A new venue for the Australian grand prix beyond 2015 could be shaping up near Melbourne.

Earlier this month, Calder Park owner Bob Jane denied a major redevelopment of his circuit was a move to become an alternative for current F1 host Albert Park.

The Australian round, currently hosted on a mainly temporary circuit south of the city, made international headlines last week when an unprecedented $50m taxpayer’s loss for the 2010 edition was revealed.

The local morning newspaper Herald Sun now reports that the state Victorian government, the sanctioning body CAMS, and Jane have signed an agreement.

The report said the agreement might also be to investigate options for a F1-standard circuit at Avalon, about a 45 minute drive from Melbourne, adding that FIA officials were expected to visit Calder Park to assess the suitability of the site.

“I know they are happy at Albert Park,” Jane, who organised non-championship F1 races at Calder Park prior to Adelaide joining the calendar in the 80s, said.

“But in the future there has to be options, and at the moment there are none,” said the former touring car driver, whose circuit is about 25 kilometres from Melbourne.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker played down the news by insisting Albert Park is the best F1 venue for Melbourne because it “showcases the city”.

And government spokesman Luke Enright said there are no plans to relocate the race.

McLaren team figures believe the recent flexible bodywork saga will have taken the shine off Red Bull’s earlier dominance.

At F1′s last outings in Spa and Monza, where new FIA compliance tests came into effect, the RB6 was no longer the stand-out dominant package it had been at earlier events.

But Red Bull already expected to struggle at those high speed circuits, due to its less powerful Renault engines.

In light of the team’s dominance on twisty tracks like Monaco and Hungary, therefore, this weekend’s racing on the Singapore street circuit might be seen as a litmus test of the true effects of the FIA’s flexibility clampdown.

“I think a lot has changed since that race in Budapest — not least, some quite hefty revisions to the rulebook regarding bodywork flexibility,” said Jenson Button.

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh agreed: “Singapore is likely to give us a much clearer idea of the respective pace of the leading teams after two less-representative events in Belgium and Italy.”

Chief race engineer Phil Prew is also hoping Red Bull will be closer to the rest of the field in Singapore this weekend.

“The legality clarification and changes that we’ve all made in response to that could well influence it (the pecking order),” he said during Wednesday’s Vodafone phone media conference.

“We’re optimistic that the gap, which was massive by formula one standards, should well have reduced,” added Prew.

He said he now feels all the teams are racing on a level playing field.

“The advantage that was felt to be gained by Red Bull and Ferrari in Hungary will be harder to exploit,” confirmed Prew.

Dutch airline KLM is unimpressed after a recent promotional event involving McLaren and Lewis Hamilton.

The Vodafone sponsor event earlier this month involved Hamilton driving a formula one car on a runway of the Netherlands’ main international airport Schiphol over two days.

According to a KLM spokesman, the runways should be exclusively for aircraft “and not for race cars”.

“An airport is not a theme park,” he told Amsterdam daily Het Parool.

“As the main user of the major Schiphol airport it was a huge inconvenience,” a spokesman is also quoted by nu.nl.

“At such a busy airport, safety and sustainability must come first.”

KLM also claims it was not informed in advance about the closure of the runway for the F1 demonstration.

The local airline said it will discuss the situation with the government authority Inspectie voor Verkeer en Waterstaat (IVW) in order to avoid a repeat of the situation.

De Telegraaf newspaper said IVW has launched an investigation after receiving multiple complaints.

“Why couldn’t a campaign like this take place at a closed airport?” said the KLM spokesman.

Force India’s F-duct system is working better for Adrian Sutil, his teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi insists.

“It’s not working as it should for me,” the Italian is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

“In terms of top speed I’m generally slower than my teammate,” he insisted.

Italian Liuzzi, 29, is regarded as having struggled against German Sutil in 2010, having scored 32 fewer points in the sister VJM03.

But reports recently indicated that Liuzzi is already under contract for 2011, despite speculation Force India would like to give its promising reserve driver Paul di Resta his F1 debut next year.

