FORMULA 1 - 2012

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McLaren: Pressure is on Alonso

Martin Whitmarsh believes no one would have been "more unhappy" than Fernando Alonso when F1 left Japan as he is now a driver under pressure.

Lacking the fastest car in the field it seemed to be only a matter of time for Alonso's lead in the Drivers' Championship can under attack.

However, instead of just being attacked it was almost completely eradicated in Suzuka on Sunday when a first lap coming incident put him in the gravel and out of the grand prix.

Adding to his woes, his main rival Sebastian Vettel claimed the victory, cutting Alonso's lead to just four points.

Alonso's retirement, though, didn't only allow Vettel to make up ground, it also meant both McLaren drivers pulled back some points with Jenson Button finishing fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth. They are now 63 and 42 points respectively behind the Ferrari driver.

"I guess Fernando will be going home more unhappy than most," Whitmarsh told Autosport.

"He is under some real pressure, more pressure from Sebastian than us, but nonetheless we have closed that gap and we have got five races to go.

"This was not the most sterling performance from us this weekend I think, and in those situations you have to go back, look at the car and make sure that we get it as good as we can in Korea.

"Both guys are capable of winning races and we have five left to go."

Whitmarsh, however, admits McLaren need to up their pace in the development war as they are now trailing rivals Red Bull.

"The Red Bull was the strongest car this weekend, all you have to do is look at what you are doing. We had a car that was capable of taking the second row this weekend, but Red Bull was quicker.

"We have to look at how we set the car up, how we worked, what developments we can make the characteristics of the coming circuits, and see if we can get back.

"We have had a quick car for quite a few races but we are in a development race, Red Bull looks strong, that is the challenge for us. But that is the challenge that we would like to respond to."

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No concerns over Button's gearbox - McLaren

McLaren aren't concerned with Jenson Button's gearbox after the Brit reported difficulties shifting during the Japanese Grand Prix.

Button eventually finished fourth, but in the closing stages of the race, reported over the radio that his car was going into neutral and wasn't shifting smoothly.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh though revealed that the issue most likely surrounds the overheating of a sensor at the rear of the car following a brake fire during his first pit-stop.

"At the first stop you may have noticed a brake fire on the rear right, so it was really, really hot," explained Whitmarsh.

"That was defaulting some of the sensors at the rear wheels so, after that stop, we started to have that problem.

"After the second stop, I thought we were about to creep into the same area but he wasn't in traffic at the second stop and it managed to cool down.

"It [the gearbox trouble] was a problem with the smooth shifting of the gears but probably only as a consequence of the sensors being overheated on the right rear hub."

McLaren have had two gearbox failures in as many races which have seen them lose a handful of points to their competitiors.

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Glock delivered a gritty drive for Marussia in Japanese GP

Timo Glock delivered a gritty drive for the Marussia F1 Team in today’s Japanese Grand Prix, which enabled him to reduce the race margin to the KERS-advantaged competition to as little as four seconds - another important step in the team’s steady progression.

Blue flags for the advancing race leaders were the only mitigating factor preventing Timo from further narrowing the gap in the closing stages of what was a very strong race for both driver and team. He finished in 16th place and, as was the case in qualifying, displaced Vitaly Petrov.

Charles was recovering well from a difficult opening stint but an engine problem led to his retirement on lap 37.

Timo Glock #24: “I’m very happy to say it was a good race for us today. The start was quite a shock when I saw all the cars flying across the track.

Heikki came through it quite well but I was right behind him and I was able to overtake him in the Esses. I was up to P11 but I knew that would be short-lived because we were struggling a bit with traction out of the last corner and obviously they have KERS and we don’t.

Heikki got past and I continued to lose quite a lot of time in that corner afterwards - three or four tenths each lap into turn 1 and the Esses - which allowed the other guys - who also have KERS - to pass me.

In general though we had good pace and were quite consistent. The behaviour of the tyre to the car was very good and we were able to stay out quite long.

The first pitstop was very strong - the fourth quickest team of the race - so a great job by the crew as they work so hard on that every day.

I had good pace on the prime tyre and was going well, but at last pit stop I was a little long in the box having misjudged the grip, so my mistake and sorry for that.

I was then able to close the gap to Heikki so our strategy was spot-on. We were as close as four seconds at one stage but the blue flags opened the gap again. Still, eight seconds away at the end was pretty good!

We have to be happy I think. We fought well, the car was a lot of fun to drive and it’s great to have a consistent car again.

We continue to have better pace in the race, so we will keep working hard on our overall performance and enjoying this very positive final phase of the season.”

Charles Pic #25: “Obviously it is disappointing for me to have to retire as we were coming back strong at that point in the race. It is also the first retirement for a while.

The start was difficult as we had to avoid the trouble at the first corner, then on the first stint I was struggling for grip with the Hard tyre. This improved when I switched to the Soft tyre for the second stint.

My race was going well and I was behind Timo and ahead of Vitaly and Pedro. Unfortunately I misjudged the pit box on my second stop, going quite long, and lost a lot of time.

Shortly afterwards I had to stop due to a problem with the engine. Overall it has been a good weekend and I have enjoyed my first experience of this amazing technical circuit. I look forward to another new circuit for me next weekend and a better result.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “We had a bit of a scare on the way to the grid, with Timo rightly stopping the car in the pit lane when he felt what he thought must be a problem with his left front wheel.

Once we had the car safely back in the garage it was clear that he had actually struck a wheel nut lost from another team’s car when he drove down the pit lane.

This could have been catastrophic for us as it could have caused a lot of damage, but when we got to the grid we gave the car a thorough inspection and were very lucky to get away with it.

Timo delivered an excellent performance in the race. As has seemingly been the case for several races, we lost time in the opening stint where not having the benefit of KERS makes it difficult to maintain track position.

The remaining two stints were perfect and we managed to eat into Kovalainen to be within four seconds which, by the time we had taken a final blue flag for Hamilton three laps from the end, had opened up to eight seconds, although we can still regard this as an improvement.

Charles seemed to struggle for grip on the opening stint with the Hard prime tyre and we opted to stop him early and get him onto the Soft option, which allowed him to recover some time.

Unfortunately, at his final pit stop, Charles got caught out by the lack of grip in the pit lane and overshot the box, which required the crew to manhandle the car back into position and he lost a lot of time.

Up to this point we had been managing relatively high air consumption on the engine, which then became terminal and Charles had to retire. Overall, we have achieved our objectives of staying in touch with the competition in front.

We of course need to keep going that extra mile to try get ahead of them in the race, as this will leave us in a more comfortable position in respect of the Constructors’ Championship.”

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HRT was competitive and De La Rosa finish in 18th at Suzuka

The Japanese Grand Prix which took place at the Suzuka circuit today got underway with a multiple accident which both Pedro de la Rosa, starting in 20th, and Narain Karthikeyan, 24th, were able to avoid without too many complications.

Both drivers, who like the vast majority opted to start on soft tyres, maintained a competitive race pace although they were unable to hold on to their starting positions.

Pedro de la Rosa encountered a problem in his first pitstop and lost some valuable time.

However he maintained his focus and ran in similar times to his rivals from Caterham and Marussia until the end to finish in eighteenth. This result allows the team to draw positive conclusions with regards to the new floor, which notably improved the performance of the F112.

Narain Karthikeyan was also competitive but the team took the decision to bring him in from the race on lap 34 for safety reasons, as there was a problem with the bottom part of the car which could present risks.

