A respected F1 correspondent is expecting F1′s 2012 calendar to shrink to eighteen races this year.

Livio Oricchio, who writes for Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo, thinks the sport is now on the verge of cancelling next weekend’s visit to Bahrain.

And he also thinks November’s US grand prix, scheduled to take place at the brand new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, is in doubt.

“The construction has fallen way behind,” said Oricchio, “and there are serious problems between the promoter and the Texas government.

“Each side is looking to the other on the obligation to pay the fee, estimated at $18 million, to FOM (Formula One Management).

“So the championship that should have 20 races will most likely have only 18,” he concluded.

At least publicly, however, the Circuit of the Americas is continuing to take shape.

This Thursday, a private ceremony is scheduled to take place as circuit contractor Austin Commercial celebrates the milestone of completing the full height of the main three-storey pit building.

The Austin Business Journal reports that “several business and civic leaders are scheduled to attend”.

Jenson Button has revealed he will “definitely” remain loyal to McLaren for the next few years.

It was reported this week that the 2009 world champion received an “offer” from Ferrari last year to replace the struggling Felipe Massa.

According to the Brazilian news agency Agencia Estado, those talks took place prior to October last year, when the 32-year-old Briton signed a new ‘multi year contract’ to stay at McLaren.

“I had a listen to what some of the other teams could offer me,” Button confirmed.

He also appeared to leave the door open to a Ferrari move in the future, admitting it would be “exciting” to be paired with Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

But Button has now insisted that he is perfectly happy at McLaren, despite the common paddock perception that the British team lacks the sort of “passion” seen at Ferrari.

“We have a great atmosphere, everyone thinks it’s a very cold, very grey team,” he is quoted by the Daily Mail.

“People talk about Ferrari and them being very passionate, and they are. But I don’t think most people realise how passionate this team is, and how much they want to achieve.

“So I’m very happy here, and you never know what’s going to happen in the future,” said Button.

“I’m not going to sign my life away, but I’ll stay here for the next few years, definitely.”

Button also lived up to his promise to “hurt” himself after a poor result in Malaysia recently, finishing sixth overall in the Waikoloa Lavaman triathlon in Hawaii.

“Yeah, I did (hurt myself),” he smiled immediately after the event. “My gluts are killing me. “They say that means you are riding the bike correctly, but it hurts.”

Fernando Alonso’s win was a complete surprise, but the name of another team was on more paddock-dwellers’ lips after Malaysia — Sauber.

“Only one team could do consistently good laptimes on all the tyres and in all the conditions, and it was Sauber,” confirmed Martin Whitmarsh, whose McLaren team had travelled to Sepang with arguably the fastest car.

Also in Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner agreed: “They (Sauber) have somehow managed to get all of the tyres to work perfectly, which at the moment is the key to success.

“The (tyre) window is so small that it’s very easy to not be in it,” added the Briton.

And Sepang winner Fernando Alonso, whose victory was only ensured by a late-race mistake by Sauber’s Sergio Perez, admitted: “No doubt about it, they were quicker than us.”

Some believe it was only the Malaysian weather chaos that brought the Ferrari-powered C31 to the top of F1′s form-guide, but the Sauber was in fact also fast in Australia.

“Our cars were severely damaged at the start (in Melbourne),” explained chief designer Matt Morris. “At the front for Perez, the rear for Kobayashi.”

Nonetheless, both finished inside the top eight.

“The race in Malaysia showed very clearly how fast our car is,” insisted team boss Peter Sauber, writing in Blick newspaper.

“After two very different tracks, we have the assurance now that the C31 is a success.”

The next question is precisely how the small Hinwil based team has managed to build a pace-setting car.

One possible answer is the end of the blown diffuser era, and the fact that Sauber’s 2012 solution has already been copied by F1′s formerly-dominant Red Bull.

Italy’s Autosprint, meanwhile, claims Ferrari is next, mischievously suggesting that the updated F2012 might aptly be called the ‘Ferrauber’.

Referring to the FIA exhaust clampdown, Morris admitted: “We had to give up less than our opponents.”

Peter Sauber added: “When I saw that Red Bull had chosen a similar route to us, I was sure that we were right.”

Another trick on the C31 is a clever use of the loophole allowing an opening at the front of the car for driver cooling.

“It’s no match-winner,” Morris insists, “but it gains us some (lap) time.”

And Autosprint reports that another “trick” on the Sauber is located in front of the rear wheels, exploiting yet another “grey zone” in the regulations.

Dr Helmut Marko has dismissed suggestions Red Bull is entering the 2012 season with a question mark over the legality of its new car.
With two days of pre-season testing remaining, the reigning world champions took a heavily revised car to Barcelona recently and guarded the rear exhaust solution intensely, with covers and – oddly – even umbrellas.

Initial analysis indicated it might be close to what the FIA will allow, following the strict clampdown on exhaust diffuser blowing.

