Formula One 2012

[MJB]

Hope Valencia gets the shove. Never had a decent race there, and I'm sure there are better venues to hold a F1 race.

[Lineker]

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari were given enough time to demonstrate whether they were potential grand prix winners, and lost their Toro Rosso seats because they failed to do so.

Buemi and Alguersuari had driven for Red Bull's junior Formula 1 team since the start and middle of the 2009 season respectively, but have been dropped in favour of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne for 2012. While Alguersuari's future is currently uncertain, Buemi will remain in the Red Bull fold as a reserve driver.

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost said last month that the driver decision had been taken to ensure STR remained a training ground for the next generation of Red Bull F1 stars rather than a home for established drivers. Marko - who oversees the firm's driver development - believes Buemi and Alguersuari had sufficient opportunities to show what they could do, and proved adequate rather than exceptional.

"Toro Rosso was created to give young drivers a chance," Marko told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Alguersuari and Buemi had it for three years and after this time it's possible to evaluate a driver's development.

"We haven't seen in them any possibility of growth. Both are worthy of grand prix racing, but for us that's not enough: we need winners."

Marko said he did not foresee any changes in Toro Rosso's role in the near future, even though it was becoming increasingly independent from Red Bull since having to switch to being a chassis constructor in its own right in 2010.

"It will certainly remain an Italian team based in Faenza, oriented towards young drivers," he said. "But Toro Rosso will have to keep developing more and more autonomously."

He also expects STR's Ferrari engine deal to continue.

"The contract is on for 2012; at the moment I can't say what will happen in the future, but up to now we are very satisfied with this co-operation," Marko said.

Force India has indicated that its 2012 car will be ready for the first winter test at Jerez from 7 February, having completed the mandatory crash tests for the VJM05 before Christmas.

In a rule change for 2012, the FIA now stipulates that the crash tests must be passed before testing can commence, putting pressure on teams to be ready sooner. With a two-week gap between the first and second tests, there had been speculation that others might adopt Mercedes' stance and use a 2011 car for the opening sessions, but Force India technical director Andrew Green said his squad was on target to be ready from the outset.

"We're on schedule, that's the good news," he said. "It's been a little bit tougher this year, having to homologate the chassis prior to testing. So there was a little bit of extra planning involved to get that sorted. The chassis has been homologated since December.

"There were a lot of fingers crossed! You're hoping everything does what all the analysis says it should have done. It's always nice when you reel off the tests one-by-one without any dramas at all. It's a real credit to everybody."

Green added that Force India's state of preparation was particularly pleasing because it had been forced to push on with 2011 development later than intended as closest rival Toro Rosso grew stronger in the final rounds of last season.

"It was such a close 2011 season, fighting where we were fighting in those last few races," he said. "We didn't know which way it was going to go. We weren't really anticipating such a strong response from Toro Rosso near the end of the season - they seemed to have a reasonable upgrade around Suzuka time. It's quite unusual for a team to come up with such a huge change so late in the season.

"So the concentration was right until the last race in Brazil. You could say that, from that point on, it's been 100 per cent focus on the new car for us."

[Lineker]

Jaime Alguersuari has reportedly turned down an offer to drive for HRT this year, saying it would be a backward step.

Alguersuari is instead looking to become a third driver with one of the top teams such as McLaren.

[MJB]

Smart move by Alguersuari I reckon, yeah he could get more race experience but I think being involved with a team such as McLaren would be a better move for his career.

[Lineker]

Human right groups have called for Formula 1 to boycott the Bahrain Grand Prix amid continued unrest in the kingdom.

The Sakhir event was cancelled in 2011 because of the situation in the country, but the race is scheduled to return to the calendar in 2012, as the fourth round of the championship on 22 April.

"We will do a campaign for drivers and teams to boycott," Nabeel Rajab, vice president for Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was quoted as saying by the Arabian Business website.

"The government wants Formula 1 to tell the outside world that everything is back to normal.

"Formula 1, if they come, they are helping the government to say [it is normal]. We would prefer it if they didn't take part. I am sure the drivers and teams respect human rights."

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said last month he was confident the race would go ahead without problems this year.

Mariwan Hama-Saeed, of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said a sport like Formula 1 should not be having an event in Bahrain.

"[The FIA] should consider the serious abuse of human rights in Bahrain and the fact that to this day authorities continue to suppress pro-democracy protests," Hama-Saeed told Arabian Business.

"I doubt that Formula 1 can be a success in a country where serious human rights abuses have been committed. The political situation is unstable and polarised in Bahrain. We are very concerned about the government's commitment to implement meaningful reform."

Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have downplayed fears about the unrest in the kingdom following calls from human rights groups to boycott the event.

The Sakhir event is back on the calendar this year after last season's race was first postponed and then cancelled because of the political situation.

Over the weekend, human rights groups urged F1 teams to boycott the race in order to show they "respect human rights."

On Monday, however, Bahrain GP organisers moved to ease fears about the situation, saying the government has already acted to make sure no human rights are violated.

"Last year, the King of Bahrain commissioned an independent report into alleged human rights abuses, the findings of which were published in November," a spokesman for the Bahrain International Circuit said.

"The report found evidence of human rights violations and made certain general and specific recommendations. The Government has fully acknowledged the findings of the report and is acting swiftly and convincingly on the recommendations.

"The Bahrain Grand Prix forms a fundamental part of the local economy. It is supported by an overwhelming majority of people from all sections of society in Bahrain and represents a symbol of national unity.

"The independent report was a milestone for Bahrain and we will now work tirelessly to ensure that the race is a great success."

The Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for April 22.

Catalunya's government says it may need to rethink the hosting of Formula 1 and MotoGP events given the difficult economic situation.

"We could reconsider the hosting of Formula 1 or motorcycle grands prix," Andreu Mas-Colell, Catalunya's minister for economy, told RAC1 radio.

"It is not clear to us that we can afford them in the current situation.

"It is not the first thing we will reconsider, but in times like these we must look very closely at where we spend the money."

Mas-Colell's comments come after the Valencian government said it wanted to renegotiate its contract with Bernie Ecclestone in order to reduce costs.

Valencia has hosted the European Grand Prix since the 2008 season.

The Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona has been a part of the Formula 1 calendar since 1991, but officials said last year that the future of the event beyond this season would depend on economic factors.

Barcelona has a deal to host the race until 2016 and Mas-Colell said the situation must be looked at carefully in order to make sure breaking a contract does not cost more than hosting the race.

"There are contracts that are more expensive to maintain than to break," he added.

Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 action in a 2010-specification Renault at Valencia on January 23-24.

A Lotus team source has confirmed to AUTOSPORT that Raikkonen will have two days of running in the Renault R30 to re-acclimatise to F1 machinery after not having driven a grand prix car since the 2009 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The team has been working on scheduling a test since he was originally signed for 2012, as reported by AUTOSPORT magazine last month.

While the two-year-old Renault cannot run on Pirelli's race rubber, it should at least give Raikkonen the chance to familiarise himself with the specification of tyre used for demo running.

Raikkonen had a seat fitting at Lotus's Enstone base last week. Speaking last month, he said that he expects to have little trouble getting back up to speed.

"I don't think I've lost any speed," he told the Lotus official website. "Getting on top of the tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I'm not really worried.

"We don't test the new car until February, so it's a long wait. However, I should be able to jump into a two-year-old F1 car in January.

"Learning Pirelli's tyres will be the most important job as it's a different approach from what I experienced before."

[Lineker]

Reports coming out of Italy suggest that Robert Kubica has broken his leg after falling over on ice. Am chasing up confirmation.

@NobleF1. If this is true then I reckon that's the end of him. Guy has the worst fortune ever...

[MJB]

Oh for God's sake Kubica

Hope this isn't true because I was really looking forward to seeing Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Massa, Schumacher, Rosberg, Raikkonen and Kubica as the top ten later in the season. Oh and they may aswell get rid of Bahrain, never really been a great track and it would open up some new locations including Russia, Mexico and South Africa.

