Williams' daughter Claire promoted to deputy role

(CNN) -- For over half a century, Formula One has been a man's game.

But maybe no more as the sport's glass ceiling suffered a further fracture on Wednesday.

Monisha Kaltenborn became the sport's first female team principal when she was handed the reins at Sauber in October and now Williams has followed suit after appointing Claire Williams to a similar key role.

The daughter of team founder Frank Williams, the 36-year-old will work alongside her father as deputy team principal.

Read: Fuming Webber goes surfing to cool off

The British team is the only constructor which currently employs a female driver with Susie Wolff testing for the marque.

"I'm truly honored to be taking on the role of deputy team principal and look forward to working alongside Frank to help run the team this season and beyond," Claire told Williams' official website.

"I have grown up in the sport and have learned the ropes from one of Formula One's legendary team principals and as a result I feel well equipped for this new challenge.

"I understand the commitment that every person within the team gives each day to see our car out on the track and I am determined to see us back at the top."

Read: Vettel apologizes after controversial win

Williams are one of the most successful teams in F1 history, winning nine constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles since making their debut at the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix.

But in recent times the team has floundered, although Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado did pick up Williams' first race win since 2004 at last year's Spanish Grand Prix.

Frank Williams, who is tetraplegic and has been confined to a wheelchair since a car accident in 1986, is confident the future of the team is in safe hands.

"Over the past decade Claire has worked tirelessly for Williams," said the 70-year-old.

"Her knowledge of the sport and passion for the team is unquestionable and I'm proud to say that during her time here she has proven herself to be one of our most valuable assets.

"With Claire being appointed Deputy Team Principal, I know the future of Williams is in extremely safe hands.

"This appointment also had Ginny's blessing who I know would have been incredibly proud to have seen Claire taking on this position by my side," added Williams, referring to his wife Virginia, who died earlier this month of cancer.

Williams' driver pairing of Maldonado and rookie Valtteri Bottas will both be on the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix on April 14.

Via: Williams' daughter Claire promoted to deputy role

Fuming Webber goes surfing to cool off

(CNN) -- Has there ever been a rivalry in a sporting team quite like the one between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber?

Their fractious, not to say poisonous, relationship reached a new low on Sunday, after the three-time world champion ignored Red Bull team orders to snatch victory from Australian Webber at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

With another three weeks before the next grand prix -- the Chinese GP on April 14 -- Webber plans to going surfing as he reflects on his treatment by Vettel and his place in the Red Bull hierarchy.

"I'll be catching a few waves on my surfboard and reflecting on everything that's happened," Webber told reporters.

"There were a lot of things going through my head in those closing laps," he said. "Not just from today, but from the past as well."

The past probably includes the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, a race in which Webber was flying when, on the verge of a hat-trick of wins, he and Vettel famously crashed -- leading to a sense of ill feeling within the team.

Read: Vettel apologizes after controversial F1 win in Malaysia

Despite protestations in public to say otherwise from team principal Christian Horner, the frustration for Webber is that he is very much the team's understudy.

Vettel has long been nurtured by Helmut Marko, titled a motorsport consultant at Red Bull but widely regarded as the eyes, ears and mouth piece of team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and a figure Webber has not always seen eye to eye with.

"Seb made his own decisions and will have protection as usual," continued Webber after Sunday's race, a not too subtle reference to the Australian's apparent place in the Red Bull pecking order.

"It's something that Sebastian has apologized for and it's something that we will discuss internally as a team," added Horner, who in February at the launch of the RB9 had insisted: "As a team we will do the very best we can to support both drivers."

But former McLaren driver John Watson went so far as to say that Red Bull should suspend Vettel for one race.

"If Christian Horner doesn't reassert his authority in the team -- because he has been totally subjugated by Sebastian Vettel yesterday -- then his position in the team is not exactly the role it is designed to be," Watson told BBC Radio on Monday.

"The only conclusion I can reach is that Vettel should be suspended for the next grand prix.

"You can't take the points away from him and give them to Mark Webber - that's now history and Sebastian has the benefit of those seven additional points."

After the event, Vettel was apologetic, suggesting the incident had been a misunderstanding rather than a direct violation of team orders.

"I didn't mean to and I apologize, " Vettel told reporters. "I'm not happy I've won, I made a mistake and if I could undo it I would. It's not easy right now and I owe apologies to Mark and the team."

The Malaysia Grand Prix also raised more questions about the very essence of the sport with teams handing down orders to drivers rather than allowing them to race.

While Vettel ignored a call to stay behind his teammate Webber, Lewis Hamilton benefited from team orders.

The 2008 world champion claimed his first podium finish for Mercedes after colleague Nico Rosberg was told not to attack him as both drivers were seeking to maintain their cars.

Team orders have long been a controversial part of F1, and were banned in 2002. However, that rule was dropped in 2011 after it became apparent that teams were finding ways around it.

Via: Fuming Webber goes surfing to cool off

Vettel wants win after securing pole position

(CNN) -- Sebastian Vettel doesn't like losing -- and Formula One's youngest ever triple world champion showed he means business after wrapping up pole position at Sepang Saturday.

The Red Bull driver, who started at the front of the grid at Melbourne last weekend, was beaten into third after Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso took the top two spots.

Vettel's frustration at failing to make the most of his advantage was palpable, but ahead of Sunday's second race of the season in Malaysia, he demonstrated once again why he's the man to beat.

The Circuit: CNN's look at the Malaysian Grand Prix

With the rain causing chaos, the German recorded recorded a fastest time of one minute 49.674 seconds to pip Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, who will start second and third on the grid.

"I think if you start in the front you always want to finish there," Vettel told the post-qualifying press conference.

"We confirmed more or less what we saw in Melbourne. I was very happy with the balance of the car once again.

"I think also considering where we were last year here, a big step forward. But these days racing is a little bit different.

"Hopefully we'll find the right amount of percentage less than 100% to start he race tomorrow.

"Managing the tires will be crucial and then we go from there. We know the pace is there so hopefully we get to the checkered flag in the same position."

Read: Raikkonen tops the charts

While Vettel was left content with his performance, last weekend's race winner Raikkonen suffered a disappointing day after being handed a three-place penalty.

The Finn had qualified in seventh before stewards adjudged him to have impended the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

"It's a shame to lose the three places but it is what it is," he told Lotus' official website.

"You never know what will happen in the race -- especially here -- so we'll do our best and let's hope we have the speed to get on the podium."

Raikkonen's absence from the top end of the grid is a bonus for Ferrari, with Massa in particular looking to take advantage after out-qualifying Alonso for the fourth race in succession.

Read Ferrari revved up for F1 title fight

"I think whenever you feel comfortable you can do a good lap and you can use the car to the maximum, it's possible," he told reporters.

"It was really clear that I was not comfortable last year and the year before, so many things around the car, bad luck, around myself as well, so there were so many things that were not working in the proper direction.

"But now they are and I know how quick I can be, I've showed that many times in the past.

"If everything works well, we can be competitive; it's pretty sure about that. I believe in myself and I think it can be really important for the team, for Fernando as well, for everybody.

"We need a stronger team, a strong position and fighting for the best position in every race so I'm happy, that's a good direction."

Two-time world champion Alonso won at Sepang last season and will be hoping for a repeat performance this time around -- despite being outshone by teammate Massa .

"I think I've been racing 27 years now in motor racing - I'm getting old - so it's not the first time that we have very close competition," he told the press conference.

"It was very close the last three years as well, but I know that for you it was not that close in terms of results because I think Felipe had some bad luck, some incidents sometimes, some mechanical problems other times.

"But the last three years was much closer than I think that it looked in the points at the end.

"So this year it is again very close, no big difference, maybe a little bit closer and for sure the last two races we are behind on the grid but so far on Saturday there are no points so we need to keep working for Sunday.

"It's the best news for the team, because we need to have a competition between the two drivers in the team.

"We need to share information between the drivers in the team and now I think all the data that we have from free practice, from qualifying for everything is very useful to compare and to analyze to make ourselves better.

"So this is only good news for the team and we will push each other to our own limits and this is good news for the team.

Read: Hamilton brushes off title talk

After claiming a fifth place finish in last weekend's season-opener, Lewis Hamilton is aiming for better in his Mercedes.

The 2008 world champion will start fourth on the grid and is targeting a podium finish.

