Fernando Alonso is second in the World Championship. (Photo: Getty Images)

Massa's Old Diffuser Better Than Alonso's New In Austin: As was rumored before F1 arrived in Austin last week, the latest developments for Fernando Alonso's title-contending Ferrari did not work. New pieces, including a new diffuser, were tried in a straight line at the Idiada facility in Spain, prior to the US Grand Prix. It was rumored immediately afterward that the real-world data did not match up with what was produced in the wind tunnel. Still, the new diffuser was fitted to Spaniard Alonso's F2012 in Austin, before he was roundly out-performed by teammate Felipe Massa all weekend. "Yes, indeed, Felipe Massa had the old diffuser and it worked better," former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari told the Spanish sports daily AS. And Brazilian Massa confirmed to Marca newspaper: "Everything was the same except the diffuser. I had it available, but I decided I'd be better with the old one. That was the only difference." Alonso said, "it's not always the case that the latest part is the best choice."

Mercedes Takes Full Control Of F1 Team: Mercedes-Benz has taken back total control of its Formula One team by buying the 40 percent stake held by Aabar, the Abu Dhabi investment arm. We reported in April that Aabar, which was then already watering down its involvement with Mercedes' parent Daimler, was set to pull out of the Brackley-based Mercedes GP team. Now, financial media sources Bloomberg and Reuters report that Mercedes has indeed bought back Aabar's stake. Spokespeople for both Aabar and Mercedes confirmed the news, but would not comment on the value of the deal. Niki Lauda, Mercedes' new non-executive chairman, currently wears 'Aabar' branding on his famous red cap.

Alguersuari Says 2013 Plans Coming 'Very Soon': Jaime Alguersuari says his plans for the 2013 season will be announced "very soon." Recently, the former Toro Rosso racer and current Pirelli tester told his supporters that he was confident he would return to the grid next season. He told them the plans would be revealed "soon." A reader of Spain's sports daily AS asked Alguersuari, 22, if 'soon' had now come and gone. The reader told the music-loving driver that if he was in charge at McLaren, he would have signed him to replace Lewis Hamilton. "But apparently without billionaire sponsors, it's impossible," the reader said. Alguersuari responded: "Ha ha, thanks! I will reveal my plans for 2013 to all my fans very soon. Thank you for your support." Force India is tipped to announce the identity of Paul di Resta's new teammate for 2013 this weekend in Brazil.

Company Files $650M Lawsuit Against F1: A company has filed a $650 million lawsuit against Formula One. Bluewaters Communications Holdings claims it was the high bidder to buy the sport in 2005. It is claimed CVC, F1's current owner, was the lower but successful bidder because of F1 chief executive Ecclestone's alleged bribes to the now-jailed former banker Gerhard Gribkowsky. Gribkowsky, CVC and the German bank BayernLB were all named as defendants in the New York suit, the Financial Times, Bloomberg and cityam.com report. Bluewaters claims it offered in writing to pay 10 percent more than all other bidders, but gave "no commitment" to keep Ecclestone in the top job. But when asked on Monday why the bid failed, Ecclestone said: "No idea. They probably didn't give enough money."

Paddock Figures Back Ferrari's Gearbox Penalty 'Trick': Bob Fernley, the day-to-day team boss at Force India, has backed Ferrari's decision to deliberately penalize Felipe Massa in Austin. The Italian team was roundly criticized for tampering with Brazilian Massa's long-life gearbox for no other reason than to incur a five-place penalty that switched title-fighting teammate Fernando Alonso to the 'clean' side of the grid. Ferrari's immediate competitors, Red Bull and McLaren, said they wouldn't have made a similar decision. But Fernley told PA Sport it is nonsense to write of Ferrari's tactic as unsporting. "At the end of the day the regulations are what they are, Ferrari took them to the limit, and that's what we do in Formula One," he said. "I would absolutely have done the same. We're not here to try to make friends, we're here to win." Many commentators in the media also slammed Ferrari's tactic, but former driver Marc Surer said the Maranello team did the right thing. "If you look at the (race) start, it was absolutely right," he told German television Sky. The Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport added: "With a world title at stake, everyone would have done Ferrari's trick."

Even Schumacher's Parade-Lap Road Car Didn't Work: Michael Schumacher's US Grand Prix race day got off to a bad start long before his Mercedes was fired up. In fact, the wheels weren't turning at all when his 23 colleagues began the pre-race drivers' parade in the back seats of vintage American road cars. SID news agency said the fact the car bearing the 43-year-old's famous name broke down before the lap even began was "emblematic of his bad luck this season." Ahead of his penultimate race in F1, seven-time World Champion Schumacher instead had to complete the lap sitting alongside Kimi Raikkonen. "I can't find any words other than ironic ones for the race today," the famous German said after finishing the race a woeful 16th.