Ferrari might be gearing up to incorporate a ‘double-DRS’ setup aboard its improving F2012 car.

If true, the famous Italian team would be the first team to successfully emulate the controversial Mercedes system, which has been declared fully legal by the governing FIA.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said a new rear wing was among the very last upgrades to be trialled by Fernando Alonso as the Mugello test concluded late on Thursday.

“The wing has only minor changes. You have to look closely,” read the report.

The magazine reported rumours that the wing might eventually accommodate the so-called ‘double-DRS’ or 2012-style F-duct, which would work in conjunction with a new and so far unseen front wing.

“That (wing) will debut along with a new diffuser and nose in Barcelona,” added Auto Motor und Sport.

There were happy faces in the Ferrari garage on Thursday, as – despite a minor off by Alonso – the upgrades appeared to work well.

“Barcelona will be a key moment in the season, but not a decisive one,” the Spanish driver insisted.

“It’s not a case that we will suddenly find ourselves back on pole position, because there is no magic button.”

Echoing the earlier words of Mark Webber, Alonso said the “fastest car” at Mugello this week was the Lotus.

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko agrees: “It looks like Lotus are the quickest.”

Veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit wrote in Blick newspaper: “Lotus, with Kimi Raikkonen in super shape, is the championship dark horse.”

Ferrari’s task is to improve step by step, rather than make a quantum leap in Barcelona next weekend.

That is the claim of Spaniard Fernando Alonso, as the famous Italian team disappointed some headline-writers on Tuesday by not launching a ‘B’ car at the Mugello test.

“We have to take a step forward in Montmelo, one in Monte Carlo, another in Canada, and so on,” Alonso is quoted by La Stampa, after topping the rain-affected first day of testing on Tuesday with the improved F2012 car.

He acknowledged that Ferrari cannot win the 2012 season if the performance of the opening four grands prix is repeated throughout the season.

“We have to be qualifying in the top ten, fighting for the top five and having both cars in the points in every race,” he insisted.

Asked if he thinks the title is a realistic goal, Alonso said: “We are optimistic.”

He said he pushed as hard as he could in Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain with a sub-standard car.

“It was like walking on a wire a hundred feet up,” said the 2005 and 2006 world champion. “If you do one thing wrong – hit a curb in qualifying or miss a braking point in the race – you’re not in the top ten.

“We do not have the fastest car, but with a team like Ferrari, a good car is enough.

“I’m not the best in qualifying, or in the rain, or on the street circuits, but I try to be a 9.5 in everything.”

Jenson Button doubts other teams will be pushing too hard to rush a Mercedes-style ‘double-DRS’ to their 2012 package.

The F-duct-style concept is, so far, the highest profile innovation of the season.

So with the FIA declaring it fully legal, and Nico Rosberg breaking through with his maiden pole and win in Shanghai last weekend, it seems a no-brainer that the other teams will now be following suit.

But McLaren’s Button doesn’t think so.

“I really don’t think it’s giving them that much — I think they’re just quick,” he is quoted by the BBC.

“From all our simulations, we don’t think it’s a massive margin at all. It’s a great invention on their part, but our DRS system is very good so I don’t think it’s giving them much over us.

“Obviously nothing in the race and in qualifying it’s minimal,” said Button.

His teammate Lewis Hamilton thinks the fastest cars so far are the Mercedes, the McLaren and the Red Bull.

“The Mercedes I think is now the quickest — particularly over one lap,” said the 2008 world champion.

“Not sure they are quickest in race pace. I think the Red Bull is probably the quickest in race pace. We have shown we have good qualifying pace and race pace.

“We are there or thereabouts and we have as good an opportunity as anyone.”

Sahara Force India looks ahead to the third round of the 2012 season in Shanghai, China. To download the full PDF preview or the media schedule for the weekend, please click on the links below.

Vijay’s Vision

After two races the 2012 season appears to have all the ingredients needed to serve up a spectacular year of racing. Already the fans have enjoyed two thrilling races and the intensity of the competition across the grid is sure to capture everybody’s attention.

I said last year that the competition in the midfield was close, but this year it seems to be even more so with the majority of the grid capable of fighting for points. It’s a good situation for Formula One, but it also means points are harder to come by. It’s encouraging that we have scored points in both races and that will be our aim once again in China.

