Even amid the chaos of the 2012 pecking order, the star performer is obvious.

That is the view of former F1 driver Christian Klien, who confirmed to the Austrian news agency APA that one of his current roles is a simulator driver for the sport’s latest winning team, Williams.

“It (2012) is very open,” he said, “but for me Fernando Alonso stands out.”

Equal with Sebastian Vettel, Spaniard Alonso is at the top of the drivers’ world championship, a full eight points clear of Lewis Hamilton.

The Spaniard’s car has been the struggling Ferrari F2012, but he has never finished a race this season lower than ninth (China).

He has therefore scored points at every opportunity, even finishing first and second in Malaysia and Spain respectively.

“Alonso has an inferior car,” Klien explained, “but he uses every single little opportunity.

“He is the most complete driver who gets the most out of the package he has.”

Triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart agrees that, among arguably the most competitive grid of drivers since the late 80s, Alonso is the standout performer.

“Right now we have the best generation of drivers we’ve had for a while,” the famous Scot told the Spanish sports daily AS.

“Everyone talks about Vettel, who is a great driver, and also Hamilton of course, but there is also Button, Schumacher, Kimi — all champions.

“There are others like Webber who also have the quality to win, young drivers coming up, many of them are very good, but also it is true that Alonso is fantastic.”

Asked why the Spaniard has not added a title to his tally since 2006, Stewart said: “The explanation is easy — he hasn’t had the luck to get the best car.

“Now he has one that isn’t good, but it’s in those circumstances that you see even more the quality that he has,” said Stewart.

Given Alonso’s push to the top of the championship with a sub-standard car, therefore, all the talk about Ferrari writing off the 2012 championship has been silenced for now.

“We have to keep developing the car,” Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari’s team boss, said after Barcelona, where significant upgrades were brought to the F2012 package.

“We are not yet fast enough to consistently fight for the podium, but that is the only option if we want to be in contention for the title,” he insisted.

Valencia will not be on next year’s F1 calendar, Bernie Ecclestone said on Saturday.

He confirmed that, starting in 2013, an annually alternating deal between the Spanish port city and Barcelona will begin.

Barcelona, the scene of this weekend’s Spanish grand prix, will host the race in 2013, before Valencia returns to the schedule in 2014, the F1 chief executive told Reuters.

Less secure, meanwhile, is France’s touted spot on the 2013 calendar, particularly with the country’s new anti-F1 president Francois Hollande now taking power.

Until recently, the F1 chief executive was saying Paul Ricard was set to join the 2013 calendar, annually alternating a race date with Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps.

As for the state of the deal now, the 81-year-old admitted: “I have no idea. No idea what they (France) are doing.

“It’s a funny arrangement they were making anyway. So I just don’t know.”

Ecclestone is also working on a new deal for the popular Canadian grand prix, having told promoter Francois Dumontier that the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve needs to be upgraded.

“There are two ways of looking at it,” Dumontier, in the paddock of the Circuit de Catalunya, is quoted by La Presse newspaper.

“Either Bernie requires an annual fee windfall, or he will charge a reasonable fee and ask in return for investment in the infrastructure.”

He said the contract on the table is for 10 more years, taking Montreal’s existing deal through 2024.

Ecclestone said on Saturday that he is sure an agreement will be reached, because Canada is one of F1′s most loved destinations.

“I remember saying to Bernie, ‘New York, Austin, I don’t know why you want to go there. Your sure bet is Montreal’. He knows that.

“He’s been in Montreal for 34 years. And in the 22 years of the grands prix in the United States, they’ve had eight different cities.

“He said ‘You’re right’,” added Dumontier.

Another rumour, repeated by The Times’ Kevin Eason on Saturday, is that the planned 2014 Russian grand prix in Sochi “is doomed”.

Ferrari’s heavily upgraded F2012 has caught the eye of reigning world champion and last-start winner Sebastian Vettel.

The famous Italian team and its lead driver Fernando Alonso have tried to play down the improvements made to the recently struggling red car.

“It was good acting,” said Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo’s correspondent Livio Oricchio on Friday.

“The truth is that Ferrari have debuted a new car. Almost everything is different.”

Red Bull’s Vettel has spotted the same thing.

“If you ask me, Ferrari are dangerous,” Bild newspaper quotes the German as saying on Friday.

