Mark Webber had the fastest of the 2012 cars in Jerez today - Photo Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Michael Schumacher was the fastest driver on Day Two of pre-season testing in Jerez, setting a best lap of 1:18.561. The seven-time world champion completed 132 laps in total for Mercedes.

Red Bull had the quickest of the new cars today, with Mark Webber finishing second fastest in the brand new RB8.

Daniel Ricciardo, who was in the Toro Rosso for his final day of the Jerez test, completed a century of laps and ended the day third on the timesheets.

Force India also completed a decent number of laps. With reserve driver Jules Bianchi behind the wheel this morning, and Paul di Resta taking over from the French rookie in the afternoon, the team notched up another 115 laps worth of mileage.

Kimi Raikkonen, who was the quickest man on track yesterday, was fifth for Lotus as he continued to adjust back to life in Formula 1.

Felipe Massa, whose best attempt at a lap was nearly two seconds off Schumacher’s best attempt, said that he was not concerned by the apparent lack of pace of the new F2012. Jenson Button can’t have been too impressed with the pace of the new McLaren either, finishing the day eighth on the timesheets, behind Massa.

Sergio Perez followed-on from industrious team-mate Kamui Kobayashi, completing 106 laps in the new Sauber in ninth, and Pastor Maldonado completed another 97 laps in the new Williams FW34 to round of today’s top ten.

Heikki Kovalainen completed more laps than any other driver today, managing to squeeze in 139 for Caterham. This was a particularly remarkable feat considering the teams were running with KERS for the first time – a system that can be unreliable at times.

Pedro de la Rosa‘s 2011-spec HRT propped up the timesheets for the second consecutive day.

Jerez Test Day Two: Unofficial times

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:18.561	132
2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	1:19.184	97
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:19.587	100
4	Jules Bianchi	Force India	1:20.221	46
5	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	1:20.239	117
6	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:20.272	69
7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:20.454	95
8	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:20.688	85
9	Sergio Perez	Sauber	1:20.711	106
10	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:21.197	97
11	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:21.518	139
12	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:22.128	64

Jerez Test Day Two: Driver and Team Quotes

Mercedes

Michael Schumacher: “We made the most of a reliable car today to do lots of laps and learn a lot about the new Pirelli tyres, and how they perform on longer and shorter runs, and with different set-up configurations. It was a good and productive test, full of lots of useful information for the season ahead, and I am now looking forward to driving our 2012 car for the first time at the next test.”

Nico Rosberg will take over testing duties for Mercedes tomorrow, and the team will not be at the fourth and final day of the test on Friday. They will launch their 2012 car before the next test in Barcelona.

Red Bull

Mark Webber - Photo Credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Mark Webber: “It was pretty good today. I think we’re making good progress although, as I keep saying, it’s still very early days in the concept of the car and we have a lot to get through before we race it. But it’s the same for all the teams. We did well on the mileage today. I guess we could have done a bit more, but it was positive overall and the conditions were good to test in.”

Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering: “After yesterday’s brief delay we had a pretty full programme to get through today and I’m pleased to say we got through the majority of it. There were a couple of minor niggles, but nothing major, so we didn’t really lose any time. Mark did some work evaluating the available Pirelli tyre compounds.”

Sebastian Vettel will be in the Red Bull for the final two days of testing in Jerez.

Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo - Photo Credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo: “I am happy with what we did today: one hundred laps is around twice the distance we did yesterday. So we achieved our aim of getting plenty of miles for me and the car with a mix of short and long runs, trying three different tyre compounds. I also did some practice starts and pit entry tests, just about as much as one can do in one day. We have made progress and were even able to do some back to back runs to start finding out how the car reacts to set-up changes.” 

Ricciardo’s team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne takes over testing duties in Jerez tomorrow.

Force India

Jules Bianchi - Photo Credit: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

Jules Bianchi: “It was a really good morning and great to get my chance in the new car so early on. There was a lot to get used to, especially the steering wheel and remembering where all the switches are, but it didn’t take too long before I felt happy in the car. It may only have been half a day, but the team asked me to do quite a lot of things and we managed to complete almost 50 laps before lunch. For me this year is all about learning and helping the team as much as I can, so today was important for that and getting to know the team. It’s great that I am back in the car tomorrow and I will try and get closer to the limit, because it’s important preparation for my Friday practice running this year.”

Paul Di Resta: “Half a day, but quite intense: 69 laps in just over three hours, which is a really good effort. But it was also one of the more difficult days because the wind seemed to get very strong from midday onwards, which made driving the car very tricky. However, we managed to get a clear direction on a couple of set-up changes so that’s given us an indication of the areas we should explore over the coming weeks. After 101 laps yesterday and 115 today, we’ve clearly built a good, strong car, but now it’s about getting into the detail, going over the data and getting ready for Barcelona.”

Andrew Green, Technical Director: “This morning was our first chance to work with Jules, so we focussed on getting him comfortable and familiar with all the systems on the car. He acclimatised quickly and soon found his rhythm, which meant we could push ahead with the aero work we had planned for this morning. He did an excellent job, worked well with the engineers and has settled into the team.

“In the afternoon session, Paul evaluated some set-up options while running with different tyre compounds: soft, medium and hard. The windy track conditions made that quite challenging, but we made the best of it and managed to get an early indication of where we should focus our efforts to extract performance from the car.”

Lotus

Kimi Raikkonen - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Kimi Räikkönen: “There was a small issue with damage to the floor this morning when I went off and came back on to the circuit. An edge on a kerb caused the damage and we lost some time as it was repaired. Apart from that it was a good day and we completed some long runs and good mileage. Physically, I felt fine after 117 laps. Conditions were quite windy on track but despite this I got a better feeling from the car. There was a lot of difference between the tyres. We used three compounds, but it was hard to get all of them working with the cooler temperatures today. When the tyres are working we seem to have a good car and I have a positive feeling from this first test. ”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “We had an interruption this morning with a slight off from Kimi which caused some damage to the car. This gave us an opportunity with the car in the garage to change the specification of steering rack, so we lost a reasonable amount of time in the morning. The E20 ran reliably for the rest of the day, meaning we were able to complete most of our planned programme. We looked at set-up, using the medium and soft tyres. We ran long runs in the afternoon, including a final run on the hard tyre, to gain mileage and everything worked very well. The balance is good which is encouraging from a performance perspective and the E20 was reliable again. All specifications of tyres are behaving as we would expect with the E20 so this is another area of encouragement.”

Ferrari

Felipe Massa - Photo Credit: Ferrari

Felipe Massa: “These two days have been different to usual, at least compared to what we’ve been used to at the start of previous years. This car is packed with elements that need plenty of fine tuning and they are different to what we had on previous cars. We concentrated on setting up a lot of specific points and there is still a lot to do: as usual, some things work the way they should, others less so. For example, I did a lot of laps at constant speed to gather information on the aerodynamics and on the general handling, because we need to be sure of the direction in which we need to go on the development front.

“We made some set-up changes from yesterday to today and the results this produced were what we had expected. It’s important that this happened, as it means the car is reacting in the right way. Obviously, there is still a lot to do, maybe more than we had expected before we started, but we are definitely not scared of hard work!

“I think the F2012 could well suit my driving style better than the previous car: for example, there is much less understeer. It’s only a case of working on it calmly and with concentration and that’s what we will continue to do over the next few days when Fernando drives. I think this car has great potential, also taking into account the point we are at now. Is this the ugliest Ferrari I’ve ever driven? I don’t know, as from the cockpit you can’t see the front wing and therefore not the step either: but definitely from the outside, it’s not the prettiest…”

Fernando Alonso will get his first chance to test the latest Ferrari tomorrow in Jerez.

McLaren

David Redding, Team Manager: “Despite the cold and windy conditions, Jenson was able to log further mileage with MP4-27 today. It’s still early days, and this was very much an exploratory day, but we were able to get a useful understanding of how the car behaves and reacts out on the track.

“It’s satisfying that Jenson’s been able to complete more than 600km of trouble-free running over the past two days; that puts us in a good position for the rest of the week.”

Lewis Hamilton takes over testing duties at McLaren tomorrow.

Sauber

Sergio Perez - Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

Sergio Pérez: “For me it was a positive day. It was great to be back on track after the winter break and so far I’m happy with the new car. I feel confident. It was a shame that we lost track time due to the fuel system problem in the afternoon, but I think we can catch up tomorrow. We have a huge programme for Thursday and I’m looking forward to it very much. Compared to yesterday we have already learnt a great deal more about the C31.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “It was Sergio’s first day of testing with the new car. To start with he had to familiarise himself with the C31 and he did a bit of set-up work in the morning. During the lunch break we implemented new aero parts on the car. They are working well and as expected which is important and good news. In the afternoon we unfortunately lost track time because of a problem with the fuel system. So far we have only used the medium tyre compound.”

Perez will be back in the car again tomorrow, and then hand it over to Kamui Kobayashi for Friday.

Williams

Pastor Maldonado - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Pastor Maldonado: “We ran through our test programme and covered everything we needed to today. We did some long runs this afternoon and the car is looking good. We will now spend some time analysing all of the data we have gathered. It’s good to put more mileage on the FW34 and we now aim to continue that throughout the next two days.”

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: “We successfully completed the majority of our planned test programme today with Pastor covering 97 laps. We performed a mixture of mechanical and aerodynamic set-up tests, in addition to continued engine and KERS systems checks. Bruno will have his first outing in the car tomorrow as we switch driver for the final two days of the test.”

Bruno Senna will have his first chance to drive the FW34 tomorrow, and the Brazilian will also be in the car on Friday, the final day of this Jerez test.

Caterham

Heikki Kovalainen - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Heikki Kovalainen: “I feel very happy with the work we have completed today. Yesterday we had a problem that was nothing to do with the car so today was our first real day of testing and we had a trouble free day, completing most of what we wanted to on day one and day two and working through a variety of setup changes. We ran on each of the tyre compounds and I’m really starting to get a feel for the car. Basically it’s good news because it confirms what I thought yesterday. This car is a lot better than the 2011 car, it’s quicker and everything works as we want it to. We’ve made very solid progress and I feel really good physically, so I think there’s a lot more to come.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “An excellent day of testing and I want to congratulate Heikki and the whole team for the job we have done today. We ran KERS for the first time and completed everything we had planned with that system, so thank you to Red Bull Technology and Renault Sport F1 for helping make that part of the program run so smoothly.

