Bernie Ecclestone claims he is close to reaching an agreement with Mercedes over the future of the German marque’s involvement in formula one.

The parties have been at loggerheads over the F1 chief executive’s refusal to offer to Mercedes the same Concorde Agreement deal reached with other top teams Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.

In response, it has been suggested not only that the situation threatened the sport’s floatation plans, but that Mercedes could sensationally quit F1 at the end of this year.

“We are now 80 per cent there,” Ecclestone told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag in Barcelona.

“The other 20 per cent, we will get there soon,” he added.

“We have spoken with several Mercedes managers. I am sure we will see more of Mercedes in formula one.”

Bild said the deal being discussed between Ecclestone and the Stuttgart based carmaker will see Mercedes in F1 at least through 2020.

Norbert Haug, however, sounded surprised.

“I have to apologise, but we don’t want to give any information at the moment about the state of the negotiations,” Mercedes’ motor racing vice-president insisted.

Michael Schumacher’s brother has tipped the seven time world champion to keep racing beyond his 44th birthday.

Schumacher’s Mercedes deal runs out this year, but talks about a new contract for 2013 are yet to be discussed.

Ralf Schumacher, also a grand prix winner and six years younger than his more famous sibling, was asked by Bild am Sonntag newspaper about Michael’s recent anti-Pirelli outburst.

Asked if it was an overreaction to the fact his teammate Nico Rosberg was the first Mercedes driver to win in 2012, Ralf answered: “It has nothing to do with it.

“But for sure Michael came back to celebrate successes with Mercedes. And until he succeeds, he will not give up.

“I still see a lot of fire in Michael,” said Ralf Schumacher, now a DTM driver with Mercedes.

“He is pushing hard, as we saw as recently as Mugello last week.”

Ralf said Mercedes’ 2012 F1 car, the W03, is well built.

“I think we will see Michael on the podium soon,” he insisted.

“At some point, there surely comes a point when the body can’t do it any more. But when I look at Michael, that’s still a few years away.

“I certainly won’t be racing as long as he has,” he laughed.

Kimi Raikkonen insists he is “not interested” in formula one — except the cars, and winning.

Asked by the reporter for Bild am Sonntag newspaper if the famous Finnish character might remove his sunglasses for an interview, 2007 world champion Raikkonen replied simply: “No.”

At the end of his fourth race since returning to F1 from rallying, the 32-year-old was back on the podium in Bahrain.

“It’s not going too bad,” he said. “I like what I’m doing, that’s enough. I don’t care if someone says whether I’m doing it well or not.

“Still, it’s disappointing when you’re only second. Who knows what’s going to happen at the next race,” the Lotus driver added.

Just after leaving F1 at the end of 2009, Raikkonen said he disliked everything about the sport — except the cars.

Nothing has changed.

“No. I’m only here for racing,” said Raikkonen.

“All the other bulls**t I can do without. If you took away the cars from formula one, I would not be there.

“Formula one plays no role in my personal life. I have a real life! I think for many people, their life is formula one. For me it’s not.”

Sebastian Vettel enters the 2012 season with a clean sheet when it comes to personal sponsorship.
The German recently filmed a television commercial for the dandruff shampoo ‘Head and Shoulders’, but Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper reports that he has not extended that deal.

“It is important to me that a brand is perfect for me. It is not my goal simply to make as much money as I can,” said the Red Bull driver.

Jenson Button filmed a similar shampoo commercial recently, and was widely ridiculed for his performance.

“Of course, I’ve had a little bit of mickey-taking from doing the advert,” Vettel admitted to the Sun.

“At least I never took my shirt off – I think Jenson did – but you have to be able to poke fun at yourself.”

 Lewis Hamilton has been earmarked by Mercedes as a potential replacement for Michael Schumacher beyond the end of this season.
That is the claim of the German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag, following the Stuttgart marque’s recent denial that Schumacher has already been offered a new two-year contract for 2013 and 2014.

The newspaper said Briton Hamilton, the 2008 world champion whose McLaren deal ends this year, is the ‘plan B’ should seven time world champion return to retirement before his 44th birthday.

Bild am Sonntag said Mercedes already knows Hamilton after powering his F3 title in 2005.

“If we had a plan B already,” motor sport vice-president Norbert Haug is quoted as saying, “we would not be well advised to talk about it in public.

“Before we talk to Michael, this is not a topic,” he insisted.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said recently he doubts Hamilton will see out his career with McLaren.

“If he doesn’t perform this year he’ll be looking to move on. And the team, maybe, will also be looking to him to move on,” the 81-year-old Briton said.

According to Bild, however, more than 50 per cent of German fans surveyed want Marussia’s Timo Glock to replace Schumacher.

Hamilton secured 3.9 per cent of the vote.

