Bernie Ecclestone has scoffed at Ferrari’s latest ‘breakaway’ threat.
Some days ago the famous Italian marque’s president Luca di Montezemolo warned that Ferrari and the other teams could walk away from the sport’s current owners CVC at the end of the 2012 Concorde Agreement.

Asked about Montezemolo’s comments, F1 chief executive Ecclestone told Swiss newspaper Blick: “Oh yes, we all know Montezemolo’s emotional side.

“But how often has Ferrari actually gone?” the Briton added.

Ecclestone sounded confident about the future beyond the current commercial agreement.

“Forget the Concorde Agreement,” he said. “CVC bought formula one at a time when there was basically no Concorde Agreement and the manufacturers were threatening us with a rival series.

“So it was the worst possible time to buy and yet CVC paid good money. Today the risk is even lower.”

It has been suggested teams want their share of F1′s revenue pie to be increased from 50 per cent in the current Concorde to 70pc in 2013.

“In the last five Concorde Agreements the teams wanted more money. There is no chance they’re getting 70 per cent,” said Ecclestone.

The FIA has banned the aggressive blowing of exhaust gases when drivers are not pressing the throttle, according to rumours on Tuesday.
Many teams, including grandees Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and others, have devised sophisticated exhaust layouts and engine maps for 2011 that exploit the aggressive blowing of gases through the diffuser when the drivers are off the throttle to maximise downforce in corners.

But according to the latest rumours, the FIA has issued ‘Technical Directive 15′ that means maximum throttle is limited to just 10 per cent when the driver is not pressing the throttle.

It is believed the directive was issued last week with immediate effect.

F1 teams have been contacted for confirmation.

Ferrari is in the process of devising some key changes to ensure a better start to the 2012 season, according to Autosprint.
The Italian magazine said there will be some layoffs due to the aerodynamic problems the team has grappled with in getting the new 150 Italia car up to speed.

No names were mentioned, but chief designer Nikolas Tombazis’ role is reportedly safe, which raises doubt about the chief aerodynamicist Marco de Luca.

At the same time, a former Ferrari engineer has questioned the reports about the team’s Maranello wind tunnel suffering from a calibration problem.

“I honestly do not think there’s anything wrong with it,” he is quoted as saying, speculating that the real problem could be with Pirelli’s scale wind tunnel tyres.

“Also, I think they (Ferrari) have tried to use a curved (air) flow, to simulate behaviour in the corners, which is a very difficult task,” the unnamed engineer added.

“It is not unusual to have a problem in the wind tunnel. Unfortunately, when it happens to us there is a lot of attention,” said technical director Aldo Costa.

“We have had to review something in the tunnel, I don’t want to be more specific than that,” he added, explaining that all the changes will be complete by the end of the season.

Norbert Haug is keeping silent amid reports Mercedes is set to introduce an exciting upgrade package in Barcelona this weekend.

The team has confirmed that a significant package of new parts will be debuted in Spain, with rumours suggesting a Red Bull-style flexible wing and a Renault-style front exhaust layout may be among the changes.

“We have quite a few things in the pipeline, but Ross (Brawn) will hit me if I tell,” Mercedes’ motor sport vice-president Haug joked in an interview with ibnlive.com.

“So, (there’s) no chance that I can be specific,” he added.

Luca di Montezemolo has played down the possibility of leaving Ferrari in order to enter Italian politics.

Rumours abounded last month that, despite the Ferrari president signing on with the Maranello marque for another three years, the 63-year-old has definitely decided to switch to politics in the near future.

But in a new interview with the International Herald Tribune, Montezemolo insisted he is “married to Ferrari”.

However, he is undeniably interested in politics, having started a research group – Italia Futura – to monitor the government and identify potential political candidates.

He would not categorically rule out running for office but added: “I don’t believe in a one-man show. I’m more of a team-spirit guy.”

Also constantly rumoured in the recent past is that Ferrari, also the famous maker of road sports cars, could soon float on the stock market.

But a Credit Suisse analyst is quoted as saying a lack of financial transparency at Ferrari could be a hurdle.

“There are so many loose ends that would need to be addressed in an IPO,” he said, estimating the value of Ferrari at EUR 3 billion.

Montezemolo hit back: “When I hear people say that the value of Ferrari is only three billion, I think, ‘Someone must be out of their mind’.”

Robert Wickens is set to be confirmed as Virgin’s new reserve driver.
We reported late last month that the 22-year-old Canadian was at the front of the queue for the role after Sakon Yamamoto’s contract covered only the first races of 2011.

