Mark Webber’s former teammate insists he is “100 per cent sure” the gritty Australian did not suffer from “mental weakness” in his battle alongside Sebastian Vettel in 2011.
Last year, 35-year-old Webber almost beat his young Red Bull teammate to the title, but in 2011 he won only a single race compared to Vettel’s dominant eleven.

“The brain controls the body, not the other way around,” David Coulthard, referring to Webber’s struggle alongside Vettel, said recently.

But another former Webber teammate, Christian Klien, disagrees with that theory.

“It is 100 per cent sure that he has no mental weakness,” the Austrian, who was Webber’s teammate at Jaguar in 2004, said on Austrian Servus TV.

“I’ve known him for several years and he has a very strong personality. He had a fantastic 2010 and started this year with a lot of confidence.

“His problems have been about anything but that,” insisted Klien.

Klien, also a former Red Bull and HRT driver and a test driver with Honda and BMW, said he thinks Webber’s main issue was the Pirelli tyres.

Similarly, he thinks Fernando Alonso’s only problem in 2011 was the Ferrari car.

“He’s definitely the most complete driver in the field,” said Klien, referring to the Spaniard.

He “destroyed” Fernando Alonso as a rookie in 2007, but this season Lewis Hamilton underestimated his current McLaren teammate Jenson Button.
That is the claim of the British team’s boss Martin Whitmarsh, who admitted to F1′s official website that Hamilton has endured an unusually bad season in 2011.

“Lewis expects more from himself and the world expects more from Lewis. There’s been a lot going on in his life,” he said.

At the same time, countryman Button – written off by some who thought he was entering Hamilton’s “lion’s den” after his championship year – has surprised the F1 world by beating his highly rated teammate this season.

“Jenson … is a person that is easily underestimated,” Whitmarsh acknowledged, referring to the 31-year-old’s “superb manner”.

“Sometimes that might be a worry before you know him better, but I have to say that I know him a lot better now.”

Whitmarsh thinks Hamilton also underestimated Button initially.

“Possibly. He probably did, yes. Let’s be open about it,” he said.

“Lewis, throughout his career, has destroyed every teammate that’s come his way. Bear in mind that in many ways he virtually destroyed Fernando Alonso when Fernando was a two-time world champion and Lewis was a rookie.”

Kimi Raikkonen’s most recent teams think Sir Frank Williams would be wise to sign up the 2007 world champion for next season.
For his part, 69-year-old Williams remained calm amid the waves of speculation in Abu Dhabi, refusing to let slip the status of the talks with the former Ferrari and McLaren winner.

“I cannot make any comment about supposition, sorry to be so unhelpful,” he told reporters.

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, however – now the head of Raikkonen’s Woking based employer between 2002 and 2006 – was emphatic when asked what advice he has for Williams.

“Try and sign him,” said the Briton. “I hope that he (Raikkonen) is hungry.

“I am sure he hasn’t lost the capability to thrill us so I think it would be fantastic for formula one,” added Whitmarsh.

“I wouldn’t ordinarily presume to advise Sir Frank who he should sign but I think it would be exciting if he did.”

Another man in Abu Dhabi who knows Raikkonen well is Stefano Domenicali, team boss at Ferrari, the Finn’s last F1 team and the scene of his title triumph.

“I know Kimi very well,” said the Italian. “He is very talented, very strong, he was the last driver to win the world championship with us and he will want to show he is still one of the strongest.”

 Mercedes has ended speculation about Nico Rosberg’s future by announcing the 26-year-old has extended his contract.
German Rosberg, who was already contracted to race alongside Michael Schumacher next season, has now inked a “multi year” extension to include 2013 “and beyond”, the Brackley based team said on Thursday.

“I have every confidence that the team will provide me with a winning car,” said Rosberg, who was recently linked with a switch to Ferrari.

Added team boss Ross Brawn: “We know that he is a driver who can win races and championships.”

It was reported in the German press on Wednesday that Schumacher is also set to extend his current contract to include 2013.

“In Michael, Nico has the most successful racing driver in the history of the sport as his teammate, which is a perfect combination for him as well as for our team,” said Mercedes-Benz’s Norbert Haug on Thursday.

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has revealed he had no argument when Red Bull poached Sebastian Vettel after the 2008 season.
Vettel, then in his very early 20s, showed immense potential at Red Bull’s Faenza based junior team in 2007 and 2008 before he moved to the parent squad for 2009.

In 2010 and 2011, he won back-to-back world championships, but Toro Rosso’s Tost has no bitterness at the thought that with Vettel on board, the former Minardi team might have been pulled up the grid.

“It (keeping Vettel) was never an issue even for one second,” the Austrian told Sportwoche magazine.

“In that situation, Vettel would not have been allowed to stay with us. It probably would never have been even considered,” added Tost.

He conceded that a large part of Vettel’s success at Toro Rosso in 2008 was due to Red Bull.

“We are ultimately about the future of the drivers and in 2008 we were using the car from Red Bull Technology, designed by Adrian Newey,” added Tost.

And when Vettel left Toro Rosso for Red Bull, Tost said he was sure it would be a formidable alliance.

“It was clear to me that that combination – Red Bull, Vettel and Newey – would be dominating sooner or later,” he said. “In fact they would have taken the title already in 2009 if it wasn’t for the double diffuser story with Brawn.”

