Vitaly Petrov Looking Unlikely To Drive For Caterham In 2013

Vitaly Petrov’s future in Formula 1 has taken another blow amid continued speculation regarding the second seat at Caterham for the 2013 season, with reports indicating that communication between the two parties has stalled. Currently only Charles Pic has been confirmed at Caterham, with a team-mate still unconfirmed.

With only one seat remaining at the Leafield-based outfit, speculation is ripe within the Formula 1 fraternity as to who will be selected to team-mate Charles Pic. Both former Caterham drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov have been linked to the drive, alongside others such as former Williams driver Bruno Senna and GP2 driver Giedo van der Garde. With Heikki Kovalainen looking unlikely to be retained at Caterham, Vitaly Petrov has recently emerged as the more likely candidate to partner the young Frenchman.

However, Vitaly Petrov’s manager Oksana Kosachenko has recently confirmed that negotiations between the 28-year-old and Caterham have stalled. Kosachenko has also explained how Vitaly Petrov has still been unable to procure new sponsorship deals for the coming season, a fact which could seriously jeopardise any plans for 2013 and beyond for Petrov.

“At the moment there are a lot of unanswered questions,” explained Oksana Kosachenko to R-Sport. “There are too many nuances that need to be sorted out. We’re at the waiting stage, which is linked to the team’s restructuring. We completely depend on them and can’t speed anything up. So far, we haven’t managed to find new sponsors.”

Caterham’s Group Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne, has also fueled speculation that Vitaly Petrov will not be retained for the coming season. The Englishman, who has worked for both Jordan, Renault and Force India has worked his way up through the ranks within Caterham, and has hinted that the Leafield-based outfit are looking for a younger driver instead of an experienced driver such as Heikki Kovalainen or Vitaly Petrov.

Picture Copyright © Caterham F1 Team

Andy’s F1 Blog’s Top Ten Drivers Of 2012

Immediately after the enthralling season finale around Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit, I launched a poll here allowing my readers to vote for their driver of the year. And what a year it was, seven different winners in the first seven different races, a season-long battle at the top, and probably one of the most exciting season finales in the history of the sport.

For me, many drivers up and down the grid deserved the honor of Driver of the Year, everyone from Pastor Maldonado to Sebastian Vettel proved just why they belong in the world of Formula 1. There were the usual ups and downs as the season progressed, such as Lewis Hamilton’s Twitter Tantrums to the likes of Pastor Maldonado’s and Kimi Raikkonen’s sensational victories in Spain and Abu Dhabi.

From seasons end to New Years Day, 143 of you visited my site and voted for who you thought was the driver of the year. Naturally only one driver took the majority of the votes, however drivers such as Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov secured amazingly high votes to enter Andy’s F1 Blog’s Top Ten Drivers’ of the 2012 season, so without any further ado, lets start the countdown…

 

10th: Michael Schumacher – Mercedes (2 Votes – 1.4%)

 

Michael Schumacher failed to return to his dominant ways in his return to the sport.

It’s unquestionable that Michael Schumacher’s return to Formula 1 was not a success, with the German never returning to the heights of his Benetton and Ferrari dominance which made him such a revered figure in the sport. However, the 2012 season saw numerous moments where Michael Schumacher returned momentarily to his old ways, beginning with a sensational pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix which the German was frustratingly unable to start from after a penalty from the previous race in Spain.

At the European Grand Prix at Valencia, Michael Schumacher finally returned to the podium for the first time since the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix with 3rd place behind Kimi Raikkonen and eventual race winner Fernando Alonso. Despite these two fleeting moments of success for Schumacher, the 2012 season was another frustrating affair for the seven-time World Champion, and led to his second retirement after the confirmation of Lewis Hamilton as his successor at the German marque.

 

9th: Felipe Massa – Ferrari (2 Votes – 1.4%)

Felipe Massa endured a tough 2012 campaign for Ferrari.

 

Felipe Massa suffered a torrid start to the 2012 season, which saw the Brazilian driver qualify no higher than 12th throughout the opening five races of the season. During this period, Massa could only finish in the points on one occasion at the Bahrain Grand Prix where he managed to finish 9th after starting a lowly 14th. However, as the season progressed, so did Felipe Massa’s performance which saw him qualify 5th and finish 4th at the British Grand Prix in July.

