Bernie Ecclestone claims he is close to reaching an agreement with Mercedes over the future of the German marque’s involvement in formula one.

The parties have been at loggerheads over the F1 chief executive’s refusal to offer to Mercedes the same Concorde Agreement deal reached with other top teams Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.

In response, it has been suggested not only that the situation threatened the sport’s floatation plans, but that Mercedes could sensationally quit F1 at the end of this year.

“We are now 80 per cent there,” Ecclestone told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag in Barcelona.

“The other 20 per cent, we will get there soon,” he added.

“We have spoken with several Mercedes managers. I am sure we will see more of Mercedes in formula one.”

Bild said the deal being discussed between Ecclestone and the Stuttgart based carmaker will see Mercedes in F1 at least through 2020.

Norbert Haug, however, sounded surprised.

“I have to apologise, but we don’t want to give any information at the moment about the state of the negotiations,” Mercedes’ motor racing vice-president insisted.

 Michael Schumacher has revealed he would not have returned to formula one if not for the sport’s strict testing ban.
Two years after his record seventh title, the famous German retired in 2006, but then came back with the new Mercedes GP venture in 2010 and is now deciding whether or not to extend his contract for 2013.

But as a multi-millionaire and 43-year-old father of two, he was asked by the German newspaper Bild-Zeitung why he was not content to simply “enjoy your family” in the wake of his unprecedented success.

“Because racing is my passion,” he insisted, “and anyway it doesn’t mean I have to stop enjoying my life with my family.

“When I came back again, one of the reasons (for the decision) was that formula one is much less time-consuming as it was in my ‘first career’.

“Then, we had testing after each race, now – during the season – there is not. I have plenty of time for my family,” said Schumacher.

“Otherwise, clearly, there would have been no comeback,” he admitted.

So, Schumacher is now deciding whether or not to stay in 2013 and beyond.

Would he consider returning to Ferrari, to once again take on the challenge of pulling the famous Italian squad out of a crisis?

“Let’s just say this,” the German answered. “The probability that I will end my career with a team other than Mercedes is so exceedingly low that I don’t need to even think about it.”

 Mercedes is eyeing a new two-year contract extension for Michael Schumacher, according to the major German newspaper Bild.
The seven time world champion, having returned to F1 with the famous German marque in 2010, has not decided whether or not to continue his comeback beyond this season.

“Bild knows that Mercedes wants to keep him,” said the newspaper, after the Brackley based team’s new W03 car was launched in Barcelona.

The report said Mercedes has decided to offer Schumacher, 43, a new two-year deal through 2014.

“Before we talk to any other candidate, our first contact will definitely be Michael,” confirmed team boss Ross Brawn.

Schumacher commented: “I’ll decide when the time is right.”

Red Bull has denied reports it is concerned about team members consuming contaminated food ahead of this weekend’s Japanese grand prix.
The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday said Sebastian Vettel’s team had shipped its own food to Suzuka due to concerns about the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The report also said boss Christian Horner has told the 80-strong race team to avoid eating out.

But Red Bull denied the claims by insisting it “uses both local and international produce” at every grand prix on the calendar “and this race will be no different.

“Red Bull Racing has worked with local Japanese suppliers, such as big retailers, supermarkets and bakeries, in order to obtain good, local produce, which we will serve throughout the weekend,” it said in a statement.

The team also said the claim Horner told his staff not to eat out in Japan is “incorrect”.

The veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit also scolded the media reports, saying recent MotoGP and Indy races at Motegi had allayed any fears about travelling to Japan.

Motegi is only 150 kilometres from Fukushima, while Suzuka is 700 kilometres from the crippled nuclear plant, meaning any alarm in the media “is pure scaremongering”, Benoit wrote in Blick.

“I have no concerns about going and I think it is good that formula one is going to put on a show in a country that really appreciates our sport,” said Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on Tuesday.

To many in F1 circles, Bertrand Gachot is arguably best known for vacating his Jordan seat in 1991 for a then unknown youngster by the name of Michael Schumacher.
Just before Schumacher’s meteoric F1 debut 20 years ago, Gachot was jailed in England for spraying a taxi driver with CS gas some eight months earlier.

