Even amid the chaos of the 2012 pecking order, the star performer is obvious.

That is the view of former F1 driver Christian Klien, who confirmed to the Austrian news agency APA that one of his current roles is a simulator driver for the sport’s latest winning team, Williams.

“It (2012) is very open,” he said, “but for me Fernando Alonso stands out.”

Equal with Sebastian Vettel, Spaniard Alonso is at the top of the drivers’ world championship, a full eight points clear of Lewis Hamilton.

The Spaniard’s car has been the struggling Ferrari F2012, but he has never finished a race this season lower than ninth (China).

He has therefore scored points at every opportunity, even finishing first and second in Malaysia and Spain respectively.

“Alonso has an inferior car,” Klien explained, “but he uses every single little opportunity.

“He is the most complete driver who gets the most out of the package he has.”

Triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart agrees that, among arguably the most competitive grid of drivers since the late 80s, Alonso is the standout performer.

“Right now we have the best generation of drivers we’ve had for a while,” the famous Scot told the Spanish sports daily AS.

“Everyone talks about Vettel, who is a great driver, and also Hamilton of course, but there is also Button, Schumacher, Kimi — all champions.

“There are others like Webber who also have the quality to win, young drivers coming up, many of them are very good, but also it is true that Alonso is fantastic.”

Asked why the Spaniard has not added a title to his tally since 2006, Stewart said: “The explanation is easy — he hasn’t had the luck to get the best car.

“Now he has one that isn’t good, but it’s in those circumstances that you see even more the quality that he has,” said Stewart.

Given Alonso’s push to the top of the championship with a sub-standard car, therefore, all the talk about Ferrari writing off the 2012 championship has been silenced for now.

“We have to keep developing the car,” Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari’s team boss, said after Barcelona, where significant upgrades were brought to the F2012 package.

“We are not yet fast enough to consistently fight for the podium, but that is the only option if we want to be in contention for the title,” he insisted.

Well-known Brazilian commentator Reginaldo Leme has defended Felipe Massa, amid the Ferrari driver’s career crisis.

Massa’s Ferrari seat hangs in the balance, and according to his boss Stefano Domenicali, he will have to improve in order to simply stay on the F1 grid with any team next year.

But Leme has pointed the finger of blame at Ferrari’s struggling F2012 car.

“It is very difficult to give an explanation for any driver’s bad phase,” Leme acknowledged on the Redacao Sportv programme.

“The car is very bad. The fact that Alonso is always scoring (points) just shows that the Spaniard is the best driver of this generation.

“No other driver, however good, could get anything out of that car.

“I think that’s what’s happening with Massa,” said Leme.

Massa will drive Ferrari’s heavily updated Barcelona-spec car at the Mugello test next Wednesday, while Alonso will drive on Tuesday and Thursday.

Turning his attention to the 2012 championship, meanwhile, Reginaldo Leme said consistency is more important than ever before, with four separate teams having won races so far.

“Look at Webber — he has been fourth four times and is third in the championship. Hamilton has been third three times and is right in contention.”

Bruno Senna is hoping he can keep his Renault race seat beyond 2011.
As reserve driver, and with new sponsors in tow, the Brazilian stepped up when the Genii owned team ousted its German regular Nick Heidfeld in August.

But for 2012, 28-year-old Senna – alongside Romain Grosjean, Rubens Barrichello and of course Robert Kubica – is one of several drivers reportedly in contention for the vacant race seat in 2012.

“If Robert can’t come back, I hope I can stay,” he is quoted by formule1.nl.

“Especially in qualifying I think I have shown some good things. I think I have shown that the team can rely on me.

“But as long as you don’t have a contract, you have no guarantee that you’re going to be somewhere.”

The fact Renault seems spoiled for choice for 2012 means that a speedy decision is unlikely.

Senna said: “I believe that the past has proven that it’s not a good idea to wait until the last minute to decide who is going to drive for you.”

All four of Sebastian Vettel’s championship rivals on Sunday said the fight for the drivers’ title is now over.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa is already mathematically out of the hunt, but according to the calculator his teammate Fernando Alonso, as well as the McLaren drivers and Mark Webber, could all still win.

Alonso is the best placed, with a 112 point deficit. That means that if Vettel wins in Singapore with the Spaniard is fourth, the Red Bull driver will secure his second consecutive world championship with five races to spare.

