Heikki Kovalainen has been ordered to bed for a few days to nurse “heavy concussion” sustained at the weekend in Germany.

After clipping a wall, the Lotus driver crashed at the start of the Race of Champions evening in Dusseldorf when the throttle of his Audi R8 stuck open.

Finn Kovalainen, 29, was knocked unconscious for 30 seconds and sent to hospital for checks.

He then had some more checks in Switzerland on Monday and confirmed that he was “put to bed at home as a precaution” due to “heavy concussion” and a headache.

Kovalainen wrote on Twitter that he will have more tests in the next few days “as (my) head took a big hit”.

His girlfriend and passenger Catherine Hyde was also injured in the crash, confirming a hairline fracture of her pelvis and hip, and damaged leg muscles.

“Both of us (are) on bed rest for a while,” she said.

News about Nico Hulkenberg’s future in formula one might be imminent, according to his management.

After losing his Williams race seat for 2011, the German rookie’s manager Willi Weber revealed talks with the Silverstone based team Force India.

“It is quite possible that something will happen this week,” Timo Gans, who works with the 23-year-old’s management, told the German news agency DPA.

It is believed a reserve role with a top team such as Mercedes, rather than a move to another series, is Hulkenberg’s ‘plan B’.

Timo Gans said recently: “Our objective is that Nico gets a place in formula one — as a race driver.

“That’s our plan A and we’re putting everything into it.”

New world champion Sebastian Vettel has admitted again that he sees his future in red.

“No question, it is my wish and goal to drive for Ferrari one day,” the Red Bull driver told Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper in Germany.

“Or Mercedes, another legendary brand,” added the 23-year-old. “But right now I’m happy. I have two more years of contract with Red Bull and we have big plans.”

Already at Ferrari, Spaniard Alonso has acknowledged that Vettel’s RB6 was the best car of 2010. But he denies to having envious eyes.

“From the outside it is difficult to imagine the satisfaction of being part of a team as great as Ferrari,” he told Marca sports newspaper in Spain.

“Red Bull? I don’t keep it in my fridge because I don’t like it,” joked Alonso.

Santander looks likely to end its sponsorship of the McLaren team after the Spanish bank’s “transition” to Ferrari in 2010.

Despite Ferrari’s high profile new deal with Santander last season, the sponsor also stayed with McLaren in 2010 in the form of driver overalls branding.

But the Santander branding was removed from the rear wing of the British team’s 2010 car.

“We have had a transition with McLaren and who knows if in the future we will keep on having a relationship with them and their drivers,” spokesman Juan Manuel Cendoya is quoted in the Spanish press.

When asked about Santander’s future in F1, Cendoya added: “It is bright. We are delighted to work with Ferrari; the Scuderia will keep on fighting to win.”

Jarno Trulli’s place on the 2011 grid is secure, but the same is reportedly not true for Italian countryman Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Reporting on Italy’s dwindling presence in formula one, Autosprint magazine recalled 1989, when no fewer than 12 Italians lined up on the grid.

Now, there are just two, and the veteran Trulli is expected to re-sign with Lotus Racing for 2011.

But F1′s other Italian driver, Vitantonio Liuzzi – while possessing a contract for 2011 – must reportedly tremble as Force India considers its next lineup.

His 2010 teammate Adrian Sutil says he has agreed to stay next year, while two drivers – Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg – are strongly linked with the other seat.

Hulkenberg’s manager Willi Weber has revealed talks with the Vijay Mallya-headed team, and reserve driver di Resta upped his credentials at the weekend by wrapping up his first title in the German touring car series DTM.

“I’m certainly hoping I can get a seat there next year because I’d love to continue a long relationship with them,” di Resta is quoted as saying on Monday.

“My dream is to become formula one world champion, and that’s the next box in my book I’ve got to tick off. I’ll keep praying it happens,” he added.

Di Resta’s Scottish countryman and former Toyota racer Allan McNish also hopes the 24-year-old makes his F1 debut next March.

“If you look at the mistakes Sutil and Liuzzi have made in the past few races, you would have to say Paul has a good case to be out there,” he said recently.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of politics in motor sport and F1 is at the very height of that so it is not just about a driver’s performance,” added McNish.

Andy Shovlin has been promoted to the role of chief driver engineer at Mercedes GP for 2011, according to reports.

Earlier this month, as it emerged that both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will have new race engineers next season, we reported that Briton Shovlin “will have a more general engineering role next year”.

This year, Shovlin – who worked alongside Jenson Button when the Briton won the 2009 title with the Brackley based team – was Schumacher’s race engineer.

But it is believed the seven time world champion will be engineered next season by long time McLaren man Mark Slade, who arrives from Renault after working with Vitaly Petrov.

