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.

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.”

Red Bull is lamenting the limited role that can be played in 2012 by F1′s aerodynamic genius Adrian Newey.

For the past few years, the energy drink owned team has enjoyed its dominance largely because of the airflow magic wrought by Briton Newey.

But in 2012, with reigning back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel just one of the five different winners so far, Pirelli rubber is king.

“I doubt Williams really know why they were so strong,” team boss Christian Horner, referring to Pastor Maldonado’s shock Barcelona pole and win last weekend, is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Horner insisted that, rather than the winner being the team with the best overall package at each race, success this season is about “understanding the characteristics of the tyre and the window in which they work”.

“It’s not that the midfield teams have made a quantum leap aerodynamically from last year to this year,” Horner insisted. “But from a performance point of view, this is what they have done.”

The logical conclusion is that aerodynamic cleverness has taken a back seat.

So will Red Bull knock a million or two off Newey’s huge annual retainer?

Horner laughed. “Adrian is not just an aerodynamicist, and aerodynamics are still important anyway. But now it’s about harmonising everything, and these tyres are simply remarkably complex.

“Two races ago Nico Rosberg dominated, but in Spain he was almost lapped. It is very difficult to predict what’s going to happen next — a nightmare for the bookmakers,” he smiled. “A lottery.”

The situation has split F1 into two camps: those who love it, and those who do not.

“It has become like a GP2 championship,” Maldonado, the junior category’s 2010 champion, is quoted by The National newspaper.

“The drivers can make the difference and the teams can still work on the strategy and the car.”

The bizarre situation has left everyone scratching their heads, like Jenson Button.

He can scarcely believe that what looked a championship car – his 2012 McLaren – was beaten in Spain by Shanghai winner Nico Rosberg, who was almost lapped.

“The Red Bulls did a better job at the weekend than us in terms of points, but still they weren’t quick when you compare them to Williams, Sauber, Lotus and Ferrari,” he told PA Sport.

“Five different teams winning five different races, we really don’t know what’s going on, and I think that’s the same up and down the pitlane.”

Ferrari has played down rumours it is close to immediately ousting Felipe Massa, insisting it is possible the struggling Brazilian will still be in a red car next year.

On Twitter, the famous Italian team said the latest rumours – including a claim that former Virgin driver Jerome d’Ambrosio is a candidate to replace Massa in 2012 – are “funny”.

But it was Ferrari itself who fuelled the speculation, publishing a statement on its website that read like a warning to Massa.

“It was a very carefully-worded statement, wasn’t it?” said Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary.

“The way this crazy season is going, I really would not be massively shocked if they ditched him mid-season.”

The Swiss newspaper Blick said Monaco next weekend could be the 30-year-old’s last chance to up his game.

And the candidates are lining up.

“Ferrari knows that I’m ready. If they need me or they want me, then they will call me,” Adrian Sutil, who accompanied his manager to last weekend’s Spanish grand prix, said.

The Spanish newspaper El Mundo said some paddock pundits believe “the only reason” Massa still has its seat is because the “name Todt” – a reference not only to Massa’s manager Nicolas but to the FIA president – has a “protective arm” around him.

Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni told Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper this week: “Felipe has the full confidence of the team, starting with our president.

“We have not decided who will be our driver in 2013 but Felipe is not ruled out,” he insisted.

Indeed, while some believe Ferrari has hung a sword of Damocles above Massa’s head, others think the Maranello based team have been patient since the Paulista’s recovery from his near-fatal head injuries of 2009.

“We have no evidence that makes us think that Felipe has slowed down because of the accident. Zero,” Colajanni said.

F1 doctor Gary Hartstein agreed: “An experience like that (Hungary 2009) changes you, but you can’t say that’s why Felipe has not won again.”

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.”

Former F1 driver Mika Salo believes his Finnish countryman Valtteri Bottas is being groomed by Williams for a race seat — in 2012.

When the Toto Wolff-managed Bottas, 22, was announced as the British team’s 2012 reserve, Sir Frank Williams said he would practice on 15 Friday mornings and then “most likely” be replaced with a “more experienced driver” for the rest of those race weekends.

That more experienced driver would ultimately turn out to be Bruno Senna.

So with Brazilian Senna struggling so far in 2012, Salo has revealed he senses things could be about to change.

“Bottas is incredibly respected by the team,” Salo, now a commentator for the Finnish broadcaster MTV3, said.

