Formula One 2013

[Katsuya]

If the Alguesaurus gets the Force India drive, I imagine that Pirelli will sign him up within an instant. He's literally the perfect guy for them to test tyres with, other than Perez.

[Lineker]

Robert Kubica will not contest the revamped European Rally Championship opener in Austria next month, despite recent speculation.

AUTOSPORT revealed last week that Kubica was on the verge of committing to a full-time rallying campaign for 2013 with M-Sport understood to be adapting a Ford Fiesta Regional Rally Car for him.

FIA sources confirmed to AUTOSPORT that a waiver had been granted to develop an adapted gearshift system suitable for his injured right arm, as the Pole is still recovering from his horrendous accident at the start of 2011.

Drivers do not have to contest the full 13-round season to challenge for the ERC title. Under its scoring system, entrants count only their best four scores from the first seven and last six rallies.

Kubica is not on the entry list for the season-opening Janner Rally in Austria on January 3-5, but series co-ordinator Jean-Pierre Nicolas hinted at an influx of entries for rounds two and three in February and March.

"The entry list for the new-look FIA European Rally Championship in 2013 is building up day by day and some of the drivers that were not able to be ready for the Janner Rally due to the early start to the season will join in Latvia or the Canary Islands," he said.

Leading Janner entrants include former World Rally star Francois Delecour, four-time Intercontinental Rally Challenge runner-up Jan Kopecky, and 2011 Monte Carlo winner Bryan Bouffier.

1984 WRC champion Stig Blomqvist will be driving a production Mitsubishi on the snow event.

Kubica has been making his motorsport comeback in rallying this autumn, winning national events in Italy and dominating France's Rally of Var in a Citroen C4 WRC until a co-driver error caused him to crash.

He has so far focused on asphalt rallies. The ERC's first such round is in the Canary Islands in March. The series also visits Kubica's Polish homeland in September.

Jenson Button believes any driver moving teams for the start of Formula 1's new rules package in 2014 will be at a significant disadvantage.

F1 will switch to 1.6-litre turbocharged engines after next season.

Although McLaren has not made the length of Button's current deal public, the 2009 world champion is expected to stay at the team through 2014 at least after signing a "multi-year" deal in 2011.

"If everything goes to plan I will be still working with the same group of engineers and we'll have worked together for four years," he said.

"So entering into a new category, which it basically is, in 2014 with the same engineers - we understand the each other in our way of working and I think it really does help when everything changes.

"I'm really excited about 2014 and I think it will make a difference if you really understand it's not just about when you put your helmet on, it's about what happens before you put your helmet on."

Button thinks trying to acclimatise to a new team while also coping with a major technical package change in 2014 would be extremely tough.

"If a team has a new driver in 2014, I think that's very tricky for the driver and for the team to really understand the right direction," Button said.

"Whereas if you have been working with the team for a long period of time you understand what you need from the car and what works.

"KERS is going to be massive in terms of power, and it's not going to be on a button, it's going to be filling in the holes of torque.

"So in terms of engineering there's a lot of work that needs to be done and in terms of the drivers and engineers there needs to be a good understanding."

Button also played down concerns that the new engines would diminish F1's spectacle.

"We talk about how the engine is going to be small, it's going to be boring, it's going to sound rubbish... The racing in the eighties was quite fun and they didn't have V10, V12 engines, so it will still be great racing," he said.

Force India has become the first team to confirm the launch date of its new car - as the outfit plans to unveil its 2013 challenger on 1 February.

The Silverstone-based team, which ended its season on a high as Nico Hulkenberg challenged for victory in Brazil, plans to unveil its Mercedes-powered VJM06 at its home circuit.

Although the outfit has not confirmed either of its drivers for 2013, Paul di Resta is expected to remain on board for a third season.

With Hulkenberg switching to Sauber, the team is weighing up a number of drivers to line up alongside di Resta - including Adrian Sutil, Sebastien Buemi, and Jaime Alguersuari.

Formula 1's first official pre-season test of 2013 will take place at Jerez from 5 February.

Mark Webber believes Fernando Alonso produced a flawless season in 2012 as he tried to fend off the Australian's Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel for the Formula 1 world championship.

Despite Ferrari starting the season off the pace, Alonso managed to pull out a 40-point lead over Webber, then his nearest rival, by the summer break.

But when Red Bull rediscovered its dominant form in the final run-in, Vettel was able to edge ahead and eventually clinch the title by three points.

Asked if he felt pity for Alonso, Webber replied: "I don't think he put a wheel wrong all year. That's the reason I think he's so disappointed. He felt he probably did everything he could.

"Was it his best season ever in terms of what he did? It could well be. He couldn't have done much more."

Webber noted that his defeat of Alonso in the British Grand Prix had proved crucial given Vettel's slender eventual winning margin.

"To still miss out by just three points - it was lucky I passed him at Silverstone..." said Webber.

Vettel said he would prefer not to pass judgement on his adversary's performance.

"I respect him as a driver for the fact he is fighting and he is one of the best drivers we have in F1, but you look after yourself," said the champion.

"We were fighting quite a lot as well. I don't want to put a perspective on who was fighting more or harder, that's not the point.

"It's a long season, there's a lot of races and in the end the guy who wins the most points wins the championship.

"Of course I am very happy it was us and not him."

Romain Grosjean has issued a personal message of thanks to his Lotus team for having faith in him, as he predicts a regular challenge at the front of the grid for 2013.

Speculation about the Frenchman's future in Formula 1, following late-season incidents, ended on Monday night when Lotus confirmed that it would be keeping him for another season.

Grosjean was understandably delighted with the news, and took time on Tuesday to send a message to every team member of Lotus thanking them for their support and expressing his happiness at remaining a part of the Enstone operation.

"I wanted to take this opportunity to express personally just how happy I am to be staying with the team for the 2013 season," wrote Grosjean in the email to the Lotus team, a copy of which has been seen by AUTOSPORT.

"The support of the team and everyone at Enstone is phenomenal; and I would like to thank you for being behind me. I've always said that Enstone feels like my home, and the team is like a family, and I am incredibly happy to be here."

Grosjean delivered three podium finishes last year, and could have won in Valencia if he had not been forced out of the race with an alternator problem.

With Lotus ending the year strongly, Grosjean is positive about its chances of making progress next year and delivering even better results.

"We are growing and developing from strength to strength as a team; I know next year will be bright for us and I cannot wait to get behind the wheel again," he added in his email.

"I've seen the amount of hard work that has gone into our new car, and I'm confident that we will be in a strong position to challenge for the front of the grid at every race.

"I'm looking forward to the future together; stronger, better and even more successful."

Romain Grosjean has accepted that he has to shoulder the full responsibility for making sure he does a better job in wheel-to-wheel combat next year.

After Lotus proved its faith in the Frenchman by handing him a fresh contract for 2013, Grosjean says that a big focus for his winter preparations is on overcoming the kind of troubles that marred his 2012 campaign.

And although his Lotus chiefs have promised to do all they can to help Grosjean find the right confidence levels, the man himself knows that the onus is on him to get things sorted.

"I think it mainly comes from myself," he told AUTOSPORT. "We had a lot of discussions with the team to see what was wrong, and we have been working since September on it.

"Now, over the winter, I will work twice as hard. At the end of the day you are on your own in the car, you have to take your own decisions, and you have to make the right ones.

"We improved in a lot of areas last year - so now it will be about putting everything together."

Although there is little Grosjean can do before returning to action to prove his problems are behind him, he thinks he already knows where he was going wrong last year.

"I think it was just sometimes about having the wrong goals and objectives," he said. "It was about being over-aggressive and that is what we have been working on.

"It was not an easy end to the season with the pressure, trying to do no mistakes and trying to control anything. I wasn't driving natural anymore, and you end up making mistakes because you are trying too much to be careful.

"It was hard to recover after the ban, and there wasn't much time before I was straight back in the car. So it was a tough time – but it has taught me a lot and we know what we need to work on now."

Grosjean also believes that having his new contract secured before the Christmas break has provided a boost, as it gives him more time to relax before the pre-season work kicks off.

"It helps me sleep better and relax for a week at least," he said. "It is very good news for me, and I was waiting and hoping for it.

"I am very pleased for it – proud of the confidence in the team and looking forward to restarting the adventure with them."

Romain Grosjean's acceptance that he needed to change his ways in Formula 1 was a key factor in helping him convince his Lotus chiefs to keep him for next year, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Team principal Eric Boullier has revealed that Grosjean's on-track incidents had weighed heavy in the team's decision about his future - but that the French driver's willingness to learn and improve helped convince it that he was worth sticking with.

Boullier made it clear that if Grosjean had displayed a negative attitude - or refused to revise his approach - then he would have been dropped.

"Definitely it would have been different," Boullier told AUTOSPORT, when asked about what the outcome would have been if Grosjean had not been ready to listen.

"He clearly showed us, with some feedback from the engineers in the teams, that everything he was taught – and everything he learned – was applied in his understanding of what is a complex matter.

"He definitely proved to us that he wanted to do well and it was really clear."

Boullier said he received the go-ahead from the team's owners after the final race to seek the best driver he could as partner to Kimi Raikkonen – and that Grosjean left everyone in no doubt he was the right man.

"There was a clear strategy from the board to push with two fast drivers so we can be a top team – which means fighting in the top three and going for more wins.

"Once we agreed on the strategy, there were some good feelings with Romain but also reservations when you take into account the different aspects of his season.

"For [team owner] Gerard Lopez it was important to understand and get feedback about why he [Grosjean] could not deliver as much as we wanted this season. For the medium and long term, we needed his understanding to know where we wanted to go.

"And he applied himself very carefully – and the team was happy with the process. He was often in the wrong place on the track, although it was not always his fault, but we needed his feedback to know he understood what we wanted.

"After that, the decision was obvious."

Boullier is convinced that Grosjean will return in 2013 a stronger driver – and back to his best form after a difficult end to the campaign.

"Being back in F1, it is clear that you need some time to settle as testing is very limited now.

"It was clear that he lost a little bit of ground after Spa, because of that decision to give him a race ban, but he showed on a couple of occasions after that about how good he is. We believe in him."

Mercedes admits it will be under pressure to produce a competitive car now it has signed Lewis Hamilton for the 2013 season.

The 2008 world champion ended a six-year spell at McLaren to replace Michael Schumacher at Mercedes after signing a three-year deal with the Brackley squad.

Mercedes has so far failed to field a car strong enough to fight for wins regularly, although Nico Rosberg took victory in the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this year.

Team CEO Nick Fry is aware than signing a driver like Hamilton will raise the pressure on Mercedes to make sure it can deliver a strong car, as there are no doubts about the Briton's skills.

