Thursday, April 23, 2009

Alonso and Ferrari was never ending story

Gerhard Berger is adamant that Fernando Alonso will head to Ferrari at the end of 2009, despite the fact that the double world champion is under contract to Renault next year and Ferrari also has both of its drivers under contract.

The former Toro Rosso co-owner said he ‘negotiated intensively’ with the 27-year-old Spaniard last year, when he needed to replace the Red Bull-bound Sebastian Vettel.

"Now I can say it: he was interested, but made it clearly understood that he saw 2009 only as a transitional year, because he already knew what he would be doing in 2010," Berger said in an interview with Germany's Sport Bild.

"Surely it's Ferrari," the Austrian winner of ten Grand Prix added.

Ferrari has both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen under contract for 2010 while in November last year Renault announced a two-year deal with Alonso to take him to the end of next season.

Vettel not interested on money

Shanghai winner Sebastian Vettel is ‘so good and so cheap’, the German daily Bild newspaper claims.

It is reported that, despite collecting the plaudits in the wake of his Monza (2008) and China wins for Red Bull's F1 teams, the 21-year-old ranks in the bottom-six in terms of driver earnings.

Vettel makes 3.5m Euros per season, Bild claims, but the German insists the situation is not unfair.

"The moment money becomes your motivation, you are immediately not as good as someone who is stimulated by passion and internal will," he is quoted as saying.

Moreover, Vettel - with the aid of a single lawyer - negotiated his own contract, as he is not represented by a manager.

Sandstorm possibility at Bahrain GP

Three Grand Prix into the 2009 season, most Formula One figures are looking forward to a fully-dry race weekend in Bahrain.

The recent Sepang and Shanghai events were drenched by rain, clouding the assessment of the sport's new pecking order.

Bahrain is unlikely to be wet this weekend, with climate charts showing no more than 10mm rainfall for an average April month.

Local reports are indeed predicting a very hot weekend, with the possibility of a sandstorm or two.

"That would certainly shake things up," said reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton. "It's a weird circuit in the sense that you are just driving through the desert; there is no grass anywhere."

Bahrain's meteorology office said the highest chance of a light sandstorm is for Sunday.

"The chance of rising sand is there," a forecaster told the local Gulf Daily News.

Schumacher future at Ferrari

Michael Schumacher has confirmed he will enter talks with Ferrari ‘after the summer’ about his future with the Italian team.

The seven time world champion has been an unspecified 'advisor' to the Maranello squad since stepping out of the race cockpit at the end of 2006.

He was openly criticised by the media for his involvement in Ferrari's strategy bungles in Australia and Malaysia, and opted not to travel to the subsequent Shanghai-Bahrain double header. Schumacher's Ferrari contract runs out this year.

"After the summer we will see what makes sense and what does not," he confirmed in an interview with the German news agency DPA.

He said his involvement with Ferrari could have been much deeper than it currently is.

"I could have taken on the role of Jean Todt, but it was not for me," Schumacher explained. "It would have been the wrong time and, above all, I think Stefano Domenicali is able to perform the job much better than I would have."

Senna to replace Piquet?

Nelson Piquet has three more races to convince Renault boss Flavio Briatore that he deserves to stay in Formula One.

Citing team sources, the motorline.cc portal believes the 23-year-old Brazilian could then lose his race seat, with countryman and rookie Bruno Senna a possible replacement.

Briatore was unimpressed with Piquet's showing in the Chinese rain last weekend, adding: "I only want to judge his performance in a completely normal race."

Former Swiss driver and German-language commentator Marc Surer, however, is not sure 25-year-old Senna would be the ideal substitute.

"Perhaps if Piquet continues like he is, a driver exchange could be a topic, but at the moment I don't see anyone on the market who would really be better.”

"Senna is a beginner who would probably make just as many errors," Surer added.

Aston Martin and others seeking for Cheaper F1

Potential new teams keen to be budget-limited next year are seemingly clamouring at F1's paddock turnstile.

USF1/USGPE has already lodged an application for 2010, Lola is evaluating a start-up team, and London's Times newspaper said David Richards wants to bring his Aston-Martin brand onto the grid.

Up to five other small teams may also have expressed interest in the controversial new era of low budget limits, with Bernie Ecclestone also said to be offering teams a financial package with an eye on boosting the grid to 26 cars.

