FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

EJ supporting Webber for the title

Eddie Jordan is rooting for Mark Webber to win this year's title, as he would like to see another new World Champ enter the mix.

This year's campaign has seen four World Champions line up on the grid in Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Three of those four, Alonso, Hamilton and Button, are in with a shot of winning this year's crown as with seven races remaining they are within 20 points of new Championship leader, Webber, as is his team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

However, if former team boss turned commentator Jordan could choose one of the five to win, he would take Webber.

"In many ways it is too difficult to call. But I'd actually like a non-World Champion to win it so that in 2011 we have another World Champion on the grid," he said in a BBC Sport fans' Q&A.

"That confines it to either Mark Webber or Sebastian Vettel - it sounds as if I'm a Red Bull fan and I'm not really! I'm quite certain that Vettel will become a multiple world champion but I'd be overjoyed if Webber became World Champion.

"It doesn't mean I favour Webber it just means that if he won the title I would be so happy. I helped Webber get his first F1 drive and we've been friends for a long time.

"If he won the title it would be one up for the guys who have struggled and made their way up from the bottom and just stayed with it. So my answer is Webber."

EJ was also asked whether much value could be put on the Championship title in the wake of Ferrari's blatant use of team orders in Germany.

"We need to remember that team orders have always been in Ferrari's DNA in one form or another but I disagree with your comment," he said.

"Since the Ferraris switched places for Alonso to take a one-two ahead of Massa in Germany, we have heard Massa come out and say that that will never happen again.

"If Massa was leading a race and Alonso was third with someone in between, I believe there is no way that the team would reverse that situation. What happened in Germany was such that it was too easy for Ferrari to manipulate the positions with a pure swap.

"Of course, that incident takes away from the heat of competition but people forget very quickly and every team has a certain element of favouritism, whether it is Alonso at Ferrari or Vettel inside Red Bull.

"It is also worth remembering that this season is not typical at all because it is so closely-fought within the teams between Vettel and Webber, Hamilton and Button and Alonso and Massa."

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Trulli not thinking about retirement

Jarno Trulli says he's not yet thinking about retirement and will only quit F1 when he's too slow to compete.

At 35 years of age, Trulli is one of the oldest drivers in Formula One, only younger than Michael Schumacher and Pedro de la Rosa.

However, unlike Schumacher and de la Rosa, both of whom have returned to the sport this season, Trulli has been a regular in F1 since 1997 when he made his debut with Minardi.

And although there has been some talk about Trulli retiring, perhaps moving to NASCAR where he had a test late in 2009, the Italian insists he's not yet ready to walk away.

But that doesn't mean he wants to spend too many seasons lapping at the back of the pack with newcomers Lotus Racing, who he joined at the start of this year's Championship.

"Honestly, I don't know when," he told AutoBild.

"If I'm suddenly no long fast than it makes no sense to remain in Formula One.

"Of course this year is difficult for me to accept but the outlook for 2011 is better.

"I do not want to come to terms with being a backmarker. I accepted that because Lotus has a long-term plan.

"That it would be difficult in the first year was made clear to me from the start. Now I have to be patient."

Asked whether he would end his career with Lotus, Trulli said: "It depends.

"Right now I'll be here again next year because it's going in the right direction. But I do not think too far into the future."

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16-year-old Nabil Jeffri to test Lotus T127

Lotus Racing has today confirmed that it is to commit to nurturing young talent with the announcement that 16-year-old Nabil Jeffri, will conduct straight-line tests for the team in September.

Jeffri currently competes in Formula BMW Pacific with Eurasia Motorsport where he lies fifth in the championship.

The aero tests will be conducted on September 1st at an undisclosed location in the UK, where the young Malaysian will be put through his paces to give him a taste of an F1 weekend.

The opportunity arose through his sponsorship in the AirAsia ASEAN Driver Development Program, which was created to accelerate the growth of motorsports in the region.

"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to drive for Lotus Racing in the aero test," said Nabil. "It's a big privilege to gain driving experience with the most promising new F1 team.

"Driving the Lotus Racing car will definitely be a priceless exposure to the F1 driving experience, and I'm looking forward to many more similar opportunities to arise as a result of being part of the AirAsia Driver Development program," he added.