"I think it's a clear indication of the aspirations of the team. We've had probably one of the greatest drivers of all time driving for us, who was clearly in age terms reaching the later part of his career when he arrived with us," Fry told AUTOSPORT.

"In order to do well in Formula 1, you've got to do well in every respect. You've got to have the best technology, you've got to have the best teamwork, you've got to have the best management and you have to have the best drivers.

"[Hamilton's arrival] is very exciting for the team and also puts a lot of pressure on because Ross [brawn] has to provide him with a very good car.

"He can't win with a car which is duff. He can win with a car that is not quite the best, but the competition is such that you can't bridge a huge gap."

Fry reckons Hamilton is in the same category as Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso when it comes to winning with a car that is not the class of the field.

He believes world champion Sebastian Vettel is yet to prove that despite three titles in a row.

"Certainly in my view, Lewis and Fernando Alonso are the two best drivers," he added. "I'd caveat that by saying Sebastian Vettel may well be in that group, but he's always had the best car, and he's got to prove it, in my mind.

"Certainly Fernando this year, when the Ferrari has not been the best car by any stretch of the imagination, has still done an exceptional job.

"And I think Lewis is still in that category of being a driver you could give not quite the best car and he could still win races, whereas most of the other drivers in the Formula 1 field will probably win the race if you give them the best car."

Sebastian Vettel has revealed he was convinced he had done nothing wrong in the Brazilian Grand Prix, even through the yellow-flag controversy.

Vettel took his third title in a row in the season finale at Interlagos after securing sixth place despite a spin on the opening lap of the race.

Three days after the race, however, Ferrari wrote a letter to FIA president Jean Todt asking for clarification on the circumstances surrounding Vettel's overtaking move on Jean-Eric Vergne on lap four of the race following suggestions that the pass may have been under yellow.

The FIA said it had no case to respond as it was clear that Vettel's pass had taken place with green flags on track.

Despite the controversy, Vettel says he was always convinced his pass had been legal as he had seen the green flag.

"To be honest, I never wasted one single thought that an irregularity was involved from my side," Vettel told the official Formula 1 website.

"Even if it was an eventful race I definitely saw all the flags - and their colours!

"I only got information that Ferrari was up to something after Christian (Horner) called me saying that obviously Ferrari was not too happy with the outcome of the race.

"After the FIA had checked every single inch of the recording of the situation in question - and confirmed that everything was according to rules - Ferrari renounced any protests.

"But believe it or not I knew since the chequered flag that there was not a single movement wrong from my side."

Caterham's sporting director Steve Nielsen has resigned from the team, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Nielsen originally joined the outfit when it was known as Team Lotus at the end of 2011 after several years at the Renault team.

It is not clear why he is leaving, but sources suggest that he is moving to another outfit. The Leafield-based team has confirmed he will stop working for it in January.

No replacement has yet been lined up, with Caterham using Nielsen's departure to evaluate a possible new structure to the sporting side of the operation.

Nielsen is an F1 stalwart, having previously worked at Arrows, Benetton/Renault, Tyrrell and the old Team Lotus, and his experience would be invaluable to any outfit on the grid.

Caterham endured a difficult 2012 campaign, when it failed to make the steps forward that it had hoped to.

However, it managed to hold on to its crucial 10th place in the constructors' championship after Vitaly Petrov finished 11th in the final race in Brazil to help his team overhaul rival Marussia.

Charles Pic does not believe his Caterham team is under pressure to score its first point in the 2013 season as long as it improves over last season's performance.

The team has finished 10th in the constructors' championship in the three years it has been in Formula 1, beating fellow new teams Marussia and HRT since the 2010 season.

Its best result to date, however, is an 11th place in the season finale in Brazil last month.

Although Caterham boss Cyril Abiteboul said the team cannot be satisfied with 10th place anymore, Pic reckons there is no huge pressure to finally get a point next season.

"Caterham have always been the first of the three 'new' teams so I think what they've produced so far has been good," Pic told the official Formula 1 website.

"But we can do better and our target is to do better next year. But I don't think we are under pressure.

"We know where we want to go and that is the most important thing for the team."

He added: "I think Caterham has big potential - I'm 100 per cent confident of that. We just have to work very hard to improve ourselves to be better next year and to take a step forward."

Pic, who made his grand prix debut this year, is joining Caterham from Marussia on a multi-year deal.

The Frenchman says having secured a long-term agreement does not mean he will approach 2013 any differently.

"I'm very happy about that because we can work together on the long-term and that's very important," he said. "But it doesn't change anything for me next year.

"I have my own targets, as do the team, and we'll have to work really hard together to achieve them - that doesn't change whether you're on a one- or a two-year contract."

[Lineker]

Jenson Button admits he expected a McLaren versus Lotus title fight early in the 2012 Formula 1 season.

The Briton says he was convinced his team was set to win the championship after its strong start, and saw Lotus as a stronger threat than Red Bull.

McLaren ultimately finished third in the constructors' standings, between Ferrari and Lotus, as Red Bull swept to the title.

"After five races I thought that we would win the championship," said Button, who took victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after a very positive winter of testing.

"We seemed very competitive, and I thought Lotus were going to be extremely good this year. They were consistent but they didn't have the outright pace."

The Briton added: "Five races in I wouldn't have said that the Red Bulls would win the championship this year."

McLaren had a mixed season in 2012, with a very quick car on most circuits but with reliability issues hurting its chances.

Lewis Hamilton secured seven pole positions and four wins, while Button won three races and grabbed one pole.

Despite the pace of their car, Hamilton and Button finished in fourth and fifth places in the standings.

Button conceded McLaren's efforts had simply not been good enough.

"You always think you've lost the title if you haven't won the championship," he said. "We're all fighting for the world championship and only one team can win.

"Red Bull did a very good job and won the constructors' championship, whereas with us, I think we've still done a good job, just not quite good enough.

"But it's a very competitive sport and we shouldn't be disappointed with how we've gone about our racing, we just haven't been good enough this year."

The Briton said Red Bull's consistency and reliability was key in the team securing its third consecutive championship double this year.

"In terms of the team, we weren't very quick before the summer break," he said. "Before Hockenheim we didn't have the pace, but with the update in Hockenheim we moved forward a lot and we carried that through for most of the year.

"But there's one team that has been quicker than us for a lot of the time - and that's Red Bull - and more consistent than us and they've been more reliable as well."

McLaren is to unveil its 2013 car on January 31, the team announced on Thursday.

The Mercedes-powered MP4-28, which will be driven by Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, will be launched at a currently unspecified location in the United Kingdom.

The Woking-based outfit finished third in the constructors' championship last year, despite winning seven races through the efforts of Button and Lewis Hamilton.

A spate of reliability problems late on hurt the team's title prospects as it was just beaten by Ferrari to the runner-up position behind Red Bull.

Gerhard Berger has dismissed speculation that he could replace Norbert Haug as the head of Mercedes-Benz's motorsport activities.

Haug announced last week that he is leaving the position he has held for 22 years after feeling responsible for the failure of the Mercedes Formula 1 team to achieve more success.

With no decision yet taken about a potential replacement, there have been rumours that Berger could get involved.

The Austrian, who in recent years held senior positions in F1 as joint motorsport boss at BMW and then co-owner of Toro Rosso, is currently the head of the FIA's single-seater commission.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT about his plans, Berger insisted that any talk that he was in the frame for a role at Mercedes was wide of the mark.

"Absolutely not," he said. "There have been no discussions at all."

Haug will step down from his role at the end of this year. Speaking to AUTOSPORT earlier this week, Haug said that he was not aware of any plans and would not be involved in those discussions.

"I do not know about that," he said. "It is not my position to judge that, and this will be done by the board."

It is possible that Mercedes may choose to split Haug's current role up, with separate individuals in charge of the German car manufacturer's F1 and DTM activities.

Former CART boss Andrew Craig has also dismissed speculation linking him to a Mercedes role.

Force India will not be satisfied if it starts the season with anything less than the fifth quickest car in the field in 2013.

The Silverstone-based squad endured a slow start to this year but became one of the strongest outfits towards the end, with Nico Hulkenberg fighting for victory in the last race in Brazil.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley reckons his squad's momentum can be kept going into 2013, when he is optimistic Force India can hit the ground running.

"We have to be very encouraged by the second half of the season," Fernley told AUTOSPORT. "The regulations are stable going into 2013.

"So apart from the development work you're going to do over the winter, fundamentally where you've finished now is where you start in March.

"So we have to be to be encouraged, it's a strong package.

"Can we learn something? We've had two seasons where we've been slow out of the box.

"It's caught us out. Hopefully in 2013 that won't be the case."

Although Force India finished seventh in the constructors' championship behind Mercedes and Sauber, Fernley said the team should not be aiming for any lower than fifth in 2013.

"If you look at the stats, since the summer break, Force India's the fifth best performing team and Vijay [Mallya] will expect us to start there, it's as simple as that," he added.

"Mercedes obviously have a lot of work to do. They have Lewis [Hamilton] going there, so that's going to be a renewed enthusiasm for what they're doing.

"They're a force to be reckoned with, but they've got to overcome the back of this season.

"From our point of view we've been strong at the end of this season and we want to carry that through to next year."

Force India announced it will unveil its 2013 car on 1 February.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has no doubts that his team did the right thing in handing Felipe Massa a fresh contract for 2013.

Although the Brazilian driver had a lacklustre start to the campaign, he improved dramatically over the second half of the year to secure his future at Maranello.

That move was questioned at the time, with some reckoning Ferrari should have gone for a younger driver, but di Montezemolo is totally convinced about the decision.

"The Brazilian improved a great deal in the second half: in fact in the first part, it seemed he'd gone on a round the world holiday!" said di Montezemolo during his annual Christmas lunch with media at Maranello this week.

"Joking apart, I think the decision to reconfirm his position was the right one. If we had changed, then one would need to take on someone who would make a difference and I can't say I noticed many drivers around who would be quicker than Felipe.

"Also, we did not want to change the balance and the good atmosphere within the team. Domenicali and I told ourselves it was best to wait and I think that the facts proved us right.

"Towards the end, when Felipe was even faster than Fernando a couple of times, the points he scored played a vital part in securing our place in the constructors' championship."

Reflecting on the season just gone, di Montezemolo admitted that there was disappointment about the team just missing out on the championship - but that it should also realise it did a great job too.

"You can see the glass as half full or half empty, but clearly there is great regret," he added.

"Because the outcome went down to the wire, because after that first lap in Brazil, maybe things could have turned out differently, because Fernando went on holiday at the start of the summer break with a 40 point lead over his closest challenger and because, when it came to collisions, we were forced to retire, while others kept going as if nothing had happened.

"However, the biggest regret is that we did not have a car that was quick enough to win the world championship.

