| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, February 27th 2013, 18:48 GMT |
Lotus has downplayed the significance of the FIA's decision to prevent Renault from running revised engine maps for the start of 2013 season
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, February 27th 2013, 19:20 GMT |
Formula 1's fight at the front appears to be even closer in 2013 than it was last season, according to Lotus technical director James Allison
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, February 27th 2013, 21:48 GMT |
Adrian Sutil is set to be confirmed on Thursday as Force India's second driver, as the final pre-season Formula 1 test gets underway at Barcelona
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, February 26th 2013, 10:25 GMT |
Ross Brawn's immediate future as team principal at Mercedes is not in doubt, insists its chairman Niki Lauda, despite Paddy Lowe planned to switch from McLaren
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| By Jonathan Noble and Dieter Rencken | Tuesday, February 26th 2013, 12:50 GMT |
Renault has promised its customer teams that it will not ease off in its efforts with the V8 engines this year, despite the huge work being put in to the new 2014 Formula 1 power units
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| By Edd Straw and Aleksandra Jurczak | Tuesday, February 26th 2013, 17:07 GMT |
Susie Wolff is planning to get a Super Licence so she can become Williams's official Formula 1 reserve driver
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| By Dieter Rencken and Jonathan Noble | Monday, February 25th 2013, 16:51 GMT |
Renault is eager to reduce the number of customer teams it supplies in Formula 1, dismissing talk that it could provide engines to half the grid.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, February 25th 2013, 17:40 GMT |
McLaren may have been putting on a brave face over Paddy Lowe's defection to Mercedes on Monday, but there is no hiding from the fact that his departure is a blow.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, February 25th 2013, 19:32 GMT |
Renault has unveiled the first images of the new V6 turbo engine that it believes will help attract fans back to Formula 1
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 22nd 2013, 18:29 GMT |
Mark Webber believes his Red Bull team is operating better than ever based on what he has seen so far in testing this year.
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, February 22nd 2013, 16:06 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton went fastest for Mercedes on a rain-hit final day of this week's test at Barcelona
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| By Matt Beer | Saturday, February 23rd 2013, 13:50 GMT |
Sergio Perez came away from his second test as a McLaren Formula 1 driver with the fastest time of the week at Barcelona.
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, February 22nd 2013, 16:06 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton went fastest for Mercedes on a rain-hit final day of this week's test at Barcelona
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 22nd 2013, 18:29 GMT |
Mark Webber believes his Red Bull team is operating better than ever based on what he has seen so far in testing this year.
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| By Matt Beer | Saturday, February 23rd 2013, 13:50 GMT |
Sergio Perez came away from his second test as a McLaren Formula 1 driver with the fastest time of the week at Barcelona.
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 22nd 2013, 14:45 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas believes that his rain-disrupted final morning of running in the Barcelona test allowed him to improve his pitstop skills.
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, February 22nd 2013, 16:06 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton went fastest for Mercedes on a rain-hit final day of this week's test at Barcelona
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 22nd 2013, 18:29 GMT |
Mark Webber believes his Red Bull team is operating better than ever based on what he has seen so far in testing this year.
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| By Matt Beer and Glenn Freeman | Thursday, February 21st 2013, 17:07 GMT |
Adrian Sutil believes that he has done all he can to earn a return to Formula 1 following his day of testing with Force India on Thursday.
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| By Matt Beer | Thursday, February 21st 2013, 17:24 GMT |
Jenson Button has admitted that McLaren is struggling to understand its 2013 car and extract consistent performance from it.
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| By Sam Tremayne and Glenn Freeman | Thursday, February 21st 2013, 18:36 GMT |
Romain Grosjean believes that he has already been able to show his new approach for 2013 during pre-season testing.
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| By Matt Beer and Glenn Freeman | Wednesday, February 20th 2013, 18:00 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas has highlighted improvements at the rear end of the new Williams FW35 as the most significant step forward the team has taken with its new car.
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| By Sam Tremayne and Matt Beer | Wednesday, February 20th 2013, 18:38 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen shrugged off his lack of running in the second test at Barcelona, saying it would make little difference to his preparations for the start of the 2013 Formula 1 season.
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, February 20th 2013, 18:52 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel dismissed any concerns over Red Bull's reliability despite causing a red flag during today's running at Barcelona.
