FORMULA 1 - 2013

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Testing times - Q&A with Mercedes’ Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff’s first six months with Mercedes as the team’s executive director have been tumultuous to say the least, culminating in their ban from the upcoming young driver test for those illegal 1,000 kilometres with Pirelli. But with ‘tyregate’ now firmly behind them, and the F1 W04 having won its second race of 2013 at the weekend, Wolff insists that team spirit at Brackley and Brixworth is stronger than ever…

Q: Toto, the performance level that Mercedes have shown since Monaco - because of, or despite the disputed test?

Toto Wolff: Despite the test. And I tell you why: we were very busy the last couple of weeks getting prepared for the International Tribunal. A lot of grey cells that normally concentrate on making the car better were working on the documentation for the Tribunal. That’s why I settle for the ‘despite’!

Q: Some would say Mercedes got off fairly lightly. Your non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said that Mercedes would have accepted any verdict. What penalty scenarios were you contemplating internally?

TW: I think Niki’s quotes were taken out of context. He didn’t mean that we would have taken any verdict because we wouldn’t have taken any verdict. What I think is that we should stop making politics. The teams should stop making politics. Formula One is about racing performance, about the drivers, and not the green table or back room politics. We have been given a penalty and we accept it. Three days not testing - yes it is with rookie drivers, agreed, and this is a big differentiation to our regular race drivers - but it is free testing, which means (with the young driver in the car) that you are allowed to use any car, allowed to put any part on the car and allowed to develop any part on the car. You can use the race car with rigs and sensors, you use the race tyres and are on a track where you have raced before, similar to us. So losing three days with unlimited mileage - probably 1,500 kilometres - is a big hit. We have a long list of things we would have done but now can’t. Something like 35 different programs. And if somebody says there are nobodies driving, well this test is not about squeezing out the last tenth, but about collecting data.

Q: Can you briefly explain why Mercedes found themselves in that situation? Was it all a huge misunderstanding, false signals, or simply trying to push the boundaries?

TW: Well, Mercedes is about sporting competition, fair competition, and engineers competing against each other at the highest level, and definitely not about unfair advantages and malicious dealings. We acted in good faith because we asked Charlie (Whiting) if that test was fine, Charlie I think acted in good faith by telling us that the test was okay. We did the test and afterwards our microcosms collapsed and we found out that the matter could have been handled in a different way - but that’s in the past now.

Q: With hindsight do you regret those 1,000 kilometres in Barcelona?

TW: Well, we really tried to help Pirelli. We shouldn’t let them down. They were asked to provide spectacular tyres - to provide tyres that would enable lots of pit stops - and that is what they did. Then everybody says we don’t want that any more. We had some tyre failures - that was clearly a safety issue as well - and they asked us if we could help them out - and that is what we did. We didn’t measure anything on the car, we didn’t do what certain media wrote. But clearly in hindsight, had I known about the avalanche of things that would result, we probably we wouldn’t have done it because it diverts us from our core business.

Q: For 2014 there are four in-season tests planned. Is this a direct consequence of the whole affair: better legalize in-season tests before the sport ends up in front of a tribunal every time somebody puts mileage on their car?

TW: I think the in-season tests are an approach by the teams to reduce simulation, to reduce wind tunnel time. And in the context of our ‘tyregate’ and the efforts that must be made to support Pirelli, yes, it is a good thing. Eight additional days will help the teams and will help Pirelli.

Q: Putting the testing controversy behind you, the season is starting to look really promising for Mercedes. Is second in the constructors’ championship a realistic goal for 2013?

TW: We could even live with fourth place in the constructors’. In general we look much better on Saturdays, but lately we are also heavily improving on Sundays. But you must never underestimate Ferrari or Lotus. True, when it is cold they are not performing so well, but wait until the hotter races - then we could be struggling again.

Q: Paddy Lowe, your new executive director (technical), was in Mercedes colours for the first time at a race at Silverstone. Have you sorted out what his role will be? Team principal Ross Brawn said not so long ago that his earlier-than-anticipated arrival meant it was a bit unclear as to what his immediate duties would be...

TW: We are moving towards a completely different environment with the 2014 regulations and having lots of intelligent people helps us to concentrate on the 2013 activities and have a firm eye on 2014. Paddy is analysing the situation at the moment. He works for Ross and he is fitting in perfectly.

Q: What about for 2014, when Paddy has fully bedded in and you have four ‘cooks in the kitchen’?

TW: That is very easy: Niki is the chairman of the board, he is a valuable advisor, but his is more of a mentoring role, a strategic advisory role. He is not in the office every day. The actual running of the team is divided between Ross and myself - between the engineering side and the commercial side - and this functions very well. And Paddy is fitting in very well. I think we should all not forget our core skills and competencies - a screwdriver in my hand would do more damage than good to the car and I am not sure that Paddy is so keen on having to make a sponsorship pitch.

