FORMULA 1 - 2012

[MIKA27]

Red Bull record worst result since Korea '10

Red Bull suffered their worst result in 36 races after both cars failed to score points at the Italian Grand Prix - the last time that happened was at the 2010 Korean GP.

Whilst Mark Webber made a driver error, spinning at the exit of Ascari to flat-spot his tyres which then resulted in him retiring, Sebastian Vettel endured yet another reliability issue.

The German was running fifth behind Fernando Alonso but was told by his team to immediately stop and turn his engine off as his alternator had overheated and cut power to the car - a fate he suffered at the European GP.

Team principal Christian Horner says the team must work flat-out with Renault to ensure there is no repeat of the incident this season.

"A hugely disappointing race – our first non-points scoring race since Korea 2010," he said after the race. "It was a repeat failure on Sebastian’s car with the alternator and we need to look into it and work with Renault to ensure it doesn't happen again.

"It's already cost us a victory in Valencia and now a points-finish again here in Monza. It's important we address it for the remaining seven races.

"For Mark, it was a tough race. Unfortunately he just ran out of tyres near the end of the race and the resulting flat spots that came from the high-speed spin put an awful lot of vibration in the car. Rather than risk a failure, we chose to retire the car."

Renault's Cyril Dumont explained the issue in more detail and apologised to the team for their failure.

"We changed the alternator on Sebastian's car yesterday, but unfortunately we had the same failure in today's race.

"We are still looking into why this happened, but we do know that even though the alternator was being operated entirely within the prescribed range, the part itself overheated and shut off the power supply.

"We have to apologise to Red Bull Racing as clearly this has hurt us in the Championship. We have no option, but to sort it out and it will still be a priority before Singapore."

[MIKA27]

Italian GP exceed Marussia expectation

The Marussia F1 Team's Italian Grand Prix weekend continued to exceed expectation in today's 53-lap race, with Charles Pic and Timo Glock finishing in 16th and 17th positions respectively.

Both drivers had strong cars beneath them today and all the indications were that they were looking good for achieving the team's target of displacing one of the cars of its immediate competitors.

Unfortunately for Timo, having lost his front wing end plate in the first lap melée, he started to lose aero performance and had to pit earlier than planned, which put him off-strategy for the balance of the race. Charles also had to switch strategy, from a planned one-stop race to two stops.

Charles Pic: "I am very happy with today's race performance as it represents another significant step for the team. We came here expecting it to be a tough weekend for us; our car had not performed well in Montreal, which has similar aerodynamic characteristics.

We worked well through the various set-up options to arrive at a car that was actually very strong and which today put us even closer to the cars ahead when we were perhaps expecting not to be so competitive to them here.

This is a good sign. In the race it was not a bad start, but not great, so there is some work we can do in the last stage of the season to improve that and our prospects for the races. We have some more upgrades for Singapore so I hope they translate into more of this great progress we have been seeing."

Timo Glock: "A bitter shame on my side really. The start itself was not great although I got through Turn 1 okay, but into Turn 2 there was a bit of a queue in front of me and Petrov moved to the outside, where I was. I couldn't avoid him and he just clipped my front wing, which was damaged as a result.

From there I couldn't really do much as we had lost a bit of performance and the car was just 'okay' to drive. Worse than that, as I stopped so early I was out of sequence. I had to stay out longer and had more degradation at the end as the stints were quite long for me.

Then blue flags cost us at the end. Overall I think we have to be quite pleased as we weren't really running with the traditional Monza downforce specification. I'm now looking forward to Singapore - my favourite race."

John Booth, Team Principal: "Overall, we've seen even further improvement today, however the race was not without its disappointments, as we were unable to finish in the positions that we had hoped for. Neither driver got the best of starts, however by the end of lap one we were in a position to challenge the cars directly ahead.

The pace of both cars was good initially, but unfortunately Timo had broken his front wing end plate during the first lap melée and had to pit for a new wing, which effectively ruined his race as he was well off the optimum strategy. Charles did a fantastic job to keep pace with our immediate competitors and our plan for him was to run a one stop race.

Unfortunately, we were limited by front tyre wear, despite having a good rate of rear degradation, and this resulted in us having to complete a two-stop race and lose what would have been track position to a Caterham.

Despite our steady progress, experiences such as this do still disappoint us, but we take great comfort and encouragement from seeing how well we have fared here, despite not running an optimum Monza downforce package.

We have achieved our target of ending the European section of the calendar on a positive note and we look forward to a very busy but exciting final phase of the season.

As we say goodbye to Monza I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the team, both trackside and back at base, for all their hard work and dedication to the task of improving both car and team performance. We really are coming into our own now and we can all take tremendous pride in what we are achieving at this stage in the season."

[MIKA27]

An exciting Italian GP for HRT

An exciting Italian Grand Prix took place today in Monza. An event where Pedro de la Rosa reached the 100 Formula 1 Grand Prix mark, reserved for a chosen few, which topped off a positive weekend for HRT Formula 1 Team.

For the seventh time this season, both F112's crossed the checkered flag with Pedro de la Rosa in 18th position and Narain Karthikeyan in 19th. With a one-stop strategy, both drivers started off with medium compound tyres, but it was the hard compound used in the second half of the race that worked better.

Formula 1 closes the book on European races and, in two weeks, will start another extra-European swing with the Singapore Grand Prix (21st-23rd of September).

Pedro de la Rosa: "I'm more than satisfied with the result, especially keeping in mind how we started the race. The start wasn't easy but I did what I could because the medium tyres didn't work well. In the second half of the race, on hard tyres, I started to run well and I'm happy with our pitstop because it was very good.

I'm happy with this 100th Grand Prix although I would have liked to have done it better. We have to continue improving and in Singapore we hope for the planned upgrades to help us take that step forward".

Narain Karthikeyan: "I had a great start and overtook both Marussias, but on the first corner we had a slight touch that, besides making me lose positions, damaged my front wing. The car was oversteering and we made the most of the pit stop to the change the front wing, which made us lose a substantial amount of time.

Then the blue flags started coming out and we also had to change our driving mode to avoid excessive overheating and reach the end of the race. Nevertheless, I'm happy because the car is performing well and surely, if we continue working hard, we will achieve a good result. Now the Asian swing begins and I'm very excited about racing close to home in Singapore".

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: "I'm happy with how the race went; we experienced no problems and the car proved its good reliability. We carried out a one-stop strategy which worked well and finished one lap off the winner, which proved that we had a good performance.

We've closed the gap to the head of the field at a circuit that we knew would benefit us. Overall it's been a positive weekend with Ma's debut and Pedro's 100th Grand Prix, and now we're looking forward to Singapore, where I hope we will be able to continue progressing".

