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Pedro de la Rosa has rejoined McLaren as the team’s official test and reserve driver.

He displaces Gary Paffett to a test and development role that will see the Brit continue to be busy in the simulator.

Although a return for de la Rosa was rumoured some weeks ago in the Spanish media it seemed unlikely given than Paffett was well established in the third driver role, and that de la Rosa – who recently turned 40 – had an ongoing programme with Pirelli.

Presumably the Pirelli job is now set to fade away given that the FIA has confirmed that the teams can conduct tyre development testing on Grands Prix weekends, and thus there is less need for its own programme. At one stage Pirelli was even talking about running the Toyota test car on Grand Prix Fridays.

McLaren will also clearly be able to use Pedro’s extensive Pirelli knowledge in the coming weeks, and that may be one of the main reasons for getting him back on board. He also has more value for McLaren in marketing terms than Paffett, if only because the latter has not raced in F1.

De la Rosa said: “Of all the teams I’ve driven for in Formula 1, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is the one that really feels like home. So I’m very excited about returning to the team to help push the development of the MP4-26.

“Lewis and Jenson already have an extremely positive and productive working relationship – so, building on and adding to their existing rapport, I’m aiming to do everything I can to help them get even more from our car, our engineers and our technical resources back at the McLaren Technology Centre.”

Martin Whitmarsh added: “I know I speak for all my colleagues when I say that I’m delighted that Pedro has chosen to return to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. He rejoins us with even greater experience, and his motivation and attention to detail remain as sharp as ever.

“His recruitment adds considerable strength in depth to our driver line-up. With two world champion race drivers in Lewis and Jenson, and two of the world’s most experienced and capable development drivers in Pedro and Gary, we feel we have a quartet of talent that is absolutely second-to-none.

“Meanwhile, we wish Gary a very successful season in the DTM series with Mercedes-Benz – and are delighted that, away from the world’s racetracks, he’ll continue to give us the benefit of his considerable technical and developmental abilities.”

Just over two weeks before the start of the season Hispania has finally confirmed that Tonio Liuzzi will drive alongside Narain Karthikeyan this year.

The news comes as no surprise, and indeed team boss Colin Kolles told this blog recently that there were no other serious candidates.

Liuzzi’s signing will be a boost for a team that has been criticised for taking paying drivers. Both men are due to try to new F111 in Barcelona later this week.

HRT will be Liuzzi’s fourth team after Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India.

“I am really happy to have signed this agreement with Hispania Racing,” said Liuzzi in a team statement. “I never lost hope to be in Formula One as I knew I have the experience and the right attributes for a young and ambitious team. I face a new challenge now and this excites me.

“I also face a lot of hard work in guiding Hispania Racing through the development of our new car. I am extremely grateful to José Ramon Carabante and to Colin Kolles for giving me such an opportunity.”

Kolles said: “I have known Tonio for many years as he raced with me in lower categories. He is a very professional driver who will bring a lot of benefits to the Team. I am convinced about his skills to develop a car and his speed.

“He has shown this in the past having contributed to a large extend developing and moving a back grid car to the front. I had the pleasure of working with him and I am very happy and proud to have him racing with Hispania Racing.”

The FIA has agreed to Pirelli’s request to allow the teams to do some extra tyre testing on Fridays of Grand Prix meetings.

The teams will now get their hands on four extra sets of development tyres (two per driver) of a different spec to the primes and options specified for that weekend.

Apart from anything else the change will help to ensure that the track remains busy on those Fridays, as there have been fears that cars would do limited running over the two 90 minute sessions due to lack of tyres.

The downside is that Friday’s overall times will become even harder to assess without keeping a close eye on what each driver has used, because three tyres will be in play, and quick times could be set on tyres which can’t be run for the rest of the weekend.

The FIA explained the change as follow: At certain events, one additional specification of dry weather tyre may be made available to all teams for evaluation purposes. Teams will be informed about such an additional specification at least one week before the start of the relevant event. Two sets of these tyres will be allocated to each driver for use during P1 and P2, and any such tyres must be returned to the tyre supplier before the start of P3.

