A favourite for victory this weekend, Pastor Maldonado is reportedly lucky to be gearing up to race in the Principality at all.

Bild newspaper recalls that the Venezuelan, who defied his ‘pay driver’ critics by winning for Williams in Spain two weeks ago, was actually banned after an horror incident on the streets of Monte Carlo seven years ago.

Racing in the Renault World Series in 2005, the then 25-year-old ignored yellow flags before striking and severely injuring a marshal.

Organisers of the Monaco grand prix reacted by banning Maldonado from the street circuit for life.

Germany’s Bild revealed that Maldonado’s wealthy father intervened, promising to pay for the marshal’s recovery and rehabilitation from a broken back.

That intervention saved Maldonado’s future formula one career, as no team would hire a regular driver that cannot participate in the sport’s most famous race.

Maldonado is therefore a favourite for victory this weekend, with his Williams now acknowledged as arguably the best in the entire field when it comes to slow-speed traction.

And in his four seasons of GP2 between 2007 and 2010, Maldonado finished on the podium each time, winning and achieving pole position twice. In 2006, he won in Formula Renault.

Last year, in qualifying for his first Monaco grand prix, he qualified his then struggling Williams in eighth place, comfortably ahead of Rubens Barrichello.

“He is very good at Monaco,” agreed Barrichello.

In the 2011 race, Maldonado was fighting for fifth when he crashed with Lewis Hamilton.

“If the last sector in Barcelona is the marker, then the Williams will be unbeatable in Monte Carlo,” Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport quotes Dr Helmut Marko as saying.

The breakthrough success in Barcelona has piqued the interest of Maldonado’s native Venezuela, having not had an F1 points scorer since the ignominious Johnny Cecotto in 1983.

“My country will be following every second of the next race,” Maldonado is quoted by O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

“I love street circuits, this one in particular. My style of driving fits perfectly with Monaco. I am ready to get another great result.”

More than half of Michael Schumacher’s German compatriots think the seven time world champion will return to retirement at the end of this year.

After three years of retirement, the 43-year-old returned to F1 in 2010 on a three-year Mercedes contract, which runs out in 2012.

SID news agency commissioned the German market research company Promit to carry out a survey as to whether respondents think Schumacher will quit at the end of this year.

55.4 per cent answered yes, while only 26.2 per cent said they think Schumacher should sign on for at least another season.

The winner of a record 91 grands prix has failed to see the chequered flag in three of the five races so far this year, finishing just tenth in both Malaysia and Bahrain.

In contrast, teammate Nico Rosberg’s three top-seven finishes in 2012 included pole and victory in China, netting him 41 points compared with Schumacher’s 2 overall.

“I don’t think we can write him (Schumacher) off yet,” insisted Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary this week.

“His pace hasn’t been bad and he started the season very well. (He) was unlucky in quite a few races, his wheel fell off when he was running second in China and could have had a big haul of points.

“He is making mistakes in wheel-to-wheel racing though. But if he gets a few decent finishes or even wins a race then we could see him continue (in 2013),” added Cary.

The penalty might be harsh, but the loss of Lewis Hamilton’s pole in Spain is just the latest calamitous mistake by McLaren.

That was the tone of the paddock’s reaction to the news late on Saturday that a McLaren gaffe saw the FIA send Hamilton from first to last on the Spanish grand prix grid.

The Sun newspaper called it a draconian “24-place grid penalty” imposed by the FIA after an “astonishing cock-up” by McLaren.

Hamilton was told on the radio to pull over after his pole lap due to a “technical problem”.

Sporting director Sam Michael argued ‘force majeure’, but the stewards ruled that it had been entirely McLaren’s fault that not enough fuel was put into Hamilton’s car to ensure a scrutineering fuel sample.

Writing in the Telegraph, Tom Cary said the severity of the disqualification “raised eyebrows”, but agreed that “McLaren’s mistake was horrendous”.

He said it has been “a season of errors” by the famous British team, who are yet to get Hamilton’s signature on a new contract beyond 2012.

“Hamilton must be seething,” read an article in the Daily Mail newspaper, while The Times laid out McLaren’s “catalogue of errors”.

27-year-old Hamilton’s “raw talent is being thwarted by mishap and cock-up,” said journalist Kevin Eason.

