Mike Gascoyne believes that there would be much more overtaking if new tracks were built with some imagination, while pointing to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain as producing the most boring races last year and asking why F1 returns to boring race tracks.

The Lotus technical boss told Reuters, “The shame is that, Monaco apart, a lot of the races now that are really boring are all the purpose-designed tracks built in deserts where you could have done absolutely anything that you want. Bahrain and Abu Dhabi were the two most boring races (of 2010).”

Gascoyne, known in the F1 paddock for his straight talking, pointed out, “It’s pretty disappointing that you’ve got two massively boring races on circuits where you had literally carte blanche to do anything you liked. You could have had elevation change or moved sand wherever you want it.”

The first test sessions of the F1 pre-season are taking place at Valencia, where teams are coming to terms with new gizmos that have been introduced with the aim of increasing overtaking such as KERS and driver operated movable rear wing.

But Gascoyne is adamant,  “If on certain circuits you have cracking races every year then why don’t we stop going to boring racing circuits?”

Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he is yet to think up a name for his new formula one car.
Last year, the 23-year-old won his first title at the wheel of Randy Mandy, after the original RB6 named Luscious Liz was replaced due to damage after Monaco.

The giving of an amorous female name has become one of the Red Bull driver’s several F1-related superstitions, including the sliding of a lucky coin behind his boot laces.

When asked about his new RB7 wearing the coveted number 1 as it was launched at Valencia on Tuesday, Vettel told Welt newspaper: “The number looks good.

“I saw the car in one piece for the first time this morning. So I haven’t got a name for her yet,” he revealed.

Vettel was also asked about reports that his friend Michael Schumacher suffers from motion sickness at the wheel of driver simulators.

As for whether he has also been sick in a sim, he smiled: “Once, but only very briefly.

“I think it’s an important tool with testing so limited, especially with regards to (learning) the tracks,” added Vettel.

Five teams are likely to have not yet launched their 2011 cars by the time of the opening pre-season group test beginning 1 February.
That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, contradicting other reports that said Williams and Lotus will be ready with their new single seaters at Cheste’s Ricardo Tormo circuit near Valencia early next month.

The report said Williams will likely have an “interim car” at the test rather than the new FW33, with a 2011 launch not expected until mid-February.

Force India has already announced that its new car will not be seen until the second test at Jerez, but it had been expected that Team Lotus’ 2011 machine would be in Valencia.

However, Auto Motor und Sport said the Malaysian team, as well as fellow new-in-2010 outfits Virgin and HRT, are likely to be ready with their respective new cars even later than Williams and Force India.

The earliest launch will be the reveal and rollout of the 2011 Ferrari at Maranello/Fiorano on 28 January, a few days before it is taken to Valencia.

On the last day of this month, Sauber and Renault will present their cars at Valencia, and on the following morning the Mercedes and Toro Rosso cars will be photographed for the first time in the pitlane.

Red Bull is also scheduling a Valencia debut for the RB6, but an official announcement of the precise launch date is only expected within the next few days.

McLaren’s MP4-26 will be launched after the Valencia test, on 4 February in Berlin at sponsor Vodafone’s behest.

The team did not field the best car in 2010 but Mercedes’ pit crew was the fastest in pitlane.

An analysis by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport showed that the Brackley based team turned around Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg faster in pitstops than any rival outfit.

The refuelling ban this year put in focus the speed of a pit crew’s tyre changing.

The fastest stop in 2010 was 2.9 seconds, achieved by the Red Bull crew whilst servicing world champion Sebastian Vettel at Monza.

But overall, Mercedes’ was the fastest crew, emerging with the quickest stop of the race no less than 8 times — in Malaysia, Turkey, Germany, China, Spain, Monaco, Britain and Belgium.

Red Bull was next best, changing the RB6′s tyres quickest of all in Bahrain, Australia, Hungary, Italy and Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari’s pit crew was quickest three times, and Sauber was best in Korea and Brazil. The fastest pitstop was achieved by McLaren only once this season, in Japan.

