HRT Formula 1 Team incorporates Kyocera Document Solutions as its Official Supplier through a collaboration agreement for the 2012 season. The Spanish team will count on Kyocera’s services, which include needs for management and printing of documents, both at the team’s permanent offices in the Caja Mágica and at the mobile offices that travel throughout the world during the Formula 1 season.

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HRT Formula 1 Team continues to progress firmly towards its objective of consolidating itself and growing and it now takes another step forward thanks to the partnership with the multinational Japanese company Kyocera. It’s another support for the young Spanish outfit who, thanks to the seriousness and hard work that it proves day by day, has more national and international companies willing to back HRT, contributing to its consolidation and progress in the pinnacle of motorsport.

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Emerson Fittipaldi, the successful Brazilian driver of the 70s, has tipped Jenson Button as a strong contender to match his own tally of two world championships come the end of the 2012 season.

“From what I can see, it will be between Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. They are the big favourites,” the 65-year-old is quoted by Brazil’s Globo.

“Obviously, if Ferrari improves, then Fernando (Alonso) is spectacular. Lewis Hamilton is very aggressive, very fast, but I think Jenson is very clean, easier on his equipment and the tyres.

“I think this (season) is best suited to his (Button’s) style,” said Fittipaldi.

McLaren’s Button, however, is not so sure, pointing out the unusually closely-packed 2012 grid, and the big role being played by the Pirelli tyres.

“You don’t know who is going to be your main opponent on Sunday,” Auto Motor und Sport quotes the 2009 world champion as saying.

“It could be Red Bull, or Mercedes, or Ferrari, or Lotus or even Sauber,” he smiled. “So who do you focus on for the strategy?”

This weekend, F1 will find out whether the hot track temperatures in Bahrain will reshuffle the order. Button laughed when asked if it means McLaren will pull ahead of Mercedes this weekend: “We hope so, but we don’t know!”

Michael Schumacher, whose career stretches all the way back to 1991, said 2012 is the “closest season I’ve experienced”.

As for what happened in China, where his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg won from pole for the first time, the German admitted: “I really didn’t think that would happen.”

It is for that reason that Button warned against writing off F1′s reigning champions, Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel said he is not expecting “miracles” in Bahrain, but he also said: “We still haven’t seen a team that is clearly above all the others.

“Maybe McLaren is the most consistent, but they didn’t do what you expected them to do in Shanghai …”

Sauber is in a race for money after discovering its 2012 car is up to speed with F1′s richest teams.

As ever in formula one, world championships are won not on the basis of a clever initial design, but on a team’s ability to continue to develop it throughout a long season.

According to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, the formerly BMW-owned Sauber team’s chief executive Monisha Kaltenborn admits that the Hinwil based outfit cannot compete on that front with the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

“It’s a shame,” she is quoted as saying.

“I hope we can show enough potential so that some companies decide to invest in our project,” said Kaltenborn, with the Brazilian newspaper estimating that Sauber’s budget is EUR 80 million this year.

In contrast, the top four teams’ budgets are believed to be all above EUR 220m.

Kaltenborn told F1′s official website recently that Sauber would back a push to impose a budget cap — an issue that triggered the big teams’ bitter political war with former FIA president Max Mosley a few years ago.

“We … have also openly said that we are not satisfied with our sponsor situation because we have high targets and to achieve them you need appropriate funding,” she continued.

“We still need to work on that side of things, as of course the more funding you have the more you can develop — and it shows on the track.

“I have said before that when we look back we practically never had enough money to do what we really wanted to. The question is always how big the gap is — sometimes it is bigger, sometimes it is smaller.”

Martin Brundle has described Red Bull’s lack of pace as the biggest surprise of the 2012 season so far.

After consecutive world championships with Sebastian Vettel, the energy drink-owned team was universally tipped as the pre-season favourite for yet another F1 title.

But McLaren dominated in Australia before Ferrari and Sauber surprisingly set the pace recently in Malaysia.

Former F1 driver Brundle admitted the struggling RB8 was the surprise of the opening salvo in 2012, but he also acknowledged that the turnaround might have been predicted.

“When you look at how the regulations have changed, it’s almost like they were designed to slow the Red Bulls down,” the Sky television commentator told the website of the BBC programme Top Gear.

“Doubling the torsional stiffness of the front wings, the way Red Bull were ‘flying’ their car down the track with lots of rake, nose close to the ground, exhausts helping to sort the high rear ride height out, it’s all been taken away from them,” added Brundle.

An unnamed engineer at Red Bull has admitted the team was caught on the hop in the winter pre-season, when it became clear McLaren was better prepared for the new rules.

“McLaren came with a (exhaust) system on the edge of legality,” the engineer told Germany’s Auto Bild, “and it was declared legal by the FIA.

