Monticello Motor Club, located about a 90 minute drive from New York City, has been given a 20 per cent chance of hosting the United States grand prix starting in 2012 or 2013.

It emerged last week that the private club’s president Ari Strauss told members the venue is in talks with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and had already been visited by circuit designer Hermann Tilke.

He wrote in a letter that he is now working on securing political backing, insisting it “is not a done deal”.

But a new report by the local daily Times Herald-Record reveals that Strauss and club chairman William McMichael also met recently with Ecclestone in London.

A considerable stumbling-block is that the $35 million track – built in 2008 at the old Monticello airport and with comedian Jerry Seinfeld among its members – needs $150m in improvements and then millions every year for F1′s sanctioning fee.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” Straus said. “If you told me I had to bet on it, I would say there is a 20 per cent chance.”
(GMM)

Sebastian Vettel insists he is happy that his “main opponent” at present is his own teammate Mark Webber.

The Red Bull pair are tied for points at the top of the drivers’ world championship, after 33-year-old Australian Webber dominated the last two grands prix from pole.

“At the moment my main opponent is Mark and that is a good thing,” German Vettel is quoted by Sport Bild.

However, other reports have indicated that the young German is far from happy about his recent struggle to keep up with Webber, even though team boss Christian Horner insists Vettel should be relaxed and confident.

“Sebastian will win many races this season,” the Briton is quoted as saying.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa is regarded as a specialist of the Istanbul circuit, but last year it was Vettel who was on pole, after dominating all three segments of qualifying.

He ultimately made a mistake and finished behind winner Jenson Button and Webber, and Vettel now insists: “I like the track and I am going there to win.”
(GMM)

According to reports in the financial media, F1 engine supplier Cosworth could soon be floated on the stock exchange.

The reports estimated the value of the flotation at about (US) $360 million, following the famous British marque’s return to F1 with Williams and all three of the new teams.

Main investors Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, who bought Cosworth from Ford in 2004, are reportedly considering the move as profits are expected to surge from $2m in 2008 to more than $70m this year.

The reports said auditor Deloitte may have been hired for the initial public offering, and a source admitted that business has picked up dramatically since the company laid off 200 staff when it dropped out of F1 at the end of 2006.

The Northampton Chronicle quoted a spokesman as saying on Tuesday: “As with any company that enjoys a particularly successful period, there is speculation that they will float. Those things go hand in hand.”
(GMM)

Lewis Hamilton on Monday admitted he is worried about Red Bull’s plans to introduce an F-duct this weekend in Turkey.

The downforce spoiling concept was pioneered this year by McLaren, but key rivals including Ferrari and Mercedes have steadily followed suit.

The system promises a straightline speed boost, which is an ominous prospect for Red Bull’s rivals, given the current dominance of the championship leading RB6 car.

“With this system the best team becomes even stronger,” 2008 world champion Hamilton is quoted by Germany’s Sport Bild.

“The RB6 has many good, detailed solutions. I have already told my engineers that we must copy them,” added the Briton.
(GMM)

The prospects for a grand prix in Rome in the near future looked clouded on Monday.

Bernie Ecclestone said ten days ago that plans for a race in the Italian capital are “moving forward”.

“That is going to be good,” the F1 chief executive told the Telegraph, explaining he is eyeing a debut date in 2013.

“It’s a bit political, obviously,” added Ecclestone.

The political element is powered by F1′s historic Italian date at Monza, with its supporters fearing Rome could ultimately be a replacement.

“Without Monza, it’s not F1,” Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is quoted on Monday by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“That event is the past, the present and the future. And a move to Rome is not going to happen,” added the Italian.

The same publication quoted FIA president Jean Todt as adding: “Is it conceivable to have two grands prix of Italy? I would say no.

“I would say that in the future an Italian and a European grand prix could coexist, but this will depend on the programme and by the processing of applications from the promoter,” added the Frenchman.

One of Michael Schumacher’s former teammates believes Mercedes is working to tailor its 2010 car exclusively to the tastes of the seven time world champion.

