FORMULA 1 - 2013

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen: I'm no Jedi master

Kimi Raikkonen says he didn't get involved last season when Romain Grosjean was having problems as it was "not my business".

Teaming up at Lotus for the first time last year, both Raikkonen and Grosjean showed an impressive turn of pace.

But while the Finn's culminated in the Abu Dhabi victory, Grosjean's resulted in a one-race ban after one too many incidents of crashing into his rivals.

Asked whether he had stepped in to offer his team-mate advice during the tumultuous time, Raikkonen told the official F1 website: "It is not my business so I kept out of it. I am not here to explain what to do.

"Everybody has his own way of doing things and you cannot so easily adapt that for somebody else. He had a tough time, but sometimes that happens. That's life."

Asked whether he was 'not the Jedi master taking an apprentice under his wings', Raikkonen responded: "This is not Hollywood - this is Formula One. I try to figure out my own stuff."

And one of the things Raikkonen wants to figure out this season is how to win the World title as he believes Lotus have a chance - "otherwise you wouldn't be here.

"Sure you have to be realistic about your chances, but after last year we should have a chance.

"We don't have the budget, but if we get it right and can be consistent and reliable then we probably can put ourselves in a position where at least we do have a chance.

"We will try, but I'm not making promises."

[MIKA27]

Ferrari keen to supply engines to three teams in 2014

Ferrari have highlighted the importance of supplying customer teams with engines in 2014, in order to gain extra development mileage.

The manufacturer currently supplies Sauber and Toro Rosso alongside its own team.

It's believed Sauber have agreed a deal to continue under Ferrari power in 2014 when the sport switches to the new engine formula. However Toro Rosso looks likely to drop the Italian power unit in favour of Red Bull's supplier, Renault.

That would leave Ferrari with just one customer.

The team's head of engine and electronics, Luca Marmorini, says it's important for them to supply additional customers in order to gain additional testing mileage and knowledge of the new engine.

"I think a customer team is a very important opportunity for an engine supplier," he said. "First of all we can test more engines and having no tests during the season we can collect a much wider database; in this sense it's very good having customer teams.

"It's also important to have a reference with a car having basically the same engine to have a good relative comparison with your car and a different car. So Ferrari is strongly committed to supplying competitive engines to customer teams."

On the subject of Toro Rosso and Ferrari, Marmorini wasn't sure of their future: "I don't know if Toro Rosso will be with us next season, but still now we are working very well with them; it's an important contribution for Ferrari's engine development and I think also we are giving them a competitive engine."

Force India are a potential customer for the Italians, with a discount being offered should they give Jules Bianchi a seat either this or next year.

[MIKA27]

Barcelona Day 4: Hamilton on top as rain spoils play

Intermittent rain played havoc with well laid plans on the final day of the second week of Formula 1 preseason testing at Circuit de Catalunya where, in a subtle twist of irony, Lewis Hamilton ended the day top of the timing screens, but the man who replaced him at McLaren – Sergio Perez – was fastest of all over the four days.

If lap times in testing tend to mean little, then the timing sheets at the end of the final day in Barcelona hardly warrants a glance. Conditions fluctuated rapidly on a temperamental day which did not know if it wanted to rain or not, so instead did a bit of both.

Also disturbing the day’s continuity were no less than eight stoppages (red flag periods) during the course eight hours. It would be fair to say that none of the teams or their drivers found a real rhythm because of the interruptions.

Nevertheless Hamilton, in the cockpit of the Mercedes W03, made use of a dry-ish line around noon and set a time of 1.23.282 which would remain top of the pops until the chequered dropped five hours later.

The 2008 world champion was satisfied despite the conditions, ”It’s gone pretty well. Today with it raining it is not the best in terms of trying to get the mileage, but in the dry we have got through a lot of the programmes we are trying to get through. I’m quite happy.”

Former teammate Jenson Button was next best in the Mclaren MP4-28, his best 0.351 seconds down on the top time and 70 laps to his credit.

Jean Eric Vergne was third fastest in the Toro Rosso with 80 laps ticked off, and was the last of the trio who actually managed a lap or two during that fast lap window of opportunity which happened for about a dozen minutes around midday.

