Bernie Ecclestone has refused to comment on reports he may be investigated by the UK’s serious fraud office (SFO).
The F1 chief executive testified recently at Gerhard Gribkowsky’s high profile corruption trial and may himself be charged by the Munich prosecutors for paying millions in alleged bribes.

Ecclestone, 81, is also facing a multi-million dollar civil suit brought by a former F1 co-owner, and the Financial Times now reports that he might now be investigated by UK authorities.

“(Attorney general) Dominic Grieve confirmed the SFO’s involvement … saying the SFO was liaising with authorities in Germany to consider the allegations surrounding Mr Ecclestone … and whether there is scope for an investigation”, the report read.

The serious fraud office confirmed: “The SFO is aware of the allegations against Mr Ecclestone and is liaising with the authorities in Germany to ascertain if there is a case in the UK to answer.”

Ecclestone said: “I haven’t got anything to say.”

Asked if he has been contacted by the SFO, he added: “I am sure if they wanted to, they would ask me.”

Monegasque driver Stefano Coletti considers paying for his formula one debut this week money well spent.
The 22-year-old, whose backers have paid reportedly hundreds of thousands of euros for a Toro Rosso seat in Abu Dhabi, finished this year’s GP2 season in eleventh place.

Paying was therefore the way to dip a toe in F1′s waters.

“It is good for the drivers to get experience because things like this you can’t do it all the time,” he is quoted by The National newspaper.

“It’s a big opportunity for drivers and if any other drivers are thinking about doing it, I think they should, because the amount of experience you get in a day like this, you never get anywhere else.”

Coletti denied that his test was simply an exchange of money for seat time, arguing that he had important tasks to complete for Toro Rosso.

“This test wasn’t about money,” he insisted, “because usually when it is just about making money, you put fuel in, put some tyres on and go.

“We did a lot of testing.”

Another so-called ‘pay driver’ in Abu Dhabi this week is Spaniard Dani Clos, appearing with the HRT team.

He openly admitted he is “one of the drivers who needs to pay to get into formula one”.

“Even if you win GP2, you will need to pay because nowadays the teams need that money,” said the 23-year-old. “It’s no longer enough to just be talented.

“If you are talented, perfect, if you win, perfect, but you also have to have someone pushing for you economically. The teams need this money to survive and bring new stuff to the car.”

Clos said there is always another fast driver coming through the ranks with more money, and that the queue at the door is growing longer due to some older drivers hanging onto their F1 seats.

“There are some drivers in F1 who need to start thinking about getting out because they have been there many years and there are young drivers who are waiting to come up,” he insisted.

Austin’s formula one project is close to collapse, with Bernie Ecclestone saying the event will fall off the 2012 calendar “for sure”.
With the Texas state funding also in jeopardy and track construction halted, the main problem is a disagreement between Tavo Hellmund – who held the original race contract – and the separate company that is building the Circuit of the Americas.

Asked by the Press Association if the impasse means Austin will be erased from next year’s race schedule at the World Council meeting next month, F1 chief executive Ecclestone admitted: “Yes, it will be, for sure.”

He insisted: “We’ve done everything we bloody well can do to make this race happen.”

Ecclestone explained that the circuit cannot simply negotiate to have the contract transferred from Hellmund, because “we’ve cancelled Tavo’s contract as he was in breach”.

And “these other people haven’t got a contract,” he said. “All we’ve asked them to do is get us a letter of credit.

“If people don’t have the money they find it difficult to get the letter of credit, and so we don’t issue a contract,” said Ecclestone.

He told the Independent that if the Circuit of the Americas gets its act together, it could sign a new contract for “10 years from 2013″.

But the Daily Express quotes Ecclestone as saying: “I would be surprised if it happened.”

The local Austin American Statesman reports that the heavy machinery and “even the portable toilets” were being removed from the site on Wednesday.

Vitaly Petrov has admitted he might be in breach of contract for a rant against his F1 team Renault in the Russian press.
He started by telling Russian television Rossiya 2 that the Enstone based team’s development of its 2011 car has not been good enough due to early problems with the unique forward-mounted engine exhausts.

“For almost ten races we have had absolutely nothing (new), which, in fact, means we drive basically the same car we began the season with,” said Petrov.

“Of course, the first podium (in Australia) was inspiring, for me, the whole of Russia, all the fans. But then I was just angry with everything and tried to do something.