“Obviously the championship is impossible,” said Alonso after sharing the Monza podium with Vettel. “Not mathematically but we are no longer in contention.”

Agreed Red Bull’s Webber: “It’s all over now, isn’t it mate? I think the rest of us are all battling for second place now.”

Hamilton added: “I doubt it’s still possible to beat Sebastian for the title, but we’ll keep pushing.”

And Button said: “Yes, it (the title) is gone and it has been for a few races.”

Other F1 drivers, like Michael Schumacher, feel the same way. “I don’t see many ways that he (Vettel) can lose, but you still have to bring it to the end.”

And Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali said: “It’s perfectly clear that it (the title) is in Sebastian’s hands.”

Brazilian Massa added: “The only way he can lose is if he doesn’t come to the races any more.”

Vettel however smiled that he will be attending the final ‘flyaway’ portion of the 2011 calendar. “I’m contracted to do all the races, so maybe you need a word with Christian (Horner)!” he told a reporter.

But the 24-year-old German insisted that he has no plans to put the champagne on ice just yet.

“I think we just do Singapore as we did all the other races this year. Go there and take it step-by-step and see what we can do,” he said.

And he told Bild newspaper that he will not be exercising his calculator on the flight to Asia. “Maths has never been my strength,” Vettel grinned.

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, too, insists he is in no rush.

“(Winning the title in) Singapore or Japan would be fine, but I would probably prefer Korea,” he told F1′s official website. “After that disastrous weekend we experienced there last year it would be a sort of compensation.”

As for the others, their hopes have now turned to 2012.

“Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull have a great advantage with their exhaust blowing, but next year it will be banned and so we hope things change,” McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa told EFE news agency.

“I have to say Vettel is driving flawlessly, perfectly, so we should not detract from that,” he added.

Mercedes is happy to see Nick Heidfeld return to F1 with a rival team in 2011.
After losing his BMW seat, the German kicked off last season as Mercedes’ reserve driver, later becoming the Pirelli test driver before returning to the grid with Sauber.

Once again for 2011, the 33-year-old was facing the prospect of a season on the sidelines, but he was believed close to agreeing to return to his reserve role with Mercedes.

Now, however, Heidfeld will be testing the new Renault at Jerez this weekend, in contention to replace his injured former BMW teammate Robert Kubica.

Mercedes’ motor racing boss Norbert Haug told Auto Motor und Sport that, due to the German marque not having a race seat to offer, he will not stand in Heidfeld’s way.

“If Nick has the opportunity to race somewhere, we are the last ones to throw stones in his path,” he said.

Anthony Davidson has reportedly ruled himself out of contention to replace injured Robert Kubica in 2011.

The 31-year-old Briton was a well-respected Honda test driver who raced full-time for Super Aguri in 2007 and 2008.

He has recently been working with Mercedes GP in the Brackley based team’s simulator, but his main job is with Peugeot’s Le Mans team, and he has re-committed for this year.

According to Mirror correspondent Byron Young on Twitter, Davidson said Kubica’s replacement this year has “big shoes to fill and must be a title contender”.

Young said Davidson had therefore ruled “himself out of (contention for the) Renault Lotus drive having signed Peugeot Le Mans deal”.

Meanwhile, Observer correspondent and BBC radio commentator Maurice Hamilton revealed on Tuesday that “well-informed rally mates tell me Renault have been talking to Kimi (Raikkonen)’s management team”.

“They ought to talk to Ant Davidson,” he added.

After dropping out of contention for the final 2011 race cockpit at HRT, Davide Valsecchi could still be in formula one this year.

The Italian website 422race.com claims the 24-year-old Italian, who has raced in GP2 in the last few years and impressed F1 chiefs with his pace at the Abu Dhabi test last November, is set to join Team Lotus.

Valsecchi will be a test driver alongside young Brazilian Luiz Razia, who was with the Virgin team in 2010.

The Italian report said Valsecchi will get a half-day of testing with Lotus at the Bahrain test in March, and probably then two outings on the Friday mornings of the Australian and Malaysian grands prix.

And Razia, another GP2 driver, will do as many as “five Friday free practice” sessions in 2011, added the report.

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.

Nico Hulkenberg’s manager has played down suggestions the young German will definitely lose his race seat at Williams at the end of the season.

The British team on Monday seemed to confirm speculation it is considering replacing the 2009 GP2 champion with the feeder series’ new title winner, Pastor Maldonado.

