Latest F1 news in brief

Dr. Helmut Marko

Jealousy fuels Red Bull controversies – Marko
Domenicali hints Ferrari seeking 'number 2' driver
'Double DRS' to be banned for 2013 – reports
De Villota walks into Spanish eye clinic
Sell-out crowd guaranteed for Belgian GP
Hamilton now a major title contender
Williams F1 car on display in London
Lawsuit filed over property near Austin F1 racetrack site

Jealousy fuels Red Bull controversies – Marko
(GMM) The paddock noise about Red Bull 'cheating' is fuelled by jealousy, the team's Dr Helmut Marko has claimed.

So far in 2012, the reigning champions have been at the centre of most of F1's technical controversies, including holes in the floor, wheel hubs, engine mapping and ride height adjusters.

In a headline-writer's dream, team boss Christian Horner let his temper slip this week when German reports quoted him as denouncing the sagas as "bulls**t".

And Austrian Marko, who is team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's right hand man, denied in an interview with the German broadcaster RTL that Red Bull is overly "aggressive" when it comes to interpreting the rules.

"We are just more creative," he said.

"We live within the regulations, but of course we also see how we can make them work best for us."

Marko said "other teams" are simply not as good as Red Bull on that front.

"When they see us do something, they either copy it or they try to have it forbidden," he said.

"The jealousy and envy that we see in the paddock is because we have won for the past two years, and because we are not a traditional racing team.

"I think this has fed this resentment and these attempts to disturb us in some way," he added.

Domenicali hints Ferrari seeking 'number 2' driver
(GMM) Stefano Domenicali has warned that Ferrari is only on the market for a number two driver.

With the 2013 option on Felipe Massa's contract running out last week, a large number of drivers have been linked to his seat for next season.

Reportedly the latest on the list is the team's 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

"Kimi was a world champion with us and I have seen the gossip — but nothing more than that," team boss Stefano Domenicali is quoted by the Sun newspaper.

Quotes attributed to Domenicali by the German broadcaster Sky, however, appear to play down the likelihood that Fernando Alonso will be paired with an equal next year.

"It has always been Ferrari's philosophy," the Italian explained, "to have a great champion and then a very good driver who is close to him."

In effect, he is referring to the paddock perception of Ferrari's 'number 1 and number 2' approach to its driver lineups.

So does that mean drivers like Raikkonen, or McLaren's Jenson Button – both world champions – are actually unlikely teammates for Alonso in 2013?

"I think these drivers have contracts with other teams," Domenicali answered. "And we are not in a rush."

Number 2 or not, however, money could be a factor.

Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio thinks Lotus' Raikkonen could double his estimated EUR 5 million in 2012 retainer by taking Massa's Ferrari seat.

And according to Raymond Blancafort, writing in El Mundo Deportivo, the transaction would also work out for Ferrari, because a Raikkonen-like haul of points for Massa would see the Italian team in front in the lucrative constructors' championships.

With Ferrari currently ranked just fourth due to Massa's meager tally of 25 points, the situation stands to cost Ferrari many tens of millions when the sport's 2012 income is divvied up.

"The Brazilian at the moment is very expensive to Ferrari," Blancafort said.

Domenicali is keen to play down the speculation for now.

"We are aligned with Felipe and we want to protect him. It is important for this championship," he said.

'Double DRS' to be banned for 2013 – reports
(GMM) The technical concept known in the paddock this year as 'double DRS' looks set to be banned for 2013.

Mercedes debuted the controversial straight-line speed-boosting concept earlier this year, moving Lotus to lodge an official protest.

But instead of taking the FIA's decision to allow Mercedes to keep the system to the international court of appeal, Lotus emerged with a new interpretation of 'double DRS' during practice at Hockenheim recently.

The team practiced with the system on Kimi Raikkonen's car again at the Hungaroring, technical boss James Allison saying the tests helped "bring it a step closer to deployment in a race sometime in the future".

Speculation suggests Lotus will indeed debut it at the forthcoming Belgian grand prix, with Spa-Francorchamps undoubtedly Raikkonen's favorite track, and the system said to provide a good advantage on the long straights.

"Spa has always agreed with Kimi," former Finnish driver Mika Salo told the broadcaster MTV3, "and if the updates improve what is already the best car, he will be looking very good if he is able to start from the first two rows."