"It's an exciting day for all of us in the Lotus Racing team - being able to give bright young talent like Nabil the chance to play an integral role in the development of our team is a recognition of his burgeoning talent, and shows that there is a clear route to the top rung of the motorsport ladder, no matter how old you are or where you are racing," commented Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes.

"I'm sure that before he gets in the hot seat he'll be speaking to Fairuz Fauzy for some advice - Fairuz is another Malaysian sports star who, as our third driver, is showing at tracks around the world that you can reach the top if you work hard to achieve your dreams - together, they serve as inspirations to everyone in our team, and to young talent all over the world."

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Glock 'keeping eyes open' for established seat

Timo Glock admits he is watching the driver market for any openings within the more established teams next season.

The former Jordan and Toyota driver had been linked with a seat at Renault before he chose to join the new Virgin outfit based in Yorkshire.

He denies that he is close to securing the second seat at the team for 2011 despite rumblings that the French marque is looking for a more experienced second driver to help them in the constructors title.

"I'm keeping my eyes open," he told itv-f1.com. "We'll see if there is an opportunity at Renault, I don’t know at the moment. I'm not that close to talking to them.

"I have a longer contract at Virgin, but if things are not going as they should, what I said from the beginning is I will have a look around and I'll keep my eyes open."

Things are improving at Virgin despite a major error at the start of the season. The team had to spend millions on redesigning their chassis as their fuel tank wasn't large enough to get them to the end of some races.

However, they are beginning to show their pace, most evidently at the Hungarian GP where Glock managed to out-qualify both Lotus cars.

[MIKA27]

Adrian Newey hospitalised after G50 crash

Adrian Newey, the designer behind the current Red Bull RB6, has been hospitalised for precautionary measures following a crash in the Ginetta G50 series at Snetterton.

The 51-year-old was driving the guest car in the support race for the British Touring Car Championship in Norfolk.

Two cars collided with Newey, one of which, driven by Tony Hughes, burst into flames. The accident saw the race red-flagged whilst medical crews attended to the F1 car designer before removing him on a stretcher.

The incident comes during a four week break for Formula One, giving Newey plenty of recovery time.

Chairman of the Ginetta series, Lawrence Tomlinson, issued a statement confirming Newey, nor the other two drivers involved, hadn't suffered any serious injuries.

"Adrian has been taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure after being clipped by Julien Draper of Barwell Motorsport which caused Tony Hughes of Speedworks to have a side on collision with Newey's DynoJet car.

"It's testament to the strength of the G50 roll cage that the car withstood heavy impact and there were no serious injuries," added Tomlinson.

[MIKA27]

Final tracks hold little fear – Webber

Mark Webber believes Red Bull has little to fear about the performance of its RB6 at the remaining seven tracks on the calendar – although he admits he has some concerns ahead of high-speed Spa and Monza.

Red Bull will head into the decisive final stretch of the season after the summer break at the head of both championship races after Webber led a 1-3 finish for the team at last week’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The RB6 has been nearly untouchable in qualifying so far this season, while the team has arguably only been clearly beaten on race pace in Canada and Germany.

Webber is therefore confident the RB6 is strong on all types of circuit, even if he hints it may be slightly weaker on the upcoming two power circuits – particularly Monza, where it struggled in the bottom end of the top 10 last year.

“I think we have shown this year that the car is performing on all tracks. We hope we don’t have any weak circuits,” he said in a video interview with RBR’s website.

“For sure Singapore should be good, Suzuka, Brazil, Abu Dhabi…

“We’re a little bit worried about how the long straights might go at some of the other venues and maybe at Monza.

“But the car is very, very strong at most tracks so we are ready to take anyone on at any venue and looking forward to all the races coming up.

“The RB6 should perform everywhere – we are looking forward to that.”

Webber’s fourth victory of the season last weekend took him back to the head of the drivers standings for the first time since Turkey, the Australian now five points clear of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Having already won at historic Monaco and Silverstone this year, Webber admits he would love to add several more of the sport’s pre-eminent races to his victory collection before the year is out – although he acknowledges it will be his and the team’s consistency over the final stretch of the season that determines how its pursuit of glory pans out.

