FORMULA 1 - 2013

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Boullier: Too early for orders

Eric Boullier disagrees with Red Bull and Merc's decision to issue team orders in race two but says drivers who disobey should be sanctioned.

Team orders made headlines in the wake of the Malaysian Grand Prix when Sebastian Vettel ignored those issued by his Red Bull bosses not to pass his team-mate.

Instead the reigning World Champion flouted the order and snatched the victory from a mightily disgruntled Mark Webber.

At Mercedes it was a different story as, while orders were again handed down, Nico Rosberg adhered to his bosses and did not attempt to take third off Lewis Hamilton.

Boullier has weighed in on the debate, saying he does not believe it is right for a team to issue orders so early in the season.

"Team orders are part of the sport. You have two main strategies to run a team," said the Frenchman.

"You might favour one driver, clearly stating 'driver number one' and 'driver number two' if your target is chasing the Drivers' Championship title.

"Alternatively you have both drivers equal, as this is the way you want to go racing, meaning the team holds a lot of importance. The team gives both drivers the same cars, the same conditions, the same performance, but there is a commitment from the team to the drivers.

"In that case I can understand team orders, because you are working for the team, not for the drivers; they are working for you.

"Sometimes it seems that emotion takes over, but don't forget that the drivers are paid to work for you, as they are for the company.

"I don't see any people in the world who could disobey their company and not be sanctioned, or at least give clarification as to why they've disobeyed."

Pressed as to whether he had ever been in a position where a driver had ignored his orders, the Lotus team boss said: "Yes, it happens because of the adrenaline and excitement of winning a race, but I think in Formula 1 it should not happen.

"Firstly, we should not have team orders so early in the season; not while the championship is at such an early stage. When it happens you need to fix it and fix it quickly.

"Yes, one of our drivers if famous for doing pretty much what we wants, but when you have 600 people behind you, there is a certain respect you must have for the team."

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'V6s could force fans and manufacturers out'

Bernie Ecclestone has yet again decried F1's upcoming switch to smaller V6 engines, saying it cost the sport manufacturers if it goes wrong.

This season is the last in which the 2.4litre V8s will be used as next year Formula One is swapping to more environmentally-friendly 1.6litre turbocharged V6s.

Ecclestone has long made his unhappiness with the change known and has now added that the sport could lose its manufacturers if the swap proves to be a disaster.

"The trouble is that manufacturers have spent a lot of money on the engines," F1 supremo told Autoweek.

"What I tried to say to them the other day is that they will have to spend a lot more money if they get it wrong... The danger is that what will happen is what always happens with the manufacturers, which is that if it doesn't work they will stop."

One of Ecclestone's main concerns is that the new engines won't roar like the current spec, robbing fans of part of the Formula One experience.

"I heard the Ferrari engine. I heard the car they have [now] and the new one. So did [Jean] Todt and he said, anyway, you don't hear the noise on television.

"There is a danger that the public may not visit the races because the sound isn't what it was. I absolutely think it is a real possibility.

People like what we have got. They like everything about it."

But despite his disapproval the 82-year-old knows that he "can't stop the V6 engines. The regulations have been passed and approved."

He added: "Maybe we can make them sound like the current engines."

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Button: China will be a reboot

Jenson Button is looking to "reboot" his season in China after a disappointing start to the Championship.

Two grands prix into this season, Button has just two World Championship points as McLaren's MP4-28 was lagging behind its rivals in Australia and Malaysia.

The Brit, though, heads to China hoping that the work McLaren have done during the two weeks back at Woking will pay dividends in Shanghai.

"In a funny way, the Chinese Grand Prix almost feels like something of a reboot of the start of my season," Button.

"Taking home two points from the first two races obviously wasn't what we had in mind at the beginning of the year, but I think everybody in the team has picked themselves up and really attacked the task of addressing our car's issues.

"We know where we're losing performance, so I think we're actually all looking forward to seeing just what we can achieve in Shanghai."

The Brit is hoping McLaren will get an added boost from the fact that the Shanghai circuit has in the past suited the team's F1 cars.

"As far as the circuit goes, I've always enjoyed racing here: our car has always performed well around this circuit and we've always seemed to be able to find a good balance between the slow stuff, the high-speed changes of direction and the drag-loss needed for the long straight.

"It's a pretty good place for racing, too, because that straight offers such a good opportunity for slipstreaming and overtaking. I think we can have a pretty good race next weekend, too.

"The important thing for us as a team is to go into the weekend with clear focus, hone our strengths across the sessions and increase our understanding of the car."

As for the Championship, Button is refusing to rule out a fight-back despite being 38 points behind reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

He said: "I definitely think there's everything to play for with this Championship, and I can't wait to get back into the cockpit to start the fight again."

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Berger: Senna or Schumacher or Vettel develop extra selfishishness

Veteran of 210 grand prix starts, Gerhard Berger has refused to jump on the bandwagon and join those who criticise Sebastian Vettel in the wake of the Multi-21 team orders affair.

Lotus team boss Eric Boullier is the latest to hit out at Formula 1′s reigning world champion, insisting Vettel was wrong to ignore Red Bull’s team orders in Malaysia.

“I don’t see any people in the world who could disobey their company and not be sanctioned, or at least give clarification as to why they’ve disobeyed,” he said.

