The Italian press is reporting that Ferrari could abandon the innovative pull-rod suspension layout of its disappointing F2012 car.
The Spanish sports daily AS concurs, adding that the revised car could be ready as soon as next month, and certainly in time for Barcelona in May.

“Ferrari may even give up its revolutionary front suspension,” wrote correspondent Manuel Franco.

Until the F2012, the pull-rod layout has not been seen at the front of a formula one car since designer Gabriele Tredozi’s 2001 Minardi.

Interestingly, Spaniard Fernando Alonso raced both cars.

According to O Estado de S.Paulo correspondent Livio Oricchio, Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni played down the reports.

“But I am not so sure the information is unfounded,” Oricchio insisted.

At Sepang, La Gaceta reporter Carlos Miguel Gomez asked Alonso about the ‘big step’ for the F2012 that is being imminently planned by Ferrari.

“It is up to you to write that there will be a new car coming,” the Spanish driver answered.

“It won’t be just us: I think everyone will make updates at every race. We just need to make ours work a little bit more,” said Alonso.

“New parts will slowly come at every race and hopefully they work, but there’s not one magic race or one magic moment when we think things can change.”

 Ferrari has fallen over by being too ambitious with the design of its 2012 car.
That is the assessment of Marc Surer, a former formula one driver from Switzerland who is now a pundit for German television Sky and the Die Welt newspaper.

He referred to Ferrari’s decision mid last year to abandon the 2011 car in order to restructure technically and philosophically and produce the radical F2012.

But the new car has proved unreliable and uncompetitive in testing, leading some analysts to predict Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will this weekend be beaten by not only Red Bull and McLaren, but also Mercedes, Lotus and possibly even Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso.

“They wanted to build an aggressive car, but they have changed too much,” Surer said.

“Now they have realised that it doesn’t work and are having to back-track with parts.

“For them, it’s a serious crisis. They’ll be lucky if they finish fourth”, he added, referring to the constructors’ championship.

Alonso, however, sounded confident in Melbourne on Thursday.

“In winter testing, we see some teams that are quite quick and then when we arrive at the race they are not quick anymore.

“Maybe we didn’t reach targets that were very optimistic but that doesn’t mean we are slower than the other cars,” he warned.

 Sebastian Vettel has named his new 2012 Red Bull chassis ‘Abbey’.
With the Adrian Newey-penned RB8, the 24-year-old German will push to become F1′s third-ever triple consecutive world champion, after Juan Manuel Fangio and mentor Michael Schumacher.

Recently, the highly-superstitious German has given his F1 cars a female name — the 2010 winner was Luscious Liz, and last year’s dominant RB7 ‘Kinky Kylie’.

So superstitious is Vettel that – as in 2011 – he has waited until the Wednesday before the season-opening Australian grand prix to decide the new name.

Germany’s Bild newspaper said Vettel’s 2012 mount is ‘Abbey’ — perhaps after his favourite band The Beatles’ album Abbey Road, or the Silverstone corner?

“Neither is true,” he insisted, “it’s just a cool name.”

Lotus is grappling with a major problem less than one month before the start of the 2012 season.
The former Renault team has sensationally abandoned this week’s Barcelona test and returned to its Enstone headquarters, after an unspecified chassis fault was detected on the new E20 car on Tuesday.

“We’ll put the right measures in place and we will be able to fix the problem before next week,” said technical director James Allison.

But Gary Anderson, formerly the designer of Jordan and Jaguar cars, believes Lotus is playing down the problem.

“You would have thought they could have fixed it overnight — chassis are made of carbon fibre composite so you’d be looking to bond new strengthening parts on,” he told the BBC.

“In my experience, if you can’t do it in 24 hours, I don’t think you can do it at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if this meant they needed a new chassis, which would make it touch and go for the first race.”

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport thinks Lotus did not experience the fundamental problem at Jerez last week because the Circuit de Catalunya is a much more demanding circuit.

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s world champion Sebastian Vettel was Tuesday’s fastest as the second of three group tests began, but he admitted Lewis Hamilton – in the new McLaren – was also impressive.

