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From GMM

Sebastian Vettel has played down multiple reports that he has signed a Red Bull contract extension through 2016.

Asked if he has added two more years to his current deal, the reigning world champion answered: "I do not talk about contracts."

But Bild am Sonntag reporter Frank Schneider pointed out that Vettel pointedly "shook his head" as he made his standard answer, indicating that he is yet to agree a new deal.

"But I said nothing!" the German driver laughed, admitting his "body language" may have been different.

Having previously said he wanted to join Ferrari one day, Vettel was nonetheless asked by Schneider if he is now open to staying at Red Bull for the rest of his career.

"Could be.  Depends on how long my career is," Vettel answered mysteriously.

Asked when he will decide what to do beyond his 2014 contract, he continued: "In this case, probably no later than early 2015.  Not today, anyway."

Also leaving the door open is Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Asked by Germany's Welt if Vettel is a potential candidate, the Italian answered: "This is far in the future.

"I have no idea and it depends on both sides.  It's not a relevant issue at the moment."

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he is considering dropping Interlagos from the F1 calendar.

Indeed, Britain's Daily Mail reveals that F1 chief executive Ecclestone, who has not travelled to the opening two races of the 2013 calendar, has in fact just returned from Rio de Janeiro.

The city's mayor is reportedly "pitching hard" to become the new Brazil GP host.

"The mayor has told me they can get it done," said Ecclestone.

"I have been unhappy with Sao Paulo for a long time.  It's a super race track, but the facilities need a big facelift.

"We could be there (Rio) for Olympic year (2016), but I know how hard it was for London to run just the Olympics," he added.

Meanwhile, Ecclestone has expressed interest in extending Malaysia's F1 contract, but told The Star newspaper that organisers need to give Sepang a "paint job".

"It is obviously not the same as Singapore," he said.  "Maybe because they don't spend the money."

From GMM

Romain Grosjean will soon be a father.

After his new wife Marion Jolles - who met Grosjean whilst a F1 television reporter - was spotted apparently pregnant, the French Lotus driver confirmed the news.

He said their baby is due in the summer.

"We are absolutely delighted," said the 26-year-old.

But according to Swiss journalist Roger Benoit, of the Blick newspaper, Lotus is apparently "not very happy about it, because (the team thinks) he should concentrate on the sport".

Meanwhile, former Marussia driver Timo Glock's newly born first child - a son born by his partner Isabell - has been named Mika.

Adapted from GMM

Martin Whitmarsh has failed yet again to "kill off" suggestions McLaren will ultimately scrap the 2013 car and revert to the winning model of last season.

"Everything is an option," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport when asked the old question about the possible return of the 2012 car.

"But we have made some initial progress and I believe up to China we will make some more."

Jenson Button apparently agrees, saying qualifying in Malaysia "just two tenths off the guy (Kimi Raikkonen)", who won in Australia, "can't be bad".

Still, the rumours about the 2012 car persist, even though Whitmarsh insists there is nothing "fundamentally" flawed - or unfixable - about the MP4-28.

The team boss was asked on Saturday if he can "kill off" the 2012 car speculation.

"I can kill it off for the time being," he told reporters.  "We have made a clear decision and we are working hard to understand this car in order to improve it and turn it into a race-winning one."

His message is clear -- if fixing the MP4-28 falters, the MP4-27 is always there.

"The fact is," continued Whitmarsh, "we took too long to realise (the mistakes with the MP4-28) and we are responding now."

Adapted from GMM

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton completed a sour-faced podium on Sunday by finishing third, after his faster teammate Nico Rosberg was told by boss Ross Brawn to hold station.

Nico Rosberg "holding station" (Photo: WRi2)

First and second of the same race were Red Bull teammates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, who had their fair share of team orders controversy.

"If I'm honest, Nico should be standing here, he had better pace," said Hamilton. "I can't say it is the best feeling being up here (on the podium)."

Hamilton was just as happy as Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel to stand on the podium in Sepang (Photo: WRi2)

Earlier, Rosberg pleaded to be able to pass the sister W04, but Brawn's answer was "negative".

"Remember this one," Rosberg said over the radio as he pulled into parc ferme in fourth position, but he soon reassured reporters that he understood and respected the team's decision.