“Today we were concentrating on the setup program, using long runs to really start understanding what this car can do, so having completed 139 laps we have made a huge amount of progress, particularly compared to last year, and now we have to make sure we keep up this sort of momentum for the rest of the tests.”

HRT

Pedro de la Rosa - Photo Credit: HRT

Pedro de la Rosa: “Today we’ve progressed quite a bit as the day wore on; we’ve got more out of the car without having changed practically anything. Above all, today served me to get to know the tyres better. We all got to know each other a bit better and worked well together. I got rid of the rust yesterday and today I refreshed myself. On the first day the objective was not to go to the limit, but to get to know the people and for all of us to start working together. And the team did a good job. Today was more about seeing how far I could go, and that is why I think we improved on our times so much. Today I’m even more satisfied than yesterday, but on a personal note because I drove better. I’m leaving with a smile on my face and very much looking forward to Barcelona”.

Toni Cuquerella, Chief Race Engineer: “The two days of testing have served as good practice for the team, the majority of which is new, the equipment, which is also new, and also as a chance for Pedro to try out last year’s car and regain feelings at the steering wheel. We haven’t experienced major problems and completed the test programme with both the systems and the team working well. We’ve also extracted enough data from the new compound tyres with this car to be able to compare it with the data regarding 2011’s tyres and reach conclusions that will help us for the next tests. Therefore we can say that we’ve met our targets for these tests. When we arrive in Barcelona with the new car, everything else will be in place so we can fully concentrate on the car”.

Kimi Raikkonen in the new Lotus E20 was the fastest man in Jerez today - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest lap in Jerez today as F1 teams ventured out on track to, in most cases, test the brand new cars that they have recently unveiled.

Of the twelve teams that make up the F1 grid, only Marussia were absent from the Circuito de Jerez today. Nine teams were running their new cars, with Mercedes and HRT choosing instead to run modified versions of their 2011 models.

It would be foolish to read too much into today’s times, but Raikkonen’s best lap of 1:19.670 was faster than any driver managed in the pre-season test at this circuit last season. The Finn went on to complete 73 laps in the new Lotus E20.

Paul di Resta completed 101 laps and finished the day second fastest, but the most mileage was completed by Sauber, with the new C31 completing 106 laps in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi.

Mercedes were the only team to give both their drivers and outing today. Nico Rosberg set the third fastest lap in the morning whilst Michael Schumacher, who came out after lunch when the track was generally slower, finished the day sixth on the timesheets.

Red Bull started late this morning after a part was delayed at the airport by fog, but Mark Webber eventually got out on track and finished the day fourth fastest, two tenths of a second ahead than Daniel Ricciardo in the new Toro Rosso, who was fifth. Ricciardo was forced to stop running an hour early, however, after a drop in oil pressure in the new STR7.

Neither Jenson Button in the McLaren, nor Felipe Massa in the Ferrari failed to trouble the top of the timesheets, finishing the day eighth and ninth. Heikki Kovalainen was tenth fastest in the Caterham ahead of Pastor Maldonado, whose Williams team launched the FW34 this morning. Pedro de la Rosa was bottom of the timesheets in the HRT.

Jerez Test Day One: Unofficial Times:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	1:19.670	73
2	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:19.772	101
3	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:20.219	56
4	Mark Webber	Red Bull	1:20.496	53
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:20.694	57
6	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:20.794	41
7	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:21.353	106
8	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:21.530	60
9	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:22.815	69
10	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:23.178	28
11	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:23.371	25
12	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:23.676	44

Jerez Test Day One: Quotes

Lotus

Kimi Raikkonen - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Kimi Raikkonen:  “It was a positive first day of testing and everything went almost to plan. We had no major issues and I got a good feel for the car and the tyres. The tyres were more of a challenge in the afternoon when we ran with a scrubbed set, but overall it was a positive day. The lap times don’t matter today. I’m happy with the balance of the car, which feels good, and the fact that we didn’t have any major issues. Also, I did more than a race distance today and did not have any physical problems at all, which is good. I’m looking forward to making further progress with the car tomorrow.”

James Allison, Technical Director: “It was a flawless morning with a slightly interrupted afternoon as we changed the second of the KERS batteries which we ran today. Overall it was a very promising day in terms of reliability and it gives us a good springboard for the rest of the test. So far Kimi’s feedback on the car has been complimentary in terms of the balance, the braking and other features. The steering is slightly heavy for his liking at the moment, but we already have a different steering rack being completed which he will use in Barcelona.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “We enjoyed a strong first day with the E20 in both performance and reliability and this is a testament to all the hard work done by everyone at Enstone over the winter. It’s always nice to be top of the timesheets, but the main encouraging factor from today is the car’s reliability; apart from a small KERS problem this afternoon it was fautless. We ran on the medium compound Pirelli tyre all day and it seemed to hold up pretty well, showing similar degradation to that we saw last year, so I think there’ll be exciting racing once more in 2012.”

Force India

Paul di Resta - Sahara Force India F1 Team

Paul Di Resta: “A good start to our winter test programme with 101 laps completed, which allowed us to get through all our objectives and a bit more. The baseline balance felt pretty good and the car performed consistently over the longer runs, which was useful for collecting the data we need. So I think we can be positive heading into tomorrow and the next three days will be interesting as we have more test items to evaluate. On a personal level it’s also nice to spend such a busy day in the car to shake off the rust and assess my fitness level.”

Andrew Green, Technical Director: “To complete over 100 laps on the first day of testing is the ideal way to begin our week in Jerez. We made good progress with the job list and managed to complete all the objectives set for the day. We ran on the new 2012-spec hard and medium Pirelli tyre compounds throughout, which will help give us some consistency when analysing the data tonight. As usual, Paul’s feedback was excellent and we’re starting to get a good idea of the set-up direction we should take for the coming days.”

Reserve driver Jules Bianchi will be in the Force India tomorrow morning, with di Resta taking over again in the afternoon.

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg: “We made a very good start to our testing programme today and completed 56 laps this morning. I was driving the 2011 car, so it felt comfortable straightaway. We tested some different things in perfect weather conditions and started learning about the 2012 Pirelli tyres and how they work. I was really happy to be out on track in my Mercedes and I know that, back at the factory, our development of the new car is running according to our plan.”

Michael Schumacher: “After a long break, it feels terrific being back in the car and hitting the circuit again. Our main job was to get a first impression of the tyres for 2012 and to start understanding them. They feel like a step forward, more consistent and comfortable to drive, and the biggest difference is with the rear tyre. Thanks to everybody at Pirelli for their good job this winter. Let’s see what we can learn tomorrow.”

Schumacher will be in the car all day tomorrow, with Rosberg returning on Thursday. The team will not be running on Friday, the fourth day of this Jerez test.

Red Bull

Mark Webber - Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Mark Webber: “It was good [today]. I felt quite comfortable in the car quite quickly. It’s very early days, but so far so good. We had a small delay this morning with a part due to fog at the airport. It’s never part of the plan to give up running time, but you can’t control mother nature. However, we made a good recovery, got 54 laps done this afternoon and we’ll aim for a better day tomorrow.”

Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering: “The delay meant we didn’t get running until midday, which is a little bit frustrating, but otherwise I think this has been the best car build we’ve ever had. Fortunately the delay wasn’t too severe, as it was very cold early this morning and for the first hour and a half I don’t think the track was in great condition anyway. So we probably only lost an hour or so of proper running. When Mark did get going, it was pretty smooth and we didn’t see anything unexpected. We have done a lot of simulation work and today pretty much confirmed what we are getting from that. It’s nice to repeat it on track and we’re happy with how things went.”

Webber will be back in the car tomorrow, and then world champion Sebastian Vettel will take over for the final two days of testing in Jerez.

Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo - Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo: “It was really nice to be back in the cockpit for the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix in November and being the first person to drive the STR7 was a little bonus. It was great to experience taking a completely new car out of the garage. We had a very productive morning, doing over 40 laps and we made good progress with our programme. Then in the afternoon, we did a couple of longer runs, but had to cut it short, although we only lost an hour. I was using the Medium tyre on that last run, having used Hard tyres for the rest of the day. So, overall, a good start and I’m looking forward to another productive day tomorrow, because this car is very enjoyable to drive. It was a good feeling going fast again. It’s too early to give a true assessment of the car, but out of the box this morning, it seemed balanced and quite stable. It gave me a good feeling when I put the power down.”

Franz Tost, Team Principal: “We completed 57 laps today, so we are quite pleased with the first outing of the new car which seems to have a good base from which we can move forward. Daniel felt confident in the car and we ran trouble free until we lost some oil pressure, at which point the engine protector did its job and stopped the car. We are now investigating this loss of oil pressure, but we are confident we can have another good day tomorrow. As the failure happened at four o’clock, we only lost one hour’s track time which we expect to make up for tomorrow. The car looks nice but the important thing is that it should be fast. My first impression, having enjoyed the rare experience of going out onto the track to watch it in action through some corners this morning, is that the basis of the car is quite good and healthy.”

Sauber

Kamui Kobayashi - Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

Kamui Kobayashi: “I’m happy. The new car feels fine. We managed good mileage today despite a small problem in the morning session. Running today wasn’t about performance but focused on checking systems and reliability. Nevertheless I got the impression the new Pirelli tyres might be good for us. I am looking forward to the next tests and to further work on the car.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “We had a productive first day of testing; the car proved to be reliable which is always a good start and enabled us to do some long runs. The systems’ checks were positive and the temperatures are alright as well. For evaluation we worked on tyres and set-up and were running different fuel loads. We also carried out some mechanical work and did intense pit stop practice with new procedures in place. At the end of the test programme we finally checked the fuel system.”

Sergio Perez takes over at Sauber for tomorrow and Thursday, with Kobayashi returning to the car on Friday.

McLaren

Jenson Button: “It’s been a good day: this morning, we ran through our installation and systems checks and the running was good. We’ve been gathering data on aerodynamics, downforce levels, temperatures and the feeling inside the cockpit.