“One of our drivers (Kimi Raikkonen) is famous for doing pretty much what he wants, but when you have 600 people behind you, there is a certain respect you must have for the team,” he added.

However, former Grand Prix winner Gerhard Berger – the late Ayrton Senna’s most famous teammate – sees it differently.

The always plain-speaking Austrian puts Vettel in the same category as the great Senna, as well as Michael Schumacher.

“There are drivers like Senna or Schumacher or Vettel who develop an extra selfishness on the track,” Berger told Germany’s Auto Bild.

“Situations such as in Malaysia brings out their killer instinct, where they can think of one thing only — ‘I want to win the race’.

“Ultimately that’s what makes you a three time, five time, seven time world champion,” he added.

Some, like 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, have slammed Vettel’s Sepang tactics as revealing his lack of “honour” and “respect”, but Berger thinks it is “the others not winning who sleep the worst”.

He therefore advises Mark Webber to “wipe your mouth, put your foot down and prove to the world that you can beat Sebastian Vettel”.

And that’s because “guys like Schumacher, Senna and Vettel” will always ignore team orders “unless it is to their advantage”.

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Webber low on fuel during Vettel attack in Malaysia

Almost two weeks after the fact, the Multi-21 Red Bull team orders affair keeps stumbling onwards as new information emerges.

Auto Motor und Sport now reports a new fact: just as Sebastian Vettel ignored the team order to hold station, Mark Webber had turned down his engine because he was saving fuel.

“The truth in Formula 1 usually only comes to light piecemeal,” said correspondent Michael Schmidt.

It was already known that the chasing Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were having fuel-saving issues.

But Red Bull claimed it issued the team order because it was worried about the drivers burning up their fragile Pirelli tyres and being swallowed up by their silver rivals.

“Obviously there was more to it than what Red Bull wanted to say,” Schmidt added.

“Apparently in the first 42 laps Webber had consumed clearly more fuel than Vettel and was already in the red.

“Vettel was also able to drive in (Webber’s) slipstream for 12 laps and use DRS.

“So Red Bull not only feared an accident, but also that Webber could run out of gas. So he was asked to turn down his performance just to get to the line.”

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Brawn: I didn’t like having to give the orders I gave in Malaysia

Lewis Hamilton has never asked for favoured treatment at Mercedes and the team orders that helped him to third place at the Malaysian Grand Prix were made only out of necessity, according to team principal Ross Brawn.

Brawn told Sky Sports F1 in an interview that both Hamilton, the 2008 Formula One world champion, and German team mate Nico Rosberg were told to hold position purely because of a fuel issue.

Rosberg, who finished fourth, had repeatedly asked for Hamilton to be told to let him through because the German felt he was faster.

“I didn’t like having to give the orders I gave in Malaysia, it’s not in my sporting nature and I think the team have demonstrated many times in the past that we are very happy to let our drivers race each other,” Brawn said.

“From a technical perspective, we would have looked extremely foolish if we’d run both cars out of fuel,” he added.

Hamilton was uncomfortable with the situation after the race at Sepang, saying on the podium that he felt Rosberg – who won last year’s Chinese Grand Prix for the team – should have been standing there instead of him.

Non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, the retired triple world champion who is also a shareholder in the team, also criticised Brawn’s actions which he said were wrong from a sporting perspective.

“We need to talk to Ross, if this is the strategy to be used from now on,” the Austrian had said after the race.

Brawn, who won both titles in 2009 with the team he then sold to Mercedes, said neither Hamilton nor Lauda were aware of the overall picture at the time and praised his driver for his sense of fair play.

“Of course Lewis wants to race… in the contractual negotiations we had with Lewis, never was the issue of who was number one or two ever mentioned from his side. All he wants is parity,” explained the principal.

“He wants the same equipment, the same opportunity and that’s great that he’s got that confidence and approach that he doesn’t want favouritism. I think that’s why Lewis felt a little bit awkward about the situation.”

Brawn, a former technical director and master strategist who guided Michael Schumacher to seven titles in their time together at Benetton and Ferrari, made it clear that he called the shots during the race.

“I had to make a decision on the pit wall. Niki or (executive director) Toto (Wolff) might not agree with it but I had all the facts, all the information,” he said.

“I had what I feel was all the information needed to make that decision and they didn’t. I think they both recognised after the event that it was the right decision. I am clear to make the decisions that I need to make.

“Somebody has to make those decisions. What you can’t do is have those decisions made by a group or a committee. There’s no time.”

The 27 points garnered at the Malaysian Grand Prix represented the biggest single race haul for Mercedes since they took over the Brawn team.

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Villeneuve: This could be Ferrari’s year, but watch out for Raikkonen

Felipe Massa is likely to be a key factor to a successful championship tilt by Fernando Alonso this year claims Jacques Villeneuve, but also believes that Kimi Raikkonen has a good chance at a title tilt this season.

Villeneuve said in Milan this week that he thinks Spaniard Alonso was “tired” at the end of a hard-fought campaign with a less competitive Ferrari last season.

“This could be Ferrari’s year,” the French Canadian told the Italian media.

“The car is fast, although maybe it’s a bit difficult to drive. Perhaps he will also have the support of Massa this year,” he added.

