A furious Pastor Maldonado suggested that his Williams team had sabotaged his car ahead of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix. While team-mate Valtteri Bottas topped Q1 and eventually qualified in ninth place, Maldonado was knocked out in Q1 and will start the race from 18th place on the grid. "I never got 100 per cent from the tyres, I think in my car somebody is playing with the pressure/temperature, it's not that clear," said Maldonado, who will leave the team at the end […]

Daniel Ricciardo says he is pleased despite narrowly missing out on a place in the top 10 shootout during qualifying for the United States Grand Prix. Ricciardo will start the race at the Circuit of the Americas from 11th place on the grid. "Overall, I am pretty happy with eleventh, which is clearly very close to making the cut to Q3," he said. "However in Q1 I was frustrated with the balance of the car and I felt I was quite lucky to get into […]

Felipe Massa does not believe that Ferrari will be able to make noteworthy progress during his penultimate race with the team in Austin. Massa was 12th fastest in second practice at the Circuit of the Americas. "Compared to recent races, the car has stayed the same and therefore we cannot expect a very different level of performance," he said. "But it’s definitely important to understand why the car changed so much between the two sessions, especially as compared to last year, the asphalt has improved […]

Heikki Kovalainen endured a trouble free day during practice for the United States Grand Prix as he returned to track action and set the fifth fastest time in second practice. Kovalainen, who is replacing the injured Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus, said that he had no major issues with the car. "It’s been a pretty smooth landing, joining Lotus F1 Team. We’ve had no major issues on track and we just need to keep chipping away to see how good we can get the car for […]

Jenson Button says that he didn't cause a dangerous situation by overtaking under red flags during practice for the United States Grand Prix but accepted that he had to be given a penalty. Button overtook Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso after the session was suspended due to technical problems with the medical helicopter. As a result, Button will drop three place on the grid from wherever he qualifies. "Both sessions today were quite positive," Button said after setting the ninth fastest time. "Our car’s feeling reasonably […]

World champion Sebastian Vettel says he was happy with the handling of the Red Bull RB9 after setting the fastest time during practice for the United States Grand Prix. Vettel, who was only 18th in first practice, was quickest on both compound tyres and demonstrated rapid long run pace around the Circuit of the Americas. "The circuit was quite slippery today; I was happy with the car, but you always know you can improve here and there," he said. "I think we got through the […]

GP3 champion Daniil Kvyat says he enjoyed every single moment of his practice debut at the United States Grand Prix. Kvyat, who will race for Toro Rosso in 2014, replaced his future team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne in the first practice session. Kvyat was 17th fastest and completed 20 laps of the Circuit of the Americas in the truncated session. "I enjoyed every single moment of driving the track even though there was a delay because of the fog and then a red flag," he said. "We […]

Nico Rosberg says that the Mercedes W04 felt as if was on rails during second practice for the United States Grand Prix. Rosberg was third quickest at the Circuit of the Americas, behind the Red Bull drivers. "The car felt like it was on rails and I was very happy with the balance," he said. "I hope we can give the Red Bulls something to think about this weekend and I will be pushing 100 per cent for another podium. It's really difficult to get […]

Alexander Rossi expressed his delight after participating in the opening practice session for the United States Grand Prix. Despite running being curtailed firstly due to fog and latter courtesy of technical problems with the medical helicopter, Rossi was 19th fastest of the 22 runners, managing 21 laps of the Circuit of the Americas. "I'm very pleased with how my FP1 session went, both for me and for the team," he said. "It was a proud moment when I drove out on track as the first […]

Jenson Button has been handed a three place grid penalty for the United States Grand Prix after overtaking under red flags during the opening practice session. Button was deemed to have overtaken Daniil Kvyat after the red flag was shown, when the session suspended due to a technical difficulty with the medical helicopter at the Circuit of the Americas. As a result, Button will start three places lower from wherever he qualifies on Saturday.

Fernando Alonso topped a disrupted first practice session ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix. Alonso was 0.029s faster than the McLaren of Jenson Button, with Williams's Valtteri Bottas in third. Esteban Gutierrez was fourth, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, Nico Hulkenberg and Pastor Maldonado rounded out the top 10. The start of the session was delayed due to fog that lingered over the Circuit of the Americas. The medical helicopter was unable to fly in the conditions, […]

Kimi Raikkonen is recovering after undergoing successful back surgery in Strasbourg. Raikkonen suffered from back pain following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and opted to miss the final two races of the season. 'As planned, Kimi Räikkönen underwent back surgery yesterday at The University Hospital of Strasbourg' read a Lotus statement. 'Lotus F1 Team is happy to report that the operation was totally successful, according to Professor Afshin Gangi.' 'Kimi will now rest for a few days and he will start his recovery process as […]