Statistically, the Chinese grand prix raced straight into the history books as one of the most exciting formula one events of all time.

“For me, we are having some of the best races in formula one history,” agreed Jenson Button after finishing Sunday’s Shanghai race behind Nico Rosberg.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper reports that only three grands prix in the history of the sport played host to more individual overtaking moves.

The report said there were 72 passes in total on Sunday, not including the first corner of the race. Seven of the moves were on Kimi Raikkonen on one lap, after the Lotus driver’s Pirelli tyres gave up the ghost.

Last year in Shanghai, there were 63 passes. So far in 2012, there were more overtaking moves in China, Malaysia and Australia compared to the same races last season.

Canada 2011 still stands as the site of the most passes during a single grand prix, at 89.

In second place are the 1983 US grand prix and the 2011 Turkish grand prix (79 passes), followed by China last weekend.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh is celebrating the spectacle of the 2012 season so far.

“Who’s going to predict who will win?” he said, referring to this weekend’s grand prix in Bahrain. “I won’t.

“We’ve had three very different races and I think we are going to have potentially 20 very different races this year.”

The addition of Bulgaria to the F1 calendar could mean the end of the sport’s Hungarian and Turkish rounds.

That is the claim of organiser and Bulgarian motor racing official Bogdan Nikolov, who said this week that a contract for a debut race in 2012 could be signed as soon as next month.

The news follows a scandal earlier this year, when Abu Dhabi investors reportedly reacted furiously to funding claims about the Bulgarian event.

But Nikolov insists the Arab investors are still interested in the project, suggesting that the scandal was more due to “competitive” interests.

“If there is formula one grand prix in Sofia, there won’t be races on Istanbul Park (in Turkey) and (the) Hungaroring. We will be the only grand prix in eastern Europe,” he told the Sofia news agency Novinite.

Even three full weeks and a grand prix after the Red Bull teammates’ crash, details of the Turkish incident are still leaking out.

With controversy and intrigue having surrounded their crash whilst leading May’s Istanbul race, the latest tidbit is revealed by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

The report claims that although Sebastian Vettel was roundly criticised for jinking to the right before contacting the sister RB6, Mark Webber could have followed the advice of his race engineer and perhaps avoided the incident altogether.

It recently emerged that engineer Ciaron Pilbeam radioed Webber on the lap of the crash to tell the Australian that, although his engine was turned down, he could “use your overtake button for a boost on the straight” to repel an attack from Vettel.

Even when in a fuel-saving engine mode, the button temporarily delivers the full 18,000rpm of power.

But Auto Motor und Sport reports that Webber did not know whether he should press the button just once, or for the duration of the power boost, with the “confusion in the cockpit certainly not helping the situation (with Vettel) at 310kph”.

(GMM)

Jun.18 (GMM)  Red Bull is bidding to return to dominance on the streets of Valencia next weekend by using an F-duct system.

With Red Bull earlier looking set to walk the 2010 title, McLaren crept onto the pace in Turkey and then leapt to the top of the championships with one-two victory in Canada last weekend.

Red Bull used its initial version of McLaren’s downforce-stalling F-duct concept in practice for the Turkish grand prix, but then decided to develop it further rather than take it to Canada.

Valencia, like the long straights and slow corners of Montreal, is another circuit that is expected to play into the hands of McLaren and the British team’s original F-duct.

Vettel was the highest placed Red Bull in Canada with just fourth place, but on Friday he said the North American round is now in the past so that the team can “fully concentrate” on Valencia.

“There, with the F-duct system we are getting an important part on the car,” he told Germany’s Auto Bild Motorsport.

“Our technical chief Adrian Newey did not come to Canada in order to put the finishing touches on the new system at the factory,” added the 22-year-old German.

Jun.17 (GMM) Recent championship leaders Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton disagree about the likely direction of the 2010 season.

After winning the Turkish and Canadian grands prix in the wake of Red Bull’s earlier dominance, McLaren driver Hamilton said the fight for the title is “tight”.

The statistics so far appear to support his argument, given the five different race winners and the fact they are all separated by just 19 points.

