Pedro de la Rosa’s last-minute Sauber race drive in Canada raised more than one set of eyebrows.
The team’s official reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez was in Mexico when his countryman Sergio Perez reported ill in Montreal, disapprovingly revealing that he followed the saga of de la Rosa’s move from McLaren on Twitter.

But another driver wondering why he wasn’t given the call was Nico Hulkenberg, the highly rated Force India reserve who lost his Williams seat for 2011 to Pastor Maldonado.

“Did Herr Sauber not have my phone number?” the German is quoted as saying by Swiss newspaper Blick.

Auto Motor und Sport, however, claims that Hulkenberg is too tall for the C30 cockpit, while de la Rosa was an obvious choice because Sauber still has his seat mould.

Agrees Hulkenberg: “You don’t just jump into a formula one car these days and drive it.”

Peter Sauber confirmed: “He (Hulkenberg) is too tall for our car. He is also employed by our direct competition. Between us and Pedro’s McLaren, on the other hand, there is no conflict of interest.”

And de la Rosa, 40, is familiar with Sauber, having raced the C30′s predecessor for much of 2010.

“It’s a totally different car, but it speaks a similar language,” agreed Sauber.

Even so, the Perez substitution came as a complete surprise to de la Rosa.

“I was just finishing lunch with ten minutes until practice and they told me to get in the car,” he revealed to El Pais newspaper.

“I ran to get my gear and helmet and got in the car and they tried to adjust my seat. They also tried to move the pedals but couldn’t.

“I feel bad for Sergio but this is a gift that I will enjoy,” he insisted.

Boss Sauber admitted that he was grateful Perez alerted the team about his sickness rather than risk his safety by trying to drive through it.

“It’s one thing to train, exercise or drive a kart and quite another to drive in formula one,” said Perez’s assistant Sallares Jaume.

“It shows his maturity. It’s not just about him but also about the danger of injuring someone else,” he added.

David Coulthard can keep his job as a consultant with Red Bull even though he is the new full-time F1 commentator for British television.
The 39-year-old Scot saw out his grand prix career with the Austrian team until 2009, when he retired and became a BBC pundit.

For 2011, he is moving alongside fellow former driver Martin Brundle into the race commentary box, raising suggestions his contract with Red Bull might be a conflict of interest.

“David Coulthard will not be asked to drop or suspend his ties with Red Bull in the interests of impartiality,” a BBC spokeswoman told the Scottish newspaper Daily Record’s Sunday edition.

“We take steps to ensure that none of the off-air relationships that our talent may have can compromise on-air activity,” she added.

Red Bull and Coulthard declined to comment.

Emanuele Pirro hit back on Friday amid criticisms of his appointment as a FIA steward for the 2010 championship finale.

Critics say the Roman-born former F1 driver and Ferrari fan is too closely aligned to the famous Italian team, whose Fernando Alonso is leading the championship with just this decisive race left to run.

The apparent conflict of interest was highlighted not only by Britain’s Daily Mail but also the largest-circulation European newspaper, Bild Zeitung.

“Even the third largest daily newspaper in Italy denounced that an Italian should be officiating the final race when Ferrari is fighting for the title,” 48-year-old Pirro told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

He added: “For me, this is a very responsible task, and even if I have my own favourite, I am able to be impartial.

“And if there is an Italian who has nothing at all to do with Ferrari, I am him,” said Pirro.

The report said Red Bull’s Helmut Marko had jokingly spoken to Pirro about his apparent links with championship rival Ferrari in Abu Dhabi.

Pirro replied: “Maybe you don’t know that when I was in the (German touring car series) DTM, Red Bull was my sponsor!”

He also insisted that he was invited to be the Abu Dhabi steward at the very beginning of 2010.

“I thought to myself at the time: it will be a nice quiet job with the world championship probably already decided,” said Pirro.

Pirelli is set to announce a replacement for tyre development tester Nick Heidfeld.

Some reports this week contradicted expectations that the 33-year-old German will have to vacate the role now that he has signed to return to the grid with Sauber.

A Pirelli spokesman told us on Wednesday: “For now we have nothing to add or to comment except that we are working very well with Heidfeld.”

The same spokesman later revealed that an “official communication” will be made “in the next days”.

ITV quotes a Pirelli spokesman as saying: “Nick will leave with our blessing and we wish him well.

“If we dovetailed both roles (Heidfeld with Sauber and Pirelli), there would be a conflict of interest.

“By the end of the week we should be able to announce his replacement,” he added.

Heidfeld’s final outing on last year’s Toyota with Pirelli tyres is this week at Jerez. His Sauber contract begins on Friday.

Pedro de la Rosa is widely tipped as Heidfeld’s successor.

Pirelli told us on Thursday: “We haven’t commented about this and we will keep on doing it that way.”

There are still “three candidates” in the running to occupy F1′s 13th team entry in 2011, according to Joan Villadelprat.

He is in charge of the Spanish Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi’s bid, amid recent rumours the outfit had pulled out due to a lack of funding.

It has also been claimed that Epsilon Euskadi might instead merge with the struggling existing Spanish team, HRT.

“I don’t know where that information came from,” Villadelprat said in an interview with the sports daily AS.

“I spoke with Jose Ramon Carabante about a possible collaboration with us as a technology provider.

“We are looking for clients and it is clear Hispania is a potential client for the type of work that we do, provided there is no conflict of interest.

“But that’s it, there was never any talk of a merger, even though I do not close any doors,” he added.

Villadelprat said Epsilon Euskadi is still vying for the 13th team entry.

“The FIA knows our project well and now they must choose between the three candidates,” he said.

“We explained our situation, including our financial one, making it clear that we have a commitment to provide the necessary budget even if the deal is not yet closed.”

Echoing the claims of Jacques Villeneuve, who is bidding for the entry in collaboration with Durango, Villadelprat said it is possible the FIA will leave the 13th team place vacant.

Asked if he would be disappointed to miss out, he answered: “Not necessarily.

“Epsilon is more than F1; we are 130 people and would not risk our stability to go where we cannot be feasible.”