Franz Tost has defended the decision to axe Toro Rosso’s driver lineup by saying formula one is “tough”.
The boss of Red Bull’s Faenza based team admitted that although Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi did a good job, Toro Rosso is a “rookie training school” for the energy drink company.

“With over two seasons under your belt, you are no longer a rookie,” said Tost.

“In an ideal world, drivers would move from Scuderia Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing, but there are no vacancies with our sister team right now.

“It might be seen as a harsh decision, but formula one is a tough environment and Toro Rosso has always been very clear about the principles behind its driver choice,” the Austrian added.

Alguersuari and Buemi have both admitted they were shocked with this week’s unexpected news, but for Australian Daniel Ricciardo it was a happy surprise.

“I don’t know if it’s a ballsy move but changing two drivers is something not many teams do,” he told the West Australian newspaper.

“They’re giving us a proper chance.”

Countryman Mark Webber is also looking on the bright side, despite the obvious truth that Red Bull is shaping up to replace him sooner or later.

On the front of his Christmas card to friends and some journalists, the 35-year-old included a cartoon showing him with a present in a fire-lit lounge room, with Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne looking in from the freezing cold.

“Isn’t it nice of the boys to give me a seat warmer for my car?” Webber’s caption read.

Indeed, Ricciardo admitted a Red Bull Racing seat is the goal.

“I imagine if we’re good enough that (seat) could be ours one day,” he said.

“I think that’s Red Bull’s plan. Ideally they’d want to get a Red Bull junior driver in that seat.”

 Nico Hulkenberg has admitted he will be “delighted” if his “long” wait to return to the grand prix grid finally ends on Thursday.
Force India is expected to announce that the former Williams driver will step up from the reserve and ‘Friday’ role to join Paul di Resta on the grid in 2012.

Some media commentators, however, insist that it will be team incumbent Adrian Sutil confirmed alongside Scottish rookie di Resta, leaving 24-year-old Hulkenberg out in the cold again.

Whichever way it goes, Hulkenberg told the German news agency DPA he is ready for 2012.

“My preparation schedule is quite normal, with a training camp in January and then the usual routine throughout the year,” he said.

If his grand prix return is confirmed as expected, the final question will be the identity of Hulkenberg’s teammate — Sutil or di Resta.

“For us drivers it’s really not that important. I get along with Adrian just as well as I do with Paul,” he insisted.

Former F1 driver JJ Lehto has been sentenced to jail.
The ex Sauber and Benetton racer was charged with the manslaughter of his friend after it was found he was driving a speedboat when it crashed into a canal bridge pillar in his native Finland last year.

45-year-old Lehto, whose full name is Jyrki Juhani Jarvilehto, subsequently failed a blood alcohol test and was fined for speeding but told police he had no memory of the accident.

Reuters said on Wednesday that the Le Mans winner was sentenced in a Finnish district court to two years and four months in jail.

His lawyer told Finnish news agency STT that Lehto is appealing the sentence.

It is the nature of modern F1 that has contributed to Michael Schumacher’s difficult comeback so far, the seven time world champion has insisted.
Two years ago now, the famous German – who will turn 43 next month – announced his return after a three-year break to the sport he once dominated.

Having scooped an incredible 91 wins and 154 podiums in his first career, Schumacher is yet to return to the rostrum after one of his 38 grands prix with Mercedes since 2010.

It has been speculated that Schumacher is now either too old to perform to his old standards, or no longer fully focused and determined.

“Some have questioned whether my mood has changed. It would be nice if outsiders didn’t make guesses without knowing,” he said in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera.

Schumacher insisted that F1 is a “major challenge”, both for himself and for Mercedes-Benz, who are still building up their Brackley based works team.

He acknowledged: “I thought that I might be (on the podium) at least a couple of times. Together we have to work hard to improve performance but we are not afraid of that.

“In F1 there are no magic wands.

“In the past we did a lot of testing,” said the former Ferrari driver. “Today not, so I have had some problems with the tyres. I have not learned how to interpret them correctly.

“Previously I came to the race weekend knowing what was coming. Now the tests don’t come until Friday and I am still getting used to this system.”

Schumacher’s existing contract runs out at the end of 2012.