“Ferrari is a bit of a secret at this stage and nobody knows whether they are really good or really bad,” admitted the German.

 Rubens Barrichello is set to decide next week whether he will switch from formula one to the Indycar series for 2012.
F1′s longest-serving veteran has been left without a race seat this season, but he recently enjoyed an Indy test with the KV team, in which his close friend Tony Kanaan is involved.

“There is a lot going on, we have spoken with many people and there are things to be resolved, including the family aspect,” the 39-year-old told radio Bandeirantes on Tuesday.

“There is great anticipation and if everything goes well I think we can make the announcement of the decision early next week,” added Barrichello.

“I’m sure anyone who knows me can see in my eyes what I want. The first race is March 25 and there is no time to waste.

“If we want to be in a competitive way, everything has to be right and that means sponsorship, team, family — everything.”

Barrichello’s first F1 team boss, however – Eddie Jordan – has urged the likeable Brazilian to forego the Indycar opportunity.

“I love Rubens — our story began when he was only 19,” the Irishman is quoted by Globo.

“I love his family, his parents, and I think he should retire with dignity.”

Barrichello’s contemporary David Coulthard, however, said: “I wish him luck in the United States. We had a great relationship throughout my career and I know how passionate he is about racing.”

But fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi warned of the dangers of American oval racing.

“Today, Indy is different to when I drove — the risk is higher but it is a risk that he knows he will need to take.

“Still, I think he can have fun doing what he likes,” said the former series, F1 and Indy 500 winner.

Nico Rosberg has described the W01 as a “disaster”, as Mercedes moves closer to abandoning development of its 2010 car.

The 25-year-old German again outqualified his famous teammate Michael Schumacher at Valencia, but his prize was a mere twelfth on the grid.

He then scored no points in the race, despite the Brackley based team – winners of the 2009 world championship as Brawn GP – using a raft of improvements in Spain, including a Red Bull-like blown rear exhaust layout.

Rosberg was angry immediately after the race, and a week later has told the Cologne publication Express: “It’s a disaster.

“The problem with the tyres is well known to the team.  For weeks we have said we are coming to the front, but nothing happens — actually we go backwards.”

Rosberg admits he is “angry” with the situation.

“If you’re twelfth, behind both Williams – who two weeks ago were nowhere – what do you expect?  I went from Williams to Mercedes because I thought I would have a winning car.”

Boss Ross Brawn said the team will continue to work on the W01, but admitted the time will come for a new approach.

“We have not done a good enough job,” admitted the Briton.

“First we need to get our new aero package working properly, and depending on the result we will decide to what extent we then concentrate on next season,” added Brawn.
(GMM)

Nico Rosberg is adamant the time is not right for Mercedes to give up on the 2010 world championship.

The Brackley based team raced a major car upgrade in Valencia last weekend, including a Red Bull-style ‘blown rear diffuser’ and exhaust layout.

But it was yet another bad weekend for the team, and team boss Ross Brawn admitted he would now “reflect, assess and see what our next steps should be”.

According to Rosberg, that next step should not be abandoning the W01 in order to focus completely on the 2011 car.

“We still have many opportunities for development,” he said in an interview with Sport Bild.  “Other top teams, for example, have things that we can develop quite simply.

“That is what we are doing,” said the German.

Michael Schumacher has admitted he is now beginning to think about next year, but the seven time world champion has less than half the points of his younger teammate.

“I am absolutely against that (giving up on 2010),” answered Rosberg, who turned 25 on the day he finished 12th in Valencia.

“I still believe in my chances.  If the championship leader Hamilton fails just once and I win, I will almost be at his level,” he added.

(GMM)

Jun.8 (GMM)  2014 has been earmarked as a potential inaugural date for a grand prix in Russia.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said in April that up to three venues were in the running for the Russian event, but that there is “a big push” from the resort city Sochi.

Located just north of the Georgian border and fronting the Black Sea, Sochi will also host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

“He (Ecclestone) suggests holding the first grand prix in autumn 2014,” deputy regional development minister Yuri Reilyan is quoted by the business daily Vedomosti.

He added that Russia is ready to green-light construction of a circuit as soon as Ecclestone can “guarantee that the race will definitely take place, and the circuit will not be abandoned in the future”.

