Some news tidbits from the world of Formula 1:

Sponsor Insures Alonso’s Thumbs For 10m Euros: During an event for Spanish team sponsor Santander on Monday, it was announced that Fernando Alonso’s thumbs have been insured. The bank said the Ferrari driver’s life as well as his thumbs – presumably to safeguard his ability to confidently greet his fans at Grands Prix with positivity – have been insured to the tune of 10 million euros. More pertinently, he said he is happy with his start to the 2010 season, as he trails championship leader Jenson Button by 11 points. “I wasn’t happy with things on Sunday night in Shanghai, but now, with a cool head, I can be really satisfied,” said Alonso, 28, at the event near Madrid. “We didn’t always gain what we could have according to our potential, but we’re fighting for the title and this is what counts more than anything else,” added the Spaniard, who said that in 2008 and 2009 with Renault he “knew” he would not win those titles.

Force India Engineer Runs London Marathon: Force India’s chief engineer Dominic Harlow made it back from China in time to contest the 2010 London Marathon. He completed the 42 kilometer course around the Thames on Sunday in just over three and a half hours. Even faster was F1′s former safety car driver Oliver Gavin, 37, whose time under 3 hours placed him 657th overall amid 35,000 runners. “My time today should now be enough to qualify me for the Boston or New York marathons … if I want to do either of them. My legs need to recover first!” he laughed. Another F1-related runner was Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin brand sponsored the event. He crossed the line after 5 hours.

Mika Hakkinen Hints At F1 Return ‘As A Manager’: Mika Hakkinen is considering a full-time return to premier motor racing — as a driver manager. While backing his former title rival Michael Schumacher to return to top form and win a race on his 2010 comeback, the similarly 41-year-old Hakkinen also admits he still feels the lure of the sport. “I miss racing every day. It’s very close to my heart,” said the double world champion, who raced in DTM between 2005 and 2007 after retiring from F1 at the end of 2001. The Finn told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “I’ll be back but I don’t know when or where. I just know that I will do it again. “Perhaps I will come back to F1 as a manager,” added Hakkinen. Indeed, he is also part of his own manager Didier Coton’s Aces Group company, and has been linked with Lewis Hamilton in the wake of the McLaren driver’s professional split with his father Anthony.

No Quick Fix For Williams, Says Barrichello: Rubens Barrichello has admitted there will be no quick solution to Williams’ current lack of pace. The newly Cosworth-powered FW32 showed signs of promise in the preseason, but has collected just six points from the first four races, causing technical boss Sam Michael to surmise that the car is “not fast enough”. “We know exactly some of the areas in which we need to improve,” said Barrichello, who joined Williams from F1′s title winning team of 2009, Brawn. “We are not suddenly going to find a second (per lap) from somewhere, but the important thing is that I am firmly convinced that the second is in the car,” he is quoted as saying by Speedweek. On the positive side, the 37-year-old said that he and Williams – just his fifth team in 18 consecutive seasons in F1 – are already working well together. “There is a good harmony between driver and team,” he is quoted as saying by Brazil’s Globo. “Williams are prepared to listen to me, which is good. They really trust my inputs so I am feeling good about that,” added Barrichello.

Fiat Boss Wants Rossi In F1: The boss of the Italian carmaker Fiat has backed calls for Valentino Rossi to switch to Formula One in 2011. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo this week said he wants F1′s rules to be changed so that the Italian team can enter a third car for the multiple and reigning champion of MotoGP. Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of the Ferrari parent Fiat, admitted that Rossi at the wheel of a Maranello built single seater is “a great idea. Luca says he would like to have a third Ferrari car with Valentino – it’s a great idea if he (Rossi) is willing to do it,” said Marchionne in Italian reports. The comments are despite Rossi’s contractual ties to Fiat, with the carmaker a major sponsor of his MotoGP team Yamaha. Marchionne said he “cannot say anything” about Rossi’s future, with the 31-year-old’s contract expiring this year.

