McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh says that a rival team principal reneged on a deal to sign Kevin Magnussen for 2014. Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion Magnussen will race for McLaren next season but Whitmarsh says that he originally had a deal with a rival team for Magnussen to make his debut elsewhere in 2014. "Kevin is an extraordinary young man who deserves to be in F1," Whitmarsh told F1.com. "I hoped and tried to find him a cockpit - I even did a deal […]

Pastor Maldonado and Nico Hulkenberg remain the keys to the last phase of F1's 2014 'silly season'. PDVSA-backed Maldonado, a grand prix winner, is the powerful 'pay driver' on the move, reportedly with EUR 40 million in tow and on the lookout for a new team after his Williams split. It is believed that if Lotus' 'Quantum' investment deal falls through, locking the highly-rated Hulkenberg out, Maldonado is in pole position to replace Kimi Raikkonen in 2014. But Maldonado muddied the waters at Interlagos on […]

Davide Valsecchi says he is angry at Lotus's decision to overlook him for the vacant seat for the final two round of 2013. Kimi Raikkonen withdrew from the races in America and Brazil to undergo back surgery, but Lotus opted to hire Heikki Kovalainen rather than reserve driver Valsecchi. Valsecchi, the 2012 GP2 champion, believes it's a 'tragedy' that he was not selected. "It’s a huge blow to me. From the sporting point of view it’s a tragedy," he said. "It makes me angry to […]

The news that Kevin Magnussen will replace Sergio Pérez at McLaren in 2014 had been expected, but it’s nonetheless a bold gamble from a team aiming to return to the front next season. McLaren’s attempts to place Magnussen at Marussia or perhaps Force India for his rookie campaign – as Ferrari has done with Jules Bianchi – were ultimately fruitless. Rather than let Magnussen sit on the pit wall for a year, McLaren took the decision to promote Magnussen at the expense of Pérez. Considering […]

Felipe Nasr could be the next Brazilian piece of the puzzle for Williams. It is believed the appointment of Felipe Massa for 2014 could entice the Brazilian oil company Petrobras back to the famous British F1 team. Indeed, Massa hopes to revive Williams' glory days, when drivers like Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna were at the wheel. "It's very nice to be in this team, a team that was very important for Brazil and I hope will be again very important for Brazil," he said. […]

Lotus is poised to announce Heikki Kovalainen as the replacement for his surgery-bound countryman Kimi Raikkonen for the last two races of 2013. It emerged earlier that the Enstone based team, despite having last year's GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi as its reserve driver, had made an offer to Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg turned it down, but it was a clear sign that Italian Valsecchi was not in fact the obvious favourite for the role, as Lotus tries desperately to improve its position in the lucrative […]

Nico Hulkenberg turned down an offer from Lotus to replace the surgery-bound Kimi Raikkonen for the remaining two grands prix of 2013. German Hulkenberg, who currently drives for Sauber, is the hot favourite to replace Raikkonen full-time in 2014, but only if financially-struggling Lotus completes its crucial investment deal with the Quantum group. If that deal collapses, as many insiders believe it will, Pastor Maldonado - who will not drive for Williams next season - is tipped to switch his lucrative PDVSA backing to the […]

Fellow Finn Mika Salo has nominated Heikki Kovalainen as the ideal replacement at Lotus for his surgery-bound countryman Kimi Raikkonen. The conventional wisdom is that Lotus will simply promote its reserve driver, 2012 GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi, into Raikkonen's seat for the remaining two grands prix of the season. Italian Valsecchi, however, is a rookie, but Enstone based Lotus is locked in a lucrative and - given its financial problems - crucial battle for points and prize money in the constructors' world championship's upper places. […]

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, […]

Kimi Raikkonen will not compete in the final two races of 2013 due to undergoing back surgery next week. Raikkonen had been a doubt to compete in America and Brazil due to financial issues with Lotus, but a deal was struck on the morning of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the Finn to race. However, Raikkonen has now elected to undergo back surgery that will force him to miss the final two events after 'severe pain' following last weekend's event at the Yas Marina […]

Caterham reserve driver Alexander Rossi will participate in the opening practice session for the team at the United States Grand Prix next week. Rossi, 22, will replace regular driver Giedo van der Garde for the first 90 minute session at the Circuit of the Americas. Feature: Alexander Rossi on GP2, F1 and America "This is an important time in my career and the sport for America and another major step forward for me, to drive FP1 in my home country, in front of my own […]

Fabio Leimer says that he hopes he will be able to step up to Formula 1 after winning the GP2 championship in Abu Dhabi. Leimer finished the feature race in fourth place to open up an insurmountable lead over Sam Bird. Leimer, 24, tested for Sauber at the young driver test in 2011. "We will see, but I hope I can go to Formula 1: it will be hard, for sure, because there are not many seats free, but I hope I can go to […]