Pirelli stands ready to supply special ‘qualifying tyres’ to formula one teams next year.

With the emphasis of the sport’s spectacle now relying on the complex and heavily degrading control tyres, it was the qualifying session that suffered last weekend in Barcelona.

Arguably to the detriment of Saturday’s spectacle, teams took an exceedingly strategic view of the fight for pole position, with some drivers sitting out the decisive ‘Q3′ runout altogether.

One solution, according to Pirelli’s chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, is the return of ‘qualifying tyres’.

The proposal has been made following recent criticism, notably by seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, of Pirelli’s 2012 product.

Tronchetti defended his marque’s approach.

“What we have is many competitive cars, which is what the teams wanted — opprtunity for everyone who is able to win,” he told Italian radio Rai GR Parlamento.

“So it’s fine if someone complains. We are available to the teams. We are ready to make qualifying tyres tomorrow.

“But they are choices that are not ours.”

Kimi Raikkonen has a simple theory as to why his return to formula one was much smoother than fellow former champion Michael Schumacher’s.

After two less competitive seasons in 2010 and 2011, seven time title winner Schumacher, 43, is finally back up to speed this year.

Finn Raikkonen is more than a decade younger than his German rival and he was off the grid for only two years, not three.

But he thinks there is a simpler explanation as to why he has returned immediately to the pace, while Schumacher took more than two full seasons.

“It’s just about whether you have a good car or not. It has made life much easier for me,” said Raikkonen, who has returned with Lotus.

“He (Schumacher) was not so lucky,” the former McLaren and Ferrari driver told Germany’s Sport Bild.

“The (Lotus) car is good,” the 2007 world champion added, referring to his black and gold E20. “Whether it’s good enough for victory or not, I don’t know.

“At least we are not far away from the top.”

Raikkonen insists not much has changed in F1 since he left for a world rallying foray at the end of 2009 — not even his friendship with Sebastian Vettel.

“He has won two titles since then but it didn’t change him,” said Raikkonen.

“Sebastian is a great racing driver but he’s also a really nice guy,” he added.

As for himself, Raikkonen insists he is just the same.

“Maybe people see me as more relaxed, which I think is down to the (Lotus) team,” he said.

“It’s a different atmosphere to what I’ve experienced before.”

 Sir Jackie Stewart has tipped fellow multiple world champion Michael Schumacher to keep racing beyond 2012.
“He has had a lot of criticism,” the triple world champion told Kolner Express newspaper, “including from me.”

Triple world champion Stewart, 72, said the famous German has taken a lot of time to get back up to speed since returning in 2010, but the final piece of the puzzle is a strong Mercedes in 2012.

“He has had a hard time. So why should he stop now that he knows he can still keep up with the boys?

“I think he wants to collect the fruits of the work that he has been doing with Mercedes,” the Scot added.

Nico Rosberg has named Mark Webber as his toughest teammate in formula one so far.

The German made his grand prix debut alongside Australian Webber at Williams in 2006, moving four seasons later to Mercedes.

While at Williams, Rosberg also raced as teammate to Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima.

Rosberg’s Mercedes move in 2010 coincided with seven time world champion Michael Schumacher’s return to formula one at the same Brackley based team, where they have been teammates ever since.

When asked by Germany’s Sport Bild who his toughest teammate has been, he answered: “Mark Webber in 2006, then Michael.”

And he hopes he will be in front of his famous current teammate yet again in 2012, particularly with Mercedes hoping its new W03 is a race winner.

“To be the first German to win in the new Silver Arrow would be an absolute dream for me,” said Rosberg, whose father Keke won the title in 1982.

Nico Rosberg is reluctant to commit to Mercedes beyond his current contract, according to a Spanish sports newspaper.
The 26-year-old has consistently outperformed seven time world champion Michael Schumacher in the last two seasons, but is yet to record a single grand prix win.

The Marca daily said Mercedes is desperate to re-sign him for 2013 and beyond, but claims the young German is stalling for now as he watches the driver market.

With Jenson Button now committed to McLaren beyond next season, Rosberg could emerge as a leading candidate to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari.

“Marca has learned that Rosberg wants to wait on renewing his contract with Mercedes in order to try his luck in negotiating with Ferrari next year,” said the report.

Mercedes’ motor sport president Norbert Haug admitted at Suzuka that the German marque wants to tie up Rosberg.

“I have Nico until 2012 and, if I had my way, for much longer,” he said.

A few weeks ago, there were reports Rosberg was set to commit to Mercedes until 2016, but Marca says he is now pushing for a year-on-year deal.