I have to congratulate Paul and Nico on their excellent drives in Malaysia. They are only in their second full seasons of Formula One, but they both showed their maturity in the difficult conditions. At times Paul was one of the fastest cars on the circuit, excelling in the conditions, and it’s clear that we can expect another strong season from him. I was also delighted to see Nico pick up his first points with us after such a strong showing.

In terms of car development, the factory at Silverstone continues to work at full capacity to improve our performance. The first two races have given us a great deal of information to work with and we will put it to good use in the coming races.

Dr. Vijay Mallya

Paul on Shanghai
Following points finishes in the first couple of races, Paul Di Resta sets his sights on more of the same in Shanghai this weekend.

Paul, you must be pretty happy with your start to the season…
I think the whole team is pleased to have nine points on the board after two races and it was important that we picked up some good points on such an unpredictable day in Malaysia. We’ve seen how close all the teams are this year and getting points isn’t easy, so it feels good to start as we mean to continue.

Do you enjoy visiting China and experiencing the different culture?
China is a great place and Shanghai is a city I enjoy visiting. It’s such a big place, there is a lot to see and I enjoy it even more each time I go there.

Tell us about the track…
It has some unusual features. Turn one is very long and feels like it goes on forever. The key to getting it right is how much entry speed you can carry into the corner. You also have to look out for one of the biggest bumps of the year at the corner entry, which makes it difficult.

And what about the overtaking opportunities?
The best chance is turn one or into the very tight hairpin of turn 14, which widens on the entry and makes it difficult to defend. We also saw the effectiveness of DRS last year, which helped produce some good racing and it should be the same this year.

Nico on Shanghai
Nico Hulkenberg looks ahead to racing in Shanghai following his points finish in Malaysia.

Nico, after the disappointment of Melbourne, you finally got some racing miles under your belt in Sepang…
Yes, I’m happy with the race we had in Malaysia, which was basically the first proper race I have done since the end of 2010. It wasn’t an easy race and I was never in any clean air, but it was good to pick up a couple of points – my first points for the team.

Did you learn much about the car given that the conditions were so changeable in Sepang?
You always learn something and a race distance is always valuable for your knowledge of the car, even racing in the wet. The most difficult part of the race was just after the restart when I struggled for balance on the wets and intermediates, but when I switched to slicks the performance was pretty good.

Does the team have a better idea of the pecking order yet?
We’re only at the start of the season – we’ve only had two race weekends, so we still need to wait and see. Because the midfield is so compact nobody can afford to relax. We all need to push hard to improve performance and with 18 races still to go there’s plenty of time to do that.

What are your thoughts ahead of this weekend’s race in China?
It’s not my favourite race of the year, but they’ve done a good job to build a really impressive facility and it’s a fun track to drive. It’s difficult to predict how well we will do there, but given how close the grid is at the moment I think it should be a good show for everyone who is watching.

Fernando Alonso’s win was a complete surprise, but the name of another team was on more paddock-dwellers’ lips after Malaysia — Sauber.

“Only one team could do consistently good laptimes on all the tyres and in all the conditions, and it was Sauber,” confirmed Martin Whitmarsh, whose McLaren team had travelled to Sepang with arguably the fastest car.

Also in Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner agreed: “They (Sauber) have somehow managed to get all of the tyres to work perfectly, which at the moment is the key to success.

“The (tyre) window is so small that it’s very easy to not be in it,” added the Briton.

And Sepang winner Fernando Alonso, whose victory was only ensured by a late-race mistake by Sauber’s Sergio Perez, admitted: “No doubt about it, they were quicker than us.”

Some believe it was only the Malaysian weather chaos that brought the Ferrari-powered C31 to the top of F1′s form-guide, but the Sauber was in fact also fast in Australia.

“Our cars were severely damaged at the start (in Melbourne),” explained chief designer Matt Morris. “At the front for Perez, the rear for Kobayashi.”

Nonetheless, both finished inside the top eight.

“The race in Malaysia showed very clearly how fast our car is,” insisted team boss Peter Sauber, writing in Blick newspaper.