The cost of the facility, to be built in the region of the Olympic Park in the Imeretinskaya Valley, is estimated at $200 million.

A draft project has already been agreed with regular F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke.

“It’s too early to speak about the budget.  The final project is yet to be worked out, it will be done by an organisation committee to be established by the end of this year,” said Reilyan.

Red Bull has abandoned the F-duct innovation for the rest of the Turkish GP weekend.

Sebastian Vettel’s RB6 was fitted with the McLaren-style rear downforce stalling solution on Friday in Turkey, but although promising he also reported that it had not worked “100 per cent”.

According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, the team has decided not to use its hand-activated system for qualifying and the race.

“There are undesirable side effects,” confirmed Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. “We are going to check the data and try again in Montreal,” he added.

Meanwhile, it emerges that after Ferrari used a hand-activated system in Spain, it is believed the developed version in Turkey is controlled by the drivers’ left foot.

“We have solved the problems of Barcelona,” said Fernando Alonso, referring to the fact that downforce was also leaking in the corners. “Our system is not yet perfect. We need to keep working on it.”

It had been reported that Force India’s hand-activated F-duct test on Friday had been a success, but Adrian Sutil said the team still has “a lot to learn” about the concept.

(GMM)

Sebastien Buemi is wearing a bandage on his right elbow in the Istanbul paddock.

“It was my fault,” the Toro Rosso driver is quoted by Speedweek.  “I was jumping over a railing and hit my arm.”

Asked by a reporter if his participation in this weekend’s Turkish grand prix was ever in doubt, the young Swiss answered: “Not for a second!”

(GMM)

One of the three stewards on duty in Monaco last weekend has revealed the officials were too busy to consider giving Rubens Barrichello a penalty.

After Michael Schumacher was demoted six places for illegally overtaking Fernando Alonso on the last lap, it was suggested that Brazilian Barrichello should also have received a penalty.

Television footage during the race showed the Williams driver throwing his steering wheel onto the racing line after crashing, only for it to be collected by HRT’s Karun Chandhok.

The steering wheel was then dislodged in the tunnel, only for it to be run over by the other Hispania car.

Barrichello, 37, has denied he acted recklessly by arguing that he wanted to quickly abandon the burning wreck that was facing the wrong way on the racing line.

But Paul Gutjahr, one of the four Monaco stewards, told Switzerland’s Blick newspaper that the incident did not initially escape their attention.

“Actually, we had Barrichello on the list,” the Swiss admitted.

He explained that the issue simply fell off the agenda in the “hectic rush” to sort out the controversial Schumacher manoeuvre.

(GMM)

Rubens Barrichello has denied claims he recklessly endangered his F1 rivals after crashing out of Sunday’s Monaco grand prix.

The Brazilian veteran threw his steering wheel onto the racing line after shunting due to a technical problem whilst climbing Beau Rivage at high speed.

The impacts dented the Armco barriers on both sides of the Monaco layout, and in apparent frustration Barrichello, who turns 38 this Sunday, threw his $50,000 steering wheel onto the track.

It was promptly run over by Karun Chandhok, who dragged the expensive debris all the way to the tunnel before it came loose and was run over again by Bruno Senna.

It was a spring from Barrichello’s Brawn that last year struck the hapless Felipe Massa on the helmet.

It is also a fundamental rule breach not to re-connect the steering wheel after abandoning a stricken car.

“What was he doing?,” Chandhok said of Barrichello.  “Charlie (Whiting) actually asked me about it.  You see on the video that he just throws it.”

But the Williams driver insists: “I threw the steering wheel because I wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible.

“After the shunt I was facing the wrong side of the track and the car was on fire,” he argued.

Williams co-owner Patrick Head also defended his driver.

“If you are standing in the middle of a 120mph corner, you tend to think ‘let’s get out of here as quickly as you can’.”

(GMM)

Jenson Button was critical of Felipe Massa after qualifying for the Monaco grand prix.

With Fernando Alonso already out of the session due to his practice crash, the other Ferrari could also now be penalised by the stewards for the incident that occurred in the final ‘Q3′ shootout for the top ten grid placings.

