Narain Karthikeyan was unequivocal as he walked through the paddock gates on Saturday.
“I have to qualify. There are no two ways about it,” said the Indian.

It had been a difficult winter and an even more difficult season opener so far for the struggling Spanish team.

Saturday would be even worse, with Karthikeyan and his teammate Pedro de la Rosa indeed failing to get within 107 per cent of the fastest time in ‘Q1′.

Often, the FIA allows drivers who fail to qualify to start the race anyway, but the new F112 has simply not merited a free-kick in Melbourne.

“We did everything we could,” de la Rosa is quoted by EFE news agency.

“In the end, we have so much room for improvement and it is true to say that we have to change many things, we know what they are, so all I can say is that we all have to be patient.

“I said when I arrived in Australia that this is a test for us; this is our preseason. The downside is we are doing it in front of all the cameras.

“It should be done already but it was not possible for us, so what we do now is work for Malaysia and the following races and focus on the areas that are important to make the car better.”

A report in AS newspaper said the biggest problem with the F112 car is the hydraulic system, which cannot be repaired in time for next weekend’s Malaysian grand prix.

“I am proud of this team — you cannot ask for more than 24 hours a day of work from people,” said de la Rosa.

On the brighter side, fellow straggler Marussia did manage to qualify on merit in Australia.

“We’ve all had a great lift but we have a long way to go and plenty of hard work to do to make the car quicker,” said Timo Glock.

He told Auto Motor und Sport that it will some time.

“Over the next few weeks we will do the little things first,” said the German. “Unfortunately we don’t have the capacity of someone like Red Bull so we would rather work a little longer on a big update.”

Mark Webber has contradicted recent reports that said he re-signed with Red Bull for 2012 because he had no other options.
The Australian revealed that, in fact, the interest expressed by rival teams when he was still on the market was “amazing”.

Webber, 34, has had a difficult season alongside Sebastian Vettel, failing to win a grand prix compared with his dominant teammate’s ten so far.

“What was amazing this year was the amount of response I had from other teams when I was about to sign with Red Bull,” he is quoted as saying by the Sydney newspaper Daily Telegraph.

“They were very, very interested in having a chat to me, which was another little reminder to me that things were going pretty well.”

Webber therefore leaves the door open to switching teams after next season, saying he considers retirement to be “incredibly overrated”.

“I’ll go again next year, (but) to say where I’ll head in 2013 and 2014, we need to another six months and see how we go,” he said.

As for 2012, he insists that F1′s youngest ever back-to-back reigning world champion Vettel is beatable.

“Yes, it’s possible, absolutely. I’ve seen enough, and knowing how close it is, it’s possible,” said Webber.

The current regulations are a reason for Lewis Hamilton’s current struggles, according to David Coulthard.
The veteran Scot analysed the reasons for the 2008 world champion’s difficult season, with Hamilton’s teammate Jenson Button the leading McLaren at present, in his latest column for the Daily Telegraph.

“There is no doubt that these tyre regulations are better suited to drivers who pace themselves; who feel their way through a race rather than go all-out,” said Coulthard, a former McLaren and Red Bull driver.

He is referring to the new era of no refuelling and heavily degrading Pirelli tyres, insisting Hamilton needs to quickly adapt.

“All world-class drivers have been able to adapt to new regulations. Think of Michael Schumacher, who has run the full gamut from 3.5 litre, active ride-height cars to 2.4 litre V8s with slicks,” said Coulthard.

“Until he (Hamilton) can adapt fully to these regulations and play a cuter game he is unlikely to be consistently competitive.”

Mark Webber’s struggles in 2011 are about Pirelli tyres but also his teammate Sebastian Vettel.
That is the claim of Red Bull driver manager Helmut Marko, when asked about the difficult season suffered by the team’s Australian driver in 2011.

Last year Webber finished just a handful of points behind Vettel’s championship win, but in 2011 he has failed to win a single race compared with his soon-to-be double world champion teammate’s nine so far.

