Sebastian Vettel remains unapologetic after insulting his rival Narain Karthikeyan.

The reigning world champion twice showed Indian Karthikeyan the middle finger in Malaysia recently, also describing the HRT driver as an “idiot” and “gherkin” following their on-track clash.

Karthikeyan hit back by calling the 24-year-old German “unprofessional” and a “crybaby”, amid suggestions Vettel did not display sporting values befitting a double world champion.

Indeed, when asked by Germany’s Sport Bild if he is a ‘bad loser’, Vettel replied: “It’s true, I can only lose badly.

“Why should I lie? If I could lose well, I would not be in formula one. I was disappointed.”

But the Red Bull driver also insists his outbursts should be taken in the context of the moment.

“So soon after the race, I feel like I should be honest rather than playing the ‘smiling boy’.

“Sometimes it takes ten minutes after finishing a race to return to normal, sometimes you need a night’s sleep to check things off and look ahead positively.

“When I put Jenson Button out of the race at Spa in 2010, I apologised to him the next day.”

So, Vettel is much more positive now.

“From a pure sporting perspective, I have more points now than I had at this point in 2010 when I won the championship. So I’m only looking forward,” he insisted.

 They are famously close on a personal level, but for the sake of his sport Bernie Ecclestone wants to see Sebastian Vettel suffer in 2012.
The Red Bull driver has won the past two championships on the trot, including last season when the title battle was over long before the finale.

“It wasn’t good. The only person that would say no to that would be Sebastian, but I think everybody else would agree with it,” F1 chief executive Ecclestone told reporters on Thursday.

He had just announced a new connectivity deal for F1 with Indian multinational Tata’s communications subsidiary.

The aim is to modernise F1 in that area because, as the 81-year-old puts it, he is “getting old” and was “asleep” to the world’s new digital era.

But more immediately important to Ecclestone is a better show in 2012.

“I’m surprised we survived with (the TV ratings) we got right at the end,” said the Briton, referring again to Vettel’s dominance. “We need to see everybody else wake up.”

Another element he hopes is in place this year is a fully-firing Lewis Hamilton, but Ecclestone admitted the 2008 world champion might have to farewell McLaren.

“I think if he doesn’t perform this year, he’ll be looking maybe to move on, and the team may also be looking for him to move on,” he said.

And yet another golden egg for Ecclestone would be a winning Michael Schumacher, but he admitted the seven time world champion might need to sit at the wheel of a Red Bull for that to happen.

“I don’t think Sebastian would mind,” he said.

“I’m not saying I don’t want Mark (Webber) around, I’m just saying it would be nice to see him (Schumacher) in the car where you know that if he doesn’t win it’s his fault, not the car.”

Less important, Ecclestone argues, is the rare absence in F1 of a single Italian driver.

“If Ferrari is winning,” he insisted, “it doesn’t make any difference.”

Indeed, there are bigger fish on the F1 supremo’s plate: the thorny issue of Bahrain’s return in 2012, and a looming fight with the teams over the next Concorde Agreement.

On Bahrain, he joked: “Pity I’m not going to be there myself but don’t worry. No, I shall be there, don’t worry.”

As for the teams wanting a bigger share of F1′s revenue pie, Ecclestone answered: “I think they are right. If they don’t ask they are not going to get (it), are they?”

But when asked to rate their chances of success, the Briton replied typically: “Slim to none.”

Two authoritative sources have admitted they doubt Adrian Newey was telling the whole truth about the air inlet in the ‘step’ nose of Red Bull’s 2012 car.
Designer Newey, the pioneer of the now-banned blown diffuser solutions seen throughout last year’s grid, insisted that the mysterious letterbox-slot gap in the RB8 is simply to cool the drivers with air.

But the aerodynamic expert’s explanation was met with some initial scepticism, amid speculation the monocoque air could also be flowing elsewhere for a performance benefit.

“The drivers are going to get their feet wet when it rains,” a suspicious unnamed engineer smilingly told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Also unconvinced is Joan Villadelprat, a veteran former formula one engineer who has worked at McLaren, Ferrari, Benetton, Prost and – most recently – heading the operations of the sports car team Epsilon Euskadi.

