ZitatLucas di Grassi and Jamie Alguersuari keep Pirelli F1 test rolesBy Jonathan Noble Wednesday, January 23rd 2013, 13:31 GMT
Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi are set to remain as Pirelli's main Formula 1 test drivers for 2013.
Ahead of a big programme to prepare rubber for the new 2014 regulations, there had been speculation that Pirelli could opt for a driver who had race experience from last year.
However, Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery made it clear on Wednesday that he was happy to keep the two youngsters on board, especially as a lot of 2014 work would be done on simulators.
"I read on Twitter that [Kamui] Kobayashi would be unveiled today as a test driver, but he won't," said Hembery at the official launch of Pirelli's 2013 plans in Milan.
"There is no reason to change what we have. We have had a great time with Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi.
"We need to renew our contract [in F1] first, and then will look at the tyres and the compounds. There will be a lot more use of simulator, because we have worked extensively on tyre modelling. That is how we will focus on the changes for 2014."
Pirelli announced on Wednesday that former grand prix driver Jean Alesi has become a brand ambassador for the company.
ZitatRoss Brawn insists he will not be ousted from the Mercedes F1 team By Ben Anderson and Matt Beer Thursday, January 24th 2013, 12:23 GMT
Ross Brawn insists he will not be ousted from the Mercedes Formula 1 team and will stay at the helm as long as he chooses.
There has been fervent speculation over Mercedes' management structure after the arrival of new motorsport boss Toto Wolff and amid rumours that McLaren's Paddy Lowe was set to join, potentially at Brawn's expense.
Brawn acknowledged that contact had been made with current McLaren technical director Lowe, but said this was part of a 'succession plan' if he opted to move on.
"I know the situation completely," Brawn told journalists including AUTOSPORT.
"Mercedes want a long-term commitment. And obviously, with a lot of additions, I want to see how things go before I make a final long-term commitment. And so we have to have things in place.
"It's rather like my succession plan at Ferrari. When I decided I was going to stop at Ferrari, we built a succession plan and I am part of that, I've talked to Paddy, we know the situation.
"Like any of us in life, if we are excited by what we are doing we carry on doing it. So that's what I want to do."
He denied that the presence of new F1 team partner Niki Lauda and Wolff could cause confusion over the running of Mercedes.
"I am the team principal. I am in charge of sporting, technical and racing matters," Brawn said.
"There is another side of the business that I don't want to get involved in - the commercial activities - [which] Toto will be doing [and] are complementary to what I will be doing.
"But everybody knows the only way a racing team will work is to have one reference, and I'm that reference."
Brawn said Mercedes' difficult first three seasons in F1 had made him more determined to stay put until the team was competitive, as had the driver change from Michael Schumacher to Lewis Hamilton.
"I've said before, failure is actually one of the greatest motivations," he said. "We've had some poor years and that has driven me even harder to make sure we do things right.
"With the impending retirement of Michael and knowing that inevitably had a limited life, getting someone of the calibre of Lewis here has been massively beneficial to me, the team, to everyone."
He admitted there was a danger that the furore could become a distraction.
"It's a bit disappointing it's got into the media because it can be disturbing for the team," said Brawn.
"I want our guys focused on doing the best job they can for the coming season. There is a huge buzz about the place for the coming season.
ZitatAnalysis: All eyes on Formula 1's tech boss silly season By Jonathan Noble Friday, January 25th 2013, 11:13 GMT
Paddy LoweThe attention of Formula 1 fans and media may have been focused pretty much entirely on developments at Mercedes this week, but behind the scenes the ramifications of its shake-up are only just starting to reverberate around the grid.
The F1 business is a fairly small community, with only a finite number of top-class technical talents available to be shared among the top teams.
It means that if a technical director from Team A is poached by Team B, then Team A has to react swiftly and either promote from within or go off and poach Team C's top man. Team C then needs to go on and lure the star from Team D...
Just like the driver market has its annual 'silly season' over the summer, now a potential reshuffling of senior technical staff is opening up the possibility of the car designers becoming the main talking point over the next few weeks.
But if you thought the way the driver situation shook up was often complicated, it will be nothing compared to the difficulties of sorting out who goes where and who accepts what on the technical front.
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn confirmed on Thursday what everyone had been talking about for days: that the Brackley-based outfit has been in talks with McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe about a senior role.
