| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 29th 2013, 15:08 GMT |
Ferrari says that teams are not unduly concerned by the fact that Formula 1 has yet to secure a new tyre supply contract for next year
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw and Sam Tremayne | Monday, April 29th 2013, 15:13 GMT |
Sam Bird believes his Bahrain sprint race victory proves new squad Russian Time can establish itself as the benchmark in GP2.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Monday, April 29th 2013, 15:44 GMT |
GP3 race winner Tamas Pal Kiss will join the Auto GP series for his home round at the Hungaroring this weekend.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Charles Bradley | Saturday, April 27th 2013, 14:06 GMT |
Jan Kopecky extended his lead over Craig Breen on the final morning of Rally Azores and now leads by 20.8s with one loop of stages remaining.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Saturday, April 27th 2013, 14:43 GMT |
Gabriele Tarquini captured his and Honda's second straight World Touring Car pole at the Slovakia Ring.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Hal Ridge | Saturday, April 27th 2013, 15:55 GMT |
Petter Solberg sits on top of the qualifying table after day one of the second round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Montalegre, Portugal.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Find out more about FIA European Rallycross with our 2013 season guide
| By Gary Watkins | Friday, April 26th 2013, 12:42 GMT |
The Brazilian BMW team competing in new FIA GT Series is aiming to contest the Spa 24 Hours in July with a line-up including ex-Formula 1 racer Ricardo Zonta.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Friday, April 26th 2013, 13:39 GMT |
Jan Kopecky stormed into the lead of Rally Azores on the second morning of competition as a puncture and terrible weather resulted in overnight leader Robert Kubica falling to sixth spot.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Glenn Freeman | Friday, April 26th 2013, 14:24 GMT |
Kevin Magnussen made a strong start to the Aragon Formula Renault 3.5 weekend, topping all three test sessions at the Spanish track.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, April 25th 2013, 11:22 GMT |
Audi has unveiled an experimental long-tail version of its R18 e-tron quattro hybrid sports car that could race at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, April 25th 2013, 13:01 GMT |
The FIA has decided to stick with the current supplier of its Formula 1 electronic marshalling system for now, despite further troubles at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, April 25th 2013, 14:44 GMT |
Conor Daly will return to the GP3 series this year after extending his partnership with the ART Grand Prix team.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, April 24th 2013, 13:18 GMT |
Chinese driver Ho Pin Tung will compete at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with the KC Motorgroup squad
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Wednesday, April 24th 2013, 15:00 GMT |
Mark Webber says he is happy with his own performances despite his disappointing points tally and will bring himself back into contention once Formula 1 returns to Europe
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, April 24th 2013, 15:02 GMT |
Ben Spies will miss MotoGP's forthcoming Jerez race due to injury, with Ducati test rider Michele Pirro replacing him in the satellite Pramac squad
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Tuesday, April 23rd 2013, 15:13 GMT |
Mads Ostberg is adamant Sebastien Ogier is not unbeatable despite his current domination of the 2013 World Rally Championship
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 23rd 2013, 14:09 GMT |
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh will continue to resist calls from his outfit to switch efforts to its 2014 car, even though this year's title hopes are slipping away
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 23rd 2013, 15:26 GMT |
Pirelli wants to have a more detailed look at the damaged tyre from Lewis Hamilton's car in Bahrain, amid suspicions its failure in practice may not have been down to debris
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 22nd 2013, 15:12 GMT |
Jenson Button and Sergio Perez have settled their differences over their Bahrain Grand Prix duel in a behind closed doors meeting with senior team management, AUTOSPORT has learned.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 22nd 2013, 15:24 GMT |
Q & A: McLaren on driver rivalry
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Kevin Turner | Monday, April 22nd 2013, 15:35 GMT |
British Touring Car supremo Alan Gow has confirmed Kia is considering joining the championship in future
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Sunday, April 21st 2013, 15:06 GMT |
An ecstatic Lewis Hamilton hailed the impact of his late-race pace after his Mercedes transformed from a 'sitting duck' to 'amazing' in the Bahrain Grand Prix
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Matt Beer | Sunday, April 21st 2013, 15:06 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen does not think Lotus had the speed to win the Bahrain Grand Prix even if he had qualified better
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Sunday, April 21st 2013, 15:31 GMT |
Paul di Resta refused to be too downbeat despite being denied what would have been his first Formula 1 podium just six laps from the finish of the Bahrain Grand Prix
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw | Saturday, April 20th 2013, 15:45 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton's left-rear tyre failure during Saturday morning practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which led to his five-place grid penalty, was caused by metal debris, according to Pirelli
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Saturday, April 20th 2013, 15:25 GMT |
