Briatore derides F1 new entrants

After Ferrari derided next year's prospective entry list as turning F1 into 'Formula GP3', Flavio Briatore has followed suit.

The Renault boss says the sport risks watering down its prestige and value by opening the door to outfits worthy of junior categories.

"We are devaluing Formula One," Italian Briatore is quoted as saying in El Mundo newspaper. "It is not correct that teams of GP2 race with us; it brings down our image and our technology."

The 59-year-old also rejected claims that making it easy for new teams to enter Formula One is necessary because of the risk of existing competitors pulling out.

"It is said that the constructors will go. But with normal regulations, I do not believe that any constructor would go," Briatore said.

"What we cannot have is F1 with a little bit of Formula Two and a little bit of GP2.
The small teams have to have success on the basis of their results.

"I began with a small team, Benetton, and with clear regulations we competed with McLaren and Ferrari and won (the titles) in 1994 and '95 with a budget 80 percent smaller. We never asked for different regulations."

Briatore added: "We want a Formula One that is unique, with the best technology and the best teams and drivers."

Haug - Rosberg on the list

Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz's F1 boss, has admitted interest in seeing his German countryman Nico Rosberg at the wheel of a McLaren.

Rosberg, 23, is out of contract at Williams at the end of the season, and - while happy with the Grove-based team's progress this year - is openly assessing his options for 2010.

With Lewis Hamilton the darling of the works team and under long-term contract, the seat in question is the one currently occupied by Finn Heikki Kovalainen, who joined McLaren last year to replace Fernando Alonso.

At the same time at the end of 2007, McLaren pushed to hire Rosberg but found the German securely under contract.

"We had to respect it," Haug told Spox.
com in Monaco. "How things develop, we cannot discuss in public, but we have known Nico long enough and he is a man on the list."

"It is clear that he is on many teams' lists," the German added.

Alonso frustated with midfield battle

According to the Spanish press, Fernando Alonso is growing weary of life in the Formula One midfield.

With every passing day, the signs are growing stronger that the Spaniard will definitely leave Renault - perhaps at the end of this season - to join Ferrari.

In multiple press interviews now, the 27-year-old has spoken glowingly about the famous team, and on Sunday said he was "excited" to hear that a poll in an authoritative Italian newspaper showed that the country's fans want him to occupy a red car in 2010.

On the other hand, Alonso is increasingly downbeat about his current mount, the Enstone-built R29, even after boss Flavio Briatore promised him an improved package for Turkey and a race-winning car before the end of the season.

Briatore, blaming traffic in Monaco, said: "I think today Fernando could have easily competed with Ferrari and Red Bull, but not Brawn."

In the pages of Spain's El Mundo, Alonso responded: "I am not going to spend the entire press conference responding to what Flavio has said or not said."

"We are going to introduce new pieces in Turkey but I think everything will stay more or less the same. It happened in Barcelona: everyone promised the world and everything stayed the same," said Alonso.

In Diario AS, he was quoted as continuing: "I am still very motivated, but I'm tired of being left behind."

Red Bull stick with double diffuser

Red Bull is planning to stick with its new 'double diffuser' for the Turkish Grand Prix and beyond.

The concept's debut on the RB5 at Monaco last weekend was later than many of the team's rivals, because it required a substantial reworking of the unique characteristics at the rear of the car.

And after beginning to look a match at recent races for the dominant Brawns without the diffuser, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were slightly off the boil on the Principality's streets.

Moreover, Vettel dropped dramatically off the pace with ruined soft tyres at the beginning of Sunday's race, leading to his crash and retirement at Ste Devote.

Team boss Christian Horner, however, said Red Bull had always predicted that Monaco would not suit the high-speed aerodynamic characteristics of the Adrian Newey-penned car.

And he said it is wrong to blame the new diffuser.

"We can see that it has put aero performance on the car," he insisted.

"It will be interesting when we go to Istanbul and Silverstone.
Theoretically they are tracks that should come to the characteristics of our car," added Horner.

Meanwhile, BMW Sauber boss Mario Theissen on Tuesday confirmed that the Swiss-based team will use a "multi-level diffuser" for the first time in Turkey in two weeks.

