Formula One 2012

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Pirelli believes its decision to have a double gap in tyre compounds at the Spanish Grand Prix should help throw up some pretty varied strategies - and perhaps deliver Formula 1's fifth winner of the season.

For the first time this season, Pirelli is not bringing tyres that are next to each other in the compound range. Instead, it has chosen the soft and the hard tyre for the tricky demands of the Circuit de Catalunya.

Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery believes that path will ensure that teams are kept on their toes in working out how best to execute the grand prix - which should in turn help produce a good race.

"We've nominated the soft and hard tyre in order to highlight performance differences that will create a different challenge for the teams, showcasing both the speed and durability of our products," he said.

"There is a whole step in between our two nominations for the first time this year and this should allow the teams to come up with a number of different tyre strategies that could make a big difference to the final outcome.

"With many teams having expanded their knowledge of our tyre range and tested new components at Mugello, we're expecting a closely-fought Spanish Grand Prix - and maybe even the fifth different winner in five races."

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has slammed plans to hold Formula 1's young driver test at Silverstone in July as 'nonsense' - and hopes bad weather forces it to be cancelled.

As AUTOSPORT revealed, F1's young driver test is being split into two venues this year, with 10 teams currently electing to run immediately after the British Grand Prix and only Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso opting to run in Abu Dhabi in November.

But Boullier is deeply critical of the Silverstone decision, which he thinks only makes sense from a cost perspective.

"It's a bit disappointing, to be honest," Boullier told AUTOSPORT. "I am a supporter of young drivers, and for me Abu Dhabi [in November] was the perfect scenario.

"The young kids finish the season, and you can organise this test in a hot, nice place, with nice variety. So I was actually a bit cross with the decision to bring it earlier to Silverstone.

"We had a strong discussion, let's say, and definitely I was against this, especially for the reasons raised. For me it is absolutely a nonsense to have a young driver test in July when all the young kids are in the middle of the season and focused on racing and the championship. We cannot disturb this. It is completely the wrong timing.

"You also have another issue: bringing this test in the middle of the season you have to consider there will be a different point of view for the team; and as a team it's another opportunity to develop the car and bring some parts to test."

Despite his criticisms of the Silverstone plan, Boullier says he had no choice but to sign his outfit up for it rather than Abu Dhabi because of cost and staffing reasons.

"Between choosing to go to Abu Dhabi for young drivers, which is very important for me, and Silverstone, I obviously have to choose what it best for the team and that is Silverstone.

"But actually I would like it to rain, so we will go back to the original schedule - which for me is the normal one."

Under the testing agreement that teams had signed up to, outfits can withdraw from Silverstone and switch to the Abu Dhabi test if there is a threat of it being disturbed by poor weather.

However, a team will be forced to commit to Silverstone if its car leaves the pitlane at the three-day test.

Force India is unsure if a new update package will be enough to lift its performance much at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

The Silverstone-based outfit evaluated a lot of new components during last week's Mugello test, with some of those new parts now being carried forward forward to the Circuit de Catalunya.

However, team principal Vijay Mallya says the unpredictable nature of the season so far, allied to the fact that most teams will be bringing their own developments, means that he cannot predict the benefit of Force India's work yet.

"We may be approaching the fifth race of season, but it's still difficult to get a true read on the relative competitiveness of all the teams," he said. "Each race has thrown up different surprises and it's difficult to make any predictions before qualifying or the race.

"Now that the European season is upon us, we should be able to bring through more updates to the car. That will start this weekend when we run with some of the new parts we evaluated in Mugello last week.

"However, we have to remember that most teams will make a development step for Barcelona so it remains to be seen how this will impact on our relative performance."

Mallya thinks that one of the lessons of the Bahrain GP, where Paul di Resta executed a brilliant drive to turn a two-stop strategy in to a sixth placed finish, shows that getting strategy right is now essential.

"As well as developments for the car we are pushing hard to maximise the strategies and the drivers are delivering excellent performances in the races," he said. "That's so important this year with the margins between the teams so tight.

"If we can continue to deliver like we did in Bahrain then we should be able to remain in the hunt for points this weekend."

Sauber believes only a small improvement to its car will be enough for the team to get back in the hunt for podium finishes over the remainder of the season.

The Hinwil-based outfit has had a mixed start to the campaign - with the highs of Sergio Perez's challenge on victory in Malaysia contrasting with its failure to score any points in Bahrain.

However, chief designer Matt Morris thinks that although the fluctuations in form have been quite dramatic, he thinks the underlying competitiveness of its C31 means it can target further good results.

"I don't think Malaysia was a freak," Morris said. "The pace of our car, it is competitive - and you have seen that by having four different winners from the first four races. It is so close out there.

"I think the difference between a Malaysia and a Bahrain for us looks big, but it is actually quite small. Yet, that can be the difference between being on the podium and not getting any points."

Morris thinks it vital that Sauber works out exactly how to extract the maximum it can from its car, so it does not squander the points advantage it built up early in the campaign.

"You have always got to look forward, but you also have got to look at everybody around you because it is so close," he said. "With Williams and Force India being good points scorers, it is very close again.

"We had a 30-point margin to them and that has been reduced massively, so we need to look at what those guys are doing."

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Michael Schumacher has renewed his attack on Pirelli's current specification of tyres - claiming that racing with them is like driving on 'raw eggs'.

The seven-time world champion criticised the rubber after the Bahrain Grand Prix when he suggested that drivers were not being able to push their cars to the limit because they needed to conserve their tyres too much.

Although Schumacher has been a lone voice in hitting out at the tyres - with other drivers happy to accept the challenge thrown at them – the German stands firm that the situation is not good.

"I just think that they're playing a much too big effect because they are so peaky and so special that they don't put our cars or ourselves to the limit," Schumacher told CNN in an interview broadcast ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

"We drive like on raw eggs and I don't want to stress the tyres at all. Otherwise you just overdo it and you go nowhere."

Pirelli has said numerous times that it is producing the kind of tyres that teams have asked it to – with high degradation proving to be a key factor in helping spice up the spectacle.

Despite his criticism of the tyres, Schumacher is still positive about the progress being made by Mercedes and thinks that more wins this year – following Nico Rosberg's maiden triumph in China – could be on the cards.

"We have luckily got one win under our belt," he said reflecting on the campaign. "I was a bit unlucky in that race as we could have got a 1-2 without doubt, but it proves that we have made a huge step because you have to consider where we came from last year - it was not what we were really looking for.

"Starting the Silver Arrows new generation, for two years we had medium success and finally we managed a victory. I am pretty sure we can have other good races this year – being on the podium and maybe being on top of the podium."

Red Bull Racing believes that the Spanish Grand Prix may not provide as good a barometer of form in Formula 1 as it has done in the past - because things are so competitive at the front of the field this year.

The aerodynamic demands of the Circuit de Catalunya often means it provides a solid snapshot of the strengths of the teams, and a quick car there frequently proves to be competitive at all types of tracks.

However, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner thinks the situation could be different this year and that what happens at Barcelona may not be representative of the rest of the campaign.

"Usually Barcelona is a pretty good indicator of car performance: if a car works well there it tends to work well in most places," Horner told AUTOSPORT. "Whether that still applies this year, who knows?

"I'm sure most teams are bringing upgrades of varying degree for that Barcelona race. It is the first European race so traditionally that's where teams will introduce new components to their cars and we're no different to that. It will be fascinating to see the evolution amongst the teams."

Horner thinks that the nature of this year's championship is going to be different from previous campaigns – with more teams involved in the battle for victory.

"McLaren came out the blocks very strongly, and certainly the first couple of races they looked very, very competitive, but then suddenly Mercedes turned up in China, and Lotus was strong in Bahrain," he said. "It's moving around a lot.

"Historically McLaren and Ferrari have always been very strong, but the competition is broader this year. Mercedes and Lotus have been strong, plus Sauber came perilously close in Malaysia, and I don't think many would have predicted that."

And although the competitive field and tricky tyre strategies are making it harder for teams to deliver victory, Horner thinks the situation is ultimately good for the sport.

"It's exciting," he said. "I think the races have been very good this year. For us we'd like a boring, dominant championship but from a sporting perspective it's great to have competition, and it is great for there to be so many cars and drivers capable of turning up at a grand prix and capable of winning."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says a more competitive showing from his team at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix will be the springboard his team needs to get itself firmly into the world championship fight.

With the Italian outfit set to introduce a major upgrade to its F2012 in Barcelona, and the first components from that package having shown good track correlation at last week's Mugello test, Ferrari is under no illusions about the importance of a lift in performance this time out.

And ahead of a plan for a further series of developments that are planned for the next few races, di Montezemolo feels the shape of the campaign will be defined by how Ferrari performs at Barcelona.

"I've just spent a long while with our technicians, and they are confident, but we need to see what the others have done," di Montezemolo told Rai Sport during a special event at Fiorano on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of Gilles Villeneuve's death.

"What I want is a more competitive car in Spain, and then we can go for it this season. This is what I've asked because we have a nice development program beyond Spain."

Di Montezemolo does not hide from the fact that he was expecting more from Ferrari at the start of the campaign - with the team having spoken all winter about its high hopes for this year's campaign.

"I was left disappointed with the way we started the season, I didn't expect it," he said. "From our technicians and data, I was given the impression of a different situation.

"Having said that, four races have gone by with four different winners, and one of these races was won by us. We are there and now we need to take a step forward with a more competitive car that is less difficult to drive and that gives confidence to the drivers."

Di Montezemolo also suggests that Ferrari's chance of success in F1 is being compromised by the fact that aerodynamics are now so important - which is why the team has been looking at recruiting design staff from elsewhere.

"Formula 1 is in constant evolution and this is why I've told my men that in these last two years we have been a bit too isolated inside Maranello, we need fresh air coming from the outside," he said.

"We are a car manufacturer: for us the mechanical structure, the engine, the gearbox, the chassis, the suspensions are fundamental. These regulations instead wrongly make aerodynamics the fundamental element to win or lose, but that means that we needed to bring more aerodynamic competence and experience.

