Flavio Briatore stands to benefit financially if Mark Webber wins the 2010 world championship, according to a German report.
Italian Briatore, the crashgate conspirator and former Renault team boss, is still the Australian Red Bull driver’s manager.

And amid reports the 60-year-old is attending a string of grands prix ahead of possibly assuming a future role alongside Bernie Ecclestone, Germany’s Bild newspaper gives a different theory for Briatore’s presence.

Bild said Webber’s contract extension for 2011 is for just 8 million euros, but that as champion the 33-year-old will be in a position to negotiate a much higher retainer, with “a 20 per cent commission for his manager”.

After winning at Silverstone, and in the midst of the front wing saga, Webber revealed that he spoke to Briatore before the race “and he said ‘Mark, just make a good start’.”

Bild said it suspects Briatore was behind Webber’s public comments including “not bad for a number two driver”, and “I would never have signed a contract again for next year”.

“He knows that public pressure can bring his client a better deal,” said the newspaper.

Ferrari has denied Charlie Whiting’s claim that the FIA official “immediately” advised Fernando Alonso to let Robert Kubica re-pass at the recent British grand prix.

The Italian team was critical of the timing of Spaniard Alonso’s drive-through penalty, describing it as a “fact” that “decisions are taken slowly” by the authorities.

FIA race director Whiting this week hit back, revealing that – before the penalty was imposed – he advised Ferrari “three times” that Kubica should be allowed to re-pass Alonso, including “immediately” after the illegal overtake.

But Ferrari’s team manager Massimo Rivola has now moved to clarify Whiting’s contradiction, revealing that the Briton at one point said the matter would be investigated by the stewards after the race.

“We just want to explain the facts so it is understood that we are not crazy,” he is quoted by La Stampa newspaper.

Rivola said he asked Whiting after Alonso’s pass “what should we do” and Whiting responded almost two minutes later.

“One minute and fifty five seconds is not immediately.”

By then, he said, Alonso and Kubica had become caught up in battles with Jaime Alguersuari and Rubens Barrichello.

Rivola said he contacted Whiting again, to ask if Alonso now needed to cede position to several opponents, and then shortly afterwards Kubica retired.

La Stampa said Ferrari is concerned with the events that followed, because the broken pieces of Pedro de la Rosa’s rear wing were lying on the track for a couple of minutes with the FIA taking no action.

Then, with Ferrari strategists convinced that Alonso will lose just 3 or 4 positions with his drive-through, the safety car was called onto the circuit, condemning Alonso to the rear of the field.

“This means that for two minutes that race was being held in unsafe conditions,” said Rivola.

The signs are growing that Kimi Raikkonen will keep rallying next year rather than return to formula one.
The 2007 world champion has been linked with both Renault and Mercedes for 2011, but reports on Thursday said Raikkonen, 30, is close to agreeing a new deal with the Red Bull-sponsored world rally team Citroen.

At the same time, Raikkonen’s current co-driver Kaj Lindstrom has told Turun Sanomat newspaper that the Finn has all the necessary talents and “only lacks experience”.

“The hard work is now beginning to pay off,” he added.

The wording of F1′s ban on in-season testing has been clarified.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently said Ferrari’s use of a filming and promotional track day to test updates for the F10 car was “naughty” and breached the “spirit” of the agreement.

And FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh suggested that other teams including Mercedes and Renault have also made “some arguable decisions” with regards to the rules about in-season testing.

“If people want to be more comfortable then I know there are discussions in order to tidy up the wording, and I have no problem with that,” said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Italy’s Autosprint reports that during a meeting at Silverstone last week, the teams drafted new wording to prevent the testing of new components during promotional or filming days.

Sebastien Buemi has denied he has signed a contract to remain at Toro Rosso in 2011.

In a team-distributed interview on Thursday, boss Franz Tost said 21-year-old Swiss Buemi as well as Jaime Alguersuari are “both confirmed” for next year.

But Buemi told Blick newspaper: “I haven’t signed yet.

“There are some details missing and the driver market is still open,” he added.

At Silverstone last weekend, Renault chief Eric Boullier said Buemi “is on our list” of potential replacements for the Russian pay-driver Vitaly Petrov.

And Red Bull’s driver consultant Helmut Marko said the energy drink company “might consider placing him (Buemi) in the Red Bull (Racing) team in 2012.”

