Paul di Resta's future with Force India is unclear for 2013 and beyond. (Photo: Getty Images)

Bianchi Set To Secure Force India Seat?: Jules Bianchi has leapt into pole position to join Paul di Resta at Force India next year. Earlier, it was expected the Silverstone-based team's former race driver Adrian Sutil was the favorite to replace the Sauber-bound Nico Hulkenberg in 2013. But Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper said the new favorite is 2012 Force India reserve Bianchi, a 23-year-old rookie who is backed by Ferrari and managed by Felipe Massa's manager, Nicolas Todt, the son of FIA president Jean. "The announcement is expected before Christmas," said correspondent Heikki Kulta. Kulta added that Force India's reportedly likely switch from Mercedes to Ferrari engine power for the 2014 V6 regulations was "a decisive factor" in Bianchi's favor.

Nurburgring, Hockenheim In Running For 2013 Race: Germany's recent F1 hosts, the Nurburgring and Hockenheim, are still both in the running to stage next year's July race. As per the venues' alternating agreement, the financially-embattled Nurburgring was originally scheduled to organize the 2013 event. But Malu Dreyer, the incoming minister-president for the ruling government of the Rhineland-Palatinate state, said the Nurburgring is still in the running. "I hope so," she told the DPA news agency. "For me, there is only one question: how do we ensure the future of this racing circuit? In any case, I believe the government has an obligation of support." But Hockenheim, despite having staged the German Grand Prix in 2012, has also been mentioned as the possible 2013 host. "We would be willing to have the Formula One race next year," a circuit spokesman is quoted by Speed Week, "but we have not yet heard about it."

Sauber Declares 2012 Car 'Ready' To Test: Sauber is the first team to announce publicly that its 2013 car is "ready" to test. The Swiss team said the C32 "chassis and safety structures have passed" the mandatory FIA crash tests. The Ferrari-powered car is therefore "fully homologated and ready for winter testing," which will kick off at Jerez in early February. The German-language Speed Week reports that almost every other team should also be ready for the first four-day session in southern Spain, even though Red Bull's Christian Horner is quoted as saying: "It will be pretty darn close. You know Adrian Newey," he joked. Speed Week also said a slight question mark hangs above Caterham's plans, who are aiming for a Jerez debut but actually might only begin running with the 2013 car in Barcelona two weeks later. "The same goes for Williams," the report claimed.

Schumacher Could Race Again 'In Two Years' - Todt: Jean Todt says he could imagine Michael Schumacher making a return to professional racing in "maybe two years." But the FIA president, who was the team boss at Ferrari throughout the great German's reign of ultra-success — and is still a close friend — thinks 43-year-old Schumacher's days in Formula One are now definitely over. But "Who knows," Frenchman Todt said, "maybe he will decide to come back to race in a couple of years. His decision (to retire) relates only to Formula One. He could decide to race in other categories," he added, according to reports in the Italian media.