Venezuelan Maldonado, 25, is heavily backed by the state owned petroleum company PDVSA, and Williams co-owner Patrick Head in Korea admitted that economic factors would influence the board’s driver decision for 2011.

In a media statement, the Oxfordshire based team announced that Maldonado will test the FW32 in the post-season Abu Dhabi ‘young driver’ session next month.

And he is not in contention for merely the team’s 2011 test seat, because Finn Valtteri Bottas “will remain” in that post next year, Williams said.

Maldonado said last month that he hoped to secure a deal for his 2011 debut “before the race in Abu Dhabi, so I can participate in the tests there after the GP with my new team”.

But Hulkenberg’s manager Willi Weber insists his rookie charge is still in the reckoning at Williams.

“Nico is not ‘out’ already, as has been speculated,” he told the German news agency DPA.

“The talks with Williams are continuing, but there are obviously alternatives,” added Weber.

“Williams is the first choice and we would love to stay, but it is extremely important that Nico has a race cockpit in formula one for 2011,” he said.

Interestingly, Weber seemed to acknowledge the legitimacy of Williams’ apparent reconsideration of Hulkenberg’s place at the team.

“(Chairman) Adam Parr has a great responsibility to hundreds of employees and as the highest priority he must consider the welfare of the team,” he said.

With three races left to run in 2010, McLaren’s title-winning rhetoric has turned a corner.

After Suzuka, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are now 28 and 31 points respectively behind the leader Mark Webber, moving Hamilton to admit that even a winning streak through to November’s Abu Dhabi finale might not be enough now.

“Podiums won’t do it,” he said after a nightmare weekend in Japan, having nursed a second gearbox problem of the event to the chequered flag with an ear infection.

“Wins will get it if the others have problems.  But if Red Bull finish all the races then it’s a walkover,” added Briton Hamilton.

Button is also downbeat about defending his world championship after Japan.

“If we don’t turn up in Korea with some good improvements to get us near the Red Bulls, it is almost impossible,” he said.

“I would like to think we don’t have to hope Red Bull crash or have reliability issues and we have a car to challenge them.  But when they have the pace they had here, they can cruise it,” added Button.

Closer to Webber’s lead – and level-pegging with Sebastian Vettel’s 14 point deficit – is Fernando Alonso, who remains confident of winning his first title at the wheel of a Ferrari.

“We are convinced that this was the worst track of the remaining races for us,” said the Spaniard after finishing third in Japan.

“To be world champion I need one more win and two podiums,” Alonso is quoted by La Stampa.

Also smiling after Suzuka is pole sitter and winner Vettel, despite admitting that his Australian teammate is now tantalisingly close to the title.

“His 14 point lead is of course an advantage,” he said, referring to Webber.

“If he wins again, it will be difficult for all of us,” German Vettel is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

“But anything can still happen.”

The 23-year-old’s confidence was boosted by the apparent ease with which he won in Japan.

“Without sounding arrogant,” he said, “I would say I always had Mark under control.

“I could see him all the time,” Vettel told Bild newspaper.  “He was one, two or three seconds behind.  Every time he came a bit closer, I went on the gas a bit more.

“It’s looking okay.  If I win the next three races, everything will be fine, so that must be my goal,” he said.

Before flying to Barcelona, where tomorrow will be operated by Doctor Xavier Mir at the University Clinic Dexeus, Dani Pedrosa has hired a press release on Repsol Honda Team commentary of what happened. The three-time world champion, now out of contention to win the MotoGP title, explains the dynamics of the incident and his feelings, with the promise to return soon to the track (Phillip Island or at the latest, Estoril).

“Obviously this was a bad day. It ‘been a strange fall, it was only my second lap I was in a lagging sector of the track. I tried to brake, but I knew immediately that something was wrong and I could not do anything to avoid falling.

After the accident I understood very well that I hurt, I felt so much pain. I had a big impact on the ankle and also fractured his collarbone when I hit the pavement: I was very unfortunate, because this time we were doing very well.

This year I had no physical problems since the pre-championship race after race we have reached a good level. It did not take this injury, I do not deserve.

Now back in Spain, so we decided after a consultation and medical examinations here in Japan. I hope to get back on track as soon as possible. “

Speaking of the causes of this fall, the HRC found that this was a problem with the accelerator, making sure it is already solved in the upcoming tests at Motegi where, unfortunately, there will be Dani Pedrosa.