Peter Sauber has pointed a finger at F1′s governing body as the Swiss team rues the loss of millions in income.
After the season finale in Brazil, Sauber team figures were happy at least to have beaten Toro Rosso to the chequered flag for seventh in the constructors’ world championship.

But “for all the joy we have not forgotten that we wanted more,” founder and boss Peter Sauber wrote in a column for the Swiss newspaper Blick.

“At mid season we were solidly in position 6, but we soon fell behind Force India.

“The reason is the blown diffuser and the so-called ‘off-throttle-blowing’,” said Sauber, whose team would have earned considerably more income with sixth in the standings.

He is referring to the mid-season controversy that saw the FIA ban the technology only to promptly re-allow it.

“We stopped this development after the FIA announced the ban,” wrote Sauber. “That proved to be a mistake because the FIA went back and bizarrely allowed this technology again.

“It got us badly on the defensive into the second half of the season. Those with the systems optimised their advantage, achieving much more than a second per lap,” he said.

The issue has finally been settled for 2012, with a comprehensive ban.

“Other than that, the rule changes (for next season) are moderate,” acknowledged Sauber. “Therefore our (2012 car) C31 will not be a revolution but rather a targeted evolution, albeit with numerous changes.”

Registros de Schumacher “demasiado lejos“, insiste Vettel

Dec.6 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel ha restado importancia a cualquier sugerencia que ha establecido como un objetivo de la carrera de su amigo y mentor de registro de Michael Schumacher de siete títulos mundiales y 91 victorias.

El fin de semana en Dusseldorf, la pareja debidamente ganó la corona de la Copa de la Nación “por quinta vez consecutiva en la Carrera de Campeones.

Pero en el mundo de la F1, aunque el actual campeón del mundo y la espalda contra espalda, de 24 años de edad, Vettel es todavía cinco campeonatos y 70 victorias por debajo de juego, incluso de todos los tiempos de Schumacher, registros de títulos.

“Claro que puede hacerlo”, Schumacher, de 43 años el próximo mes, es citado por la revista alemana Sport Bild.

“Siempre he dicho que los registros están ahí para ser roto, así que ¿por qué debería pensar de manera diferente de la mía?“ el piloto de Mercedes añadió.

Piloto de Red Bull Vettel, sin embargo, dijo en la televisión austriaca Servus TV el lunes: “Lo que Michael se logra tan lejos de lo que he hecho.

“Así que no se puede establecer como una meta.“

Pero lo dominante era la temporada de 2011 Vettel que, al ser interrogado, que no podía recordar cómo celebró su victoria en España hace seis meses.

Se mostró en desacuerdo sobre los detalles con su jefe Christian Horner, riendo: “Lo que tenemos aquí es un problema de lujo!“

Otro problema es su tendencia, en cuatro ocasiones en 2011, accidente en los entrenamientos del viernes, pero su otro jefe Dr. Helmut Marko le hizo un guiño: “Tengo que decir que, después, siempre ganó la carrera“

Sebastian Vettel has played down any suggestion he has set as a career target his friend and mentor Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world titles and 91 wins.
At the weekend in Dusseldorf, the pair duly won their fifth consecutive ‘Nation’s Cup’ crown at the Race of Champions.

But in the F1 world, although the current and back-to-back world champion, 24-year-old Vettel is still five championships and 70 victories short of even matching Schumacher’s all-time title records.

“Sure he can do it,” Schumacher, 43 next month, is quoted by the German magazine Sport Bild.

“I’ve always said that records are there to be broken so why should I think differently about mine?” the Mercedes driver added.

Red Bull driver Vettel, however, said on Austrian television Servus TV on Monday: “What Michael achieved is so far away from what I have done.

“So you can’t set it as a goal.”

But so dominant was Vettel’s 2011 season that, when questioned, he could not recall how he celebrated his victory in Spain six months ago.

He disagreed about the details with his boss Christian Horner, laughing: “What we have here is a luxury problem!”

Another problem was his tendency, four times in 2011, to crash in Friday practice, but his other boss Dr Helmut Marko winked: “I have to say that, afterwards, he always won the race!”

 Red Bull quit FOTA because the teams association had ceased to have a good purpose, Dr Helmut Marko said this week.
Late last Friday, after many international news editors had already called it a day for the week, the team as well as Ferrari confirmed that they had pulled out of the Geneva-based body.

