FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

Lotus upbeat despite Sepang showing

Lotus will pick itself up and simply get on with doing a better job in the future after a disappointing race performance in the Malaysian Grand Prix, reckons technical chief Mike Gascoyne.

The team was on a high after Heikki Kovalainen made it through to Q2 on home turf in Sepang, but race day collisions and a return of hydraulic problems scuppered its chances of a good result.

Gascoyne admitted that the Sunday showing had not been what Lotus was after, but he said the team would not allow itself to get disheartened at the setback.

"I think it is easy to beat yourself up with the end result," he said. "It has been a strong weekend and that is racing, isn't it?

"Jarno [Trulli] had the same problem he had in Melbourne with the hydraulics, and to be honest we ran two solutions on Friday and we decided to run the one we had the most miles on and that was probably a mistake, but hindsight is great! It is not as though we are not on top of it.

"With Heikki he made the move but it didn't quite work, he wanted to get past quickly because he felt he was so much quicker. We then had what we thought was a hydraulic system failure but it was actually a sensor failure, and we stopped him when perhaps we didn't need to. When we got him back out his pace was very good, so it is a bit disappointing because he could have had a good race.

"With Jarno he had a handling issue, he had a load of bodywork missing and was very loose at the rear, then he lost power steering and everything. That is life, we move on.

"We are still in 10th place in the Constructors' Championship and still finishing races, but it is disappointing because we feel we made a step forward here - but in the race we did not show it."

Gascoyne believes the team is making good progress and, with a car update pencilled in for the Spanish Grand Prix, he is still optimistic about the future.

"We've got time," he said. "To come to a home race as a back-to-back, third race in, was always going to be a bit of a challenge.

"We very nearly got away with it, got within a day of getting away with it, but that is life. We are looking forward, For Barcelona, and every race, there will be new bits and we are not looking backwards, we are moving forwards.

"There will be some small updates for China, a tenth or two. But the big stuff is for Barcelona - and it is a struggle to get everything on in time. We think it will be between one and two seconds quicker in Spain. It's a pretty good step - certainly more than one second just in aero."

MIKA: It's exciting when teams such as Lotus are slowly developing their racer as each race unfolds. They learn from telemetry, develop solutions, apply them and continue to race. No complaining.

[MIKA27]

MALAYSIAN GP PHOTO GALLERY:

Vettel outbraked Webber into turn one and never looked back

Remarkably, all 23 starters made it round the first corner without damage

Webber tried to fight back in turn two but had to slot in behind Vettel

Kubica jumped from sixth to fourth at the start and stayed there for the rest of the race

Vettel immediately put the hammer down and established a small but secure cushion

Hamilton carved through the field in the early laps

The two Red Bulls soon left Rosberg and co trailing in their wake

Schumacher was an early casualty after a wheel nut fell off his Mercedes

Glock misjudged an overtaking bid on Trulli and the Virgin slid into the Lotus

The Malaysian GP attracted a larger crowd than in recent years

Button battled with the Ferraris in the early stages

Hamilton's charge was briefly halted by Renault's racey rookie Vitaly Petrov

Hulkenberg fended off the advances of Liuzzi's faster Force India

The Ferraris struggled on the hard tyres but picked up pace following their switch to softer rubber

Kubica stayed in touch with Rosberg for most of the race

The McLaren crew serviced Hamilton in 3.5s, the fastest tyre change so far in 2010

Against all expectations, the race remained dry throughout

Petrov's Renault succumbed to gearbox failure

Sutil kept Hamilton at bay for the last 20 laps to claim a fine fifth place

Alguersuari pulled off some outstanding passes en route to ninth place and his first F1 points

Alonso was on the verge of passing Button when his Ferrari gave up the ghost

After two near-misses, Vettel finally opened his 2010 win account

Webber must be wondering what he has to do to beat his young team-mate

The victorious Red Bull drivers shared the rostrum with car designer Adrian Newey

Rosberg delivered Mercedes GP's first podium in the home event of its title sponsor Petronas

The Red Bull team celebrates a resounding 1-2

[MIKA27]

Senna: Hispania now must improve pace

Bruno Senna believes Hispania now has to start focusing on improving the performance of its car on the back of achieving its target of finishing a race.