Despite Felipe Massa’s gradual improvement as the 2012 season progressed, this did nothing to quell strong rumors linking numerous drivers as potential replacements for the Brazilian. These potential suspects included the likes of Adrian Sutil, Nico Hulkenberg and even Jenson Button, however Ferrari decided to retain Massa for one more season alongside Fernando Alonso. Eventually Felipe Massa was able to finish on the podium twice towards the end of the season with 2nd at the Japanese Grand Prix and 3rd at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

 

8th: Mark Webber – Red Bull Racing (2 Votes – 1.4%)

 

Mark Webber started the season promisingly, but faded in the latter half.

Mark Webber enjoyed a sensational start to the season with Red Bull, contrary to reigning World Champion and team-mate Sebastian Vettel, as the Australian driver took two victories for the Milton Keynes-based outfit which included his second victory at Monaco. However, once Sebastian Vettel returned to his dominant ways at the front, Mark Webber’s Championship hopes quickly faded slightly, despite several further competitive results at the Korean and Indian Grands Prix.

Throughout the earlier parts of the 2012 season, Mark Webber was rumored to be potentially leaving the Red Bull outfit, with a switch to Ferrari a strong possibility at one stage. However, after Mark Webber’s superlative victory at the British Grand Prix the Australian driver was confirmed for another year at Red Bull alongside triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

 

7th: Jenson Button – McLaren (3 Votes – 2.1%)

 

Jenson Button won three races in 2012, and will become McLaren’s lead driver in 2013.

Jenson Button both started and ended the 2012 season in fine form, with victories at the season opening Australian Grand Prix and season ending Brazilian Grand Prix. The Briton also took victory at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, whilst carnage ensued further back with the now infamous Romain Grosjean multi-car incident at the start. However, Jenson Button also endured several highly uncompetitive races throughout 2012 including the Spanish, Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix where the Briton suffered three disastrous results in comparison to team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

With Lewis Hamilton now a Mercedes driver, Jenson Button has now fully assumed the role as team leader at the Woking-based outfit alongside the rising star that is Sergio Perez. Results reminiscent of the Canadian Grand Prix would be disastrous during the 2013 season, as Jenson Button prepares to spearhead McLaren’s Championship chances alongside the likes of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

 

6th: Vitaly Petrov – Caterham (6 Votes – 4.2%)

 

Vitaly Petrov produced a wonderful drive in Brazil, but is as of yet unconfirmed for 2013.

Vitaly Petrov picked up a surprising amount of votes, most likely due to his stellar performance during the season finale at Sao Paulo which saw Caterham retake the all-important 10th in the Constructors’ Championship over rivals Marussia. The 28-year-old Russian ended the race 11th for Caterham, which enabled the Leafield-based outfit to rise above Marussia despite once again scoring no points throughout the year.

Currently Vitaly Petrov is not confirmed at Caterham for the 2013 season, with Frenchman Charles Pic the only confirmed driver on the grid for the team. The second seat has yet to be announced, with drivers such as Vitaly Petrov, Heikki Kovalainen, Giedo van der Garde and Bruno Senna all linked to what has become one of the last vacancies on the grid for 2013.

 

5th: Bruno Senna – Williams (12 Votes – 8.39%)

 

Bruno Senna was consistent in 2012 for Williams, but is also unconfirmed for 2013.

Another driver who has picked up a surprising number of votes, Bruno Senna endured a bitter sweet 2012 season for Williams. Although team-mate Pastor Maldonado received early success with his victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, it’s unquestionable that Bruno Senna enjoyed a much more consistent season than his Venezuelan team-mate. Between the Spanish Grand Prix in May and the Japanese Grand Prix in October, Maldonado failed to score a single World Championship point, whereas Senna picked up 11 points for Williams.

Despite this almost stealth-like consistency in comparison to team-mate Pastor Maldonado, the Brazilian driver has unfortunately been replaced at Williams for next season by the team’s reserve driver Valtteri Bottas. However, recent rumors have linked the 29-year-old to Caterham alongside Charles Pic for 2013, a move which would see all change at the Leafield-based outfit, and a rather strong line-up for the new season.

 

4th: Lewis Hamilton – McLaren (13 Votes – 9.09%)

 

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a much better season in 2012, and will move to Mercedes for 2013.

Unquestionably one of the stars of the 2012 season, Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a much more competitive season than 2011. The 2008 World Champion began the season very consistently, with points scored at the first seven races which included victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. However, the Briton’s 2012 campaign was not without error as he used the social networking site Twitter in a foolish manner on more than one occasion.

