FORMULA 1 - 2013

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I enjoy all kinds of motorsports, but don't really participate in this discussion. One thing I've noticed over the years is that racers (not just F1) rarely take responsibility for track mishaps, and seemingly always look to blame someone else.

A track marshall was killed at the 2013 Canadian GP.......

Indeed, it's a tragedy that a life was taken however this was not as a result of a motor car (Formula 1 car) but by a car recovery crane. The track marshal had dropped his radio and attempted to pick it up. In doing so, he stumbled and was hit and run over by the recovery vehicle.

All motor sports are dangerous, NASCAR, LeMans, Formula series, MotoGP... All have had deaths

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Mark Robinson was ‘THE’ Formula 1 fan with a huge passion for the sport

Mark Robinson, the volunteer marshal who was killed in a freak crane accident during the Canadian Grand Prix, was a Formula 1 fanatic, steeped in knowledge about the sport he loved to the point that his friends called him ‘THE Formula 1 fan.’

“I can only tell you that Mark was not a Formula 1 fan… he was ‘THE’ Formula 1 fan. He had knowledge about the sport that would just boggle anyone’s mind and has been attending the event since the early eighties,” friend Tyler Hall wrote in a message to CTV Montreal.

Quiet spoken and known fondly as ‘Coach’ by his mates, Robinson would open up and speak with passion when anyone ventured to talk about F1 with him. Although his tight knit circle of friends did not share his following of the sport, this did not stop him trying to convert them.

Another friend, Marty Devey said F1 was “like a religion” to Robinson and his annual work at the Canadian Grand Prix over the last decade was always a highlight of his year. He died a few days short of his 39th birthday.

Mark Robinson with fellow marshal (Facebook)

“F1 for him was kind of like getting a chance to be a roadie for the Rolling Stones once a year,” Devey said. ”He thought about it, talked about it. For a quiet guy, if you started talking F1 with this guy, you wouldn’t be able to quiet him down.”

Robinson worked in logistics for UPS and had an encyclopedic knowledge of trivia — from sports, to 1970s and ’80s rock and roll, to science-fiction flicks, but F1 racing was his passion.

“This tragedy has affected us deeply, and the whole of motor sport is profoundly touched by it,” said the statement from Jean Todt, president of the FIA. ”In volunteering to be a marshal, Mark had made the choice to give his time, his knowledge and passion in the service of motor sport.

“All over the world, it is men and women like Mark who make possible the organization of motor sport events. Without these thousands of volunteers who give their all selflessly, motor sport would simply not get off the starting line.”

Mark Robinson at work during the Canadian GP shortly before the tragic accident

Reports indicate that Robinson was run over by a crane recovering the stranded Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez. He was airlifted to Sacre-Coeur Hospital by helicopter after being stabilised by race track trauma nurses. He was declared dead in hospital.

“It is very, very sad to hear that a marshal tragically lost his life. The work of marshals is not always seen, but it is vital to our sport and without their commitment, time and dedication, there would be no motorsport,” said Montreal race winner and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel. “I am very, very sad to hear this news and my thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Volunteering for the Canadian Grand Prix, every year for over a decade, was a dream come true said Devey. ”He looked forward to it every year.”

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Montezemolo: We have faith in the FIA

Ferrari backed Formula One’s governing body on Tuesday for their handling of a tyre testing controversy involving rivals Mercedes.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has summoned Mercedes and tyre supplier Pirelli to its international tribunal in Paris on June 20 on charges of breaking the rules by testing in Spain last month.

“We have faith in the FIA,” president Luca di Montezemolo declared at the opening of the new Ferrari museum at the Italian team’s Maranello factory on Tuesday.

“I do not wish to comment but I note with satisfaction that the federation is following this incident well,” he added in comments reported on the Ferrari website.

“Let’s hope Formula One can maintain its professionalism and we have faith that those who attempt to circumvent the regulations are pursued and prosecuted, or rather more prosecuted than pursued.”

The FIA is now run by Jean Todt, the former Ferrari principal who presided over the team’s most successful years with Michael Schumacher winning five championships in a row between 2000 and 2004.

The Mercedes team principal is Ross Brawn, Todt’s former right-hand man as Ferrari technical director up to the end of 2006.

