HRT Formula 1 Team announces the incorporation of Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua to the Spanish team’s young driver development programme.

The formation programme designed by HRT F1 Team for Ma Qing Hua includes professional assessment in his career as a driver, private tests with cars from different categories and simulator tests. If the results of the partnership are satisfactory, Qing Hua could take to the wheel of the F112 at the Formula 1 Young Driver test.

Ma Qing Hua will perform his first official act with HRT Formula 1 Team on Thursday the 12th of April at a press conference previous to the Chinese Grand Prix (13th to 15th of April), which takes place at the Shanghai International Circuit. The details of the press conference will be announced shortly.

The incorporation of Ma Qing Hua to HRT Formula 1 Team’s driver development programme is part of the Spanish team’s strategy in order to serve as a platform for the formation of professionals in the pinnacle of world motorsport. The driver born in Shanghai has been competing in different categories of national and international motorsport for many years. His incorporation to HRT F1 Team’s Driver Development Programme takes place after some simulator tests and a testing session in Cheste (Valencia) at the wheel of a World Series car. The qualities and attitude of Qing Hua convinced Luis Pérez-Sala of his potential to incorporate him to the programme which Dani Clos, HRT F1 Team test driver, is also a part of.

Ma Qing Hua: “I’m very honoured to form a part of the driver development programme at HRT Formula 1 Team since, with work and effort, it will allow me to become the first Chinese Formula 1 driver. It’s a very special moment for me and it’s hard to express how happy I am. I’ve dreamt of becoming a Formula 1 driver since I was very small. I started in the karting world when I was 8 years old and I worked really hard to learn and become quicker every time. After competing in categories such as Formula campus, Formula Renault and F3, I learned a lot about car set-up, technique on circuits and team work to become more professional every time. And now finally my childhood dream has become true thanks to the opportunity that HRT has granted me to become an F1 driver. And even more so this year with all the drivers who are competing, with 6 world champions amongst them. Driving an F1 car will be the most incredible experience and I’m going to work hard to earn it. Thanks to HRT for offering me the chance to show what I’m capable of. And thanks to my family and everyone who has always supported me. This is only the beginning”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “We are working so that one of the team’s signs of identity is to serve as a platform to launch young drivers, both nationally and internationally. Ma Qing Hua is one those talents in which we believe and we want to help him in his career so that he can make it to Formula 1. We like his conditions and we want to take part in his formation by incorporating him to the team’s Driver Development Programme so that he can participate in races and private tests, with the objective of him being able to take part in the Formula 1 tests reserved to young drivers. Due to my responsibility in the Circuit de Catalunya young driver programme, I’ve been able to follow his progress and personally assisted some tests he did. I knew he had potential, but I was surprised with his speed, safety, adaptation capacity, attitude and professionalism. All these virtues make us believe that his incorporation to the programme will be very positive and will lead to a fruitful and lasting relationship”.

Profile

Date of Birth: 25th of December 1987
Place of Birth: Shanghai, China
Nationality: Chinese

Ma Qing Hua started racing at the tender age of 8 and won the youth National Karting Championship when he was 12 years old. He continued to race and achieve successful results in karting until 2004, when he entered the Asian Formula Renault Series and won the championship. In 2005 he represented Team China in A1 Grand Prix. From here he would move on to Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, before competing in Formula 3 Spain and Formula 3 Spain “Copa de España”, managing two podiums this season. One year later, the Chinese driver took part in various events of the British Formula 3 International Series. In 2010 he represented Team China for two races in Superleague Formula before moving onto the Chinese Touring Car Championship in 2011 where he came away with the title after four wins and four podiums in the eight-race season.

