With the drivers’ title now in Sebastian Vettel’s hands and Red Bull almost certainly to be the champion team, the issue of motivation is an interesting one in the Yeongam paddock.
Teams are now focused on 2012 and testing new components, but the drivers must still line up on four more grand prix grids.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, 8 points behind runner-up Jenson Button and 8 ahead of Mark Webber, said on Thursday: “I think finishing second, third or fifth in the drivers championship is not a big difference.

“Once you cannot be world champion it is not any more a big interest on that.”

The simple pursuit of victory is therefore the motivation, the Spaniard explained.

“I think we all want to win, in any race we participate in. Even when we do the race of champions in December, for fun, if we finish second it’s a very bad feeling, and a very bad night,” said Alonso.

Vettel – who could go on holiday rather than travel to India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil in the next six weeks and still be champion – added: “I think the moment you come to a race thinking that it doesn’t really matter where you finish it’s the moment when you should probably stay at home.

“We love racing, we will enjoy racing as usual, but we will not be happy leaving this track knowing that we could have done better,” said the German.

And Lewis Hamilton said: “To me, racing is the biggest part of my life apart from my family and it doesn’t matter if it’s a practice race or whatever, it still holds significant value to me.”

Another possible motivation, according to former Ferrari driver and Italian commentator Ivan Capelli, is money.

“It depends on their contracts,” he told AFP France. “Some have incentives for points scored, wins, poles …”

And as for the multi-millionaires like Jenson Button, Alonso and Hamilton, Capelli added: “I think that once they get on the track, they want the prestige.

“It’s like a new championship even after the title, where they can say maybe ‘Well, I finished (the season) scoring more points than Vettel’.”

Rumours about the health of the team currently known as Renault refused to disappear at Silverstone.
Boss Eric Boullier recently dismissed the rumours, hinting that they were triggered mischievously at Monaco by his predecessor Flavio Briatore.

But six weeks later, there was once again similar talk in the paddock of the British grand prix, not long after Williams was announced as engine supplier Renault Sport’s newest partner team for 2012 and beyond.

Apart from the continuing naming connection, a customer engine contract and their historical links, the French marque is no longer involved with the Lotus-sponsored Renault team.

And Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that the team might even be powered by Cosworth engines next year.

“This is fiercely denied by those in charge,” the magazine acknowledged.

However, the Williams situation is perhaps relevant, particularly with the fanfare of the Renault engine announcement involving former works champions Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve at the team’s Grove headquarters last week.

As for Lotus Renault, “poor results and apparently still pending payments for the engines do not make things any better”, Auto Motor und Sport added.

A Hollywood movie about Niki Lauda will be called ‘Rush’.
We reported in April that British script writer Peter Morgan, best known for The Queen and Frost/Nixon, was working on a screenplay to immortalise F1′s 1976 season.

35 years ago, Austrian great Lauda almost burned to death in a fiery crash but returned six weeks later to battle James Hunt for the title.

It was recently believed that Bourne Ultimatum and Green Zone director Paul Greengrass would direct Rush, but the LA Times quotes a source as saying The Da Vinci Code’s Ron Howard is now being touted to lead the project.

The film, having gained the financial backing for the project, “aims to shoot this year in Europe”, added the report.

A British film writer is working on a script to immortalise the most famous season in F1 great Niki Lauda’s successful career.

The Oscar-nominated Peter Morgan, best known for writing The Queen and Frost/Nixon, is focusing on the 1976 season, when Lauda almost burned to death in a fiery crash but returned six weeks later to battle James Hunt for the title.

The typically-blunt Lauda joked to Vienna radio Oe3 that he is giving some thought to which actor might depict him.

“Anyone who is 25 or 26 with his right ear burnt off and dreams to be made up to look like me can start making plans,” he said.

DPA news agency said Morgan, who is being actively supported by 62-year-old Lauda, is seeking a producer and director for the project.

Lauda won 25 grands prix and three world championships and is also famous for his airline businesses.

He is still a regular in the F1 paddock, appearing as a pundit for German television.

Mark Webber will not be testing Pirelli’s 2011 tyres in Abu Dhabi late next week.

But Red Bull boss Christian Horner denied the news is a sign the Australian’s disparaging comments in Brazil, and ensuing rumours that Webber will be leaving the team, had motivated the decision.

