Red Bull is lamenting the limited role that can be played in 2012 by F1′s aerodynamic genius Adrian Newey.

For the past few years, the energy drink owned team has enjoyed its dominance largely because of the airflow magic wrought by Briton Newey.

But in 2012, with reigning back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel just one of the five different winners so far, Pirelli rubber is king.

“I doubt Williams really know why they were so strong,” team boss Christian Horner, referring to Pastor Maldonado’s shock Barcelona pole and win last weekend, is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Horner insisted that, rather than the winner being the team with the best overall package at each race, success this season is about “understanding the characteristics of the tyre and the window in which they work”.

“It’s not that the midfield teams have made a quantum leap aerodynamically from last year to this year,” Horner insisted. “But from a performance point of view, this is what they have done.”

The logical conclusion is that aerodynamic cleverness has taken a back seat.

So will Red Bull knock a million or two off Newey’s huge annual retainer?

Horner laughed. “Adrian is not just an aerodynamicist, and aerodynamics are still important anyway. But now it’s about harmonising everything, and these tyres are simply remarkably complex.

“Two races ago Nico Rosberg dominated, but in Spain he was almost lapped. It is very difficult to predict what’s going to happen next — a nightmare for the bookmakers,” he smiled. “A lottery.”

The situation has split F1 into two camps: those who love it, and those who do not.

“It has become like a GP2 championship,” Maldonado, the junior category’s 2010 champion, is quoted by The National newspaper.

“The drivers can make the difference and the teams can still work on the strategy and the car.”

The bizarre situation has left everyone scratching their heads, like Jenson Button.

He can scarcely believe that what looked a championship car – his 2012 McLaren – was beaten in Spain by Shanghai winner Nico Rosberg, who was almost lapped.

“The Red Bulls did a better job at the weekend than us in terms of points, but still they weren’t quick when you compare them to Williams, Sauber, Lotus and Ferrari,” he told PA Sport.

“Five different teams winning five different races, we really don’t know what’s going on, and I think that’s the same up and down the pitlane.”

Niki Lauda is sure Michael Schumacher will return to the top step of the podium this year.

As Mercedes took a step forwards with its new W03 car in 2012, it was the famous seven time world champion’s teammate Nico Rosberg who tasted success first, securing pole and victory in China last month.

But triple world champion Lauda told Germany’s Bild newspaper: “Michael Schumacher will win this year.

“Finally Mercedes are good enough to be able to attack the best.”

Schumacher, 43, has not been on the podium since he returned to F1 in 2010.

The German has also played down the team’s chances on the demanding Circuit de Catalunya this weekend, even though Mercedes is debuting a new ultra-light carbon gearbox in Barcelona.

Lauda, meanwhile, played down Schumacher’s widely-reported criticisms of this year’s Pirelli tyres, which have seen him labelled either a sore loser or a spoil-sport amid the exciting 2012 season.

“Schumi can’t spoil formula one,” laughed the Austrian legend. “He has been in the business so many years — he knows how it works.

“I see Rosberg’s success as spurring him on rather than frustrating him. He will fight through it,” predicted Lauda.

Michael Schumacher’s brother has tipped the seven time world champion to keep racing beyond his 44th birthday.

Schumacher’s Mercedes deal runs out this year, but talks about a new contract for 2013 are yet to be discussed.

Ralf Schumacher, also a grand prix winner and six years younger than his more famous sibling, was asked by Bild am Sonntag newspaper about Michael’s recent anti-Pirelli outburst.

Asked if it was an overreaction to the fact his teammate Nico Rosberg was the first Mercedes driver to win in 2012, Ralf answered: “It has nothing to do with it.

“But for sure Michael came back to celebrate successes with Mercedes. And until he succeeds, he will not give up.

“I still see a lot of fire in Michael,” said Ralf Schumacher, now a DTM driver with Mercedes.

“He is pushing hard, as we saw as recently as Mugello last week.”

Ralf said Mercedes’ 2012 F1 car, the W03, is well built.

“I think we will see Michael on the podium soon,” he insisted.

“At some point, there surely comes a point when the body can’t do it any more. But when I look at Michael, that’s still a few years away.

