Apr.26 (GMM)  Team boss Ross Brawn has confirmed that Michael Schumacher will race a different Mercedes chassis at next weekend’s Spanish grand prix.

We reported after the recent Chinese grand prix that not only will the seven time world champion have a new development package at Barcelona featuring a longer wheelbase, the physical chassis will also be completely new.

The 41-year-old struggled significantly in Shanghai, and Mercedes’ Norbert Haug acknowledged that his actual chassis may have been damaged throughout the first four races of 2010.

“It’s not a new chassis per se, it’s a chassis we used in testing,” Brawn confirmed on Monday, at a fundraising event for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution on the banks of the River Thames.

“The one he had got damaged during the first few races and we repaired it as best we could at the races.

“But now we are back at base we are going to reintroduce the test chassis and he will be using that in Barcelona,” he is quoted as saying by The Guardian, and the German news agency SID reported the same news on Monday.

Apr.26 (GMM) Rookie Nico Hulkenberg has joined Williams team bosses in raving about the form of F1′s most experienced driver Rubens Barrichello.

At the end of a miserable 2008 season with Honda, the veteran Brazilian seemed destined to bow out of F1 on a low.

But the team instead reinvented itself as Brawn, where Barrichello out-performed his teammate and eventual champion Jenson Button in the second half of 2009.

Barrichello, 37, has moved to Williams this year and so far has shown the way to his highly rated young teammate Hulkenberg, the reigning champion of GP2.

“How he drives the car just eight tenths slower than the front is puzzling,” the 22-year-old German told Auto Motor und Sport.

“And then when the car is really difficult, Rubens puts in a lap that really makes me wonder how he does it,” added Hulkenberg.

However, he sees the situation as a positive one.

“He is an experienced driver who last year won races in a winning car. If I’m with him in qualifying and beating him in the races, it will be a success,” said Hulkenberg.

But if it takes some more time to catch up to Barrichello, Hulkenberg said he is not worried.

“It is a learning year and part of the development process,” he insisted.

Apr.26 (GMM)  Mika Hakkinen is considering a full-time return to premier motor racing — as a driver manager.

Whilst backing his former title rival Michael Schumacher to return to top form and win a race on his 2010 comeback, the similarly 41-year-old Hakkinen also admits he still feels the lure of the sport.

“I miss racing every day.  It’s very close to my heart,” said the double world champion, who raced in DTM between 2005 and 2007 after retiring from F1 at the end of 2001.

The Finn told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “I’ll be back but I don’t know when or where.  I just know that I will do it again.

“Perhaps I will come back to F1 as a manager,” added Hakkinen.

Indeed, he is also part of his own manager Didier Coton’s Aces Group company, and has been linked with Lewis Hamilton in the wake of the McLaren driver’s professional split with his father Anthony.

Apr.26 (GMM)  Force India’s chief engineer Dominic Harlow made it back from China in time to contest the 2010 London Marathon.

He completed the 42 kilometre course around the Thames on Sunday in just over three and a half hours.

Even faster was F1′s former safety car driver Oliver Gavin, 37, whose time under 3 hours placed him 657th overall amid 35,000 runners.

“My time today should now be enough to qualify me for the Boston or New York marathons … if I want to do either of them.  My legs need to recover first!” he laughed.

Another F1-related runner was Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin brand sponsored the event.

He crossed the line after 5 hours.

Apr.26 (GMM)  F1 teams are close to agreeing upon a new engine formula for the six-year period beginning in 2013.

Until then, development of the current 2.4 litre V8s will remain ‘frozen’, to be replaced thereafter by similarly powerful engines that use less fuel, emit less pollution and are affordable for the small teams.

Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo newspaper said an in-principle agreement has been reached for a four cylinder, 1.5 litre engine equipped with a twin-turbo and direct injection.

The new formula would reportedly also involve KERS.

“If F1 has to develop something helpful for real (road) driving conditions, then the best solution is for an engine that is turbocharged and GDI (gasoline direct injection,” Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa told Autocar magazine at the Beijing Motor Show.

“That is what we would support,” he said.

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug agrees that smaller engines are likely for reasons of consumption and emissions, but warns that high technology needs to remain a crucial focus.

“If you fly from Europe to Japan on a 747, you would use more fuel than an entire F1 season.  We need to see the whole picture,” he insisted.

Apr.26 (GMM) While the seven time world champion has struggled with the W01 on his return to the sport, teammate Nico Rosberg is second in the world championship after finishing on the podium at the recent Chinese grand prix.

But team boss Ross Brawn is worried about the car’s basic characteristics.

“New regulations have made the front tyres narrower, which means you need to generate more downforce at the front than before,” he is quoted as saying by The Times.

“Michael needs to be able to lean heavily on the front of the car to make his driving style work,” Brawn added.

The front of the car has therefore been the focus of Mercedes’ big upgrade for Barcelona, featuring a longer wheelbase.

“We’ve got a modification of the car coming for Barcelona which puts us into a better range for the weight distribution we can achieve,” Brawn confirmed.

