Adam Cooper F1

Fernando Alonso will start the Brazilian GP from eighth place, four places behind title rival Sebastian Vettel.

The Spaniard was keen to point out that he reached the podium from similar places in the last two events, adding that he needs a “chaotic” race.

“Nothing surprising, we started seventh in Abu Dhabi, ninth in the USA [before the penalties], and eighth here, so more or less the same. We’ll try to repeat the performance on Sunday and try to achieve the podiums we achieved in Abu Dhabi and Austin starting in those positions.

“So, an interesting race. Obviously we need some strange circumstances, we need a chaotic race in a way, with rain affecting it or something. Let’s hope we see something like that.

“Maybe the rain can help, but you never know. We need to push the maximum to enjoy tomorrow’s race, and as I said, try to be in the podium.”

He played the significance of any move towards a wet set-up: “Nothing changes in our days. I think F1 now is dominated by aerodynamics, the only thing you can change is you can put more downforce or less downforce on the car.

“We ran with maximum downforce in the dry and obviously it’s the same in the wet, so no big changes, or no one jumped today for a wet set-up, because there’s minimum changes.”

Sebastian Vettel will start the Brazilian GP from fourth place after losing out to both McLarens and team mate Mark Webber in Q3.

Vettel was fastest in Q2 but was on the back foot after making mistake on his first run in Q3, which saw him drop to 10th at one stage.

“On the first run I made a mistake in Turn 4, the second run I was pretty happy with it,” he said. “Q1 was quite busy, the circuit was getting quicker throughout, so the last couple of laps were the most important.

“I’ve come out of qualifying and I could have done a little bit better. I need to go back now and see the data and see where I wasn’t quick enough, obviously Mark was a bit quicker. I think all in all we are in good shape, we’ve been competitive all weekend. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow. We have to do our race. We’ve had 19 race so far this is just another one. We’ll try to do our best.”

Asked whether he would be out to win the race, he said: “Of course, we’re not here to finish fourth, we’re here to fight for victory. McLaren was very quick all weekend, we knew that they would be competitive again in qualifying. Like I said the lap in Q3 was maybe not 100% perfect, so I need to go back and check out where I lost out.”

Lewis Hamilton was in upbeat mood after practice in Brazil having topped both the morning and afternoon sessions.

Hamilton says he was encouraged by the pace of the McLaren on a day when the high temperatures made it difficult for everyone.

“It’s so hot here and I think the track temperature went up 10C or something like that,” said Hamilton. “You’re just sliding around, it’s almost like the tyres are melting as you’re going round, it’s just so hot. Our runs were still pretty good though. The laps are so fast. It’s obviously 1m14s, when I’d done my long run I felt I’d only done 10 laps maybe, but I’d actually done 15 laps, so it’s not so bad.

“It depends on what fuel loads people were on, but we’re definitely strong, just as we were in the last three or four races. But here’s it’s so tough on the tyres, I hope that we can continue to compete with them tomorrow.

“The single lap pace was good. I struggled a little bit on the prime, but on the option was able to get a very good lap out. At the time it was eight-tenths faster than anyone, although they closed the gap towards the end. Sebastian had several attempts, and he got close, but it didn’t look like he could match the time, so that’s a positive for us.

“We are definitely there or thereabouts this weekend. The long runs are the hardest part, looking after the tyres. Red Bull have generally been very good at that. We seem to be a little bit quicker than them on the long run, at least we’re quicker than Webber.”

Hamilton said he was savouring his final weekend with McLaren: “Yeah, every moment. I just took some pictures of my engineers, I’ll take some pictures of my mechanics later. This was one of the best Fridays for a long, long time, so it’s a perfect Friday to have.”

Esteban Gutierrez admits he has a lot to learn and says he doesn’t know yet if he’s well enough prepared for his F1 debut with Sauber next year.

Although the Mexican has been associated with the team for several years, he has done relatively little testing during that time.

