Jean-Eric Vergne says Daniel Ricciardo fight not all-consuming

Jean-Eric Vergne insists Toro Rosso's intra-team battle is not his primary focus and that he will not be satisfied simply by beating stablemate Daniel Ricciardo.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner said both men have a genuine shot at a future Red Bull seat provided they impress over the 2013 Formula 1 campaign.
While Vergne has scored the team's only point so far, finishing 10th at Sepang, he insists beating Ricciardo is far from an all-consuming objective.
"People want to make out that there is a big fight," he said. "I don't care. I'm here to do my job and get the best result for the team.
"If I can be the driver that picks up the best result then I definitely want to be this driver and I will do everything for this.
"If we have the worst car though and always finish 17th or 18th every weekend I will not be happy at all.
"[In Australia] I was in front of Daniel after qualifying, but I was really pissed off and sad that I didn't make it through into Q3.
"The [intra-team] fight isn't enough for me; I want better performances."
Vergne added that he is confident the team can challenge for points on a more regular basis as the season progresses.
Toro Rosso set a target of finishing sixth in the constructors' championship when it launched the STR8 in February.
"The pace and performance of the car is good," he said.
"There are a few things we need to improve inside the team and on the car and hopefully we can improve this really quickly.
"[In Australia] I got the second fastest lap, I was much quicker than the guys in front. That was a positive - the car was looking pretty good."

FIA confirms Hankook for Junior WRC

The FIA has appointed South Korean tyre manufacturer, Hankook, to be the official tyre supplier for the 2013 Junior WRC Championship.
Hankook will take over from Pirelli, the sole supplier in 2011 and 2012 when the series was known as the WRC Academy.

Hankook will provide tyres from its Ventus Z range for tarmac rallies and Ventus R range for gravel events. Both types of tyres have tread patterns specially designed for front-wheel-drive cars.

As part of the deal, the Junior WRC crews will receive training sessions with Hankook engineers to learn about the tyres’ differing performances and handling characteristics, as well the importance of tyre management.

Jarmo Mahonen, FIA Rally Director, said: “Hankook Tire, with its history of supporting motor sport at all levels, will help the next generation of rally drivers to develop and progress through rallying’s ‘ladder of opportunity’. We look forward to working closely as we seek to further improve this already successful series.”

The 2013 FIA Junior WRC Championship takes in six European rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship, and starts with the Rally de Portugal in April.

The Finishing Line - with Sebastian Vettel

 

As a 27-time Grand Prix winner, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel is no stranger to crossing the finishing line in first position. As such, we thought it would be more than appropriate for the 25-year-old triple world champion to be one of the first drivers to take our new ‘Finishing Line’ questionnaire, designed to provide an alternative insight into the minds of today’s Formula One stars…

The sportsperson I most admire is…
Sebastian Vettel: Michael Schumacher, as I know him best. It could also be Michael Jordan, but I have never met him so I’ll stick to what I know.

The best actor in the world is…
SV: John Travolta.

The most memorable overtaking move of my career was…
SV: Many - some from way back, some quite recently…

My favourite song of all time is…
SV: It depends on the mood. If I really have to pick one, Back In Black.

The best thing about the off-season is…
SV: Being home.

The worst haircut I ever got was…
SV: My short hairdo at the beginning of 2007!

The last time I lost my temper was…
SV: I lose my temper over small things - but calm down again very fast. A well-tempered personality…

My first pet was…
SV: The family dog - a Dalmatian by the name of Floyd.

My most treasured possession is…
SV: My memory.

The funniest person I know is…
SV: In terms of humour, Bernie Ecclestone.

My favourite drink is…
SV: Red Bull and apple spritzer.

You would never catch me wearing…
SV: Nothing.

The best excuse to give your team boss after crashing the car is…
SV: I am always honest - even to my disadvantage…

The last time I lost something was…
SV: I ‘almost’ lose things - recently I thought I’d lost my wallet, but hadn’t. Even more recently I thought I’d lost my passport, but hadn’t…

My favourite holiday destination is…
SV: Home.

My favourite time of the day is…
SV: Morning.

The strangest rumour I’ve ever read about myself is…
SV: That I had bought an Alp in Austria. And that I had signed for Ferrari.

The best present I’ve been given by a fan is…
SV: A drawing - of me and my car - from a fan at this year’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The best cure for a hangover is…
SV: Water.

Robert Kubica to get advice from Sebastien Loeb on WRC debut

Nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb will be on hand to help Robert Kubica with his gravel and WRC debut in a Citroen DS3 RRC on next month's Rally of Portugal.

The Polish driver stunned the sport with his first asphalt outing in the DS3 on last week's Canaries Rally, but his WRC2 debut in Portugal is expected to be more complicated for the former Canadian Grand Prix winner.
Kubica's gravel experience is limited to just 40 miles in one of his own Group N cars and, while he will test his DS3 ahead of the Faro event, Citroen team principal Yves Matton expects him to have questions.
Loeb and current Citroen team leader Mikko Hirvonen will therefore be available to support Kubica.
"When he does his first laps on gravel, he will have a lot of questions," Matton said.
"And Seb and Mikko have done so many kilometres on gravel - and they have different driving styles – so I will not say all the answers will be there, but a lot of answers will be there and he can win a lot of time like this.
"But first he has to do a couple of kilometres just to understand."
Kubica admitted himself that gravel will pose a completely different challenge for him.
"In my life," Kubica said, "I have not done much on gravel and this will be a big challenge and big fun."
In addition to the test, Kubica will contest the Fafe Rallysprint, now a traditional warm-up for the Portuguese WRC round, on April 6.

Red Bull team orders row: Vettel apologises to team staff

Sebastian Vettel has apologised in person to Red Bull staff for ignoring team orders at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The German visited the outfit's Milton Keynes factory earlier this week for preparation work for the next race in China, but also used the opportunity to try and draw a line under the events in Sepang. Team principal Christian Horner has revealed Vettel said sorry to team personnel for what happened, and vowed that he would never repeat such actions again.
In an interview with Sky Sports News that was broadcast on Thursday, Horner revealed: "He's said he can't turn back the clock but he's accepted what he did was wrong.
"He's apologised to the team and to every single member of staff for his actions, because he recognises the team is vitally important and being part of the team is a crucial aspect to being able to challenge for those championships."
Vettel had already apologised to team-mate Webber for ignoring orders to hold position in the closing stages of last weekend's race.
Webber was furious at what had happened, gesticulating to Vettel in the car and then angrily swerving towards him after the pair crossed the finish line.
Although there has been speculation that the incident could be the catalyst for a parting of ways between Webber and Red Bull at the end of the season, Horner said he was hopeful his Australian driver understood the team had not done anything to try and hurt his victory ambitions.
"It was the intent of the team that Mark should win that race," he said. "He's big enough to know that there was no malice, no intent from the team to create any situation like that.
"He's in a car that's capable of winning grands prix and hopefully going for a championship so I've got no doubt that Mark will see out the season with us."
Red Bull is eager to move on from the events in Malaysia, and issued a statement earlier this week stating that it would sort out the matter behind closed doors.
The energy drink's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, who is known to favour Vettel, said this week that as far as he was concerned the matter was closed after the world champion and Webber shook hands in Malaysia on Sunday night.
"They don't have to be completely on the same page, but it must be a solid working partnership," he said.
"Sebastian apologised in the press conference and I think that was the first correct step to make.
"There was a debrief afterwards with the relevant discussions about the race and then there was a handshake between the two drivers. For us now the issue is settled."

Loeb at the wheel for Peugeot's Pikes Peak return

Peugeot has announced ambitious plans to win the 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb in an unlimited class Peugeot 208 T16 with reigning World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb at the wheel.

To be run on 30 June, the spectacular event, also known as ‘The Race to the Clouds’, is a hill climb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado. It has taken place since 1916, making it the second oldest motorsport event in America.

The route used to consist of both gravel and paved sections, but was entirely asphalted last year. It comprises 156 turns - often with sheer drops over the edge - over a distance of 20 kilometres and climbs from an altitude of 2,800 metres to 4,300 metres at the summit.

Peugeot has five World Rally Championship titles to its name (1985, 1986, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and has won Pikes Peak twice before, with the 205 T16 and 405 T16 Pikes Peak specials.

Ari Vatanen’s record-breaking victory on the 1988 event in the 405 T16 is documented by the celebrated film, ‘Climb Dance’. Peugeot won the hill climb a second time in 1989, this time with the USA’s Robby Unser behind the wheel.

