Ferrari is planning to follow Sauber’s lead when the first major development of the disappointing F2012 car is unveiled soon.

“No doubt about it,” Fernando Alonso said after winning the Malaysian grand prix, “they (Sauber) were quicker than us.”

The Italian magazine Autosprint have mischievously christened the updated Ferrari a ‘Ferrauber’, explaining that the rear of the ‘B’ F2012 will be very similar to Sauber’s impressive C31.

Right at the end of the pre-season test period, Red Bull rolled out a Sauber-esque solution at the rear of Adrian Newey’s 2012 car, the RB8.

In the wake of the blown diffuser clampdown, the Sauber exhaust layout reportedly flies close to breaching the spirit of the 2012 rules, but the FIA has declared it legal.

“We are not in a position to be able to say exactly how much aerodynamic influence each individual system has,” said the governing body’s technical delegate Charlie Whiting.

“Hence, it’s impossible for us to say ‘That’s too much, or that’s ok’. The aim of the new regulation was to ensure that we don’t have to do that,” he explained.

So, Ferrari looks to be the next in line to copy Sauber’s rear solution, particularly as the small Swiss team already uses Ferrari’s engine and gearbox.

It is believed the new 2012 Ferrari gearbox is narrower than last year’s unit.

Autosprint reports that the F2012 ‘Ferrauber’ will also be similar to the Sauber in the area of the sidepods.

 F1′s governing body reportedly rejected a push to lower the in-race pitlane speed limit from 100 to 60kph for 2012.
The latest edition of Italian magazine Autosprint said FIA president Jean Todt made the decision after reviewing the widespread lower speed limits in other major series, including Le Mans, GT1 and Nascar.

It was said the change would have a major impact on race strategy this year.

But in the wake of the Autosprint report, Britain’s BBC claims the FIA in fact rejected a push by the teams to lower the speed limit to 60.

Race director Charlie Whiting reportedly “told them he feels there is no need to make the change as there is no evidence that the current arrangement is unsafe”, according to the broadcaster.

Instead, the 2012 rules state that the race limit is 100kph at most races, but that the speed “may be amended by the stewards following a recommendation from the FIA F1 safety delegate”.

 Jaime Alguersuari has told his fans he “will return” to formula one despite not having a seat on the 2012 grid.
Along with Sebastien Buemi, who moved to Red Bull’s reserve role, Spaniard Alguersuari was dumped by the energy drink company’s rookie team Toro Rosso.

A Barcelona native, the 21-year-old’s fans showed their support by displaying banners as the Circuit de Catalunya test began on Tuesday.

“I did nothing wrong, but I wasn’t killed either,” Alguersuari told the Italian magazine Autosprint. “I’m only 21 and I did my best with the equipment I had.”

One of the men who replaced Alguersuari, Daniel Ricciardo, backed Red Bull’s decision to make a clean-sweep of the Toro Rosso lineup for 2012.

“The only reason they kick you out is if you are not performing. And then you probably don’t deserve to be world champion,” the Australian is quoted by The Sun newspaper.

“That’s just the business we’re in.”

But Keke Rosberg, the 1982 world champion and Mercedes driver Nico’s father, criticised Red Bull for not giving Alguersuari a fair chance.

“They (Alguersuari and Buemi) had been there for three years and they (Red Bull) didn’t think they would go all the way to the top, so I understand if Red Bull wants to do something else.

“What I don’t understand is why the decision was made so late, when there was not anything else available for them.

“If someone says in June that they no longer need your services the following year, that’s fair. Then you have the time to find a new job.

“Buemi would probably have found something, if he’d have had more time,” added Rosberg.

Ferrari’s 2012 car will borrow some ideas from Red Bull and other rival teams in formula one.
That is the admission of chief designer Nikolas Tombazis, who is heading the project of what has been described as an “aggressive” change of direction for the famous Italian team.

But recently in Korea, Ferrari ran a 2012-style new wing that some observers analysed as similar to the philosophy seen this year in Red Bull’s dominant car.

“One can not ignore the competition, nor that Red Bull wins (the championships),” Tombazis is quoted by the website of Italian magazine Autosprint.

“But Red Bull are not the only ones with interesting solutions; there are also solutions to consider on the slower cars,” he said. “We don’t need to hide that.

“However I believe that next year’s car will have lots of different elements, all ours. It would be absolutely unfair to say that it is a Red Bull.

“It will be a Ferrari but it will be different in different areas, with new solutions in other areas. It will be a mix,” added Tombazis.

An audit by a company called Capgemini has found “discrepancies” in relation to Red Bull’s budget in the context of last year’s resource restriction agreement.
That is the claim of Italian magazine Autosprint, as Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel travels to Singapore where he can wrap up his second consecutive championship this weekend.

Earlier this year, boss Christian Horner denied claims the team flouted the FOTA-governed cost savings agreement by as much as EUR 60 million in 2010.