The Maranello based team has produced a much better car for 2013, although currently the Ferraris are behind the Red Bulls and even Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ points standings.

Referring to Alonso’s first-lap contact in Malaysia and the decision to stay out on track rather than pit for a new nose, Villeneuve said: “Ferrari has already done its big mistake for the year.”

With regardto Raikkonen, Villeneuve says the Finn would also be a good bet for this year’s championship.

“I said before Australia that it would be Alonso and Hamilton for the title, now I think I would bet everything on the Spaniard and the Finn,” he is quoted by France’s Auto Hebdo.

Lotus, however, had a much less impressive weekend in Malaysia, just a few days after Raikkonen’s Melbourne win.

“It’s true, we didn’t have a good race at Sepang,” technical boss James Allison is quoted by Speed Week.

“But the damage was done in the first few laps, when we fell half a minute behind, but Romain (Grosjean) was only 35 seconds behind Vettel at the end. Sepang didn’t show what our car can really do,” he added.

However, Grosjean and Raikkonen have both spoken about how good the black E21 is, whilst expressing fears Lotus might not be able to keep up with the development pace of the better funded top teams.

Allison insists: “The most expensive thing is bringing the car to the track, not developing it. We’ve also noticed that it is relatively easy for us to find promising developments in the wind tunnel. And we have lots of ideas about how to develop mechanically.”

Team boss Eric Boullier told Brazil’s Totalrace: “I think Romain has all the same upgrades as Kimi for China. We have parts arriving for every race and will keep working hard. It will be interesting.”

[MIKA27]

Formula 1 teams set for extra test in 2014 to work on engines

Formula 1 teams are set to hold an extra pre-season test in 2014 to allow more track running for the new 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines.

Teams have been lobbying for an early first test, but although it is impossible to bring forward the first test significantly, a proposal is on the table for a fourth pre-season test to be added.

"There is what looks like quite a mature proposal to have an additional test session [pre-season] which we are completely in favour of," Renault Sport F1 deputy managing director Rob White told AUTOSPORT.

"I don't know what the format would be or where it would be, but we're of the assumption that it will be an additional session for all teams and it's not optional as everyone will want and need it."

2013 TEST IMPOSSIBLE

There had been suggestions of a V6 engine test being held this year, but according to White it would be too late to schedule such an early debut.

This is because of the lead times required for the finalising of the design specifications and the manufacturing of engines.

"It's a debate that has now more or less timed out because the timing now is that the cars will run for the first time in the new year," said White.

"Let's take October as an example just to work out what the consequences would be.

"If you were going to test in October, then you would need to build the engines in September.

"The difficulty is that the pieces necessary to build those engines will have had to be put into manufacture, say, three months before then and because you would want them to be race-intent type pieces, by May we'd needed to have decided exactly what spec they would be.

"Presumably, we would have wanted to gather some experience on the test beds of those pieces before going to the track, so they'd need to exist now or very shortly.

"We're still designing pieces and some pieces that we're designing are not yet made.

"On the current project timing, it's just not possible to put a representative engine in the car by October."

White admitted that there is an element of risk in the engines not running until the build-up to the 2014 season.

But with Renault set to have at least four teams running its power units, there will be the chance to maximise track running.

During this period, validating the engines rather than attempting to find changes to make will be the key, although all three engine manufacturers will have done vast amounts of dyno testing before this.

"Even if it was safe to assume that there would be no significant engine or power unit work to do, which is probably not the case, then all of the teams would be busy in characterising and confirming the design assumptions or gathering data to amend.

"It's going to be a very intense pre-season in 2014."

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Kimi refusing to make predictions

Kimi Raikkonen is reluctant to make any predictions about the upcoming Chinese GP after experiencing both highs and lows already this season.

While the 2007 World Champion's season got off to a winning start in Australia, Lotus were unable to keep up in Malaysia.

Raikkonen, who had a "tough" race in the wet, finished down in seventh place, which meant he dropped to second in the Drivers' standings.

The Finn trails Sebastian Vettel by nine points and isn't willing to say whether he can make up the deficit this weekend in China.

"It's always difficult to predict what will happen in the next race as we haven't been there yet with this car, and every car reacts differently to each circuit," he said.

"Unfortunately we didn't achieve any points there last year so we can only improve from that.

"I have been first, second and third in Shanghai in previous years so it would be nice to add to that list."

Lotus head into round three with various minor upgrades including tweaks to the front wing, rear wind end-plates and sidepod vanes.

"There's no reason why we shouldn't go well there," Raikkonen added. "We have some new parts for the E21 and the last upgrades we had seemed to help so it will be interesting to see what will happen if it doesn't rain."

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Force India will 'bounce back quickly'

Vijay Mallya believes Force India will return to the top-ten in China having solved their wheel nut issues.

Bagging a double points-finish in Australia, the team had hoped to continue that run in Malaysia but it was not to be.

Both Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil retired from the grand prix after experiencing problems with Force India's new captive wheel nut system.

But despite that setback, team owner, Mallya, is confident of a return to the points at this weekend's Chinese GP.

"The first two races of 2013 have been an encouraging start to the season," said the Indian businessman.

