McLaren believes it has only just begun to scrape the surface when it comes to exploiting the full potential of its blown diffuser.
The Woking-based team is racing its revised floor for the first time at this weekend's German Grand Prix, although the new concept could not help Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button challenge Red Bull Racing for pole position.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh reckons McLaren is nowhere near optimising the performance it can get out of its blown diffuser - and that the team should be able to get much more speed out of it over the next few races.
"I think we have probably got less than half of what is possible and I am sure that as the races go by we will get more from that," said Whitmarsh at Hockenheim.
"Once you have got this concept working then the aerodynamicists can start to work on the details of the floor, start to work on the exhausts, and start to work on how it interacts with the wheels and the tyres. There is a lot of scope now to make progress."
Whitmarsh has echoed comments from other teams that the blown diffuser is not the key element that will help McLaren beat Red Bull to the title – as he targets other areas of car developments too.
"We spotted some other things on their car [Red Bull] that we are looking at the moment," explained Whitmarsh. "They have worked on developing the blown diffuser but we mustn't get carried away with the idea that the blown diffuser is the answer to everything.
"I think once you are exploiting exhaust gases in that way then you can start to develop the car. They have other features on their car which are interesting too. We will be looking at them and we will be looking to see what we can do."
Whitmarsh reckoned his team needed to find a lap performance improvement of up to 0.25 seconds per race if it was to triumph in 2010.
"We know that we have to continue to try and develop the car by 0.125s to 0.25s per lap at every race," he said. "That is a second every four races.
"We need to be doing that. This championship is still very winnable and we will be focused and pushing hard on that inevitably as the weeks go by. Then we will start to concentrate a little bit more on next year's car but I think we will get that balance right."
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Glock handed 10-place grid penalty
Timo Glock has been handed a ten-place grid penalty for the German Grand Prix after his team fitted a new gearbox to his car before qualifying.
The German had qualified 20th for his home race but his team had been forced to change the gearbox after the final free practice session.
That change alone meant that Glock would start from the back of the grid, but his Virgin Racing team also fitted a different seventh gear ratio from the one declared on Friday - which means he will get an additional five-place penalty.
Glock's team-mate Lucas di Grassi is also set to be handed a penalty for a gearbox change that will be required tonight after problems he encountered in qualifying.
The FIA stewards also gave Mark Webber a reprimand after qualifying for exceeding the maximum permitted time between the two safety car lines on his qualifying lap that he had aborted following his first corner error.
"It was to do with my in-lap, after I made a mistake," said the Australian. "I was a little bit too slow between the two sector lines because I was letting people through as I didn't want to destroy anyone's laps."
The German had qualified 20th for his home race but his team had been forced to change the gearbox after the final free practice session.
That change alone meant that Glock would start from the back of the grid, but his Virgin Racing team also fitted a different seventh gear ratio from the one declared on Friday - which means he will get an additional five-place penalty.
Glock's team-mate Lucas di Grassi is also set to be handed a penalty for a gearbox change that will be required tonight after problems he encountered in qualifying.
The FIA stewards also gave Mark Webber a reprimand after qualifying for exceeding the maximum permitted time between the two safety car lines on his qualifying lap that he had aborted following his first corner error.
"It was to do with my in-lap, after I made a mistake," said the Australian. "I was a little bit too slow between the two sector lines because I was letting people through as I didn't want to destroy anyone's laps."
Alonso surprised to match Red Bull
A surprised Fernando Alonso said Ferrari had reason to be happy about its performance despite missing out on pole position for the German Grand Prix.
The Spaniard was beaten by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel by just 0.002 seconds, the German denying the Maranello squad its first pole since the 2008 season.
Alonso was nonetheless delighted with the result, which he admits was a step forward for the Italian outfit.
"I think we have to be happy," said Alonso, who hadn't started from the front row since last year's Hungarian Grand Prix. "We are in the first row for the first time this season so that is definitely a step forward for us.
"We have been competitive all weekend, I'm very confident with the car. I was very happy with the car in Q1, Q2 and Q3.
"Finally we made a perfect Saturday. Obviously we lost pole position by a small margin, but the points are tomorrow not Saturday so we need to stay focused for tomorrow.
"The target is a good day tomorrow after a good day today. We'll try to score good points tomorrow."
The two-time champion said he was not expecting to be so close to Red Bull in Q3, the Milton Keynes team having dominated qualifying this season.
"No, not really," said Alonso. "We always expect the Red Bulls in Q3 to give something more. We saw this is very close in free practice but then in Q3 they are far away.
"We were surprised to be that close and finally fighting for a pole position after 10 races. It took a bit longer but now we are very close."
Team-mate Felipe Massa completed Ferrari's strongest qualifying of the year with third position.
"I think it was a good performance from us," said Massa. "It was a very tough qualifying. In Q3 I could not put all the sectors together.
"I am happy to be back in Q3 and more focused for the race tomorrow. I hope we can do a good job and score many points for the team and myself."
The Spaniard was beaten by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel by just 0.002 seconds, the German denying the Maranello squad its first pole since the 2008 season.
Alonso was nonetheless delighted with the result, which he admits was a step forward for the Italian outfit.
"I think we have to be happy," said Alonso, who hadn't started from the front row since last year's Hungarian Grand Prix. "We are in the first row for the first time this season so that is definitely a step forward for us.
"We have been competitive all weekend, I'm very confident with the car. I was very happy with the car in Q1, Q2 and Q3.
"Finally we made a perfect Saturday. Obviously we lost pole position by a small margin, but the points are tomorrow not Saturday so we need to stay focused for tomorrow.
"The target is a good day tomorrow after a good day today. We'll try to score good points tomorrow."
The two-time champion said he was not expecting to be so close to Red Bull in Q3, the Milton Keynes team having dominated qualifying this season.
"No, not really," said Alonso. "We always expect the Red Bulls in Q3 to give something more. We saw this is very close in free practice but then in Q3 they are far away.
"We were surprised to be that close and finally fighting for a pole position after 10 races. It took a bit longer but now we are very close."
Team-mate Felipe Massa completed Ferrari's strongest qualifying of the year with third position.
"I think it was a good performance from us," said Massa. "It was a very tough qualifying. In Q3 I could not put all the sectors together.
"I am happy to be back in Q3 and more focused for the race tomorrow. I hope we can do a good job and score many points for the team and myself."
Glock hopes Virgin can worry Lotus
Timo Glock thinks that Lotus may have to start worrying about the challenge from his Virgin Racing outfit once again judging by the success of recent updates added to his car.
Although Lotus said recently that its attention had shifted away from the contest between the new teams on to the fight with the established outfits, Glock reckons the battle of F1 rookies has been reignited once again.
And, after updates to the VR-01 helped him lead the new team contest on Friday in Hockenheim, and more tweaks scheduled to be fitted to his car before final free practice, Glock is more encouraged than ever about Virgin's form.
When asked about Lotus' recent claims that they had moved their attention away from worrying about the new team contest, Glock said: "Maybe they have to think about it again! Let's see.
"It is hard to say after a Friday about who is driving what engine, how old is the engine and just let's see how tomorrow goes.
"However, it is positive that we have two races now where we bring parts and they work. It is quite a nice step and I hope there is more to come.
"Nick [Wirth, technical director] is pushing for another big upgrade later in the season and that could bring us another step. And I hope now the time comes where we can concentrate only on bringing performance on the car."
Virgin Racing had one of its biggest updates of the season at the British Grand Prix and Glock thinks that finally the team is making the progress that he had hoped for when he joined.
"It is more positive, yes, definitely. It is going in the right direction," he said. "The one is Silverstone was quite a big one, which brought us quite close to Lotus.
"And now we have another three or four tenths which should theoretically bring us in front of them."
Although Lotus said recently that its attention had shifted away from the contest between the new teams on to the fight with the established outfits, Glock reckons the battle of F1 rookies has been reignited once again.
And, after updates to the VR-01 helped him lead the new team contest on Friday in Hockenheim, and more tweaks scheduled to be fitted to his car before final free practice, Glock is more encouraged than ever about Virgin's form.
When asked about Lotus' recent claims that they had moved their attention away from worrying about the new team contest, Glock said: "Maybe they have to think about it again! Let's see.
"It is hard to say after a Friday about who is driving what engine, how old is the engine and just let's see how tomorrow goes.
"However, it is positive that we have two races now where we bring parts and they work. It is quite a nice step and I hope there is more to come.
"Nick [Wirth, technical director] is pushing for another big upgrade later in the season and that could bring us another step. And I hope now the time comes where we can concentrate only on bringing performance on the car."
Virgin Racing had one of its biggest updates of the season at the British Grand Prix and Glock thinks that finally the team is making the progress that he had hoped for when he joined.
"It is more positive, yes, definitely. It is going in the right direction," he said. "The one is Silverstone was quite a big one, which brought us quite close to Lotus.
"And now we have another three or four tenths which should theoretically bring us in front of them."
Hamilton praises team for repair effort
Lewis Hamilton's Hockenheim practice crashLewis Hamilton said he felt both grateful to his McLaren team and a little guilty after his car was rebuilt following his morning practice crash at Hockenheim.
The Briton damaged both ends of his McLaren went he spun into the tyres in the wet first session, but was able to rejoin in time for the end of afternoon practice.
"The guys have done an incredible job," said Hamilton. "Obviously I damaged the car a lot this morning. I was a little bit upset with myself, just because when you see the guys working so hard putting the car together during the week - and then you get there and do only a few laps and then total the car...
"It was very, very slippery, and what was actually a relief was when I came back and they explained to me how it occurred - I hit the limiter and I shifted and spun the wheels, so had an oversteer moment, tried to correct it and didn't correct it well enough. When I was on the grass, I was just a passenger and pretty much took all four corners off.
"So a huge, huge amount of work for the guys, and they were just phenomenal. They did an awesome job."
Hamilton only managed 10 laps on a dry track after the repairs, but was glad to have gathered some data at least.
"Generally it felt good to get back in, and it's good to get back out and overcome the difficulty you had in the morning," he said. "At least I've got something to work on now."
But he admitted that in the circumstances he had little chance to get a feeling for McLaren's blown diffuser, which it has reintroduced this morning after an abortive debut in Britain.
"To be honest, I haven't really noticed a huge difference," he said of the car's handling with the new diffuser. "I felt something, but it wasn't like 'wow, this is huge'.
"There's potential there. For me, it feels very similar to what it did at Silverstone. But it's not bad. If we keep working on it, maybe it will be even better."
The Briton damaged both ends of his McLaren went he spun into the tyres in the wet first session, but was able to rejoin in time for the end of afternoon practice.
"The guys have done an incredible job," said Hamilton. "Obviously I damaged the car a lot this morning. I was a little bit upset with myself, just because when you see the guys working so hard putting the car together during the week - and then you get there and do only a few laps and then total the car...
"It was very, very slippery, and what was actually a relief was when I came back and they explained to me how it occurred - I hit the limiter and I shifted and spun the wheels, so had an oversteer moment, tried to correct it and didn't correct it well enough. When I was on the grass, I was just a passenger and pretty much took all four corners off.
"So a huge, huge amount of work for the guys, and they were just phenomenal. They did an awesome job."
Hamilton only managed 10 laps on a dry track after the repairs, but was glad to have gathered some data at least.
"Generally it felt good to get back in, and it's good to get back out and overcome the difficulty you had in the morning," he said. "At least I've got something to work on now."
