British film writer working on Lauda script

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Morgan is working on a script to immortalise Niki Lauda's 1976 season as a film.

Best known for writing The Queen and Frost/Nixon, Morgan is now focusing on Lauda's most dramatic year in Formula One when he almost burned to death in a fiery crash at the Nurburgring but returned six weeks later to battle James Hunt for the title. The typically-blunt Lauda joked to Vienna radio Oe3 that he is giving some thought to which actor might depict him.

"Anyone who is 25 or 26 with his right ear burnt off and dreams to be made up to look like me can start making plans," he said.

DPA news agency said Morgan, who is being actively supported by 62-year-old Lauda, is seeking a producer and director for the project. Lauda won 25 grands prix and three world championships and is also famous for his airline businesses. He is still a regular in the F1 paddock, appearing as a pundit for German television.

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'I'm far from being at my best'

Jarno Trulli insists his best is yet to come this season after struggling with a lack of feel from the Lotus's power steering system so far.

Trulli has failed to qualify ahead of his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen at the opening three rounds of his 2011 campaign and in China finished 20 seconds adrift of his opposite number.

Meanwhile, the team is making progress with the T128 and is targeting points with a major upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix. Trulli hopes he can get on top of his problems to make the most of the extra performance when it comes.

"At the moment I'm far from being at my best," he told ESPNF1. "It doesn't need much to get better, just a little bit more feeling in the power steering. And eventually when we get this aero upgrade working we will make a big step forward.

"So far I only complain about the power steering which is not working the way I want. It doesn't give me the feel from the car, it doesn't give me the confidence to really push and unlock the car's potential. I'm looking forward to having a better feeling with the car, that's my first priority."

Now in his 15th season in Formula One, Trulli admitted that the problem had taken some of the pleasure out of driving.

"I'm suffering with this power steering and I'm not enjoying it the way I wanted. I've had some nice battles which make you feel good, but it's just a little bit frustrating that I'm not able to push the way I want."

All the drivers have had to contend with major changes to the cars this season, including the introduction of high-wearing Pirelli tyres and the adjustable rear wing. Trulli said the tyres had been a further complication, but made clear that was not a criticism of Pirelli.

"In general we can only be positive because in the beginning - during testing - we were very concerned about the tyres, but then from the first race we didn't have any more troubles in terms of durability and performance," he said. "In general the tyres have spiced up the competition but it has introduced some other variables and at the moment we are still learning these tyres because they are very different from the previous ones - that's why sometimes the performance goes up and down so much. I would say so far they have been good for the sport."

Trulli believes the Drag Reduction System (DRS), disliked in some quarters for making racing artificial, has also played a part in improving the show and there was no point in drivers moaning about it.

"It's artificial, but if you put the tyre and the DRS together it seems they have both spiced up the races and made it better for people watching on TV," he added. "For us it's slightly different, from a driver point of view it's not very exciting. There are several things that are not in the driver's hands. So far we can say it is working and it is doing what we expected it to do. The changes are positive so there is no point to say whether I like it or not - the fact is that the races have been very interesting."

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Bahrain targets F1 return in the 'very near future'

In a statement on Saturday the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) said it wants to bring Formula One back to its country "in the very near future", but did not say whether that meant 2011.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was supposed to be this year's season opener but it was called off due to violent civil unrest on the streets of Manama. Organisers have until May 1 (Sunday) to tell the FIA whether Bahrain, which is still in the midst of a three-month state of emergency, will be safe enough to hold a rescheduled event later this year.

On Saturday BIC chairman Zayed Rashid Alzayani released a statement saying conditions in the country are improving.

"We gratefully acknowledge the understanding of Formula One Management and the FIA in what have been difficult times," he said. "We also thank the continued support of the international motorsport community and Formula One fans around the world.

"Clearly our national priority is to find a resolution to the difficulties that the kingdom of Bahrain has experienced. The national situation has moved on in a positive manner, the situation is evolving all the time; our day-to-day life is gradually improving under the current State of National Safety.

"Bahrain's Grand Prix is a time of celebration and hosting the race is a source of great pride for Bahrain and Bahrainis. It is a showcase to the world and we look forward to welcoming the teams and drivers and everyone involved in Formula One back to Bahrain in the very near future."

Earlier this week Bernie Ecclestone called for the final decision on the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix to be delayed until "early June". In the BIC statement he added that he was confident F1 would return to Bahrain, but stopped short of saying whether it would be in 2011 or 2012.