Q: Half a season with Mercedes and you have already been confronted with some serious F1 politics. What have you learned?

TW: I have learned a lot I can tell you! First I have to say that I take my hat off from Norbert (Haug) who did the job for 22 years. In these six months we have been on a rollercoaster ride: difficult races, ups and downs, the test tribunal and politics. So what I have learned is that the most important thing is to preserve the team spirit. You can have a ‘sh*t storm’ outside as long as the team sticks together. Whatever has happened in the last couple of weeks has made us stronger. We have never let each other down. That goes for every sport and every business - as long as the team, and every individual in that team, sticks together, believes in the common goal and puts the common interest above personal interest, then you are on the right track.

Q: There is no number-one driver in the team. Is that a situation based on results or contracts?

TW: On everything! We have no number-one driver because that is not Mercedes’ nor the team’s policy. We have two drivers who are pushing themselves to the limit, so we would never give anyone number-one status - unless at the end of the season one of our drivers is capable of winning the championship but not the other. But we are far away from this.

Q: So let’s put it this way: who has the greater potential to win the championship for Mercedes?

TW: Both of them are capable. They are so different in their approach - and yet so brilliant. Lewis’s (Hamilton’s) instinct-driven skills or Nico’s (Rosberg’s) talent and work-driven skills - in the end it boils down to the same lap time. So my best bet is that it will be one or the other! (laughs)

Q: Based on that and the knowledge that Mercedes’ qualifying speed has generally been better than your race pace, how do you see the Silverstone result?

TW: Well, before Monaco and Silverstone I would have said that we’d love to move to a ‘Saturday championship’ - that would be a pretty sure way for us to be in contention for the world championship. (laughs) But it’s shifting and we are really starting to embrace Sundays. We know that we have to make our tyres last, because I believe that our car right now is the quickest car on the grid. The conditions also play a role: the warmer it gets the more difficult it is for us…

Q: So which races could be good for you?

TW: Silverstone just was, despite not being a typical English Sunday afternoon, and I am looking forward to a typical Eifel weekend in Germany. Beyond that Spa is our next best bet.

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Grosjean: You always want to be faster than your team-mate

After a frustrating British Grand Prix, Lotus driver Romain Grosjean has his sights set on the Nürburgring; the scene of two podium finishes – including a win albeit in the GP2 Series – when he last visited the track.

How do you like the Nürburgring?

It’s quite a nice track with a quite a lot to it. There’s a really interesting mix of corners which means you have plenty to think about over the course of a lap; you’re certainly kept busy! The first section relies on mechanical grip and Turn 1 can be interesting at the start of the race if people go too deep into the corner. It can also be a good overtaking opportunity during the race too. After that there are some higher speed corners down to the hairpin – which is another good place you can overtake – then nice high speed stuff for the rest of the lap. You need a well-balanced car so I think we should go pretty well.

What’s your past form at the circuit?

This will be my first time racing there in Formula 1, but I’ve raced at the track previously in F3 and the GP2 Series. Last time I raced there – 2011 in the GP2 Series – I scored a podium and a win so my most recent memories of the circuit are certainly good.

Would you like to have raced on the old Nürburgring?

It’s quite some circuit and it must have been amazing to have raced there. I can’t imagine what it would be like if we raced the current Formula 1 cars there. For starters can you imagine how long the set-up meetings would be with all those corners to talk about?! The Thursday morning track walk would be pretty epic too!

How was your British Grand Prix?

It wasn’t the best of races; quite a frustrating one in fact. We had a problem with the front wing which got worse over the course of the race, and ultimately we lost a big part of it. There was a lot of vibration and it became really difficult to drive, so in the end it was best to retire because of safety considerations. Before that, things weren’t going quite to plan and we were suffering with tyre performance issues related to the front wing. The safety cars didn’t really go our way either so it’s a race I’d rather forget.

Was it good to out-qualify Kimi for the first time this season?

Of course, you always want to be faster than your team-mate so it was good to be in front of him on the grid. We both had different upgrade packages on our cars, so it was good to see we were able to get similar speeds out of them. Of course, we want some more speed too, but there are still more parts to come and we’re still learning about the latest upgrades so there’s potential yet.

What do you think can be achieved from the next few races?

We’ve got new parts on the car and we certainly have the pace for some strong results. The last few races have been frustrating for various reasons, so if we can get a few solid weekends we should be able to get some decent results and score good points.

What are your thoughts on the current tyre situation?