But even though he sees Vettel’s departure as inevitable, Tost said he is not happy to simply look back on 2008 as Toro Rosso’s finest hour.

“No, it should be repeated,” he answered confidently. “As often as possible.”

The afternoon session began with comments in the paddock regarding the possibility of seeing Fernando Alonso testing the Ferrari F10.  With a warmer weather and more grip on the tracks the single-seaters started to leave the boxes heading to the Valencian Ricardo Tormo Circuit’s racetrack in Cheste.

With a lost Austrian –we say ‘lost” because we didn’t see him through all the morning (strange thing)-, Lewis Hamilton started by lowering his morning times, 1:12.256, but still far from Felipe Massa’s chronometer and his F10.  That’s how the afternoon started.

At 3:30 the pilot from Austria was seen around the box, and rumors spread with regards to his possible participation in today’s tests.

Massa carried out many tyre tests –we assumed he was testing their performance-, explaining why the Brazilian entered the box continuously.  The same as Ferrari, the rest of the ‘scuderias’ tested their performance, thus the morning times were not improved.

The Renault improved only a bit.  The Polish, Robert Kubica, wearing a completely black helmet, continued to average very high times ( 1:14 ).  The R30 seems to have very little performance evolution compared to its predecessor, last year’s R29.

Today was a hard working day for Nico Rosberg who commanding his Mercedes GP made all kinds of tests.  Yesterday, his single-seater was very fast, but today it was slower marking 1:14. high times and running 25 lap periods to try the tyres out.

The Ferrari engine Sabuer of Kobayashi, after completing a period of 30 laps started to lower its times, becoming one of the fastest of the afternoon ( 1:12.667 ).  The Sauber is giving a good impression in these first tests.

The first impressions of Barichello on his Williams FW32’s Cosworth engine, indicate less speed (point) than the rest.  Specifically, around 8-12km/h (Mercedes and Ferrari).

In a bit more than an hour the session will end.   We’re walking towards the paddock to pick up some feelings.

Today, the Valencian circuit has had around 7.000 spectators, according to the organization.  A good number of people has gotten together to see the tests, so if climate conditions permit it, a higher number is expected for tomorrow with the attendance of Fernando Alonso in the racetrack.

Best times of the day.

1º Massa (1:11.722)

2º Kobayashi (1:12.056)

3º Hamilton (1:12.056)

4º Rosberg (1:12. 899)

5º Barrichello (1:13.377)

Finally, the FIA accepted the proposals made by FOTA and approved the changes to the Formula One World Championship scoring system.

According to FIA’s press release, and subsequent to the meeting that the Formula One Commission held on Monday, the winner of the Grand Prix will be awarded with 25 points, while the second and third places will receive 18 and 15 points, respectively.

The remaining points for the GPs will be allocated up to the tenth pilot that classifies, the following way: 12-10-8-6-4-2-1.  This is a modification to the model proposed by the organization last December with 25-20-15-10-8-6-5-3-2-1.  Now, the FIA pretends to encourage the ‘run to win’ mentality.

Additionally, but for 2011, the FIA announces changes to the regulation regarding the diffusers.  The height of the main diffuser was reduced from  175mm to 125 mm, while the “magic” double diffusers –key element at the beginning of 2009, in the Brawn GP title-, will be finally excluded..

In addition to the change to the scoring system, each single-seater will only have 11 sets of dry weather tires available, instead of 14, and to encourage the teams to run through the practice sessions, ” a set must be returned before the start of Friday’s second practice session, and two sets before the start of the third practice session.  FOTA’s last proposal has also been accepted: cars having participated in Q3 must start the race on the same set of tyres with which their grid time was set.

Things being like this, all these proposals have to be submitted before the World Motor Sport Council that has to finally give its approval, even though its just a step because this is already a fact.

After the initial news we published a few hours ago on Ferrari ‘F281′ that Fernando Alonso will drive this season 2010, Banco Santander has given a press conference with the first high quality image of the Italian car.

The information disclosed by the Director General of the Communication Division of Banco Santander, Juan Manuel Cendoya, said: “We want to be the trademark of Formula 1″, making clear that the entity is present in the Grand Prix of Germany, Italy and United Kingdom’s first sponsor and Brazil and the two tests in Spain, Valencia and Montmelo, as the second.

The global launch of the 2010 design will not leave Ferrari fans unmoved Ferraro, white addiction can not be taken very well by tifossi although not the first time the Ferrari car parts is blank. In fact, in 1975 the ‘cockpit’ It was white and was the year that the Austrian Niki Lauda won his first world championship. However, the aerial view is far from what we’re used to seeing red bullets.

Cendoya said he “supported the decision” to sign Ferrari Fernando Alonso, who signed a five-year contract with Ferrari, but this was unique to the ‘Scuderia’. “We have supported much the firm, we were three years behind it, although Ferrari had the last word,” said head of communications.

While acknowledging that sports sponsorship is “a major risk factor than conventional advertising,” considers that the bank’s presence in the ‘great circle’ will be a “major emotional link” with some sectors of its customer base, especially young , and “a global reputation.”

Imminently, Banco Santander will launch the campaign ‘Red Passion’ in Spain. “We are delighted to swing much of the advertising of 2010 in Fernando (Alonso),” said