There could also be weekends where teams get an additional set of that weekend’s prime tyre, for use on Fridays, which will also help to keep the track busy:

One additional set of ‘prime’ specification tyres may be made available to all drivers. Teams will be informed about such an additional set at least one week before the start of the relevant event. In this instance, the additional set will be available for use during P1 and P2. One set of ‘prime’ tyres must then be returned to the tyre supplier after P1, and two further sets of ‘prime’ and one set of ‘option’ specification tyres returned before the start of P3.

Finally, there are some tweaks to the safety car rules, as follows:

The safety car speed limit (an approximate 40% decrease in lap time) will now be enforced over two laps instead of one. The purpose is to ensure that cars are driven at a safe speed until they reach the safety car.

During a safety car period the pit exit light will remain green for the duration, unless the race is subsequently suspended.

Other than when the safety car has been asked to use the pit lane, no car may enter the pits while the safety car is deployed unless it is for the purpose of changing tyres.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council has failed to come up with any useful information on the future of the 2011 Bahrain GP, and has instead revealed a new deadline of May 1.

Not only that it says that it’s up to the organisers to say whether the race can be organised this year. Meanwhile there is no news on how the event might fit into the calendar.

The announcement said: “The World Motor Sport Council asked the Bahrain Motor Federation to communicate by May 1st at the latest if the Bahrain Grand Prix can be organised in 2011.”

The lack of information makes it hard for anyone to confirm travel arrangements for the end of season races as clearly there could be some shuffling, with Brazil possibly moving to Dec 4 to allow for an Abu Dhabi/Bahrain back-to-back.

The intellectual property claim involving Force India and Team Lotus will be heard in the High Court in London from January 16th next year.

The claim is against Lotus under its parent company name, 1 Malaysia Racing Team, and is also against Mike Gascoyne and Aerolab, the Italian wind tunnel and R&D facility.

There are separate criminal proceedings in Italy involving the “wrongful disclosure of confidential information.” That has led to Tony Fernandes, Mike Gascoyne and Aerolab boss Jean Claude Migeot being formally charged.

Meanwhile Force India has given some more detailed background information on what the case involves.

“However, Force India’s collaboration with Aerolab Srl. ceased in August 2009 due to Force India’s concerns about a breach of confidentiality by Aerolab Srl.

“Aerolab Srl. subsequently started civil proceedings in Italy and in the UK against Force India F1 Team Ltd. for the illegitimate early termination of the service agreement. In relation to the Italian civil proceeding, Force India F1 Team Ltd. paid one million euros into an escrow account as a security.

“In October 2009 Force India F1 Team Ltd. started criminal proceedings by filing a complaint against unknown persons with the competent Italian authorities for the illegitimate disclosure of confidential information.

“Force India believes that Aerolab Srl. may have, during the course of its contract with the team, disclosed Force India F1 Team Ltd.’s intellectual property to 1 Malaysia Racing Team Ltd. and Mike Gascoyne, with whom Aerolab Srl. was at that time working through a sister company. The intellectual property was used in the development of the Lotus T127.

“Force India F1 Team Ltd. believes that the evidence retrieved during the investigations carried out by the Italian authorities that such a transfer took place.

“Such evidence was therefore submitted to the UK Courts. The civil case with be heard week commencing 16 January 2012 and will now deal with the IP infringement and the services of Aerolab Srl. to Force India F1 Team Ltd.

“Separately, in Italy, where Aerolab Srl. is registered, the authorities are actively pursuing cases against 1 Malaysia Racing Team Ltd., Mike Gascoyne and Aerolab Srl. for consistent infringements of intellectual property rights.”

No doubt a view from the other camp will be released soon.

Renault team principal Eric Boullier says it’s still too early to predict when – or indeed if – Robert Kubica will be able to return to the cockpit.

Speaking on BBC Five Live tonight Boullier said that it will be a couple of weeks before the doctors know more about Kubica’s recovery process.

“I exchanged a couple of text messages with him last night, and I went to see him last Wednesday,” said the Frenchman. “His progressing very well actually, and it’s going as well as you would think to be in that state.