The Spanish squad had unsurprisingly suffered from persistent reliability problems at the first two grands prix given its lack of pre-season testing, but enjoyed an encouraging weekend in Malaysia with both Senna and Karun Chandhok completing a race distance for the first time.

Senna, who finished Sunday's race behind his team-mate in 16th place, is pleased the team finally has a pair of finishes under its belt – but admits attention must now turn to improving its HRT chassis.

“We managed to achieve the main objective of finishing the race with both cars,” he told reporters.

“But we still need to look at performance because the car was still very difficult to drive, so we need to now focus on performance.

“But I’m very happy for the team that we managed to finish the race with both cars.”

Although outperformed by team-mate Chandhok for the first time at Sepang, Senna was nevertheless content to get to the finish in a Formula 1 race for the first time even if Hispania still remains a long way off the pace.

“I’m happy with that,” he said of finishing. “We had less problems than the guy who finished behind us [Lotus’s Jarno Trulli].

“But drivers always want to be competitive, I want to be competitive and hopefully in the near future we can start to [achieve that].”

Team boss Colin Kolles believes the double race finish shows the squad continues to improve, adding that it will indeed focus on the development of its car for the next race in China as it bids to close the one second gap to the other new teams.

“Again we have made a great step forward,” he said.

“We reached our goal with two cars finishing the race. Congratulations to the team who worked again hard to achieve this result.

“Now we have to work on more developments for the next Grand Prix in China."

[MIKA27]

Michelin considering F1 return

Michelin have confirmed that they could return to Formula One next season, although as yet a decision has not been made.

News of Michelin's possible return broke at the Malaysian GP with reports claiming that the French manufacturer could step in fill the void that will be left by Bridgestone.

However, as they quit Formula One when the sport switched to single tyre supplier, Michelin's return could be dependent on the FIA changing the rules to bring in rival manufacturers for them to battle.

And until they know exactly what rules will apply for next year's Championship, the French manufacturer is not willing to commit to a comeback.

"We have not made a decision but are closely following the evolution of the regulations, knowing that we are committed to promoting the technical quality of our products, including also the concept of respect for the environment," a Michelin representative told Le Figaro.

[MIKA27]

Alguersuari thanks Schumi

Jaime Alguersuari believes it was the driving lesson he received from Michael Schumacher in Australia that paved the way for his first F1 point one race later.

An early pit stop to repair his front wing in the Australian GP sent Schumacher to the back of the field. And although many expected the German to easily carve his way through the backmarkers it wasn't to be when he came across Alguersuari.

The Toro Rosso rookie kept the seven-time World Champ for the better part of 20 laps before a small mistake finally allowed Schumacher to overtake him.

The following week the F1 circus moved on to Malaysia where Alguersuari put in the best drive of his Formula One career as he showed a new confident and aggressive side to his driving.

Overtaking rivals, tussling with Vitaly Petrov and pulling off a three-corner passing move on Nico Hulkenberg, Alguersuari went on to claim his first World Championship point.

And he has Schumacher to thank for it.

"Michael showed me the way to drive a Formula 1 car on the limit, with other drivers. This was very important. To finish the Australian Grand Prix and to fight against him showed me the way - like how to be aggressive with other people.

"The race in Malaysia worked out like that with Petrov and Nico. They were amazing fights, both were clean, and that is the way to do it in Formula 1."

He added: "I think it was amazing to get points here. We never expected to do that on a track like this, because it was my first time here - and qualifying conditions were a bit tough for us. But the race worked out really well.

"We knew that our race pace was quite good and it is our strong point from what we have in Toro Rosso. We just need to improve the qualifying in both the wet and the dry - and that is part of the learning process."

[MIKA27]

F1 teams had input into Indian GP design

The Indian GP, which is expected to take place in October of next year, has had design input from the Formula One teams, according to Mark Hughes, the vice-president of JPSK sports - a subsidiary of the Jaypee Group who have signed a 10-year contract with FOM to host the event.

The track has been designed by F1 regular Herman Tilke, who has often come under criticism from fans, calling his tracks, 'Tilkedromes' thanks to their design which rarely aid overtaking.