“This is all just speculation,” a Mercedes spokesman is quoted by Germany’s Sport1. “There are no negotiations with any drivers and we will only speak with Michael at the appropriate time.

“For now our entire focus is on the start of the season.”

German police visited the Force India team in the Nurburgring paddock on Saturday.

Bild am Sonntag and Express newspapers report that the visit was not connected to the criminal assault charges laid against the team’s German driver Adrian Sutil by Renault co-owner Eric Lux.

Rather, a German supplier is pressing the Vijay Mallya-led team for an unpaid EUR 50,000 bill.

“After a brief interrogation, the officers left the paddock,” said Bild.

Express cited team manager Otmar Szafnauer as reporting that the debt dates back to the pre-Force India days, when the Silverstone based team was known as Jordan, Midland or Spyker.

Another piece of intrigue on Saturday was Sebastien Buemi’s exclusion from the qualifying results when his Toro Rosso was found running illegal fuel.

However, the Red Bull junior team had not cheated. Rather, a chemical inside a new fuel system installed in his STR6 on Friday contaminated the car’s fuel.

Swiss Buemi must now start the race from the back. “What can I do if there is something wrong with the fuel?” he is quoted as frustratingly telling Blick newspaper.

Meanwhile, Renault F1 PR representative Andy Stobart was struck by a car whilst cycling in Germany prior to this weekend’s Nurburgring race.

Now walking wounded in the paddock, he is sporting cuts to his eyebrow, chin, cheeks and torso after being knocked unconscious and hospitalised.

The design of Mercedes’ 2011 car is already in the wind tunnel and “more innovative” that its disappointing predecessor.

That is the claim of the German marque’s Norbert Haug, one day after team boss Ross Brawn admitted the W01 was designed too conservatively amid Brawn GP’s 2009 title challenge.

“The prototype of the new car is in the wind tunnel,” Haug told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. “It will be more innovative, the result of taking more risks.

“The development of the current car is finished, so our engineers have more time to perhaps pursue some ideas that initially might seen outlandish.

“At the same time, our competitors are designing their new cars for 2011 whilst still fighting hard for this world championship,” added Haug.

In the same interview, the German also scotched reports he is at loggerheads with Brawn.

Working in the same office as his British colleague in the team’s offices at Yeongam, Haug insisted: “Does it look as though we cannot work with one another?”

However, much more pressing is the speculation that – at the end of another disappointing season next year – the team’s parent Daimler might pull the plug.

“Absolutely not,” Haug insists. “We certainly do not intend to be in the midfield, but no one at Mercedes is talking about quitting.”

Red Bull are set to canter to the 2010 world championships, according to Gerhard Berger.

The 10-time grand prix winner, friend and Austrian countryman of the team’s billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz, said the Adrian Newey-penned RB6 is in a league of its own.

“For some reason, Sundays just don’t work out right for me,” said Sebastian Vettel, after Bild am Sonntag ran an article pointing out how many more points the German youngster should have collected at grands prix so far in 2010.

Said Berger: “They can make many mistakes and still be in front.”

Indeed, Red Bull is currently leading the constructors’ championship from McLaren, while Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber is ahead in the drivers’ chase.

Berger praises the Milton Keynes based team’s technical chief Newey.

“Aerodynamics are now the lifeblood of a F1 car. This is why I see them (Red Bull) being at the front for the next few years,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

“I always advised Mateschitz to go for Newey. At first I was a bit nervous because it didn’t immediately work out; I think at the start he (Newey) was too distracted with management matters.

“Since he has concentrated on his specialty, he has shown he is in a class of one,” added Berger.

He turns 80 later this year, but Bernie Ecclestone has vowed never to retire.

“I cannot stop,” the sport’s British chief executive told the German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

“For me, to retire means to die.

“If I were to wake up in the morning and have no more problems or nothing more to worry about, then it will be no longer worth waking up,” added former team owner Ecclestone, who rose to power with Max Mosley by his side in the late 70s.

He was divorced from his long-time wife Slavica last year, and is now frequently seen with much-younger new girlfriend Fabiana Flosi, involved with the marketing of the Brazilian grand prix.

Ecclestone confirmed that he now lives with Flosi in London.

(GMM)

Red Bull will not favour one of its drivers over the other, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has insisted.

With the dominant RB6 car, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are currently tied for points at the top of the world championship.

Vettel, 22, is seen as the Austrian team’s star and long-term hope, but his experienced teammate Webber has won the last two grands prix from pole.

“We will have no team orders, instead the better one or the luckiest one should win,” billionaire Mateschitz told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Moreover, Red Bull’s F1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko said the rivalry between Vettel and Webber is crucial.

“Neither of them would be where they are today without the strong competition within the team,” he told Austria’s APA news agency.
(GMM)

Mark Webber has indicated he is in no rush to sign a new contract with Red Bull.