"The car was not too bad in the dry but the balance could have been a lot better, then it was pretty tricky conditions in the wet during Q3," he told the team's official website.

"We did our lap with older tires than the guys in front, which was a bit unfortunate, but our pace was good overall so I can't complain.

"It's the second race on the second row for me and there are lots of positives to take out of the weekend so far.

"Our long run pace looked pretty good compared to the other teams so I'm hoping for dry conditions tomorrow."

Via: Vettel wants win after securing pole position

Vettel 'sorry' after controversial victory

(CNN) -- World champion Sebastian Vettel apologized to Red Bull teammate Mark Webber after defying orders to snatch a "risky" victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday and go to the top of the driver standings.

Webber had been poised for the 10th victory of his career and first since July as he led comfortably after the team's final pit stops, and was told to hold back to maintain his car until the finish at the Sepang circuit.

Vettel, however, took the opportunity to edge past the veteran Australian and claim his 27th race win, having started from pole position for the second time in two events this season.

"I want to say sorry to Mark," the German told reporters, having been rebuked by his team boss Christian Horner on the radio as they dueled on the track. "This is silly Seb, come on," Horner warned.

Read: Vettel vows to win after claiming pole

"He was trying to save the car and tires, but I took a lot of risk in passing him when he was trying," the 25-year-old Vettel added.

"I didn't ignore that, but I shouldn't have done it."

He later said on the Red Bull website: " I put myself above a team decision, which was wrong. I didn't mean to and I apologize. I'm not happy I've won, I made a mistake and if I could undo it I would. It's not easy right now and I owe apologies to Mark and the team."

Webber, who has often complained that triple world champion Vettel has favored status within the Austrian-owned team, made his displeasure known at the postrace press conference.

"The first part of GP went very well," the 36-year-old said. "In the end we got the right strategy, and it was about controlling the race, getting everything in the race right, but the team told me to turn the engine down.

"But I want to race as well. Seb made his own decisions and he will have protection as usual and that's the way it goes."

See: Sepang interactive and latest standings

He also added a statement on the team website.

"There's a bit of history to this as well; my mind in the last 15 laps was thinking about a lot of things," Webber said.

"Of course I'm not satisfied with the result. This puts heat on a few people and unfortunately there's no rewind button. I know people want raw emotion from us after these situations and it's there, but we need to remain cool. There's three weeks until the next race, so time for us to work on things."

Horner said the incident was "frustrating."

"Formula One is both a team and an individual sport and sometimes there is a conflict between a driver's desire and a team's interest," he said. "What happened today is something that shouldn't have happened.

"Our position after that final pit stop was all about managing the race until the end and conserving our tires, getting the cars to the finish and achieving maximum points."

Team orders have long been a controversial part of F1, and were banned in 2002. However, that rule was dropped in 2011 after it became apparent that teams were finding ways around it.

On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton benefited from team orders as he claimed his first podium finish for Mercedes after colleague Nico Rosberg was told not to attack him as both drivers were seeking to maintain their cars.

Team boss Ross Brawn said on the radio: "Negative Nico, negative. Lewis' pace is what we are asking him to do. He can go a lot faster as well, so please be in control as well."

"If I'm honest he should be standing here, he's a great teammate and did a fantastic job," Hamilton said of Rosberg, who outperformed seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher at Mercedes the past three seasons.

"We brought the car home and I'm glad to get a result for them, but it's not the best feeling being up here."

The 2008 world champion almost made an embarrassing error when he tried to pit in the garage of his former team McLaren -- bringing back memories of when Jenson Button did similar soon after his move to the British marque.

"I did a Jenson as he did that a couple of years ago," the English driver said.

"I've had so many years making pit stops with McLaren, but I got it wrong, so a big apology to my teammate."

Button's disappointing season continued when he failed to finish in the points after being sent out from his final pit stop with a loose front wheel, having been fifth at one stage.

His new teammate Sergio Perez scored his first points for McLaren as he came home ninth ahead of Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne.

Felipe Massa claimed fifth place but his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso -- the race winner in Sepang last year and overall runnerup -- paid for an early mistake that broke his front wing and ended his 200th career grand prix as he stayed out on the track too long without getting it repaired.

"Today we had a good car, and I don't think we were too far from the Red Bull pace, especially in the race," the Spaniard said.

"Looking now after the incident for sure it is the wrong decision (to stay on the track). If this unlucky combination had not happened, and in lap three we stop, we change the tire and the nose and we win the race here, the team are heroes."

Romain Grosjean was sixth for Lotus ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who won the opening race in Melbourne last Sunday but this time started from 10th after being given a three-place penalty for blocking Rosberg during Saturday's qualifying.

The Finn was fastest in Friday's practice, but downplayed his hopes in the race.

Nico Hulkenberg was eighth to earn Sauber's first points this season.

Via: Vettel 'sorry' after controversial victory

Vettel wants victory after securing pole position

(CNN) -- Sebastian Vettel doesn't like losing -- and Formula One's youngest ever triple world champion showed he means business after wrapping up pole position at Sepang Saturday.

The Red Bull driver, who started at the front of the grid at Melbourne last weekend, was beaten into third after Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso took the top two spots.

Vettel's frustration at failing to make the most of his advantage was palpable, but ahead of Sunday's second race of the season in Malaysia, he demonstrated once again why he's the man to beat.

The Circuit: CNN's look at the Malaysian Grand Prix

With the rain causing chaos, the German recorded recorded a fastest time of one minute 49.674 seconds to pip Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, who will start second and third on the grid.

"I think if you start in the front you always want to finish there," Vettel told the post-qualifying press conference.

"We confirmed more or less what we saw in Melbourne. I was very happy with the balance of the car once again.

"I think also considering where we were last year here, a big step forward. But these days racing is a little bit different.

"Hopefully we'll find the right amount of percentage less than 100% to start he race tomorrow.

"Managing the tires will be crucial and then we go from there. We know the pace is there so hopefully we get to the checkered flag in the same position."

Read: Raikkonen tops the charts

While Vettel was left content with his performance, last weekend's race winner Raikkonen suffered a disappointing day after being handed a three-place penalty.

The Finn had qualified in seventh before stewards adjudged him to have impended the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

"It's a shame to lose the three places but it is what it is," he told Lotus' official website.

"You never know what will happen in the race -- especially here -- so we'll do our best and let's hope we have the speed to get on the podium."

Raikkonen's absence from the top end of the grid is a bonus for Ferrari, with Massa in particular looking to take advantage after out-qualifying Alonso for the fourth race in succession.

Read Ferrari revved up for F1 title fight

"I think whenever you feel comfortable you can do a good lap and you can use the car to the maximum, it's possible," he told reporters.

"It was really clear that I was not comfortable last year and the year before, so many things around the car, bad luck, around myself as well, so there were so many things that were not working in the proper direction.

"But now they are and I know how quick I can be, I've showed that many times in the past.

"If everything works well, we can be competitive; it's pretty sure about that. I believe in myself and I think it can be really important for the team, for Fernando as well, for everybody.

"We need a stronger team, a strong position and fighting for the best position in every race so I'm happy, that's a good direction."

Two-time world champion Alonso won at Sepang last season and will be hoping for a repeat performance this time around -- despite being outshone by teammate Massa .

"I think I've been racing 27 years now in motor racing - I'm getting old - so it's not the first time that we have very close competition," he told the press conference.

"It was very close the last three years as well, but I know that for you it was not that close in terms of results because I think Felipe had some bad luck, some incidents sometimes, some mechanical problems other times.

"But the last three years was much closer than I think that it looked in the points at the end.

"So this year it is again very close, no big difference, maybe a little bit closer and for sure the last two races we are behind on the grid but so far on Saturday there are no points so we need to keep working for Sunday.

"It's the best news for the team, because we need to have a competition between the two drivers in the team.

"We need to share information between the drivers in the team and now I think all the data that we have from free practice, from qualifying for everything is very useful to compare and to analyze to make ourselves better.

"So this is only good news for the team and we will push each other to our own limits and this is good news for the team.

Read: Hamilton brushes off title talk

After claiming a fifth place finish in last weekend's season-opener, Lewis Hamilton is aiming for better in his Mercedes.

The 2008 world champion will start fourth on the grid and is targeting a podium finish.

"The car was not too bad in the dry but the balance could have been a lot better, then it was pretty tricky conditions in the wet during Q3," he told the team's official website.