With no time to lose, the team heads to South Korea where the sixteenth Grand Prix of the season will take place next year.

Pedro de la Rosa: "Today's race was quite good and we could say we've taken a step forward, although we still have plenty to do. The first stint was good but we had a problem in the first pitstop which made me lose quite a lot of time.

My times with the hard tyres towards the end were very good and we were right in there. The car was handling well and we got close to Pic and Petrov, which for us, at a track like this, is fantastic".

Narain Karthikeyan: "I had a good start and passed Pic on the first lap. The car was working well, it had good pace, and after the first pitstop I was ahead of Pedro and completing a good race.

However, we suffered a problem with the car later and, coming in for a second tyre change, the team decided that, as a precautionary measure, it was best to stop. Now it's time to think about Korea and work to take another step forward".

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: "As it tends to be the case in races like this, I'm happy on one hand because we were competitive; we finished one lap off the winner which indicates that our pace was good.

But on the other hand it was a shame that Narain had to retire. He made a good start and was running well but the car suffered a small issue with the bottom part and, for safety reasons, we had to stop him.

Now we will see how big the problem is. But overall, it was a positive weekend because we progressed, conserved our tyres better and improved our times. We hope for this progress to continue".

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Massa staying at Ferrari, Hulkenberg to Sauber

Some more pieces of the 2013 'silly season' puzzle are set to fall into place.

British broadcaster BBC reports with confidence that, with his return to the podium at Suzuka following a two-year drought, Felipe Massa could have his new contract to stay at Ferrari confirmed "before" this weekend's Korean grand prix.

It's a blow for Force India's Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg, who were linked strongly with the Maranello team's potentially vacant cockpit.

But Switzerland's Blick newspaper reports that German Hulkenberg has a back-up plan that is now "ready for the signatures".

"Nico Hulkenberg will go to Sauber for at least two years," veteran correspondent Roger Benoit reports from Japan.

Blick said former Toro Rosso racer Sebastien Buemi, who this year has been Red Bull's official reserve driver, is in the hot seat to replace Hulkenberg.

But Force India's Otmar Szafnauer is quoted as telling Blick's Benoit: "Why doesn't Sauber take Buemi?"

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Tough Challenge for P Zero Red Supersoft in Korea

The Yeongam circuit takes in a very wide variety of speeds and corners, with Pirelli bringing the P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero Red supersoft compounds: making it one of the toughest tracks that the softest tyre in the range has to cope with.

As well as some corners that are as fast as those of the previous race in Suzuka, there are other sections more reminiscent of Monaco, meaning that every aspect of a tyre's performance is tested thoroughly.

The circuit is used very infrequently, meaning that there is a high degree of track evolution over the course of the weekend as the racing line rubbers in, despite a relatively abrasive surface. Yeongam is actually a semi-permanent facility, with the section of track that runs along the harbourside using normal roads and this means that variable levels of grip add to the challenge.

As uncertain weather conditions are often a feature of the Korean weekend, the Cinturato Green and Cinturato Blue intermediate and wet tyres could also make an appearance.

Heavy braking is one of the defining characteristics of Korea, with the cars subjected to deceleration forces of 5.2g under braking into turn three. With the weight transfer involved, the front tyres are subjected to a load equivalent to 900 kilogrammes or more.

The most demanding part of the circuit for the tyres is the section from turns 10 to 17, which is a continuous sequence of corners with rapid direction changes.

Being one of the few anti-clockwise circuits of the year, the front-right tyre is the most stressed as it has to provide all the mechanical grip needed to negotiate the corners, with the supersoft compound proving particularly effective in generating high levels of adhesion.

Paul Hembery (Pirelli's motorsport director): "We're bringing the same tyre nominations to Korea as we did last year, which at the time was seen as quite a bold choice because Korea has the highest lateral energy loadings of all the circuits where we use the supersoft tyre.

In the end, we saw the supersoft lasting for 10 laps or more and the soft lasting for 20 laps or more, enabling a two-stop strategy for the majority of the drivers.

This year, however, all our Formula One tyres are softer apart from the supersoft, which has remained the same. We should see another two-stop race this year, which in theory should be even faster.

This year though, there have been some changes to the aerodynamic regulations, which have generally slowed lap times down over the course of the season.

Strategy played a key role in last year's race but there was also a safety car and some rain at the start of the weekend.

So Korea is the sort of circuit where anything can happen, and as always the teams with the most data and the ability to adapt that information to rapidly changing circumstances will be the most successful."

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren): "The first sector at Korea is quite stop-start: the entries to Turns One, Three and Four are all heavy braking zones, coming at the end of long straights into hairpins that require good traction at the exit.

But then the second and third sectors are very different: they're more technical and flowing, which means the tyres and brakes are put through very different operating conditions, and it can be a bit of a challenge to manage the changes in temperature.

As was the case last year, Pirelli will bring its supersoft and soft compounds to this race. The smooth track surface means you should be able to make the tyres last, but it's still a challenge for the drivers.

However, I think that two-stopping ought to be achievable, as it was last season. The Korean International Circuit is a great track. It's a race I haven't won yet, so I'll be looking to put that right this year."

Jaime Alguersuari (Pirelli's test driver): "Korea is one of my favourite tracks, especially because I had one of my best results there last year when I passed Nico Rosberg on the last lap to finish seventh.

I really like the track: the layout is fantastic and I actually think it is one of the best layouts on the Formula One calendar. It is a mixture of high and medium speed corners and the downforce level of the car is not so high.

It is also very smooth and has some good places to overtake. From a tyre point of view, the circuit is easy on the tyres because the weather is usually quite cold and humid.

We had two stops last year, and degradation will be low, so I think it should the same this year. There are three heavy braking areas on this circuit and it will be a fantastic race to watch: South Korea's circuit has the potential to provide a perfect Formula One show."

Technical tyre notes:

- The aerodynamic set-up adopted for Korea by the teams is quite similar to Japan, with medium to high levels of downforce. However, the traction demands are much higher than in Japan, so the teams use different engine maps to help put the power down out of the slow corners.

- Graining can be a risk in Korea, particularly in the low-grip conditions at the start of the weekend. Graining is caused when the cars slide sideways too much, creating an uneven wave-like pattern of wear on the surface of the tread that affects performance.

- There is a long straight right at the beginning of the lap, which means that it can be hard to warm up the tyres effectively at the beginning of the lap. Subjecting the tyres to too much stress when cold is another main reason for graining and cold tearing.

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Weber criticises Mercedes over Schumacher retirement

Michael Schumacher's former manager has criticised the way in which Mercedes has handled the great German's return to retirement.

The seven time world champion announced his decision on Thursday, mere days after Mercedes said it had signed McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to be Nico Rosberg's teammate in 2013 and beyond.

Schumacher's former manager Weber said: "I would have preferred that he had been able to announce his departure first, not after the commitment of his successor Hamilton."

Weber told SID news agency that Mercedes was unable to guarantee that "the car would be better next year".

"And sometimes even the reputation of a seven time world champion is at risk," he added.

Weber also said that he doubts whether Schumacher's next move will be to Mercedes team management.

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Alesi believes Schumacher returned to F1 to have fun

Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi thinks Michael Schumacher had to retire because he is no longer as committed to winning as he was in the past.

