Red Bull has hit back at claims the team lied about a technical problem in Malaysia in order to gain a tactical advantage for the forthcoming races.

Near the end of the Sepang race, Sebastian Vettel’s engineer repeatedly instructed the back-to-back world champion to retire his RB8 car.

Team boss Christian Horner said the brake temperatures had risen to a dangerous level, but Vettel nonetheless raced to the chequered flag and finished eleventh, one position out of the points.

Horner explained Vettel did not hear the radio calls due to a “lightening strike”, but photos prove that the German driver was also repeatedly shown pit boards with the same messages.

And the 24-year-old revealed after the race: “Of course you can save the car, but I wanted to see the chequered flag. I think that’s how it should be.”

Moreover, the authoritative Auto Motor und Sport quotes Vettel as confirming: “I heard the command.”

Red Bull has been accused in some media reports of feigning the brake problem in order to retire the car for tactical reasons and therefore install a fresh gearbox for China next month without penalty.

Dr Helmut Marko told Bild newspaper: “After the crash (with Narain Karthikeyan), the temperature of the brakes rose far above the allowed level.

“We called him in purely because the car was no longer safe. It was not a tactical decision,” the Austrian insisted.

It is reported that Vettel will sit with his team bosses this week in Milton-Keynes to discuss the apparently ignored team order.

German racing legend Hans-Joachim Stuck said: “Another driver would be fired, but Vettel has the confidence of being a double world champion.”

According to Welt newspaper, Swiss commentator Marc Surer added: “It was the right decision by Vettel, as the team needs to be careful with commands like that.”

So far in 2012, McLaren stands all alone — with not only the fastest car, but also the best-looking one.
With almost every other team fielding an ‘ugly’ stepped nose, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button dominated qualifying in Melbourne with their sleek silver machine.

A report in the Mirror suggested McLaren’s rivals have all made “a design blunder”.

“We felt it (the conventional nose) was the right decision and we’re pleased it looks good and it’s reasonably quick as well,” smiled team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

As for the direction taken by McLaren’s rivals, including Red Bull who pioneered the ‘high nose’ philosophy for the now-past blown exhaust era, Whitmarsh insisted: “It’s not a question of right or wrong.

“But there’s no doubt which one looks best. Ultimately, it’s which one is quickest.”

Writing in Autosprint, Alberto Antonini wondered if Saturday in Australia marked “the end of an era”, after Red Bull dominated the past few seasons in formula one.

“A new era in F1 has begun,” agreed Marca newspaper’s Marco Canseco.

At least for now, there is no obvious signsof panic at Red Bull, with Mark Webber telling Speed Week: “There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the car, we just haven’t got everything out of it.”

As for Sunday’s Melbourne opener, former driver and RTL commentator Christian Danner predicted: “I think the McLarens are unbeatable.

“Behind them we will see a wonderful fight for third place, with Grosjean, the two Mercedes drivers and, of course, Sebastian Vettel.”

Bernie Ecclestone on Friday changed his tune after earlier sounding hopeful that the 2011 season opener might be able to take place in “quiet” Bahrain.
On the ground, another day of shocking government violence against protesters was taking place in the island Kingdom, causing F1′s chief executive to admit he had been misinformed by some FOM cameramen in a Bahrain hotel.

“So when I made my earlier statement it was based on the information I had at that time, as opposed to what is happening,” said the 80-year-old.

Asked if he now fears he will have to cancel the race, Ecclestone answered: “I don’t fear anything, I just think things have changed and that we should wait and see over the weekend exactly what changes there have been.

“At this moment it doesn’t look good,” he admitted.

F1 team bosses met for a two-hour FOTA meeting in Barcelona on Friday, with appointed spokesman Christian Horner emerging with a similar ‘wait and see’ approach.

“We have complete trust in Bernie, FOM and the FIA to make the right decision. They will only send us there if it is safe,” said the Red Bull boss.

The chairman of FOTA is Martin Whitmarsh, whose McLaren team is substantially owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Most western governments are currently advising their citizens against travelling to the country.

“Can’t quite believe that with the ruthless treatment of Bahrain’s protesters Ecclestone is talking about grand prix prospects there,” English personality Stephen Fry wrote on Twitter.

Pedro de la Rosa has vowed to catch up with his former team boss Peter Sauber at the end of the season.

The Spaniard raced with the Swiss team in 2010 until last month’s Italian grand prix, whereafter he was replaced for the last five races by Nick Heidfeld.

Sauber said he made the decision in order to gauge the true pace of the Ferrari-powered C29 car.

De la Rosa has told Spanish radio Cadena Ser this week that he will catch up with the 67-year-old after the Abu Dhabi finale “to see if it was the right decision”.

He admits that Sauber’s explanation that it was de la Rosa’s consistency that motivated the decision “hurt me”.

