If Paul Ricard gets the green light to host France’s F1 return in 2013, the circuit in Le Castellet could bring in more than 70,000 spectators.
That is the claim of the track’s director Stephane Clair, amid reports French prime minister Francois Fillon is poised to approve a deal to see the country alternate an annual spot on the F1 calendar with Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps.

Previously, a drawback of installing France’s race at Paul Ricard – officially called the High Tech Test Track – was the fact its current layout is not designed to host more than a few thousand VIPs.

But Clair insisted in a French-language AFP report: “It would be a great event to unify people with attractive prices thanks to funding provided by public and private partners.”

He said the project would include the addition of 50,000 temporary seats at Paul Ricard, with another 20-30,000 spectators able to watch from the hills “as in the past”.

He said Paul Ricard now needs the official go-ahead “before the end of the first 2012 quarter”, in order to comply with the requirements for planning, permits and environmental compliance.

 Bruno Senna has played down rumours he is set to secure a race seat at Williams for 2012.
It is rumoured the 28-year-old Brazilian, whose late uncle Ayrton was killed at the wheel of a Williams in 1994, will take his sponsor Embratel to the beleaguered British team.

“Despite some rumours, my situation remains the same as before,” he insisted on his Facebook page.

“In other words, I am still not confirmed with any team so I’m still battling for a place in F1,” added Senna in Portuguese.

Senna debuted for HRT last year, before starting 2011 as reserve driver with Renault (now Lotus). He completed the season in Nick Heidfeld’s race seat.

He has scored 2 points in his 26 races to date.

Bruno Senna could bring a new title sponsor to Williams.
A spokeswoman for the beleaguered British team has confirmed to the Telegraph that American telecommunications multinational AT and T is no longer its title sponsor.

“We have reached the conclusion of our partnership, the contract expired on December 31 by mutual agreement,” she said.

The Reuters news agency said Williams, ninth in the constructors’ championship last season, is in “advanced negotiations” over title sponsorship with another telecommunications company.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat said one candidate is Embratel, a Rio de Janeiro based company that backs Brazilian driver candidate Senna.

A team source told Reuters that the ATT deal, reported to be worth just $7 million to Williams in 2011, was not “sustainable”.

The Williams spokeswoman, meanwhile, would not comment on reported links between the Oxfordshire based team and touted major sponsor Qatar National Bank (QNB).

QNB is already affiliated with the team through Williams’ partnership with the Qatar Science and Technology Park.

The bank is also in partnership with Qatar Telecom (Qtel).

Jaime Alguersuari has admitted surprise at Red Bull’s decision to oust him from the Toro Rosso team.
In recent days, the 21-year-old Spaniard has sounded confident about keeping his seat with the Faenza based team.

Alguersuari admitted the news was therefore “very surprising and unexpected”.

“Just a week ago after karting in Brazil I talked with Helmut Marko and Franz Tost and they told me they had plans for me in 2012,” he revealed.

“They did so with enthusiasm and showed a lot of confidence in me.

“So after talking with them (now), I thought of three things: first, I will not judge the situation because it seems crazy that after debuting at 19 years old without ever doing a lap in F1 before, today’s news seems to be a major misunderstanding in the best moment of my sporting life.

“I will not judge the decision because since 15 years old Red Bull gave me everything.

“Second, I am not a victim because for seven years I have enjoyed the privilege because of them. And third, there is no drama, because I have many plans for the present and the future.

“The surprise lasted for a couple of hours but I have talked to my family and realised that life is full of opportunities and challenges.”

Already, speculation has begun that Alguersuari could switch places with Daniel Ricciardo at HRT, where in 2011 Red Bull had a driver deal in place with the Spanish team.

The move would also give HRT an all-Spanish lineup, following Pedro de la Rosa’s recent signing.

Alguersuari’s Swiss teammate in 2011, Sebastien Buemi, has a much more uncertain future.

The 23-year-old is yet to comment, but his close media confidant Roger Benoit – the veteran Blick newspaper correspondent – said Buemi “has no plan B”.

“Without millions of dollars in sponsors there is not even a back-of-the-grid team with a vacancy for him,” he said.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport speculated that Red Bull might appoint either Alguersuari or Buemi as the championship-winning team’s 2012 reserve driver.

The report said the duo might struggle to find a seat elsewhere in F1 because of the “Red Bull stamp on their foreheads”.

Even after losing Robert Kubica’s services to serious injury and seeing new star recruit Kimi Raikkonen hurt his wrist at the weekend, Lotus will continue to let its drivers run their own lives.
With Pole Kubica still not recovered from his horror pre-season rallying crash, Lotus’ new signing Raikkonen fell whilst racing a snowmobile in Austria at the weekend, spraining his wrist.

Writing in Blick newspaper, veteran correspondent Roger Benoit said Lotus’ attitude is “almost negligent”.

“Have they learned nothing from the Kubica incident?” he asked.