Ferrari, who made an official protest about Mercedes using a 2013 car at the ‘secret’ Barcelona test when word leaked out at last month’s Monaco Grand Prix, also tested with Pirelli in April but with a 2011 car.

The FIA also quizzed Ferrari about that test but decided to take the matter no further because they were deemed to have broken no rules.

Champions Red Bull, who also protested, have accused Mercedes of gaining an important advantage from the 1,000km test.

Mercedes say the test was controlled by Pirelli who have said the team had no knowledge of what was being tested.

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Alonso: If we start up in front with Sebastian we can fight a little bit closer

Fernando Alonso knows better than anyone that there is no such thing as a safe lead in Formula 1, either in races or the championship, and after Canada is even more determined to take the fight to Sebastian Vettel.

Last year, the Spaniard led the championship by 40 points with nine races to go. He had scored points in 23 consecutive races, a mark only Michael Schumacher had bettered, and seemed a sure bet to win his third title.

Then the wheels fell off his campaign and Vettel stormed past him to win his third championship. It was a bitter lesson for Alonso and his Ferrari team but one that gives him hope this year’s title race is still up for grabs even though he trails Vettel by 36 points after seven of the 19 rounds.

He needed a good result in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix and got it, finishing second. The only problem was that the one driver who finished in front of him was Vettel, meaning the Spaniard still lost ground in the title race.

He consoled himself with the fact that “it could have been worse”.

Despite setting the fastest time in Friday’s practice when the track was dry, he started the race from sixth place after it rained during qualifying.

And he was still back in fourth place nearing the end of Sunday’s race before slipping past Mark Webber then Lewis Hamilton with a brilliant drive.

“I think second tastes of victory, because we scored some good points after a very difficult weekend,” he said.

Alonso said he never really had any chance of catching Vettel, who made a fast getaway from pole position and quickly established a big lead that was never threatened, but there were plenty of other positives.

The Ferrari showed plenty of pace when the sun came out, and he overtook Kimi Raikkonen for second place in the standings after the Finn struggled to ninth in Montreal.

“I’m happy. Obviously we want to finish in front of our main competitors in the championship,” said Alonso, world champion in 2005 and 2006.

“With Sebastian we could not do it today but he did pole position and a very dominant race so we just need to congratulate him and to do a better job next time.

“With Kimi it was a good weekend because we scored many points and he didn’t. But we need to improve, especially qualifying. If we start up in front with Sebastian we can fight a little bit closer.

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Di Resta: It’s good to have that heat, you need to show your emotion

Paul di Resta insists his relationship with Force India remains good, despite two rounds of hefty criticism – after Monaco and most recently Canada – and reports of a garage scuffle where punches were thrown.

The Scot was not only heavily critical of the team’s qualifying strategy in Monaco, when he said that the way Force India left him in the Montreal pits with a “minor problem” during the best track conditions last Saturday was “clearly not acceptable”.

After that, report of a scuffle between the 27-year-old’s trainer and a team mechanic were not denied by the Silverstone based team.

Still, di Resta insists that his angry criticism of Force India was “taken constructively” by the management.

“Everybody in the team felt the same,” he is quoted by the BBC. ”The person who made the mistake apologised and I’m fully supportive of that.”

“Looking back, I don’t think I was too harsh. When you work with the team so closely, it’s good to have that heat because you need to show your emotion,” said di Resta.

“If I’d made a mistake twice, I’d be kicking myself and the team would come down hard on me – and rightly so.”

Di Resta moved on from his horror Montreal qualifying to finish a solid seventh on Sunday, on the occasion of Force India’s 100th Grand Prix.

“We regrouped,” he said, [we] “showed [that] we can do it and, as far as my relationship with the team is concerned, it’s still good.”

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Button: We’re never going to win the championship this year

Hot on the heels of his downbeat summary of McLaren’s performance in Canada, Jenson Button has now written off being a contender for the 2013 Formula 1 World Championship title.

The great British team’s lead driver said after failing to score points in Montreal that, seven races into the troubled development of the MP4-28, the gap to the front of the field remains “massive”.

Button has now told British newspapers: “We’re so far behind, we’re never going to win the championship this year.”

Indeed, with 12 races to go in 2013, Button is already more than 100 points behind in the drivers’ standings.

