Bahrain, the controversial island Kingdom, could have been central to McLaren’s decision to agree the terms of the next Concorde Agreement.

Bahrain’s ruling family, through its investment arm Mumtalakat Holdings, owns half of the famous British team.

The Times’ F1 correspondent Kevin Eason quoted a source as saying the link “pushed (McLaren’s) Concorde deal over the line”.

In return for signing up, Bahrain reportedly received a “pledge” that last month’s highly contentious grand prix would go ahead.

Eason also said it is possible that one of McLaren’s two Bahraini directors, rather than the obvious choice Ron Dennis, could be appointed to the F1 board once the sport is floated on the Singapore exchange.

Bernie Ecclestone denied the 2012 Bahrain grand prix and the Concorde Agreement deal were linked.

“It was nothing to do with the Bahrain race (going ahead),” the F1 chief executive insisted. “But McLaren liked the deal.”

Intriguingly, however, F1′s post-stock market floatation chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe has defended the controversial decision to push ahead with Bahrain last month.

“The race was exploited by the opposition in Bahrain, not vice versa,” he told the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. “That was not interpreted correctly by the media.

“If groups want to exploit sporting events for their interests, then the worst thing you can do is give way.”

Brabeck also compared Bahrain to England.

“In what countries are there no riots?” he asked rhetorically. “A year ago there were riots in London — should the Olympic Games now be cancelled?”

F1 figures have mixed feelings after this week’s Mugello test.

Amid speculation the Ferrari owned circuit would like a spot on the race calendar, it emerged that the famous Maranello based team pushed hard for the Tuscan facility to host the first in-season test in many years.

“It’s very beautiful and the food is very good,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, “but we are spending a lot of money and honestly we didn’t feel the need to come here.”

Indeed, the only circuits comparable to high speed Mugello on the F1 calendar are Monza, Spa and parts of Silverstone.

And testing at Barcelona prior to next weekend’s Spanish grand prix would have made infinitely more logistical sense.

Lotus team boss Eric Boullier said Mugello was “money spent needlessly”.

Of course, those in the Ferrari camp thought differently.

“I would do more tests during the season,” said Fernando Alonso. “One lap here is worth 100 at other places, without considering that one day here is worth a year’s work on the simulator”.

But Mark Webber said Mugello is too fast for a decent test circuit, but he was among those who enjoyed the layout.

And the Australian couldn’t understand McLaren’s opposition, which extended to both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button giving up their running to test drivers.

“It was an absolute no-brainer for (Sebastian Vettel and I) to be here,” said the Red Bull driver.

“Mileage is so limited these days that it’s good for me to be in the car. Any chance we get to drive the car in the real world, we’ll do it,” added Webber.

Bernie Ecclestone has revealed he was not happy Bahrain organisers used the acronym ‘F1′ in its political slogan for last weekend’s race.

The F1 chief executive was highly supportive of the island Kingdom’s intensely controversial return to the sport’s calendar, insisting Bahrain will retain its grand prix “forever”.

But when asked about the banners around the Sakhir circuit and the island Kingdom that read ‘UniF1ed’, 81-year-old Ecclestone admitted to the Mirror: “We never put it there.

“We told them to take it down, not to use it. I saw other things, not like that.”

But Sakhir circuit chief Zayed Alzayani wore a cap bearing the slogan throughout the grand prix weekend, even when in Ecclestone’s company.

Briton Ecclestone, however, denied the Bahrain slogan only intensified the opposition’s anger.

“Before they started using that slogan there was trouble about F1,” he insisted.

“People make excuses but there are only two sports where politics come into it; us and the Olympics because the profile is big enough.

“There was a big golf match in Bahrain before F1 arrived and there was no problems there.

“We are not here to tell people how to run their country.”

Ecclestone, however, was angry with some of F1′s British journalists in Bahrain, following their harsh criticism of the decision to push ahead with the race.

“I saw Bernie get angry in the press room with some British journalists,” revealed O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper correspondent Livio Oricchio.