Reigning champion Gordon Shedden took pole for the Donington Park round of the British Touring Car Championship
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble and Glenn Freeman | Saturday, April 20th 2013, 15:35 GMT |
Mark Webber says he has not started thinking about his future, in response to recent speculation that he has signed a sportscar deal with Porsche
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Friday, April 19th 2013, 15:54 GMT |
MotoGP rookie Marc Marquez topped the opening free practice session for the inaugural Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin on Friday afternoon
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble and Matt Beer | Friday, April 19th 2013, 15:34 GMT |
Ferrari and Lotus insist they cannot be confident about their Bahrain Grand Prix race prospects despite emerging as early favourites by the end of Friday practice.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, April 19th 2013, 15:55 GMT |
Pirelli will decide next week whether or not any changes are needed to its compounds for this year, but warned its critics that any changes are likely to be minimal.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw | Thursday, April 18th 2013, 15:31 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel is surprised at Pirelli's decision to drop the soft compound tyre for the Bahrain Grand Prix
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble and Matt Beer | Thursday, April 18th 2013, 15:35 GMT |
Formula 1's 2013 format is delivering great entertainment for fans, reckon Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Jenson Button, so drivers just have to adapt to it.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Thursday, April 18th 2013, 15:54 GMT |
Thursday's press conference - Bahrain
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Marcus Simmons | Wednesday, April 17th 2013, 14:56 GMT |
Momentum is growing for the slimline British Formula 3 International Series, which kicks off with the first of four race weekends at Silverstone on May 25/26
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Wednesday, April 17th 2013, 15:12 GMT |
Porsche has confirmed that Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas will be part of its LMP1 driver line-up at next year's Le Mans 24 Hours in the wake of speculation linking Red Bull Formula 1 driver Mark Webber to the German manufacturer.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, April 17th 2013, 15:52 GMT |
Sauber believes it still has a lot to do to get on top of the struggles it has had with its 2013 car so far this season.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Tuesday, April 16th 2013, 12:33 GMT |
British Touring Car squad Motorbase believes it can challenge at the front at Donington Park this weekend after making progress with its NGTC Ford Focuses
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, April 16th 2013, 13:33 GMT |
Ducati admits it will arrive at Austin on the back foot following its decision to skip MotoGP's pre-season test at the Texan track
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Tuesday, April 16th 2013, 13:40 GMT |
The successful format of the Blancpain Endurance Series will not change, championship boss Stephane Ratel has vowed
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Marcus Simmons | Monday, April 15th 2013, 14:09 GMT |
Carlos Sainz Jr looks increasingly likely to join Red Bull junior stablemate Tom Blomqvist in EuroInternational's European Formula 3 line-up, AUTOSPORT has learned
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw | Monday, April 15th 2013, 14:26 GMT |
Daniel Ricciardo believes that he must use his career-best seventh-place in the Chinese Grand Prix as a foundation for more consistent results.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Scott Mitchell | Monday, April 15th 2013, 15:34 GMT |
Silverstone will host a free open day the week after the British Grand Prix to encourage people to participate in motorsport.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Sunday, April 14th 2013, 13:18 GMT |
Felipe Massa admits he does not fully understand his loss of pace mid-way through the Chinese Grand Prix.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, April 14th 2013, 14:04 GMT |
Sebastien Ogier wrapped up his third straight World Rally Championship victory with an assured, and yet sometimes fraught, performance in Portugal.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, April 14th 2013, 14:09 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has furiously dismissed suggestions of a conspiracy against Mark Webber on the back of a nightmare weekend at Shanghai for the Australian
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Saturday, April 13th 2013, 13:49 GMT |
Toyota will start Sunday's World Endurance Championship opener at Silverstone from pole position
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, April 13th 2013, 14:06 GMT |
Controversy over Pirelli's approach to Formula 1 reached a new pitch in China as the sight of an empty track for much of qualifying and soft tyres less durable than perhaps any of the era so far prompted fresh ire from sections of the paddock. Jonathan Noble rounds up F1 figures' thoughts on the Shanghai tyre situation
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Saturday, April 13th 2013, 14:41 GMT |
Robert Kubica says he expects his pace through Saturday afternoon's stages to be affected by the hydraulic problem that hampered his Citroen DS3 RRC during the morning
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Friday, April 12th 2013, 15:06 GMT |
The race debut of the new coupe version of the DeltaWing experimental prototype has been set back from next month's Laguna Seca American Le Mans Series round
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Friday, April 12th 2013, 15:14 GMT |
Ganassi has confirmed that Ryan Briscoe will join the team in a fourth car for next month's Indy 500, as predicted by AUTOSPORT last week
