FORMULA 1 - 2013

[MIKA27]

Bottas not concerned about Williams FW35 launch delay

Williams’ newly promoted race driver Valtteri Bottas insists the team’s late launch for its 2013 car is not a reason for concern.

Ahead of the 22-year-old Finnish rookie’s March debut, it emerged that the famous British team will buck the trend by only unveiling its new Renault-powered FW35 after the opening pre-season test at Jerez.

“We have always prepared in order to use last year’s car in the first test session,” Bottas is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper.

“We will be experimenting with a lot of parts for the new car, but of course the main focus is to get a feel for this year’s Pirelli tyres,” he added.

“They are different to last year’s (tyres) and only in the testing will we see how they really behave,” said Bottas.

It also emerges that Bottas’ race engineer this year will be a newcomer to that role, Briton Jonathan Eddolls, a former Williams data engineer.

“He is a really smart, young guy, who last year worked with me in the last few (Friday) practice sessions,” Bottas is quoted by the broadcaster MTV3.

Bottas also has a new trainer, 32-year-old Finnish decathlete Jaakko Ojaniemi.

And Turun Sanomat reports that although Lewis Hamilton “would have liked very much to take his trainer with him” to Mercedes this year, Finn Antti Vierula will in fact work with his successor at McLaren – Sergio Perez – in 2013.

[MIKA27]

Timo: I want to meet new challenges

Timo Glock looks set to leave Marussia, and probably Formula 1 altogether after 91 starts at the pinnacle of the sport, as the back marker team is seeking a second pay driver to partner Charles Pic as they attempt to bolster funds for their 2013 campaign.

After leaving Toyota in the wake of the Japanese giant’s F1 exit, the now 30-year-old German has been Marussia’s lead driver since the former Virgin team’s 2010 inception.

Sport Bild, a German publication, reports that Glock and Marussia have now agreed to split, despite the existence of a contract for 2013 and 2014.

The report said the news will be made official on Monday, with Glock to be quoted as saying: “I have had three great years with the team. We depart amicably.

“Now I want to meet new challenges and continue my path in motor sport.”

The reason for Glock’s split is almost certainly financial, with the well-funded British rookie Max Chilton already signed up to drive one of the cars in 2013.

Marussia is yet to comment. But the mass-circulation Bild newspaper said Marussia “desperately needs money”, meaning Glock’s cockpit “must be sold to a pay-driver”.

That report said the replacement for Glock, who earned about EUR 2 million per season, will have to pay “at least five million” to be Chilton’s new teammate.

Britain’s Telegraph newspaper mentioned Vitaly Petrov or Sebastien Buemi as potential candidates.

And Belgium’s RTL named Jerome d’Ambrosio, the Eric Boullier-managed 2012 Lotus reserve who in 2011 was Glock’s teammate at Virgin, as a possibility.

Swiss newspaper Blick wrote: “The biggest mystery is what Glock will do now? Is he suddenly on Force India’s list?”

Auto Motor und Sport said he is in the running to race for BMW in Germany’s premier touring car championship DTM in 2013.

BMW-contracted driver Dirk Muller said to Glock on Twitter late on Sunday: “Many congrats and welcome in the club”.

Glock responded: “Ppssss … danke”.

MIKA: Classic example how Formula 1 is being ruined with Pay drivers rather than skilled drivers.

Glock would do well at Force India.

[MIKA27]

Wolff to leave Williams to take up post as Mercedes motorsport boss

Williams Formula One team shareholder and executive director Toto Wolff is joining Mercedes as their head of motorsport and replacement for Norbert Haug, Germany’s mass daily Bild reported on Sunday.

Mercedes – who have Britain’s 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton and Germany’s Nico Rosberg as their F1 drivers – said they did not comment on speculation. Williams also had no comment.

If the unsourced report is confirmed, the move would be seen as a major setback for former champions Williams as they prepare for the new season starting in Australia on March 17.

The Austrian was handed a far more hands-on role in July last year, working closely with team founder and principal Frank Williams. He has also guided the career of the team’s new Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas.

Wolff’s compatriot Niki Lauda, the retired three-times world champion, was appointed non-executive chairman of the board of the Mercedes Formula One team after Haug’s departure was announced last month.

Bild said on their website (www.bild.de) that the move could be announced at a DTM (German Touring Car) test at the Valencia track in eastern Spain starting on Tuesday.

Wolff, whose Scottish wife Susie drove a Mercedes in the DTM, is a shareholder in HWA AG which runs a Mercedes DTM team and works with Mercedes in Formula Three.

[MIKA27]

McLaren make Facebook gaffe on Button’s birthday

McLaren made a gaffe on Facebook when they wished Jenson Button happy birthday when he turned 33 on 19 January, but erroneously posted an action photo of Lewis Hamilton instead of birthday boy Button.