The ‘B’ Ferrari features new front and rear wings, floor, sidepods, engine cover, exhaust and brake ducts.

“A total reconstruction for a million euros,” said the newspaper.

Alonso was quickest on Friday morning in Barcelona but then a long way down the order in P2. He played down his victory chances.

But Vettel’s boss Dr Helmut Marko insists: “They (Ferrari) have become really fast.”

Felipe Massa has hinted that Ferrari should consider moving on if major improvements to the F2012 do not push the team forwards this weekend.

The Maranello based team played down the extent of the upgrade seen in Barcelona on Friday, but one media pundit surmised that “almost everything is different” compared with the car in Bahrain three weeks ago.

It might, therefore, be seen as a last roll of the dice for Ferrari, who could therefore be advised to turn attention to the 2013 project should the upgrades not work as expected.

But when that was put to Fernando Alonso in Barcelona, the Spaniard answered: “I don’t think so. I don’t think so.”

Brazilian Massa doesn’t agree.

“If you have a car, you introduce a number of significant changes and you don’t get the response you expected, it means that the project is not good,” he is quoted by Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

“You would have to leave it in order to create a new base,” added Massa.

But Alonso doesn’t agree with his teammate’s final point, either.

When asked if the disappointing F2012 could nonetheless be used as the basis of Ferrari’s 2013 project, he insisted: “I think so. Yes.”

Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
Friday, 11th of May 2012
Weather: Sunny – Air 30ºC, Track 45ºC

10.00-11.30 FORMULA 1 PRACTICE SESSION 1
Pedro de la Rosa F112-02 #22 23rd (19 laps) 1:29.107
Dani Clos F112-03 #23 24th (19 laps) 1:31.618

14.00-15.30 FORMULA 1 PRACTICE SESSION 2
Pedro de la Rosa F112-02 #22 23rd (26 laps )1:28.235
Narain Karthikeyan F112-03 #23 24th (2 laps)

The time has finally come and the highly anticipated Spanish Grand Prix finally got underway today with the first free practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya (4.655 km). The day started with Dani Clos lining up alongside Pedro de la Rosa, making it a historic moment for the team and Spanish motorsport as a whole. The Spanish duo were able to try out the aerodynamic upgrades and compare data until Clos’ car came to a halt as a result of an electrical issue towards the end of the session.

The team worked hard at midday to solve the problem and get Narain Karthikeyan out on the track on time for the second session. It wasn’t to be but the team continued to fight against the clock and, in the end, the Indian driver was able to get on the track with half an hour to go in the session. But the car said enough was enough immediately and Karthikeyan wasn’t even able to finish two laps. On his behalf, de la Rosa completed a total of 26 laps comparing the two aerodynamic options with the two tyre options.

“I’m happy to have got into the car for the first time today, albeit for a short first encounter. The feeling I had when I left the pits and saw the Spanish crowd, whilst driving for a Spanish team alongside Pedro, was unbelievable. It was my first time in the new car and I wasn’t 100% comfortable since the car is built for Narain, so I had to adapt. We were able to carry out some aerodynamic work and try out some different things on the car so I’m pleased to have completed my job for the team”.

Pedro de la Rosa: “Today was the day to try out the aero package we’ve brought to Barcelona, so we completed various short stints to see how the car behaved with the changes. It was interesting because the car has effectively taken a step forwards, but we need an even bigger step, especially at such a tough circuit as this one where there are many quick turns and where you need to improve the balance of the car. There’s still plenty to do and a lot of data to analyze to have a better understanding of how to get the most out of these upgrades”.

Narain Karthikeyan: “I’m disappointed to have not got any laps under my belt today; it’s certainly not how I was aiming to start my weekend in Barcelona. Tomorrow will be an uphill struggle as we’ve only got one hour in the morning to get the car ready for qualifying in the afternoon, so we’re really going to have to get our heads down and work hard. Hopefully we can make up for the time lost today and turn things around tomorrow”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “Today was a day of mixed feelings. On one hand it was very nice to see Dani make his debut but on the other hand we suffered a lot of electrical issues on Narain’s car. It’s a new chassis and there’s a lot of work to do with any new car so it’s not that strange for things to not work out first time round. It looks like the upgrades we’ve brought have worked well, which makes us optimistic for the future. Now we have to fix our immediate problems and work so that the weekend turns out the best way possible”.

