FORMULA 1 - 2012

[mazolaman]

Thanks for your work on F1 Mika, it's where I catch up on F1 stuff!

Cheers.

[MIKA27]

Thanks for your work on F1 Mika, it's where I catch up on F1 stuff!

Cheers.

Thank YOU for reading and contributing. This is why I keep this up.

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FIA WORLD COUNCIL DECISIONS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The World Motor Sport Council met yesterday to ratify some detailed changes to the F1 calendar for 2013 and to the sporting and technical regulations.

The main headline is that the FIA and the commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone are keen to insert a 20th race, to fill the gap left by the postponed New Jersey race.

The German Grand Prix will move to July 7th (from 14th July) to make room for a race on July 21st.

The Turkish Istanbul Park race track has confirmed an agreement in principle to host the race, which would fall one week before the Hungarian Grand Prix. However the deal is awaiting Turkish government approval, according to Associated Press. Problems of funding the event have dogged it in the past.

“The date for the 2013 Grand Prix of Germany has been moved to 7 July, and 21 July has been reserved for another F1 European event, subject to the approval of the relevant ASNs,” said the FIA statement. There has been talk of the return of the French Grand Prix, but sources in France say that there is no evidence of funding for this, particularly state or regional government funding.

Other small, but important details include:

- Drag Reduction System (DRS) will no longer be allowed in practice and qualifying sessions, except in the the DRS zone(s) which have been earmarked for use during the race. There were some concerns over safety at some circuits, as cars were close to being out of control at times. This move will add around half a second on average to qualifying lap times, as the DRS was a powerful tool.

The benefit will only be felt on the straights now.

- On 2014 Hybrid engines: a new draft of the technical regulations was agreed to keep development costs under control, which will in turn make the cost to the customer teams lower. They are doing this by limiting technology in some areas.

Also they have postponed until 2017 the requirement for cars to be driven exclusively under electric power in the pit lane.

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Austin GP looking for date change

Organisers of the US Grand Prix are hopeful of changing the proposed date of next season's race in order to avoid a clash with an American Football game.

The Austin race is scheduled for November 17, the same weekend that the University of Texas are hosting a match.

There is concern that having the two events on the same weekend will put too much pressure on the city's transport structures and potentially leave hotel rooms hard to come by.

Circuit chairman Bobby Epstein has been quoted as telling the Associated Press that he is confident that F1 officials are working to find a solution.

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Todt wants consistency from race stewards

FIA president Jean Todt has called for greater consistency amongst the penalties handed out by race stewards during the grand prix weekend.

Whilst he believes the introduction of driver stewards has helped the situation, he says there is room for improvement and has called for greater analysis of the consequences of a penalty.

"Rather then always applying penalties you must analyse the consequences of the penalties," he said during an FIA meeting chaired by Charlie Whiting.

"Consistency, for me, is crucial," he added.

The Frenchman suggested the stewards circulate their notes as to why the penalty was applied to give other stewards a better understanding of the situation and reasoning.

"You have a very difficult job but you are now better supported by all the electronic facilities which help in analysing incidents," he said. "The only thing you should now concentrate on, other than the good job you are doing, is how to do it better. It would be good to speak to your partners, the teams and the drivers, who can give you good input."

Meanwhile the board also supported a move to introduce a points system whereby a penalty has a certain amount of points assigned to it, which will be transferred to the offending driver's race license and could result in a race ban if they're a repeat offender.

MIKA: Here, here!!

In other words, penalise drivers "On the track" during the race NOT 12 hours later!!

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Jerome d'Ambrosio not giving up on Formula 1 race seat for 2013

Jerome d'Ambrosio says he is still working on securing a Formula 1 race seat in F1 for next year, but the Belgian admits the situation is not easy.

D'Ambrosio made his grand prix debut with Marussia last year but was left without a full-time race seat for 2012.

He was signed by Lotus as its reserve driver this year and returned to racing when he replaced Romain Grosjean at the Italian Grand Prix while the Frenchman was serving a one-race ban.

