FORMULA 1 2011

[MIKA27]

BBC to consider dropping F1 coverage?

The BBC may consider dropping Formula One coverage once the contract with the rights holder, Formula One Management (FOM), comes to an end in 2014.

A report by the Guardian newspaper suggests the corporation has highlighted F1 and Wimbledon as areas to cut or dramatically reduce in order to save £60 million on sports programming in a bid to reduce annual spend by £300m in total.

The worlds largest broadcaster only acquired the rights to show F1 in 2009 when the then current broadcaster, ITV, wasn't approached by FOM to renew the deal.

Whilst the sport may have an audience of millions, it isn't seen as core programming, nor is it shown during peak-time hours, which, at a cost of £40m per year, is classified as wasteful.

It is yet unknown if the move will go ahead with a spokesperson at the BBC refusing to comment.

"We are looking at a range of ideas and it would be wrong to comment on what is speculation," they said.

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Hispania to start season with no testing at all

The Hispania team will not conduct any pre-season testing prior to the first grand prix of the season in Australia, after certain parts of their car failed to arrive at the circuit today.

The team had hoped to run on Friday after launching their F111 in the Barcelona pit-lane. However a delay at customs meant they couldn't take to the track, nor will they run on Saturday either.

"Unfortunately we could not get the dampers out of customs," said team principal Colin Kolles. "The result of this is that we can't run tomorrow.

"This is life and we will overcome this problem."

The Spanish outfit suffered a similar fate in 2010 when they failed to attend any pre-season tests.

MIKA: Weather HRT claim their car is faster than last season or not (IMO) this just shows what kind of an outfit they are. Heading for testing at the last minute, what do they expect from customs?

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Lotus announces trio of test drivers

Lotus has announced that Davide Valsecchi, Luiz Razia and Ricardo Teixeira will form its test and reserve line-up this season.

Valsecchi and Razia drive for Lotus' sister squad AirAsia in GP2, and both had a run with the Formula 1 team at Catalunya this week. Their deal includes appearances in a number of yet to be determined grand prix practice sessions. Razia is officially labelled as 'third driver' with Valsecchi a 'test driver'.

Lotus CEO Riad Asmat said: "Luiz and Davide's efforts have helped Team AirAsia enjoy a very strong start to its debut season and their roles with Team Lotus will give them invaluable experience of the highest level of global motorsport which will help their natural talents develop in the right direction."

Razia was also a test driver for Virgin last season, and drove in the rookie sessions in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year. Valsecchi made his F1 debut at the same time, testing for Hispania.

Teixeira, who raced in Formula 2 last season, also drove the Lotus in a filming session and brief test this winter. A Lotus statement said he would be 'second test driver' as part of a 'long-term development programme'.

"On both my outings in Spain I took big steps forward as a racing driver, and I am very excited about the chance to play an active role in the growth of the team over the coming years," said Teixeira.

"There is a very special atmosphere in Team Lotus and to be able to represent my country as the first Angolan in F1 in this team means a huge amount to me personally, to my family and my whole country."

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Karthikeyan sure he will quickly settle

Narain Karthikeyan is optimistic that it will only take him a few races to get back up to full speed after five years away from the Formula 1 grid.

The Indian has made a surprise F1 comeback with Hispania this year. He last raced in the world championship with Jordan in 2005, though he tested with Williams until 2007. He has since raced in a variety of categories including NASCAR Trucks, A1GP, Superleague Formula and the Le Mans Series.

He had a few days of winter testing in HRT's 2010 car to reacclimatise, and thinks he will benefit from having the experienced Tonio Liuzzi to work with as his team-mate.

"I had two days in the wet and in the wet was fine, I was pretty fast," said Karthikeyan. "In the dry I'm still finding my feet a little bit. But with Tonio there it's a good reference. I think the driving styles are pretty similar from what I can see from the data we had.

"So I think overall give me a few races and I'll find my feet. I know I've been fast in the past so it shouldn't be a problem."

Karthikeyan is also confident about his fitness.

"Physically in the old car it was okay," he said. "But in the new car with more downforce I think once I've done two or three races it will be fine. I've been training really hard."

The 34-year-old shares his team's confidence that the F111 will be a significant step forward over last year's Hispania, which was generally the slowest car in the field.

