Adam Cooper F1

Nico Rosberg has extended his Mercedes contract with a multi-year deal, following the trend set by Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button.

The news puts an end to any speculation about the German heading to Ferrari any time soon.

Rosberg was already under contract for 2012. The team has not put a date on the new deal, saying only that it includes 2013 and beyond.

Rosberg said: “I am very excited to have extended my contract with the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. To win in a Silver Arrow will be one of the highlights of my life so far, and I greatly enjoy helping to lead our team in our quest to become the best in Formula One.

“I have every confidence that the team will provide me with a winning car, and that we will be able to contribute to the fantastic racing heritage of the Silver Arrows. I look forward to great times in the years ahead with the Mercedes-Benz family.”

Ross Brawn added: “We are delighted to have extended our contract with Nico as we know that he is a driver who can win races and championships. Nico has performed exceptionally well for our Silver Arrows team over the past two seasons, achieving results at the very limit of the technical capabilities of our
current car.

“He has an excellent work ethic and, together with Michael, this gives us a driver pairing who consistently push the team to improve and progress. As we continue to strengthen our team for the future, we look forward to providing Nico with a car which will enable him to compete right at the front of the field and achieve his deserved first win in Formula One.”

With the FIA having confirmed the chassis name changes last weekend both parties in the Lotus name dispute have issued a statement confirming that all has been resolved – and that Group Lotus now has the rights to the Team Lotus name.

Although in the recent FIA note LRGP retained its current name while Virgin and Caterham had new identities, it now clearly has the option to become Team Lotus.

The rebranded Caterham team will retain its green and livery next season.

A statement today said: “Proton, Group Lotus, 1Malaysia Racing Team and its owner Tony Fernandes are delighted to announce that the legal dispute in the English Courts relating to the “Lotus” and “Team Lotus” brands has now ended amicably with the parties agreeing settlement terms earlier this month.

“The terms of the settlement are confidential but the deal sees the “Lotus” brand reunited under the sole ownership of Group Lotus. This includes the rights to the “Lotus” and “Team Lotus” names in Formula 1 motor racing.

“1MRT will race in the 2012 Formula 1 season under the name “Caterham F1 Team” and will use a “Caterham” chassis.

“The deal also sees a working relationship established between the parties and they will work together on future projects in the automotive field.”

Both parties are now eager to win some goodwill from F1 fans.

Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar said: “On behalf of Group Lotus and Proton I would like to express how pleased we are that this matter is finally closed and we can now focus on looking forward to the future.

“We understand that this has been a very difficult and confusing time for the fans of the sport and the Lotus brand so we are glad to have reached a clear resolution on this important matter – I would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans for their continued support, it means everything to us.”

Riad Asmat of the current Team Lotus added: “We are proud of what we have achieved by bringing the Team Lotus name back to Formula One when many tried and although we are sad to say goodbye to Team Lotus we are excited about owning our own future and being in control of our own destiny. Now we have no one to be compared to. We make our own history and we will remain green and yellow.

“Now we look forward to an exciting future racing under our new team name of Caterham F1 Team. Please continue to support our very special spirit of never say die and support us on the track as we move up the field and demonstrate that the good do win.”

Californian Michael Lewis will test a 2009 Ferrari F60 at Vallelunga on November 15 as his prize for being the top rookie in the Italian F3 Championship.

The Italian motor sport authority – the CSAI – has been arranging the award since 2008, and it is clearly aimed at promoting local talent. In previous years tests have been given the top three finishers, but this year, they chose only overall champion Sergio Campana and rookie winner Lewis.

The 20-year-old Lewis also finished second overall in the championship, having won three races. He previously competed in Formula BMW in 2009 and 2010.

CSAI president Angelo Sticchi Damiani said: “The test by which in cooperation with Scuderia Ferrari we award the best drivers of our F3 championship is a moment of great satisfaction and unfinished pride for the Italian federation.”

The Vallelunga test does not fall under the usual restrictions as it is taking place with an out-of-date car.

Unfortunately for the drivers concerned their outing will be overshadowed somewhat by the Abu Dhabi test, which starts the same day.

Team Lotus has finally confirmed the long expected news that Steve Nielsen is joining the Norfolk outfit as Sporting Director.

The former policeman held a similar role at Renault until leaving earlier this season. Nielsen worked for the original Team Lotus in 1986-94, and had a long spell as Tyrrell team manager, where he worked with Mike Gascoyne for the first time. He replaces former Toyota man Dieter Gass, who is leaving the team.

