FORMULA 1 - 2013

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Sauber denies ditching Ferrari engines for Mercedes in 2014

Sauber has denied reports it has penned an agreement with Mercedes to replace its engine deal with Ferrari for the 2014 season and beyond.

French sources have claimed Force India, currently supplied by Mercedes, will switch suppliers with Ferrari-powered Sauber for the radical new turbo V6 rules.

It would be big news for the Swiss team, as – the works BMW years aside – Sauber has been powered by Ferrari throughout most of its almost two-decade involvement in F1.

But a Sauber spokesman insisted: “We do not have an engine partner for 2014, not least because several aspects with regards to the costs are still unclear.

“It is a fact that we have worked with Ferrari for more than ten years and so the Scuderia is naturally our first point of contact,” the spokesman is quoted by Switzerland’s Speed Week.

It should be noted that, when Sauber entered F1 in 1993, it was with a de-facto Mercedes V10 engine supplied by Ilmor, which is now called Mercedes High Performance Powertrains.

And, in works partnership with Mercedes, Sauber won Le Mans in 1989 and the world sports car championship in 1990.

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Perez asking McLaren for return of De la Rosa

McLaren new boy Sergio Perez has asked his team to bring on board once again its former long time test and reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa.

That is the claim of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, reporting that 41-year-old de la Rosa is “looking for work” after HRT folded in the weeks following the 2012 season finale.

Correspondent Jaime Rodriguez wrote: “De la Rosa is now in talks with several teams to resume his testing role, including Williams, Mercedes and even Ferrari.”

The report said that a return to McLaren is also possible, even though sections of the British team’s management did not appreciate de la Rosa’s defections to Sauber for 2010, and HRT last year.

“But the option to return to [McLaren] is not closed,” Rodriguez continued. “In fact Sergio Perez has asked for de la Rosa’s return.

“The Mexican has requested the presence of a Latin face to help in his adaptation to the team.”

In 2011 De la Rosa replaced Perez for a single race – the Canadian Grand Prix, in the Sauber team as the Mexican was still recovering from a big shunt during qualifying at Monaco, a week earlier, and was feeling unwell.

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Ferrari fire up their 2013 season with traditional week long Wrooom event

Monday saw the start of ‘Wrooom’ the media ski event organised by Philip Morris International. Taking place on the slopes of Madonna di Campiglio, this is the twenty third time that it marks the symbolic start of the Formula 1 and MotoGP seasons for Ferrari and Ducati respectively, against the magnificent backdrop of the Dolomiti mountains, in the Trentino region.

As per tradition, the welcome dinner took place on the opening night at the Salone Hofer as the international media met with the Scuderia Ferrari race drivers along with their colleagues from the Ducati Team.

For the Maranello squad, the first meeting with the specialist press will take place on Wednesday, when team principal Stefano Domenicali takes to the stage for a press conference, while on Thursday it will be the turn of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

The Brazilian has taken part in this event countless times, while it will be Alonso’s fourth appearance. Joining them will be Marc Gené, the Spaniard who works on marketing and sporting activities linked to Prancing Horse customers.

On Friday, the Ferrari men will be joined by their two-wheeled colleagues for the kart race on the frozen lake, which provides the setting for the spectacular closing ceremony of this week of sporting activity. (Ferrari)

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Ferrari confirm De la Rosa as part of development team

Spanish F1 veteran Pedro De la Rosa has joined Ferrari in a development role with the team for the 2013 season, the Italian Formula One team announced on Wednesday.

Team principal Stefano Domenicali also told reporters, at a media event in the Dolomites resort of Madonna di Campiglio, that Ferrari will launch their 2013 car at the Maranello factory on 1 February.

The first pre-season test starts at the southern Spanish Jerez track on 5 February.

De la Rosa, 41, raced for the financially-strapped HRT team, absent from this year’s starting line-up after failing to find a buyer, last season. He was a McLaren test driver for eight seasons.

