Charles Pic’s situation leading into his rookie season in formula one is “sad and frustrating”.

That is the claim of his manager Olivier Panis, the 1996 Monaco grand prix winner and former Toyota racer and McLaren test driver.

His well-sponsored countryman Pic, 22, will debut in Melbourne this month alongside the experienced Timo Glock, having never turned a wheel in his 2012 car.

Ahead of next weekend’s season opener, the new Marussia is yet to pass all the FIA crash tests, which has left the former Virgin team grounded throughout February’s test period.

“It’s sad and frustrating,” admitted Panis, when asked about Pic’s situation.

“The beginning will be difficult for him,” he told RMC.

For F1′s backmarkers, including HRT who have also struggled through the winter, the tougher crash tests are just another hurdle, atop tackling the financial might of rival giants like Ferrari and Red Bull.

The sport’s chief executive Bernie Ecclestone is unapologetic.

“If we tried to make things less complicated, you will always find the guys at the top looking for that tenth of a second.

“That’s the difference between the winners and losers,” he told the Sun newspaper.

Nick Heidfeld will not be racing this weekend in Belgium and is unlikely to return to the Renault cockpit.
That was the claim on Monday of the German’s 2004 team boss Eddie Jordan, who is now an expert pundit for British television the BBC’s television coverage.

Earlier this week, the Irishman said he considered the recent criticism of 34-year-old Heidfeld’s performances this year by Renault bosses as “bullying”.

He wrote in a BBC column on Monday that Heidfeld “has been dropped by the Renault team in favour of Brazilian Bruno Senna for this weekend’s Belgian grand prix”.

Jordan said the move will save Renault money because reserve driver Senna, who is also “expected to race for Renault in the eight remaining races this season, has “several million pounds of sponsorship”.

27-year-old Senna raced most recently in the Abu Dhabi finale last year, at the end of his rookie season with the struggling Hispania team.

He has been Renault’s reserve driver in 2011, and in Hungary last month replaced Heidfeld in Friday morning practice.

Vitaly Petrov on Thursday confirmed he is relocating from Spain to England.
Before the Russian secured a new contract with Renault for 2011, team owner Gerard Lopez insisted the 26-year-old needed to “move to the UK” to be “close to the factory” and in an “English speaking environment”.

At the Autosport International show in Birmingham, Petrov confirmed he has moved.

“First of all I’m now closer to the factory, and if I need to I can go any time,” Petrov, whose new residence is reportedly near Renault’s Enstone headquarters in Oxfordshire, is quoted by the Press Association.

Petrov, who previously lived in Valencia, admitted he was worried recently that he would not be retained by Renault after his rookie season.

“I was a little bit nervous. It was my rookie year and I knew I had made mistakes, but I also had some good races, so it was 50-50,” he said.

Vitaly Petrov’s manager is confident the Russian will be able to sign a new contract for the 2011 season within weeks.

Amid the 26-year-old’s mixed rookie season, Renault has openly mused the possibility of a change of teammate for the highly rated Robert Kubica for next year.

But the well-financed Petrov had a more solid finish to the recently-concluded 2010 campaign, and reports suggested the Kremlin might add to his coffers now that Russia is embarking on a F1 circuit project.

“Since (Russian president) Vladimir Putin became a formula one fan, Petrov has even more support in his pocket,” Nick Heidfeld, a potential suitor for the second Renault cockpit, told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Petrov’s manager Oksana Kosachenko on Thursday acknowledged the likelihood of a new deal.

“I am still working in this direction, but so far nothing definite can be said,” she told the Moscow published Sovetsky Sport newspaper.

“Most likely, we’ll sign a contract in the second week of December,” added Kosachenko, revealing she is aiming for a new two-year deal.

She said Petrov will not be testing Pirelli’s 2011 development tyres in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday.

“Vitaly is on vacation now and he’ll spend the next two to three weeks outside Russia,” said Kosachenko, who said she has a backup plan to prolong Petrov’s F1 career in the event he leaves Renault.

Williams on Monday announced that Nico Hulkenberg is leaving the British team.

The Oxfordshire based team said Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello’s 2011 teammate “will be confirmed before the end of the year”.

The news follows comments in Abu Dhabi by Hulkenberg’s manager Willi Weber, who said he believes the team has already signed Pastor Maldonado.