Heikki Kovalainen has admitted some disappointment about Caterham’s progress in 2012.

In its third season of formula one, and despite being clearly more impressive than its direct rivals Marussia and HRT, the Tony Fernandes-led team intended to take a step forwards this year.

Caterham took some upgrades to the Mugello test last week, but according to Finnish sources Turun Sanomat and MTV3, not all of them worked.

“The car has a pretty good balance, but the lap times are not good enough,” Finnish driver Kovalainen is quoted as saying.

“It’s good to drive but it’s just too slow,” he insisted.

“We did not get all the updates to work as we had hoped, so in Spain we have only some things that are new,” added Kovalainen.

The team is yet to score a point.

Spanish driver Dani Clos will step into the F112 for the first time on Friday to take part in the first free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix which will take place at the Circuit de Catalunya. 23 year-old Clos will substitute teammate Narain Karthikeyan for that session and will join Pedro de la Rosa for the first 90 minutes of practice in Montmeló.

It will be history in the making for HRT Formula 1 Team at the Circuit de Catalunya since this will be the first time that two Spanish drivers hit the track forming a part of a Spanish team at the Spanish Grand Prix. It will be a moment to remember for Spanish motorsport and a great opportunity for Clos to prove his worth in front of his home crowd.

After having completed 377.67 kilometres at the helm of the F111 in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi last November and having joined the team as an official test driver in February, Dani Clos will take another step on Friday and will fulfill another vital aspect of his testing role by completing his first laps at the wheel of the F112. A car that will be brining a series of aerodynamic upgrades for this important Grand Prix.

Dani Clos: “I’m delighted to have this opportunity. It’s something I’ve fought for all my life; to make my debut in Formula 1 and, above all, to be able to do it at the Circuit de Catalunya which is something very special for me. Besides, I’m extremely lucky to be able to do it with a Spanish team, alongside another Spanish driver who I admire and at home. I can’t ask for more! It’s the ideal situation and I’m proud to be where I am with the people who have always been with me and still are. I hope to extract a lot of data from this practice session, contribute with positive things to the team and do my job in the best way I can. I feel 100% ready and I can’t wait for the moment I step into the car and hit the track”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT: “I’m very proud and happy that this moment has arrived and that we’ve given Dani the chance to get in the car on Friday’s first free practice session at such a special and important Grand Prix as is a home Grand Prix. In this first contact he will drive next to Pedro de la Rosa and will have the chance to drive the new F112 for the first time. It’s an important session given the short amount of time on track that we have and more so when you take into account the various aerodynamic upgrades which we have brought. Dani is a great driver and I have no doubt that he will do a good job. Besides, this debut also represents another step forward in our desire for HRT to serve as a platform for young drivers to make it into F1”.

DANI CLOS – PROFILE AND CAREER SUMMARY

Dani Clos was born in Barcelona on the 23rd of October 1988. With a renowned trajectory in karting, Clos made his debut in single-seater racing in 2004 in Formula Renault Italia 2.0, going on to win the Championship in 2006. A year later he joined Renault’s F1 programme and took part in the Formula Three Euroseries. In 2008 he entered Williams F1′s young drivers’ programme and finished in 2nd in the 24H Barcelona race. In 2009 he made his debut in the GP2 series, with a 3rd place finish in Portimao being his best result. In his second year in GP2 he achieved his first win in Turkey alongside various podium finishes. Last year, Dani Clos took one win and two podiums in what was his third season as a GP2 driver. Also in 2011, he took part in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi with HRT F1 Team, completing total of 377.67km in one day and leaving a very good impression on the team. In 2012, Dani Clos joins the HRT Formula 1 Team as its official test driver.

Career Summary:

2012 F1: test driver, HRT Formula 1 Team
2011 GP2: Racing Engineering, 9th in the Championship
F1: Young Driver Test with HRT F1 Team
2010 GP2: Racing Engineering, 4th in the Championship (1 win)
2009 GP2: Racing Engineering, 21st in the Championship
2008 F3 Euroseries: Prema Powerteam: 14th in the Championship
2007 F3 Euroseries: Signature Plus: 13th in the Championship
2006 Fórmula Renault 2.0 Italia: Champion (8 wins)
Renault 2.0 Eurocup: 7th position in the Championship
2005 Renault 2.0 Eurocup: 32nd in the Championship
Fórmula 2.0 Italiana: 16th in the Championship

Ferrari might be gearing up to incorporate a ‘double-DRS’ setup aboard its improving F2012 car.

