| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, October 30th 2013, 14:52 GMT |
McLaren thinks its performance at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will show whether the progress it made in India was a result of a genuine improvement.
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 30th 2013, 17:25 GMT |
Adrian Newey insists he is committed to winning more Formula 1 world championships with Red Bull after the team racked up its fourth consecutive title double
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 27th 2013, 15:02 GMT |
Red Bull was genuinely concerned Sebastian Vettel's 2013 Formula 1 title celebrations were going to be dampened by a car failure in the Indian Grand Prix
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| By Edd Straw | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 13:42 GMT |
Williams will suffer from slow pitstops in tomorrow's Indian Grand Prix to ensure there is no repeat of its recent wheelnut problems.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 13:47 GMT |
The FIA did make it clear to drivers that rules on track limits would not be strictly enforced on corner exits in qualifying for the Indian Grand Prix, but things will be tightened up for the race.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 14:00 GMT |
Lotus has admitted that it simply got it wrong for Romain Grosjean after the Frenchman became a shock Q1 casualty at the Indian Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 05:46 GMT |
The final free practice session for the Indian Grand Prix has been delayed and shortened because of visibility problems
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 06:34 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull remained untouchable in Indian Grand Prix practice, the Formula 1 world champion leading team-mate Mark Webber in a final shortened session ahead of qualifying
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| By Matt Beer | Friday, October 25th 2013, 06:02 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber held off the Mercedes and Lotus challenge to give Red Bull a one-two in opening practice for the Indian Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 25th 2013, 04:36 GMT |
Toro Rosso is hoping to give its surprise 2014 Formula 1 signing Daniil Kvyat Friday practice runs at the United States and Brazilian Grands Prix later this year
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 25th 2013, 06:37 GMT |
This weekend's Indian Grand Prix is to go ahead without hindrance, after a hearing into a legal challenge was delayed
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, October 23rd 2013, 11:49 GMT |
Lotus boss Eric Boullier has dismissed talk that Kimi Raikkonen has lost interest in the 2013 season now that his Formula 1 future is secure with Ferrari
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, October 23rd 2013, 14:50 GMT |
Renault says it warned Formula 1 rivals a long time ago that there could be a problem with the weight limit of next year's cars, but its concerns were ignored
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| By Glenn Freeman | Wednesday, October 23rd 2013, 15:20 GMT |
Sauber 2014 Formula 1 prospect Sergey Sirotkin believes the early part of his preparation for a move to F1 has already made him a much stronger driver
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| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, October 22nd 2013, 10:37 GMT |
Rookie drivers like Toro Rosso signing Daniil Kvyat will need to be "exceptional" to successfully step into Formula 1 amid the 2014 rule changes, reckons McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale.
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| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, October 22nd 2013, 10:45 GMT |
McLaren is not counting on Red Bull to release its chief aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou early despite its deal with him.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Tuesday, October 22nd 2013, 13:02 GMT |
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has denied the inclusion of the Russian Grand Prix on next year's Formula 1 calendar was a factor in picking Daniil Kvyat for a Toro Rosso seat
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| By Matt Beer | Monday, October 21st 2013, 19:51 GMT |
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost is confident that Daniil Kvyat will be a successful Formula 1 driver despite his lack of experience
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| By Edd Straw | Monday, October 21st 2013, 20:23 GMT |
The revelation that Daniil Kvyat will race for Scuderia Toro Rosso next year came as a shock to most, but unexpected as it was it would be wrong to say it came entirely from nowhere such is the progress he has made this year.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 18th 2013, 14:07 GMT |
Lotus believes the step forward it has made with its long wheelbase car, allied to a more aggressive tyre choice, means it can be confident of a strong challenge at the Indian Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 18th 2013, 14:07 GMT |
Lotus believes the step forward it has made with its long wheelbase car, allied to a more aggressive tyre choice, means it can be confident of a strong challenge at the Indian Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 18th 2013, 14:07 GMT |
Lotus believes the step forward it has made with its long wheelbase car, allied to a more aggressive tyre choice, means it can be confident of a strong challenge at the Indian Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 17th 2013, 10:50 GMT |
McLaren insists the steps it has made to boost its performance from 2015 do not mean that it is ignoring the job it has to do for next season.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 17th 2013, 13:48 GMT |
Renault has downplayed fears that Formula 1's 2014's engine rules could turn races into boring economy drives.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 17th 2013, 15:16 GMT |
Romain Grosjean has been told that a new deal at Lotus should be a formality, even though he will have to wait a bit longer for his contract to be sorted.
