Red Bull’s two teams look set to test alone in Abu Dhabi later this season.

Until recently, the now-traditional young drivers’ test – giving inexperienced drivers the chance to drive current F1 cars amid the sport’s strict testing limits – was scheduled to take place as per usual at the Yas Marina circuit in November.

But those plans were reconsidered due to this year’s congested calendar.

India takes place just one week before Abu Dhabi, the young driver test is scheduled for the week after and then the races in the US and Brazil happening back-to-back next.

In the light of that arduous schedule, Reports in March said the teams were keener on having the young driver test at Silverstone.

“It’s a long season as it is and there are a lot of back-to-back races this year, so it’s tough for them (the teams),” Abu Dhabi circuit boss Richard Cregan conceded.

The German-language Speed Week reports in its May 2 edition that the majority of teams want to test instead at Silverstone, in July.

But the magazine said Red Bull’s two teams – Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso – are sticking with the original Abu Dhabi plan.

The report also said other teams might cancel Silverstone at the last minute and join Red Bull in Abu Dhabi, should weather reports indicate the British weather would likely affect the July test.

So far in 2012, McLaren stands all alone — with not only the fastest car, but also the best-looking one.
With almost every other team fielding an ‘ugly’ stepped nose, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button dominated qualifying in Melbourne with their sleek silver machine.

A report in the Mirror suggested McLaren’s rivals have all made “a design blunder”.

“We felt it (the conventional nose) was the right decision and we’re pleased it looks good and it’s reasonably quick as well,” smiled team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

As for the direction taken by McLaren’s rivals, including Red Bull who pioneered the ‘high nose’ philosophy for the now-past blown exhaust era, Whitmarsh insisted: “It’s not a question of right or wrong.

“But there’s no doubt which one looks best. Ultimately, it’s which one is quickest.”

Writing in Autosprint, Alberto Antonini wondered if Saturday in Australia marked “the end of an era”, after Red Bull dominated the past few seasons in formula one.

“A new era in F1 has begun,” agreed Marca newspaper’s Marco Canseco.

At least for now, there is no obvious signsof panic at Red Bull, with Mark Webber telling Speed Week: “There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the car, we just haven’t got everything out of it.”

As for Sunday’s Melbourne opener, former driver and RTL commentator Christian Danner predicted: “I think the McLarens are unbeatable.

“Behind them we will see a wonderful fight for third place, with Grosjean, the two Mercedes drivers and, of course, Sebastian Vettel.”

Official track action in 2012 has now begun, but the pecking order is still totally unclear.
“The tea-leaf reading will go on until after the third practice session (on Saturday),” Peter Sauber told Switzerland’s Blick.

Only after that one-hour session will Melbourne qualifying be looming, but many paddock insiders believe Malaysia – a more ‘normal’ circuit – will be a better barometer.

The confusion is greater in 2012 because the field is apparently so tightly packed.

“I’ve never known it as open as this,” said McLaren’s Jenson Button, who set Friday’s fastest laptime. “Never.”

Lewis Hamilton agreed: “I’m convinced that Red Bull, Mercedes and us are equal.”

Red Bull, however, is widely believed to be the frontrunner, but Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber said they were unhappy with the balance of the RB8 on Friday.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Webber.

Also unclear is just how good the new Mercedes is, after Michael Schumacher in second practice returned to the ‘P1′ position he had become so familiar with in his first career pre-2010.

“When I saw the (W03) car on track I immediately sent a text to Norbert (Haug),” Alex Wurz revealed to Sport1, “(saying) ‘looks very good’.

“I honestly have to say they are not yet on Red Bull’s level, but they are not too far away,” the former F1 driver, who is in Melbourne as Williams’ new driver mentor, added.

It seems clear that Ferrari ranks somewhere beneath the top trio, and Spain’s Marca newspaper reports that a substantially-redesigned chassis will not get up and running until the European season begins in mid-May.

“We definitely haven’t seen the real picture yet,” Fernando Alonso is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, after going fourth quickest in both of Friday’s sessions.

“Vettel is not as bad as tenth,” he insisted, “and Kovalainen is not as good as eighth.”

Red Bull’s Christian Horner admitted: “Qualifying will be the first time we have driven with empty tanks.”

Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko added: “We are satisfied, it looks quite good. But McLaren is very strong, and the Mercedes (cars) will be in the top five.”

Triple world champion Niki Lauda told Germany’s Speed Week: “I am sure the championship this year will be decided later that it was in 2011.