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| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, February 19th 2013, 18:47 GMT |
Leading Formula 1 drivers are predicting the 2013 season will start with higher tyre degradation and more pitstops than the early races of 2012
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| By Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, February 19th 2013, 18:48 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel insists Red Bull is not wasting any time worrying about the progress of rival Formula 1 teams and has confidence in its own development plans
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| By Edd Straw and Glenn Freeman | Tuesday, February 19th 2013, 19:13 GMT |
The new Williams FW35 is a big improvement on its Formula 1 predecessor according to the team's lead driver Pastor Maldonado
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| Monday, February 18th 2013, 11:06 GMT |
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has assured Mark Webber that he will be given the same opportunities as Sebastian Vettel to win this year's Formula 1 world championship
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| By Edd Straw | Monday, February 18th 2013, 12:42 GMT |
The second pre-season Formula 1 test of 2013 kicks off at Barcelona on Tuesday, and is set to reveal a clearer picture of the cars' relative pace as well as potentially finalising the driver line-up
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Monday, February 18th 2013, 15:55 GMT |
Adrian Sutil will drive for Force India at this week's Barcelona Formula 1 test, as he vies with Jules Bianchi for the second race seat
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| By Matt Beer | Saturday, February 16th 2013, 13:42 GMT |
Jaime Alguersuari remains committed to securing a Formula 1 return despite losing a 2013 deal he believed was secure
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| By Edd Straw | Sunday, February 17th 2013, 14:21 GMT |
Nico Hulkenberg is a "huge asset" to Sauber based on his first test for the Swiss outfit at Jerez last week, according to chief designer Matt Morris
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| By Glenn Freeman and Matt Beer | Sunday, February 17th 2013, 15:55 GMT |
Mark Webber has welcomed the adjustment to DRS regulations for the 2013 Formula 1 season, saying drivers had long felt the system's free use in practice was pointless
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| By Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde | Friday, February 15th 2013, 13:10 GMT |
Toro Rosso technical director James Key believes the team could challenge for sixth place in the standings this year, although he admits it is a big ask
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| By Glenn Freeman and Matt Beer | Saturday, February 16th 2013, 12:45 GMT |
Nico Rosberg is confident the late changes to Mercedes' management structure ahead of the 2013 Formula 1 season will not destabilise the team in any way
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| By Matt Beer | Saturday, February 16th 2013, 13:42 GMT |
Jaime Alguersuari remains committed to securing a Formula 1 return despite losing a 2013 deal he believed was secure
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| By Edd Straw | Thursday, February 14th 2013, 15:26 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas is effectively not a rookie driver heading into his debut season racing in Formula 1, according to Williams chief race engineer Xevi Pujolar.
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| By Jonathan Noble and Edd Straw | Friday, February 15th 2013, 11:43 GMT |
Caterham team principal Cyril Abiteboul believes Formula 1 must consider easing the criteria that teams must meet in order to qualify as a constructor
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| By Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde | Friday, February 15th 2013, 13:10 GMT |
Toro Rosso technical director James Key believes the team could challenge for sixth place in the standings this year, although he admits it is a big ask
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| By Edd Straw | Thursday, February 14th 2013, 13:50 GMT |
Adrian Sutil has had a seat fitting for Force India ahead of a possible outing for the Silverstone squad in next week's Barcelona test.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, February 14th 2013, 13:50 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits there is a chance that one of Formula 1's current frontrunning teams could make a hash of the 2014 rules and end up stuck in the midfield
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| By Edd Straw | Thursday, February 14th 2013, 15:26 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas is effectively not a rookie driver heading into his debut season racing in Formula 1, according to Williams chief race engineer Xevi Pujolar.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne and Stephen D'Albiac | Wednesday, February 13th 2013, 11:10 GMT |
Jean-Eric Vergne is confident that Toro Rosso has made a step forward but insists it will take time for the STR8 to show its potential.
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| Wednesday, February 13th 2013, 13:13 GMT |
Toto Wolff accepts that he has no margin for failure in his new role as Mercedes motorsport boss even though he only joined the company at the start of the year.
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| By Sam Tremayne and Stephen D'Albiac | Wednesday, February 13th 2013, 15:18 GMT |
Sauber rookie Esteban Gutierrez believes partnering Nico Hulkenberg in 2013 will be massively beneficial for his own development as a grand prix driver.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, February 12th 2013, 12:53 GMT |
David Coulthard has hit out at long-standing criticisms of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, suggesting protests against it are 'selfish' and 'small-minded'
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, February 12th 2013, 13:56 GMT |
Ross Brawn says that he has put thoughts about a future away from Mercedes firmly to the back of his mind, with his focus now only on moving the team forward
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| By Jonathan Noble and Stephen D'Albiac | Tuesday, February 12th 2013, 17:34 GMT |
Mika Hakkinen believes Mercedes' early form from last week's Jerez test makes it unlikely that Lewis Hamilton will be able to challenge his former team McLaren this year
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, February 11th 2013, 12:26 GMT |
Force India has made a clear step forward with its 2013 car according to its 2012 reserve driver Jules Bianchi
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, February 11th 2013, 13:24 GMT |
Lotus is heading to next week's second pre-season Formula 1 test at Barcelona confident there will be no repeat of the suspension dramas that forced it to withdraw last year.