Hughes though, has combined Tilke's knowledge with input from the F1 teams by sending them data and asking for improvements to the design.

"We sent the details to all the teams and they programmed the information into their simulators and gave us feedback on where we could make improvements and add overtaking opportunity points," he told Reuters.

The track will be the second fastest on the calendar after Monza.

"It's an undulating 5.5 kilometre track which we expect to have the second fastest average speed of any circuit on the calendar behind Monza," Hughes added.

Construction of the circuit is well underway, with a July 2011 deadline set to allow for FIA safety checks.

[MIKA27]

Renault boss says Kubica a huge asset

Robert Kubica has been the key factor in helping push Renault to its impressive early season performances, reckons team principal Eric Boullier.

The French car manufacturer has taken a podium finish and leads the chasing pack on to the top four quickest teams - Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes.

Kubica also finished in fourth place in last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix and is just nine points behind championship leader Felipe Massa.

Boullier thinks that Kubica's commitment and demanding nature have helped spur his staff on.

"Robert Kubica is very, very eager to do well and is very, very committed to the team - and that is a big asset that is difficult to evaluate," Boullier said.

"What I have seen every day since the beginning of testing and even before is Robert every time really sticking to the engineers.

"He is very, very demanding - and the good thing is that when a driver is very demanding and then does some good races like he has done in the first three races with no mistakes and very good pace, then the team is really respectful of what he is doing – and the team delivers more."

Boullier, who believes his outfit is almost as quick as Mercedes GP, adds that the strong chemistry between Kubica and his team is driving the team on much quicker than he expected.

"With the team fitting with Robert, and Robert fitting with the team, we just build up something more successful," he said.

"The team is pushing, the driver is demanding and gets the results – one feeds the other. I expect the team to be much stronger."

MIKA: Kubica seems to be in his element at Renault, something he never truly did achieve with BMW previously. Renaults success thus far this season is also great for the team overall. Great to see, it's good for Formula 1.

[Bartolomeo]

I am a little biased but I think Alonzo did the best driving job this past weekend given the crappy Ferrari he had to deal with all race

Bart

[MIKA27]

  Bartolomeo said:

I am a little biased but I think Alonzo did the best driving job this past weekend given the crappy Ferrari he had to deal with all race

Bart

He certainly is making the most from what he has which is how one can tell a true driver doing what he is meant to.

[MIKA27]

Schumi rejoins the GPDA

Seven-times World Champion Micheal Schumacher has rejoined the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.

Last month Schumacher's spokesperson Sabine Kehm said although the German supports the work of the GPDA "he is not sure if he will join again".

However, the 41-year-old has now made up his mind and is once again a member of the drivers' union, albeit in an inactive role.

"Yes, Felipe [Massa] talked with Michael after the race in Melbourne," Kehm told German news agency DPA. "Michael still supports the GPDA's work but he will no longer play as active a role as previously."

Massa, Nick Heidfeld and Sebastian Vettel were recently elected as directors of the organisation with Mercedes GP reserve driver Heidfeld taking over from Pedro de la Rosa as chairman.

MIKA: A good thing considering Schumacher has a wealth of experience and knowledge to bring forward to hopefully better the sport along with Massa, Heidfeld, Vettel.

[Bartolomeo]

  MIKA27 said:

Michelin considering F1 return

Michelin have confirmed that they could return to Formula One next season, although as yet a decision has not been made.

News of Michelin's possible return broke at the Malaysian GP with reports claiming that the French manufacturer could step in fill the void that will be left by Bridgestone.

However, as they quit Formula One when the sport switched to single tyre supplier, Michelin's return could be dependent on the FIA changing the rules to bring in rival manufacturers for them to battle.

And until they know exactly what rules will apply for next year's Championship, the French manufacturer is not willing to commit to a comeback.

"We have not made a decision but are closely following the evolution of the regulations, knowing that we are committed to promoting the technical quality of our products, including also the concept of respect for the environment," a Michelin representative told Le Figaro.

Michelin should ask the fine people of Indianapolis their opinion before coming back

Bart

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg 'heading in right direction'

Williams' technical director Sam Micheal believes Nico Hulkenberg is moving in the right direction following his impressive display in Malaysia.