Formed amid the political war with former FIA president Max Mosley, the alliance gave the teams a strong negotiating position as well as a platform to reduce costs with the gentleman’s ‘resource restriction agreement’ (RRA).

It is the RRA that caused the tension, with Ferrari struggling recently despite having F1′s biggest annual budget, and Red Bull accused of breaching the spirit of the cost-cutting rules.

“FOTA fulfilled its purpose in the crisis period,” Red Bull F1 consultant Marko said on Austrian Servus TV on Monday, “and so there was a reduction in costs, but as far as achievements there was nothing else.”

Agreed team boss Christian Horner: “In the last twelve months it hasn’t quite been clear what was the purpose of FOTA.”

Added Marko: “If at the meetings we cannot agree even to the lowest common denominator, one wonders what is the point of all the effort.”

Some believe the FOTA split gives Red Bull and Ferrari powerful individual positions to negotiate lucrative deals with Bernie Ecclestone under the next Concorde Agreement.

Others worry that F1 teams will now return to the unsustainable financial arms races of the past.

“We have decided at this time to withdraw and now we will see how it develops,” said Horner ambiguously.

For the moment, the divide has F1′s biggest spenders Red Bull and Ferrari on one side, and powerful competitors including McLaren and Mercedes on the other.

“I think it is absolutely vital that FOTA is existing,” carmaker Mercedes’ racing chief Norbert Haug told reporters on Monday.

France’s autohebdo.fr reports that the remaining FOTA members will meet for talks on Tuesday.

Said the Mercedes team’s chief executive Nick Fry: “We’ve certainly hit a bump in the road but I believe that work will continue in the background to try and resolve this and we will do whatever we can to support that.”

Norbert Haug doubts Mercedes will be alone in taking its ‘old’ car to the first pre-season test at Jerez in early February.
The German team announced this week that its 2012 challenger, the W03, will not be given its official track debut until the Barcelona test two weeks later.

Mercedes said the extra time can be better spent designing and developing the car.

“We can do a lot in those two weeks,” the carmaker’s motor racing chief Haug is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

From 2012, new cars must pass all the FIA crash tests before they can be tested. In the past, the FIA tests only had to be completed before the race season began.

Referring to the late track debut, Haug revealed: “I doubt we will be the only ones who will do it that way.”

The strategy, however, gives Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg just four days each to try the W03 before it is shipped to Australia for the first race.

“We can now simulate so much at our factory in Brackley,” team chief executive Nick Fry said.

Haug, meanwhile, confirmed that there was no opposition to Mercedes’ application to add the ‘AMG’ moniker to its official name for 2012.

“The governing body and FOM have been informed and there were no objections,” said the German.

 Sebastian Vettel has revealed he wants to enjoy a quieter coronation one year after becoming world champion for the first time in 2010.
On the sidelines of the Race of Champions event in Dusseldorf, a reporter for the German news agency SID heard the Red Bull driver admit he was too busy with media and sponsor commitments after winning his first title a year ago.

“The first days and weeks (after winning a title) are very busy,” said the 24-year-old.

“But we have learned from last year, when it was all very stressful, and try to do it better this time,” added Vettel.

The German said although there is still “a lot to do” in his immediate future, the period around Christmas will be “quiet”.

And there are no plans even for a holiday.

“I actually have no desire to get on a plane,” he said, a week after the final event on the 19-race 2011 calendar.

“I have been flying all year long so I’ll probably recharge my batteries by staying at home,” revealed Vettel, who lives in Switzerland.

Gerhard Berger has played down reports he is a contender to return to formula one with a role at the Lotus team in 2012.
International reports had predicted the former grand prix winner, BMW motor sport director and Toro Rosso co-owner will return from retirement amid rumours team boss Eric Boullier is leaving his role.

“My perpetual holiday is continuing,” the 52-year-old former Ferrari and McLaren driver is quoted as saying by Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

 Kimi Raikkonen is also a minor shareholder of the newly-renamed Lotus team, according to reports.
Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo, and Italy’s Italiaracing, claim the 2007 world champion traded income and performance bonuses for an actual slice of the Genii-controlled team that is based at Enstone, UK.

He “could be the first ‘driver-owner’ in F1 in more than twenty years,” the Spanish newspaper claimed.

