Charlie Whiting has defended the decision in Spain to move Lewis Hamilton from pole to the very rear of the grid.

Although McLaren was widely criticised for making a grave error, the stewards’ penalty was at the same time described by the world’s press as “draconian”.

“Quite frankly I did not expect the penalty that we received,” said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

Indeed, given that McLaren’s fuel indiscretion occurred only in the decisive Q3, why not simply delete Hamilton’s Q3 laptimes, thereby putting the Briton mid-grid for the race?

“We had no room to move,” Whiting, the FIA’s race director, responded to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport when told that Hamilton’s penalty seemed too severe.

“If there is a violation, it applies to the whole session, not just part of it,” he insisted. “Qualifying begins with Q1.”

Whiting explained that if Hamilton had only lost his Q3 time, a precedent would have been set tempting teams to risk not being checked for the mandatory 1 litre fuel sample in post-qualifying scrutineering.

Auto Motor und Sport said only one or two fuel samples are actually checked after qualifying at grands prix.

Competitors could, therefore, genuinely “run the risk” of using less fuel than is allowed in Q3, if the penalty for being caught is relatively light, Whiting argued.

He recalled last year’s German grand prix, when Sebastien Buemi was sent to the back of the grid because his fuel sample showed irregularities.

As it was not possible to check if the illegal fuel had also been used in Q1 and Q2, the Toro Rosso driver had to be disqualified from qualifying, Whiting argued.

The future of the German grand prix at the Nurburgring looks set to race into the courts.
The Rhineland-Palatinate state this week said it intends to cancel the circuit operator’s lease, arguing that a bright future is “not possible” with the existing tenants.

Minister Roger Lewentz said he wants to personally take over the negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone about the future of the F1 race.

But according to the SID news agency, the operator Nurburgring Automotive GmbH (NAG) has announced it will fight back, including demanding “substantial amounts” from the government for the wrongful action.

“There is no reason for this extraordinary step,” NAG’s lawyer is quoted as saying.

The company’s spokesman said the situation is crucial to Germany’s future on the F1 calendar.

“Already, there are many candidates waiting for a (race) date to be available,” NAG spokesman Karl-Heinz Steinkuehler said.

“Without the Nurburgring, formula one would make probably only a guest appearance every two years in Germany, at the Hockenheimring,” he warned.

The minister Lewentz, however, said the government is ready for a fight, despite hoping for “an amicable solution” to the dispute with the operator.

“If not, a lengthy legal dispute cannot be ruled out,” he said. “We consider ourselves well prepared.”

Narain Karthikeyan will return to the cockpit of the HRT race car at his inaugural home grand prix in October.

Despite being recently replaced at the Spanish team by Red Bull sponsored Australian Daniel Ricciardo, Indian Karthikeyan said on Saturday that he will be driving at the new Buddh circuit in New Delhi.

“It was always a dream for me to race in formula one and race in front of my home crowd,” said the 34-year-old at a press conference in India.

“And now thanks to the Jaypee Group that dream is going to be a reality,” he said, referring to the developers and promoters of the Indian track and grand prix.

Karthikeyan’s countryman Karun Chandhok, however, is not so sure he will be racing in October.

“I’ve always maintained that racing in the German grand prix this year was a one-off,” the Team Lotus reserve driver is quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

“The team seem to be pleased with my performance at the event so we will see what happens.”

A new wheel nut design was the cause of Felipe Massa’s pitstop problem that cost the Brazilian fourth place at the recent German grand prix.

Massa entered the pits ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel but a delay cost him the place to the world championship-leading German.

Ferrari’s head of track operations Diego Ioverno explained that the team, in the race for faster pitstops in the no-refuelling and multiple tyre-stop era, has been experimenting this year with new methods and equipment.

He said that at Silverstone, a new wheel nut design contributed to Ferrari performing the fastest overall pitstops.

“Then in Germany we were again using this new wheel nut, which does work better, but the system is still not perfect and, at Felipe’s last tyre change, we lost the connection between the wheel nut and wheel nut gun, which cost us around one and a half seconds,” he confirmed.

“So we have more work to do on perfecting it.”

Bernie Ecclestone has proposed to ink a new contract with the Nurburgring with terms equal to those of Hungary’s formula one race.

The new politically-sensitive coalition government has announced it no longer intends to offer funding for the Nurburgring’s grand prix, which alternates annually on the F1 schedule with the other German venue Hockenheim.

Talks about a new contract began at the German grand prix last weekend, and DPA news agency reports that Bernie Ecclestone has offered to lower the sanctioning fee.

The report said Ecclestone is willing to offer a contract identical to that possessed by organisers of this weekend’s race at the Hungaroring.