After an excellent qualifying stint at Sepang, Hulkenberg - who retired in Australia and finished 14th in Bahrain - scored his first points in Formula One with a 10th place.

"It was a good step forward for Nico," Michael said. "Obviously, the priority for him was to complete a race distance and his strong qualifying result gave him a better start to the race than Bahrain or Australia.

"Only claiming one point I am sure won't satisfy him, but it is moving in the right direction."

Hulkenberg and team-mate Rubens Barrichello started fifth and seventh on the grid respectively, but unfortunately they failed to make their most of the positions at the start of the race.

Michael says it's something the team will have to sort out before the Chinese GP in a fortnight.

"Both drivers suffered from poor starts which is something we've got to get on top of because we have been really strong in this area in the past," he said. "We'll be putting in plenty of practice in Shanghai."

MIKA: Hulkenberg is a driver to watch for. He is extremely talented and do not let his performances with Williams fool you. He can only do what he can with what he has.

Williams as a team (A team I followed a great deal over the years) have lost their touch as a dominant front runner of previous years and have now been midielders for some time.

Williams can not use the excuse 'We have no manufacturer', look at how well Force India are doing.

This all comes down to the technical side of the team and perhaps someone from that department needs to either be replaced or have a serious talking to.

[MIKA27]

'McLaren set for 0.3s ride-height boost'

The saying "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" seems to be the perfect way to describe the technological race in Formula One the moment.

First there was the diffuser debacle, then it was McLaren's controversial f-duct device and now it's Red Bull's ride-height system.

Most teams have already designed their own double diffusers and a few have responded with the f-duct systems of their own. So last on the list (for now at least) is the low ride-height device which has allegedly given the Red Bulls a significant advantage in qualifying - helping them to gain three out of three pole positions this season.

However, McLaren, who initially questioned the legality of the system and then downplayed it, look like they will become the first team to imitate the device.

According to Mark Hughes' BBC blog, the new suspension system could be ready for the next grand prix in China and it will give McLaren a 'further 0.3s boost'.

'The intriguing thing regarding McLaren is that they hope to have new suspension parts in time for China that will allow an aerodynamically-enhanced qualifying performance, the car running with an optimally low ride-height which will then return itself to the higher ride height required when 150kg of fuel is put into the tank on race day.

'It's a system McLaren believes Red Bull has used since the start of the season, a claim denied by Red Bull.'

[MIKA27]

Alonso: We have to learn our lesson

Fernando Alonso is confident Ferrari have learnt a valuable lesson from their qualifying woes in Malaysia and insists his engine failure on Sunday was a "one-off".

After starting the season with a victory Bahrain and a fourth-place finish in Australia, Alonso failed to finish the race in Sepang over the weekend.

It was a tough weekend all-round for the Spaniard in Malaysia. He and Ferrari bombed out in Q1 after the team got their weather forecasts wrong and things didn't go much better on race day as his gearbox broke during the formation lap. That wasn't the end of his troubles as he retired with just two laps to go after his engine blew up.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali admitted after the race that what happened during qualifying was "not acceptable".

Alonso is also confident Ferrari won't repeat the mistakes they made at the Sepang International Circuit.

"We had a very difficult weekend in Malaysia," he wrote on his Ferrari.com blog.

"It's a pity, because we had very high expectations and as far as our performance level was concerned we had the confirmation that our expectations are justified. We made a bad evaluation mistake in the qualifying and we paid for it in the race, where we also had reliability problems. Something like this can happen to anyone and we have to learn our lesson so we don't repeat certain mistakes.

"I'm not worried about the reliability. I think that what provoked the engine failure was a one-off and the team told me that there is no connection to the problems Sauber had and none to the anomalies we had before we changed the engines on Sunday in Bahrain."

Alonso - who has been on the road since March 8 - admits it's good to be back home and is delighted to be just two points behind team-mate Felipe Massa at the top of the Drivers' Championship.

"I'm glad being back in Europe, especially because the result of this season's start if definitely positive," he said. "Despite the negative outcome of the race in Sepang it's a dream to be on the second place in the standings just two points behind the leader, who is also my team-mate and that Ferrari is leading the Constructors' standings."

