Michael Schumacher has been pipped at the post in the race to be the world’s richest sportsman.

According to the Sunday Times’ annual listings, the seven time world champion’s (US) $823 million in career earnings is beaten only by golf legend Tiger Woods.

American Woods has earned $869 million in his own ultra-successful career, the newspaper found.

And the Sunday Times said the pair have each earned hundreds of millions of dollars more than other high-earning sportsmen, including Michael Jordan ($516m), Roger Federer ($316m) and David Beckham ($258m).

F1′s two other representatives, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, were way down the top-twenty list, with their respective earnings at about $161 million apiece.

McLaren’s world champions Lewis Hamilton ($89m) and Jenson Button ($85m), meanwhile, appear only on the list for British sportsmen, and they are both outpaced by the $129m earned by former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine mainly through property investment.

However, Hamilton and Button have each earned more in their careers than David Coulthard, Nigel Mansell, former BAR boss David Richards (all $80m) and Sir Jackie Stewart ($67m).

Those earnings, however, are all dwarfed by Bernie Ecclestone’s estimated $4 billion, although the 81-year-old F1 chief executive does not appear at all on the list of the world’s richest overall.

That list is headed by mega-earners like Sauber sponsor Carlos Slim, who according to the Sunday Times is worth $71 billion.

Sergio Perez’s backer has admitted a move for the Mexican driver to Ferrari is not out of the question for 2013.
Already a part of Ferrari’s driver programme, Perez is also strongly backed by Telmex, the telcom headed by the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim.

Slim’s son, Carlos Slim Domit, controls Telmex’s formula one programme, which is currently in the form of sponsorship of the Ferrari-powered Sauber team.

But Perez, 22, is tipped to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari next year.

“His most important challenge is this season,” Slim Domit told Spain’s AS sports newspaper.

“A good championship in 2012 can put him into the frame with the best teams, but a bad year would have the opposite effect,” he admitted.

“It is true that there is a relationship with Ferrari on two levels — with them being the engine supplier of Sauber and the other because he (Perez) is in their young (driver) programme.

“It’s a tough sport where results matter and, as such, the future will be clearer,” added Slim.

He was also asked if Telmex has considered buying a F1 team, amid reports recently that the Slim family is interested in struggling HRT.

“I don’t know,” answered slim. “In our case, being not directly involved allows us to select the team we work with and we do not change our strategy.”

 HRT’s tumultuous history could be set to continue, if a report in an authoritative German newspaper is right.
Die Welt claims Thesan Capital, the Madrid-based investment company that bought the Spanish team from Jose Ramon Carabante last year, is already on the lookout for a new buyer.

Originally known as Hispania, HRT was actually founded as Campos by former Spanish F1 driver Adrian Campos when the FIA opened up the grid ahead of the 2010 season.

Die Welt claims that the latest owner Thesan’s desire to sell follows the departure of team boss Colin Kolles, who left with almost every one of the team’s 120 employees back to his Greding based company.

Kolles also took all of HRT’s technical equipment back to Greding, Germany, leaving the team on a desperate struggle to be ready for the forthcoming season.

Nonetheless, HRT announced on Wednesday it is establishing a permanent base at the Spanish tennis open headquarters Caja Magica in Madrid.

But Die Welt claims the team may soon be sold to Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world who already backs Sauber through Sergio Perez and his Mexican companies.

Ferrari will evaluate Sergio Perez during a test with the Italian team’s 2009 car later this year.

Mexican rookie Perez, backed strongly by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, is making his formula one debut in 2011 for the Ferrari powered Swiss team Sauber.

The 21-year-old, like French GP2 driver and Ferrari reserve Jules Bianchi, is also a leading member of Ferrari’s driver development academy.

The pair are tipped as possible long-term replacements for Felipe Massa.

Driver academy director Luca Baldisserri announced this week that Perez and Bianchi will be testing at Mugello or Fiorano in September.

“I think they will both be very motivated and for us it will be the perfect opportunity to assess both drivers,” he said.

Hong Kong has taken its “first step” towards the formula one calendar.
That step was a F1 single seater demonstration put on by Red Bull in the Chinese city-state featuring Jaime Alguersuari.

Automobile association president Wesley Wan is quoted by AFP as admitting Hong Kong is interested in staging a proper grand prix “one day”.

“This is the first step in gaining the support of the people,” he told the South China Morning Post.

“My dream is that Hong Kong, like Singapore, Malaysia and China, will be a stop on the grand prix circuit,” added Wan.

He revealed that Hong Kong was singled out as a potential F1 venue prior to 1997.

“And as far as a street circuit is concerned, if Monte Carlo and Singapore can have it, why can’t Hong Kong?” he said.

