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.”

It was a breakthrough for Mercedes and Nico Rosberg, but the Chinese grand prix was a “difficult day” for Michael Schumacher.

That is the admission of Shanghai winner Rosberg, whose first race win after more than 100 attempts also delivered German marque Mercedes’ first works victory for more than half a century.

“I felt he was very happy for me,” Rosberg told Auto Bild Motorsport, when asked what seven time world champion Schumacher’s reaction was.

Since returning to F1 more than two years ago, 43-year-old Schumacher – although stepping up his pace in 2012 – is yet to finish a single grand prix on the podium.

Nonetheless, he offered his congratulations “very, very warmly” after China, Rosberg revealed.

“At the same time I know that it was, of course, a difficult day (for him),” he admitted.

Norbert Haug, the team’s motor sport director, recently sounded inclined to keep Rosberg and Schumacher together beyond 2012, despite the fact the older and more famous German’s contract is ending.

He insisted there is “nothing negative” about their relationship.

As for ongoing rumours that Schumacher still enjoys number one status, Haug called that idea “absolute nonsense”.

“Do you know what Nico said to me, before Michael came? He said ‘If you can get Michael (on the team), then try everything for it’.”

Rosberg has not changed his tune.

“There was never a situation in which Michael got anything before I did,” he confirmed.

After Sebastian Vettel’s first win of the season in Bahrain recently, Red Bull could now maintain its grip on 2012.

That is the claim of the legendary triple world champion Niki Lauda.

Red Bull has been the dominant force since late 2009 and 2010, and Vettel was untouchable last year as he successfully defended his drivers’ championship breakthrough.

But four different teams have won so far in 2012, and only the last of them were Red Bull and Vettel, as the energy drink-owned team’s superiority appeared to have waned.

After Bahrain, however, Red Bull and Vettel are back, Lauda told Germany’s Auto Bild Motorsport.

“In Bahrain, they got the car and the tyres right for the first time, and they won,” said the Austrian.

“They will have improved the car further in Mugello, so I see enormous potential for another dominant season,” he added.

Lauda acknowledged that the blown diffusers of the past seasons was Red Bull’s “great strength”, and now that is gone.

“Nevertheless, Red Bull is the team to beat,” he insisted.

Nico Rosberg’s F1 breakthrough proves he is ready to fight even for the world championship.

That is the view of former grand prix winner, team boss and co-owner Gerhard Berger, following Rosberg’s first pole and win in China last weekend.

“It surprised not me, but all the others who had doubted him,” the Austrian told Auto Bild Motorsport.

“It was about time. I was worried,” Berger smiled, “because I have always said I thought Nico was faster than Michael (Schumacher).

“Now he is finally where he has belonged for a long time — in the same league as Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso and Button,” he insisted.

“And when the (Mercedes) car is good enough, he is already ready for the world title.”

Berger, then as BMW motor sport director, said he was instrumental in 2002 in convincing Sir Frank Williams to give the then 17-year-old Rosberg his first F1 test.

Also welcoming Sunday’s breakthrough is Nelson Piquet junior, another son of a world champion who actually went to kindergarten with Rosberg in Monaco.

“It’s funny how in F1 things can take so long to happen,” the Brazilian told Globo.

“It took him more than six years to get his first victory, which for me is a long time considering how good a driver he is,” added Piquet, now in Nascar.

The 2012 ‘F-duct’ controversy looks set to keep running for now.

“It’s not over yet,” confirmed Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko to Germany’s Auto Bild.

In Australia and Malaysia, the threat of results protests hung over the opening races of 2012, due to some teams – chiefly Red Bull and Lotus – questioning the legality of the aerodynamic innovation on Mercedes’ 2012 car.

Until now, the FIA has declared that the system – working in unison with the driver-operated DRS – is fully legal.

But it has emerged that Lotus technical director James Allison has come up with another argument against the technology that will be posed to the FIA’s Charlie Whiting ahead of scrutineering for next weekend’s Chinese grand prix.

It is believed that while Ferrari is on Red Bull and Lotus’ side at present, Mercedes-powered McLaren is currently staying out of the debate altogether.

Martin Brundle has described Red Bull’s lack of pace as the biggest surprise of the 2012 season so far.

After consecutive world championships with Sebastian Vettel, the energy drink-owned team was universally tipped as the pre-season favourite for yet another F1 title.

But McLaren dominated in Australia before Ferrari and Sauber surprisingly set the pace recently in Malaysia.

Former F1 driver Brundle admitted the struggling RB8 was the surprise of the opening salvo in 2012, but he also acknowledged that the turnaround might have been predicted.

“When you look at how the regulations have changed, it’s almost like they were designed to slow the Red Bulls down,” the Sky television commentator told the website of the BBC programme Top Gear.