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| By Edd Straw | Monday, February 11th 2013, 15:38 GMT |
The new Williams-Renault FW35 has passed the final crash test ahead of its track debut at next week's Barcelona test.
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 8th 2013, 18:11 GMT |
Ferrari's final day of running in the Jerez test was vital for accelerating its simulator programme, despite the team missing out on three-and-a-half hours of running after a gearbox problem.
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, February 8th 2013, 18:23 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says his feeling and comfort in Lotus's E21 improved during a day in which he also topped the timesheets for the Enstone-based squad.
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 8th 2013, 19:12 GMT |
Pedro de la Rosa admitted that his Ferrari debut was a day of mixed emotions after fearing that he would not be able to do more than a few laps.
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 8th 2013, 18:11 GMT |
Ferrari's final day of running in the Jerez test was vital for accelerating its simulator programme, despite the team missing out on three-and-a-half hours of running after a gearbox problem.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, February 8th 2013, 18:23 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says his feeling and comfort in Lotus's E21 improved during a day in which he also topped the timesheets for the Enstone-based squad.
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 8th 2013, 19:12 GMT |
Pedro de la Rosa admitted that his Ferrari debut was a day of mixed emotions after fearing that he would not be able to do more than a few laps.
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| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 8th 2013, 18:11 GMT |
Ferrari's final day of running in the Jerez test was vital for accelerating its simulator programme, despite the team missing out on three-and-a-half hours of running after a gearbox problem.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, February 8th 2013, 18:23 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says his feeling and comfort in Lotus's E21 improved during a day in which he also topped the timesheets for the Enstone-based squad.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw | Friday, February 8th 2013, 19:12 GMT |
Pedro de la Rosa admitted that his Ferrari debut was a day of mixed emotions after fearing that he would not be able to do more than a few laps.
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| By Glenn Freeman and Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, February 7th 2013, 17:42 GMT |
Felipe Massa insists Jenson Button's fastest time from Tuesday at Jerez remains very impressive, despite the Ferrari driver beating it on Thursday
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, February 7th 2013, 18:00 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus is already in better shape than it was last year after completing his first day of running in the new E21
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| By Glenn Freeman | Thursday, February 7th 2013, 18:32 GMT |
Charles Pic believes that Caterham's Renault engine and KERS is its biggest advantage over rival team Marussia.
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| By Glenn Freeman | Wednesday, February 6th 2013, 18:21 GMT |
Romain Grosjean believes the Lotus E21 is an improvement "in all areas" following his first two days of testing in the new car at Jerez
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| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, February 6th 2013, 17:47 GMT |
Mark Webber believes Red Bull has made a more satisfying start to the 2013 Formula 1 campaign than it did to last year's title-winning season
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, February 6th 2013, 19:10 GMT |
Sergio Perez admitted that the step up to a top team lived up to his expectations, with the new McLaren MP4-28 impressing him immediately
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, February 5th 2013, 19:20 GMT |
Giedo van der Garde believes that Caterham still has some work to do with finding rear grip with its new car despite a positive first day of 2013 Formula 1 testing.
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, February 5th 2013, 20:44 GMT |
Marussia will be able to continue its pre-season testing programme at Jerez on Wednesday despite suffering a suspension failure that caused Max Chilton's crash
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| By Matt Beer | Wednesday, February 6th 2013, 07:08 GMT |
Luiz Razia has secured the Marussia Formula 1 seat left vacant by Timo Glock's pre-season departure from the team
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| By Sam Tremayne | Monday, February 4th 2013, 16:55 GMT |
Toro Rosso has revealed its 2013 Formula 1 challenger, the STR8, on the eve of this year's first pre-season test at Jerez.
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| By Sam Tremayne | Monday, February 4th 2013, 18:39 GMT |
Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost believes there is more pressure on his team than his drivers in 2013
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| By Edd Straw | Monday, February 4th 2013, 18:50 GMT |
The new Toro Rosso STR8 is set for major aerodynamic changes as the year progresses after the team focused on mechanical improvements with its launch-spec car.
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| By Matt Beer | Sunday, February 3rd 2013, 16:50 GMT |
You couldn't say that Red Bull technical genius Adrian Newey resented being at the launch of RB9 - his demeanour was plenty breezy enough - but he did seem somewhat bemused at the whole concept of a pre-season unveiling.
