Once believed secure at Williams with his Barcelona win and Venezuelan dollars, Pastor Maldonado admitted at Suzuka that his plans for 2013 are unclear. "We shall see, we shall see," he is quoted in Japan by Brazil's Totalrace. "I don't want to talk about it now because the team is still deciding its drivers for next year and I'd rather not answer," added Maldonado, who whilst often fast has also been criticised for being involved in too many incidents this season. "Of course I hope […]

Michael Schumacher on Thursday announced he will return to retirement at the end of the season. The news, announced by the seven time world champion at Suzuka ahead of the Japanese grand prix, follows Mercedes' decision to replace him for 2013 with Lewis Hamilton. Schumacher, 43, had been linked with a move elsewhere, but with his voice creaking with emotion he said in Japan: "I still feel I am capable of competing against the best but the time sometimes comes to say goodbye and this […]

Jenson Button will enter the Japanese Grand Prix knowing that he will drop five places on the grid from wherever he qualifies. The 2009 world champion was beaten to pole position by Sebastian Vettel by 0.009s in the corresponding race in 2011 but went on to claim victory the following day. With six races remaining, Button is 75 points adrift of Fernando Alonso in the world championship. McLaren discovered the problem with Button's gearbox following the Singapore Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire […]

This year, Pirelli will bring the P Zero Silver hard and P Zero Yellow soft tyres to Japan: a change from last year’s nomination when the medium and the soft tyre was used. However, this year’s compounds are generally softer across the board, meaning that the tyres seen in Japan this year will offer even more performance, as has been the case throughout the season. This has not always been reflected in lap times, due to new technical regulations for 2012 that have slowed the […]

Williams head to the Japanese Grand Prix in an optimistic mood, despite a double retirement around the streets of Singapore. Pastor Maldonado challenged for a podium early on in the race but suffered from a hydraulics failure, while Bruno Senna's KERS packed up with a couple of laps remaining. "Following Singapore we have been working hard to ensure that the cars run as reliably as possible for the remaining races", said Mark Gillan, Williams's Chief Operations Engineer. "Given the excellent pace shown at Singapore in […]

After finishing 12th in the Singapore Grand Prix, and handing his team 10th place in the championship, Timo Glock is hoping for another strong race in Japan. " For this race we again have a couple of new developments on the car suited to this track, and I am hoping we will see another step forward and an even better chance of fighting with our immediate competitors and further closing the gap to the front of the field", he said. "I hope we can be strong […]

Lotus may have ploughed too much effort into its 'double DRS' system. That is the claim of former Finnish F1 driver Mika Salo, who is worried his countryman Kimi Raikkonen could lose his shot at the 2012 title. Usually a front-runner this season and still in the hunt for the title, Raikkonen qualified a poor twelfth in Singapore before battling up to sixth at the finish. Lotus has been pushing hard to ready its straightline speed-boosting 'double DRS' concept, which could finally make its grand […]

With six races to go, F1 2012 is becoming a two-horse race, according to former grand prix driver Karl Wendlinger. Before pole sitter and runaway race leader Lewis Hamilton's McLaren gearbox failed on Sunday, his boss Martin Whitmarsh had admitted the outcome in Singapore would be crucial to the world championship. Indeed -- instead of being 27 points behind with six races to go, the Briton now trails Fernando Alonso by a whopping 52 points. Hamilton said afterwards that he will "never give up". But […]

Michael Schumacher will drop ten places from his qualifying position for the Japanese Grand Prix. Schumacher collided with Jean Eric Vergne on Lap 38 of the Singapore Grand Prix and was deemed to be at fault by the stewards. Schumacher admitted that he was to blame for the accident. It is the second such offence for Schumacher in 2012, following his collision with Bruno Senna in May's Spanish Grand Prix. The stewards deemed that the German failed to anticipate lower braking performance following the lengthy […]

F1 cars could be fitted with a mandatory engine cover 'shark fin' next year. The move would be designed to help television viewers and trackside spectators easier identify the drivers, in the era of deep cockpits and ever-changing helmet designs. Mercedes tested the 'shark fin' solution at the recent Magny Cours test. On the German squad's test car, the shark fin featured the drivers' race number, his national flag and his three-letter F1 initial. "The teams have been working for some time on how to […]

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 […]

Fernando Alonso believes that the next few races provide Ferrari with the opportunity to build a championship lead. "There are two or three grands prix that we will have the possibility to attack. Here, Japan and Korea with this part of the year, we went out two days ago and we will come back after Korea," Alonso told reporters in Singapore. "In this three-race trip, our aim is to win grands prix and to increase the lead. Seventy-five points on the table, so we need to maximise […]