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.”

Nico Rosberg has hinted strongly that he intends to stay at Mercedes GP beyond the expiry of his current contract.
The German’s current deal reportedly runs to the end of next season, but boss Norbert Haug has revealed he intends to keep the current team together beyond 2012.

Asked if the talks are already taking place, Rosberg told Germany’s T-Online: “Yes, they are.

“We have talked about a long-term commitment as I feel very comfortable in the team. It is a great project. I don’t want to go into more detail than that.”

When asked if he is also “actively” looking for possible opportunities with other teams, Rosberg insisted: “Actively, no.”

Rosberg was also asked about his countryman and new back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel’s 2011 season, with the interviewer describing it as “flawless”.

“Flawless? I’ve had a season like that, too,” said the German. “I have made very, very few mistakes.

“The same as last year. I have driven very consistently but it’s not so obvious because we are driving further behind.”

He is also expecting Red Bull to be ahead of the pack in 2012.

“They have a head-start, obviously,” said Rosberg. “We need to catch up and that will take some time.”

Finally, he denied that the constant questions about his teammate Michael Schumacher are “annoying”.

“That’s not the right word. It’s just that I have to talk about it all the time. They (the questions) always used to be about my father, now they’re about Michael Schumacher.

“I’m used to it now,” smiled Rosberg.

A long-awaited summer break, including mandatory factory shutdowns, lies ahead for F1 team members.
But the previously dominant Red Bull, beaten by Ferrari and McLaren at the last three grands prix, is planning a significant upgrade for the RB7 to debut at Spa-Francorchamps later this month.

“McLaren have made the biggest leap in the blown diffuser (area),” team boss Christian Horner told Der Spiegel in Hungary, adding that there is still developmental “potential” in Red Bull’s car.

The report said a new floor and diffuser, to be tested in Friday practice in Belgium, should make the Red Bull three tenths per lap faster.

Brazilian journalist Livio Oricchio said it is a myth that F1′s smartest chiefs will simply lie on beaches in the next few weeks.

“Who really believes that, as McLaren and Ferrari move ahead, Adrian Newey for example says to his guys tomorrow at Milton Keynes: ‘Ok guys, see you in two weeks!’”

Actually, more than 100 points ahead in the constructors’ and 88 points clear of the first non-Red Bull in the drivers’ chase, Red Bull are not panicking.

“We are on a par with McLaren. And we have a head start,” consultant Dr Helmut Marko told Kleine Zeitung with eight races left to run in 2011.

He also confirmed that development of the RB7 is moving ahead.

“We will continue to make the car better,” said the Austrian.

Die Welt headlined after Sunday’s result that second place was “The perfect defeat” for German Sebastian Vettel, whose championship lead actually extended due to Jenson Button winning.

“I definitely can live with P2,” he said.

“Perhaps we don’t have the strongest car at the moment, but we can still achieve good points.”

Williams will not be getting an early taste of its 2012 power plant.

The British team, currently Cosworth powered, will reunite the famous title-winning Williams-Renault alliance next year.

But Renault Sport F1 chief Jean-Francois Caubet played down speculation the new combination will get a head-start on the test track.

“Our philosophy is staying the same,” he is quoted by France’s autohebdo.fr. “We will probably not test before the end of the year, but early next year instead.”

Caubet also revealed that the Williams deal has been on the cards for some time.

“We were in discussion since last season but it was impossible to complete the agreement until now. We were about to sign before the arrival of the V6 (regulations), which delayed us a bit more,” he added.

Michael Schumacher on Thursday swiftly dismissed rumours he is considering returning to retirement at the end of the 2010 season.

Given the seven time world champion’s disappointing return to formula one this year, the latest rumours had been spurred on by Eddie Jordan, who said he sensed a flurry of paddock activity at Monza relating to a race cockpit possibly opening up at Mercedes.

But 41-year-old Schumacher’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm dismissed that speculation, and the German driver was asked personally about the rumours in the floodlit Singapore paddock on Thursday night.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily!” he jokingly hit back at the local Asian reporter’s question, according to the German news agency SID.

Indeed, he said the Brackley based team has now completely switched its focus to 2011, and that he has been involved in “every detail” of the W01 car’s successor.

“The focus of the 2011 car is now 100 per cent,” said the record winner of 91 grands prix. “There will be no more development steps with the 2010 car, even if I think some good results are possible,” revealed Schumacher.

He is already signed up for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

“Our goal is the world championship — and the sooner the better,” said the former Ferrari driver.

“But we are in a process; we are not magicians,” added Schumacher. “But we have already started our process, while the teams fighting for the (2010) world are somewhat further behind.

“We are hoping for a small head start for 2011,” he said.

Felipe Massa on Thursday said he overshot his starting box on the Spa grid two weeks ago due to a visibility problem.

The FIA is currently investigating how it did not notice the Brazilian driver’s Ferrari get a head-start in the Belgian grand prix.

“I think I am one of the drivers who sits lowest in the cockpit and the front of our car is quite high, so I definitely did not see the line on the grid very well, which is why I was a bit over it,” Massa said at Monza.

“To be honest I was lucky that this was not noticed during the race!”

The 2008 championship runner-up also revealed that Ferrari, like many other teams including McLaren, Renault and Red Bull, have not decided whether or not to use an F-duct rear wing this weekend.

“We will try it tomorrow and then decide which way to go for the rest of the weekend,” said Massa.

F1′s governing body is investigating how Felipe Massa escaped penalty despite getting a head-start in last Sunday’s Belgian grand prix.
 
As the cars lined up on the Spa-Francorchamps grid, BBC commentator Martin Brundle noticed that the Brazilian’s Ferrari was about “two metres” ahead of its starting box.
 
And a spectator’s amateur footage, posted on video sharing website Youtube, backs Brundle’s observation, even though the race director, stewards and rival teams and drivers apparently did not notice or report Massa’s head-start.
 
The Telegraph said the FIA has launched an investigation into how Massa escaped without a drive-through penalty.
 
The report said the transponder on the floor of Massa’s F10 did not send a signal to the tarmac sensor because he was too far out of position, while the marshals did not alert the race director manually.
 
“As no further information or complaints were received before the publication of the official result on Sunday night, the classification of the Belgian grand prix will now remain unchanged,” said an FIA spokeswoman.
 
“The FIA are investigating the causes of the apparent failures in communication with race control in order to ensure a repetition is not possible,” she added.

Felipe Massa escaped penalty despite clearly getting a head-start in last Sunday’s Belgian grand prix.

Before the five red lights went out at Spa-Francorchamps, BBC commentator Martin Brundle observed that the Ferrari was about “two metres” ahead of its starting area on the grid.

A spectator’s amateur footage, posted on video sharing website Youtube, now supports Brundle’s observation, but the Brazilian was not penalised by the stewards.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said Massa, who finished the race in fourth place, was “at least 1 metre” ahead of his grid box.

Ferrari’s post-race press release mentions neither Massa’s grid error or the fact that he made up two early positions once the race had started.

The German report speculated that if FIA officials, or any of his competitors, had noticed the incident, Massa would probably have received a drive-through penalty.

Sensors in the grid boxes are supposed to ensure the cars’ correct positioning as well as whether the competitor made a jump-start.