“Well it would be nice to win Spa, Suzuka and a few other victories this year [and] along with that hopefully comes something special,” he said.

“But we need to keep focused on being consistent as well and on some tracks when we’re not quite there, or I’m not quite there, or we have some small hiccups here and there because you need perfect weekends to win at this level.

“Of course Sebastian [Vettel] and I have been pushing each other pretty hard as well so to beat each other you need to get everything right.

“I have a few of my goals already in the pocket this year which is sensational, for the team to be able to help me get those.

“But every race gives 25 points [for a victory] and we need to perform everwhere, and if we can do that you never know what can happen at the end of the year.”

[OZCUBAN]

With you all the way Mark (Webber)!

x2 bster

[MIKA27]

x2 bster

X3 Oz/bster!! .

He really does deserve it. If he doesn't win it this season, he never will!

[MIKA27]

JV 'annoyed' by leaked plans

Jacques Villeneuve says he's not happy that his Formula One plans were leaked to the world's media last month.

The former F1 World Champion, who has teamed up with Durango, is just one of the applicants seeking the 13th spot on next year's grid.

But while some of his rivals for the final place on the grid have managed to keep their bids a secret, last month Villeneuve's plans were revealed to the world.

And although the 39-year-old has no idea all the parties whom he is up against, his rival applicants all know who they have to beat.

"I have no idea against whom or what we are fighting," he told Auto Bild.

"Everything has been kept quiet. But someone who was not even part of the project then decided to talk about it. That was a bit annoying.

"I cannot say anything about it because at the moment we do not have all the facts with us."

[MIKA27]

Button completes London Triathlon

While most drivers are relaxing on a beach in some exotic location, Jenson Button took part in the Challenger World London Triathlon on Sunday.

The McLaren driver took part in the event, which included a swim near the ExCel Centre in east London's Docklands, followed by a 40-kilometer bike ride and a 10-kilometer run.

Button, who competed in the event in aid of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, completed the triathlon in a time of just two hours, 14 minutes and 14 seconds

"I wasn't feeling very well at the start of the week, which is why I have come in a bit slower than last time round," the reigning World Champ told the BBC.

"I really didn't want to miss out on the weekend though as I had such a fantastic time here last year so I just decided to battle through it."

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Sutil confident of a solid finish

Adrian Sutil reckons he can bag points in at least four of the remaining seven races, ending the season on a high note.

Force India are currently locked in a battle with Williams for sixth place in the Constructors' Championship with just seven points separating the two teams in Force India's favour.

However, Sutil believes his team can pull away from their rivals as at least four of the remaining seven tracks should suit the characteristics of his VJM03.

"I feel very comfortable. They should suit our car," the 27-year-old German told the Hindustan Times.

"If you remember last year, there was a podium finish there (at the Italian GP) and a pole position.

"Last year we had an incredible car there, it was a big advantage. This year, it's a little bit more consistent with the tyres. We don't have that advantage any more.

"Still we should be able to score a lot of points in the coming races. We have very a good chance in Spa and Monza.

"Then we go to Singapore, which is a bit more difficult course. Korea...nobody knows. Japan and Brazil should suit us well. Four of seven... I'm absolutely confident."

[MIKA27]

Ralf defends big brother

Ralf Schumacher has come to Michael's defence following a major backlash against the Merc GP driver for his move on Rubens Barrichello in Hungary.

Schumacher was slapped with a ten-grid slot penalty for the next race in Belgium after the Hungarian stewards deemed him to have 'illegitimately impeded' Barrichello in a manoeuvre that almost put the Williams driver into the wall.

The German has come in for heaps of criticism for his move with race steward Derek Warwick revealing he wanted Schumacher black flagged.

Schumacher, though, did apologise to Barrichello the following morning, which his brother Ralf says needs to be taken into consideration.

"I think it's completely inappropriate when Michael is depicted as some kind of unfeeling robot. This is not Michael," Ralf told Auto Bild.

"He slept on his maneuver and said sorry, out of conviction because he realised his mistake. They should believe him and accept it.

"It certainly has a lot to do with Michael's past. He is the most successful driver in F1 history and people are critical, especially now with his comeback which is not going very well.

"It was a tough maneuver but shows how seriously Michael still takes his job."