[MIKA27]

Average race for Caterham at Monza

Heikki Kovalainen (car 20, chassis CT01-#03 - Finished: 14th - Fastest lap: 1.29.399 (lap 46): "Overall the race was OK and better than we had last weekend but for me it was a pretty hard afternoon, not too bad but maybe a bit average. I didn't really have the performance I had on the longer runs on Friday and the grip level felt lower so I couldn't really attack and that held me up a bit on each set of tyres.

"Now we have a couple of weeks to work through everything we've learnt in Italy and from Spa and make sure we go to Singapore with a clear idea of where we lost time in Belgium and what we can do to keep improving in the rest of the season. Everyone's determined to get back to where we should be and we'll see what we've learnt when we get back on track in two weeks time."

Vitaly Petrov: (car 21, chassis CT01-#02 - Finished: 15th - Fastest lap: 1.29.066 (lap 46): "My car felt fantastic all afternoon so thanks to the team for giving me a car I could push my teammate with right up to the last lap. The pitstops were good and the mechanics and engineers did a great job to keep me in the hunt with Heikki.

With a few laps left Heikki and I were right up behind Fernando but Heikki was close enough to the Ferrari to use his DRS, otherwise maybe I'd have been able to pass. Anyway, we've definitely improved since Spa and we can build on this for Singapore and the rest of the season.

"It was my birthday yesterday and I had a quiet dinner with some friends. Now I can go out and celebrate a bit more and that'll be a good way to finish the European races this year - maybe I should make sure I have dinner with them before every race so I can have as good a Sunday as this for the rest of the year!"

[MIKA27]

Another alternator problem hurts Vettel

Christian Horner has confirmed that yet another alternator failure caused Sebastian Vettel to retire from Sunday's Italian grand prix.

Having lost his charge for victory in Valencia earlier this year with the same problem, the issue resurfaced at Monza on Saturday when the reigning world champion broke down in practice.

It struck again on Sunday; a big blow to the German's championship hopes.

"It has to be corrected quickly," team boss Horner told the German broadcaster Sky.

After the practice problem, alternator supplier Renault apologised to Red Bull.

"Today it cost us a lot of points," Horner said on Sunday. "We have to move forward with it urgently if we are to continue for the title."

With Mark Webber also retiring in Italy, is is defending champions Red Bull's first double non-points finish since Korea 2010.

Earlier at Monza, Vettel was penalised by the stewards for forcing his championshp rival Fernando Alonso wide at the Curva Grande.

Last year, it was Alonso who pushed Vettel wide at the very same corner.

"It looked quite the same as a year ago," Horner said. "I thought it was a normal racing incident, with Sebastian in front and taking his line.

"It was very surprising that we were punished for it," he insisted.

[MIKA27]

Kovalainen to Lotus? - 'silly season' keeps racing

With Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher corking up the driver market, the notorious 'silly season' just keeps getting sillier at Monza.

Almost every possible permutation of driver/team combination has been whispered on the asphalt behind the Autodromo's pits, and the latest is that Lotus could have two Finns at the wheel in 2013.

That would mean the currently-banned Romain Grosjean is ousted, with Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen to team up with Kimi Raikkonen next season.

Kovalainen is denying nothing.

"I don't have a problem to race with anyone," he told the MTV3 broadcaster, "so I don't think it would be a problem to be with another Finn, but at the same time it's pointless to speculate."

Kovalainen has also been linked with Ferrari.

"I've heard all the rumours, but at this stage I have nothing more to say," he insisted.

"Managers do their work and when they have something to tell you, they will tell you," he added coyly.

It has also been rumoured at Monza that Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen could return to McLaren next year to replace Hamilton.

Mika Salo, a former Finnish F1 driver turned commentator, doesn't think so.

"Kimi is with Lotus. He is very happy there," he said.

Salo has also heard the rumour linking Kovalainen with Lotus.

"The information is from a reliable source on the inside," said the former Ferrari and Toyota driver.

Still, he thinks it's unlikely Lotus will part with Grosjean, given his close relationship with the team's boss Eric Boullier.

Salo reckons Ferrari is Kovalainen's best option.

"Ferrari's options are limited and Heikki knows it," he said.

"When the Hamilton, Schumacher and Massa situation changes, things will begin to move (for everyone else)," added Salo.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton denies 'learning' from teammate Button

Lewis Hamilton has denied he has learned anything from Jenson Button during their three seasons together at McLaren.

With the British team locked in negotiations over a new contract with 2008 world champion Hamilton, boss Martin Whitmarsh reportedly said the duo are a good pairing because they "learn" from each other.

"I don't know why Martin would say that, as I couldn't say what I have learned from Jenson," Hamilton is quoted by El Pais newspaper.

"I learned from Fernando (Alonso in 2007), but I don't particularly feel I have learned from Jenson."

The comments could indicate a growing rift between the McLaren teammates, after Button scolded Hamilton recently over the 'Twittergate' secrets affair.

And the awkwardness might also be powered by the fact that Paul di Resta, the Force India driver, has split with Hamilton's father Anthony and is now managed by a management partnership that involves Button.

On the Twitter affair, Hamilton commented: "I didn't mean to go against my teammate or my team, I just wanted my fans to understand.

"Now I know why I shouldn't (have done it) and it won't happen again."

El Pais asked Hamilton if he looks at his former McLaren teammate Alonso with envious eyes, having built up the Ferrari team around him and enjoying a clear 'number 1' role.

"Well, no, I have no need or desire to be in a team like that; I like to be somewhere where I have to fight with my teammate," he said.

But he admitted he is thinking of going somewhere else.

"It would be nice to end where I began," said Hamilton, "but when your contract expires, you look around to see what else there is; if there are other challenges or opportunities.

"It's good for you to do that."

Triple world champion and legend Sir Jackie Stewart, however, urged Hamilton to stick with McLaren.

"(If) You go to Mercedes, who are a wonderful company, it would take a five minute decision from the board for them to decide to stop motor sport," he warned.

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen locked into 2013 contract claims Lotus boss

Team owner Gerard Lopez has moved to silence the persistent rumours about Kimi Raikkonen's future, amid reports that the Finn would be moving away from Lotus team at the end of the season.

Recently, the impressive F1 returnee was linked with a switch next year to his former title-winning team Ferrari. And now amid the Lewis Hamilton rumours, some have mentioned 32-year-old Raikkonen as the ideal successor, reprising his five-year McLaren career of 2002-2006.

Lotus team figures have, however, revealed that Raikkonen is on a two-year contract. But, in F1, contractual situations are usually complicated, with drivers and teams often only obligated in the event of certain performance-related criteria.

