Formula One News — February 2012

F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has, not for the first time, suggested that the Australian GP may need to become a night race if it is to maintain its position on the calendar.

The new Marussia MR01 has failed its final crash test and will not now be given its track debut at the final pre-season F1 test starting in Barcelona this Thursday.

Fernando Alonso has told Spanish media that it is hard to say where Ferrari stacks up against its 2012 competition but admits that Red Bull looks "very strong."

Kamui Kobayashi topped the final day of the season's second F1 test at Barcelona, Spain, ahead of the season-opening Australian GP on March 18.

Pastor Maldonado set the third day pace at the Barcelona pre-season F1 test with a lap set on Pirelli's supersoft compound rubber in the Williams FW34. Both the Venezuelan and technical chief Mark Gillan expressed themselves satisfied with progress.

Tom Blomqvist, son of 1984 World Rally Champion Stig, has joined McLaren's Driver Development Programme.

Nico Hulkenberg's Force India (1:22.608) set the quickest lap on the second day of this week's Barcelona F1 test in Spain.

World Champion Sebastian Vettel (1:23.265) set the fastest lap of the first day's F1 testing at Circuit de Catalunya, the second of three tests scheduled before the season-opening Australian GP in Melbourne on March 18.

The Mercedes GP team has officially revealed its W03 chassis this morning at the Circuit de Catalunya prior to the start of the second official test of the winter.

The experienced former Williams F1 driver Alex Wurz is to act as a driver mentor to Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna in 2012.

Hard on the heels of its announcement that Vitaly Petrov will replace Jarno Trulli at Caterham this year, comes news of a deal with SIBUR, the largest petrochemical company in Russia and Eastern Europe.

The Caterham Formula 1 team has announced that Vitaly Petrov will drive for the team in 2012, joining Heikki Kovalainen.

Mark Smith will now head the Caterham F1 team's day-to-day technical operation with Mike Gascoyne taking on a wider-ranging technical role in the Caterham Group.

Mercedes AMG Petronas has shaken down its new W03 F1 challenger at Silverstone ahead of its serious debut at next week's Barcelona test.

HRT, which ran its 2011 chassis at the first pre-season test in Jerez, will not now be present at Barcelona's second test next week with its new car.

Kevin Magnussen, 19-year-old son of former F1 driver Jan, will drive a McLaren in the Young Driver test late in the season.

The Senna film has scooped awards for best documentary and best editing at the British Academy of Film and Television Awards at London's Royal Opera House.

Dani Clos has been nominated HRT reserve driver and will take part in a number of Friday practices for the team throughout 2012.

Tomorrow sees the first anniversary of the Shia uprising in Bahrain that resulted in a number of deaths and almost 3000 arrests.

The first pre-season F1 test concluded at Jerez with Fernando Alonso's Ferrari (1:18.877) fastest on the day.

Didier Coton has joined Lewis Hamilton's management team run by Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment group.

Nico Rosberg (1:17.613) kept Mercedes at the top of the time sheets in F1's first pre-season test at Jerez but Romain Grosjean (1:18.419) was comfortably quickest of the 2012-spec cars in the Lotus on day three. His best time was 1.2s quicker than Kimi Raikkonen's fastest, recorded on the opening day.

Michael Schumacher (1:18.561) set the fastest lap of the second day's F1 testing at Jerez, Spain.

Kimi Raikkonen (1:19.670) set the fastest lap of the 2012 season's first day of testing in Jerez aboard the new Lotus E20.

Williams today unveiled their 2012 F1 challenger the Williams-Renault FW34. The team decided to show the car in the pitlane at Jerez prior to pre-season