FORMULA 1 - 2012

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Webber and Hulkenberg too tall for Ferrari

Early contenders for Felipe Massa’s 2013 Ferrari seat may have been ruled out because they are too tall, the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport reports.

Ultimately, Mark Webber is staying at Red Bull next year, while German Nico Hulkenberg has signed to switch from Force India to the Ferrari-powered Sauber team.

But earlier, rumours linked them with Ferrari, who in the end decided to re-sign the resurgent Brazilian Massa for 2013.

Auto Motor und Sport said that Webber and Hulkenberg’s height might have been the problem.

The pair are both 184 centimetres tall, (just over 6 foot).

Massa and Alonso, on the other hand, are considerably smaller; Alonso is 13cm shorter than Webber and Hulkenberg, while Massa is a diminutive 1.66m, (5 foot 5).

The German magazine said that Webber confirmed in India that he does not fit behind the wheel of this year’s Ferrari.

With the 2013 regulations staying essentially the same as this year’s, most teams will not be making fundamental changes to their chassis layouts for next season, due to the radical changes set to debut just a year later in 2014.

Hulkenberg did not comment on whether he would fit in this year’s Ferrari, but AM&S said that the German had admitted that his height is an issue.

He is quoted as saying that designers “need to make compromises in the chassis” to accomodate tall drivers, like himself or his 2012 Force India teammate Paul di Resta, who like Webber and Hulkenberg also stands at over 6 feet.

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Alonso: I’m sure Michael would have won three races this year for Sauber

With one short sentence, Fernando Alonso defended his great rival Michael Schumacher, criticised the Mercedes team’s performance, praised Sauber’s 2012 car, and slated the Swiss team’s current driver lineup.

“I am sure [that] Michael would have won three races this year for Sauber,” the Ferrari driver is quoted by the German-language T-Online website.

Instead, 43-year-old Schumacher is bowing out of the sport at the end of the season on a low, his return to F1 since 2010 almost certainly to be remembered as a failure in his otherwise all-conquering career.

The Mercedes driver is quoted as admitting that saying goodbye in Brazil with a good result would “be nice”.

“But I don’t expect it,” he is quoted by Abendblatt. “So in this regard I will not be sentimental.”

Schumacher said that the most he can hope for is that the fruits of his contribution to the Mercedes project will be reaped by next year’s drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

“It is natural that we are still working together as a team right now as though I will still be there next year,” he said.

“The team is also interested in my opinion and experience.”

Team boss and long time friend Ross Brawn confirmed that Schumacher’s hand will be obvious when Mercedes succeeds.

“I hope [that] people think of Michael on the day that we achieve our goals, because he will wear a proportion of that success,” said the Briton.

“I am sure [that] Michael would have won three races this year for Sauber,” the Ferrari driver is quoted by the German-language T-Online website.

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Raikkonen not ruling out return to McLaren or Ferrari

Although having committed to Lotus for another season, Kimi Raikkonen is not ruling out a return to either of his former teams McLaren and Ferrari in the future.

The 2007 world champion has been praised for his highly competitive return to F1 this season, but until now he has failed to add to his career tally of 18 wins.

He won all of those races for McLaren (2002-2006) and Ferrari (2007-2009), until he headed to world rallying in 2010 after being replaced at the Italian team by Fernando Alonso.

“I think the last year has been, overall, good for the team but of course you want to win races and challenge for championships,” Raikkonen told the Telegraph, after Lotus announced that the 33-year-old has signed up for 2013.

“I’m not 100 per cent happy,” he admitted. “If I’m here I want to win and be successful.”

Raikkonen does not, therefore, rule out a return at some point to Ferrari or McLaren, insisting that although his relationships with those teams did not end perfectly, the doors could still be open.

“Ferrari could have ended in a slightly nicer way but the people I worked with … are still there, I had a very good relationship with them and go and talk to them still,” he explained.

“You never know,” he said. “I don’t know how long I will be driving for. Maybe I don’t drive for many more years.”

Raikkonen said McLaren is another possibility, even though it is reported his relationship with team supremo Ron Dennis was not great.

“For sure you have a different view of many things but we still talk to each other,” he said. “I have never had a fight with him.

“People just try to make sh*t stories. I have no issues with anybody.”

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Sorry I didn't post any news leading up to Abu Dhabi guys but been a little under the weather.

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RAIKKONEN WINS ABU DHABI THRILLER AS VETTEL GOES FROM LAST TO PODIUM:

Kimi Raikkonen won a thrilling Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, arguably one of the most exciting races of the season, holding off Fernando Alonso in the final laps to win for the first time since Spa 2009 and giving Lotus its first win since the 1987 US Grand Prix victory for Ayrton Senna.

Raikkonen survived two safety cars, which cut his lead, to become the eighth different race winner of this 2012 championship. He went from 4th to first, Alonso from 6th to second and Vettel from 24th to 3rd.

Lewis Hamilton controlled the first part of the race from pole position but retired once again, as he did in a similar position in Singapore.

Amazingly Sebastian Vettel held onto a 10 point championship lead after a stunning drive through the field from last to third place, passing Jenson Button in the closing stages. He started in the pit lane, survived several scares, made an extra stop compared to the rest and still came away with a result.

Raikkonen’s win was built on a strong qualifying performance and a great start. He qualified fifth, which became fourth after Sebastian Vettel was penalised and jumped up to second place at the start.

“Not much (emotion) really,” said Raikkonen. “I’m really happy for the team, It’s been hard times lately and I hope this can turn around the tables. I’m happy, but there’s nothing to jump around about. We’ll have a good party and tomorrow when we feel bad after a long night we will remember why we feel like that.”

