Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he will earn less than $500,000 in 2012.
And the Australian rookie also confirmed that, when he made his grand prix debut last year with HRT, his sponsor Red Bull paid him only for the race seat, not a salary.

“Yeah, it’s quite a strange journey to formula one because it’s so elite and when you get there it can turn around very quickly,” he told Australia’s Fox channel.

“(On) the road to getting there, you’re always climbing a ladder, but you don’t really see the rewards until you get well established,” the 22-year-old added.

Ricciardo told television host Eddie McGuire that Toro Rosso will pay him some money in 2012.

“A little bit,” he smiled. “Let’s say I can buy myself a pair of jeans now, but not a mansion.”

He confirmed he is earning “less than” half a million dollars.

Some of that has already been spent — on a set of dental braces.

“I figured, just to keep my feet on the ground, I won’t get too beautiful,” Ricciardo laughed to the Herald Sun. “So I’ve got a mouth full of beautiful metal instead.”

 Group Lotus owner Proton has denied the British sports car maker is being sold to formula one team owner Genii.
Last week, Lotus boss Dany Bahar failed to quell speculation that Genii, the Gerard Lopez-led owner of the Enstone based Renault team, is poised to take over its title sponsor Lotus.

“I can only say this,” said Bahar, “when we made the announcement about our involvement in Lotus Renault GP we made it clear that this was the start of a close relationship and this journey continues.”

But Group Lotus owner Proton, the Malaysian carmaker, this week denied the Genii rumours with a media statement.

“Proton hereby states that the alleged moves between Group Lotus and Genii Capital are untrue and that the reports are highly speculative in nature,” it read.

F1′s travelling circus is arriving in South Korea, and the first reports are mixed.

BBC television anchor Jake Humphrey summed up the Yeongam venue as satisfactory but “far from finished”.

“Things look pretty ready to go,” said Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi, “with some beauty work still to be finished but the main structure is ready.”

Others talked about their long journeys from the huge Seoul airport to Mokpo, the closest city to Yeongam, in the impressive high-speed KTX train with free wi-fi.

Photographer Darren Heath was less impressed with the journey, tackled by many in buses.  “F1 in Seoul?  Nah, let’s have it in the middle of nowhere 100s of miles from anywhere,” he wrote on Twitter.

Veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit, writing in Blick newspaper, said the F1 track itself is an “enormous construction site”, and his hotel room one of the ones usually rented by the hour.

“No joke,” he said.

Reportedly so unimpressed was Williams with the local accommodation on offer that the British team has committed to a 3 hour round trip every day in order to stay in a nicer hotel.

“Dominating the venue are the excavators, debris and waste,” wrote Benoit, who said a bridge over the front straight is still littered with scaffolding and hard-hatted workers.

Sauber’s team manager Beat Zehnder complained about the cost of the team buildings, with the rent costing $40,000.

“Whoever wants to use the upper floor must pay another 20,000,” he said, “but everyone has decided to just use the ground floor!”

Said Benoit: “I’m already looking forward to the final races in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi!”

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said rolling machines are still working on the recently-laid top surface of asphalt, with the paint for the starting grid yet to be sprayed.

“Only on Friday will we know whether the surface will withstand the stresses of formula one cars,” read the report.

“Everything on the sandy site is under construction.  Next to the pitlane is a large pile of sand.  Whoever didn’t know that F1 is running here in a few days would think it’s not happening until next year,” it added.

German Sky television pundit Marc Surer reports in Speed Week that the seating in some grandstands is not complete.

“Much remains to be done, but as for the track itself, I am surprised that it is ready,” he said.

“Whether it can withstand hours of practice and racing, however, is another question.”

The likelihood of Hyundai entering formula one in the near future has diminished.

Some years ago, the Korean carmaker – currently the fifth largest in the world and comprising Kia – was linked with Minardi when Paul Stoddart was selling the Faenza based team.

And “We are in discussions with Bernie Ecclestone,” an official of the Seoul-based company said in 2006.

Another Korean multinational, Samsung, has also been linked with F1 sponsorship, which now seems timely given the sport’s journey this week to the southwest Jeollanam-do province for the country’s inaugural grand prix.

