Christian Horner has defended Sebastian Vettel, after Jacques Villeneuve slammed the reigning world champion for often behaving "like a child". When comparing Vettel with his 2012 title rival Fernando Alonso, 1997 world champion Villeneuve last week admitted he was rooting for the Spaniard because he is cooler under fire. When asked about the outspoken Villeneuve's likening of Vettel to "a child" when under pressure, Red Bull team boss Horner responded: "Honestly, I don't understand why Jacques said that." The interviewer for Die Welt newspaper explained […]

Renault suspects equipment failure caused Sebastian Vettel to be pushed to the back of the grid in Abu Dhabi. Actually, Red Bull pointed the finger of blame at its French engine supplier, revealing that Renault engineers asked for the German to be stopped at the side of the track after he qualified third last Saturday. Then, when FIA scrutineers could not find the mandatory litre of fuel in the RB8's tank for sampling, team boss Christian Horner insisted it is Renault's decision to crunch the […]

Triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart believes that Sebastian Vettel would be mad to leave Red Bull at the present time. Vettel has been linked with a move to Ferrari in 2014, but Stewart believes the German should think carefully. "I think that's [a move] premature. He would be mad to leave Red Bull at the present time", Stewart told BBC Sport. "I know there would be a difference in their basic salary, but he's in a position where he's winning grands prix." Stewart also […]

Lotus is confident Kimi Raikkonen will stay with the Enstone based team in 2013. Before F1 went into its August slumber, 2007 world champion Raikkonen refused to categorically deny rumours he might return to Ferrari next year to replace Felipe Massa. When asked about those stories, Lotus' technical boss James Allison said: "He doesn't give us any reason to think that he is going elsewhere. "I think he likes it with us, I think we're giving him competitive equipment and it's a very straightforward working […]

Sebastian Vettel insists Ferrari has the best car on the 2012 grid. In an interview with journalists from O Estado de S.Paulo (Brazil), Corriere della Sera (Italy) and Auto Hebdo (France), the reigning world champion reportedly laughed at Alonso and Ferrari's constant claims that the Spaniard is leading the world championship despite not having the best car. Referring to last weekend's German grand prix, Vettel said in Hungary on Thursday: "Fernando was the fastest because he had the best equipment. "At the moment, Ferrari is […]

A swathe of world champions have backed Fernando Alonso to collect his third drivers' title in 2012. Writing in Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, veteran correspondent Pino Allievi referred to the Spaniard, runaway championship leader and Hockenheim winner as "a perfect driver". He said the Ferrari driver has also "sparked the imagination" of his fellow champions, including legends Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Sir Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. "He reminds me of myself, and a little bit of Prost," Austrian Lauda is quoted […]

F1 is considering a ban on tyre-warming blankets, the German language publication Motorsport Magazin reports. Journalist Kerstin Hasenbichler reported from Valencia that the potential 2013 ban is being discussed as part of the sport's cost-cutting efforts. The teams and the FIA are "currently in consultation to restructure regulations aimed at keeping costs as low as possible", the writer said. A tyre blanket ban was considered a few years ago but shelved on safety grounds. It would, however, save money both on equipment expenditure and freight […]

Michael Schumacher's run of bad luck in 2012 is hard to fathom, according to Peter Sauber. Team boss Sauber, who was instrumental in bringing the seven time world champion into F1 in the early 90s, said that in the third year of his comeback with Mercedes, Schumacher is finally at the wheel of a worthy car. "But I have to say that Schumacher's bad luck is incredible," Sauber told the Swiss newspaper Blick, referring to yet another technical problem for the 43-year-old in Canada. In […]

Michael Schumacher's run of terrible luck is raising questions about equality within the Mercedes team. His 2012 title hopes already effectively over due to a spate of incidents and technical problems, the seven time world champion once again failed to finish on Sunday when his DRS rear wing stuck open in Canada. "It's hard to understand why the problems affect only one driver," former Force India racer Adrian Sutil said on German television Sky. "If you compare his points with Nico (Rosberg)'s, the difference is […]

Sir Frank Williams has vowed to visit every rival team this weekend in Monaco to thank them personally for their response to the garage fire two weeks ago in Spain. The Oxfordshire based team's founder and boss revealed not only that every fire extinguisher in the Barcelona paddock was willingly discharged, but that the other team principals had stepped forward with offers to help Williams recover from the loss of nearly everything in the pits. "The reaction was extraordinary," he told the Telegraph. "Overwhelming. "My […]

The F1 car photographed amid the charred remains of Williams' burnt-out garage in Barcelona will be back in action this weekend at Monaco. We reported last week that an initial inspection of Bruno Senna's Renault-powered FW34, which was sitting in the pits when the fire broke out during the team's celebrations for Pastor Maldonado's victory last Sunday, showed it had emerged with minimal damage. A spokesman has now confirmed that Senna will race the very same chassis on the streets of Monaco this week. Otherwise, […]

Williams F1 Team Press Release Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, giving Williams F1 its 114th victory in Formula One. He came home 3.1s ahead of Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso. Our Chief Operations Engineer, Mark Gillan, sums up the weekend. Q: Mark, how much satisfaction do you derive from Pastor Maldonado’s victory in the Spanish Grand Prix? MG: This is a massive result for Williams and of course it is incredibly satisfying, especially given the tribulations of the 2011 season.  However, this business […]