“We are changing the organisation in the same direction as Ferrari,” Schumacher is quoted by the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

At Ferrari, Schumacher was engineered by Chris Dyer, but the Australian then moved on to his current role with the Italian team of chief track engineer.

Schumacher confirmed: “There will be a chief engineer responsible for both the drivers.”

Asked about his targets for the second year of his F1 comeback, the German said: “I believe next year I can be going for the podium in some races, but that it is still too early for the championship.

“Our technical differences to the top teams has been reduced, but not quite enough,” he conceded.

French commentator Jean-Louis Moncet wrote in his latest Auto Plus column that he believes the W01 car’s successor has been fired up for the first time at Brackley.

On the other hand, Auto Motor und Sport in Germany reports that Adrian Newey is once again late with his new Red Bull design, due to delaying final decisions about how to integrate the heavy components for KERS.

Rubens Barrichello has revealed he is not sure who will be his teammate in 2011.

The veteran Brazilian had urged his British employer to also renew Nico Hulkenberg’s contract, but Williams has instead cleared the second race seat for next season.

It is widely believed that the team made the decision because it needs the financial input of the new GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado, who brings substantial sponsorship from Venezuela.

But at the Granja Viana kart race in Brazil, Barrichello said: “I really don’t know if he is coming or not.

“In my case, they (Williams) made my announcement (about staying in 2011) without telling me. So I don’t know,” he insisted.

Barrichello also commented on Red Bull’s championship sweep in 2010, admitting he thought the policy of avoiding team orders altogether was a “great example” for other teams.

“There’s always a lot that the people outside (the team) don’t know, but I think it was cool anyway,” he is quoted by Globo Esporte.

“It is the opposite of what Ferrari did in Germany,” said Barrichello, who in 2002 was famously ordered to give up victory in Austria to his then Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher.

He also commented on his recent first taste of the Pirelli tyres for 2011.

“I liked how the car adapted to the new tyres,” said the 38-year-old. “They felt good. Until the first race it is impossible to say more, but so far I like it.”

The 2011 rules are still not set in stone, leaving Luca di Montezemolo calling for “total clarity” ahead of next season.

Next year, along with the return of KERS and the arrival of Pirelli as F1′s tyre supplier, drivers will be able to adjust their rear wing angle when close to a rival in order to boost their chances of overtaking.

But Williams’ co-owner and engineering boss Patrick Head warned recently that the latter innovation is “not set in stone”.

Ferrari president Montezemolo said at the team’s end-of-season event in Valencia: “I hope we start the season with total clarity as regards the regulations.

“I am not worried about it, but our experience of 2009 still grates,” he added, in a reference to the rule loophole that led to the development of so-called ‘double diffusers’ early last year.

Luca di Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali have played down reports that heads will roll as a result of Ferrari’s championship loss in 2010.

Italian reports had warned chief engineer Chris Dyer was in the spotlight after the bungled race strategy in Abu Dhabi that cost Fernando Alonso the title.

“Changes within the team? That is not our philosophy, because for years now we have adopted a policy based on dynamic stability,” said president Montezemolo at the marque’s end-of-season event at Valencia.

“A few minor adjustments are possible, but no major upheaval,” he insisted.

Team boss Domenicali had also been singled out as a potential scapegoat for the 2010 outcome, but Montezemolo said he is “very happy” with the Italian’s work.

Domenicali also told Corriere della Sera that the idea of major staff changes has been ruled out.

“I could have followed the emotional wave after Singapore 2008, when the fuel nozzle was left attached to Massa’s car.

“But that man was one of the protagonists of the winning pitstop at Monza this year,” insisted Domenicali.

Another touted potential ousting prior to the new campaign in 2011 is Felipe Massa, but Montezemolo said he is “sure” the struggling Brazilian will be back to top form next season.

Massa has singled out Bridgestone’s tyres as the root of his problems this year, and was pleased with his first taste of the 2011 Pirellis in Abu Dhabi recently.

“First impressions are very positive,” he said. “Sure, there is still work to do, but it was a really good day.”

It will be “impossible” for Russia to host formula one and the Winter Olympics in 2014.

That is the claim of International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Andrew Mitchell, who is concerned that the resort city Sochi is also planning its inaugural grand prix in the same region as the next winter games.

“We want to ensure that both events – the Olympic Winter Games and the formula one race – will be staged on the best conditions for all the parties involved,” he told Sovetsky Sport newspaper.

“However, we believe that it is impossible to organise two events of such size in one year,” added Mitchell.

The media report said the IOC has requested thorough documentation of the F1 project and its construction schedule.