“Webber is suffering with the successes of Vettel,” Marko told Austrian television Servus TV this week.

“But if they did not have each other then neither would be where they are now, as they push each other to excel. This is also the principle of our team.”

Another factor has been the switch from Bridgestone to Pirelli tyres, as Vettel “has been better to adapt” according to Marko.

It has been suggested that Webber is unhappy with the inconsistency of the Pirellis off the grid, which has contributed to his run of poor starts.

“Mark has had some problems this year with the starts, which is a very complex process. But he is aware of it and he is working on it with his engineers and in the simulator,” said team boss Christian Horner.

Both Horner and Marko tipped him to solve the problem in the next couple of races, but according to Yahoo Singapore, Webber thinks he lost his only chance of becoming world champion last year.

“Yes of course, I do think that last year was my last chance at being world champion,” he is quoted as saying.

“To win the championship you need 100 per cent from the team. I think it’s difficult for the team to give 100pc to both drivers as we are both demanding.

“Looking at the start we actually got (in 2011), it’s clear where the support needs to go and I respect that in some way,” added Webber.

Peter Sauber has revealed he is happy with the performance of his Swiss formula one team so far in 2011.
After a difficult season in 2010 following BMW’s withdrawal, Sauber is currently sixth in the constructors’ championship behind Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault.

“We are well ahead of our direct rivals Toro Rosso, Force India and Williams,” the team owner and boss wrote in a column for Sonntagsblick newspaper.

“I am particularly pleased that at the last race at Silverstone we were clearly ahead of Renault and on a par with Mercedes. It has paid off for us to build a car that treats the tyres gently.”

Peter Sauber said the Hinwil based team is happy with its drivers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi and hinted that both will be retained.

“Kamui has grown into a good leadership role and Sergio has shown that he is not only fast but can also race very consistently. For the future, in this respect, I am very much relaxed!” he wrote.

“Overall we have done a good job this year so far even if we have a lot of untapped potential in qualifying.

“Our team has stabilised significantly over the past year in every respect, which is the basis for us to continue to move towards the front,” said Sauber.

Ron Dennis has admitted that McLaren’s current boss is better than he was at managing “world champions” driving for the Woking based team.

Dennis, still executive chairman and a significant shareholder of the British company but no longer the F1 team principal, was asked by F1i magazine about McLaren’s current driver lineup of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

“Managing the co-habitation of two world champions is often a challenge,” he said. “I have tried it a few times. Martin is perhaps showing himself to be better than me at that role.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Dennis’ long-time deputy, took over the role of team principal at the beginning of 2009, and he is now tipped to also retain the FOTA chairmanship in 2011.

Under Dennis’ stewardship in 2007, Hamilton clashed memorably with Fernando Alonso, whose fractious relationship with his boss lasted only one difficult season.

20 years before that, the pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost is remembered as one of the bitterest in F1 history.

Jarno Trulli has revealed that his only motivating factor in 2010 was that things should be better next season.

After spending the best part of a decade with the well-funded Renault and Toyota teams, the Italian veteran steered right to the back of the grid for 2010 by signing with Lotus.

Tony Fernandes’ new Malaysian team has re-signed him for 2011, as Trulli admitted how difficult this season was.

“At the first test it was obvious what the facts were,” the 36-year-old said in an interview with the Dutch magazine formule1.nl.

“I knew the year was over and the only way to keep motivation was to count down to next season,” added Trulli.

Although with a brand new team powered by a smaller than usual budget whose car was designed and built in record time, Trulli admits he did not expect 2010 to be quite so difficult.

“Of course I expected a difficult season in terms of performance, but not so much on the reliability side.

“By the end, I was used to it. What can you do? Getting angry doesn’t help.

“The worst thing was when you had to just finish the race. In Brazil for example the hydraulics failed and I still managed to finish, but it’s not how you like to drive.

