-Formula 1 - Season 2012 -

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Honda shows interest in F1 return
Honda has aspirations to return to Formula One if the regulations present the right kind of opportunity for the Japanese car giant.

Alonso expects title to go down to the wire
Fernando Alonso is confident he will remain in the title fight until the end of the season despite seeing his lead in the championship slashed at the Japanese Grand Prix.

De Villota speaks on F1 accident
Maria de Villota has spoken publically for the first time about the accident while testing for the Marussia F1 team, revealing that she can remember everything about the accident.

Grosjean must cool down - Boullier
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says Romain Grosjean must stay out of trouble at the start of the remaining races this season, but says the Frenchman's position at the team is not yet under threat.

Korea: Nice place. Pity about the race track
The Korean Grand Prix is a strange one. It got off to an unusual start when I spent my first night in an Irish bar having Guinness and a hamburger while playing darts with David Croft (then of BBC Radio 5 Live but later having to abandon his West Ham shirt and dress properly following a switch to television and more first-rate commentary with SkySportsF1).

Ferrari willing to take risks in development race
Ferrari technical director Pat Fry is willing to take risks to try to boost Fernando Alonso's chances of holding on to his slim lead in the drivers' championship over the final five races.

Korea DRS zone lengthened
The FIA has lengthened the DRS zone at the Korean International Circuit by 80 metres ahead of this weekend's grand prix.

Lowe: It?s still all to play for
McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe insists that McLaren can still take the F1 title despite failing to win either of the last two races.

Alguersuari: Alonso has to play his cards right
Jaime Alguersuari says he feels Fernando Alonso can still benefit from his consistency to win the 2012 F1 title, despite seeing his championship lead almost wiped out at Suzuka.

Vettel surprised by Massa struggle
Sebastian Vettel says he is surprised to have seen Felipe Massa struggle up against Fernando Alonso in recent seasons as talk continues about the future of the Brazilian.

Stewart offers to aid Grosjean ? again
For the second time this season, former F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart have offered to help Lotus driver Romain Grosjean in an effort to end the incidents that have followed the Frenchman throughout 2012.

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Here is this weekend's Timing Schedule for Korean GP:

<font color='#808080'><font face='courier new'>[U]Korean GP[/U]</font></font>
<font color='#ff8c00'>[U]Friday[/U]</font>
<font color='#3366ff'>[U]Practice Session 1[/U]    06:00 To 07:30
[U]Practice Session 2[/U]    10:00 To 11:30</font>
[U]<font color='#ff8c00'>Saturday</font>
<font color='#3366ff'>Practice Session 3</font>[/U]<font color='#3366ff'>    07:00 To 08:00
[U]Qualifying Session[/U]    10:00 To 11:00</font>
[U]<font color='#ff8c00'>Sunday</font>
<font color='#3366ff'>Race</font>[/U]<font color='#3366ff'>                  11:00 To 13:00</font>

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Kaltenborn becomes Sauber team principal
Monisha Kaltenborn has taken over as Sauber team principal from Peter Sauber with immediate effect.

Drivers' Twitter exchange won't boil over - McLaren
McLaren insists the relationship between its two drivers is not about to boil over and affect its assault on the championship this season.

Webber accepts Grosjean apology
Mark Webber says he has accepted Romain Grosjean's apology for the first corner crash in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Kobayashi in need of a sponsor to stay in F1
Kamui Kobayashi says he is in need of a sponsor if he is to remain in the sport in 2013 with his seat at Sauber looking under threat.

Alonso and Vettel not ruling out Hamilton
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel don't believe this year's championship has become a two-horse race, saying Lewis Hamilton is still in the frame.

Car problem to blame for Hamilton's poor race in Japan
Lewis Hamilton has revealed that there was a problem with his car at the Japanese Grand Prix that led him down a blind alley with his setup and cost him performance.

Car needs 'significant improvement' for podium - Schumacher
Michael Schumacher says Mercedes needs to "significantly improve" its car or get lucky if he is going to sign off with another podium before the end of his career.

Raikkonen cautious over Lotus updates
Kimi Raikkonen is remaining cautious over the new Lotus updates, despite team principal Eric Boullier describing them as "a new era" for the team.

Perez dismisses 'crazy' claim from Hamilton
Sergio Perez has dismissed Lewis Hamilton's description of his driving in Suzuka having labelled Perez's overtaking attempts as "crazy".

Maldonado wants Williams stay
Pastor Maldonado says he wants to stay at Williams next season, having kept his options open last weekend.