“To be honest I don’t know if I’m ready yet,” said Gutierrez. “I think when I’m going to be living the position of being an F1 driver next season, then I’m going to know if I was ready or not! But definitely I feel that I was comfortable to do the next step in my career. After all the experience in Formula BMW, F2, GP3 and GP2 – two years in GP2 – and now F1, it’s one of the basic structures of introduction into racing.

“And now reaching F1 is just the beginning of a reality, so I’m very pleased with it and really thankful with all my team my family, my parents, because they were always very supportive. It’s a family project and reaching this position is very special for us, it’s an important step in my career.”

Regarding the expectations in Mexico given the success of Sergio Perez, he said: “It’s important to take it in a very realistic way. Of course I’m going to try to adapt as quick as possible, and not only as quick as possible, I want to reach a certain solidness in F1 first of all. I think one of the main goals is to try to be consistent, because that’s the way to be then progressive into the future.

“I think things for the team have been looking very good in the last two years, and hopefully we can do another step next season.”

On the subject of new team mate Nico Hulkenberg he said: “Nico is a very experienced driver, knowing that he will be my team mate, I think it’s great to have a good reference.”

Caterham has confirmed that Charles Pic has joined the team on a multi-year contract.

Intriguingly the announcement underlined that Renault is very pleased to see a French driver powered by its engines next year, so clearly the manufacturer has been in the loop on the deal.

Team boss Cyril Abiteboul said: “We are thrilled that Charles has decided to join us for his second season in F1 and beyond. We are all looking forward to working with a young driver who has clearly shown in his first season in F1 that he has the pace, racecraft and demeanour to help us achieve our goals.

“Throughout the 2012 season we have been monitoring the progress that Charles has made, challenging us on several occasions in qualifying, and it is clear that he is a special talent. As the year has progressed he has performed extremely well against a very experienced teammate and we are looking forward to seeing him develop further within the environment we will provide in 2013 and beyond.

“We will continue growing together, and the energy and image he will bring to our team and his partners will be a very positive influence on the seasons that lie ahead. Being able to make this announcement before the end of the current season gives us the chance now to allow Charles and the team to prepare fully for the 2013 season and quickly learn how to maximise the performance benefits of the Renault Sport F1 and Red Bull Technology powertrain that will be new to him.”

Emphasising the French commercial involvement, Pic added: “I’m enthusiastic to have the opportunity to continue to grow in a team that has a technical relationship with a number of French global companies, including Renault and Total, plus an Official Partnership with EADS. It is clear that the team has great ambitions for the future: the investments already made and the decisions taken in the last few months show how committed the shareholders are to succeed and demonstrates their willingness to keep going forward.

“The prospect of the automotive industry project nurtured by Caterham Group to produce sports road cars in conjunction with Renault is another reason for my decision to join the team. I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun for the roles they have played in helping make this dream come true.

“I am very excited about starting my second year in F1 with a team that has so much potential. Caterham F1 Team has everything in place to help it move into a position to fight with a number of teams ahead. I know how determined the team is to keep progressing and I am looking forward to playing my part in helping them move up the grid.”

Sauber has finally confirmed that Esteban Gutierrez will race alongside Nico Hulkenberg  next year.

Given the ongoing Telmex commitment the inclusion of the Mexican at the expense of Kamui Kobayashi comes as no surprise.

Meanwhile Dutchman Robin Frijns, who tested for the team in Abu Dhabi, will be the reserve driver.

“Esteban has already been part of the team for a long time and we have followed his career very closely,” said Monisha Kaltenborn. “In 2010 we signed him up as an affiliated driver, and in 2011 and 2012 he was our test and reserve driver. We mapped out his path to Formula One step by step.

“Esteban has great talent and now he’s ready to take the leap. We are in no doubt we have a strong driver pairing in place for the 2013 season with Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez.

“Monitoring Robin’s racing career makes it easy to spot his potential. This was the reason we gave him the chance to drive the Sauber C31-Ferrari at the Young Driver Days in Abu Dhabi. He managed this very well. We will now carefully guide him to Formula One. This is a long way, but Robin has got the skills to do that successfully.”