Peugeot’s all-new 208 T16 Pikes Peak has been entered in the premier ‘Unlimited’ class and has been given the start number ‘208’. The top-secret car is scheduled to be revealed in the middle of April – and you can expect it to look rather different to the rendering Peugeot issued today [pictured].

Maxime Picat, Director General Automobiles Peugeot said: “Our objective is to win, so we needed to stack up as many cards as possible in our favour by joining forces with the very best partners for this unique project, namely Total, Red Bull, Michelin and Sebastien Loeb.

“Indeed, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Citroën for this one-off ‘loan’ of its exceptional champion. Citroën’s support is emblematic of the cohesion that reigns within the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group, “ he added.

The former boss of the Suzuki World Rally Team, Nobuhiro Tajima, is the current record holder in the unlimited class. In 2011 the Japanese driver recorded a time of 9min 51.278sec driving a Suzuki SX4.

Force India sign long-term Mercedes powertrain deal

  

Force India will continue to be powered by Mercedes-Benz in 2014 and beyond, it was announced on Thursday. The long-term agreement will see Mercedes-Benz supply the Silverstone-based team with a complete power unit (engine plus Energy Recovery System), transmission and all associated ancillary systems when Formula One racing adopts 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines in 2014.

Force India have used Mercedes engines since 2009, during which time the team have been regular points scorers. Commenting on the new deal Force India team principal and managing director Dr Vijay Mallya said: “Our new agreement with Mercedes-Benz for the coming years is the most significant in the history of Sahara Force India.

“With new powertrain regulations being introduced next year, I can’t think of a better partner to work with as Formula One enters a new and exciting era. The agreement gives us the long-term stability we require and will enable us to continue our journey towards the front of the Formula One grid.”

Toto Wolf, executive director of Mercedes AMG Petronas, also hailed the significance of the deal: “It is a significant milestone to announce our first long-term agreement for powertrain supply under the 2014 regulations.

“Sahara Force India was our first genuine customer in Formula One back in 2009 and we are delighted to enter an expanded, long-term relationship with them from 2014 onwards. This long-term agreement offers excellent value in terms of the balance between price and performance.

“We hope it will mean Mercedes-Benz and Sahara Force India working together for the entire life cycle of the new powertrain generation.”

Force India have enjoyed a positive start to the 2013 season and currently sit in fifth place in the constructors’ standings with 10 points after two races.

Fernando Alonso undaunted by Sepang points setback

Fernando Alonso is still convinced he can start the European season in a stronger championship situation than last season, despite the blow of his early retirement in Malaysia.

Last year a shock win in a still-troubled Ferrari in the Sepang rain was key to keeping Alonso in the hunt early on.
Those 25 points mitigated the damage from Ferrari's very uncompetitive form in the next two races in China and Bahrain.
But Alonso believes this year he has the potential to take podiums at Shanghai and Sakhir, so can be optimistic of arriving at his home race at Barcelona with more than the 43 points he had at that stage in 2012.
"If we have a weekend with normal conditions, let's hope we have a good qualifying and pick up good points," Alonso said.
"The goal is to get more than last year. In China and Bahrain we were ninth and seventh last year, so this year is relatively easy to improve on that, and if we arrive in Europe with three podiums it will be good for our morale."
He did not think Red Bull's Malaysia one-two should dampen Ferrari's enthusiasm, as he is far from daunted by the champion team's actual performance level at present.
"I don't think Red Bull was too impressive," said Alonso.
"In Australia they dominated all sessions and had a pretty spectacular pace, [in Malaysia] we knew they had problems with degradation and in fact Mercedes was fighting with them until the end.
"So I think we could have been on the podium.
"The first two races have been very unstable and we don't really know the positions of the cars yet. We haven't seen anyone's potential yet in qualifying and we don't really knew where we are."

Hamilton: Mercedes now second best team behind Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton believes his Mercedes team is now Red Bull's closest challenger.

The former world champion thinks the pace shown by his team in the opening two races - allied to his first podium with the outfit in the Malaysian Grand Prix – proves Mercedes is now a serious frontrunner.
"We are the second best team," said Hamilton, when asked by AUTOSPORT about how encouraged he was by the Malaysia performance.
"To be that close - I was competing with the Red Bulls at some stages in the race – and to be in that position is a great feeling."
Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg shadowed rivals Red Bull for much of the Malaysian GP, before they were ordered to go into fuel-save mode towards the end of the race.
Hamilton believes that the outcome of the race would have been different had the team got its fuel strategy right.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have enough fuel in the car, more so my side," he explained.
"I was fuel-saving from lap 25 and it was very much an impossible task to challenge those up ahead.
"I was fuel saving at the end like you would not believe: I was coasting everywhere.
"I'm sure if we were all on the same fuel it would have been a different situation, so I'm confident about that."
Hamilton thinks the form shown by Mercedes is proof that the team is now in a position to win races.
"Definitely," he said. "I think this [Malaysia] proves that if we keep going in the direction we are heading, then there's a possibility that we could win a race at some stage this year."

Claire Williams becomes deputy team principal at Williams

Williams have announced that Claire Williams, the daughter of team principal and founder Sir Frank Williams, will become their deputy team principal with immediate effect.

Claire Williams, who has been the squad’s director of marketing and communications for the past year, will “play a pivotal role in the day to day running and long term development of the race team,” according to a statement released by Williams. “The position will strengthen the future of the team and create a clear succession path for Williams,” it continued.

The Grove-based squad had planned to announce the new appointment before the start of the 2013 season, but following the death of Sir Frank’s wife and Claire’s mother, Lady Virginia Williams, earlier this month, the announcement was delayed to afford the family privacy.

Speaking about his daughter’s new role, Sir Frank Williams commented: “Over the past decade Claire has worked tirelessly for Williams. Her knowledge of the sport and passion for the team is unquestionable and I’m proud to say that during her time here she has proven herself to be one of our most valuable assets.

“With Claire being appointed deputy team principal, I know the future of Williams is in extremely safe hands. This appointment also had Ginny’s blessing who I know would have been incredibly proud to have seen Claire taking on this position by my side.’’

Claire Williams, who began working for the team as a press officer in 2002, said that she wants to return Williams to the pinnacle of Formula One racing: “I’m truly honoured to be taking on the role of deputy team principal and look forward to working alongside Frank to help run the team this season and beyond.

“I have grown up in the sport and have learnt the ropes from one of Formula One’s legendary team principals and as a result I feel well equipped for this new challenge. I understand the commitment that every person within the team gives each day to see our car out on the track and I am determined to see us back at the top.

“I don’t underestimate the challenges that lie ahead but I have the full support of the board and a very talented executive committee who will be invaluable as I move forward in this role. It has been a sad month for my family and Williams as a company following the death of my mother, but as the season takes hold we must look to the future. It will be a privilege to play a part in taking the team into what I hope will be a successful next chapter.”

Williams currently sit in ninth place in the constructors’ standings having not scored any points in the opening two races of 2013.

WRC stars to shine at Fafe Rally Sprint

More than 100,000 spectators are expected at the show event on Saturday 6 April, giving those living in northern Portugal the chance to experience the spectacle of World Rally Cars in action and offering drivers a last minute testing opportunity before the rally gets underway five days later.
The sprint takes place on a 6.34-kilometre section of the iconic Fafe-Lameirinha stage, no longer part of Rally Portugal, but made famous when the event was based in the north of the country prior to its move south in 2007.

Heading the World Rally Car entrants are championship leader Sebastien Ogier and his new teammate Andreas Mikkelsen, who will compete in their Volkswagen Motorsport Polo Rs. Ogier’s title rival Mikko Hirvonen and his Citroen teammate Dani Sordo will be in action in their DS3 World Rally Cars.

Last year’s Portugal winner Mads Ostberg and his Qatar M-Sport teammate Evgeny Novikov will drive Fiesta RS World Rally Cars. Also in Fiestas will be Thierry Neuville, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Martin Prokop.

Former F1 driver Robert Kubica is another highlight of the entry list and will pilot a Citroën DS3 RRC as a final test before tackling his first WRC event.

A popular feature of the sprint is one the most challenging jumps in rallying. The record for longest jump, which was set by Armin Schwarz in a Skoda Octavia WRC in 2000, stands at 73.5 metres.

Starting at 1420hrs, the crews will battle their way through two qualifying rounds on the way to the final at 1710hrs.