Lopez told Finland's Turun Sanomat that Raikkonen is staying in 2013.

"At least in the short term, Kimi is with us," he revealed. "We have an agreement that is based on performance, and it has been fulfilled."

Lopez acknowledged, however, that a team should not "force anyone" to race its cars "if they don't want to be with us".

In that case, "Kimi wants to be here, as does Romain Grosjean," the Luxembourgian entrepreneur insisted, "and we are happy with them too."

Lopez said he has not been surprised by the McLaren and Ferrari rumours.

"No," he answered. "This is F1. Sometimes the rumours are true, sometimes someone has just come up with it, based on nothing."

[MIKA27]

Alonso: The race went like a movie for us, like a dream

Fernando Alonso salvaged third place after starting the Italian Grand Prix at Monza from tenth on the grid. The Spaniard was involved in a tight duel with Sebastian Vettel which ended when the world champion got a drive through penalty. Nevertheless Alonso continues to have a handy lead in the championship standings. He spoke on the podium and in the FIA press conference after the race. here are highlights.

It was a difficult race for you, from where came from, please explain.

Fernando Alonso: It was a difficult race starting from tenth. But we knew that we had maybe the quickest car maybe this weekend. We missed pole position yesterday but todaywe had the pace to recover positions, so it was good.

After qualifying tenth, I guess third place is good. Still a bit frustrated or not?

FA: No, no. Absolutely perfect Sunday for us. Obviously the win was out of reach after the problem yesterday. Starting tenth [it] is not easy to think about victory, so if you cannot win, [a[ podium is [the] next target. In all the simulations and all the predictions we had, it was never a podium finish, so basically it's much better than expected. Jenson was out of the race and the two Red Bulls…so [a] perfect Sunday maybe.

And you picked up a couple of places at the start…

FA: Yeah, the start was good. Obvious we didn't have maybe the best start but it was enough to overtake two or three cars, good first corner and then those two first laps were, I think, making the difference of our race. We overtook di Resta, Kimi, Michael very quickly. And that gave us the opportunity to follow Sebastian and the quick cars that were there in the first five positions. So, when you find yourself sixth after two or three laps, the race improves a lot.

Then you had a bit of a moment with Sebastian, where you found yourself on the grass through the Curva Grande. What happened there?

FA: Nothing really to say.

After qualifying you said it wasn't a good day but it would be OK in the worst case if both McLarens win. The day was even better because only one of them are [in] front of you. Sergio was there. What can you say? You build up your lead in the championship.

FA: Yeah, definitely. Yesterday was a disappointment day for us and especially for our fans. I think they were supporting us massively this weekend and we really had the opportunity to be on pole or in the first row and we missed it. So, we were sad for us and most of all for the fans. So, yeah, looking at the championship, we say we need to concentrate who will be second. It was Vettel yesterday and we were happy for the McLarens to be strong this weekend. And yeah, the race went like a movie for us, like a dream.

Were you surprised by Vettel's action; you seemed to be forced off to the left side of the corner at that moment? Were you scared that your race could be compromised at that point?

FA: I think it was compromised. I lost ten laps behind him so I lost whatever seconds there were at that moment after the incident, also the laps behind him. I'm sure the car is damaged because at 330km/h you are jumping over the gravel. I don't think that the floor and everything all the details that you take care of because the race will be completely fine after those jumps.

Do you think that the guy alongside you is going to be your main competitor in the championship?

FA: We'll see, we will see in the next couple of races and how the teams develop the parts. At the moment McLaren has won the last three grands prix and they are in top form. I think from Jerez they won in winter testing, who was the driver that I respect more and that was Lewis and we're still here, 11 or 12 races afterwards we are first and second in the championship. It will be tough until the end.

Several times you have said that you love the Singapore circuit, it's perfect for your style and Lewis also loves to drive on street circuits. What do you project for the next race, now you're both fighting for the championship?

FA: Well, we'll see. I think it's a very nice race, very nice atmosphere in Singapore and not only for the race on Sunday. I think from the day you arrive, Wednesday or Thursday, it's a special weekend, you feel it. All the times and everything is out of the normal routine and I think you enjoy the change a little bit more and I think the circuit is quite interesting, very challenging. I think you enjoy driving there. Fans are always very close to us in that circuit as well and I think there will be a nice atmosphere, a nice fight. Personally I hope it will be a good test for us because there are a lot of new things that we will bring to Singapore, so let's hope we can fight for the win.

You said you were really lucky here, but how much does the car need to improve, because sometimes you cannot depend on being lucky?

FA: Yes, obviously I don't consider that we've been lucky. We've just been unlucky, even yesterday, compared with many of the others, and today someone broke some parts that is probably something that is not right, as we broke some parts yesterday that we need to investigate and it's our mistake. In Spa we've been unlucky because we didn't break any parts so we didn't make any mistakes, it was just a car landing on us, so I don't think that we are particularly lucky but it's true that we need to improve the car, to improve the performance a little bit, not this weekend because to be honest we had the fastest car with McLaren, so we were very happy to fight all the free practice, qualifying and now in the race for the top positions, and hopefully we can continue this in another track, because we know that Monza is a very unique layout, so if we continue like this we will be happy, and that's our aim.

In your opinion what was the difference between the movement of Vettel today and the movement you made in the same place last season? Was it more aggressive? What's your opinion?

FA: I think we need to see it on TV. Last year it was not penalised, this year it has been. I think there is a big difference for the people who understand this movement.

When you were fighting against Vettel and you were on the grass, what were you thinking at that moment?

FA: Nothing. I tried to get off the grass and continue the race. I wanted to finish the race and not have another DNF because of an accident, just taking some margin, the same as when Sergio arrived a second quicker than us in the last part of the race: what can we do? We tried to defend the position a little bit but we cannot be crazy and try to do things that are impossible to do.

Very tight first corner here. From tenth on the grid what was your approach for the start and how did that first corner go for you?

FA: Actually I have a very open mind in terms of strategy for the first corner. I just wanted to see how the car started and how the first 200 meters went and after that decide. The start was good in the first 200 meters so after that the approach was aggressive. After you make a good start, you need to continue, and you cannot lose what you gain in the first 200 meters. We risked but it was close. As you said, very tight first corner here so it's very easy to lose your front nose or whatever. It was tight but it was good.

[MIKA27]

Massa succumbs to team orders but Button still fighting

Felipe Massa and Jenson Button will take vastly different approaches to the remaining races of the 2012 F1 world championship season as their respective teammates look set to tussle it out for the biggest crown in motorsport.

Button admitted after retiring from Sunday's Italian grand prix that his title hopes are now all but over. The 2009 world champion is 78 points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso with seven races to go, while his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton is still right in the reckoning.