The obvious temptation for a heavily-resourced team like McLaren would be to now switch all of its focus towards the radical new regulations and an all-new, V6-powered car for 2014.

But Button suggested the Woking based team is determined to improve in 2013.

“We can still win grands prix,” he said, even though he ruled out a podium for his home British Grand Prix, next time out at Silverstone later this month.

As for how long the slump will last, the 33-year-old admitted: “No one knows the answer to that. It’s pointless for me to try and answer.”

Despite the low point in Canada, Button remains positive about racing on home soil, Our car tends to work better on fast and flowing circuits – such as Malaysia or China – so I’m looking forward to my home race at Silverstone at the end of the month.”

He also revealed, “We tried some new parts this weekend, but they weren’t really suited for this type of circuit – they should work better at Silverstone, so I’m feeling positive about the future.”

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What’s really bugging Lewis Hamilton?

Visibly downbeat all weekend in Montreal, Lewis Hamilton has played down talk of a rift with Mercedes, insisting he simply has “stuff” on his mind, and admits that he is aggrieved at not yet wiining a race with his new team.

The 2008 world champion hardly cracked a smile after the Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished on the podium, two places ahead of his on-form teammate, Monaco winner Nico Rosberg.

But during the Montreal race, Hamilton snapped at his race engineer whilst receiving information about the wear of the tyres.

“Please just let me drive, man,” the Briton snapped.

Hamilton, however, said his reaction does not indicate tension within the team, but simply the tension of the moment as he raced to the chequered flag.

“Being hunted down by Fernando [Alonso] is like being chased by a bull and so I just didn’t need anyone in my ear when I was already at the maximum I could go at,” he said.

He was also morose and aloof after just missing out on pole position 24 hours earlier, and poker faced throughout the post qualifying formalities.

Hamilton hinted that the main issue on his mind is his battle for superiority at Mercedes, in the recent wake of Rosberg’s hat-trick of poles and Monaco win.

“I don’t settle for anything but the best and wins; I still haven’t got a win, Nico has won a race, so I need to get a win,” he said.

“What I’m projecting is not disappointment, I’ve just got stuff on my mind.”

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Massa: I don’t think there is anyone better than me to take my place

Felipe Massa says that he is relaxed about his future at Ferrari because he believes he is the best candidate for the Italian team.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper at the weekend that the 32-year-old Brazilian’s form means he is likely to stay in 2014.

“If Felipe keeps going as he has been, I do not see any problem for the future,” he said.

Massa told Brazil’s Totalrace that he is happy with his current situation.

“I am calm, I think the most important thing is to have good pace,” he said, amid speculation that his three recent crashes in Monaco and Canada might have hurt his bid for a new contract.

“I’m feeling good in the car. I’m very upset with what happened with the tyres in Bahrain, and with the crashes I have had,” Massa admitted.

“That has hurt my points a lot, but I’m happy with the car and with my driving, and that’s what counts the most,” he added.

Massa said he could only imagine Ferrari making a driver change if there was a clearly better candidate on the market.

“In my opinion, if there was someone so much better to put in my place, okay,” he insisted. ”But I think not.”

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Vettel extends contract with Red Bull until end of 2015

In a short statement, released on Tuesday, Red Bull confirmed that three times world champion Sebastian Vettel has extended his contract with the energy drinks owned team until the end of 2015.

“Infiniti Red Bull Racing is happy to confirm that World Champion Sebastian Vettel has extended his multi-year contract with the team until the end of 2015,” said the world champion team.

And added, “A previous member of the Red Bull Junior squad, Sebastian first drove for Red Bull Racing in 2009. During his Formula One career, the 25-year-old has achieved 29 wins, 51 podiums and 39 pole positions.”

“He is the current Formula One World Champion and also a triple World Champion, having retained the title since he first won it in 2010,” concluded the statement.

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Lopez denies that Allison’s departure is cause of Lotus slump

Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez has scoffed at suggestions that the recent departure of highly rated technical director James Allison has caused a performance slump at the Enstone based team.

Off the back of a stellar start to the season, Kimi Raikkonen has dropped from second in the world championship to third, following two less impressive outings for the Lotus E21 in Monaco and Canada.

