According to his father Anthony Hamilton, Lewis Hamilton would welcome Kimi Raikkonen as his new McLaren teammate. (Photo: LAT Photographic) » More Photos

Hamilton Sr. Eyes Raikkonen For McLaren Seat: Lewis Hamilton would welcome Kimi Raikkonen as his new McLaren teammate, the British driver's father and manager Anthony Hamilton has confirmed. 2008 world champion Hamilton has until now stated his desire to keep Heikki Kovalainen alongside him, raising suggestions he does not want to be challenged by the occupant of the sister car. "First, I want to say that neither Lewis nor myself have any influence on the decision," Hamilton Sr. told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. "But if I was deciding between Kimi and Heikki, I would go for Kimi," he added, "even if I have nothing against Heikki. We've always liked him; he's a great teammate and does his job well. "Kimi is a cool guy," Anthony Hamilton added. "I think he is the prime candidate and the best driver to be at Lewis' side in this team; they would push each other on."

Red Bull Ready To Announce 2010 Engine: Amid rumors of a continuing deal with Renault, Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner says a decision about the team's 2010 engine supplier is now ready to be made. Mercedes-Benz's exclusive F1 partner McLaren vetoed Red Bull's preferred deal, leaving the Milton Keynes-based team weighing up either staying with Renault or switching to Cosworth. "We believe we have all the facts in front of us now and we will be looking to make a decision pretty much imminently," said Horner.

Ecclestone Wants 20 Races On Calendars: Bernie Ecclestone has braced the Formula One world for an even longer race calendar in future. There were 17 Grands Prix this year, and with the addition of Korea next year and the return of Canada, the schedule is set to expand to 19. But with the likes of India pushing for a 2011 race, F1 chief executive Ecclestone is eyeing an ideal schedule of 20 races. "Yes, I always said that it (20 races) is possible and obviously now there are more and more people falling for that idea," he said in an interview with his sport's official website. The Briton said longer calendars are possible now that the amount of testing has been dramatically reduced.
"Nobody needs testing," he said. "It was always, in my opinion, that testing costs money while racing brings money."