The key backer of the scheduled 2012 US grand prix insists he remains committed to the Circuit of the Americas project.

Construction in Austin, Texas, has continued amid raging local media speculation, as lawsuits are pending and questions are constantly asked about the viability of the project commenced by the now offside promoter Tavo Hellmund.

With 84-year-old billionaire Red McCombs now reportedly in the driving seat, he insisted it is “without question” he will continue to push the project forwards.

“Never has been any question,” McCombs is quoted by mysanantonio.com, after the authoritative Austin American Statesman newspaper had suggested he was on the verge of pulling out.

“I’m there for the full ticket,” McCombs insisted, although he admitted the row with Hellmund is proving a speed-bump.

“I will say we do expect to have some resolution to those issues in a timely fashion, but in dealing with the courts, I don’t know what a timely fashion is.”

He told reporters the circuit is now 60 per cent complete ahead of the inaugural November 18 race date.

Angry students could threaten next month’s Canadian grand prix.

Protests in Montreal, regarding planned university tuition fee increases, have been turning increasingly ugly and even violent, involving the throwing of glass bottles and hundreds of arrests.

According to the French language La Presse newspaper, at least one student association has specifically threatened to disrupt the F1 race, scheduled for 10 June on the nearby Il Notre Dame.

“I cannot deny that we are following this out of the corner of our eye and will continue to follow it in the coming days,” admitted race promoter Francois Dumontier.

The report said students’ chants at recent demonstrations included references to the grand prix.

At a recent meeting, one association of students approved a resolution to adopt “a weekend of disruption” aimed at “the cancellation” of the race, which represents “sexist, non-environmental and elitist” values.

“It is not clear that we will be targeted,” Dumontier insisted, “but we are an international event and are ready with a safety plan ranging from dealing with simple mischief to a wider disruption.

“The grand prix is often targeted because we are a major event. We are not worried but we have our eyes open and will work with the public authorities,” he added.

Money could be at the heart of the delay in Lewis Hamilton’s re-signing with the McLaren team.

Until now, the British team has indicated it wants the 2008 world champion to stay on board, while 27-year-old Hamilton insists he has no plans to leave and will turn his attention to the 2013 contract soon.

But according to Blick newspaper, McLaren is pushing to cut Hamilton’s existing contract retainer “in half” to “about EUR 10 million”.

The Swiss report said the driver is unimpressed with the negotiations so far, but at least Hamilton’s mood has improved tenfold compared with his calamitous 2011.

It is a full year since Hamilton raged about his “frickin ridiculous” track rivals in the 2011 Monaco grand prix, when he also half-seriously suggested that the stewards were targeting him “because I’m black”.

He is back on top form this season, but still yet to win a race, arguably mainly due to McLaren’s numerous team mistakes.

Reports have suggested boss Martin Whitmarsh, who insists Hamilton “deserves” to win this weekend in Monaco, is worried the mistakes might drive the highly rated racer away.

On Wednesday, however, Hamilton denied he is frustrated.

“I’m not, no. This is the way racing goes sometimes,” he insisted.

“I could easily get frustrated because I could have a healthy lead in the championship — but that’s not the case.

“I don’t want to speak too early but something has definitely changed. Whatever I’m doing is working,” he told British reporters.

“In life, things just seem a lot better and that’s enabling me to get on with my job without having any baggage.”

Ross Brawn revealed on Wednesday he missed the recent Spanish grand prix to have checks on his heart.

After handing over to his Mercedes deputy Nick Fry in Barcelona, fellow Briton Brawn is back in action as the team boss in Monte Carlo.

Rumours hinted there was more to the story, but Brawn insisted to a German newspaper earlier on Wednesday that he was simply advised by doctors to take the weekend off after a night in hospital for checks.

He then told reporters in Monaco his symptoms had been “arrhythmia”, or an irregular heartbeat, insisting he is “back to normal now”.

Brawn, 57, joked the heart problem was triggered by watching an exciting football game on television.

It is believed static electricity could have sparked Williams’ garage fire two weeks ago in Barcelona.

Even in the Monte Carlo paddock, the huge Spanish blaze was still a hot topic.

The British team and the FIA conducted investigations, but there has been no definite finding about the cause of the fire.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reported suggestions simple static electricity, caused by the specific weather conditions and the fact a container was not grounded at the time, was the culprit.

Williams has scrambled to be ready for Monaco, but the only obvious sign of the fire on Wednesday was one missing mechanic, who is still recovering from burns.

