Michael Schumacher has been pipped at the post in the race to be the world’s richest sportsman.

According to the Sunday Times’ annual listings, the seven time world champion’s (US) $823 million in career earnings is beaten only by golf legend Tiger Woods.

American Woods has earned $869 million in his own ultra-successful career, the newspaper found.

And the Sunday Times said the pair have each earned hundreds of millions of dollars more than other high-earning sportsmen, including Michael Jordan ($516m), Roger Federer ($316m) and David Beckham ($258m).

F1′s two other representatives, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, were way down the top-twenty list, with their respective earnings at about $161 million apiece.

McLaren’s world champions Lewis Hamilton ($89m) and Jenson Button ($85m), meanwhile, appear only on the list for British sportsmen, and they are both outpaced by the $129m earned by former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine mainly through property investment.

However, Hamilton and Button have each earned more in their careers than David Coulthard, Nigel Mansell, former BAR boss David Richards (all $80m) and Sir Jackie Stewart ($67m).

Those earnings, however, are all dwarfed by Bernie Ecclestone’s estimated $4 billion, although the 81-year-old F1 chief executive does not appear at all on the list of the world’s richest overall.

That list is headed by mega-earners like Sauber sponsor Carlos Slim, who according to the Sunday Times is worth $71 billion.

A formula one team boss has admitted he hopes the forthcoming Bahrain grand prix is called off.

The Times newspaper is reporting that every team is devising contingency plans for the possibility that this month’s race in the troubled island Kingdom might not go ahead.

“I feel very uncomfortable about going to Bahrain,” one team boss, described as a “leading” member of the F1 paddock and with representative views, told the Guardian.

“We’re all hoping the FIA calls it off,” he admitted.

“It seems to me that while there has been some political progress in Bahrain they’re not quite ready.  The best thing would be for the race to be postponed until later in the year, or even cancelled.”

Ultimately, the decision will be made by the FIA, and a spokesman for the governing body has now admitted it is “constantly monitoring and evaluating the situation” in Bahrain.

Interestingly, the Guardian said FIA president Jean Todt will be in China this weekend.  The teams are currently scheduled to travel directly from China to Bahrain for the second leg of a back-to-back double header.

Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, the chief executive of Bahrain’s circuit, sounds confident.

“The FIA and Bernie (Ecclestone) have never shown any doubts about our race,” he told The National.

“I do see there is fear, but I just wish such people would listen to those who have the information — maybe not us, because we as a circuit are perhaps not perceived as an objective voice, but there are other people who know the region and know the situation and they are saying that this race should go ahead.”

Charlie Whiting has vowed to do what he can to ensure next year’s cars are not as ‘ugly’ as the 2012 generation.
“It’s an ugly regulation,” said Red Bull’s Mark Webber, referring to the compromise reached between the FIA’s push for lower nose heights, and the teams wanting to keep the old monocoque dimensions.

It has meant every 2012 machine, with the notable exception of the McLaren, has a conspicuous ‘duck head’-style bump in the middle of the front of the car.

“We only got a sense of what was coming in December,” Whiting is quoted by Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo, “when it was too late.”

The Briton said the new rule for 2013 would have to be agreed by the end of June.

“I promise to do everything I can so that the representatives of the teams agree to a change,” said Whiting.

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.

Johnny Herbert will make his third appearance in 2010 as a formula one steward this weekend.

The 46-year-old Briton, who won three grands prix during his career spanning 165 races until 2000, debuted in the role in Malaysia and then wore an FIA shirt again in Turkey.

A spokesman for the Brazilian grand prix confirmed to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that Herbert will be the driver representative on the stewards’ panel at Interlagos.

He raced in F1 for Benetton, Tyrrell, Ligier, Sauber, Stewart and Jaguar.

His best finish at Interlagos, an event he contested nine times, was fourth in 1993 at the wheel of a Lotus.

Hans-Joachim Stuck does not think Sebastian Vettel will win the 2010 world championship.

The young Red Bull driver has made a series of mistakes recently and is now 31 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

“Theoretically he can still do it, practically I don’t think so,” Stuck, former grand prix driver and now VW motor sport representative, is quoted by the German news agency SID.

Even team boss Christian Horner acknowledges that Vettel is still learning, and Stuck agrees that the time may not be ripe for him to succeed.

“Sebastian needs to show whether he can also work under pressure, making no mistakes in those circumstances,” he said.

Ten-time grand prix winner Gerhard Berger, boss at Toro Rosso when Vettel sensationally won the Italian grand prix in his rookie season, is more confident.

“31 points is possible to catch up,” said the Austrian.  “Sebastian has the advantage of the best car.

“He has to learn to settle sometimes for second and third, striking when he can but not at any cost,” acknowledged Berger.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone is equally bullish.

“31 points behind Lewis (Hamilton) is not too much, and he has the talent to do it.  He only has to not do anything crazy,” added the Briton.

Hans-Joachim Stuck has left hospital after recovering from head surgery.

The German former grand prix driver and now Volkswagen’s competition representative had a hematoma removed just over a week ago, caused by a heavy crash in an Audi R8 at the Nurburgring.

The 59-year-old was recovering in hospital in the German town Neuwied, but has now left the St. Elisabeth-Krankenhaus, according to the news agency SID.

“Finally I can check out — man, I’m glad about that,” he is quoted as saying, thanking the staff for their “excellent care”.

Stuck, who contested 81 races in the 70s, said he is returning home to rest, with his next race in the German endurance championship scheduled for September 25.

Former German grand prix driver and now Volkswagen’s competition representative Hans-Joachim Stuck has had surgery after a head injury.

German-language reports including in the Welt, Kleine Zeitung and Express newspapers say the operation on Saturday was for a hematoma that developed after a heavy crash in an Audi R8 at the Nurburgring several weeks ago.

At another event last weekend, the VW Scirocco Cup support race at the Nurburgring, he complained of headaches, dizziness, loss of balance and nausea.

The reports say Stuck, who contested 81 races in the 70s, has been transferred from intensive care to a normal hospital ward in the German town Neuwied.

“We advised Strietzel (Stuck) after practice to consult a doctor,” confirmed VW motorsport director Kris Nissen.

The marque’s spokesman Stefan Moser confirmed the reports about Stuck’s surgery.

Derek Warwick will return to F1 stewarding duties at the Hungaroring this weekend.

In May in Barcelona, the former F1 racer made his debut as the driver representative on the FIA officials’ panel.

Briton Warwick, 55 and a veteran of 162 grands prix between 1981 and 1993, did not win a race during his tenures with Toleman, Renault, Brabham, Arrows, Lotus and Footwork.