Rome cools GP bid and eyes 2020 Olympics instead

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno has announced the city is taking "a step back" with its plans for a formula one race on the streets of the EUR district.

Although formerly supportive of the plans, Bernie Ecclestone last week wrote to Alemanno warning that with Monza already on the calendar, F1 had no room for two Italian rounds per season.

That was interpreted as the start of negotiations to annually alternate Rome and Monza, but Alemanno has announced that Rome should now turn most of its focus towards bidding for the 2020 Olympics.

"The road has not been completely closed, but the interests of our city must be compatible with the national ones," La Repubblica newspaper quotes him as saying.

Regarding F1, Rome will "take a step back", Alemanno added, revealing that there "will be a press conference in the coming days".

He called on the government to now make a "stronger commitment regarding the 2020 Olympics", insisting that the event "as a target for Rome is not just ambitious but achievable".

Alemanno suggested that talks about a cooperation between Rome and Monza regarding F1 did not bear fruit.

"We have always maintained contact with the mayor of Monza, with the ministers of the north and all those of the Lombardy region.

"I have to say that we never found a great dialogue, even when we stressed that if it was a choice between Monza and Rome then we would pull back,"he said.

Source: Motorsport

Monza worried F1 will choose Rome over them

Organisers of the historic Italian grand prix are worried plans to take formula one to Rome will leave historic Monza without a race.

Both the Italian capital and Bernie Ecclestone insist the plans for a street race in the EUR district are no threat to Monza, but officials of the high speed Autodromo Nazionale are not so confident.

"Amid a globalisation of grands prix, each country will inevitably be allowed to stage only one" and "since Rome is the capital, I'm afraid we'd lose the grand prix forever," Monza boss Enrico Ferrari told Bloomberg.

The Rome city council is due to meet this month to consider how to proceed with its F1 bid.

"Rome is known around the world for its history and landmarks, but we need an event that projects an image of Rome that's not just about museums," said city mayor Gianni Alemanno.

"We want to project a modern image and formula one would help us do that."

F1 chief executive Ecclestone insists there is no deal yet.

"We haven't got a contract yet for the event," said the Briton. "As soon as they get that, yes, yes, we can have a race, then let's see if we can make it happen."

Ecclestone said a deal with Rome would not necessarily be bad news for Monza.

"We have two events at the moment in Spain," he explained. "Let's wait and see. It's still early days."

Monza mayor Marco Mariani admitted he is worried.

"Politically speaking, Rome is far stronger than us," he said.

Source: Auto123

Räikkönen: French outing like Ferrari at Monza

Buoyed by his first rally win, Kimi Räikkönen is looking forward to testing his mettle in Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb's backyard on this weekend's Rallye de France

Kimi Räikkönen has admitted that he is looking forward to this weekend's Rallye de France, comparing the thought of piloting a full-bore Citroën C4 WRC around the hills of Alsace to racing for Ferrari at the Maranello's spiritual home in Monza.

Buoyed by his first rally win, on last weekend's Rallye Vosgien, the Finn reports that he is feeling more comfortable with the car and the demands of a WRC weekend, but admits that, despite having one of the best cars in the event, there are still a lot of unknowns ahead as the French event switches from its familiar home in Corsica to embrace the area beloved of multiple champion - and Citroën team-mate - Sebastien Loeb.

After showing great pace on the last all-new round of the World Rally Championship, in Bulgaria, the 2007 F1 world champion is hoping to demonstrate just what he is capable of on the surface that he is most familiar - or least unfamiliar - even if he understands that beating Loeb, who stands poised on the brink of an unprecedented seventh world drivers' title, is nigh-on impossible unless he can end the Frenchman's six-year unbeaten run on asphalt.

"It's not easy, that's for sure," Räikkönen conceded, as he approaches just his tenth WRC event in the C4, "But I'm hoping that we can have a good result in France. If we can show the same sort of pace like we did in Bulgaria, in the top five, then that would be really good.

"The problem is that it's always hard to predict a result when you don't know anything about what the route is going to be like, so we'll just concentrate very hard on the recce to end up with the best set of pace notes possible. Generally, we've improved in every area since the start of the season and I feel a lot more comfortable now, so we're hoping to continue our progress this weekend. France is obviously a really important event for Citroen, so I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun - a bit like driving for Ferrari at Monza!"

Co-driver Kaj Lindström, who has sat alongside Räikkönen since the Finn made his world rally debut in a Super 2000 car on the Rally Finland last year, is also looking forward to the weekend, although he's not expecting a French revolution.

"We're learning step by step, and I think sometimes people forget that this is only Kimi's first year in rallying and that nobody has ever walked straight into the very top level to compete against the very best with no experience before," he reasoned, "Kimi's been doing very well, and I'm sure that he can improve again in France. Asphalt is obviously a surface that he knows a bit better and, between us, we'll be working on putting together a good set of pace notes during the recce so that he can make the most of his talent on the stages."

Räikkönen may need to make the most of this weekend's outing, however, as, with his future at Citroen uncertain beyond the end of the season, he may not find himself able to use the Monza comparison again. The Finn has been linked to a possible switch to either the new Prodrive-run Mini team, or the Monster Ford squad, for 2011, but has also made enquiries about a possible return to F1 with Renault

Source: Crash.net
Courtesy: sleenster

Vettel suspected secret team orders during Monza race

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.