“So (Adrian) Newey had to adapt,” he added, referring to Red Bull’s last-minute decision to change tack at the very end of the pre-season test period.

The message coming from the Milton Keynes based team, therefore, is that Red Bull is playing catch-up.

“We need to understand the car better,” admits team advisor Dr Helmut Marko, “which is why for the next race (in China) we will have hardly any new parts.”

So until he’s back at the front, F1′s formerly-dominant Vettel – who lashed out at backmarker Narain Karthikeyan recently in Malaysia – needs to adapt.

Asked if the German was justified in calling his Indian rival an “idiot”, Brundle insisted: “No.

“That’s just an angry man who hasn’t got a front-running car at the moment. He’s just frustrated.”

The FIA could sanction F1′s reigning back-to-back world champion for his behaviour during the recent Malaysian grand prix.

Before calling backmarker Narain Karthikeyan a “gherkin” and “idiot” in the wake of their collision, Sebastian Vettel was captured by his on-board camera twice displaying his middle-finger to the Indian driver.

“I think he’s highly frustrated because he’s having a tough season,” Karthikeyan told the Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday.

“It’s completely unprofessional to blame me for the incident. The derogatory remark only goes to show him in bad light.

“Just because he has a good car, he can’t call others an idiot,” Karthikeyan continued.

“I have won races in all the previous single-seater championships I have participated in so I don’t need a certificate from Vettel.”

Reports in Germany, including in the Kolner Express, Bild and Die Welt newspapers, claim that Red Bull driver’s behaviour may have breached the new stricter code of conduct introduced by FIA president Jean Todt.

The FIA has been contacted for comment.

“He has breached the code of conduct,” former F1 driver Marc Surer told Germany’s Sky television. “You sign it when you get the license and then you have to behave correspondingly.

“Any behaviour that hurts other people or the sport is an offense,” added the Swiss.

Asked what the penalties might be, Surer explained: “Anything from a warning to a license revocation. In this case I think it was quite understandable and there will be a mild punishment, if there is anything.”

Hans-Joachim Stuck, however, is slightly less forgiving.

“When you’re overtaking, misunderstandings can occur. I think Vettel needs to learn this.

“With him, the curve was always upwards and now it’s not the case, and he needs to deal with that,” the German legend told the DAPD news agency.

As for Vettel’s description of Karthikeyan as a “gherkin”, Stuck insisted: “It’s better than ‘asshole’.”

Vettel’s attack, however, was sustained, with Kleine Zeitung newspaper now quoting the Red Bull driver as having said: “Maybe formula one is not the place to learn how to drive.”

Stuck responded: “If Sebastian had left more space, it would not have happened. It happens sometimes so it’s a racing incident.

“He (Karthikeyan) didn’t do it on purpose and it always takes two.”

The HRT driver hit back by calling Vettel a “bully”, and even David Coulthard – a Red Bull team consultant – defended Karthikeyan.

“He can’t make his car invisible,” the Scot is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

Also defending Karthikeyan was Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who told the Indian press this week: “From what I saw, it was not Narain’s fault.

“So I don’t really understand why he (Vettel) said all that.”

Hukenberg’s Force India teammate Paul di Resta added: “Narain is entitled to do as much on the track in comparison with someone like Vettel.

“Both are F1 drivers and are there to represent their teams.”

 Red Bull has been isolated from F1′s other teams, as the FIA is asked to step in and police their cost-cutting efforts.
Last year, there remained suspicions the energy drink owned team – the winner of the past two world championships – flouted the ‘resource restriction agreement’ (RRA).

But the agreement was only an initiative of the teams’ trade union FOTA, which has now essentially collapsed.

Moreover, the agreement includes only financial sanctions for breaches, and Red Bull was never penalised anyway — Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo said recently he didn’t push the issue “Because I didn’t want it to be an excuse for our performance”.

A letter has now been addressed to FIA president Jean Todt requesting that the governing body step in and make the RRA an official sporting regulation.

Breaches would therefore carry a sporting sanction, such as the loss of points, or race bans.

“Yes, it (the letter) was unanimous. Most of the teams have signed it,” said Lotus team boss Eric Boullier.

He would not, however, confirm the identity of the teams that did not sign.

But a report in the Kolner Express newspaper claims “only two teams did not sign: Red Bull and the sister team Toro Rosso”.

If Sebastian Vettel hangs on to the drivers’ world championship trophy at the end of 2012, he will be only the third driver in the sport’s history with a title hat-trick.

Eight drivers have won three or more championships in total, but only Michael Schumacher (2000-2004) and Juan Manuel Fangio (1954-1957) won more than two on the trot.