It was a thrilling roller coaster of a race, particularly exciting as far the the championship contenders were concerned with Alonso and Vettel both having swings of good luck and setbacks.

Vettel’s final result showed the sheer performance advantage of the Red Bull over the majority of the field, as Vettel was able to twice drop to the back of the field and still come through. It also silenced critics who think that Vettel lacks ability to overtake.

It was by far the most entertaining of the four races held at Yas Marina Circuit to date, with some great overtaking moves by Vettel and Alonso in particular. An early safety car bunched the field up, but Vettel had a torrid time, crashing into the barriers as he swerved to avoid a Toro Rosso under the safety car.

Sebastian Vettel was having to come through the field having been disqualified from qualifying for a fuel load irregularity and chose to start the race from the pit lane, which allowed him to make some changes to the set up of the car and a longer 7th gear to help with overtaking. It gave him a straight line speed gain of 5mph to 198mph.

The track temperature at the start of the race was 34 degrees, with quite a strong gusty breeze.

At the start, Kimi Raikkonen jumped from fourth to second as Webber made another poor getaway from the line and he challenged Hamilton for the lead on lap 2 as the McLaren s. Meanwhile Alonso jumped Button for 5th place and then passed Webber for 4th on the back straight in a stunning first lap.

Meanwhile a collision between Hulkenberg and Senna eliminated the Force India car, while Di Resta got a puncture and Vettel damaged his front wing in the opening exchanges.

In the opening stint, Hamilton led Raikkonen, with Maldonado third, Alonso fourth, Webber, Button, Massa, Perez, Kobayashi and Schumacher the top ten.

Hamilton settled into a high rhythm, the McLaren lapping at 0.5s a lap faster than Raikkonen. Alonso was tucked up behind Maldonado waiting for his opportunity.

On lap 9 the Safety Car was deployed for only the second time in the four years at Yas Marina after Nico Rosberg had a heavy accident, smashing into the back of Narain Kartikeyan’s HRT. The Mercedes was launched and passed over the top of Kartikeyan’s car, passing close to the Indian driver’s head. It was the third accident in four races for Rosberg.

Under the Safety Car there was a curious incident where Sebastian Vettel almost collided with the rear of Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso as the weaved to heat the tyres. Vettel hit the barriers causing more damage to the front wing of the Red Bull.

He pitted on lap 13 for soft tyres and a new front wing. But Vettel came out behind Grosjean who was at the back after a puncture in a quick Lotus, also trying to make its way through the field.

At the restart Alonso had trouble with cold tyres and had to defend from Webber, as the leading trio broke free at the front.

Vettel attacked Grosjean but the Frenchman came back at him and Vettel finally made the pass stick on the second straight, he went outside the white line to do it and had to give the place back then retake it.

At the front Hamilton returned to his rhythm with Raikkonen three seconds behind. But Maldonado and Alonso slipped back, the Ferrari not finding the pace it had before the restart.

On lap 20 Hamilton retired from the race, the engine dead. This gave Raikkonen the lead and lifted Maldonado to second and Alonso to third.

On lap 22 Alonso passed Maldonado for second place as the Venezuelan struggled with the tyres. He set off after Raikkonen.

There was a classic moment of Raikkonen radio on lap 23 as his engineer offered to keep him updated on the gap to Alonso, “No! Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing!” shouted Raikkonen.

On the same lap, Webber made a mistake passing Maldonado and went into a spin and dropped back behind Button, Massa and Perez.

As the pit stop approached, Button passed Maldonado for third and Perez passed Massa for 5th.

On lap 27, Massa and Webber made contact, as Webber went off the track to overtake Massa spun and immediately pitted for medium tyres.

Alonso came into the pits on lap 29, moving to the medium tyres.

Vettel caught Webber on lap 31 and the Australian was told, “If Sebastian gets a run don’t fight him, ” Red Bull pitted Webber at the end of the lap just in case, releasing Vettel, who was now second on tyres which had done 15 laps.

Pirelli estimated that the soft tyres could do 36 laps, so Vettel was pushing his luck to try 40.

After the stops, Raikkonen led on the medium tyres, from Vettel, Alonso, Button, Grojean. There was a significant gap between these two which meant that Vettel could push hard and if he were to run out of tyres, he would be able to stop and slot into that gap behind Button.

He did so on lap 38, taking another set of used soft tyres and it worked to plan, then another Safety Car came out to hep him again, this time for an accident involving his own team mate Webber who was caught up in an incident involving Perez, Di Resta and Grosjean. The incident eliminated Webber.

Di Resta and Perez were fighting for position, Perez went off track and came back on making contact with Perez, which left Webber nowhere to go.

The race restarted on lap 43, with 12 laps to go, Alonso again struggling to get the tyres up to temperature.

On lap 46 Vettel attacked Button for third, but he wasn’t able to find a way past initially. He did make it stick soon after however, although he admitted that Button had been very hard to pass.

One final note; Mercedes had its fourth race with no points, although Rosberg was going well before the accident and Schumacher was in the points before he got a late puncture.

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX, Yas Marina Circuit, 55 laps

1. Raikkonen Lotus 1h45:58.667

2. Alonso Ferrari + 0.852

3. Vettel Red Bull + 4.163

4. Button McLaren + 7.787

5. Maldonado Williams + 13.007

6. Kobayashi Sauber + 20.076

7. Massa Ferrari + 22.896

8. Senna Williams + 23.542

9. Di Resta Force India + 24.160

10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso + 27.400

11. Schumacher Mercedes + 28.000

12. Vergne Toro Rosso + 34.900

13. Kovalainen Caterham + 47.700

14. Glock Marussia + 56.400

15. Perez Sauber + 56.700

16. Petrov Caterham + 1:04.500

17. De la Rosa HRT + 1:11.5

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Hamilton: It was a good race to watch

Lewis Hamilton admits he was happy with his performance in Abu Dhabi after a mechanical failure saw him watch most of the race from the sidelines.

