Red Bull has the standout budget among F1's UK-based teams, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. Citing British companies data, the magazine said Red Bull Technology - the Red Bull Racing parent - had a budget of EUR 245 million in 2011 as Sebastian Vettel sped to his back-to-back drivers' world championship. Auto Motor und Sport said Red Bull's budget last year was EUR 42 million higher than in 2010. Brackley based Mercedes, meanwhile, reportedly spent just EUR 145 million in 2011 -- a […]

Toro Rosso has confirmed that GP2 drivers Luiz Razia and Johnny Cecotto Jr wil test for the team in Abu Dhabi. Razia, who finished as runner-up to Davide Valsecchi in the championship, will drive the car on Tuesday and Thursday at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Cecotto will take to the cockpit on the Wednesday.

Sebastian Vettel is reportedly following Fernando Alonso's lead, as the pair knuckle down for their four-race battle to the 2012 title. We reported a week ago that Spaniard Alonso has imposed a 'media muzzle' on himself for the decisive flyaway trek through India, Abu Dhabi, the US and Brazil, and will even slash the time he spends with Ferrari's crucial sponsors. Ahead of the Indian grand prix this weekend, the local Telegraph newspaper said championship leader Vettel is taking a similar approach as he aims […]

The world's press thinks Fernando Alonso will be hard-pressed to regain the lead of the world championship from Sebastian Vettel in the last races of 2012. "Thanks to Adrian Newey's genius, Vettel takes the lead," La Gazzetta dello Sport said after German Vettel's third consecutive grand prix win on Sunday. "Now it will be difficult for Alonso." Italy's Tuttosport agreed: "The world title is moving far away for Alonso. "In Korea, Alonso lost more than just the lead of the championship. He also lost all […]

Red Bull is still not willing to slot Mark Webber into a supporting role after Sunday's Korean grand prix. With the Australian on pole but 60 points behind Fernando Alonso's championship lead prior to Sunday's race, the team said it would not be imposing team orders in a bid to boost teammate Sebastian Vettel's title chances. The situation is now different. After Korea, Vettel is now the championsip leader, while Webber's points gap is even slightly bigger. But when asked about the need for team […]

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko has hinted Felipe Massa deliberately impeded Sebastian Vettel at the end of qualifying in Korea. Vettel's last Q3 run was indeed interrupted by Ferrari's Massa, but the German - who ultimately qualified second behind his teammate Mark Webber - initially blamed his engineer. "Why did you not tell me about Massa?" Vettel shouted to his engineer Rocky on the radio. Vettel told reporters afterwards: "These things happen, it's not Felipe's fault at all. If anything it was my mistake." Outspoken […]

Mark Webber stormed to his second pole position of the season at the Korean International Circuit. The Australian's time of 1:37.242 was just 0.074s faster than team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who made an error on his final Q3 lap. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will line up on the second row of the grid, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. Romain Grosjean heads the fourth row of the grid, alongside Nico Hulkenberg, while the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher lock out the […]

It is simplistic to say Red Bull has sped into the 2012 title favourites' role due to its new 'double DRS' device. As Sebastian Vettel closed the championship gap to Fernando Alonso to just 4 points with wins in Singapore and Suzuka, it had emerged that his RB8 was equipped with a new top speed-boosting system. "As with all these things, there's never a silver bullet and I think it would be very difficult to say the car's performance here is purely down to a […]

Sebastian Vettel took his 34th career pole position - moving to third in the all-time list - after setting the fastest time in qualifying. Vettel set the fastest time for the first time since the European Grand Prix in June to take his fourth successive Suzuka pole at a track where he has never been beaten in qualifying. Mark Webber joins his team mate on the front row, ahead of Jenson Button, although the British driver drops five places on the grid following a gearbox […]

Mark Webber has been given a twenty second time penalty for gaining an advantage by cutting the track. The stewards deemed that the Australian gained an advantage by exceeding track limits when overtaking Kamui Kobayashi. The penalty drops Webber to eleventh, behind Sauber's Sergio Perez.

All eyes will be on Romain Grosjean as the beleaguered Frenchman kick-starts his Formula One season on Sunday. After a string of incidents in 2012, the Lotus driver was finally banned for a race at Monza recently for causing the first corner chaos at Spa. He has qualified a solid eighth for his comeback race in Singapore, well ahead of his teammate Kimi Raikkonen and alongside Red Bull's Mark Webber on the grid. Grosjean told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport he is "not particularly nervous" […]

A worried Red Bull is travelling to Singapore this week, hoping a spate of alternator problems do not return under the Asian city-state's floodlights. Sebastian Vettel and Lotus' similarly Renault-powered Romain Grosjean were halted at Valencia earlier this year, and the problem returned on Vettel's Red Bull at Monza. Then it emerged that the Pirelli test car, fitted with a 2010 specification of the Renault alternator, struck similar problems recently, while Grosjean substitute Jerome d'Ambrosio's Lotus almost failed at Monza. "We do not need to […]