F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone says the sport is not for sale...yet. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Private Equity Company Eyes F1 Rights - Ecclestone: A US-based private equity company has expressed interest in Formula One, the sport's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has revealed. A report by F1 business expert Christian Sylt in the Express on Sunday newspaper said Hellman and Friedman, owners of Getty Images, have carried out research into the sport's finances. Ecclestone confirmed the fund, which owned 37.5 per cent of F1's holding company SLEC for a short time more than a decade ago, is currently "scratching around talking to people". F1 is currently majority-owned by CVC, who paid $1.7 billion for the commercial rights in 2006. Binding the owners with governing body the FIA and the 12 competing teams is the Concorde Agreement, which expires at the end of next year. "Next year we will start looking at making offers to the teams," said Ecclestone. "We are not doing anything at the moment because we are not free to do the things we want to do until next year."

2012 Mclaren To Be Launched Before Jerez Test: McLaren has become the latest team to reveal details about the launch of its 2012 car. Direct rivals Red Bull and Ferrari have already announced that their next single seaters will be ready for the start of the opening test of the 2012 pre-season. "The MP4-27 will break cover on Wednesday February 1 2012," Woking based McLaren said on Monday. The Mercedes powered team said the launch location will be announced "after the new year". "The MP4-27 will test for the first time at Jerez on February 7-9," McLaren added. Mercedes' new car, the W02, will not be tested until the second test, set to take place in Barcelona two weeks after the Jerez session.

Alguersuari Admits 2012 Race Seat 'Difficult' Now: Jaime Alguersuari sounds confident his Formula One career is not over at the tender age of 21. With not a single kilometer of F1 circuit testing behind him, the Spaniard made his debut mid 2009 but two years later has been dropped by Toro Rosso. To EFE news agency, he insisted he is not despondent, albeit whilst acknowledging it will be "quite difficult" to find a race seat for 2012. "I am looking at some options, there are some things and soon there will be news," said Alguersuari. "I am starting a new phase because I am only 21, I have done more than my job at Toro Rosso, starting at 19 years old. I think I did a good season, not a bad one. "I do not have any resentment, I am not angry or sad -- the opposite, I thank them (Red Bull) for everything they gave me. They chose to bring me into Formula One and obviously I would have liked to continue. "I have to be mature, I don't want to judge whether the decision is good or bad. I want to have a positive message. Every cloud has a silver lining. "I know that news (about my future) will come, I feel more relaxed than when I was at Toro Rosso. I think my time in F1 is not stopping here." EFE reported that Alguersuari said he didn't know if HRT was interested in pairing him with Pedro de la Rosa, or whether he might become Red Bull's official reserve driver for 2012.

Ferrari Eyes Sutil After Force India Exit: As Adrian Sutil departs Force India, he is being linked with famous Formula One teams Williams and Ferrari. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport claimed that, while his exit from the Silverstone based team after a five-year tenure only became official last Friday, the 28-year-old has been making new plans for 2012 since Abu Dhabi. "Williams is interested," said the magazine, "and not only because of his Medion sponsor money. In the second half of the season Sutil did a lot of good to his reputation." Auto Motor und Sport claims Ferrari is also interested, even though the Maranello based team's president Luca di Montezemolo has yet again insisted that Felipe Massa's contract for next year will be observed. "Felipe knows next year is very important for him," said the Italian. The German report said: "Sutil would be an interesting option for Ferrari in 2013. That's why he only wants to sign for one year with Williams." Sutil's manager Manfred Zimmermann is quoted by Sport Bild: "Adrian's future is not fixed yet and we will not be making any short-term panic decisions."

Alonso Jokes As Webber Wins FIA 'Prize': Mark Webber has revealed he had mixed feelings when he beat Fernando Alonso to third place in the 2011 constructors' standings. The pair, who are friends, lead similarly guarded private lives, so in the closing stages of the championship they considered the 'prize' that went along with pipping the other to the post for third place. "Only the top three drivers have to go", said Australian Webber, referring to the official FIA prize-giving gala, which was held recently in India. "Jenson, Fernando and I had had a bit of a joke on the drivers' parade before the final race of the season in Brazil last month. "We were all keen to improve our championship positions, but none of us were that up for any extra travel," he wrote in his last BBC column for the year. "In the end, I won in Brazil, relegating Fernando to fourth. He's an intense competitor but I don't think he was that unhappy about losing out by one point," said Webber. "I got a text message from him the day before I was going to India, reminding me that I had to go. It was along the lines of 'This is your captain speaking, your flight is ready for boarding'. It made me smile."

Williams To Have 2012 Car For First Jerez Test: Williams aims to have its 2012 car up and running for the first test of the official pre-season, technical director Mike Coughlan has revealed.
When Mercedes announced that its next single seater will only be ready for the second test - taking place two weeks after Jerez in early February - it triggered speculation other teams might tread a similar path. But Ferrari and Red Bull have said they want to be ready for Jerez, and Oxfordshire based Williams has a similar plan. "The car is slated to be delivered to the race shop in mid-January and we'll be ready to go to the first test in early February," Coughlan told Williams' magazine. He said one Renault-powered FW34 is already built "and we'll shortly start our FIA crash test program". Coughlan added that the car has already passed the FIA-standard tests "in private testing". Williams finished the 2011 season in a lowly ninth place.

Di Resta Worried F1 Career Would Spin Out - Manager: Paul di Resta's family was worried the Scot would race out of Formula One after just a single season. That is the claim of 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony, who after splitting with his son now handles di Resta's F1 career. The 25-year-old had a solid debut season with Force India and has retained that seat for 2012. But the Vijay Mallya-led team repeatedly delayed the official announcement, despite long-running rumors that di Resta would race next year alongside a new teammate, Nico Hulkenberg. Friday's news was a relief, Hamilton admitted to the Telegraph. "He really deserves it and I'm delighted for him and the rest of his family. "I know they were worried as it took so long to announce." He described Force India as a "mid-ranking" team, hinting that some more powerful potential employers might pay attention to di Resta's battle with the highly-rated Hulkenberg next season.

Exactly how many races Narain Karthikeyan will drive this year is unknown. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Karthikeyan Not Ruling Out HRT Return: Narain Karthikeyan has not ruled out returning to Formula One yet again. Six years after his 2005 debut, the now 34-year-old returned to the grid at the beginning of last season with HRT before losing the seat to Daniel Ricciardo. He then made a one-off comeback as his sponsors paid for a seat in India's inaugural Grand Prix. That Delhi event "has helped drivers like me connect to corporate India and we are now looking at a few options and trying to work out something although nothing seems finalized", Indian Karthikeyan is quoted by the Times of India. HRT has one of the two remaining vacant seats on the 2012 grid, but is not preparing to name Pedro de la Rosa's teammate until next year. "I'm not directly talking with other teams, as my management will handle that," revealed Karthikeyan. "I am focusing on other things for now."