Reports are gathering steam that Kimi Raikkonen is seriously considering a return to formula one in 2012 with Williams.

In the Singapore paddock, it is now an established fact that the 2007 world champion – and recent world rally and Nascar driver – was given a detailed tour of the famous team’s Grove headquarters by Adam Parr.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said the visit took place on the Wednesday before Monza. Chairman Parr is not in Singapore this weekend.

The magazine is however sceptical about Williams’ motives: “Raikkonen could be used as leverage for other interested parties,” said the report.

“It could drag another one or two million from their sponsors.”

31-year-old Raikkonen, on the other hand, is apparently serious. “He wants to return to the tracks. And he does not want to put more of his own money into his racing,” said Auto Motor und Sport.

Also reportedly in the running for the 2012 seat alongside Pastor Maldonado are Adrian Sutil, Jules Bianchi, Giedo van der Garde, Vitaly Petrov and Romain Grosjean.

Auto Motor und Sport insists that, despite the German’s categorical denial, Sutil made a low profile visit to Williams late on the Wednesday before Monza.

It would be good news for Nico Hulkenberg, who after losing his Williams seat in 2010 would almost certainly fill Sutil’s place at Force India.

“There’s a lot of talk and rumours but I just try to concentrate on myself, do my best and watch what happens,” reserve driver Hulkenberg told the Today newspaper in Singapore.

Rubens Barrichello is an example of a driver “content” to make up the numbers in formula one.
That is the claim of Lewis Hamilton, who warned McLaren that he might leave the British team if he has to endure another car not worthy of fighting for the championship.

He contrasted his feisty attitude with that of Barrichello, who is pushing to extend his long F1 career into a twentieth season by re-signing with mid-grid team Williams in 2012.

“At some stage, if it continues the way this is going then my patience will be seriously tested,” said Hamilton.

“There are drivers that are content with being in F1 and just existing. Maybe they have families. Look at Rubens Barrichello and he seems content with where he is.

“Then there are people like me who only exist to be the best. If you aren’t busy trying to be the best then you’re not busy doing anything,” The Sun quotes him as saying.

The 2008 world champion has had a tough season; not only unable to challenge for the title with the MP4-26 but beaten on points by his teammate and criticised in the media for overly-aggressive driving.

He admitted to trying two weeks ago at Monza – where he struggled to pass Michael Schumacher – to simply get to the chequered flag.

“I wasn’t downbeat,” Hamilton told F1′s official website, “but I didn’t go ‘balls out’, basically. I didn’t take too many risks. It was all about finishing the race and walking away with some dignity.”

According to the Daily Star, his team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: “I told him that was a very disciplined drive, but I would like the old Lewis back.”

Nick Heidfeld on Friday said he is not so sure his countryman will be crowned champion at the end of the Singapore grand prix weekend.
German Sebastian Vettel only needs 13 extra points to win his second consecutive title with five races to go in 2011.

But in Singapore practice, the 24-year-old – although quickest – was trailed by just a couple of tenths by two-time Singapore winner Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari’s Alonso, albeit 112 points behind, is Vettel’s nearest championship challenger, even though he answered “yes” on Thursday when asked if he has written off his chances of chasing down the leading Red Bull before Brazil’s finale.

“Alonso was second today with quite a bit gap behind him,” Heidfeld, in Singapore to look around for a race seat for 2012, told the German broadcaster Sky. “So I don’t think he (Vettel) will get it.”

Heidfeld, of course, was referring to Vettel’s chances of wrapping up the title this weekend, as he needs to win and then depend on Alonso not appearing on the podium on one of the Spaniard’s favourite circuits.

“It is not really up to Sebastian,” Heidfeld insisted. “He is doing a fantastic job and I expect him to do well here.”

Vettel’s title, if he wins on Sunday, also depends on Jenson Button or Mark Webber not finishing the race in second place. “It’s really up to what the others do,” added Heidfeld.

Former Renault driver Heidfeld, meanwhile, has been linked with a switch to the DTM series with BMW for 2012.

“That (DTM) is definitely an option or an alternative, should I find no reasonable place in formula one,” he admitted. “I have always said that I could imagine it after I am finished in F1.”

The F1 team’s parent company, McLaren Group, could be listed on the stock market in five years.