“McLaren are lovely people but how the hell do they get themselves in this position?” wrote the Mirror’s Byron Young on Twitter.

Even the non-English language media agreed.

“It was another great mistake by McLaren that could eventually cost Hamilton the championship,” wrote Livio Oricchio in O Estado de S.Paulo.

Italy’s La Stampa called McLaren’s fuel gaffe a case of “harakiri”.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport added: “It was error number 13 for McLaren since last year”.

While highly critical of McLaren’s own-goal, however, the feeling in the paddock is that the stewards’ penalty – although accepted by McLaren – was overly harsh.

“Back of the grid? Way, way too harsh”, said the Mirror’s Young on Twitter.

“Draconian penalty in my view,” agreed PA Sport’s Ian Parkes. “Dropping Q3 time would have sufficed.”

Sky commentator Martin Brundle added: “(I) feel they should have deleted that (Q3) laptime only which would have put him sixth”.

And excluding Hamilton from Q3 altogether would have put him 11th. Now, he will be “lucky to score a point”, Auto Motor und Sport predicted.

In the Independent, however, David Tremayne noted: “Welcome to the draconian world of F1.”

David Croft, the lead Sky commentator, said the FIA stewards had acted correctly.

“A good rule should be one that covers all eventualities with a penalty that acts as a deterrent which in this case is what happened.

“Too little fuel can’t be tolerated,” he added. “It seems harsh but had Lewis taken pole by one thousandth of a second, would it be harsh then?”

The Spanish fans – not Hamilton’s biggest supporters dating back to his spats with Fernando Alonso in 2007 – were happy.

Asked on the El Mundo website whether the penalty was fair, 76 per cent answered yes.

Mark Webber’s future in formula one seems secure, after reports this week linked him to two top teams for the 2013 season.

First, Spanish specialist reports said Ferrari is interested in the experienced Australian to replace struggling Felipe Massa next season.

And now, the Australian Sydney Morning Herald newspaper claims Red Bull, 35-year-old Webber’s current team, is “all but ready” to extend his contract through 2013.

That would give junior team Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, tipped to eventually replace Webber, “a further season to adjust to the category and prove themselves worthy of the top drive”, the report added.

Whatever top team he is in, Webber confirmed he is not ready to retire.

“I’m really enjoying my driving and clearly I’m off to a really good start this year,” he said.

“I feel completely reinvigorated and am just really enjoying it, which has been reflected in my driving and my results.

“So I’ll keep pressing on. Retirement isn’t even on my radar at the moment. The results are there and when they are there I keep driving,” added Webber.

The fact F1 has chosen the Singapore exchange for the sport’s high profile floatation does not mean the city-state’s popular floodlit street race is guaranteed.

The night event’s existing five year contract runs out this year, although a two-year notice clause in the deal means Singapore should stay on the calendar at least until 2014.

On the face of it, a new deal seemed a certainty, given it was Bernie Ecclestone himself who chose Singapore as the location for F1′s forthcoming floatation.

“Formula one is known in Singapore, and Asia is thriving. It is a simpler market and not as restrictive,” he said recently.

Talks about a new race deal “are underway”, the local Business Times reported in March, “but it is understood that one sticking point is the sanction fee.”

An unnamed banker commented: “The Singapore government wants formula one to be listed here and for that to happen, it knows the race has to remain here.

“But at the same time, it doesn’t want to pay top dollar again. So the bargaining should continue for some time.”

However, the English language newspaper now reports that F1′s floatation plans, and the expiring Singapore race contract, could be entirely unrelated.

“We are in the process of negotiating a possible renewal of the (race) agreement and the outcome will be announced once discussions are complete,” said a spokesman for race promoter Singapore GP.

Second minister for trade and industry S Iswaran insisted that the mooted floatation will not influence the outcome of the race contract negotiations.

And the Singapore tourism board’s Aw Kah Peng added: “You’ve got to see whether the deal is right in every way.

“We’re hoping everybody sees value in it and we get a so-called good deal for Singapore, in terms of whether all the numbers can work out and everybody takes home something — a kind of a win-win proposition.”

A spat between two Britons could drive the German giant Mercedes out of formula one, according to a new media report.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone recently confirmed he is at loggerheads with Mercedes over the next Concorde Agreement.

