Michael Schumacher has denied his widely-reported comments about Pirelli’s 2012 tyres were simply about venting “frustration”.

“What frustration?” the seven time world champion was quoted as having told German media in Barcelona.

Not once but at least twice since the Bahrain grand prix three weeks ago, the Mercedes driver has suggested F1 and Pirelli have not got the balance right with the heavily-degrading tyres seen so far this season.

Schumacher insists his intention was to start a conversation.

“I am quite happy that we have initiated a discussion about how much influence one or another part should have in formula one,” he told reporters.

Fernando Alonso agreed, pointing the finger at the media for “exaggerating” Schumacher’s view.

“I read what he said and I don’t see any big problem with that,” said the Ferrari driver.

Schumacher also sounded happy that his position triggered a meeting with Pirelli officials at the Mugello test last week.

“We had a good meeting,” revealed the German, “to talk about this subject, so I just hope we continue to go in the right direction.”

Pirelli test driver Lucas di Grassi has defended the F1 tyre supplier following Michael Schumacher’s criticism.

Schumacher attacked the Italian marque’s 2012 product after the Bahrain grand prix, complaining that the tyres wear so fast that drivers often have to take corners at half-pace like the safety car.

“In some ways he’s right,” Brazilian di Grassi, who along with Jaime Alguersuari tests tyres for Pirelli, is quoted by Globo.

“You can’t go at 100 per cent all the time because the current tyres are designed to highlight the strategy during the races.

“Drivers have to think more about what part of the race to make best use of the tyres,” said the former Virgin driver.

Di Grassi, 27, credited Pirelli for the exciting races seen so far in 2012.

“The championship is very balanced, which is good for everyone, especially the public,” he said.

“It’s partly because Pirelli has been able to use the data it collected last year and make good decisions for this year,” added di Grassi.

Also with a view contrary to Schumacher’s is the seven time world champion’s own teammate, Nico Rosberg.

“F1 has become more interesting,” said the Shanghai winner, “as everything has been shaken up — it’s much better than the same cars and drivers always driving away from the front,” he is quoted by German media.

“Due to the tyre situation, the races have been very varied, which is an extraordinary challenge but also very exciting. And we have to get used to it,” added Rosberg.

World champion Sebastian Vettel was unapologetic this week, having shown his Indian rival Narain Karthikeyan the middle finger recently in Malaysia.

The German also called the HRT-driving backmarker a “gherkin” and “idiot” in the aftermath of their Sepang clash that cost Vettel fourth place.

“I lost a solid fourth place so that’s obviously disappointing,” the 24-year-old is quoted by German media, including Sport Bild, after being asked this week about his loss of temper at Karthikeyan.

It was suggested Vettel might have breached the FIA’s code of conduct, but it is believed the governing body has decided the stewards properly investigated the incident in Malaysia.

And Vettel is unapologetic.

“Sometimes you let some emotion show and I don’t think someone should be ashamed about that,” he said. “It’s part of the sport.”

Vettel, having utterly dominated a year ago, is now just sixth in the drivers’ points standings after two races.

“Of course I would have preferred a slightly better start (to 2011),” he admitted, “but it’s a long season.

“We have a very good car and I still have a good chance — it is still the goal to fight for the title,” he said in Paris, where he accepted the ‘Grands Prix de l’Academie des Sports 2011′ award.

“Only a few hours ago I was in the simulator, preparing for China and Bahrain. We should hopefully have a few good improvements, but we need to prove that at the tracks,” said Vettel.

F1 could be set to get some new shareholders, amid reports the collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers wants to sell its stake within two years.
The bank, which is being wound up to pay back creditors, still holds a 15 per cent stake in the majority CVC-owned holding company Delta Topco, which the Guardian newspaper said is valued at about $1.5 billion.

Lehman Brothers became a F1 shareholder in 2002, when the German media company Kirch defaulted on a loan.

Christian Horner could not hide his smile despite a Red Bull not winning Sunday’s Hungarian grand prix.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel finished the Budapest race second, but because the fifth-placed Jenson Button won, the German’s vast gap grew from 77 points to 85 over teammate Mark Webber.

And Vettel’s gap to the closest non-Red Bull runner – Lewis Hamilton – is now a whopping 88 points with just 8 races to run.

