Heikki Kovalainen has responded to his former manager Flavio Briatore, after the Italian claimed Lotus should not have signed him. Drafted in to replace the injured Kimi Raikkonen for the last two races of 2013, fellow Finn Kovalainen initially impressed in Austin last weekend but finished the US grand prix a disappointing 15th. Briatore, Kovalainen's former manager and Renault team boss, reportedly observed that Lotus clearly got its choice wrong, and should have promoted reserve driver Davide Valsecchi instead. "The US grand prix showed that […]

World champion Sebastian Vettel continued his supremacy of the second half of the season as he scored his eighth successive victory, ahead of Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. “This year I feel I have a car that can win 10 races... up front and have the tyres working as they did [on Sunday] we can fight with them,” said Lewis Hamilton, having just won the Hungarian Grand Prix in July. The Brit had put in a commanding performance and proposed the […]

Sebastian Vettel secured his record breaking eighth successive victory after strolling to the win at the United States Grand Prix. Vettel led from start to finish to beat Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber, claiming his 12th victory of the season. Grosjean got ahead of Webber at the start and was able to defend against the Australian for the rest of the race, equalling the best result of his Formula 1 career. Lewis Hamilton jumped up to third place at the start but was quickly usurped […]

Sergio Perez's marriage to McLaren seems definitely over, as the Mexican criticised the great British team at the tail end of its disappointing 2013 season. Multiple authoritative sources are reporting that the Woking based team has decided to replace Perez after just a single season with its development rookie Kevin Magnussen. It is unlikely McLaren will make the news official before this weekend's US grand prix, as the Austin circuit is just 250 miles from Mexico, making it Perez's de-facto 'home' race. But Perez this […]

Fernando Alonso and Ferrari have ended the fevered speculation about the Spaniard's participation in this weekend's US grand prix. Since Abu Dhabi, Alonso has been reportedly struggling with back pain as a result of his harsh impact over the kerbs in a duel with Jean-Eric Vergne. It was rumoured Ferrari was lining up Jules Bianchi or Pedro de la Rosa as last-minute substitutes for the injured 'number 1'. But Alonso told his millions of Twitter and Facebook fans late on Monday that he is getting […]

Late last week, there was no sign Kimi Raikkonen was planning to sit out the last two grands prix of his Lotus career. Indeed, late on Friday, the team released its official preview of the US grand prix, in which it appeared the Finn's now tense relationship with Lotus had eased. "He is completely on-side," said team boss Eric Boullier, while Raikkonen was quoted as saying he was "particularly looking forward" to the race weekend. Within two days, Lotus was issuing a new statement, confirming […]

It is possible Fernando Alonso will not travel to Austin for this weekend's US grand prix. The highly respected correspondent for Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pino Allievi, said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo "is not even remotely" contemplating the prospect of the Spaniard sitting out the race. But, after his high-G bump over the Abu Dhabi kerbs a week ago, Alonso admitted he was in back pain, while his manager Luis Garcia Abad 'tweeted' an alarming photo of the driver strapped to a spinal […]

Pirelli has decided to test tyres for the 2014 season at Vallelunga, near Rome. After some teams vetoed the tyre supplier's plans to head to Austin with McLaren and one of the British team's 2011 cars, we reported that Aragon, Spain, had been earmarked as a likely alternative venue. But Auto Motor und Sport on Thursday said Pirelli has in fact decided on Vallelunga, and has invited other teams to attend as well. A new date has also been decided -- 11 and 12 November, […]

The promoter of the American Grand Prix, Leo Hindery Jr, says he still expects a race around the streets of New Jersey to take place in 2014. The event, which was originally set to join the sport this season, was not included on the provisional 21 race 2014 calendar that was distributed to teams at the Italian Grand Prix. But Hindery says that their omission was to a sanctioning fee not being paid to the relevant US authorities, something which will be done, as scheduled, […]

As the Formula One paddock emptied at Monza, one rumour had moved into the realm of fact -- Kimi Raikkonen is returning to Ferrari in 2014. The news was being confidently reported by broadcasters, including Germany's RTL, the major daily Bild, and even perhaps the most respected correspondent in the paddock, Auto Motor und Sport's Michael Schmidt. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo will reportedly inform Felipe Massa that his services are no longer required in a personal meeting at Maranello on Wednesday. It would go […]

Formula One group CEO Bernie Ecclestone says he expects Red Bull and Ferrari to compete for overall honours in 2013. Speaking ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix, Ecclestone also reckons Mercedes is the dark horse for this year. "I very recently spoke to (Ferrari team principal) Stefano (Domenicali) who was in London to see me and he said that he still expects Red Bull to be the danger for them," he told the Official F1 website. "And I agree: they are - and […]

State-sponsored F1 driver Pastor Maldonado's future appears clouded, following the death of controversial Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Backed by the state-controlled oil company PDVSA, the Williams driver expressed relief late last year when the socialist incumbent was re-elected for a new six year term. "Long live democracy!" Maldonado, who was a personal friend of the late Chavez, had exclaimed on Twitter. But in the last years and weeks, 58-year-old Chavez has been battling cancer, and his death has now triggered a presidential election that must […]