Regarding Kobayashi, she said: “Over the last three years Kamui has shown us he is not only a fierce competitor on the track, but also a wonderful person and fantastic team player. Every member of our team has the greatest respect for him, and his podium in Japan was a particularly emotional moment for all of us.

“This has not been an easy decision for us to take, but we have committed ourselves to a new beginning and our time with Kamui will come to an end after the final two races of the season. We wish Kamui all the best for the future. Our thanks also go to Sergio Pérez, who has claimed three podiums for the team so far and now has the opportunity at McLaren-Mercedes to display his immense talent with one of the most successful teams in Formula One history. We would also like to wish Sergio all the best and every success for the future.”

Gutiérrez said “After three years working with Sauber I feel very grateful for all the attention I have received from everyone in the team and for all their input, which has allowed me to develop into a Formula One driver in a very progressive way. Now, after experiencing other categories of racing as an introduction to Formula One, this is the start of the real challenge to succeed at the pinnacle of motor sport.

“The support from my family, as well as from my sponsors, has been a key factor in getting there and I am very grateful to everyone who has been involved in our project. It will be a great pleasure to be racing in the same team as an experienced driver like Nico Hülkenberg. He will be a good reference point for me and will push me to adapt quickly to F1 competition so we can develop the car together with the team in the best way.”

Fernando Alonso reiterated today that the outcome of this weekend’s title showdown in Brazil is out of his hands – and all is finish on the podium and then see how rival Sebastian Vettel fares.

Alonso is 13 points behind the German, and this needs at least a third place to have any chance of winning the title on Sunday afternoon.

“I think we need to try to do a normal weekend, and try to score as many points as we can,” said Alonso. “Obviously it will be good to be on the podium and score a minimum 15 points and then when we cross the line we see where Sebastian is and we try to do some numbers after that.

“The first priority for us is to be on the podium, let’s say, which give us the possible to score more than 13 points and then we need to wait obviously for the results from Red Bull because it is not in our hands, we have not much to lose, we have only the possibility to win something and we will try to do our best.”

Asked about his loss to Vettel in Abu Dhabi in 2010, Alonso said: “I think these are different circumstances from Abu Dhabi. Now we have DRS, KERS so it was a little bit more difficult to pass, and maybe the rule was also introduced because of that race.

“I think even if you find yourself at the back of the grid, you’re still able to recover positions as we saw in Abu Dhabi this year. Even if Seb started last, he finished on the podium, so we will see what we have in mind, that this is Formula One.

“This is a sport and anything can happen until the chequered flag so we will try to do the best race we can and, as I said, cross the line on the podium which gives us more than 13 points and see where Sebastian crosses the line. If we win, we will be very happy but we know that we need some strange combination of results; if we don’t win, we will congratulate him and we will try next year.”

Alonso also made it clear that Ferrari has to find performance in 2013.

“We are working hard, it was a tough season for us, the first couple of months were not as we expected. When we put the car on the circuit the first time in Jerez we were two seconds off the pace, and we didn’t understand how the car was working, so we changed many things.

“There was a lot of work going on in the wind tunnel in Maranello, in the car itself, and after some understanding of the car we were a little bit more in the pace, and we were able to fight for podiums more or less constantly all the season. And that gave the possibility to be right now fighting for the World Championship.

“But we are not totally happy with the performance of the car all through the season, and many changes will be made for next year. Hopefully we can recover a little bit of the gap we have now. In winter we will have to do an extra job compared to the other teams to recover this gap.”

Sebastian Vettel insists that he will treat this weekend’s World Championship showdown in Brazil like any other event.

Vettel has a 13-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel heading into the finale at Interlagos, with the weather forecast predicting rain for Sunday.

“I think the secret is to take it as any other,” said Vettel. “If you look in the calendar, Brazil is a race like every other one. You get the same amount of points and I think we are here to attack. Obviously we know that we are in a good position. Obviously, as I said, it’s something we know but still we have to be sharp and ready to attack.