"He came to have fun," said Alesi who was podium MC at Suzuka, "but he no longer had the same philosophy as the young ones who want to win absolutely.

"When you come back to racing such a machine, you have to make every sacrifice to be on the top," Frenchman Alesi told RMC Sport.

"If the car is not working as well, I think at a certain age this attitude has more of an importance."

Meanwhile, Jean Todt has offered a fascinating insight into Schumacher's decision to retire.

The seven time world champion announced his decision, at Suzuka, on Thursday, and Mercedes chiefs Norbert Haug and Ross Brawn admitted Schumacher only told them what he was going to say "five minutes" prior to the press conference.

But Todt, Schumacher's former Ferrari boss, a close friend and now the FIA president, said he knew all about it "a few days" earlier.

"I was told about Michael's decision a few days ago," he said. "We had the opportunity to speak, so I was prepared when he made it public and understood his reasons."

Todt, however, said he doesn't know what his friend is going to do next.

"I don't know, but he will be very busy, that's for sure," said the FIA president.

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Hamilton accuses Perez of making crazy moves at Suzuka

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton accused his future replacement Sergio Perez of "crazy driving" in his Sauber after the two fought tooth and nail for points during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, a battle which ended with the Mexican stranded in the sand.

Perez, who will move from Sauber to replace Hamilton next season when the 2008 Formula One Champion joins Mercedes, retired on the 18th of 53 laps after spinning off while trying to pass the Briton at the hairpin.

Perez, who is not a title contender, had successfully made a passing move on Hamilton on lap six before the pitstops reversed the order.

"I thought that he was going to do a crazy manoeuvre, which he did," said Hamilton, who finished fifth, of the first attempt.

"Then (later0 when he was behind me I saw it coming again so I moved a little to the inside, thinking that he was going to go up the inside so he couldn't get by, and he just flew down the outside of me. So very interesting…"

Hamilton closed the gap on Ferrari's championship leader Fernando Alonso, who retired at the first corner of the first lap, to 42 points with five races remaining but had few illusions about his title chances.

"I am quite realistic, I know my situation, but the Red Bulls are going to be hard to beat," he declared.

"Everyone should be concerned, they are very quick, they are always very quick in Korea and they [Vettel] have picked up 50 points in the last two races, Fernando should be more worried than I am."

Vettel, winner of the last two championships as well as the last two races, cut Alonso's lead to four points after winning at Suzuka from pole and setting the fastest lap.

The German won in South Korea, the next race on this year's calendar, last year and also in India which follows.

McLaren are Red Bull's closest rivals in the constructors' battle, but the reigning champions have scored more points in the past two races.

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Pastor Maldonado keeping options open for 2013

Pastor Maldonado is happy keeping his future options open, despite finally getting back in to the points with Williams at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Venezuelan finished eighth at Suzuka to deliver his first points since his victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.

And having headed into the Japanese weekend admitting that there was no guarantee he would be at Williams next year, he has again drawn short of committing himself there just yet.

"At the moment, for sure, there is the chance to go to other teams," he explained. "But we are considering remaining here, and it is still too early to say anything. The team, usually they confirm the drivers at the end of the season. So we are talking, we are negotiating..."

Maldonado would appear to have a guaranteed place at Williams with the outfit's big-money sponsorship deal with oil company PDVSA dependent on a Venezuelan driver racing for the team.

And the man himself admits there is little to complain about on the back of a season that delivered his maiden win.

"PDVSA is a company that I've known for a long time and it is going to be all good I think because we have a contract and they have been always supporting my career in the past.

"In Venezuela everyone is happy to see me in F1. We won one race this year which is amazing for my second year in F1.

"We haven't had the best car but we still managed to win. We are working very hard on the car and, as you know, I have a lot of responsibility in this team because I am the top driver here.

"It is difficult to accept that we miss many points this year, but it is never too late to recover."

When asked if he was happy with how talks at Williams were progressing, Maldonado said: "This is a good family for me. I feel really good. I think they are really happy with me as well, but you know how F1 is. It can change from one day to another."

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Reflections on the career of Michael Schumacher

Infamous British politician of yesteryear Enoch Powell didn't always talk sense, but when he said that 'all political careers end in failure' he was indeed being highly lucid. I've no idea if Powell liked F1, but his words could just as easily have applied to that pursuit too.

And such thoughts would likely have hung very heavy to Michael Schumacher in recent days. The most successful driver by a distance in F1 history was reduced almost to the role of footnote in the grand news of Lewis Hamilton joining Mercedes, Schumi being cleared out of the team to make way. And as part of the aftershocks of the move Schumi, rather than seek a drive further down the pecking order, announced his retirement from the sport days later. It was doubly unfortunate that it came right after a rather egregious error of judgment by Schumi in the Singapore Grand Prix, though to draw any inferences from this would be flawed as the error was atypical of a year in which Schumi, if not quite the driver he was, still drove well.

But, such is life, no matter our achievements almost none of us get to stop at a time of our own choosing.

Whatever the circumstances of his bowing out though Schumacher's impact on F1, and his other-worldly levels of success, cannot be overstated. Rather than leaving his imprints on the sport he stamped size 12 boots all over it. His records defy belief: in a career spanning 21 years from beginning to end and some 301 starts (and counting), he totalled seven world championships, 91 wins (and that's only one shy of the totals of the next two combined - who go by the names of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna), 77 fastest laps and 68 pole positions. Schumacher didn't so much rewrite the F1 record books as redefine them. Most of his records will likely stand for ever.

So, the statistics say that Michael Schumacher is the greatest F1 driver ever. And while statistics only mean so much in F1 when comparing the merits of drivers, given one inevitably ends up with imperfect comparisons, only a churl would argue that he isn't at least among the very best ever seen in the sport.

And we don't have to rely on dry statistics to demonstrate as much. For me Schumacher's greatest achievement as an F1 driver driver was that he, probably more than more than any other in the sport's history, redefined what is required of an F1 driver. To put it in simple terms, he raised the bar in a way never done by any one individual before or since, and much of his gargantuan success came when everyone else was scrambling around either bewildered or furiously seeking to adapt.

The main way that Michael Schumacher discarded the orthodoxy was that he drove every lap of a race at the very limit, literally like a qualifying lap. Before him, the norm was to push to the maximum in the single tours of qualifying, and perhaps in select parts of a race, but definitely not for a race's duration. Indeed, even the mighty Ayrton Senna when speaking about the effort he summoned for a single lap qualifying run suffixed it with: 'In race conditions you can't keep to that level, there's too much stress, both mental and physical'. Schumi changed the game on this; while he would likely admit himself he didn't have Senna's raw ability over a single lap, unlike Senna he could drive at his maximum for an entire stint of 20 laps or more.

And in many ways it was perfect timing. Like many of the greats Schumi embodied his era, and the formula of his peak years could have been designed with him in mind. In past generation cars would usually have to be nursed through a Grand Prix if you had designs on finishing, or indeed on keeping your tyres in working order, but by the time Schumi appeared on the scene cars were becoming unburstable for the most part, tyres were easily lasting a race distance, and the 'refuelling' era turned F1 races into a series of sprints. All this suited Schumi just fine.

Allied to this was another way in which Schumi changed the game: his fitness levels were super-human. As Senna mentioned, prior to Schumi even if a driver was minded to push at the maximum for an entire Grand Prix they almost certainly couldn't physically have done so. Schumi changed the norm on that too, and the almost suffocating fitness regimes of any modern F1 driver reflect Schumi's epoch.

