Rumours that a top English premier league football club is entering formula one as a sponsor have proved correct.

Ever since Sauber has been running teaser ‘Out of the blue’ and ‘True blue’ graphics on its engine cover livery in China and Bahrain, speculation about the identity of the forthcoming sponsor have been swirling in the F1 paddock.

We reported the rumour that the deal could be with the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, to promote his football club Chelsea.

Swiss F1 team Sauber confirmed the “new and innovative partnership” on Monday.

“The C31 sporting the blue logo of Chelsea FC will be seen for the first time at the Spanish grand prix,” the Hinwil based team announced in a media statement.

“A partnership like this between formula one and football has never existed before in this form, yet there are numerous commonalities and possible synergies,” said Sauber chief executive Monisha Kaltenborn.

The statement said Chelsea will in turn display Sauber’s logo on its advertising boards and interview walls, ensuring one another “a significant market presence outside their original sport”.

Sauber’s ‘teaser’ has done the trick, triggering paddock speculation about its forthcoming major backer.

Last weekend in China, off the back of Sergio Perez’s recent push for victory at Sepang, the small Swiss team ran mysterious ‘Out of the blue’ signage on the C31′s engine cover.

The Blick newspaper said it was a “teaser” for a “big sponsor” that will be “announced in a few weeks”.

So who is it?

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport relayed paddock rumours hinting that the deal could be with AT-T, the American multinational who last year pulled its title sponsorship of the then-struggling Williams team.

Another paddock whisper is that Sauber’s new deal could be with the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, to promote his English premier league club Chelsea.

In the case of Sauber’s clever exhaust solution, Red Bull simply rolled out a copy in the days before the 2012 season.

Writing in O Estado de S.Paulo, Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio said the Sauber philosophy makes ingenious use of something called the ‘Coanda effect’.

In the wake of the FIA’s strict clampdown on blown exhaust technology for 2012, the C31 uses the Coanda effect – named after Romanian aerodynamics pioneer Henri Coanda – to legally entice the flow of exhaust to the diffuser.

Ferrari is understood to be the next team set to follow suit.

Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus, however, have a vastly different attitude when it comes to Mercedes’ clever F-duct, which uses the existing DRS rules to redirect air from the rear of the W03 car to the front.

The concept not only significantly boosts straight line speed but also improves handling.

The FIA’s Charlie Whiting has declared that Sauber and Mercedes are doing nothing wrong.

But the three aforementioned teams continue to rail against the F-duct, even leaving open the threat of protest ahead of the Chinese grand prix.

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko explains: “Lotus, who are very responsible, have discovered two ways in which the F-duct is not in accordance with the regulations.”

So is the difference in attitude when it comes to the Sauber and Mercedes innovations actually about the ease in which they can be copied?

Oricchio quotes Red Bull’s Adrian Newey as having said in Malaysia: “In regard to the aerodynamic (F) duct of the Mercedes, and sending the airflow from the back to the front, it is necessary to review the entire project.”

Jaime Alguersuari has offered a less than flattering opinion about the personality of his fellow Spaniard and F1 driver Fernando Alonso.

“He is cold (frio), very cold,” said 20-year-old Alguersuari, the youngest driver on the grid who races with the second Red Bull team, Toro Rosso.

“He is a man of few words,” he is quoted as saying by Dir Emotions.  “I have no relationship with him.”

Alguersuari also described the Ferrari driver and double world champion as “a great” F1 racer.

Alonso, 29, recently moved to clarify some misperceptions by revealing that when people actually meet him, they often remark that he is “nicer” than his media image.

The German-language spox.com compared Alonso’s apparent win-at-all-costs attitude with that of Michael Schumacher.

“In the media we read again and again things about ourselves that are not right,” said the Spaniard.

“People are making judgements from the outside, but that’s the business.”

Asked to clarify the misperceptions, Alonso said: “I am very calm and relaxed, even romantic.  Actually, I’m a normal guy.

“A little bit shy, but when everything’s right, that’s when the Spaniard in me comes out,” he laughed.

In Singapore last weekend, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali agreed that Alonso is “cool and calm and sometimes difficult”.

And after back-to-back victories from pole, Alonso says he is on the top of his game.

“The F1 championship is very long compared to other sports so you can’t be completely fit, focused, motivated 100 per cent of the time.

“But now, in this part of the championship, I’m at a peak,” he is quoted in the Spanish press.

Jun.9 (GMM)  As Ferrari bids to return to the pace, test driver Giancarlo Fisichella was at the wheel of the F10′s latest specification late last week.