“When I spoke with Frank Williams, he praised Valtteri to the skies, and said that he belongs in the races.

“I asked him when and he said it wouldn’t be long.

“Yes, I read between the lines that he means this season,” added Salo.

One major spanner in the works, however, is that Senna brings crucial sponsorship to Williams.

“It is a difficult situation for Williams, where both drivers bring money,” Salo acknowledged.

“But the good thing is that Frank Williams is not a businessman first, he is an old racing driver. He thinks about nothing else but how to make his team successful.

“Although Senna is a nice guy, he is not able to drive at the level that he needs to be at.”

When asked about Salo’s theory, Bottas commented: “I have no information.”

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted his failed negotiations with Williams ultimately turned out for the better.

When he decided to try to return to F1 this year, the 2007 world champion negotiated at length with Williams.

When those talks faltered, he turned to his second option, and quickly came to agreement with the former Renault team Lotus.

The Enstone based team has been the surprise of the 2012 season so far, and in Barcelona Finn Raikkonen is arguably the overall favourite.

He was asked by Turun Sanomat newspaper if the performance of Lotus, his only actual option for a race seat this year, has surprised him.

“Well, I had another option,” said the 32-year-old, referring to Williams.

“It’s hard to say what kind of results I would have had with Williams. They would have been pretty good as well but perhaps not quite as strong as we are doing now,” said Raikkonen, who finished second in Bahrain recently.

He said he has not been surprised.

“Last year (as Renault) they weren’t bad at the start of the season,” said the former Ferrari and McLaren driver.

“But they had decided to put the exhaust at the front of the car and were not then able to develop the way they needed.”

Fernando Alonso has denied Ferrari is on the verge of giving up on the 2012 championship.

The Maranello based team has brought significant updates to its so far disappointing F2012 car for this weekend’s Spanish grand prix.

Imagining the single seater doesn’t make a major step forward in Barcelona, Alonso was asked whether Ferrari might start turning its focus to an all-new project for 2013.

“We’ll see, we’ll see after the race, because we don’t know what car we have (yet),” the Spaniard told reporters on Thursday. “I answer you on Sunday.”

Alonso said more updates for the F2012 are also scheduled for the forthcoming Monaco and Canadian grands prix.

But what if the Barcelona changes leave Ferrari with a midfield car? Would the time be right to get an early jump on the 2013 project?

“I don’t think so,” answered Alonso. “If the step is not good enough … we need to work harder, for Monaco and for Canada, and bring more new parts in a more aggressive approach.

“The championship is long and we will never give up in May,” he insisted.

Narain Karthikeyan has played down reports he could lose his seat at HRT because of a lack of sponsorship.

An Indian newspaper this week said the 35-year-old is a million euros short of guaranteeing his place at the struggling Spanish team through November’s Brazil finale.

“Right now, everything is as it should be,” he is quoted by France’s autohebdo.fr.

“Early in the season, (team boss) Luis (Perez Sala) said that if I was not close enough to my teammate, there is a chance I will not finish the season.

“That was put into my contract, but for now I respect all the conditions. There is no reason that I will not be driving (the rest of) this season,” added Karthikeyan.

He admits, however, to some frustration about HRT’s continuing rear-of-the-field position.

“To be honest I wasn’t expecting the start of 2012 to be on the same lines as last year,” the Indian driver told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

“Yes I expected teething problems but not to this extent.”

He also admits he expected the team to test at Mugello last week.

“Personally speaking, I would’ve preferred some seat time at Mugello since I didn’t get any pre-season testing compared to my teammate who did the Jerez test with the old car,” said Karthikeyan.

“I was originally told that we would do the Mugello test but we decided to focus on putting the car together instead.”

Narain Karthikeyan is not guaranteed his HRT seat for the whole of the 2012 season.

Following what the reporter referred to as a ‘chat’ with the Indian driver, the Times of India claimed Karthikeyan is “a million euros” short of a contract that will see him definitely race through November’s Brazil finale.

The 35-year-old also began the 2011 season for the struggling Spanish team, but was replaced by the Red Bull-funded Daniel Ricciardo mid-season.

The Times of India said securing the extra million in sponsorship is proving “difficult” for Karthikeyan.

“Sponsors are happy to give him money but not to the team, as obviously they do not want to be associated with a struggling outfit,” the report said.

The good news for Karthikeyan, according to the journalist Harish Samtani, is that his sponsorship deal with Tata brings to HRT the Williams gearbox, valued at about EUR 5 million.

