Formula One 2011

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Group Lotus, Proton and the current Team Lotus Formula 1 team have announced that their legal dispute over the rights to use the Lotus brand in F1 is officially over following confirmation that Tony Fernandes' outfit can become Caterham next year and Group Lotus can rebrand the present Renault team as Lotus.

The Proton-owned Lotus car company and Fernandes' F1 team have been at odds over the Lotus name since late in 2010, even taking the matter to court.

But in a joint statement from Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar and Riad Asmat, group CEO of Fernandes' 1Malaysia Racing Team, both sides declared the row is now fully resolved following approval of the two teams' name changes, and expressed their satisfaction at the outcome.

"On behalf of Group Lotus and Proton I would like to express how pleased we are that this matter is finally closed and we can now focus on looking forward to the future," said Bahar.

"We understand that this has been a very difficult and confusing time for the fans of the sport and the Lotus brand so we are glad to have reached a clear resolution on this important matter - I would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans for their continued support, it means everything to us."

Asmat said his team had accepted that relinquishing its claim on the Lotus title was the right course of action to take. He added that the squad's green and yellow colour scheme would remain as it became Caterham from the start of 2012.

"We are proud of what we have achieved by bringing the Team Lotus name back to Formula 1 when many tried and although we are sad to say goodbye to Team Lotus we are excited about owning our own future and being in control of our own destiny," said Asmat.

"Now we have no one to be compared to. We make our own history and we will remain green and yellow.

"Now we look forward to an exciting future racing under our new team name of Caterham F1 Team. Please continue to support our very special spirit of never say die and support us on the track as we move up the field and demonstrate that the good do win."

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says any push towards three-car entries would be 'wrong' for Formula 1, and that it is more important to ensure the sport is cost-effective for smaller teams.

Last weekend Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo renewed his push for F1 teams to be allowed to run third cars - insisting fans would prefer to see top squads fielding additional entries rather than the current backmarker teams.

But in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in conference call, Whitmarsh disagreed - declaring that the smaller squads gave F1 a diversity that is vital to its appeal, even though he acknowledged that McLaren would potentially be interested in running three cars.

"The statistic that I live by is the one that since McLaren entered Formula 1, being moderately successful in winning over a quarter of the races and on the podium for more than half of them, during that time 100-odd teams have disappeared from the sport," he said.

"I think that really just demonstrates the volatility of the sport.

"We have, in the last few years, evolved from really being a subset of the automotive sector back to a more pure Formula 1 set of businesses.

"I think we shouldn't underestimate how hard it is for the smaller teams. It's fine for perhaps some of the bigger teams who feel quite confident about their future, but the fact is we need 10 or 12 teams in the sport to race against.

"Personally I think that going to generate grid size with three-car teams, I understand why some people are attracted to that. If it was necessary, it has some interest for McLaren.

"But for Formula 1, it's the wrong solution. Formula 1 requires the diversity of entry, and I think we therefore have to work hard to ensure that to achieve all of that there are sustainable business models for all the teams that are in Formula 1."

Di Montezemolo had said that Ferrari would stand firm in its beliefs over third cars, and the need for changes to testing and aerodynamic regulations.

"We will support our views as we see fit, in the best way possible, but let's be clear, for those who agree, that is fine, but otherwise they will just have to accept it is our position," he said.

"If Formula 1 still wants Ferrari it must change and go back to being at the cutting edge of research, while always keeping an eye on costs. We are not in Formula 1 as sponsors, we are constructors."

But Whitmarsh played down the chances of di Montezemolo's stance opening up a new rift between F1 teams.

"I think Luca is an extremely charismatic figure within Ferrari, within Italy and within motorsport, and in fairness to him I know how off-the-cuff comments can be construed and amplified," said Whitmarsh.

"I think he is passionate about Formula 1, I think he's very proud of Ferrari's history and heritage, and he will inevitably push with great passion his personally-held opinions and views.

"I think on a day to day basis Formula 1 is much better when the teams and governing body work together to develop regulations.

"I think we've demonstrated over three years slightly calmer environments without paying too much attention to external rhetoric, and we've made some good decisions.

"I think the show that we generate has improved, there is much more overtaking, we've had some great races the last two years, and I think we should be very proud of that and I think that's been achieved by the teams working together with the FIA to develop sporting and technical regulations to achieve those aims."

FIA race director Charlie Whiting is confident that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) will make this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix significantly more entertaining than the 2010 Yas Marina race.

Two independent DRS zones will be in operation this weekend, the first on the long back straight between Turns 7 and 8, and the other on the following kinked straight towards the Turn 11/12/13 complex. Activation zones will be before the Turn 7 hairpin and just after the Turn 8/9 chicane.

Last year's Abu Dhabi race was strongly criticised after overtaking proved extremely difficult - with pre-event championship leader Fernando Alonso seeing his title hopes evaporate after he got stuck behind Vitaly Petrov's Renault for most of the race and could only finish seventh.

But Whiting is confident that the DRS choices made this year will ensure a much more entertaining race.

"The race came in for a bit of criticism last year because the cars found it very difficult to overtake," said Whiting. "But there are two DRS zones this year, with two activation points, and they should make a significant difference in that respect."

Pirelli has announced that its soft and medium compounds will be the tyre choices for this weekend.

Whiting also paid tribute to the Yas Marina circuit, praising both the facilities and the organisers' efficiency.

"Everybody loves coming here to race: the facilities are absolutely first class - everything's top-notch and the timing of the event gives a nice mix between a night race and a day race," he said.

"The marshalling has been excellent, too, and race control works very well. It's a thoroughly pleasant working experience.

"There haven't been any changes to the circuit apart from some very minor kerbing adjustments."

Derek Warwick will make his fourth appearance as the driver representative on the Formula 1 stewards' panel at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 57-year-old contested 146 grands prix between 1981 and 1993, driving for the Toleman, Renault, Lotus and Arrows teams. He also raced in sportscars with great success, winning the world championship and Le Mans 24 Hours with Peugeot in 1992.

His driving career ended with a stint in the British Touring Car Championship, where he was also a successful team co-owner, in the late 1990s.

Warwick first joined the stewards for last year's Spanish and Hungarian GPs, and returned for Turkey this season.

He also recently succeeded Damon Hill as president of the British Racing Drivers' Club, owner of the Silverstone circuit.

The 2011 GP3 Series champion Valtteri Bottas and newly-crowned Formula 2 champion Mirko Bortolotti will drive for Williams in the Young Driver Test which takes place in Abu Dhabi next week.

Bottas is already the team's official test and reserve driver, and a potential contender for a 2012 race seat if he impresses during the Abu Dhabi sessions.

Bortolotti has been given the opportunity as part of his reward for winning the title in F2 - which Williams builds the cars for.

"I'm obviously really pleased that I have been given the opportunity to test in Abu Dhabi with Williams," said Bortolotti. "I will try to learn the car as quickly as possible and do the best I can for the team.

"I hope to learn lots of information from the engineers during the time I have and just enjoy it. For sure it's going to be a big day for me and I'm looking forward to it."

Bottas has driven Williams Formula 1 cars before but only in straightline testing so is relishing the opportunity of the test, which takes place between November 15-17.

"I'm very much looking forward to these two days in Abu Dhabi," said the Finn. "It's something I have waited a long time for and is a dream come true.

"I have done everything I can to prepare myself for the test physically, and I have done a lot of preparation work with the team in the simulator, so I feel I'm 100% ready. It will be great to have a go on a proper circuit now!"

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Nico Rosberg has committed his future to Mercedes GP after signing a contract extension that will keep him at the team until at least the end of 2013.

The German, who originally joined the outfit at the start of last year, has been linked with a future move to Ferrari over recent months but has elected to remain at his current employers for now.

In a statement issued by his team on Thursday, it was not made clear how long his contract was, but said it would 'include the 2013 season and beyond' - which is likely to mean that he has options for the 2014 campaign.

Rosberg said: "I am very excited to have extended my contract with the Mercedes GP Petronas team. To win in a Silver Arrow will be one of the highlights of my life so far, and I greatly enjoy helping to lead our team in our quest to become the best in Formula 1.

"I have every confidence that the team will provide me with a winning car, and that we will be able to contribute to the fantastic racing heritage of the Silver Arrows. I look forward to great times in the years ahead with the Mercedes-Benz family."

Team principal Ross Brawn added: "We are delighted to have extended our contract with Nico as we know that he is a driver who can win races and championships. Nico has performed exceptionally well for our Silver Arrows team over the past two seasons, achieving results at the very limit of the technical capabilities of our current car.

"He has an excellent work ethic and, together with Michael, this gives us a driver pairing who consistently push the team to improve and progress. As we continue to strengthen our team for the future, we look forward to providing Nico with a car which will enable him to compete right at the front of the field and achieve his deserved first win in Formula 1."

Rosberg's new deal means that Mercedes GP will race with an unchanged driver line-up next year, as Michael Schumacher already has a firm contact for 2012.

There has been mounting speculation that Schumacher’s ever-improving form since his return to F1, allied to progress being made at Mercedes GP, will result in the seven-time world champion also extending his contract for another year until the end of 2013.

Michael Schumacher wants more time before deciding if he wants to extend his Formula 1 career with Mercedes GP, despite team-mate Nico Rosberg sorting out a fresh deal with the outfit.

Rosberg announced on Thursday that he has signed a new contract at Mercedes GP that will keep him at the team at least until the end of 2013 - with options for beyond that.

The new Rosberg deal has prompted talk that Schumacher too is pondering extending his deal into 2013 – with some reports in the German media even claiming that the deal was done.

Speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, however, Schumacher said that it was not guaranteed he would sort out a fresh deal – and that he wanted to wait before working out both his own and the team's future prospects.

When asked if, on the back of Rosberg's announcement, he too was talking to Mercedes GP about a new deal, Schumacher said: "According to some journalists, yes. The reality no, because I told you already several times that this is not the time to talk about it.

"I need a little bit more time to see about myself and how we are heading, and some input to see if that is what I want or not."

Schumacher suggested that one of the reasons why he wanted to hold back on committing his future was that he needed to fully grasp the rate of improvement Mercedes GP made next year – and whether foundations were being laid for success in the future.

"It is more about how we maximise the potential of what we have made. It took some while to do so, talking about our general performance," he explained.

"You have to assess where you are and what needs to be done, and then to transform it. You would rather do this early than late, but we have to understand that we were later than we hoped to be.

"It all comes back to what happened in 2009 to the team. And what happened in 2009 – even if it was a success story - it cannot be said this started in 2009. This goes well back two or three years before that. So everything in either direction has a lead time.

"The important thing is, are we on the right track? Did we take the right measures? And I think yes, but it has to be proven in the future."

Schumacher said that there were circumstances that could make him choose not to continue in F1 beyond 2012 – but it was too early to make a firm decision about the situation right now.

"In the end yes there will be something, but most important – do I feel it? Do I want it or not?" he said about the factors that will influence his choice. "That is something we will find out in the future. Not right now."

Adrian Sutil feels he has no reason to be nervous about his future in Formula 1, despite further delays in Force India finalising its driver plans for next year.

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya said recently he expected to sort out his 2012 line-up by this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but still no decision has been made.

That means Sutil - who is going up against Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg for a drive with the Silverstone-based team - must hang on a few more weeks to find out his future.

But despite the possibility that he may struggle to find a seat elsewhere if Force India decides in the end not to keep him, Sutil insists he is happy to wait a bit longer to discover his fate.

"Who says that I am just waiting for Force India?" Sutil told reporters in the Yas Marina paddock on Thursday. "I can survive also somehow in a different way, let's say.

"I don't think after so many years doing a good job in this team I have to shiver and think about my future, or something. I am relaxed. I like this team. But, if it doesn't work out then I find something else."

Sutil has a slim chance of a seat at Renault next season, but is most strongly linked with the Williams team - with which he is understood to have already held talks.

Williams is waiting to see how third driver Valtteri Bottas performs in next week's young driver test in Abu Dhabi before deciding its 2012 driver line-up though, having also held talks with Kimi Raikkonen.

Sutil believes that the delay in Force India finalising its driver line-up was the consequence of a new ownership structure at the team - following the Indian-based Sahara Group recently taking a major shareholding in the outfit.

"Probably with a new owner here in this team it is just taking a bit longer, I don't know why. I just don't feel in a position where I should be nervous. If I was doing a bad job, then I would probably be nervous but I do the best job I can. I am scoring the points and I feel good, so that is why I cannot change the situation."

Sutil confirmed that he had spoken to Mallya about the situation since the Indian GP, and reckons it was in both his and the team's interest to get the matter sorted swiftly.

"We are having a very good relationship since a long time," said Sutil about Mallya. "He is very loyal to me and I am very loyal to him, so that is important. He told me some things I can't share with you at the moment.

"We all agreed - we want to announce it as soon as possible for both sides. It is also important for the team to announce the drivers as early as possible so they can adjust the drivers for their car for the next season.

"Everything, when it gets late, you feel it on the performance. Same on me and same for the team - for both sides it would be better to announce it as soon as possible."

Rubens Barrichello says he has not given up hope on securing a racing seat at Williams, despite the delay to confirm its line-up.

The team is in talks with Kimi Raikkonen, while also waiting to see how third driver Valtteri Bottas performs in the Abu Dhabi test for young drivers next week.

Barrichello believes a lot of what has been said about other drivers in talks with the team is speculation, and he believes he still has a chance to secure the seat.

"I think there's a lot of talk. I believe they are talking the truth to me and the truth is that the rumours are much bigger than the reality," Barrichello told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

"If I really believed the rumours back in 2008, Bruno Senna would have signed with Brawn. So I just have to wait and believe and when I have conversations with the team they seem to be saying the right thing for me and I just have to wait."

He also downplayed the talks the team have been having with Raikkonen.

"To be honest I never talked to Kimi, not even when he was racing. So I believe he'd had very little talks with the team," he said.

The Brazilian says he will not go to the season finale in Brazil thinking it is his final race in F1, despite not having secured a deal for 2012 year.

"It's a tough one still. It's just calling and just waiting for people to call," he said. "The only thing I have in mind is the year I want to have ahead. I'm just thinking like in 2008, staying positive.

"I may go to the Brazilian Grand Prix without any confirmation, without anything, but I'm not saying goodbye to my fans. I want to be there next year and I'm taking the risk."

He added: "Ideally I would have signed a five-year contract in July. That was very ideal. Having said that, Formula 1 has become a business in a way and I think situations have been considered by the team and we have to wait and see. The team has myself very motivated and I'm just waiting for an answer. If God wishes, I will be on the grid for the 20th year.

"It's a nice situation to be talking to competitive teams and if I was on my first or second year I would be very worried, but it's been such a long time and I think life is too good for me to go moaning and say why they haven't signed me yet. I'm just concentrating on the positives."

Formula 1 team principals have postponed a meeting planned for this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to discuss the future of the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA).

Discussions had been pencilled in by the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) for the Yas Marina weekend to try and end disagreements about the RRA, amid fears that if no consensus can be reached then it could threaten the future of the teams' body.

However, due to logistical reasons, the meeting has had to be delayed - with no firm new date having yet been agreed. It is hoped, however, that the get-together can still take place before the end of the season.

With FOTA's future at stake, numerous team principals had this week moved to rally behind the organisation – claiming it has an important role to play in the future of the sport.

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn said: "You can't forget why FOTA came into existence. Faced with those circumstances again, we need FOTA. And it some ways we are going to have that situation again, because we are about to negotiate a new Concorde Agreement.

"Perhaps FOTA needs to look at what it is best at, and perhaps when we get into debates about agreements that have an effect on the competitiveness of a team, it is a bit of a delicate area for FOTA to be getting involved in.

"If you are having a debate about resource, people, money and all the rest of it, it gets pretty highly charged and I wonder if that is the right arena for FOTA to be working on. I wonder if FOTA doesn't have a better role, and something like the RRA is kept out of that and it becomes just an inter-team agreement.

"I would hate to see FOTA suffer because of disagreements over RRA. We need to try and separate those things."

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has told German courts that he feared being on the receiving end of a costly tax probe if he did not pay former BayernLB banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to keep quiet.

Ecclestone has been testifying in the trial of Gribkowsky, who is charged with bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion over the sale of F1 in 2005.

Speaking to the courts about a £27.5 million payment that was made, Ecclestone said: "I had no alternative at the time.

"The only alternative was that the British tax authorities followed a case that would have been very expensive for me."

He added: "The tax risk would have exceeded two billion pounds. I paid him (Gribkowsky) to keep calm and not to do silly things. I knew he wanted to start a business."

Ecclestone has been promised immunity from prosecution for anything he says in his testimony, but could yet be implicated for his role in the affair.

He said that Gribkowsky never openly threatened to tip off the British tax authorities, but that he felt there was a big enough risk of it happening.

Ecclestone also revealed that £18 million of the money was paid to Gribkowsky via former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.

He explained Briatore knew the reason for the payment: "I said I was being shaken down."

Lewis Hamilton believes getting a 'happy bubble' of close friends and family around him next year will be key to helping him banish the troubles that have dogged his 2011 campaign.

With just two races remaining of a season where Hamilton confesses he has under-achieved, the former world champion is already looking at what he needs to do to turn his situation around next year.

And, on the back of remarks from team principal Martin Whitmarsh who reckoned that Hamilton was suffering from the pressure of being Jenson Button's team-mate, the man himself thinks the situation is rather different.

He insists that Button's performances are not troubling him. Instead, he actually thinks that he needs to take a leaf out of his team-mate's book in getting a better support structure around him to help him concentrate on the job at hand.

"For me, there's not a lot of people that really understand the issues that I've had this year and the problems that I've been going through, which I've been going through for the last two years," said Hamilton, during a candid chat with reporters in the Yas Marina paddock on Thursday. "It's very difficult...I just can't comment on them because it's not really the place or time to do so.

"But Jenson's done a great job to get things in the right place. He's got his dad there, who is there at every single race. He's got his management there; he's got his friends; he's got his girlfriend there all the time. He's in a really, really happy [place]...he's got a great bubble around him which he's very happy with and, with that, he's able to just go out and perform without any worries on his mind.

"I did have that at one point, but I lost that bubble and I don't have that around me at the moment. But I'm working on having that for the future, as I think the conscious and subconscious part of your mind is very important in this business."

He added: "It is a priority for me to create that atmosphere around myself, because it's a happy bubble where you are happy with your friends and family and the people you love most. It's just a big positive bubble.

"Every time I arrive (at a race) I feel positive, but at some races I'm less positive, and less happy. So that's something I'm definitely going to try and correct before next season starts."

Hamilton supported Whitmarsh's view that he has been too hard on himself this year, but thinks that is just part and parcel of his personality.

"That's the way I do it. I've not really got much to be happy about this year to be honest. I've had a couple of half decent races and then the rest have been fairly disappointing from my own personal feeling of performance.

"It would be the same if you write a bad story... if you have 10 stories that you've written through the year, eight of them are pretty crap and you've had negative comments about them, and then two of them have been good. You're not going to feel great that you've written two good stories. It's the same thing for me.

"I've had a couple of races where I've excelled and then the rest of them have been so-so. I look through the whole year and look at my results -- fourth, fourth, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, wherever it is - and one or two seconds and firsts there.

"For me, that's just massive under-achievement from my own personal view. And I am hard on myself. I've always been a very hard individual and definitely probably too hard on myself, but that's just the way I am.

"I'm working on trying to be less hard on myself but I take it personally because this is my life. I race with my heart, this is everything to me."

Hamilton said that simply keeping out of trouble with the stewards in the final two races of the year would be a positive first step for him, although said the best tonic would be to grab victories.

"It [winning] would make a big difference," he said. "If I was able to have a clean two races without seeing the stewards and without having a penalty, and on top of that winning, I think it would be beautiful. It would be really nice.

"I know I am up against the toughest drivers in the business and I know that anything can happen. But I am accepting and aware that something could happen and I've just got to try and go out there and avoid any of those obstacles."

Lewis Hamilton says he would like to clean the air with Felipe Massa following another on-track collision in the Indian Grand Prix.

The duo made contact for the fifth time this year during the Buddh event, with Massa getting a penalty for the incident.

Hamilton insisted he has no problems with Massa and claimed he wanted to talk to the Brazilian to clear the air if he was willing too.

"I haven't spoken to him," said Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. "I would like to clear the air, but we have to meet in the middle, it can't just come from one side. He has to be willing as well.

"We've had our collisions on the track, but I really don't have any problems with him, and that's been the same all year."

The McLaren driver said, however, that he is aiming to be fighting for victory and "nowhere near" Massa this weekend.

"I definitely plan to be nowhere near him," he said.

Massa insisted he did not feel he had done anything wrong in India, and he believes it was the stewards who made a mistake with their decision.

"I went to Brazil and he went to I don't know, so no conversation," he said. "But I just repeat what I said in the last race. I didn't do anything wrong in the last race. If it was another driver I would have done the same.

"I turned in front and I was very upset not because it was Lewis, but because they penalised me for something I didn't do wrong. I didn't do anything wrong. Even if we had some crashes this year it wasn't coming from me for sure.

"It was not a mistake from me, or even from Lewis. Maybe you can say it was race collision. But the mistake for me came from the stewards. When I make a mistake on the track I'm the first one to come here and say 'sorry, guys, I made a mistake'. But in the last race it was not a mistake from me, for sure."

The certainty that McLaren will be able to give him a car capable of fighting for the world championship every season was key to Jenson Button's decision to commit his long-term future to the team.

In an interview with today's AUTOSPORT magazine, Button revealed that even though there was interest from other teams for 2013, only McLaren gave him the confidence that it could give him a potentially title-winning car.

"I'm very confident here that I can help this team move forward and that they can give me what I need to fight for another world championship," said Button. "Whether another team would do that, I don't know.

"Whether the circumstances would have ever been right in another team, I don't known. but I know what I have here and it's bloody good.

"Every year I am with this team, we will fight for the world championship."

Button added that he is also extremely comfortable in the McLaren environment, which also played a part in his decision to stay on for what is believed to be another three seasons.

"I fitted in very quickly at McLaren and I feel at home after a year-and-a-half," he said.

Fernando Alonso insists the 2011 season has not been a disaster for Ferrari, despite winning just one race so far.

But the Spaniard conceded the Maranello squad must raise its game for 2012 in order to be able to fight for the championship again.

"Not a disaster, but for sure when you race for Ferrari there are a lot of expectations," said Alonso ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"People expect us to win many races and to fight for the championship and we weren't able to do that. We understand that the season was not the best for our fans and four ourselves.

"We need to improve. We need to raise our level for next year and we need to fight at the top of the podium from race one. That's the ambition for next year and that's the target. We know that the competition is strong.

"Red Bull will be very strong as well next year. McLaren will be very strong as well. Mercedes I guess they will improve a lot. We need to extract the best from ourselves this winter and arrive in March with the best Ferrari possible," Alonso added.

The two-time champion says he is still motivated to try and finish second in this year's championship, but he admits it is more important to try to focus on preparing for next season as best as possible.

"It's better to finish second than fourth or fifth. But we are competitive people. We like to win and when we cannot be first it's not the same," he said.

"It's much more important to learn things for next year, to gain half a tenth for next year than to finish second in the championship.

"But at the same time I see all the mechanics, the engineers really pushing to get to second place because we know the tough year we had, so for them I will try to do my best for sure."

The Ferrari driver also downplayed the results of last year's race in Abu Dhabi, despite finishing a disappointing seventh that meant he lost the title to Sebastian Vettel.

"I'm still convinced that last year we didn't lose the championship here in Abu Dhabi. We were not very competitive. We finished seventh, and maybe a realistic result here last year was fifth.

"But in Valencia and Silverstone we were fighting for podiums and we scored a zero, so I think that's were we lost the championship."

Bruno Senna is hopeful that the smooth track surface at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit will minimise the Renault R31's inherent weakness in slow corners.

Renault heads into this weekend as an outside contender for points after its struggles in Singapore in September, where Senna was able to qualify and finish only 15th.

But the Brazilian believes that the team's performance level will be better than that this weekend even though its unique forward-exit exhausts have not worked as hope in slow corners.

"We know that this is not going to be the strongest circuit for us because there are a few too many slow corners," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT about his expectations for the weekend. "Pretty much all of them are slow corners, so it's like Singapore.

"But we're hoping that because it's not bumpy, it's not going to be as bad. The problem we have is with traction out of the slow corners. If you have poor traction, and you add bumps to the traction event, then everything is made two or three times worse because it makes the contact patch of the tyres much smaller.

"There is the potential for the off-camber corners putting us off a bit as well, but in general it should be less bad than at the other slow, bumpy tracks."

Senna expects the midfield pack to be tightly bunched in Abu Dhabi and that Renault's hopes of scoring points depend on getting the absolute maximum out of the car.

This is because small margins can make a big difference in terms of position, with Renault one of five teams fighting for the minor points places.

"The only way for us to get points is to have a perfect weekend," he said. "We are in the position where if you lose three tenths on your qualifying lap, or if your car is three tenths off, you can go from tenth to 15th.

"Force India, Toro Rosso, Sauber, Williams and us are very close together. So if you make a small mistake you can be very far away from the points. It shows how important it is to get everything together, so hopefully we can do two perfect race weekends here and in Brazil to finish the season well."

Pastor Maldonado is not ruling out scoring points in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite knowing that he will be hit with a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race.

The Venezuelan will use a ninth engine this weekend, triggering the penalty because drivers are allocated only eight power plants for the grand prix season. As Maldonado has qualified between 13th and 18th for each of the last eight races, the penalty means that he is likely to start on the back row.

But thanks to the improving race pace of the Williams, he is hopeful that, with a good strategy, he can get into contention for the top 10 on Sunday and fight for what would be only his second points finish in Formula 1.

"We need to attack from the beginning of the race and to do a good strategy," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT about his approach. "It will be a tough race, but I will push every lap to get close to the points.

"Why [should we] not score points? In the last few races, we have been knocking on the door and our race pace has improved a lot so we are more competitive.

"It's difficult to say how our approach to qualifying might change because we need to run in practice and see how the tyre degradation is. Then we will take the best decision."

The Venezuelan believes that his familiarity with driving the Yas Marina circuit in a Formula 1 car means that he heads into practice better prepared than in previous races.

Last November, he completed a total of 337 laps during four days of running for Williams and HRT - almost 100 more than he had completed in Barcelona before the Spanish Grand Prix - making it one of only two tracks on the calendar at which he had sampled in F1 machinery prior to his rookie campaign.

"You effectively gain two runs in P1," said Maldonado. "You can start looking for the car [setup] right from the start of P1 because if you don't know the track, you lose a bit of P1 trying different lines and braking points, so it's difficult to test the car.

"Here, I know the track and can be ready from P1."

Sergio Perez believes his Sauber team must improve its qualifying form in order to enjoy better races and not slip further down the order in the championship.

Sauber enjoyed a strong first half of the season which saw the Swiss squad consolidate in sixth place in the standings.

The team, however, has scored just six points in the last seven races and has dropped down seventh, tied on points with the charging Toro Rosso.

Perez reckons Sauber's qualifying pace is the main issue for the team at the moment.

"I think the problem is mainly the pace," said Perez. "We didn't have enough pace in the last races and we struggled with type warm-up, in qualifying especially. Mainly the pace in qualifying is not good enough. This is our main problem.

"In the race we get better but then it's difficult to recover from the position we are in. Like in India it was okay to get one point but we had a bad qualifying. We struggled all weekend on low fuel. We have to improve.

"Who knows where we will end up. We can only do our best and see what happens."

The Mexican is confident, however, that the higher temperatures in Abu Dhabi will help his team enjoy a stronger weekend.

"I think the track temperature is going to be reasonably higher and also the track has more grip than the previous races. I'm confident and I will give my best for sure."

[Lineker]

Jenson Button set the fastest time in the first free practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as McLaren dominated for much of the 90 minutes.

The Woking squad was denied a one-two in the final moments though, when Lewis Hamilton was bumped down to third by Red Bull's Mark Webber. World champion Sebastian Vettel was fourth fastest ahead of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa - despite a problematic session for Ferrari.

Adrian Sutil set an impressive seventh fastest time for Force India late on, bumping Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg to eighth. Paul di Resta and Jaime Alguersuari completed the top ten, while Friday testers Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) and Romain Grosjean (Renault) were 11th and 12th.

Hamilton was out early in the session and set an initial 1m43.899s to bump Renault Friday man and newly-crowned GP2 Series champion Grosjean off the top spot after 20 minutes - the two of them, and Daniel Ricciardo, the first men to set times on the Abu Dhabi layout in 2011.

Hamilton, on his first long run of the weekend, then set about firing in consistent purple sectors for the next 11 laps until he ended up with a 1m41.846s.

Meanwhile, Williams's Rubens Barrichello was forced to park his car at Turn 13 with a serious technical failure. Having a problem this early on, and having completed only three laps, ensured the Brazilian was locked at the bottom of the timesheet.

It was thirty-five minutes into the session before things began to heat up as world champion Vettel moved to second in the times, 1.7s behind the leading McLaren, and a tenth faster than Pastor Maldonado, who was one of the first to try out the option tyres.

This triggered a busy period in the session as the dusty track cleaned up and several top runners posted early improvements – none as fast as Hamilton – to establish an early order of Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Button and Maldonado.

That didn't last long though, as Button found his groove and went just 0.015s slower than the #3 McLaren had done.

Then the Red Bulls fired in fast laps instantly pushing Webber and Vettel to the fore, only for Button to respond again with a 1m40.955s. That lap was half a second quicker than the field, and established him at the top of the order.

With 55 minutes gone Hamilton emerged from the pits for his second, shorter, run and instantly lowered the mark again to a 1m40.466s before heading straight back to his garage. Around the same time Vettel posted a new improvement to go second fastest, 0.341s back, splitting the McLarens. While Massa, who had just improved to fifth behind Webber, spun his Ferrari dramatically at Turn 1.

Just after the hour mark Massa's team-mate Alonso had a similar problem at Turn 5, as Heikki Kovalainen also spun his Lotus under the Yas Hotel. The Spaniard would go off the road again 10 minutes later, indicating that all was not well down in the Scuderia's set-up department.

The frontrunners began bolting on the development soft tyres with 25 minutes to go and Button was the first to move forward – setting a 1m40.263s lap to move ahead of Hamilton at the top of the times. Webber too, improved, but not enough to get ahead of the two McLarens

The Australian went faster still a couple of laps later, in fact, he set the fastest sector one time of anybody, but still the 1m40.412s he produced was not good enough to move him ahead of Button and Hamilton.

There was the usual flurry of activity late-on but Button's time was to stand as only Webber improved significantly. Though this might have been partly due to Vitaly Petrov's late session car failure which left debris on the track and prompted a yellow flag zone in the final sector.

FP1


Pos  Driver                Team                    Time              Laps

 1.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m40.263s           21

 2.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m40.389s  + 0.126  26

 3.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes        1m40.403s  + 0.140  27

 4.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m40.755s  + 0.492  27

 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m40.801s  + 0.538  25

 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m41.260s  + 0.997  17

 7.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1m41.340s  + 1.077  23

 8.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m42.130s  + 1.867  26

 9.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m42.151s  + 1.888  28

10.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m42.377s  + 2.114  26

11.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m42.633s  + 2.370  26

12.  Romain Grosjean       Renault                 1m42.685s  + 2.422  29

13.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault                 1m43.118s  + 2.855  13

14.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth       1m43.255s  + 2.992  29

15.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                1m43.389s  + 3.126  24

16.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari          1m44.412s  + 4.149  28

17.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari          1m44.484s  + 4.221  18

18.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault           1m44.565s  + 4.302  27

19.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault           1m44.898s  + 4.635  25

20.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth            1m46.385s  + 6.122  28

21.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth            1m46.532s  + 6.269  27

22.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth         1m48.024s  + 7.761  20

23.  Robert Wickens        Virgin-Cosworth         1m48.551s  + 8.288  23

24.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth                            3


All Timing Unofficial[/code]




Lewis Hamilton completed a Friday sweep for McLaren by setting the pace in the second free practice session in Abu Dhabi, ahead of his team-mate Jenson Button.



But while the McLaren men carried on serenely, Turn 1 claimed two world champions with both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso hitting the barriers during the session.



Alonso's accident was enough to call an early halt to his session, but he was third fastest ahead of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa, Mark Webber and Vettel.



Michael Schumacher, who once again ran off track more than once during the session, was seventh ahead of Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta and Kamui Kobayashi.



A busy start to the session saw di Resta establish himself at the top of the times with a 1m42.550s, but only momentarily until Webber usurped him with a time 0.528s faster.



There followed a period of Red Bull dominance in the opening 15 minutes as Vettel then beat Webber's time, only for the Australian to respond instantly with a 1m40.723s. So it continued as Vettel produced a 1m40.514s; then Webber a 1m40.598s - 0.084s between them. Webber's lap times dropped off after that, but Vettel went faster still to record a 1m40.197s.



With quarter of an hour gone it was Vettel, Webber and di Resta's Force India team-mate Sutil – all having set their laps on the experimental soft tyres – ahead of Hamilton and Schumacher's Mercedes.



Alonso changed all that by going second fastest in the Ferrari, which seemed to be behaving better in the twilight conditions of FP2. Making the most of the new soft tyres he then improved to a 1m40.141s, putting him at the top of the pile for the first time in the weekend. By the time he had completed his run, Alonso had reduced that mark to 1m39.971s.



As the session moved into the halfway mark, Red Bull and McLaren began working on their long runs, not assisted it has to be said by a spin for Mark Webber at Turn 18. There appeared to be very little in it between the two teams.



With 40 minutes to go, McLaren bolted on the official 'Abu Dhabi' softs (as opposed to the experimental ones Pirelli has been testing on Friday) for the first time and instantly Hamilton moved to the top with a 1m39.586s. Team-mate Button's best attempt was a 1m39.785s – good enough for second.



Red Bull was also out on the option Pirellis by this time as well, and it was now that the first major drama of the session took place as Vettel crashed on a Friday for the fourth time this season. The German also thumped the barriers in Turkey, Canada and Japan earlier this year.



On this occasion he was lying fifth in the times when he turned in on the kerbs at Turn 1, lost the rear and slid sideways in to the TecPro barriers. Little obvious damage was done to the RB7 beyond a broken front wing. So little in fact that he was able to rejoin the session after the car was recovered.



The resulting yellow flags in the crash zone prompted a period of calm as most people headed for the pits.



But the circuit had been back to 'green' for no more than 10 minutes when drama number two occurred, and this time it was Alonso who had backed his Ferrari into Turn 1.



The Spaniard had done significantly more visible damage to his car than Vettel with a broken rear wing and rear suspension – his day's track action most definitely concluded.



All this left McLaren, Webber and the rest to concentrate on their heavy-fuel, soft-tyred race pace as the session moved into its last 20 minutes, but there no more significant changes to the order.





[code]FP2


Pos  Driver                Team                   Time              Laps

 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes       1m39.586s    	      31

 2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1m39.785s  + 0.199  30

 3.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                1m39.971s  + 0.385  20

 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                1m39.980s  + 0.394  34

 5.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault       1m40.104s  + 0.518  35

 6.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault       1m40.132s  + 0.546  26

 7.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes               1m40.553s  + 0.967  34

 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes   1m40.951s  + 1.365  34

 9.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes   1m41.021s  + 1.435  37

10.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari         1m41.490s  + 1.904  34

11.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari         1m41.565s  + 1.979  34

12.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m41.680s  + 2.094  33

13.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault                1m41.947s  + 2.361  31

14.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m41.983s  + 2.397  34

15.  Bruno Senna           Renault                1m42.369s  + 2.783  36

16.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth      1m42.798s  + 3.212  35

17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth      1m42.910s  + 3.324  34

18.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault          1m43.562s  + 3.976  36

19.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault          1m44.050s  + 4.464  38

20.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes               1m44.265s  + 4.679  41

21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth        1m45.486s  + 5.900  34

22.  Jerome D-Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth        1m46.142s  + 6.556  32

23.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth           1m46.249s  + 6.663  21

24.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth           1m46.328s  + 6.742  34


All Timing Unofficial

Nico Rosberg's decision to commit his long-term Formula 1 future to Mercedes was heavily influenced by the technical restructure that took place at the team this summer.

The German driver announced on Thursday morning that he will remain with Mercedes until at least the end of 2013.

He said that the appointments of technical director Bob Bell and technology director Geoff Willis earlier this year and the impending arrival of Ferrari's Aldo Costa as engineering director were "key reasons" behind his decision.

"It was, definitely," he said. "I saw this summer that this team means business and is doing what it takes to become the best.

"Of course I waited a little bit in the summer to see how things were going, but it's absolutely clear that [things are improving] and with [team principal] Ross [brawn] too, he's been strongly implementing all his changes going forward.

"I know I've got to be patient, but great times lie ahead, I'm sure."

While full of confidence that Mercedes will become a front-running team over the next few years, Rosberg doubts that he will be setting the pace at the start of 2012.

"It's going to be difficult," he added. "The gap is quite large at the moment. Next year the aim has to be that we battle consistently for podiums. That's what the goal is and that would be a good step for us. We'll take it from there.

"It probably wouldn't be realistic to say that at the start of next year we'll be the best, but we'll be pushing things for sure. We're on the right track and now Geoff Willis has brought in some extra strength and everyone has been extra positive.

"I didn't think it was possible that he would have such a positive influence on everybody straight away. But it's going well. The whole atmosphere is very strong at the factory."

Nico Rosberg will prove himself as a regular grand prix winner as soon as Mercedes GP can deliver him with a car capable of taking victories.

That is the view of Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug, who says he is convinced that the German is now ready to triumph given the right equipment.

"Nico has never had a car to win with, and most of the drivers in F1 do not have a car to win with," said Haug, speaking after Rosberg extended his contract with Mercedes GP until the end of 2013.

"But give him a car and he can probably win 10 races in two seasons, or even one season.

"If you have a car to win with, and you are not [winning], this can be a big problem in your mind. But if you know you are extracting the best possible result, and the performance is generally going in the right direction, then that is different."

Haug believes that Rosberg could experience a similar situation to that enjoyed by Mika Hakkinen - who waited a long time for his maiden victory but then produced a run of form that delivered back-to-back world championships.

"I think it is very much the same," explained Haug. "He [Mika] did not have a car to win with; it was David [Coulthard] who won the first GP at the time, 1997 Melbourne.

"Mika won later in the year, he had the Jerez win, and it was a breakthrough. After that he won race after race. I am not predicting that for Nico, but it is possible. If you get the right ingredients around you it can be like it is for Sebastian Vettel this year."

