FORMULA 1 - 2012

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Mark Webber's special Singapore helmet design

Earlier in the year, Mark Webber put out a call to his fans to design a new helmet for him to wear at the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix. From charming crayon scrawls to polished professional designs,Webber saw a huge range of style and creativity in the 1,118 entries received.

Mark reviewed each and every design to find a helmet that he would be proud to wear over the course of the race weekend and is thrilled to announce the winner of the Aussie Grit Helmet Promo is Zlatka Subotičanec, a 17 year old fan from Croatia. Mark said ‘Zlatka’s design was full of energy and really caught my attention with the unique inclusion of the Australian flag into the colour scheme. I’m also pretty impressed with the cartoon version of me on the back, although he has a few less wrinkles than me…”

The prize for submitting the winning design, Zlatka has won the opportunity to attend the 2012 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix to watch Mark on track wearing the custom designed helmet. This includes flights and accommodation with thanks to Qantas and Swissotel The Stamford, Singapore.

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Adrian Newey says blown diffusers ban has hurt Red Bull in 2012

Adrian Newey has put his Red Bull team's failure to recapture its dominant 2011 form down to the winter rule changes designed to outlaw exhaust blown diffusers.

Red Bull was the first team to harness the concept in 2010 and last year optimised it to a degree that allowed it to dominate both the drivers', with Sebastian Vettel, and the constructors' championship.

Despite working to recreate such an effect in a limited way, which led to a rules clarification that forced Red Bull's Renault engine partner to modify engine maps designed to extract the most downforce available from blowing exhaust gases at aero-profiled brake ducts, Red Bull has won only three times this season.

While it leads the constructors' championship by 53 points, after 11 races last year it was 103 points clear.

"It's pretty much as we feared before the season started," Newey told AUTOSPORT.

"Having explored exhaust blowing technology quite heavily for two seasons and then having that taken away together with other changes like the front wing flexibility [test rules], hurt us quite a lot.

"Probably [it hurt us] more than other people because we had been exploiting it for longer. It has taken a while to try to understand what we need to do and to recover."

Newey also hinted that Red Bull has yet to re-adapt its car to the engine mapping rule change introduced ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July.

While Vettel was able to finish fourth at the Hungaroring, he struggled to match the race pace of McLaren and the Lotuses and the car was flattered by running on fresher rubber relative to the top three late in the race.

"We've been working with Renault and were suddenly faced with a clarification that was a different interpretation to what we thought we were operating to.

"That's where we are and we've got to go back and have a fresh look."

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Analysis: Qualifying still key in 2012 Formula 1 season

Qualifying is no less important a determining factor in who wins races in Formula 1 in 2012 than it has been in previous seasons.

There have been suggestions that the combination of high-degradation Pirelli rubber and the relative ease of overtaking have reduced the impact of Saturday afternoons, but the statistics suggest this not to be the case.

An analysis of the past 10 years of Formula 1, a total of 172 grands prix from the start of the 2003 season to the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month, reveals that this year, 55 per cent of races have been won from pole.

By comparison, the mean for the past decade for wins from pole stands at 52 per cent, three per cent lower than this season.

In 2012, 82 per cent of races have been won from the front row, which is seven per cent higher than the average.

The mean average qualifying position for race winners is 2.7, relatively high compared to the previous 10 years, but this is distorted by Fernando Alonso's exceptional wins from 11th at Valencia and eight at Sepang.

Despite the belief that qualifying is not as important as it was in the pre-DRS, Bridgestone era, the 2010 season produced the lowest percentage of race winners from pole position.

While it is clearly easier to pass this year than it was before the introduction of the DRS and Pirelli rubber, the need to manage tyres makes it difficult to charge in races.

Also, time lost by a quick car in traffic in the first stint of the race is difficult to make up given how tight the competitive spread between the top nine teams is.

During this period there have been a number of changes to the regs that have effected the way cars qualify. Most significant is the ban on refueling ahead of the 2010 season.

Percentage wins from pole by season (*)

1. 2007: 65%

2. 2004: 61%

3. 2003: 56%

4. 2006: 56%

5. 2012: 55%

6. 2009: 53%

7. 2011: 47%

8. 2005: 47%

9. 2008: 44%

10. 2010: 42%

Percentage of races won from the front row by season (*)

2007: 88%

2011: 84%

2004: 84%

2012: 82%

2008: 78%

2010: 74%

2006: 72%

2009: 71%

2005: 63%

2003: 56%

Average starting position of race winners by season (*)

1. 2003: 3.2

2. 2005: 3.2

3. 2012: 2.8

4. 2006: 2.7

5. 2008: 2.6

6. 2009: 2.2

7. 2004: 2.2

8. 2010: 2.0

9. 2011: 1.9

10. 2007: 1.5

* Figures rounded up to nearest whole number. In the case of a tie, the figures are ordered by reference to unrounded number.

