Raikkonen Given Penalty

Kimi Raikkonen has been given a three-place grid penalty for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix. 
The Finn was expected to line up 7th on the grid, but has now been dragged back to 10th after being deemed to have blocked Nico Rosberg in the final session of today's Qualifying. 
Despite claims from the team that their man was suffering from hydraulic-issues, the FIA stood by Rosberg's view that he was indeed blocked. The move means Raikkonen will have to fight through the top ten if he is to repeat his race victory in last weekends Australian Grand Prix.

Reading Lewis Hamilton.

I wonder, I wonder if Hamilton has pondered an acting career recently... 
With two reasonably faultless test sessions behind him at the wheel of his new Mercedes W04, both of which displayed at least a hint of raw pace, the former champ comes across as a man truly and utterly downbeat and despondent, almost beyond belief. Take, for example, the featured interview with Sky Sports F1's Craig Slater: http://www1.skysports.com/formula1/video/24068/8517047
It's common knowledge that drivers and teams tend to 'sandbag' during pre-season testing, but comments from Hamilton such as "we'll be fighting for points" and completely writing off ALREADY any title or race-win hopes, seem to me and many others im sure, to be stretching the limits of 'playing down expectation'. 
But hey, Formula One is all about pushing boundaries, right?

Should Sutil be Sat?

Today (Thursday 14th January), it has emerged that erstwhile Sahara Force India driver Adrian Sutil, has returned to his former teams factory for a seat-fitting. While it remains unclear whether or not the fitting puts the German in pole-position for the final seat on the 2013 F1 grid, it will, and has, undoubtedly raised many eyebrows.
As is common knowledge now throughout the F1 fraternity, justice is a word not particularly understood within the sport. You only have to consider for example, the prolific names who have found themselves heading for the sports exit-door in recent history; Heikki Kovalainen, Timo Glock, Jamie Alguersuari, Nick Heidfeld, to name but a few. All incredibly talented drivers with a proven speed-credentials in Motorsports' pinnacle class, yet sidelined through above all else, a lack of funding.
Of course, it's not the funding that has caused a stir with the Sutil-Situation, it's strangely enough, his criminal record. Should a man previously convicted of GBH really be given a second chance in the Sport? Many will say no, of course he shouldn't. Formula One in the grand scheme of things, maintains a clean-cut image, with the intense level of sponsorship and role-model occupation of it's drivers, being essential to the very cornerstone of the sport. So with Sutil's tainted reputation, it's a surprise to many that Force India team boss Vijay Mallya is at least considering giving the German a second chance, whether it be merely a pre-season test next week in Barcalona, or a season-long drive back in the big-time.
Now back to the issue of funding... despite not being the do-all and end-all in this conundrum, it does still play a colossal part. As in Sutil's first impressive spell in Formula One, he carries with him significant backing from sponsors such as Medion, Einstein & Newton, and Capri-Sonne, resulting in a sufficient level of pennies to fuel Sutil in Formula One. Dig a little further, and it comes to stand that Mallya's own wealth is somewhat in danger, with his primary buisness interest, Kingfisher Airlines on the brink of folding. Sutil's backing might not only be sufficient for himself, but also a safety net for the team as a whole, one must feel.
Sutil's main rival for the race-seat is Jules Bianchi; a man who himself carries a strong argument warranting him the drive. Having already tested the all-new VJM06, and carrying backing from the juggernaut that is Ferrari, Bianchi is far from an ugly option for Force India. Having displayed raw pace in numerous 2012 Friday test-sessions, the Frenchman is embedded within the team set-up, which must be seen as an important factor considering the lack of time between now and the first race in Melbourne, just over a month away.
With so many variables at play, it's easy to see why the final driver-announcement for 2013 has become a somewhat saga. A man who much Mallya in terms of giving the nod/guidance to fast men, Peter Coe (Seb Coe's father and trainer), once said that one of the biggest factors in being successful in sport, is 'managing the variables'surrounding the event itself. I hope for the teams sake, that such variables don't begin to underpin a successful and well-loved operation, such as Sahara Force India.

