F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone is the sport's primary decision-maker. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

F1 Must Brace For Tough Times Admits Ecclestone: F1 "must be prepared for problems" as Europe and the world suffer economically. That is the admission of the sport's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, when asked if Peugeot's withdrawal from Le Mans sports car racing could also indicate tough times ahead for F1. Amid the world's last financial crisis, F1 lost multiple carmakers including BMW, Toyota and Honda. "They had good reasons to go and save their money because they just weren't successful enough and didn't get the media coverage they wanted. "Simple as that," Ecclestone told Austria's Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper. So, with Peugeot pulling out of Le Mans and Grand Prix promoters considering the future of their races due to the costs, Ecclestone was asked if he is worried F1 could now lose more of its marques and sponsors. "Due to the length of our contracts, we are almost immune," he insisted. "But if the situation does not change globally, we must be prepared for problems," admitted Ecclestone.

Buemi To Race Le Mans With Toyota In 2012 - Report: Former Toro Rosso racer Sebastien Buemi will contest this year's fabled Le Mans 24 hour sports car race. After losing his F1 race seat and being signed to become Red Bull's official reserve driver for this season, the 23-year-old Swiss admitted he would also like to contest Le Mans. The famous endurance race will take place between F1's Canadian and European Grands Prix in mid June. "Ideally I would couple F1 with a different (series), such as endurance -- I like the Le Mans 24 a lot," Buemi said earlier in January. "There is no Grand Prix on that (Le Mans) weekend, so it would be possible. The big teams will start their testing soon, so I could participate as well. "I will probably be able to announce the details of what I will be doing in 2012 fairly soon," he added recently.

Mclaren, F1 'Need Hamilton Back' Admits Paffett: Team test driver Gary Paffett has admitted McLaren is hoping Lewis Hamilton has "sorted himself out" after a tumultuous 2011. F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone told Austria's Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper that the fact Jenson Button beat the 2008 world champion was the "biggest surprise" of last year's world championship. Fellow Briton Paffett admits 2011 "was a hard year in lots of respects" for Hamilton. "Lewis wasn't himself on track or off track," the 30-year-old told the Sun. "He had various problems with his personal life or whatever. "Hopefully he has had a chill-out over the winter. We're all hoping he has gone away and sorted himself out a bit and will come back to his best -- because at his best Lewis is as good as or better than anyone. "And he can definitely fight for the championship," added Paffett.

Petrov Promises News About 2012 'Very Soon': Vitaly Petrov is promising news about his future "very soon". Caterham's Jarno Trulli last week played down rumors the well-sponsored Russian Petrov, a refugee of the former Renault (now Lotus) team, could be set to replace him. "Very soon is all I can say," Petrov answered his Twitter followers when asked when official news about his plans for 2012 can be expected. "My friends, be patient," he added in Russian. Meanwhile, Finland's Turun Sanomat said it has not yet been decided if Trulli or his teammate Heikki Kovalainen will give Caterham's new CT01 car its track debut at Jerez on 7 February. The newspaper reported rumors that the matter will be resolved with the toss of a coin. The former Team Lotus' 2010 and 2011 rivals, Marussia (nee Virgin) and HRT, will not be taking their new cars to the opening test of the pre-season.

Spanish Hosts Begin Talks For Alternating Plan: Valencia and Barcelona - F1's two Spanish race hosts - are now in "informal contact" about alternating a single annual date on future calendars.
According to the Spanish-language news agencies EP and EFE, it was the Valencian government's vice-president Jose Ciscar who made the comment last Friday. A day earlier, the president Alberto Fabra confirmed he had a meeting in London last week with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, asking to keep the Spanish port city on the calendar but with "different conditions". Ciscar said Fabra passed on to Ecclestone the "economic difficulties" being faced within Spain, and the need for "major events like formula one" to become "less burdensome" to the region's coffers. He said there would be "more news in the coming weeks". Ecclestone, meanwhile, admitted to Austria's Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper: "I have tried to get Barcelona and Valencia to alternate, but the Spaniards have not wanted to discuss it. "We should not have two races there," he added.