Sebastian Vettel is single-handedly better than Mercedes' entire driver lineup. That is the provocative claim of Red Bull's always blunt and outspoken Dr Helmut Marko, as Austin polesitter Vettel prepares to break another record on Sunday. Another win on Sunday would be the dominant German's eighth on the trot, breaking the old record set by his countryman Michael Schumacher. Still, many do not give new quadruple world champion Vettel the credit that Marko believes he deserves. "I always hear Mercedes say they have the best […]

Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari must beat Mercedes during the United States Grand Prix in order to retain their hopes of finishing second in the constructors' championship. Ferrari is currently 11 points behind Mercedes in the battle for second, with Lotus also in the mix. Alonso will start the United States Grand Prix from sixth place on the grid. "I feel reasonably satisfied with the result of today’s qualifying, because after the problems we have had almost all weekend long and even in Q1, we […]

Nico Hulkenberg believes he extracted the maximum from the Sauber C32 during qualifying for the United States Grand Prix. Hulkenberg set the fourth fastest time in the final segment of the session. "I have felt comfortable with the car over the whole weekend, but it was a different story in Q1 and Q2, as the wind picked up compared to FP3 this morning," he said. "It was a tail wind out of turn one and, therefore, also sector one and a bit in sector two. […]

World champion Sebastian Vettel snatched pole position from team-mate Mark Webber during the final moments of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix. Webber held provisional pole position and lowered his own benchmark and Vettel appeared to be heading for second position after a tardy first and second sector. But Vettel lit up the timing screens in the final sector to steal pole from Webber. Romain Grosjean set the third fastest time, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and 2012 race winner Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso was […]

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time during final practice for the United States Grand Prix. Vettel's time of 1:36.733 was two tenths of a second clear of Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton was third fastest for Mercedes, ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg. Romain Grosjean set the fifth quickest time of the 60 minute session in his Lotus, with Jenson Button - who takes a three place grid penalty into qualifying - in sixth place. Nico Rosberg was seventh, ahead of […]

Felipe Massa does not believe that Ferrari will be able to make noteworthy progress during his penultimate race with the team in Austin. Massa was 12th fastest in second practice at the Circuit of the Americas. "Compared to recent races, the car has stayed the same and therefore we cannot expect a very different level of performance," he said. "But it’s definitely important to understand why the car changed so much between the two sessions, especially as compared to last year, the asphalt has improved […]

According to the paddock grapevine in Austin, Nico Hulkenberg is no longer in the running for the 2014 race seat at Lotus. Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez has hinted to the newspaper El Nacional that Pastor Maldonado's PDVSA millions are being switched from Williams to Lotus. "The team is changing (from Williams) and what he is working on is going to Lotus," said the PDVSA president. Maldonado confirmed: "We are talking to teams but we are quite clear about where we want to go. "I […]

Alexander Rossi expressed his delight after participating in the opening practice session for the United States Grand Prix. Despite running being curtailed firstly due to fog and latter courtesy of technical problems with the medical helicopter, Rossi was 19th fastest of the 22 runners, managing 21 laps of the Circuit of the Americas. "I'm very pleased with how my FP1 session went, both for me and for the team," he said. "It was a proud moment when I drove out on track as the first […]

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time during second practice for the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Vettel's time of 1:37.305 was just over a tenth of a second faster than Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber as the reigning champions finished over three tenths of a second clear than their nearest rivals. Mercedes finished the 90 minute session in third and fourth, with Nico Rosberg eclipsing Lewis Hamilton. Heikki Kovalainen - replacing the injured Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus - was fifth, ahead of Esteban Gutierrez, […]

Nico Hulkenberg has admitted the likelihood of a Lotus race seat for 2014 has dropped almost to zero. Asked by the Swiss newspaper Blick to say where he is going after the Brazil finale, the Sauber driver answered: "I can only say that I am going (on), but not where. "The options are well known," said the German, who despite having a seat fitting at Enstone this week ultimately decided against replacing Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen for the last two races of 2013. "Force India, Sauber, […]

Lotus has confirmed that Heikki Kovalainen will replace Kimi Raikkonen for the rest of the 2013 season. Raikkonen will skip the final two rounds of the year after electing to undergo surgery on his injured back and compatriot Kovalainen will take over in America and Brazil. Kovalainen completed a seat fitting at the Lotus factory on Wednesday, before flying out to Austin. Kovalainen raced for Lotus under their previous guise, Renault, in his rookie season in 2007, finishing on the podium in the Japanese Grand […]

Formula 1 returns to the United States of America for the penultimate round of the 2013 season, at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas, with Sebastian Vettel seeking his eighth successive victory. It’s safe to say that the 2013 season is ending with a whimper rather than a bang but while attention is turning to 2014, there are still two races to run this year and they both take place at fabulous circuits. The first of the final back-to-back events of 2013 takes […]