[Lineker]

Update from Noble: Latest information is that Kubica has re-opened the fracture in his right tibia - so recovery will be set back a few weeks.

@eddstrawf1: Regarding Kubica's leg fracture, it is estimated to be a three week setback. Could have been worse but feel sorry for his bad luck.

[MJB]

Could be far worse I suppose, but after this setback, 2012 looks almost impossible for him to return racing in Formula One.

[Lineker]

Robert Kubica has injured his leg in a fall near his home, with sources close to the Polish driver suggesting that he has reopened a fracture that he sustained in his rally accident last year.

It is understood that Kubica fell over on ice in Pietrasanta, where he lives, and subsequently complained of pain in the right leg which was broken in his crash. He was driven to the local hospital for checks.

Although there has been no official statement, it is understood that it has been found that Kubica has reopened the fracture in his right tibia.

Kubica's latest injury setback comes on the same day that Ferrari played down talk that it was planning to test the Polish driver later this year once he was fully recovered.

Sources suggested that the injury is likely to delay his recovery by at least three weeks.

"That was not on our plan," said Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali at the annual Wrooom media event.

"For sure Robert Kubica is a great driver that had a very severe injuries and at the moment he is still working very hard to try to go back to his normal living.

"So before any kind of thinking or discussion of whatever could be, we need to wait and see. For sure that kind of injury is taking a long time to recover so I can say we will wait and see if he is going to recover, but at the moment there is nothing in place."

Robert Kubica has been singled out by Fernando Alonso as the rival he fears the most.

Although Kubica is still recovering from injuries he suffered in a rally crash last year, and is currently in hospital after injuring his leg in a fall on Wednesday, Alonso says he believes the Polish driver is the most talented competitor out there.

Speaking at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio on Thursday about which driver he feared the most, Alonso said: "For me the best driver is Robert Kubica - and I want to wish him the best.

"I spoke to him yesterday and I am sure when he is going to return he is going to be the best driver of the group."

Speculation continues to link Kubica with a future at Ferrari, although team principal Stefano Domenicali said that there were no plans at present for the Pole to test a car when he has recovered.

When asked for his thoughts on the possibility of Kubica replacing Felipe Massa to become his team-mate in the future, Alonso said: "I am very happy with Felipe..."

Ferrari will launch its 2012 Formula 1 challenger on February 3 at Maranello, team principal Stefano Domenicali has confirmed.

Speaking at the annual Wrooom event, Domenicali said that Ferrari also planned to hold an initial shakedown of its 2012 car either on its launch or on the following day, February 4.

Following a disappointing season in 2011, Domenicali admitted that Ferrari faced a new set of expectations for the new season but said his approach remained calm and relaxed.

"To take the new season with anxiety does not help, so it is useless to feel stress," he asserted.

"We do know the season is going to be important and delicate from many points of view, but this is part of the sport and this type of situation is part of the context in which Ferrari has been operating in.

"Clearly there are expectations we have to manage in the best possible way. The emotional side is important, especially in a team like ours, so my approach and the approach I have always had is of being calm, relaxed and determined - without feeling de-motivated if things should not go better at the start, and not being too positive if things go well at the beginning."

Ferrari is awaiting an answer from the FIA on the legality of an adjustable ride-height braking system that Lotus is believed to be developing for 2012.

A report in Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday revealed that Lotus was running a ride height control mechanism - reported to be activated by a driver using a pedal - to help maintain the car's distance from the ground under braking.

As well as helping with aerodynamic performance, due to the constant ride height, the device would also improve stability under braking - so would therefore have the added benefit of helping look after the tyres.

When asked by AUTOSPORT at Ferrari's Wrooom media event on Wednesday about whether the Italian team was considering copying the innovation, team principal Stefano Domenicali revealed the matter was awaiting clarification from the FIA.

"What you are talking about, is more related to having stability under braking," explained Domenicali. "It is a system that I know there have been some documents in writing between the FIA and the teams.

"We are waiting for the final confirmation if this kind of devices will be acceptable or not. But for sure we are looking around these sorts of devices to see if they contribute to a performance. But we need to wait and see what will be the reaction to the FIA on that."

Illustrations of the Lotus system show that the system uses hydraulic cylinders situated below the lower wishbones to adjust the ride height.

Lotus's rivals look set to be forced to copy its innovative reactive ride height system ahead of the 2012 season, with the FIA happy the concept is totally legal.

There has been much intrigue in recent days about the mechanism that Lotus was reported to have tried out at the Abu Dhabi young driver test last year.

The mechanical system helps maintain a standard ride height during braking - when often the front of the car would dip down.

Rivals teams are understood to have looked into the system and its legality over recent days - with a report in Gazzetta dello Sport this week suggesting it was driver adjusted by the use of a pedal in the cockpit.

However, if the drivers were changing the ride height of the cars under braking then that would be a breach of the rules.

Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations states: "With the exception of the parts necessary for the adjustment described in Article 3.18 [the DRS], any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited."

AUTOSPORT can reveal, however, that the adjustment to the ride height - which improves aerodynamic performance and stability on the Lotus under braking - does not come from the driver.

Instead it is reactive to brake torque and is linked directly to the suspension - so cannot be classified as a moveable aerodynamic device in the way that independent mass dampers were.

The fact that the driver is not involved, and that the system is a part of the suspension, means it complies fully with the F1 regulations.

AUTOSPORT understands that Lotus has been in liaison with the FIA throughout the development of the brake system, having first been proposed in 2010 and been given an official green light by the governing as long ago as January last year.

With the FIA happy that the brake system is legal, it means that its main rivals will now have to propose their own systems to the governing body if they want to adopt such a concept for the forthcoming season.

AUTOSPORT also understands that at least one front-running team has already submitted plans for a similar ride-height adjustment device to be used in 2012.

Ferrari has already developed its own version of the Lotus reactive ride-height system for its 2012 car, and is now just awaiting final approval from the FIA over its legality.

Lotus has pioneered a way for the ride height on its car to be maintained under braking - which will help both aerodynamic performance and stability. The system is fully mechanical and activated by brake torque.

As AUTOSPORT revealed on Wednesday, the FIA gave approval for the concept as long ago as the start of last year – and rival teams now look set to have to introduce their own versions of the concept for 2012.

High-level sources at Ferrari have confirmed that the Italian outfit has already been working on developing its own reactive ride height system for 2012 – and has submitted its plans to the FIA to ensure that it fully complies with the regulations.

Although it is understood that it has not received official approval yet, it is likely that a decision will be made in time for Ferrari to be able to fit the device to its 2012 car prior to the first pre-season tests.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said at the team's media Wrooom event in Italy on Wednesday that there had been correspondence with the FIA over the matter.

"What you are talking about, is more related to having stability under braking," explained Domenicali. "It is a system that I know there have been some documents in writing between the FIA and the teams.

"We are waiting for the final confirmation if this kind of devices will be acceptable or not. But for sure we are looking around these sorts of devices to see if they contribute to a performance. But we need to wait and see what will be the reaction to the FIA on that."

Ferrari hopes that the long-running dispute over Formula 1's Resource Restriction Agreement can be resolved by next month, ahead of fresh talks between leading teams over the matter.

On the back of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari leaving the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) because of the failure to reach a deal on the matter, further discussions have taken place between the two outfits and McLaren and Mercedes GP to try and hammer out a solution.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali revealed at his team's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio on Wednesday that more talks were planned for next week - which come ahead of crucial discussions about the framing of a new Concorde Agreement.

Speaking about the future of both Ferrari's position in FOTA and the RRA, Domenicali said: "We believe in FOTA and we believe FOTA has achieved a lot of important achievements, but last year we did not achieve what we thought.

"For sure one of the areas where we discussed a lot, and did not find a conclusion, was the RRA....[but] we are trying to find a way out for this. We want to make sure that this is a fundamental element to look to the future.

