PRESS CONFERENCE

Kamui, so far this season a couple of good races and a couple not so good. What’s been the difference between them?

Kamui KOBAYASHI: Of course it’s definitely the car. We had quite good performance at the start, quite a good start to the season. Unfortunately, we also some races where the strategy was not really going well. It’s not let’s a bad thing for my season. I had a great start but I think we have to work hard especially on the long runs.

Yesterday, Fernando talked about drivers having more respect for one another. Do you think that’s the case? Should drivers leave more space for each other?

KK: Maybe. I don’t know. It’s always difficult to say.

You’re quite an aggressive overtaker

KK: Yeah, but for me I’m doing something quite normal. It’s not special. I’m just doing my job. Maybe it looks aggressive but I never crash with anyone. I never crash and stop the car. There may be contact but it’s always quite OK. Maybe it looks aggressive but it’s not aggressive in fact.

And of course, you’ve been on the receiving end as we remember from Spa last year.

KK: Spa last year? Where? Ah, with Lewis, you mean? That’s what I mean that was just an accident you know. I didn’t expect both cars to make contact because there was no point. I didn’t expect Lewis to come across and I just stayed on my line. It was just sudden, you know. There was no way to avoid that. That was something special though, it’s not really a racing accident and not aggressive stuff from me, so…

Nico, on paper you’ve been beaten by your team-mate so far this year. How are you feeling about it?

Nico HULKENBERG: Well, the first four races have been quite tough to be honest. I would have liked to take more than two points out of the first four races. We have been quite unfortunate in some races, such as Melbourne, where we had a first-corner incident and there was very little I could do and then a clutch failure issues in Bahrain. These were two races where we potentially could have finished in the points. But I’m looking forward, I’m bedding in well with the team. I think the team is doing a good job in putting everything together and if we get a bit more luck then I think it will be good.

How do you feel about team development? Are the developments coming at a reasonable rate as far as you’re concerned?

NH: Yes, definitely. We bring some new parts, probably like every other team, here and we have to wait and see where the new parts put us but obviously we’re hoping it’s a step forward. I think it is a step forward but just how big a step we’ll see over the next two days.

Pedro, we see a new team that has recently moved to new premises and taken on a lot of new staff. What sort of role do you see yourself playing in the development of Hispania Racing Team?

Pedro DE LA ROSA: As you’ve said, everything is new. We’re establishing ourselves; restructuring the team; we are growing. But really I’m not playing any different role than any other race driver would do. I’m part of the team; I’m a race driver; I’m experienced. If they need my advice on anything, I am there. But I’m not playing any special role other than driving as fast as I can and giving good feedback about the car.

You spent so long at McLaren are you not trying to put some of those influences on the team?

PDLR: Gradually I will. That’s the aim and that’s what I’m here for as well. But so far the team has been extremely busy trying to move into our new premises in Madrid, establish a structure, a ‘basement’ as I say, and after that we will grow gradually and that’s when I think my input will be, if possible, more beneficial. But so far the objective has been clear. We have to establish ourselves, we have to put he ground for building more floors on top of us but so far I’ve been very discreet and not in a very important position.

And where do hope the team will be at the end of the year?

PDLR: I have no idea really. We are improving race by race. We have made the car a lot quicker. Don’t forget at the first grand prix we did not qualify and gradually we have been closing the gap to pole position. That’s what we have to aim for: race by race, closing the gap, making sure that our car is a little bit quicker than it was at the previous grand prix. After that, at the end of the year, we will see. We don’t have to set ourselves any targets other than making the team more competitive race by race.

Kimi, you were plainly a little frustrated that you could have won at Bahrain but didn’t. Is that a true appraisal of your feelings about Bahrain?

Kimi RAIKKONEN: Yeah, I think once you get so close, you’re not happy with second. If you’re 20 seconds behind then it doesn’t really matter but we had a chance but at least for the team it was a good weekend.

You’re a two-time winner here, both from pole position. Do you think a win is possible here? You’ve said you team will be winners at some stage.

KR: Well, the rules are different, so you don’t have to be on pole now to win. We’ll try. I don’t know how it will go. It’s very difficult to say before the weekend starts. The teams are very close. So if everything goes smoothly then we can be up there. But small difficulties in some areas and you’re suddenly much further back. We try to do everything right and then see what happens.

You didn’t test at Mugello as apparently the team hadn’t brought major modification, but for this race have you at least brought modifications that will at least see you maintain where you were at the opening rounds?

KR: We should have some new parts and we’ll see what happens.

Fernando, another winner here in 2006. How did you feel the Ferrari was in testing? Did you feel it was a lot different?

Fernando ALONSO: No, not really. We didn’t have any big improvements in the car, so what we tested were different set-ups and things we missed from winter testing. It’s been quite difficult for us with a lot of problems on the car and not many laps. The Mugello test was to complete what we had left from winter but in terms of improvements, we had minimum changes on the car so it felt the same?

Did that set-up research, as it were, make you feel more comfortable with the car, more competitive?

FA: Well, we’ll see. Obviously we had some ideas in terms of setup and some different possibilities that we were not introducing in the first four races because we didn’t have the opportunity to test them. So, it was good in Mugello: some of them were positive; some of them were negative so it’s good to know. As much information as you have is better preparation for the next grand prix. Obviously we arrive more prepared now than how we arrived in Australia with only three tests in the winter. But to make the car faster I think in terms of setup you cannot find much. If you want to be running at the front it’s more aerodynamic parts and updates in the car. Hopefully they come but we need to wait.