Another way in which Schumi raised the bar was in terms of his commitment to the task and taking a holistic approach to getting the job done and improving his chances. Of course, building a team around yourself and seeking what Mark Donohue called 'the unfair advantage' was by no means a new thing when Schumi appeared, but what he did do was take it to completely new levels.

The package that Schumi was able to build around himself, especially in his peak Ferrari years, was stellar and probably nothing as potent will ever be assembled in F1 again. Hell, even Bridgestone constructed tyre compounds to suit his driving style. And Michael Schumacher's appetite for the job and for work seemed insatiable. The myth built up over time of Schumi pounding round the Fiorano test track all day every day like an ever-lasting Scalextric toy wasn't actually all that far from the truth. Indeed, as late as the off-season between the 2005 and 2006 seasons (at no less than 37 years of age) Schumi completed no fewer than 17,000 test kilometres. And this was in addition to his marathon PR work. Such endeavour was unthinkable to those from previous generations.

Of course, with testing restrictions and the like such an undertaking would be impossible to replicate these days, but the legacy remains tangible nevertheless. The holistic and industrious approach taken by the likes of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel at the sharp end of F1 today clearly owe much to the path beaten by Michael Schumacher.

But the extent, and the duration, that Schumi practiced such a modus operandi was only made possible by what I believe is the most admirable part of Schumacher's F1 career. His motivation, enthusiasm and energy, and most pointedly his ability to sustain them at such a high level over upwards of a decade at the top, was truly breathtaking and absolutely unprecedented. Before Schumi it was common for drivers and teams to, subconsciously and by fractions but with a significant impact on results, to 'rest on laurels' somewhat after success and require time to summon further motivation. That's why, historically, winning back-to-back championships was relatively rare in F1 (when Prost did it in 1986 he was only the fourth driver in history to do so). And think of Schumi's adversary, Mika Hakkinen, who showed outward signs of exasperation after just 18 months at the top. But, whatever the success and the duration of it (and as explained there was an awful lot of both) those never seemed to be a factor with Schumacher or the Ferrari team created in his image. No matter how well prepared his rivals were, or how determined they were to succeed, for year after year it seemed Schumi and his team were more so.

One incident that summed it up for me was at the 2004 Australian Grand Prix. Schumacher had won the previous four world drivers' titles, and indeed had by now six of them in total, and in the opening round of the 2004 season at Melbourne Schumacher won as he liked. But there was no sign of him being accustomed or complacent with success as Schumacher, having celebrated with his team before turning to climb the stairs to the podium, seemingly unaware that the camera was on him and with a broad smile on his face had a quiet fists-clenched celebration to himself. It was almost like he'd just taken his debut F1 win. Maintenance of such spontaneous joy in winning after such sustained achievement is in my view extraordinary.

It was a close to constant theme of Schumacher's F1 career, certainly in his 'first' stint, that he maintained a child-like joy in driving F1 cars, something that was perhaps reflected in that to compare pictures of Schumacher in 1994 with those in 2006 there was almost no sign of physical wear and tear in the intervening 12 years; about the only way of identifying the year with confidence was from looking at his overalls. It was almost like the driving part of things came easy to him, like he was getting all of his success just by replicating what he'd always been doing ever since racing go-karts. It wasn't that easy of course, but it seemed that way.

And Schumi's tool-kit was all put into practice to provide us with some of the most extraordinary race day drives that you'll ever be likely to see from anyone; drives in which you could scarcely believe what you were witnessing, drives that would come close to shaking your very being.

Many of Schumi's finest works came on days when his fabled ability to reel off a succession of qualifying-style laps was put to perfect use. This was most notably the case in Schumi's celebrated win in Hungary in 1998. Sitting behind two apparently superior McLarens at the race's mid-distance the strategy which emerged from the Ferrari pitwall seemed to defy logic: switch from a two-stop to a three-stopper, pit early, short-fill the car, then make up the entire time of a pit stop on the McLarens before pitting for the final time and thus emerge with the lead intact. 'He then put in, sort of, 15 qualifying laps!' opined his technical director Ross Brawn, 'He had to make up something like 19 seconds in 19 laps ...I remember saying it to him and he just said "OK"! There was no "Oh Christ, there's no chance...". Schumi did indeed make up the time to win, even having enough seconds in hand for a brief off-track excursion. But the succession of laps was awe-inspiring, as the sector times were banged in one after the other it was like reality as we knew it had temporarily been suspended.

And this was no isolated performance: in his famous win in Canada that year when he hunted down Giancarlo Fisichella after a penalty, at the Nurburgring in 1995 when he chased Jean Alesi from a mile back to pass for the win with just two laps left, and in his glorious tête-à-tête with Mika Hakkinen in Japan in 2000 to clinch his first Ferrari title, when the rest were reduced to the status of merely things which made noise, the story was the same.

Schumacher was also notable by a wet weather genius, wherein he'd frequently make all other F1 pilots look positively inept on days that the rain came down. This was seen most graphically in the Spanish Grand Prix of 1996. That year was Schumi's first at Ferrari, and the car wasn't a classic. And in weather that would probably not even get green flag racing these days he fell into the pack at the start; by lap 13 he was leading and then he proceeded to lap routinely four seconds quicker than anyone else. Needless to say no one else saw him again that day.

So, with all of this combined with the stratospheric numbers why did I say that Michael Schumacher was 'among' the best ever rather than being unequivocal that he was the best, even taking into account the usual difficulties of comparing different drivers of different eras? This isn't to say he wasn't, you could certainly make a credible case for him being the best ever. But there is by no means a consensus on the matter.

When assessing Michael Schumacher's legacy it would be remiss to ignore the most obvious downside however. Like Senna his was a flawed genius, featuring persistent if often unrelated controversy. And like Senna this ensures that there usually is an asterisk against his achievements.

Just as with Senna there was at best a ruthlessness at worst an egregiousness in Schumacher's driving when wheel-to-wheel which often was ugly. Just as with Senna he sought to settle a championship in his favour with a deliberate accident (indeed he probably did so more than once). And while Senna broadly saved up his worst excesses for when he was up against Prost, in Schumi's case he didn't even offer that distinction as he served up such treatment to all-comers seemingly. And just like with Senna Schumacher seemed oddly immune to sanction for this from the powers-that-be for the bulk of his career.

But ultimately it was all to Schumi's own detriment; as Martin Brundle once noted that if Schumi hadn't adopted such tactics then perhaps you could take one title and around 10 wins off his totals (which would still leave him top of the tree on both counts). But his legacy would be much more unequivocally positive.

In harness to this somewhat other controversies were dotted through Schumi's career at seemingly regular intervals. In some cases he's been unfairly criticised, such as in Benetton's technical controversies of 1994 and the in 'team order gate' in Austria in 2002, given it's not clear the extent that Schumi was personally culpable in either. Perhaps the most regrettable controversy was that in Monaco 2006 however, when late in the qualifying session Schumacher, at the top of the times but not improving his time on his final run, deliberately 'parked' his Ferrari at the Rascasse corner in order to impede others from improving their marks. It was regrettable not only in its actions but especially in its timing, as perhaps at this point people were beginning to forget to a large extent about what the German media referred to as 'Schummel Schumi' (loosely meaning 'cheating Schumi'). But this act brought it all back, and was seen widely as the latest of a lengthy line of cases wherein Schumi's competitive instincts had an unpleasant manifestation.

