91Èȱ¬

A major revolution in Formula 1 engine and car design scheduled for the 2013 season is under threat.

The plan is to replace the current 2.4-litre V8 engines with 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbos fitted with extensive environmental technology and for .

The idea is to help popularise sustainable technologies, which are already being used in road cars, and therefore to insulate F1 from any accusations that it is profligate with resources. As a result, it is hoped F1 will become more attractive to other car companies.

Except that the changes, which we have discussed extensively on this blog over the last year or so, might not happen - at least not in two years' time.

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A new twist in the long-running row over the use of the Lotus name in Formula 1 has emerged with the announcement that the owners of have .

and his partners see , which makes replicas of the old two-seater open-top sportscar, as a company with historic links and "synergies" with Team Lotus that allows them to realise their ambition of diversifying into making road cars.

Their original plan was to do that with Group Lotus, the company that markets Lotus sportscars, but as Fernandes puts it: "That obviously didn't turn out very well."

What the Malaysian businessman, and owner of budget airline , is referring to is the increasingly bitter dispute between him and Group Lotus that has ended up in the High Court.

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Formula 1's ability to generate major news stories above and beyond the excitement of the racing has never been in doubt, and this week has been no exception. No sooner had the dust settled on than reports emerged that 's was considering buying the entire sport.

The stories appeared first on Murdoch-controlled , quickly followed by the Murdoch-controlled , and they certainly set tongues wagging within F1.

The prospect of the sport being taken off free-to-air television - in the UK, it is currently on the 91Èȱ¬, which took over the contract from ITV in 2009 - and put on pay-per-view has also created .

So could it happen?

Given that this is F1, it is no surprise that not only is there no definitive answer to that question, but that any explanation of the situation is complicated. I'll try to make it as straightforward as possible.

There are two inter-related issues here - who owns F1's commercial rights, and where it is broadcast. We'll leave the ownership of the sport aside until later and deal with the issue of versus first.

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was fighting back the tears as he prepared to go out on to the podium after . It had, he said, felt like "an eternity" since his last victory, in the Belgian Grand Prix last August. After he has come down to earth, he might well think it was worth the wait. This was - Martin Brundle and David Coulthard agreed - one of the greatest performances of .

A thrilling race, in which it was impossible to pick a winner until very close to the end, put an end to 's domination of the 2011 season. From looking like his had the pace to win every race, the world champion now knows he faces a fight.

From the very beginning of the season, it has looked like Hamilton would be the man giving the Red Bulls their closest challenge, but events had transpired in the previous two races to prevent him taking the fight to Vettel.

In China, though, Hamilton finally got the chance he had been waiting for and the result was one of the most exciting Formula 1 races for a very long time.

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, who has enjoyed a promising start to the new season with the team, takes his turn in the hot seat in our new-look classic Formula 1 series.

For those unfamiliar with the format, 91Èȱ¬ Sport has asked all the F1 drivers for their five favourite grands prix. Those choices will then be serialised before every race this season in order to whet your appetites for the action ahead. Highlights will be shown on this website and the red button on 91Èȱ¬ television in the UK.

The first two drivers to reveal their top-five picks were world champion Sebastian Vettel and countryman Michael Schumacher.

Buemi - a 22-year-old Swiss - is next. He may not be as famous as Vettel or Schumacher but he has come up with some interesting choices.

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There was a point, shortly before half distance, when the appeared to be turning into a microcosm of exactly what the 2011 Formula 1 season was expected to be.

The eventual winner was leading in his , from 's and 's Ferrari. Hamilton was closing on Vettel, Alonso was closing on Hamilton and, not far behind them, in the second McLaren was keeping pace.

Four great drivers in the three top teams were all in contention, and it looked for all the world like a continuation of the fights that made last year into an all-time classic.

In the end, that fantastic battle for the lead ebbed away, but the race still went some way towards cooling fears that Red Bull are going to walk away with this championship.

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has chosen his five greatest all-time grands prix for the second edition of this year's new-look classic Formula 1 feature.

To those unfamiliar with the concept, 91Èȱ¬ Sport has asked all the F1 drivers to name their five favourite races, and we will select one of them ahead of each grand prix this season to whet your appetites for the action to come.

World champion Sebastian Vettel started the ball rolling with his selection prior to the Australian Grand Prix, and now it is his friend and countryman's turn.

The drivers are free to choose whether they pick races from their own career, or those from the wider history of F1 that have resonated with them. And like Vettel, Schumacher has selected only races from his time in the sport.

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Bernie Ecclestone will not be able to believe his eyes. For years, decades even, Formula 1's impresario has derided , criticising one of the sport's most historic venues for being shabby and behind the times, at times effectively calling it a

No longer.

The full scale of the track's ambition to upgrade itself into a cutting edge 21st century facility to rival any on the grand prix calendar became clear on Monday, when Silverstone's managing director Richard Phillips gave a tour of the spectacular new pit complex. It was something of a culture shock.

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The hotly anticipated new film 'Senna', about the life and career of the Brazilian Formula 1 legend, has finally been given a UK release date - 3 June.

The movie, which I was lucky enough to see last summer, has caused quite a stir both within Formula 1 and the film world and with good reason - it's fantastic. It has already won one significant award from the jury at 's Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, who gave it the World Cinema Audience award for best documentary.

It's a marvellous movie and, coming as it does from , the company behind Four Weddings and a Funeral and the brilliant mountaineering film , that's no surprise.

Senna's story is a compelling one anyway, but what makes this film are the unearthed treasures of previously unseen footage - including revealing snapshots of his life in Brazil and behind the closed doors of the driver briefings at grands prix.

These are weaved together with more familiar images of the great Brazilian's career to create a fascinating story that grips the audience from early on and never lets go. You can get a sense of it from the trailer we have embedded in this blog.

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