Mercedes results too up and down says Ross Brawn

Mercedes must achieve more consistent results, boss Ross Brawn has demanded ahead of the German Grand Prix.

He is unhappy at their inability to finish higher up the field in 2012, despite having a more competitive car than in the two previous seasons.
"Our performance has been up and down recently, ranging from podiums to lower points finishes," said Brawn.

"We need to work hard to improve our level of consistency and ability to challenge at the front."

Last time out Mercedes finished seventh with Michael Schumacher and 15th with Nico Rosberg in the British Grand Prix, helping confirm former Ferrari team principal Brawn's concerns about consistency - Schumacher had finished on the podium in third two weeks' previously in Valencia.

This season Brackley-based McLaren have, at times, been able to keep pace with front runners Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, and they were dominant in China as Nico Rosberg
secured his first career victory.

But their F1 W03 car appears to be more sensitive than its competitors to the differences found among the circuits in the Formula 1 calendar.

"The Hockenheim layout [the venue for the German Grand Prix on 22 July] should be more suited to the F1 W03 than the high-speed Silverstone layout," Brawn added.
"We are bringing some further improvements to the car which should help our performance."

Mercedes, whose factory is based near Hockenheim, will want to put on a good show for the German public, especially the talismanic Schumacher, who has born the brunt of the team's reliability problems this season.

Source : BBC

Spain's Fernando Alonso wins British GP for Ferrari

Spain's Fernando Alonso won the British Grand Prix on Sunday for Ferrari's first victory of the season on the 60th anniversary of their first success in Formula One.

The win, gifted to him by Red Bull after world champion Sebastian Vettel was slowed by a wheelnut problem at his second pitstop, was the 27th of Alonso's career and lifted him level with the great Jackie Stewart in fifth position in the all-time lists.

Australian Mark Webber, who had started on pole position, finished third for Red Bull after trying to pass his team mate on the penultimate lap and then being told to maintain his position.

"I had two laps today with that (1951) car before the parade," said Alonso of Argentine Jose Froilan Gonzalez's historic Ferrari.

"Now 60 years later in the same circuit, with the same atmosphere and the same passion, winning again. I'm very proud...it made a special day."

Vettel had hoped to chalk up a seventh win in nine races but still extended his overall lead over Webber, last year's winner at Silverstone who has yet to lead a lap this season, to 80 points from a previous 77.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton entertained the fans by roaring from 10th on the grid to fourth, banging bodywork in a furious battle with Ferrari's Felipe Massa -- who was forced wide -- at the final corner.

Alonso took the lead on the 28th of the 52 laps when he pitted right behind Vettel, who had grabbed the lead off the grid. As the German's crew battled with the wheelgun, the Spaniard slipped past and was gone.

"It's hard to say how much we lost but surely we lost the lead. I think we had quite a cushion at that stage," said Vettel, who has still dropped only 21 points out of a possible 225, of the pitstop drama.

"I think you have to accept fair and square that Ferrari beat us today...I think it shows us that we have to keep working and pushing very hard."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recognised afterwards that "obviously Mark disagreed" with the order not to pass Vettel.

McLaren's Jenson Button's home-race jinx continued with the 31-year-old's hopes also wrecked by a wheelgun when he was waved away before the right front nut had been secured 12 laps from the end.

With the wheel wobbling wildly, he parked up at the pit lane exit and walked back to the garages without speaking to reporters.

The Briton has never yet stood on the F1 podium at Silverstone in 12 attempts.

Sanya Richards-Ross setting sights high for Birmingham

World 400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross is looking to use her appearance at the Birmingham Grand Prix to prepare for her World title defence in August.

The 26-year-old American lost the whole of the 2010 season to injury after taking gold in Berlin the year before.

After appearing in Birmingham on 10 July, she will travel to South Korea for the World Championships in August.

Sanya Richards-Ross setting sights high for Birmingham

World 400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross is looking to use her appearance at the Birmingham Grand Prix to prepare for her World title defence in August.

The 26-year-old American lost the whole of the 2010 season to injury after taking gold in Berlin the year before.

After appearing in Birmingham on 10 July, she will travel to South Korea for the World Championships in August.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone declares Sebastian Vett

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has declared Sebastian Vettel as the best driver in the sport.