Career Summary:

2011: Chinese Touring Car Championship: 1st in the Championship (4 wins and 4 podiums)
2010: Superleague Formula: Team China
2009: British Formula 3 International Series: Team West-Tec
2008: Formula 3 Spain, Copa de España F3: Team West-Tec: 7th in the Copa (2 podiums)
2007:Chinese National Karting Championship (Super Group): 1st in the Championship
2006:Formula Renault 2.0 NEC: Team Astromega
2005:A1GP: Team China
2004:Asian Formula Renault Series: 1st in the Championship
Formula Campus Asia Championship: 1st in the Championship
Shanghai Karting Grand Prix (ICA Group): Winner
2003:Chinese National Karting Championship (ICA Group): 6th position
2002:Chinese National Karting Championship: 2nd position
Indian International Karting Championship: 2nd position

Sebastian Vettel remains unapologetic after insulting his rival Narain Karthikeyan.

The reigning world champion twice showed Indian Karthikeyan the middle finger in Malaysia recently, also describing the HRT driver as an “idiot” and “gherkin” following their on-track clash.

Karthikeyan hit back by calling the 24-year-old German “unprofessional” and a “crybaby”, amid suggestions Vettel did not display sporting values befitting a double world champion.

Indeed, when asked by Germany’s Sport Bild if he is a ‘bad loser’, Vettel replied: “It’s true, I can only lose badly.

“Why should I lie? If I could lose well, I would not be in formula one. I was disappointed.”

But the Red Bull driver also insists his outbursts should be taken in the context of the moment.

“So soon after the race, I feel like I should be honest rather than playing the ‘smiling boy’.

“Sometimes it takes ten minutes after finishing a race to return to normal, sometimes you need a night’s sleep to check things off and look ahead positively.

“When I put Jenson Button out of the race at Spa in 2010, I apologised to him the next day.”

So, Vettel is much more positive now.

“From a pure sporting perspective, I have more points now than I had at this point in 2010 when I won the championship. So I’m only looking forward,” he insisted.

The FIA could sanction F1′s reigning back-to-back world champion for his behaviour during the recent Malaysian grand prix.

Before calling backmarker Narain Karthikeyan a “gherkin” and “idiot” in the wake of their collision, Sebastian Vettel was captured by his on-board camera twice displaying his middle-finger to the Indian driver.

“I think he’s highly frustrated because he’s having a tough season,” Karthikeyan told the Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday.

“It’s completely unprofessional to blame me for the incident. The derogatory remark only goes to show him in bad light.

“Just because he has a good car, he can’t call others an idiot,” Karthikeyan continued.

“I have won races in all the previous single-seater championships I have participated in so I don’t need a certificate from Vettel.”

Reports in Germany, including in the Kolner Express, Bild and Die Welt newspapers, claim that Red Bull driver’s behaviour may have breached the new stricter code of conduct introduced by FIA president Jean Todt.

The FIA has been contacted for comment.

“He has breached the code of conduct,” former F1 driver Marc Surer told Germany’s Sky television. “You sign it when you get the license and then you have to behave correspondingly.

“Any behaviour that hurts other people or the sport is an offense,” added the Swiss.

Asked what the penalties might be, Surer explained: “Anything from a warning to a license revocation. In this case I think it was quite understandable and there will be a mild punishment, if there is anything.”

Hans-Joachim Stuck, however, is slightly less forgiving.

“When you’re overtaking, misunderstandings can occur. I think Vettel needs to learn this.

“With him, the curve was always upwards and now it’s not the case, and he needs to deal with that,” the German legend told the DAPD news agency.

As for Vettel’s description of Karthikeyan as a “gherkin”, Stuck insisted: “It’s better than ‘asshole’.”

Vettel’s attack, however, was sustained, with Kleine Zeitung newspaper now quoting the Red Bull driver as having said: “Maybe formula one is not the place to learn how to drive.”

Stuck responded: “If Sebastian had left more space, it would not have happened. It happens sometimes so it’s a racing incident.

“He (Karthikeyan) didn’t do it on purpose and it always takes two.”