McLaren’s Facebook admin used a photo of Hamilton during last year’s Singapore Grand Prix weekend where Hamilton used a special edition helmet which was white instead of yellow, which perhaps contributed to the error.

The message on Facebook said; “Wishing Jenson Button a Happy Birthday from all of the team, have a good one JB” but accompanied by the the wrong picture.

McLaren fans on Facebook highlighted the gaffe and not long after the image was replaced with a correct photo of Button.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari to evolve pull-rod suspension for 2013

Ferrari is persevering with its ‘pull-rod’ front suspension layout for their F2013, technical director Pat Fry has confirmed.

Last year, the Italian team stunned its rivals by reviving a concept not seen in F1 since Minardi used it to ‘cruise’ around at the back of the grid in 2001.

Fernando Alonso ultimately came close to winning last year’s title, but it is true that Ferrari initially struggled with its F2012, which even when heavily developed was never the most competitive car in the field.

Asked if the ‘pull-rod’ project was worth it, Fry told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport: “It was certainly not our [main] problem.

“You get get a little aerodynamic advantage from it. We solved the structural problems well.”

One of the issues is that the layout makes it hard for the mechanics to work on the front of the car, but Fry said an “evolution” is ready to debut in 2013.

“We will build on it, but it will look different,” he revealed. “I would not be surprised if some others follow suit.

“When we talked about it for the first time, the first reaction was ‘This is crazy’. But if you weigh up all the pros and cons, it’s not so stupid,” added Fry.

[MIKA27]

Teams reduce carbon emissions by 7%

Formula One teams managed to reduce their overall carbon emission output between 2009 and 2011 by seven per cent, according to figures from the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA).

The biggest drive in reduction came from the greater fuel efficiency achieved during this time. The audit, conducted by environmental research analysis organisation Trucost, found that fuel efficiency led to a 24 per cent cut in carbon emissions.

Trucost's analysis also identified a 14 per cent fall in emissions from electricity use, following team-wide efforts to reduce wind tunnel use in race testing, and a 14 per cent reduction in emissions linked to purchases of parts and raw materials - though this area remains the greatest contributor at almost 50 per cent of the total emissions.

Three areas which increased between '09 and '11 were freight at 16 per cent, business travel at almost 39 per cent and operational fuel use at 25 per cent.

These increases are mainly down to the enlarged calendar compared to seasons before and the fewer European events, which means equipment is being shipped further afield as a result.

The report also found that the F1 cars themselves only contributed 0.25 per cent of the total CO2 output, whilst freight and business travel contributed almost 25 per cent.

Note: Report uses data supplied by Caterham, Lotus, Marussia, Mercedes, Force India, Sauber, McLaren and Williams.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton makes first public appearance as Mercedes F1 driver

On a day that Mercedes made sweeping appointments and changes to the management hierarchy of their Formula 1 team, Lewis Hamilton made his first appearance as a Silver Arrows driver when visiting the marque’s Stuttgart headquarters Monday.

During his visit Hamilton, who replaces German national hero Michael Schumacher in the team, spent time touring the facilities including the assembly line, while posing for in-house photographers with Mercedes products before addressing staff in what is effectively his ‘first day at work’ with his new team.

Earlier in the day Mercedes captured headlines as they announced that Williams executive director Toto Wolff had been recruited to head up the company’s motorsport activities, joining Niki Lauda and team principal Ross Brawn to form the new management triumvirate at the team which has struggled since Mercedes acquired it in 2010, scoring only one win in three years.

Hamilton announced his decision to leave McLaren, the team he was nurtured by from his karting days through to Formula 1 where he went on to win the 2008 world championship with the team, starting 110 races for the Woking based squad and winning 21 grands prix, while finishing 49 times on the podium.

The three year deal, brokered by Lauda, is said to be worth an estimated $100-million and means the 28 year old Briton will team up with GP2 teammate and friend Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes F1 team.

During his Stuttgart visit, Hamilton spotted a Mercedes SLS in among the vast array of cars he was shown, and proceeded to post a picture on Twitter taken by himself, and exclaimed, “SLS Blackseries!!! This car is one bad ass motha!”

[MIKA27]

Glock: Nothing to do with sport

Timo Glock has hit out at his Marussia exit after losing his race-seat for financial reasons.

On Monday, Marussia announced that they had parted ways with the German with immediate effect.

The decision brought to an end Glock's three-year association with the team in which he had been the only driver to survive year in and year out.

But while his past team-mates may have been replaced because they were under-performing, Glock was sacrificed for financial gain.

Team boss John Booth admitted: "The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future. Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula 1 teams included.

"We would like to thank Timo for working with us to reach this decision, especially as he had a valid contract, and also for the contribution he has made to our team."

