Red Bull’s two teams look set to test alone in Abu Dhabi later this season.

Until recently, the now-traditional young drivers’ test – giving inexperienced drivers the chance to drive current F1 cars amid the sport’s strict testing limits – was scheduled to take place as per usual at the Yas Marina circuit in November.

But those plans were reconsidered due to this year’s congested calendar.

India takes place just one week before Abu Dhabi, the young driver test is scheduled for the week after and then the races in the US and Brazil happening back-to-back next.

In the light of that arduous schedule, Reports in March said the teams were keener on having the young driver test at Silverstone.

“It’s a long season as it is and there are a lot of back-to-back races this year, so it’s tough for them (the teams),” Abu Dhabi circuit boss Richard Cregan conceded.

The German-language Speed Week reports in its May 2 edition that the majority of teams want to test instead at Silverstone, in July.

But the magazine said Red Bull’s two teams – Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso – are sticking with the original Abu Dhabi plan.

The report also said other teams might cancel Silverstone at the last minute and join Red Bull in Abu Dhabi, should weather reports indicate the British weather would likely affect the July test.

Teams are making preparations just in case the Bahrain grand prix is called off at the last minute.

That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, reporting that the teams could put their back-up plans into action even as late as the Sunday in China — mere days before they are expected to be at Sakhir.

In London this week, F1 chief executive and team bosses stood side by side with Bahrain circuit officials, insisting the race will go ahead despite defiant speculation to the contrary.

But Auto Motor und Sport reveals that the teams will also be ready if the plug is indeed pulled at the last minute — for example, their freight would go not from Shanghai to Bahrain, but back to Europe via Dubai.

And the report also said tickets have been reserved for the teams’ travelling staff, in the event they do not have to hop directly to the island Kingdom.

Michael Schumacher, however, insists he is not worried about going to Bahrain.

“I’m pretty relaxed, honestly,” said the seven time world champion.

“From our perspective, we’re going to be very well looked after, because they (the race organisers) might foresee whatever and be prepared.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to be ok,” added Schumacher.

 The future of the embattled Korean grand prix looks safe for now.
The Korea Herald reports that organisers of the Yeongham event have reached a deal with Bernie Ecclestone to reduce the race fees.

Completing its bespoke circuit at the last minute, South Korea joined the calendar in 2010 but soon bemoaned the huge costs.

Sunday’s media report said organisers will save more than $20 million this year by successfully negotiating a reduced race commission and annual television license fee.

The new deal will last until the end of Korea’s race contract, in 2016.

The Korea Herald said organisers paid almost $40 million to Ecclestone’s Formula One Management last year — a 10 per cent rise on 2010.

The new deal will see the 10 per cent increase scrapped, the report added.

“With the successful negotiation, we’ll be able to save a significant amount of money this year,” said organiser Kang Hyo-seok.

“It’s a still difficult situation, but we’re trying hard to improve it.”

Bernie Ecclestone will keep the 2012 race fee even if he is forced to cancel the Bahrain grand prix at the last minute.
The F1 chief executive made the revelation to fend off speculation he is only supporting the Kingdom’s controversial return to the calendar for financial reasons.

Britain’s Telegraph newspaper said the Bahrain government pays $40 million per race, but last year Ecclestone did not collect the fee after civil unrest forced the cancellation of the event.

“They (Bahrain) will pay if there is no race,” Ecclestone revealed.

“The money is in the bank already. So we’re not going because we’re going to get paid. That has nothing to do with it.

“We have a contract with them and we’re respecting the contract. And I don’t believe the people there would take a risk if they thought there was a risk.”

 Tongues were wagging in the Barcelona paddock on Thursday when some drivers hit the Spanish circuit wearing odd-looking Pirelli tyres.
Some of the tyres, whose compounds are normally visibly differentiated with coloured branding, featured significantly different markings.

The big rumour was that, now just two weeks before the start of the season in Australia, teams had requested the blank tyres in order to hide their test programmes from their rivals.

According to France’s Auto Plus, motor sport director Paul Hembery cleared up the matter by explaining that the blank tyres were in fact “prototypes”.

They had been manufactured not at Pirelli’s usual F1 factory in Turkey, but elsewhere, in the event that a natural disaster forced the tyre supplier to change its plans at the last minute.

Hembery also answered the criticism that, after Pirelli’s initial 2011 tyres spiced up the racing early last year, the new generation might not be aggressive enough.

“We need data from the races to judge that,” he insisted. “It’s far too early.”

He also confirmed that Pirelli is close to announcing the identity of its 2010-specification test car, and a new test driver.

It is believed former Force India driver Adrian Sutil is a candidate.

1980 world champion Alan Jones has backed Caterham’s decision to dump Jarno Trulli.
Despite having extended the Italian veteran’s contract for 2012, the former Lotus team decided at the last minute to sign the well-backed Russian Petrov.