"Obviously there are a lot of good people who are designing the car, and we have the partners that are helping us," said Karthikeyan. "It's early days yet, but if everything comes together as a package, then you've got to aim to be best of the new teams.

"I'm just talking, but it could be a difficult task, I don't know, because nobody has driven the car yet. Having said that, the detail of the car looks like a proper, modern car so we're hoping it's okay."

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Boullier not writing off any rivals

Renault team principal Eric Boullier believes that it would be unwise to write off Mercedes and McLaren as potential rivals to his team in 2011, despite both teams struggle to find pace in testing.

Renault's R31, along with Red Bull's RB7 and Ferrari's 2011 car, have all showed potential during the build-up to the season, but while remains optimistic over the new car's form Boullier says the team cannot afford to assume anything.

"I am not the kind of guy who will publicly say I am confident," the Frenchman told AUTOSPORT's users during a question and answer on this website's Live testing coverage. "I know far too much how it can be tricky to do this.

"Let's see in Australia because here - even though teams have brought their final updates, some teams like McLaren or Mercedes - they have a huge resource potential and then can change dramatically between now and Australia. So let's see in Australia.

"But clearly we are in a better position than one year ago."

Boullier added that the R31 will also sport components when it begins the opening grand prix weekend in Melbourne on the last weekend of March.

"We have some new parts coming," said Boullier. "This week was a case of gradual updates for the car, and we should have upgrades for Australia. And we have some more coming at later races - big steps!

"We will have similar development rates to last year, and we have two strong packages coming."

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Barrichello: Moveable wing a concern

Rubens Barrichello remains concerned that the moveable rear wing could cause a safety issue if used indiscriminately in practice and qualifying.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) and the FIA discussed issues arising from the new-for-2011 system and other changes like the return of KERS in a meeting in Barcelona last night.

Barrichello said his main worry was that drivers might be tempted to use the drag-reducing wing flaps in fast corners in qualifying and practice, making the cars dangerously unstable. In races the system can only be triggered at specified points for overtaking.

"Hopefully we're going to get a little bit more of an explanation of how the rear wing will work, because in the first place the rear wing should only work for straight lines to overtake," he said.

"Now it's basically working like the F-duct - you're pressing it every corner and it's becoming a nightmare.

"I think it should be used, but in a way that should help promote overtaking.

"But people will be tempted to do flat corners with that down. We're going to see crashes going on. That's not the purpose. You're going to gamble.

"Last year we had to raise the knee to make [the F-duct] work, and I went through Eau Rouge with one leg, and that's not the purpose. It shouldn't be this way."

Barrichello also has worries about the potential distraction of operating the wing and KERS while on a hot-lap.

"With KERS you need to look at the steering wheel to see the number going down to save as much as you want and to use it in the right place. So we're not looking straight ahead all the time," he said.

"I don't want to wait for someone to run into another driver for something to be done. Among the drivers, Charlie [Whiting] and Jean Todt, we're talking about it and hopefully we can manage something better."

He is optimistic that adjustments can be made to address these issues.

"I'm all ears," said Barrichello. "I don't want to put a big thing on how we should sort that out. I have something in my mind. We heard some good ways of solving that."

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Petrov says Renault form hard to judge

Vitaly Petrov says it is impossible to tell how strong his Renault team is based only on its winter testing form.

Although the team has been showing promising form during testing, Petrov reckons the only clear sign is that the Red Bull team is very competitive.

The Renault driver concedes judging the rest of the field is impossible before going racing.

"It's difficult to say because nobody is running low fuel," said Petrov. "Maybe we didn't. It's difficult to say where I am and where another team is. Red Bull still looks quite strong, but the rest, I don't know."

The Russian admitted he feared the car was not good when he first tested it, but conceded he is now feeling a lot better about it.

"In the beginning on the first day of testing I was not happy about the car. I was thinking I was in the s*** maybe, because it was really difficult to drive with these tyres. If the car started to lose the rear, you couldn't control it because it was so quick.

"With the Bridgestone you could control it, you could slide, do a rally a little bit, you know? But with these tyres, if it comes, it comes quite quick and it's difficult to control.

"But now that we have a lot of new aero parts and a lot of other new things it is getting better and better. I think after a few grands prix we will have more parts coming and it will be much better."

