Christian Horner is not ruling out a five-place grid penalty for Sebastian Vettel in Valencia.

Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber lost his front-row starting place in Canada due to needing a precautionary gearbox change prior to the race.

And Vettel finished the Montreal race with a different gearbox problem, meaning that if it needs to be changed at Valencia during its four-race life, the German will also be penalised.

According to a report in the Cologne publication Express, there is a possibility the Montreal gearbox is damaged.

Horner is quoted as saying Vettel’s problem in Canada was “an oil leakage”.

But as for whether the gearbox will be changed, the team’s British boss added: “We must look into that.”
(GMM)

Valencia’s earlier date for its grand prix this weekend has resulted in higher ticket sales.

Last year, high ambient temperatures and clashing Spanish holidays meant spectator numbers were low for the European grand prix in late August.

Valencia’s street race was moved to late June for this season, amid suggestions the real problem is that the layout does not produce good racing.

“The city is making an enormous effort but I assume there’s a long way to go,” F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said in an interview with Spain’s El Mundo newspaper.

“The change of date is helping the ticket sales, as well as the signing of Fernando Alonso with Ferrari,” he added.

In AS newspaper, race promoter Valmor’s boss Jorge Martinez Aspar confirmed that ticket sales for this weekend’s event have gone “well beyond the sales of last year”.

“There will not be as many people as in the first year (2008), but it is much better than last year,” Aspar added.

A warm and sunny weekend of weather is expected in the port city this weekend, with the only possibility of light rain forecast for Friday.
(GMM)

Jaime Alguersuari is happy with the performance of his formula one employer.

Toro Rosso is just eighth in the 2010 world championship with 8 points, ahead only of Sauber and F1′s three new teams.

But rookie Alguersuari, who made his debut at short notice to replace the struggling Sebastien Bourdais mid last year, insists the Faenza based outfit is the “best team of people”.

After four years of using a customer car designed by Red Bull, Toro Rosso built the STR5 and Alguersuari calls it a “miracle”.

“Toro Rosso has a budget that is barely 80 million euros but they have built the car without relying on (owner) Red Bull and achieved a more than acceptable outcome,” he is quoted by the EFE news agency.

Alguersuari also thinks the 2010 season is the “best and most dramatic at least in the last ten years”.

“The FIA has a lot to do with it,” he states, “because the common electronics, the single tyre brand and the unfortunate lack of testing has led to no one having a dominant position.”
(GMM)

Italian police have handed back Flavio Briatore’s luxury yacht.

The former Renault boss’ 60-metre boat ‘Force Blue’ was seized a month ago on suspicion of tax fraud.

But according to a report in the Spanish newspaper Diario Sport, Briatore has taken back possession with two conditions.

The first is a deposit of 5 million euros, and the promise that the boat will not leave Mediterranean waters.

The Sunday Times said in May that the evasion of millions in taxes could cost Briatore, expelled from F1 for the 2009 crashgate scandal, EUR 40 million in fines or a six-year prison sentence.

The 60-year-old denies any wrongdoing.

“It was a big television production by the police and completely unfair, so we are fighting them now,” he told the Telegraph.

“That boat was a commercial boat with a 50 million euro turnover in the past four years, but the police seem to think that was all for me.”

Briatore does not deny using the boat, and claims he is supported by seven Italian MPs who have written to the government “to find out what happened”.

“Of course, I use the yacht, because if you are going to own a business, it may as well be one you can enjoy — otherwise, I would have bought a funeral home.”
(GMM)

The next formula one team working hard on a Red Bull-style exhaust system for its 2010 car is Williams.

Ferrari will debut low-mounted exhausts, with gases directed through the double diffuser as seen on the impressive RB6, this weekend at Valencia.

McLaren, Mercedes and Renault will soon follow suit, and now it emerges that Williams is to adopt a similar layout for its Cosworth-powered FW32.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said the new exhaust system will appear no later than the British grand prix in mid July.

The report said the package will include new wings and a bigger double diffuser.

“We are expecting a big step,” said Williams’ long-time engineering boss and co-owner Patrick Head.
(GMM)

Last year there were Red Bull and Renault engine supplier to a few races to fight for the title of Formula 1, but even then, the team flirted to Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in order to replace the units in the rear of the racing cars by Mercedes engines. If it has not been known – and a renewed attempt now seems to fail.

This calculates at least Helmut Marko, Red Bull motorsport consultant to “As the Mercedes engine is apparently not have, according to recent statements of the Mercedes executives, we will probably stay at Renault as an engine supplier,” says the former Formula-1 -driver with ‘Sport Bild’ – all the Red-Bull-Renault wins so far achieved with force.
Maybe the racing team to team boss Christian Horner in the coming season will go even one step further and buy more equipment elements in the French: Red Bull would go with KERS in 2011 at the start. Marko: “Either we then use the hybrid system of Renault or we buy one of their suppliers and Magneti Marelli adapt it to himself.”