Caterham explained that Petrov brings “fresh impetus” to the team, whilst also admitting that the decision was made “with a realistic eye on the global economic market”.

One French report has calculated the 27-year-old’s sponsorship contributions at EUR 12 million, including money from Russia’s largest petrochemical company Sibur.

But the straight-talking Australian Jones, who won Williams’ first drivers’ title three decades ago, said Caterham was also right to oust Italian Trulli on performance criteria.

Told that Heikki Kovalainen “destroyed” Trulli in 2011, Jones said: “I think he was destroyed by everybody, wasn’t he?”

On Caterham’s decision, he told GMM: “In my opinion Trulli wasn’t doing the job so it would have made it a pretty easy decision to get in this younger guy who is perhaps a bit keener, a big hungrier.

“It’s also a fact that he (Petrov) is bringing in money, so to me it’s a no-brainer,” added Jones.

F1′s Italian contingent is clinging to small comforts ahead of the 2012 season.
With Italy once occupying grand chunks of the grid, veteran Jarno Trulli is now the last Italian driver in formula one.

And according to persistent speculation in the Jerez paddock last week, his seat at Caterham could be snapped up at the last minute by Vitaly Petrov, who is waiting on his Russian sponsors to green-light the deal.

But a report in Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport said Saturday was a small piece of good news for Trulli, 37.

With the bulk of the F1 world leaving Jerez after Friday’s running, Caterham stuck around for an additional day of exclusive track use for filming purposes.

The result of the filming will be used by Caterham’s marketing and promotional material throughout 2012.

Trulli was there, the report revealed.

“It is good news because it could mean that the seat of the driver from Pescara is safe, thus ensuring at least one Italian driver in the championship,” said La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Although teammate Heikki Kovalainen enjoyed two days at the wheel of the new CT01 compared to Trulli’s single run last Friday, the Italian said his first impression is that the car is a “definite progression” on last year.

“The power steering is good — we can keep fine tuning it, but I think it’s basically a good package with a lot of potential for us to work on,” said Trulli.

Bruno Senna is hoping he can keep his Renault race seat beyond 2011.
As reserve driver, and with new sponsors in tow, the Brazilian stepped up when the Genii owned team ousted its German regular Nick Heidfeld in August.

But for 2012, 28-year-old Senna – alongside Romain Grosjean, Rubens Barrichello and of course Robert Kubica – is one of several drivers reportedly in contention for the vacant race seat in 2012.

“If Robert can’t come back, I hope I can stay,” he is quoted by formule1.nl.

“Especially in qualifying I think I have shown some good things. I think I have shown that the team can rely on me.

“But as long as you don’t have a contract, you have no guarantee that you’re going to be somewhere.”

The fact Renault seems spoiled for choice for 2012 means that a speedy decision is unlikely.

Senna said: “I believe that the past has proven that it’s not a good idea to wait until the last minute to decide who is going to drive for you.”

Pedro de la Rosa has revealed he has “no idea” if he will be called up by Sauber to race on the streets of Valencia this weekend.
The veteran Spaniard, who is McLaren’s reserve driver, was called up at the last minute in Canada almost two weeks ago when Sauber regular Sergio Perez fell ill after Friday morning practice.

Sauber managing director Monisha Kaltenborn this week then said that although Mexican rookie Perez, 21, is now fully recovered from his Monaco qualifying crash, 40-year-old de la Rosa is once again on standby.

“I am being constantly asked if I’m going to race in this (European) grand prix, and actually I don’t have the faintest idea,” said de la Rosa on Wednesday.

“I would like to clarify that I am McLaren’s reserve driver and indebted to them before any other team.

“Whatever happens depends on if McLaren lets me, and actually I don’t want to speculate as I find it a lack of respect for Sergio Perez, who has said he is perfectly well,” he added.

Vitaly Petrov has revealed he considered voluntarily relinquished track position to Fernando Alonso last Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari’s bungled race strategy left a furious Alonso trapped behind the Russian’s Renault during the championship finale.

Petrov admitted after the race that he would have avoided crashing into the Spaniard “if he had tried a move”.

And speaking to the Russian sports daily Super Express, he added: “It went through my mind to let Alonso pass me.

“But I remembered 2008 when Vettel almost took the championship from Hamilton by not letting him go.”

Alonso gesticulated angrily at Petrov on the slowing-down lap in Abu Dhabi and told reporters he thought the rookie had been too aggressive.

But Petrov insists: “I was not aggressive. It was a normal race.

“I would also be angry if I was in his situation, but with myself or my team for doing the wrong strategy.”

Alonso was later quoted by Blick newspaper: “Everything (with Petrov) was clean and fair.

“Technically we had only the third best car in 2010. But if you’re the leader before the final race, it is hard to lose the title in the last minute.”