Williams said in a media statement that German Hulkenberg, 23, has put in “convincing performances” in his rookie season and has “an undoubtedly bright future in the sport”.

“We are convinced that Nico will go on to great things. We wish him well and hope that our paths will cross again in the future,” said team boss Sir Frank Williams.

With just three races left to run in his rookie season, Nico Hulkenberg admits he is still yet to sign a new contract for 2011.

It is believed that while Williams has secured the services of veteran Rubens Barrichello for another year, the Grove based team is looking seriously at the $15 million in sponsorship offered by Hulkenberg’s successor as GP2 champion, the Venezualan Pastor Maldonado.

That would leave 23-year-old German Hulkenberg without a seat, despite arriving on the F1 grid just seven months ago with arguably a more impressive formative racing record than Lewis Hamilton.

“I’m doing my job and I’m confident about what I’m doing,” he is quoted by the German-language Speed Week.

“I cannot do more.  I would like to stay with Williams because I believe next year’s car will be competitive, because I feel comfortable in the team and get along with my teammate very well.

“I’m hoping for a new contract,” added Hulkenberg.

But the British tabloid The Sun believes dramatically that the ‘Hulk is facing incredible axe’, with Force India’s Adrian Sutil also linked with his seat and reportedly offering $3m in backing.

Another report in the Evening Standard recently said Williams’ combined losses in the past five years amount to more than $9 million, with profits falling 50 per cent last year on top of millions in debt.

Williams’ minority co-owner Christian ‘Toto’ Wolff is known to be a keen Hulkenberg supporter, but he admits the team’s driver situation is presently in the air.

“At the moment everything is possible — we are currently trying to get as much information as possible,” he said in an interview with motorline.cc.

“Generally speaking, the team is making great progress,” added Austrian Wolff.

On the track where he began winning the World Superbike Superpole victory in Race 2, Ben Spies was also the protagonist of the official MotoGP qualifying at Phillip Island. Third time for a front row a little surprise, made-race condition in the future so as to render official Yamaha rider very confident and satisfied with this result. For tomorrow there will be an opportunity if the target is the podium, but with only two races to win the title of best rookie season of 2010.

“I am very happy to be back in the front row, although I am a little surprised, “said Ben Spies. “My race pace at the beginning of session made me happy, although every time I tried to go faster in the latter part of the track appeared to me a few drops of rain on the visor of my helmet. Each time was like this: warm up the tires, but when I arrived at the first corner to start a fast lap I realized that there was no possibility of a clean lap.

Of course I did not want to take big risks knowing they are already close to the front row, but eventually I managed to get the third best time, in fact, was obtained in race trim. I am confident because overall it was a good session, so if we can put everything together, we can point to a good result, perhaps to fight for the podium.

Here, the bike is really good, I have a good pace, I just try to render the best the whole package in anticipation of the last laps of the race. The goal for tomorrow is to make sure in advance the title of Rookie of the Year, was another box ticked in this successful season, “said Spies that just before Simoncelli stars to reach this goal.

Jun.10 (GMM)  Emerson Fittipaldi will be the race steward presiding alongside the three FIA officials at this weekend’s Canadian grand prix.

63-year-old Brazilian Fittipaldi won his two F1 world championships in 1972 and 1974, before winning the Indy 500 twice and becoming the Indycar title holder in 1989.

In formula one, he won his first race during his rookie season for Lotus in 1970, and two years later become F1′s youngest champion at 25.

In 1974 he moved to McLaren and won the title again, but then moved to his brother Wilson Fittipaldi’s team and struggled.

He stopped driving in F1 at the end of 1980 at the age of 33, joining his brother in managing the team before it fell apart in late 1982.

Fittipaldi switched to American CART racing in 1984, winning the title in 1989 at the age of 43.  At 47 he won the Indy 500 for the second time, but an injury ended his Champ Car career in 1996 when he was 50.

He was a Champ Car team owner in 2003 and recently the boss of the Brazilian A1 GP team.

Fittipaldi’s nephew Christian drove in F1 for Minardi and Footwork between 1992-1994.

Adrian Sutil on Wednesday played down the fuss that is being made about the traffic chaos that is likely to affect the Monaco GP weekend.

With 24 cars on the grid this year, and six of them circulating at vastly slower pace, mainly leading drivers are vocally worried about being thwarted between the Armco barriers — particularly in Q1.