Russia’s Federation of Motor Sports and Tourism vice-president Igor Ermilin said this move is to “understand where and when will be critical moments” of the F1 preparations.

“The IOC wants to make sure that the Olympics won’t fail. That’s why they are worried,” he added.

Heikki Kovalainen was on Sunday knocked unconscious in a crash at the Race of Champions event in Germany.

“Hardcore shunt with throttle jammed and rear suspension damaged, got knocked out, now some medical checkups,” the Finnish driver wrote on Twitter after the crash in an Audi R8 in Dusseldorf.

Kovalainen’s British girlfriend Catherine Hyde was seated alongside the Lotus driver, who had already taken the chequered flag to win the race, but she emerged unscathed.

“Catherine is sore and her back is painful, got to look after her now,” 29-year-old Kovalainen, who went to a local hospital for checks, added.

He also said on Twitter that, after arriving home to Switzerland, he will have further medical checks on Monday.

“Head’s a bit sore, (I) was unconscious for 30 seconds,” revealed Kovalainen, a former Race of Champions winner.

Bernie Ecclestone was kicked unconscious by his muggers and on Saturday was sporting a very badly bruised eye.

The 80-year-old F1 chief executive told British newspapers his minor injuries are “painful” but he is “ok” after a group of men attacked him whilst outside his office with his girlfriend in London.

“I’m feeling it now, bit painful, it was a good whacking,” said Ecclestone.

“When I was on the ground I could hear Fabiana (Flosi) screaming for help and I took a kick or two in the head and went unconscious,” he revealed.

“When I came to there was blood everywhere from my head wound but I was lucky.

“It was completely stupid and uncalled for. If they had confronted me and asked for everything we had, I would have handed over everything in my pockets, my wallet, anything,” said Ecclestone, adding that the muggers “ripped” the earrings from his girlfriend’s ears.

He said reports that the Hublot watch taken from his wrist was worth more than $300,000 is “bollocks”.

Ecclestone’s daughter Tamara condemned the “hideous” attack but said her dad has already returned to work.

“It takes a lot to throw my dad off,” she told the Evening Standard. “I spoke to him this morning and he is in good spirits.”

Daniel Ricciardo has been appointed Toro Rosso’s reserve and ‘Friday’ driver for the 2011 season.

The 21-year-old will alternate between the cockpits of the Italian team’s regular drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi in the initial practice session at grands prix next year.

“I have to say thanks to Red Bull for this great opportunity,” said the Australian in a statement.

Ricciardo is now the leading driver of Red Bull’s junior driver programme, and comfortably led the pace at the recent young driver test at the wheel of the title-winning RB6 in Abu Dhabi.

“I am sure that having a hungry youngster on the books will keep our current driver pairing nice and sharp,” said Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost.

Ricciardo will also contest the Formula Renault 3.5 championship in 2011.

“My ultimate aim is to be a full time formula one driver and this new role has to be the best step toward achieving that ambition,” he said.

Karun Chandhok has clarified that, despite a spate of GP2 testing, he remains committed to returning to formula one in 2011.

The Indian driver tested with his former GP2 team ORT in France last week, and this week in Abu Dhabi he is scheduled to do more running with the team as well as Coloni.

Chandhok, who contested grands prix with HRT early in 2010, said in a statement that the GP2 teams “called on my help” for the testing.

He has said he is in talks about returning to the F1 grid full-time in 2011.

“For me, it’s a good way to learn another new formula one circuit ahead of the 2011 championship and a chance to further knock off the rust,” said Chandhok ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi testing.

“Hopefully we’ll have a final programme in place before the F1 world shuts for Christmas,” he added.

There could be two Russian drivers on the 2011 formula one grid.

With the country set to organise a grand prix in the future and its president Vladimir Putin recently testing a F1 car, Vitaly Petrov now looks set to renew his deal with Renault.

“It is more positive for Vitaly than negative,” team boss Eric Boullier said recently.

And Mikhail Aleshin, the new Renault World Series champion, could be F1′s second Russian driver in 2011.

He recently tested Renault’s R30 in Abu Dhabi, admitting he needs EUR 10-15 million in sponsorship to secure a seat with a small team.

In a new interview with Russian news website gzt.ru, he said he has agreed a deal with an unnamed team. Recent reports linked him with Force India, Lotus and Virgin.

“We are considering options and there are some very interesting proposals,” said 23-year-old Aleshin.

“I’m not allowed to talk about it, so I’ll try for it to be a surprise. In fact, the issue of my participation (in F1) is resolved.

“But it is not guaranteed, because there are no guarantees in formula one,” he added.

Among Aleshin’s sponsors are state-owned Gazprom and Cordiant tyres.