"On the glass half full side, we had amazing reliability which allowed us to come second in the constructors' championship despite the fact McLaren was quicker than us and despite the fact that, in the first half of the season we pretty much only had Alonso's points to count on.

"There were those great starts and pit stops and the fact Fernando had an extraordinary season, the best since he has been in Formula 1.

"Next year, let's hope we can say it was our best season, given that we want to give him and Felipe a car that's competitive right from the start."

Ferrari has appointed separate design co-ordinators for its 2013 and '14 Formula 1 cars as part of a reorganisation of its technical efforts.

While Nikolas Tombazis retains his chief designer role, Ferrari will split responsibility for its next two F1 contenders.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali said Ferrari had concluded that inefficient technical organisation had been a key weak point in recent seasons. The squad has not won a world championship since Kimi Raikkonen's 2007 triumph.

This year Fernando Alonso took an unlikely points lead despite Ferrari starting the campaign off the pace, but was ultimately beaten to the title by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

"We have decided, particularly in light of the unusual demands we will face in 2013, when we will have a completely new project to work on for the future, to have two co-ordinators," Domenicali said.

"Simone Resta, an engineer who has developed his career in Maranello and is very effective, will work on the 2013 car and Fabio Montecchi will deal with the one for the following year."

Ferrari is revamping its windtunnel after pinpointing correlation problems, and Domenicali said it will also adjust its windtunnel testing procedures.

"We have also adopted a better method of splitting up the work between those who run the windtunnel and those who should concentrate more on the creative side of the job," he said.

"This year, we saw that when we do too many things at the same time, maybe we are not efficient enough."

Ferrari has invariably been among the first to unveil its new car each winter, but Domenicali suggested that the 2013 machine will not break cover until the eve of the first test.

"Clearly we have only been concentrating all our efforts on the new one from a few weeks before the final race, given we pushed right to the end on this year's," he said.

"The 2013 car will be launched at the very end of January or the early days of February.

"As usual, the first one will be just a launch version, while the complete one will be seen in the final days of testing or in Australia, so as to make the most of all the time available."

Team president Luca di Montezemolo reiterated that Ferrari must also be more bold with its designs.

"We will need to try and push the technical regulations to the very limit," he said, "while maintaining our strong points from this year, or improving them still further, because the others will not be twiddling their thumbs, but not by almost brushing against illegality, as happened in 2009 with the double diffuser.

"However we need to adopt a different, more creative approach."

[Lineker]

The BBC has announced that former MotoGP presenter Suzi Perry will front its Formula 1 programme next year.

Perry presented the BBC's MotoGP coverage for a decade and is delighted at being given the opportunity to replace Jake Humphrey, who is switching his focus to football.

Speaking about her new job, Perry said: "Motorsport is my life and I've really missed being away from the grid. I am so excited to be joining the BBC.

"Working alongside such an eminent team and the F1 world is a huge honour and I can't wait to get started."

The BBC has also confirmed the 10 races that it will be showing live next year.

They are China, Spain, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Japan, India and Brazil - plus whichever race is slotted in to the July 21 gap.

It means the BBC will not show live the opening two races of the season in Australia and Malaysia, nor the blue riband event in Monaco.

In addition to those races live on TV, there will be extended highlights coverage of the remaining ten races. All 20 races will be live on BBC Radio 5 live or 5 live sports extra.

[Lineker]

Bernie Ecclestone has backed the addition of a grand prix in Thailand to the Formula 1 calendar in 2015.

Kanokphand Chulakasem, Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, said in October that he was working with F1 organisers to bring a night race to the streets of Bangkok and it appears that he has been successful.

"They say (it will be held in) 2014 and I say 2015. It is serious and it is good," Ecclestone is quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal.

It has been reported that 60 per cent of the annual fee will be covered by the Thailand government with drinks companies Red Bull and Singha contributing the remainder.

New Jersey and Russia are already set to be added in 2014 and should Thailand come on board after that, it will place more pressure on the current circuits if they are to keep their places on the 20-race calendar Ecclestone favours.

Ferrari has singled out Sebastian Vettel over Lewis Hamilton as its future lead driver for when Fernando Alonso finally decides to retire from the sport.

Vettel has already been strongly linked to a move to Ferrari, and the company's president Luca di Montezemolo has not shied away from his praise of the German - who he thinks would be the perfect man for his team.

"Between all the drivers Vettel and Hamilton could be perfect for the Ferrari of the future with one difference - Vettel is younger," di Montezemolo was quoted as saying by the Independent.

"First of all, I think of all the drivers at the moment we have the best in Formula 1, in terms of speed, in terms of intelligence in the race and capability to work with the team. When you have the best driver you have to put him in the best condition to succeed, to win and have a good environment without peer troubles.

"But if Alonso decided tomorrow to go to live in Hawaii with the girlfriend I have no doubt that for human and professional reasons [i would choose] Vettel. He would be very good for us.

"Vettel I like because he is not presumptuous. He wants to win but he is not arrogant. Michael [schumacher] told me many years ago that coming from karts Vettel had the most potential of any young driver and he was right."

Di Montezemolo ruled out the possibility of Vettel being lined up alongside Alonso, and made it clear that his current driver was still the star of the show.

Reflecting on the Spaniard's strengths, he suggested Alonso had the best qualities of both Niki Lauda and Schumacher.

"Niki was very intelligent in the race and the first driver to be closer to the team, details, working even in the night," he said. "Michael was for me a war machine in the race because he was in condition to do 60 laps like qualifying.

"Fernando is a good mix between the two. He is very intelligent. He knows when to push, how to save the tyres, when to attack, super intelligent and super quick, too.

"It is difficult to make comparisons [across different eras] but he is right at the top. I'm very happy with Fernando. He is a key member of the team."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has suggested that the time has come for new younger management to take over the running of Formula 1.

Amid a desire to see the sport get some fresh impetus to attract a wider audience, di Montezemolo has suggested that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone should ease his grip of the sport.

"We need people with a more modern view," di Montezemolo was quoted as saying by The Independent. "It is the same in my company. In a couple of years I will no longer be the person for Ferrari. Someone else will come.

"What I always say to Bernie is that the one-man show in life is finished. You need a team around you. We have to ask these questions in a positive way and look ahead. Sooner or later it will happen to Bernie as to me."

Di Montezemolo believes that F1 should think carefully about the venues it races at - as he questions the value of racing in countries where there is little enthusiasm for the sport among the public.

"Three years ago, I was so impressed when I was invited to open Le Mans," he said. "It was a party. You go to the pits in some circuits in F1 and it's like a desert.

"Do you think it good that we race in the middle of nowhere? Without the public, without the fans, the flags, the passion, it is cold. I don't like it.

"Bernie is always upset when I say this but listen, today, if you have a girlfriend, say 20-years-old, with low-fare airlines you can go around the world for less money than a long weekend in Monza. This should not be possible any more.

"The world is changing a lot. Ferrari want to play a role in the future. In terms of the competition this year, the return to the United States, this season has been very good.

"But you have to look to the future. The time to make decisions about the future is when you have success.

"If you don't, you are forced to make them when you are in trouble and that is bad. We are very close to opening a new page in the future of Formula 1, acknowledging the good work that Bernie has done but moving on."

Di Montezemolo also suggested that if German prosecutors investigating bribery allegations in the Gerhard Gribkowsky affair do decide to take further action against Ecclestone, then the F1 supremo should step down.

"First of all, I hope for Bernie and F1 that nothing will happen," he said. "If Bernie is accused under process I think he will be the first to give a step back in the interests of Formula 1. This could be bad for F1."

Timo Glock expects Pat Symonds' clearance to return to the Formula 1 paddock in 2013 to be a major boost to Marussia.

Symonds was banned from F1 in the wake of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix scandal, in which he was one of those held responsible for Nelson Piquet being asked to deliberately crash his Renault to trigger a safety car that would help team-mate Fernando Alonso win.

Although not permitted to attend grands prix in that period, Symonds was given clearance to work as a consultant to F1 teams - a role he has performed for Marussia.

Symonds played a key role in Benetton and Renault's championships with Michael Schumacher and Alonso, and Glock cannot wait to have his expertise on hand in the pitlane.

"We know that we have to improve on-track as well," Glock told AUTOSPORT.

"I think there is a lot of stuff where we need to be better. On the engineering side we need to be better everywhere. It doesn't mean we are bad at the moment, but to move on you need to improve.

"To have Pat at the races will definitely help because he has so much experience, can step back and have a look from the outside, and he's won championships.

"He can just get into it and we can improve it together. I hope he'll be at as many [races] as possible."

Glock added that he was already enjoying working with Symonds.

"We have a very good relationship. He's good fun, he knows what he's talking about and we've got the right people together," he said.

The German believes Marussia has plenty of cause for optimism going into 2013.

"The new car looks not too bad," said Glock. "It's all on target, which is great. And it's had more windtunnel time. We are flat-out on it."

Sebastian Vettel insists that there is still potential for him to improve as a grand prix driver despite winning his third consecutive world championship in 2012.

The Red bull driver became only the third driver to take a title triple alongside Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher this year, but is certain there is still more to come from both him and his Red Bull team.

At just 25, he is still younger than any other triple world champion in the history of F1 and is widely expected to add significantly to his tally of three crowns and 26 victories.

"In terms of results, the last three years and winning the constructors' championship have been perfect but I still feel that there are little bits here and there we can improve on," Vettel told AUTOSPORT.

"That's the philosophy and the spirit that we share in the whole team. You can always do better."

The German is now one of only nine drivers to have won more than two world championships.

But even after sealing his third crown in the Brazilian Grand Prix last month, he is refusing to rest on his laurels and is uninterested in comparing his achievements to those of others while there are still more titles to be won.

"At the moment, I don't really reflect too much on what has happened over the last three years," said Vettel.

"I am extremely happy and extremely proud of what we have achieved.

"If you put it into perspective, it sounds even crazier when you look at the people who have achieved the same or similar in the past.

"It's better not to put it into perspective and to carry on focusing on what we do.

"We are having fun, we are very passionate and that makes the difference.

"We did it our way and that's what made the year very special."

Nico Rosberg is adamant that Mercedes made 'massive' progress across the 2012 Formula 1 season and insists his confidence has not been shaken by its lacklustre finish to its campaign.

The German mixed scoring his breakthrough grand prix victory in China with a barren six-race pointless run at the end of the year as Mercedes dropped down the competitive order.

Rather than that being indicative of the team's true pace, Rosberg feels the disappointing end masked Mercedes's progress.

Like team boss Ross Brawn, he believes there are justified reasons to be optimistic of further improvements next year.

"The improvement is massive," Rosberg insisted when asked about Mercedes's form in 2012.

"Unfortunately we haven't seen it much in the second half of the season, but in the first part of the season we had the fastest car in two races - China and Monaco.

"That's the improvement. We're making progress; we're getting better.