Mercedes’ quick stops were achieved with a fully automatic ‘traffic light’ system which is up to half a second faster than using a traditional ‘lollipop man’.

Red Bull, meanwhile, reportedly selected its key tyre changers after a series of tests and training sessions last winter, and the lollipop-holder was chosen after winning a psychological exam.

At the bottom of the list in 2010 was Lotus, with five slowest pitstops of the race overall, followed by four wooden spoons apiece for HRT and Renault.

New world champion Sebastian Vettel has admitted again that he sees his future in red.

“No question, it is my wish and goal to drive for Ferrari one day,” the Red Bull driver told Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper in Germany.

“Or Mercedes, another legendary brand,” added the 23-year-old. “But right now I’m happy. I have two more years of contract with Red Bull and we have big plans.”

Already at Ferrari, Spaniard Alonso has acknowledged that Vettel’s RB6 was the best car of 2010. But he denies to having envious eyes.

“From the outside it is difficult to imagine the satisfaction of being part of a team as great as Ferrari,” he told Marca sports newspaper in Spain.

“Red Bull? I don’t keep it in my fridge because I don’t like it,” joked Alonso.

Daniel Ricciardo has been appointed Toro Rosso’s reserve and ‘Friday’ driver for the 2011 season.

The 21-year-old will alternate between the cockpits of the Italian team’s regular drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi in the initial practice session at grands prix next year.

“I have to say thanks to Red Bull for this great opportunity,” said the Australian in a statement.

Ricciardo is now the leading driver of Red Bull’s junior driver programme, and comfortably led the pace at the recent young driver test at the wheel of the title-winning RB6 in Abu Dhabi.

“I am sure that having a hungry youngster on the books will keep our current driver pairing nice and sharp,” said Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost.

Ricciardo will also contest the Formula Renault 3.5 championship in 2011.

“My ultimate aim is to be a full time formula one driver and this new role has to be the best step toward achieving that ambition,” he said.

Jaime Alguersuari has backed his Toro Rosso teammate but acknowledged that Sebastien Buemi’s race seat might be in doubt for the 2011 season.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo is Red Bull’s leading junior driver, and he impressed the F1 world with his pace in the title-winning RB6 during the recent Abu Dhabi test.

At the same time, Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost – whilst praising young Spaniard Alguersuari – admitted that Swiss racer Buemi “struggled” at times this year.

Alguersuari, 20, was asked if he thinks Ricciardo might replace Buemi as his teammate in 2011 at Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s junior team.

“I don’t know what will happen,” he is quoted by Diario AS newspaper at an event to unveil the Red Bull prototype car for the Gran Turismo 5 video game.

Alguersuari added: “What I can say is that if my teammate (Buemi) had driven a Red Bull, he would do better than Ricciardo. Without a doubt.”

Meanwhile, Tost has issued fulsome praise for Alguersuari’s progress this year, indicating that his place for 2011 is secure.

“Jaime has this year learned to set up and develop and drive the car. Now I’m looking forward to next season, when we will have a much more mature driver who is constantly improving,” the Austrian is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.

Alguersuari replied: “I’m very proud of what he said because I think I have improved this year and I intend to keep going that way.”

Adrian Newey has nominated 2010 as the worst season in his long formula one career in terms of “petty finger pointing” from rival teams.

As the Red Bull car designer’s RB6 model dominated the timesheets this year, some of the team’s championship rivals complained about alleged technical illegalities.

“It wasn’t a distraction, but it was an annoyance. I’ve got to say I’ve never known a season quite like this one for the petty finger pointing that’s gone on in the paddock,” Newey told Red Bull Racing’s official website.

The rivals’ complaints ranged from allegations of adjustable ride height systems to flexible floors and wings, moving the FIA to toughen a range of legality checks that Newey’s ultimately championship-winning car continued to pass.

