Stefano Domenicali has ruled out responding to Ferrari’s latest crisis with the old ‘rolling heads’ technique.

One perception in the paddock is that the fabled Italian team, under intense pressure from the Tifosi and president Luca di Montezemolo, often reacts by emotionally shedding staff, with Aldo Costa and Chris Dyer the obvious recent examples.

So, having installed new faces including Pat Fry but still struggling with the latest F2012 project, will boss Domenicali set heads rolling again?

“Firing people is the work of two minutes,” he is quoted by Germany’s Auto Bild, “but this would not solve our problem.

“Instead I need to find new people who can improve the organisation and push the engineers to improve the car,” added the Italian.

In the meantime, there is no silver bullet.

“I am not happy with the F2012 project,” he acknowledged.

“But if you want to see the glass half full rather than half empty, then Fernando has done a great damage control and, with an improved car, he at least has the possibility to continue to fight for the championship.

“We have to improve,” Domenicali insisted. “I have asked my people to wake up and respond, and I will no longer hear excuses.”

Charlie Whiting has admitted F1′s governing body will likely have to change the exhaust rules yet again for 2013.

Led by technical delegate Whiting, the FIA clamped down hard for this season on the sort of ‘exhaust blown diffuser’ layouts that had become widespread last year.

New exhaust layout rules, combined with new restrictions on engine mapping, have made it much more difficult for teams to achieve an aerodynamic effect from the fast-moving hot gases produced by the engine.

“We are aware, however, that they (the teams) will do as much as they can to direct the exhaust gases down into the area where they want them,” Whiting said in the FIA’s Inmotion magazine.

“I think (the effect) will be 20 per cent of what they had before.”

Among the cleverest and most effective solutions for the 2012 rules has been seen on the Sauber, and so Red Bull has followed suit and it is believed Ferrari will be next.

But Whiting hinted that the 2013 rules will clamp down even harder: “I suspect we’ll have to have another go at it in 2013,” said the Briton.

He admitted, however, that the egg cannot be unscrambled.

Referring to the jet of high-speed gas emanating from the exhausts near aerodynamic surfaces, Mercedes’ Aldo Costa confirmed to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport: “You can’t ignore a gift like that.”

Whiting explained: “It is a classic case of not being able to unlearn things once they have been invented. The engineers know that there are benefits to be had and there is still some scope for development in this area.

“And we can’t wipe the memories of the engineers like a computer, can we?”

Aldo Costa has revealed he is unhappy with Ferrari’s comments in the wake of his departure last year.

The Italian was stepped down as the famous team’s technical director, and he switched to Mercedes before the German marque made a significant step forwards with its 2012 car.

He has remained quiet about his treatment by Ferrari until now, telling Autosprint magazine that the Maranello marque lacked “style and professionalism” as it handled its restructuring.

Asked for more information, he said Ferrari explained “things that not only myself but also the whole world of formula one knows is not the truth”.

Costa confirmed that he was referring to Ferrari’s suggestion that he lacked “creativity”.

Still, he said he is not happy to see his old team struggling to make it into Q3 with the aggressive F2012.

“I still have so many friends in Maranello, but now I want to be 100 per cent engaged on succeeding with Mercedes.”

He said the Ross Brawn-led team has a “different” approach to Ferrari’s “that makes it easier to do things”.

 Paddock insiders already have a name for Mercedes’ new front wing innovation — ‘W-duct’.
We have reported that the German marque has already tested the F-duct style concept at the front of its newly-launched W03 car.

The Finnish broadcaster MTV3, describing the system as ‘W-duct’, has provided some detail as to how it works.

When the car is being driven in a straight line, air flows into the tip of the silver car’s nose and is dispersed in a W-like pattern across the length of the front wing.

But when the car is cornering, the air flows more predominantly to one side or the other, improving the balance and handling.

Unlike the driver-operated rear wing F-duct, which was banned for 2011, Mercedes’ system is entirely passive and requires no moving parts, and is therefore legal.

Meanwhile, team boss Ross Brawn on Tuesday defended Mercedes’ strategy of employing numerous technical bosses, including Aldo Costa, Bob Bell and Geoff Willis.