And Schumacher's stock public reaction to such cases, while fascinating, perhaps didn't help how he was viewed. While those close to him acknowledged that on some occasions Schumi would in private accept when he had over-stepped the mark (and later in his career he began to talk more openly in public that he'd do some things differently given his time again), in public for the most part Schumi would firmly maintain the position that he felt he'd done nothing wrong. As Ross Brawn noted Schumi's broad view was that all was fair in love and war: 'He had this view that it was a tough business, you have to give everything and give no quarter'. Among Schumi's high profile controversies only after Jerez in 1997 (when he'd tried to settle the championship in his favour by colliding with Jacques Villeneuve) did he admit fault, and even there apparently it had to be forced out of him by Luca Montezemolo. If Schumi's enjoyment of driving was child-like, for the bulk of his career there was also something child-like about the simplicity of interpretation and instinctive absolution of himself displayed when his controversial actions were being criticised.

Others contend that Schumi even with his success was rather mistake-prone, particularly when under pressure. This is to a large extent undeniable, in that Schumi would spin or have off-track excursions with regularity, perhaps on average leaving the track in a weekend more than Fangio, Clark or Prost would in a season. And in plenty of championship deciders Schumi erred, such as tagging the wall in Adelaide in 1994 and driving like a novice in Suzuka in 2003. His sometime team mate Rubens Barrichello attributed this characteristic to, in his view, that Schumacher 'only knew how to drive on the limit...he didn't know how to go slowly' (if true it may shed some light on why Schumi struggled to adapt to the more endurance-type F1 he returned to in 2010 onwards). Perhaps to some extent it also reflects Schumi's era, in that while in days gone by off-track excursions would be punished, certainly with damage to your car, and perhaps to yourself, in Schumi's era run off areas became much more generous and benign than before, and perhaps therefore it became more viable to explore the limits. And, either by accident or design, Schumi had a knack of getting away with his errors.

Other criticisms of Schumi's legacy are harder to pin on him. Some have argued that Schumi usually had things a bit easy; perhaps he cleaned up at a time when he didn't have a strong cast of contemporaries, with as mentioned an extraordinary package of team support, as well as with a team mate forbidden from challenging him.

Much of these can be dismissed at the broadest level. If his cast of contemporaries was relatively weak then that is hardly Schumi's fault, and it could be argued that many were made to look weak by Schumi's raising of the bar. And as for the team around him, Schumi played an active role in building it and as mentioned seeking 'the unfair advantage' is a fundamental part of the game.

But in some ways those who make such criticisms might be onto something. To some extent Schumi legacy-wise was a victim of his own success: it was much harder to appreciate his driving skill in the years (and there were many) in which he dominated, operating as he was in something of a competitive vacuum. It's perhaps not for nothing that when we spontaneously think of Schumi's finest drives many examples come from the 1996-1998 era, when he struggled manfully against superior cars and his own contribution was plain for all to see, rather than from the years wherein he cantered to titles. Further, the way that the Ferrari team went about its racing in that era of success probably didn't help things. In the Todt-era Scuderia the pitwall often managed races in rather clinical style, and the red cars would appear to cruise around at the front in formation, almost at half throttle. All this served to mask much of Schumi's driving genius.

On a similar point, it never ceases to be a regret to me that Ayrton Senna's untimely passing deprived us of a Senna vs Schumacher face off playing out at the top of the sport. It would likely have been titanic, and much to the betterment of the legacy of both. And Bernie Ecclestone once opined that Schumi's refusal to allow a strong team mate competing with him on equal terms was also a matter of regret, and similarly could well deplete his reputation a little. Of course, none of us know for certain the exact extent that the playing fields at Benetton and at Ferrari were tilted in Schumi's favour, and it has to be said he probably would have beaten his various team mates anyway even with the same hand dealt. But Bernie has a point in that a more transparently even playing field, especially in the dominant years, would likely have been a plus to Schumi's legacy.

Some also express concern that the relative struggles of Schumi's 'second' F1 career at Mercedes will also count against his legacy. My instinct however is that it won't, although it can't be denied that he was far removed from his former self after his comeback, particularly early on in it.

Perhaps the greater mistake than coming back though was that he stopped in the first place. It became clear over time (indeed, it was pretty clear at the time) that Schumi's 'first' retirement had rather been thrust upon him, at least from Schumi's perspective. But it was also fairly clear that had he continued at least one more championship would probably have been his. Indeed, in late 2007 - a year after he stopped first time around - he returned to do some tyre testing for Ferrari and was immediately faster than the regular pilots, including Kimi Raikkonen who'd just claimed the drivers' title for the Scuderia himself.

But perhaps it's best not to get bogged down in such things. And just as we remember a great writer by their great works, and not the contents of their waste paper basket, it's better to remember Schumi at his best rather than dwelling unduly on the flaws. Remember him for the undeniable seismic shift he created on what is required and expected of an F1 driver. Remember him for the breathtaking industry, fitness and professionalism almost totally without equal in any era. But most of all remember him for those Sunday afternoons that sent a shiver down your spine, when he did things with a racing car that barely seemed plausible.

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CONSISTENCY NO LONGER ENOUGH FOR FERRARI, THEY NEED SPEED:

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso saw his championship lead cut from 29 points to just four points on Sunday and for the second time in three seasons is confronted with the prospect of losing a title he had in his grasp.

And the signs are that, with Red Bull on the up, with technical development hitting its peak and more to come in Korea, Ferrari has to find a way to win at least another race this season or the title will be gone. It is going to be very hard as the Red Bull is now approaching the level of superiority it enjoyed last season.

Vettel set the fastest lap on the penultimate lap on Sunday, a second faster than the opposition, leaving a psychological message to them that he had been cruising all afternoon and that Red Bull had something in hand.

Consistency is what has got Alonso to where he is, not raw pace, but now it is a battle of raw pace. The contenders have thinned out and its Alonso versus Vettel for the title, Red Bull riding a wave of confidence, Ferrari’s Pat Fry rushing back to Maranello for a 24 hour mission to encourage, cajole and push his back room team to find an extra few tenths in qualifying.

Alonso spoke on Sunday of driving essentially the same car for the last six or seven races; new parts have come but in many cases they have not worked. Ferrari has already announced that it is going to shut down its newly enlarged wind tunnel for correlation checks, indicating that all is not well.

Nevertheless, although it was a second slower than the Red Bull in Japan, on race day the Ferrari was the second fastest car, with Massa able to outpace the McLarens of Button and Hamilton. The main problem is qualifying, that’s where others have made bigger gains and where Ferrari risks losing out, as the pattern of this season is that the front row is the place to start if you want to win races.

Nine of the 15 races this year have been won from pole position and all of them, bar Singapore, since Germany in July. Of the rest, three have been won from second on the grid and one from third – so just two races have been won from further back, by guess who? They were Alonso’s wins in the chaotic races of Malaysia and Valencia.

Alonso’s retirement at the first corner of the race on Sunday, was down to him not finding the trouble-free way around a first corner which is just 9 metres wide with cars either side of him. Most of the modern tracks are twice as wide as that, so Suzuka is known to be a Bermuda Triangle at the start for the unlucky or unwary. In Spa he was a victim of Grosjean’s flying Lotus.