"We did our lap with older tires than the guys in front, which was a bit unfortunate, but our pace was good overall so I can't complain.

"It's the second race on the second row for me and there are lots of positives to take out of the weekend so far.

"Our long run pace looked pretty good compared to the other teams so I'm hoping for dry conditions tomorrow."

Via: Vettel wants victory after securing pole position

Raikkonen tops charts in steamy Malaysia

(CNN) -- Kimi Raikkonen is not a driver to get unduly excited.

So It is no surprise that Formula One's "Iceman" is playing down the significance of his Lotus leading the timesheets in practice ahead of Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

It continues what has been a promising start to the season for the Finn, who took the checkered flag at last weekend's season opener in Australia.

The Circuit: CNN's look at the Malaysian GP

"Look at this place: it is hot, it is humid and the track is completely different," the 2007 world champion told Formula One's official website as he downplayed his achievements in practice.

"On top of this we could see rain at any point of the race, so how should I know what is happening on Sunday afternoon?

"The only thing that I can say right here, right now is that the car is good, that the team is working fantastically and that I want to keep the lead in the drivers' standings. Let's see where these factors will bring us in the race.

"At the moment I would say that it is trial and error for all of us, and the more you are able to try, the more you have the chance to eliminate any errors. It looked good for us this afternoon, but it is Friday so it doesn't mean much."

Read: McLaren drivers "can't compete"

Close behind Raikkonen was reigning triple world champion Sebastian Vettel, on a day which saw dry conditions in the morning and rain in the afternoon.

The Red Bull driver recently spoke of his respect for Raikkonen, who denied that his new found pace would affect their off-track relationship.

"Seb is for me an honest guy -- and, yes, we get along very well," explained Raikkonen. "What happens on the track and life outside the cockpit are two completely different pairs of shoes.

"We are both professionals who can separate one from the other. I always wonder what people are expecting us to do? That we are running with a knife through the paddock seeking revenge after a race incident, or what?"

Tyre degradation

Vettel, who finished third in the first race of the season, admitted improvements are needed for the Red Bull car ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

"This afternoon we couldn't do so much due to the weather, but this morning it looked OK, although the tyres don't last very long!" the 25-year-old German said.

"We need to try a couple of things now overnight to improve and take a step forward."

Double world champion Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, edged out by his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa who went third fastest at the Sepang International Circuit.

Spain's Alonso won this race last year and he will be looking for the fourth victory of his career in Malaysia.

"Today, the car worked well in all conditions and that is very good news for us," explained Alonso. "Now we must see how tomorrow goes, when it could rain at any moment and on a track where tyre degradation is much higher than in Melbourne."

Lewis Hamilton was ninth fastest as he continues his integration into the Mercedes team following his switch from McLaren.

"We made some positive steps with the set-up over the two sessions today," explained the 2008 drivers' champion. "I had a good long run in the dry which has given us a lot of information to look at tonight.

"We didn't learn too much in the wet this afternoon however as the conditions were quite mixed when I went out. We focused mainly on longer runs today so I haven't done a quick lap yet on either set of tyres; that will come tomorrow.

"I'm happy with the direction that we're going and let's see what the weekend brings."

Via: Raikkonen tops charts in steamy Malaysia

McLaren drivers: 'We can't compete'

(CNN) -- With 182 Formula One wins, McLaren is one of the most successful marques in the history of the sport, but F1's second oldest team could be waiting some time for the next victory.

So much so, that after the team's stuttering start to the new F1 season last weekend, McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez have already ruled themselves out of winning Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

The 2009 world champion Button won three races last season and after Lewis Hamilton left McLaren to join Mercedes he must have been relishing the chance to launch a title challenge as the team's No. 1 driver.

However the Briton, who finished ninth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, is expecting another frustrating weekend in Kuala Lumpur.

"Australia was obviously a tough weekend and, despite getting the maximum out of the car, it's still clearly not where we want to be," Button told the sport's official website.

"There's a lot of work to be done but we all know that this team won't stop working until they get it right. For this weekend, I don't think we can expect an improvement in our fortunes, but the thing about Malaysia is that it can be so unpredictable."

Read: New season, new thrills

Like all Englishmen, Button is closely watching the weather forecast in the hope that McLaren might profit from what could be a wet race at the Sepang International Circuit to even up the odds for the British team.

"We saw that last year, when Fernando (Alonso) won, and we know that the unpredictable weather can make it a lottery for everyone," added Button.

"That's something that could play into our hands -- I do enjoy driving in changeable conditions, and would love the challenge of being able to run competitively in a car that we all know is not quite capable of challenging for victories yet."

Perez, who made his debut for McLaren last weekend after joining the British marque from Sauber, delivered an equally sombre assessment of the team's problems.

Read: Easy win for "ice man" Raikkonen

"Last weekend's race was a difficult one for everybody on the team, but it's shown us exactly what we need to do to close down the gap to the leaders," said the 23-year-old Mexican, who finished second in Malaysia last season,

"This weekend in Malaysia will be about trying to maximise the package we have while knowing that it's not going to be enough to allow us to fight for overall victory.

"Sepang holds many happy memories -- I had one of the best races of my career there last year where I was able to push Alonso for victory until the closing laps.

The Circuit: CNN's F1 interactive

"It's a fantastic circuit, really fast and demanding. It would be great to pull off another unexpected result for the team this year."

Mercedes optimism

Former McLaren driver Hamilton enjoyed a solid first race for Mercedes last weekend, finishing fifth after starting the race third on the grid, and the 2008 world champion has been pleasantly buoyed by his team's performance in Melbourne.

"I feel very optimistic," Hamilton was reported to have said by AFP.

"I came away from there with 10 points and I feel really happy with 10 points because when I made the switch I didn't know where we'd be, and I definitely didn't think we'd come away from the first race with 10 points."

Hamilton is confident he can match the pace of Red Bull's triple world champion Sebastian Vettel.

"I don't think they (Red Bull) had frightening pace in qualifying," continued the 28-year-old Briton.

"I think if I was out at the same time, if I was out as late as they had gone out, I think I could have matched their time.

"But then we got to the race and they had great pace again, as they always do and he (Vettel) disappeared, along with everyone else. Hopefully in the next race we won't have that problem."

Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen is the top of the drivers' rankings following the first race after the 2007 world champion took the checkered flag at Albert Park in Melbourne.

But the Finn denied suggestions he will be the man everyone is looking to beat in Sunday's race.

"There's no target (on my back)," said the 32-year-old. "We're not doing any different things this week from what we did previously.

"So whether people think we are the leaders makes no difference to how we work, what we're going to do this weekend or any other weekend. We'll try to do our best and hopefully we can score some good points."

Via: McLaren drivers: 'We can't compete'

Win an F1 Grand Prix? That's 'easy'

(CNN) -- "Easy."

That's how Kimi Raikkonen summed up his victory at Sunday's Formula One season-opener at Melbourne.

The Lotus driver came from seventh on the grid to claim maximum points and beat Ferrari's Fernando Alonso into second with reigning world champion and polesitter Sebastian Vettel third.

Raikkonen, nicknamed "The Ice Man", kept his cool throughout to see off the attentions of Alonso, the man who replaced him at Ferrari at the end of the 2009 season.

And the 33-year-old believes his opening day triumph could shape Lotus' season ahead of next week's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Read: Raikkonen -- Lotus can win F1 title

"I made a few places at the start and then had a good battle with Lewis [Hamilton] before I eventually managed to get past," Raikkonen told his team's official website.

"After that it was quite simple; probably one of my easiest wins.

"You can't start the season much better than winning the first race and of course we hope we can be fighting at the front of the Championship.

"But there's a long way to go still and we need to keep pushing hard all the way through.

"I think it will be two or three race before we really see where all the teams are.

"Hopefully we can qualify a bit better at the next race and have a similar performance."

Read: Vettel under pressure

Raikkonen has been here before.

Six years ago, wearing the red of Ferrari for the very first time, Raikkonen illuminated Albert Park with a debut victory which would catapult him towards his first and so far only, world title.

Time has passed but the class remains. His sole victory last season came in the 18th round at Abu Dhabi, while he also claimed second place on three separate occasions.

Two years away from the sport, where he spent time racing in NASCAR and the World Rally Championship, appears to have done little harm to the confidence of a man who finished 74 points off champion Vettel last season.