But he said German Heidfeld is a “good driver, but the quality all the way through the field is very close”.

39-year-old de la Rosa also admitted that the occupant of the sister car, Kamui Kobayashi, is “much better than you think”.

He also said that if he had strong sponsors, “I would still be there”.

On the three-race championship fight, de la Rosa tipped countryman Fernando Alonso “but I don’t know if that’s my brain or my heart speaking”.

He also said the layout of the Korean circuit looks “mixed”, with the tighter sections favouring the Red Bull, and the Ferrari to be better on the long straights.

Sebastian Vettel briefly suspected he was the victim of clandestine team orders during the recent Italian grand prix.

According to a report in the British newspaper The Telegraph, the German’s instinctive suspicions were raised at Monza when he sensed a problem with his RB6 whilst running ahead of his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber.

Australian Webber is leading the drivers’ world champion, but publicly the Austrian team insists he is not now being favoured over his younger teammate.

The media report revealed that Vettel, 23, screamed “Are you ——- with me guys?” over the radio when he noticed a temporary problem – which ultimately turned out to be a brake issue – that allowed Webber to pass him.

“I am emotional,” he is quoted as explaining in Singapore.

“At that moment you are fighting on the limit and I thought that maybe … but I think everything I have done I can be totally honest and straight.

“At the time I believed it was the right decision.  I have no regrets,” said Vettel.

Some commentators believe the difference between highly rated Vettel and the experienced Webber this year is their contrasting abilities to cope with pressure.

“Do I believe the pressure has got to me?  No,” Vettel said rhetorically.

“Do I believe the criticism is right?  That I am a pole kid who can’t win races?  No.  Why?  Because I know the reasons why I haven’t performed.

“How many mistakes have I made this year?  Probably two.  And if I make a mistake you can be sure I am harder on myself than anyone else,” he added.

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were smiling at sunny Monza on Saturday afternoon, after locking out the front of the grid for the Italian grand prix.

It was Alonso’s first ever pole in a red car, and Ferrari’s first qualifying triumph in 30 races.

The result is also Button’s first front row of the season, as Lewis Hamilton in the sister McLaren was left ruing a setup “mistake”.

He was running without McLaren’s famous F-duct, while Button stayed with the concept despite having to use an unconventionally big rear wing for the ultra high speed circuit.

Ultimately, the reigning world champion was just a tenth off Alonso’s pole, stranding Hamilton six tenths behind in fifth.

“It was the wrong choice,” the 2008 world champion admitted to BBC television. Button agreed: “Our side made the right decision.”

Championship leader Hamilton’s biggest title rival Mark Webber was also smiling, despite qualifying just fourth.

He qualified two places ahead of Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, after two practice breakdowns, including an airbox fire on Saturday morning that stopped his engine.

“We might have to run a slightly more conservative setting on that engine,” admitted team boss Christian Horner. “It’s nothing for us to be too concerned about.”

Sunday at Valencia finally vindicated his decision to sign rookie Kamui Kobayashi, according to team boss Peter Sauber.

The Japanese impressed with his feisty debut drives at the end of last year, when Toyota was on the way out of formula one and Timo Glock was recovering from injury.

On the strength of those brilliant flashes, Sauber signed the 23-year-old to complement the veteran Pedro de la Rosa for 2010; the Swiss team’s first season in the wake of BMW’s departure as owner.

Kobayashi’s Valencia weekend did not get off to a great start when he was out-qualified by de la Rosa, but his name featured prominently throughout the race.

He leapt towards the front because he started on the harder tyres and didn’t pit with the bulk of the field, but when he was running prominently his laptimes were fully competitive and he comfortably held off the reigning world champion Jenson Button.

He made his mandatory pitstop with only four laps to run, famously overtaking first Fernando Alonso and then Sebastien Buemi within sight of the chequered flag.

“Kamui was absolutely amazing,” said founder Sauber before leaving Spain.

“The lap times which he put in while he was in third were stunning.”

And Sauber added on Wednesday: “Signing a rookie is always something of a risk; on Sunday Kamui delivered confirmation that we made the right decision.”

Ferrari on Tuesday confirmed reports that Pat Fry is joining the famous Italian team.

It emerged at the weekend that the 46-year-old Briton, who until recently was heading McLaren’s 2011 car project as long-time joint chief engineer, was linked with a move to the Maranello based squad.

Italian reports had said Fry, although currently on compulsory ‘gardening leave’, will be able to have an impact on Ferrari’s next car.

A team statement on Tuesday confirmed that Fry will begin his new role as assistant technical director, reporting to Aldo Costa, on 1 July.

Ferrari said the “structure of the technical department remains (otherwise) unchanged”.

Fry joined McLaren from Benetton in 1993.