He did the business on the Saturday as he qualified in pole position and then looked comfortable during the opening stages of the race as he build a handy 3.4s lead over Kimi Raikkonen shortly after the deployment of the Safety Car.

However, things went horribly wrong on lap 21 as his car lost power and he was forced to park the MP4-27 and retire.

Hamilton admits the car was a "dream" to drive, but he refused to dwell too much on his DNF and set his sights on the final two races in the United States and Brazil.

"I hadn't been faultless in this race because I did have a very wide moment at one stage but after that it was going really well and the car was a dream to drive," he said.

"I was cruising and pulling away so it was a shame the engine just died. It was some kind of fuel problem but it was an incredible race, good to watch.

"We hadn't brought any upgrades and hopefully we'll have some for the next race. I hope the car performs over the next two races to finish up the front for the last time. I'm happy with the job I did, I couldn't have done any more."

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Rosberg: Thankfully we are both fine

Nico Rosberg believes there was nothing he could do to avoid Narain Karthikeyan as he smashed into the HRT under braking at the Yas Marina circuit.

Working his way through the field after pitting early for a new nose, which had been broken in a first lap incident with Romain Grosjean, Rosberg came up behind Karthikeyan.

Looking to take the HRT for position, the German instead slammed into the back of Karthikeyan's car and was launched over it before smashing into the barriers.

Thankfully both drivers were unhurt in the crash.

Explaining what happened, Rosberg said: "Narain told me that his steering broke and he needed to brake which I didn't expect in that high-speed corner.

"There was no time for me to react, and I'm very thankful that we are both fine.

"I went to the medical centre for a precautionary check but everything is good. I will look forward now and hope for a better two races to end the season."

As for Karthikeyan, he revealed that a hydraulic problem resulted in him losing his steering.

"On lap 9 we had a problem with the hydraulic pressure and steering of the car went rock solid, so I had to lift my foot off the accelerator," said the Indian driver.

"Unfortunately, Rosberg was coming from behind and couldn't avoid me. It was tremendously unlucky."

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Button laments lack of grip, pace

It was another frustrating race for Jenson Button at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he could only manage a P4.

While his team-mate Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position and led the race for 21 laps before being forced to retire, Button started P5 and struggled for pace most of the afternoon.

Although he found himself in third place at one stage, he couldn't hold off the charging Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel during the final few laps and had to settle for fourth.

"It was a fun race, but we struggled," the McLaren driver said.

"The car was very different to my runs on Friday - I couldn't get any grip. It was fun and there were some good battles out there. "

Next up is the inaugural United States Grand Prix in Texas and Button is determined to turn his fortunes around.

"Hopefully I'll find more pace [for Austin], my race pace is something that's normally very good, so we'll go and find out why that it wasn't here," he added.

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Alonso happy to get away with it

Fernando Alonso has described the Abu Dhabi race as the "perfect Sunday" after finishing second behind Kimi Raikkonen.

After a disappointing Saturday session saw him qualify only P7, the Spaniard got a "bonus" as he was bumped up one place after his Championship rival Sebastian Vettel was relegated to the back of the grid.

Alonso certainly made the most of the gift as he moved up into second place on lap 22. Although he managed to reduce the gap to Raikkonen to under one second on the last few laps, he didn't really get close enough to attempt a pass.

The 20 points he picked up at the Yas Marina Circuit helped him to reduce Vettel's lead at the top of the standings to 10 points with only two races to go.

"I am very happy as we were not super-competitive this weekend," said Alonso.

"We had to fight the whole race. There was good overtaking and good strategy, which gave us the possibility to fight for the win.

"Second was the maximum achievable today starting sixth, but Sunday was better and we will keep fighting until the end."

Asked about whether he had been keeping track of title rival Vettel's progress throughout the evening, Alonso insisted Ferrari were "concentrating on our race.

"All our simulations had given us the possibility to finish fifth or sixth, so we were not very optimistic with today's race and whatever Seb was doing we were taking 10 or eight points maximum.

"So we concentrated on our race and he did a very good race and he was able to use the performance in some parts of the race in clean air, plus two Safety Cars to help him."

And focusing on themselves will be Ferrari's aim for the final two races as they look to negate Vettel's ten-point advantage.

"There is nothing we can do but concentrate on our race and if we finish ahead of Seb in the next two races then maybe we have a chance," said Alonso.

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Maldonado laments lost podium

Pastor Maldonado was disappointed to have missed out on the Abu Dhabi podium even though he didn't have KERS for much of the race.

Starting third on the grid, the Williams driver held the position though the opening stint before losing out to Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Falling back, the Venezuelan was involved in a racing incident with Mark Webber that saw the Red Bull racer attempt to pass him around the outside.

The two banged wheels and Webber was put into a spin. The stewards cleared both drivers of any wrong doing.

Maldonado went on to finish in fifth place, only his fourth points-scoring result of the Championship.

"It's disappointing because we missed the podium," he said.

"The car was strong but after the Safety Car I did all of the race defending everything and trying to get back past the other drivers. It's difficult when you have problems with the car on this track."

He added: "They're good points. We saved the day and I hope to be competitive in the next two races."

As for his incident with Webber, he said: "I think Mark Webber was unlucky because he tried to get a place on me on the outside and he touched my front right wheel and he span. It was disappointing for him but it was a risky manoeuvre."

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Vettel: 'It was full out attack or nothing'

Sebastian Vettel says he had only one choice in Abu Dhabi, and that was to go on full attack mode after being forced to start from the pitlane.