"We are working hard with the major teams - and next week we will have some other meetings. So in February we should have some answers that are important not only for this season but also for the future."

Domenicali said that the key issues to resolve were on reaching a definitive verdict on whether teams were operating to the original RRA, or the revised 'Singapore' version that was agreed in 2010.

There were also issues relating to penalties for those teams that overspend, and on whether or nor the FIA should get involved in policing it.

Although there has been speculation in recent weeks that Ferrari may already have a deal in place with Bernie Ecclestone relating to Concorde, Domenicali insists that no such agreement had been reached.

"In the next few months we are going to start talking about the renewal of the Concorde Agreement," he said. "We do not have other offers around. We have not seen any offers, and no proposals have come, so in the forthcoming days we are going to start talking to see if we can meet around the table and discuss the future of F1.

"In terms of the actors, in terms of the regulations and the financial [situation] we are going to have to talk about many different things."

Ferrari is eager to play a role in helping secure a better future for grand prix racing, despite its recent decision to break away from the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA).

That is the view of the Italian car manufacturer's president Luca di Montezemolo, who believes that securing healthy foundations for F1's future is more important than it remaining a part of FOTA - which he originally helped create.

"I think that as in every moment of life, there are moments that are good and moments that are necessary to change," said di Montezemolo, during a brief appearance at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio.

"We want to play, in a constructive way, a role to look ahead in F1. I think F1 is fantastic, it is our life. This year we have celebrated 60 years, so I think we are allowed to push in a constructive way to look ahead.

"We have to look ahead in terms of technology, we have to look ahead in terms of young public, in terms of transfer of technology to the road cars because we don't do satellites or aeroplanes.

"We have to look ahead in terms of new drivers, as it is important to give the possibility as in the past with tests. If I have a good driver I have to give him the possibility to show his capabilities. So without polemics, without problems, it is important Ferrari can play a role looking ahead."

Di Montezemolo also believes that the restructuring of Ferrari that has taken place over the last few months – and which includes the appointment of former Bridgestone tyre chief Hirohide Hamashima – is a part on the process that has been underway for the past 20 years and is not a dramatic revolution.

"We started a big change with things since 1996, but from 1996 until now, we changed one or maximum two people per year when it was necessary - mainly not to pay too big a price to be in Italy, to be isolated from the Silicon Valley of F1.

"If you see normally we introduce people on the aerodynamics, even because I think in every company, not just F1, every company, sometimes it is important to open the window to some new culture, new mentality and fresh air without exaggerating.

"If you look, [stefano] Domenicali was born with us, [Luca] Marmorini was born with us, the race engineers – one is Italian and the other has been with Ferrari for many years, so we have a lot of growth from inside but sometimes without excess, without revolution – a dynamic evolution, not revolution."

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari has the structure and staff it needs to rediscover its title-winning form, but he is refusing to get too carried away yet about its prospects for 2012.

Speaking at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy on Thursday, Alonso said that he was optimistic about the way his team was preparing for the season ahead - but reckoned it would be some time before it knew just how competitive it would be.

"We are all optimistic," said Alonso. "Everyone is giving their best, but until perhaps Malaysia or China, race two or three, we will not be able to know how good the car is.

"I know we are going to have many winter tests, and you may consider those as races, but until China we will not be able to know the potential of the car."

Alonso said his confidence for the season ahead had been lifted by the restructuring and recruitment drive that Ferrari has undertaken following the arrival of Pat Fry, who is now the team's technical director, last year.

And although the full benefit of these changes may not be realised for some time, Alonso believes Ferrari has what it takes to bounce back from a disappointing 2011 campaign.

"When Pat arrived there were some changes, a restructure, some reorganisation in the team," he explained. "The team has been working more effectively and in a more efficient way in the last couple of months, so I think the results, if they come, they should come immediately.

"I don't think we need any time. Last year we had problems with the wind tunnel, some issues with correlation. This year, if we get over our wind tunnel issues, the results should come, and if we do a good job we are able to win races. If we do not do a good job we will not be able to."

Alonso also believes that Ferrari has benefitted from the arrival of outside staff – because it has been injected with new concepts to help move it forward.

"All the people arriving are very welcome and give you some fresh ideas, and a fresh approach for different things," he said. "When Pat arrived in Ferrari [from McLaren], he tried to change a couple of things and he was surprised in some ways about how Ferrari worked, and the difference between his experience and the Ferrari approach.

"If you combine all the best things in your experience you can maximise the potential of yourself and team, and with Pat it was something like that. With experience, you try to get the best of everything, and I think the team has improved in all areas."

Felipe Massa is confident he can rediscover the race-winning form in 2012 that he believes will help secure his future at Ferrari.

Ahead of what has been openly called by team members as a 'crucial' season for the Brazilian, Massa believes an improved car will help him get back on to the top step of the podium.

Speaking at the Ferrari Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy on Thursday, Massa said that he was not feeling under any extra pressure to deliver.

"Of course it is going to be an extremely important year, I see this for myself but it is true for everyone here," said Massa. "This is a season during which we want to do more, and as far as I am concerned it is going to be extremely important because surely I want to do more than what I did last year and in 2010.

"I want to be competitive. I want a season which hopefully will not see me with the odds against me, as happened throughout the last season when very often I started the race and at the end I had much less points than I deserved.

"I have plenty of motivation, plenty of drive. I am positive about myself and this is what I want. Sure I am always under pressure, this is true and driving for a team such as Ferrari you are always going to be under pressure, but it is better to have the pressure to fight for the championship than the pressure of having to fight to get to first place on the grid.

"I want to be as competitive as possible, to win as man races as possible and fight for the championship as I have done many times in the past."

Massa believes that the development path of Ferrari's new car should suit his driving style better, and if that happens then he sees no reason why he cannot take the fight to Fernando Alonso throughout 2012.

"Yes, absolutely yes," he said when asked about his views on if he can challenge Alonso. "I am convinced that I can do it.

"On the race tracks where there was not a marked degradation of tyres, the difference was shown mostly with my driving style. So returning to having a car, as the one we had for many years, having a car that is competitive, this difference does not exist.

"I am sure that I can fight against Fernando not just to have the same time, but to make a better time than him - so to be even faster than him."

Massa says that the focus for him in 2012 is not on doing enough to secure a fresh contract at Ferrari, but in producing the form from the first race that will allow him to fight for the title.

"I am thinking about the championship, so of course you must have a competitive car from the start. If you have five or six races where you don't get the results you wanted, then it is difficult to recover.

"Talking about myself, the start of the season, the first part of the championship is surely going to be more important for my future as opposed to the second part. But that is not anything new."

When asked if he had ever considered leaving Ferrari amid doubts about his future, Massa said: "No. First I want to get back to winning races; this is what is most important for me.

"I want to be winning races and be as competitive as I have ever been. If you are happy in the team, then the team is happy with you. I do not see why you would change, but surely should something not happen that I mentioned previously, then it will be important that you should work where you are happy. This is what is most important so we will see what is going to happen."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has labelled the 2012 season as "crucial" for Felipe Massa's future at the Italian squad.

The Brazilian has been overshadowed by team-mate Fernando Alonso over the past two years, and Massa failed to finish on the podium all season long in 2011.

His contract expires at the end of 2012, and Domenicali suggested Massa will need to perform strongly in order to secure his future at Ferrari.

The Italian, however, is confident Massa will be able to deliver what is expected from him.

"As you can imagine this year is an important year from Felipe," said Domenicali during the Wrooom event. "We are expecting a lot from him and he is expecting a lot from himself.

"We need to be realistic, this is a crucial season for him and his future.

"We will do everything to help him. I am confident that Felipe will take out from himself the maximum he can deliver because the potential he has is very, very strong.

"I know what is around the subject from all over the world, but I know Felipe when he is under pressure is performing better and I am expecting from him a great season."

Domenicali also praised the performance of Alonso since he joined the Maranello squad, saying he has not seen anyone as committed in the last 20 years.

