As the roulette wheel spins in 2012, Nico Hulkenberg has admitted he finds himself without a chip on the board.

McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams have already won so far this season, whilst Lotus and Sauber have shown genuinely winning pace.

The three backmarkers aside, that leaves just Force India and Toro Rosso as perhaps the only teams without genuine chances of victory so far this year.

“According to our measurements, Williams and Sauber were the fastest cars in Barcelona. They must now be counted among the top teams,” said Force India driver Hulkenberg.

It’s a disappointing situation for the Silverstone based team, a distant eighth in the championship.

“We have definitely improved, especially in traction, but in the fast corners Sauber and Williams are better than us,” Hulkenberg acknowledged to Auto Motor und Sport.

The German admitted Force India has a few tenths to find.

“We have no choice but to develop, because we are behind,” said Hulkenberg. “It’s important to find a good balance between improving the car and understanding it.”

Force India’s 2012 goal, fifth in the constructors’, seems a long way away.

That place is currently occupied by Shanghai winner Mercedes, who are flanked by Malaysia and Spain winners respectively, Ferrari and Williams.

“It is still possible,” Hulkenberg insisted, “although difficult, because the others are still going to be getting points.”

Marussia needs a KERS system to catch up with its direct rivals.

That is the admission of team boss John Booth, who told the Russian website championat.com that he is looking into adding the energy recovery technology to next year’s Marussia package.

“First of all, I want to say that while it is said it (KERS) is a ‘green’ technology, in reality it’s just a serious waste of money,” he said.

“But in our situation it’s time to start thinking seriously about KERS. Of the gap to Caterham, five or six tenths is due to KERS,” added Booth.

“So we are thinking seriously about it for 2013, but so far there is no decision.”

Both admitted the start of the 2012 season has been a disappointment so far for Marussia, which in its first two years was called Virgin.

He said the team has recently completed a phase of serious restructuring.

“We had a good team of people before, but now we have a good team of designers. Though we have been in F1 for three years, I have the feeling that we were actually born in July 2011.”

Both is undoubtedly referring to the split mid last year with former technical chief Nick Wirth, and the relocation to a new headquarters.

Despite winning in Malaysia last month, Fernando Alonso is expecting a miserable weekend in Bahrain.

On the back of his surprise Sepang victory, the Spaniard qualified and finished just ninth in China, and he is not expecting a better Ferrari until next month’s return to European grands prix.

“Obviously, this (result) does not leave me very optimistic for Bahrain, on a track where traction and speed are vital, exactly the areas where we are weakest,” said Alonso in Shanghai.

Even more bluntly, he said the Maranello based team is “far behind” the pacesetters because the F2012 has “big problems” in aerodynamics.

But the bright side, Alonso insisted, is that the field of 2012 is oddly tightly bunched.

“If we improve two, three tenths then we can jump several opponents,” he is quoted by Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo.

“The fight now is for fractions of seconds.”

After Ferrari and Sauber were quick in Malaysia, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg dominated in China — but many in the paddock still believe McLaren has the quickest car overall.

Indeed, Jenson Button is ruing a team mistake – a cross-threaded wheel nut during a pitstop – that he says cost him a shot at Shanghai victory.

“There can’t be many more mistakes if you want to compete for a championship, definitely not,” he said.

Ferrari has made a “devastating start” to the 2012 season, the Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport has blasted.

“The new season could barely have begun worse,” said the report.

Felipe Massa qualified sixteenth for Sunday’s Australian grand prix, while Fernando Alonso also failed to make the ‘Q3′ cut when he spun into the gravel.

“There are deficiencies with the aerodynamics, with the tyres and the speed,” the Spaniard is quoted as saying.

Added Massa: “I have the impression that the car has deteriorated compared to winter testing.”

Looking on the bright side, however, Alonso said Ferrari’s situation is actually better than it was a year ago.

“In 2011 we started with a deficit of 1.4 seconds, so we have recovered four tenths. Last year our first victory was in July, so this year we need to do it before.”

