FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

Petronas extends Malaysian race sponsorship

Petronas have signed an agreement with the Formula One Group to extend the national oil and gas corporation’s title sponsorship of the Malaysian round of the FIA Formula One World Championship for another five years.

Under the extended partnership, Petronas will continue to hold the title sponsorship rights as well as extensive advertising, branding and promotional benefits for the event until 2015. The partnership will provide Petronas the opportunity to continue leveraging on Formula One’s massive global appeal to build and support its international business expansion efforts as well as position Malaysia as a major sporting and tourism destination.

As part of the efforts to further promote the country, the partnership will see a change in the event name, which will from 2011 be known as the FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX. Mohd Medan Abdullah, senior general manager, corporate services division Petronas says:

“Apart from the continuous benefits our businesses and brand receive through the Formula One exposure, our extension of the agreement to partner Formula One reflects our long-term commitment and continued dedication to support efforts to position Malaysia as a major motorsport hub and tourist destination. ”

“The economic activities during the Grand Prix period have also benefited a growing number of local industries - particularly those in the tourism, food and beverage, transportation and related services sectors.

“More importantly, this also signals the growing importance of Formula One to Asia, particularly to the businesses related to this premier sporting event, including the automotive, oil and gas industries.”

Petronas’ partnership and involvement in international motorsport over the past two decades has been a significant contributor to the growth of its businesses - in particular its lubricants business - in the global arena. The partnership has also paved the way for technological and knowledge acquisition relevant to the oil and gas industry.

Mr Bernard Ecclestone, CEO, Formula One Group: “I am pleased that Petronas has again used Formula One to let the world follow their success in the oil and gas automotive industry. We have a really close relationship with Petronas who help Malaysia promote the country worldwide.

“As the first modern Asian Formula One venue since Japan, the Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix has since been credited as the catalyst in opening Asia to the sport. Other Asian venues in the Formula One calendar in addition to Malaysia and Japan include China, Bahrain, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and now Korea.”

[MIKA27]

Yamamoto set to finish 2010 season

Sakon Yamamoto is set to complete the 2010 season driving for Hispania after ousting Karun Chandhok before the German Grand-Prix.

It is believed that Yamamoto brings many personal sponsors to the Spanish-based team and pays a pretty-price for his drive, thus resulting in a more stable financial position for HRT.

Speaking to formule1.nl the 28-year old said, "I will finish the season, whether I replace Karun on Bruno I don't know, but I will do all of the races."

Yamamoto insists that, because it is the team who decides who he replaces for which race, his relationship with his Indian and Brazilian team-mates is still very strong.

"My relationship with them is fine, it is the team who decides which car I drive, however, my position is in no doubt."

[MIKA27]

Red Bull still the car to beat

By Mark Hughes

BBC F1 commentary box producer

In Hungary, the Red Bull was 1.3 seconds a lap faster than the field. Then, world motorsport governing body the FIA increased the front wing load test and at Spa and the Red Bull was no faster than the McLaren.

Therefore, the reasoning goes, Red Bull's aero-elastic trickery has been stymied and the car no longer has a huge aerodynamic advantage.

Maybe. But be careful with that reasoning.

Let's not forget that in the race just one week before Hungary - at Hockenheim - the aero-elastic Red Bull was no faster than the Ferrari.

No significant changes were made to either car yet only few days later the RB6 was suddenly in a different league.

It's clear that circuit characteristics are driving the competitive picture to a huge degree and that the type of corners that exponentially increase the Red Bull's downforce advantage - the longer and faster the better - are found in different measure at different venues.

Hockenheim consists mainly of slow-medium, short-duration corners. Hungary, although having a slower average lap speed than Hockenheim, has a middle sector with many medium-quick corners of very long duration.

Downforce squares with speed, and the longer the car is in the corner, the longer that advantage is maintained. Hence the very different level of competitiveness of the RB6 between Hockenheim and the Hungaroring.

So what about Spa?

That has a middle sector crammed with high-speed, long duration turns - apparently perfect territory for the Red Bull. But what Spa also has are two mighty long straights.

Not only is the percentage of the lap formed by the twisty stuff at Spa lower than that at the Hungaroring, but of even more significance is the fact that the end of those straights form the overtaking opportunities - and so therefore have to be defended by giving the cars good straightline speed.

This is not the case at the Hungarian track.