You know this circuit pretty well, you had a very good start to the race last year – do you think we’re going to see more overtaking on the circuit now, what with more KERS and a longer DRS as well?

FA: I think it will be similar to last year, to be honest. I saw some numbers of previous races here. On average like four or five overtaking manoeuvres in the last nine years and last year there were 57 – so it was a big change. The race this year will be similar to last year because of the degradation, the DRS and the KERS. With all the possibilities that we have now, as we had last year, for sure we will see some more overtaking. This changes also a little bit the philosophy of this circuit. As Kimi said, pole position was 60 per cent of the victories, now pole position is obviously the best starting position but it’s not crucial anymore because with this year’s tyres it’s less important.

Sebastian, you broke the mould last year by winning from second on the grid, where you’ve started for the last three years but you won last year from there. This is such a performance track, is this a track where you’re really looking for an indicator for the rest of the first half of the season? If you’re competitive here you will be elsewhere?

Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think if you are competitive here I think it means that you have been previously. It’s a track that we usually know quite a lot from winter testing, we have some data to compare to, so it’s very familiar. But it doesn’t mean if you are competitive here you are competitive everywhere. Equally, if you are not competitive here it doesn’t mean you will never be competitive. I think it’s similar to other tracks. Really, if you think which sector you’re talking about, which speed range of the cars. I think you have sectors on every track where you could get an indication. As I said, I think it’s the fact that we know a lot about this track, we have a lot of data to compare against, to see if we did a step forward compared to the winter and how big the step was. Surely then you have to consider different temperatures: it’s a different time of year so it’s also difficult to compare black and white – but yeah as a rule of thumb probably this circuit does give you an idea because simply you have all the corners you find somewhere else, you have tight chicanes like in the last sector, hard braking for the hairpin, fast corners like in the first sector. You have a bit of everything.

And yet everyone has been here, everyone knows exactly what sort of setup they would require. Is it perhaps one of the toughest races in that respect?

SV: Yeah it is. But as I said as well, you race here in May, it’s quite different if you look at the temperatures compared to February or March, so yeah, it does have a big change on the setup, so whatever you might have found out over the winter in testing, it might not work in the same way or the same style it did during testing. Also, you need to consider that the cars you launch are quite different to the cars you race at the first race, and then, you know, you race around May or June later in the season. So, yeah, it’s a bit wishy-washy because of that – but overall it’s a track we know fairly well from a driving point of view as we’ve done a lot of laps here. We should know our way around here.

Questions from the floor:

(Alex Popov – RTR TV) Question for Pedro and Fernando, about the Spanish Grand Prix in general because here and there we read about the difficult situation in Valencia, the difficult situation in Barcelona and now we have two grand prix but in the worst situation we will finish with no grand prix at all. Your thoughts about it.

PDLR: I’ve said a lot already since the first time we were told that Spain would have two grands prix, that it was a historical moment and a unique situation and we should be very, very proud of it. I still say the same answer: we still have two grands prix in Spain this year, and we should, all of us, be very proud, very happy and maximise this moment and then wait for the future to tell us what will happen – which is completely out of our hands, you know? This is all I can say. I’m very happy to be here, this is a Spanish Grand Prix, but also a Spanish Grand Prix with a Spanish driver in a Spanish team – so let’s forget about what might happen in the future because, as I said, I have absolutely no control over it.

(Mike Doodson – Honorary) Gentlemen, Michael Schumacher persistently criticises the Pirelli tyres, or at least the policy of Pirelli. To us and the fans it’s clear that Pirelli has been a major ingredient in the improvement of the quality of the racing this year and last year. Do any of you share Michael’s concerns about the tyres or do you think he’s just making excuses for not winning?

FA: I think Seb should answer, being German.

SV: Yeah? I think, y’know, we get a completely different impression inside the car than you might get outside the car. So, you’re always talking of two different worlds. I think for us quality of racing, if you compare racing today, you have to, I think, look after your tyres a lot more than probably you had to three, four, five years ago. For us, if you take, for instance, 2009 where we were allowed to refuel, we had new tyres and the tyres lasted longer, in that they didn’t see that much degradation. It’s a different quality inside the car because you can push nearly every lap similar to qualifying, whereas now I think the racing is different: we fuel the cars up, they are much heavier, and if you have a heavier car there’s more stress for the tyres, so it puts the whole thing in a different window. If you put a new set of tyres on with 20 laps to go, or 15 laps to go, which is, let’s say, the stint length, earlier, a couple of years ago, it’s a different world for the tyres. The tyres do see more degradation and then we start to slide and then one guy slides more than the other because he puts his tyres on two laps earlier. It creates a different type of racing, more overtaking, which I imagine is seen as better quality from the outside, simply because things happen. I think it depends what you really want. We have more overtaking. Fernando is good with numbers, so like Fernando said earlier. I think the races today – over the last two years since we have changed a couple of things – has become much better. Also for us. I had a race here where I was following – how many laps is the race, 66? – I think I was following Felipe [Massa] for 60 laps out of that and I couldn’t pass. Nowadays you know that your chance will come in the race and that’s changing the position inside the car as well.