"We are doing that, and I expect to see an improved Ferrari in Spain with a view to further improve during the season because I want to win."

HRT team principal Luis Perez Sala has admitted that the Spanish outfit is considering a change of name in the future.

While the team dropped the Hispania Racing Team title that it used when it first came into Formula 1 as part of its mid-2011 reconstitution, it has continued with the HRT chassis name.

But this could be dropped in the long-term as part of the team's ongoing changes.

"We are thinking about that," Perez Sala told AUTOSPORT. "But no decision has been taken about changing the name.

"Now, we are HRT. In the future we will see. There is no plan at the moment but it is true that we are thinking about it."

HRT moved its race operation into its new Madrid base in the gap between the Bahrain and Spanish grands prix.

Its aim now is to ensure continued reliability and, if possible, improve the car to the point where it can pressure the Marussias.

"Our objective this year is to try to be reliable and to develop the car with the resources that we have," said Sala.

"If we can close the gap a bit, we will be very happy but we at least do not want to go backwards. We have some updates, but we had a cooling problem and delayed a lot of them to sort those out. It seems those problems are solved now.

"Now we are planning some small updates, but the others are doing the same."

Dani Clos will drive for HRT during the first free practice session for his home grand prix in Spain this weekend.

It will be the first time that the Spaniard has got behind the wheel of the F112, with his previous experience with the team coming at last year's Abu Dhabi young driver test in the 2011 car.

Speaking about his opportunity, where he will take over Narain Karthikeyan's car, Clos said: "I'm delighted to have this opportunity. It's something I've fought for all my life; to make my debut in Formula 1 and, above all, to be able to do it at the Circuit de Catalunya which is something very special for me."

Clos's appearance for HRT alongside Pedro de la Rosa means that the Spanish team will take part in the session with two Spanish drivers for the first time in its history.

Team principal Luis Perez-Sala added: "Dani is a great driver and I have no doubt that he will do a good job. Besides, this debut also represents another step forward in our desire for HRT to serve as a platform for young drivers to make it into F1."

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Team principal Martin Whitmarsh says McLaren is likely to switch to the new high nose design it trialled on the final afternoon of in-season testing at Mugello.

The new nose is far higher at the front than the original design, and features significantly longer pillars - effectively bringing it far closer to the stepped designs used by the rest of the field.

While McLaren only trialled the high nose in the final hours at Mugello, Whitmarsh said during a Vodafone phone-in on Wednesday that the team would run the design again in Barcelona, and that it was reasonable to expect it to remain on the car for the race.

"There's a reasonable chance we will see it on Sunday, which will be the first time our drivers experience it," Whitmarsh said.

"We got a lot of feedback from Mugello, so we have the data to set it up and can find the performance on track."

Asked about the philosophy behind the new design, Whitmarsh said the higher nose helped manage the airflow directed to the rear of the car.

"Classically of course you are looking for lower drag and higher downforce, but be aware that nowadays incremental improvements are generally modest," he said.

"In the case of the nose and front wing the attachment pylons are quite different and there are other subtle differences.

"You are managing the airflow that is enjoyed by the rest of the car. Nowadays, in quite a critical part of the car you are looking to find very small improvements. [There are] a lot of restrictions around the back end of the car, so you generate more improvement by managing the flow that arrives there than by developing the rear itself."

Whitmarsh said he expected McLaren to prove competitive once again after its poor showing in Bahrain, but said it was impossible to be fully confident given how competitive 2012 has proved.

"I believe we will be competitive in Spain and going forward, but you don't know what other teams are going to do," he said. "I think great thing about this sport is you can never been fully confident you understand everything.

"[We] have a car clearly able to be on front row in each of the first four races and therefore the pace is inherently there. We are working to continuously develop the car, but you can never be confident that other teams won't up their game and give you harder time.

"We had an interesting data gathering test at Mugello, and we will see at Barcelona but we expect to put that knowledge to good use."

Fernando Alonso insists Ferrari 'must turn things around' starting with the Spanish Grand Prix after a difficult start to the season.

The Spaniard admits he has managed to limit the damage in the first four races of the year, starting the European season just 10 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel despite Ferrari having failed to deliver a competitive car.

Ferrari is introducing several updates in Barcelona this weekend in the hope of closing the gap to the top.

Alonso is expecting his team to take a step forward, although he concedes it is impossible to predict how big it will be.

"We will be counting on making a step forward, but we won't know until Saturday if we have and if so, how big a step it is," said Alonso in his blog on Ferrari's website.

"We have updates on the F2012, some of which we tested in Mugello last week and others which we will try out on Friday in free practice.

"Clearly, having limited the damage in the first four races this year, we must turn things around."

The Spaniard says, however, that not managing to catch his rivals already in his home race will not be a drama as long as Ferrari continues making progress in the upcoming races.

"It's not the case that if we are not on pole in Barcelona then it's the end of the world... The important thing is to make progress, reducing the gap as much as possible, first this weekend, then again in Monaco and after that, in Montreal, Valencia, Silverstone…

"The season is very long, with 16 races to go, the same number that constituted the entire calendar back in 2003."

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Driver press conference is now live on Sky Sports F1 HD, with Kobayashi, de la Rosa, Alonso, Vettel, Raikkonen, and Rosberg.

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Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn will not travel to the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend on doctors' advice.

Brawn saw a doctor last week after feeling unwell, and he has been advised to skip the Barcelona race.

He is expected to return to the paddock in Monte Carlo.

"We fully expect Ross to be back in Monaco," said Mercedes GP CEO Nick Fry.

Bob Bell is assuming the leadership role this weekend.

Mercedes has urged Formula 1's owners CVC to accelerate efforts to conclude a Concorde Agreement deal with the team if it wants to maximise the benefit of a stock market flotation.

The Brackley-based team is the only frontrunning outfit not to have yet agreed a deal with Formula 1's bosses to commit it to the sport beyond this year.

Should the situation not get resolved soon, sources have revealed that the outfit may be ready to challenge the terms on offer to it under EU anti-competition law - and there has even been speculation that Mercedes-Benz could walk away from F1 completely.

Either of those options would cast doubts on a successful flotation of F1 that is currently being planned for the Singapore stock exchange later this year.

Mercedes CEO Nick Fry made it clear in Spain on Thursday, however, that there was no desire from his outfit to walk away from F1 - but he reckons that it would be in CVC's interests for the matter to get resolved sooner rather than later if it was not going to hurt the stock market plans.

"If CVC wish to float F1, I think they need this resolved fairly quickly – possibly more than we need it resolved," Fry told AUTOSPORT. "Discussions continue, but progress is not as strong as I would like."

Mercedes this week showed that it is currently totally focused on its long-term future after concluding deals that run into 2013 with Starwood Hotels and watchmaker IWC.

Fry said that he had no doubts that Mercedes was wholly committed to F1 – and that he felt grand prix racing actually needed the German car manufacturer to remain a part of it.

"The mindset is absolutely in capital letters: Mercedes-Benz wishes to be in F1," said Fry. "I would also say that F1 also needs Mercedes-Benz.

"It is one of the top 20 brands globally and is one of the few car manufacturers in F1; it is an engine supplier to three teams. It can attract brands like Starwood Hotels, a huge American company that takes these decisions very seriously, and I think Mercedes wants to be in F1.

"F1 definitely would be much the poorer if Mercedes was not a participant, and I am completely convinced in my mind that if CVC wish to sell some or all of F1, the value they can derive from that would be severely diminished if Mercedes was not a participant."

Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug reiterated recent comments that the German car maker was not pondering a withdrawal.

"I do not want to make a big story out of it – it is not the right approach if somebody rolls a ball and you say, no, no, no," he said at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"You know that there are some negotiations in place that I will not comment on, but this is where the rumours are coming from and you have to accept it. But our basic plan is not to have a works team in 2010 and then not have one in 2013. It [Mercedes pulling out] is just pure speculation and we should not make a big fuss out of it."

Mercedes's F1 CEO Nick Fry says the team supports Michael Schumacher for having a strong opinion on this year's Formula 1 tyres.

The seven-time world champion has been openly critical about Pirelli's tyres, saying that they don't allow a driver to drive flat-out because of the need to manage them in order to avoid excessive degradation.

"I just think that they're playing a much too big effect because they are so peaky and so special that they don't put our cars or ourselves to the limit," Schumacher told CNN earlier this week.

"We drive like on raw eggs and I don't want to stress the tyres at all. Otherwise you just overdo it and you go nowhere."

Fry said on Thursday that it was up to the media and fans to decide whether Pirelli's approach to F1 tyres is the right one, but he insisted that Mercedes was backing Schumacher's strong views.

"I think the real question is one of philosophy as opposed to whether the tyres are good, bad or indifferent," said Fry, speaking at a press conference announcing a new sponsorship deal with Starwood.

"Pirelli are more than capable of making tyres to any specification and they have been guided to make the tyres we have at the moment. I think I have seen some debate in the media about whether that is the right route for F1 and whether the tyres should be durable enough for the drivers to drive flat out for the whole race.

"That is clearly the perspective that Michael has or whether they are a bit more sensitive which obviously our other driver Nico likes.

"From a team point of view we have no issue that one driver has a particular point of view and the other driver has another point of view and I think that is a good healthy debate and I think it is a question for Formula 1 whether we need the tyres we have or whether, as in history, you have tyres that you can drive flat out on all the time.

"I think that is a question for the teams and the organisers to answer and we support Michael on having a strong point of view on this. It may not be a point of view that other driver share but it is a perfectly valid and intelligent point of view."

Schumacher himself said that he had nothing to add about the topic.

"I think I have said what I have said and I stand by this and there is nothing more to add."

Michael Schumacher says he is eager to return to the podium as soon as possible now that he has a car capable of fighting for victory.

Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg scored the team's first win of the season in China, giving the German squad its first victory as a team since the 1955 season.