But at the same time, he insisted that the Stuttgart marque is “very important to formula one. I have always supported them and I will always,” he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Indeed, Mercedes has its own and newly-winning works team, powers the marquee McLaren outfit, and also supplies engines to Force India.

Ecclestone’s dispute is with fellow Englishman Ross Brawn, who is the Brackley based Mercedes GP team’s principal.

“I have spoken to the team manager (Brawn) about it (the dispute) and he seems to believe that the team has won a few world titles and about 80 races since the Tyrrell days,” said the 81-year-old.

Sport Bild reports that Ecclestone is refusing to give in to Brawn’s demands for extra Concorde Agreement entitlements for past title successes and history.

The magazine said the relationship has become so intense that Ecclestone has even refused to give a joint interview with Brawn.

“He (Brawn) was never very nice to me,” the F1 ‘supremo’ is quoted as saying.

The German report said there is a risk Mercedes will, as a result of the ‘ice age’ between the British duo, pull the plug on its entire F1 involvement.

Red Bull has poured cold water on expectations the reigning back to back world champions could be set to resume their reign over formula one.

After a victory drought spanning the opening three races of the 2012 season, Red Bull broke through with Sebastian Vettel’s familiar win-from-pole triumph in Bahrain last weekend.

It means he has leapt to the top of the drivers’ standings, while the Milton Keynes based team is now 9 points clear of its nearest rival, McLaren.

“King Sebastian is back!” exclaimed the authoritative Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport after Bahrain.

“Vettel and Red Bull dominated like old times.

“They have worked hard in recent weeks to have a great car again, so it will be difficult once again to take the throne from Sebastian.”

The energy drink-owned camp, however, is not so bullish.

“To predict our performance in Bahrain just a week after what happened in China would have been tricky,” said team boss Christian Horner, referring to Vettel’s fifth place in Shanghai.

“I am sure that with 16 races to go, we are going to see a lot more variation.”

24-year-old Vettel agrees that, despite the familiar pole-and-victory in Bahrain, 2012 is not the same as 2011, when the RB7 car utterly dominated F1.

“We’re not as confident as we used to be,” he is quoted by the Sun newspaper, “so small things can make a difference in qualifying and have a big impact on the race.

“We’ve only had four races but I’m not entirely happy with where we are.”

Vettel will be back in action next week, when F1 moves to the Mugello circuit in central Italy for a rare in-season test.

“In Italy we’ll be able to test and evaluate a lot of things and get the car in a happier place for Barcelona,” he said.

All this year’s title contenders know after four ‘flyaway’ races in 2012 is that they do not know what will happen in Spain next month.

“The only certainty is uncertainty,” read the German headline at Netzeitung.

With F1 generally regarded in the wider world as a sport with predictable results, this is an entirely new situation.

“The statistics show that it’s been nine years since there have been four different winners in the first four races,” said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Indeed, the famous Italian team as well as McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull have won the opening races of 2012, and also with potentially winning pace have been Lotus and Sauber.

“More than that,” continued Domenicali, “you have to go back 29 years to find the last time four different cars won.”

One explanation is that F1 has never been more competitive, with plenty of well-oiled teams and no fewer than six world champion drivers on the grid.

But Domenicali thinks Pirelli is the dominant factor.

And not everybody is happy about that. Michael Schumacher told Bild newspaper that this year’s tyres degrade so fast that rubber “flies from the rim” if he pushes too hard in a corner.

“We drive around like the safety car. It is not a satisfying situation,” the seven time world champion said.

Pirelli’s motor sport director Paul Hembery is unimpressed with the rebuke, insisting that the Italian marque is only trying to “make tyres that make the races exciting”.

“We cannot take individual drivers into consideration,” the Briton insisted.

“It would be dead easy for us to make tyres that don’t break down. Then the top ten would also be the top ten in the race.

“But no one wants to see boring processions,” Hembery claimed.

Agreed the Swiss headline at Blick: “Pirelli is sweeping away the boredom”.

Indeed, not even the other Mercedes driver, Shanghai winner Nico Rosberg, agrees with Schumacher.

“It’s total chaos. You don’t know who is going to be fast at the next track,” he is quoted by DPA agency. “Formula one has become almost unlike any other sport.