The move reunites him with compatriot Fernando Alonso, the double world champion who was runner-up in the championship last year for Ferrari, after they were together at McLaren in 2007 in Alonso’s sole season with that team.

Ferrari also have Spaniard Marc Gene as a development driver, but De La Rosa will focus more on work with the simulator.

De la Rosa made his Formula One debut with Arrows in 1999 and raced for Ferrari-powered Sauber in 2010 as well as a one-off appearance in 2011.

“Your experience with the simulator will be fantastic for the team. Great news,” said Gene on his Twitter feed.

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Ferrari rules out Alonso/Vettel line-up in the future

Ferrari has ruled out the prospect of a 'dream team' line-up of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

The Italian outfit has made no secret of the fact that Vettel is a driver that it is interested in for the future when Alonso retires, but there has been speculation that the world champion could do a deal even sooner and race alongside the Spaniard.

Speaking at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy on Wednesday, team principal Stefano Domenicali reckoned having two top talents like Alonso and Vettel would not necessarily be a good thing.

"We have always said, and I think that the president [Luca di Montezemolo] also declared, that a dream team is something extraordinary if it is well managed and if things work well," he said about the prospects of Vettel being signed as a future team-mate of Alonso.

"For now, I think that this is not our goal. We have to maximise the balance of our performance of the team. We must be very careful.

"It is not just in F1 because it is true also in the world of sport. If you put all the number ones together around the table it can be more damaging than positive. So for the time being, this is not our goal."

Domenicali also said that Alonso will respond to criticisms from Red Bull's Helmut Marko that he is 'too political' only on the track.

Marko caused a stir earlier this month when he suggested that Sebastian Vettel had gained a decisive edge in the world championship because he had not dabbled in the political games that he reckoned Alonso wasted time with.

Domenicali said he was completely happy with Alonso's approach to his job with Ferrari.

"Honestly, I think Fernando is extremely focused on performance and, as always, there are some persons who think they can stimulate reactions in others - to try to tickle them, to attack what they think, and that they may be weaker," said Domenicali.

"But from my viewpoint I can assure you that my focus is to give an answer, a response, on the race track rather than with words – because words don't count for much.

"We are simply going to try and answer to all this by being strong and being in front."

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Button: I feel absolutely refreshed and ready to go!

McLaren released the transcript of the first Q&A session of the year with Jenson Button, who reflects on the final race of 2012, looks ahead to the 2013 Formula One season with his new teammate and to subtle regulation changes.

The last time we saw you was atop the podium in Sao Paulo?

Button: Yeah, winning at Sao Paulo was a really fantastic way to bring the curtain down on the season. It was such a demanding race – the conditions were always changing and you could never relax – and it was great to bring a great era of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to a really satisfying end. Now I’m busy preparing for the start of a new one

What have you been doing over the winter?

Button: It’s been a fairly typical winter for me: lots of training, but in a relaxed way, and lots of outdoors work, too, which always makes it more fun. I was in Hawaii for part of the break – I managed to fit in running a marathon, doing a lot of miles on my new bike, as well as seeing friends, relaxing and eating well. I feel absolutely refreshed and ready to go! It’s funny, but the start of the winter break always feels so long and open-ended, but, before you know it, you’re looking at the calendar and making plans to get back to [McLaren Technical Centre] and start working again. I have to say, I always look forward to the start of a new year – I’ve never lost that enthusiasm throughout my entire career – and I think we have a lot to look forward to during the year ahead.

You’re teamed up with Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for 2013, will it feel strange having a new team-mate?

Button: I had three fantastic seasons racing alongside Lewis, but nothing stays the same in F1 and people move on. It’s always interesting to have a new team-mate – there’s that inevitable getting-to-know-you period when you’re settling in, but I’m really pleased to have Checo at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. We all saw what he was capable of doing behind the wheel of a Sauber last year and I think he’s a very good addition to this team. The most important thing is that you have a good working relationship, that you can share ideas and information freely and that you’re working together with the engineers for the good of the team. That’s never been an issue at McLaren, and I think we’re going to work well together – Checo may only be 22, but he’s very sensible and he knows what’s needed to get the most from the car, so I predict it’ll be a very strong partnership.”