In fourth was, another Frenchman, Jules Bianchi who was on duty for Force India and still in the running for a race seat with the team for this season. He did his shares no harm with a solid day’s work which included 80 laps in the bag in the VJM06.

Busiest of the bunch on the final day was Esteban Gutierrez in the Sauber C32 who racked up 96 laps and ended fifth quickest and best of the rookies.

Giedo van der Garde was sixth in the Caterham with 50 laps completed, ahead of Felipe Massa who only had one day in the Ferrari and it was marred by the weather. Nevertheless the Brazilian racked up 80 laps on his return to work in the F138.

Mark Webber was eight in the Red Bull RB9, ahead of Marussia’s Max Chilton in the MR02 and Romain Grosjean tenth in the Lotus E21.

Bottom of the timing sheets, with no time set, were the Williams pair. Valtteri Bottas dedicating the morning to non-stop pit stop practice, something the rookie will be needing to know by the time he goes to Australia.

Maldonado took over the FW35 cockpit in the afternoon, but did not complete a timed lap.

Thus ended four days of hard work for F1 teams ahead of the 2013 season. Fastest time of all – 1.21.848 - was set by McLaren new boy Perez on day two, with Fernando Alonso’s best time of 1.21.875 on Thursday, only fractionally slower but second best.

Teams return to Circuit de Catalunya for the third and final preseason test which takes place from 28 February to 3 March.

[MIKA27]

Pirelli plays down concerns about extreme wear of 2013 tyres

The alarm in the Formula 1 paddock regrading Pirelli’s 2013 tyre range on offer is growing louder with every day, with the latest shock being the performance of the new ‘supersoft’ tyre, which – to the circus’ collective surprise – will be supplied to teams in Melbourne next month.

Williams’ Pastor Maldonado tried the compound in Barcelona on Thursday, and – according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport – it proved not only unpredictable and heavily-degrading, but also slower than the harder ‘soft’ variant.

But in truth, now is not the time for the sport to panic about the prospect of ten-stop pit strategies in 2013.

Sergio Perez had put voice to the alarm this week by flagging the “extreme” degradation of the new Pirellis, but he now notes: “We were also very worried about the tyres last year.

“Then in Melbourne in warmer weather everything was much more normal,” said the Mexican.

Indeed, F1 drivers tested the 2013 tyres during practice in Brazil late last year, and there was no subsequent panicking.

“So,” said Mark Webber, “we are optimistic that in Melbourne, on a much warmer track, the cars will slide less and we will not have the dramatic graining that we’ve seen here.”

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean did a four-stop race simulation in Barcelona on Thursday, while Australian Webber had to stop for tyres five times when he conducted a race simulation.

But Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motor racing director, thinks that while Melbourne will be much warmer, the teams will also be smarter once the 2013 season actually begins.

“We believe we will see two to three stops in Melbourne,” he is quoted by Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo.

Pirelli’s racing manager Mario Isola, speaking to Spanish newspaper El Pais in Barcelona, agrees: “Perez is more scared than he should be. All we’ve done is try to slightly increase the spectacle of the racing, but we haven’t done anything dramatic.”

Perez’s teammate, the veteran and former world champion Jenson Button, added in Barcelona: “The tyre problems we are all having here are completely normal for these conditions.

“Barcelona has a rough surface, there are high speed corners, and it’s cold. What do you expect? Pirelli can’t make tyres tailored for winter testing,” he insisted.

[MIKA27]

Webber: Develop or be beaten

Although happy with his RB9, Mark Webber admits Red Bull need to continuously develop the car or risk getting their "arse kick."

The Aussie was in action at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday where the rain hampered Red Bull's programme.

Webber, who spent a large part of the day focusing on pit stops, completed 64 laps with a best time of 1:27.616, which was over four seconds off the pace.

"We know that if we keep this car for three months we are going to get are arse kicked; we need to keep developing the car," he told ESPN.

"Thankfully a lot of other teams talk about that but we like to do it on the track.