Red Bull's Marko, who in the Vettel-Webber row took the side of the Australian, said of the Mercedes situation it is obvious the team wanted its "number 1" driver to finish in front.

Adapted from GMM

Pressure is mounting on F1 supplier Pirelli to change its tires.

It is being whispered ever louder in the Sepang paddock that Red Bull, Mercedes and perhaps other teams are pushing hard for the Italian supplier to amend the heavily-degrading tires supplied so far in 2013 in Australia and Malaysia.

"There are definitely signs about a change of the compound," Mercedes' Toto Wolff is quoted by SID news agency.

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko says Pirelli "has promised" to change its tyre compounds in time for next month's Bahrain grand prix.

Pirelli's Paul Hembery, however, said the marque will only look to change tack if the teams "unanimously" demand it.

"That (unanimity) is definitely not the case," he insisted.

"If we do something, and suddenly two or three cars are no longer competitive but some others are suddenly faster, then we just have a new problem.

"We are analysing the situation," Pirelli is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, "but there is still no decision."

Despite safety concerns, Red Bull finished 1-2 in Malaysia followed by... two Mercedes (Photo: WRi2)

Mercedes and Red Bull's argument revolves around a safety issue.

"(The) fact is that the tires are not only developing extreme degradation after only a few laps, but big chunks quarry out," Marko told F1's official website.

"So this looks like there is an issue with the basics of the tires.  Note, the tires have these problems -- not us."

So rather than rush back to Milton-Keynes to make improvements to the car that will perhaps make it slower, Marko said the priority for Red Bull is to "sit down with Pirelli".

As for the claim that Lotus is doing so well because its 2010 car - the Renault R30 - is now used by Pirelli as its test mule, Hembery dismissed it as a "conspiracy theory (that is) not based on fact".

And a Lotus source is quoted by Italy's La Stampa: "If our car was like 2010, we would be in bad shape."

After dominating most of the earlier practice sessions, Team Penske's Will Power earned the IndyCar season opener's pole position, in St Petersburg which makes it the 30th of his career.

The achievement is Power's 30th career pole, and fourth consecutive in St Petersburg.

Takuma Sato (AJ Foyt Racing) will start alongside him, having lapped second fastest, while KV Racing's Simona de Silvestro maintained her weekend's pace ending up in third.

Canadian James Hinchcliffe (Andretti) had a close battle with Helio Castroneves (Penske) untill the end and eventually beat the Brazilian to fourth place on the grid.

Newcomer Tristan Vautier completed the top six for Sam Schmidt Motorsport; once again showing his potential.


Qualifying results - St Petersburg (IndyCar)
1.Will Power (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1'01"2070
2.Takuma Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 1'01"5776
3.Simona De Silvestro (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 1'01"7670
4.James Hinchcliffe (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'01"8229
5.Helio Castroneves (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1'01"8991
6.Tristan Vautier (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 1'02"0645
7.Marco Andretti (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'01"6883
8.Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'01"7339
9.Sebastian Saavedra (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 1'01"7944
10.Dario Franchitti (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'01"8150
11.Tony Kanaan (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 1'01"9139
12.Oriol Servia (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Panther DRR - 1'02"1483
13.Justin Wilson (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 1'02"1777
14.Charlie Kimball (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'02"1198
15.Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 1'02"2709
16.Josef Newgarden (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Fisher - 1'02"1592
17.Alex Tagliani (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Herta - 1'02"3328
18.James Jakes (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 1'02"1658
19.Simon Pagenaud (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 1'02"4736
20.Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'02"1715
21.Sebastien Bourdais (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 1'02"6537
22.Ernesto Viso (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'02"1986
23.Ed Carpenter (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 1'02"6634
24.JR Hildebrand (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Panther - 1'02"3179
25.Ana Beatriz (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 1'03"2551

Sebastian Vettel won the Malaysian Grand prix under controversial conditions from teammate Mark Webber and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

The Red Bull drivers had allegedly agreed to hold position after the fourth and final round of pitstops with Webber leading and Vettel second.

The start of a wet/dry Malaysian GP (Photo: WRi2)

However, in an action that supposedly ‘needed explaining' after the race, the current world champion challenged Webber, and in the final stages pulled ahead and claimed his 38th career victory by 4.2 seconds.

