F1: Ferrari To Stick With Massa, McLaren Ups Hamilton Bid

• Ferrari set to announce Massa for 2013 - report
• McLaren ups money offer in bid to keep Hamilton
• Mercedes' Lauda says Hamilton staying at McLaren
• Germany slams 'clumsy Schumi' as contract expires
• No contract for 2013 New Jersey race - Ecclestone
• Webber said Monza ban was 'harsh' - Grosjean

Ferrari set to announce Massa for 2013 - report

Ferrari is set to announce that Felipe Massa is staying with the famous Italian team in 2013.

Intense speculation has surrounded the future of the Brazilian, who since 2010 has struggled to shine alongside his highly rated teammate Fernando Alonso.

But in an article by veteran correspondent Roger Benoit, the Swiss newspaper Blick said the 31-year-old is staying put in the wake of his recent form surge.

"It (2013) will be his eighth season in red," wrote Benoit.

In Singapore last weekend, Alonso publicly backed Massa, deriding the "little names" that had been linked with his place for next season.

"With all the names you hear, if you compare what Felipe has done and what these little names have done ..." he said.

"In my opinion we need to have a driver that respects Ferrari, that respects the tradition that here we work for the team, for the red cars," added Alonso.

(GMM)

McLaren ups money offer in bid to keep Hamilton

McLaren has slightly upped its monetary offer in a late bid to secure Lewis Hamilton's services for 2013, according to multiple British newspapers.

The Daily Mail said McLaren has increased its offer by EUR 2.5 million to 15 million, which is still less than his current retainer of about 19 million.

In the Times, correspondent Kevin Eason wrote that some in the paddock now expect an announcement to be made "in the next few days".

But Eason also quoted an observer as saying: "For a guy who is so fast in a Formula One car, he is taking his time making a decision."

Asked if an announcement is imminent, boss Martin Whitmarsh answered: "We will see what we can do. I think we are a good team together."

German reports claim that Mercedes, Hamilton's possible destination for 2013, are meeting in Stuttgart on Tuesday for a board meeting.

While Hamilton's retainer at Mercedes would be about the same or even slightly lower as is on offer by McLaren, the German manufacturer is reportedly open to allowing Hamilton and his management to negotiate lucrative personal endorsement deals.

"These last couple or three races he (Hamilton) has been doing very well," the Guardian quotes F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone as having said on Monday.

"Before that, why he was upset I don't know but he was definitely going to move no matter what.  He had made up his mind that he was going.

"Whether he has changed now I don't know."

The Telegraph reports that triple world champion Niki Lauda has been working in the background to convince Hamilton to join Mercedes.

And the great Austrian would be "offered a senior role at Mercedes" if Hamilton does sign up, correspondent Tom Cary revealed.

(GMM)

Mercedes' Lauda says Hamilton staying at McLaren

British newspapers are reporting that McLaren has finally upped its monetary offer to match or better the Mercedes' deal.

And on Tuesday, Lauda told F1's official website: "Hamilton will stay with McLaren."

As for Mercedes, "I have no idea what they are up to," Lauda added.

The former Ferrari and McLaren champion also admitted he thinks Felipe Massa is set to stay alongside Fernando Alonso in 2013.

"I don't see any mouth-watering switch being made," Lauda said.

(GMM)

Germany slams 'clumsy Schumi' as contract expires

Just as the Mercedes board is set to meet on Tuesday, Michael Schumacher is the unhappy subject of an intense round of bad press in his native Germany.

Some publications have nicknamed the seven time world champion 'Schussel-(clumsy) Schumi' after his latest mistake in Singapore; the crash with Jean-Eric Vergne that has cost him ten places on the Suzuka grid.

And that's not all.  The German media is making a meal of the 43-year-old's entire Singapore weekend, deriding him for incorrectly calling Frenchman Vergne "Jean-Marc" in an interview.

And Schumacher also reportedly told German journalists ahead of the race weekend that there are 20 points for finishing a GP in second place (there are actually 18), and he also got the timezone difference between Singapore and Europe fundamentally wrong.

"What on earth is going on with Michael Schumacher?" wondered the Hamburger Abendblatt, noting that the great German's Singapore crash was his third under the floodlights in as many years.

Der Spiegel magazine pointed out that, with Schumacher's contract expiring, the Mercedes board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

"The timing is certainly not beneficial," said Swiss commentator Marc Surer.

Another Schumacher gaffe in Singapore was his admission to being in the toilet when the rest of the F1 world was paying silent tribute to Prof. Sid Watkins on the grid.

"The whole formula one is there with great respect," said commentator Christian Danner on RTL television.  "Drivers, team managers, even the prime minister of Singapore."

Danner said Schumacher's absence was "embarrassing".

(GMM)

No contract for 2013 New Jersey race - Ecclestone

New Jersey might not host a GP as scheduled next year, Bernie Ecclestone said on Tuesday.

The F1 chief executive said organisers of the street circuit opposite Manhattan's historic skyline "have not complied with the terms and conditions" of the agreed deal.

"They don't have a contract," Ecclestone told the Guardian.

However, New Jersey appeared as a conditional date on the draft 2013 calendar, which was leaked inside the Singapore paddock last weekend.

That schedule was set to be ratified by the FIA on Friday.

Ecclestone warned: "We are pretty close to the final deadline.  We have got a World Council meeting coming up.

"I think if somebody got behind them it could happen in 2013 because they have come a long way with the circuit."

(GMM)

Webber said Monza ban was 'harsh' - Grosjean

Romain Grosjean said Mark Webber was "not very fair" at the start of Sunday's Singapore GP.

But after his successful return to F1 following a one-race ban, rookie Frenchman Grosjean also praised his Australian rival.

"Webber was not very fair as he completely cut the first corner," he is quoted by RMC Sport.

"But I have to say that at Monza he was the first to come and see me to say it (the ban) was a little harsh.  I get on well with him," added Grosjean.

The Lotus driver revealed that he has made some tweaks to his race preparation, so that he is now "better" prepared for the start of the races.

"There are six races left and I want to go on the podium," said Grosjean.

(GMM)