Caterham does some rebranding

GP2
From next season, Caterham Team AirAsia will be renamed Caterham Racing, to match the name change of the F1 team. The two racing teams, the car company and other car-related ventures will come under the Caterham Group banner.

F1
With Kimi Raikkonen definitely not going to Williams next season, Barrichello’s seat looks set to be taken by GP3 champion Valtteri Bottas, or maybe someone else. Meanwhile, Renault are not just looking at their current lineup but also at drivers from other teams to possibly take over in place of Robert Kubica.

The details of the BBC/Sky television deal have begun to emerge over the last few days, with Martin Brundle signed up with Sky to commentate. He will not, however, be the lead commentator. The BBC will be doing ten races, with Sky doing all twenty. Sky, however, have the exclusive broadcasting rights for Bahrain and the US Grand Prix. Both of these races are under threat.
BBC Radio 5 Live will continue to provide live coverage of every practice session, qualifying and the race, so even if you cannot afford Sky then you can still enjoy F1. When I didn’t have a television, this was how I enjoyed F1. I would watch half of the races at my aunties’ house, and listen to the other half at home.
The ten BBC live races are: China, Spain, Monaco, Valencia, Britain, Belgium, Singapore, Korea, Abu Dhabi, Brazil.

Oh yeah, and it was qualifying yesterday and Sebastian Vettel took pole. It looks wet for the race today, so we could be in for a treat.

de Villota to become 2012 Lotus reserve

Spanish racing driver Maria de Villota looks set to become one of Lotus GP’s (currently Renault) reserve drivers in 2012. According to El Confidencial, all that is now needed are a few signatures and the deal will be done. Maria, 31, aims to become the first female F1 driver in 20 years, since Giovanna Amati attempted to qualify for three races with Brabham in 1992. The last woman to actually start an F1 race was Lella Lombardi in 1976. Driving for Brabham, March and Williams in her career, she scored half a point in the 1975 Spanish GP for March in a race that was cut short due to the tragic accident of Rolf Stommelen that killed five spectators and left the driver badly injured. Lella started her final race in Austria in 1976 with Brabham on August 15th. That race is also notable for being Penske’s only European win thanks to John Watson, and the last race in which no Ferrari took part.
Maria has most recently competed in Superleague Formula for Spain, but the series was unfortunately cut short this season. She only competed in the round at Assen, and had a tough weekend of it. Whether she has the ability to compete against F1 drivers is a serious question that must be asked. We cannot have a woman in F1 just because she’s a woman. She has to be competitive.
Maria clearly knows she has to work hard, however, and according to the article will be spending her Christmas holidays working hard in the gym to achieve the required level of fitness. She has test driven the Renault this year at Paul Ricard, and also driven the team’s showcar at the World Series by Renault event at the Circuit de Catalunya.

In other news, Daniel Abt continues to be superbly quick in the GP3 tests, having headed all three sessions so far with Lotus ART. Matias Laine’s new-found speed is also placing him high in the standings along with Conor Daly and Marlon Stockinger. Today, 2012 GP2 driver James Calado is also in the car doing some work for ART.

Kubica will not make the start of 2012

Sadly, Renault have confirmed today what we all suspected: Robert Kubica will not be returning to F1 for the start of the 2012 season. The Pole, who has kept out of the media spotlight since his accident, made an announcement via the team’s website to say that he would be unable to be drive-ready on time. Though he has 100% mobility in his hand and the rest of his body, getting back to race fitness and getting used to driving a race car again is hard work. It will take a long time to get there. Hopefully, Robert will be ready to return mid-season.
However, this does leave the future Lotus GP in a bit of a conundrum, with three drivers to fill two spaces. Romain Grosjean, the GP2 champion, is likely to take one of those seats. The remainder will be fought over by Petrov and Senna. Though Petrov has a contract for next year, Senna also brings good sponsorship and is in negotiations with the team. Having a Senna in a black and gold Lotus is obviously a very attractive option.

Meanwhile, F2 driver Alex Brundle will be taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans next season along with his father Martin. The endurance race does not fall on an F1 weekend this year, meaning that whether or not Brundle Sr is working for Sky or the BBC, he will still be able to race that weekend.

The GP3 teams have been testing in Valencia today. At midday of day one, Daniel Abt was fastest followed by Niederhauser, Guerin, Daly, Laine, Stockinger, Ellinas, Stevens, Zimin and Blomqvist.