El Mundo said Finn Raikkonen, 32, proposed the idea to Williams but it did not take place “perhaps because (the British team) is listed on the stock exchange”.

Together with his management team headed by David and Steve Robertson, Raikkonen had his own ‘Double R’ F3 team.

And he competed in world rallying this year with his own outfit by the name of Ice1 Racing, which is also involved in motocross.

 The jury is out as to whether F1′s reigning back to back world champion is as good as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
That is the suggestion of Ferrari driver Alonso, who said the final test for dominant Red Bull driver Vettel, 24, is to prove he can regularly haul a less-than-perfect car to the top of the podium.

The Spaniard was asked by the Diario Sport newspaper if he agrees with Pedro de la Rosa’s recent assessment that only Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel are able to win races in something other than the best car in the field.

“We have seen two do it, for the third it is yet to be seen,” said Alonso.

“We will see when he has a car good enough to be sixth and he gets it to be second, third or fourth. Until now we have only seen him in a car that can win the championship with five grands prix to go.

“So we have to wait,” added the Ferrari driver.

As for Ferrari, Alonso said the Italian team has been learning over the past year how to develop a car as rapidly as his 2007 employer, McLaren.

“McLaren is a good example,” he admitted, “of a team that can start a year with any problem and resolve it in a couple of races.

“Pat Fry has brought new ideas, new methods and I have not the slightest doubt that Ferrari is much better today than it was a year ago,” added Alonso.

DTM is apparently at the top of the list should Romain Grosjean’s bid to return to formula one in 2012 not work out.
The Swiss born Frenchman and new GP2 champion is hoping to move up from the reserve and occasional ‘Friday’ role to become Kimi Raikkonen’s race teammate at Lotus in 2012.

But it has emerged that, alongside German youngster Marco Wittmann, Grosjean will test BMW’s new M3 car for the German touring car series this week at Monteblanco, in the south of Spain.

“Both (Grosjean and F3 driver Wittmann) have shown what they are capable of on numerous occasions in their racing series. We are looking forward to seeing how they handle the BMW M3 DTM,” said BMW motor sport director Jens Marquardt.

Heikki Kovalainen has revealed he has been closely involved in the development of next year’s Caterham car.

Despite his continuing contract, the Finn has been linked with a shock switch to Lotus, but he scotched those rumours by revealing the extent of his input into the green and yellow car he will be driving in 2012.

“I want to create the best possible conditions so that I can make something of it,” said Kovalainen, referring to his so far multiple year commitment to the Caterham team having previously driven for McLaren and Renault.

“I am very involved in the design of the car for next year,” he told the Dutch magazine Formule 1. “I come often to the factory, I know all the department heads, from aerodynamics to electronics.

“They ask for my opinion and listen to what I have to say, and I listen to their ideas. The team knows what kind of car I want in 2012, and together we will try to build exactly that.”

Much more uncertain is the future of Caterham’s other driver Jarno Trulli.

Referring to the input the Italian veteran has had into the 2012 car, Kovalainen replied: “I don’t know, we’ve never talked about it.”

Jenson Button has tipped his former team to be an outside chance for ultimate glory in 2012.
Just before the Brackley based team became Mercedes for the start of 2010, Button won the world championship at the wheel of his ‘Brawn GP’ car.

That team is still fronted by Ross Brawn, with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg now in the drivers’ seats for a third consecutive season next year.

“Usually it’s the three very strong teams at the front, which is Red Bull, Ferrari and us,” said Button, who in his McLaren finished the 2011 season as runner-up to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

“But we have to watch out for Mercedes,” he told the German news agency SID. “They have been preparing for 2012 for half of this season — as they did before I became world champion.”

Schumacher, however, is more cautious, despite admitting that members of the German team “all hope” Button is right.

“More likely is that we will improve in the coming year so that we can fight with our own power for the podium places,” the seven time world champion, who turns 43 in January, is quoted by Sport Bild.

McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa agrees, although he hopes Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes can all pose a challenge to Red Bull next year “for the sake of the championship”.

But he acknowledged that it is wrong to predict a close fight solely on the basis that Red Bull’s ultra-successful exhaust blowing solution will be outlawed.

“I take the more humble view by accepting that the exhaust blowing was just one example of the quality and the creativity of the Red Bull team,” he is quoted by Marca sports newspaper.