Haug added that Rosberg needed little convincing that Mercedes GP was the right place for him in the future – even though it is still without a victory since taking over Brawn GP.

"Nico has the same targets that we have, and he feels comfortable in the team," he said. "He is very convinced and this is his target, this is his dream, to develop things together with us.

"We have to realise that we are a young team of course. Brawn won the championship in 2009, and it was a completely different period of time. Now we have RRA, we are structured in a different way, and the team is completely financed by the sponsorship money, and from FOM money.

"We are spending one third of the money we spent in 2005, and this is the basis of our works activities in F1.

"But it needs building up time. The wish was to be a challenger from day one, and you have to voice this wish as well, but the reality is that there are three very strong top teams, six cars with six strong drivers, and to just enter in that group means something."

Johnny Cecotto Jr will make his Formula 1 testing debut with Force India in next week's young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

The 22-year-old Venezuelan, son of 1980s F1 racer Johnny Cecotto, will drive on the Wednesday of the test, with fellow GP2 driver Max Chilton in the car on Tuesday and Thursday.

"I think all drivers want to race in Formula 1 so the chance to get time in the Sahara Force India F1 car is a big moment for me," said Cecotto.

"In fact, I can't stop smiling at the thought of driving such an amazing car. I know there's a massive amount to learn and a lot of work to get through on the day, but I definitely feel ready to get behind the wheel.

"I hope I can do a good job and repay the faith the team have shown by giving me a chance in the car."

Cecotto has raced in GP2 since 2009. Driving for Ocean this season, he did not manage any points finishes.

Michael Schumacher would welcome Kimi Raikkonen making a return to Formula 1 - both for the on-track challenge and some off-track fun.

With Raikkonen in contention for a seat at Williams next year, Schumacher sees no reason why the Finn should not be able to perform well after three years away from the F1 cockpit.

"I am not favouring to give any suggestion, but the main point I would like to say is that I would be very happy to see him back," said Schumacher about the possibility of a Raikkonen return.

"We have had some very good times and I look forward for some on-track and off-track occasions - it will be good!"

Schumacher knows first hand about the challenges of returning to F1 after a break, but thinks there should be little reason why Raikkonen would not be able to deliver.

"In the end, you think – how much can you recall your potential? How much can you drive the car to its limit? That is the main concern that I answered right away at the first test.

"It took me probably 15 laps to sort of get back and drive the car, not at its full limit but close. And from then on it is just a matter of time. I am pretty sure with Kimi he is capable of doing so."

When asked about what he reckoned Raikkonen was thinking about of his possible return, Schumacher said: "The only thing I am thinking is that he thinks completely different! So there is no point you trying to figure out what I am thinking about and relating it to him. I leave it to you..."

Sebastian Vettel thinks Red Bull Racing must keep pushing in the final two races of the campaign - even though the world championships have been wrapped up.

Vettel's own drivers' crown, and Red Bull Racing's clinching of the constructors' title, have done little to damper their desire for more success – with Vettel having won both the Korean and Indian Grands Prix since sealing the crown.

And although he and his team have little to prove over the remainder of the campaign, Vettel believes it vital that Red Bull Racing does not ease off – or think solely of developments for 2012.

"I think you cannot do too much," said Vettel, as he chases a hat-trick of victories in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. "I think it would be wrong to approach the last races now and say 2011 doesn't matter and we only focus about 2012.

"I think by doing that you would leave something out of the way. There are 19 races, so that is 19 times to learn something. You get into a rhythm and routine, but I think every race does give you the chance to teach you some lessons.

"If you don't pay attention then you will not learn these lessons, even if looking at the development and so on you don't push as hard as you would if you were fighting for the championship.

"You cannot bring the 2012 car now, and it would be bad if it would be finished already, it would be a bad sign. Next year's cars will be different so there are not too many things you can test, but you can learn a lot of things by just doing your normal work, your normal preparation and your normal job."

One of the remaining targets for Vettel this season is breaking records – with him able to equal Nigel Mansell's record 14 poles in a season from 1992, and Michael Schumacher's 17 podiums from 2002 this weekend.

After beating Mansell's record for the number of laps led in a season in India, Vettel revealed that he received a letter from the 1992 champion congratulating him on the feat.

"I got a nice note from Nigel after the race – which I think is really nice. I would say I am more proud of receiving the letter than the actual record, because there is always someone at some stage who will do something better, or faster, with a different style," said Vettel.

"Nigel said well done, and he was very happy it took me 17 races instead of his 16 races! It is more an honour to get the appreciation, to find the appreciation, rather than the actual record."

Despite relishing breaking the records, Vettel insists they are not something he targets.

"It is not so much about records; it is about focusing on every step it takes. It would be wrong to say I want to break this record or this record because it is close or possible. If you do that you are thinking about the record rather than how to break the record. I think then you will fail. It is better to focus on what you do rather than the records."

Sebastian Vettel says he was just 'too greedy' when driving his car before his crash in second practice in Abu Dhabi.

The Red Bull driver made contact with the wall at Turn 1 after losing the rear of his car at the first corner, damaging the front wing.

Vettel managed to return to the track and finished as sixth fastest.

"I lost the car on the entrance," he explained. "I went a bit too wide and got too much on the kerb and lost the rears, and couldn't catch the car any more.

"I was quite lucky to get the car out again at the end, so there was not much damage which was good. We will see now."

He added: "I think I was just too greedy, I wanted too much on the entrance. It just brushed it a little bit. If you go a bit beyond that there is dust on it, and there is less grip."

Team-mate Mark Webber was fifth quickest in a low-key start to the weekend for Red Bull.

The Australian, however, was pleased with his day's work.

"All in all a pretty good afternoon and night for us. We got all the data, and it went to plan. We will have a good look through it now.

"It's going pretty well at the moment. I feel pretty happy with the car and I get a good feeling. We need to prepare a few things to get the most out of the lap."

Mark Webber says he is fired up by the prospect of knuckling down to work on the areas he needs to improve for 2012 to get himself back to the front in Formula 1.

The Australian has endured a frustrating campaign, having yet to win a race while team-mate Sebastian Vettel has walked away with the world championship.

But well aware of how tough it is at the front of the grid, Webber says that he is not shying away from the effort he will need to make - and says that is part of the enjoyment of competing in F1.

Talking about his approach post-season, Webber said: "For sure you will have a break, all of us will have a break after this year. You are always learning, and to a healthy degree, reflect. Then see where you can improve the year after.

"When you have a long career like myself, you know what is important to work on for subsequent years. This year has not been as nice as last year in many ways, but I've still had some decent races here and there.

"The bar is high, and that is great, that is why we get out of bed each day. If I want to drop the bar for myself, I can go do that and go do something else, but I don't want to do that. I want to stay at this level."

Webber does not think he needs a complete rethink in his approach for next year, and reckons small improvements in lots of areas will be key.

"I think as usual the devil is in the detail," he said. "It is the fine stuff. Things can change and you get a bit of momentum, you get a bit of a roll, and that is what happened with Seb this year. He has had a great year, and a few drivers have had indifferent years, not having the form they had in previous seasons for lots of different reasons.

"You can make a shopping list of excuses, but I am not interested in that. You should do your talking on the track."

Jenson Button believes it will be a bigger achievement beating Mark Webber in the drivers' standings than it will be heading his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

With Button locked in a tight battle for runners-up spot behind Sebastian Vettel, the McLaren driver says he will get a particular boost if he can finish the year ahead of a title-winning Red Bull Racing car.

Speaking about the importance of finishing second in the drivers' championship, Button said: "It is not just to finish in front of Lewis, it is to finish in front of world champions, to finish in front of a guy who has been there at the top like Lewis and Fernando [Alonso].

"And Mark - he is probably the one more than Lewis and Fernando because he is the same car that has won the world championship four races ago. He is the guy to really beat.

"Even though I have a good amount of points on him I still think it is going to be tricky over the next few races, but I am looking forward to it. And to finish second in front of a Red Bull would be a good end to a positive season."

As well as the desire to beat Webber in the drivers' standings, Button believes that a good run of results - and especially victories - will be vital for lifting spirits at McLaren.

When asked by AUTOSPORT whether wins now or development improvements for 2012 are most important, Button said: "I think both are equally important to the factory as a whole.

"We obviously want to develop the car for next season, as next year is when we are hopefully going to fight for the championship. But I think us ending with some good results is going to make a big difference to the actual workforce back at base.

"Getting a couple of victories can make a big difference. Walking into work with a rocket red top on Monday morning, I think that will give them a good boost to develop the car for 2012."

Lewis Hamilton is upbeat about his chances for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after labeling Friday as a great day for his McLaren team.

The British driver posted the fastest time of the day in the afternoon practice session, leading team-mate Jenson Button as McLaren dominated the day.

Hamilton believes McLaren will be strong this weekend judging by today's form.

"I think it was a great day for us," said Hamilton. "Our long run pace doesn't seem too bad. It's definitely a lot better compared to the last race. I kept it out of the wall, kept it out of trouble and I'm quite happy with it."

The Briton admitted he was also very pleased with the performance of Pirelli's tyres.

"The tyres are behaving really well and they are lasting really well as well," he said. "Today my long run felt pretty good and so that's the real positive today. And also the lower fuel run felt really, really good and tyre worked really well. A positive day. I'm quite happy with it.

"We seem to be quite competitive, but we don't know the fuel the others are running. So we are focusing on our job. The car is feeling a lot better for me this weekend, so I really hope that I'm able to keep that."

Team-mate Button was quickest in the opening session but said there was still a lot of work to do as he was not completely happy with his car's balance.

"The day was alright," Button said. "I'm still not entirely happy with the balance. I haven't been all day. We tried a few things and we are going in the right direction, but we have to get to the bottom of it.

"But the pace of the car looks good. Lewis is very fast so it shows that the car is quick. And the long run that I did was alright, but there's a lot of room for improvement."

Frenchman Charles Pic will make his Formula 1 debut next week when he joins Virgin Racing for the Abu Dhabi test.

Pic, 21, will be joined by Robert Wickens and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs during the three days of the test.

"I'd like to thank Marussia Virgin Racing for this opportunity to test a Formula 1 car for the first time," said Pic, who finished in fourth place in this year's GP2 Series.

"It's going to be a very special moment for me, one I have been waiting for my whole racing career! Formula 1 is my goal so I will be putting everything I have into the test and look forward to the experience of working with the team and learning as much as I can from them."

Quaife-Hobbs, who had already carried out straightline testing duties for Virgin will be the man in charge of driving on the morning of the opening day (Tuesday), with Pic taking over in the afternoon and then completing a full day of work on Wednesday.

Wickens will drive on Thursday.

"We're delighted to be able to offer Adrian, Charles and our Reserve Driver Robert Wickens seat time in the MVR-02 next week and in return we look forward to some convincing performances from all of them," said team principal John Booth.

"The Young Driver Test is a fantastic opportunity to see the cream of the next generation of talent in action for the various teams and to enable them to demonstrate that they have what it takes to progress to the highest level of motorsport.

"In the meantime of course, we've also had Robert in the car for Free Practice 1 today and it's been very rewarding to see him in action. We'll be keeping a close eye on all of them during the week ahead."

Vitaly Petrov has not given up hope of a points finish in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite Renault's weakness in slow corners.

The Russian ended Friday practice 13th fastest, 2.361s off the pace, and spent much of practice evaluating new ideas, including a new steering column, for use next season.

He is hopeful of being within striking distance of the top 10 despite what he admitted was "not a great" day of practice.

"We are not far from the top 10," said Petrov when asked by AUTOSPORT if he believes scoring points will be possible. "But maybe it will be difficult to fight with the guys in front.

"This race will be better than Singapore because Singapore was more dirty and bumpy. That's when you need more downforce from the rear, but here the track is quite smooth.

"Maybe tomorrow the track will be more clean because of the GP2 race and more F1 running, so it will be better for us. We have an idea of what to do tomorrow because we are struggling in second-gear corners."

Petrov believes that qualifying will be crucial for Sunday's race because he is not anticipating overtaking being any easier in the race than it was last year.

The Renault driver famously kept Fernando Alonso behind him for much of last year's race, ruining the Spaniard's world championship chances.

"Overtaking here will be similar to last year even with the DRS because of the track configuration," he said.

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari can be optimistic of a stronger-than-expected Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following a promising start on Friday.

Alonso finished the day as third quickest behind the two McLarens despite losing track time as a result of a crash in the afternoon.

The Ferrari driver said his car was stronger than he was expecting before the running started.

"It's only Friday and we'll have to see what we can do, but maybe we are a bit more optimistic than we were yesterday because the car behaved well," said Alonso.

"Maybe our position in Q3 will not change much compared to the previous races, but we hope to be closer to them than we were expecting."

He conceded, however, that victory may be too far away, and he reckons a podium is a more realistic target.

"Yeah, the win is still extremely difficult," he added. "I don't think that has changed with today's practice.

"As I said before we are a bit more optimistic because we thought we'd be far from the leaders, and although it's still early we have felt good and the times came pretty easily.

"So maybe tomorrow we are still on the third row of the grid but a lot closer than we expected. If that is the case, then there are a lot more possibilities for the race, especially for the podium, which is always the main target. But the victory maybe it too far away."

The Spaniard, who crashed during second practice when he lost control of his car at Turn 1, played down the time lost as a consequence of the accident.

"It didn't affect us much. We lost some 20 minutes but fortunately Felipe could complete the programme and what we wanted to see, which is the tyre degradation with a a heavy fuel load we have all the data from Felipe. So I don't think it affected us much."

Ferrari has admitted that it is still unsure why Felipe Massa is continuing to suffer excessive flapping with his front wing.

Just a fortnight after the behaviour of the wing at high-speed raised eyebrows in India, Massa's front wing was once again flapping excessively on the long straight in practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

And after believing that the issue in India had been due to a manufacturing problem, the team says it does not have an answer as to why it is happening again.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "The reality is that we found something that was not correct in terms of the structure of that wing but apparently it seems that there is still a problem. It seems we haven't fixed the issue on that yet."

He added: "I have got engineers with much more expertise than me here that know that an effect on a wing can depend on a lot of things.

"It depends on the set-up of the car, depending on the tyre pressure and so on. Maybe it is a combination of all of these elements for our engineers to understand and react as it is not what we would like to see."

Formula 1 teams will be unable to use any form of off-throttle blowing of exhausts next season after a fresh bid to allow the practice was blocked by Ferrari, Sauber and HRT ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

A move to ban blown diffusers in 2012 through the mandatory use of periscope exhausts had not been enough to quell fears that some outfits could still try and make use of hot gases to help boost the aerodynamic performance of their cars - perhaps by blowing air over suspension components or wings.

Those suspicions resulted in the FIA issuing a technical directive last month informing teams that there will be severe limitations on engine mapping next year to minimise the possibilities of off-throttle blowing.

The timing of that decision left several teams unhappy, because they had already begun designing their 2012 cars assuming that blowing could still be implemented – a practice that uses up fuel so would require a larger fuel tank.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said in India: "The clarification is a bit late and a few people wasted a bit of time, money and effort, but that is the same for all of us. We will look forward now."

Outside of that move, teams were pushing for the 2012 regulations to allow off-throttle blowing – with sources suggesting that unanimous approval was reached among them for this prior to their submission to the Formula 1 Commission last week for ratification.

However, the rules were rejected by the F1 Commission – with Ferrari, Sauber and HRT all deciding to vote against the regulations as they stood and forcing them back to think tank the Technical Working Group for amendment.

The TWG met in Abu Dhabi to discuss the exhaust regulations again and, although agreeing on most of the elements, a clause that would have allowed off-throttle blowing was again rejected by Ferrari, Sauber and HRT, so has been ditched for now.

Sources have revealed that the rule would have allowed any blowing of exhausts that interferes with the aerodynamic of the cars to be deemed as 'incidental' so therefore not illegal.

It is understood, however, that the TWG has agreed to re-look at the blowing rules for 2013.

With the practice effectively outlawed, the situation means that any team that uses off-throttle blowing next season will be in breach of Article 3.15 of the Formula 1 Technical Regulations – which states any part of the car that uses 'driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited.'

With the FIA having clarified its position on this matter, it means there is the possibility of a team protesting any rival that runs off-throttle blowing next year – as HRT pondered doing this year when the issue first came up.

The exhaust blowing saga has upset several teams, because they have already committed to elements of their 2012 design based around the idea that they would off-throttle blowing – so now their fuel tanks could be too big.

Renault boss Eric Boullier said at the Indian GP: "You have to take a decision now on car concepts and it is already too late.

"Some teams like ours have already started producing concepts of the car, so the concept has been finalised weeks ago. We need to stop changing the regulations all the time."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has urged Frank Williams to sign 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Raikkonen raced for McLaren from 2002-2006, winning nine grands prix, and Whitmarsh came close to re-signing him for 2010 before opting for Jenson Button.

Williams has held talks with Raikkonen and is considering taking him on in a move believed to be contingent on landing major backing from Qatar. But despite question marks over how motivated the Finn is to return to F1 after two seasons out, Whitmarsh has no doubts about his ability.

"Try and sign him," said Whitmarsh when asked to give advice to Williams on Raikkonen. "We all know he is quick and I think people underestimate how intelligent he can be.

"I hope that he is hungry. I am sure that he hasn't lost the capability to thrill us, so I think it would be fantastic for Formula 1. I wouldn't ordinarily presume to advise Sir Frank who he should sign, but I think it would be exciting if he did."

Williams would not comment on his interest in Raikkonen, saying that "I cannot make any comment about supposition", but he did confirm that a slot could be available in the team's 2012 driver line-up.

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, who has impressed during his rookie season and comes with the blessing of major sponsor PDVSA is set to stay on, but team-mate Rubens Barrichello's future is uncertain.

"[it's] not clear exactly who will be in both cars," said Williams "I am sure Pastor will be in one car. Rubens maybe.

"We haven't really made up our minds what we want to do before we talk to Rubens."

Williams also hinted that reserve driver Valterri Bottas, who has been on the team's books since the start of last season, could also be in the frame.

The GP3 champion will drive for Williams during two days at next week's young driver test and is known to be an outsider for the drive if he impresses the team.

"It depends how quick he is," said Williams. "I don't know enough about him.

"He looks very good, but beyond saying that, I don't know him. We have to keep testing him, I guess."

The HRT team says it is hoping to have its 2012 car ready for the first test of the pre-season next year.

The Spanish squad will enter its third Formula 1 season in 2012, having made its debut in 2010.

Both last year and this the team has been unable to test its new car before the first race of the year, but HRT's Saul Ruiz said on Friday in Abu Dhabi it is hoping the new car will be ready in time for the first group test in February.

He also said the team will move under one roof in a factory in Valencia, although the design office will still be in Munich.

"Our policy is to be very discreet in the things that we are doing so we are only announcing things that we have already been working on for some time and we reach a point where it is obvious that somebody will notice like we have a headquarters in Valencia so we have to tell," he said.

"One thing is we are moving the race and test team and most of the back office to be under the same roof to this very nice building that we will have in Valencia. The different thing is that the technical office, we will still keep it in Munich where the car is being designed and developed since the end of August.

"Also, different to last year we hope not only be at the first race but also the first test with the new car."

Thursday's press conference:

DRIVERS

Sebastien BUEMI (Toro Rosso), Paul di RESTA (Force India), Timo GLOCK (Virgin), Heikki KOVALAINEN (Team Lotus), Vitantonio LIUZZI (HRT), Vitaly PETROV (Renault)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Tonio, one or two changes in the team. Have you seen differences within the team and how the team has reacted.

Vitantonio LIUZZI: I have to say the team is changing, on-going at the moment, the structure is improving every time and I think there are a lot of changes for next year, plans on-going in the next month. I think the structure improved a lot during the 2011 season, we are focussed on 2012. We want to improve and get better in the field and I feel these changes are going in the right direction for the future. Still nothing completely clear how will be the line-up for next year in terms of the set-up of the team, but I think we are going forward.

Q. Your future? Would you just clarify that? Did you say something has not been decided yet??

VL: No, I was talking about the team, not about me or the other drivers. For me I always said I have a long-term contract with the team. We started with this adventure and we knew that it could not be just a one-year situation if we wanted to improve. The team hired me to help them develop and bring experience in the team and I think everything is going well and everything is looking positive for the future so not much to say about it.

Q. So you are hopeful of staying and going forward?

VL: Yes, I believe so.

Q. Heikki, both drivers have been confirmed for next year. You seem to still be making progress as well with the team. Again, a certain amount of optimism I would have thought?

Heikki KOVALAINEN: Yeah, absolutely. I think we made more progress than the other two new teams in these last couple of years especially this year. We need to take the next step, but I think the team is making the right kind of moves back at the factory and in terms of the structure of the team to go forward so I am confident and I am optimistic that next year we will move another step forward. It has not been too far away, actually, in the last few races. I have been able to race some of the cars ahead of us so it is not that much we need anymore to join the pack and then the middle of the field and to be ahead of them we need a bigger step. Hopefully over the winter we can make another gain compared to the teams directly ahead of us.

Q. Tell us your view of the way Tony Fernandes works. He seems to be a particularly dynamic guy running goodness knows how many companies. Not only the racing team, Caterham and even Queens Park Rangers.

HK: Yeah, he is an exciting guy. He is not afraid of making decisions and taking an adventure into an unknown. I think that, quite often, is how the good leaders and successful businessmen, how they work. To make a successful business you have quite often got to do something different to what the group of people is doing and he is certainly doing that. This morning was a good example of how Tony operates. I sent him a text regarding Caterham, his car company, and I said we should do that. He just texted me back, 'Done, tell Riad (Asmat)' and so, the deal was done. That's how he works and I believe he meant that. I really enjoyed working with him and it was one of the reasons I joined the team and I have enjoyed these last two years. He is a funny guy.

Q. Timo, do you feel you have done a good job this year overall? Obviously it has been a very difficult at the back of the grid and what are your thoughts on next year as well?

Timo GLOCK: Yeah, I am happy with my performance in general. I think I got the maximum out of the package we had. I just did my best in qualifying and the race. Sometimes we were a bit unlucky in the race, like in India at the last race. In general, as I said, with the package we got it out most of the time and now we have to keep concentrating on working for next year and make improvements like Lotus did this year and move on.

Q. And looking forward to this race. We have got two DRS zones here. I know there is not a lot overtaking going on at the back, but what are your feelings about two DRS zones here?

TG: I think you are right, you have to ask the guys in front, it is difficult for me to say. But I think it will be good possibilities here to overtake, especially with DRS and it could make the race quite interesting. Let's see, maybe we can overtake on the back of it as well but the possibilities are much higher here.

Q. Paul, you are probably better prepared for this circuit than any of the ones we have been to so far as you did about 110 laps in a Force India this time last year.

Paul di Resta: Yeah, I think coming here obviously having a bit of experience isn't negative having done the Pirelli test last year. But, really, it is all about the work you carry out on Friday and Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon in this case. We want to try and maintain position in the Constructors' Championship and our performance has been very close to Toro Rosso and Sauber and Renault if we get it right and really that's our focus at the moment.

Q. So it is quite tight between all you guys. You still feel there is potential for change there?

PdR: Yeah, I don't think you can really give up on any approach. I think you have got to be fairly aggressive. Already this year we saw it change a lot. We are in a strong position at the moment but we are very focussed on trying to get our performance level and equally bring new updates if we can. Really just to try and maintain that. These guys seem to be very strong in the race and really me and Adrian (Sutil) are doing our upmost to try and grab as many points as we can and race against these guys.

Q. Given that no announcement has been made about the drivers, although that has been brought forward, I am sure you put pressure on yourselves anyway. But does that put more pressure on you?

PdR: I suppose it does in a way. I have always said you always want to know as quick as you can but you have to respect Mr (Vijay) Mallya's decision and really he has said he is going to change. But, at the moment, I have a contract for the year so I am focussed on doing the remaining two races, which we should be, and really the future will take care of itself hopefully.

Q. Sebastien, we only have to look at the last few races to realise the team has made a lot of progress. So you feel, probably, in a position where you can fightback?

Sebastien BUEMI: Yes, now we have got the same amount of points as Sauber so it is already good for us. We are 10 points behind Force India. It was a shame what happened in India, but still I think we can continue to fight and, like you said, the car is really quick now. We have a good qualifying pace. We were both in Q3 in India and then, also in the race, we are normally quite quick as well so hopefully we can finish in the points and be in front of Sauber by the end of the weekend. Then for the last race we will see what we can do.

Q. The problem in India, does that have consequences for the rest of the year? Are you going to have to use a ninth engine perhaps?

SB: No, we were not planning to use this engine anymore so it is not going to be a problem at all.

Q. And your thoughts about the future, for next year?

SB: I don't think too much about it right now. Let's say I try to get the maximum out of myself and the car in the remaining two races and then we will have enough time to speak about next year. I believe we have got to be concentrated. We have a good chance to achieve a very good result for the team so I think it is really important to dedicate ourselves completely to this before thinking about anything else.

Q. Vitaly, we remember you last year with your red shadow. Would it have been very different with DRS?

Vitaly PETROV: Definitely, and with new Pirelli tyres.

Q. It would have been very different, would it?

VP: I think we need to forget already what's happened last year here. I know I did a good race by myself to improve and to show the team I could stay for next year. It was not to use tactics for Fernando (Alonso), and with the lack of overtaking here he couldn't do anything.

Q. There have been a few changes in the team this year; is that something that affects you most recently?

VP: I don't think anything changes for me. I think it will be better for the team. It's like football; when a new coach joins a team, what he does first of all is look at the team and watches where the players are playing. Then he puts the people in the right places, where they should be playing. Then teams become more competitive and play stronger. This is actually what we try to do inside the team. The team principal tries to change some people, to move them around and try to profit from this.

Q. What's the situation for next year, your future?

VP: For me, everything is clear. I have a contract for next year, I don't need to be worried, so I just try to do my job, try to gather a lot of information for next year for us in these last two races. I and the team are fully concentrated on the team for next year also so I'm quite clear.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Alex Popov - RTR) Heikki, does the change of name to Caterham mean that your business car will be very fast but not very comfortable?

HK: I've been waiting for the Caterham already this year. They haven't sent me one yet but I'm sure I will get one soon. I'm quite looking forward to taking one to Finland; I have a fantastic road leading up to my log cabin house, so I'm going to test it there, I think, when there's a little bit of snow banks around, on studded tyres.

Q. Will you have to build your company car yourself?

HK: No, I don't think so. I have a good car crew; they will do it for me.

Q. (Alex Popov – RTR) Heikki as a Finnish driver, your main target may be the Williams team next year?

HK: For next year, the target ahead of us doesn't change – whoever is driving in different teams. Obviously you're referring to Kimi at Williams; I have no idea whether that is happening or not. What's going on there... it doesn't matter who is driving the cars in front of us. We are targeting the cars ahead of us, joining that group and hopefully sometimes being ahead of more than one team if we have a good day. That's all I can say. If Kimi decides to come back, I think the main difference for me will be that the parties after the races will be a little bit better.

Q. (Michael Stauble – SRG/DRS) After 17 races with DRS, how would you rate it, has it improved the racing in your opinion?

VP: I think that it's definitely a big step forward. I think we will keep this for many years, five or ten years. I think it's a good chance for us to overtake and good for you to write something about overtaking, so I think it's a good step.

SB: I think it's definitely a positive. We've seen a lot more overtaking; we've even seen some overtaking in Monaco. It's definitely good. Sometimes it feels like the DRS zone is not long enough but I definitely think it's going to help a lot this weekend.

Q. From a lapping point of view, is it better that the people who are lapping have DRS? Is that better from your point of view?

TG: In general, it's not that big a difference for us. In general, it's quite difficult overall, in the race, to keep out of the (way of the) top five, especially if you have a safety car and we are in the middle of the pack and it's just a big mess. DRS doesn't make a big difference for lapping cars.

HK: The only difference I see is that maybe sometimes they give us a big tow in a straight line when they go past, so it's definitely better for us.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Sebastian, is the increased performance from your car related to the development of the blown diffuser?

SB: Yes, I think it's mainly because of that, but in general I think we improved the car very well from mid-season to the end now. I think we're now improving the car race after race and this is why we can actually catch up the other guys. We were maybe a little bit too slow developing the car in the middle of the year, but now I think we're doing a good job. It's only the second year that the team is building the car, so it takes a bit of time to get into the rhythm but I think we've definitely got a lot of lap time through the blown diffuser.

Q. (Alex Popov – RTR) Vitaly, you mentioned the football team but which one of the team would you prefer to be your team-mate next year, stay with Bruno or maybe change or maybe Robert will be back: your personal preference?

VP: I think that if you had asked me this question last year, I would definitely have chosen the most experienced guy, because when Robert was with me in the team, I learned quite a lot from him, so I analysed the date, watched the video, listened to how he talked to the engineers and what he… At the moment, now, for me, it doesn't matter, to be honest. I already know how to improve the team in general, to set up and how to work with my team, so this is why for next year or for this year, it doesn't matter at all.

Q. (Gaetan Vigneron – RTBF) Timo, what is your opinion about your team-mate for next year? Is it important for you to have the same one because it's better to improve the team or is it better to have a new one or it doesn't matter to you personally?

TG: In general, I think it doesn't matter to me; it's a decision to be made by the team. Sure, on the other hand, if both drivers remain, then you have more consistency in the team but on the other hand, it doesn't matter to me, as I said. We have a long road in front of us so it's up to the team to decide.

Q. (Muthyalu Satyanarayan – Gulf News) Most of you have grown up and raced in your early careers in Europe. Now, two or three years back, we had Abu Dhabi and now India, so how is this experience with venues shifting to this part of the world, Middle East and Asia? What's the experience of racing in these new venues?

HK: I have a good answer for this one. I much prefer to be at these kind of warm races because the golf courses are fantastic. I would happily stay near Bangkok and just race from there; the golf courses are great. I arrived here on Monday already and I've played four rounds of golf already, so I'm happy for this direction.

VP: It's a good answer!

VL: Maybe it's much colder in Europe but I prefer the European races. For sure, we have a different kind of circuit here in Asia, it's completely different, much more modern, beautiful circuits but I still love the historical circuits like Spa, Monza and the European races.

SB: I think it's good to try some new circuits, some new countries to visit. I think it's definitely a positive to come to these races and I think what we experience here is completely different. It's the best infrastructure in the world and it's definitely quite nice to be racing here, starting the race when it's still daylight and then we finish in the dark. I definitely think it's a positive.

PdiR: Yeah, I think it's always a good experience, but I think the questioner talked about drivers as well and I think given where junior categories are in Europe compared to Asia, it's not quite there yet but I think that is just generally through time and I think it builds up, the whole experience, how popular racing will get. Given how many people there are in India, I'm sure that with the first Indian Grand Prix, that will generate interest and for the future, you never know where that might lead to.

Q. (Alex Popov – RTR) Sebastian, as I understand it, you used to live in Bahrain, do you still live there?

SB: No, I've lived in Monaco for two years but part of my family lives in Bahrain and that's why I moved there three years ago.

Q. (Alex Popov – RTR) Is all OK there now; do we have a chance to go back for the race next year?

SB: I hope so. Bahrain is a nice circuit and I enjoy being there but first of all it has to be safe but I didn't hear anything bad for a few months now.

Friday's press conference:

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. A first question for all of you. To go back to your Geneva meeting and the talk about third cars. There seemed to be a certain amount of difference between teams about third cars. What was your view about third cars, Ross?

Ross BRAWN: I don't think third cars are out of the question, but I think what we mustn't do is create a situation that harms the financial and sporting environment for the smaller constructors because if we do something that makes their situation far more difficult then what have we achieved? We have achieved a smaller group of manufacturers and I don't think that's good. It can be a solution if we are getting short of cars, but I would far rather see a healthy group of constructors and as many as we can, that's my personal view.

Q. Stefano?

Stefano DOMENICALI: First of all, we didn't discuss it in Geneva, as it wasn't on the agenda. Just to clarify that point. As Ross mentioned, it is a point of discussion for the future of Formula One but, as always, I think it is very important to understand the pros and cons of all these things and it is fundamental to discuss with all the stakeholders, the constructors and the teams that are involved in Formula One. But, at the moment, I cannot say more than that. This is, for sure, something that we need to put on the table and if it a solution for a better Formula One we will go for it. Otherwise we will see.

Q. The (Ferrari) president seemed to be in favour of it?

SD: Yeah, absolutely. He has stated that and, for sure, this is an element for discussion.

Q. Martin?

Martin WHITMARSH: I think there are some interesting ideas about a third car. We would all be excited to have (Valentino) Rossi or Sebastien Loeb or someone in a Formula One car. It would be great but, as Ross said, I think we have got to act responsibly. I think the DNA, the structure of Formula One, requires the variety of teams and we have got some new teams and we have got some smaller teams and we recognise that it is very, very challenging to get the budget to compete in Formula One. If, today, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes all fielded third cars then I think, in my view, it would be damaging for the sport. There are pros and cons and I think it is right to have the debate and people have different views but at the moment I think what we should be concentrating on is ensuring that we have got a viable and sustainable model for all of the teams in Formula One.

Q. John?

John BOOTH: I think first of all we have a very healthy grid of cars at the moment. I don't really see any need to change the formula. From our point of view it is important that every entrant is a constructor.

Q. Saul, I don't know if you have ever thought about third cars?

Saul Ruiz de Marcos: Yes, us being a small team it has pros and cons. In abstract, we cannot say if we are in favour or deny it. I think there will be a discussion and let's see an actual proposal to see if we are against or in favour.

Q. Frank?

Frank WILLIAMS: Well today we see a number of very fine car manufacturers in Formula One, but the men who run them run them for a profit and if sales are down costs are slashed. All I can say is that as long as we have money in the bank Williams will always be racing in F1. I hope for many, many years to come. I am not so certain than some of my brethren here can control their own destinies as much as they would like. There may be someone above them who has less of an emotion regarding Formula One as some people here.

Q. Ross, it was interesting to hear from Nico (Rosberg), who you have re-signed for an indefinite amount of time. He says how he is pleased with your future plans. Is Michael (Schumacher) equally pleased with your future plans as well?

RB: Yes, I think so. Any team that is not quite where they want to be, at least a serious team, looks at how they can improve their competitiveness and we have been fortunate in putting together some additional, very strong engineers and I think everyone is excited about that. We have got to make sure they all work well together. That's my role, primarily, to make sure that we can keep everyone going in the right direction. I think knowing the people involved I am very excited about the future. But every team when it is not performing where it wants to be has to look at how it can strengthen its organisation and if you look at the three of Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari we have all done things to our team over the last 12 months to try and improve the organisation, improve the strength. It is a constant process and when you get there, when you get to where you want to be, then it is more fine tuning perhaps. We are very excited about the next few years. Michael is very excited, everybody is very excited, but we have got to start delivering.

Q. Stefano, one of the great mysteries of Formula One at the moment is Felipe Massa's front wing.

SD: Yes, actually it is very good here in the dark. You can see good sparks. It is adding a lot to the show.

MW: I don't think it's a mystery at all.

Q. Alright, maybe it isn't a mystery. In India you said you were going to investigate and yet it still seems to be doing the same thing here?

SD: Yes, it is true. I mean, it's pretty obvious. The reality is that we found something that was not correct in terms of the structure of that wing but apparently it seems that there is still a problem. It seems we haven't fixed the issue yet on that.

Q. Why is it Felipe's wing only?

SD: I don't know. The thing is the wing was supposed to go to Felipe's car. I have got engineers much more expert than me here that know that an effect on a wing can depend on a lot of issues, a lot of things, sorry. It depends on the set-up of the car, depending on tyre pressure and so on. Maybe it is a combination of all these elements for our engineers to understand and react as it is not what we would like to see.

Q. Is it uncomfortable to drive. Does Felipe feel that?

SD: No.

Q. Martin, we saw Sam Michael in the garage today. What is his role at the moment?

MW: Well Sam has just been with us for a few days so he is an observer at the moment. He has moved across from Williams as I think everyone knows. He will be the Sporting Director of the team next year. It is a good opportunity. I think we came to a good arrangement with Williams to allow Sam to come and have a look so that during the winter he can take a more informed view about how we make ourselves a better race team.

Q. So he is just watching at the moment?

MW: He is watching. I am sure, and would be disappointed, if he is not giving us some opinion and view. It would be very unnatural if he wasn't. But that's what he is here for. We are running the team with the structure that we have run all year. Clearly, we've brought Sam into the business because we think he can make us stronger, improve our competitiveness, and that's his challenge next year.

Q. John, a lot of teams next week are running young drivers here and you have announced your three young drivers. There seems to be a lot of different agendas for running young drivers, whether it is for a revenue stream or testing new bits or whatever. Some of the drivers aren't that young either, but tell us about your three and why they are there.

JB: Well, first of all it is my favourite time of the year, starting working with young drivers for the future. I think we have got three very exciting young drivers, all proving to be competitive in the arenas in which they have been competing this year and it will be great to give them a chance of tasting Formula One. Maybe they can put themselves in the picture.

Q. Are you looking for a second driver?

JB: As we said before we are evaluating all our options and we will make a decision after Brazil. Jerome (D'Ambrosio) has done a great job all year, but, like I said, we have got three very exciting young guys chomping at the bit, so we will wait with anticipation.

Q. Saul, tell us what your plans are for HRT. There are a lot of question marks over the team?

SdM: Well for next year, since we entered into the team in July, we have been working basically on three fronts. One was improving this car and the car for next year and we have signed an agreement with Williams, which is an extension, in time and in contents, to what we already have. Next year's car will have KERS for the first time in the small history of HRT. We are also working on our headquarters. We are moving to Spain, which we know that from an economic, logistical thing is not the most efficient thing to do but I think it is in our ID. We have a Spanish licence and it is a way to get closer to our sponsors, which will be a Spanish and Latin focus. The other thing is our drivers which, also I think, after Brazil we will announce who will be our drivers for next season.

Q. Frank, again a bit like Mercedes there have been a lot of staff changes within the Williams team. What are your thoughts on the changes for next year - personnel, engines, even drivers.

FW: Well the engine choice we felt will be the right one. We have long-term memories with Renault and they have always served Formula One and ourselves extremely well. Various other personnel changes within the company. We will see how they work. I think it would be inappropriate for me to describe what is expected of any one individual.

