Stefano Domenicali admits the inevitable implications of Ferrari’s decision to freeze development on its F60 car may be starting to surface after the team suffered a difficult Friday in Singapore.

Although the reigning world champion team shifted its development focus to its 2010 car as long ago as early August, it has still been enjoying the best period of its disappointing season in recent races with Kimi Raikkonen winning in Belgium and arriving in Singapore on the back of four successive podium finishes.

However, with most teams having continued to develop their challengers and several introducing big upgrades for this weekend, Domenicali fears Ferrari may be starting to slip off the pace after finishing Friday practice mired outside the top 10.

And although the form on the opening day of a grand prix weekend is never conclusive, the team principal concedes the Scuderia may be in for a tougher weekend and therefore must again maximise its F60’s potential if it is to record another decent result.

“Clearly, when evaluating today’s free practice times, one has to consider the various unknown factors, but it is equally clear that our situation looks pretty difficult,” Domenicali said.

“Besides, if so many other teams continue to bring significant technical updates to the track, while for the past two months we have frozen the development of the F60, then we can expect to find ourselves in this situation.

“All the same, we must now concentrate on ourselves and try and make the most of the package we have, as indeed we have done in the past few races: if we do a good job, we have seen that the results can follow.”

After admitting on Thursday that nerves had played a part in his low-key Ferrari debut at Monza two weeks ago, Giancarlo Fisichella is aiming to do better than his ninth-place finish this weekend.

However, after a tough Friday in which he struggled to find a satisfactory balance with his car, he admits that task may be far from straightforward.

“It was a rather difficult day,” the Italian veteran said.

“The car is very nervous and I have yet to find the ideal set-up.

“Now, I must sit down with the team to try and prepare as well as possible for qualifying and the race.

“My aim is to improve on my result from Monza, but I know that won’t be easy.”

He added that the dusty conditions on the street circuit had made for a particularly challenging day, with his evaluations of the soft tyres not helped by the red flag in the afternoon.

“The track was very slippery and sometimes I had a bit of graining on the tyres,” Fisichella added.

“Unfortunately, I never managed to do a long run with the soft tyres, because of the red flags following [Mark] Webber’s accident: this compound is definitely quicker by three to four tenths, but there is a question mark over the consistency of its performance.”

The in-form Raikkonen, meanwhile, was unsurprisingly less disturbed about Ferrari’s Friday placings and explained he was again content to wait and see how the form book developed tomorrow.

“It was a Friday like any other,” he said after posting the ninth and 14th quickest times in the two sessions respectively.

“We had a number of little problems with the car, but overall, we were able to get through the programme we had set ourselves.

“As for the times, there is always a question mark over the various fuel loads: we will see tomorrow what we can do in qualifying.

“Today is too soon to say if we can be in a position to fight for a podium finish as we have done in recent races.

“The softer tyres degrade more quickly, at least from what we could see today.

“It’s hardly surprising and usually, bit by bit, as the track rubbers in, the situation improves.”

However, chief engineer Chris Dyer summed up the general mood in the Ferrari garage by adding: “Today’s performance was definitely nothing to get excited about.

“The interruption to the session complicated the running of our planned programme, but overall we have gathered sufficient data to be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race.

“Tomorrow, our aim is to get both cars through to Q3: it won’t be easy, but we will do our best.”

Mark Webber finished the day in a solid sixth despite crashing out of the session after just 35 minutes.

Spa and Monza star Force India again continued to run just outside the top 10, Sutil again its lead driver in 12th, while Ferrari also ended a low-key Friday firmly in the midfield - Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella finishing 14th and 16th respectively.

Singapore Grand Prix free practice session two
1.  VETTEL        Red Bull      1m48.650s
2.  ALONSO        Renault       1m48.924s
3.  KOVALAINEN    McLaren       1m48.952s
4.  HEIDFELD      BMW           1m49.098s
5.  BUTTON        Brawn         1m49.311s
6.  WEBBER        Red Bull      1m49.317s
7.  ROSBERG       Williams      1m49.333s
8.  GLOCK         Toyota        1m49.342s
9.  HAMILTON      McLaren       1m49.358s
10. KUBICA        BMW           1m49.609s
11. BARRICHELLO   Brawn         1m49.616s
12. SUTIL         Force India   1m49.710s
13. TRULLI        Toyota        1m49.795s
14. RAIKKONEN     Ferrari       1m49.941s
15. NAKAJIMA      Williams      1m50.023s
16. FISICHELLA    Ferrari       1m50.253s
17. BUEMI         Toro Rosso    1m50.527s
18. LIUZZI        Force India   1m50.605s
19. GROSJEAN      Renault       1m50.972s
20. ALGUERSUARI   Toro Rosso    1m51.423s

Rubens Barrichello pipped team-mate and title rival Jenson Button to the fastest time in Friday’s first practice at Singapore, as Brawn showed its expected advantage on the tight and bumpy Marina Bay street circuit.