“How it works is a mystery to me,” Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko told Die Welt newspaper, “but Mercedes must know what they’re doing.”

Mercedes aims to give Nico Rosberg a winning car soon, but the German is also learning to be patient.

Now with more than 100 grands prix behind him, the 26-year-old is yet to record a single race victory and he has now re-signed with Mercedes for at least the next two or three seasons.

Then called Brawn, the Brackley based team won the world championship with Jenson Button in 2009, but that was on the coat-tails of the hundreds of millions invested by Honda.

Today is different, Mercedes-Benz’s Norbert Haug warns.

“He needs to understand that the team is still young,” the German is quoted as saying by Turun Sanomat newspaper.

“Brawn won the championship in 2009 but now the team has a completely different structure.

“Mercedes makes the engines but the rest of the budget comes from sponsors and the income from FOM.”

Haug likens Rosberg to Mika Hakkinen, who after years of toiling without tasting a win finally broke through at the end of 1997 with Mercedes power.

“After that he couldn’t be stopped,” he said.

With his new contract in his pocket, Rosberg revealed in Abu Dhabi that he is prepared to wait a little longer for his breakthrough.

“I would say that right now it will be a lot of patience (needed),” he told F1′s official website. “But there is no doubt in my mind that it is absolutely worth it.”

The German is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport as revealing that amid the recent interest of some other teams, he was buoyed by Mercedes’ obvious determination to succeed.

“The decisive thing for my decision was the commitment of the management, underlined by the signing of Geoff Willis and Aldo Costa.

“It is quite clear that Mercedes wants to be the best team on the grid.”

Finally, Rosberg – who doesn’t have a manger – thanked his famous father Keke for his help in organising the new Mercedes deal.

“He took care of the paperwork and I am grateful for that,” he said.

Michael Schumacher has extended his Mercedes deal for another season, the German weekly Sport Bild reports.
The 42-year-old’s existing contract was set to run only until the end of next season, but Sport Bild said the seven time world champion is now staying at least until the end of 2013.

“There is no reason why Michael should not continue,” said team boss Ross Brawn. “He’s very valuable to the team and has not lost his edge.”

Schumacher hinted that he is not yet ready to return to retirement.

“I have proved I can run in the races faster than my teammate Nico Rosberg; overall we are on the right track.

“It is unlikely that in 2012 we will be in a position to go for the title, because first we need to lay down the foundation that we can then use in 2013,” he added.

Added Mercedes-Benz’s Norbert Haug: “Whoever wrote off Michael has been proved wrong. He is driving fantastic races; no one has made up more positions than him on the first lap.”

The next step for the Brackley based team is to keep Nico Rosberg beyond 2012, even though reports the 26-year-old could be snapped up immediately by Ferrari have proved wide of the mark.

“Winning with the Silver Arrows is my primary goal, but of course you always keep your options open,” he is quoted as saying.

The team looks strong on the technical front, with five former rival chiefs – Brawn and Aldo Costa (Ferrari), Bob Bell (Renault), Loic Bigois (Prost) and Geoff Willis (HRT) – all now peddling for Mercedes.

 Nico Rosberg has overcome a chink in his armour, Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has revealed.
When Brawn GP became Mercedes’ works team ahead of 2010, the former Williams driver was signed to be the returning Michael Schumacher’s teammate.

Nearly two seasons on, despite an improved turn of form by Schumacher in the last three or four races, it is 26-year-old Rosberg who has been the faster.

But team boss Brawn did spot a weakness.

“I have to be honest, when Nico first arrived from Williams there were times when he was not fit enough,” he is quoted by the Telegraph.

Rosberg has since blitzed fellow amateur triathlete Jenson Button’s best time at the multi-sport discipline, and regularly posts Youtube videos proving his high fitness.

“I can’t criticise him at all on that score now,” admitted Brawn. “He goes above and beyond.”

Brawn’s praise comes amid speculation rival teams have expressed interest in Rosberg beyond his 2012 contract, with Mercedes’ Norbert Haug revealing he would like to sign him up for the long term.

Rosberg says he is buoyed by the team’s acquisition of well-known technical directors Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis.

