Sauber’s ‘teaser’ has done the trick, triggering paddock speculation about its forthcoming major backer.

Last weekend in China, off the back of Sergio Perez’s recent push for victory at Sepang, the small Swiss team ran mysterious ‘Out of the blue’ signage on the C31′s engine cover.

The Blick newspaper said it was a “teaser” for a “big sponsor” that will be “announced in a few weeks”.

So who is it?

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport relayed paddock rumours hinting that the deal could be with AT-T, the American multinational who last year pulled its title sponsorship of the then-struggling Williams team.

Another paddock whisper is that Sauber’s new deal could be with the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, to promote his English premier league club Chelsea.

F1′s Enstone based team will keep the ‘Lotus’ name until at least 2017.

It emerged late last week that the sponsorship agreement between the team formerly known as Renault, and the Proton-owned carmaker Group Lotus, has ended.

But the team will at least keep its new chassis name for the foreseeable future, the French sports daily L’Equipe reveals.

“We are pleased to keep the name,” said team owner Gerard Lopez, “because it’s a great brand for F1.”

Group Lotus confirmed: “The F1 team uses the strength of the Lotus name to promote themselves, and in return Group Lotus benefits from F1 exposure and the ambassadorship of its drivers.”

The carmaker confirmed that the “financial arrangement” between Group Lotus and the F1 team has ended.

L’Equipe said the Genii-owned team is currently in talks with a major North American company about becoming the new title sponsor.

 Williams will not rush into signing a new title sponsor, chairman Adam Parr insists.
The famous British team performed woefully in 2011 and lost its naming backer ATT, yet recently revealed improved turnover and profits.

And Parr told Reuters the Grove based team has more than $45 million in the bank.

“I am very satisfied with what we have done overall with the business,” he said.

“We don’t have a title sponsor at the moment and obviously that’s an important initiative for us. But it’s something that you have to get right because your title sponsor is the most visible of your partners,” Parr explained.

“In many ways, it sets the character of the team. You want a title partner who is very active in the way they promote and activate the partnership.

“This is not something we are going to rush into, this is something we want to get right.”

For the moment, Williams’ main source of income appears to be the controversial deal with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, including Pastor Maldonado as driver.

“PDVSA is an important partner of the team in financial and other respects but it is by no means the only one,” insisted Parr.

 Group Lotus owner Proton has denied the British sports car maker is being sold to formula one team owner Genii.
Last week, Lotus boss Dany Bahar failed to quell speculation that Genii, the Gerard Lopez-led owner of the Enstone based Renault team, is poised to take over its title sponsor Lotus.

“I can only say this,” said Bahar, “when we made the announcement about our involvement in Lotus Renault GP we made it clear that this was the start of a close relationship and this journey continues.”

But Group Lotus owner Proton, the Malaysian carmaker, this week denied the Genii rumours with a media statement.

“Proton hereby states that the alleged moves between Group Lotus and Genii Capital are untrue and that the reports are highly speculative in nature,” it read.

A race seat with Virgin could be the next step for Canadian Robert Wickens.

Driving in Virgin and title sponsor Marussia’s colours this season, the 22-year-old wrapped up the Renault World Series championship in Spain last weekend while F1 raced at Suzuka.

“We look forward to celebrating with him this weekend in Korea,” announced Virgin’s F1 team boss John Booth.

A few months ago, Wickens was announced as the F1 team’s new reserve driver.

And while the formula one world was in Japan last weekend, the Belgian newspaper De Morgen reported that Wickens is in the running for a 2012 seat because he has “more (sponsorship) money” to offer than Jerome d’Ambrosio.

Wickens told the Toronto newspaper Globe and Mail: “F1 has always been the goal in my whole career and now I am the closest I have ever been.

“Definitely, I will switch now to trying to secure a seat for next year.

“At the end of the day, if I could get corporate Canada’s support it would be a dream come true.”

Red Bull has no plans to scale back its involvement in formula one, owner Dietrich Mateschitz insists.
Red Bull Racing’s Nascar equivalent is being wound up but it is a different story in F1, where Sebastian Vettel is on the verge of being crowned the youngest ever back to back champion.

Mateschitz told the Independent newspaper he is even happy with his second F1 team Toro Rosso.

“No,” he insisted when asked if the Faenza based team is for sale, “although partnerships would not be ruled out, as long as the partner is the right one.”