Red Bull was not the only team to be hit by controversy in the Sepang heat. The Mercedes of Hamilton and Rosberg finished third and fourth respectively, despite the German driver believing that by the end of the race he had a clear pace advantage which was played out over the radio in an entertaining exchange with team boss Ross Brawn in the race's closing stages.

Nico Rosberg uselessly chassing down Lewis Hamilton (Photo: WRi2)

Ferrari after displaying impressive pace yesterday were also not free of problems. Fernando Alonso was up to second by the first corner from the start but tapped Vettel's Red Bull at Turn 2 and damaged the front wing of the car; within a few corners, the Spaniard had slid into the gravel with a shattered front wing and became the first high profile retirement of the race.

Alonso now lies 22 points behind Vettel in the driver's championship.

Fernando Alonso's first lap in Malaysia was also his last (Photo: WRi2)

The race's opening stages were characterized by a wet start and Vettel and Webber running first and second after the Australian made an uncharacteristically good start off the line.  The two cars switched positions after Vettel pitted too early for slicks, handing the advantage to Webber.

The Red Bull team's pit decisions allowed for Hamilton to capitalize on the brewing inter-team battle, with the Mercedes at that point seemingly capable of challenging the blue cars for a victory.

Hamilton's pace led to Vettel - who had dropped behind his teammate - making the bizarre “Mark is too slow, get him out of the way. He is too slow” claim over the radio, after Webber was in front and clearly held a pace advantage at this point.

Mark Webber leading Sebastian Vettel reminescent of Turkey 2010 (Photo: WRi2)

Red Bull's race now echoed Turkey 2010, with anxious faces on the team's pitwall after Vettel made his final pitstop that now put him on the tail of his teammate after he emerged.

In a clear contravention of team orders, Vettel challenged Webber for a few laps after the team had turned the engines down and issued the “multi 21” directive, a term believed to mean “hold station” within the Red Bull camp. The rest of the race saw Webber drop back, and Vettel claim a win that puts him level with Sir Jackie Stewart in terms of wins.

Amidst the controversy, Felipe Massa finished fifth for Ferrari after a difficult Grand Prix, with the Lotus' of Grosjean and Raikkonen finishing sixth and seventh. Hulkenberg, Perez and Vergne rounded out the top-10 with each driver opening their 2013 points account.

McLaren also showed improved pace with Jenson Button on course for fifth until a loose front wheel forced the 2009 world champion to stop in the pit-lane and wait for two minutes for the mechanics to retrieve the stricken car.

Jules Bianchi once again repaid Marussia's faith in him by finishing 13th making him once again the best of the backmarkers ahead of the two Caterhams and teammate Chilton who was classified as 22nd and last.

Three happy clams on the podium (Photo: WRi2)

Race results* - Malaysian Grand Prix (Kuala Lampur)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 56 laps 1.38'56"681
2 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 4"298
3 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 12"181
4 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 12"640
5 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 25"648
6 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 35"564
7 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 48"479
8 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 53"044
9 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'12"357
10 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'27"124
11 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'28"610
12 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1 lap
13 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
14 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
15 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
16 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 2 laps

Fastest lap: 1'39"199 (Sergio Perez)

Retirements
Lap 1 - Fernando Alonso
Lap 2 - Paul Di Resta
Lap 27 - Adrian Sutil
Lap 45 - Pastor Maldonado
Lap 51 - Daniel Ricciardo
Lap 53 - Jenson Button

Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 40; 2.Raikkonen 31; 3.Webber 26; 4.Hamilton 25; 5.Massa 22; 6.Alonso 18; 7.Rosberg 12; 8.Grosjean 9; 9.Sutil 6; 10.Di Resta, Hulkenberg 4; 12.Button, Perez 2; 14.Vergne 1.

Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 66; 2.Lotus-Renault, Ferrari 40; 4.Mercedes 37; 5.Force India-Mercedes 10; 6.McLaren-Mercedes, Sauber-Ferrari 4; 8.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1

*Unofficial

Fiat's Serbian factory, which will export the 500L minivan to the US, expects to deliver 110,000 to 150,000 vehicles this year after six-month orders exceeded targets.

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: Much as I generally like the E-class, the 2013

Opel workers in Bochum, Germany, appear to have lost a high-stakes gamble to save their factory after an attempt to put pressure on Opel parent General Motors backfired and GM opted to close the plant ahead of schedule.

