A leaked invoice suggests PDVSA, the state owned Venezuelan oil company, is paying a staggering US$46 million for its sponsorship of the Williams team in 2012.
Despite its authenticity having not been confirmed, the invoice from Williams – includes the Oxfordshire based team’s correct Barclays bank account – requests the full amount in pounds sterling.

Also appearing on the internet in recent months were the full contract between team driver Pastor Maldonado and Williams, and a stamped letter from Venezuelan congressman Carlos Ramos.

The leaking of the documents, with the invoice now published on the website of the Spanish sports daily Marca, surrounds Venezuelan officials’ doubts about the legality of Williams’ lucrative PDVSA deal.

Ramos’ letter to Williams’ communications boss Claire Williams last November referred to an “ongoing investigation” by the Venezuelan parliament.

“You may … be aware that our congress granted no approval to the sponsorship contract between Williams F1 and PDVSA,” he wrote, demanding Williams divulge the “amount disbursed to date to Williams F1 by PDVSA”.

Maldonado is backed directly by PDVSA, and is famously close to Venezuela’s controversial president Hugo Chavez.

Williams’ new test driver made his formula one track debut this week.

In January, the British team signed 20-year-old Finnish F3 driver Valtteri Bottas.

As well as race driver Nico Hulkenberg, he drove the FW32 car on Monday at Silverstone.

“It was a great day for Valtteri,” spokeswoman Claire Williams is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat, “and the team was also pleased.”

(GMM)

Apr.21 (GMM)  It took them nearly 50 hours, but F1 drivers including Jaime Alguersuari and Mark Webber are now back home.

Toro Rosso’s Alguersuari, who travelled with Virgin test driver and countryman Andy Soucek, lost count of how many times they landed at airports to change plane and destination.

“We feel like we’ve been around the whole world,” the Spaniard told the EFE news agency.  Mark Webber’s return to his UK home took him 44 hours.

The F1 cars could soon begin their journey back to Europe, with McLaren confirming they are “likely to be freighted to Bilbao within the next 24 hours”.

Many of the sport’s personnel are not so lucky.  Williams’ PR Claire Williams, the daughter of Sir Frank Williams, has been told by British Airways in Hong Kong that there may be no flights until May 5.

“They have to be kidding,” she wrote on her Twitter.