"The VJM06 is a solid contender with competitive race pace, we have an excellent pair of drivers and the right technical package in place. Most importantly, the whole team is working together well.

"Even though the last race in Malaysia was very disappointing, I know we have the potential to bounce back quickly and get a good result in Shanghai.

"Throughout the Sepang weekend, we had a quick car and the drivers felt good about their chances.

"We were confident of bringing both cars home in the points until the wheel nut issue let us down. We've had three weeks to understand what went wrong and have worked hard fix the root cause of the problem."

He added: "The next two weekends, with races in China and Bahrain, will put us in a position to see where we really stand in comparison with our rivals.

"Everyone in the team is looking forward to this challenge and I am confident we will put the disappointment of Malaysia behind us and bring home some big points."

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Hulkenberg chasing first Chinese points

Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg heads to China hoping for his first points at the Shanghai International circuit.

Having sat out the Australian GP due to a fuel system issue, Hulkenberg contested his first grand prix as a Sauber driver last time out in Malaysia.

Despite racing with a damaged rear wing end-plate, the 25-year-old brought his car home in eighth place, scoring four World Championship points.

"I have a better feeling now I have driven my first race in the C32, especially because we were able to collect a lot of information," he said. "In Malaysia we scored points and that is also my goal for China."

The German, though, concedes that the Shanghai International circuit is not one of his favourites.

Hulkenberg has raced in two Chinese GPs, 2010 and 2012, and in both he finished down in 15th place.

"The circuit in Shanghai is not particularly one of my favourite tracks, nevertheless it's a demanding one, especially the first few corners and the corners before the back straight.

"Tyres and strategy will be very important during the weekend."

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Bianchi 'realistic' about F1 point

Despite a strong start to the season, Jules Bianchi says Marussia are still some way off of their first World Championship point.

Bianchi made a flying start to his Formula One, finishing 15th on his debut in Australia and 13th a week later in Malaysia.

The Frenchman's impressive form has seen Marussia edge Caterham in the battle of the back-markers while closing up on their first point. Bianchi, though, reckons that is still some way off.

"We have to be realistic," he told Sky Sports F1 Online. "I think it will be difficult as we are still missing some performance, but if we can do it, we will and our target will be to score our first point this year for sure.

"For sure we are a lot closer now to the midfield than the team was last year, but all the teams are working hard and we need to bring a big step forward and every time we bring something to the track, it has to be a good part which gives you an advantage.

"We will see, but our target is to be closer and closer to the midfield and if we can beat them as a team, we will."

As for his own goals, the Marussia rookie wants a perfect record of race finishes.

"First of all I will try to finish every race - I know it will be something really difficult, so I will focus on that and try to gain more experience by finishing every race I can."

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Raikkonen does motocross to relax during F1 break

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen filled in the time between the recent Malaysian Grand Prix and round three in China this weekend with a spot of motocross.

Founded alongside his rallying team during his two-year Formula 1 sabbatical, Raikkonen’s IceOne squad also includes a motocross arm.

So the Finn pulled on his MX gear and goggles last week – during the three-week break between Malaysia and China – and headed to Belgium, according to the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

There, the 2007 world champion participated in the gravel practice session, with images depicting him in full airborne tilt.

Motocross riding would ordinarily be deemed too dangerous for Formula 1 teams to allow, but Lotus team boss Eric Boullier admitted last week that, “One of our drivers is famous for doing pretty much what he wants”.

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Massa confident he can win again in 2013

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is sure he has found the road back to the top step of the Formula 1 podium.

Amid Red Bull and Mercedes’ team orders saga in Malaysia, Massa continued his solid return to full form, finishing fifth, however the Brazilian said it could have been a podium.

“I am very confident,” he is quoted by Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I think we can get back to winning.”

Alongside the indomitable Fernando Alonso, it is Massa who is the unbeaten Ferrari qualifier in 2013, and he is also ranked ahead of the Spaniard in the points standings.

“I don’t think we had the car to win at Sepang, but I think we had a very good car to fight for the podium,” Massa said.

“The pace was good at the end. For sure without the problem of graining at the start, the race could have been very different and the chance to fight for the podium would have been much higher.

“It was important in the end to take home points, and fifth place – considering the first part of the race – was not so bad,” he added.

“Now we have to keep our feet on the ground: we have done a good job with the car, but there is much to do to get the right development and make it more competitive.

“I think that if we continue in this direction, we have the ability to win races and fight for the championship.”

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Wolff: Power struggle with Lauda is biggest bullsh*t I ever heard

Toto Wolff, a new shareholder at Mercedes alongside Niki Lauda, has denied rumours of a power struggle within the team between the Austrian pair.

“I am going to use Niki’s words by saying that is the biggest bullshit I have ever heard,” Wolff told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Actually, the rumours of a power struggle between the German-speaking faction and the old guard led by Briton Ross Brawn are much stronger.

After Malaysia, both Wolff and Lauda were said to have loudly disagreed with Brawn’s imposition of ‘team orders’ that kept the faster Nico Rosberg behind Lewis Hamilton for the last rung of the podium.

“From a sporting point of view, team orders are an absurdity,” Wolff insists.

“I speak as a fan, as a sportsman, as a race car driver.

“From the team’s point of view, you need to make sure you don’t throw away the team result.

