Narain Karthikeyan has played down reports he could lose his seat at HRT because of a lack of sponsorship.

An Indian newspaper this week said the 35-year-old is a million euros short of guaranteeing his place at the struggling Spanish team through November’s Brazil finale.

“Right now, everything is as it should be,” he is quoted by France’s autohebdo.fr.

“Early in the season, (team boss) Luis (Perez Sala) said that if I was not close enough to my teammate, there is a chance I will not finish the season.

“That was put into my contract, but for now I respect all the conditions. There is no reason that I will not be driving (the rest of) this season,” added Karthikeyan.

He admits, however, to some frustration about HRT’s continuing rear-of-the-field position.

“To be honest I wasn’t expecting the start of 2012 to be on the same lines as last year,” the Indian driver told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

“Yes I expected teething problems but not to this extent.”

He also admits he expected the team to test at Mugello last week.

“Personally speaking, I would’ve preferred some seat time at Mugello since I didn’t get any pre-season testing compared to my teammate who did the Jerez test with the old car,” said Karthikeyan.

“I was originally told that we would do the Mugello test but we decided to focus on putting the car together instead.”

A support-race team and a respected journalist have become the next to pull out of this weekend’s highly controversial Bahrain grand prix.

The Porsche Supercup team MRS said its decision to skip the support race in the divided island Kingdom is the “first time in our history that we have had to cancel”.

“In the end we have the responsibility for our employees,” said team boss Karsten Molitor, citing security concerns.

Another withdrawal – joining the sacked Williams catering staff member, and the TV broadcasters Sky Deutschland, Fuji TV and MTV3 Finland – is the respected correspondent for O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, Livio Oricchio.

“I have decided in agreement with Estado to not go,” he said. “We had the tickets for the entire season, except for Bahrain and the United States, because there was a doubt they would be run.

“Like many journalists, I will not be at Sakhir,” Oricchio admitted.

“I always believed that the race would not take place, and I’m still not 100 per cent sure that something will not happen that will lead the FIA or FOM to cancel.”

Indeed, following the sport’s decision to push ahead, the pressure on formula one to cancel at the eleventh hour has only intensified.

Nabeel Rajab, the leader of the government opposition group Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, admitted that the next protests – ‘three days of rage’, to coincide with the race’s three-day calendar – are aimed specifically at F1.

“We’re protesting to show anger at formula one for conducting the race here,” he is quoted by the BBC.

And the wife of a well-known jailed Bahraini activist who is on a long hunger strike, added: “I am not angry with the government… what makes me angry is people like Ecclestone who decide to come to Bahrain because he thinks everyone is happy.”

Italy’s La Stampa reports that F1 personnel have been advised to stay away from restaurants and shops, while “girlfriends and wives stay at home”.

That’s not entirely true, as Felipe Massa touched down at the airport on Thursday with his wife and baby son.

And Giedo van der Garde, the reserve driver for Caterham, said he has found Bahrain peaceful since his arrival on Wednesday.

“I’ve not been here long,” he is quoted by Auto Hebdo, “but everything seems quiet. Obviously, there’s a heavy police presence,” the Dutchman continued.

“But I haven’t seen any trouble or anything. Let’s hope it stays like that.”

Marco Canseco, the correspondent for the Spanish sports daily Marca, said he witnessed a “minor altercation” in the capital Manama on Wednesday.

“Then all the teams and everybody were able to get to the track for work without a hitch, the same on return,” he revealed.

Many are protesting the race going ahead on moral grounds, others due to security fears, whilst others fear for F1′s image.

“The ongoing debate about Bahrain is the only damage to the high gloss of the exciting 2012 season so far,” agreed Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

Sergio Perez honed his wet-weather race craft from a very early age, his father has revealed.

According to the rumour mill, the 22-year-old Mexican has gone straight to the top of Ferrari’s shortlist for 2013 after his strong charge for victory in the changeable Malaysian grand prix recently.

“This ability to drive very fast in the rain is a talent he developed at an early age,” the Sauber driver’s father Antonio, a former champion of Mexican F3, told France’s Auto Hebdo.

“With his brother, he accumulated hours of karting from the age of 6, driving even in torrential downpours that characterise the rainy season in Guadalajara,” Perez snr added.

 Giedo van der Garde is set to return to the track with Caterham during the forthcoming Barcelona tests, reigniting speculation about Jarno Trulli’s future with the former Lotus team.
After the sponsor-backed Dutch GP2 driver was signed on as 2012 reserve driver, he was also drafted into the Jerez test lineup at short notice, bumping Italian veteran Trulli from Thursday’s running.

And France’s Auto Hebdo quotes the 26-year-old as revealing he expects to return to the wheel soon.

“It was not easy for me to fully exploit the new tyres and brakes, but it will be better at the next test.