On Thursday, the Roman conducted an aerodynamic test at Vairano, with the specific package to be raced at Montreal’s unique Circuit Gille Villeneuve this weekend.

However, the major upgrade is not due until the following Valencia round, with the Maranello based team confirming that in Canada the car will be in essentially “the same specification” as it was in Turkey two weeks ago.

At Istanbul Park, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were notably off the pace.

“It’s quite unusual,” McLaren’s Jenson Button told the Toronto media at an event on Tuesday.

“They (Ferrari) had the perfect winter.  They were very quick, very consistent and very reliable and we were thinking, ‘Wow, those guys are going to be untouchable’.

“But they can come back.  They’re a very strong team, Fernando and Felipe have the experience.  You can’t ever count them out.  We never forget them,” added the reigning world champion.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali said Ferrari must avoid becoming downbeat about its situation.

“That would be no use when there are still two thirds of the season yet ahead,” he is quoted by the French language Canadian newspaper La Presse.

“We put a lot of energy into developing our F-duct and that may have delayed slightly other areas,” added Domenicali.

“Many things can change from race to race and we are certainly not lowering our heads and becoming downcast — that is for those who do not reach their goals, and that is certainly not the case with Ferrari.”

Colin Kolles has confirmed reports that Bernie Ecclestone is helping the struggling HRT team with its plans for the future.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone was quoted in Monaco as suggesting he is helping the new Spanish outfit to get out of financial trouble.

But subsequent reports have clarified that the 79-year-old’s assistance may in fact be in the form of HRT’s technical plans.

The team’s contract with its car designer Dallara has lapsed, and boss Kolles has been working on securing a deal with a wind tunnel in view of designing an all-new car for 2011.

“Obviously we are still not competitive enough, even for our expectations as a new team, and we are seeking solutions for the future,” the Romanian-born German is quoted by Spain’s AS.

“We are optimistic and Bernie is helping us to ensure a better 2011,” he added.

Kolles insists the speculation about HRT collapsing is wide of the mark, amid suggestions the team could run out of spare parts by June’s race in Montreal.

“The team will complete the season and we are already planning for the next one,” he said.

“We hope to make an announcement next month – certainly before the Canadian grand prix – about our plans to build our own chassis,” said Kolles.

It is also reported that Geoff Willis, currently just a consultant to HRT, is set to stay with the team because of its ambitious technical plans for 2011.

(GMM)

May 6 (GMM) Colin Kolles on Thursday moved to dispel persistent rumours that HRT might not see the end of its debut season.

After struggling to survive in the winter before even turning a wheel, the new Spanish team is currently the least competitive of F1′s new outfits including Lotus and Virgin.

HRT, standing for Hispania Racing Team but founded as Campos Meta 1, even changed ownership before the season opening Bahrain grand prix, and the Dallara-built F110 car is not heavily sponsored.

Asked in Barcelona to dispel rumours that the team could fold before this year’s 19-race schedule is complete, team boss Kolles answered: “I don’t anticipate that the season is not guaranteed.

“I don’t know who has been saying that,” he added.

When informed by Germany’s Motorsport-Magazin.com that numerous sources are reporting the speculation, Kolles insisted: “I’m not aware of that.”

Asked to confirm that HRT is planning to race in 2011, the Romanian-born German replied: “Of course.”

Kolles said he is working “day and night” to secure more funding for the team, and baulked at reports that the return of KERS systems for 2011 is supported by established teams including McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and Williams.

He believes the energy recovery technology is “nonsense”.

“I cannot say it more clearly. I believe there are more important things than KERS,” Kolles said, insisting that use of the systems should not be compulsory.

“As a team we cannot be made to use KERS. And I think that if we do not use it, we are being more environmentally friendly,” he added, referring to the waste produced by the batteries.

May 6 (GMM)  HRT will build its own car for the 2011 season, according to the new Spanish team’s boss Colin Kolles.

After the car commissioned by the team’s founder Adrian Campos and designed and built by Dallara was heavily criticised, Kolles confirmed that the contract with the Italian constructor has ended.

HRT’s Romanian-born chief is believed to be close to announcing a deal with a wind tunnel, so the team can develop the Dallara car throughout 2010.

Kolles told sport1.de in an interview: “The next step is that we get our own development programme running and then for 2011 build our own car.

“We are going to try to improve this car as much as possible.  But eventually we will have to draw a line and focus on next year,” he added.

Kolles likened his vision for HRT to the team he formerly led at Silverstone, which since being sold by Jordan in 2004 is now a respected midfield outfit called Force India.

