Ferrari chief happy to consider possibility of Hamilton move

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The prospect of six-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton driving for Ferrari in the future may not be as far-fetched as it once seemed.

Hamilton is one of several F1 drivers whose contracts expire at the end of next year, and Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto did not dismiss the tantalizing idea of poaching the Mercedes star when asked on Friday if he would be interested in signing him.


“Lewis is certainly an outstanding driver, a fantastic driver,” Binotto said at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “Knowing that he’s available in 2021 can make us only happy, but honestly it’s too early for any decision.”

Four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc are also out of contract at the end of 2020.

So is Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, and Red Bull’s eight-time race winner, Max Verstappen, thus increasing the prospect of a merry-go-round for the 2021 campaign with experienced drivers potentially changing seats.

“We are happy with the drivers we’ve got at the moment,” Binotto said, referring to Vettel and the highly promising Leclerc. “Certainly at one stage next season we will start discussing and understanding what to do.”

Although Hamilton has previously expressed his admiration for Ferrari as a marquee name in F1, the British driver has made no mention of wanting to leave an all-conquering Mercedes team which has won a record six straight drivers’ and constructors’ championships under the inspired leadership of team principal Toto Wolff.

Wolff and Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 — with Hamilton replacing seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher following his retirement — and they have formed a very tight bond based on the highest mutual respect.

Flatteringly, Hamilton even recently suggested his own future at Mercedes is linked to Wolff’s future with the German manufacturer.

“Lewis and I have grown close over the last seven years … and I think we have built up a lot of trust. For him to say that is nice,” Wolff said on Friday. “I’d also like to know where he goes or if he stays in the future. Can I shed more light? No, for me it was important to finish the season in Abu Dhabi. There are many things to be decided on and we will see over the winter.”

Bottas, too, is keeping his options for 2021 open after winning a career-best four races this season and beating Hamilton in pole positions.



“I can’t remember a time when so many drivers’ contracts are expiring. If I had to decide on my future for 2021 (right now) it would be a no-brainer to continue with this team,” Bottas said. “There are many elements that have to come together, at the same time I have to keep my eyes open and be open-minded about the future.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Formula One plays the blame game after Vettel smash

LONDON - Sebastian Vettel's temperament is under the spotlight again after the Ferrari driver's hopes of seizing back the Formula One lead disappeared in a few seconds of mayhem at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.

The German, his fast-starting team mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen crashed out as they raced to the first corner.

Stewards summoned all three drivers after the race but decided none was wholly or predominantly to blame.

The view was not shared by others who either pointed the finger at Verstappen, in his last race as a teenager, or accused Vettel of needless aggression at a key point in the championship.

Long before Hamilton had stretched his lead to 28 points with six races remaining, Ferrari's official Twitter feed stated that "VER (Verstappen) took #Kimi7 out and then he went to #Seb5."

"What we tweeted was a factual description of events. No need to speculate on this," it added later as reaction on social media flared.

Television footage and in-car cameras showed Raikkonen making a storming getaway from fourth on the grid and around Verstappen on the outside.

Vettel, on pole, was slower off the line and steered left to squeeze Verstappen, who kept his car straight and was pincered by the Ferraris.

The Dutch teenager and Raikkonen tangled wheels, with the Finn's car slewing sideways and into Vettel's before again careering into the Red Bull and also collecting Fernando Alonso's McLaren.

"I think initially Sebastian saw I was a little bit better off the line than him so he wanted to close me. So he drove to the left," said Verstappen.

"Maybe he didn't see Kimi on the left but what do you expect, I cannot just move out of the way... I think it was just not very clever."

Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, was disappointed to see Vettel "pretty much blow his and Ferrari's championships into smithereens."

"Nice one Seb. You're better than that. Need to watch that short fuse," said the Briton in a blog post.

Vettel made a public apology in July after he banged into Hamilton's Mercedes in a moment of 'road rage' at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while both were following the safety car.

Former Williams, McLaren and Red Bull racer David Coulthard told Britain's Channel 4 viewers that the crash was "instigated by Seb."

Retired Australian driver turned pundit Mark Webber, who had a few clashes with Vettel as Red Bull team mates, defended Verstappen.

"If you were pushed for someone to blame then it looks like Seb because he's the one doing the biggest movement," he said in the Times newspaper.