Schumacher said ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix that Mercedes has had to revise its goals for the year after the victory, having started 2012 thinking that it would take longer for it to return to winning ways.

And the seven-time champion said he is hoping to be on the podium as soon as possible.

"Whether I have been winning or not winning any podium or good result is welcome at any time, that is the same," said Schumacher during a press conference in Barcelona.

"We started this project with a different perspective but you have to look at the reality and the reality is that we have a car that can be on the podium and can win races so the sooner the better."

Schumacher said last week's test at Mugello had been very helpful for the team to continue to make progress in understanding this year's tyres.

"In the first few races we understood our strengths and our weaknesses but to understand how to fix our weaknesses... that is what the Mugello test was important for.

"So we were able to work the car under no race conditions and just to work specific programmes and to learn about this car and it was very helpful."

Michael Schumacher says he is happy he has made Formula 1 tyres a talking point after criticising them for having too big an effect.

The German was critical of Pirelli's rubber, saying it was impossible for drivers to be flat out during races, instead having to be careful not to damage the tyres too much.

Pirelli responded to Schumacher, saying it was providing the tyres it was asked for.

Schumacher said ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix on Thursday that he was happy a debate had been opened, as he still reckons the tyres have too big an effect on racing.

"Obviously we have touched on something that you guys have kept on talking about - and that is the principle of how Formula 1 should be," said Schumacher.

"And I am quite happy that we have initiated a discussion on how much influence one or another part should have in F1.

"I stated myself and I felt one part has too much and it should be a bit more equalised for everybody and the majority - rather than a smaller minority."

Schumacher denied, however, that his comments came as a result of him being frustrated for not having managed to extract the best from the tyres.

"It is certainly nothing to do with me being frustrated because I haven't really been frustrated," he said. "I started 22nd and finished 10th [in Bahrain], which I think was a positive result and all the rest that happened before was out of my control.

"It is not to do with me, it is a general discussion that I wanted to start to happen and it is not only up to me to decide what is the direction that we have to go, but certainly I am very happy to develop things together with our partners and Pirelli being an important partner."

Nico Rosberg says he is happy for his robust defensive driving tactics in the Bahrain Grand Prix to be discussed this weekend to help clarify what is considered acceptable on-track behaviour in the future.

The Mercedes driver came under fire after aggressively blocking Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton during the Bahrain GP.

The subject is expected to be a major topic of discussion between drivers and officials this weekend, and Rosberg told reporters in the Barcelona paddock on Thursday that he had no problem with that.

"Two of the drivers raised their concerns about it so we need to discuss it," he said. "If there was a danger which I didn't cause on purpose then we need to implement rules so that it doesn't arise again.

"It is driver safety and we need to do the best we can so that we can move forward. We could look at implementing more rules in that situation because it is not very clear, but it can be looked at.

"Rules such as a car width [when a driver is moving back towards the racing line after making a block] is very good because we need that clear situation to penalise drivers when there is a need to."

The German added that if he was put in the same situation again he would not behave any differently. But he did concede that asphalt run-off around the Sakhir circuit played a part in his actions.

"Of course if there had been the barriers at Monaco it would have been a different story, yes," he said. "Then again the guys behind would have backed off a lot earlier.

"In that situation I judged it to be harsh but fair so it was harsh but within the rules. And I didn't judge that I was putting my competitors in danger."

Jenson Button says he is finding it hard to understand why his McLaren team struggled to match the pace of the leading teams in Bahrain after having started the season so strongly.

Button won the season-opening race in Australia, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton secured three pole positions in a row in the first three races.

The duo were never in contention in Bahrain, however, with Hamilton finishing in eighth and Button retiring with a mechanical problem.

The Briton admitted ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix it was hard to find a reason for McLaren's struggles.

"I think we have a very good car, we proved that in the first race and also in Shanghai we were very quick but I wouldn't say it is the quickest car," said Button. "If you look at the last race, it wasn't the perfect weekend for us but we basically weren't fast.

"The Lotus and the Red Bulls were a second quicker than us so I don't understand why and no one else in F1 understands knows why it is such a change around but I don't think they have a car that is a second quicker than us.

"I think it is circuit dependent and I also think that the conditions make quite a big difference, I know we always talk about tyres but the conditions make quite a big difference as to whether you can get the tyres working on a particular car."

Button also conceded it was very difficult to judge who is favourite for each race given how tight the fight in front is at the moment.

"It is very difficult to understand at the moment who is quick. You would say at Melbourne and China it was us and Mercedes and at the last race it was Lotus and Red Bull," Button said.

"I have never been in a situation where there are so many teams fighting for victories at different circuits so I wouldn't say that our car stands out compared to the competitors and we say that you are only as good as your last race and you would say now that the Lotus and the Red Bull are the cars to beat.

"But we haven't had the luckiest season either through mistakes form myself and the team."

He added: "It is tough to try an understand but it is great for the sport and great for the fans but for us as a team it is really difficult to understand why one why one weekend it is there and one weekend it is not.

"I think our car aerodynamically is strong and mechanically it's not too bad either but sometimes it doesn't seem to click and that must be the four things that are touching the circuit."

Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen believe Lotus will need to get everything perfect during races in order to have a shot at winning this year.

The Frenchman and team-mate Raikkonen have enjoyed a strong start to the season, with both finishing on the podium in the previous race in Bahrain.

Raikkonen was in the fight for victory but finished second, while Grosjean scored his maiden F1 podium with third.

Despite the strong outing, however, Grosjean reckons Lotus will need to get everything right during a race in order to win.

"We are in good shape, we had a good race in Bahrain but the base of the car in the race is good," said Grosjean. "We know the team need to improve some areas but honestly to win a race this year would be to get everything right: the qualy, the race, the start.

"It is so tight it is very difficult to predict what will be the result on Sunday and if we were to have a bet we would get a lot of different points of view."

Raikkonen agreed with his team-mate, the Finn confident his team can be up with the best if the weekend goes smoothly.

"I don't know how it will go, it is difficult to say before the weekend starts," said Raikkonen. "The teams are close and if everything goes smoothly we can be up there, but small difficulties mean you can be further back so we will try and do everything right."

The 2007 world champion said he was still disappointed to have missed out on victory in Bahrain, but admitted it had been a good result for the team.

"I think once you get so close you are not happy with second and if you are 20 seconds behind it doesn't matter, but we had a chance so it was a bit disappointing. But for the team it was a good weekend."

Felipe Massa has questioned the value of last week's test at Mugello, saying it felt like a lost test that could have taken place before the start of the season.

Formula 1 teams had their first proper in-season test in four years at the Italian track last week, and some questioned the choice given the nature of the circuit, which resembles few of the tracks currently on the calendar.

"The most important part of this break of three weeks between Bahrain and the Spanish Grand Prix was obviously the test in Mugello," he wrote in his blog on Ferrari's website.

"It was good to make use of this extra time, although I am not sure quite how useful it was.

"Don't get me wrong, it's always useful to test, but in order to run at Mugello, we 'lost' one test before the start of the season and I'm not sure if that is the way to go."

Massa is still convinced Ferrari made a step forward in terms of performance in the test, although he is not making any predictions about how much it will help the team close the gap to the front.

"It is a bit too early to say how much progress we have made with this test and the real answer will not come until maybe the qualifying session in Barcelona on Saturday," he said.

"But we have made a step forward, with new parts, which Fernando tried on the last of the three days in Mugello, producing more performance and now we will have even more new parts to assess on Friday at the Catalunya track.

"There is no doubting how hard everyone has been working at Mugello during this break in the calendar and even before then, but all the other teams will have been developing their cars.

"We have said it many times before, but it is still true today; we must make a bigger step forward than the teams who were faster than us in the first part of the season."

Pastor Maldonado says Williams must focus on improving its qualifying performance in this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

The Venezuelan has shown strong race pace, but his chances of a good result have been hampered by having started just once from inside the top ten.

Maldonado reckons his team must aim to take a step forward in the grid-deciding sessions in order to have a shot at scoring better results.

"I think we need to be more focused in qualifying because we know how the car is working in the race," he said ahead of the Barcelona race on Thursday. "We need to keep this because we are quite strong, and we need to be more focused on qualifying."

He added: "Personally I will be concentrating on improving on qualifying. Starting from the back it's difficult to overtake and it's always difficult to have a good strategy because of the traffic and because of many things.

"I want to start from the front and do a good race. I think we have the pace to be competitive and to fight for a good place."

The Williams driver says, however, that his team must make sure it does not hurt its race pace in order to improve in qualifying.

"The whole package maybe can help us close the gap to the top teams in qualifying, but we don't want to damage our race pace, which is one of the strongest at the moment. We want to improve it," he added.

Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has described Formula 1 in 2012 as "the best" he has seen.

Tost, a former Austrian Formula Ford Champion, believes that the unpredictable opening four races of the season has made the sport more appealing.

"The present F1 is the best F1 I have seen so far," Tost told AUTOSPORT. "If you looked at the first four races, we have had four different winners in four races.

"The races are not decided until the chequered flag and there is no team far ahead. There are hard fights in the midfield and all of the people that I talk to say F1 has never been so interesting. "

Tost believes that the on-track success of F1 is also replicated by the commercial success of the sport.

He paid tribute to Bernie Ecclestone's influence in expanding the worldwide reach of grand prix racing while maintaining the core of European races.

"We are racing all over the world thanks to Bernie," said Tost. "These new markets are so important for our sponsors.

"Europe is the motherland of F1 and we must never forget the important races there, which are Silverstone with its history, Monza either the Nurburgring or Hockenheim in Germany, then Spain, Spa and Monaco. But then the rest of the races should be overseas.

"It is important to race in Russia, China and India. Ideally, we would need two races in South America, Brazil and Argentina for example, and fortunately we are now racing in America which is so important for our sponsors. And we are also in Japan and the Middle East."

Tost also believes that the New York grand prix, which will join the calendar in 2013, is a big boost for the sport.