“Yes, you cannot drive any laps any more at full throttle. Often, it’s like driving on ice. But that’s a big and an interesting challenge,” said the German.

Undoubtedly exciting for the fans, but the teams are having to adapt quickly. Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport said on Sunday that Vettel’s victory could mean Red Bull resumes its dominant grip on F1.

Dr Helmut Marko doesn’t think so. “We don’t even know who our opponents are!” he exclaimed.

Tyres. The political dramas aside, that word utterly dominated the Bahrain grand prix weekend.

Afterwards, Michael Schumacher admitted he was “unhappy” with the situation.

“Sometimes we are driving only 60, 70 per cent through the corners,” he is quoted by Bild newspaper.

Pirelli did not take the criticism lightly, insisting it has made Canada 2010-style, heavily degrading tyres to order, for the benefit of the ‘show’.

Motor sport director Paul Hembery on Monday ‘re-Tweeted’ a message from a follower accusing the seven time world champion of having thrown “his toys out of the pram”.

Moreover, Pirelli said Bahrain is perhaps “the most demanding” on the entire calendar when it comes to degradation.

“As a result, knowing how to manage the tyres and contain thermal degradation was a vital skill” on Sunday, the Italian marque said in a statement.

On Twitter, The Times’ correspondent Kevin Eason called Bahrain an “excellent race, although I am not sure we haven’t moved from tyre management to lottery”.

The roulette wheel didn’t spin up for McLaren – the team with arguably the best overall car so far in 2012 – on Sunday.

“Nobody has added a second to their cars in just a week after China,” lamented Jenson Button, “but here we were a second off the pace.”

His boss Martin Whitmarsh told Auto Motor und Sport: “Maybe it was the pressures, maybe the temperatures. We really don’t know.”

The German reporter said Whitmarsh’s comment indicates an “uncomfortable realisation” for such a scientifically meticulous team.

Whitmarsh agreed: “It is now more important to understand the tyres than to find a bit more downforce.”

The tyre marque’s test driver Jaime Alguersuari told Mundo Deportivo newspaper that Pirelli deserves credit, not criticism.

“Pirelli is largely responsible for making F1 the most spectacular it has been in a decade,” said the young Spaniard.

Force India deputy boss Bob Fernley has dismissed reports the Silverstone based team could pull out of the controversial Bahrain grand prix.

Two members of the team were allowed to return to Europe this week following a Molotov cocktail attack en route from the Sakhir circuit to the hotel.

There were high-level meetings involving Force India on Thursday, sparking speculation the entire team could follow its frightened members back to the UK.

But Fernley, admitting that security has been ramped up after the incident, is quoted by Express newspaper: “We are definitely taking part, that is decided.”

Bahrain’s information affairs authority also released a statement featuring quotes by Bernie Ecclestone.

“I have no knowledge of any teams planning to withdraw from the race and we are all looking forward to racing in Bahrain,” the F1 chief executive said.

According to Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary, however, another incident like the one involving Force India this week could force F1 to change its decision to go ahead with the race.

“If that happened again and someone was injured then that’s the nightmare scenario for organisers as it might push the teams over the edge,” he said.

Many drivers, like Kimi Raikkonen, have said the situation is normal this weekend in Bahrain, but Cary does not agree.

“Normally there would be PR events in town, you know, ‘meet the fans’ and that sort of thing but certainly as far as I’m aware there aren’t any of those happening,” he said.

World champion Sebastian Vettel said he will be happy when track action begins on Friday.

“I think it’s not a big problem,” the German said when asked about the security situation this weekend, “and I’m happy once we start testing tomorrow because then we worry about the stuff that really matters — tyre temperatures, cars.”

Earlier, Vitaly Petrov’s manager indicated the Russian would only travel to Bahrain if F1 could guarantee his safety.

“If it was dangerous they wouldn’t let us in,” the Caterham driver told The National in Bahrain.

“If they make sure nothing gets thrown onto that track to hurt us, then we’ll be fine. We are here; if it happens, it happens,” added Petrov.

In fact, almost everyone in Bahrain has been reluctant to comment in detail, but there is an obvious feeling of unease.