"Bahrain's commitment to Formula One has been clear from the very outset," said Ecclestone. "While obviously the kingdom has had to put its national affairs first I have never been in any doubts that restoring the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix has been of paramount importance. In eight years with my relationship with Bahrain I have always been confident that they will produce something special."

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Cirebox on China

BLOG | 29/04/2011

Cirebox on...

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FIA still aiming for Bahrain decision on May 1

The FIA is still planning to make a call this weekend on whether it should reschedule the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix, despite Bernie Ecclestone saying a decision needs more time.

The race was initially scheduled as the season-opener but violent civil unrest in the country meant it was called off. A three-month state of emergency followed with more conflicts between security forces and protestors, during which several Foreign Offices have advised against unnecessary travel to the country. The situation is still understood to be very delicate as martial law continues to govern the streets of Manama.

Ecclestone said on Thursday that a decision on the grand prix, which is supposed to be made on May 1, could be delayed until early June. However, when the Daily Telegraph put that possibility to the FIA, a spokesman said the plans have not changed.

"As far as we are concerned a decision is still due on Sunday," he said. "Because it's a weekend it may be Monday morning that we announce the decision, but we haven't spoken to Mr Ecclestone about any delay. The decision will be a joint one between the FIA, [Ecclestone's] Formula One Management and the Bahrain authorities."

A rescheduled race would have to slot in towards the end of the season with the possibility of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix making way and becoming the season-finale after the Brazilian Grand Prix on November 27.

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Mercedes looks to repeat China performance

Mercedes has been focusing on improving the consistency its car's performance ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix after an improved package yielded its best result of the season in China.

The team was buoyed by a double points finish two weeks ago after a disappointing opening two rounds where the car failed to live up to the promise it showed in pre-season testing. Nico Rosberg led the Chinese Grand Prix midway through and may have finished higher than fifth had it not been for an unusually high rate of fuel consumption.

Team principal Ross Brawn said the car was now closer to its expectations and the task was to unlock more of its potential while continuing to perform week-in-week-out.

"The team and drivers have worked extremely hard in the short break before the European season begins to ensure that we continue to move forward," he said. "We have a fundamentally good car and we need to achieve its full potential in the races to come. The Chinese Grand Prix reminded everyone at the team what it is like to fight for a race. We didn't succeed on that occasion but it's a feeling that we would like to experience more often. When the car is working properly, we can be more competitive and the solutions we are bringing to Turkey will help us achieve this level more consistently. However, we also know that we need to push for more performance if we want to fight regularly at the front. The first three races have been a challenge but we have pulled together and will continue working hard to make progress."

Rosberg is hoping to be as competitive in Turkey as he was in China.

"We had a more difficult start to 2011 than we had expected, and the first three races felt a little like a rollercoaster of emotions," he said. "We were all disappointed in Melbourne and Malaysia but, after leading the race in Shanghai, we have confirmed the potential of our car. The team did a very good job to take a step forward and we learned a lot from the weekend. Hopefully we can now make a further step for Turkey and produce another positive performance."

Michael Schumacher is confident the team's hard work since China will yield a better result for him, after finishing a season-best eighth in Shanghai.

"I know that the team have been working very hard to continue the progress that we made during the last race weekend in China and, with the help of some developments planned for Istanbul, I am confident that we can enjoy an equally positive weekend."

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'I'm not a fan of the DRS'

Renault driver Nick Heidfeld has admitted he is not a fan of the new Drag Reduction System (DRS), which he believes creates artificial overtaking.

The DRS improves the chances of overtaking by allowing drivers within a second of the car in front to reduce the amount of drag created by the rear wing and therefore increase their top speed. However, the wing is restricted to just one FIA-designated straight on the circuit and has drawn criticism for making overtaking too easy and predictable, especially when the car in front is already at a disadvantage due to high tyre degradation.

"Well, like with everything, the more you use it the easier it gets but we're still working on getting the perfect switch positions which we should have ready for Turkey," Heidfeld said. "I think it's all working fine and going to plan, even though I'm not a fan of the rear wing because I don't particularly like things which artificially aim to improve racing.

"The biggest difference is the tyres. With the rear wing active and the car in front having similar tyres, overtaking might still be difficult which is exactly as what was planned with DRS, however if you have fresher tyres it might be much easier to overtake. I think we've seen far more overtaking than in the past."

Heidfeld has had a mixed start to the season after joining Renault midway through pre-season testing to replace the injured Robert Kubica. After taking one podium in Malaysia but failing to score at in Australia and China, he is confident he can begin to score more consistent results in the coming rounds.

