Sport / Motor sport

Ferrari's season on line with judgment due in team-orders controversy

www.guardian.co.uk - Fine and possible points deduction to be announced tomorrow Max Mosley calls for both Ferrari drivers to lose pointsFerrari will learn tomorrow, four days before their home grand prix at Monza, whether their world championship ambitions are effectively over for another year. The team orders controversy, which has been simmering since the German grand prix at Hockenheim at the end of July, could boil over tomorrow afternoon when the World Motor Sport Council will announce its verdict following a hearing in Paris.Ferrari have already been fined $100,000 (£65,000) after race stewards decided they had broken the rules by appearing to give Felipe Massa a coded message to slow down and allow his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, to pass him.That is likely to followed up by an even heavier fine tomorrow and possibly a points deduction for the team. But it is also possible that Alonso could be stripped of the 25 points he won in Germany. That would put him 66 points behind the championship leader, Lewis Hamilton, and realistically scupper his chances of winning the title.There are a number of people in Formula One who feel that Ferrari should receive severe punishment for their transgression. There have always been - and always will be - team orders, despite the 2002 ruling which banned them following a race in which another Ferrari pairing, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, clearly orchestrated the result. But Ferrari are really on trial for the gauche manner with which they conversed with Massa and then by their cringe-inducing denial that anything improper had taken place. Ferrari, more than most teams, have always understood the team ethos in motor racing.A ban on team orders is clearly unworkable. So it could even be decided tomorrow to abandon the 2002 change. What the council must do is achieve some clarity because what happened at Hockenheim was an insult to the intelligence of race fans.Ferrari's defence is that they did not explicitly instruct Massa to slow down. But Massa, after twice being told that his team-mate was faster than him, did slow down out of the hairpin on lap 49 to allow Alonso through. His race engineer, Rob Smedley, then said: "Good lad. Just stick with it now. Sorry." After the race, and again via the radio, a clearly embarrassed Smedley thanked Massa for being so "magnanimous".Max Mosley, the former FIA president who presided over the 2002 rule change, said: "If one wants to fulfil the needs of the audience, then one must maintain the ban. Both cars and both drivers should lose the points they achieved in the German grand prix."The world champion, Jenson Button, thinks the team, and not the drivers, will be punished. "I don't think the drivers will get a penalty. If they do get another penalty it will be for the team because it was an order from the team. Personally I don't understand why they just don't swap the points around for those two but you can't do that within the regulations."FerrariFelipe MassaFernando AlonsoFormula OneMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Japanese Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa dies after San Marino crash

www.guardian.co.uk - Japanese motor cyclist dies in hospital Crash involved two other ridersShoya Tomizawa, the Japanese Moto2 rider, has died after a crash during the San Marino grand prix, according to Dr Claudio Costa, who is part of the motorcycling world championship's medical team.Riders in the premier MotoGP class were informed after their race."I found out now, when things like this happen nothing else matters," the MotoGP world champion, Valentino Rossi, told Mediaset television. "He was a lovely guy, it was a horrible accident."Tomizawa, who rode for the Suter team, was travelling at full speed when he fell off on a corner and was hit by the bikes of Alex De Angelis and Scott Redding, who both fell but looked relatively unhurt.The race continued and was won by Spain's Toni Elias.Moto2 is the former 250cc category below MotoGP.MotorcyclingMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Engine revolution made backs the future in Formula One | Richard Williams

www.guardian.co.uk - Fifty years ago, cars powered from the front dominated grand prix races, but then everything was turned aroundThe universe has a natural order, even when it comes to motor cars, and Enzo Ferrari believed he understood it. "The horse doesn't push the cart along with its nose," he told guests assembled for his traditional end-of-season address in 1959. He was explaining why his Formula One cars still had their engines in front of the driver, where they had always been.Ask a man of a certain age to draw a racing car and he is likely to sketch something with a very long bonnet and a short, hump-backed tail. Nothing like today's Formula One missiles. His subconscious image will have been formed by the prevailing shape of generations of front-engined racers - from Ferenc Szisz's 90-horsepower Renault, the winner of the first grand prix in 1906, through the Bugattis and Alfa Romeos of the roaring 20s to the streamlined Maseratis and Vanwalls of the post‑war era.A year after Ferrari made his famous remark, three of his cars finished first, second and third in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The horses were still pulling the carts, as he had decreed. But 4 September 1960 would go down in history as the last day on which a front-engined car would win a world championship race, marking the single most radical change in the sport's technical history. From the results sheet, it looked like the most sweeping of triumphs.Phil Hill, the highly strung Californian who had already won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari, took the chequered flag, covering the 500km distance at an average speed of 212kph, or 132mph - a record for the event - and became the first American to win a European grand prix since Jimmy Murphy's victory in France at the wheel of a Duesenberg, almost 40 years earlier. Two minutes behind came another Californian, Richie Ginther, a crewcut Korean war veteran who had worked as a mechanic for Hill during their early days on the American sports car racing scene. Ginther was followed into third place by Willy Mairesse, a Belgian driver of great speed but uncertain temperament.Each of them was at the wheel of a Ferrari Dino 246, a handsome brute of a car whose bodywork - crafted in the Modena workshop of Medardo Fantuzzi, an artist in aluminium - was distinguished by a scoop on the bonnet, feeding air to its carburettors. The name Dino came from Ferrari's late son, a gifted young engineer who was said to have drawn up the basic configuration of its 2.5-litre V6 engine before dying of muscular dystrophy in 1956, aged 24.The car delivered a world championship to Mike Hawthorn in 1958 and had won grands prix in the hands of two other Englishmen, Peter Collins and Tony Brooks. Collins died in a Dino 246, at the Nürburgring three weeks after winning the 1958 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, as did Luigi Musso at Rheims.In triumph and tragedy, it was the final stage of an evolutionary process that had begun with the earliest horseless carriages. "It had a lovely gearbox and a lovely engine," Brooks remembers. "But let's just say that the road holding was not its strong point."At Monza in 1960 there were special circumstances behind an apparently glorious day for the Italian team. For the second year in a row, the championship had been dominated by the new lightweight, mid-engined cars of the British constructors Cooper and Lotus. These were machines designed for a very different kind of racing, bred on the tracks laid out on a sudden profusion of decommissioned second world war airfields - Thruxton, Snetterton, Goodwood, Silverstone - which, with their smooth asphalt surfaces and open bends, were a world away from the corrugated, potholed road circuits on which motor racing had been born in continental Europe in the first half of the 20th century.The layout of the new generation of British cars had been inspired by the little Formula Three cars assembled in a Surbiton garage in 1946 by John Cooper, with 500cc motorcycle engines located behind the driver's seat. The successful Auto Unions of the late 30s, designed by Dr Ferdinand Porsche, had pioneered the mid-engined format, but they had been heavyweights; it was Cooper's stroke of genius to combine the format with a concentration on reducing weight, and his great rival Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus, would take the philosophy ever further.By the end of the 1950s they were trouncing the front-engined Ferraris and Maseratis, and it was probably with the thought of Stirling Moss's success with a Cooper at Monza in 1959 in their minds that the organisers of the Italian Grand Prix decided to hold the 1960 race on a combination of the conventional 3.5-mile circuit laid around the royal park of Monza with the fearsome and controversial banked oval track, increasing the lap length to 6.2 miles.Banked speedways had existed since the earliest days of motor racing, but many drivers hated the steep and roughly surfaced Monza bowl. It was particularly unpopular with the British constructors, whose rear-engine machines had not been conceived with such coarse conditions in mind. When the plan to use it for the 1960 race was announced, they realised that the conditions would favour the heavier, more rugged Ferraris and promptly organised a boycott.Of the 15 cars that had contested the preceding race in Portugal, all but two - the Ferraris - were withdrawn from the entry list for Monza. That meant the absence of the Coopers of Moss, Jack Brabham (the reigning world champion, who had just won five races in a row), Bruce McLaren and Brooks, the Lotuses of Jim Clark, Innes Ireland and John Surtees, and the BRMs of Graham Hill and Dan Gurney - all the serious contenders.By that stage of the season it had become clear that the Ferraris were now also-rans. A second place for Cliff Allison at the opening race in Buenos Aires and a third for Phil Hill at Monaco were their only podium finishes. Now Enzo Ferrari sensed an increasingly rare opportunity to win a grand prix, and his home race at that. The organisers found themselves facing the prospect of a grid occupied by a handful of Ferraris, a single old Maserati in the hands of the plump Bristolian garage owner Horace Gould, such no-hope hybrids as Cooper-Maseratis and Cooper-Ferraris, the JBW-Maserati of the Stockport amateur Brian Naylor, and the Cooper-Climax of Arthur Owen, a Londoner making his only appearance in a grand prix. To fill out the field to respectable proportions they opened the entry to 1.5 litre cars competing in Formula Two, attracting a response from Porsche, who sent their regular drivers, Hans Hermann and Edgar Barth.Of all the cars eventually making up a motley grid the most interesting was a fourth Ferrari, entered in the Formula Two category with Wolfgang von Trips, the German count, at the wheel. Called the Dino 156, this was a mid-engined car aimed at the new Formula One regulations coming into effect in 1961, which stipulated a reduced engine capacity of 1.5 litres. In effect it was a refinement of the mid-engined Dino 246 that, making an appearance at Monaco earlier in the season, had signalled Ferrari's decision to listen to his engineers and bow to the inevitable.Chief among those engineers was Carlo Chiti, who had been watching the development of the British cars with concern for several seasons. Late in 1959, he made up his mind. "If we wanted to win again, we had to go for a rear-engined car," he said many years later. "But I also knew very well that it would be difficult to convince Ferrari."He wouldn't hear of a single-seater with a rear engine. He believed that this would be a betrayal of the whole technical philosophy of his company. He kept telling me: 'Do anything you like to get a victory with a traditional car, because that's where Ferrari's destiny lies. Our touring cars have front engines, and our customers will never agree to buy cars designed differently from the ones with which we race.'"Eventually Chiti's entreaties were heard. But when the first mid-engined Dino 246 finished sixth on its debut at Monaco, criticisms from the Italian press persuaded Ferrari to order the engineer to concentrate on the conventional cars for the remainder of the season. But development of the mid-engined Formula Two car continued, reaching fruition in mid-summer at Solitude, the German circuit, where Von Trips, in a rear-engined car, won the race and proved four seconds a lap faster than Phil Hill in a car with an identical V6 mounted at the front. At that point, Chiti was given his head.Brooks had left Ferrari at the end of 1959, believing that mid-engined cars represented the future, and missed the Monza race as a result of the boycott. He was one driver who regretted the disappearance of the traditional front-engineered car and the challenge it presented."The rear-engined cars were much easier to drive," he says. "They were lighter, you could stop them much more quickly and they were more responsive, so if you made a mistake you could recover more quickly. With a front-engined car there was more scope for a really good driver to demonstrate his ability. When the rear-engined cars came in, there were a lot of drivers whose careers suddenly took off."As was his custom, Ferrari did not watch the grand prix at Monza. He arrived to watch the practice session on the Saturday, but was ejected from the pits by the police for not having a pass and threatened to withdraw his cars from the event before receiving the organisers' apology.While Ferrari sat at home in Modena, waiting for a telephone call from his team manager, Hill was winning the race with ease, while Ginther and Mairesse took turns at towing Von Trips's car in their slipstream, enabling the German driver to win the Formula Two class. When Von Trips stepped from his car, his face was covered with oil from the bigger machines of his two team-mates, so close had he been following in their wake.No Ferraris competed in the final race of the year, the United States Grand Prix at the Riverside in California. There were just two front-engined cars on the grid: the slow Scarab of Chuck Daigh, entered by the Woolworth heir Lance Reventlow, and the obsolete Maserati of the American driver Bob Drake. They finished in 10th and 13th place, thoroughly outpaced by the new generation.In Holland five months later, Von Trips was at the wheel of the first rear-engined Ferrari to win a Formula One grand prix. The horse and the cart had changed places for good.FerrariFormula OneMotor sportRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