Ecclestone heaped praise on the 24-year-old, who just won the Valencia Grand Prix and compared him with F1 legend Michael Schumacher, The Mirror reports.

"Sebastian is in a position similar to Michael (Schumacher). He is the best right now. Each race weekend starts with a big question - who will be able to beat Vettel," Ecclestone was quoted as saying.
Ecclestone's remarks have come as blow to Vettel's archrival, Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton has already seen the Red Bull racer steal his records as youngest pole sitter, youngest winner and youngest champion. And at the last race in Valencia he scored his 16th victory to move ahead of the McLaren ace on that score as well.

Schumacher hasn't ruled out a Formula One comeback:

German driver Michael Schumacher said he has fully healed from a neck injury and indicated he has not ruled out a return to Formula One next season.

Schumacher, 40, made the comments in Brazil, where he won a two-session charity karting race hosted by former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa.

When asked whether he would be back in F1 in 2010, Schumacher replied: "Who knows?"

Schumacher, a seven-time Formula One champion, said he has recovered from the neck injury that kept him from attempting a temporary comeback with Ferrari earlier this year.

Aston Martin to enter Formula One?

FIA's cost-cutting measures for Formula One, to be put into effect from 2010, are becoming an attractive proposition for many prospective entrants. The latest party to have expressed keen interest is David Richards, chairman of motorsport and engineering specialist Prodrive, which manages all Aston Martin's motorsport activities, such as its Le Mans 24 Hours programme.

Richards, who was the team principal of Benetton and BAR Honda F1, remarked that the initial signs coming out from the FIA were encouraging. "They hold the promise to return Formula One to its fundamental ethos, where success comes to those with the most ingenious engineering and best organisation not simply those with the biggest budget," Richards said. He added that the team was very serious about entering Formula One in 2010 provided it was commercially viable. FIA had recently proposed a drastic cost cuts from next year keeping the budget cap to 30 million pounds.

The Prodrive boss, who is also chairman of Aston Martin, had almost entered a team in Formula One in 2008 and is now waiting for the finalisation of the rules for 2010. "Assuming the new rules are commercially viable and there is the potential to be fully competitive, then we are ready to press the go button. We are assisted in this by the extensive preparation work we undertook in 2007 in developing our previous Prodrive Formula One project," he said.

Ironically, what has provided Richards the boost to enter Formula One has been the pullout of Subaru from theWorld Rally Championship. The Subaru rally team was run by Prodrive. "We would be able to house a new style F1 team (to the cost capped regulations) utilising the space vacated by the rally programme," he said.

When asked whether his team would be named Aston Martin, Richards replied saying that it was yet to be decided.

When asked as to how teams would operate under a 30m pounds budget cap, Richards said that it would be like turning the clock back . "The team will have its engineering divison focused on the chassis side while the engine and gearbox would be sourced from outside suppliers," he said.

McLaren & Ferrari in united front

Former bitter rivals McLaren and Ferrari are now "working extremely closely together" as teams seek to show Formula One's rulers a united front.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis confirmed their growing off-track ties on Thursday and said the result has proved "profound".

Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni also spent the day at McLaren's Woking factory meeting Dennis and other staff.

"If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing this I would not have believed you," he said.

Reigning constructors champions Ferrari and McLaren have a chequered recent history.

The English team was fined a record $100m (£70m) in 2007 and stripped of all their constructors' points for their involvement in a spying controversy over leaked Ferrari technical data in their possession.

Ferrari also started legal action against their rivals, with Dennis and other executives questioned by Italian police, though the action was later dropped after a McLaren apology.

But the team's top personnel, and the wider climate in which they operate, has since changed significantly.

With the urgent need for cost cutting becoming apparent, the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) was set up in July to represent teams in talks with with the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) and commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Jean Todt also handed over as Ferrari boss to Stefano Domenicali while Dennis is due to step down as McLaren principal on 1 March to make way for Martin Whitmarsh.

Fota are headed by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who has criticised Ecclestone's running of the sport.

With FIA president Max Mosley stressing that he is keen to see a significant shake-up in the sport towards cheaper operating costs and, potentially, more standardised engines, Fota is determined to provide a strong voice for the interests of all F1 teams.