McLaren’s Button, the world championship leader, had to abandon his first timed lap when he encountered a slow-moving Massa in the final Anthony Noghes corner.

“I don’t know what he was doing,” the Briton told the BBC.

“There were only ten drivers on the track so it should have been easy (to get out of the way),” said Button, adding that the Brazilian “blatantly slowed me down”.

During qualifying, former grand prix driver Anthony Davidson spotted Button also being held up by Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa.

“I would be furious if I was Jenson Button — he totally held him up,” said the British radio commentator.

(GMM)

Hamilton was part of the FIA drivers Thursday press conference, marking the start of official activities at the Shanghai International Circuit ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. Here are highlights of Lewis Hamilton’s answers to questions posed to him during the media session.

You have been out and about in Shanghai. You were at the Expo?
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, this morning before we went to the track we stopped by the Expo and I got to see a little bit of it and I just have a small tour around the UK’s Expo. It was quite a cool and special building they have created there. But it was just a quick stop and I did a bit of a press conference and that was it.

We are three races in to the so-called rivalry between you and Jenson Button. How is it going?
Lewis: We are doing well. We are scoring lots of points for the team. He is a doing a fantastic job and we are getting on really well. He brings nothing but positiveness to the team and I think he is a very well balanced and well-rounded guy. We get on really well and it is working well for us.

How much of a worry is Red Bull’s pace and your team having to abandon your McLaren ride height system to counter development?
Lewis: We have not had to abandon much. There are so many different things in the pipeline and one of those was to go in a similar direction as perhaps some other teams have done. But it is clear everyone cannot do that now. I don’t know how that affects others but it doesn’t really affect us. We still have updates that we are working on and should be coming in the course of the next few weeks or months. I am looking forward to seeing the updates come but I know the guys back at the factory are flat out. We try to make as many improvements as we can. Last weekend we seemed to be very competitive with them through practice but in the race the Red Bulls pace was a little bit… I don’t know if they were pushing that much, but we have just got to keep our eye on the ball and keep pushing.

Do you think that the F-duct is going to give you the big advantage that many of your rivals suspect or do you see Red Bull as the main team to beat you?
Lewis: I still see Red Bull and Ferrari as the teams to beat here. You don’t know what Mercedes have brought either, so I think it’s the same as every race.

It’s quite tight at the top of the drivers’ standings after three races. Are you expecting it to remain such a tight battle between maybe six or eight drivers as we continue, or do you expect, when we get to Europe, when the development race kicks in in earnest, that we will see people leaping ahead? Sebastian (Vettel) could have won all three races so far.
Lewis: Yeah, you’re right, Sebastian could be quite a bit ahead at the moment, but I think at the moment it is very close, and I’m hoping that it stays like that for some time but undoubtedly, at some stage during the season, whether or not Red Bull continue to have not such great reliability, as Michael was saying, anything can happen and it can happen to any of us. We just have to try and stay as consistent as possible. You cannot afford too many DNFs, so I think that is probably what every team is trying to maintain, try and stay as consistent as possible.

You obviously had a great win in 2008, but in 2007 you remember what happened then, when you came off the track. Do you think that you’ve matured as a driver, that that sort of situation wouldn’t happen today? That you would insist that you should pit rather than stay out on bald tyres?
Lewis: Well, I know where the gravel trap is now, so I don’t think I would be in that position again. Of course, having the experience and being a few years down the line, I think I’m able to understand and make calls for myself, but I don’t think that we as a team would put ourselves in that position again. I’m confident that we won’t be there again.

It is believed the Brackley based team instead wanted to devote its full corporate attention to title sponsor Petronas, the Malaysian state-owned oil company that also owns the naming rights of its home race at Sepang. Mercedes ran a new sponsor on the livery of its 2010 car at Sepang this weekend, despite not officially announcing the deal.

But a new deal had clearly been reached by Mercedes GP with a company called Autonomy, whose name and ‘A’ logo was seen on the monocoque sides as well as the aerodynamic piece in front of the sidepods.

Autonomy is a jointly UK and US-based software company.

GMM