"But in the end he wasn't the one who crashed into Max. It was Kimi who crashed into Max. Max was innocent in this."

Retired triple world champion Niki Lauda, now the Mercedes team's non-executive chairman, said it was an incident Vettel could have avoided.

"If he (Vettel) would not have moved (across) he could have won the race, there's no question about it. They were unlucky really, in a big way," said the Austrian. — Reuters

Hamilton wins British GP, cuts Vettel’s F1 lead to 1 point

SILVERSTONE, England — Lewis Hamilton slashed Sebastian Vettel’s Formula One championship lead to one point by winning a record-equaling fifth British Grand Prix on Sunday as his title rival was left reeling by a late puncture.

Vettel was in third heading into the penultimate lap at Silverstone only to see his front left tire shred – immediately after Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s car experienced the same fate.

Raikkonen still made the podium by replacing Vettel in third, but the championship leader fell back to seventh as the 25-point lead he held over Hamilton going into the 10th round of the 20-race season was all but wiped out on an overcast afternoon in central England.

It capped a dominant weekend for Hamilton in front of his home fans and the three-time world champion was assisted by Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas making up seven places to join him on the podium after finishing second.

“Great drive by Valtteri,” Hamilton said over the team radio after claiming victory. “Fantastic job, all weekend.”

For Hamilton, the victory after failing to make the podium in his last two races will vindicate the decision to embark on a two-day holiday to Greece after last weekend’s Austrian GP. The jaunt annoyed racing fans in London who turned up to a flagship showcase of the sport that was attended by the other 19 drivers.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Hamilton wins dramatic Russian Grand Prix

SOCHI, Russia - Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic Russian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday to take a huge step towards his third world championship after Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg retired early on with throttle failure.

The win was Hamilton's ninth of the season, and the 42nd of his career, and the Briton's untroubled afternoon was a stark contrast to his German team mate's woes.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished runner-up at the Olympic Park circuit to overtake Rosberg as Hamilton's closest rival, 66 points adrift of the Briton with four races and a maximum 100 points remaining.

If results go Hamilton's way, he can secure his second successive title in Austin, Texas, in two weeks' time.

Hamilton, who also won the inaugural Russian Grand Prix last year and has now surpassed the tally of victories racked up by the late triple champion Ayrton Senna, now has 302 points to Vettel's 236 and Rosberg on 229.

"It looked like we were going to have a race and I was thinking this is great and we were going to put on a good show," said Hamilton, after collecting the winners' trophy from Russian president Vladimir Putin.

"Nico made a mistake at turn one and went wide. I overtook him and after that, or maybe even before, he started to have some problems. It is very unfortunate for the team."

"Those last five laps I was just taking it in. I don't know how many times I'll be in this position again," added the champion.

Mexican Sergio Perez finished third for Force India, in a race with two safety car interludes following crashes, after Finnish drivers Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen collided while battling for the final podium place.

Raikkonen finished fifth for Ferrari, a result that kept Mercedes waiting for their second successive constructors' championship.

However, the Finn faced a stewards enquiry into the collision, with the possibility of a penalty for ramming the rear of Bottas's Williams.

Opening lap

The safety car was deployed after Perez's team mate Nico Hulkenberg spun on the opening lap and was hit by the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson with Max Verstappen's Toro Rosso also caught up in the action.

Rosberg had led from pole, holding off Hamilton through the opening corners, but was forced to retire in the pits on the seventh of 53 laps.

"F1 is pretty incredible sometimes how tough it is," the German told the BBC.

"After a great start, leading the race and feeling confident. Straight after the safety car the pedal broke. It was quite dangerous. Definitely not a nice way to end the day."

Hamilton had already taken over the lead as Rosberg wrestled with the problem but his advantage was whittled away when Frenchman Romain Grosjean crashed heavily on lap 12 and brought out the safety car again.

Perez had thought his podium hopes had gone when Bottas and Raikkonen, on fresher tires, passed him in the closing laps but the collision put him right back for his first top three finish of the season.

"One lap before the end it seemed like everything went away from us. I was very unhappy with myself but in the end I thought ''I gave it all"," said the Mexican.

"I did plenty of laps with my tires and had massive degradation. On the last lap when it came it was just amazing."

Brazilian Felipe Massa finished fourth for Williams while Russian Daniil Kvyat was sixth for Red Bull, ahead of Sauber's Brazilian Felipe Nasr and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in a Lotus.

