have strongly rejected the claims with Luca Colajanni, the head of the Ferrari press office, telling Spain's AS that there is "nothing, nada, niente" to the report.

The team also denied the speculation on Twitter, simply stating 'It is not true...' when asked about the Key reports.

Key has been on the F1 sidelines since February after he left Sauber as part of the re-organisation of the team's technical department.

[MIKA27]

SUPERBRANDS FERRARI AND APPLE COME TOGETHER:

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo this week sat down with the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, for a two-hour meeting during a visit to the world famous Stanford University in California, where he was giving a lecture to students.

The heads of two of the world's most truly global brands came together for a lengthy discussion to chew the fat on their respective company's ideas and visions, as well as sharing insight on strategy and management styles.

Although the industries of racing and car production and consumer electronics and computers might seem far apart in many aspects, Montezemolo who also met the heads of Google at the conference which took place in the heart of the biggest market for Ferrari's road cars found Ferrari and Apple shared several core values including "attention to the brand, exclusivity, attention to the people, attention to the environment".

The Italian shared details of his discussion with Cook during the course of his talk to the audience of 600 students and afterwards said: "I was impressed by his availability and openness. We're building cars, they build computers. But Apple and Ferrari are connected by the same passion, the same love for the product, maniacal attention to technology, but also to design."

Interestingly, Montezemolo also drew a parallel between the role he played in transforming Ferrari's fortunes on his return to Maranello in 1991 on both the race track and in the road car division with that of Apple's Steve Jobs, the company's revered co-founder who died last year.

In 1997, the year Jobs rejoined the company, Apple's shares were worth just $3.19. The subsequent success of its computers, phones and tablets over the next 15 years meant its shares recently hit $644, with the company now the world's most valuable. Montezemolo paid fulsome tribute during his speech: "When you've got a leader in a company like Steve Jobs, people have big respect and big gratitude for what he's done."

He was said to have gleaned an insight into Apple's methods and goals and, according to Wired magazine, added in his talk to the students on his own management style and ethos: "Vision is something crucial for your people." Give them clear goals, clear priorities and give everyone the possibility to grow up [internally]."

The meeting was described by Ferrari as "friendly", as opposed to having any specific business agenda, although the discussion between Montezemolo and Cook is nonetheless bound to create some excitement in both industries.

Montezemolo's chief F1 concern at the moment remains ensuring the team gets back to a more competitive level, Stefano Domenicali having revealed earlier this week that the president was "studying at first hand" the on-going process of changing the working practices and operations at Maranello.

[MIKA27]

British spat could drive Mercedes out of F1 - report

A spat between two Britons could drive the German giant Mercedes out of formula one, according to a new media report.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone recently confirmed he is at loggerheads with Mercedes over the next Concorde Agreement.

But at the same time, he insisted that the Stuttgart marque is "very important to formula one. I have always supported them and I will always," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Indeed, Mercedes has its own and newly-winning works team, powers the marquee McLaren outfit, and also supplies engines to Force India.

Ecclestone's dispute is with fellow Englishman Ross Brawn, who is the Brackley based Mercedes GP team's principal.

"I have spoken to the team manager (Brawn) about it (the dispute) and he seems to believe that the team has won a few world titles and about 80 races since the Tyrrell days," said the 81-year-old.

Sport Bild reports that Ecclestone is refusing to give in to Brawn's demands for extra Concorde Agreement entitlements for past title successes and history.

The magazine said the relationship has become so intense that Ecclestone has even refused to give a joint interview with Brawn.

"He (Brawn) was never very nice to me," the F1 'supremo' is quoted as saying.

The German report said there is a risk Mercedes will, as a result of the 'ice age' between the British duo, pull the plug on its entire F1 involvement.

[MIKA27]

F1 owner Genii considers buying Group Lotus

Rumours that F1 team owner Genii is contemplating buying the Group Lotus sports car company are continuing to gain steam.

That is despite Genii's Gerard Lopez confirming recently that the Enstone based team has ended its sponsorship deal with the carmaker, even though the team will continue to carry the Lotus name.

But subsequent media reports indicate that the newly Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom owned Group Lotus is for sale.

"Genii ... is thought to be interested, and its boss, Gerard Lopez, is said to have had talks with Hicom, but also with (Group Lotus chief) Mr (Dany) Bahar about a possible management buyout," read a report in the Independent newspaper.

Bahar is not ruling out the transaction.

"Whatever happens will happen," he told the local Norfolk publication edp24.co.uk.

"Genii has expressed interest and if there is a good deal to be done, why should they not be interested? I think it would just make sense."

[MIKA27]

FIA testing forward roll-hoop concept for F1

The FIA Institute, charged with developing safer motor sport, has completed preliminary tests of its latest cockpit protection device.

The institute worked with Lotus to produce a forward roll-hoop which would deflect anything approaching the driver from the front, such as a tyre or car.

The device affixes to the bulkhead ahead of the driver and behind the nosecone and can easily withstand an impact from a 20kg tyre travelling at 225km/h - as seen in the below video.

