Announcement regarding Formula One finances

Formula One Group has launched a process to expand its current financing facilities. This will involve raising $2.27bn of new services with maturities in 2017/18, replacing the company’s accessible $2.92bn facilities which are due to full-grown in 2013/14. The new facilities will offer the business with a secure, long term capital structure.

Proceeds raised will be kept within the Group for general business purposes and the company has no current plans to pay a bonus.

Raikkonen targets Malaysian podium

Kimi Raikkonen says he is confident of scoring his first podium since returning to F1 in this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix after picking up points in his maiden outing for Lotus in Australia.

The Finn suffered in qualifying at Albert Park and failed to make it past Q1, even though he came through the field to finish seventh and give Lotus its first point’s finish of the year.

Having managed to come from side to side the field on race day down under, Raikkonen said he was happy with the concert shown by the E20 and felt confident that he could he could fight for more during the second round of the year at Sepang.

“The car feels very good,” he said. “In the race I was wedged in traffic a lot so it didn't show so much, and who knows what strength have happened if we had a better grid a slot. There is a lot of speed in the car.

“We'll be trying to get better our performance in Malaysia for sure. We don't know how the car will behave there but it's been good everywhere so far so hopefully it'll be the same there. It'll be hot and humid which is a confront but we have a good car. As long as qualifying goes well we might be fighting for podiums. We'll have to wait and see.

“There's much more to come. We're learning concerning the car all the time and the last race didn't really give us the chance to use its full possible. Hopefully Malaysia will be a bit more straightforward.”

Raikkonen's seventh place stop in Australia came in his first F1 start since Abu Dhabi 2009, but the former Ferrari driver insisted he felt at home straight-away in spite of the changes that have taken place over the past two years while he has been competing in the WRC.

“To be honest it didn't feel any dissimilar to when I last raced,” he said. “There have been a few rule changes but the racing itself is very similar. The DRS is easier to use in the race than in practice or qualifying because there are only certain places you can set in motion it, whereas in the other sessions people will try to push the limits of how early they can use it which can easily lead to a mistake if you are too destructive.”

MotoGP: Filling the grid

While the new group of privateer 'Claiming Rule Teams' has arrived just in time to fill the 2012 grid, discussions are underway to point MotoGP in a clearer way for 2013 and beyond.

Following Suzuki's departure and a decrease in satellite entries, full prototypes have been abridged from 17 to 12 for this season - each of the remaining manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha and Ducati) supplying two factories and two satellite bikes.

But the network will still rise to 21 courtesy of the nine new CRT entries, running Superbike-based engines in a prototype chassis.

Extra fuel and engine concessions will be obtainable to help the CRTs compete and the controversial Aprilia project has set lap times that propose its top riders will be in touch with slowest satellite machines.

However other CRTs have far less possessions and the difference in technology between the front and back of the 2012 grid might be greater than at any point in premier-class history. As a result, track performance is likely to be just as wide-ranging.

“The concept of CRT we agree with… but the lap time difference is too big at this instant,” said HRC executive vice president Shuhei Nakamoto, who has previously stated that Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi was only one second slower on a Superbike than on an 800cc RC212V at Suzuka.

But none of the three factories are next to the CRT concept. After all, where would the 2012 MotoGP World Championship be without it? Nevertheless, this season is very much middle, with May targeted as the deadline for agreeing the full set of proposals for 2013 and beyond.

Schumacher satisfied but cautious ahead of Melbourne

With the new Mercedes looking quick and dependable during its 4,250 kilometres of winter testing, fans are hopeful 2012 might see the team finally take on the frontrunners. But while driver Michael Schumacher is satisfied with how their pre-season preparations have progressed, he’s playing down the speculation before the season is fully underway.

“The car is dependable which is already good,” he told his official website. “The first impressions have been already quite positive. We were drove out of the box and everything went well, so there is potential. We are heading into the season much better equipped than in the past two years, and we can fully deliberate onto the development of our car.

“The speed is promising. I hope we can show that in Melbourne. We were able to drive a lot during the tests and therefore learnt a lot too, and we surely have made a step forward. I would just want to wait until after the first races to judge how big this step is and how much it is worth compared to our competitors.”

Last year, Mercedes finished testing on a high, confident of achieving much at the first race. But, in reality, the MGP W02 failed to match their prospect and the team struggled for much of 2011 to compete with their front-running rivals, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. A wary Schumacher is worried they could fall into a similar trap this year, despite his belief the field as a whole will be much closer.

“We experienced last year that you can be very wrong relying on the data coming out of the winter tests,” the seven-time world champion explained. “And because we can see that the field will be very narrow this year. I do not have a clear picture yet. What we can say though is that the gap connecting the several teams will not be as big as it has been last year.

“Victory to me is not likely, I see Red Bull in front. Behind them it will be tight, and you can be either hero or zero very quickly. It will come down a lot to the skill of how well you set up your car to the respective track.”

Schumacher will take a trip to Melbourne next week for the Australian season opener which will take place in Albert Park from March 16-18.

Yamaha developing 'next invention of MotoGP electronics

Yamaha is setting up to initiate its next generation of MotoGP electronics early in the 2012 racing season.

Masahiko Nakajima, general manager of Yamaha's Motorsport Development Division, explained that the present control system fitted to the new 1000cc M1 is an addition of technology used for the previous 800cc machine.

However, the next generations of electronics are being developed in similar.

"We have changed the electric control - particularly traction control, wheelie control and also engine braking - for the 1000. But the electric manage is still not the new generation," explained Nakajima, speaking during last week's Sepang test.

"The current developments are based on the equal electric control strategy as last year, but parallel development of the next generation is ongoing. As soon as we attain good enough results with the next generation we will introduce it.

"I can't say accurately when, but I hope early in the season."

Yamaha has been mounting this next generation, in partnership with Magneti Marelli, since last year.

Asked to give details the advantages of the new system, Nakajima explained that it would be more suited to the complexities of real world motorcycle dynamics.

"The existing generation of computer has a motorcycle 'model' inside, so the computer knows things like 'now the bike is standing up, or banking, or braking, which corner'. This is normal. Our competitors' control systems also work like this," he began.

"For the next generation we need a more exact motorcycle model inside the computer and also how to motivate the engine or chassis more effectively. You have to think again these areas to make another step."

 for more