Latest F1 news in brief – Tuesday

Horner admits Vettel engine situation 'not ideal'
(GMM) Christian Horner hopes Sebastian Vettel's engine situation does not further dent his championship chances.

The Red Bull driver retired from the lead of the Korean grand prix last Sunday with a sudden and catastrophic failure of his Renault engine.

The 2.4 liter V8 unit that failed was the eighth he has used in races so far in 2010, but it had successfully completed 1600km of its projected life of 2000km.

But the other engines still available to the German are also quite high on mileage, which explains why Vettel did relatively few laps in practice last weekend.

"It's obviously not an ideal situation," team boss Horner said when asked about Vettel's engine situation going forward.

"Hopefully it will have a negligible effect on him," he added.

Sergio Perez

Perez denies Telmex looking to buy Sauber
(GMM) Sergio Perez has denied his major sponsor Telmex is positioning to buy control of the Sauber team.

The Mexican telcom will have significant signage on next year's C30, and its figurehead Carlos Slim – the richest man in the world – has been seen at several grands prix recently.

But boss Peter Sauber earlier this month denied he is considering selling the Hinwil based team, and Slim said the deal is a "commercial alliance" rather than a precursor to a greater involvement.

But when told that the rumors about Telmex buying Sauber still exist, rookie driver Perez said: "No, that's not true.

"Telmex is entering as a sponsor and nothing more," he is quoted by the AS newspaper.

The rumors are retaining their strength because Perez will be joined at the team by another Mexican, the test driver Esteban Gutierrez.

"Esteban and I are here because Sauber decided to sign us," Perez, 20, insisted.

He also backed Fernando Alonso to win the 2010 world championship.

"He doesn't have as good a car as the Red Bull drivers, but he is the best driver," said Perez.

Alonso in same league as Senna, Schumacher – Berger
(GMM) Fernando Alonso is in the same league as two of F1's greatest recent champions, according to Gerhard Berger.

"There are sometimes those special drivers: Ayrton Senna was one, Michael Schumacher was one, and Alonso is one," said the Austrian and former grand prix winner.

Berger is uniquely placed to compare Ferrari's Spanish driver with those greats — he was one of Senna's closest friends, having raced alongside the late Brazilian at McLaren in the 90s.

And he was a contemporary of Schumacher's during the seven time world champion's first F1 career, moving away from Ferrari to make room for the German, and then replacing him for the 1996 season at Benetton.

"They are drivers who can win world championships without having the absolute best car," Berger told Austrian television Servus TV.

Bottas accepts Williams' Abu Dhabi test axe
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas has refused to criticize the Williams team for not scheduling a test day for him in November.

The 20-year-old Finn has been a frontrunner in the F3 Euroseries in 2010, whilst serving as the famous British team Williams' test and reserve driver.

He said earlier in 2010 that he has done some aerodynamic straight-line testing in the FW32 this year "and after the season (I will do) the young drivers test in Abu Dhabi".

But whilst confirming that Bottas is staying as test driver next year, Williams announced this week that it will be F2 champion Dean Stoneman and Pastor Maldonado at the wheel of the car for November's Abu Dhabi test.

But Bottas is not critical of the team, despite missing out on the test opportunity.

"They need to test someone else," he is quoted by Turun Sanomat newspaper. "It doesn't change anything for me.

"I respect their decisions and I'm working as usual to support the team," added Bottas, who is managed by Mika Hakkinen.

Bottas will still be in Abu Dhabi, having scheduled a test with the GP2 team ART.

Raikkonen close to staying in rally with Citroen – boss
(GMM) Kimi Raikkonen is reportedly close to deciding to stay in the world rally championship with Red Bull and Citroen next year.

After F1's world champion of 2007 quelled speculation he is looking to return to formula one next year with Renault, Citroen's competition boss has now revealed that talks between Raikkonen and his sponsor Red Bull are well advanced.

"I know the negotiations are progressing well for Kimi to stay in the Citroen junior team," Olivier Quesnel reportedly told Autosprint magazine in Italy.

"I don't know when something will be officially announced," he acknowledged.

It had been rumored that energy drink Red Bull's enthusiasm for the Citroen junior team project had waned.

More rumors had linked Raikkonen, 31, with a move to Ford, with funding from the Monster energy drink.

Alguersuari admits to eyeing Webber's seat for 2012
(GMM) Jaime Alguersuari has admitted to coveting the Red Bull seat currently occupied by Mark Webber.

Australian Webber has re-signed with the energy drink company's main F1 team for 2011 but is "in the autumn of his career", according to boss Christian Horner.

It means a vacancy alongside Sebastian Vettel might open up for 2012.

"I will not deny that it is very appealing," said Alguersuari, the Red Bull-backed Spaniard who currently drives for the company's second team Toro Rosso.

"There is no doubt that it is the place I want to be," he added, referring to Red Bull Racing.

"For me, Red Bull and Toro Rosso are the same family, and they've supported me since I was 15, and trusted me for their formula one program when I had no experience.