Like Sauber, it is believed Force India is also close to finishing an ‘f-duct’ air inlet system similar to the controversial one cleared to race this year on McLaren’s 2010 car.

“I hope that they don’t see quite as much laptime performance as we believe we get from it,” said McLaren’s chief engineer Phil Prew, ahead of Friday practice in Melbourne, during which Sauber is expected to test its prototype system.

“It was inevitable,” he added when asked about the copies. “Hopefully we will be able to continue developing it and further exploit it one step ahead of the rest.

GMM

YF1. Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has echoed the sentiments of his star driver Fernando Alonso by urging his team and the tifosi to remain realistic ahead of the Australian GP.

The Ferrari boss said, “We need some great humility in this race. We know that we have to work and there is still lots to be improved, such as performance and reliability: it’s important to stay realistic.”

Expectations are high, especially in Italy where victory in Bahrain has set the tone for the forthcoming season. Managing these expectations are obviously high on the team’s PR agenda.

Di Montezemolo added, “In Melbourne it will be fundamental to have a good qualifying on Saturday, because as usual on city circuits, also here in Australia to start from the front will determine the final outcome.”

Earlier in the week Alonso said, “The one-two win in Sakhir gave us confidence and was a great result for the hard work during the winter on the track and at the works, but we can’t take anything for granted. We have to stay with our feet on the ground, keeping calm and staying concentrated: in Melbourne we’re starting from square one.”

Alonso and his boss are obviously on the same page…

Mar.24 (GMM-YF1) According to rumours from the Melbourne pitlane on Wednesday, Sauber is ready to test an initial version of the controversial McLaren-style knee-activated air inlet system.

The innovation, where air is allowed to pass through the car and onto the rear wing by the movement of the drivers’ knee, was declared legal on McLaren’s MP4-25 in Bahrain two weeks ago.

Basically, the system works by ’stalling’ the efficiency of the downforce-producing rear wing, thereby producing more straight-line speed when the car is not cornering.

McLaren had spent some time pioneering the system, so it is a surprise that Sauber has so quickly readied a version for its Ferrari-powered C29.

It is believed the Swiss team has not decided whether to actually run the system in Melbourne this weekend.

Asked by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, technical boss Willy Rampf said: “Ask me (about it) on Friday.”

It is likely Mercedes will be among the next F1 teams to also introduce the inlet system.

“We had an idea that they (McLaren) were doing it — we didn’t understand how they were doing it,” said team boss Ross Brawn. “But now we do.”

Mar.24 (GMM – YF1) Lewis Hamilton has revealed he received “a lot” of applications to become his new manager.

It emerged before the 2010 season opener that the McLaren driver will no longer be handled professionally by his father Anthony.

Martin Brundle and Mika Hakkinen were both touted as potential replacements.

“Honestly, I have received a lot of applications but I’m not in a hurry to decide,” the 25-year-old Briton said on Wednesday in a joint interview with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

“I am with a fantastic team, with many competent people, so at the moment I have no need for a manager,” Hamilton told F1’s official website.

Ecclestone, 79, advised Hamilton to remain unrepresented.

“A driver doesn’t need a manager,” said the sport’s ’supremo’, who joked that he has offered to manage Hamilton.

“Gerhard Berger is the prime example of that. He managed himself and was making more money than anybody else at the time he was racing,” Ecclestone added.