Reports on Friday also said former F1 hosts Argentina, eyeing the renovation of the Velociudad circuit in Zarate, and Mexico, which was recently visited by Charlie Whiting, have been earmarked as potential future venues for grands prix.

The Mexican link is particularly interesting, given the involvement at Sauber this year of the world’s richest man Carlos Slim, who is already backing the Swiss team’s Mexican rookie Sergio Perez.

After sitting out Canada in the wake of his Monaco qualifying crash and hospitalisation, 21-year-old Perez said on Friday he hopes to return next weekend.

“I feel perfectly well and I’m very much looking forward to racing in Valencia,” he said.

Sauber and Sergio Perez can count on their powerful Mexican backing well into the future.
Carlos Slim Domit, the son of the world’s richest man, was in Barcelona last weekend to check on Telmex and other Mexican sponsors’ backing of rookie driver Perez and the Swiss team.

“I am very proud, as is the whole country,” said Slim, referring to the form displayed so far by 21-year-old Perez.

Asked how long he planned to support the driver and his new team, he answered: “A long, long time.

“Why not?” he added when asked by Blick newspaper if a five-year partnership can be envisaged. “We have a long term goal. We want to win the world championship one day.

“We have the time and with Perez a racing driver with great potential. He is only just beginning his great career,” said Slim.

He was told by Blick that ultimate success in formula one costs many hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We will support Sauber with the necessary resources for as much development as possible. We are very happy with this team. We are like a family,” added slim.

Bernie Ecclestone has played down widespread reports that media magnate Rupert Murdoch as well as Carlos Slim, the Sauber backer and richest man in the world, could be preparing a bid to take over formula one.
The initial report was carried exclusively by Sky News, part of Murdoch’s News Corporation empire, but F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone told the Telegraph it is “rubbish”.

Sky said the talks, also including a car manufacturer involved in F1, are “in the early stages” and might in fact involve News Corporation bidding for television broadcast rights.

The latter detail could be significant for F1 fans, given Murdoch’s notorious attitude about the pricing of media content.

“The company is kicking the tyres, as you would expect, given that there may be a serious business opportunity to examine in relation to F1,” said a source.

Another added: “It is at a very, very early point and could lead to nothing or could lead to many different permutations.”

And yet another source told the Guardian: “They (News Corp) are thinking about F1 and options they could take but that is all it is at this stage.”

F1′s current owner CVC declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Mexican Slim’s group of companies, while a spokesman for News Corporation said: “(We do) not comment on speculation.”

Ecclestone said: “The sport is not for sale.”

He told the UK Express newspaper: “I suppose anything you or I own is available to buy. But the offer would not have to be right — it would have to be ridiculous.”

A source said: “Unless any bidder – be it News Corp, its partners or a rival – is welcomed by Bernie, nothing is happening.”

Peter Sauber has played down claims his Swiss formula one could follow Williams’ lead by floating shares on the stock market.
Williams, which like Sauber is a fully independent team, announced recently that a floatation is the “best way to secure” its future.

It is believed that 28 per cent of the team will be issued on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange later this month, with Sir Frank Williams to remain in charge as the majority shareholder.

Hinwil based Sauber has also been working to re-establish its footing for the future, after former owner BMW’s withdrawal and the failed sale to Qadbak.

Peter Sauber has admitted he does not want to still be on the pitwall when he turns 70 in a few years, but on Friday he seemed to rule out following Williams into the stock market.

“I honestly have to say that I don’t understand the reasons behind going public. That’s all I have to say,” he told F1′s official website.

It might be said that Sauber has ruled out selling shares to the public because new sponsor Telmex, headed by billionaire Carlos Slim, might be looking to take over the team.

But Peter Sauber insisted: “I don’t think so. It was never the plan that Carlos Slim would get directly involved with the team.

“And to be honest I feel pretty good knowing that 100 per cent of the team is with me again,” he added.

Sergio Perez has denied his major sponsor Telmex is positioning to buy control of the Sauber team.

The Mexican telcom will have significant signage on next year’s C30, and its figurehead Carlos Slim – the richest man in the world – has been seen at several grands prix recently.

But boss Peter Sauber earlier this month denied he is considering selling the Hinwil based team, and Slim said the deal is a “commercial alliance” rather than a precursor to a greater involvement.

But when told that the rumours about Telmex buying Sauber still exist, rookie driver Perez said: “No, that’s not true.

“Telmex is entering as a sponsor and nothing more,” he is quoted by the AS newspaper.

The rumours are retaining their strength because Perez will be joined at the team by another Mexican, the test driver Esteban Gutierrez.

“Esteban and I are here because Sauber decided to sign us,” Perez, 20, insisted.

He also backed Fernando Alonso to win the 2010 world championship.

