Di Resta will have the advantage in Australia - Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg expects Force India team-mate Paul di Resta to have the upper-hand at the first race of the season as he reacquaints himself with life as a race driver.

Hulkenberg made his debut with Williams in 2010 but had to settle for a reserve driver role at Force India last year and missed out on a season's racing. He has been promoted to the position of race driver this year, but admits it will take at least one race to get back up to speed.

Asked by the official Formula One website if di Resta will have an advantage, he said: "Yes, especially during the first races I guess. He's used to the procedure of a race weekend, DRS, KERS etc. and I will have to find my rhythm again first. But this disadvantage will probably be gone after a few races."

Webber focused on his own form

Mark Webber says he will waste no time worrying about rival drivers gunning for his Red Bull Racing seat for next year.

With the Australian's contract up for renewal again at the end of this season, Webber knows he must deliver results if his bosses are not going to consider slotting in youngsters like Daniel Ricciardo or Jean-Eric Vergne.

But rather than feel that the situation is a cause for concern, Webber is well aware of what is expected - and knows the best thing for his future is focusing on his own performances rather than what other drivers are doing.

"The most important thing for Mark Webber is that I perform," he said in an interview with the official Formula 1 website. "The rest I can't control, so I'll just look after myself.

David Coulthard will race in the DTM for a third straight year with Mercedes

David Coulthard will spend a third year in the DTM with Mercedes this season.

The 13-time grand prix winner is staying with Mucke Motorsport, but will, for the first time in his DTM career, have a current-spec car as the series moves into a new set of technical regulations aimed at increasing driver safety and cutting costs.

Coulthard, who finished 16th in last year's championship, has started 21 DTM races and believes that the experience he can now fall back on will help him move up the order this year.

Marussia forced to delay new Formula 1 car launch after failing final mandatory crash test

Marussia has been forced to scrap plans to run its new Formula 1 car at this week's Barcelona test after failing its final mandatory crash test.

The outfit had hoped to give the new MR01 its first track action from Thursday this week, but it cannot go ahead after its car did not pass the last of the 18 crash tests that are required in the regulations.

For the first time this year, F1 teams have had to pass the crash tests before they are allowed to run their cars at an official test. Previously, teams only had to pass the tests before the first race of the season.

Ferrari and Red Bull forced to revert to original testing schedule after FIA move

Ferrari and Red Bull Racing have been forced to abandon plans to run a revised testing programme at Barcelona this week following the intervention of the FIA.

Both outfits had hoped to run from Friday to Monday at Barcelona, instead of the Thursday to Sunday schedule that other outfits present at the test had originally agreed to.

However, Ferrari revealed on Tuesday morning that an FIA clarification of article 22.4 of Formula 1's sporting regulations, which governs testing, on Monday night had meant it was no longer possible to stick to its change of plans.

Despite shifting its days, Ferrari will maintain its original driver rotation plan - with Felipe Massa testing for the first and third days (Thursday/Saturday), and Fernando Alonso driving on the second and final days (Friday/Sunday).

Red Bull Racing will also alternate its drivers for the final test, with Mark Webber driving on Thursday and Saturday, and Sebastian Vettel slotted in for Friday and Sunday.

Matt Kenseth wins chaotic 2012 Daytona 500

Matt Kenseth rounded out a week of Roush Fenway domination at Daytona by winning a wild Daytona 500 that finally concluded at 1am local time on Tuesday morning.

The 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion bounced back from early cooling issues that almost put him a lap down, to get back in contention at the front of the field, where teamwork with Greg Biffle proved vital to putting him in position to win NASCAR's biggest race for the second time in his career.

The race, which had already been postponed from Sunday afternoon to Monday night due to rain, was red-flagged for two hours with 40 laps to go after a bizarre incident in which Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet-dryer vehicle. The Colombian was trying to catch up with the field after pitting under caution when he spun into the course vehicle, which then exploded into flames. No one was injured.

Felipe Massa sure Ferrari has found the direction to unlock the potential of the F2012

Felipe Massa is convinced Ferrari has finally found the direction that will allow the team to unlock all the potential from its 2012 challenger.

The Italian squad has endured a difficult pre-season so far, as it worked on getting to grips with the radical F2012 car with which it hopes to return to winning ways this season.

Massa completed his two days of work at Barcelona today, covering over 100 laps for the first time this year and finishing as fifth quickest.

The Brazilian believes that after a difficult final morning, Ferrari made a breakthrough in the afternoon that will allow the team to finally extract the best from the car.

"I think it's definitely the direction we need to follow for these last days of testing we have, and I think today was a positive day, not so much in the morning but in the afternoon," Massa told reporters.

Daytona 500 postponed to Monday due to rain

The Daytona 500 has been postponed for the first time in its 54-year history, with the race now set to take place on Monday after being rained off on Sunday.

