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• Blomqvist joins McLaren's driver development programme

  McLaren have announced on Wednesday that British teenager Tom Blomqvist, son of 1984 world rally champion Stig Blomqvist, has joined the select group of young talent on their driver development programme. “I'm thrilled to get this opportunity with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” said Blomqvist. “The competition gets fiercer every time you step up a category, and having this level of support will really improve my strength and confidence.”

• Barcelona day two - Hulkenberg on top for Force India

  Force India's Nico Hulkenberg ended the second day of testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya as the quickest runner. Hulkenberg posted a best time of 1m 22.608s on Wednesday at the Spanish track to beat the Sauber of Sergio Perez by four hundredths of a second. Perez completed 85 laps in the C31, despite an exhaust problem towards the end of the day. “Quite a few high priority points have been ticked off the job list,” explained Giampaolo Dall'Ara, Sauber's head of track engineering. “In the morning we started with aero comparisons, and then did some proper mechanical set up work....

• Exclusive Sergio Perez Q&A: Sauber moving in right direction

  After a few technical difficulties, this week's Barcelona test isn't going wholly to plan for Sauber's Sergio Perez. But, despite the limited mileage, Perez remains optimistic that the team is making steady progress and that his new car will be competitive once the season gets underway…

• Bahrain 2012 - now on sale

  The 2012 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix takes place on April 20-22 and tickets are now available on Formula1.com. Making its eighth appearance on the F1 calendar, Bahrain provides a race-going experience like no other. For a unique insight into the only island state in the Arab world and its spectacular Sakhir circuit

• Exclusive Sebastian Vettel Q&A: You can't rely on past glories

  Approaching a season as the reigning champion means you have little to gain and a lot to lose. But if you're Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, and you're aiming to follow in the footsteps of Fangio and Schumacher by clinching a third successive title, then there's a very tangible target. At the moment, however, Vettel is forgetting what lies ahead and simply concentrating on ironing out any teething problems afflicting the RB8 and regaining the levels of grip he enjoyed last season…

• Lotus forced to abandon Barcelona for the week

  Lotus will not run for the remainder of this week's second pre-season test at Barcelona following the issue experienced with the team's second E20 chassis when it was shaken down for the first time by Romain Grosjean on Tuesday morning. After discovering the problem, Lotus had initially planned to bring the first E20 chassis - which successfully completed the first Jerez test

• Barcelona day one - Vettel sets the pace for Red Bull

  Defending world champion Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets for Red Bull as this week's four-day test got underway at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday. Vettel's best, a 1m 23.265s, was over a tenth of a second faster than the quickest lap from second-placed runner Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India. The opening day of the second official pre-season test saw 11 teams in action, with only HRT missing. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, ahead of Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

• Exclusive Nico Rosberg Q&A: We are more motivated than ever

  The launch of a new Mercedes car always attracts a lot of the attention and with the F1 W03 joining the fray slightly later than its rivals, the paddock has been especially curious. After the unveiling, we caught up with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg to discuss his new charge. And although Rosberg believes it's still too early to fully evaluate its worth, the German is certain the car has a lot of potential…

• Chassis problem brings Lotus test to a standstill

  Lotus will miss the rest of Tuesday's test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya because of an issue with their car. Driver Romain Grosjean had completed just a few laps in the second E20 chassis during the morning session when the team decided to abandon their test programme. “This morning was our first shakedown of our second chassis,” explained trackside operations director Alan Permane. “Once the car was on track it was soon evident that everything wasn't quite as it should be. As a precaution we are returning the chassis to Enstone for further investigation. Chassis E20-01, which we used in Jerez,...

• Wurz returns to Williams as driver mentor

  Williams have announced that former driver Alexander Wurz will return to the British team as a driver mentor. Wurz will start his new role at this week's Barcelona test and also plans to accompany the team to races this season to assist racers Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna. “This is a great initiative by Williams and highlights just how hard the team is pushing to optimise its performance,” said Wurz. “Throughout my career as a sportsman, which started at the age of 12 in BMX racing, includes over a decade in Formula One and is still ongoing (racing in the World...