While Fota have agreed significant savings with the FIA for this season and beyond, they want to secure a greater share of the sport's commercial revenues than the 50% they currently receive.

Montezemolo recently described Dennis as "a first-class person from a first-class team" and said the sport needed great competition on the track and great unity off it.

And Dennis, who has said he will soon devote more of his time to Fota activities, told the official F1 website: "The result of our co-operation, supported by all the other teams, has already been profound.

"Fota has already achieved great things, and it will achieve even greater things in the weeks, months and years to come.

"We're not complacent; we're not reluctant to embrace radical change; we're not hidebound by on-track rivalries.

"Working together for the good of the future of F1, we'll continue to devise powerful strategies and innovations intended to improve our sport so as to make it more affordable, more environmentally friendly and more appealing to spectators and TV viewers."

Ferrari first to launch 2009 car

Ferrari will be the first team to launch its car for the 2009 season.

The constructors' champion will unveil its latest F1 challenger at its Italian HQ at Maranello on 12 January.

Felipe Massa, who lost the 2008 crown to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by a single point, will get behind the wheel on the Fiorano track later that day.

McLaren unveil their car on 16 January, a day after Toyota launch their new model, with Renault, Williams and BMW Sauber unveiling the following week.

Red Bull announced on Monday that their car will be launched much later than many other leading teams, on 9 February.

All cars must comply to new 2009 regulations which include aerodynamic modifications where the front wing will be lowered and widened and the rear wing become taller and narrower.

Slick, untreaded, tyres will also be reintroduced and teams have the option of employing a kinetic energy recovery system (Kers) to boost their car's performance.

When Ferrari present their 2009 car in Maranello next week it will not meet race specifications for the opening Grand Prix in Australia on 29 March.

The Italian marque will test the car over the next couple of months and further improvements will be made in time for the Melbourne race.

Ecclestone says Ferrari get special treatment

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at criticism from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo by detailing how much more money the Italian team receive from the sport than their rivals.

"Ferrari get so much more money than everyone else," the 78-year-old billionaire told Saturday's edition of the Times.

"They know exactly what they get, they are not that stupid, although they are not that bright, either. They get about $80 million (53 million pounds) more," he added.

"When they win the constructors' championship, which they did this year, they got $80 million more than if McLaren had won it."

Ferrari are the sport's most glamorous and successful team, the only ones still in Formula One who were also present at the outset of the world championship in 1950.

It has never been a secret that the Maranello team receive a greater share of the sport's revenues in recognition of their special importance but a figure has not previously been revealed.

Ecclestone's remarks followed comments by Di Montezemolo in which the Italian said Formula One was not run in a normal, transparent manner, did not need a dictator and that teams should get a greater share of the revenues.

"The only thing he has not mentioned is the extra money Ferrari get above all the other teams and all the extra things Ferrari have had for years -- the "general help' they are considered to have had in Formula One," said Ecclestone.

Ecclestone added that Ferrari benefited from agreeing a new deal with him after breaking ranks with the other manufacturers in 2003 when they were threatening a breakaway series.

Nascar’s Sponsors, Hit by Sticker Shock

AT the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last July, the parking lot was filled with excited Nascar fans chugging beer, roasting pigs and exchanging drivers’ statistics.

But in an office inside the racetrack, the scene was far from celebratory. Executives of the Big Three Detroit automakers told Brian France, the Nascar chief executive and chairman, that they planned to cut their investments in the sport sharply in the 2009 racing season.

Since then, Chevrolet has said it is cutting back on advertising and sponsorship deals with 12 tracks. Ford is trimming Nascar spending by 20 percent, and Chrysler by 30 percent.

The economic crisis is hitting industries around the globe, and the pain is beginning to filter down into professional sports. Many sports may face smaller crowds and shrinking player salaries, with, of course, exceptions for stars like the Yankees pitcher C. C. Sabathia.

General Motors said in September that it wouldn’t buy any advertising time for the Super Bowl in February; earlier this year, it withdrew Cadillac’s sponsorship of the Masters golf tournament. It has also terminated its $7 million-a-year endorsement deal with Tiger Woods.

