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.

Two Spanish drivers and a new headquarters could be among HRT’s plans after it emerged Thesan Capital has taken over the Spanish team.
In its first two seasons, Hispania has been effectively based at Colin Kolles’ Greding headquarters in Germany, with no Spanish drivers on the roster.

But it was announced on Monday that the buyout will involve the “search for opportunities to optimise and improve the performance of the team” as well as “progressively making the team more Spanish and definitively settling … in Spain”.

According to the Spanish sports daily AS, Thesan is already developing some ideas along these lines for 2012.

One name mentioned is 23-year-old Spaniard and former GP2 driver Javier Villa, who this year is contesting the World Touring Car series.

And a “longer term” plan may involve 16-year-old Carlos Sainz Jr, the Red Bull-backed son of the famous former world rally champion who has begun a very promising single seater career.

AS said Thesan has “clear ideas” about a Spanish base for HRT, such as the state-of-the-art Epsilon Euskadi facility in Basque Country, amid the Joan Villadelprat-led operation’s current financial difficulties.

“Another of (Thesan’s) priorities will be to have the greatest possible number of Spanish personnel, both technically and logistically,” added the report.

Sebastian Vettel sounds unlikely to voluntarily fall in line behind Mark Webber as Red Bull pushes for its first ever drivers’ world championship.

Although heading for the championship lead in Korea before his engine failure, Vettel is now 25 points off Fernando Alonso.

It means Ferrari’s Spanish driver is the favourite for the title, with Vettel’s Australian teammate Mark Webber the most likely challenger due to his 11 point deficit.

But Germany’s Bild newspaper said it sounds unlikely that Vettel is going to give up.

“Nothing is going to change in my approach to the final two rounds,” he is quoted as saying. “My (engine) failure makes everything more interesting and difficult. But it is still possible.

“I am going to fight until the end,” Vettel vowed.

Like McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh who is in a similar situation, Red Bull chief Christian Horner said before leaving Korea that team strategy will be discussed internally before the season’s penultimate event in Brazil.

Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi thinks Red Bull made a big mistake by not establishing a hierarchy some time ago.

“They needed to take advantage of the fact they had the best car,” the Frenchman told CNR Media. “It’s doubtful they will have the same advantage next year, so you have to say they have mismanaged this season.

“I think they’ve missed a great opportunity,” added Alesi.

Joan Villadelprat, a veteran F1 team manager who now operates his own Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi, agrees.

“There has been a lack of solidarity at Red Bull, who have not been able to manage their superiority and are now giving the title away to Ferrari,” he wrote in his El Pais newspaper column.

“When a double world champion like Alonso takes the kind of advantage he has now, he does not fail,” the Spaniard added.

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.”

Zoran Stefanovic could be looking at yet another route onto the formula one grid.

With his Stefan GP project, the Serbian first tried to gain entry to the 2010 grid with the unraced Toyota car, and reportedly then gave up his push for the 13th 2011 entry due to the FIA selection process taking too long.

Now, according to Italy’s 422race.com, Stefanovic could be among the group of Serbian and Czech entrepreneurs apparently looking to buy the struggling Spanish team HRT.

“No comment,” he said when faced with the rumour.

Talk that HRT could merge with Epsilon Euskadi has been ruled out, and 422race.com believes the Spanish Le Mans team in fact only lodged a 2011 team entry for “some exposure”.

The Stefanovic/HRT link would therefore tie in with the Serbian’s familiarity with Cologne based Toyota Motorsport, who were thought already close to securing a technical collaboration with Hispania for 2011.

But in recent days, it has been rumoured that Lotus may in fact be set to tie up with Toyota instead.

A Toyota source said: “Toyota and Lotus? Not in a million years. We are still talking to HRT.”

Team boss Colin Kolles has played down paddock rumours that HRT is on the verge of collapse.

The new Spanish outfit has struggled with the slowest car in 2010, and the rumour at Monza last weekend was that the Cosworth engines were set to fall silent due to unpaid bills to Cosworth.

“We discussed our budget in Italy and it was approved,” Kolles is quoted by the French language L’Equipe website.

“We still need to complete certain objectives, but there is no cause for concern,” he insisted.

“The bill for the engines has been paid for to the end of the season. I think we are in better shape than some others,” said Kolles.

“We will see who finishes the season and who does not, and we’ll see who is on the grid next season.

“I am used to these rumours. When I arrived at Midland, everyone thought we would not survive, and it was the same with Spyker and Force India, but the team is still there,” he said.

Elsewhere, the team’s technical coordinator Jacky Eeckelaert has ruled out reports of a merger with Epsilon Euskadi, and also quietened rumours that HRT is turning to Cologne-based Toyota Motorsport for a 2011 collaboration.

“That’s a delicate question to answer,” he started. “It is true there were contacts with Toyota, but I don’t think it’s going to happen for 2011.

“As for a merger with Epsilon Euskadi, I’m not aware of that,” added Eeckelaert.