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Alonso: Won't know for another two weeks

Fernando Alonso has no complaints with Ferrari's upgraded package but admits he still doesn't know where the Scuderia are in the pecking order.

Alonso was in action at Barcelona on Friday, the penultimate day of pre-season testing, taking over from team-mate Felipe Massa.

It was once again proved to be a productive day for Ferrari with the double World Champion covering 141 laps with a best time of 1:21.614, which put him second on the timesheets.

"Once again, the car has proved to be very reliable, which is always good news," Alonso told his team's official website.

"The updates that the team prepared for this last test have improved the handling of the car and we managed to do a good simulation of a grand prix weekend, with reasonable lap times.

"Where are we compared to the others? We are all together here in Barcelona... But joking apart, we will only discover the truth in Melbourne.

"Tyres used, fuel loads, test programmes: there are too many parameters in play and they can make a big difference in terms of outright performance.

"Right from the start of these tests, we have always concentrated on our own work, trying to improve the car and be reliable: how clever we have been, we will see in two weeks' time."

But while testing may have been the main focus at Barcelona, many in the paddock were thinking of the people in Japan with Alonso saying the tragedy makes one take note of life's priorities.

"Confronted with a tragedy like the one that has struck Japan, Formula 1 and all its problems to do with tyres, wings and engines is way down the list of priorities and my thoughts go first and foremost to the victims and their families," said the Spaniard.

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Hamilton: Not normal Spanish weather

Lewis Hamilton concedes it was not a very productive final day at Barcelona as heavy rain led to severe aquaplaning.

With constant heavy downpour, the Brit was the sole driver to set a time during the morning session while by the end of Saturday's play, only two others names had been added to the timesheets.

It was a disappointing end to the final day of pre-season testing, which McLaren focus on a handful of lower-speed runs to evaluate engine maps.

However, it did give the teams an opportunity to see how their new Pirelli tyres handle in extreme wet conditions.

"We tested a couple of things during some shorter runs, but it was very dangerous out there: very slippery and lots of aquaplaning. This definitely isn't normal Spanish weather!" said Hamilton.

"We learnt a bit about the Pirelli intermediates and extremes, but there was so much aquaplaning that it was a bit too risky to do longer runs.

"As for the World Championship, I'm excited - we've got a long season ahead of us. We've got a lot of work to do, but we have more updates coming for Melbourne.

"The Championship is open, and we don't know what to expect. Our whole team will be pushing very, very hard."

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Vettel: Red Bull have reliability and pace

Sebastian Vettel is confident Red Bull will not repeat last year's early season woes when they head to Australia later this month.

The reigning World Champion had a difficult start to the 2010 Championship. He was robbed of the victory in Bahrain due to a spark-plug failure and one race later, a loose wheel nut, cost him the win in Australia.

Red Bull's new RB7, though, has shown solid reliability in pre-season testing, suffering only a few issues, prompting Vettel to declare that his team is "reasonably prepared" for the season ahead.

"I think the preparation was good so far. We did a lot of kilometres, maybe not as much as Ferrari, but more than we have ever done so far," the 23-year-old told Autosport.

"I think we are reasonably prepared. I think the last couple of years in the first races we didn't do very well, and that's the target because the Championship starts straight away and every point in the end can be important. We need to have a competitive car from the first race onwards - and finish the races.

"There's always a lot of focus on making the car reliable, because even if you have a car that is one second quicker than everybody else, if you never finish the races you will never score any points and you will not win the Championship.

"But the speed has to be there, because I think to make a fast car reliable is probably easier than making a reliable car fast.

"That's why I think we are on a good track - I think this winter has been less troublesome for us and maybe it hasn't been that clear who is really ahead and who is behind."

But, where Red Bull are in the pecking order is not something Vettel is willing to take a guess at.

"It's difficult to judge. Today (Friday) I think we were surprised a bit by Mercedes, but I think it's quite close. It should be okay, we'll see in Australia."

Mercedes in fact set the fastest lap time seen at Barcelona this year on Friday with Michael Schumacher crossing the line with a 1:21.249.

"Even if it was very low on fuel, you have to do the lap time first," Vettel said.

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Rosberg quickest during final washed out test

Nico Rosberg set the quickest time on the final day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

This was the last test before the season kicks off in two weeks time at the Albert Park track in Melbourne.

