Ferrari will not appoint an official reserve driver in 2012, the famous Italian team has confirmed.
The Maranello based team’s former reserve, Jules Bianchi, has stepped up to the Friday role at Force India.

Also on Ferrari’s books are Davide Rigon, Giancarlo Fisichella and Marc Gene.

But in the event Felipe Massa or Fernando Alonso are unable to race at any point this season, Ferrari will “take one of the drivers who are running around the paddock”, a spokesman told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“Last year we saw that Pedro de la Rosa was there and ready to go when Sergio Perez needed to be replaced at Sauber,” the source added.

For example, it is believed ousted Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari accepted the full-time radio co-commentary role with the BBC in the hope he will be needed by a team at some point this year.

Mercedes, too, will not have its official reserve – Sam Bird – on site throughout the long 2012 season.

“It makes little sense with the test limits to pay for an experienced test driver full-time,” explained Norbert Haug.

Nico Rosberg could be the next top formula one driver under long-term contract.
Hot on the heels of Sebastian Vettel’s new 2014 deal, and Fernando Alonso’s tying to Ferrari through 2016, it is reported that German Rosberg could be set to sign on for five more years with Mercedes.

Sport Bild magazine said the deal is worth almost EUR 80 million in total, representing a 3 million euro pay-rise increasing by 10 per cent per season.

“I am counting on him being with us in 2012, and if it is up to me, a lot longer as well,” said the German marque’s motor racing vice-president Norbert Haug.

Rosberg, 25, did not deny the story.

“What I can say is that I’m really happy where I am. It remains my dream to succeed with the Silver Arrows,” he said.

Sport Bild said Rosberg, if he does sign the deal, would become the highest paid driver of all time who has not won a single grand prix.

He has contested 95 grands prix to date, and if he does go on to win he will join the likes of Mika Hakkinen (96 races), Giancarlo Fisichella (110), Jenson Button (113), Jarno Trulli (118), Rubens Barrichello (123) and Mark Webber (130) as the drivers who took longest to join the ranks of F1 victors.

Robert Kubica feared his horror rally crash had left him paralysed, the Polish driver’s manager has revealed.
After arriving at the Italian hospital in a critical condition last Sunday and having seven hours of surgery, the 26-year-old Renault driver was put in a coma.

He woke up this week and has been seeing visitors, and according to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper he feared his badly damaged hand and other fractures and trauma were not his worst injuries.

“Robert asked me if his accident had left him paralysed, and he asked me to be honest,” manager Daniele Morelli revealed.

“I told him no, that he had nothing that could not be healed with time,” he added.

Autosprint claims that Kubica does not yet know all the details of his injuries, including that his right hand had been almost severed.

The Italian report also said he remembers nothing about the crash.

Morelli also revealed that Kubica asked for a photograph of the late Pope John Paul II, a fellow Pole, to be at his bedside.

“Robert is under the effect of sedatives to take away the pain, but I have seen him smiling, he’s okay. The war is over,” smiled Morelli.

“He is strong and tenacious and he will recover and be stronger than before.”

Meanwhile, in addition to his other injuries that are publicly known, it has emerged that Kubica has a damaged heel.

And elbow surgery is currently not possible because it would require the driver to be rolled onto his stomach, and he is also nursing a punctured lung.

It is understood that Kubica will not require further surgery to his hand.

His next visitor will reportedly be Giancarlo Fisichella, after Jean Alesi visited him on Wednesday.

“He is particularly pleased to know that he will be able to regain his physical abilities,” the Frenchman is quoted by autohebdo.fr.

Lotus-Renault team owner Gerard Lopez also visited Kubica on Wednesday.

“The important news is that Robert is alright. We hope he can return soon, because we built this team around him,” he told La Stampa.

Giancarlo Fisichella has this week been involved in a minor traffic crash.

The 3-time grand prix winner and now a Ferrari test driver rear-ended a small car driven by a 52-year-old woman in Campagnano, north of Rome, according to Italian media reports.