In the wake of his two wins within a week in Spain and Monaco, the Austrian team has indicated it is keen to re-sign the 33-year-old for 2011.

But Australian Webber has also been linked recently with a switch to Ferrari, and he told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper that he is not certain who his employer will be next year.

“I’ve just won two races, back-to-back, and people are asking me where I’m going to drive next year,” said the joint championship leader.

“I’m very close to the guys at Red Bull, we’ve been through a lot, and I have a great relationship with them. Yet things happen and change very fast in this business, and you never know what’s around the corner,” added Webber.

Interestingly, after boss Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko commented on Webber’s situation post-Monaco, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz is now quoted as wading in on the status of Sebastian Vettel’s current teammate.

“They have different personalities, but when they go into battle they are winners,” the Austrian billionaire told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag.

Mateschitz also described Webber as a “stereotype of the fair, athletic sportsman”.
(GMM)

May 3 (GMM)  Mercedes’ full F-duct solution is not ready to debut in Barcelona this weekend.

The Brackley based team used an initial iteration of the blown rear wing concept in Shanghai two weeks ago, but unlike McLaren’s pioneering version it was not operated by the driver.

Instead, air was ‘flicked’ at increasingly higher speed through a slot in the rear wing.

Team boss Ross Brawn said Mercedes was “working on the proper system” at the same time and hoping it will be ready for the Spanish grand prix.

But according to Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, the final solution is not ready for round five of the 2010 world championship.

Mercedes will now aim to have the full F-duct up and running in Turkey, with Brawn admitting “there’s no point in having it” on the twisty streets of Monaco in two weeks.

Apr.30 (GMM)  Michael Schumacher’s age and family could be counting against him as he struggles back to full speed in formula one.

That is the assessment of Mika Hakkinen, who although the same age as Schumacher retired at the end of the 2001 season and returned only to race for a time in the German touring car series DTM.

The Finn thinks his former championship rival returned because he missed the sport’s thrill and challenge, but questions the German’s ability to now dedicate the same energy as F1′s current generation.

Asked to explain the German’s struggle so far in 2010, Hakkinen told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “It’s about the new technology of the cars and the tyres.

“Another reason is he is up against young drivers who know nothing else in their lives other than the battle to win.  Their lives consist only of formula one in a sport that requires total concentration and attention.

“It is much more difficult when you’re older,” said Hakkinen.  “If you’re 41 then your life is about other things — family, for example.”

He does, however, think Schumacher will break through for a win in 2010, but recalls a sport that supplies “no mercy and no excuses”.

“I’m glad I don’t do it any more,” Hakkinen admitted.

Apr.26 (GMM)  Mika Hakkinen is considering a full-time return to premier motor racing — as a driver manager.

Whilst backing his former title rival Michael Schumacher to return to top form and win a race on his 2010 comeback, the similarly 41-year-old Hakkinen also admits he still feels the lure of the sport.

“I miss racing every day.  It’s very close to my heart,” said the double world champion, who raced in DTM between 2005 and 2007 after retiring from F1 at the end of 2001.

The Finn told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “I’ll be back but I don’t know when or where.  I just know that I will do it again.

“Perhaps I will come back to F1 as a manager,” added Hakkinen.

Indeed, he is also part of his own manager Didier Coton’s Aces Group company, and has been linked with Lewis Hamilton in the wake of the McLaren driver’s professional split with his father Anthony.

Apr.26 (GMM) While the seven time world champion has struggled with the W01 on his return to the sport, teammate Nico Rosberg is second in the world championship after finishing on the podium at the recent Chinese grand prix.

But team boss Ross Brawn is worried about the car’s basic characteristics.

“New regulations have made the front tyres narrower, which means you need to generate more downforce at the front than before,” he is quoted as saying by The Times.

“Michael needs to be able to lean heavily on the front of the car to make his driving style work,” Brawn added.

The front of the car has therefore been the focus of Mercedes’ big upgrade for Barcelona, featuring a longer wheelbase.

“We’ve got a modification of the car coming for Barcelona which puts us into a better range for the weight distribution we can achieve,” Brawn confirmed.

But Niki Lauda thinks it should be up to Schumacher to adapt to the car.

“He must change his driving style as quickly as possible,” the former triple world champion is quoted as saying by Blick newspaper.

“The new formula one with the much narrower front tyres obviously surprised him, while Rosberg has had no problems and is doing a sensational job,” added Lauda.

Schumacher’s former title rival Mika Hakkinen is backing the 41-year-old to bounce back and even win a race in 2010, but he also concedes the sport’s famously fickle lack of patience.

“F1 will not give him any time,” he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. “It knows no mercy and allows you no excuses.”