With the New York City skyline as its backdrop, the Red Bull car of Sebastian Vettel sits on stage at an event earlier this year promoting the Grand Prix of America coming to Weehawken, N.J. (Photo: Grand Prix of America)

Red Bull Could Rescue GP Of America: Red Bull, the Austrian energy drink and championship-winning F1 team owner, could be the savior of the embattled GP Of America. Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly told a motor racing website that billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz should step in to fund the race, after organization and funding shortfalls forced the delay of the inaugural event, which had been scheduled for 2013. Christian Sylt, the F1 business journalist who recorded Ecclestone's Red Bull quote, said he thinks the sport's chief executive is serious. "In the absence of state support, I think the only way the Grand Prix of America can proceed is if a wealthy backer gets behind it. Red Bull certainly has the resources to do so and it clearly has an interest in promoting its brand in the area," Sylt told the New Jersey newspaper Star-Ledger. "It is also worth mentioning that Ecclestone told me that if a backer comes on board very soon there is a possibility that the race could take place next year."

Sauber Hoping To Keep Future Drivers On Board: Monisha Kaltenborn thinks that if Sauber can provide its drivers with a good car every season, the Swiss team can prevent them from jumping ship. After two years with Sauber, the Hinwil-based team has lost its impressive youngster Sergio Perez to McLaren, and is now expected to promote another Telmex-promoted young Mexican — Esteban Gutierrez — into the race cockpit for 2013. "We wanted Sergio to stay, but it was not possible," team boss Kaltenborn is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace. "However, if we can (always) have a competitive car like this season, we can prevent this situation from happening again in the future." Gutierrez's teammate in 2013 is expected to be German Nico Hulkenberg, who is moving from Force India to Sauber, but has also been linked this year with a switch to Ferrari. "We have a great history of bringing young talent into the sport and giving them all the support they need to develop, learn as quickly as possible and move forward," Kaltenborn continued. Sauber is currently sixth in the 2012 constructors' championship, between Mercedes (fifth) and Force India. "I think what we did this year is very important for the team's strategy for the coming years," Kaltenborn insisted.

Ferrari Updates 'No Great Revolution' - Gene: Ferrari has travelled to India with some improvements for its 2012 car, test driver Marc Gene has revealed. Despite admitting its wind tunnel has not always been up to scratch this year, the Italian team remains determined to fight back after Fernando Alonso lost his long-standing championship lead to Red Bull's on-form Sebastian Vettel two weeks ago in Korea. Spaniard Gene is quoted by the EFE news agency as admitting Ferrari has brought "a number of improvements" to India, the fourth-last stop on the 2012 calendar, but insisted it does not add up to a "great revolution. But we do hope they help," he said. "All the time there are less and less races, so we are doing everything to end the championship with even a single point more than second place," added Gene. Spain's Marca newspaper said the changes to the F2012 are in the area of the exhaust, the wings and the diffuser, amounting to "between 0.2 and 0.4 seconds" per lap. Chief designer Nicholas Tombazis confirmed Ferrari tried the improvements during a straightline track test last week, after finding that parts tested only in the wind tunnel ahead of recent Grands Prix brought "unpleasant surprises. We ran control tests on these updates to really understand what the problem was. We got some very interesting answers which we believe will allow us to recover from those problems," he said. F1 legend Niki Lauda, however, warned that it might already be too late for Ferrari, particularly as he has heard that Red Bull has also travelled to India with some car developments. "If that goes well (for Red Bull), then it becomes very difficult for Alonso," he told the broadcaster RTL.

Di Resta Hints At Force India Stay: Paul di Resta has all but confirmed suggestions he will stay at Force India in 2013. Earlier, the Scot was linked with the McLaren and Ferrari vacancies for next year, but those top teams have now pushed ahead with alternative plans. Di Resta, 26, hinted to Britain's Sky Sports that his ambition to switch to a top team has fallen short for now. "You always want to be linked with these seats and thankfully I was," he said. "The best thing to hope for is that I'll get a (top) seat one day." The Scot all but confirmed he is staying at Force India next year. "I've always said I want to be winning races and championships, but whoever I'll drive for I'll be 100 percent committed, driving the car as fast as I can and taking it to new levels," he said.

Red Bull Spent EUR 245M For 2011 Title - Report: Red Bull has the standout budget among F1's UK-based teams, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. Citing British companies data, the magazine said Red Bull Technology — the Red Bull Racing parent — had a budget of EUR 245 million in 2011 as Sebastian Vettel sped to his back-to-back drivers' World Championship. Auto Motor und Sport said Red Bull's budget last year was EUR 42 million higher than in 2010. Brackley-based Mercedes, meanwhile, reportedly spent just EUR 145 million in 2011 — a full EUR 100 million less than Red Bull. Lotus' 2011 budget was a reported EUR 155m, compared to Williams' 111m. McLaren's figures are pending. But the news about Red Bull coincides with a fresh wave of speculation in the paddock about the energy drink-owned team's defiance in the face of the teams-governed Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA). McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh, however, fell short of accusing Red Bull of cheating. "If they are ahead of us, it's because they've done the better job," he said.

Prodrive Interested In Buying Cosworth: Prodrive boss David Richards has admitted he is interested in buying F1 engine supplier Cosworth. It emerged last week that HRT and Marussia supplier Cosworth, currently owned by well-known US racing names Gerry Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, is for sale. And former BAR and Benetton boss Richards, the majority owner of Prodrive, told the Daily Mail: "We've just started to take a look at Cosworth although I think they have rather over-priced themselves as I understand they don't own the brand and they will be out of the Formula One business within 12 months. Nonetheless, worth a look," he added. Paddock rumors persist that Cosworth, having entered the aerospace and defense sectors after losing premier F1 customers Williams and Caterham, will bow out of F1 when the current V8 rules end next year. Cosworth declined to comment on the Daily Mail report.

Founder Of Ex-Sauber, Lauda Sponsor Jailed: Former Niki Lauda and Sauber sponsor Money Service Group's founder Michael Seidl has been sentenced to jail for nine years. Last week, F1 legend Lauda testified against Seidl in a Liechtenstein court, after he lost EUR 500,000 in an investment, and was underpaid to the tune of EUR 800,000 after Money Service Group sponsored his famous cap in 2011. Seidl was tried for commercial fraud, and according to the major Volksblatt daily he was sentenced unconditionally to nine years in jail. A court spokesman confirmed the verdict to the Austrian APA news agency, adding that Seidl has lodged an appeal. As did Lauda, the Swiss team Sauber terminated its sponsorship deal with Money Service Group mid last year.