Dr Helmut Marko has rubbished Mark Webber’s intimation that his teammate is being favoured by Red Bull management.
Although Australian Webber’s statement on Thursday suggested the air has been cleared after Silverstone, team consultant Marko has weighed into the front wing saga.

“If Mark imagines there is a conspiracy between us and (Sebastian) Vettel against him, then he is on the wrong track,” the Austrian and former grand prix driver is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

“If I was Vettel, then I would suspect the opposite. Which car has constantly had problems? Did Mark have a defective spark plug, a loose wheel, a broken brake, a defective chassis, a gearbox problem and the broken nose?

“In comparison, Webber has come out with only a black eye.

“Mark is having a great season, and he has improved big team, but he should not forget that he owes a lot to this team. Where was he two years ago? He could not even dream of grand prix wins,” said Marko.

“For us, it really does not matter who is champion, the main thing is that he is sitting in a Red Bull.”

Earlier, Marko defended the decision to give Vettel the newer specification wing that in the pre-qualifying practice session had been fitted to Webber’s car.

“I don’t know what Webber wants,” he is quoted by Auto Bild.

“The driver who got the new wing was ahead in the championship and faster in the third timed practice. It was a very logical decision,” added Marko.

Mercedes has denied reports that, while more than 150 points behind in the constructors’ championship, its F1 team boss is missing in action.

The Cologne tabloid Express reported this week that while Michael Schumacher has been testing motorcycles with friends in France, team principal Ross Brawn is on a four-day fishing trip with Jacques Laffite in Norway.

But a source at the Brackley based team said the report is incorrect.

“Ross has been at the factory this week,” the source said.

Toro Rosso on Thursday announced it will keep the same driver lineup in 2011.

2010 is Swiss 21-year-old Sebastien Buemi’s second full season in formula one, while Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari made his debut with the Faenza based team last July.

“I believe our drivers will be well prepared for 2011, which is why they are both confirmed for next year,” team boss Franz Tost said.

“It is also logical, because one key role of Scuderia Toro Rosso is to bring on young drivers from the Red Bull young driver programme and at the ages of 21 and 20 respectively, both Seb and Jaime certainly still meet the right criteria,” he added.

Jacques Villeneuve is reportedly bidding to return to formula one next year with his own team.

Germany’s authoritative Auto Motor und Sport magazine said ‘Villeneuve Racing’ is one of the three candidates for the 13th and final place in pitlane.

The 1997 world champion and now 39-year-old French Canadian wanted to return to the cockpit this year with Stefan GP, but the Serbian outfit was not granted an entry.

The report said almost ten candidates originally made applications to race next year, but now there are only three in the running; with Villeneuve Racing and Cypher Group among them.

Auto Motor und Sport said the third name could be Spain’s Epsilon Euskadi or the former GP2 team Durango, after Nicolas Todt’s ART failed at the hurdle proving finance for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

The magazine said Villeneuve Racing has cleared all the hurdles so far, including proving an existing infrastructure for a team based in England.

The report said it is rumoured that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds may be involved, as might be a crew made up of former Arrows and Super Aguri staff.

The FIA’s decision about the 13th team is expected in late July.

Villeneuve last raced in F1 with BMW-Sauber in 2006, losing the seat to Robert Kubica mid-season.

Mark Webber has revealed that he and the Red Bull team have “cleared the air” in the wake of the Silverstone front wing saga.

After reacting angrily to losing the newest specification wing to his teammate Sebastian Vettel before qualifying, the Australian declared on the radio after winning the race that it was “not bad for a number two driver”.

But in a written statement, the 33-year-old says he now accepts that Red Bull’s reasons for the wing switch were sound.

And Webber said his obvious “disappointment” at the British grand prix was due to Vettel receiving the wing “for reasons which were not clearly explained” at the time.

“Obviously I can see why a team may at certain points have to favour a driver with more points in the championship, if there are only enough resources to fully support one of us,” he said.

“We’ve already debriefed the race weekend at the factory and have cleared the air.”

Webber said he acknowledged that some of his comments at Silverstone were “said in the heat of the moment which, with hindsight goggles on, probably shouldn’t have been said”.

“Formula one is a highly charged and fiercely competitive arena where emotions and adrenalin do run high from time to time like in many sports and my comment on the radio after the race was an example of Australian sarcasm either at its best or worst depending on how you choose to take it,” he added.

And he insists that his relationship with team boss Christian Horner is intact.