The HRT driver hit back by calling Vettel a “bully”, and even David Coulthard – a Red Bull team consultant – defended Karthikeyan.

“He can’t make his car invisible,” the Scot is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

Also defending Karthikeyan was Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who told the Indian press this week: “From what I saw, it was not Narain’s fault.

“So I don’t really understand why he (Vettel) said all that.”

Hukenberg’s Force India teammate Paul di Resta added: “Narain is entitled to do as much on the track in comparison with someone like Vettel.

“Both are F1 drivers and are there to represent their teams.”

Aldo Costa has revealed he is unhappy with Ferrari’s comments in the wake of his departure last year.

The Italian was stepped down as the famous team’s technical director, and he switched to Mercedes before the German marque made a significant step forwards with its 2012 car.

He has remained quiet about his treatment by Ferrari until now, telling Autosprint magazine that the Maranello marque lacked “style and professionalism” as it handled its restructuring.

Asked for more information, he said Ferrari explained “things that not only myself but also the whole world of formula one knows is not the truth”.

Costa confirmed that he was referring to Ferrari’s suggestion that he lacked “creativity”.

Still, he said he is not happy to see his old team struggling to make it into Q3 with the aggressive F2012.

“I still have so many friends in Maranello, but now I want to be 100 per cent engaged on succeeding with Mercedes.”

He said the Ross Brawn-led team has a “different” approach to Ferrari’s “that makes it easier to do things”.

Heikki Kovalainen insists he has “no concerns” despite having to start work with a new teammate less than a month before the 2012 season.

In 2010 and 2011, and since the formation of the former Lotus team, Kovalainen has shared the green garage with fellow grand prix winner Jarno Trulli.

Now, Caterham has replaced the Italian veteran with the much less experienced Vitaly Petrov, who has moved his Russian backing from Lotus (formerly Renault).

“I got along well with Jarno, but a new teammate doesn’t change my life in any way,” Kovalainen insisted to Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper.

“I have met with Vitaly here in Barcelona and I don’t have any concerns. He is definitely a strong competitor but I always give 110 per cent to beat my teammate.

“I don’t underestimate anyone,” he added.

Kovalainen admitted that Petrov might have to adjust to the fact that Caterham is smaller than Lotus, and the car not as competitive.

“Of course he has to get used to the team,” he said, “and if he has any questions, I’m available.

“But Vitaly is a professional driver and in F1 it is expected that the driver is able to start tackling the programme right away.”

 A former world champion has dealt Lewis Hamilton a mild rebuke after the Briton refused to appear at Adrian Sutil’s assault trial.
Not only did the McLaren driver defer to his team’s looming car launch date rather than leap to his former friend’s aid in Munich, he has also refused to contact Sutil or answer a single question on the matter posed by the media.

Sutil’s father has called the 2008 world champion “pathetic” while the former Force India driver himself described Hamilton as a “coward”.

“I don’t know whether you’d call him a coward,” 1980 title winner Alan Jones told GMM, “but I don’t know whether I’d like to have him in the trenches with me.”

Hamilton, who recently reunited with his girlfriend Nicole, had a tumultuous 2011 season and so this year will be accompanied to races by experienced manager Didier Coton.

When involved with Mika Hakkinen’s career, Coton worked for the management company headed by Keke Rosberg.

“In the past, Lewis has certainly made mistakes in the professional organisation of his life,” Rosberg, backing the changes Hamilton is making, commented to the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

“You can’t go flying every other week to America when you’re making a serious job of being a formula one driver,” he said.

Keke Rosberg also questioned a recent claim made by the 27-year-old Briton.

“He says he wants to win all the races this season. That’s quite a claim.

“I would think Jenson Button wonders how he will do it when he will probably win a few races in the same car,” said Rosberg.

Transportes Azkar S.A., an international integrated logistics operator with its headquarters in Spain, and HRT Formula 1 Team have signed a collaboration agreement for the renowned logistics operator to become a collaborator of the renewed team, joining as an Official Supplier for the 2012 season.

