Helmut Marko is taking a hard look at Pirelli tires. (Photo: Getty Images)

Red Bull 'Has A Plan' To Bounce Back In China: Red Bull is ready to start bouncing back from a difficult start to 2012. That is the claim of the energy drink owned team's racing consultant Helmut Marko, who acknowledged that Australia and Malaysia was not a good start to the campaign for a third-consecutive championship-winning season. Comparing the reigning World Champions with McLaren, Ferrari's technical director Pat Fry agreed on Tuesday: "I've been slightly surprised by Red Bull's lack of pace." Marko acknowledged: "Over the race distance (in Malaysia) we saw that (Sauber's Sergio) Perez was the fastest," the Austrian said on Servus TV. "In wet but also in dry conditions, the Sauber was absolutely the fastest one. On the other hand, the whole package did not come together for us," Marko insisted, referring specifically to bad pit stops, and broken radios. "There are so many things that have to come together. But we have a plan for how to deal with it for China, to solve our problems. I'm confident that we will get it back together sooner or later. It makes things of course more exciting, although not quite as easy for us."

Golf Tournament Going Ahead In Bahrain: A major golf tournament is set to go ahead in Bahrain. The BBC is reporting on Wednesday that "a number" of Formula One teams now fully expect next weekend's Bahrain GP to be called off — with the final decision to be made this weekend in China — due to the security risk. If that happens — despite Bahrain's contract to 2016 — it could be the end of the GP forever, with rules stating that a cancellation for two years running will result in exclusion from the calendar. It is interesting, therefore, that organizers of the inaugural Bahrain Invitational — a Pro-Celeb-Am golf competition — are reporting that the two-day event is definitely going ahead this weekend. "We are looking forward to welcoming all the participants and safety around the event is assured," said a spokesman. Sir Jackie Stewart, a triple World Champion in F1, backed the continuation of sports in Bahrain, admitting that if the GP is cancelled again "they may never get it back. ... If this race is cancelled then I think it is a very backward position to have in sport," he told the Herald Scotland. "Sport is a positive force; it brings people together."

Shareholder Calls On Mercedes To Quit F1: A Daimler shareholder has called on the German car giant to pull its works Mercedes team out of Formula One. Fund manager Ingo Speich, of the Daimler shareholder Union Investment, said at Daimler's annual general meeting that he is disappointed Mercedes has lost ground to road car rivals Audi and BMW. "Mercedes is no longer the measure of all things in the premium sector," he is quoted as saying by Die Presse. Speich referred to "a lost decade" for Daimler, and called on the company to follow BMW's recent lead and pull out of F1. His speech reportedly received applause from other shareholders. Mercedes is the biggest F1 team yet to follow the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull in signing a new Concorde Agreement beyond 2012.

Bianchi To Begin Friday Duties In China: Jules Bianchi will kick off his season of Friday practice duties this weekend in China. Despite remaining under contract to Ferrari's development program, the Frenchman was signed to be reserve driver at Force India this year. The team said 22-year-old Bianchi will practice during "a minimum of nine" Friday sessions this season. The first will be in Shanghai late this week, according to the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche. The report said Bianchi, who will also race in the Renault World Series in 2012, will take over Paul di Resta's Mercedes-powered car in the initial free practice session beginning at 10 am local on Friday in China. "I hope it (the role) will put me in a strong position to one day move into a race seat," Bianchi said in January.

McLaren Not Yet Ready With Own F-Duct: McLaren is not yet ready to roll out a Mercedes-style F-duct to complement its highly competitive 2012 car. Despite Mercedes struggling with tires in the actual races so far, the W03 is a standout qualifying performer, thanks in part to the so-nicknamed front and rear 'super-DRS' system. Red Bull, Lotus and perhaps even Ferrari are threatening to protest, but until now McLaren — with arguably the dominant package of the 2012 season so far — has stayed out of the argument. "We don't have a strong view one way or the other," technical director Paddy Lowe confirmed during the regular Vodafone media teleconference on Tuesday. The F-duct will remain a hot topic in China this weekend, with Lotus' technical boss James Allison believed to be armed with two new arguments against its legality. It was thought McLaren was quite advanced with its own version of the system. But Lowe revealed: "Until we've got clarity, it's difficult for us to commit a huge about of effort in that direction. So that's where we are at the moment." He steered away from suggestions Mercedes, including boss Ross Brawn, have flouted the "spirit" of the recent F-duct ban. "There's no such thing as the spirit of the rules," insisted Lowe, admitting that if there was a 'spirit' of the DRS rule, the Mercedes system is "definitely" in breach. "The debate around whether they can keep that system on the car is not about whether it is in that spirit or not; it's about whether the text of the regulations means they can't."