Some news tidbits from the world of Formula 1:

A Second Gearbox Problem For Red Bull On Sunday: Red Bull suffered two gearbox problems in Canada on Sunday. With McLaren now leading both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships with victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, it has emerged that Sebastian Vettel struggled to the checkered flag with a gearbox problem. His Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, who finished behind Vettel in fifth place, earlier lost his front row starting place due to an unscheduled gearbox change penalty. “I had a gearbox problem from around halfway through the race, which meant I had to slow down,” German Vettel said.

Michelin ‘Pessimistic’ About 2011 F1 Tire Deal: Pirelli has edged yet closer to becoming F1′s new official tire supplier. The Milan based company’s only competition for the deal, Michelin, is close to falling out of the running. “The development time for 2011 seems very compromised now,” managing partner Didier Miraton said at Le Mans, according to L’Equipe. Spotted in Montreal on Sunday was Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s competition director, for talks with the teams association FOTA. It is believed that, some days ago, contracts were drawn up and signed with the representative of F1′s commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone. The final hurdle is the signing off by the FIA’s legal department. Michelin’s Miraton indicated that the French company is essentially now out of the running.

German Rivals Unhappy With ‘Superstar’ Vettel: It would be fair to say Sebastian Vettel is not on the Christmas card list of two of his countrymen and F1 rivals. Veteran journalist Roger Benoit, long-time correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, traveled to Montreal on the same Zurich flight as Vettel and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg. He said the pair were seated not a car’s length apart, but neither greeted one another nor exchanged a single word. Benoit said the reason for the freeze was “clear”: a few days earlier, Rosberg had said Vettel was definitely to blame for his crash with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber in Turkey. Meanwhile, after Sunday’s Canadian grand prix, 22-year-old Vettel triggered the temper of Force India driver Adrian Sutil. Vettel, he revealed to the media, had approached the 27-year-old and sarcastically asked if his rearview mirrors had fallen off during the Montreal race. “He should be quiet. He thinks he’s a superstar,” Sutil is quoted as retorting.

F1 Must Wait Until 2012 For HD Broadcasts: Formula One fans are facing a long wait for the sport to be broadcast on television in High Definition. The newly-published results of the recent FOTA-commissioned fan survey showed that 70 per cent want the track action televised in HD. On Saturday night in Montreal, members of the media were given a demonstration of both HD as well as new 3D technology — after a Lotus car carried a 3D camera in practice sessions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. But even HD is a long way off for F1, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said. “As soon as the broadcasters tell me they want it,” he said, “we can do it. “I think next year is too soon; we’re looking at more like 2012.”

Lack Of Funds Could Cost Chandhok F1 Seat: Karun Chandhok could be set to lose his Formula One seat due to his stream of sponsorship funds drying up. A report in the English language Indian newspaper Hindustan Times on Saturday said the boss of the HRT team, Colin Kolles, is in talks with potential replacements for the 26-year-old from Chennai. Former Midland and Spyker racer Christijan Albers may be one potential candidate. The Dutchman has F1 experience and has driven for Kolles’ Formula One, DTM and Le Mans teams. Albers, 31, said this week that he might soon return to F1 “with the help of my loyal sponsors. I have a partner that just might give that final push.” Referring to “sources,” Hindustan Times said Narain Karthikeyan and Pastor Maldonado, and HRT third driver Sakon Yamamoto, might also be in the running for Chandhok’s drive. Chandhok acknowledged in Montreal that the Indian corporate world has not fully backed him, while angling for a Force India seat “at some point in my career. … I’ve been chasing (Indian) sponsors for years in GP2 and Formula Three and stuff, and there are people who want to get involved but are sitting on the fence,” he said. Chandhok’s influential father, the high-ranking Indian motor racing official Vicky Chandhok, is in Montreal this weekend.

Haug Says Mercedes Supplying Fourth Team ‘Difficult’: Norbert Haug has played down reports that Mercedes could be looking to add a fourth team to its F1 engine program for 2011. It emerged in recent days that the German marque’s board of directors met and discussed whether it should supply the powerful 2.4 liter V8 to another team. Mercedes already powers its own Brackley based team as well as McLaren and Force India, but it is known that Red Bull is open to moving from the Renault stable. But Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn was quoted earlier this week as suggesting a fourth engine customer might be too much. “That is correct. We also have KERS, possibly, again next year. It would be definitely very difficult for us to equip a fourth team, even if there is no decision taken yet,” said Mercedes’ competition director Haug.

Rosberg Denies Mercedes Stopping 2010 Car Focus: Nico Rosberg has denied speculation that Mercedes has now stopped developing its 2010 car. The German was about a second off the pace in Montreal qualifying, while in the sister W01 his teammate Michael Schumacher will line up on the grid a disappointing 13th. It was reported recently that if the Brackley based team does not make rapid development progress, the entire focus would switch to next year’s car. But Rosberg told Welt am Sonntag newspaper: “That’s not true. The development of the current car is running at full speed.” The 24-year-old insists he is still in the hunt for the 2010 World Championship, even if Schumacher admitted in Canada he is “not really in a position to win it. It’s more about building up for next year,” said Schumacher. But Rosberg said: “There are 12 races to go and I’m 27 points behind the leader. There’s still everything in it.” However, he acknowledged that the W01 is “not yet capable of winning on our own.”

Branson Wants Second US GP In Las Vegas: Sir Richard Branson would like to see a United States Grand Prix held in Las Vegas. The British billionaire, sponsor of Virgin Racing, said he welcomes the news that an American race has been scheduled for Texas in 2012. “The US market is extremely important,” the Virgin mogul told La Presse newspaper at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. “We have a cell phone company here in Canada, our airline will fly to Toronto soon and we will invest in the Canadian investment community. But we must also go to the United States,” Branson insisted. “I think the best places would be San Francisco, or the streets of Las Vegas.” When told that F1 is planning to be in Texas in a couple of years, he said: “Texas? Yeah, OK, but I would still go to Vegas. Imagine the cars on the Strip.”