There is trouble afoot at Monza, the scene of the famous and historic Italian grand prix.

On Tuesday morning, Italy’s finance police the Guardia di Finanza entered the Autodromo Nazionale to investigate seven people involved with the operation of the circuit.

According to Il Giorno and La Repubblica, the Monza prosecutor suspects tax offenses, false invoicing and other discrepancies in relation to Sias SpA, the circuit operator, between 2007 and 2012.

Among the suspected offenses is the issuing of invoices for non-existent transactions in order to show a positive balance sheet for the running of some events.

The officers raided the Sias offices and also the home of the circuit director, Enrico Ferrari, and other high ranking officials.

Forecasts based on early test results are usually unreliable, but a picture of the 2012 pecking order may already be emerging.
On Wednesday at Jerez, Michael Schumacher moved to the top of the times in last year’s Mercedes, followed by Mark Webber in Red Bull’s new title-defending RB8.

“The car was pretty competitive in winter testing last year and it’s the same again this year,” said the Australian driver.

Much more than a second off the pace, meanwhile, was the radical new Ferrari, whose Felipe Massa could not conceal his negative body-language when speaking with the press.

While he said the F2012 has “enormous potential”, expert observers report that he was fighting notably with the handling of the car around the southern Spanish venue.

“There is a lot of work to be done, perhaps more than we expected,” acknowledged the Brazilian.

“It is a very, very, very different car,” Spain’s El Mundo newspaper quotes him as saying.

Italian veteran Jarno Trulli, however – a permanent fixture on the grid since the mid 90s – scoffed at those who are already picking winners and losers.

“Are you kidding?” he said in La Repubblica newspaper. “Only a fool would look at the times in the first days of testing.”

Nevertheless, the paddock rumour mill is buzzing, including with suggestions Schumacher’s best time was boosted by highly competitive components destined for his so-far unrevealed 2012 Mercedes.

Another rumour is that the W03, to also be raced by Nico Rosberg, is ready to test but Mercedes is holding back a radical secret weapon at the front of the car.

Webber, however, dismissed Schumacher’s quick time.

“With the Brazil version of our previous car I would have done a time in the 1.16s,” he laughed, apparently scoffing at Schumacher’s mid-1.18 best.

Even the seven time world champion admitted Wednesday’s result is not a sign of things to come.

“I don’t think we can realistically achieve a championship car from where we started last year,” said the 43-year-old German.

Ferrari is now happy with Felipe Massa, the Italian marque’s president Luca di Montezemolo has revealed.

Montezemolo said in May that there is “no question” Ferrari will honour its 2012 contract with the Brazilian, who struggled markedly in 2010 amid rumours Mark Webber or Nico Rosberg might be drafted in to replace him.

The rumours only intensified when Fernando Alonso’s contract was extended through 2016, raising suggestions Massa’s days at Maranello are numbered.

When asked about Ferrari’s driver lineup this week, Montezemolo told La Repubblica that Spaniard Alonso is “a great driver”.

“I am very happy to have signed a contract with him for a long cooperation, as we had with Michael Schumacher in his time,” he said.

“The fact that we will be together at least until 2016 is confirmation that both parties are happy with this relationship.

“I am also very happy this year with Felipe, who is reacting very well. We are pleased with our drivers; we need to improve the car to get Ferrari back where we want to be,” added Montezemolo.

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that Spain is unlikely to continue to host two grands prix per season.
Currently, the Spanish grand prix is held at Barcelona, while the European grand prix is a newer and often-criticised street event in the port city Valencia.

A journalist asked whether, after a Rome race was ruled out because Italy already has a grand prix at Monza, Spain will also be limited to one event per year.

“Yes, that is a problem we are facing,” F1 chief executive Ecclestone said in an interview with La Repubblica.

As for rumours that CVC is looking to sell a part of the sport’s commercial rights, the 80-year-old Briton was less forthcoming.

“I don’t know, I’m just an employee!” he joked.

“As far as I know everyone is happy and not thinking about selling,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ecclestone said that if he was forced to bet some money on the outcome of the 2011 world championship, he would back Alonso.

Asked if his answer was merely to appease the Italian newspaper’s readership, he insisted: “No, no. When I talk about money I’m always very serious.”

Rome will not host a grand prix, according to an Italian media report on Thursday.
The La Repubblica newspaper said F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has written to the Italian capital’s mayor Gianni Alemanno explaining that one race per country is enough.

He reportedly wrote that F1 instead needs to concentrate on expanding internationally.

