INAUTONEWS

Teams say F1 officials to decide on Bahrain return

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Sauber's Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted the Swiss team will return to Bahrain this year if F1 officials say so. She is referring to the fact that, despite the island Kingdom's scheduled return to the calendar in April, there are reports the situation inside Bahrain is not yet stable. "We ...

> Read complete article inside...

Alguersuari ready for F1 comeback ‘opportunity’

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Jaime Alguersuari has admitted he was "hurt" by Red Bull's late decision to oust him from Toro Rosso. The 21-year-old announced this week that, amid speculation he might rescue his career with the reserve role at Mercedes, he will in fact be missing entirely from the F1 paddock ...

> Read complete article inside...

Sauber’s Key headed for Le Mans with Lotus

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Sauber's departing technical boss James Key appears headed for Lotus. On the eve of its 2012 car launch, the Swiss team announced that it will not replace the departing Briton Key, who has accepted an offer to work in the UK. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said it is ...

> Read complete article inside...

Raikkonen not Lotus team owner - Boullier

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Eric Boullier has slammed rumours Kimi Raikkonen is a shareholder in the Lotus team. It was reported that the 2007 world champion's retainer this year was subsidised by owner Genii granting the returning F1 driver a small slice of the Enstone based team. "He has no shareholding. It ...

> Read complete article inside...

Raikkonen to reunite with McLaren engineer

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Kimi Raikkonen will have a familiar race engineer for his return to formula one this year. Finnish reports in Turun Sanomat and the broadcaster MTV3 claim the 2007 world champion will work with Mark Slade. Slade, recently at Mercedes GP working alongside Michael Schumacher, was Finn Raikkonen's race engineer ...

> Read complete article inside...

Van der Garde ’surprised’ by Jerez test day

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Giedo van der Garde has admitted to surprise at his inclusion in Caterham's test plans this week. Originally, the former Lotus team scheduled the four days of the Jerez session to be split evenly between Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli. Italian veteran Trulli, however, has been shunted from Thursday's ...

> Read complete article inside...

HRT to be among ’step nose’ teams - de la Rosa

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) HRT will be among the 'stepped nose' teams in 2012, Pedro de la Rosa has revealed. The Spanish veteran has visited not only the team's new Paterna headquarters in Valencia, but also the technical base in Munich, where the new car is being built. "From what little I've seen, ...

> Read complete article inside...

Renault still Lotus team sponsor - Caubet

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Lotus - the former Renault team - will continue to receive the French carmaker's backing in 2012. The Renault chassis name has now departed the grid, but Renault remains one of F1's few engine suppliers. While the French marque's focus is the championship-winning Red Bull team, the word 'Renault' ...

> Read complete article inside...

Exhaust blowing saga not over yet - Lotus

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) F1's 'blown exhaust' saga may not be over, according to Lotus team officials. "For us, it is clear that the exhaust gases may not be used to alter the car's aerodynamics," said team boss Eric Boullier. He is referring to the FIA's ban on diffuser exhaust blowing, and the ...

> Read complete article inside...

Lotus frustrated with ‘reactive ride height’ ban

Feb.7 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Eric Boullier has admitted frustration with the FIA's decision to ban reactive ride height systems. Lotus looked to have stolen the march with the clever technology ahead of 2012, but when the other teams started asking the governing body for approval, the FIA closed the avenue altogether. "We invested ...

> Read complete article inside...