“Will I be here in 2013? There is no hurry yet to think about it,” he insisted.

 HRT’s future looks uncertain this week as the struggling Spanish team farewells its boss Colin Kolles.
In the wake of the 2011 takeover by Thesan Capital, HRT issued a media statement late on Wednesday to announce that Kolles will down tools on Thursday.

“This is due to the new direction that the team has taken and the decision of the new management to move the team headquarters to Spain,” it read.

The news is significant, given that – since struggling through its first campaigns in 2010 and 2011 – HRT has essentially operated “in its entirety” from Kolles’ DTM team headquarters in Greding, Germany, according to Speed Week.

HRT started the week by denying that HRT’s 2012 car is being developed and built by a subsidiary of its back-of-the-grid rival Caterham.

The team explained that, instead, the F112 is being made in Munich “by a team of designers under the technical supervision of Jacky Eeckelaert and chief aerodynamicist Stephan Chosse”.

“Despite the tight deadlines and a rule change for 2012 meaning that crash tests and chassis homologation procedures must be completed before any cars can test, the team is confident that the new car will be ready for preseason testing in February,” Monday’s statement added.

Italy’s Autosprint reported that HRT’s ultimate plan is to relocate to Valencia.

But “the fact at the moment is that HRT has no structure in Spain,” the report added. “At this time the future is totally uncertain.”

Germany’s Speed Week, meanwhile, recalled speculation earlier this year that Kolles was linked with a move to Williams.

Jaime Alguersuari has admitted surprise at Red Bull’s decision to oust him from the Toro Rosso team.
In recent days, the 21-year-old Spaniard has sounded confident about keeping his seat with the Faenza based team.

Alguersuari admitted the news was therefore “very surprising and unexpected”.

“Just a week ago after karting in Brazil I talked with Helmut Marko and Franz Tost and they told me they had plans for me in 2012,” he revealed.

“They did so with enthusiasm and showed a lot of confidence in me.

“So after talking with them (now), I thought of three things: first, I will not judge the situation because it seems crazy that after debuting at 19 years old without ever doing a lap in F1 before, today’s news seems to be a major misunderstanding in the best moment of my sporting life.

“I will not judge the decision because since 15 years old Red Bull gave me everything.

“Second, I am not a victim because for seven years I have enjoyed the privilege because of them. And third, there is no drama, because I have many plans for the present and the future.

“The surprise lasted for a couple of hours but I have talked to my family and realised that life is full of opportunities and challenges.”

Already, speculation has begun that Alguersuari could switch places with Daniel Ricciardo at HRT, where in 2011 Red Bull had a driver deal in place with the Spanish team.

The move would also give HRT an all-Spanish lineup, following Pedro de la Rosa’s recent signing.

Alguersuari’s Swiss teammate in 2011, Sebastien Buemi, has a much more uncertain future.

The 23-year-old is yet to comment, but his close media confidant Roger Benoit – the veteran Blick newspaper correspondent – said Buemi “has no plan B”.

“Without millions of dollars in sponsors there is not even a back-of-the-grid team with a vacancy for him,” he said.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport speculated that Red Bull might appoint either Alguersuari or Buemi as the championship-winning team’s 2012 reserve driver.

The report said the duo might struggle to find a seat elsewhere in F1 because of the “Red Bull stamp on their foreheads”.

Red Bull has stunned the formula one world by ousting existing drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi and installing an all-new lineup for its second team Toro Rosso.
The Faenza based team announced that its new drivers are Australian Daniel Ricciardo (22) and Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne (21).

“It will be the first time since the team’s 2006 debut that it will begin the year with an all new lineup,” the statement read.

Ricciardo made his grand prix debut mid-season with HRT, thanks to a deal between the struggling team and Red Bull.

Vergne, meanwhile, impressed at the wheel of the championship-winning RB7 during last month’s young driver test in Abu Dhabi, and he also practiced on Fridays late this season.

“I must thank Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for all their hard work over the past three seasons,” said team boss Franz Tost. “They have delivered some excellent performances which have helped the team move forward and develop.

“However, one has to remember that when Scuderia Toro Rosso was established in 2005, it was done so with the intention of providing a first step into formula one for the youngsters in the Red Bull junior driver programme.

