With the Red Bull Racing team set to present their 2009 contender on Monday at Jerez, Sebastien Vettel will get the honors of driving the RB5 for the first time. While recuperating driver Mark Webber will get the honors on Wednesday, an RBR spokesperson confirmed to 'GPUpdate'. RBR will attend the multiple team test session next week, with the exception of Toyota, BMW Sauber, and Ferrari joining them.
Source: F1Technical

Click here to check the images

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes Sebastian Vettel will thrive under the 2009 rules as his intellect will allow him to cope better with drivers' new tasks than some rivals. The radical technical regulation changes for this season include front wings that can be adjusted from the cockpit to aid overtaking, and Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems that must also be operated by the drivers.

"Now we have a driver at the start of his career who, from what I’ve seen, has a tremendous amount of spare capacity when he’s driving the car on the edge, on the absolute limit," said Horner in an interview with Motor Sport magazine. Exceptional drivers tend to have this quality. And he’s a bright young man, which will be invaluable when it comes to all the complications of the new cars. The drivers will be busy this year, understanding the way KERS works, the way KERS will interact with the braking systems, the adjustable wings and the way the slick tyres can be used – all this means that things augur well for Sebastian.

"This year the drivers will have a greater input, and they will have to do the right things at the right time. There’s a lot more going on in the car and they will have to be on top of it all. The more intelligent driver will win through; that’s always been the case, and in some ways we’re going back to the days when the driver played a bigger role. Sebastian will only get better and stronger – he’s still very young, and this will be an interesting stage of his career."

Horner added that he had no concerns about any rivalry between the incoming Vettel and established Red Bull driver Mark Webber.

"Mark is a great competitor, a true sportsman, and they’ve known each other through the Red Bull ‘family’ over the last 18 months so they have a good rapport," said Horner. "They work collectively for the team, they have respect for each other, but clearly they will be measuring themselves against each other’s performances. I don’t see there being any issues."

Source: ITV.com

Toro Rosso's rookie Sebastien Buemi, in an interview to Formula1.com, spoke a bit about Seb (Vettel). Check what he said:

Q: As Sebastian Vettel’s replacement, you will fill big shoes. Are you feeling under pressure?
SB: For sure coming just after Vettel is a bit more pressure, but he has improved the team, so my first feeling is that I am grateful to him for this. And of course I will try to do my best to live up to the standards that he has set. The rules have changed a lot so it will be very different anyway. We have to wait for the season start to see where we are and I will do my job in the best way I can. I don’t think too much about what he did or what I should do. For sure, there will be comparisons all year long, but I can live with that.

Q: But surely at the end of the 2009 season you would like to be in the position that he is in now…
SB: For sure I would like to, but to achieve that you have to work very hard - and I am prepared for it. For the moment I have a lot to learn and only after the first couple of races will it become clear where we are performance wise, and if we can repeat last year’s success story.

Source: Formula1.com

Niki Lauda has a novel proposal to get more value out of F1's highly-paid drivers and at the same time help another premier series stave off the effects of the global financial crisis.

The former triple world champion wants racers like 2008 title winner Lewis Hamilton, and rising star Sebastian Vettel, to double up and race in the German premier touring car category DTM.

"In these difficult times Mercedes could use Hamilton (for its DTM team)," the Austrian told the German language news magazine Focus, explaining that F1 drivers this year will not be deploy ed on circuits so much due to the total ban on in-season testing. "And Vettel could be put to use by Red Bull-Audi," Lauda continued.

He said his scheme would give F1 employers more value for their money, and boost the popularity of the DTM, whose 2009 calendar does not include many clashes with grands prix.

Lauda said he does not agree with proposals to cap or limit F1 drivers' salaries. "Utter nonsense. It is a free market," he insisted.
Source: MotorAuthority

Bernie Ecclestone says he is "surprised" that a union of the Ferrari team and the young German racer Sebastian Vettel has not already taken place.

At Ferrari's 'Wrooom' media event last week, the F1 chief executive pinned his colours to Felipe Massa for the 2009 championship but named Vettel, 21, as his man of the future.

Vettel, nicknamed 'Baby Schumi' by the German press, stunned the formula one world with his and team Toro Rosso's debut grand prix victory at Monza last season.

In 2009, he moves up to the energy drink Red Bull's primary team.

But Ecclestone told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag: "I see Sebastian with Ferrari.

"I am actually a little surprised that he is not already under contract, but I am absolutely sure that it will be so," the Briton explained.

Ecclestone said the biggest difference between Vettel and Michael Schumacher is the latter legend's record seven world titles.

"Ask me again in eight, nine, ten years," Bernie said.
Source: MotorAuthority