Fisichella, 38, was driving a Ferrari.

The driver of the car he hit was taken to hospital and discharged shortly afterwards.

Fisichella reportedly told the traffic police – the Polstrada – that he came across a long queue of traffic caused by road works and was not able to stop in time.

In 2005, when Fisichella was caught doing 148kph in a 60kph in Rome, he explained to police that he was rushing to his child who had a high fever.

Luca Badoer is leaving Ferrari after a long tenure as test driver.

The almost 40-year-old Italian has been in the role since the late 90s, and according to Autosprint magazine he accumulated more than 130,000 kilometres at Fiorano in Ferrari’s F1 cars during that period.

But Badoer was heavily criticised for his lack of competitiveness when he replaced the injured Felipe Massa in the Brazilian’s race cockpit mid last year.

Autosprint said Badoer, who raced 58 other times for minor Italian teams throughout the 90s, is now leaving the team.

The magazine said his last laps in a F1 car were during the recent Valencia celebrations, when he reaquainted with the F60 he raced three times in 2009.

Ferrari announced last month that 21-year-old Frenchman Jules Bianchi has been signed as a test driver for 2011.

Also contracted in test roles are Giancarlo Fisichella and Marc Gene.

Jules Bianchi is set to take over the role at Ferrari currently occupied by Giancarlo Fisichella.

The Italian team announced on Thursday that Frenchman Bianchi, a frontrunner in the GP2 series this year, will be a Ferrari “test driver” in 2011.

But Ferrari has not yet clarified if this means Bianchi will be taking over from Fisichella as the third/reserve driver.

Italian publication Autosprint believes he will.

The report said Fisichella will instead “be concentrating on racing touring cars” in 2011.

Jules Bianchi has been named by Ferrari as an official F1 test driver for the 2011 season.

But a spokesman insisted that the Italian team’s full plans for its support driver programme for next year have not yet been divulged.

Frenchman Bianchi, 21, who raced in GP2 this year and was a frontrunner, was already under long term contract to the Maranello based team as a development driver.

Ferrari announced on Thursday that he will be a “test driver” for the F1 team in 2011, and will contest the two-day young driver test in Abu Dhabi next week.

But the third/reserve role is different, and in 2010 it was fulfilled by Giancarlo Fisichella and Marc Gene. Luca Badoer is also a Ferrari test driver.

Bianchi is managed by Felipe Massa’s manager Nicolas Todt.

He is the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, a GT world champion, and the nephew of Lucien, Le Mans winner and competitor at 19 grands prix in the 60s.

The Ferrari spokesman said more announcements about F1 testing roles for the 2011 season are scheduled for later this year.

Ferrari had a tough race at Spa-Francorchamps but could be set for a stronger showing this weekend, according to team boss Stefano Domenicali.

The Italian team, whilst trying to recover its championship deficit, brought updates for its F10 car to Belgium two weeks ago that resulted in a backwards step in terms of competitiveness.

Domenicali has made it clear that one more bad result will mean Ferrari switching its focus to 2011, but he also told Corriere dello Sport that he is hopeful of a strong outing on home territory this weekend at Monza.

“Winning at Monza is not unthinkable, because we have understood where we went wrong with the improvements in Spa.

“We know now how to get the best from these parts,” he said.

As part of the last-ditch push for 2010, test driver Giancarlo Fisichella did an astonishing 700 kilometres of straight-line running with the new parts last week at Vairano.

Fernando Alonso, 41 points behind the title leader, admits the situation will mean additional “pressure” in front of the tifosi this weekend.

“It is obvious that this race is very important for us.  There will be some pressure,” admitted the Spaniard.

Domenicali concedes that Alonso has been feeling the pressure all season.

“If Fernando has done some mistakes, it is because he wants to show who he is.  Wearing red overalls is very heavy and a lot heavier than what is seen from the outside,” said the Italian.