“It is therefore part of the team’s culture to change its driver lineup from time to time in order to achieve this goal,” added Tost.

Former Minardi driver Luis Perez Sala has taken over as team principal at HRT.

The news, announced in a media statement issued by the Spanish team on Thursday, follows Wednesday’s news that Colin Kolles has stepped down.

52-year-old Spaniard Sala, who contested 32 grand prix weekends with Minardi at the end of the 80s, was appointed as an official advisor by HRT’s new owners Thesan Capital earlier this year.

“It is the best decision we could make,” said chief executive Saul Ruiz de Marcos, who revealed that Manfredi Ravetto, formerly the team’s director of business affairs, is also leaving the team.

Spanish former Formula 1 driver Luis Pérez-Sala (Barcelona, 15th on May 1959) takes on, as of today, the role of Team Principal of HRT F1 Team after the exit of the head sporting figure from the Spanish team.

With the naming of Luis Pérez-Sala at the fore of the team, HRT F1 Team closes one chapter and begins a new one, which will hopefully come with new successes and satisfactions. Having Pedro de la Rosa at the helm, headquarters in Spain and the design of next season’s car being carried out internally, this is an exciting project although there is still much work to do before the 2012 season begins in Australia on the 18th of March.

Saúl Ruiz de Marcos, HRT F1 Team CEO: “From the moment we took control of the team last July, the first thing we did was to study and value where we were, whilst also set ourselves a target and establish a strategy. We have been working discretely but relentlessly towards this for the last few months. We’ve always made it clear that our priorities were the car, the headquarters and our drivers. The car is evolving, Pedro has been a great asset to the team and we have always wanted to settle the team in Spain and have everybody working under one roof. Since we began working with Luis (Pérez-Sala) our connection has been great. Now he takes on a much more key role in the team but the decision was an easy one given his knowledge and his way of doing things. It is the best decision we could make. I would like to also thank Colin (Kolles) and Manfredi (Ravetto) for their work and dedication in these two years that the team has existed and I wish them the very best for the future”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal of HRT F1 Team: “This naming is an honor but also a great responsibility. I joined the team as an advisor to the new owners and to contribute with my experience in any possible way. We had to establish a base from which to grow slowly and we are now seeing the first rewards of that work. But we mustn’t lose our perspective and be aware that assuming responsibilities such as designing the car or moving the headquarters to Spain are huge tasks and we still have a lot of work ahead. We must be patient and keep in mind that we cannot expect to achieve great success in the short term, but we can take a team forward that we can all feel proud of. The simple fact that Spain has a team in the pinnacle of motorsports is already a great feat; we’re a part of the G12. And that, apart from being an honor, means a greater development to the structure and everything surrounding it”.

Luis Pérez-Sala profile

Luis Pérez-Sala was born in Barcelona on the 15th of May of 1959. He made his first steps in motorsport in karting and in 1980 he won the Spanish Renault Cup. The following year, alongside Luis Villamil, Pérez-Sala won the 2 hours Renault 5. In 1983 he began to compete on the international stage in the Alfasud Sprint Cup and one year later he competed in Formula 3 as a part of team Campsa. From there he moved onto F3000 where he was runner-up in 1987 and one year later, in 1988, he made the definitive step into Formula 1 with Minardi. He completed two whole seasons with the Italian outfit and achieved his best result at the 1989 British Grand Prix where he finished in sixth place, helping him to score one point in Formula 1. In his first season with Minardi, Luis teamed up alongside Adrián Campos making it the first time ever that two Spanish drivers coincided in a same Formula 1 team.

After abandoning the pinnacle of motorsport, Luis returned to Spain to compete in the national touring car championships. He won the Spanish touring car championships in 1991 and 1993 and finished runner-up at the 1999 Lamborghini Europa Trophy. In 2000 he took the 24 hours of Barcelona title in the diesel category and in 2003 and 2004 he won the Spanish GTB Cup alongside Manel Cerqueda. In 2005 he won the 24 hours of Barcelona once again, but this time in the main category and the following year he ended in second. In 2008 he was runner-up in the Spanish GT championship and won the Trofeo Ibérico along with Manel Cerqueda Jr. in what would be his final season before retiring.