“If we had let Lewis and Nico race each other, we would certainly have had a fuel problem with both cars. We knew this and so we used the team order.

“We did it because we didn’t want to look like idiots at the end.”

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STR confident they can catch up

It hasn't been the best of starts to the 2013 season for Toro Rosso, but technical director James Key sees no reason why they can't gain ground on the likes of Force India.

The Faenza squad had a disappointing 2012 campaign as they finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship, but team principal Franz Tost felt they could be "in the mix" for sixth this year.

However, they haven't been in good form so far as they have picked up only one point through Jean-Eric Vergne's P10 in Malaysia while Daniel Ricciardo retired in Sepang and Australia.

That is in stark contrast with this year's surprise package Force India who have 10 points after impressing at the season opener in Australia.

Key, though, is confident they can bounce back over the next few weeks and challenge the likes of Force India at the front of the midfield.

Asked by Autosport if he was worried about the advantage Force India and Sauber had, he replied: "No, there's a path [to catch up in terms of development].

"Force India have done a great job and are looking strong, probably stronger than everyone expected because in winter testing but we're on a par with Williams and Sauber as far as I can see."

Although the team won't make too many major upgrades to the STR8 in China and Bahrain, they will no doubt add several new bits when the European season kicks off in Spain in the middle of May.

Key is convinced the new developments will give them a boost.

"During the first four races in four very different kinds of track conditions, everyone builds up a massive database with what the tyres are doing and you hit Spain much better prepared," he said.

"We know where some of our weakness are and we'll see where we are in Spain.

"Because we are starting from a point where we have a lot of catching up to do, I don't think we should look at where we are now because it's the start of the long process with a lot of races to go.

"The [development] directions are beginning to define themselves, the team is beginning to understand how it needs to work."

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McLaren 'on the right track'

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale insists the squad have managed to get to the bottom of the problems that dogged the MP4-28 and are hopeful they can move forward now.

The Woking squad have made poor start to the 2013 campaign as they were well off the qualifying pace off the front runners in both Australia and Malaysia while they have also picked up only four points to date thanks to a P9 each by Jenson Button and Sergio Perez.

However, the team's technical department have had three weeks to come to grips with the problems and Neale feels they are close to ironing them out.

"I believe we do know where the problems on the car are but in order to be absolutely sure about that we need to run the package that we're going to run in China," he said during aVodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in.

"So the work on Friday is a very key element to it. As always with cars, there's no one thing or one magic bullet, there are a number of things that will restore the performance of the car.

"And we believe that we've got an underlying very good package, but it's clearly not the performance that we predicted.

"So I think if you asked that question at the end of the Chinese weekend we'd have more confidence but we have a great group of people, everyone's working very hard and we've been buoyed by the effort and the hard work of Sergio and Jenson who had have been tremendously tolerant and hard working for us both in the car and out of the car.

"I certainly believe we're on the right track now and we do have an idea where the problems are."

Although Button and Perez are already 38 points behind defending World Champion and 2013 pace setter Sebastian Vettel in the standings, Neale warns that it is far too early to write the team off as there are still 17 races left in the campaign.

"It's a long season as everyone knows and here we are in the first half of April and we're going to race through until the end of November," he said.

"We've seen in previous years teams start with a car that wasn't on pole position but fight it out for a Championship right at the end.

"Everything that we're doing here is designed to put us back into, first of all, winning form because we are about winning races - that's why McLaren exists - and I think if we can get on that quickly, and there's no reason at the moment why we can't, we should be fighting through the championship.

"It's obviously not an ideal start, we can't shy away from that, but I believe in the team and I believe in this car at the moment. So let's push on and see what happens."

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Williams hopes Spanish GP upgrade package will turn form around

Williams is pinning its hopes of turning its fortunes around early in the season with a big upgrade package that will be introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Williams, which returned to winning ways last year thanks to Pastor Maldonado's victory at Barcelona, has struggled with an uncompetitive car in the first two races of 2013.

The team has failed to score a point so far and has an 11th place finish as its best result so far.

Technical director Mike Coughlan said ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix that the team has a better understanding of its problems now, and is hopeful it can take a step forward.

"After a difficult two races we've been back at the factory going through the data to try to understand where we need to improve," Coughlan said.

"We feel we have a better understanding of where we are and the whole team has been working hard to improve our competitiveness going into the next few races.

"Ultimately we are looking at a significant upgrade for the Spanish Grand Prix."

Maldonado, who qualified in 17th and 16th places in the first two races, admitted Williams needs to raise its game quickly in order to score points consistently.

"We haven't had the best start to the season and we need some time to improve our car to be solid in the points, but the whole team is working very hard so let's wait and see how we can adapt the car for this race," Maldonado said.

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Ferrari: We still have a way to go to be quickest

Ironically with last year’s inferior car Ferrari were doing better after two races than they are this year in a car which Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa agree is way better, but the team’s technical director Pat Fry admits that the F138 is not the quickest contender particularly in qualifying.

Speaking ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, Fry said, “We’ve shown reasonable race pace and on all the tyre types we have used so far we have performed well, however we still have a way to go to be quickest in qualifying and we are working very hard on that at the moment.”