The Red Bull driver managed to climb to 13th before an incident involving Nico Rosberg and Narain Karthikeyan brought out the safety car. Good news for Vettel as the SC period closed up the cars, however an incident involving the German, Daniel Ricciardo and a DRS board meant he had to start all over.

"After the first couple of laps that target [a podium] was drifting a little bit away and I had a messy start to the race and it was quite difficult from the back to get through the cars as quick as I did," he explained.

"I wanted to get through the cars as quickly as I could and I damaged my front wing. Then under the safety car I had a bit of a big mistake with Daniel [Ricciardo], who was stopping his car on the straights, which surprised me. If it had been 50 metres earlier or later I wouldn't have damaged my front wing further, but after that I said to myself 'Either I go full attack or nothing, so that's what I did'."

Vettel managed to climb to fourth before a final pass on Jenson Button claimed him a podium finish which he said was the maximum.

"Yesterday was a surprise for us and I think had we started from third it would have been a different race," he added. "[starting from the pits] was obviously a chance to f*** it up and we didn't do that. So we can be very proud today, we got the maximum and we lost only a very little bit.

"We've still got the momentum and the car is bloody quick so I'm looking forward to the next two races. We are definitely believing in it and that's the target."

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Apologies again guys for being away of late, have been unwell still with the flu as well as had a good friend pass away.

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WOLFF ON WILLIAMS' DRIVER DELIBERATIONS AND THE 2014 ENGINE REGS:

Williams executive director Toto Wolff insists the team has not yet decided which two drivers it will pair together in 2013, with the option of retaining the current line-up “one of the possibilities”.

Incumbents Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna have both experienced mixed seasons, part explaining why the team sits only eighth in the constructors’ championship despite a big step forward in car performance, although the former has delivered the more eye-catching results with a win in Barcelona and a number of impressive Q3 laps.

Senna by comparison has consistently struggled to match Maldonado’s qualifying feats, yet has been the more consistent top-10 finisher, albeit in the more minor points position. The Brazilian’s nine points finishes in 18 races is as many as both Force India drivers and Romain Grosjean, and two more than the McLaren-bound Sergio Perez.

It is Senna, however, who is thought to be under direct threat from the team’s highly-regarded Friday practice driver Valtteri Bottas.

“I like Pastor a lot. He’s not only a great guy, he has tremendous speed and he just needs to get it right and I think the more experience he will get the better that it will be. He had some tough races and tough moments this year, being blamed for being a crash driver. So it makes him stronger and I believe in him.

“Equally Bruno has shown okay performances, good performances, scored points. But then we have Valtteri also who is a long-term prospective and who is judged as being the new kid on the block. So we are not yet there.”

Wolff, who has moved into a more front-line role at Williams this year following the departure of Adam Parr, also had some strong views on the consistently controversial topic that dogs F1 for the season after next, the 2014 turbo engine regulations.

Bernie Ecclestone recently cast doubt on whether the new engine format would ultimately see the light of day but Wolff admits that although he generally feels F1 should never have even started down that road in the first place, the journey is now irreversible – particularly as the team’s own engine supplier, Renault, recommitted to the sport on that premise.

“My own personal view is that it should have never happened,” he explained.

“It was agreed to make a new engine without having properly analysed how much that engine would cost in terms of development and in terms of research and running it later on. The engine manufacturers have started developing their business. All of them are pretty much on the way. They have spent millions and millions to develop it, some of the manufacturers don’t have now even the benches anymore for the old engines.

“Renault made it conditional in staying in the sport that a new engine is in there, so my honest opinion is it’s quite late to change that decision and I support our engine manufacturer’s position which is in favour of the new engine.”

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ABITEBOUL AIMS TO MAKE CATERHAM F1 FOUNDERS' DREAMS COME TRUE AS HE TAKES ON TEAM PRINCIPLE MANTLE:

Cyril Abiteboul has been appointed as the man to take over the day-to-day running of the Caterham F1 Team from Tony Fernandes and lead the Leafield-based outfit into its next chapter of development.

As has always been his plan, team co-owner Fernandes last week revealed he had decided to step down from the team principal role to concentrate on his wider business interests having finally aligned the F1 team to a manufacturer entity with Caterham Cars and, in recent days, entered into a major sports car project with Renault.

The Caterham Group’s growing links to the French manufacturer were hinted at two months ago when Abiteboul initially joined the team from its F1 engine supplier to become its new CEO and now, with immediate effect, the 35-year-old will combine the two roles going forward.

Fernandes, who had already attended fewer grands prix in the second half of the season, said in a statement: “Having launched our partnership with Renault in Paris on Monday the plan Kamarudin and I formed over three years ago for our automotive interests has come to fruition The strategy for the establishment and growth of Caterham Group has now reached the stage where we can step back from the day to day running of the F1 team in favour of Cyril who will be able to dedicate himself full time to the role and work closely with [Caterham Group CEO] Riad [Asmat] to help take our automotive interests into the next stage of their growth.

“Cyril is going to be an excellent Team Principal. He has extensive experience in F1, he is extremely well respected and he shares our vision for what we want our team to achieve. He takes over during a season when we have not yet fulfilled our potential, but at a time when we have everything in place to help us do so. One day we will earn our seat at the top table of Formula 1 and he is the right person to take us there.

“This decision allows Kamarudin and I to focus on AirAsia and gives Riad the structure he needs to allow the various Caterham Group businesses to flourish under his leadership. Kamarudin and I will continue as Co-Chairman of Caterham Group and we now have the best possible team in place to take our dream into its next phase.”

With the team now approaching the end of its third season in F1, Abiteboul’s initial remit is likely to be steering the team towards its first point in 2013 and finally becoming a bona-fide midfield team,

“We have big challenges ahead of us but the shareholders are committed and behind us to help us take significant steps forward over the coming years, and one day challenge for the highest honours in F1,” he said.