"We will try and do the same again this year and we have a target on our back. We enjoy our racing, we like the success and we'll try to keep it up."

The 36-year-old concedes part of the car's performance is based on how it handles the Pirelli tyres and says Red Bull will focus on this at next week's third and final test.

"Next week we will continue our ongoing investigation into the tyres, learning more about those.

"We also will be checking how they are going in different temperatures, day two was probably the best in terms of temperatures when the sun was out.

"That will be right on the top of our list and some more performance stuff that you have to keep putting on the car to stay towards the front."

[MIKA27]

'FW35 can still improve quite a bit'

Valtteri Bottas says it is difficult to judge where Williams are in the pecking order, saying they won't know until Australia.

The rookie racer and his team spent the last four days lapping the Circuit de Catalunya in the second of the three pre-season tests.

Williams put in some solid results with Pastor Maldonado's fastest time a 1:22.675 while Bottas clocked a 1:22.826. The week's best belonged to Sergio Perez with a 1:21.848.

"It's difficult to judge, but for sure Red Bull, McLaren and Lotus are strong," Bottas said.

"That's for sure, but maybe in the next test we'll see a little bit more, but finally in qualifying in Melbourne."

He added: "We're trying, that's our aim; to get higher."

Williams' programme on the final day at Barcelona wasdisrupted by rain, resulting in the team practicing pit stops throughout the day.

But despite losing a day's worth of lap, Bottas reckons his team's pre-season programme is on track.

"I think with everything we're really on the plan. Of course this was not planned, we missed some laps because of the rain but that's the same for everyone now so we're on the plan and we'll continue to push in all areas at the next test.

"There's some balance things in the car that we can still improve, especially with the little bit less fuel than high fuel.

"So we can still improve the car quite a bit and we are aware of the problems we have, they're all fixable so it's looking good."

[MIKA27]

Ferrari mourn Roberto Nosetto

Ferrari are mourning the loss of former sporting director Roberto Nosetto, who passed away on Thursday.

Nosetto was the team's sporting director during the late 1970s before taking a role as the Imola circuit's director and then as the race director for MotoGP.

Nosetto spent the last years of his life at his home in Gallipoli before passing away on Thursday.

"The death of Roberto Nosetto has saddened me deeply," said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

"Apart from his name being irrevocably linked to the history of Scuderia Ferrari, for me personally, he was a very important person, because it was under his tenure at the Imola circuit that I began my career in motor sport, when as a student, I tried to find things to do in the paddock, learning as much as possible from him, from his experience and above all, from his gentle nature."

[MIKA27]

Bottas welcomes pitstop practice on disrupted final day of testing

Valtteri Bottas believes that his rain-disrupted final morning of running in the Barcelona test allowed him to improve his pitstop skills.

The Finn has not raced in GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5, so has little experience of making in-race pitstops ahead of his grand prix debut in Australia next month.

But with Williams always planning to conduct extensive pit-stop practices today after sending its full race team to the final day of the test and still able to work on that despite the bad weather, Bottas has been able to improve that aspect of his game.

"We did plenty of pitstop practices, so even though the weather was like this, we did some good," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT what he was able to gain from his running.

"I improved a lot during the day, that was really valuable.

"The positioning, the pulling away and also coming into the pit-lane and braking late for the line is all new to me so I'm learning more and more."

Bottas is satisfied with the progress that the Williams team has made with the new FW35 during the four days of running at Barcelona.

After being impressed with the car on his first taste of it on Wednesday he believes that there is still more to come.

"We are on the plan," said Bottas. "We missed some laps because of the rain but it was the same for everyone.

"There are some balance things in the car that we can still improve, especially with a little less fuel but we are aware of the problems that we have and they are all fixable.

"We understand it more and more all the time.

"Straight out of the box, the car was very good. Now, it's even better and we can get it in even better shape for the next test."

[MIKA27]

Vergne: Ricciardo and I are not friends any more

Jean-Eric Vergne says he is no longer friends with his Toro Rosso teammate as the pair compete in the Red Bull junior driver programme to be top gun and perhaps even heir to Mark Webber’s race seat in the senior team.

