CONTENTS

March 8 2012 – vol 207 no 10

Up-to-the-minute news and reports from F1, WRC and more. Subscribe for must-read opinion, stats and images

“If I’ve just finished my debrief with the team I could go off for dinner, but I won’t! I would feel bad and think it was maybe because I was lazy” WORLD CHAMPION SEBASTIAN VETTEL HASN’T LOST HIS WORK ETHIC. YIKES!

FEATURES & REPORTS

COVER IMAGES: THOMPSON, MASON, BONGARTS/ GETTY

COVER STORY

4873Thenumberofdaysthatelapsed between Elliott Sadler’s fifth NASCAR Nationwide win (in October 1998) and his sixth (last weekend). That’s 13 years, four months and three days!

SUBSCRIBE... to AUTOSPORT and get a free McLaren cap P112

NEWS

35 F1 season preview begins: 36 Six world champions It’s unprecedented, and we look at how they compare with the most successful driver of all time 44 Lewis Hamilton McLaren star has to turn things around in 2012

50 Sebastian Vettel Why it’s so hard to win three titles on the trot 54 What’s new in 2012 56 Evolution of the cars 58 Toro Rosso new boys Vergne and Ricciardo join the F1 pack with Toro Rosso

REGULARS

5 From the editor 6 Snapshot 21 Mark Hughes column 112 Subscribe for a free gift 132 Final drive Letters and latest gear

It’s just over a week before F1 2012 starts

60 TV battle: Sky and BBC It’s Ben Edwards v David Croft; Coulthard v Brundle/Hill 64 Team by team 94 F1 schedule All the venues; Austin feature 109 World of Sport NASCAR; V8 Supercars

134 On track/on screen The best action in the next week 137 From the archive Frank Williams’ early forays, 1961 138 Race of my life Davy Jones, Le Mans 24 Hours ’96

,E B R E Y/ L AT

,D U N BA R

:T E E

P IC S

10 Pressure mounts on Ferrari Prancing Horse feeling the heat ahead of close battle up front 15 Unravelling Red Bull secrets Gary Anderson explains what lurked beneath those umbrellas 17 Marussia and HRT launched Last two F1 cars break cover 19 This week in Formula 1 Team round-up after final test 22 Kanaan delayed Rubens deal

Does RBR have a trick for 2012?

IndyCar ace admits to stalling 25 FNippon outing for Sato Home series plan for Takuma 27 Audi: LMP1 flywheel is best Germans snub supercapacitors 29 Fortec plans five-car attack Team to match Carlin in British F3 31 Mexico key to Citroen/Ford First gravel rally to sort order 33 Meeke back on Mini duty Ousted Irishman tests new car

SPORTS EXTRA

127 Judge finds in noise favour Landmark ruling in Court of Appeal welcomed by sport 128 Motorbase to British GT British Touring Car team returns to series with former Porsche Carrera Cup ace Michael Caine 131 Renault’s number crisis Questions after poor turnout for first Formula Renault UK test

Motorbase commits to British GT attack, p128

March 8 2012 autosport.com 3