[MIKA27]

FIA confirms ride-height systems are illegal

NEWS JUST IN:

The FIA has confirmed that any ride-height system, such as the one rumoured to be on the RB6, would be deemed illegal by the sports technical regulations.

In a letter sent to all F1 teams, the FIA clarified that any self-levelling system, used to regulate the height of the cars through qualifying and the race, would go against article 34.5 of the sporting regulations.

"Any system device or procedure, the purpose and/or effect of which is to change the set-up of the suspension, while the car is under parc ferme conditions will be deemed to contravene article 34.5 of the sporting regulations," read the communication, which Autosport managed to get hold of.

Red Bull have denied, on many occasions, the use of such a system after McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh openly suspected they were using some sort of ride-height adjustment system between qualifying and the race - giving them a massive downforce advantage, by running the car lower in qualifying, then increasing the height before the race to allow for a full race distance worth of fuel.

The FIA gave the RB6 the all-clear after it was inspected in Malaysia.

Whitmarsh admitted McLaren were developing a system to adjust the ride-height, rumoured to be ready for the next race in China. If this is the case, they will need to get the system passed by the FIA, which looks unlikely now that this communication has arisen.

MIKA: Looking at this latest development, I think McLaren will now need to scrap their plans in creating such a device.

[MIKA27]

Former GP2 team, Durango announce F1 bid

The former GP2 team Durango, which quit the F1 feeder series in 2009, has announced it's bid to fill the 13th slot on the grid for the 2011 season.

The FIA invited new teams to apply for entry into the 2011 season after the now defunct USF1 outfit failed to make the grid in 2010 to line-up with other newcomers: Virgin, Hispania and Lotus.

The team dropped out of GP2 after hitting financial problems, but issued a statement which mentioned two 'very big international groups' as backing for the F1 bid.

"Durango has been officially acknowledged by the FIA as candidate for the valuation process for the selection of a new Formula 1 team for the 2011 World Championship," the statement read.

"We pushed towards this direction [after the failed GP2 outfit] and I can say that, to enter F1, we can now enjoy the backing of two very big international groups.

"So even keeping the feet on the ground as we say in Italy, because up till now this is just a serious attempt, I like to consider that after so many years spent pushing young drivers to become future champions now the time has come to strongly push Durango as a team towards the motorsport pinnacle."

[MIKA27]

F1 to lose races to make-way for new ones

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that Formula One Management (FOM) will be looking at dropping some of the current races as they look to put New York and Russia on the calendar.

The F1 boss, now 79, has eyed up three sites outside the New York district of Manhattan whilst Moscow, home to over 10 million people, and the world's seventh largest city, has been shortlisted as a possible site for a Russian race.

After spending years talking about a possible 20-plus race calendar, Ecclestone has admitted that the sport will review its "more traditional" European hosts, such as the races in Valencia and Barcelona - both in Spain.

"We're going to lose some races for sure, there are some races we can afford to lose without too much problem," he said. "I've spoken to the countries to see what we can come up with."

Ecclestone did, however, stress that fans should not panic at the prospect of losing some races, races such as Silverstone, Monaco, Spa and Monza should all be safe.

[MIKA27]

Williams: KERS key to F1's green image

Williams team boss Sir Frank Williams believes reintroducing KERS to Formula 1 is essential for the sport's environmental image, and that the return of the energy-regenerating device would protect F1 from criticism from environmental groups and the press.

KERS remains in the regulations following its single season of use last year, but the teams agreed not to run it in 2010 on cost grounds. Its return was debated during meetings at last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, and Williams said he was strongly in favour.

"I've always believed that Formula 1 needs a totem, to avoid - which we have done so far - the attention of unco-operative members of the press who don't follow Formula 1 very actively," he said.

"I use the word totem, but to explain what I mean in very general terms - it's quite the wrong word because KERS is a very meaningful thing for emission control and it does save power.

"It's expensive, it's difficult technically and it's a big swallow, but sooner or later Formula 1's going to get some aggro from one of these bodies that causes aggro."