Briatore Not Interested In Making Up With Mosley: Flavio Briatore has revealed he has no intention of attempting to reconcile his broken relationship with former F1 colleague Max Mosley. In his last year of FIA presidency in 2009, Mosley oversaw the imposition of ousted Renault team boss Briatore’s lifetime ban over the crashgate scandal. But Mosley has since turned 70 and is now effectively retired, replaced by Jean Todt who has halted crashgate by agreeing to end Briatore’s ban in 2013. Italian Briatore, now 60, also celebrated a birthday this month, and is currently at home with his model wife Elisabetta and their newly born son Falco. But he told the Italian magazine Chi that he is not interested in making up with Mosley. “He sent me a text message to congratulate us on the birth of Falco, but Mosley is part of my former life. In my future there will be no place for him,” said Briatore.

Heidfeld, Glock, Came Close To DTM Race Seats: A couple of Formula One drivers came within a cloud of volcanic ash of racing in this weekend’s season opener of the 2010 DTM championship. Because Mercedes’ Paul di Resta and Gary Paffett were delayed in Shanghai due to the ongoing European air travel disruptions, the German marque feared the pair might not be back to drive at Hockenheim. Mercedes’ F1 reserve driver Nick Heidfeld, who was among the first to leave China, and his German countryman Timo Glock, were lined up as potential replacements. Like Heidfeld, Glock – who drives for Virgin but with close ties to the DTM backer Deutsche Post – was among the fortunate few to secure an early return flight to Europe. “We did not know when they (Paffett and di Resta) would come back. There was definitely the possibility that Nick and Timo would have driven the cars,” Norbert Haug is quoted as saying by motorsport-total.com. Ultimately, the two DTM drivers – and Mercedes’ competition director Haug – arrived in Germany “earlier than anticipated,” Haug said.

Ferrari Teammates Say All OK Between Them: Ferrari on Tuesday continued to deny a reported rift between its F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. The Italian team slammed “some news outlets” for trying to create “bad blood” between the Spanish and Brazilian pair, after it was suggested Massa had been unhappy with Alonso’s pit entry overtaking move during the Chinese GP. “There is no dispute between Alonso and Massa; they know well what they have to do and will continue doing it, because they know that they are racing for Ferrari and not for themselves,” said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo on a statement posted on the marque’s official website. And in yet another posting on the site, Ferrari quoted Alonso and Massa as being “tired and surprised” when they learned of the media reports after landing in Nice from their flight from Shanghai. “As it happens quite often, there’s always someone who wants to create some confusion,” said Massa. Alonso also said he was “surprised” to learn of the media controversy. “If someone wants to make a fuss, it definitely won’t ruin the spirit of Ferrari,” said the Spaniard.

Lotus Eyes Sepang For HQ In 2010: Lotus is hoping to put in place plans for a Malaysian headquarters and wind tunnel later this year. The Norfolk based team, headed by Malaysian airline tycoon Tony Fernandes, said at its inception that its longer plan was to call Malaysia home. A report in the Malaysian newspaper, The Star, said Lotus is planning a facility with a wind tunnel and CFD center at the Sepang circuit. “We are already moving towards getting this project off the ground and we are hopeful that it could be completed by this year,” confirmed team principal Fernandes. He also said Lotus needs to find more sponsors.

Haug Applauds F1′s Peace In New Todt Era: Norbert Haug on Tuesday is quoted as applauding the better environment in Formula One this year. After his long reign and the bitter political war of 2009, Max Mosley has been replaced as FIA president by Jean Todt. There had been concerns about the Frenchman’s appointment due to his links with Ferrari and his often belligerent attitude in running the Italian team. And it was believed that former candidate Ari Vatanen was supported by many of the teams because of his vocal opposition to Mosley, while Todt was viewed as the continuation of the Briton’s unpopular regime. But Mercedes’ Haug told the German news agency DPA: “There is a constructive atmosphere now. I hope the cooperation goes on.” For now, the scandals of the past years have quietened, but Haug is not expecting a perpetual peace. “There will be more hard fighting in the future,” he predicted.