“Mercedes are in the background and they are pushing flat out. Whatever it takes,” he said, admitting it would be special to succeed with what is effectively a German national team.

“The other thing that is special is I know that this team is betting on me; counting on me to deliver once I have the car to do so. And I’m very confident that I will be able to. I just have to be patient,” said Rosberg.

“Michael, of course, isn’t getting any younger. So theoretically it is all set up perfectly for me here.”

 The inter-team agreement to curb costs in formula one is at a crossroads as the latest rumours sweep across the paddock.
First it was Red Bull, but now Mercedes is the subject of the latest speculation about teams breaking the gentleman’s agreement known as the FOTA-sponsored resource restriction agreement (RRA).

The Mercedes rumours have gained strength since Mercedes signed Geoff Willis and Aldo Costa to join Mercedes’ existing technical bosses Ross Brawn and Bob Bell.

“Each of the teams and team principals continue to assure FOTA that they are abiding by the limitations that are contained within the RRA,” formula one teams association chairman Martin Whitmarsh said in Korea on Friday.

Red Bull has made clear it will only agree to a new agreement – one that “doesn’t involve commenting or politicking” – if the other teams don’t power speculation about breaches.

“Red Bull does favour the RRA being around, but in a way that’s clear, tangible, policeable and encompasses all of what formula one is rather than cherry-picking elements of it,” added team boss Christian Horner.

Mercedes figures including Brawn and Norbert Haug have this weekend denied the bolstering Brackley based team is stepping over the line in adhering to the RRA.

“I think for us, we’re respecting the RRA but I think it’s at a crossroads,” said team boss Brawn.

“I think it’s at a crossroads because it’s now starting to bite those three or four teams who have to control their resource to comply.

“The teams have to come together to find a solution … or else we will have a continuation of the problems that we’re having at the moment, all the comments, the rumour, the innuendo, the distrust.”

The unity of the formula one teams association FOTA might be racing into trouble.

AS newspaper reports that neither Red Bull nor Mercedes are fans of the so-called resource restriction agreement, with Ferrari and McLaren on the opposing side of the developing debate.

The report said Red Bull as well as Mercedes, the topic of conversation at Suzuka following the high-profile appointments of Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis, feel “under suspicion for alleged overspending”.

Both teams “seem willing to fight for the elimination of this regulation”, with some sources saying an impasse could lead to Mercedes and Red Bull leaving FOTA altogether.

AS correspondent Manuel Franco said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has called upon FOTA, led by his McLaren counterpart Martin Whitmarsh, to resolve the issue this weekend in Korea.

Bernie Ecclestone admitted recently that he does not support FOTA.

“I try not to think of them,” said the F1 chief executive in a joint interview recently with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who agreed: “I also don’t spend too much time thinking in that direction.”

F1 chief executive Ecclestone told formula1.com: “It (FOTA) is an unnecessary association of people who should put their sole emphasis on getting competitive cars on the grid.”

Mercedes’ rivals on Friday admitted the Brackley based team is heading into the 2012 season with “a lot” of technical chiefs.
Although they all now have different titles, former technical directors Ross Brawn (Ferrari), Bob Bell (Renault), Aldo Costa (Ferrari) and Geoff Willis (HRT) will all be involved with the design of Mercedes’ next single seater.

Sport Bild journalist Ralf Bach at Suzuka claimed it is a “new formula one record”.

“Yeah, that is a lot,” agreed McLaren’s Paddy Lowe.

Renault’s deputy technical director Naoki Tokunaga added: “Each team has its own approach and I think we have a different approach.”

Gerhard Berger has criticised the latest high-profile appointments by Mercedes’ formula one team.

With Renault’s former chief Bob Bell already on board, the Brackley based team announced last Friday that Geoff Willis and Aldo Costa will start their new roles in November and December respectively.

Willis was leading HRT’s technical team until very recently, while Italian Costa was ousted by Ferrari earlier this season.

Former F1 winner, joint BMW motor sport director and Toro Rosso co-owner Berger questioned the appointments, which are the latest in a recruitment push by the works Mercedes team.

“It looks to me as though Mercedes are shooting with a shotgun in the hope of landing a hit,” the Austrian told Auto Bild Motorsport.

