F1: Grand Prix News Briefs (Update 5)

Formula 1

F1: Grand Prix News Briefs (Update 5)

Kimi Raikkonen is earning praise for his ability re-adapt to Formula One...

SPEED Staff / GMM | Posted April 20, 2012 GMM Newswire

Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus cars have been remarkably reliable this year. (Photo: AFP)

Raikkonen Can Win Title, Says Salo: Kimi Raikkonen can add a second title to his tally in 2012. That is the claim of the 2007 World Champion's countryman Mika Salo, who now commentates on Finnish television MTV3. In the fourth race of Raikkonen's return to F1 from rallying, the 32-year-old last weekend challenged Sebastian Vettel for victory in Bahrain, finishing second for Lotus. Five years after his title with Ferrari, he is 19 points from the head of the 2012 drivers' championship. "The most consistent team has been Lotus," former GP driver Salo said. "They've been fast at every circuit so far. In that sense, Kimi's situation looks very good. I would not exclude it at all that he will be fighting at the very end of the championship, if Lotus is able to maintain the pace of development." It is on Salo's final point that Lotus' 2012 season will really be made. "They (as Renault) also began the previous season just as well, but soon after they were nowhere," observed the Swiss commentator Marc Surer, speaking on Austrian television Servus TV. "So the real question is, 'Do they have the resources to develop the car and stay where they are now?'" Even if Lotus' challenge fades, the future for Raikkonen — who has surprised some experts with his re-adaptation to F1 after two years of rallying — is bright, Surer insisted. "I think he has shown everyone that he is still able to do just what he was doing before (leaving F1)," he said. "He is a lot younger than (Michael) Schumacher, and if you look at the past 10 years, he is probably one of the best talents that we have seen in F1." Surer said he could therefore imagine Raikkonen leaving Lotus and returning to a 'top' team, but he wouldn't know which one to recommend. "Everything is so balanced this year that it's impossible to pick a car that he could win the championship in."

Pirelli Job 'Not An Option' For Sutil: Becoming Pirelli's test driver was "not an option" for Adrian Sutil, the out-of-work F1 driver has admitted. "Right now I'm waiting," the former Force India driver told Eurosport Deutschland. German Sutil, 29, was an established F1 driver until 2011, when he became embroiled in a legal battle with Lotus team executive Eric Lux over an assault. He has been left without a seat for 2012, causing many to wonder why he — and not the less experienced Jaime Alguersuari — was not selected to test with F1's official tire supplier Pirelli. "A collaboration with Pirelli didn't work out, but I was never in contact with them directly," Sutil said. "It wasn't an option." He also didn't find a test or reserve seat with a team. "The fact that there is hardly any testing, of course, is not very helpful," Sutil insisted. He has been linked with struggling Felipe Massa's Ferrari seat. "I do have to hope," admitted Sutil, "that either some drivers don't do well, or a cockpit becomes available. That is my chance. That drivers are changed is just a part of Formula One. My plan is to wait and see if there is a possibility. If not, then of course you have to give serious thought about what to do in the future — in 2013."

Reports Question Bahrain Spectator Figures: A respected specialist publication has questioned the official spectator figures published by the organisers of Sunday's highly controversial Bahrain GP. The Sakhir circuit said 28,000 paid for tickets to the country's first Grand Prix since 2010. "It looked like fewer," said Reuters' Alan Baldwin. The facility's capacity is 46,000. In a summary piece by journalists Bianca Leppert and Michael Schmidt, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport claimed the grandstands were so empty on Sunday "each driver could have shaken the hand of every spectator in the grandstand half an hour before the race." Baldwin agreed: "When Formula One drivers performed their usual parade around the circuit on the back of a flatbed truck ahead of the Grand Prix, they waved at rows of empty seats."

Webber Helps Fans Get Live Coverage In Australia: Australian F1 fans are this week rejoicing in local hero Mark Webber even more than usual. Pressure applied by the Red Bull driver was reportedly instrumental in returning the sport to the live television airways in Australian capital cities. Fans were outraged with Australian broadcaster Ten's decision to take Formula One from its high definition channel One, which in turn meant viewers in Perth and Adelaide had no live coverage at all. Angry fans bombarded Ten's Facebook and Twitter pages with criticism abuse, and urged Webber to help their cause. Webber obliged. "Come on (Ten), I hear our great Australian motor sport fans are not happy with rescheduling of timings of the GPs," he wrote on Twitter. "Let's go live." Within an hour, Ten reinstated Perth and Adelaide's live broadcasts — and in full HD. "The next time Ten wants to tangle with its motor sport audience, perhaps they should ask Mark Webber first," read a report at The Australian newspaper.

Did Force India Sit Out Practice To Save Money?: Another theory about Force India's absence from a practice session in Bahrain last weekend has emerged. Word has it the Silverstone-based team sat out the second session on Friday because staff were spooked by a Molotov cocktail incident and didn't want to be returning to their hotels in darkness. Officially, Force India said the decision to skip a practice session was for "logistical reasons." "None of the other teams seem to have a problem," said Bernie Ecclestone last weekend. "Maybe (it's) nothing to do with being in this country, maybe it's something else." An event summary by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said: "There are rumors that Force India wanted to save its engines because they are short on cash." The team's Bahrain crisis was handled by deputy chief Bob Fernley, in the absence of owner and principal Vijay Mallya. Indeed, Indian Mallya does seem to have bigger problems, with the latest reports indicating he is considering selling 26 percent of his flagship spirits company in order to rescue his dying airline Kingfisher. A spokesman for JM Financial, representing Mallya, dismissed the suggestion as "factually incorrect and speculative."

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