HRT refugee Vitantonio Liuzzi has re-emerged on the grid of the Italian-based touring car series Superstars.
Despite having a 2012 contract, the 30-year-old Italian lost his race seat at the struggling Spanish team HRT for this year to the well-backed Indian Narain Karthikeyan.

So, in 2012, he will race a Mercedes C63 AMG – which he tested last week at Monza – in the Maurizio Flammini-organised Superstars series.

Also on the grid will be former F1 drivers Christian Fittipaldi, Mika Salo, Gianni Morbidelli and Johnny Herbert.

“I’m persuaded that Superstars is a great choice to open yourself to other categories than F1,” said Liuzzi.

The season begins in April at Monza, then moving on to Imola, Donington, Mugello, the Hungaroring, Spa, Portimao, Vallelunga and Sentul (Indonesia).

Since 2005, Liuzzi also raced in F1 with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India.

 Felipe Massa was penalised for the collision with Lewis Hamilton in India because it “could have been avoided”.
That is the claim of former grand prix winner Johnny Herbert, who was serving as the fourth FIA steward at the inaugural Delhi race.

Although McLaren’s beleaguered Hamilton is usually the one receiving the penalties at grands prix, Herbert said it was the embittered Massa who deserved the blame this time.

“It was clear that Massa knew where Hamilton was before he chose to turn across him,” he wrote in his column for The National newspaper, citing evidence that the Brazilian looked into his mirrors.

Another former racer, BBC commentator David Coulthard, does not agree.

“I simply can’t understand how Felipe could have been deemed the guilty party,” he wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.

“As drivers we are always taught that the car behind is responsible so to my mind the stewards misinterpreted what happened.”

Coulthard fears the stewards issued the penalty not objectively, but in the context of Hamilton and Massa’s increasingly poisoned feud.

“It was almost as if they felt that – with Lewis receiving so many decisions against him this year – they were trying to redress the balance,” he said.

Also critical of the decision is another former F1 driver and German television RTL pundit Christian Danner.

“It was Lewis’ attack and it would have worked only if Massa had driven off the track,” he said.

Even Hamilton’s good friend Adrian Sutil agrees, telling Auto Motor und Sport that he thinks it was a racing incident and therefore an “unnecessary” punishment.

“I cannot quite understand why Felipe got it,” he added.

The death of Indycar driver Dan Wheldon is making waves even in the world of formula one.
As a Briton and a former track rival of contemporaries including Jenson Button, the 33-year-old was well-known in the F1 paddock and his death has been felt as a big blow.

Not surprisingly, formula one figures suggest Indycar has a lot to learn from F1.

“It is the most dangerous form of motor racing at the moment,” 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter, who wants his son Tomas to quit Indycar, told the BBC.

Also criticised since the crash has been the small size of the Las Vegas speedway, the large number of competing cars, the skills of some of the drivers and the very nature of high speed oval racing.

Former Super Aguri driver Anthony Davidson, a former junior rival of Wheldon’s, said: “The safety record in Indycar is not good and I would never drive there. It’s just not worth it. The cars are agricultural.”

Agreed David Coulthard – who moved to German touring cars after retiring from F1 in 2008 – in his Telegraph column: “I could have moved my family over there and made a life for myself in the United States.

“But the risk-reward ratio was simply too high for me. Formula one, I felt, was at an acceptable level but Indycar was, and is, probably 20 years behind F1 in terms of safety.”

Added 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell: “Formula one does an exemplary job.”

Coulthard added: “With any luck it (Wheldon’s death) will spur on the IRL to improve its safety record. Say what you like about Max Mosley but one thing that we in formula one must all thank him for was his response to (the deaths at) Imola in 1994.”

Sir Jackie Stewart agreed: “I think there needs to be more discipline by the (Indycar) governing body. If drivers do consistently collide with each other, there should be heavier penalties.”

British Racing Drivers’ Club president Derek Warwick said: “They need to understand the quality of the drivers that are in the field as well.

“With formula one the drivers are all great drivers who have won championships from working their way up from formula 3 to GP2 before they get a super licence to be able to race.

“I sometimes question the depth of talent in Indycar races and that will lead to inexperience and the inexperienced generally end up having accidents. They need to tweak what they’re doing a little bit,” said the 162 grand prix veteran.

Former McLaren driver Mark Blundell, who has also raced in America, added: “These kinds of cars shouldn’t have been running on these kinds of circuits.”

Stewart told Sky Sports: “It was such high speed on such a small track with too many cars together and not that many top racing drivers in there.

“It may be that we have to have smaller engines with smaller horsepower and slower speeds in Indycar racing.”

But Johnny Herbert, who flirted with a switch to America after retiring from F1 in 2000, thinks Indycar fatalities are inevitable.

