Force India’s third driver Jules Bianchi will be behind the wheel for the team on the opening day of next week’s Mugello test. Bianchi will run in the car on Tuesday before handing it over to Paul di Resta on Wednesday. The 22 year-old Frenchman, who is also a member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy, has already sampled the VJM05, after testing for the team ahead of the season

Being the youngest guy on the grid has one huge benefit – you should have many more years of racing ahead of you. But that hasn’t stopped Toro Rosso newcomer Jean-Eric Vergne mixing it with the big boys.

After some careful assessment, HRT have announced they will not be attending next week’s Formula One test in Mugello, Italy. With planned upgrades to the Spanish team’s car not due for completion until after the session, they will instead concentrate on moving to their new headquarters in Madrid

Ferrari have confirmed that Fernando Alonso will conduct the bulk of their programme at next week’s three-day multi-team test at Mugello, the Tuscan circuit owned by the Italian team. Alonso will drive on Tuesday and Thursday, with team mate Felipe Massa at the wheel on Wednesday.

Music fans attending September’s 2012 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix will be able to relive some of the greatest hits of the 1980s at a series of free concerts featuring three of the era’s most celebrated performers. Bananarama, Pretenders and The Proclaimers have been added to the entertainment line-up for Formula One racing’s only night time event, joining the already-confirmed Katy Perry, Maroon 5 and Jay Chou on the bill at the Marina Bay Street Circuit

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel leapt back into the limelight – and the lead of the world championship – with victory in Sunday’s 2012 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher’s difficult Bahrain weekend continued on Sunday morning after his Mercedes team confirmed he will drop five places on the starting grid as penalty for a late gearbox change. Schumacher qualified a disappointing 18th after a DRS problem in Q1 and was due to start 17th thanks to a similar gearbox penalty for Williams’ Pastor Maldonado

Ten-time Grand Prix winner Gerhard Berger made a welcome return to the F1 paddock in Bahrain, together with fellow former F1 racer Jonathan Palmer, while at McLaren Ron Dennis was joined by former employees Jo Ramirez, Tyler Alexander and Neil Trundle.

After a slippery first session teams spent the afternoon dialling in their cars, but the work was further complicated for some by a change of wind direction. All teams received one message loud and clear: rear tyre conservation will be paramount in the race.

Seeing seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher on top of his game again – even if it was team mate Nico Rosberg who scored Mercedes’ big win in China – is still a massive story in Formula One racing. And watching the legend live on in a ‘Silver Arrow’ is almost too good to be true. We caught up with Schumacher in Bahrain to talk about his team’s 2012 breakthrough