With a fleet of three trucks that cover more than 16,000 kilometres on the road to European Grands Prix and that transfer cars and material to the airport, HRT F1 Team’s transport needs are very demanding. Therefore, having a first class national partner, such as Azkar, was a fundamental objective.

Alfonso Hostaled, Azkar CEO: “At Azkar we back sports and national companies that wish to open up overseas and that is why HRT’s project as a Spanish team fits in perfectly with our market strategy. Azkar puts at the disposal of HRT logistics services that meet the challenging demands of Formula 1. On another note, through this association, we look to bring our clients closer to this thrilling sport”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT F1 Team: “As a part of the team’s renovation process, we are working on many fronts, all of them being important. There are many aspects besides the car and staff, such as telecommunications and logistics, which are vital for a team to function properly in such a demanding world as is Formula 1. We want to count with first class national partners for this. Azkar is the standout logistics operator and we are very proud to have them as collaborators. In a paddock which is crammed with German and English trucks, to find Spanish trucks aswell is proof that there are national companies with the same capacity as any other company to perform at this demanding level”.

- Ends -

ABOUT AZKAR

AZKAR puts at the disposal of its clients a potent international network for the management of importing and exporting goods, from and to any part of the world. Specifically, in the Iberian peninsula and islands, the company has 87 facilities, with more than 500,000m² built over more than 1 million m²of terrain, a team made up of 5,000 professionals and a fleet of 2,700 trucks.

via: HRT

AUSTIN, Texas — February 13, 2012— Circuit of The Americas is the newest member of the Green Sports Alliance, a non-profit organization made up of more than 40 professional and collegiate sports teams and nearly 90 sports venues with a mission to help sports teams, venues and leagues enhance their environmental performance. Circuit of The Americas will be the first Formula One™ racing facility to become a member of the Alliance.
“Circuit of The Americas and the City of Austin have taken a bold stand with their sustainability plan for the sports and entertainment complex,” said Martin Tull, executive director of the Green Sports Alliance. “We welcome Circuit of The Americas into the Alliance and look forward to working with them.”
The Green Sports Alliance is a unique coalition of sports teams and venues, professional sport leagues, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other environmental and green building experts.
“I applaud the Circuit’s commitment to setting a standard for sustainability in North American motorsports,” said Lucia Athens, chief sustainability officer for the City of Austin. “Joining forces with the Green Sports Alliance will increase their green horsepower and put Austin on the map yet again for its leadership and innovation. The Green Sports Alliance has been providing expert technical assistance to many of the sports leagues, and can now assist motorsports in achieving greener results.”
Members in the Green Sports Alliance share best practices to improve the environmental performance of their venues, saving millions of dollars through energy and water conservation, waste reduction, recycling and composting. By tracking environmental performance, sports facilities learn how they compare to their counterparts and how to maximize sustainability efforts. Alliance members have reported reductions as high as 30 percent in energy usage, 60 percent in natural gas use and more than 20 percent in water use.
“We are excited to be collaborating with the best minds in sustainable facility management,” said Edgar Farrera, sustainability director at Circuit of The Americas. “We look forward to developing new approaches to environmentally sustainable operations at our facility and sharing what we learn with organizations and companies around the world.”
About the Green Sports Alliance
The Green Sports Alliance is a non-profit organization with a mission to help sports teams, venues and leagues enhance their environmental performance. Less than a year since its public launch, the Alliance is made up of representatives from over 40 teams from 13 leagues and 90 sports venues, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Protection Agency, Bonneville Environmental Foundation and many other organizations.
Its second annual conference, the Green Sports Alliance Summit, will be held on Sept. 5-7, 2012 and will bring together hundreds of facility operators, team executives, league officials,
environmental experts and corporate partners to discuss innovations in environmental performance.
For more information about the Green Sports Alliance visit: www.greensportsalliance.org.
About Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas will be a world-class destination for performance, education and business. It will be the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the United States designed for any and all classes of racing, from motor power to human power, and be the U.S. home to the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™ Nov. 16-18 and V8 SUPERCARS.
The Circuit of The Americas’ master plan features a variety of permanent structures designed for business, education, entertainment and race use. Its signature element will be a 3.4-mile circuit track with capacity for 120,000 fans. Other support buildings will include a medical facility, a conference center, a banquet hall as well as an expansive outdoor live music space. Future proposed amenities include a driving/riding experience, a motorsports driving club, kart track, grand plaza event center and tower, and a trackside recreational vehicle park.

