Robert Kubica is back on track yet again, according to the latest reports from Italy. It emerged a few days ago that the Pole had moved his recovery from serious injury forwards by returning to the wheel of a Skoda Fabia rally car in Liguria, Italy. La Gazzetta dello Sport now reports that the former BMW and Renault driver has tested a kart at a circuit in Montecatini-Terme, Tuscany. Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore advises Kubica not to rush his return to F1. "I have […]

Romain Grosjean returns to Formula One in 2012 with a reputation to rebuild...

Romain Grosjean is not being marketed by Lotus as the latest substitute for injured team regular Robert Kubica. Pole Kubica's contract runs out in less than three weeks and, if he returns to formula one, he is being more strongly linked with Ferrari. "The idea with Grosjean is to make him the number one (in Formula 1) in two or three years," team boss Eric Boullier, who has also signed up 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen for 2012 and beyond, is quoted in the French […]

Michael Schumacher's 1994 teammate has accused the German of winning his first world championship with the help of illegal electronic aids. Dutchman Jos Verstappen claims that while the Benetton he raced almost two decades ago conformed to the rules, the sister car driven to the title by Schumacher was fitted with secret systems. "I know what happened when we were together at Benetton," Verstappen is quoted by the Dutch-language Nusport. "People think I'm looking for excuses but I know that his car was different from […]

Romain Grosjean has admitted he almost quit motor sport after his formula one career hit the rocks after just seven grands prix in 2009. Among the victims of the 'crashgate' saga, the Frenchman had replaced sacked Nelson Piquet at Renault but then fell by the wayside as Flavio Briatore's career foundered and the team moved into new hands. "At one point at the start of 2010 I thought about stopping everything, stopping racing," Grosjean admitted to The National in Abu Dhabi. "It was difficult, but […]

At the scene of his 2010 championship failure, Fernando Alonso has refused to acknowledge in Abu Dhabi that this season has also been a bad one. "This season is the best I've ever done in my life," he is quoted as answering emphatically to the Spanish sports daily AS. Alonso was asked if he finds offensive the suggestions his Ferrari career has been a failure so far. "I don't care about that," said the former back-to-back Renault world champion, "but I think it's strange to […]

Sebastian Vettel looks set to cruise to a third consecutive world championship in 2012, according to Flavio Briatore. The former Renault boss said the dominance enjoyed by the German driver and Red Bull this season is unlikely to be chased down by their rivals any time soon. "Not even Webber can push him any more," Briatore told La Politica nel Pallone radio. "I can't wait for this championship to be over as it's become so boring, but I don't think it will be very different […]

Sebastian Vettel may be the sport's first ever reigning back-to-back world champion, but he is not the best driver on the grid. That is the view of former Renault boss Flavio Briatore, who thinks his charge Fernando Alonso and also McLaren's Lewis Hamilton are better than the dominant 24-year-old German. "Vettel is definitely good," the Italian told Corriere dello Sport, "but he has won because he has been the best to manage his phenomenal (Red Bull) machine. "He is not the best. Imagine a race […]

The delay in Jenson Button's contract extension beyond next year was due in part to the interest expressed by Ferrari. That is the claim of O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, reporting that the famous Maranello team considered the 2009 world champion a potential new teammate for Fernando Alonso in 2013. "I think it's important for drivers to look at all their options," confirmed Button. But for now and for the next couple of years, he will definitely be a McLaren driver. "And I am staying […]

A secret of Sebastian Vettel's run of success is the "dream team" at Red Bull. That is the claim of the 24-year-old German's retired countryman and grand prix winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The former Sauber and Williams driver told Welt newspaper: "As long as the team stays together, it will be very hard to beat. This is what we saw with Ferrari's dream team. "Frank Williams once said to me that it's very difficult to put together a top team and even more difficult to hold […]

Flavio Briatore has ruled out returning to formula one as a team boss. As for coming back to the F1 paddock when his 'crashgate' ban finally lifts in 2013, however, the Italian admitted he is looking forward to it. "Certainly not as a team boss," he said in an interview with Bild newspaper. "I did that for 16, 17 years, won seven titles and I no longer want the stress. "I can think of doing something in the marketing," added Briatore, "but it's not an […]

Even now as Fernando Alonso's teammate, Felipe Massa is not shy to denounce the result of the Singapore grand prix three years ago. It was in that 2008 race that Ferrari's Massa had a problem during a pitstop that was triggered by Nelson Piquet's notoriously deliberate crash and resultant safety car. Piquet's then Renault teammate was Spaniard Alonso, who duly won the race before the 'crashgate' scandal claimed the scalps of his bosses Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds. But the saga also arguably claimed the […]