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Friday, April 12th 2013, 15:40 GMT |
Harry Tincknell and Alex Lynn led a British domination of Formula 3 European Championship qualifying at Silverstone as each took pole positions for this weekend's races
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Thursday, April 11th 2013, 14:38 GMT |
Lada says it was impressed with Mikhail Kozlovskiy's 'sensible approach' to his World Touring Car debut on the streets of Marrakech, after his predecessor's sacking for an intra-team crash.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Matt Beer | Thursday, April 11th 2013, 15:28 GMT |
Jenson Button believes he would have been leading into the final laps of the Malaysian Grand Prix had his race not been ruined by a pitstop calamity.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Thursday, April 11th 2013, 15:41 GMT |
GP2 veteran Luca Filippi has revealed he rejected offers to race in the Formula 1 feeder series this year in a pursuit of factory deals in DTM and International GT racing.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, April 10th 2013, 13:00 GMT |
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn has played down talk that development of new ultra-sophisticated suspension systems could lead to a spending war in Formula 1.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, April 10th 2013, 14:45 GMT |
Dani Pedrosa said he had been expecting to carry the fight to Jorge Lorenzo in MotoGP's Qatar opener right up until the Yamaha man stretched away
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Wednesday, April 10th 2013, 15:47 GMT |
The fruits of the European Rally Championship's revamp will really be seen in 2014, says series chief Francois Ribeiro, who predicts that next year will be the greatest in the series' 60-year history
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Tuesday, April 9th 2013, 14:36 GMT |
MG British Touring Car team boss Ian Harrison believes new signing Sam Tordoff can win races this season
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, April 9th 2013, 15:12 GMT |
MotoGP has confirmed that a spec ECU and datalogging system will become compulsory from 2014 following successful negotiations with the sport's manufacturers
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, April 9th 2013, 15:20 GMT |
Skoda has edged closer to committing to a fully-fledged European Rally Championship title bid by entering Jan Kopecky to take on Robert Kubica in the Azores Rally
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Monday, April 8th 2013, 15:27 GMT |
Williams is pinning its hopes of turning its fortunes around early in the season with a big upgrade package that will be introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Monday, April 8th 2013, 15:12 GMT |
Sebring 12 Hours winner Oliver Jarvis will return to the Phoenix Racing squad for this year's Blancpain Endurance Series
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Monday, April 8th 2013, 15:52 GMT |
China preview quotes: Marussia
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Peter Mills | Sunday, April 7th 2013, 13:10 GMT |
Reigning Formula 2 champion Luciano Bacheta claimed victory in a delayed and crash-strewn reversed grid Auto GP race in Marrakech.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Sunday, April 7th 2013, 14:17 GMT |
Virtuosi UK driver Andrea Roda has hit out after Marrakech race officials admitted they mistakenly handed him a drive-through penalty in Sunday afternoon's reversed-grid race.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Andrew van Leeuwen | Sunday, April 7th 2013, 15:37 GMT |
Thomas Biagi completed a Romeo Ferraris Mercedes clean-sweep at Monza with a stunning win in the second Superstars International Series race of the season.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Saturday, April 6th 2013, 13:55 GMT |
Simona de Silvestro has topped the final practice session ahead of qualifying for this weekend's IndyCar race at Barber.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Saturday, April 6th 2013, 14:36 GMT |
Former Italian Formula 3 champion Sergio Campana recorded his maiden Auto GP pole position at Marrakech on Saturday afternoon.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Saturday, April 6th 2013, 15:50 GMT |
Luis Salom took his maiden Moto3 pole position in a dramatic finale to qualifying for the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Friday, April 5th 2013, 14:16 GMT |
Heavy rain has forced the cancellation of the Auto GP and World Touring Car Championship running scheduled for the Marrakech circuit on Friday
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Glenn Freeman | Friday, April 5th 2013, 15:09 GMT |
Antonio Felix da Costa led the way during free practice for this weekend's Formula Renault 3.5 season opener at Monza.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Friday, April 5th 2013, 15:54 GMT |
MotoGP rookie Marc Marquez headed the second free practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix with a blistering lap late in proceedings at Losail
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw | Thursday, April 4th 2013, 13:11 GMT |
Jules Bianchi suspects that it won't be until the Spanish Grand Prix that he is able to show his full potential.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Thursday, April 4th 2013, 15:40 GMT |
NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr believes his good start to 2013 is due in part to controversies elsewhere deflecting attenton from him
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, April 4th 2013, 15:42 GMT |
David Fumanelli topped the times on the second and final day of GP3 testing at the Silverstone circuit
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw and Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, April 3rd 2013, 14:14 GMT |
Lotus team boss Eric Boullier believes his team's Malaysian Grand Prix performance was an aberration and that it can return to challenging for victory from China onwards.