“It’s still very early, he’s just starting the rehabilitation this week. I think the hand and the elbow are the tricky ones that he injured in the accident. We still need to wait a couple of weeks I think to start to have a clear understanding of what will be the recovery and when.

“Rehabilitation started only this week, so it’s not easy to understand. Now the morale is difficult as well, he realises how tough it will be to work and to be back.”

However he insisted that Kubica is in good humour: “Actually he surprised everybody at the hospital in Italy. All the doctors came to me last time I visited him and they were very, very amazed how he’s mentally strong, and he was even smiling. He was an example to the department.”

Ross Brawn says that Mercedes has to find a second in the upgrades that it’s bringing to the next test in Barcelona and the first race in Melbourne.

Brawn insists that the team always intended to save its major upgrades for later in the winter, but conceded he didn’t know whether the strategy would work,

“It is very hard to judge because of different fuel weights,” Brawn said in a live interview on BBC Five Live. “Tyres are going to be very important, and most sensible teams have been running with high fuel loads, because that’s where you get the highest degradation, that’s when you stress the tyres the most, and that’s where you want to find a good solution. So it is difficult to judge.

“We said when we started that we had some things to learn on KERS and tyres and we were going to start with a fairly plain car, and you’ll see in Barcelona something quite different. We’re as quietly confident as we can be. We think our strategy is correct, approaching it the way we have, and we’ll all know when we get to the first race.

“It’s been pretty difficult to judge where everyone is. At the last test at Barcelona we included had a go at running low fuel and the supersoft tyres, and we were the second quickest car, but I don’t think that’s where we are overall.”

Pressed on where he thought the team was, Brawn said: “I think we’re about a second off where we want to be, and where we want to be is mixing it at the front. So we’ve got to find a second in the upgrade, which we think we can do, but you never know what other people are going to do. Everybody’s going to have new bits at Barcelona. If somebody does come through with a radical innovation that none of the other teams have thought about, it can change things.

“But we set out our plan, and we’ll know when we get to Melbourne whether the plan was right.”

Bernie Ecclestone says that the World Motor Sport Council will decide soon on the fate of the 2011 Bahrain GP – and even hints that it could be run in the August summer break.

A race in the break – when F1 factories are closed and mechanics get their only chance for some family time off – is unlikely to go down well with the teams.

It remains to be seen whether he is attempting to wind up the teams, and perhaps his true intention is to find an end-of-season slot.

Speaking about the rescheduling to the Formula One website, Ecclestone said: “To do that the FIA has to change the calendar, and Bahrain has to apply for a new slot. The FIA World Council will meet at the beginning of March and could look into the situation. I have already spoken with FIA President Jean Todt about the possibility of finding a new date and we both agreed that a decision has to be made before the season starts.

“We don’t need an alternative race anywhere in Europe or any other place. We need a race in Bahrain. If the Crown Prince is of the opinion that his country is able to host a race we will return to Bahrain. I think the teams are sensible enough even to race in Bahrain in the summer break, and despite high temperatures, because this is the way we can support the country.”

Regarding the delay over the decision to cancel (he used that word rather than postponed), Ecclestone said it was in the hands of the Crown Prince.

“Shortly before the crisis I had lunch with the Crown Prince and there was absolutely no indication of what would come just days after. He was full of ideas for the future then shortly after the chain of events set in. There was almost no time to react. Of course we needed a decision by February 21, and that is what I told him.

“He asked what I would do if I were him, and I answered, ‘You are there. We in Europe are hardly in the situation to make a serious judgment of the conditions. Decide what is best for your country’. He then cancelled the race and I think it was the right decision. It was not an easy one, as it was Formula One that put Bahrain on the map. Before 2004 – when Formula One raced there for the first time – not many people knew Bahrain.”

Despite saying that the race must go ahead to “support the country,” Bernie insisted that the sport should stay out of politics.

“Formula One must never be political – full stop. My job is it to do the best deals possible for Formula One – to secure jobs. Five thousand people have jobs which are directly or indirectly connected to Formula One, and I want to secure these jobs. It is not my business to make politics. We have politicians for that.”