The 1960 Italian Grand Prix

www.guardian.co.uk - Archie Smith's photographs of the 1960 Italian Grand Prix, the last time a Grand Prix was to be one by a front-engined car More... (Motor sport)

Dani Pedrosa takes pole for San Marino grand prix

www.guardian.co.uk - Pedrosa replicates speed in practice to start in first Lorenzo, Stoner, Rossi and Spies make up front fiveSpain's Dani Pedrosa took pole position in qualifying for tomorrow's San Marino grand prix to boost his outside hopes of winning the title.The Honda rider, also quickest in yesterday's first practice session on Italy's east coast, topped the timesheets again with a lap of 1min 33.948sec in qualifying ahead of the championship leader and his compatriot Jorge Lorenzo.Ducati's Casey Stoner will start the race from third on the grid, ahead of the reigning world champion Valentino Rossi, who wore a helmet with an alarm clock design to show he felt it was time he stepped up after his recovery from a broken leg. Rossi has won at San Marino, his home track, for the last two years.Yamaha's leader Lorenzo heads the second-placed Pedrosa by 68 points in the overall standings with five races left.Results, San Marino grand prix qualifying:1 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda, 1min 33.948sec2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha, 1:34.2563 Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati, 1:34.3974 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha, 1:34.4705 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha, 1:34.4726 Randy de Puniet (France) Honda, 1:34.7517 Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha, 1:34.7828 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda, 1:34.8269 Marco Simoncelli (Italy) Honda, 1:34.93410 Marco Melandri (Italy) Honda, 1:35.018MotoGPValentino RossiMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One architect is off on the wrong track | Richard Williams

www.guardian.co.uk - There are good reasons why Spa has become a favourite of recent generations of grand prix driversThe majestic circuit of Spa-Francorchamps looked much the same at the weekend as it did the last time I visited it in 1967 - the year of Sgt Pepper and the assassination of Che Guevara. But that's one thing about great race tracks. You can spend 43 years smoothing out the trickier corners, replacing earth banks with run-off areas, moving the pits and the start-finish line from one bit of straight road to another and erecting new grandstands here and there, yet the essential character of the place - its integrity, you might say, as well as its ambiance - will usually survive.Generally speaking, this is because the older circuits followed two patterns: that of the public roads on which the earliest motor races were held, and that of the land itself. Spa is a particularly good example, since a track laid out on what were originally public roads also follows the hills and valleys sculpted over millennia by wind, water and geology among the pine forests of the Ardennes.It is no accident that Spa has become a favourite of recent generations of grand prix drivers. As grateful as they may be for the safety precautions introduced over the past half-century, they still relish the challenge offered by corners that do not conform to the regular geometry usually produced when a circuit architect fires up his computer, and they are not entirely impervious to a sense of history.The longest track currently used in Formula One, at 7km, it was twice as long back in 1967. The old Masta Straight and its legendary kink may have disappeared in the intervening years but surviving features such as Eau Rouge and the hairpin at La Source retain a shape that was originally dictated by custom and nature.A week before the race in Belgium, and about 150 miles south-east of Spa, I stopped on a straight piece of road cutting through agricultural land outside the city of Rheims, where long-disused whitewashed pits and grandstands still mark the location of the circuit that hosted important races between 1926 and 1966, including the French grand prix on 14 occasions. It was not hard to imagine the crowd in the tribunes rising to their feet as Mike Hawthorn's Ferrari and Juan Manuel Fangio's Maserati roared neck and neck towards the finish line in 1953, the bow-tied Englishman becoming the first British winner of a round of the world championship. If the long-silent Rheims circuit is a well-known place of pilgrimage, the fine memorial at the junction of the D937 and the D1029, on an otherwise featureless plateau south of the town of Péronne, came as a complete surprise. It commemorates the deaths in June 1933, during the Picardy grand prix meeting, of a pair of Bugatti drivers.The first, Louis-Aimé Trintignant, one of five sons of a Vaucluse vineyard owner, died during practice after losing control at high speed when a gendarme wandered into the road. The second fatality came the following day, during the race itself, when Guy Bouriat, a French count and a talented driver, was attempting to retake the lead from Philippe Etancelin. As the two of them came up to lap a slower car, its driver spotted Etancelin's Alfa Romeo and let him through but then moved back on to his original line and collided with Bouriat, whose car left the road and burst into flames.Trintignant was 30 years old, Bouriat 31. The last race at Péronne was held in 1939, and the memorial, once pockmarked with the evidence of fighting in the second world war, has been carefully restored. No other trace of the triangular circuit, which passed through the villages of Brie and Mesnil-Bruntel, remains.Standing in these places, listening to the echoes of heroism and tragedy, it made me laugh to think that Hermann Tilke, Bernie Ecclestone's pet circuit designer, has apparently been asked to incorporate the outlines of famous corners from historic tracks into a new Formula One facility in Austin, Texas. Just what the world needs: the first karaoke grand prix.Church Cup final is perfect antidote to spot-fixingEven lifelong cynics are experiencing a sense of profound disillusionment following the allegations of spot-fixing in the Lord's Test. My own preferred antidote is to attend Thursday's 60th Church Times Cup final, the climax of a competition between cricketing clergymen representing the various geographical subdivisions of the Church of England. The match takes place, as it always has, at the attractive Southgate ground in north London, and this final pits Litchfield against Bath & Wells, neither of whom has appeared in any of the previous 59 finals. It is almost certain that any no-balls will be the consequence of excessive exertion rather than skulduggery.Time for Button to take races by scruff of the neckOver the past few years it has been customary to compare Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in terms of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the smooth approach shared by Prost and Button contrasting with Senna and Hamilton. The comparison has been even more tempting this season, in which they are both driving McLarens, as Senna and Prost did 20 years ago. But on Sunday Hamilton turned that comparison on its head. Once he had taken advantage of Mark Webber's poor start, he drove with an air of calmness that Prost would have recognised. Now all we want to see is Button performing a similar volte-face, taking a race by the scruff of its neck, and reminding us of the great Brazilian.Wenger slipped up when he sold Diarra to Real MadridLassana Diarra was the outstanding performer in Real Madrid's weekend draw with Mallorca, the Frenchman moving easily from midfield to full-back when José Mourinho brought on Sami Khedira for the last 20 minutes. Diarra now rivals Javier Mascherano for the title of the world's most effective holding midfielder, and how Arsène Wenger should be regretting the decision to let his compatriot leave the Emirates two years ago.Formula OneMotor sportRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button happy to be treated equally at McLaren