With all the focus on whether Ferrari can finally end Red Bull's dominance and whether Alonso can finally overtake Vettel, Raikkonen has faded into the background.

It is not a position he would be unhappy with. Raikkonen has always been a quieter man, one to do his talking on his track and away from the media and public opinion.

Read: Ecclestone wants female driver revolution

Last year's third place finish in the drivers' standings at least gave encouragement that Lotus was on to something, although it is far too soon to say whether its challenge be sustained over an entire season.

At least at Melbourne it proved the real deal, with Raikkonen's two-stop strategy enough to see off his rivals, who elected to head into the pits on three occasions.

"We've had a quick car all weekend and there were no issues with it either, so we could just focus on trying different things and getting the setup how we wanted," he added.

"I'm really pleased with how the car performed here; I felt like I could push when I wanted to and it was never too difficult to find the speed.

"The team got the strategy perfect; apart from maybe Force India I don't think the others looked like they could do the same thing."

Read: Ferrari revved up for F1 title fight

While Raikkonen managed to hold off Alonso's challenge, the Spaniard is remaining philosophical after Ferrari managed to finish ahead of rival Red Bull.

"Finishing ahead of the Red Bull tastes like a win, even if we know that despite today's race result, they are still the quickest," he told reporters.

"Now we can expect another weekend (in Malaysia) with very changeable weather and one that also puts a lot of stress on the cars from a mechanical point of view and on the drivers, from a physical one.

"But we can tackle it calmly on the back of this good result."

"We can claim to have started this season on the right foot, immediately in the fight with the best," he said.

Read: New F1 season, new thrills?

Vettel had hoped his achievement in securing pole position in Saturday's rescheduled qualifying session would help his quest for a fourth successive title get off to the perfect start.

But the Red Bull driver felt that tire degradation cost him as the race went progressed.

"I think you're always a little disappointed when you start first and don't finish first, but overall it was a good weekend for us," he told reporters.

"We had a good day today with a pole and a podium - but in the race we were a little too aggressive with the tires and lost the front and the rears, while others did a little better.

"There are always areas where you can improve, but the result we got today is fair.

"We didn't see Kimi on the track, he was too quick and Fernando (Alonso) jumped us at a vulnerable time - but we can be happy with third."

Read: Hamilton brushes off title talk

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton believes his opening race success with new team Mercedes is a sign of things to come.

Hamilton, who left McLaren at the end of last season, claimed a fifth place finish after teammate Nico Rosberg had suffered electronic problems on lap 26.

"I'm happy with our result today and it's much better than we expected for the first race of the season," Hamilton told reporters.

"The important thing is that we have a car that we can really work with and the team have done a fantastic job to get us to this position.

"Now we'll look forward to Malaysia and hopefully build on this positive start with an improved performance."

Read: F1 revolution ahead after 'identikit' 2013 season

Hamilton's former team ended a miserable weekend with lead driver Jenson Button only managing a ninth place finish while new teammate Sergio Perez finished outside of the points in 11th.

"Having won the Australian Grand Prix three times so far in my career -- in 2009, 2010 and 2012 -- you'd have to say that today's ninth place isn't really much to write home about," Button told reporters.

"Having said that, I think we should be pretty satisfied with what we achieved in Melbourne today.

"It was a tricky race and our car isn't yet quick enough, so I think the team did a great job to achieve even as much as we did."

"Looking forward to Malaysia next weekend, I think we've got a tough few days ahead of us, but hopefully we can now do some number-crunching in an effort to understand our car a bit better and extract a bit more performance out of it there."

Via: Win an F1 Grand Prix? That's 'easy'

Raikkonen wins F1's Australian Grand Prix

(CNN) -- Finland's Kimi Raikkonen won the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday, taking the lead on the 43rd lap of the 58-lap race.

Raikkonen, driving a Lotus, started the race in seventh place.

At various points, the race had seven different racers leading.

But in the end, Raikkonen beat Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

READ: Follow F1 season, race by race

Raikkonen was last season's overall runnerup. Vettel won the world title last year.

Wet weather on Saturday meant that only one of the three qualifying sessions were held. The other two took place before Sunday's race.

Sunday's race at Albert Park was Raikkonen's 20th Grand Prix win.

It also was the start of the 2013 Formula One season -- the first of 19 races.

The second will be in Sepang, Malaysia, on March 24.

In all, 18 racers finished.

But Germany's Nico Hulkenberg was not one of them.

He was forced to sit out the race because of technical issues with his Sauber.

Via: Raikkonen wins F1's Australian Grand Prix

Rain ruins F1 qualifying in Melbourne

(CNN) -- It was supposed to be the start of motorsport's elite competition for 2013, but the stars of Formula One were left skidding about the rain-lashed Melbourne track like novice drivers.

Saturday's qualifying was curtailed after the opening session, meaning the other two will now be held just a few hours ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The last time qualifying has been so badly affected was at Suzuka in Japan in 2010, when all three sessions were moved to Sunday.

"For us drivers, it means we have to build ourselves up for the challenge of qualifying again and again -- a bit like asking Usain Bolt to get ready for five 100-meter sprints one after the other and aborting four of them," said McLaren's Jenson Button, who won at Albert Park last year.

"That level of disruption creates quite a lot of mental and psychological stress for any athlete, but it was even worse for the fans, who'd been waiting excitedly for qualifying all day long and who then had to sit in the pouring rain with no on-track action to entertain them."

Explore Melbourne circuit with CNN's F1 interactive

There were still plenty of incidents as Felipe Massa spun and hit a wall, losing a front wing from his Ferrari. A similar fate befell Caterham rookie Giedo van der Garde, his teammate Charles Pic and Sauber's newcomer Esteban Gutierrez, who went over a curb with his rear wheel.

The Mexican missed out on the second stage of qualifying along with the Caterham duo, Marussia rookies Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton, plus Pastor Maldonado-- a race winner last year -- who also went off-road and later described his Williams as "undriveable."

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg set the quickest time of one minute 43.380 seconds -- a second slower than triple world champion Sebastian Vettel's fastest efforts from Friday practice as none of the drivers had the chance to use Pirelli's new supersoft compound tires due to the wet conditions.

Read: New season, new thrills?

Rosberg's new teammate Lewis Hamilton was back in 10th, as the 2008 world champion managed to complete the session despite hitting a barrier -- extricating himself from the grass as he tentatively reversed back onto the track.

Last season's championship runnerup Fernando Alonso was second fastest for Ferrari.

"It's a shame that qualifying has been put back," the two-time world champion said, "but it was the right decision given the track conditions, especially as the white lines were really too slippery."

Massa was happy to finish sixth, ahead of Vettel and Button but behind Red Bull's Mark Webber, fourth-placed Sergio Perez of McLaren and third-placed Romain Grosjean of Lotus.

"In my whole career, I've never managed to get back on track after such a heavy impact and I'm really happy to still be in the hunt for qualifying," the Brazilian said.

"Other drivers were in similarly risky positions, so I fully approve of the decision taken by the stewards. In the dry, we are up there with the best, now we must sort out fixing the damaged parts."

Grosjean's teammate Kimi Raikkonen, third overall last season, was back in 11th ahead of Force India's Paul di Resta -- who like veteran Australian Webber also went off the track and into the grass verge.

"It wasn't easy with the traffic, people going off and the yellow flags but we went through to the second qualifying session tomorrow so it's not all bad," said 2007 world champion Raikkonen.

Via: Rain ruins F1 qualifying in Melbourne

Vettel sets the pace in Melbourne

(CNN) -- New Formula One season, same old story. Triple world champion Sebastian Vettel began his quest for a fourth consecutive drivers' title by putting his Red Bull top of the timesheets in practice ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The German's lap of one minute and 25.908 seconds edged out teammate Mark Webber, who was second fastest.

"Overall it was a good day for us," the 25-year-old Vettel told the sport's official website. "After all the mileage of testing, it was fun to be out there -- this circuit doesn't get easier, it's a good challenge."

"Today was a good day and the balance was good, but we need to be ready for what's coming up."

Read: New F1 season, new thrills?

The nearest challenger to the Red Bull drivers was Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who continued to show the pace which saw him go faster than any other driver during preseason testing.

For Rosberg's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, this weekend will be his first grand prix since ending a 15-year association with McLaren.