With only Marussia, Caterham and Force India yet confirm their second drivers, d'Ambrosio concedes it is hard to find a place on the grid.

"Not everything is confirmed yet. We're still working on it," he told AUTOSPORT. "It's tough. We'll see what happens. Time will tell.

"With the season finished, the remaining people who have everything in their hands will take their decisions."

"It's very difficult. There are a lot of drivers out there without seats. Some experienced ones, some less experienced ones.

"All I can say is that I really love Formula 1, I loved being on the grid last year even if it was not in a top car. I enjoyed being in the car at Monza very much. It's what I love to do and I will fight to stay in Formula 1 as long as I can."

D'Ambrosio said he is not willing to spend another year on the sidelines if he can't secure a race seat in F1.

But the Belgian, who tested a DTM Mercedes last week, will only weigh up his options elsewhere if he is ruled out of a grand prix drive.

"We will see at the time," he said. "For sure it's difficult not to be driving. If I have to do another year as a third driver, then we will see what I can do."

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Lewis Hamilton not ruling out McLaren return after Mercedes spell

Lewis Hamilton says it would be nice to go back to McLaren in the future, as he sees the team as his home.

Hamilton is leaving McLaren at the end of the year to race with rival Mercedes after six seasons with the Woking-based outfit.

His exit from McLaren puts an end to a relationship that began when he was racing in karting as a 10-year-old.

After one title and 21 grand prix wins, Hamilton said he needed a new challenge and accepted Mercedes's three-year deal offer.

The Briton admitted, however, that the prospect of returning to McLaren in the future is never out of question.

"You can never say never and I've had a great time," said Hamilton. "I think it will always be my home.

"I'll always look at it as where I've come from. Going back there would be nice one day. But I want to go and experience some things for a bit.

"It's almost like leaving home and going travelling for a bit. But I'm doing it with a different company."

Although Mercedes has endured a disappointing season - finishing in a distant fifth place in the constructors' championship - Hamilton insisted he has no regrets about his decision.

"No, I'm really, really happy about it. You can't live with regrets in your life," Hamilton added.

"You have to make a decision and stick with it. Whether it's right or wrong, you just have to make the most of it, stick to your guns and hope you can turn it around or turn it into a positive."

Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, will partner Nico Rosberg at Mercedes.

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CHRISTIAN HORNER: RED BULL CAN CONTINUE MAINTAIN CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING MOMENTUM:

Christian Horner is convinced there is still scope for Red Bull to “grow and evolve” as a team into 2013 and beyond in its bid to maintain the momentum built up over the last three years.

The Milton Keynes outfit became only the fourth outfit in history, after McLaren, Williams and Ferrari, to win three or more consecutive constructors’ championships this year but precedents of teams winning four in a row are even rarer, with only McLaren (1988-1991) and Ferrari (1999-2004) having achieved the feat.

While getting to the top in F1 is notoriously tough, staying there over a prolonged period is historically even tougher, and McLaren and Williams in particular endured a number of years in the doldrums when their most successful respective eras ended.

RBR’s team principal Horner is however not concerned that some complacency might begin to creep in.

“Motivation has never been a problem. Our guys, trackside, if you’re there on a Thursday or a Friday night, they’re always the last to leave,” he said.

“They’re the first there in the morning and the last there in the evening. The amount of hours and work that has gone in, not only trackside but in Milton Keynes, the sacrifices that have been made, the family time that has been given up, is just massive. That’s because of the spirit and desire that exists within the team and the desire to keep those trophies in Milton Keynes.”

But asked how he expected the team to maintain that level of motivation in view of the gruelling hours put in, Horner replied: “That’s now the challenge. We’ve been trying to keep it going since 2010 and I think, arguably, this has been our best championship because it’s been our hardest.

“It’s only our eighth season in Formula 1. The team has grown and continued to evolve and I’m sure we can continue to evolve in the future.”