Well it looks like I could be busy at the Young Driver Test in a few weeks’ time if race drivers are allowed to take part. Certainly, Silverstone was a very unusual situation and I know that myself and Kimi were being asked to stay off the kerbs as it was thought that using them on certain corners wasn’t helping the situation. No-one wants tyre failures and I know all the teams and the sport are working with Pirelli to put this right. I’m sure there will be a satisfactory solution soon.

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Raikkonen: Maybe I did something bad in a former life

He’s never won in Germany, whether in the European or German Grand Prix; the latter of which has seen Kimi Räikkönen retire six times. After a top three placing with Lotus last season, can this finally be the year for Iceman at the Nürburgring?

What is it about Germany that hasn’t been kind to you in the past?

I don’t know, maybe I did something bad in a former life? I have always enjoyed driving in Germany, but the problem is that luck has never been on my side there and something has always happened to stop me winning. I’ve got four poles to show my speed on German soil, but six retirements at this race haven’t been what I wanted.

Does it set you more of a challenge to have raced in Formula 1 in Germany 16 times, but never won?

Not really. A race is just a race and you always try to do your best. Obviously in the past both circuits – the Nürburgring and Hockenheim – have not been very kind to me, but I like them both and I have always been very competitive; in terms of pace if not maybe results. I’ve gone very well at the Nürburgring before, just never won. A couple of times I’ve had to stop while leading the race which always sends you home with a bad feeling. Hopefully I can finally get everything right this time. Last year we made the top three in Hockenheim, so let’s wait and see how it goes at the Nürburgring for the first time with this team.

Things looked so promising in Silverstone until right at the end; give us your view…

It was a disappointing end to the weekend for sure. Things were going pretty well in the race, but it was a mistake not to switch to new tyres when the safety car came out. I tried to hold on, but with tyres that were maybe twenty laps older than the others it was impossible to keep them behind at the end. It’s a shame as we had good pace and looked set for a pretty easy P2, but this is racing sometimes.

On the plus side you finally broke Michael Schumacher’s record for points finishes.

It makes no difference to the Championship, so I’m really not interested in that.

You had a pretty intense moment behind Jean-Eric Vergne; were you nervous at all?

It wasn’t ideal having bits of rubber thrown at your helmet for sure, but risk is all part of the game. It wasn’t his or the tyres’ fault; if you have sharp edges on a kerb as seemed to be the case there last weekend then these things can happen no matter what tyres you have. It didn’t change our race anyway.

It’s not been an easy run of late; does that affect your mindset?

No. It’s three races now where we haven’t had the result we maybe expect, but hopefully if we can have a bit more luck and also get rid of some of the mistakes we’ll be able to get back to the front.

What’s the Nürburgring like to race?

It’s pretty good, but probably not as much fun as the old one. It should suit us, but the fact is you need a really good car to be competitive there. Most of all you need good traction out of the corners and a stable car under braking. We’re pretty reasonable in both these areas. We have had our issues with cooler weather and unfortunately it’s not usually that warm at the Nürburgring, but we’ll just see what we get and get on with it. (Lotus)

What’s the target for this weekend?

We never promise anything beforehand. A podium would be a positive result and a step in the right direction. We missed that at Silverstone, and it would be good to get back to the top positions. The season is still long and the leaders of the championship are ahead of us. Realistically, all I can do is to do my very best in each race.

Will you tell us the story about your hair?

No. But if I get on the podium in Germany you will see it.

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Pirelli blame teams for causing blowouts by pushing the limits of tyres

Formula 1 teams contributed to the dramatic blowouts at Sunday’s British Grand Prix by mounting rear tyres the wrong way around and running them with low pressures, supplier Pirelli said on Tuesday.

Rejecting any suggestion that its product was dangerous, the Italian company said in a statement it would bring stronger rear tyres to this weekend’s race in Germany to allay any safety fears and introduce a new range in Hungary at the end of the month.

Pirelli said some teams had deliberately put tyres intended for the right rear of the car on the left, had run them at lower pressures than recommended by the manufacturer and used extreme cambers for performance advantage.

However, it shouldered some of the blame for these practices. “Mounting the tyres the wrong way round is a practice that was nonetheless underestimated by everybody: above all Pirelli, which did not forbid this,” said the statement.

Pirelli found the kerbs at fast corners, and specifically turn four of the Silverstone circuit, were also “particularly aggressive”.

Four drivers suffered high-speed rear tyre blowouts at Silverstone – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) and Sergio Perez (McLaren).

The debris from the exploding tyres was flung up into the path of cars behind, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso having one near-miss. Fears about the drivers’ safety plunged the sport into crisis with talk of a possible driver boycott.

