Fernando Alonso delighted his legions of Spanish Formula One fans on Wednesday with the quickest time in testing on an emotional debut for Ferrari. The double world champion, who was cheered on by an astonishing 36,000-strong weekday crowd at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit, played down suggestions of being the early favourite in the title race, however.
Quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel went for five on Friday with the German choosing to have that numeral on his car when he is eventually deposed as number one.
Formula One teams face a stiff hike in entry fees for next year's championship with the winning constructor having to pay $6,000 for every point scored this season as well as a basic charge of $500,000.
Brazilian Felipe Massa put Ferrari on pole position for the French Grand Prix on Saturday.
Sebastian Vettel handed Ferrari their first Canadian Grand Prix pole position since Michael Schumacher in 2001 on Saturday while Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth for Mercedes. Vettel, 14 points behind the Briton, will start from the front for the fourth time at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after setting a track record of one minute 10.764 seconds on a sunny afternoon.
Formula One champions Ferrari will reveal their 2008 cars in a low-key presentation in Maranello on Sunday.
Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen, who started on pole for the first time in nine years but lost the lead in the pitstops, made sure of a Ferrari one-two with Hamilton finishing seventh for Mercedes after starting 13th.
Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix to seize the overall lead from his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in Formula One's 1,000th world championship race on Sunday.
Germany's Audi has no plans to enter Formula One, the company said on Monday.
Perez, who started eighth on the grid, finished ninth after being passed by Kevin Magnussen towards the end of the 56-lap race.
Formula One champions Ferrari could replace stand-in driver Luca Badoer if the Italian does not raise his game significantly in Belgium next weekend.
Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has no agreement with Ferrari and will be staying at Red Bull for years to come, team boss Christian Horner said on Tuesday.
Michael Schumacher was taken by surprise on Sunday after ending up on the Formula One podium for the first time in nearly six years.
Michael Schumacher sauntered back into the Formula One limelight in Mercedes overalls on Monday to kick off his bid for a record eighth title at the ripe old age of 41. Returning to centre stage three years after he retired, the former Ferrari driver looked trim and relaxed as he appeared alongside fellow-German Nico Rosberg at a presentation of the Mercedes GP team.
The seven-time world champions says he is happy with his start to the Formula One season and expects Ferrari to be even quicker in Australia next week.
Ferrari made a strong start to the first day of Formula One testing, on Monday, with four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel top of the timesheets at lunchtime with 72 laps completed.
Formula One champions Ferrari experienced their worst start to a season in 17 years when a risky gamble backfired at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. The Italian team were left searching for answers after failing to score a single point in the opening race of the championship for the first time since the South African Grand Prix in 1992.
Struggling smaller F1 teams like Sauber and Force India have long argued that the distribution is skewed in favour of leading manufacturers, who receive special payments regardless of how they perform on the track.
Carlos Sainz lapped Monza's "Temple of Speed" with a fastest time of one minute 20.294 seconds, 0.013 quicker than Max Verstappen's final flying lap.
Michael Schumacher can become the first driver to win the same Grand Prix eight times, if he wins Sunday's French GP.
Ferrari moved to placate angry Indian authorities on Saturday with an assurance that a navy flag on their Formula One cars was not a political statement of support for Italian sailors detained for killing local fishermen.
Former Ferrari driver and Formula One ace Kimi Raikkonen has blasted the drivers' championship as boring and riddled with politics.
Ferrari's 2011 Formula One car will be unveiled at the end of January after passing a series of mandatory crash tests last month, the Italian team said.
Formula One was accused of sending out a mixed message on alcohol at the Monaco Grand Prix on Friday by giving extensive publicity to drinks brands while campaigning for road safety.
Ferrari kept Brazilian Rubens Barrichello off the track for Saturday's opening practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix after having to rebuild his new car's gearbox.
Formula One champions Ferrari would be prepared to supply engines to whoever takes over the Honda team but nothing has been agreed so far, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The Brackley-based team, run by former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn and chief executive Nick Fry, have said several 'global players' are interested without identifying any of them.
Ferrari are closer to Mercedes than results have suggested in this season's two races and look like posing a real challenge, according to Formula One world championship leader Nico Rosberg.
Red Bull's triple World champion Max Verstappen claimed pole position on Saturday for the Miami Grand Prix, to start from the front of the grid for the sixth straight race this season.
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen made a strong start to Formula One's European season by dominating Spanish Grand Prix free practice on Friday. The Finn, championship leader after the opening three long-haul races, set a best time of one minute 20.649 seconds in the morning and then topped the afternoon timesheets in 1:21.935.
Brazilian Felipe Massa led Ferrari to a one-two victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday with team mate Kimi Raikkonen seizing the championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Massa's sixth career win brought him his first points of the Formula One season and came at the same Sakhir desert circuit where he fired up his title challenge last year with a pole-to-flag victory.
Fernando Alonso indicated his Formula One future was in his own hands despite Red Bull announcing on Saturday that four time world champion Sebastian Vettel was leaving to join Ferrari.
F1 CEO and chairman Chase Carey reiterated that Asia is a "tremendously" important region for the sport and India figures in their scheme of things for the future, if not now, with the calendar already packed till next year.
Formula One will be badly damaged if 'grubby' legal manoeuvring leads to Kimi Raikkonen losing his title to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in a courtroom, Ferrari's lawyer said.
Ferrari have signed a six-year deal to provide engines and design cars for the A1GP series from 2008.
Ferrari welcomed on Thursday a ruling by Formula One's governing body that stripped McLaren of their constructors' points and effectively handed the title to the Italian team.
Brazilian Felipe Massa secured pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix on an all-Ferrari front row.
