Niki Lauda has admitted he is no fan of the overtaking innovation ‘DRS’ that debuted in 2011.
The system, which allows a chasing driver to move a flap in the rear wing and increase top speed when he is close to his rival, is set to be retained and even ramped up for next season.

The BBC reports that in Melbourne next March, for instance, there could be two DRS zones, while other zones – like at Valencia – will be extended.

The system was designed by a working group including McLaren’s technical director Paddy Lowe, who insists DRS was a good idea amid the long debate about tweaking the cars to boost overtaking.

“What’s great (is) at least we can move on from this debate of trying to change the aerodynamic characteristics of cars to try to improve overtaking,” he said.

“We’ve found something much more authoritative, much cheaper, easier and more effective, and adjustable from race to race.”

Many purists, however, are unhappy, arguing that overtaking can now be too easy, has been devalued, while the spectacle of a driver successfully holding off his charging rival is diminished.

“You’ve got to take the rough with the smooth to a certain extent,” argues the FIA’s Charlie Whiting.

F1 great Lauda, the famous triple world champion of the 70s and 80s, told Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten that DRS “bothers me”.

“To see passing at the push of a button is fundamentally the wrong direction (for F1),” he insisted.

“The front man (the driver in front) is totally defenceless. I think from the sporting point of view it is not right.”

He also thinks DRS has proved unnecessary, with new supplier Pirelli’s heavily-degrading tyres credited for much of the success of the racing in 2011.

“This (Pirelli’s approach) is okay,” said television pundit Lauda, who is reportedly arguing with the German broadcaster RTL about the size of his fee for F1′s 2011 season.

“There is enough overtaking already because of the tyres, which often have to be taken right to the limit by the drivers,” he explained.

“And they pose the engineers with the task of making tyre-friendly tyres.”

 Mark Webber has this week enjoyed a high-risk ride on the back of a grand prix motorcycle.
The Australian, who recently sat out part of his own outdoor adventure challenge in Tasmania ostensibly due to Red Bull’s fear of injury, rode at the rear of a Ducati 2-Up machine at Queensland Raceway.

At the controls was his countryman Troy Bayliss, a former MotoGP rider and triple Superbike world champion.

“Some things need doing,” wrote Webber on Twitter as he published a photo of himself and Bayless mid-wheelie.

Bayliss replied: “You (Webber) were a top pillion and ripped it up solo as well.”

During the 2008/2009 pre-season, Webber badly broke his right leg in a mountain biking descent.

He said earlier this month: “I’m not going to wrap myself in cotton wool.

“Formula one rules my life for most of the year, but I am going to go away, train and have fun doing it and nobody is going to stop me.”

Fernando Alonso has named Mercedes as a dark horse for the 2012 season.
Together at the German marque’s new works team since 2010, Michael Schumacher’s return to F1 has been the subject of much criticism while it has been said teammate Nico Rosberg could go his entire career without a win.

But Alonso, the lead driver at Ferrari, insists he does not underestimate the German duo, or the Ross Brawn-led Mercedes team, even though they were soundly beaten by Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari in 2011.

“In formula one, the car is always the most important (element),” the Spaniard is quoted by EFE news agency.

“We know that Mercedes didn’t have a great year but we have to respect them. With a car capable of winning races, Rosberg and Michael are among the favourites,” said Alonso.

In fact, when contemplating the field of 2012, 30-year-old Alonso insists Schumacher – 43 next month – remains the reference for his rivals.

“I say (it’s) Schumacher, because we all respect a driver who has been champion seven times.

“He has always been very fast and there is nothing left for him to prove,” he added.

 Mercedes is sure formula one engines will still sound good when the regulations change significantly in 2014.
The German marque, whose F1 engines are designed and built in Northamptonshire, is believed to be imminently ready to fire up its first 1.6 litre turbocharged V6.

But after the sound of F1 changed when the sport moved from normally-aspirated V10 to its current V8 engines in 2006, there have been fears the cars could sound comparatively tame when they are powered by turbo V6s in 2014.

Thomas Fuhr, managing director of Mercedes’ HighPerformanceEngines division, doesn’t think so.

“With the limit of 15,000 rpm, the engines will have a great sound,” he is quoted by Italy’s Tuttosport.

“With the six pipes going into the turbocharger I think the sound will be very nice,” added Fuhr.

 Sebastian Vettel has baulked at claims he will almost certainly stroll to an historic third consecutive drivers’ title in 2012.
Some pundits think that, given the 24-year-old’s huge 122-point championship win over McLaren’s Jenson Button this year, it is almost inconceivable his and Red Bull’s advantage will be eroded in the 80 days until Melbourne.

“We will try (to win again),” the German agreed in an interview with France’s Auto Hebdo.

“But the beauty of this sport is that before a new season, all the points counters are reset.

“It is up to Red Bull to build a competitive chassis and Renault to produce a powerful and reliable engine.

“There is no certainty; nothing is sure about this (success) continuing,” added Vettel.

He said recently that his meteoric season was the result of hard work that must now continue.

“All year long (we were) pushing to keep the car at the level that it was,” said Vettel.