“We did a 15-lap timed run this afternoon, which is a good starting point for us – and the consistency was okay. It’s been a positive day: there are no niggly areas with the car, which is nice. Overall, today was just a starting point, and was all about putting miles on the car. There are some promising signs, so I’m happy.

“It’s now important for us to get a clean day of running tomorrow, put some miles on the car and find a direction that we like. Today’s a very good basis for the next few days.”

Button will be back in the McLaren tomorrow.

Ferrari

Felipe Massa - Photo Credit: Ferrari

Nikolas Tombazis, Chief Designer: “Today we absolutely did not have an eye on the stopwatch, preferring to concentrate on gathering as much data as possible in order to get as good an understanding as possible of the behaviour of the car. We have much to do, but all in all, there are reasons to be pleased with the three hundred kilometres that we put together with Felipe at the wheel.

“We had to experiment with different solutions and that will be the case for the next few days as well: it’s obvious that some delivered what was expected while others did not, but that’s the purpose of testing, getting to understand how a car behaves and how best to develop it.”

Felipe Massa will be back in the car tomorrow.

Caterham

Heikki Kovalainen - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Heikki Kovalainen: “It’s good to be back at work after the winter break and great to see how up for the season ahead the whole team are. We were first out on track this morning and the early feeling I had from the car was good. It’s far too early to tell how much we’ve progressed but it already feels like we’re going in the right direction. We obviously didn’t want to end early today but we couldn’t sort out the starter shaft issue in time to get back on track, but I’m reasonably pleased with what we have achieved today and I know the team will put in the work tonight to get us back out on track tomorrow and pick up where we left off today.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “It is always a good feeling to see the new car out on track for the first time after all the hours everybody in the team has put in over the last few months to get us to this point. We had to bring day one to an early end after damage to the starter shaft meant we were unable to start the engine which is a shame because it was an unusual issue and we had enjoyed a positive morning, working through the usual day one system checks and running without any reliability issues on the car until that point. Heikki’s early feedback on the car is good and there is plenty to come from this car so we are looking forward to a positive next three days in Jerez.”

Williams

Bruno Senna (left) and Pastor Maldonado helped to launch the new Williams FW34 this morning before testing got underway - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/Williams F1

Pastor Maldonado: “It feels great to be back with the team and to start putting some mileage on the FW34. The car felt good and the systems were all working well this morning. I like the feel of the new Renault engine as well. It’s still too early to make any predictions, but we are pushing hard and working to understand the car better.”

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: “We performed a number of systems checks on the car today, including testing our new engine installation and some aerodynamic correlation runs. Unfortunately testing was cut short with a couple of initial teething problems which we are currently investigating. We intend to get these fixed this evening in time for a full test programme with Pastor tomorrow.”

HRT

Pedro de la Rosa - Photo Credit: HRT

Pedro de la Rosa: “I really enjoyed myself today to be honest. I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the day, because I barely knew anyone in the team or the car itself, but I’m very satisfied with how it went. Today the main thing was to do some mileage, not try things out, simply to get to know each other and I think the team did a great job. I felt very well surrounded, both by the mechanics and the engineers who worked with me. They all did a fantastic job. I want to insist on the work everyone did today because we were all new to the team. I think the sensations were positive for everyone”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “We’ve gone through a couple of months of intense work and it was very important for everyone to be here and get things going on the track. I must say that I am very proud of the job done by everybody to achieve this. A large amount of the team and the materials are new so we needed to put these into practice. Everything went well, with no relevant problems, and we’ve taken another step, albeit a small one, in the right direction which is what matters right now”.

The Red Bull RB8 - Photo Credit: Red Bull Racing

Defending constructor’s champions Red Bull were just one of three teams to launch their 2012 car today in Jerez – the circuit at which pre-season testing gets underway tomorrow.

Sauber and Toro Rosso also unveiled their 2012 challengers on a busy day in southern Spain.

This follows on from Lotus, who launched their new car, the E20, yesterday.

Caterham, McLaren and Ferrari have also unveiled their new cars in the last fortnight.

Red Bull

The Adrian Newey-designed RB8 inevitably stole most of the headlines, although defending champion Sebastian Vettel expects that his Red Bull team will not be quite so dominant this season.

“I think it will be very, very tight this year,” said the German. “Looking at the cars, you know there’s not much room we have left to play (with) for designers and to find something extra. You know, the last two years we have had two big things taken away, the double diffusers, plus, for this year, the system around the blown exhaust. So we are missing that and therefore I think it’s difficult to really create a difference. We’ll see, obviously we hope our car is better than all the others but it will be difficult, and I think the cars will be fairly similar, as in the gaps will be even closer than they have been.”

The new Red Bull features the stepped nose that has also been present in some form on all of the 2012 car launch so far, apart from the new McLaren. Newey agrees with the many fans who thing these noses are somewhat ‘ugly’. but blames the new regulations for this styling.

“The restriction nose height which is a maximum height just in front of the front bulkhead hasn’t really changed the chassis shape very much,” he explained. “We’ve kept more or less the same chassis shape, but had to drop the nose just in front of the front bulkhead, which, in common with many other teams, has led us to I think I’d probably say a slightly ugly looking nose. We’ve tried to style it as best we can, but it’s not a feature you would choose to put in were it not for the regulation.”

The stepped nose of the Red Bull has a slightly different design to that of the other cars with the same feature - Photo Credit: Red Bull Racing

Sauber

Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi unveil the Sauber C31 at Jerez today - Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

The Sauber C31 was the first car to be launch today, and Team Principal Peter Sauber said that he has clear performance targets for this latest model. “We’re aiming to start the new season as strongly as we did in 2011, but then also to maintain this level of performance throughout the year,” he said. “Our goal is to finish regularly in the points so as to put ourselves in a significantly better position in the World Championship.”

Chief Designer Matt Morris said of the car: “The C31 is revolutionary where we had fresh ideas, particularly at the rear of the car, and it is an evolution where we knew we could carry over certain approaches. We had to improve on the weaknesses we identified on the C30, but at the same time we wanted to maintain its strengths.

“The current plan is to launch a fairly basic roll-out version of the car, which was defined quite some time ago,” he added. “We will then be testing development parts during the upcoming weeks with a late upgrade for the first race on 18th March in Australia. Therefore the car will look quite different in Melbourne compared to the roll-out car.”

Kobayashi drives the new car around Jerez today - Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

Toro Rosso

The new Toro Rosso STR7 - Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The last of the cars to launch today was the STR7, the new offering from Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso. New drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo were on hand to remove the covers from the latest creation to emerge from Faenza.

“The car definitely looks sexy,” commented Ricciardo. “And it’s a bit emotional actually, seeing the first F1 car that will be mine to drive from the start of the season. With the new nose, it’s not exactly beautiful, but I’d rather have a quick car than a pretty one. Now I can’t wait to drive it tomorrow, when I don’t think I’ll need an alarm clock to wake up to start the day.”

“A new car unveiled by two new drivers,” exclaimed team principal Franz Tost. “The day before testing starts, we can claim to know more about the drivers than the car! It’s too early to make predictions for the coming season, although clearly our aim is to score more points and finish higher in the championship than in 2011. The team has continued to expand over the past year in terms of our facility in Faenza and also in the number of staff who work there, so we are in better shape than at any time in our seven year history.”

• The first of three pre-season tests gets underway in Jerez tomorrow. The Checkered Flag will provide reaction from teams and drivers after each day.

Giedo van der Garde - Photo Credit: Caterham F1

Caterham have today confirmed that 26-year-old Dutchman Giedo van der Garde will be the team’s official reserve driver for 2012.

The former GP2 driver will participate in the pre-season tests for the team and take part in a number of FP1 sessions throughout the season.

“I’m very happy to become a part of the Caterham F1 Team family today and I’m very excited about the next step in my career within Formula 1,” he said. “The team is fresh, with some fantastic people here. Tony Fernandes is extremely ambitious and he has brought in a lot of very good people in to help grow this team for future success. I’m looking forward to learning and moving forward with the team, in and out of the car.

“It’s great for Holland that we again have a Dutch driver who is connected to Formula 1. Being the only Dutch driver now is very good for the sport in Holland, as the interest was perhaps on the decline since the Verstappen years, however I hope to generate the same excitement for my country and really bring Formula 1 to them.

“I feel that the team as a whole is very ambitious. They appear to be very positive people and I think they are building up, growing and developing very quickly. I think this year they will be strong contenders! We’ll see after the test but I really have a feeling that it’s a big family here and they are pushing very hard to move up the grid.

“I feel very strong now, I’m fit, and I’m mentally ready. Of course I’ve spent a lot of time driving with guys who are now in Formula 1 and I feel I’m ready for this. I’d like to thank McGregor and everybody who has supported me in my career and for helping me take this next exciting step.”

Caterham team principal Tony Fernandes explained why the Dutchman had been selected to support race drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli. “We are delighted to welcome Giedo into the family as Reserve Driver,” said Fernandes. “He is a very exciting prospect that we have been monitoring since the early days of our team, and we are all looking forward to seeing how he can help us develop throughout the season as we take our next steps towards the established midfield teams ahead.

“His performances in GP2, particularly in 2011, mark Giedo out as one of motorsport’s brightest prospects, and securing him as Reserve Driver is a real coup for our team. I am sure he will flourish on and off track, and we wish him all the best as he takes the next step into Formula 1 with us.”

The new Ferrari F2012 in the snow of Maranello - Photo Credit: Ferrari

Over five million fans from across the globe headed to the Ferrari website this morning to see the team unveil the F2012 – the car that Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will drive in the coming Formula 1 season.

Snow had forced the team to cancel their big launch at Maranello, leading to today’s online unveiling.

The car will now head straight to Valencia for the first pre-season test, which will be held next week.

Ferrari also announced today that they would continue their collaboration with Spanish bank Santander until the end of the 2017 season.

Felipe Massa (left) and Fernando Alonso helped to unveil the new car today - Photo Credit: Ferrari

James Key - Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

James Key, the Sauber technical director, has today left the Hinwil-based team just days before they launch their 2012 car.

