Lotus is the “biggest surprise” of the 2012 season so far, Red Bull’s team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has admitted.

In an interview with Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper, the billionaire mogul was mildly critical of the “lottery” that is this year’s championship, with Pirelli’s unpredictable tyres setting the scene.

“That is going to continue,” Mateschitz said.

“Then it will gradually turn into a duel between McLaren and Red Bull Racing,” he predicted.

“Mercedes are still not able to keep doing in the race what they are doing in qualifying. So we are not convinced of their F-duct (double DRS) system and we won’t try to copy it.

“Ferrari needs to try the hardest to catch up. And Lotus are the big surprise for me,” he insisted.

Kimi Raikkonen insists he is “not interested” in formula one — except the cars, and winning.

Asked by the reporter for Bild am Sonntag newspaper if the famous Finnish character might remove his sunglasses for an interview, 2007 world champion Raikkonen replied simply: “No.”

At the end of his fourth race since returning to F1 from rallying, the 32-year-old was back on the podium in Bahrain.

“It’s not going too bad,” he said. “I like what I’m doing, that’s enough. I don’t care if someone says whether I’m doing it well or not.

“Still, it’s disappointing when you’re only second. Who knows what’s going to happen at the next race,” the Lotus driver added.

Just after leaving F1 at the end of 2009, Raikkonen said he disliked everything about the sport — except the cars.

Nothing has changed.

“No. I’m only here for racing,” said Raikkonen.

“All the other bulls**t I can do without. If you took away the cars from formula one, I would not be there.

“Formula one plays no role in my personal life. I have a real life! I think for many people, their life is formula one. For me it’s not.”

Rumours that a top English premier league football club is entering formula one as a sponsor have proved correct.

Ever since Sauber has been running teaser ‘Out of the blue’ and ‘True blue’ graphics on its engine cover livery in China and Bahrain, speculation about the identity of the forthcoming sponsor have been swirling in the F1 paddock.

We reported the rumour that the deal could be with the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, to promote his football club Chelsea.

Swiss F1 team Sauber confirmed the “new and innovative partnership” on Monday.

“The C31 sporting the blue logo of Chelsea FC will be seen for the first time at the Spanish grand prix,” the Hinwil based team announced in a media statement.

“A partnership like this between formula one and football has never existed before in this form, yet there are numerous commonalities and possible synergies,” said Sauber chief executive Monisha Kaltenborn.

The statement said Chelsea will in turn display Sauber’s logo on its advertising boards and interview walls, ensuring one another “a significant market presence outside their original sport”.

A spat between two Britons could drive the German giant Mercedes out of formula one, according to a new media report.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone recently confirmed he is at loggerheads with Mercedes over the next Concorde Agreement.

But at the same time, he insisted that the Stuttgart marque is “very important to formula one. I have always supported them and I will always,” he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Indeed, Mercedes has its own and newly-winning works team, powers the marquee McLaren outfit, and also supplies engines to Force India.

Ecclestone’s dispute is with fellow Englishman Ross Brawn, who is the Brackley based Mercedes GP team’s principal.

“I have spoken to the team manager (Brawn) about it (the dispute) and he seems to believe that the team has won a few world titles and about 80 races since the Tyrrell days,” said the 81-year-old.

Sport Bild reports that Ecclestone is refusing to give in to Brawn’s demands for extra Concorde Agreement entitlements for past title successes and history.

The magazine said the relationship has become so intense that Ecclestone has even refused to give a joint interview with Brawn.

“He (Brawn) was never very nice to me,” the F1 ‘supremo’ is quoted as saying.

The German report said there is a risk Mercedes will, as a result of the ‘ice age’ between the British duo, pull the plug on its entire F1 involvement.

Another television broadcaster has pulled out of this weekend’s Bahrain grand prix.

It had already emerged that Sky Deutschland, MTV3 Finland and Japan’s Fuji TV would not be reporting from the scene of the race in the troubled island Kingdom.