While the foundation of Red Bull’s run over success since 2010 has been consistently strong operational and consistency levels, rival McLaren’s challenge this year was stymied by persistent operational and reliability slip-ups.

The Woking team’s sporting director Sam Michael formed part of the five-man expert panel on the podcast and acknowledged that in contrast to Red Bull, McLaren had largely tripped themselves up in its pursuit of the world championship in 2012. However, he hopes RBR’s cycle of success is reaching is natural end.

“I think a lot of the reason why McLaren didn’t beat them this year was not because of Red Bull’s strength, a lot of it was our weaknesses. We should have been there if it wasn’t for reliability and performance across some different tracks, and operational issues. So they’re all self-inflicted,” Michael admitted.

“So that comes down to how we manage our championship and we know that very well. I think Red Bull has a lot of strength. Adrian [Newey]’s a fantastic designer, he’s basically been instrumental in turning them into a world championship team and he’s done it again this year and hats off to him.

“Sebastian’s a fantastic driver, as is Mark Webber, so they do have a good team together but success in Formula 1 is always cyclical and it goes through peaks and troughs. They’re on a peak at the moment, so I hope the trough’s right round the corner!”

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Red Bull make A1-Ring available

Red Bull have notified the FIA that they would be open to hosting a grand prix at the A1-Ring next year.

The 2013 schedule was shuffled to allow for another race in Europe in July after the proposed New Jersey race fell through.

It was believed that Turkey were the front runners to fill the opening, with a deal said to have been agreed upon pending government approval, but a return to Austria now appears a possibility.

The circuit, now the Red Bull Ring, last hosted a race in 2003 and despite some structural and logistical difficulties, Red Bull motorsport director Helmut Marko is confident that a plan can be made.

"We have made the FIA aware that there is we have a track with a full F1 license," Marko is quoted as telling Speed Week.

Marko added that concerns over a potential shortage of accommodation where "nonsense" and added that funding could be forthcoming from the government as the 40,000 capacity would not be enough to cover costs.

Red Bull own and have redeveloped the track which has since hosted races in the DTM championship and Formula 2.

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Mateschitz fires STR warning

Toro Rosso owner Dietrich Mateschitz has warned that the team need to improve after an underwhelming 2012.

The Austrian outfit slipped to ninth in the Constructors' standings this season after notching up just 26 points as the new pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne failed to impress. All this while their sister team Red Bull took home the Drivers' and Constructors' titles.

Mateschitz has cautioned that while he doesn't expect STR to battle at the front of the field with Red Bull, more is expected of them.

"Toro Rosso is our rookie team and its goals differ from those of Red Bull Racing," Mateschitz told AUTO.

"But that's not to say we're happy with the development of the car. Significant improvements need to be found and are being called for."

James Key replaced Giorgio Ascanelli as technical director midway through the season and Mateschitz will be hoping the switch begins to pay dividends.

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Vettel officially crowned Champion

Sebastian Vettel's third Championship title was made official at an FIA gala event in Turkey.

The German was awarded his trophy after just edging out Fernando Alonso by three points in a battle that went down to the wire.

In the end it was four consecutive victories in the latter stages of the season that proved key for Vettel who was quick to praise his team for their efforts.

"It's a fantastic feeling to be here tonight and to be able to take this trophy back home for another year. As I said last time, it isn't something you want to give back," he said.

"Winning the title with Red Bull Racing three times in a row makes us all feel very proud. This was a season with lots of ups and downs and the team had to push hard to get me over the line.

"In the garage and at the factory everyone did an incredible job, and the support we had from Renault was also great."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was right beside his man to collect the Constructors' trophy, with the Briton highlighting the manner in which the Milton Keynes outfit performed under pressure.

"This is a phenomenal achievement for our team," he explained. "The hard work and the dedication this year have been exemplary - but I think hard work and dedication have been common up and down the pitlane in this fantastic F1 season.

"It didn't seem possible we could raise our game after last year but I think we have. The team have used every scrap of their skill and ingenuity, they've had the courage of their convictions and have refused to buckle under the most enormous pressure. I'm very honoured to collect this trophy on their behalf."