But he admitted that in the circumstances he had little chance to get a feeling for McLaren's blown diffuser, which it has reintroduced this morning after an abortive debut in Britain.
"To be honest, I haven't really noticed a huge difference," he said of the car's handling with the new diffuser. "I felt something, but it wasn't like 'wow, this is huge'.
"There's potential there. For me, it feels very similar to what it did at Silverstone. But it's not bad. If we keep working on it, maybe it will be even better."
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Christian Horner
Red Bull Racing found itself at the centre of the main story at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago when a decision to hand Sebastian Vettel a new front wing erupted into a major favouritism row.
Arriving in Germany on Thursday, the Silverstone issue remained one of the major talking points in the paddock - although the team is confident that it has dealt with the situation to its satisfaction so that there is no lingering tension.
At Hockenheim, team principal Christian Horner spoke to a select group of media at length about the post-Silverstone fallout, explaining how his team will deal with repeat scenarios in the future and he also cast some fresh light on the build-up to the decision made before qualifying that caused such trouble.
Q. What are the lessons you've taken out of the events from the British Grand Prix?
Christian Horner: The main one is to turn the radio off after the race! No seriously, I think Silverstone, first of all, was a fantastic performance for the team. It was our second race win in a row, so to win at Silverstone is one of the big events and Mark [Webber] drove a brilliant race from start-to-finish.
Sebastian [Vettel] was unlucky with the touch at the first corner with Lewis, but then his recovery drive was equally impressive. There were a lot of positives to take out of the weekend and it was a shame that it was overshadowed too much as to whether Mark was going to be leaving us or not after the race. But that got quickly dealt with, and there is a real determination in the team to go out there and get the best result we can this weekend.
Q. Do you think that having the issue of favouritism blown back out into the public, and having been discussed openly this week, will actually prove to be a help in the long term – because there will be no tensions simmering away below the radar?
CH: Mark and I have known each other for a long time. We had a good discussion after the race. We had a good discussion between Adrian [Newey], myself and Mark after qualifying. We had a good chat, and Mark is a very straightforward guy to deal with. Not a lot of time was wasted on talking about the recriminations of Silverstone, whereas there was a lot of focus on the remaining nine races.
Q. Is the front wing back this weekend? And if so, how many have you got this weekend?
CH: The front wing is back this weekend. The plan is to run it this weekend and both drivers will have it tomorrow. Hopefully we will have enough to support both of them throughout the whole weekend.
Q. How many have you got? Two at the moment?
CH: We've got a little bit more than that...
Q. So, three then?
CH: …[Smiles]
Q. The main issue was your decision to give the wing to the championship leader. Was that something that should have been clearer heading into the weekend.
CH: It was a situation we didn't expect to find ourselves in. Basically, to revisit again the issue – the situation was quite clear.
After P3 both wings were deemed to have damage to them. Sebastian's wing was definitely un-runable and there was a suspected issue on Mark's wing after P3. So both cars were prepared with the previous front wing for qualifying.
Half an hour before the qualifying session it turned out that the wing that had run on Mark's car, the defect was not a material defect and the component was absolutely safe for purpose and Adrian was happy that we should run it. Therefore with only one component we had to decide pretty quickly as to which side of the garage it should go.
Both Adrian and I felt that the criteria of championship position was based on what they had done on track, and it seemed to be the fairest. That will be criteria that, should we find ourselves in the same position at any of the remaining races, we will use in the same circumstances.
Q. Was it ever considered not to run the new wing and to give both drivers the old one?
CH: Well, up until half an hour before qualifying both cars were set-up with the previous front wings. It was a very late-minute okay that was given to the one component – so it wasn't that the one wing was taken off Mark's car and put on to Sebastian's car. It was a question that neither wing was going to be available up until half an hour before qualifying – and then a decision had to be made that, once one of the components was deemed to be runable, a decision had to be made about which side of the garage is should go to.
Q. Did you consider tossing a coin?
CH: We did, but we felt that it wasn't very scientific. We discussed that, and at the end of the day we felt that championship position was what had been done on track and was the fairer criteria – and that was the criteria that we will stick with. At the end of the day, other teams have similar decisions to make, whether it is with a chassis with a big-enough fuel tank, whether it is fitting a car with a new exhaust on it, whether it is who runs an F-duct first. Those decisions have to be made up and down the pit lane and unfortunately this one got a little bit more air time than perhaps it warranted.
Q. So you can confirm that if the wing situation repeats itself and Mark is in a better position, he will get the wing?
CH: Yes. If the component fails through no reason of the driver - and let's not forget that it wasn't because Sebastian had smashed the wing, it was a component that failed – then the same rules will apply. But we will work very hard to hopefully not be in that unenviable situation again.
Q. Do you think from a marketing point of view, it is better to have Sebastian as a champion than Mark?
CH: No, absolutely not. Mr. [Dietrich] Mateschitz has always told me that he doesn't care whether he has the oldest or the youngest world champion – as long as it is in a Red Bull car. There is no internal or Red Bull preference to see one driver win over the other.
Q. McLaren is snapping at your heels. How do you see the battle progressing from here?
CH: I think we are approaching the business end of the championship now we have gone past the halfway point, and it is very tightly matched. We've won more races and they have accumulated more points and are ahead of us in both championships. So, we are the pursuer rather than the pursued. It is important that we get both the cars up the front, scoring as many points as possible. Some of the tracks will hopefully suit us and some of the tracks for sure will suit McLaren's strengths. And one must never underestimate Ferrari as well.
Q. What about Spa and Monza from an engine perspective?
CH: I think the middle section at Spa, we will be very strong!
Q. Are events like Silverstone and Turkey a distraction for you at a time you should be focused entirely on performance to try and nail the championship, rather than worrying about fighting fires?
CH: Istanbul was a racing accident at the end of the day. We saw one of those happen between Fernando [Alonso] and Felipe Massa on the first lap at Silverstone, but when you are running fifth and sixth it doesn't gain as much coverage as when you are racing for the lead of a grand prix. I think far too much was made of Silverstone and the team is very, very focused on the next nine races. It is important we do the best job we can. We have won five out of 10 races so far – 50 per cent of the races – which is a pretty impressive record. We only won six races in the whole of last year, and people forget how far the team has come in such a short space of time. For sure there are always lessons that can be learned, and perhaps our learning curve at times is slightly steeper than some of the other teams, but the passion, the commitment and the dedication that exists within the team is what has made the team, and continues to make the team, as strong as it is.
One of the ethics of Red Bull is freedom of expression, and perhaps we do that more than other teams – sometimes we get criticised for it, sometimes we get complimented for it. But, we do our best, as the drivers well know, to treat them with as much parity as we feasibly can.
Arriving in Germany on Thursday, the Silverstone issue remained one of the major talking points in the paddock - although the team is confident that it has dealt with the situation to its satisfaction so that there is no lingering tension.
At Hockenheim, team principal Christian Horner spoke to a select group of media at length about the post-Silverstone fallout, explaining how his team will deal with repeat scenarios in the future and he also cast some fresh light on the build-up to the decision made before qualifying that caused such trouble.
Q. What are the lessons you've taken out of the events from the British Grand Prix?
Christian Horner: The main one is to turn the radio off after the race! No seriously, I think Silverstone, first of all, was a fantastic performance for the team. It was our second race win in a row, so to win at Silverstone is one of the big events and Mark [Webber] drove a brilliant race from start-to-finish.
Sebastian [Vettel] was unlucky with the touch at the first corner with Lewis, but then his recovery drive was equally impressive. There were a lot of positives to take out of the weekend and it was a shame that it was overshadowed too much as to whether Mark was going to be leaving us or not after the race. But that got quickly dealt with, and there is a real determination in the team to go out there and get the best result we can this weekend.
Q. Do you think that having the issue of favouritism blown back out into the public, and having been discussed openly this week, will actually prove to be a help in the long term – because there will be no tensions simmering away below the radar?
CH: Mark and I have known each other for a long time. We had a good discussion after the race. We had a good discussion between Adrian [Newey], myself and Mark after qualifying. We had a good chat, and Mark is a very straightforward guy to deal with. Not a lot of time was wasted on talking about the recriminations of Silverstone, whereas there was a lot of focus on the remaining nine races.
Q. Is the front wing back this weekend? And if so, how many have you got this weekend?
CH: The front wing is back this weekend. The plan is to run it this weekend and both drivers will have it tomorrow. Hopefully we will have enough to support both of them throughout the whole weekend.
Q. How many have you got? Two at the moment?
CH: We've got a little bit more than that...
Q. So, three then?
CH: …[Smiles]
Q. The main issue was your decision to give the wing to the championship leader. Was that something that should have been clearer heading into the weekend.
CH: It was a situation we didn't expect to find ourselves in. Basically, to revisit again the issue – the situation was quite clear.
After P3 both wings were deemed to have damage to them. Sebastian's wing was definitely un-runable and there was a suspected issue on Mark's wing after P3. So both cars were prepared with the previous front wing for qualifying.
Half an hour before the qualifying session it turned out that the wing that had run on Mark's car, the defect was not a material defect and the component was absolutely safe for purpose and Adrian was happy that we should run it. Therefore with only one component we had to decide pretty quickly as to which side of the garage it should go.
Both Adrian and I felt that the criteria of championship position was based on what they had done on track, and it seemed to be the fairest. That will be criteria that, should we find ourselves in the same position at any of the remaining races, we will use in the same circumstances.
Q. Was it ever considered not to run the new wing and to give both drivers the old one?
CH: Well, up until half an hour before qualifying both cars were set-up with the previous front wings. It was a very late-minute okay that was given to the one component – so it wasn't that the one wing was taken off Mark's car and put on to Sebastian's car. It was a question that neither wing was going to be available up until half an hour before qualifying – and then a decision had to be made that, once one of the components was deemed to be runable, a decision had to be made about which side of the garage is should go to.
Q. Did you consider tossing a coin?
CH: We did, but we felt that it wasn't very scientific. We discussed that, and at the end of the day we felt that championship position was what had been done on track and was the fairer criteria – and that was the criteria that we will stick with. At the end of the day, other teams have similar decisions to make, whether it is with a chassis with a big-enough fuel tank, whether it is fitting a car with a new exhaust on it, whether it is who runs an F-duct first. Those decisions have to be made up and down the pit lane and unfortunately this one got a little bit more air time than perhaps it warranted.
Q. So you can confirm that if the wing situation repeats itself and Mark is in a better position, he will get the wing?
CH: Yes. If the component fails through no reason of the driver - and let's not forget that it wasn't because Sebastian had smashed the wing, it was a component that failed – then the same rules will apply. But we will work very hard to hopefully not be in that unenviable situation again.
Q. Do you think from a marketing point of view, it is better to have Sebastian as a champion than Mark?
CH: No, absolutely not. Mr. [Dietrich] Mateschitz has always told me that he doesn't care whether he has the oldest or the youngest world champion – as long as it is in a Red Bull car. There is no internal or Red Bull preference to see one driver win over the other.
Q. McLaren is snapping at your heels. How do you see the battle progressing from here?
CH: I think we are approaching the business end of the championship now we have gone past the halfway point, and it is very tightly matched. We've won more races and they have accumulated more points and are ahead of us in both championships. So, we are the pursuer rather than the pursued. It is important that we get both the cars up the front, scoring as many points as possible. Some of the tracks will hopefully suit us and some of the tracks for sure will suit McLaren's strengths. And one must never underestimate Ferrari as well.