There’s a greater degree of continuity in the rules from 2012 to 2013, how do you expect to see that play out on the track this season?

Button: I think all the teams will go into this season feeling more assured about the Pirelli tyres. As you know, last year was a bit of an unknown as we all got to grips with the new rubber, but that’s less likely to happen this time around, so there’s more stability there. There are differences to the tyres – the shape and the compounds, but I don’t think they’ll be as fundamental to the overall car performance as they were last year. In terms of regulations, yes there is some stability, so I expect most teams will have continued to refine their car package over the winter. It’s always really interesting to see how the cars develop during a period of rules stability, because you watch the progress from year to year as the engineers refine and improve their thinking and ideas. You can literally see how the car has improved from season to season. It’s crazy. I hope there’s stability for another reason, too: I won the last race of 2012 so it would be perfect to win the first race of 2013!

How eager are you to get behind the wheel of your new car?

Button: [i'm] always massively, massively motivated. As I said, I’ve never, ever lost that feeling of excitement and anticipation ahead of a new season. And testing the new car is always such an adventure, because it’s such a dense and complicated procedure; in fact, testing a new car is very much in keeping with the Bruce McLaren ideal. Back in the 1960s, I heard about Bruce endlessly testing his cars, chasing improvements and stamping out problems and reliability issues. Testing is where you see a racing driver at the opposite end of the spectrum to when we’re in a grand prix – it’s never really about raw speed; it’s about process, repetition, repeatability, and about following your instincts but backing it up with good engineering. It’s an absolutely fascinating process, and you can see the fruits of your labour unfolding before your eyes, day after day. It’s a part of the job that I really enjoy. Can’t wait!

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Colajanni leaves post as Ferrari communications chief

Ferrari have replaced their long standing head of Motor Sport communications, Luca Colajanni, as of 1 February 2013.

Colajanni has held the position with the Maranello squad for over a decade, having started with the company in 2000. He will now be responsible for Product and Corporate communications for Europe and Middle East.

Renato Bisignani will take on the role of head of Motor Sport communications for the Scuderia

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Ricciardo to get first taste of Toro Rosso STR8 at Jerez

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that he will be giving Toro Rosso’s new car its track debut on the first day of winter testing next month.

While sister team and reigning champion Red Bull is reportedly slightly behind schedule with its 2013 single seater, Australian Ricciardo said that construction of the new Toro Rosso is “running to plan”.

The Faenza based team has not named a launch date for the STR8, but 23-year-old Ricciardo said in a Skype interview from his native Australia that the car will be running as soon as the pre-season period kicks off in early February at Jerez.

“I’ll be driving the first day, so the fifth of Feb, so not long at all – three weeks I think. Can’t wait,” said Ricciardo, who over the New Year holiday period has grown a beard.

AAP news agency said that the Perth-born Australian is due to return to Italy this week for a seat fitting.

“[The beard] will come off,” he grinned.

“I’ve been living the beach lifestyle and haven’t been bothered to pick up a razor in a while.

“I’ll get rid of it – I’ve got to look young again.”

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Rosberg quicker than Vettel claims Perez

Nico Rosberg, and not Sebastian Vettel, is the “fastest German” in Formula 1, according to new McLaren driver Sergio Perez.

Mexican Perez, who has switched from his 2012 employer Sauber, told Sport Bild he thinks Mercedes’ Rosberg – the winner of one grand prix – is ultimately quicker than reigning three-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

“In terms of pure speed, Nico Rosberg is the fastest German,” Perez is quoted as saying.

“But Sebastian is the more complete driver and a great champion,” the 22-year-old added.

Perez told Sport Bild he intends to push to beat Vettel and all other adversaries for the 2013 drivers’ title.

“I am 100 per cent sure that the McLaren will be better than my Sauber,” he said, “which is why I need to set high goals.