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Bernie: Turkey could return

Bernie Ecclestone says Turkey could yet return to the Formula One but only if "the problem" over the hosting fee is resolved.

Turkey, which made its Formula One debut back in 2005, was dropped from this year's calendar after the government and Eclcestone failed to reach a new deal.

However, the F1 supremo has refused to write off the chance of the Istanbul Park circuit making a return in the future.

"I was sorry when the contract ended, but it's always possible to go back to Turkey," ESPNF1 reports Ecclestone as having told Turkish newspaper Haberturk.

"I was sorry because it's a great track and Istanbul is a great city.

"Both the teams and the FIA were very happy to be in Istanbul... If the problem with the government (over the hosting fee) can be resolved, then Turkey could return to the calendar."

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'Massa knows how to save career'

Ferrari are refusing to give up on Felipe Massa, adamant the Brazilian knows what he has to do to secure a new contract with the team.

In the last two years Massa has struggled to find the form that carried him to the runner-up position in the 2008 Drivers' Championship where he lost the title by a single point.

Last year the Brazilian became the first Ferrari driver since 1992 to complete a season without a top-three result and this season appears to be shaping up for a repeat.

In 11 grands prix, Massa has netted just 25 points and trails his Championship-leading team-mate Fernando Alonso by 139 points.

The 31-year-old's dismal results have led to a several reports claiming he is on his way out at the end of this season.

However, team boss Stefano Domenicali insists there is still hope for the 11-time grand prix winner.

"I think Felipe knows (what he has to do)," Domenicali told Autosport.

"He needs to maximise the performance that he can because we need his capabilities behind the wheel.

"We need points to try to attack first place in the Constructors' Championship, and also to take away points from the other drivers in the Drivers' Championship.

"He knows that he has in front of him some very important races for him as a driver and also as a team member for Ferrari."

Domenicali, though, concedes that the onus isn't only on Massa, it's also on Ferrari to provide him with a better car.

"We need to improve the car and I'm sure he can do a good job," he added.

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ARE THE F1 DRIVERS TODAY AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN IN SENNA/PROST ERA?

In response to the debate we've been having this week about the "pagelle" or marks out of ten for drivers so far this season, one of our regular readers, Martin Leaver, has put forward an interesting position.

He argues that with the cars so close together on performance in modern F1 and fine details of tyre use sufficient to take the edge off a performance, the drivers are actually more highly skilled than in the golden age of drivers in the late 1908s and early 1990s – the Senna/Prost/Mansell/Piquet era.

Martin writes: " Personally, I think the standard is higher now than in Piquet-Prost-Senna-Mansell era. As the cars are much closer in performance and passing is more difficult I believe the standards are greater. While Sennas'qualifying record is impressive compared to drivers since, the outcome was much less important. The refueling era and the high reliability gave an era where the drivers had to be at maximum concetration for the entire race, rather than conserving resources. The current cars have too much grip relative to their power, but the error rate is much reduced from Senna's time. I remember working out that Senna had significant off-track moment/spin, car contact or crash in more than a quarter of his races.

"Based on that, you wouldn't be surprised to read that I rate Alonso ahead of Senna. I think the current level of the sport has pushed the current drivers to be the best we've ever seen – they need to be more skilled. I believe the guys at the top now would have coped with the power:grip of the 1980s turbos and pretty much everything else is at a greater level except the gear changing."

Meanwhile the leading German motorsport title Auto Motor und Sport has issued its ratings today and below a table of how it sees the performance of the drivers. It should be stated that this is not a one off exercise, but the average of each driver's score from the F1 races so far.

Compare it to the JA on F1 ratings and the Gazzetta dello Sport ratings

Not surprisingly Michael Schumacher comes out a little better than in other ratings, as does Sebastian Vettel. Interestingly they place Pastor Maldonado close to the bottom of the pile.

Fernando Alonso: 9.09

Sebastian Vettel: 7.64

Lewis Hamilton: 7.55

Kimi Räikkönen: 7.27

Mark Webber: 7.00

Michael Schumacher: 6.73

Nico Hülkenberg: 6.73

Sergio Perez: 6.64

Nico Rosberg: 6.27

Paul di Resta: 6.09

Kamui Kobayashi: 5.91

Jenson Button: 5.73

Romain Grosjean: 5.64

Heikki Kovalainen: 5.55

Vitaly Petrov: 5.27

Daniel Ricciardo: 5.18

Felipe Massa: 5.18

Bruno Senna: 5.18

Timo Glock: 5.00

Pedro de la Rosa: 5.00

Jean-Eric Vergne: 4.91

Charles Pic: 4.55

Pastor Maldonado: 4.45

Narain Karthikeyan: 3.00

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Maldonado wants the title with Williams

Pastor Maldonado reckons he has at least one year left with Williams and in that season would like to thank the team with a World title.

