Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo -- Photo

(L-R) Nicky Hayden of USA and Ducati Marlboro Team 3, Casey Stoner of Australia and Repsol Honda Team, Jorge Lorenzo of Spain and Yamaha Factory Team, Cal Crutchlow of Great Britain and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and Randy De Puniet of France and Power Electronics Aspar. pose during the press conference pre-event of the MotoGp of Spain at Circuito de Jerez on April 26, 2012 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

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Red Bull savour return to the winner’s circle

With Red Bull the latest team to hold a trophy aloft this year, yet another potential 2012 champion contender has emerged.

 

In theory, back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel, the Bahrain Grand Prix winner, was always a contender for a third drivers’ crown this year. But his RB8 was not a race winner until Sunday, after McLaren, Mercedes and even (an under performing) Ferrari had tasted the first victory spoils so far this season. It was said that – amid the extraordinary field of 2012 – Adrian Newey’s latest creation was simply in the league of other midfielders including Lotus, Sauber, and perhaps even Williams and Toro Rosso. But as Dr Helmut Marko remarked at the chequered flag: “Those pronounced dead live longest!”


“We never wrote them off,” McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh insisted to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, “because we knew that they had a good car and that they only needed to find the key.


“This season is really crazy; more exciting than we would like!” the Briton admitted. “And now we have to say Lotus are also contenders.”


German Vettel won in Bahrain from pole, but even he admitted that the weekend was a surprise.


“After Australia it seemed that McLaren had a supercar and it would be difficult to beat them, at least in the short term,” he is quoted by O Estado de S.Paulo.


So even the experts are at a loss after the initial ‘flyaway’ phase of the new world championship.


“We know that we know nothing,” beamed Vettel after his victory, referring to the oddly see-sawing balance of power in 2012, blamed mainly on the Pirelli tyres.


“It is almost impossible to predict in advance how the different tyre compounds are going to behave on race day,” he is quoted by Der Spiegel.


“You have an idea, but nothing more.”

 

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Raikkonen rues missed opportunity

Kimi Raikkonen admitted to being a little disappointed not to win in Bahrain, while his Lotus teammate, Romain Grosjean, was delighted to finish in third place.

 

Raikkonen pestered Sebastian Vettel for the victory, but was unable to pass the Red Bull with his one and only true crack at taking the lead.


“I really should have made it, but I didn’t,” he said, referring to his attack on Vettel at Turn 1 on the 36th lap. “I got one try with Sebastian, but couldn’t use it because I went the wrong side. Then my tyres dropped off and that was it. I knew that was my only chance.


“Nevertheless, the team deserved this and hopefully we can get ourselves into this position more often.”


GP2 champion Grosjean became the first Frenchman to secure a podium finish in Formula 1 since Jean Alesi did so at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1998.


“I think we’re doing some pretty good stuff,” he said. “It’s great - a great feeling so far.


"I’m very proud of the team. We know we had a good car but I think even we are a little bit surprised at where we are.


“We’ve got two cars on the podium and my own first podium feels pretty good."

 

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F1: Protests, clashes, death cast pall over Bahrain Grand Prix

The head of Formula One's governing body said the sport would suffer no long-lasting damage from the Bahrain event, despite the images of streets ablaze.

 

"I am not sure that all that has been reported corresponds to the reality of what is happening in this country," International Automobile Federation president Jean Todt told reporters at the Bahrain circuit.

While sports journalists have been invited to cover the race, non-sports reporters from Reuters and some other news organizations have been denied visas.

Bahrain's foreign minister said on Twitter he had received a call from his British counterpart William Hague asking for restraint and dialogue.

"I reiterated Bahrain's position of commitment to restraint in the face of violence and commitment to dialogue and reform," Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa wrote. "We all want reform, we all want peace, why can't we all work together? Why violence?"

The protests have so far been kept away from the Bahrain International Circuit, where qualifying races were held on Saturday in advance of Sunday's main race. Armored vehicles and security forces in riot gear have at times guarded the road to the race venue.

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Rosberg anticipating tough outing

Nico Rosberg is delighted to be back in Bahrain but he is expecting a difficult weekend following his surprise win in China.

Rosberg secured his maiden pole position in Shanghai but few expected him to maintain his pace into Sunday's race, only for the German and Mercedes to shock their rivals with a superb performance from the front. Conditions will be vastly different in Bahrain with higher track temperatures likely to increase the pressure on tyres and Rosberg knows it will be a very difficult weekend for everyone.


"This is a track I really enjoy. I have some very good memories here, but it's difficult to know where we are going to be," Rosberg told a news conference.


"In Shanghai we did very well, but previously we did have issues in the races, so it's possible it could be a bit more difficult here.


