Latest F1 news in brief

Maria de Villota

Kubica says 'we'll see' amid comeback speculation
F1 cheaper than cricket for Indian sponsor
Paffett 'not bitter' about di Resta's F1 success
De Villota in talks for F1 test seat
Raikkonen tips friend Vettel to keep title lead
BBC 'held the cards' in split Sky deal – Ecclestone
Ecclestone: It’s very important to be in India New

Kubica says 'we'll see' amid comeback speculation
(GMM) Robert Kubica has answered "we'll see" amid expectations he might be fit enough to return to formula one in the coming months.

It emerged this week that the injured Renault driver's recovery from his horror February rally crash will speed up after another elbow operation this month.

There have been varying reports that estimated a return to the grid could take place as soon as November's Interlagos finale, while Italy's Autosprint said it is "unlikely" the 26-year-old will be ready for the start of next season.

"I always enjoy setting a goal, when circumstances allow," the Pole is quoted as saying. "We'll see how my rehabilitation goes over the next few months.

"I'm satisfied with what's been happening until now, there are no complications. There is no hurry. What is important is that Renault is keeping my place."

Renault doctor Riccardo Ceccarelli is quoted by the Sapa-AFP news agency as saying the forthcoming surgery is to improve the mobility of Kubica's right elbow.

"With his elbow blocked, we haven't had the chance to work on a full recovery program as we would do normally," he said.

F1 cheaper than cricket for Indian sponsor
(GMM) The value of Indian telcom Airtel's three-year naming rights deal for the Indian grand prix is $8.5 million, according to the Times of India.

"The deal is … worth much less than Indian corporates pay for a slice of the cricket pie," said the report.

Earlier this month, Airtel pulled its reported $40 million title sponsorship of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday he is hopeful F1's new Indian date can ultimately rival the country's love of cricket.

"It will take efforts to generate interest. We will never catch cricket, but we can get close to it, perhaps with some extra effort," said the F1 chief executive.

"India is a major part of the world and we wanted a race here."

Airtel official Sanjay Kapoor would not confirm the brand switched from cricket to F1 because it is cheaper, but Ecclestone sounded very happy with his latest sponsor.

Although reports said the Airtel deal is for three years, the 80-year-old smiled when he said he has been "sloppy" in leaving the contract wide open.

Ecclestone told reporters he would like the deal to continue "forever, until we stop".

Paffett 'not bitter' about di Resta's F1 success
(GMM) Gary Paffett insists he is not "bitter" despite sitting on the sidelines while his 2010 rival is now hot property in formula one.

The Briton, under long term contract to Mercedes in the German touring car series DTM, is also a test and reserve driver at top F1 team McLaren.

Last year in DTM, 30-year-old Paffett finished second to Paul di Resta, the rookie Scot who now drives for Force India and is tipped as a future driver for Mercedes' works team.

"I find it hard to say that formula one is only the secondary thing for me, but it is a fact that I'm there, I'm a part of a big team and my job is to help them to win races," he told Germany's spox.com.

Paffett insists he has not given up on his F1 dream.

"No, definitely not," he said. "The longer I'm there, the more experienced I am.

"I don't see why a 30-year-old is no longer suitable for a regular seat in formula one. That's still my goal and if an offer comes, I will definitely think seriously about it."

At the same time, he insists he has been happy to see di Resta impress in 2011.

"I'm happy for him because he's a good friend. If I was bitter about some of the opportunities my rivals have had that I have not then I would not survive.

"Motor sport is a difficult business that is not just about how fast you can drive."

Maria de Villota testing Renault F1 car

De Villota in talks for F1 test seat
(GMM) Maria de Villota's management is in talks to secure the 31-year-old a test driver seat in formula one.

The Renault team on Thursday confirmed reports the daughter of former Spanish F1 driver Emilio de Villota recently made her F1 test debut in a 2009 car at Paul Ricard.

Spain's AS newspaper said it was the "beginning of a journey that could take Maria to the grands prix".

"The ultimate goal is to reach the grid and it's a shorter term project than you might think," added the report.

De Villota is quoted as saying: "I've always wanted to reach formula one and after this test I know more clearly than ever that I can do it, I can drive a F1 car.