Q. And drivers as well?

FW: Not clear exactly who will be in both cars. I am sure Pastor (Maldonado) will be in one car. Rubens (Barrichello) maybe, we haven't really made up our minds what we want to do before we talk to Rubens. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Heikki Kulta –Turun Sanomat) Frank, 10 years ago you were interested in getting Kimi (Raikkonen) to your team. Now, 10 years later are you still interested to get him now you can do so?

FW: I knew this would come up. But my view, as you might well expect, goes as follows: a lot of supposition and I cannot make any comment about supposition, sorry to be so unhelpful.

Q.Are you following his rally career?

FW: I am not a rally fan.

Q. (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Just to follow up on that question. Martin and Stefano, Kimi drove for both of you, what advice would you give to Frank on this subject?

MW: Try and sign him. Kimi, we all know he is quick. I think people underestimate how intelligent he can be. I hope that he is hungry. I am sure he hasn't lost the capability to thrill us in Formula One so I think it would be fantastic for Formula One. I wouldn't ordinarily presume to advise Sir Frank who he should sign but I think it would be exciting if he did.

SD: Of course, I would not give any advice to Frank. He has long experience. A lot longer than me. For sure, I know Kimi very well. He is very talented, very strong, and if he wants to come back he has something that wants to show to everyone about him, about the fact that he was the last driver to win the World Championship with us and he will want to show he is still one of the strongest.

Q. (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Can I follow up with a question for John and Saul. You are both moving your teams shortly. One is going into motorsport valley and one is going away from it. Who thinks they have got it right?

JB: Both are going south so it is something in common. Valencia is a wonderful town, but we will settle for Banbury.

Q. Can you go into some details as to why you are going to Banbury?

JB: We just feel it is the right thing for us to be under one roof now. We made a pretty bold move, in June I think it was, when we decided to take our destiny into our own hands and I think it is the right thing to move under one roof instead of the three we were in before.

Q. And Saul?

SdM: I think the decision is something positive. Normally, because of being one of the slowest cars and also because of that we have to go and look for something a bit different to the rest of the teams. They are in the same area, very similar background. In some time we will see if I was wrong, but I think it is the right strategy to do an approach which is slightly different to what everybody's doing. If I was one of the (inaudible) I wouldn't do it, but I have to try and do something different.

Q. (Simon Cass - Daily Mail) Stefano, what is more difficult to cope with; the pain of losing the World Championship in the manner that you did here last year or a season where basically you haven't delivered what was expected of you?

SD: Well, I think that with regard to your first question, for sure from the sporting point of view when you come back to a place where you were really fighting for the championship and you have lost it and you have seen in your mind so many times that race that you can remember every little metre it is natural that the first time you come here you think back. But the nature of the sport to not look back, it is look ahead so it is already back and the fact that we didn't deliver really a good season this year is the most relevant point at this stage. All the focus is, as Ross mentioned before is to try to do everything that we can in order to make sure that we do the right move and the right step for the next season. That's why we have anticipated a lot of things that we could have waited, but that's the only target we have so that's the (inaudible word) we are living now.

Q. (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) Two part question for Saul. The first question is about the time-line of moving to Spain. Last year you had a car that was designed and partially built in Italy, finished at the circuit, then it moved to Germany. This year it's the same car, which has been upgraded, also done in Germany. Now you talk about moving to Spain. What sort of time-line are you talking. Part two is why is Thesan in Formula One in the first place? Is it here for the long haul? Are you looking to sell the team? How did you get into it?

SdM: With regard the first question I think the difference compared to last year is, I don't want to enter into what happened as we were not here but I think that it was not part of a plan. Things were happening. Here it was a plan and our policy is to be very discreet in the things that we are doing so we are only announcing things that we have already been working on for some time and we reach a point where it is obvious that somebody will notice like we have a headquarters in Valencia so we have to tell. One thing is we are moving the race and test team and most of the back office to be under the same roof to this very nice building that we will have in Valencia. The different thing is that the technical office, we will still keep it in Munich where the car is being designed and developed since the end of August. Also, different to last year we hope not only be at the first race but also the first test with the new car. That's the answer to the first question. Regarding the second one we are financial investors. It is obvious. If you enter into our website you can see. But I think Formula One is a totally different business for us as it brings business itself so here we have no urgency at all. The investment is not in one of the funds that have a definite exit so we could be here for ever or sell it. I wouldn't say before three years as we have to do this project. Of if we like it we can keep it forever.

Q. (Manuel Franco - AS) Saul, will there be a Spanish driver in your team next year, for sure?

SRdeM:: I hope so. I don't know yet what we can guarantee. Our rookie test driver for next week is Dani Clos who is a young talented driver, who was second in qualifying for GP2 today. He will probably win GP2 next year so if it's not next year – in the next two seasons – eventually the team will have one Spanish or Latin American driver.

Q. (Kate Walker – Woman Racer) I am curious about the details of the (F1) Commission meeting last week in Geneva, particularly with regard to the problem with Q3 and extra tyres. Could you tell us what was discussed?

MW: I think firstly, I should qualify something by saying that within Formula One we have a variety of different meetings and I think inevitably there is a lot of interest in what happens behind closed doors, a strange amount of interest in my view. I think we have to respect that some of these meetings are and should be private. But I think to try and answer and be helpful to the questioner, there has been a debate, not just in the Formula One Commission but there has been a debate in Formula One about whether there should be extra tyres for Q3. And this is based upon – as I think we all know – the fact that some teams have tactically chosen not to run in that session. I think, generally, when that's been discussed, it's been the view of the teams that actually qualifying is quite an interesting format now. Some of us will remember that we went through a stumble of changes for qualifying over a number of years and I think often they weren't thought through and we made it worse. So I think we should exercise quite a lot of caution before we change what is, frankly - certainly for those of us sat on the pit wall – pretty gripping. Even if you think you're a top team, the opportunity to go through Q1, potentially, on the harder, slower tyre makes it quite a tantalising session, whoever you are and I think that's quite a good format, it seems to work quite well and makes it a little bit more interesting. I think that by the time some of the middle teams have got through to Q3 they've typically done more running than maybe some of the faster teams, so on balance, I think the consensus view appears to be that we shouldn't change the format. We don't think there's a fundamental problem that some people choose to run tactically in Q3. So there has been a discussion, as I would summarise it, but if any of my colleagues want to elaborate. I hope that helps.

RB: I think Q3 is very exciting. Quite honestly, when you get into Q3 the fans' focus is primarily on the guys at the front and I think the ability for other teams to take a more tactical approach to try and compensate their performance is an added dimension. As Martin said, we should be careful not to fiddle with it because it's actually quite a good show. I think that last run in Q3 for pole position or whatever it is is a great show. I think the fact that some teams choose not to run in Q3 is not really very significant.

Q. (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Question for Frank and the three in the back row: you've all got Middle Eastern backers of some sort. With what's going on in the Eurozone at the moment and the risk of Europe falling into pretty serious recession and austerity measures, I was wondering what your take was on the impact on Formula One finances and sponsors and whether it's going to force you more and more to look beyond the Eurozone in future?

FW: Working backwards I've no comment to make as I'm not knowledgeable enough about where the money will come from in the long term future. I believe it will still come from Europe because the sport is based in Europe, most people who watch it are from Europe but I think the people behind me and the people who have gone before and come after me, they're very adept at sniffing out the dosh. There will always be money to keep their teams in business. The determination within those teams is immeasurable.

RB: I think the teams will find solutions. As Frank said, they're incredibly resilient. I daren't bring it up but we're working hard on the Resource Restriction; if we need to, that can be tightened even further, if we see that it's justified. So I think the teams are incredibly resilient and we will cut our cloth to suit the climate and that's what will happen.

SD: I think that it is not only a matter of Formula One but the world is moving, changing and that Formula One as another business company has to – let's say - adapt or try to anticipate the move in order not to be the last to arrive where potentially there is a new market of new potential interest. So in that respect, I think that, as you know we were one of the first companies that had the opportunity to receive investment from this area and now we are looking also in the other parts of the world because we as Ferrari, as you know, we have a business that is not only Formula One but above all is a car manufacturer that is selling cars in different markets and this is for sure one of the most important areas at the moment that has a future and it is important to keep the attention of this new world in Formula One. I think, on that, that Formula One, generally speaking, has a great potential and has to react in anticipation to all the other sport businesses to make sure that we capitalise the brand that we have at the moment.

MW: Firstly, it is incredibly tough out there for any team to go out there and get the funding to come racing, which we all love to do. I think one thing I would observe though, is that we had a crisis – or the world had a crisis – but Formula One had a crisis at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. We had Honda, Toyota, BMW exiting right at a critical moment for the world economy. In some ways, those of us that were involved at that time, I think it brought the best out in Formula One because for a while... we react well in a crisis and I think we did react well. Perhaps we are all a little bit too comfortable now - some of the teams - and another bit of a crisis might focus some minds on what we need to do together.

Q. (Stephane Lemeret – La Derniere Heure) John, what does Jerome d'Ambrosio have to do to stay with you next year?

JB: Well, Jerome has been doing it all season, he's done a fantastic job all year in his rookie season and I'm sure he will continue to do it in the last two races. If he keeps performing like that, he will put himself in the frame for a drive.

Q. (Joris Fioriti – Agence France Presse) I would like to talk about the RRA; Stefano said a couple of weeks ago that there was a big lack of trust within FOTA and that this question was endangering its very existence. I would like to know what you two think about it, Ross, and anyone else. Is there a solution to this question, to solve it, and when do you think that will be?

MW: Firstly, I think you have to put this in context. The technical regulations, sporting regulations of the sport are well developed, it's a pretty thick tome. I guess it's the nature, the competitive nature, the creative nature, the paranoic nature of Formula One – there will always be questions about whether a car is legal, is the wing too flexible – sorry Stefano – or other parts of it, but that's the nature of our sport and I think occasionally we have some moments of tension and I think that now we've tried to act responsibly and controlled the amount of resource, and inevitably we're going to push and probe and see what we can do. I think the nature of Formula One is that we have some very creative people who will try to find the loopholes and that's in the nature of the competition, so whether that's trying to find loopholes in the technical regulations, the sporting regulations, financial restrictions, resource restriction etc. Occasionally people will push that boundary and some tensions will occur. I think we can focus on those tensions, I think we can also focus on a lot of things that have been achieved in the last few years. There is some challenge. At the moment the teams need to want to co-operate for this to work and I think at the moment there are some tensions but I suspect we'll find a way through, we'll find ways in which we can have greater levels of trust, but this is a continuum, this will continue next year, the year after, just as if that's on the regulations, any aspect of this sport. We're all competitive, we want to beat each other, we're going to try and find out if we can maximise our performance within the constraints that are applied.

Q. (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) Frank, you were the first team owner to have Middle Eastern backing back in the late seventies, early eighties. Did you ever imagine that the Middle East would embrace motor sport and Formula One in particular to the degree that it has now, two races on a Formula One calendar?

FW: (Holding) Races is quite different to being a sponsor of a team but I am surprised that there are presently two taking place. I think they could last a long time, because the people who live in this area want to be a part of the entire world and they certainly are mostly – in the main – wealthy, they like travelling a great deal, they want the best of everything and I just think they always will be wanting to have, as they have here, to try and demonstrate that they can make the best Grand Prix in the world happen and there will be enthusiasm to do that for many years to come.

Q. (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Frank, what kind of plans do you have for the future of Valterri Botas?

FW: Depends how quick he is. I don't know enough about him. He looks very good, he does look very good, but beyond saying that, I don't know him. We have to keep testing him, I guess.

Q. (Gaetan Vigneron – RTBF) John, to eventually start 2012 with a rookie would mean that once again you would start from zero, so in which way do you see that it could improve the team, knowing that normally stability is a good platform to improve?

JB: First of all, the stability we have in Timo, a guy with massive experience and committed to the team's long term future, so we have stability there already. I know the question you're referring to but as I said before, we'll assess where we are with the drivers after the young driver test and they we will look to make a decision after Brazil.

Q. (Naoise Holohan – Manipe F1 ) We've got a young driver test coming up next week with some teams treating it as a quick payday and then we have McLaren running a driver who it's difficult to call a young driver as such. Do you think the concept of the young driver test should be revisited?

MW: I think Gary still thinks he's young and as far as I know, all of us still think he's young. I think he's still young enough to be in Formula One. Incidentally, he's a very talented driver. He's someone who deserved and still does deserve an opportunity in Formula One so I think we are very proud to be able to showcase him. He has been driving for Mercedes and McLaren for a number of years. I'm sure if one of the teams below or elsewhere want to sign him, I suspect we would be releasing him.

JB: I think the format for the qualification for a novice driver or a rookie driver works pretty well. I don't see any reason to revisit it.

Q. (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Extra) Gentlemen, from a business point of view, the fastest way to improve your revenues is to get hold of the revenues of the sport. Can each of you tell us if it's possible that you can get together and buy the commercial rights and divide up the money between you, and borrow the money from a bank, because that's what CVC did, and if not, why not? Martin?

MW: Well, it depends on who you talk to whether Formula One's for sale or not at the moment. I think anything's possible, but I think making public pronouncements really doesn't generally help create the environment to do the right thing. What we need is cooperation between the teams, the FIA and whoever owns the sport. We can't rule out the teams being equity participants at some stage in the future. I think it would be healthy, I think it would be good but I think we've got to make sure that there are the right economic conditions to provide that.

SD: On my side, you know that we have certain obligations not to speak about sensitive subjects, any kind of declaration we may make can be used and – let me put it this way – manipulated for the wrong reasons, so I would say that I cannot comment on that.

RB: I think that what's involved is a kind of natural order of things, in terms of the teams being focused on their racing, and the commercial rights holder being focused on the races and the promotion of those races, and the governing body being responsible for making sure that the sport is run properly and fairly. Of course, the issue is the division of the income for Formula One. If we can find a good solution, a compromise in the future for that division, then I think that role and function of the various parties works very well. I think the problem will come if that division isn't fair, then things may change, but fundamentally we're happy with the way things are but like all teams we want to see how we can improve the income for the teams.

FW: I would like to compliment Ross on being extremely perceptive and accurate on what he said. He is absolutely right.

JB: I think the only comment I would make is that it may be worthwhile looking at how other major sports in other countries are run to see if we can learn any lessons from those. It might be interesting to see those results.

[Lineker]

Lewis Hamilton kept McLaren on top in the final practice session in Abu Dhabi, the 2008 world champion more than four tenths faster than any of his rivals.

New double world champion Sebastian Vettel was second fastest ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, with McLaren's Jenson Button in fourth.

Fernando Alonso has a quiet session on his way to fifth position for Ferrari, ahead of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Force India duo Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) completed the top 10.

Sauber and Force India appeared to carry their battle for sixth place in the constructors' championship over to final practice in the first 15 minutes of the session as Sergio Perez and di Resta traded times at the top of the chart initially.

That continued only until Massa emerged from the pits to go fastest with a 1m43.132s lap in the Ferrari.

The Brazilian remained on top for about five minutes, then Button lowered the mark by a second with a lap of 1m42.162s, just around the same time as Hamilton and Schumacher appeared to squabble over an apex - forcing the Mercedes driver over the run-off.

Hamilton was quickly over that domestic however and challenging his team-mate at the top of the pile. But as Hamilton closed to within a tenth, so Button extended the gap again with a 1m40.993s.

Red Bull had a slow start to the session and it was not until halfway through that Vettel and Webber slotted in to third and fourth positions. The Australian was not finished however, and his next lap through brought him to within 0.002s of Button.

As if to prove how close things were, Vettel then worked down to a 1m40.938s which meant that the top three were covered by 0.06s at that point.

Hamilton was having none of that and produced a 1m40.631s with 20 minutes to go, as the balance of power swung back and forth between Red Bull and McLaren.

And then, as if from nowhere, Massa was back in the picture as he switched to the soft option tyres – setting an identical time to the thousandth as Hamilton. Just as Rosberg, also on the options, split Hamilton and Vettel to go third in the Mercedes.

Rosberg followed his quick run with a cool-down lap. But the one after that saw the German go quickest overall with a 1m40.135s lap – just 0.048s faster than Massa's own improvement following a similar strategy – perhaps a hint of what is to come in qualifying.

And so to the final five minutes and the now traditional period of qualifying simulation runs. And Webber was the first to show his hand with a 1m39.668s, followed by Vettel moments later, though the world champion was 0.063s slower than his team-mate.

Then Hamilton proved McLaren has indeed got some prodigious pace this weekend as he fired in an impressive 1m39.177s lap. Webber might have matched that but came across his own team-mate warming his tyres in the final sector.

Hamilton then improved further to lower the mark for a final time with a 1m38.976s, and neither Vettel - who improved to second – nor Webber could match that.

FP3


Pos  Driver              Team/Car              Time       Gap       Laps

 1.  Lewis Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      1m38.976s            17

 2.  Sebastian Vettel    Red Bull-Renault      1m39.403s  + 0.427s  18

 3.  Mark Webber         Red Bull-Renault      1m39.427s  + 0.451s  18

 4.  Jenson Button       McLaren-Mercedes      1m39.429s  + 0.453s  16

 5.  Fernando Alonso     Ferrari               1m39.661s  + 0.685s  16

 6.  Nico Rosberg        Mercedes              1m40.135s  + 1.159s  19

 7.  Felipe Massa        Ferrari               1m40.183s  + 1.207s  18

 8.  Adrian Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  1m40.429s  + 1.453s  21

 9.  Paul di Resta       Force India-Mercedes  1m40.511s  + 1.535s  19

10.  Michael Schumacher  Mercedes              1m40.938s  + 1.962s  18

11.  Bruno Senna         Renault               1m41.509s  + 2.533s  21

12.  Kamui Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari        1m41.527s  + 2.551s  21

13.  Sergio Perez        Sauber-Ferrari        1m41.566s  + 2.590s  20

14.  Vitaly Petrov       Renault               1m41.594s  + 2.618s  18

15.  Sebastien Buemi     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m41.622s  + 2.646s  18

16.  Jaime Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m41.855s  + 2.879s  18

17.  Pastor Maldonado    Williams-Cosworth     1m42.025s  + 3.049s  19

18.  Heikki Kovalainen   Lotus-Renault         1m43.409s  + 4.433s  22

19.  Rubens Barrichello  Williams-Cosworth     1m43.861s  + 4.885s  5

20.  Timo Glock          Virgin-Cosworth       1m45.262s  + 6.286s  23

21.  Tonio Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth          1m45.302s  + 6.326s  20

22.  Jerome D-Ambrosio   Virgin-Cosworth       1m45.509s  + 6.533s  22

23.  Daniel Ricciardo    HRT-Cosworth          1m45.732s  + 6.756s  20

24.  Jarno Trulli        Lotus-Renault                              1


All timing unofficial[/code]




Sebastian Vettel equalled Nigel Mansell's record of 14 pole positions in a single season as he beat the McLarens to the top spot in a huge qualifying battle in Abu Dhabi.



McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button had to settle for second and third behind the world champion's Red Bull, with Mark Webber fourth for RBR ahead of the Ferraris.



After topping both second and third practice, Hamilton went quickest in Q1 and Q2, then took provisional pole on his first Q3 lap with a 1m38.704s - which was 0.042 seconds quicker than Vettel could manage at that stage.



Button was only fourth after the first runs, but burst to the top with his second attempt.



He only stayed there for a handful of seconds before Hamilton came through 0.009s faster to reclaim pole.



Vettel was still on his last lap, though, and he produced a 1m38.481s and beat Hamilton by 0.141s.



Behind Button and Webber, the Ferraris filled row three, having never looked likely to threaten for the leading positions. Fernando Alonso was 0.6s off pole and a similar margin ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa, who caused a brief delay to qualifying when he demolishing a chicane marker post in Q2 and left debris on the track.



Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were seventh and eighth in their Mercedes, with the Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta completing the top 10. This time di Resta was the only driver who did not attempt a Q3 flying lap.



The major news outside the top 10 was the Williams team's awful season getting even worse, as its cars ended up sharing the back row of the grid. Pastor Maldonado was only 17th quickest and already had a 10-place penalty for exceeding the eight-engine limit, while further engine issues for Rubens Barrichello meant he did not set a time at all.



As practice had hinted, Force India had a comfortable margin over its usual rivals Toro Rosso and Sauber, with STR's Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari only 13th and 15th, and Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi 11th and 16th for Sauber. Renault's suspicion that it would struggle at Yas Marina proved correct too, as Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna took 12th and 14th.



Heikki Kovalainen beat his tail-end rivals by a comfortable 0.9s, with his Lotus team-mate Jarno Trulli next up.



HRT's Daniel Ricciardo produced a sensational first qualifying lap which put him close to Kovalainen, and ahead of the rest of the backmarker pack, but he would ultimately slip behind Trulli and Virgin's Timo Glock.



[code]Qualifying


Pos  Driver                Team                 Time           Gap   

 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m38.481s

 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m38.622s  + 0.141

 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m38.631s  + 0.150

 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m38.858s  + 0.377

 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m39.058s  + 0.577

 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m39.695s  + 1.214

 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m39.773s  + 1.292

 8.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m40.662s  + 2.181

 9.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m40.768s  + 2.287

10.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes

Q2 cut-off time: 1m40.554s                                   Gap **

11.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m40.874s  + 2.440

12.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m40.919s  + 2.485

13.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m41.009s  + 2.575

14.  Bruno Senna           Renault              1m41.079s  + 2.645

15.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m41.162s  + 2.728

16.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m41.240s  + 2.806

17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    1m41.760s  + 3.326

Q1 cut-off time: 1m42.605s                                   Gap *

18.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m42.979s  + 3.197

19.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m43.884s  + 4.102

20.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m44.515s  + 4.733

21.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m44.641s  + 4.859

22.  Jerome D-Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m44.699s  + 4.917

23.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m45.159s  + 5.377

24.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosoworth   no time



107% time: 1m46.766s


* Gap to quickest in Q1


** Gap to quickest in Q2

Romain Grosjean admits that he felt far more comfortable on his return to Formula 1 action in Abu Dhabi than he was when he raced at this level two years ago.

The Franco-Swiss, a contender for a race seat at Renault next year, believes that his performance during yesterday morning's free practice session proves that he is better equipped than he was previously. Grosjean had struggled when he contested seven late-2009 races for the team after Nelson Piquet was dropped.

"This time, it's different in that I've driven seven grands prix so I know what Formula 1 is," Grosjean said when by AUTOSPORT to compare the experiences. "I'm more aware of what's going on and what speed the car is able to do.

"You almost forget the sensation of driving an F1 car but it comes back quickly. It's difficult to explain what you feel - it's just amazing."

The GP2 champion completed 29 laps during the session, ending up 12th fastest, 2.422 seconds off the pace. He looked confident behind the wheel despite taking a cautious approach early in the session.

It was his first proper run in the Renault R31 having only previously sampled it in straightline testing.

"I was going step by step," said Grosjean. "At the beginning, I was being careful not to use too much DRS and seeing how everything works. It was my first time using the DRS and it has been a long time since I used KERS.

"The car gave me confidence so I could try different things and a more aggressive driving style. I felt much more comfortable as well, so I was pleased with that."

Grosjean also outpaced team-mate Vitaly Petrov by four tenths of a second, although a direct comparison of their fastest lap-time is not possible as they ran different programmes.

But Grosjean was happy to have a good time under his belt as he knows that the outing was a chance to impress Renault.

"Lap-time is always important because at the end of the day pole position is about the fastest lap-time," he said. "But that was not my aim. I wanted to take it steady, understand everything, give as much feedback to the team as I could and see what I could feel from my experience.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to drive and it's a test from the team. They want to see how I have improved and changed since last time. So there was a little bit of pressure."

Pirelli plans to be more aggressive with its tyre compound choices for next season, as it begins a proper evaluation of its 2012 rubber.

Formula 1 teams tested an experimental soft tyre in practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - with it set to become the medium compound for next year.

And with plans for a new hard compound, which will be quicker than the current medium, to be tried out by teams at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Pirelli is eyeing a shuffle of its compounds to ensure the racing stays exciting.

Its plan is to reduce the performance gap between different compounds - which should deliver more strategic options for teams.

Pirelli director of motorsport Paul Hembery said: "I think next season you will not get the whole season run on the soft. We will close down the gap between the compounds and you will see races where hard and medium is used. The data is showing a big improvement in performance.

"We will have to reset all the compounds for next season. We want to close down the gaps of performance between the compounds, from 1.2 seconds to about 0.8 seconds."

As well as the change in compound choices for next year, Hembery has also suggested that moves are being made to allow teams to use more tyres on a Friday – which should ensure increased running.

"There is a look to enable teams to use as many tyres as they want on Friday, which is sensible – especially for those teams that go out in Q1 and never use all their tyres," he said.

"It is a discussion we have had, and let's see if it gets voted through. It is just a minor change, and it seems quite sensible from everyone's point of view.

"We just want teams to have the opportunity to use the tyres they have got. There is no extra cost to anybody, and if we are not creating a sporting disadvantage then it is an ideal situation for everyone."

Formula 1 drivers have been warned about not trying to gain any kind of advantage by cutting the chicanes at the Yas Marina track.

In a note sent to teams on Saturday, F1 race director Charlie Whiting made it clear that any driver who uses the run-off areas behind Turns 6, 9 or 12 and is believed to have gained an advantage will be immediately reported to the race stewards.

Furthermore, Whiting clarified two other situations where stewards will be asked to investigate.

Whiting wrote: "If two cars are in close proximity entering Turn 8 and, by cutting behind the apex of Turn 9, the leading one rejoins the track with a greater lead over the following car he will be reported to the stewards as having gained an advantage by leaving the track.

"This will apply whether or not the advantage gained had any influence upon the operation of the DRS by the driver in the following car."

He added: "If two cars are in close proximity entering Turn 8 and, by cutting behind the apex of Turn 9, the following one rejoins the track within DRS detection distance of the leading car, that driver may not deploy his DRS in the following activation sector.

"Any driver seen to be using his DRS under these circumstances will be reported to the stewards as having gained an advantage by leaving the track."

Whiting also informed drivers that anyone who cuts across a run off area 'without a clear and justifiable reason' on a reconnaissance lap will be reported to the stewards.

Bahrain Grand Prix organisers are confident that next year's race will take place as planned on April 22, as they await the outcome of an independent report into the political troubles that forced it off the calendar this season.

A report by an independent commission into the violent crackdown of protesters earlier this year is due to be published on November 23 - and race chiefs say they are confident the Gulf State will take on board any recommendations that are put forward.

Bahrain's Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, told reporters at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the situation in the country was much improved - and that he had no doubts the 2012 Bahrain GP would be able to go ahead.

"It is looking good," he said. "As a force for moderation, sport is a great unifier. There are certainly things that happened in the country that nobody is proud of, but we have an important report coming out on November 23 and that will really give us a narrative of the truth that we can accept and move on.

"Just like any other country that has faced troubles in the past, we will move beyond it. We will learn from it, we will grow and we are committed to reform. This sport has a great following.

"After the report, there will be implementation of its recommendations and we will move on. That is the way of the world. But it is safe and we look forward to welcoming you there and we will rise to the challenge."

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has also backed the return of the Bahrain GP, and reckoned that the sport should recognise the positive influence that the Gulf State had had in bringing the sport to the Middle East.

"It is because of them we are here and growing in this part of the world," he said. "If we hadn't done this early on, we wouldn't be here. Everybody is content. No dramas at all."

When asked if he was confident about the race taking place, Ecclestone said: "Yes. We wouldn't have put it on the calendar otherwise. We didn't have to put it on the calendar; it was only because we knew we are going to be there that it is in the calendar."

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that Austin Grand Prix officials are facing an 'uphill struggle' with their preparation for next year's race - but he is hopeful that the race will take place.

Ecclestone told team principals in India a fortnight ago that he had some concerns about the race's prospects – and he later confirmed to the media that there was an issue with the promoting company.

Speaking to reporters at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ecclestone reiterated his worries about the situation in Austin.

"We are trying," he said. "It is a bit of an uphill struggle but we will try and get there.

"There are two parties. One has got a track and is building it, and the other has got the contract. And they forgot to talk to each other."

When asked if the race was becoming more doubtful, Ecclestone said: "I think not. They want it to happen, they will sort it out."

Ecclestone added that a possible return of the Turkish GP next season, should one of the planned races not happen, was unlikely.

"I doubt it, but you never know," he said. "I didn't want to lose it, so we are trying with the government again to see."

Lewis Hamilton believes he extracted the maximum pace possible from his McLaren on his way to a front-row start for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton said that while he was disappointed not to replicate the pace that put him top of the timesheets in Q2, that second nevertheless represented a satisfying outcome.

"It was a good session for me," said the 2008 world champion, who was 0.2s slower in Q3 than Q2 while Sebastian Vettel improved by the same amount to take pole.

"We've had quite a good couple of days and made quite a big improvement, from the last race at least. I felt it was as fast as I could go. It wasn't really a great lap, the one in Q2 was much better, but that's the way it is."

Hamilton's result means he has never qualified lower than second for any of the Abu Dhabi Grands Prix that have been held.

His McLaren team-mate Jenson Button will start third after lapping just 0.009s slower than Hamilton.

Jenson Button fears it might be hard to overtake in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix even with two DRS zones available this year.

The McLaren driver held provisional pole for a short time near the end of Q3 before he was pushed down to third by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and the other McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.

Last year's race saw a famous lack of overtaking, frustrating pre-weekend championship leader Fernando Alonso's title bid. There were hopes that DRS and Pirelli would bring more action to Yas Marina, but Button suspects he will have to rely on pit strategy to try and make forward progress.

"I think it is going to be tough to overtake with DRS," Button admitted.

"Hopefully we will have a different story tomorrow in the race, we will have to see, but [the DRS zone] does feel short here.

"Yesterday I was using the DRS doing Turn 7 to Turn 8 and still could not overtake anybody.

"Hopefully there will be possibilities. It is a long, long race, with a couple of pitstops that are important to get right.

"We don't know what is going to happen with the tyres, but we know more than Seb obviously."

Button was pleased with his qualifying time in the end, saying his car had a few minor handling problems during the session.

"All weekend I have been reasonably happy with balance but still feel there is more to get from the car," he said.

"I'm trying to find it, but was struggling with a nervous rear end. I tried a few things before qualifying, and at the start of qualifying it felt a bit better.

"During qualifying I found myself with massive bits of understeer, then tried to put more front end on the car but ran out of options.

"I'm quite happy with the lap and happy with the improvements we have made. In qualifying there is not so much you can change."

McLaren was quickest in all three practice sessions, but Button said he was not surprised that Vettel had still come through to take pole.

"We have seen it before, we're very quick in practice, we are working through our programme," said Button."It is not about being quickest during the day, it is just the way it happens. We run a different programme, we've seen it before and we expect RBR to be quick.

"We feel we are more competitive and can challenge them in the race more than qualifying."

Sebastian Vettel says he was not surprised to be on pole position in Abu Dhabi despite his problems during practice.

The Red Bull driver was unable to match the pace of McLaren in the practice sessions, as he felt uncomfortable with his car around the Yas Marina circuit.

Vettel, however, managed to turn things around once more for the grid-deciding session to secure a record-equalling 14th pole of the season.

He said there was no magic to his turnaround.

"I don't know, there is no box in the car that I open and get it from," he said of his pace in qualifying. "To be honest I would not say I'm surprised, but we expected to be closer than in practice, much closer.

"McLaren were very quick straightaway yesterday in particular and I wasn't happy with car. I wasn't happy with myself. Overnight we tried to find out where the problem was. I think this afternoon it was already quite a bit better, but this is a tricky place with different conditions.

"In Q2 we were quite close to reaching Lewis and we thought in Q3 we would have a chance. In the first run in Q3 I pushed a bit too hard, but in the last run I was able to have a good start in the lap.

"When I crossed the line I looked up to the monitor and I couldn't read the laptime, but the green was good so I was very pleased."

Vettel admitted, however, McLaren will be hard to beat in the race tomorrow given its long-run pace.

"It is going to be a long race, a fun race, as we have seen all weekend," he said. "McLaren are very competitive on the long runs as well, and they will be very quick in the race.

"Also we need to see from some people behind. We have to focus on ourselves, try to get a good start. It will be a long fight to the chequered flag. I am confident and ready."

Rubens Barrichello will start from 23rd on the grid - the worst grid position of his career - in Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after an engine problem sidelined the Williams driver in Q1.

It will also be the modern Williams team's most lowly start to a grand prix since it became a two-car operation in 1979, with both cars occupying the last row of the grid once Pastor Maldonado's ten-place grid penalty is applied.

The team's worst starting position was recorded in the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, when Jo Vonlanthen qualified 28th for what was then known as Frank Williams Racing Cars. Though cars entered by Sir Frank's earlier operations did post worse qualifying performances.

Barrichello has struggled for track time throughout the Abu Dhabi weekend after missing Friday's opening practice session with an oil pressure problem which called for an engine change.

He then suffered another oil leak after a routine engine change on Saturday morning – which meant that through the weekend he only completed 43 practice laps before qualifying.

"This morning we fitted a brand new engine and it was looking great because I had saved one for the end of the season," Barrichello told the BBC. "We went out and I had a bit of difficulty with it after two laps and we came back, we tried to review all the situation just before qualifying they told me there was no way so it's even more frustrating.

"You are so eager to go and you have the mentality to put a very nice lap together and the engine wasn't working.

"It's been a hard weekend in a way because I can't remember myself doing so few laps. I've done P2 and that was it. So I hope that the set-up is okay and I hope that I enjoy myself. I try to enjoy myself as much as I can but today is a disappointing day."

Barrichello admitted that 2011 has proved the most challenging of his 19-year F1 career, but said that he still believed Williams can turn its performance around next year.

"Most definitely (it's my toughest season)," he said. "We have been having a tough season.

"Last year it started tough but the team worked well together and we solved all the problems, this year with all the news of coming and going of people it's been tough to keep the team organised so it is suffering. If they keep it going with a good mentality they will sort it out."

Barrichello's position in the team remains in doubt for next season with Williams courting Kimi Raikkonen to make a return to the sport, but Rubens said that he has far from given up on returning for a 20th season.

"I would love to be sitting in a competitive car next year just like in the past with Honda and Brawn – it's going to be 40 years of age with 20 years of experience so I think it is almost a must for me to be there for next year," he said.

"I'm doing everything I can, I am even looking for sponsors if that's what we need. I'm looking for everything just to show that my passion is behind the steering wheel and I want to be there next year."

Sergio Perez admitted he was delighted with his performance in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after just missing out on a top-ten finish.

The Sauber driver qualified in a strong 11th position, and said he was hoping to be able to do even better but he could not get his tyres to work properly at the end of Q2 as the Swiss squad continued with its issues to warm up the Pirelli rubber.

Perez, however, is still hopeful of a good race thanks to what he labelled as an aggressive strategy.

"I'm very happy with 11th in qualifying," said Perez. "Everybody in the team did a good job. I did my fastest laptime in Q2 with a set of soft tyres I had used before in Q1. Of course I was hoping to improve in Q2 when I got the fresh tyres, but it was impossible for me to get them to work.

"We are in a challenging situation regarding the battle for positions in the Constructors' Championship, but I hope for a good race with an aggressive strategy tomorrow. Everything can happen. It will be my first twilight race, but I have seen yesterday and today that the tinted tear off visors work quite well."

Team-mate Kamui Kobayashi qualified down in 16th after he also struggled to get his new tyres up to the right temperature for his final run in Q2.

"I did what was eventually my fastest lap time in Q2 on the set of soft tyres I had used before in Q1," he said. "This lap wasn't perfect, but I put my hopes on the set of new tyres.

"Then we struggled a lot to get the fresh ones up to temperature and that's why I couldn't improve. The difference in grip between the used set and the new one was really big. Nevertheless I have a good feeling for the race here."

Mark Webber admitted that he was disappointed with his fourth position on the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after failing to capitalise on his encouraging pace through practice.

Webber has been closer to his dominant Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel this weekend than of late and had hoped to challenge the German in qualifying, but said that a 'scrappy lap' prevented him from making more of his potential.

"We had to communicate a little bit more during the lap than we would have liked with little things we were trying to manage," he said. "So it was a bit of a pain to prep the lap like that. In the end I'm disappointed with the last lap really. There was certainly more there.

"Sometimes you see Seb's lap and you go wow I can't do that but while he did a good lap for sure, I didn't feel I got the most out of it today."

Webber added that he didn't expect a thrilling contest from the race and that even in spite of DRS, he though overtaking would be difficult.

"Hopefully McLaren can stir things up on the first lap, slipstreaming or whatever, which they have done a little bit of in the past," he said. "It will be interesting first sector and then we will get into the race from there.

"I don't know how exciting the race is going to be in terms of overtaking to be honest. This track is traditionally hard to pass on, we'll see how the DRS goes, but we've seen around here it's been tricky before. It will be all down to DRS and the pitstops."

Nico Rosberg believes he failed to extract the maximum performance from his Mercedes package in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The German driver will start the race from seventh position, but he said he felt he could have done better had he managed to get his tyres to the right temperature for his last run.

Rosberg said the lower track temperatures and traffic did not help his cause either.

"We didn't quite get the maximum from our qualifying session today which was a shame," said Rosberg. "The track temperatures dropped during the session and it became more difficult to get the tyres working.

"On my second run in Q3, I had too much traffic in front of me to warm the tyres up sufficiently and that hurt me on the quick lap, otherwise I think we could have been further ahead. However I'm on the good side of the grid and it should be a fun race tomorrow."

Team-mate Michael Schumacher qualified in eighth position - albeit nearly a second behind Rosberg - and the seven-time champion admitted there was not much more he could have done.

"It was quite a tight qualifying today," Schumacher said. "I aborted my last lap in Q1 to save tyres, and having some fresh tyres left is the good news from Q3 as well. Overall it was a normal qualifying where we would probably not have much more in the pocket.

"I also expect a straightforward race and we will try to make the most out of opportunities that arise. The tyres should not be a big issue here, and we tested their behaviour in P2 yesterday which took place at the same time as the race. The fact that the track temperatures will drop during the race might be good for us as we struggle a bit with the tyre temperatures here."

Paul di Resta says his decision not to run in Q3 will give him an "optimum strategy" to score points in tomorrow's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Scot decided against going out in the final qualifying segment in order to save tyres for the race.

He will start from 10th position.

"Getting two cars in the top ten was the objective today and that's what we achieved," said di Resta. "We made some good progress this morning perfecting the set-up and I was happy with the car in qualifying. Q1 and Q2 went well and we got the job done by getting in the top ten.

"Our approach to Q3 was to give us the optimum strategy for tomorrow. For the race we are definitely hoping for points because our focus is to maintain our sixth place in the championship.