Now, it emerges that the travelling regulars for France’s TF1 are not in Bahrain either.

The French-language RMC Sport reported that, like the other broadcasters, the decision was taken “because of the unstable situation” in Bahrain.

It has also emerged that Stefano Mancini, the regular F1 correspondent for Italy’s La Stampa newspaper, had trouble entering Bahrain this week.

He reported that he encountered the trouble, which ended when the FIA intervened directly, due to an interview he conducted last week with a Bahraini activist.

“You work for a newspaper?” Mancini said, recalling what he was asked by the polite uniformed official. “Write the name,” the official said.

“My name?” enquired Mancini. “No, the newspaper,” the official clarified.

Just after backing his friend and countryman to bounce back, Rubens Barrichello has refused to rule out returning to formula one to replace the struggling Felipe Massa.

After 19 consecutive seasons in F1, 39-year-old Barrichello had to switch to the Indycar series for 2012 after losing his race seat at Williams.

Speaking to Brazilian television Sportv this week, however, the Brazilian said he cannot rule out returning to the grid — even with Ferrari.

After a six-year tenure, Barrichello left Ferrari at the end of 2005 and – until now – has not looked back overly fondly on his treatment alongside the famous Italian team’s former number one Michael Schumacher.

But in the wake of Massa’s recent performance struggles, Barrichello was voted in an Italian poll as the ideal replacement for the diminutive 30-year-old.

When asked about Ferrari, Barrichello said this week: “I want the fans to understand that I don’t have any hard feelings.

“If they called me today to go drive for them I would go. It was the best team I’ve ever driven for in terms of support, of creativity. But there were definitely some spicy episodes,” he added.

With the backing of sponsors, Barrichello has signed on with the KV team in Indycar for 2012, but he insists he is “completely open” about returning to F1.

“It would be something to think about,” he said in the televised interview on Wednesday.

“I think anything can happen. I’m not saying it will happen, but I have to be ready.”

Barrichello, the longest-serving driver in F1 history, revealed that he still enjoys the backing of Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s influential chief executive.

“He asked me if I was really going to race in Indycar and I told him ‘Yeah, because you didn’t find me a place in F1′,” he joked.

“He said he will see what he can do about it. Really, you just have to see what happens, you have to stay open about it,” added Barrichello.

New media reports have contradicted claims French PM Francois Fillon will on Friday announce the country’s 2013 return to the formula one calendar.

Le Parisien newspaper on Thursday said Fillon’s visit to the Paul Ricard circuit on Friday is to confirm the successful end to long negotiations to revive the French grand prix.

Those negotiations were for Paul Ricard to annually alternate a race date with Belgium’s fabled Spa Francorchamps.

But the French-language RMC insists that Belgium is “not ready for the alternation”.

“If France has received a contract to organise a grand prix every other year, this is not the case for the Belgian promoters, who are still waiting for the document to send to the government of Wallonia,” the report read.

RMC said the hold-up could be because Spa is having trouble paying its sanctioning fee for this year’s race date in September.

The French magazine Sport-Auto agrees, insisting that Fillon “will not announce the return of the grand prix de France on Friday”.

“The prime minister will travel to the (Paul Ricard) circuit,” an official close to Fillon is quoted as saying by AFP news agency, but Fillon “will not announce the return of the grand prix to the calendar in 2013″.

The official, however, said Bernie Ecclestone as approved “in principle” France’s presence on the calendar every other year, beginning in 2013.

But “It (the alternation) will not necessarily be with Belgium,” the report added.

In an interview to be published by the Nice-Matin newspaper on Friday, Fillon is quoted as saying a grand prix is crucial to France.

“Bernie Ecclestone has just sent us a draft contract,” said the prime minister, “which is the result of negotiations that began several months ago.

“We now have a concrete basis for discussions,” he added.

 If Caterham’s Mike Gascoyne was in the market for a McLaren driver, he would sign Jenson Button.
The green-clad team’s technical boss, Gascoyne, was at Renault in 2002 when it was decided to oust Button in favour of Fernando Alonso.