“The top cars and the whole field appears to be closer together — it could be a great season.”

 Despite a difficult winter for the Marussia team, Timo Glock is in a positive mood as he travels to Australia for the 2012 season.
The former Virgin squad struggled to get its new car through the FIA’s mandatory crash tests, which according to new rules meant the MR01 was grounded throughout the official pre-season period.

Indeed, the Russian website F1News quotes technical consultant Pat Symonds as saying the “last two months were the most difficult of my 20 years in formula one”.

Due to a testing loophole allowing some running on demonstration Pirelli tyres, the Cosworth-powered car finally made its debut over two days of ‘promotional filming’ early this week at Silverstone.

“The basis is definitely good; the first test miles were really good,” German Glock is quoted by the German-language Speed Week.

“The car did exactly what we expected from it. The data we recorded corresponded exactly to what we had calculated previously,” he added.

The report said Glock will travel to Australia on Friday, with his 30th birthday set to coincide exactly with the start of the new season.

Symonds added: “There is still much to be done, but it is a long term project and so I hope that we move forward step by step.”

Former Jordan and Jaguar designer Gary Anderson has singled out Lotus and Force India to impress in 2012.
The Irishman stood trackside at the Barcelona test on Thursday and later told the German-language Speed Week magazine that Mark Webber in the Red Bull suffered from “a bit too much understeer” in the new title-defending RB8.

He admitted, however, that the team may have been experimenting with setup, as the new Red Bull and McLaren have so far been “model students” in terms of handling.

Force India’s Paul di Resta, meanwhile, did not look impressive on the end-of-day timesheet, but Anderson said he was pleasantly surprised with the long-run consistency of the VJM05.

He said both di Resta and Nico Rosberg were both circulating at the same time with medium times, and the Force India was faster than the Mercedes, which was suffering from heavily-degrading tyres.

And Anderson added: “Lotus had to miss last week in Barcelona, but today they could confirm their good impression of Jerez.

“The car is fully sorted and the laptimes are consistent.”

Ferrari, however, is another matter.

“They are still using the coloured (aerodynamic) paint, which for me is a sign that the engineers don’t understand what is happening with the airflow.

“And just before the start of the season, that’s pretty alarming.”

Also trackside on Thursday was Sky commentator Martin Brundle, who confirmed Anderson’s view that the new McLaren looks “very good”.

Similarly, he added: “The Ferrari looks a bit of a handful, especially when it’s coming out of a corner trying to put the power down.

“It doesn’t look as bad as the McLaren did last year, but they’ve got some issues — there’s no doubt about it.”

Brundle also agreed with Anderson that, unlike the cakewalk of 2011, Red Bull could be set for a close fight this season.

“You can see Mark Webber working quite hard at the wheel,” said the former McLaren driver, “so I can understand why some of my mates in the paddock are saying it’s looking really close.”

 Marussia’s new car for 2012 does not feature a ‘step’ on its front nose.
Every team on the 2012 grid, including HRT who are yet to release their 2012 car, responded to the FIA’s new height regulations by designing an awkward ‘step’ between the monocoque and the tip of the nose.

The one exception, until now, was McLaren.

But Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that the 2012 Marussia, which will be seen for the first time in Barcelona next week, also has a clean aerodynamic line at the front.

The former Virgin team works closely with McLaren, including using the famous British team’s test rigs and wind tunnel.

“In fact, there was little difference in theory between the two solutions. So why take risks with something that we do not know?” a Marussia team source is quoted as saying.

Timo Glock has already driven the new step-less Marussia in the McLaren simulator.

“We don’t have too much experience with the simulator so we hope that it’s right, but we will not be too optimistic — that’s not to say that I’m disappointed,” said the German driver.

“I think we have a good base to build upon,” added Glock.

“We have been focusing for a long time on finding the errors with the previous car and getting over them,” he is quoted by Speed Week magazine.

Dietrich Mateschitz has left open the door to Mark Webber receiving a new contract to keep racing with Red Bull beyond 2012.
The Australian is the only significant member of the championship-winning team who is not yet already signed up for the 2013 season.

But billionaire team owner Mateschitz this week backed Webber, 35, to return to Sebastian Vettel’s pace this year, insisting the pair will receive no more or less than equality in 2012.

At the same time, however, Webber was utterly dominated by Vettel last season, causing some experts to predict that Red Bull will replace him for 2013.