Red Bull took a lot of wing out of the RB6 at Spa so Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel didn't find themselves sitting ducks at the end of the straights.

The McLaren had visibly more wing angle, yet was still super-fast on the straights. This reduced what would otherwise have been a devastating Red Bull downforce advantage through the high-speed turns of sector two.

In other words, the circuit design was almost certainly much more significant in the change of form than the increased front wing stiffness tests.

However, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "We could see [the Red Bull and Ferrari] front wings were in a different positional domain to previously," ie the wings were running at a height more like those on the McLaren, where the downforce generated is not as great.

Given that the cars are running in excess of 200mph before the braking zone into Les Combes - at which speed the front wings will be generating around 1,300kg of downforce (at around 650kg each side, that's 6.5 times the static load applied in the new tougher FIA test) - if the Red Bull's nose was still deforming, it would have been very visible there.

For Monza there will be a new, tougher floor test too and this is expected to make it yet tougher for Red Bull (and Ferrari) to run their noses low.

But again, the Monza track's design won't make any differences in downforce potential very apparent. It won't be until Singapore that the effectiveness of the new tests in limiting the Red Bull's performance will be fully apparent.

But even if they have worked, and the noses no longer run so close to the ground that the Red Bull's endplates require skid blocks beneath them, we shouldn't expect the RB6's aerodynamic performance to suddenly be no better than McLaren's.

How so? Think back to Barcelona where the Red Bull was a devastating 0.8secs faster than the rest. Not as big an advantage as at the Hungaroring, but still comfortably enough to dominate.

The significance of that is there is no evidence the Red Bull was running its nose any lower than anyone else's back then.

McLaren have pictures from Istanbul practice - two races after Barcelona - of the RB6 and MP4-25 running side-by-side - and the wing heights are much the same.

It wasn't until the front wing that Webber and Vettel were fighting over at Silverstone was introduced that the Red Bull began running so visibly low at the front. Its advantage may have been enhanced from then onwards, but its aero advantage was already there.

So around Singapore, Suzuka, Interlagos and Abu Dhabi (and maybe South Korea), we should still expect Red Bull to have a significant performance advantage.

That makes it even more crucial for Lewis Hamilton that he wins again at Monza, at the one remaining track where his car probably won't be slower than the Red Bull. That would increase his currently tiny points lead, but thereafter destiny may not be in his own hands.

It's a point of view that Hamilton himself subscribes to.

"I think we will be quick at Monza too - and I have to be thinking about victories in these two races," he said early in the Spa weekend, "to give myself a chance in the championship. After that, with the five tracks we then have coming up, I can only hope we find some improvement in our car before then because otherwise...

"It would appear [the Red Bull and Ferrari wings] are not flexing as much [as before] and maybe that will bring them back towards us a little, but fundamentally we're still lacking downforce - and it's not as if I'm hearing from the engineers that we have a big downforce increase coming.

"This is the toughest championship contest I've had - and nowhere near how it was in 2007 and 2008 when we had what was the fastest or close to fastest car all the time.

"I've been managing to get pretty good results but logically you'd have to look at the Red Bull guys as favourites. They have the fastest car and that makes things a lot easier."

[MIKA27]

Pirelli ahead of schedule after French test

Pirelli’s preparations to return to Formula One racing in 2011 as the sport’s sole tyre supplier continued apace this week, thanks to a successful test at France’s Paul Ricard circuit. The firm’s official test driver Nick Heidfeld was again on track following his debut outing for the tyre manufacturer at Mugello in Italy last month.

Heidfeld spent the two-day test behind the wheel of a Toyota TF109 fitted with Pirelli's latest PZero Formula One tyres. The German continued the development programme, working on both constructions and compounds. With the performance, consistency and reliability of the new rubber fully matching expectations, Pirelli were more than satisfied.

"We're very happy with the progress we've made so far, which actually puts us slightly ahead of where we expected to be at this point in time," explained Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery. "We worked through an initial development programme that has given us a useful insight into the performance of our prototype tyres under a wide range of conditions, corners and speeds.

“We've been hugely encouraged by what we've seen up to now, and that's been helped by both Nick's clear and precise feedback, as well as all the different possibilities afforded to us by the Paul Ricard circuit."