“The taxi thing happened in December (1990),” Gachot, who now manages his energy drink company Hype, told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

“Eight months later, in August 1991, I was summoned to court. The lawyers told me it’s a small thing.”

It was the week before the Spa-Francorchamps race, but the judge refused to release the French-Belgian driver even on a multi-million pound bond.

“I was a danger to the English population,” he marvelled. “Eight months later!

“I was sentenced to two years in prison and I had to serve two months. And because the gas was considered a weapon, they put me in a cell with a murderer.”

It was, however, good news for Eddie Jordan, who had already collected from Gachot’s sponsors in 1991 and was now receiving $160,000 from Mercedes for the one-off Schumacher debut.

Gachot doesn’t directly accuse Jordan of pushing the CS gas case to court in order to collect more sponsorship money.

“I don’t want to put that name in my mouth. I don’t mean Michael, who is a great guy, a great racer. My bad luck was his good fortune. His career might have been very different if I had not gone to prison.”

The Mercedes is the loudest formula one car in 2011.

That is the finding of the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, after testing the volume of this year’s field trackside in Monaco just over a week ago.

The silver W02 registered 127.8 decibels, which is louder than the average human pain threshold, and nearly as loud as a military jet aircraft take-off with afterburner at 50 feet.

The Renault comes next at 127.5 decibels, followed by McLaren-Mercedes (127.3) and Renault-powered Red Bull (127.1).

The quietest F1 car this year is the Cosworth-powered Virgin, at 125.9 decibels.

Bernie Ecclestone has cited the awesome sound of the current crop of F1 cars as his main objection to the proposed four-cylinder turbo rules for 2013.

The FIA last Friday acknowledged that the 2013 debut could be delayed.

“In consultation with the main stakeholders, and following the outcome of this consultation, a fax vote by the World Motor Sport Council could be considered by 30 June latest to redefine the implementation date”, the governing body said after its Barcelona meeting.

Eric Lux’s lawyer has confirmed the Genii Capital chief executive is taking legal action against Force India driver Adrian Sutil.
The 28-year-old German driver recently apologised after it emerged he had injured Lux – involved in the ownership and management of the Renault team – in the neck with a broken glass at a nightclub in Shanghai one month ago.

We reported on Monday that Lux had decided to take legal action that could involve a damages claim of EUR 10 million.

“Mr Eric Lux has decided to file a criminal complaint against Mr Adrian Sutil for physical assault and grievous bodily harm,” Lux’s Swiss lawyer Dr Marc Henzelin confirmed in a statement on Monday.

“As soon as the complaint is registered, the FIA and Force India will be notified,” the statement added.

German newspaper Bild said Sutil’s friend Lewis Hamilton was in the same VIP room at the M1NT nightclub at the time of the incident, and the statement said Lux “does not exclude commencing an action against any other persons involved in this matter”.

Sutil’s manager Manfred Zimmerman responded by saying he and the driver heard about Lux’s legal action in the media.

“In recent weeks Adrian has made several attempts to make contact with Mr Lux with no success,” he told the German press.

“Should there be an indictment, we will fight it,” he promised.

“Anyone who knows Adrian knows that he would not intentionally hurt anybody. When it comes to this injury, Adrian regrets it very much but it was an unfortunate accident with no intention,” added Zimmermann.

Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday sounded defiant amid reports Korea is not ready to welcome formula one.

Yeongam, about a four hour drive from Seoul, is scheduled to host its inaugural grand prix late next month.

Karun Chandhok did the first demonstration laps of the track on Saturday in a Red Bull, admitting that the venue is not yet complete.

Photos showed some buildings and grandstands are half built, fences missing, run-off areas unpaved and the track with only an initial layer of asphalt.

“How can a grand prix take place here?” wondered the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, captioning a photo of a construction worker carrying materials against the backdrop of a half-built building.

The newspaper said even a full supply of water and electricity is not yet present.

Additionally, many seats in the main grandstand are not installed, while parking lots are not ready to accommodate cars.

“There are problems,” admitted F1 chief executive Ecclestone, “but we assume that the race can take place.

“The circuit is definitely ready, but as for all the buildings, perhaps not,” admitted the Briton.

“So we may have to put up some tents,” Ecclestone joked.