Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he will earn less than $500,000 in 2012.
And the Australian rookie also confirmed that, when he made his grand prix debut last year with HRT, his sponsor Red Bull paid him only for the race seat, not a salary.

“Yeah, it’s quite a strange journey to formula one because it’s so elite and when you get there it can turn around very quickly,” he told Australia’s Fox channel.

“(On) the road to getting there, you’re always climbing a ladder, but you don’t really see the rewards until you get well established,” the 22-year-old added.

Ricciardo told television host Eddie McGuire that Toro Rosso will pay him some money in 2012.

“A little bit,” he smiled. “Let’s say I can buy myself a pair of jeans now, but not a mansion.”

He confirmed he is earning “less than” half a million dollars.

Some of that has already been spent — on a set of dental braces.

“I figured, just to keep my feet on the ground, I won’t get too beautiful,” Ricciardo laughed to the Herald Sun. “So I’ve got a mouth full of beautiful metal instead.”

Felipe Massa has admitted 2012 will be “crucial” if he wants to retain a top seat in formula one.
Ferrari will honour the Brazilian’s contract for next season, but Massa has struggled since his near-fatal crash in 2009 – and the birth of his son Felipinho – to keep up with Fernando Alonso.

In Korea, he was told by a reporter for the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that 2012 will be crucial.

“I think so too; to do a good year will be very important, crucial for my future of being in a competitive team, no doubt. And so my determination is greater than ever,” said the 30-year-old.

He acknowledged the possibility he will have to leave Ferrari for 2013.

Asked what he would do then, Massa answered: “I go to another team! There is no other option; I will continue to race and thinking about the best for my career.

“I am not afraid of anything that can happen as I’ve always been a guy with his feet on the ground. I know that if I do not have a good 2012, everything can change. Everything follows according to the results.”

Massa said he is confident another team would sign him up if Ferrari does not.

“I think so. Regardless of having a good season, I believe I am among the best in formula one.”

He denied that his struggles are due to the paddock perception of his ‘number 2′ status to Alonso.

“The telemetry in the team is 100 per cent open. Without a doubt, 100 per cent, the treatment and the equipment is the same.

“If you have an inferior car you can see it in the numbers, you cannot help it. I have never had any different treatment,” added Massa.

A defeat for Red Bull in the 2011 world championship will no longer require a “miracle”, according to Pedro de la Rosa.
McLaren’s veteran reserve driver admitted the mood had been pessimistic leading into the British grand prix, because Silverstone is a circuit “which appeared to have been designed for the Red Bulls”.

McLaren ultimately had a disappointing weekend, but Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were both beaten to the chequered flag by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

“Perhaps this has been the most convincing victory of the whole season,” he wrote in his column for formulasantander.com.

“The mistake with Vettel’s pitstop and Red Bull’s need to issue team orders to protect their number one invites us to think that the comeback is now not a miracle, it is a possible reality, difficult but possible,” added the Spaniard.

Alonso meanwhile said that while his win is a big morale booster, Ferrari’s new approach – more aggressive than in the recent past – will remain.

“Maybe it will happen that we pay a high price for that (approach) but there is no alternative,” he said.

“We are definitely not giving up, but we must not think about the championship — as Montezemolo said, we are keeping our feet on the ground.”

Sauber is setting its sights on loftier ambitions for 2011.
The Swiss team is currently a credible sixth in the constructors’ standings, behind Mercedes and Renault and leading grandees Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

“We keep our feet on the ground,” managing director Monisha Kaltenborn told the Swiss newspaper Blick when asked if more than sixth is the target.

The newspaper, however, said it has learned Sauber’s ‘secret plan’ for the rest of the 2011 season — all available resources, and perhaps even some new recruitments, will be pointed towards the development of the C30.

“So full steam ahead,” wrote veteran reporter Roger Benoit.

Fernando Alonso has warned that he is not necessarily the favourite to take pole position for the Monaco grand prix.

As the paddock and media centre fill up despite Friday being a ‘rest day’, the world of formula one is contemplating Alonso’s dominance of the initial 180-minutes of free practice.

But Ferrari’s Alonso told the Spanish news agency EFE: “Pole position is still far away.

“There has only been Thursday practice and we have seen many sessions this year dominated by McLaren and we were also high up, and then Red Bull surprised everyone in qualifying.

“So we have our feet on the ground, knowing only that we have started the weekend well,” he insisted, also predicting that McLaren will be “very strong” in Monaco.

McLaren’s Jenson Button added: “The Ferrari looks very quick, and I’m pretty sure Red Bull are hiding their pace.”

(GMM)

The President of Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, does not want surprises or disappointments following the euphoria that seems to invade the ‘Il Cavallino’ scuderia. The Italian does not want to get carried away with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa’s good times behind the F10 during the first pre-season tests at the circuit in Valencia.
“I’m happy that our car seems to be born well,” he declared to the ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ magazine. “But the pre-season tests are similar to football in August. I think the only positive aspect we should highlight is the sensation that the car has resulted as good as this;” he added.
The leading man of the scuderia, is cautious and assures that it’s still too early to give definite opinions on the Ferraris’ performance, previous to the start of the season. He prefers to share the cautiousness of Stefano Domenicalli, Sport Director of the team, who a few days ago said that “nothing can be guaranteed.”
There is one thing the two men agree on, that the Mercedes GP will be the rival to beat: “We still have many problems to take care of and we have to keep our feet on the ground. We still don’t know how good the others are;” underlining that “Alonso and Massa’s results are a first encouraging sign, but it’s too soon to judge.”
The thing being that subsequent to the terrible previous season, the Italian is risking a lot with regards to his image and prestige. Ferrari is not the only single-seater in the racetrack: “I think that Mercedes GP -ex Brawn-, is the rival to beat.” Naturally, not forgetting the energetic single-seater. “I’m sure that the Red Bull will also be very competitive, if we take into account the advantage with which it finished last season. And McLaren, too,” the Italian concluded.

The Ferrari pilot, Felipe Massa said a few words after the conclusion of the first day of official debuts of the new Formula One season at the Cheste Circuit(Valencia), as he described the good sensations that the ‘Cavallino Rampante‘ single-seater made.

“Today’s balance is quite positive.  The car is easier to drive than last year’s, where it was always difficult to find the adequate rhythm and direction,” Massa explained, feeling “very happy” with the single-seater’s performance, the new F10.

Still, the Brazilian pilot prefers to keep his feet on the ground and underlined the relevance of improving the performance permanently to be ready for the World Championship beginning. “In spite of today, there’s still a lot to do; a lot of work to improve the car as the first race approaches and which is what really matters,” he assessed.

In the Ferrari’s pitbox, he made some comments about his ex-teammate –currently in the Mercedes ‘Scuderia’-, Michael Schumacher’s helmet.

“It’s a bit strange to see a silver colored car with a pilot in red,” the Brazilian teased, and added that passing the German pilot was “fun”.  “We had a great moment when we had the cars side by side and then I passed him,” Massa declared.

And with this, the first debut day closes and will see what tomorrow brings.  Many people from the media were looking for the “pilot from Asturias,” Fernando Alonso, who has his debut day-after-tomorrow.