Cockpit safety has become a growing concern following the death of Henry Surtees, son of former-F1 champion John, when a loose tyre struck his head during a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch.

Most notably, Felipe Massa was knocked unconcious following an accident in which he was struck on the head by a spring in 2009.

Michael Schumacher suffered a near-miss in 2010 when Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India mounted the German's Mercedes and came close to hitting Schumacher.

The forward roll-hoop is the latest innovation aimed at reducing such impacts and injuries following a successful test of a closed cockpit last year.

Andy Moeller, Technical Advisor to the FIA ​​Institute, says the test was a success: "The roll-bar has completed its task in principle. It was able to keep the wheel away from the driver's head," he told IQ Magazine.

"We struck the hoop with the wheel both from the center and with a side angle," he added, but admitted the device would require further trials to see what the impact on driver vision would be, before presenting the findings to Formula 1's Technical Working Group (TWG).

"At this point it is pure research, which we need, and to understand the forces of such a collision. We are not yet at a final solution."

[mazolaman]

Ecclestone is a horrible little man...I almost prefer Max Moseley!

So, what is the "concorde " agreement?

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone is a horrible little man...I almost prefer Max Moseley!

So, what is the "concorde " agreement?

That's a very huge question so here is a link that hopefully explains it to you.

http://en.wikipedia....corde_Agreement

Basically, it all about money vs how long a team has competed in Formula 1, contributed to the sport which also takes in championship points etc. In a very 'simple' nutshell.

The terms of a new agreement to replace the 2009 agreement are currently under negotiation between the FIA and FOM

[MIKA27]

'Kimi could fight for the title'

Former F1 driver Mika Salo believes his Finnish compatriot Kimi Raikkonen could be in the running for this year's title.

Raikkonen returned to Formula One this season Lotus having spent the last two years competing in the World Rally Championship. However, his time away has by no means dulled the Finn's ability.

The 2007 World Champ was in the points at his very first race back while four races into his comeback the Finn was on the podium, having finished second in the Bahrain GP.

And with his team-mate Romain Grosjean right behind him, all signs indicate that Lotus are in for a strong season which has prompted Salo to suggest that Raikkonen has a real shot at the title.

"The most consistent team has been Lotus," crash.net reports Salo as having told SpeedTV.

"They've been fast at every circuit so far. In that sense, Kimi's situation looks very good.

"I would not exclude it at all that he will be fighting at the very end of the Championship, if Lotus is able to maintain the pace of development."

[MIKA27]

'Tactical' retirements for gearbox rule gain - report

Two teams deployed a quiet 'trick' in Bahrain in order to exploit a loophole in the long-life gearbox rules, a specialist publication claims.

Williams' Pastor Maldonado had to move five places back on the grid last Sunday because a fault in his gearbox was discovered after the Chinese grand prix.

A cost-saving rule in F1 requires gearboxes to last five consecutive grands prix, with unscheduled changes met with the penalty.

But some gearbox problems "can be simulated for tactical reasons", read a report in Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

So why would a team do that?

Whilst he was struggling out of the points during the Bahrain grand prix, Williams decided to pull the sister FW34 driven by Bruno Senna out of the race.

"I started feeling a lot of vibration in the brake pedal," said the Brazilian, "and the decision was made to pit to avoid risking an accident."

But Auto Motor und Sport contends: "His retirement was tactical."

The publication said a manufacturing defect was discovered on both Williams cars ahead of the Bahrain weekend, with a fix not set to be in place until Barcelona.

The loophole in the long-life gearbox rule is that genuine retirements - for whatever reason - are not further penalised on the grid of the next race, even if a gearbox is changed out of sequence.

McLaren's Jenson Button also did not see the chequered flag in Bahrain.

Whilst running in the points a few laps before the end, the Briton had to pit due to puncture, probably caused by a broken and noisy exhaust that was blowing hot gases onto the tyre.

"A lap later, despite setting a personal best in sector two, Button was back in the pits," said Auto Motor und Sport.

The official explanation was a differential problem, but Auto Motor und Sport claims the retirement, like Senna's, was "probably for tactical reasons".

"Button was in 13th place, with no hope of breaking into the points."

The retirement means he can now take on a fresh gearbox for Barcelona, without penalty.

This could have an added benefit, journalist Michael Schmidt contends, because McLaren is planning modifications at the rear of the car that require a new gearbox shape.

Without the tactical retirement in Bahrain, Button would have had to wait until Monaco for the new gearbox.

Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher took a five-place grid penalty in Bahrain due to Mercedes having to break the seal on his gearbox prior to the race.

He can therefore have a complete gearbox change for Barcelona, which according to Auto Motor und Sport is an all-new carbon housing design that is lighter, which should improve the W04's treatment of the Pirelli tyres.

Teammate Nico Rosberg must wait until Monaco before he can use the new 'box.

[MIKA27]

Grosjean says a Lotus win is possible if team continues to improve its car

Romain Grosjean sees no reason why Lotus cannot win a race this season, as long as the team continues to deliver improvements to the car.