“Without it in 2012, I have little doubt that Red Bull will surprise us again with something ingenious.”

FOTA is failing due to the competitiveness of the formula one teams, according to Bernie Ecclestone.

The teams’ alliance is reeling from the high profile loss of top teams Red Bull and Ferrari, due mainly to the disagreement about the cost-cutting resource restriction agreement.

The death of unity is music to F1 chief executive Ecclestone’s ears, ahead of his crucial negotiations over the next income-distribution Concorde Agreement.

“I think (Ferrari and Red Bull) believed (FOTA) didn’t quite do what it was intended to do,” he is quoted by the Financial Times.

“It is very very difficult for all these people who are competing with each other to agree anything that’s going to stop their ability to win.”

The 81-year-old said the FOTA split has almost certainly ended the teams’ cost-cutting agreement.

“I think it was probably dead before it started,” said Ecclestone.

“It’s pretty difficult (for a team) to ever be able to say ‘this is what we’ve done’. You get all that nonsense, ‘oh, they’re cheating, because they’ve spent more than they should have’.”

Ecclestone denied he has already made separate post-2012 Concorde deals with Red Bull or Ferrari, and would not rule out negotiating collectively with all the teams.

But Autosprint believes the FOTA split will definitely “benefit the more important teams”.

And the story will continue to run, with Auto Motor und Sport predicting that FOTA could take Red Bull to court for quitting the resource restriction agreement after team boss Christian Horner signed the new deal in Singapore.

The German report said Red Bull is claiming Horner was not authorised to sign it.

Ferrari and Red Bull have pulled out of the formula one teams association FOTA.
Both the top teams separately confirmed the news, with a FOTA spokeswoman saying: “We are trying to arrange a meeting to sit the teams around the table and see where this takes us.”

The move follows a disagreement about the future of FOTA’s voluntary cost-cutting resource restriction agreement.

“(Red Bull) will remain committed to finding a solution regarding cost saving in F1,” the reigning world champion team said in a statement.

Ferrari confirmed its decision was made due to the “stalemate” over “some issues at the core” of FOTA’s purpose.

“FOTA’s drive has run its course, despite the excellent work of current president, (McLaren team boss) Martin Whitmarsh in trying to reach agreement between the various positions for the common good,” added the famous Italian team.

The Spanish team HRT quit FOTA early this year.

Red Bull’s long-term commitment to formula one depends on track success and the marketing value, Dr Helmut Marko has admitted.
The UK-based, Austrian team has embarrassed dedicated carmakers and legendary motor racing teams including Ferrari and McLaren in the past few seasons by dominating the sport.

“What is really funny is that over the last few decades McLaren and Ferrari have been arch rivals, but since our arrival – and success – they have moved much closer together,” laughed Marko, who is team owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s right-hand man on F1 matters.

Nonetheless, there remain questions about Red Bull’s long-term commitment.

“That’s not entirely true,” the Austrian insisted to F1′s official website.

“There have been comments from Dietrich Mateschitz that should the framework requirements not apply, then there could be second thoughts.

“Formula one is a marketing tool for Red Bull, which means that we permanently evaluate our input and the output of our commitment,” said Marko. “This equation has to be positive.

“If long-term success is there, then there is definitely no question at all.”

If Adrian Sutil departs, Force India will have parted ways with a driver the team regards very highly.
It is rumoured strongly that, despite his experience and sponsorship by the Medion company, German Sutil will be replaced for 2012 by the team’s 2011 reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg.

But according to Force India’s official noises of late, Sutil is still highly regarded by the Silverstone based team.

Asked to summarise drivers Sutil and Paul di Resta’s contribution to helping the team to finish sixth in the constructors’ championship, deputy team boss Robert Fernley said: “I think they both did a fabulous job.

“I think Adrian’s pass of Nico Rosberg in Brazil was excellent, and it just showed how he’s matured through the year.”

And throughout the Interlagos weekend, the plaudits were also flowing, with 28-year-old Sutil’s qualifying described as “excellent”, and his race “brilliant”.

Should he be shown the door, his best chance of staying in formula one appears to be a switch to Williams.

“I am 100 per cent sure that I’m going to be in formula one next year,” the German newsmagazine Focus quoted Sutil as saying.