Until they were paired together at the Faenza based squad, Frenchman Vergne and Australian Daniel Ricciardo were friends.

They had been signed to the energy drink company’s notoriously tough driver development programme on the same day, thereafter working together in Formula Renault.

But now in the high-stakes world of F1, and fighting for a place at the world championship team, the friendship has soured.

“I don’t know if it’s because we are in F1 or he (Ricciardo) thinks he has definitely beaten me that we cannot have any relationship, but, no, we don’t see each other away from the track and we are not friends,” Vergne is quoted by the Melbourne newspaper The Age.

Vergne insisted, however, that their working relationship is intact.

“I don’t care about going on holiday with my teammate. I have my friends and I don’t need any more,” he added.

Ricciardo, who is almost a year older than Vergne, confirmed that the close friendship of the past is over.

“We’ve never come to blows or anything like that,” he said. “There’s never been a moment which has separated the friendship — it’s just grown apart with competition. I imagine we’re probably like most other teammates. I think it’s how it should be.”

“I think when you’re a direct rival with someone, you want to have your own space. I think it would be sort of hard to have a true friendship because, at the end of the day, we’re fighting for maybe one spot and there can’t be any conservative approach about it,” added 23-year-old Ricciardo.

[MIKA27]

Williams scraps controversial Coanda exhaust trick

Spurred by suggestions from the FIA, Williams has removed the controversial layout of its Coanda-effect exhaust from its new FW35.

Despite designer Mike Coughlan believing his layout cleverly exploited a loophole in the rules, the FIA reportedly told the British team its solution was not legal.

“Charlie Whiting was here yesterday,” British broadcaster Sky’s pit reporter Ted Kravitz said on Friday as the Barcelona test concluded.

“(I think) he went to Williams and had a quiet word in their ear that they might want to take that (exhaust solution) off.

We don’t expect to see it reappear given the FIA’s stance on that,” he added

[MIKA27]

Button: A very difficult few test days for me in terms of mileage

McLaren have yet to unlock the potential of their new Formula One car with the start of the season looming, according to Jenson Button who admitted that he Barcelona departed Circuit de Catalunya dissatisfied with the lack of mileage he covered during his two days in the cockpit.

The 2009 world champion told Sky Sports television that there was plenty of work to be done at next week’s final test in Barcelona after the Briton had less track time than he had hoped for on Thursday.

“It’s been a very difficult few test days for me in terms of mileage,” he said. ”It’s been very tricky to understand where the car is: at times the car feels good, at other times it doesn’t. And a lot of that is basically understanding the car that we have and making sure it’s working as we expect it to be working.”

“I really am looking forward to a good test next week in Barcelona because I don’t feel we’ve been able to do enough to really understand the car and where we are with the car,” Button added.

Button had similar problems last year, even within the space of a race weekend when the car would look very quick in practice and then be strangely off the pace in qualifying.

The Briton, who won the opening race in Australia last year as well as the season finale in Brazil, said the new Pirelli tyres were another problem with high degradation after just a handful of laps.

“You have to throw a lot of new tyres at it and we don’t have that many. So it’s difficult to do set-up work and comparisons,” Button said. ”I think we have a good base. If we can extract the best out of the car I think it is a good car. It’s just that at the moment I don’t think we’re doing that.”

Button was only seventh fastest on Thursday, completing 71 laps, a day after his new Mexican team mate Sergio Perez had been quickest.

Perez, who managed to make his tyres last longer than most with Sauber last season, was also disconcerted by how quickly the performance of the new Pirelli rubber wore off.

It’s extreme… and it’s a big surprise,” he said. “Normally we see in winter testing a lot of degradation but never this much.”

“I definitely hope it changes because if we see this situation in Melbourne we are going to need something like seven or 10 stops to manage the race,” added the youngster.

“Once you do one lap you start fighting degradation so it is difficult to learn anything from your car or from your balance.”

Pirelli have introduced a new range of structures and compounds this season with the aim of producing more exciting racing and ensuring more pitstops.

The McLaren drivers were not the only ones expressing concern about the tyres.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean, at Lotus, said they would be a challenge.