“The team is happy with my performance. I hope to do another test before the season starts,” van der Garde said.

Also reportedly in the running at Caterham is the Renault refugee and Russian-backed Vitaly Petrov, with Sport Bild claiming Trulli’s 2012 place is “probably not safe”.

“For now I’m safe,” Trulli was quoted on Monday by the Italian website Stop and Go.

Also perhaps feeling nervous at present is Marussia’s new signing Charles Pic, who according to Dutch website f1today.nl is grappling with “sponsorship and payment problems”.

The former Virgin team denied the reports.

“I want to prove to everyone that I have the talent to succeed in F1,” he is quoted by French language RMC Sport.

“Timo (Glock) has a lot of experience and has been on the podium — my goal is to learn from him and try to beat him as soon as possible,” added Pic.

Toro Rosso counts Caterham – the 2010 start-up team that has failed to score a single point since inception – among its close rivals for 2012.
Last season, the Red Bull-owned rookie team Toro Rosso finished the championship in eighth place with 41 points, well clear of Williams and behind Sauber and Force India.

“Our direct competitors are Sauber, Force India and Caterham,” the Faenza based team’s boss Franz Tost is quoted by autohebdo.fr.

Formerly Lotus, the Tony Fernandes-led Caterham team has been the best of the new 2010 teams including Marussia (nee Virgin) and HRT.

“Caterham has managed to build a good infrastructure,” Tost is quoted as saying.

“They have the Renault engine and a KERS from Red Bull and it means their package is good.

“They have two experienced drivers and I expect they will become our rivals.

“Our goal is to take seventh place in the championship — we must do better than last year,” added Tost.

Robert Kubica is travelling to Korea this week in podium-winning form.

At the weekend, between the Japanese and Korean grands prix, the Pole and rally enthusiast took part in the Rallye d’Antibes in the South of France.

The rally, with Kubica at the wheel of a Clio S1600, is part of the FIA European Rally Championship.

According to French language sources including Belgian television RTBF, the 25-year-old finished the rally in third place overall.  Auto Hebdo described it as “an excellent performance”.

F1 Renault driver Kubica reportedly finished ahead of many faster S2000 cars, topped the times in three separate stages, and won the A6 class outright.

A month ago in Italy, he took his first class victory in the Rally d’Alipi Orientali.

But at Suzuka just over a week ago, Kubica retired his F1 car from second place behind winner Sebastian Vettel when his R30 shed a rear wheel.

He was, however, buoyed by his pace in Japan.

“I didn’t expect to be as quick as we were,” he admitted.

Another grand prix will pass this weekend without Renault having an F-duct on its 2010 car.
It was rumoured two weeks ago that the Enstone based team was on the verge of debuting the downforce-stalling concept, and team boss Eric Boullier confirmed it will appear “very soon”.

Renault fell behind with the F-duct – pioneered by McLaren and now also run by Ferrari, Sauber, Red Bull, Williams, Force India and Mercedes – when it initially decided earlier this year that it would not waste resources on the innovation.

France’s Auto Hebdo reveals that the R30s are not fitted with F-ducts in the Silverstone garages.

Boullier confirmed the news, adding that the concept is still being worked on and should make its debut appearance “very soon”.

Renault has proposed a deal that would see Robert Kubica stay at Renault in 2011, according to a French publication.

Auto Hebdo said the matter could be finalised shortly after this weekend’s British grand prix due to the imposition of a mid-July deadline.

And Italy’s Autosprint believes Kubica could even stay with Renault beyond 2012, but the 25-year-old reportedly “wants guarantees” about the Enstone based team’s funding.

“We are determined to have Robert with us,” team boss Eric Boullier is quoted as saying.  “He knows our ambitions and our potential.”

(GMM)

A young French driver is eyeing a clear step into the world of formula one at the end of the 2010 season.
Jean-Eric Vergne, 20, drove a Red Bull car at last weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, and is now targeting a place for the end-of-season young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

In 2010, he is part of Red Bull’s Junior Team driver development programme, and clearly leading the British F3 championship with multiple champions Carlin.

When asked by Auto Hebdo if he wants to test in Abu Dhabi after November’s season finale, Vergne answered: “That is clearly the goal.

“If I win the championship, I’ll do the tests later this year. I don’t know if it will be with Red Bull or Toro Rosso,” he told the French publication.

A similar path was trodden by Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who won last year’s British F3 championship, did the young driver F1 test, and was then appointed an official reserve driver for 2010.

“Yes, the goal is to do that, but not because Ricciardo did it, because I am racing in a championship and want to win it.

“Then, Red Bull lets its best drivers do the (F1) testing. If I win my championship, I think I’ll top the list,” added Vergne.

Magny Cours’ new boss is positioning the French circuit for a possible return to the formula one calendar.