Domenicali is also supportive of the other half of Ferrari’s driver lineup, albeit acknowledging that Felipe Massa has things to work on.

“Felipe needs to find the right balance in his relationship with Fernando, and this will happen over time.

“He has grown a lot with Ferrari,” added Domenicali.  “He is a driver whose best comes out at crucial times, when the pressure is the highest.”

Jun.18 (GMM) Luca di Montezemolo has continued his sustained attack on formula one’s new teams.

The Ferrari president thinks the grid should be filled by the bigger teams fielding three cars, rather than by opening the doors to newcomers including Lotus, Virgin and HRT.

Next year, another small team is likely to make its debut.

Spain’s El Mundo newspaper this week claims that the budget of the new Spanish outfit HRT is ten times smaller than Ferrari’s.

“In modern F1 races cars with GP2 levels of performance shouldn’t be allowed to participate — they are supposed to race on Sunday mornings,” Montezemolo is quoted by Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Montezemolo argues that Fernando Alonso’s push for Montreal victory was ruined by the lapping of backmarkers, an apparent reference to his delays behind Jarno Trulli’s Lotus and the HRT of Karun Chandhok.

But while it is true that, earlier this year, the small teams were vastly off the pace, all of the six cars were faster by multiple seconds than the entire GP2 field in Turkey recently.

And in Canada last weekend, Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus qualified just two tenths behind the Ferrari-powered Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi, while Virgin and HRT runners were also easily within 107 per cent of the pole time.

The new teams’ laptime deficit in Canada was between 3 and 4 seconds, compared with Giancarlo Fisichella’s 2.2 second qualifying deficit in a Ferrari-powered Force India at the same circuit two years ago.

A report at Italiaracing said: “It should be noted that the only complaints this season about the smaller teams have come from Ferrari.”

Jun.9 (GMM)  As Ferrari bids to return to the pace, test driver Giancarlo Fisichella was at the wheel of the F10′s latest specification late last week.

On Thursday, the Roman conducted an aerodynamic test at Vairano, with the specific package to be raced at Montreal’s unique Circuit Gille Villeneuve this weekend.

However, the major upgrade is not due until the following Valencia round, with the Maranello based team confirming that in Canada the car will be in essentially “the same specification” as it was in Turkey two weeks ago.

At Istanbul Park, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were notably off the pace.

“It’s quite unusual,” McLaren’s Jenson Button told the Toronto media at an event on Tuesday.

“They (Ferrari) had the perfect winter.  They were very quick, very consistent and very reliable and we were thinking, ‘Wow, those guys are going to be untouchable’.

“But they can come back.  They’re a very strong team, Fernando and Felipe have the experience.  You can’t ever count them out.  We never forget them,” added the reigning world champion.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali said Ferrari must avoid becoming downbeat about its situation.

“That would be no use when there are still two thirds of the season yet ahead,” he is quoted by the French language Canadian newspaper La Presse.

“We put a lot of energy into developing our F-duct and that may have delayed slightly other areas,” added Domenicali.

“Many things can change from race to race and we are certainly not lowering our heads and becoming downcast — that is for those who do not reach their goals, and that is certainly not the case with Ferrari.”

Luca di Montezemolo on Thursday revealed he resisted the urge to invite Michael Schumacher to play at a football game.

The seven time world champion is Ferrari’s most successful ever driver, winning five world championships during his 1996-2006 tenure.

But after retiring four years ago, the 41-year-old returned to the grid this year with Mercedes, and the tension between the German and his former camp has been obvious.

“We had beautiful years together and I gave him back his desire to race,” said Ferrari president Montezemolo, referring to the offer of a temporary seat last year to replace the injured Massa, which subsequently became a full return with a rival team.

“At times I miss Schumacher, he gave so much to Ferrari, but he also received a lot,” the Italian told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

He then referred to the forthcoming Partita Del Cuore charity football match, to be played in Modena early next week and featuring current Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella.

