Paddock news from Shanghai

(GMM) India's Narain Karthikeyan will stay at Williams as a test driver in 2007, the team announced on Thursday.

World champion Fernando Alonso told reporters in China that he is happy to have been beaten in popularity by Michael Schumacher and other rivals in the FIA survey.

''I don't want to be popular,'' said the Spaniard, ''I only want to drive the car and win.''

Takuma Sato will take a ten-position penalty after qualifying on Saturday because Super Aguri had to change his faulty Honda 2.4ltr engine.

Renault will fit a revised Monza-specification engine to Fernando Alonso's single seater this weekend after an updated version was deemed too risky in terms of reliability.

The Spaniard's power plant failed at the Italian grand prix, but the French team has installed remedies in the original spec for China.

BMW-Sauber's rookie 'Friday' driver Sebastian Vettel admitted on Thursday that a racing ride in 2007 may be a 'little early'.

The German is tipped to graduate to GP2 next year, as well as continue testing for BMW.

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