“They (McLaren) have the money, they have the people.”

And Perez says he is already better than he was early last season, when only a driver mistake stopped him winning in Malaysia.

“If I could do that race again, I would win it,” he insisted.

[MIKA27]

Nielsen moves from Caterham to Toro Rosso

Merely a year after switching from Renault to Caterham, Steve Nielsen will now become Toro Rosso’s new sporting director, according to Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

Briton Nielsen only moved to Caterham in December 2011.

Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo said this week he is confident about the Red Bull-owned team’s 2013 plans.

“But even if they tell me it (the 2013 car) is the best thing since sliced bread, I’m not going to get too excited until I drive it and feel comfortable myself.

“But we’ve definitely got good expectations,” he told the Faenza based team’s website.

Toro Rosso finished the 2012 season in ninth place, ahead only of F1′s non-scorers Caterham, Marussia and HRT.

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Domenicali says Alonso did not choose De la Rosa

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has denied Fernando Alonso pushed for the hiring of fellow Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa as the Maranello team’s new specialist simulator driver.

With his 2012 race employer HRT now folded, it is rumoured de la Rosa had to start looking around for a new job because McLaren – where he served as the British team’s highly respected and long-time test driver – was unimpressed with the 41-year-old’s continual departures.

And his arrival at Ferrari may have been helped by the ‘Alonso factor’, as they are both Spaniards and – ironically – were friends at McLaren during the notorious ‘spygate’ scandal.

Indeed, de la Rosa’s new Ferrari role has triggered suggestions Alonso is having an increasing influence on the shape of the fabled Maranello team.

“We took the decision as a team,” team boss Domenicali insisted, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“We needed to make a jump in quality in that (simulator) area, and Pedro met our requirements perfectly.

“Then, if he does get on with both Fernando and Massa, that’s even better! We can therefore avoid confusion (in the team)!” he smiled.

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Ferrari call for more F1 testing ahead of 2014 turbo era

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has urged F1 to consider relaxing its strict in-season testing limits as teams ready for the introduction of radical new engine rules for 2014.

At the team’s annual winter media event in the Italian Dolomites, O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper quoted Ferrari boss Domenicali as saying making manufacturers track test their new turbo V6s only in the few weeks before the 2014 championship is a “risk”.

“Let’s meet to discuss the issue,” Domenicali is quoted as saying by Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio. “We need to test some more.”

Oricchio also said that, for superstitious reasons, it is unlikely Ferrari will officially name this year’s car F2013.

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Alonso: Hamilton is the strongest driver

Fernando Alonso believes Lewis Hamilton remains the "strongest driver" on the grid even though he may not be his main opponent this season.

Rivals at McLaren in 2007, Alonso and Hamilton have shown a growing respect for one another in recent years, often tipping the other for success.

However, instead of adding to their combined three titles, it is Sebastian Vettel who has come to the fore, winning three successive Championships.

But despite the German's success, it is Hamilton who Alonso believes is the "strongest" driver out on track although not necessarily his "main" rival.

"I do not know who will be my main opponent for this season, he who has the best team, with the best year in terms of preparation, luck, testing, all of these factors, will help a driver or team to come on top of others," the Ferrari driver told Autosport.

"But as for strongest opponent, who is strongest driver? My answer is Hamilton. It was true last year, it was true this year.

"The strongest driver? It is a personal opinion, not political, not to make people think something.

"Who is the strongest opponent, the strongest driver on grid? Who is the one you have to keep an eye on? It is Hamilton - and it will still be Hamilton next year."

Hamilton faces a tough challenge this season as his new team Mercedes have claimed just one victory since purchasing the Brawn GP team at the end of 2009.

Alonso, though, reckons Hamilton has the ability to turn Mercedes into a winning team.

"I am sure he will be able to win. He is a super good driver because he won every year with any car: he won in 2007 and 2008.

"In 2009 they started around two seconds off the pace with the McLaren, and Hamilton was able to win races - and it was the same in 2010.

