Latest F1 news in brief

Michael Schumacher

Lauda, Verstappen, say Vettel should be Webber's no.2
F1 braces for another wet weekend in Brazil
Schumacher accepts 'Man of the Year' award in Berlin
Williams F1 to supply transmission systems HRT
Fernandes to miss Brazil

Lauda, Verstappen, say Vettel should be Webber's no.2
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel needs to accept the reality of a number 2 role for the good of Red Bull's 2010 title chances.

That is the claim of former triple world champion and outspoken commentator Niki Lauda, following reports the young German is reluctant to give up the chase for his first title in deference to the team's points leader Mark Webber.

The news also follows boss Christian Horner's insistence that the team will "support both (drivers) equally" in Brazil and Abu Dhabi "in line with Red Bull's credible sporting ethos".

But with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso leading the championship and fully backed by his teammate Felipe Massa, Lauda said Red Bull's policy is a road to failure.

"Red Bull needs to establish the team hierarchy now," the great Austrian is quoted by Bild newspaper.

"If they don't get behind Mark Webber, they may have to go without the title."

Lauda's only concern is that the exercising of team orders within Red Bull is done in a way that does not "cheat the spectators".

Jos Verstappen, who in the mid-90s at Benetton was Michael Schumacher's number 2, agrees that Vettel should be playing that role now.

"Purely mathematically, he has a chance to be champion. But as a team they really have to put everything behind Webber.

"He (Webber) has a better chance of winning the title," the Dutchman wrote in his column for De Telegraaf newspaper.

"Of course it's a difficult position for Red Bull, as the whole world knows who they would prefer to be in the best position.

"It's unfortunate for Vettel, but with his engine failure in Korea his championship did literally go up in smoke," added Verstappen.

But Horner sounds unlikely to have a change of heart, telling the BBC he finds it "frustrating" that 7 points of leader Alonso's 11 point lead was due to inheriting the German grand prix win from his teammate Massa.

"It (losing the title to Alonso) would be frustrating because we've obviously worked under the auspices that team orders have been illegal," he told BBC radio.

F1 braces for another wet weekend in Brazil
(GMM) A third grand prix on the trot looks set to be disrupted by rain.

Bad weather affected the consecutive Japanese and Korean events recently, and rain is already disturbing the teams as they set up early this week at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil.

F1's first sign of rain came at the weekend, when a golf tournament contested by Rubens Barrichello in Sao Carlos – a city of the Sao Paulo state – was cut short due to heavy rain.

And as the big teams including Ferrari set up at Interlagos on Monday, workers took cover inside the pit garages when a rain storm struck.

For the weekend, the initial forecasts predict possible showers across Friday and Saturday, with a reduced chance of rain for Sunday.

Last year's Brazilian grand prix, held in mid October, was badly affected by rain, with delays protracting qualifying to an excruciating 160 minutes.

"There's always a chance of rain," said local Barrichello this week.

Schumacher accepts 'Man of the Year' award in Berlin
(GMM) Michael Schumacher has accepted a German 'Man of the Year' award in Berlin.

Organized by GQ magazine, the seven time world champion won the 'Manner des Jahres' plaudit in the sporting category, according to German media reports.

Photographs show the 41-year-old attending the black-tie event with his wife Corinna.

Schumacher, who returned to formula one this year after a three-year retirement, accepted the trophy from his former Ferrari boss Jean Todt, who is now the president of the sport's governing FIA.

Williams F1 to supply transmission systems to Hispania Racing F1 Team
Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Williams F1, who will supply the Spanish team with its proprietary gearbox technology.
The arrangement will commence to support Hispania Racing’s 2011 program and will extend for the lifecycle of the current Cosworth engine technology.

Colin Kolles , Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team Principal:
“This technical partnership is a significant step forward for Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team to improve its performance, and we are very happy to do this together with an engineering company and race-team like Williams F1, which has an impressive track-record and astonishing heritage."

Alex Burns, Williams F1’s CEO:
“This is a logical partnership given Williams and Hispania’s mutual relationship with Cosworth. Our gearbox technology has consistently proven itself as both competitive and reliable, and hence this agreement will be a positive development for both organizations."

Fernandes to miss Brazil
Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes has revealed that he won’t make the trip to Interlagos for this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix. Instead he will be cheering his team on from afar and after leaving Korea on an ‘absolute high’, he will want to again see them head the newcomers.

“Unfortunately I will not be in Brazil, but I will be watching every second of the race weekend from home," Fernandes confirmed.

“With Abu Dhabi straight afterwards, and a long journey between the two, it will be a hard couple of weeks for everyone in the team, but they are all determined to keep up their concentration levels and work rate to make sure we finish the season on a high.

“Throughout the year I have seen what a talented, dedicated team we have in Lotus Racing, and that gives me the confidence to know we are in the best possible position to achieve our goals in 2010, and give us the platform to take a step up next year and in the seasons beyond."

Lotus Racing Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne meanwhile added that he wants to see the team maintain its current momentum.

“Korea was another good result for us and now we are looking to take that performance through to Brazil," Gascoyne noted. "We have two races left this year, and while it will be a pretty tough two weeks for the whole team, it is the same for everyone in the pitlane and we have the experience and the determination to make sure we are in the right position to capitalize on whatever opportunities arise on track.

"It has been very satisfying this season to see that we have taken full advantage of all the races where there have been a high number of incidents, like Japan and Korea, and that is down to good people working effectively