But some unknown problems held up the deal, despite Wickens being strongly backed in the Formula Renault 3.5 series by Virgin’s Russian sponsor and shareholder Marussia.

The Toronto newspaper Globe and Mail insists the hurdles have now been overcome and Wickens – who attended the recent Turkish grand prix with Virgin – will be unveiled this week as reserve driver in time for Barcelona.

A Friday driving role is also on the cards, amid recent rumours it will be Wickens who takes over the race cockpit if Jerome d’Ambrosio’s sponsors do not pay up.

Adrian Newey has revealed he would like to see Mark Webber stay with Red Bull Racing in 2012.
Along with other key players including designer Newey and team boss Christian Horner, Sebastian Vettel’s contract for next year and beyond was recently extended.

34-year-old Webber, however, is currently scheduled to leave the dominant team at the end of the season, with bosses wanting to gauge his motivation and performance at a later date.

The Australian has struggled to match runaway championship leader Vettel’s pace so far in 2011, with team driver manager Helmut Marko admitting recently that the young German alongside Lewis Hamilton would be a “fantasy” pairing.

“Crikey,” Newey responded in an interview with the Guardian.

“I’m hoping Mark continues next season. Apart from being a great person, his contribution has been significant. He’s been a pillar of the team from the start.

“Seb is very perceptive in his feedback in some regards and Mark is very perceptive in other areas. We listen to both and it helps the car,” the Briton added.

He admitted Webber has struggled recently but is now “closing the gap” to Vettel.

“At the moment he (Vettel) is really on top of his game. It’s certainly not a case that Mark has been driving any slower — that’s for sure. Mark’s just taken a bit longer to adapt to the Pirelli tyres but the gap is closing.”

He said the drivers felt the enormous pressure of last year’s championship battle and also revealed that he was affected physically by the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.

“The little hair I had all fell out in the aftermath,” said Newey, who designed the Williams that Senna raced at Imola. “So it changed me physically.”

He believes Senna’s crash was caused by a puncture rather than a failed steering column but is nonetheless reluctant to see the new film about the great Brazilian’s career.

“No. It would not be an easy thing to do,” said Newey.

Mark Smith has finally made his switch to Team Lotus.

The move was announced a full year ago, but Force India enforced the “notice period” in his contract that is only now expiring.

Team Lotus announced on Monday that Smith has finally started work as technical director at Hingham and will develop the T128 under Mike Gascoyne “and begin work on the 2012 car”.

“The foundations are there for long-term success and I am looking forward to helping the team achieve its goals for many seasons to come,” said Smith.

Eric Lux’s lawyer has confirmed the Genii Capital chief executive is taking legal action against Force India driver Adrian Sutil.
The 28-year-old German driver recently apologised after it emerged he had injured Lux – involved in the ownership and management of the Renault team – in the neck with a broken glass at a nightclub in Shanghai one month ago.

We reported on Monday that Lux had decided to take legal action that could involve a damages claim of EUR 10 million.

“Mr Eric Lux has decided to file a criminal complaint against Mr Adrian Sutil for physical assault and grievous bodily harm,” Lux’s Swiss lawyer Dr Marc Henzelin confirmed in a statement on Monday.

“As soon as the complaint is registered, the FIA and Force India will be notified,” the statement added.

German newspaper Bild said Sutil’s friend Lewis Hamilton was in the same VIP room at the M1NT nightclub at the time of the incident, and the statement said Lux “does not exclude commencing an action against any other persons involved in this matter”.

Sutil’s manager Manfred Zimmerman responded by saying he and the driver heard about Lux’s legal action in the media.

“In recent weeks Adrian has made several attempts to make contact with Mr Lux with no success,” he told the German press.

“Should there be an indictment, we will fight it,” he promised.

“Anyone who knows Adrian knows that he would not intentionally hurt anybody. When it comes to this injury, Adrian regrets it very much but it was an unfortunate accident with no intention,” added Zimmermann.

Mark Webber is headed into a backseat role for the rest of the 2011 world championship.
That is the controversial suggestion of Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, who denies the Australian driver is already set to be Sebastian Vettel’s ‘number 2′ this season.

Vettel has had a meteoric start to the 2011 championship and after four races is 38 points ahead of Australian Webber, who sits third in the drivers’ standings.

“We do not have any team orders,” energy drink company Red Bull’s motor racing consultant Marko told Germany’s Sport Bild.

“But it’s a fact that, generally since Silverstone 2010, Mark has been three tenths of a second slower than Sebastian,” he said.