“I had never seen him that angry.”

A support-race team and a respected journalist have become the next to pull out of this weekend’s highly controversial Bahrain grand prix.

The Porsche Supercup team MRS said its decision to skip the support race in the divided island Kingdom is the “first time in our history that we have had to cancel”.

“In the end we have the responsibility for our employees,” said team boss Karsten Molitor, citing security concerns.

Another withdrawal – joining the sacked Williams catering staff member, and the TV broadcasters Sky Deutschland, Fuji TV and MTV3 Finland – is the respected correspondent for O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, Livio Oricchio.

“I have decided in agreement with Estado to not go,” he said. “We had the tickets for the entire season, except for Bahrain and the United States, because there was a doubt they would be run.

“Like many journalists, I will not be at Sakhir,” Oricchio admitted.

“I always believed that the race would not take place, and I’m still not 100 per cent sure that something will not happen that will lead the FIA or FOM to cancel.”

Indeed, following the sport’s decision to push ahead, the pressure on formula one to cancel at the eleventh hour has only intensified.

Nabeel Rajab, the leader of the government opposition group Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, admitted that the next protests – ‘three days of rage’, to coincide with the race’s three-day calendar – are aimed specifically at F1.

“We’re protesting to show anger at formula one for conducting the race here,” he is quoted by the BBC.

And the wife of a well-known jailed Bahraini activist who is on a long hunger strike, added: “I am not angry with the government… what makes me angry is people like Ecclestone who decide to come to Bahrain because he thinks everyone is happy.”

Italy’s La Stampa reports that F1 personnel have been advised to stay away from restaurants and shops, while “girlfriends and wives stay at home”.

That’s not entirely true, as Felipe Massa touched down at the airport on Thursday with his wife and baby son.

And Giedo van der Garde, the reserve driver for Caterham, said he has found Bahrain peaceful since his arrival on Wednesday.

“I’ve not been here long,” he is quoted by Auto Hebdo, “but everything seems quiet. Obviously, there’s a heavy police presence,” the Dutchman continued.

“But I haven’t seen any trouble or anything. Let’s hope it stays like that.”

Marco Canseco, the correspondent for the Spanish sports daily Marca, said he witnessed a “minor altercation” in the capital Manama on Wednesday.

“Then all the teams and everybody were able to get to the track for work without a hitch, the same on return,” he revealed.

Many are protesting the race going ahead on moral grounds, others due to security fears, whilst others fear for F1′s image.

“The ongoing debate about Bahrain is the only damage to the high gloss of the exciting 2012 season so far,” agreed Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted F1 teams will breach their contracts if they do not race in Bahrain next weekend.

Earlier, as the controversy surrounding the sport’s continued plans to travel to the troubled island Kingdom deepens, an unnamed team boss admitted his peers would prefer if the event was called off.

The Times newspaper then quoted F1 chief executive Ecclestone as saying that “If the teams don’t want to go, then we cannot make them”.

“We’ve no way we can force people to go there,” he also told the PA Sport news agency on Tuesday.

But in actual fact, teams are contractually bound to race at each event on the F1 calendar, with breaches punishable by exclusion from the sport.

“We can’t say ‘you’ve got to go’ – although they would be in breach of their agreement with us if they didn’t go – but it doesn’t help,” the 81-year-old clarified.

“Commercially they have to go, but whether they decide to or not is up to them,” said Ecclestone.

“I’ve had no one say anything other than ‘we’re going to be racing in Bahrain’.”

He said the local race organisers, and the national sanctioning body, are the ones that could cancel the race.

F1′s governing body, meanwhile, is the FIA.

“I’ve spoken to (FIA president) Mr (Jean) Todt,” Ecclestone revealed, “we keep in close contact, and he’s going out there (to China), so we’ll have a chat then, and we always meet with the teams.”

It also emerged on Tuesday that Ecclestone has phoned Dr Ala’a Shehabi, a prominent Bahraini journalist and activist.