He wrote in El Pais newspaper: “Personally, I don’t believe Adrian Newey’s explanation that the opening is to refresh the drivers.

“If that’s what they need then Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber must drive half-asleep,” the Spaniard joked.

Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport speculates that the RB8′s inlet directs air underneath the floor, as per Ferrari’s innovative nose-slot of 2008.

A good night’s sleep was among one of Sebastian Vettel’s priorities after becoming the youngest ever double world champion.
Following a paddock party and then another involving karaoke until 5am on Monday morning, the Red Bull driver headed straight to Yokohama for a sponsor and media engagement.

It was there that, according to Abendblatt newspaper, the 24-year-old said: “My voice is a bit ruined now!

“After a long night I want to let the whole thing sink in a bit, get some sleep and then be ready for Korea.”

Indeed, any plans for more than a single night of partying has had to wait for now, with Vettel scheduled to practice in Korea in less than three days.

“We have celebrated a little,” he is quoted by rds.ca, “but not too much because this week we are in Korea.”

Vettel denied Bild newspaper’s claim that he seemed “almost sad” as he came to realise his achievements in the Suzuka paddock late on Sunday.

“I was not sad,” he insists. “I can be just as satisfied with a second or a fourth place but it’s clear that we did not have a perfect race. That’s what we strive for.

“It is also difficult for me to switch from the extreme tension of a race to realise straight away that you are world champion.

“Now it’s time for some rest, particularly some sleep, and then to understand it all. Sounds spectacular, I know.”

And the next goal will be to repeat it all in 2012.

“We want to keep going. It’s addictive. Nothing else in my life gives me as much satisfaction,” said Vettel.

It is commonly referred to as the ‘rest day’, but Friday in Monaco is not universally popular among the F1 drivers.
Unlike elsewhere on the calendar, the drivers practice on Thursday in the unique Principality before resuming the weekend with qualifying two days later.

“For me, I’d rather we practised on Friday and went straight into qualifying,” said Jenson Button.

His argument is that the gap day actually creates more work for the drivers, who usually spend time at the circuit anyway with engineers, media and sponsors.

“Usually we have events,” Michael Schumacher agreed.

Added Rubens Barrichello: “It’s kind of a boring Friday, really, because you can’t sleep because other people are driving on the track.”

“Basically in your mind,” explained Nick Heidfeld, “you’re just looking forward to the next day, you want to get into the car and get on with it.”

Said Jarno Trulli: “We spend one more day in such a chaotic situation, a day that most of the time is spent doing PR or media or anything like that.”

But not every driver rues ‘gap Friday’ in Monaco.

“For me, it’s a quick engineer meeting and then straight to the pool with friends and have a good time and relax,” said Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

Added Trulli: “I hope I can get a ride on my bike and then lay down by the pool but I’m sure I will have to come here and do some work.”

The day after suffering horrific injuries in a rally smash, Robert Kubica awoke from an induced coma, talked to his father and moved his fingers.
The Pole will miss the start of the season and almost certainly all of the forthcoming 2011 schedule, but the early signs are good that he will make a recovery despite earlier fears he might lose his right hand.

However, a statement issued by his F1 team Lotus-Renault said “it will be several days before it is known if the (hand) operation has been 100 per cent successful”

Kubica, 26, was put back to sleep on Monday, while doctors considered further surgery to treat elbow and shoulder fractures.

He also has leg fractures.

“Kubica is conscious,” said an intensive care spokesman at the Santa Corona hospital. “The first thing he thought about was his co driver and was informed about his condition.”

The spokesman added that Kubica “lost a lot of blood” in the accident and had been “critical” but is now stable.

Stefano Domenicali has admitted he considered quitting after Ferrari dramatically lost the 2010 title with a bungled race strategy in Abu Dhabi.
The Italian said during an interview with La Repubblica newspaper that if F1 was football, he would probably now be looking for a new job.

“I know that people see me as the coach of Ferrari,” he said. “But a team principal is something different. This is a business and I have to manage all the different aspects, not just the sporting ones.

“I take care of everything, so I delegate a lot, but saying that, you have to be ready for anything especially if there have not been the results you want for two years.

“But thank god it’s not football!” said the 45-year-old.

“To rebuild in F1 is takes months and years and from that point of view I have always felt a great support from the president and the shareholders,” continued Domenicali.