"It (the championship) is going to be very difficult but nothing is going to change," Button said before leaving Monza. "I am still going to race hard and try to win every race. It is such a special feeling to win a grand prix."

At Ferrari, however, the pecking-order is now firmly in place, and Felipe Massa fighting hard to stay with the Italian team for 2013 got the team orders firing on Sunday.

He let Alonso pass him at Monza to maximise the championship leader's points tally, and vowed to do more of the same if possible between Singapore later this month and the Brazilian finale in November.

"I worked for the team, trying to help Fernando, which is as it should be," said Massa. "I have always done it and will do it whenever it's necessary."

Team boss Stefano Domenicali praised Massa's race and attitude, "Felipe proved to everyone not to us, because we knew already that he is a driver who can fight for the very top spot and that at Ferrari, we work as a team, united in our efforts to reach the targets we set ourselves."

If Massa can keep up his improved form, the 'number 2′ issue could ultimately be decisive in Ferrari's deliberations about its 2013 lineup.

Sauber's Sergio Perez, although hotly tipped to oust Massa, said after passing the Ferrari drivers at Monza that he will "fight any driver, no matter if it's Fernando or Lewis".

Massa said on Sunday: "I don't know if this race changes anything regarding my future, but definitely the most important thing for now is to keep going like this, working with great concentration and trying to do my best for the team."

[MIKA27]

RENAULT MAKES ALTERNATOR FIX TOP PRIORITY FOR SINGAPORE AS RED BULL COUNT THE COST OF LOST POINTS:

Renault is promising Red Bull that it will do everything it can to improve both the reliability, and general performance, of its engines and related parts for the remaining races of the season in wake of the latest alternator failure suffered by Sebastian Vettel in Italy.

What had already proved a challenging Monza weekend sunk to disastrous depths for the world champion team in the closing five laps of the race as the alternator on Vettel’s car failed for the second time in two days, prompting the German to park up, and then heavily-worn hard tyres accounted for Mark Webber following a spin on safety grounds.

Although slightly later in the championship, the depressing afternoon drew parallels with the last time Red Bull failed to score points in a grand prix – Korea 2010 – and Christian Horner’s downbeat demeanour in interviews post-race reflected the sense that the lost points have done serious damage to its chances of a hat-trick in both championship battles.

Having responded to the previous alternator break on Vettel’s car in Valencia in June – which cost the German a win and 25 points – by introducing a larger part for subsequent races, Renault has to now go back to the drawing board to establish the reason for the latest internal overheating fault.

Renault Sport’s head of track operations Rémi Taffin said: “This weekend has not been acceptable from either a performance or reliability point of view. We have to apologise to Red Bull for the two failures on Sebastian’s car, first in FP3 and now in the race. In both cases the alternator failed. We introduced a new spec’ of alternator following the problems in Valencia and believed this would overcome the issues. We are still looking into why the part failed again here but we do know that even though the alternator was being operated entirely within the prescribed range, the part itself overheated and shut off the power supply.

“This is a priority between ourselves and our suppliers and we have to ensure we are fully on top of the problem before Singapore.”

In both races that the alternator has failed on Vettel’s RB8 high ambient temperatures have been present but Magneti Marelli, the Italian firm which Renault works with on its systems including KERS, has said that this wasn’t the reason behind the repeat failure.

Although another of Renault’s customer teams, Lotus, has also experienced alternator issues, there have been suggestions that Adrian Newey’s famously tightly-packaged design approach may be exacerbating the problem for Red Bull.

BBC technical analyst Gary Anderson, speaking in the Five Live chequered flag podcast last night, suggested the team could also take it upon itself to do something about the insulation of the alternator – which runs at very high speed – drawing a parallel to an experience he had at Jordan in the mid-1990s with Peugeot power when it created a water jacket around the part to keep it cool with engine water.

Horner, whose team would have headed to Singapore with only a one-point advantage over McLaren had Jenson Button not dropped out of second, admitted the double DNF had left the team no more room for slip-ups.

“We can’t afford to not be finishing races,” he admitted. “It makes the mountain higher but both the drivers are still in the race for the championship and we’re leading the constructors’ by 29 points with seven races to go. We’ve just got to make sure we throw everything at it.”

[MIKA27]

HOW MONZA IS HELPING TO SHAPE A REVOLUTION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE WORLD:

Something very unusual happened during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix – the telemetry failed in the Ferrari garage between laps 17 and 24, so the team had no information from the cars on temperatures, pressures or any of the vital information on tyre wear.

As this was in the window for making the one and only tyre stop of the race, this was quite a critical issue. An electrical problem had knocked it out. Luckily they were still transmitting data back to the team’s factory in Maranello and so the engineers on the pit wall had to liaise with them for data updates via mobile phone and made their decision from there, pitting Alonso on lap 20. He went on to finish third.

“It’s never happened before, “ said team boss Stefano Domenicali.

It is indeed rare that a problem occurs with telemetry, but it serves to remind everyone of how much the teams rely on it.

Telemetry started in the late 1980s when teams were sending data in bursts as the car went past the out buildings. It moved on to continuous high rate data in the early 1990s, but on tracks like Monza where cars pass through trees, there would be sections of coverage they would lose in terms of real time data. There were around 30 seconds when teams couldn’t see anything.

Into the 2000s, teams fixed that limitation by retransmitting data as soon as the car got back into and areas of coverage. By the time the cars went past the garage, all the data for that lap had been seen. In 2002 two-way telemetry was permitted so engineers could change settings on the cars from the pits. This is no longer allowed, but much was learned.

Nowadays they use multiple antennae around the circuit. McLaren Electronic Systems, the supplier of the F1 Electronic Control Unit, place antennae that are available for all the teams to use.

As the cars go around the track, as they move out of site of one antenna they come into sight of another and use that to send the data across. This manages the transition between antennae, which is how a mobile phone network works.

What that means for F1 is that on any circuit, including the difficult circuits like Monaco and Monza, you get almost 100% full-time coverage and at the same time high bandwidth that the teams demand.

There is a growing demand for faster connectivity and bi-directional connectivity which will allow teams to send data back to their factories more efficiently and do more with the data.

Beyond that, what is very interesting is that McLaren Electronic Systems and Freescale which makes the micro-controllers, are using the learnings from F1 telemetry to play a part in a revolution in the automotive world, with the “connected car”; external data coming to the car is going to be used to affect the way the car is driven to make it safer and more efficient, two goals that it shares with F1.

Currently we see the “connected car” concept in technology like dynamic traffic management systems, which link in with Sat Navs to reroute cars away from congestion. But looking further ahead things like anti-collision radar technology and more sophisticated vehicle-to-vehicle communications will make motoring safer and more efficient.

