Kimi Raikkonen has revealed he would like to contest August’s rally of Finland.

F1′s 2007 world champion returned from world rallying to grand prix racing this year.

“Of course I wanted to do better. But I’m not finished. I want to go back, whether for my career or after I don’t know,” the 32-year-old told Motorsport News, according to the official WRC website.

Earlier, Raikkonen admitted he had sidelined his rallying career for now in order to concentrate on F1. Before the 2011 season, Lotus’ (then Renault) regular driver Robert Kubica was seriously injured in a rally crash, and is still yet to return to the sport.

“I’d like to do rally Finland this season as it fits with the calendar but you’ll have to ask the team if it fits in my contract,” Raikkonen said.

Engineer Toni Cuquerella assumes, as of today, the role of Technical Director of HRT Formula 1 Team. Cuquerella, besides being at the head of technical development, will continue to exercise his role as the maximum figure of engineering on the track.

Since Geoff Willis left the team in September of 2011, the position of Technical Director has not been occupied. The decision was then made for the development of the F112 to take place at the team’s technical office in Munich, at the hands of Holzer Group and the Chief of Aerodynamics, Stephane Chosse, under the supervision of the, until last February, Technical Coordinator Jacky Eeckelaert.

With the F112 put on the track, it’s now time to work on its development and evolution and so, the naming of a person to lead this project is necessary. And no one better than Toni Cuquerella, with his experience in Formula 1 and his praiseworthy work at the fore of HRT, to take it on.

The appointment of the Spanish engineer at the head of the technical department is a new step in the new management’s desire to centralize and take control of all the activities related to the design and development of the car. This will optimize the coordination of the different departments, helping to meet the set targets, and also rationalize resources.

Toni Cuquerella, Technical Director: “The role of Technical Director implies a great amount of responsibility in terms of coordination and decision making. That’s why I’m very proud that the management considers me to be the most adequate person to carry it out. Until now there was a lot of dispersion from within the technical team and that had its repercussions in the concept and quality of the F112. My priority is to solve the current car’s problems to then develop it to its maximum potential, whilst also unifying and expanding the technical department, but I’m confident that we have a good work base and a clear direction to advance and have a good project for the future”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “Toni Cuquerella has been a key figure in the team since its inception and, above all, in this new stage. The transition from the previous project to this one hasn’t been easy and a lot of work has been carried out that without vital figures such as him wouldn’t have been possible. The position of Technical Director was vacant and the development of the F112 was carried out at the technical office in Munich. But now, with the car already on the track, it was important to take control and count on someone influential at the head of the technical office. And because of his experience, judgment and knowledge, Toni’s profile fitted in perfectly”.

Profile
Date of birth: 14th of April 1973
Place of birth: Gandia, Spain
Nationality: Spanish

Antonio Cuquerella was born in Gandía, Spain 38 years ago. He did a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica of Valencia.

In 1999 he had his first role as a race engineer for Campos GP at the Open Nissan. After this he worked in various national and international motorsport categories before becoming Chief Engineer of the Toledo WTCC and Leon WTCC projects at SEAT Sport.

In 2006 he arrived in Formula 1 as a race engineer for Super Aguri F1, where he spent two years before moving to BMW Sauber F1 Team, acting in the same role with driver Robert Kubica.

Towards the end of 2009 he decided to take a risk and back Adrián Campos in a project to establish a new Spanish team in Formula 1, becoming the Chief Race Engineer for Campos Meta. Since the team’s first season, Toni has been the Chief Race and Test Engineer and has been a key figure both in the early days and this new stage of HRT and now he assumes an even more important role as the Technical Director.

 Robert Kubica is back on track yet again, according to the latest reports from Italy.
It emerged a few days ago that the Pole had moved his recovery from serious injury forwards by returning to the wheel of a Skoda Fabia rally car in Liguria, Italy.

La Gazzetta dello Sport now reports that the former BMW and Renault driver has tested a kart at a circuit in Montecatini-Terme, Tuscany.

Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore advises Kubica not to rush his return to F1.

“I have seen him a few times and have told him not to hurry back. You cannot lose your talent, but first you should focus on your health. 100 per cent,” he told Italy’s Sky Sport 24.

Briatore recalled former Benetton driver Alessandro Nannini, who badly injured his arm in a helicopter crash in 1990.

“He hurried back and we all know how that ended,” said Briatore.

“I think Kubica will succeed, but he needs to plan to come back in two years. You can’t be in F1 if you’re not 100 per cent.”

 If not for Robert Kubica’s predicament, Felipe Massa would have lost his Ferrari seat by now.
That is the view of F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

He told Austria’s Der Spiegel that Kubica, still recovering from horror injuries sustained in a rally crash in February last year, would have replace the struggling Brazilian Massa.

“I think, for them (Ferrari), it’s a question of alternatives,” said Ecclestone.

“Who, of those available to them, are better than Massa?

“I am very confident that Robert Kubica would be sitting in that Ferrari now if a year ago he would not have had that horrible rally accident,” the 81-year-old opined.