Twice during a five-hour period officials worked on getting the track to race-ready condition when the rain stopped, but once it returned with dusk looming, they decided to postpone the event for Monday, the green flag scheduled to wave just after noon local time.

"I just tweeted that I guess I'm going to have to win the first Monday Daytona 500," said front-row starter Greg Biffle. "As you can tell, I'm still in my uniform because I was optimistic that this weather was going to get out of here and we were going to get this thing going, but I'll just have to save my energy for tomorrow."

Biffle expects speeds to pick up on the green surface once the racing gets underway, and anticipates that NASCAR will wave a competition caution to check tyre wear within the first 30 laps of the scheduled 200.

Rain set to delay Daytona 500 start

Rain is expected to hamper the scheduled start for today's 54th running of the Daytona 500.
The rainfall started before noon local time and although there has not been a heavy downpour, the track is completely wet approaching the scheduled green flag time of 1:29pm US Eastern Time. Officials estimate around two hours to get the track in race-ready condition from the moment they start the drying process with jet-blowers.

Driver introductions are still scheduled to take place on time - around 50 minutes before the start - but depend on weather conditions.

Weather forecasts show the chance of rain reduces into the afternoon before increasing again into the night but officials hope to get a window big enough to get the race in today.

While there have been four occasions when the Daytona 500 has been shortened, the last in 2009 due to rain, the event has never been run on a Monday.

Mark Webber not writing off Ferrari's chances of strong start to F1 season

Mark Webber thinks it would be wrong to write off Ferrari's chances of starting the Formula 1 season strongly, with the early form guide pointing towards Red Bull and McLaren as favourites.

Although Ferrari has failed to shine in the first two pre-season tests, Webber knows that winter running can potentially count for nothing at the first race - especially since the team has a driver like Fernando Alonso on board.

"As long as Fernando has a steering wheel in his hand he is always there," said Webber. "So you can never discount Fernando.
"I think McLaren look pretty well prepared, but we have seen it in the past where people are not very organised in the winter but then arrive at the first race extremely organised.

"We are focused on ourselves. We have a lot of work to do in Milton Keynes over the next five or six days to prepare the car for the next test, and then there is a huge workload for Melbourne.

Nico Rosberg is fired up by Mercedes progress with new F1 car

Nico Rosberg says he is fired up by the progress he has seen at Mercedes - even though he concedes the team is not in race-winning shape yet.

Although the W03 has proved to be a step forward over last year's challenger, Rosberg backs the view of team principal Ross Brawn that the outfit needs to find another step before it can be ready to take victory.

However, rather than be downbeat because he may have to wait a bit longer to think about winning races, Rosberg says the fact the team is moving forward is enough to keep him happy.

HRT passes all Formula 1 crash tests but Barcelona presence not certain

The HRT team has passed all the mandatory FIA crash tests, , although its presence at the final Barcelona Formula 1 test is still in doubt.

HRT had hoped to debut its new car - the F112 - in the second test at Barcelona this week, but the failure to pass two crash tests forced the Spanish squad to alter its plans.
On Friday the team passed the final rollhoop test successfully and so its car is now homologated to test and to race.

The team's presence in the final test in Barcelona, however, is still in doubt, as HRT is facing a race against time to have the car ready. A source said the outfit is hopeful of at least testing for two days.
The final test of the 2012 pre-season kicks off on Thursday and ends on Monday.

Kamui Kobayashi fastest as first Barcelona F1 test ends

Kamui Kobayashi put Sauber at the top of the timesheets as Formula 1's second pre-season test closed.

The Japanese driver managed a 1m22.312s on Pirelli's soft compound in the final hour of the morning, the fastest time set over all four days in Barcelona.

Having ended the morning fastest, Kobayashi's time came under little threat in the afternoon as teams followed the established pattern of focusing on long runs.
The same was true of Pastor Maldonado, who got within a quarter of a second of Kobayashi in the morning before focusing purely on long runs in the afternoon - in the process racking up 131 laps over the course of the day.

Paul di Resta was the only driver to move up the order in the final session, as a switch to supersoft rubber produced a 1m23.119s - enough to demote Jenson Button and claim third.

Williams admits low-speed performance needs improving to move up F1 grid

Williams needs to improve its car's low-speed performance if it is to make progress up the grid, reckons chief operations engineer Mark Gillan.

Although the team is convinced that the FW34 is a step forward over last year's disappointing challenger, the Grove-based outfit already understands the areas where things need to be made even better.

"Obviously, you've got to concentrate on where the maximum performance gains will be had," explained Gillan about Williams' focus going forward.

"Aero-wise, slow speed corners are where the laptime is to be found, so you have to concentrate on that. The aero department spent a lot of time looking at the different weightings and ensuring that the car is optimised for where there is maximum return."