Vettel has also had two retirements due to alternator failures, which will remain a niggling doubt until the end of the season, even if there is confidence at Renault that the problem is solved.

Before Japan Ferrari could count on Alonso scoring podiums and Vettel and the McLarens taking wins off each other to the end of the season. Now they need a silver bullet of raw pace – and fast,

“From here on we have to win at least one more race, or the championship is gone,”said team boss Stefano Domenicali on Sunday. “Now consistency isn’t enough, the situation is very different, we have to finish ahead of Vettel one way or another.

“The key point is to understand why we are struggling so much in qualifying because the difference between that and the race pace is marked. We have to solve this not just for the remaining five races but for 2013 too, otherwise we’ll find ourselves following again.”

From Alonso’s point of view, he has to shoulder some responsibility for Sunday’s retirement, in an other wise blame free season. If Vettel is indeed headed to Ferrari from 2014, as some commentators in Italy still insist, then the plan surely was for Alonso to clinch the all important third world title before then, ideally this year.

Next year now looks quite different with Hamilton at Mercedes, which is unlikely to challenge for the title in year one from the base they are starting from. McLaren will be led by Button with Perez alongside and being consistent will be a challenge for them.

So the likelihood is that 2013 will also be Alonso vs Vettel – the Spaniard looking for that third title which equals his hero Senna and Vettel looking at possibly challenging for his fourth in a row….

..Unless Ferrari gives Alonso some speed in the next eight weeks.

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ALONSO EXPECTS TO STAY IN THE HUNT 'DOWN TO THE WIRE'

Fernando Alonso has today issued a pick-me-up to Ferrari by backing the team stay in the hunt for the world championship “right down to the wire” in Brazil, insisting that the hard work that has got him into the championship lead can also keep him there.

Having already had to swim against the tide for the majority of the season, Alonso is in danger of losing the lead of the drivers’ standings for the first time since Canada back in June by the end of this Sunday’s race in Korea after Sebastian Vettel cut his advantage to just four points with his second straight win at Suzuka. Alonso meanwhile was taken out at the first corner for the second time since the summer break.

The more worrying trend for Ferrari has however been the failure of recent upgrades to deliver significant performance improvements to the F2012, with wind tunnel correlation problems reoccurring. With Vettel and Red Bull coming on particularly strongly in recent races, Alonso’s bid for a long-awaited third title has been put in serious jeopardy – but the Spaniard is retaining faith in Ferrari’s engineers to respond to the challenge just as they did at the start of the season.

“I am sure we can be in the fight right down to the wire,” the Spaniard today told the Ferrari website.

“The people who are working on the car are the same who have done the job so far and there’s no reason to think they can’t do a good job again now.

“Let’s not forget that, if I am still leading the championship, it’s because we have been capable of improving the car significantly compared to the start of the season and also because we are capable of always getting the most out of what we have to work with.

“We have not been gifted anything, indeed Spa and Suzuka deprived us of places that were easily within our grasp. It’s not through some sort of divine miracle that we are in this position, it is down to the work of all us, from first to last.”

Analysing the F2012’s form since Monza, Alonso argued that, Singapore aside, the car’s competitiveness hasn’t actually been as bad as some have suggested and that the season for all the top runners has been up and down. He also said that problematic upgrades, such as the recent spate of rear wings, also gained more attention at Ferrari than at other teams.

“For sure, there are some teams who, in this final part of the season have made a significant step forward, while we have not matched that, especially in terms of how the car behaves on certain types of track,” Alonso admitted.

“However, it is equally true that, at Monza for example, we had a car that was good enough to take pole, while then at Singapore, we got a bit lost and to a certain extent, we also suffered at Suzuka, even if there, Felipe showed he was pretty competitive in the race: if we weren’t as quick as the Red Bulls, we were at least a match for all the others.

“Actually, these ups and downs seem to be the norm this season: in Japan, the McLaren seemed less strong than in the previous race while Red Bull stepped up significantly, as indeed did Sauber. A lot’s been said about us, because everyone is always focused on the Red team: here for example, if we try a wing once, then don’t use it, it becomes news, but these things happen regularly in all teams. Now, all we need to do is get back on the right track and I’m sure we can do it.”

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Stewart: I would love to help Romain

Sir Jackie Stewart has offered to help Romain Grosjean, saying his "enormous potential" is being "overshadowed" by the number of accidents he is involved in.

Lotus driver Grosjean is a man under fire after he was involved in yet another incident at the Japanese Grand Prix. This time Mark Webber was on the receiving end and the Australian called him a "first-lap nutcase" after the race while Jenson Button told him to "take a good look at himself and sort his s**t out".

Lotus team boss Eric Boullier, meanwhile, feels it's up to Grosjean to get his act together saying: "I have spoken a lot with him. We changed the routine, we tried to make it not more comfortable because I needed a tougher environment for him, and I needed to push him, but he is the only one who can fix this."

Three-time World Champion Stewart, who is an ambassador for Lotus' owners Genii Capital, feels he can help Grosjean to back on track.

"I would love to help Romain, because I think he has enormous potential," Stewart is quoted as saying on BBC Sport.

"Any more accidents could jeopardise his chances of driving for Lotus next season, let alone the very best teams."

He added: "It's his first full season in F1 and he is fast enough to win races.

"I actually think he could have won one or two Grand Prix this season, but at the moment his potential is being overshadowed by the number of accidents he's having."

Stewart's previous offer to help the Frenchman was turned down, but he says he's still willing to help out.

"He had already had a few accidents then and I thought I might be able to help him avoid them in the future," Stewart said.

"I'd been a young entrant into Formula One myself and had also run a fairly good driver development programme at Stewart Grand Prix, when I'd helped drivers like David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Gil de Ferran and Allan McNish.

"Romain, who I have to say is an extremely nice young man, chose not to take up the offer.

"The season was congested then, he was about to go on his honeymoon, and he felt he had his own people assisting him.

"When the time comes and he wants to do it, I will always be there for him because of my relationship with the team.

"For some reason, racing drivers of all kinds feel they don't need coaches once they leave karting. That's unlike any other sport I know."

Grosjean, meanwhile, is eager to stay out of trouble.

"Since Singapore, I've been trying to be really cautious at the starts and it's been all the more frustrating to be involved in an incident in Japan," he said.

"When approaching the first corner, I was watching Sergio [Perez] on my left to make sure there was no contact with him. I didn't expect such a big speed difference between me and Mark braking into the corner, we collided and that was it.

"It was a stupid mistake. Mark came to see me after the race and was obviously not happy, but I apologised and we have to move on.

"I've sat down and looked at things again with the team; for sure it's still an area we need to improve. We're clearly focusing on this area for the next races."

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Honda could return to F1

Honda, who exited F1 in 2008, could yet return to F1 but only if rule changes prove to be attractive.

The Japanese manufacturer withdrew from the sport at the end of a dismal 2008 season, selling their F1 team to Ross Brawn.

Brawn GP, as the team was known, had immediate success, winning the 2009 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship.

However, Honda's withdrawal may not be permanent as Yoshiharu Yamamoto, the head of Honda R&D, says the door is never completely closed.

"On a personal level I love racing, but there is a lot involved when you are in F1 - it is the very top of auto racing and that requires a large commitment," Yoshiharu Yamamoto told Autocar.

"But it is true that we do look up at those races and hope that one day we can take part again.

"I do not personally think we can just go straight back immediately, but there is potential for the rules to change and attract us.