“Unfortunately, I can’t say anything bad about the team, it is written down in my contract,” said the 27-year-old.

Petrov uses the word ‘unfortunately’ because he claims the team bosses are often highly critical.

“Read my interviews, I don’t criticise a team that lost many times. How much have we lost on pitstops? How much have we lost on tactics?

“Due to that kind of thing we lost, I can say, about ten races, if not more. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say in an interview that we lost due to poor pitstops once again, or something.

“I still can’t speak about it, but on the same side I also can’t remain silent, I’ve had enough of it, I can’t keep everything inside.”

The breaking of the silence might be related to speculation Renault, to become Lotus in 2012, is rethinking its entire driver lineup for next year, despite already having a contract with Petrov.

“This is formula one, it’s business,” he admitted. “Gradually, they’re just working to get more -– maybe the price, maybe the sponsors, maybe the drivers around them.

“Look at the queue of drivers at Williams — I believe there are 20 people eager to take the second place there. Thank god I’m not in it.

“As for me, I think it is quite clear — I have a contract. But as I said before, even the world champion Kimi Raikkonen was asked (by Ferrari) to leave formula one for a certain amount.

“It’s a world where everything is possible, it will be hard to oppose if they want to remove someone,” he admitted.

 Luiz Razia has revealed he will be driving a Team Lotus car during morning practice at Interlagos next Friday.
Earlier, the 22-year-old was eagerly seeking a sponsor or two to fund his formula one debut at his home race, the season-ending Brazilian grand prix.

It is believed however that, for its last race with the Lotus name, Tony Fernandes’ Anglo-Malaysian team will field its usual race drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.

But Razia, who tested the T128 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, will at least get some practice laps at Interlagos.

“It will be very important to come to Sao Paulo with a good (performance) level, because people will be paying more attention there than here in Abu Dhabi.

“It is the first time I have driven a F1 car at home and, even though it’s just a free practice, it has been one of my big goals.

“It will be special for I have to treat it like work and perform rather than feel the thrill of accomplishment,” he is quoted by Agencia Estado.

 The bosses of three top formula one teams agree that Jaime Alguersuari has done enough to secure his place on the grid for next season.
The Spaniard, along with his Toro Rosso teammate Sebastien Buemi, are at risk of losing their race seats for the 2012 season to Red Bull’s latest young chargers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.

But McLaren’s Whitmarsh thinks Alguersuari, 21, is now an established driver.

“He is no longer a rookie or a question-mark, he is now a driver with full credibility,” the Briton is quoted by Spain’s TV3 television.

Whitmarsh added that Alguersuari’s 2011 season – his second full season in formula one – has been “very good overall” even though he is “still developing, but that’s normal”.

Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali agrees.

“I think he has done some good races and has been instrumental in the development of the car,” the Italian said. “He will only get more experience with some more patience, but he has a very good potential.”

And Mercedes’ Ross Brawn, whose career has been closely linked with Michael Schumacher’s success, said of Alguersuari: “He unquestionably deserves a place in formula one.

“I have been impressed even though it is quite difficult to judge a driver who has only been with one team,” he cautioned.

He “destroyed” Fernando Alonso as a rookie in 2007, but this season Lewis Hamilton underestimated his current McLaren teammate Jenson Button.
That is the claim of the British team’s boss Martin Whitmarsh, who admitted to F1′s official website that Hamilton has endured an unusually bad season in 2011.

“Lewis expects more from himself and the world expects more from Lewis. There’s been a lot going on in his life,” he said.

At the same time, countryman Button – written off by some who thought he was entering Hamilton’s “lion’s den” after his championship year – has surprised the F1 world by beating his highly rated teammate this season.

“Jenson … is a person that is easily underestimated,” Whitmarsh acknowledged, referring to the 31-year-old’s “superb manner”.

“Sometimes that might be a worry before you know him better, but I have to say that I know him a lot better now.”

Whitmarsh thinks Hamilton also underestimated Button initially.

“Possibly. He probably did, yes. Let’s be open about it,” he said.

“Lewis, throughout his career, has destroyed every teammate that’s come his way. Bear in mind that in many ways he virtually destroyed Fernando Alonso when Fernando was a two-time world champion and Lewis was a rookie.”

It is a sign of the times when an established formula one driver admits he will need to ‘google’ his likely new teammate.
Timo Glock joked to Auto Motor und Sport that, if the reports are true that Frenchman Charles Pic is set to replace Jerome d’Ambrosio at Virgin next year, he will have to unfold his laptop.