Q. What about Spa and Monza from an engine perspective?
CH: I think the middle section at Spa, we will be very strong!
Q. Are events like Silverstone and Turkey a distraction for you at a time you should be focused entirely on performance to try and nail the championship, rather than worrying about fighting fires?
CH: Istanbul was a racing accident at the end of the day. We saw one of those happen between Fernando [Alonso] and Felipe Massa on the first lap at Silverstone, but when you are running fifth and sixth it doesn't gain as much coverage as when you are racing for the lead of a grand prix. I think far too much was made of Silverstone and the team is very, very focused on the next nine races. It is important we do the best job we can. We have won five out of 10 races so far – 50 per cent of the races – which is a pretty impressive record. We only won six races in the whole of last year, and people forget how far the team has come in such a short space of time. For sure there are always lessons that can be learned, and perhaps our learning curve at times is slightly steeper than some of the other teams, but the passion, the commitment and the dedication that exists within the team is what has made the team, and continues to make the team, as strong as it is.
One of the ethics of Red Bull is freedom of expression, and perhaps we do that more than other teams – sometimes we get criticised for it, sometimes we get complimented for it. But, we do our best, as the drivers well know, to treat them with as much parity as we feasibly can.
Stanford is Williams manager again
Former Williams team manager Dickie Stanford is to resume his old position from next month, with incumbent Tim Newton returning to a factory based position.
Stanford is present at the German Grand Prix to work alongside Newton, and he will do the same again at next weekend's race in Hungary before taking over full responsibility from the Belgian GP.
Newton, who has been team manager for five years, will become Williams' Production General Manager with direct responsibility for the race team.
Stanford is a Williams stalwart, and was team manager from 1994 until 2005 - when he took a factory role before returning to a track job as test team manager.
Stanford is present at the German Grand Prix to work alongside Newton, and he will do the same again at next weekend's race in Hungary before taking over full responsibility from the Belgian GP.
Newton, who has been team manager for five years, will become Williams' Production General Manager with direct responsibility for the race team.
Stanford is a Williams stalwart, and was team manager from 1994 until 2005 - when he took a factory role before returning to a track job as test team manager.
Thursday's press conference - Germany
DRIVERS: Timo GLOCK (Virgin), Michael SCHUMACHER (Mercedes), Adrian SUTIL (Force India), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull), Mark WEBBER (Red Bull)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. For four of you it's your home race. Just a quick word on what it means to you. Your hopes and expectations. How much you enjoy it or maybe you don't enjoy it. Timo, your comments.
Timo GLOCK: Good to be back at Hockenheim again and I had a lot of good races here at Hockenheim, so really looking forward to it. I hope we have a smooth weekend and try to be in front of Lotus is our own target and we see.
Adrian SUTIL: It is very nice to be here. I like this circuit and it is a home grand prix, so for a German driver it is something special. I want to perform well. I like it. A lot of people come here, a lot of guests, a few people from my family as well, so it's nice. I will enjoy it definitely.
Sebastian VETTEL: I think it is always nice to be back home. For me and Timo we are very close from this area, so sorry for the weather first of all but it is nice to be here. We all know the circuit very well and driving in front of your home crowd is always something special. We saw it the last race at Silverstone. The people were cheering a lot for Jenson (Button) and Lewis (Hamilton), so it is a bit of the same for us here. We are enjoying it and we all want to do well. I think apart from Michael none of us has won his home race yet, so that is the target for this weekend.
Q. Michael, four times a winner here?
Michael SCHUMACHER: Yes.
Q. Your expectations and hopes? How much do you enjoy racing at home?
MS: I think it is different to what it has been in the past as we come here as a kind of German national team. We have our main factory about 100kms from here. We went over there yesterday, so lots of support, lots of expectation in a way. It is good to see that compared to the previous years, ticket sales have gone up and interest has gone up although it is not fully sold out, but still there is a nice influence from that side. We naturally hope to have a decent and good race weekend to satisfy our guys.
Q. Sebastian, you ran the Red Bull car in your home town last weekend. I was going to say is that the fastest you've ever been through the streets, but I won't ask that question. What was it like?
SV: It was great. It was in a 50kph zone in the city, so of course we didn't exceed the speed limit. It was crazy. The night before I was actually a bit nervous about how many people will come and watch us and then the day after it was sunny. It was a fantastic day and we had more than 120,000 people coming, so they had to block the motorway and it was absolutely crazy. I didn't see much of my old roads I used to go to school or the swimming pool or whatsoever as it was full of people. But it was very nice and I think we put on a good show. We also had a DTM car there and a guy with a motorbike, so all in all I think it was a great package and a lot of people came, so I hope they will make it as well this weekend. On Sunday I think it should be dry, so it will be nice.
Q. A lot has happened at Red Bull since the last grand prix. Have you now set the re-set button between you and Mark? Are you now back to normal?
SV: Well, I think as far as I understood if you said to Red Bull I think we are still selling cans, so not much has happened in that regard. A lot of talk and a lot of press but the most important thing you need to understand is that it doesn't matter who wins the race. In the end we are a team and Red Bull Racing won the race on the Sunday. Mark did, so it was a great result. For some reason, or unfortunately, we didn't get a lot of positive feedback. We know where the focus is. It is surely on this race and nowhere else. The team is motivated as ever, so the most important is the atmosphere within the team and for us it doesn't get affected by what is being said or written.
Q. Mark, your thoughts?
Mark WEBBER: Yeah, it wasn't a huge drama at the last race. Obviously there was a little bit of stuff here and there but first of all Sebastian did absolutely nothing wrong with me at the last event. That is totally obvious. Seb did what he did and had an incident at the first corner which was bloody unlucky for him. It can happen to any of us and the race from my side went okay with a great team effort. Unfortunately we didn't get a one-two which we were more than capable of doing. The team is ready to go forward. We are both competitive and it is only natural the media and everyone wants to wind up a nice rivalry between whoever it is, but Seb and I are naturally going about our jobs. What we have in common is that we work for the same team, have the same passion and the same drive to get the same result and there is nothing wrong with that, so we are fine and the team is learning here and there along the way but it is a healthy learning. We are in a sensational position. Two years ago the team was not doing this type of results. Now we are and we are taking on the best teams in the pit lane, so it is an absolute credit to us and we are looking to continue that.
Q. Mark, you have had something like five lock-outs of the front row of the grid, yet not one of those has been converted to a one-two in the race. Is that part of the learning curve?
MW: Yes, it is but also there is an element of people saying we should be 5000 points in the lead. I don't really think we should be for many reasons. Seb had a couple of victories taken away from him at the start of the year but also if you look in Turkey we were not fast enough. We had an incident on the track but we were not fast enough in the grand prix. Canada, we had a different tyre strategy there for qualifying and as the race turned out that was the result we deserved. We are not taking credit away from what other people are doing. At the end of the day there have been some calls from Jenson from the cockpit, a few great victories there and that's how it has been. We look to capitalize on some of those qualifying positions in the future but there is no points given on a Saturday. We know that and we are looking to do better. It's not like it's a no-brainer on Sunday afternoon and we just drive off the front row and disappear. We have got some work to do and that is evident as you can see by the points..
Q. Timo, first of all, your aims and the team's concentration at the moment. Is it looking towards Lotus? What sort of performance are you still putting on the car? Where are the priorities now for you?
TG: I think Silverstone showed the aero update worked quite well and we had, I would say, a second aero update in Silverstone. It doesn't show in the results as we are still in the same position but we were much closer to Lotus. We could race against them in Silverstone and for here we should have another little update in terms of an aero package which will bring us another little step forward again, so that's positive. It goes in the right direction. The first half of the year was tough to sort out all the problems but now it is becoming a more focussed direction in putting performance on the car.
Q. Adrian, what is affecting Force India at the moment? It seems to be very much up and down. Sometimes you qualify and race really well and other times it doesn't go so well.
AS: I don't think it is up and down to be honest. I am very consistent in the points and I think the only driver who has scored points in every race since Barcelona, so it is a very consistent team and good performance of the car. Sometimes it is very close to go into Q3, sometimes it is enough but it is just a very close competition to go into Q3. Williams did a little upgrade on their cars and they are much stronger. Also Sauber did a good step forward. We are not struggling, no. We have to optimise everything a little bit better. We lost out in qualifying in the last two races in my opinion as we could not use our tyres in the best way. But there are all reasons behind that and everything is going well and we should be able here to get another good result, another good points' finish. The car is strong enough.
Q. Michael, do you feel you are being unfairly treated by the media who are perhaps expecting too much from you or are you perfectly happy with your own performance?
MS: No, perfectly happy with my own performance is probably wrong to say. But put it this way. Yes, there is an expectation out there which I think you have to be realistic that it is impossible to meet. I am away three years and just to come back and start exactly where I finished with maybe a car that doesn't allow me to right now is probably unrealistic. I am not a magician either. It just needs time. I take that time. I enjoy most of all this process. There were some set-backs and moments where you would, obviously, be a little bit angry. But, in general, that is what it is about. There are ups and downs and that is the excitement of motor sport. I know the final target where I want to go and I am very confident I can achieve this. That is what I am working for and what I am focussing on. There is the sportive side and there is the entertainment side of this whole circus. You just have to accept and see it is just part of that situation and do not bother too much about it.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q. (Walter Koster - Saarbrücker Zeitung) Mark, did you already have in the past such a situation like in this season with another team principal or team-mate?
MW: Frank (Williams) and Patrick (Head) were sometimes not that easy but look it is normal. It was a situation that happened which was very unusual. As I said already, I don't have any problems with Sebastian. What happened at Silverstone was nothing of Sebastian's doing. I had some discussions with Christian (Horner) over the weekend. He is running the team and we learn and we go forward. There is always unexpected things throughout any driver's career. As Michael just said there are new challengers for him right now and lots of little hurdles along the way. You are dreaming if you think it is always going to be straight up.
Q. (Tobias Holtkamp – Bild) Michael, which of the two guys sitting next to you will be World Champion at the end of this season? Who are you crossing your fingers for?
MS: First of all, it's obviously clear that both of the guys to the left and right of me have a very good package and a very good possibility to fight and win the championship, but you probably don't have to forget the McLaren drivers, that they're still in the picture. I don't think it's finished yet, but naturally you sort of get the feelings of your national heart coming up and therefore you sort of have a German tendency. I'm sorry Mark but I guess that's normal.
Q. (Marc Surer – Sky Deutschland) Michael, I know your car is very sensitive on compounds. Here we have the softest and hardest of Bridgestone's compounds. Does that worry you?
MS: No, not really. I think we actually have much more of a problem with inconsistent behaviour on the same compound. As a clear example, again in some of the races, I go out with the same tyre and suddenly I'm half a second quicker or half a second slower and I've done nothing differently, but the result is there and it's not happened only to us, it's happening up and down the pit lane every so often and it's a little bit difficult to understand.
Q. (Udo Döring – Darmstädter Echo) Sebastian, during the days after Heppenheim, has it kind of been like being on cloud number nine with this great support in your home town? And yesterday, you couldn't play soccer; was it a serious injury?