Racing is expensive. To be completely to create upwards of donors are often needed. Talent alone is not enough to get a cockpit. Many pilots know the feeling of standing because of the lack of money before the career-Off. Some moved again head out of the loop, others actually disappeared from the scene. Mark Webber also knows this uncertainty. In 1997 his career was before Off.

Webber went during his Formula 3 season out of money. But the Australian rugby star David Campese helped him out of this mess and then transferred him the equivalent of 60,000 euros. Not insignificantly, was that Webber’s father Alan had previously played together with Campese rugby. For today’s Red Bull pilots, this was certainly the rescue at the last minute. The now established in the Australian Formula 1 now wants to give something back to yourself.
For example, he supports the New Zealanders Mitch Evans, who is in the Australian Formula 3 Championship for the season’s second half. It will therefore rise is apparently not take long until the 16-year-old Webber in GP3-racing team. But as has been known now saved Webber also had the career of a prominent farmer. IndyCar driver Will Power was in 2004 in the British Formula 3 out of money.

He needed 500 000 €, much he got from Webber. “I do not know exactly why he showed me a rausgeholfen. But if he did not think that it’s worth, had he not done so. He has gone through the same thing as I,” said the current leader of the IndyCar Championship Canada’s The Globe and Mail ‘. For the current championship leader in Formula 1, this was a matter of course.

“I was even lucky that I am at the right time to support some important persons, such as David Campese got. I could go on living my dream. When I was in the situation the same for someone else to do, I have not hesitated” , the season winning four times, is happy about the success of Powers: “It is fantastic when you see how Will’s hard work and determination have paid off.”

Webber is also happy that he Power “was a bit of reach under his arms as he had need. His career was at stake, but I could see how determined he was and did not give up.” The Red Bull driver now hopes that the IndyCar driver follows his example: “Perhaps he is even in the situation that he can make someone a favor and this will be in the championship fight to the top.”

Jun.13 (GMM)  Mark Webber has fallen off the front row of the grid for Sunday’s Canadian grand prix.

It has emerged from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that the Australian, who qualified behind pole sitter Lewis Hamilton but ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, has had to have a last-minute gearbox change.

The unscheduled change results in a grid demotion of five places.

Webber, 33, will now start the Montreal race from seventh.

The Austrian 27-year-old joined the new HRT team earlier this week as a test and reserve driver, and is scheduled to drive Karun Chandhok’s F110 car in Friday morning practice in Spain.

But with less than 14 hours before that practice session kicks off, it emerges that Klien – a veteran of 48 grands prix and years as a test driver – does not possess the mandatory FIA document that would allow him to exit the Barcelona pitlane.

To the APA news agency, team boss Colin Kolles explained the apparent oversight.

“As long as the contract was not signed, we could not even ask for a super license,” he said. “It was all very last minute.”

Kolles said he was hopeful the situation will be resolved by Friday morning.

May 6 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg’s Williams will not initially be in the same specification as his teammate Rubens Barrichello in Barcelona.

The German rookie confirmed to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport that while his Cosworth-powered FW32 will be essentially the same as it was in China, veteran Barrichello’s is fitted with a range of updates.

The most notable differences between the cars will be the front wing and the floor, even though a new floor for Hulkenberg’s car could arrive ahead of Saturday’s running.

“The engineers have been testing (the new parts) until the last minute in the wind tunnel,” said the 22-year-old. “That’s why there is a shortage.”

Hulkenberg insists he is not upset.

“We have quite clear rules: whoever has the more points, gets the new parts if there are not enough. That is absolutely fair.

“For me it’s even more of an incentive to drive as fast as Rubens,” said the reigning GP2 champion.

(GMM)  Bad weather on Tuesday prevented Jean Todt from visiting the headquarters of hopeful 2011 formula one team Epsilon Euskadi.

The FIA president was in Spain for meetings with government and motor racing officials, and had been due to fly to Azkoitia in the Basque Country to inspect the team’s facilities after it expressed interest in racing next year.

But local reports said strong winds at Madrid’s Torrejon de Ardoz airport halted the flight, and the Frenchman’s itinerary was too tight for a rescheduling.

However, Spain’s Diario Sport newspaper insists that Todt already supports Epsilon Euskadi’s F1 project, after many years of knowing its principal and F1 veteran Joan Villadelprat.

“Todt knows very well that Epsilon has first class facilities,” read the report.

The newspaper added that Todt will attempt to inspect the facility at a later date.

“First of all I want to thank Mr Todt and Mr (Carlos) Gracia … for their interest and their willingness to organise this visit and the efforts until the last minute that the meeting take place,” said Villadelprat.

“It was important to present the project to the president of the FIA, both as regards to the possibility of entering formula one and for other projects in the automotive field we are working on,” he added.