The day was a wet affair with torrential rain in the morning leaving all the teams stuck inside their garages until Lewis Hamilton ventured out before lunchtime to set the first lap of the day.

The afternoon saw more rain, though to a lesser extent, which meant Nico Rosberg could set a 1:43.814 to go quickest ahead of Williams driver Pastor Maldonado.

Hamilton slotted into third, seven tenths off the lead pace.

With Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams and McLaren the only teams in attendance, it meant just five drivers attempted laps, although Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso failed to set a timed lap.

Test times from day five (Barcelona):

01. N. Rosberg Mercedes 1:43.814

02. P. Maldonado Williams 1:44.333

03. L. Hamilton McLaren 1:44.560

04. M. Schumacher Mercedes No Time

05. F. Alonso Ferrari No Time

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Williams will run KERS in Melbourne

Williams will start the season with KERS on its cars, having resolved the problems it suffered in testing this week.

The team has had to run without KERS since Wednesday, when an emergency cool-down procedure was required following what technical director Sam Michael described to AUTOSPORT as "an electrical problem - not with the battery or the MGU [motor generator unit], but the equipment that goes between the two."

Michael had admitted that he could not be confident of having KERS for Melbourne until the issue had been investigated, but the team has now announced that the problem has been identified and resolved.

A Twitter message from Williams said Michael had: "Reviewed KERS problem and good news is that we'll be racing KERS in Melbourne."

Although Williams has lost testing mileage to KERS issues on several days in the winter, Rubens Barrichello said earlier this week that he felt its problems were no worse than other teams'.

"KERS seems to be zero problems one day and another day a hundred problems, and then you don't know where it is," said the Brazilian. "From what you read, I think people do have that sort of problem."

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Ron Dennis given six-month driving ban

Ron Dennis has been banned from driving for six months after accumulating 12 points on his licence.

The McLaren chairman, who stepped down as the Woking squad’s Formula 1 team principal in early 2009, reached the penalty limit after racking up a series of road offences.

“Our executive chairman’s driving licence has been suspended for six months following four minor traffic infringements that resulted in 12 penalty points being accrued,” a McLaren spokesman said.

The local Surrey Advertiser reports that at Woking Magistrates’ Court on Monday Dennis pleaded guilty to an incident in Bagshot last September when he drove through a red light in his Mercedes-Benz road car.

With nine points already on his licence from three previous speeding offences since April 2008, the 63-year-old was given a further three points for the latest offence which brought up the automatic ban.

According to the newspaper, Dennis, who said that he should be spared a ban for work and family reasons, told the court that he felt had he stopped suddenly at the light then it risked a friend travelling in a car behind him crashing into him.

“There were only two other cars around but I felt that it would be more prudent to continue rather than stop,” Dennis was quoted as saying.

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Karthikeyan aiming to be 'best new team'

Despite failing to cover a single lap in their 2011 car in testing, Narain Karthikeyan says Hispania are aiming to be the best of the new teams.

Karthikeyan is returning to Formula One this season with Hispania Racing, having last competed in the sport back in 2005 with the Jordan Grand Prix team.

And although his comeback season has yet to begin, the Indian driver is already on the back foot as Hispania failed to put in a single lap during pre-season tesing.

Although the team had hoped to run on the final day at Barcelona, a problem with getting their dampers out of customs meant they were forced to sit on the sidelines.

But, despite his team's trying start, Karthikeyan says being the best of the three new teams, Hispania, Team Lotus and Virgin Racing, is his team's goal for this year's Championship.

"Obviously there are a lot of good people who are designing the car, and we have the partners that are helping us," Karthikeyan said.

"It's early days yet, but if everything comes together as a package, then you've got to aim to be best of the new teams.

"I'm just talking, but it could be a difficult task, I don't know, because nobody has driven the car yet.

"Having said that, the detail of the car looks like a proper, modern car so we're hoping it's okay."

But having said that, he is somewhat relieved that his home race, the Indian Grand Prix, is only taking place in October, giving his team the time to get up to speed.

"Yeah," he said when asked if it was 'better' that the Indian GP was late in the season, "both the team and myself should be okay. We'll be fine."

