Vitaly Petrov, who finished second in last year's GP2 championship, is offering EUR15 million to a Formula One employer for 2010. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Massa Nearly 2.5s Quicker Than Rossi In Spain: Felipe Massa has put a dampener on reports that Valentino Rossi would be ready to make an immediate switch to Formula One. The reigning and multiple MotoGP champion tested for two days in a 2008 Ferrari last week in Barcelona, setting a best time quicker even than the fastest lap of the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix. But team regular and 2008 title contender Massa, 28, put the performance into context a day later when he took a turn at the wheel of the car fitted with GP2 slicks. It is rumored the Brazilian's best lap was a 1.19.5, which is nearly 2.5 seconds quicker than Rossi's 1.21.9.

McLaren Launch To Be Held At Title Sponsor HQ: McLaren's 2010 car will be launched at title sponsor Vodafone's UK headquarters this Friday. The British team announced last week that the MP4-25, to be raced this year by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, would be unveiled publicly on the morning of 29 January. The location of the event was not previously known, but on Friday it emerged that it will take place at Vodafone's Newbury headquarters, about 50km from London. 3,000 employers work at telecommunications giant Vodafone's 100m pounds sterling base, which was opened in 2002 and is located in the county of Berkshire. It is a state of the art campus of seven three-floor buildings.

Two Teens Get Boost On Road To F1: Two promising teenagers have stepped up a gear in their drive to reach Formula One. Brazilian Felipe Nasr, 17, has been signed by Robertson Management, the company operated by father and son Dave and Steve Robertson who moved eventual champions Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen onto the grid. Nasr, the new European Formula BMW champion, will also drive for the Raikkonen-Robertson team in British F3 this year. "We've always been very particular regarding the drivers we get involved with," said Steve Robertson, referring to the fact that Nasr is only the third driver to be managed by his outfit. "I see a lot of the qualities (in Nasr) that I saw in Kimi. We don't just want a driver who's going to get to F1 -- that's not good enough for us. We want a driver who's got the potential to be world champion," he added. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony will manage 14-year-old Dutch karter Nyck de Vries, after signing on to McLaren's driver development program.

Petrov Offering Millions For 2010 Debut: Vitaly Petrov is offering EUR15 million to a Formula One employer for 2010. The 25-year-old Russian, who finished second in last year's GP2 championship behind Nico Hulkenberg, has been linked with moves to Renault or Campos. Germany's Bild newspaper said his sponsorship purse adds up to an incredible 15m, which equates to nearly EUR800, 000 per Grand Prix this season. Bild said Petrov's main backers are the Moscow-based bank Sberbank, and Russia's biggest company Gazprom. Michael Schumacher and Hulkenberg's manager Willi Weber said pay-drivers are nothing new in F1. "Only six or seven top drivers earn real money, the rest bring it to their teams. And whoever starts doing it, needs to keep doing it for his entire career, unless he is an exceptional talent," he said. Schumacher, for example, paid Eddie Jordan about $200,000 for his Grand Prix debut at Spa in 1991.