SV: It's nothing. I can still walk but to play soccer or to play football would probably have been a bit too risky, so that's why I had to cancel. I had a bit of an incident at the beginning of the week, nothing big, but it didn't allow me to play football yesterday. Yeah, I was back home and obviously it settles down. First of all you need to understand what happened. It was a very special day, the Sunday, and as I said, a lot of people – I've never seen it that busy there. All in all, it was just a fantastic day. We started off very early in the morning in the old town, the old party of the city. It takes a while to settle, as I said. It might still be difficult to understand that so many people came to see us but it was a very, very nice day.
Q. (Jonathan Legard – BBC Sport) Michael, as someone who is well versed in winning championships, what are the ingredients that are needed to win a championship, particularly when you are opposing your team-mate, who is very challenging? What factors are there which are crucial to winning a title?
MS: I don't think I can give the answer you're looking for in mentioning one particular part, because it's like a detailed or small piece or puzzle of the big picture. You have to have all those little bits together to finally do it.
Q. (Jonathan Legard – BBC Sport) You talked how you were still very confident in yourself about achieving what you want to do. Has that confidence been knocked at all, because it's taken you longer than you thought it might have done to achieve something in your first year back?
MS: Naturally you wish to go straight ahead with this, thinking, before I was finally able to drive the car, where we'd been last year with the team. You sort of think that there might be a possibility to continue on from there, but then it's easy and clear enough to understand why that is and was not possible. That's about it. You just understand and realise the situation and work from there on.
Q. (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Sebastian, sorry if I've missed something but perhaps you could just clarify this incident with your leg that you had at the beginning of the week?
SV: I fell down when I was running. Nothing special but I had a bit of a hyper-extension of the muscle on the leg, nothing big. I can walk, it's not a disaster.
Q. (Gary Chappell – The Daily Express) Mark, 'not bad for a number two driver'. You're above Sebastian in the standings now. Should you win on Sunday, what will be your cry over the team radio this time?
MW: I think it would be like it normally is, it's a great team effort. It was said in the heat of the moment at Silverstone and that's what was said but we're both treated very equally in the team and as I said at the time, I would never have continued in that situation. That's why I am continuing, so technically the cars are to give both of us a really fair crack and I'm looking forward to trying to have that big problem on Sunday if I can, to work out what I might say.
Q. (Byron Young – The Daily Mirror) Seb, I'm sure you're not too young to have watched Michael win some of his World Championships. What did you learn from what you saw when you watched when he was competing and when he won World Championships?
SV: Many things. I think from great champions there are always a lot of things you can learn, and also if you look outside the table of Formula One, if you look at others sports - tennis, golf – there are great players, great individuals. They're probably all talented but then there are one or two popping out, like probably at the moment Roger Federer and Nadal in tennis. What did I learn from Michael? I think you just need to listen to what he says. Obviously in the past I was watching mainly, like he said even now. Obviously he himself knows best which situation he is in at the moment. Obviously there are a lot of expectations from the outside but it's part of being a great champion, being wise enough to know what you have to focus on. As he said, there are always two worlds: one is the entertainment and one is the sporting side. I think we clearly understood that he is focussing more on the sporting side and trying to come back and win races again. I could give you many examples but I think that was the lesson of the last ten minutes, I guess.
Q. (Gary Chappell – The Daily Express) Michael, how different is it for you now, coming back to your home race and not being the dominant driver and not actually being the dominant German driver?
MS: It probably evolves into the same answer that I sort of mentioned before, because it is very clear that we are not in the position to come here and win the race, because as a package, we are not yet strong enough to do so. But, for us, we fight for our possibilities of results and if we could manage a podium, that would be a great and a fantastic result for us, for the fans, for our supporters, and that's what we're aiming for.
Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) Michael, you spoke about your final target that you had in your mind. Can you categorically confirm that you will be driving for Mercedes in 2011, and in which case what is your final...
MS: Yes!
Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) And in which case what is your final target for that season?
MS: For this or next season?
Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) Next.
MS: It's what I mentioned the day that I officially publicised that I was rejoining Formula One and it is to win another title, that's our aim, that's what my focus is and that's what I'm here for. Very clearly.
Q. (Gary Chappell – The Daily Express) On that point, Norbert Haug says that next season you're going out to win the title. You will be another year older. What will actually change then?
MS: I don't know of anything other than becoming even wiser.
Q. (Byron Young – The Daily Mirror) I just wanted to ask Mark what the reception has been like here from the fans? Is there any sense that you're the rival to their local hero?
SV: No, I think it's been a very good reception so far. I think motor sport here in Germany has a huge following. I think there's a lot of guys who obviously followed Michael in his day, and now there's fresh blood, fresh talent, more people on the grid because of what Michael achieved, so they have a better knowledge of the sport, I suppose. They know there's a bit of bullshit here and there which comes with the sport, and I suppose they like to watch the racing unfold. I drove for Mercedes Benz here, I did a lot of testing here with the sports car, so I have a little bit of a feeling for the guys. Obviously I'm not German but in terms of I have a feeling for how they follow their motor sport, so it's a good time for me to drive here, at that part of my career as well.
Q. (Byron Young – The Daily Mirror) Mark, is there a psychological advantage to winning this race, beating Seb, assuming the two of you are at the front and battling for victory, is there a psychological advantage to winning this race?
MW: Not all the drivers on the grid have the luxury of having a home race, so the guys here do. Obviously I have an Australian race, there's the British Grand Prix. I think last year we all shared the victories around. I think Jenson won my race, I won his race, and Seb won someone else's race, and I won Rubens' race, so it was always moving around. It is a unique thing, obviously, to win your home race and of course it would be right up there with Sebastian's highlights to try and do that, so it's a slightly different event in many ways. Also, on the other side of the coin, it's another 25 points, it's a normal grand prix. It maybe has a little bit more emotion around it for the German drivers. It doesn't mean anything more special to me to win here, so psychologically it doesn't do anything for me, but for the home drivers it's a nice place to win.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. For four of you it's your home race. Just a quick word on what it means to you. Your hopes and expectations. How much you enjoy it or maybe you don't enjoy it. Timo, your comments.
Timo GLOCK: Good to be back at Hockenheim again and I had a lot of good races here at Hockenheim, so really looking forward to it. I hope we have a smooth weekend and try to be in front of Lotus is our own target and we see.
Adrian SUTIL: It is very nice to be here. I like this circuit and it is a home grand prix, so for a German driver it is something special. I want to perform well. I like it. A lot of people come here, a lot of guests, a few people from my family as well, so it's nice. I will enjoy it definitely.
Sebastian VETTEL: I think it is always nice to be back home. For me and Timo we are very close from this area, so sorry for the weather first of all but it is nice to be here. We all know the circuit very well and driving in front of your home crowd is always something special. We saw it the last race at Silverstone. The people were cheering a lot for Jenson (Button) and Lewis (Hamilton), so it is a bit of the same for us here. We are enjoying it and we all want to do well. I think apart from Michael none of us has won his home race yet, so that is the target for this weekend.
Q. Michael, four times a winner here?
Michael SCHUMACHER: Yes.
Q. Your expectations and hopes? How much do you enjoy racing at home?
MS: I think it is different to what it has been in the past as we come here as a kind of German national team. We have our main factory about 100kms from here. We went over there yesterday, so lots of support, lots of expectation in a way. It is good to see that compared to the previous years, ticket sales have gone up and interest has gone up although it is not fully sold out, but still there is a nice influence from that side. We naturally hope to have a decent and good race weekend to satisfy our guys.
Q. Sebastian, you ran the Red Bull car in your home town last weekend. I was going to say is that the fastest you've ever been through the streets, but I won't ask that question. What was it like?
SV: It was great. It was in a 50kph zone in the city, so of course we didn't exceed the speed limit. It was crazy. The night before I was actually a bit nervous about how many people will come and watch us and then the day after it was sunny. It was a fantastic day and we had more than 120,000 people coming, so they had to block the motorway and it was absolutely crazy. I didn't see much of my old roads I used to go to school or the swimming pool or whatsoever as it was full of people. But it was very nice and I think we put on a good show. We also had a DTM car there and a guy with a motorbike, so all in all I think it was a great package and a lot of people came, so I hope they will make it as well this weekend. On Sunday I think it should be dry, so it will be nice.
Q. A lot has happened at Red Bull since the last grand prix. Have you now set the re-set button between you and Mark? Are you now back to normal?
SV: Well, I think as far as I understood if you said to Red Bull I think we are still selling cans, so not much has happened in that regard. A lot of talk and a lot of press but the most important thing you need to understand is that it doesn't matter who wins the race. In the end we are a team and Red Bull Racing won the race on the Sunday. Mark did, so it was a great result. For some reason, or unfortunately, we didn't get a lot of positive feedback. We know where the focus is. It is surely on this race and nowhere else. The team is motivated as ever, so the most important is the atmosphere within the team and for us it doesn't get affected by what is being said or written.
Q. Mark, your thoughts?
Mark WEBBER: Yeah, it wasn't a huge drama at the last race. Obviously there was a little bit of stuff here and there but first of all Sebastian did absolutely nothing wrong with me at the last event. That is totally obvious. Seb did what he did and had an incident at the first corner which was bloody unlucky for him. It can happen to any of us and the race from my side went okay with a great team effort. Unfortunately we didn't get a one-two which we were more than capable of doing. The team is ready to go forward. We are both competitive and it is only natural the media and everyone wants to wind up a nice rivalry between whoever it is, but Seb and I are naturally going about our jobs. What we have in common is that we work for the same team, have the same passion and the same drive to get the same result and there is nothing wrong with that, so we are fine and the team is learning here and there along the way but it is a healthy learning. We are in a sensational position. Two years ago the team was not doing this type of results. Now we are and we are taking on the best teams in the pit lane, so it is an absolute credit to us and we are looking to continue that.
Q. Mark, you have had something like five lock-outs of the front row of the grid, yet not one of those has been converted to a one-two in the race. Is that part of the learning curve?
MW: Yes, it is but also there is an element of people saying we should be 5000 points in the lead. I don't really think we should be for many reasons. Seb had a couple of victories taken away from him at the start of the year but also if you look in Turkey we were not fast enough. We had an incident on the track but we were not fast enough in the grand prix. Canada, we had a different tyre strategy there for qualifying and as the race turned out that was the result we deserved. We are not taking credit away from what other people are doing. At the end of the day there have been some calls from Jenson from the cockpit, a few great victories there and that's how it has been. We look to capitalize on some of those qualifying positions in the future but there is no points given on a Saturday. We know that and we are looking to do better. It's not like it's a no-brainer on Sunday afternoon and we just drive off the front row and disappear. We have got some work to do and that is evident as you can see by the points..
Q. Timo, first of all, your aims and the team's concentration at the moment. Is it looking towards Lotus? What sort of performance are you still putting on the car? Where are the priorities now for you?
TG: I think Silverstone showed the aero update worked quite well and we had, I would say, a second aero update in Silverstone. It doesn't show in the results as we are still in the same position but we were much closer to Lotus. We could race against them in Silverstone and for here we should have another little update in terms of an aero package which will bring us another little step forward again, so that's positive. It goes in the right direction. The first half of the year was tough to sort out all the problems but now it is becoming a more focussed direction in putting performance on the car.
Q. Adrian, what is affecting Force India at the moment? It seems to be very much up and down. Sometimes you qualify and race really well and other times it doesn't go so well.
