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.

Carlos Sainz jr is on course for a future in formula one.

The 17-year-old Spaniard is the son of Carlos Sainz, the former two-time world rally champion.

Sainz jr, however, has pursued a career in open wheelers, and – now that Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne have stepped up – he is the new cream of energy drink Red Bull’s junior driver programme.

And another direct link to the world of formula one for Sainz jr is his new sponsorship deal with Cepsa, the Spanish oil company that is also Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso’s main backer.

Sainz jr’s new Cepsa deal is for his participation this year in the British and Euroseries F3 categories, but “Our intention is to continue (beyond 2012),” Cepsa co-chairman Santiago Bergareche is quoted by Marca newspaper.

“Hopefully everything goes well and Carlos will be in that world (F1) one day,” added Cepsa chairman Alfonso Escamez.

He said the deal does not guarantee Sainz jr a future in f1.

“The sponsors have no say on the teams of the drivers. We can try to influence, to give our opinion, but we are not (able to decide) on that side.

“We hope that it does happen, but it will not necessarily.”

Rumours that F1 team owner Genii is contemplating buying the Group Lotus sports car company are continuing to gain steam.

That is despite Genii’s Gerard Lopez confirming recently that the Enstone based team has ended its sponsorship deal with the carmaker, even though the team will continue to carry the Lotus name.

But subsequent media reports indicate that the newly Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom owned Group Lotus is for sale.

“Genii … is thought to be interested, and its boss, Gerard Lopez, is said to have had talks with Hicom, but also with (Group Lotus chief) Mr (Dany) Bahar about a possible management buyout,” read a report in the Independent newspaper.

Bahar is not ruling out the transaction.

“Whatever happens will happen,” he told the local Norfolk publication edp24.co.uk.

“Genii has expressed interest and if there is a good deal to be done, why should they not be interested? I think it would just make sense.”

Group Lotus will no longer sponsor the formula one team that bears its name.

But – as F1′s perpetually bizarre ‘Lotus’ saga takes another twist – the Enstone based team, formerly Renault, will continue to be known as Lotus in the coming years.

Last year, and in 2010, ‘Lotus’ was the name of the team that is now called Caterham, but a bitter dispute soured that relationship as the Proton-owned car company Group Lotus ended the naming license and made its own bid to enter F1.

Group Lotus’ new foray blossomed in 2012 with Renault’s renaming to Lotus, amid speculation team owner Genii was keen to get more involved with the iconic sports car marque.

When asked recently about his team’s relationship with Lotus, Kimi Raikkonen answered clumsily on the Top Gear motoring programme: “Well it’s, er, it (the car) is not a Renault. Lotus is just a sponsor.”

The Autosport website revealed on Good Friday that the sponsorship deal has been “terminated”.

However, “We are happy to carry the Lotus name as we believe it is a good name for F1,” explained team owner Genii’s Gerard Lopez.

“So Lotus are still Lotus despite no longer being sponsored by Lotus?” the Telegraph’s Tom Cary wittily surmised on Twitter.

And in yet another twist, Lopez refused to rule out a scenario in which Genii actually takes over Group Lotus.

“We don’t know yet, because we really do not know what the new owner wants to do with it,” he said.

Boss Franz Tost as well as Jaime Alguersuari have denied that Toro Rosso’s new sponsorship deal has secured the future of the Spanish driver.
The fact that the logos of the Spanish oil company Cepsa have been added to the livery of the STR6 this weekend was interpreted by some as good news for Alguersuari.

The 21-year-old Spaniard, as well as his Swiss teammate Sebastien Buemi, are under pressure by Toro Rosso’s owner Red Bull to prove they should not be replaced for 2012 by Daniel Ricciardo.

“It’s good that they (Cepsa) have come along, because the team needs the money,” Spanish media reports quote Alguersuari as saying at Monza.

“But I don’t think they have come for me, they have come for Toro Rosso because we are a young team with huge potential,” he insisted.

And Tost told The National newspaper: “Jaime’s future with the team is exactly the same as it was before Cepsa came on board.”

Alguersuari also told Spanish reporters that Toro Rosso’s 2012 car has been in the wind tunnel now for “about a month and a half”.