Italy’s Rallyemotion reports that Kubica tested a Skoda Fabia rally car last Thursday in Liguria.

Meanwhile, Ecclestone backed Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali, amid expectations the famous Maranello based team will struggle early in 2012.

“Ferrari’s problems have nothing to do with the leadership,” he said.

“The problems are on the technical side. But instead of firing someone, they should buy someone: Adrian Newey.”

Jaime Alguersuari has revealed he has heard bad news about Robert Kubica’s condition.
With official news about the injured Pole scarce, one of his friends said last week Kubica is close to returning to a normal life, raising hopes he might soon be back in formula one.

But former Toro Rosso driver Alguersuari has heard something very different.

“I think Robert is and was a fantastic driver, fast and complete. I am sure that he could have been a world champion without a doubt,” he said this week when he was revealed as a co-commentator for British radio in 2012.

“At the moment the latest information I have about him is not very good,” the Spaniard admitted. “He can not drink using his hand — I mean he cannot take a glass and drink, so it doesn’t look too good.”

Kubica, formerly with BMW and Renault, crashed during a minor Italian rally early last year, forcing a metal barrier through the car.

Alguersuari revealed that Kubica’s co-driver, Jakub Gerber, initially saw such horrific injuries that he “thought he (Kubica) was dead”.

More than a year on, “I think his injury is worse than expected,” the 21-year-old continued.

“Of course I would like him to come back, because without a doubt he deserves to be in F1.”

Pirelli will use the former Renault team’s 2010 car for private track testing this year, the sport’s official tyre supplier announced on Wednesday.
Until now, the Italian marque has tested with Toyota’s 2009 car, the TF109, which was deemed now too outdated to use for the next generation of Pirelli tyre.

“The Toyota is no longer able to generate the same sort of forces that we need to simulate in order to meet the current requirements of formula one,” said motor sport director Paul Hembery.

Another reason is that the Toyota’s fuel tank was not big enough to simulate a race-load of fuel, for the current regulations that came into force in 2010.

Pirelli said the Renault R30, originally raced by Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov, will be run in plain black carbon, driven by a test driver whose identity will be revealed “later this month”.

The car will be adapted to simulate this year’s regulations, and run by Pirelli’s own technicians, “with no team member connected to a current formula one team” in order to “ensure complete impartiality”.

Pirelli said it will test four or five times this year, beginning in May, with an observer from each F1 team invited to attend.

A friend of injured driver Robert Kubica admitted the Pole is still months from knowing when he can return to the wheel of a F1 car.
The former BMW and Renault driver suffered horror injuries in a rally crash more than a year ago, but there are reports he might be well enough to return some time in 2012.

A close friend of the now 27-year-old said in the Barcelona paddock: “Robert is close to leading a normal life.

“He drives his road car and goes out by himself,” the friend, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC.

“He is still building up the strength in his right arm. It will be June or July before it can be determined if he is fit enough to test a F1 car.”

 Jules Bianchi has thanked Ferrari for helping him make the next step in his formula one career.
On the face of it, the Frenchman’s switch from Ferrari to the same reserve role at Force India is a backwards move.

But the new deal involves driving on the Fridays of grand prix weekends, while in the same role last year Nico Hulkenberg successfully found his way onto the race grid for 2012.

Some reports have suggested Ferrari wanted to clear the reserve role so that it is free for Robert Kubica to step in this year with a view to replacing Felipe Massa in 2012.

While Kubica’s Ferrari link could be true, the famous Italian team is undoubtedly still pushing on 22-year-old Bianchi’s career.

Indeed, he has been training in the Canary islands in the past days with Ferrari’s Massa and Fernando Alonso.

And “Jules will still be part of the Ferrari driver academy” in 2012, the team confirmed.

Even Bianchi reinforced the fact the Ferrari connection is still very much alive.

“I’m very happy. I want to say thank you to Ferrari who have been working hard for me,” he told the French-language RMC Sport.

“It was very important to find a team and the aim now is to find the way to keep going,” added Bianchi.

Robert Kubica’s comeback could be at the wheel of a turbocharged 2010 Ferrari, according to reports in the Italian media.
It emerged this week that, despite the recent setback of a re-broken leg after an icy fall, the Pole could be only months away from attempting some laps in a F1 simulator.

As for his track return, it is rumoured Ferrari sees Kubica as a potential test driver, with a view to ultimately becoming Fernando Alonso’s teammate.

The new Italian reports say a private test at Fiorano in June or July at the wheel of a two-year old Ferrari equipped with the marque’s 2014-specification turbo V6 prototype has been set as a tentative target.

The same reports suggest some sort of agreement may have been signed.

The unknown factor is the final phase of Kubica’s recovery, with the 27-year-old believed to be still unable to fully rotate his right arm that was almost severed in his rally crash last February.

Robert Kubica has returned to the wheel of a powered vehicle, according to reports in Italy.
The Omnicorse website reports that the Pole, horrifically injured in a rally crash a year ago, is now recovered enough to drive a Renault Megane with an automatic gearbox.

