Last Sunday, Fernando Alonso drove one of the best races of his career to finish second in India, and the Spaniard declared he was still confident that he could win the Drivers' championship this year.

Today in the Yas Marina paddock, he was asked where that confidence came from. "I think we believe and we trust in the team and the job we do," he began. "We have shown that we never give up and know how to fight until the end. When things become stressful and difficult, we can still give 100% and the team has a lot of experience fighting for world championships. Everyone is very motivated and in India we saw some good signs in terms of pace compared to Red Bull, even if we need a couple more tenths, especially on Saturday. On top of that, we have some updates here and there will be some more in the USA. The season has had its ups and downs and we have seen four consecutive "ups" for Red Bull, so we think it has to go down sooner or later!"

As far as this weekend is concerned, the Ferrari man is relying on a combination of factors to get a good result. "We have tried to prepare for this race better than ever," he revealed. "We have some new parts that we will be checking tomorrow. We don't think we will close the gap to Red Bull completely, with only five days between India and Abu Dhabi. There is no magic part in Formula 1 but we are trying to put them under pressure after they had four very easy races. We want to be close enough to them to capitalise on anything they do not do perfectly, while we need to be perfect for these next three race weekends. Mechanical failure is always in the air, not just for them, but also for us. We have to make sure we have a very strong car, so that we can do all three last races with no mechanical problems. We know that Red Bull can be a bit more fragile, like Webber's KERS failure in India, so we need to push them and be on the limit, because if it had been Vettel who had the problem, no one would have noticed because he was ten seconds in front."

Inevitably, the topic of the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was raised, when Fernando looked set to take the title at what was the final round, but fell at the last hurdle, stuck behind a slower car. "We are not thinking about the race here in 2010 when we lost the championship: we want to win the championship at the last race this year in Brazil. Thanks to KERS and DRS we should not have a repeat of the situation in 2010 that lost me the title when I was stuck for too long behind another car. In the last two years we have seen that these elements have produced exciting racing with plenty of overtaking."

Finally, it was time for Fernando to rubbish the idea raised in the media that he and the team's Technical Director had fallen out. "An argument with Pat Fry after the race in India? A nice invention from someone in the Italian media. It was quite creative to be honest! Now or later, I will speak to him to see how he invented this. We know and it's a fact that we are slower than Red Bull: we all agree, me the team, our fans, everyone knows. We are very united in our efforts to fix this situation."

Caterham Racing Driver, Alexander Rossi enjoyed a successful Official GP2 test in Barcelona. Variable conditions around the 4,655 km Circuit de Catalunya allowed for a good test in both the wet and dry.

The morning session of Day 1, Rossi completed over 20 laps on one set of new tires, providing valuable insight into the handling and tire degradation of the GP2 car. In the afternoon Rossi made excellent progress with the car, ending the day P5.

Currently occupying third place in the Formula 1 Driver's World Championship – with an impressive six podium finishes along the way – Kimi has certainly silenced the critics during his comeback season in Formula 1. With solid foundations now in place, the Finn is looking for more with the team in 2013...

What have you learnt from your return to Formula 1?

This season has shown me that I still love racing as much as I ever did. Obviously, I would have not come back to the sport if I did not feel like this. Driving a Formula 1 car still gives me the same inspiration and I feel the same passion for it.

Six young pilots aged from 18 to 20 years will front each other to determine who receives intensive support in the 2013 season as a Porsche Junior in the Carrera Cup Deutschland. At the finale of the international youth selection process, two Swiss drivers Levin Amweg (18) and Jeffrey Schmidt (18), two Dutchmen Dennis van de Laar (18) and Pieter Schothorst (20), a Spaniard Alex Riberas Bou (18) as well as American Connor de Philippi (19) will undertake a comprehensive test programme this Monday and Tuesday in Vallelunga (Italy) with the 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

In the lead-up, the six finalists had come out on top in an extensive selection process against young talents from around the world. Factors taken into account were fitness, mental strength, demeanour and technical understanding. Now working alongside engineers on the track, the junior drivers, all of whom were successful in various national and international formula race series, will be tested for consistent times over a race distance as well as in simulated qualifying laps. Moreover, candidates must demonstrate their skill in handling the media with television interviews and photo shoots.

Lotus F1 Team announce today that former world champion Kimi Räikkönen will continue to drive for the team in 2013. Kimi, who currently stands in third position in the FIA Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship, returned to the sport in 2012 after two seasons away and immediately showcased his pace, stepping on the podium six times so far this season - in Bahrain, twice in Spain (Barcelona and Valencia), Germany, Hungary and Belgium.

Raikkonen has had a good season, consistently challenging for honours, only to be let down by the top speed of the car on the straight on a number of occasions. However, the relationship between the team and the driver has been excellent and neither saw a reason to look for different partners next year. Kimi has already started giving his input on next year's car, the E21, and will play an active role in the whole design process.

Indian racing driver Karun Chandhok’s JRM Racing has finished the final race of its first season in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Six Hours of Shanghai, second in the privateers' class and fifth overall, equalling the team's best result of the season. The team achieved its second podium finish in a row, confirming the constant improvement shown throughout the year and finishing its first season in endurance racing third of the privateers' LMP1 outfits.

The #22 HPD ARX 03a driven by David Brabham, Karun Chandhok and Peter Dumbreck started the race from the Privateers' pole and fourth overall, the team’s best starting position of the season. Karun got the race underway and was first in the #22, initially keeping in front of the Rebellion #12 and the Strakka cars. It was an intense battle that finally ended with Karun falling back into the clutches of both before stopping for the first pit-stop of the race, rejoining in sixth position overall.