The organisers of the Indian Grand Prix were the recipients of the Bernie Ecclestone Formula 1 Promotional Trophy for the best race of the year. Sky Sports were also honoured for their coverage of the season.

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Walker: Vettel can break records

Legendary broadcaster and commentator Murray Walker believes Sebastian Vettel has what it takes to eclipse Michael Schumacher's record of seven Formula One titles.

The Red Bull driver claimed his third championship this season - the youngest to do so - and is now level with the likes of Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna on the all-time winner's list.

"He is very likely to beat Schumacher's record," Walker explained to Britain's Metro newspaper.

"It was unthinkable until recently but records are there to be beaten and usually are. Vettel is a lot further on in his career at 25 than Michael was and he has got at least another ten, maybe 15 years ahead of him.

"If he doesn't beat the record it will mean he hasn't made very good choices about the car he drives. But he is a very astute bloke and I don't think he will make bad choices."

Walker also believes the past three seasons have been some of the best ever and that it surpassed the glory years of the 1980s.

"I used to say the 1980s was a golden period but the last three seasons have exceeded that," he continued.

"They have been three wonderful years with each seeming to get better than the last when you couldn't believe that was possible.

"I mean, the climax to 2012 with that race in Brazil was unbelievable, with Vettel spinning backwards and then recovering to become a triple World Champion.

(Formula One Group CEO) Bernie Ecclestone is accused of writing the script for these races. But if he did for that one, he is an absolute genius."

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Raikkonen: Being too cautious is better than crashing every race

Kimi Raikkonen has come out and denied that it is a problem that he is earning a reputation for being a driver who never crashes and is perhaps too cautious.

Turun Sanomat newspaper suggested that his impressive record, having finished every single grand prix in the points this year, might be an invitation to Raikkonen’s rivals to brashly overtake.

“It’s better than having a reputation for crashing every race,” the Lotus driver smiled. “I’ve never suffered because of it.”

“You don’t get past me easily, but I also don’t fight like crazy if there is no possibility to hold them behind, because you just end up losing time and they’ll eventually get past anyway,” added Raikkonen.

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Webber believes he is a match for Vettel

Mark Webber is making plans to beat his teammate in 2013. The only problem is that his teammate is none other than Sebastian Vettel, the triple, consecutive and reigning world champion who can now be mentioned in the same breath as greats including Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and Jackie Stewart.

Australian Webber, however, who has shared the Red Bull garage with the 11-years-younger Vettel throughout the German’s title dominance, is not ready to admit defeat.

He recently denied that he is sliding into a “supporting role” for Vettel, and in a new interview with Fox Sports News insisted that he can match the 25-year-old for sheer pace.

“Sebastian’s strength is qualifying, and it was 10-11 this year in his favour,” Webber said.

“Two races he had me over one lap on sheer pace. You don’t get anything for that, but the team know that’s also a measure of if you can put it out there over one lap.”

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Kaltenborn no interest in Ecclestone’s job

Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn has rejected reports that she could eventually replace long standing Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

India-born Austrian Kaltenborn, 41, was initially just a lawyer for the Swiss F1 one team. She was eventually appointed to the board, named chief executive, and recently given a one-third ownership and in 2012 took over as team boss.

And amid Ecclestone’s troubles with the Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption affair, it has been rumoured that the next big step for Kaltenborn could be the F1 chief executive’s job.

“There is nothing to it,” she told German television SWR.

“I wouldn’t want to do it. When I think that Bernie deals not only with one but with twelve teams, then I have plenty of goals [that] I want to achieve with Sauber.”

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SAM MICHAEL ON LEWIS HAMILTONS DEPARTURE & WHY MCLAREN WON'T DWELL ON IT:

Sam Michael believes there are no hidden motives behind Lewis Hamilton leaving McLaren and that the driver’s desire to take on a new challenge simply outweighed everything else, even the chance to continue driving a proven race-winning car.