The British independent engine firm Cosworth would also be involved with an affordable customer package, as the threat of more carmakers following Honda out of the sport rises.

"This is a great time to come in," Richards, set to enter talks with Middle Eastern backers about his plans for a team with a staff of 140, confirmed.

"Nothing is decided yet," he continued, "but the key to all of this is the financial reality that the budget cap will bring."

Ferrari invite F3 Champion to test F60

Ferrari will once again invite the top three finishers in the Italian Formula 3 Championship to test its Formula 1 car.

The trio will complete a full day of testing in the F60 at Fiorano at the end of this season.

The quickest driver in last year's test, Italian Mirko Bortolotti impressed the team with his performance and picked up Red Bull backing and a place in Formula 2 for this season.

"We are proud to continue our collaboration [with the Italian F3 Championship] ," said Ferrari team principal Stefano Domencali.

"The development of motorsport for youngsters is a theme that is particularly close to our hearts and we believe this day of testing is a further boost to generating interest in a championship that continues to grow."

Lola Formula One History

Lola announced today that it is evaluating a return to Formula 1, 12 years after its failed attempt to re-join the world championship in 1997 and 16 since it last contested a race as a factory team. But as a chassis builder the company has been involved on-and-off since 1962.

After being impressed by the performances of Lola machinery in Formula Junior, Reg Parnell commissioned Eric Broadley's company to build a car for his Bowmaker-backed team. The result, the lightweight Lola Mk4 claimed pole position on its debut in the hands of John Surtees in the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix. It was an impressive start, even though Surtees's race ended in an accident after he suffered a suspension failure.

John Surtees, Lola Mk4, 1962Powered by a Coventry Climax V8, the car remained competitive throughout the season, despite never managing to convert its pace into a victory in a world championship race. Surtees came close at both Aintree and the Nurburgring, taking very competitive second places, on his way to finishing fourth in the championship after a series of late-season engine failures.

There was one victory that year though, the only one for an official Lola F1 car, with John Surtees defeating Jack Brabham's Lotus in the International 2000 Gunieas non-championship race at British circuit Mallory Park in June of that year.

Surtees left the team at the end of the season following the withdrawal of Yeoman Credit money, leaving rookie Chris Amon and rapidfire sequences of other drivers to endure a pointless season with the underdeveloped Mk4A before Lola pulled out at the end of the season to concentrate on other projects.

Hubert Hahne, 1968 German Grand PrixThat was the last time that a full-blown Lola F1 car appeared in the world championship in the 1960s, although there were two more forays. One was merely a couple of appearances for Lola F2 cars in the 1967 and 1968 German Grands Prix in the hands of Hubert Hahne, but the other was more significant. In fact, it was to stand as Lola's most successful F1 car, even if the record books don't show it.

Honda had come into F1 in 1964, and despite a victory for Richie Ginther in the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, the Japanese manufacturer had not managed to live up to expectations (sound familiar?). In 1966, Honda had struggled and even a modified version of the unwieldy RA273 machine proved uncompetitive the following season.

Honda knew the car was obselete before the season had even begun and had allowed new signing Surtees to spearhead the development of a new car in association with Lola. The result - the RA300 - was officially a Honda, but in reality was very much a Lola, a fact reflected in it being dubbed the 'Hondola'.

John Surtees, 'Hondola', Monza 1967It took a while, but despite only being ready for the Italian Grand Prix, the lighter (but not light by the standards of its rivals) and more nimble Hondola was instantly competitive. Once Jim Clark, who had sensationally gone from last and a lap down after suffering a puncture on his Lotus to the lead, had run out of fuel, Surtees was able to outwit Jack Brabham in the Parabolica to win.

It was a promising start, but Honda was still keen to produce its own in-house car and, as the RA301 struggled to recapture the marque's winning form, it was working on its own machine without Lola's input.

The RA302 was a tragically ill-starred car, appearing only once in the hands of Jo Schlesser in the 1968 French Grand Prix. After he crashed fatally on lap three, Honda made the decision to pull out at the end of the season, ending any hopes of Lola staying involved in F1.
The Hill's of Tony Brise and Alan Jones, Zandvoort 1975

Lola's next appearance in F1 wasn't until 1974, when it designed and built a car for two-times world champion Graham Hill's Embassy Racing team. The Lola T370, which drew plenty of cues from the marque's Formula 5000 car, proved to be too heavy and unwieldy to be competitive, with only one point in the 1974 Swedish Grand Prix to its name.

