The calamitous Bahrain grand prix saga has not jeopardised the island Kingdom’s future on the F1 calendar.

That is the strident claim of Bernie Ecclestone, after the F1 chief executive and FIA president Jean Todt displayed rare unity as they insisted the country’s civil and political problems would not affect the grand prix.

But amid the bubbling Bahrain saga, Ecclestone had suggested that Bahrain might face trouble when it comes to negotiating a new contract, with the existing agreement only set to extend for three more years.

However, when asked by Reuters if F1 is going to keep returning to Bahrain despite this year’s troubles, Ecclestone insisted on Sunday before leaving the Persian Gulf: “Absolutely. Forever. No problem.”

Like Todt, he even played down the damage done to F1′s reputation this weekend.

“I think it’s good because people talk about things, you know. You know what they say — there is no such thing as bad publicity,” said Ecclestone.

In truth, reputation damage has undoubtedly been done. But Roger Benoit, the veteran correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, admitted he is dismayed with how politics interfered with sport so strikingly this weekend.

“On all continents, somewhere, all hell is breaking loose. And as a formula one reporter, you’re flying around this globe two or three times a year,” he wrote.

“We go to countries that are politically explosive. Where human rights are violated, where poverty reigns.

“But we hardly talk about it — not in China, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore or Brazil. In 2014, we’re going to Russia.

“Years ago, our circus happily danced around in apartheid South Africa, and the military dictatorship of Argentina.

“Formula one is pure entertainment. Detached from the problems of the world. But here, in Bahrain, every reporter entered the political field, whether he liked to or not,” wrote Benoit.

So that is why Ecclestone is unapologetic, after championing the Bahrain grand prix.

“Because, basically, the problems they have in Bahrain have nothing to do with F1,” the 81-year-old told El Pais newspaper.

“The relevant agencies gave the nod as far as security was concerned, and I think it is clear that they were not wrong.”

He also sees no problem with F1 being used as a political tool.

“Governments want to have an F1 race for the same reason as they want the Olympics. We come to agreements with the promoters and, if that’s good for the country, fine,” said Ecclestone.

 Former boss Colin Kolles and his Greding-based company is no longer involved, but there remains a strong German input with the struggling team HRT.
A report in the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reveals that the new Cosworth-powered F112 car, which failed to qualify in Melbourne last weekend, was designed and built in Augsburg, a city in the south-west of Bavaria.

It is there that, since November 2011, the Holzer-Gruppe company has been frantically building up the Cosworth-powered cars for Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan.

“Under our management almost everything has been made here in Bobingen,” said Gunther Holzer.

“For the wind tunnel we used the Mercedes facility in Brackley (UK),” he added.

Eight of F1′s 12 teams are based in England, with the others either in Italy (Ferrari and Toro Rosso) or Switzerland (Sauber).

HRT uses Williams’ gearbox.

“We wanted to go our separate way, not like almost everyone else who are all within a few miles of Oxford,” said HRT chief executive Saul Ruiz de Marcos.

The team’s longer plan is to be solely based in Madrid, but for now Holzer will lead the development of the F112.

“For the start of the European season in Spain we are planning the first improvements to the car,” said Marcos.

Holzer explained: “The car is designed first for safety and so is heavy compared to the competition. For the future we are focused on making it lighter.”

Before the lighter car debuts in Barcelona, HRT faces three more challenges – Malaysia, China and Bahrain – at which the sport’s 107 per cent rule will be a major hurdle.

“The goal is to qualify, there is no other,” admitted de la Rosa. “Race reliability is something else we need to work on, but first we have to qualify.”

 Singapore, the southeast Asian city-state and the scene of F1′s annual street night race, could be at the centre of the sport’s plans for the future.
Sky News reports that Temasek Holdings, one of Singapore’s principal sovereign wealth funds, has been approached by F1′s majority owner CVC with a proposal to buy into the sport.