www.guardian.co.uk - Hamilton denies needing special help from McLaren to win title Button does not feel his chances will suffer because of rivalryLewis Hamilton says he requires no special help from his McLaren team in order to win his second Formula One world title.While Ferrari are in the dock next week for asking their driver Felipe Massa to move over for Fernando Alonso, and Red Bull's Mark Webber is mischievously suggesting his team should be looking to "prioritise" after yet another failure by Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton says he is happy for Jenson Button to retain joint top billing at the Woking factory."I've just got to continue doing my job," he said, after his third victory of the season had taken him back to the top of the drivers' table, 35 points ahead of a fading Button, the world champion who has not won a race since the first week in April and whose last podium position was in June."As long as my guys do their job, which they always do, then I don't need anything else. If they're giving you all they can, they're giving you all then can. I don't think, by taking the focus off the guy next to me, they can help me."I think if they're giving me 100% and they're giving Jenson 100% then we're going improve twice as fast as a team. So as long as they're giving us both 100% there's no problem. It works for us now so why not continue that?"McLaren have always insisted that neither of their world champions will receive preferential treatment. Button certainly feels that is the way to go. "I don't fear either of us will miss out on the title by approaching it the way we are," he said. "But if we do, we do - we are here to go racing."Button had targeted this race and the next one, in Monza on Sunday week, as his best chance to get his campaign back on track. But after getting a flyer and moving up from fifth to second he collided with the reckless Vettel - who has converted only two of his seven pole positions to victories - and had to retire from the race.Hamilton's race was excellent. It was straightforward enough - he led from virtually the start until the chequered flag. However, he also showed the race management skills which many had identified as a weakness in the 2008 champion. There was rain and there were safety cars but he showed the smoothness and control that is more readily associated with his team-mate. And the only help came from … the Lord.The biggest danger to his 15th grand prix win came with 10 laps to go, when it rained yet again on a weekend in Belgium which was so wet if felt like an uncut edition of Blade Runner. Hamilton ran wide and on to the gravel at Rivage and was inches away from hitting a wall. "That was the biggest moment for me. I made it all the way out to the wall and just clipped it a little with the edge of my wing. The gravel actually pulled me out. The gravel was horrible. I was very fortunate to get away with that. I was blessed. The Lord definitely had his hand over me there."With six races to go it looks as though the championship will be won by either Hamilton or Webber, who made up for an awful start by producing another solid drive. "Mark's got the experience. And it's showing. He's 34. He's a very experienced and very mature man. A 24-year-old or a 23-year-old is not as wise as a man of 34. He's been here a lot longer than myself and Sebastian, though Sebastian has got some serious pace."According to Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, the team have got their momentum back. "Lewis did a fantastic job. "He commanded the race and built up a buffer. He had one moment which gave us a bit of a worry, but he did a fantastic job."It was a bit of a strange mistake [by Vettel]. I realise it wasn't intentional but if he was going for the inside he had about three inches to sneak down so God knows what he thought he was doing. But we've got our momentum back."Vettel, meanwhile, is adamant he can still win the title despite failing to finish for the third time this term. "I'm holding my head up," he said. "There are still six races to come and we have all seen how quickly things can change. Everything is still possible. I can still make it happen."Lewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMcLarenSebastian VettelFormula OneMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Jenson Button confident of gaining ground in F1 title race

www.guardian.co.uk - Button thinking positive despite Spa disappointment Reigning champion believes he can bridge 35-point gapJenson Button expects to get his bid to retain his Formula One drivers's title back on track at next month's Italian grand prix. After being t-boned by his title rival Sebastian Vettel in yesterday's Belgian grand prix when running second, Button was dejected in the immediate aftermath.The loss of 18 points means Button is now 35 adrift of his McLaren team-mate and the championship leader Lewis Hamilton, and facing an uphill battle to retain the crown he won with Brawn GP last year.But Button will head to Monza for the Italian grand prix on 12 September in a more hopeful mood. "When I got out of my car and walked into my drivers' room I said what happened had massively hurt my championship, and coming back from it would be very difficult," Button said."But I was very down at that point, as you would be after losing so many points. I had gone from a massive high to a massive low. Looking at it now 35 points is still a lot, which in old money is about 14 points, but it's definitely still possible."I go to Monza positive I can have a good race, but also forgetting the championship. I'm in a position now where I have to work towards a race victory because if I come away with that it's a very different atmosphere and a very different feeling for me."That's my aim. It's a circuit I love, one I will do very well on this year, confident in the car and that I'll have a good weekend. I learned last year that you have to take every race as it comes and work on fine-tuning the car, on making sure it's the best for that race and not thinking too far ahead. And I'm definitely thinking like that for now. In two weeks' time we'll be in Monza, we'll have a good car and I will be fighting for a victory."Yet Button was angered by what unfolded on lap 17 of the 44-lap race. Vettel apologised to Button after losing his Red Bull under braking into the bus stop chicane as he attempted to pass the 30-year-old. As he wrestled for control of his car, Vettel speared into the left-hand side of Button's McLaren, bursting the radiator and sending the Briton into retirement.Vettel was able to continue but after serving a drive-through penalty and later sustaining a puncture he finished 15th. "He just made a mistake, and for me it was a big mistake that cost me a lot of points," Button said."It was a very costly mistake and I'm the person who has paid for it, but he's made a couple of them this year. I'm not saying he's dangerous, I'm saying that for me he has made too many mistakes this year to fight for the world championship."But he is extremely quick, we can't take that away from him, and to get seven poles is extraordinary in the amount of races we have had - but to throw that many away is also very surprising."Jenson ButtonMcLarenFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Lewis Hamilton insists McLaren will not treat him preferentially

www.guardian.co.uk - Hamilton says he and Button will be treated the same 25-year-old hails 'phenomenal win' in BelgiumLewis Hamilton is convinced he will not receive any preferential treatment from McLaren despite opening up a significant lead over his team-mate Jenson Button following yesterday's Belgian Grand Prix.Hamilton chalked up his third win of the season and the 14th of his career to move three points clear of Mark Webber with six races remaining.In stark contrast to Hamilton's jubilation, Button was left feeling despondent after he crashed out for the second successive season at Spa, and again not of his own making.Button was on course to finish runner-up when he was speared from his left-hand side by an out-of-control Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull who had misjudged his braking in attempting to overtake.Yet with 150 points still up for grabs, Hamilton knows McLaren will not favour himself over Button until the situation dictates otherwise."I get the same treatment as Jenson and that enables us both to score maximum points and so I don't feel there should be any preferential treatment," Hamilton said."Obviously the team do the best they can to the maximum for each of us. There's no more they can do."Hamilton has also dismissed the suggestion the title race is now just between himself and Red Bull's Webber who had to be content with second after starting from pole.Along with Button, Vettel and Fernando Alonso also failed to score a point, with the German finishing 15th and the Spaniard crashing out in the wet late on.Hamilton is now 31 points ahead of Vettel, yet despite the cushion he added: "You've seen in the last few races how quickly things can change."We still have a long way to go and there are still many points to be grabbed by any of the drivers who are fighting for the title."Clearly for me my closest rival in the championship is Mark in terms of points, but I still think the championship is open."With a smile, Hamilton then added: "Obviously we want to make sure that's not the case after another few races."Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described Hamilton as "the luckiest man in Belgium" after the 25-year-old narrowly avoided collision with a barrier.As the rain came with 10 laps to go, on a greasy surface Hamilton ran wide and onto the gravel at Rivage, coming within inches of hitting a wall.Recognising his good fortune on this occasion, Hamilton said: "That was the biggest moment for me."I made it all the way out to the wall and just clipped it a little with the edge of my wing."I was very fortunate to get away with that. I was very blessed. The Lord definitely had his hand over me there."Lewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMcLarenFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Sebastian Vettel continues to mix the brilliant and best forgotten | Richard Williams

www.guardian.co.uk - The talented young German driver will not become world champion until he learns to control his emotionsSebastian Vettel will become world champion one of these years but not as long as he drives the way he did in the Belgian grand prix today. This was a performance seething with the sort of uncontrolled emotion that can undermine a great talent.Starting from the fourth slot on the grid after mistakes in the qualifying session, he survived the slipping and sliding of the opening lap and two laps later forced his way inside Robert Kubica to snatch third place. But a dozen laps of sitting behind Jenson Button, whose stout defence of his position was enabling Lewis Hamilton to build a cushion at the front, clearly frayed Vettel's patience. An attempt to challenge the second-placed McLaren as they approached the Bus Stop chicane saw him losing control under braking before spearing into the flank of Button's car.It was a clumsy error, born of frustration and intemperance, and not unlike the one that caused him to crash into his team-mate, Mark Webber, while trying to force his way into the lead in Istanbul in May. This time the perpetrator was lucky to be able to limp in for a new front wing while the world champion's race ended amid clouds of steam from a ruptured radiator. The stop dropped Vettel to 13th, and he found himself even further back after serving a drive-through penalty for provoking the accident that severely prejudices Button's chance of defending his title.Impatient to work his way back through the field, the young German chopped so brusquely across Vitantonio Liuzzi that he punctured a rear tyre against his rival's wing. Later he took a risk on fitting a set of full wet-weather tyres in anticipation of a predicted shower but wore them out on a mostly dry track and, with six laps to go, came in for a second set, which suited the worsening conditions well enough to allow him to finish an undistinguished 15th. Vettel is now 31 points behind Hamilton in the drivers' standings and 28 behind Webber, who failed to capitalise on starting from pole position but drove a canny race to secure second place.Having made his Formula One debut as BMW's reserve driver in 2006, Vettel became the youngest driver in history to win a world championship grand prix two years later when, at the wheel of a Toro Rosso, he mastered difficult conditions on a rainy weekend at Monza. It was a victory that owed nothing to luck and everything to touch.The following summer he won a memorable standing ovation from a Silverstone crowd yearning for a home win by Button or Hamilton, when he started from pole position and took a flag-to-flag victory as imperious as anything produced by the great Jim Clark in the Scot's four wins (all from pole) on the same track. His speech at the subsequent press conference, which showed a graciousness to go with his quick sense of humour, earned him more admiration."This is what I was dreaming of when I saw the grands prix here in the era of Mansell and so on," he said then. "It's kind of unreal now to think I am here and I have won this grand prix. I regret a little bit that I am not an Englishman as the fans are fantastic." His listeners swooned, momentarily forgetting that there have also been glimpses of a darker side to his temperament.It was Nigel Mansell who, as one of today's race stewards, imposed the drive-through penalty, and Vettel's summary was appropriately downbeat. "What happened happened," he said, "and we can't change it now. Obviously I'm not proud of it. I lost the car going over a bump as I was braking and unfortunately hit Jenson. I'm sorry for him."In terms of sheer ability Vettel ranks with Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as the best of the current generation but he is currently being outperformed by the more mature man in the other Red Bull. Until the 23-year-old learns to focus his gifts at all times the brilliant will continue to be mixed with the best forgotten and he will have to wait to become Formula One's second German world champion.Sebastian VettelFormula OneMotor sportRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian grand prix as Jenson Button crashes out