Last year only McLaren and Ferrari used KERS for the majority of the season, with BMW and Renault abandoning their systems and the other teams opting to run without the device - although most had evaluated KERS in testing.

Brawn and Red Bull fought for the championship without needing KERS, but Williams believes the technology has already improved enough that if it returned any teams not running the system would be uncompetitive.

"If three teams had KERS and the other seven didn't, the chances of winning races if you haven't got KERS - now that the systems are becoming better and better - [not having it] is a major handicap," he said. "I believe it should be compulsory or not at all."

Williams was the only team to try out a flywheel-based KERS alongside the battery versions favoured by the rest of the teams, but Williams added that the refuelling ban now made flywheel KERS impractical.

"We can't use our own KERS because that's a flywheel, which takes up more room, and the only place to put it is behind the driver," he explained.

"If the fuel tank is three times the size it was two years ago, and you want to put KERS in it, you'll have your car longer than a London bus... So we'll use it elsewhere."

[MIKA27]

Rubens is ‘really special’ – Williams

Williams technical director Sam Michael says Rubens Barrichello has been a revelation to him and the team this year.

The 37-year-old veteran joined the Oxfordshire-based squad this season, swapping seats with the Mercedes-bound Nico Rosberg, and has scored points in two of the three races held so far.

Michael says Barrichello’s wealth of experience and the quality of his technical feedback have already proved huge assets to Williams as it attempts to make progress with the FW32.

“The guy's got so much experience and that helps [rookie team-mate] Nico [Hulkenberg] as well,” said Michael over the Sepang weekend.

“It's still early in the season, but I have to say he's one of the best drivers I've ever worked with.

“He's got such a big database - for every two camber change tests Nico's done, Rubens has done 100 of them.

“And they may be across different cars and different platforms and different tyres, but he just knows what's important to make the car go fast.

“He's had a massive input to the development of the car.

“That was big input from Rubens.”

Michael says Barrichello is operating at a higher level than any driver he has worked with during his time with Williams.

“It's an amazing thing to not have that for a while, and then have that again,” he said.

“To be honest, I haven't worked with anyone as good as him since working with [Heinz-Harald] Frentzen and [Damon] Hill when I was back at Jordan 12 years ago.

“That's the last time I worked with guys of his calibre, he really is so impressive.

“We thought he would be good, but he has far exceeded our expectations of what he would be like - and that goes for everyone in the team, Adam [Parr], Patrick [Head], Frank [Williams] and myself.

“The guy's just on a really special level.”

He added: “The thing that's probably surprised us the most is that we think 'how's this guy not been a multiple world champion?'

“Because he is better than some guys who are world champions.

“There's always a honeymoon stage, but so far it's a perfect partnership.”

Michael said Barrichello’s savvy and experience were particularly valuable during the rain-hit Sepang qualifying session last Saturday.

“Rubens was very useful - his calls on tyres were all correct,” he said.

“I was panicking going into Q2 with both cars on intermediates, it was only [Vitaly] Petrov, Michael [schumacher], Rubens and Nico on inters - the other cars were all on wets, so I was pretty worried about it.

“When Rubens first went out of the pit lane, he said 'damn, it is very wet' and then he got to turn seven and said 'we're definitely on the right tyre'.

“So he knew that on his out-lap, and I was comfortable.”

MIKA: Rubens was and has always been 'The best' wet weather driver in Formula 1 as far as I'm concerned.

[MIKA27]

Massa: Stupid mistakes can lose the title

Felipe Massa concedes that too many "stupid" mistakes like Ferrari's Malaysian qualifying could ultimately cost the team the World title.

Ferrari, opting like McLaren to use the weather radar rather than looking up the skies, ventured out late in Q1 believing that they would miss the worst of the rain. Instead they caught the worst of it as a second shower hit the track late in the 20 minute session.

The result was Massa qualified down in 21st place while his team-mate Fernando Alonso could only manage 19th.

"There is no point avoiding the subject: our race was pretty much over by the end of the first part of qualifying on Saturday afternoon. In simple language, we made a big mistake, me and the team together," Massa told Ferrari's website.

"It was wrong to trust too much in the weather forecast, thinking it was going to get dryer, especially as it was already raining prior to the start of the session. We ended up on track at the wrong time and failed to get out of Q1 and it is no consolation that we were not the only team to make that mistake.