The McLaren sporting director gave his assessment on Hamilton’s momentous decision to swap Woking for Mercedes from 2013 while looking back on some of the major talking points of the season.

When Hamilton’s three-year Mercedes deal was made public at the end of September both the financial elements of the move, plus speculated frictions between Hamilton and the McLaren hierarchy, were the aspects of the story most keenly focused on, even if the driver himself stressed he had been most drawn by the challenge of helping build up a team into a world champion.

Reflecting on the move two months on from the announcement, Michael paid tribute to McLaren’s departing star and acknowledged Hamilton’s desire to try something new after such a long association with one organisation.

“I think the whole team gets on very well with Lewis, and we still do. He’s a great guy,” Michael said. “He’s a fantastic racing driver; he’s possibly the quickest driver on the grid at the moment in terms of pure natural talent.

“Lewis has been associated with McLaren for 17 years, and he’s been contracted for the last 13 plus – that’s a long time with one place and I think it simply comes down to that.

“There is nothing deeper than the fact that he wants to move on and grow and do different things with his life and that’s more important to him, even though he steps out of a winning grand prix car right now.

“He wants to take on the challenge of developing another team and bringing them up, a team that’s not winning races at the moment, and it’s something that he wanted to do.”

But while acknowledging the level of talent McLaren is losing to Mercedes, Michael stressed that the team would quickly look forward into its new era.

“Of course it’s a loss to McLaren but just like if anybody leaves, whether it’s a driver – there have been some very big, famous names leave McLaren before in terms of drivers – and you don’t dwell on it,” he said. “You move on quickly because Formula 1’s all about change management.”

That change over the winter will see Mexican hotshot Sergio Perez arrive at Woking in January in Hamilton’s place.

Talking about which of Perez’s results impressed him most, Michael said: “His drive in Malaysia and then again in Montreal, but also Monza.

The way he came through the field in Monza, another couple of races [sic. laps] and he would have been fighting Lewis for the win.

“Just the way that he drives around world champions is fantastic.”

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Sutil set to partner Di Resta?

Adrian Sutil looks set to return to Formula One next year with Force India reportedly set to confirm him as one of their drivers.

The 29-year-old German, whose long association with the Silverstone squad started in 2007 when they were still racing under the Spyker guise, spent the 2012 season on the sidelines after Force India opted to replace him with Nico Hulkenberg at the end of the 2011 campaign.

With Hulkenberg moving to Sauber at the end of this year, Force India look set to return to Sutil, who is likely to partner Paul di Resta again.

Team principal Vijay Mallya is expected to confirm his 2013 driver line-up next week.

"The announcement should take place next week," a Force India source told Indo-Asian News Service.

"Adrian looks the best bet to partner di Resta as he has got the required experience in Formula One. At the same time, Mr. Mallya also considered all other available options."

On Di Resta remaining with Force India for a third successive year, the source said: "He was always expected to carry on. He has delivered so far and it makes sense to retain him."

Current Force India reserve Jules Bianchi is also in the running to replace Hulkenberg, but according to the source his inexperience is counting against him.

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Spain to host all three winter F1 tests in February and March

There will be three Formula One tests prior to the 2013 season, reportedly. As has become tradition, they will all be in Spain.

Peter Sauber revealed last week that the Swiss team’s 2013 car, the C32, will be launched on the first day of official pre-season group testing next February 5th, at Jerez.

The Italiaracing website said that this will be a four-day test scheduled at the southern Spanish venue, before Barcelona hosts the second test of the winter period between February 19 and 22.

Barcelona will also host the third and final pre-2013 season test, again over four days, beginning on February 28.

The venue, Circuit de Catalunya, confirmed the news.

The third test will conclude on 3 March, precisely two weeks before the 2013 championship kicks off in Melbourne.

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Supplier unhappy with 'misleading' HRT

The HRT F1 Team has come in for further flack following the employee troubles it suffered a fortnight ago.

