Pastor Maldonado is now a married man. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Maldonado Marries In Venezuela: The marriage of Pastor Maldonado took place in Canaima, Venezuela. International media reports said the event was attended only by the couple's closest family and friends. Maria Gabriela Chavez, the daughter of Hugo Chavez, was slated to attend, but she is reportedly at her father's side as the Venezuelan president recovers in Cuba from cancer surgery. 27-year-old Maldonado, sponsored by the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, won May's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, but finished the 2012 season just fifteenth.

Petrov Waiting For Caterham's Call - Manager: Vitaly Petrov's hopes lie with Caterham, as the Russian bids to stay in Formula One for a fourth consecutive season in 2013. His manager, Oksana Kosachenko, admitted that while there is also still a race seat vacancy at Force India, the 28-year-old driver is only waiting on Caterham's call. "At the moment, all the necessary work on our part is done -- and it's for Caterham to decide," she told sportbox.ru.Admitting that talks with other teams had all fallen through, Kosachenko insisted it is "difficult to say" whether Caterham will make its decision in the days immediately after Christmas. She told f1news.ru: "Yes, Vitaly is among the contenders, however, so are six drivers."

Conspirator Symonds To Return To Paddock In 2013: Pat Symonds' paddock exile is about to end, according to international reports. Although working as a crucial technical consultant with Marussia in the last couple of seasons, the Briton was officially serving his F1 ban in the wake of the 2008 Renault 'crashgate' scandal. But the Spanish newspaper ABC, and Italy's specialist Autosprint magazine, said Symonds will return to the paddock with Marussia in a direct role in 2013. ABC said the 59-year-old veteran will be Marussia's technical director.

News Agencies Vote Vettel Top Euro Athlete: Sebastian Vettel has been named the top European athlete of 2012. F1's new reigning triple world champion received the title after 26 European news agencies voted in the annual poll organized by Poland's PAP agency. German Vettel outpaced British tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins by 7 points, who was a further 4 points ahead of Olympic athlete Mo Farah.

Valsecchi Hoping To Be Lotus Reserve: New GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi has admitted his best hope of breaking into Formula One in 2013 is as a third driver. On his fifth attempt in the F1 support series, the 25-year-old Italian this year beat Brazilian Luiz Razia to the title. Valsecchi was hoping to follow recent champions like Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado and Nico Hulkenberg into F1, but admitted to Italiaracing: "At this point, I'm working to get the place of the Lotus team's third driver. "I honestly thought I could find the financial support allowing me to find a team for 2013, but the various possibilities have weakened." Valsecchi, who in 2012 drove for the Lotus-linked Dams team in GP2, admitted he was hoping to replace Frenchman Grosjean for 2013. "In the end he (Grosjean) deserved it because he has proven to be very fast," he acknowledged.

Ferrari To Develop 2013 Car In Cologne: Ferrari will develop the aerodynamics of its 2013 car exclusively in Cologne. After encountering problems with its Maranello facility this year, Ferrari's wind tunnel will be closed next year until August. International reports, including in El Mundo Deportivo newspaper (Spain) and Kolner Express (Germany), said Ferrari has now turned its attention to Cologne, where the former F1 team Toyota rents out its state-of-the-art facility to clients. Asked why Ferrari chose Cologne exclusively, team boss Stefano Domenicali said: "Because working in two wind tunnels would be too risky." Team president Luca di Montezemolo added: "We will develop the 2013 car exclusively in the Toyota wind tunnel to avoid confusion and mistakes." The Italian added that McLaren is also a regular customer of the Toyota tunnel. Toyota Motorsport GmbH's Rob Leupen commented: "Our clients are very happy with our wind tunnel services."