After Nico Rosberg had the upper hand for the first four races of the season, Schumacher bounced back onto the pace in Spain, where a raft of updates for the W01 were debuted.

This weekend in Turkey, even more developments will feature on the silver car, moving JJ Lehto to sympathise with 24-year-old Rosberg.

44-year-old Finn Lehto was Schumacher’s teammate at Benetton in 1994, before he was replaced after a handful of races by Jos Verstappen.

“Poor Nico,” he told Germany’s Auto Bild Motorsport. “Michael is back into the process of building the car and the team around him. Nico suffers.”

Mercedes and even Rosberg insist that the car developments are designed to suit both drivers, but Lehto does not agree.

He said Schumacher “loves a direct front and a loose rear end. At Benetton, Riccardo Patrese, Jos Verstappen and I all had problems”.

Lehto also doubts Rosberg’s claim that he and Schumacher have a similar driving style.

“The young drivers of today drive very differently. I would be surprised if Nico is satisfied with a car that Michael is also satisfied with,” he added.
(GMM)

Williams has confirmed that a loose manhole cover caused Rubens Barrichello’s high speed crash during the recent Monaco grand prix.

With technical director Sam Michael initially diagnosing a rear suspension failure, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport subsequently reported that an investigation showed that the left rear wheel was in fact damaged by a loose drain cover.

In a media statement, the British team has now confirmed that a manhole cover at turn two “was spun up and hit the rear left wheel, causing failure”.

“This incident has been reported to the FIA,” added Williams.
(GMM)

Flavio Briatore’s visit to the Monaco paddock earlier this month was reportedly part of a plan for the Italian to return to formula one.

Due to the crashgate scandal, the ousted former Renault boss is currently banned from holding a direct operational role in F1 until 2013, and he has ruled out returning as a team boss.

But Finland’s Turun Sanomat reports that Briatore, 60, held “subtle negotiations” with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone in Monaco.

The article said 79-year-old Ecclestone is not planning to retire, but does intend to delegate some of his responsibilities and “sees Briatore as a natural successor”.

Turun Sanomat cites British sources as saying Briatore will shortly be responsible for the acquisition of new sponsors with the Ecclestone-led Formula One Management.

The sources said Briton Ecclestone enjoys the negotiations with grand prix hosts, promoters and governments and does not intend to delegate those tasks.

Ecclestone said last month that his personal friend and business partner Briatore could soon “take up a role in the promotion of formula one”.

And at the height of the FOTA/FIA political war last year, when the teams were threatening to set up a rival series, departing president Max Mosley said Briatore “sees himself as the Bernie”.
(GMM)

Lewis Hamilton will not have to appear in a Melbourne court just two days before he is due in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock late in August.

After it emerged the McLaren driver has now received an official charge and court summons over his ‘hoon-driving’ in the Australian city earlier this year, some reports said Hamilton, 25, will have to appear personally in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on August 24.

That is the Tuesday before the 2010 Belgian grand prix.

But the Daily Telegraph believes Briton Hamilton will instead only need to pay “a small fine which can be paid by a local lawyer on his behalf”.

The silver AMG C63 car in which Hamilton over-exuberantly drove sold at auction last month for $158,000.

Williams has played down reports it is in the market for a new engine supplier.

The British team, as well as F1 newcomer Lotus and the French hopeful ART, have all been linked with a supply of Renault engines for 2011.

It is rumoured that Williams is particularly unhappy with the performance degradation of Cosworth’s 2010 engine.

But chief executive Adam Parr is quoted by motorsport-aktuell.com: “I am satisfied with them (Cosworth), we are not looking at other engines.”

He added that Williams and Cosworth are working on how to maintain the performance of the engines as they accumulate more kilometres.

“This is definitely something on which they are working and where they have already made progress,” confirmed technical director Sam Michael.

However, the Renault package looked particularly strong in Monaco recently, where the Red Bulls as well as the works car of Robert Kubica dominated qualifying and the famous street race.

“I think the Renault engine is very competitive,” Sir Frank Williams noted in the Principality.

“It is a great engine, especially on this track,” he added.