“So it’s the ultimate challenge I’ve experienced in formula one, perhaps in formula one history,” the Briton added.

Australian Webber, however, predicts that the current five-driver championship fight will ultimately become a more regular head-to-head as the season winds down.

“Last year,” the Red Bull driver told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, “Jenson won many races at the beginning. But that’s not usually what happens.

“It is more often the case that until mid-season there are three to five drivers all together.

“70 per cent in there will probably be only three or so in it, and with a few races to go it becomes a duel,” Webber predicted.

“Perhaps the champion will even be known before the last race.”

The 33-year-old also played down suggestions that, given the outcome of the Montreal race, McLaren is now the pacesetter.

Red Bull had predicted after Turkey that the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve would not suit the RB6.

“Valencia is another track on which we might not be so good,” said Webber. “But we surprised ourselves in Canada when we were more competitive than we thought we would be.”

Jun.12 (GMM)  Leading bosses have rejected David Coulthard’s suggestion that formula one overturn its ban on team orders.

In the wake of the Turkish grand prix two weeks ago, it was reported that the controversies may have been triggered by Red Bull and McLaren trying to circumvent the prohibition of race-altering team instructions.

In Red Bull’s case, Mark Webber’s engine had been turned down ostensibly to save fuel, amid continuing rumours that the chasing sister car driven by Sebastian Vettel was temporarily running higher revs in the moments before their crash.

And teammates Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton set hearts racing on the McLaren pitwall at Istanbul Park when they fought wheel-to-wheel despite being told to slow down and conserve fuel.

13-time GP winner and British commentator Coulthard said it is an “absurd situation whereby teams have to defend the indefensible”.

“Do they (team orders) happen in F1?  Yes, is the short answer,” the Scot wrote in his latest column for the Telegraph.

Coulthard, 39, argues not only that teams can easily steer around the team order ban, but that some sorts of instructions are legitimate.

Indeed, team orders were completely legal until 2002, when Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello was crudely ordered by then Ferrari team boss Jean Todt – who is now president of the governing FIA – to let Michael Schumacher win in Austria.

But while their lives may have been easier in Turkey if team orders were permitted, the bosses of Red Bull and McLaren said they would not support a push to overturn the ban.

“I think team orders are wrong,” Christian Horner said in Montreal.

“You employ professional drivers and we shouldn’t dictate how they drive the car.  I think it would be wrong to deny the public from what a grand prix should be about which is man and machine competing with each other,” said the Red Bull team principal.

His McLaren counterpart Martin Whitmarsh agrees.

“I think we’re happy with the regulations as they are.  I don’t mind if other teams want to (use team orders) and that’s up to them, but within our team, we’ve tried to treat all of our drivers with respect,” he said.

Many countries complain of declining audience figures at the Formula 1 race, but after the Turkish is pleased to now, the Canadian Grand Prix on a regular Plus. In Montreal today, even had the tickets be set because the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is now completely sold out!

Even at today’s pit walk, thousands Formula 1 fans, even though it was raining heavily in part. But the Canadians have always had something left for the Grand Prix racing after a year and are downright hungry. What is more, much more fans than in past years have come from Europe to the famous flair in Montreal once even able to witness live.

“There are thousands of fans that the Canadian Grand Prix have ever seen on TV and were now ready to fly across the Atlantic to a Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montreal-style witness,” said organizer François Dumontier of the Octane Group. “We welcome them, just like all the other fans. And I invite all of Montréal to come too!”

As the tickets were issued last December, there was in Quebec immediately a run on the Formula 1 Montreal will be the first Grand Prix to be completely sold out this season. Therefore, the organizers have decided to commence with the advance booking for 2011.

Jun.9 (GMM)  Jenson Button has played down claims that McLaren’s risky gamble with its fuel loads was the reason for the near-disaster during the Turkish grand prix.

It has emerged that because Lewis Hamilton and teammate Button chased the Red Bulls so hard at Istanbul Park, the drivers were instructed throughout the race to conserve fuel.

