Red Bull might have broken the F1 teams’ cost saving agreement, according to former FIA president Max Mosley.

During an interview with Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, the 70-year-old said the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA) has proved an ineffective substitute for his budget cap proposal that was the subject of a bitter dispute in 2009.

“The effect of this (RRA) agreement is minimal,” he said, “which is the reason the teams agreed to it.

“At the last FOTA meeting last Thursday,” Mosley revealed, “Red Bull asked for an exception.

“If that’s true, that can only mean they spent more than they were allowed, and now they’re asking for the (other) teams’ okay.

“I am interested to know how their opponents are going to react,” he added.

Mosley describes the RRA as a “sham”.

“I’ll give an example — the teams are limited to a certain number of employees, let’s say 100. If I walk through the paddock with a lot of money, then I get the best 100 people.

“So you still have no chance against the rich teams. The only thing that will work is a budget limit. A bigger budget is like having a bigger engine,” he insisted.

Mosley is especially scathing of Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who is critical of the small teams and pushing for more private testing and three car entries.

“On the one hand he complains that the new teams are too slow, and on the other hand he asks for something (more testing) that will widen the gap even more.

“The third car is complete nonsense, giving the big teams even more power, politically and sporting. It’s also against the spirit of F1 — it needs different blood.

“Without new teams, F1 would die. The problem with Luca is he has never had to build a team from nothing and doesn’t know how hard it is.

“F1 has a lot of problems but Luca only adds to them.”

However, Mosley said Ferrari was the only team that stayed “loyal” to him during the sex scandal, weakening his resolve to push on with the budget cap era.

“My plan was to go through with it with the other teams, with Ferrari threatening to withdraw. I would have chanced it because we all know they wouldn’t really have gone,” he said.

“But then came the affair with the (News of the World) newspaper. Ferrari was the only team that stayed loyal, so I couldn’t really do something like that to them.”

Mosley also said it is too early to judge his successor as FIA president, Jean Todt.

“This season was very good, but it is a time of transition. I think we’ll only be able to assess Jean Todt in another year,” he added.

Red Bull has won the battle of F1′s funniest Christmas card for 2010.

The team’s card depicts Sebastian Vettel in a track duel with Father Christmas, who is driving his famous sled powered by reindeer.

“Santa is faster than you. Please confirm you understand this message!” reads the radio call to the sport’s new world champion.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has also maintained his annual tradition of a humorous Christmas card, and Red Bull is still the topic.

The 2010 edition shows Mark Webber and Vettel standing outside the team garage between a stressed-looking Christian Horner, who has just tossed a coin onto the ground.

“It doesn’t always fall the way you think,” reads the caption.

Kimi Raikkonen’s father has died.

The Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung said Matti Raikkonen, who was 56, died unexpectedly on Wednesday.

The report said the 2007 world champion and 2010 world rally driver’s management had asked the media to respect the Finn’s privacy as the family grieves.

“Something like this – especially at Christmas – is very difficult, especially for families,” said Raikkonen’s spokesman Riku Kuvaja to Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.

David Coulthard and the BBC are not confirming reports the former McLaren and Red Bull driver is set to become a full-time television commentator in 2011.

It has been rumoured that the 39-year-old Scot, who for the past two seasons was a trackside pundit for the BBC’s live coverage along with Eddie Jordan, will replace race commentator Martin Brundle’s current sidekick Jonathan Legard.

The popular Brundle, formerly Coulthard’s manager and also an ex F1 driver, is believed to have pushed for the appointment of the veteran of almost 250 grands prix.

Coulthard told the Sun newspaper: “I’ve had talks about what I could be doing within the show. They are finalising things.”

A BBC spokesman added: “We’re still looking at our lineup.”

The boss of F1′s Spa-Francorchamps race is not sure the presence of a Belgian driver will boost the popularity of next year’s grand prix.

After it was announced that Jerome d’Ambrosio will race with the Virgin team in 2011, the circuit’s chiefs predicted the 24-year-old’s appointment will have a “positive impact” on the Belgian grand prix next August.

But race promoter Andre Maes is not so sure.

“This can only be positive,” he told La Libre newspaper.

“But will it boost ticket sales? I don’t know. Did the presence of (1994 Lotus driver Philippe) Adams or (2004 Minardi Friday driver Bas) Leinders cause many more Belgians to come?

“So, the impact (on the GP) will depend on how he goes during the first races,” added Maes.

Maes indicated that the likely problem will be not only the performance of the Virgin car, but also d’Ambrosio’s personality.