Fernando…

FA: I don’t know. I agree with Seb but I don’t agree that Michael has continually criticised Pirelli. Michael said one thing and what has been written in the press has maybe exaggerated what he said. I read what he said and I don’t see any big problem with that.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, you have a very different car from this race. Let’s suppose this car does not correspondent to that criteria…

FA: We’ll see, we’ll see after the race, because we don’t know what car we have. Obviously we have new parts, but everybody has new parts. Because it’s Ferrari, there are quite a lot of expectations every race we go to. It seems like only Ferrari is bringing new parts. We have a step forward, we believe, on what we had in Bahrain, but we also know that it’s not the last step we have to do. It’s a continuous work, that we need to start here in Barcelona, making a step forward and try to improve our qualifying position and our race pace, but in Monaco we have to bring new parts. In Canada (we have to) bring new parts. So we will not bring a new car to every race as it seems that we brought here in Barcelona.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) But just to finish the question: if the car does not correspond…

FA: I answer you on Sunday.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Yes, but just to finish: considering your car has completely new ideas, a revolutionary car, do you think this could be the end of the season for Ferrari and you will start thinking about next year’s car?

FA: I don’t think so. I don’t think so. We need to see how the car works here and if it works fine, it will be a good step, the first step of many that we have to do during the next couple of races. If the step is not good enough, because the others improved the same or more than us so we remain in the same position, we need to work harder, for Monaco and for Canada, and bring more new parts in a more aggressive approach or whatever, because the championship is long and we will never give up in May, after four races.

Q: (Livio Orricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Do you think the basis of this car could be used for next year’s car?

FA: I think so. Yes.

Q: (Gary Meenaghan – The National) For all of you: if you look at the drivers in 1992, there were only two non-European countries represented. If you look at the same field twenty years later, this year, there are seven non-European countries represented. Is there a chance that in a few more years, the majority of the drivers will come from outside Europe and how do you think that will impact the sport?

KK: It’s difficult to stay. For drivers I think it’s very difficult, everywhere, Asia especially. I don’t know for the future, but at the moment I don’t know how many Europeans there are now? 17. We have to see. It’s very important for a programme for the development of drivers. I think that this programme is quite weak everywhere. I think for the future, they definitely have to work a lot. It’s very difficult to find how young drivers come to Formula One. I don’t know how it can be changed for the future but I definitely think we have to work on programmes for driver development.

Q: A huge German presence on the grid at the moment, Nico. Can you see that being maintained by a young driver programme in Germany?

NH: Which young driver programme? Is there one? I don’t know. We don’t keep track of that statistic. I think it will always be a good mixture between European and non-European drivers in the future.

Q: (Andy Benson – BBC Sport) To anyone, but Fernando and Sebastian particularly: following the rulings in the two Nico Rosberg incidents in Bahrain – one of which Fernando was involved in – are you clear in terms of what’s allowed and what isn’t when it comes to defending your position?

FA: Yes.

Q: (Andy Benson – BBC Sport) Has your understanding changed between before Bahrain to now?

FA: No, maybe I did…

SV: Fernando made it pretty clear. He said ‘you have to leave the space. All the time you have to leave the space!’

FA: Yes. Yes.

SV: It was clear, no?

FA: As I did last year with Sebastian. In Monza.

Q: (Andy Benson – BBC Sport) That isn’t what happened in Bahrain.

SV: He just thought my car was slimmer.

FA: But you passed. You passed.

SV: I think the rule is clear. You can argue. I think there were two incidents with Nico in Bahrain, one with Fernando and I think Fernando made his point clear afterwards. And with Lewis, and I think Lewis got past, so I think you can talk for hours now, but if you saw the situation in Bahrain, it’s exceptional, because you have a kind of asphalt run-off. Yes, it’s pretty dirty but we always try to go on the limit, the one who is overtaking, the one who is defending. Surely sometimes you need to respect that the guy is there and you need to leave the space. I think if it would have been grass, it would have been a different story. You wouldn’t go there in the first place. In Fernando’s case I think he would have made the same point.

Q: (Carlos Miguel- La Gaceta) Fernando and Pedro, if a fan of Formula One in Spain is thinking about coming here on Sunday, what are your goals for the race? What can you offer to the people?

PdelaR: Well, from our point of view, you know our goal is to fight and to improve from where we left it in Bahrain and that’s all we can offer, we can promise. We cannot promise victories – we leave that for Fernando – but we will promise, wherever we finish, we will do it with the pride of being here and doing a serious job, giving it all, and maximising what we have.

FA: Same thing. And giving 100 percent. We cannot promise anything. This is not a mathematical problem, it’s a sport, we all try to do our best so we will work hard, we will take care of every detail this weekend as we do normally, trying to do a serious job and hopefully finishing in the best position possible, but you cannot promise anything.

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Leaving aside whether or not it’s a home race for you guys, how much of a difference does it actually make for you to be back in Europe again? Kimi, you don’t actually like the travelling very much out of Europe, do you?

KR: Yeah but I I arrived in China on the Thursday morning, so arriving for a European race on the Thursday morning is no different really.