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Trulli: Lotus's progress is enormous

Jarno Trulli is confident that Lotus has made a 'huge' step forward with its 2011 car - though he warned that with reliability having been less than perfect in testing, it could be some races before the T128 shows its potential.

Lotus halted development on its 2010 chassis - a hurried and basic design created just to get the team on the grid after its late entry decision - last summer to put maximum effort into the 2011 design, which features a switch to Renault engines and Red Bull transmission systems.

Trulli said the new rear-end package had made an enormous difference.

"We have one of the best rear ends you can have in the paddock, because the gearbox is amazing, as well as the engine," "Everything fits perfectly. The car looks good, and it looks quick as well.

"If I have to compare to last year, it's day and night. It's a huge step forward, and everybody has been working really hard.

"Mike [Gascoyne] has been putting things together, and Tony [Fernandes] has managed to give us a really good rear end that will solve our troubles in terms of reliability and performance, everything. The team has to think and concentrate about getting it right on the suspension side, on the stiffness side, and on the aero side. I think they've done great things over the winter time, catching up with all the new rules, and with all the new bits."

He admitted that Lotus was short on mileage after various reliability issues in testing, but still feels it has pulled clear of its fellow 2010 entrants and is ready to attack the established midfield teams.

"So it might be difficult at the beginning, but maybe then we can get on top," said Trulli. "Looking at the lap times it's difficult to get a clear idea, but we can probably chase Force India and maybe Sauber. Obviously we are ahead of Virgin and HRT. This at the moment is the picture that we have."

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Best winter still leaves RBR guessing

Red Bull Racing may having rounded off what it believes was its 'best ever' pre-season build-up at Barcelona this week, but the team insists it still does not know how it stacks up against the opposition.

Although most observers have singled out Red Bull Racing's strong and consistent form throughout winter testing as evidence that the team is favourite for 2011 glory, the outfit itself is more cautious about where it stands.

Team principal Christian Horner admitted that the team was not particularly concerned about any element of its package, but still believes that the true form of the front runners has not been made clear yet.

"We genuinely don't know where we sit in comparison to the others,"

"The fuel loads make such a huge difference that it is impossible to predict. I don't think we are particularly nervous about anything, but there is always a nervous anticipation as you head to the first race.

"I can say that I think we have had the best pre-season to date - in terms of mileage completed, in terms of being at the first test, in terms of the items we have wanted to test.

"We are arguably in the best shape ever – but there are no points scored for winter testing. It is an important part of the year, but the points start in Melbourne in two weeks. At the moment everyone is on the same number."

Horner said that Red Bull's testing programme had gone to plan, and that it had deliberately spent the winter focusing on its own performance rather than worrying about what rivals were up to.

"I think we are satisfied with the preparation we have had, pre-season. We have managed to work our way through the programme and hit most of the targets that we have set ourselves.

"As we have done for the last few years, we have really focused on our own preparation. You have 15 days of testing and every one has to count. So to try and judge where we sit in the pecking order is very difficult.

"We hope to be competitive in Melbourne. I am sure Ferrari will look strong, and obviously teams will be bringing significant upgrades. It will only be in Q1 for Melbourne where the fuel comes out of the cars and we will see where we are."

Horner said that Red Bull Racing's title successes in 2010 had helped lift spirits for this season, and resulted in an even more focused and determined workforce.

"Every year we try to improve and learn lessons from the previous year. We have had continuity in all areas and that is important.

"In 2009 we were very, very strong, particularly in the second half of the year. 2010 was a phenomenal year for us and there is a real determination in the team to try and maintain that kind of performance, and to defend both titles that we achieved.

"It was an amazing thing that we managed to achieve last year and it consumed a huge amount of time and dedication from the team. And the key now is to try and repeat that.

"The team is working in harmony. It is working extremely well. But we are only entering our seventh season. This is only our seventh car, so sometimes it is easy to forget that we are still a relatively young group."

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Hamilton: 'I'm positive, not frustrated'

Lewis Hamilton insists he is not frustrated at the prospect of McLaren having to start the season playing catch-up again.

The Woking team has lacked both pace and reliability in winter testing so far, but Hamilton says he remains optimistic that improvements will not take long.

"I'm positive. I love racing, I'm looking forward to racing," he said.