Nico Rosberg insists he is not getting complacent after proving stronger than his famous Mercedes teammate in the past two seasons.
Ever since seven time world champion Michael Schumacher returned from retirement in 2010, it has been 25-year-old Rosberg regularly setting the pace at the wheel of the Silver Arrows.

Calls for Schumacher, 42, to quit have intensified since his performance in Turkey, where after the race the German admitted he is missing the “big joy” of F1 at present.

But Rosberg has defended Schumacher, insisting he still respects the winner of an unprecedented 91 grands prix.

“He is and remains the most successful racing driver of all time,” the German told Auto Motor und Sport.

“It is still very difficult to be faster than him and I must work hard in every session. Everything needs to fit together for me to stay ahead.

“I’m happy that it has worked well for me against him so far, but I also know that at the next race it may be difficult,” added Rosberg.

The next race on the calendar is in Barcelona, where at the final test of the pre-season the W02 car seemed right on the pace.

But Rosberg warned: “The tests are far in the past and therefore now basically meaningless. In the last few races we have seen exactly where we stand.”

The combined timesheet from the final test of the 2011 pre-season makes interesting reading just over a week before the season begins.

With Mercedes’ admittedly “basic” launch car finally fully updated, it was seven time world champion Michael Schumacher leading the charts.

“Whether we have done enough or not is difficult to say,” team boss Ross Brawn told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper.

The Briton admits he had felt “nervous” when the W02 was a second off the pace and so much was riding on the major Barcelona upgrade.

“It was hard to keep calm, and I was constantly reminding the team to stick to the plan. In situations like that, it’s tempting to react and waste resources,” said Brawn.

Schumacher told El Pais newspaper: “All I can say is that we finally found the right balance and the aerodynamic package works. As for whether we will be in front in Australia, I don’t know.”

With the second best lap of the Circuit de Catalunya last week was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, ahead of Sergio Perez in the impressive Sauber.

The fastest Red Bull (5th) was Sebastian Vettel, with Mark Webber just eleventh best.

“Throughout my career,” said veteran Rubens Barrichello, “I have never seen a pre-season that is so difficult to interpret.

“What you can say is that Red Bull and Ferrari seem to be in front, while Williams has improved,” the Williams driver told O Estado de S.Paulo, “but I am sure there are some cards hidden up sleeves.”

Also with notably good laps in Barcelona were Renault and Toro Rosso, while the best McLaren driver was Lewis Hamilton in just fourteenth place.

Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus, meanwhile, was faster than either of the Force India drivers, while in the absence of Timo Glock, rookie Jerome d’Ambrosio brought up the timesheets in the sluggish new Virgin.

Dr Helmut Marko is defiantly confident after the first two test days in the life of Red Bull’s 2011 car.
Wearing the number 1 on the nose for world champion Sebastian Vettel, the RB7 has been impressive so far at the Ricardo Tormo track near Valencia, Spain.

Wednesday’s action was watched on by the team’s owner Dietrich Mateschitz, but it was his right-hand man Marko who gushed the loudest.

“If a race were held now, we would lap everybody,” the Austrian told Bild newspaper. “How our car goes through the corners is amazing.”

Even the usually-reserved Mateschitz sounded very confident.

“This will be our third strong year in a row,” the billionaire energy drinks magnate predicted.

Said 23-year-old driver Vettel: “I cannot complain as I’m satisfied so far, but all the cars will still change considerably. Whether we’re ahead or not is hard to say.”

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug said: “I don’t think they’re looking too bad.”

And seven time world champion Michael Schumacher jokingly agreed. “The new Red Bull?” said the German. “Looks good. The colour, I mean …”

Sporting a new look for 2011, Nico Rosberg has declared he has no fear of F1′s world champions.
“Where (Sebastian) Vettel is now? I’ll get there,” the Mercedes driver, referring to his German countryman and F1′s new reigning champion, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Rosberg was speaking with a new short haircut and a stubble beard.

“No one recognises me!” enthused the 25-year-old, whose long blonde hair of previous seasons earned him the nickname ‘Britney’.

“The beard is just laziness,” laughed Rosberg, who has had to call off taking part in a triathlon event due to a slightly injured knee.

As for emulating Vettel’s success in 2011, Rosberg is determined. “He has a good team around him in Red Bull, but myself and the whole team at Mercedes are working like crazy to catch up,” he said at the Berlin Fashion Week.

In 2011, Rosberg saw off the challenge of F1′s returning seven time champion Michael Schumacher, and he insisted he still does not fear his famous teammate.

