Paris: For the first time in the history of Formula One, six world champions will be on the grid when the new season starts on Sunday. Here is a brief look at them (with age, nationality, manufacturer, number of championships, race wins and pole positions): Sebastian Vettel, 24, Germany, Red Bull Two-time defending F1 champion Race Wins: 21 Pole Positions: 30 Is there anything or anyone to stop Sebastian Vettel...
03:56 PM, Mar 15, 2012
Buenos Aires: Argentina will host Formula One races in 2013, 2014 and 2015, President Cristina Fernandez has announced. The city of Mar del Plata, 400 km south of Buenos Aires, will host the F1 races "between the end of November and the beginning of December" in the following three years, said Fernandez. The announcement was made during an event in Casa Rosada, seat of presidency, where Fernandez met with the...
03:19 PM, Mar 15, 2012
Melbourne: On the eve of his first Formula One practice session in three years, Kimi Raikkonen was typically underwhelmed on Thursday, saying he rarely bothered to watch the sport during his absence. Raikkonen is back from a spell in rally cars and various other forms of racing, joining a Lotus team which is regarded as long shot to win this weekend's season-opening race in Australia. Most drivers would be excited...
03:09 PM, Mar 15, 2012
Melbourne: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso says the team still expects to fight for the Formula One title this season, despite acknowledging the scarlet cars are likely to struggle in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this weekend. Alonso said on Thursday that this year's car is still not a finished product heading into Friday's first practice session and that the team is behind the likes of Red Bull and McLaren in...
02:03 PM, Mar 15, 2012
Melbourne: The start of any new Formula One season is uncertain enough for teams and drivers without the addition of wet weather, which is expected for this year's opening Australian Grand Prix. The forecast for Melbourne is for rain and possible thunderstorms from Friday through to race day on Sunday, which will render much of the best-laid pre-season preparations and learned predictions irrelevant. Throw in the always-slippery Melbourne street circuit,...
01:57 PM, Mar 15, 2012
London: Formula One champions Red Bull are more likely to promote their own young talent than try to lure Lewis Hamilton from McLaren if they have a vacancy at the end of the season, according to team boss Christian Horner. Australian Mark Webber's contract with Red Bull, as teammate to 24-year-old double champion Sebastian Vettel, expires at the end of the year, as does 2008 world champion Hamilton's at McLaren....
09:02 AM, Mar 14, 2012
Melbourne: Six world champions on the grid for the opening Grand Prix of the season represents an unprecedented array of talent for Formula One, yet few would count on anything other than another Sebastian Vettel title this season. Kimi Raikkonen's return from a year away in rally racing has added one more former champion to F1 ranks this season, joining Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button....
02:04 PM, Mar 13, 2012
Paris: With former world champion Kimi Raikkonen returning to Formula One from rally driving and French prospect Romain Grosjean getting a second chance, the ambitious Lotus team has two drivers with a point to prove heading into the new season. Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 champion, geared up for next weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix with the best time of the final test session in Barcelona last weeekend. That capped an...
01:44 PM, Mar 13, 2012
Madrid: Formula One team Marussia hired Maria de Villota as a test driver for the season, providing the sport with a full-time female pilot for the first time since the 1990s. The daughter of former Spanish F1 driver Emilio de Villota had tested with Renault last year and has single seater experience in Spanish F3 and the Daytona 24-Hours. The 32-year-old De Villota will likely get behind the wheel at...
01:33 PM, Mar 13, 2012
Sahara Force India drivers Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg are hopeful of a good show this season starting March 18 at the Australian Grand Prix. ...
01:29 PM, Mar 13, 2012
Madrid: Six world champions on the grid for the opening Grand Prix of the season represents an unprecedented array of talent for Formula One, yet few would count on anything other than another Sebastian Vettel title this season. Kimi Raikkonen's return from a year away in rally racing has added one more former champion to F1 ranks this season, joining Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button....
12:57 PM, Mar 13, 2012
Madrid: Michael Schumacher enters the last season of his three-year Formula One comeback with plenty of questions surrounding the seven-time world champion. Schumacher's decision to end his retirement in December 2009 was initially greeted with euphoria. But the 43-year-old German has fallen short of expectations, and now another F1 season awaits starting with the Australian Grand Prix on March 18. Schumacher has won the most world championships as well as...
12:30 PM, Mar 13, 2012
Melbourne: The presence of two young drivers in the side and their "healthy rivalry" will help Sahara Force India do better in the 2012 Formula One season, the team said on Tuesday. Force India promoted young German Nico Hulkenberg to the racing seat in place of Adrian Sutil. Scot Paul di Resta, who had a good debut season in 2011, is the other driver in the side. The season-opening Australian...
11:48 AM, Mar 13, 2012
Madrid: Ferrari's dour preseason has undermined the Italian team's Formula One title hopes, and will likely leave a frustrated Fernando Alonso in Red Bull's rearview mirror again. Ferrari's new design lacked competitive edge in testing and appears to have fallen behind McLaren and Lotus in the chase to dethrone Red Bull and two-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel. Pat Fry already said Ferrari have no shot at the podium in the...
10:32 AM, Mar 13, 2012
London: McLaren have high hopes from Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button for the upcoming Formula One season, expecting their drivers to challenge Red Bull in the title race. Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull have won both the drivers' and the constructors' championships in the past two seasons, and last year Vettel clinched the title with four races to spare, finishing the season with 11 victories. The 24-year-old never started lower...
10:26 AM, Mar 13, 2012
Paris: Narain Karthikeyan is all set for his second consecutive Formula One season after making a comeback to the sport last year. With only five days left before the start of the season opening with the Australian GP, Narain, the only Indian driver racing in 2012, spoke exclusively to IBNlive.com about his preparations, this year's car and his expectations. The 2012 championship starts this weekend in Australia. How have your...
09:30 AM, Mar 13, 2012
London: Formula One has too many daydreamers who need to take off their rose-tinted glasses and tighten their belts by spending less, according to commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. Speaking to the official Formula One website before the start of the new season in Australia next weekend, the 81-year-old Briton said it was time for a reality check. "There are still too many people in Formula One running around with rose-tinted...
03:07 PM, Mar 12, 2012
Madrid: Barcelona and Valencia have agreed in principle to alternate their Grand Prix races so there is only one event in Spain each year from 2013, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said. The world economic crisis has bitten hard in Spain, where local administrations are under pressure to make deep budget cuts as part of a new central government austerity drive. "Barcelona and Valencia have agreed that the best...
01:57 PM, Mar 11, 2012
London: Marussia were given the all-clear to start the Formula One season after their new car passed the final mandatory crash test on Tuesday. The Russian-licensed team, who gave the MR01 its track debut in a filming day at Silverstone on Monday, said in a statement they had cleared the last hurdle. "The component in question actually passed an 'unobserved' crash test but has been performing inconsistently in the observed...
10:28 AM, Mar 07, 2012
