Christian Horner has refused to rule out signing McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

“Any driver-manager doing his job at the moment has been banging on the door,” said the Red Bull team boss, on the day Hamilton announced his career will be handled from now by entertainment manager Simon Fuller.

“Lewis is a great driver,” Horner is quoted by the Telegraph. “You would think he’s not going to be happy having another barren year.”

Horner’s comments might be regarded as mischief-making, with McLaren’s 2011 car currently off the pace of the field-leading Red Bull and Ferrari.

But Hamilton also had a poor season in 2009 as reigning world champion, while last season the McLaren was not quite a match for the best cars.

Horner suggested it is 26-year-old Hamilton who will therefore be doing the knocking.

“That is not to say we are looking for him to come to our team. We are very happy with the two drivers we have. That is more of a question you would need to put to Lewis,” he added.

Horner insisted Red Bull could handle a Sebastian Vettel-Hamilton pairing.

“You would certainly envisage it being quite a busy partnership, but you can never rule it out. From my perspective you always want to have the best two drivers,” he said.

For now, Hamilton says he is happy at McLaren, playing down reports he is disillusioned before even racing the MP4-26.

“It’s a long, long year and I have no doubts that we can compete with these guys,” he said.

After the team’s new car sat out the entire pre-season test period, owner Jose Ramon Carabante insists there is no risk that HRT will also miss the 2011 season opener in less than two weeks.

“It is certain that we will be in Australia and race there,” Carabante is quoted as saying by El Pais newspaper.

The F111 was finally launched in the Barcelona pitlane late last week but the team said it could not be tested due to components being held up in customs.

Carabante admits that Hispania’s preparation for its second formula one season was not ideal.

“Maybe we will not finish the first race, we’ll see, but the car will develop from here with the clear aim of fighting with and beating the other two teams that started last year,” he added, referring to Virgin and Lotus.

HRT has said the F111 is entirely new, but expert observers pointed out striking similarities with the back-of-the-grid Dallara car of 2010.

“We are relying on last year’s chassis,” admitted chief engineer Toni Cuquerella, “but 95 per cent of the car is new.

“We have a Cosworth engine with the latest specification and we have adapted the chassis for the new gearbox and hydraulics supplied to us by Williams.

“The collaboration with them (Williams) has allowed us to make a technological step of three years. It is clear that the car is much better than last year’s,” he added.

El Pais said HRT’s 2011 budget is EUR 45 million, to potentially be covered by some as yet unsigned sponsors.

“We are negotiating with several sponsors,” insists Carabante, who is reportedly willing to make up the shortfall if the budget is not finally completed.

Mike Gascoyne has admitted it is unlikely Team Lotus’ 2011 car will ever feature a KERS system.

The Renault-powered T128 was designed without the energy recovery technology in mind, but chief operating officer Keith Saunt said last month: “We might end up with it, who knows?”

“We will discuss it with Renault, but for a small team like us, KERS is a very high cost,” technical director Gascoyne told Auto Motor und Sport.

“We would need to change the chassis significantly, as at the moment there is no room for KERS,” he said.

But Gascoyne is not ruling out a change of mind, especially as arguably the biggest benefit of running a KERS system this year is expected to be the race start.

“It would not be good if we’re among a few of our direct opponents in qualifying and then before the first corner we lose three or four places because we lack that extra power on the line,” he explained.

British media reports say the national broadcaster BBC is considering abandoning its television coverage of formula one.

The move, with senior managers reportedly also considering dropping coverage of the famous Wimbledon tennis tournament, is amid the BBC coming under pressure to cut 20 per cent from its budget by 2014.

The Guardian said the BBC, having taken over Britain’s F1 coverage from commercial broadcaster ITV in 2009, currently spends 40 million pounds ($64 million) on the sport per year.

The current contract runs until 2014.

A report in the Daily Mail said F1 is a “non-peaktime product” for the BBC, with its cost “seen in some quarters as an extravagance at a time when cuts are desperately needed”.

A BBC spokesman said: “We are looking at a range of ideas and it would be wrong to comment on what is speculation.”

Michael Schumacher is not ruling out staying in formula one beyond the end of his current contract.

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug at the weekend said he can imagine teaming up with the famous seven time world champion in 2013 “If Michael wants it and we can agree on a right price”.

Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm responded to Bild newspaper: “Of course we are open to discussions, because with the team we feel very good.

“Michael is totally motivated and is able to give F1 a lot more,” she added.

By the end of 2013, Schumacher will be approaching his 45th birthday, but the great German’s doctor Johannes Peil said age is not an obstacle.