It is also rumoured that F1 could be floated on the Singapore stock exchange.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone admitted last November that, “It would be better (for CVC) to float the company in Singapore than sell it”.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) would not comment.

“It is not our practice to publicly comment on our dealings with individual entities,” a spokeswoman told the AFP news agency.

 The future of the embattled Korean grand prix looks safe for now.
The Korea Herald reports that organisers of the Yeongham event have reached a deal with Bernie Ecclestone to reduce the race fees.

Completing its bespoke circuit at the last minute, South Korea joined the calendar in 2010 but soon bemoaned the huge costs.

Sunday’s media report said organisers will save more than $20 million this year by successfully negotiating a reduced race commission and annual television license fee.

The new deal will last until the end of Korea’s race contract, in 2016.

The Korea Herald said organisers paid almost $40 million to Ecclestone’s Formula One Management last year — a 10 per cent rise on 2010.

The new deal will see the 10 per cent increase scrapped, the report added.

“With the successful negotiation, we’ll be able to save a significant amount of money this year,” said organiser Kang Hyo-seok.

“It’s a still difficult situation, but we’re trying hard to improve it.”

Argentina is close to returning to the formula one calendar, the president of South America’s second-largest country has revealed.
EFE news agency quotes Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as saying it is likely an Argentine grand prix, last held at the ageing Autodromo Oscar Alfredo Galvez in Buenos Aires in 1998, will take place in November or December 2013.

She said next year’s race would take place on the streets of the coastal city of Mar del Plata.

“For us this is very important,” she said, “because after football, motor racing is the second favourite sport of Argentina.”

Fernandez said the deal would be initially “for three years, in 2013, 2014 and 2015″.

Forecasts based on early test results are usually unreliable, but a picture of the 2012 pecking order may already be emerging.
On Wednesday at Jerez, Michael Schumacher moved to the top of the times in last year’s Mercedes, followed by Mark Webber in Red Bull’s new title-defending RB8.

“The car was pretty competitive in winter testing last year and it’s the same again this year,” said the Australian driver.

Much more than a second off the pace, meanwhile, was the radical new Ferrari, whose Felipe Massa could not conceal his negative body-language when speaking with the press.

While he said the F2012 has “enormous potential”, expert observers report that he was fighting notably with the handling of the car around the southern Spanish venue.

“There is a lot of work to be done, perhaps more than we expected,” acknowledged the Brazilian.

“It is a very, very, very different car,” Spain’s El Mundo newspaper quotes him as saying.

Italian veteran Jarno Trulli, however – a permanent fixture on the grid since the mid 90s – scoffed at those who are already picking winners and losers.

“Are you kidding?” he said in La Repubblica newspaper. “Only a fool would look at the times in the first days of testing.”

Nevertheless, the paddock rumour mill is buzzing, including with suggestions Schumacher’s best time was boosted by highly competitive components destined for his so-far unrevealed 2012 Mercedes.

Another rumour is that the W03, to also be raced by Nico Rosberg, is ready to test but Mercedes is holding back a radical secret weapon at the front of the car.

Webber, however, dismissed Schumacher’s quick time.

“With the Brazil version of our previous car I would have done a time in the 1.16s,” he laughed, apparently scoffing at Schumacher’s mid-1.18 best.

Even the seven time world champion admitted Wednesday’s result is not a sign of things to come.

“I don’t think we can realistically achieve a championship car from where we started last year,” said the 43-year-old German.

Even after hosting its inaugural grand prix less than two weeks ago, a cloud is above the future of Korea’s formula one race.

The Yeongam circuit has failed a state safety inspection and cancelled a F3 race scheduled for November, amid new reports of apparent corruption within the organising company and F1 promoter KAVO.

The Korea Herald said the South Jeolla provincial government is set to investigate, with some money from the circuit’s construction budget spent without documentation.

“Over the next week, we’re going to look through all the documents of KAVO,” said Jung Hwan-dae, the vice-chairman of the provincial assembly.