Stefan GP pulled out of the running for the 13th team entry for 2011 because the FIA’s selection process was too slow.

That is the view of Zoran Stefanovic, who after missing out on a place on this year’s grid vowed to try again for the 2011 season.

Alongside other contenders including Villeneuve/Durango and Epsilon Euskadi, the Serbian outfit tackled the initial stages of the selection process, but ultimately pulled out in August.

“We had applied at the beginning but we found out that the process was too long and it didn’t give us assurances on the time when someone will be chosen as the 13th team,” Stefanovic told f1pulse.com.

When the FIA invited expressions of interest for the 13th place in March, the governing body said its decision would be made in July.

But the decision, with the FIA ultimately ruling that the team place should be left open, was made only this month.

Stefanovic said September is “too late to go in and design a car for next year”.

“We think it (the process) should be faster and we think it’s necessary to have a 13th team,” he added.

Contrary to the ‘plan B’ announced by Jacques Villeneuve, Stefanovic said he is not currently contemplating taking over an existing team.

“At the moment we are not doing that thing specifically,” he said. “We will see in the future what we can do.”

12 teams is enough for formula one, and 10 would also be a healthy number, according to Williams’ chairman Adam Parr.

The Jacques Villeneuve/Durango bid, as well as the Spanish Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi, have been turned down by F1′s governing body after applying for the final 13th spot on the 2011 grid.

“I don’t think we should have 13,” Parr is quoted by the Texas newspaper American Statesman.

“I think that 12 is a maximum and personally I think we should have a maximum of 10 teams,” he said.

Currently, the F1 grid is composed of 12 teams, but there are fears about the financial situations suffered by several of them.

“I think it’s a very real possibility that we could lose a couple of teams,” Parr admitted.

“Part of the evolution of formula one is that teams come in and they go. Since 1970 we’ve lost, I think, 55 teams. It’s sort of a brutal competition and not everyone makes it.

“If things fall out so that we have 10 teams competing next year, personally I think that would be just fine,” he added.

Joan Villadelprat insists he is not giving up on bringing his Spanish Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi into formula one.

After the FIA said on Wednesday it has decided to leave the 13th team entry vacant for now, Jacques Villeneuve said his partnership with Italian outfit Durango will now try to enter the sport by buying into an existing team.

Villadelprat, boss of the only other applicant, has adopted a similar stance.

“The 13th license was one way but not the only way to get into formula one,” he said.

Villadelprat admitted recently that it had not managed to accrue a full financial package for his F1 team.

“Without this capital it would be unfeasible to carry out the F1 project that we want,” he acknowledged on Wednesday.

“We have the ideal facilities and workforce for formula one and we will keep working to get there sooner or later,” he added.

Jacques Villeneuve on Wednesday said he has not given up on heading his own formula one team in 2011.

Earlier in Paris, the FIA ruled that neither Villeneuve’s collaboration with Italian racing outfit Durango, or the Spanish applicant Epsilon Euskadi, had satisfied the requirements for the vacant 13th place on next year’s grid.

“Now we turn to our plan B, which is to take over one of the existing teams,” the French Canadian said in a telephone interview with French language Rue Frontenac.

But the 1997 world champion admitted he is cautious.

“It is probably going to be a bit more expensive and we must ensure we have a free hand,” said 39-year-old Villeneuve.

“We do not want to be with partners we would not have chosen. There may also be contracts in place that interfere with our plans.

“For example, we have tremendous confidence in the design of our car. We want to be able to use it, not to have an existing design imposed on us,” said Villeneuve.

He said the next step is to sit down with his associates.

“I’ve only just heard the news so there isn’t a timetable set. I have to sit down with my partners and establish the strategy.

“I am also pleased we continued to work on NASCAR. Things on this side are going well,” revealed Villeneuve.

Jacques Villeneuve is not confirming reports that the FIA intends to leave the 13th team spot vacant for the 2011 season.

The 1997 world champion, in collaboration with Italian racing team Durango, is in the running along with Spain’s Epsilon Euskadi for the last place on next year’s grid.

But according to reports this week, the governing body has decided to leave the position vacant because neither of the applications has a strong enough combination of engineering and financial resource.

It is believed the news could be announced after Wednesday’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris, even though the decision was reportedly made a week ago.

But Villeneuve told the French language Canadian publication Rue Frontenac late on Tuesday that he is still hopeful.

“We have had no news – positive or negative – from the FIA,” said the 39-year-old.

“All I know is that we are proud of our bid and we followed the process instituted by the FIA.

“We have a budget in place for the next three years, and the design of the car is going very well.  Phase 1 is nearing completion.

“We have submitted our application and we only need the approval of the FIA for the next phase.”

Villeneuve said he can understand the FIA’s careful deliberations about allowing another new team to compete in formula one.

“The memory of the USF1 debacle is still fresh in their minds,” said the winner of 11 grands prix, who competed in F1 most recently in 2006 for BMW.