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari’s rivals are “trying to divert attention” from their own problems by playing psychological games in the media.

With just two races still to run in 2010 and Alonso leading the championship, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner this week admitted it would be “frustrating” to lose to the Spaniard after the Hockenheim team orders affair.

Stefano Domenicali hit back by suggesting it is a “miracle” the energy drink-owned team has not already wrapped up the title due to its car advantage, and his driver Alonso has now weighed into the squabble.

“There are some favourite teams, who have not resolved their own problems, trying to divert attention,” he said in an interview with Diario Sport newspaper.

“Fortunately for us, we are united as a team, as we show at each race, including my relationship with Felipe (Massa),” added Alonso.

“There are always media strategies designed to make you nervous or put you under pressure,” he said.

In another interview, with the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, Alonso insisted he is not concerned that – as he bids to wrap up his third championship this weekend – his personal image within Brazil is not the best one.

“In several countries they say my image is not good, but when I land at airports or go to the hotels or race tracks, what I see is the opposite.

“I’m not worried about it. My job is to get results at the track and to have the team happy with my work,” Alonso added.

He said he hopes his teammate Massa’s home supporters at Interlagos will understand if the Brazilian pulls aside to let him win the race on Sunday.

“Those who will understand know that this sport is complicated, where at least at Ferrari, the team comes first. There will of course be those who don’t understand,” said Alonso.

“But my job is not to understand the views of the fans, but to do my job on the track.”

He denied that Massa is the weakest teammate he has ever had.

“No. Felipe is very capable, 100 per cent professional, working from January to December on his goals,” said Alonso.

Felipe Massa has confirmed that if he can help Fernando Alonso to reinforce his lead in the drivers’ world championship this weekend, he will.

“If it depends on me, then for sure (I will help),” he is quoted as saying in Brazil by the news agency EFE.

Massa, who was controversially ordered aside for his Ferrari teammate at Hockenheim in July, is a specialist of his local Interlagos circuit and a crowd favourite.

But he concedes the Italian team’s desire to put its full weight behind Alonso’s title charge.

“I’m a professional. I did it already in 2007,” added Massa, referring to his then teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s successful championship campaign alongside him three years ago.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali has confirmed this week that Alonso and Massa will return to a position of equality in 2011.

When asked if Spaniard Alonso is the best teammate he has had at Ferrari, he answered emphatically: “No. I’ve had three (teammates) all at the same highest level.

“I don’t need to say anything about Schumacher because his career speaks for itself. Kimi was also excellent. I see all three of them on the same level.

“Alonso has had a better season than me and has been more competitive. It has not been my best year, not only with the results but also the problems I have had in qualifying warming up the tyres.

“For me, 2011 will be better than 2010,” he insisted.

In additional comments published by the Globo newspaper, Massa said he thinks his Brazilian fans will understand his position at Interlagos this weekend.

“I think the public has always treated me very well, not only the day before what happened in Germany, but also the day after.

“The journalists, no. But the public, yes — always. I am sure the fans will be great and I will do my best to give them a good result,” added Massa.

Polyphony Digtial has today fully revealed the “X1 Prototype”, a project in conjunction with Red Bull Racing.