"If you would walk through the factory today, you would see a massive improvement compared to three years ago.

"The amount of competence that has joined us, the way everything is joined together, it's really making huge steps and that's why next year I'm sure will be better for us again."

Rosberg conceded the team fell well short of its target of fighting for the championship, but says it was still able to learn valuable lessons for 2013 even as results tailed off.

"Unfortunately this process has taken a bit longer than we were hoping," he admitted.

"We were hoping to already be there really fighting for the championship this year and that didn't quite happen, by quite some margin unfortunately.

"But we learned a lot of lessons this year and that's why I'm very confident that we're going to start well next year and then develop through the season."

Pirelli is confident that Formula 1 teams are now much better prepared for a move to more aggressive tyre compounds in 2013 than they were at the start of this season.

The Italian tyre manufacturer is going to switch to new constructions and even softer compounds next year in a bid to improve the spectacle and ensure teams are still challenged.

The tyre plan has prompted talk that the new season could reproduce the unpredictability that was witnessed at the start of the last campaign, when there were seven different winners from the first seven races.

However, Pirelli's chief technical officer Maurizio Boicchi thinks that teams will not face such difficulties in dealing with the new rubber, as he is adamant that they have learned enough this year about how best to cope.

He thinks the fact that the final races of 2012 became straightforward one-stop events shows how much progress the teams made in understanding how to get the best performance from tricky products.

"During 2012, more or less all the teams learned much better how to use our tyres," Boicchi told AUTOSPORT.

"One of the key criteria that improved their consistency was the fact that we have seen and measured much less [wheel] spinning from them - which means they have learned how to manage this phenomenon.

"It [wheel spin] is terrible, as you wear the tyres fast, heat them up and they degrade very, very rapidly.

"This was something more and more taken into consideration by the teams. You could see cars during free practice with infra red measurements on the tyres in order to have a point-by-point reference on the circuit for the temperature on the surface of the tyres.

"It was one of the most important pieces of information on the tyres that relates to wheel spin - and it made all the difference.

"We believe a lot of things have moved in this direction, and what we would like to do in 2013 is to come back to be a little bit more aggressive in our compound choice in order to introduce more pitstops and strategy for the teams."

Boicchi, who believes the 2013 tyres will be faster, says another factor that will help the teams is the fact that they got to try out the future rubber during practice in Brazil.

"They got their first feedback which was important, as normally at the first tests in February we have such awful temperatures that it is more or less impossible to have clear information," he said.

"It is also hard to get a clear perception from the teams then too, because often they are focused 100 per cent on car development – they worry more about the aerodynamics than the tyres."

Lotus boss Eric Boullier believes his team will deliver a much stronger Formula 1 campaign in 2013, even if it starts the season with a car that is only as quick as last year's.

The Frenchman is convinced that the progress that his drivers have made, allied to a better technical understanding among the engineers, means the team can move forward even without technical gains.

"I would be very happy to start the season with the same car performance we had last year relative to everyone else," Boullier told AUTOSPORT.

"I know both our drivers will be race fit and, let's say, delivering more than 12 months ago.

"On the team front, last year we lost a little bit of ground during the summer, but we know where and we know why it happened. We learned from our mistake and we will not do the same strategy with next year's car development.

"At the same time, we performed well at the end of this season, and found some of our performance back, so it was a good fight until the end. It was good to see Enstone was capable of delivering as much as the bigger teams.

"So I am positive, but also cautious. You don't know what the others teams are delivering, as you can only guess from statistics.

"But the regulations are quite stable, so there will only be evolutions of the 2012 cars. That could be good for us to help us keep the ground."

Boullier says that one of the key issues for his outfit will be in dealing with the tricky balance of resources between developing next year's car and sorting out the design of the 2014 challenger.

"We obviously don't want to push too far to hurt ourselves with the big project for 2014," he said. "But the boys here in Enstone have managed some work already on 2014, and I hope that what we saved already from 2012 has given us more flexibility for 2013."

When asked how he would cope if the team emerged as a title contender in 2013 and needed to push on with developing its E21, Boullier said: "To be honest, it will be a nice problem to have - even though complicated to manage.

"But we have to be realistic. This is the end of a chapter of rules, and in 2014 there will be a new chapter. We cannot afford to start far from the others with these new regulations."

Jenson Button is sure that McLaren's early-summer slump was more damaging to its 2012 Formula 1 title bid than reliability or pitstop problems.

McLaren only finished third in the constructors' standings despite having the pacesetting car at several junctures this season, while drivers Lewis Hamilton and Button had to settle for fourth and fifth in a championship both had led at times.

Although the team had several well-publicised technical failures and pit delays, Button believes the spells when McLaren was too slow to fight for wins should not be underestimated.

"Sometimes you do get failures and you've got to rectify the issue," he said.

"But the most difficult part for us was before the summer break when we just didn't have the pace.

"The reason why we were not fighting for the title isn't just the reliability issues, the pace in that period of time wasn't good enough compared to our competitors."

He feels the mechanical glitches attracted more attention due to their timing.

"We have had reliability issues, but when you actually look at it, the problems have all been at weekends," Button said.

"We did 1400 kilometres at the young driver test and didn't have one issue at all, so we have been a little bit unlucky, I think."

From May to July, Button endured a string of races where he could manage no better than lower top-10 places, but he thinks the team ultimately benefited from his difficulties.

"We tried new things because I struggled to get tyre temperature more than most, and it didn't work, it just destroyed the tyres around Monaco and Canada time," he explained.

"Lewis had a good race in Canada and I had such a bad race, and it was good for the rest of the year in a way because we had the two extremes so we could look at the data, get in the simulator, change the balance around, and work out why I had so much degradation and he didn't.

"It was really useful to learn what you can and cannot do with the tyres, because it's different to what you'd usually think."

Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner says the 2012 Formula 1 title chase pushed his staff harder than they had ever been pushed before.

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull ultimately delivered their third consecutive world championship double, but only after overcoming Fernando Alonso in a battle that remained on a knife edge until the final laps of the season.

Earlier in the year Red Bull had often appeared to be on the back foot as McLaren enjoyed periods of dominance and teams like Lotus and Mercedes appeared at the front.

"They've always worked hard but this year I think by far has been our toughest challenge," Horner said of his staff.

"It's been the hardest championship, constructors and drivers, because we've had to really fight our way back into them; that is what made it the most gratifying in many respects."

Horner underlined that 2012 had seen Red Bull personnel go 'beyond the call of duty' more than ever before.

"The personal sacrifices the time that's given up away from home away from family and friends, particularly in Milton Keynes has been just remarkable," he said.

"The reason this team is so successful is because of the spirit within the team. The way that we work as a team, the way that we work as one unit.

"There's so many heroic stories this year of people going beyond what they are asked of to deliver, to get performance from the car, to get components to the circuit, to get development into the windtunnel, to hit all of those targets.

"What you see on a Sunday afternoon is a very small percentage of what is involved in a grand prix team. This championship, and a triple championship, would never have been imaginable without the commitment of the staff."

Organisers of the first Russian Grand Prix have announced that the new Sochi track is firmly on target, with the race control complex in the "final stages" of construction.

Sochi will host its first Formula 1 race in 2014, with the circuit being created within the complex that will be used for that year's Winter Olympics.

A statement from circuit operating company Formula Sochi said that the race control building was nearing completion, with "exterior and interior works and installation works" on the pit complex to get underway next spring.

The 3.7-mile circuit layout is also beginning to take shape.

"Many massive Olympic venues are already built, some sport facilities have been put in commission, while the motorsport venue is in the active phase of construction," said the statement.

"Construction crews are making good progress with the preparing of groundworks and laying of the asphalt coat.

"The first layer of pavement has been laid in some areas."

F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke added: "Together with [track builder] Omega and Formula Sochi we are deeply involved in the Russian Grand Prix project and we are glad that all works are going according to schedule considering the large amount of coordination necessary with the Olympic construction."

Formula 1 teams need to be open to the idea of greater co-operation between themselves if they are to make the most of the radical 2014 change in regulations.

That is the view of new Caterham boss Cyril Abiteboul, who thinks that the scale of the challenge teams face when new 1.6-litre turbo engines come in means that going it alone could be a hindrance.

"Potentially this breakthrough will require some partnership between the teams, and that is not only for teams like us," Abiteboul told AUTOSPORT in an exclusive interview.

"I can feel that it will be just like in the automotive business when you want to produce a new product: you try and share the platform - that is what Renault, Alpine and Caterham will be doing [for a new sportscar for 2015].

"You want to be more efficient, you want to be more competitive - and therefore you work in collaboration.

"I think the same thing that will have to happen in F1.

"It is a bit new to F1, because the teams also have to compete against each on the track, but I think the future will be about collaboration - and 2014 will urge us into considering more collaboration."

Although Abiteboul is eager for closer ties between teams, he has made it clear that he is not advocating tie-ups going as far as leading to the return of customer cars to F1.

"There is a limit and in particular we don't want customer cars," he said.

"But between no collaboration at all and customer cars, there is a compromise to be found.

"I am sure we can do better than we do right now – both for Caterham and F1 in general."

Jenson Button is confident that McLaren will not be haunted by the failures that cost it the world championship this year - as he targets a full-on title assault in 2013.

Although the Woking-based outfit did not make the most of its opportunities in the season just gone, with reliability and errors costing it valuable points, Button is full of hope for next year.

Having taken on the team leader role following the exit of Lewis Hamilton, Button thinks that McLaren will not let what happened in 2012 hamper its determination to push on.

Talking to AUTOSPORT about his hopes for next year, Button said that McLaren would be better prepared to capitalise on a strong car if it could start the season as the best team again.

"I have got a great team behind me," he said. "Starting the 2013 season, if we can start strong like we did this year, I feel that the mistakes and the problems that we have had, hopefully we can put behind us.

"For me being the experienced one in the team, I really like that and I'm looking forward to working closely with the team, not just being the driver but actually working closely with the aerodynamicists, the engineers, and the designers to really keep pushing in the direction that I want.

"I'm not an expert in any of those fields but I’m the guy that drives, I’m the guy who knows what I want from the car and what I need. It’s going to be a good winter and we will start strong."

One big factor that could shake up the order in 2013 is the new type of tyre that Pirelli is introducing.

Teams got to try out the rubber at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and Button is looking forward to seeing what it will bring to the races.

"I liked it, actually," he said. "It was very hot in Brazil so it’s difficult to be sure, but the idea is that it generates heat a lot quicker and you don’t struggle with warm-up, which a lot of teams did in 2012. That is good.

"The grip is different. We were told that it had a certain style of grip but it doesn’t quite feel that way, it feels a bit different. It feels like it’s going to be a good tyre.