Indeed, Mateschitz said at the Jerez test last week that “Our primary goal is to put one of our juniors in the car”.

He told the German-language Speed Week magazine: “That’s one reason why we changed the drivers at Toro Rosso.

“Both (Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne) are highly talented and have great potential, but the question will only arise if, for example, Webber stops at the end of 2012.”

Formula one’s travelling circus has offered a mixed reaction after touching down ahead of the first ever Indian grand prix.
Tax, security and circuit construction issues made headlines many weeks ago, but a couple of drivers this week were still grumbling about the difficulty of obtaining a visa to the burgeoning south Asian country.

“I had a bit of a feeling that the Indians didn’t really want to see us,” Virgin driver Timo Glock is quoted as saying by Germany’s T-Online.

“I hope the fans take us closer to the heart than the local immigration authorities did,” he added.

It has emerged that fellow German Nico Rosberg, who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, was initially denied entry to India.

Also grumbling is Finn Heikki Kovalainen: “I had to fill in about 70 pages of paperwork. It’s unreal how complicated it was.”

But Speed Week correspondent Mathias Brunner revealed that once his visa was in his hand, he was surprised that actually entering India was easy.

Then came the smog and his taxi journey to the hotel.

“If you’re thinking of yourself driving a car in India — don’t do it!” he jokingly warned.

“The typical Indian driver honks with one hand and talks on the phone and gestures with the other. There’s not much capacity left to steer,” said Brunner.

“And I have never in my life seen such a dirty city. The rubbish lying on the streets beggars description, as though the garbage men are on continuous strike.”

Bruno Senna’s stock fell in Korea, mere weeks before Renault is due to decide its driver lineup for 2012.
The Brazilian, who replaced Nick Heidfeld five races ago, had a horror weekend in Korea, qualifying seven places behind Vitaly Petrov and finishing just in front of a Lotus.

With three races to go this season, the team’s fifth place in the constructors’ championship is probably safe, given the 23 point advantage over Force India.

But looking ahead to 2012, with Petrov, Romain Grosjean, Rubens Barrichello and of course Robert Kubica all also in the running for the seats, Senna’s Korean performance was bad news for the 28-year-old.

In his five races since replacing Heidfeld, he has scored points (2) only at Monza.

And “Bruno’s 13th position (in Korea) doesn’t pay justice to the pace of the car”, said Renault engineer Ricardo Penteado in Korea.

An unnamed team official, meanwhile, told Germany’s Speed Week publication: “We need to analyse why Bruno Senna did not come up to speed.”

F1 might end a spate of near-constant driver penalties by installing a permanent race steward. FIA president Jean Todt’s new initiative of having a former professional racing driver on the stewards’ panel at every grand prix has been widely praised. But the system may not be perfect, as the last couple of grands prix indicate. Some observers were amazed that Sebastian Vettel’s swerve against Jenson Button at the Suzuka start last weekend was not penalised. “I am not going to lie. At that moment in time, yes, I felt that it was a little bit more than was needed,” said Japanese grand prix winner Button. Alex Wurz, speaking on Austrian television ORF, said he thinks Vettel was lucky not to have his championship celebrations delayed by a penalty. “He was lucky that (1980 world champion) Alan Jones was the driver steward, because someone else might have issued a warning or even a stop and go,” he said. Agreed a report in Speed Week: “Obviously Alan Jones took a tough approach (at Suzuka).” Like Button, also upset at Suzuka was Felipe Massa, angry that Lewis Hamilton’s latest collision went unpunished. “They (the stewards) have penalised people for much less this year and this time they didn’t do it,” said the Brazilian. Force India team manager Otmar Szafnauer agrees that consistency is crucial so that drivers know how to behave. “If something has happened three times before then he knows the way it is and what has to happen,” he told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

A veteran journalist has linked GP2 driver Jules Bianchi with the Williams seat currently occupied by Rubens Barrichello for the 2012 season.

Brazilian Barrichello, the most experienced driver in formula one history, is waiting to have his contract renewed by the famous British team.

But his countryman Livio Oricchio, who writes for the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, has said this week that the 39-year-old’s seat is in doubt because “Frank Williams needs money”.

He said Williams’ main revenue streams are Pastor Maldonado’s sponsor PDVSA, F1 television income, and minor backers like Randstad, Reuters, ATT and Oris.

Altogether, struggling Williams’ budget is about $100 million, with Barrichello costing the team about $5m.