“I certainly won’t be racing as long as he has,” he laughed.

Jerome d’Ambrosio has revealed he could drive one of the Lotus cars during Friday morning practice sessions at some point in 2012.

The former Virgin driver, who is managed by Lotus boss Eric Boullier’s Gravity company, was appointed as the team’s third and reserve driver for this year.

But, until now, it was not known if the role would involve Friday morning practice duties.

Asked by the La Libre newspaper when he will be seen on the grid once again, Belgian d’Ambrosio answered: “I hope in 2013.”

He will get his 2013 campaign up and running on Tuesday, when he gets the chance to drive Lotus’ current E20 for the first time at the Mugello test.

The 26-year-old said on Monday: “I will try to show what I can do every time I have the opportunity, not only tomorrow but also during the Friday morning tests that I can participate in.”

D’Ambrosio admitted he would rather be racing this year, but insists that his role at Lotus is a good stepping stone.

“I’m not complaining,” he said. “I remain convinced that my decision to become a reserve driver with a big team was the best thing for me.”

And he insisted he is not jealous of the similarly-aged Romain Grosjean, who took the E20 to the podium in Bahrain recently.

“Honestly not,” said d’Ambrosio. “I would be a fool to think that if Romain had crashed twice more I would replace him in Barcelona.

“Instead, what Grosjean has done confirms that young guys can be trusted. I am glad to see him succeed.

“I don’t come to grands prix hoping one of my teammates is hurt. I’m here to learn, not to laugh.”

He thinks Lotus could win a race in 2012.

“It’s possible, yes,” said d’Ambrosio. “The E20 works well when it’s hot, degrading the tyres not too much.

“In Bahrain, we had the best car in the race. We cannot afford to miss opportunities.”

Rubens Barrichello has revealed he feels partly responsible for Williams’ surge in form so far in 2012.

For the veteran Brazilian’s final season in F1 last year, the famous British team had its worst performance, scoring just 5 points and slumping to ninth in the constructors’ standings.

But already in 2012, just three races into the new season and with Barrichello’s departure one of many changes, drivers Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado have already scored 18 points.

“When I turn on the TV and see formula one and I’m not there, it is a very strange feeling,” he is quoted by Brazil’s Globo.

“But I’m not feeling it as a loss,” said Barrichello, who has moved to Indycar.

“Williams is doing very well and they deserve to be ahead. But I have no doubt, as well, that with a little more experience in that group, their cars would be even further forwards.

“All the work carried out for this (2012) car is a result of what we fought hard for last year,” Barrichello insisted.

“Bruno is already reaping a lot from being with an engineer who was mine, as I was an experienced driver who likes the technical side and we exchanged a lot of information.

“For Bruno’s future it is very good,” insisted the winner of 11 grands prix.

Barrichello also hailed F1′s newest winner, Nico Rosberg, who like the Brazilian toiled in the sport for years before breaking through with his first victory.

“Nico is one of those great talents who takes a long time to win a race,” said Barrichello.

“You know in your head what you could do in another situation, but anyway the lack of a win does become a mental setback.

“Afterwards you don’t improve as a driver, but it does take an elephant off your back,” he laughed.

Emerson Fittipaldi, the successful Brazilian driver of the 70s, has tipped Jenson Button as a strong contender to match his own tally of two world championships come the end of the 2012 season.

“From what I can see, it will be between Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. They are the big favourites,” the 65-year-old is quoted by Brazil’s Globo.

“Obviously, if Ferrari improves, then Fernando (Alonso) is spectacular. Lewis Hamilton is very aggressive, very fast, but I think Jenson is very clean, easier on his equipment and the tyres.

“I think this (season) is best suited to his (Button’s) style,” said Fittipaldi.

McLaren’s Button, however, is not so sure, pointing out the unusually closely-packed 2012 grid, and the big role being played by the Pirelli tyres.

“You don’t know who is going to be your main opponent on Sunday,” Auto Motor und Sport quotes the 2009 world champion as saying.

“It could be Red Bull, or Mercedes, or Ferrari, or Lotus or even Sauber,” he smiled. “So who do you focus on for the strategy?”