The National Basketball Association and the National Football League recently announced staff layoffs, and the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants and Jets of the N.F.L. are still trying to find companies willing to pay to put their names on stadiums under construction. Honda said recently that it was dropping out of Formula One and selling its team.

“The economic crisis is going to hit all sports. Every team should operate under the worst-case-scenario assumption,” says Michael E. Rapkoch, founder of Sports Value Consulting, based in Dallas. “Many sponsors’ contracts that are up for renewal this year or next probably won’t be renewed. For the long-term contracts, I won’t be surprised if they try to get out of them through bankruptcy or some other way.”

Nascar, which relies on corporate sponsorships more than other sports, is particularly vulnerable. In the 2008 racing season, 400 companies put up more than $1.5 billion to sponsor races, cars and drivers. About a third of that was provided by auto companies, which are now struggling with the economic downturn, if not possible bankruptcy.

Automakers aren’t the only ones pulling out. Longtime sponsors — including Kodak, Texaco and Domino’s Pizza — are abandoning Nascar. Even Craftsman, the Sears brand that has been the title sponsor of the truck series since it started in 1995, is cutting its ties.

And this summer, Chip Ganassi Racing shut down the team of Dario Franchitti, the 2007 winner of the Indianapolis 500, after being unable to find a sponsor for his car following his switch to Nascar.

“Many of the major sponsors pulling back have been involved in our sport for decades,” Mr. France says. “They’re making cuts, and we’re affected.”


It’s a big comedown for Nascar, which has had sizzling growth over the past decade. A multibillion-dollar TV deal in 2001 helped propel it from a regional sport that drew most of its revenue from sales of tickets and merchandise into a popular franchise with a national following.

Its top-level Sprint Cup series of 36 races draws an average of 7.8 million television viewers a race, making Nascar the second-most-watched sport, behind professional football. It can attract crowds — more than 200,000 for the Daytona 500 and Talladega — that exceed those for a Super Bowl, a World Series game and an N.B.A. finals game combined. Over all, Nascar sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in the United States and abroad.

This year, revenue was approximately $3 billion, a 50 percent increase from 2001. That’s better than the N.F.L., the N.B.A. and the National Hockey League in the same period. Only Major League Baseball grew faster. “If you go back to 1998, there is no question Nascar has shown the biggest growth,” says David Broughton, research director of SportsBusiness Journal.

But the sport will not see those kinds of impressive numbers next season.

TV viewership has slipped in the past year or so, and so has attendance. The truck series’ official sponsor is now Camping World, the largest retailer of recreational vehicle equipment. Nascar gave the retailer a substantial discount: Camping World will pay approximately $2 million a year, half of what Craftsman is estimated to have paid. While it is gaining as well as losing sponsors, Nascar expects its take from title sponsorships to drop 20 percent next year, to about $150 million.

“We told them what we could afford,” says Marcus Lemonis, chief executive of Camping World. “They were very sensitive to us and offered an appropriate price for the market conditions.”

This kind of cost-cutting has forced the three separate entities of the sport — teams, racetracks and the privately held Nascar company — to lay off about 600 employees. Storied teams with revered family names like Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Petty Enterprises have no choice but to merge with other teams. Some teams unable to land a season’s worth of sponsors, like Doug Yates and the Wood Brothers, can afford to participate in only a handful of races.

The boom years made drivers a little spoiled, with many flying in private planes and riding in luxury motor coaches, says the longtime racer Jeff Burton. But, he added, “this is our wake-up call.”

Hamilton says that he will never quit McLaren

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has said that he will never leave McLaren.

Ron Dennis, the British team’s boss, has had a long-standing relationship with Hamilton, who last month became the youngest champion in Formula One history.

“I was born and grew up at McLaren. It is my home. Yes, I confirm I will never change team. I have a lot of respect for Ron and what he has done for me,” the Sun quoted Hamilton, as saying.

BMW’s Kubica shocked by Honda’s sudden exit

BMW driver Robert Kubica has termed Honda’s decision to pull out of Formula One as a big shock. “Honda was giving an impression of being a stable team with a very good budget,” Kubica told DNA.

The 23-year-old Pole termed the development as unpredictable. “No one was expecting it. One could expect some smaller teams to have problems. But, certainly not Honda,” he said.

