Santander and Ferrari rumours

Speculation that the Spanish bank Santander is set to switch from McLaren to Ferrari got a fresh shot in the arm last weekend.

Photographed entering the famous Italian team's private building in Bahrain, for a 20 minute meeting with Luca di Montezemolo, was Santander boss Emilio Botin.

Spain's Marca sports newspaper reports that Botin also met with Fernando Alonso at the Sakhir track, as well as Bernie Ecclestone.

Botin's meeting with Ecclestone explains the F1 Chief Executive's eye-wateringly bright red jacket on the grid of the Sakhir race: apparently it was a gift from the Santander chief.

No KERS plans for Toyota and Red Bull

With the start of F1's European season now looming, two teams not yet running Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems have revealed they have no immediate plans to implement the new technology.

Toyota, who locked out of the front row of the Bahrain grid last weekend, announced last year that they would begin the 2009 season without KERS. "So far at the moment we are not planning to use KERS," German driver Timo Glock said in Bahrain.

The same is true of Red Bull, who as Renault's engine customer would use the energy recovery technology developed by the French squad.

But team boss Christian Horner said: "In terms of ultimate performance we don't feel it has earned its place on our car yet but that's not to say it will not do in the future.

"We retain a very open mind about KERS but at the moment there is no fixed date at which to introduce it," he added.

Similarly, Toro Rosso, Force India and Brawn would use the active systems of their engine suppliers Ferrari and Mercedes respectively, but are currently holding off.

Williams is working hard on its unique flywheel system and intends to race it as soon as possible.

But two teams already using battery-based KERS are having second thoughts. Renault's Flavio Briatore in Bahrain said the team will "maybe use it for another one or two races, if everything goes well."

Ferrari, meanwhile, were analysing the KERS benefit in detail last weekend, running it in practice on Felipe Massa's car but not Kimi Raikkonen's.

Said boss Stefano Domenicali: "Our project was born around KERS and it is very difficult to change the complete car, thinking that KERS is not there, so we need to find the best compromise."

McLaren heading to WMSC

Bernie Ecclestone is sure Mercedes-Benz will deem the outcome of Wednesday's World Motor Sport Council ‘fair’.

On April 29, the FIA congregation will consider multiple fraud charges levied against McLaren Mercedes amid the 'lie-gate' affair.

Last weekend, Mercedes and Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche warned that an ‘unreasonable punishment’ on Wednesday could cause the carmaker to ‘consider our engagement’ in F1.

But the signs ever since have strongly indicated that while a penalty for McLaren is likely, the prospect of multiple race bans, huge fines or championship exclusion is not.

"I am absolutely positive that Mercedes would like to look upon this as fair for everybody and, if there is any punishment to be meted out, it will be fair and I am sure they would support that," Ecclestone told London's Times newspaper.

"I don't think they would decide to leave Formula One because somebody had done something wrong and been punished.
I think they will be very fair," the F1 Chief Executive added.

It is rumoured that a points deduction, or even a single race ban for Lewis Hamilton, is possible, and the Spanish press reports that McLaren reserve Pedro de la Rosa is on standby for the forthcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

Former McLaren driver David Coulthard thinks the Woking-based team should not be formally punished.

"Their card has been marked, their reputation tainted. Do we really need to see more?" he wrote in his Telegraph column.

Tost agreed with Prost that Bourdais too negative

Team boss Franz Tost agrees with Alain Prost's recent criticism of Toro Rosso racer Sebastien Bourdais.

Last week, quadruple world champion Prost said France's only Formula One driver "begins to look at things in a negative way very quickly."

To Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Tost agreed: "He knows how to drive a racing car fast, however his negative attitude gets in the way too often."

Bourdais has scored just one of Toro Rosso's four points so far this season, but even the impressive rookie Sebastian Buemi did not escape Tost's reprisals.

Buemi and Bourdais qualified 17th and dead last respectively in Bahrain, and although hard braking circuits apparently do not suit the STR4, team figures suggested driving errors worsened the situation last weekend.

Tost said: "With such a close field, you cannot afford errors. Our drivers must understand that."

Kubica questioned BMW Sauber's development direction

Robert Kubica, having last year questioned BMW Sauber's development direction, renewed his criticism of the Swiss-based team before leaving Bahrain.

After a disastrous outing at the Sakhir circuit, the Pole is quoted by the German news agency SID as saying: "We perhaps need to take a different path, because like last year the speed of our development has not been good."

Similarly, his German team-mate Nick Heidfeld was heard to remark in Bahrain that the F1.09 has seemed to get ‘worse and worse’ with every passing race so far this season.

Team Principal Mario Theissen said: "This situation is unusual for all of us. Since we began three years ago we only ever were going uphill."

In the Swiss newspaper Blick, he added: "If we had nothing in the pipeline for Barcelona, we could be talking about us being in a low moment."

Kubica is even pessimistic about BMW's planned development upgrades for the forthcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

"Overall I don't think the picture is going to change much. We might be a bit closer (in Barcelona) but we are not suddenly going to jump from the seventh to the front row."