Button’s race engineer at one point described the situation as “critical”, shortly after Hamilton had slowed down too much and triggered their wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead.

Afterwards, Hamilton lamented the poor communication and Button was accused of ignoring veiled team orders, sparking the rejoinder that McLaren could have avoided the entire situation by simply running a less aggressive fuel strategy.

But speaking to the Toronto media on Tuesday, 30-year-old Button said the team is right to run the cars as light on fuel as possible.

“If you’re running with two and a half extra kilos in the car, that’s one tenth a lap, which over the course of the race is five seconds.  So you try to be as close on fuel as possible,” he insisted.

It is believed that Hamilton’s winning car had just one litre of fuel left in the tank after he pulled into parc ferme, while Button’s MP4-25 contained only slightly more.

Jun.9 (GMM)  Jacques Villeneuve has become the latest pundit to comment on the crash between the Red Bull cars at the recent Turkish grand prix.

The aftermath of Sebastian Vettel’s clash with Mark Webber was highly controversial, as most outsiders initially blamed Vettel but Red Bull chiefs pointed the finger at Australian Webber.

It emerged that Webber’s engine was in a fuel-saving mode – although team figures initially refused to confirm that was the case – and that his engineer had declined to pass on a radio message advising him to let his young German teammate through.

Then, as the official line became more conciliatory, figures close to team owner Dietrich Mateschitz including Max Mosley and Gerhard Berger renewed the criticism of Webber, before the 33-year-old was re-signed for the 2011 season.

The latest twist is that Mateschitz’s right-hand man Dr Helmut Marko says the pair are still free to race, but must not stridently resist each other’s advances.

“Both cars were out in the lead, but drivers are drivers and it is always difficult for one to give 110 per cent while the other does not,” Villeneuve wrote in a column for rds.ca.

“After the race, the reaction of the team seemed strange — to assign fault to someone so quickly and categorically.

“But you never know what really happened when you’ve looked at the situation from the outside as I did,” added the 39-year-old French Canadian.

Meanwhile, 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen thinks the only lingering effect of the crash is that Vettel and Webber will from now on behave “a bit more carefully” when they are wheel-to-wheel.

“In a similar situation you would just behave a bit differently so that it doesn’t happen again,” the Red Bull-sponsored world rally driver told Austrian Servus TV.

“It was just an incident in the race and now it’s finished,” he added.

Jun.8 (GMM)  An engineer was wrong to tell Lewis Hamilton that his teammate Jenson Button would not overtake during the recent Turkish grand prix.

A video edit of the Istanbul Park race released by F1′s official website revealed that Phil Prew, the British team’s principal engineer, answered ‘No Lewis, no” when Hamilton asked if Button would overtake him.

Conspiracy theorists interpreted the news as 2009 world champion Button having ignored a veiled team order.

But team boss Martin Whitmarsh explained on Tuesday: “Phil gave an opinion to Lewis, and as it turned out his opinion was wrong.  It’s as simple as that.

“They were being told to look after fuel, (and) as a consequence of that Phil Prew had the opinion that Jenson wouldn’t overtake,” he told reporters during a teleconference.

Jun.7 (GMM) One year ago, the boss of the country’s motor racing sanctioning body said it would not be “easy” to come to a new agreement with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

The track, actually operated by 79-year-old Ecclestone’s company, is liked by the drivers but always very poorly attended.  Attendance was better in 2010, but only because the price of tickets had been dramatically reduced.

It emerged earlier this year that Ecclestone was threatening to almost double the promoter’s sanctioning fee to $26 million per year after 2011.

The Briton played down the rumours at Istanbul Park last month, insisting he is in talks about a new ten-year deal.

But a report in the local Zaman newspaper said Ecclestone is still pushing for the heavily inflated sanctioning fee increase.

He reportedly met with officials on the Saturday of the recent Turkish GP, and is quoted as telling them: “I leave it up to you.  India and Arab countries are all ready to take your place.”

One Turkish official said the situation will be clearer in two months.

“Turkey is definitely fond of hosting these races, and all this haggling is taking place for this,” said youth and sports director Yunus Akgul.