PdelaR: I’m biased answering this question because it’s back to Europe, but especially it’s back to Spain, so for us, it’s a Grand Prix that arrives a little bit too early in our development programme, as far as I’m concerned. We have been improving since Australia but we probably need more Grands Prix to offer a more competitive show to our fans. That’s the only downside, but nevertheless, we are here, we are in Spain. It’s our home ground and we are very happy to be here. I’m looking forward to it. I used to live ten minutes away from the track and this is something that – when you grow up – you can always listen to the engines, so the Formula One cars, when you wake up every morning during the weekends – for me it’s a very special event, absolutely.

Q: Kamui, not so easy commuting from Japan.

KK: For sure. I’m used to being here a lot of times. I came to Europe 17 years ago and I’ve been here to Barcelona a lot of times. After long trips being back in Europe in Formula One is always great and it’s always great to see the motorhomes in Barcelona. This is always great and it’s always good to be back in Europe for Formula One.

SV: I think for all of us we’re happy to race in Europe. Surely we have races overseas which we enjoy. For instance, we all love going to Australia. Yes, it’s a long trip but once we are there I think we all enjoy being there and it’s the same here. In the end, I don’t think it makes a difference how long you travel. Yes, it is more convenient if you are only an hour, an hour and a half or two hours on the plane rather than twelve and then another twelve. As I said, I think every country we go to, there is a strong culture for motor sport. We hope for a lot of excitement and for a lot of people to come. It makes us feel very special when we are on the grid, to see that the grandstand is packed and usually around here are a lot of fans, cheering, especially for Fernando and the Spanish drivers, but it’s the same when we go to Silverstone, they’re cheering for their drivers. I think we can be very happy everywhere we go, and hopefully put on a great show so that the people enjoy it as well and they come back next year.

Q: (Alex Popov – RTR TV) Gentlemen, after testing at Mugello, Vitaly Petrov criticised the circuit, because he expressed concern about its safety, so do you think he was wrong to express his concern like this? He was criticised by other drivers, because he expressed concern. Is he wrong?

FA: I think everyone will have his opinion. I’m not someone to say that Vitaly is right or wrong. It’s more maybe the safety commission’s job or whatever. Personally, everyone will have their opinion, as I said. I like Mugello, I like the layout, I like the feelings, the emotions that you have driving there. As I said after the test, driving one lap in Mugello is like driving one hundred at another circuit, for adrenalin and how much you enjoy the lap. We were in Italy, with a lot of Ferrari support. I enjoy those three days testing so much, but in terms of how safe the track was or not, I don’t have the information to give an answer.

NH: Personally I enjoyed Mugello very much. I think it’s a very different circuit to all the others that we go to. You always feel like you’re flying there, a lot of fourth, fifth, sixth gear action which is great to have. Like Fernando said, whether you feel safe or not is a very personal thing. I think it was OK.

KK: That’s a great circuit. There are a lot of very safe circuits like Abu Dhabi without gravel, but this circuit had gravel and if we made a mistake we ended up in the gravel which is good for drivers and good for training and testing. The test was something we had to try and in the race, of course we have to stay on the track and it’s difficult to take a lot of risks but during testing we can take more risks to improve our driving. It’s great for me.

SV: Well, the first time I heard that he was saying something about safety at Mugello. I think we all loved the track because it’s different – like Nico said, there’s a lot of high speed corners. Sure, if the speeds are high, there is higher risk. There is obviously quite a lot of run-off but surely here and there you would like to have more. As long as nothing happens, everything is fine; if something happens… it’s always easy to say something after there’s an incident and say this and that. I think it was not as if we felt we were scared. We left the garage feeling safe. I think if we would race there one day, potentially yes or no, then surely here or there you can argue to make improvements for safety, but I think they did everything they could on the day.

Q: (Vanessa Ruiz – Radio Estado ESPN) Nico mentioned that Mugello is different from every other track that you guys race on in the year so does this very fact make it less useful to have tested there instead of somewhere else?

KK: Difficult. I think maybe it’s not really useful for mechanical stuff but definitely useful for aero development at least, because we can test the aero on the straights. Difficult to see the stability in the corner. Basically I think this was a good test.

SV: I agree. I think it was good to test some parts of the car, not for some others, but like all the other circuits. When we test in Jerez, test in Barcelona, we try different things. I remember in the old days testing in Paul Ricard. Some days we test on the 50s lap circuit because we were testing for Monaco Grand Prix: different tyres and different parts, so every test is welcome for different areas of the car, but it’s good. For people who don’t like Mugello there is a very easy solution.

F1′s surprise 2012 season has kept on bubbling in Bahrain.

It is a measure of the excitement and unpredictability of the new championship that, just days after some media said the reigning title winner was in ‘crisis’, Sebastian Vettel won from pole and took the lead of the 2012 points standings.

But the German only narrowly beat the returning 2009 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, with Lotus also completing the surprise podium as Romain Grosjean sampled the sport’s prestigious rostrum for the very first time.

Vettel leads the championship by 4 points from Lewis Hamilton, who finished just eighth.

Red Bull also leads the constructors’ chase, by 9 points from McLaren.

Vettel is the fourth different winner in F1′s four races so far this year, following Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg.

It is his first win since India last year.

“How many good stories can we have in formula one in terms of the racing?” David Coulthard said on BBC television. “We’re only four races in and we’ve had such a mix of winners.”

Karun Chandhok has warned motor racing that danger and risk must not be removed entirely.
The recent Indycar and MotoGP deaths of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli respectively has put the spotlight on how to further reduce the danger of premier motor sport.