Italy’s Autosprint magazine, meanwhile, wondered if it is “credible that, to strengthen his technical staff, Ross Brawn turns to someone considered a loser by Ferrari?

“Frankly, it’s not,” the report concluded.

Chris Dyer has returned to a formula one paddock for the first time since Ferrari’s bungled race strategy in Abu Dhabi ten months ago.
The Australian, formerly Ferrari’s head of track engineering, was ousted by the famous Italian team after Fernando Alonso failed to win the 2010 title at the last hurdle.

Italian publications Autosprint and La Gazzetta dello Sport said he was in the Monza paddock on Thursday.

And Finland’s Turun Sanomat said it possible that 42-year-old Dyer, who in the past also served as race engineer for Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen, could return to F1 with Mercedes next season.

Also linked with a Ross Brawn reunion at Mercedes is Aldo Costa, who was similarly ousted by Ferrari this year.

Brawn, now in charge at Mercedes GP, would not comment on his team’s structure.

And Dyer told Turun Sanomat: “I don’t want to talk about Ferrari, it’s not appropriate as I don’t work there any more.”

Mercedes has reportedly targeted ousted Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa.
In May, as Ferrari grappled with its new 150 Italia car, the famous Maranello based team said the Italian had stepped down.

It emerged a few days ago that Costa has left the carmaker completely but is on what is known in F1 as “gardening leave” until the end of the year.

The specialist Italian magazine Autosprint reports that Mercedes, headed by another former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, has targeted Costa.

We reported recently that the Brackley based team is on a recruitment drive to boost its staff numbers to the height of big three teams Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Autosprint said Brawn told Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche at the Nurburgring that Mercedes’ struggles in 2010 and 2011 have been due in part to the team’s comparatively small size.

“So he (Brawn) received the go-ahead for the recruitment campaign,” said the report.

Designer Nikolas Tombazis has revealed that next year’s Ferrari will be very different to the current single seater.
The Italian team recently split with technical director Aldo Costa, admitting Ferrari needs to be more aggressive in order to start championship campaigns on terms with its rivals.

For 2012, Greek designer Tombazis has revealed that “many areas of the car will change.

“The change will be greater than in other years,” he is quoted by Spain’s AS newspaper.

Tombazis is also quoted as saying by Brazil’s Globo Esporte: “I think honestly next year’s car will be neither an evolution from this year or a total change.”

But a difficulty for teams at this point of the season, particularly with Red Bull so far ahead in the championships, is how to split the resources between the two car projects.

A further complication is that a major development area in 2011 is the blown exhaust, which will not be allowed next season.

“Some resources should be used for this year’s car because we want to win some more races,” said Tombazis. “Obviously some things do not apply to next year’s car, but some do.

“So we need to address this, trying to prioritise our resources for the two cars.”

The time is nearing when Ferrari might decide to write off the 2011 championship, team boss Stefano Domenicali has admitted.
The 150 Italia car has shown improvements in the past races, but Fernando Alonso is now almost 100 points behind the leading Red Bull with just seven races down.

“Ferrari is at a crucial moment of the season,” boss Domenicali admitted to Die Welt newspaper.

“In the next races until after the British grand prix we will decide whether we continue to push for the world title or work already for the next season,” he said.

The Italian insisted he is “confident” about Ferrari’s progress recently but added: “Also I’m not from the moon.

“Red Bull is a very tough opponent.

“F1 has changed dramatically. Previously, the largest teams could work almost without limits, with no limitations on testing etcetera. For a team like Ferrari, it is more difficult to work under the new conditions.

“But we have to see that Red Bull has built an outstanding car; so good that in a victory the car is usually listed first as the winner before the driver.

“When we dominated, it was always Michael Schumacher first and then Ferrari. Now it’s Red Bull and then Sebastian Vettel,” he charged, obviously crediting designer Adrian Newey for the young German’s runaway lead.

Domenicali, meanwhile, was left to defend Ferrari’s situation, including the recent ousting of technical director Aldo Costa.

“There was no other solution,” he insisted. “It was a necessary step to re-motivate the team and show them that there are no excuses, only consequences.”