Although he did not fear Ferrari’s wrath after the ill-fated Abu Dhabi finale, the Italian admits he didn’t sleep for two days and spent that time contemplating resigning.

“After Abu Dhabi I raised the issue personally. I wondered if it was the right thing or not to stay.

“I take it as a duty and I am not attached to my chair. But I came to the conclusion that stopping would be a mistake. I know the team and I think I’m the right person to capitalise on all that we have sown in recent months.

“From a methodological point of view, we have changed almost everything at Maranello and I am sure we will soon see the results of our hard work.”

And he denied that severing other heads for the strategy mistake would be an appropriate response.

“The mistake had a devastating effect,” said Domenicali. “But in a normal race it was a normal error. So you can’t jettison everything – even the good things – because of it.”

It is rumoured that one major change for 2011 is a more prominent role for former McLaren designer Pat Fry.

“We will officially announce something in the coming hours and make sure that those who are making decisions in the crucial moments have all the tools to do not repeat the mistakes,” said Domenicali.

He also denied that Felipe Massa’s poor season was due to the Brazilian’s serious head injuries sustained in 2009.

“We made all the checks; as a driver and a man Felipe is perfectly intact,” he insisted, arguing that as well as the technical explanations, Massa struggled psychologically at times in 2010.

“I am sure we will see a great Massa in 2011. He knows that he can’t afford another season like that,” added Domenicali.

And as for the car at Massa and teammate Fernando Alonso’s disposal, he explained: “The car of 2010 we had to start from scratch (after 2009).

“Now we have a good starting point and a regulation change, so we have to make maximum use of our imagination for extreme solutions,” said the Italian.

Jerome d’Ambrosio has described securing his formula one debut for 2011 as the ultimate birthday and Christmas present.

Although described in Virgin’s press release as 25, the Belgian rookie is actually still 24 until two days after Christmas.

The new British team announced on Tuesday that he is replacing Brazilian Lucas di Grassi for the 2011 season.

“It’s a nice Christmas gift but also a birthday present — I was born on December 27,” he told Belgian television RTBF.

“This has come after many weeks of waiting, and everything finally came together just recently.

“I didn’t sleep last night because I was so excited,” confirmed d’Ambrosio, Renault’s 2010 F1 reserve who finished the season as Virgin’s Friday driver.

“I only heard the news last night and it was hugely emotional. Doing a grand prix season is a dream come true, but now is the time to start working,” he added.

Mark Webber awoke on Monday morning determined to return to the cockpit of his Red Bull at Silverstone next weekend.

The Australian on Sunday survived one of the most frightening crashes seen in recent times, when his RB6 struck the rear of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus before backflipping and wiping out an advertising hoarding.

Webber, 33, then careered into a tyre barrier but emerged from the cockpit relatively unscathed.

After a visit to the medical centre and a shower, he told reporters at the circuit that he is sporting a few bumps and bruises.

“I’m a little bit tender here and there but the car did a great job,” he said.

And after a night’s sleep, he wrote on his AussieGrit Twitter account: “Feeling good this morning, roll on Silverstone”.

He told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport: “I have a bit of swelling in some places, but I’ll be fit for Silverstone.”

Red Bull is yet to confirm the health of the actual car; the same one driven by Webber to a handful of pole positions and his wins in Barcelona and Monaco.

“It’s been good to me,” he smiled.


Over the past four races had Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber from his teammates were beaten in qualifying at the European Grand Prix in Valencia could fight back the German. Accordingly, happily presented itself the Red Bull pilot.

“In the last few races we had a good run on Saturday, so it is a good result,” said Vettel, who was quicker to just 0.075 seconds as his Australian team-mate.