"From everyone we are expecting more and more, to do what he did last year with the car we had, the level of his performance was incredible," he added. "The highest level, and he was able to take out the maximum of the car, so I would say that if Fernando can perform at that level is fantastic."

He added: "I cannot ask more than what he is doing now, and I have to say in the last couple of years he is spending more time in Maranello than anyone else who I have seen in 20 years of experience at Ferrari.

"He is with us because he believes in our team and to achieve more victories in the future. I think that on our side to make sure he has this kind of reward."

Domenicali also denied Ferrari have targeted Robert Kubica to replace Massa, the Italian admitting the Polish driver will first need to show he has recovered from his injuries.

"That was not on our plan. I can see there was speculation," he said. "For sure Robert Kubica is a great driver who had very severe injuries and at the moment he is still working very hard to try to go back to his normal living.

"So before any kind of thinking or discussion we need to wait and see. For sure that kind of injury is taking a long time to recover from so I can say we will wait and see if he is going to recover, but at the moment there is nothing in place."

Ferrari has signed Hirohide Hamashima, the former director of Bridgestone's tyre development, to head up its department dealing with the interaction between car and tyres.

It is believed Hamashima will start from today and will report directly to Pat Fry.

Speaking at the annual Wrooom Ducati and Ferrari media event at Madonna di Campiglio, team principal Stefano Domenicali said he was looking forward to Hamashima's contribution in a department in which Ferrari struggled during 2011.

"He will give his contribution to the development of the car and the issue of tyres," Domenicali confirmed, "as this was an issue where last year we suffered in some conditions."

Ferrari has moved to overcome the tyre issues that hurt its form last season by signing former Bridgestone Formula 1 chief Hirohide Hamashima to work in its technical department.

Throughout 2011, both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa struggled at times to get the most out of their tyres - especially in using the harder compounds.

As part of a major overhaul of its technical structure and approach, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali revealed at the annual Wrooom media event in Italy on Wednesday that Hamashima had joined the team today.

Hamashima will report to technical director Pat Fry, and will be used to help improve the interaction of the Ferrari car and its tyres.

Speaking about the role that Hamashima will have, Domenicali said: "Hamashima joins today and in the future we will get his contribution on the development of the car and the issue of tyres.

"There was an issue last year where we suffered in some conditions, and the goal is of having a major contribution from his part. He will be a reference for us - and we expect an important contribution from him."

He added: "He knows the world of tyres. His knowledge is fundamental and we have used this occasion to strengthen our understanding in this area.

"Last year we were not that good in exploiting all the tyres we had in hand, so that is the reason why he has come into the team."

Hamashima served as Bridgestone's director of motorsport tyre development in F1 until the Japanese company left the sport at the end of 2010. Last year he worked in MotoGP.

The surprise appointment of Hamashima comes at a time when Ferrari has undertaken a major reshuffle of its organisation under the guidance of Fry – which has included the appointment of several staff.

Domenicali only confirmed the arrival of Steve Clark from Mercedes GP to help its track engineering, but it is also believed Ferrari has recruited stress engineer Jonathan Heal and aerodynamicist Lawrence Hodge from McLaren.

Although the true benefit of these changes will not be felt for many months, Domenicali reckons that Ferrari should be in a position to make up for the disappointment of last season.

"We rely on [Fry] to try and reorganise the structure that we wanted, and in the last couple of months we have done a significant job," he said. "It is not complete yet, but it doesn't mean we have excuses to wait and see."

As well as the focus on its technical department, Ferrari has made an aggressive push with the design of its 2012 car – which is to be unveiled for the first time at Maranello on February 3.

"Let me say that especially from a mechanical point of view it is a break from the past," explained Domenicali. "It is going to be a different car - but the diversity becomes relevant if it becomes competitive...there are some new concepts in the car that have never been used in our previous cars."

Speaking about expectations for 2012, Domenicali was cautious about making too many bold predictions though.

"We know that there are expectations and it is part of our heritage and part of our presence," he said. "We know we have to be realistic. We don't have to shout anything before the job on track.

"I see inside the team a lot of great effort to maximise the performance in a lot of areas – the performance for sure, I would say.

"As you know we have to be on top of every detail to make sure we are a winning team. We have to stay ahead of others at the starts, we have to improve the pit stop operation, we have to be on the spot with reliability, and we know on the mechanical side the car has to be perfect.

"In terms of strategy management in the race, all these areas have to be at the limit if you want to win, and this is the target we have within the team."

Domenicali rubbished recent reports that engineer Marco Fainello was joining Mercedes GP – by revealing that the engineer was switching to Ferrari's road car division.

"He remains in Ferrari as a person responsible for simulation programmes, in terms of the industrial part of the group," he said.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says Formula 1 teams will have to trust the FIA and other official authorities regarding the situation in Bahrain.

Doubts remain about this year's event due to the political situation in the country, with human rights groups having asked the teams to boycott the race.

The Bahrain International Circuit has downplayed fears since then, saying the government has acted to make sure human rights are not violated.

Last year's race was first postponed and then cancelled, but the grand prix has been reinstated for this year.

Domenicali said the only thing F1 teams can do is trust what the ruling bodies like the FIA say about what is actually going on in the country.

"I think that we need to trust the official authorities," Domenicali said during Ferrari's annual Wrooom event. "They will give a different approach. At the end of the day this is what we have to do."

He added: "I heard there are a lot of rumours about the situation. We need to rely on the competent authorities. We have the international federations, we have the CRH, we have relations with the country and we cannot rely on different sources of information.

"We need to be very cool and realistic on that, so we need to wait and see and rely on what the official authorities who have this responsibility will tell us."

Bahrain circuit officials said on Wednesday it had reinstated the employees who had been dismissed following the protests carried out in 2011.

The employees were dismissed as BIC said they were deemed to be in breach of contract during the protests.

"The management team of the Bahrain International Circuit ("BIC"), which is the home of motorsport in the Middle East and host of the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, has already contacted and consulted with the relevant staff with regards to their reinstatement and it hopes to see all employees returning to work as soon as possible," said a statement from BIC.

Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain International Circuit, added: "The reinstatement of our BIC colleagues is part of an important initiative towards national reconciliation and unity for the kingdom as a whole. I therefore welcome back our colleagues into the BIC family as we now look to focus on the future and the important job at hand.

"The Bahrain International Circuit, and in particular the Formula 1 Grand Prix, is of huge significance to our country, acting as a strong unifier, given the support it receives from all sections of Bahrain society. I now look forward to working with all BIC colleagues to ensure that we continue to provide world class track events, which every citizen of Bahrain can be proud to support."

Williams F1 has announced a deal with Olympic gold medallist and former 200m world record holder Michael Johnson.

Johnson's Performance Inc company will provide an intensive training programme for the Formula 1 team's pit crew personnel, and also evaluate its current training programme. In return, the MJP logo will be displayed on the sleeves of driver and team overalls and on team kit.

"I had the privilege of first meeting Michael at the Belgian Grand Prix in the late 1990s," Williams team principal Sir Frank Williams said.

"I have always admired the dedication required to be an Olympic Champion. The attention to detail and the commitment required is what sets these extraordinary individuals apart from the rest of us.

"When Michael and I met again recently he explained how he had established a company that specialised in improving athletic performance. I was extremely keen to learn how he could help our team as there seemed to be a lot of areas of common interest.

"We all know how crucial the brief time the car spends in the pits can be, and so it will be exciting to see how Michael and his team can help give us the edge in this respect."

Johnson, whose glittering career in athletics included numerous world records and an historic 200m/400m Olympic double in 1996, said he was confident his company's expertise could benefit the F1 team.

"I have been a huge Formula One fan since I first attended the Grand Prix at Spa in 1990 where I had the great privilege of meeting Sir Frank Williams," he explained.

"Williams is known around the world as one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula 1 and has achieved great success over the years and we look forward to helping them continue that winning tradition.