But a decade on, Gascoyne says the tables have now turned, as 2009 world champion Button now heads the 2012 points standings for McLaren.

“We weren’t wrong (to replace Button), Fernando won two titles very quickly, but Jenson has developed into a hell of a driver,” Gascoyne is quoted by the UK Express newspaper.

He said Button’s advantage over Lewis Hamilton, his highly rated teammate, is his mental strength.

“The difference right now is that Jenson can handle it when Lewis wins, but Lewis really struggles when Jenson does,” said Gascoyne.

Another of Button’s strengths, he explained, is his smooth driving style, which better conserves Pirelli’s highly-degrading tyres.

“Lewis is struggling to match that and then with his attacking style, the more aggression he puts in the harder it gets for him in the race,” said Gascoyne.

Comparing today’s Button with the 22-year-old of 2002, Gascoyne concluded: “Jenson is still the same nice guy, same talent, but mentally so very strong. Right now, Jenson would be the man for me.”

In an interview with Spanish agency EFE, Pedro de la Rosa summed up Button with the words “finesse and intelligence”.

Jenson Button is an outright favourite for the 2012 title, according to former F1 driver Mika Salo.
The Finn, Salo, will be a regular in the paddock this season with the MTV3 broadcaster, except for this weekend’s season opener for which he is detained to test last year’s Ferrari at Suzuka.

Asked however in a pre-season interview to name some likely challengers to Sebastian Vettel’s crown, the 45-year-old answered: “Jenson Button is not necessarily the quickest driver, but he is able to collect points consistently.

“I would not previously have put him as a favourite, but when Hamilton had his personal problems, Button was immediately on the case.”

Behind Vettel and Button, Salo predicts Hamilton and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg to be on the favourites’ heels.

“It will depend on Hamilton, and whether or not he splits with his girlfriend every other weekend.

“Nico will be strong, if he has a good car. Webber, I think, is a bit past it, especially if Red Bull is no longer as dominant as they have been,” he added.

The current peace in formula one may be short-lived.
That is the view of Niki Lauda, referring to the relative quiet at present in terms of teams accusing their rivals of cheating.

There have been rumblings about some teams’ interpretations of the new exhaust rules, while others led by Mercedes are reportedly experimenting with promising new F-duct solutions.

“You can never trust peace in formula one,” triple world champion Lauda said in a pre-season interview with the broadcaster RTL.

“Each team tries to take the regulations right to the limit, which is perfectly legitimate. We’ll have to see if the FIA needs to intervene at some point.”

As the 2010 world championship battles heats up, so too is the competitive rivalry between Red Bull’s teammates.

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are openly not friends, but with just two races to go this season and 14 points between them, some believe Vettel should now be helping his Australian teammate to the title.

“I am not giving up,” 23-year-old German Vettel said on Thursday in an interview with the DPA press agency.

“It would be stupid to give up the belief in the title. I will continue to fight,” he promised.

Vettel was asked whether he has a cooperative “deal” in place with Webber as the season winds down.

“That is too far away,” he answered. “I must just concentrate on my performance.”

Earlier this week, Webber indicated Vettel is only regarded as the team’s “superstar” because of his young age.

Vettel’s apparent rejoinder is a barb about the pair’s exits from the recent Korean grand prix, with Webber crashing and Vettel retiring with an engine failure.

“Let’s put it this way: I would have been far more disappointed if I had thrown away the car over a personal fault,” said the German.

He said he is not worried about losing the support of his team in deference to Webber.

“I know that my team supports me and that I don’t have to be worried,” answered Vettel.

The likelihood that F1 will be broadcast in high definition next year has taken a backwards step.

Bernie Ecclestone boosted the hopes of F1′s global television audience in September when he indicated the sport will be moving to HD “probably next year”.

But in an interview with Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid, the F1 chief executive now insists he is “not sure” the 2011 feed will be broadcast in HD.