“The tyres degrade a lot, I think in the first stint I came on to the radio on lap two saying ‘The tyres are dead’ but I had 66 laps to do so you try to do your best,” he said after carrying out a race simulation.

[MIKA27]

Williams FW35 clever brake duct innovation legal

Williams has impressed Formula 1′s eagle-eyed technical experts with an innovation on its new FW35.

Although designer Mike Coughlan’s Coanda exhaust solution will have to be removed from the 2013 car, respected German correspondent Michael Schmidt reports on Friday that a clever brake duct solution is fully legal.

The British team probably got the idea from Red Bull, who were ordered by the FIA to remove a similar solution from the title-winning RB8 last year.

The governing body ruled that Red Bull was using the brake ducts as an aerodynamic aid, by channeling airflow through the wheel with the rim, hub and nut all playing a role.

But Auto Motor und Sport’s Schmdit said Williams’ version is legal, crucially because the exit holes for the airflow are stationary, meaning the layout cannot be deemed a banned moveable aerodynamic device.

[MIKA27]

PADDY LOWE MOVES TO MERCEDES AND TIM GOSS APPOINTED AS MCLAREN TECHNICAL DIRECTOR:

It has been confirmed today that McLaren is to lose its Technical Director Paddy Lowe to Mercedes and the company has appointed Tim Goss to replace Lowe in the role.

Lowe had been planning a move to join Toto Wolff at Williams before the Austrian was offered the chance to head Mercedes motorsport operation. The plan then evolved for Lowe to divert to Mercedes and this was openly discussed a month ago, with Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn asserting that he remained in charge at Brackley, while new recruit Lewis Hamilton insisted that Lowe would not be moving to Brackley.

Today however came the confirmation that McLaren has appointed Goss as Technical Director. Goss is an experienced engineer, who worked alongside now Ferrari technical director Pat Fry as senior designer of recent McLarens until Fry’s departure to Maranello. He designed the 2008 McLaren in which Hamilton won the world championship, as well as the 2010 car, which won five races and the 2012 car which won 7 races.

“I’d like to offer my congratulations to Tim on his new position, which, after more than 20 years of exceptional service for McLaren, he richly deserves,” said McLaren team principal Matin Whitmarsh.

“His quiet and unassuming persona conceals a fierce competitiveness and a wealth of experience, coupled to an unrivalled level of expertise in the field of Formula 1 car design and engineering.”

Whitmarsh’s reference to Goss’ “20 years service” is a pointed reference to loyalty. McLaren chairman Ron Dennis recently stated that he did not want anyone in the team who did not “bleed McLaren”.

But behind the rhetoric, the loss of Lowe, so soon after the loss of Hamilton to Mercedes, is a blow to McLaren’s prestige and underlines how high the stakes are nowadays among teams’ technical staff as they all strive to keep pace with Adrian Newey and the Red Bull juggernaut. The Milton Keynes outfit has won the last three world championships for constructors and drivers and informed paddock analysis puts the 2013 Red Bull car as the one to beat after the first two tests.

Lowe will be made to play out the remaining year of his contract at McLaren before he is released and it’s likely that he will be given a role well away from any proprietary information pertaining to the new generation 2014 chassis and engines.

This will be a setback to him and his new team in terms of his knowledge of the evolotion over the next 10 months of the new technologies, but he is a very smart operator and will have already gained plenty of knowledge on the subject to this point.

The question now is where this leaves Ross Brawn. He insisted last month that he is in charge at Mercedes, that he was aware of plans to recruit Lowe and that he will decide whether to continue as Team Principal. There are clearly fault-lines with Niki Lauda as non-executive chairman, but Toto Wolff appears to be playing a conciliatory role, so far. Brawn has always been one for succession planning and Lowe may well be the natural successor. The question is, how long before he takes over the reins?

Given that he will not even set foot inside Brackley until January 1, unless a deal can be struck with McLaren for an early release, he would need at least a season to get a handle on the team before taking over from Brawn. So for stability’s sake, a 2014/15 handover would appear more likely.

