Michael Schumacher could be the next silver-clad driver who takes a Mercedes to the top step of the podium.

His teammate Nico Rosberg dominated the Shanghai weekend and, at his 111th attempt, finally broke through with a maiden pole and win.

The much-younger German also dominated Schumacher, the 43-year-old, at Mercedes in the last two years — ever since the seven time world champion returned to formula one in 2010.

But former Benetton and Ferrari title winner Schumacher appears much more on Rosberg’s pace this season, and in fact even solidly outqualified his 26-year-old teammate in Australia and Malaysia.

“It’s simple,” Schumacher told Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo.

“The way I can drive this car is much more how I have driven a car throughout my whole life.

“If you look at my driving today and compare with ten years ago, not much has changed,” said the famous German. “But if you look at 2010 and 2011, my arms never stopped working.

“It wasn’t my way to drive,” insisted Schumacher.

Having followed Rosberg early in the Chinese grand prix – before his retirement – Schumacher admitted that he could not quite match the leading pace.

But, despite not standing on a podium even once since his F1 comeback, he has now smelled that a victory is close.

“It will be the same feeling as when I went to the podium for the first time with Benetton, and Ferrari,” Schumacher predicted.

“When I started with those teams, we were far away from being able to think about it. But after a lot of work, I would say years – just as now with Mercedes – we had reached the stage of being able to fight.

“Most people have no idea how many things need to be changed, how much effort and investment is required. At 43 I’m going through all of this again, but it’s because I really love what I do.”

Schumacher’s Mercedes contract expires at the end of this year.

“You might not believe it,” he responded, “but I’m so focused on developing this car that I don’t think about it.

“Later on in the season, of course, it’s inevitable.

“Of course it gives me great pleasure that we are starting to see the results of this great work. I am still perfectly capable of winning in formula one,” Schumacher insisted.

 Robert Kubica is back on track yet again, according to the latest reports from Italy.
It emerged a few days ago that the Pole had moved his recovery from serious injury forwards by returning to the wheel of a Skoda Fabia rally car in Liguria, Italy.

La Gazzetta dello Sport now reports that the former BMW and Renault driver has tested a kart at a circuit in Montecatini-Terme, Tuscany.

Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore advises Kubica not to rush his return to F1.

“I have seen him a few times and have told him not to hurry back. You cannot lose your talent, but first you should focus on your health. 100 per cent,” he told Italy’s Sky Sport 24.

Briatore recalled former Benetton driver Alessandro Nannini, who badly injured his arm in a helicopter crash in 1990.

“He hurried back and we all know how that ended,” said Briatore.

“I think Kubica will succeed, but he needs to plan to come back in two years. You can’t be in F1 if you’re not 100 per cent.”

Two authoritative sources have admitted they doubt Adrian Newey was telling the whole truth about the air inlet in the ‘step’ nose of Red Bull’s 2012 car.
Designer Newey, the pioneer of the now-banned blown diffuser solutions seen throughout last year’s grid, insisted that the mysterious letterbox-slot gap in the RB8 is simply to cool the drivers with air.

But the aerodynamic expert’s explanation was met with some initial scepticism, amid speculation the monocoque air could also be flowing elsewhere for a performance benefit.

“The drivers are going to get their feet wet when it rains,” a suspicious unnamed engineer smilingly told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Also unconvinced is Joan Villadelprat, a veteran former formula one engineer who has worked at McLaren, Ferrari, Benetton, Prost and – most recently – heading the operations of the sports car team Epsilon Euskadi.

He wrote in El Pais newspaper: “Personally, I don’t believe Adrian Newey’s explanation that the opening is to refresh the drivers.

“If that’s what they need then Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber must drive half-asleep,” the Spaniard joked.

Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport speculates that the RB8′s inlet directs air underneath the floor, as per Ferrari’s innovative nose-slot of 2008.

 McLaren has once again stepped in to prevent Lewis Hamilton from answering a reporter’s question about the Adrian Sutil affair.
At the recent launch of the MP4-27 car, a reporter asked Hamilton about his former friend Sutil’s accusation he is a “coward” for not appearing as a witness at the recent assault trial in Munich.

“We’ve been told that Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it (the conviction) might go under appeal,” the spokesman quickly intervened.

Hamilton smiled: “I’ll listen to him.”

The Briton’s former F3 teammate did indeed file an appeal, but not before Sutil’s father Jorge described Hamilton as “pathetic” in the German press.

Asked about the latest insult from the Sutil camp, Hamilton was once again prevented from answering in the Jerez paddock by a McLaren media minder.

“That question is not permitted,” the spokesman is quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

The German magazine article read: “We say that Hamilton should have the courage to speak for himself.”

In other courtside F1 news, former Benetton driver JJ Lehto’s attempt to appeal his prison sentence for manslaughter got off to a dismal start, the Swiss newspaper Blick reports.