"New York is a highlight that will increase the popularity of F1," he said.

Caterham has decided it will not use the exhaust layout it tested at Mugello in this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

The team trialled a new exhaust/floor configuration during testing at the Italian track last week, but it did not prove to be beneficial to the performance of the car.

Heikki Kovalainen confirmed the team is still working to understand the layout, which will not be used in Spain.

"We had some parts that worked and some parts that didn't, I think it's fair to say," Kovalainen told AUTOSPORT in Barcelona about the Mugello test.

"The exhaust, for example, didn't work. We didn't get it to work as we were expecting. We didn't get any benefits from it."

The Finn said he was not surprised that the exhaust did not work right away, but he is confident Caterham will be able to get it working eventually.

"In a way it wasn't a surprise for me because I know that the exhaust is a difficult area," he said. "Last year I don't think we had as good an exhaust as the other teams, and this year it's not any easier, so I'm not surprised we didn't get it working at the first try.

"But I think we'll get the hang of it. We are working on it now to understand why we didn't get any benefits from it."

The team, however, will run a new rear wing that, while it did not work as expected at Mugello, Kovalainen believes may prove beneficial in Spain.

"We have a different rear wing that we will try here which didn't give a positive result in Mugello, but Mugello is a different circuit and there's a better chance it may work here.

"But apart from that the other updates that we had there we didn't get them working, so we need to work on them a bit more."

Alexander Rossi hopes to use his Friday outings for Caterham to prove his potential as a Formula 1 race driver.

The 20-year-old will make his grand prix weekend during Friday morning's first free practice session.

While the American's priority will be to do a good job for the team, he expects to be able to make a good impression with his on-track performance.

"That's always the case whenever you get into a car," said Rossi when asked by AUTOSPORT whether he is hoping to use his Friday outings to put him in the frame for a race drive in the future.

"I'm looking to deliver and do the maximum out there, but this is a race weekend for Caterham. They have a job to do and I need to be willing and open to helping them in any way possible.

"You don't get many opportunities in an F1 car to show what you can do, so it's about helping the team as much as possible but at the same time putting in a good performance."

Rossi has some F1 experience, testing for BMW Sauber in 2009 and also driving Caterham's 2011 machine during last November's young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

But despite that, he expects the feeling of driving on a grand prix weekend to be different to what he has done before.

"This is an official session with the official drivers," said Rossi. "All of the team personnel are here and they are looking to me for some input and feedback on what the car's doing.

"I know this track quite well from testing in GP2 and GP3 and this car isn't so different from last year's. The big difference is going to be KERS, which is quite simple as they tell you how to use it, but you need to be wary about how the brake balance shifts. That's going to be new to me.

"But I'm quite confident that I'll be able to settle in from the beginning."

Rossi is expected to have further Friday outings for Caterham this year, although the team has yet to finalise its schedule.

HRT will run a major aerodynamic upgrade package on Pedro de la Rosa car in Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The package will include a new front and rear wing as well as a modified floor.

The Spaniard will run it for the first time tomorrow, with team-mate Narain Karthikeyan also scheduled to get the parts in time for Saturday's running.

De la Rosa is hopeful that the upgrades will allow HRT to continue to narrow the margin by which it is off the pace.

"We have been gradually closing the gap to pole position and that's what we have to aim [to keep doing]," said de la Rosa. "We have to make sure that every race our car is a little bit quicker than the previous one."

HRT is also scheduled to bring further updates for Monaco and Karthikeyan is eager to see whether the aerodynamic parts will allow it to close the gap to Marussia in Spain.

"We think that we will improve quite a bit," said Karthikeyan. "Tomorrow, Pedro has all of the parts to evaluate it and I have the package on Saturday as production was a bit late.

"Marussia will also make a step, so we will have to see where we are. It will be interesting to see."

Volkswagen has ruled out a move into Formula 1 in the near future as either an engine supplier or a full constructor.

The German manufacturer revealed three years ago that an entry after 2014 - by which point the sport's engine rules will have changed - was being evaluated.

But new motorsport director Jost Capito said on Thursday that this was "not on the radar," as its focus was instead fully on its entry in the World Rally Championship with the new Polo R WRC next year.

When asked by AUTOSPORT whether a future grand prix entry was under consideration, Capito said: "Definitely not. At the moment we don't even think about it because we're thinking WRC.

"I've got my hands full with the WRC right now and we have to focus on that. This is the very much the main motorsport programme for us and the board is watching it very closely. I think that's what we have to deliver."

VW currently fields a pair of S2000-spec Skodas in the WRC in order to gain its team experience of the championship, ahead of its first full-time campaign with a World Rally Car next year.

Thursday's press conference:

DRIVERS - Kamui KOBAYASHI (Sauber), Nico HULKENBERG (Force India), Pedro DE LA ROSA (HRT), Kimi RAIKKONEN (Lotus), Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull).

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Kamui, so far this season a couple of good races and a couple not so good. What's been the difference between them?

Kamui KOBAYASHI: Of course it's definitely the car. We had quite good performance at the start, quite a good start to the season. Unfortunately, we also some races where the strategy was not really going well. It's not let's a bad thing for my season. I had a great start but I think we have to work hard especially on the long runs.

Q. Yesterday, Fernando talked about drivers having more respect for one another. Do you think that's the case? Should drivers leave more space for each other?

KK: Maybe. I don't know. It's always difficult to say.

Q. You're quite an aggressive overtaker

KK: Yeah, but for me I'm doing something quite normal. It's not special. I'm just doing my job. Maybe it looks aggressive but I never crash with anyone. I never crash and stop the car. There may be contact but it's always quite OK. Maybe it looks aggressive but it's not aggressive in fact.

Q. And of course, you've been on the receiving end as we remember from Spa last year.

KK: Spa last year? Where? Ah, with Lewis, you mean? That's what I mean that was just an accident you know. I didn't expect both cars to make contact because there was no point. I didn't expect Lewis to come across and I just stayed on my line. It was just sudden, you know. There was no way to avoid that. That was something special though, it's not really a racing accident and not aggressive stuff from me, so...

Q. Nico, on paper you've been beaten by your team-mate so far this year. How are you feeling about it?

Nico HULKENBERG: Well, the first four races have been quite tough to be honest. I would have liked to take more than two points out of the first four races. We have been quite unfortunate in some races, such as Melbourne, where we had a first-corner incident and there was very little I could do and then a clutch failure issues in Bahrain. These were two races where we potentially could have finished in the points. But I'm looking forward, I'm bedding in well with the team. I think the team is doing a good job in putting everything together and if we get a bit more luck then I think it will be good.

Q. How do you feel about team development? Are the developments coming at a reasonable rate as far as you're concerned?

NH: Yes, definitely. We bring some new parts, probably like every other team, here and we have to wait and see where the new parts put us but obviously we're hoping it's a step forward. I think it is a step forward but just how big a step we'll see over the next two days.

Q. Pedro, we see a new team that has recently moved to new premises and taken on a lot of new staff. What sort of role do you see yourself playing in the development of Hispania Racing Team?

Pedro DE LA ROSA: As you've said, everything is new. We're establishing ourselves; restructuring the team; we are growing. But really I'm not playing any different role than any other race driver would do. I'm part of the team; I'm a race driver; I'm experienced. If they need my advice on anything, I am there. But I'm not playing any special role other than driving as fast as I can and giving good feedback about the car.

Q. You spent so long at McLaren are you not trying to put some of those influences on the team?

PDLR: Gradually I will. That's the aim and that's what I'm here for as well. But so far the team has been extremely busy trying to move into our new premises in Madrid, establish a structure, a 'basement' as I say, and after that we will grow gradually and that's when I think my input will be, if possible, more beneficial. But so far the objective has been clear. We have to establish ourselves, we have to put he ground for building more floors on top of us but so far I've been very discreet and not in a very important position.

Q. And where do hope the team will be at the end of the year?

PDLR: I have no idea really. We are improving race by race. We have made the car a lot quicker. Don't forget at the first grand prix we did not qualify and gradually we have been closing the gap to pole position. That's what we have to aim for: race by race, closing the gap, making sure that our car is a little bit quicker than it was at the previous grand prix. After that, at the end of the year, we will see. We don't have to set ourselves any targets other than making the team more competitive race by race.

Q. Kimi, you were plainly a little frustrated that you could have won at Bahrain but didn't. Is that a true appraisal of your feelings about Bahrain?

Kimi RAIKKONEN: Yeah, I think once you get so close, you're not happy with second. If you're 20 seconds behind then it doesn't really matter but we had a chance but at least for the team it was a good weekend.

Q. You're a two-time winner here, both from pole position. Do you think a win is possible here? You've said you team will be winners at some stage.

KR: Well, the rules are different, so you don't have to be on pole now to win. We'll try. I don't know how it will go. It's very difficult to say before the weekend starts. The teams are very close. So if everything goes smoothly then we can be up there. But small difficulties in some areas and you're suddenly much further back. We try to do everything right and then see what happens.

Q. You didn't test at Mugello as apparently the team hadn't brought major modification, but for this race have you at least brought modifications that will at least see you maintain where you were at the opening rounds?

KR: We should have some new parts and we'll see what happens.

Q. Fernando, another winner here in 2006. How did you feel the Ferrari was in testing? Did you feel it was a lot different?

Fernando ALONSO: No, not really. We didn't have any big improvements in the car, so what we tested were different set-ups and things we missed from winter testing. It's been quite difficult for us with a lot of problems on the car and not many laps. The Mugello test was to complete what we had left from winter but in terms of improvements, we had minimum changes on the car so it felt the same?

Q. Did that set-up research, as it were, make you feel more comfortable with the car, more competitive?

FA: Well, we'll see. Obviously we had some ideas in terms of setup and some different possibilities that we were not introducing in the first four races because we didn't have the opportunity to test them. So, it was good in Mugello: some of them were positive; some of them were negative so it's good to know. As much information as you have is better preparation for the next grand prix. Obviously we arrive more prepared now than how we arrived in Australia with only three tests in the winter. But to make the car faster I think in terms of setup you cannot find much. If you want to be running at the front it's more aerodynamic parts and updates in the car. Hopefully they come but we need to wait.