The circuit at Le Castellet has in recent years been developed into a high-tech test facility and can be driven in a number of different configurations. Pirelli's test team made full use of the circuit to run a high-speed configuration, enabling the engineers to assess the performance of the tyres under extreme loading as well as through slower and more technical sections.

Pirelli’s test programme will continue in Spain in two weeks' time.

[MIKA27]

Italy preview quotes - Lotus on Monza

With average speeds of 250 km/h and top speeds of 340km/h, Monza is one of the quickest circuits on the calendar, as well as one of the oldest. Also home to the Tifosi, the track isn’t short on atmosphere either. The drivers and team members explain why they love Monza and discuss their prospects for the Italian Grand Prix…

Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus

2009 Qualifying - 4th, 2009 Race - 6th

“After Spa I’m feeling really good physically and mentally. Before we got to Belgium, I had a proper rest for a week, and then got back into training for the second couple of weeks of the summer break to prepare myself for the end of the season. It paid off because I felt great all weekend in Spa and now I’m looking forward to Monza and then the remaining races. Monza is one of the real highlights of the year and it’ll be good to be back in Italy. It’s a very different type of circuit and it has a great atmosphere. Obviously Ferrari have huge support out in the stands, but so do the other teams as the fans just love F1. I think it’ll be a pretty cool weekend - for us drivers it’s a high speed track and with the low downforce configuration it makes it very interesting to race there. For the fans it’s cool as well as the cars are pushed to the limit, and they look and sound pretty awesome on track.”

Jarno Trulli, Lotus

2009 Qualifying - 11th, 2009 Race - 14th

“Monza is a very special Grand Prix. We Italian drivers have fantastic support out there, and the fans are really fired up for the race. It’s such a warm atmosphere, you can’t help but enjoy it. The track is challenging, but it’s not as technical as some of them. You obviously need good top speed, low downforce, good traction good braking stability. Everyone talks about the low downforce, but the brakes play a really crucial role. You need to have the confidence to brake as late as possible and as hard as possible at the chicanes, and then you need to have really good traction to get yourself out of them as quickly as possible. I think we saw in Spa that our car is pretty good at the quicker tracks, so I think we’ll be able to repeat our performance in Belgium - as long as we come out ahead of our nearest rivals we’ll be happy, and then we’ll be back in the air for the remaining races of 2010.”

Tony Fernandes, Lotus team principal

“I’ve had to watch the last few races on TV as other commitments have kept me away from the races, so it’ll be good to be back on track in Italy. The last couple of weeks have been very exciting for the whole team - we’ve seen Nabil Jeffri, a Malaysian superstar in the making, become the youngest ever driver to test an F1 car at the aero test we ran on Wednesday, and it was a very proud moment for me to see him put in a great day’s work for us in what must have been a pretty stressful environment for such a young guy. He proves what I’ve always believed - work hard to achieve your dreams and they will come true. That’s the same for everyone in Lotus Racing - exactly one year ago on September 12th our Formula One dream came true, and now we’ll be competing at one of the world’s great race tracks, bringing the green and yellow cars back to where they belong, and I can’t wait to see the reaction of the crowds when we take to the track. Mike has already said what it means to him to see our cars racing hard just 12 months since we started work on this amazing team, and I echo his thoughts entirely. It has been an amazing journey already, but after Monza we’ll be heading back to Asia, and it’s going to keep getting more exciting with every step we take.”

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer

“Looking back to last weekend, Spa was in many ways one of our best performance of the year so far. We have had better positions at the end of a number of races, but in terms of reliability, Spa was our strongest performance to date. Now we go to Monza and that’s always a special place to race - the Tifosi create an incredible atmosphere, and while it’s obviously focused on Ferrari, I think seeing Jarno and Heikki in our green and yellow cars will be pretty special for some of the most passionate motorsport fans in the world.

“Monza will also be very special for me, Tony, Din, Nasa, Riad and the whole team on a personal level. Race day is the 12th September, which is exactly one year to the day since we heard that our entry into the 2010 Formula One World Championship had been accepted. It’s hard to put into words just what that means to all of us, but it’s already been an incredible 365 days, and we have many more exciting times to come. I’ve been asked a number of times if I really thought we’d be able to do what looked to many like an impossible task - creating a team from literally just words on a piece of paper to now sitting 10th in the championship, best of the new teams and with a very bright future ahead of us.

