Fernando Alonso feels he is going to need to get more out of his Ferrari to improve his chances of overcoming Sebastian Vettel and winning the Formula One title at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Alonso was only fifth-fastest on the first day of practice Friday, while Vettel was second with his Red Bull, behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Alonso teammate Felipe Massa was fourth.
"We have not yet found the ideal balance on the car, so there is still a lot of work to be done with the engineers going into the rest of the weekend," Alonso said.
Alonso comes into the season finale trailing Vettel by 13 points, meaning he has to win the race and hope the German driver finishes fifth or worse. Anything but a podium finish will keep Alonso from clinching his third title regardless of Vettel's position at the end.
"We know we have to score 14 points more than Vettel for the championship and not lose the same number to McLaren to maintain our second place in the constructors' (championship)," the 31-year-old Spaniard said. "Our targets are clear, but also difficult to achieve."
Alonso said the unpredictable weather in Sao Paulo makes it more difficult for the team to find a good setup. It was extremely hot on Friday, but the forecast is for colder temperatures and likely rain during Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race.
"The predictions are for very different conditions from Saturday to Sunday, further reason to concentrate on the best choices when it comes to preparing the car for qualifying, but especially for the race," he said.
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STAYING PUT: Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone says the plan is to keep Formula One at Interlagos but he acknowledges that the track needs some renovation.
Brazilian media said Ecclestone visited a location for a possible new track in southern Brazil this week, but he said in a promotional event in Sao Paulo on Thursday that he is happy to keep F1 in Interlagos.
"It's an old race track, but with renovation it will be fine," he said. "We like Sao Paulo."
Local organizers have already said they plan to completely change the track's structure to give more space to teams and modernize the facility in the coming years. Initial plans are to transfer the paddock and the pit area to the back stretch.
Ecclestone made the comments after launching an F1 book with the help of former Brazil star striker Ronaldo.
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THANKING THE FANS: The helmet used by Michael Schumacher in his last career race is carrying a message to thank his fans for the support provided during the driver's 19 seasons in Formula One.
The message "Life is about passions, thank you for sharing mine" will be on the sides of Schumacher's helmet this weekend at the Brazilian GP, which will mark his second retirement from F1.
Schumacher had special helmets in some of his milestone races — gold-plated for his 20th anniversary in F1 and platinum for his 300th grand prix — but this time he will be wearing the traditional red helmet.
The 43-year-old Schumacher will leave F1 as the holder of several records, including most wins (91), most pole positions (68), most fastest laps (77) and most podium finishes (155).
He was sixth-fastest at the end of the first day of practice on Friday.
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NEW RUBBER: Formula One tire provider Pirelli says it received "positive" feedback from drivers and teams for the prototype tires it introduced during Friday's practice sessions.
Teams were given two sets of the tires which will be used in next year's season.
"The initial feedback we received has been very positive," Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said. "With testing opportunities so limited in Formula One, we wanted to give teams the opportunity to try out our tires before the first official test in February next year, so that they can start to understand how the new tires interact with the current cars."
Drivers used the new tires during most of the morning session and in part of the second, with Hamilton complaining of overheating at times, while Sauber's Sergio Perez — who will be replacing the British driver at McLaren in 2013 — said the new sets had more mid-corner grip.
"The tire that the teams tried today has a different structure with a faster warm-up," he said. "This delivers extra performance within a wider working range, due to increased cornering grip, which is exactly what we were aiming for."
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MORE MONEY: Lotus team principal Eric Boullier is optimistic about the new opportunities for his team when Coca-Cola begins sponsoring Lotus cars next season through its energy drink brand, Burn.
Boullier didn't want to give many details about the multi-year deal on Friday, but said "it's obviously more budget for next year and the next years, and it's going to be good to have this brand on the car and all the activation that go on around."
Lotus said more details will only be unveiled in 2013.
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SAYING GOODBYE? Kamui Kobayashi suddenly found himself out of a seat for next year's Formula One season after Sauber announced Friday that Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez will race alongside Nico Hulkenberg in 2013.
Kobayashi had been optimistic about retaining his job, but now will have to scramble to stay in F1 next season.
The Japanese driver, whose highlight of the season was a third-place finish at his home country in October, was left behind in part because he failed to gather the kind of financial support brought in by Gutierrez and Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim.
Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said it was not "an easy decision" to let Kobayashi go, but added the team was "committed to a new beginning."