“Michael is so fit,” he insisted, “he could still be driving at 50.”

Perhaps the key to Schumacher’s willingness to re-sign beyond 2012 is the better performance of the Mercedes team, following a disappointing return to F1 last year.

Until very recently, the new W02 was a second off the pace but last week at Barcelona “We made the big step we had calculated”, admitted a relieved Haug.

“We took a giant step forwards,” confirmed Schumacher’s teammate Nico Rosberg, who admitted that Schumacher’s best laptime in Barcelona with the upgrade package showed that the W02 is “very fast”.

“Even if the time was with low fuel, it surprised us. And many others, I am sure,” said Red Bull’s reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

But Haug told the SID news agency: “I don’t see us as the favourites; that is going to take a while yet.”

Renault is hoping to chase the heels of the pacesetting Red Bull and Ferrari teams with its own 2011 car.

Boss Eric Boullier told Spain’s El Pais newspaper that the Enstone based designers “made a commitment to innovation” when devising the R31 car.

Indeed, observers and rivals have lauded the car’s innovative front exhaust layout.

“We spent a lot of time thinking about it and discussing it, as it was a risk. But in the end we said ‘Why not?’” revealed Frenchman Boullier.

Losing lead driver Robert Kubica to injury was a major blow to Renault’s 2011 campaign, but Boullier said the team is hopeful of a very good season.

“It’s too early to say if we can win races,” he insisted. “It will be hard to be there with Red Bull and Ferrari. But they will be our main rivals.

“I very much respect Ross Brawn, Mercedes and McLaren and I know they have greater resources; if we can stay ahead of them it will be a great success for us,” added Boullier.

Rubens Barrichello has revealed he has been impressed with the step forward taken by Team Lotus for 2011.
Lotus finished its debut season as the best of the three newcomers, but still significantly off the pace of the established teams.

“Lotus were four seconds behind Red Bull in 2010,” Williams driver and grand prix veteran Barrichello told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

“They seem to have improved two seconds for this year.”

Little can be said about HRT’s untested new F111 car, but Barrichello has admitted he is worried for the Virgin team.

“With the return of the 107 per cent rule, it is possible that a few times they will not qualify. At the moment they seem slow,” said the 38-year-old.

Narain Karthikeyan is confident he can get back up to speed in formula one within a few races of his 2011 return.

The Indian’s highly rated teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi was significantly faster in the limited testing he has done with the HRT team, but 34-year-old Karthikeyan has not raced in F1 since his debut season in 2005.

“I did two days in the rain and it went very well,” he is quoted as saying by Dutch website formule1.nl.

“On a dry track there is still a bit of searching for the limit, but in my new teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi, I have a good reference,” added Karthikeyan, whose backer Tata is one of HRT’s only sponsors.

“My first impression is that our driving styles are quite similar,” he continued, “and that can only be an advantage. Give me a few races and I have no doubt that I will find the limit.”

Karthikeyan also insisted that he is not too worried about travelling to Australia without having driven the new F111 car.

“Many smart people have designed it and I hope it’s good enough to be the best of the three new teams,” he said.

Red Bull on Monday confirmed reports world champion Sebastian Vettel has signed up with the team through 2014.

Also announced on Monday was that Lewis Hamilton will be managed by Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment company.

XIX also handles the famous British footballer David Beckham and his Spice Girl wife Victoria.

McLaren driver Hamilton sacked his former manager, father Anthony Hamilton, early last year.

In a statement, 26-year-old Hamilton said Fuller “shared my ambitions for the longer term”.

Mercedes has not ruled out extending its contract with Michael Schumacher.

Currently, despite his disappointing return to F1 last year, the seven time world champion’s deal is not set to expire until the end of next season.

But Norbert Haug, German marque Mercedes’ competition director, admitted to Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he can imagine teaming up with the famous 42-year-old in 2013 as well.

“If Michael wants it and we can agree on a right price — with pleasure,” said Haug.

After fitting a late and major upgrade for the W02 car, Mercedes had a strong end to the 2011 pre-season period.

“Michael looks really strong,” admitted team boss Ross Brawn.  “He could surprise some people this year.”

Before leaving Barcelona where the last winter test before the Australian season opener is held, Schumacher smiled as he admitted his best time was “not bad”.

“On the favourites list, they are now climbing to the top,” admitted Red Bull’s reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Referring to the final Barcelona test, former triple world champion and commentator Niki Lauda said: “It was a big step forward.  The times were great.”