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Lewis Hamilton was third and second fastest in the two session at Shanghai today, but he made it clear afterwards that he’s not happy with the McLaren MP4-26.

Hamilton tried the latest floor upgrades today, but struggled to find a balance.

“It’s not been the best of days,” he said. “It wasn’t too bad at the end, but I had a lock-up on my option run, which meant I couldn’t do a long run on it. But set-up wise we’re struggling a little bit with the set-up today, which is the first time since we had the new upgrade on the rear of the car.

“We just need to analyse a little bit and analyse whether the car is actually performing in certain areas of downforce as we expect – I don’t think it is – so that’s really the question for the analysts to understand.

“This morning’s session was difficult. They were changing little bits on the rear floor, and I had a big off moment. That was I think partly to do with one of those things not working. I think there were some positives, and some negatives. The guys are just trying to analyse and understand which way we’re going to go.

“In the afternoon we chose to go with the upgrade which we had. But I’ve been really struggling with the balance of my car. I don’t know if it’s because of the upgrade that we have, or if we’re just in the wrong area of the set-up. At the end I was able to get a reasonably decent lap time, but I wasn’t very comfortable with the car. The long run at the end was not too bad, but generally quite a bit off the Red Bulls.”

Hamilton suggested that the latest update is not yet ready to race.

“My gut feeling is it’s not quite, just yet. We’ve made some adjustments to the upgrade we had last week, which didn’t work then. I think we’ve found some improvements in it, but perhaps it’s not as good as the one we had before just yet. It doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world, I think the car is still great with what we had before. Fingers crossed, either way we’ll be good. I think we’re not in a bad position.”

PS: Apologies for lack of Twitter service this week, so far I have not been able to find a way to beat the Chinese censors. Any suggestions welcome via comments here!

Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari is having much more success at warming up the tyres in China, which should help with the team’s qualifying performance come Saturday.

Alonso lost some track time with hydraulic problems in the afternoon – caused by what the Spaniard called “experimental parts” – so his ultimate lap time was not representative, and he was well down the order.

“We did our normal Friday programme, with some new parts in the first session and some tyre work in the second one,” he said. “Tonight we will analyse everything, hopefully with some positive results, and we can keep moving.

“I think it was better here today. In Australia it was a problem with the warm-up, and even in Malaysia with the hard tyre the first lap was not the quickest. Here for whatever reason it was OK.

“I was weaving on the straight because I had a very slow out lap with some traffic at the beginning, so I let some cars go, and then I weaved a little bit. For Felipe and me we found better warm-up in the hard tyres, so that should be better for us in qualifying, and also in terms of the race.”

Alonso says it’s not a question of compromising race set-up to find qualifying speed, but more of simply making the car faster overall.

“What we need to do is to improve the car, and when the car is good, the qualifying will be good, then the race will be even better than now. We have to find some lap time in the car, some improvements, then the qualifying or the race pace come altogether when the car is quick. Everything become much easier, strategy works always fine.

“That’s the main priority for us, improve the car as quick as we can, bring in new parts every race and hopefully they work good enough. We know that all the teams will bring new parts as well, so we just have to bring more parts than them.”

PS: Apologies for lack of Twitter service this week, so far I have not been able to find a way to beat the Chinese censors. Any suggestions welcome via comments here!

The new 'COTA' name and logo was launched today in Austin

The Austin GP venue has been branded as the “Circuit of the Americas,” it was announced this afternoon in the Texan city.

The track will also host Moto GP from 2013, a year after its debut as an F1 venue.

A statement from the organisers explained that “the brand signifies that the centre will be a premier destination in the western hemisphere where business leaders, entertainers and sports fans come to see world-class performances. The name draws on the history and tradition of motorsports racing globally and serves as an invitation to every fan seeking a premier entertainment experience.”

Tavo Hellmund, the chairman of the event added: “We are building a destination for entertainment and business, not simply a race track, and this brand reflects that entire idea. Racing days will account for a total of about 30 days a year, but great performances and winning ideas will be inspired by this brand every day.”

Billionaire Red McCombs, one of the key backers of the event, said: “One of the most inviting aspects of the name is the word ‘Americas’.It reflects Austin’s ideal location at the crossroads of North America from north to south, east to west. Also, it speaks to our state as a centre of commerce and cultural exchange in this hemisphere. I look forward to meeting many fans and visitors who will be coming from every country.”

Stefano Domenicali has re-iterated that Ferrari needs to improve its qualifying form, and added that new updates could be ready as early as this weekend.

The team boss said on the team’s website today that there was still a lot to be pleased about after Malaysia.

“The main problem we need to deal with is our performance the day before the race in qualifying which is not at the same level as the teams that are currently best,” said Domenicali. “It is vital for us to react immediately, because we have seen how rapidly things can change in Formula 1.

“In terms of strategy we can say our race in Sepang was a good one, because our choices proved to be the right ones and the fact we were unable to bring home more points was down to other causes. So strategy and race performance are two positive factors.

“Felipe drove to a very high standard, showing a return to form and Fernando was very aggressive, which is always good for a driver.”