But Force India’s Sutil told Motorsport-Magazin.com: “Some years ago it was normal that cars were within five, six seconds and someone was often held up.

“At that time nobody complained while today a big drama is being made of it.  You have to take the situation as it is,” added the German.

Heikki Kovalainen is one of the occupants of the dreaded six stragglers, but he warned on Wednesday that he will focus on the track ahead and not his mirrors while on qualifying flying laps this weekend.

“I have a job to do,” said the Finn.

His Lotus teammate Jarno Trulli, meanwhile, echoed Sutil’s comments about the past, reminding reporters that 22 cars headed to Monaco in his rookie season 1997 with a similarly big gap between the fastest and slowest cars.

“I don’t have a solution.  I don’t care, I just want to go out in qualifying and do a quick lap,” he is quoted by the BBC.

Romain Grosjean has revealed he will also be seen in the paddock at next weekend’s Monaco grand prix.

In the wake of his partial rookie season with Renault in 2009, the 24-year-old Swiss-Frenchman is in Barcelona this weekend.

“I came to see a few people, make some contacts and show that I’m still around,” said Grosjean, who replaced the sacked Nelson Piquet at Renault last year.

“I am not hiding that my number one goal is to return to F1,” he added after being spotted in conversation with Peter Sauber.

“I am aware that it is a matter of luck and opportunity and that it is not easy.  I am open to the idea that other categories could be a solution for me,” added Grosjean, who revealed that he will contest Le Mans next month.

He said he will follow F1′s travelling circus to Monaco after Spain.

“I will be in Monaco and definitely at some other European grands prix to continue negotiations,” said Grosjean.

(GMM)

May 3 (GMM)  Bruno Senna is not as good as his late uncle, but Martin Brundle thinks a deeper analysis of the Brazilian rookie’s performance so far would be unfair.

Brundle, who had a fierce battle with eventual triple world champion Ayrton Senna for the British F3 title in 1983, is now observing 26-year-old Bruno’s rookie season as commentator for British television BBC.

The Briton concedes it is “spooky” to note the physical similarities between uncle and nephew, particularly with the helmet visor up.

“Senna is a fine young driver and seems a very good human being,” said Brundle.

“His GP2 performance suggests that he is worthy of a chance in F1 but it is fair to say he doesn’t appear to have the potential of his late uncle Ayrton,” he added.

But Brundle warned that Senna, who was considered for the Brawn seat alongside Jenson Button last year, cannot be judged too harshly in 2010.

“Given the Hispania car that he is driving, it is virtually impossible to make any further judgement at this time,” he said.

Steve McCormick, in About.com Guide commented regarding Greg Biffle, “Even the fastest car can’t drive itself.  Greg Biffle brings an impressive resume to Daytona: 1998 Truck Series Rookie of the Year, 2000 Truck Series Champion, 2001 BGN Rookie of the Year, 2002 Busch Series Champion and the winner of last July’s Daytona race.”

“Take a guy who is a proven restrictor plate winner and put him behind arguably the best engine in the sport and you’ve got a potential pole sitter. Can anyone tell me why sports writers are calling his pole winning run “shocking” and “surprising?”

“His name may not be on the tip of your tongue when you think of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup stars but this pole run shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone.”

Greg Biffle who was born in December 23rd, 1969, started 7 races in 2002.  His official rookie season was 2003 and he featured a win at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona.  Jamie McMurray beat him for Rookie of the Year honors.

His more outstanding performances have been:

2000 – Craftsman Truck Series Champion.

2002 – Busch Grand National Series Champion.

2003 – Won first NEXTEL Cup Race (July Daytona)

2005 – Finished second in NEXTEL Cup points

Jack Roush picked up Greg Biffle back in the mid 90′s with the idea that with some seasoning he could be great.

Just a few years later Greg rewarded Roush Racing with it’s first NASCAR championship as Greg pushed and shoved his way to the Craftsman Truck Series title. A couple of years after that Greg again came through, this time delivering a Busch Grand National series championship.

Early in his NEXTEL Cup career Greg has proven that he can get the job done. His first victory in NASCAR’s premier division came under the lights in Daytona as Greg won the Pepsi 400 during his 2003 rookie campaign.

There are surely more championships in Greg’s future.  Those stories are still to be written but clearly he knows what it takes to win titles and he is with a top-notch team in the form of Jack Roush.