This weekend, F1 will find out whether the hot track temperatures in Bahrain will reshuffle the order. Button laughed when asked if it means McLaren will pull ahead of Mercedes this weekend: “We hope so, but we don’t know!”

Michael Schumacher, whose career stretches all the way back to 1991, said 2012 is the “closest season I’ve experienced”.

As for what happened in China, where his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg won from pole for the first time, the German admitted: “I really didn’t think that would happen.”

It is for that reason that Button warned against writing off F1′s reigning champions, Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel said he is not expecting “miracles” in Bahrain, but he also said: “We still haven’t seen a team that is clearly above all the others.

“Maybe McLaren is the most consistent, but they didn’t do what you expected them to do in Shanghai …”

McLaren remains “the team to beat” despite the topsy-turvy outcome of the recent Malaysian grand prix.

That is the claim of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, having slumped to sixth in the drivers’ standings after a dire weekend in Malaysia.

The formerly-dominant Red Bull driver now lags a Ferrari and even a Sauber, after Fernando Alonso and the unlikely Sergio Perez proved the cream of the slippery Sepang circuit.

Vettel, however, is still thinking silver.

Asked by the French-language RMC Sport to name the ‘best team’ of the moment, the German answered: “There are several.

“But McLaren seems very strong right now. They are the team to beat,” said Vettel.

The trophy enthusiast received a small memento on the Melbourne podium last month, but a more impressive prize was the prestigious Grand Prix de l’Academie des Sports that he collected from FIA president Jean Todt recently in Paris.

“That was my first trophy (of 2012),” he laughed, “but I want much more than that!

“It’s a long championship,” Vettel argued. “We did quite a good job in Australia, and Malaysia was chaotic with the weather.

“We have a good car and the objective is to fight for the title.”

Rubens Barrichello has advised his friend and countryman Felipe Massa to remember to enjoy his job, amid rumours the Brazilian is speeding towards the exit at Ferrari.

Speculation is rife that amid his apparently worsening performance slump, Massa will be replaced by the famous Italian team — perhaps as soon as within the 2012 season.

F1 veteran Barrichello, who has switched to Indycar this year after losing his Williams seat, told Brazil’s Globo Esporte that he thinks Massa’s problem is psychological.

“It’s not a speed problem,” he said, “it’s something that he needs to solve within himself.

“He has to close his eyes and enjoy, remembering that he does this because he likes it.

“Every time that I lost a little bit, it was because I had forgotten that I did it because I liked to. So we (drivers) have to relax and improve that way.

“(For Massa) it is just a moment, and every moment and race in formula one is a cycle of life.”

Barrichello’s advice for Massa may be particularly relevant, as he was at Ferrari during Michael Schumacher’s ultra-successful reign last decade.

Now, it is Fernando Alonso who is the Maranello team’s favoured son.

“Of course Ferrari loves Alonso, because he is one of the best, if not the best who is there (in F1) now,” said Barrichello, 39.

“So, it’s tough for Felipe.”

Barrichello also laughed at the results of a recent fans’ poll in the Italian media that showed he would be a highly popular choice as Massa’s replacement.

“It was very unexpected,” he said. “Maybe it was a way (for journalists) to see if Italians would pick an Italian driver, and suddenly I win.

“It is a very public business and shows that I must have left something behind,” added the winner of 11 grands prix.

 Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he will earn less than $500,000 in 2012.
And the Australian rookie also confirmed that, when he made his grand prix debut last year with HRT, his sponsor Red Bull paid him only for the race seat, not a salary.

“Yeah, it’s quite a strange journey to formula one because it’s so elite and when you get there it can turn around very quickly,” he told Australia’s Fox channel.

“(On) the road to getting there, you’re always climbing a ladder, but you don’t really see the rewards until you get well established,” the 22-year-old added.

Ricciardo told television host Eddie McGuire that Toro Rosso will pay him some money in 2012.

“A little bit,” he smiled. “Let’s say I can buy myself a pair of jeans now, but not a mansion.”

He confirmed he is earning “less than” half a million dollars.