"I am confident that the experience and biomechanics expertise of the MJP staff can benefit the Williams F1 Team pit crew in their goal to cut hundredths and even tenths of a second from their pit stop times."

The BBC has announced that former Jordan technical director Gary Anderson will join its commentary line-up for the 2012 Formula 1 season.

Anderson joins the network as technical analyst, "providing insight from the pitlane on all the latest developments in strategy and technology from the team garages."

The BBC has also confirmed that James Allen will become the lead commentator for Radio 5 live, with Jennie Gow announced as pitlane reporter.

As announced earlier this year, Jake Humphrey will once again lead the BBC's coverage on television, with Ben Edwards acting as a commentator.

"We're delighted to welcome Ben, James, Gary and Jennie to the BBC presentation team," said the BBC's Head of Formula 1 Ben Gallop.

"They bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge, and huge passion for the sport which will help bring the season to life for our audiences on TV, radio and online."

Allen added: "I'm really happy. 5 live is the default setting on my radio at home and in the car, it's a great institution and I'm proud to be part of it.

"Anyone who has followed my career knows I love a challenge. This is a time of change in our industry and I see great opportunity here, thanks to the unique place Radio 5 live has in this sport."

[Lineker]

Adrian Sutil is set to stand trial in Munich at the end of the month in relation to a claim that he assaulted Lotus F1 co-owner Eric Lux in a Shanghai nightclub last April.

A number of Sutil's fellow F1 drivers who were present in the club could be called to present evidence in the case.

Sutil's agent, Manfred Zimmermann, is confident that the trial will clear his driver's name and put an end to the case.

"There will be a court case at the end of January in Munich," Zimmermann told AUTOSPORT.

"This was planned and we look forward to closing the case."

Could jeopardise his chances of landing one of the remaining seats I reckon.

[GA!]

It looks like Senna will replace Barrichello at Williams. Putting aside all the ironies involved, Rubens' career is over it seems. Massive shame. Considering Schumacher has never been the same, it's the end of an era as there will be no one from when I started watching in the mid 90s left.

Again, forgetting Schumacher. Why the hell he came back is beyond me. He's worse now than his brother ever was.

[Lineker]

That's quite a statement - Ralf was really not very good at all, was he.

Will be odd seeing the Senna name in a Williams if it does happen.

[Lineker]

McLaren has not been afraid to take risks with its 2012 car despite suffering a major setback during pre-season testing last year with its unsuccessful 'octopus' exhaust system.

McLaren Racing managing director Jonathan Neale, speaking in today's Motorsport Safety Fund Sid Watkins lecture at AUTOSPORT International, insists that the team's early struggles in 2011 will not force it into taking a more conservative approach with the MP4-27, either in terms of concept or development.

"We're in the business of taking controlled risk," said Neale. "F1 is not a business where you can afford to relax at any moment of time.

"At the moment, we have no idea of the competition. There will be various interpretations of the rules as set out by the FIA, as we saw at the beginning of last year.

"Look at what Renault did. They took an innovative approach to where they exited the exhausts by blowing the front of the floor and that stood them in good stead because they stood on the podium at the start of last year.

"If you don't keep that relentless pressure of development up, you go backwards. Red Bull, Ferrari, ourselves and Mercedes have, over the years, got quite good at that development."

Neale added that the team has learned a number of lessons from its up-and-down 2011 season, during which it proved unable to challenge Red Bull for the world championship but still won six grands prix.

He stressed the need for McLaren to turn its record of consistently winning races into winning more titles and that taking an aggressive approach is needed to do that.

Despite its regular wins, McLaren has not won the drivers' championship since 2008 and is without the constructors' crown since 1998.

"Yes, there is," he said when asked if lessons had been learned. "If you take a look at the number of races that McLaren has won over a 10 or 15 year period and where we have sat in the championship, we win races every year. There were only three drivers in 2011 who won more than one race and two of them were our drivers.

"But we are frustratingly just shy of that drumbeat of winning championships. Of course, winning matters most, both in races and championships. We've been there or thereabouts and McLaren should be fighting for a championship each year.

"It doesn't always go like that and we have had our stumbles because we take risks. We stumbled badly last year and got into some reliability issues with the car, maybe we took too big a bite on some things that we paid dearly for.

"Over the winter, we didn't get the maximum use of that precious testing time. Of course that is in our mind at the moment, but you can't be defensive. If you want to win races, you've got to push really hard. We must not be risk averse and not do these kinds of projects."

Neale also confirmed that the team is on target to run in the first test at Jerez on February 7-10 and that all of the mandatory FIA crash tests were passed before the end of last year.

Formula 1 chiefs should do all they can to ensure historic European races are kept on the calendar amid the push to expand the championship around the world.

That is the view of Ferrari vice chairman Piero Ferrari, the only surviving son of company founder Enzo.

Making a special appearance at the Italian team's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio on Friday, Ferrari said that while welcoming the global scale of F1, he felt it vital that Europe's venues did not disappear from the schedule.

"We feel F1 has to be a worldwide championship, so it is natural to have this outside Europe," he said. "What I regret is to miss some important grands prix, like the Grand Prix of France, and if we miss other grands prix like this, this will be a shame.

"I am not in favour to reduce the number of European grands prix. For us, Silverstone is a really important race, like Monza, and Spa - and every year you see fantastic races [there], so I hope not to miss those races."

Ferrari also played down any suggestions that there was extra pressure on the F1 team to win the title this year due to the impact the worldwide global financial crisis is having on road car sales.

"Personally I don't see a direct link from the number of victories in F1, or the championship, and the sales," he said.

"Normally we sell cars and it bears no relation [to results]. Ferrari has two different calls – one is the world championship and the other is to make production and GT cars very successful and profitable.

"For me there is no link, so I am looking to the F1 season to have better results than 2011, and we are racing to win – not just to be in the field. That is my wish. And for Ferrari GT [road cars], there is the financial crisis but in other countries I feel Ferrari can be in good health in 2012."

[Lineker]

Insight: Steve Nichols on Ayrton Senna and the McLaren MP4/4

McLaren has not been afraid to take risks with its 2012 car despite suffering a major setback during pre-season testing last year with its unsuccessful 'octopus' exhaust system.

McLaren Racing managing director Jonathan Neale, speaking in today's Motorsport Safety Fund Sid Watkins lecture at AUTOSPORT International, insists that the team's early struggles in 2011 will not force it into taking a more conservative approach with the MP4-27, either in terms of concept or development.

"We're in the business of taking controlled risk," said Neale. "F1 is not a business where you can afford to relax at any moment of time.

"At the moment, we have no idea of the competition. There will be various interpretations of the rules as set out by the FIA, as we saw at the beginning of last year.

"Look at what Renault did. They took an innovative approach to where they exited the exhausts by blowing the front of the floor and that stood them in good stead because they stood on the podium at the start of last year.

"If you don't keep that relentless pressure of development up, you go backwards. Red Bull, Ferrari, ourselves and Mercedes have, over the years, got quite good at that development."

Neale added that the team has learned a number of lessons from its up-and-down 2011 season, during which it proved unable to challenge Red Bull for the world championship but still won six grands prix.

He stressed the need for McLaren to turn its record of consistently winning races into winning more titles and that taking an aggressive approach is needed to do that.

Despite its regular wins, McLaren has not won the drivers' championship since 2008 and is without the constructors' crown since 1998.

"Yes, there is," he said when asked if lessons had been learned. "If you take a look at the number of races that McLaren has won over a 10 or 15 year period and where we have sat in the championship, we win races every year. There were only three drivers in 2011 who won more than one race and two of them were our drivers.

"But we are frustratingly just shy of that drumbeat of winning championships. Of course, winning matters most, both in races and championships. We've been there or thereabouts and McLaren should be fighting for a championship each year.

"It doesn't always go like that and we have had our stumbles because we take risks. We stumbled badly last year and got into some reliability issues with the car, maybe we took too big a bite on some things that we paid dearly for.

