Heikki Kovalainen is looking for Caterham to move into the midfield, according to his new management company.

Having handled his own career in the wake of Flavio Briatore’s demise, Finn Kovalainen recently signed up with IMG, the sports and entertainment management giant.

The 30-year-old has rebuilt his reputation since 2010 in the wake of mixed tenures for top teams Renault and McLaren.

According to IMG Motorsport’s head of clients Martin Anayi, Kovalainen is now regarded by formula one team bosses up and down pitlane as among the top best drivers.

“He is a great guy,” Anayi is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper.

“Heikki’s potential is obvious and he definitely wants to succeed.”

There have been rumblings in the paddock that Kovalainen is disappointed that, despite being consistently the best of F1′s new teams since 2010, Caterham is yet to break into the midfield.

“This is only the team’s third season, so there are still some growing paints,” IMG’s Anayi acknowledged.

“Heikki has a strong desire to compete, and not just with his teammate Vitaly Petrov. The team’s boss Tony Fernandes wants to get in with the middle group.

“This means that the team needs to regularly get into the Q2 stage of qualifying and in the race be aiming for the points,” he insisted.

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.”

The boss of Abu Dhabi’s F1 circuit has criticised plans to run the young driver test at Silverstone later this year.

Originally, the young driver test was scheduled to take place as usual this year at Yas Marina, the week after the Abu Dhabi grand prix.

But, due to the calendar congestion at the end of this season, the majority of teams have decided instead to go to Silverstone in July, with only the two Red Bull-owned teams sticking with the Abu Dhabi plan.

Lotus team boss Eric Boullier, however, is quoted by The National newspaper as saying the Silverstone plan is “nonsense”.

Yas Marina chief Richard Cregan agrees: “If you’re a good young driver in the middle of a season, then it’s not ideal to be testing a formula one car midway through the year.

“These guys should be focusing on whatever series it is they are racing, which is why the F1 testing in Abu Dhabi worked so well in the past because it was effectively the end of their season.”

He also warned that the earlier timing of the Silverstone test means teams could spend more time trying to develop their cars than on seriously evaluating the next generation of drivers.

“It is first and foremost a young drivers test and it must remain that,” Cregan insisted.

“It is a chance for young drivers to get maybe a first chance to drive an F1 car and it is chance for teams to run their eye over a driver and evaluate his performance.

“Developing the car and parts should be secondary,” he said.

Abu Dhabi could, however, be back on if Silverstone’s weather forecast looks poor, even though as soon as a car has left the pitlane in July, that team will no longer be allowed to change its plans.

Even though Lotus’ Boullier thinks the Silverstone decision was wrong, he has vowed to stick with the majority.

“But actually I would like it to rain, so we will go back to the original schedule,” said the Frenchman.

Cregan said Abu Dhabi’s door remains open.

“We’ll still be working to the same standards,” he said. “So in that sense nothing changes.”

Martin Brundle has admitted he is surprised HRT is still struggling so much at the start of its third season in formula one.

Better known then as ‘Hispania’, the Spanish team was founded by Adrian Campos after former FIA president Max Mosley opened up three new places in pitlane for the start of the 2010 season.

But last year, the team’s second group of owners – the Carabante family – passed the baton yet again to Thesan Capital, who have rebuilt HRT in the wake of the management and infrastructure that was brought by former boss Colin Kolles.

Even so, the highly respected British commentator and former grand prix veteran Martin Brundle is surprised that Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan are struggling so much with the team’s Cosworth-powered 2012 car.

“Somebody’s got to be at the front, somebody’s got to be at the back,” the Briton told the BBC motoring programme Top Gear’s website.

“(But) the HRT is particularly poor at the moment, and it confuses me why in year three it’s worse than it was in year one.”

Carlos Gracia, an FIA vice-president and head of Spain’s motor racing federation, doesn’t fully agree.