Underpinning the connected car concept on the road is a robust infrastructure. How do you connect cars that are travelling at speed, through tunnels and forests and so on in order to build intelligence between the vehicles? F1 has already had to crack that problem over the last 20 years and still has to crack it every two weeks in a completely different environment.

Every two weeks F1 gets to test, develop, improve and evolve with 24 very fast moving vehicles.

F1 needs to get the details right, ironing out the imperfections to ensure a robust connection. F1 is one of very few test beds for this technology. Also F1’s cycles are very fast, it changes from race to race and season to season, there is pressure to innovate and get it out there, whereas automotive development cycles can be six or seven years.

[MIKA27]

Kubica wins Italian rally

Robert Kubica made a winning return to competitive motorsport at the Ronde Gomitolo di Lana in Italy on Sunday.

The former F1 driver, who has been out of action since his horrific rally accident in February last season, was back behind the wheel in Italy.

Driving a Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, Kubica won all four stages of the rally to claim the title by almost a minute over his nearest rival, Omar Bergo.

The Pole is hoping that the rally is just another step towards a possible return to Formula One.

"Being here is already a good step, but I would have preferred to be somewhere else," the 27-year-old told SkySport24 ahead of the event.

"I have still got a long road to travel and will probably never be at the same physical level as before but I don't intend to give up.

"The aim remains to return to Formula One and the next few months will tell me whether I can do it next year already or will have to wait until 2014."

[MIKA27]

Button: Nothing is going to change

Jenson Button has again insisted he won't play second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton despite his Monza DNF all but putting an end to his title ambitions.

Although eight days ago Button was celebrating his return to the Championship race thanks to his win at Spa, it was a very different story on Sunday night in Italy.

The McLaren driver failed to see the chequered flag, his second retirement of the season, putting him a massive 78 points behind Championship leader Fernando Alonso.

Button's ambitions, though, were dealt a further blow by Hamilton's victory as the other McLaren driver is now up to second, just 37 points adrift of the Ferrari.

But despite Hamilton being in a much stronger position, Button insists he won't be playing number two any time soon as he still wants more wins.

"It is going to be very difficult but nothing is going to change," said the 32-year-old. "I am still going to race hard and try and win every race from here on in.

"But when one of us scores well, the other doesn't score at all.

"We scored 25 points in the last two races and that is by winning while the other guy has not finished. It is not good and we have got to sort that out."

The Brit had been lapping in a distant second to Hamilton when he retired from Sunday's Italian GP.

"The pace was very good in the first stint and it was all going smoothly in the second stint," Button said.

"But then the guys started telling me to adjust things on the steering wheel and I was like, 'hang on'. Then I came out of Ascari and it just cut out.

"It was all going in the right direction. It was a big gap to Lewis so first was always going to be difficult but I was going to give it a go."

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Mercedes to debut major upgrade at test

Mercedes are set to introduce their first major upgrade package in several races, which it hopes will provide a boost for the end of the season.

It's believed they will test the package, which includes a Lotus style DDRS and a McLaren style exhaust, at the Magny-Cours Young Driver Test this week.

The team has lacked development recently, which team principal Ross Brawn explained was intentional as they battled with the high tyre wear.

"We weren't understanding the tyres and concluded that the most effective thing we could do, rather than go straight to a Coanda-system [the exhaust system used by McLaren and others], was to understand the tyres, to get them a bit more under control," he told Autosport.

"Perhaps we should have done both in parallel but we concentrated on what we thought was the most important thing."

Now the team is on top of their tyre woes, Brawn says it's time to work on the cars pace.

"We're much better at managing the tyres and we've actually had races where we've made our tyres last better than some of our competitors, which was not the case at the beginning of the year.

"We have also done work in the wind tunnel which, with our new 60 per cent model, has helped us understand more about that type of exhaust system. That's what we'll be evaluating this week."

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Ferrari: 'Alonso lucky to finish Italian GP'

Ferrari believe Fernando Alonso was lucky to finish the Italian Grand Prix in the position he did, after the team revealed that his car suffered heavy damage during his clash with Sebastian Vettel.

Alonso and Vettel were battling for fifth position when the Spaniard had to take to the grass as a result of Vettel running him wide. The Red Bull driver later received a drive-through penalty and then retired with an alternator failure.

Whilst Alonso looked to have escaped the frightening ordeal unscathed, Ferrari confirmed his car in fact suffered heavy damage which could have ended his race.

"We had a problem with the car and if you see, it has big damage on the left rear and also there was something broken from a mechanical point of view," confirmed team principal Stefano Domenicali.

"We told him at the end not to go on the kerbs because he could have had a bigger problem.

"I am pleased that he finished the race."

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Williams profits up after Ecclestone payment

Williams Grand Prix Holdings (WGF1) has announced its half-year interim results, with an increase turnover by 57% to £73 million from £46.4m in 2011.

Profits are also up on the back of increased turnover. The core business made a net profit of £8.5m compared to just £2.9m in the last six months of 2011.

This is great news for the team with higher turnover coming from a "diversification strategy" into new areas such as an expansion of its KERS customer base.

It also includes a one-off 'sweetener payment' from Bernie Ecclestone "following a new commercial agreement for our continued commitment to Formula One," read a statement.

Founder and Team Principal Sir Frank Williams said of the results: "Williams is at a very exciting stage in its history and these promising results are indicative of this. We have made good progress on track this year, thanks in part to a new technical team, which has seen us pick up our first win in eight years. Our diversification strategy is also gaining momentum, positioning us as a leader in the development of cutting edge technology in areas such as sustainability and safety."

Chief Executive Officer Alex Burns added: "We are pleased to report interim results that demonstrate the ongoing stability of the business in a difficult economic climate. We have made a step forward in Formula One this season and expect this upward trend to continue into next season.

"These results also validate our long term business plan of adapting technology and know-how developed in Formula One for commercial application in energy efficiency, safety and education. Our core business is now generating strong revenue figures from projects outside of Grand Prix racing. For example, our partnership with Jaguar, to develop the ground breaking C-X75 hybrid supercar, is making good progress and other Formula One teams are also using our technology, including a new deal with Marussia that will see them use our KERS technology next year.

"Williams Hybrid Power and Williams Technology Centre, Qatar continue to show growth in line with the targets we have set. Williams Hybrid Power has secured some notable successes so far this year, announcing a new partnership with Go-Ahead Group and helping to power a hybrid Audi to victory at Le Mans. Williams Technology Centre, Qatar is receiving ongoing investment into its R&D activities, with the Middle East’s most advanced road safety simulator about to be unveiled to the world next month."