In Singapore on Friday, the company’s executive chairman Ron Dennis – the former long-time boss of the Woking based team – revealed ambitious plans to build 4,000 production sports cars per year.

“In five years, which is the point of which we have the mathematics to logically have an IPO, we will look at all markets,” he told reporters.

Reuters said the company is currently valued at more than $750 million.

Nico Rosberg has hinted he will stay at Mercedes beyond his current contract.
Recent reports said the German has been offered a new deal to keep him at the team for at least four more years.

“Nico and Mercedes are interested in a very long term cooperation,” admitted Norbert Haug.

The 26-year-old driver told FAZ newspaper in Singapore: “We are currently discussing that.”

Also on the cards is a new contract for Rosberg’s current teammate Michael Schumacher, whose current deal is also set to expire at the end of 2012.

Rosberg said the structure with “two leaders” in the cockpits is working well.

“Both drivers are on the same level, so that even if I’m faster there is always a corner in which he is faster, or a setup that he understands better.

“So you are always learning something. I’m very open, very interested in trying to pick up all the little pieces that you need. We clearly both benefit,” said the German.

His real goal, of course, is to be the number one.

“Of course, to be the most successful driver in the team is the only way I can win the races to become world champion,” said Rosberg. “It’s up to me to get into that position.”

Narain Karthikeyan has ruled out reviving his formula one career with a seat at Force India.

The Indian will reacclimatise to the cockpit of the HRT car this weekend in Singapore, almost three months after losing his race drive to Daniel Ricciardo.

Karthikeyan, 34, will be driving in the first Friday practice session before returning to the grid in his native India next month, but for 2012 his future is clouded.

He told The National newspaper in Singapore that he will not be creating an Indian dream-team with his countryman Vijay Mallya, owner and boss of Force India.

“I never even approached Mallya,” said Karthikeyan. “The vibes from the camp have been extremely negative and I want to make it clear that I am not interested in driving for Force India.”

Even now as Fernando Alonso’s teammate, Felipe Massa is not shy to denounce the result of the Singapore grand prix three years ago.
It was in that 2008 race that Ferrari’s Massa had a problem during a pitstop that was triggered by Nelson Piquet’s notoriously deliberate crash and resultant safety car.

Piquet’s then Renault teammate was Spaniard Alonso, who duly won the race before the ‘crashgate’ scandal claimed the scalps of his bosses Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds.

But the saga also arguably claimed the scalp of Massa’s 2008 world championship, as the Brazilian ultimately went on to lose the title to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.

Massa has always been outspoken about ‘crashgate’, but his complaints have got quieter with time and with Alonso now a revered Ferrari driver.

But he was open about his feelings when speaking with Spanish reporters on Thursday.

“Yeah, what happened hurt me because when you lose the title by so small a margin you start looking back and one of the things that was an influence was Singapore,” said the 30-year-old.

“Everyone knows that result was manipulated by what happened. Singapore 2008 was false,” said Massa, according to AS newspaper, “but the result was real.

“Have I spoken to Fernando about it? He knows and I know how the world works.

“The past is the past,” Massa is quoted by Brazil’s Globo Esporte. “I have answered 45 thousand times what I think about it.”

Alonso, who insists he counts Singapore 2008 as a real victory, confirmed to Spanish sports daily Marca that he and Massa have never talked about the controversy.

“Yes, in 2008 Felipe lost points here, but he also lost points in Hungary when his engine failed with three laps to go,” he said.

“When you lose a championship by one point you remember all those things. When I look back at last year I remember all the reasons why I lost the title as well,” added Alonso.

Jenson Button has laughed at reports linking him with a move to Ferrari in 2012.
The speculation was triggered by the British driver’s protracted talks with McLaren over next year and beyond, and spurred on last week by a report in the Brazilian press.

It is said Button wants to be contractually free at the end of next year so as to be available when Felipe Massa comes out of contract.

“It’s hilarious because it’s not true,” Brazil’s Globo Esporte quotes the 2009 world champion as saying.

“I don’t know who put it out but it wasn’t us and it wasn’t Ferrari,” said Button.

The Briton admitted that the rumours are only gaining wings because of his lengthy talks with McLaren.

“Hopefully it will be sorted out as soon as possible. I hope it is anyway because I don’t want to be talking about it for too long and I don’t want to leave people hanging,” Button is quoted by PA Sport.

