F1: Races To Be Dropped As New Races Enter, Button flies Home For McLaren Simulator Tests

F1 WILL SHED some of its current races to make room for New York and Russia, according to Bernie Ecclestone.

The sport's chief executive said recently he is pushing for a street race in New Jersey in 2012, and he has now said in an interview with Bloomberg that he also wants Russia to have a grand prix.

Ecclestone, 79, said there are three potential sites for the race outside Manhattan, while Moscow or the resort city Sochi are the possible venues for Russia.

"We'll make a decision in the next couple of months" on the locations, said the Briton.

Ecclestone has often talked about expanding the calendar from its current 19 events to 20 or more, but he now says F1 will review its "traditional" European hosts, such as the two races in Spain.

"We're going to lose some races for sure, there are some races we can afford to lose without too much problem," he said. "I've spoken to the countries to see what we can come up with."

(GMM)

Button flies Home For McLaren Simulator Tests

AFTER THE CHEQUERED flag flew in Bahrain, McLaren ordered Jenson Button to shortly begin a 30-hour return to Europe.

Flying to F1's next stop, Shanghai, would have cost the reigning world champion just five hours in the air, and only a couple more hours would have had him relaxing in his Japanese girlfriend Jessica's native Japan.

But McLaren wanted Button, 30, to instead complete the 21,000 kilometre marathon for just a single working day at the wheel of the sophisticated driver simulator at Woking.

He will then fly from the UK back to Asia for a holiday, prior to completing the journey to China for round four next weekend.

"Thirty hours travel for one day," Button smilingly contemplated before leaving Kuala Lumpur. "But it will be worth it, hopefully."

After winning in Melbourne, Button comparatively struggled in Malaysia, climbing to eighth on Sunday while his teammate Lewis Hamilton finished a highly-commended sixth from lower on the grid.

Button is struggling with the balance of the MP4-25, while McLaren want him to hone the latest developments that are due to be added to the package in Shanghai.

"The great thing is our car is improving all the time, but I'm still not 100 per cent happy with its balance," the Briton said.

"Hopefully we can sort out some of the problems in the simulator. It's a long way back but they wouldn't be sending me unless there were a few things to test."