Frank Williams steps down from Williams board

The Williams team has announced Frank Williams is to step down from the board, with his daughter Claire joining from next month.
Williams made it clear, however, that he will continue to be team principal for the squad that bears his name.

But he said it is time for him to start the process of handing over the reins of the team since he will turn 70 next month.

"This is an opportune moment for me to consider my own role in the team," he said. "I turn 70 in April and I have decided to signal the next stage in the gradual but inevitable process of handing over the reins to the next generation by stepping down from the Board at the end of this month.

"This is not as dramatic a move as it may appear: I shall continue to work full-time as Team Principal and I shall continue to attend all Board meetings as observer. I also remain the majority shareholder of Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC."

Williams co-founder Patrick Head left the board at the end of last year.
The team also announced that Claire Williams will join its board from 1 April as director of marketing and communications.

Pirelli open to the idea of making softer tyre more aggressive

Pirelli is open to the idea of making its softer tyre more aggressive later this year if the compound does not deliver the high levels of degradation it is hoping for.

After its experiences so far of testing the new-for-2012 compounds, Pirelli is happy with the performance differential between its compounds - which it estimates being between 0.4-0.5 seconds - but fears that its soft tyre may not degrade as much as it had hoped for.


Although data from testing can sometimes be misleading, and the true race situations in warmer conditions may provide a different picture, Pirelli is ready to look at different options.

When asked  about the degradation levels of the tyres, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery, said:

"I think we would probably like to see more on the softer compound, much more aggressive degradation, but ask me the same question after we have been in 50 degrees in Malaysia on a hot circuit.

Audi unveils hybrid R18 e-tron quattro in Munich

Audi has revived the quattro name for its new hybrid Le Mans 24 Hours challenger.
The hybrid version of the German manufacturer's turbodiesel LMP1 coupe will be known as the R18 e-tron quattro. It takes the name because its hybrid systems recover kinetic energy and return it to the track through the front axle.

The R18 e-tron quattro follows in a line of successful Audi four-wheel-drive competition cars from the original Audi Quattro World Rally Championship winner of the early 1980s to its A4 quattro Super Tourer of the late 1990s.

The car was unveiled in Munich on Wednesday evening together with the conventional 2012-spec version, which has been christened the R18 ultra.

Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ullrich said: "To develop hybrid technology for Le Mans is at least as ambitious and challenging as our diesel project was in the early stages. The first results are very encouraging and we are intrigued to see just how this technology performs."

Jenson Button leads first morning of F1 testing at Barcelona

Jenson Button put McLaren on top of the timesheets after the opening morning of Formula 1's final pre-season test at Barcelona.

The 2009 world champion barely completed a lap during the first hour of running as he and McLaren practiced pitstops. But he was immediately quick after taking to the track and set his best lap of 1m23.510s on hard tyres shortly before 11:30am.

That was enough to knock Sergio Perez off the top spot by 0.310s, and with nobody else improving over the remaining time, the Sauber driver remained second thanks to the time set on medium tyres.
Sauber said that the Perez had earlier lapped on "prototype medium rubber", but Pirelli has since confirmed that those tyres, which are unlabelled, are of standard type. There are unlabelled tyres of each of Pirelli's four compounds in use at Barcelona.

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.