Glock's former rivals took the Twitter in the wake of the announcement to wish the German, who is expected to head to DTM, the best for his future.

The 30-year-old replied to one message from Mark Webber by expressing his frustration that Formula One is having to turn to pay drivers in order to keep teams afloat.

"Hi mate, thanks a lot for that message, that means a lot to me!" Glock wrote.

"That's the way of F1 at the moment hope it will change again soon because like this it has nothing to do with sport!"

MIKA: Pure Bull S**t....

Glock is a great driver, so sad to see a talent without a drive due to pay drivers. I myself won't be a fan much longer if this is the way teams start selecting drivers, Cash Vs Skill.

[MIKA27]

Caterham confirm Jerez launch

Caterham will take the covers of their CT03 minutes before pre-season testing kicks off at Jerez on 5 February.

The team have announced that their new car will be present on the first day of pre-season testing as Caterham look to make inroads on the midfield teams this season.

But while the car will be unveiled, it remains to be seen whether the team will also confirm their second driver.

At present Caterham have only Charles Pic signed up for this year's Championship while former drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov are still waiting word.

The duo, though, are not the only drivers chasing the second seat as Bruno Senna and Liuz Razia, both of whom come with financially backing, are also in the running.

[MIKA27]

Wolff: I hope Ross is going to stay as long as possible

Newly appointed Mercedes F1 team executive director Toto Wolff has dismissed reports that Ross Brawn’s role as principal is under threat with McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe being lined up to run the Formula One team instead.

BBC pundit and former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan reported on Tuesday that McLaren stalwart Lowe was set to jump ship and follow 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton to the Mercedes works team.

“Lowe won’t be technical director; he’ll be more senior than that,” said the Irishman after German media had also tipped Lowe to go. “Lowe will effectively be running the team on a day-to-day basis.”

The BBC said the plan was for Wolff to become team principal and figurehead with Lowe running the sporting and technical aspects.

McLaren had no comment about Lowe, while Wolff, announced on Monday as a 30 percent stakeholder in Mercedes GP and coordinator of all of the German carmaker’s motorsport activities, told reporters in a conference call that the Brawn report was news to him.

“You can see that this is speculation that is coming up in some of the media. I think I would be aware about that,” he said. “It’s all speculation. Ross is there and is part of the leading team and I hope Ross is going to stay as long as possible.”

Wolff, who was previously at Williams and remains a shareholder in that team with his wife Susie retaining her job as development driver, would not be drawn on Lowe’s reported move.

“Paddy’s a recognised person in the paddock and he has been with McLaren for 15 or 20 years and I read it in the paper. That is all I can tell you,” he said.

“In Formula One there is always a lot of speculation about personnel and people joining or not joining. There is nothing I can tell you at this stage.”

Wolff, who said the Mercedes job had emerged only in the last few weeks, has yet to visit the Mercedes GP factory at Brackley in central England and was not in a position to talk about management structures or staff changes.

“There are many intelligent people there and I’d like to meet them, speak to them and analyse and then make my conclusions,” he added. “There is an organisation in place and I’d like to work with it.”

Asked whether Williams might switch to Mercedes engines in 2014, when a new, 1.6-litre V6 turbo power unit is due to be introduced, Wolff said he believed the team were happy with Renault but everything was open.

“No discussions have been held,” added the Austrian.

Wolff said he had no ‘silent partners’ in his Mercedes shareholding and would be dropping out of any active role in driver and asset management and private equity funds.

He recognised also that his new role would have an effect on his domestic life, with his Scottish-born wife working for a rival team.

“It’s going to be pretty difficult,” he said. “Last week she came back from an aero test and I asked her ‘how was your day?’ and she said ‘I think I can’t speak to you about that’.

“So we have to find new ways of communication at home, which is quite interesting. We are not talking motorsport any more at dinner but lots of other stuff.”

[MIKA27]

Mexico targets 2014 grand prix date

Mexico is planning to be on next year’s grand prix calendar, after what by then will have been a 22 year absence.

Jose Abed, Mexico’s representative at Formula One’s governing FIA, has been quoted as saying that the venue for the 2014 race will be the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, in Mexico City.

The track last hosted F1 in 1992, but Bernie Ecclestone has said it is not suitable for modern grands prix unless a major upgrade is done.

Abed is quoted by AS newspaper: “We have plans ready to improve [the circuit] and, after they finish the adjustments, we return to F1 in 2014.”

He said that the upgrade will cost $20 million, and the annual race sanctioning fee about $30 million.

McLaren’s Sergio Perez, and Sauber newcomer Esteban Gutierrez, would both then have a home race to look forward to.

[stargazer14]

For those that live in the U.S. and love cars, this is bad news...