AS: I don't think it is up and down to be honest. I am very consistent in the points and I think the only driver who has scored points in every race since Barcelona, so it is a very consistent team and good performance of the car. Sometimes it is very close to go into Q3, sometimes it is enough but it is just a very close competition to go into Q3. Williams did a little upgrade on their cars and they are much stronger. Also Sauber did a good step forward. We are not struggling, no. We have to optimise everything a little bit better. We lost out in qualifying in the last two races in my opinion as we could not use our tyres in the best way. But there are all reasons behind that and everything is going well and we should be able here to get another good result, another good points' finish. The car is strong enough.
Q. Michael, do you feel you are being unfairly treated by the media who are perhaps expecting too much from you or are you perfectly happy with your own performance?
MS: No, perfectly happy with my own performance is probably wrong to say. But put it this way. Yes, there is an expectation out there which I think you have to be realistic that it is impossible to meet. I am away three years and just to come back and start exactly where I finished with maybe a car that doesn't allow me to right now is probably unrealistic. I am not a magician either. It just needs time. I take that time. I enjoy most of all this process. There were some set-backs and moments where you would, obviously, be a little bit angry. But, in general, that is what it is about. There are ups and downs and that is the excitement of motor sport. I know the final target where I want to go and I am very confident I can achieve this. That is what I am working for and what I am focussing on. There is the sportive side and there is the entertainment side of this whole circus. You just have to accept and see it is just part of that situation and do not bother too much about it.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q. (Walter Koster - Saarbrücker Zeitung) Mark, did you already have in the past such a situation like in this season with another team principal or team-mate?
MW: Frank (Williams) and Patrick (Head) were sometimes not that easy but look it is normal. It was a situation that happened which was very unusual. As I said already, I don't have any problems with Sebastian. What happened at Silverstone was nothing of Sebastian's doing. I had some discussions with Christian (Horner) over the weekend. He is running the team and we learn and we go forward. There is always unexpected things throughout any driver's career. As Michael just said there are new challengers for him right now and lots of little hurdles along the way. You are dreaming if you think it is always going to be straight up.
Q. (Tobias Holtkamp – Bild) Michael, which of the two guys sitting next to you will be World Champion at the end of this season? Who are you crossing your fingers for?
MS: First of all, it's obviously clear that both of the guys to the left and right of me have a very good package and a very good possibility to fight and win the championship, but you probably don't have to forget the McLaren drivers, that they're still in the picture. I don't think it's finished yet, but naturally you sort of get the feelings of your national heart coming up and therefore you sort of have a German tendency. I'm sorry Mark but I guess that's normal.
Q. (Marc Surer – Sky Deutschland) Michael, I know your car is very sensitive on compounds. Here we have the softest and hardest of Bridgestone's compounds. Does that worry you?
MS: No, not really. I think we actually have much more of a problem with inconsistent behaviour on the same compound. As a clear example, again in some of the races, I go out with the same tyre and suddenly I'm half a second quicker or half a second slower and I've done nothing differently, but the result is there and it's not happened only to us, it's happening up and down the pit lane every so often and it's a little bit difficult to understand.
Q. (Udo Döring – Darmstädter Echo) Sebastian, during the days after Heppenheim, has it kind of been like being on cloud number nine with this great support in your home town? And yesterday, you couldn't play soccer; was it a serious injury?
SV: It's nothing. I can still walk but to play soccer or to play football would probably have been a bit too risky, so that's why I had to cancel. I had a bit of an incident at the beginning of the week, nothing big, but it didn't allow me to play football yesterday. Yeah, I was back home and obviously it settles down. First of all you need to understand what happened. It was a very special day, the Sunday, and as I said, a lot of people – I've never seen it that busy there. All in all, it was just a fantastic day. We started off very early in the morning in the old town, the old party of the city. It takes a while to settle, as I said. It might still be difficult to understand that so many people came to see us but it was a very, very nice day.
Q. (Jonathan Legard – BBC Sport) Michael, as someone who is well versed in winning championships, what are the ingredients that are needed to win a championship, particularly when you are opposing your team-mate, who is very challenging? What factors are there which are crucial to winning a title?
MS: I don't think I can give the answer you're looking for in mentioning one particular part, because it's like a detailed or small piece or puzzle of the big picture. You have to have all those little bits together to finally do it.
Q. (Jonathan Legard – BBC Sport) You talked how you were still very confident in yourself about achieving what you want to do. Has that confidence been knocked at all, because it's taken you longer than you thought it might have done to achieve something in your first year back?
MS: Naturally you wish to go straight ahead with this, thinking, before I was finally able to drive the car, where we'd been last year with the team. You sort of think that there might be a possibility to continue on from there, but then it's easy and clear enough to understand why that is and was not possible. That's about it. You just understand and realise the situation and work from there on.
Q. (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Sebastian, sorry if I've missed something but perhaps you could just clarify this incident with your leg that you had at the beginning of the week?
SV: I fell down when I was running. Nothing special but I had a bit of a hyper-extension of the muscle on the leg, nothing big. I can walk, it's not a disaster.
Q. (Gary Chappell – The Daily Express) Mark, 'not bad for a number two driver'. You're above Sebastian in the standings now. Should you win on Sunday, what will be your cry over the team radio this time?
MW: I think it would be like it normally is, it's a great team effort. It was said in the heat of the moment at Silverstone and that's what was said but we're both treated very equally in the team and as I said at the time, I would never have continued in that situation. That's why I am continuing, so technically the cars are to give both of us a really fair crack and I'm looking forward to trying to have that big problem on Sunday if I can, to work out what I might say.
Q. (Byron Young – The Daily Mirror) Seb, I'm sure you're not too young to have watched Michael win some of his World Championships. What did you learn from what you saw when you watched when he was competing and when he won World Championships?
SV: Many things. I think from great champions there are always a lot of things you can learn, and also if you look outside the table of Formula One, if you look at others sports - tennis, golf – there are great players, great individuals. They're probably all talented but then there are one or two popping out, like probably at the moment Roger Federer and Nadal in tennis. What did I learn from Michael? I think you just need to listen to what he says. Obviously in the past I was watching mainly, like he said even now. Obviously he himself knows best which situation he is in at the moment. Obviously there are a lot of expectations from the outside but it's part of being a great champion, being wise enough to know what you have to focus on. As he said, there are always two worlds: one is the entertainment and one is the sporting side. I think we clearly understood that he is focussing more on the sporting side and trying to come back and win races again. I could give you many examples but I think that was the lesson of the last ten minutes, I guess.
Q. (Gary Chappell – The Daily Express) Michael, how different is it for you now, coming back to your home race and not being the dominant driver and not actually being the dominant German driver?
MS: It probably evolves into the same answer that I sort of mentioned before, because it is very clear that we are not in the position to come here and win the race, because as a package, we are not yet strong enough to do so. But, for us, we fight for our possibilities of results and if we could manage a podium, that would be a great and a fantastic result for us, for the fans, for our supporters, and that's what we're aiming for.
Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) Michael, you spoke about your final target that you had in your mind. Can you categorically confirm that you will be driving for Mercedes in 2011, and in which case what is your final...
MS: Yes!
Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) And in which case what is your final target for that season?
MS: For this or next season?
Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) Next.
MS: It's what I mentioned the day that I officially publicised that I was rejoining Formula One and it is to win another title, that's our aim, that's what my focus is and that's what I'm here for. Very clearly.
Q. (Gary Chappell – The Daily Express) On that point, Norbert Haug says that next season you're going out to win the title. You will be another year older. What will actually change then?
MS: I don't know of anything other than becoming even wiser.
Q. (Byron Young – The Daily Mirror) I just wanted to ask Mark what the reception has been like here from the fans? Is there any sense that you're the rival to their local hero?
SV: No, I think it's been a very good reception so far. I think motor sport here in Germany has a huge following. I think there's a lot of guys who obviously followed Michael in his day, and now there's fresh blood, fresh talent, more people on the grid because of what Michael achieved, so they have a better knowledge of the sport, I suppose. They know there's a bit of bullshit here and there which comes with the sport, and I suppose they like to watch the racing unfold. I drove for Mercedes Benz here, I did a lot of testing here with the sports car, so I have a little bit of a feeling for the guys. Obviously I'm not German but in terms of I have a feeling for how they follow their motor sport, so it's a good time for me to drive here, at that part of my career as well.
Q. (Byron Young – The Daily Mirror) Mark, is there a psychological advantage to winning this race, beating Seb, assuming the two of you are at the front and battling for victory, is there a psychological advantage to winning this race?
MW: Not all the drivers on the grid have the luxury of having a home race, so the guys here do. Obviously I have an Australian race, there's the British Grand Prix. I think last year we all shared the victories around. I think Jenson won my race, I won his race, and Seb won someone else's race, and I won Rubens' race, so it was always moving around. It is a unique thing, obviously, to win your home race and of course it would be right up there with Sebastian's highlights to try and do that, so it's a slightly different event in many ways. Also, on the other side of the coin, it's another 25 points, it's a normal grand prix. It maybe has a little bit more emotion around it for the German drivers. It doesn't mean anything more special to me to win here, so psychologically it doesn't do anything for me, but for the home drivers it's a nice place to win.
Alguersuari boosted by new STR deal
Jamie Alguersuari says his confidence has been boosted after securing a deal to stay at the Toro Rosso team next year.
The Faenza-based squad announced last week that both Alguersuari and team-mate Sebastien Buemi would be retained in 2011.
The deal means the Spanish driver will stay on with Toro Rosso for a third season, although he suggested things could change until the end of the year.
"I think it's a good motivation thing," Alguersuari told AUTOSPORT ahead of the German Grand Prix. "It's good for the confidence, but there's 10 races to go so a lot of things can happen from there until the end of the season, in the good or in the bad side.
"I'm happy that there is a team interested in me for next year, which is Toro Rosso and the Red Bull family, and this is always good for me, because I've always worked very close with Red Bull since I was 15 years old.
"But as I said there are still 10 races to go and a lot of things can happen."
The 20-year-old, who made his F1 debut with the team in the latter part of last season, is hoping last year's experience will help him perform better in the upcoming races on circuits he knows.
"I'm still getting up to speed especially when I go to new tracks," he said. "I expect a lot from the second half of the season because I know the tracks from last year, and it will be the time to show where I can be.
"I expect a lot from the team because it's been four races we haven't had any upgrades, and I expect a lot also from my side, especially to be consistently in the points at the end of the year."
Alguersuari also said Toro Rosso must stay realistic about its prospects given the resources it has compared to other teams.
"I think we have a really competitive car. I think we have a really good car," he added. "The problem is that the other teams develop more than us. We have to be realistic. Williams and Force India are better teams than us. They progressed better than us, they developed the car better than us and that's the reality for the moment.
"We have a really good car. The problem is that the development is a bit slow because we don't have the structures the other teams have. We need to be realistic and know that it's getting better towards the end of the year, and it will be a much better car, I'm convinced."
Barrichello: Tunnel used better now
Rubens Barrichello says Williams's strong results in Valencia and Silverstone can be traced to improvements in the way the team uses its wind tunnel.
The Brazilian finished fourth in the European Grand Prix and then followed that up with a competitive fifth in the British GP two weeks ago.
The Brazilian veteran believes that improved communication between the drivers and the team's wind tunnel staff has meant a recalibration in the kinds of improvements the facility is being tasked to develop.
