Adam Cooper F1

Fernando Alonso finished Friday in Austin in third place, and the Spaniard pronounced himself happy with Ferrari’s latest update package.

“The updates, they seem to work,” said Alonso. “We are still analysing all the data from today, but the first impression is that it’s all going good, so I’m happy. Obviously if we introduce a little step every race the others do the same, so we keep the gap more or less consistent.

“Starting third would be fantastic, but we were third many Fridays, and then on Saturday McLaren, Lotus they seem to use the potential that maybe on Friday they hide. It’s possible that we’ll have a tough qualifying. But we were seventh and ninth in Abu Dhabi, and we scored three points more than Vettel. If we are better than seventh I think we can score even more points.”

Alonso said he wasn’t concerned about the apparent pace of the Red Bull today.

“No surprises for us, they are the quickest out there, they have the fastest package, they do first and second in all the practices, first and second in all qualifying, and if everything goes normal, first and second in the race.

“In the race sometimes everything is not going normal, and we put more pressure on them on Sundays, we will take out opportunities, we will fight every lap in the race.

“We know the strong point of them, we keep repeating this every race, is the speed of the package. They are very quick. Our strong points are the united team, a very strong team, the driveability of our car. We try to use each of our strong points, and the important thing is to score 11 points more than them in these two races. I’m still convinced that we can do it, but we are not surprised when they are first and second in practice and qualifying.”

Mark Webber gave COTA a thumbs-up after finishing the first day of practice in second place.

After a troublefree Friday Webber lost out only to his team mate, Sebastian Vettel.

“It’s a pretty good track,” said the Aussie. “Obviously it was very slippery to start with. That was quite frustrating probably for all of us, but the track rubbered in pretty well at the end. We got into a pretty good rhythm. As usual with all new circuits you’ve got to work out where you can prioritise your time, and the compromises around the lap. It’s got a bit of everything, really.

“It’s fun, it’s a new challenge for us. It can be demanding and a bit frustrating at times, because we want to learn faster, that’s the way it always is with is guys, but in the end I think we executed a pretty clean Friday.

“We know that the tyres are pretty high maintenance, that’s something we’ve got to look into tonight. The rest of it was pretty straightforward, no huge surprises, I suppose the grip level of the track, but that’s always improving.”

Turn 19, near the end of the lap, has been the scene of many off-track excursions.

“It’s quite blind on the apex, so it’s difficult for is to see the exact apex point, and then it just seems to be very, very slippery from apex to exit. A lot of us look like we’re pretty amateurish. We just refuse to believe that that’s the grip that’s available, that’s why we keep making mistakes!”

Regarding prospects for overtaking, he said: “It’s not the easiest track, especially off line it’s very slippery. It’s a good circuit, let’s see what the racing’s like.”

Webber also cautioned that the even numbered side of the grid will be very slippery.

“I think first of all the left hand side of the grid will be a joke, so you want to be on the right hand side if you can, pole or third or fifth or something like that, that will be the first thing. I think the first corner is a bit like La Source at Spa, and we all know that.”

Lewis Hamilton denied recent suggestions from McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh that he already regrets his move to Mercedes.

Whitmarsh made the comment to the official F1 website last week.

“I was a little bit surprised to hear that,” said Hamilton today. “It’s clearly absolutely not the case. I’ve got a great team and I’ve been with them such a long time. So, I’m sure everyone has emotions within the team but I’m still here giving 100 per cent to them for the last two races. Of course it’s quite emotional for me but I’m very, very happy with the decision I’ve made.”

Meanwhile Hamilton says that he has no reason stay clear of the championship battle this weekend as he has his own race to run.

“We have no means to try and get in the way of anyone, but we want to beat them, we’re still fighting for position in the championship, even though we’re not fighting for the top position so we just have to focus on our job. Kimi did a great job in the last race. I think we were very strong as well, hopefully we will have less reliability issues this weekend and hopefully we can compete right at the front with all these guys.”

Lewis impressed by what he’s seen of COTA so far: “It’s quite an interesting track. It’s quite difficult to learn initially but it looks fantastic to drive. I really started to enjoy it once I got used to it, which took perhaps a little bit longer than some of the other circuits to learn but it’s going to be very interesting this weekend.”

Fernando Alonso says its business as usual for himself and Ferrari in Austin as he tries to take the World Championship battle to the final race in Brazil.