“He’s on the road to recovery,” said co-owner Toto Wolff.

It is believed the mechanic was pumping fuel from one container to another when the fire started.

Wolff confirmed the static electricity theory.

“This is extremely rare. The weather may have played a role, as we had low pressure over Barcelona that day,” he explained.

Auto Motor und Sport said Williams lost mainly computers in the fire, but the crucial data survived. Of the team’s 150 radios, only 40 were intact.

Wolff said Bruno Senna’s chassis survived because of the partitions at the back of the main pit area.

“They are flame retardant,” he confirmed. “This meant the fire did not come beyond the back (area). The walls melted in the heat, but they didn’t burn.”

And financially, the Oxfordshire based team is completely undamaged, due to insurance.

A favourite for victory this weekend, Pastor Maldonado is reportedly lucky to be gearing up to race in the Principality at all.

Bild newspaper recalls that the Venezuelan, who defied his ‘pay driver’ critics by winning for Williams in Spain two weeks ago, was actually banned after an horror incident on the streets of Monte Carlo seven years ago.

Racing in the Renault World Series in 2005, the then 25-year-old ignored yellow flags before striking and severely injuring a marshal.

Organisers of the Monaco grand prix reacted by banning Maldonado from the street circuit for life.

Germany’s Bild revealed that Maldonado’s wealthy father intervened, promising to pay for the marshal’s recovery and rehabilitation from a broken back.

That intervention saved Maldonado’s future formula one career, as no team would hire a regular driver that cannot participate in the sport’s most famous race.

Maldonado is therefore a favourite for victory this weekend, with his Williams now acknowledged as arguably the best in the entire field when it comes to slow-speed traction.

And in his four seasons of GP2 between 2007 and 2010, Maldonado finished on the podium each time, winning and achieving pole position twice. In 2006, he won in Formula Renault.

Last year, in qualifying for his first Monaco grand prix, he qualified his then struggling Williams in eighth place, comfortably ahead of Rubens Barrichello.

“He is very good at Monaco,” agreed Barrichello.

In the 2011 race, Maldonado was fighting for fifth when he crashed with Lewis Hamilton.

“If the last sector in Barcelona is the marker, then the Williams will be unbeatable in Monte Carlo,” Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport quotes Dr Helmut Marko as saying.

The breakthrough success in Barcelona has piqued the interest of Maldonado’s native Venezuela, having not had an F1 points scorer since the ignominious Johnny Cecotto in 1983.

“My country will be following every second of the next race,” Maldonado is quoted by O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

“I love street circuits, this one in particular. My style of driving fits perfectly with Monaco. I am ready to get another great result.”

Even ahead of F1′s Singapore floatation, the sport has some new owners.

Reuters, the specialist financial market news agency, said US-based asset managers Waddell and Reed, Blackrock and Norway’s Norges Bank have bought a $1.6 billion stake from existing owners CVC.

The report cited a source “with direct knowledge of the matter”. The companies did not immediately comment.

It drops CVC’s stake from 63.4 per cent to about 40pc, the source said.

We reported on Monday that the Singapore stock exchange approved F1′s plan to raise as much as $3 billion in an initial public offering.

Other reports said pre-marketing for the listing, likely to go ahead at the end of June, will begin immediately.

“It is not our practice to publicly comment on our dealings with listing aspirants,” said a Singapore bourse spokesman.

Some insiders have expressed concern.

“Look at the muted first-day response to Facebook’s IPO,” an unnamed banker told the Singapore broadsheet Straits Times. “The F1 listing is not nearly as attractive and long-awaited as that.”

Formula one is worth about $8 or $9 billion, as the sport’s owner CVC confirmed it has this week sold a 21 per cent stake to new investors.

News of the sale coincided with the launch of pre-marketing ahead of one of the biggest ever sports floatations, data by the financial experts Thomson Reuters shows.

“It’s cheap compared to Facebook,” chief executive Bernie Ecclestone told reporters on Tuesday, confirming that the Singapore IPO looks set to go ahead soon “with no dramas”.

“All the things that have to happen have happened. It will be finished by the end of June,” the 81-year-old is quoted by the Telegraph.

F1′s new one-fifth owners are US managers Waddell and Reed, the powerful Blackrock and Norway’s central bank Norges.

“It’s a great way to start the IPO and lets investors know what they can expect,” said Ecclestone.