He added: "He is now more willing to compromise, which can be seen in his apology.

"Previously he was criticised for being too straight and cool, now he is more relaxed it is interpreted as a lack of ambition. This is the wrong interpretation."

[MIKA27]

Domenicali 'dumbstruck' by F1 'hypocrisy'

Stefano Domenicali has lashed out at the hypocrisy in F1 after Ferrari were found guilty of use team orders and accused of running an illegal front wing.

In recent weeks, Ferrari have made headlines for several of the wrong reasons. The first was their blatant use of team orders in the German GP where the Scuderia ordered Felipe Massa to move over and hand the victory to his team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The Italian outfit was slapped with a $100,000 fine by the race stewards and will now have to face the World Motor Sport Council on 8th September where they could be stripped of their German GP points or even banned.

That, though, hasn't be the only controversy facing the team as they have also been accused of running illegal front wings.

According to McLaren, both Ferrari and Red Bull have wings that flex beyond the legal limit, allowing them greater downforce and better speed.

And although the FIA did checks on the wings at the German GP, declaring them legal, motorsport's governing body is now set to introduce more stringent testing at the Belgian GP as the debate refuses to die down.

"I was dumbstruck to see so much hypocrisy in our world, but I don't want to add anything else: there will just be more work to do; who knows it might be an added distraction for some," the team boss told Ferrari's official website.

The introduction of Ferrari's new front wing also saw the Scuderia begin to make up ground in both title races with Alonso now just 20 points off the pace in the Drivers' Championship while the team trails Red Bull by just 74 points in the Constructors' battle.

"I have to say I was very pleased with the way our team reacted at a point in the season when the results were just not coming. The second half of July went very well and I hope it has given the right impetus for the final part of the season.

"We know there is much to do, because we still do not have the best car, but this should simply be a further incentive. We said it with Fernando a few days ago: if we manage to always be there, in the top places, then we can get satisfaction."

For now, though, the Italian team is on holiday after the two-week long factory shut for the summer break is enforced in F1. But just because they are not working, Domenicali says that doesn't mean F1 is not on the mind.

"We will be on holiday, but that does not mean our brains will stop working," he said.

"Maybe one can even find fresh inspiration when outside the normal working environment and I expect this time to be a fertile one for ideas, which when all is said and done, are what make the difference."

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Soucek to leave Virgin Racing?

Virgin Racing number three Andy Soucek is looking to sever his contract with the team before the end of the season, according to reports in the Spanish press.

Spanish newspaper AS claims that the Madrid-born driver has become disillusioned with life at Virgin as he feels the team have not honoured aspects of his contract.

It is believed that Soucek signed up for the team - for a reported one million Euros - on the premise that he would be given the opportunity to do some testing for the team, something that has not yet happened.

The 2009 GP2 champion is said to have had enough of the situation and will be halting his sponsorship payments to the team and will look to have his contracted with the Dinnington-based team canceled.

MIKA: Firstly, halting sponsorship wont bother a team like Virgin.

Secondly: Who is Soucek?

Lastly: Bring back testing.

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Donington back in action

Donington Park has re-bounded from its F1 nightmare to pass an FIA and Motor Sports Association track inspection.

Having secured the rights to hold the British Grand Prix from 2010, the circuit underwent a number of changes, but after a host of financial troubles Bernie Ecclestone decided against hosting the race at the Leicestershire track, plunging Donington into administration and leaving it with a half-constructed track.

However, Donington was bought by the Adroit Group in May 2010 and the company set about upgrading the track to the stage where it was fit for racing once more, something that has now been achieved.

"I would like to thank everyone who has expressed messages of support through the difficult months," Steve Watton, operations manager for Donington Park Limited which has been set up by Adroit to run the circuit, told BBC Leicestershire.

"But Donington is back. I now ask the many British motor racing fans out there to show their support by coming to see our races."

The track is set to host its first race weekend in early September.

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Vettel: The Championship means everything

Sebastian Vettel has underlined his dedication to winning the World title, revealing that like many drivers he's made sacrifices since a young age to get where he is.

The German, who began racing karts at the age of eight, currently sits in third place on the Drivers' table, ten points behind his team-mate Mark Webber and well in the hunt for the Championship glory - his primary goal in life.

