Tony Fernandes has denied he will have to change the name of his formula one team.

Despite the Malaysian millionaire Fernandes retaining the rights to the Team Lotus name after a court battle with Group Lotus, F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone suggested the actual chassis might need to be called something else – perhaps Caterham – in 2012.

Fernandes, however, denies this.

“We have the spirit of Team Lotus and the team has always raced with the Lotus chassis name. We are not changing,” he is quoted in French by autohebdo.fr.

Sauber is setting its sights on loftier ambitions for 2011.
The Swiss team is currently a credible sixth in the constructors’ standings, behind Mercedes and Renault and leading grandees Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

“We keep our feet on the ground,” managing director Monisha Kaltenborn told the Swiss newspaper Blick when asked if more than sixth is the target.

The newspaper, however, said it has learned Sauber’s ‘secret plan’ for the rest of the 2011 season — all available resources, and perhaps even some new recruitments, will be pointed towards the development of the C30.

“So full steam ahead,” wrote veteran reporter Roger Benoit.

Michael Schumacher has received the full backing of Mercedes’ top brass Dieter Zetsche.
Zetsche, the chairman of the German carmaker’s parent Daimler, was responding to renewed calls for 42-year-old Schumacher to return to retirement after disappointing performances since he returned to F1 last year.

But the seven time world champion had a better weekend in Monaco, where he won five times in his initial career, and Zetsche said Schumacher still has time to show he is in top form.

“Last year we gave him a bad car,” Zetsche told Bild newspaper. “So it was difficult for him to come back like that and prove himself again.

“I think we will see some positive surprises this year,” he added

Ferrari is not ruling out switching focus to 2012 if this season’s championship campaign continues to falter.

After an appalling performance in Spain a week earlier, the Monaco circuit last weekend suited the 150 Italia car and Fernando Alonso finished second.

The Spaniard, however, admitted afterwards that Sebastian Vettel, who has won five of the six races so far this season, would be a good bet for the title.

“We are not giving up,” insisted team boss Stefano Domenicali, according to Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The next two races next month, in Canada and Europe, will see the same super-soft Pirelli tyre supplied that contributed to Ferrari’s good performance in Monaco.

“The situation in the two championships continues to become more difficult,” conceded Domenicali. “But now we’re coming up on two races in which, on paper, we should be competitive.

“Then, before the summer break, we’ll make an assessment,” he said.

Before that assessment of the championship situation takes places, there will be new parts in Canada next weekend and then another significant step in early July.

“I’ve been talking to the engineers about the new parts we will have in Montreal, but above all, of the steps forward we must take for Silverstone, when we will be back at a track which requires a lot of aerodynamic downforce,” said Alonso.

“That’s where we will really see how our season is going to pan out.”

The FIA is keeping a close eye on the aftermath of Lewis Hamilton’s Monaco grand prix.

After the McLaren driver’s two penalties for crashes in the Principality, he returned to the track late on Sunday to explain his ‘Ali G’ remark to the stewards.

It is believed the British team feared Hamilton, 26, was in danger of being charged of contravening Article 151c by bringing the sport into disrepute.

Indeed, the FIA told the Telegraph on Monday that it was “gathering all the relevant information” about the incident.

So also on Monday, the 2008 world champion appeared in British newspapers with further explanations of the Monaco aftermath, and apologised to Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa via his Twitter account.

In his post-race tirade, Hamilton had labelled the pair “ridiculous” and “stupid”.

“Hey guys,” he wrote. “I wanted to apologise for last weekend’s performance and also my comments after, I never meant to offend.”

The Briton said he had “respect” for some of the “angry messages” he had received since Sunday.

“To Massa and Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended you. Both of you are fantastic drivers who I regard highly.

“To my fans lost and my fans won, I wish you nothing but love and happiness,” he tweeted.

Quoted by British newspapers, meanwhile, Hamilton explained that his loss of temper was a reflection of his racing style.

“I don’t do it to offend people or to hurt anyone. I do it because I love racing. I feel like I can do it better than others,” he said.

