Adrian Newey is making the difference for dominant F1 team Red Bull.
That is the claim of Cesare Fiorio, who twenty years ago was Ferrari’s team boss before the ultra-successful Jean Todt era.

He referred to the pressure currently on Stefano Domenicali, and the plaudits being raked up by his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner.

Fiorio told La Nazione newspaper: “If Domenicali had Adrian Newey, it would be him who is considered the phenomenal team manager.”

The 72-year-old also advises Ferrari to consider a replacement in 2013 for Brazilian driver Felipe Massa.

“I would have taken Jenson Button already, but time passes and Ferrari apparently needs to have a young driver who can learn from Alonso,” he said.

The latest spat between Bernie Ecclestone and the F1 teams’ association is set to break out.
Spain’s Diario Sport newspaper reports that FOTA, headed by McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, believes the F1 chief executive has breached the Concorde Agreement in devising the arduous 20-race calendar for 2012.

The report said FOTA vice-chairman Eric Boullier confirmed the potential disagreement in the Singapore paddock.

Diario Sport said the teams believe they have the right to renegotiate the commercial terms if Ecclestone moves beyond the maximum 17 grands prix per season.

The confidential agreement reportedly also refers to the number of races that can take place outside of Europe, with the teams concerned about the additional costs of the ‘flyaway’ events.

“We would suggest a couple of ideas and, above all, we intend to request a reconsideration of the logistics,” said Boullier.

Ecclestone reacted: “The teams don’t do the calendar, I do. They can’t come now with their proposals. It’s my decision so if someone is going to do something, it’s me.

“If someone isn’t happy they can go to the police. Wouldn’t the real problem be if there were no races to go to?” he added defiantly.

Red Bull has already produced the t-shirts to mark Sebastian Vettel’s 2011 world championship victory.
The German is tipped to secure the single point he needs to mathematically wrap up his second consecutive drivers’ crown next weekend in Japan.

And according to the Bild-Zeitung daily, Red Bull has jumped the gun by producing a run of white t-shirts bearing Vettel’s logo and the words “2011 F1 drivers’ world champion”.

It will be sold for EUR 29.95, Bild added.

Actually, however, the 24-year-old is highly superstitious and refusing to count on his title victory until it is definitely in the bag.

“Statistically the chances are on our side but generally in sports there have been a lot of stories written, and this one also has to wait to be closed,” he said.

Swiss newspaper Blick reports that Vettel and his parents Norbert and Heike therefore hosted a “One-Point-Missing-Party” in the Singapore paddock late on Sunday.

One interesting attendee was Luca Colajanni, the Ferrari team spokesman.

Damon Hill has tipped his former championship nemesis Michael Schumacher to soon quit formula one.
The pair fought mercilessly for titles in the mid 90s – famously clashing at the 1994 Adelaide decider – and were never friends throughout the period until Hill retired in 1999.

When the Briton last raced for Jordan, he was 39.

“By then I was too old to go on,” Hill told Italy’s Motorinside. “After a certain age you’re no longer able to be as fast or consistent, much less able to handle the pressure.

“Michael is now 42; in my opinion it’s too old to be competitive, plus he doesn’t have a car for the top positions. He can’t go on like this for much longer,” he predicted.

Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz is ready to celebrate Sebastian Vettel’s second consecutive world championship for Red Bull.

The German driver still has to achieve at least a tenth place at one of the remaining five races in 2011.

But given his nine wins and more than 300 points so far, an interviewer for Austria’s Kleine Zeitung told billionaire Mateschitz that it is impossible that that the title will slip away from Vettel.

“Basically you are right, of course,” Mateschitz responded, before laughing: “But what if he falls off a ladder?”

The interviewer told Mateschitz that, even if the 24-year-old broke a leg, McLaren’s Jenson Button would then have to win every remaining grand prix to take Vettel’s title.

So Red Bull must surely now be focused on 2012?

“In a way, yes,” confirmed Mateschitz, “but there are not great changes in the regulations (for 2012) so we will continue to develop as much as possible until the last race.”

Lewis Hamilton insists he still respects Felipe Massa despite their confrontation after the Singapore grand prix.
McLaren’s Hamilton left the street circuit still wearing his sweaty overalls and declining to complete his media duties after Brazilian Massa, his 2008 title nemesis, accosted him during an interview with German television.

He finally spoke about the issue this week during a demonstration in India.

“He (Massa) was a bit angry … he was a bit forceful at the end,” said Briton Hamilton, “but I just ignored it and moved on.

“This is the most competitive sport in the world. And there are going to be instances like this. I have a lot of respect for Felipe still, regardless of how he has behaved.”

His boss Martin Whitmarsh said before leaving Singapore that 2011 “has not been a good season” for Hamilton, who has been regularly involved in track incidents.

And his teammate Jenson Button is now the only driver still mathematically in the running for dominant Sebastian Vettel’s title crown.

“Jenson is doing a great job,” Hamilton acknowledged. “I am not really going to even try and compete with him anymore (in 2011) because he has deserved it.