Pirelli said the rears to be used at the Nurburgring on Sunday would feature inner belts made of Kevlar, a reinforced fibre that was a feature of last year’s tyres, beneath the tread instead of the steel used so far this season.

Its 2013 tyres have an ‘asymmetric’ structure which means that they are not designed to be interchangeable but some teams struggling with high degradation have improved performance by swapping them around.

“The sidewalls are designed in such a way to deal with specific loads on the internal and external sides of the tyre. So swapping the tyres round has an effect on how they work in certain conditions,” said Pirelli.

“In particular, the external part is designed to cope with the very high loads that are generated while cornering at a circuit as demanding as Silverstone, with its rapid left-hand bends and some kerbs that are particularly aggressive.”

Under-inflating the tyres can also bring a competitive advantage but puts more stress on them.

Pirelli said that, because of the potential danger, it had asked the governing FIA for a technical official to make sure cambers and pressures complied with set parameters in future.

It will also be forbidden to swap the new rears for Germany around, since they too are asymmetric. The front tyres remain unaltered.

The tyres to be used at the Nurburgring had been made originally for teams to try out in Canada last month. But they were not used due to bad weather and opposition from Ferrari, Force India and Lotus whose cars were easier on the tyres and who feared giving up an advantage.

Those tyres to be introduced in Hungary at the end of July will have a symmetrical structure with the 2013 compounds.

“I’d like to re-emphasise the fact that the 2013 range of tyres, used in the correct way, is completely safe,” said Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery.

“What happened at Silverstone though has led us to ask for full access to real-time tyre data to ensure the correct usage and development of tyres that have the sophistication we were asked to provide and extremely high performance that has lowered lap times by more than two seconds on average.

“While we wait for a change in the rules, we will introduce tyres that are easier to manage.”

Formula One teams will test the tyres for Hungary at Silverstone from July 17-19. Silverstone’s owners had said reports that sharp edges on the circuit’s kerbs might have been to blame for the blowouts were “absolute rubbish”.

Pirelli said the Silverstone failures were unrelated to previous problems of ‘delamination’ – when the tread is penetrated by debris and separates from the belt underneath, peeling away from the main body, or carcass, of the tyre.

“What happened at Silverstone was completely unexpected and it was the first time that anything like this has ever occurred in more than a century of Pirelli in motorsport,” said Hembery.

“These incidents, which have upset us greatly, have stressed the urgency of the changes that we already suggested.”

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Ricciardo giggles at reports he upped his game since Webber announcement

Daniel Ricciardo did himself no harm with a stellar showing during qualifying for the British Grand Prix, and then showing strongly in the race despite a bad start from fifth on the grid, but the Australian scoffs at suggestions he has suddenly raised his game in the wake of Mark Webber’s decision to quit Formula 1 at the end of 2013 and thus make available a highly sought after race seat at Red Bull.

Ricciardo reflected on the weekend at Silverstone, “Obviously this was one of the best weekends of my F1 career – and I’m hearing quite a lot about how I’ve upped my game because Mark Webber’s leaving Red Bull Racing.”

“How do you respond to reporting like that? I think you just have to giggle and let it go,” he mused

But admitted, “Excited that there’s a seat up for grabs? Definitely.”

“More motivated and trying harder than I have been before? Trust me, I’ve been trying as hard as I can since I got here – and the motivation’s been at maximum for as long as I can remember,” revealed the Toro Rosso driver.

Ricciardo added in his preview of the forthcoming German Grand Prix, “Waking up this morning [Tuesday] I’m a fairly happy man. It’s my birthday, I’m 24. I’ve got family in town and there’s a nice dinner on the cards. I think I’m even allowed a beer – but only one pint because we’ve got a race this weekend.”

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Ferrari: We saw the performance gap grow between ourselves and Red Bull and Mercedes

Although Fernando Alonso finished second at the British Grand Prix, there are concerns within Ferrari that they were lucky with the result at Silverstone and have in fact lost ground on their main rivals.

Speaking ahead of the German Grand Prix weekend, Ferrari sporting director Massimo Rivola said, “The British Grand Prix was certainly exciting, but that aside, we made a step forward in terms of the championship classification by reducing the gap to our main rivals, but honestly, in performance terms we saw the gap grow between ourselves and Red Bull and Mercedes.”

Rivola also lamented the short five day gap between the race at Silverstone and the start of the race weekend at Nurburgring, “To be honest, with the various question marks over the performance of the F138 following Silverstone, a bit of a break would have been useful. We are not talking about minor details, but more significant challenges, so, it would have been nice to get more time to analyse all the data. But this is Formula 1, it’s our job and we know what it entails.”