Names including Prost, Lauda, Senna and Alonso all failed.

“My guess is that he (Vettel) really can do it again,” Bernie Ecclestone told F1′s official website. “What points against it? I think anything else would be the surprise.”

So what does the 24-year-old German think about the chances of a treble?

“That only two or three had done it before, I was not aware,” he is quoted by SID news agency.

“All good things come in threes. Of course it would be great, but there’s a long way to go and we stay patient and keep the feet on the floor.”

The 2012 field, however, appears closer than in 2011, and the Red Bull perhaps not as dominant.

“To say that everything is perfect would be a lie, because we have some problems to solve,” admitted Vettel ahead of the 2012 season opener in Australia.

“It will only be possible to make a true assessment of our performance and the performance of the others this weekend.”

 Sebastien Buemi has revealed surprise and disappointment with Toro Rosso’s reaction, after the Italian team performed a clean sweep of its driver lineup for 2012.
The Swiss and his teammate Jaime Alguersuari were given their marching orders just before Christmas, leaving the aforementioned Spaniard without a role this season.

Buemi has at least kept his F1 career alive with the Red Bull reserve role, but the 23-year-old has expressed disappointment with comments made recently by his former team boss Franz Tost.

“Of course I would prefer to race for myself,” he told the Blick newspaper, “but maybe this new role is the opportunity of my life.”

At the same time, he takes issue with Austrian Tost, who is appointed to head Red Bull’s rookie team Toro Rosso.

He said recently: “We are talking about a double world championship-winning team (Red Bull), which means that drivers who get elevated there must have the ability to win races and championships.

“And it was from that perspective that second thoughts set in when it came to Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari,” said Tost.

Buemi responded: “After we were put out, Alguersuari and I said not a single bad word about Toro Rosso, we were always loyal.

“So I am amazed that from the boss there comes suddenly such negative comments.”

 Alain Prost believes it is “absolutely impossible” for F1′s newest teams to ever break the dominance of the sport’s top five.
He is referring to small privateers Caterham (formerly Lotus), Marussia (formerly Virgin) and HRT (formerly Hispania), who were enticed into formula one in 2010 following the departures of manufacturers Honda, BMW and Toyota.

As well as winning four championships as a driver, Frenchman Prost also ran his own team between 1997 and 2001, when it succumbed to financial problems.

The Russian website F1News asked Prost what advice he would give to F1′s current tailenders.

“I will say quite frankly that they cannot become competitive in today’s formula one,” he answered. “It’s impossible.

“They can make some progress, but – of course – you must immediately put the question ‘What goals do they pursue?’

“To break into the top five with a new team like this in formula one — it is absolutely impossible,” said Prost.

Alain Prost has conceded it will be difficult for the once-great Williams to return to the top in formula one.
The legendary Frenchman won the last of his four world championships with the famous British team, which in 1993 was utterly dominant.

But Williams has not won a single race since 2004, and last year finished the constructors’ standings a woeful ninth, having scored only a handful of points.

“I talk often with Frank Williams,” Prost told the Russian website F1News, “and this winter I even tried to help find him some sponsors, but failed.

“It’s difficult for them,” he continued, “as when you get yourself into financial problems, it’s so hard to get out of them.”

Prost’s own team collapsed in 2001.

 F1 grandees Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso have refused to predict they will be in the running for this year’s world title.
An early analysis of the winter test running in Spain might have Red Bull and McLaren at the front, with Mercedes and Lotus possibly challenging Ferrari for the position of F1′s ‘third power’ in 2012.

“I think it’s too far away,” back to back world champion Vettel, referring to the three week gap until Melbourne, told German reporters.

“At the moment we do not know where we all are, which is why I don’t want to talk about the first race or the championship.”

Agreed Alonso: “I think it’s wrong to try to figure out in February if you are going to have a successful season or not. We don’t know,” he is quoted by AS newspaper.

“The feelings I have are that we are faster than the Giulietta,” he smiled, referring to the Alfa Romeo road car.

“I don’t know. Red Bull seems to be strong but we will not know how much until we get to Melbourne,” said Alonso.

According to Finland’s MTV3, McLaren’s Jenson Button added: “I don’t think Red Bull will have the same kind of head start they had at the beginning of last season.

“But Sebastian is of course the favourite, as he should be — he won the past two championships.”

 They are famously close on a personal level, but for the sake of his sport Bernie Ecclestone wants to see Sebastian Vettel suffer in 2012.
The Red Bull driver has won the past two championships on the trot, including last season when the title battle was over long before the finale.

“It wasn’t good. The only person that would say no to that would be Sebastian, but I think everybody else would agree with it,” F1 chief executive Ecclestone told reporters on Thursday.