"I'm always hoping for the most optimistic improvement. I'm always hoping that all of a sudden they'll say 'okay, we've got this coming' and we'll arrive there and the day before we'll have something new.

"You never know when that could happen so let's keep our fingers crossed and try to keep an eye on what the guys are doing. I know everyone's working as hard as they can. No one's slacking or sitting back. We know we have a bit of a hill to climb, but we can do it."

He added: "I don't like to use the word 'frustrating' because I'm not frustrated. It's tough on everyone in the team because everyone puts so much work into it, and you see it come out and look so beautiful, and... it's not a disaster, it just doesn't have as much performance as we'd like at the moment. But it's a foundation that we can build on, and that's all that really matters.

"It means that we can get there. If you look at last year, we didn't have the fastest start at the beginning but we were there or thereabouts and second in the constructors' championship. It's a long, long year and I have no doubts that we can compete with these guys."

Hamilton believes McLaren's long-run pace is looking more promising that its single-lap form - though reliability also remains a concern.

"I've done some long runs on the tyres on previous days, and I think the car's feeling a lot better," he said. "So I think our race pace doesn't seem so bad.

"Whether we can finish the race is the next thing. But our race pace doesn't look so bad compared to other people's."

He admitted that he does not think McLaren can currently compete with the pace teams such as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull displayed on qualifying-style runs this week.

"Yesterday I looked at the times and everyone's done a 1m21s," said Hamilton. "I couldn't get into the 1m21s the other day. I just got into the 1m22s.

"So based on my times compared to them it looks like we're two seconds off, but we're not two seconds off. Yesterday Jenson [button] didn't do any light-fuel runs or decent tyre runs, so it's difficult to know exactly where we are.

"I'm assuming they did qualifying runs. 1m21.2s is very competitive. I would guess that we could get down to a low 1m22s maybe, but that's just a guess."

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Pirelli promises passing bonanza

Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery is confident his firm's tyres will achieve their aim of shaking up Formula 1 racing after analysing the results of the final tests.

The Italian company has responded to complaints that predecessor Bridgestone's tyres were too hard-wearing - making strategies and races too predictable - and has deliberately engineered its 2011 rubber to wear out quicker.

This hasn't been entirely popular with drivers, with many complaining that the Pirellis fade too rapidly and that this will turn races into a lottery.

But Hembery reckons fans might be in for a treat, as cars' pace at different times in the tyre cycle and with differing strategies create great variations in performance and create many more overtaking opportunities than recent years have seen.

"What we have seen over the course of the test, particularly during the race simulations, is a wide variety of strategies, which promises an exciting season ahead," said Hembery.

"During the previous test in Barcelona, we calculated from the race simulations that there were 54 potential overtaking opportunities - and that was without all the cars present.

"Australia is sure to be very different to Barcelona, but now we're just looking forward to getting started."

Pirelli had felt that many of the drivers' worries would go away once they tried the tyres in more representative conditions - testing have largely been held in cold weather until this week at Barcelona brought some slightly warmer weather.

"We had a brief window of optimal conditions in the afternoon during the week, where temperatures were finally high enough for our hard and soft compound rubber to come into its ideal operating range," said Hembery of the Barcelona running.

"This enabled a number of the teams to carry out race simulations, which revealed some interesting data."

Yesterday brought the first severe rainfall of winter testing, but the deluge was too heavy to be of use - with conditions so severe that had it been a grand prix weekend, the event would have been red-flagged.

"We had a deluge - but the conditions were really too wet then for the four teams present to learn anything significant," Hembery acknowledged.

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Drivers say Mercedes ready to fly

Mercedes drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg declared themselves thrilled that the team's upgrade package had paid off after the squad's strong end to testing.

There were concerns that Mercedes would start the season way off the pace as they struggled in the first three tests - but team boss Ross Brawn was always adamant that they was working on reliability first and would only bring in their definitive 2011 technical package at the very end of testing.

The upgrades were duly bolted on for Friday's Catalunya test - when Schumacher surged to the fastest time of the whole winter, and Rosberg took third place despite only getting a handful of laps in the car at the end of the day.

"It's been a good week here in Barcelona and we're certainly happy with our position going into the first race of the season," said a bullish Schumacher.

Rosberg agreed that Mercedes were clearly now heading forwards.