To him, the idea of revealing a brand new car in February has become as anachronistic as grooved tyres and profligate testing.
"What's really changed Formula 1 over the last 10 or more years is the rate of development through the year.
"It used to be that if you came out with a dominant car at the start of the year, as long as you were reliable it would win the championship," explained Newey, a man with plenty of experience of delivering winter bombshells to rivals.
"That's not the case anymore. It really is a case of continual development. Where you've got stable regulations, you can almost picture a new car as another evolution for another race.
"It just happens that this time we've had two months between races rather than two weeks."
The glitz of Red Bull's pre-launch hospitality was certainly at odds with the coyness of its actual unveiling.
From between-the-lines scouring and facial expression monitoring, you could deduce that Newey found the benefit/drawbacks quandary of DRS-boosting devices fascinatingly irksome, that Christian Horner could've done without Helmut Marko's latest verbal grenade in the direction of Mark Webber, that team status questions still niggled Webber, that Sebastian Vettel didn't fancy a Fernando Alonso-esque winter lie-in but didn't think his arch-rival would miss much at Jerez, and that the late-2012 development push really had taken so much out of Red Bull that it feared a lacklustre start to 2013.
Dynamite revelations were few and far apart, unless you counted Sebastian Vettel responding to a curiously worded question about his "plans for world domination" with "I know I'm German, but I didn't say I wanted that..." Three world titles have not dulled Vettel's talent for glint-eyed mischief...
Yet the centre of attention - the RB9 - kept a low profile.
Photography in the unveiling area was banned, and wi-fi limited to reporters' own intrepid dongles.
You could squint at the RB9 from a distance, but the covers were swiftly pulled back across as the press conference drew to a close. And Red Bull bucked the trend for online launch broadcasts too.
Infiniti's enhanced role as title sponsor got plenty of exposure, which was ultimately the point of the event from Red Bull's perspective.
But, Newey reckoned, it wasn't as if his team was being any more secretive than its peers.
"The other teams have only made limited-view pictures available - rather like we're presenting today," said Newey with a touch of his lead driver's impishness.
"It's easy to make big styling or feature changes, but whether that really brings much lap time benefit or not is another matter.
"Often it's the small details that aren't very clear to a faraway camera that are most significant."
And those details have to be spotted in the pitlanes of tests or grands prix. They certainly weren't going to be flaunted to the world at a mere car launch.
| By Matt Beer | Sunday, February 3rd 2013, 14:27 GMT |
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner insists that Helmut Marko's recent criticisms of Mark Webber should not be taken as a sign that the Formula 1 team itself has any doubts about the Australian's talent.
Marko, a motorsport advisor for Red Bull, told the company's own in-house magazine earlier this month that he felt Webber lacked the consistency and psychological strength to win a world championship.
At the launch of the Red Bull RB9, Horner distanced himself from Marko's opinions.
"We all know Helmut can be outspoken at times. His comments reflected his opinion, and these things can be misinterpreted," Horner said.
"If we weren't happy with Mark we would never have signed him for this year.
"We give both drivers equal opportunity and it's down to what they do on the circuit.
"Certainly in the team, that's the approach and we'll continue to do that.
"For us, it doesn't matter which driver wins as long as it's in one of these cars."
Webber added that he did not let Marko's comments have any effect on his self-belief, and that he would not be at Red Bull if he doubted the team had faith in him.
"I do believe I can have a crack at the championship again this year, as I have done in previous seasons," he said.
"That's what I'm getting up each day thinking.
"The team know I need 100 per cent support. You cannot win world championships with 90 per cent support.
"That's what I'm confident of."
| By Matt Beer | Sunday, February 3rd 2013, 14:39 GMT |
Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey is open to the Formula 1 champion team using a passive DRS-style device during the 2013 season, but admitted it was tough to make such a system effective.
Newey acknowledged that devices such as that used by Lotus had great potential, if their challenges could be conquered.
"It's for sure an interesting area," he said at the launch of the RB9.
"It's also very tricky to have a system that's reliable, that withstands following another car without being triggered at moments that would be embarrassing, and to make it a positive gain on balance over the weekend.
"None of those things are straightforward."
He would not be drawn on how far Red Bull had progressed with its own DRS addition.
"We have certainly investigated it," said Newey.
"I wouldn't like to give away what we may or may not do during the season.
"It's a very interesting area, and it's there to be explored.
"Deriving lap time benefit, or more importantly points benefit, out of it, is more difficult."
| By Matt Beer | Saturday, February 2nd 2013, 11:08 GMT |
Sauber revealed its 2013 Formula 1 contender, the C32, in an event at its Hinwil headquarters in Switzerland on Saturday morning.