F1 is regarded as much safer than the aforementioned sports, but Team Lotus reserve driver Chandhok insists no form of racing should be completely safe.

“Enough element of danger is also involved in F1,” he told the Press Trust of India. “But it’s an exciting career and the essence of excitement would get lost thinking of too much safety measures.

“You have to take your chances on the track. No one asked us to join formula one or placed a gun on our head that you have to race. It’s a career we chose,” he added.

Chandhok insisted that global motor racing should not be regarded as in “crisis”.

“It is not like that,” he is quoted by Calcutta’s Telegraph. “What has happened in the last one week is extremely sad but accidents do happen.”

Interest in the 2011 season will decline now that Sebastian Vettel has wrapped up the world championship.
The world’s media are busy hailing the 24-year-old German’s latest achievement rather than building up as per normal for the next race, to take place in just a few days in South Korea.

McLaren and FOTA chief Martin Whitmarsh admits that, from the public’s point of view, the early championship conclusion has taken the shine off the forthcoming races also in India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

“Inevitably, there will be a drop of interest — the tension and excitement that we’ve been fortunate to encounter in recent years is never a given,” he told the Times of India, referring to recent season finales.

On the other hand, Whitmarsh said that any consequences of a championship contest, such as team orders or racing with an eye on the points mathematics, will now dissipate.

“I actually think you’ll really see the gloves come off and we’ll get to see some truly incredible racing by the greatest drivers in the world,” he insisted.

There is also the issue of driver motivation, with Fernando Alonso for example buoyed that his car was at least competitive at Suzuka even though Ferrari has ceased its development.

“That gives us some extra motivation for the remaining races knowing that it is going to be tough as the updates on the car will be minimal,” said the Spaniard.

“But in some races, some circuits, we are still competitive, so why not fight for victory in one of the remaining races.”

In addition to Mark Webber’s spectacular crash, it was for many observers, the issue of the race weekend in Valencia: Lewis Hamilton obsolete in a safety car period, the medical car and it occupies just 13 laps later with a drive-through penalty.

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso then assumed the race, they have manipulated the Grand Prix of Europe, because Hamilton had in his view, by the late penalty to no disadvantage.

According to former racing driver Martin Brundle, however, these accusations without any basis. “Alonso’s emotions have common sense superimposed,” former McLaren driver writes in his’ BBC’ column. Hamilton was by his maneuvers Ferrari ultimately not harmed. Instead, the Italians might as well be upset with race winner Sebastian Vettel.
“Etc. It was just fate and chance, would come out when the safety car,” said Brund. It was just very difficult, the timing of driving out the safety car always right. Brundle already suspected other reasons for Alonso’s excitement: “It was certainly not conducive to his whim, as was the Ferrari-powered Kamui Kobayashi on fresh tires passed him on the penultimate lap.”

The controversial events surrounding the current safety car period at the European Grand Prix in Valencia at Ferrari make for great excitement. For Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso drove directly behind the other, as Hamilton was violating the safety car rule, but afterwards he gave his improper behavior, the much better result.

For while Alonso bravely behind the safety car was and as accurately as team-mate Felipe Massa was passed back when he had to come in the next round to the pits, could Hamilton up a lead that was enough, even after the pit stop to stay in second. When he came back after his drive-through in second place on the box, you felt at Ferrari naturally treated unfairly.
Ferrari published on the website of the team, a report in which the race was called the “scandal”. Later we rowed back: This was the opinion of Tifosi around the world, not the official line of the racing team. But the anger is great, the fact that has been specially published a statement by Piero Ferrari, who usually logs in Formula 1 matters rarely speak out.

“I am incredulous and bitter, not only for Ferrari, but for the sport as a whole, because this is not something you would expect of professionals,” criticized the son of the legendary company founder Enzo Ferraris. “I have been following now for a long time trials in several U.S. Championships, where the safety car is used very often, but there I have never seen anything like what is now happening on the course in Valencia.”

The fact is that Hamilton, who has violated the rules was punished by the conditions less harsh than Alonso, whose conduct was entirely legal. It comes naturally to discussions on the current Safety Car rules. Ferrari, it also considers it “more than appropriate” to speak about the circumstances that have now led to a “wrong race.” An official complaint with the FIA has already deposited the team.

Michael Schumacher knows the situation in which he finds himself currently at Mercedes, well. He has done construction work at Benetton, he has been fighting with Ferrari in the championship point. With Mercedes, he wants to do it now as well. In Montreal Schumacher sat with reporters and talked about the development process at Mercedes, the current situation, his chances in the title fight, the goal of being able to go on their own at the head and his life as a Formula 1-returnees.