“It is excellent news for the team that Steve has accepted the offer to join us as Sporting Director,” said Gascoyne. “I have worked with him extensively in the past at both Tyrrell and Renault where we played our parts in helping to build Championship winning teams, which is what we are aiming to do with Team Lotus. I am sure he will integrate very quickly into our operation and will be made very welcome by everyone in Hingham and Malaysia.

“We have also had some more very good news with the confirmation that our Team Manager Graham Watson has signed a new contract after having played a vital role in the factory and the race team since the early days of Team Lotus. This gives us a trackside team with experience, vision and strength in depth and I am sure both Steve and Graham will help us keep pushing forward as we make our challenge for long-term honours.”

Tony Fernandes added: “I first met Steve in Singapore 2010 and offered him a job then which he turned down, so I am delighted he has finally taken up the chance to join us.

“It is a good mark of our team that we can attract people of Steve’s calibre and I am thrilled that someone who is so well respected, and is coming from a team that is ahead of us in so many ways, shares our belief in our ability to grow and, in due course, challenge the midfield.”

Toyota confirmed this morning that Alex Wurz, Kazuki Nakajima and Nicolas Lapierre will head its LMP1 programme next year.

The trio will drive the Cologne-built hybrid car at Le Mans and in selected rounds of the World Endurance Championship.

Wurz and Nakajima were of course team mates at Williams in 2007. The Japanese driver had the third driver role and then landed a race seat when Wurz retired prior to the last race in Brazil.

Toyota says that it “will work intensely with all three drivers to learn more about the specific demands of endurance racing, as well as continuously developing the car. In the near future, this will include sessions on TMG’s driving simulator, which already features the Le Mans track and an LMP1 vehicle model.

“Each driver has significant experience at the top level of international motorsport and they have been selected to help the team develop during what is expected to be a learning season in 2012. The length of the respective contracts remains undisclosed.”

Toyota added that: “One car will be entered in selected rounds, although the final identity of the team and its race schedule remain under discussion.”

“As soon as I heard about the possibility to join the team I was instantly excited and keen to be involved,” said Wurz. “I love endurance racing and I have been a fan of Le Mans since my childhood, so I have great memories of Toyotas competing there, particularly the GT-One which was a really sexy, cool-looking car.

“As an ambitious Le Mans racer, this heritage combined with the immense technical capabilities at TMG makes a very attractive combination. So I am extremely happy to be involved, along with Nicolas and Kazuki. One of the most important things in endurance racing is the connection between the drivers. If the drivers are working together it is a very productive situation for the team and ultimately improves lap times and results.

“Nicolas has shown his speed while I really rate Kazuki as a person and a driver so I think we will be a strong team. I can’t wait to get started and I am fascinated by the new challenge of competing with a hybrid car. It is the future of racing so I am very excited that Toyota comes in with this technology. I know Toyota has a lot of expertise in this area and I hope this plays to our advantage.”

Lapierre said: “TMG has some very impressive capabilities and, together with the hybrid system, we have the potential to develop a really strong car. I am interested to experience the hybrid system for the first time; this adds a different aspect to our challenge and we have to consider some different strategic factors.”

“Le Mans will be a new experience for me but it is one I am very much looking forward to,” said Nakajima. “I am familiar with endurance racing thanks to my time in Japanese Super GT and this will help me to adjust.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has moved quickly to counter suggestions that Felipe Massa’s seat is under threat from Nico Rosberg for 2012.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was also keen to put an end to the rumours when the pair met the media at a Ferrari event in Mugello today.

Speaking about Massa, Domenicali said: “As for the rumours regarding all the drivers who are due to arrive in Maranello to replace him, I can only repeat my words and indeed those only recently uttered by our President, in every possible way, Felipe will also be with us in 2012 and that should make you understand how much faith we have in him.”

The team boss admitted that returning to Abu Dhabi next weekend – where last year’s title slipped out his hands – will be hard for Fernando Alonso.

“I am sure that, in the next few days, going back to Abu Dhabi will have an effect on Fernando, given what happened there last year, but this negative emotion will be a further incentive for him to turn things around in 2012. I am also counting heavily on Felipe’s will to fight back as he knows next year will be a key one in which, and I’m convinced of it, he will be able to show his true worth.”