“It hasn’t made the world championships any easier for us,” Lopez admitted to Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper, as Lotus also drops to fourth behind Mercedes in the constructors’ standings.

“It is clear we cannot afford a third consecutive miserable weekend [at Silverstone],” he added.

“Monaco is Monaco and we had a bad start to the weekend, [got] off on the wrong foot, but we have now suffered badly in terms of both of the championships [after Canada],” Lopez continued.

“This cannot be accepted. For Silverstone, I expect us to be absolutely as strong as we were before Monaco.”

Lopez slammed suggestions that their slump is connected to the recent departure of James Allison.

“It has no effect,” he insisted. “He is a good man, but he’s not a god.”

Lopez also rejected speculation around lead driver Raikkonen, amid talk that he has been offered Mark Webber’s Red Bull seat for 2014, is growing frustrated with the situation at Lotus.

“Everything is perfectly ok with Kimi,” he said.

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Webber labels Van der Garde a pay driver with no mirrors

Red Bull’s Mark Webber has labelled Giedo van der Garde “a pay driver with no mirrors”.

The insult is reminiscent of the Australian veteran’s ridicule of “first lap nutcase” Romain Grosjean last year.

His angry jibe at van der Garde, a rookie this year, follows an incident in the Canadian Grand Prix, when the Red Bull and Caterham collided while Webber was lapping the Dutchman.

Webber was unimpressed with van der Garde’s talents.

“We had a lot of blue flags as we approached the hairpin,” he said. “Some guys maybe have too much concentration on [just] driving the cars.”

Van der Garde, 28, was penalised five grid places for Silverstone, and apologised to Webber in the post-race team press release.

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Schumacher: I am a private F1 television commentator on my couch

Michael Schumacher has revealed that he has not regretted his final retirement from Formula 1 for a single moment.

At the end of a three-season comeback period that did not add to his record tally of 91 wins and seven titles, the 44-year-old German returned to retirement at the end of last year as Mercedes replaced him with Lewis Hamilton.

He told Bild newspaper that the right call was made.

“If there had been at least the prospect of fighting for the world championship last year,” said Schumacher, “then it might have been a different decision.

“But I’m very happy,” he insisted, laughing that he is now a “private television commentator” on his couch during grands prix for his wife Corinna.

After more than two decades in the paddock, meanwhile, Schumacher also revealed that “a few people from Mercedes and Ferrari keep me in the loop” with F’s behind-the-scenes goings-on.

“But it’s not as though I’m interested in everything,” he added, revealing that he has put on a couple of kilograms since stepping out of the cockpit.

But he did return recently for a F1 demonstration run in his 2011 Mercedes F1 car at the fabled Nordschleife.

Schumacher, now a Mercedes ambassador, revealed: “I do not think that was the last time I will sit in a Silver Arrows.”

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Ricciardo: Having a poor race when Jev had an excellent one is frustrating

There is a philosophy that has prevailed since the advent of motor racing as a team sport – Always beat your teammate.

In the current Toro Rosso scenario – where the two drivers in the Red Bull junior team are also candidates for the highly coveted second seat in the senior team – the pressure on Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne has been turned up several notches.

Reflecting on the Canadian GP weekend Ricciardo admits that he left Montreal frustrated with the outcome of his race relative to his teammate. Vergne finished sixth with Ricciardo down in 15th.

“Like any racing driver I’m very highly motivated to compete with my teammate, so having such a poor race when Jev had an excellent one adds to the frustration,” admitted the 23 year old.

Typically he looked on the bright side of the situation. “Looking past that, his [Vergne's] result is really positive for us. The team is really pumped up and we all know that, when everything’s working as it should, we’ve got a really fast car that’s capable of fighting for good points. That’s a nice thought to take away.’

Monaco, two weeks before Montreal, was also an unhappy hunting ground for Ricciardo where again he played second fiddle to Vergne. The Australian suffered a DNF, victim of Romain Grosjean’s moment of madness exiting the tunnel, while Vergne gave a good account of himself to finish eighth.

Ricciardo admitted, “It’s very frustrating because these last two races are probably my two favourite tracks on the calendar and they’ve turned out badly. You can over-analyse this stuff. I tend to stay at the track late, early in the weekend, trying to understand everything so I can pull the most out of it. That makes it more frustrating when it doesn’t work out like you expected.”