“We’ve been concentrating on the longer runs, even if they are not as long as in the past, because this year we expect more pit stops during a race. However, we have not ignored our qualifying pace. I am sure there is more to come on this front, as we learn more about our car and start getting the best out of it,” explained the Maranello tech boss.

The race off-track is as a fierce as the one on-track, as teams seek constant updates to their cars and a factor which Fry is only too aware of.

“The key will be to try and move our car development programme forward quicker than the other teams do. It’s a tough cycle that will last all year and we need to at least match our 2012 development pace if we are to perform better in qualifying. So far, we have worked well, all the way through from design to manufacture, improving on how we did things last year in terms of actually getting new bits onto the car. Also, our aero correlation is better,” revealed the Englishman.

As for the race this weekend, Fry remains cautious, “Shanghai is a challenging mix of different corner types and a 1.2 kilometre straight. Is it going to suit our car better than some others? It is too early to say, as there are too many unknowns. For example, it will be the first weekend this year that we will use the Pirelli Soft compound, along with the Medium.”

“At the end of this Grand Prix, we will have a clearer picture of how all the tyres compare to one another. So to some degree, Shanghai will be another learning exercise for everyone, although we can say that our pace, relative to the other teams, has been okay on all the tyres we have tried so far.”

Ferrari was the first team to have its name engraved on the Chinese Grand Prix winner’s trophy when Rubens Barrichello won in 2004. There were a further two wins for the Maranello team, from Michael Schumacher in 2006 and Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

Alonso has also won in China, but as a Renault driver, in 2005. The Spaniard has started from pole twice and has two other podium finishes to his there.

Felipe Massa’s best finish at the venue was a second place in 2008.

[MIKA27]

Air hostess Branson to fulfill long standing F1 bet

Richard Branson will take to the skies as an airline stewardess on a charity flight next month to finally fulfil a bet with aviation rival Tony Fernandes over the fortunes of their teams in the 2010 Formula One season.

AirAsia chief Fernandes, who once worked for Branson’s music business, bet the British entrepreneur that his Lotus Racing team would do better in their debut season than Virgin Racing team with the loser dressing up as an female flight attendant.

Lotus F1 finished 10th in the constructors’ championship to Virgin’s 12th and so on May 12, Branson – “complete with make-up, a pair of high heels and freshly shaved legs” – will join the AirAsia X cabin crew on a flight from Perth to Kula Lumpur.

“The day of reckoning for Sir Richard has finally arrived,” Fernandes said in an AirAsia news release on Monday.

“It’s an awkward moment when you go down memory lane and recall the times I used to work for Richard. And it’s hilarious to think now, that it’s Richard who will be working for me as a sassy flight attendant.”

Members of the public can purchase tickets for the flight for A$399 ($410) with A$100 of the fare going to Australian charity Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Branson is no longer involved in Formula One with the Virgin team now competing as Marussia Racing, while Fernandes’s team has since been renamed Caterham F1.

[OZCUBAN]

Chinese Grand Prix: Vettel and Webber wounds unlikely to have healed

This weekend's Chinese Grand Prix will provide the first indication of how Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel intend to handle the aftermath of the team orders row in Malaysia three weeks ago.

Red Bull have tried to draw a line under Vettel's decision to ignore team orders not to overtake Webber to win at Sepang. The two drivers have shaken hands and Vettel has apologised, both to Webber and the entire team.

Red Bull are hoping to put it behind them and get on with the business of trying to win their fourth consecutive drivers' and constructors' championship double.

But it is unlikely to be that simple. The wounds that were ripped open in Sepang had barely healed from the end of 2012, when Webber was asked to support Vettel's attempt to close out the title against Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso in Brazil and the team felt he was not only unhelpful, but obstructive.

And they have been festering for far longer than that - they go right back nearly three years to the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix.

The drama of Istanbul

Vettel and Webber headed into that race with a relationship that might best be characterised as one of "competitive tension", tied on points at the head of the championship, with Webber officially leading on account of his two wins to Vettel's one.

Sebastian Vettel stands by his car after crashing out of Istanbul in 2010

Subsequently, Red Bull would use championship position as a justification for one driver being favoured in one way or another over the other.

But in Turkey it was Vettel who was given the choice of two different rear wings that weekend and Webber who had to wait for the one that turned out to be faster to be shipped out just in time for qualifying.

Webber was slightly off Vettel's pace but ended up beating the German to pole position after the roll bar on Vettel's car broke.

In the race, with Webber leading from Vettel and the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button closing fast, Vettel demanded to be let by, feeling Webber was too slow.

The situation was complicated by all four cars being short of fuel. Webber turned his engine down a lap before Vettel, which gave the German a chance to get a run on the Australian down the long back straight.

Webber defended vigorously, forcing Vettel to go for a gap on the inside no wider than his car. But while he was there, Vettel swerved into Webber, the two collided, Vettel was out of the race and Webber dropped back to third.

Disinterested observers felt Vettel was mostly at fault - but Red Bull motorsport chief Helmut Marko squarely blamed Webber, and team principal Christian Horner said the "larger fault" was with Webber for not giving his team-mate enough room.

The rest of 2010

In the aftermath of Turkey, Red Bull said they would allow the drivers to race freely. But in Canada two weeks later, Webber was told not to challenge Vettel, who was struggling with a gearbox problem.