She revealed that Ecclestone wants Bahrain’s government opposition to “have a press conference” at the grand prix “in which opposition can get their message across”.

Shehabi said Ecclestone is “very concerned” about the situation in Bahrain, including the fate of human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who amid his hunger strike in jail is said to be close to death.

Ross Brawn has confirmed reports that Mercedes’ 2012 ‘F-duct’ will not be easily copied by rival teams.

We reported on Thursday that while Red Bull and now Ferrari worked quickly to copy Sauber’s clever exhaust solution, they are crying foul over the Mercedes F-duct.

Is it because they really believe it breaks the rules, or is the system simply difficult to copy?

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey was quoted by Brazilian O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper in Malaysia: “In regard to the aerodynamic (F) duct of the Mercedes, and sending the airflow from the back to the front, it is necessary to review the entire project.”

Mercedes team boss Brawn confirmed: “The opposition is so fierce (because) there’s a recognition it’s quite difficult to do.”

He rejected the rivals’ arguments about cost, however, insisting Mercedes’ system consists mainly of carbon tubing costing no more than thousands of pounds.

“It’s a very simple, cheap system, but not so easy to implement if you haven’t integrated it into your car,” said the Briton.

“This is at the heart of the frustration of some of our opponents. If someone could put it on their car easily, I promise you we wouldn’t be having these discussions.”

It emerged this week, however, that despite the FIA having consistently sided with Mercedes on the F-duct issue, Lotus’ technical boss James Allison has come up with two new arguments that will be put to Charlie Whiting next week in China.

“We would obviously be extremely disappointed if someone was to take a different view,” said Brawn.

“The FIA have been fairly consistent over their position so we have faith that they’ll maintain that consistency.”

Fernando Alonso was spared the Italian media’s wrath after Ferrari opened its 2012 campaign with the troubled F2012 car.
“Alonso once again saved Ferrari from disaster,” said the authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport, after the Spanish driver drove the car to fifth place in Australia.

The under-pressure Felipe Massa’s opening race, however, “was a nightmare”, the daily newspaper added.

Jaime Alguersuari, the former Toro Rosso driver who is now a media analyst, also praised fellow Spaniard Alonso.

“For Ferrari, it is an unique advantage to have a driver like Fernando Alonso,” he told El Mundo newspaper.

“He did a sensational Sunday, with intelligence and ambition, which will push and raise the team, I’m sure.”

Alonso remains confident.

“There may be cars quicker than us now,” he is quoted by Britain’s Daily Mail, “but it’s like Manchester United or Chelsea who play badly for a game but still win 1-0.

“Before this race we were working 24 hours (a day),” Alonso is quoted by Marca, “now it must be 25.”

The Spanish press, however, is livid.

“The fifth place is really a miracle,” said the sports daily Marca. “The car is ridiculous, rendering the team a midfielder.”

Jenson Button, meanwhile, received universal praise from the international press corps, as did the fact that Red Bull’s dominance appears to have been knocked by McLaren.

“That’s good news for everybody except (Sebastian) Vettel,” insisted Corriere dello Sport.

The fight, however, has just begun.

“Vettel turned the middling new Red Bull into a good race car,” said Gazzetta, referring to the German’s performance on Sunday, “which is a warning to the opposition.

“He is still the world champion, and he will be hunting his first triumph of the year in Sepang.”

Tuttosport, meanwhile, said Mercedes – which until Sunday’s race was the talk of the Melbourne paddock – was the “big disappointment” of the 2012 opener.

 Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he would welcome Max Mosley back to the FIA presidency.
The F1 chief executive told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper that coming out in opposition to his long-time fellow F1 powerbroker amid the 2008 scandal ranks among his biggest ever regrets.

“One of the worst things I’ve done in my life – and for which I am ashamed – is to not defend Max Mosley when he had his big problems. There’s no excuse,” said Ecclestone.

The 80-year-old is referring to his call for Mosley to step down as pressure rose in the wake of the then FIA president’s sex scandal involving sadomasochism and prostitutes.

