Previewing Round 1 of the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso does not believe any team will dominate in 2013. Alonso finished runner-up to Sebastian Vettel in 2012 and reckons a few teams will be in the running this weekend. "I don’t think we will see one team dominate, but also I don’t expect seven winners in the first races, like last year" said Alonso. "It will be very close and from our point of view, a good result this weekend would remove some of the stress. I enjoy the Albert Park […]

Valtteri Bottas says he cannot wait until the lights go out at this weekend's Australian Grand Prix. The Finnish rookie steps up to Formula One this season having spent 2012 as Williams's official test and reserve driver. "We have had a good winter at the factory and the car showed strong reliability and performance during testing," he said. "The FW35 feels like a new car in comparison to the FW34, behaving and responding differently around the track to the car I was driving on Friday […]

Mark Webber has said that he would like to finally finish on the podium in the Australian Grand Prix. Webber has finished on the podium thirty-four times in his F1 career but has yet to score a top three in his home race, with a best finish of fourth in 2012. "I've been on the podiums at most tracks around the world and have won at quite a few circuits and Melbourne is one which I would like to add to that," he said. "I […]

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh insists that his team would be satisfied with points at next weekend's Australian Grand Prix. McLaren has won in Australia three times in the previous five seasons, including the 2012 opener courtesy of Jenson Button. "We’ve faced a challenging few weeks prepping our new MP4-28 for the 2013 season," said Whitmarsh. "The often cold and sometimes wet conditions we experienced during pre-season testing in Barcelona and Jerez made it difficult to operate the tyres consistently within their optimal performance window. […]

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domencali insists that a podium in next weekend's Australian Grand Prix would provide a good platform on which to mount a season-long title challenge. Ferrari's recent record at Albert Park has been poor, with just one podium - Felipe Massa in 2010 - to show from the previous five races in Australia. "I expect that the teams who finished in the top positions in Sao Paulo [2012] will repeat that in Melbourne, probably with a reduced advantage – that’s what we […]

Sergio Perez has felt the added pressure of stepping up the F1 grid for 2013. Formerly the surprise podium-getter in a Sauber, the 23-year-old has now been signed up by McLaren, to replace the ultra high-profile Lewis Hamilton. "Of course the pressure is higher now," the Mexican is quoted by Speed Week, as he represented his new employer at the Geneva motor show. "But I have no problems with it. "Anyone who can't handle pressure should not sign for McLaren," added Perez. According to most […]

Fernando Alonso is heading into next weekend's 2013 season opener with realistic expectations of a podium finish. "I think so," the 2012 title runner-up is quoted by Spain's El Pais newspaper during a sponsor event in Barcelona on Monday. Fabled Ferrari has had a much better winter compared to a year ago, when the Maranello team was multiple seconds off the pace. Alonso fought back to lose the championship to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel by just 3 points, and he is expecting a similar contest […]

Having consistently played down his expectations for 2013, Lewis Hamilton is now predicting a win. Until this weekend, most pundits had been forecasting a Red Bull versus Lotus battle for the forthcoming season opener, with next-best McLaren and Ferrari perhaps slightly off the ultimate pace. But on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton exploded to the top of the times with the winter's best laptime. Nico Rosberg then went even quicker in the first half of Sunday, the last day of running before the circus heads off to […]

The F1 world was ruing the cold and wet Barcelona weather on Thursday, as the last days of pre-season testing began a fortnight ahead of the 2013 season opener. "I do wonder why we come here to test every winter," Pirelli's Paul Hembery is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport. "In the past we have talked about going to Bahrain. Maybe that makes more sense," he said. With more bad weather forecast, Hembery's frustration was widespread in the paddock. "Teams have never gone into a […]

McLaren has denied it is slightly off the pace as teams enter the final week of pre-season testing. With multiple sources reporting that Red Bull and Lotus look to be narrowly leading the 2013 field at present, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali this week admitted he would be "very surprised" if the new F138 is quickest in Australia. Drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez have been making similar noises about the 2013 McLaren. Team newcomer and Mexican Perez sounded alarmed when he said the degradation of […]

Adrian Sutil is set to return to Formula One with Force India this season. Sutil, who sat out 2012 in the wake of the Eric Lux assault affair, has beaten hot contender Jules Bianchi to become Paul di Resta's new teammate. Force India is yet to confirm Sutil, although a decision is understood to have been made. "Sutil was in the McLaren simulator yesterday. As of Thursday, he will be in action for the last pre-season test in Barcelona", German media reported. "On 17 March […]