Meanwhile, he said he quickly got over the Belgian grand prix two weeks ago, when Bruno Senna took him out at the first corner.

“I don’t stay angry for long,” said Alguersuari. “Bruno sent me a message and apologised, which I accept. We can all make mistakes, even big ones like that.

“I hope I never make one that destroys the race of another.”

Jaime Alguersuari hopes his best ever qualifying performance will stop the speculation about his future in formula one.
With Red Bull’s next up-and-comers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne knocking loudly on the door at Toro Rosso, driver manager Helmut Marko has said he will only consider the 2012 lineup after the end of this season.

Spaniard Alguersuari, still just 21, qualified on the back of the third row at Spa-Francorchamps, five places ahead of his Swiss teammate Sebastien Buemi.

“I hope now that all the people (reporters) stop asking me about this nonsense,” he told Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo, referring to the constant speculation about his future.

Another boost to Alguersuari’s future could be the reported title sponsorship deal between Toro Rosso and Abu Dhabi’s petroleum investment company (IPIC), with links to Spanish oil brand Cepsa.

AS sports newspaper reports that Alguersuari has even been in direct contact recently with Khadem Abdulla Al-Qubaisi, the managing director of IPIC.

Said Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost: “Both our drivers performed very well throughout the (Spa) weekend.”

Niki Lauda has axed his sponsorship by the financially embattled company Money Service Group.

Sauber is also sponsored by the Liechtenstein based firm, who convinced Austrian legend Lauda to ditch his famous red cap in favour of a blue one for 2011.

But reports in recent days suggested MSG is in difficulties, with its founder and boss departing and suggestions the company has liquidated.

“I have tried to reach Mr Seidl but unfortunately I have not heard from him yet,” Lauda said this week.

The Austrian Independent reported on Friday that the former triple world champion has now cancelled the deal and reverted to his familiar red cap colours.

Other media reports said Liechtenstein prosecutors are investigating Money Service Group for commercial fraud.

“I’m glad about wearing a red cap again,” Lauda said on Friday, confirming he decided to cancel the sponsorship deal “due to the turbulences of the past few days”.

62-year-old Lauda’s new cap does not feature a sponsor logo.

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has emerged as a possible sponsor of a formula one team in 2011.

The bank, into the second year of a three-year deal sponsor deal with the F1 event at Yas Marina this weekend, has an increased signage presence around the track.

And it is now rumoured that Williams is in the running for a team sponsorship deal, as it prepares to lose existing bank sponsor the Royal Bank of Scotland after Sunday’s race.

However, the British outfit’s chief executive Adam Parr said Williams is already in “great shape” financially for 2011, despite reports the Dutch electronics brand Philips is also leaving the team.

It had been suggested that Williams was having to consider signing the well-financed new GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado for next season despite the team being happy with Nico Hulkenberg and Rubens Barrichello.

“We haven’t made any decisions about our driver lineup for next year,” said Parr on Friday. “What we have done is replaced all the sponsorship we have lost.”

A sponsorship deal between formula one and UBS, the Swiss based global financial services company, was announced on Monday.

UBS is headed by chief executive Oswald Grubel, who previously brought the Swiss bank Credit Suisse to F1, and was a BMW-Sauber board member.

“The global reach of F1 complements the many local activities we support,” said Grubel.

The deal will be formally launched at the Singapore grand prix next month.

Williams has confirmed reports that Dickie Stanford is returning to grands prix in the team manager role.

Stanford, who previously held the role until he moved to a factory-based job in 2005, is replacing Tim Newton, who will now be based at Williams’ Grove headquarters as production manager.

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At a very wet Hockenheim on Friday morning, Red Bull announced a new sponsorship deal with LG, already F1′s official technology partner.

The Korean electronics giant’s logo will appear in three places on the RB6 car, as well as on the drivers’ overalls and helmet visors.

And at the press conference, LG’s Seoul-based marketing chief Dermot Boden played down continuing speculation that South Korea’s inaugural grand prix in October might have to be delayed.

Adrian Sutil has declared his interest in completing Renault’s formula one driver lineup for 2011.

The Enstone based team on Wednesday announced it is retaining Robert Kubica, but no mention was made of the Pole’s current teammate, the Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov.