"Everything has gone so fast since February, which means that it's been a very quick learning process. I joined the team for most of the winter tests and then went straight to the first race," he said. "It's an ongoing challenge to have everything working perfectly at once but having said this, I'm impressed by the quality of the relationship we've built up over just a few weeks. People at Lotus Renault GP really want the driver to feel comfortable in the car and they give you a lot of confidence. They've really listened, as have I, and this has helped us develop constructively as a team. Above all, I'm really enjoying this open, two-way approach that we have."

He is hoping the team's planned upgrades will allow the car to be competitive again at the upcoming Turkish Grand Prix.

"I think we've shown over the first three races that we have a good car and Istanbul could be very interesting because it is the first European race and a lot of teams will bring updates, including us," he said. Hopefully we'll be able to give a good performance again."

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Renault plans upgrades to remain in the hunt

Renault is planning a raft of upgrades for the Turkish Grand Prix to remain in the hunt for podiums and bounce back from a disappointing result in China.

The innovative R31 took top-three finishes on its first two outings this season, but a problem on Vitaly Petrov's car in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix meant he failed to take his place in Q3 and team-mate Nick Heidfeld had one of his flying laps compromised as a result. The team then struggled to recover on Sunday and took just two points with a ninth place finish for Petrov.

Team boss Eric Boullier believes the car will back on the pace in Turkey where it will benefit from a different front wing, modifications to the nose, updates to the air intake area and some tweaks to the floor.

"We have a good upgrade package coming for Turkey," Boullier said. "I think that historically the teams were preparing to introduce their development packages for Europe, but I think that in the last couple of years the development race is continuous and this competition has already started. Teams have already been bringing new packages in Malaysia and China. Still, the first race in Europe remains significant in terms of improvements that teams will bring and this will be clear again this year."

Technical director James Allison said there is no reason why Renault should be any less competitive at the upcoming Turkish Grand Prix.

"It's a fairly regular type of track, not especially dissimilar to Malaysia and China I would hope that we can continue compete at a high level." Talking in general about the R31, he added: "[The car is] sufficiently fast to be healthily-placed in the top ten in qualifying, which gives you half a chance come Sunday. The car also quite kind on its tyres and so it tends to run more strongly in races than it does in qualifying. I don't want to tempt providence, but it has also been reasonably reliable so far."

And Boullier believes his drivers are highly motivated to score results.

"I think that they can do even better," he added. "During the last three races, they were still getting to know the car and they showed good pace and results. I'm pretty sure that they now have the near-to-victory taste in their mouths so they need to keep on pushing. I know the team is absolutely 100% behind both of them to help pushing them to deliver."

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Perez wants first points in Turkey

Sergio Perez is aiming to take the first points of his rookie season at the Turkish Grand Prix next weekend.

Perez crossed the line seventh on his debut at the Australian Grand Prix but was later disqualified when the rear wing on both Sauber's was found to be in breach of the rules. His team-mate Kamui Kobayashi has scored points at both races since Australia and Perez is looking to emulate his performance in Turkey.

"In a way I feel for me the championship is about to start now with these next races on circuits I know," he said. "I have raced at Istanbul Park twice in the GP2 series and I find the track very nice. I especially used to enjoy turn eight a lot. With the Formula One car it will, of course, be physically demanding for the neck muscles, and turn eight will also be a special challenge for the front tyres. We will have to be careful with them. In any case I'm really looking forward to the Turkish Grand Prix and I want to bag my first points."

Kobayashi believes success at the Turkish Grand Prix will rest on tyre management during the race.

"There are a couple of high speed corners which I like, and I feel we should be quite competitive in Turkey," he said. "However, the corner I like most is the triple left hander which forms turn eight. Regarding tyre management, I find it difficult to predict how the situation will develop. The grip level at this circuit is normally very low, which means the cars tend to slide a lot. I believe it will be crucial to save the front tyres in particular so the wear is as low as possible."

Sauber technical director James Key expects to see a wide range of strategies as teams crunch the numbers to find the best way to use their tyre allocation over 58 laps of Istanbul Park.

"It will be another interesting event for the tyres, because the famous turn eight is one of the high speed corners of the year with the highest loading of the tyres," Key said. "Although we have seen some high speed corners at the last two events, I think this is by far another step beyond that. It will be interesting to see how well the tyres cope with that in terms of wear and degradation. This could result in some alternative strategies in the race, but we will not know until we get there."

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Next Toro Rosso update scheduled for Monaco

Toro Rosso will have to wait until the Monaco Grand Prix for the next major update on its car as it attempts to take the fight to Force India, Sauber and Williams in this year's constructors' championship.