Singapore GP free practice session one times

1.  BARRICHELLO   Brawn         1m50.179s
2.  BUTTON        Brawn         1m50.356s
3.  WEBBER        Red Bull      1m50.416s
4.  ALONSO        Renault       1m50.567s
5.  VETTEL        Red Bull      1m50.614s
6.  KOVALAINEN    McLaren       1m50.699s
7.  HAMILTON      McLaren       1m50.715s
8.  KUBICA        BMW           1m50.815s
9.  RAIKKONEN     Ferrari       1m50.865s
10. NAKAJIMA      Williams      1m51.089s
11. ROSBERG       Williams      1m51.427s
12. SUTIL         Force India   1m51.544s
13. BUEMI         Toro Rosso    1m51.643s
14. HEIDFELD      BMW           1m51.656s
15. GLOCK         Toyota        1m52.083s
16. TRULLI        Toyota        1m52.135s
17. FISICHELLA    Ferrari       1m52.390s
18. LIUZZI        Force India   1m52.905s
19. ALGUERSUARI   Toro Rosso    1m53.232s
20. GROSJEAN      Renault       1m53.458s

Ferrari's Felipe Massa is to race in a karting event in Brazil in November as he continues his recovery from near-fatal head injuries.

The Brazilian suffered a fractured skull in July when a spring flew off Rubens Barrichello's car and hit him on the helmet above his left eye.

"I'm going to take part again in the International Challenge of the Stars," said Massa, 28, in a promotional video.

Michael Schumacher and Barrichello are also expected to take part.

The action will get under way in Florianopolis on 28 November, and features drivers from many different categories of motorsport, including Formula 1, Indy racing and stock cars.

"It's an incredible party, they get the best drivers together from all categories in the world," added Massa, who helps organise the event.

Massa, who recently had plastic surgery on his injury, is not due to return to F1 until next year.

Ferrari hired Italian Giancarlo Fisichella to replace Massa for the final five races of this season after a neck problem prevented seven-time F1 champion Schumacher from driving in his place.

Mario Theissen has confirmed the BMW Sauber team will switch to Ferrari engines in its new era of ownership next season.

The German carmaker announced last week that it had agreed to sell the team to Swiss-based investment foundation Qadbak Investments, although its place on the 2010 grid is not yet certain after the FIA gave Lotus the final guaranteed position.

But with the governing body in the process of trying to get agreement to expand the grid to 28 cars so to accommodate the Hinwil-based squad, the team, alongside its little-known new owner, is beginning to plan for next year – with a customer deal for a supply of Ferrari V8s already agreed.

Asked in Singapore on Thursday to confirm which engines it will use in 2010 current team principal Theissen said: “It will run Ferrari powertrains.”

Theissen has also been assured that Qadbak, which represents the interests of families in the Middle East and Europe, has the financial muscle to keep the Hinwil squad as a substantial F1 force.

“We are very confident to be on the grid next year and the new investor, apparently, is quite strong,” he said.

“He wants to continue with the team in a strong state, not just as an also ran, which is an excellent prospective for the team. We couldn’t really expect that.

“So [there is] strong morale, the team is really positive, we have a good upgrade for the car here and we want to achieve something for the final four races.”

He added: “They [Qadbak] know what to expect. They know about the financial structure of the team today what they want to achieve.

“To be a strong team next year takes some resources and they are prepared for that.”

Although Theissen, in his wider-reaching role as BMW’s motorsport director, will still be able to be involved with the carmaker’s other motor racing activities following its F1 exit at the end of the year, there has been speculation that the German could stay on at the Hinwil team into its new era.

Indeed he admitted that he would be keeping his 2010 plans “fully open” until November, adding that he was in no rush to decide on his own future.

“My personal future is fully open and I will keep it open until the end of the season,” Theissen said.

“It wouldn’t be helpful to mix up my own situation with all the efforts to secure the future of the team.

“I’m not concerned. There will be time later this year.”

The identity of the investors behind the Qadback takeover remains shrouded in secrecy, the investment group having adopted the same approach when it took over Notts County football club in July.

Theissen revealed that only certain people at BMW actually knew the identity of the individuals bankrolling the purchase of the team.

“We have no concern at all about the seriousness and the capabilities of the investor,” Theissen said.

“So far Qadbak has not identified the background of its operation to the team. They want to keep it confidential.

“There are certain information available to individual people at BMW, but that’s all I can tell you.”

Giancarlo Fisichella has admitted that nerves held him back in Italy a fortnight ago, but says he is feeling much more confident about his second appearance for Ferrari in Singapore.