Although the German carmaker pulled out of the sport at the end of last year, Peter Sauber’s once-again independent team retained the official title BMW Sauber F1.

It is believed the reason was so that the commercial rewards due from Sauber’s participation in the 2009 world championship, resulting in sixth place in the title, were not jeopardised.

However, the situation means the C29 has been known officially and awkwardly as the BMW Sauber-Ferrari, due to the use of a Ferrari customer engine.

But although initially using clearly visible signage, the team has increasingly moved away from even mentioning BMW, now running a red ‘S’ logo and Sauber Motorsport branding.

According to Germany’s motorsport-total.com, the F1 Commission met on Monday ahead of a Geneva meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday.

Sauber reportedly lodged a request with F1 Commission members – among them key stakeholders including FOM, fellow teams, promoters and sponsors – for a name change.

The next step is the approval of F1′s governing body.

(GMM)

Formula one drivers remain unimpressed with the design of Bridgestone’s 2010 tyre.

Up and down pitlane, ‘getting these tyres to work’ is the enigmatic and universal question, which for some teams and drivers is more of a problem than elsewhere.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, for example, needs warm weather, a soft tyre compound and an abrasive track surface to be as quick as his teammate Fernando Alonso.

“It has little to do with racing when you are so dependent on the tyres,” the Brazilian is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

He is frustrated that some of his rivals, like McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, have the Bridgestone’s working “on the first flying lap”.

Nico Rosberg said in Canada that his problem was getting the car to work with the tyres, and even teammate Michael Schumacher’s vast experience of 256 grands prix is not providing the answer.

“These tires are a puzzle that is very difficult to work out,” said the Mercedes driver.

Schumacher added: “Often it changes from day to day, due to one or two factors.”

It is believed the issue is the design of the tyre carcass, much stiffer than in the past in order to prevent the type of problem experienced by Michelin at Indianapolis in 2005.

But it means some drivers have trouble getting the tyre up to temperature.

“You can see quite clearly that Hamilton’s aggressive driving style means he can get the tyres working more easily than Button can,” said Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn.
(GMM)

Christian Horner has played down fears Red Bull might be suffering a fundamental problem with its RB6 car.

Mark Webber lost his front row starting place in Canada due to an unscheduled gearbox change penalty, and his teammate Sebastian Vettel finished the Montreal race with a gearbox problem.

German Vettel, 22, left the American continent insisting there is “no reason to panic” about the latest apparent reliability flaw, but he will drive on the streets of Valencia this weekend with the same gearbox.

Like Webber in Canada, an unscheduled change will cost him five grid places.

But team boss Horner told Germany’s Auto Bild: “They were both different problems.  We do not have a fundamental problem with the car.”

And despite suggestions McLaren could be set to dominate again at Valencia, Red Bull will have a refined F-duct on the RB6.

“We expect some new parts and a step forward,” said Vettel.

Police are looking into a boat crash involving former formula one driver JJ Lehto.

It emerged at the weekend that the 44-year-old Finn, who drove for teams including Sauber and Benetton until 1994 and is now a commentator, swam ashore after the six-metre boat struck a bridge pillar at 4am last Friday morning.

Lehto sustained head injuries and broken ribs, but the other occupant of the boat did not survive.

According to a report in Finland’s Turun Sanomat, Lehto failed an alcohol breath test, and police suspect he might be guilty of other offences, including speeding in the narrow channel.

Locals said the boat belonged to Lehto, and an eyewitness who initially treated the veteran of 70 grands prix said he thought the Finn was drunk.

A police superintendent is quoted as saying Lehto might be charged with safety offences, including culpability for the death of his friend.

“Some kind of offense is suspected, but I am not taking a position until it becomes clearer who did what,” officer Juha-Pekka Vuorinen, who said Lehto had undergone surgery, is quoted by Ilta-Sanomat.

And Vuorinen is quoted by HBL: “We cannot interview someone who is still strongly medicated.  The doctors say he could be discharged (from hospital) in a week and then we will hear from him as soon as possible.”

(GMM)

Williams will try a developed version of its F-duct system at the Valencia street circuit this weekend.

The British team’s interpretation of the McLaren-like concept first appeared in China, but technical boss Sam Michael said then that he expected it to take “a couple of months” to perfect.

Very little about Williams’ F-duct – called the ‘blown rear wing’ by the Grove based team – has been heard since.

But on Monday, the team announced that the innovation will feature on the FW32 alongside some other new parts at the European grand prix.

Williams, however, referred in the media statement to its Valencia-spec F-duct as “the development blown rear wing”, indicating that the component may not be fitted for qualifying or the grand prix.