“I do not know about his popularity,” he continued. “He remained relatively unknown in GP2 — he is not a star. I am convinced that nine tenths of the viewers on RTBF don’t know the sound of his voice.”

HRT owner Jose Ramon Carabante is expecting the Spanish team to have a better season in 2011.

The Dallara-built F110 was the slowest car in formula one this year, but Hispania has inked an agreement to have its next car equipped with a Williams gearbox.

However, an agreement with 2011 car supplier Toyota recently fell through, raising doubts about the likely competitiveness of the team next season.

But Carabante told Radio Marca in Spanish that it is Geoff Willis who has designed the 2011 HRT “and the car he has designed will give us many joys”.

“The car is being made partly in Germany and partly in England and it will be ready.

“We have been working on it for some time and it will be in Bahrain for sure. This year was much more difficult. This time we will be in the winter tests,” added Carabante.

He said HRT’s plans for its 2011 car are similar to Force India and Toro Rosso’s; teams who “work with several suppliers”.

A problem with the Toyota plan, he revealed, was that the Cosworth engine did not work with the Toyota chassis, which has its own power plant.

“The Cosworth did not fit in the Toyota and we couldn’t break the agreement with Cosworth because the clause was that they had to have been one of the least reliable, and they were not,” he explained.

On the financial front, Carabante said many sponsors do not appreciate the full value of formula one.

“In F1 these days there is no need to spend 5 or 10 million,” he said. “You can come in with 1 million or 500,000 euros.”

He lamented that “You go to large companies in this country and tell them that with their support you can have the car of Toyota, the use of their facilities and be in the top eight from time to time but they don’t support you.

“We have a Spanish team which would be even more Spanish with a driver like Pedro de la Rosa, but the companies did not come in.”

But he revealed that “soon we will announce a major sponsor because negotiations are well advanced. It is one of the five most important companies in Spain,” said Carabante.

HRT’s aim for 2011 is “to consolidate and be a step further ahead than this year. It is a long term project and we will see if in two or three years we are established, as was the initial idea”.

On the driver front, Carabante said talks are ongoing with “five or six” candidates but said announcements are not scheduled until the new year.

Whether a Spaniard is among them, he answered: “Maybe.”

Nigel Mansell is the latest to wade into the Lotus debate, insisting he is “delighted” to see the name “return to formula one” by partnering with the Renault team.

Briton Mansell drove iconic Lotus F1 cars in the 80s before moving on to Ferrari and finally winning the title in a Williams in 1992.

“It is particularly pleasing for me to see the union of Lotus and Renault again and the return of the iconic Black and Gold colours as driven by the late greats Ayrton Senna and Elio de Angelis, Johnny Dumfries and of course, myself in the 80s,” he said.

Mansell’s comments coincide with the publication of the abandoned black and gold livery that would have adorned the ‘Team Lotus’ cars next year amid the naming dispute with the separate Tony Fernandes camp.

The comments also coincide with the issuing of a statement by the family of Lotus’ late founder Colin Chapman, whose famous black cap was proudly displayed on the pitwall by Fernandes’ team in 2010.

But Chapman’s son Clive said the family thinks the “Team Lotus name should not be used in formula one”.

“Indeed, assurances to this effect were received (last year),” he added.

Chapman said the family supported the Fernandes team when the Lotus Racing name was used with the consent of Group Lotus.

“However, then its license to use the Lotus name was terminated and things changed,” he confirmed, adding that his family now backs Group Lotus as “the ongoing Lotus entity created by Colin and Hazel Chapman”.

Mansell also recalled Colin Chapman in his statement posted on Group Lotus’ official website.

“I am extremely grateful to Lotus and especially to Colin Chapman, who was so inspirational and almost like a second father to me and have been watching with great interest the developments that have been taking place recently at Hethel with their ambitious race and road car projects.

“I am really delighted to see that Lotus is back where it belongs competing with the best in the top echelons of motor sport,” he added.

The FIA is proposing to mandate plexiglass windscreens for the cockpits of formula one cars, according to an Italian report.

Autosprint, publishing a photoshopped image of a possible F1 windshield that can be viewed at tinyurl.com/2ew7rf6, claims the innovation would be to protect drivers from being struck on the head.

The exposure of the drivers’ heads made headlines last year, when Felipe Massa was seriously injured by a flying suspension spring, days after F2 driver Henry Surtees was killed when he drove into the path of a stricken wheel.