In a boost for struggling McLaren, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso finished ninth and 10th respectively.

Spanish rookie Carlos Sainz, who was in hospital only a day earlier after crashing his Toro Rosso in practice, had been heading for his best result after running as high as sixth but retired eight laps from the end. — Reuters

McLaren start new Honda era on back row of F1 grid

McLaren's worst fears were realized on Saturday when they suffered a humiliating start to the Formula One season with a woeful Australian Grand Prix qualifying session that left both cars at the back of the grid.

The sport's second most successful team in terms of race wins, McLaren endured one of their worst qualifying performances in decades and at the start of a new partnership with Honda.

Former champion Jenson Button, a three-time winner in Australia, will start 17th with team mate Kevin Magnussen alongside.

The Dane, a stand-in for Spaniard Fernando Alonso, qualified last in a field of 18 after Manor Marussia failed to get their cars running.

"It's going to be a really difficult race for us," Button said. "We haven't done a race distance yet. We want to do the best we can.

"We're not going to be fighting for points," he added.

McLaren always knew 2015 would be difficult as they begin rebuilding for the future but few expected them to be the slowest team on the grid.

The return of Honda, who powered the team in some of their greatest years with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, may take McLaren back to the summit but that still looks a long way off.

Even with the dominant Mercedes engine last year, McLaren still failed to win a race.

"It was never going to be super-competitive here, it wasn't even going to be competitive but there's a good feeling about the car, even though we are so far off," Button said.

"The basic car is there and we've just got to build on it now...obviously there's a lot more to come."

The team suffered an unexpected setback in testing when Alonso, the double world champion signed from Ferrari, was told to miss Australia after a heavy crash.

He was replaced by Magnussen, who raced for McLaren last season and finished second in Australia after local hero Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified for Red Bull.

But the Dane was not expecting any repeat this time, with McLaren struggling in testing to get laps under their belt due to persistent troubles with the new V6 turbo hybrid power unit.

"I don't think we expected anything else. It's tough," Magnussen said. "It's very new. The main priority is to finish the race and try and learn from the race.

"It's a learning process right now, we've just got to be patient." - Reuters

Rosberg promises 'maximum attack' in 2015

Nico Rosberg vowed 'maximum attack' in a new title battle with Formula One world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday as Mercedes unveiled their 2015 car before pre-season testing started in Jerez.

"I know the feeling of winning and of fighting for a championship after last year, but I also know the feeling of not winning in the end and I don't want to repeat that," said the German.

"It's an extra boost and it gives me so much motivation for the year ahead."

Rosberg, son of Finland's 1982 champion Keke, won five races last year to Hamilton's 11 and finished runner-up in a dominant season for his team and one that saw the drivers' relationship tested to the limit.

Mercedes are again expected to set the pace, even if the cars have not changed dramatically since last year's debut of the new V6 turbo hybrid power units and rivals hope to have closed the gap.

"It will be massively tough to repeat what we achieved in 2014 but we all want to keep that momentum going and to dominate the sport for many years to come," said Rosberg.

"We know the opposition will be right there, so we have to keep pushing flat out to have any chance of doing that. Nothing is for certain but, whatever happens, I know it will be another great battle with Lewis.

"This year is the rematch for me and I'm massively motivated for it."

Hamilton, now a double world champion after taking his first title with McLaren in 2008, agreed that there could be no complacency.

The Briton said he was also fired up for the season which starts in Australia on March 15.

"You hear about people who achieve a lot but then lose their focus and you wonder; at what point does it fade off? I'm grateful that the fire is still there in me," he said.

"I think subconsciously the taste of success spurs me on. I like that feeling and I want to feel it again and again," added the 30-year-old.

"I'm glad me and Nico had the battle we did last year. I love winning races but it just feels so much better when you have to fight for it. I just want to get back out there, race hard, be the best I can be and hopefully win some more." - Reuters

Schumacher out of coma, shifted to Swiss hospital

PARIS/LAUSANNE - Formula One ex-champion Michael Schumacher, who sustained severe head injuries in a ski accident in late 2013, is out of a coma and was transferred on Monday from a French to a Swiss hospital to continue rehabilitation, officials said.

"Michael has left the CHU Grenoble [hospital] to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore," spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said in a statement.