FIA to eliminate potential for F1 exhaust blowing by closing off ECU loophole

The FIA is to close off a loophole in Formula 1's new engine mapping regulations as part of a fresh clampdown on exhaust blowing.

As teams continue to push the limits of the exhaust regulations, sources have revealed that the FIA has been alerted about a way in which teams could get around the stricter engine mapping limits laid down for this year.
Motor racing's governing body has been on a crusade to eradicate any form of exhaust blowing that is primarily aimed at producing an aerodynamic benefit.

As well as agreeing with teams on technical regulations that forced the now-standard periscope exhaust designs, the FIA was also imposing strict limits on engine mapping programmes to prevent the continued off-throttle blowing of them.

Although that move went some way to resolving the issue, sources have revealed that the FIA has now been tipped off by one engine maker that there remains the possibility in the current mapping configurations to get around those new limits.

 The issue relates to the extreme possibility of a team trying to make use of a bigger throttle opening than is allowed, to help increase the flow of exhaust gases by inducing a misfire.

Lewis Hamilton optimistic McLaren will fight at the front in Australia

Lewis Hamilton is optimistic McLaren has the pace to fight at the front in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix when the season kicks off next month.

Hamilton completed his week's work at Barcelona today, after covering 120 laps on his way to the sixth fastest time of the day.

The McLaren driver admitted the feeling this year was completely different to the 2011 pre-season, when the team struggled with its car.

"Last year I think I struggled to do 30 laps. I think we struggled to do 10 laps without the exhaust failing," Hamilton said at the end of the day.
"So to do a whole day and to do 120 laps, I can't remember last time I did that many laps. Definitely we feel in a much more comfortable place and confident that we can be at the front fighting with the guys at the top."

The Briton suggested, however, that Red Bull may still have the edge after him and Sebastian Vettel completed a race simulation at the same time during today's session.
"I was just focusing on my job. I think we were out at similar times during the runs," Hamilton said of his race simulation.

Lotus set to get extra day of running after pulling out of Barcelona F1 test

Lotus is set to add an extra day of private running to the final pre-season test after abandoning this week's Barcelona test with a chassis problem.

The Enstone team has applied for permission to have an extra day on track, which would require unanimous consent from the other teams.

Lotus already has the required agreement from the majority of teams and given that Mercedes was granted an extra day before this week's Barcelona test after only running for three days in Jerez two weeks ago, it is likely to get permission.

It's not yet decided whether Lotus will run before or after the next Barcelona test, which runs from March 1-4, but sources indicate that the team is confident that it will have its chassis ready after making modifications to solve a problem believed to be related to the front suspension.

Daniel Ricciardo believes the Toro Rosso STR7 can move the team up the grid

Daniel Ricciardo is confident Scuderia Toro Rosso has produced a car that will enable it to move up the order in 2012.

After some positive early indications from the new STR7 during the first tests at Jerez and Barcelona, Ricciardo feels that the team can achieve its ambition of finishing in the top seven teams this year.

"It's going pretty good," Ricciardo said about testing of the new car. "I think we're still going to be fighting the guys we were last year realistically, but even if we get one further spot up in the constructors' championship, it is still a huge deal and accomplishment. I'd say we're on the right track for making progress.

"I'm happy too. Jean-Eric [Vergne] and myself are really happy to be here, and for the team it's another challenge to work with us, like a new motivation for the team. At the moment the vibe is very good, and I don't expect it to change. It's a good feeling inside the garage."

Ross Brawn says F1's competitiors could end up regretting that four teams quit FOTA

Ross Brawn believes the decision by four of his rivals to quit the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) was short-sighted, and fears all the sport's competitors may live to regret it.

With Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, Sauber and Scuderia Toro Rosso all having quit FOTA in the wake of ongoing wrangling over a Resource Restriction Agreement, there have been questions raised about the future of the organisation.

However, the remaining members of FOTA are wholly committed to it, and Brawn says he hopes that circumstances do not play out - such as in imminent talks over a new Concorde Agreement - where teams wish they had stuck together.

"We are very committed to FOTA, we believe it's a great shame that we've lost some of the members from FOTA because I think we may live ultimately to regret that," said the Mercedes boss.
"When there is outside pressure it pushed FOTA together. Now, there is not so much, the natural competitiveness of the teams is pushing it apart a bit.

Lotus F1 team pulls out of Barcelona test due to chassis problems

Lotus has pulled out of the Barcelona test with immediate effect as a result of the problems it encountered with its chassis this morning.
The team has decided to abandon running in order to fully understand the problem with the chassis that manifested itself on chassis 2, which ran for the first time today.

This is despite chassis 1 completing the full Jerez test two weeks ago. The team said the problem requires modification to both chassis.