Source: Motorsport

Jenson Button Q&A: Driver who cracks least will be champion

Although victory at the Italian Grand Prix wasn’t his, McLaren’s Jenson Button did manage to resuscitate his floundering championship hopes with his second-place finish at Monza. But with five drivers within 25 points of the top of the table, Button - currently in fourth - knows he needs to play a long game over the remaining five Grands Prix if he is to clinch the title at the end of season. He explains more in an interview with his official website…

Q: On Sunday, you said you felt your race strategy was slightly flawed. Looking back on it, do you still have the same opinion?
Jenson Button: I had mixed emotions on Sunday - obviously, I wanted to win the race, and, having led most of it, that was probably an achievable ambition; but I also managed to score some very useful points over the guys ahead of me in the championship. And that gave me a great feeling. What was also interesting was the damage to the rear of my car. Fernando (Alonso) had hit me on the first lap, and it caused some damage to the floor - but I didn’t realise quite how much damage it had caused until I saw the car after the race. I was quite surprised that we were able to have such good race pace given the damage to the floor. Would I have felt better if I’d won the race, but had Lewis and Mark (Webber) alongside me on the podium? That’s a difficult one to answer. But, I think, in the immediate aftermath of the race, you tend to look at what might have happened, and if I’d stayed ahead of Fernando after his pit stop, then it’s reasonable to assume I had every chance of winning the race. So, did we get the strategy wrong? People have said it was a case of ‘who blinked first’ but, really, the fact was that we didn’t have the fastest car in the race, and, while it would have been possible to have kept the lead, Fernando’s pace meant that, at best, that was still quite a long-shot. So I think the team played its card properly, it’s just that there were a number of factors that were always going to work hard against us to ensure that a victory was difficult.

Q: So are you most pleased, then, that Sunday’s race boosted your title aspirations?
JB: Absolutely, because I took the opportunity with both hands, and I scored 18 points on a day when Lewis scored none, Mark took home eight and Sebastian 12. Now, you can’t help but look at the drivers’ championship table and just think, ‘wow, how can it be so close?’ It’s funny - after Spa, everyone was saying it was a two-horse race between Lewis and Mark, but I can easily see this championship going right down to the last race. I think we’ve seen that not one driver’s going to walk away with the world title - there’s going to be a fight right to the very end.

Q: Obviously, these last five races are under more scrutiny than, for example, the first five. If you’re saying no driver will be able to walk away with it, does that change your approach. Does consistency become more important than a victory, for example?
JB: I think you have to take each race as it comes. I think that driving just to score a certain number of points isn’t in a racing driver’s psyche. I felt that a little bit last year, I knew I only had to keep scoring consistently to take the title, but that was probably more mentally taxing than just putting your head down and going for it. For instance, at Interlagos last year, I had nothing to really lose - I was 14th on the grid and my team mate was on pole. What did I have to gain by driving steadily and taking home a handful of points? I just went for it, and that was a really liberating race for me, and an experience that will be useful this year too. I think consistency is important in some ways though: obviously, you need a car that will get you to the finish of every Grand Prix, and you don’t want to start making knee-jerk, or radical, decisions on set-up or strategy because you think it might give you an advantage. We’re racers, so we’ll always be racing - but the pressure’s now on all of us, because none of us can afford another non-finish or a mistake. And the guy who cracks least will be world champion.

Source: Formula1.com

Alonso's Blog: Thanks again to everyone at the Gestione Sportiva

I have gone through some really exciting moments during these last days in Italy. Feeling so close to the tifosi that I had the impression I could touch their enthusiasm with my hand was really something special. There is a passion for Ferrari all over the world, but here it is stronger still and I was fortunate enough to be at the wheel of an Italian car winning the Italian Grand Prix. Today I was able to personally thank everyone at the Gestione Sportiva, when they all gathered in the logistics building. It was nice to once again lift the winner’s trophy in front of the people who had made the victory possible, starting with the guys who did the pit stop. I had arrived in Maranello on Sunday 5 September, confident that we could reignite our championship chances, even if I felt it would be very tough. Now, two days on from that really happy moment in Monza, we can claim to have made a good step forward. At Spa, things had not gone well, so it was hard to say beforehand what we might really be capable of. However, we knew that, as long as we did our best, we would be in with a chance and that’s how things turned out. Now our aim must be to try and do the same in the final five races of the championship.



Despite failing to score in Spa, where the accident on the first lap weighed heavily like a stone, Ferrari and I have scored more points than anyone else in these last four races. That makes us even more confident and the fact these results came on tracks with very different characteristics to one another, confirms that our car is pretty versatile. Yesterday and today, I did some work on the simulator – I was able to get a first taste of the Korean Yeongam circuit – and I also spent time with our engineers to find out about the updates we will have in Singapore.



This afternoon, I left for Madrid, where this evening I am taking part in a Spanish television programme called “El Hormiguero,” which means anteater: it should be a fun evening!



Source: Alonso's Blog - Ferrari.com

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