Autosprint said the suspicion is that Red Bull broke the agreement by filing contentious information about its structure and workforce.

The magazine cited “sources” in claiming Red Bull figures have attempted to stop the Capgemini audit because it is an “invasion of privacy” requiring the release of “sensitive data”.

The report said the teams association FOTA, headed by McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh, wants a “clarification” at a meeting this week even though “at the moment there is no mention of any penalties”.

Autosprint also questioned the timing of the emergence of the Capgemini story, given that Red Bull is on the cusp of securing both the drivers’ and constructors’ world championships for the second season running.

Mercedes has reportedly targeted ousted Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa.
In May, as Ferrari grappled with its new 150 Italia car, the famous Maranello based team said the Italian had stepped down.

It emerged a few days ago that Costa has left the carmaker completely but is on what is known in F1 as “gardening leave” until the end of the year.

The specialist Italian magazine Autosprint reports that Mercedes, headed by another former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, has targeted Costa.

We reported recently that the Brackley based team is on a recruitment drive to boost its staff numbers to the height of big three teams Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Autosprint said Brawn told Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche at the Nurburgring that Mercedes’ struggles in 2010 and 2011 have been due in part to the team’s comparatively small size.

“So he (Brawn) received the go-ahead for the recruitment campaign,” said the report.

Italian magazine Autosprint is linking Red Bull’s aerodynamics chief Peter Prodromou with a move to Mercedes GP.
The dominant RB7′s creator Adrian Newey is not interested in switching camps for now, but 42-year-old Prodromou also worked closely alongside the talented Briton at McLaren.

Also rumoured this week is that Ferrari’s new technical boss Pat Fry is working on moving two key engineers to the famous Italian team from his former employer McLaren.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat and other newspapers even named Fry’s apparent targets: senior aerodynamicist Rupad Darekar and CFD expert Ioannis Veloudis.

Sources at Ferrari neither confirmed nor denied the speculation.

Much of the credit for Fernando Alonso’s Silverstone win has been credited to recent aerodynamic improvements.

“Now with better aerodynamics and better understanding of the tyres, we will constantly improve,” Alonso’s race engineer Andrea Stella said.

Meanwhile, Italiaracing reports that Force India is in talks with Williams’ departing technical director Sam Michael.

A postponement of the proposed 2013 engine rules is “almost certain”, according to the authoritative Italian magazine Autosprint.
With engine makers including Ferrari, Mercedes and Cosworth no longer support the four-cylinder turbo regulations, FIA president Jean Todt has agreed to consider a delayed introduction date.

Following consultation with the suppliers, including Renault who have threatened to quit F1 if the 2013 rules do not debut as scheduled, Todt will make his decision at the end of this month.

“I personally feel we’ve got to seek a compromise,” McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, also chairman of the teams association FOTA, is quoted by the magazine Motorsport.

“If it were my call I’d probably go for a turbocharged V6,” he revealed.

McLaren – like Mercedes GP and Force India – is powered by Mercedes-Benz, whose motor racing vice-president Norbert Haug said: “I think establishing rules and then have only two, three manufacturers who are committed is just a problematic situation that needs to be solved together.”

Meanwhile, Autosprint reported that the full blown diffuser ban for 2012 will be policed by mandating that the exhausts exit at the top of the rear of the engine cover.

“It seems to have been Ferrari, represented at the (technical working group) meeting for the first time by Pat Fry, who proposed this solution,” said the report.

Ferrari is in the process of devising some key changes to ensure a better start to the 2012 season, according to Autosprint.
The Italian magazine said there will be some layoffs due to the aerodynamic problems the team has grappled with in getting the new 150 Italia car up to speed.

No names were mentioned, but chief designer Nikolas Tombazis’ role is reportedly safe, which raises doubt about the chief aerodynamicist Marco de Luca.

At the same time, a former Ferrari engineer has questioned the reports about the team’s Maranello wind tunnel suffering from a calibration problem.

“I honestly do not think there’s anything wrong with it,” he is quoted as saying, speculating that the real problem could be with Pirelli’s scale wind tunnel tyres.

“Also, I think they (Ferrari) have tried to use a curved (air) flow, to simulate behaviour in the corners, which is a very difficult task,” the unnamed engineer added.

“It is not unusual to have a problem in the wind tunnel. Unfortunately, when it happens to us there is a lot of attention,” said technical director Aldo Costa.

“We have had to review something in the tunnel, I don’t want to be more specific than that,” he added, explaining that all the changes will be complete by the end of the season.

One of Ferrari’s key problems is a lack of imagination, according to a specialist Italian magazine.
The new 150 Italia car fell in line behind Red Bull and McLaren in the early races of 2011, and it threatens also to be outclassed by Mercedes and Renault.

The problem has been identified as aerodynamic in nature, with rumours suggesting development of the car will be moved to the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne as a recalibration of the Maranello facility is undertaken.

But even before Ferrari’s current problems became clear, some commentators had observed that while the other top teams had obviously pushed the envelope for 2011, the Italian-made single seater appeared too conservative.