The car completed 1788 km of testing at Jerez, but the problem manifested itself at the higher-speed Barcelona configuration.
"Before we were due to fly chassis E20-01 out to Barcelona in replacement of chassis E20-02 - damaged this morning - we ran a series of simulations at the factory based on the data provided by our brief running on track today," said technical director James Allison.

"As a result, we were able to identify an area which requires some additional work. It will be more productive for us to carry out these modifications to both chassis at Enstone rather than send E20-01 out to this week's test. We'll put the right measures in place and we will be able to fix the problem before next week."

Ross Brawn says Mercedes must move up in 2012 F1 season

Ross Brawn believes Mercedes GP must move up the Formula 1 grid this year, following two consecutive seasons where it finished fourth in the standings.

After officially unveiling its new W03 at Barcelona on Tuesday, Brawn said that the Brackley-based outfit has the ingredients it needs to deliver improved form on track - which means regularly fighting for podium finishes.

"We have to go forward," he said. "None of us are happy with a recurring fourth place. That is not why any of us are here. We have to go forward, but I am quietly confident with the strength we have got, the resources we have got and the team we are building that we can do that."

Brawn says that the one factor that has encouraged him about Mercedes GP's prospects was the bolstering of the technical department that occurred last year – and specifically the arrival of Bob Bell, Geoff Willis and Aldo Costa.

NASCAR drivers reckon Daytona 500 will feature less carnage than Shootout

Leading NASCAR drivers expect the Daytona 500 and the Duel qualifying races to be much calmer affairs than Saturday night's destructive Budweiser Shootout.

The non-championship, random grid event last weekend was disrupted by three massive multi-car crashes, one of which ended up with former champion Jeff Gordon rolling for the first time in his NASCAR career.

Adjustments to the technical package for the restrictor plate races have led to the return of racing in large packs instead of the unpopular tandem drafts of recent years. But Shootout winner Kyle Busch said Saturday night's carnage was more because of the nature of the Shootout rather than the pack racing, and said the Sprint Cup opener will be less destructive - at least until the final laps.

"It will be a little bit calmer. It's all in the drivers' hands, how boring or how exciting we want to make the race," he said. "I think [the Shootout] was pretty exciting, the reason being because it's a non-points race.

Mercedes unveils its W03 2012 Formula 1 car

Mercedes became the last of the frontrunning Formula 1 teams to officially unveil its 2012 car, when it rolled out the W03 at Barcelona prior to the start of the second week of testing today.

The new car has already shaken down the car at Silverstone last week, and conducted a private test at Catalunya on Sunday - which Mercedes was permitted to undertake because it had only been present for three of the four days of running at Jerez earlier this month.

Mercedes chose to stick with its 2011 car for Jerez in order to gain data on this year's Pirelli tyres, and was quickest on two of the days it was present - though it was running to full '11 specification, including the no-longer-permitted exhaust-blown diffuser.

Carl Edwards takes Daytona 500 pole

Carl Edwards secured pole position for the Daytona 500 as Fords dominated qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season-opener.

Last year's championship runner-up will share the front row with his Roush Fenway team-mate Greg Biffle.

Only the top two starting positions were set by today's qualifying session, as the remainder of the starting order is decided by Thursday's Gatorade Duel heat races.
Edwards set a time of 46.216 seconds at an average speed of 194.738mph to beat Biffle to the top spot by 0.155s.
Fords filled four of the top five places, with only Hendrick Chevrolet driver Dale Earnhardt Jr interrupting the marque's sweep by going third quickest.

Petty Ford's Marcos Ambrose and Germain Ford's Casey Mears completed the top five, followed by Jeff Gordon in another Hendrick Chevy.

Last year's shock winner Trevor Bayne showed good form again by going ninth quickest for Wood Brothers, just ahead of reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart (Stewart-Haas Chevrolet). Kyle Busch, winner of last night's Budweiser Shootout, was only 28th in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Quickest Toyota driver was Michael Waltrip Racing's Martin Truex Jr in seventh.
Danica Patrick was 30th-quickest in her first Cup qualifying session.

Mercedes completes private test of new W03 Formula 1 car

Mercedes completed a private test of its new W03 at Barcelona today, ahead of the next full-field test at the track, which starts on Tuesday. Because Mercedes only used three of the four days of the opening test at Jerez, it was able to complete 200 kilometres of private running today. Michael Schumacher drove in the morning, before Nico Rosberg took over for the afternoon. Mercedes used its 2011 car at Jerez earlier this month, focusing on getting data about this season's Pirelli tyre specifications before rolling out the new car this week. The W03 will be officially unveiled just before the start of testing on Tuesday morning.

Christian Horner says F1 teams will trust FIA over Bahrain GP

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Formula 1 teams will trust the FIA when deciding on the Bahrain GP, but insists there are no plans to cancel the event at the moment.