But Niki Lauda thinks it should be up to Schumacher to adapt to the car.

“He must change his driving style as quickly as possible,” the former triple world champion is quoted as saying by Blick newspaper.

“The new formula one with the much narrower front tyres obviously surprised him, while Rosberg has had no problems and is doing a sensational job,” added Lauda.

Schumacher’s former title rival Mika Hakkinen is backing the 41-year-old to bounce back and even win a race in 2010, but he also concedes the sport’s famously fickle lack of patience.

“F1 will not give him any time,” he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. “It knows no mercy and allows you no excuses.”

Apr.26 (GMM)  Less than three months after slamming Silverstone’s new formula one layout, Damon Hill is now singing its praises.

The 1996 world champion, who is president of the circuit-owning British Racing Drivers’ Club, said in February that the new ‘Arena’ section is a “frustrating compromise” that risks “destroying the essence” of the historic venue.

But Hill is now quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: “We think we have produced a racetrack of the future.  It looks like it has the potential to be a real corker.”

The new 760m loop – effectively two new infield straights in the place of the famous ‘Bridge’ corner section – was originally designed for MotoGP but will also be used for July’s British grand prix.

It is expected that the cost of the changes – less than $8 million – will be more than offset by the additional tickets that can now be sold.

It will be officially opened by the Duke of York on Thursday.

Hill said he hopes “we have designed a challenging, exciting track for them (the drivers) that will make them like racing here more than ever”.

Apr.26 (GMM)  If the new team’s predictions are right, Lotus is set to take a big step forward at the Spanish grand prix next weekend.

“We are hoping for a time saving of more than a second (per lap),” Heikki Kovalainen told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

The Finnish driver, however, acknowledged that most other teams will also field quicker cars at Barcelona, the first European race of the season and usually the annual scene of major developments.

“But we might have more room (for improvement) than our competitors,” added Kovalainen, referring to the car’s conservative cooling solution, the basic double diffuser and the steel suspension uprights fielded so far this season.

Among F1′s three new teams, the pace of the Lotus and Virgin cars has been close so far.  Virgin is also planning an upgrade for Barcelona, including its famous bigger fuel tank.

Said Lotus’ technical boss Mike Gascoyne: “The Barcelona package has been in the wind tunnel for six months.”  The rear is narrower, the sidepod entries more extreme, the wheelbase longer.

“It will be at least a second faster,” he confirmed.

Team boss Tony Fernandes said he is pushing Lotus to set high targets.

“You’ve got to benchmark yourself against the best, otherwise don’t bother being in it,” he told the Malaysian newspaper The Star.

Apr.24 (GMM)  Two former grand prix drivers have called for patience amid criticism of Michael Schumacher’s return to formula one this year.

After the first four races of the seven time world champion’s comeback, the 41-year-old is 40 points behind his teammate Nico Rosberg, who has outqualifed him at every venue so far.

“I’m not worried about Michael Schumacher,” said Frenchman Jacques Laffite, who won six grands prix in the 70s and 80s.

“The (Mercedes) car just does not fit his driving style,” the 66-year-old told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“You can see on the track that he is struggling with understeer,” said the TF1 commentator.

Mercedes will debut a significant update, including new wheelbase and weight distribution package, at the Spanish grand prix, and Laffite thinks Barcelona “will be better” for Schumacher.

Fellow GP veteran and commentator Martin Brundle, who like Lafitte is contesting the opening round of the new Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup at Hockenheim this weekend, also backed his former Benetton teammate Schumacher.

“I believe in his abilities,” said the Briton.

“I think he needs more time.  If I was seeing the same results in September then I would be worried.

“The fact that there is no testing is difficult for him,” added Brundle, who insists he has seen “the old Schumacher magic once or twice” this year in practice sessions.

Apr.24 (GMM)  Tony George is interested in taking formula one back to the United States.

We reported last weekend that the 50-year-old former boss of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was spotted in Shanghai for the Chinese grand prix.

George met with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and also Zak Brown, founder and CEO of motor sport marketing firm Just Marketing who represents several high level sponsors according to the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ).

“Would Tony George love to broker a deal to bring back a US grand prix?  Sure,” said Brown.

IBJ said sources confirmed that George was in China to discuss F1′s return to America and meet with potential sponsors for a race that would not necessary take place at Indianapolis.

Indeed, new Indianapolis Motor Speedway boss Jeff Bulskus said George was not in China to represent the fabled Indy 500 venue, while Ecclestone has been pushing for a street race with the New York skyline.

Brown said: “Tony has a lot of contacts in motor sports, and he knows how to put on a US grand prix.

“I think if there’s a role for Tony in trying to bring formula one back to the US, he’d be willing to help.  Tony and Bernie have a very good relationship, and Tony has a lot of interest in seeing F1 return to the US,” he added.

Tony George, who still has an ownership stake in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, could not be reached for comment.