Ferrari recently admitted its opposition to the plans for a street race in the EUR district in 2013, stating that Monza should be Italy’s only F1 event.

The Repubblica report on Thursday came shortly after race promoter Maurizio Flammini said the Rome GP plans would be announced officially on January 21.

Staff changes as the result of Ferrari’s failed championship campaign in 2010 are on the horizon, according to Italian reports.

Autosprint magazine reports that it is “not a secret” that the man most directly in the spotlight is Australian Chris Dyer, Ferrari’s chief engineer and in charge of race strategies.

“We need an improved car and we must also ensure that mistakes that we made as drivers and as a team are not repeated in 2011,” Fernando Alonso is quoted as saying.

And the Italian daily La Repubblica asked Ferrari’s technical director Aldo Costa if “heads will roll” as a consequence of the failed strategy in Abu Dhabi.

“I’m not for the automatic ‘error-guilt-punishment’ (approach),” he answered.

“I prefer a more rational response, where we understand what happened and what went wrong, and then we act,” added Costa.

He also said it is wrong to point the finger at one individual.

“We must make sure that certain decisions are shared, with responsibility not resting on one set of shoulders.

“But, anyway, we didn’t lose the championship because of the strategy in Abu Dhabi, but because our car was not as fast as another,” added Costa.

He is confident that the F10′s 2011 successor will be faster.

“This year we did reduce the gap to Red Bull,” said Costa.

“What we have done is revolutionise our working methods and this meant a period of adjustment. And we paid for having a wind tunnel that was a bit dated.

“But now we have solved the problem and begun a new era,” he insisted.

Ferrari was the victim of “team games” during the recent 2010 championship decider in Abu Dhabi.

That is the claim of the Italian team’s technical director Aldo Costa, who suspects Red Bull’s two teams Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso cooperated during the race to influence Ferrari’s race strategy for Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari has admitted it was wrong to pit Alonso early in Abu Dhabi to ‘cover’ Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who then sat behind Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari for a time before passing the young Spaniard.

Costa was asked by La Repubblica newspaper in Italy if Ferrari’s strategists took too much notice of the Red Bull-sponsored ‘overtaking’.

“We were crucified by team games; what we saw in Abu Dhabi was team games,” he said, perhaps suggesting that Ferrari was duped into thinking Alonso might also be able to make progress through the field.

“Anyway, we made some impulsive assessments and got it wrong,” admitted Costa.

Not surprisingly, Adrian Newey has a different view of the Webber-Alguersuari antics, believing that the Toro Rosso actually held up the Australian rather than let him pass.

“It is only because Mark got held up that they (Ferrari) were able to go for the cover, so actually Toro Rosso did us a real favour — rather unwittingly I suspect,” said the Red Bull technical chief.

Sections of the international media have questioned Red Bull’s strategic approach to the 2010 drivers’ world championship.

After Sebastian Vettel won the Brazilian grand prix from the team’s points leader Mark Webber at Interlagos, Der Spiegel noted: “Red Bull gives (Fernando) Alonso wings”.

Not switching the places means that Spaniard Alonso can take his Ferrari to just second place this weekend in Abu Dhabi and be champion, whereas the alternative strategy would have set up Webber for a straight fight.

“It is not easy for Webber to drive in a team that considers him a burden to be up against Vettel,” said La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Tuttosport noted that it seems “the Austrian team would be happier to lose than to see Webber beat Vettel”.

“No team orders at Red Bull. Another own goal,” headlined La Repubblica.

Joan Villadelprat wrote in his El Pais column: “Had Red Bull opted for Webber a few races ago, the Australian would probably now be champion.”

Red Bull, however, is unrepentant. Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz told Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper that “second under proper conditions can often be more valuable than a first”.

But there is a feeling that the team is not simply giving up the fight for the drivers’ title.

One columnist in Brazil’s Globo wondered if Vettel’s radio message in Abu Dhabi might sound something like ‘So … Mark is faster than you’.

“I’m always in favour of leaving the fight on the track with equal chances for both sides,” said Rubens Barrichello. “But I wonder if they would do that if the situation was in reverse.”

The Brazilian obviously suspects that, if Vettel was the points leader, Webber would unquestionably be playing a subordinate role by now.

“Mark has done a great job this year and he has been told by his team what position he is in,” said Lewis Hamilton. “Against adversity he has kept at it. I want to see Mark win.”

Webber believes that, if a strategy is deployed, it will only be on the “last lap” of the season this weekend.

“Sebastian is part of a team,” said Niki Lauda, who believes Webber should be backed fully by Red Bull. “If he does anything it should be helping Webber and not just on the last lap.”