"Nothing in the world means as much to me as winning the World Championship," Vettel is quoted as saying by Auto Bild.

The 23-year-old admits that in his younger years he often had to work on his racing skills while his friends enjoyed summers by the pool.

"How I wish I'd been there, but I had to work hard and train. I already was working for my goal in life," he explained.

While not far off the leaders in the title race, Vettel has endured a frustrating period in which a number of factors have prevented him from capitalising on having what has for the most part been the fastest car on the grid.

Last time out in Hungary, Vettel was slapped with a drive-through penalty for allowing team-mate Mark Webber to get beyond the permissible 10 car lengths during the safety car period, with the punishment dropping him to third spot when first place was well within his grasp.

The Hungary mistake followed on from a puncture at Silverstone which saw Vettel finish in seventh spot despite qualifying first. Then there was of course the infamous collision between the two Red Bull drivers in Turkey which saw Vettel crash out and record only his second DNF thus far this season.

Vettel will need to eradicate such mishaps if he's to win the title, and achieve his lifetime goal.

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Ecclestone: Interlagos the worst circuit

Bernie Ecclestone has taken a swipe at Brazil's Interlagos track, labeling it F1's 'worst circuit'.

The F1 supremo was scathing in his assessment of the venue, but admitted he was hopeful that an influx of sporting events - the football World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics - and the structural rehabilitation that comes with them will see matters improve.

"Brazil will organize the next World Cup and the Olympics, so it makes sense," Ecclestone told Estada de São Paulo.

"Long ago, in 1972, I believed in Brazil and brought Formula 1 here, but I can no longer be questioned by the teams about the worst circuit in the championship. The future depends on significant improvements," he added.

The circuit currently has a deal with Ecclestone to host an F1 race until 2015, but this is by no means a definite assurance that the races will remain.

Brazil has been the venue that decided the World Championship for the past two seasons amongst others; with Jenson Button securing his 2009 title at the penultimate race with a fifth place finish,while Lewis Hamilton's last corner exploits to claim fifth spot saw him take the honours in 2008.

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Brawn questions need for thirteenth team

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn has suggested that a thirteenth team is not needed on the 2011 grid.

In March of this year the FIA re-opened the application process for teams looking to enter this sport, but Brawn is not convinced that another team is necessary.

"I also think we've got to look at the fact that we've got a pretty healthy grid now," said Brawn.

"Twenty-four cars is a pretty good size.

"I don't think it would be a disaster if a 13th team didn't come in. What we've got to do is keep the teams we've got, and I'm sure the smaller teams at the back of the grid are going to close the gap next year with their second car.

"I think we'll have an interesting grid next year with the teams we already have."

Should a thirteenth team be chosen it appears that it will be one of three candidates: Stefan GP, Epsilon Euskadi or the Jacques Villeneuve and Durango tie-up, with GP2 team ART and the American Cypher Group already having fallen by the wayside.

A decision will be made sometime in August and Brawn admits that any team entering the grid will find it incredibly though to be competitive, with time not on their side.

"I'd suggest it's getting pretty tight now," he said.

"We've started our car for next year. Obviously the amount of effort and resource we put in is front line.

"I think teams can get cars together in shorter periods of time, as some of the [new] teams demonstrated [this year]. But it's very difficult. It looks pretty marginal to me to get a team together in time for next year," he added.

MIKA: This is what annoys me. Should the FIA give the go ahead for a thirteenth team (Announcing the thirteenth team), then why not in the interest of the sport do so now or earlier so that the new team can prepare and have a far more competative car compared to the likes of HRT, Virging and Lotus.

Stretching the time is not helping the sport when new teams are being lapped 1/3 of the way through a GP.

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Wirth: Still pushing for tenth spot

Virgin Racing technical director Nick Wirth insists that his squad still believe they can clinch the coveted tenth spot in the Constructors' standings.

The three new teams - Virgin, Hispania and Lotus - are fighting it out for tenth position and the title of best new team in 2010. With points only awarded to the top ten finishers in each race, something none of the new teams have managed, the non-scoring teams are ranked in according to the top finish they have achieved.