Said Montezemolo: “A few days ago I was tempted to call him (Schumacher) to ask him to play for us.  But as the team carries the Ferrari name, I avoided it.”

(GMM)

May 7 (GMM)  Ferrari has in fact not decided whether to keep using its new full F-duct system for the remainder of the Spanish grand prix weekend.

It has been reported that, after a shakedown at Vairano in Giancarlo Fisichella’s hands and tests on the race cars at Barcelona on Friday, the downforce-spoiling system will stay on the F10 for qualifying and the race in Spain.

But Fernando Alonso, quicker than Massa throughout Friday and fourth fastest in the afternoon session, said a final decision will only be taken “this evening”.

“The system worked well but obviously, despite the fact we have tested it on various occasions, we still lack a bit of experience before we can get the best out of it,” he added.

May 5 (GMM)  Adrian Sutil now feels fully comfortable at Force India and is more prepared than before for success.

The 27-year-old German has been with the Silverstone based team since its days as Midland and Spyker, but he engaged in talks with rival teams prior to committing in 2010.

But Sutil told spox.com that he is “glad in hindsight that I extended the contract”.

“After four years, I have a great influence on the team.  In the first year with Spyker it wasn’t working out but today I feel very comfortable.”

Mid last year, the team’s Mercedes-powered car was very competitive at certain circuits, with his then teammate Giancarlo Fisichella performing strongly before switching to Ferrari.

Sutil admits he wasn’t ready to lead the team with a quick car.

“I was thrown into the deep end with a good car and didn’t know how to deal with the opportunity to have podium finishes.

“I often felt too much pressure and wanted things too quickly and as a result I made silly mistakes.

“It is a learning process and I have learned,” Sutil confirmed, after out-qualifying his current teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi on every occasion so far in 2010.

“I feel that as a driver, I have matured,” he added.

May 3 (GMM)  Giancarlo Fisichella was not the only F1 driver in action at the Vairano circuit in Italy last week.

While Ferrari reserve Fisichella was trying Ferrari’s updated F-duct solution and the Barcelona package, the other Italian based team Toro Rosso was also conducting an aerodynamic straight line test.

Swiss youngster Sebastien Buemi was at the wheel of the STR5.

“The aim was a bit more long-term, looking at developments for a bit later in the season,” he said on Monday.

The media focus in Barcelona this weekend will be more on Jaime Alguersuari, and Buemi applauds the 20-year-old Spaniard’s improvement in 2010.

“He has improved a lot and is much faster and therefore able to provide much better feedback,” said Buemi.  “This is entirely positive, as it means we can work together better to move the car forward.”

Team boss Franz Tost is also happy with Alguersuari’s progress since he replaced Sebastien Bourdais during last season.

“He discovered how much he had to learn and the level of commitment required to become a successful formula one driver.

“He was clever enough to understand this and therefore he put himself through a very intensive and disciplined testing and physical training programme and everyone in the team is impressed by his progress,” added Tost.

May 3 (GMM)  Robert Kubica has played down the latest reports linking him with the Ferrari team.

The Renault driver, a close friend of Fernando Alonso, was aboard the Italian team’s initial VIP flight out of Shanghai amid the volcanic ash air chaos.

The 24-year-old Pole was therefore in Italy in plenty of time to contest the 1000 Miglia rally in a Clio.

When asked if it is a sign he will be Alonso’s teammate in 2011, he tersely answered last week: “Sure, sure, sure.”

“I don’t see anything in the fact that my (travel) solution was because of the Scuderia,” Kubica wrote in his latest column for France’s Auto Hebdo.

In fact, also enjoying the exact same chartered Shanghai-Dubai-Nice route were the likes of Vitantonio Liuzzi and Jarno Trulli, as well as Ferrari’s Alonso, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella, and others.

“It is rare that so many drivers are on the same plane, so it was pretty cool,” said Kubica.