Kimi Raikkonen had taken an assured win for Lotus in Melbourne, but the team's form dived at Sepang and the Finn finished a distant seventh, one place behind stablemate Romain Grosjean.
In the wake of that result Lewis Hamilton declared Mercedes had assumed the mantle of Red Bull's closest challenger.
Boullier however said the specific conditions in Malaysia had masked Lotus's pace, and that sixth and seventh - rather than Raikkonen's victory – were anomalous.
"I don't think it's completely revealing," Boullier said of Malaysia.
"Obviously we had different conditions and it worked for Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.
"I don't think it revealed [our] potential in that race. You can expect some much better results in normal conditions."
Where Raikkonen had been able to come through from seventh on the grid at Albert Park due to superior tyre management, Boullier said it had been impossible to recover from a similar starting position at Sepang.
"Qualifying was not in our favour, [and] the time we lost at the start of the race we couldn't recover," he explained.
"I think the team did a safe strategy for both cars in the points and we could keep contact with the leaders so it was good.
"It's all about tyre management to do a nice race. [Malaysia] was a bit tricky, let's wait until normal conditions."
Boullier said he was confident the team could arrest its qualifying deficit to the frontrunners, particularly with new upgrades coming in time for the Chinese Grand Prix.
"With our car we have the pace over one lap now and we also have some good race pace," he said.
"I think Romain's going to have the same upgrade in China as Kimi. There are parts coming at every race and we'll keep pushing, so it's going to be interesting."
| By Sam Tremayne and Edd Straw | Wednesday, April 3rd 2013, 15:40 GMT |
Giedo van der Garde is optimistic that Caterham can regain supremacy in its back-of-the-grid battle with Formula 1 rival Marussia.
Having snatched 10th in the constructors' championship from Marussia in last year's finale, Caterham has been outpaced in the opening two grands prix of the 2013 campaign.
Marussia's Jules Bianchi qualified more than 1.5 seconds faster than van der Garde and then finished the best part of a minute down the road in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
While the Dutchman believes Caterham can yet reverse the situation, particularly as damage from contact with Max Chilton affected his speed at Sepang.
"The car was hard to drive, especially as the tyre drop off was much higher than my team-mate because the diffuser was gone," said van der Garde.
"Like this we still managed to keep me in front of Chilton, so it was good experience.
"We know where we are at the moment, and we know in Barcelona an upgrade is coming.
"[The next] two races won't be easy but for [after] we can make a good step. Marussia has a little advantage but hopefully we can fight them."
Van der Garde denied he was disappointed with the team's start to the new season, saying he was still able to develop as a driver regardless of how competitive the team is.
"It's how it is at the moment," he said. "It's not an easy car [to drive] but I'm very happy.
"The team let me learn step by step, all the procedures, the way you drive, the tyres, so for me it has been good.
"It is different. [Before in GP2] you wait [at the front of the grid], look in the mirror, the cars are coming, first gear and away you go. Here it is like, select neutral and oh shit the lights go on.
"So the philosophy is a bit different but it's where we are at the moment. Race by race it'll get better."
| By David Evans | Wednesday, April 3rd 2013, 15:58 GMT |
Brazil could rejoin the World Rally Championship in 2014 if a new project by the Rally Mexico organisers comes to fruition.
WRC stakeholders are all pushing for a second South American round.
Gilles Spitalier, the director of the successful Mexican WRC event says a series of high-level meetings have already taken place in an effort to take the WRC to Sao Paolo.
"What we are offering is what we have learned from being in the WRC for the last 10 years," said Spitalier.
"Brazil is a Latin country with a lot of similarities with Mexico and there are some fantastic places to compete.
"I said to Michele [Mouton, WRC manager] that we could hold the whole season in Brazil, there are so many diverse roads there....
"We have been working on this a long time and now we're waiting on answers to see if we can make the candidate event this year, but it could happen for next season and everybody wants it to happen.