"Last year also Nico [Rosberg] we saw winning in China with Mercedes. So with Hamilton he will be able to win more than one race."

As for his own prospects this season, Alonso, who lost out on the title by a three points in 2012, says he is entering the Championship "more confident" than ever before.

"I am more confident, no doubt.

"The rules are continuing more or less the same as last year in terms of aerodynamics. In the 2012 winter we changed completely the exhaust position compared to 2011, and it was a little bit of a guess what we found on the car.

"But this year everything should be much more normal and we are much more confident.

"We can be faster or slower [than the others] but not 1.5 or two seconds off the pace, because it was a record what we had last year. It is maybe impossible to be worse than last year, so I am confident."

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Senna: 2013 is still unclear

Bruno Senna is not giving up on a future in F1 but admits he is also looking outside the sport for a drive for this year.

Senna was left without a race-seat for this year's Championship after Williams opted to replace him with Valtteri Bottas.

That decision left the Brazilian with very few options for Formula One as only two teams, Force India and Caterham, still have seats available.

"2013 is still unclear," Senna, who has been linked to both teams, told Totalrace.

"We are in the game but it is not easy to know where I'll end up but I imagine it won't be much longer before we see where the pieces fit together and hopefully everything will be okay for this year.

"We are looking at all options, both inside and outside Formula One."

Pressed as to whether Force India was an option, Senna said: "I am talking to the teams that still have free seats and they are one of them."

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Felipe Massa feels he can fight for the F1 title in 2013

Felipe Massa believes restoring his self-belief can make him a Formula 1 championship contender in 2013.

Ferrari seemed set to drop Massa as he struggled through the 2012 season, the third year in a row that he had been overshadowed by team-mate Fernando Alonso.

But the Brazilian held on to his drive and became increasingly strong in the final races, amid a change in mental approach that Massa feels will continue this year.

"What we have done in the second part of the championship was a bit of training for this season," Massa said at the Wrooom media event, attended by AUTOSPORT.

"I want to be competitive from the start to the end, I want to return to winning and also hope to be able to fight for the championship.

"I have done this in the past, I have not forgotten this."

Massa said his mid-season turnaround last year was almost entirely due to psychological progress rather than car changes.

"It is not that the car changed that much from August in reality," he admitted. "There was also a change from my side."

The Brazilian explained that shutting out criticisms and remembering what he had achieved in his best days proved key.

"Even if 90 per cent of people do not want to believe in me any more, it is important that you believe so you are not good one day and bad the day after," Massa said.

"You need to believe in what you can do. I believe in myself, I know I can be a champion, I know I can win, I know I can be what I was all my career.

"I think after you understand yourself it makes you stronger and stronger all the time."

Massa feels he has recaptured the happiness he felt when fighting for the championship in 2008.

"Maybe I was not enjoying my job so much, maybe I was not happy," he mused. "I am happy now. When you get into the car and want to have fun and enjoy it, that is when you can do your job in the best way possible.

"By doing that you can have a year like 2008."

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Webber and Raikkonen swap race engineers

Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus will be working with new Formula One race engineers this season after their previous ones swapped teams.

Red Bull said that Ciaron Pilbeam, who has worked with Webber since 2007, had taken a new role at Lotus while Raikkonen’s 2012 race engineer Simon Rennie had moved in the opposite direction to team up with Webber.

Rennie was previously a race engineer with double world champion Fernando Alonso at Renault, the team that is now Lotus, as well as Poland’s Robert Kubica.

Last season he was famously rebuffed by 2007 champion Raikkonen, with the words”Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing” during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Raikkonen later gave all the Lotus employees T-shirts with “Just leave me alone, I know what I’m doing” written on them.

Drivers spend much of their grand prix weekends with their race engineers, working together on the set up of the car and strategy.

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Massa: Alonso toughest Ferrari teammate of all

Felipe Massa on Thursday admitted that Fernando Alonso has been his toughest Ferrari teammate, since becoming the Maranello team’s race driver in 2006, the Brazilian has been paired with champions Michael Schumacher as well as Kimi Raikkonen.