The report said the link between Karthikeyan and Williams is the British team’s joint venture with Jaguar, which is owned by the driver’s sponsor Tata.

It is too early to name a frontrunner for a seat at Red Bull’s premier team.

That is the claim of Franz Tost, the boss of the energy drink company’s junior team Toro Rosso.

Following the ousting of Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, the Faenza based outfit has two new Red Bull youngsters to groom in 2012.

Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne are therefore at the front of the queue to potentially replace Mark Webber at the senior team, even though Red Bull chiefs have appeared to indicate that Australian Webber is staying put for now.

So when asked by Austria’s Laola1 whether Ricciardo or Vergne are winning the race to Red Bull Racing so far, Tost insisted: “We have no thoughts about that.

“The important thing is that they continue to develop in every area.”

So far, Frenchman Vergne has four points compared with Ricciardo’s two.

“Jean-Eric is willing to take more risks,” Tost admitted, “while Daniel has a grasp of the car overall with his extra experience.”

Rubens Barrichello has alleged that Ferrari made a threat that might have ended his motor racing career during the infamous 2002 Austrian grand prix.

Ten years ago, the Brazilian led the race at the A1-Ring but eventually, at the very last corner, succumbed to team orders that allowed number one teammate Michael Schumacher to pass him.

Subsequent video footage has depicted then Ferrari team boss Jean Todt asking Barrichello on the radio to simply “let Michael pass for the championship, please”.

But Barrichello, having left F1 at the end of 2011 for a seat in Indycar, says it was not quite as simple as that.

“It was eight laps of war,” he is quoted by Brazil’s Globo.

“It’s very rare that I lose my temper, but I was screaming on the radio. I kept going right to the end, saying I would not let him pass.

“That’s when they said something about something much broader. It was not about the contract.

“I cannot tell you what they said, but it was a form of threat that made me think about re-thinking my life, because the great joy for me was driving,” said the 39-year-old.

Paul di Resta has emerged as the latest candidate to possibly succeed struggling Felipe Massa at Ferrari.

Britain’s Mirror newspaper said the famous Maranello based team has “made enquiries” about the 26-year-old Scot’s current contract with Force India.

The speculation follows Red Bull’s closing down of rumours linking Mark Webber with the switch, as Christian Horner and Dietrich Mateschitz suggested the Australian is set to continue beyond his 2012 contract.

Ferrari chiefs “are known to be impressed” with di Resta since he moved as the reigning DTM champion to formula one at the end of 2010, the Mirror’s F1 correspondent Byrton Young wrote.

“Paul di Resta would be a very good target for Ferrari because (Fernando) Alonso probably has the best toolkit of knowledge and physically is one the best drivers in the world,” triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart is quoted by the Daily Mail.

“Alonso is almost at his peak and to have a young driver such as di Resta be an understudy to Alonso is something I’d consider if I was at Ferrari,” he added.

Ferrari’s title tilt could hinge on the competitiveness of the updated F2012 this weekend in Barcelona.

“What I want is to have a competitive car in Barcelona,” insisted the famous Italian marque’s president Luca di Montezemolo on Tuesday.

“That’s what I’ve asked for,” he is quoted as saying by Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

Ferrari had congregated at its Fiorano test track, to watch Jacques Villeneuve drive the 1979 single seater to mark the 30th anniversary of his father Gilles’ fatal crash.

But Montezemolo’s disappointment is with the latest Ferrari, which has been heavily updated since the Bahrain grand prix three weeks ago.

“Our technicians are confident, but we will have to see how our opponents have advanced too,” he added.

O Estado de S.Paulo correspondent Livio Oricchio claimed “Montezemolo knows” that anything other than a big step forward in Barcelona will mean Ferrari has to “start thinking about” its 2013 project instead.

“Now we have to make a quantum leap, to have a car that is more competitive, less difficult to drive, and gives confidence to the fans,” Montezemolo is quoted by La Stampa newspaper.

“Let’s see how it goes in Spain,” he told Rai television.

“I have asked for an extraordinary response from our engineers,” Montezemolo is also quoted as saying by Italy’s Sky Sport 24.

La Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, quoted lead driver Fernando Alonso as saying: “Our goal is to be world champions in November, and if we are to succeed then we must do better than we have done so far.”

Team boss Stefano Domenicali agreed: “We expect a significant evolution that will bring us closer to the step we need.

“The Spanish grand prix is definitely open, as is the championship. I say this because we believe.”