The former Force India driver qualified 14th and finished ninth at Monza, where he made his debut for Ferrari in the car usually occupied by the injured Felipe Massa.

He says his mindset is completely different coming into this weekend's Marina Bay event.

"I feel more comfortable, more confident, more relaxed," said Fisichella.

"Monza was a tough weekend for me, especially in terms of how nervous I was even before getting in the car on Friday, and all weekend.

"But now after a whole race, and I did some more simulator work in the factory, I did an aerodynamic test last weekend at Fiorano, I'm much more comfortable.

"I like the circuit, with more downforce it will be better for me - I will have more confidence."

Fisichella explained that he had focused particularly on using KERS in the simulator as he felt his unfamiliarity with the device had been a handicap in Italy.

"At Monza I think I was losing a couple of tenths just with concentration because I was thinking about that," he admitted.

He does not think Singapore will be a spectacular weekend for Ferrari, but hopes he can join team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in the top ten group at least.

"As you know Ferrari stopped the development of the car because they are just concentrating on next year's car, but considering Valencia, Kimi was competitive there, and we should have the same level of downforce so I think we should be alright to be in the top ten," said Fisichella.

"The ambition is to get into the top ten qualifying session and score points, be as close as possible to Kimi and obviously to the leaders."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says Kimi Raikkonen is not guaranteed to drive for the team next season.

Di Montezemolo said the team would retain Felipe Massa, who is recovering from a fractured skull sustained in a crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

He added: "Otherwise, we are mulling the best choice but we still have time. We will decide in a few weeks."

It is widely believed in Formula 1 that Ferrari have already agreed a deal for Fernando Alonso to join them in 2010.

Both Raikkonen and Massa are under contract to Ferrari for next year, but the Italian team have been looking at ways of moving the Finn on to another team.

Massa is recovering at home in Brazil and Ferrari are planning on the basis that he will be fit to return for the start of next season.

Montezemolo said: "We will have a Brazilian driver (Massa) because he deserves another chance given that, thank God, he is fine."

Giancarlo Fisichella is currently driving for Ferrari in place of Massa alongside Raikkonen after he replaced initial stand-in Luca Badoer, and the Italian will be the team's reserve driver next season.

Raikkonen, 29, has been linked with former team McLaren or championship leaders Brawn for next year in media reports.

The Finish driver won the world championship by a point in his first season with Ferrari in 2007 but last year he finished third and this season stands fifth behind the Brawn and Red Bull drivers with four races of 2009 remaining.

South Korea will host its first grand prix next year after being listed on a 19-race calendar published on Monday.The event, which will be held in Yeongam in the south-west of the country, is scheduled for 17 October. That makes it the third last race, with Abu Dhabi on 31 October and the climax in Brazil on 14 November. The Canadian Grand Prix returns after a year's absence but is listed as provisional pending the completion of contract negotiations. The British Grand Prix has an 11 July date. F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that the British event will stay at Silverstone if Donington cannot fulfil its obligations. Bahrain has replaced the Australian Grand Prix as the season opener because Ecclestone wants to run the Melbourne event, which is slated for 28 March, at a time as friendly to European television audiences as possible. This year, the Australian race started at 1700 local time, which was 0700 BST. However, that would not be possible two weeks earlier as the clocks would still to have been changed from summer to winter time in Australia, and vice versa in Europe. The Malaysian race, a week after Australia, starts at 1600 local time, an hour earlier than this year's truncated event to give more time to finish the event in the event of delays.

The full 2010 schedule is as follows:
March 14 - Bahrain (Sakhir)
March 28 - Australia (Melbourne)
April 4 - Malaysia (Sepang)
April 18 - China (Shanghai)
May 9 - Spain (Barcelona)
May 23 - Monaco (Monte Carlo)
May 30 - Turkey (Istanbul)
June 13 - Canada (Montreal)
June 27 - Europe (Valencia)
July 11 - Great Britain (Donington Park)
July 25 - Germany (Hockenheim)
August 1 - Hungary (Budapest)
August 29 - Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
September 12 - Italy (Monza)
September 26 - Singapore (Singapore)
October 3 - Japan (Suzuka)
October 17 - South Korea (Yeongam)
October 31 - Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
November 14 - Brazil (Interlagos)

Renault has been handed a two-year suspended ban from Formula 1 after admitting that it conspired to fix the result of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

The French manufacturer’s departed team boss Flavio Briatore has been barred from any involvement in FIA-sanctioned events and driver management for an indefinite period, and former engineering chief Pat Symonds has been banished for five years.

Following a 90-minute hearing of its World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday, F1’s governing body announced that it considered Renault’s plot to cause a deliberate crash to be an offence “of unparalleled severity” which warranted permanent disqualification from the sport.