But Dany Bahar, Lotus Group chief executive, told reporters he will not wrap the F1 team’s drivers in cotton wool, amid reports Raikkonen’s teammate Romain Grosjean has been racing karts in France.

“It is part of our job to do things that are risky, we do it commercially and corporately, Kimi does it in his own life,” Bahar is quoted as saying by Reuters.

“Kimi is Kimi and it will be difficult to change the way he lives,” added Bahar.

Raikkonen’s teammate for 2012 is new GP2 champion Grosjean, whose French nationality is a “godsend” for happy sponsors like oil company Total, team boss Eric Boullier admitted.

But he replaces Vitaly Petrov, the sponsored-funded Russian, and Brazilian Bruno Senna has also departed.

“It’s a brave decision to say ‘We’re not after the money, we try to go the hard way … we try to succeed through performance … maybe not to go after ‘pay drivers’ any more”, said Bahar.

Rubens Barrichello left the Interlagos paddock late on Sunday without saying goodbye.
It is believed the 39-year-old Brazilian’s longest-ever F1 career might have ended as the chequered flag waved at Interlagos, as Adrian Sutil and Valtteri Bottas appear more likely candidates for the Williams seat in 2012.

But former Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari and Brawn driver Barrichello is refusing to give up.

Even in Williams’ official post-race media statement, he is quoted as saying: “There’s been a lot of talk over the weekend, but I believe I will be back again next season.”

He has even selected his helmet colours.

During his post-race chat with more Brazilian reporters than usual, Barrichello showed them a picture drawn this weekend by his six-year-old son Fernando.

“I know that your first question is (going to be) ‘Are you ready to stop?’ I’m not,” he insisted.

“So I will show you the helmet that Fefe made for me to start next year. That is the answer to the question,” laughed Barrichello.

Rumours Nico Rosberg could be flirting with a switch to Ferrari are gaining strength this week.
A source triggered the speculation by telling the Cologne publication Express that the 26-year-old is “thinking about” the famous Italian team.

Mercedes’ Rosberg, however, has a contract for 2012, as does Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa.

But Bild newspaper reports that Rosberg “has a clause that allows him an early termination under certain circumstances”.

After India, Rosberg openly criticised his race strategy that appeared to have favoured teammate Michael Schumacher.

At the same time, Express reports that Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was dismayed with Massa’s performance in India, featuring a crash with Lewis Hamilton and two near-identical mistakes that damaged his suspension.

“In the week before India, Nico was in Maranello,” another source is quoted as revealing. “Ferrari wants to have him.”

When asked if he will be at Mercedes next year, Rosberg answered: “I don’t want to say anything about it.

“We are having discussions about a long-term cooperation.”

Might those discussions be with Ferrari as well? Eddie Jordan, a former team boss and now British television pundit, thinks Massa should be worried.

“He needs to be careful because there are many talents out there,” he is quoted by Austria’s laola1.

“He does have a contract but in formula one you can never be sure.”

Despite the wet racetrack due to yesterday’s rain, the morning session allowed to collect and prove the single-seaters’ new modifications.

The pilots scheduled for the morning rolled out: Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Nico Hulkenberg, Viantonio Liuzzi, Sebastian Buemi, Michael Schumacher, Timo Glock and Kobayashi.

During the morning two red flags were seen, the second being more significant, because a front wing belonging to Timo Glock’s car roamed in the racetrack and the German pilot passed over it destroying it.

Sebástien Buemi’s Toro Rosso was a surprise making the best time; the pilot from Switzerland lowered his own times.  Alonso remained up to an hour in the boxes doing changes to the F10.  Everything is ready for the evening. The teams expect better racetrack conditions.

Second day’s morning times

1. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:20.026 (58 laps)
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:20.618 (29)
3. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) 1:21.565 (28)
4. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 1:21.907 (60)
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:21.928 (79)
6. Robert Kubica (Renault) 1:22.129 (43)
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) 1:22.886 (37)
8. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:23.164 (60)
9. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 1:23.190 (41)
10. Timo Glock (Virgin) 1:29.964 (11)

At the end of the first day of 2010 MotoGP’s official tests, the Spanish pilot Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) recognized it has been “quite” difficult for him to find the rhythm, in the first contact at the Malayan Sepang International Circuit.

“After such a long pause, today it has been quite difficult for me to find my rhythm.  At the beginning of the day it has been difficult, but little by little I have started to feel more comfortable and to improve.  In the afternoon, I have improved even more and have come close to the pilot ahead of me.  So at the end, I have felt satisfied with our work,” Lorenzo explained, after getting the fifth best time of the day.

Referring to the Yamaha M1, the pilot from Mallorca declared that “it’s not completely different to the last campaign,” but that “the small details make it easier to drive.”  The later is a determining factor for a MotoGP pilot.

The Spaniard seems to have good rapport with his new sport principal, Wilco Zeelenberg, assuring he has felt “well” with him. “He’s an ex-pilot and hence, we’ve been able to share a lot of information and he has given me good advice,” he pointed out.