Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at Michael Schumacher after the seven time world champion accused Red Bull of breaching the rules about staff numbers.

Earlier this month, the Mercedes driver referred to a clause in the Resource Restriction Agreement when he said “certain teams don’t respect that”.

“If you take the number of people we have compared with Red Bull, that is very different,” said Schumacher.

Indeed, Mercedes employs 400 people at Brackley, plus 20 for administration and marketing in Stuttgart.

Red Bull, meanwhile, has 550 staff at Milton Keynes.

The latter’s Marko told Auto Bild: “The agreement never came into force. We were reluctant because it (the staff limits) were purely for the chassis development.”

He said if F1 teams want to limit staff numbers, then the limit should also apply to the development of engines.

For instance, Mercedes employs another 400 people for the development of its F1 engines, while Red Bull’s supplier – Renault – has just 170 staff at Viry-Chattilon.

“Mr Schumacher should be asking how many people work on his Mercedes engine in Brixworth,” said Marko.

“Why should we make concessions in the development of the chassis when Mercedes has every freedom for the engine?”

Michael Schumacher’s predicament in 2011 reminds Niki Lauda of the end of his own formula one comeback.
The great Austrian retired as a double world champion in 1979, only to return three years later to face the young Alain Prost at McLaren.

Schumacher, the ultra-successful seven time world champion, also took a three-year retirement after 2006 and has struggled on his return with Mercedes.

“Now is the time when Michael must go as fast as Nico (Rosberg) in the same car, no doubt about it,” insisted Lauda.

“If he can’t do it, he needs to think about it. Just as I had to think about it in those days when the little Alain Prost came, I was able to win the title by just half a point because of my experience.

“The next year he drove me into the ground in the same car. Then I had the question: Am I still, as one from the generation before, still able to have the right performance?” he told the German broadcaster RTL.

“I realised that I could not. At some point Michael will have to realise the same,” added Lauda.

Mark Webber has played down his chances of beating Sebastian Vettel to pole, but insists he is on the right track to catching his widely-lauded Red Bull teammate.
After a difficult opening four races to 2011, the Australian was quicker in both Friday practice sessions at Barcelona, the scene of his victory from pole a year ago.

“I have improved, but I still have not been as fast as Sebastian in qualifying,” he admitted in an interview with O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

“From pole, he can manage the degradation of the tyres. I drop behind with faster wear and have to replace them before him, compromising my race. But he (Vettel) is driving like never before,” acknowledged Webber, 34.

He knows the time is now to kick-start his campaign for the 2011 championship.

“I have to stop this winning streak of Sebastian’s,” said Webber. “If he wins the next three or four it will be bad for me and for you (the media),” he added.

Webber said the FIA’s decision to ban off-throttle exhaust blowing in the next few races is “absurd”, and Red Bull’s F1 consultant Helmut Marko agrees.

“Anything we invent is immediately questioned,” he is quoted by Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

But: “In the event that the regulations are rewritten, we already have a solution,” he warned.

Jaime Alguersuari’s was a lone voice in Barcelona when he praised the new ‘super hard’ tyre compound supplied by Pirelli.
Lewis Hamilton had slammed the tyre – designed to degrade less quickly by offering less grip – as a “disaster”, while Fernando Alonso refused to comment.

But Barcelona local Alguersuari, at the wheel of the Toro Rosso, was happy.

“We ran a long stint with the super hard tyres and I had never been so consistent with so little degradation, which is a step forward,” he is quoted by EFE news agency.

“I think the main problems we have had were with the tyres and I found myself running more comfortably and faster,” added Alguersuari.

The angry Hamilton had said his McLaren was up to 2.5 seconds slower per lap on the super-hard compared to the alternate soft compound, but Alguersuari said the difference was much less.

“I had a good feeling,” he continued. “You have less grip, but it’s easier to drive. I’d never done a race simulation with 130 kilos of petrol over 15 laps with the same rhythm.”

Stefano Domenicali has fended off claims Ferrari needs a stronger character at the helm of its F1 team, such as the controversial Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho.
“Mourinho is my friend,” Italian Domenicali told the Spanish sports newspaper AS when told Ferrari needs a figure like the Portuguese in charge.

“I will not speak ill of him,” he said, rejecting speculation some of Ferrari’s troubles since the heady days of Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt is that the team’s new leader is too nice.

“Everyone has his own style. If winning is a problem of being hard or soft, I say in 2008 we won (the constructors’ championship).

“I don’t care what is said, the important thing is to have authority within the group you govern. And frankly, if last year we had won the title in Abu Dhabi, how different would it be now?

“You see? Sorry to say so, but you have to use your head. I respect what you are saying, but I disagree,” he insisted.

The interviewer pointed out another observation that Ferrari has reverted to Italianisation in the wake of the ultra-successful influences of departed Frenchman Todt and Briton Ross Brawn.

“I think I will not answer because I am a certain sort of person,” smiled Domenicali.