Carlos Ghosn laid a $5 billion bet in 2009 that the world's next Ford Model T would be electric, and that Nissan would lead a revolution embraced by nations such as Denmark. Three years later, sales of Leaf plug-in vehicles in the Nordic country: 73.

A jury has ordered a Toyota dealership in Philadelphia to pay six crash victims $15.7 million for its negligent maintenance and repair of the 2006 Toyota Sienna rental in which they were riding.

A study by Mayo in the U.S. reveals that people with a pacemaker can safely drive a hybrid or electric vehicle.

Researchers wanted to see if the electromagnetic interferences generated by the electric motor could have ill effects on a pacemaker.

The study involved 30 people and a Toyota Prius. Tests were conducted at speeds of 50 km/h and 100 km/h, under acceleration and deceleration, as well as in different areas of the vehicle.

Overall, these interferences are not powerful enough to send a heart attack signal to the pacemaker, although it remains a possibility in an infinitely small number of cases.

While no definitive conclusions were drawn, future tests with other EVs will provide a clearer picture.

Source : cnetfrance.fr

Photo: Michel Deslauriers

Top teams Red Bull and Mercedes want Pirelli to rush last year's tires back into service.

According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, the two outfits are arguing that it is not fair that the tyre supplier's 2013 products seem to be penalising the best cars.

Indeed, while in the past high downforce tended to minimise tyre wear, the opposite phenomenom is apparently occuring now, and according to Red Bull and Mercedes that also poses a safety risk.

Correspondent Michael Schmidt said: "Adrian Newey has made the direct link between downforce and wear."

World champion Sebastian Vettel confirmed: "The better the car, the worse shape you're in."

The Renault R30 raced by Robert Kubica in 2010 (Photo: Renault F1 Team)

Another growing gripe is that Lotus has gained an unfair advantage by supplying its 2010 car - the Enstone-designed Renault R30 - to be used as Pirelli's exclusive track testing car.

"It's obvious that the Pirelli tires are designed for this type of car," Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko is quoted as saying.

"The Lotus of today has the same DNA."

A US-based version of the German DTM touring car series could debut in 2015, running alongside NASCAR and Unified SportsCar rounds.

The idea, born about a year ago, had been forgotten a little in the midst of the merger between ALMS and Grand-Am. With the new series now firmly on track, the focus has shifted back to DTM.

An announcement is set to be made later this week, at the New York motor show, by DTM, Grand-Am and Japanese Super GT representatives.

According to German news website Motorsport-Total, the American DTM could present eighth rounds in 2015, four of which at Unified SportsCar rounds, and the other four at NASCAR events -- all on road courses. Officials are studying the prospect of racing at Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Daytona and Indianapolis.

As far as teams are concerned, official DTM teams could be represented by American customer outfits.

But the American DTM could also shape up as an "all-star" series, pitching against one another stars from DTM, Grand-Am and Super GT.

Tune in on March 26 for more...

Sebastian Vettel scored his second consecutive pole position of 2013 during a bizarre wet/dry qualifying session for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix.

The world champion set his fastest lap of 1m49.674s in the closing stages of Q3 on a drying track after pitting for a fresh set of intermediate tyres on his Red Bull. 

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB9 (Photo: WRi2)

The Ferraris will line up behind Vettel, with Massa once again qualifying ahead of his teammate Alonso for the fourth race in succession after putting in an impressive lap at the end of Q3, albeit 0.9s from Vettel. This is the Brazilian's first front row start since Bahrain 2010.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F138 (Photo: WRi2)

Mark Webber split the two Mercedes' in fifth despite seeming during the early stages of the session he could repeat his 2010 pole position. The silver cars finished fourth and sixth, once again showing the potential for pole in the hands of Hamilton and Rosberg, with the Brit staking his claim for the top spot with a 1m51.699 and the German setting the pace in Q2.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W04 (Photo: WRi2)

Kimi Raikkonen qualified his Lotus down in seventh ahead of Jenson Button's McLaren which showed improved pace this weekend. But the Finn was pushed down to 10th for blocking Rosberg. Adrian Sutil continued his impressive return to action by putting the Force India in ninth, with the second McLaren of Sergio Perez rounding out the top-ten.