Red Bull rivalry

Vettel Webber

Age

25

36

Career grands prix

103

200

Wins

27

9

Podiums

48

35

Poles

38

11

Points

1,094

874.5

Horner reasoned that had he allowed Webber to close and try to pass, Vettel would have been unable to resist fighting for his place, which would have finished off his gearbox and cost the team points.

The situation blew up again at Silverstone two races later. In final practice on Saturday morning, both men were trying a new front wing, of which there were only two. The one on Vettel's car broke and, for qualifying, the team decided to take the one from Webber's car and give it to Vettel, who took pole position by just 0.143 seconds.

Webber was furious.

The decision was justified by the fact that Vettel was ahead in the championship and had expressed a slightly stronger preference for it - and that it wasn't 'Webber's wing', so to speak, but a team wing and it was for them to decide what to do with it.

That justification was met with incredulity in the rest of the paddock.

"They did what?" asked one veteran technical boss, when the story was relayed to him. Another simply described Red Bull's actions as "ludicrous", adding: "To take it off one car and put it on another - I've never heard of that. Unless you have a clear number-one driver and a novice, in which case you'd give the number one both wings."

In the race the next day, Webber made a better start than Vettel, who tried to fight it out with his team-mate around the outside of Copse corner. He got a puncture and recovered to take seventh. Webber won and over the radio on the slowing down lap made his feelings clear. "Not bad for a number-two driver," he said.

Tension simmered for the rest of the year, with the two of them in title contention throughout.

Vettel inadvertently gifted Webber a win in Hungary when he let the gap between him and the safety car grow too big and was given a drive-through penalty.

In Japan, Webber felt he was faster than Vettel but was prevented from challenging for the win despite leading the championship with Vettel 21 points behind.

A week later in Korea, Vettel was pulling away in the rain in the early laps when Webber, trying to keep up, made a mistake and crashed.

Vettel later retired from the lead with an engine failure, gifting victory to Alonso, who also took the championship lead by 11 points from Webber. Vettel was now 25 points adrift with just two races to go.

Most felt that if Red Bull wanted to stop Alonso becoming champion they surely had to back Webber's title challenge and ask Vettel to back him up. But they refused, with team owner Dietrich Mateschitz saying they would rather lose the title in the right way than win it the wrong way.

That was a pointed reference to Ferrari's use of then-banned team orders to make Felipe Massa hand the lead of the German Grand Prix to Alonso. Mateschitz did not mention his own outfit's use of team orders.

Vettel did win the title - but only when a catastrophic strategic error by Ferrari in the final race in Abu Dhabi handed it to on Vettel on a plate. Without that, Alonso would have been champion.

Silverstone 2011

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has to manage the Vettel-Webber relationship

The events of 2010 hit Webber hard psychologically, and he suffered even more when in 2011 Vettel found a driving style that could maximise the effect of the team's trick exhaust-blown diffuser that Webber found counter-intuitive and difficult to copy.

Vettel dominated the season, winning 11 races, with Webber's only victory in the final race in Brazil - and then only when Vettel's car hit trouble.

But at Silverstone in mid-season, the spectre of team orders arose again, when with exhaust-blown diffusers severely limited by a one-off rule change, Alonso took Ferrari's only win that year.

Behind him in the final laps, Webber was closing on Vettel, but was ordered to stay behind. He ignored the order and continued to challenge, unsuccessfully in the end.

Webber did not understand why in a season in which Vettel was clearly going to walk the title, he should not be allowed to race him that afternoon. Horner countered by saying - as he did in Malaysia this year - that he did not want to risk ending up with the two cars in the wall.

Last year

The two drivers were again closely matched in 2012, but Webber's title challenge faded through a series of technical issues in mid-summer and the fight came down to Vettel and Alonso.

Despite Vettel's jubilation in Brazil, he had jousted with Webber throughout

At the final race of the year in Brazil, Horner and Marko asked Webber to forget about his own result and to help Vettel where possible.

At the start, Webber squeezed Vettel towards the pit wall, and the German lost places at the first corner as a result. That put him in the midfield, where at Turn Four he turned in to Bruno Senna's Williams and spun into the middle of the track, an incident he was lucky his car survived.

Shortly afterwards, Webber appeared not to defend against Alonso. Later in the race, when Vettel caught him while fighting back through the field, Webber battled him for position rather than letting him go.

Horner and Marko were furious - and this is what prompted the controversial interview Marko gave to Red Bull's own magazine in which he made highly disparaging remarks about Webber.

That night, I met Webber in a café at Sao Paulo airport and made a joke about his battles with Vettel. He did not see the funny side. "Yeah, well," he said. "They didn't exactly lay it on a plate for me in 2010, did they?"

Now what?

To say Red Bull face an awkward situation between their drivers for the rest of the year would be an extreme understatement.

They have the fastest car, but one that works the tyres harder than its rivals from Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus. They have two drivers both determined to win the championship, but an almost complete breakdown in trust between them.

In the aftermath of Malaysia, who really imagines Webber will be inclined to accede to team orders again, or to help Vettel in any way at all? And the long history of discontent almost certainly means that, for him, an apology - however heartfelt it may be - is unlikely to be enough.

