Bernie Ecclestone says Bahrain's 2012 sanctioning fee is already in the bank. (Photo: Getty Images)

F1 Has Already Banked Bahrain Race Fee: Bernie Ecclestone will keep the 2012 race fee even if he is forced to cancel the Bahrain GP at the last minute. The F1 chief executive made the revelation to fend off speculation he is only supporting the Kingdom's controversial return to the calendar for financial reasons. Britain's Telegraph newspaper said the Bahrain government pays $40 million per race, but last year Ecclestone did not collect the fee after civil unrest forced the cancellation of the event. "They (Bahrain) will pay if there is no race," Ecclestone revealed. "The money is in the bank already. So we're not going because we're going to get paid. That has nothing to do with it. We have a contract with them and we're respecting the contract. And I don't believe the people there would take a risk if they thought there was a risk."

Williams Names Adam Parr As Future Successor: Sir Frank Williams has named Adam Parr, the Oxfordshire-based team's current chairman, as his obvious successor. Team founder Williams, 69, remains the major shareholder and team principal, but he has already handed over the day-to-day running of the once-great outfit to fellow Briton Parr, 46. "If for whatever reason I couldn't come in to do my job, Adam would fill the gap," Williams told the British magazine F1 Racing. "He's not a racer but, in a way, that's probably an advantage in these distinctly commercial days." Parr began his career with the investment bank Barclays de Zoete Wedd, and later worked for Rio Tinto. He practiced law until the late '90s, meeting Williams in 2000.

Hembery Explains 'Blank' Pirelli Tires In Spain: Tongues were wagging in the Barcelona paddock on Thursday when some drivers hit the Spanish circuit wearing odd-looking Pirelli tires. Some of the tires, whose compounds are normally visibly differentiated with colored branding, featured significantly different markings. The big rumor was that, now just two weeks before the start of the season in Australia, teams had requested the blank tires in order to hide their test programs from their rivals. According to France's Auto Plus, motor sport director Paul Hembery cleared up the matter by explaining that the blank tires were in fact "prototypes." They had been manufactured not at Pirelli's usual F1 factory in Turkey, but elsewhere, in the event that a natural disaster forced the tire supplier to change its plans at the last minute. Hembery also answered the criticism that, after Pirelli's initial 2011 tires spiced up the racing early last year, the new generation might not be aggressive enough. "We need data from the races to judge that," he insisted. "It's far too early." He also confirmed that Pirelli is close to announcing the identity of its 2010-specification test car, and a new test driver. It is believed former Force India driver Adrian Sutil is a candidate.

Webber Backs Hamilton To Bounce Back: Mark Webber has backed his rival Lewis Hamilton to bounce back in 2012. McLaren's 2008 World Champion had a tumultuous season on and off the circuit last year, but has returned having reunited with his girlfriend and with extra support in the form of Mika Hakkinen's former manager Didier Coton. "It's normal for a sportsman or woman to go through some headwinds in their career -- particularly someone like him who had so much success so early, and he's black, and he's got interest, and he's got a girlfriend of profile," Red Bull driver Webber is quoted by the Sun newspaper. "Let's hope he's strong but not too strong. As a competitor you hope he can realize his potential but clearly we still want to beat him," added the plain-talking Australian. Despite winning the season ending Brazilian GP last year, Webber also had a less than ideal 2011 as his teammate Sebastian Vettel utterly dominated. The 35-year-old, however, has lost a couple of kilos over the winter and insists he is ready for 2012. F1 chief executive Ecclestone backs Webber to succeed. "I think Mark will be the guy who will threaten him (Vettel) if anybody," the 81-year-old told The Australian newspaper. "The last time I spoke to him about it, he was really motivated."

Brawn Admits Mercedes 'Slower Than Red Bull': Ross Brawn has admitted Mercedes' new 2012 car is not ready to take on the best teams in Formula One. "We are slower than Red Bull; we need to find more speed," the Briton plainly told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. Other team figures for the German marque's Brackley outfit this week said the target for 2012 is third place, with the title not a realistic goal until 2014. "On the positive side, our car is reliable and it's a step forward, but we are still not where we want to be," added Brawn. He confirmed that the goal for 2012 is to finish behind the top title challengers. "Third place, one better than last year," said Brawn. "Anything better than that, of course, is welcome." He said Mercedes has been aggressive with the design of the W03, "But we have not reinvented the racing car. Red Bull has the advantage of building on a very good foundation."

Strike Could Derail Season Opener: A strike could force this month's 2012 season opener into the gravel trap. The local Herald Sun newspaper said hundreds of security guards have threatened to boycott the event over a pay dispute. But promoter the Australian Grand Prix Corporation's general manager Ashley Davies said the news is "a beat up. ... The Grand Prix is one of the best run sporting events in the world and there is no reason to suggest that 2012 will be any different," he said.