Giedo van der Garde, Test and Reserve Driver, Caterham F1 Team at the Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain February 2012. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Van Der Garde To Combine F1 With GP2: Giedo van der Garde will combine his new F1 reserve role with another season in the GP2 series this year. The 26-year-old Dutchman, who has raced in the F1 feeder category in the last few years, will be Caterham's reserve driver this year and appear in Friday morning practice sessions on a number of occasions. According to a report in De Telegraaf newspaper, it has now emerged that van der Garde will race for Caterham's GP2 team as well. "The agreement will be announced officially on Monday," said the Dutch report. Van der Garde commented: "I want to stay sharp by being with Caterham Racing (GP2 team). "I am very happy with my role as reserve driver, but when you're on the road for the whole year with the F1 team and do only a fair number of Friday practices, then you would miss your rhythm. "I just wanted to keep up some racing. "I will be involved in everything with the F1 team and at every race, but when I need to race, then my full focus will be on GP2," he added.

Prost Will Not See 'Senna' Movie:Alain Prost has revealed he has no desire to see the highly-lauded feature film about his former nemesis Ayrton Senna. The award-winning 'Senna' movie focuses strongly on legendary Senna's on and off-track rivalry with Frenchman Prost, who was portrayed as the politicking villain. "I haven't seen it and I don't want to see it," the 57-year-old told the Russian website F1News. "I definitely don't agree with how they went about it," Prost explained. "I spent a lot of time trying to explain to the makers that they are wrong." The Frenchman was also asked about the late Ayrton's nephew Bruno, who in 2012 will race for Williams-Renault, a combination that in 1993 powered Prost to the last of his four titles. "Bruno is a great guy and I mean that sincerely," he said. "I cannot judge his ability as a driver, because it's premature to talk about that, but he is a good person."

Tost Comments Leave Axed Buemi 'Amazed': Sebastien Buemi has revealed surprise and disappointment with Toro Rosso's reaction, after the Italian team performed a clean sweep of its driver lineup for 2012. The Swiss and his teammate Jaime Alguersuari were given their marching orders just before Christmas. Buemi has expressed disappointment with comments made recently by his former team boss Franz Tost. He takes issue with Austrian Tost, who is appointed to head Red Bull's rookie team Toro Rosso. He said recently: "We are talking about a double world championship-winning team (Red Bull), which means that drivers who get elevated there must have the ability to win races and championships. "And it was from that perspective that second thoughts set in when it came to Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari," said Tost. Buemi responded: "After we were put out, Alguersuari and I said not a single bad word about Toro Rosso, we were always loyal. "So I am amazed that from the boss there comes suddenly such negative comments."

France Solution 'Better Than Nothing' - Prost: Alain Prost has backed France's touted return in 2013 to the Formula One calendar. Recently, the four time world champion was involved in a project to bring the sport to Paris. "That's a closed chapter," he rued, according to the Russian website F1News. "I really regret that, because - believe me - it was the best project I had seen in a long time." The latest proposal is for France's Paul Ricard to share an annually alternating Grand Prix date with Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium's fabled and much loved circuit. Prost said: "Obviously the best thing would be for France and Belgium to have their own Grands Prix each year. "But unfortunately you have to admit that Europe is facing great difficulties, so if this is the only way for the race to happen, then why not? "It's better than nothing," he said.

Kimi Raikkonen returned to the F1 grid with a two-day test in a 2010 Renault. (Photo: Lotus Formula One)

Coulthard Doubted Raikkonen Return Rumors: Kimi Raikkonen's former teammate has admitted he was surprised when the 2007 world champion decided to return this year to Formula One. Scottish veteran David Coulthard shared the McLaren garage with the now 32-year-old Finn seven years ago. He told Russia's Championat: "When the rumors began, I thought it would never happen. "I believed he was really enjoying competing in rallying and had decided to end his Formula One career," said Coulthard. The former McLaren and Red Bull driver, however, clarified that he is supportive of Raikkonen's return. "I am in favor (of it)," he said, "and the others are not going to have it easy because they are going to be proving their abilities against six world champions." And Raikkonen, Coulthard added, is one of the best. "Last year I was with Kimi at the Red Bull Ring with Sebastian Vettel and a few others. We competed together in a variety of cars and bikes, and Kimi was quick in all of them.
"He's a real natural talent," he said.

Prost Failed To Find Williams New Sponsors: Alain Prost has conceded it will be difficult for the once-great Williams to return to the top in Formula One. The legendary Frenchman won the last of his four world championships with the famous British team, which in 1993 was utterly dominant. But Williams has not won a single race since 2004, and last year finished the constructors' standings a woeful ninth, having scored only a handful of points. "I talk often with Frank Williams," Prost told the Russian website F1News, "and this winter I even tried to help find him some sponsors, but failed. "It's difficult for them," he continued, "as when you get yourself into financial problems, it's so hard to get out of them." Prost's own team collapsed in 2001.

Press Tips 'Small Advantage' For Red Bull: Most leading specialist publications see Red Bull as the continuing pacesetter in Formula One. In their recent analysis, outlets including Auto Motor und Sport (Germany), La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy) and Autosport (Britain) believe world champion Sebastian Vettel again resides the best car ahead of the 2012 season. "They still have an advantage, but it's smaller," agreed Jenson Button, according to Brazil's O Estado de S.Paulo. His boss Martin Whitmarsh added: "Red Bull has a solid, fast car, better than us in slow corners, but we're better in the fast ones." Switzerland's Sonntagsblick, however, sees McLaren actually ahead of the energy drink-owned team, with Mercedes in third place and Force India a surprise fourth. "Red Bull is faster (than Mercedes)," said the German marque's boss Ross Brawn, "and clearly a little more than we had hoped for," he told Auto Motor und Sport. The international publications said Lotus, amid their chassis flaw problems, rank anywhere between third (Auto Motor und Sport) and eighth (Blick). According to the same press, Ferrari is in trouble, ranking no higher than fifth in the lists of the aforementioned publications -- and the authoritative Auto Motor und Sport predicting nothing short of a disastrous season for the fabled Italian team. Felipe Massa is quoted by Spanish reporters as saying Barcelona was "a little more positive" than the Jerez test recently, and he was asked to rank the development of the new F2012 car out of ten. "Probably more than five. There is still much to do, but now we are closer than we were," said the Brazilian.

Success For New Teams 'Impossible' Says Prost: Alain Prost believes it is "absolutely impossible" for F1's newest teams to ever break the dominance of the sport's top five. He is referring to small privateers Caterham (formerly Lotus), Marussia (formerly Virgin) and HRT (formerly Hispania), who were enticed into formula one in 2010 following the departures of manufacturers Honda, BMW and Toyota. As well as winning four championships as a driver, Frenchman Prost also ran his own team between 1997 and 2001, when it succumbed to financial problems. The Russian website F1Newsasked Prost what advice he would give to F1's current tailenders. "I will say quite frankly that they cannot become competitive in today's Formula One," he answered. "It's impossible. "They can make some progress, but - of course - you must immediately put the question 'What goals do they pursue?' "To break into the top five with a new team like this in Formula One -- it is absolutely impossible," said Prost.