Korea result not crucial for Ferrari future - Massa
Felipe Massa doesn't believe the outcome of the Korean Grand Prix will have anything to do with his Ferrari future.

Grosjean seeks to avoid trouble
Romain Grosjean says he is eager to avoid any opening lap drama in Korea after being caught up in trouble again in Japan last weekend.

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Hamilton sets morning pace in Korea
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time during Friday morning practice session for the Korean Grand Prix, setting his best lap on his final attempt as the track conditions improved over the 90 minutes.

<font face='courier new'>[U]<font color='#a9a9a9'>SouthKorean GP</font>
<font color='#ff8c00'>Practice Session 1</font>
[/U]</font><font color='#4b0082'>Pos  Driver               Car                   Time         Gap    Laps</font>
 1.  Lewis Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes      1m39.148s            23
 2.  Fernando Alonso      Ferrari               1m39.450s  + 0.302s  21
 3.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault      1m39.575s  + 0.427s  21
 4.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari               1m39.854s  + 0.706s  23
 5.  Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.088s  + 0.940s  21
 6.  Michael Schumacher   Mercedes              1m40.221s  + 1.073s  21
 7.  Nico Rosberg         Mercedes              1m40.396s  + 1.248s  24
 8.  Romain Grosjean      Lotus-Renault         1m40.422s  + 1.274s  22
 9.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes  1m40.440s  + 1.292s  19
10.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes      1m40.480s  + 1.332s  21
11.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault         1m40.929s  + 1.781s  14
12.  Pastor Maldonado     Williams-Renault      1m41.048s  + 1.900s  25
13.  Jules Bianchi        Force India-Mercedes  1m41.140s  + 1.992s  21
14.  Kamui Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari        1m41.220s  + 2.072s  19
15.  Sergio Perez         Sauber-Ferrari        1m41.514s  + 2.366s  20
16.  Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m41.596s  + 2.448s  23
17.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m42.021s  + 2.873s  25
18.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Renault      1m42.027s  + 2.879s  23
19.  Heikki Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault      1m42.104s  + 2.956s  24
20.  Timo Glock           Marussia-Cosworth     1m42.175s  + 3.027s  13
21.  Charles Pic          Marussia-Cosworth     1m42.706s  + 3.558s  22
22.  Giedo van der Garde  Caterham-Renault      1m42.820s  + 3.672s  19
23.  Pedro de la Rosa     HRT-Cosworth          1m44.517s  + 5.369s  23
24.  Dani Clos            HRT-Cosworth          1m45.735s  + 6.587s  22

Vettel quickest as Red Bull heads practice
Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of FP2 for the Korean Grand Prix as he and team-mate Mark Webber set the pace.

<font face='courier new'>[U]<font color='#808080'>SouthKorean GP</font>
<font color='#ff8c00'>Practice Session 2
</font>[/U]</font><font color='#4b0082'>Pos  Driver                Car                   Time        Gap   Laps</font>
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m38.832s          33
 2.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m38.864s + 0.032  33
 3.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m39.160s + 0.328  28
 4.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m39.219s + 0.387  29
 5.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m39.330s + 0.498  31
 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m39.422s + 0.590  30
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m39.584s + 0.752  36
 8.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m39.717s + 0.885  25
 9.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m39.739s + 0.907  33
10.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m39.839s + 1.007  26
11.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m39.957s + 1.125  28
12.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault      1m40.089s + 1.257  32
13.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m40.112s + 1.280  34
14.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m40.445s + 1.613  28
15.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m40.745s + 1.913  11
16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m40.789s + 1.957  31
17.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m40.997s + 2.165  32
18.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m41.200s + 2.368  33
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m41.602s + 2.770  23
20.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m42.596s + 3.764  28
21.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m43.066s + 4.234  21
22.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault      1m43.067s + 4.235  22
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m43.869s + 5.037  36
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m44.533s + 5.701  24

Webber confident after good start to Korean weekend
Mark Webber is confident Red Bull has got a good starting point for its setup ahead of the Korean Grand Prix this weekend but said there is still work to do ahead of qualifying.

Hamilton perplexed by FP2 woes
Lewis Hamilton admitted he doesn't know what was causing him to struggle during second practice for the Korean Grand Prix.

Button expects Red Bull to take pole
Jenson Button thinks McLaren will struggle to challenge for pole position at the Korean Grand Prix but is more confident about his car's race pace.

Vettel admits Red Bull needs to improve
Sebastian Vettel admitted that Red Bull would have to improve if it wants to match McLaren and Ferrari in Korea.