Also not being sold is the premier Red Bull team, even though “a forecast is difficult and a decision always depends on the wider picture, the politics, influence of F1 shareholders and many other factors”.

He played down the supposed cost-drain of being involved in F1.

“The total marketing investment for (the) Red Bull (brand) is 10 times as much as in F1,” said Mateschitz.

There is, however, no title sponsor as it is “difficult to find one due to the strength of the Red Bull brand”.

A deal between Red Bull’s second F1 team Toro Rosso and the Spanish oil brand Cepsa is racing ahead.
That is the latest claim of the Spanish sports daily AS, despite the Cepsa-linked, Abu Dhabi state-owned Aabar recently denying the reports.

In June, part Mercedes GP-owner Aabar admitted to the talks with Red Bull but said they were not about the energy drink company’s “formula one teams”.

But AS says Toro Rosso’s 2011 car will be wearing Cepsa colours starting from next weekend’s Italian grand prix at Monza because Red Bull “has already closed the deal”.

The report said other brands linked to Abu Dhabi and its International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) will also be added to the STR6′s livery.

The main one will be existing Toro Rosso sponsor Falcon Private – a Swiss bank – and another is Canadian company Nova Chemicals.

A full title sponsorship is then likely for 2012 and beyond, probably resulting in a wholesale livery change for Faenza based Toro Rosso.

Formula one team Ferrari on Tuesday announced it has extended its agreement with title sponsor Philip Morris until the end of 2015.

The rumours about the extension were first heard in January at Marlboro’s ‘Wrooom’ media event in the Italian Dolomites.

Philip Morris has remained in F1 long after the sport’s total ban on cigarette advertising.

Ferrari’s so-called ‘barcode’ logo and livery was controversial in 2010, leading to the launch of a new red and white logo for this year, which was incorporated into the design of the 2011 car’s livery.

“We see no obstacles to an extension,” a Philip Morris International spokesman said in January.

Renault is hitting back at reports of financial problems.

The rumours emerged during the Monaco grand prix and the Enstone based team’s boss Eric Boullier hinted they might have been started by his predecessor Flavio Briatore, who was making an appearance in the Principality.

In a further move to downplay the rumours, France’s autohebdo.fr reports that Renault is making several new investments, including a state-of-the-art driver simulator.

The report also referred to an update for the 60 per cent wind tunnel and a new supercomputer for CFD computer simulations.

Boullier, meanwhile, has told L’Equipe that a management shakeup is the next step.

“In 2010 we watched the operations at the circuit and did not want to destabilise the team, focusing instead on operating efficiently.

“Now is the perfect time to ensure we have effective management at the track,” he revealed.

“We’re calm. It has been a transitional period that we have handled remarkably well. We have a sponsor in the form of Group Lotus and solid partners.

“And if in the season we ever need an extension of the budget, Genii Capital is able to grant it,” insisted Boullier.

At the same time, the team’s title sponsor Group Lotus has insisted the recent naming dispute battle with Team Lotus has not affected its commitment to Renault and formula one.

Proton-owned Lotus has vowed to appeal the High Court’s decision to allow Team Lotus to keep using the name and logo for its entirely separate outfit.

But Dany Bahar insists: “We (Group Lotus) are even more committed than ever before to our long-term plan within the sport.

“With regards to our involvement with (Renault), as Lotus we stand united with Genii Capital and have every confidence in the future success of (the team),” he said.

“People always question the cost but, believe me, if we couldn’t afford it, we wouldn’t do it.”

Virgin on Thursday confirmed reports Nick Wirth has left the struggling team.
Chief executive Andy Webb told us in a statement that the decision followed a “comprehensive review” in the wake of Russian carmaker Marussia’s arrival as title sponsor and investor.

The statement said “it is readily apparent that the team must take major steps in order to accelerate its rate of improvement”.

“Consequently, the decision has been taken that the team will take greater control of its own destiny,” added Webb, revealing Virgin has therefore been “obliged to terminate our relationship” with Wirth and his company Wirth Research.

“Looking ahead, we will now be pursuing an alternative technical path and look forward to announcing our plans in more detail over the coming weeks,” he said.

Webb however denied suggestions the split with Wirth means the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach has proved a failure, but left the door open to new options.

“At this stage I would like to underline our continued commitment to a cost-efficient commercial model,” he said.

“We maintain our absolute belief in CFD as a technology, especially since it continues to become more cost-effective with every year.