Interestingly, to show how fluid things have been at Mercedes, Hamilton insisted when he met with a few of us in Brackley at the end of January, that Lowe was not joining Mercedes,

“As far as I’m aware there are no plans to bring Paddy here,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been assured by Ross that his commitment is for the long term and he is here to try to win with me, which reassures me and continues to give me a positive feeling moving forward.

“There are lots of good people here and I’ve obviously had great experiences with Paddy but he works with McLaren as far as I’m concerned.”

[MIKA27]

Red Bull and Lotus in Renault engine map controversy

Hot on the heels of Williams and Caterham’s dubious exhaust exit solutions for 2013, trouble could also be brewing for F1′s two other Renault-powered teams.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that, after Renault and ‘works’ partner Red Bull were told to cease using certain ‘engine maps’ last year, the same issue is now back on the table.

Correspondent Michael Schmidt also said the similarly Renault-powered Lotus, who according to most pundits has been the second most impressive team of the 2013 pre-season, is also in the spotlight as the latest controversy brews.

The report said that despite the FIA issuing a technical directive about engine maps last August, “it was not clear what should apply for 2013″.

Ferrari’s engine boss Luca Marmorini was quoted as insisting “Everything remains the same”.

His Renault counterpart Remi Taffin does not agree, claiming “a new benchmark” for engine mapping in 2013 will be set down by teams in Australia next month.

“The (August 2012) directive referred exclusively to last year,” said the Frenchman.

According to journalist Schmidt, however, the FIA has confirmed that the August 2012 directive still stands.

Renault was reportedly unaware of the federation’s stance until as recently as Thursday of last week, having developed new maps to optimise the exhaust-blowing effect for 2013.

Ross Brawn, Mercedes’ team boss, thinks the situation could now harm Red Bull and Lotus, as their similar exhaust solutions for 2013 were probably designed to work in conjunction with “a clever engine management system”.

[MIKA27]

Williams in best shape yet, reckons Pastor Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado says he and Williams are in the best shape they have been since they starting working together in Formula 1.

Maldonado was fervent in his praise of Williams's new FW35 after its initial day of running at Barcelona last week, and he was subsequently impressed with its reliability as well.

Asked by AUTOSPORT how progress so far compared with the starts to his previous two seasons with Williams, Maldonado replied: "It's a different story, completely different.

"I'm very happy with the reliability of the car especially.

"We've done a lot of mileage and we didn't have any problems even though this car is completely new.

"It's not the same car as last year with just a changed front wing like many teams have done. This car is a new generation, and it's looking good. All the data we got is very positive."

The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix winner added that Williams had so far only scratched the surface of the car's potential.

"We had some experimental things on the car. We spent our time trying to get some data and we sacrificed on some grounds to get to know the car," said Maldonado.

He also believes the FW35 is turning out to be relatively easy on tyres.

"We planned some more pitstops for the race sim, but we did less," Maldonado said. "We need to check the condition of the others' [race simulations]."

Maldonado did acknowledge, however, that it was still difficult to assess where Williams stood in the pecking order.

"These days everybody says 'the car is better, the season is looking promising,'" he said.

"We can only refer to our car from last year. It's looking better. How much better? We don't know."

[MIKA27]

2014 French grand prix possible thinks Prost

Alain Prost, the quadruple world champion, is hopeful that the French Grand Prix could finally return to the Formula 1 calendar next year.

Recently, following his native country’s five year absence from the schedule, Magny Cours and Paul Ricard were linked with a possible French grand prix for 2013.

“I still read in the press that there are opportunities for 2013,” Prost, who was involved in the talks, is quoted by France’s Sport24.

“It is of course impossible. However, for 2014, there are possible openings (for France).

“There are a few grands prix in doubt but also many new projects considered by (Bernie) Ecclestone,” said Prost.

[MIKA27]

Honda may have secret F1 turbo engine project in progress

Honda may already be working on a Formula 1 turbo engine project for 2014.

When revealing its all-new turbo V6 ‘power unit’ for next year near Paris on Monday, Renault’s Jean-Michel Jalinier said he definitely expects more engine makers to enter F1 under the 2014 rules.

