'Alonso win would be frustrating after Hockenheim'

Red Bull’s Christian Horner has said that a championship win for Fernando Alonso would be ‘frustrating’ for his Milton Keynes team this season, following the Spaniard’s aid to victory at Hockenheim in July.

With Ferrari having decided in Germany that Felipe Massa should give up the race lead for Alonso, the Oviedo man picked up an extra seven World Championship points – an amount Horner would find difficult to comprehend, should the title winner of 2005 and 2006 earn the crown by less than that amount this season.

“It would be frustrating because we've obviously worked under the auspices that team orders have been illegal,” the Englishman told BBC Sport.

“The FIA made the ruling that they did and that's it, it's clear for all. We've just got to get on with it and try and do our talking on the circuit.”

However, Horner is confident that Red Bull – with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel now 11 and 25 points in arrears of Alonso, respectively – can bounce back.

“Both drivers still have a good chance, particularly Mark, to lift the big trophy at the end of the year,” he added.

Source: GP Update

Red Bull drivers suffered engine problems in Germany

Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber both suffered engine problems last weekend at Hockenheim, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Webber, who finished an unaccustomed sixth, revealed he had to reduce his speed in the second half of the race because the supply of oil from an auxiliary tank was not working.

"I was happy to just get to the finish," said Webber. "It was our strategy to only show our final package on the very last day of testing. So we were down on kilometres to guard against all those sorts of issues."

Vettel, who finished third after starting on pole, encountered problems between the Friday practice sessions when his high-mileage Renault V8 was replaced after an oil sample was tested.

Vettel had been hoping to convert his pole position into another race win but a poor start saw him squeezed out by the two Ferraris into the first corner. The team's race starts is an area team boss Christian Horner is looking to address.

"They were definitely not the best starts," admitted Horner. "It has happened to us several times this season."

Source: ESPNF1

[Video] Sebastian visits his fans at Hockenheim

Source: YouTube @ fran83b

Ecclestone insists teams should 'get on with it'

F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has joined the group of people suggesting than the regulation banning team orders in the sport should be removed.

Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle have both suggested that the change should be made after the incident involving Ferrari at the German Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso was allowed to pass Felipe Massa for the lead.

The way in which the team went about swapping its drivers round in the race has led to much criticism in both the press and the paddock but Ecclestone said he felt it was up to individual teams to make the decision on how the approach racing.

“I must confess I would agree with anyone who thinks that,” he told the Daily Mail when asked if the law on team orders should be reviewed. “We make people call it a team. We say it's got to be a team. Both cars have to be exactly the same. The drivers wear the same overalls. Everybody has to look like a team - a team of people who are racing.

“I believe what people do when they are inside the team and how they run their team is up to them. Of course, if a team does something that's dangerous then they're going to be in trouble. Otherwise, get on with it.”

Source: Crash

McLaren duo slam Ferrari's team orders

Jenson Button has joined the growing chorus of criticism regarding team orders that may yet result in severe sanctions being taken against Ferrari. The famous Maranello marque were punished for fixing the German Grand Prix on Sunday by stewards who fined them $100,000 (£65,000).

The matter, however, has been referred to the World Motor Sport Council who, if they choose to pursue the case, have unlimited powers of punishment at their disposal.

The incident that saw coded messages being passed to Felipe Massa that eventually resulted in him slowing to allow team-mate Fernando Alonso to pass and claim victory left a bitter taste in the mouth and infuriated millions of Formula One fans worldwide.

"Personally I think team orders in Formula One are wrong, in any motor sport category, although sometimes they are inevitable," said Button. "We all want to win, and I know that every team wants to win, both the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships. "But they have to give both their drivers the same opportunity to do so. "This was very early in the season. How early is it going to start in the future?" For any driver given the message 'your team-mate is faster', as was the case on Sunday to Massa from his race engineer Rob Smedley, the natural reaction is speed up, not slow down. "If I was told my team-mate is faster, I would think my team-mate is faster, so I would keep driving and hope he doesn't overtake me," added Button.

Echoing his team-mate's sentiments, Championship leader Lewis Hamilton said: "My reaction would be to go faster, that I need to find the time. "For me if my engineer came across the radio, and just because I know how things are in our team, the message would be 'Jenson's faster, you've got to find time in the first and second sector'. "As simple as that, which means pick up the pace if you can. It's encouraging rather than telling you. It's a lot different."

The fact is, no matter Ferrari's protestations to the contrary, it is clear for the remainder of this season Alonso is their favoured driver and Massa will have to play second fiddle. That could count against McLaren who have consistently adopted a policy of treating both drivers equally, even if it proves to be detrimental to their Championship chances.

"All I can say is for us we're still in the best position overall," added Hamilton, who leads Button by 14 points and with McLaren 28 clear of Red Bull in the Constructors' standings. "Although we're not the fastest, both myself and Jenson are going in the same direction, we're both fighting, so there's two horse power rather than one."

In 2007, however, it has long been claimed McLaren's insistence on equality cost Hamilton or Alonso the title as both finished a point behind eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen, then with Ferrari. Hamilton disagrees, citing other factors that came into play that season, and instead is proud to drive for a team that in his eyes plays fair.

"There were races when I messed up and lost points. There were a lot of mistakes on either side," added Hamilton. "If you're both going full pelt then one of you is going to do a better job and finish ahead. "But I don't feel if one had been favoured more than the other one of us would have won the Championship. "And it was definitely not the case of me being favoured over him. That was by far not the case. "Instead it was a good experience for the team, and we've really come on in leaps and bounds since then. "I think our team management, and the way it conducts itself, is probably the most professional I've ever seen in Formula One. "I'm delighted and very proud to be a part of that."