First Fox buys SPEED.TV and drops coverage of the F1 races,

now they are thinking of dropping auto coverage altogether.

How hard can it be to have just one station for car nuts?

How many football channels does one country need?

Anyone want start a new auto channel?

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/01/23/what-does-the-end-of-speed-tv-mean-for-barrett-jackson-coverage

[MIKA27]

Lotus to be first team to reveal new 2013 car

Lotus F1 Team’s E21 will be the first 2013 Formula 1 contender to be exposed to the world with an online reveal on Monday 28 January 2013.

Streaming live from the team’s base in Enstone, Oxfordshire, the launch will be broadcast on the team’s YouTube channel.

The event will also be showcased live on Sky Sports News HD in the UK, including exclusive interviews and additional content.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull boss Horner visited Ferrari at Maranello

Rumours Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently visited Maranello emerged on Wednesday.

The German website motorsport-total.com reported leaks about the Briton’s secret Ferrari visit have been made to the Italian media.

The report said Horner met with Ferrari’s head of human resources, Mario Mairano, probably last month.

“The thought is that this is an attempt to indirectly gain access to the services of star designer Adrian Newey,” wrote journalist Christian Nimmervoll.

It is believed Horner and Newey always sign and renew their Red Bull contracts together.

Horner, understood to have a Red Bull contract until at least 2014, has also been previously linked to Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali’s job.

[MIKA27]

Wolff would ‘love to see’ Kubica back in an F1 car

One of his first roles as Mercedes motorsport boss, Toto Wolff will be overseeing the team’s DTM test programme for Robert Kubica this week in Spain.

Wolff’s admitted his new role will be mainly devoted to F1, attending all the grands prix and the major events on the DTM calendar.

Among his first duties will be keeping tabs on injured F1 driver Robert Kubica’s test this week in a Mercedes DTM car.

But Wolff played down the prospect of a return to formula one for the Pole in the short term.

“If the DTM test goes well and we see that he is doing well in a proper race car with downforce, I think there are still some physical constraints to drive a monocoque chassis with his elbow and arm,” he said.

“I think we all would love to see Robert doing well in a formula one car in the future but that is definitely too early at this stage.”

[MIKA27]

Pirelli set to give Kobayashi 2013 testing role

Axed Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi looks set to spend the 2013 season testing tyres with Formula 1′s official supplier Pirelli.

The Italian marque has invited the media to its Milan headquarters on Wednesday for the launch of the sport’s 2013 tyres and a press conference “with Pirelli’s main motor sport protagonists”.

The French sources F1i and Eurosport are reporting that Japanese Kobayashi, the former Sauber driver, should be announced as the main Pirelli tester for this year.

An Italian source is reporting the same.

Late last year, when 26-year-old Kobayashi was mentioned as a possible test driver for 2013, Pirelli’s Paul Hembery answered: “It’s a possibility.

“We’ll see what happens with him. I imagine he’s still trying to get a (race) seat, so we’ll wait.”

[MIKA27]

Wolff to keep Williams interests for now

As Toto Wolff gets down to work at Mercedes, however the situation regarding his shareholding with Williams remains unclear.

When the Austrian’s team switch was announced, Williams made clear that Wolff “will retain his shareholding”.

It is believed the 41-year-old’s Williams stake is worth up to EUR 40 million.

Sources have said Wolff owning shares in competing F1 teams – he has bought 30 per cent of Brackley based Mercedes – is legitimate, but it remains to be seen if the situation will change.

“For the moment I’m going to keep those (Williams) shares,” he said on Tuesday.

“I have a responsibility as a shareholder. I can’t let everybody else down. I’m going to look at the situation in the next couple of weeks or months.

“I am working 100 per cent for Mercedes, as a director of Mercedes and trying to be successful with Mercedes.

“But I’ve had a long interest in Williams and you can’t kill an emotion just by resigning from a directorship.”

It is rumoured there could be a silver lining for Williams, with suggestions Wolff’s new Mercedes link could deliver a change of customer engine supplier for the currently Renault-powered Grove team.

“No discussions have been held,” Wolff said.

[MIKA27]

Heidfeld backs Hulkenberg’s move to Sauber

Former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld, a former long-time Sauber driver, has backed countryman Nico Hulkenberg’s move from Force India to the Swiss team for 2013.

Some have criticised the 25-year-old’s move on the basis that Sauber might not be seen as a vastly superior team to Silverstone based Force India.

Asked if he thinks Hulkenberg’s move makes sense, Heidfeld told Speed Week: “When you’re not going directly to one of the top teams, it is difficult to know whether you’re making the right decision.

“Of course, in 2012 Sauber had the faster car, and they have excellent facilities at Hinwil. But they are now doing without designer James Key, who has gone to Toro Rosso.