“We’re also planning to summon officials from KAVO to investigate how the money was spent. There is something wrong here,” he added.

The undocumented expenditure amounts to more than $50 million, with other media reports alleging construction firms were paid off to avoid fees.

A KAVO spokesman would not say how the missing money was spent, but commented: “No illegal conduct took place.”

Bridgestone ready for Interlagos – The short but fast circuit with the winding inside the tires poses a special challenge
Interlagos is the penultimate disconnect for Bridgestone. For the route, which runs counter-clockwise to bring the Japanese with the mean and the super soft compound. The weather could also play a role, but the intermediates and the rain tires have recently done in South Korea a good job.

“Brazil is a beautiful country and South America is an important growth market. So it is important for Bridgestone to show presence in the form of the race,” said motorsport director Hiroshi Yasukawa. “. We have manufacturing facilities in Brazil and appreciate the support from our staff, we have worked in the past with many Brazilian drivers and enjoyed their feedback we are looking forward to the enthusiastic fans at the track.”
Interlagos is a short distance with a narrow core, but fast sections. The asphalt is very bumpy, leading to a compromise on the voting. “It is a beautiful but challenging course,” said Hirohide Hamashima, which is responsible for tire development. “Although it is the second shortest track on the calendar, it has an impressive line and exciting corners.”

“There are mainly medium-fast and slow corners. This means that the mechanical grip and stability are important on the rear axle. The weather can be a deciding factor because it can be very hot or very wet. To maximize performance, needs is a good balance through the turns before it goes uphill towards the finish. There is something reminiscent of an oval. ”
“The first corner is a good overtaking Elle, but you can barter for quick there a brake disks. Caution is called for,” says Hamashima. “In the last two races, we should show a strong performance, but mainly it comes to safe tires. Our engineers work closely with the teams so they can get the best.”

A race contract for an inaugural Bulgarian grand prix in 2012 could be signed as soon as next month, according to the head of the south east European country’s motor racing federation.

A proposed race in Bulgaria has been on the table for some time, including when F1 chief executive met with the country’s economy minister at Monza last month.

If talks with a funding consortium reportedly comprised of Arab, US and Canadian companies and the government go well, Ecclestone could travel to capital Sofia to sign the contract between November 15 and December 15, Bogdan Nikolov told the Sofia news agency Novinite.

The report said Bulgaria aims to be unique on the F1 calendar by having an asphalt surface that can be artificially heated.

Nikolov, chairman of the Bulgarian Motorcycling Federation, added that the circuit will bid for both F1 and its two-wheeled equivalent MotoGP.

“We have created a project that meets the requirements of both FIA and (MotoGP governing body) FIM,” he said.

South Korean companies are reportedly holding off before deciding whether to follow the east Asian country into formula one.

The brand new Yeongam circuit hosted its inaugural grand prix last weekend, but the only Korean brand involved as a sponsor was LG.

A range of companies told Korea’s JoongAng daily that they are waiting to gauge the impact of the first F1 race.

And South Korean mobile operator SKT, and the other major telcom KT, “largely expressed disinterest” in F1, the newspaper revealed.

“We have obviously decided not to sponsor the F1 races this year, but the situation might be different next year. It’s impossible to say at this point,” a spokesperson for KT said.

An SKT spokesperson added: “We had not heard of any plans regarding sponsorship (of F1) inside the company.”

And Diageo Korea, the Korean arm of McLaren’s whisky sponsor Johnnie Walker, said via a spokesperson: “We might consider sponsoring next year, depending on the success of this year’s Korean grand prix.”

Team boss Ross Brawn takes the Mercedes-good benefits from the fact that one understands the vote better, and can optimize performance.

In the last race, Mercedes has well presented, although the development of the W01 is set for a long time and the concentration to 2011. Team boss Ross Brawn sees the good form the fruits of efforts to improve the car and the structures within the team. Michael Schumacher missed the podium but in South Korea, but the speed of Nico Rosberg was up to the involuntary loss of strong and a podium would have been possible.