He also said his desire to succeed in Monaco, the past playground of his hero Ayrton Senna, is higher than ever.

“In my heart of hearts I believe I can own this circuit,” said Hamilton. “I feel like I can be the fastest here. I was, and not with the fastest car.”

Fascinatingly, he also revealed that his defiance began long before he spoke with reporters after the chequered flag on Sunday.

“I got hit (in the race) and my rear wing was hanging off and I was asked to come in and retire, and I refused,” said Hamilton. “The first pitstop I was asked to pit and no one was there. So all the tension just boiled up.”

Perhaps tellingly, Jenson Button declined to comment on his teammate’s weekend, and when told he is aware of Hamilton’s character he responded: “No, I don’t.”

Sergio Perez left hospital on Monday, two nights after his horror Monaco crash.

The Mexican rookie suffered concussion and a bruised thigh in a high speed qualifying crash against the notorious barrier at the end of the tunnel.

“I feel okay,” said the 21-year-old Sauber driver. “I have little bit of pain in my leg and in my neck, but this comes from muscles and is nothing to worry about. On Sunday I still felt a bit dizzy but that is all.”

Perez admits he can’t remember key moments about the crash.

“I remember how I started Q3 and I also remember some of the accident. For the time being I am missing some memories about what happened after the first impact and the rescue procedures,” he said.

He said he is “pretty sure” he will be well enough to drive in canada in two weeks.

Asked what he will be doing in the coming days, Perez answered: “Pretty simple — everything to make sure I can drive in Canada.”

Pastor Maldonado has revealed he will not be talking to Lewis Hamilton after the Monaco grand prix.
McLaren’s Hamilton was penalised 20 seconds for their crash and after the race ranted about the Williams rookie, who had driven a strong race in the Principality, as well as his 2008 title rival Felipe Massa.

“These drivers are ridiculous,” said the Briton. “It’s stupid.

“People want to see racing, but you get done trying to put on a show,” added Hamilton.

Maldonado told Germany’s motorsport-magazin.net he won’t bother trying to talk it through with Hamilton, 26.

Asked if the McLaren driver apologised, he replied: “No, and I won’t try to discuss the incident with him. That wouldn’t serve any purpose.”

Ferrari’s Massa also returned fire at Hamilton, who had blamed the Brazilian for their in-race crash for which he was given a drive-through penalty.

“Massa held me up in qualifying and I got the penalty. Then he turned into me (in the race) and I got the penalty,” said Hamilton.

30-year-old Massa was not impressed.

“What he did today was unbelievable,” said the Ferrari driver. “Not just with me, but with other drivers as well. He needs to be penalised again and in a good way — otherwise he doesn’t learn.

“He deserves at least a one race suspension,” Massa is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Hamilton did learn quickly from his poor joke about the stewards – including former Toyota driver Allan McNish – picking on him “because I’m black”.

He returned to the circuit late on Sunday to clear the air.

It is believed McLaren was worried its driver’s comments might have brought the sport into disrepute.

“They accepted my explanation, they understood,” said Hamilton after the late stewards’ meeting.

“We all shook hands. They said they would make sure other people in the FIA understand and clarify it with anybody else who has heard it and misunderstood,” he added.

Six races and five Sebastian Vettel victories down, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has admitted the German is well on track for his second world championship in 2011.
“There’s only one occasion that (many early wins) happened, (it was) a couple of years ago with Jenson (Button) and we know Jenson’s result,” said the Spaniard, referring to Jenson Button’s 2009 title after a stellar start to the season with Brawn.

“I think we saw in the last couple of years that if you win five or six grands prix you’ve nearly won the championship, so if you win five of the first six, you are in a very good position,” added Alonso.

Also after Red Bull driver Vettel’s Monaco win, his third race victory on the trot, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton agreed: “It’s not too late (to win the championship) but it’s not looking great.”

23-year-old Vettel’s lead after six races is 58 points over Hamilton.

But the gap might have been smaller had Alonso and Button been able to challenge Vettel in the closing laps as the German’s tyres wore.