“It’s always difficult to judge if you’ve picked the right car, but I can understand Hulkenberg’s decision.

“He has been able to assert himself against the established and – in my opinion – the slightly overrated Paul di Resta, and now with this change he will get even more attention.

“It can be difficult to have a brand new driver to formula one as your teammate, but Esteban Gutierrez in my view was quite convincing in GP2,” Heidfeld added.

[MIKA27]

Webber to get first taste of Red Bull RB9 at Jerez

Mark Webber will give Red Bull’s 2013 car, designated the RB9, its track debut at the first preseason test at Jerez early next month.

Although his teammate Sebastian Vettel has won the past three drivers’ titles for the Austrian team, it will be Australian Webber first at the wheel as the 2013 pre-season begins in southern Spain on February 5 and 6.

Brazil’s Totalrace added that German Vettel will drive on day three.

Webber, 36, also debuted Red Bull’s championship winning 2012 car.

“I think – especially in the race – Vettel will still have his nose in front this year, but maybe in qualifying Webber can be there,” former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld told Speed Week.

“The team probably put more into Vettel, as they know now very well that he can deliver the title, and also it’s likely that Sebastian is going to stay longer than Webber,” he added.

[MIKA27]

Money talks more than ever in modern era Formula 1

Timo Glock’s sudden exit from Marussia has brought into sharper focus an age-old truth of Formula One – that money makes the wheels go round – and highlighted the gulf between cash-rich rights holders and struggling teams.

Passion, engineering brilliance and sheer hard work can only go so far and must be paid for. In the end, teams are always chasing the sponsorship dollar even if they manage to keep their rivals behind them on the track.

Glock was paid to drive at Marussia but the team made clear in a statement on Monday that was a luxury they could no longer afford when their survival was at stake in harsh economic circumstances.

The German had become an anomaly on a starting grid whose lower slots are increasingly being filled by drivers bringing ‘budget’ with them.

“The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future,” said team principal John Booth in a statement.

“Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula One teams included.”

Marussia, one of three ‘new’ teams who were encouraged into the sport in 2010 with the promise of a budget cap and favourable terms that swiftly evaporated, have the smallest budget of any current outfit.

That still translates into some $70 million a season, however, and by finishing 11th overall behind Caterham last year they missed out on millions in prize money divided among the top 10 teams.

The team made no secret when hiring Britain’s Max Chilton, a Formula One rookie this season, that he would need backing to secure the drive and Glock’s exit will allow them to bring in much-needed cash for the second seat as well.

Marussia are not alone there, with vacancies outstanding at Force India and Caterham as both teams assess a number of candidates who can boast both an FIA super-licence and substantial support.

The failure of Spanish-based HRT, who had Indian Narain Karthikeyan and Chinese reserve Ma Qing Hua helping to pay the bills last year before they folded, has shown how vulnerable some teams are in a sport whose revenues were expected to exceed $2 billion last year.

Against that backdrop, with none of the three new teams (Marussia, Caterham, HRT) scoring a point in three seasons and others above them also feeling the squeeze, driver decisions have focused on more than just talent and experience.

“That’s the way of F1 at the moment (I) hope it will change again soon because like this it has nothing to do with sport!” Glock said on Twitter on Monday in a message to Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber that was later deleted.

Other leading drivers commiserated with the German, a veteran of 91 race starts with three podiums for Toyota.

“We know that many drivers know to arrive in Formula One they need to have sponsors, they need to have money, especially in the small teams,” Ferrari’s Felipe Massa said in a video chatroom on the Italian team’s website.

“And honestly this is not a great thing for Formula One and maybe it is part of the commercial side.”

The ‘pay driver’ is not a new phenomenon, and indeed some of the greatest names in Formula One fell into that category when starting out.

Austrian triple champion Niki Lauda, now a key part of the Mercedes management team, paid substantial sums to March for drives in Formula Two and Formula One in the early 1970s.

By 1974 he was racing for Ferrari and being paid handsomely for his talents.

Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher made his debut for Jordan in 1991 after cash changed hands while Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, Mexican Sergio Perez and Russian Vitaly Petrov have all been dubbed pay drivers.

Maldonado is now a race winner for Williams, Perez has replaced Lewis Hamilton at McLaren and Petrov’s 11th place for Caterham in Brazil in November gave his team 10th in the championship and was worth many millions.

Damon Hill, the 1996 champion with Williams, is not alone in expressing concern that money may now be talking too loudly in a sport that should be an arena for the world’s best drivers.

“It wouldn’t work in football,” he told Reuters last year. “If you wanted to play centre forward for Man United, you still have to be pretty good.

“This sport has always been complicated from that point of view and I don’t know what the solution is,” added the Briton, who also brought a personal sponsor with him when he joined Williams in 1993.