The diminutive Briton said he is keeping his 5.3 per cent stake, and staying in charge. His former wife Slavica controls another 8.5pc, the news agency Bloomberg said.

“You might as well have asked Frank Sinatra who he would appoint to replace him,” Ecclestone insisted.

CVC said in a statement that is remains F1′s biggest and controlling shareholder.

Felipe Massa has played down reports he is at risk of losing his Ferrari seat soon, insisting he feels fully supported by Ferrari.

The Brazilian has struggled at the wheel of Ferrari’s difficult 2012 car so far, scoring just 2 points compared with his teammate and joint championship leader Fernando Alonso’s 61.

It has triggered speculation the Maranello based team might replace him, also because Ferrari said after Barcelona it is “expecting” Massa to improve “right away”.

Whilst working at Maranello in the driver simulator on Friday, however, Massa insisted he has not been far away from Alonso at recent races.

“I think we must also take into account that, at the moment, Fernando’s driving is amazing: he is on super form, maybe even perfect,” he is quoted as saying in a Ferrari statement.

Asked if he feels the famous Italian team’s support, he added: “Absolutely, yes, I feel the whole team stands by me.

“Obviously, they are not happy with the results and neither am I: we all want to get out of this (situation) and return to normal.

“It’s possible and for sure it’s what I want and I know that with the team’s help we will manage it,” said Massa.

Vitaly Petrov thinks it is possible Felipe Massa will lose his Ferrari seat long before the 2012 season is over.

But Caterham’s Russian driver, who moved from Renault (now Lotus) at the end of last season, does not believe reports that Ferrari could sack the struggling Brazilian imminently, such as after next weekend’s Monaco grand prix.

“I don’t think they’ll fire Massa just now. At least not until August,” Petrov is quoted by the state owned Moscow news agency Ria Novosti.

There are six races until August’s month-long calendar ‘summer’ break.

So while Petrov thinks Massa’s career is genuinely in danger, he does not agree that Ferrari is ramping up the pressure on the 30-year-old.

“I wouldn’t say that Ferrari are criticising him that strongly,” he said. “They’re not saying he has one more chance or anything like that.”

Flavio Briatore could be readying to burst back into formula one.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said the ousted and formerly banned Italian is busily writing regulations for a ‘GP1′ championship.

They could be adopted should the FIA not sign up to the 2013 Concorde Agreement, according to the report.

Apparently, the political rumblings in F1 at present are not limited to the sport’s planned floatation, or Bernie Ecclestone’s spat with Mercedes.

Cost-control is also a buzzword. As reported recently, the vast majority of F1′s teams want the FIA to enshrine cost-cutting in the actual sporting regulations, even to the point of pushing for a once highly-controversial budget cap.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone, however, is not famously close with the FIA’s new president Jean Todt, and according to Auto Motor und Sport he is not convinced that the Paris federation needs to write and control the rules.

Enter Briatore. The German report said Ferrari will be a fan of the former Renault chief’s rumoured regulations, as they steer away from the premium on aerodynamics.

It is possible formula one teams will be limited to a budget cap in 2013, according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

The budget cap idea saw the sport almost implode amid the bitter political war of 2009, when proposed by controversial former FIA president Max Mosley.

But it is back on the agenda in 2012, and according to new rules – where a majority of teams can now push through a change – it could be imposed next season.

“Ten of the 12 teams are in favour,” Auto Motor und Sport said, referring to the push to have cost-cutting moved from the FOTA gentleman’s agreement to the actual sporting regulations.

It means that the two dissenting teams, the Red Bull-owned Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso, will have no say.

“The cost to be competitive in formula one at present is too high,” the boss of the energy drink company’s premier team, Christian Horner, said recently. “I don’t think anybody will dispute that.

“The debate is how we achieve it.”

Not only that, the German report said nine teams are in favour of Mosley’s old budget cap idea, with annual expenditure limited initially to EUR 170 million and then diminishing to 100 million over a few seasons.

Jerome d’Ambrosio is the latest name linked with struggling Felipe Massa’s Ferrari race seat.

While Mark Webber or Sergio Perez are the Maranello team’s more likely longer term solutions, Ferrari may be looking simply for a stop-gap solution, having reportedly run out of patience for Brazilian Massa’s lack of pace and results.

The French sports daily L’Equipe named d’Ambrosio, the Belgian driver who lost his Virgin/Marussia seat at the end of last season.