The Italian also played down how competitive the F138 is likely to be in Germany, “It’s hard to say if we can be competitive or not, because, with the new updates we usually bring to the races there will be even more unknown factors than the ones we are facing right now. Certainly it should be warmer than at Silverstone, but we’re not talking Malaysia [-like] temperatures!”

“Then, some parts of the track will suit our car, but others, like the final corner for example, will not. It definitely won’t be easy to match the pace of Red Bull and Mercedes, but that has to be our aim. Of course, we want to win every race, but we have to be realistic and we will begin by trying to close the gap in qualifying. If we can start from nearer the front, then we can allow ourselves to be optimistic for Sunday,” added Rivola.

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Rosberg and Hamilton drive down memory lane

On July 4th, the Mercedes F1 team warmed up for its home grand prix in Germany by sending its two drivers out on a lap of the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring in two historic Silver Arrows – Nico in a Type W 196 and Lewis in a Type W 154. Juan Manuel Fangio (1954) and Richard Seaman (1938) respectively drove the same models to victory at the Nürburgring.

The legendary Nordschleife – fondly referred to as the Green Hell – has frequently played a major role in the history of the Silver Arrows, from the debut victory for Manfred von Brauchitsch driving a W 25 in 1934 to the win for Juan Manuel Fangio in 1954 at the wheel of the W 196. (Mercedes F1)

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Di Resta: It’s every boy’s dream as they grow up to get in a Ferrari

Paul di Resta has revealed that he would jump at the opportunity to join Ferrari in 2014 should the option arise.

The Scot, often critical of his Force India team at recent grands prix, has already expressed interest in Red Bull, whose Mark Webber has announced his retirement.

“Where I am next year I do not know,” he said ahead of the British Grand Prix.

But Red Bull subsequently made clear that only the Toro Rosso drivers, and Kimi Raikkonen, are in the frame.

“There’s nothing I can do. It is what it is,” said di Resta.

So, the next top team in the 27-year-old’s sights is Ferrari. Howevere, team boss Stefano Domenicali has indicated that Felipe Massa is likely to keep his seat alongside Fernando Alonso next year.

But Brazilian Massa, despite recovering his speed in 2014, has also had a spate of recent crashes.

Asked about the Maranello based team, di Resta is quoted by the Scotsman newspaper: “You would jump at it, definitely.”

Di Resta’s ancestry, like that of his Indycar-racing cousin Dario Franchitti, is part Italian.

“It’s every boy’s dream as [he] grow up to get in a Ferrari at some point in [his] life,” di Resta said, “and being Italian is a nice thing, having the Italian blood.”

He said the key to any opportunity to move up the grid is to keep his “reputation high”.

“I want to be in a winning seat, but it’s down to the decision of the boards of other teams,” added di Resta.

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Vettel still searching for that elusive win on home soil and to break July jinx

Sebastian Vettel has never won his home German Grand Prix. Vettel, known to be superstitious, has also not ever won a Formula one race in the month of July for that matter, so this week’s trip to the Nürburgring was set to be challenging for the world champion even before last weekend’s tyre debacle.

The exploding Pirellis from the British Grand Prix have F1 drivers on edge but talk of a boycott in Germany has been played down with the Italian firm saying that rear tyres will be made stronger in the short turnaround from Silverstone.

While five drivers including pole sitter Lewis Hamilton suffered blowouts last Sunday, championship leader Vettel’s retirement was due to a gearbox problem in the normally reliable Red Bull.

Adding to the pressure at the Nürburgring for the 26-year-old, celebrating his birthday on Wednesday, is Mercedes’ strong performance at Silverstone with Nico Rosberg taking victory, and eager to impress again at his and his team’s home race.

Despite the odds seemingly being against him, Vettel is excited to be returning home.

“I’ve always had a lot of fun on this track. In 2009, I made it to the podium for the first time [at the Nürburgring] in F1 and it was a fantastic experience thanks to the German fans,” he said in a statement as he discussed never having won in Germany.

“I don’t pay much attention to figures and statistics. It may be nice to look at statistics sometimes, but they only show what has happened in the past, not what is still to come.”

Vettel, champion the last three years, leads in the driver standings on 132 points from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso on 111 and Kimi Raikkonen on 98 in the Lotus.

Mercedes have moved up to second in the constructors’ championship, 48 points behind Red Bull, after eight of 19 races.

The last race at the Nürburgring, which alternates with Hockenheim, was in 2011 when Hamilton took the chequered flag and Vettel came fourth.

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The German can at least take solace from the fact Red Bull team mate Mark Webber sealed pole at the track two years ago.

Australian Webber will be racing in his final German Grand Prix before quitting F1 at the end of the season and he nearly didn’t have this chance to race the Nürburgring again with the track in serious financial difficulty.