On the back of an encouraging double podium finish for the team in Bahrain, Grosjean is upbeat that the E20 has the potential to triumph this campaign.

"Winter testing showed us the car was very good," the Frenchman said in a video interview on the Lotus website. "In first qualifying in Melbourne it was amazing being third on the grid, but we did not put everything together in the next races as we deserved.

"But we knew we had a good car, and the team is working hard to bring updates to the car because that will be key to the season. We knew we had something in our hands that worked very well, so now we are working hard to make it better in the next races - and if we put everything right then we may win before the end of the season."

Grosjean said the second and third place that Lotus delivered in Bahrain was a big confidence boost to the team and himself - after a disappointing first few races.

"It was a good result and we were all happy to finish second and third. It was the first podium for myself and it was a very good result, which gives me the confidence to get some more in the future."

Speaking about his own troubled start - where he crashed out early in Australia and Malaysia, Grosjean said: "There are ups and downs in motor racing and the start to the season was not as we were expecting. The performance was there and in China/Bahrain we put everything together.

"And we can get some more from what we saw in Bahrain. It is good for the future and we know if we put everything together we can achieve some even better results."

Although some have suggested that Lotus could even be dark horses for the championship, because its car has been quick at every race, Grosjean is remaining cautious about its chances.

"This season will be very tight and this [the title] is not our goal," he said. "For sure you want do to the best, but we are aiming for fourth in the Constructors' Championships. We are looking pretty good but we know there is still some work to do to get everything right and to be world champion.

"And why not in the future? Sure I would like to be part of this experience - and be world champion with this team. We are working hard to achieve that."

[MIKA27]

JA ON F1 PADCAST 3: HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF A FORMULA 1 DRIVER:

The new JA on F1 podcast is out today. This month, with a lot of talk about whether the F1 drivers are able to push to the maximum with the current regulations, we take a look at the wider subject of how to get the most out of an F1 driver.

Very often you'll hear that a driver "didn't get the maximum" from a qualifying session or a race. So why does this happen? How do you avoid on-days and off-days, what are the secrets in terms of preparation, work with engineers and so on? Can a driver be allowed to have favourite tracks, where he always performs, and others where he struggles?

We speak to two F1 drivers, who have had varying experiences of this: Heikki Kovalainen got a dream drive with McLaren but found he couldn't deliver, for a variety of reasons. Here he analyses that experience and how it helped him to deliver now for Caterham. Jaime Alguersuari was thrown into F1 aged 19, with no testing and had to learn the hard way what it takes to get the most from yourself as a driver.

Veteran engineer Frank Dernie was entrusted with teaching a 22 year Michael Schumacher how to be an F1 driver at Benetton in the 1990s, he gives us some fascinating insights into why drivers succeed and fail in F1.

Nick Harris has worked for Williams, Jaguar Racing and Red Bull and trained Mark Webber, David Coulthard, Eddie Irvine and Nico Hulkenberg as well as top tennis players and other elite athletes. He provides a unique insight into what it takes on the physical and mental side to iron out a driver's weak spots so he delivers 100% every time.

And what about the accusations that the drivers can't get the best from themselves at the moment on the tyres they're being given? Pirelli boss Paul Hembery answers back to Michael Schumacher's criticisms.

At the end of every month we produce a new podcast with input from names in the sport as well as from other figures you don't get to hear so often. We aim to give F1 fans a rounded insight, bringing them closer to the sport. Thanks to our partners at UBS for making this possible.

You can listen to it here or download it. It is also available to download on ITunes by searching for James Allen on F1.

http://www.jamesalle...rmula-1-driver/

[MIKA27]

SAUBER AND CHELSEA FC IN INNOVATIVE LINK UP:

The Sauber F1 team and Chelsea FC have announced a unique link up between two brands across two sports, designed to increase the reach of both into a new platform and to give added value to sponsors. Also with a shared platform across two of the biggest TV sports in the world, they can offer a joint sponsorship deal to a global brand looking for exposure in both areas. This is something Tony Fernandes has been hoping to achieve by owning both the Caterham and Queens Park Rangers teams.

According to the Sauber statement, "In concrete terms, this (the deal) includes the sale of merchandising articles and exchange of knowledge in the area of sport science. Both partners will support each other by featuring the other partner's logo and thus benefit from a significant market presence outside their original sport."

Sauber has been running a crypic logo on the engine cover in recent races saying "Out of the Blue", teasing that an innovative new deal was about to come on stream. This is not the household name sponsorship deal, putting significant money into Sauber's warchest, that many had expected. But it does allow Sauber to promote itself on a big stage, not least with Chelsea about to appear in the finals of the FA Cup in England and the European Champions League, the biggest tournament in club football.

It's a slightly odd mix; the clean cut, low profile Swiss team and Chelsea, which is one of the 'showier' clubs. But Chelsea's Ron Gourlay, who works for team owner Roman Abramovitch, said, "We felt that this Swiss team, the fourth oldest of the existing teams, reflects our own ideals perfectly."