"For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye," Kehm said of Schumacher, who turned 45 earlier this year.

She did not say what Schumacher's next destination was.

Soon afterwards, a spokeswoman at University Hospital of Lausanne in western Switzerland said Schumacher had been admitted there. "He is here, he arrived this morning," Darcy Christen told Reuters.

Christen declined to say what unit Schumacher, whose family home is in a town between Lausanne and Geneva, was being treated in, citing medical secrecy and family privacy.

The German, who won a record 91 Grand Prix victories and left motor racing in 2013 after a disappointing three-year comeback, bashed his head on a rock while skiing off-piste in the French Alps resort of Meribel on December 29. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Rosberg reluctant to fuel the flames

MONTREAL - Nico Rosberg steered clear of fighting talk on Thursday (Friday, PHL time) but recognized relations with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton had become trickier since the Formula One championship turned into a duel between the two.

The red hot rivalry between the title contenders has been the talk of Formula One for weeks and both drivers did their best to avoid stirring things up ahead of Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.

"Of course it is more difficult," Rosberg told reporters as he faced the same wall of cameras and tape recorders that had greeted Hamilton earlier in the day at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "We are fighting every single race weekend.

"There is more at stake, there is the opportunity of winning the championship this year and that is the ultimate goal in racing so there is a lot at stake," added the championship leader.

With six wins from six races so far, Mercedes are in a dominant position. Hamilton had taken four successive victories before Rosberg won and seized back the overall lead in Monaco two weeks ago.

That last race saw the rivalry turned up a notch with Hamilton suggesting the German had deliberately run wide in the final seconds of qualifying, bringing out yellow warning flags and forcing the 2008 world champion to slow when he might have taken pole.

The battles on the track and war of words off it have rekindled memories of the fierce rivalry between McLaren team mates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost that captivated Formula One during the 1988-89 campaigns.

"In a way I am honored to hear those comparisons because that was an extremely high level, a big battle at the time," said Rosberg. "But I leave it at that. I don't compare myself to that era I just want to do my own thing and go my own way."

Before arriving in Canada, Hamilton and Rosberg met to discuss the situation.

Rosberg refused to reveal details of what was said, only that he and his British teammate - who have been challenging each other on the track since their go-karting days - had settled their differences.

"I didn't see it as too unusual. We have always had periods where it was more difficult and we have that base respect that goes back 15 years and that's the important thing," said Rosberg. "As a result we always discuss things and move on.

"That's how it's been this time too."

The 28-year-old made clear he saw the bigger picture, and what was good for his team and Formula One.

"I want to win races," offered Rosberg. "Everything I do is focused on that.

"You are all trying to build it into a war which I can understand because it makes it all the more exciting but I want to try and avoid putting extra fuel on it.

"I was in the factory this week talking to everybody and for them the Constructors' [championship] is so important so if we take each other out [on track], for all our team members that would be a disaster.

"In the end we are a team and I do think about everybody else too."  - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Hamilton wins Malaysian Grand Prix in Mercedes one-two

SEPANG - Briton's Lewis Hamilton won the Malaysian Grand Prix with a pole-to-flag victory ahead of Nico Rosberg on Sunday in a first Mercedes one-two since they returned to Formula One as a works team in 2010.

The 2008 Formula One world champion easily pulled away from his rivals on a dry track with a three-stop strategy to win the race by 17.3 seconds, his 23rd career victory and first in Malaysia at the eighth attempt.

"Incredibly happy, it's my eighth year here [at Sepang] and finally I got that win," the Briton told reporters after taking the checkered flag for his second win for Mercedes since he joined them last year and first points of the season.

"Its quite special to get a one-two, I haven't had many in my career, so that makes it even more special. A great day," added the former McLaren driver.

Rosberg, who won the season opener in Australia two weeks ago, started in third place but squeezed past quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel into the first corner and was able to keep the Red Bull at bay and stay top of the driver standings.

It was Mercedes' first one-two since 1955, their last year as a works team before 2010.

Rosberg almost touched the wall as he took Vettel at the start and struggled to manage his rear tires in the early stages as the two Germans remained close before the Mercedes driver pulled away over the closing laps.

The second place finish moved him on to 43 points in the standings, 18 clear of Hamilton with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third on 24 points after his second fourth of the season.

Mercedes took the lead from McLaren in the constructors' standings.