Maldonado has made headlines this season at Williams, although not always for the right reasons.

While the Venezuelan has shown signs of brilliance and speed, claiming pole position and the race victory in Spain, he has also been involved in several notable incidents.

In the last four grands prix he has been involved in three accidents, which have resulted in him being stripped of a point; reprimanded and fined and slapped with a drive-through penalty.

But despite his trials and tribulations, Maldonado reckons he has what it takes to win the Drivers' Championship title and hopes to secure his first while still with Williams.

"I would, without doubt, stay there a while, a year at least," the 27-year-old told Spain's AS.

"Before leaving Williams I would like to win the Championship with them.

"I would give the opportunity for this great team that gave me the opportunity to get into F1 for the first time, to win a world championship."

However, Maldonado admitted that nothing is set in stone and that "in F1 you never kno2w what might happen."

With nine races remaining this season, the Williams driver is 11th in the Championship on 29 points.

MIKA: I like Maldonado, he has alot of potential if only he could keep on track and stop crashing!!

Why does this guy remind me of a mixture of Takuma Sato and Juan Pablo Montoya?

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Piquet criticises 'weak' and 'lucky' Lotus duo

Former Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet has criticised both Lotus drivers, branding Romain Grosjean 'lucky' and Kimi Raikkonen 'weak'.

The 27-year-old says Grosjean, who replaced Piquet at Renault in 2009, has only stood out this season because he's been paired with a weak team-mate in the form of Raikkonen who returned to F1 this year after a two-year absence.

"He has got a lot of luck, [which has] come at a time when his team-mate is a little weak and has a very good car," Piquet told TotalRace.

"His luck is that he was not doing well in F1, another season of GP2, landed a sponsorship deal and returned to F1 paying, right? Then things went right for, how do you say, in his career. The timing was very good for him."

The Brazilian, who was paired with Fernando Alonso during his tenure at the Enstone outfit between 2008 and 2009, believes his former team-mate would be doing a better job than Lotus's current line-up.

"If they had Alonso there, they would be winning the championship with that car," he added. "Sure he [Grosjean] has improved a lot since the last time, but there he is no phenomenon. He's nothing compared to Alonso."

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Special to be first Lotus winner since Senna - Grosjean

Romain Grosjean says winning with Lotus and returning the famous marque's name to the top step of the podium would make victory 'even more of a pleasure'.

Lotus, a name synonymous with Formula 1, has existed in the sport since 1958 in various guises, the latest being Lotus F1, formerly Renault, Benetton and Toleman.

The current Lotus has come close to victory on numerous occasions this season, having scored four second place finishes between Grosjean and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Hoping to go one-step further, Grosjean says it would be special to return Lotus to the podium for the first time since Ayrton Senna at the 1987 Detroit Grand Prix.

"I don't think the pressure is greater [to win because of the Lotus name]," the Frenchman told TotalRace. "I think F1 is already filled with pressure. If we win, it will be fantastic for the team personnel at the factory for all we have done since the beginning of the year and all we have achieved.

"And if I was the first driver to win for Lotus since Ayrton Senna, it would be something more to the process and more a cause for happiness. It would be even more of a pleasure."

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Why Kimi Raikkonen is now a serious title threat

Kimi Raikkonen may have just missed out on Hungarian GP victory, but he has put himself right into contention for the main prize.

The Finn is now 48 points (less than 20 points under the old points system) behind championship leader Fernando Alonso. It's definitely an assailable gap as previous title races have proved.

Recent history also shows that Lotus do have the capability to keep up in the development race. Kimi is now starting to hit the sweet spot after the first half of his comeback season. There are now also question marks hanging over a couple of Lotus' title rivals.

Lotus proved in Hungary that the E20 is extremely formidable in race conditions and one of the very best cars when it comes to tyre management. Raikkonen's incredible middle stint where he did the overcut on three of his rivals demonstrated that.

One of Lotus' weaknesses has been poor pace over a single lap, certainly in the first third of the season. This has definitely prevented Lotus getting more big results, and possibly that elusive first win of 2012.

However there are signs that the team are now overcoming that problem. In Hungary they lined up second and fifth on the grid.

Qualifying in Silverstone and Hockenheim was inconclusive as they were both wet sessions. However in the last dry qualifying before Hungary in Valencia they lined up fourth and fifth on the grid. Like in Hungary they were then a huge factor in the race.