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 16th 2013, 11:39 GMT |
Giedo van der Garde believes luck will be the key to Caterham overhauling Marussia in the 2013 Formula 1 constructors' championship
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| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 16th 2013, 13:53 GMT |
Force India does not regret switching its development focus to its 2014 Formula 1 car early this season even though it is now struggling to score points
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, October 16th 2013, 16:00 GMT |
Red Bull says it does not feel a shred of disappointment over not wrapping up the 2013 Formula 1 world championship at its first opportunity in the Japanese Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 15th 2013, 12:07 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton has ruled out Mercedes being able to beat Red Bull to any race wins before the end of the 2013 Formula 1 season
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 15th 2013, 13:47 GMT |
Lotus boss Eric Boullier is optimistic that the team's a long talked about deal with investors will be completed imminently
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, October 15th 2013, 15:19 GMT |
Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley is concerned that Sauber's recent form could allow it to relegate the Silverstone-based team to seventh in the constructors' championship.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 13th 2013, 11:12 GMT |
Fernando Alonso insisted he had no problem with Felipe Massa appearing to ignore team orders in the Japanese Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 13th 2013, 12:07 GMT |
Red Bull insists that it had no choice but to put Mark Webber on to a three-stop strategy in the Japanese Grand Prix after his first stint was too short
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| By Edd Straw | Saturday, October 12th 2013, 09:51 GMT |
Formula 1 drivers plan to hold a minute's silence for Maria de Villota ahead of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix
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| By Sam Tremayne | Saturday, October 12th 2013, 09:56 GMT |
Jenson Button believes his 10th place in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix represents the McLaren's maximum potential at Suzuka
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| Saturday, October 12th 2013, 11:07 GMT |
Penalties for Adrian Sutil, Jules Bianchi and Charles Pic alter the starting grid for the Japanese Grand Prix
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| Saturday, October 12th 2013, 06:59 GMT |
Japanese GP: Toro Rosso qualifying quotes
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| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Saturday, October 12th 2013, 07:03 GMT |
Sauber says fuel vapour was the cause of the dramatic fire on Esteban Gutierrez's car during Japanese Grand Prix qualifying
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| By Jonathan Noble and Matt Beer | Saturday, October 12th 2013, 07:06 GMT |
Mark Webber said his Japanese Grand Prix pole lap will leave him with unforgettable memories from his final Formula 1 season
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| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 11th 2013, 05:06 GMT |
Pirelli and McLaren are hoping to rearrange their 2014 Formula 1 tyre test for Vallelunga next month, after plans to run at Austin had to be abandoned
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, October 11th 2013, 06:30 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel beat Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber to top spot in an incident-strewn second Formula 1 practice session at Suzuka
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| Friday, October 11th 2013, 06:52 GMT |
Maria de Villota has been found dead in a hotel room in Sevilla.
The Spaniard was 33.
A statement on her Facebook page, signed by her family, read: "Dear friends: Maria has left us.
"She had to go to heaven like all angels. We are thankful to God for the extra year and a half that he left her with us."
De Villota suffered a life-threatening testing accident with the Marussia Formula 1 squad in July last year.
She spent a month in hospital after crashing into an articulated trailer while carrying out a straightline test for Marussia at Duxford Aerodrome.
Although she lost her right eye, she was able to make a full recovery from her other injuries, which included significant skull damage
De Villota was a former World Touring Car Championship and Superleague Formula driver, and daughter of ex-F1 racer Emilio de Villota.
Translation by Pablo Elizalde
| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 9th 2013, 15:14 GMT |
Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley insists the Silverstone-based Formula 1 squad is not interested in taking on McLaren junior Kevin Magnussen on a short-term basis
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| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, October 9th 2013, 16:33 GMT |
Romain Grosjean feels he is ready to lead Lotus in Formula 1 next season after another strong performance in the Korean Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 10th 2013, 06:46 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel insists that he and Red Bull are nowhere near as dominant as Michael Schumacher and Ferrari were at the height of their powers in Formula 1
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 8th 2013, 11:14 GMT |
Lotus reckons its double podium finish in the Korean Grand Prix shows that its longer wheelbase car has not hurt its tyre sensitivity.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 8th 2013, 14:11 GMT |
Pirelli has welcomed Ferrari's claim that teams need to do more to help develop Formula 1 tyres, but the firm believes it may still need to force through changes.