“They will continue as long as this extreme form of motor sport exists,” the Briton wrote in his column for The National.

“The tremendous speed at which the cars travel, while separated by inches on those steep oval tracks, means you will likely see more deaths, no matter what safety measures are implemented.”

Sebastian Vettel should not be worried about his 2011 championship running off track.
That is the view of the Red Bull driver’s rivals as well as pundits and journalists despite a third consecutive defeat for Vettel in Hungary last weekend.

German newsmagazine Focus observed that while Budapest winner Jenson Button “laughed” on the podium, it was the sullen Vettel who had “scored” by actually pulling out his championship lead to a huge 85 points.

“It is really beginning to look like it is a case of when, and not if, he will seal his second world title,” former driver Johnny Herbert wrote in his latest column for The National.

Some pundits believe Vettel needs to worry, however, given that McLaren and also Ferrari look to have caught up with his previously-dominant RB7 car.

“But,” Herbert insisted, “Vettel’s lead is so vast that just finishing in the top four or five regularly should be enough to see him home.”

Also pessimistic is Marc Gene, Ferrari’s test driver who writes a column for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

“Our resurgence has been outstanding,” he said, “but unfortunately the championship situation is not changing much.”

Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport said the remaining races this season will be closely contested by Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, but likened the actual championship battle to a runaway leader in the Giro d’Italia bike race.

“It’s too late for the championship as the pink jersey is far ahead,” said the sports newspaper.

“Vettel no longer has a performance advantage but now he can use his head more than his foot, while behind him the protagonists take points off each other.”

Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore told Onda Cero radio on Monday that the world championship “is over” unless “something tragic happens”.

Agreed Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, who called the Hungarian grand prix with German Sky television: “That (Vettel’s second place) is how he will become world champion.”

For instance, Button – then with Brawn GP – won the title in 2009 with a smaller mid-season points advantage, a smaller and less financially-powerful team, and more pressure given that he was charging for his first title.

“If I had the lead he’s got, I wouldn’t be feeling any pressure at all,” the Briton told The Independent.

Button headed to Hawaii this week to begin F1′s summer break, and Bild newspaper reports that Vettel is Mallorca-bound.

“I need a bit of energy from the sun,” the 24-year-old German is quoted by Die Welt.

Said Italy’s Tuttosport: “Vettel can enjoy his holiday in peace.”

Christian Horner has revealed it is “very, very likely” Mark Webber will be signed up to stay at Red Bull in 2012.
Australian Webber, one of the only key members of the Austrian team not already contracted for the foreseeable future, has struggled this season alongside Sebastian Vettel.

Speculation has linked Lewis Hamilton with a high-profile switch from McLaren, but team boss Christian Horner told Servus TV that the most likely outcome is a new deal for Webber.

“Well, that’s very, very likely,” said the Briton. “We have agreed to sit down a bit later and then focus on next year,” Horner told the Red Bull-linked Austrian broadcaster.

As for the Hamilton rumours, Horner smiled: “I really don’t think blue is his colour. For Red Bull, the most important thing is the harmony.”

But according to former F1 winner Johnny Herbert, Red Bull should think hard about its driver choice for 2012.

“He (Webber) is showing none of the fire that he showed last season, which helped him fight Vettel and make the championship so exciting. Until he finds it again I do not see him competing for wins,” he wrote in a column for The National.

Johnny Herbert will make his third appearance in 2010 as a formula one steward this weekend.

The 46-year-old Briton, who won three grands prix during his career spanning 165 races until 2000, debuted in the role in Malaysia and then wore an FIA shirt again in Turkey.

A spokesman for the Brazilian grand prix confirmed to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that Herbert will be the driver representative on the stewards’ panel at Interlagos.

He raced in F1 for Benetton, Tyrrell, Ligier, Sauber, Stewart and Jaguar.

His best finish at Interlagos, an event he contested nine times, was fourth in 1993 at the wheel of a Lotus.

With formula one between grands prix, many familiar faces spent their weekends in a slightly different racing environment.

Sports lover Mark Webber was F1′s most recognisable face in the paddock of premier motorcycle racing MotoGP’s Silverstone round.

But also at the British circuit was Mercedes’ Nick Fry, HRT driver Karun Chandhok, commentator Martin Brundle and occasional steward Johnny Herbert.

“I like to watch bike racing on TV,” Australian Webber told sport1.  “I don’t live far away, I have seen many friends here, and there are also many Australians working in MotoGP.”

Elsewhere, despite the ban on in-season testing, more serious business was taking place.

At the UK’s Snetterton circuit, the Classic Team Lotus Festival was taking place, but among the cars in action was the brand new T127 ‘Chassis 4′, to be debuted by Jarno Trulli at Valencia next weekend.

And at Ferrari’s own Fiorano test circuit, Fernando Alonso was driving the F10 for the “promotional and filming” reasons as permitted by the test ban.