Abramovitch has flirted with F1 before, without ever buying in. Bernie Ecclestone invited him to quite a few Grands Prix and he was a presence in Monaco for several years with his yacht Pelorus moored just outside the main harbour because it was too big to come inside. At the time there were teams for sale, including BMW Sauber, as it then was, but Abramovitch opted to stick with football.

One of the realities of the comparison between the two sports is that whereas a team like Chelsea, currently 6th in the English permier league, can beat anybody on their day they beat Barcelona last week to reach the Champions League final it's very hard for a team like Sauber to beat the top F1 teams and win a race. They almost did it in Malaysia in wet conditions, but the reality is that they will almost always play at the level they are at. Football offers the chance for a memorable win. QPR have beaten some of the EPL's top sides this season, despite being close to the bottom of the table.

Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn said, "A partnership like this between Formula One and Football has never existed before in this form, yet there are numerous commonalities and possible synergies. In either case we are talking about team sport at the highest and international level. The Sauber F1 Team and Chelsea FC are dealing with many of the same sporting and commercial topics and we want to strengthen each other in these areas. We are looking forward to exploiting these opportunities, and we congratulate Chelsea on making it to the final of the Champions League."

[MIKA27]

F1 TEAMS HEAD TO MUGELLO FOR TESTING:

The F1 teams are setting up in the garages of Mugello, near Florence, Italy today ahead of a three day test, which could prove something of a life saver for some of the teams who are in trouble at the moment.

When it was announced that there would be an in-season test, for the first time since the Resource Restriction Agreement came into force at the end of 2008, it looked like it would be a very significant three days as it was the teams' only chance outside of a race weekend; a chance to try development parts and to iron out problems with set up.

However since then it has been agreed that the Young Drivers' Test has been moved forward from November to July at Silverstone. This offers teams a second chance before the summer to get some heavy work done and takes some of the pressure off the Mugello test.

It's interesting to see that McLaren are planning to use Paffett and Turvey for the Mugello test, as they will also both be eligible for the Silverstone test, so the team can get some useful comparison work done across the two tests.

The reality is that all the F1 teams are developing furiously these days, bringing new parts aplenty to races and these tests will give them a chance to do some work on future directions.

So Mugello, while still important, as it will give a direction for the European season ahead, will not be season-defining.

Nevertheless, some teams have a lot of work to do. Ferrari is clearly chief among them as it has struggled so far this season with an uncompetitive car. It has a major set of upgrades coming for the Spanish GP, although how many of them will appear on the car this week at the test is open to doubt. Much has been said about the need to pass crash tests on the sidepods of the car, an area where quite a lot of freedom is given to the designers, the reality is that many teams have had to retake crash tests as new parts require them, such as noses. So it's not that significant for Ferrari to go through that. It is certainly not expected to be virtually a new car.

Ferrari lobbied hard for the test to be at Mugello. Today they have a pre-event called "Ferrari Passion Day", which is open to fans and where they can drive karts, try out pit stops, drive a simulator and engage with the Ferrari drivers.

They will be encouraged to stay to watch the three day test, with entry at 20 Euros and a grandstand seat ranging from 30-40 Euros.

Force India has also not started the season as strongly as hoped, despite Paul Di Resta's strong result in Bahrain. They have pinned their hopes on a major upgrade package due out in Barcelona, which should see the light of day in Mugello first.

It's very hard for the mechanics: most of them were away for almost three weeks at the start of the season, have just done another two week stint in China and Bahrain and were given half a day off on the Monday following Bahrain, before going back into work to prepare the cars for Mugello. With no test teams in current F1, the race mechanics are being pushed to the absolute limit at the moment with 20 races, 12 of them long-haul and two tests.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport today, the starting line-ups for the test are as follows:

Alonso, Ferrari

Webber, Red Bull

Rosberg/Schumacher, AMG Mercedes

Turvey/Paffett, McLaren

D'Ambrosio, Lotus

Kobayashi, Sauber

Vergne, Toro Rosso

Bottas, Williams

Gonzalez, Caterham

Pic, Marussia

HRT are not taking part in the test.

Meanwhile Pirelli will begin the first of its tyre tests at the start of next week in Jerez, Spain. Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi will drive a 2010 Renault operated by the Lotus team, starting work on the 2013 F1 tyre compounds and constructions.

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen: F1 is not my life

Kimi Raikkonen may be enjoying his F1 comeback but the Finn is quick to point out that is just a job and not his life.

After two years away from the sport, Raikkonen returned this season with Lotus and has already achieved his first podium finish thanks to his runner-up result at the Bahrain GP.

But whatever his results out on track, the 2007 World Champ insists he doesn't care whether they praise or criticism from others.

"It has not gone bad," Raikkonen told Bild am Sonntag. "I like what I'm doing, that's enough.

"I don't care if someone says I'm doing it well or not. Still, it is disappointing when you're only second.

"After the 14th place in the Chinese race was not what we wanted, for the first time we have to be happy with Bahrain."

Pressed to whether he believes Lotus can win, Raikkonen said: "That's the goal. I don't like second place.

"The base is good and what knows what will happen at the next race."

