Heinz Harald Frentzen has played down the importance of fitness in formula one.
The retired grand prix winner, who last raced with Sauber in 2003, was one of the last drivers in the sport who was an occasional smoker.

But fitness is today a keyword in the F1 paddock, with drivers including Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg now so fit they enter triathlons for fun.

Frentzen, 44, told Welt newspaper: “The issue of fitness was and is overrated in formula one.

“I remember driving in Hungary in 1998 with salmonella poisoning and finished fifth.

“Yes it’s important, but the boys of today are all fit by default. It is the g-forces that my body could no longer withstand.

“I would need about three months to train the muscles to do maybe ten laps,” added Frentzen.

Michael Schumacher has pointed the finger at his first formula one boss Eddie Jordan as he recalled his grand prix debut 20 years ago.
At Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, the seven time world champion is marking the passing of two decades since he burst onto the scene with Jordan.

It was a one-off event as Schumacher, then 22, was snapped up after Belgium by Benetton after qualifying in seventh place.

But his actual race lasted less than a lap when he retired with a broken clutch.

“The story is that we had problems in the warmup,” Schumacher, now racing with Mercedes, wrote in a celebratory column for Auto Motor und Sport.

“I pointed it out at the de-briefing and we talked about whether we should change the clutch or not, but Eddie said that would cost too much money. Then it broke,” added the German.

Schumacher also recalled how he and his then manager Willi Weber had stayed in a hostel that weekend.

“I remember I was surprised because I had thought ‘Yes, I am now in formula one, the premier class’. I was not particularly bothered with the hostel except that it was cold and the heater didn’t work,” he said.

Weber had negotiated his charge’s F1 debut after Jordan regular Bertrand Gachot was jailed for attacking a London taxi driver.

Weber told Jordan that Schumacher knew Spa well.

“I have to clarify the story that we lied about it,” Schumacher said. “Eddie had asked Willi if I had raced there before and Willi said yes, because he could not imagine that I had never been there.”

Jordan reportedly wanted to draft in the experienced Stefan Johansson, but Schumacher’s Sauber-Mercedes sports car team – headed by Peter Sauber – offered $150,000 in sponsorship.

“That was a pretty penny for a single grand prix,” Sauber told the SID news agency this week.

The Swiss believes that Mercedes’ other hotshoe, Heinz Harald Frentzen, “had a similar amount of talent and perhaps even a little more”.

But Schumacher was “a hard worker, very ambitious, mentally strong and also so well prepared physically. It soon became apparent that he was a very special talent”, added Sauber.

“You also need talent and technical knowledge and if you get all these factors close to 100 per cent, you get Michael Schumacher who wins seven titles.”

Sauber said Schumacher or Weber never repaid the $150,000.

“He didn’t have to,” Sauber explained. “He was under contract to us and it was quite normal that we allowed him to have his first race.

“Ultimately it didn’t work for us because Mercedes didn’t come in as a works team and so we could not keep him.”

Schumacher retired from F1 at the end of 2006 but returned three years later with Mercedes, where he is under contract for next year and even considering prolonging his comeback.

Eddie Jordan told The Sun this week: “Michael really is an old fart. He’s had his time.

“I don’t think his legacy has been affected yet by what has happened in his comeback. But he has to make sure he gets the timing of his exit from F1 right.”

A furious Fernando Alonso has accused FIA stewards of manipulating Sunday’s European grand prix.

The Ferrari driver was running behind Lewis Hamilton at Valencia when the safety car was pulling onto the track to attend to Mark Webber’s crash.

The McLaren passed the FIA vehicle and was penalised with a drive-through penalty but finished the race in second place.

“One who respects the rules is ninth, and the one who does not respect them is second,” Alonso is quoted by the Spanish sports website as.com.

He was also critical of the time it took the stewards, this weekend including former grand prix winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen, to reach the decision to penalise Hamilton.

“It seems it was very difficult to watch a replay; it takes many laps,” said Alonso sarcastically.

“Everything is against us.  They allow everything and it’s a shame the public has today seen a race that is not quite real.”

(GMM)

Heinz-Harald Frentzen will be the former driver serving alongside three conventional FIA stewards at this weekend’s European grand prix.

The German won three grands prix during his 160-race career between 1994 and 2003.

Frentzen, now 43, drove for Sauber, Williams, Jordan, Prost and Arrows, and subsequently for Opel and Audi in the German touring car series DTM.

(GMM)

Johnny Herbert will this weekend once again act as F1′s driver steward.

The 45-year-old Briton, who won three grands prix during his career spanning 165 races until 2000, debuted in the role in Malaysia.

Since the 2010 season opener, former drivers including Alain Prost, Alex Wurz, Derek Warwick and Damon Hill have also served alongside the three regular stewards.

But former Benetton, Tyrrell, Lotus, Ligier, Sauber, Stewart and Jaguar driver Herbert is the first driver to officiate at more than one grand prix.

Also touted to appear in 2010 are Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Mika Salo and Nigel Mansell.

(GMM)

Jarno Trulli is this weekend bidding to maintain a perfect qualifying record on the streets of Monaco.

Since his first visit to the Principality as a formula one driver in 1997, the 35-year-old Italian has never been outqualified by the occupant of the sister car.

His conquests include Ukyo Katayama, Olivier Panis, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Ralf Schumacher and Timo Glock.

His Lotus teammate in 2010 is Heikki Kovalainen, who has so far outqualified 2004 Monaco winner Trulli on two occasions.

Finn Kovalainen told Turun Sanomat: “I will just concentrate on my own performance.”

(GMM)