21-year-old Pic, fourth in GP2 this year, has been driving German Glock’s car in Abu Dhabi this week for the so-called young driver test.

“What does he look like? I think if he’s really coming to us (in 2012) then I’ll have to google him some time,” 29-year-old Glock, already confirmed for 2012 and beyond, laughed to the German magazine last weekend.

Olivier Panis-managed Pic is reportedly backed by his family’s business Groupe Charles Andre, a leading European freight company.

Virgin will change its name to Marussia for 2012 and sporting director Graeme Lowdon is expecting the team to finally pull off the last rows of the grid.

“It’s no secret that we had hoped for more from this year’s car, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen once we got it,” he is quoted by the Daily Mail.

“We’re all eagerly waiting to see how we can develop that, but at least we’ve the processes and resources in place now to develop the car much, much quicker than we have done this one,” added Lowdon.

According to a media report, a reason for Red Bull’s dominance in 2011 could also explain Sebastian Vettel’s mysterious retirement from the Abu Dhabi grand prix on Sunday.
Italy’s Autosprint reports that the damage to the back to back world champion’s rear Pirelli tyre on the second corner of the race could be related to Red Bull’s blown exhaust solution for its RB7 car.

“The tyre was not cut (on the kerb) or damaged by debris,” read the report. “So what happened?”

After the race, Vettel went to the scene of the puncture to conduct his own analysis.

“In three years no one has had a tyre problem there so I wanted to see if there was an obvious cause. There wasn’t,” the German is quoted by Express newspaper.

Autosprint’s theory is that Vettel’s pre-race routine in preparation for the start went awry.

Reportedly, the routine involves hot Renault engine gases from the exhausts of the 2011 Red Bull blowing onto the tyres.

“For some reason – defects in the procedure, the wrong mapping, other circumstances – not everything proceeded as it usually does,” claims Autosprint.

The report concludes that it was the hot gases that damaged the tyre and caused the sudden puncture.

 Ferrari has entered another week with a firm focus on the flexibility of its new front wing.
The Red Bull-like component made its track debut recently but in India and Abu Dhabi it was observed “fluttering” violently at the front of Felipe Massa’s car.

So among the famous Italian team’s job lists this week in Abu Dhabi, where Jules Bianchi is running all three days of the ‘young driver’ test, is to solve that problem as soon as possible.

“We are trying to find the reasons for the vibration,” confirmed Frenchman Bianchi, according to the Spanish sports daily AS.

“There will be no more tests after this (until 2012) so it is very important,” he added.

But although front wing flexibility was controversial particularly last year, Ferrari’s intense focus on its development ahead of 2012 is seen by some as slightly confusing.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali explained: “This year the exhaust blowing and the rear diffuser has had a great influence on the behaviour of the car.

“But for next year the designs will be limited and therefore the aerodynamics of the car returns to being much more traditional,” he is quoted by Marca.

“So the front wing once again becomes the most important, not only from the standpoint of speed but the whole balance and stability of the car,” added Domenicali.

He said he is “very glad” Ferrari decided to kick off its new focus on the 2012 front wing before the current season had concluded.

“So it means the problems we have had with Felipe’s car can be corrected well in advance rather than waiting until February to see what happens.

“Other teams like Red Bull have had this same (fluttering) situation, which is normal because we are all looking for the edge with the front wing to meet the regulations for next season,” said Domenicali.

(pitpass) The future of the United States Grand Prix at the Texas venue took a further twist tonight when the organizers issued the following statement:

“Organizers of Circuit of The Americas, a premier motor sports racing and entertainment venue being developed in Austin, Texas, are suspending further construction of the project until a contract assuring the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will be held at Circuit of The Americas in 2012 is complete. The race contract between Formula One and Circuit of The Americas has not been conveyed to Circuit of The Americas per a previously agreed upon timetable.

While construction at Circuit of The Americas has progressed as scheduled with over 300 workers at the construction site daily, all work will suspend immediately. The delivery of the Formula One Grand Prix race contract will allow construction operations to resume.

“We have spent tremendous resources preparing for the Formula One and MotoGP™ Championship races, but the failure to deliver race contracts gives us great concern,” said Bobby Epstein, founding partner of Circuit of The Americas. “We believe the United States is vital for the future of Formula One and its teams and sponsors. Given the purpose-built Tilke design, creating a unique fan experience and iconic challenge for drivers, we hope that Texas will not be left behind. More than 100,000 fans have expressed an interest in purchasing tickets for Formula One alone.”