"It was a stupid strategic mistake really and we must learn from what happened and try not to do it again, because in such a closely contested championship, these are the sort of incidents that could win or lose the title come the end of the year."

The Brazilian, though, did draw some positives from the Sepang race, which he finished in seventh place, taking the lead in the Drivers' Championship from Alonso.

"Even after a difficult weekend like the one just gone in Malaysia, I always try to look on the positive side and although Friday and Saturday free practice showed that the F10 was not the quickest car on the track, in the race, when I was able to run alone and in clean air, the pace was reasonable compared to the Red Bull, which was the winning car," he said.

"Also, when compared to the McLarens, the verdict was quite good. In the early stages, Lewis, who along with Jenson, also joined us down the back part of the grid, was able to pass a lot of cars thanks to having excellent top speed which we were not able to match. However, after a while, I was able to close the gap on him quite easily in the later stages.

"So, I have to say that our race pace is good, but we still need to improve our performance over the single lap in qualifying. That is clear from the fact that Red Bull has been on pole position for all three races so far.

"If we improve this aspect of our package, we will therefore improve even our race performance and that is what we will be trying to do in the coming races."

Ferrari's blunder handed rivals Red Bull Racing the perfect opportunity to claim the 1-2, which they did with Sebastian Vettel leading home Mark Webber.

The team's dominant display led to some saying that Red Bull are now the team to beat, as coupled with their Sepang they would've won the previous two races had it not been for reliability issues.

Massa, though, has downplayed Red Bull's pace, saying he believes Ferrari are not that far off the pace.

"I heard people in Malaysia on Sunday saying that Red Bull was now by far the quickest car and it is true they were in the first two rows of the grid.

"But over a race distance, I believe the story is a bit different and you have to remember that in Sepang, they were racing pretty much on their own as the two teams who would have pushed them hardest, started from so far back.

"You need to keep that in mind when assessing the race. They are definitely not unstoppable, but we need to improve a bit to be in a better position to stop them."

MIKA: IMO, if Red Bull continue their pace and have any reliability issues rectified, they will be dominant this season and virtually unstoppable.

If big teams like Ferrari, Mercedes GP, McLaren etc make stupid mistakes, they will hand the points over to the teams that have common sense.

This is a perfect example of how some of the big teams overlook their own intuition as human beings and rely too heavily on telemetry/machines.

A big manufacturer with a huge budget can never have enough cash for common sense.

[MIKA27]

Sauber confused by team's lack of pace

Peter Sauber admits he's baffled as to why his team has struggled so far this season, failing to claim even a single point.

Sauber was one of the surprises in pre-season testing, showing impressive pace although little could actually be deduced from the lap times given the wide variations in fuel loads that the teams were running.

But, even if they were running lighter than their rivals, Sauber still expected better from his team that what has been delivered in the opening three races of the Championship.

"In terms of performance we are not where we expected to be or where we should be given the means we've had at our disposal in the development of the C29," Sauber said.

"I'm looking for explanations myself. What is clear is that there was a lot of uncertainty around the whole team in the second half of 2009 - not surprisingly, given the circumstances.

"Nobody within the team knew whether we would be on the grid in Bahrain. This uncertainty was only removed when I took over the team and the guys could see a future once again. Now we have the task of making up for lost time as quickly as possible."

One of the ways Sauber hopes to improve his team's performances is in the appointment of former Force India man James Key as their new technical director.

"I was impressed by what Force India had achieved in recent times on a tight budget, and James Key played a major role in getting them to where they are today," he said.

"For me it was also important to appoint a Technical Director with a track record of getting the most out of limited resources. He will benefit from the first-class infrastructure at Hinwil and I'm in no doubt that he can take the team forward.

"His first grand prix for the team will be Shanghai, where he will also have technical responsibility at the circuit. In the short term he will focus on exploiting the full potential of the C29, something we haven't been able to do in the first three races of the season.

"Looking further ahead, he will set about putting in place what he considers to be the right structure for the technical department. I'm certainly expecting there to be changes. However, these will not happen overnight. It's a process that will take place over a period of time."