“Naturally, we will continue to use every means at our disposal to improve the aerodynamics of our car with immediate effect.”

The immediate future of the Belgian grand prix seemed secure on Thursday.

It was announced that Shell, the Dutch global oil giant and Ferrari sponsor, has inked a “multi-year” deal to be the title sponsor of the popular Spa-Francorchamps race.

The historic event in the Belgian Ardennes was said to have been endangered for financial reasons.

“The formula one Shell Belgian grand prix is a cornerstone of the world championship calendar,” said Shell Retail executive vice president John Bullock.

Shell also recently renewed its long-standing partnership with Ferrari until 2015.

Tony Fernandes has revealed for the first time that Group Lotus has offered to settle the F1 naming dispute out of court.
The parties are fighting over Fernandes’ right to use the ‘Team Lotus’ name he bought from David Hunt for his Hingham based team in 2011.

Group Lotus terminated a license for Fernandes’ team to use ‘Lotus Racing’ last year, before the famous Proton-owned sports car maker decided to enter F1 as title sponsor to Renault.

“I considered doing a deal, but the one they offered me would have bankrupted us,” Malaysian Fernandes, whose team is testing privately at Valencia on Friday, is quoted by the Norwich Advertiser.

It is reported elsewhere that the deal offered was less than US $10m.

Instead, the saga has descended into a ‘he said, she said’ tit-for-tat, with fans now facing the prospect of two Lotus teams on the grid this year before a High Court ruling.

“It’s petty,” agreed Fernandes.

“I think we should all grow up and let the courts decide, and at the end of the day we honour the courts.

“I said I didn’t want to say anything any more, but they keep making statements. I can’t just say silent.”

Marlboro is set to stay as Ferrari’s title sponsor until at least 2014, according to a report on Thursday.

The German-language Motorsport-Total.com said it learned about the likely contract extension at the team’s recent ‘Wrooom’ media event in the Italian Dolomites.

An official announcement could be made on January 28, when the famous team launches its 2011 car at its Maranello base.

Philip Morris brand Marlboro has remained in F1 long after the sport’s total ban on cigarette advertising.

The team’s so-called ‘barcode’ logo and livery was controversial in 2010, leading to the launch of a new logo for this year, which will be incorporated into the design of the 2011 car’s livery.

“We see no obstacles to an extension,” the report quotes a spokesman for Philip Morris International as saying.

Renault will race in formula one this year with a British license.
It means that if Robert Kubica or Vitaly Petrov win a race, it will be God Save The Queen rather than La Marseillaise that is played on the podium.

Boulogne-Billancourt headquartered Renault SA’s ownership of the Oxfordshire based team was one of France’s last remaining links to F1.

But the team, previously operating under a French racing license, is now co-owned by Luxembourg investment firm Genii Capital and the Malaysian-owned British sports car marque Group Lotus.

There is also no French grand prix or active race driver in F1.

“Lotus is an English manufacturer,” Renault team boss Eric Boullier explained at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, referring to the outfit’s new title sponsor and partner.

He insisted that the change of identity for Lotus Renault GP is “important for everybody inside the team”

“We are rebranding everything inside the company now,” added Frenchman Boullier.

Renault SA’s official involvement in F1 this year will be limited to engine supply, with Renault Sport F1 providing V8s to customers Lotus Renault GP, Team Lotus and Red Bull.

Sauber is not yet officially confirming its new team name for the 2011 season.

This year, despite the German carmaker pulling out of formula one before the 2010 season, the Hinwil based team was still known as ‘BMW Sauber F1 Team’.

Former owner Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) agreed to let Sauber keep the acronym in its official title in order to not jeopardise the team’s commercial income due to finishing the 2009 constructors’ championship in sixth place.

But a name change for 2011 will not jeopardise Sauber’s income, due to its fellow teams and the governing FIA agreeing in June to permit the tweak ahead of the next world championship season.

Sauber’s current press releases are issued in the name of its Swiss company Sauber Motorsport AG, but it is believed that in 2011 the official team title will be ‘Sauber F1 Team’.

A team spokesman said this week: “We will communicate the name in due time.”

The team’s managing director Monisha Kaltenborn is quoted by Basler Zeitung: “We have the (F1) Commission’s approval to delete BMW from our name after the end of the (2010) season.”

The report said the final name is not yet published because it might include a new title sponsor that has not been announced.