“We have an incredible spirit within the team and that has been created by Tony and Kamarudin. This spirit, allied to a strategic vision that gives us a clear path to success, is what will keep driving us forwards and we all look forward to the day we can make the dreams our shareholders had several years ago come true.”

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AUSTIN LOOKS LIKE A REAL RED BULL CIRCUIT:

Next Sunday the outcome of the F1 world championships could be decided at the United States Grand Prix on the new circuit in Austin. And the view from the inside, after extensive work by teams on simulators in the last week, is that the nature of the Austin circuit looks set to favour Red Bull.

Sebastian Vettel leads the drivers’ championship by 10 points, from Fernando Alonso, meaning that with his superior number of wins, if he can increase that lead by another 15 points and finish the Austin race 25 points ahead of Alonso, he will be champion.

Meanwhile Red Bull are virtually guaranteed to win the Constructors’ Championship on Sunday for the third consecutive season. They need just 4 points from Sunday’s race to do it.

All week long, the drivers have been driving the circuit on the simulators in the team factories and understanding the character of the track.

Sectors 1 and 3 look to especially favour Red Bull; Sector 1 is like the Magotts/Beckets sequence at Silverstone, while in the final sector the RB8 will devour the long triple apex Turn 17.

Apart from that corner, the rest of Sector 3 has similarities to Korea and parts of Abu Dhabi, where the McLaren was very fast in Lewis Hamilton’s hands, but the overall impression is that the race is Sebastian Vettel’s to lose, unless Ferrari have come up with a silver bullet in development terms.

The track features a number of corners which pay tribute to some of the great corners on tracks around the world. Jenson Button likes the look of the circuit, “On paper, the circuit looks to have a little bit of everything,” he said. “The plan-view certainly looks familiar; you can see elements of the Maggotts/Becketts complex from Silverstone; there’s a reverse of Istanbul Park’s Turn Eight, too; and I can even see a bit of the Hockenheim infield, too.”

Meanwhile Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Fernando Alonso did over 200 laps in one day last week on his personal simulator in his house in Oviedo, Spain.

The one unknown is what the track surface will do to the tyres. It looks more abrasive than the recent races, but once again Pirelli has gone conservative with the Medium and Hard tyres from the range, so barring some major shock, it is likely that the race will feature a number of one stop strategies, with some teams trying two because the pit lane is quite short.

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Schumi: I'll give my best

As Michael Schumacher gears up for the penultimate race of his F1 career, the German insists he will still give his "best" out on track.

Formula One is heading to Austin, Texas next weekend for the United States GP, the last time Schumacher will experience a F1 track for the very first time.

And the Mercedes driver is excited about the new venue.

"I'm really excited to see what kind of track we will find and to see if the American fans will embrace our sport," said Schumacher.

"From the pictures and layouts of the circuit that I have already seen, everything looks very good.

"I think Formula One will put on a good show at the Circuit of the Americas, and naturally I will be giving my best to be a part of that."

As for his team-mate Nico Rosberg, the 27-year-old is aiming to score at the "cool" Circuit of the Americas.

"It will be very exciting to race in the USA again and I'm really looking forward to our visit," he said. "The United States Grand Prix should be a great event and a real show for our American fans.

"I can't wait to drive on the Circuit of the Americas track for the first time in practice next Friday. I spent some time practicing on the simulator at the factory this week so I know what to expect and, as a team, we are as well prepared as we can be from our simulator work.

"The track looks cool with a great double S section to begin the lap and it looks like there should be some good opportunities for overtaking.

"We really want to end the season on a positive note so we'll be aiming to score some points next weekend."

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'Vettel will win in super finish'

Niki Lauda says F1 will get a "super finish in Sao Paulo" and that when all is said and done it will be Sebastian Vettel who emerges victorious.

Vettel and Fernando Alonso have ensured a thrilling end to this year's World Championship as the protagonists are separated by just 10 points with 50 still to play for.

The triple World Champ, though, reckons when it is all over it is Vettel who will have his third World title as Ferrari's F2012 is no match for the German's RB8.

"Nothing has changed," Lauda told Austria's Osterreich newspaper.

"What Vettel had in Abu Dhabi, that mistake won't happen a second time.

"I believe Red Bull will have learned and will have everything technically perfect in the last two races.

"Then it will be up to Vettel - and he has the fastest car, I think he will remain World Champion."

As for Alonso, Lauda reckons he will "just carry on as before" because although he "does everything right, it is not enough because Ferrari cannot compete with Red Bull."

The Spaniard, though, will push it all the way to the very end with Lauda predicting a "super finish in Sao Paulo."

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Raikkonen: There is more to come

Kimi Raikkonen believes there is more to come from Lotus after securing a first victory in Abu Dhabi.

Returning to Formula One this season, many wondered how long it would take Raikkonen to win his first race. Some even wonder if he could still win.

The Finn, though, silenced his critics last Sunday when he clinched the Abu Dhabi victory ahead of Championship rivals Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

"We didn't give up. We had a period where new developments for the car weren't working exactly as wanted straight away and when you have to test new parts during practice sessions it's very difficult to make progress, but we kept pushing," said Raikkonen.

"We continued with the exhaust developments we made during practice in Korea and India and the pace was promising all weekend in Abu Dhabi.

"I was never out of the top ten all weekend and with that in mind I think we had a good idea that we could be competitive if we could just get qualifying right, which has been the big issue all season long. This time though, we got it right."

The victory came just days after Lotus announced that Raikkonen would remain with the team for next season.

"It's a pretty good way to show that everyone's made the right choice. We've shown all season how good we can be, and in Abu Dhabi we showed we can win. There is more to come. I promise."