A supplier to the now defunct Spanish outfit has publicly accused the team of supplying "misleading information" after revealing that HRT actually went into official administration on November 12th - the date it announced it was up for sale.

In a statement its owner Thesan Capital stated they were "in talks with a number of groups interested in buying the team." Though this is unlikely given the new revelation.

Formtech Composites, the company behind the statement, also confirmed that HRT's owners had transferred ownership of the team to a Luxemburg based fund in order to make it difficult for suppliers to chase the debts owed to them.

In the present situation, Formtech and other suppliers can only claim 30% of the debt, leaving them massively out of pocket.

The carbon fibre component manufacturer said it would "investigate further into the true shareholder ship of HRT and Thesan Capital SL."

Adding: "It has come to our knowledge that [hrT] owe a substantial amount of money to other suppliers in the motorsports industry."

The team has been embroiled in a few controversies recently with it coming to light in Brazil that both Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan were given the choice as to whether they started the race on safety grounds. Both chose to do so despite the teams financial troubles which meant several components on their cars were deemed unsafe, including brake discs.

Employees of the team were also involved in a stand-off back at the Spanish factory following their return from the season finale.

Team managers refused to release personal belongings from the factory until employees agreed to sign contract termination notices.

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Renault open to supplying more teams as long as it doesn't damage Red Bull

Renault are open to supplying more teams with engines in the near future as long as it doesn't damage the support they offer Red Bull, says Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

The French manufacturer currently supplies four teams - Red Bull, Lotus, Williams and Caterham - the most of any supplier.

However they would be willing to add a fifth team should the rules allow it.

"We will provide as many teams as is allowed by the rules - because there are some rules and we will follow the rules," he said.

"We are ready to offer our technology to more teams, but on the condition that we do not dilute the attention on the teams that are winning."

He specified Red Bull as their priority as the championship winning team is effectively Renault's 'works team' following the investment in the team from Infiniti - a Renault-Nissan subsidiary - which will become the teams title sponsor in 2013.

"For us preserving a very strong technical support for Red Bull is a priority. We want to make sure that we are always on the teams that wins and which can compete.

"The [Renault-Nissan] Alliance is committed to Formula One through the very old commitment of Renault, which has been in Formula One for so many years and won so many titles, but also now with Infiniti coming and supporting one specific team and working with one specific team to make sure [we are] bringing the alliance to the forefront of racing," he added.

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Button ready to build team around him

Jenson Button is ready to take over as McLaren's leading man, saying he is looking forward to building the team around him.

With McLaren opting to sign Sergio Perez from Sauber following Lewis Hamilton's decision to join Mercedes, it leaves Button as the senior partner at the Woking-based squad next season.

Button, who has been in F1 for more than 10 years, has been part of the set-up for the past three years, but he will no doubt be asked to take charge in 2013 as Perez has been on the grid for only two seasons.

When asked if he is ready to lead McLaren, the 2009 World Champion replied: "Definitely. It's not the first time I've done that. When I got to BAR and Jacques [Villeneuve] left it was exactly the same situation.

"I was there to lead the team and it's something I really look forward to and it's something where the best comes out of me in that situation.

"I can really build that team around me and direct the team in a direction I like with the car."

As is the case with most drivers, Button feels he knows best when it comes to what suits him in terms of the type of car he feels comfortable in.

"We all drive differently and have different styles," he said. "For me I need a car I can develop beneath me and feel comfortable in. If the car feels neutral and unbalanced it doesn't work for me.

"I need to develop a car and engineer a car in a position that feels comfortable for me, and I don't think anyone can do a better job than I can in that position.

"The problem for me is if I can't get the car there I do struggle more than some."

Button and Hamilton spent three seasons together at McLaren and the former feels they have picked up plenty of positive things from each other during that period.

"Lewis is extremely fast and he definitely has that speed that not a lot of people have - outright pace over one-lap - but as we know, Formula 1 is not about a single lap," he said. "It's a race and that's where you score points.