Key, who joined the team from Force India, has been offered a new job in the UK.

The team will now reorganise its technical department – the design and development of the car will be led by the department heads for Aerodynamics, Design, Performance and Operations.

Peter Sauber, the eponymous team principal, explained how things will work after the departure of key. “A qualified team shares the overall technical responsibility,” he said. “This structure has proved to work well at other racing outfits.

“Over a period of almost two years, James has accomplished a lot for our team. Especially in the difficult transition period from a manufacturer team into a private enterprise, he contributed significantly to ensure the team regained stability. We would like to thank him for his efforts and wish him all the best for his future.”

“I’ve enjoyed the past two years working at the Sauber F1 Team,” added Key. “It has been a very intense and interesting time, in which we had to manage the transition from a much larger team to a smaller one, and everybody handled that very well. I think the team is now well set for the future and I wish it the very best. I have been offered a new role back in the UK, which I decided to accept.”

Bianchi watched on as Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta (right) pull the covers off the new VJM05 - Photo Credit: Sahara Force India F1 Team

Force India today launched the VJM05, the car that they hope will secure the team fifth in the constructors’ championship this season.

Race drivers Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg were joined at Silverstone by new reserve driver Jules Bianchi.

“We have set our sights on challenging for fifth place,” said Team Principal Vijay Mallya. “To do so we will need to begin the new campaign by delivering the kind of form we showed in the second half of 2011. I believe this is a realistic goal and that we have the talent and determination to realise these ambitions.”

Like the Caterham (but not the McLaren) the new Force India has a strangely shaped nose - Photo Credit: Sahara Force India F1 Team

The VJM05 is the second car to be created under technical director Andrew Green, who described this latest model. “The car looks more refined; a lot racier and a lot more purposeful,” he said. “You can start to see the aerodynamic concepts coming through now. It looks quite a bit different to the previous years, and so far the performance in the tunnel has been encouraging.”

Di Resta is optimistic that the new car will allow him to build on an impressive debut season in 2011. “Seeing the new car built and complete for the first time is always an exciting moment,” said the Scot. “It’s when you realise that all the waiting is finally over and the season is beginning for real. I’ve had a good winter and I’ve recharged my batteries, but now I’m fully focussed on 2012 and looking forward to the start of testing. There’s a really positive feeling in the team, good stability and hopefully we can pick up where we left off at the end of last year.”

Hulkenberg is also beginning his second proper season in the sport, and is looking forward to taking the new car for a spin next week. “I saw the new car in the wind tunnel a few times and followed its progress during the winter,” he said. “It looks aggressive and fast, but we won’t know where we stand until we get out there and compete against the others. Preparations for the new season have been full-on with simulator sessions and lots of fitness training. I feel ready to get back to racing and I’m excited to find out what the new car feels like next week.”

The VJM05 - Photo Credit: Sahara Force India F1 Team

Narain Karthikeyan - Photo Credit: HRT

Narain Karthikeyan will race for the HRT F1 Team again this season, filling the final space on the 2012 Formula 1 grid.

The Indian returned to an F1 race seat at the start of 2011 with the Spanish team, after five years away. He was replaced at Silverstone by Daniel Ricciardo, but did return to the cockpit for a one-off at his home grand prix. There he impressed with his pace in the HRT on his way to finishing in 17^th place.

35-year-old Karthikeyan joins 40-year-old Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa at HRT, forming what is easily the oldest driver partnership on the grid.

“It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 Team,” said Karthikeyan. “I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012.

“I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose. I am delighted to have signed with HRT F1 Team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress.

“We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season. I am proud to secure an opportunity to forge a stronger connection between India and Formula 1 once again.”

De la Rosa will be in action for the team at the first pre-season test at Jerez next week, with Karthikeyan joining up at the second test at Barcelona.

New HRT team principal Luis Perez-Sala said that Karthikeyan’s signing will help give stability to the team has it goes through changes behind the scenes.

“I am pleased to count with Narain for this season, as he will contribute continuity and stability,” said Perez-Sala. “He is a quick, intuitive and secure driver who met his expectations despite a lack of continuity last year.

“Of the eight Grands Prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in. I’m sure that the fact that he will continue to work and drive on a regular basis will help him take a step forward this season. And if he advances, so does the team. This is a year in which you could say that the team starts from scratch and everyone’s input will be fundamental.”

Lewis Hamilton (left) and Jenson Button pose next to the new MP4-27 - Photo Credit: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

McLaren have today become the first of the top teams to unveil the car that they hope will challenge for the 2012 drivers’ and constructors’ titles.

The MP4-27 was launched at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking this morning by drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. According to the team, this new car is ‘a natural evolution’ of last season’s car, which won six races.

The most evident visual differences from last year’s model are earmarked by the team as ‘more tightly waisted rear bodywork, developed to improve flow to the rear of the car, and a revised cooling system, which re-directs the gearbox oil-cooler’. The U-shaped sidepods that graced the MP4-26 have also been redesigned.

Speaking at the event, both drivers are confident that this car can compete at the front of the grid.

“With the regulations remaining relatively stable, we’ve really been able to focus on the detail with this year’s car,” explained Button. “I still think we had a very fast package last year – it was very strong in certain areas – and our race pace was almost always fantastic, but we’re hoping for a further step forwards in 2012. With Mercedes-Benz, I think we also had the best overall engine and KERS Hybrid package in the pitlane.

“We were also able to continuously develop throughout the year to match Red Bull – and that shows that we have the knowledge, effort and resources to sustain our efforts across the course of a whole season, which can be crucial.

“I know that the whole team is extremely proud of the MP4-27. It may look like a direct evolution of last year’s car, but we’ve analysed every area of performance over the winter and the whole car has benefited from lots of fresh thinking and new ideas in every area. I’m really looking forward to getting behind the wheel in Spain next week.

“I know that everyone will be watching us very closely to see what progress we make during the pre-season tests, but I genuinely believe we have every reason to feel optimistic about the progress we’ve made and our competitiveness this year.”

The nose of the new McLaren looks different to that of the new Caterham launched last week - Photo Credit: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Hamilton said that he had an excellent break in recent weeks, and shares his team-mate’s optimism about the MP4-27.

“The winter has been a great opportunity to recharge – I got away into the mountains, spent a lot of time hiking and running, improving my fitness and starting to prepare for the new year,” said the 27-year-old.

“It’s always great to get away from everything; change the scenery. And what’s great about Formula 1 is that you start each season with the baseline completely reset – everybody starts again from zero – and that always makes me so hungry.

“I’ve been keenly following the development of MP4-27 over the winter and I’ve been really encouraged by the results and the data that the engineers have been showing me. I think we already had a very strong base to build upon: Jenson and I won six races with MP4-26 last year and I think we’ve been able to retain all the strengths and the reliability of that design while also incorporating lots of improvements and new ideas into the new car.

“Of course, the biggest changes for 2012 are the modifications to the exhaust regulations – that will reduce the downforce and grip that we had last year, but it just puts the emphasis on the designers to try and claw some of that back in other areas.

“I get the feeling the MP4-27 is going to feel very new and exciting when we get to drive it for the first time.”

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh sent out a warning to rivals that this new car will be tough to beat, especially in the hands of his two drivers.

“The 2012 season will be an important one for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: having finished second in the constructors’ championship for the past two seasons, we’re determined to mount a sustained, hard challenge for both world titles,” he said.

“Our engineering team continues to develop and grow: while the key names who head the department are well known – Tim Goss, Paddy Lowe and Neil Oatley – it’s the strength in depth within the department that continually impresses. I’m extremely proud of our efforts to invest in and recruit young graduate engineers and to develop and school them in the ways of Formula 1.

“We have a fantastically committed team of individuals, and MP4-27 is the fruit of their labours – it’s a beautiful car, and one we feel is the perfect platform from which to launch our assault on the world championship. While there are clear visual changes to this year’s car, there’s greater change beneath the skin, with lots of fresh thinking applied to every major system. The car is pleasingly complete.

“I don’t think we want for anything from our drivers, either: in Jenson and Lewis, I believe we have the very best line-up in Formula 1 – the perfect blend of experience, speed and aggression. They complement each other perfectly.

“For 2012, we are well aware that Red Bull remains a very powerful and capable operation, and that both Ferrari and Mercedes AMG are ramping up their operational capacity. We have no room to be complacent – what you see today only scratches the surface of what we’re planning to deliver to the track both from an engineering and operational point of view throughout 2012.

“I’m pleased and confident that we’ve left no stone unturned in our quest for performance. Now, our focus invariably turns to the track as we evaluate MP4-27 ahead of the start of the 2012 season in Melbourne on March 18. These will be a fascinating three weeks.”

Button (left) and Hamilton took the covers off the new McLaren - Photo Credit: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Adrian Sutil - Photo Credit: Sahara Force India F1 Team

Former Force India driver Adrian Sutil has today been convicted of causing grievous bodily harm after an incident in a Shanghai night club last April.

A court in Munich that handed out the sentence also ordered the 29-year-old German to pay a 200,000 euro fine.

The victim was Renault F1 executive Eric Lux, who suffered cuts during the fracas. He and Sutil were among guests at a party to celebrate Lewis Hamilton‘s Chinese Grand Prix victory that weekend.

Sutil is currently without a Formula 1 drive this season after being replaced at Force India over the winter by Nico Hulkenberg.

Jules Bianchi - Photo Credit: Sahara Force India F1 Team

Force India have announced that Jules Bianchi will join the team as reserve driver for the 2012 Formula 1 season.

The 22-year-old Frenchman, who is part of the Ferrari young driver programme, will participate in a minimum of nine Friday practice sessions this season, and will help to test the new VJM05 during pre-season testing next month.

“I’m obviously excited to join Sahara Force India and the chance to get track time during race weekends is an important step for me,” said Bianchi. “Being regularly in a current car is the best way to learn quickly and I hope it will put me in a strong position to one day move into a race seat. The next few months will be really exciting as I get to know the team, see how they work, and prepare for my time in the car. I would like to thank everyone for believing in me and especially Sahara Force India for giving me this great opportunity.”