"There is going to be a lot of degradation, definitely. We are going to see more degradation in the latter part of the season – and it will be more like the beginning of 2012."

[Lineker]

Romain Grosjean sees no reason why his Lotus team cannot enjoy a much stronger season next year after a promising showing during 2012.   Lotus managed to raise its game this year in comparison with 2011, when it scored 73 points on its way to a distant fifth place in the standings.   In 2012, however, the team managed 303 points, including one victory and 10 podium finishes. It wound up in fourth in the constructors' championship.   Grosjean, who has secured his future with the team for 2013, reckons Lotus has all the ingredients to continue with its upward trend.   "We will try to improve on fourth, that's for sure," Grosjean told AUTOSPORT. "If we do everything right, there is no reason why we can't do better than that.   "The car was good this year, the regulations are not changing a lot, the team is working hard and I'm really looking forward to seeing the car and to see what it can deliver.   "The objective will be to do better and better year after year, starting in 2013."   Grosjean reckons Lotus managed to iron out all the issues that hindered its progress during 2012, leaving him upbeat about its chances of keeping momentum during the winter and into 2013.   "We learned a lot this year about the car, the tyres, the set-up of an F1 car," said the Frenchman. "We were quite good at the start of the year, but even in the last two grands prix we were looking good.   "We solved our little issues, got a very good set-up for the end of the year and I'm confident that in winter testing we can try the different set-up ideas that we had in the season but didn't have time to try.   "From there, we will have a set-up range to best prepare for the race weekends and be able to take the right decisions."

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he would likely be removed from his role as Formula 1 supremo if he faces further action over the Gerhard Gribkowsky bribery case. Ecclestone is still awaiting news from German prosecutors over whether or not they intend to charge him amid allegations that he paid a bribe to Gribkoswky over the sale of F1 to CVC in 2006. Gribkowsky has already been jailed for his part in the affair. Although Ecclestone is adamant that a 45 million Euro payment he made to Gribkowsky was not bribery, German prosecutors are still investigating if there are corruption charges to answer. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Ecclestone has conceded for the first time that if further action is taken against him then his running of F1 would likely come to an end. Speaking about what CVC would do if he was charged, Ecclestone said: "[it] will probably be forced to get rid of me if the Germans come after me. It's pretty obvious, if I'm locked up." CVC has already been pondering a succession plan for what happens when Ecclestone is no longer in charge, but the man himself does not believe its actions are cause to feel that it is looking to ease him out. "They said they had hired a head-hunter to find somebody in the event that I was not going to be there - if I was going to die or something. It is the normal thing they do to keep people happy," he said. Ecclestone's comments about his future come just a few weeks after Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo suggested that change would be needed if German prosecutors acted. "First of all, I hope for Bernie and F1 that nothing will happen," said di Montezemolo during a pre-Christmas media lunch. "If Bernie is accused under process I think he will be the first to give a step back in the interests of Formula 1. This could be bad for F1." Di Montezemolo reckoned that the time had come for new younger management to take over the running of F1, so it could build a stronger future. "We need people with a more modern view. It is the same in my company. In a couple of years I will no longer be the person for Ferrari. Someone else will come. "What I always say to Bernie is that the one-man show in life is finished. You need a team around you. We have to ask these questions in a positive way and look ahead. Sooner or later it will happen to Bernie as to me."

Luca di Montezemolo looks set to continue as Ferrari president long-term after announcing that he will not campaign for a seat in the Italian Parliament. Di Montezemolo, 65, created the Italia Futura political association in 2009 with a view to gaining power in this year's general elections. He now says he will support prime minister Mario Monti's bid for a second term in the role, rather than pushing forward with his own political ambitions. "I will not run for a seat," he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica. "I will leave room to the many quality people who have supported and worked for the association these years. It's only fair that they should be the main players." There had been fears that a possible ministerial position for di Montezemolo would create several conflicts of interest with his role at Ferrari and possibly lead to him having to give up the presidency. A role in the government looks now unlikely, and he allayed these fears by reaffirming that while he will retain an involvement in Italia Futura, he will not be its figurehead as it seeks to become a political party. "Italia Futura is about to turn into something a lot wider and diverse, and I won't be the leader of that," he added. "Obviously it will be the political home for myself, for tens of thousands of Italia Futura associates, and for millions of voters who will choose it. "I will support it with determination before and after the elections, but in a position that won't lead to any suspicions of conflicts of interests." Di Montezemolo has been Ferrari president since 1991.

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says his relationship with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has been unaffected by their recent war of words. Ecclestone was unimpressed with Ferrari's request for the FIA to investigate the yellow flag situation surrounding Sebastian Vettel at the Brazilian Grand Prix. A few days later, di Montezemolo suggested that F1 would benefit from having younger management in charge who can help lead the sport to a brighter future. Despite the comments, Ecclestone said an in interview with Corriere della Sera that the matter was not taken too seriously. "Montezemolo is still a friend and I'm convinced that he didn't really intend to say the things he said about me, about my age and my ability to continue to work. I'm happy - it's just 'role playing'" he said. Ecclestone made it clear that rather than accept the need for younger management, he was even more determined to stay at the helm. He said he wanted to make F1 "think and act like the world's leading sport". He added: "I'll continue to help with my ideas - I still have plenty left." He also reiterated that he was not concerned at the prospect of any further action being taken against him by German courts over the Gerhard Gribkowsky affair. "I would be (worried) if I was guilty," he said. "But I'm not! Are they trying to entrap me? I don't know and I don't care. All I know is that people try anything when money is involved."

Daniel Ricciardo says next season will be a crucial one for his career as he bids to prove he has what it takes to land a Red Bull seat for 2014. The Australian will be starting his second full campaign with Scuderia Toro Rosso and will go up against team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne once again. With Red Bull's bosses eager to find out if either of the youngsters has what it takes to deserve a seat at its main team, the Australian is not hiding away from the fact that there is now pressure to deliver. "I'm aware of that, and I know that my targets in 2013 will have to be more ambitious," he said in an interview with Italian magazine Autosprint. "I won't hide and I say that I must and can obtain a podium. I will push to the maximum to make it. "My Achilles heel is that this year, in the first part of the season, I wasn't aggressive enough in the races. In some aspects I was the opposite of [Romain] Grosjean. Now, however, I think I've found the right balance in showing my capabilities." Ricciardo also says that he has high hopes for Toro Rosso's new car, which he reveals will not be a straightforward evolution from this year's STR7. "I can tell you I've already seen it and, when looking at it closely, it's very different from the old one," he explained. "I think it will be better than the one I've raced with this year. In any case, it won't be one of those cars that looks the perfect copy - barely evolved - of the one that raced the previous year."

Timo Glock believes that Marussia's McLaren windtunnel programme can give the team a huge amount of optimism for the 2013 season. Delays meant that the British team was unable to test its MR01 properly before the start of the season, and resulted in Glock qualifying 2.6 seconds behind Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham at the Australian Grand Prix in March. But since signing a technical agreement with McLaren in 2011 that includes use of the Woking team's windtunnel, and revising its technical structure to include consultancy from Pat Symonds, Marussia has consistently closed the gap on its chief rival. Glock believes that the gains made during the past season mean a promising future for John Booth's squad, which will use KERS for the first time in 2013. "I think the windtunnel work paid off since we went to McLaren, and that looks very positive for the future," he said. "It was a difficult year in 2012 with a very difficult start; going to Australia with no testing. "But I think since then we've improved the car quite a lot. "I didn't think that we would close the gap again because we were 1.5s off Caterham [on race pace] and then closed the gap very quickly over the second half of the season, which is great." Glock said that the highlight of his year was his 12th placed finish at the Singapore Grand Prix, the best result for the team that began life as Virgin in 2010. His former team-mate Charles Pic later equalled that finish in Brazil. "We absolutely got it right at that race and took some risks," Glock, a three-time F1 podium finisher, said. "Korea was also good as I could really challenge the Caterhams, and Austin was good as well because we had a very good qualifying. "It was a shame that in the race we dropped behind the Caterhams again because the KERS factor was just too big. But that was a very strong race for myself." Glock will be partnered by British driver Max Chilton in 2013, the GP2 graduate having signed to replace Caterham-bound Pic in early December.

Mark Webber does not believe Red Bull's rapid rise to the top of Formula 1 would have been possible without the arrival of Adrian Newey. Newey joined Red Bull as chief technical officer in 2006, having previously designed world championship-winning grand prix cars for Williams and McLaren in the 1990s. Sebastian Vettel's three straight drivers' world championship crowns since 2010 have all come in Newey machines while Red Bull has also won the constructors' title in each of those seasons. Webber, who has taken each of his nine grand prix wins in Newey-influenced machinery, said that his ability to remain focused on performance while most of the sport becomes embroiled in politics has been key in the team's surge forwards. Webber said: "We need, behind all the smoke and mirrors of a Formula 1 team, to make a racing car as quick as possible to do the business in qualifying and the races. "Adrian never loses sight of that and he's a huge influence. "You have him beating the drum and generally being a big beacon for the team here in terms of design and philosophy of where the car needs to be. You need that to be successful here. "And when you start getting some success as well things change so quickly. Things becomes much easier." Webber and Vettel remain team-mates for 2013 after spending the past four years together at Red Bull. The team has yet to announce a launch date for its 2013 challenger.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner reckons that discomfort with the team's crucial late-2012 upgrade was the main reason Mark Webber fell away from Sebastian Vettel in last season's run-in. Halfway through the 2012 Formula 1 campaign Webber was Red Bull's main title threat, holding second in the standings, 10 points clear of Vettel. But in the second part of the year Vettel surged to a third championship while Webber tumbled to sixth. After Red Bull introduced a major upgrade for Singapore, Vettel claimed four straight wins and 141 points, whereas Webber's tally from the remaining rounds was just 47 points. Horner acknowledged that the change in car spec could have played to Vettel's favour. "Certainly Seb was able to get more out of the upgrade than Mark was," said the team chief. "It did seem to suit his requirements whereas Mark never seemed quite as comfortable. But he still had Korea pole, a front row in Abu Dhabi, and outqualified Seb in Brazil. "It was mainly in the races where Seb was able to exploit the most out of the car." He felt the opposite had applied at the start of the season, when Webber was often Red Bull's lead runner. "Certainly at the beginning of the year with the pre-Melbourne upgrade Sebastian was not at all comfortable, but he was still scoring strongly so when we did get the performance in the car he was able to capitalise on that," Horner said. Although Vettel has become established as Red Bull's number one with his run of championships, Horner believes the battle between his drivers is as close as it was between erstwhile McLaren duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. "I think it varies from track to track, condition to condition," said Horner. "In Brazil, between Lewis and Jenson it was swings and roundabouts between different points of the race. "Some of that is style, some of that is lines used, but the same thing applies as the car develops - one driver will sometimes get more out of it than the other." He added: "It's obviously tough for Mark - he is a world class driver but he is up against the best in the world. It is hard for any driver to accept that."

