Autoblog

What a tangled web we weave. Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel is one of the only drivers in Formula One who doesn't have a manager, and the rookie has no plans to change that despite an increasingly complicated entanglement of contracts between several teams now being reported in the motorsport media.

Vettel was a test driver for BMW Sauber the past two seasons before moving in to replace Scott Speed at the Red Bull b-squad last year, coming in an impressive fourth place at the Chinese Grand Prix. Reports suggest that Vettel is still contracted to both BMW and Red Bull, but that's not the end of it. Rumors are now circulating that he could be called up to Ferrari –Toro Rosso's engines supplier – next season. Although most reports are indicating Vettel could replace Felipe Massa, the more likely scenario could see Vettel move to Maranello as a third driver, sharing testing duties with Ferrari's two race drivers and acting as a back-up. Such an arrangement would be similar to the one that brought Massa to the team from Sauber, which was powered by Ferrari before BMW came into the picture. Meanwhile, Ferrari is tipped to have a clause that could put Vettel in a Ferrari in case either Raikkonen or Massa has to sit out a race this season, which in turn would leave Toro Rosso scrambling for a driver to fill Vettel's seat. If you're not thoroughly confused by now, you weren't paying attention.

[Sources: GrandPrix.com and F1-Live, Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty]

After months of speculation and denials, Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed that Scuderia Toro Rosso is up for sale. STR is the effective b-squad to Red Bull Racing, and is jointly owned by Mateschitz and former F1 driver Gerhard Berger, having purchased the perennial back-marker Minardi team in 2006.

The impetus for the sale is reportedly the new regulation banning joint development or customer cars beginning in 2010, which puts STR and its collaboration with the Red Bull main team in jeopardy. Toro Rosso made an admirable start to the season this past Sunday at the Australian Grand Prix, where four-time Champ Car champ Sebastien Bourdais finished in the points on his F1 debut after narrowly missing a fourth-place finish. If the team continues to outperform expectations, Mateschitz and Berger should have no trouble finding a buyer by 2010, until which time STR will continue its campaign under current ownership. Numerous potential buyers have been touted already, including Tony Teixeira, who already has a good relationship with engine supplier Ferrari after negotiating a similar deal for his A1GP series.

[Source: Autosport, Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty]

Scott Speed's climb through the Red Bull Young Driver's Program was a great deal more promising -- and lengthy -- than his actual Formula 1 career. As of today, the 24-year-old Californian has been replaced in his Scuderia Toro Rosso seat by former BMW test driver Sebastian Vettel. Vettel, a 20-year-old German, is highly regarded by STR half-owner Gerhard Berger, and will race in this week's Hungarian GP.

Speed's tenure has been a forgettable year-and-a-half of no results and more than a few skirmishes and crashes -- not all of which are entirely Speed's fault. Even the Red Bull cars, piloted by the much more experienced Mark Weber and David Coulthard, haven't shown too much life. The drama has been stoked by the STR team owners', Berger and Franz Tost, increasingly acidic and public comments about how displeased they are with the STR driver lineup. Things reached a nadir when, after Speed's exit from the European Grand Prix, he was physically assaulted by Tost.

Speed says he doesn't want to want to ruin his relationship with parent team Red Bull, and would work with them even if not in Formula 1 -- but he wouldn't race for STR again for any amount of money. As for the premiere motorsport category, with Speed's ouster, the record of American drivers in F1 remains, uh, nothing short of dismal.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

[Source: Daily F1]

Scuderia Toro Rosso's Scott Speed will return to his racing roots in November, sliding into a shifter kart to race in the 10th running of U.S. karting's SuperNationals in Las Vegas.

Speed got his start in karting, and he's the only shifter kart pilot to win the SuperNats twice, in 2000 and 2001. (The picture shows Scott at the 2001 SuperNats. That's 2006 Champ Car title contender A.J. Allmendinger two karts back.) He'll be racing alongside brother Alex (U.S. national champion in 2003, 2004 and 2005) in karts prepped by his father, Mike.

The SuperNats have long been the one U.S. race that every karter wants to win, and the one-off appearance by America's one and only F1 driver is bound to attract competitors from across the country. (The $10,000 purse for the headline class won't hurt, either.)

If you want to see a Formula 1 driver practicing his racecraft up close and personal, be in Las Vegas November 10-12! Event details are here.

[Source: SPEED Channel]