Rally Portugal gets underway with qualifying at 1015hrs on Thursday 11 April and ends with the podium ceremony at the Algarve Stadium in Faro on Sunday 14 April.

Sebastian Vettel Q&A: I shouldn't have passed Mark

It was a thrilling battle to watch, but one that should never have happened had Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had his way. With tyres proving marginal at Sepang on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel was expected to hold station behind race leader Mark Webber. He didn't, but it was a move he seemed to regret almost as soon as the helmets came off after the race...

Q: Sebastian, it was a tough race - you've won, but now you have to apologise for the victory in front of the eyes of the world. How do you feel right now?
Sebastian Vettel: Not really fantastic. If I were given the chance to do it again (differently) I would. I can only repeat myself: I've made a mistake and I have to apologise to Mark. What I did was not correct, but had I been aware of it in that very moment I wouldn't have attacked the way I did and wouldn't have taken so much risk. After all that I would say that it was an excellent result for the team and we can be proud of that. Today we've been able to handle the tyres better than anybody else and that got us into the position to fight over the win.

Q: Wasn't there a call that you should stay in P2?
SV: That is correct, but I didn't mean to ignore the call - otherwise why would I take so much risk to pass him?

Q: Then why did you?
SV: Because I messed up? I guess also the team wasn't too happy with what I did today and I will try to explain it later. I did get the message, but no action followed because I misunderstood. In the past in such a situation we tended to fight, but these days with the tyre situation - not knowing how long they would last - it was an extremely big risk that could have resulted in both of us being out of the race and not finishing 1-2. Fights like that are huge risks for the tyres these days - we both could have ruined them within two to three laps. I put myself above this decision today, but I didn't mean too

Q: Michael Schumacher probably would have done exactly the same and he is a seven-time world champion. Maybe this is part of your personal development...
SV: Ah, not so sure. The main lesson for me today was that I should have acted differently. We talk about such things, sure, but I wasn't really aware of it in the race as otherwise I wouldn't have taken on so much risk. When I took off my helmet and saw that Mark didn't look too happy I talked to him and he came straight to the point. That was when it struck me like lightning. I cannot say that I am proud right now.

Q: But to win the championship you have got to win races. Was today the most difficult win?
SV: You can find many words for such a situation and as I said before, if I could undo it I would and settle for P2. It will not be easy to fall asleep tonight.

Q: What about Alonso running into the back of you on the opening lap? How did you see that?
SV: In that moment I didn't really know what was going on. I felt a hit, looked in my mirror and saw that Fernando was pretty close. I looked again to check that I hadn't got a puncture, which I hadn't. That was it for me. I think he had an issue with his front wing - that was pretty much all I realised and all I saw of him.

Race - Vettel secures controversial victory in Malaysia

Sebastian Vettel led team mate Mark Webber home to what should have been a celebratory Red Bull 1-2 in Sepang on Sunday, but the success was sullied by a post-race argument between the two drivers. All through the race the radio messages between Vettel and Red Bull’s team management told as much of the story as the on-track action.

Webber led much of the race after a timely switch to dry tyres following the use of intermediates on a wet surface in the opening laps. Vettel complained for much of the time he was following Webber, and continually asked his team to tell him to move over.

As far as the Australian was concerned, he had the race in the bag and Vettel was bound by team orders to follow him home as they conserved tyres and fuel. But Vettel launched a huge attack to take the lead on the 46th lap, and pulled away after a brutal bout of side-by-side running which enthralled the crowd.

Eventually, Vettel was able to pull away to a triumph which equalled Sir Jackie Stewart’s 27 wins. Later Vettel claimed to have realised only when they removed their helmets in parc ferme that he had made a mistake in overtaking Webber, but he had been warned on that 46th lap by team boss Christian Horner that he had a lot of explaining to do after the race. Vettel apologised to Webber and admitted that he had got it wrong, but the Australian was unimpressed.

Further back, Lewis Hamilton said he didn’t feel that he deserved his first podium finish for Mercedes, as team mate Nico Rosberg was repeatedly instructed by team boss Ross Brawn not to pass him as they both had to turn their engines to maximum fuel-saving mode. Rosberg honoured that instruction, but Hamilton said that he felt his team mate had driven a more intelligent race, as he himself had given in to his natural competitive instincts to take the fight to the Red Bulls and as a result had taken more out of his car.

It was a disastrous day for Ferrari, as Fernando Alonso ran into the back of Vettel in the second corner after the start, and then crashed going into Turn 1 on the second lap after gambling that a damaged front wing would hold out until his first pit stop.

Front row man Felipe Massa lacked the pace to stay with the leaders, but took a solid fifth ahead of the duelling Lotus’s of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen, which lacked the speed they had shown in Australia. The black and gold cars, however, were able to get to the finish with only three pits stops to their rivals’ four.

Nico Hulkenberg fought hard throughout to take eighth for Sauber, with Sergio Perez claiming another two points for McLaren ahead of the feisty Jean-Eric Vergne in his Toro Rosso.

The other hard luck story of the day concerned Perez’s team mate Jenson Button, who ran in a respectable fifth place for much of the race, led briefly during the third round of pit stops, but then had a disastrous pit stop of his own when the right-front wheel was improperly secured. He climbed back to 12th, before being called in to retire with imminent mechanical problems late in the race.

Force India also had a horrible time. A delay in changing the wheels on Adrian Sutil’s car seriously held up team mate Paul di Resta, who pitted at the same time to switch from intermediates. The Scot then fought back mightily and was on target for points when he suffered a similar problem at his next pit stop. Sutil later had a recurrence, and both cars were eventually withdrawn.

Valtteri Bottas was 11th for Williams in a race in which team mate Pastor Maldonado had one off-track adventure which broke his front wing and later stopped out on the circuit, while Esteban Gutierrez took 12th for Sauber from Jules Bianchi’s splendidly-driven Marussia and the Caterhams of Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde. Pic was hit by Vergne during a mix-up in the pit lane, when Toro Rosso made an unsafe release, and both required new noses. Toro Rosso were later fined for the incident.

Max Chilton was the final finisher for Marussia in 16th place, as Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo joined Alonso, Di Resta, Sutil, Maldonado and Button on the non-finishers list.

The controversial result catapults the repentant Vettel into the lead in the drivers’ world championship with 40 points from Raikkonen on 31, Webber on 26, Hamilton on 25 and Massa on 22, while Red Bull have a comfortable lead in the constructors’ stakes with 66 points from Ferrari and Lotus on 40, and Mercedes on 37.

Qualifying - Vettel storms to pole at showery Sepang

Sebastian Vettel snatched another dramatic pole for Red Bull in the closing moments of a wet Q3 session in Sepang on Saturday, taking the honour away from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was then bumped back another place by team mate Felipe Massa.

Qualifying began in even hotter conditions than FP3, with a track temperature of 41 degrees Celsius, as Adrian Sutil set the pace for Force India with 1m 36.809s from Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg, Alonso, Romain Grosjean, Jenson Button, Paul di Resta, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber and Sergio Perez.

Down the back, Jean-Eric Vergne failed to make the cut by a couple of tenths, his 1m 38.157s for Toro Rosso leaving him 17th. Valtteri Bottas didn’t make it either, with 1m 38.207s, while a late improvement saw Jules Bianchi jump both Caterhams with his Marussia to take 19th with an impressive 1m 38.434s. Behind him, Caterham's Charles Pic just won the fight with Marussia’s Max Chilton and team mate Giedo van der Garde, their respective laps being 1m 39.314s, 1m 39.672s and 1m 39.932s.

Q2 saw Rosberg set the pace with 1m 36.190s from Webber, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Sutil, Massa, Alonso, Button, Vettel and Perez. Rain in the final half of the lap with six minutes to go ruined Paul di Resta’s chances. The Scot had been set to go fastest early on but had to abort his lap. His subsequent efforts saw him run wide, then later have a multiple spin, as the track became super-slippery.

Grosjean also left it too late, and lines up 11th on 1m 37.636s for Lotus, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber on 1m 38.125s, Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso on 1m 38.822s, Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber on 1m 39.221s, and Di Resta on 1m 44.509s. Pastor Maldonado didn’t venture out for Williams.

The rain, while not as heavy as that on previous afternoons, showed little sign of abating prior to Q3, even though the track and ambient temperatures stayed the same. Intermediate tyres became the new order of the day.