Its successor, the T371, emerged at the start of 1975 and was soon reworked into the first official Hill.

Lola returned to F1 with the much-vaunted Carl Haas-run Beatrice Foods-backed team late in 1985. With good financial backing and the out-of-retirement 1980 champion Alan Jones driving, Eric Broadley was called in to design its car - the THL1.
Patrick Tambay, Haas/Lola THL1 Hart, 1986

Powered by a Hart turbo unit, the team made an inauspicious debut in the closing stages of the 1985 season, and work on the Broadley-penned THL2 wasn't complete in time for it to run until the third race of 1986, the San Marino Grand Prix. Jones raced the car, effectively a repackaged THL1 with a shortened wheelbase and built around a Ford Cosworth engine, at Imola without distinction.

The car never looked like being anything other than midfielder at best and, against a backdrop of constant rumours about the team's future, results were thin on the ground. Fourth and fifth places for Jones and team-mate Patrick Tambay in Austria were as good as it got, and when the team was closed down most of it was sold to Bernie Ecclestone.

Just as that avenue closed, another one opened. Former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Gerard Larrousse wanted to put together his own F1 team for 1987, and with slim pickings of personnel in his native France he opted to call on the help of Lola.
Philippe Alliot, Lola LC88 Ford, 1988

The Lola LC87 (designated LC in deference to Larrousse and his backer Didier Calmels) was heavily based on Lola's F3000 machinery, but mated to the Ford Cosworth DFZ engine it was a credible performer. Although the Ralph Bellamy-designed chassis rarely ventured beyond the back four rows of the grid, Lola and Larrousse chipped away at the car through the season, with Philippe Alliot picking up three sixth places and late-season team-mate Yannick Dalmas finishing fifth in Australia.

It was a good start, but the team went backwards in its second year with the LC88. No longer based on F3000 machinery, the car was ill-handing and a little heavy, meaning that Alliot, Dalmas and late-season recruit Aguri Suzuki ended the season pointless.

But behind the scenes, Larrousse had been working hard and managed to secure the supply of Lamborghini engines for 1989. With highly-rated Gerard Ducarouge joining the team as technical director, he worked closely with Lola on the production of the LC89.
Aguri Suzuki finishes third in the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix

Despite being a more elegantly-packaged design, the LC89 was unreliable and only very sporadically quick. Too often the second car failed to qualify - even in the hands of five-times grand prix winner Michele Alboreto - although Alliot managed to grab a solitary point in the Spanish Grand Prix

The following year's Lola 90 at last allowed the partnership to head in the right direction, with the car taking a major step forward in speed and reliability. A strong season was capped with Suzuki's third place in the Japanese Grand Prix, only for the team to be stripped of sixth place in the constructors' championship post-season when it was decided that the car was not built by Larrousse.

Lola was no longer involved with Larrousse in 1991, although the French team continued to struggle on with a reworked version of the 90.
Michele Alboreto, Scuderia Italia Lola T93/30 Ferrari, 1993

Lola's next partner team was Scuderia Italia after the Italian team fell out with previous chassis supplier Dallara. With Ferrari engines and a driver line-up of Alboreto and reigning F3000 champion Luca Badoer, hopes were high for 1993.

Despite Alboreto qualifying on the fringes of the top 10 for the first few races of the season, the team's best results was a 12th place in the Brazilian Grand Prix for Luca Badoer - in just the second race of his F1 career. The car spent the rest of the season welded to the back of the field and Scuderia Italia's F1 team was closed down at the end of the year.

After going as far as producing a test car for a possible F1 entry in 1995, Lola made an attempt to claim the last available slot on the F1 grid with a Mastercard-backed entry in 1997.

Vincenzo Sospiri, Lola T97/30 Ford, 1997The hugely-rushed T97, powered by a Ford engine, was ready far too late for pre-season testing and had barely turned a wheel before the season opener at Melbourne.

Even so, the team hoped for the best with 1995 Formula 3000 champion Vincenzo Sospiri and runner-up Riccardo Rosset on board. The pair attempted to make the grid for the Australian Grand Prix, but were nowhere near the 107 per cent time.