Since 1990 he combined his sporting career with work as a lecturer, commentator and technical analyst for different media channels (RTVE, El País, TV3, Grand Prix, etc.). He is also specialized in all kinds of instruction and formation courses related with technical motorsport formation on tracks for competition drivers, and he is also a part of the Joves Pilots del Circuit de Catalunya program. A program backed by the Generalitat of Catalunya, the Circuit de Catalunya, the RACC and the Catalan Motorsport Federation and that in the 2011 season has backed four drivers: Daniel Juncadella (F3 Euroseries) who recently became the first Spanish driver to ever win at the prestigious F3 Macau Grand Prix, Víctor Colomé (French F4 Championships), Gerard Barrabeig (European and Italian F-Abarth) and Álex Riberas (Eurocup FR 2.0). Other drivers such as Jaime Alguersuari, Miquel Molina (DTM), Dani Clos (GP2), Albert Costa (Formula Renault 3.5) and Miki Monrás (Formula 2) have also gone through the program in previous seasons.

In July of 2011, Pérez-Sala returned to Formula 1 as a sporting advisor to HRT F1 Team where he is now the head sporting figure after being named Team Principal.

Jaime Alguersuari could win a ticket to Red Bull’s senior formula one team for 2013.
The 21-year-old Spaniard has not yet been confirmed for the secondary team Toro Rosso for 2012, but – after a strong second half of the season – he is expected to stay.

Indeed, he is now all-but admitting it.

Asked by sports newspaper Marca what he will have to do to replace Mark Webber at the main team for 2013, Alguersuari answered: “What do I have to do?

“According to (Red Bull driver manager) Helmut (Marko), I have to win a race with Toro Rosso. Those were his words in Japan, so I’ll try.

“I have 20 races to try it and I have as good a chance as any, however small,” he laughed.

Should he win the promotion, however, Alguersuari refused to predict Sebastian Vettel-style dominance at the wheel of a Red Bull.

“It’s a question I cannot answer,” he insisted. “We do know what would happen if Alonso was in a Red Bull, but as for myself it would be pure speculation.

“So I think it’s better to say nothing.

“What I will say is that if a driver has the best car, it is because he deserves it.”

And Alguersuari thinks Vettel will probably continue to have the best car at his disposal in 2012, despite the FIA’s efforts to curb exhaust blowing and flexible wings.

“I think the best is always the best, and to date it has been (car designer Adrian) Newey. He’s a genius, an artist, and I see no reason why Red Bull’s dominance is going to be stopped now,” he insisted.

Although Dany Bahar has admitted signing Kimi Raikkonen involves Lotus spending “a big amount of money”, he expects the 2007 world champion to be a bit rusty initially.
Asked to compare the Finn’s return with the difficult F1 comeback experienced by Michael Schumacher, team title sponsor Group Lotus’ chief executive said: “Definitely it is a gamble with Kimi as well.

“He has maybe taken two years, but we have the time for Kimi as well.”

Bahar is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat: “Whether it takes three days, six races or 20 races, remains to be seen.

“The important thing is that Kimi steadily improves. As long as this happens, we give him time.”

But there have been questions about 32-year-old Raikkonen’s basic motivation, with some commentators thinking he did not take his earlier career with McLaren and Ferrari seriously enough.

“He has grown up, he is no longer young,” Bahar insisted.

“He knows what he is doing and what is expected of him. I believe he will take things a little more seriously.”

Also being given another chance is Eric Boullier, following speculation the team principal was on the way out.

“After a not-so-good year you are often criticised,” said Bahar. “The important thing is he learns from it and identifies the areas where he has to strengthen, and he has done that.”

Even after losing Robert Kubica’s services to serious injury and seeing new star recruit Kimi Raikkonen hurt his wrist at the weekend, Lotus will continue to let its drivers run their own lives.
With Pole Kubica still not recovered from his horror pre-season rallying crash, Lotus’ new signing Raikkonen fell whilst racing a snowmobile in Austria at the weekend, spraining his wrist.

Writing in Blick newspaper, veteran correspondent Roger Benoit said Lotus’ attitude is “almost negligent”.

“Have they learned nothing from the Kubica incident?” he asked.

