Heikki Kovalainen To Make F1 Return With Caterham

It has been officially confirmed by Caterham that 31-year-old Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen will make his return to Formula 1 this weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix, when he will partake in the opening practice session of the weekend. The Finn was initially dropped by the outfit after the 2012 season, along with then team-mate Vitaly Petrov.

The decision by Caterham to return Heikki Kovalainen to the outfit comes after a frustrating opening three races to the new season, in which the Leafield-based outfit has been visibly out-performed by Marussia and Jules Bianchi in particular. The Finn’s return to the team will see him provide feedback on the team’s various updates they are introducing to the car for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as feedback on the controversial Pirelli tyres which have created many headaches throughout the paddock.

After the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, Heikki Kovalainen will return behind the wheel of the CT03 at the Spanish Grand Prix around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya were he will reprise his Friday practice role within the team. Rumors of such a decision within Caterham emerged during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, where Caterham were once again out-performed by Marussia. This decision by Caterham will undoubtedly pile increased pressure upon both Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde, who have failed to greatly impress so far this season.

“It’s obviously great news that I’ll be on track in Bahrain and Spain and I’m really looking forward to getting back to work and helping the team as much as I can.” Enthused Heikki Kovalainen, “I’ll be taking part in the two FP1 sessions in Bahrain and Barcelona to give the team my input on the new parts we’re bringing to those races, and I’ll be working closely with the race drivers and the engineers on track and back at Leafield to help everyone get the most out of the new package. I’m physically ready to get back into the car and I know my experience can help give the team new ideas and options for directions to take on setup and strategy. I’m looking forward to getting back to work!”

Caterham’s team principal, Cyril Abiteboul, has explained that Heikki Kovalainen’s wealth of knowledge within Formula 1 at team’s such as Renault and McLaren was the major factor in his return with the outfit as their development driver. The Finn’s career in the sport began in 2007 with Renault, before a switch to McLaren in 2008 saw him secure his one and only victory in the sport at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After a tough season with McLaren in 2009, the Finn moved to Lotus [now known as Caterham] for the 2010 season. After three seasons with the outfit, he was eventually dropped for the 2013 season as Caterham decided to completely change it’s driving line-up with Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Susie Wolff Declares Williams Loyalty

Susie Wolff has declared loyalty to Williams, after her husband Toto Wolff’s switch to Mercedes from the Grove-based outfit. Although Toto Wolff will become the Executive Director of Mercedes, Susie Wolff has expressed via Twitter that she will remain with Williams as their development driver.

Amid several personnel changes within the Formula 1 paddock, which have included Toto Wolff’s switch to Mercedes and Timo Glock’s surprise departure from Marussia, Susie Wolff has declared her loyalty to Williams despite rumors the 30-year-old could follow her husband to Mercedes. However, Susie Wolff has confirmed via the social networking site Twitter that she will remain with Williams throughout the forthcoming season, as she continues to work as the team’s development driver.

“Just to clarify, I am a proud member of the Williams F1 Team,” insisted Susie Wolff via Twitter. “There was never any question of me leaving. Very happy for my husband, we will be fighting him hard on track!

Despite Toto Wolff’s departure from Williams, the Grove-based outfit will still be hopeful of another competitive season in 2013. Pastor Maldonado will start his third season at the outfit alongside rookie Valtteri Bottas, as the duo aim to continue fighting at the sharp-end of the order. The new Williams FW35 will be unveiled later than the majority of the other teams on the grid, prior to the second pre-season test at Barcelona on February 19th.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Marussia Targeting First Pre-Season Test With 2013 Car

Marussia are confident that their 2013 car will be unveiled at the first pre-season test next February, and that the development of the Marussia MVR-03 car is currently on schedule. The Anglo-Russian outfit were late in unveiling their car during pre-season testing at the start of the 2012 season, and were forced to initially use their 2011 car.

Whilst other teams unveiled their new 2012 cars either before or during pre-season testing, Marussia’s initial plans were scuppered as the MVR-02 car failed to pass several of the sport’s mandatory crash tests. Team principal Graeme Lowdon is confident history will not repeat itself next February, with the team planning to unveil their new car prior to the first pre-season test which starts on February 5th.

“It’s on target at the moment, and in fact some bits are ahead,” Explained Graeme Lowdon to AutoSport. “We’ve got a high degree of confidence. We’ve got a totally different structure now. This will be our first car that’s truly our car in terms of the new people involved. The car we’ve just finished with was a full CFD car when we hit the first race.”