Some of that has already been spent — on a set of dental braces.

“I figured, just to keep my feet on the ground, I won’t get too beautiful,” Ricciardo laughed to the Herald Sun. “So I’ve got a mouth full of beautiful metal instead.”

 McLaren has once again stepped in to prevent Lewis Hamilton from answering a reporter’s question about the Adrian Sutil affair.
At the recent launch of the MP4-27 car, a reporter asked Hamilton about his former friend Sutil’s accusation he is a “coward” for not appearing as a witness at the recent assault trial in Munich.

“We’ve been told that Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it (the conviction) might go under appeal,” the spokesman quickly intervened.

Hamilton smiled: “I’ll listen to him.”

The Briton’s former F3 teammate did indeed file an appeal, but not before Sutil’s father Jorge described Hamilton as “pathetic” in the German press.

Asked about the latest insult from the Sutil camp, Hamilton was once again prevented from answering in the Jerez paddock by a McLaren media minder.

“That question is not permitted,” the spokesman is quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

The German magazine article read: “We say that Hamilton should have the courage to speak for himself.”

In other courtside F1 news, former Benetton driver JJ Lehto’s attempt to appeal his prison sentence for manslaughter got off to a dismal start, the Swiss newspaper Blick reports.

Finn Lehto’s lawyer reportedly appeared in court to file the appeal but was “immediately arrested himself, apparently because of money laundering”.

 Some distance may have crept into their relationship, but Mark Webber insists there is no tension between himself and fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo, the 22-year-old who has stepped up from HRT last year to the full-time Toro Rosso race seat for 2012, told the Melbourne Age newspaper that Webber – at the senior team Red Bull – is keeping his distance despite earlier easing his transition into the world of F1.

The feeling in the F1 paddock is that Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko is grooming Ricciardo and Toro Rosso’s other new driver Jean-Eric Vergne to potentially succeed Webber as world champion Sebastian Vettel’s next teammate.

As for the distance between him and Webber now that they are in competition for the same seat, Ricciardo said: “I guess he’s still got his career now and his things to worry about — I’ll try not to get in his way too much.

“And, you know, now we are on the same route together, maybe he doesn’t want to tell me too much but that is completely understandable.”

35-year-old Webber, however, insisted there is no real tension with his countryman.

“Not at all, you know, I’ve been through enough on and off the track to know that nothing is forever,” he said.

“I was supposed to be replaced by Kimi (Raikkonen) four years ago,” he laughed, referring to the notorious F1 rumour-mill.

Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez insists he is delighted with Kimi Raikkonen, despite earlier negotiations to secure the Finn’s services having foundered.
After a two year break to drive rallies and in Nascar, the 2007 world champion is back in formula one this year with the former Renault team.

“We had some contact with Kimi in 2010,” revealed Lopez, according to Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper.

Reports in 2010 linked Raikkonen with the Enstone based team, but the talks apparently soured after becoming public knowledge.

“I think (in 2010) he was still enjoying the challenge of rallying, giving the impression that he wanted to do it and F1 at the same time,” said Lopez.

He also hinted that 32-year-old Raikkonen considered money as a crucial element in the 2010 talks.

“This time everything was different,” he said. “I can assure you that Kimi came back because he wanted to race and that money was a side issue.”

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, joked on Thursday when he was asked if he had seen his friend Raikkonen at Jerez after the Finn’s two days of running.

“I haven’t. I think he went straight to the bar,” Vettel laughed to the MTV3 broadcaster.

Forecasts based on early test results are usually unreliable, but a picture of the 2012 pecking order may already be emerging.
On Wednesday at Jerez, Michael Schumacher moved to the top of the times in last year’s Mercedes, followed by Mark Webber in Red Bull’s new title-defending RB8.

“The car was pretty competitive in winter testing last year and it’s the same again this year,” said the Australian driver.

Much more than a second off the pace, meanwhile, was the radical new Ferrari, whose Felipe Massa could not conceal his negative body-language when speaking with the press.

While he said the F2012 has “enormous potential”, expert observers report that he was fighting notably with the handling of the car around the southern Spanish venue.