Webber is quoted by Bild newspaper: “It makes sense. Otherwise it would mean that Ferrari’s team orders would have paid off for Fernando.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner hints that sense will ultimately prevail.

“We have already given too many presents to Fernando this year,” he is quoted by Autosprint.

Sebastian Vettel was bearing the brunt of the international media’s post-race wrath after the Belgian grand prix.

Italy’s La Repubblica said the Red Bull driver gets involved in incidents “at every race”.

“He could easily have won this world title, but now it is certain that he will not,” said the major Rome-based newspaper.

German Vettel, 23, lost control of his RB6 at Spa-Francorchamps and took out fellow championship contender Jenson Button.

“Vettel is the big loser of this season,” agreed the Milan published Corriere della Sera.

Said triple world champion and commentator Niki Lauda: “We’ll see if this error costs him the world championship.

“There is pressure and you have to deal with it,” added the great Austrian.

But there is support for 2009 runner-up Vettel.

“Check it off and look ahead,” advised seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, according to the SID news agency.

“The worst thing is when so-called experts – and I must include myself – give him all sorts of advice.  He knows what happened and what should have been different.

“All I can say is the year is still long,” added Schumacher.

Former German grand prix driver Christian Danner said: “It’s not that he wants too much — he was just too impatient.”

Swiss counterpart Marc Surer added: “He wanted to overtake and it went wrong.  You can’t blame him; following someone is not his style and I like that.

“Yes, it went bad, but on the other hand, you have to attack.”

And famous German touring car driver Klaus Ludwig said: “The conditions were extremely difficult — you can’t believe how much.  It’s like walking an extremely narrow tightrope.”

In the eyes of the foreign language media, Michael Schumacher was the bad-boy of Sunday’s Hungarian grand prix.
In English, British tabloids called for the 41-year-old to return to retirement after pushing his former Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello towards the pitwall at the Hungaroring.

And even the Daily Telegraph said the Mercedes driver’s “arrogance can no longer be tolerated in formula one”.

In Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport said the German finally “went too far” with the violent defence of tenth position.

“The arrogant Schumacher showed no remorse but is the same as ever; never his fault. It was a miracle that this manoeuvre did not end badly.”

The Italian sports daily referred to the fact that the seven time world champion is an ambassador for the FIA’s road safety campaign.

“A little advice for those starting their holidays; if someone tries to overtake you, please to the exact opposite of what the celebrated ex-champion did in Hungary.”

La Repubblica and Corriere dello Sport called the move “madness”, Il Secolo XIX said it marked his “demise”, and Tuttosport said it was “dangerous”.

“Barrichello just avoided crashing into the wall and landing in hospital, if not worse,” added the report.

Corriere della Sera added: “Schumacher the villain, as he has always been.”

Spain’s sports newspaper Marca said: “Schumacher’s return to formula one is one of the darkest chapters in the history of the sport.”

At the same time, Schumacher posted an apology on his website, after viewing replays of the incident.

“I have to say the stewards were right in their decision. My move against him was too hard,” he said.

“I clearly showed him that I didn’t want to let him pass but, looking at it rationally, I wasn’t seeking to endanger him (Barrichello) with my manoeuvre.

“If he feels I was then all I can say is sorry, this wasn’t my intention,” he added.

Dyed-in-the-wool racer Martin Brundle on Monday said he sees no quick end to Red Bull’s new self-induced crisis.

“I doubt that trip across the Atlantic for the next round in Montreal will extinguish these fireworks,” the BBC commentator said on Monday, as the international media got to work on Sebastian Vettel’s crash at Istanbul Park with race leader and teammate Mark Webber.

The Sun’s headline referred to the one-two gift handed to McLaren, toying with the energy drink’s slogan by insisting “Red Bull gives you wins”.

Other sections of the press were more serious.

“Red Bull has a conflict of jealously and betrayal,” said El Mundo newspaper in Spain.

Italy’s La Repubblica likened the previously dominant team’s self-destruction to “suicide”.

Britain’s The Independent referred to the fact that Webber, branded crazy by Vettel’s gesticulations and told by his bosses that he should have let the young German past, must now have the impression he is the number two driver.

Webber acknowledged that Vettel’s gesticulations were caused by the “adrenalin” of the moment, but “Red Bull need to take steps to ensure the current world championship leader can have complete faith that the support within the team is spread evenly”, said the newspaper.

And Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport noted that the 33-year-old is “not the kind of guy who is told to finish second”.

Strangely within the paddock, it was only the Red Bull bosses who thought Webber had done something wrong.