Meanwhile he insisted that Ferrari would bounce back after its disappointing 2011 season.

“Clearly, we are not pleased, as we have said so often. In the remaining two races, we want to try and get on the podium and try all we can to get Fernando to second place in the Drivers’ classification.

“Meanwhile, everyone at Maranello is working to produce a car that is competitive right from the start of next season, when, as we are well aware, we can have only one goal, which is victory.

“We started very badly but then, coming into summer, we staged a good recovery which, among other things, saw us take the significant win at Silverstone. Then we had a programme of further development on the car, which should have brought us much closer to the front runners.

“Unfortunately, the updates introduced in Spa did not produce the results we hoped for and so we took a step backwards, partly because by then, we had interrupted the development of the 150 Italia to concentrate all our energies on next year’s car. In the last few races we also tested a few ideas and parts which will be useful in the near future and we will continue to do that in Abu Dhabi and Brazil.”

LRGP Eric Boullier has said that FIA confirmation of the change to the Lotus chassis name for 2012 is good for the sport, since it removes ambiguity – and he adds that it starts a new chapter for the Enstone team.

The three teams involved in name changes had not commented on last Thursday’s meeting pending official approval, which came through today.

“We are very pleased that our chassis name change has been approved,” said Boullier in a team statement. “We have said all along that, in the interests of the sport, it is important that we remove any ambiguity on this matter. It is also important that there are clearly identifiable teams on the grid, and today’s announcement goes some way towards ensuring that.

“It is the start of another chapter for Enstone, but not a whole new beginning. The team’s history and experience will allow us to take up this challenge with a controlled and swift process. We’re very much looking forward to 2012.”

The FIA has today formally confirmed that the three chassis name changes discussed in Geneva on Thursday have been approved.

In addition it has confirmed that Team Lotus will now be known as Caterham F1 Team, and Marussia Virgin Racing will be Marussia F1 Team – indicating that Virgin has been dropped not just from the chassis name, but from that of the team. Sources say Virgin will remain as a sponsor.

All teams still have time to adjust those names in the 2012 entry list to reflect sponsors etc.

A short statement said: “The FIA, on the basis of the support expressed by its F1 commission chaired by Bernie Ecclestone, which had a meeting in Geneva on November 3, has agreed the following team name changes as from 2012:”

Robert Wickens is to drive for Marussia Virgin Racing in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi GP.

The team says that the Canadian, who will stand in for Jerome D’Ambrosio, has been given the drive as a reward for winning the Renault 3.5 series. He has already driven the car in a straightline test at Vairano.

Wickens said: “This year just keeps getting better and better and I can’t thank Marussia enough for their continued support. The Vairano test was a good grounding for me, but the opportunity to kick things up a gear in a Free Practice session is obviously the next big step in my career and I hope my feedback will have a positive benefit on the team’s performance there.”

Announcing the news, John Booth said: “Robert has had a fantastic season in Formula Renault 3.5 and was the deserving victor of a hard-fought Championship. One of the founding principles of our Young Driver Programme was that we would reward success with important seat time to aid the progression of our rising stars through the ranks.

“Abu Dhabi is a track at which Jérôme has good experience as he ran there in the same Friday morning practice session a year ago and then in the Young Driver Test the following week. The Yas Marina Circuit therefore presents a better opportunity to provide this reward to Robert as there will be less impact on our engineering programme.

“We are also finalising our line-up for this year’s Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi and will announce this next week, but there again we look forward to putting the next generation of talent through their paces in what will be a tough test of their potential to progress to the highest level of motorsport.”

GP2 drivers Stefano Coletti and Kevin Ceccon will take part in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver test for Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Both drivers will also compete in the GP2 race supporting the Grand Prix, before getting a day and a half each in the F1 car.

Monaco-born Coletti won two GP2 races this year but didn’t finish the season after a crash in Spa, although he was fastest on the final day of the recent Barcelona test.

Italian Ceccon, who only turned 18 in September, will be one of the youngest drivers ever to take part in a official F1 test session.

Team boss Franz Tost said: “Scuderia Toro Rosso is well used to training young drivers and we are pleased to add Coletti and Ceccon to the list of students who have been through the Scuderia Toro Rosso school.

“Neither of them is part of the Red Bull Young Driver Programme, which is down to the fact that those drivers currently on the programme are still too young and inexperienced to deal with a Formula 1 car.”