It wasn't an ideal start to a new chapter in his career for the 2008 world champion, with Hamilton ending the day seventh fastest after sliding off the track during what looked to be a promising lap.

"Overall it was a good day, if perhaps not the smoothest," reflected Hamilton. "I'm happy with where we are and to see Nico in third place on the timesheets shows that we're pretty competitive.

"That's a reflection of a great job that everyone has done at the factory and here at the track. I'm looking forward to the rest of the weekend."

Friday's practice at Albert Park took place in favorable conditions, although wet weather is predicted for qualifying on Saturday.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who was sixth fastest, expects conditions to change completely, while he also doubts the Italian team will be able to compete at the front of the grid in Melbourne.

"Our efforts were helped by particularly favourable weather with sunshine and summery temperatures," explained the double world champion.

"However, the weather is expected to change completely from tomorrow, with wind, rain and a significant drop in temperature, which could influence Sunday's race.

"I'm not expecting any major surprises here, we already knew we were not the quickest and that was confirmed today. The car responds well, but we know there is still much to do if we want to fight with the very best."

Via: Vettel sets the pace in Melbourne

New F1 season, new thrills?

(CNN) -- The 2012 Formula One championship went down in history -- just over 100 days ago -- as one of the most unpredictable and thrilling seasons in the sport's 64-year history.

Sebastian Vettel muscled his Red Bull to the checkered flag to deny Ferrari toreador Fernando Alonso the title at the very last race in Brazil -- by a mere three points -- to become the youngest triple champion.

Can 2013 deliver an even better spectacle? The signs are looking very positive as teams tackle financial reality ahead of major rule changes in 2014, a key driver makes a fresh start, new names line up on the grid and tires once again promise to provide an unpredictable excitement factor.

CNN World Sport takes you through the need-to-know stories before Sunday's season-opener in Australia.

1. Counting the cost

F1 has always been an expensive business but economic downturns across many countries -- including Great Britain where eight teams are based -- have pulled finances sharply into focus in 2013.

Top teams are spending as much as $375 million a year while those at the back of the grid spend around $75 million.

Look at it another way and a team like Marussia can spend $2 million a week compared to an estimated $1 million a day splashed out by the wealthiest teams.

F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has proposed an annual budget cap of $250 million for 2014 but that won't help the small teams stay in business.

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, who is also chair of the F1 teams' association, has warned that seven marques are already in "survival mode."

There has already been one casualty as Spanish team Hispania dropped out at the end of 2012 because of financial pressures, having not scored a point in three seasons.

2. Pay for a place

The issue of pay-drivers, who bring substantial sponsorship to secure a ride in F1, has also been highlighted in 2013.

Kamui Kobayashi, Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen all lost their seats because they didn't bring enough money to the table.

Even worse, Luiz Razia found the cash to take Glock's Marussia berth only to lose it two weeks before the start of the first race when his sponsorship deal hit trouble.

In a further dent to the balance sheets, the entry fee for a place on the F1 grid was increased by governing body the FIA this season. Teams now have to fork out a basic rate of $500,000.

On top of that it costs an extra $5,000 for each point the team won in 2012. Champions Red Bull were charged $6,000 a point, therefore paid at total of $3.3 million just to get on the grid to defend their titles.

3. All eyes on Hamilton

When it comes to the narrative of the season there is one name filling all the pages -- Lewis Hamilton.

A new era dawns for the 28-year-old, who begins his first season without the support of the McLaren team which guided him for the last 15 years.

When Hamilton signed for Mercedes last September it was a huge risk and, even worse, it looked like a huge mistake.

But six months on, it is shaping up to be Hamilton's best move since he passed Timo Glock in Brazil to win the 2008 world title.

The Silver Arrow was the fastest car in testing and got significant mileage on the clock too. If that preseason form translates to the racetrack, Mercedes will be a real contender.

The haunted Hamilton of recent times has gone -- and it's not only because he splashed out on a private jet, new tattoo and dog Roscoe during the break.

In an interview before jetting off for Australia he tellingly said: "It's nice to be somewhere you are really wanted."

Hamilton certainly has the chance to stand on his own two feet at Mercedes, but settling into a new environment with different procedures will inevitably lead to some less-than-perfect moments. It will be fascinating to watch.

4. Red Bull target fab four

Vettel has a clear plan for 2013: he wants to join Alain Prost as a four-time world champion and help Red Bull win a fourth straight constructors' crown.

Despite these grand plans, the energy drinks team lacked fizz in preseason testing, leaving predictors of form flummoxed and frustrated.

Vettel's fastest lap in Barcelona was two seconds slower than the quickest overall time set by Nico Rosberg for Mercedes.

But Red Bull rarely show their hand in the winter, disguising lap times with higher fuel loads and wheeling out screens in the pit lane to stop rivals taking a peek at designer Adrian Newey's latest machine. The RB9 is an evolution of the car which has dominated the last three seasons and it has looked lithe and strong on track.

Even if Vettel and teammate Mark Webber start the season off the pace, as they did last year, Red Bull have proved they have the resources to fight back and win both titles -- and will still go into 2013 as the team to beat.

5. Red Bull's rivals

Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus and now Mercedes are all expected to go wheel-to-wheel at the front of the 2013 field.

Ferrari say their car is "200 times better" than the much-criticized 2012 model and, with a new aerodynamic upgrade coming for Australia, Alonso will relish taking the challenge to Vettel over all 19 races.

McLaren and the English team's new de facto No. 1 Jenson Button are not yet 100% happy with the new version of the car which won the last race of 2012 at Interlagos.

The MP4-28 looks fast but inconsistent. There have been teething troubles for the team's risky new design philosophy -- which includes a switch to pull-rod front suspension -- but McLaren are gambling on their new concept bringing big performance gains as the year goes on.

After a breakthrough win in 2012, Lotus will also be in the mix and targeting a place in the top-three teams.

Drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean showed flashes of pace in testing but they did not complete many laps, which means reliability could still be an issue.

Mercedes completed 12 days of testing with the quickest car, ticking off the second highest amount of miles among the teams, which is an important part of race preparation.

There is still some skepticism over whether Mercedes -- a second off the frontrunners' pace at the end of 2012 -- have made a big leap forward in performance.

But equally there is optimism Hamilton and his old karting teammate Rosberg have a genuinely fast car capable of fighting for race wins.

6. Rookies to watch

There are five new faces on the grid this season -- Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham), Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton (both Marussia).

All five have something to prove, but Bottas and Bianchi could announce themselves as real talents.

Williams snapped up Bottas three years ago, and the real racing team reckon they've got a real racer to carry them back to the front of the grid. The Finn, 23, is nicely embedded with the team and should score points quickly.

Bianchi has also had good breeding. The Frenchman has been part of Ferrari's driver academy since 2010 and was a tester for the Italian marque and Force India.

His experience with two quality teams should help him settle in quickly, but points-scoring with Marussia -- which ended last season empty-handed and 11th out of 12 on the grid -- will be difficult.

7. Technical rule changes

The rules governing car design are stable this season, which means most cars will be an evolution of what was on track in 2012.

The biggest change is that the drag reduction system (DRS) -- a moveable flap on the rear wing that flips open to increase straight-line speed -- can now only be used in designated zones at each circuit.

Many teams, and in particular Red Bull, had used it freely in practice and qualifying to increase their lap times. They won't be able to do that this year.

Teams can also no longer use DRS to affect other aspects of car performance -- a trick pioneered by Mercedes in 2012.

Flexible front wings had also been used by some teams -- Red Bull were usually under scrutiny -- to increase the aerodynamic flow of the car. However, a new ruling says front wings can now only bend by 10 millimeters, and tougher load tests will make sure teams are sticking to the rules.

What they can do, however, is add a "vanity panel" to the top of their car to hide the unsightly stepped noses.

8. Burning rubber

Tires are once again the biggest unknown for the teams heading into 2013.

Pirelli's new rubber is softer and the tire structure is more flexible with reinforced shoulders. A set of 2013 tires adds an extra 2 kilograms in weight, so the minimum weight for each car has increased to 642 kg.

Lap times on the 2013 tires are expected to increase by around half a second a lap. At the Barcelona circuit, which hosts the Spanish Grand Prix, many cars set lap times in testing this month that were quicker than pole position for the 2012 race.

Pirelli also wants to make sure teams need to pit at least twice during the race.