"I had a really good start.. got away well and I thought Sebastian was going to put me into the wall but he stopped just before so thank-you for that," Rosberg said.

"My heart skipped a beat a little bit but it was OK. I was trying to chase Lewis but he was a bit too quick today."

Vettel third

Vettel finished third, 7.2 seconds behind Rosberg, for his first points of the season following an early retirement in Australia as he struggled to make an impact on the Mercedes pair without the rain that helped his qualifying bid on Saturday.

Having endured a tricky time during offseason testing, Vettel was delighted to make the podium.

"Congratulations to them, they are bloody quick, the package they have is very, very strong," Vettel told reporters.

"For us there is mostly positives. It's much better than what we expected during the winter."

Alonso was involved in a tight battle with Force India's Nico Hulkenberg in the closing stages before finally overtaking the German, although he will be disappointed that once again the Ferrari looked well short of challenging the Mercedes duo.

McLaren's Jenson Button was sixth with Felipe Massa of Williams seventh just ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas after the Brazilian refused to yield to his Finnish teammate despite team orders to do so.

The row, at a circuit where team orders blew up into a major controversy last season at both Red Bull and Mercedes, threatened to cause friction for the coming races between the new teammates.

McLaren's Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen and Toro Rosso's Russian newcomer Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10 of a race that suffered just a couple of light drops of rain despite concerns about possible thunderstorms.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who was disqualified in Australia pending an appeal, missed out on points for the second race in a row after a disastrous third pit stop when he was in fourth.

The Australian pulled away before his front left wheel was fully attached with engineers sprinting down the pitlane to push him back and fix the issue.

Ricciardo was then given a 10 second penalty for the unsafe release but his chances of points were already over after he shredded a tire and damaged a wing shortly before the stewards' decision and he retired before the end.

"Deep down I'm really disappointed but at the same time there's a little bit in me which is happy because I think I've come out how I wanted to," the Australian said of his start to the season.

"I still want to improve but we've started off on the right foot. So for that I'm pleased. I know a little bit of luck will turn around soon and I'll get my revenge and get some points."  - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Hamilton on pole for Malaysian GP

SEPANG - Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton made it two poles in two races after emerging unscathed from an incident-packed and rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.

The Briton saw off Red Bull's quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel by 0.055 of a second in a session with two red flags, grid penalties, a 50 minute rain delay and more downpours throughout that left drivers struggling for visibility.

The pole was the 33rd of Hamilton's career, equalling the British record held by the late Jim Clark since 1964, and was secured in a time of one minute 59.431 seconds.

"I'm really happy with how well we've done over the weekend, but today was incredible, how heavy was the rain?" Hamilton told reporters.

"It was tricky out there for everyone because at the end it was almost impossible to see. I couldn't see where the track went, where the corners were, where to break.

"I had to bail out of my final fast lap, so it was very close."

Vettel's lap was an impressive turnaround for the German, who retired in Melbourne two weeks ago, after he was called back to the pits after only three laps of the first phase of qualifying with an energy store problem.

The champion re-emerged after a reset of the system and became progressively competitive as the rain grew stronger and felt he could have taken pole had he been able to get in another lap in the final 15 minute session.

"At the beginning of Q1 [the first phase, the heartbeat was rising very quickly when we realized there was an issue," Vettel said.

"Q3 was not perfect. I would have loved to have a second go. My first attempt, I felt there was time to gain here and there.

"It was very close, too close. I should be on the good side for tomorrow but it depends on how good the start is. I'm happy with the result."

Rosberg starts third
Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, winner in Australia, will start from third place with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso joining him on the second row despite an earlier collision with Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso that required hurried repairs.

Alonso was on the outside and turned into Kvyat with the incident reviewed by stewards, who opted against any penalty.

"I didn't see him coming, Obviously it was a little bit of an aggressive move on the out-lap with that sort of visibility," the double world champion Spaniard said.

Force India's Nico Hulkenburg finished seventh with McLaren's Kevin Magnussen eighth as he and his team chopped and changed with intermediate and wet tires throughout as they struggled to second guess the weather.

Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne and McLaren's Jenson Button rounded out the top 10 with Williams once again struggling despite some promising pre-season tests.

Felipe Massa will start in 13th while Valtteri Bottas finished 15th but was demoted three places after stewards deemed the Finn blocked Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified fifth, on a flying lap.