“There will always be a need for more money when the stakes get higher because people want to be more competitive. Everybody’s a pay driver on the rungs up the ladder to F1.”

[MIKA27]

Massa: Pay drivers 'not great' for F1

Felipe Massa has once again voiced his unhappiness over the increase in the number of pay drivers on the grid.

The issue of drivers with a lot of financial backing being given race seats is back in the news after Marussia decided to drop the long-serving Timo Glock, citing the current economic climate as the reason for the decision.

It is widely believed that Marussia will look for someone with sponsorship money to team up with Max Chilton this season.

Massa admits he is sad to see Glock leave Formula One and feels pay drivers are not the way to go for F1.

"It's a very small team," he said during a Q&A session on the official Ferrari website. "So I think it's very difficult to comment. But for sure if he decide not to race in Formula One it's for a reason. And if the team decide it's for a reason."

He added: "Maybe it can be on the commercial side. We know that many drivers now to arrive in Formula One they need to have sponsors, they need to have money, especially in the small team. And honestly this is not a great thing for Formula One and maybe it is part of the commercial side."

The Ferrari driver was also asked about his Formula One career and is adamant he would not change anything despite not being at the top of his game the past few seasons.

"I don't think I would change anything," he said. "I've had a fantastic career. For sure I don't have a championship yet, I hope, but I've had a great career.

"I won many Championships before Formula One, I won many races in Formula One and I fought for the Championship. Sure I will try everything I can to fight again and win the Championship. I think everything I had, everything I did, was an experience. I learned a lot with everything in the good times and the bad times as well. So I don't think I will change anything.

"I'm not a frustrated guy, you know, I'm a very happy man and I'm very happy with what I have done to now. For sure you always want more and I always want more and I will try everything to achieve more than what I have. I can't change anything and I don't really need to do that because I'm happy with what I did."

[MIKA27]

Three F1 drivers sign up for Russian ice race

Three Formula 1 drivers will take part in this years 'Race of Stars' event in Moscow, Russia.

Kimi Raikkonen, Charles Pic and Vitaly Petrov have signed up for the event which puts drivers against one another on an oval ice track.

The event is organised by Russian magazine Za Rulem and takes place at the Moscow Hippodrome on February 23rd.

World Rally Championship driver Evgeny Novikov and Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat will also compete.

[MIKA27]

PIRELLI PROMISES A NEW "REVOLUTION" IN F1 TYRES & MORE PIT STOPS IN 2013:

Pirelli is hosting a press conference at its base in Milan this morning, laying out plans for the 2013 season and it is claiming a half second a lap improvement in performance over 2012.

And the company president said that Pirelli intends to renew the contract with F1 after it expires in December and that he is “confident” it will happen.

In Formula 1 it promises “a revolution” with tyres featuring new softer compounds and constructions which will suffer more thermal degradation than last years’, forcing the teams to make two stops as a minimum and “increasing the overtaking opportunities and so helping to provide an even better show”.

Pirelli claims that the softer compounds will mean that performance is improved by 0.5s per lap, while from a strategy point of view the gap between the two compounds selected for each round will be at least half a second, in order to widen the race strategy options and speed differentials at various stages of the race.

When Pirelli brought 2013 development tyres to Brazil last November, the track temperature was exceptionally hot so teams were not able to learn much other than the fact that these new tyres will clearly warm up more quickly for a single qualifying lap, which is good news for the more stylised drivers like Jenson Button. The development tyres featured the 2013 construction, but not the softer compounds, so the Jerez test will be the first occasion for teams to learn about the tyres.

F1 team engineers have suggested that the 2013 tyres might not be all that different from the 2012 ones, but the proof will come when the new cars start testing in two weeks time.

The tyres are two kilos per set heavier than last year’s, due to a change in the carcass in order to increase the footprint of the tyre. Extra support material is needed to avoid sidewall buckling. The larger footprint will increase braking stability.

The focus of the engineers has been on traction; more grip on the exit of the corner and the construction has been changed to mean that the wear is more spread out across the contact patch.

The hard and soft tyres are designed for a higher working temperature range, while the medium and supersoft are designed for use in lower temperatures

But managing the thermal degradation in the early races will again be a first order consideration as it was in the early stages of 2012, before teams learned more about those tyres.

A small but crucial note is that the turn in for the 2013 tyres will be much sharper, which some drivers will have to adapt to. Also mid-corner there is more stability, so the drivers can get onto the power earlier.

On the question of whether the season would be more about conserving tyres rather than drivers being able to push to the limit, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said that there would be an element of that but that the lessons of 2012 had shown that the best drivers adapt to the tyres and are able to push, “It’s something the drivers are in control of, so it’s in their hands,” he said.