Raikkonen, known for his don't give a damn attitude, gave an as-to-be-expected answer when asked if there was anything aside from the battles that he missed about F1 during his time away.

"No. I'm only here for the racing," he said. "All the other bullshit I can do without.

"If you took away the cars from Formula One, I would not be there. All the other trappings, the fame and stuff, I'm not interested."

The 32-year-old added: "This is work for me and when I go home I'm not working there.

"Formula One plays no role in my personal life. I have a real life! I think for many people their lives are Formula One. For me it's not."

[MIKA27]

'Webber to Ferrari as Perez stop-gap'

Mark Webber is off to Ferrari next season to replace Felipe Massa in a one-year deal, according to a report in the Spanish media.

Webber is out of contract with Red Bull Racing at the end of this season, however, the Aussie is thought to be wanting to stay on in Formula One.

But with Red Bull looking to promote young drivers Daniel Ricciardo or Jean-Eric Vergne, Webber has been forced to look elsewhere.

Add that to the belief that Ferrari are eager to part ways with the under-performing Massa, who has just two points from four races this season, and there is suddenly some credence to the Webber rumour.

According to Spain's El Confidencial, the deal came about because of the "great relationship" between Webber and Ferrari's leading driver Fernando Alonso who has "supported" the Aussie's arrival.

The publication even goes as far as to quote a source who states that the deal is "done."

As for why Ferrari have not opted to turn to Sergio Perez, the El Confidencial claims it's because the Italian outfit want him to have "more experience before assuming a role of great responsibility" at Ferrari.

MIKA: If this rumor is true, thats great news!!

[OZCUBAN]

'Webber to Ferrari as Perez stop-gap'

Mark Webber is off to Ferrari next season to replace Felipe Massa in a one-year deal, according to a report in the Spanish media.

Webber is out of contract with Red Bull Racing at the end of this season, however, the Aussie is thought to be wanting to stay on in Formula One.

But with Red Bull looking to promote young drivers Daniel Ricciardo or Jean-Eric Vergne, Webber has been forced to look elsewhere.

Add that to the belief that Ferrari are eager to part ways with the under-performing Massa, who has just two points from four races this season, and there is suddenly some credence to the Webber rumour.

According to Spain's El Confidencial, the deal came about because of the "great relationship" between Webber and Ferrari's leading driver Fernando Alonso who has "supported" the Aussie's arrival.

The publication even goes as far as to quote a source who states that the deal is "done."

As for why Ferrari have not opted to turn to Sergio Perez, the El Confidencial claims it's because the Italian outfit want him to have "more experience before assuming a role of great responsibility" at Ferrari.

MIKA: If this rumor is true, thats great news!!

If it is true ,I can say " i told you so " This rumour has been round for some time now ,maybe this will be a good move for webber ,who IMO hasn't had a level playing field to play in at RedBull racing.

All he needs now is for Ferrari to get their act together

OZ

[MIKA27]

If it is true ,I can say " i told you so " This rumour has been round for some time now ,maybe this will be a good move for webber ,who IMO hasn't had a level playing field to play in at RedBull racing.

All he needs now is for Ferrari to get their act together

OZ

And you think Webber will have a 'Level playing field' with Alonso as a team mate?

[MIKA27]

RED BULL OFFERING FANS CHANCE TO GET THEIR FACE ON THE RB8:

Formula 1’s world champion team Red Bull is again giving fans the opportunity to have their picture feature on the livery of its RB8 at July’s British Grand Prix, in the latest initiative for its official Wings for Life charity.

Both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber’s cars will run with special one-off liveries throughout the Silverstone weekend featuring a collage of faces which have been uploaded to the Faces for Charity website created for the campaign.

To get their face onto the cars, fans have to make a €15 (£12) donation to the charity alongside uploading their photo of choice, with Red Bull Racing promising to match every donation made. All entrants will also be entered into a free prize draw to attend the race and get behind-the-scenes access with Red Bull.

The Milton Keynes-based team, which ran a similar initiative at the 2007 British GP, is expecting to receive more than 25,000 pictures and Vettel, an ambassador of the spinal cord injury research charity, said: “I have been a Wings for Life ambassador for many years and it’s a special cause. This is a great way for the fans to be able to join Mark, me and the team at the British Grand Prix and become part of history, while supporting a fantastic charity.”

Wings for Life was founded in 2004 by Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz and two-time motocross world champion Heinz Kinigadner and funds scientific research and clinical trials around the globe into finding a cure for spinal cord injuries.

[MIKA27]

MUGELLO TEST DAY 1: A BIT OF A WASHOUT:

The first day on in season testing since 2008 was a bit of an anti-climax today as heavy rain especially in the afternoon, spoiled the chance of much meaningful running or evaluation of development parts. Most of the running was done on either full wet or intermediate tyres.

In the morning on a drying track the teams managed to cover some mileage, but in the afternoon the teams and drivers at Mugello in Tuscany competed only to see who could tweet the most graphic photographs of rain.

At one point the cloud base was so low that the medical helicopter would not have been able to take off so running was stopped.