Aware that losing someone of the talent of Lowe would be far from ideal at this stage of a season, and keen to ensure there is a Plan B in case it loses it man, McLaren has duly created its own short list of replacements and it no surprise to discover that top candidate is Lotus technical director James Allison.
Now that Lotus is aware that Allison is being courted by McLaren (and most probably other teams including Mercedes as well), it too will now be pondering its recruitment options, and duly open the possibility of a team elsewhere losing its top man.
But while teams sounding out rival engineers is commonplace in F1, this year's situation is further complicated by the looming overhaul of F1's regulations.
James AllisonTeams are already hard at work on their 2014 cars and know that time is of the essence if they are to ensure that they get things right from the very first race of next year.
In F1, engineers are normally locked down to contracts which either tie them in to their employers for a set time, or prevent them going to work elsewhere for a few months. We all hear of people going off for a bit of 'gardening leave.'
But while taking 12 months off to attend the geraniums may be an attractive proposition for many people, if men like Lowe and Allison are taken out of the equation for that period now, then their input for the crucial 2014 rules will be completely lost.
These next few months are the very time when men like Adrian Newey, Pat Fry, Lowe and Allison really show their mettle; dig deep into regulations to find those grey areas that deliver competitive advantage.
From what team insiders are saying, neither Lowe nor Allison have yet been won over by what's been offered to them, and it could well be that both men ultimately decide to stay put and keep producing their brilliance where they are right now.
But you can be sure that their bosses are keeping a very close eye on exactly what is happening after the shake-up at Mercedes. Because once that first move is made, no one knows where the music is going to stop.
ZitatGiedo Van der Garde secures second Caterham F1 seat By Jonathan Noble Friday, February 1st 2013, 14:57 GMT
Giedo van der Garde has won the battle for the second race seat at Caterham for 2013, the team confirmed on Friday.
Following months of discussions, the Dutchman has got the nod over Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov, Bruno Senna and Luiz Razia to become Charles Pic's team-mate this season.
Van der Garde, who was Caterham's reserve driver last year and won races for its GP2 team, already has F1 mileage under his belt after driving in several Friday practice sessions as well as at the young driver test.
The Dutchman had also been part of the Spyker team's line-up in 2007, carrying out testing duties for the squad.
Speaking about his move in to a race seat, van der Garde said: "I know I am ready to take the step up to F1 and all the work I have done throughout my career, and particularly in the last year with this team, has brought me to my ultimate goal.
"Throughout 2012 I was able to fully integrate myself into the team, both through the FP1 sessions I ran at a number of tracks that were then new to me, and as reserve driver, fully embedded with the team throughout the season.
"Now I can continue to learn at the highest level of motorsport and show that I am ready for F1. I cannot wait to start work."
Caterham's decision to sign van der Garde and Pic is a departure from its previous mantra of securing experienced talent to help it in F1, and will have been motivated in part by financial considerations.
Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said last year that he was keen to bring on younger men now - which has been proven with his choice for 2013.
"We continue to grow as a team and we are committed to giving young talent across the motorsport industry the chance to grow with us and this is Giedo's opportunity to show he deserves his place at the very highest level of global motorsport," he said.
Van der Garde's appointment, with Razia now set to take the second seat at Marussia, means that Kovalainen, Petrov and Senna all appear to be without F1 drives for 2013
Giedo van der Garde's route to F1
Nationality: Dutch Age: 27
F1 tests: Super Aguri (2007), Spyker/Force India (2007/08), Renault (2009), Caterham (2012, inc Friday practice)
GP2: 2009-12 with iSport ('09), Addax ('10-11), Caterham ('12). Five wins, best championship result of fifth in 2011.
Formula Renault 3.5: 2007-08 with Victory ('07) and P1 ('08). Champion in 2008, five wins.
Formula 3 Euro Series: 2004-'06 with Signature ('04), Rosberg ('05), ASM ('06). One win, best championship result of sixth in 2006.
Zitat Oskari Saari @OskariSaari Kovalainen sanoi itse Brasiliassa, ettei usko comebackiin jos ei aja 2013. Eli F1-ura hänen omien sanojensa mukaan paketissa.
Erittäin iso sääli, että asia meni näin. Peli on kovaa ja raha puhuu. Heikille #respect ettei lähtenyt tarjouskilpailuun yrittämäään.
I'm sad that maybe Heikki's F1 career is over " title="sad" />
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Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:21 am
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" title="hug" /> Maybe it can help him coming back as driver! 
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