He is managed by Eric Boullier, and now Lotus’ reserve driver.

Also named as potential substitutes for Massa in recent days were Nico Hulkenberg, Paul di Resta and Kamui Kobayashi.

But, according to L’Equipe, d’Ambrosio “has the advantage of being immediately available, giving Ferrari time to find a more permanent solution” for 2013.

Also ready to step in now is Adrian Sutil, the former Force India driver who is putting his career back together after the Eric Lux assault affair.

“I have no money to offer,” the German is quoted as saying. “After five seasons, people know what is my level. I want a normal salary, that’s all.”

Preparations for the inaugural Russian grand prix in 2014 appear to have hit a roadblock.

We reported last weekend that rumours were circulating in the Barcelona paddock that the Sochi race now appears “doomed”.

The state owned Moscow news agency Ria Novosti now reports that political issues have created “serious delays” in the race’s preparations, according to an adviser with the Russian Automobile Federation.

The official, Igor Yermilin, insisted that the project is not doomed, but he said very few efforts have taken place following the bureaucratic reshuffling of the local Krasnodar region.

He said some officials of the Omega company, responsible for the F1 circuit project, have lost their jobs.

“In the Krasnodar region there has been have been quite serious changes in the leadership,” Yermilin said, “including people from Omega who signed the contract on holding the Russian grand prix”.

The coastal city Sochi is also scheduled to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

“The main thing at the moment is the Olympics — the grand prix is on the back burner,” said Yermilin.

Five races in, F1′s cleverest brains are still yet to decode the mystery of the bizarre and fascinating 2012 season.

As was the case when he utterly dominated last year, Sebastian Vettel is still leading the drivers’ points chase.

But, before last weekend, if he had been told that Williams’ Pastor Maldonado would be the winner of the Spanish grand prix, the German admitted: “Well, I would have put a lot of money on them!

“I think the odds weren’t bad,” he smiled.

Indeed, the major British bookmaker William Hill was taking bets at 500-1 prior to the Barcelona weekend.

A spokesman confirmed that only two bets at 10 pounds or above were placed on Maldonado prior to qualifying.

“I’m sure Williams don’t understand why they just won the race here,” McLaren’s Jenson Button is quoted by the Guardian newspaper.

But the previously-derided ‘pay driver’ Maldonado is not the only potential new winner in 2012, after Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg and Vettel won the opening four grands prix.

A detailed look at F1′s specialist reporting in the past few weeks shows that Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean, Michael Schumacher, Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi are all also widely regarded as genuine victory candidates in 2012.

And given that their teammates have won grands prix this season, even the struggling Felipe Massa and Bruno Senna should be added to that list.

“Dammit, let’s go for (HRT’s) Karthikeyan!” wrote Chris Hockley in the Sun newspaper.

“It’s really quite crazy right now,” Vettel, who despite his young age would count himself among F1′s currently perplexed purists, told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“What’s happening is difficult for us to explain,” he added.

The situation has split the F1 audience, with the purists shaking their heads, and others marvelling at the unprecedented spectacle.

“The spectacle has taken over the sport,” said the Paris daily Le Figaro.

“Even the teams can’t be sure who will be the hare and who will be the tortoise at any given track,” wrote Hockley.

Alonso, who is the joint championship leader, is in the purists’ camp.

“Of course it is attractive for the spectators that we are going to Monaco not knowing if we will fight for victory or be left out of the points,” he is quoted by El Pais.

“But in a way, after eleven years in formula one and now I’m at Ferrari, I would like to have more stability,” the Spaniard admitted.

Sir Jackie Stewart said: “What’s going on is unbelievable, which I think is the outcome of the new rules, new tyres — I think it’s many factors,” he told the Spanish sports daily AS.

“What’s happening,” said Maldonado’s race engineer Xevi Pujolar, “is that these tyres are allowing teams who do not have the biggest budgets to be eligible for really good results.

“The reason is that the most important thing now is to have a good setup and also some luck with the temperature.”

Pirelli, F1′s tyre maker, has received both criticism and praise for its huge role.

“Pirelli have been both bold and brave,” Sun journalist Hockley said. “It can’t be easy for a manufacturer to make tyres that sometimes wear out faster than you can say Mercedes.”

Marco Tronchetti Provera, the Italian marque’s company chief, is unapologetic.

“What we have provided is what the teams have asked for, and it was not easy,” Italian language reports quote him saying. “Our engineers have done an extraordinary thing.”