Team principal Dr. Vijay Mallya welcomed Bianchi to the team. “I am delighted to welcome Jules into the Sahara Force India family,” he said. “We always keep an eye on young, talented drivers and his performance in GP2 certainly impressed us all. By giving Jules the opportunity to be part of our 2012 campaign, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to young drivers. We are proud of our track record in this regard and I have no doubt that Jules will quickly settle into the team and make a valuable contribution to our efforts on track this season.”

Raikkonen tested a Pirelli-shod Renault R30 in Valencia earlier this week - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/Lotus F1 Team

In just over seven weeks, Formula 1 cars will line-up on the grid in Melbourne, Australia, for the first of 20 grand prix this season. Of the 24 drivers in those cars, one quarter of them will be world champions.

Last season we had five but in 2012, thanks to the return of 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen, there will now be six title winners on the grid.

The Finn returns to the sport after two years away, with the landscape of Formula 1 somewhat different to what it was in 2009. How will the iceman do?

When Raikkonen stepped out of the car in Abu Dhabi that year, having driven his Ferrari to a disappointing twelfth place, Bridgestone was the tyre supplier, not Pirelli, and no-one even knew what an F-duct was, let alone DRS.

Furthermore, there were no teams with Lotus their name, Richard Branson’s company was sponsoring the team winning the championship rather than owning an outfit struggling at the back of the grid, and HRT was just something to do with hormones.

But now, Raikkonen joins a team called Lotus – the one that used to be Renault, not the one now called Caterham (just to be clear). They finished last season as the fifth best team on the grid, some distance off Mercedes, who were comfortably fourth.

With that in mind, Raikkonen is clearly not going to be expected to be winning championships this year, or even races. But what pressures and expectations will he face and, most importantly perhaps, will he actually care?

Ferrari only came fourth in Raikkonen’s last season in the sport, and so perhaps he is returning to a team at a similar standard to the one he left? However, the 32-year-old spent eight of his nine previous seasons in Formula 1 at either McLaren or Ferrari – normally two of the top teams – so joining a mid-field team that looks in need of a talismanic driver to haul them back to the front of the grid will be a new, and possibly unwanted, challenge for him.

However, even if Lotus show the same kind of form they demonstrated at the end of last season, Raikkonen will still be expected to score points on a regular basis. More than this though, he will need to beat Romain Grosjean, his new team-mate.

This may sound like an easy task for a veteran of 156 F1 starts and 18 wins, up against a relative rookie with just seven races and no points to his name. However, Grosjean is no slouch, having stormed his way unchallenged to last season’s GP2 championship. His last race Formula 1 race, like Raikkonen’s, was the final grand prix of 2009, so in this sense the pair are evenly matched.

Michael Schumacher gave a fine example of how difficult it is to return to Formula 1 after a break in 2010. Although he looked much stronger at the end of last season, Schumacher was comprehensively out-performed by Nico Rosberg in his first year back. Likewise, Raikkonen will not find Grosjean an easy team-mate to beat.

If he can pull it off, however, then Raikkonen’s first season will be considered a success. If he beats the likes of Mercedes, or even the top teams, then Lotus will have been completely vindicated in their decision to bring the Finn back to the sport.

Some questioned Raikkonen’s motivation in his final two seasons at Ferrari, especially when he was being beaten by Felipe Massa race after race. However, speaking to Sky Sports News after testing a 2010 Renault earlier this week, he conveyed eagerness at being back racing at the pinnacle of motorsport, despite seeming a little surprised to be back in F1.

“I had no plans for the future, I have no plans now for the future,” he said. “There was different choices for this year but I really wanted to do racing – I did some Nascar last year and I really enjoyed competing against people again. It was then that I decided to do some racing again and F1 is the highest level of racing and where people want to be.”

He sensibly warned that it would take time for him to become fully acclimatised with the nuances of the sport once again, something that both his fans and critics will have to bear in mind for the season ahead.

“Of course it takes a little bit of time to get used to it, but the main bits of driving – braking, turning, the normal things – don’t take many lap,” he added. “But learning about the car, the team and the tyres will take time.”

Raikkonen out on track in Valencia on Tuesday - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/Lotus F1 Team

The 2012 Caterham F1

The 2012 Caterham F1 car has broken cover a day earlier than expected following an online leak from an eager social media user who received their copy of F1 Racing a day early.

The new Caterham’s CT01 becomes the first car since the official renaming of the team which previously ran under the Lotus banner.

Despite the release of this image and another from the magazine the team is expected to wait until tomorrow to reveal any more information and images.

Bruno Senna - Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

After being announced earlier today as a Williams driver, Bruno Senna has been looking forward to the coming Formula 1 season and discussing how he will fit in at the team that was once home to his legendary uncle.

However, the Brazilian heads to a team that scored just five points in 2011, and endured their most torrid season in the sport. Senna, though, is optimistic that Williams‘ fortunes are on the rise.

“I’m really happy to be a part of a team with such a fantastic heritage,” he said. “I am very proud that Williams has chosen me to race in what will be an important year for them. Everyone is extremely motivated for 2012 and it is great to be part of that motivation.

“It is true that they didn’t have the best season last year, but it is clear that the team is on a new path and everyone is pulling together to ensure that this year is a better one. I really hope that I can demonstrate what I can do, not only for the team, but for myself. It’s going to be interesting to see what we can achieve together.”

“It’s difficult to set objectives before the season starts, but I intend to push the car 100% to the limit to get the maximum performance we can from it,” he added.

Senna competed in eight races last season with Renault and, conincidentally, 2012 will mark the renewal a famous F1 partnership: the Williams chassis with and the Renault engine. The 28-year-old thinks it will be a valuable tool for the team:

“After a few races with the Renault engine in 2011, I’ve learnt a great deal about it,” he said. “It is a very good unit with good drivability, which is another positive step forward for the team. As a driver, you need to have every weapon available to you operating at its optimum in order to put in competitive times throughout the race.  I’m sure we can develop the car even further with the Renault engine and it will be interesting for me to be able to give the team feedback applying my previous experiences.”

Another thing Senna will be relatively familiar with is new team-mate Pastor Maldonado. The two both competed in GP2 but, whilst Senna could only finish runner-up in 2008, Maldonado went one better in 2010, taking the title. Senna is full of praise for the Venezuelan, and forsees a tough intra-team battle with him this season.

“Pastor is a great driver,” he said. “I’ve raced against him in GP2 and we always get along well. He’s been a very tough opponent in the past and he is going to be even tougher now we are both in the same car. We’ll certainly be trying to beat each other, but as teammates we’re going to work together to move the team forward.”

Although Williams have made us wait until mid-January for announcing who would fill their vacant race seat, it turns out that Senna has actually already made several trips to their factory in Oxfordshire. “I’ve been at the Williams factory in Grove both before and after Christmas being really put through my paces in the simulator, on the track and in the gym,” he revealed. “We’ve also done some evaluation work on the track (but not in an F1 car).

The main purpose was for the team to evaluate me and to understand how to get the best out of me as a driver. But it’s also been really useful for me as it familiarises me with all the procedural things, such as learning the layout of the steering wheel before I get into the real car. When we start testing I won’t need to think about that so I’ll just be able to get on and drive the FW34.”

“I think [my engineers and I] started off really well and now I’m looking forward to working with them more over the season,” he continued. “The relationship between a driver and engineer is something that few people can understand. You need mutual respect, to understand each other well and know how to work together in order to really gel from the start. That relationship and continuity can make such a difference to your overall performance.”

Of course, it is inevitable that Senna will continue to be asked about his uncle and, now he is at one of Ayrton’s former teams, he was also drawn to comment on that.

“It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle drove for,” he said. “Quite a few of the people still here actually worked with Ayrton and I’m happy that they are now giving me the chance to prove myself here. Hopefully we can bring back some good memories and create some great new ones too.”

“I hope that by the end of 2012 we can say we extracted 100% of the performance from the Williams-Renault FW34, whatever that may be,” he concluded. “That is the most important thing. I just want to get the maximum possible out of the car and make the most of this opportunity. It is such an important year for both the team and myself as it will help shape my future. I hope that future will be long and successful, and it all starts here.”

Bruno Senna - Photo Credit:Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

Williams have finally confirmed that Bruno Senna will race for the team in 2012. The Brazilian joins Pastor Maldonado in the team’s lineup, and returns the Senna name to the cockpit of a Williams-Renault for the first time since 1994.

Senna replaces compatriot Rubens Barrichello in the team, who now looks set to be left without a drive after 19 consecutive seasons on the grid.

After finishing runner-up in the GP2 Series in 2008, Senna had been reportedly set to replace Barrichello in the Honda team, before the Japanese manufacturer withdrew from the sport. Senna finally secured a race seat for HRT in 2010, but the car was uncompetitive. He found himself back on the sidelines at the start of 2011, but was promoted from reserve to race driver at the Renault team. He scored his first points at the Italian Grand Prix.

“I feel very privileged that Williams has selected me as one of their race drivers,” said Senna, who will make his debut for the team at the first test at Jerez on 9 February.

“The team has a great heritage and I hope I can help write a good chapter in their history. The evaluation process has been intense and methodical but the time I have spent in the factory has demonstrated that the team has great people and all the resources needed to achieve better things this season.

“It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle has driven for, particularly as quite a few of the people here actually worked with Ayrton. Hopefully we can bring back some memories and create some great new ones too.

“I also want to get some good results in return for the support my country has given me to help get me to this position today. I am very proud to be Brazilian and more motivated than ever to demonstrate what I can do. Ever since I first sat in a go-kart I never wanted to do anything else.”

Team principal Frank Williams explained that Senna had been signed following a thorough evaluation by the team.

“Bruno only started racing when he was 20 years old but quickly proved his talent in F3 and GP2,” said Williams. “In a tightly fought 2008 GP2 season, Bruno finished second in the Championship with notable victories in Monaco and Silverstone, the latter in the wet.

“The circumstances of Bruno’s two seasons in Formula One have not given him an ideal opportunity to deliver consistently so it was essential that we spent as much time with him as possible to understand and evaluate him as a driver. We have done this both on track and in our simulator and he has proven quick, technically insightful and above all capable of learning and applying his learning quickly and consistently. Now we are looking forward to seeing that talent in our race car.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8F7NaAxpqE

Sebastien Buemi - Photo Credit: Peter Fox/Getty Images

Sébastien Buemi, who was dropped by Toro Rosso in December after three season with the team, will be Red Bull reserve driver in 2012.