"The engineers have been making good progress. We are learning very quickly. We did a good job and got the best out of it. The situation is different here with the temperatures and that might mean a bit more of a challenge."


Reflecting on his first Grand Prix victory, Rosberg added: "Everything came together. I was on top of my game all weekend. The car and the set-up were working quite well, it was enough to win by some margin. All in all it was a really strong weekend." 

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Raikkonen confident of podium

Kimi Raikkonen does not expect to encounter any problems with his Lotus when he returns to the track in Bahrain later this week.

Raikkonen had the opportunity to score some good points when he climbed into second at the Chinese Grand Prix but his decision to stick to two pit-stops backfired as his tyres began to fade late on.
The Finn found himself swallowed up by the field and eventually limped home in 14th while his team-mate Romain Grosjean finished sixth after deploying a similar strategy.
Although he has yet to finish on the podium since his return to the sport, Raikkonen believes he could have easily finished in the top three in any of the races so far this season and he is confident he can fight for a podium result in Bahrain.
"A podium should be possible and I think it has been at all the races we've been at so far," he said. "We won't know exactly how good the car is until we get there, but we don't expect any problems."
Reflecting on his two-strop strategy in China, Raikkonen added: "It looked the best one for us and it worked for Romain.
"If we had the same information again, we'd probably try the same approach. It didn't work, but you don't know these things unless you try them.
"We will now know better for next time. We were pretty close to finishing on the podium. We didn't. That's racing."

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Bahrain GP 'not a gamble'

Sakhir circuit chairman says a considered decision has been made

Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed R Alzayani insists that race organisers have made a "calculated decision" to go ahead with the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Alzayani has consistently stated he is confident that this weekend's race will pass off without any problems despite the reported threat of protests. Formula One staff, including Williams driver Bruno Senna and Sergio Perez of Sauber, have already travelled to Bahrain and their arrival has passed off without incident. And Alzayani insists that the decision to hold the race, which was confirmed recently by the FIA, was made after careful consideration and does not involve any element of risk or gamble.

"We've been in Formula One for seven years and we will be in it for much longer than that," Alzayani said.

"We wouldn't take a decision on a gamble. But it's a calculated decision, we've weighed up our options and we are committed to the Grand Prix and to its success.

"I don't think anything drastic will happen. It's not Syria or Afghanistan. I don't see why anything should happen this year that hasn't happened in the previous years.

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Button rues lengthy pit stop

Jenson Button believes he would have caught eventual Chinese Grand Prix winner Nico Rosberg, had it not been for a lengthy pit stop.

Button finished second behind Rosberg in Shanghai and was left to rue not being able to put the German under pressure during the final few laps.

"Our calculations say we would have caught Nico with two laps to go. To do three stops was the best, it just went a little wrong at the end. Our pace was very good and when I had five or six laps of clean air I was about two seconds a lap quicker than Nico," the 2009 champion told Sky Sports F1.

"The aim was to come out in front of the pack and that's what we would have done had we not lost six seconds at the pit stop. We could have chased them down - or at least put them under pressure."

Rosberg led from the front in Shanghai as Mercedes secured its first victory since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. That left McLaren team-mates Button and Lewis Hamilton fighting it out for second. While disappointed, Button took positives from the race. "It was a great day for the team - there are just a couple of things we need to work on to make life easier for ourselves," he added.

 

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Alonso acknowledges Ferrari problems

Fernando Alonso has claimed Ferrari are not stupid and are fully aware of what they need to do if they are to have any chance of winning the championship.

 

Alonso leads the drivers' championship thanks to his surprise victory in Malaysia but Ferrari have struggled throughout the season and the Spaniard could only qualify in ninth position for the Chinese Grand Prix. Although Mercedes' Nico Rosberg clocked an impressive 1:35.121, Alonso was almost 1.5 seconds off the pace and their ongoing struggles has left the former world champion in no doubt that the team cannot even contemplate challenging for the title.

"At the moment we all stay focused in the next race," said Alonso. "I think the championship is a target for Ferrari every year because of the history and the way the team is racing, with the passion to win. But obviously we are not stupid."

Alonso is under no illusions as to the size of the task facing Ferrari but he is confident the team can make big strides once they identify what is causing their problems. "We know we are far behind and we need to work. One second is a big gap to recover, but the car has some big problems in terms of aerodynamics which give us the optimism inside the team that we can recover, maybe not one second, but a lot of time if we put a couple of things that are not working in the right place," he added. "This is the first priority. Once we are happy with the car, we'll see what's the gap. At the moment it's too big because it doesn't work."