After the German squad's disastrous outing at Monaco, he said: "We are convinced that this will be a step in the right direction."

It is believed that a decision about whether or not to reinstall the KERS system to the F1.09 in Istanbul has not yet been taken.

Monaco podium isn't enough for Kimi Raikkonen

Within seconds of the start of the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, Kimi Raikkonen knew that he wasn’t going to take the victory.

Starting second alongside championship leader Jenson Button, the Ferrari driver made a slow getaway allowing Rubens Barrichello in the second Brawn Mercedes through into second and with passing all but impossible, the race was all but over.

Raikkonen duly pushed Barrichello hard to try and regains the position, but 78 laps later took the chequered flag third and recorded his first podium position of the season.

"I wasn't too happy with the third place at the Monaco GP," he admitted. "For sure it was the best result in the last time, but that was nothing new to me and we knew that we could arrive on a place on the top. When the leaders in the championship are so far ahead in the classification, in the end it's only a victory that counts."

While third position was not that impressive to the Finn, he admitted that it was a good result for the hard working Italian team. "Being back on the podium is a nice reward for the whole team," he stated.
"We know that we're on the right way now: there are still some minor things to be done but sooner or later we will win. We'll show up with further improvements of the F60 in the upcoming races and we hope we can then challenge the leaders even more, in the qualifying and in the race."

Raikkonen went on to explain that starting second at Monaco is a major disadvantage as it is on the ‘dirty side’ of the circuit and traction is therefore compromised. "In the end it was difficult to fight for second position and then there was this story at the last pit stop, where we lost a couple of seconds, due to a problem with the right rear wheel. When I took up the race again I was further behind than before.

"We brought home both cars and gained some important points. There were many things at Monaco we can be satisfied with."

Tough lesson for Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has likened his current state of mind in Formula One to wrongful imprisonment.

As a diamond number '1' was unveiled on the top of his helmet ahead of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix, the reigning world champion said the recent battering of his reputation has left him not overly enjoying his job.

From the criticism of his Swiss tax exile, his personality, and now 'lie-gate', the 24-year-old said: "It's got to be a similar feeling to anyone who goes to jail but feels they shouldn't be behind bars.

"That is the feeling I have had, although I know what happened in Australia was wrong," said Hamilton at the McLaren factory on Thursday, where the team's usual sponsor linkup for Monaco with a diamond company was announced.

"I just feel knocked about by it all," he is quoted as saying by The Times newspaper. "I want to be a driver - I am not in the sport to be a politician."

Hamilton insists the controversies have not affected his driving, but admits he is disillusioned with Formula One because of its constant politics.

"It affects your life, it affects the way you are.
I used to enjoy Formula One and part of that has been taken away from me," he explained.

"Unfortunately, it is the way the Formula One world works for some reason. It's much nicer in the lower categories, where all the people are there just to race and the teams are there just to race," added Hamilton.

Reporters have also noticed a marked change recently in Hamilton's attitude with the media, which now prioritises his take on off-track sagas over his work in the cockpit.

"Talking to the media and having interviews on television used to be great fun, but it has changed. I have no doubts in my mind I can enjoy Formula One just as much as I did before. Just not now," he said.

BMW to be next to quit F1

The latest strong rumour in the budget cap row is that BMW is set to become the next car manufacturer to threaten to quit Formula One.

The German squad's F1 chief Mario Theissen hinted at the move in Barcelona last weekend, but subsequently Ferrari, Toyota, Renault and Red Bull made clear declarations of their intentions to miss the May 29th deadline for 2010 team entries.

Giving weight to the BMW speculation on Thursday was Jean-Francois Gaubet, who as a Renault spokesman was quoted as commenting to Europe 1 radio that all the carmakers involved in Formula One are united.

"All of us - Mercedes, Toyota, BMW, Renault and Ferrari - are on the same page," he said.

"We have until May 29 to register ourselves for the championship of 2010, and as long as the regulations are as they stand, we will not be registering," Gaubet insisted.

Taking the threat seriously is F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, who arguably has the most to lose from a decimated world championship.