"We have made a lot of progress over the four tests this winter and it's really nice to see that things are going in the right direction," he said.

"We are on the up for sure, and all credit to the team for getting the upgrades on the car and, most importantly, to see that they are working as expected."

Brawn was very satisfied that his winter strategy had been vindicated by Mercedes' late charge to the top.

"We are happy with the structure that we applied to our pre-season testing programme, culminating in a good quantity of miles, and the car that we wanted to produce by the end of this test," he said.

But he warned against raising expectations too high - saying Mercedes' Catalunya pace did not necessarily mean they were going to be front-runners in Melbourne.

"Our upgrade package has performed as we expected, however Formula 1 continually moves forward, and as always, we will keep looking for more performance," said Brawn.

"Both drivers and the team have achieved a good amount of work for the new season in terms of race weekend simulations and it is now down to the final preparations for the first race.

"Then we will really see where we stand and how we have to react."

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Haug: Schumi could extend his stay

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug says Michael Schumacher could remain in F1 beyond 2012 - but only if the price is right.

Schumacher returned to Formula One with Mercedes Grand Prix last season, having been enticed back into the sport by Ross Brawn, the man with whom he won all seven of his World titles.

His comeback season was anything but a success for the German, who fell short of expectations, failing to reach the podium never mind win a grand prix.

2011, though, is already looking better for the 42-year-old and his team, who have put in some impressive performances in pre-season testing.

This has already prompted talk of Schumacher staying in Formula One beyond his present contract, which expires in 2012.

And Haug says he sees no reason why that cannot happen - although it does depend on Schumacher's asking salary.

"If Michael wants it and we can agree on a right price - with pleasure," Haug told the Bild.

"We have the ideal team with tremendous bite and will, but also with a lot of mutual respect. Nico learns from Michael and Michael from Nico."

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'Schumi and Merc one of the favs for Oz'

Fernando Alonso says he's not surprised by Michael Schumacher's blistering pace during last week's Barcelona test.

Earlier this year, Alonso raised a few eyebrows when he said that the "most dangerous Champion for me is always Michael" while in a separate interview he stated that the German was "capable of surprising."

And that's exactly what Schumacher did at Barcelona on Friday when the Mercedes GP driver set the fastest lap time seen at the Spanish circuit in the 2011 cars.

Schumacher's P1 time brought up the topic of Alonso's pre-testing prediction with the Spaniard claiming that the 42-year-old and his team could be one of the favourites to take the victory in Australia later this month.

"To be honest, I did not think of what I had said at Madonna di Campiglio!" Alonso said of his Schumi predictions.

"I think Mercedes has shown it has made a good step forward compared to the start of the tests and can be one of the favourites for Melbourne.

"It's normal that, with a quick car, Michael should immediately be competitive.

"It's not a surprise because I still think there's a significant group made of Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, Renault and maybe Williams, who along with us, can aspire to victory in the first few races.

"Then, we will have a more realistic picture of the situation and a smaller group of teams who will fight it out for the Championship and we hope to be part of it.

"I don't think it makes much difference to us to be ahead of or behind the Red Bull, who are maybe the favourites, in terms of the work we have to do: to catch up you have to multiply your efforts to do it in a hurry and if you have the upper hand, then you work just as hard to maintain it. That is the way it is in Formula 1.

"The aim is always to have the quickest car in the pack. Other elements can play a key part at certain moments, but in the long term, the one with the quickest package wins."

One element that many are expecting to play a part are the new Pirelli tyres, which the drivers have yet to run in higher temperatures as pre-season testing took place on European circuits in February.

"We still need to see how the tyres will perform in higher temperatures, which we might encounter in Australia and even more likely in Malaysia.

"In November, at the Abu Dhabi test, the situation was a bit different to these tests in Spain, but we will have to wait for a race to find out more.

"What is certain is that we will not see races like those of 2010, in which strategy was obvious right from the start of the weekend. This year, a lot of attention will go into deciding if it is best to do two, three or four stops, being flexible and ready to manage any situation.

"Maybe sometimes it will be better to do a few less laps in each stint and make the most of the tyres at the point when they are at their best, or looking at doing one less stop: it will depend on the track and how the race evolves."

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Hamilton signs up with Fuller

Lewis Hamilton is to join the same management company as David Beckham and Andy Murray, it has been announced.

