Pirelli has denied claims it is making major changes to its 2013 tyre design as a result of the pressure applied by world champions Red Bull. Following the controversy in the wake of Sunday's Spanish grand prix, Pirelli announced on Tuesday that it will make major changes in time for next month's race in Canada, including reverting to the basic structure of the 2012 tyre. However, before deciding to make the changes, Pirelli's Paul Hembery had warned that a reaction like that could hand the […]

Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez has played down the impact of technical director James Allison's departure. So highly rated had Briton Allison become within the F1 paddock, that many insiders believe the 45-year-old would be able to take his pick in terms of choosing his next team. Lotus has promoted from within - Nick Chester - to replace Allison, so it is feared that Enstone will now struggle to produce as good a car with a budget smaller than F1's 'big four' Red Bull, Ferrari, […]

Sebastien Loeb, the most successful driver in world rally history, thinks Robert Kubica has more potential than Kimi Raikkonen. In 2010 and 2011, Finn Raikkonen tried his hand at world rallying, and now former BMW and Renault driver Kubica - still recovering from his 2011 rally crash - is driving for Citroen in the second-tier world rally series. "Robert's potential to reach the top is very good," Frenchman Loeb told Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper. "He is fast, he does need more experience but I think […]

A big topic of conversation in Barcelona this weekend is Pirelli's new 'hard' compound tyre. While the Italian supplier claims it is a minor tweak, others are concerned the change will favour only some teams. The team that lobbied hardest for changes is Red Bull. "I think there was more talk than action from our side," world champion Sebastian Vettel said on Thursday. "For sure there's a lot of attention and people trying to make up stories, but I think you could see the whole […]

Ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, we sat down with Williams's Valtteri Bottas for a chat.

Ferrari, Mercedes and even McLaren -- they all claim they can push reigning champions Red Bull in 2013. Some have already written off McLaren on the basis that not evolving the winning 2012 car in favour of a radical machine for this season was a grave mistake that has netted the famous British team just 4 points so far this season. Jenson Button, however, told the Mirror he thinks a title tilt is still "definitely" on. "It's a massive turnaround for us," he said, referring […]

5 rookies will compete in the 2013 season. So who are they?

Nico Rosberg thinks Mercedes' 2013 car is a potential winner. The German won last April's Chinese grand prix, but thereafter the Brackley based team suffered a collapse in car development and fell badly off the pace. New teammate Lewis Hamilton has been playing down expectations following the new W04's launch, but Rosberg - who has driven for Mercedes alongside Michael Schumacher since 2010 - is more outwardly confident. "I just want to win races," he told Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, "and I am very confident […]

Lotus is happy to let Kimi Raikkonen just be himself, owner Gerard Lopez has revealed. En route to his first victory since returning to F1 last year, the laconic Finn told his race engineer Simon Rennie in Abu Dhabi to "Just leave me alone, I know what I'm doing." Lopez told Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper: "Kimi is Kimi. It was just what he felt at that moment. "Kimi is certainly the most honest guy in F1. That's why so many people find him so refreshing. […]

Iceman – the nickname given to Kimi Räikkönen by Ron Dennis at the beginning of the 2002 season – suits the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion perfectly. The Finnish star is most likely the coolest guy in Formula 1… ever. There is nothing that really makes him upset, angry or happy for more than for fifteen minutes or so. Kimi is quick to put everything behind him. The cool nature is innate. Kimi’s mother Paula remembers him only once being very nervous and losing his […]

Valtteri Bottas has been confirmed as a Williams driver for 2013

According to authoritative media sources, Valtteri Bottas will definitely replace current Williams race driver Bruno Senna in 2013. The news was reported from Brazil not only by Finnish broadcaster MTV3's race commentator Oskari Saari, but also the respected Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt, as well as others in the Interlagos paddock. Schmidt said Brazilian Senna, and also his countryman Luiz Razia, have "run through the paddock with suitcases full of money, finding no takers". Williams is not confirming the reports about its Finnish […]