“I actually don’t mind being asked about it (the Ferrari story) because I find it quite fun,” he smiled.

At Ferrari, meanwhile, Brazilian Massa said he is determined to stay beyond next year.

“I have a contract until the end of 2012 and after that we’ll see,” he told the Singapore newspaper Today. “I hope to stay here a long time.”

Despite earlier worrying about teaming up with arguably F1′s greatest ever driver, Nico Rosberg now insists he is happy to be Michael Schumacher’s teammate. The pair have been together at Mercedes since last year and all the signs are pointing towards a future beyond their 2012 contracts. And Rosberg, who is 16 years younger than seven time world champion Schumacher, is happy. “I cannot hide that beating Michael with the frequency I have done is very good for my career,” said the German, who is yet to notch up his maiden race victory. On the other hand, the 26-year-old admitted, sharing a team with Schumacher “is not easy”. “With Michael you don’t really become close friends and he is very picky about everything,” Rosberg told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper in Singapore. “You notice why he is a seven time champion, paying attention to every detail. I learn from Michael and he learns from me too.” One area in which Rosberg insists he is better is in braking for the slow corners. “That is mainly where I am ahead. I’m more efficient than him and it’s what the telemetry shows,” he revealed.

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull could be set to reign over a new era of dominance in formula one.
That is the view of former grand prix winner and paddock personality Gerhard Berger, a countryman and close friend of Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz.

He is also the former team co-owner at German Vettel’s first team Toro Rosso.

“If he keeps it up like this and Adrian Newey keeps on building such brilliant cars, then it pushes slowly into dimensions that have only been seen with Schumacher and Ferrari,” Berger told Die Welt newspaper.

But another Austrian, triple world champion Niki Lauda, is not so sure Schumacher’s seven world titles will be troubled. “What happened with Michael will probably remain out of reach for Sebastian,” he insisted.

Lauda referred to Schumacher’s era of success that featured a Ferrari budget approaching EUR 400 million a season, unrestricted testing and a works-style relationship with tyre supplier Bridgestone.

“For them it was the perfect system,” he said.

According to Pirelli’s Paul Hembery, however, it is the little things making the difference for Vettel, who he said was the only F1 racer in 2011 to make a surprise visit to the new tyre supplier’s factory.

Hembery told Spain’s Marca newspaper that the visit was in the dead of the Christmas period.

“He wanted to know what was going on, to see the labs, meet the staff, think about the sporting side and strategies, compounds, everything.

“I can’t say what advantage that gives you but if that’s what you do with each aspect of the car then you can understand the results,” he said.

Adrian Sutil has categorically denied recently visiting the Williams factory.
But the Force India driver admitted to Auto Motor und Sport in Singapore that, when he read the pages of speculation about his future last week, even he had to make efforts to verify the stories.

“It’s just rumours,” said Sutil, “but I read them too and called my manager. He told me that there is no contact with Williams.”

It is an uncomfortable situation for the experienced 28-year-old, despite the fact his personal sponsors Medion and Capri-Sonne can offer some money to his employer.

According to the paddock grapevine, Force India boss Vijay Mallya would probably prefer to pair Paul di Resta with Nico Hulkenberg next year, and that is why the Indian billionaire is delaying his decision until December.

“I have no other choice than to drive as well as possible to the end of the season and hope that I get a contract either here or somewhere else,” said Sutil.

By mid December, his contract option for 2012 will have expired and the German may have fled to another team.

Even rookie di Resta, however, sounds frustrated. “It is useless to get upset about it,” said the Scot, admitting he would like Mallya to make an earlier call.

At Williams, Venezuela-backed Pastor Maldonado is secure while Rubens Barrichello is sitting tight as the British team reportedly looks around for a suitable pay-driver.

Confusing, then, are the reports that insist the normally highly-paid Kimi Raikkonen really did visit the Grove factory recently and is seriously in the running for Barrichello’s seat.

“Right now is a big time for rumours,” Barrichello told reporters on Thursday, “and there is no point adding to them.”

Predictably, 2007 world champion Raikkonen – a former race winner for McLaren and Ferrari until two years ago – is saying little.