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Force India confirm test driver line-up

Force India have confirmed that Jules Bianchi, Luiz Razia and Rodolfo Gonzalez will partake in the upcoming young driver test at Magny-Cours this week.

Jules is the team's third driver and has completed seven free practice sessions for the team already this season.

"I'm really happy to be doing the young driver test at my home circuit of Magny-Cours," said Bianchi. "It's a track I really enjoy and I’ve raced there a few times in Formula Renault. The team has already given me lots of opportunities to drive during practice sessions, but I’m really looking forward to getting a full day in the car."

23-year-old Razia is currently second in the GP2 Series standings. The Brazilian will drive the VJM05 on Tuesday 11th September with Jules taking over for the second day of running on Wednesday.

"I'm glad that Sahara Force India has given me this great opportunity," said Razia. "It's a chance to work with an established team and I’m sure I will learn a lot from the experience. I’ve raced at the Magny-Cours circuit before in the junior categories and enjoy the track. It’s very smooth with some quick corners so it will be a good venue for testing. My objective is simply to follow the programme and help the team as much as possible."

26-year-old Gonzalez is also competing in the GP2 Series and will drive the VJM05 for the final day of testing on Thursday.

"This test will be a very important day for me and I’m very excited to be working with Sahara Force India," added Gonzalez. "I’ve driven a few Formula One cars before so I just want to build on that experience and show the team what I can do. The team has been very helpful and given me time on the simulator at the factory so I feel well prepared to make the most of this chance."

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Hamilton's winning mood hints McLaren tenure ending

Lewis Hamilton gave away more clues about his future after winning Sunday's Italian grand prix.

Although at Monza the Briton matched Mika Hakkinen's career tally of 20 wins, he looked miserable as he celebrated the Monza victory with his team.

Observing the post-race events, Express journalist Bob McKenzie wrote: "Hamilton looked like a man who has the world on his shoulders rather than in front of him".

And photos of the British team's traditional victory photograph depicted Hamilton, 27, as the only McLaren member without his fist aloft in triumph.

"There appeared to be tension in the air," said another observer, writing for the French news agency AFP.

"As (team boss Martin) Whitmarsh hugged Hamilton, the embrace looked strained and then the 2008 champion struggled to raise a smile, or a clenched fist, when asked to by photographers."

Was Hamilton's mood indicative of a terminal falling-out with McLaren, on the eve of a rumoured 2012 switch to rivals Mercedes?

A report in the Daily Mail said Ron Dennis, McLaren's impresario who was at Monza for the grand prix, failed to applaud when Hamilton collected the winner's trophy.

Asked if it would be a shame if McLaren did not have two Britons at the wheel next year, Dennis answered: "It is not essential, we always have the two best available drivers."

Whitmarsh is quoted as saying: "We want Lewis to stay if he wants to stay."

Writing in the Times, Kevin Eason suspects the cat may be out of the bag following a recent meeting between Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone.

Not long after that get-together, Eddie Jordan was telling the world Michael Schumacher is going to be replaced by Hamilton next year.

Actually, Hamilton still has the entire paddock guessing.

Asked if it's a shame his teammate Jenson Button could not complete a McLaren one-two on Sunday, he teased: "Maybe next year."

Not, however, if some of Hamilton's McLaren colleagues have anything to do with it. One unnamed McLaren staffer told Der Spiegel at Monza: "We are extremely upset with him.

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Webber's 'older' alternator survived at Monza

Mark Webber's alternator survived the Italian grand prix because it was an "older" specification.

That is the claim of Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, after reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel on Sunday suffered a repeat of his Saturday morning failure and failed to finish at Monza.

"The part was from the latest specification (of alternator) that came after the similar failure in Valencia," Marko is quoted by Salzburger Nachrichten.

"Webber had an alternator from an older specification that had no problem," said the Austrian.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said engine supplier Renault, whose supply partner for the alternator is Magneti Marelli, is treating the problem as a priority.

"Since 2011 we have changed virtually nothing," said Renault's baffled Remi Taffin.

One glimmer of hope is that the Renault alternator used by Lotus' Jerome d'Ambrosio at Monza was showing early signs of failure, which could be useful for getting to the bottom of the mystery.

Arguably the bigger problem for Red Bull, however, is the recent lack of pace.

Former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari said Monza was "the (team's) worst performance since 2008".

And yet another problem on Sunday was Vettel's penalty for driving Fernando Alonso off the track, even though a similar incident at Curva Grande a year ago was ignored by the stewards.

Was the FIA giving Ferrari a helping-hand at Monza on Sunday?

"I think not," Vettel, dismissing the conspiracy, told Bild newspaper.

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Ferrari says Kimi Raikkonen a dangerous man in the championship fight now

Kimi Raikkonen has emerged as a 'danger man' for Ferrari's title hopes, according to the Italian team.

The Lotus driver moved up to third place in the standings after Monza thanks to his fifth-place finish, and his impressive consistency leaves him just 38 points behind Fernando Alonso in the standings - and one point behind Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali thinks the title battle is wide open, and that Raikkonen is the one to watch out for because he has been performing so well without being under the spotlight.

"I have to respect all of them," said Domenicali when asked about who he felt was Ferrari's biggest threat for the world championship. "I always said Kimi step-by-step is a dangerous driver, and he is getting closer and closer.

"Hamilton, with the car he has now, is very, very strong and we have seen in the last few races that anything can happen. So all the drivers that are in the top five/six I think need to be taken very seriously.

"We need to see race-by-race what is the competitive situation of the car that they are driving. That is the only thing we have to do now."

Domenicali also believes that the fight for the constructors' championship has been blown wide open by the double retirement for Red Bull at Monza. The reigning champion outfit is 19 points ahead of McLaren now, with Ferrari 17 points further adrift.

"I have to say for us that because of the retirement of Red Bull, the constructors' is difficult but still open for the four top teams.

"So it is another motivating factor for all of us, to make sure we are performing as we can and that is what we will do."

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Nico Rosberg suspects bad set of tyres hurt his Italian GP prospects

Nico Rosberg suspects a bad set of tyres cost him the chance of a strong result in the Italian Grand Prix last weekend.

The Mercedes driver qualified in sixth position, but said he was struggling with a set of tyres which lacked grip.

He reckons that was confirmed at the start, where he dropped down to 11th place.

While he struggled during his first stint, Rosberg flew once he switched to new tyres, eventually finishing in seventh position behind team-mate Michael Schumacher.

The younger German driver said he was encouraged by his car's pace during the weekend, but he reckons the first set of tyres cost him dearly.

"It was a positive weekend for us, because performance wise the car was looking good both in qualifying and the race," Rosberg said during his post-race video blog.

