Kimi Raikkonen stood on the top rung of the podium for the first time this season in Abu Dhabi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Raikkonen Gifts 'Leave Me Alone' T-Shirts To Lotus Staff: Kimi Raikkonen has turned his newly-famous Grand Prix-winning catchphrase into a t-shirt for the entire staff of the Lotus team. The inimitable 'iceman' thrilled his fans with his radio banter - broadcast live on television - en route to the first win of his F1 comeback recently in Abu Dhabi. And, to mark the Enstone based team's first win since its works Renault days, Raikkonen memorialized his most famous Abu Dhabi uttering - 'Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing' - on the front of t-shirts for the entire Lotus staff. The 500 t-shirts arrived at Enstone last Friday, according to the BBC. The 2007 world champion said this week: "I think you can probably find other messages from me in the car if you search YouTube; even from my short time in NASCAR." Lotus team boss Eric Boullier added: "'Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing' has already become a Formula One classic!"

Merc Should Have Kept Schu, Not Rosberg - Villeneuve: Jacques Villeneuve says he does not think Mercedes has made the right choice in pairing Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg next year.
The 1997 world champion does not, however, question the German marque's decision to poach Hamilton from McLaren. Instead, Villeneuve wonders about his former title nemesis Michael Schumacher's exit. "Why is he stopping?" the 41-year-old told Switzerland's Motorsport Aktuell. "I don't understand. Hamilton-Schumacher would be much better than what they do have for next year," the outspoken Villeneuve insisted. But German Rosberg insists he is "very happy" with how he has compared against the great Schumacher since 2010, even though the pairing have been more closely matched this season. "It's true that Michael has had bad luck, but so have I," Rosberg told Germany's Auto Bild.

Pirelli Names Sutil, Kobayashi As F1 Tester Candidates: Paul Hembery has named a trio of potential candidates to be F1 tire supplier Pirelli's test driver in 2013. The Briton, who is the head of the Italian marque's F1 program, confirmed that Brazilian Lucas di Grassi's testing contract runs to the end of next year. "Lucas does a great job for us. After next year his continuation depends on our decision to stay or not in 2013," Hembery told Brazil's Totalrace. Jaime Alguersuari was the other Pirelli tester in 2012, but the former Toro Rosso racer is hoping to return to a race seat next season.
"In addition to Lucas, we are evaluating other names in the market like (Adrian) Sutil and Alguersuari." German Sutil, however, clearly has plans to race next year. After a season on the bench in 2012, the former Force India driver has updated his official website with the words 'Next destination: Australia'. What about Kamui Kobayashi? According to strong rumors, the Japanese could be replaced at Sauber by the Telmex-backed Esteban Gutierrez, or the impressive rookie Dutchman Robin Frijns. "It's a possibility," said Hembery. "We'll see what happens with him (Kobayashi). I imagine he's still trying to get a (race) seat, so we'll wait."

Van Der Garde Denies Caterham Announcement Imminent: Giedo van der Garde has played down reports he is set to be imminently unveiled as a Caterham race driver for 2013. The well-backed Dutchman, who this year contested the GP2 championship for Tony Fernandes' team, has also been Caterham's reserve driver in 2012 and has recently been driving the green CT01 in Friday morning practice sessions. Rumors last week, as van der Garde tested the Caterham in Abu Dhabi, suggested the 27-year-old is now on the cusp of securing a full race drive for 2013. "Discussions are ongoing," van der Garde is quoted by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. "On both sides there is the intention to keep working together, and I hope to have clarity within two to three weeks." Because Caterham stands to lose millions in Concorde Agreement earnings due to falling behind Marussia in the constructors' championship, it is rumored van der Garde could oust the team's highly rated paid driver Heikki Kovalainen. And according to speculation, Frenchman Charles Pic is the favorite to replace Vitaly Petrov, whose Russian funding has reportedly dried up.

DRS Makes Villeneuve 'Angry': Jacques Villeneuve has admitted he is no fan of 'DRS', the moveable rear wing innovation that for the past two seasons has made passing much easier in Formula One. The critics of the 'drag reduction system', however, say it only creates artificial racing, and indeed often deprives the sport of many genuine head-to-heads. "Every time I see DRS I get angry," 1997 world champion Villeneuve told Switzerland's Motorsport Aktuell. "It destroys every good battle. "What also annoys me is the rule about only changing your line once. That's the worst one of all," said the 41-year-old former Williams, BAR and BMW driver. "The rule should be that blocking is not allowed -- that's it," added Villeneuve.