BBC Sport brings you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Button tested on the Pirelli tyres in Valencia this week

Jenson Button believes the switch to Pirelli tyres in Formula 1 will play into his hands this year as the new rubber suits his driving style well. "It has a stable rear when you enter high-speed corners, you have a stable rear when you brake for low-speed corners, and that is something that I really do need with the car," said the McLaren driver.
Full story: Autosport

However, some drivers were more reserved in their judgement of the new Pirellis following the first pre-season test in Valencia. Michael Schumacher told Auto Motor und Sport, "It was like driving on ice. [But] I think they are still in the testing phase and that they will deal with the situation well." Robert Kubica, who set the fastest time on the final day of testing, said: "Let's say they have quite big degradation so it will be very important to manage them better and maybe change a bit of the set-up in order to make them last longer and extract more performance from them."
Full story: espnf1.com

Rubens Barrichello has expressed concerns about the amount of work drivers have to do in the cockpit this season. The Williams driver tried the Kers system and the moveable rear wing for the first time, and found it hard to focus on the actual driving. "I don't think it's a danger, but I think it's a concern," said the Brazilian. "The problem is you are taking your eye off the road."
Full story: Adam Cooper's F1 blog

Mercedes boss Ross Brawn insists that this season his team will not be content with picking up the points left behind by F1's front-runners. "We want to win races this year," said the Briton, whose team's best finish in 2010 was third place, a result Nico Rosberg achieved on three occasions.
Full story: formula1.com

The Australian Grand Prix will stick to its 1700 local start time this season, despite the FIA having considered bringing the race forward because conditions were too dark for the 2010 race finish, leading to complaints from some drivers.
Full story: Autosport

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