“For Force India it took five years.  We are going to try to do it in three,” he said.

Kolles said he is the right man to be in charge of a fledgling F1 team.

“I cannot afford to do F1 personally, so I create value for other people.  I did it for Midland, for Spyker and the Mol family, and so on.  The team always sold for more money because it had developed.

“And people who know about it know that I am the only one who can do it.  I don’t mean that arrogantly, it’s quite simply because no one else has the infrastructure and the know-know,” added Kolles.

He said James Key, the new technical director at Sauber, is a good example.

“I made him from simply an engineer into a technical director.  This is the strategy,” said Kolles.  “We cannot afford superstars.”

May 3 (GMM)  HRT’s inexperienced driver lineup is a “disadvantage” for a new formula one outfit, team boss Colin Kolles has admitted.

Of the three new teams on the grid in 2010, Hispania is the only one that arrived in Bahrain for its grand prix debut with two rookies.

Kolles told Finland’s Turun Sanomat: “I am pleased with what (Bruno) Senna and (Karun) Chandhok have done, but it is useless to deny that their lack of F1 experience is a disadvantage at this point.”

HRT has now signed former Super Aguri and Spyker driver Sakon Yamamoto, who also tested with Renault in 2008, to drive on the Fridays of grand prix weekends.

But even the 27-year-old Japanese is bringing sponsor funding to his cockpit.

“We could not afford to hire drivers like Jarno Trulli or Heikki Kovalainen, as Lotus did,” Kolles insists.

“We have to take drivers who are good but who also come with budgets,” added the Romanian-born German, who said Yamamoto will take HRT forward “because he has more experience than Bruno and Karun”.

The team has announced that some new parts will be on the F110 car in Barcelona, but Kolles admits that “much work is needed to make our cars faster”.

The end of the Dallara chassis contract has complicated the development process for the 2010 car, but Kolles said HRT will shortly announce a deal with a wind tunnel so it can develop its own aerodynamic pieces.

“Our competitors have quite a lead on us but I still believe that in the end Hispania will be the best of the new teams,” he insisted.

May 3 (GMM)  Christian Klien has begun working with a new manager.

The former formula one driver is Peugeot’s Le Mans reserve this year, after a career spanning 48 grands prix and recent stints as test driver with departed Honda and BMW.

Austrian Klien, 27, wanted to return to the grid in 2010, and was previously managed by his father Johannes.

“Already last year it became obvious that talent and speed are by far not a guarantee for a permanent race seat in the current economic climate,” said the former Red Bull and Jaguar racer.

It is believed Klien was in the running for the HRT ‘Friday’ driver role that instead has been secured by Sakon Yamamoto.

“On two occasions I missed out on a contract literally last minute because other drivers had a more attractive sponsor package to offer,” said Klien.

He did not confirm reports that he was among the drivers considered by hopeful Serbian team Stefan GP.

“In formula one you normally do not talk about unlaid eggs.  It may always weaken somebody’s position in ongoing negotiations,” insisted Klien.

“I would like to ask for everybody’s understanding that I refuse to comment on anything the rumour mill spits out.  As a matter of fact we are in talks with several teams on a regular basis,” he added.

Klien’s new manager is German 28-year-old Roman Rummenigge, of the Rummenigge Sport Marketing company.

Full qualifying times for the third round of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series at Barber Motorsports Park.

1. Will Power Penske 1m 10.1356s
2. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 1m 10.6501s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m 10.6569s
4. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport 1m 11.0701s
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m 11.3557s
6. Takuma Sato KVRT 1m 11.4387s*
7. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m 10.6307s
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Autosport 1m 10.6903s
9. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m 10.7602s
10. EJ Viso KVRT 1m 10.7757s
11. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 1m 10.7760s
12. Mario Moraes KVRT 1m 11.5219s
13. Simona de Silvestro Stargate Works/HVM 1m 11.0262s*
14. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport 1m 10.7449s
15. Graham Rahal Sarah Fisher 1m 11.1495s
16. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 1m 10.9524s*
17. Hideki Mutoh NHLR 1m 11.2855s
18. Raphael Matos de Ferran Luczo Dragon 1m 11.0507s
19. Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport 1m 11.5340s
20. Vitor Meira AJ Foyt 1m 11.1348s
21. Alex Tagliani FAZZT 1m 11.5669s
22. Mario Romancini Conquest 1m 11.6020s*
23. Dan Wheldon Panther 1m 11.6095s
24. Milka Duno Dale Coyne 1m 15.9800s
25. Bertrand Baguette Conquest 1m 11.9800s*

* denotes rookie driver