Q. You know this circuit pretty well, you had a very good start to the race last year – do you think we're going to see more overtaking on the circuit now, what with more KERS and a longer DRS as well?

FA: I think it will be similar to last year, to be honest. I saw some numbers of previous races here. On average like four or five overtaking manoeuvres in the last nine years and last year there were 57 – so it was a big change. The race this year will be similar to last year because of the degradation, the DRS and the KERS. With all the possibilities that we have now, as we had last year, for sure we will see some more overtaking. This changes also a little bit the philosophy of this circuit. As Kimi said, pole position was 60 per cent of the victories, now pole position is obviously the best starting position but it's not crucial anymore because with this year's tyres it's less important.

Q. Sebastian, you broke the mould last year by winning from second on the grid, where you've started for the last three years but you won last year from there. This is such a performance track, is this a track where you're really looking for an indicator for the rest of the first half of the season? If you're competitive here you will be elsewhere?

Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think if you are competitive here I think it means that you have been previously. It's a track that we usually know quite a lot from winter testing, we have some data to compare to, so it's very familiar. But it doesn't mean if you are competitive here you are competitive everywhere. Equally, if you are not competitive here it doesn't mean you will never be competitive. I think it's similar to other tracks. Really, if you think which sector you're talking about, which speed range of the cars. I think you have sectors on every track where you could get an indication. As I said, I think it's the fact that we know a lot about this track, we have a lot of data to compare against, to see if we did a step forward compared to the winter and how big the step was. Surely then you have to consider different temperatures: it's a different time of year so it's also difficult to compare black and white – but yeah as a rule of thumb probably this circuit does give you an idea because simply you have all the corners you find somewhere else, you have tight chicanes like in the last sector, hard braking for the hairpin, fast corners like in the first sector. You have a bit of everything.

Q. And yet everyone has been here, everyone knows exactly what sort of setup they would require. Is it perhaps one of the toughest races in that respect?

SV: Yeah it is. But as I said as well, you race here in May, it's quite different if you look at the temperatures compared to February or March, so yeah, it does have a big change on the setup, so whatever you might have found out over the winter in testing, it might not work in the same way or the same style it did during testing. Also, you need to consider that the cars you launch are quite different to the cars you race at the first race, and then, you know, you race around May or June later in the season. So, yeah, it's a bit wishy-washy because of that – but overall it's a track we know fairly well from a driving point of view as we've done a lot of laps here. We should know our way around here.

Questions from the floor

Q. (Alex Popov – RTR TV) Question for Pedro and Fernando, about the Spanish Grand Prix in general because here and there we read about the difficult situation in Valencia, the difficult situation in Barcelona and now we have two grand prix but in the worst situation we will finish with no grand prix at all. Your thoughts about it.

PDLR: I've said a lot already since the first time we were told that Spain would have two grands prix, that it was a historical moment and a unique situation and we should be very, very proud of it. I still say the same answer: we still have two grands prix in Spain this year, and we should, all of us, be very proud, very happy and maximise this moment and then wait for the future to tell us what will happen – which is completely out of our hands, you know? This is all I can say. I'm very happy to be here, this is a Spanish Grand Prix, but also a Spanish Grand Prix with a Spanish driver in a Spanish team – so let's forget about what might happen in the future because, as I said, I have absolutely no control over it.

Q. (Mike Doodson – Honorary) Gentlemen, Michael Schumacher persistently criticises the Pirelli tyres, or at least the policy of Pirelli. To us and the fans it's clear that Pirelli has been a major ingredient in the improvement of the quality of the racing this year and last year. Do any of you share Michael's concerns about the tyres or do you think he's just making excuses for not winning?

FA: I think Seb should answer, being German.

SV: Yeah? I think, y'know, we get a completely different impression inside the car than you might get outside the car. So, you're always talking of two different worlds. I think for us quality of racing, if you compare racing today, you have to, I think, look after your tyres a lot more than probably you had to three, four, five years ago. For us, if you take, for instance, 2009 where we were allowed to refuel, we had new tyres and the tyres lasted longer, in that they didn't see that much degradation. It's a different quality inside the car because you can push nearly every lap similar to qualifying, whereas now I think the racing is different: we fuel the cars up, they are much heavier, and if you have a heavier car there's more stress for the tyres, so it puts the whole thing in a different window. If you put a new set of tyres on with 20 laps to go, or 15 laps to go, which is, let's say, the stint length, earlier, a couple of years ago, it's a different world for the tyres. The tyres do see more degradation and then we start to slide and then one guy slides more than the other because he puts his tyres on two laps earlier. It creates a different type of racing, more overtaking, which I imagine is seen as better quality from the outside, simply because things happen. I think it depends what you really want. We have more overtaking. Fernando is good with numbers, so like Fernando said earlier. I think the races today – over the last two years since we have changed a couple of things – has become much better. Also for us. I had a race here where I was following – how many laps is the race, 66? – I think I was following Felipe [Massa] for 60 laps out of that and I couldn't pass. Nowadays you know that your chance will come in the race and that's changing the position inside the car as well.

Q. Fernando…

FA: I don't know. I agree with Seb but I don't agree that Michael has continually criticised Pirelli. Michael said one thing and what has been written in the press has maybe exaggerated what he said. I read what he said and I don't see any big problem with that.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, you have a very different car from this race. Let's suppose this car does not correspondent to that criteria…

FA: We'll see, we'll see after the race, because we don't know what car we have. Obviously we have new parts, but everybody has new parts. Because it's Ferrari, there are quite a lot of expectations every race we go to. It seems like only Ferrari is bringing new parts. We have a step forward, we believe, on what we had in Bahrain, but we also know that it's not the last step we have to do. It's a continuous work, that we need to start here in Barcelona, making a step forward and try to improve our qualifying position and our race pace, but in Monaco we have to bring new parts. In Canada (we have to) bring new parts. So we will not bring a new car to every race as it seems that we brought here in Barcelona.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) But just to finish the question: if the car does not correspond…

FA: I answer you on Sunday.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Yes, but just to finish: considering your car has completely new ideas, a revolutionary car, do you think this could be the end of the season for Ferrari and you will start thinking about next year's car?

FA: I don't think so. I don't think so. We need to see how the car works here and if it works fine, it will be a good step, the first step of many that we have to do during the next couple of races. If the step is not good enough, because the others improved the same or more than us so we remain in the same position, we need to work harder, for Monaco and for Canada, and bring more new parts in a more aggressive approach or whatever, because the championship is long and we will never give up in May, after four races.

Q. (Livio Orricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Do you think the basis of this car could be used for next year's car?

FA: I think so. Yes.

Q. (Gary Meenaghan – The National) For all of you: if you look at the drivers in 1992, there were only two non-European countries represented. If you look at the same field twenty years later, this year, there are seven non-European countries represented. Is there a chance that in a few more years, the majority of the drivers will come from outside Europe and how do you think that will impact the sport?

KK: It's difficult to stay. For drivers I think it's very difficult, everywhere, Asia especially. I don't know for the future, but at the moment I don't know how many Europeans there are now? 17. We have to see. It's very important for a programme for the development of drivers. I think that this programme is quite weak everywhere. I think for the future, they definitely have to work a lot. It's very difficult to find how young drivers come to Formula One. I don't know how it can be changed for the future but I definitely think we have to work on programmes for driver development.

Q. A huge German presence on the grid at the moment, Nico. Can you see that being maintained by a young driver programme in Germany?

NH: Which young driver programme? Is there one? I don't know. We don't keep track of that statistic. I think it will always be a good mixture between European and non-European drivers in the future.

Q. (Andy Benson – BBC Sport) To anyone, but Fernando and Sebastian particularly: following the rulings in the two Nico Rosberg incidents in Bahrain – one of which Fernando was involved in – are you clear in terms of what's allowed and what isn't when it comes to defending your position?

FA: Yes.

Q. (Andy Benson – BBC Sport) Has your understanding changed between before Bahrain to now?

FA: No, maybe I did…

SV: Fernando made it pretty clear. He said 'you have to leave the space. All the time you have to leave the space!'

FA: Yes. Yes.

SV: It was clear, no?

FA: As I did last year with Sebastian. In Monza.

Q. (Andy Benson – BBC Sport) That isn't what happened in Bahrain.

SV: He just thought my car was slimmer.

FA: But you passed. You passed.

SV: I think the rule is clear. You can argue. I think there were two incidents with Nico in Bahrain, one with Fernando and I think Fernando made his point clear afterwards. And with Lewis, and I think Lewis got past, so I think you can talk for hours now, but if you saw the situation in Bahrain, it's exceptional, because you have a kind of asphalt run-off. Yes, it's pretty dirty but we always try to go on the limit, the one who is overtaking, the one who is defending. Surely sometimes you need to respect that the guy is there and you need to leave the space. I think if it would have been grass, it would have been a different story. You wouldn't go there in the first place. In Fernando's case I think he would have made the same point.

Q. (Carlos Miguel- La Gaceta) Fernando and Pedro, if a fan of Formula One in Spain is thinking about coming here on Sunday, what are your goals for the race? What can you offer to the people?

PdelaR: Well, from our point of view, you know our goal is to fight and to improve from where we left it in Bahrain and that's all we can offer, we can promise. We cannot promise victories – we leave that for Fernando - but we will promise, wherever we finish, we will do it with the pride of being here and doing a serious job, giving it all, and maximising what we have.

FA: Same thing. And giving 100 percent. We cannot promise anything. This is not a mathematical problem, it's a sport, we all try to do our best so we will work hard, we will take care of every detail this weekend as we do normally, trying to do a serious job and hopefully finishing in the best position possible, but you cannot promise anything.