La Stampa, a major Italian daily, sees it differently.

“A year ago there was one car (Red Bull) clearly stronger than Ferrari, now there is McLaren in front, Mercedes and Lotus as well, and Toro Rosso and Force India improving …”

Massa agrees: “We were more competitive in 2011.”

Alonso, however, is staying positive for now.

“The tests in Barcelona were worse (than Australia), so it means that we have chosen the right path. We must improve and we must do it quickly,” he said.

The McLaren drivers and beaming returnee Romain Grosjean on Saturday looked to have knocked Red Bull from its dominant perch.
“McLaren had an upgrade at the last test and it’s performed here at Albert Park,” said former team driver and BBC commentator David Coulthard.

Lewis Hamilton beat his teammate Jenson Button to pole in Melbourne, but just a few tenths behind is the reigning GP2 champion Grosjean.

Frenchman Grosjean’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen had a dire return qualifying performance by missing the Q1 cut, describing the session as “shit” according to the German press.

In total contrast, Grosjean was beaming: “A few people believed in me through the toughest time and I’m back — almost at the top!”

The surprises continued beyond the top three: Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher is fourth, and reigning champion Sebastian Vettel sixth.

“We are aware we need to improve,” said Mark Webber, who qualified the sister Red Bull in fifth as both RB8 cars had KERS issues.

In much bigger strife is fabled Ferrari, with neither F2012 making it through to Q3.

Fernando Alonso threw his red car into the gravel and Felipe Massa is a disastrous 16th, with Sky analyst Martin Brundle described the handling of the F2012 as “horrible”.

“Forget the reds,” the summary report at Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport website, written by correspondent Andrea Cremonesi, said.

Said Spaniard Alonso: “We need to change the direction quickly if we’re to challenge for the championship. We have to react.”

Meanwhile, Lotus boss Eric Boullier answered “maybe” when asked on Sky UK television if the team will lodge an official protest against Mercedes’ qualifying result, based on the belief the W03′s F-duct solutions are illegal.

 Pat Fry, Ferrari’s technical director, thinks Red Bull remains clearly ahead of the F1 field.
There is lots of talk that the reigning champion team is now closely matched by McLaren, with a big chasing group nipping at the heels headed by Mercedes.

But Briton Fry told the Guardian newspaper: “I think Red Bull are ahead of the rest at the moment. Maybe half a second.

“We’re guessing about fuel levels used in testing but I would say Red Bull are between five and seven tenths ahead of everyone else.”

Fry recently wrote off Ferrari’s chances of a podium this weekend in Melbourne, but – at least in the most recent hours – drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso are sounding more positive.

“At the moment we don’t know who is fast and who is not,” insisted Alonso, according to Marca. “Don’t pay much attention to what is said.

“We are not even going to know anything until Malaysia — a normal circuit.”

HRT’s Pedro de la Rosa, at least, is daring a prediction.

“Maybe (Sebastian) Vettel will win again, but if he does, he will have more sweat on his shirt,” the Spaniard is quoted by EFE agency.

As for Ferrari’s apparent problems, de la Rosa commented: “All I know is what I read, but think about how much time has passed since the last test.

“Two or three weeks in formula one is a world.”

 Marussia needs to get the basics right before worrying about KERS, Timo Glock explained on the eve of the 2012 season.
The experienced German, and his rookie teammate Charles Pic, enter the new season with essentially no testing, after the former Virgin team struggled to push its new car – the MR01 – through the FIA’s mandatory crash tests.

Last year, the Cosworth-powered team was soundly beaten by its closest rival Team Lotus, who as well as changing its name to Caterham for 2012 has also added a Red Bull KERS system to its Renault-powered package.

“On the subject of KERS, it is of course a disadvantage not to have it,” Glock is quoted by the SID news agency.

“But we have said that our focus is right to first get rid of the four seconds of aerodynamic deficit, before we worry about the money and the manpower we need for five tenths with the KERS,” added Glock.

“We have to get the foundation right first,” said the almost 30-year-old.