Di Resta, a Scot who won his second successive DTM race last weekend, will not be driving the Force India on Friday morning in Singapore, as he has at several race weekends this year.

Lewis Hamilton believes that if a Force India driver is ousted at the end of the year, it will not be his friend and former F3 teammate Sutil.

“Adrian is doing a pretty good job and it is very difficult to see anyone dislodging him from that seat,” the 2008 world champion told the Times of India.

German reports suggest Sutil, 27, would be the leading candidate to drive for Mercedes next year if Michael Schumacher decides to return to retirement.

From the perspective of spare fresh engines in the bank, championship leader Mark Webber has an advantage in the five-race run to the 2010 finale.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa have each used their full allocation of eight engines for the season, meaning that if they need to use more engines in 2010, they will incur ten-place grid penalties.

“We preferred to use a new engine at Monza and then manage the mileage for the next five races,” team boss Stefano Domenicali is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have used 7 engines apiece, so they each have a spare engine in the bag.

“The McLaren drivers (are a threat) because they look to have a bit more reliability up their sleeve with engines, and we don’t know what’s going to go on at the end of the year,” Webber said in an interview with BBC Sport.

Also having used 7 engines so far are the Mercedes, Force India, Toro Rosso, HRT, Virgin and Lotus drivers, Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi.

Sebastian Vettel has a spare Renault engine in the bank, but Webber has two fresh engines still to fit in the rear of his RB6.

“Singapore should suit us if Monaco is anything to go by,” said the Australian, who won that famous street race in May.

“We’ve seen performance move around a little bit – not much – against the form card but on paper the next few circuits look like they should be good for us,” added Webber.

Also with two spare engines left are the works Renault drivers, and Williams’ Rubens Barrichello.

Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa, meanwhile, ran out of engines in Belgium last month, forcing him ten places down the grid after a ninth Ferrari unit was installed.

Nick Heidfeld is now taking over car number 22, meaning that if a tenth engine needs to be fitted at any of the five remaining races this season, it will be the German serving a grid penalty.

Rumours of driver movements within the top teams are yet again gaining traction.

Recently, a Spanish television station reported that, notwithstanding the existence of new contracts, Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica could be set to swap seats for 2011.

The Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell is now reporting a similar rumour, whereby Massa would leave Ferrari at the end of the season to make room for Pole Kubica.

But the report said Brazilian Massa would be accommodated not by Renault but by Ferrari powered Sauber, where he drove as a rookie in 2002 and again in 2004-2005.

“Of course I read all the rumours,” Kubica said in an interview with spox.com, “but in the end the only thing is winning.

“We are all here because we want to win and you need the best car for that. Currently I’m at Renault and so I am focused on this team and on improving together.

“In 2011 we want to fight for the world title. We’ll see what happens next,” the 25-year-old added.

Kubica admitted that he would like to race for Ferrari one day.

“In karting, Formula Renault and F3, I’ve always been with Italian teams and I even lived for more than a year near Monza.

“Ferrari is a team unlike any other,” he acknowledged. “The emotion and the history is unique. I think every driver would like to drive for Ferrari.”

Michael Schumacher returned to the saddle of a powerful racing motorcycle this week before heading to Singapore.

According to German media reports, the 41-year-old on Tuesday morning travelled in his private plane to the Sachsenring.

He then tested 180 horse power KTM and Honda racing bikes with friends he met during his time in the IDM German superbike championship.

It was when testing the same sort of IDM bikes in early 2009 that Schumacher fell and hurt his neck; an injury that prevented him from racing in injured Felipe Massa’s Ferrari cockpit last August.

Meanwhile, Schumacher’s Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was already in Singapore on Tuesday, where he had to hitchhike back to his hotel in the cab of a truck after a taxi lost its way due to road closures around the Marina Bay circuit.

“Good luck, stay safe,” one of his Twitter followers wrote.

It has been a glum day in Singapore, where in the city’s Marina Bay area the fifteenth round of the 2010 world championship will be held this weekend.