“The contract in Hungary is definitely cheaper,” a spokeswoman for Nurburgring GmbH confirmed.

It is believed the Nurburgring’s current contract involves a EUR 20 million per race sanctioning fee, and that the race last weekend recorded a loss of 13.5 million.

After a cold and damp week at the Nurburgring, some of F1′s travelling circus are already reporting rain in Hungary.
British commentator and former driver Martin Brundle travelled straight from Sunday’s German grand prix to the Hungarian capital, scene of the eleventh round of the world championship at the Hungaroring this weekend.

“Pouring with rain,” he wrote on his Twitter channel. “Looks set to stay that way until mid week.”

International weather reports say the outlook for the weekend is indeed better, but with a continuing risk of rain and the absence of Hungary’s usually scorching conditions.

“It is raining a lot here and it’s not so warm!” Team Lotus’ Brazilian test driver Luiz Razia said.

Timo Glock hopes Virgin will be a better shop window for his talents next year.
The German was earlier critical of the struggling team’s direction but Virgin recently split with its designer Nick Wirth and inked a technical and wind tunnel deal with McLaren.

Even so, the 29-year-old confirmed he would jump ship to Red Bull if offered a seat.

“Every driver would answer the same,” the former Toyota driver told Die Welt. “But that’s a dream. I have to do it the hard way, fighting to go towards the front with my team.”

Glock is set to stay with Virgin in 2012, when he hopes the next red and black car can move into the midfield.

The deal is expected to be announced before Sunday’s German grand prix.

“I have to show that what I can do with a car like the Virgin is deliver quality services,” he continued.

“I will probably not be winning races or getting podiums very soon, but technically we have to try to move ahead and that will make me more visible as a driver.

“This is extremely difficult. If we cut the gap by half a second from five seconds, hardly anyone notices. But on a drivers’ track like Monaco for example, if we have a better car in 2012, then you can really stand out,” added Glock.

Jarno Trulli on Friday sounded confident about his future with Team Lotus, despite sitting out this weekend’s German grand prix.
The Italian veteran, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new power steering system for the T128 car, is not racing this weekend as boss Tony Fernandes hands over the seat to Indian reserve driver Karun Chandhok.

But Fernandes insisted when he announced the Chandhok news that Trulli can expect a new contract for 2012.

“This clears the air for so many people who have been talking rubbish,” the 37-year-old is quoted by the Daily Mail at the Nurburgring.

“I couldn’t talk before, but things have to happen at the right time. The future is looking bright,” added Trulli.

Trulli confirmed he will be back in his deep-green car in Hungary next weekend, when the steering system he so dislikes will be replaced with an updated version.

“I’d rather do this (sit out a race) now so I can start a complete new season from the next race,” he said.

A quirk of 2011-style formula one is that Jaime Alguersuari is hoping to qualify poorly for the German grand prix.

At the first five grands prix of the season, the Toro Rosso driver was always in Q2 and even Q3 but failed to go on to score a single point.

But in Canada, Valencia and Silverstone, 21-year-old Spaniard consecutively failed to progress out of Q1 yet went on to score points on all three occasions.

“I wouldn’t mind not going into Q2 and qualifying eighteenth at the Nurburging,” he told Radio Nacional de Espana. “That way I keep a set of tyres.”

18th is the highest grid position possible without graduating into Q2 and having to use a further set of Pirelli tyres.

“I am sure about it because at first I did the opposite and it was very bad,” said Alguersuari. “I’d prefer not to qualify, have a good race car and finish in the points.”

Alguersuari, meanwhile, thinks Sebastian Vettel is right on course for the 2011 title.

“For me, the championship is decided already,” he said. “This year the Red Bulls don’t break down and, compared to us, are in a different galaxy.”

Nico Rosberg has admitted he is hoping for some of the Nurburgring’s famous weather to strike this weekend.
“So far we do not have a really top car but the weather could be a chance for us to do a bit better,” the Mercedes driver, during a visit to the DTM show event on Sunday at Munich’s Olympic Stadium, is quoted by SID news agency.

The early weather reports are indeed calling for more rain in the Eifel mountains throughout this week and into the German grand prix weekend.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on Friday recalled his first Nurburgring race in 2007, when a huge downpour struck a few laps in.

“The weather (at the circuit) can turn in a matter of moments — you can have all the seasons in one afternoon,” he said.

This weekend’s German grand prix will be the last race at the Nurburgring supported by the state, according to a government minister.
Earlier this year, it emerged that the new SPD/Green government alliance for the Rhineland-Palatinate state was only willing to support two more races at the Nurburgring until the current arrangements expire in 2016.