There will also be more abrupt radio messages to come from the 2007 World Champion, who was heard telling his team in the heat of the moment "just leave me alone, I know what I am doing."

Asked about those comments, he said: "Apparently there were a few of our radio messages broadcast on TV and I think in those moments you could hear how much I just wanted to keep my head down, do my job and win the race. All I needed to know was the gap to the guy behind me.

"I think you can probably find other messages from me in the car if you search YouTube; even from my short time in NASCAR."

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Rosberg not concerned by Hamilton's arrival

Nico Rosberg says he isn't concerned by the arrival of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season and believes the Brit's arrival is a good thing for him and the team.

The pair are good friends and karted together before finally landing seats in Formula One. However their careers have differed hugely since with Hamilton going on to win 20 races and a Championship with McLaren, meanwhile Nico Rosberg has just a single victory to his name.

The German is however looking forward to Hamilton's arrival and isn't concerned about going up against a driver who is often regarded as one of the best.

"There's no concern, I'm pleased he's joining the team and it's a new challenge for me," Rosberg told ESPN. "And yes, he's one of the best out there so it's going to be very interesting going up against him. But again, I'm convinced that I'll do well and we'll see how he goes."

The 27-year-old former Williams driver believes the arrival of a new driver of Hamilton's calibre at the Anglo-German team will provide additional motivation for 2013.

"I'm very confident, the team is really progressing well and we have a lot more employees who have joined the team this year and they're very clever people that are going to have an impact now - slowly but surely and especially for next year.

"I'm sure we are going to do even better and then also with Hamilton joining the team, that's going to be a good boost for everybody and I think it's a nice change and refreshing, which is good."

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MALDONADO EXPLAINS THE SECRETS BEHIND HIS QUALIFYING SPEED:

Pastor Maldonado may have endured a season of wildly fluctuating fortunes but one area in which the Williams driver has consistently impressed has been in qualifying.

Whereas team-mate Bruno Senna has only made Q3 once in 18 attempts, Maldonado has reached the top 10 on 11 occasions, burnishing his reputation as a one-lap specialist by starting inside the front two rows four times.

The most noticeable thing about his two most recent top-four starts, in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, was his lap-time improvement between Q2 and Q3: the Venezuelan finding the best part of seven and eight tenths in the final shootout at the two events respectively despite falling temperatures on both occasions.

So just how does he do it?

“I think it’s something mentally,” he explains. “I’m quite strong mentally to be honest with you. There is not the perfect lap – it doesn’t exist – you always can do better. What I learn from qualy one I do that in qualy two, and what I learn from qualy one and two I try to do that for qualy three.

“I try to put everything together in qualy three and that’s why I often go to the top three, top five, because I try to get more than 100% from the myself, from the car, from the people around me. Qualy is very important because if you put the car in the top five the weekend changes completely.”

Maldonado, who also showed flashes of his single-lap speed even in last year’s uncompetitive FW33, also credited his qualifying results to the support he receives from his Williams crew, saying that this was key to him extracting the maximum out of both himself and the car.

“To be honest it’s not only from my side. I have a lot of support from the team,” he said.

“I feel that the concentration is quite high. The communication is so good. They believe in what I feel in the car, they follow me, and this is so important. When the driver feels that you have 100% support behind you can give, and you can release, more than 100%.

“Working so hard as well with the technical side of the team, trying to improve the particular [things]. I really like a neutral car; so I don’t like an understeer car or oversteer, so I’m very precise with the set-ups.”

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MCLAREN PUTS ITSELF IN THE HEART OF FORMULA E INNOVATION:

McLaren is putting itself at the heart of the FIA’s new adventure into electric vehicle motorsport via a deal for its McLaren Electronic Systems division to supply electric engines, transmissions and electronics to the new Formula E series, starting in 2014.

The company, which has the contracts to supply the standard Electronic Control Units to all F1 and NASCAR teams, is joining forces with Frederic Vasseur, the man behind ART Grand Prix, with whom McLaren placed Lewis Hamilton for his successful Euro F3 and GP2 apprenticeship.

Vasseur’s Spark Racing Technologies company is building the cars for the new series, which is set to race around city centre tracks in some of the world’s most prominent cities.

The Formula E initiative came out of a request in 2011 from the European Commission to FIA president Jean Todt to set up an international EV series which would have sufficient promotional assets and backing to put EV racing on the map and to engage motorsport engineers in order advance the development of technologies, which will help with road cars.

“It will be a single-seater but I want this single-seater not to be like Formula 3 or Formula 2 but to have a design which is quite visionary, a car for the future, probably with covered wheels, with a cockpit which should be different,” said Todt in a recent interview with the Financial Times.

The FIA appointed a promoter recently, Alejandro Agag and he and his backers are putting together a calendar of events starting with Rio de Janeiro (below) in 2014.

Todt said, “The promoter at the moment is working on a calendar. I know that a lot of big cities in Europe, in America… Big interest in America. I know that New York has been contacted, Washington DC has been contacted, Miami has been contacted, Los Angeles has been contacted.

“In Canada Vancouver has been contacted. A lot of European countries. And the idea, the promoter will come with a kind of big package to implement in the cities to organise… You know, it’s a bit like the circus. They will come and build the layout in one existing part of the city. The great thing is that it’s electric power and electric power has only for me a future in the cities. I don’t believe at all in one electric car going from Paris to London.”

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HOW TO WIN THE U.S GRAND PRIX ON THE NEW TRACK IN AUSTIN:

This weekend the F1 teams will race on the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the first time. And it could well be the title decider with Sebastian Vettel 10 points ahead of Fernando Alonso and only 50 points left on the table.