Despite having 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship cruelly snatched away from them by rivals Caterham during the final race of the season at Sao Paulo, Graeme Lowdon still thinks Marussia is a worthy top ten team. The team currently has one vacancy remaining for the 2013 season alongside Timo Glock, with reserve driver and GP2 star Max Chilton strongly tipped to partner the German.

“I definitely think this is a top ten team.” Continued Graeme Lowdon, “We didn’t have a top ten car, and that’s something that takes time and money. Look at Brazil, Timo’s fastest stop was faster than all the stops McLaren did. People don’t notice that kind of thing, but we’ve now got a very, very good team. A really good structure, very tight-knit and a very low cost base. If we have a car that’s capable of quicker lap times, which is the other piece of the jigsaw – and everything I’ve seen is that next year’s car is going to be a really good car – then you can’t write this team off. I’m looking forward to Melbourne.”

With HRT currently not on course to be on the grid come the Australian Grand Prix next March, Marussia and Caterham will remain as the two lowest teams on the grid. This will unquestionably make the battle for 10th in the Constructors’ Championship a much more intense affair, and one which Marussia will be eager to clinch ahead of their Leafield-based rivals.

Picture Copyright © Marussia F1 Team

Pirelli To Offer Teams With 2013 Development Tyres At Brazil

Pirelli have announced they will offer the teams with a prototype of the 2013 tyres for the opening two practice sessions at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, which will see either Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso be crowned a triple World Champion. Next year’s Pirelli tyres will feature different characteristics to this year’s compounds.

Pirelli’s controversial P Zero and Cinturato tyres have greatly effected the results this season, and have kept the teams perplexed for the majority of the year. As the season has progressed, the teams have gradually managed to work with the tyres, with normality being resumed as Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull enjoyed a resurgence in the latter half of the season. Pirelli aim to continue making life difficult for the teams and drivers next season, with the tyres set to once again change over the winter period.

As the teams and drivers prepare for this weekend’s grand finale around Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit, Pirelli have decided to offer the teams with a prototype of the 2013 tyre for the teams to test during the opening two practice sessions on Friday. With the compounds and construction of the tyres once again set to alter, the teams and drivers will understandably be eager to begin working with the new tyres.

“We’ll be bringing some of our 2013 prototype tyres to Brazil in order for the teams to get a taste of them during free practice.” Explained Pirelli’s motor sport director, Paul Hembery. “With no testing until February otherwise, this will be an extremely valuable opportunity for them to see what our new tyres are like as they finalize their 2013 cars – so let’s hope that it doesn’t rain on Friday!

“Both the compounds and construction will be different, which means that the characteristics of the new tyres will be altered, with a wider working range and some compounds that are slightly more aggressive. We’ve yet to finalize where exactly all the compounds will sit in relation to each other, which is why we are calling the tyre to be used in Brazil a ‘prototype’ rather than giving it a specific nomination, but it will be very representative of our general design philosophy next year.”

With rain forecast for the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, Pirelli will be hoping Friday’s two practice sessions remain dry to allow the drivers to test the new prototype compounds. This past season has been greatly effect by the Pirelli tyres, and it seems next year will also be centered around the tyres as the teams and drivers strive gain as much knowledge as possible ahead of the new season.

Picture Copyright © Pirelli

Pedro de la Rosa: “I’m More Than Satisfied With The Result”

Pedro de la Rosa enjoyed a relatively successful 100th Grand Prix earlier today, even though he and his team-mate Narain Karthikeyan once again brought up the rear of the order. After starting the race from 23rd on the grid alongside the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg, de la Rosa was able to complete a one stop strategy to finish 18th.

Although the HRT duo ended the race one lap off the leader, the Spanish-outfit remain confident as they continue to improve as the season enters its closing stages. With HRT set to introduce several new upgrades to their F112 car at the next race in Singapore, they are confident a further step forward can be achieved. Narain Karthikeyan, who had not raced around the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza since his debut season back in 2005, finished the race in 19th position. The Indian driver out-qualified team-mate de la Rosa for the first time this season, however he was unable to translate such a result through to the race.

“I’m more than satisfied with the result, especially keeping in mind how we started the race.” Explained Pedro de la Rosa, “The start wasn’t easy but I did what I could because the medium tyres didn’t work well. In the second half of the race, on hard tyres, I started to run well and I’m happy with our pitstop because it was very good. I’m happy with this 100th Grand Prix although I would have liked to have done it better. We have to continue improving and in Singapore we hope for the planned upgrades to help us take that step forward.”