Finn Lehto’s lawyer reportedly appeared in court to file the appeal but was “immediately arrested himself, apparently because of money laundering”.

Michael Schumacher should ditch his dreams of adding an eighth title to his unprecedented formula one record.
That is the claim of his former boss Flavio Briatore, who nonetheless said he supports the 42-year-old’s often-criticised return to the grid.

“Michael is a great driver,” the former Benetton and Renault boss told Bild newspaper.

“He changed formula one, not just in how to drive the car but how to prepare it and yourself. With his fitness and his discipline he created a new generation of drivers.

“Vettel, Alonso and Rosberg have all followed him,” said the flamboyant Italian.

“And it is good for formula one that he came back. If it entertains him and he understands his role as a helper for Mercedes – leading them back to the top – then that’s good,” added Briatore.

Renault is still in “big” financial trouble and David Richards has expressed interest in buying into the Enstone based team.

That is the claim of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, adding that one of the richest Dutch entrepreneurs Marcel Boekhoorn has been asked to support Prodrive chief Richards’ interest.

“I’ve heard about it but I do not know what to think of it,” said Jan Paul ten Hoopen, who is Dutch GP2 driver Giedo van der Garde’s manager.

The link with van der Garde is that the 26-year-old driver is married to Boekhoorn’s daughter.

Ten Hoopen continued: “I think it is pretty much a mess within that team (Renault). Put it this way, it is clear in terms of Lotus-Renault that many things remain unclear.

“Certainly if there is any more to it, we should see if there are any opportunities for Giedo,” ten Hoopen is quoted by NUsport.

Richards, also the former BAR boss, was the team principal at Enstone based Renault when the team was known as Benetton in the late 90s.

Making his first appearance this weekend as a formula one steward is Italian driver Emanuele Pirro.

The 48-year-old, who won Le Mans 4 times, contested 40 grands prix with Benetton and Scuderia Italia between 1989 and 1991, and was also McLaren’s test driver in 1988.

He will officiate at the Yas Marina circuit for the 2010 Abu Dhabi grand prix, the finale of the series’ 19-race calendar.

At the circuit this weekend, one of a potential four candidates will be crowned world champion; the first time four drivers from three separate teams have been in the running at the last hurdle.

Sebastian Vettel needs to accept the reality of a number 2 role for the good of Red Bull’s 2010 title chances.

That is the claim of former triple world champion and outspoken commentator Niki Lauda, following reports the young German is reluctant to give up the chase for his first title in deference to the team’s points leader Mark Webber.

The news also follows boss Christian Horner’s insistence that the team will “support both (drivers) equally” in Brazil and Abu Dhabi “in line with Red Bull’s credible sporting ethos”.

But with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso leading the championship and fully backed by his teammate Felipe Massa, Lauda said Red Bull’s policy is a road to failure.

“Red Bull needs to establish the team hierarchy now,” the great Austrian is quoted by Bild newspaper.

“If they don’t get behind Mark Webber, they may have to go without the title.”

Lauda’s only concern is that the exercising of team orders within Red Bull is done in a way that does not “cheat the spectators”.

Jos Verstappen, who in the mid-90s at Benetton was Michael Schumacher’s number 2, agrees that Vettel should be playing that role now.

“Purely mathematically, he has a chance to be champion. But as a team they really have to put everything behind Webber.

“He (Webber) has a better chance of winning the title,” the Dutchman wrote in his column for De Telegraaf newspaper.

“Of course it’s a difficult position for Red Bull, as the whole world knows who they would prefer to be in the best position.

“It’s unfortunate for Vettel, but with his engine failure in Korea his championship did literally go up in smoke,” added Verstappen.

But Horner sounds unlikely to have a change of heart, telling the BBC he finds it “frustrating” that 7 points of leader Alonso’s 11 point lead was due to inheriting the German grand prix win from his teammate Massa.

“It (losing the title to Alonso) would be frustrating because we’ve obviously worked under the auspices that team orders have been illegal,” he told BBC radio.

Johnny Herbert will make his third appearance in 2010 as a formula one steward this weekend.

The 46-year-old Briton, who won three grands prix during his career spanning 165 races until 2000, debuted in the role in Malaysia and then wore an FIA shirt again in Turkey.

A spokesman for the Brazilian grand prix confirmed to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that Herbert will be the driver representative on the stewards’ panel at Interlagos.

He raced in F1 for Benetton, Tyrrell, Ligier, Sauber, Stewart and Jaguar.

His best finish at Interlagos, an event he contested nine times, was fourth in 1993 at the wheel of a Lotus.

Fernando Alonso is in the same league as two of F1′s greatest recent champions, according to Gerhard Berger.

“There are sometimes those special drivers: Ayrton Senna was one, Michael Schumacher was one, and Alonso is one,” said the Austrian and former grand prix winner.