Tire degradation was mixed during testing but the colder temperatures in Spain mean performance there is not an exact benchmark for the warmer climes coming up in the first two races in Australia and Malaysia.

Pirelli effectively pays to supply tires to the F1 grid in a negotiated deal which also include track-side advertising. The teams also pay it a small contribution, but the bulk of the bill for the season's 36,000 spheres of rubber is picked up by the tire supplier.

The Italian company is now entering the final season of its three-year contract as F1's official tire supplier. Pirelli says it is intends to carry on -- but only if the financial conditions are right. A decision may be made in the first quarter of 2013.

9. One eye on 2014

While uncertainty exists about the tire supplier's future involvement, major rule changes for 2014 present a financial and technical headache for F1's teams.

Next season they must use six-cylinder turbo engines with a greater share of power gathered from kinetic energy recovery systems.

But with change comes opportunity, and that is why many teams -- especially those who don't expect to be at the sharp end of the championship -- have already shifted a large share of their resources to the development of next year's car.

Until then, the mighty V8 engines look set to power a battle royale when the 2013 season roars into life in Australia this weekend.

Via: New F1 season, new thrills?

New F1 tires, new dramas?

(CNN) -- Changes to tires will make Formula 1 racing faster with more overtaking in 2013, according to the sport's official tire supplier Pirelli.

Unveiled at the Italian company's headquarters in Milan on Thursday, the new look tires include softer compounds and new constructions which could lower lap times by up to 0.5 seconds, the company says.

Pirelli say the objective of the changes to the "P-Zero" dry weather tires and the wet "Cinturato" range is "to improve performance and increase thermal degradation, to ensure at least two pit stops per race and open up more strategic options for all the teams."

Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director said in a statement: "The goal is to continuously set new challenges for the drivers and to ensure that all the teams start the new season on a level playing field when it comes to the tires."

"Through accumulating more information with each grand prix last year, the teams eventually fully understood the tires, after a spectacular start with seven winners from the first seven races. The result at the end of the year was races with less competition and sometimes only one pit stop. This phenomenon was also observed in 2011, disappointing many fans ... " he added.

"Our 2013 range of tires mixes up the cards once more to help overtaking and ensure two to three pit stops per race."

Color changes to the tire sidewalls have also been made with orange replacing silver to denote hard compound tires.

Pirelli say the teams were given the chance to sample the new compounds during free practice in Brazil last November but the tires will make their official debut at Formula 1 testing in Jerez at the start of February.

The first race of the new season gets underway in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday March 17.

Via: New F1 tires, new dramas?

Ecclestone wants Patrick in F1

(CNN) -- Danica Patrick stunned the watching world at last month's Daytona 500 when she became the first female driver to claim pole position at any top-division NASCAR race.

The American smashed yet another hole in the myth that motorsport is just for men -- and her achievements have not gone unnoticed by Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone, who wants her to challenge the likes of world champion Sebastian Vettel and title rival Fernando Alonso.

"There should be no reason why not, providing that we find a team to take her," Ecclestone said in an interview with the official F1 website.

"Danica would be good to have with one of the teams now. All the things that people worry about -- whether a woman can cope with the G-forces and all that -- she has proven that she can.

Read: Patrick takes historic pole

"She's been there and done it. What I think -- and I cannot blame her for it -- is that she will hardly want to give up the exposure she has in the U.S. to come here and maybe not make it.

"I have been looking for a woman for years! I always thought that this could be a good idea."

Ecclestone said he had discussed introducing women drivers with Dietrich Mateschitz, who owns the Red Bull team that has dominated F1 for the past three years.

"I spoke with Didi Mateschitz some time ago about the issue of an American team and at that time I said that we would want an American woman driver. He seems ready," the 82-year-old said.

Read: Danica Patrick finishes 8th

Patrick, 30, is currently enjoying her first full year as a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver after racing open-wheel IndyCars for several years.

She is the leading female driver in motorsport, but has not given any indication of moving over to the world of Formula One.

The last woman to race an F1 car was Lella Lombardi back in 1976.

The Italian, who drove for March, Williams and RAM, is the only female driver in F1 history to have recorded a top-six finish.

Read: First lady of Formula 1 takes control of the track

More recently, women have been employed as test drivers -- such as Maria de Villota, whose career at the Marussia team was cut short by an accident last year.

The Spaniard, the daughter of a motor racing driver, was considered an excellent prospect and was well respected within the Formula One circuit.

But her career was curtailed in July 2012 when the MR-01 race car she was driving hit a support truck and left her with serious head and facial injuries, losing sight in one eye.

Since de Villota's accident, Scotland's Susie Wolff has been grabbing the headlines.

The 30-year-old works as a developmental driver for the Williams team -- quite a leap from the eight-year-old who started off go-karting.

But she still faces a challenge to follow in the pioneering tire marks of Lombardi and Maria Teresa de Filippis -- the first woman to compete in F1, racing five times between 1958 and 1959.

Via: Ecclestone wants Patrick in F1

Alonso demands improvement

(CNN) -- Fernando Alonso has urged Ferrari to improve ahead of the 2013 Formula One season, labeling the Italian team's performance in last year's championship unbefitting of the sport's most successful constructor.

Last season two-time world champion Alonso finished just three points behind eventual title winner Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, but the Spaniard insists Ferrari must do more if the team is to challenge for the drivers' title.

"At the end of the year we were quite far from Red Bull and McLaren," the 31-year-old Spaniard told Formula One's official website after his first run out in the team's new F138 car at a preseason testing event in Barcelona.

"We've been in a group with Force India, behind Lotus and Sauber. We cannot belong to this group -- we know that. We need to be in the group of the leaders and for this we need to do a good job this winter."

Read: Ferrari ready for Red Bull fight

Last season Alonso earned many plaudits for taking a Ferrari car -- widely considered to be uncompetitive -- to the brink of a first drivers' title for the team since Kimi Raikkonen's in 2007.

Red Bull dominance

The Spanish driver draws encouragement from last year's exploits and he is confident of once again rivaling triple world champion Vettel -- if Ferrari can improve on their slow start to 2012.

"At the first four races we had finishes of ninth in China and seventh in Bahrain, so even with all those problems with the car we were fighting for the world championship," continued Alonso.

"If we overcome our bad start of 2012 -- and think positive -- there is no reason for us not to fight for the championship again this year if we only improve the car a bit."

Read: Nurburgring keeps 2013 German Grand Prix

The 2013 season gets underway with the Australian Grand Prix on March 17 and Alonso has urged Ferrari to arrive at the Melbourne race ready to challenge the dominance of Red Bull, who have now won the drivers' and constructors' titles for three consecutive years.

"We need to improve from where we were last year because obviously it was not enough -- we finished second and we want to finish first," added the former McLaren driver.

"So our immediate goal to improve in the first half of the year shouldn't be that difficult. We are relatively confident."

Via: Alonso demands improvement

Ferrari revved up for F1 title fight

(CNN) -- Stefano Domenicali insists his Ferrari team is ready for a tilt at the 2013 Formula One world championship, with the Italian team principal setting his sights on the podium at next week's curtain raiser in Australia.

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, was beaten to the 2012 championship by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel at the final race of the season having seen his challenge hampered by a stuttering start to the campaign.

Alonso and his teammate Felipe Massa struggled to match the speed of their rivals in the early races of last season, something Domenicali insists will not be a problem this time around.

Read: Kubica returns to motorsport

"Unless someone else has done an exceptional job I'm convinced that Ferrari will be in the battle to the end," Domenicali told the sport's official website.

"I expect that the teams who finished in the top positions in Sao Paulo (last season's final race) will repeat that in Melbourne, probably with a reduced advantage -- that's what we are all hoping for anyway.

"A podium in Australia would be a good base on which to build the kind of successes we need."

Spanish driver Alonso was heralded for keeping pace with Vettel, who claimed his third consecutive drivers' crown, despite having a car many observers thought was too slow to compete.

Read: First lady of F1 takes control

After encouraging preseason tests, Domenicali is confident Alonso can deliver a first drivers' title since 2007 for the sport's most successful manufacturer.

"What are the factors that have convinced me that Ferrari has made a step forward?" continued Domenicali.

"The new business structure, the working methods, the modifications to the equipment that we have used to work on this car, the consistency of the results compared with our targets and what we saw in the recent tests.

"These all seem to tell us that we are on the right path at last compared to the past."