"I'm really looking forward to this race because the place looks spectacular at night. It's also nice to drive in twilight conditions when it's a bit cooler."

Team-mate Adrian Sutil qualified right in front, the German also waiting in the garage to see if rival Mercedes would run in Q3.

In the end Sutil completed one run but said it was not ideal.

"I'm happy with ninth place today and it was a good session for me," Sutil said. "In Q3 we waited a bit longer than planned because we wanted to wait and see what Mercedes did.

"In the end they decided to go out so I also went out and I did a timed lap. The lap was a little bit compromised because I didn't get the tyres fully up to temperature, so maybe I could have been a bit higher up. Still, I don't think we can complain too much because P9 is a fair reflection of our pace at the moment."

Fernando Alonso believes that starting from the clean side of the grid for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be a big benefit after qualifying fifth for the race.

The Ferrari driver completed a pair of one-lap runs during Q3 to put himself fifth for the eighth occasion this year.

But while he acknowledged that he was not surprised to be behind the Red Bulls and McLarens in qualifying, he is expecting to gain ground at the start and use the fact that the Ferrari is always stronger in race trim to his advantage.

"We're more or less where we expected to be," said the 30-year-old Spaniard. "All year long, with a few exceptions, Red Bull and McLaren are stronger than us on Saturday, while on Sunday the situation is usually different, with the gaps between us being much closer.

"We know we can fight for the podium, but to succeed, we will have to do everything perfectly, beginning with the start and our strategy.

"I will start from the clean side of the track and hope I can make up some places. The first lap is a good window of opportunity."

Alonso continued to use Ferrari's new-spec front wing during the session, while his team-mate Felipe Massa - who will start alongside him on the front row - reverted back to the old-spec component, having suffered from excessive flapping in practice and at the last race in India.

Technical director Pat Fry said that the team will use the upcoming Young Driver test – at which Jules Bianchi will drive – to attempt to cure the problem.

"With Felipe we decided to use the old type [of wing], because despite the efforts we have made these past weeks, we have still not resolved some problems relating to the behaviour of this new part, which furthermore, seem to be contagious," said Fry.

"We will continue to work on it, including during the three days of testing at this track next week."

Lewis Hamilton believes that McLaren has the pace to beat Sebastian Vettel to victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - after declaring himself in a better frame of mind than he has been at recent events.

Boosted by a trouble-free weekend and solid pace from McLaren, Hamilton is upbeat about the prospects of taking the fight to pole position man Vettel and deliver a win that would do much to erase memories of recent on-track troubles.

"I think we have got the pace," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT about whether he believed McLaren could overhaul Vettel. "I think yesterday on our long run it looked quite positive.

"For me, I've not done that many good long runs in practice in P2 for a couple of races now, so to get a good decent stint in which is consistent is a good step for me, so hopefully that will help us. If we can get a better start than the Red Bulls that will be even better, but following here is still tough."

Hamilton welcomed the fact he was well away on the grid from Felipe Massa, with whom he has clashed several times this season, and that he had so far not visited the stewards this weekend.

"I'm ahead of Felipe, so that helps!" he smiled. "With racing a lot of it is mental. Even if you think you're ready, subconsciously you might not be. This weekend I feel fresh, clean in my mind. I've stayed out of trouble which makes a huge difference and adds to your confidence, and then you just roll with it.

"I'm second on the grid. I've not taken a penalty, which is usually quite a big hit to your confidence, and we're in a good position tomorrow to just move forward. I feel strong, I feel that I arrive tomorrow in as good a position, in terms of preparation, that I can ever do. So there's no reason why I can't compete for at least the position I'm in at the moment, if not further."

Team-mate Jenson Button was equally optimistic about what McLaren can achieve in the penultimate race of the season.

"Our pace looked pretty good yesterday," he said. "Whether it is good enough tomorrow we have to wait and see. Seb didn't do any running on the softer of two tyres, which is positive for us. But still they will have a competitive car and he is starting in best place for a good race tomorrow.

"We are more competitive in the race than in India; I have a better feeling in the car, so unless everybody does we should be looking a bit more competitive."

The FIA will extend the first DRS zone at the Yas Marina circuit for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after fears that the original planned length was too short.

The original zone was supposed to start 470 metres after Turn 7, but the FIA has chosen to extend this by 75 metres.

Despite the extension, several F1 drivers are sceptical that DRS will be very effective - especially because overtaking has always been so difficult at the track in the past.

When asked if the longer zone will make things better, Jenson Button said: "From my experience yesterday, no. I was trying DRS from the exit of Turn 7 all the way down to Turn 8, and I was struggling to overtake cars.

"So lengthening it by 75 metres or whatever is not going to make a big difference because it is only half the straight we will be using - it is going to be tricky.

"Two DRS zones is good, but it is still very difficult to overtake. It has always been tough here for the last two years. We haven't seen too many overtakes on the straight. This should help a little bit, but whether it is enough we have to wait and see."

Fernando Alonso said: "For DRS, we need to wait until tomorrow to have a clear answer. The impressions yesterday for all of us was that it was not enough distance, so the FIA increase it for tomorrow. Hopefully that will work, but it is very difficult to know now – we need to wait and evaluate after the race."

Lewis Hamilton added: "Maybe they should extend it even more. I didn't have the same problems as Jenson. I was with a Toro Rosso, which is quite quick on the straight, and I was DRSing and he wasn't.

"By the time I caught him it was too late and last year I think when I was challenging the car in front, I would catch them right at the end of the straight but it was too late. If DRS starts not early enough we could be in the same position tomorrow, where we haven't seen enough overtaking."

Post-qualifying press conference:

TV UNILATERALS

Q. Sebastian, you equalled Nigel Mansell's record of 14 poles in a season today, congratulations, but you had to dig pretty deep to get this one?

Sebastian VETTEL: Oh yes, especially after yesterday where to be honest I wasn't very happy with the car and we weren't happy in general as we thought there is more in the car, the performance is there, but we couldn't really get to it. Today, this afternoon, it was already quite a bit better but this place is tricky in many ways. You have the practice on the one hand in day conditions, the sun is up, the track is a little bit hotter, and then in the evening you qualify and you race and the circuit is quite a bit different. The car behaves differently. The tyres come in differently. It is not easy to get that right all the time. Then in qualifying I had a much better feeling especially moving onto the soft tyres. Already in Q2 we looked much better than before. Then the other difficulty around here is to get everything into one lap. It is a long lap. There are a lot of corners, especially the last sector. Once you start to turn into Turn 11 after the second straight it is basically left-right-left-right. Plenty of opportunity to gain time, but also if you take a lot of risk it is very easy to do a little mistake. It is very easy to lose straight away a lot of time. We are not speaking one, two, three hundredths. It is immediately a tenth, tenth-and-a-half. I was not so happy with my first run in Q3, but the second run much happier especially the first two sectors and with that I was buying myself a little bit of a cushion in the last sector which was a bit trickier towards the end of the evening. But all in all just enough to jump ahead of Lewis who has looked very strong all weekend. It is good that in that session, where it matters on Saturday, we were able to be just that little bit quicker than him.

Q. Lewis, as Sebastian said you have really been in control all weekend. Did you think you had done enough there?

Lewis HAMILTON: No, no. It was a good session for me. I think it has been quite a good couple of days to be honest, quite a big improvement for me, I feel, from the last race at least. Yeah, we were quick, the car has been feeling good, but just at the end there that was as fast as I was really able to get out of my lap. It wasn't particularly a great lap, the one in Q2 was much better but that's the way it is and well done to Sebastian, he did a great lap. As always, he is very, very quick but the race is tomorrow, that's the most important day.

Q. Jenson, you put it all together there on your final run. Is this a result a surprise for you and the team today?

Jenson BUTTON: I don't think a surprise, as we know the pace in the car and it was finding the right balance. I have not felt 100 per cent comfortable this weekend in terms of the balance of the car but we have improved it, we've tried a few different things, and was finally getting there through qualifying. But Q3 was very strange as there was less grip as the circuit was a lot cooler and with the break from Q2 to Q3 the car was acting differently but in some ways it was a good thing for me as I couldn't get enough front end into the car. All weekend I have been struggling with a nervous rear. Finally, when we get into qualifying, I have got massive amounts of understeer so more in the direction I like but in the tight section towards the end of the lap you need a reasonably pointy car but I didn't have that. Not a bad lap, but still, as Lewis said, the car is working well around here. It is not perfect, Seb did a good job and put it on pole, so we will have challenge from behind tomorrow.

Q. Sebastian, clearly you are in a very fierce battle here with the two McLarens. What are you expecting from tomorrow?

SV: Well I think it is going to be a long race, a fun race. As we have seen all weekend McLaren, both Lewis and Jenson, looked very competitive. Very quick on the long runs as well. That's what we expect. They will be very quick in the race. I think we need to see from some people behind, but we have to focus on ourselves first of all, try to get a good start, but then it will be a long fight. A long fight to the chequered flag. Looking forward to the race. I think the car is good, especially with the steps we were able to make after yesterday's practice. So confident and ready I would say.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Sebastian, you seem to come up with the goods every single time. Just where does it come from?

SV: I don't know. There is no box in the car that I open and get it from. To be honest I wouldn't say a surprise. We expected that if we get everything right to be closer than in practice, much closer. McLaren looked very competitive straight away yesterday in particular when I wasn't happy with the car and I wasn't happy with myself. I went off, did a mistake, and it cost us probably a proper long run. But the balance of the car wasn't as good as it could be. I felt there was more in the car and we just had to get to it, so overnight we tried to find out where the problem is. I think this afternoon it was already quite a bit better but then, I think, this is a tricky place as I mentioned with the different conditions. Conditions changing with the sun being up in FP3 this afternoon, the sun going down during qualifying. The circuit changes and the car changes and the behaviour changes. Ideally you would like to change the car, but once qualifying starts you have made your choice and then only thing you can change is yourself. You have to play around and fortunately I felt much better this afternoon and it was only getting better until later on in qualifying. In particular then, in Q2, we were quite close in reach of Lewis and I thought in Q3 if we got everything together, we would have a chance. Surprisingly the circuit did change after the little bit of downtime between Q2 and Q3 and it wasn't getting quicker. It didn't seem at least, particularly the last sector. It is such a long lap, plenty of opportunity but also once you are really pushing to the limit quite possible, quite easy, to maybe ask for a little bit too much and go off slightly. My first run in Q3 I pushed a bit too hard and the second run I was much happier and able to have a very good start into the lap, first two sectors, and with the difficult sector three I was able to have a little bit of a cushion. When I crossed the line I was looking up towards the monitor. I can't read the lap time but I can see if it is yellow or green and green is good and yellow is maybe not so good so that's a good sign but I didn't know if there were people coming behind me. Then I got the call on the radio and I was very pleased.

Q. You have won this race twice before. You have clinched the World Championship here. You have been on pole twice here now as well, it must be one of your favourites mustn't it?

SV: Today yes, yesterday no. As I said it is a tricky place. It is an amazing place. I have a lot of good memories, in particular last year, but the standard here if you look at the facilities, the place itself, it's incredible. It's a bit like wonderland if we come here with a fantastic circuit, tricky as I said, especially the last sector, so many corners, it is so long and it easy to do a mistake. But once you get into the rhythm around here it is really good fun and you are one unit with the car. The car is doing what you want and you are doing what the car wants, then it is very enjoyable.

Q. Lewis, second on the grid. Must be nice to be on the front row as you've been on the front row both time before. Is there one side better than the other to start from?

LH: Yeah, I was just thinking about that. I am not really quite sure. I think a lot of us once we hit the apex, the exit kerb, we come back across. I am sure the pole side is a little bit cleaner than the left side, but I don't think it will be too big a difference. I am happy with today. To be on the front row and not have any penalties is a blessing for me so I can look forward to tomorrow.

Q. You are pretty close. It is not as though Sebastian has got a massive margin over you in spite of the fact that you felt that was probably all you could get out of the car.

LH: Yeah, I think, as I said, it wasn't a particularly spectacular lap. Neither of them in Q3 were. In the first two qualifying sessions the car was looking really good and then we got to Q2 then I started to feel the car was understeering a little bit and that's really the limitation of the car. Then in the final runs I was pushing as hard as I could, but just wasn't able to improve on my last lap. I think there were bits of time there. As Sebastian said, sometimes you were up, sometimes you were down and there were a couple of small bits of time all over the place but unfortunately I wasn't able to extract that. Nevertheless, I am still happy with the job I did.

Q. Jenson, you were within nine thousandths of a second of...

JB: I've heard that one before! Sorry, I was getting all excited. I said I've heard that one before. Carry on.

Q. Given the hard luck stories and the balance of the car, that must be pleasing to be as close as you are.

JB: Yeah. All weekend I've been reasonably happy with the balance but I still feel that there's more to get from the car but it's just trying to find it, trying to help the rear of the car. I've been struggling with, as I always say, a nervous rear end, and I don't like that. Tried a few things before qualifying and at the start of qualifying, felt a little bit better but during qualifying, I suddenly found myself with massive amounts of understeer, so a completely different car balance than I felt all weekend, so then we had to work on trying to put front end into the car and ran out of all the options, really, in the end. It was pretty good. I'm quite happy with the lap and happy with the improvements we've made. In qualifying there's not so much you can change so we played with everything we could. It was a pretty good lap.

Q. After yesterday, you said that you didn't think DRS was going to help overtaking that much, or it was still going to be very difficult. Is that still your opinion?

JB: Yup. I think it's going to be tough to overtake with DRS. Hopefully, we will have a different story tomorrow in the race. I don't want to finish third. So we will have to see but it does feel short still. Yesterday, I was DRS-ing out of turn seven all the way down to turn eight and I still couldn't overtake anyone. We will see how it goes, but yeah, hopefully there will be possibilities. It's a long, long race. There are a couple of pit stops, which will be important to get right. We really don't know what's going to happen with the tyres but we know more than Seb, obviously.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Dan Knutson - National Speed Sport News) Jenson, with the balance problems you have, are they better or worse on the prime or the option or are they the same on both tyres?

JB: For a long run, it's definitely better on the option tyre, I think. It felt pretty good in terms of grip level for a high-fuel long run, so hopefully we will see that tomorrow.

Q. (Joris Fioriti – Agence France Presse) Jenson and Lewis, congratulations on your outfit, which is very nice. Did you have any thoughts at the beginning of the weekend that you were actually going to be faster than Red Bull, knowing that you were fastest in FP1, FP2 and FP3?

JB: I think we've seen it before. We've been very quick in practice, but basically we're just doing our own thing. We're working through our programme and it's not about being the quickest during the day, it's just the way it seems to happen. We obviously run a different programme to Red Bull. We've seen this before and we expected the Red Bulls to be quick, so yeah, it's always a challenge to beat them and to beat Seb with the consistency they've had this year in qualifying. The race, also, is very difficult, but I feel that we are more competitive and we can challenge more in the race than we can do in qualifying.

Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) Question to the two McLaren drivers: what is your plan to prevent Sebastian winning tomorrow? Is there something special you can do?

LH: I think it's about getting a good start, from my side at least. I can't remember if it was last year when we… was it last year when I started second and you [Vettel] started on pole again last year, didn't you? Yeah. And I remember into turn one, I braked early and let him go. I don't plan to do that tomorrow.

JB: Any plans? Yeah, a good start's important but it's more difficult from third than it is from second, so I don't know, we will see. As I said, we've got a pretty good race car, I think. We will see tomorrow if that is true or not but it feels that it's pretty good. It's not all about the start, I don't think.

Q. (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) For those of us who haven't had time behind the wheel in an F1 car, could you talk us through the way the track changes as the night falls and everything gets cooler and the way that affects the handling of the car?

SV: It's a difficult question. We all, surely, feel something… as I said earlier, we would like to change the car in the session, it's not possible, we haven't got the time and we're not allowed to. And then you can be surprised either way so as Jenson described, I think he said he had quite an understeery balance and then finally he found the grip so yeah, the circuit did pick up some grip for the fronts but then I think it's not the same for all the cars. It wasn't really in my case, there wasn't a clear trend, it was just coming together or going away from you. In particular, you can feel when there's a lot of cars running it gets cooler, it seems to get quicker. We saw that from Q1 to Q2, then a little bit of a break, not too many cars running, only ten – I don't know if the last cars did a timed lap – but it does make a difference and the little break, not many cars, again the circuit seems to get a little bit slower and the cars are moving a bit more. It's difficult to highlight a trend, to say OK, the front picks up, the rear picks up. That's the difficulty, it's a bit of everything.

Q. (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Sebastian, you couldn't do a long run in Suzuka in Friday practice due to a crash; yesterday you said you missed out a little bit. In Suzuka you were surprised about the behaviour of the tyre in the race; is something similar possible tomorrow?

SV: No, I think I did a long run in Suzuka. I crashed in the first practice didn't I? I crashed on Friday for sure. It seems to be a habit. No, I don't think so, to be honest. Yesterday, as I said, I wasn't happy with the car, I'm much happier today. You see that across the fuel loads, not only on low fuel but also on high fuel, so for the race I think we are in good shape, we have enough experience from previous races, I think. The problem in Suzuka was different. We shouldn't run into the same problem here, I think we were able to learn from that straightway for Korea so we will see. Also, I think the tyres lasted pretty well yesterday. Obviously I didn't have a go on the soft tyre with higher fuel but all the others did and no one seemed to have a real problem. It's interesting to see how many stops we will have tomorrow. I expect something between one and three; everything is possible but the tyres seem to last fairly well.

Q. (Joris Fioriti – Agence France Presse) Sebastien Loeb just won his eighth title in rallying yesterday; what are your thoughts about that and do you think that someone in Formula One could reach that score?

SV: Look at Michael. I think he's an exception and then you look at rallying. Sebastien is another exception, for sure.

LH: He's the best by far.

SV: Yeah. The consistency? You don't need to talk about it. The most important thing is that he's a very nice guy. He's very down to earth and a great, great person. You could probably talk forever about his skills. What the guys do is pretty amazing. Generally, I'm a big fan of rallying. I think we would be overwhelmed by the adrenaline and those guys… for them it obviously becomes normal after a while, but what they do is pretty special. To always then make sure that you are that little bit quicker than the rest, or sometimes much quicker than the rest and for many years be that consistent, very little and very few mistakes says it all.

Q. (Gary Meenaghan – The National) Seb, we heard you being addressed on the team radio as Mr Mansell; is that something that's been discussed within the team this week?

SV: Not really. Discussed by you, discussed by the press but not within the team. I was very happy to get pole because it was difficult. We weren't sure about it or… I was positively surprised when we crossed the line, I think, and the same on the pit wall. Because everyone – not us – talks about it, you are aware of it. He (Mansell) obviously took two races less to achieve the same but still, it's something very special. It's a great feeling, for sure.

[Lineker]

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton ended a victory drought stretching back to July by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - after world champion Sebastian Vettel retired on the very first lap due to damage from a puncture.

Fernando Alonso was a close second for Ferrari, with Jenson Button completing the podium despite KERS issues on his McLaren.

Vettel had surged into a clear lead from pole at the first corner, but just one bend later his Red Bull was slewing into a wild spin as its right rear tyre deflated. The champion tried to nurse his car back to the pits, but the flailing rubber had already done too much damage, so Vettel posted his first retirement since last year's Korean GP.

That put Hamilton into the lead, with Alonso in second having passed Mark Webber (Red Bull) at the start and then gone around the outside of Button at the end of the back straight to secure second.

There was little to choose between the McLaren and Ferrari for most of the rest of the race - with the gap sometimes barely more than a second. Ferrari tried to gain an advantage by running longer before Alonso's second stop, but to no avail, and in the final stint Hamilton's lead grew to more comfortable levels as he headed towards his third win of an often-troubled 2011 season.

After losing time with a stubborn wheel at his first stop, Webber tried to regain ground with a three-stop strategy that saw him only change to the harder Pirellis on the very last lap. That did not allow him to beat Button - with whom he had battled fiercely for much of the race - but he did take fourth, helped by Felipe Massa's challenge fading when the Ferrari had a quick spin with six laps to go. The Brazilian quickly rejoined to take fifth.

Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher had a spectacular early battle, won by the younger German, who went on to take sixth, close behind Massa. Schumacher narrowly beat Force India's Adrian Sutil to seventh. Sutil's team-mate Paul di Resta and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi completed the points scorers, the former pulling off a one-stop strategy.

Just outside the top 10, Rubens Barrichello ended Williams's awful weekend on a slightly brighter note by charging from the back of the grid to 12th, right on 11th-placed Sauber driver Sergio Perez's tail.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS


The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Yas Marina, United Arab Emirates;

55 laps; 305.355km;

Weather: Clear.


Classified:


Pos  Driver        Team                       Time

 1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           1h37:11.886

 2.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +     8.457

 3.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +    25.881

 4.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    35.784

 5.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    50.578

 6.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    52.317

 7.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +  1:15.900

 8.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +  1:17.100

 9.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +  1:40.000

10.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap

11.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap

12.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap

13.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap

14.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap

15.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap

16.  Senna         Renault                    +     1 lap

17.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault              +     1 lap

18.  Trulli        Lotus-Renault              +    2 laps

19.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps

20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    2 laps


Fastest lap: Webber, 1:42.612


Not classified/retirements:


Driver        Team                         On lap

Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth                 49

Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari           19

D-Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth              18

Vettel        Red Bull-Renault             1



World Championship standings, round 18:                


Drivers:                    Constructors:             

 1.  Vettel       374        1.  Red Bull-Renault          607

 2.  Button       255        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          482

 3.  Alonso       245        3.  Ferrari                   353

 4.  Webber       233        4.  Mercedes                  159

 5.  Hamilton     227        5.  Renault                    72

 6.  Massa        108        6.  Force India-Mercedes       57

 7.  Rosberg       83        7.  Sauber-Ferrari             42

 8.  Schumacher    76        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         41

 9.  Petrov        36        9.  Williams-Cosworth           5

10.  Sutil         34       

11.  Heidfeld      34       

12.  Kobayashi     28       

13.  Alguersuari   26       

14.  Di Resta      23       

15.  Buemi         15       

16.  Perez         14       

17.  Barrichello    4       

18.  Senna          2       

19.  Maldonado      1       


All timing unofficial[/code]


Pastor Maldonado and Jaime Alguersuari have both been given time penalties for ignoring blue flags during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.


The pair were asked to see stewards after the Yas Marina race to explain why they had not let through Felipe Massa and Mark Webber fast enough.


The stewards decided to hand Alguersuari a drive-through penalty, but this was converted to a 20 seconds time penalty because it had been handed to him after the race.


Maldonado, who had earlier been given a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags, was given a stop-go penalty - which was converted to having 30 seconds added to his race time.


The penalties do not change either drivers' positions, with Maldonado finishing 14th and Alguersuari one place behind.


Austin Grand Prix officials says they are baffled by suggestions from Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone that next year's race is in doubt - as they insist that preparations at the new track are well on course.


Ecclestone informed team principals at the Indian Grand Prix that he had some concerns the Austin event may not happen, and he subsequently confirmed to reporters that there were issues within the promoting company.


Speaking in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Ecclestone reiterated that Austin chiefs were facing an 'uphill struggle' and that he could not guarantee the race would take place.


Steve Sexton, president of the Circuit of the Americas, responded on Saturday night to Ecclestone's comments.


"Our funding is secured, and construction is on schedule, so we don't understand Mr Ecclestone's comments," Sexton said in a statement published by the Austin Statesman newspaper. "He has expressed great interest in the Austin race and in expanding the F1 brand into the United States."


However, Tavo Hellmund, whose Full Throttle Productions company won the right to stage the United States Grand Prix, warned that the track must ensure it gets things sorted before Ecclestone loses total faith in the project.


"Mr Ecclestone has been incredibly patient with the challenges here in Austin," he said. "Full Throttle Productions has worked tirelessly to bring the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix to Austin.


"It is now the responsibility of the Circuit of the Americas to make this project happen before Mr Ecclestone's patience runs out."


Renault has vowed to do what it can to try and keep a seat open for Robert Kubica throughout next year, amid the increasing likelihood that the Polish driver will not be fit for the start of the season.


Kubica is still recovering from the serious injuries he suffered in a rally crash during February, and there is still no definite news on when he will be ready to return to racing.


Although that means Renault may be forced to look elsewhere for a team-mate for Vitaly Petrov next year, team principal Eric Boullier has not ruled out slotting in Kubica later in the campaign if he cannot come back any earlier.


When asked by AUTOSPORT about the latest Kubica situation, Boullier said: "The latest I have is that he cannot commit to any deadline, so we have to discuss a common communication plan. We obviously want him to be back.


"If it has to be during the course of next year, why not? There are some conditions that we need to discuss, and I need to discuss with his manager that once he knows he cannot be back, or if he cannot be back, then any scenarios we now need to properly communicate."


Boullier had originally laid down an October deadline for Kubica to give firm news on his future plans, and that was subsequently extended.


Although there is still no certainty over Kubica's position, Boullier insists he is not worrying yet about the situation - especially as he has plenty of options for next year.


"I am patient because I am morally committed for him, he was very important for us," he said. "We play the game, we played every game for him and I am morally committed. If I can have a scenario where he can be back, even during the course of the year, I will try to make it, but obviously I cannot do more."


With Kubica working hard on his recovery, Boullier said that there had been little contact with the driver - but he thought that was simply because things had not been progressing as well as Kubica had probably hoped.


"If he doesn't want to speak to anybody, what can I say? There is no problem in the communication plan of the last month. I think the problem is that October was the key month for him to make sure that he could be back in February.


"Unfortunately I think he is not ready now, this is why he is missing the month and he is working very hard to catch back. But the October month was the key one to make sure that we could commit for next year and the first race."


There has been speculation that Kubica is already looking at options with other teams for the future, with Ferrari having always been interested in him, especially as his contract with Renault runs out at the end of this season.


Boullier said he could not stop the Pole racing elsewhere, but said from his side he would hold on to make a seat available.


"Even if it is business, we have been morally committed to him, more than morally committed, so if he does this [drives elsewhere] he does what he wants. The contract is expiring at the end of the year, so he does what he wants.


"We have been fair enough, we have been morally committed and if he wants to drive somewhere else, fine. He does what he wants. I don't believe there is another place better than ours today, free."


Romain Grosjean's strong form in Friday practice in Abu Dhabi has helped ease Boullier's concerns for next year, though, as the Frenchman could be a good candidate to join the outfit.


Speaking about Grosjean's performance, Boullier said: "I think he did well. No mistakes. He built up some speed, delivering some good lap times and I am surprised about the feedback which is quite good, and then we will see. Obviously it was his first session and I think he had the pace, so let's see in Interlagos."


When asked if Grosjean was ready for a step up to F1 with Renault, Boullier said: "Maybe... he is one of the plans for sure, one of the scenarios, definitely."


Fernando Alonso believes he can still fight for a podium finish in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even though Red Bull Racing and McLaren have led the way so far this weekend.


The Spaniard lines up fifth on the grid at the Yas Marina circuit, but is well aware that Ferrari's pace in the races is often much better than it is in qualifying.


And he is optimistic that if his team gets things spot on in the race then it could get itself among the leading pack.


"The chances of a podium are always there," he said. "We start normally fourth, fifth or sixth over the whole championship, and we have got nine podiums from 18 races - so I guess tomorrow is 50/50.


"We can get on the podium if we do a perfect start, with a perfect strategy and we have good pace in the race. If one thing goes wrong then we are out of the podium, because we not that competitive to be able to do any mistakes."


Alonso has not enjoyed much good fortune in Abu Dhabi in the past - having lost the title there last year, and finishing only 13th in the inaugural event in 2009.


It is the only regular event on the current calendar where he has not been able to finish in the top two during his career.


Formula 1's leading outfits have failed in a push to try and expand staff numbers for next season, after a proposal to change the terms of the Resource Restriction Agreement was blocked by smaller outfits.


In a bid to cap costs in the sport, teams have currently been operating under a limit of 47 operational staff members at event - which is 45 for the car and a further two to work on KERS.


Discussions took place about the possibility of this increasing to 55 for next season, to help ease some of the burden being placed on the current team members.


However, amid concerns from F1's smaller teams that this would simply serve to drive up costs and hand a further advantage to the bigger outfits, the amendment has been rejected.


McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who is chairman of FOTA, confirmed to AUTOSPORT that the change had not gone through: "The big teams tried to, but it's been blocked. It was blocked within FOTA.


"There are 45 operational staff and that increased to 47 for KERS. And then there were some other exceptions and people said 'well why don't we just make it cleaner, take out the exceptions and make it 55?' I was comfortable with it, but I think psychologically for the small teams they felt 'no'.


"I think we should respect that. When we had 60, 70, or 80 people here, when we first proposed 45 most were saying 'we can't possibly do it', but in truth we're fine."


F1 teams are still debating the future of the RRA, with a meeting likely to take place at the Brazilian Grand Prix to discuss a fresh proposal put forward by Red Bull Racing that could end disagreements about the matter.


Teams had hoped to get together in Abu Dhabi this weekend, but that meeting was postponed after problems in finding a suitable time when team principals could get together.


Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone thinks it unlikely that third cars will become a part of the sport, despite a fresh push by Ferrari for them to be allowed.


The idea of having third cars resurfaced recently on the back of discussions that took place within the Formula 1 Commission about intellectual property and technology transfer between teams.


As part of the debate following that meeting, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo suggested that F1 would be better off seeing smaller outfits running cars from the frontrunning teams.


Speaking at the Ferrari World Finals in Mugello last weekend, di Montezemolo said: "There's the issue of the third car, which mark my words, we support not so much for our own interests but more for those of the sport in general.


"We believe the interest of the fans, media and sponsors could increase if there is a bigger number of competitive cars on track rather than cars that are two or three seconds off the pace, being lapped after just a few laps.


"As an example, remember in 1961 Giancarlo Baghetti won the French Grand Prix at Reims with a privately entered Ferrari. There you are, it would be nice one day in the future to see one of our cars running in American colours, or Chinese, or maybe those of Abu Dhabi."


The idea of third cars has not got much support from elsewhere in the paddock, however - and even Ecclestone believes the move would not be a good thing unless grid numbers dropped.


When asked by AUTOSPORT for his feelings on the matter, Ecclestone said: "If by chance we lost a couple of teams then I think it will probably be good.


"But the other teams don't like it. You can imagine if we have got three Ferraris, three Red Bulls, and three McLarens, it is not so good for other people."


Rival team bosses think it better that effort is spent ensuring that every team on the grid can be competitive, rather than heading down the route of customer cars.


McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "I think the DNA, the structure of Formula 1, requires the variety of teams and we have got some new teams and we have got some smaller teams and we recognise that it is very, very challenging to get the budget to compete in Formula 1.


"If, today, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes all fielded third cars then I think, in my view, it would be damaging for the sport. There are pros and cons and I think it is right to have the debate and people have different views but at the moment I think what we should be concentrating on is ensuring that we have got a viable and sustainable model for all of the teams in F1."


Lewis Hamilton is hopeful his win in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the start of his return to the top following a difficult season.


The Briton had not won a race since July and had dropped to fifth place in the standings after a troubled couple of months.


On Sunday, however, the McLaren driver dominated the race from start to finish once Sebastian Vettel retired on the opening lap.


It was Hamilton's third win of the season, and he is now aiming to keep his momentum going into the season finale in Brazil.


"I don't know," he said when asked if he was back on the right track. "It is early days yet but this is definitely a start.


"We have another great race ahead of us in Brazil, so we will focus on that and try to keep the momentum. You know how it goes, anything can happen. I have to keep my focus on it."


Hamilton admitted he felt in control of the race despite Fernando Alonso pushing him at the start of each stint.


"I think it's very rare for us and me to get the opportunity to maintain a gap and control a race," he said. "But today I had the pace and was able to put in the laps when Fernande went quicker. And then I was able to pull out when he came in.


"There was a stage where he would close the gap. It seemed as if he would start the stint slower than me but get quicker at the end, but I am very, very happy with how it went."


And the McLaren driver labelled the Abu Dhabi win as one of his best yet.


"I think it was one of my best races," he said. "I said that as I slowed down: being able to hold off one of the best drivers in the world is tough to do. Looking after the tyres, managing the gap... I am ecstatic, really very happy to be back up here. This is great and I can get on the flight tonight and smile."


Jenson Button said that the KERS problem he suffered during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix left him uncertain of his McLaren's performance from one lap to the next.


Despite spending most of the race without KERS, Button held off late challenges from Mark Webber's Red Bull and Felipe Massa's Ferrari to take the final spot on the podium behind Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.


Afterwards the 2009 world champion said that KERS had cut out on a number of occasions during the grand prix, which compromised not only his car's performance, but his own driving as well.


"I'm not sure my pace was entirely there on the soft tyre anyway," said Button. "But by lap 13/14, I didn't have any KERS, which wasn't great.


"In the next stint they [the team] said what I could do to get KERS back, and I got it back, but it only lasted two laps so I had to keep resetting it.


"The problem's not just when you accelerate, but it's under braking too. You get a certain amount of engine braking from it when it's working, but every time I arrived in a corner I didn't know what to expect.


"I had to fend off Webber and Massa, which was quite interesting without KERS. Coming home third I'm relatively happy."


Button's third place means that he will secure the runner-up spot in the championship by coming home third in Brazil in a fortnight.


Fernando Alonso said he was putting in qualifying-style laps throughout the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he pushed to beat Lewis Hamilton.


After moving up from fifth to second on the opening lap, Alonso kept Hamilton under pressure to the finish, though he ultimately had to be content with the runner-up spot.


"I tried hard all race," said Alonso. "It was an individual race against time. I was doing qualifying laps every lap trying to close the gap but it was one tenth up or down for the whole stint and we dominated."


Both the leaders had issues with lapped traffic during the race, with several backmarkers receiving drive-through penalties for impeding. But Alonso felt both he and Hamilton lost equal amounts of time in traffic so doubted the lapped cars had affected the result.


"About the people we were catching, when he had some problems I closed the gap to two seconds and when I had problems I lost two seconds - it depended on which parts of track you caught them," said Alonso.


Ferrari has only won one race this season - Alonso's triumph at Silverstone - compared to six wins for McLaren and 11 for Red Bull. Although Alonso has managed nine other podium finishes, he said he was now looking forward to putting 2011 behind him with just the Brazil season finale remaining.


"I am looking forward," said the former champion. "To be honest I want to have the last race and think of 2012 as soon as possible - not to forget this year because the year has been quite good for the team and in general we made good improvements from last year, but we were not able to fight for the championship.


"Definitely next year is a good challenge for us - and a big motivation for next year is to do better than 2011."


Sebastian Vettel was left lamenting his lost chance in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after retiring for the first time in the 2011 season.


The Red Bull driver, starting from pole position, made a good start to keep his lead but spun off at Turn 2 following a puncture to his right rear tyre.


Vettel drove back to the pits but his car was too damaged to continue and was forced to retire for the first time in 19 races.


The world champion believes he would have had a good chance at fighting for another victory.


"At the exit of the first corner everything seemed fine but as soon as I started to turn in for the second corner I felt something was wrong with the rear right and I had to catch the car surprisingly," Vettel told the BBC.


"And the second time I had to catch it I couldn't do it anymore. I had a puncture and I spun off. And on the way back I damaged the suspension so badly I couldn't carry on."


He added: "Up to that point we had a very good start. I was very happy with the car. It's hard to say how quick we could have been. Mark had a difficult race. His pace was good so I think his car was in good shape.


"On other hand I think Lewis and Fernando had strong pace. I think we would have had a chance, but it's difficult to stand here and tell you what it could have been. In the end it didn't happen because we didn't make it much longer than one lap."


He was also adamant that Red Bull needs to get to the bottom of what caused the puncture.


"It looks like at the exit we suddenly lost tyre pressure. The tyre was flat by the time I went into turn two. I don't really know why. It's nothing I did different to any other lap or any other driver so we need to really understand what it caused the puncture."


Jaime Alguersuari believes he could have finished in the points in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had it not been for a problem during one of his pitstops.


The Toro Rosso driver finished in 15th position after losing a lot of time when he stopped to change tyres for the first time.


Alguersuari believes tenth place would have been possible.


"I am very disappointed with the outcome of this weekend, because we had opted for a strategy in terms of aerodynamics that appeared to be the best in terms of ease of overtaking in the race," said the Spanish driver.


"However, after the first four or five laps, I seemed to pick up some tyre degradation and I was losing the rear end. Then came the key moment in my race, when there was a mistake in the pitstop, which cost me a lot of time and dropped me down the order, from which I could not recover.


"Today, P10 was possible, because I had a good pace on the new Options, even if I am not sure that we could have caught the Force Indias. I am sure Brazil will suit us better, so I am looking forward to that and the chance for all of us to do a better job."


Team-mate Sebastien Buemi had to retire from the race after a strong start due to a loss of fluid from the hydraulic system.


Kamui Kobayashi was happy to end his points drought in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after finishing in 10th place in the race.


The Japanese driver had not been in the points since the German Grand Prix in July.


"I am happy to have scored a point today," he said, "I have had a pretty long period without scoring and for me it was important to put an end to this.


"I had a really good start and was able to make up five positions on lap one. Actually the performance of the tyres during and after the start was better than expected.


"I started on the medium compound as I was only 16th on the grid, and this is obviously a situation in which you have to take chances. But we knew it would be a difficult first stint, and it was not really clear how long those tyres would last.


"They dropped off after a few laps and then I lost three positions before I pitted after lap five for soft tyres. I think overall it was a good race by us."


Team-mate Sergio Perez finished in 11th position after having to change his strategy due to a damaged front wing on the opening lap of the race.


The Mexican rookie admitted he was hoping for more.


"I had higher hopes for the race today," he said. "It is a shame what happened on lap one. There was a queue into turn seven and I couldn't avoid hitting Adrian Sutil's car. It wasn't immediately clear how big the damage was, but then the team told me my front wing was broken and I had to pit after lap two.


"We then decided to go for the medium compound when we did the nose change. On my third stint, again on soft tyres, I was driving in tenth for a while, but then I struggled with the tyres and also for the last 12 laps my KERS wasn't working."


Force India team boss Vijay Mallya felt the squad's double points finish in Abu Dhabi meant it could all-but-celebrate securing sixth place in the constructors' championship, as it pulled 15 points clear of nearest rival Sauber.


The team had gone to Yas Marina 10 points ahead of Sauber and Toro Rosso, but with Adrian Sutil seventh and Paul di Resta eighth on a day when STR failed to score and Sauber took just one point from Kamui Kobayashi's 10th place, Force India's rivals now need a miracle result in Brazil to knock it out of the top six.