The race was red-flagged for Vitaly Petrov’s crash and, with just a few laps left, Vettel was allowed to change his badly worn Pirellis for a new set on the grid.

“I was ready to attack,” said Alonso. “There was nothing to lose for me. I am not leading the championship so I will try to win the race and if we crash we crash.”

Vettel’s situation was caused when Red Bull accidentally fitted soft tyres to his RB7 during a calamitous pitstop when a two-stop strategy was actually planned.

“It was because of a radio communication problem,” explained team boss Christian Horner to autohebdo.fr. “The guys didn’t know what tyres to put on.

“We wanted to put the super softs on to defend from Jenson, but instead we said ‘Well, it’s not a disaster, let’s go on (with a one-stopper)’,” he added.

McLaren’s Button, meanwhile, finished third after a three-stop strategy, but compared with Vettel and also Alonso his tyres were the newest when the red-flag waved at the end.

“If the race was not interrupted, I think the decision (for three stops) would have been the right one,” boss Martin Whitmarsh is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

“Now, of course, we’ll never know.”

Ross Brawn has strengthened his words a few days before the World Motor Sport Council meets to consider arguably the most arduous calendar in the history of formula one.
Paddock figures are unhappy with Bernie Ecclestone’s plans to make room for Bahrain in the 2011 schedule by pushing out the date of the season finale to mid December.

Mercedes boss Brawn warned recently that the decision could mean some hard-working staff quit their jobs.

“That (December) is too much,” he is quoted as saying by spox.com in Monaco.

“Our guys have been working since January and to then give them no time for a holiday until Christmas is not acceptable,” added Brawn.

There are other pressures on Ecclestone to give up his plans to reschedule Bahrain this year, including from the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

It wrote in a letter to the FIA and F1 teams that they should “seriously consider the appropriateness of holding (the) event this year in Bahrain in light of the scale of human rights violations there”.

Team bosses said earlier in Monaco that they are not adding to the pressure by making direct approaches to the F1 authorities.

“But we have the right to speak our minds,” insisted Brawn.

Kamui Kobayashi is currently homeless, the Japanese driver has admitted.

He told the Swiss Sonntagsblick newspaper that he recently moved out of his Paris apartment.

Asked by reporter Roger Benoit if he will soon call Switzerland home, the 24-year-old Sauber driver answered: “That would be nice. But I’m still thinking about where to live.”

Asked what he meant, Kobayashi explained: “I have no house, no home. I don’t know where I should live.

“I have no base at the moment except for a big suitcase. At the moment I’m going from hotel to hotel. I’m always on the move anyway.

“But now I need to ask myself a question — who do I pay tax to now?” he joked.

Kobayashi admitted that Monaco is not his favourite circuit, perhaps because it does not allow him to express his now famous skill for overtaking.

It has been rumoured that his flair might soon attract the attention of top teams like Red Bull or Ferrari.

Asked how big his loyalty is to Peter Sauber, he answered: “Very big, because he had faith in me. Because I owe him almost everything for being in F1.

“Also, because I fulfil my contracts right up to the last day.”

With Aldo Costa now gone, attention is turning to who will follow him through the turnstiles at Maranello as Ferrari restructures for a more “aggressive” approach to 2012.
La Gazzetta dello Sport said the spotlight is on designer Nikolas Tombazis, even though team boss Stefano Domenicali on Friday said the Greek designer “will be responsible for the aerodynamic development and must try to come up with a winning project”.

Domenicali, however, acknowledged that his own head might roll.

“But I’m not at all worried as I know the rules of the game,” said the Italian. “First of all it’s someone above me who must answer this.

“Of course, I am responsible and I will try to solve things as much as I can, but if things are not going well it’s normal the leader has to, let’s say, pay for it.”

Also under pressure is Felipe Massa: “Our priority is to give him a competitive car and I think that the decisions taken will help him get going again,” said Domenicali.

But the biggest problem at Ferrari at present is the aerodynamic side, with Domenicali admitting that “We ought to make some important interventions to improve that”.