Domenicali said aero performance is the key to improving the car: “Back at the factory we have to have a big push to understand our lack of performance. We need to push a lot to upgrade our aero package because aerodynamics is the key to it all.

“We will try and bring as quickly as possible the upgrades, maybe already in China, that we require. We need to understand as soon as possible why the performance on track has not matched the figures coming out of the wind tunnel.

“If we have not a clear picture, then we need to change the direction of the work we are doing in terms of development. The other important factor is to keep on increasing our understanding of how to use the tyres, because we saw in Malaysia that this is another area that makes a difference.

“As for KERS, I cannot talk about it in general, but certainly for us it is a useful aid in terms of boosting car performance. Then, when it comes to the race, it can be used either to attack another driver or to defend your own position. Therefore it is an interesting addition to the sport.”

Nick Heidfeld has sent an ‘open letter’ to Robert Kubica via his website and the Bild newspaper.

In it he tells his former BMW Sauber team mate that he was thinking of him during the Malaysian GP, in which Nick finished third.

The letter read as follows: “Have you seen that? I printed your logo on the front of my helmet, and the Polish flag on the side. I wanted you to see that and to let you know that I’m thinking of you. I wanted to show your fans that you are a part of Formula 1 and of this team.

“This 3rd place is also yours! During the race I had often been thinking of you. Crossing the finish line, happiness totally flooded my head. I know what you are thinking right now: “Lotus-Renault has built such a wonderful car this year. I want to get back as soon as possible and drive it!” You can do it, I wish you all the best for your rehabilitation. Get well soon!”

Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has been making positive noises today, despite his frustration about the team’s disappointing start to the season.

Montezemolo said today that Ferrari will bounce back soon.

“I am definitely not satisfied with the way the season has begun, but I have complete faith in the people here who know how to react when the situation is tough,” he said.

“I am sure there will be an amazing response. I know everyone is working flat out and I have great faith in the human and technical strengths of our people. I believe the period when the most we can hope for is a podium will soon come to an end.”

However Montezemolo is not expecting any miracles in China: “I hope we see some improvement, especially in qualifying and to see us be competitive as we were yesterday in the race. But I reckon that will be difficult as I don’t think Ferrari can turn it around in the space of a week.

“I know from Domenicali, with whom I have just spoken, that everyone has got their heads down working hard. Yesterday in the race, I saw Ferrari at the same level as the best and barring a couple of incidents we were definitely heading for the podium. I also spoke at length with Alonso for get his impressions of the car and I could tell he was confident in how things went in the race, even if we have a lot of work to do to improve.”

Felipe Massa was frusrated to lose over six seconds at his first pit stop in Malaysia after the Ferrari mechanics had to deal with a wheelnut problem.

For the second time his year the Brazilian had got ahead of Fernando Alonso at the start, but the delay cost him a couple of places. He eventually recovered to fifth.

“I think it was a good race, taking away the pit stop,” said Massa. “I lost a lot of time in the pit stop, and a lot of positions, so I was fighting for every position. Unfortunately I had to wait so long in the pit stop, and it put me backwards to where I started, and I had to start again, which was not easy, but I was lucky at the end, so I think due to what I lost in the pit stop, the luck was pretty acceptable.

“It’s something that we need to fight not to have these problems any more, and be consistent all the time in the pit stops strategies, everything.

“Apart from that, the race was good. The start was even fantastic and the pace on the soft tyres was quite good, a little bit less competitive on the hard tyres, compared to the other guys, but on the soft tyres there was a good pace.”

Massa is hoping that the team can address its qualifying issues for the next race.

“I expect a better race everywhere, not just China. I expect a better qualifying. We were suffering not just in Australia, we were suffering here in the qualifying, so we have to fix the problem that we had in qualifying to be strong in the next race and the next qualifying. If you are better in the qualifying you have more possibilities to fight in the race.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was full of praise for Sebastian Vettel after the German lodged his fourth consecutive GP win in Malaysia, having dominated the race from pole.

The relegation of Mark Webber to fourth after a KERS failure and poor first lap was the only downside for the team.

“We’ve managed to get the pole and we’ve managed to lead pretty much every lap of the race this afternoon,” said Horner. “To me that’s a job well done with Sebastian. Obviously with Mark we need to make sure we learn from today. It was a KERS debut on our car, and we’ve learned a lot of lessons.

“You can see that performance can ebb and flow. Ferrari looked to be having a very strong race today, so we just need to focus on optimising our own performance. We managed to win the two opening Grands Prix of the season, which is a tremendous start, and we’ll obviously look to build on this form as we head to China next week.”

Horner said Vettel had put in a perfect drive: “A great performance by Sebastian again today. He had a great start, led into the first corner and then his pace was excellent. He was able to build a lead, which gave us options. We then responded to the cars behind us, and we then had the option of going a three or a four stop. In the end we didn’t need to do a four stop, and he brought the car home with a very, very mature and level headed drive.

“He’s in great form. I think he was the coolest man in Malaysia today! Sitting on the pit wall we were getting a bit hot, and whenever you spoke with him it all sounded totally under control and pretty relaxed. He’s in a really good place, his confidence is high, and he’s really delivering.