Though these are difficult times for Formula One, Kubica said he was focused on the next year especially since the cars would be undergoing massive changes due to new technical regulations. When asked about his opinion of the 2009 car, Kubica said that slick tyres, Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) and reduction of aerodynamics won’t change the global picture of Formula One. “However, it is going to be a big challenge for designers and engineers to build new cars without compromising their performance.”

On whether drivers would find it difficult to adapt to these changes, Kubica said the new power regeneration unit KERS which will give an additional power boost to the car, was not affecting driving. “I think slick tyres are the best for racing. Driving with grooved tyres was really strange,” he said.

Kubica, who had tested the 2009 regulations car in Barcelona ten days ago, admitted that the 40 per cent reduction in aerodynamics aid would make the car slower compared to this year. “I am expecting the lap times to reduce by 2.5 seconds.

However, it will be the same for everyone on the grid.” He, however, said that slick tyres would slightly compensate the loss of grip due to lower downforce. When asked about Bernie Ecclestone’s proposal to introduce a medal system in Formula One, Kubica said it doesn’t make any difference to him. “I always give my maximum in every race. Whether medal or points, it will not change my approach even a bit,” he remarked.

When asked about his expectations from the next year, Kubica, who was leading the 2008 championship after seven races, said that it was too early to make any judgement. “With cars undergoing design and equipment makeover, it is difficult to say what would happen the next year. Our team is working very hard to bring out the best car. I hope to repeat the results of 2008, especially those during the first half of the season.”

Source : http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1212236

Latvala closes in on GB rally win

Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala opened up a 7.3 second lead over world champion Sebastien Loeb on Saturday to close in on victory in the Wales Rally GB.

Latvala defied icy weather to keep his lead, which he gained on Friday in his Ford Focus.

However, the precarious conditions may make life difficult for him on Sunday when he will be first on the course.

Loeb's Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo is in third, while Subaru's Petter Solberg is in fourth.

Latvala lost control while braking on ice and hit a roadside barrier on the fifth stage on Saturday, but his car bounced back onto the road and he continued.

Loeb, who already has the drivers' championship sewn up, thinks Latvala will take some beating in the final rally of the 2008 season.

"It's not the perfect place - I'm too far behind I think," said France's five-time world champion.

"Jari was really fast. I had a good drive but maybe I was a bit too cautious on the ice."

Honda drops Formula One, blames auto industry slowdown

Even as U.S. automobile industry leaders were going hat in hand to Congress, Japan's second-largest automobile manufacturer rocked the motor sports world by dropping its decades-long association with Formula One racing.

Japanese media reported that Honda had been spending about $500 million annually on its Formula One program.

Takeo Fukui, president and chief executive of Honda Motor Co. Ltd., on Friday blamed the "quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry, brought on by the subprime problem in the United States, the deepening credit crisis and the sudden contraction of the world economies."

Honda's abrupt abandonment of Formula One has sports marketing industry observers wondering what's next in a motor sports arena where even NASCAR is being pummeled by the global financial crisis that has caused automobile and truck sales to plummet.

"I think it spells big trouble," said William Chipps, senior editor of the Chicago-based IEG Sponsorship Report newsletter. "Auto companies are the lifeblood of motor sports, and their financial troubles will have a profound impact on nearly every motor sports property, both in the U.S. and internationally."

"Honda pulling out of Formula One could portend larger problems at NASCAR as the Big Three put more focus on surviving and less on marketing," Chipps said.

The abrupt departure prompted the Paris-based Federation Internationale de l'Automobile -- the motor sports world's governing body -- to reiterate its concern that "the cost of competing in the World Championship is unsustainable.... In the FIA's view, the global economic downturn has only exacerbated an already critical situation."

The 2009 Formula One season opens March 29 with the Australian Grand Prix. If the Honda racing squad can't find new investors, the circuit would have just eight teams remaining in competition. Teams such as Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes spend $200 million annually on their technologically advanced race cars.

