Rubens Barrichello has advised his friend and countryman Felipe Massa to remember to enjoy his job, amid rumours the Brazilian is speeding towards the exit at Ferrari.

Speculation is rife that amid his apparently worsening performance slump, Massa will be replaced by the famous Italian team — perhaps as soon as within the 2012 season.

F1 veteran Barrichello, who has switched to Indycar this year after losing his Williams seat, told Brazil’s Globo Esporte that he thinks Massa’s problem is psychological.

“It’s not a speed problem,” he said, “it’s something that he needs to solve within himself.

“He has to close his eyes and enjoy, remembering that he does this because he likes it.

“Every time that I lost a little bit, it was because I had forgotten that I did it because I liked to. So we (drivers) have to relax and improve that way.

“(For Massa) it is just a moment, and every moment and race in formula one is a cycle of life.”

Barrichello’s advice for Massa may be particularly relevant, as he was at Ferrari during Michael Schumacher’s ultra-successful reign last decade.

Now, it is Fernando Alonso who is the Maranello team’s favoured son.

“Of course Ferrari loves Alonso, because he is one of the best, if not the best who is there (in F1) now,” said Barrichello, 39.

“So, it’s tough for Felipe.”

Barrichello also laughed at the results of a recent fans’ poll in the Italian media that showed he would be a highly popular choice as Massa’s replacement.

“It was very unexpected,” he said. “Maybe it was a way (for journalists) to see if Italians would pick an Italian driver, and suddenly I win.

“It is a very public business and shows that I must have left something behind,” added the winner of 11 grands prix.

Dario Franchitti insists he has no regrets despite never adding success in formula one to his list of career achievements.
The famous Scot, whose wife is the Hollywood actor Ashley Judd, is the cousin of impressive Force India youngster Paul di Resta.

Last week, 38-year-old Franchitti joined his family member at the Jerez test.

The four-time Indycar champion and double Indy 500 winner was asked by Sky Sports if, despite flirting with Jaguar at the beginning of last decade, he regrets not having made it to F1.

“You can live your life thinking ‘I wish I’d done this, I wish I’d done that’,” he answered.

“It would have been great to race in formula one at some point, but when the chances were there I didn’t take them; I didn’t feel that they were better than the opportunities I had in America.”

Added Franchitti: “I made the decisions I made, I’m delighted I won a couple of Indy 500s and the four championships, so I wouldn’t change that for that world.”

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that, mere weeks ago, this weekend’s inaugural Korean grand prix risked not going ahead.

The F1 chief executive recently expressed doubt about the incomplete Yeongam venue, which has now been passed fit by the FIA to host the formula one circus.

“It’s done now,” Ecclestone said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper.

“Last month I didn’t think it would be finished. And it would have been cancelled then — for sure.”

But the Briton, to turn 80 later this month, defended his campaign of the last decade or so to expand the sport far beyond its traditional European base.

Since the late 90s, F1 has moved further into Asia and the Middle East, and the likes of India, the USA and Russia will soon also be on the calendar — despite waves of scepticism among some of the sport’s purists.

“In the end common sense has prevailed and we’ve expanded. It’s just having the courage to do it,” said Ecclestone.

A potential problem, however, is that F1′s expansion has put in jeopardy some of the historic, much-loved but outdated venues and hosts — like the popular Spa-Francorchamps.

But is the incredible Belgian venue really in danger of losing its grand prix? “Absolutely,” Ecclestone insisted.

“If it wasn’t supported by the government over there it probably would go because they wouldn’t be able to afford it. It’s the same with the British grand prix,” he added.

Another problem is that the circuits replacing the old guard are mostly penned by Hermann Tilke, who has been accused of churning out bland clones.

“Our problem is that we’re trying to build race circuits that are super safe,” Ecclestone explained. “You don’t get so much up-and-down because you can’t just put a new circuit anywhere.

“But one of the best circuits in the world is Turkey. It’s a great circuit — that’s up-and-down.”

But even the Istanbul venue is in doubt, the Briton revealed, because of efforts to cap the calendar at 20 races.

“Maybe someone will decide they need a rest because it’s not working for them commercially. A good example is probably Turkey,” said Ecclestone.

“They’ve built an incredible circuit and it might even be the best — but there’s not much enthusiasm from the public. I don’t know why.”

Kimi Raikkonen’s interest in driving for Renault next year is “flattering”, team boss Eric Boullier has admitted.

2007 world champion Raikkonen’s manager last week confirmed reports the pair had spoken with Boullier about the vacant 2011 seat alongside Robert Kubica.

The 30-year-old Finn switched to world rallying this year after winning 18 grands prix with Ferrari and McLaren last decade.

“It’s flattering,” Boullier said in a French language report of the Agence France-Presse agency, “because it shows that our team is again attractive to a formula one world champion.”

After Fernando Alonso’s titles in 2005 and 2006, Renault entered a period of decline that resulted in the French carmaker selling to Luxembourg based Genii Capital at the end of last year.

“Our simulations show that our car has improved by about 1 and 3/4 seconds between the first test and now. We have been one of the teams with the greatest progressions.

“That is a true source of satisfaction,” admitted Boullier. “We have proved the team has the qualities to operate at the highest level.”

Spa-Francorchamps fell more than 10,000 tickets short of its spectator target for the recent Belgian grand prix.

Only 52,500 spectators attended last Sunday’s race, after the organisers had targeted the figure of 65,000 in order to “achieve a balanced financial position”.

Crowds well above 100,000 were regularly recorded early last decade.

According to the AFP news agency in a French language report, the organisers are concerned about seeing the event’s local government funding reduced when the current contract expires in 2012.

“It is necessary to reduce the impact of this event on the finances of the Walloon region,” admitted local economy minister Jean-Claude Marcourt.

Added budget minister Andre Antoine: “It doesn’t mean we intend to end the contract. But at the time of negotiation, it (the finances) will be borne in mind.”

It was reported in August that Spa is under threat from potential rival hosts who can offer much higher annual promotional fees to formula one.

One solution known to be under consideration for Spa-Francorchamps is an annual race-alternating scheme with another European circuit.

“We are playing with the idea. That is the current situation, even if we are not quite at that stage,” Spa president Etienne Davignon told hln.be.

The actual financial figures for the 2010 event will only be known in October, and Spa official Andre Maes is not jumping to any conclusions.

“Obviously the horrible weather all weekend was little incentive for people to come,” he said.

(GMM)  Even with Fernando Alonso-mania in full swing, the grandstands at Circuit de Catalunya this weekend will remain a sea of blue.

At the height of the Spaniard’s title-winning run last decade, his supporters wore the light blue of his home region Asturias — which was a perfect match for the Mild Seven-blue of the Renault car.

But now that he has switched to Ferrari, the grandstands are set to remain blue in 2010, due to the newly-launched Ferrari T-shirt that is not scarlet red.

“I’m sure they will come with their blue flags and blue colours, plus the new Ferrari T-shirt that is blue,” 28-year-old Alonso said in Barcelona.

On one sleeve of the new blue T-shirt is the yellow cross of Asturias, combined with the Prancing Horse and Alonso signature on the front.