"Over the winter, we didn't get the maximum use of that precious testing time. Of course that is in our mind at the moment, but you can't be defensive. If you want to win races, you've got to push really hard. We must not be risk averse and not do these kinds of projects."

Neale also confirmed that the team is on target to run in the first test at Jerez on February 7-10 and that all of the mandatory FIA crash tests were passed before the end of last year.

John Surtees has called for Formula 1 teams and the FIA to do more to make sure top young drivers aren't prevented from reaching the pinnacle of the sport due to a lack of money.

Speaking on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International to promote the charity set up in memory of his late son Henry, the 1964 world champion said he was disappointed to see the number of drivers buying seats in Formula 1 going up again.

"We've returned to a situation like in the 1970s where one or two teams - including my own back then - have to take drivers with budgets," said Surtees. "I'd hoped we'd lost that period forever. When Bernie Ecclestone came in and all the money came in I'd hoped that the sport was healthy enough to take talent for the sake of ability.

"I think that's a very sad development, and we need to look inwards to ensure that the ability which is out there coming through the ranks does have a path to follow to reach the top.

"People who succeed should have an automatic scholarship through so they don't have to raise money. It's ludicrous. I think the powers that be have to look carefully at supporting the sport from within."

Surtees added that teams could run third cars specifically for young drivers to make sure that there are spaces on the grid for new talent.

"It would be nice if teams were allowed or persuaded to run a third car, and that third car was for someone who had succeeded in the lower categories," he said. "Then there is always a space for this ability to feed itself into Formula 1 without coming up with millions of pounds to sit in a seat.

"We need to get away from the bought places. Formula 1 should be the optimum, and we should have the very best people there. We need to work towards that."

BBC television presenter Jake Humphrey has promised that the quality of the channel's Formula 1 coverage will not drop in spite of Sky buying the rights to show all the races live in the UK this year.

The BBC will show 10 races live in 2012 and cover the rest with comprehensive highlights packages shown later on the day the races are run.

But while Humphrey accepts that Sky will throw significant resources into producing a strong product of its own, he does not feel it will have an impact on the BBC's ability to maintain its high standards during broadcasts.

"I know people are not over the moon about suddenly having every race live on pay-per-view television but it was either the deal that we have or no BBC F1 at all, so I am grateful that we will still get the chance to be at every race," Humphrey said while speaking on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International.

"Quite often when we had the early morning races [last year] our viewing figures were higher for the re-runs and there are quite a few early morning races where we'll have a re-run at 1400 and it will be two hours long and so we'll pretty quickly get into the racing.

"We'll do maybe a few interviews with the top guys before the start, but post race we've got the time to make sure that we interview the drivers that are important, we'll give David [Coulthard] proper time to watch the race and work out what he wants to analyse and we'll have the time to create a really, really nice package for the viewers who are watching."

He added: "After the race we are going to do an F1 Forum whether we are showing the race live or not. We will still do exactly what we do now.

"We will try and offer as much as possible. I think it will be different, but it will still be really strong output."

Humphrey also argued that the BBC will remain a focus for the teams competing in Formula 1, and that its high audience figures will ensure that it maintains the best access possible to drivers and high profile personalities.

"I think the teams realise that they have to speak to the media and Sky will do hours and hours of coverage and they will do a stunning job because they produce good sports content," he said. "But the important thing for us is that we are going to have the big audience, we are going to have the millions of eyeballs and that's what the teams love.

"The reason why Vodafone sponsors McLaren isn't because of the people in the stands but because of the viewers at home that are watching. We will still be the channel with the millions of people seeing those sponsorship deals on television and because of that there be an onus on the teams to make sure we get that access."

The BBC will begin 2012 with a revamped presenting line-up that now includes Ben Edwards as lead commentator and analysis from former technical director Gary Anderson. Humphrey believes it is the strongest line-up in television.

"We have got a race-winning technical director, and we've never had that before," he said. "Gary Anderson designed Formula 1 cars that won races; we've got a race-winning grand prix driver in the shape of David Coulthard; and a race-winning team owner in Eddie Jordan.

"I also think that Ben Edwards is the best motor racing commentator in the country, and I'm so pleased that we have now got him on the BBC."

Steve Rider has called on the BBC to broadcast more top-level motorsport in a bid to boost its diminished coverage of Formula 1 this year.

Rider, who has fronted F1 broadcasts for both the BBC and ITV in the past, will form part of Sky's line-up when its contract to broadcast all grands prix live in the UK commences this year.

He believes that it is time for the BBC to support top domestic and international championships, such as world rallying and British Formula 3, to make up for losing its deal to show full live coverage of the F1 season to Sky this year.

"The BBC had a great structure for showing motorsport in the 1980s, back when I started to get really heavily involved," said Rider on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International, "and right through to the 1990s it had a great portfolio.

"In that time we had British Touring Cars, British rallying, the World Rally Championship, Formula 3, all supporting the F1 coverage as that was the pinnacle.

"I remember when BBC lost F1 to ITV at the end of 1996. Myself and Mark Wilkin, who was the brilliant producer of the F1, tried to convince them to make a strong commitment to sportscars, touring cars, rallying... But their opinion was 'We're out of F1, we have no enthusiasm for other motorsport'. There's now a chance to do what they didn't do then and replace the gap left by F1.

"People talk about the damage done by the current BBC/Sky situation, but to me the real damage is being done by keeping British motorsport off domestic television. You have BTCC on ITV and that's fantastic. But there needs to be more.

"Through the BBC showing F3 in the 1980s, viewers saw Ayrton Senna for the first time; Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen... I'd love to see them making that commitment again. The WRC, British rallying, F3 all are desperate for terrestrial coverage."

Rider also believes that the BBC's scaling back of its F1 programme - only 10 of this year's races will be screened live with a full highlights package shown from the other events - will lead to an eventual complete pull-out in the not too distant future.

"I think an irrevocable step has been taken. I'm not a cheerleader for Sky. Their involvement in F1 was inevitable. I think their long-term domination of F1 is also inevitable, whether it's four or five years away.

"For reasons that haven't been fully explained by the BBC, and that probably didn't need to happen, we now have this halfway deal in which Sky have been given the opportunity to dominate the sport.

"BBC have been given a chance to take a step backward, and another and another and another and eventually they'll disappear from the sport entirely. That's the situation we're in now."

[Lineker]

New BBC Formula 1 lead commentator Ben Edwards has defended the shared deal with Sky to broadcast F1 in the UK this year, saying that a standalone deal would have been beyond the BBC's reach.

The shared arrangement has been criticised by some fans, who are unhappy at having to buy a Sky subscription in order to watch all the grands prix live, but speaking on stage at AUTOSPORT International, Edwards said that the rights fees associated with broadcasting F1 made it impossible for the BBC to continue to show the world championship live on free-to-air.

"It is a shared deal, and the BBC, by doing this deal, are saving a massive amount of money in the rights fees," Edwards said.

"That's where the big costs to show Formula 1 are; in the rights fees. The production costs are much smaller. For it to be on the BBC, this deal had to happen.

"I know that not everybody is happy about that, understandably, but it is the commercial reality of how the world works. All races will still be on the BBC. Not all of them will be live, but they will all be there."

David Coulthard believes that Sebastian Vettel has already become 'a great' of Formula 1, in the wake of his back-to-back world titles.

Vettel won 11 grands prix in 2011 and finished the season more than 100 points clear of McLaren driver Jenson Button in second place.

And Coulthard, the man that Vettel replaced at the Red Bull team for the 2009 season, believes the German's achievements already put him in the top bracket of drivers to have competed in the sport during its 62-year history.

"Look at Mark Webber," Coulthard said on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International on Saturday. "He's a driver I rate very highly, but he was made to look average by Sebastian last year - which we all know he isn't.

"What it shows is the emergence of a real great within the sport by winning those back-to-back world championships.