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| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, October 8th 2013, 15:42 GMT |
Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley insists Paul di Resta's recent run of mistakes does not jeopardise his future with the team.
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| By Dieter Rencken and Pablo Elizalde | Monday, October 7th 2013, 14:53 GMT |
Pastor Maldonado claims he would prefer to stay at home rather than fight at the back of the field again in Formula 1 next year
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 7th 2013, 16:30 GMT |
Lotus boss Eric Boullier says he is happy that Romain Grosjean got upset at the team's decision not to impose team orders on Kimi Raikkonen in the Korean Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 6th 2013, 12:44 GMT |
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery says Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber are wrong to direct their anger at Formula 1's tyre company
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 6th 2013, 13:18 GMT |
Lotus says Romain Grosjean fully accepts the decision not to impose team orders and ask Kimi Raikkonen to swap positions in the Korean Grand Prix
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| By Edd Straw | Sunday, October 6th 2013, 13:29 GMT |
Nico Hulkenberg believes Sauber punched above its weight to finish a surprise fourth in the Korean Grand Prix
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, October 5th 2013, 10:32 GMT |
McLaren has hinted at the signing of some 'headline grabbing' technical staff to boost its bid to get back to the front of the Formula 1 grid
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| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Saturday, October 5th 2013, 10:34 GMT |
Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn has ruled out any possibility of Rubens Barrichello returning to the Formula 1 grid with her team in 2014.
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| Saturday, October 5th 2013, 10:44 GMT |
Mark Webber and Jules Bianchi's penalties both alter the starting grid for the Korean Grand Prix.
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| By Dan Cross | Saturday, October 5th 2013, 07:03 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen admits an error he made during qualifying compromised his chances in starting higher than 10th for the Korean Grand Prix.
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| By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde | Friday, October 4th 2013, 07:07 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel is expecting Mercedes to be a tough competitor in the Korean Grand Prix following Friday's practice sessions
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| By Matt Beer | Friday, October 4th 2013, 06:32 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton completed a clean sweep of fastest times in Korean Grand Prix Friday practice as Mercedes again took the fight to Red Bull.
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| By Jonathan Noble and Matt Beer | Friday, October 4th 2013, 07:05 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes is in much better shape to attack Red Bull than for several grands prix after setting the Friday practice pace in Korea.
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| Thursday, October 3rd 2013, 03:40 GMT |
The FIA has made clear to teams that it has no intention of introducing a single fuel supplier for Formula 1, AUTOSPORT has learned.
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| By Jonathan Noble and Matt Beer | Thursday, October 3rd 2013, 06:38 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says he would not have turned up to the Korean Grand Prix if he had any fear that his back issues would prevent him from racing
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 3rd 2013, 06:51 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel's rivals are bracing themselves for more Red Bull dominance in the Korean Grand Prix this weekend
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| By Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, October 1st 2013, 14:07 GMT |
Formula 1's sweeping 2014 rule changes will generate more unpredictable races because teams will all struggle to perfect their new machines, according to McLaren sporting director Sam Michael.
Michael says the scale and scope of the new regulations are too great for teams to be able judge flawlessly, meaning the new cars will have to be designed with far more compromises.
As a result, Michael feels there will be far more random results as reliability and performance concerns affect the traditional shape of the F1 field.
"When you have such a big change you will build in more margin than you would have previously," Michael told a Vodafone phone-in.
"Let's say we hadn't made changes, what you'd be doing is taking an extremely well known product and chipping away at marginal gains: a bit of weight here, a bit of friction there, some packaging.
"That has all gone out the window in 2014.
"You'll be in one of two positions: you'll push it too hard and be unreliable, or you'll be too heavy and want to take weight out.
"The approach is one of risk versus reward, and both those things will take time.
"It is pretty unlikely you will get it bang on; you just won't in all areas of the car.
"Do I think it will mix things up? Probably. I'm sure there will be results that wouldn't occur now."
Michael said he also expected unreliability to increase, adding: "When you get a big rule change the engineering structures are not fast enough to respond.
"It's something you have to cope with - as well as performance you have to get back reliability as soon as possible.
"There is no secret; getting reliable takes time and an ongoing dissection of what we have.
"Ultimately you are not going to have the same reliability you have on the current cars."