Asked to clarify his final point, he added: “No, look, I have replied, but perhaps not as I should have out of respect for your readers. It is not my style.”

Ferrari will have to revert to a more conventional rear wing after Sunday’s Spanish grand prix.
After Friday practice in Barcelona, Charlie Whiting admitted the FIA was considering banning the Italian team’s new wing because it was too high.

The Maranello based team is exploiting a loophole in the regulations about slot-gap separators to effectively increase the height of the upper wing element.

“It’s a very clever interpretation of the rules and we’ve got to decide whether we think it’s a good interpretation of the rules,” said Whiting.

According to Italy’s Autosprint, the FIA technical delegate will allow Ferrari to run the wing for the rest of the weekend in Spain, but not in Monaco or beyond.

Adrian Sutil’s manager has admitted he is seeking an “amicable” solution with Eric Lux amid a scandal that could cost the Force India driver his formula one career or even his freedom.

Lux, chief executive of the Renault team owner Genii Capital, said this week he is planning filing criminal charges after he was cut on the neck with a broken glass at a post-race nightclub party in China last month.

But Manfred Zimmermann, 28-year-old Sutil’s German manager, told reporters in Barcelona on Thursday that Lux has not actually filed those charges yet.

“We are still looking for an amicable solution between ourselves,” he is quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

A successful charge of “physical assault and grievous bodily harm” – the complaints mentioned by Eric Lux’s Swiss lawyer – could result in a jail term for Sutil.

And Force India has only committed to honouring the German driver’s contract for the Spanish grand prix this weekend, despite Monaco taking place just a week later.

Another potentially explosive element is the possible involvement of Sutil’s friend Lewis Hamilton.

The McLaren driver was whisked away from the M1nt nightclub by his bodyguards shortly after Lux fled with wounds that required more than a dozen stiches at a nearby Chinese hospital.

Lux’s lawyer had warned that he might take action against “other persons involved in this matter”, but on Thursday Hamilton was not talking about Shanghai.

“I’ve been advised not to say anything,” the Briton is quoted by the Mirror.

It was Williams who pushed the FIA to clamp down on ever-sophisticated blown exhaust solutions.
That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, amid earlier suspicions that Virgin had complained loudest as they fall behind in the crucial new area of F1 car development.

In June, the off-throttle blowing of exhaust gases will be limited by 90 per cent, and Autosprint in Italy claims exhaust-blown diffusers could be banned altogether for the start of 2012.

There is no doubt the FIA crackdown was motivated by a team, and the early suspect was Virgin. “But it was Williams,” a report by Auto Motor und Sport said.

“A ban … would have affected us less than the leading teams because we … are quite a long way behind on the engine mapping side,” Virgin team boss John Booth admitted to Reuters.

It emerges that Cosworth, engine supplier to both Williams and Virgin, is struggling to keep up with its rivals in the area of off-throttle engine mapping.

Red Bull’s Adrian Newey said the ban will affect all the top teams more or less equally.

“Everyone has this technology and the exhaust solutions are very similar,” he said. “I cannot tell you whether the ban will be a relative advantage or a disadvantage (for Red Bull),” he added.

“It doesn’t affect only the engine suppliers, we have to react on the chassis side too. If the exhaust gases can’t flow consistently any more, it will have a significant influence on the balance,” said Newey.

Also disappointed is Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn.

“The teams and engine manufacturers have invested a lot of money in this technology that is now thrown out of the window,” he said.

Rubens Barrichello thinks his countryman Felipe Massa is safe to stay at Ferrari.
Veteran Barrichello left the famous Italian team after the 2005 season, at the end of a period of playing the role of undisputed number two to Michael Schumacher.

His memories are therefore bittersweet, but as it emerged on Thursday that Fernando Alonso has extended his contract through 2016, Barrichello admitted Massa might be advised to also push for a new deal.

“I don’t know if Ferrari still operates today as it did ten years ago when I was with Schumacher,” the 38-year-old told radio Jovem Pan.

“If it is the same as then, I would advise him to get out, but I believe Ferrari is quite different today, so I can’t express an opinion.

“There are things that were bad for me and apparently better for him (Massa),” he added.

“Without Schumacher there, Ferrari is a team that is worthwhile going to. They always have a competitive car,” admitted Barrichello.

Alonso’s new five-year extension surprised the F1 paddock in Barcelona, but Barrichello is sure it includes exit clauses.

“The contract shouldn’t be blindly analysed by the press,” said the Williams driver. “For sure he has signed up to 2016, but there must be ways out.

“Such a long contract shows that the team wants to keep Alonso very much, and if I was a leader at Ferrari I would try to do the same thing,” admitted Barrichello.

“But such a long contract can bring benefits as well as harms to a driver.”

When asked about Alonso’s new deal on Thursday, Massa told reporters: “It is not yet contract renewal time for myself and I am in no hurry to see what my long term future will be.”