“They want to be really sure that the group with the 13th spot will be very solid, and that suits us because we are strong,” Villeneuve insisted.

“After our meeting, they wanted to do due diligence and that’s probably why the announcement is a bit late.

“We look forward to the news but we’re not panicking — far from it,” added the French Canadian.

He said Durango owner Ivone Pinton is not panicking either, despite the reports about the FIA deciding not to open F1′s door to any more teams for now.

“We have barely discussed it, except to say the media is a bit fast on the trigger!  It’s possible the FIA will say no but we have no indication to that effect.

“Their analytical work is ongoing — that’s all we know,” added Villeneuve.

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.”

After a stint working on his NASCAR plans, Jacques Villeneuve has returned this week to the other side of the Atlantic to focus on setting up his own F1 team.

While also trying to land a full-time seat in America’s premier series, the 1997 world champion is collaborating with the Italian former GP2 outfit Durango in a bid to fill the 13th and final place on the 2011 formula one grid.

The French Canadian publication Rue Frontenac reports that Villeneuve, 39, is now in Europe where team officials will on Wednesday present their project to authorities in Geneva.

“I’m really proud of our bid,” he is quoted as saying.

“We have no control over what the others will present and how our approach will be evaluated, but everything has been done according to the requirements of the FIA.

“We have cut no corners, we have done everything by the book. My partners have done an impeccable job,” said Villeneuve, who was last on the F1 grid with BMW-Sauber in 2006.

It has been reported that Villeneuve/Durango is competing with two rivals for the 13th team entry — Epsilon Euskadi and Stefan GP.

“We don’t know how many people are presenting a dossier, let alone who they are and their seriousness,” insisted the winner of 11 grands prix.

“Also, the FIA has not committed to having a thirteenth team if a project is not consistent with their requirements,” said Villeneuve.

“If we do get the place, then the real stress will begin!” he added. “It will be difficult to be competitive in 2011, we know that, but we are not building a team only for one year.”

Long-time McLaren team boss Ron Dennis commented: “The finances will decide everything.

“Everyone in the world of F1 hopes it works out — it’s always good to keep the sport’s champions around. But I repeat that it will require extensive financial resources.

“This is not a sport for the faint of heart,” added the Briton.

Joan Villadelprat is eager for the FIA to make its decision about the identity of F1′s thirteenth team for 2011.

The formula one veteran, who has worked at Tyrrell, McLaren, Ferrari, Benetton and Prost, is now pushing to bring his own Le Mans prototype and junior single seaters team Epsilon Euskadi onto the grid.

It is believed the Azkoitia-based outfit is in competition with Villeneuve/Durango and Stefan GP, but it is also possible that the governing body will deem none of the applicants worthy of the 13th place.

It is also rumoured that many more than the three aforementioned projects are still officially in the running for the entry.

“We are already working with our wind tunnel model,” Villadelprat is quoted by the Italian language Al Volante.

“From the economic point of view we have an interesting budget but not yet what I would want to have for the formula one programme.

“Before investing a lot of money, our possible partners want to be sure that we have been chosen (by the FIA), but this (situation) will end in August,” he added.

Indeed, the FIA’s decision about the 13th team entry is due late this month.

Jacques Villeneuve has admitted that his efforts to establish a new formula one team in 2011 may be shot down by the FIA.
The 1997 world champion is collaborating with the Italian former GP2 team Durango for the final and 13th entry next year, reportedly in competition with fellow hopefuls Epsilon Euskadi and Stefan GP.

In 2010, three new independent teams – Lotus, Virgin and HRT – similarly made their grand prix debuts.

“It’s harder to be accepted this year because the FIA does not want the fiasco of 2009 to be repeated,” French Canadian Villeneuve, 39, told La Presse whilst competing at the weekend’s NASCAR event at Watkins Glen.

His “fiasco” comment was a reference to the stillborn USF1 project.

He said his plans for Villeneuve/Durango have been in motion for a year.

“We are working very hard without knowing actually what will happen,” explained Villeneuve. “It is possible that our project is the best, but it is also possible that we will be rejected.”

He said he is not worried that the president of the FIA today is Jean Todt, who in Villeneuve’s championship year in 1997 headed the Ferrari team.

At that year’s championship finale at Jerez, Villeneuve collided with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari, costing the Italian team not only the title but disqualification from the entire season.

“I have always been well with Jean Todt and I cannot imagine that the FIA’s decision could be influenced by an old rivalry,” he said.

“Anyway, Jean Todt is not going to be alone in this decision, I’m sure,” added Villeneuve.

And he said the fact that he is simultaneously working on an F1 project whilst trying to establish a NASCAR career is no problem.

“Both sides seem unaware of what is happening on the other side, so it has no influence,” said Villeneuve. “These are exciting projects and I have no reason to stop them.”

In fact, he said keeping doors open in the US could help his European project.

“Three years ago, when I put F1 to the side, there were people interested in supporting me, but not on this side of the Atlantic,” he said at Watkins Glen.