Q: Michael, what expectations you had for yourself when you start in the season?
Michael Schumacher: “The championship is my goal and my focus. But there comes a point where you realize that his package is the way it is. And you have to go through from there a certain program and a certain process. And we make. ”

“The year is still long. I personally do not think that I am really in a position to much to talk about the title. It is more about building and therefore to organize things for what happened, from next year. But you never know. It’s still a long year and there are still have many points. ”

Q: You had two fourth places so far. A podium the next step is for you? ”
Schumacher: “I wonder if I’ll get another podium or not changes to my stats at all. The fact is: I want to see that we can go on their own to this position. And now we are not able to do so. I have found in the get Turkey by Sebastian Vettel’s failure given a place. from team perspective, we are currently third parties must and we work really. We do this so that we drive on their own to the podium and race win. That’s what we want and what we create can. But it takes time. ”

Question: “You are now ahead of Ferrari. Is that the F-shaft?”
Schumacher: “It certainly contributes a part in this. But we were in Turkey in any case an aerodynamic upgrade. So it is a natural process that we go through. In Turkey it has taken us ahead of Ferrari. But that does not mean that that’s the case here. We have seen how a team was in front and then back – it’s sometimes a bit difficult to understand, and strangely, why is the case. We hope that we stay at the front end and so far could we always get the most from the package. Nico Rosberg did a fantastic job, as he has brought the podium. ”

Q: You have spoken of the construction process. You have participated in at Ferrari, Benetton’s there. Are you still very satisfying to get into a team to work with him and build it up? ”
Schumacher: “That is one reason why I’m here. Driving is one thing. But a close cooperation, a good understanding and a good atmosphere in the team are very satisfying.”

Q: You work with a German team. Does it even matter that it is a team of your own home? ”
MS: Sure. If you look at how I started: Mercedes has supported me on the way to F1. Yes, it all fits together very well. ”

Q: You said that it is for you here on personal performance went well except in China. Would you say that Turkey was your best race this year? ”
MS: No, I have in Turkey, I drove the car to go home. I could make to the front at all, because they were too fast for us. I have only kept the place and am so driven, that nothing happened to the rear .

Q: What was your best race then? ”
RS: There was no ‘best race’ for me. Sometimes you have these very special race and moments in which everything fits together perfectly. And so far we have not yet. ”

Question: “Are you missing this?”
Schumacher: “I know I’ll get there. This is one reason why I do this – to get to this point. But for that it needs certain ingredients, and we are looking together yet.”

Q: What is in your life the biggest difference between now and then, when you left the sport? ”
Schumacher: “Maybe I enjoy it much more now because I take only the important things seriously.”

Q: Is it so lucky – there have less stress? ”
Schumacher: “I am extremely pleased with my life with my family, with the excitement that I have. I have absolutely no reason to complain. I feel really relaxed.”

Question: “Stress is one of the ingredients that make you faster, hungrier?”
MS: No. I do not stress! ”

Q: Are you faster because you are relaxed? ”
Schumacher: “I do not think I’m faster. I enjoy it more simply.”

Q: You’re already driving in Le Mans, as you would like to start again? ”
Schumacher: “It was beautiful, as I drove, it was great fun. But security aspect worries me. After so many years, in Formula 1 is not much that would challenge one. But the security question me like this kept away. ”

Q: Is there anything away from the Formula 1, which you would like to do, what would be a real challenge? ”
Schumacher: “I want much, but I am very satisfied with my life.”

Question: “Would you not like to fly once in orbit or something?”
MS: No, that does not attract me. ”

Question: “What a challenge you would you then search for Formula 1?”
MS: I do a lot of things that are fun. But nothing, what should I speak now, because I’m still busy with this and focus on the what I want now are doing. There is no place to think about what I want to do it. “

Although the single-seated will not be seen until next week, the Grand Prix Mercedes motor-racing team introduced today, at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart, its two official pilots for the next season: Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, both from Germany.

Before the media and a great crowd, the car that was used last year by the British Jenson Button, under the Brawn GP ‘Scuderia” was displayed, but with the silver color that the racing-team will show during the 2010 campaign.

“The German Formula One ‘Scuderia’ is now ready.  A bit of German pride is legitimate,” declared Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Daimler, when the design of the new silver racing cars was presented at the Mercedes Museum at Stuttgart.

The goal of the motor-racing team is clear: the World Championship title.  However, Zetsche chose not to risk himself and stated that the long-term targets do not necessarily have to be complied with in the first season.

“We have a clearly defined goal which is to become World Champions, but that doesn’t mean this has to happen during the first year,” Zetsche said.

“We’re a new team.  Give us some time,” he added.

Next week, the first official tests will take place at the Ricardo Tormo de Cheste circuit (Valencia, which will also be the site where the definitive single-seated named ‘MGP W01′ will be presented for the first time.  On the other hand, during the team’s official introduction, Schumacher, received most of the attention and declared: “Last summer, I already experienced how people received me, and frankly their reaction was a real surprise for me.

“It’s exciting and gives me a very warm feeling.  I’m very grateful with my fans.  Their reaction is a great motivation and driving force for me,” he added.

On his part, Rosberg said he’s looking forward to participate and is very happy.  Driving a Mercedes is a dream come true for him..  “It’s clear that this is a very, very special thing; a dream come true.  I’m looking forward to trying the new car out, and to work with people like Norbert (Haug), Ross (Brawn) and Nick (Fry), and to have Michael (Schumacher) as team-mate; that’s big.  It’s going to be a great season,” pronounced the second German of the racing-car team.

The thing being that Mercedes constitutes an only-German team.  The excitement was quite visible in Dieter Zetsche’s face.

Formula One Racing is, quite simply, the paramount of karting. It is the professional form of the sport in its entirety. Formula One is an international phenomenon, a media conglomerate that rakes in millions and millions of dollars a year from advertising, sponsorship, and broadcast revenues. Professional drivers with millionaire bank accounts race these majestic kart marvels that are unprecedented, flush with technological luxuries – everything from hard to produce lightweight frames that glide the machine to tires with unsurpassed grooving style that exemplify powerful movement on the circuit.