"I follow the rules, certainly, and if they present an opportunity then it would be nice to go back."

Yamamoto, though, was quick to point out that this was his "personal view - not that of Honda - but I feel the first thing we must do is win in the WTCC, and then perhaps we can look further afield."

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De Villota relives horror crash

Maria de Villota has for the first time spoken publicly about the horrific accident in which she lost her eye.

The 32-year-old lost her right eye after her Marussia F1 car ran into the tailgate of a stationary service vehicle during a straightline aero test at Duxford Airfield in July.

In an interview with Spanish magazine Hola, De Villota says the accident is still fresh in her memory.

"I remember everything - even the moment of impact," she was quoted as saying. "When I woke up [in hospital] with everyone around me, I started to speak in English as I thought I was on an FIA check-up and that the nurse was a trainer.

"My dad said 'Please, Maria, speak Spanish, because your mother is missing half the things', and then I became aware of everything: of what had happened, where I was and why.

"In the beginning they were covering my eye so I couldn't see it. The first day I looked at myself in the mirror I had 140 black stitches on my face, and they looked like they had been stitched with a boat rope, and I had lost my right eye. I was terrified. I have to undergo more surgery soon, but the worst is now behind."

The Marussia test in July was De Villota's first foray into Formula One and she admits she is unsure if she will continue her career as a racing driver following the accident.

"I still don't know, it's about the licence," she said. "There are drivers in the United States who have lost an eye and still have a licence.

"What's true is that you lose the sense of depth, because it's both eyes that give you the perspective.

"What I'm wondering now is if my future is being a racing driver or if there's something else I have to do with my life. I still don't know what I need to do."

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Kaltenborn is Sauber's new team boss

Monisha Kaltenborn has officially become the first female F1 team boss after Peter Sauber handed over the daily running of the Sauber team.

Sauber, who sold his F1 team to BMW in 2006 only to buy it back four years later, has long made it clear that he doesn't wish to be running the team on a daily basis when he turns 70 next year.

Thus the Swiss has announced that Kaltenborn with take over as team principal with immediate effect. Sauber will stay on as President of the Board of Directors of all Sauber Group companies.

"We decided a long time ago that Monisha would take over from me," Sauber said. "But we left the timing open. Now is a good time for both of us, so this is the right moment to pass on the baton.

"After all, there have been a number of races I've been unable to attend - most recently the Japanese Grand Prix, where the team put in an excellent performance.

"I'm in no doubt that Monisha has all the necessary skills to be an outstanding Team Principal, and I'm equally certain she will ensure that the values underpinning the company live on. That is very important to me."

As for her step up, Kaltenborn, who first joined Sauber back in 2000 to run their legal department before becoming CEO in January 2010, is excited about the future.

"Naturally I'm very aware of the major responsibility I have for Peter Sauber's racing team," Kaltenborn, who was given one-third stake in the company last year, said.

"He founded the team over 40 years ago, and in the spring it will be 20 years since Sauber lined up for its debut Formula One grand prix.

"We are the fourth-oldest team in Formula One. To build up a project like this and keep it alive in a difficult environment is a tremendous achievement.

"I have set my sights high and am committed to taking the team forward as Peter Sauber would want and leading it on to success."

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Korea's single DRS zone extended for '12

The FIA has confirmed that the Korean Grand Prix will once again feature a single DRS zone along the second straight.

The zone has been extended by 80 metres to encourage overtaking into turn three.

The detection point is located 90 metres ahead of turn one, with activation 320m after turn two.

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Lauda makes a move to poach Newey from Red Bull claims Marko

Niki Lauda has already made a move to poach Adrian Newey away from Red Bull to Mercedes.

Austrian triple world champion Lauda, having negotiated Mercedes' new Concorde Agreement and wooed Lewis Hamilton to the German squad, has also joined the team as non-executive chairman.

And according to Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, "Herr Lauda has been looking into how long Adrian Newey still has a contract with us", he is quoted by Bild newspaper.

The report said Briton Newey, F1′s most respected car designer and aerodynamicist who reportedly makes in the region of $10 million a year at Red Bull, is under contract until 2014.

"There is an existing contract to be complied with," insisted Marko, who is team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's right-hand man on F1 matters.

"And what would he (Newey) do at Mercedes anyway? With Ross Brawn there are three other technical directors. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians," Marko insisted.

Austrian Marko said Newey has not been Mercedes' only target.

"They also wanted to have Vettel," he alleged.

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Maldonado admits he might ditch Williams for another team

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado has admitted that there is a chance that he will switch teams for the 2013 Formula One season.

Days ago, before Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was re-elected by his countrymen, the lucratively PDVSA-backed Maldonado answered "we'll see" when asked if he will still be a Williams driver next season.

The Spanish GP winner said he could not comment because the great British team always waits until the end of the year to announce its lineup for the following season.

But now, with Chavez soundly in office until at least 2018, Maldonado has been quoted as admitting a change to another team is possible.

"At the moment there is a chance to go to other teams but we are considering remaining here [at Williams], but it is still too early," the 27-year-old is quoted by Sky Sports.

"It is difficult to say, until other teams have confirmed their drivers you never know," he added.

The 2013 lineups at top teams Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes have all been confirmed, but theoretical vacancies at Ferrari, Lotus, Sauber and Force India still exist.

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LIFTING THE ENGINE TORQUE MAPS:

“In its simplest form, the engine torque map is a theoretical model of the engine. It represents the torque output of the engine for a given engine throttle position and engine speed,” says Renault Sport F1 engine engineer David Lamb.

Torque maps were a hot topic in July and August when the FIA made some changes to the way teams were using them mid-season. But they are the single most important map for the engineers to use for reference when trying to make sure that the engine is optimised for a given circuit, according to an interesting note put out by Renault Sport today.

A directive from the FIA around the time of the German and Hungarian Grands Prix closed a loophole exploited by Red Bull Racing and its partner Renault, to improve gas pressure from the exhaust by lowering the torque curve. As a result the Formula 1 teams are no longer allowed to change the torque maps from weekend to weekend, so the maps used this weekend in Korea are not the ultimate expression of what an F1 engine will do, even if they are still fantastically advanced,

“Prior to this directive,” says Lamb, “We would change the torque map freely to suit the climatic conditions. For example, the engines will produce nearly 10% less torque at Sao Paulo than they will this weekend in Korea due to Sao Paulo’s high altitude. By changing the torque map to the prevailing conditions the engine response will feel the same to the driver across the season. Nowadays we have to request this torque map change from the FIA, and fully justify our reasoning.”

For an indication of how sophisticated the technology is in F1 nowadays around engine mapping, Lamb explains the different ways in which the engineers can tune the map to cut cylinders in order to give the driver consistent power and feel from the engine – or driveability, as it is known,

“When the driver lifts off the pedal the engine can be either fired in four cylinders or fully cut, depending on the level of overrun support he requires,” explains David. “When the driver goes back on the pedal from full ignition cut, you need to inject more fuel than usual to ‘wet’ the engine. Inject too little or too much and you will have a torque deficit from target, which can cause a hesitation and a loss of lap time. The initial torque demand will generally be met with only four cylinders, as you’d rather save a bit of fuel and have four cylinders firing strongly using a more open throttle than have eight coming into life rather weakly with a relatively closed throttle.