The Italian team kicked off its 2011 campaign with four points at the Australian Grand Prix but has failed to score at the last two rounds. Nevertheless the car's aggressive design, which features heavily undercut sidepods often referred to as a double floor, has shown plenty of promise - evident in China where both cars qualified in the top.

Chief engineer Laurent Mekies said a significant improvement is scheduled for Monaco in two races time.

"We have planned major steps for car development during the year that have been established since before the start of the season," he revealed to Toro Rosso's website. "At some point pre-season, you have to sign off the car to go into production to be built and maybe you have a good idea for a component the next day, so these are the building blocks for your next development update. This has indeed been the case with us and we will see a significant step introduced in Monaco and another one later in the season.

"These two steps are planned and will hopefully provide good performance improvements, however, it is also true that with minimal testing allowed, we have been trying different set-ups at the races and these can lead you down different paths in terms of ride height, or the type of springs to use, or in terms of the aero balance on the car and these elements can also impact on the development strategy for the car."

Mekies is pleased with Toro Rosso's start to the season - it is currently seventh in the constructors' championship ahead of Williams and Force India - and is hoping it can continue to compete with the midfield for the rest of the year.

"We discovered more or less what we had expected after the winter testing when the car proved to be well born," he said. "At the first race, we found we had a reasonable race pace and our direct competition came, as expected from Williams, Force India and Sauber and we found ourselves fighting these guys throughout the opening three races of the championship. Our STR6 appeared to have the potential to fight them, which was good news.

"Qualifying went well in all three races, converting that into points in Melbourne, but not in the next two rounds, but I think that from a performance level, we were right there at all three races. However, it is part of the game that in some races you manage to put everything together properly and in others you do not: this happened to us, it can also happen to our opponents and this explains our position, just trailing a few points behind Sauber in the table. We are going to have an interesting fight with these three or four teams all season long - if you like, this is our championship battle within the championship."

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Part 4

BLOG | 29/04/2011

Part 4 - Nick and...

We asked our fans to ask...

Rosberg to demo a DTM car

Nico Rosberg will drive a Mercedes DTM car in a demonstration run at the opening round of the German touring car series this weekend.

It will be Rosberg's first proper outing in a DTM car as he acts as a chauffeur for a number of special guests, giving them a taste of the car and the Hockenheim circuit.

"As a racing driver, it's great to be able to drive different cars and broaden my experience - you always learn something," Rosberg said. "Although it's a tin-top, the AMG Mercedes C-Class is a serious racing machine. I'll be treating it with respect on my first drive but I'm also looking forward to seeing what it can do, and to discovering the differences compared to my Formula One car."

Rosberg is no stranger to the DTM paddock, having taken part in the series' support races as he rose through the ranks of the German single-seater championships earlier in his career.

"I have learned my trade as a racing driver in the DTM environment," Rosberg added. "I contested numerous Formula BMW Junior and Formula 3 races in the DTM support programme and always admired and enjoyed this outstanding series with its unique atmosphere and its fantastic spectators. Nonetheless, I never had the chance of driving a DTM car, to date - apart from the few metres when driving DTM Champion Paul Di Resta to the winners' party in Stuttgart, at the end of the 2010 season."

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'Small upgrades for Turkey'

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has said the team will be bringing "a number of small modifications" to the Turkish Grand Prix.

Having appeared well off the pace during winter testing, McLaren made impressive progress to be Red Bull's nearest challenger at the season-opening grand prix in Australia, and got closer again in Malaysia before Lewis Hamilton won the last race in China. Whitmarsh said that the team's hard work had earned the victory, but that more was needed if it was to continue to challenge for wins.

"Winning in China was a fantastic reward for all the hard effort that's been undertaken both at the racetrack and the McLaren Technology Centre to turn MP4-26 into a race winner," Whitmarsh said. "We're excited and encouraged by the pace and consistency that both drivers have shown in the opening three flyaway races, but the return to Europe brings fresh challenges.

We're under no illusions that we need to improve our qualifying and race pace if we are to remain a threat at the front. Additionally, many teams will be readying significant upgrade packages for the Turkish Grand Prix; nobody can afford to sit still. For this race, we'll be evaluating a number of small modifications - which include some aerodynamic refinements to the bodywork - during Friday practice."

Despite Hamilton winning in Shanghai, the consensus is that Red Bull still has the fastest car on the grid and McLaren are trying to close the gap. Whitmarsh agrees that the development race is going to be key throughout the season.

"Our pace of development is what can win us this championship, and we go into Turkey determined to ensure our upgrades deliver practical gains and are able to confer a useful margin to both drivers. Our one-two finish in Turkey last year was one of our most exciting races - and the memory of that result will doubtless spur on the whole team next weekend."