“That’s too slow to be able to win with his own steam. But if as in Turkey he races at a high level, he can take important points away from the others,” added Marko.

Webber is the only significant member of the Red Bull team whose contract beyond 2011 was not recently renewed.

Dietrich Mateschitz has ruled out relocating his pacesetting formula one team Red Bull Racing to Austria.
The energy drinks mogul and Austrian billionaire reopened the former A1-Ring, rechristened as the Red Bull Ring, at the weekend.

F1′s most famous figure Bernie Ecclestone was even present, kindling rumours he might seriously be considering reviving the Austrian grand prix.

“This track is ready for formula one,” Mark Webber told Kleine Zeitung newspaper after a few hot laps, and Sebastian Vettel agreed that a grand prix could be held now at the Red Bull Ring “theoretically and practically”.

But Mateschitz insisted: “We will not get a formula one or a MotoGP race here.”

More realistic, perhaps, is that Red Bull Racing is relocated from Milton Keynes (UK) to the facility.

“I’ve thought about it, but no,” Mateschitz answered. “You can build whatever you want, but in Styria you cannot get 300 of the best people in formula one.”

Adrian Sutil is facing a EUR 10 million damages claim by Genii chief executive Eric Lux, according to a media report.
It emerged last week that, following news the Force India driver assaulted Lux with a broken champagne glass in a Shanghai nightclub recently, Sutil could be headed for court.

Italiaracing said Lux needed 24 stitches in his neck and is seeking the multi-million euro compensation.

The French website sport24.com also said Lux will file a complaint about the German with the governing FIA, with his lawyers to announce the action perhaps as soon as Monday.

The report said Sutil’s F1 super license could be at risk in the event of a civil conviction, although German newspaper Bild said neither the FIA nor Bernie Ecclestone are investigating the matter.

Helmut Marko has played down Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo’s threat that formula one could be headed for a split from owners CVC.

Montezemolo told CNN last week that at the end of 2012 and the current Concorde Agreement CVC “doesn’t own anything” and therefore creating a different world championship is a real option for the teams.

Red Bull’s motor racing consultant Marko however admitted that the dispute is fundamentally about the distribution of revenue for the next Concorde.

“A suitable compromise can hopefully be found,” he told German website motorsport-magazin.com at the opening of the Red Bull Ring.

“Ferrari are the best-known team and have been in F1 the longest — but being Italian, they tend to express things more emotionally than others. In my opinion, the situation is nowhere near as bad as it looks,” said Marko.

New York Times correspondent Brad Spurgeon said the latest breakaway talk is “exasperating for the fans” coming so soon after the last political dispute with the FIA.

A potential hurdle for proposed buyer News Corp is the law, with prominent competition lawyer Paul Stone reportedly concerned that Rupert Murdoch’s presence would be unfair for bidding television broadcasters.

He is quoted by Germany’s Speed Week as saying a News takeover “would raise concerns”.

Eddie Irvine has outpaced F1′s current British stars on the Sunday Times’ sporting rich list for 2011.
The former Ferrari and Jaguar driver and 1999 championship runner-up has made a US $128 million fortune in property development since retiring from formula one in 2002.

1979 world champion Jody Scheckter, now a successful organic farmer, has $96 million, with Prodrive boss David Richards and David Coulthard coming next.

2008 title winner Lewis Hamilton’s $80m fortune matches Scottish veteran Coulthard’s, which is more than McLaren’s other driver Jenson Button at $77m.

1992 world champion Nigel Mansell’s fortune is the same as Button’s, according to the list.

Franz Tost has played down his recent comments about Daniel Ricciardo, but the hopeful Australian driver admits he is encouraged about the progress of his formula one career.
Team boss Tost’s comments in Turkey about 21-year-old Ricciardo suggested he will definitely replace either Sebastien Buemi or Jaime Alguersuari at Toro Rosso next year.

But the Austrian told motorsport-magazin.com at the Red Bull Ring opening: “Regarding the other drivers (Buemi and Alguersuari), nothing is up for discussion at the moment, as they are both performing well.”

Ricciardo, however, said he is encouraged by Tost’s admission that he will be in the race cockpit in 2012.

“I was glad to hear that Franz made that statement,” he told another German website, motorsport-total.com.

“Nothing is confirmed, but I am encouraged, of course,” added Ricciardo, who won the recent Monza race of the Formula Renault 3.5 series.

“On the other hand, it is obvious that this is the plan for me. You don’t want to be doing the Friday practice for two or three years,” he said.