If they can keep that form up then they are going to be in contention in every race from here on in.

In Spa and Monza there is the likelihood that the team will debut their version of Mercedes' Double DRS system (or super DRS, whichever you want to call it).

This could prove the key to ensuring Lotus are more consistently a factor in qualifying. The straight line speed the system may give them, could be significant at the next two races in Spa and Monza. Top speed is critical at both those circuits.

Some might argue that the system isn't really helping Mercedes that much at the moment, so why will it suddenly be different for Lotus?

Apart from the first few races of the season the W03 hasn't been a particularly strong car. Double DRS alone was never going to be enough to make them regular front runners.

However add the concept to what is already an extremely competitive car in the Lotus, and there is a chance that it could make a real difference. If it could gain just an extra few tenths, that could be all the team need to be fixed at the front of the field.

It has also been said that their version will give even more benefit when the wing is closed, which could be even more significant

Ignoring double DRS Lotus have shown in the past that they are capable of developing a car throughout the whole season. Their championship seasons in 2005 and 2006 (where Mclaren and Ferrari caught with them in each season respectively) and last year's ill conceived challenger may give the impression they lack development pace. However that couldn't be further from the truth.

Back in 2010 they matched the development rate of the front runners all season long. Look back to 2008 and after a poor start to the season they fought back to win two races in the second half of the season (admittedly one of those resulted in the crashgate scandal).

Stefano Domenicali admits that Lotus and Kimi are now a major factor in the title race: "I was not surprised by Kimi because I have always thought Kimi is a very good driver and a world champion - which you don't do unless you have something special."

He added: "I think that Lotus didn't collect the points that they were able to collect. They have had a good car since the beginning, so they could have more points."

"They seem to be very gentle on the tyres too, and they will be a very good team in the second half of the season."

Raikkonen has now fully re-adapted to F1 and he is becoming happier with the car with each race.

After Friday practise in Hungary he said: "We've managed to improve the setup on my car over the last few races so I've been pretty happy with it. We're just making small improvements, but we're making them all the time and going in the right direction."

So much has changed since he left the sport for rallying back in 2009. It's been almost like being a rookie all over again.

He has had to get used to the refuelling ban and driving with very heavy fuel tanks. Plus there has been the challenge of adapting to Pirelli's tyres, which his rivals have a year's extra experience with.

You also can't underestimate the challenge of settling into a new team. One big issue for Kimi was the power steering which was detrimental to him at times in the first half of the season, but that situation has now improved.

Considering all of this Raikkonen's consistency with five podiums and points in every race but one has been impressive.

With such an open championship this kind of consistency will ensure that he is in contention. Let's remember that in 2003 he only won one race compared to Michael Schumacher's six. However a string of second place finishes meant he only finished two points behind Schumacher in the final standings.

It's very feasible that with the experience of the first half of the season under his belt, he will be much stronger in the second half of the season.

Raikkonen won his 2007 title as a result of being much stronger in the second half of the season. He was also 26 points behind the championship leader at one point during that season. Currently he is less than two race wins behind Alonso.

Back in 2007 with only two competitive teams at the front it was harder to close down a gap that large. There weren't many drivers able to take points away from his main rivals that season.

With six or seven teams potentially capable of finishing on the podium, if they have a good day there is a chance to take sizeable chunks out of Alonso's championship lead.

Using last weekend's GP as an example Kimi scored 8 points more than Alonso. That would have been 15 had the Finn been able to overtake Hamilton for the lead.

Red Bull and Ferrari may be the teams out front at the moment, but in Hungary we definitely saw cracks which will give massive hope to Raikkonen.

The slow and twisty nature of the Hungaroring should have suited the RB8 down to the ground. It's the kind of track where Red Bull have been formidable in 2012. However Sebastian Vettel finished a distant fourth in both qualifying and the race whilst Mark Webber wasn't a factor all weekend.

Could their lack of performance have been down to the changes they were forced to make recently by the FIA?

If that is the case that then it has definitely had an impact on the RB8's performance, considering Hungary is a place you would put money on Red Bull winning. That doesn't bode well for Spa and Monza, which are traditionally two of Red Bull's weakest circuits.

Alonso has been doing an incredible job all year. However Hungary was possibly the first completely normal race weekend we have had for a while i.e. no rain in qualifying or safety cars in the race.

The safety car and high profile retirements aided his fight back from 11th on the grid in Valencia to victory. Wet qualifying in Silverstone and Hockenheim enabled him to use all his ability to grab pole at both those races.

In Hungary none of those factors featured and Alonso could only qualify sixth and finish fifth. The Hungaroring demonstrated that Ferrari are still not quite on the pace and very much beatable.