Speaking to the sports newspaper Marca, he explained that veteran de la Rosa faces a “handicap” as the Spaniard races with HRT this year.

“He knows where he is; in a brand new team, although some people believe it is their third year.

“They have begun again, but it seems that they are in a situation where they have only just started and yet they have to clean up the image of the other years.

“That’s his handicap, but the team will have credibility because of Pedro and also because of a good business investment,” added Gracia.

Pedro de la Rosa insists he is not afraid to admit he will tackle next weekend’s Australian grand prix at the wheel of the “worst” car.
“We will have a difficult year,” said the veteran Spaniard, who is yet to actually drive HRT’s newly-launched F112.

“It will also be interesting because the team is 80 per cent new,” added the 41-year-old former Arrows, Jaguar and Sauber driver, who for years was McLaren’s main test driver.

“We should not be afraid to admit that we are the worst, but we must have the ambition to not stay that way,” he told Antena 3 television.

“Our goal is to finish races, stop being the last across the line and to grow, trying to close the gap to pole position.”

The next stop, he said, is the Melbourne pitlane.

“The team is packing up everything and preparing a second chassis. Tomorrow night it is all put onto planes and sent to Australia.

“I leave on Monday,” revealed de la Rosa.

 F1′s governing body reportedly rejected a push to lower the in-race pitlane speed limit from 100 to 60kph for 2012.
The latest edition of Italian magazine Autosprint said FIA president Jean Todt made the decision after reviewing the widespread lower speed limits in other major series, including Le Mans, GT1 and Nascar.

It was said the change would have a major impact on race strategy this year.

But in the wake of the Autosprint report, Britain’s BBC claims the FIA in fact rejected a push by the teams to lower the speed limit to 60.

Race director Charlie Whiting reportedly “told them he feels there is no need to make the change as there is no evidence that the current arrangement is unsafe”, according to the broadcaster.

Instead, the 2012 rules state that the race limit is 100kph at most races, but that the speed “may be amended by the stewards following a recommendation from the FIA F1 safety delegate”.

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.

 Amid the European cold snap, Franz Tost admits he was worried Toro Rosso might be late for its own car launch.
The STR7 was unveiled on Monday in the Jerez pitlane, a day ahead of its testing debut.

“When the trucks left Faenza on Saturday night I was worried we would not arrive in time,” La Gazzetta dello Sport quotes the relieved team boss as saying.

Ultimately, it turned out well, although Daniel Ricciardo – one of Toro Rosso’s new Red Bull-backed rookies – was not overly impressed with the car’s looks.

“It’s not exactly beautiful,” said the Australian, referring to the now notorious ‘stepped’ noses on the 2012 cars, “but I’d rather have a quick car than a pretty one.”

Actually, designer Giorgio Ascanelli is worried the STR7′s nose might not be ugly enough.

“I think we could have made it more aggressive,” said the Italian, “but in the end we had to homologate the car before we could test it.”

Arguably more ugly is the nose on Sauber’s new C31, but Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi isn’t so sure.

“You think it’s ugly?” he told reporters at Jerez. “If everybody has the same style of car then it’s not ugly. Only the McLaren is different, so we will see.”

On McLaren, Kobayashi might have a point.

Of the eight 2012 cars seen so far, all of them have a ‘step’ except the McLaren. And Pedro de la Rosa has hinted that the new HRT will also feature the unattractive solution.

“Like almost everyone one else we have had the idea to have as much area under the car as possible. The regulations force us to do what we have done,” Sauber designer Matt Morris is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Said Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary: “It begs the question — have McLaren got it wrong?

“Were they ‘sandbagging’ – faking – at last week’s launch? Have they got it right and everyone else got it wrong?”

McLaren’s technical director Paddy Lowe is confident: “We have always had a different philosophy than the others for the front of the car,” he is quoted by Blick newspaper.