“McLaren were pushing massively and I think at the end we were pretty even. I don’t think that one car really had the edge.”

Briton Button, Vettel’s title runner-up, doesn’t agree with his rival’s last comment but he does think McLaren can mount a serious challenge next year.

“It hasn’t been perfect, Red Bull have been quicker than us, more consistent than us,” he said.

“All round it’s been a reasonable season. We’ve grown as a team together and I think that we have a very good base going into 2012,” added Button.

The key for McLaren, he thinks, is to have a winter unlike pre-2011, when the team abandoned a complex exhaust system in order to hurriedly copy Red Bull’s approach.

“It’s wrong to say we could have fought them if we had a better winter,” said the 2009 world champion. “We don’t know that.

“What we do know is that we didn’t have a very good winter. The guys did a great job of turning it around for the first race but obviously you lose a lot of preparation work,” said Button.

Pastor Maldonado is confident he will have a better second season in formula one.
With his Venezuelan backing, the 26-year-old made his grand prix debut as the reigning GP2 champion this year, but scored only one of Williams’ 5 points.

He is staying with the famous British team in 2012.

“I trust the team because it is impossible to be worse than this year,” Maldonado told Brazil’s Totalrace.

“I believe that was the worst position for a rookie (to be in), when nothing works, especially in the first year (as) you have to learn many things.

“Nevertheless, I defended myself well, even against Rubens (Barrichello). It certainly was a year of learning.”

Williams, indeed, had a disastrous season, finishing 36 points behind the next-worst team Toro Rosso and ahead only of the non-points scoring three newest teams.

“I’m sure we will improve,” said Maldonado, “we have worked really hard to grow as a team.”

A fundamental change for 2012 is the new technical boss Mike Coughlan, the former McLaren chief designer who was sacked a few years ago amid the ‘liegate’ scandal.

He replaces the McLaren-bound Sam Michael, Williams’ long-time technical director.

“I hope we have a better car, one that is more competitive so that we can always fight for points and higher positions,” said Maldonado.

Adrian Sutil’s manager has denied reports the German driver could be headed to Ferrari.
With the the 28-year-old dropped by Force India, it has been rumoured he might stop over at Williams next year before moving to Ferrari to replace Felipe Massa in 2013.

Other reports have indicated Sutil might be Ferrari’s test driver next year.

“We are definitely not in talks with Ferrari — they are definitely not an option,” manager Manfred Zimmermann is quoted in German reports as having told Sky.

“Surely, of course, it is the dream of every driver and manager,” he conceded.

Officially, the only available seats remaining for 2012 are at Williams as well as HRT, the struggling Spanish team.

“There are still options to stay in formula one and we are negotiating currently,” Zimmermann explained. “At the moment we can’t say anything more.”

Jos Verstappen has tipped F1 to race on unhindered when a list of midfield drivers does not return in 2012.
Writing in his column for De Telegraaf newspaper, the Dutchman admitted that with so many drivers bustling for as little as two unconfirmed race seats, it is “an exciting time” on the newswire.

At the same time, drivers apparently at the start of their promising careers, like ousted Toro Rosso pair Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, have lost their seats.

“It’s hard for them, especially so late in the year. But that’s formula one,” Verstappen, who raced for a series of midfield teams in the mid 90s until 2003, said.

With so few seats still available, he said he hopes rookie countryman Giedo van der Garde finds a place.

“He has quite a few rivals.

“Through all the place changes, at the moment Vitaly Petrov, Rubens Barrichello, Adrian Sutil, Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi and Tonio Liuzzi are on the outside,” said Verstappen, failing to mention the likes of Bruno Senna, Jerome d’Ambrosio and others.

“It is not a list of names that I would call a real loss for formula one, as for the sport it is good to see some fresh blood.

“Especially with former world champion Kimi Raikkonen, GP2 champion Romain Grosjean and the talented Nico Hulkenberg, the quality of the grid has only improved,” he added.

For Adrian Sutil, the cloud of his exit at Force India could have a scarlet lining.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has admitted that, with Felipe Massa’s position to be evaluated during the course of 2012, the fabled Italian marque already has an eye on a couple of German drivers.

Before Montezemolo’s comments, reports had linked German Sutil, 28, with Ferrari, either for a switch after a single season with Williams, or off the back of a year on the reserve bench.

“Clearly we are planning for the future,” Bild newspaper quotes the Ferrari president as saying.

The newspaper thinks Sutil is a candidate, but Montezemolo also mentioned another of the former Force India driver’s countrymen by name.

“I like Rosberg, as a clear-headed man and someone who is getting better and better.”

Auto Motor und Sport – presuming Montezemolo was referring to Sutil as well as Nico Hulkenberg – quotes the 64-year-old adding: “There are two other good, young Germans.”

And what about Robert Kubica?

“He is also a possibility,” admitted Montezemolo. “We’ll have to see how he comes back from his accident.”

But despite setting the rumour-mill alight with talk of a driver change, Montezemolo also backed beleaguered Brazilian Massa.

“Our problem is not the driver as in that area we have the best; we need a competitive car,” he insisted.