In an up and down session, the track was continually evolving. Sutil set the early pace, before his 1m 58.293s was beaten by Perez, then Hamilton, then Rosberg, then Vettel.

In the final runs, Webber went fastest with 1m 52.244s, only for Hamilton to beat that with 1m 51.244s. But right at the end Alonso snatched the honours away with 1m 50.727s before Vettel, moments later, redefined pole at 1m 49.674s. Just to add insult to injury, Alonso was bumped to third by Massa, with 1m 50.587s.

Hamilton thus fell to fourth ahead of Webber, as Raikkonen’s final effort yielded only seventh ahead of the improved McLarens of Button and Perez, which sandwiched Sutil.

Thus the provisional grid reads: Vettel, Massa; Alonso, Hamilton; Webber, Rosberg; Raikkonen, Button; Sutil, Perez; Grosjean, Hulkenberg; Ricciardo, Gutierrez; di Resta, Maldonado; Vergne, Bottas; Bianchi, Pic; Chilton, Van der Garde.

Eric Boullier Q&A: Lotus is truly a top team now

     

 Just one race into the 2013 FIA Formula 1 World Championship and Lotus have already matched their win total from 2012. But do the Enstone-based squad consider themselves to be championship contenders? Team principal Eric Boullier answers that question and more…

Q: Let’s start with Melbourne – first race, first win. Did you think the team could do it?
Eric Boullier: After Kimi’s start I was secretly hoping that we could be on a podium, but then during the second stint - where we saw the other teams pitting for the second time – showing that they were on a three stop strategy, then I thought ‘yes we can do it’. We had decided on a two-stop strategy before the race, even for Romain. Unfortunately, when he got stuck in traffic he changed strategy otherwise we could have had a strong result from both cars.

Q: How confident were you in the team’s approach?
EB: You never know what the other teams are planning, but we knew we could make a two stop work - I would not say comfortably - but we knew we could do it. What we were expecting was our pace, our relative pace in the race as well, and it was very good.

Q: What steps has Kimi made over the winter?
EB: Well he’s smiling more! Kimi is Kimi, he builds himself up – he had a strong season last year and he ended it even more strongly than he started. He’s starting this season as he finished it last year, so he will keep building on that. I don’t think there is anyone on earth who can tell Kimi what to do, so I’m not going to start! It’s true that the environment we have in Enstone is different and we encourage everyone to be creative and to be themselves – and that seems much better for everyone. For Kimi we do this as much as possible by limiting what he hates.

Q: Do you feel the win in Melbourne makes Lotus title contenders for the 2013 season?
EB: We’re just one race in. We clearly stated that we wanted to be one of the top teams this year, and starting the season like this means that we should be able to fight to reach our target, which is finishing third in the constructors’ championship. I think Lotus F1 Team is truly a top team now. If we can be in the position where we can compete for wins, then that is where we wanted to be. From what we’ve achieved in the first race we can build on that nice momentum to one day become World champions again.

Q: Do you think we’re facing a season where having the quickest car over a single lap doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win the race?
EB: We saw it last year already. In the season a couple of times we caught the leaders in the race because we had a different strategy, or our cars were better on tyres. We worked very hard to make sure that we kept the strengths of last year’s E20, and it’s true that with the 2013 tyres and the fact that they degrade a little more, has put us in a better position. This said, Melbourne is such a special track that we should wait a bit more before knowing our potential better.

Q: Do you expect the other teams to respond to this?
EB: First of all, we didn’t have a normal weekend and I’m not sure that everyone got the chance to put the right set up on their cars – especially for the race. So let’s see in Malaysia if we have a normal weekend. That will be the test. I’m sure it’s going to be a little bit tougher for us, but I’m sure we’ll put in another very strong performance.

Q: What’s the plan for Sepang?
EB: We have some new developments, which is good news, and the hot temperature should help us to do an even better job.

Sebastian Vettel Q&A: No reason to be disappointed with third

 

Sunday at Albert Park started fantastically for reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel as he recorded yet another pole position. But despite making a great start, the Red Bull driver slipped backwards in the race. However, as he explains, a podium finish in the opening race of the season is far from a disaster…

Q: Let’s start with a highlight of the day: your 37th pole position. Have you been surprised by the strength of your car over a single lap?
Sebastian Vettel: Ha, I think generally everything was a bit of a surprise this weekend for everyone, as all of us did not know where we stood because the winter tests were not too enlightening. So this qualifying did put a smile on our face. For the race it was always clear that the tyres would play a big part - and they did. Not really to our advantage, but we can keep our heads high as we have shown that the pace is there. Now we have to work on the tyre issue.

Q: Staying with surprises: were you surprised to start from P1 - with quite a significant gap to the guys behind you - and finish only in P3?
SV: In life there is always the possibility to do better or worse. Sure if you start from P1 you want to finish first - we weren’t able to achieve that today but there is absolutely no reason to be disappointed. Right from the first few laps we saw that it would be very hard to look after the tyres and that Ferrari was closing in. In the second stint we were a bit stuck behind Adrian (Sutil) who did a great job and we really couldn’t get past him because the moment I tried I started sliding. But as I knew that it was the same for all of those behind me, I wasn’t in too much of a hurry. Everything changes if one decides to pit early on to get past you with a pit stop manoeuvre, like Fernando (Alonso) did. He got the position. Equally we wanted to stay out as long as possible to make our strategy work. You could see that he was a bit faster towards the end of the stints and there was no chance for us to stick with him or get past him. And then there was Kimi (Raikkonen)! I didn’t see him all race long and suddenly he wins.

Q: Your friend Kimi outsmarted everybody today. Do you think this is the first sign that he will be a strong challenger for the championship?
SV: It was only the first race and there are still 18 to go so it is a bit premature to call anybody a favorite for the title.

Q: Did you expect Lotus to be so competitive?
SV: As I said before, everybody has been a bit of surprise to everyone, as nobody knew what to expect. The qualifying was fantastic but in the race we had a bit of a problem with the wear of the tyres - and obviously Kimi did the best job looking after the tyres out of everyone managing to stop only twice. A two-stop strategy was never on the table for us after Friday.

Q: You had an excellent start - why didn’t it work out better?
SV: Yes, it was a real good start and our goal was to go for as many laps as possible. Obviously the degradation was a bit more intense for us than for others. But to start from pole position and end on the podium - all in all, that was a successful weekend.

Q: How will things unfold next weekend in Malaysia?
SV: What we have seen today was a first glimpse, but we are far from getting an idea of the pecking order. Malaysia is a completely different track and from what we have seen today, everything depends on how well people handle the tyres. But (in Malaysia) we will see completely different conditions and will use different tyres so there are too many differences to here. We have seen over the past few years that what we have seen in Melbourne has hardly ever become a trend for the next couple of races.

Australian GP: Raikkonen takes emphatic victory in season opener

Kimi Raikkonen played a two-stop strategy to perfection to beat Fernando Alonso to victory in an enthralling Australian Grand Prix.

All predictions of tedious Red Bull domination proved way off the mark, as Sebastian Vettel finished third, overshadowed by the Lotus and Ferrari.
The champion's team-mate Mark Webber was only sixth after a poor start, behind Felipe Massa's Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, while Force India driver Adrian Sutil also led for long periods.
The superiority Red Bull had displayed in all the weekend's dry running so far was never evident in the race.
Webber immediately plunged outside the top five with a poor start, and Vettel was unable to get away from the fast-starting Massa and Alonso, who both passed Hamilton on lap one.
Raikkonen overtook the Mercedes soon afterwards, and then closed in on Vettel, Massa and Alonso to make a four-car lead train.
All the frontrunners pitted very early to get rid of their fragile super-soft tyres.
The order among that quartet remained the same into the second stint, but they had to fight their way through those running longer, including Sutil - who had started on mediums and found himself in the lead by lap 15.
Vettel, the Ferraris and Raikkonen were soon on the Force India's tail. They could not pass though, and Sutil was able to make his first pitstop at the same time as Vettel, Massa and Alonso made their second, bringing the Force India onto the same sequence as the victory contenders.
Alonso pitted a lap before Sutil and Vettel and was able to leapfrog both.
Sutil stayed ahead of Vettel in the pits but was overtaken into Turn 3 a lap later. Vettel could not put any pressure on Alonso however, even as the Ferrari had to battle through drivers on other strategies - including Hamilton, with whom the Spaniard had a spectacular dice before getting clear.
By this time, Raikkonen's strategy had come into play.
He stayed out until lap 34, a dozen laps longer than the other leaders, making it clear that Lotus was going for a two-stop to their three.
That left him with a comfortable lead over Alonso and Vettel when they made their third stops, and although the Ferrari initially began carving chunks from the Lotus's advantage, once Alonso had used his new-tyre grip, the gap stabilised.
Raikkonen was therefore able to claim victory by 12 seconds, as Alonso pulled 10s clear of Vettel.
Massa faded in fourth after a very strong first half of the race.
Hamilton was next up, having had to abandon his intended two-stop strategy and pit for a third time. Webber made a quiet recovery to sixth, just behind Hamilton, whose team-mate Nico Rosberg retired with electrical problems.
Sutil stayed with the leaders until he finally had to take on super-softs with 12 laps to go. They did not last as he had hoped, and Sutil had to be content with seventh, just ahead of team-mate Paul di Resta.
Jenson Button finished ninth for McLaren, while Romain Grosjean completed the scorers, holding off Sergio Perez and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Nico Hulkenberg failed to take the start due to a pre-race fuel system problem on his Sauber. Pastor Maldonado spun off at Turn 1 before half-distance, and Daniel Ricciardo retired a sick-sounding Toro Rosso.
Jules Bianchi dominated the backmarker pack in 15th.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Australian Grand Prix
Albert Park, Australia;
58 laps; 307.574km;
Weather: Cloudy.