But the rumblings persisted; including a common claim in the pitlane and media centre that the RB6′s drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were oddly able to up their pace by as much as three tenths in the crucial ‘Q3′ qualifying segment.

“It’s a myth!” insisted Newey.

“I’m not sure our Q3 performance has been particularly different to our Q1 and Q2 performance, to be honest.

“I haven’t bothered looking through statistics, but I think it’s one of these stories that starts when once or twice the drivers have improved in Q3 and suddenly everybody writes it and it becomes accepted without any real basis,” he added.

A race cockpit vacancy might soon open up at Toro Rosso.

The Faenza based team is owned by Dietrich Mateschitz and billed as Red Bull’s junior driver outfit, currently fielding youngsters Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

The pair have been confirmed for the 2011 season, but there was earlier some confusion as to whether both Buemi and Alguersuari will ultimately line up on next year’s grid.

The Toro Rosso lineup is now once again the subject of speculation, after the leading driver of Red Bull’s current crop of up-and-comers – Australian Daniel Ricciardo – so impressed with his pace in the RB6 in Abu Dhabi last week.

The 21-year-old’s programme for 2011 has not yet been decided, but neither Ricciardo nor his boss Dr Helmut Marko are ruling out a move into formula one.

“We pushed Bernoldi, Klien, Liuzzi and Speed without a breakthrough,” Marko said in Germany’s Die Welt newspaper.

“Daniel Ricciardo is the next top talent.  A new Vettel?  I don’t know,” he added.

Next year, Ricciardo – Red Bull’s F1 reserve in 2010 and second in the Renault World Series – might have a chance to prove himself.

When asked to assess the progress of Buemi and Alguersuari in 2010, Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost hinted that Swiss Buemi, 22, has now had enough time to prove whether he belongs in F1.

“At the beginning of the season he scored points and had a really good level of performance.  But at the end of the season he struggled a bit,” Tost is quoted by redbull.com.

On the other hand, Tost said Spaniard Alguersuari has improved “step by step” and “is on the correct path”.

When asked about driver continuity for 2011, Tost continued: “Well, you never know what will happen in formula one.  Our main priority is building a successful car.

“Regarding drivers and continuity, we will see,” added the Austrian.

Daniel Ricciardo is not ruling out a move into formula one next season.

Red Bull’s F1 reserve driver finished the Renault World Series in second place in 2010, but Dr Helmut Marko said he is not sure what the Australian will be doing next year.

The 21-year-old will test the title-winning RB6 in Abu Dhabi next week, but the energy drinks company’s four F1 race seats appear locked out for 2011.

“I think I achieved enough in world series this year to move on so I guess it’s really GP2 or if something were to open up in F1 that would always be nice,” Ricciardo is quoted by AAP news agency.

Daniel Ricciardo’s role for the 2011 season is not yet clear.

The Australian, at the very top of Red Bull’s junior programme, has been the F1 reserve driver in 2010 and is scheduled to drive the title-winning RB6 in next week’s post-season tests.

But after finishing this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 series in second place, the 21-year-old’s full time role for 2011 has not yet been announced.

Red Bull’s secondary F1 team Toro Rosso has said it is retaining both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari next year.

GP2 might then be seen as the logical next step for Ricciardo.

But Red Bull’s motor sport consultant Helmut Marko admitted to Auto Motor und Sport: “We still don’t know what we are going to do with him next year.”

The engine to be used by Sebastian Vettel in Brazil this weekend has already contested two grands prix, it has emerged.

The German was heading for the lead of the world championship two weeks ago when the Renault unit in his Red Bull suddenly failed.

Renault’s customer programme boss Fabrice Lom revealed on Thursday that the unit to be fitted in Vettel’s RB6 this weekend has contested two previous races.

“It is the engine from Italy and Singapore,” confirmed the Frenchman to Auto Motor und Sport.

