Pirelli is getting the credit - or the blame - for F1's unstable pecking order so far in 2012. For the first time in almost three decades, four different cars - McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull - have won the opening four races of the season, while others - Lotus and Sauber - have displayed potential winning pace. "The explanation is Pirelli -- it's the tyres," Swiss commentator and former F1 driver Marc Surer told Austrian television Servus TV. "It's been a question of […]

HRT will not attend the upcoming Formula One test in Mugello. After a difficult start to the season - which resulted in neither driver qualifying in Australia - the team has elected to skip the only in-season test at the start of next month in order to focus on their relocation. "The start to the season was a little bit rushed for us and, since the cars were set up for the first time, we have been working on them at the Grands Prix", said […]

Nico Rosberg has finished practice two fastest in Bahrain, continuing on from his success in China where he won his maiden Grand Prix victory. The Red Bulls showed competitive pace with Webber and Vettel finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively. The McLarens struggled on the softer tyre, as the track temperatures dipped. The session got underway with Narain Karthikeyan taking to the track almost immediately for HRT, completing not only an installation lap but also the first timed lap with a 01:41.710. Pastor Maldonado then blitzed […]

With Bahrain’s Sakhir International Circuit located in a desert, sand can quite often be blown onto the track, causing lack of grip for the cars. This was evident for Pirelli when they tested at the track in 2010, when a sandstorm halted proceedings. No sandstorms are expected this weekend, but sand on the track is expected to be a factor. After having three rain affected race weekends in Australia, Malaysia and China, the trend is naturally expected to stop as the F1 paddock travels to […]

Nico Rosberg has secured his maiden pole-position for tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix after an absolute scorcher of a lap which saw the German qualify half a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton. With Lewis Hamilton set to take a 5-place grid penalty, it will be a Silver Arrows lock-out on the front row for the first time since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. The first session of qualifying started with Ferrari offering no confidence to Felipe Massa, with the team stating they needed a miracle for […]

After the dreary conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit yesterday for the Friday practice sessions, sunshine was forcing its way through the cloud cover as third practice got underway for the Chinese Grand Prix. The one hour session is the last chance for the teams’ to alter their setups prior to qualifying and the race. The Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen was first out as the session got underway, and was quickly followed by the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi and the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan. All […]

Narain Karthikeyan has revealed he is sick and tired of what could be described as 'cucumber-gate'. After the Indian collided with Sebastian Vettel in Malaysia three weeks ago, he was given shown the one-fingered salute, as well as called a "gherkin" and an "idiot" by the reigning world champion. But that's when the real fuss began, as the world's media became involved -- a mischievous German reporter even presented Karthikeyan with a cucumber in China. "It's done and I would have preferred for it to […]

Whilst admitting the RB8 has "very nervous" handling, Sebastian Vettel insists there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the 2012 Red Bull. The German looks likely to struggle to add a third consecutive drivers' title to his tally this season, after slumping to just sixth in the points standings after the first two races. In China, he has reverted to a launch specification of the Adrian Newey-penned car's exhaust layout, whilst Mark Webber is plugging ahead with a further development of the Australia-Malaysia solution. "There is […]

Group Lotus has launched a scathing attack against rumours that the company is in financial problems and that Dany Bahar has been relived of his duties. In a Press Release posted on their Facebook page, Group Lotus responded to a picture posted by Sniff Petrol, before criticising the fortunes of Caterham F1 team. Group Lotus also restated its commitment to the Lotus F1 Team until 2017. Here is the Press Release in it's entirety. "Never let the facts get in the way of a good […]

Jenson Button suffered a rare lapse in concentration in Malaysia, after colliding with the slower HRT of Narain Karthikeyan. This in turn forced the 2009 World Champion to pit for a new nose cone, and subsequently Button failed to score any points, therefore loosing his lead in the World Championship. However, Jenson Button is eager to jump back in his McLaren next weekend for the Chinese Grand Prix and will be hoping to repeat the success he found in 2010 when he won for McLaren […]

World champion Sebastian Vettel was unapologetic this week, having shown his Indian rival Narain Karthikeyan the one-fingered salute recently in Malaysia. The German also called the HRT-driving backmarker a "gherkin" and "idiot" in the aftermath of their Sepang clash that cost Vettel fourth place. "I lost a solid fourth place so that's obviously disappointing," the 24-year-old is quoted by German media, including Sport Bild, after being asked this week about his loss of temper at Karthikeyan. It was suggested Vettel might have breached the FIA's […]

Dr Helmut Marko has admitted Red Bull has work to do in order to return to the front in Formula 1. Having dominated F1's recent history, the energy drink owned team is now behind McLaren in the constructors' standings after two races in 2012, while its highest placed driver is Mark Webber in fourth. Austrian Marko, the motor racing advisor to Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz, insisted that Adrian Newey and his technical team have built a good car for 2012. "But it doesn't help," […]