By the time the team arrived in Brazil, Mastercard had pulled out and Lola disappeared from F1... until 2010?

Mercedes Benz engine on Red Bull list

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is in no rush to extend the team's race-winning partnership with Renault into 2010, as it weighs up an engine deal with Mercedes for next season.

Despite claiming a 1-2 victory in the Chinese Grand Prix, the team is understood to be well down the line in negotiations with Mercedes, despite not having ruled out continuing with Renault.

"It's way too early to be talking about engines for next year," Horner said. "Hopefully Renault will still be around. The engine is performing well and, having been permitted the equalisation adjustments at the end of last year, I think it is comparable with the other engines in F1.

"You've probably still got Mercedes as the strongest engine, but I don't think the Renault gives anything away to its rivals."

Mercedes has ruled out supplying more than three teams with engines, and with a firm commitment to both works team McLaren and Force India, Red Bull would have to replace Brawn GP as the German manufacturer's second customer.

Horner added that there is no rush to finalise its engine supplier, as it is possible to modify a car design for an alternative engine at relatively short notice.

"As Ross Brawn has proved, you can change engines at the last minute - they're such simplistic blocks these days," said Horner.

Bridgestone plans narrower and lower profile of front tyre

Bridgestone is planning to introduce a narrower and lower profile front tyre next season to better suit the handling characteristics of the current generation of Formula 1 cars.

Although F1's control tyre supplier switched from grooved to slick rubber this year, the dimensions of both the fronts and the rears remained unchanged. The removal of the grooves, which were the same size at the front and rear, has given the front tyres proportionally more grip than the back this year, creating more oversteer.

This requires teams to push the weight distribution of their cars even further forward than in 2008, something which exacerbates the difficulties of the heavier drivers, such as Robert Kubica, in running KERS.

Bridgestone is developing this spec of tyres in parallel with a change in the compounds, which is necessary because of the banning of refuelling next year.

"We are now discussing it with the FIA," said Bridgestone head of motorsport tyre development Hirohide Hamashima. "We haven't decided at the moment, but the trend is for a narrower front.

"The teams require Bridgestone to make the car balanced. In 2008, we proposed a smaller front tyre for 2009 but everybody refused it because they had already designed their cars, even though we commented on the oversteer tendency.

"In the winter, we tested a 2010 prototype tyre, a bit narrower, which made the car balance better than the current tyres. But it was not narrow enough for 2010 because they have to use KERS, so they asked us to think about that.

"At the moment, we have proposed an even narrower front tyre."

Hamashima ruled out the possibility of keeping the front tyres the same and widening the rears on cost grounds.

"A wider rear tyre is much more expensive because we have to revise the machinery and other things. We had narrower fronts in 1997, so we have the machines already."

GPDA to consult Motogp riders about night race

Grand Prix Drivers' Association director Mark Webber plans to consult MotoGP riders about the difficulty of racing under lights in the rain, ahead of this year's Singapore Grand Prix.

The floodlit MotoGP race in Qatar earlier this month was postponed until the Monday because of rain, and Webber believes the riders involved could offer some insight into the potential dangers should rain hit September's Singapore night race.

"I haven't spoken to any of the riders, but probably before Singapore I will," said Webber. "It looks like those guys could not run at all.

"I was surprised, but they are like us. They will race if they can, and if they can't they won't.

"The glare must have been very difficult and they are in a situation where they could go a day later, which was a nice luxury to have. I'm not sure we could do that in Singapore."

Although drivers had few complaints about visibility in last year's inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, there are still question marks over what would happen if it rains, as all the running in 2008 was in the dry.

Webber said that the GPDA is in regular contact with the FIA regarding the issue of visibility in night and twilight races.

"There are not many to come in the rest of the year," said the Australian. "Melbourne was more of a concern than Malaysia for us. It was a problem because of the rain and we are in constant contact with the FIA. I'm sure we will work out what to do."

Liuzzi ready return to F1 in 2010

Vitantonio Liuzzi is eyeing a race drive with Force India next season as both Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil's contracts expire at the end of 2009.

The Italian is Force India's test and reserve driver, but is hoping to earn a race seat next year for the first time since 2007.