McLaren were right back on form. Despite the Woking squad's statement of intent Lotus have the reassurance of knowing that in Hungary, they had the race pace to beat them. If only Hungary was a track where overtaking was possible. Spa and Monza on the other hand are.

Another factor that could go in Raikkonen's favour is how he stays out of F1's politics and games in the media. Very often in dramatic F1 title battles we see the main protagonists start to slag each other off via the media as the stakes get higher.

You can be sure that Kimi will stay out of all that and keep his head down. That certainly played a part in his 2007 title victory.

There is also the fact that Raikkonen is under absolutely no pressure to become champion in the first year of comeback. It's not something anyone would realistically have expected coming into the season.

It's also often easier to be the driver closing down the gap, rather than being the leader trying to maintain a gap to your rivals behind.

There is no doubt Kimi is in a very good place at the moment. He is now driving well, he is happy in the team, his car keeps on getting better and he is in a position where he isn't under immense strain or pressure. Even better he has his favourite track to look forward to (Spa-Francorchamps) in the next round.

Raikkonen is certainly the outsider but there are plenty of reasons for him to be very positive. Even more so if he can just find a bit more time over a single lap.

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Circuit of Americas in battle with Texas on eligibility of state funds

Despite the uncertainty from local and state government, officials from the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas are sticking to their beliefs that this November's Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix will be a major economic boon for the area.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott did not resolve any questions about whether the track and the event would be eligible for state funding reserved for sporting events such as Super Bowls and NCAA Basketball tournaments.

The AG issued an opinion on the matter Friday, first requested six months ago by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, saying that the question of whether the proper applications had been filed for the circuit to receive state money could not be resolved by the opinion process.

The money would come from the Major Events Trust Fund, which is a state development fund administered by Comptroller Susan Combs' office. Combs' office told the Austin Statesman that they agreed with the initial ruling by Abbott.

"We are pleased with today's attorney general opinion," R.J. DeSilva, a spokesman for Combs' office, said in an email. "All the rules laid out in statute are properly followed when analyzing applications made for Major Events Trust Funds."

Circuit of the Americas President Steve Sexton put out a statement today saying that the promoters intend to proceed with the event as scheduled and intend to work with all governmental entities to ensure economic success for everyone involved.

"We have worked with the local organizing committee in following the process to secure and host this international event," Sexton said. "This event will pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the Texas economy while creating thousands of new full- and part-time jobs and will have a positive impact on our community. We look forward to the first FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™ in Austin this November and to working with state, county and city officials to create another key economic driver for Central Texas."

Patterson, who is against the event receiving any state funding, told the Statesman that he expects legal action to take place to keep Combs' office from dispensing the funds.

"I think the Legislature needs to look at the administration of the Major Events Trust Fund, particularly in the case of Formula One," Patterson said. "You can make a case that (the statute) needs fixing, but it's clear you need an application."

MIKA: What a load of BS!

Why is it that no matter which country hosts the F1, which is such a boon for any economy, state governments always 'Haggle' over who pays/funds the event?

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HOW THE 'BRAIN' OF AN F1 CAR IS BEING ADAPTED FOR USE IN CHILDRENS HOSPITALS:

There was an interesting story in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday about an innovative new use in the medical world for the F1 electronic control unit, the “brain” of an F1 car.

As a result of a chance conversation between a McLaren engineer and a paediatrician, Birmingham Children’s Hospital has been trialling the ECU in a children’s intensive care ward; the idea is that the F1-derived unit can measure all the key signs from the child, sense trends and detect developing problems earlier than the electronics previously used by the NHS.

The unit normally measures oil pressures, brake temperatures and the like.

Here, a lightly adapted version of the F1 ECU is being used to measure things like heart rate, oxygen levels and blood pressure in an ill child. And, inevitably, it is far more capable than the units currently used in hospitals; it can take a heart cardiogram 125 times a minute, instead of once an hour, for example.

This allows doctors to pick up signs of deterioration in a child’s condition much earlier and it detects subtle shifts, which the current system would not register. This is what F1 has arrived at through the desire to know as much as possible in real time about what is happening on the race car.

There are over 120 sensors on an F1 car, recording over 500 parameters which are transmitted live via telemetry, back to the pits and also to the teams’ factories in the UK and Europe. The ECU manages the data and the control systems and is a standardised unit used by all the F1 teams. In the four years since McLaren Electronic Systems started as ECU supplier, no car has retired from a race due to ECU failure, which gives a level of confidence for medical staff, no doubt.