“Onto the track itself: Monza is unique as it’s now the lowest downforce circuit on the modern Formula One calendar. For the race weekend, we’ll have a revised low downforce package with new front and rear wings, plus a few other smaller modifications to the cars.”

[MIKA27]

'Renault consider buying back F1 team'

French carmaker Renault SA are reportedly considering buying back control of their Formula One team.

Last year, amidst rumours that Renault could pull out of Formula One, the car manufacturer sold 85 per cent of their team to Luxembourg-based financial company Genii Capital.

However, according to reports, the new owners have not put in the money that Renault had hoped they would do, although this does not seem to have hampered the team out on track.

Renault's results this season have been impressive compared to last year's as, while they have yet to win a grand prix, Robert Kubica has claimed three podium finishes, putting Renault securingly in fifth place in the Constructors' Championship.

The team's upturn in form, coupled with improvements in Renault's own financial situation, has now led to rumours of a buy back of their F1 team.

Renault have yet to comment on the rumours.

[MIKA27]

Rome's hopes hang in the balance

Rome's hopes of staging a Formula One grand prix would appear to rest on the level of opposition from local residents.

A race through the streets of the Eternal City has long been on the agenda, potentially as early as 2012.

The logistics, however, of staging such an event are many, notably as mayor Gianni Alemanno needs the support of the populace of the EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma) district, south of the city.

Circuit designer Hermann Tilke has chosen that area due to the width of the roads in comparison to those in the city's heart.

Explaining the difficulties on Rai television, Alemanno said: "From 2012, or no later than 2013, a grand prix will take place in Rome.

"This will be the second race for Italy, because the race at Monza is guaranteed.

"But there are problems because we have to reach full agreement with the inhabitants of EUR.

"We have an agreement at international level. There are no certainties, but our promise is very solid."

[MIKA27]

Schumi: Life offers no guarantee for success

Michael Schumacher insists he's not damaging his legacy through his rather trying return to F1 with Mercedes GP.

Having claimed seven World titles and 91 grand prix victories, Schumacher is, at least mathematically, regarded as the best driver ever to have raced in Formula One.

However, his return to the sport after a three-year lay-off has yet to yield the results that many had expected - and hoped for - from the German driver.

The 41-year-old has yet to finish on the podium, never mind win a race, slumping to tenth place in the Drivers' Championship.

This has sparked some debate over whether Schumacher's legacy is being damaged by his return. The German, though, says all is well.

"I do not know if I have to say something to that," Schumacher told Bild when asked what he would say to those who believe he's destroying his reputation.

"Everyone has the right to his own challenges, and I want to build something together with Mercedes.

"Life offers no guarantee for success. You can only do everything so that the best pops out. It's in doing this, we find ourselves."

[OZCUBAN]

I do not think that Michael is damaging anything ,his records are in the books already.

If any thing his comeback is just not going as well as he would have liked ,but expect a huge improvement next year ,as this year Mercedes inherited a half finished car

OZ

[MIKA27]

I do not think that Michael is damaging anything ,his records are in the books already.

If any thing his comeback is just not going as well as he would have liked ,but expect a huge improvement next year ,as this year Mercedes inherited a half finished car

OZ

He inherited a car that was built and designed for Button.

Button decided to leave after the specs of this seasons MercGP (Schumis) were built and as such, with lack of testing etc, it was far too late for Brawn to rebuild it or get input of characteristics to suit MS.

I am positive Schumi will be competitive in 2011 as well as add to his 91 podiums, he could very well break 100 which would be amazing. Regardless, IMO, his returning to F1 has added interest to many a fan who had albeit given up with the sport after all the scandals, politics etc.

Now all I'd love is for F1 to reintroduce fuel stops and strategies which will be 'Real F1!!"

[MIKA27]

FIA investigate Massa's grid slot error

The FIA have launched an investigation into how Felipe Massa got away with starting the Belgian GP slight ahead of his grid slot.

Massa started the Spa race with his Ferrari a foot, if not more, ahead of his grid slot, however, race director Charlie Whiting was not made aware of the infringement as the electronic system on the grid did not pick it up.

And as none of Ferrari's rivals noticed the error, the Brazilian avoided a jump start penalty.

The FIA are now set to investigate the matter, although have stated that the Belgian GP result and Massa's fourth-placed finish will stand.