Q. (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Leaving aside whether or not it's a home race for you guys, how much of a difference does it actually make for you to be back in Europe again? Kimi, you don't actually like the travelling very much out of Europe, do you?

KR: Yeah but I I arrived in China on the Thursday morning, so arriving for a European race on the Thursday morning is no different really.

PdelaR: I'm biased answering this question because it's back to Europe, but especially it's back to Spain, so for us, it's a Grand Prix that arrives a little bit too early in our development programme, as far as I'm concerned. We have been improving since Australia but we probably need more Grands Prix to offer a more competitive show to our fans. That's the only downside, but nevertheless, we are here, we are in Spain. It's our home ground and we are very happy to be here. I'm looking forward to it. I used to live ten minutes away from the track and this is something that – when you grow up – you can always listen to the engines, so the Formula One cars, when you wake up every morning during the weekends – for me it's a very special event, absolutely.

Q. Kamui, not so easy commuting from Japan.

KK: For sure. I'm used to being here a lot of times. I came to Europe 17 years ago and I've been here to Barcelona a lot of times. After long trips being back in Europe in Formula One is always great and it's always great to see the motorhomes in Barcelona. This is always great and it's always good to be back in Europe for Formula One.

SV: I think for all of us we're happy to race in Europe. Surely we have races overseas which we enjoy. For instance, we all love going to Australia. Yes, it's a long trip but once we are there I think we all enjoy being there and it's the same here. In the end, I don't think it makes a difference how long you travel. Yes, it is more convenient if you are only an hour, an hour and a half or two hours on the plane rather than twelve and then another twelve. As I said, I think every country we go to, there is a strong culture for motor sport. We hope for a lot of excitement and for a lot of people to come. It makes us feel very special when we are on the grid, to see that the grandstand is packed and usually around here are a lot of fans, cheering, especially for Fernando and the Spanish drivers, but it's the same when we go to Silverstone, they're cheering for their drivers. I think we can be very happy everywhere we go, and hopefully put on a great show so that the people enjoy it as well and they come back next year.

Q. (Alex Popov - RTR TV) Gentlemen, after testing at Mugello, Vitaly Petrov criticised the circuit, because he expressed concern about its safety, so do you think he was wrong to express his concern like this? He was criticised by other drivers, because he expressed concern. Is he wrong?

FA: I think everyone will have his opinion. I'm not someone to say that Vitaly is right or wrong. It's more maybe the safety commission's job or whatever. Personally, everyone will have their opinion, as I said. I like Mugello, I like the layout, I like the feelings, the emotions that you have driving there. As I said after the test, driving one lap in Mugello is like driving one hundred at another circuit, for adrenalin and how much you enjoy the lap. We were in Italy, with a lot of Ferrari support. I enjoy those three days testing so much, but in terms of how safe the track was or not, I don't have the information to give an answer.

NH: Personally I enjoyed Mugello very much. I think it's a very different circuit to all the others that we go to. You always feel like you're flying there, a lot of fourth, fifth, sixth gear action which is great to have. Like Fernando said, whether you feel safe or not is a very personal thing. I think it was OK.

KK: That's a great circuit. There are a lot of very safe circuits like Abu Dhabi without gravel, but this circuit had gravel and if we made a mistake we ended up in the gravel which is good for drivers and good for training and testing. The test was something we had to try and in the race, of course we have to stay on the track and it's difficult to take a lot of risks but during testing we can take more risks to improve our driving. It's great for me.

SV: Well, the first time I heard that he was saying something about safety at Mugello. I think we all loved the track because it's different – like Nico said, there's a lot of high speed corners. Sure, if the speeds are high, there is higher risk. There is obviously quite a lot of run-off but surely here and there you would like to have more. As long as nothing happens, everything is fine; if something happens… it's always easy to say something after there's an incident and say this and that. I think it was not as if we felt we were scared. We left the garage feeling safe. I think if we would race there one day, potentially yes or no, then surely here or there you can argue to make improvements for safety, but I think they did everything they could on the day.

Q. (Vanessa Ruiz – Radio Estado ESPN) Nico mentioned that Mugello is different from every other track that you guys race on in the year so does this very fact make it less useful to have tested there instead of somewhere else?

KK: Difficult. I think maybe it's not really useful for mechanical stuff but definitely useful for aero development at least, because we can test the aero on the straights. Difficult to see the stability in the corner. Basically I think this was a good test.

SV: I agree. I think it was good to test some parts of the car, not for some others, but like all the other circuits. When we test in Jerez, test in Barcelona, we try different things. I remember in the old days testing in Paul Ricard. Some days we test on the 50s lap circuit because we were testing for Monaco Grand Prix: different tyres and different parts, so every test is welcome for different areas of the car, but it's good. For people who don't like Mugello there is a very easy solution.

[Lineker]

Fernando Alonso gave the upgraded Ferrari an encouraging grand prix weekend debut as he went fastest in the first Friday practice session at Barcelona.

Although the home favourite did not go for a flying lap until over an hour into the morning, Alonso was immediately quick when he finished his data-gathering runs - knocking Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull off the top spot with a 1m24.754s lap 21 minutes from the end of the session.

Alonso then improved again on his next run and lapped in 1m24.430s, giving him a 0.378-second cushion over Vettel, who remained second to the finish.

Before Alonso started setting the pace, Vettel had enjoyed a 15-minute spell at the head of the order, having usurped long-time first-place man Kamui Kobayashi. The Sauber stayed near the front, though, holding third place at the end of the session.

McLaren's practice activities included evaluating its new nose and checking sight lines with a bar across the top of the chassis. Jenson Button was fourth quickest, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton eighth.

Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas spent a while in second before ending up fifth in Bruno Senna's regular car. Michael Schumacher and Romain Grosjean were next up in the best Mercedes and Lotus respectively, with the latter's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg completing the top 10 behind Hamilton.

Bottas was one of four reserve drivers in action during the morning. Jules Bianchi was 18th in Paul di Resta's Force India, and there were debuts for Caterham's Alexander Rossi and HRT's Dani Clos, who were 21st and 24th respectively. Clos' car developed a problem near the end but he was able to crawl back into the pitlane before coming to a halt at the end of the pit entry.

FP1


Pos  Driver                Team                   Time               Laps

 1.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                1m24.430             20

 2.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault       1m24.808s  + 0.378   18

 3.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari         1m24.912s  + 0.482   28

 4.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1m24.996s  + 0.566   24

 5.  Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault       1m25.120s  + 0.690   24

 6.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes               1m25.187s  + 0.757   15

 7.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault          1m25.217s  + 0.787   16

 8.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes       1m25.252s  + 0.822   20

 9.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault          1m25.285s  + 0.855   29

10.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes   1m25.339s  + 0.909   24

11.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m25.367s  + 0.937   22

12.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                1m25.433s  + 1.003   21

13.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault       1m25.539s  + 1.109   23

14.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes               1m25.607s  + 1.177   20

15.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari         1m25.918s  + 1.488   19

16.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m26.226s  + 1.796   24

17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault       1m26.297s  + 1.867   18

18.  Jules Bianchi         Force India-Mercedes   1m26.630s  + 2.200   21

19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault       1m27.475s  + 3.045   20

20.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth      1m28.267s  + 3.837   21

21.  Alexander Rossi       Caterham-Renault       1m28.448s  + 4.018   25

22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth      1m28.633s  + 4.203   22

23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth           1m29.107s  + 4.677   19

24.  Dani Clos             HRT-Cosworth           1m31.618s  + 7.188   19


All Timing Unofficial[/code]




Jenson Button overcame understeer issues with his McLaren to post the quickest time of the day in second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.



The McLaren driver used Pirelli's soft tyres to set a best time of 1m23.399s - enough to beat world champion Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull by 0.164 seconds.



Nico Rosberg put Mercedes in third position, with Button's team-mate Lewis Hamilton in fourth and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen completing the top five, albeit over half a second off the pace.



Raikkonen's team-mate Romain Grosjean was sixth ahead of Mark Webber in the second Red Bull, with Michael Schumacher, Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Hulkenberg completing the top 10.



This morning's pacesetter Fernando Alonso had to settle for 14th position in the Ferrari.



With the track temperatures rising to 43 degrees Celsius, Sergio Perez was the early pacesetter for Sauber with a lap of 1m25.532s, but the Mexican was demoted around eight minutes into the session, when Vettel stopped the clock at 1m25.000s.



Schumacher was the first man to lap in the 1m24s in the afternoon session just moments later, the German jumping to the top with a 1m24.859s, still some four tenths of a second off Alonso's best from the morning.



The Spaniard returned to first position at the 18-minute mark with a lap that was still around three tenths off his best, but 0.120s faster than Schumacher. Jean-Eric Vergne relegated the local hero to second three minutes later with a fastest lap just 0.006s better than Alonso's.



A few minutes later, Vettel flew to the top of the times in his first run on Pirelli's softs, the world champion's 1m23.563s the best time of the weekend until that point. Sauber's Kobayashi moved into second position, albeit over six tenths off Vettel's best, by also running with the softer compound.



Hamilton first and Webber later also completed runs on the soft tyres to move to second and third behind Vettel.



With 35 minutes gone it was Button's turn to go out with softs, and the Briton made good use of them to spring to the top of the times with a 1m23.399 despite having complained of severe understeer earlier on.



Alonso went out on softs with some 41 minutes to go, but the Spaniard aborted his first flying lap after a first split that was slower than his rivals. He completed the lap in the next attempt, but was only 13th quickest.



Webber was the protagonist of the first incident of the session when he went off the track at Turn 4, the Australian leaving a lot of stones on the circuit as he made his way back to the asphalt.



Webber's move was mirrored by Perez later on, the Sauber driver also having a trip across the gravel at the same corner.



As teams worked on longer runs, the times at the top stayed mostly unchanged for the last 30 minutes of the session.



HRT's Narain Karthikeyan, whose car was driven by Dani Clos in the opening session, failed to set a time in the afternoon, the Indian stopping on track with a problem. He had spent nearly an hour in the garage waiting for his mechanics to solve an electrical issue.



