Fernando Alonso is believed to have tremendous clout at Ferrari. (Photo: Getty Images)

Alonso In Charge At Ferrari - Hamilton: Fernando Alonso is among the best in F1 but his situation at Ferrari is unique. That is the view of Lewis Hamilton, who clashed memorably with Alonso as they were teammates at McLaren in 2007 as the pair reportedly tussled for elusive No. 1 status. Alonso decided to leave the British team and is now at Ferrari, where he has just signed a new five-year extension to his existing contract. Asked by Spain's El Pais newspaper who he regards as the best in F1, Briton Hamilton answered: "We all believe we are the best and that's what you have to do, unless you like to finish second. "(The best) are Alonso, Vettel and Rosberg, who I've known since I was 13. He (Rosberg) is about to burst through and he will at any time. Sebastian is in a great period with Red Bull and has a lot of confidence. Fernando is very talented and is fully supported by his team," continued Hamilton. "The whole (Ferrari) team supports and follows him. It is he who leads Ferrari. I'm not saying it's good or bad, it's just the route they have chosen."

FIA To Listen To Teams About Bahrain - Official: A key FIA official has admitted the opinions of the F1 teams will be considered when the fate of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix is discussed this week. It is during Barcelona's World Motor Sport Council meeting on Friday that the FIA body will either rubber-stamp a new date for the postponed event or cancel it completely for this year. Martial law in the troubled island Kingdom expires on Wednesday, but the teams are expressing concerns about the fact a 2011 race rescheduling would push out their calendars to an unprecedentedly late December finale. Some team bosses have made their feelings clear, including Mercedes principal Ross Brawn who said a December finale is "totally unacceptable." "On Friday, we will need to determine whether teams are against (Bahrain), who is against it, why they are against it — we have some very strong decisions to make," FIA vice president and United Arab Emirates automobile federation president Mohammed ben Sulayem told The National.

Rumors Swirl About Kubica, Heidfeld, Grosjean: Amid suggestions Renault is disappointed with Nick Heidfeld's recent form, the name Roman Grosjean has returned to the F1 rumor mill. The Swiss-born Frenchman had a poor start to his F1 career amid the 'crashgate' scandal with Renault in 2009, but is once again associated with the team under the management of Eric Boullier. Grosjean, 25, is currently leading the GP2 championship and was mentioned by Italy's Autosprint in an article about Robert Kubica and Heidfeld. The report said the spat between Renault co-owner Gerard Lopez and Kubica's manager Daniele Morelli indicates not all is well in that relationship behind the scenes. "One senses that the cooperation between driver and team is compromised," said the sport. At the same time, Boullier is reportedly not happy with the performance so far of Kubica's 2011 stand-in, German Heidfeld. All those are good signs for Grosjean's F1 return. "It's my condition, my target," he told motorsport-magazin.com. Asked if it will happen with Renault, the Frenchman answered: "That's too hard to say. Renault is well implanted in F1, and that's good to be with them."

Report - Virgin In Talks With McLaren/Mercedes: Virgin is in talks with McLaren and Mercedes about a technical collaboration for 2012. That is the claim of the Italiaracing magazine, saying the situation could be similar to Force India's current McLaren/Mercedes alliance. The report said struggling Virgin's package would include the engine, transmission, KERS and rear suspension. It is the latest rumor suggesting the team is seeking a change of direction after two years with Nick Wirth leading the technical strategy. It would also be a big blow to Virgin's current engine supplier Cosworth, who it is rumored could also lose Williams to Renault power. "The reality is, competition on the track technically is always matched by competition off the track commercially," said the British supplier's Mark Gallagher. "We are well used to that at Cosworth and we believe we have an extremely good product and we don't really fear competition from anyone."

Sebastian Vettel holds a comfortable lead in the F1 driver standings. (Photo: Getty Images)

Meteoric Vettel Racing To Title - Wurz: Sebastian Vettel's dominance this year is not comparable to 2009. That is the view of Jenson Button, who won the championship two years ago after a start to the season similarly as meteoric as Vettel's this year. But Briton Button, now with McLaren, claims the situation at Brawn GP in 2009 was vastly different to Vettel's at Red Bull. "We had no money," he is quoted as saying by f1today.nl. "We had a good car at the start of the season but could not develop it. Red Bull can keep it up." According to laola1.at, Vettel's start to 2011 is not just as meteoric as Button in 2009, but also Jim Clark in 1965, Jackie Stewart in 1969, Nigel Mansell in 1992 and Michael Schumacher in '94, 02 and '04. On every occasion, the driver went on to be champion. "He is in great form in a great car and a team behind him so that only abnormal things can stop him now," former driver Alex Wurz told Kleine Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday. "The title for him is at hand."

Report - John Iley Set For Ferrari Return?: Ferrari could be looking to reunite with a recently departed team member. Amid the Italian team's poor 2009 season, head of aerodynamics John Iley left Ferrari and switched to McLaren last year. Ferrari is now in the midst of a new restructuring, parting with technical director Aldo Costa who is expected to be replaced in that role by current chassis boss Pat Fry. But the Maranello-based team has acknowledged its shortcomings in the area of aerodynamics, and according to Autosprint wants Nikolas Tombazis to concentrate fully on the car design rather than head the aero department as at present. The report mentioned Iley in connection with his old aerodynamics job at Ferrari. It is also rumored that a member of Force India's aerodynamics department has signed to join Ferrari.