“However, paying $26m for this organisation every year is a big burden.  The figure is very high.

“We’ve approached the deal from a different angle.  Our last offer was that he relinquish the operating rights to Istanbul Park, and we guaranteed that the track would be reserved for the organisation for three weeks before and during the races.

“In return, we wanted him to come up with a new offer,” he added, admitting that if Ecclestone does not propose a lower fee, Turkey will cease to appear on the F1 calendars.

Jun.7 (GMM)  Pirelli has won the race to become F1′s new sole tyre supplier beginning in 2011.

The same news was reported by multiple sources prior to the Turkish grand prix, but Michelin then made a last-ditch attempt to woo the teams by calling a meeting in the paddock of the Istanbul Park circuit.

Once again, after yet another non-grand prix week of negotiations, it is believed that Milan-based Pirelli has secured the deal.

As was also the case prior to Turkey, it is more than one source within the Italian media that is hinting at the latest development.

The authoritative daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, for one, claims that the finishing touches are being made to a contract that will be signed by the end of the week.

Prior to Turkey, it was reported that the Pirelli deal for 2011-2013 was to cost teams 1 million euros apiece per season, in exchange for identical attention and service and a range of just three compounds: soft, medium and hard.

At least initially, the tyres will be in a similar 13-inch specification to the current Bridgestone product, with a longer-term ambition being a move to a low profile.

It had also been reported that Pirelli, already the supplier of the new GP3 series as well as world rally, is likely to also supply GP2 next year.

Pirelli was last in F1 in 1991.

Jun.7 (GMM)  Sebastian Vettel on Monday refused to accept the blame for his crash with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber during the recent Turkish grand prix.

Despite team bosses no longer pointing their fingers at Australian Webber in the wake of a clear-the-air meeting last Thursday, 22-year-old Vettel said he thinks he was in the right on lap 40.

“You do at the time what you think is right, and in that case you would do it again because you thought it was right,” he said in an interview with the BBC.

“I had already passed Mark and then tried to come slowly back to the right.  At that time I was the leading car and then usually the leader dictates where to go.

“We made contact and that was the end of the race for me,” said Vettel, now fifth in the championship and 15 points behind title leader Webber.

After emerging from his stricken RB6 at Istanbul Park, Vettel wiggled his right index finger around his ear, suggesting he thought Webber had acted crazily.

But on Monday, he refused to confirm the intent.

“I think it was pretty clear at the time.  I don’t think it was a crazy sign.  I think it’s very common.  I think everyone understood,” he said.

Jun.7 (GMM)  Red Bull Racing on Monday announced a new one-year contract for Mark Webber.

It means the 33-year-old Australian, who crashed with his teammate Sebastian Vettel whilst leading the recent Turkish grand prix, will stay alongside the young German in 2011.

Amid reports the Milton Keynes-based team wants to keep Vettel for a much longer term, Webber insists he is happy to have signed for only one more year.

“It’s widely know that I’m not interested in hanging around in formula one just for the sake of it and at this stage of my career, I’m happy to take one year at a time,” the championship leader is quoted as saying in a media statement.

Red Bull confirmed that Vettel is already under contract for 2011.

With their Turkish crash still loud in the news, attention is now turning to the new contracts on the table for Red Bull teammates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

It is believed the Austrian-owned team is imminently set to extend Australian Webber’s deal for 2011, amid reports Red Bull wants to secure Vettel’s services for a much longer period.

With the young German already under contract to the end of next year, rumours suggest Red Bull also wants to tie him down through 2015.

Team boss Christian Horner is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport: “Mark is happy with one-year contracts.  At his age he doesn’t want to commit himself for too long.”

The magazine’s latest edition also reveals that Webber recently confided in his former Williams bosses that he was prepared to retire at the end of 2010 if he had not secured a contract extension.

The likely one-year deal ties in with rumours that Red Bull is eyeing a future seat for Sebastien Buemi, the Swiss youngster who currently drives for the junior team Toro Rosso.

(GMM)