The MoS spoke to Dr Heather Duncan, a consultant paediatrician at BCH, who described the trial as “a transformational breakthrough”; she is hoping to find more funding to continue the trial and encourage other childrens’ ICUs to trial the system.

“Formula 1 engineers do lots of real-time monitoring during races and look at performance and modelling to see when they should change tyres and have pit stops,” she said. “They’re predicting, essentially, which we don’t tend to do in healthcare.

“Although we can always see what is happening at the bedside, we can’t see trends over time. This software lets us do this – and it could improve a child’s chances of survival.

“At the moment it’s intuitive for a racing engineer but less so for clinicians. For example, breathing rate kept coming up as “revs per minute”. So there’s some tweaking to do.”

It’s easy to be cynical about stories like this, but the application of F1 technology to other areas of life is such an important bi-product of the drive for innovation, which makes F1 what it is.

As the team bosses fight each other over how to control costs and what F1 should be all about, they could do with taking account of stories like this one.

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Caterham settle down at new home

Caterham started a new chapter in its history on Monday after completing their long-awaited move to their new Leafield factory.

The team have been based at Hingham since entering Formula One in 2010, but revealed at the start of this year that their F1 and GP2 outfits would move to Leafield, which was previously used by Arrows and Super Aguri, this season.

Although the operational bases will now shift to West Oxfordshire, the Hingham site will continue to expand as the home of Caterham Composites and Caterham Technology and Innovation.

The team have already started work on its cars following the enforced summer break, but renovation at the facility is expected to continue until late October.

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Button: Triathlons prepare me for F1

Having run his own triathlon, Jenson Button says doing the events has helped him improve as a Formula One driver.

Button's love affair with triathlons begun after a disappointing 2008 campaign with Honda when he turned to the endurance event "as a release."

Since then he has contested several events including trying out for the Ironman World Championship where he reportedly finished third in his age group.

However, this past weekend saw the McLaren driver take part in his own Trust Triathlon at Luton Hoo.

And according to the Brit, contesting these events has helped improve him as a F1 driver.

"When I took up triathlon I knew if I trained hard for it then I could succeed," Button told This Is Somerset.

"I really got into it, I got hooked. I just love the sport, and over the years I've become more competitive.

"But for me, most of it is to improve my physical fitness, which in turn helps mentally when I jump into an F1 car - it really makes a difference."

He added: "The team know I love doing triathlons and that it makes me a better driver and a better person. They're very understanding."

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Chief of New Jersey GP resigns

Controversy continues to dog the Grand Prix of America after it was confirmed that the company's president has resigned from his position.

Tom Cotter only took up the role in January, but he will step down at the end of August with Dennis Robinson, the event's chief operations engineer, and Richard Goldschmidt, the special assistant to race promoter Leo Hindery Jr., taking over his duties.

Despite his decision to leave, Cotter is confident the race will be a huge success.

"I have full faith in the Grand Prix of America team and look forward to sitting in the grandstands at a world-class race in 2013," he said in a statement in the New York Times.

Hindery Jr added: "We're all thankful for Tom's leadership in bringing Formula One to Port Imperial.

"During his stewardship we've made great progress and are less than a year away from the sport's top racers speeding around a street course with New York City in the background.

"We wish our friend Tom the best as he returns home to North Carolina."

New Jersey agreed a 10-year deal with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone in late September and the city is set to make its debut in June 2013.

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Alonso unsure about Kubica return

Fernando Alonso concedes it is difficult to say whether or not Robert Kubica will make a return to Formula One.

Former BMW and Renault driver Kubica has been out of action since the start of last season after he suffered life-threatening injuries during a rallying accident in Italy in February 2011.

Although the Pole is determined to return to competitive racing - he has already done a series of tests in an F1 car simulator - his close friend Alonso admits he is unsure if the 27-year-old will ever make a comeback.

"It's very hard to say whether Robert will return to 100 percent fitness and be able to race again in Formula 1," he said in an interview for September's F1 Racing.

"Now and again we speak and I know how much it hurts him to be so far away from what has always been his world. He has to keep calm and think first and foremost about recovering total functionality of his body, then he can think again about racing."

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Nurburgring eyes 'long' grand prix contract

The Nurburgring's current financial problems do not mean the German circuit has no future on the F1 calendar.

That is the claim of the fabled venue's boss Jorg Lindner, who said the company headed by himself and Kai Richter have a lease on the Nurburgring until 2040.

"I intend to fulfil it," he is quoted by the Rheinische Post newspaper.

The Nurburgring has entered an insolvency process, but Lindner said talks with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone remain on track.

"Everyone is talking about Mr Ecclestone, but nobody except us is talking to Mr Ecclestone," said Lindner, who revealed he had a meeting in London recently with the 81-year-old Briton.

