MOTORSPORT: F1 door opens for VW

"Greener" engines are on the way in Formula One, which could be enough to lure Volkswagen, while Renault has reverted to being only an engine supplier in the sport, and there's double vision on Lotus

Turbos -- and fuel efficiency -- in from 2013
Another car manufacturer is out of Formula One as a team entrant, but an even bigger one finally may be enticed to enter -- by the introduction of "green" engines from 2013.

The Volkswagen group has been party to the framing of the new regulations from that year and its motorsport adviser, German former F1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck, is delighted with them.

This is sure to increase anticipation that VW will enter F1 [Formula 3 car pictured], using either the Audi or Porsche brands. In any case, it may stop short of outright team ownership, perhaps preferring to be purely an engine supplier.

That is what Renault has reverted to, although its name will remain -- for now at least -- on what has been its team in recent years.

F1 has lost BMW, Honda and Toyota in the past couple of years and would welcome another manufacturer, especially VW.

The 2013 engine rules announced in recent days stipulate 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbos, with fuel efficiency targeted to increase by 35 per cent.

There are plans for advanced "compound" turbos to be introduced in later years and for the power of kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) to increase from 60kW when reintroduced next year to 120kW in 2013.

The new engines will not do more than 12,000 revs per minute, compared with the existing normally-aspirated V8s that spin at 18,000rpm.

Ferrari is not happy about the new engine rules -- it wanted 1.8-litre V6s if they had to be turbos.

And F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone wanted to stick with the existing 2.4-litre normally-aspirated V8s.

Among other changes from next year will be the introduction of moveable rear wings in the hope of producing more overtaking -- they will be activated when one car is within a second of another in front of it.

And the written ban on "team orders" has been abolished, although there is still scope for penalties under a clause that forbids "any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition, or to the interests of motorsport generally".

Ferrari, historically the main user of "team orders", is delighted at the development.

"Finally, we have said goodbye to this pointless hypocrisy. For us, F1 is a team sport. We've always maintained that it should be treated as such," Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali said.

British F1 telecaster the BBC's website has kept a close tab on the formulation of the new rules and has a comprehensive wrap on them here, making the point that the changes are "an attempt to mirror the trend towards fuel-efficiency in road cars and to popularise it, increasing public demand for such engines".

However, it does not mention what we understand to be the new limits on the number of engines drivers will be allowed -- five in 2013 and four beyond that, compared with eight this year.

VW has hinted for some time at entering F1 as either an engine supplier or team entrant if a "world engine" was introduced -- and it now seems the way is clear for it from 2013.

European reports suggest an announcement could come even before the start of next season.

"We are delighted and welcome this decision -- this is not just great for F1, but for the whole of motorsport and will push it in right way," Stuck told Motorsport-Total.

Audi's head of engine technology, Ullrich Baretzky, participated in the negotiations that preceded the engine announcement by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

While Audi is seen in some quarters as the most likely VW brand to promote if the group decides on an F1 campaign, others see Porsche as more obvious.

Porsche's new chief, Matthias Mueller, has told the Westfalen Blatt newspaper: "F1 is a drivers' world championship, with the focus on the sponsors and the manufacturers only secondary. For us, this is a clear drawback. However, if the VW Group was interested, then Porsche would surely be the brand that would work best."

Now it's double vision on Lotus
The entry list for F1 next year has two Lotus teams -- the one that entered the sport this year bearing the legendary Team Lotus name and which didn't score a world championship point, and now Lotus Renault GP.

This is the former Benetton and Renault factory team in which European investment group Genii Capital already held an effectively controlling stake.

Genii now has Lotus Group, the sports car maker owned by Malaysia's Proton, as a partner and sponsor.

This team will field its cars in the black and gold colours that Lotus sported during the days of the John Player tobacco sponsorship.

Team Lotus had also intended running in black and gold next season but instead has decided to stick to green and yellow -- the original Lotus colours, and which team principal Tony Fernandes claims will be more appropriate in view of F1's move towards "green" engines.