Peter Sauber told Blick newspaper: “I feel like a guest, and so it is not polite to criticise your host.”

But 1996 world champion Damon Hill allowed himself some criticism of F1, including the sport’s most powerful figures, Bernie Ecclestone and Jean Todt.

He pointed out that FIA president Todt has said “next to nothing” about the Bahrain saga.

“This I find baffling,” Hill wrote in the Guardian. “Surely it is possible to condemn acts of inhumanity without taking a side?”

As for F1 chief executive Ecclestone, who has consistently trivialised the Bahrain issue, Hill noted that “few” in the paddock “dare to publicly disagree” with the imperious 81-year-old.

“Perhaps we should (criticise him), instead of just muttering under our breath, scared of losing our passes,” said Hill.

Hermann Tilke, the German architect who designed the Sakhir circuit, sees the entire saga as a storm in a teacup.

“It is safe in Bahrain,” Tilke, whose company has an office there, told the Kolner Express newspaper. “I’ve never heard about any problems from our people.

“Of course there is some unrest, but it is protests, not civil war. As Bernie Ecclestone has said, we do sports, not politics,” he insisted.

“And if they demonstrate peacefully now, the media will report on it, so both sides benefit.”

A support-race team and a respected journalist have become the next to pull out of this weekend’s highly controversial Bahrain grand prix.

The Porsche Supercup team MRS said its decision to skip the support race in the divided island Kingdom is the “first time in our history that we have had to cancel”.

“In the end we have the responsibility for our employees,” said team boss Karsten Molitor, citing security concerns.

Another withdrawal – joining the sacked Williams catering staff member, and the TV broadcasters Sky Deutschland, Fuji TV and MTV3 Finland – is the respected correspondent for O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, Livio Oricchio.

“I have decided in agreement with Estado to not go,” he said. “We had the tickets for the entire season, except for Bahrain and the United States, because there was a doubt they would be run.

“Like many journalists, I will not be at Sakhir,” Oricchio admitted.

“I always believed that the race would not take place, and I’m still not 100 per cent sure that something will not happen that will lead the FIA or FOM to cancel.”

Indeed, following the sport’s decision to push ahead, the pressure on formula one to cancel at the eleventh hour has only intensified.

Nabeel Rajab, the leader of the government opposition group Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, admitted that the next protests – ‘three days of rage’, to coincide with the race’s three-day calendar – are aimed specifically at F1.

“We’re protesting to show anger at formula one for conducting the race here,” he is quoted by the BBC.

And the wife of a well-known jailed Bahraini activist who is on a long hunger strike, added: “I am not angry with the government… what makes me angry is people like Ecclestone who decide to come to Bahrain because he thinks everyone is happy.”

Italy’s La Stampa reports that F1 personnel have been advised to stay away from restaurants and shops, while “girlfriends and wives stay at home”.

That’s not entirely true, as Felipe Massa touched down at the airport on Thursday with his wife and baby son.

And Giedo van der Garde, the reserve driver for Caterham, said he has found Bahrain peaceful since his arrival on Wednesday.

“I’ve not been here long,” he is quoted by Auto Hebdo, “but everything seems quiet. Obviously, there’s a heavy police presence,” the Dutchman continued.

“But I haven’t seen any trouble or anything. Let’s hope it stays like that.”

Marco Canseco, the correspondent for the Spanish sports daily Marca, said he witnessed a “minor altercation” in the capital Manama on Wednesday.

“Then all the teams and everybody were able to get to the track for work without a hitch, the same on return,” he revealed.

Many are protesting the race going ahead on moral grounds, others due to security fears, whilst others fear for F1′s image.

“The ongoing debate about Bahrain is the only damage to the high gloss of the exciting 2012 season so far,” agreed Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

Michael Schumacher could be the next silver-clad driver who takes a Mercedes to the top step of the podium.

His teammate Nico Rosberg dominated the Shanghai weekend and, at his 111th attempt, finally broke through with a maiden pole and win.

The much-younger German also dominated Schumacher, the 43-year-old, at Mercedes in the last two years — ever since the seven time world champion returned to formula one in 2010.

But former Benetton and Ferrari title winner Schumacher appears much more on Rosberg’s pace this season, and in fact even solidly outqualified his 26-year-old teammate in Australia and Malaysia.