The current political situation in the country has led to calls for the event to be canned, although F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said earlier this week there were no concerns about the grand prix.

Horner said the teams will rely on the FIA to make the right decision.

And he made it clear that, as of right now, there are no reasons to believe the event will not go ahead as scheduled.

"As far as I'm aware, we're definitely going," Horner was quoted as saying by Reuters on Friday.
"We rely on the FIA, it's the FIA Formula 1 world championship, and Bahrain is one of the races on the calendar.

"They are far better placed to know what the issues are, and we trust their judgement, as we do the promoter, and we'll see how things develop. As of today there's a race committed to Bahrain, and therefore we'll be there."

The Bahrain Grand Prix, the fourth race of the season, takes places on April 22.

Vitaly Petrov replaces Jarno Trulli at Caterham F1 team

Vitaly Petrov will race with the Caterham team during the 2012 season, taking Jarno Trulli's place at the squad, it was confirmed on Friday.

The Russian had been linked with the outfit for several weeks despite the veteran Italian having a contract with the team he had raced for since the 2010 season.

Petrov was left without a racing drive after Renault - now Lotus - signed Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean for the 2012 season.
The 27-year-old from Vyborg, Russia, will partner Heikki Kovalainen at Caterham.

"This is a very exciting day for me," said Petrov. "I would like to thank Tony, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin for giving me the chance to join a team that made its F1 debut at the same time as me, and has grown from one of the new teams to a serious force for future honours.

"The passion and spirit that Tony and the whole team have to keep moving forwards is infectious, and I am honoured to be able to join them and play my part in helping the team mount a serious challenge to the teams ahead in 2012 and for many seasons to come.

First picture of new Mercedes as W03 runs at Silverstone

The new Mercedes W03 broke cover for the first time at Silverstone on Thursday, completing its first run ahead of its maiden test at Barcelona next week.

This spy shot of the car during a filming day shows it to feature a stepped nose, in common with almost the whole 2012 F1 grid and several other key differences from last year's machine.

Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug told AUTOSPORT: "The nose is the most discussed issue. It's a stepped nose as some have seen. It's a very nice solution really and a very dynamic one."
Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg drove the car. Filming days require that no more than 100km is completed and demonstration Pirelli tyres are used.

Williams F1 team sure the new FW34 car is a step forward

Williams is convinced this year's car is a clear step forward compared to last year's challenger, with which the team struggled most of the season.

The Grove team endured its worst ever Formula 1 season last year, scoring just five points on its way to ninth place in the standings.

Williams is hoping to revive its fortunes with the new FW34, with engineering chief Mark Gillan adamant that the car proved to be stronger in the first test at Jerez.
"It is a definite step forward," said Gillan. "It is definitely a very different car and there is a lot of things that we need to start investigating and unlock because last year we could not go down those particular routes because we were prevented by the way the car behaved or the way it used its tyres."

HRT to skip first Barcelona F1 test to focus on new car

The HRT team will skip the first Barcelona test in order to focus on being ready with its new car for the second and final test there.

The Spanish squad tested for two days at Jerez last week, using its 2011 car as the new challenger is yet to pass all the mandatory crash tests.

HRT had hoped to attend the first Barcelona test with the new car, but the failure to pass two crash tests meant a change of plans.

The team has decided it will not be testing at Barcelona next week with the old car either in order to concentrate on getting the new single-seater ready for the March 1 outing.
The Barcelona test kicks off on Tuesday.

FIA confident of agreeing new international TV deal for WRC this week

The FIA is confident that it will nail down international television coverage for the World Rally Championship this week.

Following the loss of North One Sport as promoter and the subsequent collapse of talks with Eurosport, there had been grave concerns for footage from this year's series. Eurosport agreed a deal with the organisers of the Monte Carlo Rally and Finnish firm Filmworks did the same with last week's Rally Sweden.

The ideal scenario is the central distribution and sales of television coverage of the whole WRC. It's known that a deal had been made with ITV4 for more comprehensive coverage of WRC in 2012 and it's this kind of deal that the FIA is hoping it can achieve again for this season. Individual events have now been told to stop working with local broadcasters.

Lotus bosses say team atmosphere will bring out Kimi Raikkonen's best

Lotus will bring the very best out of Kimi Raikkonen, reckon team bosses Eric Boullier and Gerard Lopez, who believe the 2007 world champion is a much more dedicated team player than his past reputation suggested.

Raikkonen has impressed Lotus since joining the team for his Formula 1 comeback after two years in rallying, and was quickest on the first day of winter testing at Jerez last week.

Lopez said Lotus had found Raikkonen to be a totally different character to how he was presented during his last F1 stint.

"For most people it's probably one of the big mysteries, because you hear the hearsay and so forth, but we feel very good with him and he clearly feels at home,"

"He smiles a lot when he's with us! But most importantly that says he feels more like part of the family."