“Excluding the Red Bull drivers, Jenson was the one we wanted as the winner,” Red Bull team boss Horner is quoted as saying by German media.

“Congratulations to him,” said the Briton.

“We are not disappointed. In situations like that it’s always a lottery.”

Formula one figures are now looking forward to an almost one-month break before Spa-Francorchamps, including a mandatory two-week factory shutdown.

“We will be working at full speed for another week until we close the factory and re-charge our batteries — just like KERS,” joked Horner.

German prosecutors are likely to seek an interview with Bernie Ecclestone as they investigate F1′s 2006 takeover.

It is the latest development following the jailing in Munich of banker Gerhard Gribkowsky surrounding his mysterious receipt of $50 million, with German media suspecting it may have been paid by F1 chief executive Ecclestone.

British sources including Sky, the Telegraph and the Times report that Ecclestone, 80, is expected to be questioned.

The Briton, who has denied making the payment but is understood to have retained a team of German lawyers, was not available for comment.

It is also not known when the questioning will take place or whether it will be in the UK or Germany, but if it is the latter, Ecclestone is likely to seek assurances that he will not also be detained.

The Telegraph said Ecclestone has not yet been contacted but will be “happy to assist with the investigation”.

F1′s owner CVC, who have also denied involvement in the Gribkowsky payment, recently commissioned a separate investigation into the takeover which reportedly cleared it of wrongdoing.

CVC declined to comment.

Gerd Noack has denied reports that Michael Schumacher played a financial role in supporting Sebastian Vettel’s early career.

Since Vettel secured the 2010 title, the German media has published photos of the German as a boy together with Schumacher, who in the mid 90s was winning titles with Benetton and switching to Ferrari.

“I must clarify a tale,” said Noack, the chairman of the Kerpen kart track who is credited for discovering and supporting the young Vettel, as well as Schumacher years earlier.

“It is often said that Michael was not only a good friend but also a financial supporter of Vettel.  That’s not true,” he wrote in Die Welt newspaper.

“Yes, we asked him for his help, but from Michael’s side it never came.  He was probably too busy with his own career to think about the younger guys,” added Noack.

He said it was a struggle to keep Vettel’s racing afloat in the early days.

“When I think of his first contract with Red Bull, I laugh — it was four digits,” revealed Noack.

“But a start was made so that a big talent would not be lost under the wheels, while the big car makers were blind.  I know of one F1 team boss who for years wanted me to believe that Vettel would come to nothing,” he added.

“Now he is world champion.”

A formal agreement has finally been reached between HRT and Toyota Motorsport, according to a German media source.

Auto Bild claims that after long negotiations, officials of the struggling Spanish team – now with the financial backing of former Telefonica president Juan Villalonga – have inked a deal with Cologne based Toyota.

The details of the arrangement are not known, but it is expected to involve the use of the design of the TF110 car, which was penned last year but never raced because Toyota’s Japanese parent pulled out of F1.

It is believed the car has been further developed in recent months to keep it up to date with its potential competitors.

HRT has already agreed to use Williams’ gearbox in 2011.

Michael Schumacher has accepted a German ‘Man of the Year’ award in Berlin.

Organised by GQ magazine, the seven time world champion won the ‘Manner des Jahres’ plaudit in the sporting category, according to German media reports.

Photographs show the 41-year-old attending the black-tie event with his wife Corinna.

Schumacher, who returned to formula one this year after a three-year retirement, accepted the trophy from his former Ferrari boss Jean Todt, who is now the president of the sport’s governing FIA.

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.

Renault and Force India have emerged as the most likely teams to keep Nick Heidfeld’s formula one career alive beyond 2010.

Although returning from Mercedes and Pirelli test roles to complete the current season with Sauber, Heidfeld has not been signed for next season by the Swiss team, who are instead pitting the Telmex-backed rookie Sergio Perez alongside Kamui Kobayashi.

But veteran Heidfeld, revealing in Korea this week that he does not carry any personal sponsorship, has emerged as a candidate to replace the disappointing Russian pay-driver Vitaly Petrov at Renault.

Team boss Eric Boullier, suggesting that a decision could be made by Abu Dhabi next month, told Auto Motor und Sport: “Both Heidfeld and Sutil have a chance.”

Renault’s thinking is that, with a good driver alongside Robert Kubica this year, the team might have beaten Mercedes to fourth place in the constructors’ championship — with prize-money arguably beyond even Petrov’s impressive dowry.