One of the main problems, he indicated, is that high definition cameras are too big to be installed in the cars for the popular on-board footage.

That would mean the F1 feed is “50 per cent HD and 50 per cent standard definition”, the 80-year-old Briton is quoted by Germany’s motorsport-total.com.

Sylt and Reid hypothesise that Ecclestone’s reluctance to embrace the new television technology could be related to the failure of his multi-channel digital feed for F1 in the 90s.

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari’s rivals are “trying to divert attention” from their own problems by playing psychological games in the media.

With just two races still to run in 2010 and Alonso leading the championship, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner this week admitted it would be “frustrating” to lose to the Spaniard after the Hockenheim team orders affair.

Stefano Domenicali hit back by suggesting it is a “miracle” the energy drink-owned team has not already wrapped up the title due to its car advantage, and his driver Alonso has now weighed into the squabble.

“There are some favourite teams, who have not resolved their own problems, trying to divert attention,” he said in an interview with Diario Sport newspaper.

“Fortunately for us, we are united as a team, as we show at each race, including my relationship with Felipe (Massa),” added Alonso.

“There are always media strategies designed to make you nervous or put you under pressure,” he said.

In another interview, with the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, Alonso insisted he is not concerned that – as he bids to wrap up his third championship this weekend – his personal image within Brazil is not the best one.

“In several countries they say my image is not good, but when I land at airports or go to the hotels or race tracks, what I see is the opposite.

“I’m not worried about it. My job is to get results at the track and to have the team happy with my work,” Alonso added.

He said he hopes his teammate Massa’s home supporters at Interlagos will understand if the Brazilian pulls aside to let him win the race on Sunday.

“Those who will understand know that this sport is complicated, where at least at Ferrari, the team comes first. There will of course be those who don’t understand,” said Alonso.

“But my job is not to understand the views of the fans, but to do my job on the track.”

He denied that Massa is the weakest teammate he has ever had.

“No. Felipe is very capable, 100 per cent professional, working from January to December on his goals,” said Alonso.

Mark Webber insists he is not concerned that it is Sebastian Vettel, and not himself, who is regarded as the star of the Red Bull team.

Australian Webber is better placed in the points standings than his German colleague Vettel, but team figures are insisting upon a situation of driver equality for the remaining two races of 2010.

Experts believe the situation is a reflection of the fact that it is 23-year-old Vettel who is the darling of the Austrian team.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” Webber said in an interview with the Italian magazine Autosprint.

“I am 34 years old and I think it’s great that I’m still at the top level and as competitive as I am,” he added.

“If I was ten years younger and was getting the same results, I’m sure you’d all think I’m the superstar.

“I think the only difference is that Vettel is young. I don’t really see him working any differently than, say, Heikki (Kovalainen) at Lotus,” said Webber.

“I think the best way to judge someone is to consider the consistency of their results,” he added.

Even if Fernando Alonso wins the 2010 world championship, his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa will not be relegated to a full-time supportive role next year.

That is the claim of the famous Italian team’s boss Stefano Domenicali, even though Brazilian Massa was playing a subordinate role to Alonso’s title push even before his own title chances were mathematically over for this season.

Domenicali said Ferrari drivers race primarily in the interests of the Maranello based team.

“Our drivers have to know what is in the interest of the team,” he said in an interview with the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.

“I can confirm that Felipe will be able to start from scratch in 2011, but always knowing that Ferrari is the most important,” added Domenicali.

He denied that Massa’s problems have only been about Bridgestone’s tyres in 2010.

“I trust him completely and want to make clear that he is a great team player and a great driver,” said the Italian.

“I think that when you do not have a perfect season, you have to look at yourself and react. Felipe knows that the team is with him. He knows we are here to make him the best driver he can be.

“I don’t think his performance is related only to the tyres. We have to put all the pieces together and try to understand the reasons for him not having the best possible season,” added Domenicali.