The 2008 Formula One World Champion had been managed by his father Anthony until Hamilton decided last year that he wanted a change.

The 26-year-old has now signed up with Simon Fuller's new company, XIX Entertainment, that also manages the Spice Girls and Sir Michael Caine as well as England footballer Beckham and Scottish tennis star Murray.

Hamilton said: "It was important I took my time to make this decision as it had to be right for my career and my long-term future.

"I spoke to many interested companies in recent months but I felt Simon Fuller along with his team at XIX Entertainment not only wanted to help me become an even better racing driver, but they also shared my ambitions for the longer term. I look forward to working with them closely."

The McLaren driver is due to begin his fifth season in Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 25.

Anthony Hamilton said: "Lewis has wisely taken his time to find a good person to look after him."

Fuller added: "Lewis is not only one of the leading sportsmen of his generation, he will I believe become one of the best of all time. It's an honour to be partnering with Lewis in what will be a very exciting stage of his career."

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'Red Bull secure Vettel until end of 2014'

With all his talk of "dreaming" of Ferrari, it's no wonder Red Bull have reportedly been quick to extend Sebastian Vettel's contract for a further three years.

Vettel, who won the Drivers' Championship with Red Bull last season, was contracted to the team until the end of this season with an option for 2012.

Red Bull, though, wanted him until the end of 2014, with the team reportedly offering the German a deal worth in excess of EUR 12 million per year.

"We are in the talking phase, nothing has been signed. That will take some time," Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told the Bild.

However, hours later, Marko confirmed the deal had been signed.

He said it "was in mutual agreement that we extended Sebastian's contract to 2014.

"Both sides wanted to continue the partnership, so it was no big issue."

Red Bull have confirmed the deal in a press release that simply states that the team has "extended its agreement with Sebastian Vettel - meaning the current World Champion will remain with Red Bull Racing until the end of 2014."

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Rubens: We're in much better shape

Rubens Barrichello has set his sights on a points finish in Melbourne, saying Williams are better prepared this year than they were in 2010.

Although they've had one or two technical problems during pre-season testing, Williams' pace has been pretty impressive.

Barrichello believes the signs are good for an excellent start to their 2011 campaign.

"This is my second year with the team and we are in much better shape than we were this time last year," he said. "Everything has been prepared well and the team are doing a really good job getting everything ready in time for Melbourne.

"I think we are better on performance than last year. The car is a different animal though so there is a different way of treating it, but I quite like it. How much faster it is, is very difficult to know, but the car feels better than last year's to drive."

Barrichello admits he is eyeing a top 10 finish in the season opener in Melbourne.

"There is still a question mark about where we stand I know that we have improved but there are teams either side of us," he said. "I know how optimistic I am and I know how much I would love to say that we will do really well, but what I will say is that I want to be in Q3 and to score points, and I think that is achievable."

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Sauber happy with Perez's development

Sauber technical director James Key believes rookie Sergio Perez has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few months.

Perez crashed his C30 during the second pre-season test in Jerez at the start of February. However, he has steadily improved since then and he even set the fastest pace during the final winter test in Barcelona last week.

"Sergio has developed very well over the past four tests," Key said. "Looking at where he started at the Valencia test in early February and where we are now after only six weeks, he has made enormous progress. He has learned an awful lot, his feedback has improved on a test by test basis, and his confidence in the car has also improved a great deal.

"He made a good effort when we did our race and qualifying runs with him at the last Barcelona test. He drove the car for the first time on low fuel and new tyres, and he really made good use of it by going quicker and quicker. However, it will be a very different kind of pressure at the start of the season, but so far it has worked well and now he is looking forward to the race."

With Perez making his debut in F1 this year, there is added responsibility on the shoulders of Kamui Kobayashi but Key says the Japanese driver is handling the pressure well.

"He is dealing with it very well and very professionally," Key said. "He is playing a very proactive role in helping in the direction the car is developing and giving a very good driver's perspective of where we are.

"He's got a bit of work to do in adapting to the tyres, because he is used to the tyres of the previous supplier, while Sergio isn't, so it is a little bit more difficult to adapt for a driver who was in F1 last year. But Kamui is doing a good job on that and, as we know from last year, we can rely on him in both testing and racing and it is a pleasure to work with him."