Quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel went for five on Friday with the German choosing to have that numeral on his car when he is eventually deposed as number one. Under new regulations for 2014, Formula One drivers will have permanent racing numbers to be used throughout their careers from now on and can choose any between two and 99. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) published the official list with some surprises among the selections. Vettel, who will have the number one on […]

Niki Lauda says Mercedes is on track for the start of official 2014 testing, despite the huge challenge of the all-new turbo rules. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports rumours that world champion team Red Bull's boss Christian Horner had floated the idea of delaying for a week the start of winter testing late this month. "Nothing is being moved," Mercedes team chairman Lauda insisted. "The plans are going ahead for late January. "The task of big for everybody." The report said the German squad […]

Sebastian Vettel's new teammate thinks the reigning quadruple world champion is still getting better. Australian Daniel Ricciardo is replacing Mark Webber at Red Bull, but he said recently he hopes to be more competitive alongside Vettel than his retiring countryman. "As strong as Mark is," 24-year-old Ricciardo is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace, "Seb was better. "That was evident in the last two years. "He (Vettel) is still very young, so we can ask the question of whether they were both at their peak when they […]

Comments in which Mark Webber was highly critical of his former Red Bull colleagues have been removed from the Australian's official website. It has been no secret that Webber, who has left the world champion team and Formula One to lead a more relaxed life with Porsche, has been enduring strained relationships with bosses Christian Horner, Dr Helmut Marko and teammate Sebastian Vettel. Once very close friends and even sharing ownership of a GP3 team with the 40-year-old Briton, Webber admitted in the deleted comments […]

Lotus insists the team's 35 per cent sale to Quantum remains on track, even though the investment group missed its latest deadline set by chief Mansoor Ijaz. Ijaz had said in Austin that the deal would be complete by the end of this week, but team boss Eric Boullier now says he is hoping to settle the issue "by early next week". "Well, there is still some discussion ongoing, especially now between bankers," the Frenchman said in Brazil. "The process is not fully completed but […]

So what do you make of Felipe Massa? Is he a driver who has been spectacularly unspectacular since his horrendous injury four years ago, or is he a driver who was simply unfortunate to be up against one of the greatest drivers in history performing during his prime? The truth, as ever in Formula 1, is somewhere in the middle. Massa was never the most consistent driver, but between the middle of 2006 and 2009, he was one of the top performers on the grid. […]

Two candidates have emerged as possible replacements for the surgery-bound Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus for the remaining two grands prix of the year. If the 'Quantum' investment arrives at the Enstone based team, German driver Nico Hulkenberg is Lotus' preferred choice to succeed Raikkonen permanently for 2014. But given Raikkonen's premature exit, does he have a chance to switch from Sauber a couple of races early? "Not likely," Hulkenberg's manager Werner Heinz told Bild newspaper. "No one has talked with us about that." In reality, […]

Antonio Felix da Costa has not been dropped by Red Bull, despite failing to impress enough to secure the Toro Rosso seat for 2014. Portuguese da Costa, 22, was the hot favourite all season to move into the energy drink company's second Formula One team next year. But, with Daniel Ricciardo moving to Red Bull, the F1 paddock was surprised to learn that 19-year-old GP3 driver Daniil Kvyat ultimately got his job. Is it because Russian Kvyat - although arguably the most impressive compared to […]

Dr Helmut Marko has characterised the promotion of Red Bull junior Daniil Kvyat for 2014 as a "no risk, no fun" strategy. When asked on Tuesday about the 19-year-old Russian's leap straight from GP3 to Toro Rosso, McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said it was a "very big step". McLaren is bringing new Formula Renault 3.5 champion Kevin Magnussen and runner-up Stoffel Vandoorne through the ranks, but Neale suggested the move to the new turbo V6 rules next year is a big enough challenge "without […]

Reaping the fruits of the collaboration with Qatar is Sir Frank Wiliams' "last big wish", he admitted on Tuesday. A couple of years ago, the British team partnered with the soverign Arab state to establish the Williams Technology Centre in Qatar, to develop and commercialise F1-bred technologies. Williams, 71, is still the Grove based team's boss, but he has handed over many of his responsibilities to his new deputy Claire, his daughter. But Frank Williams told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that he still deals […]

The Formula Renault 3.5 Series will race at the Nurburgring next season in place of a round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The renovated circuit, formerly the A1 Ring, hosted a round of the championship this season but drops off the calendar after just a single year. The series will begin at Monza in April and conclude at Jerez in October. The championship will continue to act as a support package to the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix in May. "We’ve put together […]

Marussia has named McLaren protege Kevin Magnussen as a potential race driver for 2014. It is already known that the Ferrari-linked French rookie Jules Bianchi is staying with the team beyond this season. But a few days ago, his 2013 teammate Max Chilton admitted his own future is not yet secure. "I feel I'm showing I deserve a seat for next year," the Briton, who brings substantial backing to Marussia, is quoted by the Independent newspaper. "I admit, at times, I haven't got things right, […]