“After two very different tracks, we have the assurance now that the C31 is a success.”

The next question is precisely how the small Hinwil based team has managed to build a pace-setting car.

One possible answer is the end of the blown diffuser era, and the fact that Sauber’s 2012 solution has already been copied by F1′s formerly-dominant Red Bull.

Italy’s Autosprint, meanwhile, claims Ferrari is next, mischievously suggesting that the updated F2012 might aptly be called the ‘Ferrauber’.

Referring to the FIA exhaust clampdown, Morris admitted: “We had to give up less than our opponents.”

Peter Sauber added: “When I saw that Red Bull had chosen a similar route to us, I was sure that we were right.”

Another trick on the C31 is a clever use of the loophole allowing an opening at the front of the car for driver cooling.

“It’s no match-winner,” Morris insists, “but it gains us some (lap) time.”

And Autosprint reports that another “trick” on the Sauber is located in front of the rear wheels, exploiting yet another “grey zone” in the regulations.

So far in 2012, McLaren stands all alone — with not only the fastest car, but also the best-looking one.
With almost every other team fielding an ‘ugly’ stepped nose, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button dominated qualifying in Melbourne with their sleek silver machine.

A report in the Mirror suggested McLaren’s rivals have all made “a design blunder”.

“We felt it (the conventional nose) was the right decision and we’re pleased it looks good and it’s reasonably quick as well,” smiled team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

As for the direction taken by McLaren’s rivals, including Red Bull who pioneered the ‘high nose’ philosophy for the now-past blown exhaust era, Whitmarsh insisted: “It’s not a question of right or wrong.

“But there’s no doubt which one looks best. Ultimately, it’s which one is quickest.”

Writing in Autosprint, Alberto Antonini wondered if Saturday in Australia marked “the end of an era”, after Red Bull dominated the past few seasons in formula one.

“A new era in F1 has begun,” agreed Marca newspaper’s Marco Canseco.

At least for now, there is no obvious signsof panic at Red Bull, with Mark Webber telling Speed Week: “There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the car, we just haven’t got everything out of it.”

As for Sunday’s Melbourne opener, former driver and RTL commentator Christian Danner predicted: “I think the McLarens are unbeatable.

“Behind them we will see a wonderful fight for third place, with Grosjean, the two Mercedes drivers and, of course, Sebastian Vettel.”

The FIA is keeping a close eye on the aftermath of Lewis Hamilton’s Monaco grand prix.

After the McLaren driver’s two penalties for crashes in the Principality, he returned to the track late on Sunday to explain his ‘Ali G’ remark to the stewards.

It is believed the British team feared Hamilton, 26, was in danger of being charged of contravening Article 151c by bringing the sport into disrepute.

Indeed, the FIA told the Telegraph on Monday that it was “gathering all the relevant information” about the incident.

So also on Monday, the 2008 world champion appeared in British newspapers with further explanations of the Monaco aftermath, and apologised to Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa via his Twitter account.

In his post-race tirade, Hamilton had labelled the pair “ridiculous” and “stupid”.

“Hey guys,” he wrote. “I wanted to apologise for last weekend’s performance and also my comments after, I never meant to offend.”

The Briton said he had “respect” for some of the “angry messages” he had received since Sunday.

“To Massa and Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended you. Both of you are fantastic drivers who I regard highly.

“To my fans lost and my fans won, I wish you nothing but love and happiness,” he tweeted.

Quoted by British newspapers, meanwhile, Hamilton explained that his loss of temper was a reflection of his racing style.

“I don’t do it to offend people or to hurt anyone. I do it because I love racing. I feel like I can do it better than others,” he said.

He also said his desire to succeed in Monaco, the past playground of his hero Ayrton Senna, is higher than ever.

“In my heart of hearts I believe I can own this circuit,” said Hamilton. “I feel like I can be the fastest here. I was, and not with the fastest car.”

Fascinatingly, he also revealed that his defiance began long before he spoke with reporters after the chequered flag on Sunday.

“I got hit (in the race) and my rear wing was hanging off and I was asked to come in and retire, and I refused,” said Hamilton. “The first pitstop I was asked to pit and no one was there. So all the tension just boiled up.”