There is no sport that bests epitomizes the term “global sport” like Formula One racing. Many countries serve as active participants in shaping the professional karting scene – for example, Malaysia is a hot spot for racing (Fernando Alonso, a Spanish-born driver under Team Renault recently won a race there) and Italy plays a vital role in designing and manufacturing first class, top-of-the-line karts. Drivers and racing personalities hail from all parts of the word – you have the charismatic and popular Italian Renault boss Flavio Briatore, the handsome young 23 year old racing prodigy in Fernando Alonso who stars in a Renault Megane commercial with his pet pig, and one of the highest earning sports figures in world history in Michael Schumacher. Rivalries are common in Formula One – adding the edge of excitement with every zip of the curve and nitrous boost of the machine.

In order to better become acquainted with Formula One racing, we must understand its organization. Karting goes way beyond pitting 3 2-cycle engine machines against each other on an oval circuit. Formula One is divided into drivers & their respective teams. Under such trademark car companies like Renault, Ferrari, and Toyota – each driver has an assembling cast of staffers consisting of mechanics, engineers, and designers all working towards one goal: to make that speedster faster using all the resources at their disposal. Headed by team bosses that are adept at creating sponsorship opportunities and assembling the best cast for each team, Formula One employs the finest specialists in the business with backgrounds in computer and automobile – even specialists with aerospace experience! High end, (rare technology reserved for space projects) in some instances, create the fastest and most efficient car possible. According to FI rules, racing teams must design, construct, and built their own karts from scratch. The staff is the pride of each individual team – capable and able to win every 57 lap enduro race from Malaysia to Great Britain.

Formula One cars can be summed up in two words: technological marvels. These sleek, low riding gems ripping through laps at speeds topping 200 mph. consist of more than just a chassis, an engine, and four wheels. For starters, the engine is located behind the cockpit as opposed to standard automobiles. They consist of 10 cylinder engines that produce heat which propel the kart forward. Team engineers are always looking into ways to make their engines more powerful. Currently, 1000 bhp (a scale for horsepower) has not been topped – it is up to the teams to produce an engine which would fare well supporting speed as well as support the chassis. And as we know, there is a snug open cockpit for Jarno Trulli to maneuver his machine in.

Construction of Formula One race cars is unprecedented. The first rule of thumb in designing a bonafide piece of framework is to make it weigh as least as possible. Less kart weight correlates to faster speeds. For this reason, team brains use lightweight material that is hard to construct. The minimum weight of a kart must be 600 kg including the driver. This ensures a level playing field, although teams are allowed to keep their money making construction methods a secret from other teams. Team staff is very highly regarded in the Formula One business. Their technological and dynamical know-how of the machines they build is a valuable asset to any team. And like free agents, they are lured and signed by the likes of companies creating a recruiting war for their services. Of course, there are restrictions for creating karts. You cannot add nitro boosts to your machine or use technology that resembles life in the year 3000. Teams are always looking to bend the rules slightly and coming up ways to beat the competition legally.

Professional kart tires have to have optimum characteristics to ensure smooth driving. For one, tires have to have grooving technology built into them. For the novices, grooves are indented lines in tires that allow for it to slow down considerably on turns and to adapt to the track surface. No matter what the technology, kart tires are simply not adept at withstanding the rigors of asphalt, concrete, and dirt. For this reason, Formula One racers are allotted two pit stops during the course of a 57 lap race to change tires. If you’ve ever watched a Formula One race, team staffers with lightning quick hands have an extremely limited time for which to remove and replace tires in the pit stop – often times not exceeding over 7 seconds! Regulations are placed on tire grooves (a minimum of four) to allow for an even playing field for all racers. Remember enthusiasts, grooves serve more to slow down the kart than to speed it up.

Chassis construction with its illustrious carbon fiber material, tires with indented grooves, team specialists with a knack for speed, and engines which burn heat like calories is the epitome of a Formula One race car. All of these attributes contribute to the performance of the vehicle in racing lap after lap. As a result of all this technology, Formula One cars leave people breathless reaching consistent speeds of 200 mph. on the race track. More impressive is the time needed to go from 0 mph to 100 mph – 5 seconds! Formula One is only moving forward with the advent of new features – like improved horsepower engines, more lightweight materials, new ballasts to add weight to the car, and more. Behind that stylish, mind blowing chassis that pique our interest is that top-class technology that makes Formula One racing so great.