Alonso says he simply wants to have a troublefree weekend and then see what results from it.

“Nothing really changed in terms of preparation and approach for the weekend,” said Alonso. “Maximum concentration, maximum effort from everybody in the team. Preparing some new parts that we are bringing every grand prix and hopefully that we can test them tomorrow and have some feedback about that.

“Try to do a very good, smooth Friday, good test and here, maybe more important than some other circuits, to do a lot of laps, to learn the racing lines, the possibilities and maybe some tricks that the circuit can have. And a good Saturday, try to be in the best position possible for the race and 58 or 60 or whatever laps, qualifying laps, Sunday try to score as many points as possible. Exactly the same as every other weekend.”

Alonso said the fact that Austin is a new circuit won’t necessarily level the playing field in terms of the fight with Red Bull.

“I don’t think it’s an advantage for it to be a new circuit. I think we all will adapt very quickly in first practice and we all have simulators and everything that we use to prepare for the race, so I think that’s more or less the same as every other race.

“I’m very confident, I trust my team, I trust myself. We are honest with ourselves, we know that we don’t have the quickest package out there and we’ve qualified an average of sixth or seventh this season, so if we see that on Saturday we are sixth or seventh, people will say ‘maybe you say bye bye to the title’.

“I think it’s our normal position but even with this normal position, we were leading the championship until three races ago and we are ten points behind the leader, so this is not our strong point. Our strong point is to score more points than the others on Sunday and I’m sure we will do this in the next two races.”

No stranger to championship battles, Alonso made some interesting comments about his past experiences.

“I’m much more relaxed, much more focused. In 2006, I arrived at the last race fighting with Michael in Brazil. It was quite stressful, quite an intense weekend and not easy to get focused or sleep or things like that because it was a very emotional weekend.

“The year after, 2007, it was also a very stressful last race, three of us fighting for the World Champion:  Lewis, Kimi and me and it was also a stressful weekend and not easy to do things. In 2010, we arrived in Abu Dhabi, again fighting for the World Championship at the last race. I was much more calm there, I was more confident and things in the race, in the weekend were quite good for us and we did more or less – in terms of preparation and approach – it was much more calm and more mature, I felt, in 2010.

“The race was what it was and we didn’t win in the end but feeling-wise we were much more prepared. In these last two races, I feel, as I said before, completely normal. It’s good experience.

“It’s the fourth time we have been fighting for the World Championship up to the last race – hopefully – and you really feel the difference, being much more focused, concentrated, trying to do the job and understanding that if you do everything perfectly you have a chance; if you make a mistake you will lose the chance, so let’s focus on us.”

Bernie Ecclestone says he’s happy with the way COTA has turned out and is full of praise for the new venue.

“I think the circuit itself is absolutely fantastic,” said Bernie. “Everything they’ve done is unbelievable, everything we asked for they did. I think everything is fantastic. Everybody seems happy. I had a complaint about the weather not being hot as people were expected! They’ve done a super job, couldn’t ask for anything better.

Regarding the best way to grow the sport in America, he joked: “Have maybe 10 races like we have in Europe – same population, same size.

“I think America can probably last without F1, and I suppose F1 can probably last without America. But it’s good to be here.”

He also had some tongue-in-cheek comments about another race on the continent.

“I’ve been asked this morning about – what’s that place next door, Mexico isn’t it? I said this all you’ve got to build, and we’re in business.”

Bernie confirmed that F1 would not return to the old Mexico City circuit: “Definitely not.”

HRT has taken the unusual step of confirming on its website that the team is up for sale and that negotiations are ongoing.

Thesan Capital, who bought the team only last season and has since moved it to Madrid, has been looking for investment for some time.

The statement said: “The current owners of HRT Formula 1 Team, TC II S.a.rl., would like to confirm that they are currently in talks with a number of groups interested in buying the team. HRT Formula 1 Team’s current management hopes to conclude the sale in the upcoming weeks and, with it, enable the team to continue progressing and become a reference in modern-day Formula 1 after the important achievements already accomplished in this 2012 season. HRT Formula 1 Team hopes to communicate the name of its new owner in the upcoming weeks.

“We believe the moment to let new investors come through for HRT Formula 1 Team has arrived. We’re very proud of the work done by the entire team and of the excellent sporting evolution achieved but the time has come for the team to continue growing with new financial backing. We’re convinced that the sporting potential of the team is huge and that the presence of new investors can give it a big boost.”