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Schumacher, Hamilton quickest

F1 - China Grand Prix Race Winner 4/14 11AM GMT+8

Michael Schumacher was fastest in second practice at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Schumacher crossed the line with a 1:35.973 to beat the frontrunner in first practice Lewis Hamilton by 0.172s. Mercedes were helped by their DRS-activated device, which the FIA declared legal after a protest by Lotus on Thursday. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel posted the three quickest initial lap times, his best being a 1:36.160. Schumacher, using the W-duct wing, then clocked a 1:35.973 while Hamilton took second, 0.172s off the pace. Schumacher held onto the position through to the end of the session with Hamilton second and Vettel third.

Earlier, Hamilton posted the quickest lap in first practice for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix on one of the final laps of the session. After the earlier rain, Hamilton took advantage of a dry line around the Shanghai International Circuit, on a medium set of dry tyres. He first went past Red Bull's Mark Webber's mark, and although Nico Rosberg briefly took over in his Mercedes, the Briton then beat him with a time of one minute 37.106seconds, 1.010secs quicker than Rosberg. Rosberg's team-mate, seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, was 0.2secs down on his fellow German, with the duo followed by the Saubers of Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi. However, Hamilton this weekend faces a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, which will affect his chances of wining the race proper.

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Lowe confirms McLaren upgrades

The McLaren car will 'have quite a few upgrades' at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, according to technical director Paddy Lowe.

McLaren have enjoyed mixed success in the opening two races of the 2012 season as the car has led the way during qualifying with a front row lockout in both Australia and Malaysia.

However, despite the dominance, McLaren only won in Malaysia and that was largely due to the conditions, which has resulted in the team's attempts to ensure they can take the qualifying pace all the way through the races. Looking ahead to the next race in Shanghai, Lowe told a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in: "We have quite a few upgrades for this event, on pretty much all sections of the car.

"So we're hoping for a reasonable step in performance.

"However, we expect that is only what we need to do to stay where we are, in terms of qualifying and race pace."

Lowe is anticipating that their rivals, such as Red Bull and Ferrari, will also be working hard to ensure they are more competitive in China. He added: "I would be surprised if our principal competitors aren't also coming with reasonable steps forward. So that's the name of the game.

"It's a relentless battle for in-season development, particularly amongst the top teams.

"It's started already and we'll have to play our part and see if we can maintain the qualifying lead we had at the first two races."

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Fry keeping Ferrari grounded

Ferrari technical director, Pat Fry, believes there is still plenty of work to do on their car if they want to challenge this season.



Having looked sluggish in qualifying at both the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix, it's surprising to see Ferrari's Fernando Alonso at the top of the World Drivers' Championship after two races.

The Spaniard had to battle with a weaker vehicle than his rivals Red Bull and McLaren to secure fifth spot in Melbourne and take the chequered flag at Sepang last month.Next up on the circuit is the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend and Alonso will be looking to extend his lead at the top of the championship from the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel.However, Fry is fully aware of his team's shortcomings this season and believes work will have to be done if they are to keep Alonso in the running for the title.He told the team's official website: "I certainly wasn't expecting to have one driver leading the championship."From quite early on in testing, we realised we had quite a few issues we needed to sort out."Everyone at the factory has been working hard at that, as we still have a long way to go. I think our dry qualifying performance is still around 8 tenths off the best while we want to be the best ourselves."

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Vettel's 'total faith' in Red Bull

German philosophical as he prepares for China

Sebastian Vettel is adamant Red Bull will bounce back from their early season disappointments, having failed to win either of the opening two races.

Having dominated last year's Championship, early indications this season suggest that the pendulum is no longer swinging in Red Bull's favour. McLaren have been the team to beat on Saturday afternoons with Lewis Hamilton taking both pole positions, while Vettel's best grid slot has been a P5. Sundays have also not panned out for the 24-year-old who finished second in Australia and P11 in Malaysia, after which he became embroiled in a war-of-words with HRT's Narain Karthikeyan. Vettel, though, is confident Red Bull can turn it around.

"After a few days off, I went back to the factory in Milton Keynes to work on the team and our car," he wrote in his Red Bull blog. "I admit, the first two races weren't exactly perfect but they weren't that bad either. We proved we can able to compete with the strongest teams and that's very important. "When you get a mishap like the one I had in Malaysia, however, well then even we are helpless - but that's just how F1 works. "We now have 18 more races ahead of us and we will do all we can to defend our titles. "I have total faith in the team, the car and myself. There's still much for us to do, but together as a team we can accomplish anything."

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Marc Marquez vs Thomas Luthi match preview

MotoGP - Moto 2 Qatar Grand Prix Race: 12BET odds Marc Marquez vs Thomas Luthi 4/9 1:20AM GMT+8

Thomas Luthi followed up his practice pace to take pole position for the Moto2 season opener in Qatar.