“That’s why the number of our customers will fall in the future,” he is quoted by German website motorsport-total.com, “because there are more competitors.”

Honda, the Japanese marque that pulled out of F1 at the end of 2008 due to the global financial crisis, could be one such competitor.

The German-language Speed Week reports that Frenchman Gilles Simon, Ferrari’s engine boss during the ultra-successful Jean Todt era, could already be working with Honda.

After leaving Ferrari, Simon worked for the FIA, but most recently he has been designing a turbo V6 for Craig Pollock’s intended 2014 F1 supplier Pure.

But with Pollock’s plans now collapsed, Speed Week reports that British sources suspect the newly UK-based Simon could be working on a F1 engine for Honda.

For its last F1 foray, Honda was based at Brackley, which is now the headquarters for Mercedes’ similarly Ross Brawn-led works team.

[MIKA27]

Ayrton race gloves fetch hefty sum at charity auction

A pair of regular racing gloves worn by the late Ayrton Senna in the 1991 season when he won his third Formula One title sold for 22,000 pounds ($33,200) at a charity auction for grand prix mechanics on Monday.

The framed gloves, donated by former McLaren team co-ordinator Jo Ramirez who was a friend and colleague, were bought by Gerard Lopez – owner of the current Lotus team that traces its lineage back to the Toleman outfit that the Brazilian made his F1 debut with in 1984.

Senna also raced for Lotus, related only by name to the present team, from 1985-87.

The 11 lots in the auction at London’s Royal Opera House raised more than 92,000 pounds for the Grand Prix Mechanics Charitable Trust, chaired by triple champion Jackie Stewart.

Former F1 champions Niki Lauda, Damon Hill and his late father Graham – represented by his racing grandson Josh who is moving up through the junior series – were inducted into the Motor Sport magazine Hall of Fame.

“The entire Hill family is delighted to have not one but two family members inducted at once,” said 1996 champion Damon Hill, the only son of a world champion to also win the title.

Also inducted were the late Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman, represented by son Clive, and Denmark’s eight times Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen.

[MIKA27]

Legality of Caterham’s exhaust solution in the spotlight

After Williams removed its controversial Coanda-effect exhaust from their new FW35 late last week, the focus has now turned in Caterham’s direction as their system may well be breaking the rules.

Williams’ move to remove the solution reportedly followed the FIA’s Charlie Whiting telling team designer Mike Coughlan at Jerez that he deemed it illegal.

But while Williams’ solution attempted to find a loophole in the regulations, Coughlan said recently he thought Caterham’s similar approach is “clearly not allowed”.

A Caterham spokesman said: “We are continuing to evaluate a range of options at the pre-season tests as per our normal programme.”

But the team’s new Dutch racer Giedo van der Garde is not so sure that means Caterham will remove the solution.

“I am told that it is legal, so I am not worried,” he is quoted by the Dutch magazine Formule1. ”I expect to find the same exhaust on the car in Barcelona.”

The third and final four-day pre-season test begins on Thursday.

[stargazer14]

Finally, some good news in F1...

F1: Danica Patrick ‘Not Interested’ In Formula One

Budding NASCAR star Danica Patrick isn't looking to entertain a future in Formula One...

[MIKA27]

Finally, some good news in F1...

F1: Danica Patrick ‘Not Interested’ In Formula One

Budding NASCAR star Danica Patrick isn't looking to entertain a future in Formula One...

Absolutely!!

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen contender for Melbourne pole predicts Salo

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen is being tipped to fight for pole position at the season opener in Australia next month, and the world championship in 2013.

“I am quite sure Kimi will fight for the championship,” fellow Finn Mika Salo, now a commentator for the MTV3 broadcaster, said.

After two seasons in rallying, 2007 world champion Raikkonen returned to formula one with Lotus last year, finishing the championship third and winning in Abu Dhabi.

“Last year he was not able to consistently show good results all of the time, and the team made mistakes that should not be repeated,” said former Sauber and Ferrari driver Salo.

“It is clear that the Lotus has now improved. I have no doubt that, in Australia, Kimi will fight for pole position.”