www.guardian.co.uk - Hamilton back as F1 drivers' championship leader Accident-prone Sebastian Vettel crashes into Jenson ButtonThere was thunder, rain, spectacular crashes, safety cars and penalty drive-throughs at today's Belgian grand prix and Lewis Hamilton emerged from the chaos to resume the leadership of the Formula One world championship.He could have been some exotic creature coming out of a rainforest, for that is what the densely forested hills of the Ardennes have resembled this weekend. There were so many hazards strewn across the slippery track that he might have wondered whether he was on some fairground simulator, but fortunately for him they were mostly in his rear-view mirror and he was able to record his third win of the season and overtake the second-placed Mark Webber at the top of the table; he now leads the Australian by three points with six races to go.But while Webber was content to finish second after a start which was so ponderous it looked as though he had engaged reverse gear, it was a desperately disappointing afternoon for Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, who did not finish, and for Webber's Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who finished out of the points in 15th place.Button started fifth but got a flyer and was running second when, on the 16th lap, he was taken out by Vettel, who lost control of his car at the Bus Stop as he exited Blanchimont. Afterwards, an angry Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, dubbed Vettel the "Crash Kid" and added: "It's not what you expect to see in Formula One. It was more reminiscent of junior formulae. A drive-through penalty seemed a pretty light punishment to me. I'd rather he took out his own team-mate than one of ours."In Turkey, of course, to the horror of Red Bull, the increasingly accident-prone Vettel had steered his car into Webber's when the pair were running one-two, allowing Hamilton to charge through to win his first race of the season.Today, Vettel broke his front wing in the collision with Button and after being given a drive-through penalty then suffered a puncture after another tangle, this time with Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi. The German said tonight: "What happened happened and we can't change it now. Obviously I'm not proud of it. I lost the car going over a bump as I was breaking and unfortunately hit Jenson. I'm sorry for him."A disconsolate Button said: "It hurts my championship a lot. Seb didn't hit me on purpose but it is sad way to go out. It is the strangest incident I've ever seen to lose control like that. The corner was dry. I paid the price for someone else's mistake. I will be positive for Monza but at the moment I am allowed to be a bit down."At the start of the race Button was 14 points behind the leader, Webber. But he now trails Hamilton by 35. Meanwhile, Webber has opened up a gap of 28 points over Vettel, something which obviously gave him great pleasure as Red Bull appeared to favour the younger driver in the first half of the season.Now, Webber mischievously suggested, the team might consider giving him priority. "It is still too early, but not too far away," he said. "I think it depends on how hungry we are."Meanwhile, the hopes of Alonso, who is now 41 points behind Hamilton, took another severe knock. The Spaniard's Ferrari skidded off on the 38th lap but he was already well back in the field after being hit by Rubens Barrichello on the second lap.Robert Kubica, who finished third, looked happy with his day's work but the biggest smiles were reserved for Hamilton, who said: "It was a great weekend and a very tough race for me. I was praying it would be a race that would go smoothly, but then the rain came late on and I locked my wheels at turn eight, but thankfully I got away with it."We didn't know what to expect, but fortunately I got round and changed the tyres. It didn't rain any more, and in the end it was about nursing the car home, making sure it stayed in one piece and bagging the points." He has now bagged 182 of them.Formula OneLewis HamiltonJenson ButtonSebastian VettelMark WebberMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Formula One 2010: driver rankings

www.guardian.co.uk - Follow the standings and click on the driver pictures to compare their progressPaddy Allen More... (Motor sport)

Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian grand prix after Button-Vettel clash

www.guardian.co.uk - Hamilton returns to top of drivers' standings with win Button forced to retire after colliding with VettelMcLaren's Lewis Hamilton won an incident-packed Belgian grand prix to seize back the Formula One championship lead from Red Bull's Mark Webber on Sunday.Webber finished second on an afternoon where the fickle Spa weather played its hand to full effect and the safety car was twice deployed. Poland's Robert Kubica finished third for Renault.Jenson Button was forced to retire after a collision with Sebastian Vettel, who finished 15th. Fernando Alonso also spun out of the race in his Ferrari."To be taken out like that is disappointing," Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, said of Button's retirement. Referring to Vettel's collision with Webber at the Turkish grand prix, Whitmarsh added: "I'd rather he take out his own team-mate than [our driver]."Hamilton now has 182 points to Webber's 179 with six races remaining.Lewis HamiltonFormula OneJenson ButtonSebastian VettelMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Mark Webber takes pole for Belgian grand prix as Red Bull maintain run

www.guardian.co.uk - Championship leader claims Red Bull's 12th pole of season Lewis Hamilton will start second, Jenson Button fifthMark Webber made it 12 pole positions from 13 races this season for Red Bull as he pipped Lewis Hamilton in a rain-hit qualifying session at Spa. Hamilton missed out to the championship leader by less than a tenth of a second after a late shower at turn one arguably cost him pole.Red Bull have now moved up to joint second on the all-time list as Williams (three times), McLaren (twice), Lotus and Ferrari have all had 12 poles in a season, and are now three short of equalling the record held by Williams and McLaren.But on the seven-kilometre circuit in the Ardennes, pole has counted for little over the years as only 13 drivers starting at the very front of the grid have gone on to win from the 43 previous races.Renault's Robert Kubica is third, with Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel fourth and reigning champion Jenson fifth, followed by the Ferrari of Felipe Massa.The Williams duo of Rubens Barrichello - on the occasion of his 300th grand prix - and Nico Hulkenberg are seventh and ninth, sandwiching Force India's Adrian Sutil, with Fernando Alonso down in 11th in his Ferrari.Michael Schumacher will start 21st for although qualifying 11th, he drops down the order given the 10-place grid penalty he collected from the Hungarian grand prix four weeks ago for almost pushing Barrichello into a concrete wall.Formula OneMotor sportMark Webberguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Fernando Alonso relaxed and sensing a 'perfect moment' with Ferrari | Richard Williams

www.guardian.co.uk - The Spanish driver has never been happier and still believes he can win the Formula One world championship this seasonThis is a good time to be a Spanish sporting hero, a thought that brings a sudden smile to the face of Fernando Alonso as he sits in the Ferrari motorhome in the rainswept paddock at Spa. His compatriots Rafael Nadal, Alberto Contador, Pau Gasol of the LA Lakers, the MotoGP champion-elect Jorge Lorenzo and this summer's World Cup winners - including his old friend Xabi Alonso - enjoy global renown. And he, twice Formula One's world champion, is approaching the climax of his first season as the leader of the sport's most charismatic team."You have to believe in yourself," he says, "and 15 years ago it was difficult to believe that Spain was a good country for sport. Now everybody believes that we can do what other countries are doing. That self-confidence is very important."Spain as a country has developed very quickly. In terms of facilities we are now very well prepared. If you go to any little town in the middle of nowhere, you always have a tennis court, a basketball court, a building to do other sports in. That helped the current generation. We need to enjoy it, because a period like this may be difficult to repeat in the future."Alonso certainly gives the impression of relishing the latest phase of his 10-year career as a grand prix driver. Although his first season with the Italian team has been filled with incident and controversy, in cultural terms he appears to have found his spiritual home. But is he, for all the obvious pleasure of working in a Latin environment, nevertheless disappointed to find himself lying only fifth in the championship standings, behind Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, and the target of fierce criticism for the victory reluctantly handed to him by his team-mate, Felipe Massa, in Germany five weeks ago?"No, the opposite," he says. "I'm very, very happy. My life now is the best I could imagine, ever. I'm driving for the best team in the world, and the integration with the team is very good. I fell in love with Italy and the tifosi, and I feel their support."He is spending more time in Maranello, he says, than he ever did at the headquarters of his previous teams - "Sometimes working, sometimes not working." When there is nothing much to do at the home in Lugano which he shares with his wife, the singer Raquel del Rosario, he goes to stay with a friend near the Ferrari factory, or installs himself in Enzo Ferrari's old apartment at the Fiorano test track, and explores the hills of Emilia-Romagna on his racing bike.In his last two seasons with Renault, he says, he was going to a race merely with the ambition of making it into the third qualifying session as one of the 10 fastest cars. "That was the motivation. So if I think of my position one year ago, life has changed from black to white. I cannot ask more. For sure, winning the championship here will be the top, the last thing to complete a perfect moment of my life."Nor has he given up hope of overhauling the drivers lying ahead of him in this season's table, given the new scoring system, which awards 25 points for a win. He has 141 points to Webber's 161, thanks to his results in the last two races: the contentious victory at Hockenheim and a second place in Budapest."I think it's possible," he says. "There are only 20 points to the leader now. That's less than one race. With seven races to go, there are plenty of possibilities. We need to be very consistent, to be on the podium in every race if we can, and for sure to win at least two of the seven. The car's performance has improved a lot in the last couple of races and if we carry on in this way it will be possible. If we can't, it will be difficult. So it will be necessary to win the race in the factory, as well as on the circuit."But whatever happens, I know that with Ferrari I'll have this possibility for many years because this team is always in a position to win. That makes me very confident and very relaxed about my future."Nevertheless, the season's incidents have come thick and fast. Victory in the opening race in Bahrain, making him the sixth driver to win on his debut for the Scuderia, came after Vettel suffered an engine problem. In Melbourne, following a first-lap spin, there was a thrilling drive from last place to fourth. In China he jumped the start - "Driver error," he says with a rueful grin - and, after a penalty dropped him to 15th, again chased through the field to fourth.His Monaco weekend was ruined when he lost control at the top of the climb to Casino Square and smashed into the barrier during a practice session. There was a look of barely suppressed self-disgust on his face as he lifted himself out of the car, knowing that he would have to set off from the pit lane on another adrenalin-fuelled drive to sixth place."Driver error again there," he says, before putting it in perspective. "I'm sure that for all championship contenders there are two or three races a year you would like to change because you did something wrong. In our case, because there are high expectations, there are many more comments. When I'm in front or I'm half a second quicker than my team-mate, that is seen as normal. When we do something wrong, it will be everywhere. We have to deal with that pressure."It redoubled at Hockenheim when Massa moved aside to let him take the lead in what was widely seen as an example of the team orders outlawed eight years ago after Rubens Barrichello let Michael Schumacher through to win in Austria. This time an immediate fine of $100,000 was imposed on Ferrari and on 8 September the affair will be considered by a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sports Council in Paris, with further punishment a possibility.The imminence of the hearing makes Alonso reluctant to discuss the affair in detail, although he did dismiss trenchant criticisms of Ferrari's conduct from Niki Lauda, a double world champion with the team in the 70s. "What Lauda said isn't worth bothering about," he said.He and the team were clearly shocked by the vehemence of the reaction - particularly from the British media, which turned against him during his disputes with Lewis Hamilton during their turbulent season together at McLaren in 2007 - but his response now is bland. "Being in the best team in the world, you have to expect that everything we do will be 100 times bigger than what it is, whether we do well or make a mistake," he says. "We have to concentrate on the race this weekend. Then we'll see what happens in Paris."For public consumption, at least, he rejects the idea that a team with championship ambitions needs to concentrate its efforts behind one designated lead driver. "I think now everything has to be 50-50," he says. "The cars are exactly the same and the drivers are all super-talented, so I think having a first driver and a second driver isn't working any more. There have to be equal possibilities for both. But for sure when there are only a few races to go in the championship, then it's time to think what is best for the team." In that last sentence may lie the key to an affair which is likely to take further twists.Meanwhile he was fastest in wet and dry conditions in both yesterday's practice sessions for tomorrow's Belgian grand prix, at a circuit where he won twice in the old F3000 but has managed no better than second and third places in the senior formula. For Ferrari, by contrast, there have been no fewer than 16 wins since the first for Alberto Ascari in 1952, including a hat-trick in the last three years: another example of the pressure loaded on to any driver, however illustrious, who aspires to leadership of the Scuderia, and in this instance one who had to read Bernie Ecclestone's remark this week that Alonso will never match Michael Schumacher's achievements with the team."We all enjoy driving at Spa," Alonso says. "The length of the circuit makes it very interesting. Seven kilometres give you plenty of time to feel the car and there are the type of corners that in qualifying, if you take a risk or if you push hard, you can make up a lot of time. The circuit has some gradients, up and down, and the kind of compression that you feel in your body at Eau Rouge is something that you only experience here. When you stop the car you say, 'Wow, this was good fun.' "Fernando AlonsoFerrariFormula OneMotor sportRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Belgian grand prix crucial for Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton

www.guardian.co.uk - Spa circuit may give McLaren edge in championship race We could win this weekend, says Lewis HamiltonJenson Button and Lewis Hamilton admit that they must capitalise on helpful conditions in the next two races if either of them are to have any chance of winning the world championship.The long straights at Spa this weekend and Monza in the next race should both suit the McLaren over their closest rivals Red Bull and Ferrari. Yet if Button or Hamilton fail to take advantage, the Woking-based team could struggle going into the season's final five races.Button said: "This is a little window for us. We know these next two races are important for us. They will suit us for one reason or another - lower downforce or aerodynamic parts on the car - but our pace will be a lot closer and we need to make that count before we get back to high downforce tracks."It's crazy how close the first five are. It's not been like that for many years. We've got to finish every race from here on. Consistency is important but there is no point being consistently sixth. You have to be fighting for a podium every race."Hamilton agreed with his team-mate. "It's very likely that this race and the next race [in Monza] are the two where we're going to be closest to them for the rest of the year, based on the car that we have now."Hamilton finished second and third in today's practice sessions, which were dominated by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Button (sixth and seventh) had a less fluent day. Hamilton, however, is determined to remain upbeat. "Deep down I believe it can happen," he said. "Like I've said, there's a long way to go, and we could win this weekend. I just don't know what to expect. But I'm here to fight for the win, so I will keep pushing to the end."Red Bull, meanwhile, have come under attack for the way they have treated the championship leader Mark Webber. Alan Jones, a former world champion and the last Australian to take the title, has been upset by the way Red Bull have appeared to favour Sebastian Vettel, who remains the narrow favourite to win the title.Jones, a blunt-talking Aussie from Melbourne who won the championship with Williams in 1980 - the second Australian to do so after Sir Jack Brabham - has been particularly annoyed by the way Red Bull reacted to the crash involving their two drivers in the Turkish grand prix earlier in the summer. The team appeared to blame Webber for the incident even though Vettel was at fault for steering into the Australian's path.Jones said today: "If they had spoken to me as they did to Mark after the Turkey race, I would have been pissed off. It was bloody ridiculous because I saw the crash and it was obviously Vettel's fault. He blew it. So for [the team principal] Christian Horner and [the consultant] Helmut Marko to come out with what they did really was a bit rich."Now Jones, 63, who was known as "AJ" in his racing days, is backing Webber - 34 tomorrow - to beat his team-mate, especially if it comes down to a war of nerves.He said: "Mark has done it the hard way. He's done the hard yards and he can win it now. He's proven. He's got the speed."He hasn't had a reliable car in the past but he has now. And if it comes to a psychological battle I would back Mark every time. He has done a lot for motor sport in Australia. What he has do now is get his side of the garage behind him. With a bit of luck he can win the world championship."I went to watch to races at Bahrain and Melbourne. Red Bull obviously have a chassis advantage."But Webber trailed in 18th place in this afternoon's second practice session, having been seventh in the morning.McLarenRed BullFormula OneMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Fernando Alonso fastest in second free practice for Belgian grand prix

www.guardian.co.uk - Fernando Alonso quickest in the morning and afternoon Lewis Hamilton in third, Jenson Button in seventhFerrari's Fernando Alonso, chasing his team's fourth successive Spa success, was quickest in the morning and afternoon sessions at the longest track on the calendar. The Spaniard set the best time of the day, a lap of 1min 49.032sec, at the end of an interrupted second session on a drying track after heavy cloudbursts in the morning.The session was halted for 12 of the last 15 minutes, frustratingly just as there was the chance of some dry running, after reports that spectators had strayed into dangerous positions around the circuit.Alonso's late lap ousted Force India's Adrian Sutil from the top at a track where the German's team took their first pole position, podium and points last year with the Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was second and third fastest respectively with Robert Kubica making good use of the new "F-duct" on his Renault to record the third and fourth best times.Red Bull's championship leader Mark Webber, presented before the session with a cake topped with a chocolate racing car on his 34th birthday, was only seventh in the morning, with his German team-mate Sebastian Vettel fourth.The Australian, four points clear of Hamilton at the top of the standings with seven races remaining, fell to 18th after lunch.Vettel is third in the championship, 10 points off Webber. Alonso is a further 10 points back. "We have improved the car in the past three grand prix races and now have a very competitive package so we know we will be tough competition," Alonso had told reporters on his arrival at the circuit on Thursday. "We know Red Bull will be strong everywhere, we know McLaren will be strong in some circuits such as this one and Monza, so we expect very tough competition."The practice times meant little, compared to the race lap record of 1:45.108, with Spa's notoriously capricious climate on full display. Thunder and lightning before the first session gave way to the occasional glimpse of blue sky and sunshine in the afternoon before the skies again darkened.The opening practice for the GP2 support series was red-flagged and then abandoned in the morning's torrential conditions. The Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, marking his 300th race this weekend, was ninth quickest in both sessions despite spending much of the morning in the garage as Williams changed his car's steering rack.The world champion, McLaren's Jenson Button, fourth in the championship with 14 points to make up on Webber, was sixth and seventh fastest in the two sessions.Belgian grand prix second free practice times from Spa-Francorchamps:1. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1:49.0322. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India-Mercedes 1:49.1573. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:49.2484. Robert Kubica (Poland) Renault 1:49.2825. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:49.5886. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull-Renault 1:49.6897. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1:49.7558. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:50.0819. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams-Cosworth 1:50.12810. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:50.20011. Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 1:50.25112. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 1:50.34113. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:50.38214. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:50.68215. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Williams-Cosworth 1:50.83116. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India-Mercedes 1:51.52017. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:51.52318. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull-Renault 1:51.63619. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus-Cosworth 1:53.48020. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus-Cosworth 1:53.63921. Lucas Di Grassi (Brazil) Virgin-Cosworth 1:54.32522. Bruno Senna (Brazil) HRT-Cosworth 1:55.75123. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) HRT-Cosworth 1:56.03924. Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin-Cosworth 2:03.179Fernando AlonsoFerrariFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Ducati pulls out of Superbike World Championship