The topic, he said, was a formula one race contract.

"Specifically, we are aiming for a long term relationship, not only for the season 2013," Lindner insisted.

"The receivers have given us an assurance that agreements we make with Mr Ecclestone need to be a part of the (insolvency) proceedings.

"Naturally, a sale would have a higher value with a formula one contract," he said.

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Third title 'not easy' for Alonso in 2012 - Senna

There is no guarantee Fernando Alonso will secure his third drivers' crown in 2012.

That is the view of Brazil's Bruno Senna, who drives for the famous British team Williams.

He is quoted by Totalrace as saying that while Ferrari driver Alonso's 40-point lead at the season mid-point is "reasonable", the Spaniard cannot afford to relax.

"There are still 225 points (for race wins) left, which is a lot," said Senna. "So even with 40 points more at the moment it's not going to be easy for him."

Senna said the development chase at the top teams is what will decide the title outcome.

"You never know what is going to happen in terms of the development," he explained. "It is possible that Ferrari will be left behind, even if I don't think they will let that happen."

Indeed, Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that, in 11 of Ferrari's 15 past drivers' title successes, the eventual champion had a points lead in August.

This was the case for Alberto Ascari (1952-3), Juan Manuel Fangio (1956), Mike Hawthorn (1958), Niki Lauda (1975-7), Jody Scheckter (1979) and Michael Schumacher (2001-4).

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Lotus confident of Raikkonen stay

Lotus' technical boss James Allison sees no reason why Kimi Raikkonen will not remain with the team next year.

The Finn is back in Formula One after a two-year absence and has enjoyed a successful return with Lotus, notching up five podium finishes.

While Raikkonen has been linked with a return to Ferrari should the Italian team part ways with Felipe Massa, Allison is confident that he will stay where he is in 2013.

"I think he likes it with us, I think we're giving him competitive equipment and it's a very straightforward working environment for any driver who comes and works in our team," Allison told the team's official website.

Allison believes that Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean form a very strong partnership and it's one that he hopes will flourish in the second half of the season and into next year.

"I think one of the reasons I am so excited about the second half of the season is both our drivers have their tails up, both of them are absolutely on song and we have bedded in with them and them with us and we are now making the most I hope of what is a very strong driver line-up," said the Briton.

"It will be important for us to carry that into next year, we won't have to do any of the engineering bedding in to do that we have to do when we have a new driver, if we can have that continuity.

"For the second half of this year it is going to be great. We are all working very nicely together, and if we can carry that through to the following year, which no doubt we will, that will be an advantage for us."

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Force India chasing down Williams for seventh

Force India's aim over the next couple of races is to surpass Williams to secure seventh place in the Constructors' standings, according to driver Nico Hulkenberg.

The German believes the target is a realistic one given they're just seven points behind the Grove team, and have in the past proven they're capable of developing their car further in to the season.

"We already showed last year that our development speed is very competitive and I do not see a reason why we shouldn't be able to repeat that again," he told the official F1 website.

"We're only seven points shy of Williams and I think we can catch them." Adding that ideally they'd like to pass Sauber too. "I don't know whether it’s possible to catch Sauber. It will be difficult, but the whole team will try their very best, that's for sure."

He admits the team may need to rely on an element of luck if they're to succeed given how strong Williams and Sauber's race pace is compared to their own.

"Well, although we improved our car, we have to be realistic," he added. "Pace-wise we are still behind Sauber, Williams and all the frontrunners. This means, that we have the chance to beat Williams, Sauber or Mercedes when our weekend goes completely smoothly and they struggle.

"In qualifying this happens more often, but in the race they have 50, 60, 70 laps to get their faster cars in front of ours. So our race pace actually shows us where we really are."

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Kovalainen: 'I had offers from mid-field teams'

Heikki Kovalainen has revealed that he had other options after leaving McLaren, but chose to join new team Caterham over a mid-field outfit.

The Finnish driver failed to impress at McLaren and struggled to keep up with team-mate Lewis Hamilton. After two seasons he left and joined start-up Lotus Racing (now known as Caterham), where he has regained his confidence.

Whilst he admits he had offers from 'middle of the pack' teams, he believes his decision to join Caterham was the right one.

"I had other options, but not with any big teams, teams that were in the middle of the pack," he told TotalRace. "I didn't see any great opportunity and so I preferred to go with a brand new team.

"It was a risky move, but I don't see how I'd be in a much better situation had I chosen a mid-field team."

It's clear Kovalainen has impressed at Caterham - often progressing through to Q2 on merit alone. When probed on whether a similar move for the struggling Felipe Massa could also benefit him and help him to rediscover his racing form, the Finn responded: "I chose to restart from scratch, changing many things - my routine, my training, everything basically," he said. "For me, choosing to start with a new team made me a better person, a better driver. Maybe Felipe's situation is different to mine, I don't know if my plan would work well for him."