"The tunnel was giving us 'A', and we were getting 'A', but that was not necessarily the best thing. Rather it was what I needed [to feel] from the car that we needed to develop from the tunnel," he explained. "The tunnel can find downforce in a straightline, but nowadays it is important to find it in the corners also. So a better translation of [the information] we had is how we got better.
"It's a normal process, you cannot just come in to a team, bang on the table and say that is the way it is done," he added. "Tunnels work differently - it's not like 'You won at Ferrari, you won at Brawn, and it's because of this'. It's because the whole thing gets shaped until you get it to a place where you are happy. The team is starting to work on a good level."
Barrichello, speaking prior to the German GP at Hockenheim, had already alluded to the process at Silverstone where he said: "It doesn't matter if the wind tunnel is saying it's better, if it's not better on the track then we need to change that.
"And that was a good way because right now the tunnel is reading a bit more towards what the drivers are saying and we are working on that, so that's why we have seen some improvements since Istanbul."
The 38-year-old also said that it was too early to assess whether the FW32 would be consistently competitive from now on, but reckoned that Silverstone, Hockenheim and the Hungaroring would provide the acid test.
"It is true that if a car goes well at Silverstone it can go well at some other tracks but this year the bumps changed the whole attitude of the car. At the end of the day, it is important that you don't go 'wow; because it goes well on one track.
"It needs to go well on different tracks and in between Silverstone, Budapest and Hockenheim we have very different tracks. So this will be a good test for the car.
"We are still keeping our feet on the ground and keeping for Q3 here and some good points in the race," he added. "Obviously we want to visit the podium this year.
"It's being going quite well. Silverstone was not as good a position as Valencia, but I think it was as good a race. If it wasn't for those safety cars in Valencia we would have finished seventh or eighth, and in Silverstone we finished fifth but that would have been sixth if Alonso didn't get a penalty.
"I think it is improving, it is going okay. We still don't have the car that we wish to have, but I like it."
The Brazilian finished fourth in the European Grand Prix and then followed that up with a competitive fifth in the British GP two weeks ago.
The Brazilian veteran believes that improved communication between the drivers and the team's wind tunnel staff has meant a recalibration in the kinds of improvements the facility is being tasked to develop.
"The tunnel was giving us 'A', and we were getting 'A', but that was not necessarily the best thing. Rather it was what I needed [to feel] from the car that we needed to develop from the tunnel," he explained. "The tunnel can find downforce in a straightline, but nowadays it is important to find it in the corners also. So a better translation of [the information] we had is how we got better.
"It's a normal process, you cannot just come in to a team, bang on the table and say that is the way it is done," he added. "Tunnels work differently - it's not like 'You won at Ferrari, you won at Brawn, and it's because of this'. It's because the whole thing gets shaped until you get it to a place where you are happy. The team is starting to work on a good level."
Barrichello, speaking prior to the German GP at Hockenheim, had already alluded to the process at Silverstone where he said: "It doesn't matter if the wind tunnel is saying it's better, if it's not better on the track then we need to change that.
"And that was a good way because right now the tunnel is reading a bit more towards what the drivers are saying and we are working on that, so that's why we have seen some improvements since Istanbul."
The 38-year-old also said that it was too early to assess whether the FW32 would be consistently competitive from now on, but reckoned that Silverstone, Hockenheim and the Hungaroring would provide the acid test.
"It is true that if a car goes well at Silverstone it can go well at some other tracks but this year the bumps changed the whole attitude of the car. At the end of the day, it is important that you don't go 'wow; because it goes well on one track.
"It needs to go well on different tracks and in between Silverstone, Budapest and Hockenheim we have very different tracks. So this will be a good test for the car.
"We are still keeping our feet on the ground and keeping for Q3 here and some good points in the race," he added. "Obviously we want to visit the podium this year.
"It's being going quite well. Silverstone was not as good a position as Valencia, but I think it was as good a race. If it wasn't for those safety cars in Valencia we would have finished seventh or eighth, and in Silverstone we finished fifth but that would have been sixth if Alonso didn't get a penalty.
"I think it is improving, it is going okay. We still don't have the car that we wish to have, but I like it."
Hartley not giving up on F1 ambitions
Brendon Hartley says he intends to fight to keep his Formula 1 ambitions alive after being dropped from the Red Bull Junior programme, according to a report in this week's AUTOSPORT magazine.
The 20-year-old New Zealander had combined his reserve and test driver duties for the energy drink company's F1 team with a race seat with Tech 1 in Formula Renault 3.5 - which may now be taken up by British Formula 3 championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne.
"The F1 dream is still there and I'm going to fight for it," Hartley told AUTOSPORT. "Perhaps this is a wake-up. The last year hasn't gone well, so a change of environment could be good for me."
Hartley joined the Red Bull programme in 2006 and won the Formula Renault Eurocup the following year.
His best results this season were a second place at Brno and two fastest laps, though he could have won at Spa but for a mechanical failure.
Hartley added that while he was disappointed he was grateful to Red Bull for the help he had received in his career: "I want to get across that they have given me a lot and I'm not bitter."
The 20-year-old New Zealander had combined his reserve and test driver duties for the energy drink company's F1 team with a race seat with Tech 1 in Formula Renault 3.5 - which may now be taken up by British Formula 3 championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne.
"The F1 dream is still there and I'm going to fight for it," Hartley told AUTOSPORT. "Perhaps this is a wake-up. The last year hasn't gone well, so a change of environment could be good for me."
Hartley joined the Red Bull programme in 2006 and won the Formula Renault Eurocup the following year.
His best results this season were a second place at Brno and two fastest laps, though he could have won at Spa but for a mechanical failure.
Hartley added that while he was disappointed he was grateful to Red Bull for the help he had received in his career: "I want to get across that they have given me a lot and I'm not bitter."
Monaco responds to Ecclestone
Monaco Grand Prix organisers have said they are unmoved by comments from Bernie Ecclestone suggesting Formula 1 could do 'without' the blue riband event, after confirming that talks are ongoing about a new deal.
Ecclestone's comments last week that F1 could survive without Monaco because the event did not 'pay enough' drew widespread media coverage - even though such throwaway remarks are a standard tactic used by the sport's commercial boss to raise the stakes during contract talks.
The story where the comments were made also made it clear that Ecclestone did not expect the event to the dropped.
The Automobile Club de Monaco has responded to the media storm with a statement stating it has no need to get dragged into a war of words – and will await the completion of its contractual discussions before making any announcement about future plans.
"The Automobile Club de Monaco does not wish to comment on the statement given by Mr. Ecclestone relating to the future of the Monaco Formula 1 grand prix," said a statement on the ACM's official website.
"Assuming that this information is verified by Mr. Ecclestone and the media where it was reported, one must still understand the context under which such sentiments were made.
"The reality is much simpler: a negotiation is ongoing between the Automobile Club de Monaco and Formula One Management.
"In time, the Automobile Club will not fail to communicate the signing of an agreemen
Ecclestone's comments last week that F1 could survive without Monaco because the event did not 'pay enough' drew widespread media coverage - even though such throwaway remarks are a standard tactic used by the sport's commercial boss to raise the stakes during contract talks.
The story where the comments were made also made it clear that Ecclestone did not expect the event to the dropped.
The Automobile Club de Monaco has responded to the media storm with a statement stating it has no need to get dragged into a war of words – and will await the completion of its contractual discussions before making any announcement about future plans.
"The Automobile Club de Monaco does not wish to comment on the statement given by Mr. Ecclestone relating to the future of the Monaco Formula 1 grand prix," said a statement on the ACM's official website.
"Assuming that this information is verified by Mr. Ecclestone and the media where it was reported, one must still understand the context under which such sentiments were made.
"The reality is much simpler: a negotiation is ongoing between the Automobile Club de Monaco and Formula One Management.
"In time, the Automobile Club will not fail to communicate the signing of an agreemen
Korean track set for August completion
Korean Grand Prix organisers say their Formula 1 circuit remains on course to be finished in August following a visit by FIA race director Charlie Whiting last week.
Although the asphalt has yet to be laid at the Korea International Circuit, Whiting was able to inspect construction progress at the venue - including the completed race control tower, main grandstand, and pit garages.
A statement issued by the Korean organisers said that Whiting was satisfied with the state of progress, with his next inspection due for the end of August.
Race chief Yung Cho Chung said: "[We] welcomed Charlie Whiting for a site inspection of the Korea International Circuit, as well as for meetings relating to our preparations for the Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix.
"As anticipated, we had a successful visit and we are confident the drivers, teams and Formula 1 fans will enjoy the Korea International Circuit."
Unhappy Massa expects to improve
Felipe Massa says he is far from happy with his season so far, but believes that recent improvements to the Ferrari will help him move up the grid.
The Brazilian began the year brightly with podium finishes in Bahrain and Australia and briefly held the championship lead.
However since then he has finished in the top six only twice and has slipped to eighth in the world championship - over 30 points behind his team-mate Fernando Alonso.
"For sure I'm not happy," said Massa. "The beginning of the season was not like I expected. The first two races were okay, we did two podiums, and then we didn't have good races, especially in the last three.
"When you have three races in a row where something happens in the race and you cannot score points, and you go from being in a good position to suddenly last because something has happened, these things are not nice.
"It was the case in Canada because of the accident at the first corner, and in Valencia because of the safety car, and at Silverstone because I had a tyre issue and went from fifth to completely last."
Massa believes that recent exhaust upgrades to the Ferrari have already helped the team close in on the pace setting Red Bulls and McLarens.
"I would say in the last two races, we brought some new parts on the car which I think was a good improvement," he added.
"Compared to the previous races I think we made a step forward and we had a competitive car. I think it is important to keep your motivation that the car is growing [in pace], and hope that for the next race we have an even better car.
"I think it gives even more motivation to keep pushing and looking for a good result in the next race."
The Brazilian began the year brightly with podium finishes in Bahrain and Australia and briefly held the championship lead.
However since then he has finished in the top six only twice and has slipped to eighth in the world championship - over 30 points behind his team-mate Fernando Alonso.
"For sure I'm not happy," said Massa. "The beginning of the season was not like I expected. The first two races were okay, we did two podiums, and then we didn't have good races, especially in the last three.
"When you have three races in a row where something happens in the race and you cannot score points, and you go from being in a good position to suddenly last because something has happened, these things are not nice.
"It was the case in Canada because of the accident at the first corner, and in Valencia because of the safety car, and at Silverstone because I had a tyre issue and went from fifth to completely last."
Massa believes that recent exhaust upgrades to the Ferrari have already helped the team close in on the pace setting Red Bulls and McLarens.
"I would say in the last two races, we brought some new parts on the car which I think was a good improvement," he added.
"Compared to the previous races I think we made a step forward and we had a competitive car. I think it is important to keep your motivation that the car is growing [in pace], and hope that for the next race we have an even better car.
"I think it gives even more motivation to keep pushing and looking for a good result in the next race."
Tyres tipped to spice up Hockenheim
The German Grand Prix could be spiced up by Bridgestone's decision to allocate super soft and hard tyre compounds, according to Williams technical director Sam Michael.
Bridgestone has opted to supply its softest and hardest tyres for the race in the hope of creating a more exciting contest. Tyre degradation played a key role in making the Canadian Grand Prix a multi-stop, and therefore unpredictable, race and there is hope that the German GP could produce a similar spectacle.