"I'm very confident about it, there are good chances for me to get back to racing in F1 with Force India," Liuzzi said. "I have a contract until 2011, while Fisichella and Sutil's contracts expire at the end of the year."

With testing mileage reduced this season, the team approved Liuzzi's deal with A1GP Team Italy to keep him sharp. He believes his outings in A1GP will help his preparations if a seat becomes available.

"The A1GP programme comes from a decision taken together with Force India, in order to keep me trained since in F1 a third driver doesn't have the chance to test anymore. We had also considered GP2, but it wasn't possible.

"A1GP is fine for my aims because it's very competitive, it requires good physical preparation and it also includes pit stops. These are all valid elements to keep me ready for a return to F1 in 2010."

Tost suprised by Buemi early season form

Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has admitted that he is surprised by rookie Sebastien Buemi's early-season form, despite his belief that the rookie would emerge as a regular points scorer later in the year.

Buemi scored points in both the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix, and despite driving into the back of Red Bull stablemate Sebastian Vettel last Sunday, Tost has been impressed by his lack of rookie errors.

"We did not expect him to score points during the first three races," Tost said. "We expected him to increase his performance from race to race and then he can score in the second half of the season.

"But we are not dissatisfied if it's in the first half of the season as long as the amount of points is doubled or tripled in the second half.

"In China he did a good job. In really difficult circumstances, he didn't make a major mistake. Once he did touch Sebastian Vettel, but touching a Red Bull car is all part of the education process with Toro Rosso! If he goes on to win a race after doing this then it's fine."

Tost put Buemi's strong start down to the preparation offered both by Toro Rosso and the Red Bull driver development programme. The Swiss driver has been on Red Bull's books since 2005 and completed almost 7500km of winter testing for STR and Red Bull Racing over the winter.

"You can't come into F1 without doing a lot of testing mileage, and we can't do any tests during the season any more," said Tost. "We pushed very hard to get him out, even if it was with the old car just to get used to the slick tyres and learn about the techniques of how an F1 car works and how the engineers work.

"It's important to learn how the engineers are thinking and for them to understand how the driver is thinking so that the team comes together. That is an important process and one that some underestimate.

"But the winter testing was only part of the programme. There was also the [Red Bull Technologies] simulator and the physical training. Everything which is important to prepare a young driver for F1."

Tost added that although the team did take a risk by employing an F1 rookie to replace Sebastian Vettel, the 20-year-old's performances throughout his time as a Red Bull driver proved he was worth the gamble.

"He had some very good races in GP2 and he did win races," Tost said. "It was a combination of his good GP2 results, his performances during the tests and that he is a Red Bull driver.

"All of these factors together took us to the decision that we should take a risk on him."

Theissen - New order good for Formula One

BMW-Sauber boss Mario Theissen believes that the mixing up of the competitive order this season is good for Formula 1, even though his team was off the pace in the Chinese Grand Prix.

Responding to comments from Flavio Briatore suggesting that the sport's credibility is being damaged by independent teams beating manufacturers, Theissen said that he disagreed, but that he shared the Renault boss's frustration at the confusion over the diffuser regulations.

"It's refreshing to have a new order on the grid, even if it is not us who has benefitted," said Theissen. "But he [Briatore] is right in saying that a lot of time and money is wasted until all the teams are playing on the same playground again.

"That is something that is not good for the sport. Sport is only interesting and exciting if all the players play by the same rules. We have to get back to this as soon as possible."

Theissen added that despite his team's disastrous showing in China - Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica finished outside the points after qualifying in the bottom half of the grid - the closeness of the field exaggerated their disadvantage.

"There are several effects that haven't been there in previous seasons," said Theissen. "If you look at the field, it's 1.5 seconds from first to last. Years ago, it has been five or even seven, so the slightest mistake in set-up or by a driver puts you low down the grid.

"That's what happened to us in China and it has happened to others before. For the fans, it's generally good, as long as it's not up to us to go down."

Theissen also refused to lay the blame for his team's lack of pace purely on not running with the controversial double decker diffuser. BMW-Sauber is working on its version of the design after it was ruled legal by the FIA Court of Appeal last week, but must also improve other areas of the car.

"I wouldn't say it's purely the diffuser," said Theissen. "We see a big up and down with the other teams, which is quite natural with a new set of regulations. Everyone brings improvements on a race to race basis. There is no clear picture.

