Indian GP: General tickets to cost more

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Greater Noida: Tickets for the grandstand at the second Indian Grand Prix will cost less while the cheapest will cost almost 50 per cent more, the organisers said on Tuesday as the tickets for the October race went on sale. A grandstand ticket for the three-day event will cost Rs. 30,000 instead of the Rs. 35,000 charged in the inaugural edition. The cheapest ticket for the natural stand will come at Rs. 3,500, which is Rs. 1,000 more than what it was last year.

The single-day ticket option for Sunday's race is only for the grandstand and will come for Rs. 20,000, an increase of Rs. 5,000 from the inaugural edition of the race. The grandstand ticket will be inclusive of a food and beverage voucher worth Rs. 3,000.

'FIA can't force teams to take part in Bahrain GP'

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London: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone admitted Tuesday that he was unable to force teams to participate in this month's Bahrain Grand Prix following a fresh outbreak of violence in the Gulf state.

Formula One teams are reportedly reluctant to race in Bahrain this season amid ongoing concerns over security in the country.

F1 governing body monitoring events in Bahrain

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London: Formula One's governing body kept a close eye on the situation in Bahrain on Friday as calls for this month's Grand Prix to be postponed gathered pace due to continuing violence.

On a day when protestors clashed with police while more than 5,000 people demonstrated in the north of the capital Manama to demand the release of a jailed activist on hunger strike, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) made clear that it was aware of the latest events.

Mercedes looking to unlock pace in China

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London: Mercedes missed the mark in the first two races of the Formula One season but they know what went wrong and should do better in China this week, according to team principal Ross Brawn.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher and fellow-German Nico Rosberg scored just one point between them in Australia and Malaysia despite the Mercedes showing good pace in qualifying. Schumacher started third on the grid in Malaysia but ended up 10th.

Rubens Barrichello open to F1 return

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Sao Paulo: IndyCar driver Rubens Barrichello remains open to a return to Formula One (F1) and would drive for Ferrari if the Italian team offered him a contract. Barrichello, who joined IndyCar this season after failing to keep a spot in F1 after 19 years in the series, said he has to be prepared if a top team comes asking for him to return. "I'm completely open (about it), it would be something to think about," Barrichello told Brazilian channel SporTV in an interview.

The 39-year-old Brazilian was one of the names considered by the Italian media as a possible replacement to fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa, who is struggling with Ferrari this season. Barrichello said his past problems with Ferrari — where he was unhappy about playing second fiddle to Michael Schumacher — would not keep him from returning to the Italian team. Barrichello joined KV Racing last month after he lost his spot with Williams, ending a mostly successful 19-year career at F1. He had always said that his goal was to stay longer in the series and then retire, but he jumped on the opportunity to race in IndyCar after his friend and now team-mate Tony Kanaan invited him to a test session in the pre-season.

Hill calls for re-think on Bahrain GP

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Former world champion Damon Hill has called on Formula One (F1) bosses to reconsider going ahead with this month's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix and warned that the sport's image could suffer if the race is held. The 1996 champion had previously supported the race after taking part in a fact-finding visit to Bahrain in December last year.

But he told the Guardian on Thursday he now felt a re-think was necessary for the event that was cancelled in 2011 following prolonged civil unrest that some reports claimed more than 40 lives. Hill said: "What we must put above all else is what will be the penalty, in terms of human cost, if the race goes ahead? "It would be a bad state of affairs, bad for F1, to be seen to be enforcing martial law to hold the race."

Cuquerella made HRT technical director

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HRT engineer Toni Cuquerella has been promoted to technical director, the struggling Spanish team said on Monday. Geoff Willis last held the position but left for Mercedes in September last year. "The role of technical director implies a great amount of responsibility in terms of coordination and decision making," Cuquerella said in a statement.

"That's why I'm very proud the management considers me to be the most adequate person to carry it out. Until now there was a lot of dispersion from within the technical team and that had its repercussions in the concept and quality of the F112 (car)". HRT missed the pre-season tests and failed to qualify for the first race of the season in Australia before drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan finished 21st and 22nd in the most recent Malaysia Grand Prix.

France confirm talks to host Grand Prix

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Le Castellet: Talks are ongoing with Formula One (F1) authorities about a return to the calendar for the French Grand prix, which would be held every other year, prime minister Francois Fillon said on Friday. The grand prix would be held at the Le Castellet circuit, in southern France, Fillon told a news conference without giving any dates.

France last hosted a grand prix in 2008 at Magny-Cours. "We are working on the idea of hosting a grand prix every other year at Le Castellet. This idea was agreed by the Formula One authorities," Fillon said. "It is not up to me to set a date for a grand prix," he said, confirming France would alternate with another country.

Perez rejects comparisons to Ayrton Senna

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Guadalajara, Mexico: Sergio Perez is Mexico's first Formula One driver to reach the podium in 40 years, which means in Latin America he is being compared to the late Brazilian great Ayrton Senna.

Perez, speaking on Friday in his hometown of Guadalajara in western Mexico, shrugged off the comparisons and suggested fans should revisit the subject in two or three seasons when he might be ready to challenge for the Formula One season title.

Alguersuari handed Pirelli F1 testing role

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London: Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, who raced for Toro Rosso last season, was named as an official Formula One test driver for tyre supplier Pirelli on Friday.

The 22-year-old will share the duties with Brazilian Lucas Di Grassi, last year's sole tester for the Italian company.