As such, Lotus are in tenth courtesy of Heikki Kovalainen's thirteenth place in Australia, while Karun Chandok has two fourteenth places to his name. Lucas di Grassi too achieved fourteenth spot, at the Malaysian GP, but Hispania are qualified ahead of Virgin due to Chandok achieving the position twice.

Despite falling behind, Wirth is confident that Virgin have what it takes to finish tenth.

"We need that 12th [individual] place because our competitors were able to take advantage of circumstances earlier in the season and get some results," Wirth told Autosport.

"We must keep putting performance on the car so that if such an opportunity occurs again we are able to take advantage of it. We'll keep pushing to the end and see what happens," he added.

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Senna unsure of Hispania's future on the grid

Bruno Senna has admitted what we all knew, Hispania have been struggling to develop their F1 car due to their financial constraints.

The Brazilian was adamant that the current budget would see the team end the season, however it hasn't allowed for many upgrades during the season which has seen the team out-developed by both Lotus and Virgin.

"The financial difficulties hinder the development of the car," he told reporters at a press conference.

"We are able to keep the team running through [to] the end of the year. But we can not be like Red Bull, which always has little or big things on the car every weekend."

When it came to talking about the prospects of being on the grid next year, he couldn't give a firm answer regarding the Spanish team's future.

"Few teams are guaranteed to be on the grid next year," he said. "Formula 1 is not easy. Hispania and the other teams can not give that guarantee.

"We knew it would be a risk to enter into a new team."

He also confirmed recent speculation that the team were in talks with Toyota over using parts from their F1 car, which, unfortunately never made the grid due to the Japanese manufacturer's withdrawal at the end of 2009.

"There are talks with Toyota, but it's not easy to know how things stand. Hispania needs FIA homologation to use those parts. Things are a bit more complicated."

MIKA: IMO, HRT need to go, they are not even close to F1 standards.

Senna hasn't impressed this season and part of that is due to a really poor car. If HRT go, I'd love to see Senna picked up by another team to see how he fares in a midfield racer.

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Pirelli to take a conservative tyre approach

Pirelli have signalled that they will take a cautious and conservative approach to their rubber compounds for the 2011 season.

This may come as bad news for the fans as the risky strategy adopted by Bridgestone this year, whereby they ran two gaps between compounds, has created some interesting strategies which have led to some very exciting races.

The move most likely comes after Pirelli's last foray into F1 in 1991 when they supplied Benetton and Brabham. They managed to create a great qualifying tyre, however it suffered badly from degradation when it came to the race.

This is something the Italian manufacturer is looking to avoid.

"Some people like to live in the past. Of course we had this problem, but what we had developed was a very aggressive qualifying tyre," Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery told Auto Bild.

"In the last 20 years, the rules and technologies have changed significantly."

Pirelli currently supplies GP3 with tyres which, Hembery says will give the company confidence when choosing compounds for the European rounds of the championship, however, the overseas races are an unknown for the company.

"We know the characteristics of many of the European tracks from GP3," he added.

"The overseas tracks are largely unknown to us. We will therefore take an accordingly conservative approach to the selection of rubber compounds."

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Cosworth boss praises new teams

Cosworth’s Formula 1 boss, Mark Gallagher, has praised the performance of the new teams, and said that he hopes one of them will score points before the end of the year to prove they deserve their place in the sport.

Cosworth supplies engines to all three outfits that have made their Formula 1 debut in 2010 – Lotus Racing. Virgin Racing and Hispania. So far, none of the sports newboys have scored points, but Lotus has threatened a top-10 finish on a number of occasions.

“The new teams have really done a terrific job under difficult circumstances in terms of lack of time to prepare and the most difficult economic situation the sport has endured in modern times,” Gallagher said.

“With Lotus Racing, Virgin Racing and HRT, huge progress has been made, and it was particularly nice to see that the reliability issues which have been a problem for them at times finally disappeared on Sunday (at Hungary).

“We’re very proud of our association with them and, from a personal point of view, I’d love to see one of the new teams score a world championship point before the end of the season.

“Impossible, some will say, but I believe that under certain conditions it could happen. That would be fantastic.”

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Force India will not repeat 2009 Spa domination - Sutil

Force India is unlikely to repeat its shock 2009 feats of pole position and a podium when it returns to Spa-Francorchamps in just over two weeks.