"For me I think in the end I was unlucky. In qualifying I just had a tyre set that didn't have any grip so I was a bit slow and ended up sixth, which still is OK.

"The fact that the tyre grip was no good was confirmed in the race because already from the start there was no grip at all.

"I lost five positions although all the settings were perfect, and I had no grip also in the first stint. So that was a tough start to the day.

"But then we came into the pits and put some new tyres on and from then on it was fantastic.

"I had a great balance in the car, really fast, overtaking lots of people, fastest lap of the race one after another, so that was cool and I was motivated to make up as many positions and come home in seventh right behind Michael, so that was OK."

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Behind the scenes at Monza

Monza. No other place on the Formula 1 calendar stirs such emotions and it's no wonder the Italian Grand Prix conjures up historic cliches like no other race: the ghosts of the past, the trees whispering about the legends of old, the banking that conveys the bravery of racers past.

But Monza is about more than just history, because even in its present state it fills the F1 regulars with a sense of excitement and serves as a reminder of how the sport is fundamentally about the passion of the fans.

Outside the paddock, the tifosi queue for hours to catch a glimpse of their heroes as they make their way to work. If you're lucky you can find yourself in a local pizzeria sitting at a table close to an F1 racer.

It's no wonder that the great and the good from Italian motor racing find their way there, or that Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo always makes sure he shows his face to remind himself why his team has such a following.

While much of the media horde spent the weekend chasing its tail over the Lewis Hamilton 'will he stay or will he go' rumours the British driver dumbfounded everyone with his gloomy stance after winning there was very much a feel-good factor about achievements taking place elsewhere.

Alex Zanardi's double Paralympics success at Brands Hatch a venue where he had never won as a racing driver was as much the talk of the paddock as Robert Kubica's successful return to rallying.

But, of course, at Monza nothing can bring out the crowds like a loud car. On Saturday afternoon the paddock stopped for 20 minutes when di Montezemolo and his drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa handed over the keys to a special edition Ferrari 599 XX Evo to a lucky buyer.

The car had been offered in a charity auction put together by Ferrari to raise money for victims of the Emilia Romagna earthquake earlier this year. American Benjamin Sloss had put in the winning bid, at a cool €1.4 million and he couldn't wait to fire it up.

Formula 1 people like nothing more than a bit of competition, so when Red Bull sponsor Casio proposed the idea of a quick head-to-head quiz between Sebastian Vettel and Christian Horner ahead of the Italian Grand Prix they jumped at the idea.

As part of a event that took place in the build-up to the weekend, Vettel and team-mate Webber were drafted in as team captains for a contest that also featured former GP drivers Johnny Herbert and Martin Brundle.

And rather than being a dull affair, the event proved to be as enthralling and certainly funnier than some of the quizzes that make their way on to national television.

Horner was partnered by Herbert and had great fun in a round where they had to describe famous figures from the sport.

Can you guess who these people are that Horner described to Herbert? "White hair. Quite fat. Sacked you a few years ago." And then: "Short little guy. Lots of money."

But it was Vettel's eyes that rolled when his team principal made a last-gasp bid for victory in a quick-fire round. Horner's answer to the question: 'Which Italian racing legend was known as Ciccio [meaning butch]?' was Nigel Mansell.

Vettel laughed at his boss: "Italian? Nigel Mansell?"

In the end, it was Vettel and Brundle who came out on top and the double world champion duly gave his boss the loser sign in celebration.

There are a few people in F1 who have disappeared from the paddock without too many tears being shed, but there are others whose very presence is a big boost to the sport.On Saturday night at Monza, it said much about the popularity of Pedro de la Rosa that a great portion of the paddock made the trip down to the HRT motorhome to share a glass of champagne and some chocolate cake with the Spaniard ahead of his 100th grand prix.

A host of drivers were present at the surprise get-together, including Pedro's compatriot Fernando Alonso, as well as other big hitters including his former team boss Martin Whitmarsh and even FIA president Jean Todt.

De la Rosa is truly one of F1's good guys, and it said a lot for the kind of man he is that he had to fight back tears when his daughters brought in a special cake.

"I am very, very emotional for this moment because I am here today because of all the special people who have helped me make it to 100," he said. "You know who you are.

"I think getting to 100 grands prix is not a lot because there are a lot who have made it to 200 and 300 and so on; but I think that what I am very proud of is to have made it, been knocked down and some people have helped me massively to recover and come back.

"I want to say that if I have made 100 then I hope to be talking 120 next year so thanks to my wife and kids. Without a family like you I would not make it!"

For the pedants among you, de la Rosa's appearance in the Italian Grand Prix was the 100th time that he had entered an F1 event as a race driver. He'll have to wait three more grands prix for his 100th start though because he has two official non-starts (Monaco 2000 and Malaysia 2010) and one DNQ (Australia this year).

There was a time when getting hold of Formula 1 memorabilia was the domain of a lucky few who could get good access to the paddock or its star drivers.Now, though, F1 fans have never had it so good when it comes to an exclusive memento from their racing heroes and at Monza two opportunities came to light. You'll have to move quick if you want them for yourself.

McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton have autographed race suits they wore earlier this season, and they've been put up for auction to help raise money for the victims of the Emilia Romagna earthquake.

The race suits will be auctioned on Ebay later this week, and the proceeds will be split between the Santa Maria Bianca Hospital and the 'La Lucciola' school for disabled children in Comune Stuffione di Ravarino.

Kimi Raikkonen fans were also given the chance to get hold of a race suit thanks to a competition offered by Lotus in which the highest score from a special 'Angry Birds' competition would win the black-and-gold clothing.

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HAMILTON SET TO MOVE TO MERCEDES?

Lewis Hamilton’s demeanour and that of his team after victory in the Italian Grand Prix bore all the hallmarks of a divorce that has already been agreed. Minimal celebrations on the pit wall and beneath the podium, a team photo for appearances’ sake with an implacable looking Hamilton and Ron Dennis declining to join in.

Despite appearances, team boss Martin Whitmarsh said after the race that suggestions that a deal was already done were “fantasy” and insisted that the door is still open if Hamilton wants to stay.

However driver contracts often get signed during race weekends and there were strong indications that the situation may have been closed out before everyone left Monza.

Hamilton looks like he is moving on, perhaps the only way he can become his own man, certainly the only way he and XIX Entertainment can fully cash in on his status, box office power and his image rights. And that is a big part of what this is about. Mercedes is one of the world’s most powerful brands, while McLaren makes F1 cars and small volume sports cars. This deal will take Hamilton’s name and image well beyond the boundaries of F1. If Hamilton did not want this, why would he had signed up with XIX?