The team enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in its history in 2012, as it claimed four podium finishes and finished sixth in the constructors' championship.
Team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said that given last year's results, Sauber wanted to build on the previous car's strong points rather than starting afresh.
"I'm very excited, but also a little tense," she said. "The aim is very clear and simple: we want to continue to improve ourselves.
"The Sauber C32 is based on its predecessor, which was a very competitive car.
"It had a lot of strengths and some weaknesses, and our engineers have worked to build on those strengths and eliminate the weaknesses."
The car has an all-new, largely grey, livery and runs a smooth nose as well as notably small sidepods.
Sauber also has an all-new driver line-up for 2013, with ex-Force India man Nico Hulkenberg and promoted test driver Esteban Gutierrez replacing Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi.
2013 pre-season dates
Car launches Team Date
Lotus January 28
McLaren January 31
Ferrari February 1
Force India February 1
Sauber February 2
Red Bull February 3
Mercedes February 4
Toro Rosso February 4
Caterham February 5
Marussia February 5
Williams February 19 Testing
Venue Date
Jerez 5-8 February
Barcelona 19-22 February
Barcelona 28 February-3 March
Keep checking AUTOSPORT for the latest news from our reporters at every 2013 Formula 1 car launch, plus comprehensive galleries and in-depth technical analysis of the new cars
Sauber C32 - full coverage:
Sauber reveals its 2013 F1 designSauber C32 in picturesPerez crash inspired Sauber sidepodsSauber not chasing new engine supplier
| By Andrew van Leeuwen and Edd Straw | Saturday, February 2nd 2013, 13:35 GMT |
The new Sauber C32's aggressive narrow sidepod packaging was inspired by Sergio Perez's accident in qualifying for the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix.
Chief designer Matt Morris revealed at Saturday's launch of Sauber's 2013 Formula 1 car that Perez's side-on impact with the wall at the chicane at just over 60mph made the team realise that it was possible to reduce the width of the sidepods by almost 50 per cent.
Despite such a drastic reduction in the size of the sidepods, Morris is certain the Sauber has not over-reached itself with the design, even though it took a long time to make the packaging possible.
"Checo had quite a bad accident in Monaco a few years ago and when we got the car back and we saw the sidepod all squashed in, we thought 'I wonder if we could do that?'" said Morris.
"The sidepods are a bold move, a bold design, but we are pretty confident.
"One of the huge challenges for us is in packaging all of the radiators and boxes. Like most things in Switzerland, we got it just in time!"
In addition to the aggressively-packaged sidepods, Sauber has also made some major changes to the braking system, which were tested but never raced last year, as well as lightening the chassis.
Other features, particularly at the front end of the car and the exhaust, are evolutions of the 2012 Sauber.
"We have a whole new braking system that we were developing last year," said Morris.
"In terms of the chassis, this is an area we've spent a lot of time and effort on to save weight. We've made some savings without compromising safety.
"The exhaust is not massively different to what we finished with last year, we just further enhanced it.
"The front wing is predominantly a carry-over from last year.
"One of the small regulation changes is an additional legality check on the front wing, so we've had to spend a lot of time changing the structure of the wing to be sure we pass that.
"That's something we spent a lot of time over the winter developing."
Morris added that Sauber planned to experiment with the passive DRS concept during pre-season testing.
"Passive DRS is allowed, so this is an area that we're looking at developing through the course of winter testing," he said.
Sauber C32 - full coverage:
Sauber reveals its 2013 F1 designSauber C32 in picturesSauber not chasing new engine supplier
| By Andrew van Leeuwen and Matt Beer | Saturday, February 2nd 2013, 13:51 GMT |
Sauber is not talking to any manufacturers other than Ferrari about a 2014 engine supply, but admits it has not secured a deal for Formula 1's new technical era.
With some details of next year's turbocharged V6 engines still to be finalised, Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said her team was in limbo regarding its future power source.
"It's a very interesting situation for customer teams at the moment. There is so much, as we understand, that is not clear at the moment, so it's very difficult to engage into these kinds of talks," she said.
"For us, we have had a partnership with Ferrari for more than 10 years, so that's the natural link for us to go.
"But they also have difficulties, because nothing has been clarified down to the last detail.
"It's extremely challenging, and a fear we have as a private team is to make sure we don't have any disadvantage compared to the manufacturer teams.
"It comes down to finding the engine, knowing the technical details of it and knowing what impact it has on our design."
She dismissed suggestions that Sauber might be looking at a switch to Mercedes engines.