Red Bull has admitted that it took too long to get to grips with the changes in Formula 1 at the start of 2012, as it strives to ensure a stronger start to its title defence this year. After dominating 2011, Red Bull did not win until round four of last year's world championship in Bahrain. Eventual three-time champion Sebastian Vettel was as low as sixth in the points at one stage, and by mid-September only had one win to his name. He then went on a four-race victory streak to set himself up for another title. Prior to that, he had looked hard-pressed to catch Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and also faced times when McLaren looked a stronger contender than Red Bull. Team boss Christian Horner conceded that it had taken a while for designer Adrian Newey to get to grips with the 2012 rule tweaks and the new Pirelli tyre specification. "There was a big regulation change where the exhaust effect was reduced dramatically, and that particularly had a significant impact on our car because arguably our use of exhaust gases was more advanced than other teams," Horner said. "So it took a while to understand that, and that combined with a different tyre took Adrian and his team time to get his head around. "But they relentlessly stuck at it and the performance came." Before Vettel's dominant September/October run, Red Bull trailed McLaren five-three in the 2012 win stakes, but Horner believes his team's performance was always better than the statistics suggested. "Even when we weren't winning we were able to be securing sensible points," he said. "We should have won in Valencia, that was probably our biggest frustration of the year. "The points we gave away not only the 25 points we should have had for the win but also the points it gifted Fernando." He added: "There were some challenges but getting that performance from the car and particularly for the last third of the championship was crucial."

Ross Brawn believes that mid-season changes in Mercedes' Formula 1 aerodynamic department were the root cause of the team's slump in form during the second half of 2012. Mercedes, which took over the world champion Brawn squad in late 2009, scored its first F1 race win as a constructor since 1955 when Nico Rosberg dominated the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position. By the halfway point of 2012, Rosberg lay sixth in the championshp, only 34 points behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. But the squad's form suffered during the second half of the year, Rosberg eventually trailing world champion Vettel by 189 points and Michael Schumacher's sixth place in Brazil its only points finish from the final six grands prix. Team principal Brawn said that the departure of head of aerodynamics Loic Bigois, coupled with a change in windtunnel philosophy while the team experimented with Coanda exhausts and double DRS, also played a major influence. Brawn said: "We made a decision to change the structure of the aero group. We had to wait for [new aero chief] Mike Elliot to join us because we had a notice period he had to fulfil at Lotus. "We concluded the situation with Loic and there was a gap that we didn't fill very well." "On top of that we were doing the transition from 50 per cent to 60 per cent models in the windtunnel, and there were a lot of other things in the aero group as well. It did have an impact." Brawn said that the shift to 60 per cent models was necessary to increase the amount of technical data it could extract from Pirelli's tyres. "Our conclusion was that we would get a much more representative tyre at 60 per cent than at 50 per cent," he added. "Pirelli have to make 50 per cent and 60 per cent windtunnel tyres. There are only two teams that are still doing 50 per cent. "Even with Pirelli's best efforts, they're going to be getting better feedback about 60 per cent tyres than 50 per cent. So we wanted to make the move. "The other thing that has happened over the years is that you're putting more and more equipment inside the windtunnel model to measure, monitor and check. We just ran out of space in the 50 per cent model. "There were things that we wanted to do that we couldn't do, and we needed the 60 per cent model to accommodate those features. Sixty per cent is the legal limit you can go to, there is no further step we can make."

Damon Hill believes Lewis Hamilton can naturally discover the leadership skills he will need at Mercedes this season. Hamilton will switch teams for 2013 having spent his entire Formula 1 career so far at McLaren, which had nurtured him since his karting days. Hill won the 1996 world title for Williams, where he had begun as a test driver, and was then recruited to lead the Arrows team's attempts to climb the grid. He sees parallels between his situation in 1997 and Hamilton's McLaren to Mercedes move. "When I was at Williams I had not been leading, I had been very much a test driver," said Hill, who is the guest editor of this week's special issue of AUTOSPORT about his father Graham. "But when I went to another team I was seen as a leader, so maybe it's easier to take on that role once they're looking to you to give them some direction. "Lewis might learn that, he might find that in himself. We don't know, but put in that situation he might find it. "Look at [Fernando] Alonso. He doesn't have a design office in his head. "He knows how to motivate a team and gets the best out of the bunch of guys he's got." Hill says the dynamic of teams has shifted to being more one-driver focused in the modern era, compared to when he was racing in the 1990s. "In the old days there was only ever one team worth driving for, so you had the two best guys in the same team fighting over attention," added Hill. "Now you have more than one team and four guys with their own teams. "You could look at 2013 like this: Jenson Button's got McLaren, Lewis has got Mercedes, Fernando's got Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel's got Red Bull, and Kimi Raikkonen's got Lotus. "The reality of the situation is that any of them could win."

Niki Lauda has shown his determination to give all he can to his new role with Mercedes by electing to step down from a management position at Air Berlin. The three-time world champion was appointed as non-executive chairman of Mercedes last year as the German car manufacturer made a fresh push to overhaul its Formula 1 efforts in a bid for more success. Although some questioned Lauda's motivation for getting involved in F1 management after the difficulties he previously faced at Jaguar, the Austrian has subsequently embraced the role. His input will be called on even more now, following the decision of Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug to step down at the end of last year. In a bid to spend more time on his Mercedes efforts, Lauda has now elected to step down from the board of Air Berlin, having taken up that role at the end of 2011. He will be replaced by Austin Reid, a former CEO of bmi. Air Berlin's chairman of the board of director Dr Hans-Joachim Koerber said: "The Board thanks Niki Lauda for his committed, stimulating work for the benefit of the company."

Sauber will unveil its 2013 challenger on 2 February, the Swiss squad announced on Thursday. The team said the Ferrari-powered C32 will be presented to the public in Hinwil, Switzerland, where its factory is located. Pre-season testing commences at Jerez three days later. Sauber finished the 2012 season in sixth position after four podium finishes. The Swiss outfit's drive line-up for 2013 will be Nico Hulkenberg and Mexican rookie Esteban Gutierrez. 2013 pre-season dates:

Car launches

Team          Date
McLaren       January 31
Force India   February 1
Sauber        February 2

Testing
Venue         Date
Jerez         5-8 February
Barcelona     19-22 February
Barcelona     28 February-3 March

[Lineker]

Formula 1 teams are facing an increasingly tough call on whether or not to pursue passive double DRS in 2013, despite rules tweaks that should theoretically boost its advantage.

The FIA has changed the DRS regulations for this year, with drivers now only allowed to activate the device in practice and qualifying at the areas of the track where it will be used in the race.

Trick 'double DRS' like those used by Mercedes and Red Bull - which fed air through ducts in the rear wing to help stall the aerodynamics for a straightline speed-boost - have also been outlawed.

However, passive DRS concepts as tested by Mercedes and Lotus last year, which can stall the wing for a speed boost on all straights, remain legal, and should produce a bigger advantage because of the rules tweak that restrict normal DRS usage.

The implementation of the passive double DRS remains far from a no-brainer however, especially after both Mercedes and Lotus encountered difficulties in gaining confidence with the systems last year.

The biggest problem was in getting the device to switch on and switch off at the correct speed.

The device has to trigger at a speed that is higher than the fastest corner, so drivers do not encounter a sudden loss of downforce in the high-speed turns where they need it the most.

This means that the benefit from the passive systems is limited only to those sections of straights that are faster than the quickest corners, so it is not as much value at venues with a lot of quick turns.

The ideal stomping ground for passive DRS is tracks that feature long straights and only low speed corners.

There is also a further complication in that Lotus and Mercedes both found that due to air pressure characteristics surrounding an F1 car, the speed at which the passive DRS switched off to re-engage the rear wing was not always the same as that where it switched on.

This meant that the trigger point had to be adjusted even higher to ensure that there was no risk of drivers not having rear downforce for corners immediately after long straights.

Speaking about the concept at the end of last year, Brawn said that if the passive DRS got the go-ahead then it would be unlikely to feature on the car at every race.

"Where it engages and where it re-engages are often not necessarily the same speed - as it can have some lag," he said, when asked by AUTOSPORT about the difficulties Mercedes had encountered.

"For some tracks it will not be worth it, you won't be able to get any substantial advantage out of it.

"You need tracks with a good series of low-speed corners, as soon as you get high-speed corners you can't afford for it to be operating and the threshold becomes very high and the advantage is very small."

Ahead of a season where it is expected that the F1 field will closer further up because of rules stability, any advantage is still keenly pursued though, which is why passive double DRS remains attractive.

Brawn added: "The advantage of that is that you can use it all the time. I don't think it will make a huge difference in qualifying when you can use the normal DRS, but with passive systems they are every lap.

"At the moment you can only use DRS when you are close to a car in front, but with passive systems you can use them all the time, which is why they are attractive."

Mercedes and Lotus headed into the winter determined to keep evaluating the passive double DRS concept, and AUTOSPORT understands that both teams are still considering the idea as they close in on completing their 2013 cars.

It is also likely that rival teams have put work in to trying to get the systems working.

However, Brawn was convinced that even if teams do get the passive DRS working properly in 2013 then it will not be a golden ticket for success.

"The performance gain is there, but it is not huge," he said. "It's not like F-duct was. It is something that is nice to have, but it is not going to be a game changer in terms of your competitiveness."

Lotus owner Gerard Lopez insists he is not looking at selling the outfit, despite having held talks with potential investors last year.

Lopez's Genii Capital company considered offloading a minority stake in the team towards the end of 2012 after speaking to various parties, but in the end it elected to keep its ownership of the team intact.

Following the success of 2012, with Lotus winning a race on its way to fourth place in the constructors' championship, Lopez has reiterated how happy he is with the way the team is working.

"When we bought the team we had 75 per cent of the shares, and then we moved to 100 cent," said Lopez in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But we have always said that, if there are investors who want to enter with some shares, we are ready.

"I have never wanted to sell the team because for me, for Genii Capital, F1 is a fine platform to develop business. With the sponsors we talk not only of the advertising that goes on the car, but wider business too."

Lotus has boosted its sponsorship portfolio in recent years, and has added for 2013 a high-profile deal with the Coca-Cola company to promote its 'Burn' energy drink brand.

The team has also been in negotiations with American industrial company Honeywell about a sponsorship tie-up.

Lopez said that Lotus' finances were in good shape, even though it did not have the budget to match outfits like Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

"We are close to the top teams," he said. "We are financed by Microsoft, Unilever, and Coca Cola. This demonstrates the value we are recognised [as having]. At the moment we have 547 staff. It's fine."

