For now, Stefano Domenicali doesn't expect any key players to be let go at Ferrari. (Photo: Getty Images)

Schumacher Happy Criticism Started Tire 'Discussion': Michael Schumacher has denied his widely-reported comments about Pirelli's 2012 tires were simply about venting "frustration." "What frustration?" the seven-time World Champion was quoted as having told German media in Barcelona. Not once but at least twice since the Bahrain GP three weeks ago, the Mercedes driver has suggested F1 and Pirelli have not got the balance right with the heavily-degrading tires seen so far this season. Schumacher insists his intention was to start a conversation. "I am quite happy that we have initiated a discussion about how much influence one or another part should have in Formula One," he told reporters. Fernando Alonso agreed, pointing the finger at the media for "exaggerating" Schumacher's view. "I read what he said and I don't see any big problem with that," said the Ferrari driver. Schumacher also sounded happy that his position triggered a meeting with Pirelli officials at the Mugello test last week. "We had a good meeting," revealed the German, "to talk about this subject, so I just hope we continue to go in the right direction."

Tense Drivers' Meeting Planned For Spain: A tension has crept into F1 drivers' relationships, as they looked ahead to a fiery meeting scheduled at the Barcelona circuit on Friday. Fernando Alonso had given the first hints about the tension when he hit out at Nico Rosberg's aggressive tactics in Bahrain three weeks ago. And earlier this week, the Spaniard insisted there is not enough "respect" between the drivers when they are jostling for position at Grands Prix. "Fernando made it pretty clear," World Champion Sebastian Vettel told reporters on Thursday. "He said 'you have to leave the space — all the time you have to leave the space!'" Rosberg said he is happy if discussions about his driving take place this weekend, but also in the firing line is Lewis Hamilton, who passed the Mercedes driver on the asphalt run-off in Bahrain. "I was surprised Lewis was allowed to keep his position," said Mark Webber. "I'm sure we'll talk about it in the drivers' briefing." McLaren's Hamilton insisted he did nothing wrong, but he added: "I'm not really bothered. It's good to have clarity. Mark is probably one of the most — if not the most — outspoken individuals here (in F1), so that is the least I expect from him." Also among the most aggressive — and regularly criticized — drivers is Michael Schumacher, and he insisted that the FIA is fully able to make judgements about incidents. "If it's not within the rules the FIA would have taken action," said the seven-time World Champion, referring to the incidents in Bahrain. "They didn't and I didn't see anything wrong either."

Di Resta Plays Down Ferrari Rumors: Paul di Resta has played down media speculation linking him with a high-profile switch to Ferrari. The reports suggested the famous Italian marque has been impressed with the Scot's one and a half seasons with Force India and sees him as a potential replacement for the struggling Felipe Massa. "I have not heard anything about it," the 26-year-old, who is managed by Anthony Hamilton, said in Barcelona. "I am just concentrating on the job I have to do for Force India. That is my only focus," he is quoted by the Scottish Sun newspaper. However, di Resta is widely regarded as having outshone his highly-rated teammate Nico Hulkenberg so far in 2012. But he denies he is the number one driver. "(There is) equal opportunity and everybody seizing his chances," di Resta told F1's official website. As for his dominant position over Hulkenberg, he insisted: "That would be for Nico to answer." Hulkenberg said on Thursday: "The first four races have been quite tough but I'm looking forward — I'm bedding in well with the team."

Karthikeyan Admits Frustration With HRT Situation: Narain Karthikeyan has played down reports he could lose his seat at HRT because of a lack of sponsorship. An Indian newspaper this week said the 35-year-old is a million euros short of guaranteeing his place at the struggling Spanish team through November's Brazil finale. "Right now, everything is as it should be," he is quoted by France's autohebdo.fr. "Early in the season, (team boss) Luis (Perez Sala) said that if I was not close enough to my teammate, there is a chance I will not finish the season. That was put into my contract, but for now I respect all the conditions. There is no reason that I will not be driving (the rest of) this season." He admits, however, to some frustration about HRT's continuing rear-of-the-field position. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting the start of 2012 to be on the same lines as last year," the Indian driver told the Hindustan Times newspaper. "Yes, I expected teething problems but not to this extent." He also admits he expected the team to test at Mugello last week. "Personally speaking, I would've preferred some seat time at Mugello since I didn't get any preseason testing compared to my teammate who did the Jerez test with the old car," said Karthikeyan. "I was originally told that we would do the Mugello test but we decided to focus on putting the car together instead."

F1 Must Resolve Mercedes Dispute For Floatation: F1 needs to resolve its dispute with Mercedes before the sport's multi-billion dollar floatation plans can go ahead. That is the warning of the German team's chief executive Nick Fry, as Mercedes refuses to sign up to the new Concorde Agreement because rival top teams Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have been offered better deals. Fry is quoted by The Times newspaper as admitting that the progress of talks with Bernie Ecclestone are "not as strong as I would like." But he warned: "If CVC wish to float F1, I think they need this resolved fairly quickly — possibly more than we need it resolved." At the same time, he played down speculation Mercedes is on the verge of quitting F1. "The mindset is absolutely in capital letters: Mercedes-Benz wishes to be in F1," Fry insisted. "I would add that F1 also needs Mercedes-Benz. I am completely convinced in my mind that if CVC wish to sell some or all of F1, the value they can derive from that would be severely diminished if Mercedes was not a participant." But a senior executive of Mercedes denied the spat is about money. "It is about fairness," the unnamed official told The Times' Kevin Eason. "We are facing a situation in which three teams will between them decide some of the biggest issues in Formula One. That cannot be right."