“It may be close between us, and maybe he will beat me, but there’s no way he’s going to put me in the shade,” he insisted.

“There is no reason why I would be worse than last year — on the contrary, I will be better!”

In an interview with DPA news agency, Rosberg scoffed at Fernando Alonso’s recent claim that Schumacher will be his biggest rival this year.

“It doesn’t really interest me, but I found it a little strange that you wouldn’t say Red Bull is your nearest rival. That seems pretty obvious,” he said.

The Schumacher brothers are adamant Red Bull must now impose team orders if it wants to win the 2010 drivers’ world championship.

Their young countryman Sebastian Vettel looked set to take the points lead from his Australian teammate Mark Webber, who crashed on the slippery Yeongam circuit, after controlling Sunday’s Korean grand prix from pole position.

But Vettel also retired from the race with an engine failure, leaving him 14 points shy of Webber, who is now 11 points behind new championship leader Fernando Alonso.

With just two races to go, Ralf Schumacher thinks Red Bull’s new strategy should be obvious.

“Now Red Bull need to play a single card; Mark Webber,” the former grand prix winner, in Korea to commentate for German television, is quoted by Bild newspaper.

“Sebastian needs to get as many points as he can, but Red Bull must see to it that Webber gets the title,” Schumacher added.

Reluctantly, because it will be to the detriment of his friend Vettel, seven time world champion Michael Schumacher also said a team strategy must now be taken by Red Bull for the remaining Brazilian and Abu Dhabi grands prix.

“I’m sorry for Sebastian,” he told German television Sky. “I have to recall almost a decade ago, when everyone thought we at Ferrari were crazy to be thinking about the championship so early.

“But if Red Bull had done the same, their worry lines would be much smaller now,” added the German.

His reference to “almost a decade ago” must surely be about 2002, when Ferrari was roundly condemned for moving Rubens Barrichello aside so that Schumacher could take maximum points from the Austrian grand prix.

Ferrari implemented a similarly controversial strategy at Hockenheim earlier this year, and on Sunday Fernando Alonso moved to the head of the drivers’ title standings.

But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was quoted on Sunday as saying he will not be making Webber the number 1 driver for the rest of 2010.

But he also told reporters at Yeongam: “I haven’t had time to look at all the mathematics and scenarios. It’s something that obviously we will look at pretty closely between now and Brazil.”

Vettel, however, made clear he is not personally ready to give up, even though his engine failure seriously dented his charge in Korea.

“It is very significant for the championship situation, but I am the last to give up,” German media quote him as saying.

Lewis Hamilton has admitted it is no longer a special feeling to beat seven time world champion Michael Schumacher.

When the 41-year-old German announced his return to formula one for 2010, McLaren driver Hamilton said it will be “an honour and privilege” to go wheel to wheel with one of his childhood heroes.

“He is one of the sport’s greatest competitors, a legend — it will be great to compete against him,” said the 2008 world champion, whose F1 career began the season after Schumacher initially retired four years ago.

“It doesn’t matter whether I win or lose.  The fact I will be able to drive alongside Schumacher is something I can carry all my life,” added Hamilton.

But 15 races into Schumacher’s difficult comeback, the 25-year-old Briton admits the thrill has gone.

“In the beginning I was very excited about his comeback,” Hamilton is quoted by TZ newspaper during a recent visit to Germany.

“But now it’s not the same because he is mostly racing behind me.  In this respect there is no value in my beating him,” he revealed.

Sebastian Vettel was bearing the brunt of the international media’s post-race wrath after the Belgian grand prix.

Italy’s La Repubblica said the Red Bull driver gets involved in incidents “at every race”.

“He could easily have won this world title, but now it is certain that he will not,” said the major Rome-based newspaper.

German Vettel, 23, lost control of his RB6 at Spa-Francorchamps and took out fellow championship contender Jenson Button.

“Vettel is the big loser of this season,” agreed the Milan published Corriere della Sera.

Said triple world champion and commentator Niki Lauda: “We’ll see if this error costs him the world championship.

“There is pressure and you have to deal with it,” added the great Austrian.

But there is support for 2009 runner-up Vettel.

“Check it off and look ahead,” advised seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, according to the SID news agency.

“The worst thing is when so-called experts – and I must include myself – give him all sorts of advice.  He knows what happened and what should have been different.

“All I can say is the year is still long,” added Schumacher.

Former German grand prix driver Christian Danner said: “It’s not that he wants too much — he was just too impatient.”