He also said that Pirelli is likely to retain its existing test drivers, Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi.

And it was announced that the winner of the GP2 series will get a day of F1 tyre testing as part of his prize, to encourage the development of young drivers. He also noted that the teams are not asking for low-profile 18 inch tyres from 2014 onwards and was cautious on the idea.

To help out the audiences who struggled to tell the difference on TV between the hard and medium tyres, Pirelli has now colour coded the hard tyre with an orange sidewall.

Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli president said, “Many things have changed but one thing that has not changed is passion and competition.

“The effort that has been made has improved the grip, so better performance. Also the effort has been made to make the sets closer in terms of performance to make it harder for the teams to choose the tyres. We’ve been asked to introduce more uncertainty. Last season by the end the drivers were able to keep the same tyres for most of the race.”

Provera said that Pirelli wishes to continue in F1 beyond the end of the current contract which expires in December. “We are confident,” he said.

He brushed off suggestions that producing tyres which last only 20 laps sends out the wrong signals about Pirelli’s road tyres, saying that making tyres which will last for 70 laps is easy, but to make tyres which challenge the teams is a much more complex technical exercise in the service of the show.

Former Ferrari F1 driver Jean Alesi was announced as a Pirelli brand ambassador, “To be back in such a company is a dream of a sportsman,” said Alesi, who raced in Pirellis with Tyrrell in his spectacular 1990 season. “I’m happy to be part of the team and I’m happy to follow what Pirelli will do.”

[MIKA27]

ROSS BRAWN: "I'M TEAM PRINCIPAL AND I'M IN CHARGE"

Mercedes F1 team principal Ross Brawn spoke today about the goings on behind the scenes at the team in recent days, suggesting that the move for Paddy Lowe is part of his long term succession plan but emphasising that he is very much in charge of the team.

“I am the team principal. I am in charge of sporting, technical and racing matters,” he said emphatically, when asked if Mercdes ran the risk of emulating the failed Jaguar Racing experiment, where no-one was sure who was in charge.

News has surfaced in recent days of a plan formed by Mercedes F1′s non-executive chairman Niki Lauda and Mercedes’ new head of motorsport Toto Wolff for McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe to come in to head the technical side of the team. Brawn said that this is because he is being asked for a long term commitment from parent company Daimler, but is currently unable to give it.

“I know all the plans for the future of the team and I hope I’m going to be a part of them for a very long time, ” Brawn said at the outset of his press meeting at Brackley this morning. “I know the situation completely. Mercedes want a long term commitment. And obviously with a lot of additions, I want to see how things go before I make a final long term commitment. And that, so we have to have things in place. It’s rather like my succession plan at Ferrari. When I decided I was going to stop at Ferrari, we built a succession plan and I am part of that, I’ve talked to Paddy, we know the situation. I’m planning on being here a very long time.”

Brawn’s performance today looked very much like a man who wants to control the outcomes; he made it clear that he was aware of the plans, rather than finding out about them once they became public, talking of his own motivation and desire to continue, deflecting from any suggestion that his future is being decided by others in the management chain.

The situation, as he paints it, sounds similar to Michael Schumacher’s at Ferrari in 2006, when he was unable to give Luca di Montezemolo a long term commitment and so Montezemolo and Jean Todt went out and hired Kimi Raikkonen.

Brawn is a proud man with an admirable track record: 8 drivers world championships and 8 constructors’ championships as a technical director and team principal and – uniquely – he has overseen Grands Prix victories with four different teams. So he’s achieved far more as a manager than Niki Lauda ever has.

But he was making it clear here that the ball is in his court when it comes to deciding what part he will play in Mercedes F1 plans over the next few years.

Brawn is excited by the challenge of the new 2014 rules and knows that Mercedes is putting all the pieces in place to have a crack at the world title. He is also excited by working with one of the fastest drivers in the sport. But he clearly has doubts about the effect Lauda is going to have on the project he has been developing at Mercedes and wants to keep his options open about the future.

“We are entering a really exciting period. Obviously Lewis joining us was a massive catalyst for us all, a massive incentive, motivation. I’m seeing the maturity of the changes we made 12 months ago. This car has been project led by Aldo (Costa) and he’s done a fantastic job and I’m really excited by that. Like any of us in life if we are excited by what we are doing we carry on doing it.

“And when I say ‘hope’ I mean that I continue to find the excitement and the motivation and the reasons to go racing, because racing gives me a buzz. We have our difficult days but it’s a really exciting period, the car is coming together well we have set some tough tasks over the winter, we are meeting them. A lot of things are behind us now; we did the restructuring of the wind tunnel and a lot of things are behind us where this coming year we are going to gain the benefits of those initiatives we made.”