“It has a mileage of 1066 kilometres,” he added.

The failed engine in Korea had completed about 1600 kilometres of its projected 2000 life.

Lom said the failure was a connecting rod in cyclinder 4.

Mark Webber has admitted he has “no idea” whether Red Bull will deploy a team strategy to help him win the 2010 world championship.

Many pundits believe his teammate Sebastian Vettel should now be backing Webber’s campaign to close the 11 point gap to Fernando Alonso with two races to run.

But, at least publicly, team boss Christian Horner insists Vettel will enjoy total equality in Brazil and Abu Dhabi while he is mathematically still able to win the championship.

Asked if he thinks the young German will, for example, try to overtake him at Interlagos this weekend, Webber told the Swiss newspaper Blick: “No idea.

“Up until now no one has spoken about it,” the Australian said in Sao Paulo.

“Perhaps we’ll talk about it at the first briefing on Thursday, or perhaps we won’t,” added Webber.

Former grand prix driver Alex Wurz, who is Austrian like the Red Bull brand, is the latest to advise the team that putting its eggs in the Webber basket is now the smartest strategy.

“They are in a position where they almost have to use team orders — for Webber and against Vettel,” he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

But Wurz acknowledged Red Bull’s reluctance, particularly as 23-year-old Vettel is regarded as the darling of the team.

“Webber firstly had to fight for equality this year,” he said. “In the end he imposed it, literally, with his performance.”

Meanwhile, Wurz does not believe Red Bull’s RB6 will enjoy a “mega advantage” this weekend at Interlagos.

“The slow middle sector will be good for Ferrari, and the McLaren will go well in the uphill section of the third sector.

“Then I see Abu Dhabi being Red Bull’s territory,” he added.

Christian Horner on Wednesday said it is “ridiculous” to suggest Mark Webber tried deliberately to take out his rivals after crashing in Sunday’s Korean grand prix.

Former grand prix winner Gerhard Berger said on Tuesday that the Australian “could have hit the brakes” after crashing out of second place during the rain-hit race in Yeongam.

“Yes, I think that’s very clear,” said the Austrian. “It’s very obvious, you can see his wheels are not locked up.”

Webber actually collected the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, but – according to Berger – he “would have preferred” to wipe title contenders Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton out of the race.

Red Bull team boss Horner responded: “As with every incident in formula one, opinions will always be made without all the facts.

“Just to be absolutely clear — Mark’s intention was not to take out another driver after his crash and it’s ridiculous to suggest otherwise,” he told the Telegraph.

Horner admitted that Webber’s RB6 was “badly damaged” after his initial contact with the wall, but his attempt to keep the car going was a “natural and immediate instinct” to get back into the race.

“It’s absurd to suggest that Mark would ever deliberately take out another driver,” added Horner.

Eric Boullier is encouraged but not excited about Robert Kubica’s impressive pace at the wheel of the Renault so far in Korea.

The Pole has been inside the top four in all three practice sessions at the new Yeongam circuit, and topped the time sheet on Saturday morning.

“It is encouraging,” the team’s French boss Boullier said.  “It gives us hope for a solid weekend, but we have to remain careful.”

After Red Bull dominated in Japan two weeks ago, the other main teams also believe they are closer to the pace of the RB6 this weekend.

“We’re as competitive as them at least,” said McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, and his teammate Jenson Button agreed: “We’re there.”

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso said: “We feel that maybe it’s not as easy as it was for Red Bull in Suzuka, even if they are still favourites.”

The problem for Red Bull in Korea is the first sector, comprising essentially the front straight and the ultra-long second straight.

“They’re (the straights) too long for us,” said Sebastian Vettel, referring to the team’s under-powered engine and an F-duct not as efficient as the one seen on the Renault and McLaren.

Saturday at Yeongam has been overcast and mild so far, and the forecast is for possible overnight rain.