Infiniti’s marketing deal with Red Bull Racing – to be officially announced in Geneva on Tuesday – sees the Nissan-owned brand attempt to broaden its appeal outside the USA.

Entering F1 purely as a sponsor allows Infiniti to go to head-to-head with Mercedes and Ferrari while spending a fraction of the budget. There will be no impact on the team or engine name.

With Group Lotus and Lada pulling off similar deals with Renault the likes of BMW, Toyota and Honda must be wondering about the huge sums they spent before pulling out of the sport.

The official announcement said: “Infiniti will have a high-profile branding presence on the racing car, drivers’ clothing and related team uniforms and equipment. In addition to the branding and marketing relationship, Infiniti will work with Renault to forge future technical collaboration with Red Bull Racing.”

Nissan’s boss of global marketing and public relations Simon Sproule told my colleagues at AutoWeek of the reasoning behind the deal: “The big-growth markets for Infiniti in the future – China, Russia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, etc – are all the places F1 has expanded or will expand into. Where it is going, we’re going.

“Yes, the US is the biggest single market for Infiniti, and F1 is coming back to the US next year. So even though F1 on a relative basis is not so big in the US, it’s going get a higher profile when the race comes to Austin. And frankly, the target market for Infiniti tends to be people that are more aware of international racing series like F1, and who tend to be attracted by a premium race series.

“We just signed the deal, so now we’re working on the activation plan. But we’ve got two great drivers, and the world champion. So absolutely, we’re super excited. Sebastian is driving an Infiniti already. So yes, they will be working with us to help activate the programme.”

Sproule admitted that it was too early to elaborate on the promised technical collaboration: “We’ve discussed getting the engineers together. But at the moment, there is no placement of Nissan engineers in the team – but we’ll see. Certainly there’s a great amount of interest to collaborate on projects.”

Meanwhile Christian Horner commented: “Red Bull has always taken a different approach, so when the Infiniti executives outlined their innovative plan to us, we were very open to working with them.”

The deal lasts for two seasons, as does Red Bull’s engine contract with Renault. That leaves open the possibility of RBR having a different arrangement when the turbo era begins in 2013.

Mercedes and its Abu Dhabi partner partner Aabar Investment have now completed their buyout of the former Brawn GP team.

Ross Brawn and his fellow shareholders had retained 24.9% after selling the rest in November 2009.

Daimler has increased its stake from 45.1 to 60%, while Aabar has increased its stake from 30 to 40%. Aabar also owns 9% of Daimler AG.

Until recently Mercedes had retained a 16% share of McLaren, but that has now passed back to the other shareholders.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: “This majority stake holding demonstrates our determination to build a long-term Formula 1 involvement on an even more successful platform.

“Our company’s founders invented the automobile 125 years ago and the very first Mercedes was a racing car. These are the reasons why we see our Formula 1 programme as an important element of our brand history. The acquisition of a majority stake holding in our Silver Arrows team sends a clear signal that we intend to achieve technical and sporting success on world motorsport’s biggest and most important stage – and to do so in cost-effective conditions.”

Meanwhile Ross Brawn said: “Daimler and Aabar’s acquisition of the remaining 24.9 per cent stake in Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix will be a further step in the consolidation and strengthening of our team for the future. Motor racing, particularly Formula 1, is a very specialised industry, and we are privileged to have such strong and understanding partners as Daimler and Aabar to support our joint ambitions. I remain fully committed to our team for the long-term, along with the management team and all of our employees. We all look forward to the challenge of making our team successful, and proudly representing Mercedes-Benz and the racing tradition of the Silver Arrows.”

Dr Thomas Weber, board member and also Chairman of Mercedes Grand Prix Ltd, added: “This step will bring the colleagues from our Formula 1 chassis and engine groups even closer together and thereby help to develop our team step-by-step into a winning Formula 1 outfit. We now also fulfill Ross’ wish of being in a position to focus wholly on the complex technical challenges of Formula 1 and on his role as our team principal.”

For more on Ross and his fellow former shareholders, check the following:

Brawn GP made £98.5m profit in 2009