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Martin Whitmarsh says that it’s impossible to predict the formbook for the Australian GP and beyond, and admits that McLaren has not had a straightforward winter testing season.

“In the days leading up to the Australian Grand Prix, it’s fair to say that every team member of every Formula 1 team is looking over the precipice, balancing their hopes and fears, their nerves tensed in anticipation for the long slog ahead,” said Whitmarsh. “It’s a tantalising prospect – and it’s one that keeps everyone who loves our sport coming back for more.

“At Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, we’ve faced a challenging few weeks prepping our new MP4-28 for the 2013 season. The often cold and sometimes wet conditions we experienced during pre-season testing in Barcelona and Jerez made it difficult to operate the tyres consistently within their optimal performance window.

“That issue, combined with a handful of typical testing setbacks, gave us a few headaches, but as ever our engineers and mechanics did extremely well to complete as much useful running as they did.

“But it was much the same for all the teams. As a result, anyone who says they already know in what order the cars will line up on the Albert Park starting grid on Sunday March 17^th is a soothsayer of rare ability. Indeed, in truth, even after qualifying on Saturday March 16^th, no Team Principal will be genuinely confident of his car’s race-spec performance relative to that of his principal opposition until the flag drops and the proverbial stops.”

Whitmarsh stressed that the real story will the development race over the course of the season.

“It’s important to remember that our MP4-28 is a new and uncompromising design that we intend to develop aggressively throughout the year. Undoubtedly, it has great potential – and we fly to Melbourne determined to show well and to score points that should establish us in good stead for both the drivers’ and the constructors’ world championships.

“We’re still working tirelessly to bring more pace to the MP4-28’s performance envelope, and I believe we’ll arrive in Australia in decent shape. Having said that, we at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes never underestimate our competitors, and we’re certainly not underestimating them now.

“As I say, the MP4-28 is a new and uncompromising design, and I have great confidence that our design, development and engineering teams will work tirelessly to shave tenths off its lap-times for Melbourne, and for Sao Paulo, and for everywhere in between.”

Caterham team principal Cyril Abiteboul is adamant that his team can take a step forward this season following a reorganisation over the winter.

The Frenchman says that the team is now operating a lot more effectively than previously.

“On the surface it may look like we’re starting 2013 in a similar position to 2012, but inside the team it is very different,” said Abiteboul. “We have a base in Oxfordshire in which we now control all elements of the design and production in-house. The wind tunnel we use has been upgraded to meet our exact specifications, and is now producing results that turn into definite improvements.

“We are continuing to improve the efficiencies and working practices within the team so we can compete both on track and as a viable business with a secure long-term future and we are bringing in talented people at all levels to keep pushing us forwards.

“We also have two new drivers for 2013, Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde. Both are young, determined to succeed and eager to help the team achieve its goals. At the end of 2012 we were a central part of the F1 show, and I have told both drivers to be ready to be part of the show in 2013, maybe not right at the start, but with what we have coming to the car during the season, we can be confident that we are going to attract interest in us, for the right reasons.”

Summing up, he added: “We have the facilities, we have the people and we have the infrastructure we need to take the next step forwards. We will do that in a calm, measured way, one that is grounded in a realistic view of the highly competitive world in which we operate, but we will do it with the greatest possible level of energy, passion and enthusiasm.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali is optimistic going into the first race in Melbourne, but stresses that anything could happen over the course of the season.

“To think of drawing conclusions after the first qualifying session in Australia would be premature,” he told the Ferrari website, “because it represents only the beginning of a long voyage that ends in November. For many reasons, however, it can be considered an important test bench to establish the state of play.

“I expect that the teams who finished in the top positions in Sao Paulo will repeat that in Melbourne, probably with a reduced advantage – that’s what we are all hoping for, anyway.”

Domenicali is convinced that his team has made genuine progress.

“What are the factors that have convinced me that Ferrari has made a step forward? The new business structure, the working methods, the modifications to the equipment that we have used to work on this car, the consistency of the results compared with our targets and what we saw in the recent tests – these all seem to tell us that we are on the right path at last compared to the past.

“So, to make an analysis that is purely centred on ourselves, unless someone else has done an exceptional job I’m convinced that Ferrari will be in the battle to the end. A podium in Australia would be a good base on which to build the kind of successes we need.

“What’s more, apart from the actual performance of the car, our work in the wind tunnel is an element that gives us faith in the area of aerodynamics, where 90% of the performance comes from, so we can work with a certain calmness. The stability of the rules is another guarantee that there won’t be surprises with any exceptional creative solutions that make a big difference, and I’m especially confident given the changes we made last year.”

Domenicali emphasised that preparations for 2014 are bound to impact this year’s championship.

“I’m sure that over the course of the season the competition will reduce because the demands on all the teams for the 2014 project cannot be underestimated. We are talking about a car that is completely different to what we’ve seen before and there’s a risk of missing the boat – the smaller the organisation, the greater and the earlier the resources they will have to invest in the new project.

“Meanwhile for the big teams, the exercise will be to balance the resources required to keep up the development to be competitive right to the end with the attention that needs to be dedicated to 2014 to avoid the risk of being left behind.”

Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn was in an upbeat mood after the team finished the winter test season at the top of the Barcelona timesheets, although he cautioned that it was too still too early to draw too many conclusions.

After Lewis Hamilton was fastest yesterday his team mate Nico Rosberg was even quicker on today’s final day.

“I am pleased with the progress that the team has made over the last month and the steps forward that have been made with the car,” said Brawn. “We have achieved our objectives for the test programme and the mileage that we have been able to complete has been very satisfying. Lewis has settled into the team extremely well and everyone has enjoyed working with both him and Nico throughout the three tests.

“We now have one final week back at the factory to complete our preparations. Both drivers will be at the factory this week and, as always, there is a lot of work to do in a short space of time. We’re realistic about our performance here and our position once we get to Melbourne, and we look forward to the challenge of a new season ahead.”

Marussia has signed Ferrari protégé Jules Bianchi and terminated its contract with Luiz Razia.

The Brazilian’s sponsors failed to meet their obligations after he was announced as a race driver at the start of February. Although he drove the car at the Jerez test Razia was not allowed to run either at the second test in Barcelona, or this week at the same venue, while the team awaited his funds.

Bianchi was Force India’s reserve driver last year, but lost the 2013 race seat to Adrian Sutil earlier this week.

“Jules is a proven talent who is highly regarded within the paddock,” said team boss John Booth. “He has been on a clear trajectory towards Formula 1 and has achieved some impressive performances through the various feeder formulae, notably his 2012 season in Formula Renault 3.5 when he was also Reserve Driver for Force India. He is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and his obvious pedigree put him on the radar for a number of teams over the winter as a driver ready to step up to Formula 1.

“We have found ourselves in a situation where we have had to terminate our contract with Luiz Razia. Having made clear the basis on which we must operate in 2013, and given the steps we had taken to put that new structure in place, we had no alternative but to remain true to the principles which we had identified as being key to securing our long-term future.

“We can now focus on the remainder of the testing programme and preparing for what looks to be a promising season for our Team. Jules can now look forward to a very swift initiation into the Team over the course of the next two days here in Barcelona, when he is expected to run for one and a half days to afford both our drivers some dry running with the latest aero specification.”

“I am thrilled to have secured a race seat with the Marussia F1 Team,” said Bianchi. “Racing in Formula 1 this season has been my goal over the winter and after evaluating a number of options I am very excited to have this opportunity to demonstrate that I am ready for this next step in my racing career.

“I am also very grateful to the Ferrari Driver Academy that has always supported me and has given me the possibility to mature as a racing driver enabling me to be fully prepared for this new exciting challenge. The next two weeks of preparation for the season will be incredibly busy but I am ready to get started tomorrow with my first day in the MR02.”

Jules is the grandson of 60s Le Mans racer Mauro Bianchi, and great-nephew of Lucien. The latter started 17 Grands Prix between 1960 and 1968, and earned a third place in Monaco in his final F1 season.

He was also a works Ford driver at Le Mans, winning with Pedro Rodriguez in a John Wyer GT40. He also appeared at Indy in 1967, but having made the field initially he was bumped while racing in Europe on the second qualifying weekend. He died in a testing accident at Le Mans in March 1969.

Alexander Rossi and Ma Qing Hua have been confirmed as reserve drivers for Caterham.

The American, who already had a relationship with the team and drove in FP1 in Barcelona last year, will again be in action in “a number” of Friday sessions. The Chinese driver was with HRT in 2012, taking part in four FP1 sessions, and will be in action again at his home race in Shanghai. He will also race for the Caterham GP2 team.

“As reserve drivers both Alexander and Ma will attend every race with us and will be driving in a number of FP1 sessions to continue their development,” said team boss Cyril Abiteboul. “One of the main challenges facing young drivers moving up to F1 is the sheer number of people they have to interact with compared to any other level of their motorsport career.

“They go from a small number in Formula Renault 3.5 to more than 15 in F1, across engineering, performance, reliability, engine, KERS, strategy, communications and marketing. The programme we have devised for Alexander and Ma will allow them to immerse themselves completely in the F1 environment throughout 2013, preparing them for the day when they take the next step up to the ultimate level.”

“After many discussions this winter with Caterham F1 Team regarding my 2013 programme, today’s announcement brings me even closer to my goal of racing in F1,” said Rossi.

“2013 will be my third season with the Caterham family and I’ve built solid relationships within the whole team. My goals from the Friday practice sessions that I will drive this season is to  fulfill the team’s runplan for each session, work closely with everyone and learn as much as possible, always being ready for the next opportunity.

“I will attend all F1 events, allowing me to integrate fully within in the team technically, commercially and from a sporting perspective in F1, best preparing me for the next step.”

Ma Qing Hua said: “I know the fans at home will be really excited to see me race in GP2 and with the F1 work I also have ahead of me, China can be proud that it continues to have a driver involved in motor racing at the very highest level.”

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya says the driver decision was not an easy one, and confirmed that Adrian Sutil’s experience ultimately gave him an edge over Jules Bianchi.

He added that the team hopes to maintain its relationship with the Frenchman.