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 1st 2013, 14:54 GMT |
The FIA presidential election battle risks turning in to a 'farce' unless the governing body forces support letters obtained by Jean Todt to be revoked, claims his rival David Ward.
As the row over Todt's push for support letters grows ahead of a hearing of the FIA Ethics committee in the next few weeks, Ward has written to each FIA club outlining his view that the current situation is unacceptable.
Due to the requirement of candidates to have support from a number of clubs, Todt's lock down of support from 11 of the 12 North American clubs during a meeting in Montevideo earlier this year means that the fate of the election has been left in El Salvador's hands.
It means that the club could not only prevent any rivals standing against Todt, but also that if it backs a rival there is no opportunity for a third candidate to be put forward.
In the letter, Ward wrote: "In order to be eligible to stand in the FIA presidential election in 2013 a candidate must propose a Vice President for Sport from each of seven regions including North America.
"The written commitments of support that Jean Todt obtained from ASNs and ACNs prior to the beginning of the election process leave only one club in the North American region that is not already formally committed. That club is from El Salvador.
"The absurd situation in which just one club in North America may determine whether or not there can be a challenger to Jean Todt risks turning the FIA election into a farce.
"This is why I am asking for the support letters to be recognised as a clear breach of the FIA's rules and revoked in my complaint to the Ethics Committee."
Ward is keen for a major governance overhaul at the FIA - and is eager for every club to start pushing for debate about how the governing body can be made better.
"In standing as a candidate in the 2013 election my purpose has been to encourage debate about the need for further reforms in the FIA," added Ward.
"I believe there are serious flaws in the FIA's governance system. There are other equally serious problems, for example, regarding the transparency and adequacy of the FIA's financial accounts.
"The FIA deserves better than this. The FIA membership should not turn a blind eye to abuse of the FIA election system or tolerate deficient governance provisions in the sport that are not accepted in the mobility pillar."
| By Pablo Elizalde | Tuesday, October 1st 2013, 16:12 GMT |
Ferrari's chief designer Nikolas Tombazis says the team cannot blame the mid-season tyre changes for its lack of performance in recent races.
Fernando Alonso has not won a race since May and is now 60 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who has won four times in the last five grands prix with his Red Bull.
Alonso said earlier this month that the introduction of a different tyres mid-season had derailed Ferrari's championship challenge.
"We won in China, and we won in Spain, and then we seemed to lose a bit of performance, especially when the 2012 Pirelli tyres came back," Alonso said.
"That was the point in the championship, when we changed the tyres, that we said bye bye [to the title]."
Ferrari must take blame for 2013 failures
Tombazis believes, however, that it would too simplistic to say the tyres have been the sole reason why Ferrari has been unable to match Red Bull's form.
"It would be somewhat superficial to blame the tyres as the only reason for our decrease in performance. We also took some development steps that were not as strong and didn't work," said Tombazis.
"Windtunnel technology has been a weak point for us, compared to our competitors. We had some problems with our flow quality so it was not as uniform as it should be and we could not run as big a model as we would have liked.
"Our data and instrumentation was quite outdated so we couldn't do that many runs and experiments per day, which was a bit of a drawback."
Ferrari has been updating its windtunnel for several months and is now ready to re-open it later this month, something Tombazis believes will offer a big boost to the team.
"The past months we spent updating it have addressed all these problems. Therefore I am optimistic that, on this front, when we are fully up and running we will not be in deficit to our competitors," he said.
| Monday, September 30th 2013, 13:33 GMT |
Jules Bianchi: "It was fantastic to experience the Singapore Grand Prix and my first night race last time out, although I have to say it was not the best track for me this year. I am hoping that Korea will suit the car better and I have been working hard in the simulator and with the engineers to prepare for this and the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, which is a track I have been looking forward to. We have to keep pushing hard to take the positives from every situation and keep bringing home the two-car finishes. Let's hope for more of that this weekend."
Max Chilton: "I took a lot of positives away from my first night race in Singapore. Although Korea is a very different circuit, I feel there is a real momentum building now which I am obviously keen to maintain, so between the sim sessions, engineering meetings and my training, I'm feeling very focused. The Korea International Circuit marks another new experience. I understand the track to be quite slippery and the wide range of corners make it interesting to drive. I look forward to my first experience of it this weekend."