 Flavio Briatore has hit out at formula one by suggesting “any top driver” would have won last year’s title with the 2011 Red Bull.
“It’s only a real show now when it rains,” the former Renault team boss told Italy’s Sky Sport 24.

Briatore, 61, blames the huge role played by technology.

“If you were to take GP2 cars and put the 6 world champions in them, it would be more fun,” he insisted.

“The car is now made in the wind tunnel, the engineers aren’t even at the circuits and they spend 200 million euros making identical machines.

“Last year, the championship was over after the first race, and this will be the same; McLaren are two tenths from Red Bull, Mercedes three, and Ferrari and Lotus 4 to 7.

“Two tenths is like 2-0 behind in a football game. In F1, the Messi is Alonso, but if his car is not competitive, he is going nowhere.”

Niki Lauda has tipped Mercedes to flirt with the top positions in 2012.
After February’s winter group tests, rivals and pundits are now assessing the likely pecking-order less than two weeks before the season opener in Australia.

“My feeling is that McLaren and Red Bull are almost equal,” triple world champion Lauda told Austrian television ORF’s Sport am Sonntag programme.

“The big positive surprise is Mercedes. They have chosen a different way,” said the 63-year-old.

“The nose is relatively small, making the car look quite different to the others, because they have the (front wing innovation) F-duct.

“For me, it’s the most innovative car, and it also looks to me as through the (F-duct) mechanism works very well.”

Lauda said a strong Mercedes will be the first real test for Michael Schumacher since the great German returned to F1 in 2010.

“It’s a very important year for him,” he said, “because for the first time he and us will really know the answer to how he stands against Rosberg.

“Michael needs to prove to us all how good he really is — which of course is difficult, since logically you do not get faster with age.”

Meanwhile, Lauda agrees with speculation sweeping the F1 world about Ferrari’s current pre-season crisis.

“They’re behind, no doubt about it,” said the Austrian. “The car is pretty unstable, slipping at the front as well — I think they could be two or three tenths behind the top three.

“At the beginning of this year, that’s quite a lot,” explained Lauda.

“In Alonso they really have a top man, but if the car is too far behind then he can’t do anything about it, especially as he has a not-so-strong teammate in Massa who is not going to push him.”

Lewis Hamilton’s troubles continued on Saturday after missing out on pole position at Suzuka.
Even though Red Bull has utterly dominated qualifying in 2011, Jenson Button dominated the practice sessions at Suzuka and the sister McLaren was holding provisional pole until the closing seconds of Q3.

As Vettel and Button went quicker on their final attempts, however, Briton Hamilton failed to start his flying lap before the chequered flag flew.

He looked gutted in parc ferme and the television unilaterals, insisting he still had a couple of tenths of pace in store for his last attempt.

Hamilton said he was “attacked” at the end of the out-lap by Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher, describing their moves as “dangerous”.

“We told him not to back up and let so many cars by. Unfortunately he got hussled at the last corner,” McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said on BBC 1.

Nick Heidfeld on Friday said he is not so sure his countryman will be crowned champion at the end of the Singapore grand prix weekend.
German Sebastian Vettel only needs 13 extra points to win his second consecutive title with five races to go in 2011.

But in Singapore practice, the 24-year-old – although quickest – was trailed by just a couple of tenths by two-time Singapore winner Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari’s Alonso, albeit 112 points behind, is Vettel’s nearest championship challenger, even though he answered “yes” on Thursday when asked if he has written off his chances of chasing down the leading Red Bull before Brazil’s finale.

“Alonso was second today with quite a bit gap behind him,” Heidfeld, in Singapore to look around for a race seat for 2012, told the German broadcaster Sky. “So I don’t think he (Vettel) will get it.”

Heidfeld, of course, was referring to Vettel’s chances of wrapping up the title this weekend, as he needs to win and then depend on Alonso not appearing on the podium on one of the Spaniard’s favourite circuits.

“It is not really up to Sebastian,” Heidfeld insisted. “He is doing a fantastic job and I expect him to do well here.”

