Mercedes could quit Formula One or challenge Bernie Ecclestone in court, after it emerged top rivals Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have agreed new commercial deals. With the FOTA alliance crumbling, F1 chief executive Ecclestone announced on Saturday that he has agreed terms with the "majority" of teams. In addition to the three top teams, it is believed Lotus, Toro Rosso, Sauber and Force India have also signed up. That leaves Mercedes and Williams apparently yet to agree, while it is believed the three bottom […]

If Caterham's Mike Gascoyne was in the market for a McLaren driver, he would sign Jenson Button. The green-clad team's technical boss, Gascoyne, was at Renault in 2002 when it was decided to oust Button in favour of Fernando Alonso. But a decade on, Gascoyne says the tables have now turned, as 2009 world champion Button now heads the 2012 points standings for McLaren. "We weren't wrong (to replace Button), Fernando won two titles very quickly, but Jenson has developed into a hell of a […]

They waited for the rain to come, but thankfully for the teams in Sepang it never made an appearance.  A dry three hours of running was gratefully received after wet weather hampered preparations to last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, the notoriously uncompromising weather in Malaysia could render today’s data gathering sessions obsolete. We’ll just have to wait and see. It could be another battle between the McLaren drivers. Lewis Hamilton, car sideways and tyre locking, topped both sessions but Jenson Button – who sat […]

Caterham's hopes of pushing into the midfield in 2012 are not dead yet. That is the claim of team owner and boss Tony Fernandes, despite the former Team Lotus looking to have once again emulated the pecking-order of the past two years by outpacing only Marussia and HRT in Australia. "We have obviously improved our pace relative to our 2011 speed," the Malaysian businessman said. "But the teams ahead have also improved, so even though we are closer than this time last year we still […]

Although both Caterham’s failed to finish this weekends Australian Grand Prix, they can move on to Malaysia content with the knowledge that their cars were completing competitive lap times throughout the race. Both Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov retired due to steering issues during Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix. As the two cars’ dodged various incidents on the opening lap, Kovalainen lost the use of his KERs device as well as experiencing DRS issues early on. Regardless of this, the Finn continued setting competitive lap times […]

Red Bull Racing Mark Webber: “We knew there were some quick guys out there - McLaren and Mercedes especially and Roman did well too. Everyone always thinks we have special bits to keep coming back, but this year it’s opened right up. I didn’t have KERS at the end of the session, which affects your rhythm during qualifying – it’s a shame as it’s been faultless all winter. I’m pleased with my lap in Q3. We can still get on the podium tomorrow, but we […]

It will be an all-McLaren front row to the grid for the Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the Formula 1 World Championship. Lewis Hamilton took pole in a time of 1:24.922 ahead of team-mate Jenson Button (1:25.074). Third place at the Albert Park circuit went to the Lotus of Romain Grosjean (1:25.302). The McLaren drivers and beaming returnee Romain Grosjean on Saturday looked to have knocked Red Bull from its dominant perch. "McLaren had an upgrade at the last test and it's performed […]

Questions answers, more questions asked. That was the case after qualifying on Saturday at Albert Park. Lewis Hamilton leads an all-McLaren front row that suggests the Woking based team will have the car to beat. Hamilton looked at ease behind the wheel of the MP4-27 and everything he did came to him effortlessly. As predicted yesterday, Mercedes proved to be the dark horse. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will start 4th and 7th yet Ross Brawn admitted disappointment with their Q3 performance. The car appears […]

Red Bull Racing Mark Webber: “We did learn a little today – but after nine weeks of anxious waiting it was a shame with the weather. Mother Nature played a big role and it made it quite challenging for everyone. We got some dry running at the end of each session, which was good. The track was drying out reasonably quickly, but there were still a few sections at the end that were damp. In the end we got what we could out of it, […]

Heikki Kovalainen had heads turning in the F1 paddock on Thursday as he revealed his all-red helmet for 2012. The Caterham driver and Finn's new helmet is in the style of the bright red bird from the popular webgame app 'Angry Birds', which is developed by the Finnish company Rovio. "The helmet looks amazing," said the company's Harri Koponen. Visit our high resolution photo gallery of the Australian GP.

Vitaly Petrov has hit out again at his 'pay-driver' label, insisting even the highest paid driver on the grid has a similar arrangement with his team. "I see no difference between myself and Alonso," said the Russian, who has moved his lucrative backing from Renault (now Lotus) to the Caterham team for 2012. His new appointment is controversial, given he has ousted the experienced veteran and former Monaco winner Jarno Trulli, who was the last Italian in F1. Comparing himself with Alonso, Petrov told La […]

Caterham's team boss insists Vitaly Petrov is just as good as the experienced grand prix winner he replaced. Just ahead of the 2012 season, Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes decided to oust former Monaco grand prix winner Jarno Trulli with Russian Petrov, the well-sponsored Russian and former Renault driver. "I think he (Petrov) is as good a driver as Trulli, but he obviously brings a Russian commercial element," Fernandes told the US cable news channel CNN. "It gives us the ability to exploit commercial opportunities in […]