"It will be good for the racing," Michael told AUTOSPORT. "It's possible that there will be more than one pitstop. We've seen that happen at other tracks, so it could definitely happen.
"It has got the potential to throw things up in the air. It's a long time since we've seen tyre blistering on the Bridgestones, so that's probably not going to happen, but it's going to be interesting."
Michael added that the capacity to make differing strategies work is key to making the races more unpredictable.
He pointed to the long first stints on prime tyres that several drivers used to good effect at last week's British Grand Prix as an example of how strategic alternatives can influence the results.
"That's what was good about Silverstone; you could make something different work, which is what Jenson Button and Nico Hulkenberg did. That's pretty rare though. I'm not sure that's going to happen again."
Bridgestone has opted to supply its softest and hardest tyres for the race in the hope of creating a more exciting contest. Tyre degradation played a key role in making the Canadian Grand Prix a multi-stop, and therefore unpredictable, race and there is hope that the German GP could produce a similar spectacle.
"It will be good for the racing," Michael told AUTOSPORT. "It's possible that there will be more than one pitstop. We've seen that happen at other tracks, so it could definitely happen.
"It has got the potential to throw things up in the air. It's a long time since we've seen tyre blistering on the Bridgestones, so that's probably not going to happen, but it's going to be interesting."
Michael added that the capacity to make differing strategies work is key to making the races more unpredictable.
He pointed to the long first stints on prime tyres that several drivers used to good effect at last week's British Grand Prix as an example of how strategic alternatives can influence the results.
"That's what was good about Silverstone; you could make something different work, which is what Jenson Button and Nico Hulkenberg did. That's pretty rare though. I'm not sure that's going to happen again."
Vettel: Home GP no extra pressure
Sebastian Vettel is confident that his home crowd will not put any extra pressure on him in this weekend's German Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old has yet to win a grand prix on home soil, but is hopeful that the support of the fans will give him an extra performance boost.
"The fact that the next race is my home grand prix doesn't give me any extra pressure," he told AUTOSPORT. "If anything, it's extra motivation so maybe I can squeeze an extra tenth or two out of myself and the car simply because of that support.
"We have a strong car and should be able to put a good show on. If it's your home grand prix and you have so many people cheering for you, it's something you will always remember."
Vettel added that he expects a similar atmosphere to that experienced by the British drivers at Silverstone two weeks ago, where a race day crowd of 115,000 turned out to back Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
"I hope we can have at least as good an atmosphere as there was at Silverstone," he said. "You look forward to your home grand prix, but what you like to see is that the people around the track are enjoying it and being passionate.
"There are some races that have something special about them and hopefully plenty of people should come to Hockenheim."
The 23-year-old has yet to win a grand prix on home soil, but is hopeful that the support of the fans will give him an extra performance boost.
"The fact that the next race is my home grand prix doesn't give me any extra pressure," he told AUTOSPORT. "If anything, it's extra motivation so maybe I can squeeze an extra tenth or two out of myself and the car simply because of that support.
"We have a strong car and should be able to put a good show on. If it's your home grand prix and you have so many people cheering for you, it's something you will always remember."
Vettel added that he expects a similar atmosphere to that experienced by the British drivers at Silverstone two weeks ago, where a race day crowd of 115,000 turned out to back Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
"I hope we can have at least as good an atmosphere as there was at Silverstone," he said. "You look forward to your home grand prix, but what you like to see is that the people around the track are enjoying it and being passionate.
"There are some races that have something special about them and hopefully plenty of people should come to Hockenheim."
Alonso: Ferrari fired up by tough races
Fernando Alonso says Ferrari has become even more focused and determined to get back on top following its recent run of poor results.
Despite producing improved pace in the last three grands prix, Ferrari only has Alonso's third place in Canada to show for its gains, having been compromised by the safety car timing in Valencia and a penalty for Alonso in Britain.
That lack of points has seen Alonso slip to fifth in the standings, 47 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton at the season's halfway point. But he said far from being downcast, Ferrari had been fired up by its misfortunes and would come back even stronger as a result.
"I've been in Maranello four days last week working with the team," Alonso said in a video interview for Ferrari's website.
"Overall I felt a very good atmosphere in the team. All the guys in Maranello are very, very focused on fighting for this championship.
"After these two bad races people are even more motivated than before because they feel we deserve a good race finally."
The Spaniard declared after Silverstone that he was still confident he could win the title, and he thinks that three good races could change everything.
"We saw this year if you have two or three bad races or two or three good races, it can change the picture of the championship completely," Alonso said.
"We arrive [in Germany] after two bad races with not many points. I think before long we will arrive at a good moment. We need to take the maximum from our car, do two or three podiums in a row, and I'm sure with the new points system we can be in the fight for the championship very soon."
Alonso was buoyed by the fact that Ferrari's upgrades worked well on both the Valencia street track and Silverstone's fast sweeps - suggesting its improved car can be a factor everywhere.
"I think the performance of the car at Silverstone was very, very good - a good surprise for us," he said. "The performance of the car in Valencia was very good, so two different circuits and the performance of the car was good enough to be fighting for a good position on the podium.
"So I think for the remaining races we are very optimistic. We are bringing some new developments on the car in the coming races as well, so we will not stop. We will fight until it isn't possible."
Despite producing improved pace in the last three grands prix, Ferrari only has Alonso's third place in Canada to show for its gains, having been compromised by the safety car timing in Valencia and a penalty for Alonso in Britain.
That lack of points has seen Alonso slip to fifth in the standings, 47 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton at the season's halfway point. But he said far from being downcast, Ferrari had been fired up by its misfortunes and would come back even stronger as a result.
"I've been in Maranello four days last week working with the team," Alonso said in a video interview for Ferrari's website.
"Overall I felt a very good atmosphere in the team. All the guys in Maranello are very, very focused on fighting for this championship.
"After these two bad races people are even more motivated than before because they feel we deserve a good race finally."
The Spaniard declared after Silverstone that he was still confident he could win the title, and he thinks that three good races could change everything.
"We saw this year if you have two or three bad races or two or three good races, it can change the picture of the championship completely," Alonso said.
"We arrive [in Germany] after two bad races with not many points. I think before long we will arrive at a good moment. We need to take the maximum from our car, do two or three podiums in a row, and I'm sure with the new points system we can be in the fight for the championship very soon."
Alonso was buoyed by the fact that Ferrari's upgrades worked well on both the Valencia street track and Silverstone's fast sweeps - suggesting its improved car can be a factor everywhere.
"I think the performance of the car at Silverstone was very, very good - a good surprise for us," he said. "The performance of the car in Valencia was very good, so two different circuits and the performance of the car was good enough to be fighting for a good position on the podium.
"So I think for the remaining races we are very optimistic. We are bringing some new developments on the car in the coming races as well, so we will not stop. We will fight until it isn't possible."
Di Resta to sit out Hockenheim practice
Force India has announced that it will not run Paul di Resta in Friday practice at Hockenheim due to Bridgestone's tyre strategy for the event.
Test driver di Resta is taking part in the majority of Friday morning sessions at grands prix this year in place of one of Force India's race drivers, but the team has decided that Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi need to get maximum mileage on this weekend's tyres so di Resta will step down.
In response to the praise it received for the Canadian Grand Prix, where the large disparity in performance between its two tyre compounds led to a highly entertaining race, Bridgestone is bringing its super-soft and hard tyres to Germany. Its usual tyre choices for each race are just one step apart in its range, as opposed to the two steps' difference between its Hockenheim selection.
Di Resta said he fully understood why he would not be running this weekend.
"It's a shame but I completely understand the decision," he said. "In Hockenheim Bridgestone are bringing two tyre compounds that are two steps apart - the super-soft and the hard - rather than just the one step as usual, so the drivers and the engineers need to understand the performance fully.
"It's a decision that's been taken relatively late but it's better to err on the side of caution at such a crucial stage in the season. The team is performing well but other teams are also making steps forward so we need to have as much information as possible to get every performance advantage we can.
"Hockenheim is a track I know well from the DTM and I was looking forward to getting out there in the F1 car, but it's a team effort and I am sure I can put some of the knowledge I have back into the overall weekend."
The Scot will still attend Hockenheim as part of the team, and will drive again in Hungaroring practice a week later.
"I'll be back in the car in Hungary, replacing Tonio for FP1, so I'll resume my running there," said di Resta. "In the meantime I'll join in the programme as usual - help out with meetings, on the pitwall and pick up as much information as I can. At this stage everything is part of the learning process."
Villeneuve confirms Durango tie-up
Jacques Villeneuve has confirmed that he has partnered with Italian outfit Durango in his bid to return to Formula 1 as a team owner.
Amid a string of rumours about Villeneuve's plans, potential backers and partners, he issued a statement acknowledging that reports in Italy of a Durango tie-up were true, but attempting to quash any further speculation about the project.
"There are a number of rumours circulating at the moment and I wanted to clarify a few things before this gets out of hand," said Villeneuve.
"The team will be a joint venture with Durango, and based out of Italy. To be clear, right now all the money comes from corporate sponsorship, and not from personal investors."
Durango announced its intention to apply for a 2011 F1 entry earlier this year. The team had withdrawn from GP2 due to funding issues and said it had attracted backers more interested in an F1 bid than the feeder series. It has spent this season racing in the new Auto GP category.
Villeneuve last raced in F1 in mid-2006 with BMW Sauber, but had been set for a return with Stefan GP this season had the Serbian squad received an entry. He has since returned to NASCAR and will attempt to qualify for this weekend's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis.
Amid a string of rumours about Villeneuve's plans, potential backers and partners, he issued a statement acknowledging that reports in Italy of a Durango tie-up were true, but attempting to quash any further speculation about the project.
"There are a number of rumours circulating at the moment and I wanted to clarify a few things before this gets out of hand," said Villeneuve.
"The team will be a joint venture with Durango, and based out of Italy. To be clear, right now all the money comes from corporate sponsorship, and not from personal investors."
Durango announced its intention to apply for a 2011 F1 entry earlier this year. The team had withdrawn from GP2 due to funding issues and said it had attracted backers more interested in an F1 bid than the feeder series. It has spent this season racing in the new Auto GP category.
Villeneuve last raced in F1 in mid-2006 with BMW Sauber, but had been set for a return with Stefan GP this season had the Serbian squad received an entry. He has since returned to NASCAR and will attempt to qualify for this weekend's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis.
McLaren 'not behind' with development
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is adamant that his team has not fallen behind in the development race despite having to delay the introduction of the blown rear diffuser.
The British squad had a big update scheduled for the British Grand Prix, but was forced to remove the blown diffuser after hitting trouble with it during Friday's practice sessions.
Both qualifying and the race were dominated by Red Bull's drivers, with Mark Webber taking a commanding win ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Although the team has been unable to race with the diffuser, Whitmarsh says McLaren is still very much on par with its rivals in terms of development.
"I'm not sure we've been behind in the development race - I think we've had a car that's been capable of winning races," said Whitmarsh on Tuesday during a phone-in. "You need to be reliable and quick enough to win races.
"I think we've had both of those things generally. It's always nice to be quicker, it's always nice to be more reliable, but I think we're in a reasonable position - but we know that we've got to continue to development the car if we're going to win the championships this year."
Despite the problems at Silverstone, Whitmarsh is optimistic that the device will be raced this weekend in Germany.
"You can't be entirely confident, but I think we go into Hockenheim with more information," he said. "We've made some modifications in the light of that data and we will be running the blown diffuser on Friday.