"Just to be very clear on this, we are not talking to anyone else, unlike what was reported," Kaltenborn insisted.
Sauber C32 - full coverage:
Sauber reveals its 2013 F1 designSauber C32 in picturesPerez crash inspired Sauber sidepods
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, February 1st 2013, 14:57 GMT |
Giedo van der Garde has won the battle for the second race seat at Caterham for 2013, the team confirmed on Friday.
Following months of discussions, the Dutchman has got the nod over Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov, Bruno Senna and Luiz Razia to become Charles Pic's team-mate this season.
Van der Garde, who was Caterham's reserve driver last year and won races for its GP2 team, already has F1 mileage under his belt after driving in several Friday practice sessions as well as at the young driver test.
The Dutchman had also been part of the Spyker team's line-up in 2007, carrying out testing duties for the squad.
Speaking about his move in to a race seat, van der Garde said: "I know I am ready to take the step up to F1 and all the work I have done throughout my career, and particularly in the last year with this team, has brought me to my ultimate goal.
"Throughout 2012 I was able to fully integrate myself into the team, both through the FP1 sessions I ran at a number of tracks that were then new to me, and as reserve driver, fully embedded with the team throughout the season.
"Now I can continue to learn at the highest level of motorsport and show that I am ready for F1. I cannot wait to start work."
Caterham's decision to sign van der Garde and Pic is a departure from its previous mantra of securing experienced talent to help it in F1, and will have been motivated in part by financial considerations.
Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said last year that he was keen to bring on younger men now - which has been proven with his choice for 2013.
"We continue to grow as a team and we are committed to giving young talent across the motorsport industry the chance to grow with us and this is Giedo's opportunity to show he deserves his place at the very highest level of global motorsport," he said.
Van der Garde's appointment, with Razia now set to take the second seat at Marussia, means that Kovalainen, Petrov and Senna all appear to be without F1 drives for 2013
Giedo van der Garde's route to F1
Nationality: Dutch
Age: 27
F1 tests: Super Aguri (2007), Spyker/Force India (2007/08), Renault (2009), Caterham (2012, inc Friday practice)
GP2: 2009-12 with iSport ('09), Addax ('10-11), Caterham ('12). Five wins, best championship result of fifth in 2011.
Formula Renault 3.5: 2007-08 with Victory ('07) and P1 ('08). Champion in 2008, five wins.
Formula 3 Euro Series: 2004-'06 with Signature ('04), Rosberg ('05), ASM ('06). One win, best championship result of sixth in 2006.
Pre-2003: Karting and Formula Renault Eurocup
2013 Formula 1 line-up so far: Red Bull Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber Ferrari Fernando Alonso Felipe Massa McLaren Jenson Button Sergio Perez Lotus Kimi Raikkonen Romain Grosjean Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Nico Rosberg Sauber Nico Hulkenberg Esteban Gutierrez Force India Paul di Resta seat still available Williams Pastor Maldonado Valtteri Bottas Toro Rosso Daniel Ricciardo Jean-Eric Vergne Caterham Charles Pic Giedo van der Garde Marussia Max Chilton seat still available
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, February 1st 2013, 16:26 GMT |
McLaren insists it has no concerns about its drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez struggling to get the best out of its car in qualifying this year.
Both Button and Perez are widely perceived to be easy on their tyres, a trait that is valuable for looking after high degrading rubber in races but is not so good for switching on performance over a single lap in qualifying.
The issue may well become a factor for the team this year, but its sporting director Sam Michael says the outfit is relaxed about the situation right now.
"I don't think it is a massive concern at all," said Michael. "Jenson got on top of it [the tyres] last year and we don't really know where Checo [Perez] is until he drives the car.
"But it is not like he was a poor qualifier, because he was close to his team-mate all the time at the last team he was at.
"And, to be honest, the most important thing is what happens on Sunday, isn't it? That is where you get points. Although at the same time we want to be on pole position and run at the front.
"We don't know what will happen until we get into the race season. The change of tyre specs [for 2013] is probably significant, but is one that should help both of our guys."
Pirelli is being more aggressive with its compound choices for this year, and changes in construction should make the operating window for its products wider than it was last year.
Michael believes that teams will be far better prepared for the challenges of dealing with this year's tyres than they were this time last season.
"I think the teams that did understand it last year will know what to look for this time," he said. "I am not sure that if you came in fresh or used winter data only you would get much - because the temperature and loadings are completely different.
"However, the understanding that teams developed during last season will be more important when you rock up in Melbourne."
McLaren director of engineering Tim Goss was encouraged, however, that construction changes to the tyres do appear to suit the McLaren car philosophy.