“Doubling the torsional stiffness of the front wings, the way Red Bull were ‘flying’ their car down the track with lots of rake, nose close to the ground, exhausts helping to sort the high rear ride height out, it’s all been taken away from them,” added Brundle.

An unnamed engineer at Red Bull has admitted the team was caught on the hop in the winter pre-season, when it became clear McLaren was better prepared for the new rules.

“McLaren came with a (exhaust) system on the edge of legality,” the engineer told Germany’s Auto Bild, “and it was declared legal by the FIA.

“So (Adrian) Newey had to adapt,” he added, referring to Red Bull’s last-minute decision to change tack at the very end of the pre-season test period.

The message coming from the Milton Keynes based team, therefore, is that Red Bull is playing catch-up.

“We need to understand the car better,” admits team advisor Dr Helmut Marko, “which is why for the next race (in China) we will have hardly any new parts.”

So until he’s back at the front, F1′s formerly-dominant Vettel – who lashed out at backmarker Narain Karthikeyan recently in Malaysia – needs to adapt.

Asked if the German was justified in calling his Indian rival an “idiot”, Brundle insisted: “No.

“That’s just an angry man who hasn’t got a front-running car at the moment. He’s just frustrated.”

Timo Glock has revealed he is happy to know F1 spectators still rate his talents.
2012 is the 30-year-old’s third consecutive season with backmarkers Marussia (formerly Virgin), after an impressive earlier career at Toyota.

But a recent online poll in Germany showed that a majority of his countrymen think he would be a worthy successor at Mercedes for Michael Schumacher, should the seven time world champion return to retirement.

“It’s very positive that the fans who follow the races on TV are still able to say ‘Glock could still do it if he had a fast car,” he is quoted by Auto Bild.

But for now, he will have to wait even for an improved car, with the first real fruits of Marussia’s tie-up with McLaren not expected until the European race season.

“Our current car was still built just with CFD,” Glock told Auto Motor und Sport. “The first concept of the car was already done when we went for the first time into the McLaren wind tunnel.”

Red Bull is convinced it will put up a stronger fight to Melbourne winners McLaren this weekend in Malaysia.
“In Australia we had basically a construction site, while McLaren’s house was finished long ago,” world champion Sebastian Vettel said by way of analogy to Germany’s Auto Bild.

“So second place (in Melbourne) was not too bad.”

Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko agrees: “Vettel spent most of the last day of the testing in Barcelona in the pits.

“Our car is not yet mature,” he added, referring to the Renault-powered RB8.

Team boss Christian Horner said the team brought out “only 60 per cent” of the car’s potential in Australia.

Felipe Massa’s Ferrari seat is a big talking point in the Sepang paddock on Thursday.
Following a dire performance in Australia for the Brazilian, the Italian press has named Sergio Perez, Adrian Sutil and even Jarno Trulli as possible candidates to immediately oust Massa.

Mexican Perez, the cream of Ferrari’s development programme and already at Ferrari-powered Sauber, said in Malaysia: “It’s very early to say that or speculate.”

Very keen for a chance like this, however, is Force India refugee Sutil, who has been left without a job in the wake of his criminal conviction.

“I am very motivated and I’m training hard to stay fit,” the German is quoted on Thursday by Auto Bild Motorsport.

All eyes will be on Massa this weekend, as Ferrari has agreed to build him up a new F2012 chassis in the wake of his lacklustre performance in Melbourne.

“I really don’t care,” he said in reaction to the rumours, “I have a job.”

 Red Bull has stepped up the technical row with Mercedes by accusing the German team of breaching a gentlemen’s agreement.
Red Bull and Lotus last weekend threatened to protest the results in Australia, due to Mercedes’ innovative new ‘F-duct’-like solution.

“They are not complying with the agreement of the technical working group,” said Christian Horner.

Adrian Newey also told Auto Bild Motorsport: “The FIA has allowed the system, but Mercedes has gone against the gentlemen’s agreement of the teams.”

He is apparently referring to a meeting last year in which teams informally agreed not to pursue certain technical directions.

Red Bull has devised a “clever” way of reclaiming some of the downforce lost through the banning of blown diffusers.
That is the claim of Jean Francois Caubet, who is in charge of the team’s engine supplier Renault.

Red Bull, the reigning back to back world champions, and Renault Sport F1 have worked more closely than ever before ahead of their 2012 title defence.

“Formula one is about creativity,” Caubet is quoted by Germany’s Auto Bild, “and although the rules have changed, we have worked with Red Bull and found a solution to compensate for the loss of performance.”

Last year, the cars acquired extra downforce through the ‘blowing’ of hot engine exhaust gases into the diffuser, even when the driver was off the throttle.