"We feel sorry for the great audience of Mugello: they deserved much better show today in the best track in Italy," said Ferrari in one official tweet this afternoon.

For the record, Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in the Ferrari, which had some interesting updates on it, including a new exhaust position and some evolution on the front wing. A more definitive exhausts configuration is planned for Thursday, according to Italian colleagues.

Alonso spoke yesterday of his ambitions for the F2012 over the next few weeks, refuting suggestions that if the car doesn't make a significant gain in the Spanish Grand Prix next week the season is over for Ferrari,

"No that's a wrong message. This is just the first step, we have to climb back up steadily, race by race. If it goes badly at Montmelo (Barcelona) that doesn't mean our season is over."

He added that the first step is to "get into the top five in qualifying (where he qualified for most of last season) and have both cars in the points."

Due to his own consistency and the win in Malaysia as well as the openness of the first four races, with no-one running away with it, Alonso lies only 10 points behind the championship leader after four races.

Interestingly Alonso admitted that he isn't the fastest driver out there, but talked up his own ability to drive in damage limitation mode,

"I think that's my strongest quality," he said. "I'm not the fastest driver in qualifying, on street circuits, in the rain or in pit stops, but I'm a 9.5 (out of 10) in all those areas and I know how to get the best from the materials at my disposal."

There were a number of new ideas being tested by teams, including several new front wings, such as on the Sauber and Force India car.

Nico Rosberg covered almost 50 laps in the morning, more than any other driver, while team mate Michael Schumacher didn't set a lap time at all in the afternoon. Rosberg put a brave face on his day, saying that he and Mercedes had learned something, especially as they haven't been all that strong in wet conditions this season so far.

"It was good and we learned some valuable things this morning in the wet," he said. "Lately in the wet we weren't that strong in Malaysia, but we got some dry running in the end and some useful tests there. So we learned something there, which was great and is a good start."

Webber will get half a day tomorrow before handing over the Red Bull to Sebastian Vettel, while Felipe Massa will get his day in the Ferrari, before Alonso takes over again on Thursday to test new parts.

Ironically Jenson Button managed to run in the dry, but he was doing a demonstration on the streets of Budapest for Vodafone, so there wasn't much to be learned there either!

McLaren, incidentally, are celebrating getting an Edison award for implementing green technology and methods at their Woking factory. They were awarded a silver medal at the 2012 Edison Awards in New York.

The Edison awards are named after the great American inventor Thomas Edison, who founded invented the light bulb, the record player and many other things as well as founding GE. The awards celebrate "innovation and excellence as well as "groundbreaking scientific achievement".

McLaren won for its efforts to improve carbon efficiency. The company says it has "achieved annual savings of over 1500 tonnes of CO2 emmissons and earned official carbon-neutral status," something which all F1 teams are taking incredibly seriously these days.

[OZCUBAN]

And you think Webber will have a 'Level playing field' with Alonso as a team mate?

Depending on how competeive Webber is ,assuming he will be at Ferrari,it will certainly test their friendship

I imagine Ferrari will want to make good use of Webbers extensive expierance .

OZ

[MIKA27]

Schumacher: Nearly impossible to drive

Michael Schumacher's afternoon of testing at Mugello was limited to just five laps due to the dismal weather conditions.

His team-mate Nico Rosberg was in action in the morning, which started off wet and ended dry, completing 49 laps with a best time of 1:24.100, which put him fifth on the timesheets.

However, when Schumacher took over in the afternoon, the heavens opened. In fact the rain was so heavy at one point that the circuit had to be closed as the medical helicopter could not fly.

"Unfortunately we were not able to achieve much productive work on the track this afternoon as the weather made it nearly impossible to drive," said the former Ferrari driver.

"Therefore it's good that we collected some data this morning so that we can prepare the car in the best possible way for tomorrow.

"This afternoon, I was literally able just go out to check if it made sense to run - which it did not - and at least I could show the spectators who were waiting in the rain a running car for some short moments.

"Still, it was nice being back in Mugello after so many years, and I must say it was also nice being welcomed back by the tifosi so warmly."

[MIKA27]

Depending on how competeive Webber is ,assuming he will be at Ferrari,it will certainly test their friendship

I imagine Ferrari will want to make good use of Webbers extensive expierance .

OZ

Or make use of a Double world champion such as.... Alonso.

I think it would be a nice way for Webber to retire on afetr having a stint with ferrari.

[MIKA27]

MARK WEBBER AND FERRARI:

Ferrari knows that it needs more points than it is scoring at the moment from its second car. Last year Felipe Massa scored only 45% of Fernando Alonso's points tally. This season so far, described as make or break for Massa by both team boss Stefano Domenicali and Ferrari president Luca Montezemolo, Massa has 4% of Alonso's points.

And so rumours have begun to swirl again about the possibility of Ferrari hiring Mark Webber to partner Alonso on a short term contract.

The story originated in Spain's El Confidential, which claimed that the deal was already done and it has been fanned by the Australian media.

Webber, 35, addressed the rumours in a media briefing last night in Mugello. He said that he had not signed anything, but stopped short of denying that there was anything going on.