“There is a lot of work to be done, perhaps more than we expected,” acknowledged the Brazilian.

“It is a very, very, very different car,” Spain’s El Mundo newspaper quotes him as saying.

Italian veteran Jarno Trulli, however – a permanent fixture on the grid since the mid 90s – scoffed at those who are already picking winners and losers.

“Are you kidding?” he said in La Repubblica newspaper. “Only a fool would look at the times in the first days of testing.”

Nevertheless, the paddock rumour mill is buzzing, including with suggestions Schumacher’s best time was boosted by highly competitive components destined for his so-far unrevealed 2012 Mercedes.

Another rumour is that the W03, to also be raced by Nico Rosberg, is ready to test but Mercedes is holding back a radical secret weapon at the front of the car.

Webber, however, dismissed Schumacher’s quick time.

“With the Brazil version of our previous car I would have done a time in the 1.16s,” he laughed, apparently scoffing at Schumacher’s mid-1.18 best.

Even the seven time world champion admitted Wednesday’s result is not a sign of things to come.

“I don’t think we can realistically achieve a championship car from where we started last year,” said the 43-year-old German.

Williams’ official launch took just five minutes in the Jerez pitlane on Tuesday, before the new Renault-powered FW34 had a difficult birth.
“Unfortunately testing was cut short with a couple of initial teething problems which we are currently investigating,” said engineer Mark Gillan.

Official testing action burst into life in 2012, with every team except Marussia – and nine all-new cars in action for the first time – kicking off their campaigns.

Returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was fastest all day.

“The lap times don’t matter today,” Lotus’ Finn insisted.

“I do have a good feeling, and that was not always the case in my career after the first day of testing,” he told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“But I would rather be P1 at the end of the first race than at the end of the first test day,” smiled Raikkonen.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber, with the team’s brand new title-defending car only the third quickest of the 2012 runners, agreed.

“If what we saw today happens in Melbourne, then we’ll talk again,” he laughed, explaining the missed morning of testing as due to a crucial part being held up at an airport shrouded in fog.

The Guardian also reports that a Red Bull truckie was stopped for speeding.

Lotus team boss Eric Boullier, however, is convinced Raikkonen’s speed is real – and his motivation intact – after two years away.

“Believe me, he is there.”

Agreed technical director James Allison: “You can tell Kimi is a class act.”

Like fellow top team Red Bull, the new McLaren also had a low-profile day, with Jenson Button just eighth quickest.

But he didn’t accuse Lotus and Raikkonen of showboating.

“Maybe he (Raikkonen) was running heavy,” said the 2009 world champion. “We maybe haven’t seen eye to eye a lot of the time when we’ve been racing, but he’s a very quick driver, a world champion.

“He’s obviously in a very competitive car, and whatever they did today – low fuel or whatever – it was still quick.”

Struggling on Tuesday was Caterham, whose new car could not be restarted following damage to the engine starter shaft, and Toro Rosso with an oil leak.

And Felipe Massa was just ninth in the new Ferrari.

“It is obviously too early to say if this year we will be able to win or not,” said designer Nikolas Tombazis.

An eventful and marathon inaugural Korean grand prix, beginning in boredom and ending in darkness, has changed the face of the 2010 world championship fight.

Championship leader Mark Webber lost his 14-point lead with a crash on the slippery track, and his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel failed to pick up the pieces because of a Renault engine failure.

“Totally my mistake,” admitted Australian Webber after his crash, which also took out Nico Rosberg.

The result means Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso – who laughed hysterically on the radio at the chequered flag – is the new championship leader, 11 points ahead of Webber with two races to go.

“Nothing has changed really,” said the Spaniard. “We all know the new points system. Anything can happen.”

After driving through the carnage and finishing second, Lewis Hamilton is now third in the championship, 21 points behind but four ahead of Vettel.

“It’s obviously not a nice moment,” said Vettel, the pole sitter and leader until his failure, as the race finished in near-darkness.

Jenson Button, 12th at the finish and among the slowest cars on track, is now a distant 42 points behind.

“I’m not really in it anymore,” said the reigning world champion on BBC television.