Autosprint said: “When was the last time another team took advantage of a Ferrari development? It was 2008, when the Ferrari had the hole in the nose.

“Since then, no one has even tried to emulate Ferrari’s ideas,” the analysis added.

Autosprint also said Ferrari has suffered ever since – due to the sport’s efforts to cut costs – it was no longer able to take advantage of its ownership of two private test tracks.

Eric Boullier has moved to clarify reports about the ownership structure of the Enstone based F1 team called Renault.
French carmaker Renault SA recently sold its remaining shareholding in the team to the Luxembourg based Genii Capital investment company, a report in the Italian magazine Autosprint explained.

There has been some confusion about whether new sponsor Group Lotus has already bought a share of the team or whether it merely intends to in the future.

The Autosprint report clarified that Genii in fact currently owns 100 per cent of the team.

“Renault decided to re-focus its resources in F1 and sold its remaining 25 per cent to Genii Capital,” team boss Boullier confirmed.

He said the long-term agreement signed with Lotus is essentially for sponsorship at present but that it could “lead to Lotus Cars becoming a shareholder” at a later date.

Meanwhile, Boullier revealed that while the R31 car will debut at Valencia next month, he is not yet sure if Magneti-Marelli’s KERS system will be fitted to the car at that stage.

And it has emerged that 25 engineers belonging to Group Lotus’ Malaysian carmaker owner Proton will be sent for two-year engagements to work at the F1 team.

“It’s a good way to get fresh ideas and a new way of thinking,” Boullier said.

Vitantonio Liuzzi has declared once again that he has an ongoing contract and therefore expects to stay at Force India in 2011.

Although next year’s FIA entry list currently lists no drivers as confirmed for the Silverstone based team, it is widely believed that Adrian Sutil is staying put.

Speculation also suggests that Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg are the candidates to race alongside German Sutil next season.

Italian Liuzzi confirms: “Every time a driver is mentioned who Force India might be interested in, it always seems that I am the one who will have to make the space.

“But this is only what some media say, because from my side I am very calm,” the 29-year-old said in an interview published on Italian magazine Autosprint’s website.

“On the team’s side, no one has said anything to me about it. I have a contract for next season and I am already working from that perspective,” added Liuzzi.

“I feel safe, not only because of the contract in my hand but also because of my good relations with the team,” he continued.

“The team has told me they cannot stop the media (speculation), and already at a press conference at Suzuka they denied the rumours,” said Liuzzi.

Indeed, ahead of the Japanese grand prix in October, deputy team principal Robert Fernley answered “yes” as to whether both Sutil and Liuzzi are staying in 2011.

But subsequently, team owner and boss Vijay Mallya said Force India has “open spaces” for 2011.

The 2011 entry list appeared to confirm Mallya’s statement.

Liuzzi responded: “The fact that my name is not on the list has nothing to do with it as there are also other drivers (not on the list) who have already signed.

“Between myself and Force India, the situation is more than clear,” he insisted.

“I have heard many things but then you realise they have come from nowhere. If you remember, according to some journalists di Resta was already sitting in my car in the middle of last season, but then I finished normally.

“So I have decided to pay no attention to anything except for what I am told directly by the team,” added Liuzzi.

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.

Jun.16 (GMM)  Ross Brawn claims he was mistranslated in suggesting Mercedes should not supply engines to Red Bull next year.

The Italian magazine Autosprint quoted Brawn, Mercedes GP’s team principal, as saying the German marque should think “long and hard” before adding another customer team to its 2011 stable.

The comments were interpreted as Brawn not wanting the best engine in the field to be mated to Red Bull’s arguably best chassis.

“I was asked by an Italian journalist whether Mercedes could cope with a fourth team,” Brawn explained to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“I replied that Cosworth should supply any vacancies, because that’s the way it was planned by the FIA — that they (Cosworth) should be in business so that in an emergency there is not the reliance on the manufacturers.

“In the translation from Italian into English someone has added one and one together and come up with Red Bull.”

However, competition director Norbert Haug told German reporters in Turkey that it would be “definitely very difficult” for Mercedes to supply a fourth team with engines in 2011.

Pat Symonds could soon be working with the famous British team Williams.

The authoritative Italian magazine Autosprint is linking Renault’s former long-time executive director of engineering with the Grove based team.

With his five-year crashgate ban reduced to three years in a recent deal with the FIA, 56-year-old Briton Symonds said recently that his company Neutrino Dynamics could be engaged immediately for F1 consultancy work.

Autosprint said Symonds could be a consultant for the design of Williams’ FW33 car for 2011.

Meanwhile, McLaren’s recently departed chief engineer Pat Fry is also being linked with other formula one teams.

He has just begun a compulsory six months of so-called ‘gardening leave’, but Finland’s Turun Sanomat is already linking him with possible moves to Red Bull, Mercedes, Toro Rosso or Force India.

(GMM)