“It’s simple,” Schumacher told Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo.

“The way I can drive this car is much more how I have driven a car throughout my whole life.

“If you look at my driving today and compare with ten years ago, not much has changed,” said the famous German. “But if you look at 2010 and 2011, my arms never stopped working.

“It wasn’t my way to drive,” insisted Schumacher.

Having followed Rosberg early in the Chinese grand prix – before his retirement – Schumacher admitted that he could not quite match the leading pace.

But, despite not standing on a podium even once since his F1 comeback, he has now smelled that a victory is close.

“It will be the same feeling as when I went to the podium for the first time with Benetton, and Ferrari,” Schumacher predicted.

“When I started with those teams, we were far away from being able to think about it. But after a lot of work, I would say years – just as now with Mercedes – we had reached the stage of being able to fight.

“Most people have no idea how many things need to be changed, how much effort and investment is required. At 43 I’m going through all of this again, but it’s because I really love what I do.”

Schumacher’s Mercedes contract expires at the end of this year.

“You might not believe it,” he responded, “but I’m so focused on developing this car that I don’t think about it.

“Later on in the season, of course, it’s inevitable.

“Of course it gives me great pleasure that we are starting to see the results of this great work. I am still perfectly capable of winning in formula one,” Schumacher insisted.

Narain Karthikeyan has revealed he is sick and tired of what could be described as ‘cucumber-gate’.

After the Indian collided with Sebastian Vettel in Malaysia three weeks ago, he was twice shown the middle finger, and called a “gherkin” and “idiot” by the reigning world champion.

But that’s when the real fuss began, as the world’s media became involved — a mischievous German reporter even presented Karthikeyan with a cucumber in China.

“It’s done and I would have preferred for it to stay private,” he is quoted by the SID news agency.

But the affair is threatening to drag on even longer, with Vettel telling reporters in Shanghai that Karthikeyan had apologised to him.

He did not say if he has apologised himself.

“Sebastian can say what he likes,” HRT driver Karthikeyan responded.

He said the incident had become an affair of “unbelievable proportions”.

“It’s crazy; I was questioned about it day and night,” he said.

“It’s become too much — I don’t want to talk about it anymore and I’d prefer if I never even thought about it again.”

Michael Schumacher has dismissed the attempt to have Mercedes’ innovative ‘double-DRS’ system banned.

Having twice previously rejected rivals’ claims the concept is illegal, the FIA late on Thursday threw out Lotus’ official protest.

Seven time world champion Schumacher, who drives for Mercedes, admitted in China he doubts Lotus really thinks the system breaches any rules.

“If someone has a good idea, we always have this sort of dispute,” the famous German told Bild newspaper.

“It (the dispute is) because it’s going to take too long for the other teams to do the same thing. It’s the normal game,” said Schumacher.

It is believed McLaren and Sauber are working on their own versions of the double-DRS, as are the reigning world champions Red Bull.

“We have been working on it for some time,” a Red Bull source told O Estado de S.Paulo’s Livio Oricchio, “but it’s not easy to get even two small tubes down the entire length of the car, front to rear,” he admitted.

Oricchio said Ferrari is also working on a version, to debut no later than next month’s Spanish grand prix.

Monisha Kaltenborn will become F1′s first ever female team boss.

That is the revelation of Peter Sauber, who at the age of 68 has hinted he might call it a day before his 70th birthday.

Indian Kaltenborn, 41, is already Hinwil based Sauber’s chief executive, while Peter Sauber remains the team principal.

“I have always said that I will not be sitting on the pitwall as a 70 year old,” Sauber told Der Sonntag newspaper.

“With certainty, my successor is Monisha Kaltenborn. That is for sure. When it (the handover) happens is still open.

“She will be the first female team boss in formula one history,” Sauber continued. “She’s been with us for 13 years, always with leading roles. I’m sure she will do the job very well.”

Sauber, in fact, has already departed the pitwall once before, when he sold his team to BMW and handed over to Mario Theissen.

Somewhat reluctantly, he returned in 2010, having rescued the Hinwil based employees in the wake of German carmaker’s sudden withdrawal.

“I could not jump into the breach a second time,” smiled Sauber, hinting that his retirement this time around would be final.