[code]FP2


Pos  Driver                Team                  Time               Laps

 1.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m23.399            38

 2.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m23.563s  + 0.164  38

 3.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m23.771s  + 0.372  41

 4.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m23.909s  + 0.510  32

 5.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m23.918s  + 0.519  32

 6.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m23.964s  + 0.565  37

 7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m24.065s  + 0.666  34

 8.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m24.080s  + 0.681  36

 9.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m24.214s  + 0.815  41

10.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m24.365s  + 0.966  22

11.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m24.418s  + 1.019  35

12.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m24.422s  + 1.023  32

13.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m24.468s  + 1.069  40

14.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m24.600s  + 1.201  33

15.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m24.688s  + 1.289  30

16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m24.733s  + 1.334  34

17.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m24.769s  + 1.370  37

18.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault      1m25.047s  + 1.648  42

19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m26.296s  + 2.897  36

20.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault      1m26.740s  + 3.341  35

21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m27.314s  + 3.915  27

22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m27.664s  + 4.265  30

23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m28.235s  + 4.836  26

24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          no time              2 


All Timing Unofficial

Mark Webber expects several top 10 qualifiers to sit out Q3 in Saturday's Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session amid suggestions that having as many fresh set of tyres for the race as possible will again be key to victory.

Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel won the last grand prix in Bahrain from pole, but was pushed hard by Kimi Raikkonen, as the Lotus driver conserved tyres in qualifying then charged up from 11th on the grid to finish a close second.

After setting the seventh fastest time in Friday afternoon practice, Webber reckoned this would be a weekend when many drivers prioritised race pace over qualifying position.

"It is always nice to finish qualifying with a few sets of tyres," said the Australian. "You always want to try and get through all three sessions with minimal damage on your tyres, and there will be no exception this weekend - we will see.

"We could see people sit out Q3, those that just get into Q3, and they will do that to save tyres."

Asked after practice in Spain if he felt qualifying or the race was the more important this weekend, Vettel replied: "Most important is points and points you get on Sunday.

"Surely I know the reason we go out on Saturday is to qualify as high as we can, ideally to get pole, so nothing has changed but we have seen that during the race there is a lot of things happening with the tyres. Where you start on Sunday does not automatically mean that is the position you will finish."

Webber added that it was relatively difficult to get a perfect flying lap together on the softer tyres, and felt that was the key to the big gaps between first and second-placed Jenson Button and Vettel, and their fourth and seventh-placed team-mates.

"I still think we saw at the end there that when people put new options on, the lap-time that everyone sees is one timed lap on the options basically, so I think if you get that right you are not looking that bad," said Webber.

"To see six/seven tenths between team-mates... JB is a big step ahead of Lewis, so if you get everything together then the lap time will come, so that is the challenge on the tyres."

Jenson Button said he was struggling to get the harder tyres working properly during practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver set the pace in the afternoon session, posting the quickest time thanks to a run on the soft Pirelli compound.

When running on the hards, however, Button admitted he was finding it impossible to get them working properly despite the high track temperatures.

"It was a good afternoon, but a tough one, trying to understand the tyres," said Button. "And we still don't quite understand them, but the car seems to be work well on the soft tyres.

"On the hard tyre I just can't get it working. I just can't get the temperature into the tyres. I don't know why it is but it's something we need to sort out for Sunday."

Button admitted the gap between the two compounds brought to Spain was huge for him.

"For me it felt massive, but for other people... For Lewis [Hamilton], he seemed quicker on the prime than he was on the option, and I was the other way around, so it's a strange one," he said.

"It's normally the other way around for me, so the prime would normally be a good tyre for me. Hopefully we can figure it out."

Hamilton, meanwhile, said he had not enjoyed a great day after struggling with the set-up of his car, which made the balance very inconsistent.

The Briton was fourth quickest.

"I still smile, but it's not been a great day," said Hamilton. "We struggled a little bit with the set-up, but the upgrades have worked pretty well. We have good pace, in particular in the longer runs.

"We are in the fight, at least, but we didn't really show it because we had a bit of an inconsistent set-up today, which means it's very difficult to pinpoint exactly what I need to do to change the set-up to make it better. We need to look at the data and try to find where the most serious issues are and try to correct that for tomorrow.

"The balance is very inconsistent so it's very difficult to pinpoint exactly what we need to change to make it better."

Hamilton said, however, that the upgrades introduced by McLaren were already making the car stronger.

"The car already feels better than it did in the last race and we are still trying to work on managing our tyres," he said.

Jenson Button insists that he and Lewis Hamilton did the right thing in missing the Mugello test.

Although some of McLaren's rivals were baffled by the team's decision to use testers Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey for the three days of testing, Button says that there was little to gain by him being there.

"The real reason [for missing the test] was the correlation between the simulator and the car, and most of our testing is in the simulator," he explained.

"To get a correlation with the test drivers is so important; to make sure we are going on the right path with the simulator and the parts that we test.

"When we put them on the computer and the simulator they work fine, because you are putting in the right numbers for it to work, although sometimes when you get on to the circuit that part might not work correctly.

"We have to make sure the wind tunnel, simulator and circuit all correlate, so it was a very important test form that point of view."

Button thinks that as well as not losing anything by not being there, the team will ultimately benefit from having the test drivers do it because it will help advance its simulation work.

"From Lewis and my point of view, we wouldn't have learned anything driving around Mugello," he said. "It will not help us this year.

"We know how to drive a racing car and we feel that the new parts can be tested by the test drivers.

"I don't think we have lost out: in fact we have actually gained for later in the season because it is important that our test drivers who do most of the testing in the simulator do really understand where the car is. So I think everyone else is wrong!!"

Mark Webber says he cannot rely on just delivering consistent results this season - and that he must win races if he is to fight for the championship.

The Red Bull Racing driver is one of only three drivers who have scored points in every race this season, with his four fourth-place finishes currently helping him to third spot in the drivers' championship standings.

But with the season being so tight, Webber knows that he will need to start racking up better results if he is to overhaul his rivals.

"It was frustrating to finish in Lewis' [Hamilton] gearbox in Melbourne, in Malaysia and in China as well," said Webber ahead of the Spanish GP.

"It is always nice to get points at each race, and you could not have thought that would have been the case because it has been so up and down.

"I've been consistent, and I realise I need to keep doing that – but I also need to win as well. When the opportunity isn't there to do that you need to finish, but 25 points makes a big difference – although if you are in the fence that makes a big difference as well."

Webber also thinks that the shape of F1 is very different this year, because it is so unpredictable.

"I think it is a new situation right now," he said. "Who is going to be on pole this weekend? It could be McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Renault [Lotus] – it could be Ferrari. So it is very unusual in that sense.

"It is probably less so as we get a bit of information in P2, but before the weekend we are not really sure who is going to do what – and Monaco is going to be unknown again. We don't know until we get there."

Red Bull Racing has backed the job that Pirelli is doing in Formula 1 this year - saying it would be impossible for the company to make tyres that made everyone happy.

Amid much debate in F1 about the impact tyres are having on the racing after Michael Schumacher's criticisms about their current characteristics, Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner said he has no concerns about the situation.

"The problem is that they [Pirelli] have 12 teams asking for 12 different things, and you will never have a product that satisfies everyone's request," Horner said when asked about his feelings on the Pirelli situation.

"Ultimately as a tyre supplier for F1, the product is the same for everybody."

Horner admits that understanding tyres is proving to be a key factor in achieving success this year, but he does not think that is a bad thing for F1.

"It is the same for everybody and it is ultimately healthy for F1 to have a single tyre supplier," he explained. "In years gone by, when there were two tyre suppliers in some instances teams would sometimes not have access to tyres that were the preferred ones.

"It is an added challenge and certainly from the fans' point of view it has produced some very exciting races this year."

Horner also reckons that the importance of tyres – and how big an influence they can have on performance – is meaning teams are not putting so much effort into bringing aggressive car developments.

"I think that teams have been looking for development avenues and trying to understand the complexity and characteristics of the cars without blown diffusers. And certainly the characteristics of how the tyres are behaving is driving teams in their development directions."

Pirelli will not change its approach to producing challenging tyres in Formula 1, despite the controversy caused by Michael Schumacher's recent criticisms of its products.

Schumacher has twice been critical of Pirelli's high-degrading tyres - and even suggested last week that racing on them was like driving on 'raw eggs'.

Speaking about the matter at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said that there were no plans to make any changes to the tyres – and the only way his company would alter its approach would be if the teams asked it too because the sport was losing popularity among fans.

"The last thing we want to do is do what one or two individuals want. It will take all 12 teams to sit down and ask us to change, but that isn't going to happen," explained Hembery.

"There has been one particular comment made in the last few races. But at the end of last season the number of people who came to see us and say they were unhappy was zero. And the number of people who have come to see us this season is one. So you have to be reasonably pragmatic.

"We fully understand Michael's point of view, and what he wants to see, and if the fans ultimately want that, then I guess the teams and ourselves probably are more interested in what the fans say.

"But even then you have to have a balanced viewpoint based more on viewing figures. You cannot go on forums, because the vast majority are unfortunately slightly misinformed. It is down to everyone to inform them a bit better. Some people thought we were on our own going off and doing these things, but we were not."

Hembery said the alternative to its current tyres would be to have ones that did not degrade – but that would ultimately produce processional races.

"We will do what the sport wants. If they want a tyre that lasts all the race with no degradation then we will do that. If they want what we have got now we will do that, if they want something in the middle we will do that, but it is not something you want to be changing every five minutes.

"The teams invest a lot of energy and a lot of money trying to maximise the package, and they want to know what the challenge is and that is what they are working on now. If you make a knee-jerk reaction and you go in a different direction you can maybe throw things out the window that you don't want."

Hembery said that he was not upset at Schumacher's comments – but was slightly baffled because it was Mercedes boss Ross Brawn who pushed so hard for the tyres to be so challenging.