But things do seem to be happening on the hoof with Mercedes; Toto Wolff said on Tuesday that his appointment came about “in the last two weeks”; Paddy Lowe had already been talking about a move to Williams when Wolff was there and this has now morphed into a Mercedes plan. There are a number of people whose purposes it would suit for the plan regarding Lowe to become public for various reasons. Brawn said he is disappointed it has as it means a distraction for his staff just when he wants them focussed on preparations for the season about to unfold.

However new driver Lewis Hamilton, in his first days of work at Mercedes in Brackley, said that he believes Paddy Lowe is staying at McLaren and emphasised that as far as he in concerned, Brawn is the main man,

“Having a head figure in the team is vital. Ross is that head figure, he leads the way and inspires everyone to go that extra distance. He’s had a great career and he runs a great team,” he said.

“As far as I’m aware there are no plans to bring Paddy here. I’ve been assured by Ross that his commitment is for the long term and he is here to try to win with me, which reassures me and continues to give me a positive feeling moving forward. There are lots of good people here and I’ve obviously had great experiences with Paddy but he works with McLaren as far as I’m concerned.”

[MIKA27]

HAMILTON: "MERCEDES IS HUNGRIER THAN ANY TEAM HE'S SEEN"

Lewis Hamilton has been at the headquarters of Mercedes Grand Prix team for the last couple of days, driving the 2013 car on the simulator, meeting all the staff and facing a select group of UK media, for the first time as a Mercedes GP driver.

He dismissed stories about team principal Ross Brawn being replaced by McLaren’s Paddy Lowe and said that he was not expecting miracles from the 2013 car, given that Mercedes was two seconds per lap of the pace at the benchmark Suzuka circuit in October last year and implied that the Mercedes’ team seems to him to be hungrier than the staff at his former team, McLaren,

“I’ve been around and there is a great atmosphere here, great spirit just as I had at my previous team,” said Hamilton. “The guys seem hungrier than any group of people I’ve seen before. They seem seriously hungry to win and excited that they have another shot at it this year.

“There was always a great atmosphere, it’s just a different factory and a different environment here. The guys seem just as ‘on it.’

“They are working really hard and it’s important that they are always trying to analyse where they can improve and where adjustments need to be made because they just want to win and that’s a big positive for me.”

Although short on race wins in recent years in comparison with McLaren, the Brackley based team has, of course, won the drivers’ and constructors’ world championships more recently than the Woking outfit, which last won the drivers’ title in 2008 and the constructors’ in 1999.

As Brawn GP, the Brackley team won both titles in 2009 with Jenson Button. Hamilton will be engineered this year by the very experienced Jock Clear, who worked with Michael Schumacher last season and who engineered Jacques Villeneuve to the 1997 world championship with Williams.

Hamilton said that he was not concerned about the recent stories suggesting that Mercedes plan to replace Ross Brawn with McLaren’s Paddy Lowe.

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

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

Hamilton’s first day with the media at his new team was supposed to be relaxed and positive, but the stories about Lowe replacing Brawn have meant that once again he finds himself in the middle of a storm. Such things follow Hamilton around, but this one is not of his making and he could not have been more explicit in his feelings about Brawn being part of the set-up long term.

Whether Brawn chooses to stick it out, with clear signs already that this is going to be a political hotbed, time will tell. Hamilton clearly hopes he will.

Hamilton meanwhile was realistic about his chances this season,

“I think it’s important to be patient and it’s important to be realistic,” he said. “You’ve got to remember that the way Formula One has gone over the years and my experience in the last six years at Mclaren, the car evolving each year and how long it takes to develop a car and to find one second throughout the season, knowing that Mercedes were 1.1 seconds behind in Brazil, I think it was almost two seconds at Suzuka.

“So to see that fluctuating you’ve got to be very understanding that an evolution of the car is going to be difficult for them in three months to gain two seconds or whatever it is.

“So I’ve just got to be very aware of that, but I know that the guys are working as hard as they can and every little bit counts so that’s what they’re working for.”

He said that his eye was mainly on the 2014 season, when a new engine and chassis formula will offer a chance for teams who are off the pace today to make a fresh start and perhaps make the leap into the pace setters,

“This is a marathon not a sprint. It’s the long haul. I hope that this year we can be competitive. If we arrive at the first race and we are in front, it’s going to be spectacular, but of we are not we know we just have to keep working at it.

“I’ve not even driven the car so I don’t even know what problems they had. It’s not like I can say, ‘We need to look in this area’. They didn’t have enough downforce last year. Of course 2-14 is probably a slightly better opportunity because things start again.”

(Does he have patience?} “Time will tell. No, I’m pretty sure that I do. You have got to remember that I had a couple of half dodgy cars, one particular year 2009, but it did get better so perseverance is going to be key for all of us.”