Media headlines at Marca (Spain), Turun Sanomat (Finland), Globo Esporte (Brazil) and elsewhere, however, say the entire 'double DRS' concept looks set to be banned for 2013.

De Villota walks into Spanish eye clinic
(GMM) A Spanish publication has spotted a walking and apparently well Maria de Villota entering an outpatient clinic in Spain this week.

After 17 days in a UK hospital, and several more days in hospital in her native Madrid, the 32-year-old finally went home last week.

La Nueva Espana now reports that, almost a full month since her horror Duxford testing crash, de Villota was seen visiting the Instituto Oftalmologico Fernandez-Vega – an eye specialist clinic – in Oviedo, Spain.

The report said she arrived in a black Mercedes with members of her family, with her hair shaved after several recent operations.

La Nueva Espana said wounds were clearly visible, as was a blue eye patch.

The report said video and photographs of de Villota leaving the car and entering the clinic were taken, but they are not being published "at the request of the family".

Sell-out crowd guaranteed for Belgian GP
The Belgian Grand Prix has already sold all of its tickets ahead of the 2012 race, despite there being over a month still to go until the meeting takes place. The event is one of few this year to lower all of its Formula 1 ticket prices.

Spa-Francorchamps has made headlines in recent seasons for more reasons than one, but has often been associated with financial struggles and for not selling all tickets. The track is frequently labeled the finest F1 circuit in the world. Popular viewing points include the Gold and Silver stands which line Eau Rouge.

General Admission entrances do remain, at discounted rates, and are available through official ticket partner Sportstadium.com.

Hamilton now a major title contender
Lewis Hamilton is now in a far better frame of mind for winning the world title this year. That is the opinion of Formula 1 driver turned television commentator Martin Brundle, who believes his compatriot is now the ‘happiest’ he has been for some time.

Hamilton’s victory in Budapest marked his second of the season and was a major boost for the McLaren driver, who heads into the summer break fourth in the standings.

Hamilton celebrates victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix “Lewis Hamilton was the happiest and most open that I've seen him for ages," Brundle, who was dropped by Jordan after 1996, wrote on the Sky Sports website.

“He's become a Twitterholic, he left the circuit embracing his dad and he was much more approachable and not charging around the place head down, under a cap, and behind dark glasses.

“He answered media questions with polite charm and engagement. From Friday morning until the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon he looked like the man most able and determined to win the race, in and out of the car.

"He's put himself back in the title hunt and a happy Lewis in that upgraded McLaren can clearly be a major force every race now."

Championship leader Fernando Alonso carries an advantage of 40 points over Mark Webber, but continues to view Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel as his main rivals.

Williams F1 car on display in London
As the London 2012 Olympic Games continue, a Williams Formula 1 car is on display to the general public. It can be found in the Design Museum as part of the Designed to Win exhibition. A hybrid flywheel is also available for viewing.

The museum, situated near Tower Bridge on the River Thames, started running the exhibition last Thursday. It will continue until Sunday 18 November.

“It was a real honor when the Design Museum approached us about including some of our technology in their exhibition," says Williams CEO Alex Burns.

“We constantly push the technological boundaries in a bid to gain a competitive edge and I am looking forward to sharing these two innovations with the public."

Lawsuit filed over property near Austin F1 racetrack site
An Austin investor has filed a lawsuit accusing his former financial advisor of malfeasance involving a 78-acre tract of land near the Formula One racetrack site in southeastern Travis County

Hillary Ryan accused his former advisor, G.H. “Kam" Kronenberg, of steering him away from purchasing the tract, which turned out to be adjacent to the Circuit of the Americas racetrack site, according to the suit filed in state district court in Travis Country.

The lawsuit alleges that instead of Ryan purchasing the property, “Kronenberg and his business partners eventually purchased the property through Land Accelerator, LLC, thereby enriching themselves, at Ryan’s expense, in an amount believed to be in excess of $20 million."

Kronenberg could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Ryan’s attorney Gene Egdorf of the Lanier Law Firm said that Kronenberg intentionally steered his client away from buying the site in 2010.

“(Kronenberg) absolutely told him, ‘This track’s never going happen, this property’s not worth buying, don’t do it," Egdorf said.

The lawsuit says the property is “adjacent to, and fronting the Formula One race facility in southeast Travis County."

The under-construction Circuit of the Americas racetrack in southeastern Travis County is expected host its first Formula One race in November. The Statesman