Formula 1 gossip and rumours from international media

England's Lewis Hamilton, Spain's Fernando Alonso and Brazil's Felipe Massa are the highest earners in their respective home countries, with McLaren driver Hamilton earning £11.2m, Ferrari number one Alonso on £13.8m and his team-mate Massa on £10.3m, according to ESPN magazine. Full story: F1SA

Istanbul will not host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2012 because of a disagreement between Turkish officials and F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone over payments to stage the race, Turkish media reported on Friday.Full story: Reuters

Formula 1 chiefs are considering banning the use of the Drag Reduction System for the Monaco Grand Prix because of safety considerations.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Carlos Slim, the world's richest man, would have to win agreement from each of Formula 1's 12 teams to get a green light for a planned takeover of the sport's rights holder.Full story: Daily Mail

McLaren are stronger in races than in qualifying compared to Red Bull partly because of the two cars' differing rear-wing designs. Full story: James Allen on F1

Team Lotus buys Caterham - confirmed. There is a rumour that (Team Lotus boss) Tony Fernandes has bought Caterham Cars… A quick check in Companies House reveals that (Fernandes' business partner) Kamrudin bin Meranun and Anthony Francis Fernandes were appointed directors of Caterham Cars Group Ltd a little more than a week ago.Full story: Joe Saward's grand prix blog