"In the end it's actually quite amazing that Sebastian was so dominant, because his victories were not like in the Michael Schumacher era, when he would sometimes be winning by half a lap or something.

"Things have closed up so much between the teams since then; we saw [Fernando] Alonso never giving up, the varying form of Lewis [Hamilton], who was amazing when he was on it, and Jenson, who was fantastic. And when Sebastian was winning, it wasn't by a lot."

Coulthard also praised Button's performances during the 2011 season, during which he became the first of Hamilton's team-mates to finish ahead of the 2008 world champion during a campaign.

"I think he's a better driver now than when he won his world title with Brawn," the 13-time grand prix winner added. "When he made his big points gap, and then the rivals started to catch up, he made mistakes. It was like a tennis player missing an easy smash.

"Now you look at him and the way he's performed, growing in confidence all the time. It's got to the stage now where when the conditions are at their most difficult, he's the guy they look to. It's pretty impressive being in that position."

Former Red Bull and McLaren Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes that Mark Webber can still return to his pre-2011 championship-contending form.

Webber went into the final round of 2010 as one of four drivers capable of winning the championship, having picked up four wins during the season, and eventually finished third in the standings behind Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

He was less of a match for Vettel in 2011 however, being regularly outgunned by his team-mate in qualifying and scoring his only victory of the year at the season-finale in Brazil. But Coulthard, who will reprise his commentary role with the BBC this year, is confident that Webber remains capable of being a regular frontrunner in 2012 if he can recapture his old qualifying form.

"We've seen some incredible performances from Mark, and he's a gutsy driver - his pass on Alonso at Spa, going into Eau Rouge... I nearly dropped the microphone in the commentary box, because I thought it was going to be an aeroplane crash," said Coulthard on the stage at AUTOSPORT International. "But he pulled it off, and he is definitely a great racing driver.

"One of his key strengths in the past was his qualifying, and if you qualify well, it makes your whole weekend so much easier, because within the team you get the prime choice on strategy, you've got track position, and running in clean air is much easier than running in dirty air.

"Mark just needs to rediscover his mojo for qualifying and he'll be fine, because all the rest is there.

"But there's no question that in 2011 he was not as strong as he was in 2010. You can't hide from that fact, and Sebastian somehow gained in confidence and really grew in his qualifying performances. That was key to him winning so many races and the championship."

[Lineker]

Reigning Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will be even stronger in 2012 after becoming the youngest driver to win back-to-back titles over the past two seasons, according to his Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner.

Speaking on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International, Horner said that he has seen the 24-year-old constantly evolve as he has learned and gathered experience as a world champion and expects that growth to continue this season.

"He is a young man, but one that has achieved so much and he has got a very wise head on young shoulders," said Horner. "Technically he is very strong, physically he is very strong and obviously he has got an enormous amount of natural talent and intelligence."

Horner added: "He is now the one the other drivers are shooting at. It's a different type of pressure, but he handles it tremendously well and I think in many respects getting that first championship on his CV by winning it so dramatically at the last race, released him.

"He just made another step in 2011 and drove with such composure and confidence.

"I think the exciting thing about Sebastian is that at only 24 years of age, he is still evolving, he is still getting better and I think the best is yet to come from him."

Asked whether it was possible for Vettel to match the run of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, Horner replied: "It's difficult to look like that because it all depends on the circumstances you are in and the equipment that you have at your disposal.

"But Sebastian can have a very long career ahead of him, he is genuinely passionate about F1, he loves what he is doing and he can be around for a long time to come."

Red Bull Racing remains on course to have its 2012 car ready for the first winter Formula 1 test on 7 February, though team boss Christian Horner admitted that there was plenty of hard work ahead in the weeks before the Jerez sessions.

The champion team's technical boss Adrian Newey said last month that the aim was to be ready for the opening test despite the new rule that crash tests had to be passed before testing, and Mercedes having opted to wait until the second test before rolling out its 2012 contender. Horner confirmed that Red Bull was still aiming to be ready for Jerez despite the challenge presented by the revised crash test regulations.

"At the moment things seem to be progressing well and the factory is incredibly busy, as I'm sure all the teams are at this time of the year," said Horner on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International.

"And of course there is the added challenge this year of trying to pass the crash test before we test it for the first time. That's the same for everybody and we are burning the midnight oil at Milton Keynes at the moment.

"We plan to be at that first test, that's on our schedule."

Horner said Red Bull was not paying too much attention to any reports of its rivals' winter progress yet.

"It's always difficult to tell at this time of year," he said. "It's the month of January and we don't see any of the other teams so there are obviously bits of speculation that float around and snippets that come out here and there.

"But we are very much focused on keeping our heads down and going about our own business and at the end of the day it only counts what happens in Melbourne onwards.

"There have been big changes over the last few years, whether it has been getting rid of the F-duct, getting rid of the double diffuser, there have always been changes in evolution or introductions like DRS and new tyres, and we got rid of refuelling a few years ago. That's all part of F1 and as a technical group I think we have proven to be adept at changing to different regulations, but we don't underestimate McLaren and Ferrari or even Mercedes.

"We will only know where we are when the fuel comes out of the car in qualifying in Melbourne in nine weeks' time."

Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner has predicted that Mark Webber will come back stronger than ever in 2012 in response to his difficult '11 season.

While Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel swept to 11 grand prix victories and a dominant Formula 1 title in 2011, the Australian was only able to win once and finished third in the standings.

But speaking on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International, Horner said Webber's improving form in the latter part of 2011 and the chance to recharge over the off-season should see him back to his best when this year's title chase commences.

"It's very difficult going up against a driver of Sebastian's calibre, being matched and measured against somebody of his standard," said Horner.

"Mark had a difficult start to the year but he adapted and he worked hard at it and he worked hard to understand the tyres in particular. And his performances grew and grew throughout the year and it was great to see him win that final race in Brazil.

"He has gone away and trained hard through the winter and his enthusiasm has rejuvenated and I think 2012 could be a very strong year for Mark."

Horner also believes Webber's 2011 performances were too lightly disregarded, and that his season was more impressive than the results suggest.

"Mark put in some great performances last year and he raced very well," said the team chief. "That pass on Fernando Alonso into Eau Rouge was unbelievable and coming from the back of the grid in China on a different strategy all the way up to third position - again another great drive. He drove some amazing races in 2011.

"He had some difficult starts but I know he has been focused on that and the team has been looking to help him with that as well. So hopefully if those little things can be addressed he can have a strong campaign in 2012."

Horner underlined Red Bull's belief that Vettel and Webber make a well-balanced partnership.

"For us it is a great pairing, okay there is over a 10-year age difference between the two of them, so they are at different stages of their career, so they push each other very hard and they bring the best out of each other I think," he said.

Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne's appointment to the Toro Rosso race seats has been seen as a contest to decide which of the two Red Bull proteges will ultimately replace Webber in the senior team, but Horner said there was no firm long-term plan for the duo at present.

"We are fortunate to have two guys as talented as Jean-Eric and Daniel that fully deserve their chance in the Toro Rosso and I am fascinated to see how they evolve," he said.

"There is nothing guaranteed to those guys, they have got the opportunity and it's now down to them to take it and develop. We will be able to see, compared with each other, how they are progressing."

Paul di Resta is confident that lessons learned in 2011 will allow Force India to start the upcoming Formula 1 season in much better shape.

Vijay Mallya's team struggled in winter testing last year, and though it achieved a handful of early points, it took until the Spanish Grand Prix, at which Force India introduced a significant package of upgrades, before the VJM04 machine was capable of consistent top-10 pace at all circuits.

Di Resta, who recently had his seat fitting for the 2012 car at the team's Silverstone headquarters, is not expecting a repeat of that tough start.

"I just hope we start better than last winter, because we went into testing feeling very comfortable and it was very clear that it wasn't to be," he said on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International. "It made it difficult.