“We’ll have more new parts for this race but we’ll have to wait and see what improvements they bring to the car,” said driver Nico Hulkenberg, whose teammate Rubens Barrichello won at Valencia in 2009 at the wheel of a Brawn.

Hulkenberg added: “We are inching a bit closer to the top ten, as we showed in qualifying in Montreal, but we have to continue pushing and gain more tenths to get into the top ten consistently.”

(GMM)

Vitantonio Liuzzi has admitted his “dream” is to secure a race seat with McLaren.

The 28-year-old Italian, whose first formula one test was with Williams in 2002, told Autosprint magazine he remains under contract to Force India for one more race season.

But Liuzzi, known in the paddock as Tonio, thinks the best period of his career is yet to come, citing the example of 2010 championship contender Mark Webber.

“Who would have said last year that he (Webber) would now be going for the title?” said Liuzzi, whose seat was recently linked to the team’s promising reserve driver Paul di Resta.

But after a chassis change, he impressed his bosses with a stand-out performance in Canada.

“I feel very good with Force India and I have an agreement with them for the whole of 2011,” said Liuzzi.

“But my aim and my dream is to race for McLaren, who have always been my favourite team,” he added.

“As for Force India, I think that with the budget available to us, we have done a great job.

“And we are optimistic looking ahead, because those who have much bigger budget now need to learn to work with lower numbers,” said Liuzzi.

(GMM)

Ferrari on Tuesday confirmed reports that Pat Fry is joining the famous Italian team.

It emerged at the weekend that the 46-year-old Briton, who until recently was heading McLaren’s 2011 car project as long-time joint chief engineer, was linked with a move to the Maranello based squad.

Italian reports had said Fry, although currently on compulsory ‘gardening leave’, will be able to have an impact on Ferrari’s next car.

A team statement on Tuesday confirmed that Fry will begin his new role as assistant technical director, reporting to Aldo Costa, on 1 July.

Ferrari said the “structure of the technical department remains (otherwise) unchanged”.

Fry joined McLaren from Benetton in 1993.

“I think it was probably good for him, the right decision for him to take a bit of a break, take a breather,” McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said last month.

(GMM)

Ferrari has confirmed that a new exhaust system is among the changes to its 2010 car to debut on the streets of Valencia this weekend.

It has been reported that the revised F10, tested by Fernando Alonso at Fiorano and seen on a fan video posted on the internet, features a Red Bull-like layout for the exhausts.

Ferrari also revealed that test driver Marc Gene was at the wheel of the car for an aerodynamic test at Vairano last week.

The low-mounted exhausts, located directly ahead of the double diffuser, are tipped to slice up to half a second off laptimes.

Maranello based Ferrari on Tuesday confirmed that the Valencia upgrade includes “several modifications and updates”, although “not quite as far-reaching or extensive as (the) reports have suggested!”

The team said: “The most significant feature is a new configuration for the exhaust system, aimed at improving the aerodynamic efficiency of the car.”
(GMM)

Williams was able to improve the FW32 in recent days and weeks ahead. In Valencia again to some new parts will be bolted to the car. Is still uncertain is the use of the F-Duct. Fix seems that the system that provides more speed on the straight line is tested in the training sessions. After deciding on a bet in the race. Williams had the system already in use in Shanghai and Barcelona.

With or without F-Duct, the Williams drivers expect from the street circuit in the port of Valencia a good chance. Rubens Barrichello remembers only too happy to return to the last season. “I have fond memories of Valencia. I have won the race here last year, it was my tenth race win to date. He was also outstanding on the ground because he me brought back into the title race,” said the Brazilian.
Just hours before the triumph of the veterans had Nico Hulkenberg his finest hour. Namely, he won the GP2 sprint race. “Valencia is a great track that I like very much. I know them very well from the GP2 and I am already bringing them to drive the FW32, since I feel very comfortable here. As in Monaco and Montreal everywhere walls, but the track is slightly wider, at least I like the challenge, “says the GP2 champion last season.

The Pilotenduo is convinced that the new developments have made their cars faster. “We are coming closer and closer to the top ten, as we showed in qualifying in Montreal. But we must keep up the pressure and take out a few tenths so we end up constantly in the top ten,” says Hulkenberg. Barrichello praises even the least seasoned of engine partner criticism: “Cosworth is making good progress in improving the durability.” His goals for Valencia has formulated the veteran clear: “I will enter into Q3 and points.”

The Technical Director Sam Michael knows the challenge to be made on the car: “At the beginning, the way only little grip. The numerous combinations of corners provide for the tires a not insignificant challenge by the coastal location can also always pay breezes, the affect the balance of the car. ” Michael also formulated the objectives for the weekend clear: “We have in the two previous races ever run in points, which is also the target for this time”