Adrian Sutil outshone the likes of Lewis Hamilton to lap ninth quickest in both the practice sessions for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix as Force India's new car promised a turnaround in the fortune of the Vijay Mallya-owned outfit.
The topic was also raised at a drivers' briefing on Friday along with a discussion about the requirement for flame-resistant underwear.
Ferrari castigated Formula One rivals McLaren for making 'serious and false' accusations against them.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen started the season with a commanding Bahrain Grand Prix win from pole position.
Formula One's move to a single tyre supplier has hit champions Renault hardest, team boss Flavio Briatore said after Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen made a flying start to the Formula One season on Friday with the fastest times in free practice for the Australian Grand Prix.
Schumacher will be absent from Formula One's season-opening race for the first time since 1991 on Sunday.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso hopes to get his McLaren career off to a winning start on Sunday in an Australian Grand Prix that is far more than just a season-opener.
Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole position in Sochi hoping for a 91st Formula One victory to equal Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's all-time record, finished third behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mark Webber kept Red Bull on course for a 14th pole position in as many races this season, when he lapped fastest in final free practice for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday.
Red Bull will sell their Toro Rosso Formula One team before 2010 because of a change in the Formula One regulations, co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed. The 2010 rules will outlaw the use of so-called 'customer cars', where one team uses a chassis provided by another, and ensure that all teams entered in the constructors' championship build and design their own racers.
Giancarlo Fisichella finished 17th, while team mate Adrian Sutil qualified 19th for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. At the top, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won pole position after warding off a strong challenge from BMW's Robert Kubica, who briefly took the lead before the Briton outpaced him in the third and final qualifying session.
Fernando Alonso did his best to put a positive spin on his disappointing return to Renault at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday. He qualified 12th fastest for Sunday's season-opening race but will start from 11th after Toyota's Timo Glock dropped back five places for changing a gearbox.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis said on Tuesday he had decided to stay at the helm of the Formula One team, ending media speculation that he was about to stand down.
Eddie Jordan had fun in Formula One and now Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya intends to bring back the good times after buying the team founded by the Irish entrepreneur.
The Force India driver completed 102 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya for a best timing of 1:22:233 seconds.
The family's departure marks the end of an era after 43 years and 739 Grands Prix.
The FIA has clamped down on team-to-car radio as well as the two-way telemetry systems that enable engineers to tweak a car's settings while it is racing.
The 27-year-old became the first driver to win on his Ferrari debut since Briton Nigel Mansell in Brazil in 1989.
The Finn made a triumphant start to his Ferrari career with a pole-to-flag victory in the season-opening Formula One race.
The Indian ace finished ninth in the first qualifying, nine places ahead of Ferrari's Schumacher, who was the slowest of the 18 cars.
Michael Schumacher led the team to a one-two victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Lead mechanic Matt Deane and re-fueler Mick Gomme survived the incident with nothing more than bruising.
Rediff's Formula One fanatics in a chat after the Melbourne Grand Prix.
The German, who failed to finish in Melbourne last year after colliding with the Williams of compatriot Nick Heidfeld, has won four of the last six Australian Grands Prix.
'The most important thing, I think, is really about finishing races and analysing and making sure you get as many race points as you can, of course'
Fears that Rafael Nadak may miss the French Open grew after he pulled out of this week's Italian Open.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen equalled Ayrton Senna's record of eight pole positions in a row.
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