“These lines do not, Canada and here in Valencia are among those, usually our strongest. It is good for this reason that we have set the car on the pole. Our speed looks good.”
A hair of the driver from Heppenheim would have to hire again later: “Until the end it was a tight qualifying session. On the first attempt I had a huge shock moment in the first sector. I knew I was in the second test everything on must set a card, and it worked. ”

After the qualy for once again successfully ran Vettel now looks optimistic for the race: “To this day I’m happy. It was out there very difficult, especially since we installed the F-shaft, and many other things back to the car have. Some mechanics had only an hour of sleep. ”
In the first race with the F-bay system says Vettel, for the racers expect a benefit, even if this was enormous: “He’s probably not too big, but we feel the difference. We see how much so that McLaren rectified by. We get on each round and at every attempt. ”

“Yesterday we were not quite so happy, but overnight we have taken another step forward. We sat in front of the monitors to see how we can optimize and improve the system. Also, thanks to this circumstance we find ourselves for tomorrow’s race in a good position. “

Heikki Kovalainen arrived in Valencia on Friday with just hours to spare before morning practice.

We reported on Thursday that the Finn had been absent in the paddock on Thursday, with his team Lotus staging a pitlane photoshoot for the marque’s 500th race without him.

Like many figures in the world of formula one, he was held up on the way to the Spanish port city by air traffic controller strikes in France.

Kovalainen had sat at Geneva airport for many hours waiting for his flight delay to end, before deciding to commence the 1,200km trip by road.

Before outpacing his teammate Jarno Trulli in both 90 minute practice sessions, he confirmed he had arrived in Valencia shortly after 5am.

And before donning his green overalls, his first duty was a “few hours sleep”, but still looked tired when he pulled on his balaclava at 10am.

“I feel fine,” he insisted.  “It’s just one night with a little less sleep than usual, so it’s no big deal.  My physio Petri and I shared the driving, so I feel absolutely fine.”

(GMM)

Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes teammates have sided with the seven time world champion over his controversial last-corner pass on Fernando Alonso.

After deliberating for four hours in Monaco, the stewards on Sunday evening decided to drop the German out of the points, even though team boss Ross Brawn insists the safety car period had officially ended.

Nico Rosberg thought Schumacher’s pass had been a good one.

“From my perspective it was a really cool manoeuvre,” he told German television RTL, “but apparently it’s not allowed.”

Interestingly, Rosberg revealed that he was also told by the Mercedes pitwall that overtaking between the safety car line and the chequered flag was allowed.

And Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld told Sky television: “The move was very clean.

“The rules are different this year.  In the past you could only overtake from the start/finish line, now it is from the safety car line.  Alonso was a little bit asleep,” added the German.

(GMM)

The Monaco stewards, including driver representative Damon Hill, have imposed a penalty that drops Michael Schumacher out of the points placings.

The seven time world champion passed Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso at the last corner of Sunday’s race, after the safety car that had been deployed for the Jarno Trulli/Karun Chandhok crash pulled into the pits.

There is a new rule in 2010 that allows overtaking between the safety car line and the finish line.

Where the confusion arises is that if a race finishes under the safety car, there is no overtaking allowed even though the safety car itself pulls into the pits.

Ferrari and Mercedes disagreed fundamentally in the stewards’ room, and ultimately the officials declared that Schumacher had breached article 40.13 of the sporting regulations.

The rule states that if the race ends under the safety car, “the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking”.

In lieu of a drive-through penalty, 20 seconds has been added to Schumacher’s time, meaning he drops from sixth place to twelfth.

But Mercedes’ Ross Brawn believes that because the cars raced at full speed to the chequered flag rather than in slow formation behind Webber, all the teams acknowledged that the safety car period had ended.

“I think you saw the reaction of all the other drivers,” said the Briton.

“If what Stefano (Domenicali) has said was true, they would just cruise to the start/finish line because they knew they couldn’t be overtaken, but everyone went for it and I’m afraid Fernando was a little asleep and we took advantage.”

(GMM)

Apr.20 (GMM) Two days after the chequered flag in Shanghai, the world of formula one is still clamouring to leave the venue of the Chinese grand prix.

Although there are signs the volcanic ash cloud above Europe might soon clear for a few days to allow its hordes of absent residents to return home, multitudes of F1′s travelling personnel are currently embarking on elaborate journeys to reunite with team bases and families.

Mark Webber flew from China to Dubai, then to Rome, and woke up in Nice on Tuesday morning after five hours of sleep with a mission to return to the UK.

Others have tackled even more bizarre routes back to Europe, including Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari who headed to Madrid via Shanghai, Beijing and New York.

Some, like Indian rookie Karun Chandhok who flew to Madras, were essentially unaffected; Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg went on vacation to Thailand, while Lewis Hamilton had a sponsor date in South Africa.