Classified:

Pos  Driver               Team                      Time/Gap
 1.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault         1h30m03.225s
 2.  Fernando Alonso      Ferrari                  + 12.451s
 3.  Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault         + 22.346s
 4.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari                  + 33.577s
 5.  Lewis Hamilton       Mercedes                 + 45.561s
 6.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault         + 46.800s
 7.  Adrian Sutil         Force India-Mercedes   + 1m05.068s
 8.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes   + 1m08.449s
 9.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes       + 1m21.630s
10.  Romain Grosjean      Lotus-Renault          + 1m22.759s
11.  Sergio Perez         McLaren-Mercedes       + 1m23.367s
12.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     + 1m23.857s
13.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari             + 1 lap
14.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Renault           + 1 lap
15.  Jules Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth          + 1 lap
16.  Charles Pic          Caterham-Renault         +  2 laps
17.  Max Chilton          Marussia-Cosworth        +  2 laps
18.  Giedo van der Garde  Caterham-Renault         +  2 laps

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1m29.274s

Not classified/retirements:

Driver            Team                On lap
Daniel Ricciardo  Toro Rosso-Ferrari  40
Nico Rosberg      Mercedes            26
Pastor Maldonado  Williams-Renault    25
Nico Hulkenberg   Sauber-Ferrari      1

World Championship standings, round 1:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Raikkonen      25        1.  Ferrari                    30
 2.  Alonso         18        2.  Lotus-Renault              26
 3.  Vettel         15        3.  Red Bull-Renault           23
 4.  Massa          12        4.  Mercedes                   10
 5.  Hamilton       10        5.  Force India-Mercedes       10
 6.  Webber          8        6.  McLaren-Mercedes            2
 7.  Sutil           6       
 8.  Di Resta        4       
 9.  Button          2       
10.  Grosjean        1       
       
All timing unofficial

Australian GP: Vettel storms to first pole of 2013 F1 season

Sebastian Vettel made the most of a drying track to beat Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber to pole for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Damp conditions for the delayed remainder of qualifying raised hopes of a mixed-up grid, but in the end the pole shootout took place on slicks on a nearly-dry circuit, and it was the champion team that prevailed.
Vettel put himself a second and a half ahead of the field with his 1m27.407s lap when he produced it.
Webber looked poised to beat it until a mistake at the penultimate corner left him 0.420 seconds adrift. Vettel was improving further on his next lap before pitting when it became clear he was unbeatable.
Lewis Hamilton kickstarted Mercedes' season with third on the grid, 0.6s off Vettel's pace.
That was three places higher than team-mate Nico Rosberg, despite the German having been the class of the field when the track was wet. He comfortably topped Q2, having also flown in Saturday's Q1.
The Ferraris split the Mercedes, Felipe Massa outqualifying team-mate Fernando Alonso by 0.003s to grab fourth place.
Row four will be filled by the Lotus pair, Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Romain Grosjean.
Paul di Resta got as high as second for Force India early in Q3 when intermediates were still the best choice. But on slicks he was pushed back to ninth, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button, the first man to come out on dry tyres in the pole segment.
Several drivers had tried slicks in the final minutes of Q2, but this move proved premature.
While Button immediately returned to intermediates, his team-mate Sergio Perez persisted with slicks and found himself 15th on the grid for his McLaren debut.
Having looked a likely top-five man on intermediates, the slick move left Jean-Eric Vergne only 13th, albeit ahead of inter-shod Toro Rosso team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Valtteri Bottas discovered slicks made no difference to Williams's plight in 16th, while Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber and Adrian Sutil's Force India had the right tyres but were still squeezed back to row six.

Pos  Driver                Team                  Time            Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault       1m27.407s          
 2.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault       1m27.827s  + 0.420s
 3.  Lewis Hamilton       Mercedes               1m28.087s  + 0.680s
 4.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari                1m28.490s  + 1.083s
 5.  Fernando Alonso      Ferrari                1m28.493s  + 1.086s
 6.  Nico Rosberg         Mercedes               1m28.523s  + 1.116s
 7.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault          1m28.738s  + 1.331s
 8.  Romain Grosjean      Lotus Renault          1m29.013s  + 1.606s
 9.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes   1m29.305s  + 1.898s
10.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes       1m30.357s  + 2.950s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m37.641s                                   Gap **
11. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari         1m38.067s  + 1.873s
12. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes   1m38.134s  + 1.940s
13. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m38.778s  + 2.584s
14. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m39.042s  + 2.848s
15. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes       1m39.900s  + 3.706s
16. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault       1m40.290s  + 4.096s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m47.330s                                    Gap *
17. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault       1m47.614s + 4.234s
18. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari         1m47.776s + 4.396s
19. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth      1m48.147s + 4.767s
20. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth      1m48.909s + 5.529s
21. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault       1m49.519s + 6.139s
22. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault       1m50.626s + 7.246s

107% time: 1m50.616s

Australian GP: Qualifying postponed to Sunday morning

Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix will be postponed until 11am local time on Sunday morning due to heavy rain showers in Melbourne.

A delayed Q1 managed to take place, but the start of Q2 was repeatedly put back due to the weather conditions.
The decision to postpone the rest of the session was finally taken nearly two hours after qualifying had begun.
The situation was complicated by further showers being forecast, so that even if the track improved, the likelihood was that the rain would immediately return.
Looming sunset added a further pressure, with little daylight left to fit in Q2 and Q3.
Nico Rosberg had been quickest in Q1 for Mercedes, which got its cars out first at the start of the session.
This meant Rosberg spent a long while on top, although he had to fight to get the position back again after everyone switched to intermediates with five minutes to go.
His team-mate Lewis Hamilton spun at Turn 2, sustaining minor rear wing damage as he nudged the barriers. Briefly stranded on the sodden grass, he eventually managed to reverse back onto the track.
That was one of many incidents during the running that did take place.
Felipe Massa and both Caterhams had to limp back to the pits minus front wings after spinning into the barriers.
Esteban Gutierrez had a similar incident but ended up stranded on track in a damaged Sauber. That left him 18th on the grid, just behind a frustrated Pastor Maldonado.
Jules Bianchi led the rest of the rear pack in his Marussia, with the crashing Caterhams at the very back.

Pos Driver                Team                    Time        Gap   
 1. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m43.380s
 2. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m43.850s + 0.470s
 3. Romain Grosjean       Lotus Renault           1m44.284s + 0.904s
 4. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes        1m44.300s + 0.920s
 5. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m44.472s + 1.092s
 6. Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m44.635s + 1.255s
 7. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m44.657s + 1.277s
 8. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m44.688s + 1.308s
 9. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m44.871s + 1.491s
10. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes                1m45.456s + 2.076s
11. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault           1m45.545s + 2.165s
12. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m45.601s + 2.221s
13. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari          1m45.930s + 2.550s
14. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m46.450s + 3.070s
15. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault        1m47.328s + 3.948s
16. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1m47.330s + 3.950s
17. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault        1m47.614s + 4.234s
18. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari          1m47.776s + 4.396s
19. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth       1m48.147s + 4.767s
20. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth       1m48.909s + 5.529s
21. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault        1m49.519s + 6.139s
22. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault        1m50.626s + 7.246s

107% time: 1m45.301s

Australian GP: Vettel stays on top in second practice

Sebastian Vettel was quickest again in the second Friday practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, this time leading team-mate Mark Webber in a Red Bull one-two.