The race was almost handed to Hockenheim before F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone stepped in to make sure that it would take place.

Drivers thought last Sunday’s British Grand Prix was too dangerous with bits of exploding tyres narrowly missing their heads, reminding keen F1 followers of Felipe Massa’s accident at Budapest’s Hungaoring, when he suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of being struck by debris from Rubens Barrichello’s Williams, in 2009.

In a major controversy of 2005, 14 drivers did not start the U.S. Grand Prix after problems with their Michelin tyres.

Ecclestone does not expect the same to happen in Germany, with kerbs at Silverstone and the teams’ management of the tyres possibly contributing to the blowouts even if the Pirellis have been controversial all season due to quick degradation.

Pirelli risked angering drivers further by saying on Tuesday that the teams had mounted rear tyres the wrong way around and run them with low pressures.

“I don’t think [a boycott] will happen. I don’t think it’s something we need to address,” Ecclestone said.

The 82-year-old said he would be at the Nürburgring despite the possible threat of arrest because of allegations that he bribed a German banker during the 2005-2006 sale of a stake in Formula One.

Ecclestone denies wrongdoing and Munich prosecutors have not yet indicated if they intended to charge him.

Michael Schumacher was the last German to win his home grand prix in 2006 and here he celebrates on the podium with teammate Felipe Massa

German Grand Prix stats:

• Four different teams have won the eight races so far this year (Lotus, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes).
  
• Red Bull’s triple champion Sebastian Vettel is the only driver with three wins in 2013. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’s Nico Rosberg have won two races each.
  
• Alonso has 32 career wins, Vettel 29, Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton 21, Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen 20 and McLaren’s Jenson Button 15.
  
• Ferrari have won 221 races since the championship started in 1950, McLaren 182, Williams 114 and Red Bull 37.
  
• Mercedes and Rosberg have won two of the last three races. Rosberg’s win at Silverstone was the third of his career and first not from pole. The German has already won more races this season than his father Keke did when he won the title in 1982.
  
• Mercedes have been on pole five times in eight races.
  
• Vettel has 39 poles to his credit, putting him third in the all-time list (Michael Schumacher had 68 and Ayrton Senna 65). Hamilton has 28 and Alonso 22.
  
• One more pole for Hamilton would lift him level with late Argentine five times champion Juan Manuel Fangio in the all-time lists.
  
• Mercedes have locked out the front row in qualifying three times this year.
  
• Alonso has not been on the front row in the last 18 races, with his last appearance being in Germany in 2012.
  
• Caterham and Marussia have yet to score a point after three seasons in Formula One.
  
• None of the five 2013 rookies has scored points so far.
  
• Kimi Raikkonen has now finished 25 successive races in the points for Lotus, an outright record. He shared the previous one of 24 with Michael Schumacher, although the scoring system has changed.
  
• Raikkonen last failed to score in China in 2012. With Vettel retiring at Silverstone, the Finn is now the only driver to have scored points in every race this year.
  
• Former champions Williams have yet to score a point this season and for nine races in a row – their worst ever start.
  
• Michael Schumacher remains the last German driver to win in Germany, with Ferrari in 2006.
  
• Germany has four current drivers – Vettel, Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg and Adrian Sutil.
  
• Vettel has never won in July or in Germany.
  
• The last race at the Nuerburgring was in 2011, with Hamilton the winner.
  
• Williams will be starting their 600th grand prix (after celebrating the milestone at Silverstone last weekend).
  
• Friday is the 60th anniversary of Britain’s first Formula One Grand Prix victory – Mike Hawthorn for Ferrari in France on July 5, 1953.
  
• Alonso’s third place at Silverstone was the Spaniard’s 150th in the points.
  

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Rosberg and Hamilton visit Mercedes factory ahead of German Grand Prix

As part of the build-up to the German Grand Prix, Mercedes AMG F1 drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, accompanied by Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff, called in to see their Mercedes-Benz colleagues at the Sindelfingen plant near Stuttgart on Wednesday.

At one point during the visit, Mercedes-Benz employees had the opportunity to quiz the Formula 1 stars during a question and answer session.

Works Manager Willi Reiss took Rosberg, Hamilton and Wolff on a guided tour of the assembly line for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class which entered production at Sindelfingen this year. The two Silver Arrow drivers were given the opportunity to demonstrate their own mechanical skills by fitting the wheels onto a Mercedes-Benz S Class. “Working on the assembly line and fitting the wheels onto a new S-Class was a new experience for me,” said Hamilton. “All the same, I’m relieved to have the guys change my tyres on a race weekend; they’re much faster at it!”