"We came here determined to deliver a strong result and we've come away with six important points to consolidate our sixth place in the constructors' championship," said Mallya.


"Both drivers drove faultless races, splitting the strategies and covering all the options. So I'm very pleased with our performance as a team, which puts us in a much stronger position with 15 points advantage over our nearest competitor.


"I feel confident that we can go to Brazil to finish the job and confirm our sixth place in the championship."


Sutil's only disappointment was that he had narrowly missed out on beating Michael Schumacher to sixth.


"Today's result is great for the team and just what we needed," he said.


"Initially we were planning to do a one-stop race, but the team took the decision to switch to a two-stop strategy because the soft tyre did not last as long as we thought it would. So it was a good call by the team to make the change.


"I spent a lot of the race fighting with Schumacher and managed to get ahead of him for the middle stint. But I probably went one lap too long in the middle stint and he got ahead of me when we were both on the medium tyre at the end of the race. I was close behind him, but we had similar pace and I couldn't get back ahead.


"Still, we came here to pick up points with both cars, and that's what we've done. It puts us in a very strong position for the final race."


Di Resta was the only driver who managed to make a one-stop strategy work as he took eighth, though in retrospect he felt a different tactic might have been better.


"I think as a team we can be pleased to have come away with a double points finish having run different strategies with both cars," said the Scot.


"With hindsight my one-stop race was not the optimum strategy, but we felt it was worth a try. As it turned out the performance of the medium was not great to begin with so the first 30 laps were quite hard work.


"I had a good fight with [sebastien] Buemi in the early laps and I think we were quite lucky that he retired, which made my race a bit easier.


"When I switched to the softs the speed of the car was very strong. To do a one-stop race and come away with two points is as much as we could really hope for. It's what we need for our fight in the championship and hopefully we can arrive in Brazil and carry on where we left off."


Bruno Senna admitted there was no comfort to take from the performance of his Renault team in Abu Dhabi after a poor race on Sunday.


The team struggled all weekend with its car around the Yas Marina circuit, and Senna endured a difficult race which included a failing KERS, and a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags.


The Brazilian, 16th in the race, conceded there was nothing to write home about.


"Let's be honest here - there's not a crumb of comfort to take from that performance," Senna said.


"We suffered from a KERS failure, drive-through penalty and a car which was not on the money at this particular track. Put those together and you see why I finished where I did.


"There was lots of lost time to make up and, strategically, we took a gamble that didn't pay off. I certainly think that overall this weekend my pace was as good as it could have been. Maybe for Brazil we will have a better baseline, and let's hope we have a better race weekend."


Team-mate Vitaly Petrov also had a tough day and, with his DRS not working, he had to settle for 13th place.


"It was quite a frustrating afternoon because my DRS was not working," he said. "We thought we could have a good fight with the cars in front, but we were pretty helpless, so we decided to change the strategy.


"When I first stopped, we put fresh medium tyres on but unfortunately these did not last long enough so we returned to the pits on lap 38 to change to the soft. Unfortunately that ended up being too slow. The pace was not good enough to score points and that's the reality."


Pirelli is still unsure what caused the puncture that put Sebastian Vettel out of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the opening lap.


The Red Bull driver started well from pole position and led into Turn 1, but ran wide onto the kerb exiting the corner; his right-rear tyre deflating instantly and causing him to spin off the track as he moved left for Turn 2.


Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said that it will be extremely difficult to apportion blame until a proper investigation has been conducted on the failure.


"That's always a problem when all you get back is a bag of bits. You're not always guaranteed of getting a clear answer," Hembery said.


"We have the tread back, the sidewalls and the rim, so we'll work with Red Bull to find an explanation for Seb. We do know it was an instant deflation at least, and the most likely cause with such a quick deflation is debris.


"You can tend to rule a lot of things out. You can rule out a number of aspects. It was a used set [of tyres] as well, so from that point of view you can eliminate a whole host of things.


"Beyond that, you've got to get as much data as you can and we'll work with Red Bull to find the right conclusion. There's a risk, of course, that we might never find it."


Hembery believes it unlikely that the deflation was caused by any debris lying in the gutter between the two parts of the Turn 1 exit kerb.


"We went and had a good look at the kerb with Seb and with the gutter," he added. "This is a wonderful circuit and there's nothing we've seen there that would cause you to be overly concerned.


"You've got to remember that 23 cars did the race going over the same areas and we didn't have any issues there, so that's unlikely. But he was the first car over that kerb, so if there was any debris there, he was the one that was going to get it."


Red Bull Racing had no early warning about the tyre failure that put Sebastian Vettel out of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - after revealing its data showed it was an instantaneous failure.


Vettel was leading the Yas Marina event from pole position when his right rear tyre lost pressure on the exit of Turn 1. With the tyre flat as he turned into the second corner, Vettel was pitched into a spin.


Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said post-race analysis of the car had not indicated an obvious explanation for the failure.


"Basically all we could see at the moment from the data is that he has had a tremendous start," said Horner. "He had gone into Turn 1 and, on the kerb, there has been an instantaneous loss of pressure.


"So, by the time he has arrived at Turn 2, there is no tyre pressure and that has caused the car to spin. That is what has damaged the suspension and ultimately that is why we had to retire the car.


"At the moment we don't know if it was a bit of debris from one of the support races, as he wasn't particularly high on the kerb or anything like that. He just appears to have been unlucky today."


When asked if there was any indication from telemetry that something was wrong with the tyre before the start of the race, Horner said: "No, no, no. The tyre was fine, going into Turn 1, and then you can see just an instantaneous loss of pressure."


Horner said that damage to the rear suspension meant it was impossible to let Vettel continue once he had returned to the pits.


"The damage was from where the rim has dug into the ground as he was spinning," he said. "It just damaged the track rod being able to run it, and it would have been unsafe to continue."


Despite seeing Vettel suffer his first retirement of the year, Horner acknowledged that the incident would have hurt more last season – when he was battling for the world title.


"It is a good job it happened this year rather than last year I guess," he smiled.


Felipe Massa blamed difficulties with the medium tyres, allied to weekend dramas with his front wing, for a troubled Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.


The Brazilian had been forced to revert to an older specification of front wing following practice at the Yas Marina circuit, after encountering some dramatic flapping on the main straight like he had suffered at the Indian GP.


That switch cost him some performance, and then matters were not helped in the race when he admitted that his car was difficult to drive on the medium compound tyres - which resulted in a late-race spin.


The time lost there cost him any chance of finishing ahead of Mark Webber in their fight for fourth position.


"The biggest problem was the hard tyres, and for me that was one of the most difficult problems, the biggest problem, I had during the race," said Massa.


"I had reasonable pace compared to these other guys with these soft tyres, fighting with them all the time and then, when I put the hard tyres on, it was very difficult.


"The tyres were not working, then I had to push all the time as well, just to see if I was able to be in front of Mark [Webber]. Then I braked a bit too much, I lost the rear and then I could not stay on the track."


Talking about the wing situation, Massa said: "I tried the front wing on Friday and it was shaking too much. Both front wings I tried and I was not able to use, and that was a big problem because I lost a lot of performance compared to the other car.


"That was another part of the problem during the race. Anyway I am looking forward for Brazil to have the car with the best pieces and everything we have in the season, and I will try to do a better weekend in Brazil."


Post-race press conference:

[spoiler]TV UNILATERALS


Q. Lewis, describe your feelings after this win. It is one for you mum, hey?


Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, absolutely. It's my mum's birthday this weekend and it is great to be able to win while she's here. I feel fantastic. I think it was one of my best races. I said that to myself as I slowed down, just being able to hold off one of the best drivers in the world throughout the race is something that is very, very tough to do. Just looking after the tyres, just managing the gap. Obviously the team did a fantastic job in the pit-stops, but I'm ecstatic. Really very happy to be back up here. This is great. I can get on my flight tonight and smile.


Q. Fernando, there is a lot of respect between you two at the moment. You had a great start today, fifth up to second, and you almost got close enough to Lewis at the second round of stops.


Fernando ALONSO: Yeah, it was a fantastic race for me as well with a very good start and then a good first lap fighting with Jenson. Obviously with the problem with Sebastian (Vettel) we found ourselves second and then we fight all through the race more or less in a distance of three to five seconds with Lewis. Then the last pit-stop we stayed two laps longer than the McLaren and we were close I think. But we had some traffic in the pit entry, behind one HRT, and I think we lost a little bit of ground. But, anyway, with the last stint I think they had a little bit more pace so even if we were able to overtake in the stop it was difficult to win the race so extremely happy with second and enjoy this weekend.


Q. Jenson, a lot of battles with Mark Webber for you but it looked a bit uncomfortable and did you radio in that you had some KERS problems.


Jenson BUTTON: Yeah, I did. I am not sure if my pace was entirely there on the soft tyres anyway. I think it was about lap 13 or 14. I didn't have any KERS basically. I had to fend off Webber and also (Felipe) Massa which is also quite interesting without KERS. Then in the next stint I was told what I could do to try and get KERS back, and at least we got it back, but it lasted for like two laps at a time and I had to keep resetting it. The problem is it is not just when you accelerate, it is when you brake. When you have KERS you have a lot of engine braking from the KERS and when you don't have it you don't have any braking performance. Every time I arrived at a corner I didn't know what I was going to get, either engine braking or not, so it was pretty tricky. But coming home and finishing third I am relatively happy.


Q. Lewis, by your own admission it has been a tough few months. Does this win put you well and truly back on track do you think?


LH: I don't know. It is early days yet but this is definitely the start of something hopefully very good. We've got another great race ahead of us in Brazil and I have just got to put my focus on that and try to keep the momentum, but you know how it goes. Anything can happen. I have just got to keep my mind on the game.


PRESS CONFERENCE


Q. Lewis, what were your thoughts when you saw Sebastian go off?


LH: I didn't know which way it was going to go, so I was just trying to avoid that. I saw immediately that something had happened to his tyre, and that's why he was going sideways. I was just making sure that I didn't collect him as he potentially [could come] across the track. After that, I just saw that I had two very quick drivers behind me and I was just trying to keep the gap. It didn't really enter my mind at all, throughout the race.


Q. As you say you tried to keep the gap; that gap remained incredibly constant up to the first stint, and then a different gap again remained stable up to the second stop.


LH: Yeah, I think it's very rare for us and for me to get the opportunity to be able to maintain a gap, to be able to control the race but today I had the pace, I was able to put in the laps when Fernando went quicker, and whenever he closed the gap, generally was able to keep it the same or pull out a little bit more. There was a point - I can't remember which stint it was – but he was closing the gap. It seemed like he would start a bit slower than me in a stint and then get faster towards the end, so his tyres would last longer but nonetheless, I'm very happy with how it went.


Q. There were one or two penalties for backmarkers; was there a problem with backmarkers more here today than elsewhere?


LH: Just to point out that backmarkers have a tough job, because firstly they're just looking ahead, they're competing for whatever position they're competing for and sometimes you just don't look in your mirrors and sometimes you're probably just not expecting to be lapped or when that's going to happen. I've been in that position before and I think some of them just didn't see because they were fighting the guys in front, but some of them were on their own and just stayed in front. I lost seconds behind certain different people, and I think Rubens overtook me with the DRS; there was nothing I could do about that. I came up back alongside him thinking 'dude, I'm in the lead, we're not racing'. He came and congratulated me afterwards so that's fine.


Q. Fernando, tell us about that fantastic start.


FA: I don't think it was so good. At the start, I think we lost a little bit of ground with Jenson, who was right in front of us in third, and we were fifth. Then we braked and we risked, on the outside of turn one, to overtake Mark, so we gained one position there. We gained one position with Sebastian's accident and then one position with the slipstream with Jenson. I think we've had better starts than today, the start itself.


Q. Again, just to ask you about the gap to Lewis each time; I guess you were pushing as hard as you could.


FA: Yeah, definitely. I think it was a time trial race, like an individual race, not against the time. I was doing like qualifying laps every lap, trying to close the gap, but one tenth up, one tenth down for the whole stint, as you said. I think we were dominated by people who were catching slower cars. When he [Hamilton] had some problems, I would maybe close the gap by like two seconds; when I had a problem, the gap increased by two seconds. We were dominated by how easy [it was to pass] or in which part of the track you caught a slow car.


Q. What are your thoughts about the next race in Brazil?


FA: I'm looking forward to it; it's the last race. To be honest, I already want to have the last the race and to think about 2012 as soon as possible, not to forget this year, because I think the year in general has been quite good for the team and in general, with some good improvements from last year, but obviously we were not able to fight for the championship. We had only one victory this year so definitely next year is a big challenge for us, and a big motivation to do better than 2011. So looking at Brazil, I think the race there will be interesting. The weather is normally a little bit unpredictable, so anything can happen there and hopefully with a possibility to fight on the podium again.


Q. Jenson, a good third place but were your worst fears about DRS confirmed or was it just compounded by the lack of KERS?


JB: Yeah. DRS was actually quite good round here, which was a pity for me. I had a couple of good battles out there during the race but it was a lot more difficult by not having KERS for a lot of the race. We found a way of getting the KERS working again but the problem was it would only last for a couple of laps and then it would stop working and there was no warning to tell me it had stopped working so I would just lose all engine braking. It was pretty tricky, so to get to the end and be on the podium, I am pretty happy with that.


Q. Were you surprised at Mark Webber's tactics?


JB: Yes, very surprised. I don't know if they thought that I had the KERS problem for the rest of the race because when I had the KERS problem I was obviously a lot slower and he was pushing me around for 15 laps. As soon as I sorted the problem out, I would go half a second quicker. I don't know. It was a strange decision to make but they also made a mistake on the first pit stop, I think, which lost them a lot of ground. I think that really hurt him and he wasn't able to really challenge after that.


QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR


Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) Lewis, how do you rate this victory after such a bad time?


LH: I don't know. I've had some interesting victories, some better than others. When I was doing the lap on the way in, I was thinking that this was definitely one of my best, just in terms of my own performance, not making mistakes. I don't feel I've made a single mistake in the race and with the things that have gone, with the pressure that I've been under and with the doubt that has surrounded me, I felt just massively proud to have put that kind of performance together and to have come out on top. I think my fans have been incredibly supportive and so have my family, particularly more so in the recent weeks and so that's made a big difference. And it's my Mum's birthday, so it makes it even better.


Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, after such a disappointing race here last year, does the performance make it anything special for you?


FA: Well, not really. I don't think that we were thinking about last year when we came here. It doesn't change the feeling of last year when we lost the championship at the last moment to be on the podium today. As I said on Thursday, what makes this podium special is that I think I have 73 podiums now, so 73 trophies in Formula One. I have them from all the circuits that I have raced on in Formula One, so Magny-Cours, Indianapolis – circuits which we are not racing on now and I missed only one at home, and that was Abu Dhabi, because in the three years, I have never been on the podium. So now I have completed all the circuits. So, happy.


Q. (Sudhir Chandran - Chequered Flag, India) Lewis, it seemed like that whole of Abu Dhabi was rooting for this win for you. Could you feel the energy and vibe in the crowd?


LH: Definitely, definitely. When we were doing the parade lap before the race, I could see that there were a lot of fans, particularly from the UK but also from here in Abu Dhabi. I was really surprised to see so much support, but it's great. It's a great spectacle, a great circuit to come to and a great country. Hopefully, it was a good race to watch. Obviously for me it was probably not too exciting to watch me go round, but I don't mind having those races every now and then.


Q. (Naoise Holohan – Manipe F1) Lewis, would it have made the victory any more special if you had beaten Sebastian on track rather than him retiring ?


LH: I don't know really. I will tell you when it happens. I think we were clearly very quick and it would have been very close. Sebastian got a great start – again – and was off. From turn one he got quite a good exit from turn one so he had a pretty good gap already. Every now and then, we need a bit of bad luck to notice the good times, I guess, and I don't remember the last time he had a bit of bad luck.


Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) Lewis, I just wondered if you felt that this was the first race weekend in a while when you felt like you've been able to get on top of your emotions and for them not to affect you when you've been in the car? Is that what has made the difference today?


LH: I don't know. I definitely think that this weekend I've been clearer in my mind and I've had less weighing on me, less thoughts and issues or whatever problems that I've got. I was just able to drive clearly. I think my qualifying has always been generally good and my practice has always been pretty good but obviously in the last race I had that mistake which was... I was just not thinking straight and this weekend I was able to think straight. I don't know if that's because I had some great support here or what, but it's been a positive feeling all weekend. I felt like I was on it all weekend so I just feel very fortunate to have come out and finish and had the car last and not get into any trouble.


Q. (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Lewis, how much could you see of Sebastian's accident. Is it possible that he was maybe too high on the kerb with a full fuel load, which maybe damaged the tyre?


LH: I could see he went through turn two and it looked like his rear tyre failed for whatever reason. He wasn't on the kerb as far as I could see. I only saw it happen after the kerb, so after the apex, but I just saw that his tyre was deflated and the right rear was squashed up on the inside of the floor and everything, so I assumed it was just a tyre failure.


Q. (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Fernando, could you please tell us what was going through your head in the second pit stop when you followed the HRT into the pits? Did you see possible victory slipping from your sights?


FA: We knew that maybe we could overtake the McLaren at the second stop, because when we saw Lewis pitting, we had the tyres in more or less good condition to push for another two or three laps, so we did some good timed laps, so the team was informing me that we should be OK maybe to exit in front of him or maybe on the limit, very close. But even with that, I knew that with 15 laps remaining, with the medium tyres, it was really difficult to stay in front of Lewis. Definitely, with the traffic on the pit entry, maybe we lost the opportunity to be close at the exit of the pits but I don't think that we lost the victory there. It was extremely difficult to beat the McLaren today.


Q. (Naoise Holohan – Manipe F1) Jenson, you're visiting Ireland next summer for the Dublin F1 street demo on June 3. Are you looking forward to the trip and have you any sightseeing planned? A few pints of Guinness perhaps?


JB: Wow, I normally don't plan that far ahead. I'm glad. I actually did know I was going. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's a fun city, I've been there a few times before and always had a good time. Yeah, looking forward to the experience, and hopefully [i'll] have a lot of support there. Looking at all the Tweets that I've had about it, there's a lot of interest so I'm looking forward to it.


LH: Are you going to keep your moustache for that?


JB: I'm not sure actually. My missus likes it so I might just carry it. I've got to shave it off tomorrow or else I might stick it to something so I can put it back on. It takes me a while to grow it.[/spoiler]

[Lineker]

Sebastian Vettel showed what a true team player he was by sticking with his Red Bull Racing chiefs on the pit wall following his early exit from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, according to Christian Horner.

The team's principal said Vettel's surprise decision to remain with his outfit rather than leave the track gave a fascinating glimpse of why the world champion is one of the very best drivers on the grid.

"I think it is part of who he is," explained Horner. "He is like a sponge for information. He saw an opportunity to help his team-mate with the benefit of his experience and also an opportunity to experience what the pit wall is like, and to see how we make decisions in the race.

"He is like a sponge for that kind of thing. He is keen to understand and offer any advice and help he could.

"He was offering the benefit of his experience and what he would be feeling. He was interested to see how the pit wall worked, and hear how the strategies unfold."

Horner conceded that Vettel had been deeply disappointed by seeing his chances of another win dashed so early in the race - but said there was no reason why the team would not respond in style by winning the season finale in Brazil in a fortnight's time.

"The whole team was frustrated because we were in a great position to win the race," explained Horner. "Seb did a superb job in qualifying, one of the best laps of his career I think to nail that pole position.

"He had done everything right, he had done the start, made it comfortably into the lead into the first corner and it was cruel luck really to be forced to retire in the way he did.

"So of course he was disappointed, but he didn't rush to leave the circuit. He hung around to help the team and try and help his team-mate. But he is determined to finish the season on a high and I am sure we will bounce back in two weeks in Brazil."

Horner says that the team's experience in Abu Dhabi provided a harsh reminder of why his outfit should never take victory for granted in F1.

"Absolutely," he said. "That is why we have celebrated every single victory with the satisfaction that we have. Winning grands prix is tremendously difficult. It needs everything to come together and it has been the most remarkable season for the team.

"To have won 11 of the 18 races so far, to have achieved all but one of the pole positions this year, to have won both world championships with three races to go, it has been the most remarkable year. It would have been great to have maintained our unbeaten run here, but unfortunately with the tyre puncture we had it was not to be."

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner says his team had nothing to lose by opting to put Mark Webber on a three-stop strategy in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Australian was battling with Jenson Button for third place in the early stages of the race, but at his second stop Red Bull Racing elected to keep him on the soft compound rather than switch him onto the medium to take him through to the end.

Although that move meant Webber would need to build up a big buffer over Button on the track to jump him at his final stop, Red Bull felt it was the right thing to do. Ultimately Webber could not get far enough ahead of the McLaren before pitting for mediums on the last lap, so finished fourth.

"It was a situation where, because of the issue [of a slow tyre change] at the first stop, we were behind Jenson and Felipe [Massa]," explained Horner. "If we had adopted the same strategy as them, we were likely to finish behind them.

"So at that point you say, 'okay, we have nothing to lose'. The likelihood of being beaten by [Nico] Rosberg was pretty slim, so we felt we would go for a three-stop and try and pull out a gap, which worked very well with Felipe.

"Unfortunately Jenson was a bit too quick on the prime. We got to 12 seconds and needed 20 seconds, and it wasn't enough. But it was worth a roll of the dice."

Horner said that Webber's first pitstop had been ruined by a problem at the right rear - which cost him valuable time in the tight battle with Button and Massa.

"In the first one we had a nut come out of the socket on the right rear, which unfortunately cost him a few seconds," said Horner.

"I think we would have been able to have jumped Jenson, but that then dropped him behind Jenson and Felipe. At that point we needed to do something different; otherwise, we would have just finished behind the two of them."

Horner revealed that Webber had also been slowed by a piece of rubber, believed to be from Sebastian Vettel's first-lap puncture, lodging itself underneath his car.

"It was a bit of rubber that had come off Sebastian's car that he managed to hoover up," he explained. "I think it would have had a small effect, but Mark's pace was very good."

Lewis Hamilton will use his victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a springboard to lift himself to another level of driving, as he moves away from the troubles that have dogged him over the past few months.

That is the view of his McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh, who reckons that Hamilton's triumph at the Yas Marina circuit showed that the former world champion was now back to his best.

"There is no reason why, in my mind, he cannot raise himself to another level now," explained Whitmarsh. "I think this was a great recovery from where he has been in the last few months, and he can do greater things even than this.

"I think he is pretty happy with this one. You can see that in him and that enables people to drive with greater confidence and to attack that little bit extra. We are looking forward now to getting to Brazil and having another race, which is good."

Hamilton has endured widely-reported difficulties in his private life recently, and said ahead of the Abu Dhabi weekend that he felt it important to surround himself in a 'happy bubble' of friends and family next year to get himself fully focused on the job he needs to do.

The honesty about his difficulties offered a glimpse about the progress he has made in addressing the issues that he has faced, and Whitmarsh thinks that being able to deliver a win right now was vital to help Hamilton speed that process along.

"I think it was an important win, but they are all important," he explained. "I think he has been strong all weekend, strong through practice, and he came here with a good frame of mind and focused.

"It didn't quite work out in qualifying, as we thought we should have been on pole and we weren't, but the outcome we have had was great. It was good for Lewis to reset where he is and where he is at in his head.

"It also means both drivers have got three great wins apiece this year, and I am sure both of them can make it four by the end of the season."

Although the results of the Abu Dhabi GP mean that it is now impossible for Hamilton to overhaul Button in the title standings, which means he will be beaten by a team-mate for the first time in his Formula 1 career, Whitmarsh does not think that holds much significance.

"I think this season has been a challenging one for him," he said. "He has done a great job here, and he will focus on the positives of that.

"And, as I say, he will now be saying, 'when can I get to Brazil? I love that circuit!' It is a fantastic circuit, and he will want to win there."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has praised the job that Jenson Button did in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - as he battled race-long KERS problems to deliver a podium finish.

Although the Woking-based outfit's focus was on seeing Lewis Hamilton deliver a dominant victory, Whitmarsh said the team was just as delighted in seeing Button overcome his own difficulties to finish third.

"We will remember it, and rightly so, for a great, great win for Lewis, but we should not underestimate the job that Jenson did," explained Whitmarsh.

"Early in the race he had a KERS failure and he spent about 20 laps without it, so for the rest of the race we were trying to reset it to get it going. But then it would fail again.

"During all that time, and these were times when he was trying to keep rhythm, trying to keep pace, trying to defend position, trying to get through traffic - his brake balance was swinging wildly with the failure of KERS or not.

"So it was an incredible job to do that and a really difficult one to convey the challenge we gave him. It was a great, great job to be on the podium with all that."

Whitmarsh revealed that Button's KERS problems began quite near the start of the race, and were never really fully resolved.

"I think it was probably around lap 10 that he started to have issues, and then he did about 20 laps with no KERS. After that he had KERS intermittently because we were resetting it, turning it off and then turning it back on, probably about five times.

"It was really an incredible job by him because it makes a huge difference, not just in lap time but also in balance, and actually arguably, probably a fault in the system is that impending failure isn't predicted.

"So every time it went off he just had to arrive at a corner with a violently different brake balance. I imagine at any of these hairpins, if you are coming down to them at quite a big speed wondering, 'have I got a functioning KERS system and is my brake balance appropriate?', that is not an easy thing mentally to deal with, or even physically to deal with."

Although Button's result has moved him a step closer to finishing runner-up in the drivers' championship, Whitmarsh does not think that Button is attaching too much importance to the matter.

"There is a fight for second in the drivers' championship, but on race morning we were talking about various strategies with Jenson. What I liked was that he felt, let's take a risk with the strategy if we get the opportunity.

"His mentality was, 'I don't care about finishing second in the championship, I want to win the race'. If the cards had fallen in a particular way, his attitude was I am flat out to try and win the race, and if that entails risk that puts in threat my second in the drivers', he was very happy to do that.

"I think that is the right attitude because, to be honest, wins are what we are about, not trying to hold on to a second place in the drivers' championship. It is a great attitude."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has admitted that his team is still seeking a solution for the flapping wing phenomenon that Felipe Massa has encountered in the last two races.

The Maranello-based outfit has been experimenting with the kind of legal flexing front wing technology that Red Bull Racing has used to good effect over the past few years.

However, although Fernando Alonso's version has worked well, Massa has had a more troubled time - with the wing seen to be fluttering heavily at the end of the long straights in both India and Abu Dhabi.

The problem in India forced him to change the wing during the race, while in Abu Dhabi he had to revert to an older specification because the team did not want to risk any further problems.

Domenicali says Ferrari still does not have an answer for what is happening - but believes the fact Red Bull Racing encountered a similar problem in Abu Dhabi shows that the issue is not unique to his team.

"First of all it was pretty clear that [in India] it was a problem with the assembly of the wing," he said. "We thought we had understood the issues already in the last race, and if you see the behaviour of the wing of Red Bull, it was exactly the same situation.

"With the DRS zone on the long straight, there are a lot of facts to consider: tyre pressure, linearity of asphalt, and set-up conditions. So a lot of things that have an effect on that.

"The reason we had to go back on the wing was, because of this problem, we had [only] a few parts and we cannot run a risk of having a problem. So I think we took the right decision on that, and we need to fix it for sure."

Ferrari is doubtful that Fernando Alonso would have been able to beat Lewis Hamilton to victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even if his final stop had been quicker.

Alonso lost valuable time at the second stop when he was held up briefly behind backmarker Daniel Ricciardo, and then had a slightly slower than ideal tyre change.

But even if that pitstop had been flawless, Ferrari does not believe that Alonso would have been able to prevent Hamilton taking the win.

Team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "For sure I have to say that the second place showed the performance that we had.

"When we were coming in it was unfortunate to have Ricciardo in front for the last two corners, and there, honestly, we lost a lot of time.

"We had a little issue on the pitstop but that was not the real issue - and on that, you cannot say anything. It was unfortunate.

"I have to say with the backmarkers it was not easy for everyone, not only for Felipe [Massa] - who had two in front of him fighting - which was not good and not acceptable. Then Lewis had the same issue with some backmarkers. So it was not easy for everyone.

"But, for sure, to have the last two corners behind the last car that was coming in on the same lap was really unfortunate.

"But the difference was made by Lewis when he had two very quick laps with the medium tyres straight away. He was able to pull out the gap and then, of course, he managed the situation."

Pirelli will use the forthcoming F1 Young Driver test in Abu Dhabi to debut a selection of its 2012 tyre compounds.

With the championships decided, Pirelli introduced an experimental soft compound during Friday practice in Abu Dhabi as it continues to tweak the profile and construction of its tyres ahead of the 2012 season.

As part of its ongoing evaluation, and as revealed by AUTOSPORT in October, Pirelli will also introduce new compounds in an information-gathering exercise during the three-day young driver test on the Yas Marina circuit.

Changes will include a tweaked front and rear profile of every tyre, which Pirelli say is aimed at distributing wear more evenly across the tyre, and a selection of totally new compounds. Only the supersoft option will remain unaltered.

Pirelli's director of motorsport Paul Hembery said the information gathered from the young driver test would be used in conjunction with feedback from Abu Dhabi and the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix in order to reduce the difference in performance between each compound.

"We're already well underway with our preparations for 2012," Hembery explained. "We ran some experimental tyres on Friday in Abu Dhabi, and we'll also be running some new tyres in Brazil.

"Together with the information we accumulate during the young driver test, we're gathering plenty of data in preparation for next year, where we will see a reduction in lap times between the compounds to hopefully make racing even closer.

"Although the young drivers don't have the same experience as the regular drivers, this three-day test will be a good education for them. It's also very important in terms of information-gathering, for both ourselves and the teams, as we aim to make the tyres an even more prominent feature of the action in 2012."

On top of the 100 sets of tyres teams are allowed to use for testing under the current FOTA agreement, Pirelli will supply each team with eight sets of extra rubber for the Abu Dhabi tests.

The extra sets will include the current range of compounds and some soft compound development tyres.

Pirelli aims to have a new range of tyre choices ready and available for the first test of 2012, scheduled for Jerez on 7-9 February.

Rubens Barrichello believes his strong recovery drive in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, following his nightmare practice and qualifying, has shown Williams that it would be wrong to drop him for next year.

The Brazilian was left stuck at the back of the grid for the first time in his career following engine failures in practice that meant he was unable to complete a lap in qualifying.

However Barrichello put in a determined performance to lift himself to 12th place at the chequered flag - and he is convinced that the car had the potential to do better if he had started further up.

But rather than be frustrated by what happened in Abu Dhabi, Barrichello said he hoped the showing would help convince his bosses that he deserves another season with the outfit - rather than them taking Kimi Raikkonen, Adrian Sutil or Valtteri Bottas.

"I think I showed them that behind the wheel I am still a boy today, so I hope that gets through to them," Barrichello told AUTOSPORT.

"The race was fantastic in a way. Even if you think that I had done 30 laps all through the weekend, so the set-up was not perfect, I still had a good car in the race.

"I fought all the way through, I had nice overtaking and it was very unfortunate that nobody dropped out because I was fighting for 11th up to the very last lap. And, with the car that we have, I think it was the best we could achieve."

Barrichello said that he could not remember in his 19 years of Formula 1 ever starting at the back of the grid – and he was adamant he would not allow it to happen again.

"I don't think it ever happened," he said. "In 19 years I heard it was the very first time... and luckily the last as well!"

Speaking about the experience of lining up last, Barrichello actually reckoned it was a tougher environment that being right at the front of the grid.

"It is a lot more pressure starting from last than starting from first to be honest. You don't know what is ahead of you, you don't know if cars are going to go slower and so on.

"I think I did everything I could to get around them and I was 18th by the first lap already. It was a good recovery and I am happy.

"I just have to be happy with the weekend. It was so frustrating to be out of it, but at least I was giving what I wanted from a weekend – which is a pushy race where I fought all the way through."

Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado have hit out at the blue flag penalties they received in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and claimed the officials lacked consistency.

Four penalties were issue for lapped cars blocking the leaders in yesterday's race, with Senna (Renault) and Maldonado (Williams) both getting drive-throughs. Maldonado was later judged to have committed the same offence again and had 30 seconds added to his race time, while Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari had 20s added post-race.

Senna said that the penalty had ruined his chances of a good result. He ultimately finished 16th.

"The drive-through completely destroyed the race because then you have your hands tied with strategy and it cannot be changed again, so at the end in the last 15 laps the pace was very slow because I had no rubber left on the tyres," Senna told AUTOSPORT.

"It's very disappointing. For a good performance in terms of driving, it was a very, very weak result."

The Brazilian wants to talk to FIA race director Charlie Whiting about the matter, as he believes the rules are being applied inconsistently.

"I think it was a lack of consistency, because we see people doing much, much worse," said Senna. "If you think about it, I probably held Jenson [button] for one corner, which was Turn 7, and people held other guys up for a whole sector and didn't get a blue flag.

"The fact is, we get the blue flags at the same time as the slower cars, but if we decide to slow down to let the other guys past, we can lose five seconds and this is absolutely not fair.

"I think the decision making was pretty harsh and I think we need to talk to Charlie about that, because Jenson was coming into the pits on the following lap anyway."

Maldonado had a similar stance over his penalties, saying he could not have got out of the way any quicker without a significant time loss.

"I saw the guys for sure, but I cannot lose four seconds every time," he told Williams's official podcast.

"I think in the past it's always been the same for everybody, even when I get the Virgin cars or the Hispania cars, I'm always losing time. This is part of the job, especially when you're fighting for the points. In that moment, I was fighting with Alguersuari, so it was a difficult decision.

"I'm really disappointed because it's the first time this year that they've done that. For me, it's completely wrong."

Rodolfo Gonzalez will join Team Lotus for the first day of this week's young driver test that takes place in Abu Dhabi.

The Venezuelan tested for the outfit at last year's young driver run, and this season competed in GP2.

Speaking about the test, with Luiz Razia driving on Wednesday and Alexander Rossi on Thursday, Team Lotus CEO Riad Asmat said: "We worked with Rodolfo last year at the same test and he performed well for us in the step up to F1.

"With Rodolfo, Alexander and Luiz we have three talented up and coming drivers who will be keen to learn as much as possible, as well as show us they have the pace and temperament to succeed in Formula 1."

[Lineker]

Jean-Eric Vergne topped the first morning of running in the Abu Dhabi young driver test for Red Bull Racing.

The Frenchman, who tested for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi last year, was having his first experience of testing a Red Bull.

He went to the top of the times mid-morning, ending up fastest with a mark of 1m40.707s.

Ferrari tester Jules Bianchi, who like Vergne will run on all three days, was second fastest, almost two seconds off the pace as Ferrari concentrated on aerodynamic test work.

He was almost nine tenths faster than Oliver Turvey, returning to the cockpit for McLaren. Gary Paffett will take over in the afternoon.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, on his first experience of F1 machinery outside of straightline testing, was fourth fastest, just over three seconds off the pace. His Williams was equipped with a 2012-specification exhaust.

Fabio Leimer, on his maiden F1 test for Sauber, was sixth fastest ahead of Renault's Robert Wickens and Lotus returnee Rodolfo Gonzalez.

Also making their full F1 debuts this morning were Max Chilton (Force India), Stefano Coletti (Toro Rosso) and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, who will hand his Virgin over to GP2 race-winner Charles Pic for this afternoon.

Morning times:


Pos  Driver               Team                  Time      Laps

 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.707s  33

 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m42.632s  34

 3.  Oliver Turvey        McLaren-Mercedes      1m43.502s  35

 4.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m43.816s  47

 5.  Fabio Leimer         Sauber-Ferrari        1m44.354s  34

 6.  Robert Wickens       Renault               1m44.579s  29

 7.  Rodolfo Gonzalez     Lotus-Renault         1m45.026s  44

 8.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m45.564s  12

 9.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes  1m45.714s  42

10.  Dani Clos            HRT-Cosworth          1m46.922s  39

11.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m47.008s  42

12.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs  Virgin-Cosworth       1m47.292s  32


All Timing Unofficial[/code]




Jean-Eric Vergne ended his first day of on-track running for Red Bull Racing on top of the timesheets in the Abu Dhabi young driver test.



The 21-year-old Frenchman, who finished second in Formula Renault 3.5 this year and is a regular simulator driver for the team, improved on his fastest time of the morning to set a best lap of 1m40.011s during the final hour of running.



This gave him an advantage of almost a second over Ferrari test driver Jules Bianchi, who focused on aerodynamic testing today.



Robert Wickens, who beat Vergne to the Formula Renault 3.5 crown in 2011, was third fastest on his first test for Renault, lapping just a tenth faster than best newcomer, Fabio Leimer, who adapted well to the step up to F1 machinery after racing in GP2 this year.



He ended the day sixth tenths of a second quicker than McLaren's Gary Paffett, who shared the day with Oliver Turvey.



Max Chilton, testing for Force India after previous straightline experience, jumped to sixth place with his best time in the final minute of the day to pip Valtteri Bottas by just one tenth of a second.



The Finn lost several hours of running with a gearbox problem that is still being investigated by Williams. The car returned to the track in the later afternoon after the gearbox was changed.



Despite this problem, he impressed the team with his approach and improved to a 1m43.118s in the closing stages of running. This put him ahead of McLaren's morning driver Turvey and Mercedes tester Sam Bird.



On his first full F1 test, Stefano Coletti (Scuderia Toro Rosso) finished 11th behind Team Lotus returnee Rodolfo Gonzalez.



GP2 race-winner Dani Clos returned to F1 testing action for the first time in two years, completing a day of running for HRT. He was just five hundredths of a second off Coletti's time.



Charles Pic, who is set to race for Virgin next year, had his first experience of Formula 1 with the team this afternoon. He took over the car from Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, who set his time during his 32 laps of running in the morning.



Pic completed a total of 30 laps, focusing on familiarising himself with the car and some short aero runs. He will return for a full day of running with the team tomorrow.



[code]Todays times:


Pos  Driver               Team                  Time      Laps

 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.011s   83

 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m40.960s   85

 3.  Robert Wickens       Renault               1m42.217s   78

 4.  Fabio Leimer         Sauber-Ferrari        1m42.331s   67

 5.  Gary Paffett         McLaren-Mercedes      1m42.912s   41

 6.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes  1m43.016s   81

 7.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m43.118s   71

 8.  Oliver Turvey        McLaren-Mercedes      1m43.502s   35

 9.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m43.548s   51

10.  Rodolfo Gonzalez     Lotus-Renault         1m44.022s   87

11.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m45.278s   87

12.  Dani Clos            HRT-Cosworth          1m45.329s   68

13.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth       1m46.930s   30

14.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs  Virgin-Cosworth       1m47.292s   32


All Timing Unofficial

Jean-Eric Vergne insists that topping the timesheets during the first day of young driver testing in Abu Dhabi is of secondary importance to doing a good job for the team.