The paddock of the street circuit is currently wet, and there have been black clouds overhead, amid reports bad weather is forecast for most days of the grand prix event.

That will be a concern for the teams and drivers, who are worried that rain could produce reflections from puddles and glimmering water droplets under the bright trackside lights.

“I think rain would be really challenging,” said Nico Rosberg, who arrived in Singapore at the weekend.

But the majority of Singapore’s rain at this time of year is reportedly falling during daylight hours, while the track action is scheduled either in the evening or after sunset to suit the bulk European television audience.

Another concern is the city’s high humidity conditions.

“Even though the race is at night it’s still very humid, which makes it difficult for the drivers to stay cool,” explains Formula Medicine doctor Riccardo Ceccarelli.

British sports car maker Lotus is entering F1′s main feeder category GP2.

Lotus Motorsport, an arm of the Proton-owned Lotus Cars, is entirely separate to Lotus Racing, the new formula one team headed by Tony Fernandes.

Amid reports Group Lotus is set to retract its license of the use of the Lotus Racing name for the F1 team, it is expected that Fernandes’ outfit will become known as Team Lotus for 2011.

The Team Lotus name was owned separately by David Hunt, brother of the late 1976 world champion James Hunt. Hunt acquired the name after the original Team Lotus folded in 1994.

It was announced late on Tuesday that Group Lotus’ Lotus Motorsport is entering GP2 next year with Nicolas Todt’s top line team ART.

“We come together with a common goal: to continue our great success in motorsport,” said Lotus’ communications boss Gino Rosato, formerly the security man at Ferrari.

The deal sees Lotus commit to “providing technical and engineering support for the GP2 and GP3 race series for the foreseeable future”, a statement read.

Added director of operations Miodrag Kotur: “Lotus won’t simply be partner in name only, ART will also benefit from our considerable engineering and technical support and experience.”

Fascinatingly, Fernandes will also be linked to the GP2 grid in 2011, with his team to be called Team Air Asia, after his low-cost Malaysian airline.

Santander is more than happy with its sponsorship activities in formula one, according to Spanish media reports.

Citing the confirmation of communications boss Juan Manuel Cendoya, the EFE and Europa Press (EP) news agencies said the Spanish bank’s EUR 50 million spend this year will net a five-fold return.

That means that the returns gained in 2010 will pay for Santander’s projected spending between 2011 and 2014, involving trackside and race sponsorship and the major backing of the Ferrari team.

The EP report said Santander reduced its advertising in other areas after investing in F1, including a 10 per cent decrease in 2009.

Returning Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld is still in talks with other teams about a full-time race cockpit in 2011.

The 33-year-old German has been Mercedes’ reserve driver for most of this year, before he recently signed up with Pirelli and began testing the Italian marque’s 2011 tyres.

That paved the way to his Sauber seat for the last five races of 2010, in the place of ousted team regular Pedro de la Rosa.

“The driver situation for next year, I don’t wish to speak about. It’s completely open,” Peter Sauber, who has already confirmed Kamui Kobayashi for one of his two seats, is quoted by the Stuttgarter Zeitung.

“At the moment we are concentrating on working with Nick,” the Swiss insisted.

He defended his decision to oust de la Rosa.

“Viewed with some distance, the two (Kobayashi and de la Rosa) were on a similar level; in qualifying they were 7:7. And that’s our problem,” said Sauber.

“We were finding it difficult to know how good this car really is,” he explained.

That is where Heidfeld, well-known to Sauber over two separate tenures dating back to 2001, comes in.

But the German has not yet been signed for 2011, notwithstanding the fact that his knowledge of the incoming Pirelli tyres, allied with his new active racing role, make him hot property.

“I do think it’s going to help in the negotiations for 2011,” Heidfeld acknowledged in an interview with SID news agency before travelling to Singapore.

Heidfeld said returning to Sauber for the last races of 2010 is like coming “home”, but warned: “Both sides are still open, and there are other interested parties.”