If true, the famous Italian team would be the first team to successfully emulate the controversial Mercedes system, which has been declared fully legal by the governing FIA.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said a new rear wing was among the very last upgrades to be trialled by Fernando Alonso as the Mugello test concluded late on Thursday.

“The wing has only minor changes. You have to look closely,” read the report.

The magazine reported rumours that the wing might eventually accommodate the so-called ‘double-DRS’ or 2012-style F-duct, which would work in conjunction with a new and so far unseen front wing.

“That (wing) will debut along with a new diffuser and nose in Barcelona,” added Auto Motor und Sport.

There were happy faces in the Ferrari garage on Thursday, as – despite a minor off by Alonso – the upgrades appeared to work well.

“Barcelona will be a key moment in the season, but not a decisive one,” the Spanish driver insisted.

“It’s not a case that we will suddenly find ourselves back on pole position, because there is no magic button.”

Echoing the earlier words of Mark Webber, Alonso said the “fastest car” at Mugello this week was the Lotus.

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko agrees: “It looks like Lotus are the quickest.”

Veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit wrote in Blick newspaper: “Lotus, with Kimi Raikkonen in super shape, is the championship dark horse.”

Amid Ferrari’s performance crisis with the struggling F2012 car, the Italian team has emerged from the opening ‘flyaway’ races with a solid head of steam.

He might be just fifth, but Fernando Alonso is a mere 10 points off the lead of the drivers’ world championship, after a see-sawing pecking order emerged from the overseas races in Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain.

The Spanish driver admitted mere days ago that the F2012, at present, is perhaps the “sixth or seventh” best on the grid.

But next up is the test at Mugello, where major upgrades to the car – so significant that some sections of the media are expecting a ‘new Ferrari’ – will be tested ahead of its Barcelona debut.

Sepang winner Alonso’s latest surprise was to finish ahead of the best McLaren in Bahrain.

“If we had said that beforehand, it would be unthinkable,” he told Antena 3 television.

“It was another race where we have limited the damage pretty well.

“We were eight points behind the leader, now it’s 10. We have spent the first four races outside Europe losing ten points, which I think is more treasure than we deserve.

“For Montmelo (Barcelona) we have to be better. We have to stop depending on others and start depending on ourselves,” added Alonso.

Asked how much he is expecting the F2012 to improve, the 30-year-old was coy.

“I have said it could be one tenth, maybe two, one and a half … but we may not be in the same situation as before.”

Alonso was also critical of the stewards’ decision to leave Nico Rosberg without a penalty on Sunday, after the German driver forced him off the circuit whilst defending position.

“He also did the same to Hamilton, so it’s two to zero for him (Rosberg),” said Alonso.

“But if there was a wall there, you would have to be talking to someone else now …”

On Twitter, he sarcastically added: “I think you are going to have fun in future races. You can defend position as you want and you can overtake outside the track! Enjoy!”

He may be in Bahrain, but Fernando Alonso’s mind is thinking firmly ahead to Europe as the Spaniard prepares to struggle on Sunday yet again.

Ferrari’s number one driver squeezed into Q3 with the struggling F2012 on Saturday, and is targeting some minor points on Sunday.

“The two McLarens and the two Red Bulls are at the front, and there’s (also) Rosberg,” Alonso is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport, predicting how Sunday’s race will unfold.

“We’re not going to go past them. For us, we are racing behind the top five.”

He is hoping it will be his latest and last experience of life as a midfielder in 2012.

For Barcelona, the first European race of the season mid next month, Ferrari – so disappointed with its start to the season – is planning a major upgrade for the F2012.

An added bonus is that it can be tested at Mugello in early May.

“Despite our problems I am in third place in the championship, and tomorrow (Sunday) I have a chance to score well. That’s more than we expected.

“Next is Barcelona, a most important race for us. I hope the season starts again for me (there),” said Alonso.

Lewis Hamilton has vowed to push his McLaren engineers to improve the race pace of the British team’s 2012 car.

The 2008 world champion put the MP4-27 on pole position for both the Australian and Malaysian grands prix, but then failed to have winning pace in the all-important races.

