France prime minister Francois Fillon has reportedly given the green light on a French GP in 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

French PM Shows 'Green Light' To 2013 F1 Return: France is poised to return to the F1 calendar. French-language RMC Sports reports that prime minister Francois Fillon has finally "given the green light" to the race at Paul Ricard to alternate annually with Belgium's Spa Francorchamps, beginning in 2013. "The negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone can begin," read the report, adding that "informal meetings" with the F1 chief executive have already been held. Fillon's decision follows a minister's meeting last Thursday, and RMC said the Var region has also agreed. "There are still some loose ends to tie up with the department of Alpes-Maritimes," said the report. RMC said the French carmaker and F1 engine supplier Renault may also be closely involved with the French event. "The eyes are now on the Belgian side, who must also validate the project."

Hulkenberg Race Deal For One Season Only: Nico Hulkenberg's race deal with Force India appears to be only for a single season. The 24-year-old, who sat out the 2011 season on the Silverstone-based team's reserve bench, has told Germany's Sky Sports News HD that he will be working this season to secure his future. "My goal is to establish myself in Formula One," said Hulkenberg, whose promising new career was interrupted by Williams at the end of his debut in 2010. "I want to have a race cockpit again in 2013." Hulkenberg said he should be ready to face off immediately with his new teammate Paul di Resta, who will begin his second consecutive season with Force India in Melbourne. "I may have to polish off a little rust," admitted Hulkenberg, "but I'm relaxed and ready for the season."

Caterham Targets Point For Team's Third Season: Caterham enters the 2012 season with a simple goal — a point. In its first two seasons, then known as Lotus, the Tony Fernandes-led squad proved the best of the other new-in-2010 startups including Virgin (now Marussia) and HRT. But a green-colored car is still yet to score a point. "That must be the goal (for 2012), but we are also realistic," Malaysian Fernandes told Brazil's Corride de Formula One. "We want to take steps forward in the right direction towards building long-term success. But the fact is that the only way to do that is to beat the teams that are ahead of us. All of them scored points in 2011," he said, chiefly referring to Williams. "So to beat them, we will at least have to score a point. That has to be the goal."

Three Teams Could Fight For 2012 Spoils - Fittipaldi: Sebastian Vettel is the outright favorite, but Red Bull's rivals are also in the running for spoils in 2012. That is the claim of Brazilian legend and two-time World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. "It seems that Sebastian Vettel will be the guy to beat again, since the strong Red Bull project counts on Adrian Newey, who is a genius," the 65-year-old is quoted as saying by Globo. "But we can't forget that Ferrari and McLaren have very big and competent structures, and excellent drivers, with all the conditions to be at the top." He also commented on the return in 2012 of former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, who kicked off his campaign this week with a test in Lotus' two-year-old Renault car. "As a very talented driver, he has the ability to be very fast again, even after two years away," said the winner of 14 Grands Prix. "But he will have to adapt quickly. The first six months will be crucial for him."

F1 Return Unlikely As US Issues Bahrain Alert?: Bahrain's F1 return in April is now looking unlikely. Amid reports the situation inside the troubled island Kingdom is still not stable, the Sakhir circuit's boss Zayed al-Zayeni last week insisted Bahrain and the world "has to move on." But not everyone agrees, including the United States State Department which has warned Americans of political unrest. "The department ... strongly urges US citizens to avoid all demonstrations, as even peaceful ones can quickly become unruly, and a foreigner could become a target of harassment or worse," the new alert about Bahrain reads. The department also said US staff are being moved to safer locations. "We expect that planned and spontaneous demonstrations will continue," a US spokesman told the Gulf Daily News.

Toyota To Announce Buemi For Le Mans Soon?: Toyota will shortly confirm Sebastien Buemi as the lead driver for the Japanese marque's second Le Mans entry for 2012. That is the claim of the Swiss website 20min.ch. Earlier, it emerged that the former Toro Rosso driver — who has been signed by Red Bull Racing as its official reserve driver for this season — wanted to add the fabled 24 hour Le Mans race to his 2012 program. "His wish will come true this summer," said the report. On Wednesday, Toyota announced that former F1 drivers Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima will front the lineup for one Toyota prototype at Le Mans. "Discussions are still ongoing to finalize the driver lineup for the other (car)," said a spokesman.

De La Rosa Eyes Points For HRT In Two Years: HRT's new car should be ready for the second test of the 2012 preseason, according to Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa. "According to our plan, the car will be ready for the second test," he told the Brazilian website Corrida de Formula One, referring to Barcelona late in February. Most teams will kick off their 2012 campaigns at the first test at Jerez. De la Rosa, 40, said HRT plans to be at Jerez with its 2011 car. "I'm not afraid to say that we are the last team at the moment," admitted the former McLaren test driver, "but I hope we will be targeting points in a couple of years."

Chip Ganassi Rules Out F1 Team: Well-known United States motor racing team owner Chip Ganassi has ruled out entering Formula One. His cars have been winners in NASCAR, IndyCar and US sports car racing. So with Austin joining the calendar this year, and New Jersey to follow in 2013, might it be the ideal time for Ganassi to look into running a F1 team? "There was a time when I would think about that," he is quoted by examiner.com. "But now when I get that feeling I go lay down until it goes away."

Sainz Jr. Races Under Red Bull Spotlight: With Red Bull juniors Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne stepping up for 2012, the spotlight is set to fall on the energy drink company's next young hopeful. That youngster is Carlos Sainz Jr., the 17-year-old son of the Spanish world rally legend. Sainz Jr. is now the cream of Red Bull's junior driver program, and this week is heading to Milton Keynes to drive the F1 team's state-of-the-art driver simulator, Spanish sports newspaper Marca reports. Also in the spotlight this year is Russian 17-year-old Kaniil Kvyat, who like Sainz Jr. is the other 'veteran' of the Red Bull program. Sainz Jr. moves in 2012 into the British F3 championship, a category previously won by former Red Bull juniors Ricciardo, Vergne and Jaime Alguersuari.