www.guardian.co.uk - Ducati ends 22-year association with the series Focus will be on MotoGP after signing of Valentino RossiDucati has pulled out of the 2011 Superbike World Championship, bringing an end to the Italian manufacturer's 22-year association with the series.A staunch supporter of the championship since it was first run in 1988, Ducati will instead direct its racing operations to the MotoGP World Championship after signing the Italian rider Valentino Rossi from Yamaha.The company will still supply machines to privateer teams and officially concentrate its efforts on developing road-going motorcycles. But the effort it will direct towards having Rossi, an Italian on an Italian machine, will have made its attempts to win the superbike world title pale into insignificance.Having won 13 riders' world titles, including four for Britain's Carl Fogarty, and 16 manufacturers' crowns, Ducati has decided to turn its back on a series it at one time backed while various of the four Japanese manufacturers shunned it."This decision is part of a specific strategy made by Ducati, the aim being to further increase technological content in production models that will arrive on the market in the coming years," said Gabriele Del Torchio, the president and chief executive of Ducati."In order to achieve this objective, the company's technical resources, until now engaged with the management of the factory Superbike team, will instead be dedicated to the development of the new generation of hypersport bikes, in both their homologated and Superbike race versions."I would like to thank [current factory team riders] Nori [Haga] and Michel [Fabrizio], and all of the riders that have contributed to the great history of Ducati in Superbike, but above all the Ducati employees; it is their hard work and professionalism that has allowed us to achieve such important results."A big thank you also to all of the partners that have supported us, first and foremost Xerox of course. I would also like to acknowledge the Flammini brothers who have managed the championship for so long, and the FIM, the organisation with which we have continuous, constructive relations."SuperbikesMotorcyclingMotor sportMotoGPguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Ducati pulls out of Superbike world championships

www.guardian.co.uk - Ducati ends 22-year association with the series Focus will be on MotoGP after signing of Valentino RossiDucati has pulled out of the 2011 Superbike World Championship, bringing an end to the Italian manufacturer's 22-year association with the series.A staunch supporter of the championship since it was first run in 1988, Ducati will instead direct its racing operations to the MotoGP world championship after signing the Italian rider Valentino Rossi from Yamaha.The company will still supply machines to privateer teams and officially concentrate its efforts on developing road-going motorcycles. But the effort it will direct towards having Rossi, an Italian on an Italian machine, will have made its attempts to win the superbike world title pale into insignificance.Having won 13 riders' world titles, including four for Britain's Carl Fogarty, and 16 manufacturers' crowns, Ducati has decided to turn its back on a series it at one time backed while various of the four Japanese manufacturers shunned it."This decision is part of a specific strategy made by Ducati, the aim being to further increase technological content in production models that will arrive on the market in the coming years," said Gabriele Del Torchio, president and chief executive of Ducati."In order to achieve this objective, the company's technical resources, until now engaged with the management of the factory Superbike team, will instead be dedicated to the development of the new generation of hypersport bikes, in both their homologated and Superbike race versions."I would like to thank [current factory team riders] Nori [Haga] and Michel [Fabrizio], and all of the riders that have contributed to the great history of Ducati in Superbike, but above all the Ducati employees; it is their hard work and professionalism that has allowed us to achieve such important results."A big thank you also to all of the partners that have supported us, first and foremost Xerox of course. I would also like to acknowledge the Flammini brothers who have managed the championship for so long, and the FIM, the organisation with which we have continuous, constructive relations."MotorcyclingMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Jenson Button warns Eau Rouge will be even tougher challenge at Spa

www.guardian.co.uk - Heavier fuel loads increase risks at 180mph corner Belgian circuit better suited to the McLarensJenson Button believes "big balls" will be required to tackle one of the most fearsome corners in Formula One this weekend. The legendary Eau Rouge represents a different challenge to the 24 drivers on the grid for Sunday's Belgian grand prix around Spa as they will have up to 150 kilos worth of fuel on board.That makes the uphill left-right sweep an even more hair-raising proposition than normal, particularly if running side-by-side with a rival.Due to the weight there is a serious risk of bottoming out, the car losing grip and with it increasing the chance of a collision should there be a duel through the corner where speeds can hit 180mph."With 140 to 150 kilos in the tank it's going to be pretty tough, really tricky," said Button. "We need to make sure people know where the edge of the circuit is because you're going to get a lot of people trying to go straight."They'll be thinking it won't get noticed because it's a massive benefit, so we need to make that clear to [the FIA race director] Charlie Whiting beforehand, which I will do. The first lap is pretty manic anyway, with a wide start but then it narrows up at turn one."Then you have Eau Rouge, side by side through there on 150 kilos hitting the floor, it's going to be pretty crazy. It will be a buzz. You have to have big balls, and I've bought them this weekend."It will be F1's version of chicken going through there. It will be a case of how stupid can you be, rather than how brave. But at least there is a bit of run off on the exit and if you do have to go side by side you can take avoiding action. Hopefully I'll be so far in the lead that it won't really matter."Button goes into the race 14 points behind the championship leader, Mark Webber, and without a win since mid-April, a run of eight races, when he took the chequered flag in China.There is hope, that despite being trounced by Red Bull in the last outing in Hungary almost four weeks ago, that McLaren can claw back some of the deficit so glaringly lost in Budapest. The reason being that Spa is a relatively low downforce circuit, so aiding the McLarens in comparison to Red Bull and Ferrari.The flipside is that if McLaren are not as strong as they hope here and in Italy, then the titles will start to slip away from them. After recovering from the tonsillitis he suffered during the recent summer break, the reigning world champion added: "This is a good circuit for us, as well as Monza for the next race."I'm very happy these two races have come at this point because it gives us time to work on developing the car for the last five where you have to run a lot more downforce. I can't see any reason why we can't be competitive here because we don't have the excuse that we don't have enough downforce."So if we don't score heavily at these next two races then it will hurt us a lot. It doesn't end the championship if we don't score well here and we're not leading, but they are important, and it will make the last five even more difficult."Jenson ButtonFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Michael Schumacher sorry for putting squeeze on Rubens Barrichello

www.guardian.co.uk - German sends SMS to former Ferrari team-mate I accepted it, life goes on, says BarrichelloMichael Schumacher has apologised to Rubens Barrichello for almost forcing him into a concrete wall during the Hungarian grand prix. The apology arrived 25 days after the incident, and Barrichello took delivery of it on his mobile phone, but it still counts as a rare act of contrition from the German.Schumacher, who will start 10 places back on the grid here on Sunday as his punishment for the incident, had already expressed regret on his website, where he wrote: "The manoeuvre against him was too hard. I didn't want to endanger him with my manoeuvre. If he had this feeling I am sorry, this was not my intention."But now the seven-times world champion has apologised for the first time to the Brazilian, who this weekend in Belgium will be celebrating his 300th grand prix [the next highest is Riccardo Patrese's 257]. Barrichello, 38, said yesterday: "I received a message from him today, an SMS. Somebody said to him that I was under the impression he had pushed me on to the wall, and he said it wasn't the case and he apologised for that. I just said 'thank you, no problem'. I accepted it, wished him a good weekend, life goes on."Schumacher said yesterday: "There were two reasons I sent the text. One of the main reasons is that it is his 300th grand prix and we have quite a lot of history together, so I thought it was appropriate to congratulate him."[The second reason was to] clarify the point because he sort of felt that I wanted to push him against the wall and very clearly this was not my ambition." The German said he also might speak to his former team-mate before this weekend's race.After the incident, in the closing stages of the race, a furious Barrichello, who had spent six years with Schumacher at Ferrari, said: "I like a fair battle but I don't think it was fair. It was a go-kart manoeuvre. If he wants to go to heaven before me he can - I don't want to go to heaven."The Formula One season restarts this weekend after a four-week break with Mark Webber, who is 34 today, the leader of the five drivers with a realistic chance of winning the title.But many feel that Webber's Red Bull team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, is the real favourite. Despite a number of mishaps Vettel may be the marginally faster driver.When asked whether Red Bull should have won more points this season, Vettel said: "We have a saying - I don't know it makes any sense in English - but where I come we say 'if a dog wouldn't have gone for a shit he would have got the cat.'" It doesn't make a lot of sense, Seb.Michael SchumacherFormula OneMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Michael Schumacher finally apologises to Rubens Barrichello

www.guardian.co.uk - German driver texts former team-mate to say sorry 'I accepted it, wished him a good weekend, life goes on'Michael Schumacher has finally apologised to Rubens Barrichello 25 days after nearly running the Brazilian into a concrete wall during the Hungarian grand prix.Barrichello had come close to being forced into the pit wall after Schumacher moved to his right in attempting to block the Williams driver from overtaking.Schumacher defended his actions immediately after the race, although the stewards did not see his point of view as he was handed a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's Belgian grand prix.The outcry that followed led to Schumacher expressing his regret the following day, albeit in a half-hearted way via a message on his website.Schumacher simply said sorry on the basis that it was not his intention to endanger Barrichello's life with his manoeuvre. But with this weekend's race looming, the German has now contacted his former Ferrari team-mate to offer a proper apology.Barrichello, who this weekend celebrates his 300th grand prix, said: "I received a message from him today, an SMS [text message]. Somebody said to him that I was under the impression he had pushed me on to the wall, and he said it wasn't the case and he apologised for that."I just said: 'Thank you, no problem.' I accepted it, wished him a good weekend, life goes on."Michael SchumacherFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Lewis Hamilton hopes McLaren get some Spa relief at Belgian grand prix