Although having performed solidly so far in 2010, it is Petrov’s millions in funding that ultimately secured him the seat, including the alliance with carmaker Lada.

But it is rumoured that Renault is working on a major sponsorship deal with MasterCard for 2011, in a bid to be able to secure the best possible teammate for Kubica as the team eyes a return to championship contention.

German Sutil, 27, recently said he would be happy to stay at Force India next year, but is now quoted by Germany’s Sport Bild: “Renault for me would be more than just an alternative.”

Sport1.de reports that Sutil had his first contact with Renault team boss Eric Boullier at Valencia two weeks ago.

Timo Glock, Nick Heidfeld and 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen are also being linked with Petrov’s Renault seat.

On Wednesday in Monaco, Mercedes confirmed that it has concluded a sponsorship deal with Deutsche Post.

We reported in March that the German logistics giant, who through its subsidiary DHL is already an official partner of the world championship itself, is in talks about backing the Brackley based team.

It was rumoured that the deal could be ready to debut in Spain last weekend, but in fact the logos will be added to the livery and front wing of the grey W01 car in Monaco.

“The team has been very successful in attracting new partners over the past months and Deutsche Post is a very welcome addition,” said team chief executive Nick Fry.

(GMM)

The funding of Formula 1 is a mystery for many fans and even those inside the sport’s inner circles have trouble understanding the complexities. What is generally known is that funding for Formula 1 consists of huge sponsorship, television coverage and merchandise sales. The merchandise sales are somewhat of an afterthought for sponsors but as the popularity of Formula 1 is growing the merchandise market is also on the increase.
Formula 1 is like many other sports in respect to television coverage. Advertisers will pay for slots in the TV coverage and may even sponsor a specific channel’s coverage of an event. This lucrative method brings vast amounts of funding to the organising body of Formula 1, the FIA as well as its funding company, Formula One. This is important as Formula One is in the driving seat of presenting the Formula 1 package to the public, hence it needs immense funding to carry out these roles.
The Formula 1 teams support themselves in a number of ways; the bigger teams will be able to court sponsors from some of the biggest names in business, whereas smaller teams must make do with lower profiles patrons. Teams also produce their own merchandise ranges to cater for the needs of the average fans; once again the more popular teams obviously make more money.
Venues in the Formula 1 calendar are somewhat limited with their advertising freedom. As Formula 1 is ran by a small number of big business share holders the venue bosses are pushed out of the commercial decisions. Most venues do not have the rights to place their own signage and must pay to host the race. The majority of money made by venues is in the ticket and merchandise sales once fans are inside the track.
This explains why Formula 1 tickets can be very expensive, mainly due to venue managers trying to recoup some of the 13 million dollars they fork out annually to host a race. Hosting a Formula 1 race however is more about the prestige of being a premier world race track.
Formula One is the name of the business behind the sport of Formula 1; it is these businessmen and financiers that control how each race is funded and which sponsors are given preferential treatment. They also decide how much to ‘top up’ F1 teams’ merchandise and sponsorship profits; although this is kept a secret and can sometimes cause friction between teams.
The teams in recent years have not been making enough money from merchandise and sponsorship sales and are beginning to barter for more money from Formula One. Their argument is that they are the entertainers in the sport and so should get a bigger slice of the cake, whether this will be successful is doubtable.
The drivers are not paid from Formula One funds but are employees of the racing teams. The astronomical sums that many of them receive are incomprehensible to those on an average wage, they are however the best drivers in the world and have worked hard to get where they are. The popular drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso can also sign separate merchandising deals, usually for such luxury items as watches and jewellery.
The Formula 1 gravy train is driven by the big business that is Formula One, while Bernie Ecclestone holds a small part of the power in Formula 1; the big businesses that put up a lot of the funding ultimately demand respect. The bankers of the Formula One Company balance payment and income to keep Formula 1 at the pinnacle of motor racing entertainment.
Seemingly the biggest losers in the Formula 1 world are the venues, as ticket sales are most probably the smallest income when compared with the huge TV sponsorship and merchandise deals. In what is seen as an exclusive sport for the rich, the average fan can only afford his team’s merchandise. With high ticket prices and the worldwide nature of the sport it is hard for anyone but the super rich to follow this sport closely from the trackside.