The Frenchman headed Ferrari driver Jules Bianchi by almost one second at Yas Marina today, but insists that people would expect the driver in the fastest car to set the pace.

Instead, he is focusing on his overall contribution to the team's test programme.

"Of course," said Vergne when asked by AUTOSPORT if setting the pace is a boost. "But I guess that I have to be in first place anyway in the fastest car. People expect me to be.

"I'm really happy with the programme that we went through today. I have been pretty consistent with no mistakes. In terms of pure performance, it's pretty hard to compare to the [Abu Dhabi Grand Prix] weekend, but if you do try to, it's not too bad. I'm sure it's going to be better tomorrow. "

Despite not being cut loose to try a flat-out low-fuel run, Vergne said that he enjoyed his first day of testing for Red Bull.

The Toro Rosso Friday driver takes the same enjoyment from driving the car with whatever fuel load is necessary.

"It's big fun driving the car, even if you have 120kg of fuel," he said. "You just enjoy your time because it's an amazing car to drive.

"There was a bit of everything in the programme. We did some work for team and also for Pirelli testing some different tyres."

Vergne added that there is only a small difference in performance between the Red Bull RB7 and the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR6 that he drives during grand prix weekends.

"There is not a big difference," he said. "It's just a little bit better everywhere.

"If you are one tenth quicker in every corner, that adds up to two seconds here. It is just better everywhere."

Charles Pic is set to graduate to Formula 1 with Virgin Racing next season, as he prepares for his first test with the team in Abu Dhabi this week.

The Frenchman is understood to have agreed terms with the Virgin team for a race deal in 2012, and if a final contract can be sorted then an announcement confirming his step-up to F1 could be made as soon as the season-closing Brazilian GP.

Speculation that Pic has finalised a deal with Virgin Racing heightened on Monday when he cancelled a planned test with Team Lotus in Abu Dhabi this week.

Pic is a successful karter, who has won races in Formula Renault 3.5 and GP2. This year he finished fourth overall in the GP2 standings.

If his move is confirmed, it will mean that Virgin's current driver Jerome d'Ambrosio will need to look for another drive for next season - although very few seats are now remaining.

Renault team principal Eric Boullier, who is head of the Gravity driver management company that looks after d'Ambrosio, admitted last weekend in Abu Dhabi that he was currently sorting out the Belgian's F1 future.

When asked if he was a contender for a race seat Renault, Boullier said: "He could be, but I am trying to build another plan for him. He is on the list, though. He is part of the family."

Pic is due to drive the Virgin car on Tuesday afternoon and for a full day on Wednesday.

Charles Pic is hopeful of driving for Virgin Racing in Formula 1 despite refusing to confirm reports that he has agreed a deal with the team.

Pic is set to drive for Virgin next year, but insists that he will not allow such talk to distract him from his day-and-a-half of running with the team.

"I hope so," said Pic when asked by AUTOSPORT if he would race for Virgin next year. "I hope to be in Formula 1 next year and that is my objective.

"But for the moment, I'm really focused on this test because this is my job for tomorrow. After that, we will see.

"Of course, I am crossing my fingers and hope that I will be in F1 next year."

Pic returns for a full day with Virgin tomorrow and approached his first half-day in the car, during which he completed 30 laps and focused on acclimatisation, as preparation for that.

He is confident that he has adapted to grand prix machinery and is looking forward to Wednesday.

"The goal of this afternoon was to learn the car and also to improve my driving because there is a step between GP2 and F1," he said.

"Tomorrow, it will be a big day with tyre testing so many different tyres and I think it's a great opportunity for me to try to get further experience of these new sets and also to understand how they react.

"The first time I went out, the grid was really surprising. The second thing [i noticed] was all of the information and things that you have to do on one lap and still be focused.

"There were a lot of new things and new information to understand and to put into application. But it was a great feeling and a great experience."

Valtteri Bottas insists that he will focus on doing the best job in testing for Williams and not be distracted by the possibility that he could put himself in contention for a Formula 1 race seat with the team during Abu Dhabi testing.

The GP3 champion is having his first serious test with Williams after previously conducting straightline work and AUTOSPORT understands that a strong performance could give him an outside chance of a race drive for 2012.

Bottas took to the track early in this morning's session and will drive during the first two days of the test before heading to Macau to compete in the Formula 3 Grand Prix.

"There are always rumours going on but I'm not going to think about that when I'm on track," he told AUTOSPORT. "I just want to do my best and help the test as best I can. Then we'll see what happens after. I don't know what the impact will be if I do well and I will not be thinking about that too much.

"I just need to focus on everything, work hard, describe everything to the engineers and follow the test programme."

Bottas has prepared for the test with simulator running at the Williams and is confident that he is as well-prepared for the test as he can be.

He is expecting to conduct an intense test programme, with most teams keen to gather as much meaningful test data as possible.

"There are only a few days available for young drivers now so you don't get many chances like this," he said. "It's a really important two days, but all I can do is my best. There's not any special mindset. I just need to work hard, describe everything to the engineers and follow the test programme.

It will be important to get up to a good speed quickly. It should not be a problem. I've spoken with the race drivers, I have experience in the simulator and I'm pretty comfortable. I can get to a good speed pretty quickly and we can start in the first day to do proper testing.

"I need to make sure that that laptimes are consistent - I just need to take everything out of every lap."

Valtteri Bottas was happy with his laptimes during his first day of testing for Williams despite losing track time in the afternoon with a gearbox problem.

The Finn ended the day seventh fastest after improving his best time in the closing stages of running, but emphasised that the objective for this test is not simply to set the best fastest lap.

"I'm really happy for a first day," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT whether he was satisfied with his performance.

"It was my first time on a proper track, so I'm happy that my times weren't bad.

"We had a new set of options tyres on for the last run, but we were still not going with the lightest possible fuel load. The goal for this test is not to put on the super soft tyre and go for the best lap, we are trying to get everything out of the track time."

Bottas has driven for Williams during five straightline tests during the past two years but has no experience on a proper track of the FW33.

Despite that, the GP3 champion was pleased with how quickly he adapted to the car during what could be a key test for his career given that he is an outside contender for a race seat in 2012.

"Obviously, it took a few laps at first and in the beginning we had some aero tests to do so we weren't going for full laps - it was just an installation and then to the box again," he said. "But I was happy with the consistency immediately.

"The downforce and G-force that you get were a different level to anything else, so that was a bit of a surprise but once you get used to it, it's no problem.

"Once we started running properly, it took one run and six or seven laps [to get completely comfortable] and it was quite good. I got to one level, but the hard work is to find the last tenths."

Bottas is hoping for a busy day of action tomorrow on his final day in the car before he heads to compete in the Macau Grand Prix.

The team has a large number of development parts to assess, including the 2012 specification exhaust that it tried today. But a gearbox change conducted in the middle of the day ensures that the same problems should not strike again.

"I'm sure it will be busy and let's hope for a trouble free test day," he said.

"There was a gearbox problem today, but the team is investigating it. There are no more details at the moment."

Williams has become the first team to experiment with a 2012-specification top exit exhaust during the young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

Valtteri Bottas has been running with the exhaust since the start of the day as the team attempts to gather data to aid work on its 2012 machine.

Chief operations engineer Mark Gillan confirmed during the Abu Dhabi race weekend that the team will be trying out a number of new components during the test.

"Any track time at the moment is very important because we're learning," he told AUTOSPORT. "We're continuously dealing with the issues that we've had over the season.

"For the test, we have got a set of items looking at the influence of next year's tyres and we're looking at different components both for this year and next year."

Next year's regulations mandate that the exhausts must exit from the top of the car as part of a set of rule changes conceived to outlaw the exhaust blown diffuser.

Nathanael Berthon will make his Formula 1 debut tomorrow when he joins the HRT team for the young driver test at Abu Dhabi.

The Frenchman took part in the non-championship GP2 race last weekend with the Racing Engineering team, finishing ninth in the feature race and 19th in the sprint.

Berthon, who had also raced in the GP2 Asia Series, will begin testing on Wednesday and will also be in action on Thursday.

"I'm pleased to have the chance to drive in this test for HRT as this will be my first real contact with a Formula 1 car," said Berthon.

"Without a doubt, this will be an experience that will reinforce my motivation for the future, and will help me to learn and understand better all the technology of an F1 car and how the tyres react in different situations.

"Formula 1 is what every driver aspires to reach but for me this is another step in my preparation for the future and my long-term objective; I'm just taking this as an experience. My target is to continue working and build my career step by step, and this test is just one more of those small but invaluable steps".

Formula 1 team principals are optimistic that enough common ground can be reached to save the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA), ahead of crunch talks to decide its future at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) had originally planned to get together in Abu Dhabi last weekend, but the meeting had to be postponed because of clashing meetings elsewhere that meant not all bosses could agree on a convenient time.

Although the delay of that meeting prompted fresh doubts about the future of FOTA, with teams suggesting its fate rests on a deal being struck on RRA, leading figures within the organisation remain optimistic that disagreements will get resolved.

This comes despite a last-minute proposal by Red Bull Racing for amendments to the RRA that it would like to see not gaining widespread support among its rivals.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who is also chairman of FOTA, believes that the situation within the organisation was not as dire as some had suggested - and he thinks there was enough common ground between outfits.

"I think there was a bit of sabre rattling saying that this was the end," he told AUTOSPORT.

"Let's start from the top - I think if you went around to everyone and said, 'do you think the costs should be controlled in F1?' I think every single team would say yes. Are the things that we are trying to address at the moment, are they the right things? I think people would say yes.

"I think the difference of opinion is over the level of third party external audit that some teams are accepting. McLaren's position is anyone can come in, they can pull up any drain cover, they can check anything they like. Other teams have got, for good or commercial reasons, a parent company and are part of a bigger business – so they say it is a matter of policy that we do not allow people to come and look at our books.

"We have to be a bit sympathetic of those things, and not just say, 'ah, that means they are cheating...'"

Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn felt that ultimately teams were keen to ensure that F1 did have an RRA – which left her optimistic a compromise could be found.

"I think that is the target and we all want to work towards it," she told AUTOSPORT. "But it all depends on what we agree. We can all agree to go ahead, some can agree, maybe a third party will get involved in this, all is open at the moment.

"The importance thing is to sit down and break it down to the most fundamental points, and find out if we have agreement on that or not. I am sure it will go ahead in some way or another, it is too important a topic."

Renault team principal Eric Boullier believed that sorting out RRA was key to FOTA's future, and felt that perhaps it was time some elements that are currently controlled by the body are moved outside and governed by external bodies – which could include the FIA.

"I think we have an issue to fix which is the RRA," he said. "More than this we have to rethink how we can split some responsibility from FOTA when some decisions put it in a difficult position.

"I think we are nearly there because at least now we have people moving forward in getting some proposals and discussing.

"We should rethink a little bit the status of FOTA and take away some of the sensitive discussions like this, to make sure they are ruled in a different context by the FIA. We must make sure FOTA is used as a constructive tool for all the teams."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali believes the next week is crucial, as team bosses would be given time to analyse the Red Bull Racing proposal ahead of the Brazil meeting.

"I think as you know we have done a proposal too, there was also this proposal submitted by Red Bull - I received it when I was flying here," he said.

"This is a week when we need to think about it. RRA is a very important element for the future of this sport and we need to make sure it is effective. It is a week to prepare for the meeting in Brazil."

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs believes that his morning of running with Virgin Racing in the Abu Dhabi young driver test will make him better prepared for any future Formula 1 opportunities.

The 20-year-old, who has previously only driven the Virgin during two straightline test, was having his first serious experience of F1 as a reward for being the best-placed Manor Racing driver at the end of the GP3 season, completing 32 laps before handing the car over to Charles Pic for the afternoon.

But despite having only half-a-day in the car, he is happy that he has banked plenty of experience.

"It's definitely going to help," he told AUTOSPORT. "Thirty laps is better than not having any when you next get into a car. It gives you an idea to expect when you come back again. In terms of brakes, cornering, everything, it's just that level higher.

"Even the way you use the tyres is different. You leave the pit-lane with warm tyres whereas normally that first lap is about warming them up before attacking. But this time you already have that temperature. It's just a slightly different approach everywhere."

Quaife-Hobbs added that he found it easy to build up confidence in the car.

This is despite being relatively unfamiliar with the Yas Marina circuit after having previously only driven here during a GP2 test last year.

"I've not driven any other F1 cars but I was happy that the balance was very good, so that gave me the confidence to attack and push hard," he said. "The laptime is not quite there when you look at the Red Bull, but if you look relatively at the gap between the cars, it was quite good.

"The track was a bit of a challenge. The last time I drove here in GP2 I only did two days in testing and I haven't driven it this year. But it came back okay and I gradually picked up the pace lap by lap as I got used to the car and the circuit."

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says having a winning car is key to retaining the services of Sebastian Vettel in the long run.

Vettel has a contract with the team until 2014, having joined the Milton Keynes squad in 2009.

Since then he has won two titles and taken 20 wins to become the youngest double champion in history.

Marko believes Vettel's loyalty to Red Bull cannot be taken for granted, as he is aware that the German will always want to be in winning car.

He is confident, however, that Red Bull will be very strong in years to come.

"We do not prefer extra long-time security and employment guarantees," Marko told AUTOSPORT in a interview. "We will have a look when it is necessary.

"The basis for Vettel to stay with us is to present a winning car to him. We cannot offer a glorious past in racing. Sebastian will drive where he gets the best possible package that creates the highest possibility of winning.

"Having said that, I can assure you that we will be in a strong position. Who except Ferrari has an engine deal in place for 2014 and beyond?"

Marko also made it clear that, while the team believes stability is key to success, it will always try to hire the best people.

"People in all key positions are under contract until and through 2014. You know we rely on continuity, however we avoid running into a standstill. We will continuously optimise our staff."

Felipe Massa believes Abu Dhabi Grand Prix organisers should look into the possibility of widening the entry to the hairpin before the long back straight in a bid to help overtaking.

Although the use of two DRS zones at the Yas Marina circuit helped deliver more passing moves than there have been in the past, the general consensus was that the track still remains a bit too hard to overtake on.

Massa thinks that re-profiling the hairpin would offer drivers the possibility of taking different racing lines through the corner - which could help make overtaking easier.

"It was interesting," said Massa when asked about his views on how well DRS had worked. "I still believe that this is a difficult track for overtaking.

"In my opinion they need to change a little bit corner seven, maybe even make it wider like in India. But anyway, it was okay.

"It was much better than last year for sure. Using DRS and everything, I was able to fight and overtake Mark [Webber], but for some other cars it was more difficult to overtake."

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner questioned the value of the second DRS zone – especially as many drivers who had lost a position at the first zone on the main straight found themselves easily able to get back in front at the second activation area.

"I think it was a bit too soft the second one," he explained. "Mark made a move on Jenson [button] and it was too easy for him to counter that. It is the sort of thing that can be tidied up for next year, but there was certainly more overtaking than there was 12 months ago."

The next two days of testing in Abu Dhabi will be important if Ferrari is to get on top of its front wing vibration problem.

Jules Bianchi was second fastest, just under one second off pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne during the first day of young driver testing at Yas Marina.

He insists that the priority for his three days of running is to work through the team's test programme, even though he also wants to make the most of the seat time for himself.

Ferrari struggled with a front wing vibration in both the Indian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, but this test offers it the chance to understand what is causing it.

"It will be very important, especially for the front wing," he said when asked what the team has planned for the next two days.

"In the morning, we did a lot of [aero] testing and hopefully we will find out why we have this vibration.

"It's also very important for me because we don't have any more testing, so it's a great experience ahead of next year."

Bianchi added that the team was happy with what was achieved during the first day of testing.

He completed a total of 85 laps, meaning that Ferrari was able to gather a significant amount of data during the day.

"Today was a very good day for me and the team because we did all of the programme and everything went really well," he said. "I am really happy and I hope tomorrow will be also very good."

Max Chilton realised the dream of a lifetime by testing a Formula 1 car for the first time today.

The 20-year-old has conducting straightline running for Force India before, but his day in the car in the Abu Dhabi rookie test was his first taste of F1 machinery on a proper circuit.

He ended up sixth fastest after completing 81 laps, setting a best time 3.005s off pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne despite a KERS failure in the afternoon costing him a little performance.

"It was a lifetime's dream come true," he told AUTOSPORT. "To have a full day at a race circuit just after a grand prix was brilliant.

"I think I got on well. The team seemed to be impressed that I got all of the controls right. They are not looking for outright speed on the first day, but I think that I showed I had good speed as well.

"This morning I was a little bit hesitant because it was a bit alien with all of the controls and the power steering to learn. But I quickly got used to it and this afternoon I was really attacking it, using all of the kerbs."

Chilton will sit out tomorrow's running, during which Johnny Cecotto Jr will have his first taste of F1 machinery.

He believes that having time out of the car will allow him to get the best performance out of himself and the car when he returns to the cockpit for the final day of the test on Thursday.

"When you're learning something new, it's always good to step back and just have a look," he said. "Without trying, you go back and do a better job.

"It's good to have the day off because it gives me a day's rest and the chance to go around the track and see what everybody else is up to.

"On Thursday, it would be perfect to be really happy with the time I do, hopefully on the super soft tyres, and impress the team with what I've done.

"The aim is to come away from the test and have learned as much as possible. Hopefully it will lead on to even better things."

Jan Charouz has become the latest driver to join the Abu Dhabi test line-up, the Czech scheduled to run with HRT.

Charouz will take to the track tomorrow morning and then will step aside in the afternoon, when Nathanael Berthon will be driving.

Charouz, who is currently one of Renault's reserve drivers, is also scheduled to test with his team this week.

The Czech competed in the GP2 race in Abu Dhabi last weekend with the Carlin team.

"Although it is not my first time in a Formula 1 car, it will no doubt be a new and interesting experience since it is the first time I drive the current car," said Charouz.

"It will also be the first time I test the new Pirelli tyres. I have driven with this brand's tyres in other categories but surely the performance and behaviour of the PZero will be surprising.

"It will be a great opportunity and I thank HRT for giving me the chance to test with them tomorrow."

Rodolfo Gonzalez claims to be better suited to grand prix machinery than GP2 cars after his second taste of Formula 1 with Team Lotus today.

The Venezuelan, who has raced in GP2 since making his debut in the Asia Series in 2008, has started 55 races in the second-tier category and scored only four points.

But after enjoying his day of testing with Lotus, he insists that he is far more comfortable in F1 machinery after setting the tenth fastest time of the day, four seconds off the pace, with a time set on super soft rubber in the final hour of the day.

This underlines his desire to be with a leading team if he does return to GP2 in 2012. Among the outfits he is talking to are the Team Lotus-owned AirAsia outfit, who he regards as a top team.

"My pace was pretty okay," he told AUTOSPORT. "F1 came easier to me than GP2. I go used to it quicker, I learned it quicker and I was able to adapt my driving style throughout the day.

"I'd love to do F1 next year, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'd like to do GP2 again, but I don't want to make up the numbers.

"If I cannot be with a top three team, then there's no point doing it because in GP2 you need to have a strong team with a very strong structure and the whole package together.

Gonzalez also tested for Lotus in Abu Dhabi in 2010, but admitted that he was much happier with his performance this year.

"It was much better than last year," he said. "Obviously, I was a bit more familiar with all of the controls, so as soon as I left the pit-lane, I could concentrate on driving.

"I hadn't driven anything in a month-and-a-half, I didn't do any simulator time and I didn't even walk the track yesterday. I was surprised that within a couple of runs I was already getting to be quite quick. I was happy."

[Lineker]

And from the BBC.... I have a headache and I don't get it.

Construction of the 2012 United States Grand Prix track has been halted after the circuit's owners said they have not yet been granted a contract to stage the race.

Circuit of The Americas officials in Austin, Texas, said workers had been told to down tools while they await confirmation from Formula 1 officials.

"The failure to deliver race contracts gives us great concern," they said.

On Saturday F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone cast doubt on the Texas race.

"Local businesses, fans and the State of Texas are counting on us," added Red McCombs, a founding group partner.

In a separate announcement it was confirmed that public funds would not be used to be pay for the development of the track.

"Let me state clearly: We have not paid out any money for the Formula 1 event," said Susan Combs from Texas Public Accounts.

"The only dollars that can be spent on the United States Grand Prix are tax revenues attributable to the successful running of a race. The state of Texas will not be paying any funds in advance of the event."

The United States last hosted a grand prix at Indianapolis in 2007, but Ecclestone has long been seeking a new venue to bring the sport back to one of its biggest markets.

In 2010, Ecclestone announced that a purpose-built circuit would be constructed near Austin and would host the US Grand Prix until 2021.

But last week US Grand Prix circuit chiefs were left bemused when he cast doubt on next year's race, describing negotiations as "an uphill struggle".

"Austin? I wouldn't want to put my money down that that will happen," he said. "I hope it will and we are doing our best to make it happen, but I wouldn't want to say 'yes'."

In addition, it was announced in October that a second American Grand Prix would be held in Manhattan for 10 years from 2013.

Steve Sexton, president of the Austin circuit, said in response to Ecclestone's comments: "Our funding is secured and construction is on schedule, so we don't understand these comments.

"He [Ecclestone] has expressed great interest in the Austin race and in expanding the F1 brand into the US."

The dispute comes after Bahrain's Crown Prince confirmed the Gulf state will be able to hold its grand prix next season after civil unrest caused this year's race to be cancelled.

[Lineker]

Jean-Eric Vergne continued to head the timesheets in the Abu Dhabi young driver test despite being restricted to just 17 laps after Red Bull suffered sensor problems this morning.

The Red Bull driver set a best lap of 1m40.188s to knock Ferrari driver Jules Bianchi off top spot.

Vergne's time was 0.177s slower than his fastest time of Tuesday, and the Frenchman improved on his last lap of the morning to close to 0.650s off the Red Bull driver with his best lap of the weekend.

Bianchi, who yesterday described this test as "important" for Ferrari mastering its vibrating front wing, ended the morning second fastest, 1.093s off Vergne, although he was concentrating on aerodynamic and tyre work rather than gunning for laptimes.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, who is completing a second day of running before dashing to Macau to compete in the Formula 3 Grand Prix, set the third fastest time as he continues to make a positive impression on the Williams test. If he continues his good performance, he will put himself into stronger contention for a possible race seat in 2012.

McLaren driver Gary Paffett ended the first half day of running in fourth place, but he caused a red flag shortly before midday when his car ground to a halt with a loss of oil. It's not clear when he will be able to return to the track.

Among the drivers making their first appearances of the test were Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez, who was fifth fastest and Team Lotus one-time Friday driver Luiz Razia. Joining them were F1 test debutants Kevin Korjus (Renault), Kevin Ceccon (STR) and Johnny Cecotto Jr (Force India).

Jan Charouz spent the morning driving for HRT in preparation for his full day for Renault tomorrow. He ended the day 11th fastest ahead of Charles Pic, who was only able to complete 21 laps for Virgin after the team spent part of the morning changing an engine-related component that required the floor to be removed.

Morning times:


Pos  Driver               Team                  Time      Laps

 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.188s   17

 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m40.838s   45

 3.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m42.548s   38

 4.  Gary Paffett         McLaren-Mercedes      1m42.645s   23

 5.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari        1m43.637s   47

 6.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m43.734s   43

 7.  Luiz Razia           Lotus-Renault         1m44.323s   44

 8.  Kevin Korjus         Renault               1m44.425s   38

 9.  Kevin Ceccon         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m44.947s   41

10.  Johnny Cecotto Jr    Force India-Mercedes  1m45.475s   39

11.  Jan Charouz          HRT-Cosworth          1m46.728s   37

12.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth       1m48.397s   21


All Timing Unofficial[/code]




Jean-Eric Vergne remained at the top of the timesheets after the second day of the young driver test in Abu Dhabi.



The Frenchman's running was restricted because of a mixture of sensor troubles during the morning and KERS problems in the afternoon. But Vergne's best lap of 1m40.188s from the morning was enough to earn him top spot.



Ferrari driver Jules Bianchi improved during the final hour, setting a best lap just 0.091s behind with half-an-hour of the day remaining, to finish very close to Vergne.



Despite setting a strong time, Bianchi also had a lot of test work to get through, trying out some new components, conducting engine mapping trials and also running Pirelli's 2012 rubber.



McLaren driver Gary Paffett recovered from causing a red flag during the morning session when he lost oil, ending up third overall ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the Williams.



The Finn lost a little time around the lunch break when he suffered a wiring problem, but was soon able to return to the track after a delay at the start of the afternoon.



He was due to head to the airport soon after stepping out of the car to complete a dash to Macau for the Formula 3 Grand Prix, with first practice for that event starting only 14 hours after the chequered flag today.



Esteban Gutierrez made his first appearance for Sauber since last year's rookie test, ending the day sixth overall behind Force India's Johnny Cecotto Jr and Mercedes's Sam Bird, who continued an intensive schedule of car development work.



Cecotto Jr was the the best F1 debutant ahead of Formula Renault 3.5 race-winner Kevin Korjus, eighth overall.



Also running today were Luiz Razia (Lotus), Kevin Ceccon (Toro Rosso) and Jan Charouz (HRT), with Charles Pic continuing in the Virgin and ending up slowest overall after losing time in the morning while the team worked on changing an engine-related system component that required the floor to be removed.



Nathanael Berthon also appeared during the final half-hour, taking over Charouz's car. He will return for a full day of running tomorrow.



[code]Todays times:


Pos  Driver               Team                  Time       Gap

 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.188s

 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m40.279s  + 0.091

 3.  Gary Paffett         McLaren-Mercedes      1m41.756s  + 1.568

 4.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m42.367s  + 2.179

 5.  Johnny Cecotto Jr    Force India-Mercedes  1m42.873s  + 2.685

 6.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari        1m43.637s  + 3.449

 7.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m43.734s  + 3.546

 8.  Kevin Korjus         Renault               1m43.776s  + 3.588

 9.  Luiz Razia           Lotus-Renault         1m43.944s  + 3.756

10.  Kevin Ceccon         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m44.808s  + 4.620

11.  Jan Charouz          HRT-Cosworth          1m46.644s  + 6.456

12.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth       1m46.698s  + 6.510

13.  Nathanael Berthon    HRT-Cosworth          1m48.646s  + 8.458


All Timing Unofficial

The Austin Grand Prix has been plunged into fresh doubt after construction work at the track was stopped this week on the back of a dispute among the race organisers.

Amid growing uncertainty about the event, with Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone revealing to team principals in India that he was unsure if the race would go ahead, the matter has now reached a critical point with construction at the venue being halted.

A row has grown between the promoters of the event, Full Throttle Productions - which owns the rights to host the race - and the circuit organisers who are building the venue.

The race hosting deal needs to be transferred to the Circuit of the Americas for the event to go ahead, but this has not happened.

A statement issued by the track on Tuesday night said that work would not resume until that contract was in place.

Bobby Epstein, founding partner of the Circuit of the Americas, said: "We have spent tremendous resources preparing for the Formula 1 and MotoGP Championship races, but the failure to deliver race contracts gives us great concern.

"We believe the United States is vital for the future of Formula 1 and its teams and sponsors. Given the purpose-built Tilke design, creating a unique fan experience and iconic challenge for drivers, we hope that Texas will not be left behind. More than 100,000 fans have expressed an interest in purchasing tickets for Formula 1 alone."

A subsequent statement from Full Throttle Productions said: "After years of effort in getting F1 to Austin, Full Throttle Productions and city, county and state officials have done all we could.

"It is the responsibility of Circuit of the Americas to bring it across the finish line. For the sake of everyone, we are hopeful that they can reach an agreement with Formula 1."

Ecclestone told reporters at last week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the Austin GP event was facing difficulties to secure its place on the calendar.

"We are trying," he said. "It is a bit of an uphill struggle but we will try and get there.

"There are two parties. One has got a track and is building it, and the other has got the contract. And they forgot to talk to each other."

There is now some urgency to get the Austin matter sorted, because the FIA World Motor Sport Council is due to confirm the 2012 calendar at its next meeting early next month.

If the uncertainty continues, or the contract is not in place, then the FIA may have no choice but to drop the event from the calendar.

F1 team principals think it vital that the sport properly breaks through into the American market, although whether that is next year or with the New Jersey race in 2013 remains to be seen.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "America doesn't need F1, we need America. So I think we are excited by the prospect of going to the States.

"Bernie, I am sure, is working very hard on the Texas race and the New Jersey race, and it is in our programme. We assume we are going there.

"I imagine, as is often the case, there is some posturing and negotiation, but that is not our business. The calendar says we are going there, that is what we are planning on, and that is what we are looking forward to."

Austin Grand Prix organisers have been told that they will not get any advanced payments from the local government, in another blow to the future of the event.

The original plan had been for the Texas legislature to forward $25 million in advance payments from a Major Events Trust Fund (METF) to help pay the race hosting fee, with subsequent funding then being generated from the extra tax revenue that the event would bring to the city.

However, with a dispute between race organisers and circuit promoters now going public, and the Austin event no longer being the only race in the United States, the local official who would approve the funds has said that no finances will be available in advance.

Texas comptroller Susan Combs issued a statement voicing her worries about the situation developing in Austin, and making it clear that tax payers' money would not be jeopardised for the sake of the race.

"The recent announcement of an annual Formula 1 race in New Jersey is a concern, as additional races have the potential to reduce the number of attendees to a Texas race, thereby decreasing the economic impact," she said.

"Additionally, the reports of a slowdown in construction at the Circuit of the Americas, and recently publicized disagreements between the race rights-holder and the circuit developers have prompted speculation about whether the Austin race will even occur. The ongoing controversies are a concern and we will continue to monitor them.

"Let me state clearly: We have not paid out any money for the Formula 1 event. The only dollars that can be spent on the United States Grand Prix are tax revenues attributable to the successful running of a race. The state of Texas will not be paying any funds in advance of the event.

"Further, as is the case with all METF events, each application will be reviewed and analyzed for its likely economic impact and only after the race occurs would any funds be disbursed.

"If an METF application is submitted, it will be thoroughly vetted and economic impact data scrutinized based on the actual circumstances for that event. Ultimately, I am responsible for protecting the interests of Texas taxpayers, first and foremost. I will not allow taxpayer dollars to be placed at risk. My position on that has not changed."

Construction work at the Circuit of the Americas was halted on Tuesday on the back of a dispute between race organisers.

The full statement from Texas comptroller Susan Combs:

It's no secret that I've supported Texas hosting a Formula 1 race since 2008. I believe a well-organized event of this magnitude can be a tremendous benefit to Texas if done right. Investors, businesses and event organizers want to come to Texas because we've developed an economic climate that is attractive, our state is a great location for events, and we've got space and potential to grow.

A tool for recruiting large events to the state is the Major Events Trust Fund (METF), which was created by the Texas Legislature in 2003. In the past two years, eligible METF recipients have included the NFL Super Bowl XLV, the NBA All-Star Game and the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four tournaments. The support provided by the METF comes from sales, hotel, beverage and other tax revenue generated by out-of- state visitors who attend the event.

When the United States Grand Prix was formally announced, it was the only Formula 1 race scheduled in the U.S. During the past 18 months, organizers have taken many steps to bring high-profile motor racing to Central Texas, including the development of the Circuit of the Americas, and the announcement of the global MotoGP and V8 Supercar race series starting in 2013.

The recent announcement of an annual Formula 1 race in New Jersey is a concern, as additional races have the potential to reduce the number of attendees to a Texas race, thereby decreasing the economic impact. Additionally, the reports of a slowdown in construction at the Circuit of the Americas, and recently publicized disagreements between the race rights-holder and the circuit developers have prompted speculation about whether the Austin race will even occur. The ongoing controversies are a concern and we will continue to monitor them.

"Let me state clearly: We have not paid out any money for the Formula 1 event. The only dollars that can be spent on the United States Grand Prix are tax revenues attributable to the successful running of a race. The state of Texas will not be paying any funds in advance of the event. Further, as is the case with all METF events, each application will be reviewed and analyzed for its likely economic impact and only after the race occurs would any funds be disbursed.

If an METF application is submitted, it will be thoroughly vetted and economic impact data scrutinized based on the actual circumstances for that event. Ultimately, I am responsible for protecting the interests of Texas taxpayers, first and foremost. I will not

allow taxpayer dollars to be placed at risk. My position on that has not changed.

About Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs is committed to making state government work better for Texans.

Bringing a strong fiscal conservative philosophy to the Comptroller's office, which serves as the state's treasurer, check writer, tax collector and revenue estimator, Combs insists that taxpayer money be spent wisely and that both citizens and their elected officials have a true accounting of the state's finances.

Since being elected Texas Comptroller in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, she has driven sweeping reforms in state purchasing and contracting. The Comptroller also is focused on ensuring the fair collection of taxes. In 2007, a law was passed that expanded the Comptroller's enforcement capabilities for beer and tobacco sales tax, helping the agency identify more than $260 million due to the state.

Through comprehensive reports on issues such as energy, water, health care and public education, Combs' office provides insight into long-term solutions for the continued economic vitality of Texas. She is deeply concerned about the impact of federal mandates and policy proposals on the state's future, and has provided in-depth analyses of potential costs and their impact.

Committed to further securing the private data for citizens and businesses, Combs joined the board of the University of Texas Center for Identity in the summer of 2011. The Center for Identity assembles public- and private-sector leaders with an interest in anticipating and combating identity threats.

Before beginning her tenure as Comptroller, Combs was the first woman elected as Texas Agriculture Commissioner. A fourth generation Texan, she was elected to two terms, during which she boosted rural economic development efforts and aggressively promoted made-in-Texas products throughout the nation and the world. She continues to serve as a knowledgeable and passionate voice for the state's farmers and ranchers.

Prior to serving as Agriculture Commissioner, Combs served in the Texas Legislature where she introduced and passed government accountability reform and protected Texas landowners by authoring the state's landmark private property rights legislation.

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says he is ready to axe the Austin Grand Prix in the wake of internal disputes between the race organisers.

Ecclestone had intimated in India that the race was at risk, but the situation reached a critical point this week when circuit construction was halted amidst a growing row between the event promoters and the track's organisers.

"We've done everything we bloody well can to make this race happen," Ecclestone told the Press Association. When asked whether the race was in danger of being dropped, he replied: "Yes, it will be for sure, 100 per cent."

Ecclestone said that his original contract, with Tavo Hellmund's Full Throttle Productions company - who owned the rights to host the race - had been cancelled recently.

He said he had instead started negotiations with the track developers, the Circuit of The Americas, who halted construction work on Tuesday after claiming contract talks had not progressed as previously agreed.

Ecclestone says he is yet to receive a guarantee of payment from COTA, and has given them three weeks to resolve the situation or risk having the race dropped from the 2012 Formula 1 calendar when the World Motor Sport Council meets in New Delhi on December 7.

"We had an agreement with Full Throttle Productions," Ecclestone explained. "Everything was signed and sealed, but we kept putting things off like the dates, various letters of credit and things that should have been sent, but nothing ever happened.

"Then these other people [COTA] came on the scene, saying that they wanted to do things, but that they had problems with Tavo [Hellmund]. They said they had the circuit, and that they wanted an agreement with me.

"I told them they had to sort out the contract with Tavo, which they said they would. But that has gone away now because we've cancelled Tavo's contract as he was in breach.

"We've waited six months for him to remedy the breach. He knows full well why we've cancelled. He's happy. But these other people haven't got a contract. All we've asked them to do is get us a letter of credit.

"We are looking for security for money they are going to have to pay us. That is via a letter of credit, normally from a bank. If people don't have the money they find it difficult to get the letter of credit, and so we don't issue a contract."

The dispute means F1's current four-year absence from the US, a key market, could be further prolonged, although a deal to race in New Jersey from 2013 was recently agreed.

Stefano Coletti is confident of being better prepared for his final half-day of running with Scuderia Toro Rosso during the Abu Dhabi young driver test after sitting out today in favour of Kevin Ceccon.

Coletti, a race-winner in GP2 Asia in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, completed 87 laps yesterday, finishing the day 11th fastest. He will return to the cockpit tomorrow morning.

"My brain is going to work a lot," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT whether have a day off will help him. "I'm happy I'm not doing my half day on Wednesday because it's always good to have a break and then get back into the car. Then, when you do, everything gets easier.

"It's like when you go from Formula BMW to F3 or F3 to GP2, every time it's very hard physically and mentally because you learn a lot of new things. Then, on the second day, it's easy because when you go to sleep your brain works out everything."

Coletti added that he found the overall grip level of the car in the corners most impressive.

But after initially struggling to come to terms with the downforce levels, he was happy that he got on top of the car.

"It was impressive," said Coletti. "Not the speed in itself, because you don't really notice the straightline speed, but it's about the speed in the corners. It's unbelievable.

"At the start, you think that the car can't do it, but if you keep your foot down there is an amazing amount of downforce."

Coletti added that although he had no problems with his neck despite the high G-force, he did suffer from some back pain.

This was a result of the fracture in his back that he suffered in a GP2 accident at Spa in August.

"My neck had no problems," he said. "Actually, I was surprised by that but on this track there are not many high speed corners.

"My back still hurts a bit, but that was related to my accident."

GP2 race-winner Dani Clos is targeting a Formula 1 graduation with HRT next season after testing for the Spanish team in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

The 23-year-old Spaniard, who has previous F1 testing experience with Williams, is one of many drivers who have talked to HRT about a possible seat in 2012 and he knows that it would require him to raise further budget to land a role with the team.

"For a driver to get into F1, many things are involved," Clos told AUTOSPORT. "The team has to want you, and I think that is the case. But there is also the economic side.

"It's not that teams want to ask for money, but they need to. The economic situation in every sector is very hard. We are in the situation that we would love to step up but we need some support on the economic side. It's not impossible."

Clos added that he feels ready to graduate to F1 after racing in GP2 since 2009. He finished ninth this year driving for Racing Engineering, although ended up four places higher during the 2010 season.

If his hopes to graduate to F1 do not come off, Clos could return to GP2, and he would consider dovetailing such a programme with the third driver role in F1.