American Honda Motor Co. in Torrance on Friday said in a statement that the Formula One decision should have no impact on its U.S.-based motor sports operations, including the racing operations at its Honda Performance Development subsidiary in Santa Clarita, which has 125 employees:

It is unfortunate that current global economic challenges have necessitated the cessation of Honda’s participation in Formula One racing. However, Honda’s U.S.-based motor sports activities are expected to continue in 2009.

Racing has played an essential role in Honda’s history as a company, and the competition that racing provides has always been a cornerstone of Honda’s corporate values. We race to learn, and we race to win. We plan to continue both of those traditions in 2009 and beyond.

Honda plans to sell its Brackley, England-based Honda Racing F1 Team.

Nick Fry, president of the Honda Racing F1 Team, said in a statement that "we do understand that this decision was one which they felt they had to take in light of the global economic situation." Fry said that the team, which has been preparing a new car for the 2009 season, has a "steely determination" to race "if a new owner can be found."

Honda has had a long but bumpy relationship with Formula One racing. Company founder Soichiro Honda created the first team in 1964. The company subsequently abandoned F1 racing, but began to supply engines to teams during the 1980s and formed its most recent Formula One venture in 2005.

Kiwi Brendon Hartley to test for Red Bull

New Zealand's Brendon Hartley will test for the Red Bull Formula One team in the wake of regular driver Mark Webber breaking his leg last week.

The Formula Three driver will join Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Buemi for testing at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain on 15 December.

Hartley, a Red Bull junior driver, recently finished third in the Macau F3 Grand Prix after starting in 20th.

The 19-year-old Hartley also set a lap record in the process.

"Brendon is one of several promising talents in the Red Bull Junior Team and an opportunity has arisen to allow him to get some time in a Formula One car," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

Webber broke his right leg last weekend after a collision with a car while cycling in a charity event in Tasmania.

The 32-year-old hopes to be back behind the wheel for the first test of the team's 2009 car in February. The 2009 season starts in Australia on 29 March.

Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi likely to race for Toro Rosso, says co-owner

Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi is likely to replace Germany's Sebastian Vettel at Toro Rosso next season, the Formula One team's co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz said on Monday.

Vettel, 21, has moved on to the main Red Bull Racing team following the retirement of Britain's David Coulthard and several drivers are queueing up to take his place at the race-winning team.

France's Sebastien Bourdais has also yet to be confirmed for 2009, leaving another possible vacancy.

"One will very likely be Buemi," Mateschitz told the autosport.com website. "The line-up will be confirmed before the last test in December."

The 20-year-old Swiss was the Red Bull reserve driver this year and tested with Toro Rosso in Barcelona this month.

He would be Switzerland's first Formula One driver since Jean-Denis Deletraz raced without success for the Pacific Ford team in 1995.

"I am young and I learn quickly. I think that all teams now try to have an experienced driver and a young driver, as you see for example, at Renault," Buemi told the official Formula One website (www.formula1.com) after the Barcelona test.

"The immediate past has shown that the young guys don't need too long to deliver results...Young drivers have shown that they can deliver almost straight away."

Vettel won the Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso in September to become Formula One's youngest race winner.

Red Bull take over Toro Rosso F1 team

Red Bull have taken back total control of the Toro Rosso Formula One team, the energy drink company said on Tuesday.

The company said in a statement that they had re-acquired co-owner Gerhard Berger's 50 percent holding "subject to approval by competition authorities".

Austrian Berger, a former Ferrari and McLaren driver with 10 Formula One wins to his credit, had controlled Toro Rosso jointly with Red Bull's billionaire founder and compatriot Dietrich Mateschitz since 2006.

Mateschitz, who already owned the Red Bull Racing F1 team, bought the struggling Italy-based Minardi outfit at the end of 2005 and renamed it. Toro Rosso means Red Bull in Italian.

Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso out-performed Red Bull this year, winning the Italian Grand Prix in September with 21-year-old German Sebastian Vettel.

"Red Bull will now run Toro Rosso alone...as well as remaining a partner of Berger Logistik," said Mateschitz, referring to Berger's family-owned haulage firm which is half-owned by Mateschitz's company.

Toro Rosso's future had been in doubt, with Mateschitz saying in March that Red Bull wanted to sell their stake before 2010 when the current regulations require all teams to build and design their own cars.