“It is in the best interest of all parties to reach a timely resolution,” said Red McCombs, chairman of McCombs Enterprises and founding partner of Circuit of The Americas. “Local businesses, fans and the State of Texas are counting on us.”

David Coulthard has slammed suggestions his former team McLaren might have artificially slowed down Jenson Button in Abu Dhabi to help Lewis Hamilton recover his lost form.
Hamilton has lost the points battle with his teammate Button this season, but he at least returned to the top step of the podium on Sunday by finishing ahead of Fernando Alonso.

It notably buoyed the 2008 world champion’s spirits, after his running feud with Felipe Massa and his split with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger saw him worryingly downbeat at recent races.

But the Abu Dhabi win for Hamilton followed an almost race-long KERS problem for Button in the sister car, which in the presence of Ron Dennis in Abu Dhabi caught the attention of F1′s rumour-mongers.

“I heard some ludicrous suggestions on Monday that McLaren might have deliberately caused his (Button’s) KERS issues on Sunday to allow Lewis some breathing space,” Coulthard wrote in his latest Telegraph column.

“Some even linked this theory to the presence of Ron Dennis in the McLaren motor home for the first time in a while. Nonsense,” said Coulthard, the Red Bull consultant who raced under Dennis at McLaren for almost a decade.

Even whilst suffering his first retirement of 2011, back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel could not resist working hard.

Whilst drivers normally retire to their quarters, the 24-year-old German mounted the Red Bull pitwall and remained there for the entire Abu Dhabi race.

He is quoted by Kurier newspaper as admitting he had “learned something” from the experience, and even taken an active role in the race strategy deployed for his teammate Mark Webber.

“At first I only wanted to stay for five laps,” he revealed.

Dr Helmut Marko was asked if Vettel might enjoy a post-racing future on the pitwall.

“That is still far away,” the team consultant smiled, “but what he had to contribute was very enlightening.”

In reality, the entire F1 paddock – Vettel included – is now eagerly awaiting the chequered flag in Brazil and then the 2012 season, when a world championship is once again at stake.

Vettel is quoted by AS newspaper as predicting a tough contest involving his teammate Webber, Fernando Alonso, the McLaren drivers and possibly a Mercedes.

He added: “Winning this year proved that 2010 was not just bad luck for the others and good luck for me.”

 Self-interest may have motivated the new friendship between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
In 2007, the pair clashed spectacularly as McLaren teammates, and in the intervening years they have maintained a healthy distance.

At the penultimate grand prix of 2011 in Abu Dhabi, however, the pair spent the days leading up to the event praising one another’s talents.

Then, when they finished first and second in the race, they shared an unusually warm hug.

Hamilton explained to Italian broadcaster Rai: “I loved the fight with Fernando, I think he’s the strongest driver.”

With Sebastian Vettel out of the race with a rare retirement but having started from pole as per usual in his meteoric back-to-back championship season, the correspondent for La Stampa newspaper smells a rat.

With the 2012 season now looming and Red Bull’s dominance to possibly continue, journalist Stefano Mancini calls the new friendship between Hamilton and Alonso an “unholy alliance against Vettel”.

If Kimi Raikkonen returns in 2012, the Finn’s first formula one boss Peter Sauber hopes he has a fast Williams to drive.
Many paddock observers recall the 32-year-old’s last F1 season in 2009, when he struggled with the uncompetitive Ferrari and at the end of the year turned down opportunities with other teams in favour of a rallying foray.

Now, some believe he wants to come back to the sport in 2012 because he faces the prospect of being paid to drive for the first time since leaving F1.

“Obviously, anyone worth his salt in any business will argue about the price of things,” smiled Sir Frank Williams in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, “so there is an argument going on, which of course is quite normal.”

Sauber, who gave Raikkonen his debut in 2001, told Blick newspaper he welcomes the news the Finn is thinking about coming back.

“But he needs to be motivated,” said the Swiss, “and Kimi will only be motivated if he’s in a top car.”

Williams has had a dire 2011 season, but for next season the team will be counting on former McLaren designer Mike Coughlan and Renault engines.

Asked if the new pieces to the puzzle will solve Williams’ problems over the winter, chairman Adam Parr announced confidently: “Yes.

“I feel very energised about where we are at the moment because the people here are just stunning, without exception.”