“I think the best thing for me now is to do the opposite, and try not to think about F1 for a bit. So I’m off over the border for a few days for a break with my family. I’ll be back in the UK at the weekend, and get back in touch with the team in Faenza then,” said Ricciardo.

Currently Ricciardo lies 14th in the championship with seven points, Vergne is 12th with 13 points.

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Domenicali: It will be vital to make up the ground we have lost

Ferrari enjoyed something of resurgence in Canada after a disappointing weekend in Monaco, and ahead of the British Grand Prix team boss Stefano Domenicali is confident that they can make another step forward in the ongoing development battle.

Although the race produced a strong points haul, the fact is that qualifying was once again their Achilles heel, with Massa making a silly error and crashing out in Q2 while Alonso ended up sixth on the grid.

Speaking after Montreal Domenicali said, “Both Fernando and Felipe staged a really great fight back. But when making a final assessment of this weekend, Saturday’s qualifying weighed heavily on the outcome, even if in the race we showed our potential once again.”

“If we had started from the very front of the grid, we would have had everything in place to aim for the win. The circumstances in which qualifying was run did not suit the characteristics of our car and we paid a very high price for that,” admitted the Ferrari team principle.

Currently Red Bull appear to have the edge with their RB9, especially in the hands of Sebastian Vettel, while Mercedes have established themselves as genuine contenders for race wins.

“At the same time, we must also continue to push on the development of our car. Because our rivals have made clear steps forward. Apart from Red Bull, in Montreal, Mercedes was also very competitive, not just in qualifying over a single lap, but also over the whole race distance. We must give our drivers the wherewithal to fight for the front two rows of the grid [during qualifying], because that is the key to be able to capitalise on our car’s race pace,” said Domenicali.

“Now we have a slightly longer than usual gap before the next race in Silverstone. We will try and use that time as well as possible to work on the car and continue studying tyre behaviour, because on Sunday we saw cars which were able to do two thirds of the race with just one set and therefore, understanding how the tyres will work at every circuit will require very close attention,” mused the Italian.

“We have completed the first seven races of the 2013 season and we are in the fight for both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles.

Now we move into a phase were it will be vital to make up the ground we have lost, trying to put together a string of useful results.”

“The opposition is numerous and very strong, but they too know our strengths. It will be a closely matched contest from race to race, on a variety of different circuit types with races held in different conditions. It’s an exciting prospect and I don’t think it will reach its conclusion until the very last race of the season,” concluded Domenicali.

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Bigger budget would ease Sauber crisis admits Kaltenborn

A bigger budget is what is needed for Sauber to emerge from its current lack in competitiveness, team boss Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted.

The grey C32s were off the pace all weekend in Canada, and in the race both Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez retired after crashes.

Kaltenborn admitted that a bigger budget would help Sauber to pull out of its slump, but does not blame Formula 1′s ‘show’ for failing to attract more sponsors.

“The paradox is that the sport is very exciting, we are having very good races as a sport, so that part is working well,” she told Brazil’s Totalrace.

“On the other hand, it is very difficult to attract more sponsors, which has more to do with the global economic climate.”

Kaltenborn admitted that Sauber’s current situation would be “more comfortable” if the Hinwil based team was able to rely on a bigger budget.

“It’s tough,” she said, “and if we had more money, we could develop more quickly and probably get out of the situation that we are currently in.

“Now, we are always having to consider how much a new part is going to cost us.”

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Jordan warns F1 to be careful criticising Pirelli

Team owner turned TV pundit Eddie Jordan has warned Formula 1 to ease its criticism of official tyre supplier Pirelli.

The Italian marque has been the subject of intense criticism of its controversial and heavily-degrading 2013 tyres, and is now embroiled in the ‘test-gate’ scandal and facing the charges of F1′s governing body.

Ex F1 team owner and now television pundit Jordan, however, says that F1 should treat the maker of its tyres with more caution.

“Pirelli openly submitted its tender, they also paid money for it, and now they’re criticised or ridiculed by some teams,” the Irishman told Austria’s Servus TV. ”I think some teams should be a bit more careful. Who is going to give them tyres if Pirelli is not there?” he wondered.