"We have a package underway for Barcelona. There's not much for Bahrain, but for Barcelona we will have an upgrade.

"We are still developing the package. It will affect the aerodynamics, but I'm not sure how far we can go with the diffuser and what would be included.

"It will definitely not be the full potential. What we see now is that diffuser development has just started. There is more to come."

Sutil boosted by his performance at Chinese Grand Prix

Adrian Sutil says his performance at the Chinese Grand Prix was a boost for the Force India team, despite not scoring points in Shanghai.

The German took advantage of his wet weather skills to make his way from the back of the field and run in seventh position near the end of the race.

However, with just five laps to go, Sutil lost control of his car and crashed heavily into the barriers.

Despite his failure to score, Sutil reckons the performance helped lift the team's spirits.

"It's always good to have a strong race like this," Sutil said. "We nearly made it to the end. It's important that the Force India car is somewhere near the front. It's good for us, good for the team and it lift our spirits to go on."

He added: "It was very disappointing, but you have to get over it. There's always a next race, that's the good thing. But it's hard. We deserved it so bad and it was so close to happen, but it didn't. But we don't give up. We will try our best next time, there will be another chance and we will take it."

Sutil's exit was similar to that at the Monaco Grand Prix last year when, after a sensational race, he was forced to retire from fourth place when Kimi Raikkonen crashed into him.

The Force India driver admitted the Monaco crash hurt more.

"I think Monaco was even worse because I didn't do anything wrong and somebody hit me," he said. "Here it was a risk and we thought it was going to be tight in the end with the tyres and everything.

"If the rain would have stopped we would have been alright, but it started to rain a bit more in the last 20 minutes and then it was very tricky to drive and that actually destroyed our result in the end."

Sutil is hopeful the team will be able to take a stop forward in Bahrain this weekend thanks to the introduction of new components.

"It should help, definitely," he said. "Let's see if we can catch up. The other teams have put a downforce step on the car as well, but hopefully it is enough to close the gap a bit. But we still need to hope for these conditions to really make it into the points "

Renault R29 development showing very good progress

With the aid of a light fuel load and the latest developments from Renault's Enstone base, Fernando Alonso vaulted from the lower mid-field to qualify second for last Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. Part of the package was the new rear diffuser fitted to the R29 challenger.

"We were very pleased with the basic performance of the car as we took a good step forward with the new diffuser that we fitted to Fernando’s car," Renault Technical Director Bob Bell explained. "We’re all very happy about that and the effort that went into producing it. Sadly we didn’t bring home the result that we hoped for, but that is more to do with the strategic approach we had to adopt and how the race unfolded."

"There is more to come as the diffuser is a very new area of development and there will be a big push to continue its development over the next few months. We’re also working on various upgrades to other parts of the car that we would normally work on at this time of year."

While Alonso raced solo with the diffuser in Shanghai, this weekend in Bahrain team-mate Nelson Piquet will have the same equipment.

Meanwhile, the team has yet to announce if it will continue to run without KERS, as was the case in China, or re-fit the technology in Bahrain. "As we’ve already said, we will consider the merits of KERS on a race by race because it’s not a system that is categorically quicker at every track," Bell said.

"I think we can be quite confident that we can repeat the sort of performance we showed in China during qualifying as we now have the basic pace in the car. And if we have a dry race, I’m confident that we can bring home the points from the race to match our qualifying performance."

Mercedes and McLaren engagement under review

The future of Mercedes' Formula One engagement is constantly under review, Norbert Haug has admitted.

"At least once a year the F1 project is presented to the executive committee and decided for the future," the Stuttgart marque's racing boss said in interview with the SID news agency.

The report said one possibility for Mercedes, this year powering six of the 20 cars on the grid, would be to focus on being a mere engine supplier.

Honda pulled out of the sport at the end of last year, and observers wonder if the economic recession and slump in new car sales will convince another carmaker to follow suit.

"There is no special situation for Formula One, nobody can predict in this crisis what the future brings," Haug admitted.

Haug admits the 'lie-gate' affair, to be probed by the World Motor Sport Council next week, is not good for Mercedes' image. It is clear the marque is therefore not entirely happy about the current shape of the McLaren collaboration.