Apr.24 (GMM) The Serbian outfit, headed by Zoran Stefanovich, also said it has “signed an agreement” with the mayor of Stara Pazova, located 25 kilometres from Belgrade, for the construction of a F1 circuit and team headquarters.

“This is proof that we want to put ourselves on the map as a serious hi-tech company, and that we are serious about competing in formula one for the long term,” said Stefanovich on the team’s re-launched website.

Stefan GP confirmed that it is bidding for next year’s final spot on the grid, revealing that talks for its failed 2010 plans had taken place with drivers including Sebastien Loeb, Christian Klien and others.

However, Mike Coughlan appears no longer part of Stefan’s plans, due to the publication of an airbrushed photograph that once featured the disgraced former McLaren designer.

“We want to be a part of F1 for both the long and short term future, and I hope that we will finally have the success we deserve,” added Stefanovich.

Apr.23 (GMM)  Max Mosley was relieved at the outcome of last year’s FIA presidency elections, because he thinks the job was “completely beyond” Ari Vatanen.

After his long reign, Mosley’s preferred successor Jean Todt was voted in, in the wake of a bitter campaign against the former world rally champion Vatanen.

Asked by a reader how he would have felt had Vatanen won office, Mosley told the latest edition of the British magazine F1 Racing: “I’d have been very worried, because I think Jean, with all his ability, is finding it quite a struggle.

“It’s so much more complex than when I took over (in 1993), and I think it would’ve been completely beyond Ari.”

In the same feature, 70-year-old Mosley also renewed his attack on Ferrari and its president Luca di Montezemolo, who were at the centre of last year’s political war over control of the sport.

The Briton described Montezemolo as a “very weak character” who is “easily led”, and said Ferrari objected to his budget cap proposal because the team would “fail” if forced to spend the same money as its rivals.

“If the fans really understood the issues, I don’t think they would be against me, because everything I’ve ever done has always been done with a view to keeping formula one going and stopping it collapsing,” said Mosley.

Apr.23 (GMM)  Pedro de la Rosa is hoping Sauber can make a big step forward at his home grand prix next month.

The C29 car has not only been off the pace so far in 2010, de la Rosa’s 12th place in Australia was the team’s only race finish.

It has also been rumoured that the 39-year-old risks losing his race seat, but he told Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo: “We have high hopes for Barcelona.

“We have new parts to improve the car’s performance, it is a major leap.

“And we hope that Ferrari have now solved the engine problem,” de la Rosa, who retired in China with a second consecutive engine failure, added.

It emerged on Thursday that, while the cause of de la Rosa’s Shanghai failure has not been clarified, Ferrari has identified a general problem with the pneumatic system of its 2.4 litre V8.

De la Rosa said Sauber’s double engine problem in Malaysia was linked to sensors, adding that in China “we had different sensors and the pneumatic system failed for some other reason”.

He also said he welcomes the arrival from Force India of James Key, who replaces Sauber’s departing long-time technical boss Willy Rampf.

“I think he is the right man for the job and already during the (China GP) weekend we realised that he knows what he is talking about.

“He now knows what are our weak points and will work on them.

“In this business it’s always good to have fresh ideas from people who have worked in different environments and with different cars.

“It’s important to have new people from time to time,” de la Rosa added.  “If you look at a top team, every year or two they get new people from other teams.”

Apr.23 (GMM)  Speculation doubting the future of Pedro de la Rosa’s race seat at Sauber continues.

It was rumoured last week that, with Peter Sauber admittedly disappointed with the time it is taking the former McLaren tester to reacclimatise to racing, Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado – and his sponsors – could be drafted in to replace him.

Now, France’s Auto Hebdo said Luca Filippi is another possible replacement for 39-year-old de la Rosa, who had been signed to lead the development of the disappointing C29 car.

Italian Filippi, 24, is an experienced GP2 driver who has also had tests with the F1 teams Minardi, Honda and Super Aguri.

The French report on Thursday said he might become Kamui Kobayashi’s new Sauber teammate at the Turkish grand prix late next month.

“It would be a dream,” Filippi is quoted as saying, “but I prefer to concentrate on (new series) Auto GP.”

When linked with a Super Aguri seat some years ago, it was rumoured that Filippi’s sponsors were promising around 10 million euros in backing.

Apr.22 (GMM) Ferrari may ask the FIA for permission to make changes to its formula one engine on the grounds of reliability.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport magazine on Thursday said the Italian team’s recent engine problems – including two failures for Fernando Alonso – have been identified.

Reportedly, the problem – which could cost Alonso grid places later this season if he runs through his allocation of eight engines – is with the pneumatic valves.

The report said too much air is escaping from the engine during the races, and because of the new regulations there is not enough time during the single pitstop to replenish the 2.4 litre V8s.

Auto Motor und Sport said that if Ferrari can prove to the FIA that the engine is suffering a general reliability flaw, it may be granted a temporary exemption from the ‘freeze’ on engine development.

The engines already used by Alonso and his teammate Felipe Massa, however, may not be altered.