“Do we see anyone else willing to do a better job? I think [that] we should really be a little more friendly to Pirelli,” added Jordan.

He said it would be completely wrong for Pirelli to cave in to the loud protests of teams like Red Bull and agree to modify the 2013 tyres mid-season.

“You can’t punish someone who’s done everything right,” said Jordan, referring to those teams who “built their cars correctly” for the 2013 specifications.

He said Canada was an example of teams only criticising the tyres when they can’t make their cars work.

“I didn’t hear a word about the tyres [in Canada],” said Jordan. ”Sebastian [Vettel] said nothing, Alonso and Hamilton said nothing, and these were the top three. They complain if it doesn’t work out for them,” he added.

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American GP secures F1 future

A new long-term deal is now in place for the staging of the Grand Prix of America, which will get underway in June 2014.

The race was set to make its debut in 2013 before F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone pulled the plug on the initial deal due to the fact they "had not complied with the terms and conditions of the contract".

The event ran into financial difficulties, but Ecclestone came to the aid of the organisers and helped them pay off a number of their debts.

That paved for the way for a new 15-year contract, cementing the Grand Prix's presence on the F1 calender for the forseeable future.

The race, which runs along the banks of the Hudson River in New Jersey and with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop, will begin next year in June, taking place after the Canadian Grand Prix.

GPA executive chairman and race promoter Leo Hindery Jnr said: "The Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial has been a dream of many in the sport for over a decade.

"We had hoped to be ready to race in June 2013, but by late last fall (autumn) it was clear we would not have in place in time the long-term capital structure needed to satisfy Formula One of our readiness.

"Thanks to the patient, invaluable support of Bernie Ecclestone and FOM (Formula One Management) we now have the long-term sanctioning agreement needed to go racing for years to come, starting in June 2014."

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60,000 see Ferrari F1 at the Jerusalem Peace Road Show

Doing 200 km/h in front of 60,000 spectators made this a special day for Giancarlo Fisichella, who along with his Ferrari F60, were the stars of the first Jerusalem Peace Road Show, an event organised under the aegis of the Jerusalem City Council, supported by Kaspersky Lab, one of Scuderia Ferrari’s most important partners.

A crowd of 60,000 turned out to watch the Ferrari driver do a total of ten runs, split into the three parts, along a 2800 metre course, which ran through the hilly streets of the city. Fisichella hit speeds of 200 km/h and delighted the crowd with some burn-outs and simulated race starts.

“It was really a fantastic and incredible feeling,” said Giancarlo, as he stepped out of the car. “Driving in front of so many people in such a historic place was very exciting as indeed was visiting the Old City this morning. It’s been a truly memorable day for me.”

The event, which continues tomorrow morning, saw other cars do some runs, including four Ferraris that normally take part in the Ferrari Challenge (three F430s and one 458 Challenge) in the hands of drivers that included promising Ferrari Driver Academy youngster Antonio Fuoco.

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Bottas: Best thing I can do is focus on racing and do my best

Williams disappointed ranks of Finnish journalists this week by failing to announce the extension of rookie Valtteri Bottas’ contract, in the wake of the young driver’s performance in Canada.

The reporters were summoned to Helsinki for a press conference, to be attended by the 23-year-old as well as his Formula 1 team boss, Sir Frank Williams.

Surely, the journalists thought, it will be announced that Bottas’ contract will be extended to include 2014, particularly after deputy boss Claire Williams said that the Oxfordshire based team is “convinced we have a future world champion on our hands”.

However, no announcement was made.

Asked about Claire Williams’ comments, Bottas told the broadcaster MTV3: “Sure, that sounds good! It (staying at Williams) would be great, so let’s hope so.”

He said he is not worried about the forthcoming contract negotiations.

“There’s no point thinking about it too much,” said Bottas. “The best thing I can do is focus on the racing and do my best.”

Williams has struggled for pace in the early phase of Bottas’ career, but the young Finn has shown well alongside teammate Pastor Maldonado, and last Saturday he qualified third in the wet conditions in Montreal.

“I think Canada was good for me in that I was able to show my skills,” he said. “It is not so easy to see what you are doing when you are fifteenth. Hopefully I have shown that I really deserve my place.”

Sir Frank Williams admitted that he is happy with Bottas.