www.guardian.co.uk - Hamilton optimistic that car's potential can be unlocked Sebastian Vettel confident of Red Bull success in SpaLewis Hamilton heads to Spa this weekend hopeful that McLaren have found the key to unlocking the potential of his car. The race in Belgium is vital for McLaren after their worst weekend of the year in Budapest just over three weeks ago.Hamilton trails championship leader Mark Webber by four points, but McLaren's trouncing by Red Bull at the Hungaroring was a major cause for concern.The hope is that Spa's long straights will prove a benefit to McLaren for this weekend at least, while the belief is they will also be strong for the final European race in Italy next month.If the team fails to revive their challenge it could leave them vulnerable for the final five fly-away races."Although it's been great for the whole team to have had the factory shutdown and a well-deserved holiday, I think we're all really looking forward to getting back into the title fight," said Hamilton."The break gave us some valuable thinking time to consider how to improve our car for the remainder of the season. We head into these two races not only optimistic of some better results, but also of stronger pace for the rest of the year."McLaren's team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, is convinced there are hidden secrets within the car which they have yet to tap into. "After a disappointing Hungarian grand prix we are pushing hard to regain the performance relative to our rivals that we had enjoyed earlier this season," said Whitmarsh."While we believe our recent upgrades have given us a downforce improvement, it appears the package hasn't yet delivered to its full potential, particularly in terms of providing the drivers with a consistent, confidence-delivering platform. As we've always stated, we believe there are some large areas of performance locked within the car and its recent upgrade."We are confident our solid-engineering approach will enable us to fully unlock them sooner rather than later."Hamilton, who watched last season's Belgian grand prix from the garage after being involved in a first-lap accident that also included Jenson Button, is also hoping to avoid any more reliability issues after his gearbox failure in Hungary."We've investigated the causes [of the gearbox issue], and think we've identified the reason and are confident it shouldn't happen again."Personally, I think Spa is one of the great Formula One tracks, and one where I'd really love to win. I'll be going flat-out to try and get us back into the hunt again in Belgium, and it would be fantastic if we could take home another win at the end of the weekend."Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, says he is feeling confident ahead of the race. Vettel remains only 10 points adrift of his team-mate Webber going into the final seven races."I love Spa. It has some of the best corner sections in Formula One. They're long, fast-flowing and suit our car."Our weakness will be the long straights and, with uphill sections too, we know it won't be easy for us, but I am optimistic for the race."Lewis HamiltonSebastian VettelFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Lewis Hamilton hoping for McLaren breakthrough at Belgian grand prix

www.guardian.co.uk - Hamilton optimistic that car's potential can be unlocked Sebastian Vettel confident of Red Bull success in SpaLewis Hamilton heads to Spa this weekend hopeful that McLaren have found the key to unlocking the potential of his car.After a four-week summer break, Formula One is back on the agenda for a seven-race conclusion to the season, starting with the Belgian grand prix on Sunday - a vital race for McLaren after their worst weekend of the year in Budapest just over three weeks ago.Although Hamilton only trails championship leader Mark Webber by four points, the fact that McLaren were trounced by Red Bull Racing at the Hungaroring was a major cause for concern.The hope is that Spa's long straights will prove a benefit to McLaren for this weekend at least, while the belief is they will also be strong for the final European race in Italy next month.If the team fail adequately to revive their challenge, though, it could leave them vulnerable for the final five fly-away races."Although it's been great for the whole team to have had the factory shutdown and a well-deserved holiday, I think we're all really looking forward to getting back into the title fight," said Hamilton."The break gave us some valuable thinking time to consider how to improve our car for the remainder of the season. We head into these two races not only optimistic of some better results, but also of stronger pace for the rest of the year."McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh is convinced there are hidden secrets within the car which they have yet to tap into."After a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix we are pushing hard to regain the performance relative to our rivals that we had enjoyed earlier this season," said Whitmarsh."While we believe our recent upgrades have given us a downforce improvement, it appears the package hasn't yet delivered to its full potential, particularly in terms of providing the drivers with a consistent, confidence-delivering platform. As we've always stated, we believe there are some large areas of performance locked within the car and its recent upgrade."We are confident our solid-engineering approach will enable us to fully unlock them sooner rather than later."Hamilton, who watched last season's Belgian Grand Prix from the garage after being involved in a first-lap accident that also included Jenson Button, is also hoping to avoid any more reliability issues after his gearbox failure in Hungary."We've investigated the causes [of the gearbox issue], and think we've identified the reason and are confident it shouldn't happen again."Personally, I think Spa is one of the great Formula One tracks, and one where I'd really love to win. I'll be going flat-out to try and get us back into the hunt again in Belgium, and it would be fantastic if we could take home another win at the end of the weekend."Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, says he is feeling confident ahead of the race. Vettel remains only 10 points adrift of team-mate Webber going into the final seven races."I love Spa. It has some of the best corner sections in Formula One. They're long, fast-flowing and suit our car."Our weakness will be the long straights and, with uphill sections too, we know it won't be easy for us, but I am optimistic for the race."Lewis HamiltonSebastian VettelFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Michael Schumacher plays down chances ahead of Belgium grand prix

www.guardian.co.uk - Seven-time Formula One champion has 10-place grid penalty 'It will be difficult to expect special things from the race'Michael Schumacher has warned fans not to "expect special things" this weekend at a track where he has won a record six times in the past.Seven-time Formula One champion Schumacher heads into his favourite grand prix at Spa in Belgium on Sunday with a 10-place grid penalty after he was punished by the stewards following the last race in Hungary for nearly running former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello into a concrete wall.It means hopes of win number seven in the Ardennes are now virtually non-existent for the Mercedes star, which would take his number of races without a victory this season to 13.That would equal an unwanted personal record for Schumacher, first set in his second full season in F1 in 1993 when he was driving for Benetton.Assessing the weekend ahead, Schumacher said: "Spa has always been my favourite racetrack."For that reason alone I am really looking forward to going back and racing there. It has been ages since I was last there. Our weekend will obviously be handicapped by my grid penalty, and consequently it will be difficult to expect special things from the race."On the other hand, every racing kilometre is important and welcome because we can learn from it with regards to our car. I will definitely try to make the best out of the weekend."For Mercedes in general, it is now a case of restoring pride and aiming for respectability after a wretched run of results.In four of the last five grands prix Mercedes have collected single digits in terms of points from Schumacher and team-mate Nico Rosberg.In Hungary, they suffered the bitter disappointment of failing to score for the first time this season. It is now about salvaging what they can from the remaining seven races in the hope it will stand them in good stead for next year."The summer shutdown has been a well-deserved opportunity for our staff to have a break in the middle of the season," said team principal Ross Brawn."But we are all looking forward to the racing getting under way again with the Belgian Grand Prix. Spa is one of the classic racing circuits on the calendar which is loved by drivers, engineers and fans so it is always one of the highlights of the year."But with the shutdown, we have had limited time to work on the car since Hungary. However, we will do our best to have a good weekend to kick off the final run of seven races to the end of the season."Michael SchumacherFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

F1: Michael Schumacher plays down chances ahead of Belgium grand prix

www.guardian.co.uk - Seven-time Formula One champion has 10-place grid penalty 'It will be difficult to expect special things from the race'Michael Schumacher has warned fans not to "expect special things" this weekend at a track where he has won a record six times in the past.The seven-time Formula One champion Schumacher heads into his favourite grand prix at Spa in Belgium on Sunday with a 10-place grid penalty after he was punished by the stewards following the last race in Hungary for nearly running his former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello into a concrete wall.It means hopes of win number seven in the Ardennes are now virtually non-existent for the Mercedes driver, which would take his number of races without a victory this season to 13.That would equal an unwanted personal record for Schumacher, first set in his second full season in Formula One in 1993 when he was driving for Benetton."Spa has always been my favourite racetrack. For that reason alone I am really looking forward to going back and racing there," said Schumacher. "It has been ages since I was last there. Our weekend will obviously be handicapped by my grid penalty, and consequently it will be difficult to expect special things from the race."On the other hand, every racing kilometre is important and welcome because we can learn from it with regards to our car. I will definitely try to make the best out of the weekend."For Mercedes it is now a case of restoring pride and aiming for respectability after a wretched run of results. In four of the last five grands prix Mercedes' drivers Schumacher and Nico Rosberg have collected points in only single digits.In Hungary, they suffered the bitter disappointment of failing to score for the first time this season. It is now about salvaging what they can from the remaining seven races in the hope it will stand them in good stead for next year."The summer shutdown has been a well-deserved opportunity for our staff to have a break in the middle of the season," said the team principal Ross Brawn. "But we are all looking forward to the racing getting under way again with the Belgian Grand Prix. Spa is one of the classic racing circuits on the calendar which is loved by drivers, engineers and fans so it is always one of the highlights of the year."But with the shutdown, we have had limited time to work on the car since Hungary. However, we will do our best to have a good weekend to kick off the final run of seven races to the end of the season."Michael SchumacherFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Sébastien Loeb wins German rally to extend world championship lead

www.guardian.co.uk - Loeb wins in Germany for record eighth consecutive time Victory puts Frenchman in sight of seventh world titleThe defending world champion, Sébastien Loeb, won the German rally for a record eighth consecutive time to extend his lead in the standings to 58 points.The six-time world title winner led the event from start to finish to win by 51.3 seconds from his Citroën C4 WRC team-mate Dani Sordo. The Citroën Junior team driver Sébastien Ogier made it a clean sweep for the French manufacturer after finishing one minute and 22 seconds behind Sordo.The Ford works team driver Jari-Matti Latvala was fourth with the privateer Citroën entrant Petter Solberg fifth.The win, Loeb's fifth of the season, made it 59 at world championship level for him and his co-driver, Daniel Elena, and took his points tally for the season to 191 compared to 133 for Ogier. With four rounds of the series to go Loeb could clinch the world title in Japan next month ahead of races in France, Spain and Wales.Loeb was delighted to have continued his dominance of the German race."[It was] a very good victory for me again, the eighth one in a row," he said. "It's incredible, I really have a good feeling on this rally. I wouldn't like to be beaten here and this time it's all okay again."Sordo, on his first outing in the event in a factory Citroën, kept Loeb in sight until his team-mate pulled clear on Saturday morning. It was a good result for Sordo as it was the first time he had competed with new co-driver Diego Vallejo.Ogier made up for a low key start by passing Mikko Hirvonen for fourth and then claiming third from Latvala when the Finn spun.Tyre damage on Friday meant Solberg had to be content with fifth when a place on the podium had been possible, with the main battle of the weekend going on over sixth place. Stobart Ford's Matthew Wilson eventually won that fight from the former Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen.RallyingMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Valentino Rossi reveals driving force behind move from Yamaha to Ducati