Sebastian Vettel drives during practice at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last June. (Photo: Getty Images/AFP)

No Rolling Heads As Ferrari Tackles New Crisis: Stefano Domenicali has ruled out responding to Ferrari's latest crisis with the old 'rolling heads' technique. One perception in the paddock is that the fabled Italian team, under intense pressure from the Tifosi and president Luca di Montezemolo, often reacts by emotionally shedding staff, with Aldo Costa and Chris Dyer the obvious recent examples. So, having installed new faces including Pat Fry but still struggling with the latest F2012 project, will boss Domenicali set heads rolling again? "Firing people is the work of two minutes," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Bild, "but this would not solve our problem. Instead I need to find new people who can improve the organization and push the engineers to improve the car." In the meantime, there is no silver bullet. "I am not happy with the F2012 project," he acknowledged. "But if you want to see the glass half full rather than half empty, then Fernando (Alonso) has done a great damage control and, with an improved car, he at least has the possibility to continue to fight for the championship. We have to improve," Domenicali insisted. "I have asked my people to wake up and respond, and I will no longer hear excuses."

2012 Caterham 'Too Slow' - Kovalainen: Heikki Kovalainen has admitted some disappointment about Caterham's progress in 2012. In its third season of F1, and despite being clearly more impressive than its direct rivals Marussia and HRT, the Tony Fernandes-led team intended to take a step forward this year. Caterham took some upgrades to the Mugello test last week, but according to Finnish sources Turun Sanomat and MTV3, not all of them worked. "The car has a pretty good balance, but the lap times are not good enough," Finnish driver Kovalainen is quoted as saying. "It's good to drive but it's just too slow. We did not get all the updates to work as we had hoped, so in Spain we have only some things that are new." The team is yet to score a point.

Ferrari Not Close To Giving Up On 2012 - Alonso: Fernando Alonso has denied Ferrari is on the verge of giving up on the 2012 championship. The Maranello-based team has brought significant updates to its so far disappointing F2012 car for this weekend's Spanish GP. Imagining the single seater doesn't make a major step forward in Barcelona, Alonso was asked whether Ferrari might start turning its focus to an all-new project for 2013. "We'll see, we'll see after the race, because we don't know what car we have (yet)," the Spaniard told reporters on Thursday. "I answer you on Sunday." Alonso said more updates for the F2012 are also scheduled for the forthcoming Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix. But what if the Barcelona changes leave Ferrari with a midfield car? Would the time be right to get an early jump on the 2013 project? "I don't think so," answered Alonso. "If the step is not good enough ... we need to work harder, for Monaco and for Canada, and bring more new parts in a more aggressive approach. The championship is long and we will never give up in May."

Brawn's Barcelona Absence Triggers Rumors: A lack of official information has triggered speculation about Ross Brawn's health. And another rumor is that his absence in Barcelona could be connected with Mercedes' billion-dollar dispute with Bernie Ecclestone over the next Concorde Agreement. The German squad announced on Thursday that Bob Bell is leading the team in Barcelona because regular boss Brawn is back in Britain on doctor's orders. Bild newspaper said the 57-year-old was given the advice in hospital earlier this week, following a dizzy spell at his home in England. "It's more than the flu," chief executive Nick Fry is quoted as saying, "but I can assure you that it's nothing life threatening." Indeed, a spokeswoman told us on Thursday that Brawn will be back to work at Monaco in a fortnight. For Spain, Brawn will watch the action on television. "We will still keep in touch," Michael Schumacher revealed. "Ross cannot be replaced. That's simply impossible."

Volkswagen Plays Down F1 Rumors: Volkswagen, the German carmaking giant, has played down suggestions it could launch a F1 project some time soon. "There are always rumors about Volkswagen and Formula One," said Jost Capito, who has taken over from Kris Nissen as the head of the Wolfsburg-based company's motor racing boss. However, he is quoted by Germany's Sport1 as insisting that VW is only concentrating on its world rally program. "The WRC program is approved from 2013 to 2015," Capito insisted. "There is no room to think about anything else. It (F1) is not on our radar," he is also quoted as saying by France's L'Equipe. "Our hands are full already." In the wake of BMW, Honda and Toyota's departures, the only mass production carmakers in F1 are Renault — as an engine supplier — and Mercedes. Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus and Caterham produce niche sports cars.

Senna Name Scooping Up Sponsors In Brazil - Di Grassi: Lucas di Grassi mentioned a very famous name when asked about his struggle to return to F1. Just one season into his career, the Brazilian lost his Virgin seat, but he remains one of the sport's most highly respected test drivers, and was hard at work for tire supplier Pirelli earlier this week at Jerez. "I talked to some teams about competing in 2012, but they were all asking for contributions from sponsors," di Grassi revealed, according to Brazil's Globo. "It's very hard to compete against the name Senna for sponsors in Brazil," he added, referring to Bruno Senna's lucrative deals that secured him the race seat at Williams this season. Di Grassi, and Jaime Alguersuari, will return to the wheel of Pirelli's 2010 Renault test car later this year at Spa, Monza and Barcelona.