'Britain needs Button to start winning'

Jenson Button needs to break his Formula One duck next season for the good of British motorsport, according to former boss David Richards.
Button's disappointing 2005 season concluded with his 100th grand prix, during which time he has failed to stand on the top step of the podium despite several near misses.
Richards, the man who signed Button for BAR-Honda, believes this year is crucial if the 25-year-old Englishman is to back up his formidable reputation with results.

'Schumi should quit immediately'

Michael Schumacher shouldn't wait until the end of the year to quit Formula One, rather he should do it immediately. That's according to former rival Mika Hakkinen.
Schumacher recently admitted that he is considering leaving Formula One at the end of this season.
"Mid-season I will decide if I want to go on or not go on," the seven-time World Champion said.
However, according to Hakkinen, if a driver thinks about quitting, he should do it immediately.

'DC has plenty left in the tank'

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner believes David Coulthard still has "a great deal to offer" Formula One as he heads into his 13th season at the top.
The Scotsman won 13 grands prix during his time at Williams and McLaren before switching to Formula One rookies Red Bull last year.
Despite arriving on the back of a downbeat 2004 campaign, Coulthard was the surprise of last season to inspire a better-than-expected performance from Red Bull.
He was quickly retained for this year, to partner youngster Christian Klien, and team boss Horner is tipping the 34-year-old as a force to be reckoned with for some time yet.

Schu: 'Small chance I'll swap teams'

Michael Schumacher has refused to rule out the possiblity - slim as it may be - of him leaving Ferrari and racing for another team in 2007.
The seven-times World Champion's future with Ferrari, and in fact in Formula One, has long been the focus of much speculation.
However, Schumacher isn't ready to cast any light on the subject quite simply because he doesn't know himself.

Schumi aiming for title in 2006

After a disappointing 2005 season in which he claimed just one hollow victory in the US Grand Prix and finished a distant third in the drivers' championship, Michael Schumacher says he has but one aim in 2006 - to win the championship for the eighth time.

Jerez Day 3: Barrichello quick at Honda debut

Both Rubens Barrichello and Pedro de la Rosa set the fastest times on the third day of testing at Jerez. It was the first day for Rubens Barrichello behind the wheel of the V10-powered Honda. The Brazilian and de la Rosa (McLaren V10) set a time of 1.16.732.

Ralf tips Toyota for first win

Ralf Schumacher believes Toyota are capable of scoring their first Formula One victory this year.
The well-funded team claimed their first podium and pole positions in 2005, their fourth season of grand prix racing.
Now Schumacher wants that improvement to continue and claims race wins are within Toyota's sights for 2006.

Illien: Montoya Lost our Title

According to Mario Illien McLaren lost the constructors' title last season because Juan Pablo Montoya made too many mistakes and didn't bring in enough points for the British team.

Mario Illien is one of the founders of the company which builds the Mercedes F1 engines for the McLaren team. "Räikkönen retired three times while leading the race, but it was never down to engine problems. Losing the constructors' championship was down to Montoya who in my opinion should have brought home more points win the championship," Illien told Autosprint. "Montoya made some mistakes which a driver with his experience shouldn't make."
Kimi Räikkönen scored 112 points in 2005, while Montoya scored 60 points.

FIA Regulations 2006 season changes

A number of changes to both the Sporting and Technical Regulations have been made by the FIA for the 2006 Formula One season.

Qualifying
For 2006, the single-lap system used in recent years is replaced be a new three-part, knockout format, with multiple cars on track throughout the qualifying hour, which is split into two 15-minute sessions and a final 20-minute session, with five-minute breaks in between.
Part one: All 20 cars may run laps at any time during the first 15 minutes of the hour. At the end of the first 15 minutes, the five slowest cars drop out and fill the final five grid places.
Part two: After a five-minute break, the times will be reset and the 15 remaining cars then will then run in a second 15-minute session - again they may complete as many laps as they want at any time during that period. At the end of the 15 minutes, the five slowest cars drop out and fill places 11 to 15 on the grid.
Part three: After another five-minute break, the times are reset and the final 20-minute session will feature a shootout between the remaining 10 cars to decide pole position and the starting order for the top 10 grid places. Again, these cars may run as many laps as they wish.In the first two 15-minute sessions, cars may run any fuel load and drivers knocked out after those sessions may refuel ahead of the race. However, the top-ten drivers must begin the final 20-minute session with the fuel load on which they plan to start the race. They will be weighed before they leave the pits, and whatever fuel they use in the 20 minutes may be replaced at the end of the session.If a driver is deemed to have stopped unnecessarily on the circuit or impeded another driver during the qualifying session, then his times will be cancelled.