Peter Sauber went on business to Dubai and Japan.

But Nico Hulkenberg, like hundreds of others involved in the sport, are simply holed up in Shanghai with an hopeful eye on the air timetables. Sebastian Vettel is hoping for a direct flight to Switzerland on Tuesday.

Michael Schumacher proved that in F1 it’s all about who you know, as he has hitched a ride on Bernie Ecclestone’s private plane, but at last word they were still awaiting a green light to fly to Europe.

There are reports that Norbert Haug and Timo Glock found seats on Lufthansa flights to Europe on Monday night, while Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali and Aldo Costa also somehow managed to head straight for Europe.

Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were aboard Ferrari’s first of several flights home, with subsequent flights also scheduled even though their destination is not entirely known.

A shared charter with fellow Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso and Sauber is plan-B.

Alonso’s friend Robert Kubica was also aboard Ferrari’s initial VIP flight, so as to be in Italy to drive a Renault Clio in this week’s Rally 1000 Miglia.

When asked by Spain’s AS correspondent if the Ferrari favour was the first sign that Alonso will have a new teammate in 2011, Kubica rolled his eyes and answered: “Sure, sure, sure.”

The Lotus team, owned by Malaysian aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes, was jetted to Kuala Lumpur to await an AirAsia charter back to Europe.

McLaren’s chartered jet, with buses waiting in Spain to then take team members on a long road trip back to the UK, is scheduled to leave Shanghai on Wednesday.

“We have said if it is a big enough plane, then anyone else can come on board,” said team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

Williams’ aviation partner Cloud9 is also looking into a private team charter, while bosses Sam Michael and Adam Parr flew from Shanghai to Dubai but then found themselves unexpectedly diverted to Beirut.

It is rumoured that some teams are looking into moving their cars back to Europe while the FOM planes are stuck in Europe, but the idea of putting the containers on boats has been ruled out.

“You need a plane,” said Mercedes’ Haug. “By boat, we will run out of time before Barcelona.”

After a late night of celebrating their coveted victory in “The Great American Race”, yesterday, Jamie McMurray and his team handed over their No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet to be inducted into the attraction’s Gatorade Victory Lane. The winning car will be on display until next February when it will be returned to the team prior to the 53rd annual Daytona 500.

Winning the most prestigious race on the NASCAR circuit finally started to sink in Monday morning for 2010 Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray, who celebrated with his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team during the Daytona 500 Champion’s Breakfast at Daytona 500 Experience.

“It’s kind of sinking in,” McMurray said. “Every time we do something it’s a little more real. Whether it’s getting the jackets or the ring or just everything that’s a part of this, it’s just really, really exciting.”

Winning crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion was enjoying the surreal experience.

“Everything’s been in fast forward,” Manion said. “Pictures, media center, inspecting the car, pushing the car to the trailer to come over here and then a couple hours of sleep for some of us. It’s just been so exciting.

“(On) rain delays you stay over but winning the race and you have to stay over and have breakfast — that’s pretty cool.”

Also enjoying the festivities was co-owner Chip Ganassi, who is one of only two owners to win both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500.

“Jamie showed me a text from (last year’s Daytona 500 champion) Matt Kenseth where he said, ‘You’ll never want this day to end.’ I agree completely. I don’t want this day to end.

“You have a complete flashback of your entire racing career — thinking about the possibility of something like this happening. You’re always shooting for that and you’re always trying for that. It’s just so reflective right now. Every sacrifice you made and every tough meeting I’ve had with a crew chief or a driver – the ups and downs of this business. It all seems worth it now.”

McMurray, who also unveiled the logo for 53rd annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20th, is now on a whirlwind media tour making appearances on Late Show with David Letterman and Live with Regis and Kelly in New York City as well as making stops in San Francisco and Los Angeles before Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Despite his hectic upcoming schedule, McMurray knows the memory he’s going to take away from all of this.

“The thing that I’m going to remember is getting out of the car and running up and grabbing the flag and then running back down and seeing the Daytona (painted) in the infield (grass) and seeing ‘Daytona 500’. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. That’s the memory I have burned in my head right now of the 500; that’s something I’ll never forget.”