John Booth, Team Principal: "A little over a week since we headed home from Singapore, we find ourselves heading back in that direction to South Korea, for the first of two back to back races in that part of Asia. It's a tough schedule, but at least the cars and freight have continued on their own onward journey, which relieves some of the burden and leaves our personnel free to return home, even for just a short break or regroup with our factory-based colleagues. At the risk of sounding repetitive, our task in these remaining races really couldn't be clearer. We need to do everything possible to maintain our position, whilst capitalizing on tracks where we can be more competitive versus our nearest challengers. Singapore was one such race and there should be a few others in the six remaining."
| Monday, September 30th 2013, 13:34 GMT |
Pastor Maldonado: Korea is a medium to high speed circuit and has a good combination of corners with the last sector being a good technical challenge with corners that flow well. As the track is still quite new it can be quite green at the beginning of the week with low grip, but it then tends to rubber in and evolve a lot as the weekend progresses so we will be trying to make sure that the car can adapt to the changing grip levels. I was close to finishing in the points in Singapore and we will be looking to learn from that race and make the adjustments needed to challenge for a top ten finish.
Valtteri Bottas: Whilst this will be my first race at the Korea International Circuit, I drove the track in FP1 last year so I have experience to draw upon that will prove useful. It's a high downforce circuit that tests the cars overall performance as it has a mixture of high speed corners at the beginning with lower speed technical sections towards the end. We struggled with the pace of the car in Singapore but we are bringing some upgrades to this race and hopefully these new parts will result in improved performance for us this weekend.
Xevi Pujolar, Chief Race Engineer: The Korea International Circuit is a challenging track, with Sector 1 being mainly straights and Sectors 2 and 3 being combinations of medium speed corner sequences and some fast sweeping bends. The track is relatively easy on tyres, often aided by low track temperatures, a low circuit roughness and a forwards energy balance. This coupled with an average fuel consumption, albeit higher than normal fuel effect, and an above average pit loss time typically favours a two-stop strategy. This year Pirelli have gone one step harder on the prime compound, electing to bring the medium compound alongside the supersoft. The first Korean Grand Prix was heavily affected by rain but despite Korea's location and therefore high probability for typhoons and tropical storms, it is not forecast to rain this year.
Remi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 Head of Track Operations: Korea poses a tricky mix of long straights that are relatively undemanding on engines and drivers, but a twisty third sector that requires the set-up to be completely on point. Good driveability is essential through the medium to low speed corners, however this stop-start nature does drastically increase fuel consumption over one lap. We still need to provide a good top end power for the long straights in the first part of the lap so engine engineers work on providing acceleration through correct gear ratios, particularly in seventh.
| By Edd Straw | Monday, September 30th 2013, 15:23 GMT |
Esteban Gutierrez is confident he can build on his breakthrough qualifying performance in Singapore last weekend.
The 22-year-old reached Q3 for the first time in his career after setting the seventh fastest time in Q2, but was unable to attempt a repeat in the top-10 shootout due to not having any fresh super-soft rubber.
He then ran as high as seventh in the race, although rear tyre degradation restricted him to 12th at the flag.
"It was a very powerful feeling, because you can use it for the future," he told AUTOSPORT.
"When you are able to manage such a lap in qualifying, it brings you to another level, which you can use to keep building even more.
"Maybe at some tracks we are not going to be that strong in qualifying, but at least to challenge ourselves to keep improving in that direction is very important."
Gutierrez admits he was disappointed to miss out on a first points finish, but believes the race is an important step in his career.
Having struggled in the first half of the season, underlying pace relative to team-mate Nico Hulkenberg had improved prior to him outqualifying the German for the first time in Singapore.
"Obviously [it is frustrating] but you give your best and in the race, I gave all I had," said Gutierrez.
"You always want to make another step, to keep improving and this comes together with experience.
"The race was another good step in my career and I am determined to keep going forward in the next races even though we have a difficult challenge."
The Sauber team has been impressive with Gutierrez's performances during recent weekends.
Head of trackside engineering Tom McCullough is confident the Mexican will build on his Singapore progress, particularly as his strong qualifying performance allows him to compare his Sunday performance directly to Hulkenberg.
"It was a very valuable weekend for Esteban," McCullough told AUTOSPORT.
He needs to consistently do that now, to put himself in those positions.
"To be able to compare himself with Nico on the same strategy will be very valuable for him.
"He will learn from that and that's the process. If he keeps doing that, he will keep getting better."