On the Grove based team’s current Cosworth units, Williams added: “We would always like more horse power, but it’s not a bad engine.”

Red Bull will not favour one of its drivers over the other, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has insisted.

With the dominant RB6 car, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are currently tied for points at the top of the world championship.

Vettel, 22, is seen as the Austrian team’s star and long-term hope, but his experienced teammate Webber has won the last two grands prix from pole.

“We will have no team orders, instead the better one or the luckiest one should win,” billionaire Mateschitz told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Moreover, Red Bull’s F1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko said the rivalry between Vettel and Webber is crucial.

“Neither of them would be where they are today without the strong competition within the team,” he told Austria’s APA news agency.
(GMM)

Serious talks about the extension of Felipe Massa’s Ferrari contract have begun, according to Finland’s Turun Sanomat.

But the newspaper also reports that Brazilian Massa’s manager Nicolas Todt has held exploratory talks with other formula one teams — perhaps Renault.

Rumours have linked current Renault driver Robert Kubica as well as Red Bull’s Mark Webber with the 2011 seat alongside Fernando Alonso, with Massa’s current contract set to expire in December.

The 29-year-old has also been struggling with Maranello based Ferrari’s F10 car.

“We have a long contract with Alonso, and we trust Massa,” team boss Stefano Domenicali is quoted as saying. “He is doing a good job.”

Massa said: “I like it very much at Ferrari — I know everybody and everybody knows me.

“But it is always encouraging to know that there are others with fast cars who are interested in me.

“The main objective is to continue with Ferrari,” he added.

Lewis Hamilton has been charged over his high profile reckless driving antics during the Australian GP weekend.

Hamilton was charged with intentionally losing control of the vehicle in a summons served on his Australian solicitor last Monday. A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed that a summons had been served on a 25-year-old Swiss resident.

The matter has been set to be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on August 24.

Hamilton had his complimentary Mercedes impounded under Victoria’s hoon laws on March 26 after he was allegedly caught doing a burnout at the entrance to Albert Park circuit.

It is unknown whether Hamilton will appear in court, with the Belgian GP weekend starting on August 27.

Hamilton apologised at the time, “This evening, I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police. What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it.”

(yallaF1.com)

Dietrich Mateschitz has revealed he might sell the naming rights to his top formula one team Red Bull.

The Milton Keynes-based team is leading the constructors’ championship, while Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are atop the drivers’ standings, after the RB6 proved the dominant car after six races in 2010.

“As soon as Red Bull Racing is recognised as an established team, a title sponsor could be possible,” Austrian billionaire Mateschitz told the Sunday Express.

The British tabloid said Mateschitz, 66, favours a luxury goods brand for a sponsor deal that could bring in about $38 million.

Team boss Christian Horner said in Monaco last weekend that Red Bull currently doesn’t “quite have the resource of the more established teams”.

But McLaren and FOTA chief Martin Whitmarsh isn’t sure.

“I think that whatever the level of funding, and I don’t know the funding, in terms of resources, the larger teams are pretty similar,” he said.

“Red Bull is a well funded, well structured, well led organisation,” insisted Whitmarsh.
(GMM)

Mark Webber has indicated he is in no rush to sign a new contract with Red Bull.

In the wake of his two wins within a week in Spain and Monaco, the Austrian team has indicated it is keen to re-sign the 33-year-old for 2011.

But Australian Webber has also been linked recently with a switch to Ferrari, and he told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper that he is not certain who his employer will be next year.

“I’ve just won two races, back-to-back, and people are asking me where I’m going to drive next year,” said the joint championship leader.

“I’m very close to the guys at Red Bull, we’ve been through a lot, and I have a great relationship with them. Yet things happen and change very fast in this business, and you never know what’s around the corner,” added Webber.

Interestingly, after boss Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko commented on Webber’s situation post-Monaco, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz is now quoted as wading in on the status of Sebastian Vettel’s current teammate.

“They have different personalities, but when they go into battle they are winners,” the Austrian billionaire told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag.

Mateschitz also described Webber as a “stereotype of the fair, athletic sportsman”.
(GMM)