“The decision over our driver line-up has not been an easy one and we have given it great consideration over the last few months,” said Mallya. “It was a close call, but ultimately we felt that Adrian’s experience and historic links to the team gave him the edge, and will provide us with the best possible chance of realising our ambitions for the coming season.

“If he can rediscover the exceptional form he showed in the second half of 2011, I’m confident that we can pick up where we left off at the end of 2012. As for Jules Bianchi, he has impressed us enormously with his speed and work ethic, and I’m hopeful we can continue working with him this year to help him develop into a future Grand Prix driver.”

Adrian Sutil’s return to Sahara Force India has finally been confirmed by the team after the German got the verdict over Jules Bianchi.

The news comes just two weeks before the Australian GP weekend kicks off.

Sutil first joined the team as a test driver in 2006 when it was still Midland, and made his race debut – when the cars ran under the Spyker name – the following year.

The 30-year-old has not raced since the 2011 Brazilian GP, but returned to the cockpit with his former team at the recent Barcelona test.

“I’m delighted to be back in Formula One, especially with a team I know so well,” said Sutil. “I’m very happy and I want to thank Sahara Force India for giving me a second chance. Having been away from the sport, I’m even more determined to achieve my goals in Formula One.

“Things went really well at the Barcelona test last week and it almost feels as though I’ve never been away. Driving the car felt so natural and I was able to get back in the groove quickly and find the limit. Now my focus is on making the most of the final test session this week, working with the team in the simulator and getting myself in the best possible shape for Melbourne.”

Force India was faced with a change of plan late last year after it lost Nico Hulkenberg, who had been expected to stay in 2013, to rivals Sauber.

The decision on his replacement has taken so long in part because the team’s shareholders were juggling the long term commercial implications of each driver choice, with key among them the engine (and gearbox) deal for 2014. Bianchi is of course contracted to Ferrari.

Bianchi’s manager Nicolas Todt told Reuters yesterday: “It’s a big disappointment. I am a very realistic person but I was very hopeful he would get this drive.”

McLaren has promoted Tim Goss to the role technical director – and made it clear that former incumbent Paddy Lowe is on his way out at the end of the year, presumably to take up a new position at Mercedes.

However it’s not clear whether Lowe has already formally agreed terms to go elsewhere or is in effect being left in limbo while his McLaren contract runs out.

In confirming that Lowe is leaving team boss Martin Whitmarsh noted: “Paddy will be performing a different role within McLaren until the end of the year. He’s been a good and successful F1 Technical Director, and we wish him well when he embarks on a fresh challenge in 2014.”

Goss, who joined McLaren in 1990, is only the fifth man to hold the technical director title after John Barnard, Gordon Murray, Adrian Newey and Lowe. In recent years as director of engineering he has led the design of each F1 car.

Whitmarsh added: “I’d like to offer my congratulations to Tim on his new position, which, after more than 20 years of exceptional service for McLaren, he richly deserves. His quiet and unassuming persona conceals a fierce competitiveness and a wealth of experience, coupled to an unrivalled level of expertise in the field of Formula 1 car design and engineering.

“It’s a little-known fact, for example, that over the past 23 years he’s made crucial technical and engineering contributions to the winning of five of McLaren’s 12 Drivers’ World Championships and three of McLaren’s eight Constructors’ World Championships, and that he’s been the principal definer and developer of McLaren’s F1 car design function for more than five years.

“I firmly believe that our technical and engineering team is the best in the F1 business, and that its strength in depth has always been and will continue to be an important element of our on-track success.

“Moreover, I’m certain that, in his expanded role, Tim will continue to lead it very capably indeed, and will evolve and improve it. That’s his brief, and it’s already clear that he’s prepared to embrace it with energy and enthusiasm.

“In truth, though, this is a natural evolution in Tim’s already very successful career, and the fact that the decision to offer him our Technical Directorship was so straightforward for Jonathan and me demonstrates two things: the robust and logical succession-planning that underpins the senior engineering personnel structure within Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, and the commitment we have to developing our people, over many years, allowing their talent and expertise to flourish in a collaborative and collegiate environment. That’s good work practice, and it’s worth lap-time.”

Pirelli says that the cold weather in Barcelona this week made tyre degradation more extreme than it should be once the season gets underway.

While the Italian company has intended to create more degradation in 2013, it was worse than anticipated at Barcelona. The low temperatures also led to some graining, and the few teams who tried the supersoft struggled with it.

“The teams experienced quite high degradation in Barcelona, and that was really down to the weather conditions,” said motor sport boss Paul Hembery. “The conditions we had in Barcelona are far from typical of the rest of the season, with much cooler ambient and track temperatures than we would normally race in, and even some rain on the final day.

“This put the tyres outside of their usual working ranges, which led to problems such as graining. The conditions were particularly unsuited to the supersoft tyre, due to the circuit layout and the roughness of the surface in addition to the cold temperatures. Coupled with the fact that teams are still making big set-up adjustments to their new cars and trying out our complete range of our tyres to optimise the package, we saw levels of degradation that are not typical.

“Once we get to Melbourne the tyres should be much more within their intended working range, which will eliminate the unusual amount of degradation that some teams have experienced.”