Lotus owner Gerard Lopez believes Kimi Raikkonen managed to deliver so much for the team last year because it gave him the atmosphere he needed to thrive.

Lopez is convinced that Raikkonen dug deep to get the best out of himself, even though from the outside it was not always obvious.

"Everyone who had muttered that he wasn't motivated now comes around to tell me they knew Kimi was still super strong," said Lopez in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

"It amuses me. I knew it would have ended up this way. Raikkonen has added hard work to his talent, and the results are the fruits of this cocktail."

When asked if Raikkonen was doing so well simply because of the freedom Lotus had given him, Lopez said: "It's not just the freedom. Raikkonen in Lotus feels utilised for what's most important, while he is free for everything else. He has found balance.

"Keep him under control? Not even in my dreams. I talk to him every week and he feels good, he is enthusiastic and charged up. I want drivers, not robots."

Lopez has also expressed his full support for Romain Grosjean, whom he reckons was unfairly criticised at times because of his involvement in a number of early race accidents.

"Romain didn't do all the mess he's been accused of," he said. "They [the critics] exaggerated on his account: in 2012 there were four drivers who were reprimanded more often than he was, however they were able to take part in every race.

"Grosjean instead was banned for the Italian GP. He paid for many others. But he has always shown he is quick. I expect a lot of him this year."

Sebastian Vettel beat Fernando Alonso to the 2012 Formula 1 title because his Ferrari rival meddled too much in politics and psychological warfare, reckons Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.

Reflecting on the 2012 world championship battle in the latest edition of Red Bull's in-house magazine the Red Bulletin, Marko argued that Alonso got distracted by off-track aspects while Vettel focused solely on driving.

"Sebastian's driving was virtually flawless," said Marko. "But he is a phenomenon: it is always like that.

"After the summer break, his performance curve shoots up. That's what happened in previous years, too.

"I don't know how he does it, but to keep doing it cannot be a coincidence. That brings us back to his method of preparation, the way he shuts himself off from the rest of the world, so that he can still call on reserves that other drivers might not have.

"Fernando Alonso, for example, who is busy with politics and funny comments.

"Vettel ignores it all; he doesn't read the newspapers, or the internet. And that's the point, you see, we concentrate on our job: to make the fastest car and the best team possible."

Marko claimed that Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari would have been harder on his team in defeat than Alonso and current chiefs.

"I believe that there is no way old Enzo would have liked such defeat, but he would acknowledge the performance of the opposition," he added.

"And then [he] would whip his boys accordingly so they'd do everything to beat us.

"But not with such actions as we have recently experienced. Alonso is constantly involved in politics.

"I believe we saw the stress he was under towards the end of the season. Saying things like, 'I'm competing against [Lewis] Hamilton, not Vettel,' and 'I'm up against [Adrian] Newey,' these psychological skirmishes. We said, 'Just ignore him.'"

Marko says he has little time for critics of Vettel, and is not worried by speculation that his German driver could switch to Ferrari in the future.

"There is a lot of nonsense being said. 'Vettel can't overtake.' Ridiculous; just look at Abu Dhabi and Brazil. 'He is only able to win because he's sitting in a Newey car.' We have two Newey cars, so why aren't we clinching one-two at every race?

"Then the comment of the great Jackie Stewart that Vettel must go to another team to prove himself. This is said by someone who scored all his greatest successes in just one team, Tyrrell. I can't take it seriously."

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko doubts Mark Webber has what it takes to cope with the intense pressures of a Formula 1 title fight.

In a revealing interview with Red Bull's in-house magazine the Red Bulletin, Marko has suggested that Webber is good enough to win a few races a year, but struggles to achieve a champion's consistency.

"It seems to me that Webber has on average two races per year where he is unbeatable, but he can't maintain this form throughout the year," said Marko.

"And as soon as his prospects start to look good in the world championship, he has a little trouble with the pressure that this creates.

"In comparison with Seb [Vettel's] rising form, it seems to me that Mark's form somehow flattens out.

"Then, if some technical mishap occurs, like with the alternator for example, he falls relatively easily into a downward spiral.

"No driver remains unaffected by this, because the tension is palpable.

"In 2010, it was particularly extreme. Webber headed into the final race with better chances than Vettel, and he probably carried the disappointment of his defeat into the 2011 season, which is so easy to understand."

Marko believes that Webber has struggled to cope with the psychological challenge of Vettel arriving just as Red Bull delivered the Australian his first title-worthy F1 car.

"Something that I think is also very important is that for much of his career, Mark was never in a top team, but he was always regarded as a high flyer if he only could get into the right team," added Marko.

"Then Red Bull puts him in a car - a possible winner – and suddenly along comes this young kid and he snatches the booty from under Mark's nose.

"Psychologically it's not easy, of course; this would gnaw away at anyone's confidence. It's more than understandable."

Webber won two races in 2012 – in Monaco and Britain – and finished sixth overall in the championship, having been Fernando Alonso closest rival at half-season.

Ferrari will launch its new Formula 1 car at its Maranello base in early February, prior to the first pre-season test at Jerez in Spain.

Although the Italian outfit has not confirmed the exact date of the launch, it stated on Tuesday that it was on course to unveil its new challenger before testing begins on February 5.

It is likely that the new car will be launched on the weekend before the test - either February 2 or 3 – so it has enough time to travel to Spain.

Ferrari has also this week commenced work on new facilities at Maranello, which will house the offices and workshops for the F1 team in the future.

The new building will be located between the current race team headquarters and the famous Cavallino restaurant.

Sergio Perez says he will need to change his approach to Formula 1 this season if he is to make the most of his switch to McLaren.

The Mexican, who spent his first official day at the team with a factory visit on Tuesday, reckons that if he is to achieve his ambitions of fighting for the title then he will no longer be able to simply the play brilliant tyre tactics that helped his grab podiums last year for Sauber.

"The approach this year is different," he said, when asked by AUTOSPORT about the way he will be attacking the races and revised tyres for 2013.

"At Sauber it helped me because the approach was to always to try and maximise the race potential, not so much the qualifying. Here the target is to be in pole position and win the race.

"Normally the fastest strategy is the one that does more stops and you are pushing all the time. In that respect obviously I will try and help with my style, with my understanding of the tyres, but I think the approach has to be different."

Perez has set his sights on using the next few weeks at McLaren to get into fully understanding his new surroundings, having already spent one day at the factory before Christmas to try out the simulator and have a seat-fitting for the 2013 car.

"I want to understand the car quite a lot in terms of set-up for me to be able to have a good communication with my engineers, and it is a very important part for me to build my relationship with my engineers, with my team and get together so when I get to the first test I have as much familiarisation as possible with the whole team," he said.

"Then when we get to Melbourne I want to be very well prepared so that everything comes automatically, so I don't have to think of many things."

Perez is also not holding back in his belief that he can make a success of his switch to McLaren, despite critics pointing to the fact that he failed to score a point in F1 ever since he signed for the team.

"I think the biggest challenge is to win," he said about 2013. "We are all here to win, and the challenge we are all facing at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is to win. This is the target.

"I think definitely when you come into McLaren you are expected to win every race because you are in the best team - and if you are not winning there is something wrong.

"So in that respect I expect more pressure but as a driver that is what you are looking for: to be in a top team, the best team, and to win races and to win championships."

Sergio Perez is adamant the messy end to his Sauber career is now behind him and will not impact on his debut with McLaren.

The Mexican found himself on the receiving end of criticism at the tail end of 2012 when, after signing for new team McLaren, he failed to score a point for his old outfit Sauber in the final six races of the season.

And although he is adamant that his disappointing run of form had nothing to do with the increased pressure that came with his step up to McLaren, he says that he did not take the situation lightly.

"I have to accept that I made some mistakes, but as well the points didn't come for many reasons," he said during a media interview session involving AUTOSPORT in London on Tuesday.

"It was not only with the mistake I made in Japan, but also other races.

"I put the car sometimes where we were not expecting to be, but for some reason or another we did not manage to get the final result. It was not for lack of preparation - because for any team I am driving I will always give 100 per cent, and that is the approach I always have.

"I think I have to take the positives from 2012, and the negatives as well. From the negatives you learn more than you do from the positives."

Perez's run of form at the end of last year means that there will be more scrutiny on his early performances for McLaren, and increased pressure to not make errors in the first races of the campaign.

But the Mexican thinks that even if he starts the season well, the pressure will not get any less.

"The pressure is there, and the pressure will be there even if I am winning: the pressure will be there to win more," he said.

Sergio Perez is certain his former Sauber team-mate Kamui Kobayashi can earn a Formula 1 return next season.

While Perez was able to secure a McLaren seat for 2013, Kobayashi was left drive-less when he was dropped by Sauber.

The Swiss team signed Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and promoted reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez to replace Perez and Kobayashi.

The 2012 Sauber duo's contrasting fortunes came despite Perez ultimately only outscoring Kobayashi by six points, and the pair being equally matched in a head-to-head qualifying comparison.

Perez admitted he felt sympathy for Kobayashi, but is confident the Japanese driver's F1 career is not over.

"He is a great driver, a great guy and somebody that can do a very good job for a team," said Perez as he met reporters, including AUTOSPORT, on his first day at McLaren on Wednesday.

"So I think in a way I feel a bit sorry but I think he will be back for next year.

"I am sure with his speed he can find a good seat and hopefully we can have him back next year."

Kobayashi attempted to raise a budget to find a 2013 drive, but was forced to admit defeat shortly before Christmas.

Perez added that he thinks compatriot Gutierrez can follow his example and impress the F1 fraternity with Sauber.

"I think he has a great opportunity," Perez said. "Sauber is a great team to show your potential and I think he will be doing quite well."

Marussia believes Formula 1's major regulation changes for 2014 need not price smaller teams out of the market if decisions are made wisely.

F1 will switch to V6 turbos next year. The cost of producing the new engines has led to fears of unsustainable budget increases for the world championship's smallest teams.

But Marussia sporting director Graeme Lowdon told AUTOSPORT he was certain that costs could still be contained.

"There are plenty of tools available to be able to do that. It's important," he said.

"What the fans want is close competition, not a spending competition.

"It's certainly a potential challenge to everyone in 'pitlane PLC', if you like, because we want to ensure the fans still get a show and that is the most important thing.

"That can only happen if a number of boxes are ticked, one of which is that the economics have got to make sense for all the teams, not just some of the teams."

With the demise of HRT, Marussia is now Cosworth's last remaining customer in F1. Lowdon said it was too soon to say what his team might do for a 2014 engine supply.

"I think we're talking to all the same engine manufacturers that everyone else is," he said.

"The regulations aren't finalised yet and therefore that makes it quite tricky to go beyond initial discussions.

"We're eagerly awaiting some indication of what the commercial and technical proposal for the new powertrain is going to look like."