“And there are young drivers on the market with a similar amount of money ($5m) to spend to make their formula one debut, like the Monegasque Stefano Coletti, Italian Davide Valsecchi, Briton Sam Bird and Frenchman Jules Bianchi”, said Oricchio.

“Bianchi is in the Ferrari school but he needs to show what he can do before he can dream to compete for the Maranello team. Williams would be a good entry point,” he added.

Bianchi, 22 and handled by Felipe Massa’s manager Nicholas Todt, has had a difficult GP2 season but is still highly regarded by Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Speed Week reports that Force India driver Adrian Sutil’s key sponsor Medion has suffered a sharp decline in revenue in the first half of 2011.

Ferrari is closing in but Red Bull has nothing to fear, according to 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell.
The winner of 31 grands prix was the driver steward at Silverstone last weekend, where Fernando Alonso seemed to break through Red Bull’s dominance at the half-way point in the 2011 world championship.

Some commentators saw the Spaniard’s win as the turning point for the season, despite Red Bull leading McLaren by more than 100 points, while Sebastian Vettel is almost the same margin ahead of Alonso in the drivers’ standings.

“The result (in Britain) was great for Ferrari and good for formula one,” Mansell is quoted by Germany’s Speed Week.

But he warned: “Red Bull was as strong as ever, second and third, which with its clear lead in the world championship is no problem.

“Red Bull are still going to be very, very difficult to beat,” added the Briton.

Alonso’s Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa agrees.

“My experience in 2008 (against Lewis Hamilton) and Kimi’s in 2007 shows that anything can happen,” said the Brazilian, “even if this year (winning the title) will be difficult.

“Vettel would have to make a lot of mistakes,” added Massa.

Ferrari has decided to wait until after July’s three grands prix before possibly switching its focus to the 2012 season.
Team boss Stefano Domenicali said in Canada two weeks ago that the Italian team will make a decision about the success of this year’s campaign after Silverstone, where the FIA’s hot exhaust blowing ban takes effect.

But Germany’s Speed Week is now reporting that Ferrari, buoyed by stronger performances recently at Monaco and Canada, will now wait until after Valencia, Britain, the Nurburgring and Hungary before deciding if the current 150 Italia car should continue to be aggressively developed.

Ferrari’s chief designer Nikolas Tombazis confirmed: “We have made quite a lot of progress over the past few months and I believe that was visible in recent races and we hope that trend will continue.

“How well these next few races go will decide whether or not we feel we are still in with a chance of fighting for the championships this year, even if we are quite a long way behind in the points,” the Greece-born engineer added.

Sauber wants to ease Esteban Gutierrez into formula one rather than throw him in the deep end with a last-minute race seat.
That was the explanation of team boss Peter Sauber on Thursday following the Mexican teen’s disappointment about not being called up in Montreal to replace the ill Sergio Perez.

To official reserve driver Gutierrez’s chagrin, he was not even summoned to Canada before his McLaren counterpart Pedro de la Rosa, 40, sat in for Perez.

“I understand the question, but we have a responsibility to Gutierrez,” Sauber is quoted by Germany’s Speed Week.

“It is important to bring him slowly towards formula one,” added Sauber, whose Hinwil based team is backed considerably by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s companies.

If Bernie Ecclestone were to bet a few dollars of his fortune on the outcome of the 2011 title, he would safely back his young friend Sebastian Vettel.
The F1 chief executive is famously friendly with the 23-year-old German who last year became the sport’s youngest champion and this year is running away with the spoils.

“Put it this way,” Ecclestone, 80, told the German magazine Speed Week. “Someone else would have to have very good luck to win this world championship.

“When I look at the speed of his car, I think only his own teammate has a chance,” added the Briton.

Vettel has won five of the opening six grands prix so far this season but there are more than a dozen to go.

“Until then, it’s a long way to go,” he is quoted by the SID news agency. “Last year we saw how quickly things can change.”

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko agrees: “Sebastian has a comfortable lead but there are 350 points to go.”

In reality, Vettel is on target to set a new record for the earliest-decided title, with Michael Schumacher holding the current record for winning in 2002 with 6 races to go.

But he is cautious: “Anything – reliability, mistakes – can happen.”

FIA president Jean Todt hopes so.

“It is obvious for the sport that it would be best to have a different winner at every grand prix, but he has done a great job and has a great talent,” the Frenchman told Spain’s Diario Sport.