Mar.22 (GMM) As Melbourne winner Kimi Raikkonen continues his top form in Malaysia, Lotus' rivals are beginning to wonder if the team has an unfair advantage.

At Sepang, arguably even more than in Australia, the keyword is tyres.

"Tyres, tyres, tyres, tyres, tyres," grumbled Red Bull's Mark Webber on Friday.

Pirelli's more extreme 2013 product could be clearly seen flicking off the wheels on every one of the 15 corners at Sepang during Friday practice.

Yet serenely at the top is Finn Raikkonen.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport points out that the test car used to develop Pirelli's troublesome 2013 tyres is the three-year old Renault.

It was designed at Enstone.

"The competition has a nasty suspicion," a report in the magazine read.

"Admittedly it (the 2010 Renault) is a very old car in terms of the speed of development in formula one. However, certain principles and philosophies of the chassis and aero balance survive for years," said correspondent Michael Schmidt.

Has that given Lotus an inherent advantage in how it treats the 2013 Pirellis?

"We overlooked and underestimated this impact," an unnamed rival team member is quoted as saying.

"Maybe we need to think about how we deal with this better for the future."

Latest F1 News - Mobile version

26 Feb: New Ferrari not quickest in field - Domenicali 26 Feb: Red Bull still best in 2013 - Tost 26 Feb: 2014 French grand prix 'possible' - Prost 26 Feb: Danica Patrick 'not interested' in F1 switch 26 Feb: Report - Gilles Simon working on F1 engine for Honda 26 Feb: Gutierrez plays down link to Carlos Slim 26 Feb: Caterham exhaust 'legal' insists van der Garde 26 Feb: McLaren replaces Mercedes-bound Lowe 25 Feb: 'Engine maps' trouble for Red Bull, Lotus - report 25 Feb: Mercedes-bound Lowe to miss 2013 opener - report 25 Feb: Mercedes 'in group of teams' behind Red Bull - Lauda 25 Feb: Gutierrez expects Hulkenberg to beat him early in 2013 25 Feb: New Ferrari 'much better' than 2012 - Massa 25 Feb: Teams 'will adapt' to new tyre situation - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Tight rules make today's F1 cars 'the same' - Forghieri 25 Feb: Williams removes controversial exhaust trick 25 Feb: Contract 'conflicts' cause of Marussia test snub - Razia 25 Feb: Lotus to fight Red Bull for title - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Marussia 'ahead of Caterham' - Chilton 25 Feb: Sutil will not stay in F1 as test driver The latest F1 News - Mobile Version

F1 News  F1 Schedule  F1 Line-up  Constructors' Championship  Drivers' Championship  F1 Tickets  Live F1 Coverage

Full Version: Formula 1 News  Formula 1 Schedule  Formula 1 Line-up  Constructors' Championship  Drivers' Championship  Live F1 Coverage  10 'n' Pole  F1 Regulations  The Forums  Motorsport Shop  F1 Merchandise  F1 Tickets  F1 Diecast  F1 Videos  F1 Games