Kubica Conundrum

If reports are to be true, Robert Kubica's DTM test with Mercedes today (Thursday 24th January) left the Pole 0.5 seconds faster around the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia than ex-DTM champion, Gary Paffett. 
Should Kubica's rumoured pace prove fruitful, it adds yet more fuel to the fire that the man once considered one of the greatest drivers in the world, could be about to press on further with his road back to Formula One by entering the DTM fraternity. So where would such a move leave him? Well, as with everyone, it's a battle royale to join, or rejoin in Kubica's case, the big league. With budget becoming ever-more decisive in a driver's career in and around the sport, talent is forever taking a more settled position on the backbench. With talent undoubtedly present but budget questionable, this ugly-truth could work either way for the former BMW-Sauber and Lotus-Renault driver. 
Should Mercedes clinch Kubica's signature for the forthcoming DTM season, the pairing would face a mammoth task of overcoming such an already strong grid line-up, with Paffett, Bruno Spengler, Jamie Green, Mattias Ekstrom, and Martin Tomczyk to name but a few, all far more experienced and proven race-winners in the series. 
Should the Polish racer thrive, his potential ties with Mercedes should open up a whole host of avenues in Formula One, the marque's own works-team being one of three teams powered by 'Merc' engines. 2014 see's the introduction of brand-new engine technology in F1, and teams will be desperate for their respective drivers to offer valuable feedback and advice regarding engine performance and behaviour. With years of experience in Formula One already, this could stand Kubica in good stead, with customer-Mercedes teams Sahara Force India, maybe McLaren, and even former supplier Sauber, who are rumoured to be in discussions with Mercedes for 2014. 
It's all if's and but's for Kubica right now, and this extends to his current physical condition, which since his horrific rally accident two years ago, remains short of what is needed to pilot a Formula One car, despite vast improvement. Having declared 'no problems whatsoever' in the DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe, bags of proven talent, a massive fan-base and substantial determination to get back to his best, Robert Kubica is a man who deserves to have the pro's growing, and the con's shrinking, in his mission back to the top.

Formula E. Electric Ecstasy or Sorry Silence?

Now that the majority of the Motorsport calendar for 2012 has come to a close, it's time for the sport to do one of two things; ease the foot off of the gas and get all festive, or pent-up and looking ahead to the future, and the return of the green light and chequered flag. Oh, and this can also involve getting festive.
I am doing the latter, and perhaps being too eager. For you see, it's not 2013 at the moment that im particularly excited about, but 2014, and the introduction of Formula E.
This new-for-2014 series is perhaps one of the most important Motorsport ventures of our generation, well mine at least, and could possibly help significantly shape the future of Motorsport around the world. The 'E', as maybe guessed, stands for electric (cue the booing over no noise, from me included). Yes, that word thats creeping into the automotive world like a Bull in China Shop. Not welcome, but there. So put two and two together, and  you've got it; a racing series  comprising of all-electric, single-seater machinery.
It's not the first attempt to launch a series based on similarly environment-friendly principles, but unlike previous failed efforts, the project has a severe amount of backing behind it, leaving failure as a practically  redundant option. The single most important aspect to Formula E, is it's FIA-granted License, which in itself grabs the attention of anyone with even a vague whiff of Motorsport knowledge.
Perhaps more interesting and insightful however, is the more hands-on features of the series. For example, McLaren have themselves agreed with series CEO Alejandro Agag, to supply the motor, transmission, and electronics, or in Queens English  the cars essentials. Speaking of cars, no-less than 42 of them have been ordered, with ex-Formula One and GP2 driver Lucas Di Grassi tasked with the vital job of testing and fine-tuning the radical new car.
So just why does this bode so significantly on Motorsport as a whole? Well the first key point to remember, is that FIA President Jean Todt has publicly expressed his wish for a greater influence of 'green technology' to be used not just in Formula One, but across the FIA spectrum. When you consider that Formula E's inaugural series in 2014 coincides with dramatic technical rule changes taking place in Formula One (new engines, more environmentally friendly aspects throughout the cars),  it could be judged that the new Formula could stand as a so-called 'guinea-pig' series for the next set of technical regulation changes after 2014 in the premier-class, which one would predict to be yet more 'green' focused.
McLaren's involvement stands in itself, as a significant indication of just how  seriously Formula E is being taken, with the Woking-based team seemingly chomping at the bit to move-in and begin development on electric-Motorsport solutions. Such development would surely benefit not only their Formula One outfit, but also the brands road car-division and overall reputation as industry-leaders when it comes to environmentally -aware technology. After all, their Formula E endeavour was announced only a matter of months after McLaren was officially confirmed as being carbon-neutral, in February 2012.
The creation of Formula E as a whole is clearly one fuelled by ambition, technological-advance and long-term focus for Motorsport as a whole, and despite the inevitable loss of the noise-aspect, should be at least welcomed cautiously by all. With the series already confirming events in Rome and Rio di Janeiro, aswell as promising a calendar filled only by street-races, Formula E certainly can be commended for being nothing short of promising and exciting, and certainly one to keep an eye on during it's 2013 pregnancy.