www.guardian.co.uk - Rossi wanted to start a fresh chapter in MotoGP career Italian felt his work at Yamaha was finishedValentino Rossi said it was the motivation to start a fresh chapter in his MotoGP career that led him to quit Yamaha and switch to Ducati for next season.The 31-year-old six times world Motogp champion has signed a two-year deal with the Italian manufacturer after he felt his work with Yamaha was over. The decision of Yamaha's Motogp cheif Masao Furusawa to retire at the end of this season also prompted him to seek a change of teams."In general I have two or three important things," said Rossi. "First, at the end of this season, Masao Furusawa retires, and stops work. So for me, it was important. These seven years Furusawa was always the No1 of Yamaha. So without him, I don't know what will happen. So for this I was quite worried."I have the feeling that my work here in Yamaha is finished," he added. "So the situation changed a lot. We did a great job, fantastic, great emotion, but we modified the situation from 2004 in [a] positive [way], because now the bike is fantastic. Maybe it is the best one, and Yamaha have great riders, especially [Jorge] Lorenzo but also [Ben] Spies is fast."So it looks like for me here, the time is finished, you know? So I need a new adventure, some new experience, but especially a new motivation. So, I decided for Ducati.""At the beginning of the season I spoke to Ducati. I felt Ducati is a lot more different than in the past, a lot more open to fix all the important things of the contract together. So from that moment I start to think.""I heard somewhere that it is a money choice, but I want to say that this is not true, because the money I will take from Ducati is exactly the same money as Yamaha offered," he said. "So there is no difference, zero difference. It means also PR days and days of work outside the grand prix and work into the weekend, all these things."So, I think that, I always speak with [Ducati general manager] Filippo Preziosi, and I see in him the similar behaviour that I saw in Furusawa in 2004."He wants me and he trusts in me and he thinks that together we can improve the Ducati, so I'm curious. I think this year the bike become a little bit easier to ride, but I think we can modify the bike like we want."The Italian wants Yamaha to release him in time to take part in the post-season Valencia test. "I expect that Yamaha will let me try the Ducati in Valencia, because our story is a different story [from Honda, which refused to allow him to test for Yamaha in similar circumstances], and I give more to Yamaha from 2004 to now, I improve a lot the bike and all the team, so if they are fair, they have to say yes for my test in Valencia."Valentino RossiMotoGPMotor sportAndy Martinguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Valentino Rossi leaves Fiat Yamaha and joins Ducati

www.guardian.co.uk - Valentino Rossi quits Yamaha after seven years Ducati announces two-year deal with ItalianValentino Rossi will part company with Fiat Yamaha at the end of the season and will join Ducati from 2011, the Italian has confirmed.Shortly after Rossi confirmed his departure from Yamaha, Ducati announced that he would be joining them on a two-year deal form 2011.The announcement brings to an end the reigning MotoGP world champion's hugely successful seven-season association with Yamaha. Rossi has won four MotoGP world titles with the Japanese manufacturer since joining the factory squad from Honda in 2004, and the 31-year-old admitted leaving the team had brought a special relationship to a close."It is very difficult to explain in just a few words what my relationship with Yamaha has been in these past seven years," said Rossi. "Many things have changed since that far-off time in 2004, but especially 'she', my M1, has changed. At that time she was a poor middle-grid position MotoGP bike, derided by most of the riders and the MotoGP workers. Now, after having helped her to grow and improve, you can see her smiling in her garage, courted and admired, treated as the 'top of the class'."Now the moment has come to look for new challenges; my work here at Yamaha is finished. Unfortunately even the most beautiful love stories finish, but they leave a lot of wonderful memories, like when my M1 and I kissed for the first time on the grass at Welkom, when she looked straight in my eyes and told me 'I love you!"'A Yamaha team statement read: "Yamaha is extremely grateful for Valentino's contributions to its racing successes over the past seven years and it would like to wish him the very best in his future racing endeavours."Yamaha are expected to draft in the American Ben Spies as Rossi's replacement in the factory squad.Spies' place in the satellite Tech 3 Yamaha team is likely to taken by Britain's Cal Crutchlow, who currently rides for the Japanese manufacturer in World Superbikes.Valentino RossiMotoGPMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Jorge Lorenzo wins Czech grand prix to extend championship lead

www.guardian.co.uk - Jorge Lorenzo rides to seventh win in 10 at Brno Dani Pedrosa beaten into second, with Casey Stoner thirdJorge Lorenzo increased his already commanding lead in the MotoGP World Championship standings with a decisive victory at the Czech grand prix at Brno.The Fiat Yamaha rider made it seven wins out of 10 starts this season to move 77 points clear of his nearest rival Dani Pedrosa in the riders' championship.Pedrosa failed to convert pole position into victory today as he trailed his fellow Spaniard home in second place, five seconds down, while Ducati's Casey Stoner came home in third.Ben Spies of the United States was again impressive for Tech 3 Yamaha, converting his surprise second place on the grid to fourth at the chequered flag, while the second factory Yamaha of Valentino Rossi came home in a subdued fifth.Pedrosa held station from Spies off the line but the two leaders were quickly swallowed up by Lorenzo, who lined up third after suffering a crash in qualifying yesterday but moved to the front of the race today inside three corners.The reigning World Superbike champion Spies followed Lorenzo through to briefly take second place, but Pedrosa re-passed on the next lap and was never challenged over the remaining 20 laps.Suzuki's Loris Capirossi was an early retirement after a fall on lap two, while the second factory Honda of Andrea Dovizioso had a lucky escape when he fell on lap four, the Italian coming to rest in the middle of the track on the exit of turn nine and only just being missed by Nicky Hayden, Rossi and a host of other riders.Rossi had earlier made a slow start from fifth on the grid to drop to eighth, but the reigning world champion clawed his way back to finish fifth by the flag. The Italian finished just ahead of the second Ducati of Hayden, while Colin Edwards took seventh for Tech 3 Yamaha and Marco Melandri was eighth for San Carlo Honda Gresini.Héctor Barberá (Paginas Amarillas Aspar) came home in ninth place while Randy de Puniet was an impressive 10th for LCR Honda in his first race back after breaking his leg at the German grand prix only four weeks ago.MotoGPMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)

Connaught suppliers funded racing career of executive's son

www.guardian.co.uk - Harry Tincknell, son of firm's former executive chairman, benefited from series of sponsorship dealsAt least five major suppliers to Connaught, the beleaguered social housing maintenance group, have helped bankroll the promising motor racing career of Harry Tincknell, son of the company's recently departed executive chairman, through a series of sponsorship deals.Prominent among Tincknell's sponsorship partners are Plumbing Trade Services, known as PTS, which is part of stock market listed BSS Group. Also placing their brand name on the young driver's shirts are building merchant Jewson, equipment rental firm Speedy Hire and IT firms Azzurri and Annodata.All five businesses have significant ties with troubled Connaught, the business Harry's father, Mark Tincknell, spent 28 years building from a small regional operator in Exeter into one of Britain's largest social housing maintenance groups.However a shock profits warning in late June led to panic among a range of Connaught's stakeholders, including investors, suppliers and lenders. The company's share price has dropped 95% amid concerns about the group's aggressive accounting policies. Connaught last month announced Tincknell and finance director Stephen Hill were leaving; the departure of chief executive Mark Davies had been announced in January.Between them, the three executives each made multimillion-pound fortunes from the sale of stakes in the FTSE 250 company before the share price collapsed. Between April 2008 and last October, Tincknell, Davies and Hill took home windfalls of £10.7m, £5.5m and £2m respectively. Tincknell this year reinvested £1.6m, which has shrunk in value.The former Connaught boss is believed to have used his contacts book as well as mortgaging a home he owns with his wife to help secure sponsorship deals to further his son's racing career.Harry Tincknell, who turns 19 next month and lives with his parents, is a promising driver and claimed his second Formula Renault UK Championship victory last weekend at Snetterton racetrack in Norfolk.Several suppliers to Connaught contacted by the Guardian would not speak on the record but all privately insisted decisions to sponsor Harry Tincknell had been taken for commercial reasons. Some pointed out they offered similar sponsorship deals throughout motor sport.Nicola Lidgett, head of marketing for Azzurri Communications, said: "For me it is absolutely a valuable exercise." The business struck a deal to outsource Connaught's entire fixed and mobile communications in October 2008.In 2007, Connaught negotiated a deal to use Jewson as preferred supplier while Speedy Hire announced in March this year that it had entered into a new five-year strategic supply agreement with Connaught. Meanwhile, Annodata has outsourced Connaught's printer services operations.A month after issuing its first profits warning in June - at which point the company had assured investors it had substantial headroom in its bank borrowing facilities - Connaught released a further trading update informing investors the business now had "an urgent requirement for additional funds to meet the current and ongoing needs of the business".It said the working capital crisis had been largely triggered by suppliers and subcontractors - many of them previously eager to secure business with fast-growing Connaught - tightening the payment terms demanded of the crisis-stricken group. The business remains in crisis talks with lenders, who may end up being forced to take ownership of a portion of the business. A further profits warning last week made clear Connaught expected to make a "material" operating loss for its current financial year.On the same day, Connaught's largest and most loyal shareholder, Breeden European, run by former US securities and exchange commission chairman Richard Breeden, sold more than half his investment, as did a second major shareholder, Norwegian government pension fund Norges Bank.Construction industryHousing marketBSSMotor sportSimon BowersIan Griffithsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Motor sport)