"The problem was not brought to the attention of the FIA race director by either the marshals nor the automatic jump start system in time to be able to apply the appropriate penalty for jump starts," said an FIA spokeswoman.

"As no further information or complaints were received before the publication of the official result on Sunday night, the classification of the Belgian Grand Prix will now remain unchanged.

"The FIA are investigating the causes of the apparent failures in communication with race control in order to ensure a repetition is not possible."

[MIKA27]

Williams turn their attention to 2011

Williams are set to focus their full attention on next year's car after completing their final upgrade for 2010.

According to tech director Sam Michael, the Grove-based team, who are currently seventh in the Constructors' Championship, are set to introduce just one more upgraded package for this year's Championship, which will come at the Singapore GP.

However, as the updates have already been designed and tested in the wind tunnel in preparation for the final push, Williams are now ready to turn their focus to next year's challenger.

"We have one more upgrade for Singapore, and that is finished in the wind tunnel," Michael told Autosport.

"All the bits are aerodynamically designed, but they have not finished going through the mechanical design and production yet.

"In terms of the design priority though, from an aero point of view we are focused on next year now."

And with several new regulations coming into effect next season, including a new tyre supplier in Pirelli, Michael revealed that the team's 2011 challenger will be a new concept and not an evolution of this year's FW32.

"It is a completely different car - it will be a clean sheet for everybody," he said.

[MIKA27]

Schumi predicts 'challenging' Monza GP

Although Michael Schumacher is relishing his return to Italy, he believes the race could be a challenging event for his Merc GP team.

The Italian Grand Prix has often yielded success for Schumacher in the past as the German won the race five times with Ferrari, including a victory in his very first season as a Scuderia driver.

However, this year, Schumacher has ruled out adding a six triumph to his tally as he admits that, despite a double points-finish at the previous race in Belgium, the nature of the Monza circuit will not suit Merc's W01.

"Spa was quite an entertaining race weekend which I like to look back on as we achieved a reasonable result considering the circumstances," he said.

"The next race in Monza might well be entertaining in a very different way as I expect it to be a real challenge for our team.

"We have seen already several times this year that circuits with characteristics like those of Monza do not really play in our hands.

"Of course, we will go there prepared to try hard to achieve the maximum we can from our package and we will see to what extent we can achieve that and fight our way through.

"On a personal level, I am very much looking forward to returning to Monza where I have been supported so warmly over so many years."

MIKA: Yes, the Monza fans loved MS whilst he was a Ferrari driver. I doubt the welcome will be so warm.

[MIKA27]

Key: Difficult to pin Monza expectations

Sauber's tech director James Key admits the team is very much in the dark about how their Italian Grand Prix could pan out.

With Monza being a unique circuit on the track due to its long high speed straights and tricky corners, Sauber, like many of their rivals, will be running a special aerodynamic package created especially for the Italian GP track.

That package, though, also means that Sauber head to Italy uncertain of how their car will perform at the track.

"Monza is one of the special tracks of the year with a wonderful atmosphere and all the support from the tifosi the teams receive there," Key said.

"It is unique, as it's the only very high speed circuit of the season. All the teams run the minimum drag levels, because the very long straights and few corners make it beneficial to run far less drag.

"We will run an aero package on our car which is designed specifically for there. It consists of different rear wing options, as well as front wing versions to match them.

"The important part of the set-up of the car will be to tune the downforce levels correctly to find a good compromise for some of the more tricky areas like the Lesmo corners, the Ascari chicane and the Parabolica, but at the same time also giving high braking stability, which has significant influence on the lap time.

"Also important is the performance over the kerbs, particularly in the first two chicanes with probably the biggest kerbs of the year. You can find a good lap time there if the car is working well.

"For us it's difficult to pin expectations because it's such a unique event. It's possibly not a circuit best suited to our car, so we will work hard to make sure we can do the best possible job."

MIKA: Sauber thus far have been on the up and up whereby their performance has been gaining momentum with great consistancy each race meet. Kabayasi is doing an amazing job for the Sauber team, I think they'll do well and are one of the top midfield teams.

[MIKA27]

F1 looking at turbo engines for 2013

Formula One could see a return to turbo engines and ground effect cars for the 2013 Championship.

With F1 looking to become more environmentally friendly and keep costs to a minimum, the sport has put together several Working Groups to look at various ways that F1 could achieve those aims.

