Adam Cooper F1

Sebastian Vettel says winning three titles has not changed his approach to 2013, or affected his motivation in any way.

The German insists that it’s business as usual at the start of the new season.

“Well if there is a secret I think it’s not to think about what happened the last three years,” said Vettel. “I think the first title was very, very special. After that I don’t think you have that pressure any more. You’ve proved to yourself more than to anyone else that you can do so. After that obviously we had two fantastic years again, very different to each other.

“But as I said, you probably don’t think about what happened last year or the last three years. We are here, we have zero points on our side at the moment, the same as everyone else. So everyone has the same opportunities.

“The cars didn’t really change. Last year we saw it was very close, so I don’t expect it to be any different that last year. If anything maybe a little bit tighter. So it will be crucial to make the most out of every single race – but in terms of motivation… it was a long flight, but I’m happy to be here now and very pleased to start again.”

Vettel expects a tough battle this season.

“I think it’s going to be a long year. Obviously we’re looking forward to this weekend and this is the first of many. But I think we’ve seen in the last couple of years, last year in particular, that it’s a long season and every race is very important. So this is the place we start but then there are many other places coming.”

Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari in much better shape than it was this time last year, but insists that the Scuderia is just one of five teams that will set the pace in 2013.

Alonso stressed how important it is for Ferrari to get off to a flying start this season.

“I think it was not difficult to start better than last year because it was difficult to start any worse,” said Alonso in Melbourne today. “We were a little bit too far behind, and the winter has been much better than the last year, understanding the car and working with the car and getting the results we more or less expect.

“That will give us much more confidence and optimism to start the season, but who knows? I think it will be a very interesting championship, very challenging first part of the championship with Australia, Malaysia. Difficult circuits, difficult weather as well – changeable. So we need to start on the right foot and hopefully scoring some good points for the championship.”

Asked if Ferrari can win the season opener, he said: “I think difficult to know. No-one knows who can win this race at this moment. We have to wait and see for answers to some questions that winter testing doesn’t answer. I think there are top teams with a little bit of advantage.

“Maybe it’s not the same as last year where we saw seven different winners in the seven first races. It was a little bit mixed on the grid. I think this year with the consistency in the rules I expect the five top teams to have a little advantage and not to have many, many surprises in the first races. But from these five top teams I think it’s very difficult to see really after winter testing who has this extra two- or three-tenths that can make you win. At the moment I think it’s very close and very difficult to choose one favourite.

“I think Mercedes, McLaren, Lotus, Ferrari and Red Bull show up some potential in different days in testing and different parts of races last year. I think it‘s difficult to choose.”

Alonso said the team is well prepared after testing,

“We more or less did the programme that we planned – even though we had some changeable weather on some days – and we arrived here with our hundred per cent of the potential at the moment in the car. We don’t really miss anything, that was a problem before.

“So, hopefully it’s enough to be competitive and this circuit in particular I like a lot. I have been always very comfortable here and with good performance, the same in Malaysia, these first two races can be a good opportunity for us to score some good points. But I don’t know how quick we can be.”

Venezuelan GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez has been signed as Marussia’s reserve driver, and will complete some FP1 sessions for the team this year.

The 26-year-old did the Abu Dhabi Young Driver tests with Lotus Racing/Team Lotus in 2010 and 2011, and also tested for the team under its Caterham guise at Mugello in 2012. He also had a run for Force India at Magny-Cours last season.

“We welcome Rodolfo to the Marussia F1 Team and take encouragement from the fact that he has all the right experience to be able to fulfil the role of Reserve Driver in the event that he is required to step into a seat,” said John Booth. “To further prepare him we look forward to seeing him take part in a number of FP1 sessions throughout the season, when we will also have the opportunity to evaluate his performances for the future.”

“I am very excited to be joining the Marussia F1 Team and at such an exciting time in their development,” said Gonzalez. “Working closely with the race drivers and engineers at every stage of the race weekend is a fantastic opportunity for me to learn outside of the car and I hope that I can make a significant contribution to the Team’s progress.”

He added: “Although it is a big moment for my career, the people of Venezuela are going through a sad time at present due to the death of President Chavez, so I hope this news lifts their spirits a little. For me, I am disappointed that I was not able to share the news with him personally.”

McLaren has confirmed that it is splitting from Vodafone at the end of the 2013 season – while adding that it will announce its new title sponsor in December, after the last race.

The news will inevitably encourage speculation that TelMex, or another Mexican entity, could be a possible replacement.

