Lewis Hamilton is rethinking McLaren's scheduled approach to the rare and crucial in-season test at Mugello next week. The British team announced last week that both Hamilton and his teammate Jenson Button would sit out Mugello, so that testers Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey can run over the three-day session instead. But that was before Bahrain, where McLaren's early-season upper hand vanished, leaving the drivers and team members scratching their heads over the way the MP4-27 ate rapidly through the Pirelli tyres. "It (the Mugello […]

Sahara Force India completed a second day of work in Barcelona as Nico Hulkenberg got behind the wheel of the VJM05. Day Two Stats Chassis: VJM05-03 Laps: 36 Mileage: 168 km Fastest lap: 1:23.893 Nico Hulkenberg: “The day started well with some set-up work and new tyres runs, but we had some downtime in the afternoon, which limited my mileage. It’s a bit frustrating, but we’ve had a pretty good winter so far and it’s nothing to worry about. I’ve got one more day in […]

The FIA have forced Ferrari and Red Bull to cancel their alternative testing plans for the final test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, with their plans apparently in breach of Article 22.4 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations. The two teams were set to begin the third and final pre-season test a day late, and finish on Monday instead of Sunday. These plans, however, have been deemed in breach of Article 22.4 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, which stipulates that “No track testing may […]

Sahara Force India completed its second week of winter testing as Paul Di Resta clocked up 101 laps in Barcelona. Day Four Stats Chassis: VJM05-02 Laps: 101 Mileage: 470 km Fastest lap: 1:23.119 Paul Di Resta: “It was another successful day and a good way to end the week. I had a small trip through the gravel in the morning, but nothing that caused too much of an issue, although we lost half an hour of running. The important thing is that we still managed […]

T02 Barcelona - Day One Circuito de Catalunya, Barcelona - 21st February 2012 Driver: Heikki Kovalainen Chassis: CT01-#2 Total laps: 31 Best lap: 1.26.035 Heikki Kovalainen: “That obviously wasn’t how we wanted day one here to go, but that’s what testing is for – pushing everything to the limit to make sure we get rid of the problems before we get to the first race. It’s hard to learn a lot from limited laps, but I’m back in the car on Friday and I’m sure […]

Williams have confirmed that their young Finnish reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas, will get a whole day behind the wheel of the Williams FW34 at the first Barcelona test next week. He will drive the Williams on the Wednesday, sharing his drive with team-mates and 2012 drivers’ Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado. Valtteri Bottas is the reigning GP3 Series Champion, after winning four races during the course of the last season racing for Lotus ART team. The Finn is entering his second season as the Williams […]

Kimi Raikkonen has revealed that despite being offered a multi-million dollar deal last year to make a full-time switch to NASCAR racing, he turned it down due to the intensity of a full NASCAR schedule and his reluctance to move to the US to pursue it. Raikkonen drove two races in NASCAR's national series last year, where his first race was in NASCAR’s third-tier Camping World Truck Series in a car prepared by Kyle Busch Motorsports. After one Truck race, Raikkonen stepped up a level […]

Jerez Test Report, 10 February 2012 Nico Hulkenberg got his first run in the VJM05 today as Sahara Force India completed a busy week of testing in Jerez. While Nico got a feel for the car, the team carried out aero work, tyre data collection and some long runs in the afternoon. Day Four Stats: Chassis: VJM05-02 Laps: 90 Mileage: 399 km Fastest lap: 1:19.977 Nico Hulkenberg: “A busy first day in the car and good to get so many laps under my belt. It […]

Mark Webber steered Red Bull Racing’s 2012 challenger, the RB8, out on track for the first time today and despite a slightly delayed start ended the day as the fourth-quickest man. “It was good,” said Webber of the RB8’s debut. “I felt quite comfortable in the car quite quickly. It’s very early days, but so far so good. We had a small delay this morning with a part due to fog at the airport. It’s never part of the plan to give up running time, […]

Vitaly Petrov's manager on Monday admitted an indecisive sponsor is delaying the Russian driver's plans for 2012. It is rumoured Caterham is contemplating ousting Jarno Trulli, should Renault refugee Petrov's sponsors agree to buy out the Italian veteran's contract. The former Lotus squad on Monday announced its test schedule for Jerez this week, with Heikki Kovalainen driving on the first two days, followed by new Dutch test driver Giedo van der Garde. Trulli is scheduled to drive only on Friday. Oksana Kosachenko, Petrov's manager, told […]

Caterham has become the first team to launch their 2012 car after unveiling the CT01 on Wednesday

Williams' 2012 car is on schedule for an early February debut. That is the claim of the famous team's chief operations engineer Mark Gillan, who said the actual track debut of the newly Renault-powered FW34 will take place during an aerodynamic test before the opening test at Jerez. "We passed the crash tests before Christmas," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "The debut is planned for the first week of testing at Jerez in early February. So far, the data looks right […]