According to Autosport, one idea being discussed is the use of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that would be handed a power boost through Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS).

Added to that, Williams' technical director Sam Michael revealed that the teams are also keen to introduce a fuel flow rate limit.

"Rather than dump as much fuel in as we can at the moment, there will be a fuel flow metre - so you won't be able to blow more than a certain amount of fuel. It is a good chunk less than we had at the moment," he said.

As for ground effect cars, Michael added: "They are talking about putting a greater proportion of downforce to the diffuser, a ground effect car - like the early 1980's.

"They have been looking at that, as well as increasing crash protection at the front of the car by moving the sidepods further forwards."

MIKA: 1.6 litre four cylinder turbo engines doesn't sound like a great thing does it.....?

BUT: If some of you watched F1's in the 80's, you would remember that the engines used were all 4 cylinder turbo charged 1.5 litre engines. The Brabham for example was a beast of a car and it had the most powerful F1 engine ever built to date.

It would be interesting to see turbo's and ground effects make a return.

Todays modern tracks with wide runoffs and advanced technology would be amazing applied to small turbo engines with ground effect. The only part I have reservation on is the fuel flow metering. I say teams should be allowed a specific amount of fuel for the weekend and how they use it is up to them.

[MIKA27]

Button admits the importance of Monza

Jenson Button is predicting an "intense, thrilling" Italian GP as he attempts to pull himself back into the title race.

Button lost ground to his main rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber, as they finished first and second in the Belgian GP while Button retired from the race after being taken out by Sebastian Vettel.

As a result, the reigning World Champion now trails his team-mate by 35 points in the Drivers' Championship. But, with 150 points still to play for, Button is by no means out of the running and hopes to prove that at next weekend's Italian GP.

"Obviously, my non-finish in Spa wasn't ideal for my Championship aspirations, so I head to Monza next weekend determined to put myself back in the hunt for the title," he said.

"Our pace over the whole weekend in Belgium was extremely encouraging - we're developing the car at a very rapid rate, and we're learning more about it all the time, so I'm optimistic that we'll be able to maintain that form in Italy next weekend.

"We still have some work to do to make sure the package we bring to Italy is perfectly suited to the track, but I'm confident that our engineers have made some good steps forward with their understanding of our car, so we should be in good shape.

"I love racing at Monza - it's a totally unique experience; running minimal downforce at incredible speeds along the straights, and then coping with the lack of grip, and an extremely skittish car, through the low-speed stuff.

"Given the competitiveness at the front of the field, this could be an intense, thrilling grand prix."

[MIKA27]

Sauber confident of 2011 budget

Peter Sauber is adamant that his F1 team will be on the grid next season, having secured "proper" financial backing for the campaign.

Having bought his team back from BMW ahead of this year's Championship, Sauber have spent the majority of the season with limited financial backing from sponsors.

However, the Swiss team boss is confident that for 2011 his team will have the finances needed to help elevate them up the order, although where the money is coming from he would not say.

"I only can say that I am confident, or rather I am convinced, that the team will have proper financing next season to give us the chance to race on the level that we want to," he told the official F1 website.

One potential source of income for Sauber is reportedly an alliance with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, who is believed to be looking for a way into Formula One.

Asked about the reports, Sauber said: "I could say that we don't comment on rumours. That could be one possible answer. But how do rumours start?

"(Mexican GP3 driver) Esteban Gutierrez was already contracted to the BMW Sauber F1 team. We had him drive the car for one day last year at the young drivers test day, as this was contractually agreed and he did impress us.

"This was the reason why we took him. Gutierrez is contracted to us now and he has very close contacts to Mexico and especially to Carlos Slim.

"This is the reason why you will find Carlos Slim a bit more often in our hospitality than at those of other teams, but it is also no secret that Carlos Slim is a much-welcomed guest at all the other teams as well."

[MIKA27]

Haug: Merc won't drop Force India

Force India will continue to use Mercedes engines next season despite rumours claiming they may lose their supply to Red Bull.

Red Bull Racing are currently powered by Renault, however, the team's bosses have made remarks suggesting they may want to swap to Mercedes, who reportedly have the most powerful engine in the field.

Mercedes, though, already power their own F1 team, McLaren and Force India, prompting their bosses to insist that the German car manufacturer has enough customers on the books.