“He doesn’t have as good a car as the Red Bull drivers, but he is the best driver,” said Perez.

Sauber’s new major sponsor insists it has not bought partial control of the Swiss formula one team.

Telmex, headed by the world’s richest man Carlos Slim, will have significant signage on next year’s C30 car, as well as the Mexican rookie Sergio Perez at the wheel.

But team boss Peter Sauber this week denied he is considering selling the team to Telmex, and Slim’s son Carlos Slim Domit – the chairman of the Mexico City-based company – also insists the deal is for sponsorship only.

Speculation about Telmex’s new influence was triggered by suggestions Sauber would have preferred to pair Kamui Kobayashi with Nick Heidfeld next year.

“We are only an ally,” Slim is quoted by Mexican media.  “The structure and decisions of the team is their business.”

“This is a commercial alliance,” he added.

Slim Domit also denied suggestions the signing of Perez was a condition of Telmex’s Sauber sponsorship.

He said the Hinwil based team had signed the contract with Perez before Telmex decided to sponsor Sauber.

Sauber’s 2011 test and reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez, the first GP3 champion, is also Mexican and sponsored by Telmex.

According to rumours in the Singapore paddock, the Toro Rosso and Sauber teams could be set for new ownership.

The Basler Zeitung newspaper claims Nick Heidfeld’s new tenure at Sauber could be short-lived because Mexican GP2 driver Sergio Perez stands a good chance of becoming Kamui Kobayashi’s 2011 teammate.

The rumours linking the Swiss team with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who sponsors Perez through his Telmex company, have been circulating for some time.

Sauber has already signed a Mexican, the teenaged Esteban Gutierrez, as its 2011 reserve driver.

Meanwhile, the Swiss newspaper Le Matin reports that Dietrich Mateschitz wants to sell Red Bull’s second formula one team Toro Rosso.

The report said the Austrian billionaire stands to make a handsome profit from the deal, because after buying Minardi for $40 million in 2006, the Faenza based team is now be worth three times that much.

Jacques Villeneuve/Durango was mentioned as a possible buyer.

Peter Sauber on Friday refused to dismiss rumours linking his Swiss team with a major investment from Mexico.

Whilst working hard on securing a healthy budget for 2011, the formerly BMW-owned team has been running a mainly blank livery this season.

But paddock rumours have hinted at talks with Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire whose Telmex company already sponsors Sergio Perez in GP2.

And already with a Sauber contract is the Mexican teenage GP3 driver Esteban Gutierrez.

Asked about the Mexican link, Sauber said: “The team is attractive and has potential because it has an excellent infrastructure, absolutely comparable to that of the top teams.

“The fact that we cannot really rival the top teams is to do with our financial situation and head count. But the conditions are there,” he told F1′s official website.

Other than that, the Swiss insisted he doesn’t “comment on rumours”.

But he also revealed that Sauber’s young driver Gutierrez is closely linked with Slim.

“This is the reason why you will find Carlos Slim a bit more often in our hospitality than at those of other teams, but it is also no secret that Carlos Slim is a much-welcomed guest at all the other teams as well,” Sauber insisted.

Reports are linking Sauber with a significant Mexican investment.

In the wake of former owner BMW’s F1 departure, the Swiss team has been running a mainly blank livery in 2010, whilst working hard on securing a full budget for next season.

Recent paddock rumours have hinted at talks with Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire.

Slim’s Telmex company already sponsors Sergio Perez in GP2, but already under contract at Sauber is another Mexican, the teenaged GP3 driver Esteban Gutierrez.

“We think he’s a very promising talent and we’ll continue with him,” said Sauber’s managing director Monisha Kaltenborn recently.

Her boss Peter Sauber told Auto Bild Motorsport: “We need an investor, we need sponsors, I need to bring stability to the team.

“I do not want to sell,” he insisted.

A young Mexican driver is knocking on the door of his formula one debut.

20-year-old GP2 driver Sergio Perez, with the backing of the telecommunications giant Telmex, was linked last winter with the available pay-drives at F1′s new teams.

And according to the latest whispers, he may have now attracted the interest of the struggling Virgin team.

The currently Richard Branson-backed outfit is struggling for performance and reliability with a budget of less than $40 million, and Timo Glock is now being linked with a move for 2011.

The Sergio Perez rumours might be linked with the appearance in the Silverstone paddock on Saturday and Sunday of Carlos Slim.

Mexican Slim, one of the world’s richest men, is the CEO and chairman of Telmex, which may be looking to graduate from GP2 to formula one.

It is also believed that Perez’ push into formula one is supported by Jo Ramirez, the retired long time team coordinator at McLaren who was seen in the F1 paddock recently at Valencia.

Perez dominated the Silverstone GP2 sprint race, and he won the feature race at Monaco.