“I think the circuit seemed to suit our car in previous years. I think we need to confirm it. So all eyes on Friday, to start the weekend, to get into the groove, but I think we can be as confident as we could in this stage. Obviously we know there is a lot ahead but we are in a great position.

“The weekend starts tomorrow morning and not on Sunday, so really we have to go step by step, trying to do everything to ensure that we get the maximum result. Historically we’ve been very quick here, historically we know also it’s quite a place where a lot of things can happen so we need to be sharp in the moment and see what we can get.”

Regarding the prospect of a wet race on Sunday, Vettel said: “In terms of general preparation we do what we can. Weather-wise, it’s Sao Paulo. It’s the same as if you go to Spa, you know, things can happen quickly and the weather can change a lot here. I spoke to some locals and I think there was a big rain two days ago which wasn’t expected.

“Probably for Saturday, Sunday, there’s some rain on the way, but then again you don’t know how much, and when so I think I asked Pirelli yesterday if they have all the containers here with the rain tyres, and that’s the case, so I don’t think we have to be concerned!”

Coca-Cola has announced that it will sponsor Lotus via its ‘burn’ energy drink brand next season.

The deal, which has been rumoured for some time, sees the Coke brand take on Red Bull.

Emmanuel Seuge, the group director of Worldwide Sports & Entertainment Marketing for the Coca-Cola Company, said: “The creativity of teams and the passion for speed and energy that fuel the sport of Formula 1, make a partnership with this iconic sporting property a compelling proposition for the burn brand.

“Lotus F1 Team, as the number one emerging challenger in the sport, has demonstrated exceptional creativity in their approach to Formula 1 racing and their collaborations with partners – an approach that mirrors the philosophy of burn. We will bring that same creativity through burn, incorporating art and music in a way that will break the conventions of traditional Formula 1 sponsorship marketing.”

Eric Boullier said: “We are proud that The Coca-Cola Company has chosen Lotus F1 Team as the best vehicle to represent the burn brand in its most high profile partnership.

“We are excited to partner with burn to build a new and innovative model for sponsorships that will combine experiences, content creation and social media, an area in which our team has been at the cutting edge in Formula 1 for the past 18 months, recording the highest growth rate amongst fans this year.”

New York financial company Bluewaters Communications Holdings has launched a $650m legal claim against Bernie Ecclestone, his associated companies and others in relation to the Gerhard Gribkowsky bribe affair.

In essence Bluewaters says it was a potential buyer of the F1 business, and lost out because of the bribe.

The action, filed in the Supreme Court of New York State, is against Ecclestone, CVC Capital Partners, Ecclestone-run companies Alpha Prema, Alpha Topco and Delta Topco, Gribkowsky, and Bayerische Landesbank.

The introduction sums it up thus: “This case arises out of a $44 million bribe paid by defendant Ecclestone to defendant Gribkowsky using money supplied by defendants CVC and BayernLB. Gribkowsky was prosecuted and convicted of taking the bribe and is now serving an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence. Ecclestone orchestrated and paid the bribe to preserve his status as head of an automobile-racing empire known as ‘Formula 1.’

“Plaintiff was the high bidder for the purchase of Formula 1, but Ecclestone bribed Gribkowsky—using CVC’s and BayernLB’s money—to steer the sale of Formula 1 to CVC for CVC’s and Ecclestone’s benefit. Plaintiff has been damaged in an amount exceeding $650 million.”

After explaining the details chronology of the affair over some 27 pages, it concludes: “Each of CVC, Alpha Prema, Alpha Topco, and Delta Topco extracted billions of dollars from Formula 1 that do not rightfully belong to them. CVC, Alpha Prema, Alpha Topco, and Delta Topco have profited enormously from CVC’s wrongful acquisition of Formula 1, which is currently valued at $10 billion.

“Ecclestone was unjustly enriched by receiving an improper ‘finder’s fee.’ Gribkowsky was unjustly enriched by accepting an improper bribe. CVC, Alpha Prema, Alpha Topco, Delta Topco, Ecclestone, and Gribkowsky must disgorge the profits rightfully belonging to Bluewaters.”