"We tested the construction on the Friday in Brazil, as did most of the teams, and our car responded very well to the construction change," he said.
"So we know that as far as construction is concerned, then it is not an issue with our car.
"The compounds are the big unknown. We know what they have done with the data they have supplied us, in terms of compound stiffness, and what they are doing to the working range.
"But in truth we are going to have to learn about them over the next few weeks."
| By Ben Anderson and Glenn Freeman | Friday, February 1st 2013, 17:37 GMT |
Force India has admitted that it had planned to run Jules Bianchi as its reserve driver for two years before considering him for a Formula 1 race drive.
The Silverstone-based team launched its 2013 VJM06 on Friday, with only lead driver Paul di Resta in attendance.
Bianchi, who drove for Force India in free practice on nine grand prix weekends in 2012, is one of several drivers in contention for the second race seat, with Adrian Sutil and Bruno Senna both considered leading contenders as well.
Speaking at the launch of the new car, Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley told AUTOSPORT that the departure of Nico Hulkenberg had disrupted the team's long-term driver plans.
"The idea of the Nico/Paul partnership not continuing into 2013 wasn't our plan," said Fernley. "Obviously it slightly de-railed our programme.
"If we'd had an ideal world we'd have liked to run Jules for two years as a third driver.
"Is Jules ready to go into a primary seat? Yes, he is. Absolutely. But we've just got to make sure we tick all the boxes now."
Fernley said that having two drivers on board for the first test of pre-season at Jerez next week was not as important as getting a revised long-term plan in place with its line-up.
"We have all these long-term plans and we want to make sure the decisions we take are the right ones," he said.
"And we don't have to rush those decisions. Today [at the launch], a lot of the talk is about why we don't have other drivers here.
"Well, the key objective today is to launch the VJM06 and two new partners with our programme. We only needed one driver to do that.
"When we go to Jerez, there's no better person to do all the baseline work and get the car ready for Barcelona, than Paul.
"Paul will be the key focus for Jerez. After that, the shareholders will be ready I think to announce the three-driver line-up, which will see us into 2013 and hopefully longer term."
No shootout
Fernley dismissed the idea of holding an on-track evaluation of the various candidates for the 2013 line-up.
"We've got a number of people pooled that we want to look at for the primary drive, and a couple of people that we want to look at for the third driver programme," he said.
"We don't need to evaluate the people we're looking at - we'll make the decision and they'll go straight into the programme.
"As long as the baseline work is done and we can bring the second and third driver in for Barcelona [on February 19], they're going to be competitive straight away."
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, January 31st 2013, 15:56 GMT |
McLaren has ruled out racing a passive double DRS for the time being, because it believes bigger performance gains can be made elsewhere on the car.
With Lotus having confirmed earlier this week that it hopes to race its passive double DRS this season, it had been expected that a majority of frontrunning outfits would pursue the concept for 2013.
But speaking at the launch of the new McLaren MP4-28 at Woking on Thursday, McLaren technical staff reckoned that difficulties in getting a passive double DRS to work effectively had left it reluctant to devote much time to it.
When asked by AUTOSPORT if McLaren was pursuing it, director of engineering Tim Goss said: "We've been looking at such systems for a couple of seasons now and, as you have seen, we haven't run one yet - so heavily pursuing it would not be the right description.
"It is not straightforward to get them to work effectively such that they give you a net performance gain.
"There are parasitic losses in doing such systems and, as you will notice, there are three teams that tested them last season and no one actually raced one."
McLaren sporting director Sam Michael said it was the difficulty in getting the system to operate reliably, especially the speed at which the fluidic switches are turned on and off to change airflow to help stall the rear wing, that was the key factor in his team steering clear for now.
"They are extremely sensitive and difficult to make work," he said. "It is definitely an area that will, in time, become more and more exploited. But we are right at the beginning of it - and there are other bigger gains and bigger fish to fry before that one."
As well as pursuing a different path from Lotus on the passive double DRS, McLaren has elected to race with a 'vanity panel' covering a stepped nose on its 2013 car.
Goss was adamant that smoothing the airflow in that area of the car was more of an advantage than the disadvantage of extra weight on the car, which is why Lotus has opted not to race it.
"Aerodynamically you would not put a step on the top surface of the nose through choice, it is an artifact of the regulations," said Goss. "So we don't...
"It is a lightweight structural cover. There is no structural significance at all, so it weighs very little.
"I think James [Allison, Lotus technical director] left it quite open as to whether they would do something.
"If we look aerodynamically at the step on the nose then, to be honest, it is not very significant but you will pull a few minor losses off it. You would not do it [have a stepped nose] out of choice, so we don't."