All races that exist in today’s world are restricted by regulations. However the X1 is a machine born from a fantastic “what if” dream of Polyphony; “What would the fastest racing car on Earth, free of any and all regulations look like?”

Initially the X1 prototype was a single seater, canopied prototype wing car with covered front wheels. The performance brought about by the 1500ps direct injection V6 Twin Turbo would have been spectacular as is, with a top speed of 400km/h and a maximum lateral acceleration of 6G. But this concept showed an even greater advancement through the help of Red Bull Racing, who became a partner in this project.

Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer, the genius aerodynamicist Adrian Newey proposed that “Fan Car” technology, a dream that he had held to himself over the years be added to the X1 Prototype.

A “fan car” is a vehicle having a fan mechanism which forces the air out from underneath the car, to reduce air pressure under the car’s floor. The resulting suction draws the car to the ground surface and creates a massive amount of downforce. And because it can create downforce regardless of the vehicle’s current speed, it dramatically raises it’s cornering speed even in low speed corners.

The incredible ability of fan cars has already been proven in history. The Chaparral 2J fan car entered in the 1970 Can-Nam series was so fast that it was banned after just 1 season. Even in the F1, the BT46B fan car entered in 1978 by Brabham dominated the opening round of the series with extreme speed, and was banned just after that single race.

With this proposal from Mr. Newey, the machine was transformed with a large fan added to the rear end of the body. With additional advice regarding the shapes of the front and rear wings and rear diffuser, its aerodynamics became even further refined. As a result, the X1 prototype attained an astonishing level of performance, reaching a top speed of over 450km/h, with a maximum lateral acceleration reaching up to 8.75G. This is a performance level that is at the very limits of what a normal human body can withstand.

The driver who performed the shakedown test of the machine in Gran Turismo 5, was the world famous Sebastian Vettel. In his very first run on the Suzuka Circuit, he shortened the record time of the course by over 20 seconds. And in the test drive on the Nurburgring GP Course, he marked a record time of 1 minute 4 seconds, drawing out the incredible potential of the X1 Prototype.

This is the dream of the fastest racing car on land, brought to life through the collaboration between Polyphony and Red Bull. Witness for yourself the power of the X1 through the in-game “X1 Challenge”, the first driving lesson ever in Gran Turismo to be performed by a top professional driver.

Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull Racing

The results were thrilling. X1 is about evolution. Delivering the optimum combination of tested technologies in a single integrated design. This would be the future of racing were we not bound by regulations, but one that is achievable today. And as Sebastian has shown, it is about devastating speed coupled with real handling control. Today thanks to PlayStation®3 and Gran Turismo we can test drive the future.

Kazunori Yamauchi, President, Polyphony Digital Inc and creator of the Gran Turismo series

X1 sees the marriage of virtual and real worlds as we explore the boundaries of our technology and aesthetic senses. The X1 Prototype Project has been motivated by curiosity and passion, powerful forces that brought together the best the world has to offer in design, physics simulation, racing car product technology and driving.

X1 Downforce Specifications

Lets try calculating the cornering G’s of the X1 at 300km/h from the total tire load and coefficient of friction for the tires.

The total load on the X1′s tires at 300km/h is 1142.7kgf at the front tires, and 1432kgf at the rear tires. The coefficient of friction for the tires isμ=1.97. From these conditions, the maximum cornering force that the tires can exhibit can be determined to be 5073kgf. Dividing this by the wet weight of the X1 of 615kg comes to be 8.25, which is the maximum cornering G of the X1.

8.25G greatly exceeds the G’s felt during the launch of the Space Shuttle, and is roughly the same as that of a jet fighter plane at full afterburner. It is a figure at the very limits of what a human body can withstand.

