F1: Domenicali Hints At Search For New Number 2 Ferrari Driver

• Domenicali hints Ferrari seeking 'number 2' driver
• Lotus 'definitely' eyes same drivers for 2013
• Jealousy fuels Red Bull controversies - Marko
• 'Double DRS' to be banned for 2013 - reports
• Schumacher mistakes 'shouldn't happen' - Danner
• Technical reshuffle at Mercedes
• Rossi hails Ferrari's 2012 recovery

Domenicali hints Ferrari seeking 'number two' driver

Stefano Domenicali has warned that Ferrari is on the market for only a 'number two' driver.

With the 2013 option on Felipe Massa's contract running out last week, a large number of drivers have been linked to his seat for next season.

Reportedly the latest on the list is the team's 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

"Kimi was a world champion with us and I have seen the gossip - but nothing more than that," team boss Stefano Domenicali is quoted by the Sun newspaper.

Quotes attributed to Domenicali by the German broadcaster Sky, however, appear to play down the likelihood that Fernando Alonso will be paired with an equal next year.

"It has always been Ferrari's philosophy," the Italian explained, "to have a great champion and then a very good driver who is close to him."

In effect, he is referring to the paddock perception of Ferrari's 'number 1 and number 2' approach to its driver line-ups.

So does that mean drivers like Raikkonen, or McLaren's Jenson Button - both world champions - are actually unlikely teammates for Alonso in 2013?

"I think these drivers have contracts with other teams," Domenicali answered. "And we are not in a rush."

Number 2 or not, however, money could be a factor.

Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio thinks Lotus' Raikkonen could double his estimated EUR5 million in 2012 retainer by taking Massa's Ferrari seat.

And according to Raymond Blancafort, writing in El Mundo Deportivo, the transaction would also work out for Ferrari, because a Raikkonen-like haul of points for Massa would see the Italian team in front in the lucrative constructors' championships.

With Ferrari currently ranked just fourth due to Massa's meagre tally of 25 points, the situation stands to cost Ferrari many tens of millions when the sport's 2012 income is divvied up.

"The Brazilian at the moment is very expensive to Ferrari," Blancafort said.

Domenicali is keen to play down the speculation for now.

"We are aligned with Felipe and we want to protect him. It is important for this championship," he said.

(GMM)

Lotus 'definitely' eyes same drivers for 2013

Eric Boullier has revealed he "definitely" plans to keep not just Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus in 2013, but also the Finn's impressive rookie teammate Romain Grosjean.

The Enstone-based team's boss has dismissed speculation Raikkonen could return to Ferrari next year, where he won the 2007 title before he was ousted at the end of the 2009 season.

"It's nice that Ferrari is in the newspapers," Boullier is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, "but to my knowledge Kimi has no intention of going back to Ferrari."

When asked if he also wants Grosjean to stay in 2013, Boullier answered: "Definitely. There is no reason why either of them should leave us."

Rival teams have been impressed by the former Benetton and Renault squad in 2012.

"Their car has been quick all year, and they have two good drivers, so Kimi is a factor in the drivers' championship," Red Bull chief Christian Horner is quoted by AFP news agency.

(GMM)

Jealousy fuels Red Bull controversies - Marko

Aug.1 (GMM)  The paddock noise about Red Bull 'cheating' is fuelled by jealousy, the team's Dr Helmut Marko has claimed.

So far in 2012, the reigning champions have been at the centre of most of F1's technical controversies, including holes in the floor, wheel hubs, engine mapping and ride height adjusters.

In a headline-writer's dream, team boss Christian Horner let his temper slip this week when German reports quoted him as denouncing the sagas as "bulls**t".

And Austrian Marko, who is team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's right hand man, denied in an interview with the German broadcaster RTL that Red Bull is overly "aggressive" when it comes to interpreting the rules.