Despite Lewis Hamilton’s off track misdemeanors, the McLaren driver was without-a-doubt one of the quickest drivers all season, which allowed him to take four victories throughout the year including a sensational win at the United States Grand Prix around the brand-new track in Austin. Lewis Hamilton made headline news worldwide just after the Singapore Grand Prix, when it was announced he would be leaving McLaren to join Mercedes alongside Nico Rosberg in 2013.

 

3rd: Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull Racing (15 Votes – 10.49%)

Sebastian Vettel might well have been crowned World Champion, but struggled in the early stages.

 

Amazingly the 2012 World Champion only comes 3rd in our top ten countdown, despite a season which saw the young German fight a season-long battle with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Unlike the previous year which saw Sebastian Vettel utterly dominate the opposition, the 2012 season saw the German driver initially struggle greatly and only pick up one victory in the opening thirteen races of the season.

However, due largely to Adrian Newey’s mastermind and several sensational drives along the way, Sebastian Vettel was able to once again reassert in authority over proceedings and clinch his third successive drivers’ title, becoming only third driver in the history of the sport alongside Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher to do so. Expect much of the same from the youngster in 2013, as he continues to write his own history in F1.

 

2nd: Kimi Raikkonen – Lotus (17 Votes – 11.89%)

Kimi Raikkonen was his usual laid back self in the paddock, eventually winning one race in 2012.

 

Despite a rocky return in Australia at the start of the year, where Kimi Raikkonen qualified a lowly 17th, the Iceman was my personal highlight of the 2012 season and rightfully deserves to be within the top three. He might not have fully returned to his once fearsome competitiveness until mid-season, but the Finnish ace returned to the sport as though he never left, with his blunt approach to life in the paddock once again causing headline news in the media.

Admittedly the Finn should have won more races throughout the season, most notably in Bahrain, however Kimi Raikkonen remained the most consistent driver of the year by finishing every single race of the season in the points apart from China where his Pirelli tyres expired. Eventually the Finn stormed to his 19th career victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in doing so snapping at his race engineer to leave him alone on the radio in what has undoubtedly become Kimi’s trademark catchphrase.

 

1st: Fernando Alonso – Ferrari (61 Votes – 42.66%)

 

Fernando Alonso was unquestionably the driver of the year in 2012, and will be a strong contender once again in 2013!

Receiving a whopping 61 votes since the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, and squeezing every ounce of juice out of his initially disastrous Ferrari F2012, Fernando Alonso has been rated as the Driver of the Year, and rightfully so! The Spaniard took his first victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix in March in the wet/dry race, and completely overshadowed team-mate Felipe Massa. Whilst his Brazilian counterpart struggled greatly with the F2012, Fernando Alonso called upon his masterful race-craft to remain a title contender right down to the final race of the season.

Fernando Alonso was one of the most consistent drivers of the season, only retiring from two races throughout the year. The Spaniard finished on the podium a mesmerizing thirteen times, which included a streak of five back-to-back podiums during the last five races. However, Sebastian Vettel’s spell of four victories between the Singapore and Indian Grands Prix saw the Championship swing back towards Milton Keynes. With Fernando Alonso coming so very close to Championship supremacy in 2012, expect the Spaniard to be a title contender from the word go in 2013!

Picture Copyright © Mercedes AMG Petronas/Getty Images/McLaren F1 Team/Caterham F1 Team/Williams F1 Team & Pirelli

Force India Reveal February Launch Date For New Car

Force India have revealed the date for the launch of their new 2013 machine, the VJM06, ahead of the 2013 season and the start of pre-season testing at Jerez. Just like their preparations for the 2012 season, Force India will unveil their new car at their home circuit at Silverstone on February 1st.

After a relatively successful 2012 season, Force India is targeting fifth in the Constructors’ Championship next season, following on from their competitive end to the 2012 season after Sauber-bound Nico Hulkenberg led the majority of the season finale at Brazil. Despite this competitive end to the season, neither Paul di Resta or Nico Hulkenberg were able to finish on the podium all season, which saw the Silverstone-based outfit finish 7th in the Constructors’ Championship with 109 points scored.

Force India currently remains the only team with both seats still vacant, although it is strongly predicted throughout the F1 fraternity that Scotsman Paul di Resta will remain with the team for 2013. However, di Resta’s team-mate for next year remains a hot topic throughout the world of Formula 1, with many drivers including reserve driver Jules Bianchi, ex-Force India driver Adrian Sutil, Jaime Alguersuari and Bruno Senna all rumored to be linked to the second seat at the team.