Test Calculation: Cornering G at 300km/h
Total Tire Load: 2575.6kgf (Front Wheel 1142.7kgf+Rear Wheel 1432.9kgf)
Coefficient of Friction of Tires: μ=1.97 (baseμ=2.16, model calculates an efficiency reduction to 91.5% under high load)
Cornering force that can be exhibited by tires: 5073.9kgf
Cornering G: 8.25G (= 5073.9kgf / 615kg)

Read more: http://www.worldcarfans.com/110102929262/red-bull-x1-prototype-revealed-for-gran-turismo-5-video#ixzz13tUTExBi

With just 3 or 4 races to go in 2010, there are no more signs that Red Bull is set to throw its full weight behind championship leader Mark Webber’s title tilt.

The Australian would openly accept number 1 status over Sebastian Vettel, and recently consultant Helmut Marko indicated the team would soon consider the possibility.

But Vettel, who remains 21 points behind Webber, put his campaign back on track with a strong weekend in Singapore, and afterwards announced his intention to push on.

“The drivers championship is still open,” said the 23-year-old German in Singapore.

According to the German newspaper Die Welt, he announced that he and Webber have agreed to a “professional approach” to the next decisive races.

And “We will find out who is better,” Vettel is quoted as saying.

It means that of the three top teams in with a chance of the 2010 title, only Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso can currently count on the backing of his teammate.

“It is almost inevitable with the way the season has swung backwards and forwards that this will go right down to the wire,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

Alan Jones, the last Australian to become world champion in 1980, backed his countryman to beat Vettel in a dog-fight.

“I think if it gets down to a bit of a head-game, I’ll back Mark every time,” said the former Williams driver.

“It’s a fascinating championship,” added 63-year-old Jones.  “We haven’t had one like this for years, where five people could become world champion with four races to go.”

Abu Dhabi has denied reports it is helping Bulgaria join the formula one calendar.

It emerged earlier this week that an economic cooperation agreement has been signed between the Bulgarian economy minister and the Emirates Associated Business Group, a state-owned Abu Dhabi company.

Bulgarian authorities, as well as local agencies and publications, claimed the agreement involves construction of a formula one circuit at the former air base at Dobroslavtsi, 15 kilometres from the capital Sofia.

The agreement would reportedly see Abu Dhabi pay for construction of the circuit, with the land provided by Bulgaria.

But according to the Bulgarian daily Sega, Abu Dhabi has denied the reports.

A statement also said the Emirates Associated Business Group was so disappointed with the incorrect information that it will cancel its Bulgarian investments altogether.

Sega quoted the company’s chief executive Raid Abu Hudra as saying the officials had acted so unprofessionally that he would advise others against investing in Bulgaria.

He said a mediator from the Bulgarian prime minister’s office had invited Abu Dhabi to invest in an F1 track but “We told him we would not be interested”.

Ferrari is not appealing its $100,000 penalty for imposing illegal team orders in the German grand prix.

The stewards, also directing the matter to the World Motor Sport Council, found the Italian team guilty of both team orders and disrepute.

The team denies the charge, arguing that Felipe Massa made the decision to let Fernando Alonso pass him at Hockenheim after struggling on the hard tyres and receiving advice from his race engineer that Alonso was faster.

“In the interests of the sport, we have decided not to go through a procedure of appealing against it (the decision), confident that the World Council will know how to evaluate the overall facts correctly,” said team boss Stefano Domenicali.

With just three days now until the F1 circus re-congregates in Hungary, the other story to emerge is that Massa might now be considered Alonso’s number two.

When asked specifically about playing a longer-term subordinate role to the Spaniard, Brazilian Massa said on Sunday: “Well, I cannot say that I’m there fighting for first position in the championship.”

He also denied that his decision to give way to Alonso will damage his reputation.

“For sure not, for sure not,” said Massa, the 2008 championship runner-up.

“I’m very professional and I’ve shown in my career how professional I am. You (reporters) are professional as well, you work for a company.

“I believe you are doing what you have to do, so I’m professional and today I showed how professional I am. That’s it,” he insisted.