Now in Costa’s hot seat is Briton and former McLaren man Pat Fry, but when told he is now leading the 2012 project, Red Bull’s Adrian Newey admitted he finds the appointment “strange”.

Auto Motor und Sport mentioned rumours that Renault’s Tim Densham, or Williams’ recently ousted Jon Tomlinson, and a group of Fry’s former McLaren colleagues, are possible new arrivals at Ferrari.

And Brazilian reports hinted at Red Bull’s Rob Marshall and Peter Prodromou.

Team Lotus claimed victory in the court dispute, but the Tony Fernandes-led outfit might have to change its name for 2012 and beyond.
That is the claim of Bernie Ecclestone, after the London High Court declared a complex verdict in the name dispute brought by Malaysian-owned British carmaker Group Lotus.

After the latter claimed victory, Team Lotus issued a second media statement clarifying that it can use “the Team Lotus name and roundel (logo) … in relation to formula one racing”.

But with Renault sponsor Group Lotus also cleared to continue deploying the famous name in F1, Ecclestone suggested that Team Lotus might have to undergo a slight identity switch next year.

His comments tie in with a reference by Team Lotus in its first press statement on Friday to “the Caterham Team Lotus umbrella”; a reference to Fernandes’ recent acquisition of the specialty British sports car maker.

Ecclestone told Blick: “Fernandes can keep the name Team Lotus. However, his cars may not be called Lotus.

“In the registration for the world championship, the team (name) comes first, then the car.

“Strictly speaking Fernandes would have to sign up as Team Lotus and something,” added the F1 chief executive to the Swiss newspaper.

Jenson Button is refusing to rule out a future move to Ferrari, despite saying recently he wants to close his formula one career at McLaren.
The 31-year-old has raced at McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton since winning the 2009 title with Brawn.

He is under contract until the end of next year and admitted in Monaco that his three target teams as a youngster were Williams, McLaren and Ferrari.

“I’ve got to drive for two of them, which is great, which as an eight-year-old kid I didn’t expect to do.

“As a kid you are very excited about racing for the red team,” he is quoted as saying by the Guardian.

“Ferrari is obviously a team I haven’t raced for. I’ve won the world championship and I would love to win the world championship again,” added Button.

The 9-time grand prix winner said recently he would like to finish his career at McLaren, but he now insists: “I don’t even know what I’m doing tomorrow. I don’t plan too far ahead.”

With Fernando Alonso signed up through 2016, the hypothetical seat to be taken by Button is currently occupied by Felipe Massa.

Asked if he can imagine pairing with the feisty Spaniard, Button answered: “It’s not teammates I’m afraid of, at all. I love the challenge of teammates.

“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and it’s interesting to work them out. But I don’t know what will happen in the future.”

There was a bomb scare aboard Red Bull’s floating ‘Energy Station’ motor home early on Thursday.
Police were called to the palatial structure, which features a swimming pool for the Monaco weekend, when an abandoned backpack was discovered in a corner, according to Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

The backpack, which amusingly given the recent ‘spy’ saga was reportedly in a ‘Ferrari-design’, was taken away by the bomb experts.

Flavio Briatore has questioned whether Mark Webber receives equal treatment at Red Bull.
Banned former Renault boss Briatore, making a visit this weekend to the Monaco paddock, still manages Fernando Alonso as well as Webber.

The Australian has had a difficult start to 2011 and Briatore admitted to wondering if things are running smoothly in the pit garage next to runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel.

“I think that team is big enough for both drivers to have equal opportunities,” Briatore told the Spanish sports newspaper AS.

“Every time there is a problem, it is Webber, and although in life you have to be lucky, it’s strange when all you get is bad luck.

“I believe unquestionably in (Christian) Horner’s quality, but Webber needs to be able to compete in order to challenge for the title, for the spectacle, like Prost-Senna,” added the Italian.

“Maybe they think it’s better to have a first driver light and clear. I always had a number one and number two with a chance of being competitive and working together.

“This works better than having a number one and number two working for themselves only. Except with Fernando and Schumacher, I never counted on one driver only,” said Briatore.