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Tyres key to Turkey

McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton expect tyre degradation to play a key role at next weekend's Turkish Grand Prix on the high-speed Istanbul Park circuit.

The Pirelli tyres have been dictating race strategy so far this year with Hamilton using a three-stop strategy in China to bring an end to Sebastian Vettel's early season dominance. High degradation levels mean that drivers who stay out too long on the same set of tyres experience a major drop-off in performance, which has the potential to be the difference between winning and finishing off the podium.

Turn eight at Istanbul puts heavy loading on the tyres and Button reckons it will force teams and drivers to take a conservative approach to race strategy.

"After the race in China, I think there'll once again be a lot of focus on tyre durability and drop-off next weekend," Button said. "Looking at the track configuration, our simulations suggest that Turkey will be a critical test for the tyres - particularly the front-right, which will be placed under considerable load through turn eight.

"It's a high-speed, multi-apex turn with a lot of loading, so I think we'll spend part of Friday monitoring the loads through the tyres to make sure we can achieve a safe and achievable balance for the race before we head into qualifying on Saturday.

"I don't think it's an under-estimation to say that tyre wear will probably determine every team's race strategy. It will be important to run the tyre within a safe operating window, and that's likely to determine when and how often we stop during the grand prix.

"The weather also looks like it's going to be a bit colder than we're used to in Turkey - the race is three weeks earlier in the season than it was last year, and that might also have an effect on how the tyre operates. It's going to be another interesting race."

Hamilton agrees that the stresses on the tyres in turn eight will play a major role in strategy, but also believes KERS will be a performance differentiator - something that McLaren's main rival Red Bull has struggled with in the opening rounds.

"For this race, I think we'll be seeing drivers working quite hard to look after their tyres throughout the race, particularly in turn eight, which is fast and bumpy; it's one of the most demanding corners for tyres anywhere on the calendar.

"This is also a circuit where KERS Hybrid will be a major benefit - most of the straights come after low-speed corners, so there's plenty of scope for using the KERS Hybrid - most notably out of Turn 10, but also out of the final corner.

"There's always quite a big chance for passing into Turn 12, because it's quite easy to stay with a leading car out of Turn 10 and duck into the tow.

"There's every reason to believe that the run of interesting and exciting races will continue next weekend."

Hamilton was victorious at last year's Turkish Grand Prix after the Red Bulls crashed in to one another while battling over first position.

"I won this race last year and Istanbul Park is a circuit I really enjoy," he added. "It's a great modern track, with a real variety of corners, plenty of high-speed stuff and a place where you really feel the benefit of having the car properly hooked up beneath you.

"Of course, everyone talks about turn eight, which is a fantastic corner, but I also love late-braking into Turns Nine and 12, because you can get the car into the corner while still carrying quite a bit of speed; and getting it right is really satisfying."

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Bahrain deadline could be extended

Bernie Ecclestone has said that the May 1 deadline for Bahrain to decide if it can host a grand prix this year could be extended.

The race was originally planned to be the season-opener in March, but political unrest and violence in the country caused it to be postponed. The FIA subsequently gave the race organisers the May deadline, saying it would need to be informed whether the country would be in a position to host the race later in the season.

The situation has still yet to settle down however, so Ecclestone has said that he would be willing to allow more time for a decision to be made.

"We need to wait a little bit to see exactly how progress is made," Ecclestone told Reuters. "I suppose we'd be safe by early June or something like that. Things can change in a couple of weeks...so you don't know, all of a sudden everything might be peaceful in a month's time and they are happy to run the event and so we are happy to be there."

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F1 takeover talk 'media driven'

Bernie Ecclestone has made yet another denial that he is in negotiations to sell Formula One's commercial rights to a consortium led by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Murdoch-owned media outlets Sky News and the Times sparked rumours last week that News Corp was lining up a bid for the sport's commercial rights, the majority of which is owned by CVC Capital Partners and managed by Ecclestone.

The F1 supremo moved quickly to play down the initial reports and has now made another rebuttal to news agency Reuters.

"It's media driven," he said. "It looks very much like someone who is trying to see if they can make [money]. All of these people that get involved with these things, they get some victims and say 'We can make this happen, I'm sure we can do this' and then all they do is keep pumping fees in."

One of the sticking points with a News Corp takeover would be F1's commitment to broadcasting on free-to-air TV stations while Murdoch's media empire is built upon pay-subscription TV stations. Ecclestone said, in the unlikely event that F1 is sold, it would have to remain free-to-air in certain territories, a feature which has boosted the sport's exposure over the years.