“It was a very mature performance from him today, and a very controlled drive. He’s just gaining experience. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the guy’s only 23 years of age.”

Webber lost the use of KERS right at the start of the race, and thereafter struggled to regain ground. He eventually recovered to fourth.

“He was unlucky at the start, because he had the worst of all worlds. He had a poor start and then on top of that KERS went into a safe mode. There was an electrical issue that we actually haven’t seen before, so he had a combination of a bad start and no KERS at the second longest run to the first corner, and not a great first lap where he obviously lost another place to Kobayashi.

“He was actually 10^th at the end of the first lap, so we decided to go aggressive with him and we went with a four-stop strategy. He needed to make it work, and he made a great recovery. A combination of strategy and his performance so nearly got him back onto the podium.

“These points are invaluable. In difficult weekends he’s picked up a fourth and a fifth place finish. They will all count at the end of the year. It was a great drive from him today, a great performance from him today. Just a shame that obviously he didn’t got the start that he or we wanted.”

Stefano Domenicali insists that the DRS failure on Fernando Alonso’s car cost a potential podium in the Malaysian GP.

Alonso was without the use of the moveable wing from an early stage of the race, which made it harder for him to pass Lewis Hamilton when he got caught behind the McLaren.

“We could have overtaken Lewis on the straight, because there’s a clear difference in terms of pace,” said the Ferrari boss. “So we had the chance for Fernando to really go there and attack Jenson.”

Domenicali says that Alonso was in effect forced to take more risks, although he wouldn’t admit that the Spaniard made a mistake when he damaged his front wing.

“When you are trying to overtake, because you see there is a difference of performance, you cannot say that. I like the way that he’s driving, it’s fantastic. The other consideration we have this year is that if you go off line, it’s a big problem, If you see all the track, it’s all dirty, with all the marbles outside.

“The problem is you try to keep the line, and suddenly if you just go off the line you basically put the marbles on the tyres, and you lose performance. I think it’s a tricky situation this year if you don’t have the chance to overtake in a clear situation, you have to take – how can I say – some risks, because it’s not easy. That’s how it is. It’s a shame because without the problem on the rear wing with him, we could have really attacked.”

Ferrari was encouraged by the pace of the cars in the race, but the team admits it needs to find more downforce and more speed in qualifying.

“We know that for sure our race pace is much better than qualifying. I think that the most important element to understand is how is the usage of the tyres during the race, because we have seen it very clearly today how there are differences between drivers that are driving the same car. So this has an important effect.

“But for sure one element where we have to have a big step is really to create better downforce on our car, that’s the key on our performance. Because if we do that, we can start closer to the front on the grid. We have seen that today both our cars were behind Mark who didn’t have such a fantastic start, so we lose performance there, then you are in the traffic at the first corner, and it’s always a race that you have to climb instead of going down.

“So it’s clear the main thing where we have to focus is to understand how to work better in qualifying because the gap we’ve seen yesterday is too big. If you take the comparison – and as I’ve said before you have to take out Vettel at this moment – with Webber and McLaren today, I think really we were fighting for a podium position in a crystal clear way. So a lot of things to understand. A lot depends really first of all on the downforce of the car, and secondly understanding on how to use the best of the tyres, because that’s another element that’s very important.”

Domenicali says that the new style of multiple stop racing is confusing even for the teams, and the number of stops increases the chance of a mistake.

“For sure it’s not easy for the public viewer to understand what’s going on, because it’s also difficult for the teams to understand. But that’s the way it is. It s part of the game of this year, we need to consider that, and we don’t have to take an excuse from this point. For sure what I can say is that the number of pit stops more and the chances of having a problem at a pit stop puts a lot of pressure on the team to be perfect.

“And unfortunately we had a problem with the pitstop of Felipe, on the tyre, and it cost a lot of positions. It’s a lot of pressure on the guys, and you need to be perfect every time. You’ve seen when you lose so many seconds then you full behind and then the race is difficult. Then you have to push and then you use the tyres, so it’s all connected. That for sure is a new situation for this year.”

Mark Webber went into the Malaysian GP with one hand tied behind his back after losing his KERS on the lap to the grid.

He thus didn’t have it for the start, but he also lost ground with a bad initial getaway even before KERS would have clicked in later on the pit straight. Having tumbled to ninth he eventually recovered to fourth.

“It was a tough race,” said Webber. “Even out of the box it was not a good start, and then obviously you get killed on the long run [to Turn One] with no KERS, and also after Turn Two. Then also on the first three or four laps you try to pass them and they come back, so it’s tough to clear people without a bit of KERS.

“Anyway it was an interesting Grand Prix, and we keep learning. It’s not our day yet, but we’re pushing for it to come.”

Webber said he lost time around three quarters of the way through the race when he was caught behind Hamilton, who was in tyre trouble.

“Lewis was in strange trouble very early with his set. I would like to have gone a bit longer with that set, my fourth set, then have a better condition set at the end to nail the guys in trouble. I was losing a lot of time behind Lewis, who was in trouble, but that’s the way it was.”