“He has done better than me right through the season and even if I did well in the remaining five races, it wouldn’t matter.”

A frustrated Felipe Massa is fighting for his Ferrari seat, his former rival David Coulthard said in his latest Telegraph column.
The Scot, now a Red Bull consultant and commentator for British television, wrote about Brazilian Massa’s confrontation with Lewis Hamilton after the pair clashed in Singapore.

Playing down the subsequent media reaction, Coulthard said it was “hardly the Thriller in Manila. The only thing missing from the Scrap in Singapore was some handbags,” he joked.

Brazilian Massa was highly critical of Hamilton throughout the Singapore weekend and on Monday insisted “I have not changed my opinion by one iota” since the fracas.

Coulthard advises Hamilton not to worry.

“I could not imagine a less threatening character than Felipe and I’m sure it will blow over quickly,” he wrote.

“I don’t think Felipe should have done it, certainly not on camera, but I can understand his frustration. He is fighting for his Ferrari seat and the collision during the race, while unfortunate, was certainly Lewis’s fault,” added the veteran of almost 250 grands prix.

Nico Rosberg has revealed he would be happy to have Michael Schumacher as his teammate beyond the 2012 season.
The German’s comments are a clear indication that he intends to sign a new deal beyond the expiry of his own contract.

And Rosberg thinks seven time world champion should do the same.

“Definitely,” he is quoted by the German news agency SID. “Of course it’s up to him to decide if he’s still enjoying it but for the team it would be a good thing.”

Schumacher, 42, was asked in Singapore at the weekend if he will still be racing in 2013. “Next year I’ll decide,” he answered simply.

His boss, Mercedes’ motor racing vice president Norbert Haug, joined Rosberg in hoping Schumacher will stay on board.

“We are very satisfied with the drivers we have,” he said. “We want to climb up the ladder with the combination that we have.”

The FIA handed back Red Bull’s paddock curfew ‘wild card’ in Singapore.
The dominant team was penalised ahead of the night race because a staff member was in the paddock during the working-day blackout period.

Dr Helmut Marko, however, protested that the unidentified staff member in question was wielding a mere guest pass and had no operational connection with either the team or the cars.

Indeed, it is believed he was connected to the sponsor Infiniti.

“After interviewing the person and hearing the explanation it is now clear that this person is not a member of the team,” an official of the governing FIA is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

The FIA also lifted similar sanctions against the Mercedes and Virgin teams, who argued that they thought marketing staff were exempt from the curfew.

But Auto Motor und Sport quoted an insider as insisting that team bosses agreed in Melbourne earlier this year that marketing staff “are clearly included in the ban”.

A spokesman for Mercedes GP confirmed that a female member of the team’s marketing staff broke the curfew by half an hour.

Meanwhile, Toro Rosso’s curfew penalty – imposed after boss Franz Tost entered the Singapore paddock too early – stands.

Stefano Domenicali has refused to rule out finding a place at Ferrari for another driver in 2013.
Fernando Alonso is signed up long beyond next season, but his current teammate Felipe Massa will be out of contract at the end of 2012.

At the front of the queue are the two drivers heading up Ferrari’s so-called driver ‘academy’: French GP2 driver Jules Bianchi and 2011 Sauber rookie Sergio Perez.

Asked about Ferrari’s driver plans for Bianchi and Perez in 2013, Domenicali said in Singapore: “For 2013? Ah yes. Bianchi is a great talent and he had a positive season in GP2 but he needs to grow and gain experience next season.

“I cannot say now where he will be,” the Italian told Spanish sports daily Marca, “but for sure we want to invest because we believe in him.

“As for Sergio, he has a contract with Sauber and he also has to grow. It is best not to put any goals at this time. May both of them have a good 2012,” added Domenicali.

Meanwhile, the Italian was asked how much he worries about the rumours Flavio Briatore is waiting in the wings to be the next Ferrari team principal.

Making a circular motion with his fingers, he said: “Zero!”

Red Bull’s Adrian Newey is the last of his breed in formula one, according to Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Under the Singapore lights late on Sunday, the fabled Italian team’s lead driver Fernando Alonso finally dropped mathematically out of the chase for the 2011 title.

Domenicali said recently that German Vettel, on the cusp of securing his second consecutive world championship for Red Bull, is not yet as good as Ferrari’s Spanish driver in terms of leading a team.

According to him, the great champion at Red Bull is Newey, the car’s designer.

“Obviously there is teamwork,” Domenicali told Spanish sports daily Marca, “but what is clear is that they are the only team that has this genius that is Adrian Newey, who has done a great project.

“Formula one has changed a lot compared to the past, when there were a great many personalities in formula one. Now there is only one, and this guy is with Red Bull,” he added.

Newey is staying with the energy drink-owned team next year and beyond, but Domenicali thinks Ferrari will be able to fight wheel-to-wheel in 2012.