But, in the wake of his 2009 head injuries, Massa’s toughest time has been alongside Spaniard Alonso, so much so that he was almost ousted by the Italian squad before his resurgence in form, late last season.

“Alonso has probably been the most difficult if you look at the figures,” he told reporters at Madonna di Campiglio on Thursday.

“But all three drivers were very strong and that’s the truth. But maybe Fernando has been the most difficult and the one I’ve suffered with the most.

“I hope not to suffer any more,” added Massa.

According to Spain’s Diario AS, he was asked by reporters if he thinks that Alonso was the very best driver of 2012, even though Sebastian Vettel won the title.

“I think that given we did not have the best car in qualifying, even if things were better in the races, Fernando did a great championship,” said Massa.

“He did really an excellent job and finished almost with the same points as Vettel [who had] a faster car; especially in the last six or seven races [the Red Bull] was much faster.

“But Vettel was also strong last year. Both did a perfect championship,” he added.

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Rosberg to test new Mercedes W04 before Hamilton

Nico Rosberg, not team newcomer Lewis Hamilton, will give Mercedes’ 2013 single seater – designated the W04 – its track debut at Jerez early next month.

The German squad announced on Thursday that the new car will be launched at Jerez on February 4th.

On that same day – the day before official winter test action begins at Jerez – Rosberg will give the car its ‘shakedown’ debut, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports.

The short 100 kilometre test will take place with demonstration Pirelli tyres, the report added.

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Force India: No truth behind claims that the team is in crisis

Force India released the following statement to YallaF1.com in the light of a report published earlier today on our website questioning the future of the team:

“Sahara Force India dismisses the rumours that appeared on the internet this morning, which are part of a growing trend of irresponsible online journalism directed at the team.”

“There is no truth behind claims that the team is in ‘crisis’, which only serve as gossip at a time when news in the Formula One world is limited. It’s also disappointing that the team was not contacted for a response.

“The team is pushing ahead with the new car build and looking forward to the launch of the 2013 car and new team partnerships.”

“Earlier today we ran a GMM supplied story regarding the future of Force India, as reported by Italiaracing which was not fully verified by ourselves.”

Due to the seriousness of the matter and implications thereof we have removed the original story. At the same time we have asked the team’s media office to comment on the original report and await a response from them.

Meanwhile we apologise for any distress and inconvenience this may have caused.

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New Williams FW35 will not be ready for first test at Jerez

Williams will launch their 2013 Formula One car – designated the FW35 – on the morning of the second preseason test at Circuit de Catlunya in Barcelona, thus missing out on running the new car a week earlier in Jerez, the first official test of the season.

The Grove based team said in a statement: “The Williams F1 Team will present its 2013 car, the Williams Renault FW35, on Tuesday 19 February at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona in Spain. The car will be rolled out of the garage for a photocall with drivers Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas between 8.30 am and 8.40 am.”

The statement added: “For the earlier Jerez test starting on the 5 February, the team will run the 2012 FW34 in order to test a number of key development parts in preparation for the launch of the FW35. The FW34 will display 2013 livery.”

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Newey: We should be careful that F1 rules don’t restrict inventive spirit

Adrian Newey has confirmed reports that an eleventh-hour ban on their solution to the then new blown exhaust clampdown by the FIA was a serious setback to Red Bull’s 2012 preparations, and warns that the inventive spirit of F1 should not be restricted.

It emerged in recent days that, just as the reigning champions were preparing to test and debut the ultimately title-winning RB8, F1′s governing body banned Newey’s exhaust concept.

“It set us back further than we thought,” Briton Newey told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“When we looked at the new rules, we thought the effects would be less severe, especially because we thought we could compensate well.”

However, the FIA said that Red Bull could not use its proposed 2012 exhaust solution.

