Bernie Ecclestone will be trackside on Sunday for the Belgian grand prix.

So far this weekend, the F1 chief executive has been in Rome where he has bankrolled his daughter Petra’s $2 million wedding, which took place on Saturday.

Ecclestone, 80, said the event has actually taken place over three days, but he intends to skip the final lunch instalment in deference to his commitments at Spa-Francorchamps.

“As I said to (new son-in-law) James (Stunt), I shall be there for the practice on Friday and the qualifying on Saturday,” he joked to the Express newspaper.

Spa-Francorchamps could be the key to France’s return to the formula one calendar.
The French Le Journal Du Dimanche newspaper reports the possibility of the famous Belgian race alternating annually with a circuit in France.

“I’ve been asked about it earlier this year by French officials,” admitted Belgian GP promoter Andre Maes.

“This may be interesting, so I am waiting for further news,” he said.

The Belgian GP has admitted to worrying about being priced out of F1 due to rising race sanctioning fees.

French grand prix host Magny-Cours dropped off the calendar after the 2008 season due to “economic problems”.

A Belgian politician has played down fears Spa-Francorchamps is set to lose its grand prix, but admitted that no European venue is completely safe.

Bernie Ecclestone said this week it is “absolutely” possible the famous and popular venue, which is reportedly struggling to pay the F1 chief executive’s annual race fees, will be axed to make room on the calendar for the sport’s expansion.

Jean-Claude Marcourt, economics minister of the local Walloon government, reacted cautiously to the 79-year-old Briton’s comments.

“Formula one is becoming more globalised,” he is quoted by the Belga news agency, “and some countries are sparing no expense to join in.

“But we should not dramatise the situation; negotiations are still gong on,” added Marcourt.

A spokesman has confirmed reports that aspects of Korea’s new formula one track are not completed.

The FIA’s Charlie Whiting this week approved the Yeongam venue ahead of the inaugural race in less than a fortnight.

But media reports have indicated that safety requirements and the asphalt aside, the entire venue is not finished.

“Landscaping work to the surrounding area and parking lots still remains to be done,” a spokesman for organisers KAVO told the Korea Herald.

“But we are finalising last-minute touches and can be ready on schedule,” he added.

After the weekend’s Japanese grand prix, the F1 teams’ equipment and cars are already en route to the facility 320 kilometres south of Seoul.

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko admitted the team is slightly worried about the layout, with the curvier sections punctuated by straights not suitable to the RB6′s Renault engine.

“One of them is the longest straight on the calendar,” he groaned, according to Auto Motor und Sport.

Nico Rosberg, however, expressed concerns that the crucial top layer of track has only just been laid.

“The only concern is the new asphalt,” the Mercedes driver is quoted by Welt newspaper.

The media report recalled June 1985, when the Belgian GP at Spa had to be postponed for months because the new asphalt surface disintegrated.

Felipe Massa escaped penalty despite clearly getting a head-start in last Sunday’s Belgian grand prix.

Before the five red lights went out at Spa-Francorchamps, BBC commentator Martin Brundle observed that the Ferrari was about “two metres” ahead of its starting area on the grid.

A spectator’s amateur footage, posted on video sharing website Youtube, now supports Brundle’s observation, but the Brazilian was not penalised by the stewards.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said Massa, who finished the race in fourth place, was “at least 1 metre” ahead of his grid box.

Ferrari’s post-race press release mentions neither Massa’s grid error or the fact that he made up two early positions once the race had started.

The German report speculated that if FIA officials, or any of his competitors, had noticed the incident, Massa would probably have received a drive-through penalty.

Sensors in the grid boxes are supposed to ensure the cars’ correct positioning as well as whether the competitor made a jump-start.

With six and possibly just five races to go in 2010, the psychological games are now well and truly in play by the main players.

After the Belgian GP on Sunday, McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh denounced Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel as a “crash kid” for his “junior formula” crash into Jenson Button.

But fingers were also pointing in the other direction.

“Button braked early, Seb wanted to avoid him and lost it on a bump,” Whitmarsh’s Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Helmut Marko described Button as driving “so slow” at the time of the incident, but the reigning world champion hit back by insisting he “certainly didn’t brake any earlier than usual”.