"We stand with our partner (McLaren) and the current view is that in 2010 we will still be together. But the crucial functions of the team are not engaged by Mercedes," he added.

Formula One return for Lola


British racing car company Lola has announced it is contemplating a Formula One foray for 2010.

Spurred by the FIA's plans for budget caps, the Huntingdon-based marque said it has commenced a 'full technical, operational and financial evaluation' in view of developing a F1 car.

"Lola has appointed key new staff to the project and allocated some of its top engineers to this stage of the evaluation," read a statement issued by Lola, which last attempted a F1 team in 1997.
a
That project was abandoned after one race, but Lola's history of involvement with the sport dates back to the early 1960s. Currently, it produces prototype Le Mans sports cars.

"The current necessity for Formula One to adopt a responsible approach in times of economic uncertainty has created the ideal conditions for us to consider developing a car for the world championship," said Executive Chairman Martin Birrane.

Force India Mercedes - Bahrain GP Preview - Significant aerodinamic update for VJM02

Just one week after the dramatic Chinese Grand Prix, in which Adrian Sutil so nearly scored Force India's first points, the team will be back in action for the fourth event of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"I think the team’s performance in China was very encouraging," said Team Principal Vijay Mallya. "We functioned well as a unit, made the correct calls from the pit wall and showed again that when the conditions allow we can be competitive. Both Adrian and Giancarlo drove phenomenal races and really did the team proud. We know we still have work to do and putting in these performances in every race is still a distant goal, but I feel confident there are good foundations now. It’s a boost for everyone not to lose hope as we can still surprise."

Since Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the 'diffuser three' the teams are all now in something of a development race. Force India Mercedes is no exception.

"We are planning to introduce a significant aerodynamic upgrade for the Bahrain Grand Prix, including a new floor and an interim diffuser," Mallya continued. "Amongst other items, we also plan to use new auxiliary wings on the front wing and re-profiled sidepods to incorporate the amended rear end. We have been planning this upgrade since the debut of the VJM02 as part of our scheduled aerodynamic cycle and it will represent a good step forward for the team. Although we nevertheless expect other teams to have moved forward as well, we hope this will keep us racing with the rest of the field."

"As usual, we know points are going to be very difficult to achieve and we should not set this as a goal for Bahrain," the Indian billionaire continued. "Yes, Adrian had a very strong race in China and very nearly achieved our ultimate goal far earlier than anyone could have expected, but we should not look on the Chinese Grand Prix as indicative of our general form. Instead, we need to focus once more on reliability and consistency and look to be there if circumstances allow."

Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella Q&A

Adrian, You had a fantastic race out in China. What are your thoughts on the race now, three days on?

AS: "The team should be proud of the race we had and the performance we showed in China.
Of course I am disappointed we didn’t get the ultimate result, but you have to get over it as there is always the next race. For sure we deserved the points, but we’re not giving up as there are always other chances. We’ve re-focussed and are now looking forward to Bahrain, which is a race I enjoy ¡V there’s something very different about racing in the desert."

And what are your goals for the next round of the championship in Bahrain?

AS: "The goals for Bahrain are really going to be the same as for China. For sure I want to finish the job, but I think getting points here will be very difficult. I want to keep the reliability record we have shown so far this year ¡V it’s my best start to a season since I came into F1 in 2007 and I want to maintain this finish rate."

What are your thoughts on the developments coming through for this race?

AS: "The new parts we have coming through for this race should keep us close to the others and I hope we will be able to have a good, competitive race, but we need to focus on our own performance and try to improve as much as possible so when we get to Europe we can really be fighting."

Giancarlo, how would you review the first three races?

GF: "Mechanically the VJM02 is good. It feels quite balanced and consistent and is a big improvement from last year. We’re working well with the new team partners, McLaren and Mercedes, and I think we have a lot we can be positive about. We know where we need to improve: we are missing a lot of downforce and it shows, but now we have started to introduce new upgrades I am hopeful we can start to fix this problem."

What are your aims for Bahrain?

GF: "I feel quite positive about Bahrain. We have some new parts coming through from the factory and I hope they will be an improvement in overall pace. We’ve still got some way to go to be able to race for points, but at least this will keep us competitive. As with China, we’ve got to focus on getting to the end and seeing where we are."