A bullish Vitaly Petrov believes that off the back of his wholly unanticipated but thoroughly well-deserved maiden podium finish in F1 in Melbourne, he is now the man to take Lotus Renault GP forward in Robert Kubica's absence
Buoyed by his superb maiden podium finish in F1 in the curtain-raising 2011 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne yesterday, Vitaly Petrov has asserted that he is now capable of leading Lotus Renault GP in the absence of injured team-mate Robert Kubica.

In fairness, all expectations ahead of the weekend were that it would most likely be Kubica's stand-in Nick Heidfeld who would extract the greater potential from the aggressive and innovative new R31, but despite matching Petrov throughout practice, the experienced German was subsequently nowhere near the pace in qualifying or the race, starting a lowly 18th and taking the chequered flag a distant and lapped 14th, later promoted to twelfth by the double Sauber disqualification.

Sebastian Vettel suggests that a drivers' strike could occur if there are concerns over the new moveable rear wing in F1.
World champion Sebastian Vettel has refused to rule out the possibility that F1 drivers could go on strike amidst concerns over the new regulations in place for 2011.

The Red Bull driver has expressed worry about the new moveable rear wings that will debut in Australia, with the parts having been designed in order to increase overtaking by giving following drivers the chance to get a boost in speed when trying to make a pass.

Concerns have been raised about the possibility that the rear-wing, and the resultant difference in speeds that will result from its usage, could lead to a repeat of the high-speed accident which hit Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen in Valencia last year.

Bernie Ecclestone at logger-heads with FIA president Jean Todt over a possible move to 'green' engines in F1
Bernie Ecclestone has said that a decision to move to smaller, turbo engines in F1 would be detrimental to the sport and would turn off television viewers.

The FIA is keen to see the sport move to 1.6 litre turbocharged engines from 2013 onwards but Ecclestone has taken a different view by insisting that a move away from traditional engines would prove to be damaging.

"I meet people worldwide in all different walks of life - sponsors, promoters and journalists and I think there are two things that are really important for Formula One," he told AAP. "One is Ferrari and second is the noise. People love and get excited about the noise. People who have never been to a Formula One race, when they leave you ask them what (they liked) and they say 'the noise'.