“Until 2016, there will be only one formula one grand prix sponsored financially by the land, and it’s 2011,” Eveline Lemke told business newspaper Handelsblatt. “That’s it.”

Stefano Domenicali has welcomed the FIA’s abolition of the rule prohibiting team orders.

The governing body, now headed by president Jean Todt, revisited the controversial rule after Ferrari’s place-swapping during this year’s German grand prix at Hockenheim.

The Maranello based team never admitted to ordering Felipe Massa to move aside for Fernando Alonso, but at the same time has always maintained that F1 is a team sport in which team strategies are commonplace.

“Finally, we have said goodbye to this pointless hypocrisy,” said team boss Domenicali after Friday’s announcement that article 39.1 has been “deleted” for 2011.

“For us, formula one is a team sport and we have always maintained that viewpoint and it should be treated as such,” he told reporters at the Bologna motor show.

Sebastian Vettel needs to accept the reality of a number 2 role for the good of Red Bull’s 2010 title chances.

That is the claim of former triple world champion and outspoken commentator Niki Lauda, following reports the young German is reluctant to give up the chase for his first title in deference to the team’s points leader Mark Webber.

The news also follows boss Christian Horner’s insistence that the team will “support both (drivers) equally” in Brazil and Abu Dhabi “in line with Red Bull’s credible sporting ethos”.

But with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso leading the championship and fully backed by his teammate Felipe Massa, Lauda said Red Bull’s policy is a road to failure.

“Red Bull needs to establish the team hierarchy now,” the great Austrian is quoted by Bild newspaper.

“If they don’t get behind Mark Webber, they may have to go without the title.”

Lauda’s only concern is that the exercising of team orders within Red Bull is done in a way that does not “cheat the spectators”.

Jos Verstappen, who in the mid-90s at Benetton was Michael Schumacher’s number 2, agrees that Vettel should be playing that role now.

“Purely mathematically, he has a chance to be champion. But as a team they really have to put everything behind Webber.

“He (Webber) has a better chance of winning the title,” the Dutchman wrote in his column for De Telegraaf newspaper.

“Of course it’s a difficult position for Red Bull, as the whole world knows who they would prefer to be in the best position.

“It’s unfortunate for Vettel, but with his engine failure in Korea his championship did literally go up in smoke,” added Verstappen.

But Horner sounds unlikely to have a change of heart, telling the BBC he finds it “frustrating” that 7 points of leader Alonso’s 11 point lead was due to inheriting the German grand prix win from his teammate Massa.

“It (losing the title to Alonso) would be frustrating because we’ve obviously worked under the auspices that team orders have been illegal,” he told BBC radio.

Luca di Montezemolo has spelled out Felipe Massa’s supporting role in the 2010 world championship, showing no regret for the decision to put the “focus” of the Ferrari challenge on number 1 driver Fernando Alonso.

Speaking at the Paris motor show on Thursday, the Ferrari president urged Brazilian Massa to show a better performance at the decisive races, having struggled with the F10 recently.

“I have waited for Felipe with great perseverance in the last four races,” Montezemolo is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I want a strong Massa who will shave points off the rivals,” he added.

On the other hand, Spaniard Alonso has won the past two races from pole, and has been in Ferrari’s box seat at least since July’s German grand prix, where Massa was controversially moved aside whilst leading.

“The decision to focus on Alonso has been proven to be right,” said Montezemolo.

“He is extremely strong and very close to the team, and has been able to blend in well from day one despite the concerns of some,” he added.

Montezemolo showed no regrets about Ferrari’s stance; a philosophy not so openly embraced by the Maranello based team’s championships rivals Red Bull and McLaren.

“Those who race for Ferrari don’t race for themselves, but for the Ferrari team colours,” said the Italian.

“One who wants to race for himself will have to face his team,” Montezemolo insisted.

Felipe Massa has not been relocated to a purely supportive role for the rest of the 2010 season, Ferrari team Stefano Domenicali has insisted.

Brazilian Massa, who contentiously moved over to let his teammate Fernando Alonso win July’s German grand prix, sounded resigned to a subordinate role on Sunday at Monza.

“I will continue to fight for the wins and for the good of the team,” said Massa, who is 63 points behind the leader with five races left to run.

But despite the perception that Ferrari’s main focus is now Alonso’s 21 point gap to the championship leader, Domenicali insists there has been no recent change of position with regards to Massa.

“For myself and for us, the consideration is always that everyone does their best for the team,” he is quoted by Brazil’s Globo Esporte.

“We have not changed our position from the start of the season, but maybe some others have.

“But for ourselves we are happy with our way at looking at the whole situation,” added Domenicali.