Asked by the Kleine Zeitung newspaper if the FIA has completely banned the aerodynamic use of exhaust gases, Marko replied: “No.

“The regulations stipulate the position of the exhaust, within a certain parameter.”

As for the ‘cheating’ rumours, the team advisor insists: “It bounces off us completely. The way we see it, there are no grey areas and we are well within all the regulations.”

Meanwhile, FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting has admitted it is “quite likely” he will have to “revisit” the exhaust regulations for 2013.

Singapore telecommunications company SingTel has denied it has agreed a deal to extend its naming sponsorship of the city-state’s night grand prix.

“We agreed terms with SingTel for the renewal of their contract for a further two years,” F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was quoted earlier by the local media broadcaster MediaCorp.

The news had followed rumours during Singapore’s third F1 event in September that SingTel was considering ending its association with the grand prix.

“We have companies worldwide that wish to have association in formula one and I always prefer to have local sponsors for the title sponsorship,” added Ecclestone.

A spokesman for SingTel told us on Friday: “We are still in discussions with F1 management regarding the sponsorship of the Singapore grand prix.”

An industry expert said SingTel would be spending $10-15 million on the deal.

“I don’t know what the cost is but I am sure somebody in SingTel must have done a cost-benefit analysis,” said Nervik Singh, chief executive of the marketing communications company Grey Group Asia Pacific.

F1′s travelling circus is arriving in South Korea, and the first reports are mixed.

BBC television anchor Jake Humphrey summed up the Yeongam venue as satisfactory but “far from finished”.

“Things look pretty ready to go,” said Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi, “with some beauty work still to be finished but the main structure is ready.”

Others talked about their long journeys from the huge Seoul airport to Mokpo, the closest city to Yeongam, in the impressive high-speed KTX train with free wi-fi.

Photographer Darren Heath was less impressed with the journey, tackled by many in buses.  “F1 in Seoul?  Nah, let’s have it in the middle of nowhere 100s of miles from anywhere,” he wrote on Twitter.

Veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit, writing in Blick newspaper, said the F1 track itself is an “enormous construction site”, and his hotel room one of the ones usually rented by the hour.

“No joke,” he said.

Reportedly so unimpressed was Williams with the local accommodation on offer that the British team has committed to a 3 hour round trip every day in order to stay in a nicer hotel.

“Dominating the venue are the excavators, debris and waste,” wrote Benoit, who said a bridge over the front straight is still littered with scaffolding and hard-hatted workers.

Sauber’s team manager Beat Zehnder complained about the cost of the team buildings, with the rent costing $40,000.

“Whoever wants to use the upper floor must pay another 20,000,” he said, “but everyone has decided to just use the ground floor!”

Said Benoit: “I’m already looking forward to the final races in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi!”

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said rolling machines are still working on the recently-laid top surface of asphalt, with the paint for the starting grid yet to be sprayed.

“Only on Friday will we know whether the surface will withstand the stresses of formula one cars,” read the report.

“Everything on the sandy site is under construction.  Next to the pitlane is a large pile of sand.  Whoever didn’t know that F1 is running here in a few days would think it’s not happening until next year,” it added.

German Sky television pundit Marc Surer reports in Speed Week that the seating in some grandstands is not complete.

“Much remains to be done, but as for the track itself, I am surprised that it is ready,” he said.

“Whether it can withstand hours of practice and racing, however, is another question.”

A hotel popular with formula one teams, spectators and media personnel has burned down just days before the British grand prix.

A stone’s throw from Silverstone, the double storey Premier Inn hotel – based at the popular Green Man pub – caught fire on Monday night and was attended by more than 50 firefighters.

One woman was hospitalised and two men have been arrested.

“There have been no similar fires reported in the area and there is no suggestion that there is any link to the British grand prix,” said Northamptonshire West CID inspector Andy Glenn.

(GMM)

Entering formula one will not cause Pirelli to increase its budget, chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera said on Thursday.

The Italian company has won its bid to succeed the sport’s departing exclusive supplier Bridgestone in 2011, but its boss played down suggestions the sport is still extremely expensive for participants.

Tronchetti Provera confirmed that teams are paying Pirelli for service over the next three years, adding that the cost to the marque “will be zero compared to our budget”.

And “the advertising campaign … will be switched from other races where we’ve reduced our presence, first of all rallying, where there are new rules starting next year”, he is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

“We’ll reduce our budget in other racing (categories) and be fully dedicated to formula one,” he said, although Pirelli will also supply GP2 and GP3 next year.

Meanwhile, Pirelli’s director of motorsport Paul Hembrey played down reports the unraced 2010 Toyota car will be used by the marque for F1 tyre testing.

Revealing that a GP2 car will be used instead, he said as “a test-bed, particularly for integrity reasons, reliability and stability, it’s probably a good starting point”.
(GMM)

Jun.18 (GMM)  Another team reportedly in the running to become F1′s 13th team in 2011 is Carlin.