[MIKA27]

Rain in Spain could spoil final four days of testing

Teams are concerned about the possibility of bad weather for the final four days of Formula 1 pre-season testing this weekend in Barcelona, according to the German language Speed Week.

Last week, the ‘middle’ Spanish test ended with cold and wet conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya.

“I can’t remember having a full test day this cold,” said Australian Mark Webber.

More of the same is en route again to northeastern Spain.

The last four days of testing before the season opener in Australia begins in Barcelona on Thursday, and on the morning of the opening day “it will start raining”, predicted correspondent Mathias Brunner.

The cold weather and rain is forecast to continue on Friday and possibly into early Saturday, with only the last day of running on Sunday so far looking sunny.

As well as scanning the radar images, eyes this week will also be straining to catch a glimpse of rival teams’ final Melbourne-spec technical packages.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport has already spied conspicuous and mysterious ‘holes’ on the Sauber, Ferrari and Red Bull cars.

Sauber began the trend for nose inlets last year, and now the new Ferrari has a hole that resembles a shark’s mouth in the area beneath the nose of the car.

“And if you look closely,” said correspondent Tobias Gruner, “you can also recognise an intake on the Red Bull.”

[MIKA27]

Button: The MP4-28 is very good and we will be strong in Melbourne

Jenson Button enters his 14th year as a Formula 1 driver, and could well be one of the preseason favourites for the 2013 Formula 1 world championship title. He spoke about his training programme and the forthcoming season ahead of the third and final week of testing in Barcelona.

How has the training been going over the winter break?

Jenson Button: “The winter break was great. I had the whole of December off to relax – I was in Hawaii, so sun, sea and sand! It was really nice to relax and to get some proper winter training in before the craziness of the season starts. But it’s also nice to get back into the season.”

And how have the test sessions been developing out in Spain?

JB: “Testing’s going well, it’s always tricky at the start of the season because you’re trying to guess what other people are doing.

We always say that we don’t care what other people are doing, we concentrate on ourselves – which is true – but you still want to know where other people are. In terms of the car itself – the MP4-28 – it’s very good. We have had a few issues which have set us back a little bit, but I feel that the car in Melbourne will be strong. But it’s just really doing enough laps in it before Melbourne that’s really the key to feeling confident before we wheel the car out of the garage on Friday practice.”

What’s the general feeling about the season opener in Australia and the start of the 2013 season?

JB: “Melbourne is the perfect place to have the opening Grand Prix of the season. The Australian fans really love Formula 1 and it’s also beautiful city – it’s based in Albert Park. It’s a race I really enjoy and it’s the start of the season so everyone’s really excited.

You get to the end of the year and the engineers have been working flat out and they’re quite tired. But for the first race everyone’s got a smile on their face, it’s very special. And it’s been very good to me over the years, I’ve won three times over the last four years, so looking to make that a fourth time.”

[MIKA27]

Ex-F1 constructor to design and build cars for Formula E series

Italian racecar maker and ex-Formula 1 constructor Dallara has joined a consortium to design and build chassis for the new Formula E electric series to start next year.

Spark Racing Technology said in a statement on Monday that Dallara, who have designed and built cars for Formula One and open-wheel series in America, would undertake “the execution and approval of the new monocoque”.

In 1988 the company became a Formula One constructor, after being hired by BMS Scuderia Italia to build their chassis. The project endured until 1992. Dallara returned briefly to F1 in 1999, building the test-chassis for Honda’s planned and aborted return to the series.

Most recently Dallara built the cars for the Hispania Racing F1 Team team’s entry in the 2010 Formula One season.

Formula One contenders McLaren will provide the engine, transmission and electronics for the cars to race in the FIA-sanctioned championship that aims to have a grid of 10 teams and 20 drivers in 2014.

The plans are for races in the heart of at least 10 cities around the world with the commercial rights licensed to a Hong Kong-based consortium.

Formula E also released a first sketch of the new car.

Britain’s Drayson Racing, run by former Science Minister and businessman Paul Drayson, last month became the first team to sign up for the series.

Rome and Rio de Janeiro have been announced as two of the host cities.