A team statement said: “Having met and exceeded all the highly ambitious targets that Vodafone had set for its title partnership with McLaren, the company has now decided to focus on business priorities away from Formula 1 sponsorship.”

Meanwhile Vodafone Group Chief Commercial Officer Morten Lundal said: “Vodafone and McLaren set ourselves highly ambitious goals in 2007. Over the past six years, we’ve set new standards in sports marketing together, and in doing so have achieved all of those objectives. We look forward to continuing to work together throughout the 2013 season.”

Regarding the future, the team added: “While the current title partnership is in place with Vodafone, McLaren will not disclose its new title partnership, but will make an exciting announcement on 2^nd December 2013, following the last Grand Prix of the season.”

Ross Brawn says he’s pleased with progress at Mercedes over recent weeks but admits once again that the true form of the W04 will only become apparent in Melbourne.

Mercedes ended the Barcelona test at the top of the time sheets, but Brawn is under no illusions.

“The start of a new F1 season is always an intense but exciting time for the team,” said Brawn in a team preview. “Our factories in Brackley and Brixworth have been buzzing with activity with both Nico and Lewis visiting to complete their final preparations on the simulator, and the team working to finish the cars, engines and pack the freight for the four flyaway races coming up.

“The first race is where we can really begin to assess our competitive position and how much of a step forward we have made with our new Silver Arrow. We had a successful pre-season testing programme and personally, I am pleased with the progress we have made, both with the car and in terms of how we operate as a team.

“However, testing is simply that; racing is a completely different situation and Melbourne will see much higher track temperatures and more varied conditions than we have experienced so far.”

Meanwhile Toto Wolff added: “When it comes to starting a new season, it’s only facts that count – everything else is simply speculation. The facts are that we had a good winter test programme, completed the second highest mileage of any team and made some good progress. Lewis and Nico are working well together and there is a positive dynamic in the team, from the factory to the track.

“So we head to Australia well prepared. But we know, too, that we will be running in very different temperatures, on a different track surface and that every team will have to finally lay their cards on the table in qualifying on Saturday. Only then can we have a first indication of where we stand in terms of performance. It may sound clichéd but our goal is simply to perform as well as possible.”

Lady Virginia Williams, wife of Sir Frank, has lost her battle with cancer at the age of 66.

The Williams team announced today: “Lady Virginia, or ‘Ginny’ as she was better known, died peacefully at the family home last night surrounded by Frank and the rest of the Williams family. Ginny had been bravely battling cancer for the past two and a half years.

“Ginny will always be an integral part of Williams’ history and success, and today we pay tribute to a much loved member of the Williams family who will be sorely missed.”

It goes without saying that Virginia Williams played an enormous role in getting Sir Frank through the aftermath of his March 1986 road car accident, and she had been a rock in his life ever since.

In 1991 she wrote an extraordinary book, ‘A Different Kind of Life,’ about her relationship with Frank and the impact the accident had on their lives together.

In it she revealed that they first met in 1967, when she was engaged to an aspiring F3 driver and working a receptionist. After her marriage hit trouble she began a relationship with Frank, and following her divorce, they married in 1974 in a ceremony hurriedly squeezed in between races.

She played a largely uncredited role in helping Frank through his difficult early years in F1, giving up her job and even loaning him money after selling her flat before their marriage. The book also recounts the huge sacrifices she made as Frank used every spare penny to keep the team going.

The couple had three children, Claire, Jonathan and Jaime. This writer sends his condolences to them, Sir Frank and the rest of her family.

Jenson Button says he’s feeling well prepared heading to Melbourne, but admits – like everyone else – that he has no idea how the form book looks.

Button has a history of starting the season well, having won the Australian GP three times in recent years.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s come around already!,” said Button in a team race preview. “It seems like only last week that I was standing on top of the podium in Sao Paulo; I really can’t believe that we’re all getting ready to board flights to Australia. It feels incredible – the time has gone by so quickly.

“One of the most fascinating things about Formula 1 is the way it resets itself each and every winter. I’ve seen every side of that – you can have a terrible winter of testing, then turn up at the first race and be competitive; equally, you can look impressive in winter testing and be nowhere in Melbourne. If you’re lucky, it all comes together in the tests and you hit the ground running at the first race. That’s always the goal.

“This year, I don’t think any team really knows or understands the competitive order. It’s been an extremely hard-to-read winter: varying fuel-loads and levels of tyre degradation mean that it’s hard to accurately predict who’ll arrive in Australia with the best-sorted car. But that’s part of the game.”

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.”