“But by Brazil I had reached a point when I didn’t get angry. Not that I was indifferent, but I was doing it for the team.

“It was important to beat the other newcomers to finish tenth in the world championship, so it doesn’t matter if you’re not performing as you want or are tired of the hydraulics failing — the team comes first,” said Trulli.

“Anyway, the season is over now. I managed to motivate myself until the last race and I’m really looking forward to 2011,” he insisted.

Norbert Haug has admitted that Mercedes might line up on the 2011 grid with some new employees.

“In 2011 we will make a step forward.  So we need to have the best possible staff, which may include some new people,” he is quoted by the Cologne newspaper Express.

But amid rumours it might be Ross Brawn or Michael Schumacher who depart, the Mercedes competition director insisted the famous duo are actually going nowhere.

“In 2011 the drivers are Michael and Nico Rosberg,” Haug announced.

“And we believe in Ross and his team,” added the German, amid rumours of tension between Brackley in the UK and Mercedes GP’s German side.

“We just know what victory feels like, so perhaps we are sometimes a bit grumpy,” said Haug, explaining the apparent tension in the paddock at present.

One answer might be to plough more money into the team, or make a big offer for a high profile signing like Adrian Newey.

“Of course we could put another 10 million euros into F1, but we don’t want to,” said Haug.

Norbert Haug has once again played down rumours of discord within the Mercedes GP camp.

Two weeks ago at Monza, speculation swept the Italian paddock that Michael Schumacher could follow team boss Ross Brawn out of the team at the end of 2010.

The rumours, hinting that the initial indications are that Mercedes could have another difficult season in 2011, claimed that Brawn and carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s motor sport chief Haug are at odds over the direction of the Brackley based team.

“We have full confidence in Ross,” Haug insisted in Singapore, according to Turun Sanomat newspaper.

“Work for the future is going well,” added the German.  “It is normal that rumours come and go.

“I’ve heard rumours about Michael, about me and about Ross.  When I say no, I mean no, and when I say yes, I mean yes.

“My answer is no; there are no cracks in the relationship,” insisted Haug.

He also insisted that the commitment of Mercedes-Benz and its parent Daimler is not wavering.

“The automotive industry has gone through a crisis, and several other manufacturers have left F1,” said Haug.

“Mercedes is committed to the future of this sport.  We do not yet have a winning team, but we are putting in the work to become a winning team,” he added.

Even with the top cockpits locked out for 2011, formula one’s silly season continues to run.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Renault’s Robert Kubica have signed new contracts to stay with their respective teams not only next year but also in 2012.

But Televisio de Catalunya has reported that the respectively Brazilian and Polish pair could swap race seats for 2011.

The move would see Massa, who has had a difficult season so far with Ferrari, race for Renault next year, freeing up Kubica to be Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari teammate.

Jun.12 (GMM) Robert Kubica has admitted he is not too bothered about suggestions he is the key to the 2011 driver market.

Before Mark Webber and Felipe Massa were re-signed by their respective Red Bull and Ferrari employers, it was rumoured the Pole might shake up the grid by switching camps.

But McLaren and Mercedes are also expected to keep the same drivers for 2011, meaning 25-year-old Kubica will almost certainly stay at Renault for another season.

Amused, he is quoted by Swiss newspaper Blick: “If you are the subject of constant speculation, then your market value only increases.

“I’m feeling really comfortable at Renault. Here, the team and I can build ourselves up, and that is a great satisfaction.”

Renault team boss Eric Boullier admitted in Montreal that he is happy F1′s top teams are set to field unchanged lineups next year.

“We can now sit down and discuss properly with Robert his future with us,” he said.

Kubica revealed he is not in any talks with rival teams.

“I was looking, after the difficult season I had last year, not only for a quick car but for a team where I feel comfortable and welcome. And I got it so I am happy with the decision I made,” he said.