Swiss counterpart Marc Surer added: “He wanted to overtake and it went wrong.  You can’t blame him; following someone is not his style and I like that.

“Yes, it went bad, but on the other hand, you have to attack.”

And famous German touring car driver Klaus Ludwig said: “The conditions were extremely difficult — you can’t believe how much.  It’s like walking an extremely narrow tightrope.”

Fernando Alonso is by far the highest paid active grand prix driver, according to reports in the Spanish press.

The El Mundo report, citing information from Business Book GP, compiled a list showing that Alonso’s annual Ferrari retainer – excluding external endorsements – is EUR 30 million.

That is almost double the next largest retainer, owned by 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, at 16 million, although it is believed Kimi Raikkonen is being paid a similar amount this year due to Ferrari’s breach of contract.

Felipe Massa comes in at third with 14m, meaning the Brazilian is paid less than half the income of his Ferrari teammate.

Reigning world champion Jenson Button is reportedly paid EUR 9 million; significantly less than his McLaren teammate, but more than seven time world champion Michael Schumacher (8m).

Mercedes also pays Nico Rosberg EUR 8 million, which is marginally more than Robert Kubica’s 7.5m.

Interestingly, Rubens Barrichello (5.5m) earns more than Mark Webber (4.2m), but Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 retainer is reportedly just 2 million.

According to the list, Red Bull’s Vettel is therefore paid less than Lotus driver Jarno Trulli (3m), and approximately the same as Trulli’s teammate Heikki Kovalainen.

Timo Glock earns 1 million by driving for Virgin; more than the EUR 700,000 reportedly paid to Williams rookie Nico Hulkenberg.

Also earning less than 1 million are the Sauber drivers (500,000 each), Vitaly Petrov, Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi (400,000), and the Force India drivers and Lucas di Grassi (200,000).

Bruno Senna is reportedly the lowest paid active driver, with a 150,000 retainer; 200 times less than Alonso.

Mercedes may soon have to turn its attention to making some personnel changes within its British based F1 team.

That is the warning of the German marque’s competition director Norbert Haug, amid reports the Brackley outfit is now working almost exclusively on its 2011 car.

“We hope to return to success,” he is quoted by Autosprint.

“However, if we fail to achieve the goals we have set, we may have to change some people,” added Haug.

He is definitely not referring to Nico Rosberg, Mercedes’ most consistently competitive driver this season, or seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, who is firmly under contract for 2011 and keen to win an eighth title.

But former GP winner Gerhard Berger admits he has been increasingly disappointed with the 41-year-old German over the last few races.

“He has been taking more steps back than forward,” the Austrian is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

“He has tried several strange tricks to gain points, and they have all come to nothing. Maybe he is putting himself under too much pressure,” added Berger.

His former promoter, Gerhard Berger sees the Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel as a Formula 1 world champion 2010th In the opinion of his former bosses at Toro Rosso, the 23-year-old ahead of his teammate Mark Webber as the best chance of the title, although he is after twelve of the 19 World Championship races with ten points behind the leading Australians only in third place overall. “With Sebastian Webber and Red Bull has a great driver line. Both can win races and be world champion. I see Vettel at an advantage because he drives a constant,” says Berger the ‘Sport Bild’.

Vettel was recently in Budapest by its own fault as he let on restart after a safety car period, too much distance and it conceded a drive-through penalty, missed taking over the championship lead. “The current events are a learning phase, which does him good and make is even stronger,” says the former Formula 1 driver, was celebrated under his leadership in 2008 in Monza, Vettel Toro Rosso its first victory.
The Austrians see Vettel in extraordinary abilities: “Sebastian is incredibly intelligent and as precisely as Ayrton Senna. He is always very focused, but also constructive. This draws him even from a young age,” says Berger, but also Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg praises, claiming at the silver arrows against the returning world champion: “Michael Schumacher’s achievements are not bad, his problem is simply Nico Rosberg.” The 25-year-old Schumacher was for the “greatest teammate he ever had. Nico is young, intelligent, and highly concentrated toptrainiert. But unfortunately the car is far from winning.”

A good advice is Berger also yet to Ferrari driver Felipe Massa left that would have in the team orders affair of Hockenheim, as his colleague Fernando Alonso too easily overtook an unfortunate role was played: “As a driver I respond to Massa’s body differently. I would have referred openly to my race engineer on the radio that I could indeed pass by Alonso as team orders are banned, but then one must expect a punishment, “says Berger. “I am convinced that under such a radio message that everyone could hear, Massa would have never heard of his box.”