Latest F1 news in brief
- Ferrari confirms Massa to test on Monday
- Ecclestone wants Monday tests after races
- Grosjean admits 2010 seat not assured
- Red Bull set for engine decision in Brazil
- Silverstone doesn't want one-off 2010 GP deal
Ferrari confirms Massa to test on Monday
(GMM) Felipe Massa is all set to make his return to the wheel of a formula one car.
The Brazilian, who has not driven grand prix machinery since sustaining serious head injuries during qualifying in Hungary in July, is scheduled to occupy a two-year-old F2007 at Ferrari's Fiorano test track on Monday.
FIA medical checks in Paris on Friday showed his eyesight is back to 100 per cent, and neurological exams on Saturday had a "rather positive" outcome, Massa's Ferrari team said.
The Italian squad confirmed that the 28-year-old will drive the 2007, run by Ferrari's F1 Clienti customer department, on Monday.
Ecclestone wants Monday tests after races
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has hinted that a novel approach to reducing testing costs will be adopted by formula one in the near future.
This year's in-season testing ban has been controversial, not because the teams have struggled to develop their cars, but because it has all but ended the test-driver era as well as made it difficult for newcomers to enter the sport.
"I am sure that in the future we will test on the Monday after races," the F1 chief executive said in an interview with Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
"The cars are already there, the people as well. The costs will be kept within limits and we can give young drivers a chance.
"The failure of the current system is that it is virtually impossible to test young drivers," Ecclestone explained. "That protects the established drivers, but it is absolutely wrong."
Grosjean admits 2010 seat not assured
(GMM) Romain Grosjean has confirmed that his future at the Renault team is yet to be assured.
The French outfit last week announced that Robert Kubica is to replace the Ferrari-bound Fernando Alonso in 2010, but failed to name the identity of the Pole's teammate.
Grosjean, 23, is a protégé of Flavio Briatore and was selected by the ousted and banned former team boss as struggling Nelson Piquet's teammate just five races ago.
But, like Piquet, the Swiss-born French driver has similarly failed to set the F1 world alight, sparking rumors that Renault might choose to replace him as soon as this weekend's Brazilian grand prix.
"Press!" Grosjean exclaimed in an interview with automarket.ro, during the team's latest 'roadshow' demonstration event in Bucharest.
"I haven't heard anything about that, it's just rumors and nothing else," he added.
Grosjean did admit, however, that his seat for the 2010 season is yet to be confirmed.
"We're talking with Renault but I think they're waiting until the end of the season to see what happens," he revealed.
Red Bull set for engine decision in Brazil
(GMM) Red Bull's team management is under pressure from the Milton-Keynes design office, headed by Adrian Newey, to confirm the brand of engines for the 2010 season.
The 2009 title contenders are openly musing their options for next year's campaign, with Mercedes-Benz tipped as the leading alternative to Red Bull's current supply of Renault's 2.4 liter V8s.
But McLaren has the right to veto works partner Mercedes' arrangements with other teams, which is believed to be the reason for the delay.
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that staying with Renault power, or even switching to Cosworth, are options for Red Bull Racing.
Amid the current engine freeze, 2010 returnee Cosworth is currently in the phase of retuning its 2006-spec V8 unit for the new regulations.
It also emerges that the British company has appointed four engineers from Mercedes-Benz for its new F1 program, and Auto Motor und Sport said it is rumored that Cosworth might be on the verge of an alliance with Porsche.
Silverstone doesn't want one-off 2010 GP deal
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone is expected to announce definitively on Monday that Donington has failed in its bid to host the 2010 British grand prix.
The news would be music to the ears of those who want the event to simply stay at its traditional home at Silverstone, but Damon Hill has warned that the Northamptonshire venue might not be willing to step in at any cost.
It is believed that Ecclestone, F1's chief executive, would offer the 2010 event to Silverstone at the same rate of its current promotional contract, but Hill indicated that Silverstone is not interested in a one-off deal.
"We have always said we are ready and prepared to host next summer's
grand prix," he said.
"But, frankly, in order to do this we would want a multi-year contract," 1996 world champion Hill, president of the Silverstone-owning British Racing Drivers' Club, told the Daily Mail newspaper.