Instead, the fact that only Sebastian Vettel will be testing the new tyres for Red Bull next week was taken “six weeks ago”, Horner insisted.

It emerged on Thursday that neither of McLaren’s race drivers will be doing the Pirelli test.

But at Mercedes, Nico Rosberg will be equally sharing track time on the new tyres with his teammate Michael Schumacher.

“It is an important test because there is a lot to learn in a short time,” Rosberg is quoted in Abu Dhabi by Turun Sanomat.

“The new tyres will have a different behaviour that must be learned, like braking points and perhaps a different driving style,” added the German.

Despite rubbishing the paddock rumours only hours earlier, Bernie Ecclestone has now admitted he is concerned the inaugural Korean grand prix might not take place next month.

Earlier in Singapore, the F1 chief executive said he and the FIA were “happy” with the Yeongam circuit, despite it not yet passing its final inspection that was originally due to take place weeks ago.

“It’s not good. It should have been inspected maybe six weeks ago,” he told BBC pundit Eddie Jordan during an interview on Sunday.

“It was inspected but it wasn’t passed,” added the Briton.

Ecclestone admitted that delaying the inspection so late – with it now set to take place after the forthcoming Japanese grand prix – was unusual for a new circuit.

The post-Suzuka inspection means F1′s freight will already be en route to Korea, while the travelling circus will have needed to book air fares and hotels.

“It’s quite dangerous what we’ve done actually but it’s a case of ‘do we cancel the race or not?’ They say it’s all going to be OK, so we hope they are right,” Ecclestone said.

In another interview on Sunday, Ecclestone told the Associated Press F1 will be “lucky” to avoid turning into a three-race dash to the Abu Dhabi finale.

“Until it’s on there’s always concerns, obviously,” he said when asked about Korea.

“We have to get lucky and hope it will happen.”

According to the International Sporting Code, F1′s governing body should already have approved or rejected the new South Korea circuit ahead of its inaugural grand prix.

Instead, the venue has been given until September 21 to prepare for Charlie Whiting’s final inspection, with a FIA spokesman admitting “a lot of work remains to be completed” at the Yeongam site, according to the Telegraph.

Appendix O of the Code says the final inspection for a permanent venue should take place “not later than 90 days before the first international event to be held” there.

If adhered to, Korea’s final inspection should have taken place at the end of July, given its late October race date.

And if a circuit fails its final inspection, the sporting regulations state that the event “will not be considered for inclusion in the following year’s championship unless the FIA judges the cancellation to have been due to force majeure”.

Countering ongoing speculation about the state of the site, race organisers have released some photos showing completed buildings and an apparently freshly-laid track surface.

But other, unofficial photos recently did the rounds showing that aspects of the venue are far from complete.

However, the Telegraph’s Tom Cary said the FIA is “satisfied” with progress.

Indian driver Karun Chandhok is currently on his way to the east Asian state, where on Saturday he is scheduled to drive Red Bull’s demo car around the circuit.

Event organisers KAVO insist the venue is “90 per cent” complete.

Jun.14 (GMM)
The confirmation was made after the F1 teams met in Canada to discuss technical matters relating to the 2011 season.

Adjustable rear wings are also set to debut in order to boost overtaking, and FOTA’s ban on using energy-recovering KERS systems is to lapse.

Some teams including Ferrari had pushed hard to make the KERS systems much more powerful in 2011, but agreement has instead been made to lift the minimum weight of the car-plus-driver.

As the weight handicap was considered among the problems of the KERS debut in 2009, the minimum limit will rise from 620 to 640kg next year.

“The teams have agreed on that,” Domenicali confirmed.

“We would have preferred to see a solution with much more energy being available (to KERS), but unfortunately an agreement could not be found.”

It is understood that the reason for staying with a lower power output is that some manufacturers would have had trouble adapting their existing technology.

However, while it has been suggested that another major problem for KERS in 2009 is that the systems were voluntary to run, it has emerged that the units will not be compulsory in 2011.

Mercedes, for instance, is considering whether to use KERS next year, even though a programme has already been initiated by the Brackley based squad with a view to a 2011 implementation.

“We will make a decision (about KERS for 2011) within four to six weeks,” said Ross Brawn.