Ferrari will be entering its 63rd season in F1 this year, the only team to have competed continuously since the modern championship was introduced in 1950.

Via: Ferrari revved up for F1 title fight

Rallying return for injured F1 star Kubica

(CNN) -- Polish Formula One star Robert Kubica will be driving in a supporting category of the world rallying championship this season as he continues his recovery from the serious injuries he sustained in a crash in Italy two years ago.

The accident in February 2011, during a rallying competition in Italy, left Kubica with limited use of his right hand and with doubts about his future at the highest level of motor sport.

The 28-year-old will drive a Citroen DS3 RRC in the seven-round WRC 2 Championship, as well as selected events in Europe.

Read: Kubica has emergency surgery after rallying crash

Kubica took the wheel in national rally championship events towards the end of last year, including two for Citroen, and will be driving with a specially adapted gearbox to compensate for his hand injury.

"I can't wait to start racing, but I haven't set myself any specific target. I still have a lot to learn in rallying and to improve I will need to rack up the miles on the stages," he told world rallying's official website.

"I weighed up the different options before deciding on this program," said the Krakow-born driver. "I kept in touch with Citroen Racing and both sides were keen to continue working together. I'm really pleased now to be able to return to top-level racing."

Read: Injured Kubica satisfied with progress

Kubica's season will get underway at the Rally Islas Canarias -- the third round of the FIA European Rally Championship later this month -- before he opens his campaign in the WRC 2 at April's Rally de Portugal.

Citroen team principal Yves Matton said Kubica deserved to succeed in his comeback because of his fighting spirit.

"Robert's determination is an example to us all and we are proud to associate Citroen Racing's image with such a resolutely positive individual," he added.

Kubica was considered one of the most promising drivers in F1 before his crash, winning the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix with Sauber before switching to Lotus Renault for the 2010 season.

Read: Kubica replaces Alonso at Lotus Renault

He finished eighth in the title race and was preparing for the 2011 season when taking part in the Ronde de Andorra rally in Italy in a private capacity he lost control of his Skoda Fabia, crashing into a guard rail.

He spent some time in an induced coma and as well as his horrific hand injury suffered fractures to his right elbow, shoulder and leg.

Recovery was painstaking, but he confirmed in November 2011 that he would not be able to take his place in the Lotus Renault team for the 2012 season.

An accident near his Italian home in early 2012, where he re-broke his right leg, was also a setback, but Kubica has stuck doggedly to his rehabilitation program.

Via: Rallying return for injured F1 star Kubica

First lady of F1 takes control

(CNN) -- When the new Formula 1 season gets underway in March, for the first time there will be a woman running a team's entire operations from track to boardroom.

The team is Sauber and the woman in charge is Monisha Kaltenborn, an Indian-born lawyer who has risen to the top in this male-dominated sport.

Kaltenborn, 41, has been CEO of Sauber -- sixth in last year's team championship -- since 2010, but in October she also took over from Peter Sauber as team principal, putting her in charge of performance on the track as well as the business operation.

"As team principal you have a very exposed position at the track side," said Kaltenborn. "It's really about the racing."

Kaltenborn has fought for recognition in a sport where another team boss -- whom she is too polite to name -- once mistook her for Peter Sauber's interpreter.

Read: Female directors take center stage

"It was an elderly gentleman who has a different kind of thinking," she said. "He soon realized and was highly embarrassed."

Others have been more subtle, but still betray a surprise to see a woman in her job.

"It's the first moment when you are introduced with your title and you see a slight surprise," said Kaltenborn.

"I hope that my record will encourage more women and girls to come into motorsport."

Kaltenborn is a member and ambassador for the Women in Motorsport Commission set up by governing body, the FIA.

The commission promotes women drivers in the FIA's karting and rally championships and has a network of national coordinators encouraging girls and women in their countries.

"There's a project in schools which looks at all the roles in the team from financial and technical to marketing, and 30% of participants are girls," she said. "For me it's very important because we need to help women and young girls to be given the opportunity."

Read: 10 fierce fictional heroines

However, those hoping to see a woman Formula 1 driver reach a pole position anytime soon could be disappointed.

"I think it will take a while because it's a tough world out there to reach Formula 1," said Kaltenborn. "There are just 22 drivers out of hundreds of thousands worldwide.

"It's important we start at the roots and groom the girls in the same way the boys are groomed."

For some, Formula 1's macho image and use of "grid girls" -- glamorous women who hold markers giving teams' grid position -- undermines its efforts to be taken seriously by women.

Not for Kaltenborn, however. "I don't have a problem with that image," she said. "I think girls are prettier to look at than if you had men in those roles.

"There's nothing wrong with the image because nobody is being discriminated against."

See also: F1 revolution ahead after 'identikit' 2013 season

Kaltenborn was born Monisha Narang in Dehradun, India, and moved with her parents to Austria at the age of eight.

Although her first ambition was to be an astronaut, she trained as a lawyer and had only a passing interest in Formula 1.

"I grew up in Austria and when I was a child, there were famous Austrian drivers like Niki Lauda and Gerhard Berger and a race in Austria, so I had a basic knowledge of the sport," she said.

She never imagined, however, that she would make a career out of it until she was approached to join the legal team of Fritz Kaiser Group in 1998. Kaiser was a shareholder in what was then the Red Bull Sauber Formula 1 team.

"When I joined the company in Lichtenstein I saw what happens behind the scenes and there's so much more to it," she said. "The first time I came to the factory and saw what it takes to make a Formula 1 car, it became a passion."

When Kaiser sold off his shares in the team, Kaltenborn moved to Hinwil in Switzerland to run Sauber Group's legal department.

So began her inexorable rise through the company, joining its board in 2001, becoming CEO in 2010 and finally team principal in 2012.

She is unusual in being a team principal with a legal, rather than a technical background, but insists it does not put her at a disadvantage.

See: The most ambitious women on earth

"With a legal background you learn to ask the right questions," said Kaltenborn. "Most areas are so highly specialized that you hardly find a technical person who has detailed knowledge of all areas. People from different backgrounds enrich the sport."

Kaltenborn is married with two children, aged 10 and seven, and has to cope with a lot of time away from her family during the racing season.

"I'm often away, which makes it very tough, but they take it well. I try to have a lot of contact with them when I'm away," she said.

It was not until 2011, however, that she took her children to a Formula 1 race, and they now go to the Monaco Grand Prix once a year.

However, "there's so much work and noise that it's not a place for little kids," she said.

Kaltenborn's first full season in charge begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 17.

There is a new car -- the Sauber C32 Ferrari -- and a new team of drivers, German Niko Hulkenberg, recently signed from Sahara Force India, and Mexican Esteban Gutierrez, previously Sauber's reserve driver.

For Kaltenborn, it will be a first chance to take full control of the team she has made her own.

Via: First lady of F1 takes control

Rosberg on top in Barcelona

(CNN) -- Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes are on the right track ahead of the new Formula One season following an impressive final day of testing in Barcelona Sunday.

The German driver clocked a fastest time of 1 minute 20.130 seconds to record the best time of any driver over the four-day session, while also eclipsing the times set in the opening week of February.

"I'm pleased with our pre-season testing programme. We have achieved a lot of mileage and I can feel that the balance of the car is good," Rosberg, who put in 131 laps on Sunday, told reporters.

"I have the general feeling that we are in a better position than in the second half of last year but this is testing not racing, of course."

China's Ma lands Caterham spot

Teammate Lewis Hamilton looked in good shape on Saturday, getting around the track in 1 minute 20.558 seconds, while double world champion Fernando Alonso set a fastest time of 1 minute 20.494 seconds in his Ferrari.

The new season starts in Melbourne on March 17, but Rosberg says conditions in Australia will be completely different to those experienced in the European winter.

He added: "The conditions in the first race will be completely different to here as it will be much hotter in Melbourne and Sepang (the venue of the Malaysian Grand Prix) so we need to wait and see."

Read: First lady of Formula One

Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn believes the hard work put in by his drivers will prove crucial to the team's success in the year ahead.

"I am pleased with the progress that the team has made over the last month and the steps forward that have been made with the car," Brawn told reporters.

"Lewis has settled into the team extremely well and everyone has enjoyed working with both him and Nico throughout the three tests.

"We're realistic about our performance here and our position once we get to Melbourne, and we look forward to the challenge of a new season ahead."