But Dany Bahar, Lotus Group chief executive, told reporters he will not wrap the F1 team’s drivers in cotton wool, amid reports Raikkonen’s teammate Romain Grosjean has been racing karts in France.

“It is part of our job to do things that are risky, we do it commercially and corporately, Kimi does it in his own life,” Bahar is quoted as saying by Reuters.

“Kimi is Kimi and it will be difficult to change the way he lives,” added Bahar.

Raikkonen’s teammate for 2012 is new GP2 champion Grosjean, whose French nationality is a “godsend” for happy sponsors like oil company Total, team boss Eric Boullier admitted.

But he replaces Vitaly Petrov, the sponsored-funded Russian, and Brazilian Bruno Senna has also departed.

“It’s a brave decision to say ‘We’re not after the money, we try to go the hard way … we try to succeed through performance … maybe not to go after ‘pay drivers’ any more”, said Bahar.

Sauber has slammed “stupid” rumours it is set to dump Kamui Kobayashi in favour of rookie Jules Bianchi ahead of the 2012 season.
The rumours, having emerged in the Swiss and French media in recent days, said GP2 star and Frenchman Bianchi – Sauber engine supplier Ferrari’s reserve driver – stood a chance of ousting the exciting Japanese Kobayashi.

Bianchi, 22, is managed by Nicolas Todt, whose father Jean is the FIA president and former long-time Ferrari boss.

The move, despite Kobayashi being under firm contract, would see Bianchi paired with Ferrari’s other development driver Sergio Perez, with the duo tipped as leading candidates to succeed Felipe Massa at Maranello beyond 2012.

But Sauber said on Twitter on Monday: “Unfortunately someone published nonsense about Kamui leaving our team. Stupid.

“We are very fond of him, he stays with us!”

Speculation about a return to Mexico for formula one is revving up.
Earlier this year, Sauber sponsor Telmex’s Carlos Slim Domit confirmed that officials are working on a project to end the country’s 20 year absence from the calendar.

On a trip to Mexico in August, FIA president Jean Todt said it is “possible” Mexico will host a race soon.

Slim Domit wrote in a column for FIA in Motion magazine: “Linking races in Canada and the US with a Mexican round would perfectly consolidate formula one’s footprint in North and Central America and provide a viable bridge to the race in Brazil.”

Bernie Ecclestone told the Independent newspaper in September: “After Russia I would like to go to South Africa and Mexico.

“Both countries are trying to do something.”

Germany’s Speed Week now says “leading representatives” of Mexico’s motor racing federation are “very confident” a F1 race is viable, with the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on pole position as the venue.

That track, in Mexico City, last hosted the grand prix in 1992, won by Nigel Mansell.

Lewis Hamilton’s decision to dump his father and sign up with a celebrity management company was “a disaster”.
That is the view of F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, speaking after arguably the worst season in the 2008 world champion’s entire motor racing career.

He said the 26-year-old Briton’s “personal problems” in 2011 – including his split with girlfriend Nicole – were exacerbated by the absence of his former manager and father.

Anthony Hamilton, in charge of his son’s career until early 2010, now manages the Force India driver Paul di Resta.

“A lot to do with these things, it depends an awful lot on the people you surround yourself with, and who are in a position to influence you,” said Ecclestone.

“I think he just fell into a lot of people that I think weren’t good for him,” the 81-year-old told the Guardian.

“When his dad was looking after him, his dad was a bit more … obviously it didn’t suit Lewis, which was why they split, I think he didn’t appreciate how much help his dad was,” said Ecclestone.

After the split with his father, Hamilton linked up with XIX Entertainment, the company headed by Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller.

“I think it’s a disaster,” said Ecclestone. “He gets to meet people that probably he wouldn’t have met, and (who) have probably the wrong sort of influence on him.”

He mentions Ice-T, the rapper who made a controversial video inside the McLaren garage in Canada this year.

“He (Hamilton) sees somebody like that, he admires the guy, so he’ll start copying a little bit what they’re up to,” said Ecclestone.

British commentator and former McLaren driver Martin Brundle agrees that Hamilton needs to get his “mindset” right after a calamitous 2011 season.

“Any sport is 90 per cent in the head. That’s what he needs to get right,” he is quoted by The Fun.