The Formula 1 Blog

Toro Rosso have revealed a completely new driver line-up for next season, with Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo and France’s Jean-Eric Vergne replacing 2011 drivers Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

Both Ricciardo and Vergne have come through the Red Bull Junior Driver programme and the decision to promote them was taken by Toro Rosso in conjunction with Red Bull

For the second successive year, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was the toast of the annual FIA Prize Giving Gala. Vettel was handed the coveted 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship trophy by FIA President Jean Todt at this year’s event, held last week in New Delhi, India.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner, meanwhile, was presented with the 2011 constructors’ trophy by Bernie Ecclestone. McLaren’s Jenson Button and Red Bull’s Mark Webber also received awards for second and third places respectively in the drivers’ championship.

HRT team principal Colin Kolles is to leave his post on Thursday after coming to an agreement with the Spanish squad to end their cooperation. The former Force India boss has been in charge since HRT joined the grid at the start of 2010.

“This is due to the new direction that the team has taken and the decision of the new management to move the team headquarters to Spain,” explained an official statement from HRT

There were no doubt a few anxious moments among senior management at Renault on Saturday as news came that their new star signing, Kimi Raikkonen, had fallen off a snow mobile. Thankfully it was nothing more than sore wrist, and the Finn was able to watch on as colleagues from the F1 fraternity enjoyed the glamour of this weekend’s Snow Mobile 2011 competition at Saalbach Hinterglemm in Austria.

World champion Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull team mate Mark Webber, team principal Christian Horner and chief technical officer Adrian Newey all attended a celebration show run event in the team’s UK home of Milton Keynes on Saturday. Around 60,000 spectators turned out to see Vettel and Webber, fresh from the FIA Awards in India, drive their cars on the city’s streets.

“It’s great to be here in Milton Keynes which is where the cars are built and everyone from the factory works,” said Vettel. “It’s nice to say thank you and to see all the fans from the area. It was good fun; we did some donuts and enjoyed ourselves out there. Thanks to all the fans that came today, we wanted to put on a great show, so I hope they enjoyed it. It’s a great way to finish the season.”

After a year of triumphs Sebastian Vettel’s closing reward came at the appropriately-named Kingdom of Dreams in New Delhi, India, host venue for this year’s FIA Prize Giving Gala on Friday evening.

The 2011 FIA Formula One World Champion collected the coveted trophy from FIA President, Jean Todt, while Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner was presented with the 2011 Constructors’ Trophy by Bernie Ecclestone

Romain Grosjean will race alongside Kimi Raikkonen at Renault next season, when the team becomes Lotus. It will be Grosjean’s second spell competing for the Enstone squad, the Frenchman having made seven Grand Prix starts for them in 2009, and leaves their 2011 drivers Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna without confirmed seats.

“I am thrilled to be one of the team’s race drivers in 2012,” said Grosjean. “There’s a big grin on my face at the prospect of getting behind the wheel of next year’s car

The 2012 grid will feature no less than six Formula One world champions, at least two rookies, and plenty of exciting talent in between. Below are details of which teams have confirmed who for next season, when Renault become Lotus, Lotus become Caterham, and Virgin become Marussia.

Famed Formula One medic Professor Sid Watkins has stepped down as FIA Institute President after eight years in the role, marking his retirement from full-time involvement in motorsport after a career spanning 50 years.

Neurosurgeon Watkins, now 83, played a key role in bringing Formula One safety up to its current high standards, leading the calls for improvements during his long tenure

Just ten days after his season-ending victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix, this week saw Mark Webber swap his Red Bull Racing machine for foot, paddle and pedal power as he joined a 60-strong field of athletes for the start of the Swisse Mark Webber Tasmania Challenge.

Webber’s charity multi-sport race, which is back on the calendar after a three-year break, sees two-person teams take on some of Australia’s most rugged scenery