"Sergio was flavour of the month last week for the Ferrari drive; now it's me," Webber said. "I'm focusing 100 per cent on this season and doing the best job for myself and Red Bull Racing. I'm not putting any energy into anything else. We have a whole season ahead before you start thinking about our future. One day there is talk that Jenson (Button) will go to Ferrari, then Sergio, now me.

"I have not signed anything. Just think about my team. We have made a good start to the season, we've done only four races and the road is still very, very long before you start talking about the future."

There has been contact in the past between the two and Webber has been on Ferrari's radar for a number of reasons; he gets on well with Fernando Alonso and is liked by Stefano Domenicali and others, he's uncomplicated and he's fast. He also has a lot of experience and solid engineering understanding, both of which Ferrari prize.

Many people assume that Sergio Perez is the natural choice for the Ferrari team, as he has been groomed by them in much the same way that Felipe Massa was. His berth at Sauber is part of that time-honoured process, and Perez is also a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. However the Mexican still has a lot to prove. He is only 22 and has only one year's worth of experience and it is not Ferrari's way to sign drivers without quite a lot more experience than that. Massa was a bit of an exception, coming to them at 25 after three seasons with Sauber from 2002 to 2005. He also had a stint as Ferrari test driver in the days when that meant covering a serious mileage.

For Perez to be ready for Ferrari will take at least another year if not two. So it is logical, if Ferrari is thinking of dropping Massa, that it should look for a solution for the next two years and Webber is the obvious choice. He is on a rolling one year contract, keeping his options open on both sides.

There are two obvious question marks; he is a very competitive individual, so the thought of moving from Red Bull to Ferrari, if it is not a competitive car, would require some reflection. But as a keen student of the sport's history, he may feel that with one or two years of his career left, a stint at Ferrari would add a prestigious cap to his career.

There is also the question of "not bad for a number two driver" Webber's famous line from the British Grand Prix of 2010 where he was disadvantaged by the team when they gave his front wing to team mate Vettel. This side of Webber is not compatible with the "Fernando is faster than you" school of management at Ferrari, to quote engineer Rob Smedley's line when asking Felipe Massa to move aside for his team mate in Germany in 2010. Alonso is clearly the point man at Ferrari and Webber would have to find a way of fitting in with that.

Leaving aside those philosophical issues, let's examine the practicalities. Webber's position at Red Bull is underpinned by the support of two key people in the team; Adrian Newey and the owner Dietrich Mateschitz. Newey knows him as a reference point and trusts his instincts, while Mateschitz has always supported Webber and has a strong personal relationship with the driver. Webber does his deals direct with the boss.

Others within Red Bull are more keen to see new drivers come into the team, primarily Helmut Marko, who is responsible for the young driver development programme. For this programme to maintain its legitimacy and credibility it needs to produce another top quality driver from Toro Rosso, ready to drive a Red Bull. By abruptly dropping Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi last Christmas they left themselves in a position where they have two inexperienced drivers in the Toro Rosso team, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne. It would be asking a lot of either of them to step up to Red Bull alongside Vettel next year.

Vettel himself took that path but he had done 26 races, many of them in a competitive 2008 Toro Rosso by the time he moved up. Ricciardo has done 15 GPs to date, mostly at the back of the field and will have done 31 by the time this season ends, whereas Vergne is in his first season of F1 and has twice failed to get out of Q1. It would be a gamble to go with either man to sit alongside Vettel, who is a two times world champion at the top of his game in a team built around him.

Webber is on a rolling one year contract and common sense would suggest that Red Bull would be thinking of promoting one of the Toro Rosso drivers in 2014 rather than 2013. But a move by Webber towards Ferrari might force the issue.

[MIKA27]

MUGELLO TEST DAY 2: LOTUS AND SAUBER SHARE SPOILS AS TEAMS MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME:

Teams put the frustrations of poor weather on the opening day at Mugello firmly behind them today to get their test programmes underway in earnest, as Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi ended up with identical times at the top of the timesheet.

The second day of the sport's first in-season group test since September 2008 at the picturesque circuit in Tuscany gave teams who have brought significant upgrade packages here a first serious chance to assess their performance in dry conditions. It was little surprise therefore to see numerous cars running with an assortment of aerodynamic-measuring sensors throughout the day.

After lingering morning damp conditions cleared up, Grosjean set what turned out to be the day's best time 1m21.603s less than two hours into the morning session, the lap coming during his third proper stint on his fourth flying lap. The Frenchman hadn't actually been due in the car until tomorrow's final day but the dismal weather on day one prompted Lotus to stick with one driver for the remaining two days in order to work from a consistent base, meaning Kimi Raikkonen now won't be getting behind the wheel.

Grosjean's time remained out of reach for anyone else for a further six hours before Kobayashi, aided by a fresh set of soft tyres, took to the track with just under 10 minutes to go and on his first flying lap matched the Lotus's time to within one thousandth of a second. After a slow-down lap, he followed that up with a 1m22.087s. The Japanese, having earlier lost around an hour of track time with an off at turn 12 after his car began to handling inconsistently in increasingly windy conditions, carried out assessments on the C31's new bodywork and cooling arrangement and Sauber reported that "the car with the new aero package reacted as it should". Those updates being tested this week include reshaped sidepods and new front wing.