“I have no plans for next year,” the Finn is quoted as saying by Spain’s Diario Sport. “There are many reasons why I quit formula one and I always said I don’t know if it’s forever.

“I never make plans for the next year before January, so I will have to see what will happen.”

Mark Webber let his frustration show when a French journalist asked him a tough question in Singapore.
According to specialist publications Auto Motor und Sport, Bild-Zeitung (Germany) and Blick (Switzerland), the Red Bull driver was asked on Thursday how he is dealing with his teammate Sebastian Vettel’s utter dominance in 2011.

“Probably I’ll hang myself,” the Australian snarled before muttering to the questioner: “F*cking wanker.”

All the reports said Webber, 35, later apologised in person to the journalist.

Perhaps he was simply tired, after admitting to his Twitter followers that he had been kept awake the night before.

“My hotel is close to the track which will be great for the rest of the week,” said Webber. “Not right now though, (they’re) still building it! Forklifts, beep beep beep, 4am”.

As for the 2011 world championship, Webber joined his peers in acknowledging that Vettel is now the certain winner.

“The races have been even better than last year, but the championship itself was boring unfortunately,” he said.

“If you look back you wouldn’t think one driver would have pulled away, but that’s what Seb did.”

Vitaly Petrov has lashed back at suggestions he will not be racing with the Renault team in 2012.

With a contract already in his pocket, the rumours began to swirl in Monza two weeks ago but the Russian insisted: “My contract is safe for next year.”

But in the last few days, new speculation has suggested team boss Eric Boullier could be planning to keep Bruno Senna for 2012 and pair him with GP2 champion Romain Grosjean.

As for 27-year-old Petrov’s signed deal, Boullier said: “You have contracts, but there are some exit clauses for every party.”

In Singapore, Petrov once again insisted he feels secure for next season.

“I think everything’s fine, it’s just bullsh*t in the newspapers,” he told reporters.

“As I said at the beginning of the season, we signed for two years and I don’t see the reason I need to be worried.”

Petrov said it was not unusual for his boss Boullier to talk about the possibility of breaking a contract.

“I think it’s everywhere in the world that a contract can be finished not just because of a bad season or I did less points.

“The contract can finish by another thing like money or things like this. So this is why he said it.

“But if you ask him a different question maybe he can answer you differently also,” added Petrov.

Nico Hulkenberg has revealed he knows just how Rubens Barrichello feels.

A year ago, the young German was enjoying a solid debut season in formula one but waiting to know if he would get a new Williams contract for 2011.

Ultimately, despite putting the FW32 on pole at Interlagos, Hulkenberg was overlooked by the famous British team apparently because Pastor Maldonado was offering millions in Venezuelan backing.

Now, it is Hulkenberg’s former teammate Barrichello – the highly rated Brazilian veteran – who is waiting to know if he will be replaced for 2012.

Reportedly in the running for the seat is Adrian Sutil, who would presumably move his personal sponsors Medion and Capri-Sonne from Force India to Williams.

Ironically, the move would probably see Hulkenberg, 24, return to the race grid next year in Sutil’s place.

But referring to Barrichello’s predicament, Hulkenberg said: “It’s exactly the same as me last year. You get to the end of the season without a contract and with no alternatives.

“That’s how fast it can change — last year Rubens was the hero of the team,” he told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Almost four years after the News of the World scandal first broke, Max Mosley is still chasing the saga in court.
Since early 2008 when Briton Mosley was filmed with five prostitutes, the 71-year-old’s reign as FIA president has ended and the British tabloid closed.

But despite winning a similar case in Britain, his lawyers have been in France’s Tribunal de Grande Instance this week pressing another case against the report’s chief reporter.

Because the News of the World report and video footage was available within France, Mosley sued journalist Neville Thurlbeck for defamation and breach of privacy.

He is seeking EUR 100,000 in damages from both the News of the World and Thurlbeck, according to The Guardian.

“Every copy of the paper distributed was a thorn in the skin of Mr Mosley. Every one was a prejudice,” said Mosley’s lawyer Philippe Ouakrat.

But Thurlbeck’s lawyer told the hearing on Tuesday that Mosley should not be able to sue twice for the same offense.

“Mr Mosley has already gained satisfaction in England,” said Jean-Frederic Gaultier. “This case here is not about justice but about vengeance.”