“I’m very interested in technology,” said Rosberg, “so for me it’s great that I get all these opportunities with Mercedes-Benz to take a look behind the scenes at their ultra-modern production facilities. I always learn a lot on every factory visit. Today, I’ve helped fit the wheels onto an S-Class at Sindelfingen, but recently I’ve also helped to assemble a 5.5-liter V8 biturbo engine at Mercedes AMG in Affalterbach and an F1 engine at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth. If I carry on like this, I may eventually find that I’ve built a whole car…”

How would you like to be presented with the keys to your new Mercedes-Benz by an F1 driver? This dream scenario became a reality for two Mercedes-Benz customers in Sindelfingen. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were on hand when the customers came to collect their new vehicles from the Mercedes-Benz customer centre at Sindelfingen.

“The surprise was written all over his face as I handed him the key to his new Mercedes-Benz E-Class,” said Rosberg. Hamilton also drew a huge smile from the second customer when he presented the keys of a new Mercedes-Benz E-Class: “It is always a pleasure to meet customers and colleagues at the Mercedes-Benz works. We do our very best for them on a race weekend in the hope of being successful and making them proud of the Silver Arrows team.”

On their tour of the Design Department, the two F1 drivers and their boss got a glimpse of the next generation of production vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. The innovative technical features in the pipeline are not just aimed at boosting performance in the top echelon of motorsport; the team at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center in Sindelfingen are also working intensively on stylish, safe and innovative vehicle concepts for the future. This unique collaboration means that the latest learning from research, development and design are also integrated into the production process.

“I have spoken to various F1 fans today amongst the dedicated team here who work with great precision, apply inventive engineering and invest great passion in the development and construction of the latest Mercedes-Benz premium-class models,” said Toto Wolff. “I have immense respect for the fantastic work they do. A Mercedes-Benz made in Sindelfingen is a car that manages to combine the attributes of quality and comfort, of safety and elegance. As is the case in F1, the focus here is on the right blend of perfectionism, responsibility and passion for one’s work, consistent with the philosophy of Gottlieb Daimler: The best or nothing.”

[MIKA27]

The Big Preview: German Grand Prix at Nürburgring

Just days after an exciting and incident-strewn British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Formula One heads high into the Eiffel. The teams will regroup at another of the sport’s ancestral homes with F1 resuming at the Nürburgring and the German Grand Prix – round nine of the 2013 FIA F1 World Championship.

Opened in 1984, the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit doesn’t present quite the challenge offered by the revered Nürburgring-Nordschleife but over the years it has proved itself to be a stern examination of a Formula One car and its driver. The narrow, flowing circuit demands a compromise in set-up: the twisty, low-speed first sector contrasts the high-speeds reached later in the lap, while the chicanes demand soft suspension to allow drivers to really attack the kerbs.

True form ahead of the race is difficult to predict, given that the German Grand Prix comes after a series of atypical circuits and – in the case of Silverstone – an atypical race. That the Nürburgring demands a little bit of everything frequently ensures that it is a race which finds out any weaknesses in the technical package. Car performance can be rendered less-relevant, however, by the stormy weather that often afflicts the region – though the forecast is currently for a a dry German Grand Prix.

After 14 consecutive scoring finishes, Sebastian Vettel’s race-ending gearbox malfunction denied the World Champion a likely 25 points at Silverstone. His failure to score, combined with a gutsy drive to third from Fernando Alonso sees the drivers’ championship battle intensify, with Vettel (132), having his lead over Alonso (111) cut to just 21 points. Meanwhile, in the constructors’ table, Mercedes (171) has moved ahead of Ferrari (168) and is closing on championship leaders Red Bull Racing (219).

Nürburgring Circuit Data

• Length of lap: 5.148 km
  
• Lap record: 1:29.468 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)
  
• Start line/finish line offset: 0.257 km
  
• Total number of race laps: 60
  
• Total race distance: 308.623km
  
• Pitlane speed limits: 60 km/h during practice. 100 km/h during qualifying and the race
  

Changes to the circuit since 2011

• The circuit is fundamentally unchanged since 2011.
  

DRS Zone

• There will be two DRS zones in Germany. The first is situated between turns 11 and 13 (The NGK Chicane) with a detection point 45m before turn 10 and an activation point 55m after turn 11. The second is located on the start-finish straight with a detection point 40m before turn 15 and an activation point 135m after turn 15.
  

German Grand Prix Fast Facts

• The GP Circuit at the Nürburgring has held grands prix under three different names: in 1984, 1995-96, 1999-2007 it hosted the Grand Prix of Europe; in 1985, 2009 and 2011 the German Grand Prix and 1997-98 the Grand Prix of Luxembourg.
  