Red Bull split its running between Mark Webber (morning) and Sebastian Vettel (afternoon) and between them the pair put more than 100 laps on the RB8. Vettel said the team revisited parts tried on the car over grands prix weekends so far this season, as well as new development updates, and Webber, who ended up a tenth slower than his team-mate, said at the end of his day and a half in the car and said the test had already proved useful.

"We had absolutely truck loads of stuff to go through, but so far so good. Mileage is so limited these days it was good to be in the car again; this test has been very useful. I think for Barcelona we will largely keep pushing with what we have done already, although I'm sure there will be small details that will change," he said.

Ferrari managed to put 106 laps on the F2012 on Felipe Massa's sole appearance of the week. The car ran with a periscope aero-measuring device for most of the day and our BBC colleague Gary Anderson reported that the team had gone back to trying the exhaust arragement that had proved so troublesome in pre-season. "Ferrari have tried two different positions of exhaust exit here the one they have been racing with and the one they had to abandon during pre-season testing because it was overheating the rear tyres. They believe the pre-season testing one is the best, and they have been doing more work on that here." Further updates are expected to appear on the car tomorrow, although the full Spanish GP package won't be rolled out until next week.

Mercedes enjoyed a very productive day with Michael Schumacher completing a mammoth 144 laps as the Brackley team continued to work on honing its understanding of Pirelli's 2012 tyres , as well as trialling some development parts. Schumacher, a Mugello veteran from his days at Ferrari when testing was unrestricted, said: "Of course we also tested some new things, which I would not want to go into detail about, so it is definitely worth coming here at this stage of the season. I am really happy with how things are proceeding with our car and our team, and I am convinced we have a good basis for the final day of the test tomorrow."

As Jenson Button alluded to last week, McLaren has not brought a particularly big upgrade package to the test and today the team said long-serving test driver Gary Paffett was "mainly focusing on improvements to aero correlation and broadening our understanding of tyre temperature and behaviour", the Briton putting 59 laps on the MP4-27 before a gearbox problem sidelined him for the final three hours. The car again featured the severe-looking spiked measuring device at the bottom of the diffuser.

One constant to continue coming out of the test was drivers' enjoyment at tackling the fast flowing 3.259-mile circuit, Vettel even saying: "unfortunately we don't have this track on the calendar. It's an incredible circuit with a lot of high-speed corners." However, while proving popular with the men behind the wheel, its average lap speed, Spa and Silverstone aside, is atypical of most of the circuits currently on the calendar and therefore less useful for engineers.

Nonetheless, Force India would have welcomed plenty more track time today than turned out to be the case after hydraulics problems limited Paul di Resta to a mere 14 laps the Scot's only timed runs coming right at the end of the day. The team's engineers changed the VJM05's hydraulics system as a precaution and although di Resta played down the lost time, the team has tonight confirmed that the Scot will now be back in the car for Thursday morning with Nico Hulkenberg's running now shifted to the afternoon.

Mugello test, Day Two

1. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1m21.603s

2. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m21.603s + 0.000s

3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m21.825s + 0.222s

4. Mark Webber Red Bull 1m21.997s + 0.394s

5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.257s + 0.654s

6. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1m22.422s +0.819s

7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m22.588s +0.985s

8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.404s +1.801s

9. Charles Pic Marussia 1m23.982s +2.379s

10. Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1m24.312s + 2.709s

11. Gary Paffett McLaren 1m24.480s +2.877s

12. Timo Glock Marussia 1m24.499s + 2.896s

13. Paul di Resta Force India 1m24.749s + 3.146s

14. Bruno Senna Williams 1m24.842s + 3.239s

[MIKA27]

Rosberg could commit F1 career to Mercedes

F1's newest winner has admitted he has no plans to leave his team.

After more than a century of grands prix, Nico Rosberg finally broke through with his first race win recently in China.

Although pressed harder than in recent seasons by his famous teammate Michael Schumacher in 2012, the German has a comfortable position at Mercedes.

The 26-year-old told Sport Bild he might stay put for the rest of his career.

"Forever in silver? Why not?" he is quoted as saying.

Rosberg said he is in a "great position" to lead the famous German marque to the world championship.

"My big goal is to be world champion with the Silberpfeil (Silver Arrow)," he insisted. "It occurs to me that it would taste even better than to win with Ferrari."

Rosberg said he wouldn't even mind sharing the team with Sebastian Vettel, F1's back-to-back reigning champion who has expressed interest in racing one day for a great marque like Mercedes or Ferrari.

"I don't mind, it could be anyone -- Sebastian, whoever. I don't see any problem with that," said Rosberg.

He said his first choice as teammate is Schumacher.

"I think it would be great if he stays," said Rosberg, referring to the 43-year-old's expiring contract. "He is at an extremely high level right now.

"I can well imagine that Michael will extend."