Referring to his meeting on Friday with FIA President Max Mosley and the teams, he told the French newspaper Le Figaro: "We are all going to sit around the same table and find a reasonable solution for everybody.

"It is not going to be easy, but no one wants to destroy Formula One," the Briton added.

However, the late Enzo Ferrari's son and board member Piero Ferrari on Thursday insisted that "there will be no compromise."

"We want no budget cap, (the) same rules for everyone, clear rules," he told the Telegraph. "We want to invest in cars, in engines, in aerodynamics, in the technology of the cars."

By the same token, FIA advisor Tony Purnell - who devised the details of the budget cap - said the cost-limiting mechanism will not be dropped.

It is rumoured that the FIA may be willing to drop the 'two-tier' element and allow the big teams a 'glide-path' from 80m pounds sterling to 40m over the next three years.

But to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Purnell said the £40m sum is set. "If it rises significantly, it will no longer be attractive from the viewpoint of prospective new entrants."

Pantano for Bourdais seat?

New rumours in the Italian press have shed fresh doubts on the future in Formula One of the sport's only French driver.

The rumours suggest that Sebastien Bourdais, who has scored one point so far in 2009 compared with his rookie team-mate Sebastien Buemi's three, is on the brink of being ousted by Toro Rosso.

The name linked with the potentially vacant Red Bull-sponsored seat is Giorgio Pantano, who despite winning last year's GP2 championship was left without a ride in the premier series for 2009.

30-year-old Italian Pantano, who actually contested most of the 2004 season for Jordan, was said to have been preparing to race in the Renault Eurocup series this year, but may now have delayed that debut.

Ferrari factor crucial for Rome Grand Prix

Rome is pushing ahead with its plans to join the Formula One calendar, but a huge spanner in the works is the sport's current political spat.

"I do not want to consider the idea of a Grand Prix of Rome without Ferrari," the Italian city's Mayor Gianni Alemanno is quoted as saying by Corriere dello Sport on Thursday.

Nonetheless, despite the famous Italian team's threatened exit from the sport, the plans for a 4.7km street circuit in the 1930s Eur district - comprising more than $200m of private investment - were unveiled.

"We are going to set up a promotional committee and then officially launch our candidature," said Alemanno.

A formal bid to F1's authorities has not yet been made, but a target debut date of 2012 was set.

Lola confirm F1 return for 2010

Having signalled an interest in F1's budget-capped future last month, the British racing car company Lola has now committed to submitting a 2010 team entry by the May 29th deadline.

"The Lola Group is pleased to announce that it will be submitting an entry," part of a statement issued by the outfit, which last attempted a F1 foray in 1997, read.

Lola said the 2010 cap figure was set at £30m when it first began evaluating designing and racing a car next year.

The increase of the figure to £40m "led to a re-examination" of the project by Lola, "culminating in today's confirmation that it will proceed."

The FIA is expected to publish the first 2010 entry list in mid June.
Full Lola Statement
Following completion of its evaluation of the technical regulations for cost-capped Formula One teams announced by the FIA World Motorsport Council on 29th April 2009, the Lola Group is pleased to announce that it will be submitting an entry for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The original cap of £30 million, including engines formed the basis of Lola’s initial interest.
The decision by the WMSC to revise the figure to £40 million plus engines, marketing, hospitality and driver fees led to a re-examination of the opportunity by Lola culminating in today’s confirmation that it will proceed with its Formula One project.

The Lola Group believes that the WMSC decisions relating to cost-capping and the provision of revised technical regulations to facilitate the entry of new teams into Formula One should be embraced. This is not only prudent considering the backdrop of global economics but also taking into account the need for new teams to be able to compete credibly against long established entrants.

It is imperative that performance breaks be afforded to new cost-capped entrants who will have a limited period in which to form teams, design and manufacture their cars. With these breaks Lola looks forward to competing with the existing teams who enjoy decades of experience. The question of speed differentials, safety and the spectacle of Formula One must also be considered.

The Lola Group is forging ahead with its Formula One project with the objective of securing an entry into the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and in the expectation that the decisions of the WMSC will be respected in full.