Vettel, who had also led the morning session, was quickest for the majority of the afternoon, leading by a second early on.
Webber nosed ahead briefly during the super-soft runs, before Vettel took the top spot with a 1m25.908s lap, 0.264 seconds ahead of the Australian.
The teams all switched to heavy fuel runs soon after. Tyre degradation appeared severe, with lap times on short runs dropping off dramatically after the first flying laps, and the pace on longer stints slowing considerably.
Tyre wear looked like it was a factor in a late-session spin for Webber, who lost grip on the exit of Turn 13 and slid sideways and backwards down the track.
Mercedes showed encouraging pace but also had issues.
Nico Rosberg took third fastest, before stopping on track in the closing moments with a suspected gearbox failure.
His team-mate Lewis Hamilton was seventh. A potentially better lap was interrupted with a trip over the Turn 9 gravel and grass, and he later ploughed into the gravel just minutes before Rosberg had his issue.
Also in trouble were Jean-Eric Vergne, who spun his Toro Rosso across the asphalt run-off, and Giedo van der Garde, who spun off at Turn 6 and got stuck in the gravel with an hour to go.
Lotus got both cars in the top five, with Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Romain Grosjean in fourth.
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa's Ferraris were sixth and eighth, followed by Adrian Sutil and Nico Hulkenberg.

Pos  Driver                Team                  Time       Gap     Laps
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m25.908            33
 2.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m26.172s  + 0.264  31
 3.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m26.322s  + 0.414  26
 4.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m26.361s  + 0.453  37
 5.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus Renault         1m26.680s  + 0.772  30
 6.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m26.748s  + 0.840  35
 7.  Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes              1m26.772s  + 0.864  28
 8.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m26.855s  + 0.947  32
 9.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1m27.435s  + 1.527  34
10.  Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari        1m28.187s  + 2.279  34
11.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m28.294s  + 2.386  30
12.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m28.311s  + 2.403  37
13.  Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes      1m28.566s  + 2.658  32
14.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m28.627s  + 2.719  31
15.  Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari        1m28.772s  + 2.864  33
16.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m28.852s  + 2.944  36
17.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m28.968s  + 3.060  35
18.  Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault      1m29.386s  + 3.478  38
19.  Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth     1m29.696s  + 3.788  30
20.  Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault      1m30.165s  + 4.257  37
21.  Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth     1m30.600s  + 4.692  34
22.  Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault      1m32.450s  + 6.542  11

Citroen may ask Loeb to do more rallies to secure WRC title

Citroen team principal Yves Matton has admitted he could ask Sebastien Loeb to return to the World Rally Championship if the French team falls behind in the manufacturers' race.

Loeb is already scheduled to compete in Argentina and France this season as part of his four-event programme.
But there's a chance he might be called up again towards the end of the year in order to help defend Citroen's manufacturers' title in the face of a strong challenge from Volkswagen.
Asked if he would ask Loeb back, Matton replied: "I think you know it's not my decision. I think he doesn't want to, maybe.
"It's not on my mind for the moment. I have to be happy with what I have already this season: I have my four rallies with him - at the start he was doing nothing this year.
"At the end of the season, if I ask him to do one [extra] rally and with this rally we will be champion, then for sure I will ask.
"I am not panicking, I am confident we can do it. Seb Ogier is showing something incredible, but it's like that. We need to continue to believe and fight."
Citroen leads the manufacturers' championship from VW by six points after last week's Rally Mexico. The Versailles team has won the title eight times in the last 10 years.

Fernando Alonso says top five F1 teams impossible to split

Fernando Alonso believes there is nothing to choose between Formula 1's top five teams going into this weekend's season-opener in Melbourne, and reckons the quintet will be comfortably clear of the rest of the pack.

After 2012's record of seven different winners from five different teams in the opening seven races, Alonso thinks '13 will deliver fewer underdog shocks but a remarkably close lead battle.
"No one knows who can win this race at this moment," Alonso said. "We have to answer some questions that winter testing never answers.
"It maybe is not the same as last year when we saw seven winners in seven races and it was mixed. This year with consistency in the rules I expect five top teams to have a little advantage and not to have many surprises in the first five races.
"From these top five it is hard to see who has the extra two or three tenths that can make you win. Now it is hard to choose one favourite.
"Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Red Bull showed some potential on different days in testing and in different races last year. I think it's difficult to choose."
Alonso reiterated his confidence that Ferrari is in a substantially better position than 12 months ago, when it suffered a dispiriting testing performance.
"I think it was not difficult to start better than last year, it would be difficult to start any worse," he said.
"Winter has been much better than last year in understanding the car and working with the car and getting the results we more or less expect. This gives us confidence and optimism to start the season.
"We arrive here with 100 per cent of the potential of the car. Hopefully it is enough to be competitive."
He denied that losing the title at the final round in two of the last three seasons made him extra motivated for 2013.
"I feel privileged to have fought for the championship two times in the last three years," Alonso said.
"Not many people have chance to be on the podium and enjoy podium ceremony, fewer win races and even fewer are in a position to fight for the championship.
"We want to again have the opportunity to fight for it this year. We want to change the result.
"It's a normal thing for the sport and maybe it gives some extra motivation for me and the team to really have one happy result at the end."

Webber aims to rediscover consistency for F1 title bid in 2013

Mark Webber believes rediscovering his consistency is key to his title hopes this year.

Keen to get back to the form that helped him take the title fight all the way to the final round in 2010, Webber thinks that he and his team must eradicate the kind of troubled spell they endured at the end of last year.
When asked by AUTOSPORT during an Infiniti-hosted press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday about what he needs to be in a position to fight for the title again like he did in 2010, Webber said that delivering every weekend was essential.
"I think I was very, very consistent in 2011 as well, but obviously the overall pace wasn't there - or there were not enough wins there," he said.
"The back half of 2012 was the first time I had a few DNFs and a few non-decent points finishes.
"I think 2010/2011 were very similar, the difference was in 2011 was that Seb amassed a huge number of wins very, very fast so that was pretty much done.
"Last year started very, very well and then towards the end of that year, we had a couple of races where I didn't drive very well and we had more than our fair share of mechanical gremlins which didn't help.
"But have I got what it takes to do that again? Absolutely. I am capable of doing it, no question about that. I believe I can.
"We have got a good car again, we believe. Whether it is enough to challenge for a consistent championship remains to be seen, as there is no one this early in the season who can predict how well their car is going to be going in the middle of the championship.
"So I just need to keep doing what I have been doing, with the exception being the end of last year.
"And we need to keep the momentum – even within our own environment. Keeping that momentum going – and making sure we are doing enough winning to get the big points.
"But also you need to keep the consistency. You can't win each grand prix - that is impossible."

Ogier believes Citroen is missing Loeb after poor Rally Mexico

Rally Mexico winner Sebastien Ogier says Citroen's performance last week highlights how much the champion team is missing Sebastien Loeb.

Loeb will only contest four rounds of this year's series - and last week's Leon- based event was the first event the nine-time champion missed.
He will also skip the next rally in Portugal before returning in Argentina.
Ogier finished second to Loeb on the season opener in Monte Carlo before beating the Citroen star in Sweden.
"For sure," said Ogier, "we knew at the beginning of the season, without Loeb in the team they lost a strong part. In the rally, the driver has a big input.
"We all know that in the rally you need a good car and a fast car, but if you are a good driver then sometimes you can make the difference."
Asked if he thought Citroen had made the wrong choice in dropping him in 2011, Ogier added: "I don't know if they made the wrong choice, but for myself, I know that I made the good choice!"
Ogier and Loeb were team-mates at Citroen in 2011, before the former was ousted from the team under acrimonious circumstances.

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari can't afford to prioritise 2014 F1 car

Fernando Alonso thinks Ferrari is going to have push flat-out on its 2013 car for the whole of this season, rather than have the luxury of being able to devote ever-more resources to next year's Formula 1 challenger.