“In qualifying we are very quick but we need to be quicker in the race,” Briton Hamilton is quoted by the Sun newspaper. “I don’t think we are quick enough.”

F1′s next stop is in Shanghai mid next month.

“We will have some upgrades for the car, I hope,” said Hamilton. “I will go and push the guys to see if we can get some upgrades to try and squeak ahead in the race.”

He admitted to being disappointed after the two races so far this season, when the MP4-27′s qualifying promise did not power him to wins.

“The main thing is I need to pick up my race pace,” Hamilton is quoted by PA Sport.

“I spoke to Fernando (Alonso) and Sergio (Perez) after (the race in Malaysia) and they had lots of understeer whereas I had lots of oversteer.

“Maybe I’m setting the car up too aggressively, so I might make some changes for the next two races,” he said.

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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.

 Christian Horner has denied reports Red Bull is considering taking the ‘old’ specification of its 2012 car, the RB8, to Melbourne.
The reigning world champions arguably set the early pace this winter, but apparently struggled once a big package of upgrades – essentially a ‘B’ chassis – was brought to the final Barcelona test.

Sebastian Vettel’s final day of running was dismissed by team advisor Dr Helmut Marko as no less than “shit”, ramping up speculation the team might revert to the initial RB8 specification.

But team boss Horner told BBC radio: “It’s amazing how these things get construed.

“Those (Barcelona) upgrades seem to be working ok and they’ll certainly be on the car in Australia in ten days’ time.”

 Red Bull is considering taking the ‘old’ version of its new car to Melbourne for the 2012 season opener.
That is the claim of Germany’s authoritative Auto Motor und Sport magazine, after the radically updated model made a troubled debut late last week as the pre-season test period ended.

Rivals and pundits believe the reigning champions are still leading the field, but the latest Barcelona-spec car – featuring a significantly different exhaust layout – did not complete many laps.

Moreover, it also did not appear fast.

“When I watched Webber’s long run on Saturday afternoon,” said an engineer for a rival team, “it was nothing special — not the laptimes nor the tyre wear.”

Also unconvinced are the drivers, with Mark Webber saying the new car did not feel “massively different” to the earlier launch-version RB8.

Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, was dead last after just 23 laps on Sunday, and is quoted as saying: “It wouldn’t be fair for me to judge the upgrades, so we have to rely on the data collected by Mark.”

Another rival engineer said there is visual evidence that the exhaust gases on the revised layout “are not going where they (Red Bull) want them to go”.

At the front of the field in 2012, before a single racing lap has even turned, the well-known formula one arms-race has already begun.
As the last days of pre-Melbourne testing are counted down in Barcelona, Red Bull and McLaren unveiled major evolutions to their recently-launched new cars.

On the RB8, the major difference was the Sauber-style exhaust, after designer Adrian Newey was reportedly “impressed” with the 2012 solution devised by the Swiss midfield team.

“It’s effectively a completely new (Red Bull) car,” said the BBC’s technical analyst Gary Anderson, according to the Guardian.

The high-profile Red Bull upgrade was the perfect time for McLaren to quietly unveil its own heavily modified car, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reported.

“Did you see that McLaren have rebuilt half their car?” Force India technical director Andrew Green is quoted as saying.

One new innovation on the MP4-27, apparently, is a Mercedes-like front wing W-duct.

“The upgrade is a major step forward; better than we expected,” said Jenson Button.

Elsewhere, the noises are not so positive: Ferrari stridently denied internet rumours Felipe Massa has been sacked, and then gagged both the Brazilian and his teammate Fernando Alonso from speaking to the media.

“The decision has been taken to keep the whole team fully focused on the job and there is not any polemic intent behind it,” the team insisted.

But while happily listing Red Bull’s likely contenders for 2012, Mark Webber admitted Ferrari’s form remains a “mystery”.

Even less is known about those at the rear of the grid, with Marussia and HRT still yet to launch their 2012 cars.

The Spanish team has sought permission at late notice to do a “filming day” with its new machine in Barcelona on Monday, while Marussia wants to run at Silverstone in the coming days.

At Marussia, the hold-up was caused by the FIA’s more stringent than ever crash tests.

“We’re going to make sure we get it right this time,” team boss John Booth told the BBC.