F1: Ferrari Confirms F138 Name For 2013 Formula 1 Race Car

• Ferrari call 2013 car F138
• Horner has new Red Bull deal 'until 2017' - Marko
• Ecclestone model 'starving' small teams - Glock
• Nurburgring not giving up on 2013 German GP
• 'Scorpion' team could rise from HRT's ashes

Ferrari call 2013 car F138

Ferrari will call its 2013 car the F138. Until now, insiders have referred to the famous Italian team's next contender as '664' -- its working project title.

But following last year's car F2012, there has been speculation Ferrari would not simply call its successor F2013 -- perhaps because Fernando Alonso failed to win the title with the conventionally numbered '12', and because of the prominence of the unlucky number 13.

Ferrari, however, explained on Wednesday that the 2013 car is called F138 in deference to the year ('13) and the number of cylinders in the engine (8).

Indeed, 2013 is the final year of F1's long-standing normally aspirated V8 rules, ahead of the sweeping change to turbo V6s for 2014 and beyond.

Ferrari confirmed that the '8' in the 2013 car's title is "partly to mark the fact that this will be the last year that the V8 engine configuration will be used" in F1.

F138 will be launched at Maranello on Friday.

Before that, McLaren's MP4-28 will be unveiled at Woking on Thursday, preceding a flurry of launch activity.

On the same day as Ferrari's launch, Force India's VJM06 will be revealed at Silverstone, before Sauber's C32 is unveiled at Hinwil on Saturday.

The next day, Red Bull's RB9 will emerge at Milton Keynes, while over at Jerez - ahead of the week's debut test action - Mercedes will launch the W04.

Then, as the engines begin to fire at Jerez on Tuesday, Caterham will launch the CT03.  Williams' new FW36 will not be seen until the second test, at Barcelona, while Marussia has not said when its 2013 car will be revealed.

(GMM)

Horner has new Red Bull deal 'until 2017' - Marko

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at rumours team boss Christian Horner could be defecting to Ferrari.

It recently emerged that Briton Horner, the 39-year-old who has sat at the helm of the Milton Keynes based team as Sebastian Vettel raced to triple consecutive titles, visited Maranello.

Now, it subsequently became clear that Horner was not the only F1 figure at Ferrari's headquarters, as Bernie Ecclestone, Martin Whitmarsh and Niki Lauda met to discuss the Concorde Agreement with Luca di Montezemolo.

But that didn't silence every rumour about Horner's future.

Marko, however - Red Bull team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's right hand man on F1 matters - insists Horner is firmly under contract.

He told Sport Bild: "How could Christian be negotiating in Maranello if we've just extended his contract until 2017?"

That is bad news for Ferrari - and every other team - for another reason, given that Horner and F1's lauded designer Adrian Newey traditionally renew their contracts in unison.

(GMM)

Ecclestone model 'starving' small teams - Glock

F1's funding model is 'starving' the smaller teams, Marussia refugee Timo Glock claims.

The 30-year-old German has had to leave formula one for the DTM touring car series for 2013, because Marussia need to replace him with a pay-driver.

"I learned the hard way," said Glock, "that it is extremely difficult for a small team to come out of the cellar.

"The top teams get a lot of money from Bernie Ecclestone, starving the small teams a little bit.

"Finding partners to improve the budget is increasingly difficult," he insisted.

Indeed, the smaller teams are apparently becoming increasingly reliant on 'pay drivers' to boost their coffers, and it is expected that - like Glock - the next victim of this trend will be Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen.

"There have always been pay drivers," Glock admitted.  "I won't say that they have no talent.

"Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez have proved that you can have good partners behind you and drive fast as well.  It's perfectly legitimate.

"But it's too bad that formula one is increasingly developing in this direction."

He said Marussia in particular was caught out by the political wranglings of a few years ago, when small teams' interest was sparked by former FIA president Max Mosley's plans for a budget cap.

"The approach of building a car only with CFD could have worked if the budget cap had come in," said Glock.  "But it didn't.

"We then determined early on that you can't do it just with CFD, you also need the wind tunnel, and by then the collaboration with McLaren had come too late.

"Last year, we showed that we can make a step forward, and found more than 1.5 seconds (per lap).  But in order to make the big step, you need double the budget."

Der Spiegel reported last week that Marussia only managed to vacate Glock's cockpit for 2013 after paying him his retainer.

He responded: "Then they know quite a lot, or more than I do.  On contractual things I can't say much.  It's mine and Marussia's business only."

As for whether he has closed the chapter on F1, having reportedly signed a three-year contract with BMW, Glock insisted: "Let's wait.

"At the moment I'm focusing on what lies ahead.  What happens in the next few years, we wait and see."

(GMM)

Nurburgring not giving up on 2013 German GP

The Nurburgring has not given up on hosting this July's German grand prix.

Amid the circuit's financial troubles, F1 chief executive was quoted on Sunday in the German press: "We do not accept it (the Nurburgring's proposal) as financially feasible and therefore end the negotiations".

But Nurburgring Automotive GmbH chief Jorg Lindner is not giving up.

He told the Rhein Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday: "We have the exclusive rights to formula one at the Nurburgring, and we insist on it."

Ecclestone said on Tuesday: "I am doing my best to make sure we have an event in Germany.

"At the moment I can't say whether it will be Hockenheim or Nurburgring," he told the Associated Press.

(GMM)

'Scorpion' team could rise from HRT's ashes

A new formula one team could rise from the ashes of the failed Spanish outfit HRT.

Reports - including in the Spanish newspaper AS - claim a group of investors from Canada and the US want to enter this year's world championship with an evolution of HRT's 2012 car, featuring a Cosworth engine and Williams gearbox.

The team is reportedly called Scorpion Racing, and the Press Association said it would be based at Silverstone and operate with equipment bought from HRT.

But there could be an issue with getting up and running for 2013, given that the official entry deadline for this season's championship closed last November.

Bernie Ecclestone is quoted as saying: "I've spoken to them and told them to get in touch with the FIA and ask for an entry.

"They want to buy all the bits from HRT, then form a company and ask for an entry, but I personally don't think it will happen.  It's all a bit too late.  Maybe they could do it for next year."

The Press Association said the FIA did not want to respond in detail until it receives more 'concrete' information from Scorpion.

(GMM)