McLaren MP4-28 - full coverage:
McLaren unveils new MP4-28 F1 car Lowe staying for 2013, McLaren insists MP4-28 unveiling gallery Perez hails 2013 preparations McLaren won't race passive double DRS
| By Matt Beer | Thursday, January 31st 2013, 16:55 GMT |
Marussia has become the final Formula 1 team to announce its 2013 launch date, as it confirmed the covers will come off the MR02 on the morning of the opening test day.
The unveiling will take place in the Jerez pitlane on the morning of Tuesday February 5.
Caterham is set to launch its new car at the same time.
Marussia has hailed its 2013 car as the start of a new era, as it will be the first car designed completely under its new technical structure, featuring Pat Symonds as a consultant and using windtunnel technology for the first time.
But rookie Max Chilton is the only driver currently signed by Marussia, as it released Timo Glock last week in order to hire a funded driver.
GP2 runner-up Luiz Razia has been strongly linked to the vacant seat.
2013 pre-season dates
Car launches Team Date
Lotus January 28
McLaren January 31
Ferrari February 1
Force India February 1
Sauber February 2
Red Bull February 3
Mercedes February 4
Toro Rosso February 4
Caterham February 5
Marussia February 5
Williams February 19 Testing
Venue Date
Jerez 5-8 February
Barcelona 19-22 February
Barcelona 28 February-3 March
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, January 31st 2013, 17:36 GMT |
McLaren may have raised some eyebrows with the step change in its car design for this season, but technical chiefs are adamant it was an essential move if it is to gun for Formula 1 title glory this year.
With the rules not changing dramatically for 2013, and teams already devoting much resource to the radical 2014 overhaul, it had been widely expected that the new cars would be mere evolutions of last year's designs.
McLaren has gone much further than that, however. It was reworked its concept in a wide range of areas, including switching to pull-rod suspension, increasing the height of its chassis so it now needs a 'vanity' panel' for a stepped nose, and being ultra-aggressive with the bodywork around the rear.
Although such work may be a bold move with 2014 on the horizon, the team has said that such an effort was vital if the team was to be able to keep up a good enough development rate throughout the forthcoming campaign.
When asked by AUTOSPORT about the thinking behind such an aggressive push with its car, McLaren engineering director Tim Goss said that there was a fear last year's MP4-27 concept was reaching a development ceiling.
"We looked at our performance during last season, in the stages where we were laying down the foundations of this car, and looked at where we thought we would get to in terms of our development rate if we just kept continuing with developing the same car," he said. "We realised we actually needed to make a larger step.
"So in defining the architecture of this car, the philosophy was very much to give ourselves the scope to further exploit the area of the cars that we knew would generate performance.
"We understand how to get the most out of these rules, and we demonstrated that last season under these rules with the quickest car at the beginning of the year and the end of the year.
"But, we decided that we need to give ourselves a bit more freedom and, as a result of that, we have reworked the car from front to back. That has allowed us that bit more freedom to push the areas of the car that we know respond."
Pull-rod front suspension
One of the boldest departures for McLaren is in switching from a push-rod to pull-rod layout with its front suspension, a route that Ferrari went down last season.
Goss insisted that its change was not simply the result of it copying Ferrari's lead, but of doing a lot of work into evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of such a design.
"What convinced us was actually a lot of research," he said. "When you see something new on a car, you always think, why have they done that?
"In F1, it is possible to copy someone else's concept, but invariably they don't work. What you have to do is get a fundamental understanding of why.
"So we looked at it and initially we thought exactly that - why? But after some time and some work we understood how it could benefit our car and certainly what we are trying to achieve with the car.
"We found benefits in terms of aerodynamics, which overcome the kinematic and structural negatives of doing more extreme anhedral suspension."
Exhaust concept
One area where McLaren has stuck to its guns, however, is in its exhaust concept, which is a different solution to the Red Bull style.
This year, McLaren has pushed things much further, dramatically cutting away the bodywork at the rear of the car to try and optimise airflow for both car performance and exhausts.
"It is playing the tunes on the aerodynamics," said Goss. "While trying to achieve one thing with the exhaust, you have to make sure when the exhaust gases are not flowing that the rear end of the car is still performing properly.
"So we have pushed things further. That is our philosophy on this car - to take the things where we know the car responds, push them further and make them more extreme. For us, it was a natural evolution of last year."
McLaren MP4-28 - full coverage:
McLaren unveils new MP4-28 F1 car Lowe staying for 2013, McLaren insists MP4-28 unveiling gallery Perez hails 2013 preparations McLaren won't race passive double DRS