"I think I am prepared enough to step up into F1 because I have a lot of experience and podiums in GP2," he said. "I would love to do something in F1 next year and if not stepping up as a race driver with the team, maybe I could do something as third driver while doing some other category.

"I hope that we get the economic support because I think that we can do good things.

"It has been great to step back into an F1 car again after three years and the opportunity to be with HRT was incredible - also because it's with a Spanish team."

Fabio Leimer described becoming the first Swiss driver to driver for Sauber since Neel Jani last tested for the team at Jerez in December 2003 as a special experience.

Leimer ended yesterday's first day of the young driver test in Abu Dhabi fourth fastest, 2.320s off pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne's Red Bull.

The 22-year-old, who has handed the car over to Esteban Gutierrez for the final two days of the test, felt that he settled in well to the Swiss team.

"It's something very special to be a Swiss driver going to a Swiss team," Leimer told AUTOSPORT. "They are not all Swiss guys, but there are some people that you can talk to in Swiss-German, which is nice to help me relax.

"On track, it doesn't make a big difference because when you are in the car you speak English. But it's a good feeling to know that it's a Swiss team. They were very open and I felt really comfortable."

Leimer admitted that he was surprised at how easy it was to adapt to the car on his first day in an F1 car.

He found the precision of the Sauber C31 meant that he could attack relatively early in the day.

"It was my first time in an F1 car and I got used to it really quickly," he said. "I thought that it would be much more difficult to drive in the corners, but it's such a smooth car, which I didn't expect because the GP2 car is so aggressive.

"It was a really good day and I learned a lot."

He added that the biggest challenge he faced was getting used to operating the various steering wheel-mounted systems that require regular driver input.

But he was confident that he managed to master these systems rapidly and could concentrate on improving his driving.

"The hardest thing was not the physical side," he said. "The hardest thing was that I had to do so much when I was on the track. In GP2, you don't have to change much, but in F1 you have to use the boost button, the DRS and they ask you to switch various things.

"That's the toughest thing when you are focused on the track and you have to know what button to use."

Pirelli has ruled out a structural tyre failure as the cause of Sebastian Vettel's opening lap problem at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Following a detailed examination of the tyre after the crash, which suffered an instantaneous deflation and put Vettel out of the race after he spun and damaged his rear suspension, Pirelli is adamant that the issue was not caused by factors under its control.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Pirelli insisted that structural failure of the tyre or valve had been ruled out - with it doubtful that debris was to blame either.

Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery said: "We can confirm that a structural failure was not the cause of Sebastian Vettel's deflation in Abu Dhabi, a conclusion that we have arrived at together with Red Bull Racing following a detailed examination and analysis of the remains of the tyre.

"We cannot rule out debris on the track causing damage to the tyre, which then provoked a deflation, but having looked at the track closely there is no direct evidence of this."

Pirelli's statement appears to suggest that Red Bull Racing itself may have contributed to the failure.

There has been speculation that the tyre could have failed as the result of overheating complications caused by hot exhaust gases being blown across it.

Red Bull Racing has so far not commented on the outcome of its own investigation into the matter, despite being contacted for an explanation.

Red Bull Racing thinks it may never have a definitive explanation for what caused Sebastian Vettel's puncture in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after post-race analysis failed to uncover a firm answer.

Although investigations have ruled out a structural failure of the tyre or valve, and Pirelli says it has discovered no proof that debris was to blame, Red Bull Racing suspects that the most likely cause of the tyre deflating was a piece of carbon fibre from another car that Vettel ran over at the first exit kerb.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said that analysis work with Pirelli had failed to uncover a definite cause.

"We have worked hard with the full assistance of Pirelli to find an answer, but unfortunately when you are presented with a bag of bits it is almost impossible to come up with a firm answer," he told AUTOSPORT.

"There is nothing on the data to suggest there was anything wrong with the tyre before the start, but when he ran across the kerb on the exit of Turn 1 there was an instant deflation. We believe the most likely cause of this was a foreign object penetrating the tyre, but we may never find the true answer."

Horner dismissed theories that the tyre failure was caused by the inner sidewall getting overheated from exhaust gasses blown on it at the rear of the car.

He also said that on-board footage from Jenson Button's car on the grid, that showed smoke emerging from Vettel's right rear tyre at the start, was not actually rubber but was in fact burning bodywork.

"There was some worn bodywork that got burned, and that gave the appearance of smoke from the tyre after the start," he said.

"Sebastian's start procedure was the same as Mark's, and the same it had been all season. We were also running in the same configuration as before, so there is no reason why we should suddenly suffer a problem."

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery believes his company and Red Bull will probably never know what caused Sebastian Vettel's right-rear tyre to suffer an instant deflation while leading the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after ruling out tyre failure.

An investigation carried out by both Pirelli and Red Bull could find no definitive explanation for what happened, and Hembery admitted that in this case they did not have enough evidence to go on.

"You can come up with 100 different ideas and it's one of those things that you won't know for sure," Hembery told AUTOSPORT. "We'll just leave it at that. Something caused the deflation, and we won't know that cause.

"Sometimes, you're able to get a lot closer [to a cause] because you get a lot more information back or you can see something clearly. We did end up a bag of bits, analysed it in great detail with microscopes and didn't see anything that would cause us to suggest that there was a tyre failure.

"We did the investigation with Red Bull and that's what we both concluded. There's no sign of any tyre failure other than something has clearly created a big hole in it."

Hembery added that Pirelli has no concerns about a repeat of this problem as the tyre itself did not cause the failure.

The fact that the tyre had also been run in qualifying supports his certainty that there was no fundamental problem.

"We're not concerned," he said. "We've had a few things like that in the season. You get something that cuts into the tyre or causes a tyre to fail and often you can quite clearly see the cause. In this situation, we weren't so fortunate.

"There's nothing you can do if something goes into it or cuts it. We try and make them resist as much as they can, but our definition of a tyre failure would be if under sustained use the tyre had failed. This was not the case."

Pirelli did not rule out debris causing the deflation, although Hembery has said that there was no direct evidence of this happening.

Valtteri Bottas believes that he is driving even better on his second day of testing for Williams than he did yesterday.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT during the lunch break on the second day of the Abu Dhabi rookie test, the 22-year-old is also happy with the progress that the team made this morning.

"I'm definitely feeling more confident," he told AUTOSPORT. "I worked some things out pretty well, so my driving is better than yesterday.

"We have done the tests that we planned and everything has gone well. I think that my speed is there and the consistency as well.

"The main thing is to get all of the data out of these tests and I'm happy with where we are now. We also had some really good tests with the new Pirelli tyres."

Bottas missed the start of afternoon running as the team works to repair a problem with the wiring loom that occurred shortly before the chequered flag fell for lunch.

It is hoped that the Finn will be able to resume testing imminently.

"We had a small problem before lunch where some smoke started to come in the cockpit," said Bottas. "they are working on it."

Jules Bianchi is not worried about missing out on fastest time in today's young driver running in Abu Dhabi despite pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne being only nine hundredths of a second faster.

The Ferrari test driver set his best time with half-an-hour remaining of the second day of the test at Yas Marina, but although he admitted that it would have been a boost to be fastest, he's happy that the team achieved its testing objectives.

"It's a little bit disappointing because it's always better to be first than second, but it's not really important," said Bianchi when asked by AUTOSPORT if he was disappointed. "We were just doing our thing and the programme went well today.

"At the end, we improved quite a lot from yesterday - by seven tenths - so that is a positive thing. We will try to keep going on in this way and improve again tomorrow."

Bianchi confirmed that he was focused on engine work in the morning before moving on to Pirelli tyre testing in the afternoon.

He added that the team did not focus on aerodynamic work despite suggesting yesterday that this test was "important" for the team in understanding its front wing vibration problems.

"This morning was about engine maps," he said. "With the new rules for next season, we tried to test some new things.

"The afternoon was for the new tyres for 2012, trying the new spec from Pirelli. There was nothing on the aerodynamics - only the engine maps."

Kevin Korjus believes that he had the potential for a faster laptime after ending his first Formula 1 test eighth overall, 3.588s off pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne.

But the 18-year-old Estonian, a race-winner in Formula Renault 3.5 this year, was satisfied with his overall performance in Abu Dhabi.

"I'm not so happy about the best laptime I did, but overall it went quite well," he said, when asked about his pace by AUTOSPORT. "I improved every lap and got more used to everything, so it was good.

"I'm sure if I were to drive tomorrow I would get a much better laptime."

Korjus added that adapting to the braking capacity of the Renault was the biggest challenge.

He did not struggle to deal with the speed of the car, but was impressed with its top speed when using the DRS wing and KERS boost.

"I was surprised by the brakes of this car," he said. "You can really brake late and feel how your body has to stop. I found that quite difficult.

"The straightline speed is not so big a difference. But when you press the KERS and the DRS you can feel that the car is quick."

Jan Charouz, who tested for HRT today, will take over driving duties for Renault on the final day of the test tomorrow.

Jan Charouz is delighted that he has completed enough laps to qualify for a Formula 1 superlicence during his first day of testing in a contemporary grand prix car.

The 24-year-old Czech had tested a 2009 Renault in his regular role as one of the team's junior drivers.

He has set his sights on an F1 role next year now that he has completed the 300km qualifying distance behind the wheel of an HRT at Yas Marina.

"The aim of the test was to get enough miles for the superlicence and we accomplished that," he told AUTOSPORT.

"I don't know what I am doing next year yet. What I would like to do, ideally, is at least Friday practice sometime in the future. But until I get that chance, I don't know [what opportunities there are]."

Charouz will switch to driving the Renault tomorrow, with Nathanael Berthon, who briefly took to the track at the end of today, taking over HRT duties.

He is confident that his HRT experience will allow him to make the most of his day with Renault.

"Every kilometre you do in an F1 car gives you more confidence, especially for the quick stuff. The slow corners are the same in every car, but fast corners are where the biggest difference is.

"It was good to get used to the DRS because that's something I haven't done before. With KERS tomorrow, I have only one more step to take. If I jumped straight into it maybe it might be more difficult.

"I think the car is quite similar in behaviour to the GP2 car, but the steering is lighter. The car is good, but it could use some more development, especially on the rear, as after a couple of laps you start losing grip."

Johnny Cecotto Jr is determined to carve a name for himself in motor-racing after following his father into Formula 1 during today's rookie running in Abu Dhabi.

The 22-year-old, who had a disappointing year in GP2 this year, was delighted to step into an F1 car 27 years after his father's grand prix career was ended when he broke both legs in a qualifying crash at Brands Hatch.

But he admitted that he is keen to use the opportunity to establish his reputation as a driver in his own right rather than being compared to Cecotto Sr, a world champion in motorbike racing who went on to become an F1 racer for Theodore and Toleman and successful touring car driver.

"It's an an amazing feeling," Cecotto Jr told AUTOSPORT. "The last time my dad sat in an F1 car was in 1984 when he had that terrible accident, so to be here and to follow on from where he finished is amazing.

"It is difficult at the beginning when you start racing because everyone looks at you. You are learning while everyone who doesn't have a famous name has the chance to do two or three years without anybody knowing them. Then once they have matured and win a race, everyone says they are a new talent.

"From my first day, everyone is looking at me asking 'why is Cecotto having so many problems'. It's just the normal learning procedure.

"I want to make a name for myself. This year was a very unlucky season but now I'm P5 in F1. I'm really happy and think that it demonstrates that I have the speed to be a top racing driver."

Cecotto ended the day 2.685s off Jean-Eric Vergne's fastest time, but reckons that he could have set a much faster time.

His first attempt at a quick lap was interrupted by a red flag, while traffic held him up when he went out again.

"At the end of the day, I got one run with the super soft tyres to try and do a time," he said. "It was difficult because we went from testing with more fuel, to low fuel. And it was the only set of super softs I ran.

"On top of that, there was a red flag on the first lap and I had to come in. Then, on my second attempt, I had to overtake a car and they saw on the data that I lost about six tenths. I'm happy with the time that I did but it would have made it that little bit better."

Esteban Gutierrez is aiming to improve his consistency during his second day of running with Sauber in the Abu Dhabi young driver test tomorrow.

The Sauber reserve driver, who last drove for the team in the rookie test at the same venue exactly one year ago, ended up sixth fastest today.

He set a time 3.449s off the pace, but is not concerned about his outright pace.

"To be more consistent, to bring the car home safely and to give the best feedback to the team," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT what his personal aims are for his second day in the car.

"I'm not here to be the quickest. I'm here for the experience, to get the most out of the opportunity. For the test programme, it's important to set consistent laptimes.

"In testing you have to be very clever. If you want a good comparison of what you are testing, you need to be consistent in what you do and maybe you will not optimise the laptime.

"But it's most important to be consistent and give the right feedback. If I push too much to find the limit then I could make mistakes and I will not know what to say to the team."

Despite aiming to improve tomorrow, the Mexican was happy with his performance on his first day back in the car.

This is despite the challenge presented by his three days of testing F1 machinery being spread over a two-year period.

"I'm really happy," he said. "I was able to get a good feeling for the car and the things that we tested.

"With time I will improve more. We have to be realistic because it's only my third time in F1 with long gaps in between. If in the future I get to drive more often, then I will see some improvement and work to be on the limit in every aspect."

Kevin Ceccon admitted he was amazed by the performance of Formula 1 machinery after completing his first day of running in Abu Dhabi.

The 18-year-old, this year's Auto GP champion, joined the Toro Rosso team to make his debut at the wheel of a grand prix car.

Ceccon, who has also contested a partial GP2 season with Coloni, posted the 10th quickest time and was very pleased with his performance, as he felt he had adapted to the demands of Formula 1 quite quickly.

"It's amazing, incredible. It's completely different from other car and the feeling is unbelievable," Ceccon told AUTOSPORT at the end of the day.

"It was very good. I reached a good level quite easily. Then for sure to get to the perfect driving style you need more time, but I think I got quite easily to a good driving style."

The Italian said he was not focused on setting quick laptimes, but rather on helping Toro Rosso with its preparations for the season finale in Brazil.

"We don't look at the times," he said. "We are only concentrated to work on the car and to prepare everything. I know that the engineers are happy about my work and I don't look at the laptimes. It was quite a good day. I learned a lot and I hope that tomorrow will be better."

And he feels this week's test will be a big help for him next year if he, as expected, secures a full-time drive in GP2.

"I think a lot, because Formula 1 helps you a lot and teaches you a lot about everything. I think that if I do GP2 next year this test will be very good for me."

[Lineker]

Red Bull driver Jean-Eric Vergne headed the final morning of the young driver test in Abu Dhabi, setting a best mark just 0.436s off Sebastian Vettel's pole position time for last weekend's grand prix.

The Frenchman, who also topped the first two days of the test, improved on his best time by over a second to top the times by 2.430s from Ferrari's Jules Bianchi.

Oliver Turvey returned to work for McLaren after sitting out yesterday's running in favour of Gary Paffett. He ended the morning ahead of Force India returnee Max Chilton, who was fourth fastest overall.

Alexander Rossi, driving an F1 car for the first time since a tryout for BMW Sauber in December 2009, made his first appearance for Team Lotus. After spending the early running familiarising himself with the car, he ended up fifth fastest ahead of Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez.

Stefano Coletti returned to action for Scuderia Toro Rosso, ending up with a best time 5.628s off the pace. He hands over the car to Kevin Ceccon for the rest of the day.

Mirko Bortolotti was another to return to F1 action after two years away, driving for Williams as a prize for winning the F2 title. He ended the morning eighth fastest after improving on his final lap.

Nathanael Berthon had his first significant run in the HRT. He completed nine laps yesterday afternoon, but added a further 36 this morning. He ended up just five-hundredths of a second faster than Virgin's Charles Pic, with Renault debutant Jan Charouz a further eight-tenths behind.

Sam Bird was slowest on the timesheets, but spent the morning focusing on evaluation work, including running experimental exhausts for 2012 as Mercedes worked to understand the loss of performance from new regulations designed to outlaw blown diffusers.

Morning times:


Pos  Driver               Team                   Time     

 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault       1m38.917s

 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari                1m41.347s

 3.  Olivier Turvey       McLaren-Mercedes       1m42.346s

 4.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes   1m42.618s

 5.  Alexander Rossi      Lotus-Renault          1m44.381s

 6.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari         1m44.531s

 7.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m44.545s

 8.  Mirko Bortolotti     Williams-Cosworth      1m46.076s

 9.  Nathanael Berthon    HRT-Cosworth           1m46.299s

10.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth        1m46.348s

11.  Jan Charouz          HRT-Cosworth           1m47.159s

12.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP            1m47.624s


All Timing Unofficial[/code]




Jean-Eric Vergne completed a lockout of the top of the timesheets throughout all three days of the Abu Dhabi young driver test by setting fastest time for Red Bull today.



The Frenchman's fastest time from morning running, just over four tenths off Sebastian Vettel's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pole position time, was enough to earn him top spot, with Mercedes driver Sam Bird ending up second fastest, almost two seconds behind.



Bird spent much of the day evaluating 2012 exhausts for Mercedes, but was able to set some quicker laps in the afternoon to climb up the timing screen. Like many of the teams, Mercedes focused on development work rather than gunning for fastest laps, with Bird completing 102 laps.



Ferrari tester Jules Bianchi was fourth fastest ahead of Oliver Turvey, who was back on duty for McLaren. Max Chilton, returning for Force India, ended up fifth fastest after improving his time late on.



Chilton's best lap came just after a red flag, caused by Esteban Gutierrez. The Mexican spun his Sauber and suffered damage to a wheel rim. Chilton improved his time both before and after the stoppage, meaning that his best run of the day was interrupted.



Mirko Bortolotti, who has taken over driving the Williams from Valtteri Bottas, was seventh fastest, four tenths faster than STR returnee Kevin Ceccon.



Team Lotus driver Alexander Rossi was ninth fastest, 5.366s off the pace. The American struggled a little with space in the cockpit because of his height, which made it difficult to complete long runs, but he managed 74 laps during the day.



Renault's Jan Charouz was 10th fastest ahead of Stefano Coletti, the latter only driving in the morning before relinquishing his STR seat.



Nathanael Berthon did 51 laps on his first first day as an F1 tester after completing nine laps yesterday. He outpaced Virgin pairing Robert Wickens and Charles Pic.



Teams were running a mixture of 2011 and 2012 Pirelli tyres, as well as conducting running with a range of differing fuel loads and car specifications, making a fair comparison of the fastest times difficult.



[code]Todays times:


Pos  Driver               Team                   Time     

 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault       1m38.917s

 2.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP            1m40.897s

 3.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari                1m41.347s

 4.  Olivier Turvey       McLaren-Mercedes       1m41.513s

 5.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes   1m41.575s

 6.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari         1m42.049s

 7.  Mirko Bortolotti     Williams-Cosworth      1m43.277s

 8.  Kevin Ceccon         Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m43.686s

 9.  Alexander Rossi      Lotus-Renault          1m44.283s

10.  Jan Charouz          Renault                1m44.470s

11.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m44.545s

12.  Nathanael Berthon    HRT-Cosworth           1m45.839s

13.  Robert Wickens       Virgin-Cosworth        1m45.934s

14.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth        1m46.348s


All Timing Unofficial

Jean-Eric Vergne believes that his performance during the Yas Marina young driver test proves that he is ready to race in Formula 1.

The 21-year-old Frenchman, who has already driven in two Friday practice sessions for Toro Rosso, was fastest on all three days during the test.

His best time of Thursday was only 0.4s off Sebastian Vettel's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pole time, and he is hopeful that Red Bull could choose to promote him to a race seat next year.

He is a possible candidate for a Toro Rosso seat, either as a full-time third driver or race driver. Red Bull could also choose to farm him out to another team, as it has done with Daniel Ricciardo at HRT this year.

"This shows that I have the pace to be in F1," he told AUTOSPORT. "But it's up to Red Bull to decide.

"Thanks to them, I could test this car and thanks to them I went from karting into single-seaters and got to here. I've done my best now and they have to decide what is best for me for the future.

"I've done everything that I could have done in the three days and now I have one more session to do, driving in Brazil. Then we will see."

Vergne added that he was satisfied not only to have shown his pace, but also to have done a good job for Red Bull in working through its test programme.

"I'm really satisfied," he said. "These were three mega days for me and I'm really happy with what I've done for the team. Everything went well."

Mercedes has followed Williams in experimenting with a 2012-style exhaust during the final day of the Abu Dhabi young driver test.

After running for two days with a 2011 exhaust, the team has put on a new system to gather data for next year's car.

Like the Williams exhaust, it is angled up in a way that could increase the airflow to the rear wing, generating more downforce.

"It's something that we want to start getting back into," said Brawn during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend. "The car will be testing next week with our first interpretation of what the regulation will be.

"This is compromised because we're fitting it around the existing car, but we're removing he effect of the blown exhaust to see how the car will work without that."

Sam Bird is continuing at the wheel for a third day.

Luiz Razia says an expanded programme with Team Lotus - which will become Caterham next year - is his aim for 2012, as he praised the progress the team had made this season.

Razia ran for Lotus in the Abu Dhabi young driver test yesterday. It was his first outing in the car since a pre-season test at Catalunya and a Friday practice appearance in China. He spent this season racing for the team's AirAsia-branded GP2 arm, finishing 12th in the standings and taking three podiums during the year, including one in last weekend's non-championship Abu Dhabi rounds.

"Looking back to China and Barcelona, our car has improved a lot," Razia told AUTOSPORT. "Not just in terms of high speed balance, but also in the slow speed and kerb riding. I was quite pleased with that."

The Brazilian feels he is building a very strong relationship with Lotus and is keen for it to continue.

"We've got a lot of options," said Razia. "Obviously I like the team a lot and they've got a great connection with me.

"We did a great job in GP2 this season with the team and we ended up doing a great job in Abu Dhabi as well.

"I'm finding my place in the team and hoping to do something bigger in the next year or next few years - that's my target.

"There's a decent chance to do the same programme next year or maybe slightly better, or maybe a big jump - it's really unknown."

Asked if he expected more Friday outings or even some race appearances in 2012, Razia replied: "It's all open. It would be good to have more Fridays because this year we had not so much, and also in the GP2 team we showed this weekend that we could do much more consistent podiums than this season.

"We need to also see what the team wants from me on the professional side. They need to analyse this test and what we've got coming up, and see if they want to work with me as well."

He added that he had been satisfied he had delivered in the test this week.

"I'm very happy," Razia said. "Obviously we are also working for 2012, so it's not all about the driving. But when I got my performance run, it was good straightaway and then quite a good run.

"I was happy with the performance and I think the team was as well. If you think that qualifying was in the night and we had our best runs with 37 degrees, it's quite difficult to match the qualifying times because of the track."

Valtteri Bottas says he feels ready for Formula 1 if he is given the chance by Williams for next year, following a good showing in the Abu Dhabi test this week.

The Finn is a contender to race alongside Pastor Maldonado in 2012, and team insiders had revealed that he would secure the drive if he did an impressive job during his outings for the outfit this week.

And although Bottas has only raced at Formula 3 and GP3 level, he does not believe he needs any more preparation time before he can show his talent in F1.

"Yes. I will be ready!" Bottas told AUTOSPORT about how equipped he felt he was for F1 if Williams decided to take him.

"I had a very good two days in Abu Dhabi. The team seemed to be quite happy and I was happy - and we got through all the tests that were planned. We got everything done, so that is very good for next year."

When asked if he believed he had done a solid enough job to show Williams exactly what he was capable of, he said: "I hope so! I hope I have proved myself."

Bottas believes a decision from Williams – which is also weighing up Kimi Raikkonen, Rubens Barrichello and Adrian Sutil – should be imminent.

"There is no news yet," he said. "There is no decision made, but it shouldn't be too long I guess."

Stefano Coletti was happy with the improvement that he made on his second outing with Scuderia Toro Rosso in the Abu Dhabi young driver test.

The GP2 race-winner drove on the opening day of the test before sitting out Wednesday. He ended this morning's running seventh fastest after improving his best time of the test by three quarters of a second.

His best time was set on Pirelli's 2011 soft compound rubber, although Coletti admitted that he lost a little time because he did not maximise the DRS during the lap.

"We're happy," Coletti told AUTOSPORT. "On my best lap, I missed the DRS on on one of the long straights, so we lost a bit of time there, but we did what we had to do.

"We came here for testing - not performance. It was nice to be part of the development of an F1 team and it was good running. I could feel the car more and I was getting better.

"We did a lot of testing again on the aero like we did on the first day, so I did a few stints with different things on the car. Then I did a long run at the end of the morning."

The 22-year-old admitted that he is keen to get back into F1 machinery as soon as possible after handing his car over to Kevin Ceccon for the afternoon session.

He is hopeful of future F1 opportunities to allow him to put what he has learned this week to good use.

"Half a day wasn't enough today because I wanted to get back in in the afternoon," he said. "But that wasn't the programme. I'd like to get back in a car soon.

"This was a big chance to gain a lot of experience. You don't get experience like this in other categories. I learned a lot on tyres and about aero in this day-and-a-half and I hope that I get the chance to learn more in the future."

Mercedes test driver Sam Bird is confident that the work he and the team have done during the young driver test at Yas Marina will stand the team in good stead for the 2012 season.

The GP2 race-winner had an intensive three days of running, completing 251 laps, with the team focused on development running for next year's car.

On the final day of the test, the Mercedes featured 2012-specification exhausts, which were located at the top of the rear section of the MGP W02 to conform to regulations aimed at outlawing exhaust blown diffusers.

"We did some very strong work for three days," Bird told AUTOSPORT. "We did a lot of laps and a lot of hard work went into this test.

"Hopefully they can go away now, have a look at the data and see where we need to improve for 2012.

"It's great to be getting involved in making a 2012 F1 car. To be in on that is very good."

Bird finished the third day of the test second fastest overall, but was wary of comparing his time to the other drivers.

He was happy with his performance throughout the week in his first F1 outing since last year's young driver test.

"It's good to be second fastest, but you don't know what other people are running," he said. "Others ran supersoft tyres, but we didn't; I didn't run low on fuel, but others did.

"You never know in F1 testing what people are doing, but I was happy with what I did. It was a very good three days.

"I picked up where I left off in the last test and I felt very comfortable in the team. I've been with them for a year now and I would like to thank them for putting me back in the car again."

McLaren's 2012 championship hopes depend on the its ability to design a car which proves quick from the outset, according to team chiefs.

Struggles in pre-season testing this year highlighted a clear disparity between McLaren's MP4-26 and Red Bull's RB7, although McLaren has been able to steadily reduce their deficit as the season has progressed.

And both team principal Martin Whitmarsh and McLaren Racing managing director Jonathan Neale (pictured) believe that being fast out of the blocks next year will be crucial to the outfit's challenge.

"We need to start next year quick," Neale said. "We're showing that we can outdevelop and stay close to everybody. We've consistently won races, we're consistently on the podium, but we don't win championships enough and that's a frustration.

"We love winning races, but we want to win some more championships. We've got to get out of the blocks."

Only around six per cent of this year's car will be carried across to McLaren's 2012 challenger, which Neale hopes will match the expectations of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

"We do a new car every year despite the fact there's a constantly changing set of regulations," Neale said.

"The carry over that we expect from the car that won on Sunday to the first test car on February 1 will be around six per cent, or something like that.

"So we're running a high-speed research and development organisation, but it's up to us to give something the drivers can really get hold of and exploit.

"And I think Lewis and Jenson, as back-to-back word champions, deserve the best. So that's a clear target."

Whitmarsh echoed the sentiments, saying that the entire team was involved in trying to produce a championship-winning car in 2012.

"It really is a team effort," he said. "There are hundreds of people here who enjoy these victories and contribute to them.

"Great drivers need great cars and that's what we are here to develop and supply for them."

Mirko Bortolotti is certain that he would have improved his best time during the final day of the Abu Dhabi young driver test had a red flag not interrupted his quickest run.

The 21-year-old Italian, who was driving for Williams as a prize for winning this year's Formula 2 crown, ended the day seventh fastest, but had to abort a run with 10 minutes remaining when Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez spun and triggered a red flag.

"It's a bit disappointing," Bortolotti said. "Every time you jump in the car, you want to be quick. But even with the red flag we did well, so it's not a big deal.

"But it didn't help us because that was when we were out on new tyres and could have improved our performance."

Bortolotti, who has previously tested Toro Rosso and Ferrari machinery, was content with his performance on his F1 test return.

He completed a total of 74 laps, posting a time 4.360s off pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne (Red Bull) and was able to improve his pace throughout the day.

"I'm very happy with the job that we did," he said. "We had no dramas, the team did a really good job and the performance was good.

"In the afternoon I could start doing proper runs, start to find the performance, the right braking points and lines on a track that you don't know."

Bortolotti believes that his test performance proves that he is now ready to step up to F1.

"That's the main target," he said. "You never know motor racing, let's see what happens.

"It depends on so many factors. If it was up to me, I would say I'd like to do it, but we have to see if it is possible. There are so many factors in play."

Alexander Rossi was pleased with his performance for Team Lotus on his return to a Formula 1 cockpit for the first time in two years.

The American, a racewinner in Formula Renault 3.5 this year, lapped 5.366s off Jean-Eric Vergne's fastest time and is confident that he would have been closer but for a late-session red flag when he was running on super soft Pirellis.

"I am pleased," he told AUTOSPORT. "As a driver, you're always looking to maximise every tenth that is available and I think that we were missing a bit at the end.

"It was a session disrupted by the red flag, but everyone had the same thing to deal with. Our time leading up to that was quite good and we were expecting to pick up a sizeable chunk of time. But that's the way the dice roll sometimes.

"There is still time to find and I think I know where it is."

Rossi struggled a little with space in the cockpit of the Lotus but does not believe it harmed his performance.

He is taller than the team's regular drivers Heikki Kovalainen - whose car he drove - and Jarno Trulli, which made it harder to accommodate him in the car.

"It was tight and the team did a fantastic job of getting me in the car," he said. "If there was a bit more time, we would have made adjustments to make it a bit better. But being tall is something that I have to deal with.

"For long runs in the future, I would imagine that we'll have to make a few adjustments."

Rossi added that he had little trouble getting up to speed and was able to complete the programme that the team had planned for the day. This included work focused on its 2012 car.

"We got up to speed fairly quickly, which was quite positive," he said. "Then we started carrying out the test programme, which went very well.

"We were working on things for the 2012 car and finding a couple of new solutions, which was good for me to see."

Esteban Gutierrez believes that his crash during the closing minutes of the Yas Marina young driver test is part of his learning experience in F1.

The Mexican, who impressed the Sauber team throughout his two days of running, spun at Turn 3 while attempting to improve his laptime on supersoft tyres.

The car sustained minor damage to a wheel rim after a relatively light impact, and Gutierrez has put the cause down to confusion with the DRS system.

"It's part of racing," said Gutierrez. "Throughout the two days it was important to have a margin to complete the test programme, but then the opportunity came up at the end to do a quick lap.

"I've driven the F1 car four times before and not crashed, so there's always a first time. To know the limit, you have to. It was because of a mistake with the DRS."

Despite the accident, Gutierrez ended the day sixth fastest, 0.5s behind Force India driver Max Chilton.

He believes that he is getting more comfortable in F1 machinery with every test and is now at the point where it is about making tiny improvements.

"I was pushing myself, looking at the data and trying to do the things that I wanted to apply," he said. "It's not easy when you speak about little things, but it's just about fine tuning my driving style to adapt to F1.

"Right now, I know that I can improve more. Looking at these two days as a whole, corner by corner, step by step, I have a good idea of what I need to work on for the future."

He highlighted achieving greater stability with the car over the kerbs as one area where he could improve.

But he was cautious not to compare his pace both to others driving during the test and to Sauber's regular drivers because of the differences in programme.

"You cannot compare the laptime," he said. "You have different engine settings, tyre compounds and fuel loads.

"But definitely, the stability on the kerbs is something that I can improve; to be able to get through in a more stable way. This is the main point."

Kevin Ceccon believes that he is a step closer to achieving his target of racing in Formula 1 after his second day of testing for Toro Rosso at Yas Marina.

The 18-year-old Auto GP champion improved on his best time of Wednesday's running by over a second and is likely to race in GP2 next year, but believes that the day-and-a-half of running in the Toro Rosso stands him in good stead for the future.

"I am one step closer to F1," Ceccon told AUTOSPORT. "But it's difficult to know because this test is all about rookies so there aren't any F1 race drivers and you can't compare yourself to them.

"It's different and you don't know what will happen until you go into a grand prix. but I think that I learned a lot of things.

"A day in an F1 car gives you a lot of other things that other categories can't, so it's very important for my career. The important thing is to use what I've learned in whatever category I do next year."

Ceccon added that he was pleased with the step forward that he has taken since Wednesday.

He spent Thursday morning watching Stefano Coletti driving, and believes that this played a part in him being able to improve.

"It's always better to sleep because when you sleep, you get faster," he said. "Today, the steering wheel was not something incredible, I now know the functions so that is good.

"Then I watched the other driver and learned from Stefano's telemetry. it's good to share the car like this because you learn more.

"The most important thing is that we completely finished the work that the engineers gave to us. That's the most important thing."

[Lineker]

Bye-bye Vitaly!

Vitaly Petrov's future at Renault has been thrown into doubt after the Russian driver launched an amazing outburst against the team this week, in the first public sign of friction between himself and team management.

On the back of an increasingly frustrating campaign, which has seen Renault score just six points since the German Grand Prix, Petrov has blamed a lack of development and strategy mistakes for its current plight.

In a lengthy interview with the Russia 2 television channel, Petrov said that although his contract prevents him from criticising his team, the current situation means he now has to speak out.

"Unfortunately I cannot say anything bad about the team, it says so in my contract," said Petrov. "But many things have already been written about [it] in the media.

"People say the team criticised the drivers. But excuse me; read my interviews, I haven't criticised the team despite what we have lost so many times. How much have we missed at pitstops? With strategy?

"We have lost positions in about 10 races or even more. Even without a fast car we could have gained good points, we could have finished with points if we had had a good strategy.

"But I couldn't say in interviews that we lost it with the pitstops, and I cannot talk about that now either. But I can't keep silent any more - it is over. I can't keep everything inside any more."

Petrov believes the Renault team started the season in a very good position, but says development was never able to match that of rival teams - which is why the outfit slipped back.

"At the beginning of the year, for the first five or six races, we looked really strong. We could not fight with Ferrari, Red Bull or McLaren, but we were quite close to Ferrari and much faster than Mercedes.

"It was very easy for us to pass from Q2 to Q3 using one set of tyres. We didn't even used all the potential or push 100 per cent to get into Q3 - in the first six races it was rather easy.

"But when the windtunnel developments came, the new parts, because of the front exhausts, they didn't work. We worked on the front wing, the rear wing, the diffusers, the floor - but whatever we changed it was useless.

"For about 10 races we didn't have anything, so in fact we have had the same car with which we started the season."

Petrov's amazing outburst has prompted question marks about his future at the team, as Renault continues to weigh up its driver options for 2012.

And although he has a deal in place for next year, he is aware that if the team does not want him to stay then there is nothing he can do to force them to keep him.

"Everything is clear: I have a contract," he said. "But as I have already said before, even world champion Kimi Raikkonen was asked to leave F1 for a certain sum of money. It's hard to do anything in this world if someone wants you to be removed."

Vitaly Petrov has apologised to the Renault team for the outburst in which he criticised the squad's performance during the 2011 season.

"Unfortunately I cannot say anything bad about the team, it says so in my contract," Petrov told Russian television.

"But many things have already been written about in the media.

"People say the team criticised the drivers. But excuse me; read my interviews, I haven't criticised the team despite what we have lost so many times. How much have we missed at pitstops? With strategy?

"We have lost positions in about 10 races or even more. Even without a fast car we could have gained good points, we could have finished with points if we had had a good strategy.

"But I couldn't say in interviews that we lost it with the pitstops, and I cannot talk about that now either. But I can't keep silent any more - it is over. I can't keep everything inside any more."

Petrov wrote a letter to the team on Friday, in which he apologised for his comments, saying they were inappropriate and unnecessary.

"You may have read some negative comments from me on the internet this morning," said Petrov in the letter, a copy of which was seen by AUTOSPORT.

"In an interview given to Russian TV straight after the race in Abu Dhabi, I expressed myself in an inappropriate manner; I criticised the team, your work and our lack of performance. This was unnecessary and I wish to apologise.

"I'm not trying to seek excuses, but I was still high on adrenalin from the race, I was exhausted and, just like you, I was very disappointed not to have made it into the top 10. I realise that the season is as tough for you all as it is for me, and I should not have said what I said.

"Once again, I would like to apologise sincerely and promise you that this will not happen again. We've all pushed as much as we could this season and I have one last opportunity to try and make you proud in Brazil next weekend. I will do my utmost to present myself in a better light there than I have today."

Renault boss Eric Boullier says the 'matter is closed' after Vitaly Petrov apologised for having been critical of his team's performance after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Russian launched an attack on the team on Russian television after the race, but wrote a letter to Renault staff on Friday to apologise for his comments, saying they have been "inappropriate" and "unnecessary."

Boullier said the outburst was simply an incident that showed Petrov is human and that he now considers the matter is closed.

"The interview was made minutes after Vitaly jumped out of the car last Sunday," said Boullier on Renault's website.

"The race was tough, he was upset not to have scored points, he was exhausted. Drivers are not robots, they're human beings. Also, like every driver, Vitaly is a competitor. Had he been on the podium in Abu Dhabi, he would have complained about not winning the race.

"We take this incident as exactly this - an incident. Vitaly has apologised to the team and sent an email to all the staff at Enstone. As far as we are concerned, the matter is closed."

Austin Grand Prix chiefs are ready to accept moving their inaugural race back to 2013, after conceding for the first time that next year's race is probably not going to happen.

After a dramatic week at the Circuit of the Americas, where construction work at the venue was stopped on the back of a dispute over a race contract, track chiefs issued a statement responding to comments from Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone that next year's event will be dropped from the schedule.

With no contract in place, and time running out ahead of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council meeting in early December to ratify the 2012 calendar, it now appears certain that F1 will have to wait another year to return to the United States.

In the statement, which came after Ecclestone told the Press Association that the event will be scrubbed from the schedule by the FIA, Circuit of the Americas president Steve Sexton said that the breathing space of a year would help the venue get matters in order.

"We have been excited for and working towards a 2012 USGP race and now understand that Mr Ecclestone is interested in moving the Austin race to 2013," he said.

"We know the US market is important to the teams and their sponsors and 2013 certainly allows time for the Circuit of the Americas to be ready."