The 2008 Toro Rosso and Renault-powered Red Bull cars were both designed by Red Bull Technology under the guidance of former McLaren technical director Adrian Newey.

It was not immediately clear what had brought about Mateschitz's change of heart, although there has been talk recently of relaxing the 'customer car' rules, at a time when teams are under pressure to cut costs.

Toro Rosso have yet to announce their 2009 driver line-up, with France's Sebastian Bourdais saying last week that the team needed money and were looking for a driver who could bring funds with him as well as talent.

Motor racing-Chinese GP likely to stay after 2010 - organisers

The Chinese Grand Prix is likely to continue in Shanghai beyond 2010 as the city continues its drive to become one of the great sporting hubs of the world, according to the organisers of the Formula One race.

Reported comments by the deputy director of the Shanghai sports ministry, Qiu Weichang, that the city might give up its right to a five-year extension on the Grand Prix after 2010 were lost in translation, said Leon Sun of organisers Juss Events.

"I've spoken to Mr Qiu and he never said the Grand Prix was going to leave China," the general manager of event management at the municipality-owned company told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"I think it's probably some misunderstanding in translation. I would say it's likely it will stay after 2010. Formula One has only been here for five years. To build a spectator base is not easy, it's a long term operation.

"We think Formula One is a very good product, a very good event for Shanghai city so at least from our company's point of view we want to continue promoting and building the event.

"Research shows there are more and more race fans in China, so I don't think we will say no to the Formula One Grand Prix."

Formula One rights holder Bernie Ecclestone said at this October's Grand Prix that he thought the race had a secure long-term future.

Sun, who took over running the grand prix this year, said there would be more "internal discussions" before negotiations over extending the contract beyond 2010 began

Chinese Grand Prix likely to stay after 2010 - organisers

The Chinese Grand Prix is likely to continue in Shanghai beyond 2010 as the city continues its drive to become one of the great sporting hubs of the world, according to the organisers of the Formula One race.

Reported comments by the deputy director of the Shanghai sports ministry, Qiu Weichang, that the city might give up its right to a five-year extension on the Grand Prix after 2010 were lost in translation, said Leon Sun of organisers Juss Events.

"I've spoken to Mr Qiu and he never said the Grand Prix was going to leave China," the general manager of event management at the municipality-owned company told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"I think it's probably some misunderstanding in translation. I would say it's likely it will stay after 2010. Formula One has only been here for five years. To build a spectator base is not easy, it's a long term operation.

"We think Formula One is a very good product, a very good event for Shanghai city so at least from our company's point of view we want to continue promoting and building the event.

"Research shows there are more and more race fans in China, so I don't think we will say no to the Formula One Grand Prix."

Formula One rights holder Bernie Ecclestone said at this October's Grand Prix that he thought the race had a secure long-term future.

Sun, who took over running the grand prix this year, said there would be more "internal discussions" before negotiations over extending the contract beyond 2010 began.

The home of the Grand Prix is the stunning $350 million circuit on the outskirts of Shanghai, which can seat 200,000 fans but has rarely come anywhere close to accommodating that number.

Sun said around 80,000 spectators had turned up on race-day last month, conceding that at least some of those people had received their tickets as a result of a "trade off with business partners".

"But we consider those sales because you move your costs down and you have more promotional materials," he said.

LONG RUN

Briton Lewis Hamilton had the chance to clinch the drivers' championship in Shanghai for the last two years but the race has been shifted to April in the 2009 calendar, a move Sun believed would work out well in the long run.

"In the first half of the year, there are not many international events in Shanghai, the Autumn is very busy," he said. "The first year will always be tough when you change an event but in the long-term view, I think it's a good move."

China's financial capital has lost a round of the motorcycling world championship, the Asian Open golf tournament and the season finale of men's tennis, the ATP Masters Cup, from next year's calendar.

In place of the Masters Cup, however, the impressive Qizhong tennis complex will host a new Masters Series tournament from next October.

Juss has signed up Swiss watch company Rolex as "presenting sponsor" of the event and Sun is confident that, despite the global economic downturn, the city will continue to attract big international events.

"I think for sure there will be more events coming to Shanghai, the only thing we don't know is when and how," said Sun, who will be co-tournament director of the new Shanghai Masters 1000.