As F1 celebrates the end of processional and predictable races, Pirelli has acknowledged that Turkey two weeks ago was one step too far.
The sport’s new official tyre partner is supplying a more durable hard compound to teams in Spain this weekend, after drivers had to make four pitstops on average at Istanbul Park.

Some commentators have applauded the spectacle of the new formula, whilst acknowledging that Turkey – as a motor race – was nearly impossible for spectators to follow.

“We have gone from one extreme to the other,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

Agreed Pirelli’s Paul Hembery: “We were caught by surprise in Turkey. Four pitstops is a lot. We are working on two or three.”

Even if the right balance is found, not everyone is a fan of today’s F1.

“I miss not being able to squeeze everything out of the car without having to look after the tyres,” admitted Mark Webber.

Mercedes boss Ross Brawn, however, said it is here to stay.

“Most teams are already working on their cars for next season based on what (regulations) we have today,” he revealed.

Mark Webber is hoping to turn his season around with a back-to-back Barcelona win this weekend.

The Australian won the Spain-Monaco double header a year ago and on Friday morning at the Circuit de Catalunya got off to a fast start by lapping clearly quicker than any rival.

“Seems to be a good circuit for me, yeah,” he confirmed.

Webber, 34, has had to witness his teammate Sebastian Vettel roar into a clear championship lead in 2011 and himself finish fifth, fourth, third and second in the opening four races of the season.

“I will try to keep that going and have a clean weekend and try to go one step further than the last few races and do what I did last year,” he said in Spain.

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey said this week that Vettel has adapted better to life on Pirelli tyres this year, and Webber agrees.

“What’s absolutely clear is that we were very, very, very even on the Bridgestone tyres, and it’s not quite like that on the Pirellis so far, particularly on new tyres,” said the Australian.

“That’s not an excuse, I’m just answering your question. That’s the only thing that’s changed. Seb’s doing a good job and clearly it’s up to me to do better.”

An initially innocuous ‘tweet’ by a Swiss test driver has stirred up a controversy involving the championship-leading team Red Bull.
Neel Jani wrote on his Twitter account this week that he “really worked my neck out” on Sunday during a 400 kilometre test at the wheel of the RB7.

The test is believed to have taken place at the Idiada venue in Spain.

The 27-year-old’s comment raised eyebrows because the only testing allowed during the season is to be conducted in a straight line, but Jani said his neck was twinged due to “high speed cornering”.

The offending tweets have been deleted.

A Red Bull spokesperson denied to f1fanatic.co.uk that Jani’s test broke the rules.

“We did not complete high speed cornering and tested within the permitted regulations — which is an aero test carried out on FIA approved straight line or constant radius sites,” the spokesperson said.

Red Bull also claimed Jani did not write the tweets himself.

Fernando Alonso has signed up with Ferrari for another five years, the Italian team announced on Thursday.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said last week he hopes to keep the Spaniard, who joined the Maranello based outfit last year, for “a long time”.

Thursday’s press release said Ferrari “has renewed its technical and racing agreement” with Alonso, 29, through the end of 2016.

“Fernando has all the required qualities, both technically and personally to play a leading role in the history of Ferrari and I hope he will be enriching it with further wins very soon,” said Montezemolo.

Alonso said there is “no doubt” he will end his F1 career with Ferrari.

The existing regulations about off-throttle exhaust blowing will be in place for at least the next three races, according to German reports.
Auto Motor und Sport and Speed Week reveal that the technical working group will not meet to discuss the FIA’s clampdown until the middle of June — after the forthcoming Spanish, Monaco and Canadian grands prix.

The magazine said the meeting will involve Charlie Whiting and the teams on June 16.

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted disappointment with Michael Schumacher’s return to formula one.

After his disappointing performance season last year, there were high hopes an improved Mercedes car and the new Pirelli tyres would lead to a more successful campaign in 2011.

Asked about the seven time world champion’s return so far, Ecclestone told the Swiss newspaper Blick: “I am surprised and disappointed.

“I would like to see him in a Red Bull because you don’t know how good the Mercedes is. Compared to his teammate Rosberg, it (Schumacher’s performance) doesn’t look good.

“But Michael is a fighter and he can still win. I’ll be the first to cheer when he beats Vettel,” the Briton laughed.

Schumacher, 42, admitted after a fraught event in Turkey two weeks ago that he is currently missing “the big joy” of F1.

Some commentators are advising the German to return to retirement, moving 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell to admit: “If things haven’t improved by the end of the year, maybe what some people are saying he should take heed.”

The German tabloid Express has this week even quoted a doctor as speculating Schumacher might need glasses, but Mercedes’ Norbert Haug denies he is over the hill.

“I would not underestimate him or his ability. So far this year his true capabilities have been clear not in results, but in lap times — yes,” the German told Salzburger Nachrichten.

And team boss Ross Brawn is quoted as saying by Reuters: “I think he’s pretty resilient and I’m optimistic this weekend he’ll be back where we want him.”