"If, and I think the chances are close to zero, but if Murdoch was to buy certainly he'd have to broadcast some free to air like it is now."

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2011 Turkish Grand Prix Preview

BLOG | 27/04/2011

Enjoy a career in...

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Schumacher plans to fulfil contract

Michael Schumacher has insisted he will see out his three-year contract with Mercedes, even though he has yet to challenge for the podium with the team.

Mercedes were off the pace in 2010, but after a disappointing start to this season Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg delivered an encouraging performance at the Chinese Grand Prix to lead a number of laps before eventually finishing fifth. Having been outpaced by his team-mate so far since his comeback, Schumacher's commitment has been questioned, and despite admitting that "chasing for tenth place is not fun" he has said he is with a team that can improve the situation.

"That's why I'm fighting with Mercedes," Schumacher told Bunte. "[Admittedly] 42 [years old] is not the same as 25...I will fulfil my three year contract with Mercedes and afterwards work as a representative of the brand."

His team-mate Rosberg has scored three podiums since moving to Mercedes, but said that Schumacher was still difficult opposition, and had increased his performances this season.

"Michael performs at a high level, he is strong," Rosberg told Bild am Sonntag. "His current results do not reflect how good he is. To beat him I have to get everything right - he's closer than last year."

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Buemi not fazed by pressure

Sebastien Buemi has said he is not affected by the pressure of driving for Toro Rosso, with his seat under constant scrutiny.

The presence of test driver Daniel Ricciardo during Friday practice sessions has only served to increase the pressure on Buemi and team-mate Jaime Alguersuari at the Red Bull-backed team, while the pair have been told that they must deliver this season or they will be replaced. Buemi, however, says he can only compare himself to Alguersuari, and is comfortable with the situation.

"I'm calm because regardless of results I've always done my maximum," Buemi is quoted by The Sun. "Compared to my teammate I've never done badly. Red Bull gives young drivers a chance to get into F1, so you always know that besides you there are other guys that try to show their abilities and aim to drive for the team. If you give up, it's over for you."

The flip side is that if either Buemi or Alguersuari impress for Toro Rosso, they could find themselves first in line for a future Red Bull seat, with Mark Webber only contracted until the end of this season. Buemi said it was something he was aware of, but that he just had to keep delivering performances.

"It's not up to me whether Webber carries on or not. From my point of view I know that if I do my maximum and get important results, then my value can increase and I can have a chance. I focus on this. The rest is just gossip."

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Haug: "We must unlock speed"

Mercedes' Norbert Haug says that the pace the team showed in China is genuine, but that whether it can reproduce it in the future is down to its ability to get the best out of the car at every race.

After a disappointing start to the season, Nico Rosberg delivered an improved showing in China, leading for a good portion of the race and challenging for a top three finish before eventually crossing the line fifth. Haug said that it was a true reflection of the W02's potential, but that as it had been difficult to set up in previous races there were no guarantees that the car would always deliver that pace.

"I honestly cannot promise you that we will do the same thing in Turkey," Haug told Autosport. "But the most important thing is to find the key to unlock the speed. The speed is there. The performance in China was genuine."

Haug said that the improvement in performance was clear to see when based against Mercedes' showing in Malaysia, and had come about due to a change in approach.

"I would have been happier if China would have been the first race, obviously. Saying that, the China track is not a night and day difference from Malaysia. There are a lot of similarities - and straight line performance accounts for a similar amount at both tracks.

But we now have a better understanding of the car. Ross sat together with the guys and the engineers, and we changed the approach to the weekend. For example, you can destroy your tyres easily on a Friday when you are on a heavy fuel load - but if you have a good balanced car then you can afford to have a heavy fuel. It has given us some confidence."

Haug also said the rear wing issues - which had plagued the team and cost Michael Schumacher a place in Q3 during qualifying in China - had been resolved.

"We had problems with the rear wing flap, but mainly we have sorted them out. We have a different system, but it is a clever system if it works - and we made it work in China."

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Lotus confirms Caterham purchase

Team Lotus has confirmed that Team Lotus Enterprise has purchased the British sportscar company Caterham Cars.

The official confirmation comes after reports last week, with documents showing Tony Fernandes was appointed a director of Caterham on April 12. The deal was announced at a media event at Duxford airfield, where the team will also be performing a straight line test of its T128, but there was no confirmation about how the Caterham name would be used with regards to Formula One.

"The acquisition of Caterham Cars by Team Lotus Enterprise will not only signal the continued development of the legendary Seven, but will provide Caterham with the platform to apply its philosophy of 'adding lightness' to exciting new models for the 21st Century," a Team Lotus statement read.