“We are making progress. It probably took longer than expected, but we see really good progress,” Brawn is of ‘Autosport’ quotes. “We do everything together for next year. Now we get everything to work properly. The F-shaft is good and we have the highest speed on the straights. We do not change many things, but to understand how we need to tune the car. It is a consolidation and a lesson. ”
When asked whether the team will benefit in the coming year, Brawn replied. “Maybe I do not think things can be transferred directly, but we have learned over the past few races a lot.

In South Korea, Rosberg could have the first time in Silverstone again climb on the podium. “He was very happy with the car, but I will not speculate. He was doing very well, has felt the car well and might have looked very strong.”

The F1 paddock is expecting rain at the new Yeongam venue.

After a dry inaugural race weekend in South Korea so far, forecasts are predicting rain later on Saturday and overnight, with a very high chance of more heavy showers on race-day morning.

And the threat of rain for 1500 local on Sunday – the scheduled race start – is more than 50 per cent, leaving some drivers worried about the effect of a wet track atop the new and already low-grip surface.

“It’s going to be tough whatever the weather does,” warned McLaren’s Jenson Button.

World Championship leader Mark Webber will leave nothing to chance in South Korea and will work in a fresh Yeongam Renault unit
Mark Webber advantage in South Korea? The Australian racing driver and his Red Bull gave RB6 already in free practice for the Grand Prix in Yeongam clear the pace, now sets the championship leader once again for: in qualifying and the race is the 34-year-old resort to its last new engine. This should Webber on the long straights a little better on the road.

The Red Bull driver is in fact the only one from the ranks of the five remaining candidates for the title, which can still rely on fresh power – both Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull must) in the final sprint of the season to make do with second hand units. Quite easily ran the kick-off for Webber not.
In free practice, the championship leader but classified in the first place, was spotted during the session but for some time with a stationary front wheel in the air. This did not deter the Australians, however, continue to attend consistently fast laps. In the press conference admitted team boss Christian Horner finally one that a defect had occurred.

“There was a problem with Mark’s car, we were able to fix during the session. He was even on three wheels in a position to mark a very competitive time,” Horner replied to the question of ‘motor-Total.com’ expert Marc Surer, who had believed in stabilizing the cause. “This presumption of truth comes pretty close,” said Horner. “It was no big deal.”

Fernando Alonso I need the engines to the end of the season divided exactly – At Ferrari about a fix already smoked their heads.

In the battle for the championship crown Fernando Alonso wants in the three races to play a major role. But quite apart from the question of whether his Ferrari is competitive enough for it, also plays into it with the motor bottleneck. With the block in Korea as the motor would drive Ferrari in Abu Dhabi. In this case, the season for Alonso would be feasible without penalty.

But if there were an engine problem and a ninth engine must be used, it would be a disciplinary transfer of ten ranks given in the starting lineup – in the championship fight a hard punishment. “If we have reliability problems, it would be traumatic, because then it would be almost impossible to make up the necessary points. Red Bull and McLaren are just extremely strong. We can not afford any mistakes, otherwise it’s over,” said team boss Stefano Domenicali.
Nevertheless, the task is difficult. “It will be extremely difficult to wade to the end,” he said. “We will try to divide the mileage of the current engine. This is the plan and hopefully we make it to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.” Alonso himself has full confidence in his team, however.

“Of course we got our engine problems in the second and third race in a difficult situation, no question, but from then on we have planned the season just different,” said the Spaniard. “Until now we have the situation under control. I’m doing for the last three races, no worries. Everything is okay.”
But Ferrari have to stretch to match the optimism of the star drivers. “The question is how much mileage we get on an engine,” said Domenicali. “We have extended the mileage and tested it at home so it’s no problem. But we must be careful that something is not overheated. At the temperatures we may not be aggressive. We have to watch really in the climatically hot race to South Korea. ”
Escuchar
Leer fonéticamente

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.”