He played down the chances of an equalisation formula allowing the current V8s to be retained.

"I guess theoretically that could be done. It's safe to say our team's not pushing the long term agenda of engines in Formula 1," said Lowdon.

"As far as we're concerned, it's got to be a highly-technical device, it's got to be loud, it's got to be powerful and above all it's got to be affordable."

The Brabham family has won its legal battle to protect the Brabham name through the German Higher Courts.

Sportscar racer David Brabham, the son of three-time Formula 1 champion and team founder Jack, had sued Michael Trick following his refusal to cancel certain registrations within the European Union involving the Brabham name in Germany.

Trick had been marketing road cars under the Brabham Racing banner.

The Brabham family announced on Wednesday the legal action was entirely successful and that the Brabham trademark registration is now reverted to the family's ownership.

"I'm delighted that this situation has finally come to an end," said David Brabham. "It's been a long and tiring battle, but this was something I felt we needed to do to protect the Brabham name.

"The global brand stands for success and innovation bolstered from 60 years of racing heritage, and deserves to be protected.

"This ruling will not only help future plans for the Brabham brand, but also protect the third generation of drivers, in Sam and Matthew, coming up through the ranks."

Back in 2009, a group set up by Formtech founder Franz Hilmer said that it had lodged an entry for the 2010 F1 world championship using the Brabham Grand Prix moniker. Its application was unsuccessful.

[Lineker]

Pedro de la Rosa has joined Ferrari in a development role for the 2013 season. The former McLaren test driver, who raced for HRT last season, will focus on developing the team's simulator.

[MJB]

With just about two weeks before most of the cars are unveiled, I thought it might be interesting for us to give a few predictions for the 2013 Season. Then, after Brazil, we can see how well/poorly we did.

- The Top 5 in the Drivers Championship will be, 1: Vettel, 2: Alonso, 3: Button, 4: Raikkonen, 5: Hamilton.

- Red Bull will walk the Constructors Championship, having it wrapped up before the penultimate race.

- Sergio Perez WILL win a race in Formula One but Romain Grosjean WILL NOT.

- Pastor Maldonado will continue to make stupid mistakes and will end up serving at least a one race ban at some point during 2013.

- Although Maldonado will be very strong in Qualifying, Valteri Bottas will continue the tradition of stong Finnish racers by finishing above Pastor in the Drivers Championship.

- Caterham will finally score a point, but they still won't finish higher than 10th in the Constructors Championship.

- Toro Rosso will build a half decent car but neither driver will 'out drive' it, leading to neither of them being able to convince Red Bull to take them on after Mark Webber.

- Eight drivers will win a race during the course of the season. VET, ALO, BUT, HAM, RAI, PER and WEB will be seven of those eight.

- Sauber, Force India and Williams will all have strong showings during the year but they still won't be able to break into the top five.

- The Drivers Championship will be over by the time we get to Sau Paulo at the end of the season.

[Fry_4000]

- Hamilton & Perez will not win a race

- Caterham & Marussia won't score a point

- Sauber or Force India will win a race

- Vettel will be world champion

- Title will be decided in final race

- Grosjean will get another race ban

- Massa will be dropped before the season ends

- Raikkonen will win more than one race

Edited January 19, 2013 by Fry_4000

[Katsuya]

Marussia will score a point before Caterham

Alonso will win the Drivers title, having won less races than Vettel

Webber finishes lowest of the top ten drivers (RBR, McLaren, Ferrari, Merc & Lotus)

Grosjean will win the same or more races than Kimi

Hulkenburg gets another pole position but does not finish on the podium.

[Gazz]

Kimi wins all 19 races

[MJB]

It looks like Timo Glock won't be on the grid in 2013. Apparently, Marussia can't afford to keep hold of him.

German Timo Glock will not race for Marussia this year after he and the team "agreed to part company with immediate effect".

The German, 30, has raced for Marussia since their debut in 2010 as Virgin. Team boss John Booth said "commercial" considerations were behind the move.

"Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone," Booth added.

Glock earned a salary; Marussia need a driver who brings sponsorship.

Marussia did not say in their statement who would be replacing Glock. They have already confirmed the English novice Max Chilton in one of the seats.

Brazilians Bruno Senna, who raced for Williams last year, and novice Luis Razia have been linked to the team.

Booth said: "Timo is a fantastic driver and he has been a very popular member of the team.

"Our team was founded on the principle of benefiting from proven experience while also providing opportunities for young emerging talent to progress to the pinnacle of motorsport.

"Thus far, this philosophy has also been reflected in our commercial model.

"The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future.

"Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula 1 teams included.

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

Glock, who is expected to race in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) this year, said: "I have had three excellent years with the Marussia F1 Team, during which I had the chance to actively participate in building and developing the team in its endeavours to succeed within the Formula 1 World Championship.

"I would like to wish the team good luck in navigating this next period and thank everyone for the great times we shared and the support I have received.

"Although it is not the path I expected to be taking, I am in fact very excited about what the future holds in terms of my own career and I hope to comment on that very soon."

Oh, and it also looks as if Toto Wolff has left Williams to join Mercedes.

Toto Wolff, a shareholder in the Williams team, is to become Mercedes' new director of motorsport.

The 41-year-old businessman will effectively replace Norbert Haug, who left Mercedes last month.

The Austrian will be involved in the company's Formula 1 programme as well as overseeing its other motorsport activities, including in German Touring Cars (DTM).

A Mercedes spokesman said the company did not comment on "speculation".

Wolff's position is expected to be confirmed in the next few days.

It remains to be seen whether he will have to divest himself of his shareholding in Williams - it is understood to be possible for Wolff to continue having a shareholding in Williams while running the Mercedes motorsport department.

But he will not be able to continue in his role as the team's executive director.

Wolff's appointment is the latest development in a major shake-up in Mercedes' sporting department.

In September, triple world champion Niki Lauda's appointment as non-executive chairman of the F1 team was announced at the same time as Lewis Hamilton's signing as their new driver.

Hamilton replaced Michael Schumacher, who retired as a direct result of the Englishman's deal.

The shake-up is a reflection of how seriously Mercedes is taking the under-performance of its F1 team.

They took over the Brawn team at the end of 2009 - the year they won the drivers' and constructors' title double with Jenson Button - but have won only one race in three years and ended last season struggling even to score points.

Wolff became a shareholder in Williams in 2009 and last year was effectively running the team under founder Sir Frank Williams following the departure of chairman Adam Parr.

[Lineker]

Mercedes want to replace team principal Ross Brawn as part of a restructure aimed at improving the team's performance, reports BBC Sport's Andrew Benson.

[Katsuya]

Oh snap. Kubica is testing a DTM car for Mercedes.

[Lineker]

BMW has confirmed Timo Glock will race with them in the DTM this year.

[Lineker]

Lotus will officially kick off the build-up to the 2013 Formula 1 season on Monday night when it unveils its new E21 during an online launch.

Lotus's car will be unveiled on its own YouTube channel at 7.15pm GMT.

[MJB]

It's also going to be on Sky Sports News, I think.

[Lineker]

New livery - much more red added to the black and gold this year for Lotus. And check out those coanda sidepods!

http://imgur.com/a/6ZT4r

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/groups/f1/forum/topic/lotus-e21-images-leak-before-launch/

[Lineker]

Lotus has unveiled the new E21 Formula 1 car that it hopes will provide a springboard for it to become a top team in 2013.

After an encouraging 2012 campaign where Lotus delivered a victory in Abu Dhabi with Kimi Raikkonen, the Enstone-based outfit believes its evolutionary car can move it further forward.

Team principal Eric Boullier said: "I think it is fair to say that great things are possible. The leap we made from 2011 to 2012 showed what we are capable of.

"Add to this the continuity and potential of our driver line-up and we have a very powerful cocktail for the season ahead.

"Our ambitious plan to turn ourselves into one of the top teams in Formula 1 is coming to fruition and now we need to harness this with strong and regular podium results.

"We are lean and hungry. Enstone knows how to win championships, but it is a while since we have won so we are very eager to taste glory again."

The E21 is visually similar to last year's car, but technical director James Allison said that certain areas of it have undergone a wholesale redesign.

"Depending on where you look, some parts of the new car are a ground-up redesign and in other areas we have further optimised the best bits of the design philosophy we've adopted for several seasons," he said.

"The front and rear suspension layouts are substantially revised to try and give us better aerodynamic opportunities. The front wing is a continuation of the concepts we have worked on since the 2009 rules were published.

"For the rear wing system, we've continued to try to work on having a satisfactory level of rear downforce stability whilst having maximum DRS switching potential."

The E21 will feature the passive double DRS that the team evaluated last year and the outfit has elected not to run with the 'vanity panel' that is allowed this year to hide the stepped nose.

Allison has high hopes for the new car, but is equally aware that its performance will only become clear once the outfit starts racing.

"The E20 proved itself to be an effective racing car, so there is an element of expectation from the E21," he said.

"We have continued with our design themes and tried to build a more efficient and faster racing car based on all the lessons we learnt last year. How successful we have been at this we will only know once we take to the track at grands prix."

---------------

Lotus will run the passive DRS system that it trialled last season on the newly-launched E21.

The Enstone team tried the design for the first time in free practice for last year's German Grand Prix but despite further tests in subsequent races never raced it.

This year, systems based on exposing holes in the rear wing endplates when the DRS is deployed are outlawed, but passive versions, which rely on the car hitting a certain speed to divert airflow to stall the rear wing, are still permissible.

Despite Lotus struggling to set the 'aero switch' up to deactivate at the same speed at which it activates, technical director James Allison is confident that the concept will earn its place on the car during pre-season testing. It was not present on the launch car.

"This is an area we continue to work on and the passive nature of the switching of our device means it is not outlawed by the latest regulations," said technical director James Allison.

"It is not something which will be a silver bullet to transform our car, but it is something which could add performance as part of the overall design."

Allison also confirmed that the team has no plans to run the optional 'vanity panel' which has been introduced this year to allow teams to cover up the step in the nose.

As this part has no performance advantage and adds weight, he believes there is no benefit in fitting it.

"There is one rule which opens the possibility for a change as we will now be permitted to fit a non-structural 'vanity panel' on the upper surface of the nose as a means of avoiding the duck-bill style designs that we saw in 2012.

"However, such a panel will add a few grammes of weight and so is only likely to run on the car if a team can find a performance benefit for doing so."

-------------

GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi has been appointed as Lotus's third driver for the 2013 Formula 1 season.

The Italian, who impressed the team during his outing in last year's young driver test in Abu Dhabi, is set to attend all of the races in 2013 in his new role and is first in line to stand in for either of the regular drivers should they become unavailable during a race weekend.

His predecessor, Jerome d'Ambrosio, remains on the team's books as reserve driver.