Both teams will use Renault engines, as will Red Bull Racing again.

There is a lot of angst already between the two Lotus teams -- and concern on the part of David Hunt, brother of late 1976 world champion James Hunt and who held the rights to the Team Lotus name for years until selling it to Fernandes.

Webber made for Ferrari, says Ecclestone
We're pretty certain Mark Webber will remain with Red Bull Racing next season, as he is contracted, but yet again his name has been linked to Ferrari -- this time by Bernie Ecclestone.

The F1 supremo has said, curiously, in the foreword to the Official Formula 1 Season Review 2010, that the Australian is the kind of driver the Old Man -- the late Enzo Ferrari -- would have approved of, and that he could have been world champion given the right machinery in the past.

"Had Webber been in a good car five years ago, maybe he would have been world champion five years ago," Ecclestone said.

"I think he's a Ferrari driver as he's got the sort of character the Old Man would have liked."

Piquets winners in 'Crashgate' case
Renault has apologised in to Brazilian triple world champion Nelson Piquet and his son, Nelson Junior, who drove for the manufacturer for 18 months, over claims in the infamous "Crashgate" affair that the pair had made up allegations against its team.

Renault has paid a six-figure sum in costs and libel damages.

In a press release issued in September last year Renault accused Piquet Junior and his father of concocting the allegation that the driver had caused a deliberate accident at the 2008 Singapore GP to benefit his teammate, Fernando Alonso.

Renault has now accepted that the allegations "were wholly untrue and unfounded" and withdrawn them "unequivocally".

Former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore was effectively banned from motorsport for life at "Crashgate" but that ruling was overturned last year by a French court and he was in the paddock at several GPs this year.

And in the V8 Supercar off-season...
On the V8 Supercar front:
>> New champion James Courtney's switch from Dick Johnson/Jim Beam Racing to Toll Holden Racing is expected to be confirmed sooner rather than later, although it may be delayed a little by the death of Holden Special Vehicles boss Tom Walkinshaw in Britain overnight.
>> Under the headline 'What a waste: how NSW blew $2m a day', Sydney's Sun-Herald newspaper reported yesterday that "$10 million (was) dropped on the bungled handling of the V8 Supercars contract (for the Sydney Telstra 500 at Homebush) by former minister Ian Macdonald", see here

>> In New Zealand, the Waikato Times has reported, under the headline '$27 million shock for ratepayers', that the staging the Hamilton 400 over the last three years has cost more than double the amount previously understood, see here

>> And The Australian newspaper today reports extensively on V8 Supercar chief Tony Cochrane's views on the sport's TV future, including some rounds perhaps going to secondary digital channels, see here

Variety the little spice in little field
A disappointing entry for the first Eastern Creek Eight-Hour production car race at the weekend, with only 15 starters and eight finishers -- but five different makes of car in the top five.

Jim Hunter, Barton Mawer and Gavin Bullas won in a Subaru WRX STi, completing 249 laps of the Sydney circuit.

Second was the BMW 335i driven by Barry Morcom, Nathan Morcom and Garry Holt.

The pace-setting Mitsubishi Lancers had reliability issues, with all three of Bob Pearson's Pro-Duct Motorsport Lancers retiring with fuel leaks.

The Lancer driven by Glenn Seton and Neil Crompton spectacularly caught fire in the fifth hour.

However, Tony and Klark Quinn claimed third place in their Lancer after leading most of the first 175 laps before a long delay when the car refused to fire after a pitstop.

The Terry Conroy, Bob Hughes, Gerry Burges Honda Intergra Type R finished fourth, ahead of the Richard Gartner, Francious Jouy, Ken Booker, Carl Schembri Renault Clio 197.

Speed sees red over sacking
American driver Scott Speed is suing Red Bull for US$6.5 million after it cut him from its NASCAR campaign.

Speed, who drove for the energy drink maker in F1 before taking up stock car racing, is bitter that his deal was severed after it was extended for next season. However, his results hardly warranted him being retained.

SceneDaily reports on the dispute here

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