A shift of date to 2013 would mean that the Austin event would take place in the same year as the inaugural New Jersey Grand Prix, which is pencilled in for June that season as part of a double-header with the Canadian GP.

Event promoter Tavo Hellmund acknowledged in a press conference that the circuit had been in breach of its contract with Ecclestone, but remained optimistic that the situation could be salvaged.

"This project needs to meet its obligations to Formula 1," Hellmund was quoted as saying by the Statesman newspaper. "I'm hoping we can get this back on the road."

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn says his squad is determined to finish the season on a high in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The team has already secured fourth place in the standings and is fully focused on the development of next year's car.

But Brawn insists Mercedes is eager to finish the year on a high note at Interlagos after a series of positive results.

"Although our focus at the factory has been on 2012 for some time now, at the race track we are continuing to work hard with this year's car and make improvements," said Brawn.

"We are determined to end the season on a high and continue the run of top six results that we have enjoyed recently, which is the upper limit of the potential of the current car.

"Interlagos is a very unique track which presents some unusual challenges; the high altitude location, the bumpy surface and the challenging layout all test both the drivers and engineers."

Michael Schumacher is also looking to keep the team's momentum going after having managed solid results in the previews races.

"We have enjoyed some good results finishing in the top six over the last few races, and I would love to continue this trend in Brazil and bring the season to a positive end," said Schumacher.

"The team have worked very hard to improve our performance with the car that we have available to us and it would be a fitting reward for them."

Renault team boss Eric Boullier says sorting the row over the Lotus name was a massive step for his team that will only help make it stronger.

After months of uncertainty, the naming row was settled earlier this month, with Renault becoming Lotus next year while Team Lotus will become Caterham.

Boullier says his team will finally know what its proper identity is, which he reckons will translate into a huge boost for it.

"Massive, massive. Massive for many reasons," said Boullier when asked how important it was to sort the naming row issue. "We have now a proper identity, we know who we are. We don't have stories about Lotus, Renault, Genii, and how many shares, options, etc., - it is clear now.

"It is clear, many, many sponsors who we were talking with, and which were planned for discussed in 2011, suspended, or even rejected the discussions because of this team name issue, so we can now restart the discussions and I have to say it is going in a very constructive way to make sure the future is done.

"The Lotus project is also much bigger, but something should be announced quite soon I hope and it is a nice way to secure our future with a new identity. It will change everything.

"So all the bullshit we heard about the rumours, the financial, blah, blah, it is now two years that Genii is in charge of this team and we have more people than two years ago, so if we pay the bill after two years then that means we are committing and they can financially commit, but now the future is going to the next step.

"Lotus brand, being the same family as Lotus Cars, is the same business model as Ferrari, the same business model as McLaren and it si completely legitimate to be in F1."

Boullier also believes his team has a more secure future thanks to the backing from Lotus and its parent company Proton.

"Lotus Cars today is clearly in a big ambitious restructuring plan, but to be part of the same family of the manufacturer above this, then it is clearly for us security," he added.

"Lotus Cars is maybe much smaller than Renault, but it is part of another company that is big, and which can be even bigger if you consider the global picture. Proton is a state company so that is different from Renault, it could be bigger the other way than another one.

"A car manufacturer like Renault decided to pull out and focus on the strategy of engine suppliers - if you look at the grid now apart from Mercedes you now have private small companies, Ferrari is not big, McLaren is not big, and the further you go down the pitlane it is even smaller, so it makes sense to have a Lotus team on the grid which is the same business model as the others."

Williams has declined to comment on speculation that its sponsorship with Venezuelan oil company PDVSA could be under threat because of an investigation by the country's congress into the sponsorship deal.

The Grove-based team had secured a lucrative long-term deal with PDVSA, which AUTOSPORT understands will be worth between £21 million and £29.4 million next season depending on the level of logo exposure the company has on the car.

However, the team has now been asked by Venezuelan congressman Carlos Ramos to provide details of the deal - because of questions being asked about the terms of the contract in parliament.

In a letter to the team that has been leaked to the media, Ramos says that an investigation is underway about whether the deal should have gone ahead.

He wrote: "Further to Williams F1 sponsorship contract with PDVSA, I would like to ask for a copy of the original contract between Williams F1 and PDVSA, for the purpose of an ongoing investigation in this respect that a commission of the Venezuelan Congress is undertaking.

"As you may be aware, according to Venezuela's legislation, expenditure of the sort has to be approved by Congress. You may also be aware that our Congress has granted no approval to the sponsorship contract between Williams F1 and PDVSA."

Ramos has asked for details of the amount that Williams has received from PDVSA, as well as evidence of those payments.

When asked for a response to the letter by AUTOSPORT, Williams declined to comment.

Lewis Hamilton says he has his sights set on another victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix to end the 2011 season on a high.

The Briton bounced back from a series a difficult races to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in dominant fashion last weekend, securing his third victory of the campaign.

McLaren driver Hamilton admitted it was a great feeling to return to the top step of the podium, and says that made him even more determined to try to repeat the feat at Interlagos.

"Winning in Abu Dhabi last week was a fantastic feeling, and it's made me even more determined to finish the 2011 season with a victory," said Hamilton in a team preview. "It would be great to go into the winter off the back of another win, so that'll be my aim next weekend.

"Of course, for Jenson and myself, Interlagos is the circuit where we won the world championship, so it will always hold some happy memories for us. In fact, I've only been here once [in 2009] when I wasn't in contention for the championship.

"This year, with both titles already wrapped up, I want to enjoy myself: and I think we have the car to once again make a difference - we'll pick up where we left off in Abu Dhabi, I hope.

"I think we're all set for a great end to the 2011 championship: Interlagos is a fantastic circuit, one of the best on the calendar, and I think the combination of KERS Hybrid and DRS, plus the possibility of wet weather, mean we're all set for a fascinating race."

Team-mate Jenson Button believes McLaren's showing in Abu Dhabi showed the team is still pushing as hard as possible despite the championships being over.

And he too is aiming to finish the season on the top step of the podium next week.

"I think we proved in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago that McLaren still wants to win races even though both championships are now settled," Button said.

"Certainly I'm determined to win my fourth grand prix of the year, even if it means fighting all the way to the last lap of the last race."

McLaren's reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa has slammed Formula 1's testing rules, and he reckons the sport needs to change them urgently for its own good.

The Spanish driver believes Formula 1 has done a good job of trying to limit the amount of testing during the season in order to reduce costs, but he feels having just three days and for drivers with no GP experience is wrong.

In-season testing is banned in Formula 1, and this week's Young Driver Test at Abu Dhabi is the only chance teams have to test their current cars before February next year.

De la Rosa reckons limiting testing to just three days and to non-GP drivers is an "aberration".

"It is a paradox that after the Abu Dhabi GP the teams organised three test sessions for 'young drivers'," de la Rosa wrote in his column for the Formula Santander website.

"It makes perfect sense to me that in the highest category of motor racing you can test in a limited and controlled way to avoid the spiralling of costs which had occurred a few years ago, when private tests were unlimited and each week after a Grand Prix we tested for an average two or there days a week with two cars.

"It makes perfect sense to me to limit and control tests in order to contain costs, but come on, limiting them to three days a season exclusively for 'young drivers' seems an exaggeration and an aberration for a sport which should be the prime example of competitiveness and innovation in the world of motor racing competition.

"Neither does it make sense to me that a 'young driver' is considered to be someone who has not raced more than two GPs in their whole sporting career. "For example, Jaime Alguersuari is only 22 yet he is now not considered as a young driver and could not test in these Abu Dhabi sessions."

He also believes it makes little sense that reserve drivers like himself are not allowed to test the cars they would have to race in case they need to replace the racing drivers during the season.

"What is worse as far as I am concerned is that the reserve drivers, those of various ages who like me travel with our teams all year all over the world, who sit on the bench every two weeks like a substitute goalkeeper sitting on his own awaiting his opportunity, are not being allowed to test for a miserable three days with the 'young drivers' to get ourselves in shape and be ready in case we are needed as a reserve in the next race in Brazil, for example.

"In short, the reserve drivers are those who have to replace the first choice drivers but are the only ones who are not allowed to test during the season in an F1 car, except on simulators.

"And this is all under the umbrella of 'reducing costs' and giving more opportunities to 'young drivers' (only three days).

"Certainly by this time you must already have deduced that there are drivers of 30 years old who by the mere fact that they have still not raced in more than two GPs in their whole sporting careers continue to be 'young'.

"My strategy of being a reserve driver does not work. I cannot practice and I don't want to race on inferior terms, mechanical inferiority is of course somewhat acceptable but inferiority when it comes to testing should not be," added the 40-year-old Spaniard.

De la Rosa feels Formula 1 must react quickly to make the necessary changes that allow teams to test during the season while keeping costs under control.

"The teams must urgently establish and agree between them a limited schedule of private group tests," he wrote.

"For example, why on earth is a limit of no more than 8 test sessions (of three days each) not established for the whole season and pre-season, for which the teams can choose whoever they want, young, old, reserve or first choice?

"Perhaps it is too simple and therefore people are afraid to make the leap... But believe me, it is urgent for the health of F1."

[Lineker]

Renault technical director James Allison has admitted that the unsuccessful forward exhaust concept has rendered the R31 a 'failed experiment'.

The system looked like it might have been a masterstroke when Renault produced strong times early in winter testing, but it never delivered the performance gains expected and ultimately limited the team's development ability this year.

"I regard it as a bold, but ultimately failed experiment," said Allison. "We were the only team to adopt a forward exhaust layout, and we did so with high hopes, buoyed by very strong windtunnel numbers."

He admitted that even in the promising early tests Renault had actually been disappointed with the car.

"We came out of the blocks adequately well, although it was clear from the first test that the delivered downforce was not as high as we had expected," he said.

"The season which followed has been difficult for everyone at Enstone. The layout which had promised so much, and which, had it delivered, would have been almost impossible to copy, proved very tricky to develop and had a fundamental weakness in slow corners that has been an albatross around our neck all year.

"We look forward to moving on in 2012 with all-new exhaust rules and a chance to wipe the slate clean."

Team boss Eric Boullier said it had been hard to keep the squad buoyant what subsequently turned into a frustrating year, but felt morale had not wavered too badly.

"When you score points and achieve positive results, it helps a team's motivation and keeps people upbeat," said Boullier.

"Contrarily, when a team is suffering from lack of form and other adversity it becomes challenging to keep the spirits of the troops high.

"During a long, hard season that challenge becomes more prevalent, and hopefully we have managed to keep morale at a reasonable level during the hard times we have faced in recent weeks. India and Abu Dhabi were poor races from our perspective, but it's important that we maintain our focus and enjoy the last race of the season."

[Katsuya]

And today in random WTF news: Pedro de la Rosa has signed a two year contract to drive for HRT. To be honest, I love PdlR and I'm happy that he's sticking around, but the idea of him being in F1 and Rubens not next year just doesn't make sense to me. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that Rubens might end up in the other Virgin car, if Wickens doesn't get it.

[Lineker]

Nah, Rubens won't hang around if he isn't in a semi-competitive car. He has no interest in being a back-marker.

[Lineker]

Pedro de la Rosa will return to Formula 1 racing with HRT next season after signing a two-year deal with the squad.

The 40-year-old Spaniard is currently a reserve driver for McLaren, but said he was determined to return to racing.

"This is a very important step in my sporting career and one of the most meditated ones I've taken," said de la Rosa. "I'm at a very good stage in terms of maturity and am prepared to take on this challenge, which motivates me hugely.

"When deciding on joining this project, for me there were three decisive factors: my desire to return to active competition, the fact that HRT is a Spanish team and getting to know the people leading this project, Luis Perez-Sala being amongst them."

He acknowledged that he faced a major challenge taking the team forward from its current back of the grid position.

"I'm here to work hard, with modesty and humility, accepting where we are now but keeping in mind where we want to be in two years' time," de la Rosa said.

"For me, this is the time to put into practice everything that I have learnt over the years at international top level racing teams so that we can grow together.

"I am proud that Spain has an F1 team and that I have this opportunity to be its driver. I can only show my gratitude towards HRT for having trusted in me for this.

"Lastly, I can't forget to thank McLaren for allowing me to take this step. I have been very happy over the eight seasons I spent with them, growing as a driver and person. Without them I wouldn't be here today."

Team principal Colin Kolles hailed the addition of de la Rosa as a major step forward for HRT.

"The team's objective has always been to reinforce itself in every aspect: economically, technically and in a sporting aspect," said Kolles.

"Without a doubt, the addition of Pedro de la Rosa for next year will be a fundamental foundation in the development of our project.

"We are a young team that needs to continue progressing and with this incorporation I am convinced that we will do just that.

"Apart from being a great person he is an experienced driver as his career and prestige in Formula 1 prove. I give him my most sincere welcome. I am sure that he will adapt perfectly and that together we will achieve great things."

De la Rosa has competed in 88 grands prix during an F1 career that began with Arrows in 1999. After a stint with Jaguar, he became a McLaren test driver from 2003 to '09, making several stand-in race appearances during that time - including a half-season in '06 after Juan Pablo Montoya's departure.

With the testing ban limited his mileage opportunities in recent years, he returned to racing with Sauber in 2010 but was dropped before the end of the season. He tested for Pirelli for a spell before resuming his old McLaren role, also fitting in a one-off race for Sauber in Montreal this year when he was loaned to the team following Sergio Perez's Monaco injury.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has paid tribute to Pedro de la Rosa's contribution to the squad after the Spaniard opted to step down from his test and reserve role to return to racing with HRT.

De la Rosa has been with McLaren since 2003, although his time there was punctuated by a brief racing comeback with Sauber in the first part of 2010, and Whitmarsh said his role in the Woking team's success in that time could not be underestimated.

"Pedro's contribution to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been fantastically valuable - perhaps even more valuable than may be apparent to outsiders in fact – ever since he joined us in 2003," said Whitmarsh.

"As a test driver, he's been extraordinarily hard-working – on track and, latterly, more often, in our simulator – and his feedback has been reliable and expert.

"But his contributions have gone wider and deeper than that: Pedro is the archetypal team player, a big motivational presence in our team, and, perhaps because of that, he's someone whom I personally will always count as a true friend."

Whitmarsh said he fully understood de la Rosa's desire to get back to racing. The 40-year-old Spaniard drove nine grands prix for McLaren in 2005/06, first substituting for, then replacing Juan Pablo Montoya, and also briefly rejoined the grid with Sauber.

"In 2010 and 2011 he drove some races for the Sauber team – and, although he's always approached his test and development work with McLaren with energy and enthusiasm, he remains a racer at heart," said Whitmarsh. "For that reason, we understand and support his decision to join HRT as a race driver, and we wish him well. It goes without saying, however, that he'll be missed."

Whitmarsh confirmed that McLaren had no plans to directly replace de la Rosa as it also had Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey available for development duties.

"We'll continue to be well served by Gary and Oliver, both of whom will continue their excellent test and development work for us in Pedro's absence," he said.

Rubens Barrichello says he will not be approaching this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix as a farewell race.

The veteran Brazilian looks unlikely to retain his Williams seat for 2012, and faces the prospect of his 326th grand prix appearance being his last as a Formula 1 racer if he cannot find an alternative drive.

But Barrichello insisted he was not regarding Interlagos as his F1 finale.

"I am positive," he said. "I am not going to say goodbye to people."

Although Barrichello has only twice finished in the points in 2011 as Williams struggled for form, he believes performances like his charge from last to 12th in Abu Dhabi earlier this month prove he still has the speed and motivation.

"It is almost like I deserve to be there," he said. "I am not doing this because of the money, I am not doing this because I want to be just one more in F1, I want to do this because I am so competitive and I deserve to be here, after 20 years [in F1] with 40 years of age I want to be there and I am working my balls off to make that happen."

He said he actually felt more upbeat about his prospects than at the end of 2008, when he was uncertain about whether he would be retained by Honda or replaced by Bruno Senna. In the event, Honda pulled out of F1, the team was resurrected as Brawn and Barrichello stayed on for what turned out to be one of his strongest ever seasons.

"That was a worse situation," Barrichello said of his late-2008 uncertainty, "so I am okay to go there once again and try to be there for 2012."

Rubens Barrichello is confident that Williams will be in much better shape for the 2012 season after its recent engineering reshuffle.

Erstwhile technical director Sam Michael has moved to McLaren, with new arrivals Mark Gillan and Mike Coughlan leading a reorganised design and engineering team at Williams.

Though the team has had the worst season of its current era - scoring only five points so far and languishing in ninth in the constructors' championship - Barrichello thinks the changes and the return of Renault engines can transform Williams's position in 2012.

"Engine side, structure, new thinking, motivation, everything can be a big step next year," he said. "That is what I believe. I don't know if it is going to be a winning car but it will be a hell of a lot better car."

The Brazilian, who is considered unlikely to stay with the team next season, said the team lacked leadership in the middle of the season as the restructuring unfolded.

"The problem this year was the leaving people until the others came in and that missing three to four months, that was no leadership at that time," said Barrichello.

"Right now people are accommodating quite well, they have done everything they could to improve this car which is a very bad one, so they are putting all the efforts on a new one."

Sheridan Thynne, who played a key role in the rise of the Williams Formula 1 team, has died.

Thynne got to know Frank Williams during the early 1960s through his friendship with Piers Courage when all three were regulars on the British racing scene.

Having been a valued advisor to Williams during his early years entering grand prix cars, Thynne (standing on left in picture) joined Williams Grand Prix Engineering in a commercial capacity in November 1979.

He was instrumental in landing and maintaining sponsorship deals that allowed the team to grow into an F1 powerhouse - and also played a part in bringing Nigel Mansell back to the team after his Ferrari sojourn in 1991.

Thynne remained an integral part of the team until he left at the end of 1992, following Mansell to the United States for his Indycar adventure.

In his later years, he was a familiar face on the hillclimbing scene, assisting son Piers with his competitive exploits.

Pirelli will give a new compound soft tyre its racing debut in Brazil after a successful trial in Nurburgring free practice and last week's young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

Teams will also try an experimental new hard tyre in Friday practice.

The tyre firm's motorsport director Paul Hembery said Pirelli had been satisfied with the performance of the new soft compound so far and was now keen to see how it performed in race conditions.

"Preparations for the 2012 season are well underway, so it will be really interesting to hear the thoughts of the drivers about the new hard and soft tyres that we will be trying out in Brazil," he said.

"We've already collected plenty of information on the new soft tyre from the young driver test, so it will be useful to compare that to real race data."

He added that major changes to Pirelli's tyre selections were on the cards for 2012, when it plans to take a more aggressive approach, as revealed by AUTOSPORT.

"It's important not to get too distracted by the names of the tyres though: what we're calling a 'soft' for now could end up as a medium for next year, as that's what the testing process is all about," Hembery said.

"In general, the tyres are going to be less conservative next year as the second half of this season has shown how well the teams have understood our product, allowing us to make some reasonably aggressive choices such as supersoft and soft for Korea."

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali believes the team can still take plenty of positives from 2011 despite failing to mount the title challenge it hoped for.

After Fernando Alonso only narrowly lost the 2010 championship to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel despite a poor first half of the season, Ferrari was expecting to be in the thick of the title battle from the outset this year, but instead has won just one race so far. Alonso looks set to end the year third in the drivers' standings.

Domenicali believes the root of Ferrari's problems this season was that it was caught out by the exhaust-blown diffuser situation and by the time it regained some ground Red Bull was so far ahead it was better to switch focus to 2012.

"It is pretty simple in my view," he said. "We were not competitive at the beginning, the gap was too big.

"We missed out from the technical point of view - the big theme of this year was the blowing exhaust diffuser. Then we caught up a little bit, we had quite a good beginning of the summer where we could have won two more races with no problems to be honest with you, and that is to do with the luck or bad luck of this year, and then we missed a big development for Belgium that made the difference in the second part of the season.

"And that is why basically at the end of July we stopped the development of the car and so basically we are trying now to maximise the performance that we had."

Alonso has taken 10 podium finishes this year, and Domenicali believes there have been enough times when Ferrari has been on or very near the pace to prove that the car was not fundamentally bad.

"If you look at certain tracks where the effect of the exhaust is less, I would say you see the car is competitive - in certain conditions very competitive," he said.

"So that gives me good hope and good prospects for the future because as you know, the situation has been clear in terms of the exhaust position for next year, and everyone is trying to maximise what we understood this year to hopefully be ready for the beginning of the season next year."

But he acknowledged that Ferrari was chasing a moving target in main rivals Red Bull and McLaren, so could not be confident until it saw how it compared to its peers at the start of 2012.

"I am respecting the competition as they are very strong," said Domenicali. "We need to maximise the job and we will see where we are in first practice and qualifying in Australia."

The failure of Renault's radical forward exhaust system this year will not deter it from trying bold engineering concepts next season, insists team boss Eric Boullier.

The Enstone squad - which becomes Lotus for 2012 - has admitted that its unique exhaust has ended up spoiling its 2011 campaign.

But asked in an interview with the official Formula 1 website whether that meant he was ordering his design team to be more 'conventional' in 2012, Boullier replied: "No, that would be a mistake. Probably not that extreme - but definitely not conservative! I want to keep the rivalry within my engineering group, but probably with more control."

Boullier is adamant that even though 2011 has ended up being a disappointing season, there was plenty the team could learn from its experience with the exhaust system gamble.

"We've learnt from our mistakes," he said. "We had some reasons to go innovative. Actually I took the risk, as I backed [technical director] James [Allison] when he offered me this solution.

"The team was in a process of transformation and the objective for [owner] Genii was to be world champions, but not just world champions for one year but as an established top team. It took Red Bull five years to be at the very top. Part of the game is that when you restructure a team internally you have to stimulate the creativity of your people - and this year was the right time to try something different.

"We understand that we have to be very careful about all the regulation changes and all the processes involved in it. We've based our concept on one blowing system, which meant that when we had to rethink it before Silverstone we lost eight weeks. We had to balance that. We probably took the innovation too far and that is why we are paying the price now. But what we have achieved internally is good. The experience - well, the bad experience actually - means that we've gained. It will be a benefit in the future."

He felt the risk of going with a radical car early in the team's new ownership era was worth taking.

"We have taken over a team with excellent people," said Boullier. "Sometimes, though, if people work together for too long their creativity drifts off.

"So when you want to shake that up again it also means that you have to give them some freedom to do what they want and take some risks. It either works or it doesn't work! For us it worked at the beginning but then we faced some other problems. Overall, though, it was a good experience."

Boullier added that he was sure the car would have proved more competitive regardless of the exhaust system if lead driver Robert Kubica had not been ruled out by his winter rally crash.

"I think that without the loss of Robert the situation would be very different," he said.

Kubica's situation currently remains uncertain as his recovery continues, meaning Renault's driver plans for 2012 are in a state of flux, with current race drivers Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, plus reserve Romain Grosjean, waiting to hear the team's plans.

Boullier said he was not too concerned about the driver situation for 2012, as his focus was on securing top-line names for future years when he hopes his team will be back to title-challenging form.

"In the short term - in the next two to three years - I want two big names," he said. "I want to fight with the big names and to fight with [sebastian] Vettel and [Mark] Webber, [Lewis] Hamilton and [Jenson] Button. So yes, I need two big names and the target is to have two big names by 2014 or even 2013.

"2012 we know will be another year for rebuilding the team and so we are not in the position to attract big names now. And by the way, the driver market is closed anyway for 2012 so our priority is not to have a big name in the car but to have a fast car which can then be given to a big name to win races.

"We should do it in this order and not the other way around - even though I would agree that a big name would help to make the car better, definitely."

[Lineker]

Pedro de la Rosa says he is extremely excited about joining HRT as a racing driver, despite conceding that both he and the team have a huge task ahead.

The Spanish veteran was announced as a HRT driver for the next two seasons in what will be his return to racing after a short stint at Sauber last year.

De la Rosa, 40, lost his seat before the end of the season, first moving to Pirelli as its development driver and then returning to McLaren as its reserve.

He says he is aware of the difficulty of making HRT grow, but is very excited to be part of the team.

"Returning to the active competition is something that makes me very happy and even more so to do it with a Spanish team," said de la Rosa during his official presentation as a HRT driver.

"The first time we spoke in July I didn't see myself as part of this project. However, meeting [team CEO] Saul and the fact that Luis [Perez Sala], one of my idols, is part of the team, finding out more about the project and to see that, little by little, what they told me was materialising is what convinced me. I said to myself, I have to be there.

"It's a huge task but also a fascinating and meditated one. We know that it's not going to be easy but I'm going to contribute work, experience and effort to grow together. And I hope that we can receive everyone's support so that in the near future we can feel proud of ourselves.

"I've come to stay and I want to thank HRT for trusting in me, but also McLaren because without them I wouldn't be here and thanks to them, today I am a better driver."

HRT made its Formula 1 debut at the start of last season and has raced at the back of the field since then.

The Spanish squad changed ownership this year, however, and has plans to move its operation to Valencia.

Team CEO Saul Ruiz de Marcos said the team had desired de la Rosa since the change of ownership earlier this season.

"I'm very excited to have been able to announce Pedro as a HRT driver," he said. "Since we arrived a few months ago, one of the pillars upon which we wanted to base the project was having Pedro in the team.

"From day one we got straight down to work to try and convince him and after four months of negotiations I am very proud to have achieved it.

"We are on the right path, taking every step at a time and turning the project we had in mind at the beginning into reality. We are working discretely, with humility and analysis and every decision made has been premeditated to ensure that it is correct. I think we are on the right track to becoming a great Spanish team in one year's time."

Perez Sala, who joined the team as an advisor earlier this year, said he was very proud to have convinced de la Rosa to join HRT.

"We joined this project back in August and tried to convince Pedro to come on board from day one," the former grand prix driver said. "It wasn't easy as he was very happy at McLaren but, in the end, he's decided to join us and I'm very proud to have him on our team for the next two years.

"When we took on this project in August, we thought that it was necessary to define a strategy and set some solid bases and Pedro was a key factor for this project to be viable. He is a driver with a lot of talent and his experience of over 12 years in F1 will help us to grow in the right path."

Felipe Massa is hoping for a "very different sort of championship" in 2012 following a difficult season for him and his Ferrari team this year.

While Ferrari has won just one race this year, Massa has been overshadowed by team-mate Fernando Alonso, and he faces the prospect of finishing the season without a podium ahead of the final race of the year in Brazil.

Massa, however, says he is determined to turn his fortunes around in 2012 and is aiming to start the year strongly.

"This year has not gone so well, but we have tackled it with our usual fighting spirit and that is what we will take forward to next year, when we hope to have a very different sort of championship to this one just ending," said Massa.

"The intention is to be competitive right from the start, fighting for the win in every race. This has not been a fantastic season for me, but neither has it been for the team.

"So as a driver, I have a very strong desire which I share with the whole team to give one hundred percent to improve for next year."

The season finale at Interlagos will be Massa's 100th grand prix start with Ferrari, and the Brazilian admitted it will a special weekend for him.

"This will be a very important weekend for me, as it will also mark the end of the tenth year since I first raced in Formula 1, although not ten years of competition, as I was a Ferrari test driver in 2003," he added.

"Fortunately, I am still young and there is more to come, but ten years is still a landmark in an F1 driver's career.

"Then there are my six years racing for the Scuderia, competing in one hundred Grands Prix for the team, which makes me one of the drivers who has raced the most for this team.

"Therefore, putting it all together, ten years of Formula 1, one hundred races with Ferrari and all of it at home in Brazil, makes this something really special for me. It will be an emotional time and what I would like to add to it all would be a good result come Sunday afternoon."

Force India boss Vijay Mallya says 2011 has been the most complete season for his team in Formula 1 so far.

The Silverstone-based squad has managed to score points in 12 out of 18 races so far this season for a total of 57 points, and the team looks set to secure sixth place in the championship.

It would be Force India's best position yet in Formula 1, having finished in seventh place last year.

Mallya admits he has been very proud of what his team has achieved this season.

"I think 2011 has been our most complete season yet," said Mallya. "We've developed a car that has been strong in all areas and we've given some of the bigger teams a run for their money.

"I'm proud of what we have achieved, which is a testament to the dedication and commitment of all the team members.

"If we can secure sixth in the championship this weekend, it will be a key milestone in the history of this team because the competitiveness of the Formula One grid is as intense as I can remember."

He admitted, however, that he is not taking anything for granted ahead of the final race of the season in Brazil, despite Force India being 15 points ahead of Toro Rosso.

"Absolutely not," he said when asked if the team was celebrating already. "I still remember what happened last year when we missed out on sixth place by just one point. We certainly head to Brazil in a very strong position, but I've learned that you should never take anything for granted."

Peter Sauber is more encouraged about his team's Constructors' Championship fight with Scuderia Toro Rosso because of the speed his car showed in Abu Dhabi, than the fact it now holds a one-point advantage over its rivals.

With Sauber locked in a close battle with Toro Rosso for seventh place in the Constructors' Championship, which could be worth around $3 million in prize money, both outfits are aware of the importance of delivering a good result in Brazil this weekend.

But although the Swiss squad pulled out a single point advantage in Abu Dhabi, Sauber says that more crucial than that is the fact that the C31 had the pace at the Yas Marina circuit to beat its rival.

"For me the point was important for the championship, but the other thing is that the car was really fast," Sauber told AUTOSPORT. "You saw that, it was really, really fast.

"Sergio [Perez] with the hard tyres and both driver with the soft tyres were strong. In the end, Sergio went close to [Paul] di Resta, but in the end it was impossible to do better because he lost his KERS."

Sauber has said that the plight his outfit faces this year was similar to 2009 - when it was locked in a really tight tussle with Williams for sixth in the Constructors' Championship. In the end, it scored four points in the final round to guarantee itself the place.

"We had a similar situation then," he said. "We overtook Williams at the last race, because we were behind them and the situation was worse."

But the fact the car is delivering some good pace at this stage of the season is great news for 2011, reckons Sauber, because the outfit will not be hindered by the disadvantage it has faced from not having an effective blown diffuser package.

"For me, looking forward, it was important the car was fast. It is the only car in this region of the grid without a blowing diffuser, and the rules for next season they change because all these blowing things are more or less forbidden. The next car will not be a revolution, it will be an evolution, and that is a good direction."

Sauber will not introduce any new parts for Brazil to help its Constructors' Championship chances, with the outfit simply looking to ensure it has an error-free weekend.

"The last update package was Suzuka," said Sauber. "I think for sure it is important to eliminate the mistakes."

[GA!]

Robert Kubica has confirmed he will NOT race at the start of next season.

[Katsuya]

Apparently he's more or less said he's definitely going to be back by 2013, but "start of" doesn't mean that Renault won't kick someone out to make way for him again. The fact that this year's car was supposedly built to suit his style shows how much they realise the awesome of Kubica.

[Lineker]

Everything is now so up in the air at LRGP. Kubica not ready and Issues with Petrov blasting the team in public. Reckon they'll have to stick with Petrov now and maybe bring in Sutil to partner him. Anyway, here's the full story, plus a tidbit on Rubens:

Robert Kubica has told his Renault team that he will not be ready to start the 2012 season following his accident at the start of this year.

The Pole said that, despite his recovery going well, it is too early to commit to the 2012 season.

"Even if I've been working very, very hard over the course of the last few weeks, I came to the conclusion that I am not yet certain to be ready for the 2012 season," said Kubica in a Renault statement.

"I have called the team and I have informed them of the situation. This was a difficult decision to make, but it is the most reasonable one.

"I also know that LRGP need to prepare for next year, and further extending deadlines would not have been the right thing to do. On a personal level, my recovery is still very encouraging and my doctors keep being impressed. I just need more time, as I want to be 100 per cent ready before I commit to anything driving related.

"Finally, I regret not having been able to provide more news and not having appeared in the papers, and I thank my friends of the media for understanding that this has been the best way for me to cope with what has been the most difficult period of my life."

Renault said Kubica can now walk freely, and move his hand and elbow. The team also said that it "remains committed to helping Robert as much as possible in his recovery process."

Renault said it has a test car ready for Kubica and a crew on stand-by in case the Pole is ready to drive again.

The team also stated that it is in talks with Kubica's management about renewing his contract for the 2013 season, with his current contract expiring at the end of next year.

Renault said it will now start assessing its options for its 2012 line-up.

"Everybody in the team is, of course, very disappointed today," said team boss Eric Boullier. "Robert not driving in Australia at the start of next season is not what we were all hoping for. However, he has taken a very mature decision, acting in the best interests of Lotus Renault GP.

"As a team and as a family, we remain 100 per cent behind him and we'll help as much as we can. A programme composed of simulator testing, single-seater and F1 track time is awaiting him. In the meantime, we will start talking to a few drivers in order to finalise our line-up for next year as soon as possible.

"Robert will take it step by step and will jump back in his racing car when he feels it is the right moment to do so. On behalf of all 520 members of the team, I wish him a speedy recovery."

Felipe Massa has advised Rubens Barrichello to retire from Formula 1 if he needs to be searching for sponsors to secure a drive for next year.

Williams driver Barrichello has no deal in place for the 2012 season ahead of the final race of the year in Brazil this weekend.

Barrichello has admitted he is not facing his home race as his final F1 grand prix, as he is still hopeful he will secure a drive for next year, which will be his 20th season in Formula 1.

Ferrari driver Massa, however, believes Barrichello has had what he labelled as an incredible career, and he reckons his compatriot should use this weekend's race to have a "proper" retirement from the sport.

"I did give him an advice: to quit," the Brazilian told TotalRace in an interview. "To me, Barrichello had an incredible career in F1: the driver who competed in most GPs and with many wins under his belt. It is a career most drivers would dream to have.

"He raced for the best teams in F1. I haven't advise him to quit because I feel he is old or something like that. But today in F1 there are 12 teams, and five or six are asking for money to give a seat. I think this is absurd.

"My opinion, which I told him, is that I can't see Barrichello searching for sponsors to race after all he had achieved in F1.

"I told him to quit and to use this last race to have a proper ending. But I know he will do what he thinks is the best for him and, as a friend, I will support him and hoping for the best for him."

[Lineker]

Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn has not ruled out a new deal for Michael Schumacher after his current one expires.

The seven-time champion has a contract with the team until the end of the 2012 season, but Brawn says there is no reason not to extend it if Schumacher, who turns 43 in January, and the team enjoy a strong campaign next year.

"The contract includes one more season, but obviously should we both have a good year, both the team and Michael, then why not carry on for another year?" Brawn told Autosprint.

"It all depends on 2012: midway through next season we'll take a collective decision. I'm very calm: we have plans, at the moment, and I really don't believe he's thinking of going elsewhere..."

Brawn conceded his team has not performed as expected this year, but he was still encouraged by his squad's ability to extract the maximum from the car it had, especially during the second half of the season.

"For sure, in the second half of the season, we've extracted everything we could extract out of the car," he added. "The team has done very well, just like the drivers. We don't yet have a good enough car, but we are improving on this front too.

"But as a team, I repeat, we can be reasonably satisfied with what we've got out of the car. Just to be clear: I'm not saying we're content with the results thus far. We aren't competitive enough to get regularly on the podium or to do even better.

"Performance-wise we must improve, but as a team - and I'm talking about everyone's effort, reliability, preparation - we are top class."

Mercedes has ramped up its efforts to return to winning ways year, signing former Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa as well as Geoff Wills, who will join technical director Bob Bell.

Brawn is hopeful the new structure will reap rewards.

"In broad terms, Aldo is engineering and Geoff is technology," Brawn explained. "That means that Willis deals with aerodynamics, the car's dynamics, the checks, while Costa deals with the mechanical side, the integrity of the project, the transmission, and so on. Bob Bell is the technical director and he will have to ensure the group of people works well together.

"The point is that top people like Geoff and Aldo can't be boxed up. They have their areas of responsibility, but it would be silly to confine them in their roles. I've never worked like that, neither in Ferrari nor today in Mercedes. They must be able to interact among themselves if they so wish."

McLaren insists that it is fully focused on a future with current partner Mercedes-Benz, despite recent speculation linking it with a switch to Honda.

Although McLaren and Mercedes-Benz's relationship has shifted from equity partners to customers in recent years, with the German car manufacturer's primary efforts now on its own works team, there appears to be every intention for the relationship to continue.

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale told a Vodafone phone-in on Wednesday that talk of it working towards a Honda deal was incorrect, and that there is every intention of it continuing its tie-up with Mercedes-Benz.

"That is all wide of the mark," said Neale about the Honda speculation. "We are very happy with and enjoying our partnership with Mercedes-Benz. We are not quite sure where that story came from in truth.

"But I can stop the rumour and say that we are entirely focused on our Mercedes-Benz relationship. It is a long one spanning many wins and championships and long may it continue."

When asked if there was some worry that McLaren enters an era as only a customer team, while Red Bull Racing has full 'works' backing, Neale said: "I don't think that's a concern.

"Of course Mercedes have their own team and it is right and proper that a degree of focus is going in that direction. I have just been talking this morning to Thomas Fuhr (Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines) at Mercedes-Benz - we speak frequently - and we want the same thing.

"It's in our interest to have a consistent engine. Thomas was pleased Mercedes got six cars in the top ten in qualifying on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. They take real pleasure and delight in that, as they should. And of course we like to beat them all as well, so that worked well for us. They are formidable technical partners and we enjoy that relationship."

The FIA has announced there will be a single DRS zone in the final race of the season in Brazil.

The single detection zone will be placed mid-Turn 2, with the activation zone some 70 metres after Turn 3.

The DRS zone will be about 600 metres long, which the FIA believes will be enough to make overtaking possible but not too easy.

"There will be one DRS zone on the back straight," said the FIA's Charlie Whiting. "We think this will be enough, as the main straight usually gives a good enough opportunity to overtake anyway, so we don't want to make it too easy."

Interlagos looks set for a major revamp for 2012 as part of safety improvements being made in the wake of fatal accidents earlier this year.

Track officials have been pondering re-designing the run out of the last corner, as well as the pitlane entry, after two drivers were killed in separate stock car accidents.

Paulo Kunze and Gustavo Sondermann both died in April after crashes on the long start-finish straight - which is narrow and has small run-off areas considering its high-speed.

At the time it was hoped that improvements would be made in time for this year's Brazilian Grand Prix, but it now looks likely that major modifications will come for next year instead.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting said: "There are a couple of minor changes to the circuit [for this weekend] but next year there could be something much bigger: we're hoping to build a new pit entry and a larger run-off around the last corner, but this is a big job as it will require removing a couple of permanent grandstands.

"We've had assurances from the city of Sao Paulo that they'll support this project."