“They are good, but I think this area of the blown diffuser is precisely where we have not been able to get the performance we wanted.

“They have been very good with this but I think the car for next year will have fewer areas where you can find something else in the rules.

“So I am quite optimistic because we started (the 2012 car) very early, some people will say in August, and the first wind tunnel numbers are very encouraging.”

Domenicali revealed he uttered the word ‘Wow!’ when he first laid eyes on the concept of Ferrari’s 2012 car.

“Yes, honestly I did because we have changed the design philosophy,” he said. “Will it be better than this one? It has to be. One hundred per cent.”

Dr Helmut Marko insists he is in no rush to see Sebastian Vettel capture the 2011 championship.

The Red Bull driver, who has won the past three races on the trot, needs just a single point at Suzuka in two weeks to secure his crown with four races still to run.

And if McLaren’s Jenson Button fails to win in Japan, 24-year-old German Vettel will automatically be champion even if he doesn’t finish the race.

Team advisor Marko, a former F1 driver from Austria, is understandably cool.

“Whether we get the world title here (in Singapore) or in Japan or in Korea, it is no different to me,” he told German television.

Vettel is not yet publicly declaring his certain championship even if McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh finally conceded late on Sunday: “It’s over”.

“I feel capable but I still have to do it,” commented Vettel. “Obviously with the races that we’ve had so far, it should not be a big problem but it’s over when it’s over and not before.”

Anthony Hamilton has criticised his son’s management team as the 2008 world champion returned to the headlines for the wrong reasons.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton clashed twice with his 2008 title nemesis Felipe Massa in Singapore, and afterwards almost came to blows with the diminutive Brazilian.

“We’re all pretty hot here,” said his boss Martin Whitmarsh smiled and shrugged.

“Felipe grabbed Lewis slightly aggressively but I think Lewis acted with restraint and walked away from any potential confrontation.”

Briton Hamilton, 26, was heard to shout “Don’t touch me, man” to Ferrari’s Massa and then left the circuit in his sweaty overalls without completing his media duties.

“I called to him two times, but he didn’t listen to me, he went past me. He didn’t even look to me,” said Massa.

“I said ‘like that you will win many championships’. Maybe his father can do something about it,” Massa said sarcastically.

According to Bild newspaper, triple world champion Niki Lauda sided with Massa: “I don’t understand how a guy with Hamilton’s talent can be always so stupid.”

Indeed, Hamilton Snr – who split professionally with his son before last season – pointed at a failure of management. Lewis’ career is now handled by celebrity manager Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment.

“You look up and down the pitlane and every driver, except for Lewis, has a driver-manager in his life, not people from a company,” said Hamilton, in Singapore to be with his new charge, Force India’s Paul di Resta.

“Formula one drivers need people personally involved in the driver’s lives because it is a big pressure,” he insisted.

“You sign up a formula one driver, so come and do your job. No disrespect to anybody but that’s how this business is.

“I have seen Lewis and he is fine. It is hard right now but he will come back, there is no doubt about that.”

F1′s major engine manufacturers want the FIA to drop regulations that guarantee customers for their rivals.
Currently, there are four engine makers on the grid — Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Cosworth.

The latter independent supplier, however, is reportedly fighting for customers for 2012 and beyond, with Williams switching to Renault and rumours HRT could follow Team Lotus in also ending its association with Cosworth.

And for 2014, new supplier Pure intends to enter formula one with a V6 design, but its boss Craig Pollock is reportedly concerned that he too will struggle to compete with the major manufacturers.

In Singapore, figures for Mercedes-Benz – currently supplying McLaren, Force India and its works team – and Renault, with no fewer than four contracted customers for 2012, sounded unapologetic.

“I am pushing for an open market because we are in formula one and regulations cannot solve all the problems,” said Renault Sport F1′s Jean-Francois Caubet.

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug agreed: “If five teams choose ‘engine x’, then they should do so, it should be a free and open market.”

The German sounded uncertain that the fifth supplier, Pollock’s Pure, will ultimately join the party in 2014.

“This would be very pleasing for all of us, even more competition, but maybe we (will) have less than five, we will see,” said Haug.

Team Lotus is yet to decide whether to change its official name for the 2012 season and beyond.
In an apparent end to the naming dispute, it was rumoured at Monza two weeks ago that Team Lotus had agreed to instead call itself Caterham, opening the door for Renault to formally adopt the name of its sponsor Group Lotus.

But a side-effect of name changes in formula one is that teams can compromise their financial entitlements under the terms of the Concorde Agreement.

Ensuring those benefits would require the unanimous agreement of all the teams — a rarity in the F1 paddock.

“I guess there is a process that we all have to go through but it is a process that we will undertake if and when the decision is made,” said Team Lotus chief executive Riad Asmat.

“It’s something that hasn’t happened yet so I can’t comment.”

He confirmed however that he has the support of the team’s shareholders.

“We are still Team Lotus as you can see but my shareholders have mentioned we are open to anything and we will see how it progresses from this point.”