“Valtteri is a wonderful young man,” said the 71-year-old in Helsinki, according to Turun Sanomatnewspaper. ”He is very popular and cooperative within the team, and he absorbs himself in everything he sees and hears.”

“He doesn’t talk much, but that’s because he listens,” Williams beamed.

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Is Ascanelli being lined up to replace Whiting?

Auto Motor und Sport reports that FIA president Jean Todt is moving to replace race director Charlie Whiting – who supposedly told Ross Brawn that the highly controversial Barcelona tyre test would be in compliance with FIA rules – with Giorgio Ascanelli.

Ascanelli is a highly experienced Formula 1 engineer who most recently was Toro Rosso’s technical director.

But a paddock voice said: “That [replacing Whiting] would be the most stupid thing Todt could do. Charlie has the most difficult job in the world, and he does it well.”

While the FIA readies to analyse a possible breach of the official rules, Sport Bild claims that Mercedes also broke an explicit “gentleman’s agreement” between the teams when it ran its ‘secret’ test in May.

The magazine published a copy of the signed “Testing Agreement 2013″, featuring the signature of every team boss, including the under-fire Ross Brawn.

The document shows that F1′s eleven teams agreed that in the event Pirelli wanted to run development testing for 2014, any test would have to be jointly approved by the testing committee – the teams – and the FIA.

“The document raises massive questions about Mercedes’ credibility,” said Sport Bild.

And according to another German publication, Brawn’s job might not be the only one in doubt over the ‘test-gate’ affair.

Meanwhile, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, perhaps reacting to remarks made by former team owner Eddie Jordan to the effect that teams should carefully consider their criticism of the Italian tyre manufacturer made clear that although the FIA will also have Pirelli in the dock on June 20, its real gripe is with Mercedes.

“Our issue [has] nothing to do with Pirelli,” he is quoted by the Mirror. “It is about a current entrant breaking the rules by using a current car.”

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Infiniti wants involvement in development of Red Bull’s turbo F1 engine

Luxury Nissan division Infiniti, Red Bull’s title sponsor, is reportedly looking to get involved in the actual development of the world champion team’s V6 turbo power unit next year.

We reported recently that Red Bull’s ‘works’ Renault engines will be branded ‘Infiniti’ for the start of the turbo V6 era next year.

Red Bull denied the story, but those possibilities have now resurfaced.

“The Renault V6 in the 2014 Red Bull will not only be called Infiniti,” said Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, but”Infiniti’s technology will also be in the package. The Japanese want to participate in the development of the hybrid elements,” the report added.

With the rumours surfaced of the arrival of Infiniti branding at Red Bull, it was believed at the time that Renault would pick a new team to position as its premium ‘powered by Renault’ partner.

The early favourite was Williams, who were asking Renault for a contribution to their budget.

But AM&S reports that Red Bull vetoed that plan, demanding that all of Renault’s budget go instead into developing the V6 engine.

Williams then switched to Mercedes power units for 2014 and beyond.

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Pirelli put an end to tyre changes

Pirelli have announced that they will not alter their rubber after the 11 Formula One teams failed to reach a unanimous agreement.

With teams and drivers complaining about the tyres, both the degradation and the delamination of the rubber, Pirelli had taken steps to at least fix the latter problem.

The new tyres were tested in Montreal in the Friday sessions, however, the teams failed to unanimously agree to race the prototype tyres.

As such, Pirelli have announced that they won't be altering their tyres.

"The tyre construction will remain unchanged, contrary to Pirelli's initial plans," the Italian manufacturer announced in a statement.

"This decision is due to the fact that the new tyres, which were brought to the Friday free practice sessions in Canada, could not be tested sufficiently due to rain - and that the teams failed to agree unanimously about introducing the changes.

"Instead a change in the tyre production process should now ensure that the delamination issue has been addressed."

The Italian company also revealed the compounds for the next three races.

For the British GP the drivers will have the medium and hard compounds while the same will be used in Hungary with the soft and medium being raced in Germany.

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New Jersey race on track for 2014, according to race promoter

The inaugural Grand Prix of America in New Jersey will go ahead next year, according to race promoter Leo Hindery.