“Where should Mark have gone?” Lewis Hamilton – who had a box-seat view of the incident that unfolded in front of him – told German television Sky.

“I think the gap he left him was big enough.

“Even though Jenson and I both want to win, we also have respect for each other.  I’m really happy that I have such a good relationship with my teammate.”

Said Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg: “Mark didn’t move at all.  For me, it was clearly Sebastian’s fault.”

Niki Lauda said the 22-year-old had been “much too aggressive”, and former driver Alex Wurz noted in Turkey: “All my racing colleagues are in agreement that it was Vettel’s fault.”

Ross Brawn thinks these situations can be minimised if drivers know clearly the rules of engagement.

“It depends on what has been said beforehand,” the Mercedes team boss is quoted by Die Welt newspaper.  “Although it’s racing, the rules must be known to the drivers.”

Peter Sauber, meanwhile, had some sympathy for Christian Horner, admitting to Blick newspaper in Switzerland that these situations are “a nightmare for a team chief”.

(GMM)

Michael Schumacher bounced back into shape in Barcelona, a race that was not boring, according to the international press.

“Schumacher is once again a great man.  There he is again!” exclaimed Italy’s Corriere dello Sport, after the German consistently outpaced his teammate Nico Rosberg for the first time in his return to formula one.

Another previously critical Italian source, the sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, added: “Perhaps Barcelona was his real start to the season”, while Austria’s Osterreich said Spain had been Schumacher’s “best race since returning” to F1.

Niki Lauda agreed: “This was Michael’s resurrection.  He drove well and aggressively.”

Meanwhile, there was very little talk in the world’s press about Spain being a boring race.

The sport’s new formula, including the refuelling ban, was lambasted in the wake of the dry season opener in Bahrain, which was followed by three weather-affected races.

But Barcelona, a circuit not usually known for staging exciting races, was also dry for Sunday’s 66-lap grand prix, even though the skies opened in the evening.

Former German F1 driver Christian Danner agrees that round five of the 2010 world championship was “absolutely not” boring.

“It was one of the most exciting Barcelona grands prix that I can remember,” he told Germany’s Motorsport-Magazin.com.

Also in the media’s eye is the out-of-contract Felipe Massa, who La Repubblica agrees is now “under pressure” by his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso.

“The Brazilian is now officially only Maranello’s second driver, but he wants to stay at Ferrari,” said the Italian broadsheet.

Corriere della Sera agreed that Massa, 29, “failed to meet Maranello’s expectations” in Barcelona.

(GMM)

Apr.20 (GMM) The reaction prior to Sunday’s Chinese grand prix was already not positive, so Michael Schumacher is advised to avoid the media in the wake of the Shanghai race.

After finishing a minute behind Nico Rosberg at the chequered flag, and seven tenths off his teammate’s pace in qualifying, the specialist Auto Motor und Sport said China was probably “the worst weekend in the record winner’s whole career”.

The German magazine gave 41-year-old Schumacher just 3 out of 10 for his performance at the wheel of the grey Mercedes.

One of his former Ferrari teammates, who did not want to be named, told the Independent: “After the beating he got on Sunday, in conditions in which the old Michael Schumacher excelled, I don’t think he’ll ever come back to his old level.”

The Cologne publication Express published a photo-shopped image of a snail with the seven time world champion’s head and cap, while France’s Auto Hebdo observed that in China “the former rain king seemed lost”.

Bild newspaper’s headline read: “Rain God? Schumi got flooded!”, while Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport asked of Schumacher’s return: “Why did he do it?”

The sports newspaper Tuttosport said Schumacher “is only a shadow of himself”, while another sports daily Corriere dello Sport called him “an old lion attacked by a group of young and hungry animals”.

The broadsheet La Stampa said: “F1 without overtaking? Just ask Schumacher, who was passed constantly”, while the major La Repubblica said the German “is no longer in the league of the best formula one drivers”.

Hamburg’s Abendblatt called Schumacher a “learner driver”, while the Frankfurter Rundschau blasted his “horrible performance” and Austria’s Kleine Zeitung said he had been “humiliated” in China.

Britain’s The Guardian recalled the moment in the post-race press conference when Lewis Hamilton was asked how it had felt to race wheel-to-wheel with his childhood hero.

Jenson Button leaned over and demanded Hamilton “tell the truth” before the pair both laughed, and the Guardian said the exchange “may have been the unkindest cut of all” for Schumacher.

“The way things look, it would be no surprise to see him bowing out with as much dignity as he can salvage before the formula one season is very much older,” added the newspaper.