Pedro de la Rosa has a contract for 2013, but the second seat reamins up for grabs.

Something familiar about that helmet… Cheever in the F60 today

Italian F3 racer Eddie Cheever had his first F1 experience at the wheel of a Ferrari F60 at Vallelunga today.

Also driving the 2010 car was the 19-year-old Cheever’s series rival Riccardo Agostini, and EuroSeries F3 champion Daniel Juncadella.

Cheever’s test, arranged by the Italian sporting authority ACI, came some 35 years after his famous father had a run in a Ferrari 312T2.

“At the beginning I was a bit nervous, this is a once in a lifetime experience,” said Cheever. “I hope this can happen more than once actually, but doing it once is already quite a lot for a driver. The initial excitement being gone I started to understand better the car and I managed to express my driving in the best way.”

Agostini noted: “It has certainly been a positive experience and I am quite happy about how things went. The approach to the Ferrari has been very good and I found myself at ease with engineers and with their work method.”

Pastor Maldonado insists that he could have finished as high as second in Abu Dhabi, had he not been hampered by a KERS problem.

The Venezuelan, who also survived a brush with Mark Webber that sent the Aussie into a spin, eventually finished fifth. It was his first top six finish in F1 other than his Barcelona victory.

“We had a problem with the KERS after the safety car,” he told this blog. “The pace was fantastic, but without KERS, it was impossible. Apart from that you have two DRS zones, so it was impossible to fight without it. But I recovered the race and I managed to open the gap against Kobayashi.

“I was quite worried about that, because there was another safety car, and I thought I would get passed by everyone. But I managed to open the gap again and do a very strong pace in the last stint, even without the KERS and with some small gearbox problem.

“I’m very disappointed, we missed a good podium because the car was so competitive. It was an easy second for us, because Fernando was already behind us and our pace was much stronger than Ferrari, for sure.”

Regarding the clash with Webber, he said: “He closed my line. I was on the inside of the corner, and maybe if he stayed on the outside he would get the position from me. But he tried to close my line. I’m disappointed for him because he was doing quite a good race, and maybe he didn’t look for me on the inside.”

Cyril Abiteboul, who became CEO of Caterham F1 in September, has been promoted to the role of team principal.

The former Renault man replaces team founder Tony Fernandes, who is focussing on the Caterham Group and his other businesses.

Fernandes said: “The strategy for the establishment and growth of Caterham Group has now reached the stage where we can step back from the day to day running of the F1 team in favour of Cyril who will be able to dedicate himself full time to the role and work closely with Riad [Asmat] to help take our automotive interests into the next stage of their growth.

“[Cyril] has extensive experience in F1, he is extremely well respected and he shares our vision for what we want our team to achieve. He takes over during a season when we have not yet fulfilled our potential, but at a time when we have everything in place to help us do so. One day we will earn our seat at the top table of Formula 1, and he is the right person to take us there.”

Cyril Abiteboul added: “We have big challenges ahead of us but the shareholders are committed and behind us to help us take significant steps forward over the coming years, and one day challenge for the highest honours in F1.”

Christian Horner says that Red Bull Racing has to go to the penultimate race Austin in aggressive mode in order to secure the World Championship for Sebastian Vettel

From his pit lane start Vettel managed to charge into third place in Abu Dhabi, just behind his title rival. Horner admits he was relieved to lose only three points to Fernando Alonso, having feared that the damage might have been a lot worse.

“We know how consistent Fernando has been this year,” said Horner after the Abu Dhabi race. “And it was entirely predictable that starting sixth on the grid he was going to be on the podium.

“And so you had mentally got an image of him taking between 15 and 25 points out of us today, so to limit that damage to only three and finish behind him is a remarkable recovery. A great drive by Sebastian. Anybody that doubted that he’s a racer, I think he’s showed world class today.”

Although he remains cautious regarding Vettel’s title prospects Horner concedes that the constructors’ title is almost in the bag.

“There’s 50 available, we go in plus 10,” he said of Vettel’s prospects in Austin. “The constructors’ is looking great, hopefully we can score five points over the next two races, but with the drivers as we’ve seen this weekend when you’re on the edge, things can go wrong.

“We can’t take anything for granted, we’ve got to go to Austin and attack the weekend. It’s a new track for everybody, and we’ve got to go there and get a good result.”