Lotus likely to continue with Coanda exhausts
Lotus is likely to continue running its new Coanda-effect exhausts on Saturday after a promising day of practice ahead of the Korean Grand Prix.

Alonso not worried about times
Fernando Alonso said Ferrari was not focusing on times during practice for the Korean Grand Prix although he did appear to have improved pace.

Circuit suits Mercedes - Rosberg
Nico Rosberg says the Yeongam circuit suits Mercedes after an encouraging FP2 ahead of the Korean Grand Prix.

Massa confident following strong Friday
Felipe Massa admitted he is confident Ferrari will remain competitive following a strong performance during Friday practice in Korea.

Schumacher targets top ten in qualifying
Michael Schumacher thinks Mercedes can secure a top ten qualifying position to make its strategy easier in the Korean Grand Prix.

De Villota makes first public appearance after accidentMaria de Villota has spoken publically for the first time since her horrifying accident at Duxford aerodrome earlier this year.

Engine change penalty for Pic
Charles Pic is set to start the Korean Grand Prix from the back of the field after Marussia confirmed that the Frenchman will take an engine change penalty in qualifying.

Lotus set to retain new exhaust
Lotus is set to stick with is new Coanda-effect exhaust for the remainder of the Korean Grand Prix weekend after the team ran the part for the first time in Friday practice.

Tough start for Sauber
Sauber endured a difficult start to the Korean Grand Prix weekend with Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez both suffering in Friday practice.

Ecclestone questions Grosjean peripheral vision
Bernie Ecclestone has suggested that Romain Grosjean be subjected to a series of tests to determine whether he is suffering from problems with his vision following a series of start-line accidents in 2012.

Webber, Alonso saddened by hero's downfall
Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso have both spoken of their disappointment at the news that multiple Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong may have been at the centre of a major doping scandal.

No need for apologies, Alonso insists
Having initially questioned his rival's driving after being bundled out of the Japanese Grand Prix at turn one, Fernando Alonso insists that no apology is required from Kimi Raikkonen.

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Vettel fastest again in final practice in Korea
Sebastian Vettel hinted at Red Bull's potential to dominate qualifying for the Korean Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in final practice by 0.527s.

<font face='courier new'>[U]<font color='#a9a9a9'>SouthKorean GP</font>
<font color='#ff8c00'>Practice Session 3</font>
[/U]</font><font color='#4b0082'>Pos  Driver                Team                  Time         Gap    Laps</font>
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m37.642s            17
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m38.169s  + 0.527s  12
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m38.511s  + 0.869s  13
 4.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m38.582s  + 0.940s  16
 5.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m38.666s  + 1.024s  18
 6.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m38.705s  + 1.063s  12
 7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m38.766s  + 1.124s   7
 8.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m38.791s  + 1.149s  13
 9.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m38.833s  + 1.191s  16
10.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m38.932s  + 1.290s  17
11.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m38.954s  + 1.312s  17
12.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m39.010s  + 1.368s  20
13.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m39.150s  + 1.508s  18
14.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m39.156s  + 1.514s  18
15.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m39.345s  + 1.703s  14
16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m39.448s  + 1.806s  17
17.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m39.537s  + 1.895s  18
18.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault      1m39.706s  + 2.064s  18
19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault      1m41.114s  + 3.472s  14
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m41.437s  + 3.795s  19
21.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m41.684s  + 4.042s  16
22.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m42.062s  + 4.420s  15
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m42.845s  + 5.203s  15
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m42.882s  + 5.240s  14

Webber snatches pole from Vettel
Mark Webber took pole position for the Korean Grand Prix, beating team-mate Sebastian Vettel with his final lap of the session.

<font face='courier new'>[U]<font color='#a9a9a9'>SouthKorean GP</font>
<font color='#ff8c00'>Qualifying Session</font>
[/U]</font><font color='#4b0082'>Pos  Driver                Team                 Time        Gap   </font>
 1.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m37.242s
 2.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m37.316s  + 0.074
 3.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m37.469s  + 0.227
 4.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m37.534s  + 0.292
 5.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m37.625s  + 0.383
 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m37.884s  + 0.642
 7.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m37.934s  + 0.692
 8.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m38.266s  + 1.024
 9.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m38.361s  + 1.119
10.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m38.513s  + 1.271
<font color='#4b0082'>Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.436s                                   Gap **</font>
11.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m38.441s  + 0.674
12.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m38.460s  + 0.693
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m38.594s  + 0.827
14.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m38.643s  + 0.876
15.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m38.725s  + 0.958
16.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m39.084s  + 1.317
17.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m39.340s  + 1.573
<font color='#4b0082'>Q1 cut-off time: 1m39.180s                                    Gap *</font>
18.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     1m39.443s  + 1.235
19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault     1m40.207s  + 1.999
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault     1m40.333s  + 2.125
21.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth    1m41.317s  + 3.109
22.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth    1m41.371s  + 3.163
23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth         1m42.881s  + 4.673
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth         no time
<font color='#008000'>107% time: 1m45.082s</font><font color='#800080'>  
* Gap to quickest in Q1  ** Gap to quickest in Q2</font>

Warrant issued for Mallya's arrest
Force India team principal Vijay Mallya has had an arrest warrant issued against him in India.