"He was on his out-lap. I'll have a word with him," said the Australian driver, who was disqualified after finishing second in Melbourne because of a fuel flow issue.

Lotus's woes continued with Romain Grosjean complaining about his car after qualifying 15th, while teammate Pastor Maldonado failed to make it out of the first phase and will start in 17th.

The first phase of qualifying ended 30 seconds early after Swede Marcus Ericsson lost control of his Caterham, hit the wall before flying back across the track leaving debris and almost hitting Esteban Gutierrez's Sauber. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Red Bull still not in best shape, says Vettel

MELBOURNE - Red Bull will put a "very different" car on the track for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from the model which disappointed during the last test in Bahrain, reigning champion Sebastian Vettel said on Thursday.

Vettel, bidding for a fifth consecutive title, comes into Sunday's race at Albert Park with his team scrambling to come to grips with the new hybrid turbo era in Formula One.

Red Bull, one of four teams using the troubled Renault power unit, was unable to finish a race simulation for either Vettel or his new Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo, and badly lagged rivals Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of mileage.

"It will be a very different car," the 26-year-old told reporters at Albert Park.


"Obviously, we had a lot of problems during the tests, we didn't get to test a lot of stuff and we hope to do some more running here."

Red Bull's struggles to adapt to the new V6 engine have given rival teams hope of ending their four-year stranglehold on the constructors' and drivers' championships, or at a minimum end the German's run of nine consecutive race victories.

Vettel, who has not lost a race since July, said little to lift the gloom hanging over his team's garage, but was adamant that just finishing the race was not the limit of Red Bull's ambitions in Melbourne.

"We know that we are not in the best shape yet. There are a lot of things we need to sort," said Vettel, a 2011 winner at Albert Park and third last year.

"Unfortunately, you can't solve all of them overnight. We'd love to but we cant. We really have to go step-by-step together with Daniel.

"It's no secret you need very, very strong reliability to be a title contender.

"I'm going out of here not trying to just make it round, I'm going round here to push to the maximum and do the best I can, and then we'll see where we are and how far we get.

"The target, for sure, is to finish, and the target for sure is to finish in the best possible position. That's the mindset, it's fairly straightforward.

"We have a strong team, good people on board ... I'm confident we should progress as the season goes on."

After an occasionally tempestuous five years with the plain-spoken Mark Webber, Vettel has a younger Australian teammate in the garage in Ricciardo, who graduated from sister team Toro Rosso.

Vettel joked that he had little advice to give the 24-year-old after preseason testing.

"Not much, we didn't drive that much this year, so there's not much I could talk about," he said.

"Obviously you do your own thing once you're in the car."

Having battled manfully through countless media appearances in the leadup to his home grand prix, Ricciardo will face a huge task holding his own against his more senior teammate out on the track.

"For now, [I’ll] just focus on what I've done for the last few years," he said. "Just keep doing what I've been doing to get to this point and then see how it's feeling.

"Obviously I get a good view behind the scenes with the engineers, and also with how Seb works with his guys and understand a bit more through that but for now it's just do my thing and see where I stand." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Red Bull dismisses Vettel tantrum report

Formula One champions Red Bull recognized on Saturday they were well behind rivals in preseason testing but dismissed reports that Sebastian Vettel had "thrown a hissy fit" about the situation.

Four-time champion Vettel and his team have suffered a string of setbacks due to the new Renault power unit and the problems continued in Bahrain on Saturday with the German breaking down on his first lap of the day.

Vettel helped marshals push the stricken RB10 back to the garage.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports News that speculation Vettel had thrown a tantrum when he first tested the car back in January was "complete and utter rubbish."

"I don't know where that came from about Sebastian," he added. "He is fine, he understands that there are issues and he is trying to help the team where he can.

"There has not been one raised voice, one bit of discontent. He has just got his head down and he has a huge amount of trust in the team."

The Red Bull website also carried a highly sarcastic report from their "F1 Spy" about the rumor mill.

Vettel, it joked, had sent the team a postcard to say sorry and decided to spend a couple of weeks chilling out watching daytime soaps and eating chips at former teammate Mark Webber's house.

While Red Bull and some of the other Renault-engined teams have been struggling to string a significant number of laps together, Mercedes and Ferrari-powered rivals have been doing race simulations.