An unexpected rain shower was the surprise of Q2 and caught a number of drivers out, most notably Romain Grosjean and Paul di Resta who spun twice after pushing hard to make it through to Q3; the Frenchman and the Scot will line up 11th and 15th respectively.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E21 (Photo: WRi2)

Further down the grid, Williams' weekend worsened with Pastor Maldonado failing to set a time in Q2, which put the Venezuelan down in 16th. Teammate Valtteri Bottas once again failed make much of the hype surrounding him as he dropped out in Q3 after finishing 18th and was almost outpaced by the impressive Jules Bianchi's Marussia, which sits almost 0.2 seconds behind.

Bianchi's compatriot Charles Pic was the best of the Caterhams in 20th ahead of Marussia's Max Chilton. Giedo van der Garde props up the grid in the sister Caterham in 22nd and final spot.


Qualifying results* - Malaysian Grand Prix (Kuala Lampur)
1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'49”674 - Q3
2.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'50”587 - Q3
3.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'50”727 - Q3
4.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'51”699 - Q3
5.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'52”244 - Q3
6.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'52”519 - Q3
7.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'53”175 - Q3
8.Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'53”439 - Q3
9.Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'54”136 - Q3
10.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'52”970 - Q3**
11.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'37”636 - Q2
12.Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'38”125 - Q2
13.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'38”822 - Q2
14.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'39”221 - Q2
15.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'44”509 - Q2
16.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - no time - Q2
17.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'38”157 - Q1
18.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'38”207 - Q1
19.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'38”434 - Q1
20.Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'39”314 - Q1
21.Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'39”672 - Q1
22.Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'39”932 - Q1

*Unofficial
** Penalised

Robert Kubica was enjoying a healthy lead in his first European Rally Championship (ERC) appearance when he crashed out of the event.

The Pole lost control of his Citroën DS3 while going through the first run of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana special, in Rally Islas Canarias.

Robert Kubica before he crashed his Citroën DS3 (Photo: FIAERC.com)

"I tried to do the corner but I hit the barrier," he explained afterwards. "I didn't reduce enough speed but I hit the barrier with the rear-left corner. Then with the front we dived into the barrier.

"It's a shame but unfortunately this can happen."

Kubica's crash handed the lead of Rally Islas Canarias to Skoda driver Jan Kopecky.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting has brought up the idea of enforcing a points-based penalty system in the future, while bringing reporters up to speed on technical issues in a FIA Q&A.

Romain Grosjean made the headlines several times, most infamously at the Belgian GP, where he flew over the head of Fernando Alonso at the start of the race.

Romain Grosjean, Spa (Photo: WRi2)

As a consequence, the Frenchman had to sit out the following round of the championship, in Monza.

Some say the hot-headed Grosjean never learnt from his mistakes on track, and that a better system should therefore be elaborated to stop drivers from ramming into each other.

According to Whiting, the idea of a points-based system is generally like, although "not unanimously (supported)".

The FIA will run a hypothetical system this season to gauge the idea.

From GMM

Sauber could have kept Nico Hulkenberg in the race last Sunday in Australia, it has emerged.

Ultimately, the German sat out Melbourne with a terminal fuel tank problem, so serious that he is at the wheel of an all-new chassis this weekend in Malaysia.

The all-new chassis of Hulkenberg (Photo: WRi2)

But he had qualified eleventh in Melbourne, seven places ahead of rookie teammate Esteban Gutierrez.

It now emerges that Sauber could actually have sidelined Mexican Gutierrez, giving the working C32 to Hulkenberg and maintaining a very real chance of a good result.

In the end, Gutierrez finished outside of the points in Australia.

"Did Sauber give away championship points?" wondered veteran Blick newspaper correspondent Roger Benoit.

"The team confirmed on Friday (in Malaysia) that the FIA would have permitted a driver change."

However, Hulkenberg would have had to start the race in Gutierrez's car from the pitlane.

And team boss Monisha Kaltenborn insisted: "It was not an option for us."

But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said the situation raises a fascinating question.

"What would Red Bull or Ferrari do in the same situation, if the world title was at stake?  Would Mark Webber or Felipe Massa give up their cars to the team captains?" wondered correspondent Michael Schmidt.