Via: Rosberg on top in Barcelona

'Second chance' for Sutil at Force India

(CNN) -- Adrian Sutil was confirmed Thursday as Force India's second driver for the 2013 Formula One season, pledging to make the most of his "second chance" after being sacked by the British-based team following a conviction for assault.

The German will join Scot Paul di Resta at Force India, who finished seventh in the constructors' championship last season.

The 30-year-old Sutil is returning to the team he drove in from 2007 - 2011, originally Spyker, until Force India took over.

Sutil sat out last season after being replaced by compatriot Nico Hulkenberg, who has subsequently moved to Sauber.

He had been involved in an altercation in a Shanghai bar after the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix with Lotus co-owner Eric Lux.

He was later given an 18-month suspended sentence by a Munich court after Lux filed assault charges.

Read: Sutil confident he will return to F1 after assault conviction

"I want to thank Sahara Force India for giving me a second chance," he told the official F1 website.

"Having been away from the sport, I'm even more determined to achieve my goals in Formula One.

The decision to rehire Sutil in favor of the team's 2012 reserve driver Jules Bianchi of France was not an easy one said team principal Vijay Mallya.

"It was a close call, but ultimately we felt that Adrian's experience and historic links to the team gave him the edge, and will provide us with the best possible chance of realizing our ambitions for the coming season.

"If he can rediscover the exceptional form he showed in the second half of 2011, I'm confident that we can pick up where we left off at the end of 2012."

Sutil, who has made 90 Grand Prix starts, has a best finish of fourth at the 2009 Italian GP.

All the F1 teams are in Barcelona this week for the final round of testing ahead of the start of the season in Australia in a fortnight's time.

Thursday's rain-hit session at the Catalunya circuit saw Australia's Mark Webber record the fastest time after conditions dried out in the afternoon.

The Red Bull star was timed at one minute 22.693 seconds, nearly two seconds quicker than Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes.

Hamilton was fastest in the morning in the wet and completed 113 laps as he fine tunes his new car ahead of the opening race.

Via: 'Second chance' for Sutil at Force India

China's Ma lands Caterham spot

(CNN) -- Ma Quing Hua took a step nearer to becoming the first Chinese driver to compete in a Formula One race when he was named as a reserve driver for the Caterham team for the 2013 season Friday.

American Alexander Rossi was also picked as an understudy to the Malaysian-owned team's pair of Frenchman Charles Pic and Dutch rookie Giedo van der Garde.

Ma was previously with now defunct Spanish outfit HRT and took part in an official practice session as he broke new ground.

Caterham, whose co-chairman is airline magnet Tony Fernandez, the owner of EPL football side Queens Park Rangers, will give Ma the chance to take part in first practice ahead of his home grand prix next month.

He will also race for Caterham in the GP2 series during 2013.

"I know the fans at home will be really excited to see me race in GP2," Ma told Caterham's official team website.

"With the F1 work I also have ahead of me, China can be proud that it continues to have a driver involved in motor racing at the very highest level."

Read: Sutil to return to Force India

Caterham principal Cyril Abiteboul added: "We are looking forward to helping him develop his talents, both in the F1 and GP2 environments, and giving Chinese fans a figurehead to support on track throughout the year ahead."

Meanwhile, Marussia confirmed their 2013 driver line-up by signing Frenchman Jules Bianchi to join Britain's Max Chilton.

Bianchi, who missed out on the number two slot for Force India to Germany's Adrian Sutil, will replace Brazilian Luiz Razia at the Russian-licensed team.

Testing for the season continued in Barcelona Friday and France's Romain Grosjean, in a Lotus, set the fastest time in dry afternoon conditions.

His best of one minute 22.716 seconds was half a second quicker than McLaren driver Jenson Button, who had set the best time in the morning at the Catalunya circuit in wet conditions.

World champion Sebastian Vettel was fourth fastest in his Red Bull.

The testing session ends Sunday ahead of the start of the 2013 season in Melbourne on March 17.

Via: China's Ma lands Caterham spot

First lady of Formula 1 takes control of the track

(CNN) -- When the new Formula 1 season gets underway in March, for the first time there will be a woman running a team's entire operations from track to boardroom.

The team is Sauber and the woman in charge is Monisha Kaltenborn, an Indian-born lawyer who has risen to the top in this male-dominated sport.

Kaltenborn, 41, has been CEO of Sauber -- sixth in last year's team championship -- since 2010, but in October she also took over from Peter Sauber as team principal, putting her in charge of performance on the track as well as the business operation.

"As team principal you have a very exposed position at the track side," said Kaltenborn. "It's really about the racing."

Kaltenborn has fought for recognition in a sport where another team boss -- whom she is too polite to name -- once mistook her for Peter Sauber's interpreter.

Read: Female directors take center stage

"It was an elderly gentleman who has a different kind of thinking," she said. "He soon realized and was highly embarrassed."

Others have been more subtle, but still betray a surprise to see a woman in her job.

"It's the first moment when you are introduced with your title and you see a slight surprise," said Kaltenborn.

"I hope that my record will encourage more women and girls to come into motorsport."

Kaltenborn is a member and ambassador for the Women in Motorsport Commission set up by governing body, the FIA.

The commission promotes women drivers in the FIA's karting and rally championships and has a network of national coordinators encouraging girls and women in their countries.

"There's a project in schools which looks at all the roles in the team from financial and technical to marketing, and 30% of participants are girls," she said. "For me it's very important because we need to help women and young girls to be given the opportunity."

Read: 10 fierce fictional heroines

However, those hoping to see a woman Formula 1 driver reach a pole position anytime soon could be disappointed.

"I think it will take a while because it's a tough world out there to reach Formula 1," said Kaltenborn. "There are just 22 drivers out of hundreds of thousands worldwide.

"It's important we start at the roots and groom the girls in the same way the boys are groomed."

For some, Formula 1's macho image and use of "grid girls" -- glamorous women who hold markers giving teams' grid position -- undermines its efforts to be taken seriously by women.

Not for Kaltenborn, however. "I don't have a problem with that image," she said. "I think girls are prettier to look at than if you had men in those roles.

"There's nothing wrong with the image because nobody is being discriminated against."

See also: F1 revolution ahead after 'identikit' 2013 season

Kaltenborn was born Monisha Narang in Dehradun, India, and moved with her parents to Austria at the age of eight.

Although her first ambition was to be an astronaut, she trained as a lawyer and had only a passing interest in Formula 1.

"I grew up in Austria and when I was a child, there were famous Austrian drivers like Niki Lauda and Gerhard Berger and a race in Austria, so I had a basic knowledge of the sport," she said.

She never imagined, however, that she would make a career out of it until she was approached to join the legal team of Fritz Kaiser Group in 1998. Kaiser was a shareholder in what was then the Red Bull Sauber Formula 1 team.

"When I joined the company in Lichtenstein I saw what happens behind the scenes and there's so much more to it," she said. "The first time I came to the factory and saw what it takes to make a Formula 1 car, it became a passion."

When Kaiser sold off his shares in the team, Kaltenborn moved to Hinwil in Switzerland to run Sauber Group's legal department.

So began her inexorable rise through the company, joining its board in 2001, becoming CEO in 2010 and finally team principal in 2012.

She is unusual in being a team principal with a legal, rather than a technical background, but insists it does not put her at a disadvantage.

See: The most ambitious women on earth

"With a legal background you learn to ask the right questions," said Kaltenborn. "Most areas are so highly specialized that you hardly find a technical person who has detailed knowledge of all areas. People from different backgrounds enrich the sport."

Kaltenborn is married with two children, aged 10 and seven, and has to cope with a lot of time away from her family during the racing season.

"I'm often away, which makes it very tough, but they take it well. I try to have a lot of contact with them when I'm away," she said.

It was not until 2011, however, that she took her children to a Formula 1 race, and they now go to the Monaco Grand Prix once a year.

However, "there's so much work and noise that it's not a place for little kids," she said.

Kaltenborn's first full season in charge begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 17.

There is a new car -- the Sauber C32 Ferrari -- and a new team of drivers, German Niko Hulkenberg, recently signed from Sahara Force India, and Mexican Esteban Gutierrez, previously Sauber's reserve driver.

For Kaltenborn, it will be a first chance to take full control of the team she has made her own.

Via: First lady of Formula 1 takes control of the track