"With Rio holding the World Cup and the Olympics, Sao Paolo is more likely. Don't forget the economy of Sao Paolo as a state is very, very wealthy - and many of the European car manufacturers have plants out there."
Brazil last ran a round of the WRC in 1982.
| By Gary Watkins | Tuesday, April 2nd 2013, 14:09 GMT |
Former grand prix driver Karun Chandhok will return to the Le Mans 24 Hours in June with the Murphy Prototypes LMP2 squad.
The veteran racer, who last year finished sixth overall at Le Mans with the JRM Racing HPD P1 team, has signed to drive Murphy's ORECA-Nissan 03 with team regular Brendon Hartley and experienced US sportscar driver Mark Patterson.
Chandhok, who is also racing in this year's FIA GT Series with the Seyffarth Mercedes team, said: "I've made no secret of my desire to get back in a prototype for Le Mans, so I'm very happy with this drive.
"Brendon and I are two pretty good gold-rated drivers, and I hear good things about our silver, Mark.
"Murphy was competitive last year and there are some good people in the team. If I could be the first Indian driver on the podium at Le Mans, that would be a big story for me."
Team owner Greg Murphy explained that he had been put in contact with Chandhok by his former Formula 3 team boss Russell Eacott, whose T-Sport squad formerly ran out of the Brackley premises now occupied by Murphy Prototypes.
"With this line-up I genuinely expect to be up there challenging in P2 again at Le Mans," said Murphy. "Having led for five hours last year, we very much feel that it is unfinished business for us."
Hartley and Patterson, who notched up a second place in yesterday's British GT Championship opener at Oulton Park, will drive the Murphy ORECA at the European Le Mans Series opener at Silverstone on April 13.
The team has yet to define its line-up for the remainder of the season.
Murphy has put together his own team structure for 2013 after running with the RLR Motorsports squad last year.
| Tuesday, April 2nd 2013, 15:45 GMT |
The relaunched Asian Le Mans Series has postponed the start of the 2013 championship and cut its calendar to four rounds.
Series organisers, acting with the consent of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, confirmed that Shanghai and Ordos have been dropped from this year's calendar.
The planned opener at Zhuhai has been pushed back from May to October in the reshuffled schedule.
That means the slimmed-down championship is due to commence at the under-construction Autopia track on August 4.
The intention is then to travel to Fuji on September 22, Zhuhai on October 13 and Sentul for the season finale on December 8.
Organisers said in a statement that the new structure would allow "even more teams to take part in this year's series" while "decreasing dramatically" the costs of competing.
Other changes include the abolition of the LM GTE class and the merging of all GT cars into one category controlled by the ACO's balance of performance guidelines.
As an added incentive, the ACO has agreed to award automatic entries for the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours to the top two finishers in the GT class.
Aston Martin announced it would compete in the category, in which Super GTs will be eligible, in October last year.
The deadline for entries into the new championship has been extended to June 20.
"The organisers are confident that these sensible changes will secure the success of the series in its first year and help to build a stronger platform for the future," the statement concluded.
| By Edd Straw and Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, April 2nd 2013, 15:50 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas admits both he and Williams are frustrated by the team's poor form in the 2013 Formula 1 world championship so far.
The Grove-based squad approached the season certain it had taken a step forward compared to 2012, during which its car proved fast enough to win in Spain.
But neither Bottas nor Pastor Maldonado managed to break into Q3 or the points in the Australian or Malaysian Grands Prix.
Maldonado has retired twice, with Bottas's 11th place at Sepang remains the team's best result.
Bottas admits that he was expecting to challenge for stronger results.
"Of course I was hoping to fight for better positions," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT if he was frustrated.
"The goal is to get higher and be consistently in the points.
"It's what the team was hoping for and what I'm hoping for so of course it's a bit disappointing.
"It is how it is now, we just need to get back there.
"We're understanding more all the time. We need more time but we will get there."
Bottas insists he is convinced of the potential of the Williams FW35 despite the lacklustre start to the campaign.
The team recently said it suspected the exhaust area was the biggest weakness of the car.
"It's a different car, [and] some things were better in the [2012] car," Bottas said.
"We have more potential to do better in this car though. It's not easy but we're learning more and more.
"The goal for this year is to improve the position from last year so we need to get working."
| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Monday, April 1st 2013, 13:58 GMT |
Force India has been vindicated in its decision to devote so much of its pre-season preparation to tyre work, reckons Paul di Resta.