Marko added: “He (Vettel) could not just sit behind Jenson.  He was so slow that Sebastian was losing one second per lap to Hamilton.”

Horner also said Hamilton was the “luckiest man in Belgium” for managing to drive out of a gravel trap prior to winning the race.

“Sometimes you ride your luck and he’s had a bit of that this year,” said the Briton.

It is also increasingly rumoured that the world championship could be curtailed to just 18 races, with South Korea only now laying the asphalt for the track surface.

Now 41 points behind the championship lead, a five-race run to the season finale would be a blow for Fernando Alonso.

“Our intention is to race in Korea,” he told Spanish reporters on Sunday.  “I have no information to the contrary so we should be there.”

Organisers of the historic Belgian grand prix are concerned about the future of F1′s popular Spa-Francorchamps round beyond 2012.

Whilst revealing this week that 40,000 tickets have been sold so far for the forthcoming August 29 event, the officials said Spa is under increasing pressure from international venues who have more money to spend.

“The ticket sales for this year are relatively good,” said spokesman Christian Lahaye.

“We hope to reach the figure of 2007, with 65,000 tickets sold, to allow us to achieve a balanced financial position,” he added.

According to the Flemish newspaper De Morgen, Spa’s F1 future could depend on the new Concorde Agreement post-2012 expanding the annual calendar to up to 25 races.

With the influx of new international races promising much higher annual promotion fees, the report said Spa-Francorchamps’ race organisers are worried.

“There is no shortage of candidates (for grands prix),” Spa-Francorchamps circuit boss Andre Maes is quoted by Belga news agency.

“Even France doesn’t have a grand prix,” he said.

Lewis Hamilton has been charged over his high profile reckless driving antics during the Australian GP weekend.

Hamilton was charged with intentionally losing control of the vehicle in a summons served on his Australian solicitor last Monday. A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed that a summons had been served on a 25-year-old Swiss resident.

The matter has been set to be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on August 24.

Hamilton had his complimentary Mercedes impounded under Victoria’s hoon laws on March 26 after he was allegedly caught doing a burnout at the entrance to Albert Park circuit.

It is unknown whether Hamilton will appear in court, with the Belgian GP weekend starting on August 27.

Hamilton apologised at the time, “This evening, I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police. What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it.”

(yallaF1.com)

Wrapped up in a winter jacket that usually only gets used at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the Belgian GP, Felipe Massa made a quick dash through the cold paddock to meet the media in the Ferrari hospitality area as usual on a Thursday.

The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro man might be leading the championship, but he is certainly not complacent about the job in hand. “We need to work as hard as possible, which in fact we have been doing since planning started for the F10 last year, because there are many strong teams with good drivers around us, the two main rivals at the moment being Red Bull and McLaren,” he said. “We have to push hard every day, not just to improve, but to improve more than the others, if we are to fight for the championship race by race. Leading after three races is better than not leading, but it does not mean much at the moment.”

The Brazilian was then asked if the title was already a three-way race or if the former Brawn team, could join the fight. “Everybody says that Mercedes might have almost half the car that is new for the next round in Barcelona and we must take this team seriously, because although it had a different name then, it won the championships last year,” commented the Brazilian. “So they could still be in the fight for the title and they have to be considered along with the other two teams I mentioned.”

Drivers are often expected to see the future, but Felipe was unwilling to pick a China race winner so early in the weekend. “It’s impossible to say on Thursday,” he insisted. “We will have a better idea after tomorrow’s practice, but the clearest picture only comes after qualifying. We saw a strong McLaren and Red Bull in Malaysia, but if you analyse the details of that race, you can see we had a great car. Let’s see how it goes on this track, but there is no reason why we cannot do a good job this weekend.”

Incredibly, after only three races, there is already talk of driver line-ups for 2011. “There is no rush for the moment on this front, from my point of view,” said Felipe. “I’m very happy with the way we are working together as a team. Even before my accident last year, we had preliminary talks about renewing my contract and I can say that those talks are starting again. But at the moment, my main priority is concentrating on this championship and doing the best I can. The contract is not at the front of my mind right now.”