Perhaps tellingly, Jenson Button declined to comment on his teammate’s weekend, and when told he is aware of Hamilton’s character he responded: “No, I don’t.”

Red Bull had not only the fastest car in Turkey but also the fastest pitstops, according to a Spanish sports newspaper.

The Marca daily said the championship-leading team’s sub-4 second pitstops, so crucial now in the era of Pirelli tyres and no refuelling, were aided by a spring-assisted front jack that drops the car to the ground faster than rival teams.

“Then, when all four wheels touch the ground, the car can be driven out immediately without hint of delay,” said the report.

Marca said Ferrari’s pitstops, in contrast, seem slower due to the manual jack not lowering the car as quickly, before the drivers comparatively struggle to get the 150 Italia back in motion.

The report speculated that, just as it is using different engine mapping settings in qualifying and the race, Red Bull might also have devised a superior computer setting for the engine during pitstops.

Sebastian Vettel insists he is not worried about KERS in Turkey this weekend, nor a repeat of last year’s clash with his teammate Mark Webber.

Red Bull left China three weeks ago with clearly the fastest car but far from the best KERS system, after Adrian Newey repackaged the Renault-based unit over the winter for best aerodynamic performance.

That caused cooling problems at the first three races of 2011, but Dr Helmut Marko insisted this week that the team used the Easter break to fix the system.

“We have had some problems but have had very good people working on it,” agreed championship leader Vettel to Auto Motor und Sport.

“That’s why for this next race I am not worried,” he added.

The German also revealed that the RB7 will have some other improvements for Turkey this weekend.

“When I asked the team what (new) to expect, I received many answers,” Vettel answered coyly. “You’ll have to ask them for yourself.”

Also in the back of his and teammate Webber’s minds at Istanbul Park will be their clash last year, which brought their working relationship under severe strain.

Asked about the crash a year on, Vettel told DPA news agency: “I cannot change what has already happened, but I can learn from it.”

Red Bull’s competition director Helmut Marko told the APA news agency that the development of Pirelli’s tyres this year will be crucial.

“There are going to be a lot more tyre pistops this year and when the safety car comes out at a bad time, the middle class teams could benefit,” he said.

The Austrian acknowledged that the teams and Bernie Ecclestone pushed for more tyre degradation to improve the show, but he said Pirelli has “not yet found the right balance”.

“From the middle of the season they will get it under control, so it should not be decisive for the entire year,” he added.

Fernando Alonso agrees that the Pirelli factor has perhaps been overstated recently.

“The best and fastest car will still win the title,” he is quoted by Autosprint.

“Strategy is going to be important, and a couple of times it will happen that maybe the fastest one has the wrong strategy.

“But over 19 races, the most important thing is to have a fast car,” added the Ferrari driver.

Aldo Costa has played down fears the new Ferrari is too conservative when compared to its rivals.
Among the new class of 2011 are the new McLaren, with radically shaped sidepods, the Renault with front-exiting exhausts, Williams’ ultra-low rear and small gearbox, and the double-floor of the new Toro Rosso.

“Futuristic projects are not always better than more conservative ones,” Fernando Alonso insisted to La Stampa newspaper last week.

The famous team’s technical director agrees.

“I think the fastest car will be the one with the best performance balance between aerodynamics, the mechanical side and reliability,” Costa is quoted by L’Equipe in France.

“If you attempt something extreme in one area, you might pay in another, so for a car that wins you need a balanced approach,” he added.

Costa also revealed that Ferrari’s F150 will evolve between now and the first race of the season in Bahrain.

“Mechanically, the car will be almost complete at Jerez (this week),” said the Italian, “but from an aerodynamic standpoint, there are still a lot of changes coming.

“More than an extreme approach, we are seeking a productive approach,” he insisted, “and ultimately it will be the laptimes that will make the verdict.”

Gerhard Berger has dismissed as “stupid and unfair” speculation that Red Bull team boss Christian Horner could be set to lose his job.

Media reports, including in the German daily Bild, said the Briton risks being ousted because the team could lose this year’s drivers’ and constructors’ championships despite having easily the fastest car in 2010.