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Sport fans tend to follow the sponsors of their favourite team or player. The same can be said with auto racing; the only difference is that these players are referred to as drivers. In fact, with auto racing, this is most commonly seen with NASCAR. It has been said that NASCAR has the largest group of loyal fans. Fans not only support the sponsors of their favourite drivers, but they also tend to purchase merchandise or services from them. The same can be said with Formula Drifting.
Formula Drifting is a sport that is relatively new to the United States. Despite the fact that the first professional event was held in 2004, the sport still has quite the fan following. Like many NASCAR fans, these fans are loyal. That is why a large number of sponsors, also commonly referred to as product manufacturers have made the decision to become involved with the sport. When it comes to Formula D, the sponsors that most often first come to mind are tire manufacturers.
Tire manufacturers do not just get their name on a driver’s uniform, but they also provide that driver with tires. With Formula D, the tires used are extremely important. In fact, to create a drift the tires need to loose tractions with the ground. This essentially helps to create the perfect drift. Since tires are so important to the sport of drifting, there are a large number of tire manufacturers who have inserted themselves into the sport. In fact, it has been noted that Formula D has the most tire manufacturer sponsors of any other motor sport; which includes NASCAR.
Nitto Tire is one of the many tire manufacturers that is involved with Formula Drifting. This manufacturer, like many other tire manufacturers, makes tires for all different vehicles and all different driving conditions. While they are well known for their tires for traditional vehicles, such as cars, SUV, and trucks, Nitto Tire is most well known for its racing tires. One of these tires includes the NT 555 RII. This type of tire is used primarily with road racing and other competitive sports, such as Formula D.
BF Goodrich Tire is another tire manufacturer that participates in Formula Drifting. This tire manufacturer is one of the most well known manufacturers in the United States. As with Nitto Tires, BG Goodrich Tires has a wide variety of different tires, available for all different uses. When it comes to sports cars and Formula Drifting, quite a few BF Goodrich Tires are ideal for the sport.
Maxxis Tires, another sponsor and tire manufacturer involved in Formula D, is also a well known tire manufacturer. Although they are not as well known to most everyday individuals, they are well known to those involved in auto sports, such as auto racing or Formula Drifting. In fact, most of Maxxis Tire’s focus is placed on auto sports, including Formula Drifting.
Perhaps, out of all of the tire manufacturers and sponsors, for Formula Drifting, Bridgestone is the most well known. Bridgestone’s tires are not only used in Formula D, but other motor sports as well. These additional sports include, but are not limited to, Formula 1, supercross racing, and monster truck racing. Bridgestone is not just popular among racing, but it is a company that is known by just about everyone. In fact, there is even a chance that you have Bridgestone tires on your personal vehicle.
In addition to the above mentioned tire manufacturers, Toyo Tires, Falken Tires, Cooper Tires, and Dunlop Tires are also Formula D sponsors. To add interest or extra excitement to your next Formula D event, keep an eye on the tires being used. While all of these tire manufacturers come highly recommended, you will often find that the tires used makes all the difference in the world.

When it comes to racing or sports that are centered on cars, there are a number of different sports that automatically come to mind. One of those sports is NASCAR. Although NASCAR could easily be considered one of the most popular sports, in the United States, there is another sport that is rapidly increasing in popularity. That sport is known as Formula D Racing or Formula Drifting.
Have you heard of Formula D Racing before? Although there is a good chance that you have, there is also a good chance that you haven’t. This is mostly due to the fact that professional drifting is relatively new in the United States. The first professional drifting event was held in the United States in 2004. That event and the popularity that it generated led to the creation of the Formula Drift Championship series.
Since it was first officially brought to the United States, in 2004, Formula Drifting has been seen by thousands, if not millions of Americans. Many of these Americans choose to watch coverage of Formula Drifting events on television, while others make the journey to see a live Formula D event. In addition to fans, there has also been a general interest in the sport. In fact, many fans want to become professional drifters, just like their favourite drivers. As previously mentioned, you may or may not be familiar with the sport. If you are unfamiliar with Formula D Racing, you may be wondering what all the hype is about. If you are, you are definitely not alone.
When examining the popularity of Formula Drifting, it is important to remember that there are a number of different reasons for its popularity. Formula Drifting has a fairly large fan following. Each of those fans has their own reasons for following the sport, often on a regular basis. Despite the fact that many fans have their own reasons for watching and enjoying Formula D Racing, there are a number of common reasons. Perhaps, the most common reason being the excitement of the sport.
Formula D Racing is unlike a number of other popular racing sports. Drivers must successfully manoeuvre themselves around the course; a course that is regularly filed with a turns. In those turns, drivers must use unique drifting techniques. These techniques, performed by inexperienced drivers could be disastrous, but most professional drivers are able to control their cars, especially when the cars begin to lose control. Formula D Racing events typically comprise of a qualifying race and a head-to-head battle. The qualifying races are individually done, but they are still exciting. The head-to-head battles, also known as tandem battles, are often where the most excitement can be found.
In addition to it action packed excitement, Formula D Racing is also popular because it is easy to watch. As previously mentioned, you can easily watch a live Formula Drifting event or watch coverage of one on television. Formula D Racing has teamed up with G4TV. This popular television network is available with a wide variety of different cable and satellite providers, including Direct TV and Time Warner Cable. By checking your programming guide, you should easily be able to determine whether or not you currently subscribe to the G4TV network. If you do not, in most cases, you should easily be able to upgrade for only a few dollars a month.
Formula D Racing is also popular in the United States, because like with televised events, it is fairly easy to see a live event. Live events take place all across the United States. In 2006, there were seven events; however, it is expected that more will be added in the future. If you are live near one of these events, you will find that tickets are fairly easy to afford. On average, tickets range from twenty to twenty-five dollars a person. Considering the excitement that you will get for the day, the ticket prices are well worth it.
As you can easily see, there are a number of different reasons why Formula Drifting is so popular in the United States. As the sport continues to grow, it is likely that the popularity will as well.