"Physically and as a driver I'm at my best, so I have to use it. We are working on it already. It will not be overnight, but we have to do it soon," she added.

Renault said di Villota completed 300 kilometers at a "very reasonable pace", with team boss Eric Boullier adding that she did not "put a foot wrong all day".

Raikkonen tips friend Vettel to keep title lead
(GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has tipped his friend Sebastian Vettel to pip F1's class of 2011 to become world champion for the second time.

In 2007, former Ferrari driver Raikkonen came from a long way behind to beat the feuding McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to the championship at the final race of the season.

Now as a F1 spectator and world rally driver, the Finn was asked by Turun Sanomat newspaper about German Vettel's 85 point lead with just 8 races to go.

"Quite often the situation levels off by the end if someone has pulled out early in the season," Raikkonen said.

"(But) Vettel probably doesn't even have to win any more races in order to stay in front until the end."

Raikkonen, meanwhile, will turn 32 in October but he is not yet making any plans for 2012 — nor ruling out a shock return to formula one.

"I don't know," he answered after a series of probing questions.

"Even if you ask the same thing a hundred different ways, the answer stays the same. If I don't know then nobody else does either."

Raikkonen, like his contemporary Jacques Villeneuve, admitted to being not so keen on the 2011 formula, including the DRS overtaking rear wing system.

"It doesn't have anything to do with real overtaking," he insisted. "All you do is move close and push a button and the guy in front can't do anything about it.

"I guess they are trying to push it in the right direction, maybe it's good for the TV, but for the drivers it's not so good."

BBC 'held the cards' in split Sky deal – Ecclestone
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone claims the BBC's ongoing contract meant he could not keep formula one on free-to-air television in Britain.

The BBC has a lucrative deal to televise F1 through 2014 but, amid the need to cut costs, the public broadcaster has delegated half of next year's live coverage to the pay channel Sky.

The move has enraged many British fans, particularly amid reports Channel 4 and ITV were open to negotiating to broadcast formula one live.

"They (BBC) got to grips with Sky themselves," F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the Mirror.

"I spoke with ITV too, and came up with the same problem as Channel 4 had. We had a contract with the BBC which didn't run out until 2014."

Asked if the BBC "held all the cards" when it came to selecting a co-broadcaster, Ecclestone insisted: "Yes, absolutely.

"If they (Channel 4) had said they wanted to sign a contract today to start broadcasting for 45 million pounds a year, then we would have probably done it.

"But that's the problem. We couldn't deal with them, even if they had wanted to."

Ecclestone denied that the loss of full free-to-air coverage for F1 in the crucial British market will affect the popularity of the sport.

"In the short-term, I think that collectively taking in the amount of broadcasting that's going to be scheduled between the two of them next year, there will be more eyeballs watching than we have now.

"That's good for us, good for the teams and good for the fans," he said.

Ecclestone: It’s very important to be in India
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has hailed the circuit for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in October as “one of the nicest" on the calendar and predicted the series to take a serious hold in the world’s second-most populous country.

Announcing telecom giant Bharti Airtel as title sponsor of the Oct. 30 race at the Buddh International Circuit on the outskirts of New Delhi, the 80-year-old entrepreneur fully expects the F1 bug to bite the cricket-crazy nation.

“Formula One is obviously new to India and it would take at least 2-3 years… we will never catch cricket, I’m quite sure about that, but we got to try our best to do that. I’m sure eventually we will get very close," the Briton told reporters on Thursday.

“I have no doubt in my mind that the circuit is going to be one of the nicest we have and that it’s going to be complete on time," Ecclestone said at a city hotel after a ceremony to unveil the race logo.

“We are checking everything all the time, on a daily basis. We are very, very happy that everything is on time. There are no problems."

His words will sound like music to the ears of a country which saw the hosting of the 2010 Commonwealth Games reduced to a $6 billion public relations disaster.

Ecclestone said Formula One could not afford to ignore India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

“We got to remember that India is one of the top-five most important countries in the world today," he added.

“So for us, it’s extremely important to be in India as much as any other country in the world. So when I came here first, I was a bit surprised having not been in India before."

The Formula One chief did not disclose the value of the deal with the Indian telecom company and said the race would be called the Airtel Indian Grand Prix “forever, until we stop"