"But we've learned lessons and we've got a constructive run plan of things that we want to get through. Not just in terms of new parts, but also you have to be quite ambitious with car set-up, which you can't always do on a grand prix weekend.

"Plus, testing's been cut short a bit in the winter to give us an in-season test after the first few races, and that's like another start."

Testing gets underway at Jerez on February 7, with four days at the Spanish venue. A pair of four-day tests at Barcelona follow, while the mid-season test will take place at Mugello on May 1-3, between the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix.

Paul di Resta says Nico Hulkenberg's arrival in the second Force India race seat has given the team a new spark ahead of the 2012 Formula 1 season.

After months of speculation, Hulkenberg was confirmed as di Resta's team-mate on 16 December. The German was the team's reserve driver during 2011, having previously made his grand prix debut for Williams the year before.

Di Resta admitted he was sad to see Adrian Sutil depart the team, but said having a young, promising line-up would help push the team forward.

"Adrian was a fast guy who had been there for five years - and you don't stay in F1 if you're slow," Di Resta told the AUTOSPORT International audience.

"He was a big part of Force India, but the board took the decision to bring Nico in and it should be exciting. It's a young team in terms of the driver line-up [both drivers are under 25] but it should give the team a spark.

"We need to be good team-mates, work well together but also have a competitive nature on track so we can bounce off each other. I don't see any reason why we can't do that and support each other.

"We're both on equal territory, as we have the same experience, so it should be good. We're already working together, pushing ideas to the team to try and improve from last year and that is being taken on board."

Di Resta said that new investment, coupled with the experience gained from his first season in F1, would also help Force India's bid to seal fifth in the constructors' championship.

"The team has taken another step [getting] Sahara investment, and slowly in the background we will increase the competitiveness of our team. It won't be immediate but the team is excited about its future and hopefully we can achieve fifth as a constructor.

"My second year is going to be where experience plays in as well: I can arrive at grands prix this year and know what is going to change, what to look for and how to get the perfect balance. Getting that little extra edge is so difficult against these guys because they know it inside out.

"You can always learn and always make mistakes - it's about using that to your advantage to base decisions upon. You can also have tough races and easier ones - that's just the luck of the draw, and I'm very much of the opinion there has to be an element of luck in there to make sure things happen."

[Lineker]

Former Renault technical chief Pat Symonds believes the banning of blown diffuser technologies in Formula 1 will help smaller teams like Marussia to be competitive.

Symonds was hired by what was then known as Virgin Racing to undertake a full review of its operation in a bid to improve its fortunes during a disappointing 2011 season.

Now a consultant for the team, Symonds admitted Marussia is facing an enormous challenge as it bids to close the gap to the midfield, but said the new rules could aid its cause.

"The major change for 2012 is the fact the blown diffuser is going away," Symonds told the AUTOSPORT International audience.

"For small teams like ours that is not a bad thing. It was difficult to understand and make work, and the new regulations make things a little bit easier.

"Marussia in total employs about 170 people - compared to about 650 for Red Bull and 550 for Lotus and Mercedes. It's an enormous challenge, and we have a mountain to climb, but there is so much good spirit and ambition and I'm thoroughly enjoying it."

Symonds said that he had been able to take a slightly different approach to former Virgin technical director Nick Wirth, particularly in bringing back windtunnel testing.

"The main thing was to get the integrity back into engineering - to look at everything we did and question it," he explained. "We've started windtunnel testing now, which is not so much kicking out CFD but wanting to check the integrity of our changes.

"Our alliance with McLaren is also a good thing. It was obvious we had to do something different; that we weren't going to achieve the timescales required without doing that. McLaren will not be an instant [change in form] but it will maybe make us faster."

Symonds also stated his belief that F1 is facing a far brighter future than it did a decade ago, in part because of the new technology being brought in.

"F1 is heading in a better direction than say 10 years ago, when it was manufacturers or nothing," he added. "I think with cigarette advertising and then manufacturers everyone got a bit arrogant.

"Now we have the RRA [Resource Restriction Agreement] which is a genuine attempt to cap costs. We also have KERS... I think when it came in I was typical of a lot of people in that I thought it was for someone else, but when you start to work with the systems you see the potential."

Apologies for the multiple posts, was necessary for the videos.

[Lineker]

Wow, a really busy day for important F1 news!! FAO UK viewers:

Virgin Media has confirmed that it will carry Sky Sports' new bespoke Formula 1 channel when it launches this season.

Sky Sports F1 will be available alongside the rest of the Sky Sports package for Virgin customers.

Rob Webster, director of Sky's commercial group, said: "As the new home of the world's most exciting motorsport series, Formula 1 is going to get the full Sky Sports treatment.

"Extending the distribution of our dedicated channel is great news for all Sky Sports subscribers, enabling millions of pay TV homes to enjoy the benefits of our innovative coverage and investment in must-see content."

Robert Kubica has returned to his home in Monaco to continue rehabilitation, following the latest operation required after a fall that injured his leg last week.

Kubica reopened a fracture in his right tibia, originally broken in his horrific rally crash last year, when he fell near an apartment he was staying at in Viareggio in Italy.

Medical tests on the leg at Mantova Hospital showed that the calcification of the bone had not happened properly last year - as a result of the Polish driver being forced to remain in bed for a long period after his crash.

Following an operation last week to reduce the fracture and pin the bone, doctors cleared Kubica to return home - but he must wait another two or three weeks before resuming his physical training.

Despite the injury setback, it is believed that the leg fracture will not have an impact on Kubica's final recovery time - because that is still limited by the nerve regrowth of his right arm and hand which will still take several months.

Formula 1's DRS rules will remain unchanged in 2012, AUTOSPORT has learned, but the FIA plans to tweak the overtaking zones on the back of the experience of last year.

The Drag Reduction System was introduced at the start of 2011 as a means of helping overtaking - with drivers allowed to use the straightline speed boost at designated spots on the track if they get within one second of the car ahead of them at a set point.

Although critics believed the concept made overtaking too easy, DRS was widely praised as having helped improve the spectacle of F1.

Sources have revealed that the FIA, having looked closely at its implementation in 2011, is happy for the DRS rules to remain the same for the season ahead - despite planning to alter some of the overtaking zones.

It is understood that zones will be extended at those venues where it was felt overtaking was too hard, while they will be shortened at those where it was deemed that passing was made too easy.

Although the final lengths of the DRS zones have not yet been finalised, it is understood that among the changes that will be made in 2012 will be the introduction of a second DRS zone at the Australian Grand Prix.

There will also be the removal of a second zone in Canada and Valencia, while the lengths of some other zones - including the remaining one in Valencia, which will be lengthened - will be changed.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT recently prior to the confirmation of the tweaks, Nico Rosberg said that DRS had been a success - but minor changes to the lengths of some of the zones would be a positive.

"DRS is a great thing," he said. "In the end, who cares why we are overtaking? They [the FIA] just have to make sure that they optimise it, and that we don't have too many times where one guy just drives past the guy in front, and gets 50 metres ahead by the end of the straight. That is a bit silly then.

"But as long as it is optimised, which will come with experience, then maybe there can be some new ideas about it and how to do it a little bit better. Then that is a good thing.

"It is better for it to be too difficult than too easy. If it is too difficult then at least the pressure is there – like in Barcelona [last year] when it was still exciting with Lewis [Hamilton] and Sebastian [Vettel]."

[Fry_4000]

Wow, a really busy day for important F1 news!! FAO UK viewers:

Virgin Media has confirmed that it will carry Sky Sports' new bespoke Formula 1 channel when it launches this season.

Sky Sports F1 will be available alongside the rest of the Sky Sports package for Virgin customers.

Rob Webster, director of Sky's commercial group, said: "As the new home of the world's most exciting motorsport series, Formula 1 is going to get the full Sky Sports treatment.

"Extending the distribution of our dedicated channel is great news for all Sky Sports subscribers, enabling millions of pay TV homes to enjoy the benefits of our innovative coverage and investment in must-see content."

Thank god for that.