The Swiss driver, along with former team-mate Jaime Alguersuari, were replaced at the Red Bull feeder team by Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne last month.

“It’s good to remain with Red Bull for another year and have this opportunity with the World Championship winning team,” said Buemi, speaking about his new appointment. “I would  refer to be driving at the races of course, but working with Red Bull Racing on the development of their car and providing them with feedback throughout the season is the next best thing.”

Team principal Christian Horner welcomed the 23-year-old back to the team. “It was entirely logical for Sébastien to continue with Red Bull having been a member of the Junior Team since 2004,” he said. “He already knows  he team well from his time with us in 2008 and has gained significant race experience over the past three years. He will complete important test and simulation work for us throughout the year and will be in attendance at each grand prix.”

Patrick Head - Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

Patrick Head, Director of Engineering and co-founder of the Williams F1 team, has today stepped-down from the Board of Directors of Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC.

Head will continue in his role as a Board Director of Williams Hybrid Power Limited, a subsidiary of the company that develops and produces hybrid technology, but now has no role within the F1 team.

In a statement, the company wished him well in his future activities and said that it ‘remains indebted for his service to Williams F1 over the past 34 years’.

Fellow co-founder and Williams team principal Sir Frank Williams who, with Head, masterminded 113 grand prix victories and secured nine Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ world Championships, thanks his colleague.

“Patrick and I have been in partnership for 34 years,” he commented. “During that time, he has been the leader of the technical team that has won the majority of our race wins and championships. This is a remarkable legacy and one which will be treasured and definitely not forgotten. 

“Patrick is a very straightforward, hard working and truly gifted engineer who comfortably operates at a world class level. I will miss him very much, as I am sure his colleagues will, and he will always be welcome at Grove. Indeed, Patrick will still be seen around the factory as he continues to be involved in the development of our hybrid power activities.”

Nigel Mansell CBE - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Nigel Mansell and Adrian Newey have received awards in the Queen’s New Years Honours list, it has been announced today.

Mansell, who had already been given the OBE for services to Motorsport, is today awarded with the CBE for services to Children and Young People. The 1992 world champion is president of the charity UK Youth, and this year raised £1 million by cycling 1,375 miles around Britain.

Newey, Chief  Technical Officer at Red Bull, receives an OBE for services to Motorsport. The 53-year-old has designed championship-winning cars at Williams and McLaren and, since moving to his current job in Milton Keynes, has masterminded the RB6 and RB7 – the two cars that have helped Sebastian Vettel claim back-to-back title wins.

In total, Newey-designed cars have won eight Constructors’ championships. The first of these came in 1992 with the Williams FW14B, driven by Riccardo Patrese… and Nigel Mansell.

Paul di Resta (left) and Nico Hulkenberg - Photo Credit: Sahara Force India F1 Team

Force India have finally announced that Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg will form the team’s driver line-up for the 2012 season.

Di Resta will start his second season in Formula 1 next March after impressing in his debut season. For Hulkenberg, 2012 will also be his second season in the sport; his career began with a year at Williams in 2010, and he was then test driver for Force India in 2011.

Adrian Sutil, who has been with the team since 2007 when they raced under the Spyker name, will now have to look elsewhere if he is to stay on the F1 grid in 2012.

This announcement has been widely predicted over the last month, but the team chose to wait until today to officially confirm their driver line-up.

“I am delighted to present our line-up for the 2012 season,” said team principal Vijay Mallya. “In Paul and Nico we have two extremely talented drivers with tremendous potential.

“I think Paul caught the eye of everybody in the pit lane during his rookie season. His speed, maturity and racecraft confirmed that we were right to believe in him and we look forward to working with him again next year.

“As for Nico, we identified him as a rising star at the end of 2010 and chose to evaluate him during the course of this season. Despite having only limited time in the car, he convinced us that he deserved a race seat for 2012.

“Our new line-up means we say ‘goodbye’ to Adrian Sutil, who has been with the team since we entered the sport. He has been an integral part of our success over the past four seasons and we wish him well for the future.”

Di Resta said that he is looking forward to 2012, and another season with Force India. “I’m really looking forward to my second season of Formula One and continuing to grow and develop with Sahara Force India,” said the Scot. “I’ve said all along that I love being part of this team: they are ambitious, hungry for success and we work well together. I’m really excited about 2012 and there is a real sense of belief that we can continue to push the top teams and take another step forward.

“I’d also like to thank the team for all their hard work this year and for all the support they’ve given me. I’ll take some time out over the next few weeks to recharge my batteries and hopefully come back even stronger in 2012.”

Hulkenberg has had a frustrating season sitting on the sidelines and competing in only a few Friday practice sessions. He is very pleased that 2012 will see him back in a race seat. “I’m obviously delighted to be staying with Sahara Force India and to be given the chance to race next year,” said the German, who impressed in his debut season by taking pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix. “It wasn’t easy to watch from the sidelines this season, but I did my best to help the team and show what I was capable of.

“I’m extremely motivated for 2012 and would like to thank everyone for believing in me and giving me this chance. I’m keen to get down to work over the winter to develop our new car and help the team build on this year’s achievements. The first test in Jerez can’t come soon enough.”

New team-mates: Ricciardo (left) and Vergne - Photo Credit: Andrew Hone/Andrew Hone/Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne have today been discussing what life will be like at Toro Rosso after the team yesterday announced them as the race drivers for next season.

Ricciardo, when asked how it felt to be given this job, seemed pretty pleased: “It feels amazing!” exclaimed the Australian. “It’s nice coming into next season knowing what I’m doing and being able to focus solely on that. I am looking forward to working with a good group of people that I already spent a lot of time with this year. So there’s plenty to look forward to in 2012.”

“I was actually at home, it was after dinner and the phone call came,” he added. “It was short, sharp and to the point, but it contained all the news I wanted to hear. It was an awesome Christmas present and a big relief. I was with Mum and Dad at the time and I came out of my room and told them the news and it felt pretty special.”

“Until something is done you are always going to be a little bit concerned [that you might not get a drive], but I know everyone at Red Bull is looking after my interests and I felt I had done a good enough job this year for them to try and find me a seat for 2012. I had faith something would come through.”

Ricciardo has spent 2011 around the Formula 1 paddock. The early part of the year was spent at Toro Rosso, where the 22-year-old completed some Friday practice session for the team. From the British Grand Prix onwards, he was driving for HRT.

“Looking back at the whole year, I did more travelling than ever before in my life and I found out it can be really tiring and can take it out of you,” he said. “So I learned how important it is to be on time and to manage my time as efficiently as possible and to rest when I can.

“There was so much to take in this year and from the driving point of view, as a reserve driver you can see everything the job involves, but until you are actually racing, you do not realise the demands it puts on you, so that was another important lesson. I learned to get my priorities right and not waste my energy elsewhere.”

Ricciardo already knows new team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne ’pretty well’. “We were signed up as part of the Red Bull Junior team on the same day and we were team-mates back then, in the Renault 2.0 series,” he explains. “I spent some time with him at his house in France, going karting together.

“We had a pretty good relationship by the standard of racing driver team-mates. As we progressed, the rivalry got stronger between us, but the important thing is that we respect one another. We both want to beat each other more than anyone else and it’s been like that since we first raced together. It’s a good thing and means we will get the maximum out of the equipment we are given. Next year will be a proper test for both of us. “

The Australian also talked about his plans for the winter. “I have spoken to Laurent (Mekies, Chief Engineer) and we are putting together a pre-season programme now,” he said. “I imagine that very early in the new year I will have to abandon the beautiful Australian summer and head for freezing Italy and get down to business, making sure I am as well prepared as possible.

“My trainer told me I could take it easy until Christmas, but once I heard I got the drive I wanted to go out and bash myself up in the gym.” 

Verne was celebrating the news of his drive by working in the team’s simulator. “I think it’s a good thing to be working today, just a few hours after hearing that I have the drive with Toro Rosso next season,” said the French rookie. “It helps me keep my feet on the ground, but in any case, I love the work, driving either the real car or in the simulator. It also makes a difference knowing that the work I’m doing in the simulator is now for my own benefit on track and not just for other drivers.”

“I was at home in Paris when I got the call,” he said. “I was very excited and keen to tell everyone, but I did not dare phone anyone until the team told me that it had put out the official press release. Once I knew it was out there, I started calling my parents and my family of course and my trainer and others who have helped me along the way. After that, I could not make any calls because people were ringing me nonstop.”

As the 21-year-old revealed, there have been plenty of people who have helped him reach the pinnacle of motorsport. “Obviously, Red Bull is top of the list and without them I would not be in Formula 1; maybe I’d still be in college,” he said. “After that, I have to say that the FFSA, the French motor sport federation has been a great help, backing me ever since I was racing karts. Then I won a Federation championship called the Autosport Academy, so they got me on my way before I became part of the Red Bull programme.”

Vergne is also looking forward to becoming team-mates with Ricciardo once again. “I think it’s fantastic for me to be team-mates with him,” he said. “He’s a great guy and I like him as a friend. We joined the Red Bull programme together so we have known one another for a long time, working together in other series.

“In Formula 1, you only get one team-mate, so you have to make the best of it, working together to do as good a job as possible for the team. We have similar driving styles and we get on well and that will be a positive factor for us next year. Dan could probably have a slight edge over me at first as he has done eleven races this year, but let’s see how it develops, as we have all the winter testing ahead of us before we start racing.

“I know that I have a lot to learn, so I hope I can do that quickly. I am conscious it could be very tough, but I also know that in general, I learn and I adapt very quickly: certainly that was the case in every category that I have raced in so far. Formula 1 is different, tougher than all the rest, but I feel confident.”

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost revealed that the driver line-up for 2012 was not finalised until Tuesday, the day before the announcement was made. “Our driver line-up had been under discussion for a long time as it is obviously a vital component of the team’s performance,” he said. “The final decision was taken in a meeting at Red Bull headquarters in Austria on 13 December 2011.”