But, as confirmed by Italian media sources, the 2010 car was in its full Valencia specification, including Red Bull-style low exhausts, designed to channel more air to the double-diffuser.

“You have to make the most of any opportunity in this era of the testing ban,” the Italian team said.

(GMM)

Johnny Herbert will this weekend once again act as F1′s driver steward.

The 45-year-old Briton, who won three grands prix during his career spanning 165 races until 2000, debuted in the role in Malaysia.

Since the 2010 season opener, former drivers including Alain Prost, Alex Wurz, Derek Warwick and Damon Hill have also served alongside the three regular stewards.

But former Benetton, Tyrrell, Lotus, Ligier, Sauber, Stewart and Jaguar driver Herbert is the first driver to officiate at more than one grand prix.

Also touted to appear in 2010 are Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Mika Salo and Nigel Mansell.

(GMM)

Damon Hill is no longer sure former drivers should be acting as full FIA stewards at grands prix.

The 1996 world champion said he has been receiving “hate mail” ever since he and the three regular stewards signed off on a 20-second time penalty in the wake of Michael Schumacher’s late pass on Fernando Alonso at Monaco.

In 2010, a new initiative by new FIA president Jean Todt has seen former drivers including Alain Prost, Alex Wurz, Derek Warwick and Johnny Herbert act as stewards.

Hill’s duties were at Monaco, where he admitted his former title nemesis Schumacher had a “wry smile” when he walked into the stewards room in the wake of the Monaco incident.

The 49-year-old told British newspapers he has been receiving “stinging emails” accusing him of prejudice ever since.

“I was uncomfortable being put in that position of being a full FIA representative.  My expertise is as a driver rather than a lawmaker or interpreter of regulations,” said Hill.

“Partly my discomfort was because I was called on to make a ruling on an incident involving Michael.

“I know most people will believe me when I say I acted entirely properly and correctly, but perhaps it might be more appropriate for drivers to act as consultants to the stewards rather than as stewards,” he added.

Schumacher said he believes Hill would have acted appropriately.

“I know Damon.  He is a good guy,” said the German.

(GM)

May 5 (GMM)  Former F1 driver Derek Warwick will be the driver representative in the stewards room this weekend in Barcelona, it has been confirmed.

After Alain Prost, Tom Kristensen, Johnny Herbert and Alex Wurz fulfilled the FIA duties at the first four races of 2010, it is now the turn of Briton Warwick, a veteran of 162 grands prix between 1981 and 1993.

Another notable F1 steward in Spain this weekend is Nicolas Deschaux, the president of France’s motor racing federation FFSA.

May 3 (GMM)  Former Renault driver Romain Grosjean has delivered a less than stirring appraisal after racing on Silverstone’s revised F1 layout.

After his disappointing half-season in F1 last year, the Swiss-born Frenchman now drives a Ford in the FIA’s new GT1 category.

That series was the first to race on the layout incorporating Silverstone’s newly launched ‘Arena’ section.

The 760-metre stretch features some slower bends that could help overtaking, but Silverstone is nonetheless tipped to knock Monza off the perch as the fastest circuit on the F1 calendar.

“It’s nothing special,” Grosjean, 24, told the Guardian newspaper when asked about the new section, which is currently surrounded by building construction works and resembling Bahrain because grass verges have not yet grown.

“We have lost Bridge and the complex which was very nice, and we didn’t gain much with the new part.  I’m not 100 per cent convinced.

“With the single seater cars they are flat-out through Abbey and in formula one it is going to be very fast as well.  I don’t think it gives any overtaking opportunities.  So that’s a bit of a shame,” added Grosjean.

Former F1 safety car driver Oliver Gaven, however – who now drives a Corvette in GT1 – was more positive.

“I think the circuit flows very nicely; I’m very happy with it,” said the Briton.

“It’s got a nice combination of corners and some nice challenging stuff for us.  There are two or three corners that are nearly flat and one or two that you have got to have a lot of commitment.

“The style of Silverstone has been carried on.  They have done a cracking job with it,” said Gavin.

Meanwhile, BBC commentator Martin Brundle doubts the new section will boost overtaking, but fellow former F1 veteran Johnny Herbert thinks ‘Arena’ adds “one” additional overtaking place to the circuit.

FIA president Jean Todt’s new scheme, where an experienced former driver sits alongside the three other stewards at grands prix, is designed to add credibility to their decisions.

Alain Prost fulfilled the role in Bahrain, followed by eight time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in Australia and then Johnny Herbert at last weekend’s Malaysian grand prix.

Austrian Wurz, 36, will be the fourth steward at the Chinese grand prix in Shanghai next weekend, according to Germany’s Passauer Neue Presse.

He last raced in F1 with Williams in 2007.