BBC Sport brings you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Alonso gets into Santa Claus mode by growing a beard

Fernando Alonso had a special Christmas gift in mind for fans at a party in Madrid last weekend, saying: "I really hope to deliver a present by winning next year's world championship." The Ferrari driver is now having two weeks to "recharge his batteries" for 2011.
Full story: Ferrari.com

Lewis Hamilton is getting stuck into a gruelling pre-Christmas winter training schedule. He reports on his Twitter page: "Am in the mountains high up training twice a day, amazing snow. It's - 15C. Cross country ski or hike for 2 hours in the morning. Gym, weights or core in the afternoon. Good diet too."
Full story: McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton on Twitter

World champion Sebastian Vettel has been getting in the Christmas spirit by sending season's greetings to his fans. The German reflected: "We had a truly fantastic season - even though it was a long and at times a pretty tough one for me: a rollercoaster ride with a very happy ending!"
Full story: formula1.com

Alonso believes the reintroduction of the Kers power-boost system and the addition of moveable rear wings will help Formula 1's eternal quest to encourage overtaking. "I'm confident that next year, finally, the rules will help overtaking and we will have a better show for everybody," he said.
Full story: autosport.com

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh is set to continue his role as chairman of the Formula 1 Teams' Association (Fota) for 2011.
Full story: autosport.com

Webber drives a Red Bull through the streets of Bangkok

There are signs that more eastern races could be added to the F1 calendar. The first suggestion of a grand prix in Thailand came a few months ago when Chalerm Yoovidhya suggested the idea. He and his father Chaleo own 51% of Red Bull. Not far away in Vietnam, the government is considering a proposal to invest in a Formula 1 circuit in the city of Nha Trang.
Full story: Joe Saward's Grand Prix blog

Mark Webber took F1 to Thailand on Saturday by driving a Red Bull through the streets of Bangkok in front of a huge 150,000 spectators.
Full story: Red Bull Racing

Virgin Racing's Lucas di Grassi saw off fellow F1 racers Felipe Massa, Rubens Barrichello and Jaime Alguersuari to win Massa's annual charity karting event in Brazil at the weekend.
Full story: espnf1.com

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