South Korea’s economy proved robust in the wake of the global financial crisis, and Hyundai vice chairman Chung Eui-sun said recently that the marque’s “utmost priority is to boost brand image in Europe”.

The conglomerate LG is already a prominent F1 sponsor, but Hyundai is reportedly not interested.

“The grand prix could be a gateway to becoming a premium car brand, but Hyundai is simply not interested in formula one,” an anonymous F1 industry official told the Reuters news agency.

“It also requires long-term investment of several years at least and it’s doubtful whether Hyundai has that patience,” the source added.

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)

Sebastien Buemi drove for the first time in Canada and took a strong eighth four points. After a poor qualifying (starting 15th) are considered the Toro Rosso driver out of all the skirmishes and even led the race at the meantime. This was the 14th since July 1979 when Clay Regazzoni won on a Williams at Silverstone, the first time a Swiss at the top of a Grand Prix. With this result, outdated Toro Rosso this exact Williams team in the constructors’ standings.

“I’ve been to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, known only by the simulator,” said Buemi. “But really to go out is a different story. I like the track very much, because the atmosphere is unique. Nevertheless, our engineers prepared the runway was quite an headache, because the tire situation very critical and provided all with a challenge.”
Despite the strong performance of the 21-year-old remains on the ground of reality. “We have achieved the result with a little luck. The team has worked very well, however, and the strategy was excellent. The biggest problem lies in qualifying. We were even further behind the two Williams. It is clear that we are competitive in the race. We must continue in the top-10 or start the top-12. I think both the team and the drivers do not bring out the maximum from a fresh set of tires. With a full complement of fuel car, we bring the tires much better in the work window. ”

Now, the journey to Valencia, where Buemi had last year with a broken brake disc up early. This season, the direction is clear: “It is obviously difficult before the first practice to make a prediction. Our main aim is qualifying as close as possible to the top 10 to come. We want to take the positive momentum from Canada and Force India catch up in the standings. “

Ferrari driver, Fernando Alonso welcomes the extension of the contract of Felipe Massa and comments on the development work in Maranello

Since Wednesday is clear: Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will take over the next two seasons with Ferrari at the wheel. The tradition of Maranello team extended the contract of Massa by a further two years until 2012, making the contracts, the regular drivers now have the same maturity. Alonso welcomes this decision and is happy for Massa.

“I am very satisfied,” Alonso is quoted by ‘Ticionline’. “The same group is still working so for two more years together. Stability is very important to the success of a team. I am very familiar with Felipe. We have much respect for each other and create a good harmony. And such a one also needs if one is long journey together. ”
It is also important that the development during the season, not stagnant. In relation to Ferrari, however, could be no question of such a scenario, said the Spanish driver. “It is not true that the development has stalled. The distance to Red Bull is still a few tenths. We have improved, but even they have become faster.”
“The truth is, however, that we have not made progress in Barcelona, as we had planned. The others, however good progress come,” Alonso is before the Canadian Grand Prix on record. As team boss Stefano Domenicali admits that Ferrari could have burned “specially modified in view of the new F-shaft technology something.

Alonso would not miss this development: “It was a good thing to address this matter,” says the 28-year-old. “We were so far not yet in a position to exploit the full effectiveness of this system. Other teams also seem to have trouble with it. Who the F-shaft had been from the beginning, however, retains its advantage.”

(TotalMotorsports)

Rumours persist that this weekend’s grand prix will be the last in Turkey.

Since the Istanbul Park venue hosted its first race in 2005, the layout – featuring the now famous Turn 8 – has received widespread praise.

But spectator numbers have been conspicuously low.  “It’s an enormous market in Turkey.  Eventually they will get themselves sorted out,” F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said earlier this year.

But the German newspaper Die Welt now reports that the track, managed by Ecclestone, is too far from the city and on the wrong side of the Bosphorus strait, causing long and frustrating rides from hotels through thick traffic.

“The rumours are getting louder that the fastest circus in the world will no longer make the journey to Istanbul,” read the report.

(GMM)

With the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano still spewing ash into European flight paths, the smart move after the Spanish grand prix is a road trip.