The former BMW and Renault driver re-broke his leg in an icy slip recently but is now managing some steps without crutches, the report added.

Kubica is reportedly spending five hours a day on physiotherapy, with movement in his previously badly-injured right arm now almost “back to normal”.

 Robert Kubica is recovering from surgery on his right leg (tibia) following a fall on an icy street last week.
The news agencies Polska Agencja Prasowa (Poland) and Ansa (Italy) said the former BMW and Renault driver, who was already sidelined following his horror rally crash early last year, was operated on in Mantua, Italy.

Kubica’s manager Daniele Morelli said the 27-year-old will remain in hospital for a few days.

“Now he just needs a little bit of rest,” said Morelli in his first public comment about Kubica’s latest injury setback.

Ansa agency said the surgery was carried out by an orthopedic specialist and proceeded normally. La Gazzetta dello Sport said the operation lasted two hours.

The Carlo Poma hospital would not comment.

Felipe Massa has acknowledged that a bad start to the 2012 season could cost him his race seat at Ferrari.
Team bosses Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo have stated openly that they are looking around at the alternatives should Brazilian Massa – a Ferrari driver since 2006 – continue his sub-standard form this year.

“I am well aware that in some ways, the first part of the season will be more important than the second,” the 30-year-old told reporters at Ferrari’s pre-season winter event in the Italian Dolomites.

“When we reach the mid-point of the season, we will talk about my future and see what are the chances of continuing to work with Ferrari,” said Massa.

Even amid news of his newly broken right leg, Robert Kubica’s name is reportedly near the top of the shortlist to succeed Massa — and Fernando Alonso gave the recovering Pole a vote of confidence this week.

“Robert is the best driver around and he will prove that when he returns to racing,” said the Spaniard, who was then asked if he can imagine friend Kubica as his 2013 teammate.

Alonso insisted: “I am very happy to have Felipe alongside me.”

But the veteran Brazilian will only be there if he is up to speed by mid-season, when Ferrari will make a decision so that Massa has time to find an alternate seat.

“Competitive teams always decide their plans ahead of time,” agreed Massa.

Robert Kubica’s hopes of returning to formula one have been dealt another blow with reports the recovering Pole has broken his leg once again.
The former BMW and Renault driver, who suffered horror injuries in a minor Italian rally early last year, has now fractured his leg by slipping on ice on the street, Ansa news agency reports.

He was taken to an Italian hospital where x-rays showed a fracture in his right leg, which was first broken in the rally crash.

F1′s official website said Kubica’s manager is yet to comment.

But the BBC said the 27-year-old “needs an operation to have a metal screw inserted just above his ankle”.

Before the latest bad news broke, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali played down rumours Kubica could be part of the famous Italian team’s plans for 2012.

“We need to wait to see. That kind of injury takes a long time to recover from,” he said.

Domenicali, who admitted Felipe Massa could lose his race seat after the 2012 season, is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport: “At the moment there are no plans (regarding Kubica).”

 A date has been set for Kimi Raikkonen’s early start to his 2012 testing programme.
The rest of this year’s field will have to wait until official group testing kicks off at Jerez in early February.

But 2007 world champion Raikkonen, who is returning to F1 after a two-year stint in world rallying, revealed just before Christmas that February is a “long wait” for his first lap in a single seater since 2009.

“I should be able to jump into a two year old F1 car in January,” he said.

The Finn was referring to a testing rules loophole that allows some running in older machines with non-competitive tyres.

Now called Lotus, the Enstone based team confirmed this week that Raikkonen, 32, will test its 2010 Renault R30 car at Spain’s permanent Valencia circuit.

The two-day test, at the wheel of the car that in 2010 was painted yellow and raced by Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov, will begin on Monday 23 January.

 Luca di Montezemolo has defended Felipe Massa whilst conceding that a number of drivers at rival teams impressed him in 2011.
The Ferrari president is honouring Brazilian Massa’s 2012 contract but making no secret that the Maranello based team is keeping its mind open as to the identity of Fernando Alonso’s next teammate.

“2012 is the crucial season for Felipe. We were not satisfied with his past season and neither was he,” Montezemolo is quoted by Corriere dello Sport newspaper.

“What I cannot forget is the fact that Felipe was often faster than Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. He helped Kimi to his championship and a year later was a hair short of being champion himself.

“If the tyres warm up for him better next season, we believe Felipe can cope much better.”

Naturally, however, Massa’s seat is highly coveted within the F1 paddock, while Montezemolo admitted Ferrari is also keeping an eye on its options.

“Jenson Button was just excellent,” said the Italian, referring to the 2011 championship runner-up who currently drives for McLaren.

“Mark Webber is a good second driver, and Nico Rosberg has done well with a car that has not been competitive.

“It is also good to develop drivers within yourself, so while Sergio Perez is a Sauber driver, in fact he has developed in Ferrari’s academy.

“(And) Jules Bianchi could develop further if he can test,” added Montezemolo, a staunch advocate for more testing in formula one.

Montezemolo did not mention the recovering Polish driver Robert Kubica.