“When the torque demand exceeds that which can be met with just four cylinders, the remaining cylinders need to be fired. These will also require ‘wetting’. At this point you also have to close the throttles at a rate which coincides with the final four coming back into life – this is the tricky bit! Get it right and the driver should feel nothing across the transition, just a change in engine pitch. In all cases, the torque map is used in conjunction with other settings to govern both the fuelling requirements and throttle position.”

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SEBASTIAN VETTEL ON TOP IN KOREA AS RED BULL DOMINATE FRIDAY PRACTICE:

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in Friday’s second Free Practice for the Korean Grand Prix, edging out Red Bull team mate Mark Webber by 0.032 seconds, with championship leader Fernando Alonso third.

The Red Bulls were three tenths quicker than their rivals at the head of the field to go into Saturday’s final practice and qualifying at Yeongam as favourites.

However, the McLarens and Ferraris weren’t too far behind in overall pace, with Mercedes also in the mix, to suggest there will be a close fight for the rest of the weekend.

“This afternoon the track was quite slippery to start with,” said Vettel. “But then I think it got a little bit better so, all in all, the car felt alright and now we see what we can do for tomorrow. I think we have to improve ourselves to match the others.”

Hamilton led the way in first Free Practice, but was at a loss to explain his lack of pace in the afternoon session where he finished eighth fastest, 0.885 seconds slower than pacesetter Vettel.

His McLaren team mate Jenson Button had a more positive day, finishing fourth fastest and was encouraged by his long-run pace following a race simulation at the end of the session.

Championship leader Alonso was pipped to the quickest time by Hamilton in the first session, but showed good pace in the second and was denied a quicker time after being held up by a HRT.

His Ferrari team light fuelled the car as they focused on improving their qualifying pace – which they have struggled with all season – and they appeared to make a step forward.

Their long-run towards the end of the session was also encouraging, and Alonso ended up third overall with team mate Felipe Massa sixth.

Lotus ran their new exhaust system on Kimi Raikkonen’s car with the Finn, who was racing in Korea for the first time, finishing 10th fastest, one place ahead of team mate Romain Grosjean.

Mercedes, who failed to score points with either car in Japan since the season opener in Australia, showed improved pace on the 5.615km circuit, with Michael Schumacher finishing fifth fastest, two places ahead of Nico Rosberg.

Having scored their fourth podium of the season in the Japanese Grand Prix with Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber struggled to replicate that form in Korea.

The Swiss team, who confirmed Monisha Kaltenborn as their new team principal on Thursday, taking over from owner Peter Sauber, saw Kobayashi and Sergio Perez finish 14th and 15th respectively.

Perez stopped midway through the session, when an actuator related to the engine failed. The team reported that there was no damage to the engine itself, but they were unable to get the Mexican back out on track.

With the circuit rarely used for most of the year, it took some time for the track to clean up and the first fast laps to come through.

Alonso set the early pace in the morning session, before Hamilton proved faster towards the end. In the afternoon, Vettel took top spot with 30 minute gone and held on as the rest of the field switched their focus to longer runs.

Conditions are expected to be warmer on Sunday than they have been in the previous two years the race has been held at Yeongam, with Pirelli predicting a two-stop race with around half a second between the soft and super-soft compounds.

KOREAN GRAND PRIX, Yeongam, Free Practice 2

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m38.832 33

2. Mark Webber Red Bull 1m38.864s +0.032 33

3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m39.160s +0.328 28

4. Jenson Button McLaren 1m39.219s +0.387 29

5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m39.330s +0.498 31

6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m39.422s +0.590 30

7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m39.584s +0.752 36

8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m39.717s +0.885 25

9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m39.739s +0.907 33

10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1m39.839s +1.007 26

11. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1m39.957s +1.125 28

12. Bruno Senna Williams 1m40.089s +1.257 32

13. Paul di Resta Force India 1m40.112s +1.280 34

14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m40.445s +1.613 28

15. Sergio Perez Sauber 1m40.745s +1.913 11

16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1m40.789s +1.957 31

17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m40.997s +2.165 32

18. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m41.200s +2.368 33

19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1m41.602s +2.770 23

20. Timo Glock Marussia 1m42.596s +3.764 28

21. Charles Pic Marussia 1m43.066s +4.234 21

22. Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1m43.067s +4.235 22

23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1m43.869s +5.037 36

24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1m44.533s +5.701 24

[MIKA27]

Arrest warrant issued for Mallya

An Indian court has issued an arrest warrant against business tycoon and Force India team owner Vijay Mallya.

The Hyderabad court issued the warrant for Mallya and five others on charges that his beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines bounced four cheques worth over $1,9million to the consortium running the airport in the city.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) filed the case in August and the court on Friday issued the non-bailable warrant after Mallya failed to appear despite a summons being issued to him.

The crisis-hit airline faces similar cases in Mumbai and Delhi after the airport operators moved the court over dishonoured cheques.

"The cases were listed today for the airline to appear in the court," a spokesman for the complainant is quoted as saying by AFP.

"Since they failed to appear before the magistrate, the court has ordered issuance of NBW (non-bailable warrants) against Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), Vijay Mallya and four other KFA officials."

[MIKA27]

Speed loses rights to broadcast F1 in the US

Motorsport broadcaster Speed TV has lost the rights to televise Formula One throughout the United States from 2013, it confirmed in a short statement.

The channel has been the home of F1 in the US for some 17 years, but it's believed Formula One Management (FOM) has been in negotiations with other broadcasters to takeover the rights.

"Speed has been the U.S. voice of F1 since the mid '90s, and it is a passion for many people at the network," a Fox Sports statement read.

"Fox Sports Media Group made what we believed to be a fiscally responsible bid based on the sport's current viewership levels, but F1 has elected to go in another direction. We wish them well."

According to reports, NBC has won the rights after it outbid Speed TV. It's believed NBC Sports will carry the broadcast of all 20 races in 2013 and beyond as the interest in F1 ramps up ahead of the sports return to the US with two races next season; Austin and New Jersey.

NBC Sports spokesman Chris McCloskey refused to comment on the rumours without an official announcement having been made, which is expected in the coming weeks.

[MIKA27]

Kobayashi in need of a sponsor for 2013 seat

Kamui Kobayashi has strongly hinted that he requires a sponsor to remain in Formula One next season, especially if he is to remain with a top team such as Sauber.

The Japanese driver secured his first ever podium last weekend at his home grand prix, but that hasn't cured the need to bring money to a team - something which is becoming common place in the sport.

Whilst he's focused on driving, he admits he will need to plough some time into seeking out some backing for next year despite the lack of willing sponsors, particularly in Japan.

"Of course a sponsor could help for next year, but at the moment I have no sponsors to be here," he said. "It's very strange to need to find a sponsor to drive for another team or here [at Sauber].

"Drivers should be thinking about the car and what to do with the car as that's their job, but now it's complicated by a lot of sponsoring and what they can bring. That is the way a driver has to be. I will try to stay in Formula One next year and show for the rest of the season what I can do in Formula One."

"If a Japanese manufacturer came back in to the sport that would be a great thing, but if a Japanese car manufacturer is not in Formula One it's difficult. Car manufacturers are some of the biggest companies, so when Toyota was in F1 Panasonic was supporting them but then they left with Toyota."

When asked how he would feel if he lost his seat and couldn't fine an alternative, he replied: "This is destiny, no? If it happens like that we have to say 'this is Formula One'."