The Silverstone-based outfit will be eager to get pre-season testing underway in early February at Jerez, after Force India struggled during the early stages of the 2012 season, therefore putting the team on the back foot for the remainder of the year. The first pre-season test is scheduled to begin on February 5th at Jerez, before testing moves swiftly to Barcelona on February 19th.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Mark Gillan Steps Down As Williams Chief Operations Engineer

Mark Gillan has stepped down as the Williams Chief Operations Engineer, after confirming to AutoSport that the reason behind his decision was to ‘spend more time with his family”. The 44-year-old joined Williams during their disastrous 2011 season, and was instrumental in the team’s revival during the 2012 season.

During the 2011 season, Williams endured an embarrassingly uncompetitive year as Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado struggled to only score a total of five points all season. Mark Gillan joined the outfit halfway through the 2011 season, and became the team’s Chief Operations Engineer during their reshuffle. The results from this change was evident throughout the 2012 season, as Williams returned to their race winning ways with victory at the Spanish Grand Prix at the hands of Pastor Maldonado.

Despite the gloriously competitive 2012 season for the Williams outfit, which saw them score 71 more points than 2011, Mark Gillan has left the Grove-based outfit to spend more time with his family. Having previously worked for McLaren, Jaguar, Red Bull and Toyota, Mark Gillan was a pivotal figure throughout a Grand Prix weekend for Williams, and worked under the team’s technical director, Mike Coughlan. It is as of yet unknown who Williams will appoint as Mark Gillan’s replacement, or how his departure will affect the team’s performance.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Bruno Senna Confident Of Securing 2013 Drive Despite DTM Test

Bruno Senna is remaining confident of securing a drive for 2013 in Formula 1, after the Brazilian driver was replaced at Williams by the team’s reserve driver Valtteri Bottas. Senna is currently in talks with both Force India and Caterham, however the 29-year-old has reportedly carried out a DTM test with Mercedes.

Despite this test around Portugal’s Estoril circuit, Bruno Senna is still targeting a drive in Formula 1 for 2013. With Valtteri Bottas replacing him at Williams alongside Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna’s options for next season in F1 are between Force India or Caterham, both of which have yet to confirm their full driver line-up.

However, the Brazilian driver is likely to find tough competition for the remaining vacancies on the 2013 grid, with the likes of Paul di Resta, Jaime Alguersuari, Adrian Sutil, Jules Bianchi, Heikki Kovalainen, Giedo van der Garde and Vitaly Petrov all likely candidates for the drives at Force India and Caterham.

“You’re never relaxed until you have a nice signed contract, but we’re working very hard,” explained Bruno Senna to Autosport. “Chris [Goodwin, Senna’s manager] is a busy little bee. He’s been doing his job very well. Hopefully before the end of the year we’ll have a nice clear path to follow.”

Throughout the 2012 season, Bruno Senna was replaced by Valtteri Bottas during fifteen practice sessions. Unlike other teams such as Force India and Caterham, Bottas always replaced Senna within the team, partnering Pastor Maldonado during the opening practice session of each of the fifteen race weekends. This understandably fueled rumors that Bottas was set to replace Senna, and made the Brazilian’s 2012 season all the more difficult.

“It’s a tough World Championship,” continue Senna to Autosport. “This has probably been the toughest Formula 1 World Championship in many years. I think that coming into it as my first real year in Formula 1 was already a challenge. And then missing practice sessions all over the season, probably missing about 30 per cent of all the practice sessions of the year, is a lot of practice missed. It’s made my year much more difficult. But still I’ve learned a lot. It’s been a very big learning curve for me, and a very good one.”

If Bruno Senna fails to find a drive for next season, this would leave Felipe Massa as the only Brazilian driver on the grid. This would be the first time only one Brazilian driver has lined up for the start of the season since 1971, when the great Emerson Fittipaldi raced for Team Lotus.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Valtteri Bottas Aiming To Make The Most Of His Opportunity With Williams

Valtteri Bottas is aiming to make the most of his opportunity with Williams next season, after the Finn was confirmed alongside Pastor Maldonado as the replacement for Bruno Senna. After partaking in fifteen practice sessions throughout the 2012 season, Bottas is confident he can excel in 2013.