He had just announced a new connectivity deal for F1 with Indian multinational Tata’s communications subsidiary.

The aim is to modernise F1 in that area because, as the 81-year-old puts it, he is “getting old” and was “asleep” to the world’s new digital era.

But more immediately important to Ecclestone is a better show in 2012.

“I’m surprised we survived with (the TV ratings) we got right at the end,” said the Briton, referring again to Vettel’s dominance. “We need to see everybody else wake up.”

Another element he hopes is in place this year is a fully-firing Lewis Hamilton, but Ecclestone admitted the 2008 world champion might have to farewell McLaren.

“I think if he doesn’t perform this year, he’ll be looking maybe to move on, and the team may also be looking for him to move on,” he said.

And yet another golden egg for Ecclestone would be a winning Michael Schumacher, but he admitted the seven time world champion might need to sit at the wheel of a Red Bull for that to happen.

“I don’t think Sebastian would mind,” he said.

“I’m not saying I don’t want Mark (Webber) around, I’m just saying it would be nice to see him (Schumacher) in the car where you know that if he doesn’t win it’s his fault, not the car.”

Less important, Ecclestone argues, is the rare absence in F1 of a single Italian driver.

“If Ferrari is winning,” he insisted, “it doesn’t make any difference.”

Indeed, there are bigger fish on the F1 supremo’s plate: the thorny issue of Bahrain’s return in 2012, and a looming fight with the teams over the next Concorde Agreement.

On Bahrain, he joked: “Pity I’m not going to be there myself but don’t worry. No, I shall be there, don’t worry.”

As for the teams wanting a bigger share of F1′s revenue pie, Ecclestone answered: “I think they are right. If they don’t ask they are not going to get (it), are they?”

But when asked to rate their chances of success, the Briton replied typically: “Slim to none.”

Dario Franchitti insists he has no regrets despite never adding success in formula one to his list of career achievements.
The famous Scot, whose wife is the Hollywood actor Ashley Judd, is the cousin of impressive Force India youngster Paul di Resta.

Last week, 38-year-old Franchitti joined his family member at the Jerez test.

The four-time Indycar champion and double Indy 500 winner was asked by Sky Sports if, despite flirting with Jaguar at the beginning of last decade, he regrets not having made it to F1.

“You can live your life thinking ‘I wish I’d done this, I wish I’d done that’,” he answered.

“It would have been great to race in formula one at some point, but when the chances were there I didn’t take them; I didn’t feel that they were better than the opportunities I had in America.”

Added Franchitti: “I made the decisions I made, I’m delighted I won a couple of Indy 500s and the four championships, so I wouldn’t change that for that world.”

Fernando Alonso is in the same league as two of F1′s greatest recent champions, according to Gerhard Berger.

“There are sometimes those special drivers: Ayrton Senna was one, Michael Schumacher was one, and Alonso is one,” said the Austrian and former grand prix winner.

Berger is uniquely placed to compare Ferrari’s Spanish driver with those greats — he was one of Senna’s closest friends, having raced alongside the late Brazilian at McLaren in the 90s.

And he was a contemporary of Schumacher’s during the seven time world champion’s first F1 career, moving away from Ferrari to make room for the German, and then replacing him for the 1996 season at Benetton.

“They are drivers who can win world championships without having the absolute best car,” Berger told Austrian television Servus TV.

Jenson Button has indicated he will not fall in line behind his McLaren teammate until his championship chances are “mathematically” over.

The reigning world champion fell 42 points off Fernando Alonso’s new title lead in Korea on Sunday; 21 points shy of his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton’s tally.

Immediately after the race, 30-year-old Button – when asked about his fading chances of defending his title – admitted he is “not really” still able to win the championship.

But later, he told the BBC that his comments had been made “in the heat of the moment”, adding that he is confident he “won’t be asked” by his bosses to play a number 2 role.

“I don’t stand by that (statement) now,” he said, referring to when he earlier wrote off his championship chances.

“You don’t win world championships by conceding defeat before it is all over. You have seen today how things can change,” insisted Button.

With the two wins in Brazil and Abu Dhabi worth potentially 50 points in total, Button’s 42-point deficit means that he is still mathematically able to win in 2010.

“If mathematically I couldn’t win the championship then, yes, I would help Lewis,” he said.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said after the race that he thought Button would “voluntarily” back Hamilton’s championship push.

Asked if there was a role McLaren could play in the strategy, he answered: “We will think about that and talk about it before we get to Brazil.

“We’re going away still very much in contention with Lewis and two really interesting races ahead … it’s still wide open,” he added.

Spanish newspapers on Sunday noted that, for example in the event of another DNF for Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso could in theory wrap up the world championship in Brazil next month.