Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembrey says that a three stop strategy is likely to be the best approach in this weekend's Malaysia Grand Prix. Last year, a wet/dry race led to winner Fernando Alonso stopping three times. "We would describe Sepang as genuinely ‘extreme’: both in terms of weather and track surface. This means that it is one of the most demanding weekends for our tyres that we experience all year," said Hembrey. "For the first time we see our new Orange hard compound in […]

Nico Hulkenberg will tackle this weekend's Malaysian grand prix with a new Sauber chassis. 90 minutes before his first race for the Swiss team in Melbourne, mechanics went to prepare the grey C32 for the race but "fuel suddenly splashed out of the car," according to well-connected Blick correspondent Roger Benoit. "(It was) a problem with the fuel tank, which is directly behind the driver." Team manager Beat Zehnder: "It must be a crack in the tank. It's something I've not experienced in twenty years." […]

Romain Grosjean thinks that an issue with his Lotus E21 left him trailing in the Australian Grand Prix. While team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished on top of the podium, Grosjean struggled to tenth place. "Something felt wrong with my car, so I have to sit down with the team and analyse where the issue came from," he said. "It felt so good all weekend until the race itself, but in the end the race was long and quite difficult for me. We know that Albert […]

Tyre supplier Pirelli has announced which compounds will be used for the opening four races of 2013. Pirelli will bring the Super Soft compound tyre to the Australian Grand Prix, along with the medium compound. Pirelli hopes that this will ensure a performance gap between the compounds and allow for closer racing. The two hardest compound will be used a week later in Malaysia due to the high temperatures and abrasive surface of the Sepang International Circuit. Soft and medium tyres will be taken to […]

Fernando Alonso will miss the first pre-season test at Jerez. The Ferrari driver, who finished second to Sebastian Vettel in 2012, will not drive the 2013 car until February 19th in Barcelona. "Fernando Alonso will intensify his physical training, in preparation for a first part of the season which, as usual will be very demanding, both because of the long distances involved between the various Grands Prix and because of the variety of weather conditions encountered from Melbourne to Sakhir, with Sepang and Shanghai in […]

A provisional 2013 calendar has been sent to teams ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. The season is scheduled to begin in Australia in March and end in Brazil in November, much like the current season. March 17 Australia (Melbourne) March 24 Malaysia (Sepang) April 14 China (Shanghai) April 21 Bahrain (Sakhir) May 12 Spain (Barcelona) May 26 Monaco (Monte Carlo) June 9 Canada (Montreal) June 16 America (New Jersey) * June 30 Britain (Silverstone) July 21 Germany (Nurburgring) July 28 Hungary (Hungaroring) September 1 […]

An Italian journalist has admitted he is more than unimpressed with Felipe Massa's apparent progress in China. Already before the Chinese grand prix, La Stampa correspondent Stefano Mancini was calling on Ferrari to axe the struggling Brazilian driver. Massa then qualified twelfth in Shanghai, equalling his Sepang achievement, but dropped to thirteenth by the time the chequered flag waved. "I think that as far as my race was concerned, this was a step forward compared to the first two races," he insisted. Mancini, however, is […]

Despite winning in Malaysia last month, Fernando Alonso is expecting a miserable weekend in Bahrain. On the back of his surprise Sepang victory, the Spaniard qualified and finished just ninth in China, and he is not expecting a better Ferrari until next month's return to European grands prix. "Obviously, this (result) does not leave me very optimistic for Bahrain, on a track where traction and speed are vital, exactly the areas where we are weakest," said Alonso in Shanghai. Even more bluntly, he said the […]

McLaren and Red Bull are the teams to bet money on after the early phase of the 2012 season. That is the view of Jaime Alguersuari, the former Toro Rosso driver who is now a commentator for British radio as well as Pirelli's new test driver. The Spaniard told Europa Press news agency that Ferrari, whose Fernando Alonso won the rain-marred Malaysian grand prix three weeks ago, remains "one step below" the current pacesetters. "If it (Sepang) had been a normal race, the (Ferrari) car […]

Sauber has advised Sergio Perez's father not to attend future grands prix, the Swiss newspaper Blick revealed on Wednesday. The report said the Mexican's dad Antonio - himself a former Mexican F3 champion - struggled to cope trackside last year when his son was injured at Monaco. But Blick said the final straw was last weekend in Malaysia, when 22-year-old Perez was pushing for victory at slippery Sepang, and his father flitted "nervously" around the paddock. "So the Hinwil based team gave the likeable Mexican […]

McLaren remains "the team to beat" despite the topsy-turvy outcome of the recent Malaysian Grand Prix. That is the claim of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, having slumped to sixth in the drivers' standings after a dire weekend in Malaysia. The formerly-dominant Red Bull driver now lags a Ferrari and even a Sauber, after Fernando Alonso and the unlikely Sergio Perez proved the cream of the slippery Sepang circuit. Vettel, however, is still thinking silver. Asked by the French-language RMC Sport to name the 'best […]

As the Formula 1 fraternity prepares to depart to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix, tyre degradation is once again a top priority for teams’ and drivers’ alike. Pirelli have nominated the P Zero Medium (White) and P Zero Soft (Yellow) tyres for round three of the Championship, the same that was nominated for the season opening race in Australia. With the temperature in Shanghai relatively low in comparison to Malaysia, the nature of the Shanghai International Circuit will still offer the teams’ with degradation […]