“We do not wish to discuss our driver contracts, but let’s just say that it is their performance level in the car that is the deciding factor and if they do a good job, this will help their cause in terms of how long they stay with us.”

Tost also said that, although Ricciardo has the edge over Vergne on F1 experience, he will not necessarily be the number one driver. “Given that [Daniel] has some actual F1 racing experience, it would be natural for him to settle into the job more quickly,” he said. “However, Jean-Eric has shown he learns rapidly so I expect him to be on the pace quite soon. It will be important for the team to ensure we give them as many kilometres as possible in winter testing.”

It would be fair to say that many people were rather surprised that both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari were dropped by the team. Tost explains the reasoning behind the decision:

“Sebastien has been with us for three seasons and Jaime for two and a half,” he said. “Both of them worked hard for the team, doing their very best and achieving some good results. However, Scuderia Toro Rosso’s ethos has always been that of the “rookie training school” and with over two seasons under your belt, you are no longer a rookie.

“In an ideal world, drivers would move from Scuderia Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing, but there are no vacancies with our sister team right now. It might be seen as a harsh decision, but Formula 1 is a tough environment and Toro Rosso has always been very clear about the principles behind its driver choice.”

“It is a very interesting experience for everyone in the team to work with young drivers and it means you can educate them the way you want,” added Tost, denying that it was frustrating to have to use inexperienced rookies. “Everyone, from the race engineers to the communications people can try and give the new drivers good habits, which they can use for the rest of their career.”

“It is always good to know who your drivers are as early as possible,” he continued. “For one thing, weeks of speculation are usually disruptive to the work of a team. Although we know our two new drivers quite well, it also means they can already start working with the engineers, assimilating information and even having some input into minor details regarding the new car. It also means I can be sure they are taking their winter fitness training very seriously!

Perez-Sala joined the team back in July as an advisor to the new owners - Photo Credit: HRT

After announcing the departure of Colin Kolles yesterday, HRT have moved quickly to appoint a new technical director - Spanish former Formula 1 driver Luis Pérez-Sala takes on the role from today.

Pérez-Sala completed two full seasons at Minardi in 1988 and 1989, with a best result of sixth place at the British Grand Prix in his second year. He also had a spell in Formula 3, Formula 3000 and, after his stint as a Formula 1 driver, returned to Spain to compete in touring cars.

With this latest appointment, and that of driver Pedro de la Rosa, plus the relocation of the team’s headquarters to Spain, HRT are continuing to become very Spanish under the direction of their new owners.

“From the moment we took control of the team last July, the first thing we did was to study and value where we were, whilst also set ourselves a target and establish a strategy,” said Saúl Ruiz de Marcos, team CEO. “We have been working discretely but relentlessly towards this for the last few months. We’ve always made it clear that our priorities were the car, the headquarters and our drivers. The car is evolving, Pedro has been a great asset to the team and we have always wanted to settle the team in Spain and have everybody working under one roof.

“Since we began working with Luis (Pérez-Sala) our connection has been great. Now he takes on a much more key role in the team but the decision was an easy one given his knowledge and his way of doing things. It is the best decision we could make. I would like to also thank Colin (Kolles) and Manfredi (Ravetto) for their work and dedication in these two years that the team has existed and I wish them the very best for the future”.

Pérez-Sala said that he was delighted to be taking on the new job: “This naming is an honor but also a great responsibility,” he said. “I joined the team as an advisor to the new owners and to contribute with my experience in any possible way.

“We had to establish a base from which to grow slowly and we are now seeing the first rewards of that work. But we mustn’t lose our perspective and be aware that assuming responsibilities such as designing the car or moving the headquarters to Spain are huge tasks and we still have a lot of work ahead. We must be patient and keep in mind that we cannot expect to achieve great success in the short term, but we can take a team forward that we can all feel proud of.

“The simple fact that Spain has a team in the pinnacle of motorsports is already a great feat; we’re a part of the G12. And that, apart from being an honor, means a greater development to the structure and everything surrounding it”.

The team are still to confirm their second race driver for 2012.

Colin Kolles, the qualified dentist, has extracted himself from HRT - Photo Credit: HRT

HRT have today announced that they have parted company with team principal Colin Kolles.

Kolles will depart the Spanish team on tomorrow (15th December) after two full seasons in the job.

The departure is said to be down to the decision of HRT‘s new owners to move the team headquarters to Spain.

In the short statement released today, HRT thanked Kolles for his work and dedication, and wished him the best in his future projects.

Daniel Ricciardo (left) and Jean-Eric Vernge, Toro Rosso's drivers for 2012, conveniently posed together for this photo at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi last month - Photo Credit: Andrew Hone/Andrew Hone/Getty Images

Toro Rosso have announced this afternoon that Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne will be their race drivers for 2012.

Both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, who began their F1 careers at the team in 2009, will be forced to look elsewhere if they are to remain on the grid.

The promotion of Ricciardo and Vergne to Toro Rosso next season gives the team their first all-new driver line-up since their 2006 debut.

Both drivers have come through the Red Bull Young Driver Programme, and the decision to give the pair a race seat was made in conjunction with Red Bull.

“I am pleased that we have been able to reach an early decision on our drivers for next year, because it means we can all give our full attention to 2012, without any distractions,” said Franz Tost, the Toro Rosso team principal. “Over the past year, both Daniel and Jean-Eric have proved their worth and I expect them to make a significant contribution to the team’s performance next year.

“Daniel has the benefit of having actually raced in Grands Prix for much of this year, while Jean-Eric proved he could adapt quickly to the demands of driving a Formula 1 car. As they have both worked with the team and its engineers very recently, this should allow us to get up to speed right from the start of winter testing in a couple of months time.

“I must also thank Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for all their hard work over the past three seasons. They have delivered some excellent performances which have helped the team move forward and develop. We wish them well for the future. However, one has to remember that when Scuderia Toro Rosso was established in 2005, it was done so with the intention of providing a first step into Formula 1 for the youngsters in the Red Bull Junior Driver programme. It is therefore part of the team’s culture to change its driver line-up from time to time in order to achieve this goal.”

Ricciardo has already completed eleven grand prix, albeit in an uncompetitive HRT, and drove in some Friday practice sessions with Toro Rosso earlier in the season. The 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 runner-up is relishing the opportunity to drive with the team on a full-time basis.

“This is a really big deal for me and something I have wanted ever since I was driving for Toro Rosso on Friday mornings at the races in the first part of last season,” said the Australian. “To be honest, I am still jumping up and down with excitement at the news. In the second half of 2011 I learned a lot from the people I worked with, racing in eleven Grands Prix and I want to thank them for the opportunity they gave me.  

“I have to say that joining Scuderia Toro Rosso was always my real goal, so a big thank you to Red Bull for giving me this fantastic opportunity and now I can’t wait to get to work once testing begins.”

Like Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne is no stranger to the Red Bull family. He drove for Toro Rosso at a Friday practice session in three of the last four grand prix of last season, and topped the timesheets on all three days of the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi last month when testing for Red Bull.

The Frenchman was the 2010 British Formula 3 Champion, taking the series title one year after Ricciardo and, like his new team-mate, has also finished as runner-up in the Renault 3.5 championship.

“First of all, I must thank Red Bull for all their support so far and for believing I am ready to take on the ultimate challenge of racing in Formula 1,” said Vergne. “Christmas has come early for me this year!

“Having driven for them a few times this year and also testing for Red Bull Racing in Abu Dhabi, I definitely feel ready to make the move, even if I know there is a big difference between testing and actually racing. I enjoyed working with the guys at Toro Rosso this year and I can’t wait to be part of the team for real. Sitting on the grid in Melbourne next March cannot come soon enough.”

Sebastian Vettel (left) and Mark Webber are greeted by enthusiastic fans in the centre of Milton Keynes - Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull

Approximately 60,000 spectators braved the cold in Milton Keynes today to see Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber drive their Red Bull F1 cars on the city’s streets to celebrate their 2011 world champion successes.

They were joined by David Coulthard, who drove a NASCAR, Red Bull stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer, and BBC presenter Jake Humphrey. Also present was Team principal Christian Horner and Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey.

“It’s great to be here in Milton Keynes which is where the cars are built and everyone from the factory works,” said word champion Vettel. “It’s nice to say thank you and to see all the fans from the area. It was good fun; we did some donuts and enjoyed ourselves out there. Thanks to all the fans that came today, we wanted to put on a great show, so I hope they enjoyed it. It’s a great way to finish the season.” 

“It was something special to drive the car in Milton Keynes today in front of all the fans,” added Webber. “The location was close to the factory and I live pretty locally too, so it was nice to give something back to the community. I know some of the roundabouts on the course from driving my road car, so it was something different to drive them in an F1 car! It was a nice atmosphere, the sun was shining and it was good for everyone to get close to the cars. It’s a great thing that Red Bull has done to say thank you to the fans.”

Horner also thanked the many fans for their support, and the local council for closing the roads today. “To run an F1 car through the middle of Milton Keynes was fantastic, so many of our workforce are local and it’s great to see so many fans here,” he said. “It’s flattering to have so many people turn out to celebrate what we have achieved. Without the fans, there’s no Formula One and no Red Bull, so it’s good to give something back and celebrate our double World Championship like this.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to Milton Keynes Council for what they have done for us. Closing the middle of the city on one if their busiest shopping days is highly appreciated, so a huge thank you to them for all their efforts.”

Romain Grosjean - Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Lotus Renault GP have announced that Romain Grosjean has been selected to race alongside Kimi Räikkönen next season.

The 2011 GP2 champion, who completed seven races for the team in 2009 with a highest finish of P13, was Renault‘s reserve driver this year.

The identity of Räikkönen’s team-mate has been a matter of great speculation over the last week or so, and the announcement today means that Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna - who were also believed to be in contention for the seat – will have to look elsewhere for next season.

The recruitment of Grosjean has allowed Renault, who will be renamed as Lotus in 2012, to renew their major sponsorship deal with oil company TOTAL.