The 23-year-old Finn joined Williams as the team’s reserve driver in 2010, a season before he clinched the GP3 Championship. Instead of progressing up the conventional motor sport ladder to the likes of GP2 or World Series by Renault for 2012, Valtteri Bottas spent the season out of of regular racing to focus solely on his role as the Williams reserve driver. This benefitted the Finn greatly, who replaced Bruno Senna fifteen times throughout the season during the opening practice session of the weekend.

Valtteri Bottas is understandably thrilled after receiving “promotion” within the Williams outfit, which is a dream come true for the Finn. Bottas started karting at the age of six, and has progressed from there to become Finland’s ninth Formula 1 driver, and only the second to race for Williams since Keke Rosberg.

“It feels incredible to be driving in Formula One next season and to be with a team like Williams, with all its pedigree, is even more special.” Explained Valtteri Bottas, “I’ve worked hard to get here ever since I started karting at six years old, but the real work starts now as I prepare myself for the biggest challenge of my career. The fact that I’ve been with Williams since 2010 will help a lot though because I know the engineers really well and have a good working relationship with them.”

With Valtteri Bottas set to return to a full-time drive next season, after a year as the Williams reserve driver, the Finn is simply aiming to make the most out of his debut season with the outfit. With Pastor Maldonado aiming for regular point finishes and podium appearances, Valtteri Bottas simply wants to look back upon his debut season and feel that he has improved as a driver.

“It’s difficult to set objectives before the season starts, so I’m just trying to make the most of this opportunity to prove the team has been right to promote me to a race seat.” Continued Valtteri Bottas, “I want to look back on 2013 and feel that I’ve improved as a driver and helped the team improve its performance on the track.”

Throughout the 2012 season, Valtteri Bottas replaced Bruno Senna during fifteen Friday practice sessions, gaining valuable track knowledge at venues such as Sepang, Shanghai, Suzuka and Abu Dhabi, circuits which GP3 do not visit during their seasons. This means Bottas will only have several venues to learn during his debut season, with the Finn visiting all but one of the European circuits with GP3 in 2011.

“This [his participation in fifteen practice sessions] will be a big help as it means there are only a handful of circuits on the 2013 calendar that I have never driven, in Australia, Monaco, Valencia, Austin and Singapore.” Said Valtteri Bottas, “There will still be a lot of work to do but it means that I do have some knowledge to work from heading to most races next season.”

Along with Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, Valtteri Bottas will be the first former GP3 driver to start an official Formula 1 race next March when the lights go out at the start of the Australian Grand Prix. The Finn is already well established within the Williams outfit, and will be looking to build upon this throughout his debut season. If Williams start 2013 in a similar fashion to 2012, then both Maldonado and Bottas could be in for a very competitive 2013 season.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Pastor Maldonado Looking Forward To 2013 Alongside Valtteri Bottas

Pastor Maldonado believes 2013 will be an important season for Williams, as they strive to build upon their competitiveness witnessed throughout the 2012 season. Despite the Venezuelan driver securing the team’s first victory since 2004 at Barcelona, Williams still struggled on regular occasions within the midfield.

After taking an illustrious victory at the Spanish Grand Prix back in May, Pastor Maldonado entered a frustrating points-drought which lasted until the Japanese Grand Prix in October. During this period, Bruno Senna scored all the points for Williams as Maldonado struggled to return to his once highly competitive ways. However, it was clear during the season that Maldonado was an exceedingly quick driver, with the 27-year-old qualifying 3rd at Valencia, 2nd at Singapore and 3rd at Abu Dhabi.

Pastor Maldonado is confident that he and the team will continue to build upon their success in 2012 next season, and is aiming to challenge for points and podium finishes on a regular basis. Apart from the team’s victory in Barcelona, Williams failed to return to the podium all season with 5th at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix the best the team could achieve.

“2013 will be an important season for the team.” Explained Pastor Maldonado, “In my first season we had a lot of problems with the car, but this year we made a big step forward in performance and managed to capture a memorable win in Barcelona. We have a lot of potential as a team and next year we must continue this upward trend and produce a car that can challenge for strong points finishes and podiums at a wide range of circuits.

“The goal is to be more competitive next year and have a car that is consistently in the points and challenging for podiums. This year we showed excellent pace at a number of tracks such as Barcelona, Monaco and Abu Dhabi, but we didn’t have the consistency to maintain that at every Grand Prix. We have all the tools needed to push the top teams, and hopefully we can learn from this year and move further up the field.”