“I made the mistake because so many people – executives and decision-makers from big companies and banks – convinced me that Max must go in the circumstances,” Ecclestone explained.

He said his own opinion of the sex affair was that it was “purely private” and “nothing to do with formula one”.

“But I was influenced very strongly and badly not to support him. I have apologised personally to Max and also publicly before the FIA World Council,” added the Briton.

The FIA is now headed by former Ferrari boss Jean Todt, and it is known that Ecclestone is not a fan.

“I have nothing against the present incumbent, Jean Todt, but I would welcome Max’s return,” insisted Ecclestone.

After McLaren and Ferrari fielded cars with winning pace in July, Red Bull could be challenged even more once this month’s summer break ends.
That is the view of Mercedes’ Ross Brawn, who thinks the championship is likely to heat up at Spa-Francorchamps and beyond.

“It’s impossible to predict what will happen from Spa,” he is quoted by Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo, “but I think that as we saw Ferrari and McLaren managing to make their cars faster over the last three races, they are likely to improve even more.”

Agreed Renault’s sporting director Steve Nielsen: “Because Ferrari and McLaren are developing the aerodynamic exhaust later than Red Bull, they have more potential to improve it.”

Toro Rosso’s veteran technical chief Giorgio Ascanelli, however, disagrees, and HRT’s Geoff Willis explains: “I know Adrian (Newey) well from Williams and how he works when the opposition gets tougher.

“I predict they (Red Bull) will come back to dominating the races, although not like early in the season because the competitors have come to understand some of their solutions.”

While McLaren’s drivers won the last two grands prix, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso would have won the championship by three points over Sebastian Vettel if the season consisted only of Valencia, Silverstone, the Nurburgring and Hungary.

Red Bull, meanwhile, might struggle on the high speed sections at Spa and then Monza.

“That’s right, those two tracks are not exactly our best ones,” Mark Webber told laola1.at in Austria this week.

“So we need to limit the damage and then attack again when we can,” added the Australian.

Ferrari is happy with F1′s engine formula for the future.
The FIA had earlier announced controversial four-cylinder engines for 2013, but in the face of opposition from teams and engine makers has now agreed to let the sport be powered by 1.6 litre V6s in 2014 and beyond.

Ferrari, whose founder Enzo Ferrari’s main passion was big engines and horse power, had been the most staunchly opposed to the four-cylinder plan.

But after the FIA rubber-stamped the V6 compromise this week, team boss Stefano Domenicali said: “This decision is good for the sport.

“We now have the necessary time to prepare for this new project,” he is quoted by the German news agency SID.

It is believed Renault and Cosworth are also happy.

“It is good that the compromise reached has been confirmed by the World Motor Sport Council,” agreed Mercedes-Benz’s Norbert Haug.

Ferrari might have more to say in the coming days about the banning of its innovative new high rear wing in Spain.
Before the Italian team’s red cars were lapped during the Barcelona race, the FIA told them to revert to a conventional rear wing design because the one used in practice took an interpretation of the rules too far.

“I do not say anything,” said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo afterwards from Italy, according to ANSA news agency, “but I want to comment on the matter in the coming days.”

Fernando Alonso led the race early but insists the team took a backwards step relative to the opposition.

“We were too slow on soft tyres and very slow on hard ones,” he is quoted as saying by Finland’s Turun Sanomat.

The Spaniard added that a lack downforce is the main issue but he is refusing to give up.

“We took a step forward but at the same time McLaren and Red Bull took two,” he said.

“I have not given up but we need a better car. Let’s see what happens at Valencia at the latest.”

Team boss Stefano Domenicali is quoted by La Stampa newspaper as saying Monaco, Montreal and Valencia will be crucial races to compare the performance in Spain due to the different tyres that will be in use.

Spain’s AS newspaper said Ferrari is coming under pressure from major sponsor Santander, whose boss Emilio Botin reportedly had some hard words with Domenicali at the Circuit de Catalunya.

