Most leading specialist publications see Red Bull as the continuing pacesetter in formula one.
In their recent analysis, outlets including Auto Motor und Sport (Germany), La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy) and Autosport (Britain) believe world champion Sebastian Vettel again resides the best car ahead of the 2012 season.

“They still have an advantage, but it’s smaller,” agreed Jenson Button, according to Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo.

His boss Martin Whitmarsh added: “Red Bull has a solid, fast car, better than us in slow corners, but we’re better in the fast ones.”

Switzerland’s Sonntagsblick, however, sees McLaren actually ahead of the energy drink-owned team, with Mercedes in third place and Force India a surprise fourth.

“Red Bull is faster (than Mercedes),” said the German marque’s boss Ross Brawn, “and clearly a little more than we had hoped for,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

The international publications said Lotus, amid their chassis flaw problems, rank anywhere between third (Auto Motor und Sport) and eighth (Blick).

According to the same press, Ferrari is in trouble, ranking no higher than fifth in the lists of the aforementioned publications — and the authoritative Auto Motor und Sport predicting nothing short of a disastrous season for the fabled Italian team.

Felipe Massa is quoted by Spanish reporters as saying Barcelona was “a little more positive” than the Jerez test recently, and he was asked to rank the development of the new F2012 car out of ten.

“Probably more than five. There is still much to do, but now we are closer than we were,” said the Brazilian.

As for whether the car is a race winner, Massa added: “I hope so, but it’s very difficult to say anything in testing,” he is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat.

Indeed, Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi ended last week’s Barcelona test with the quickest time, but Blick’s veteran correspondent Roger Benoit warned against taking that too seriously.

“When with the same tyres at the same time, (Mercedes’ Nico) Rosberg was a second faster per lap than Sauber’s Japanese,” he said.

“In testing, the truth is seldom revealed — if the teams used lie detectors, they would all be laying exploded around us.”

According to Britain’s Sun newspaper, Kobayashi confirmed: “I don’t think McLaren and Red Bull are slow.

“We don’t really wish for wins or podiums. For us this is a bit too far away.”

Instead, the midfield battle looks extremely tight, with Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio surmising that Sauber as well as Force India, Toro Rosso and Williams are all in there.

“It will be race to race,” Toro Rosso’s Giorgio Ascanelli told the Italian press. “From what we’ve seen so far, this fight will be amazing.”

And Oricchio concluded: “As for HRT and Marussia, who have not even presented their 2012 cars, they undoubtedly have capable people, but also almost as many difficulties.”

A female driver conducted a secret formula one test with Renault two weeks ago, according to international publications.
Spain’s Marca and Italy’s Italiaracing report that 31-year-old Spaniard Maria de Villota, the daughter of former F1 driver Emilio de Villota, was at the wheel of a two-year old Renault R29.

The test took place at the Bernie Ecclestone-linked Paul Ricard circuit, and was reportedly attended by formula one’s 80-year-old chief executive.

De Villota currently races in the open wheel category Superleague, but she has also contested the Euroseries 3000, Spanish GT and F3, and World Touring Cars.

The test took place before Renault’s mandatory two-week August factory shutdown commenced, and in line with F1 test ban guidelines that allow some limited running with dated F1 cars.

Italiaracing said Ecclestone was “probably the instigator of the operation”, in line with his desire to “bring a woman into F1″.

De Villota was early last year linked with a seat at HRT, when the Spanish team was known as Hispania and headed by Adrian Campos.

The FIA is yet to confirm reports that it will consider the Ferrari team order issue at its scheduled meeting on September 10.

International publications including Blick (Switzerland), Turun Sanomat (Finland), Autosprint (Italy), Bild (Germany) and Marca (Spain) believe it is possible the FIA will not schedule a special meeting to discuss Fernando Alonso’s Hockenheim victory.

Ferrari was fined $100,000 by the stewards at Hockenheim for breaching not only the team order rule 39.1, but also the general guideline about disrepute.

“The case will also be referred to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for further consideration,” said the stewards’ statement.

On the day of Friday free practice at Monza, the governing body will be meeting in Como, Italy.

Media sources say it is not likely that FIA president Jean Todt, who as Ferrari boss ordered Rubens Barrichello to “let Michael (Schumacher) pass for the championship” in Austria in 2002, will take part in the disciplinary proceedings.

An FIA spokesman said a date for the consideration of the Ferrari affair has not yet been set.