“We’re friends and have a strong mutual respect which continues and extends to other activities, such as our GP3 team and interest in finding and nurturing young racing talent,” said Webber.

“The respect within the team extends to the drivers. I know I have a very good driver as a teammate and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Seb and I are not enemies, we’re just two drivers that are pushing hard and want to do the best for ourselves and the team, it’s as simple as that.”

According to Jos Verstappen, Red Bull Racing escaped mildly with Mark Webber’s reaction to the front wing saga at Silverstone.

The former grand prix driver, who was once Michael Schumacher’s number two teammate at Benetton, said he would have been furious if the wing on his car had been given to his teammate shortly before qualifying.

“Mark felt poorly treated by the team leadership, and I can fully understand his anger,” Verstappen wrote in his column for the De Telegraaf newspaper.

“By doing this, the management was asking for trouble.

“I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted in Webber’s shoes. I probably would have trodden on the wing; if I’m not allowed to use it, then neither can he,” said the former Arrows and Minardi driver.

Actually, Australian Webber reacted by declaring on the radio – heard by millions of live television viewers – that his Silverstone win was “not bad for a number two driver”.

“It gave a clear indication that the limit had been passed,” Verstappen continued.

“And he obviously knew that a comment like that would have much more impact than if he had taken up the issue only internally.”

Jose Maria Lopez has not given up on formula one.

Before the American outfit folded, the 27-year-old Argentine and his sponsors had signed up to race for USF1 in 2010.

Lopez returned to Argentina to race in the TC2000 touring car series, but at Silverstone last weekend was spotted in the formula one paddock with his manager Victor Rosso.

According to the El Diario Hoy newspaper, the pair had a series of meetings with F1 teams to disclose their available budgets for the 2011 season.

The newspaper said meetings took place with Renault, HRT, Virgin, Lotus, Williams and Sauber.

A young Mexican driver is knocking on the door of his formula one debut.

20-year-old GP2 driver Sergio Perez, with the backing of the telecommunications giant Telmex, was linked last winter with the available pay-drives at F1′s new teams.

And according to the latest whispers, he may have now attracted the interest of the struggling Virgin team.

The currently Richard Branson-backed outfit is struggling for performance and reliability with a budget of less than $40 million, and Timo Glock is now being linked with a move for 2011.

The Sergio Perez rumours might be linked with the appearance in the Silverstone paddock on Saturday and Sunday of Carlos Slim.

Mexican Slim, one of the world’s richest men, is the CEO and chairman of Telmex, which may be looking to graduate from GP2 to formula one.

It is also believed that Perez’ push into formula one is supported by Jo Ramirez, the retired long time team coordinator at McLaren who was seen in the F1 paddock recently at Valencia.

Perez dominated the Silverstone GP2 sprint race, and he won the feature race at Monaco.

Hans-Joachim Stuck has slammed the front wing affair involving Red Bull at Silverstone.

German Stuck, a former grand prix driver and now motor sport boss for Volkswagen, said: “What the team management did in Britain was an absolute outrage”.

A furore was sparked after it emerged that team boss Christian Horner ordered the new front wing fixed to Mark Webber’s car be transferred to the sister RB6 driven by Sebastian Vettel.

Stuck believes the incident has all the hallmarks of the influence of Red Bull’s motor sport consultant and Austrian Dr Helmut Marko.

“Christian Horner is just a puppet, the strings for Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz are pulled solely by Marko,” he wrote in his column for the TZ newspaper.

“And whoever decided to take the new wing away from Webber qualified for his final pension,” added Stuck.

“Mateschitz must respond by putting in a new man at Red Bull,” he said, recommending the current team boss of Red Bull’s second formula one team for the job.

“(Franz) Tost is in every respect one of the best managers in formula one,” said Stuck.

Norbert Haug has insisted he is not concerned about Michael Schumacher’s latest motorcycle outing.

According to the Cologne tabloid Express, the seven time world champion this week rented the Dijon-Prenois circuit in France in order to privately ride his 190 horse power Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade.

Also riding at the track were the 41-year-old’s friends including Luca Badoer and Sebastien Loeb.

Schumacher had to call off his intended return to F1 last year because he was still recovering from injuries sustained in a motorcycle testing crash.

But Haug, Mercedes’ competition boss, said he is not worried the same thing might reoccur.

“Michael can deal with the risk, and so can we,” Haug is quoted as saying.

Express also reported that Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn is this week on a four-day fishing vacation in Norway.