Fernandes, who had previously been hoping to enter the automotive business with Lotus, said that the British heritage was a key factor in the purchase, and that Team Lotus Enterprise would be looking to expand Caterham's global standing.

"Caterham has a unique place at the heart of the motoring world. As well as being proudly and staunchly British, it has an enviable and uniquely unblemished reputation within the industry for performance, handling and engineering excellence. Caterham Cars has remained wholly faithful to Colin Chapman's philosophy of 'less is more', and the DNA of the original Seven can still be traced to the newest additions to Caterham's product offering.

It is already a successful business with sales across Europe, Japan, Australia and the Middle East, and under the guidance of the existing management team, we now have all the ingredients and the launch pad to further evolve that spirit and take Caterham to new exciting horizons with innovative products and greater global brand exposure."

Confirmation of the deal comes before any verdict has been delivered on the Team Lotus v Group Lotus court battle, with a decision not expected until next month. Ownership of Caterham could give Fernandes another option should he be forced to relinquish the Lotus name, though he insisted that wasn't part of his thinking.

"This isn't being done just in case we lose the case," he told Reuters. "I and the shareholders want to wait and see what happens with the court case and then we'll make plans from there."

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Ecclestone hopes for Turkey deal

Bernie Ecclestone has said that he hopes a deal can still be reached to extend the contract of the Turkish Grand Prix.

Race organisers last week said that the future of the race was in doubt, with the head of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Murat Yalcinta, claiming that Ecclestone had asked for the race fee to be doubled when the contract expires following this year's race. The race struggles to make money from ticket sales, with 200,000 spectators at the inaugural race in 2005 falling to around 35,000 in recent seasons.

Despite new races in India, the United States and Russia being added to the calendar over the next few seasons, Ecclestone has said he hasn't given up on agreeing new terms for the race at Istanbul Park to continue.

"The race brings a huge amount of people, trade and publicity to the city," Ecclestone told the Daily Express. "I am a bit disappointed and I hope we can work out a deal."

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Lotus and Caterham to be 'common brand'

Tony Fernandes is aiming to create a "common brand" between Team Lotus and his newly-purchased Caterham road car company, although he said there were currently no plans to rename his Formula One team.

Fernandes confirmed the Caterham deal at Duxford airfield on Thursday but refused to be drawn on the exact plans for his "marriage" of the two companies. He said some of the decisions about the brands' futures would rest on the outcome of the naming dispute with Group Lotus, which is currently going through the High Court.

"My aim would be at some stage to have a common brand," Fernandes said. "I think that both have their aspirations. I think the way they come together will depend on the legal case and some of it will depend on how it looks and feels. But it's all to play for and to play with, which was the objective. As for the eventual shape and form of Caterham and the team, I don't know to be honest."

When asked by ESPNF1 if Caterham could be a possible replacement for the Team Lotus name should he lose the case with Group Lotus, Fernandes said: "It's something we never thought about to be honest. We've thought about bringing them together, but we have never thought about one substituting the other."

However, he did reveal that the Caterham brand would appear on the car in some form.

"There will be one [car manufacturer brand on the F1 car] and that is Caterham," Fernandes said, before clarifying that the Team Lotus brand is not a road car brand: "Team Lotus has nothing to do with Group Lotus and they've made it very clear about that. I think the world will slowly discover two brands - Team Lotus and Group Lotus. They will be like Manchester City and a Manchester United - they're as different as chalk and cheese. Over the years we will develop a Team Lotus brand and there is a Group Lotus brand so that's the way of the world. It wouldn't be the first [situation like that] and it won't be the last either.

"Exactly how we integrate Caterham into that and how we integrate Team Lotus into Caterham is beyond today, and to be honest I don't know 100% yet. We'll have to see how the judgement goes and a number of other things, but definitely there will be a marriage of some sort."

As for his plans for Caterham production cars, Fernandes hinted at a new closed-roof car similar to the Lotus Elise and an expansion in the Asian market. However, he said he would not ape Group Lotus by revealing a master plan outlining a definitive range of new production cars over the next five years.

"I'm not someone who comes in here and makes predictions about size and models and number of cars, I'd rather let the actions speak louder than words," he said. "Obviously in anything we've done we have dreams and aspirations but we'll wait and see whether we can deliver on those dreams and aspirations. The potential is there, Caterham is what I would describe as an un-cut, un-polished diamond and hopefully we can turn it in to a polished diamond. It's a racing heritage car company so there is a lot we can do with that."