Two 2012 cars with ‘step’ noses – Lotus and Sauber – made their track debuts on Monday, ahead of official testing which begins on Tuesday.

Lotus’ technical boss James Allison thinks the E20 is the “most beautiful ugly car” seen so far.

“It feels great in first and second gear,” smiled Kimi Raikkonen, referring to the running for ‘filming purposes’.

Agreed Sauber’s Kobayashi: “I obviously can’t make serious judgements on the car because we had just a promotional day and were running only demo tyres.”

The new Williams will be seen for the first time on Tuesday.

Red Bull can afford to let its huge points lead over McLaren drop this weekend and yet still wrap up the constructors’ world championship with three races to spare.

Last weekend in Japan, Sebastian Vettel needed a single point to beat Jenson Button to the 2011 drivers’ crown, and duly scored 15 with his podium place.

The next step is the teams’ crown, with Red Bull’s lead of 130 points over McLaren able to drop to 129 points in Korea and yet still ensure a winning lead by the time of the chequered flag at Interlagos late next month.

“It is unlikely that it will elude us, but you still have to get it,” said team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

And boss Christian Horner is quoted by Austria’s Kleine Zeitung: “The drivers’ title was the first part, now we want to retain the constructors’ title.

“As a team it’s almost the most important one, relating to the prestige in the pitlane and, of course, the bonus payments,” said the Briton, referring to the revenue distribution tables in the commercial Concorde Agreement.

Anthony Hamilton has criticised his son’s management team as the 2008 world champion returned to the headlines for the wrong reasons.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton clashed twice with his 2008 title nemesis Felipe Massa in Singapore, and afterwards almost came to blows with the diminutive Brazilian.

“We’re all pretty hot here,” said his boss Martin Whitmarsh smiled and shrugged.

“Felipe grabbed Lewis slightly aggressively but I think Lewis acted with restraint and walked away from any potential confrontation.”

Briton Hamilton, 26, was heard to shout “Don’t touch me, man” to Ferrari’s Massa and then left the circuit in his sweaty overalls without completing his media duties.

“I called to him two times, but he didn’t listen to me, he went past me. He didn’t even look to me,” said Massa.

“I said ‘like that you will win many championships’. Maybe his father can do something about it,” Massa said sarcastically.

According to Bild newspaper, triple world champion Niki Lauda sided with Massa: “I don’t understand how a guy with Hamilton’s talent can be always so stupid.”

Indeed, Hamilton Snr – who split professionally with his son before last season – pointed at a failure of management. Lewis’ career is now handled by celebrity manager Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment.

“You look up and down the pitlane and every driver, except for Lewis, has a driver-manager in his life, not people from a company,” said Hamilton, in Singapore to be with his new charge, Force India’s Paul di Resta.

“Formula one drivers need people personally involved in the driver’s lives because it is a big pressure,” he insisted.

“You sign up a formula one driver, so come and do your job. No disrespect to anybody but that’s how this business is.

“I have seen Lewis and he is fine. It is hard right now but he will come back, there is no doubt about that.”

Eric Boullier has confirmed reports that the Genii-owned formula one team, currently known as Renault, held recent talks with independent engine supplier Cosworth.
Seemingly confirming rumours that the Enstone based team will soon drop the Renault moniker in deference to main sponsor Group Lotus, the Frenchman told ITV that Cosworth power would be a “B plan”.

Currently, the team uses Renault engines, but it is Red Bull who are now considered the French carmaker’s works team.

Boss Boullier said the team is “very close” to inking a new engine supply deal with Renault Sport F1.

“You obviously always have to have a B plan and a C plan and, yes, we have been approached by Cosworth because they have lost customers and they are talking to everybody in the pitlane I guess, or nearly everybody,” he said.

“But there are no plans (to switch to Cosworth).”

Asked if Renault is very much the team’s A-plan, he insisted: “Of course. We have a historical package.