Nico Hulkenberg has admitted he was worried another financially-backed driver would once again halt his formula one race career.
The German told Sport1 that, a year ago, Williams ousted him “for a reason nothing to do with the sporting side”.

He is referring to the famous British team’s decision to sign Pastor Maldonado, the 2010 GP2 champion who is backed significantly by his native Venezuela.

Hulkenberg, 24, took a backwards step to Force India, where it is believed the contract he signed stipulated a season as reserve driver before a guaranteed move for 2012 into the race seat.

It has gone exactly to plan, but Hulkenberg admits it was at times a nervous wait.

Asked if he was worried a pay-driver might foil his plan yet again, he admitted: “Yes, the concern was there.

“But I had spoken throughout the year with the team and knew what their plans were and how they wanted to develop.”

Hulkenberg answered “no” and “no” as to whether he has had to pay for the seat, and if he comes with any significant sponsorship.

At the same time, Force India’s decision is in some ways slightly surprising, given Adrian Sutil’s strong end to the 2011 season and his solid backing by the Medion computer company.

Asked how his relationship is with his older countryman now that he has ousted him, Hulkenberg insisted: “Very good.

“I have known Adrian for a long time but we didn’t talk about the situation. He has been fully focused on his own side, which I thought was very professional.

“It’s not as though he is angry with me.”

Sutil, after all, can hardly be angry, given that F1′s cruel fate dealt Hulkenberg a similar blow last year.

“Naturally it (F1) is very brutal,” he conceded, “but I don’t feel sorry for him as I’m assuming that he will get a cockpit.”

Luca di Montezemolo on Thursday clarified reports that he intends to stand for the Italian presidency in 2013.
The Ferrari president’s letter to members of his political think-tank Italia Futura this week was interpreted by some as his announcement of a tilt at the top job.

“Going into politics? No I’m with Ferrari,” he clarified, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Montezemolo took the opportunity of the media event at Fiorano to announce the launch date of Ferrari’s 2012 car — 3 February.

And he also addressed rumours about Felipe Massa’s future, insisting that while the Brazilian “could continue” beyond 2012, the Maranello based team is “always looking around”.

Gazzetta reporter Andrea Cremonesi claimed Ferrari has “approached” drivers including Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber “in recent months”.

Jean-Eric Vergne has defended Dr Helmut Marko after the Red Bull driver manager ousted Toro Rosso’s entire lineup for the 2012 season.
Rookie Frenchman Vergne as well as Daniel Ricciardo are the beneficiaries after team regulars Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi were axed.

“Surprised? Yes, but I had belief,” the 21-year-old told France’s Auto Hebdo.

“Toro Rosso’s policy is to develop young drivers. I think Jaime and Sebastien did a great job, but they were no longer a part of this policy.

“It is true that Helmut Marko is hard on his drivers, but I’ve always said that if I was him, I would do it exactly the same.

“I have always known that if I was not good enough, I would not be there,” added Vergne.

It is obvious the longer ambition for Vergne, whose friends call him ‘Jev’, is to replace Mark Webber at Red Bull’s senior team.

His father Jean-Marie told La Parisien: “Red Bull does not invest at random, but we are not thinking beyond next year.”

 Kimi Raikkonen has revealed plans to give his formula one testing return an early start.
The former world champion, who is returning to F1 with Lotus in 2012 after two years in world rallying, has not driven a grand prix car since he left Ferrari in late 2009.

F1′s official pre-season programme for 2012 does not begin until early February — just five weeks before the first race in Melbourne.

“We don’t test the new car until February so it’s a long wait,” the 32-year-old said this week.

“However, I should be able to jump into a two year old F1 car in January.”

The Finn is referring to a testing rules loophole that allows some running in older machines with non-competitive tyres.

“Of course, there will be the usual training, but I will also be working on getting to know the team better and making sure I fully understand all the changes since I have been away,” added Raikkonen.

Luca di Montezemolo has announced he will be a candidate when Italians vote in the 2013 general election.
The Ferrari president has long flirted with politics and finally confirmed his ambition this week in a letter to members of his party Italiafutura.

“The second republic has failed. We need new faces and new ideas because the next elections will be of historic importance,” wrote the 64-year-old.

He signed the letter with ‘Luca di Montezemolo, future president of Italy’.

 There has been bad news from the London High Court for Bernie Ecclestone this week.
The Telegraph reports that a judge has ruled that the F1 chief executive’s suspect payments to former F1 banker Gerhard Gribkowsky were indeed bribes.

Ecclestone, 81, has denied that description, insisting instead that he only paid the millions after a subtle “shakedown” by the German.

“Isn’t that a bribe”? said Mr Justice Vos.

The judge was entering a default decision against Gribkowsky – because he did not respond to the writ – during the civil proceedings brought by former F1 shareholder Constantin Medien.

“Constantin welcomes this important procedural step and will be pressing on with the determination of damages against Gribkowsky and in the continuing proceedings against Ecclestone and (Stephen) Mullens, and Bambino Holdings,” said Constantin Medien’s lawyer Keith Oliver.