"I suspect we'll have it on for the weekend, but we'll make the call in the light of the data on Friday evening."
He also said that having one car with the diffuser and one without it was not possibility McLaren was considering at the moment.
"We're working at the moment on the premise that we'll have blown diffusers on both cars to start with," he added. "At Silverstone Lewis wanted to keep the blown diffuser on on Friday night, but we took the decision there to switch them both back to the older diffuser.
"If there was a preference from one side of the garage to the other - and if I can, we'll avoid that - we'll do it if we think it's the right way to perform during the course of that weekend.
"There are advantages, as you can imagine, to running one car in one configuration, one in the other - provided that in so doing, you don't end up, rightly or wrongly, accused of treating the two drivers differently."
Whitmarsh, whose team is leading both championships after the halfway point of the season, admitted it was still too early to write off teams like Ferrari from the championship fight, despite the lack of results from the Italian squad in recent races.
"I'd love to believe that, but experience has told me that you can't write them off. Ferrari are a strong team, they're technical capable, have fantastic resources and they've got one former world champion and one other top-flight driver and Mercedes-Benz similarly have got one former multiple world champion and a very good driver in Nico [Rosberg].
"So I think it's too early to write them off. We need to improve our car and do as good a job as we can do. Red Bull clearly are the principle challenge at the moment, but I don't dismiss the others."
Fauzy gets Hockenheim outing
The Lotus team has confirmed that third driver Fairuz Fauzy will be back at the wheel of its car in the German Grand Prix this weekend.
The Malaysian had only been confirmed for the British, Hungarian, Singapore and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, but will get another outing in Germany after mechanical problems cut his running short at Silverstone.
Team boss Tony Fernandes said: "It's an exciting day for all of us in the Lotus Racing team - being able to tell Fairuz he has another Friday run a week before he thought he'd be back in the car is a great way to start the week, and we all know he'll deliver for us, both on track and in the feedback he'll provide the team.
"He's an inspiration to young drivers around the world, proving that being determined to make your dreams come true can make very exciting things happen!"
The Malaysian had only been confirmed for the British, Hungarian, Singapore and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, but will get another outing in Germany after mechanical problems cut his running short at Silverstone.
Team boss Tony Fernandes said: "It's an exciting day for all of us in the Lotus Racing team - being able to tell Fairuz he has another Friday run a week before he thought he'd be back in the car is a great way to start the week, and we all know he'll deliver for us, both on track and in the feedback he'll provide the team.
"He's an inspiration to young drivers around the world, proving that being determined to make your dreams come true can make very exciting things happen!"
Germany preview quotes: Bridgestone
Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Germany is one of the biggest and most important automotive markets in Europe, so it is imperative that Bridgestone has a strong presence here. It is interesting for us to alternate between races at Nurburgring and Hockenheim. Our local market works hard in Germany and our tyres have received many accolades in this market. We have recently seen a significant increase in the television audience figures as there are several German drivers this year, and of course the return of Michael Schumacher has had a positive impact. I am also interested to see the effects of bringing the hard and super soft compounds to this race."
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "This will be the first time that we have raced at Hockenheim with slicks since 1997, and the circuit configuration then was very different. The circuit layout features a long left hander before the hairpin where it is important to have good stability. After the hairpin, there are strong traction demands on the rear tyres. Elsewhere, a good overall balance is required. We have a unique opportunity with the nature of the Hockenheim circuit allowing us to bring the softest and the hardest tyres from our range. This should provide a challenge for everyone and should be interesting. The weather will play a factor too. If it is hot then the super soft will be a challenge to manage for stability and durability. If it is cold then ensuring the hard is in its temperature operating window will be a tough task."
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "This will be the first time that we have raced at Hockenheim with slicks since 1997, and the circuit configuration then was very different. The circuit layout features a long left hander before the hairpin where it is important to have good stability. After the hairpin, there are strong traction demands on the rear tyres. Elsewhere, a good overall balance is required. We have a unique opportunity with the nature of the Hockenheim circuit allowing us to bring the softest and the hardest tyres from our range. This should provide a challenge for everyone and should be interesting. The weather will play a factor too. If it is hot then the super soft will be a challenge to manage for stability and durability. If it is cold then ensuring the hard is in its temperature operating window will be a tough task."
Teams hopeful of logo-dispute solution
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh remains hopeful that a solution can be found to the ongoing row over sponsors' logos being displayed in the pits and paddock.
Pressure has been put on teams by Allsport, which owns all trackside advertising, to remove sponsors' logos from the garages and prominent areas in the paddock.
The dispute stepped up a gear at Silverstone when teams were also asked to remove the tractor units of their team trucks because they were showing sponsors' logos too prominently.
Although no solution was found to the dispute at Silverstone, despite several conversations between the teams, Bernie Ecclestone, and Allsport, Whitmarsh is hopeful that the matter will not drag on too much longer.
"There is a difference of opinion," said Whitmarsh when asked by AUTOSPORT about the situation. "Everyone has taken a pretty sensible view on it. We all know that we have to find an accommodation, and you are not always going to agree.
"I think that the teams feel that what they have doing is fairly reasonable, but I think we also have to respect that FOM is out there trying to sell circuit signage. And it is in our interests that FOM does the best job it can."
When asked to confirm whether it was true teams had been asked to remove sponsor logos from their garages, Whitmarsh said: "There was a request. We spoke not with Bernie but the APM organisation (Allsport parent company Allsopp Parker & Marsh)
"We don't have a contractual relationship with APM. We spoke to Bernie on Friday and we said: 'Look let's find a solution and compromise.' But I don't think anyone changed anything."
It is not clear whether or not teams will be requested to remove their tractor units from their trucks again at Hockenheim this weekend, but Whitmarsh was adamant that the paddock looked much worse without them.
"I've told Bernie that," he said. "I think that the majority of these trucks are designed to have tractor units. The tractor units are pretty smart and look pretty impressive lined up.
"I also think it adds commercial value to some of those people supplying those units. So I said to Bernie - 1) go down there and look because personally I think it looks a lot worse without it, and 2) particularly for the small teams, they will find themselves having to pay a lot more for tractor units in the future if they cannot have them on display in an impressive way in the paddock."
Sources have suggested that the dispute over the display of sponsors' logos is the first salvo in what is likely to be tough negotiations between the teams and Ecclestone for a new Concorde Agreement, the document by which F1 is run.
A new deal is due to be signed for the start of the 2013, and teams are likely to demand more of a share of the revenue that they get at the moment - something Ecclestone will not be too keen for.
Pressure has been put on teams by Allsport, which owns all trackside advertising, to remove sponsors' logos from the garages and prominent areas in the paddock.
The dispute stepped up a gear at Silverstone when teams were also asked to remove the tractor units of their team trucks because they were showing sponsors' logos too prominently.
Although no solution was found to the dispute at Silverstone, despite several conversations between the teams, Bernie Ecclestone, and Allsport, Whitmarsh is hopeful that the matter will not drag on too much longer.
"There is a difference of opinion," said Whitmarsh when asked by AUTOSPORT about the situation. "Everyone has taken a pretty sensible view on it. We all know that we have to find an accommodation, and you are not always going to agree.
"I think that the teams feel that what they have doing is fairly reasonable, but I think we also have to respect that FOM is out there trying to sell circuit signage. And it is in our interests that FOM does the best job it can."
When asked to confirm whether it was true teams had been asked to remove sponsor logos from their garages, Whitmarsh said: "There was a request. We spoke not with Bernie but the APM organisation (Allsport parent company Allsopp Parker & Marsh)
"We don't have a contractual relationship with APM. We spoke to Bernie on Friday and we said: 'Look let's find a solution and compromise.' But I don't think anyone changed anything."
It is not clear whether or not teams will be requested to remove their tractor units from their trucks again at Hockenheim this weekend, but Whitmarsh was adamant that the paddock looked much worse without them.
"I've told Bernie that," he said. "I think that the majority of these trucks are designed to have tractor units. The tractor units are pretty smart and look pretty impressive lined up.
"I also think it adds commercial value to some of those people supplying those units. So I said to Bernie - 1) go down there and look because personally I think it looks a lot worse without it, and 2) particularly for the small teams, they will find themselves having to pay a lot more for tractor units in the future if they cannot have them on display in an impressive way in the paddock."
Sources have suggested that the dispute over the display of sponsors' logos is the first salvo in what is likely to be tough negotiations between the teams and Ecclestone for a new Concorde Agreement, the document by which F1 is run.
A new deal is due to be signed for the start of the 2013, and teams are likely to demand more of a share of the revenue that they get at the moment - something Ecclestone will not be too keen for.
Domenicali: No one giving up at Ferrari
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has issued a rallying call to his staff - telling them to either believe the Maranello outfit can still win the title this year, or quit their jobs.
Although Ferrari's title challenge has been dented by events outside of its control in the European and British Grands Prix, the team reckons that there is still everything to play for.
And with Fernando Alonso adamant after Silverstone – where a drive-through penalty for overtaking off the track cost him a points-scoring finish – that he 'will' win the title, Domenicali is equally optimistic.
Speaking at the weekend after a meeting of Ferrari's senior management, Domenicali said: "Anyone who does not believe that we can win the world championship would do better looking for another job.
"No one here is giving up: there are still nine races to go and anything can happen. We will have to do our job perfectly, that is to say the Ferrari way and then the results will come."
Although Ferrari's title challenge has been dented by events outside of its control in the European and British Grands Prix, the team reckons that there is still everything to play for.
And with Fernando Alonso adamant after Silverstone – where a drive-through penalty for overtaking off the track cost him a points-scoring finish – that he 'will' win the title, Domenicali is equally optimistic.
Speaking at the weekend after a meeting of Ferrari's senior management, Domenicali said: "Anyone who does not believe that we can win the world championship would do better looking for another job.
"No one here is giving up: there are still nine races to go and anything can happen. We will have to do our job perfectly, that is to say the Ferrari way and then the results will come."
Buemi says he will stay at Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi says there are no doubts that he will be at Scuderia Toro Rosso next season - despite saying late last week that he had not signed a contract.
Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost announced last week that the outfit would be retaining both Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for 2010 – although Buemi was later quoted as saying that he had not sorted out a contract.
However, during a mid-summer party at Toro Rosso's Faenza factory at the weekend, Buemi has said that he will definitely be at the outfit again.
"I have been with Red Bull for almost all my motor sport career and I am under contract with them for the foreseeable future, starting with next year," he said.
"And if I haven't signed anything, that's because there is nothing to sign! I am very happy where I am and well aware that I would not be here without Red Bull."
Buemi joined Toro Rosso at the start of 2009 and his best finishes have been seventh place in that year's Australian and Brazilian Grands Prix.
Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost announced last week that the outfit would be retaining both Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for 2010 – although Buemi was later quoted as saying that he had not sorted out a contract.
However, during a mid-summer party at Toro Rosso's Faenza factory at the weekend, Buemi has said that he will definitely be at the outfit again.
"I have been with Red Bull for almost all my motor sport career and I am under contract with them for the foreseeable future, starting with next year," he said.
"And if I haven't signed anything, that's because there is nothing to sign! I am very happy where I am and well aware that I would not be here without Red Bull."
Buemi joined Toro Rosso at the start of 2009 and his best finishes have been seventh place in that year's Australian and Brazilian Grands Prix.
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