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Reigning Italian Formula 3 champion and Ferrari Driver Academy protege Daniel Zampieri will contest the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 season with Pons Racing. Double world motorcycle champion Sito Pons’s eponymous team claimed four victories in 2009 with Marcos Martinez, and previously carried Lotus Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen to the World Series by Nissan title in 2004. “I am very pleased to sign with such a leading team in World Series as Pons Racing,” said Zampieri

Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal Q. What are your thoughts ahead of what could be a crucial season for Force India? A: We finished 2009 on a real high note - our first-ever points, a podium and one place up in the Constructors’ Championship.

Jean-Eric Vergne has confirmed that he will stage a Formula Renault 3.5 campaign with SG Formula in 2010 alongside his British Formula 3 assault with Carlin, as predicted by AUTOSPORT. The French driver was quickest in F3 testing with Carlin earlier this week before heading for the first FR3.5 test of the year at Barcelona, where he was teamed with 2009 title contender Marcos Martinez at SG.

The 22nd running of the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award will use six Formula 2 cars to assess the drivers as part of a radical shake-up to the single-seater format of the competition, this week’s AUTOSPORT magazine reveals.

Ralf Schumacher is close to agreeing a deal to remain in the DTM with Mercedes, according to the manufacturer’s motorsport boss Norbert Haug. The six-time grand prix winner has raced in the German series for the past two years, beginning in a one-year-old car with Mucke Motorsport before graduating to the front-line HWA squad for 2009. While Schumacher has struggled for results so far in his DTM career, with a fifth place at Dijon last year his best finish to date, Haug is optimistic that the 34-year-old will return for a third season.

Jake Rosenzweig will remain with Carlin for a second year as he makes the move up to Formula Renault 3.5 for the 2010 season. The American racer competed with Carlin in last year’s Formula 3 Euro Series, scoring one podium finish at Zandvoort. Rosenzweig also ran in the invitation class of the British F3 round at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing fifth in his first race in the series

Former Red Bull Junior driver Mikhail Aleshin will return to Formula Renault 3.5 for a fourth season in the category with Carlin this year. The 22-year-old Russian took a hiatus from the series last year, competing in the Formula 2 championship where he claimed third in the standings. Aleshin is the most experienced driver to commit to this season’s FR3.5 championship, having been a front-runner in World Series by Renault between 2006 and 2008.

David Coulthard’s second DTM test with Mercedes is not an indication that the former grand prix winner will race in the series this year, according to the manufacturer’s motorsport boss Norbert Haug. The Scot drove a C-class at the Algarve circuit this week, but despite mounting talk of Coulthard becoming the latest ex-Formula 1 star to join the DTM, Haug says that a deal is not close

Formula Renault 3.5 team Epsilon Euskadi will run Keisuke Kunimoto and Albert Costa this season. Kunimoto won the Macau Grand Prix in 2008 and drove for Epsilon in two FR3.5 rounds last season. Costa won the Formula Renault Eurocup and West European Cup last year, both with Epsilon.

David Coulthard could be heading for a race seat in the DTM after sampling a Mercedes C-Class for the first time at Monteblanco in Spain last week. The BBC Formula 1 pundit and 13-time GP winner, who has been a Mercedes ambassador since the end of a 10-year spell racing for McLaren in F1, tested for two days alongside regular drivers Paul di Resta, Gary Paffett and Bruno Spengler. The 38-year-old Scot retired from F1 at the end of the 2008 season, but has made no secret of his interest in racing elsewhere in the future and AUTOSPORT understands Mercedes is considering offering Coulthard a drive in the series in a 2008-spec car.

Miguel Molina will graduate from Formula Renault 3.5 to the DTM this season in a works Audi. The 21-year-old Spaniard will race a 2008-spec car for leading squad Abt Sportsline, which has carried Timo Scheider to the past two DTM drivers’ titles

David Coulthard tested a Mercedes DTM car at Alcazaba in southern Spain this week. The 38-year-old Scot retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2008 season but has made no secret of his interest in racing elsewhere in the future.

Carlin Motorsport’s British Formula 3 title hopeful Jean-Eric Vergne could run a parallel programme in this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 Series with SG Formula. The 19-year-old Red Bull Junior driver claimed the runner-up spot in both the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and WEC series with Stephane Guerin’s SG Formula team last season

Paul di Resta is hoping to benefit from dual campaigns this season, driving in Formula 1 practice sessions for Force India and racing in the DTM.

Peter Dumbreck will race for the new Sumo Power Nissan team in the new FIA GT1 World Championship this season.

Swiss investment company Atlas Group will run a Saleen S7R GT1 car in the 2010 Le Mans Series, having acquired the assets of FIA GT teams K plus K and Full Speed Racing. The team will operate under the ATLAS eFX-Team Full Speed title and run a single Saleen in this year’s LMS before expanding to a two-car line-up next year.

Anthony Davidson is to continue in his radio commentary role with Five Live as part of an unchanged line-up for the BBC’s Formula 1 coverage.

GT1 promoter Stephane Ratel is confident that the format of the new World Championship guarantees a healthy future for GT racing. The new GT1 series supersedes the FIA GT Championship this year, and features shorter races and a single-class field - with GT2 now racing in a separate European championship

Paul di Resta is not expecting his Formula 1 third driver role with Force India to affect his performances in the DTM this season. The Scot will combine a fourth year in the German series with his duties in F1, which will include driving for Force India during Friday practice sessions at grands prix this year. Despite the fact that he will be switching between a single-seater and a tin-top throughout the season, the 23-year-old sees no reason why his F1 seat time will cause any problems in the DTM

The IndyCar Series has appointed Randy Bernard, previously head of the Professional Bull Riders organisation, as its new chief executive officer. Championship founder Tony George lost his role at the helm of the IndyCar Series last summer, and in the intervening period new Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Jeff Belskus has taken charge of both the series and the circuit. But Bernard has now been recruited to oversee IndyCar and feeder category Indy Lights