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2012 Sauber 'best car on grid' - Marko

Sauber's 80 points so far in 2012 belies the true strength of the Swiss-made C31.

In fact, Red Bull manager Dr Helmut Marko claims the single seater steered by Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi this year is "perhaps the best car in the field".

However, the Ferrari-powered car has been on the podium just twice in 2012 so far, which has attracted criticism of the young driver duo.

McLaren's Jenson Button said: "It's not Perez who is the 'tyre whisperer', it's the car.

"If I was to drive my car as he drives his, then our tyres would wear out very quickly."

Peter Sauber recently described Sauber's 2012 season so far as a "roller coaster ride", although he did not specifically criticise Perez or Kobayashi.

He told Blick: "We have a very fast car that works very well on almost every circuit. We have the speed to win.

"We could have scored a lot more points."

With nine races to go, Hinwil based Sauber is ranked sixth of the 12 teams in the constructors' championship.

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Who says F1 is all work and no play? - video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gs7em0_xuE

In anticipation of possible rain during the Grand Prix of Belgium in Spa, the Sauber F1 Team and Checo's race engineer Marco Schüpbach played a special prank on Checo as a comeback to Sergio's joke towards the end of the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix.

After having started in 17th position, Sergio was in the points on 8th position when he sent a radio message to his race engineer in the final lap: "I have no more power, no power!" The despair on the pit stand was immense, but only for a short time. After crossing the finish line and securing the points, we could hear Checo on the team radio: "I was joking."

Watch Marco's ***-for-tat response to Checo in this funny clip.

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McLaren headquarters versus Caterham's new factory - video

Watch these videos and see the difference in facilities and resources between Mclaren and Caterham. Worth remembering when you are tempted to make fun of Caterham next time they are getting lapped by Lewis or Jenson.

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THE BIGGEST DANGER TO F1? SHORT TERM THINKING:

The Summer break has dragged on, with all F1 factories shut down for two weeks since the last Grand Prix. But that does not mean that nothing has been happening.

Behind the scenes F1 is moving forward on several fronts, at the same time as keeping an eye on the prosecutor’s office in Munich for any signs of a follow up to the conviction of Gerhard Grobkowsky, who said he had accepted a “bribe” from F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.

The teams are closing in on a deal to secure their involvement for the medium term, the next 8 years. The new Concorde Agreement is pretty much sorted out, but the outstanding issue is the sporting regulation and particularly cost control. And here the danger is that the teams revert to type and think short-term rather than long-term.

Before the break I interviewed Lotus F1 boss Gerard Lopez for a Financial Times feature. One of the subjects in our interview was cost control and it was interesting to hear his take, as a man with extensive business experience outside the sport, on the way the teams have been tying themselves in knots over the Resource Restriction Agreement.

He made a very interesting point about how people whose sole focus is on finding fractions of a second, struggle to see long term and I think he’s right.

“Some of the stuff that happens (in F1) is a bit strange,” says Lopez. “But there is so much at stake in terms of performance. We are talking about tenths and hundredths of a second. So it’s always edgy because the moment you give something up in a contract, you think you are losing something on the track. And the moment you lose something on the track you feel that you have the potential to lose sponsors or prizemoney. So there is an economic angle to whatever decision gets taken.

“The problem is everything is so tight, negotiation becomes really tough because of it. And that’s what marks this sport. When you think in terms of tenths of seconds, how does that combine with long-term thinking? Long term is years. Tenths of seconds is what defines winning and losing and all the contracts that we discuss always have some sort of impact on performance. “

FOTA split over the issue of cost control and the lack of trust between the teams and this loss of perspective is at the heart of it.

It’s easy to see how competitive individuals find it hard to change focus from short-term to long-term. But change they must if F1 is to secure the right formula for the future. A sport turning over the billions F1 does, should not see teams in financial trouble. The payments to the 12 teams in the current Concorde Agreement are well over $600 million, not divided equally of course, but it’s still a lot of money. Teams will always call for more money, while the sport’s owners will want to keep as much as possible. Controlling costs, like a proper business has to be the solution, as long as its the same for everyone.

Another problem that all the stakeholders have been wrestling with this summer is that while Ecclestone’s Formula One Management business is in charge of the Concorde Agreement, which is essentially a commercial contract, the FIA is in control of the sporting regulations, of which cost control is part. Some teams argue that they need to be controlled by the same body. So who should regulate the new RRA?

The answer needs to for be long term – like the thinking that needs to go behind it.