So what will this race turn on? What is the secret to being competitive at Austin and how will the all-important race strategy play out?

The new Circuit of the Americas looks very attractive from a drivers’ and spectators’ point of view. It has a little bit of everything; Mercedes’ simulations suggest the circuit has more corners over 250 kph than Spa and more below 100kph than Hungary, which is quite a combination.

It has one very long straight with a hairpin at either end and this is where the single DRS zone will be located, which should promote overtaking. And it features numerous corners, which pay tribute to some of the great corners of tracks around the world. For example, the first turn is an uphill turn, similar to the great 1970s Osterreichring track in Austria, then there is a sequence of high speed corners which are very like Maggotts/Beckets at Silverstone.

The track is 3.4 miles long and features 20 corners, a lap time of around 1m 38secs is predicted for qualifying.

The first and last sectors of the lap, which are all about cornering, look like they will favour Red Bull, with its massive down force, but McLaren, Lotus and Ferrari should also go well here.

In terms of finding the key to winning at Austin, qualifying will be very important because the sequence of corners at the start of the lap will string the field out on the opening lap, so making sure you get away first on the opening lap will be vital. Then breaking the DRS tow will be the next target.

It has quite a short pit lane so there is scope for trying things with strategy.

Austin is the tenth different venue for the Formula 1 US Grand Prix. F1 has had several homes in America over the years and has never really taken root. The last one was Indianapolis, but the circuit and Bernie Ecclestone fell out over how much they should pay to host the race. There are lots of Ferrari loving car fans in the USA, obviously, and the key is to get them energised about F1 again. The Austin race is a sell out, but getting them back in year two will be the acid test.

Sebastian Vettel can win the title in Austin, if he scores 15 points more than Fernando Alonso. If not, the title fight will go on to the final round in Brazil. Alonso cannot afford another retirement.

Red Bull will almost certainly clinch the constructors’ championship in Austin.

Track characteristics

Circuit of the Americas – 5.516 kilometres.

Race distance – 56 laps = 308.896 kilometres. 20 corners in total. Average speed 197km/h. A brand new circuit, replicating some classic corners of other circuits

Aerodynamic setup – Med/High downforce.

Top speed 315km/h (with DRS open) 305km/h without.

Full throttle – 60% of the lap.

Total fuel needed for race distance – 142.8 kilos (ave).

Fuel consumption – 2.55kg per lap (ave)

Brake wear- medium. Number of braking events – 8.

Loss time for a Pit stop = 16.5 seconds

Total time needed for a pit stop: 3 seconds

Fuel effect (cost in lap time per 10kg of fuel carried): 0.38 seconds (ave/high)

Form Guide

The US Grand Prix is round 19 of the 2012 FIA F1 World Championship.

Sebastian Vettel is the form man at the moment, having won four of the last five races. And this Austin track looks like it will suit the Red Bull car very well, with its series of high speed corners and the long Turn 17, which are well suited to the high downforce of the Red Bull and its powerful double DRS system, which will be used in qualifying. Expect at least one Red Bull car on the front row of the grid.

Vettel will be champion if he ends the race with 25 points more than Fernando Alonso. While Red Bull need just 4 points to clinch the Constructors’ Championship for the third year in a row.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton performed very well at the last round in Abu Dhabi, which indicates that his McLaren will be competitive here.

Weather Forecast

The forecast for the weekend is for stable weather, with temperatures in the low 20 degrees C and little chance of rain.

Likely tyre performance and other considerations

Pirelli tyre choice for Austin: Medium (white markings) and Hard (silver markings). This combination was seen in Malaysia, Belgium and Italy.

At the two most recent races in India and Abu Dhabi Pirelli went too conservative with the tyre choice and it led to a largely one-stop strategy race in both cases. The selection for Austin again looks fairly conservative.

On any new track, working out the best race strategy could once again be the decisive factor.

Austin appears to be similar to Silverstone in terms of the energy that will be put into the tyre, while its general character is similar to Korea and India.

The track is brand new, so it will be covered in dust at the start of the weekend, but the improvement is likely to be significant once the cars run and plenty of rubber goes down. The lap times should tumble, with a lap around 1m 38s predicted for qualifying.

The performance gap between the medium and hard Pirelli tyre is going to be critical to race strategy, as always.

It is estimated that the medium will be around 0.8 secs per lap faster than the hard in qualifying trim. Estimates of tyre life are that the medium will last around 20 laps, the hard around 26-28 laps.

Pirelli is to give the teams an extra set of hard tyres to encourage teams to do lots of laps in practice and to gain more data.

Number and likely timing of pit stops

Based on the forgoing assumptions, it is likely that this race will be predominantly a one-stop race again for most teams, based on the conservative tyre choice.

Before a wheel has turned in practice it looks as though one stop is around three seconds faster than two stops (see Race History Simulation above) and it offers track position in the final stint. But all the teams will be working hard in practice to understand if the simulations are accurate, or whether two stops might be better.

If the performance difference between the two compounds is more significant than expected in Friday practice, or if the surface is more abrasive than expected, then there may be a few more two stoppers, particularly as the pit lane time is short so there is not as large a time loss in making an extra stop as there is at some venues.

Chance of a Safety Car

As this is a new track the statistical chance of a safety car has yet to be calculated.

Recent start performance

Starts are a critical part of the race and strategy can be badly compromised by a poor start, while good starts can make strategists change their plans in the hope of a good result.

As far as 2012 start performance is concerned drivers have gained (+) or lost (-) places off the start line this season on aggregate as follows. Please note that where a driver has been eliminated on first lap this has been noted and removed from the sample as it skews the table. So this is intended as a guide of trends, rather than a definitive list.