“There is no doubt that in 2012 there will be new staff in key positions at Ferrari,” wrote the authoritative Livio Oricchio in his Jornal da Tarde column.

And Alonso is quoted by O Estado do S.Paulo newspaper: “Let’s have a very different car in Canada, and the next three races we have the soft tyres with which we are faster.”

Added Domenicali, according to Autosprint: “After these races, we will see where we are and what direction to take.”

Luca di Montezemolo has made clear his opposition to the 2013 engine rules.
With Bernie Ecclestone staunchly opposed to the end of the V8 era in exchange for small low-revving turbos, Williams chairman Adam Parr this week insisted that formula one must keep moving in the ‘greener’ direction.

“The (V8) technology is dated, it’s not what’s going on out in the real world and I think it’s a major, major barrier to bringing in new partners and growing the sport,” Parr told Reuters.

He sounded excited about the new direction for 2013, including much more powerful hybrid elements and the fact that the cars will run “on pure electric” when moving down the pitlane.

Parr also said Ferrari president Montezemolo was once in favour of the new rules, but the Italian is now fiercely on F1 chief executive Ecclestone’s side of the argument.

“We must not lose the DNA of formula one,” Italian Montezemolo told Auto Motor und Sport, scoffing at the fact F1 is moving to four-cylinders.

“What’s next is one cylinder — we’re not building motorcycles. The real challenge is to make an eight or 12-cylinder engine economical,” he added.

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.

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno has pledged only conditional support to plans for a formula one street race in the Italian capital.
There is fierce opposition to promoter Maurizio Flammini’s plans for the race in the EUR district including from Ferrari, who insist that there is only room in F1 for one grand prix per country.

Mayor Alemanno has now declared that if that is true, then Monza and not Rome should represent Italy in F1.

“If it comes down to a choice between Monza or Rome, then we (the city) will step back because the Italian grand prix is at Monza,” he is quoted by Rai.

But Alemanno added that he does think there is “room” in F1 for two Italian races.

“A circuit race and a street race are different and we think the two will support one another,” he said.

When asked why many people – including EUR residents – oppose the Rome grand prix project, Alemanno said it is due to their “little knowledge” of the plans.

“I think it’s worth it because it will increase the tourist flow and the international attention of the whole of Italy,” he added.

Despite the opposition of Monza, Ferrari and an apparent majority of local residents, promoter Maurizio Flammini has vowed to push ahead with his plans for a Rome street race.

“The first race?” he asked rhetorically during an interview with the Il Riformista newspaper. “I expect it to be in 2013.”

However, Monza and Ferrari want F1 to limit itself to one annual race per country, and a survey published this week shows 80-90 per cent opposition to the Rome event from residents who live near the proposed layout in the capital’s EUR district.

But Flammini said the final plans will be reviewed by authorities by the end of December. “According to the standard procedure this will take at least 60 days,” he said.

“If the project would have been approved by the end of the year, we would have been ready for 2012,” he said.

“In Italy everything is ready (for 2013),” continued Flammini, “and the formula one circus is ready to welcome us. A few days ago I spoke with Bernie Ecclestone and he asked me to go ahead.

“When we are ready, we will close the final agreement.”

It had been reported earlier in 2010 that a final agreement had already been signed.

“We signed a preliminary agreement for at least two years,” Flammini clarified. “(F1 chief executive) Ecclestone is helping us but he is concerned about the delay.

“The competition is fierce, there are at least 30 other circuits that are pushing (to be in F1). If we don’t hurry we may lose this opportunity,” he insisted.

Flammini dismissed some of the criticisms of the Rome project, including fears of increased pollution in the city.

“You must be joking,” he hit back. “We should be thanked that instead of thousands of cars, for a few days there will be only 24 on a 5 kilometre circuit.

“Traffic? A study has shown the increase to be 25 per cent, but we are talking about August, when the presence of cars is well under 50 per cent of the annual average.”