Berger is uniquely placed to compare Ferrari’s Spanish driver with those greats — he was one of Senna’s closest friends, having raced alongside the late Brazilian at McLaren in the 90s.

And he was a contemporary of Schumacher’s during the seven time world champion’s first F1 career, moving away from Ferrari to make room for the German, and then replacing him for the 1996 season at Benetton.

“They are drivers who can win world championships without having the absolute best car,” Berger told Austrian television Servus TV.

Joan Villadelprat on Monday insisted he has not given up on bringing his Spanish Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi into formula one.

The Spaniard tried to acquire the thirteenth and final team entry for 2011, but the FIA ruled that none of the applicants had the financial resources to justify the go-ahead.

But Villadelprat told the Noticias de Gipuzkoa that the 13th entry is not the only route into F1.

“We have not thrown in the towel,” he confirmed.

“The most important thing in formula one is the funding that allows you develop for the long-term. We already have the infrastructure and human capacity.

“We are still working with a range of investors and we hope soon to have a final decision,” added Villadelprat. “If the decision is positive, we have a range of options.

“We can go for the 13th entry in 2012, or for 2011 buy an existing team.”

He ruled out buying the struggling HRT team.

“We are not in contact with them,” said Villadelprat, with decades of experience in F1 with Ferrari, McLaren, Benetton and Prost.

“But we are confident that there are licenses available, because there are several teams in a very delicate economic situation,” he added.

“If we secure the budget for the next four years to take over the project of one of these teams, we will — otherwise, no.”

McLaren or Force India have been earmarked as possible new employers for Bob Bell.

The 52-year-old Ulsterman has left Renault after a long post as technical boss, and having acted as team principal amid the crashgate scandal.

According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, some insiders think he might soon reappear in Force India colours.

The Silverstone based team has been struggling recently, with some experts pointing as an explanation to the departures of James Key to Sauber and Mark Smith to Lotus.

The report also said a return to McLaren is possible, where Bell worked for 15 years as an aerodynamicist before moving to Enstone based Benetton/Renault.

“He’s certainly a very capable guy,” said Williams chairman Adam Parr at Suzuka.  “I hope he will get a job very soon.”

Two formula one team bosses have indicated they hope Bob Bell will find accommodation after leaving Renault.

The 52-year-old Ulsterman has left the Enstone based team after a long post as technical boss, and having acted as team principal amid the crashgate scandal.

But with the departure of the French carmaker as majority owner, Renault came under new management in 2010 and Bell has now been replaced as managing director by Eric Boullier.

Bell joined McLaren as an aerodynamicist in the 80s before switching to Enstone based Benetton in 1997.

He moved to Jordan in 1999 and returned to Benetton – now Renault – in 2001 as deputy technical director, becoming technical director to replace Mike Gascoyne in 2003.

“He’s certainly a very capable guy,” said Williams chief executive and chairman Adam Parr.  “I hope he will get a job very soon.”

And Mercedes’ Norbert Haug added: “Bob did a good job and I’ve no idea what will happen.

“It’s (team principal) Ross (Brawn)’s job at the end of the day,” said the German.

A trio of German drivers are the subject of speculation about their future on the formula one grid.

Nico Hulkenberg might be concerned about his career ending after just a single season, with Williams believed to be considering replacing him with the well-funded new GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado.

“At the moment there is no news and I am not concerned,” the German insisted at Suzuka.

“I want to stay and generally things look well in that respect,” added Hulkenberg.

Another question-mark hangs above Adrian Sutil, although his career looks much more secure.

Switzerland’s Blick newspaper thinks the German might have signed a new deal with Force India for 2011, with an out-clause in the event that Michael Schumacher opens up a place at Mercedes by returning to retirement.

“No comment at the moment really,” Sutil, who has also been linked with Renault, said in Japan.

“I don’t want to wait too long until I make my decision but I will probably make it very soon.”

According to APA news agency, a Mercedes spokesman denied that the German squad has warned Schumacher that he needs to up his pace in order to guarantee his race seat.

The 41-year-old German also sounded keen to fulfil the next two seasons of his contract.

“It is a long term project,” said the German at Suzuka.  “If you think of how long it took to have success with Benetton and with Ferrari, it wasn’t in the short term.”

Former team principal Bob Bell has left Renault, the formula one team announced on Wednesday.

Bell’s role as managing director, assumed after Flavio Briatore was ousted and banned last year in the crashgate scandal, will be taken over by current team boss Eric Boullier.

“We would like to thank Bob Bell for his contribution to the performance of the team and for helping see us through a period of transition since Genii Capital became a shareholder in the team,” said majority team owner and chairman Gerard Lopez.

Ulsterman Bell, 52, joined McLaren as an aerodynamicist in the 80s before switching to Enstone based Benetton in 1997.

He moved to Jordan in 1999 and returned to Benetton – now Renault – in 2001 as deputy technical director, becoming technical director to replace Mike Gascoyne in 2003.