Vettel’s title, if he wins on Sunday, also depends on Jenson Button or Mark Webber not finishing the race in second place. “It’s really up to what the others do,” added Heidfeld.

Former Renault driver Heidfeld, meanwhile, has been linked with a switch to the DTM series with BMW for 2012.

“That (DTM) is definitely an option or an alternative, should I find no reasonable place in formula one,” he admitted. “I have always said that I could imagine it after I am finished in F1.”

As Mark Webber prepares to commit to Red Bull for 2012, team consultant Dr Helmut Marko has given the strongest sign yet that his successor will be another Australian.
Marko reinvigorated the speculation about Webber’s future in Hungary by saying that the 34-year-old is likely to retire after racing one more season.

“Mark Webber will continue with us for another year, and then he will decide what to do in his career,” the outspoken Austrian is quoted by Italian publications including Tuttosport and Corriere dello Sport.

Marko reportedly added that “Red Bull will decide who takes his place, although it is likely it will be (Daniel) Ricciardo”.

He is referring to the 22-year-old Australian who recently made his grand prix debut at HRT with Red Bull backing.

“I thank the guys at Red Bull for the nice words, but it’s still too early to talk about the future,” said Ricciardo.

“I hope there is a chance to race with them, but first I need to beat my teammate Liuzzi, who is a few tenths ahead of me.”

As for Webber’s 2012 deal, he said he is on the verge of making his decision.

“I’ll decide about my future at Spa,” said Webber, referring to the forthcoming Belgian grand prix.

Asked if it is his decision alone, Webber simply answered “yes”, adding that the only thing he is weighing up is “purely my own motivation for racing”.

And as for Ricciardo, Webber told Austria’s laola1: “I think he has a great future ahead of him.”

A long-awaited summer break, including mandatory factory shutdowns, lies ahead for F1 team members.
But the previously dominant Red Bull, beaten by Ferrari and McLaren at the last three grands prix, is planning a significant upgrade for the RB7 to debut at Spa-Francorchamps later this month.

“McLaren have made the biggest leap in the blown diffuser (area),” team boss Christian Horner told Der Spiegel in Hungary, adding that there is still developmental “potential” in Red Bull’s car.

The report said a new floor and diffuser, to be tested in Friday practice in Belgium, should make the Red Bull three tenths per lap faster.

Brazilian journalist Livio Oricchio said it is a myth that F1′s smartest chiefs will simply lie on beaches in the next few weeks.

“Who really believes that, as McLaren and Ferrari move ahead, Adrian Newey for example says to his guys tomorrow at Milton Keynes: ‘Ok guys, see you in two weeks!’”

Actually, more than 100 points ahead in the constructors’ and 88 points clear of the first non-Red Bull in the drivers’ chase, Red Bull are not panicking.

“We are on a par with McLaren. And we have a head start,” consultant Dr Helmut Marko told Kleine Zeitung with eight races left to run in 2011.

He also confirmed that development of the RB7 is moving ahead.

“We will continue to make the car better,” said the Austrian.

Die Welt headlined after Sunday’s result that second place was “The perfect defeat” for German Sebastian Vettel, whose championship lead actually extended due to Jenson Button winning.

“I definitely can live with P2,” he said.

“Perhaps we don’t have the strongest car at the moment, but we can still achieve good points.”

Sebastian Vettel has broken yet another record.
The Red Bull driver, already the sport’s youngest ever race and title winner, broke Rubens Barrichello’s lap record whilst appearing on the popular British motoring programme Top Gear.

The flying lap, called ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, takes place at the BBC show’s UK test track with F1 drivers at the wheel of a Suzuki Liana.

Last year, Barrichello leapt to the top of the times by beating previous laps set by mystery Top Gear driver The Stig as well as the likes of Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber.

But a few days before the British grand prix, Vettel broke that record by 3 tenths.

“Why are we all surprised,” host Jeremy Clarkson joked, “that he’s faster than a 62-year-old Brazilian?”