Valtteri Bottas will replace Bruno Senna alongside Pastor Maldonado in 2013.

However, next season the Venezuelan driver will be partnered at Williams by the team’s former reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, who will be replacing Bruno Senna within the team. The 23-year-old Finn has already shown his skill behind the wheel of Formula 1 machinery, after partaking in fifteen practice sessions throughout the season. Bottas was also crowned the 2011 GP3 Champion, a fact which will make him only the second former GP3 driver to start an official race next March alongside the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez.

Pastor Maldonado is looking forward to the 2013 season alongside his new team-mate, with the two already having worked together for the last two seasons in the sport. Pastor Maldonado is eager to offer advice to the rookie, with the Venezuelan driver hopeful both he and Bottas can start scoring points at the first race in March.

“It will be a new experience and one that I am looking forward to.” Said Pastor Maldonado, “As a rookie he will have a lot to learn, but from what I have seen so far he has a lot of talent. It’s in the team’s interest for both of us to be scoring points from the very first race, so I can provide advice to him as someone who has two seasons under my belt. I’ve spent a lot of time with him this year as he has driven in many FP1 sessions and travelled with the team and we get on very well which is always helpful.”

Williams enjoyed a far more successful season this year in comparison to 2011, when the team scored a miserable five points all year. This season saw the Grove-based outfit storm to 76 points in the Constructors’ Championship, a tally both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas will be hoping to emulate in 2013. Both have shown they are capable of winning races throughout their careers’, and they will unquestionably be striving to do so once again when the 2013 Formula 1 season kicks off in March.

Picture(s) Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Williams Confirm Line-Up For 2013, Bottas In Senna Out

Williams have confirmed their 2013 driver line-up, which will see Pastor Maldonado compete in his third successive season with the outfit, however the Venezuelan driver will be joined next season by the team’s 2012 reserve driver Valtteri Bottas. This will see the 2011 GP3 Champion replace Bruno Senna at the team, ending strong speculation.

Speculation linking Valtteri Bottas to Bruno Senna’s seat with the Williams outfit began as far back as the first few races of the 2012 season, when the Finn replaced the Brazilian driver in the Malaysian and Chinese Grands Prix practice sessions on the Friday morning. The team then confirmed that this would take place at fifteen race weekends throughout the year, with Bottas set to replace Senna at each Friday morning practice  session.

Pastor Maldonado has unsurprisingly been retained by the Grove-based outfit, with the Venezuelan driver taking an illustrious victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in May and also because of his strong financial backing from Venezuelan petroleum company PDVSA. The 27-year-old is thrilled with the confirmation he will race for the team in 2013, and is hopeful that the season will bring further success to himself and the outfit.

“I’m really enjoying my time with Williams and I was obviously very happy when I was told that I would be continuing with the team in 2013.” Explained Pastor Maldonado, who ended the season with 45 points scored. “2012 was a memorable year for me with the win in Barcelona and we made a big step forward in terms of performance. I have a lot of confidence in the team and hopefully next year will see us move even further up the grid and taste more success.’’

Valtteri Bottas will become the ninth Finnish Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport, and will join Kimi Raikkonen on the grid for 2013. It is still unconfirmed whether or not Heikki Kovalainen will make it three Finn’s on the grid next season, as he continues to negotiate with Caterham. 23-year-old Bottas has explained it has always been a life-long dream to compete in Formula 1, and that he is understandably itching to get the 2013 season started.

“It has always been my life-long dream to compete in the Formula One World Championship.” Enthused Valtteri Bottas, who will replace Bruno Senna. “To do so with one of the most legendary teams in the sport is incredibly special. I’ve really enjoyed my three years with Williams so far and feel very at home here so my goal was always to stay for 2013 and progress to a race seat. I’m looking forward to getting my Formula One career started and enjoying a lot of success with Williams.’’

Bruno Senna’s hopes of finding a drive for 2013 now lies solely with Force India or Caterham, with both outfits still housing vacant seats for next season. Max Chilton has been strongly linked with the vacancy at Marussia, with HRT looking unlikely to even be on the 2013 grid. However, strong competition from the likes of Jaime Alguersuari, Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov and Paul di Resta amongst others will make clinching a drive at Force India or Caterham exceedingly difficult.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Sebastian Vettel Criticises Bruno Senna After First Lap Incident

Newly-crowned World Champion Sebastian Vettel has criticized Bruno Senna, after the pair came together on the opening lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Senna tried to overtake Vettel into Turn 4, but the German closed the door and the inevitable ensued. This saw Senna retire and Vettel plummet to the back of the order.