[MIKA27]

Massa closing in on new Ferrari deal

Felipe Massa is reportedly on the verge of signing a new Ferrari deal that will keep him at the team for a further three seasons.

Despite rumours linking Ferrari with a bid for either Sebastian Vettel or Robert Kubica, new reports claim the team is in fact planning on sticking with Massa.

The Italian marque is believed to have already written up a new contract for the Brazilian and the only thing missing is his signature.

The deal is expected to be signed and sealed within the next few weeks.

The new contract will keep Massa at Ferrari until the end of 2013, giving the Italian team an unchanged line-up for at least the next two seasons as Fernando Alonso's deal only expires end of 2012.

[MIKA27]

Bridgestone: Shanghai is severe on tyres

Bridgestone are expecting the toughest test yet for their tyres when Formula One races at the Shanghai circuit next weekend.

So far this season, despite the increased weight the tyres have to bear, Bridgestone's rubber has held up with very little of the degradation and graining that had been predicted.

However, that may not be the case next weekend in China with Bridgestone warning that it could be the first "severe" race for their tyres.

"Shanghai International Circuit is severe on tyres," said Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone's Director of Motorsport Tyre Development.

"There are very high lateral forces and we expect to see graining on the front left tyres, especially caused by the increasing radius turn two and the banked Turn 13. We could also see graining on the rear tyres here too.

"We are a step harder in our allocation for this year compared to 2009 because of the heavier cars and the severity of this track.

"The circuit layout means that a medium downforce set-up will be used, as there are two long straights, but a large percentage of the track is also very twisty and technical.

"For the teams and drivers, finding the correct set-up to make the best use of their tyres will be a big challenge.

"Last year the challenge was the weather, and we saw our wet tyres used for most of the race. It was not the first time we have had wet conditions in China so the sky will be a strong consideration for this weekend."

[MIKA27]

Haug: Schumacher won't walk away

Norbert Haug has denied that Michael Schumacher is considering aborting his comeback after a disappointing start.

Although Schumacher scored points in two of three races that have been run, the German has so far lacked the spark that carried him to seven World titles.

Schumacher has also been outdone by his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who has already claimed one front row grid slot and a podium finish.

This has sparked rumours suggesting that he may call it quits before the end of his three-year Mercedes GP deal.

Haug, though, says the rumours are rubbish.

"I know that Michael is highly motivated and wants to make his comeback for the long term - and successful," he told The Bild.

Asked whether he would bet on Schumacher winning a race, the Merc motorsport boss responded: "Even in times of our consistent wins I didn't bet on race results. Instead of pre-race prognoses I prefer post-race analyses."

He added: "As soon as the car can do it, so can Michael. The fact that he has not had better results so far is not his fault.

"The true fans are experts and know exactly what has happened so far and why there is the points deficit."

And as for Schumacher's smiles, an unusual sight on the 41-year-old's face, Haug denies that the time will come when he loses his sense of enjoyment.

"Completely the opposite. Michael knows what he wants and knows what he can do. We know that too.

"He has crystal clear self-perceptions and enjoys his job. He is not about to make his comeback under the motto 'He came, he saw, he conquered.'"

MIKA: Typical media/reporter speculation. I am sure Schumacher prior to signing up knew he wouldn't just sit in a racer after a 3 year absence and win a race straight away. This is just pure nonsense.

[MIKA27]

South Korean GP in doubt?

The inaugural South Korean GP may not take place in October as scheduled due to a delay in construction, according to reports in the German press.

The German magazine Focus reports that Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone travelled to the circuit in Yeongam after the conclusion of the Malaysian Grand Prix to view the situation for himself, before deciding whether or not to cancel the event.

The 5.6km-long Korean International Circuit will reportedly not be completed in time for the GP which is scheduled for 24th October, leaving Ecclestone with the prospect of being forced to reduce the current calendar from 19 races to 18.

The circuit was designed by the highly-respected Herman Tilke, but while Tilke's company often oversees the construction of the circuit's they design, Tilke is only involved in an advisory capacity on this occasion.

"For the first time I am concerned that a (Tilke) circuit is not going to be finished on time," Tilke is quoted as telling Focus.