"I don't really have any feeling about it," he said when asked for his reaction about Schumacher's stance. "We understand he is a great champion, and he has every right to say how he feels and what is his opinion, but it is one opinion and we have to try and take into account what we were given.

"We were not told to replicate a tyre that runs for a whole race with no degradation and create a procession. We were told by his team principal to replicate Canada 2010."

Hembery said that Pirelli was actually more surprised by the criticisms it faced after India last year than by Schumacher's recent complaints.

"If we have been shocked since we got back into F1, it wasn't now it was actually after India where we had very dramatic negative reaction to the race in the eyes of the public," he said.

"That we did get a lot of reaction to – we were heavily criticised as to why now we are being so conservative. That really did make us go home and think."

Nico Rosberg has admitted that tyre degradation is worse today than it was during pre-season testing after what he and team-mate Michael Schumacher both described as a "challenging" day for Mercedes.

Rosberg ended the day third fastest, 0.372 seconds off pacesetter Jenson Button, but underlined that tyre management will be the deciding factor in Sunday's race.

"It was very different to winter testing and a lot tougher on the tyres," said Rosberg after practice. "It has been a very challenging day first of all to see how to get the car right for qualifying and especially how to get it right for the race.

"I don't know where we are on tyre wear. We will have to look through the data now. Tyre management is going to be crucial here."

Schumacher has criticised the Pirelli rubber in recent week and sees tyres as the main challenge faced by the team.

He ended the day eighth fastest, setting a best time 0.681s off the pace but emphasised that his main focus was on race pace rather than qualifying speed.

"That's a challenge," he said of tyre degradation. "We have to find out more and analyse it too see what we did compared to the other guys.

"We have four of them [tyres] each time we go out and it's the same for everybody."

Mercedes CEO Nick Fry says he will be disappointed if the Brackley-based team does not win again this season.

With Nico Rosberg having delivered the first victory of the modern Mercedes works team in China last month, Fry says there is reason to feel optimistic about the team repeating that triumph.

"I am very confident that we have got a fast car, and I think we have had a fast car from the beginning of this year for reasons we understand," Fry told AUTOSPORT. "When you do have a fast car you are always in with a good chance.

"It is going to be very closely fought but I would be extremely disappointed if there was not another win before the end of the year."

Fry says the victory in China has helped lift spirits in the team, and act as a spur to help it deliver better results in the future.

"Winning in China was very positive for us," he explained. "From an internal point of view, clearly after two years of under performance to get a win back under our belt raises the spirit in the factory and we have got a bit more of a bounce in our step.

"But, you also have to temper that by saying, the majority of people who are there in Brackley are the 'idiots' who did not do very well in 2008, and the 'geniuses' that won the championship in 2009 - so one should not get too excited by a single win.

"My view is that we have got the most talented technical team in F1, and the combination of Ross Brawn's guiding hand with Bob [bell], Geoff [Willis], Aldo [Costa] and John Owen and the rest of the team is very strong.

"You have to look at the substance and the overall abilities of teams, and we have put ourselves in the position where I believe we can be consistently successful going forward."

Fernando Alonso is optimistic that he can improve in Spanish Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday after finishing practice two in 14th position at Barcelona, 1.201 seconds behind Jenson Button, who was fastest.

The Spaniard was quickest in first practice but was unable to capitalise in the second session after failing to get a clear lap on soft tyres. He had been hoping to demonstrate the revised Ferrari's pace after a positive test at Mugello where he set the third fastest time over the three days.

"We didn't improve as much as some other cars, some improved by between one and 1.5 seconds [on soft tyres] and I was not able to push them," Alonso said.

"I was unable to get a clean lap and [on] my third lap I had traffic as well so I think I can improve a bit tomorrow with a clean lap and hopefully I can see this advantage that everyone seems to find on the soft."

Alonso said he cannot be certain if Ferrari has made enough of a step forward until after the race on Sunday, but he says the car is behaving as he had expected and he is more confident of getting into the final part of qualifying.

"I am confident that we will do the job and with the updates the first signs are positive, we need to look more at the data but it looks as we suspected," he said.

"Tomorrow hopefully we can see some positive signs and we can get into Q3 a little bit more relaxed this time."

Kimi Raikkonen sees no reason why his Lotus team should not be fighting at the front in the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.

The Finn, who finished in second position in the previous race in Bahrain, was fifth in Friday's free practice at Barcelona.

Although Raikkonen was half a second off the pace set by Jenson Button, the Lotus driver suggested his team was stronger than on previous Fridays this year.

"We've been fast everywhere else so far and there's nothing to suggest we won't be fast here again," said Raikkonen.

"Our car is better now than the winter, and it feels that this Friday was a bit more easier than the others, so we are maybe ahead than where we were at other races. In Bahrain we didn't have so easy a Friday, so we will see tomorrow."

The Finn posted his fastest time of the day on the second lap on his soft tyres after making a mistake on the opening one, where the rubber was at its best.

"I did my lap on the second lap because I went wide on the first sector so I mean it was not a very good lap from myself," he said. "There are more things that we have to improve but Button was a bit ahead of everybody. For sure we had the chance to have a good car."

Raikkonen said the strong result in Bahrain has not meant a change of approach for Lotus, and says the team will face the weekend with the same frame of mind as before.

"We do the same thing every race. We just need to do the whole race weekend as well as we can. We haven't changed anything and I haven't experienced any change because we had a good race. We didn't have a bad atmosphere before, so we are doing the same thing before and things are going normally."

Force India will not give up in its bid to try and increase the damages it was awarded from Aerolab in its recent copyright case - even if a judge rejects an appeal when he decides in the next few weeks.

The Silverstone-based team was awarded £21,000 recently after a court ruled that Aerolab had used some of Force Indias parts in the design process for a car it helped prepare for Lotus Racing - now Caterham - in 2010.

Force India believes that the level of damages that was awarded was not high enough, which is why it has asked the judge to reconsider.

A hearing last week, where Force India was ordered to pay costs to now Caterham technical chief Mike Gascoyne and the Hingham-based team, ran out of time to discuss the damages issue - which is why another hearing will take place soon.

When asked whether Force India would pursue the matter further through legal channels if more damages were not awarded, Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley said: "Yes, we will then take it onwards."

Fernley also said that the £650,000 costs awarded against it was no surprise – as the money for that had already been lodged.

"The Lotus and Mike Gascoyne costs are the ones we already knew about from the hearing so that is accepted and done," he explained. "The appeal [decision] could be not heard, as there was not enough time in court. But that will go ahead in the next few weeks."

Chelsea has no doubts that its tie-up with Sauber will create new followers for both teams - even though attempts to achieve such fan crossover in the past have failed.

With the Superleague Formula having not attracted as many football fans to motor racing as it had originally hoped for, there have been questions about the true benefits of Chelsea getting involved with Sauber.

But the football club's chief executive Ron Gourlay believes that fans are now more ready for such synergies than they were even a few years ago.

"The world has changed," he explained during a visit to the Spanish Grand Prix. "Chelsea concentrates hugely on its international fan base and, through its social media and how we communicate with them, the base has expanded hugely.

"It is very important to communicate with people around the world and that is our base for social responsibility. We really believe that Sauber will help us enhance that around the world and not just in the UK. This is a global partnership and we are two partners who can move this forward."

Gourlay says that the partnership with Sauber is not just about getting a Chelsea sticker on the car and selling more shirts.

"It's not about just finance. It is about engagement, because at the end of the day the whole commercial world has changed. It is about engagement of that fan base.

"There is no point having 250-300 million supporters around the world if we can't engage with that. So from my point of view we are just happy to have involvement with Peter Sauber, who carries so much weight within the sport. We have never and would never consider going into this with anyone but Sauber."

Gourlay believes that Chelsea's partnership with Sauber will start a trend - and that other football clubs will likely make moves to find ways to get involved in F1 too.

"I think they will follow, but the key is the lead here and it is ground breaking for us," he said. "There will be a huge amount of global interest around how this will evolve and we are engaged with that

"This is about bringing two of the biggest sports in the world from an awareness point of view together, and using both of our experience to drive both our businesses forward. I think you will see over the next few months that there has been a lot of thought that has gone into this and it is not just financial, it is about giving back as well."

[LUKIE]

lol mark webber sux

[EddieG]

Maldonado

[Adam]

Disappointed that Webber went out, that's gutting. Hopefully it'll be alright in the race and he'll recover.

I don't understand why none of the times were up on the side of the feed for Q3, I didn't have a clue where anybody was besides pole.

I guess watching was worth it to hear Ben Edwards squeak "MALDONADO GOES FASTEST!" in a disturbingly croaky voice.

Ooh also, which regulation change made it so that at every race we have a couple of drivers who don't even bother to post a time in Q3? Seems to massively defy the point.

Edited May 12, 2012 by AdamDRFC

[LUKIE]

I don't think there has ever been a requirement to do so. And it's all about strategy. The race is more important then qualifying to some. Hamilton used all of his tires to take pole... and you wonder why.

[Adam]

Oh I'm not saying there should be a requirement, I just think it's a bit crap that you watch the cars fight it out to get into the top ten but then when they're there they just sit in the garage for strategy because of tyres or whatever.

I dislike the amount of emphasis that is on the tyres these days I guess.

[Katsuya]

MALDONADO IS ON POLE!!!

[Adam]

Hamilton demoted to last place...oh dear!

[Gazz]

roflvertibird

[Sam]

What a joke. How many more fuck ups are Mclaren planning this year.

[Lineker]

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Ridiculous regarding Hamilton, yet again he's likely been cost more points, which seems to have happened in almost every race so far, sheer madness.

[Fry_4000]

oh dear shumi :lmao:

[Adam]

If McLaren want to mess up a pit stop at every race this season then I'm all for it.

Schumacher just poleaxed Senna there, really am hoping this is his last season now.

Edited May 13, 2012 by AdamDRFC

[Fry_4000]

McLaren mess up in the pit again