“I think it was probably good for him, the right decision for him to take a bit of a break, take a breather,” McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said last month.

(GMM)

For Timo Glock, the trip paid to Montreal in the past for ever. The 28 year-old made his debut in 2004 for Jordan as a substitute pilot for Giorgio Pantano. In the qualifying Glock was only one place behind team-mate Nick Heidfeld. In the race, he captured his seventh first championship points and thus belongs to a small group of riders, who succeeded, at the debut. In 2005 Glock would have won by a hair, the race of the Champ Car Series at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The last appearance in 2008 conquered the German his first points for Toyota.

The presence at the moment does not look rosy. The Virgin was too slow on Friday and was even beaten by HRT. Points lie outside the range, but with a crazy race and the happiness could Montréal for the weekend, Glock nor the conciliatory. “Every time I’ve driven in Canada, is something special happened in the race,” says Glock recalls in an interview with ‘Autosport’. “Hopefully it will be another crazy weekend and we can benefit from it.”
Ideally, the new team plays the fight for third place from 19th Nevertheless, it is difficult to motivate Glock not himself, “I just hide from the 20 cars ahead of me. I have never been so hard fought for a 19th place as recently in Turkey. The battle to win under new team is our only option get a sense of victory. If you’re not even a goal, you will lose power. The duel with Lotus is a way to motivate yourself. ”

Glock only twice in the seven races so far has seen the checkered flag. Despite the difficult season, he is convinced of Virgin: “I am very satisfied. It’s easy to say that I or anyone at Renault would have to wait still can, but you never know what happened, so I made the right decision. Virgin developed in the right direction. The problem is that you only see number 20 and nothing more. We have, however, improved a lot. ”
“The car is more difficult to drive than the Toyota is missing. Especially in medium and slow corners us contact pressure. Then we placed our focus.” It can also bring his experience from Glock recent years. “In discussions I am now a little more aggressive. The team can respond very well, but unfortunately we have not had the capacity as Toyota, where new parts were produced very quickly.”

Even with his former employers after two years, many ideas in the Glock-2010s construction of the model incorporated. The 28-year-old has seen the Toyota for the current season and is convinced of the merits: “The car would have been very fast. Everyone laughed when I said that we want to fight for the title. We were constantly in the top 5 been. But unfortunately the car is never driven on the track. It is a pity, but that was precisely the decision. There were few details on the car, where I could see my signature significantly. It would have been nice, the fruit of hard work to harvest. ”
(TotalMotorSport)

One of McLaren’s two chief engineers has left the Woking based team.

Pat Fry, who joined the team from Benetton in 1993, alternated the role with Tim Goss.  Last year, 46-year-old Briton Fry developed the MP4-24, and in 2010 he was in charge of the 2011 car.

It emerged during Thursday’s press conference at Monaco that Fry’s destination is currently unknown.

“I think it was probably good for him, the right decision for him to take a bit of a break, take a breather,” team boss Martin Whitmarsh told reporters.

He added that “someone younger” and “maybe hungrier” will likely replace Fry.

(GMM)

Apr.20 (GMM) The first races of his McLaren career prove that F1 should not always leap to quick judgements, Jenson Button said before departing for a holiday in Thailand as the new championship leader.

The reigning world champion joined the British team in 2010 amid widespread claims he would be destroyed by McLaren’s much-loved incumbent Lewis Hamilton.

But after four races, 30-year-old Button has outqualified Hamilton on three occasions, while winning two races compared to his 25-year-old teammate’s none.

In comments published in the Guardian, Button suggested he had been hurt by the F1 world’s pre-season predictions.

“Sometimes we should sit back and watch and enjoy instead of speaking out aloud too much. It (the predictions) might be true in the future, you never know. I don’t know.

“But I feel happy with what’s happening now,” said the Melbourne and Shanghai winner.

Hamilton, however, is expecting the tide to turn soon, after his recent drives through the field were described by some pundits as among the best of his career.

“I feel I have had great races,” he agreed, “but he (Button) has taken the right decisions and taken the easier route. I have had the harder route and got good results but hopefully soon I will take the easier route.”

Hamilton said in the Telegraph that he is not surprised about Button doing well so far in 2010.

“There was a lot of stuff about him joining my team and I would be favoured … I am really happy for him. He did a better job and I am sure that when the tables turn, as they will, it will the same for me,” said the Briton.

He also played down suggestions that, while the first cracks appear in the relationship between Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, the same will happen at McLaren.

“I don’t think it will happen with us,” said Hamilton. “The good thing with me and Jenson is that we clearly want to beat each other, but Jenson is very smart and does not have that too-aggressive flair in him and neither have I.”

In the Daily Express, meanwhile, Button described Hamilton’s unyielding racing style as “like a pitbull”, adding that he loves “having a teammate who’s like that”.