Vettel's new Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo, preparing for a home season-opener in Melbourne on March 16, said on Thursday the team was still "not up to scratch" with time running out.

Ricciardo had a more positive day on Friday but Saturday brought more gloom and Horner said the team was "still definitely on the back foot.

"This is the 10th day of testing and we are about 10 days behind I reckon," he added.

Horner said cooling issues that had sidelined the team during the first team in Jerez, Spain, had been addressed and Red Bull were working hard with Renault to fix other problems that had emerged.

"We still have another two weeks before Melbourne, for sure we will be bringing more parts to Melbourne. It would just be great if we could have another couple of days like we had yesterday." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Comatose Schumacher hit by lung infection - report

BERLIN - Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, who is still lying in a coma in a French hospital, has contracted a lung infection, the German newspaper Bild reported Wednesday.

The effects on the fragile state of health of the 45-year-old were unknown, it said, without citing sources.

Schumacher's spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, told the newspaper: "We are not commenting on speculation."

Schumacher has been in a coma since his December 29 ski accident, when he badly injured his head, causing serious swelling of the brain.



The doctors treating him in the hospital in the French city of Grenoble two weeks ago said they were trying to coax him out of the coma by reducing his sedation.

Kehm said the process could take some time.

With little information being given to media, the hospital has been left to fend off rumors. Last Thursday, it had to deny speculation flaring on social networks that Schumacher had died. - AFP

source: gmanetwork.com

F1 bosses taken aback by double points storm

JEREZ - Formula One may have to 'revisit' a controversial rule change awarding double points for the final race of the season because of the backlash from fans, according to Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff.

"I think obviously the shitstorm we got afterwards was something which was not expected," the Austrian told reporters at preseason testing in southern Spain when asked about the decision.

"We discussed it up and down and the reason [for the decision] was that for the last years we have seen the dominance of a driver and team and the [television] audiences were not as expected.

"Was it the right move or not? Ninety-nine percent of our fans and spectators, and this is what counts, told us it was the wrong move. So perhaps it is something to revisit."

Social media has been abuzz with opposition to what many see as a needless gimmick ever since the sport's rulers announced the change in December as a means of keeping the title battle open for longer.

Red Bull has won four drivers' and constructors' titles in a row, with Sebastian Vettel wrapping up his fourth straight championship with three races to spare last year.

Vettel has called the rule change 'absurd', Caterham team owner Tony Fernandes dubbed it a 'fake fix' and Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo finds it too artificial for his liking.

However, a meeting of Formula One's strategy group in Switzerland this month failed to overturn it and the change remains in the 2014 regulations.

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"We decided to keep it for the moment," said Wolff. "There are discussions ongoing.

"There are some arguments [in favor]," added the Austrian, whose team finished runners-up last year and could dethrone Red Bull this season if their new V6 power unit proves to be the pick of the field.

"If for whatever reason we have the same kind of power situation with one of the teams, you add a little spice towards the end of the season," said Wolff.

"Things need to be done, and when you see TV audiences generally dropping then you need to try out things. This maybe wasn't the right thing, but maybe we need to find out."

Red Bull principal Christian Horner said the fans had to be listened to.

"I don't think that it's any secret that I wasn't particularly in favor of it [double points]," he added.

"I can understand why the governing body and the promoter are keen to keep the championship alive, or hope in the championship alive, until the last race but two out of the last four years it's gone to the last race under the previous points scoring system.

"It would probably be better... to look at three races to take away an element of lottery over that last race." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Formula One risks boycott by drivers over tire safety

LONDON - Formula One searched for answers on Monday after headline-grabbing British Grand Prix tire blowouts plunged the sport into crisis and triggered talk of a possible driver boycott in Germany next weekend.

Tire supplier Pirelli, who have faced criticism from some teams since the start of the season, began an immediate investigation after four drivers suffered rear-left tire failures at Silverstone.

Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa, who was almost killed by debris shed from a car in front of him at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, would not rule out drivers considering a boycott if solutions were not in place for Sunday's race at the Nuerburgring.

"I don't want to say that [drivers would walk out] because I don't want to create loads of problems but this is something that for our safety we can do," he told reporters after he experienced one of the blowouts.

McLaren's Sergio Perez, another victim of the exploding tire, said drivers were risking their lives and needed assurances.

"If something like this happens again, we don't want one of us to be killed," he said.

