GPDA chief Heidfeld admits Monaco Q1 split unlikely

Nick Heidfeld on Friday admitted it is unlikely the 'Q1' qualifying session will be split for next weekend's Monaco grand prix.

Some drivers have called for the split so as to prevent the traffic chaos of 24 cars - some with vastly different pace - all circulating the short and twisty street layout within a short 20-minute window.

But the FIA's Charlie Whiting reportedly told the drivers during their regular pre-race briefing in Barcelona that such a rule change would need to be unanimously proposed by the teams.

"We therefore hope that the teams will get together and make a proposal," Mercedes reserve Heidfeld, also the new president of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, told Motorsport-Magazin.com.

"I hope so, but honestly, I think that within a week it is a little difficult," acknowledged the German.

Source: F1 Complete

Hamilton defiant after criticism in drivers' briefing

Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren boss sounded defiant after the 25-year-old was chided by his fellow drivers on Friday.

In the wake of his weaving in front of Vitaly Petrov's Renault in Malaysia two weeks ago, some of Hamilton's rivals rallied to make clear their view that he should have received an actual penalty rather than a mere warning.

The drivers confronted Briton during a meeting late on Friday, and are believed to have pushed FIA race director Charlie Whiting to impose drive-through penalties for similar driving infractions in the future.

But Hamilton told British newspapers that he did nothing wrong.

"My feeling is that if you are defending into a corner and you weave more than once, that is illegal, but I am not aware that trying to break the tow was illegal," he said.

He also hinted that he felt his opponents had fixated on the Petrov incident.

"Maybe they should raise Mark Webber's incident in Melbourne. I didn't raise that," said Hamilton, referring to when the Australian driver drove into the back of his McLaren.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh defended Hamilton, insisting that the 2008 world champion is "entirely safe" despite racing "passionately", but new GPDA chairman Nick Heidfeld insists that weaving on straights should not be condoned.

"I don't know if it was dangerous in this case, but it can be in some circumstances," said the German.

Source: F1 Complete

Schumacher to be 'silent' GPDA member - spokeswoman

Michael Schumacher will be a "silent member" of the F1 drivers' union GPDA, his spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

From his Swiss office on Tuesday, the 41-year-old's day-to-day manager Sabine Kehm confirmed that the seven time world champion had reconsidered his earlier decision not to rejoin the Grand Prix Drivers' Association in 2010.

Kehm said in March that, with the German having played a leading role in his initial career until 2006, Schumacher now wanted F1's new generation to carry the baton.

It was rumoured that the Mercedes driver did not get along with the GPDA's chairman Pedro de la Rosa, who quit the association in protest after Schumacher's Monaco 'Rascasse' parking incident four years ago.

In Melbourne, Spaniard de la Rosa stepped down and was replaced as chairman by Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld.

But on Wednesday, Kehm denied that Schumacher's decision to rejoin the GPDA has anything to do with the Sauber driver.

She said: "Michael always supported the work of the GPDA, for many years as a director. After he retired the work had been successfully taken over by the younger drivers, and at first Michael was hesitant to join as he did not want to be involved again.

"But after some thoughts and discussions, mainly with Felipe Massa, he reconsidered this initial decision and will now be a silent member," added Kehm.

Schumacher's friend and former Ferrari teammate Massa, as well as friend and countryman Sebastian Vettel, are the new directors of the GPDA, replacing Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.

Source: Motorsport

GPDA concerns 'ignored' over Melbourne start time

Jarno Trulli and Mark Webber reveal that the Grand Prix Drivers' Association raised doubts over the safety of Australia's evening race slot.

After reigning world champion Jenson Button expressed his concerns over the late afternoon start time allocated to the Australian Grand Prix in order to satisfy television viewers in Europe, GPDA representatives admitted that they had little influence in pursuit of a change.

Speaking at the first official press conference of the Melbourne weekend, both Jarno Trulli and Mark Webber revealed that they had raised objections to the switch, but had had to toe the line set by the FIA.

"We raised our concerns last year but apparently nothing has changed," Trulli sighed, "There is very little you can do on the safety side on the track, apart from starting the race an hour earlier - which probably won't hurt anyone.

"We have given our opinion and that's it, [but] the FIA or whoever has decided to keep the twilight race at that time, so we just have to deal with it. This year, if we want to make a change for next year, we will say that we are very happy at the end of the race. That's the only way."

Webber appeared equally frustrated, and shared his rival's sarcastic approach to trying to get the start time switched to something more favourable. The Albert Park race was moved to a twilight slot last season in a bid to attract a bigger television audience in F1's European heartland, but meant that drivers had to contend with low sun in the closing stages. While appreciating the motives behind the decision, Webber echoed the claim that it was not taking the drivers' views - or general safety - into account.

"Jarno has hit it on the head," the Australian noted, "If you picked the best time to have a high speed sporting motor race event, obviously it's not when the sun is at eye level with us, but that's how it is for lots of different commercial reasons.

"As Jarno says, next time we say it's fantastic and we should say we should have the race at five o'clock at every race in the season and I think they will move it somewhere else."

Button's McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton, however, has attempted to play down the problem, claiming that racing into the sunset offered a unique challenge that made Melbourne different to other venues.

"It wasn't easy last year, but I think it adds something a little bit special," the 2008 world champion insisted, "As long as we have the correct visors, it's not going to be too much of a problem, and it is perhaps a bit better as it's a bit cooler."

Source: Crash.net