"Of course, he's been a tough team-mate in terms of speed, but also a good team-mate to work with and really develop the car. I think he's learnt a lot this year in terms of understanding that it's not just about one lap in terms of looking after the tyres.

"So I think the partnership has been good in terms of us learning off each other.

"Even if he says he hasn't, we've both definitely learnt from each other and it's helped us to improve as drivers."

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Adrian Newey: Tough to gain small margins

Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey admits it is becoming more difficult by the season to extract that extra bit out of the cars.

The current regulations were introduced in 2009 and the FIA has once again opted to make only one or two tweaks to the rules for next year, leaving most teams with a struggle to come up with new ways to improve their cars.

"It is increasingly difficult because there are no real regulations changes compared to this year and it will be the fifth season since the 2009 rule changes," Newey told Autosport.

"The field is converging and you can see how competitive it is in the fact that we had eight different winners this year."

The 2012 season marked one of the most competitive seasons in F1 in a long time with Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes and Williams all tasting victory.

Newey feels it highlights the importance of gaining the smallest of margins over your rivals.

"It is a demonstration of how critical it is now," he said. "Each race, you have so many variables that can cause swings between the cars.

"The tyres have been talked about a lot and they are important and each car will work its tyres slightly differently compared to its competitors.

"Sometimes, a particular track layout and temperature might suit a particular car more than its immediate rivals.

"Whether it's a predominantly high-speed corner circuit like Silverstone or a slow-speed corner circuit like Abu Dhabi, for instance.

"Those factors mean that it has been difficult for one team to dominate."

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Hulkenberg ready for lead role

Nico Hulkenberg believes being the lead driver at Sauber next season will give him extra motivation.

The German is coming off a successful year with Force India where he scored 63 points, but he will swap Silverstone for Hinwil next year where he will partner Esteban Gutierrez.

With the young Mexican making his debut, Hulkenberg knows he will be the more experienced driver as it will be his third full season in F1.

"I feel ready for that," he told the official F1 website. "It's not a case of bringing extra pressure, it's something that helps motivate me even more, but to be honest I don't see my role as much different to the one I was in this year.

"I will simply concentrate on my job of trying to deliver good results."

The 25-year-old is also confident he will hit the ground running at Sauber and the settling in period won't take too long.

"There is no warm-up phase anymore, so I personally hope that I start performing right at the point where I finished at the end of 2012 - and that was a very promising point," he said.

"I am changing teams so there will be a 'getting to know each other' phase but I am confident that this will go smoothly."

After struggling for top 10 finishes during the early races of the 2012 campaign, Hulkenberg went on a good run of from the middle of the season and then finished on a high at Interlagos where he led the Brazilian GP for several laps before a collision with Lewis Hamilton put him out of contention for a podium.

"For me it has been a great year with Force India," he said. "I will keep so many good memories from 2012.

"Like I said before, initially I needed some time to get back into the groove after 2011 without racing, but I think we - the team and me - made some really good progress throughout the year with the team improving the car's performance and me developing alongside as well. So there is only good that I can speak about - no bad and no ugly!"

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Some Fun facts from a record breaking 2012 season

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Hamilton predicts fourth straight title for Vettel

Lewis Hamilton is tipping Sebastian Vettel to succeed once again in 2013, which would see the German take a fourth consecutive title.

Hamilton, who moves to Mercedes next season, says he fully expects the Adrian Newey penned RB9 to lead the field as its title winning predecessor did during parts of the 2012 season.

"It's going to be hard to beat Sebastian next year," said Hamilton. "I think Sebastian's going to have another amazing car.

"The car he had this year was fantastic. It's going to be an evolution of that next year. Adrian only seems to get better with age; I think he's going to do something special next year as well."

Speaking about his future, the 27-year-old says his goal remains to win and he'll out in as much work as possible to do so.

"I want to win - of course. That's my goal. I can't wait to get my hands on the team and the car and just try to work as quick as possible," he added.

"It doesn't matter how many days, how many hours it takes. I'm willing to put all the effort in. I feel like I've got a new breath of life in me, so I'm ready for it."