“The rumours are stupid and unfair,” former grand prix winner Berger, a close friend of the energy drink company’s chief Dietrich Mateschitz, is quoted by Auto Bild Motorsport.

“Red Bull are in a position to win both the constructors’ and the drivers’ world championships. An unsuccessful season looks very different to that,” the Austrian insisted.

Moreover, the report claimed Horner’s contract is tied to that of his countryman Adrian Newey, meaning that if Horner is ousted, Newey could leave the Milton Keynes based team as well.

Newey is credited as the designer of the widely-lauded RB6 car.

Berger’s dismissal of the rumour is ironic, given that it follows his suspicion that Mark Webber tried to take out his championship rivals after crashing in Korea.

Horner rejected that speculation as “ridiculous” and “absurd”.

Red Bull should not take the title, many expect a release Horner as team boss.

After the double failure of Red Bull team boss Christian Horner in Korea is coming under fire. British media speculation already has the replacement of the British should not Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel still get the title. Many find that Horner, not on sympathy, but a lack of assertiveness. The fact is that Red Bull but the strongest and fastest car in the field has, however, this advantage could not always convert into the necessary results.

“Red Bull has shown time and again in 2010, that they can not consistently enter the results that they are with the car actually able to get,” said Andrew Benson criticized in his blog. Mark Webber is currently eleven points behind new championship leader Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel is in the Drivers’ Championship in fourth with 25 points behind. Said the renowned F1 journalist Mark Hughes told the BBC in terms of a stable direction, “Red Bull has to meet two races remaining difficult decisions.”

Sebastian Vettel should not have been penalised for losing control at Spa-Francorchamps.

That is the opinion of an unlikely supporter of the 23-year-old Red Bull driver: Marc Gene.

Spaniard Gene is Ferrari’s occasional test driver, who said the drive-through penalty after Vettel crashed into Jenson Button on Sunday “was totally disproportionate”.

“It is true that he was too aggressive, but for there to be a penalty … he did nothing wrong, it was an incident of the race,” Gene wrote in his El Mundo newspaper column.

Niki Lauda’s is a harsher critique, predicting that one more mistake for the young German will end his 2010 title chances.

“You’re an absolute super-talent but you’ve taken excessive risks,” the former triple world champion wrote in Bild newspaper.

“One more mistake and your world championship will be over. Then you will have to drive for your teammate, which would be the ultimate penalty,” said Lauda.

He thinks Vettel is struggling with the pressure.

“You’re in the fastest car,” Lauda said, addressing Vettel personally. “The pressure can be paralysing, because everyone expects you to be in front and everything else is a disappointment.”

Lewis Hamilton, who according to British commentator Martin Brundle is driving better today than in his championship year in 2008, said Vettel’s lack of experience is showing.

“The older I get, the more I understand about experience. Mark (Webber) is a very mature man and that definitely helps,” said the McLaren driver.

David Coulthard advises his Red Bull successor Vettel to get used to the criticism, observing that “the knives seem to be out for him” now.

“I want to make it clear I am not trying to excuse Sebastian’s recent high-profile errors,” he wrote in the Telegraph.

“I see a young man who is suffering from his first spell of growing pains,” added the veteran of almost 250 races.

“I am not excusing them (the mistakes) – as I have said before, F1 is no finishing school – I’m just saying they are understandable,” said Coulthard.

A warm weekend of weather might be expected at Silverstone for the forthcoming British grand prix.

The weather has been nice in England so far this week, with the mid-twenties temperatures forecast to persist through to the formula one event on July 9-11.

But there has also been some cloud in the skies, and more possibilities of light rain are predicted for next weekend and an event that is so often blighted by bad weather.

“I’m sure when we go racing the clouds will come in like every year, and it will start to rain,” laughed German driver Adrian Sutil, who drives for the locally-based Force India.

Briton Lewis Hamilton won his home race in 2008 but last year, like the rest of the field, was annihilated by the dominant Red Bulls.

And despite leading the world championship, the 25-year-old is expecting Red Bull to again lead from the front.

Hamilton, whose British countryman Jenson Button also drives for the British team McLaren, said: “It’s going to be tough.  We can’t go into it thinking we’re the favourites because the Red Bull, as it stands, is definitely the fastest car.”