Force India team principal Vijay Mallya believes his team's previous form at Sakhir gives them reasons to be optimistic for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. Paul di Resta finished last year's Bahrain Grand Prix in sixth place as he pulled off a two stop strategy. "Last year we had an excellent result with Paul finishing sixth," Mallya said of the Bahrain Grand Prix. "This track, with its high temperature and smooth surface, has generally suited our car and we hope this will be the case […]

Williams technical director Mike Coughlan believes the FW35 will be more competitive at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. Williams has yet to qualify higher than fifteenth this season and has failed to score points. "It’s a high braking circuit so brake wear will be a factor, it is tough on rear tyres and it has a high ambient temperature. We feel that the current car, while not as competitive as we would like, will be more competitive in Bahrain because of these factors," said Coughlan. […]

DRIVERS: 1 – Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) PODIUM INTERVIEWS (Conducted by David Coulthard) Q: Fernando, congratulations. A fairly dominant victory in the end and your 31st victory, putting you fourth on the all-time list just behind Ayrton Senna. What does this one mean to you? Fernando Alonso: Well, hello everybody first of all and thank you for the support all weekend. Amazing fans all weekend and it’s very nice to race here. About the race: yes, […]

Kimi Raikkonen says that Lotus do not possess the pace to compete for victory in the Chinese Grand Prix. Raikkonen qualified in second place - his best result since Monaco in 2009 - but concedes that his team is lacking downforce through the middle sector. "We don't have that speed right now," said Raikkonen, when asked about the gap to pole sitter Lewis Hamilton. "Second is not too bad, it is the best I can gain with the team. I'd rather be in first place, […]

Fernando Alonso thinks his 2013 title challenge is still on track, despite a difficult start to the new season. After a podium in Australia, the Spaniard's campaign hit the gravel in Malaysia recently when he made contact with eventual winner Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull on the first lap. Instead of pitting, Alonso gambled on staying out but retired when the damaged wing broke underneath his car. "In any case, the race simulations state that if I would have stopped to change the nose, I would […]

Sebastian Vettel has said that he has apologised for putting his own ambitions above those of the team, yet he is not sorry about winning. Vettel passed team-mate Mark Webber for the race lead in Malaysia, disobeying orders to remain behind the Australian. "Obviously what stuck to their [people's] heads is the way the race ended, but I think as I said there's not much more to add than what happened," he said in an interview with title sponsors Infiniti ahead of this weekend's Chinese […]

After Red Bull beat McLaren's old pitstop speed record no fewer than five times in Malaysia, rivals have been studying the case with great curiosity. According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, the competition has concluded that Red Bull's advantage is not due to having a superior crew, or having simply invested more time practicing. "One or two fantastic stops, you can imagine that," McLaren sporting director Sam Michael is quoted as saying. "But five, with that consistency -- that's really impressive." The suspicion is […]

Stefano Domenicali has admitted F1's recent 'Multi-21' saga made him smile. In the past, it was Ferrari copping the brunt of fans and pundits' ire for risking pure sporting ethos by manipulating the order of its two cars. Now, almost three weeks ago in Malaysia, Mercedes and particularly world champions Red Bull were in the spotlight. "Obviously both teams simply wanted to protect their positions towards the end of the race," said Ferrari team boss Domenicali, "which is completely legitimate." Legitimate yes, but rivals teams […]

In the wake of the 'Multi-21' affair, Red Bull has abolished team orders. "There will be no more team orders by us," the energy drink company's motor sport director Dr Helmut Marko told Germany's Sport Bild on Wednesday. Sebastian Vettel ignored the team's instruction to stay behind leader Mark Webber in Malaysia recently, sparking the controversy. The saga left team owner Dietrich Mateschitz "very unhappy", Marko admitted. Austrian Marko also echoed billionaire Mateschitz's recent claim that Kimi Raikkonen is a candidate to drive for the […]

Not long ago, McLaren's 2013 campaign was in tatters, as the famous British team refused to rule out scrapping its new car and putting the 2012 machine back into action. But after Malaysia, and the long three-week gap that preceded this weekend's Chinese grand prix, the rhetoric from the Woking based camp is now infinitely more positive. Jenson Button is refusing even to rule out a title challenge. "The championship is still on as far as I am concerned and I am aiming for that. […]

Ferrari must improve their qualifying performance, according to technical director Pat Fry. Ferrari has taken just four pole positions since the start of 2009 season - all achieved by Fernando Alonso - with only two of those coming in dry conditions. Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso qualified in second and third place in damp conditions in Malaysia, but were fourth and fifth in the dry in Australia. Massa confident in potential of F138 "We’ve shown reasonable race pace and on all the tyre types we […]

Felipe Massa says that the Ferrari F138 has 'much more potential' following a positive start to the 2013 season. Massa collected 22 points from the opening two rounds of the season and sits in fifth place in the championship. "I know we have only done two races, but I have a good feeling so far this season," said Massa. "The work we did with the F138 over the winter has taken us in the right direction and the car has much more potential. Of course, […]