Adrian Sutil, with a solid offer to stay at Force India, is also an interesting candidate, especially with his EUR5 million in Medion sponsorship to offer.

The good news for Heidfeld is that Sutil is also in the running for the Williams seat, and his departure to either Renault or Williams would free up the place at Force India.

“That place is only free if Sutil goes,” Heidfeld confirmed.

And if Sutil does go, the 33-year-old German must be a strong contender.

“It is hardly conceivable that Force India will go into 2011 with Vitantonio Liuzzi next to Paul di Resta — one a newcomer and another who has been disappointing,” said the German media report.

The Red Bull team does not fear straight lines as much as it did earlier in 2010, according to a German media report.

After dominating on the slow, corner-dominated Hungaroring in August, the RB6 was subsequently beaten to the flag at Spa and Monza; circuits punctuated by long stretches of asphalt.

Then, before he dominated at Suzuka, Sebastian Vettel said the Japanese layout was “designed for” the Adrian Newey-penned car, even though the Renault engine was not expected to be strong on the front straight and the long run between Spoon and the chicane.

Team consultant Helmut Marko has been vocally worried about F1′s forthcoming trip to Korea, with the new layout featuring twistier sections separated by some very long straights.

After Mark Webber and the team pulled out leads in both world championships at Suzuka, the Austrian said “we need a cushion, especially for the next race”.

“One of the three long straights (in Korea) is 1.2 kilometres long,” Marko groaned.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, however, the RB6 is now performing better on the straights, thanks to the latest development of the car’s F-duct.

The report said Newey has essentially aped the Renault team’s F-duct solution, and as of Suzuka the RB6 is producing better straight line speed.

“We are no longer losing so much on the straights,” confirmed Vettel.

Michael Schumacher returned to the saddle of a powerful racing motorcycle this week before heading to Singapore.

According to German media reports, the 41-year-old on Tuesday morning travelled in his private plane to the Sachsenring.

He then tested 180 horse power KTM and Honda racing bikes with friends he met during his time in the IDM German superbike championship.

It was when testing the same sort of IDM bikes in early 2009 that Schumacher fell and hurt his neck; an injury that prevented him from racing in injured Felipe Massa’s Ferrari cockpit last August.

Meanwhile, Schumacher’s Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was already in Singapore on Tuesday, where he had to hitchhike back to his hotel in the cab of a truck after a taxi lost its way due to road closures around the Marina Bay circuit.

“Good luck, stay safe,” one of his Twitter followers wrote.

Championship chargers McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari appear to all have competitive packages at Monza for this weekend’s Italian grand prix.

McLaren was fastest in the morning practice session, Red Bull in the afternoon, while Ferrari’s F10 was just hundredths of a second off the pace.

Mark Webber, 3 points adrift Lewis Hamilton’s title lead, had a slight afternoon scare with a water pressure alarm.

“We had to turn off the engine to prevent any damage,” said the Australian.

“It’s going well. I need to find some pace in myself but we’re on the pace,” he is quoted by German media.

Last year when KERS proved an additional handicap to Red Bull’s power disadvantage, Monza was a poor circuit for the Austrian team but “it looks much better this year”, said Sebastian Vettel, the fastest around the Autodromo Nazionale on Friday.

“McLaren look extremely strong,” said the German, “and Ferrari are strong as well.”

Fernando Alonso confirmed: “We are there.”

Michael Schumacher has expressed dismay about the changes to Monza’s kerbs for the Italian grand prix this weekend.

The FIA ordered the changes, to the area behind the apex kerbs at the famous chicanes at turns 1 and 4, to prevent a car becoming airborne after running over them.

But the new ramped concrete sections are not universally popular, particularly with Schumacher expecting Mercedes’ W01 to struggle on the high speed layout.

“It’s a pity the kerbs and not what they used to be. Our car is good at riding over the kerbs, but now we – and anyone else – cannot have this advantage,” he is quoted by German media.

Schumacher also defended his countryman and friend Sebastian Vettel, after the Red Bull driver was heavily criticised for some recent mistakes.

“He made a mistake. Why attack him like this?” the German said at Monza.

“The guy wants to be world champion, so he attacks, and you make mistakes sometimes. I don’t think there should be a big deal made out of it,” added Schumacher.