But some members of the F1 world are determined to find a flight — particularly engineers who want to return to base before re-congregating in Monaco for this weekend’s event.

But on Monday morning, news of more cancelled flights from Spanish airports resurfaced, so Force India sent the bulk of its race team to Nice via train.

HRT’s Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok were scheduled to fly to the Mediterranean city, but instead hired an unglamorous Renault road car for the 650km journey.

In the small hours of Monday morning, they arrived at Senna’s Monaco apartment.

Heikki Kovalainen also drove to Monaco with his girlfriend.
(GMM)

Apr.21 (GMM)  It took them nearly 50 hours, but F1 drivers including Jaime Alguersuari and Mark Webber are now back home.

Toro Rosso’s Alguersuari, who travelled with Virgin test driver and countryman Andy Soucek, lost count of how many times they landed at airports to change plane and destination.

“We feel like we’ve been around the whole world,” the Spaniard told the EFE news agency.  Mark Webber’s return to his UK home took him 44 hours.

The F1 cars could soon begin their journey back to Europe, with McLaren confirming they are “likely to be freighted to Bilbao within the next 24 hours”.

Many of the sport’s personnel are not so lucky.  Williams’ PR Claire Williams, the daughter of Sir Frank Williams, has been told by British Airways in Hong Kong that there may be no flights until May 5.

“They have to be kidding,” she wrote on her Twitter.

Apr.20 (GMM) Two days after the chequered flag in Shanghai, the world of formula one is still clamouring to leave the venue of the Chinese grand prix.

Although there are signs the volcanic ash cloud above Europe might soon clear for a few days to allow its hordes of absent residents to return home, multitudes of F1′s travelling personnel are currently embarking on elaborate journeys to reunite with team bases and families.

Mark Webber flew from China to Dubai, then to Rome, and woke up in Nice on Tuesday morning after five hours of sleep with a mission to return to the UK.

Others have tackled even more bizarre routes back to Europe, including Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari who headed to Madrid via Shanghai, Beijing and New York.

Some, like Indian rookie Karun Chandhok who flew to Madras, were essentially unaffected; Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg went on vacation to Thailand, while Lewis Hamilton had a sponsor date in South Africa.

Peter Sauber went on business to Dubai and Japan.

But Nico Hulkenberg, like hundreds of others involved in the sport, are simply holed up in Shanghai with an hopeful eye on the air timetables. Sebastian Vettel is hoping for a direct flight to Switzerland on Tuesday.

Michael Schumacher proved that in F1 it’s all about who you know, as he has hitched a ride on Bernie Ecclestone’s private plane, but at last word they were still awaiting a green light to fly to Europe.

There are reports that Norbert Haug and Timo Glock found seats on Lufthansa flights to Europe on Monday night, while Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali and Aldo Costa also somehow managed to head straight for Europe.

Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were aboard Ferrari’s first of several flights home, with subsequent flights also scheduled even though their destination is not entirely known.

A shared charter with fellow Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso and Sauber is plan-B.

Alonso’s friend Robert Kubica was also aboard Ferrari’s initial VIP flight, so as to be in Italy to drive a Renault Clio in this week’s Rally 1000 Miglia.

When asked by Spain’s AS correspondent if the Ferrari favour was the first sign that Alonso will have a new teammate in 2011, Kubica rolled his eyes and answered: “Sure, sure, sure.”

The Lotus team, owned by Malaysian aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes, was jetted to Kuala Lumpur to await an AirAsia charter back to Europe.

McLaren’s chartered jet, with buses waiting in Spain to then take team members on a long road trip back to the UK, is scheduled to leave Shanghai on Wednesday.

“We have said if it is a big enough plane, then anyone else can come on board,” said team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

Williams’ aviation partner Cloud9 is also looking into a private team charter, while bosses Sam Michael and Adam Parr flew from Shanghai to Dubai but then found themselves unexpectedly diverted to Beirut.

It is rumoured that some teams are looking into moving their cars back to Europe while the FOM planes are stuck in Europe, but the idea of putting the containers on boats has been ruled out.

“You need a plane,” said Mercedes’ Haug. “By boat, we will run out of time before Barcelona.”