The Paddock team’s rider had finished in the top five in the Moto2 standings for the past two years, then led every single practice session at Losail. Luthi carried that form into qualifying, where a very early 2m00.187s lap proved sufficient to wrap up his second pole in the series.

Last year’s runner-up Marc Marquez came closest to deposing Luthi, lapping just 0.072 seconds shy of pole on the Monlau Suter as he secured second on the grid for his first race since the Sepang practice crash that left him with a potential career-threatening eye injury. Andrea Iannone – third in Moto2 in both 2010 and ’11 – was third quickest for Speed Master, ahead of Pol Espargaro (Pons), Mike di Meglio (Speed Master) and Max Neukirchner (Kiefer). Several regular frontrunners will be disappointed with their starts to the season – including British duo Bradley Smith and Scott Redding in 12th and 13th. Aspar’s all-star duo of 2010 Moto2 champion and MotoGP race-winner Toni Elias and 2011 125cc champion Nico Terol ended up only 17th and 26th. Terol’s 125cc title rival Johann Zarco will start 19th for his Moto2 debut with JIR after his session ended in a Turn 1 collision with one of the Pons riders.

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Argentina F1 return in 2013?

Argentine minister says deal to be signed next month

Argentina is closing in on a return to the Formula One calendar - and reports say a 2013 race could be confirmed in May.

Italian website Autosprint quotes an Argentine government minister as saying a three-year deal is soon to be signed with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. It is likely Argentina - which last staged a grand prix in 1998 - will take up a slot in the calendar vacated by Korea.

Ecclestone has yet to comment on any such agreement.

Argentina minister of tourism Enrique Meyer told Autosprint: "The National Government accepts the challenge of organising the Grand Prix of Argentina to promote the image of our country around the world.

"In May, the three-year contract will be signed between all parties involved."

The deal would pave the way for the construction of a Hermann Tilke-designed layout in the resort of Mar del Plata. It is likely to include a mix of city streets, the promenade and a former naval base.

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Button envisions his McLaren success

Jenson Button believes his Formula 1 retirement is a long way off and predicts a bright future for both himself and McLaren.



With the Chinese Grand Prix being just under two weeks away, Button has given McLaren a big confidence boost by admitting he can't currently imagine a time when he might want to close the curtains on his F1 career and is as hungry as ever to win a second world title.

With Jarno Trulli and Rubens Barrichello departing from the grid over the winter break, Button, now 32, is the second most experienced driver behind Michael Schumacher - having over 200 races under his belt since his debut for Williams in 2000.Button, who won the first grand prix of the new season in Australia, believes having McLaren's race-winning car at his disposal helps sustain his motivation and even having a less competitive season wouldn't lead him to lose faith in the team or himself, as McLaren's record over the years speaks for itself.The British star recently signed a new multi-year contract with McLaren towards the end of last season and he insists he is incredibly happy driving for the Woking squad, and would not be looking in any other team's direction for at least a few years.Button told Sky Sports: "Even if we have an uncompetitive car, you still believe in the future you will get a competitive car. You still feel strongly about building up the team and fighting for a world championship again."

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Raikkonen: Luck has been key

Finn thinks Lotus need better luck to show their true potential







Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus just need their luck to turn around in order to be able to fight it out at the front of the grid.



Raikkonen has shown some promising pace on his return to Formula One but circumstances have conspired to leave him with just seventh and fifth placed finishes from the opening two races.The issues began in Barcelona when Lotus were forced to miss effectively the entire second pre-season test due to a chassis issue and continued with qualifying troubles in both the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix.



Raikkonen has been left frustrated that he has not been able to achieve the results that the car is capable of but is confident that the team's fortunes will change."I think we've got off to an encouraging start," Raikkonen told Lotus' official website.

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French GP return talks ongoing

France's return to the F1 Calendar is still to be confirmed, according to the country's Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

A return to top-level grand prix racing for France was expected to be announced earlier this week when Fillon visited the Le Castellet circuit in southern France, but Fillon instead revealed that talks were still ongoing.

"We are working on the idea of hosting a grand prix every other year at Le Castellet," the prime minister said. "This idea was agreed by the Formula 1 authorities. It is not up to me to set a date for a grand prix."

The ongoing talks with the Formula 1 authorities are centred on alternating races with Belgium and Fillon also said that the fee is still to be agreed.

"The Formula 1 organisers' proposal is reasonable enough, but we have to make them remove the 'enough'. "There is a two-million-euro gap. French state will bail for (the fee) but we will not go further."

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