Jari-Matti Latvala clinches win in Sweden for Ford despite late puncture

Jari-Matti Latvala escaped a late puncture to wrap up victory in Rally Sweden.

The Ford driver's 35-second lead dwindled to just eight seconds when he hit a rock and damaged a front tyre on the antepenultimate stage. But quickest time on the next test rebuilt his advantage and allowed to come home comfortable ahead of main rival Mikko Hirvonen.

The Finnish duo had taken charge of the rally from Friday afternoon onwards, after set-up concerns for Mads Ostberg, a spin by Petter Solberg and a two-minute excursion into a snow bank by Sebastien Loeb saw the trio fall away from the lead battle.
Latvala gradually edged away from Hirvonen as the weekend progressed, with a few errant set-up changes and high tyre wear on the Citroen ultimately costing Hirvonen too much time.

Romain Grosjean says Lotus E20 a good car but stays cautious about its pace

Romain Grosjean has hailed the new Lotus E20 as an improvement over last year's car in terms of handling after only two days in the cockpit.

The Frenchman, who drove the Renault R31 fielded by the Enstone team in Friday practice twice last year, believes his 2012 machine is more driveable.
"The car is handling better than it was last year," said Grosjean when asked if it was a step forward.

"It's working quite well and the car is very good to drive. I wouldn't say that it's easy because Formula 1 is never easy, but it's enjoyable to drive and you can play with it, which is the main thing."

Despite many of the team's rivals highlighting the pace of the Lotus, which was the fastest of the 2012-specification cars during the four-day test, Grosjean remains cautious about its speed.
However, he is happy with the progress that the team has made over the past 24 hours with the performance of the car over the long runs.

Jari-Matti Latvala takes Rally Sweden lead

Jari-Matti Latvala pulled away from Mikko Hirvonen to establish a 17-second lead in Rally Sweden after the second loop of stages.

The duo had been in a close fight all day, with Ford driver Latvala edging ahead of his former team-mate Hirvonen - now in a Citroen - midway through the afternoon.

There remained little to choose between them until Torsby, the fourth stage of the loop, by which time all the frontrunners were struggling with high tyre wear as the lack of snow on many stages tore the studs from the rubber.

Latvala coped with that situation better, and gained 22s on Hirvonen in just 19 kilometres.
The performance all but guarantees Latvala the overnight lead, with just this evening's Karlstad superspecial to go today.

Teams confident FIA has firm handle on the policing of F1 exhaust designs

Williams and McLaren are confident that the FIA has a firm handle on the policing of exhaust designs in 2012, despite teams pushing the limit of the regulations to the maximum this year.

With teams no longer allowed to run with blown diffusers, there has been much effort over the winter in creating exhaust designs that can still create some aerodynamic benefit.

That has resulted in a host of different designs - with Ferrari and McLaren's approach to that area of the car creating the most interest so far.

Charlie Whiting, the head of the FIA's Technical Department, visited the opening Jerez test to take a look at the designs being tried out so far - and he is likely to be involved in further detailed correspondence with the teams in the build-up to the campaign.

Fernando Alonso is fastest for Ferrari as Jerez F1 test comes to an end

Fernando Alonso set the fastest time of the day - and the second best by a 2012 car across all four days - as Ferrari ended the pre-season test at Jerez on a positive note.
The Scuderia had struggled to get on top of the radical F2012 during the first three days but, with Alonso at the helm, it rose to the top of the timesheets early on in day four and was never displaced.

Alonso ended with a best of 1m18.877s, set at the start of a six-lap run which also included laps in the 1m19s and 1m20s. It was enough to put him seven tenths clear of the day four field, with only Romain Grosjean on the previous day able to go faster in this year's new breed of cars.

Alonso was, however, only able to set two timed laps after 11.00 CET as Ferrari grappled with a hydraulic issue that restricted its afternoon programme.

Jean-Eric Vergne hung on to second despite a late rally from Sebastian Vettel in the RB8, which had been beset by electrical issues in the morning.

Ford considering tactical approach for Rally Sweden

Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson says the team is ready to take a tactical approach to this evening's selection of running order for Rally Sweden.

Wilson's driver Jari-Matti Latvala set the fastest time on the 2.4-mile qualifying stage and will now select his position on the road first of all the priority drivers at this evening's ceremonial start.

There are concerns that some of Ford and Citroen's customer cars could be slotted in ahead of the main protagonists.

The significant competitive action starts with the event's longest stage - the 17-mile Mitandersfors test - tomorrow morning. It's possible Latvala and the other leading drivers could make up the two-minute gap between them and some tactically placed customer cars.

"If that starts to happen," said Wilson, "we'll have to respond. We're here to win the rally – it's that simple. There's a lot to think about. We have a meeting at five o'clock to consider our options."
Ironically, the qualifying stage was introduced to try and alleviate the tactical approach being taken, with crews slowing down on the stages to drop time and jockey for a position further down the order on the following day.