This led to rumours that Force India could be dropped by Mercedes in order to make space for the German company to supply Red Bull Racing.

However, Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has been quick to deny these claims.

"Mr Mallya (Force India's owner) is exemplary with the payment of his bills," Haug told Auto Motor und Sport. "We have no plans to change our customers."

[MIKA27]

'Ferrari duo summoned to WMSC hearing'

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will both be present at Wednesday's World Motor Sport Council hearing after reportedly being summoned by the FIA.

Ferrari will face the WMSC in Paris on September 8th to answer charges relating to the use of team orders in July's German Grand Prix.

With Massa leading Alonso in the race, although the latter ahead in the Drivers' Championship, Ferrari ordered Massa to move aside for his team-mate with his race engineer Rob Smedley saying in a coded message: "So Fernando is faster than you? Can you confirm you understand that message?"

A few short laps later, Massa handed the position and the victory to Alonso.

In the immediate aftermath of the race, Ferrari were called in by the German race stewards, who fined the Italian marque a $100,000 for using team orders, which are banned from Formula One.

The Scuderia were also informed that they would face the World Motor Sport Council ahead of their home race in Italy, where they could yet be handed a race ban or docked their German GP points for bringing the sport into disrepute.

And although it was initially thought that Smedley as well as team boss Stefano Domenicali would attend the hearing, Spanish daily newspaper AS claims that both Alonso and Massa will also attend after the two Ferrari drivers were summoned by the FIA.

Ferrari's hearing will take place on Wednesday at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

[MIKA27]

Kubica is cautiously optimistic ahead of Monza

Robert Kubica is refusing to predict how Renault may fare in Sunday's Italian GP, saying it could depend on which teams run their f-ducts.

Kubica put his f-duct to good use the last time out, powering him to third place around the sweeping Spa-Francorchamps circuit. His podium finish saw the Polish driver move ahead of Nico Rosberg, up into seventh place in the Drivers' Championship.

But whether he can repeat that performance around the Monza circuit, Kubica isn't saying as he expects there could be a few "surprises" this weekend.

"It's hard to say and I think this will be a very interesting weekend to judge the performance of the cars," he said.

"Spa was a good example of how powerful the f-duct can be and we were immediately more competitive and closer to the front when we fitted it.

"The effect will be less powerful in Monza because the cars run with less drag, but there will be still be an advantage, so we need to see which teams use it and if we are able to as well.

"This circuit can sometimes throw up some surprises, so I prefer to stay cautious when it comes to predictions. But if the car feels as good as it did in Spa, then there's no reason why we won't be competitive in Monza."

However, Renault's technical director James Allison revealed that the team has yet to decide whether they will actually race their f-duct in Monza.

"Monza is very different from all the other circuits and so we have had to prepare a bespoke package that we will not use anywhere else," he said.

"Monza has such long straights and so few corners that it requires much smaller wings than any other track. To add further complication, the F-duct is a potential alternative option for Monza.

"Like several other teams, we too are evaluating whether we can make the device work in the particular, low-downforce environment of Monza."

[MIKA27]

Williams: Teams should use f-ducts at Monza

Williams tech boss Sam Michael says it's a "no brainer" to run f-ducts in this coming weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull have all already stated that they may not run their f-ducts around the Monza circuit with all four expected to run tests during Friday's practice session before making a decision.

However, one team that can't understand why others would want to drop is the Williams outfit as Michael reckons the pay-off for using it far outweighs the cost of losing a bit of aero efficiency.

"I don't really understand why there is an F-duct issue (for Monza)," Michael told Autosport. "On the Monza wing we've got, there is a massive drag difference. I don't know why you would never do it.

"There is this debate that as you take drag off, it becomes less of a delta. That is true, but it is still a stalled wing so if the wing stalls then it stalls - for us it is a no brainer."

He added: "I think everyone will run it."

[MIKA27]

Bernie: The Korean GP will go ahead

Bernie Ecclestone is determined to see the Korean GP go ahead as scheduled in October - even if it means putting up "tents."

This past weekend, Karun Chandhok put in the first laps of the Yeongam circuit in South Korea, using a Red Bull racer for the demonstration run.

And although the Indian driver declared that "the garages and team buildings look pretty much finished", reports claim several buildings and grandstands are still nothing but 'shells.'

Added to that, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag also revealed the run-off areas have not yet been paved.