Ma Qing Hua made his official F1 debut during first practice on Friday.

Luis Perez-Sala was content with his teams performance after the race, after a successful weekend which began by creating F1 history as the team allowed development driver Ma Qing Hua to drive during opening practice. The 24-year-old became the first Chinese-born driver to compete in an official F1 event, and coupled with de la Rosa’s 100th Grand Prix the team are confident the upgrades at Singapore next time out will be yet another boost for the Madrid-based outfit.

“I’m happy with how the race went; we experienced no problems and the car proved its good reliability.” Said HRT’s team principal, Luis Perez-Sala. “We’ve closed the gap to the head of the field at a circuit that we knew would benefit us. Overall it’s been a positive weekend with Ma’s debut and Pedro’s 100th Grand Prix, and now we’re looking forward to Singapore, where I hope we will be able to continue progressing.”

Picture Copyright © HRT F1 Team

Susie Wolff Becomes Williams Development Driver

Female driver Susie Wolff has been announced as the Williams F1 Team Development Driver, joining Marussia test driver Maria de Villota as the second female driver involved in the sport.

Born in Scotland, Susie Wolff currently races in DTM, and this season will see her start her seventh year in the series. She began her motor sport career in karting, before moving to junior single-seater series’ such as British Formula Renault and British F3 before making her DTM debut in 2006 with Mücke Motorsport. 

“Susie is a talented, successful and highly professional racing driver who competes in one of the world’s most fiercely-contested racing series.” Commented Sir Frank Williams, “Susie will join Williams as a Development Driver, in which capacity she will assist us with the development of our simulator and other technical challenges. Susie will also undertake some aerodynamic testing of the FW34 and a full track test in the coming months. Susie will also attend a number of races with us. I should add that, as Susie is married to Toto Wolff, a Director of Williams, her appointment was carefully considered and then approved by the Board, with Toto recusing himself from the process.”

“I would like to thank Sir Frank for giving me this opportunity both on and off the track.” Said Susie Wolff, “I must also thank Mercedes Benz AMG and HWA for supporting me to take up this new experience with Williams. Formula One is the ultimate challenge for any racing driver and it offers me the chance both to apply and to improve the skills I have developed racing in DTM. In return I shall be offering some of my own technical insight and experience – coming from a different discipline – and helping the team engage with its partners. I hope also to demonstrate that women can play a role at the highest levels of motorsport and I shall be working closely with the team on its social responsibility programme in the areas of education and road safety.”

Formula 1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, also offered his approval of Susie’s announcement at Williams, “If Susie is as quick in a car as she looks good out of a car then she will be a massive asset to any team and on top of that she is very intelligent. I am really looking forward to having her in Formula One.”

Susie Wolff will be preparing for her first race of the season, as the 2012 DTM Series gets underway towards the end of the month at the Hockenheimring.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Technical Director James Key To Leave Sauber

Only days before Sauber launch their new 2012 car, it is understood that their Technical Director, James Key, is set to leave the Swiss outfit and join another Formula 1 team, leaving Sauber’s heads of department for its aerodynamic, design performance and operations devision in charge of the the design and development of their new car.

James Key joined Sauber at the start of the 2010 season after previously working with Force India, replacing Willy Rampf as Technical Director. At that time, Sauber were in the process of ending its connections with BMW who had run the team since June 2005.

In light of this recent development, team owner Peter Sauber said: “A qualified team shares the overall technical responsibility. This structure has proved to work well at other racing outfits. Over a period of almost two years, James has accomplished a lot for our team. Especially in the difficult transition period from a manufacturer team into a private enterprise, he contributed significantly to ensure the team regained stability. We would like to thank him for his efforts and wish him all the best for his future.”

“I’ve enjoyed the past two years working at the Sauber F1 Team.” Said James Key on his time with Sauber, “It has been a very intense and interesting time, in which we had to manage the transition from a much larger team to a smaller one, and everybody handled that very well. I think the team is now well set for the future and I wish it the very best. I have been offered a new role back in the UK, which I decided to accept.”

The team which James Key will eventually be joining has not yet been disclosed. Sauber will launch their 2012 challenger on 6th February, the day before pre-season testing gets underway at Jerez.