After the chequered flag flew in Bahrain, McLaren ordered Jenson Button to shortly begin a 30-hour return to Europe. Flying to F1’s next stop, Shanghai, would have cost the reigning world champion just five hours in the air, and only a couple more hours would have had him relaxing in his Japanese girlfriend Jessica’s native Japan.

But McLaren wanted Button, 30, to instead complete the 21,000 kilometre marathon for just a single working day at the wheel of the sophisticated driver simulator at Woking.

He will then fly from the UK back to Asia for a holiday, prior to completing the journey to China for round four next weekend.

“Thirty hours travel for one day,” Button smilingly contemplated before leaving Kuala Lumpur. “But it will be worth it, hopefully.”

After winning in Melbourne, Button comparatively struggled in Malaysia, climbing to eighth on Sunday while his teammate Lewis Hamilton finished a highly-commended sixth from lower on the grid.

Button is struggling with the balance of the MP4-25, while McLaren want him to hone the latest developments that are due to be added to the package in Shanghai.

“The great thing is our car is improving all the time, but I’m still not 100 per cent happy with its balance,” the Briton said.

“Hopefully we can sort out some of the problems in the simulator. It’s a long way back but they wouldn’t be sending me unless there were a few things to test.”

When it comes to racing or sports that are centered on cars, there are a number of different sports that automatically come to mind. One of those sports is NASCAR. Although NASCAR could easily be considered one of the most popular sports, in the United States, there is another sport that is rapidly increasing in popularity. That sport is known as Formula D Racing or Formula Drifting.
Have you heard of Formula D Racing before? Although there is a good chance that you have, there is also a good chance that you haven’t. This is mostly due to the fact that professional drifting is relatively new in the United States. The first professional drifting event was held in the United States in 2004. That event and the popularity that it generated led to the creation of the Formula Drift Championship series.
Since it was first officially brought to the United States, in 2004, Formula Drifting has been seen by thousands, if not millions of Americans. Many of these Americans choose to watch coverage of Formula Drifting events on television, while others make the journey to see a live Formula D event. In addition to fans, there has also been a general interest in the sport. In fact, many fans want to become professional drifters, just like their favourite drivers. As previously mentioned, you may or may not be familiar with the sport. If you are unfamiliar with Formula D Racing, you may be wondering what all the hype is about. If you are, you are definitely not alone.
When examining the popularity of Formula Drifting, it is important to remember that there are a number of different reasons for its popularity. Formula Drifting has a fairly large fan following. Each of those fans has their own reasons for following the sport, often on a regular basis. Despite the fact that many fans have their own reasons for watching and enjoying Formula D Racing, there are a number of common reasons. Perhaps, the most common reason being the excitement of the sport.
Formula D Racing is unlike a number of other popular racing sports. Drivers must successfully manoeuvre themselves around the course; a course that is regularly filed with a turns. In those turns, drivers must use unique drifting techniques. These techniques, performed by inexperienced drivers could be disastrous, but most professional drivers are able to control their cars, especially when the cars begin to lose control. Formula D Racing events typically comprise of a qualifying race and a head-to-head battle. The qualifying races are individually done, but they are still exciting. The head-to-head battles, also known as tandem battles, are often where the most excitement can be found.
In addition to it action packed excitement, Formula D Racing is also popular because it is easy to watch. As previously mentioned, you can easily watch a live Formula Drifting event or watch coverage of one on television. Formula D Racing has teamed up with G4TV. This popular television network is available with a wide variety of different cable and satellite providers, including Direct TV and Time Warner Cable. By checking your programming guide, you should easily be able to determine whether or not you currently subscribe to the G4TV network. If you do not, in most cases, you should easily be able to upgrade for only a few dollars a month.
Formula D Racing is also popular in the United States, because like with televised events, it is fairly easy to see a live event. Live events take place all across the United States. In 2006, there were seven events; however, it is expected that more will be added in the future. If you are live near one of these events, you will find that tickets are fairly easy to afford. On average, tickets range from twenty to twenty-five dollars a person. Considering the excitement that you will get for the day, the ticket prices are well worth it.
As you can easily see, there are a number of different reasons why Formula Drifting is so popular in the United States. As the sport continues to grow, it is likely that the popularity will as well.