With teams currently weighing up how best to balance development of their current cars against the extensive work needed for the 2014 regulations, Alonso is in no doubt about the approach Ferrari is going to have to take.
He thinks only a disastrous opening part of the campaign will lead to Ferrari pushing all its efforts onto 2014.
"It is important to come to the middle of season and have a certain gap that is better than other seasons because, in 2014, cars will change dramatically," he said.
"It will be difficult to come to the middle part of the season and give up. That will only happen if you are 50 or 60 points behind the leader.
"That is something we don't wish to contemplate, and if we do come to that point then it will be better to concentrate on 2014.
"But I don't think we will go that way. To be 20 or 30 points ahead, or 20 or 30 points behind, it forces you to continue fighting because there will be more than seven races to go.
"Last year, Sebastian Vettel was 45 points behind [in July] and he won the championship, so you have to fight with what you have.
"On top of that, you cannot test anything on the 2013 car that will be useful for the 2014 season. You cannot use Fridays to test the turbo, so you will need to continue working on the 2013 season."
Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa agreed that the 2013 title had to be the overwhelming priority.
"This is another championship where you need to do everything you can to be in front," he said.
"The only thing that has changed for next year is that if you get to the middle of the championship and you see you have a big, big difference on the negative side then you need to work on next year's car.
"But if you are competitive then you need to fight until the end. We know how important it is to fight for the championship.
"We need to do everything we can for that, but if we get to the point where there are no possibilities for that any more, then we can concentrate on next year's car."

Rally Mexico: Sebastien Ogier secures commanding win

Sebastien Ogier completed his domination of Rally Mexico as he wrapped up victory and a maximum score on Sunday's final loop of stages.

Ogier had a scare after the morning's opening Guanajuatito stage when he had to spend 20 minutes fixing a sensor issue on his Volkswagen.
With that resolved, Ogier went on to win the following bonus-points power stage and win outright by over three minutes from Mikko Hirvonen's Citroen.
Having won two of this year's three rallies, Ogier already holds a 44-point cushion over nearest title rival Hirvonen. The now part-time Sebastien Loeb is still second in the points, 31 down on Ogier.
Hirvonen started Sunday under pressure from Thierry Neuville. The Belgian went flat-out to try and snatch second place, but a trip off the road on the first stage convinced him to back off and let Hirvonen take the position.
Third was still Neuville's first podium in the World Rally Championship.
That was comfort for his M-Sport Ford team after Mads Ostberg encountered electrical problems when running second on Saturday, having earlier fought Ogier for the lead.
Evgeny Novikov recovered to 10th following an ECU gremlin on day one, while Nasser Al-Attiyah produced one of his best World Rally Car drives yet in the fourth M-Sport entry to take fifth, having matched fourth-placed Dani Sordo's pace for much of the weekend.
On what is currently a one-off in Khalid Al Qassimi's regular Citroen, Chris Atkinson recovered from leg one steering damage to take sixth.
Seventh was still a career-best for Ken Block, while Production champion Benito Guerra must wait to see if eighth is sufficient to secure the full-time top-class drive his sponsors have hinted at.
While one VW driver celebrated 28 points, Ogier's team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala had to settle for one power stage bonus point, having broken his suspension just three corners into Friday's first stage.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari dominated WRC2 all weekend.

Results after SS23:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car             Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastien Ogier     Volkswagen         4h30m27.0s
 2.  Mikko Hirvonen      Citroen             + 3m28.9s
 3.  Thierry Neuville    M-Sport Ford        + 4m23.8s
 4.  Dani Sordo          Citroen             + 6m06.7s
 5.  Nasser Al-Attiyah   M-Sport Ford        + 8m34.5s
 6.  Chris Atkinson      Abu Dhabi Citroen  + 11m28.0s
 7.  Ken Block           Hoonigan Ford      + 11m48.3s
 8.  Benito Guerra       CRT Citroen        + 12m49.8s
 9.  Martin Prokop       Czech Ford         + 14m29.0s
10.  Evgeny Novikov      M-Sport Ford       + 17m15.3s

Other WRC finishers:

11.  Mads Ostberg        M-Sport Ford       + 26m40.4s
16.  Jari-Matti Latvala  Volkswagen         + 55m03.3s

WRC retirements:

     Michal Kosciuszko   Italia Mini              SS21

Leading power stage results:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car             Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastien Ogier     Volkswagen           13m00.5s
 2.  Mads Ostberg        M-Sport Ford           + 5.9s
 3.  Jari-Matti Latvala  Volkswagen             + 8.2s
 4.  Mikko Hirvonen      Citroen               + 11.8s
 5.  Dani Sordo          Citroen               + 23.8s

Rally Mexico: Sebastien Ogier's lead grows amid Saturday drama

Sebastien Ogier survived a scare with a closed gate on SS18 of Rally Mexico to take a near three-minute lead into the final day.

The dominant Volkswagen lost half a minute on Otates when Ogier encountered a gate that had been closed across the stage prior to him coming through.
He had to stop so that co-driver Julien Ingrassia could open the gate and let them continue.
Ogier's lead was already so ample that the gate controversy did not jeopardise his first place, and in any case his advantage grew even further when nearest rival Mikko Hirvonen collected a puncture on the same stage.
The Citroen driver dropped almost two minutes as a consequence, meaning third-placed Thierry Neuville closed to within 7.5s. Neuville had earlier lost a few seconds backing off to nurse overheating on his M-Sport Ford.
Dani Sordo and Nasser Al-Attiyah continue in fourth and fifth.
Ken Block's sixth place is now in jeopardy, with Chris Atkinson just 26.7s from his tail after taking seventh from Benito Guerra.
Following his time-consuming ECU problems on Friday morning, Evgeny Novikov has made it back into the points, helped in part by transmission dramas for Michal Kosciuszko.
The rally concludes with a single loop of three stages, including the 55km Guanajuatito, on Sunday.

Leading positions after SS20:

Pos  Driver             Team/Car             Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastien Ogier    Volkswagen         3h38m42.2s
 2.  Mikko Hirvonen     Citroen             + 2m52.4s
 3.  Thierry Neuville   M-Sport Ford        + 2m59.9s
 4.  Dani Sordo         Citroen             + 4m45.2s
 5.  Nasser Al-Attiyah  M-Sport Ford        + 5m33.9s
 6.  Ken Block          Hoonigan Ford       + 8m57.1s
 7.  Chris Atkinson     Abu Dhabi Citroen   + 9m23.8s
 8.  Benito Guerra      CRT Citroen        + 10m00.9s
 9.  Martin Prokop      Czech Ford         + 11m22.3s
10.  Evgeny Novikov     M-Sport Ford       + 15m41.9s

Rally Mexico: Sebastien Ogier leads into Saturday

Sebastien Ogier brought his lead over Mads Ostberg up to 33 seconds as he won the two superspecials that closed Friday's Rally Mexico action.

The Volkswagen driver was comfortably fastest on the two short tests, meaning he has now won eight of the 13 stages held on the event so far.
With Ogier increasingly out of reach, M-Sport team leader Ostberg will begin Saturday with an eye on Mikko Hirvonen's Citroen, just nine seconds behind in third place.
Thierry Neuville has now drifted away from the podium fight in fourth but still enjoys a comfortable gap back to the off-the-pace Dani Sordo in fifth place.
M-Sport has three of its Fords in the top six, with Nasser Al-Attiyah matching Sordo's times in sixth, ahead of Ken Block.
After his Friday morning drama, Chris Atkinson has now got back into the top 10 and has Martin Prokop and Benito Guerra next in his sights.
Evgeny Novikov is also making progress back up the order following his ECU issues and is now 12th.
Jari-Matti Latvala will restart from 22nd place for leg two, but will be nearly an hour behind with his Rally 2 penalties.

Leading positions after SS13:

Pos  Driver             Team/Car             Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastien Ogier    Volkswagen         1h57m46.9s
 2.  Mads Ostberg       M-Sport Ford          + 33.0s
 3.  Mikko Hirvonen     Citroen               + 42.0s
 4.  Thierry Neuville   M-Sport Ford        + 1m07.1s
 5.  Dani Sordo         Citroen             + 2m40.1s
 6.  Nasser Al-Attiyah  M-Sport Ford        + 3m24.1s
 7.  Ken Block          Hoonigan Ford       + 4m46.5s
 8.  Benito Guerra      CRT Citroen         + 6m03.4s
 9.  Martin Prokop      Czech Ford          + 6m25.4s
10.  Chris Atkinson     Abu Dhabi Citroen   + 7m15.1s

Vital statistics - 2013’s pre-season testing in numbers

    

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg may have left Barcelona with the fastest lap time, but it was Sauber who completed the greatest distance of any of the teams over the 12 days of pre-season testing - just over 5,300 kilometres. With on-track preparations for the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship now complete, we review the important statistics ahead of the opening round in Australia on March 15-17...