Engines
For 2006, engines are reduced in size from the previous 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s. The aim is to reduce costs and improve safety. With similar engine speeds, the change is expected to cut peak power by around 200bhp, which in turn is likely to add around five seconds to lap times at most circuits. The FIA may allow some teams to use 2005-spec V10s if they do not have access to competitive V8. The FIA will enforce a rev limit on any V10s to ensure performance is comparable with that of a V8.

Tyres
After a season’s absence, tyre changes during races return to Formula One in 2006. The thinking behind this is that the reduced engine size will offset any performance gain. Drivers also have access to slightly more tyres than in 2005 - seven sets of dry-weather, four sets of wet-weather and three sets of extreme-weather. Drivers must make a final choice of dry-weather compound ahead of qualifying.Weekend scheduleIn a slight change to the Grand Prix weekend format, Saturday morning now features a single, one-hour practice session, as opposed to two, 45-minute sessions. It takes place between 1100 and 1200. Qualifying is an hour later than before, commencing at 1400.

New rules will help Ferrari

Ferrari's new race driver for 2006 - Felipe Massa - reckons the current set of rule changes will play into the Italian team's hands - particularly the return of tyre changes in pit stops.

Fisichella impressed by Renault's car

Giancarlo Fisichella declared himself impressed by Renault's new car after his first test session in it.

The Italian became the first man to drive the new machine, successor to Renault's world championship-winning 2005 car.
He completed 41 trouble-free laps at Jerez in a session designed to test the new car rather than to clock fast laps.
Fisichella, who was sixth-fastest, said: "We had a very promising first day with the new car."

McLaren Fastest runner

McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa set the clear pace on the second day of testing this week at Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain. Driving an orange McLaren fitted with a limited V10 engine, the Spaniard finished almost 1.5s ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. The seven-times champion was the fastest V8 runner for the second day running.

McLaren

McLaren are going to be the team to beat in 2007, according to former Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart.

Schumacher

Michael Schumacher's manager has dropped a tantalising hint that the German could move to Toyota in 2007 to drive alongside brother Ralf.

Renault

Renault will become the third team to debut their 2006 car on Tuesday when Giancarlo Fisichella gives the R26 its first track outing at Jerez in Spain. Team mate and world champion Fernando Alonso will sample the car later in the week.

2006 Race Calendar

2006 Bahrain Grand Prix Sakhir 10 - 12Mar

2006 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur 17 - 19 Mar

2006 Foster's Australian Grand Prix Melbourne 30 Mar - 02 Apr

2006 Gran Premio Foster's di San Marino Imola 21 - 23 Apr

2006 Grand Prix of Europe Nürburgring 05 - 07 May

2006 Gran Premio de Espana Catalunya 12 - 14 May

2006 Grand Prix de Monaco Monte Carlo 25 - 28 May

2006 Foster's British Grand Prix Silverstone 09 - 11 Jun

2006 Grand Prix du Canada Montreal 23 - 25 Jun

2006 United States Grand Prix Indianapolis 30 Jun - 02 Jul

2006 Grand Prix de France Magny-Cours 14 - 16 Jul

2006 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland Hockenheim 28 - 30 Jul

2006 Magyar Nagydij Budapest 04 - 06 Aug

2006 Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul 25 - 27 Aug

2006 Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia Monza 08 - 10 Sep

2006 Belgian Grand Prix Spa 15 - 17 Sep

2006 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai 29 Sep - 01 Oct

2006 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka 06 - 08 Oct

2006 Grande Premio do Brasil Sao Paulo 20 - 22 Oct