Red Bull say the situation is "settled" and that the two men can continue to work together.

On an everyday level, in terms of engineering meetings and so on, that will be true. But out on the track may be another matter.

Given the apparent level of distrust and, in Webber's case, hurt and betrayal, it's hard to imagine that this story is over.

[MIKA27]

Kimi unfazed by Red Bull rumours

Kimi Raikkonen says his future is not set in stone as he does not have a contract in place for next season.

The Finn made an impressive return to Formula One last season with Lotus and followed that up with a winning start to this year's Championship.

As such Raikkonen has caught the eye of rival teams with Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz recently stating he is "always a candidate" at his team.

However, where Raikkonen goes in 2014 - should he even opt to leave Lotus - is anyone's guess.

"There are always a lot of rumours in F1, that is a normal thing," said the 2007 World Champion.

"I don't have a contract for next year and I have no plans. You guys make the rumours, so we will see what happens.

"The season is only two races old so I'll try to do this year well and we will see what happens."

Asked whether he intended to remain in F1, he said: "I don't have a contract so I don't really have a plan, but of course I probably will be.

"But you never know. It is a funny place. So far, I have no contract."

[MIKA27]

Alonso: There's nothing above Ferrari

Two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso says he will finish his Formula One career at Ferrari.

Having joined the Italian outfit from Renault at the start of the 2010 season, Alonso signed a new five-year contract midway through the 2011 campaign.

With his long-term future secure, the Spaniard - who also had stints with Minardi and McLaren - admits he can't see himself driving for another team on the Formula One grid.

Asked 'Would you like to end your career at Ferrari?' during a Twitter Q&A on the team's website, he replied: "Yes, that's what I'm going to do.

"It's the best team in the world, there's nothing above Ferrari."

Alonso and Ferrari head to this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix looking to bounce back from a disappointing outing in Malaysia last time out. After qualifying P3, the Spaniard's race was over by lap two after he made contact with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel during the opening exchanges.

Ferrari had a chance to pit him after the initial incident, but they decided to keep him out and unfortunately his damaged front wing gave way, forcing him out of the race.

Alonso, though, insists it was the right call not to go into the pits immediately.

"Once you've seen the result, in hindsight, it's easy to say it would've been better to come in for a pit-stop. But it's a decision that has to be made in a matter of seconds, during which we thought that I could hold on for another lap to make the most of the pit-stop and also switch to dry tyres," explained the Spaniard.

"In any case, the race simulations state that if I would have stopped to change the nose, I would have finished ninth or tenth, so we didn't lose anything. The problem wasn't not coming in; the damage was done in the collision and it's something that we will try to avoid in the future."

[MIKA27]

Two DRS zones for Shanghai

The Shanghai International Circuit will have an additional DRS zone for this year's Chinese Grand Prix with the second one being placed on the main straight.

The kilometre-long back straight between Turns 13 and 14 will feature for the third season in a row and the detection point will once again be midway through Turn 12.

A second detection line will be just before the entry to Turn 16 with the DRS zone situated on the start-finish straight and, as per regulations, drivers will only be able to use DRS in the dedicated zones during practice and qualifying.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull team orders row: Button surprised by Vettel's attitude

Jenson Button has expressed surprise at Sebastian Vettel's declaration that he would think nothing of disregarding team orders again.

McLaren driver Button believes Red Bull was unwise to ask Mark Webber and Vettel to hold station as early as round two of the 2013 Formula 1 season.

But the 2009 world champion admitted Vettel's assertion that he would "probably do the same again" if he felt Webber did not deserve the win had showed an unexpected side of Vettel's character.

"Lots of people have won world championships without being like that," said Button.

"I'm surprised he said that, personally.

"He's such a talented driver and he seems like a driver that the team love. And they should, he's very successful.

"And he seems like an easygoing character. It's surprising for him to say that."

Button reckons that if Red Bull had been clear about its intentions pre-race, Vettel had no grounds for complaint.

"Obviously he's done it once. He knew what he was doing," said Button.

"We all want to win, but if you're told to hold station and you know that's the rule before the race, kick off about it before the race.

"Don't just do the opposite in the race. I think that's the biggest issue.

"If we had that issue here, first of all I wouldn't have agreed before we went racing. In the race, you have to do as you're supposed to do."

TOO SOON FOR TEAM ORDERS

He underlined that he did not approve of team orders and felt they had been unnecessary in Malaysia, but that Vettel should still have complied if Webber was cruising.

"I do not like team orders and I've said that before," Button said. "But they're legal and we're allowed to have team orders.

"I would understand if I couldn't win the championship anymore and the team said to me 'if you're leading this race and your team-mate's second and he can win the championship, let him go past'.

"I wouldn't even need to be told that, I'd do it myself. It's the right thing to do.

"I think when one or both drivers are told to turn the engine down, it's for a reason - to save the engine or because they have a fuel strategy.

"If one guy does it and the other guy doesn't, it's unfair, they're going to push each other, and they might both run out of fuel.

"That's the way the system is at the moment with fuel and tyre saving.

"There's definitely the possibility of making a mistake [with an instruction], and if that was the case with Sebastian, it's fair enough.

Maybe that was the case.

"But it just doesn't sound that way from what he was saying afterwards."