Lotus team owner Tony Fernandes’ application to launch a GP2 team for 2011 has been successful, the series announced on Tuesday.

The Malaysian millionaire’s team is called Team Air Asia, named after his Kuala Lumpur based low-fare airline, and is “strongly linked to formula one”, GP2 organisers said in a statement.

“The seriousness of their presentation, their ambition and their worldwide project were really appealing and in line with what we expect from all our teams,” said organiser Bruno Michel.

Kimi Raikkonen is the famous name now linked with Renault for 2011, but Vitaly Petrov is still valued by the team, owner Gerard Lopez insists.

The 2007 world champion’s possible interest in driving alongside Robert Kubica has stirred the news headlines, but Lopez is still hopeful the Russian rookie Petrov is a winning formula from a business point of view.

“We have to push our team to succeed because we use the platform to do business,” he is quoted by sportbusiness.com.

“People like to do business with winning teams, so it goes hand in hand. It’s even more important now to build the team, to use that platform for the business side of it,” added Lopez.

Petrov has already attracted the Russian carmaker Lada to the livery of the R30, and on Tuesday it emerged that another Russian sponsor has joined the team.

But Vyborg Shipyard JSC, based in Petrov’s home town, has only signed up for the five remaining races of 2010 — beyond that, the Russian star’s future is clouded.

If Raikkonen really is an option for Renault in 2011, Petrov’s departure or otherwise will likely be a commercial consideration, Lopez admits.

“And he’s a good driver,” he insisted.

“On top of all that, he is a driver that has 250 million Russian-speaking people that are convinced in him, so we’d be stupid not to assume that there is a business behind that,” added Lopez.

Zoran Stefanovic could be looking at yet another route onto the formula one grid.

With his Stefan GP project, the Serbian first tried to gain entry to the 2010 grid with the unraced Toyota car, and reportedly then gave up his push for the 13th 2011 entry due to the FIA selection process taking too long.

Now, according to Italy’s 422race.com, Stefanovic could be among the group of Serbian and Czech entrepreneurs apparently looking to buy the struggling Spanish team HRT.

“No comment,” he said when faced with the rumour.

Talk that HRT could merge with Epsilon Euskadi has been ruled out, and 422race.com believes the Spanish Le Mans team in fact only lodged a 2011 team entry for “some exposure”.

The Stefanovic/HRT link would therefore tie in with the Serbian’s familiarity with Cologne based Toyota Motorsport, who were thought already close to securing a technical collaboration with Hispania for 2011.

But in recent days, it has been rumoured that Lotus may in fact be set to tie up with Toyota instead.

A Toyota source said: “Toyota and Lotus? Not in a million years. We are still talking to HRT.”

With five races to go, Sebastian Vettel is not giving up on winning the 2010 world championship.

His teammate Mark Webber is 24 points further ahead and narrowly leading the drivers’ standings over Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko hinted recently that the team should sit down after Monza to assess its championship chances, amid light pressure from Webber to be appointed number 1.

But Vettel told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “We are not panicking. We are quietly doing our work.

“I believe in the title — that is the most important thing. It will be very close in the finale, but I’m optimistic,” said the German.

He dismissed the argument that his 24 point deficit to Webber is insurmountable.

“Whether it’s 24, 25 or 30, it doesn’t matter,” said Vettel, 23.

“The new points system worries people more than it should. Now there are 25 points for a win, so under the familiar (old) system, I’d only be 8 or 9 points behind.

“Then it would seem much less dramatic,” he insisted.

Australian Webber, however, is open to having Vettel relegated to a supporting role for the final run to the 2010 finish-line.

“It would be a nice problem for me to have and then it’s up to the team as to what’s the best way for them to win the championships,” he said in an interview with BBC Sport.

“It’s definitely not for me to answer that one,” said the 34-year-old.

McLaren’s Hamilton, however – just 5 points behind Webber’s lead and 17 in front of his teammate Jenson Button – is not expecting to be favoured by McLaren.

“The best driver will win the day,” said the 2008 world champion.