Despite picking up severe damage to the left-hand side of his car, Sebastian Vettel was undeterred by his collision with Senna and immediately began clawing his way back through the order as the rain began to intensify at the circuit. Although Sebastian Vettel was eventually able to clinch his third successive Drivers’ Championship, the German criticized the Brazilian driver after the race.

The incident that so nearly cost Sebastian Vettel the Drivers Championship!

“The start was quite good. I was quite happy.” Explained Sebastian Vettel, “Then I think I was bit too early on KERS and didn’t get KERS until Turn One but nevertheless, I was side by side with Mark [Webber] and he squeezed me to the inside, so your angle for Turn One becomes worse and worse. Then down to Turn Four, I was benefitting from the slipstream in front, relatively safe to Paul [di Resta] who was behind, as far as I remember, and then I got the hit in Turn Four for no reason. I don’t know what happened. I think someone probably… I think it was Bruno, I was told it was Bruno… he was probably fighting someone into Turn Four.

“It was drizzling since the start of the formation lap and it was quite slippery in Turn Four, we knew that. Maybe he forgot. The same thing I mentioned about the fact that in Turn One I had to back out of the situation because your angle just becomes narrower. If he was on the inside, which I suppose – I haven’t seen the footage – BOOM and I was the car that he used to stop himself. They didn’t help us.”

Sebastian Vettel was extremely lucky to continue circulating out on track, after Bruno Senna’s Williams tore a hole in the side of the German’s Red Bull. Despite the mangled bodywork on the side of the car, Vettel continued racing and eventually crossed the line to finish 6th, which enabled him to clinch his third successive Drivers’ Championship by just three points. However, the car was considerably slower due to the damage sustained during the first lap melee.

“In the dry conditions we were not quick enough.” Continued Sebastian Vettel, “I was stuck behind Kamui [Kobayashi] but we were nowhere on the straights, and also our tyres were suffering and we were not quick enough to fight, to go through the field because the car was damaged. I looked at the floor and it didn’t look nice. I’m quite happy because I could continue. Many times you have an accident like that in that corner and that it’s, that’s the end of the race so I was very happy for that.”

Bruno Senna’s race was ruined after his collision with Sebastian Vettel, after the Brazilian driver then collected the Sauber of Sergio Perez, who was also forced into retirement. With Senna striving to retain his seat at Williams for 2013, this was not the way he or the team would have liked to end the season. Despite Vettel’s criticism to Senna, opinions throughout the paddock are mixed as to who was in the wrong. Either way, it was a racing incident which could well have changed the course of the Drivers’ Championship.

Picture(s) Copyright © Getty Images

Bruno Senna: “It Was Quite A Tough Session Today”

Bruno Senna has explained how the opening day of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend was quite tough for both the local driver and Williams, as they ran Pirelli’s 2013 prototype tyre and worked upon aero evaluations throughout the opening two 90 minute sessions. However, the outfit remains confident for the remainder of the weekend.

With Pirelli’s prototype tyres added to the teams usual preparations for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team struggled to make progress throughout the two sessions largely due to the vast amount of objectives being carried out. During the opening session, the team ran aero evaluations as well as the 2013 prototype Pirelli tyres, which the majority of the field ran throughout the due course of the two sessions.

Bruno Senna, who made way for reserve driver Valtteri Bottas in the opening practice session, in particular struggled throughout the second practice session. During this session, the team began working upon longer runs, as well as tyre and set-up work for the remainder of the weekend. The team as a whole struggled to find a decent balance in the second session, and are hopeful that they can improve ahead of qualifying tomorrow.

“It was quite a tough session today as we didn’t get as much information as we would have liked for tomorrow.” Admitted Bruno Senna, “We’ve got some work to do to understand how we can do things better to make sure we’re competitive for tomorrow, as the grid is very close here. It’s very hot today but it was great to see all my home fans out there, even with sweat in my eyes!”

The weather for the remainder of the weekend is forecast to steadily worsen, with 100% rain forecast for race day. If such inclement weather strikes the Interlagos circuit on Sunday, both Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna will be eager to capitalize on the mayhem which will undoubtedly ensue. With Senna still unconfirmed for next season, he will be striving particularly harder for a competitive result with an aim of being retained for 2013.

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