But despite the venue being incomplete just a month and a half before the grand prix is scheduled to take place, Ecclestone is positive F1 will have a Korean Grand Prix this season.

"There are problems," the F1 supremo told the German publication, "but we assume that the race will take place.

"The track is certainly ready but perhaps not all the buildings."

He added, hopefully as a joke: "We may just have to put up a few tents."

But while Ecclestone may want the race to take place as planned, it's the FIA who will have the final say with a track inspection of the Yeongam circuit set to take place on September 21.

[MIKA27]

Tilke promises more exciting track designs

Renowned Formula One track designer Hermann Tilke, has promised to design more exciting tracks in the future.

The German, responsible for several of the tracks on the calendar such as Bahrain, Malaysia, China, Abu Dhabi and the new Korean track, has come in for much criticism for his designs, with most labelling them 'boring'.

However, the 56-year-old has discussed the matter with Bernie Ecclestone and both have agreed to liven up the designs for future tracks, starting with the new Austin track, the design of which was revealed last week and features large elevation changes with a mix of slow and quick corners.

"He [bernie Ecclestone] has a good view on it. Now, we are going much more to the edge than we have some years before - in terms of elevation and the types of corner we have," Tilke told Autosport.

The German is hoping the decision by Eccletone will allow for him to shrug off the negative view many fans have of him. He explained that the FIA's safety regulations call for large run-off areas which negate the fans view of the action and makes pushing to the limit easier for the drivers.

"Nowadays you need the run-off areas. The FIA will not accept tracks without the run-off. Having wide run-offs is not ideal for the view - and is very different from the old tracks where the guardrail was right by the edge of the track. It used to be completely different, but in our times it is not possible to do that any more."

[MIKA27]

Bridgestone reveals final four compound sets

Formula One's tyre supplier, Bridgestone, has announced the final four compound sets it will supply the teams with at the Japanese, Korean, Brazilian and Abu Dhabi races.

They have taken a conservatice approach to all four races, especially the unknown Korean GP, which will feature the soft and hard compounds, as will the preceeding Japanese GP.

The latter two races will see the use of the super-soft and medium compounds.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Head of Motorsport Tyre Development, commented on the allocations: "The most interesting question for these final allocations is which tyres will we bring to Korea? As always for a new race we work closely with the FIA, the circuit and the teams to reach our decision but in addition to all this information we always have safety in mind so our allocation for the first race in Korea will naturally be on the conservative side.

"The tyres for Korea are currently being shipped to the track and we are very interested to see this new facility when we go there in seven weeks time.

"Suzuka puts the tyres through a tough workout so we have the harder combination of hard and soft, whilst Sao Paulo and Yas Marina suit the softer combination of super soft and medium. Due to the nature of the tracks, there were no further opportunities for a hard – super soft allocation, although we did evaluate this after the lessons learnt at the Nurburgring."

The Abu Dhabi GP will be Bridestone's last, with Pirelli taking over from 2011 onwards.

[MIKA27]

Hispania preview the Italian GP

Dr Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "After the exciting race in Belgium, we are looking forward to coming to another historical Grand Prix in Monza. The ‘Autodromo di Monza’ is an ultimate power circuit with a top speed rate of 70 per cent. We have to find a very low downforce set-up for the car to achieve maximum speed. With top speeds of up to 340 km/h, the cars are difficult to control and the drivers have to be attentive and concentrated. We want to show a good performance and to finish the race with both of our cars again."

Sakon Yamamoto: "I was driving a Formula 1 car two times in Monza: in 2006 with Super Aguri F1 and in 2007 with Spyker F1. The circuit is very traditional and I am always looking forward to race there. The car has the lowest downforce setting of the whole season and the maximum speed is around 340 km/h. With this set-up, braking into the first corner is hard and difficult. We need to be prepared for good straight line speed and I am really looking forward to be in the car again."

Bruno Senna: "The track in Monza is full of history and the atmosphere there is very nice. Since 2005, I have been racing in Monza every year except in 2009 and I am always looking forward to racing there. It is a very high speed circuit with slow chicanes and medium speed corners interrupting the straight lines. So the car is configured with low downforce for maximum speed. The brakes and tyres are used very hard due to the high speed nature with low speed corners. I hope to have another competitive weekend against the new teams and still look forward to achieving our best results."