“I’m not saying we need to cover (the cockpit) completely,” Ferrari driver Massa said after recovering from his skull injuries. “But maybe there are some other things we can do to the car to stop a wheel hitting your head.”

After those incidents last year, Bernie Ecclestone said Professor Sid Watkins – the president of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety – had been commissioned to “deal with” the issue.

The renewed push for driver head safety also comes just six weeks after the nose of Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India rode up and almost struck Michael Schumacher’s head during the 2010 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Autosprint said the proposed protective structure, whilst not impeding driver visibility, would be designed to withstand the impact of a flying wheel and the full 640kg weight of an F1 car.

The report said the solution would also need to take into consideration its aerodynamic impact, including the flow of air to the engine airbox and the wings.

Jerome d’Ambrosio has admitted he secured his formula one race debut with Virgin in 2011 by taking a commercial package to the new British team.

When the Belgian’s deal was announced earlier this week, team boss John Booth insisted the 24-year-old – who completed the 2010 season as a Friday driver – had been selected “absolutely on merit”.

But a few weeks ago, reports said the Virgin cockpit alongside Timo Glock next year was up for grabs for EUR 5 million.

And at the end of October, d’Ambrosio’s management – the Gravity group which is managed by Renault team boss Eric Boullier – said it had pulled together “95 per cent of the package” required.

“Of course there is talent, but also a commercial aspect,” d’Ambrosio confirmed this week to RTL Belgium.

“There are people, partners who are working with me in Belgium, as well as Gravity, who are always working with me, with Eric Boullier.”

D’Ambrosio said: “We managed to put together the package we needed to be able to sign.”

He said he sees his 2011 debut with Virgin as the first step to a long career in F1.

“I jumped like a kangaroo!” joked d’Ambrosio, recalling hearing the news that he had secured the seat.

“It’s exceptional, extraordinary, but not an end in itself, because you have to have new goals now — and it is to stay (in F1) for as long as possible.

“At the moment we have a great outcome. Since I was little, I have dreamed of being in F1, and since 16, it has been my goal.”

As for his approach to 2011, the Belgian explained: “The most important thing is to focus on myself, learning something each time I go onto the track.

“I am fortunate to have Timo Glock beside me, who has had some podiums in grands prix. This will be a valuable experience for me.”

Despite the opposition of Monza, Ferrari and an apparent majority of local residents, promoter Maurizio Flammini has vowed to push ahead with his plans for a Rome street race.

“The first race?” he asked rhetorically during an interview with the Il Riformista newspaper. “I expect it to be in 2013.”

However, Monza and Ferrari want F1 to limit itself to one annual race per country, and a survey published this week shows 80-90 per cent opposition to the Rome event from residents who live near the proposed layout in the capital’s EUR district.

But Flammini said the final plans will be reviewed by authorities by the end of December. “According to the standard procedure this will take at least 60 days,” he said.

“If the project would have been approved by the end of the year, we would have been ready for 2012,” he said.

“In Italy everything is ready (for 2013),” continued Flammini, “and the formula one circus is ready to welcome us. A few days ago I spoke with Bernie Ecclestone and he asked me to go ahead.

“When we are ready, we will close the final agreement.”

It had been reported earlier in 2010 that a final agreement had already been signed.

“We signed a preliminary agreement for at least two years,” Flammini clarified. “(F1 chief executive) Ecclestone is helping us but he is concerned about the delay.

“The competition is fierce, there are at least 30 other circuits that are pushing (to be in F1). If we don’t hurry we may lose this opportunity,” he insisted.

Flammini dismissed some of the criticisms of the Rome project, including fears of increased pollution in the city.

“You must be joking,” he hit back. “We should be thanked that instead of thousands of cars, for a few days there will be only 24 on a 5 kilometre circuit.

“Traffic? A study has shown the increase to be 25 per cent, but we are talking about August, when the presence of cars is well under 50 per cent of the annual average.”

Luca di Montezemolo is predicting a future Ferrari drive for F1′s new reigning world champion.

Earlier in 2010, en route to becoming the sport’s youngest ever champion with Red Bull, 23-year-old Sebastian Vettel described Ferrari as “special”, adding: “Why not go there in a few years?”

The German is under contract with Red Bull for 2011, with an option to extend into 2012.

Cologne tabloid Express reports that Ferrari president di Montezemolo sees Vettel as a natural successor for the struggling Felipe Massa.

“Sebastian is fast, intelligent and young,” said the 63-year-old Italian. “He will drive a red car sooner or later.”