However, it decided to suspend the sentence for two years after taking into account Renault’s unreserved apology and the company’s swift action in parting with Briatore and Symonds ahead of the hearing.

The disqualification will only be activated if Renault is found guilty of a “comparable breach” between now and the end of the 2011 season.

The WMSC confirmed the immunity it granted to Nelson Piquet Jr – who carried out the plan to crash on purpose and whose subsequent approach to the FIA triggered the investigation – in return for volunteering his evidence.

Fernando Alonso, who profited from the safety car period Piquet’s crash caused to win the Singapore race, was cleared of any involvement in the conspiracy.

Having announced last week that it would not challenge the race-fixing allegations, Renault’s defence at the WMSC hearing centred not on the substance of the claims but on its reaction once they had come to light.

The team stated that it had conducted an internal investigation whose findings tallied with those of the FIA enquiry – namely that “Flavio Briatore, Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet Jr had conspired to cause the crash” and that “no other team member was involved in the conspiracy”.

Renault’s subsequent actions and its attempts to make amends persuaded the WMSC to lessen the penalty, despite the gravity of the charge which the FIA noted “not only compromised the integrity of the sport but also endangered the lives of spectators, officials, other competitors and Nelson Piquet Jr himself.”

The FIA said Renault made several points in mitigation, among them that it had accepted responsibility for the conspiracy “at the earliest practicable opportunity” and had cooperated fully with the FIA’s investigation; had ensured that Briatore and Symonds left the team; and had “apologised unreservedly to the FIA and the sport for the harm caused by its actions”.

Renault also agreed to pay the costs of the governing body's investigation and the carmaker committed to making a “significant contribution” to FIA safety-related projects.

“Having regard to the points in mitigation mentioned above, and in particular the steps taken by Renault F1 to identify and address the failings within its team and condemn the actions of the individuals involved, the WMSC has decided to suspend Renault F1’s disqualification until the end of the 2011 season,” the FIA statement said.

“The World Motor Sport Council will only activate this disqualification if Renault F1 is found guilty of a comparable breach during that time.”

If the penalty imposed on Renault was less draconian than expected, the WMSC came down heavily on the two men at the centre of the scandal, Briatore and Symonds.

Briatore, who resigned as the team’s managing director last week saying he felt “morally responsible” for the scandal, now has no way back into the sport.

The FIA said that “for an unlimited period” it would not sanction “any international event, championship, cup, trophy, challenge or series involving Mr Briatore in any capacity whatsoever, or grant any licence to any team or other entity engaging [him] in any capacity whatsoever.

“It also hereby instructs all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr Briatore access to any areas under the FIA’s jurisdiction.”

Moreover, it in effect put an end to Briatore’s driver management role, since it said it would not renew the Superlicence of any driver contracted to Briatore or otherwise associated with him.

Briatore currently manages four F1 drivers – Alonso, Romain Grosjean, Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen – all of whom will presumably now have to disentangle themselves from their contracts.

Symonds escaped slightly more lightly, with a similar total ban on taking part in FIA-sanctioned events but for five years rather than an indefinite period.

The governing body said Symonds had been treated more leniently than Briatore because he had admitted taking part in the conspiracy and had told the WMSC that it was to his “eternal regret and shame” that he had done so.

The FIA said the full reasons for the decision, plus a complete recording of the WMSC proceedings, would be made available shortly.

A dispute with Ferrari over his salary is the only thing holding up Kimi Raikkonen's return to McLaren, according to a report.

Raikkonen's position at the Italian team is under threat with continued rumours claiming that Fernando Alonso will be taking his race-seat next season.

The Finn, who drove for McLaren from 2002 until 2006, has previously stated that he is prepared to go to another team next year if Ferrari decide to get rid of him.

"If for some reason I am not at Ferrari next season I know I'll have a seat at another team in the paddock," he recently told the British press.

The Mirror reports that a move back to McLaren is in line for Raikkonen.

'Paddock sources say the Finn, 29, has signed an outline agreement to return.

'But first he has to settle a dispute with his current employers. He is refusing to step down unless he is paid all of his 2010 £30m salary.'

Engine supplier Mercedes, though, is thought to be in favour of a move for Williams' Nico Rosberg.

'The deal could explain McLaren's increasingly tense relationship with engine supplier Mercedes, who wanted German Nico Rosberg in the car.'

Usually, the Ferrari team announce their driver lineup for the following season at their home grand prix in Monza. Nothing was announced last weekend, which proves Ferrari are unsure on their driver lineup for 2010 and that Ferrari are trying to sign Fernando,  but also waiting on the latest news on Felipe before sorting out Kimi's future.