“We still have some very close technical relationship and there is (sponsor) Total mixed in the middle of this as well, so there is some commercial reason why we should stick with Renault,” added Boullier.

Bruno Senna had an expensive day at Monza on Friday.

The Renault driver, at the start of only his second grand prix of the season, first received a EUR 3,200 fine for breaking the pitlane speed limit by almost 16kph.

Half an hour later, Senna was speedy once again, this time clocked at 81.7 in the 60kph zone.

But because it was his second infraction, the FIA doubled the penalty and so the Brazilian’s end-of-day bill was a whopping EUR 12,000.

Also fined for speeding on Friday was Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher, who must pay EUR 400.

And Williams must pay the governing body a EUR 5,000 penalty after Rubens Barrichello used a set of tyres not allocated to him on Friday.

McLaren may have got it wrong when designing its bespoke rear wing for Monza, according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.
“If you walk up and down the pitlane you’ll see that some cars have a wing on that looks like the thickness of two sheets of paper,” said the team’s Jenson Button.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that McLaren’s is visibly the biggest of them all.

Last year, Button surprised the paddock by performing strongly with a notably big rear wing at Monza, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton – and the rest of the field – wore traditionally-thin Monza wings.

Button’s decision paid off in 2010 because of the drag-shedding F-duct, which could be deployed anywhere around the circuit, with the big wing producing more grip in the corners.

But in 2011, the similar ‘DRS’ system for the rear wing can be used in the race only in its designated zones.

Another difference with 2010 is that with the exhaust-blown diffusers now producing much of the rear downforce, running more wing at Monza is not as beneficial in terms of the top-speed trade-off.

Williams’ technical director Sam Michael, however, is not sure.

“On Friday we will test a Monza wing against a Spa wing,” he revealed. “My gut feeling is that more downforce may be the better solution.”

There remains a chance Imola might return to the formula one calendar. The famous Italian circuit last hosted the San Marino grand prix in 2006, when delayed renovations and an increase in the race sanctioning fee moved Bernie Ecclestone to admit: “I’m sorry, but we have lost Imola.” Since then, there have been changes, including the complete rebuild of the pits, pitlane and paddock overseen by F1 track architect Hermann Tilke. But Imola, officially called the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, was granted a 1T rating, making it usable by formula one only for testing. It now emerges, however, that the track has received the top ’1′ FIA homologation rating after a recent inspection by Charlie Whiting. “We are proud of the objective reached,” said circuit chief Walter Sciacca, “which is a clear sign that we are working in the right direction. “With this approval we are in a position to once again host a formula one grand prix. So we don’t limit ourselves; if we experience the right economic conditions, we are ready to face any challenge.”

Rubens Barrichello has admitted he is not likely to sample the sounds and power of V6 engines from the cockpit of an F1 car.
The Brazilian is the longest-serving driver in the sport’s history, notching up approaching 320 grands prix since 1993 and keen to re-sign with Williams for the forthcoming 2012 and 2013 seasons.

In 2014, F1 is scheduled to switch from its normally-aspirated V8 engines to turbo V6 power, where silent electric motors are touted to propel the cars in the pitlane.

Barrichello, 39, in his native Sao Paulo for the August break, was asked about the change in engine formula by Globo Esporte.

“It is a very big internal war; it was going to be four cylinder and now it’s V6. We’re not exactly sure what will happen,” he said.

In mid 2014, Barrichello will be 42; the current age of his former Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher, the oldest racer on the grid.

Referring again to the V6 formula, he laughed: “That’s for three years from now. At that time, I will not be in formula one but at Disneyland, eating hamburgers and riding the rollercoaster.”

More seriously, the 11-time grand prix winner is hoping to stay at Williams in 2012.

“In formula one there are always surprises; you can never guarantee that something is fixed,” said Barrichello.

“From what we can see, only the top seats are pretty much decided. For the teams in the middle of the field it depends on other factors and anything can happen until the end of the year.”