Last year at the famous Belgian track, then Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella paved his way to a Ferrari seat by securing pole position and racing to second place.

And two weeks later at Monza, his teammate Adrian Sutil qualified on the front row, finishing fourth and setting the fastest lap of the race.

In 2010, despite scoring 47 points to be a solid sixth in the constructors' standings, the new VJM03 has been falling into the clutches of the improving Williams and Sauber cars at recent races.

German Sutil, 27, is confident about the forthcoming high-speed Spa-Monza venues but is not expecting a repeat of 2009.

"Last year we had an incredible car there, it was a big advantage. We don't have that advantage any more," he is quoted in the Indian press.

"Still, we should be able to score a lot of points in the coming races. We have a very good chance in Spa and Monza," said Sutil.

But he is less confident about some of the other remaining races, pointing to the delay in getting the car's blown diffuser up and running.

"We have to get it upgraded now, we are losing to the competitors a little bit in the diffuser area," admitted Sutil.

Similarly, Robert Kubica says it is imperative that Renault finally gets its F-duct up and running for the final leg of the 2010 calendar.

"At Monza and Spa, we will need it," the Pole is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

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FIA wants no more USF1 'fiascos' - Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve has admitted that his efforts to establish a new formula one team in 2011 may be shot down by the FIA.

The 1997 world champion is collaborating with the Italian former GP2 team Durango for the final and 13th entry next year, reportedly in competition with fellow hopefuls Epsilon Euskadi and Stefan GP.

In 2010, three new independent teams - Lotus, Virgin and HRT - similarly made their grand prix debuts.

"It's harder to be accepted this year because the FIA does not want the fiasco of 2009 to be repeated," French Canadian Villeneuve, 39, told La Presse whilst competing at the weekend's NASCAR event at Watkins Glen.

His "fiasco" comment was a reference to the stillborn USF1 project.

He said his plans for Villeneuve/Durango have been in motion for a year.

"We are working very hard without knowing actually what will happen," explained Villeneuve. "It is possible that our project is the best, but it is also possible that we will be rejected."

He said he is not worried that the president of the FIA today is Jean Todt, who in Villeneuve's championship year in 1997 headed the Ferrari team.

At that year's championship finale at Jerez, Villeneuve collided with Michael Schumacher's Ferrari, costing the Italian team not only the title but disqualification from the entire season.

"I have always been well with Jean Todt and I cannot imagine that the FIA's decision could be influenced by an old rivalry," he said.

"Anyway, Jean Todt is not going to be alone in this decision, I'm sure," added Villeneuve.

And he said the fact that he is simultaneously working on an F1 project whilst trying to establish a NASCAR career is no problem.

"Both sides seem unaware of what is happening on the other side, so it has no influence," said Villeneuve. "These are exciting projects and I have no reason to stop them."

In fact, he said keeping doors open in the US could help his European project.

"Three years ago, when I put F1 to the side, there were people interested in supporting me, but not on this side of the Atlantic," he said at Watkins Glen.

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Red Bull confident about front wing

Red Bull are confident they won't be asked to modify their much-talked about front wing for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Although the FIA has given both Red Bull and Ferrari's designs the thumbs up, their rivals continue to complain that they are running illegal wings, as, at high speeds, their endplates appear to be lower to the ground than the 85mm height required.

Motor sport's governing body has hit back by saying it will conduct stricter tests from the next race in Belgium.

However, Red Bull technical guru Adrian Newey says they are confident the RB6's front wing will pass scutineering tests at Spa.

Asked by ITV Sport if the team could be forced to make changes to the wing at Spa, he replied: "No, we don't believe so.

"What the FIA are actually doing [is], it was 50 kilos for 10mm [deflection] and now they are going to make sure that if you go to 100 kilos it's not more than 20mm.

"In other words [to ensure] the wing is not non linear in any way."

Red Bull are leading both the Championships with Mark Webber atop the Drivers' standings with 161 points.

Newey, though, is wary of predicting how things will turn out during the final seven races of the season.

"Very difficult to predict," he said. "We've got two low downforce circuits coming up at Spa and Monza. They tend to be power circuits and the low wing level can affect things.

"We obviously saw McLaren very strong in Montreal, so we shall see."