The venue, and the country, fell out of the sport after the 2008 season, and attempts to revive the French grand prix at an alternate site have failed so far.

One of F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone’s criticisms of Magny Cours, located in rural central France, was the difficulty of the journey from Paris.

But according to Auto Hebdo, improvements mean travellers will soon be “able to come from Paris without interruption to the door of the circuit”, circuit chairman Serge Saulnier is quoted as saying.

Saulnier became chairman earlier this year, after running and owning racing teams from the 80s until 2006 and then working as boss of Peugeot Sport.

“If France is reinstated on the calendar in the near future, it could only be at Magny Cours,” he said.

“The key to F1′s return to France is the promotion.  It is necessary to renegotiate the price to a reasonable level,” added Saulnier.

“We know that the state or the local authorities are not going to put in five or six million euros for the loss,” he continued.

“If there is a chance of having the grand prix back, the negotiation – as it was for the grand prix of Canada – must be done to be on a reasonable basis.

“We are going to work on it discreetly, and without haste,” he announced.

(GMM)

Mercedes is still working on its current car but has started to design the W01′s successor, team boss Ross Brawn has revealed.

Michael Schumacher, who is 75 points behind the championship leader Lewis Hamilton, said in Canada that his attention is now turning to 2011.

But while not denying that the next Mercedes car is now on the drawing boards at Brackley, Brawn said the team is not giving up on 2010.

“I think everybody is looking at their cars for 2011,” the Briton is quoted by France’s Auto Hebdo.

“But we still have various things to put on the W01 in the coming races.  We are not dropping this car, that’s for sure,” added Brawn.

(GMM)

Jun.18 (GMM)  There could be more Renault-powered cars on next year’s formula one grid than any other engine supplier.

Although the French marque currently supplies its 2.4 litre V8 only to the team that bears its name as well as Red Bull, it is reported that Williams is now close to agreeing a deal for 2011.

There have been reports that the Grove based team is less than fully happy with the returning supplier Cosworth this year, while at the same time Renault has confirmed it is looking to add a team to its customer engine roster.

Also linked with a switch to Renault has been the currently Cosworth-powered new team Lotus, while Cosworth’s business director Mark Gallagher recently said he suspects equipping the sport’s 13th team for 2011 will be “a Cosworth/Renault competition”.

A report by France’s Auto Hebdo said it is likely that eight cars on the 2011 grid will be fitted with Renault engines.

“An agreement with Williams is almost done,” said the magazine.

Jun.18 (GMM)  If the F1 teams and Bernie Ecclestone want to do a deal with Pirelli, the FIA will have to go along with it.

That is the claim of an unnamed team boss, amid rumours the president of F1′s governing body Jean Todt is pushing for Michelin to re-enter the sport as the new tyre supplier.

It is believed commercial contracts with F1 chief executive Ecclestone have now been signed by Pirelli, while the teams group FOTA has signed a letter of intent to be supplied by the Milan based company from 2011.

The final hurdle is said to be the consent of the World Motor Sport Council next week.

But the unnamed boss told France’s Auto Hebdo magazine: “The FIA manages the regulations, but it is not possible to impose on teams something they don’t want.

“Certainly, (the FIA) can boycott a decision of FOTA, but I think Ecclestone has enough power.”

Jun.15 (GMM)  Even in the wake of his impressive performance at Le Mans, Romain Grosjean insists he is still focused on returning to formula one.

The French-Swiss driver’s Ford GT dominated the GT1 class in the famous 24 hour race last weekend until it retired with engine failure.

But 24-year-old Grosjean, who raced in ousted Nelson Piquet’s place last year until Renault replaced him for 2010 with Vitaly Petrov, said returning to Le Mans in 2011 is not ‘option number 1′.

“For the moment, formula one remains option number 1,” he is quoted by France’s Auto Hebdo.

Jun.7 (GMM)  Fernando Alonso thinks Ferrari has been left behind by its rivals in the 2010 development race.

The Spaniard won his first race with the famous Maranello based team this season, raising hopes that Ferrari was set to cast off its miserable 2009 campaign with a strong challenge for the world championship.

But after a particularly weak showing in Turkey recently, Alonso is quoted by the latest edition of France’s Auto Hebdo: “The F10 has not changed since the Chinese grand prix.

“Apart from the blown wing (F-duct), which has not delivered everything that we expected, and has monopolised the efforts of the aero engineers, there has been nothing new.

“Except in Bahrain, we have been only defending, not attacking.

“I hope things will go better from Valencia, where the F10 should appear in a very advanced B specification.

“We are putting everything into this programme, knowing that the gap between us and Red Bull and McLaren is wide,” added the 28-year-old.

His teammate Felipe Massa, meanwhile, is quoted as suggesting the long straights and slow corners in Montreal this weekend should prove a happier hunting-ground for the F10.