Source: Planet F1

Lauda has a go at Alonso and Ferrari

Former F1 World Champ Niki Lauda has blasted Ferrari for the Scuderia's blatant use of team orders in Sunday's German GP.

In a coded message, but understood by all, Ferrari informed Felipe Massa that Fernando Alonso was the quicker than him, adding "can you confirm you understand that message?" Shortly after, messaged demonstrated that he did understand and moved over, allowing Alonso to take the lead and the ultimately the victory. Ferrari were later fined by the race stewards, however, in the post-race press conference, Alonso denied any knowledge of team orders being used. "I've never heard a driver talk such bull****," Lauda told the Daily Mail. "He has no character. "This was the most stupid thing I have ever seen from Ferrari. "Why did they do it? They did not need to because the Championship is alive for another eight races. "Why could Massa not have a chance to win, a year since he had the accident that could have cost his life?'

Source: Planet F1

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Sebastian Vettel Q&A: It's good to be out of the spotlight

Hockenheim is practically in Sebastian Vettel’s back yard - he grew up barely 40 km away - so few were surprised to see him take pole for his home race. More surprising was the way he then got dumped down to P3 at Turn One by the Ferraris. Vettel, however, is looking on the bright side - he outscored his main title rivals and is happy that for once it's a team other than Red Bull courting controversy…
Q: Sebastian, what was it like to race in front of such a massive home audience? Your hometown Heppenheim is just around the corner…
Sebastian Vettel: It was fantastic. It’s the first time that I’ve raced here with Red Bull Racing because last year the race was on the Nurburgring. But by now the people have understood that Red Bull is not only a drink but also a successful Formula One team, so it is great to be here. It was a fantastic atmosphere, but I obviously had to share that with the other German drivers. We all wanted to put on a good show and deliver the best possible results.

Q: Would you call this track a ‘Vettel track’ after all?
SV: I always liked it here and of course I know this track pretty well. It is no secret that I grew up not far from here and this was probably the first real track that I ever raced on.

Q: It seemed that the race was decided in the first corner. Did you concentrate too much on Alonso?
SV: No, not at all. I would say it was not the best of starts. When I let the coupler in the engine speed went south and I lost a lot of speed. I then concentrated on Fernando, trying to close the door, but he was already at my side so this was fruitless. And then came the big surprise that Felipe (Massa) came from the other side and passed the both of us. After that we probably were a little too slow with our race pace - probably a crucial two-tenths a lap - and that was the end of it. Overall I would say that it was a good race from our side and unfortunately nothing more then P3 was possible. In hindsight I would say that it would have been almost impossible to control the race even with a perfect start. At the end it was satisfying to be on the podium at my home Grand Prix and it was some sort of consolation to see all my fans from up there.

Q: There was a very surprising result in the end with Alonso overtaking Massa. How did you see this situation?
SV: I didn’t see it at all because I was always something like five or six seconds behind the Ferraris. I just realized that the position change must have happened in the hairpin, but of course I have heard what and how it happened.

Q: But if the race engineer apologises - and Felipe’s face spoke volumes - and we all know that such manoeuvres are forbidden, how would you expect the FIA to react?
SV: I cannot - and don’t want to - make any comment. We have concentrated on ourselves and in the end P3 was a quite satisfying result. And those who were in front of us today are still behind us in the championship. It would have been great to leave Hockenheim with a couple more points but today it simply didn’t work as well as it did on Friday and Saturday, so P3 is okay and obviously was our maximum today. We are heading for the next race next week in Budapest with a good feeling and a high spirit.

Q: Jenson Button complained that you pushed him aside at the start. Is there a new ‘friendship’ in the making?
SV: Jenson Button? Where was he? I didn’t see him at all. But if you take the size of our mirrors then you can understand that things can happen. But he was not in my immediate vicinity, so I have no idea what he means. Should it be a fact then it was sure not intentional.

Q: Are the Ferraris so much faster?
SV: Overall I don’t see this. But of course Ferrari has shown good pace all weekend long - probably they’ve made a step forward this weekend - and maybe this track suits them very well. I still think that we have the best car by far until now but we have to execute it in racing. If the best thing that you can achieve is P3, then you better end up in P3 because in the end every point counts.

Q: But obviously there is a potential danger coming from behind - given the fact that there obviously are team orders in place…
SV: What matters is that the guys who are in front of us in the standings finished behind us today. What is important is not the wins that you can achieve but the results that make up the points for the standings in the end.

Q: From a driver’s point of view how do you see it if a team openly favours one driver over the other?
SV: Normally as a team you would always try to get both cars as far up as possible. Fact is that there are two titles that make up the F1 championship: the one for the driver and the one for the constructor - and the constructors’ is at least as important as the drivers’ title. So, as I just said, it must be in the interest of the team to look after both their drivers in the same way.

Q: As one of the contenders for the title, how do you feel that today Fernando was given the opportunity to collect an awful lot more points?
SV: At the end of the championship we will see how much these points were worth. The most important thing for me was to finish ahead of the McLarens, even though I think that as a team they took more points than us. In the end I don’t really care about other teams - this will be taken care of by others. We have to focus on us as we already had our share of troubles for various reasons this year. It’s good not to be in the spotlight this time.

Q: But what is your reaction to those saying that you have an advantage over Mark Webber?
SV: You have to look at the results. So any talk about advantage here and there is complete bull. We are even in the standings right here right now.

Q: With the number of unhappy situations you’ve experienced so far this season, are you not worried that these will add up and ultimately cost you the championship?
SV: Well, in the end that’s racing - sometimes it’s up, sometimes it’s down. In general there are always two different perceptions: how the public sees the situation and how you see it. In the end what matters right now is to grab as many points as possible - today and next weekend in Budapest.

Source: Formula1.com

[Photos] Sunday in Hockenheim

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