The team did not stand out during the winter, but has begun the 2013 Formula 1 season as the fifth-quickest, behind only Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes.
Although Force India's Malaysian Grand Prix was wrecked by a wheelnut issue, it led in Melbourne with Adrian Sutil and has been a consistent top-10 factor.
Di Resta puts this down to Force India working so hard in ensuring its 2013 car was in harmony with the latest generation of Pirellis.
Force India: F1's great overachiever
"I think it was a good approach in the winter," he said. "Some days we sacrificied a lot of lower fuel running to work on high fuel runs.
"We were very aware of what we wanted to achieve and where we wanted to be with the car and I think we've done that.
"[The early performance] was credit to how that worked and the data that we fed back was essentially all in preparation for Melbourne."
The Scot said being gentle on tyres was a fundamental part of the VJM06's DNA.
"Essentially, we had a different wear profile," di Resta explained. "There is something that you can work into it to influence it.
"What we saw in Barcelona [testing] was high degradation and everybody talked about the tyres but essentially in Melbourne it was more of an anormal circumstance in terms of the temperatures and the track temps.
"But I think we were quite clear in our approach and how we were fixed for the weekend."
| By Gary Watkins | Monday, April 1st 2013, 14:36 GMT |
The WRT Audi squad took a one-two victory in the main race at the Nogaro FIA GT Series event on a day that the Belgian team gained revenge over Sebastien Loeb Racing.
WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra initially crossed the line in the top three positions, only for the winners on the road, Rene Rast and Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof, to receive a 30s penalty for a pitlane infraction during the mandatory mid-race pitstops.
The penalty, received because the Audi's engine was not switched off during the pitstop, promoted the second-place WRT Audi driven by Frank Stippler and Edward Sandstrom and demoted Rast and Mayr-Melnhof to eighth overall and second in the Pro-Am class.
WRT's domination of the results followed a penalty for McLaren MP12-4C driven by Sebastien Loeb and Alvaro Parente.
Mayr-Melnhof had trailed Loeb through the opening stint without the R8 LMS ultra dropping much more than a second off the lead.
The Austrian closed the gap to half a second before the pitstops and then a faster turnaround in the pits allowed Rast to just get out of the pits before Alvaro Parente, who had taken over from Loeb one lap before, came past.
Rast held on for a lap before he ran slightly wide into Turn 4 and misjudged move from Parente resulted in the McLaren tipping the Audi into a spin.
The Audi dropped 3.5s off the lead, but Rast needed just seven laps to chase down that deficit and was looking for a way past when the McLaren was called into the pits for a drive-through penalty.
The penalty was not for Parente's misdemeanour but for a pitlane infraction by Loeb: he had loosened and then undone his belts before stationary during is pitstop.
That allowed Rast to cross the line 11 seconds clear of Sandstrom.
Stippler and Sandstrom came through from the back of the grid after retiring from the Qualifying Race when a fuse blew and prevented the car from re-starting.
Stippler made up ground early in the race and then another quick pitstop by Vincent Vosse's WRT squad propelled Sandstrom into fourth place.
The Swede homed in on the Charouz Gravity Mercedes SLS AMG driven by Alon Day, who shared the car with Maximilian Buhk, but was unable to find a way past until he pulled off an opportunistic move into Turn 9 with 12 minutes to go.
The third WRT Audi, shared by Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor, sneaked into third place on the road after Vanthhor passed two cars on the penultimate lap.
Parente dropped to fifth as the result of his penalty and then lost out to Vanthoor.
| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Monday, April 1st 2013, 15:55 GMT |
Pastor Maldonado says he is a much more relaxed character this year and will therefore avoid the controversies that blighted his 2012 campaign.
Maldonado received multiple penalties for driving infractions and collisions last season.
He believes the situation escalated because he gained a poor reputation, but says he has now learned his lesson.
"Now I have more experience," said Maldonado. "I showed that I was ready to win when the opportunity was there.
"Everyone can have a difficult moment. At the same time, I had a hard time with the stewards, because after I had a couple of incidents, they were maybe looking at me more than the others.
"But you learn from your mistakes. I'm more experienced and more relaxed now, and I'm looking forward to being away from the stewards..."
Maldonado admitted that it had taken time to accept that his Williams was not always going to be a competitive car.
"Maybe I was pushing too much. I did not realise that the car did not have the performance to win all the races," he said.
"In the past I've always been fighting for victories and Formula 1 is completely different.
"Sometimes you need to be happy with a 10th place."