The team owner of Vettel’s current team, Dietrich Mateschitz, said a month ago: “Seb wants to drive for Ferrari some day. We will make it as difficult a decision for him as possible.”

Express also reports that di Montezemolo recently made an offer to entice Red Bull designer Adrian Newey to Ferrari. Newey reportedly turned the offer down.

Pirelli’s 2011 tyres have improved since Romain Grosjean last tested them, the Swiss-born French driver has declared.

The former Renault race driver, who is 24, was in Bahrain last week until Sunday where the Italian marque continued its test programme with a 2009 Toyota.

The test programme at Sakhir was delayed by a sandstorm, meaning Grosjean had to call off his participation in the latest round of the Andros ice-racing series.

“The programme was quite diverse, including sequences of short and long runs, to understand the behaviour of the compounds,” he said.

Grosjean’s previous taste of F1′s 2011 tyres had been in Italy in September.

“(In Bahrain) I immediately felt an improvement over the tyres that I had used at Monza,” he is quoted in Italian by stopandgo.tv.

According to a survey, most residents do not support the idea of a formula one street race in Rome’s EUR district.

Although organisers claim preparations are on track for an inaugural race in the capital in 2012 or 2013, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali threw cold water on the project last week when he said each country should host only a single F1 race per year.

Now, a survey launched by the Partito Democratico (Democratic Party) has shown that of the 2138 interviewed, some 1750 said they see “more disadvantages than advantages” of a grand prix on the Rome streets.

The results were published in Italian publications including Autosprint and La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Although the result appears to show more than 80 per cent residential opposition to the project, promoter Maurizio Flammini insisted that only a “minority” of the population had expressed itself.

The survey also showed that 93 per cent of residents believe the race will increase traffic and pollution and create excessive noise.

Flammini charged: “This referendum was designed to give voice to the opponents of the grand prix.”

Michael Schumacher does not feature in an authoritative magazine’s ranking of the top 50 racing drivers of 2010.

The editor of the British print magazine Autosport, often described as the ‘bible’ for motor sport fans, said the seven time world champion missed the cut because he “wasn’t very good” on his return to formula one this year.

Drivers for all major motor racing series around the world are eligible for the top 50.

“If there had been just one race where you thought Schumacher was exceptional that may well have been enough to get him into the top 50,” said editor Andrew van de Burgt. “But I can’t think of that one performance.

“Coupled with that, his comeback was easily the most hyped and eagerly anticipated I can remember. The expectations were so great and the results so disappointing.”

The editor dismissed Schumacher’s argument that this year’s Bridgestone tyres did not suit his driving style.

“The tyres are the same for everyone and a driver who has won 91 grands prix and seven world championships has got to adapt,” he insisted.

Schumacher’s Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who is 16 years younger than Schumacher and has never won a race, was ranked 12th in the 2010 Autosport ‘Best Of’ driver ranking.

“Rosberg more than had the measure of Schumacher,” said van de Burgt. “And what we have seen in the past suggests Rosberg is a very good driver but maybe not a great one.

“So to be so comprehensively beaten by him didn’t really show Schumacher in a great light.”

He admitted that the 41-year-old German showed “a few little hints” of promise at the end of the season, but for the top 50 it was “close but no cigar”.

Giedo van der Garde and his management have started work on ‘plan B’, after missing out on the second Virgin race cockpit for 2011.

The Dutchman, managed and sponsored by officials of the McGregor fashion brand, was in the running for the seat alongside Timo Glock until the British team said on Tuesday it has signed Belgian Jerome d’Ambrosio.

Asked if he had heard the news before Virgin’s press release was issued, 25-year-old van der Garde told the Dutch press: “No, we were not informed in advance.

“It is unfortunate, but what you do know in advance is how difficult it is to get a formula one seat,” he admitted.

“F1 remains the goal even if it is a tough business. You have to ignore the setbacks and keep going.”

The Dutch magazine formule1.nl said ‘plan B’ for van der Garde is another season in GP2, or perhaps test seats with the Williams or Force India teams.

Van der Garde replied: “This news is so fresh. First I have to sit down with my management to see what is best for my career.

“Plan B is to be GP2 champion, as we have seen what it did for Pastor Maldonado. He was in GP2 four years before he was champion.”

His manager Jan Paul ten Hoopen admitted that Tuesday’s news has “narrowed the opportunities” for van der Garde in F1 for 2011.

“With Virgin we had a realistic option,” he added. “We are still talking with two other teams, including Force India.

“But you can never rely on something in formula one. It’s a big casino,” added ten Hoopen.