Gained:


+39 Glock

+34 Massa ***** *******, Kovalainen

+25 Alonso********

+24 Perez***, Vergne **********, Pic

+22 Karthikeyan, Senna* ***** ********

+16 Raikkonen, De la Rosa ****

+15 Hulkenberg***********

+14 Kobayashi**** *********, Schumacher* ****** **********

+8 Maldonado****, Button*********, Petrov***** *******

+6 Vettel

+4 Di Resta ***** ***********

+3 Hamilton

Lost:

-1 Ricciardo*

-5 Grosjean** **** ***** ******** ***********

-7 Webber********

-10 Rosberg******** ***********

* Senna, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg were all involved in accidents on 1st lap in Australia

** Schumacher and Grosjean collided on Lap 1 in Malaysia, Senna and Perez pitted for wet tyres on opening lap

***Perez punctured on lap 1 in Spain and went to back of field

**** Eliminated by or involved in first lap accident in Monaco

***** Di Resta eliminated lap 1 at Silverstone, Petrov did not start

***** Massa, Senna and Grosjean involved in first lap collisions dropping them to the back

****** Schumacher forced to pit lap 1 in Hungary (lost six places)

*******Massa (puncture) and Petrov (broken nose) pitted for repairs on lap 1 in Singapore after making contact.

******** Alonso, Rosberg, Webber, Senna and Grosjean either retired or dropped to the back following first-lap accidents in Japan

********* Button eliminated, Kobayashi pitted for repairs, on lap 1 after collision in Korea

********** Schumacher and Vergne pitted for repairs at the end of lap one after first-corner collision in India

***********Rosberg, Grosjean di Resta pitted for repairs and rejoined after first-lap incidents in Abu Dhabi. Hulkenberg eliminated after first-corner accident

Pit Stop League Table

Of course good strategy planning also requires good pit stop execution by the mechanics and there have been some amazing performances; we have seen tyre stops carried out in less than two and a half seconds this year.

The league table below shows order of the pit crews based on their best total time in the pit lane in the recent Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

1. Red Bull 2.41secs (1)

2. Ferrari 2.7secs (2)

3. McLaren 2.80secs (3)

4. Sauber 2.82secs (6)

5. Mercedes 3.04secs (5)

6. Force India 3.17secs (7)

7. Marussia 3.22secs (11)

8. Toro Rosso 3.23secs (8)

9. Lotus 3.62secs (4)

10. Williams 4.06secs (9)

11. Caterham 4.11secs (10)

12. HRT 5.61secs (12)

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HRT up for sale

The owners of HRT have confirmed that they are in talks with potential investors about selling the team.

Investment group Thesan Capital are looking to offload their shares in the team just 16 months after buying a controlling stake in the Spanish outfit from Jose Ramon Carabante.

"The current owners of HRT Formula 1 Team would like to confirm that they are currently in talks with a number of groups interested in buying the team," read a statement on the team's official website.

"HRT Formula 1 Team's current management hopes to conclude the sale in the upcoming weeks and, with it, enable the team to continue progressing.

"HRT Formula 1 Team hopes to communicate the name of its new owner in the upcoming weeks.

"We believe the moment to let new investors come through for HRT Formula 1 Team has arrived.

"We're very proud of the work done by the entire team and of the excellent sporting evolution achieved, but the time has come for the team to continue growing with new financial backing.

"We're convinced that the sporting potential of the team is huge and that the presence of new investors can give it a big boost."

HRT - formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing - entered Formula One in 2010 but have yet to score a point.

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Brawn rues double DRS setback

Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has admitted that they should've cut their losses earlier when it came to the double DRS.

The Brackley-based squad pioneered the system, which channels air from inlets in the rear wing endplates to the car's front wing, stalling both and reducing drag, and had plenty of success earlier this year with Nico Rosberg winning the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position.

Lotus and Red Bull have in turn developed a "passive double-DRS" which channels air through the rear wing endplate and out through the main beam of the wing.

The technology will be outlawed in 2013 and Brawn concedes that work on the system slowed them down when it came to other developments.

"One of the conclusions we have reached is that the double DRS was a valid concept, but it slowed us down on other things," he told Autosprint.

"These days there's plenty of...'cunning' technology, let's call it that, around the front wing. But we had our system and our wings were designed around that concept.

"When it became clear what potential a different philosophy had, perhaps we should have taken a step back. In any case, next year's car won't have the double DRS, because the regulations don't allow it. So, we are evaluating alternative solutions."

He added: "With our DRS, we make our wing stall, and we indeed need a wing that can stall when we use the system, but this limits us in the profiles and shapes we can use.

"Then there are several structural considerations that have caught on this year. This will disappear, or it should do so, next year.

With the new tests, the level of freedom some have taken should be eliminated."

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Andretti: The start of something great

Former F1 World Champion Mario Andretti believes that the creation of the Circuit of the Americas could serve as the catalyst for a boom in the sport in the USA.

The track in Austin is set to play host to a number of events but is purpose-built for Formula One and Andretti believes that giving F1 a new home in the United States is key to expanding its fan base.

"It's a long time coming to have a facility such as that which is able to host proper road racing," said Andretti told The Globe And Mail.

"We have lots of classic road racing courses in the U.S. and in Canada but, outside of Montreal, many of them just really haven't kept up with the times as far as standards for safety and infrastructure. And a road course part of an oval facility does not work, it does not draw and it does not have the ambience road racing fans look for. Now we have a place where we can showcase the top level of the sport - I think every F1 fan in North America should rejoice."

With a track now taken care of, Andretti feels that the next step to cracking further into the American market will be the presence of a local driver.

"If you can have your own guys flying their own flag in their country, it brings a lot more attention. It always plays well and the more buzz you can create, the better," he mused.