FIA urged to drop the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix amid continued unrest

The FIA has been urged by a group of British politicians to reconsider its decision to let the Bahrain Grand Prix go ahead, in the wake of fresh troubles in the Gulf state.

While Formula 1 chiefs are unmoved about the ongoing situation in Bahrain, the topic returned to the news agenda on Thursday when reports emerged of a British man having his fingers chopped off after being attacked in Karranah, which is near Manama.

With matters being far from calm in Bahrain, members of the House of Lords have written on open letter to The Times newspaper to make clear their views on the situation.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Lord Alton, Lord Avebury, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Lord Hylton, Caroline Lucas and Lord Boswell all backed the call for the FIA to think again about letting the Bahrain GP go ahead.

"Sir, We note with concern the decision by Formula 1 to go ahead with the race in Bahrain scheduled for April," they wrote in The Times.

Former Force India F1 driver Adrian Sutil to appeal court verdict

Adrian Sutil will appeal the court verdict after receiving a suspended sentence for assaulting Lotus F1 team co-owner Eric Lux last year.

The German driver was given an 18-month suspended sentence and a 200,000 euro fine for causing bodily harm to Lux in a Shanghai night club brawl in 2011.

The former Force India driver, without a drive for 2012, is set to appeal the verdict, it was revealed on Wednesday.

"We are convinced that the judgement handed down is not appropriate. There are many things that went against us," Sutil's manager Manfred Zimmerman was quoted as saying by the SiD news agency.

The SiD report says that state prosecutors have also appealed the verdict as they believe the punishment was too lenient

Prosecutors had requested a one year and nine months of suspended sentence and a 300,000 euro penalty.

Michael Schumacher quickest on day two at Jerez with 2011 Mercedes F1 car

Michael Schumacher set the pace on the second day's testing at Jerez as Mark Webber led the way for Red Bull in F1's 2012-spec cars.

Schumacher, driving last year's Mercedes W02 in full trim so that the team could gain as much information about Pirelli's 2012 tyres from a stable platform, set a 1m18.561s lap during the morning that no one came close to beating for the rest of the day.

Webber's time also came in the morning as much of the paddock chose to focus on longer runs in the afternoon.

The Australian's 1m19.184s would remain the fastest time anyone has set in one of the new cars brought to Spain this week.

Daniel Ricciardo impressed in the Toro Rosso, going third fastest in the STR7, having completed 100 laps of fairly trouble-free running. He set his best time around the same period as his compatriot when the track conditions appeared to be at their best.

Kimi Raikkonen sets early pace for Lotus in Jerez F1 test

Kimi Raikkonen posted the quickest time in the first morning of testing in 2012 as the returning 2007 world champion set the pace in the new Lotus E20.

The Finn responded to the hype surrounding his return with four fast stints, and occupied the top spot on the timesheets from the minute he first left the garage.

His fastest time so far, a 1m19.670s, set on his third run using medium Pirelli tyres, was faster than any testing laps at the Spanish track throughout 2011.

Lotus confirmed that the team's programme was simply to put miles on the new car and to give Raikkonen as much time as was possible to get used to this year's Pirelli compounds. By 13:00 local time, the Finn had completed 50 laps.

Newey cautious over RB8 pace

Red Bull Racing's success last year gives no guarantees that its new RB8 challenger will set the pace this season, according to chief technical officer Adrian Newey.

The car ran for the first time at Jerez today in the hands of Mark Webber. But despite the RB8 being the latest step in the evolutionary path that dates back to the 2009 RB5, Newey believes that the rule changes for this season mean that Red Bull does not necessarily carry an advantage over.

"We could well be behind as far as we know," said Newey at Jerez on Tuesday. "We know what we have done over the winter but with things like the exhausts, front wing stiffness [tests] and other things there have been significant regulation changes. Where that leaves us is impossible to say."
Newey believes that the new rules, conceived to prevent teams from running exhaust blown diffusers, is the main challenge facing the design teams for this year.

Lotus frustrated by reactive ride ban

Lotus has expressed its disappointment at the FIA's decision to ban its reactive ride system for the 2012 season - but does not believe the move will hurt its performance too much.

The Enstone-based outfit had caused a stir at the start of this year when it emerged it was planning to run a radical system that maintained the ride-height of the car under braking. As well as providing an aerodynamic boost, this would improve stability.

While some other teams looked at developing their own systems, others suggested that the device was illegal – and in the end the FIA advised that it felt reactive ride should not be allowed because it was principally providing an aerodynamic benefit.

Kimi Raikkonen backed to lead Lotus F1 comeback

Kimi Raikkonen can lead Lotus back to winning ways, according to team principal Eric Boullier.