“So because of the lack of time we went to the first test with a conventional exhaust in the engine cowling,” said Newey. Frantic work behind the scenes then began on a so-called ‘Coanda’ solution.

He revealed that the banned 2012 solution was a sophisticated sort of rear brake duct that absorbed exhaust gases.

“There was a loophole in the rules for the area behind the rear suspension,” said designer Newey. “So you could have something that collects the gases and transports them [to] where you want them.”

The FIA quickly closed the loophole, leaving Red Bull scrambling for balance at the start of 2012.

“It was hard to find a balance, yes,” Newey confirmed. “We had understeer, oversteer, often … simultaneously.”

He says often that the FIA’s constant crusade against innovation is frustrating.

“We should be careful that the [F1] rules don’t restrict the inventive spirit. The beauty of Formula One is the struggle of man against man but also machine against machine.

“There is something for every interest. The more stringent the rules are, the faster we move towards ‘GP1′. Do we want that?

“I’m surprised how many of my colleagues at the meetings of the technical working group make the case for more restrictions. It’s as if we are letting the turkeys vote for Christmas.”

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Alonso calls for fewer races and more testing

Fernando Alonso has added his voice to growing calls for more Formula One testing, while lamenting the length of the 20 race season.

Speaking to media during the Wrooom event at Madonna di Campiglio, the 2012 world championship runner-up said, “Last year we had the last grand prix at the end of November and almost right up to Christmas, there were events I had to take part in. There’s almost only the end of year holiday when one can have a break and I’ll try to fit in a few more days between now and Melbourne to recharge my batteries.”

Alonso added, “Twenty races is a lot and it’s not easy to maintain a maximum performance level, both physical and mental, for the whole year. Maybe it would be better to have one or two fewer races and a few more test sessions.”

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Alonso wins ice race despite Massa clash

Fernando Alonso took victory in the ice kart race at Ferrari's Wrooom event in Madonna di Campiglio, winning both stints, to secure the maximum 50 points available.

The Spaniard took the second slot on the grid behind Felipe Massa for the first race, but contact between the pair sent Alonso spinning to the back of the pack.

He managed to recover, aided by several incidents ahead including Massa's mid-race spin, to win the race.

The second race saw a reversed grid based on the results of race one, putting Alonso at the back. Despite the handicap, he once again charged through the field to win the event.

Giancarlo Fisichella finished third with Massa taking the final podium slot.

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Alonso claims that he turned down Red Bull offers several times

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko is bitter because he was turned down several times, Fernando Alonso has claimed.

Following Red Bull and Ferrari’s 2012 title battle, a verbal spat broke out between Spaniard Alonso and Austrian Marko, who is Red Bull team owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s right-hand man.

Marko claimed that while world champion Sebastian Vettel is fully focused, Alonso is too “busy with politics and funny comments”.

Alonso retorted: “Some [people] say they don’t read [Alonso's comment]), don’t hear them and don’t see them, before adding that they are not influenced by them – so clearly they do read them, maybe at night.”

Now, the feisty 31-year-old Ferrari driver has hinted that Marko is bitter because of how many times he rejected Red Bull’s interest in his highly-rated services.

“After hearing “no” several times, it always hurts a little more each time,” Alonso is quoted by Brazil’s Totalrace.

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Force India to launch new car without second driver

Force India has confirmed reports that it will not be making a driver announcement prior to the launch of its 2013 car – the VJM06 - scheduled for early next month.

It has been reported that Adrian Sutil and Jules Bianchi are the frontrunners to join Paul di Resta at the Silverstone based team this season.

But amid claims of a financial crisis – which have been strongly denied by the Vijay Mallya-led team – Force India confirmed reports that the seat alongside di Resta will be left open for now.

Force India will launch its 2013 single seater at Silverstone on February 1.

“The launch will be devoted entirely to the new VJM06,” deputy team boss Bob Fernley is quoted by the website of French sports magazine L’Equipe.

The report claimed that di Resta’s teammate will be announced between the launch and the start of the first pre-season test at Jerez a few days later.