Unofficial test kilometres completed (Drivers):
1. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber - 2,768
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - 2,640
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 2,584
4. Sergio Perez, McLaren - 2,538
= Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber - 2,538
6. Max Chilton, Marussia - 2,536
7. Paul di Resta, Force India - 2,520
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso - 2,455
9. Charles Pic, Marussia - 2,364
10. Valtteri Bottas, Williams - 2,352
11. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari - 2,351
12. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull - 2,343
13. Felipe Massa, Ferrari - 2,336
14. Romain Grosjean, Lotus - 2,270
15. Mark Webber, Red Bull - 2,265
16. Pastor Maldonado, Williams - 2,218
17. Giedo van der Garde, Caterham - 2,149
18. Jenson Button, McLaren - 2,091
19. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso - 2,051
20. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus - 1,182
21. Jules Bianchi, Force India/Marussia - 1,165
22. Adrian Sutil, Force India - 1,159
23. Luiz Razia, Marussia - 500
24. James Rossiter, Force India - 270
25. Pedro de la Rosa, Ferrari - 226
26. Davide Valsecchi, Lotus - 74

Unofficial test kilometres completed (Teams):
1. Sauber - 5,307
2. Mercedes - 5,224
3. Ferrari - 4,913
4. McLaren - 4,629
5. Red Bull - 4,608
6. Williams - 4,570
7. Caterham - 4,513
8. Toro Rosso - 4,506
9. Force India - 4,481
10. Marussia - 3,669
11. Lotus - 3,527

917 sets of Pirelli tyres were used in pre-season testing:
30 sets of the supersoft specification
190 sets of the soft specification
383 sets of the medium specification
221 sets of the hard specification
61 sets of the intermediate specification
32 sets of the wet specification

The longest runs on each compound at Barcelona were:
Supersoft - 16 laps
Soft - 31 laps
Medium - 36 laps
Hard - 24 laps
Intermediate - 47 laps
Wet - 48 laps

Unofficial aggregate times from the two pre-season tests at Barcelona:
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:20.130
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:20.494
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:20.588
4. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:21.266
5. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:21.444
6. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 1:21.541
7. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:21.627
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus, 1:21.658
9. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:21.664
10. Sergio Perez, McLaren, 1:21.848
11. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:22.188
12. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:22.197
13. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:22.305
14. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:22.468
15. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:22.553
16. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:22.658
17. Charles Pic, Caterham, 1:23.115
18. Jules Bianchi, Marussia, 1:23.167
19. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:23.223
20. Davide Valsecchi, Lotus, 1:23.448
21. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:23.628
22. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:24.103
23. Giedo van der Garde, Caterham, 1:24.235

 

WRC: Hyundai reveals updated 2014 World Rally Car

Hyundai Motorsport revealed its latest specification i20 WRC at the Geneva Motorshow on Tuesday.
This evolution of the original i20 WRC shown in Paris in September has been produced in collaboration between Hyundai's research and development operation in Namyang, Korea and the firm's recently opened motorsport facility in Alzenau, Germany.
Hyundai has committed to competing in next year's World Rally Championship and the i20 WRC will begin testing in the second half of this year.
Team principal Michel Nandan explained the changes to the new car were largely on the outside of the i20 WRC.
"This latest version of the i20 WRC has centred on aerodynamics with the objective of improving the car's cooling systems," he said.
"A new rear wing and front spoiler give the i20 WRC a new external appearance while, under the bodywork, improvements have also been made to the suspension kinematics and chassis stiffness as we gear up for a more structured test programme later in the year. We have lots of important foundations to lay both with the car and the team at Alzenau."
He admitted that building the team and Alzena facility while simultaneously developing the car was a challenge.
"Building up a new motorsport facility from scratch is an ambitious and rewarding challenge," Nandan said.
"We have begun the recruitment process but already have a number of key people in place who bring with them a wealth of rally and motorsport experience.
"We are rapidly building up the team infrastructure and are pleased that everything is running to schedule."
Nandan warned that expectations for Hyundai should remain low at first.

"We are still in the infancy of our exciting WRC programme so the development curve for the car and team is steep," he underlined.

Sebastien Ogier plays down 2013 WRC favourites tag

Sebastien Ogier is refusing to accept that he and Volkswagen are favourites for this year's World Rally Championship despite his strong start to the season.

The German car maker has enjoyed a dream start to the 2013 campaign after Ogier finished second in Monte Carlo and then claimed an emphatic win in Sweden.
Ogier's closest rival, Sebastien Loeb - the winner in Monte Carlo and runner-up in Sweden - is only competing in four rounds of the World Rally Championship this year.
Despite Loeb's impending absence, Ogier insists there is still a long way to go in the championship.
"We have only completed two of the 13 rounds of the World Championship. We still don't really know how good we are," Ogier said ahead of this weekend's Rally Mexico.
"We will have to wait and see how we fair on gravel, as that is the surface on which most of the WRC rallies are staged.
"Maybe we will rethink our goals for the season after Portugal or Argentina.
"One thing is certain, however: if we are still in with a chance at the end of the season, we will fight all the way."
Ogier said he is not planning to change his approach despite his strong outings in the first two rallies, which he feels have increased the pressure on VW's rivals.
"I will approach all the rallies with the same fighting spirit," he said.
"We are obviously more than happy with the way the season has started. However, Monte Carlo and Sweden are unique rallies, which cannot be compared with other rounds of the World Championship.
"We still have a long way to go. However, we can now relax a little, as we already have valuable World Championship points.
"As such, the other teams are now under more pressure than we are."

Kimi Raikkonen insists Lotus reliability not a worry as F1 test ends

Kimi Raikkonen has no concerns over the reliability of his Lotus, despite losing a large chunk of the final day of Formula 1 testing at Barcelona to a gearbox problem.

The Finn had already missed the third day of the Barcelona test due to illness and was replaced in the E21 by reserve driver Davide Valsecchi and Romain Grosjean.
And he completed just seven laps during Sunday morning's running as the team investigated a problem with the gearbox and then opted to change it.
When asked whether he was worried about the possibility of unreliability derailing a potential title campaign, Raikkonen said: "Not really.
"The few times that problems have cost us many hours, it's always been the same thing. And we don't expect it to happen when it's warmer.
"When you have these problems, you can never be 100 per cent that it won't happen again.
"But we had some problems in testing last year and then found the racing was OK. I think it will be the same story again."
Lotus technical director James Allison said that despite the loss of track time, Raikkonen's afternoon, which revolved around a number of four to seven lap stints on medium and soft tyres, had given the team reason to be optimistic for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
"Today was something like this entire test in microcosm; we spent too much of the day in the garage, but when we did get out on track we made good progress.
"A definite positive is that we are not finding it difficult to be on the pace, and we haven't had to resort to low-fuel runs at any of the tests to get a good time out of the car."

Ferrari expects shocks in Melbourne Formula 1 opener

Ferrari is predicting some 'shocks' at the Australian Grand Prix, with tyre uncertainty clouding the Formula 1 pecking order.

Although there is a growing view that Red Bull leads the pack ahead of the season opener in Melbourne, Ferrari technical director Pat Fry believes that difficulties teams have faced in managing tyres in testing leave the form book unclear.
"There are still going to be a lot of people learning things in Melbourne to be honest," he said. "Here, the tyres, they grain massively, so what you see here is not necessarily going to carry over until Melbourne.
"I think there will be a few surprised people and a few shocked people."
The high rate of degradation experienced due to the Barcelona track characteristics and cold winter weather has left teams saying that understanding what is going on is an impossible task.
"Certainly there has been massive degradation," added Fry, who says he is pretty pleased with Ferrari's winter test programme.
"Here is a little bit dominated by the graining, but it is bad here. In the morning it is quite bad, because you can't run the hard tyre as by the time you have warmed it up it has grained. It will be interesting at a cold Spa to see what happens as well!
"I think it is going to be fairly mixed up to be honest. I wouldn't like to predict where we will be.
"It will be interesting to see if it is 30 degrees [in Australia] like it was there a few days ago. Then it will be a different story to here.
"We are all going to learn that weekend."