Boullier believes that the 2007 world champion's experience means that he will give the team the clear direction that it needs to deliver on its potential.

"Clearly, he brings a commitment to winning and he knows what he wants," said Boullier. "He is a proper racer and fits in well with a team that is a bunch of proper racers.

"When he is in the car, he knows exactly what he wants and that makes the team's life easier.
"It means more ambition and more responsibility [for the team] but it is also a different way of working with a world champion. He wants to win again and that's an ambition that we share."

Sauber unveils its 2012 F1 car at Jerez

Sauber became the sixth Formula 1 team to unveil its car for the 2012 season on Monday morning when the wraps came off the new Ferrari-powered C31.

The Swiss squad finished in seventh place in the standings in 2011 after scoring 44 points following a strong start to the season.

After a drop in performance during the middle part of the year, Sauber managed to keep rival Toro Rosso at bay thanks to two point-scoring results in the final races of the season, thus securing seventh position.

Red Bull Racing reveals its 2012 F1 challenger

Defending world champion team Red Bull Racing has unveiled the car with which it will attempt to stretch its title-winning run in 2012 - the Renault-powered RB8.

Having taken Sebastian Vettel to the the last two drivers' titles alongside its 2010 and '11 constructors' crowns, Red Bull's latest design is the most eagerly awaited of the new season contenders. Adrian Newey, the man generally regarded as the key to Red Bull's recent domination, is again responsible for leading the car's design.

The car appears outwardly similar to last year's all-conquering RB7, which won 12 of 2011's 19 races, but features a revised nose layout and a different exhaust to accommodate this season's rule changes.
Vettel and Mark Webber continue their driving partnership into a fourth season. Ex-Toro Rosso racer Sebastien Buemi is now RBR's reserve.

Talks between the FIA and Eurosport for the promotion of the World Rally Championship break down

Negotiations between the FIA and Eurosport for the promotion of the World Rally Championship have broken down and international television coverage of next week's Rally Sweden appears unlikely.

The FIA issued a statement this evening confirming it has withdrawn from negotiations and will begin discussions with other interested parties.

The statement said: "The FIA regrets to announce it has not proven possible to find an international promoter as well as a global broadcaster for the 2012 World Rally Championship season at this stage in time.

"The Federation has been involved in lengthy and detailed discussions with interested parties but a series of issues proved impossible to reconcile, and it finally had to take the decision to withdraw from these negotiations."

The statement confirms that the timing and tracking systems - provided by British firm Stage 1 Technology - will be in place and funded by the FIA in Sweden.

Ferrari says it has taken more risks with F2012 car

Ferrari has confessed to taking more risks with this year's car than previous cars, after unveiling a fairly aggressive F2012 at Maranello on Friday.

Although the most commented-on feature is its stepped nose, the most radical feature is that it is the first car in Formula 1 since Minardi in 2001 to feature front pull-rod suspension.

Furthermore, the team has worked hard on its packaging at the sidepods and the rear of the car and try and make the aerodynamic gains it thinks it needs to get ahead of Red Bull Racing.

Technical director Pat Fry confirmed that Ferrari had deliberately decided on an aggressive approach for this year's car - and had not been afraid of pushing the boundaries.

"A lot of people have said a lot of things, and it is a bit of a step away from where we have been," he told the official Ferrari website. "Certainly we have taken a few more risks on the basic car layout and things like that, but all in all everyone has done a good job.

Ferrari launches its 2012 F1 car

Ferrari unveiled the 2012 car on Friday morning that it hopes will return it to world championship-winning glory.

After being forced to cancel its launch ceremony because of heavy snow at Maranello, the team published the first images of its car on its official website instead.

Having promised a more radical approach with its car that it has had in recent seasons, the new Ferrari is the result of a big effort at the factory under the guidance of new technical director Pat Fry.

The snow that forced the cancellation of the launch also means that plans for a shakedown of the car at Fiorano have also had to be abandoned.

It is not clear if the team will be able to complete any mileage prior to the first official test with the car at Jerez in Spain next week.

New McLaren F1 car a 'complete rework', according to Tim Goss

McLaren says its new MP4-27 is a 'complete rework' of last year's car - despite its outward appearance pointing to it being an evolution of its 2011 contender.

After the covers came off the new car at McLaren's Woking factory on Wednesday, the main focus points of the MP4-27 were a nose step that was less extreme than some had expected, and the positioning of the exhausts.
Tim Goss, McLaren's director of engineering, said that although outwardly the car was an evolution of the MP4-26, it was in fact totally different under the skin.

"We have set ourselves tough and ambitious targets, and we aim to deliver those by the first race and have a championship-winning car," explained Goss. "This car is a complete rework from nose to tail, and there is very little that is carried over. A bit of the fuel system is the same, but almost everything else on the car has changed.