Australian Mark Webber, second for Red Bull in the race, said it had been like Russian Roulette and he had been praying for a safety car because nobody knew who would be next.

Perez's team principal Martin Whitmarsh warned that driver action could not be ruled out.

"I think there's that danger [of a boycott] and rightly so," he told Sky Sports television. "If the drivers and the teams can't be convinced that they can do so safely, then they would have to resort to that.

"That's not what we want for Formula One. We've faced some of these issues before. We had it in Indianapolis and that was terrible for the sport," Whitmarsh said, referring to the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix when only six Bridgestone-shod cars started after problems with the Michelin rubber.

"So we've really got to work together. This is not a time to point fingers. It's a time to work together, find the solution, get on with it."

Whitmarsh expected something to change before cars appeared on track again in Germany and McLaren were not considering any drastic action at present.

New process

The immediate question is whether the problem was track specific, with failures caused by debris or a particularly sharp curb at Silverstone cutting into the tires, or something related to the construction and design.

Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery said on Sunday that the Italian company had ruled out the cause being linked to a new bonding process introduced ahead of Silverstone.

He will join a meeting on Wednesday of Formula One's sporting working committee, although teams will want to see something tangible before then.

Pirelli had wanted to make more fundamental changes but needed the unanimous agreement of teams and some - notably Ferrari, Lotus and Force India - have objected because their cars are working well with the tires.

This year's tires have a high-tensile steel belt under the tread - designed to make it hard for objects to penetrate and cause a sudden deflation - whereas the 2012 versions used a Kevlar belt.

The new bonding process was aimed at preventing embarrassing 'delaminations' experienced at previous races where the tread peeled away when penetrated by debris but the main body of the tire beneath the belt remained inflated.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Whitmarsh both suggested reverting to the harder 2012 tires for Germany but the calendar is not on Formula One's side and substantial change may have to wait until Hungary at the end of the month.

A stopgap solution might be to impose mandatory tire pressures but that would be difficult to police, given the competitive advantage at stake.

"If we keep these tires, we will have a safety issue," said McLaren's Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion. "We were lucky that nothing worse happened.


"Five tire explosions, whether it is from debris or a tire failure I don't care. The result is still the same and the danger is the same. The issues are plain to see. We are not going to let that go." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

F1 has invested in New Jersey race, says Ecclestone

BARCELONA - Formula One has put money into New Jersey's postponed Grand Prix of America to ensure it will go ahead next year, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Reuters on Saturday.

The riverside race, with the New York skyscrapers as a backdrop, was supposed to go ahead this year but was postponed to 2014, with June the likely date, because organizers supposedly needed more time to prepare.

Before the postponement, Ecclestone had raised doubts about the race going ahead and said local organizers had not complied with the terms and conditions of the contract which had subsequently lapsed.

Speaking at the Spanish Grand Prix, the 82-year-old said the picture was now much more promising.

"There's no reason why it shouldn't happen. We've put money behind it to pay a lot of the things off, a lot of their debts," he said. "So I'm hoping now we are going to get it together.

"We're going to try and make it happen next year."

Ecclestone said money had been "put into the circuit" which would be recovered when the race was held.

Chris Pook, a long-time Ecclestone associate who organized a grand prix in Long Beach, California, between 1976 and 1983, has joined the New Jersey senior management team as special assistant to the chairman, Leo Hindery Jr.

Pook's role is to advise on all aspects of construction, planning and execution of the race at Port Imperial.

"He knows all the things not to do, which is important," said Ecclestone. "And the other people weren't sure what not to do. They thought they knew what to do but not what was the important thing."

There has been talk of Long Beach being revived as a Formula One venue, to give the United States a West Coast race as well as East Coast and one in the middle at the new circuit in Austin, Texas.

"If we do this [New Jersey], it [Long Beach] won't [happen again]," said the Briton. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Glock leaves Marussia F1 team

LONDON - German Formula One driver Timo Glock has left Marussia with immediate effect and by mutual consent, the Russian-licensed team said on Monday.



They added that a replacement would be announced in due course. The team's other driver is British newcomer Max Chilton.



"The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future. Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula One teams included," said principal John Booth in a statement.



"We would like to thank Timo for working with us to reach this decision, especially as he had a valid contract, and also for the contribution he has made to our team."  - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com