Headed by former Jordan boss Trevor Carlin, the outfit is the most successful in the history of British F3, and also races in GP3 and the Renault World Series.

Since 2007, Carlin has been based at Brabham’s old F1 factory in Surrey, featuring a wind tunnel, and late last year the team was bought by Grahame Chilton.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat said the team, alongside Epsilon Euskadi and ART, is in the running for the 2011 spot made vacant by the demise of USF1.

Jun.10 (GMM)  A cold, grey and rainy morning has dawned in Montreal, where across the bridge to the Il Notre Dame this weekend’s Canadian grand prix will be held.

After a pleasant Wednesday, a wintery and wet day is expected throughout Thursday, although some reports indicate that the first day of action on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve layout may take place under sunnier skies.

Weather forecasts say qualifying on Saturday and then Sunday’s grand prix may also be wet.

In the hours before Thursday practice, there is no sign of rain that is still forecast to fall this weekend in Monaco.

Sunshine has been bouncing off the buildings all morning in the Principality, underneath clear blue skies, amid reports that grey cloud-cover could be set to move overhead in the afternoon.

But some teams on Thursday morning are saying that, despite rain earlier this week and continuing reports of bad weather this weekend, round six of the world championship will in fact be a dry one.

(GMM)

On Wednesday in Monaco, Mercedes confirmed that it has concluded a sponsorship deal with Deutsche Post.

We reported in March that the German logistics giant, who through its subsidiary DHL is already an official partner of the world championship itself, is in talks about backing the Brackley based team.

It was rumoured that the deal could be ready to debut in Spain last weekend, but in fact the logos will be added to the livery and front wing of the grey W01 car in Monaco.

“The team has been very successful in attracting new partners over the past months and Deutsche Post is a very welcome addition,” said team chief executive Nick Fry.

(GMM)

The first photographs of Mercedes’ new motor home have emerged from the paddock of the Monaco street circuit.

The Brackley based team used a motor home usually seen in the DTM paddocks in Spain, while the new structure was being put together for the first time in the Principality.

The three-storey structure resembles a glass-fronted office building and can be seen on the team’s official Twitter site at http://twitpic.com/1mp7lr and http://twitpic.com/1mp7cz.

German reports say the motor home has been made at a cost of less than 2 million euros, compared with the EUR15m cost of Red Bull’s Energy Station.

While Mercedes and Red Bull’s motor homes were already in Monaco, the first motor home to arrive from Spain on Monday morning was Renault’s.

Reportedly, the Enstone based team bought the motor home operated last year by the departed Toyota.

McLaren’s so-called Brand Centre takes longer to disassemble, and as of late on Monday it had not arrived in Monaco.

(GMM)

May 6 (GMM)  One of the innovations on the Mercedes car for the Spanish grand prix is the abolishment of the traditional ‘airbox’.

The airbox – an inlet for the normally-aspirated engines – has traditionally been part of the roll-hoop structure immediately behind and above the drivers’ head.

But the rollover structure of the revised W01 is now sharp as a knife, with air to now be fed to the 2.4 litre V8 engine via two symmetrical inlets on either side of the engine cover.

Also spotted in the Barcelona pitlane on Thursday was Christian Klien, having his moulded seat and settings fitted to the HRT car usually belonging to Karun Chandhok.

The team’s newly-appointed third driver will hand the F110 car back to Indian Chandhok ahead of Friday’s afternoon practice session.

Meanwhile, in the paddock, Virgin’s new double-storey motor home won the race as the most impressive of F1′s three new teams.

Sauber has taken over BMW’s imposing paddock structure of 2009, while Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel walked behind the Circuit de Catalunya pits sporting a new haircut.

Also spotted on Thursday was Joan Villadelprat, who is hoping his Spanish Le Mans outfit Epsilon Euskadi will be given a green light to race in formula one next year.

May 6 (GMM)  The impressive motor homes of the Red Bull, Mercedes and Force India teams are absent in the paddock of the first European grand prix of 2010.

After the initial run of overseas or ‘flyaway’ races, the Barcelona event is usually the F1 world’s first annual glimpse of the teams’ imposing temporary paddock buildings.

But in 2010, the Circuit de Catalunya event is followed just one week later by the prestigious Monaco grand prix.

Because there is not enough time to dismantle the huge structures and transport them several hundred kilometres across Europe, Red Bull and Mercedes have taken alternate hospitality units to Spain.

Red Bull’s Barcelona solution is to use its test motor home, while Mercedes will be housed this weekend in one of its DTM buildings.

Switzerland’s Blick newspaper reports that Red Bull’s huge Energy Station is already being erected in the Monaco harbour.

McLaren’s ‘Brand Centre’ is however standing in the Barcelona paddock, but Force India’s refurbished three-storey structure will not be seen in Europe until the Turkish grand prix at the end of the month.

“In the meantime we will use a temporary motor home in Spain and Monaco while the new improved motor home is driven direct to Turkey,” said team manager Andy Stevenson.