Fernandes is hoping to create road cars with affordable F1 technology and is working with Caterham managing director Ansar Ali to make that happen.

"I'm a big believer in affordability and lots of technology in F1 is not affordable in a road car," Fernandes said. "One of the messages I've given Ansar is to try to do that. That's what we've done with Team Lotus fairly well is make our Formula One team fairly accessible. The potential is limitless and I was asked by a lot of the financial papers if this is a bad time to go into cars with recession around the corner, but I started an airline three days after 9/11. There's always a market if you produce something people want."

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Enjoy a career in the fast lane

BLOG | 27/04/2011

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Williams targets first points with Turkey upgrades

Williams technical director Sam Michael believes a raft of upgrades for the Turkish Grand Prix will put his team back in the top ten.

Both cars have failed to score points over the first three races of the season, making it Williams' worst start to a title campaign since 1979. Michael is hoping changes to the FW33 will put an end to the team's points drought starting at the next race.

"We are introducing a modified floor, new front wing, new rear wing and new brake ducts to both cars for Istanbul," he said last week. "We expect this to give us a few tenths to help our drivers get into the top ten."

In China the team faced a setback with its latest exhaust-blown diffuser which caused parts of the bodywork to overheat. However, Michael believes the concept is sound and will be bringing a revised version to the Spanish Grand Prix.

"We had a number of new parts in China," he added. "The most visible one was the new exhaust system on Rubens' car during practice. We saw some quite positive signs during the traction phase, but unfortunately we had some reliability issues with parts of the floor burning and subsequently causing degradation of aero performance. We're redesigning some parts and intend to reintroduce an upgraded version of this exhaust system at the Barcelona GP."

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Small teams important for F1

Narain Karthikeyan believes smaller teams such as HRT play a crucial role in Formula One.

The Indian returned to F1 this year with HRT after bringing his personal sponsor Tata to the outfit and believes small teams are crucial for drivers trying to get a break in the sport.

"The fact is we are never in contention for the title," he told the Hindustan Times. "But teams like these are equally important for F1. We are all a part of the show.

"[Those teams] provide the platform for younger drivers and for drivers like me who are coming back. There's this hierarchy in every sport, but it only makes it more interesting."

HRT's technical director Geoff Willis, who has worked for teams such as Red Bull and BAR in the past, has been impressed by his small team's start to the 2011 season given the problems it faced.

"We started the design only in mid-December and it is 75-80% a new car, and we clearly have had to take a number of shortcuts in terms of its aerodynamic performance," Willis was quoted by ITV. "I am very pleased that almost on a session by session basis we make the car faster, we make decisions better.

"We still make mistakes, but I hope we learn from them. It is difficult to say whether it is better or worse than I thought. Starting from the restrictions we had I think we have done an extremely good job but we are all very determined to do a much, much better job.

"Looking back, there is a lot behind us and looking forward there is a lot in front of us and we just need to keep pushing every session, every race and bringing bits as fast as we possibly can, and building the team, growing as we go."

Meanwhile HRT's closest rival Virgin is planning an overhaul of its car for the Turkish Grand Prix, including a higher nose, a new floor, Red Bull-like exhausts, modified rear suspension and new wings.

"We have stagnated," team principal John Booth told Speedweek. "The new developments for the Turkish Grand Prix will eliminate many of our problems, but we will only then be where we wanted to be in Australia."

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Lotus aims for points with Spanish GP update

Lotus is targeting points finishes with a major update to its car, set to be introduced over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.

The team has shown signs of progress so far this season after closing the gap to the midfield teams and finishing ahead of a Williams at the Chinese Grand Prix. The rear of the car will be significantly updated at the Spanish Grand Prix next month and technical director Mike Gascoyne believes it will give his team the best chance yet of breaking into the top ten.

"With the three races coming up our major update will come at Barcelona, which will be a major update to the diffuser and rear end of the car - it will bring quite a lot of performance to the car," he said in a team video. "I think if we look at scoring points we have to look at Barcelona onwards, I think the updates to the car are going to be very significant."

Gascoyne said Lotus could be pleased with its start to the season and insists it is now on top of its tyre warm-up problems in cooler conditions.

"It's always quite an intense time to get everything freighted out to those flyaway races and it's difficult to get many updates on the car," he added. "I think in general we are reasonably pleased. We had four finishes out of six and showed good pace in China especially, we also qualified very close to the cars in front in Malaysia.

"I think the one negative is that we've struggled a little bit in qualifying and one-lap pace, especially in cooler conditions and track temperatures. But I think that is something we are getting on top of and the next few races won't be a problem."

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