It is rumoured that, despite the FIA’s ban, some teams have flown close to the letter of the new rules with their new solutions.

“It is not the same as before,” Caubet continued, “but a clever development that could make the difference.”

After the first week of testing at Jerez recently, some observed that Adrian Newey’s new Red Bull RB8 was cornering as though on rails.

“That’s because we all used to play with model trains,” joked team owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

Added Newey: “The exhaust is one of the areas in which we still have some ideas up our sleeves.”

Jules Bianchi could be headed to Force India to become the team’s official reserve and ‘Friday’ driver in 2012.
That is the claim of German-language Auto Bild Motorsport, referring to the Ferrari-backed Frenchman who finished this year’s GP2 championship in third place.

Bianchi, 22 and a Ferrari test driver in 2011, “is a great talent and he had a positive season in GP2 but he needs to grow and gain experience next season”, Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali said last week.

“I cannot say now where he will be,” added the Italian, “but for sure we want to invest because we believe in him.”

Auto Bild claims Bianchi, who is managed by Felipe Massa’s manager Nicolas Todt, is a frontrunner to be Force India’s third driver next year.

That role is currently occupied by German Nico Hulkenberg, who is tipped to move into the Silverstone based team’s race seat in 2012.

Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at Michael Schumacher after the seven time world champion accused Red Bull of breaching the rules about staff numbers.

Earlier this month, the Mercedes driver referred to a clause in the Resource Restriction Agreement when he said “certain teams don’t respect that”.

“If you take the number of people we have compared with Red Bull, that is very different,” said Schumacher.

Indeed, Mercedes employs 400 people at Brackley, plus 20 for administration and marketing in Stuttgart.

Red Bull, meanwhile, has 550 staff at Milton Keynes.

The latter’s Marko told Auto Bild: “The agreement never came into force. We were reluctant because it (the staff limits) were purely for the chassis development.”

He said if F1 teams want to limit staff numbers, then the limit should also apply to the development of engines.

For instance, Mercedes employs another 400 people for the development of its F1 engines, while Red Bull’s supplier – Renault – has just 170 staff at Viry-Chattilon.

“Mr Schumacher should be asking how many people work on his Mercedes engine in Brixworth,” said Marko.

“Why should we make concessions in the development of the chassis when Mercedes has every freedom for the engine?”

Michael Schumacher has set out his stall for a much more competitive car in 2011.

After three years of retirement, the 41-year-old struggled this year alongside his younger teammate Nico Rosberg, but neither were able to win with the W01.

Schumacher has a contract with Mercedes GP for 2011 and also 2012, but the German admitted to Swiss newspaper Blick that he needs to be pushing further up the pack as soon as possible.

“There is really only one goal, and that’s winning,” said the seven time world champion.

“The team won the world championship last year, so it’s pretty hard for everyone to have a season like we had.

“Of course from my side it’s important to identify the weaknesses, but I didn’t have to put my finger into the wound to wake people up — that is done automatically with the results.

“So we are extremely motivated to come into a position to be able to win. This is the basic requirement; I said already at the start that I don’t want to drive around in the middle (of the field),” insisted Schumacher.

Although also not happy with 2010, arguably the only winner at Mercedes this year was Rosberg, who by beating Schumacher showed his potential for wins and titles.

“He (Schumacher) is a very high profile teammate and I’m obviously happy to have been ahead of him,” the 25-year-old is quoted by Auto Bild.

Like Schumacher, Rosberg is hopeful of a better 2011 but acknowledges the scale of the task.

“Sooner or later it will happen, but we can’t forget that the gap we have to the front is quite big,” he insisted.

Bernie Ecclestone observes that Mercedes’ results in 2010 make it difficult to assess the performances of both Schumacher and Rosberg.

“Put him (Schumacher) in one of the Red Bulls and then see what happens,” the F1 chief executive wrote in the foreword to the Official Formula 1 Season Review 2010.

“But then we don’t know how good Rosberg is. Maybe Rosberg in a Red Bull would beat all of them,” mused Ecclestone.

Nick Heidfeld has admitted he might be interested in working with BMW once again.

Between 2006 and last year, the German raced with the Bavarian carmaker in formula one.

At 33, he is now struggling to find a full-time cockpit for 2011, having tested with Pirelli this year and then completed the season with Sauber.

BMW is no longer in F1, but the marque is set to enter the German touring car series DTM in 2012.

“I have not finished my career in formula one, but working in the long term with BMW when they return to the DTM would be interesting,” Heidfeld admitted to Auto Bild.

BMW’s departing motor sport director Dr Mario Theissen indicated that the DTM team is seeking a driver of Heidfeld’s calibre.

“It will be important that we have a good development driver,” he admitted.