“I am thrilled to be one of the team’s race drivers in 2012,” said the French driver. “There’s a big grin on my face at the prospect of getting behind the wheel of next year’s car, and I feel very privileged to be given this opportunity. To be racing alongside a former world champion and someone who is hungry and returning to Formula 1 will be a great experience, and I’m sure will help raise my level of performance too.

“I feel that my successful season in GP2 Series has helped me mature a lot, and I am a much more complete driver than I was last time I was competing in this sport. Returning to Enstone as a race driver feels like coming home. I will not disappoint and I wish to thank all the people without whom this return to F1 would not have been possible. Total, which supports me since 2006, and Gravity Sport Management, are first on this list.”

Renault team principal Eric Boullier thanked Petrov and Senna for their efforts last season, and said that Grosjean’s achievements in 2011 had been enough to give him another chance as an F1 driver.

“I’m delighted that Romain Grosjean will side Kimi next year,” he said. “Romain has shown a lot of maturity in the past twelve months both through his GP2 Series victory and his development as third driver with us. We were impressed when he drove for us in the first practice sessions in Abu Dhabi and Brazil. We are confident that drafting him in to one of our driver’s seats will help us in our rebuilding process.

“I would like to thank Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna for their contribution to the team’s performance this year and I wish them all the best for the future.”

Natalie Pinkham, pictured here alongside Sebastian Vettel, will team-up with Ted Kravitz to be pit-lane reporter for Sky - Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Sky Sports have today revealed the on-air team that will present their Formula 1 coverage next season.

As was widely expected, 5Live commentator David Croft will join forces with Martin Brundle in the commentary box for qualifying session and the races, whilst Anthony Davidson also makes the transition from radio to television to join Croft for the practice sessions.

Natalie Pinkham, the 5Live pit-lane reporter, and Ted Kravitz, the BBC television pit reporter, will join forces in the pit-lane for Sky. Kravitz will also co-present a regular magazine show on the new F1 HD channel with Georgie Thompson.

Simon Lazenby, already a regular on Sky Sports, will host the main coverage, and Sky have also recruited former ITV F1 host Steve Rider to conduct ‘big interviews’ with drivers both past and present.

“In Martin Brundle we have the outstanding F1 broadcaster – on the track and in broadcasting, he’s proved it time and again,” said Sky Sports Executive Producer Martin Turner, commenting on the broadcasters announcement today.

“Working alongside him, David Croft is a passionate, experienced commentator and Anthony Davidson can bring great technical knowledge to live practice sessions.”

“Ted Kravitz has huge knowledge of the pitlane and paddock and he and Natalie Pinkham will get the information and access our viewers need,” added Turner.

“And guiding us through the coverage we have the experience of Simon Lazenby and Georgie Thompson. Each has hosted major sports events, from the British Lions to the Ryder Cup – they have trust and respect.”

The BBC, who will show 10 races live next season, and highlights of the remaining events, are yet to finalise details of their coverage next season. Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Lee McKenzie have all confirmed that they will be staying with the channel but, after today’s announcement from Sky, it is apparent that there will be plenty of positions to fill for both their television and radio coverage.

AMG also supply Formula 1 with the safety car and medical car - Photo Credit: Pirelli

Mercedes have today announced that they will race under the name Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team from next season.

The new name incorporates AMG, the performance brand of Mercedes-Benz. The brand already supplies both the F1 safety car and the medical car, and has done since 1996.

The team also announced today that their 2012 car will not make its official track debut until the second of the pre-season tests, on 21st February in Barcelona.

“Our new team name fuses the proud traditions of AMG and the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows at the pinnacle of motorsport, “ said Norbert Haug, Vice President at Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “These three letters are synonymous with high technology, sporting performance and excitement and this step is a further strong sign of the strategic commitment Mercedes-Benz has made to Formula One. 16 of the 24 drivers on the grid at the season’s final Grand Prix in Brazil have, or have had, a connection to Mercedes-Benz.

“In addition to the role of a works team, our commitment to Formula One comprises the customer engine programme and supply of the official Safety and Medical Cars.”

Team principal Ross Brawn talked about the name change, and explained why the 2012 challenger would not be ready for the first winter test of 2012.

“We are very proud to reveal our new team name today,” said Brawn. “It adds another strong performance element to our team’s identity and, by virtue of being shared between Brackley and Brixworth, will forge even stronger links within our team.

“At the factory, we have been focused for some time on the challenge of 2012, and our very clear ambition to move forward up the grid next year. As always, the winter development and manufacturing processes are a trade-off between time for finding performance in the factory, and time for delivering that performance during pre-season testing. 

“We believe that the decision to run the car at the second winter test is the optimum compromise for our design and development programme with F1 W03.”

Maldonado's best result of 2011 came at Spa-Francorchamps where he finished tenth - Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

Williams have this evening confirmed that Pastor Maldonado will remain with the team for a second season.

The 2010 GP2 champion, who scored just one point in his debut Formula 1 season, will race for the Grove-based team in 2012.

The team have also announced that Valtteri Bottas has been promoted into the reserve driver role.

“Pastor has proven this year that he is not only quick but also that he is able to maintain a consistent and strong race pace,” said Sir Frank Williams, explaining why Maldonado had been retained. “Pastor has been responsible for all of our forays into Q3 in 2011 and his race at Monaco was outstanding.  Pastor has also settled into the team at Williams very well, contributing strongly in the factory and with our partners. He will play a critical role in 2012 as we rebuild the team and move forward.”

Maldonado was obviously very pleased to be given another season with Williams, and hopes that 2012 will not prove as difficult as his debut season.

“I am delighted to be able to continue with Williams into my second season and I will give my very best to help the team as we push to return to the front of the grid,” said the Venezuelan. “This has been a tough season for the whole team but it has given me personally the opportunity to learn and develop. I am convinced that the steps we have taken to improve our competitiveness will bear fruit in 2012 and beyond. I am thrilled to be part of that and also to represent the people of Venezuela in Formula One.”

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas has been promoted to the role of reserve driver at Williams for 2012 - Photo Credit: Alastair Staley/LAT Photographic

Frank Williams also explained why Bottas had been selected for the reserve driver role: “We have a very specific approach to young driver development, working with one highly talented individual over a period of years,” said the eponymous team principal. “Valtteri has proved a very capable and rounded young man of fierce determination. As the team’s Reserve Driver, we anticipate that Valtteri will participate in a Friday practice session at 15 Grands Prix next year, most likely with a more experienced driver taking over for the remainder of the race weekend.  We will announce the identity of that driver in due course.”

“I would like to thank Frank Williams and the whole team for the investment that everyone at Williams has made to help me over the past two years,” added Bottas. “The opportunity now to continue this unique development with the position of Reserve Driver will enable me to gain essential experience as part of the race team in 2012.  In this position, I will do my utmost to help the team to set up for a great race weekend and also look forward to playing a role off the track with the team at the factory and with our partners.”

The team are yet to announce who will drive alongside Maldonado next season, but now that Bottas has been confirmed as a reserve driver, it is thought that Adrian Sutil is the most likely choice, assuming Rubens Barrichello is not retained.

The end of season photo taken last weekend in Brazil. So far, only 13 of these 24 drivers appear on the list for next season - Photo Credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

The FIA have today released the entry list for the 2012 Formula 1 season, showing the predicted changes in three team names, and nine empty spaces.

There are nine instances of ‘TBA’ on this first publication of the entry list, although two of those are at HRT, who have already confirmed that Pedro de la Rosa will be in one of those seats next season. It also appears as though the team are yet to select an engine supplier for next season, although this will remain as Cosworth.

Force India, Toro Rosso and Williams are also yet to confirm any drivers, and Lotus (nee Renault) have an empty space listed alongside Kimi Räikkönen, whose appointment was announced yesterday.

In the list, Renault become Lotus F1 Team, Team Lotus become Caterham F1 Team, and Virgin Racing become Marussia F1 Team and are now registered as a Russian outfit.

Here is the list in full:

No.	Driver	Team	Constructor
1 2	Sebastian Vettel  Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull Racing Renault
3 4	Jenson Button  Lewis Hamilton	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren Mercedes
5 6	Fernando Alonso  Felipe Massa	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari
7 8	Michael Schumacher  Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes
9 10	Kimi Raikkonen TBA	Lotus F1 Team	Lotus Renault
11 12	TBA TBA	Sahara Force India F1 Team	Force India Mercedes
14 15	Kamui Kobayashi  Sergio Perez	Sauber F1 Team	Sauber Ferrari
16 17	TBA TBA	Scuderia Toro Rosso	STR Ferrari
18 19	TBA TBA	AT&T Williams	Williams Renault
20 21	Heikki Kovalainen  Jarno Trulli	Caterham F1 Team	Caterham Renault
22 23	TBA TBA	HRT F1 Team	HRT/TBA
24 25	Timo Glock  Charles Pic	Marussia F1 Team	Marussia Cosworth

Raikkonen's last F1 victory was at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix - Photo Credit: Ferrari

Renault have announced this morning that Kimi Räikkönen has signed a two-year deal with the team and will return to the sport in 2012 after a two-year break.

The 2007 World Champion, who is now 32, can boast 18 wins, 62 podiums and 16 pole positions from his last stint in the sport. His return also means that there will be a record of six world champions on the grid next season.

“I’m delighted to be coming back to Formula 1 after a two-year break, and I’m grateful to Lotus Renault GP for offering me this opportunity,” said Räikkönen. “My time in the World Rally Championship has been a useful stage in my career as a driver, but I can’t deny the fact that my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming.

“It was an easy choice to return with Lotus Renault GP as I have been impressed by the scope of the team’s ambition. Now I’m looking forward to playing an important role in pushing the team to the very front of the grid.”

Gérard Lopez, Chairman of Genii Capital, who own the team that will be known as Lotus next season, welcomed the Finn. “All year long, we kept saying that our team was at the start of a brand new cycle,” he said. “Backstage we’ve been working hard to build the foundations of a successful structure and to ensure that we would soon be able to fight at the highest level.

“Kimi’s decision to come back to Formula 1 with us is the first step of several announcements which should turn us into an even more serious contender in the future. Of course, we are all looking forward to working with a world champion. On behalf of our staff, I’d like to welcome Kimi to Enstone, a setting that has always been known for its human approach to Formula 1.”