- Blomqvist joins McLaren's driver development programme
McLaren have announced on Wednesday that British teenager Tom Blomqvist, son of 1984 world rally champion Stig Blomqvist, has joined the select group of young talent on their driver development programme. “I'm thrilled to get this opportunity with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” said Blomqvist. “The competition gets fiercer every time you step up a category, and having this level of support will really improve my strength and confidence.” - Barcelona day two - Hulkenberg on top for Force India
Force India's Nico Hulkenberg ended the second day of testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya as the quickest runner. Hulkenberg posted a best time of 1m 22.608s on Wednesday at the Spanish track to beat the Sauber of Sergio Perez by four hundredths of a second. Perez completed 85 laps in the C31, despite an exhaust problem towards the end of the day. “Quite a few high priority points have been ticked off the job list,” explained Giampaolo Dall'Ara, Sauber's head of track engineering. “In the morning we started with aero comparisons, and then did some proper mechanical set up work. We also carried out a full comparison of all tyre compounds and ran different fuel loads.” - Bahrain 2012 - now on sale
The 2012 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix takes place on April 20-22 and tickets are now available on Formula1.com. Making its eighth appearance on the F1 calendar, Bahrain provides a race-going experience like no other. For a unique insight into the only island state in the Arab world and its spectacular Sakhir circuit - Lotus forced to abandon Barcelona for the week
Lotus will not run for the remainder of this week's second pre-season test at Barcelona following the issue experienced with the team's second E20 chassis when it was shaken down for the first time by Romain Grosjean on Tuesday morning. After discovering the problem, Lotus had initially planned to bring the first E20 chassis - which successfully completed the first Jerez test - Barcelona day one - Vettel sets the pace for Red Bull
Defending world champion Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets for Red Bull as this week's four-day test got underway at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday. Vettel's best, a 1m 23.265s, was over a tenth of a second faster than the quickest lap from second-placed runner Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India. The opening day of the second official pre-season test saw 11 teams in action, with only HRT missing. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, ahead of Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. - Chassis problem brings Lotus test to a standstill
Lotus will miss the rest of Tuesday's test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya because of an issue with their car. Driver Romain Grosjean had completed just a few laps in the second E20 chassis during the morning session when the team decided to abandon their test programme. “This morning was our first shakedown of our second chassis,” explained trackside operations director Alan Permane. “Once the car was on track it was soon evident that everything wasn't quite as it should be. As a precaution we are returning the chassis to Enstone for further investigation. Chassis E20-01, which we used in Jerez, is being sent over and we expect to be on track with that chassis tomorrow.” - Wurz returns to Williams as driver mentor
Williams have announced that former driver Alexander Wurz will return to the British team as a driver mentor. Wurz will start his new role at this week's Barcelona test and also plans to accompany the team to races this season to assist racers Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna. “This is a great initiative by Williams and highlights just how hard the team is pushing to optimise its performance,” said Wurz. “Throughout my career as a sportsman, which started at the age of 12 in BMX racing, includes over a decade in Formula One and is still ongoing (racing in the World Endurance Championship), I am lucky to have gained so much experience. - Mercedes present the F1 W03 in Barcelona
Mercedes officially launched their 2012 car on Tuesday morning as the F1 W03 was unveiled by drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher in the Barcelona pit lane, immediately ahead of this week's pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya. The new Silver Arrow has undergone an intensive programme of simulation testing at the team's UK technical bases in Brackley and Brixworth. This was followed by a filming day limited to 100 kilometres at Silverstone on February 16 - Mr Hudson to DJ at Melbourne's F1 Rocks™ The Afterparty
F1 Rocks™ have announced that renowned international DJ Mr Hudson will perform at F1 Rocks™ The Afterparty during the weekend of the 2012 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, which takes place in Melbourne from March 16-18. The star-studded party, which will also feature Australian DJ Havana Brown, will get underway on Sunday evening following the Australian race at EVE nightclub, which is located in the city's prestigious Southbank suburb. - New Mercedes completes private test at Barcelona
Mercedes' new F1 W03 will only be officially launched on Tuesday morning but that hasn't stopped the team from racking up kilometres in the car at a private test at Barcelona on Sunday. After carrying out a shakedown at Silverstone last week, Mercedes jetted out to Spain early, ahead of this week's second multi-team test at the Circuit de Catalunya. Earlier this month they had opted to test their 2011 car for three of the four-days of the opening pre-season Jerez test and so had a day in hand to use as they wished. - Petrov replaces Trulli at Caterham for 2012
Caterham have announced that Vitaly Petrov will race for the team in 2012, replacing Jarno Trulli with immediate effect. Petrov attended a seat fitting at their UK factory in Hingham on Friday morning and will make his debut in the CT01 at next week's Barcelona test. “This is a very exciting day for me,” said the Russian. “I would like to thank Tony (Fernandes), Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin for giving me the chance to join a team that made its F1 debut at the same time as me, and has grown from one of the new teams to a serious force for future honours. The passion and spirit that Tony and the whole team have to keep moving forwards is infectious, and I am honoured to be able to join them and play my part in helping the team mount a serious challenge to the teams ahead in 2012 and for many seasons to come. - Gascoyne to take on expanded Caterham role
Mike Gascoyne has become the chief technical officer of the entire Caterham Group. As a result of Gascoyne's promotion, technical director Mark Smith will assume day-to-day control of the Formula One team's technical division. “This is a very proud moment for me,” said Gascoyne. “My new role will now give me the chance to help drive value across the whole group through the creation and delivery of new projects in all the sectors we are already working in, and opening up new opportunities for each of the Group's companies to embrace.