Hard work paying off - Webber
Mark Webber has praised Red Bull for its relentless development after securing pole position for the Korean Grand Prix.

'My lap wasn't good enough' - Vettel
Sebastian Vettel said his qualifying lap simply was not good enough for pole position at the Korean Grand Prix and refrained from blaming Felipe Massa for holding him up ahead of his flying lap.

Hamilton wary of Red Bull's 'serious pace'
Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull has "got some serious pace" after he qualified behind both Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel for the Korean Grand Prix.

Alonso not worried by Red Bull pace
Fernando Alonso says Ferrari will have to play to its strengths in order to be in with a chance of fighting for victory on race day at the Korean Grand Prix.

Raikkonen insists Lotus closer to pace
Kimi Raikkonen says Lotus is closer to the front-running pace after qualifying in fifth place for the Korean Grand Prix.

Frustrated Button wants rule clarity
Jenson Button admitted he was frustrated to miss out on Q3 due to a yellow flag and thinks the rule which concerns setting a quicker sector time under yellows needs reviewing.

Massa keen to take fight to frontrunners
Felipe Massa thinks Ferrari is closer to Red Bull at this weekend's Korean Grand Prix and is hoping he will be able to have a "straight fight" with the cars ahead of him in Sunday's race.

Grosjean puzzled by tyre issues
Romain Grosjean said he could have been quicker in qualifying for the Korean Grand Prix were it not for differences between his sets of tyres.

Rosberg expects tough race for Mercedes
Nico Rosberg thinks it will be tough for Mercedes to make any serious progress from its grid positions at the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday, but is hoping for a top seven result.

McLaren examines strategy to boost Button
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh says McLaren will now investigate the best strategy for Jenson Button after he failed to make it through to Q3 in Korea.

Sauber pair rue yellow flags
Sauber duo Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi were left to rue the yellow flag in the latter stages of Q2 after failing to make it into the final stage of qualifying in Korea.

Pirelli reviews strategy options
F1 tyre supplier Pirelli has voiced the opinion that teams may be able to complete this weekend's Korean Grand Prix on a single pit-stop, having initially suggested that two stops would have been the way to go.

Karthikeyan allowed to race in Korea
Narain Karthikeyan has been given permission to race in the Korean Grand Prix by stewards after the Indian driver had a brake issue during the first part of qualifying which prevented him from setting a lap time.

Senna exit hands Hamilton Q1 reprieve
Lewis Hamilton escaped a potentially embarrassing exit in the first phase of qualifying for the Korean Grand Prix as Bruno Senna was forced to abort a last-ditch lap that could have sealed the Briton's fate.

Newey: Form swings 'hallmark' of 2012
Adrian Newey is refusing to count any chickens when it comes to the possibility of landing a third straight F1 world drivers' championship title with Sebastian Vettel, insisting that an unpredictable 2012 campaign would continue to be so until the end of the year.

McLaren 'will be good' for Perez
Moving to McLaren could be the making of Sergio Perez as an F1 driver, according to the man who first put the Mexican on the international motorsport map.

McLaren unfazed by reaching last engine
McLaren will fit the last of its eight-engine allocation to its two cars ahead of this weekend's Korean Grand Prix, but insists that it does not have any worries for the four races that remain after Yeongam.

Korea extends F1 contract
Despite being tipped to exit from the F1 world championship after just three years, the Korean Grand Prix appears to have earned a stay of execution after inking an extension to its contract with FOM.

Boullier: Grosjean decision by end of year
The Lotus squad will decide by the end-of-season Brazilian Grand Prix whether it intends to keep Romain Grosjean for a second year, according to team principal Eric Boullier.

Mercedes fined over unsafe release
Mercedes has been fined €10,000 for an unsafe release in the final stage of qualifying for the Korean Grand Prix.

Speed to lose F1 coverage
F1 coverage in the United States is set to change hands next season, after it was announced that the sport's 17-year relationship with the Fox Sports Media Group and sports channel Speed is to end.

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