Hindery, a keen racer who won the GT2 class in the 2005 Le Mans 24 Hours, has no doubts that the circuit will be ready in time for next year's race even though the race was pulled from this season's calendar.

He admitted that it was over-ambitious to attempt to put on the race in 2013 and takes full responsibility for the race not happening.

But now he is certain that funding is in place to ensure that the 2014 race, the first of a 10-year contract, will happen.

"We are on track for June 2014," Hindery told AUTOSPORT.

"It was nobody's fault but mine [that it didn't happen in 2013], it's a Rubik's cube that has had to come together.

"We knew we could design the course with [Hermann] Tilke's help, we knew that the state would be supportive because we would be paying them for the privilege, but we didn't have the capital structure."

The New Jersey race is part of a mooted 21-race calendar, with the Russian GP in Sochi the other new race.

The deal is for a June race, almost certainly as the second half of a double-header with next year's Canadian GP.

Hindery insists that he has yet to be given a final date, but is happy that his organisation has a strong relationship with the Canadian GP.

"Sometime in June following Canada, that's what my envelope says," he said when asked if the race would definitely follow directly after Montreal.

"Francois [Dumontier, Canadian GP president] has been a tremendous ally,

"A good race in Montreal helps to develop a good race in Port Imperial, which helps to develop a good race later in the year in Austin."

Hindery is hoping that the race will attract plenty of interest from European visitors, in addition to drawing in local racegoers.

"We expect a lot of Europeans," said Hindery.

"New York is an easy city to get to from Europe and it's a fun city to be a tourist in.

"We also expect to introduce a lot of young Americans to a sport that they have never seen first-hand."

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Mercedes believes Rosberg's pace has surprised Hamilton

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton was taken aback at just how quick Nico Rosberg proved to be this season.

Hamilton outqualified Rosberg for the first time in four races in Canada last week, as his team-mate's run of three consecutive pole positions came to an end.

It was Hamilton's supreme focus on sorting out the braking issues to help him overcome Rosberg that left him appearing to be in a downbeat mood throughout the Montreal weekend.

Wolff suspects that Hamilton has had to do some readjustment to take into account Rosberg's pace, but says Mercedes never had any doubts about the Briton's abilities.

"Probably, or maybe, he was surprised by Nico's pace," explained Wolff. "You guys [the media] have written a lot in the last few weeks, as it was not always clear how Nico's pace was compared to Michael [schumacher] and his days in Williams.

"Now, he [Rosberg] has proved he is really quick, and this came as a surprise to Lewis. But I don't think it is a real problem.

"We saw him strong in Canada, and he was on track for pole position before he missed the braking point, so I think we will see great races from Lewis. I have no doubt."

Team boss Ross Brawn reckons it is only natural that the form between his two drivers will fluctuate over the season, with neither likely to establish total dominance.

"You will naturally get this yo-yoing of form, when you have two drivers as we have who are very, very competitive and very close," he said.

"One of them gets comfortable with the car at a race, and the other perhaps does not find the balance they want.

"That is enough to make the difference between them."

Wolff has also rubbished suggestions that Hamilton has had difficulty coping with a new-found freedom at Mercedes, compared to his former life at McLaren.

"It is different here to McLaren and we are trying to give him the freedom, but that isn't a reason that he didn't perform up to his expectations. He has performed up to our expectations.

"Nico had had a great run, to justify and show that he is a top guy and a top driver, and it is the best situation for the team. Things will eventually balance out.

"I don't think there is any reason to say that he [Hamilton] has a problem or is struggling. It is still early in the season for him. The team is just beginning for him and Nico has been here for a couple of years."

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Photo tribute: Remembering James Hunt

James Hunt died on 15 June 1993 at the age of 45, of a heart attack at his home in Wimbledon.

Despite only ten wins in Formula 1 he did win the 1976 world championship, and that particular year his duel with Niki Lauda propelled grand prix racing into the realms of prime time television, which has since grown into a half billion viewers per-episode sport. The Hunt versus Lauda contest has also been immortalised on film.

Hunt’s legacy is one of a dashing, chain smoking, ladies man who against the odds became world champion. There is simply too much to say about his life in the sport. Numerous books exist describing his exploits.

Now, 20 years since his passing we pay tribute with this collection of photos – in no particular order – from the Sutton Images archives which captures a bygone era.