Also McLaren drivers have to work within strict guidelines with team sponsors. Mercedes need Hamilton and this deal will give him greater freedom. The suggested deal with Mercedes and its sponsors is very big and so too will be the impact it will make on the competition in F1 over the next three years and the driver market in the nearer term.

Mercedes had to do this, as one of only two “works” teams in F1 they had to get a champion on board, especially with Michael Schumacher winding down towards retirement again. There is risk if they don’t go on to win, but it’s a risk worth taking.

Ron Dennis’ fellow McLaren shareholders were all in Monza this weekend, from Friday onwards; Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman and long time shareholder Mansour Ojjeh could be observed in discussions with Whitmarsh over the next steps in a painful negotiation with a driver whom the team has nurtured since childhood.

Eddie Jordan, apparently prompted by both XIX and Bernie Ecclestone, lobbed the grenade in on Wednesday, saying that Hamilton was on the point of signing for Mercedes. It was a final call to McLaren to improve the deal on offer or lose their man.

But some signs were there from McLaren’s side that there was not only a reluctance to meet the financial terms, but also a weariness with the whole pantomime of ‘Life with Lewis.’ The tweeting of the set up sheet in Spa was a symbolic watershed in a relationship which has veered off track since the wide eyed enthusiasm of 2007.

The biggest problem for McLaren is how to replace Hamilton without losing significant performance. He’s worth £25 million a year because he’s one of the fastest drivers in the world and whoever sits in the car next year is unlikely to be able to match that speed. Whitmarsh said yesterday that he does not have a Plan B.

Paul di Resta senses an opportunity, but will he be able to meet the numbers on the stopwatch that Hamilton does? And will McLaren want both their drivers to be managed by the same person? Di Resta confirmed his deal with Jenson Button’s manager Richard Goddard this weekend, replacing Lewis’ father Anthony, who is suing Di Resta for wrongful dismissal and loss of earnings.

F1 is an incestuous world, with such complex intertwined relationships but there is great goodwill between Goddard and Whitmarsh. Goddard looked very pleased all weekend in sharp contrast to the careworn faces of the McLaren management.

Kimi Raikkonen is the only driver who could get close to Hamilton’s performance – he is only a single point behind him in the championship – but he seems happy at Lotus and he wasn’t terribly happy last time he drove for McLaren. His qualifying pace has yet to be rediscovered but he’s racing very strongly. He would work well with Button and form a strong team, but he’s come back to F1 to enjoy himself and the sponsor commitments would be a huge sticking point. Button would refuse to do more than his fair share for Vodafone, Mobil and the rest to compensate.

Speaking of Vodafone, there have been suggestions that discussions are taking place for Sergio Perez to join the team; Vodafone has been looking for years into expanding its reach in Latin America and particularly Brazil via Perez’ backers Telmex and America Movil. So this could provide a strong business case for a move. However Perez is a Ferrari Academy driver so there are some hurdles there.

There have been suggestions of a trade with Mercedes on Nico Rosberg, with Michael Schumacher staying on to partner Hamilton. But one senses that Mercedes were waiting to see if they could get Hamilton signed before making their next move, and now may start gently leaning on the seven times champion to ease him into retirement.

Hamilton at Mercedes, if and when confirmed, is good news for Bernie Ecclestone, who keeps Mercedes involved and committed, despite some very rocky times between the two parties recently over Mercedes’ share of the sport’s revenues in comparison with Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren. It could be Mercedes’ turn to do some winning in F1.

Ecclestone has got what he wants, but is known to be suspicious of Simon Fuller and XIX Entertainment. Such a group having so much power and control over one of his biggest stars is a situation he will be monitoring carefully.

This looks like the final push for Mercedes – Ross Brawn knows what it takes to win and has followed the tried and tested formula: he has built up his technical team, they have their own engine facilities and a clear plan and now it looks like they have the driver.

All the pieces are in place and Mercedes must deliver the title in the next three years.

Fail with this group and there would be pressure from Daimler shareholders to call time on the F1 adventure.

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YOUNG GUNS TEST DAY 1: MERCEDES RUNS NEW EXHAUST AS MAGNY COURS ENDS F1 EXILE:

Magny-Cours reverberated to the sound of Formula 1 cars for the first time in four years today as the second leg of the fragmented 2012 young driver test got underway for Ferrari, Mercedes and Force India.

The circuit in the heart of France, which last hosted a grand prix in 2008 but continues to angle to stage a revived French GP in wake of improvements to infrastructure, was chosen by the three teams present as the venue for their permitted young guns running following concerns over the logistics of running the annual sessions in Abu Dhabi after the grand prix there in November given equipment would then have to be shipped to Texas for the following week's US GP.

Although some leading teams, including Red Bull and McLaren, are sticking with the traditonal Yas Marina plan, three teams already held their permitted days of testing Williams, Marussia and HRT at Silverstone in July, with Ferrari, Mercedes and Force India now following suit at Magny-Cours.

With the test taking place before the crucial final seven flyaway rounds, the three days are also being used by the teams to try out some new development parts and Mercedes caught the eye on the opening day with the Brackley outfit unveiling an exhaust layout akin to the one introduced by McLaren and Sauber among others at the start of the season to subsequent popular take-up.

However, it was Ferrari who ended Tuesday's action at the top of the timesheet with its academy driver Jules Bianchi behind the wheel, the Frenchman clocking a best time of 1m18.070s across 87 laps on his first day of running in the F2012. However, his first day in the car ended slightly prematurely when it stopped by the side of the track at Chateau D'Eau with just over 20 minutes of the session remaining with an as yet unexplained issue.

The 23-year-old, who has driven in seven Friday FP1 sessions for Force India during the season, will revert to the more familiar VJM05 for day two's running before heading back over to Ferrari on Thursday.

Driving the Force India on the opening day was GP2 title contender Luiz Razia, the 23-year-old setting his best time of 1m18.535s inside the final hour to end up 0.465s adrift of Bianchi on his debut for the team.

Mercedes' test driver Sam Bird took the wheel of the revamped W03 and, encouragingly for the team, completed the most laps of the trio 95 with his time of 1m19.094s putting him third on the timesheet.

"We've had a very productive first day of the test today and were able to complete everything that we had planned on our programme," Bird said.

"It felt great to be back in the car again and I enjoyed every minute of it. I've driven at Magny Cours previously in a Formula 3 car and it was good to experience it today in a Formula 1 car. We've collected a lot of data today which will take some time to sift through this evening and I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow."

YOUNG GUNS TEST, Magny Cours Day one

1. Jules Bianchi Ferrari 1m18.070s 87 laps

2. Luiz Razia Force India 1m18.535s 65 laps

3. Sam Bird Mercedes 1m19.094s 95 laps