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Dec 31
Schumacher is hoping the switch from Bridgestone to Pirelli tyres for 2011 will help him
The lack of a top driver simulator contributed to Michael Schumacher’s struggle to get up to speed in 2010. That is the view of Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn, who said a fully state-of-the-art simulator will not be available to the team’s drivers until 2012.
Dec 31
Jos Verstappen has backed Ferrari’s push to allow top teams to enter third cars in formula one.
“For the teams it’s not expensive as the parts are already there,” said Dutchman Verstappen, who usually drove for the kind of small constructors that Ferrari president Luca di Montezeolo is now so critical of.
Dec 31
For Rolex 24 at Daytona
The no.44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car raised some eyebrows with its form during the Rolex Sportscar Series’ December test at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and heading in to next week’s Roar Before the 24, the team is proud to announce their official driver lineup for the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona. With help from Porsche Motorsports North America, Magnus Racing is headed in to the month of January as one of the most competitive in the field.
Dec 30
Other parts of the 2011 car will be crash tested shortly.
Ferrari’s 2011 chassis has passed a sequence of crucial crash tests, according to Italian media reports. The mandatory monocoque tests reportedly took place under FIA guidelines and in the presence of an official observer at the CSI technical facility in Bollate, near Milan.
Dec 30
“We’ve made a good start, but it’s very much the first step along the road.”
It will be some time before Team Lotus has its own wind tunnel up and running, technical boss Mike Gascoyne has admitted. Late in 2010, the Tony Fernandes-led outfit announced it would soon build a tunnel at its Hingham headquarters.
Dec 29
Red Bull keeping F1 engine ‘options open’ – Horner
Red Bull’s 2011 car will be a further evolution of the pace-setting cars of the past two seasons. This year, the championship-winning RB6 was an evolution of the similarly Adrian Newey-penned 2009 car, which although beaten to the title by Brawn was ultimately the quickest package.
Dec 29
Alonso among top Spaniards on ‘net in 2010
Fernando Alonso insists he would have no fear if he was paired at Ferrari with F1′s new youngest world champion Sebastian Vettel. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said in recent days that the 23-year-old German will drive a red car “sooner or later”, and Bild newspaper now quotes Vettel as saying a seat at the Maranello based team is a “desire and goal”.
Dec 29
Germans not predicting Schumacher title in 2011
Nico Rosberg is confident of a more successful season for Mercedes in 2011. But the 25-year-old German, who this year finished 70 points ahead of his famous teammate Michael Schumacher, is not so sure the team’s progress will be enough to close the gap to the pacesetters entirely.
Dec 29
“But I have proved that I am a good driver; nobody has given me anything.”
Sergio Perez has admitted that his F1 dream would have likely slipped away if he had not been signed to make his debut in 2011. The 20-year-old Mexican, backed by the Carlos Slim-led Telmex company, is quoted by the Spanish website motor21.com: “I think this was my last chance to enter F1.”
Dec 29
Force India is now the last significant team with driver vacancies for the 2011 season.
With HRT likely to select a pair of well-financed racers much closer to the start of the season, a handful of highly rated candidates are clamouring for the two Mercedes-powered seats at the team run by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya.
Despite German rookie Nico Hulkenberg’s solid rookie season with the British team, including pole position in Brazil, he has been replaced for 2011 by the heavily-backed Venezuelan Maldonado. 
Petter Solberg has vowed to fight for victory when he makes his Intercontinental Rally Challenge debut on Rallye Monte-Carlo next month. 