• Johnny Herbert’s final F1 victory came at the Nürburgring in 1999. It was the first and only win for Stewart Grand Prix. After being sold to Jaguar and then Red Bull Racing it won at the circuit again in 2009. That victory was Mark Webber’s first in F1.
  
• Triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel has a rare blind spot when it comes to his home race. He has yet to win a German Grand Prix. He also has yet to win in Hungary and the United States. At the season start Canada was the only other race on that list, and Vettel won that comfortably in June.
  
• Finishing fifth in the British Grand Prix last week established a new record for Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn has now scored points in 25 consecutive races, beating the 24-race run Michael Schumacher set between the Hungarian Grand Prix of 2001 and the Malaysian Grand Prix of 2003. Räikkönen’s last failure to score was the Chinese Grand Prix of 2012. It is his only failure since coming back into F1. His record, however, has been set in an era where points are awarded down to tenth. Schumacher’s sequence started with points to sixth, and finished with points to eighth.
  
• Ferrari have an impressive German Grand Prix record with a mighty 21 victories, well ahead of nine wins for Williams and eight for McLaren. Perhaps surprisingly, Ferrari’s longest winning sequence was three consecutive races between 1951-53: two for Alberto Ascari followed by a final F1 victory for Nino Farina.
  
• Michael Schumacher, with four, has the most German Grand Prix wins of any driver in the F1 World Championship era. Schumacher’s victory in 1995 was the first for a German national at his home grand prix since Rudolf Caracciola’s final win. Caracciola won the German Grand Prix six times between 1926-1939. Five of Caracciola’s wins came on the Nordschleife. The first, however, was on the AVUS circuit.
  
• In the World Championship era, the race was held at AVUS in 1959. That apart, the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (1951-54, 1956-58, 1961-69, 1971-76), Hockenheim (1970, 1977-84, 1986-06, 2008, 2010, 2012) and the Nürburgring GP Circuit (1985, 2009, 2011) are the only circuits to host the Formula One World Championship German Grand Prix. In 1950 and 1960 the German Grand Prix was a Formula 2 race (the latter held on the Nürburgring-Sudschleife circuit), and there was no race in 1955, following the Le Mans disaster. Officially there was no German Grand Prix in 2007. This was the first year of the race being alternated between Hockenheim and the Nürburgring and for legal reasons it retained its former title as the Grand Prix of Europe.
  

Niki Lauda airborne during the 1976 German Grand Prix at the fabled Nordschleife layout on the weekend he crashed with near tragic consequences

Race Stewards Biographies

• Swede Lars Österlind is a highly experienced FIA steward who has officiated at more than 100 grands prix and a similar number of World Rally Championship rounds. A social sciences graduate and lifelong motor sport enthusiast, Österlind was President of the Swedish Rally Commission from 1978-1982, then President of the Swedish Automobile Sport Federation from 1982-1996. He became Honorary President in 1996 and has been a member of the FIA World Council since 1984. Outside motor sport Österlind has specialised in management, working as a consultant and pursuing his own business interests. He is also experienced in local government at city council level.
  
• Radovan Novak has been actively involved in motorsport since 1963 and rose to become Secretary General of the ACCR in 1990.Since 1991 he has held the role of President of the FIA Central Europe Zone and over the past two decades he has acted as a steward and observer in WRC and ERC rallies, EC autocross and rallycross events and WTCC and GT races. He has been a Formula One steward since 1994. From 1994 to 2006, he was a member of the FIA Off-road Commission and was made a member of the World Motor Sport Council in 1998. In 2000 he became a member of the Sport Commission at the Ministry of Sport of the Czech Republic. An avid racer and co-driver, Novak has won a number of Czech rallying events.
  
• During a motor sport career spanning almost 40 years, Emanuele Pirro has achieved a huge amount of success, most notably in sportscar racing, with five Le Mans wins, victory at the Daytona 24 Hours and two wins at the Sebring 12 Hours. In addition, the Italian driver has won the German and Italian Touring Car championships (the latter twice) and has twice been American Le Mans Series Champion. Pirro, enjoyed a three-season F1 career from 1989 to 1991, firstly with Benetton and then for Scuderia Italia. His debut as an FIA Steward came at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he has returned regularly since.
  

[MIKA27]

Sauber are in difficult situation reveals Hulkenberg

The Sauber Formula 1 team – one of the smallest in the paddock and without a main title sponsor – are working on a solution to their financial problems, driver Nico Hulkenberg revealed ahead of the German GP weekend.

Problems at Sauber were highlighted last week when McLaren announced that the Swiss outfit’s chief designer Matt Morris would be leaving to join the more high-profile British team as engineering director.

“I think it’s a difficult situation,” the German driver told a news conference ahead of his home grand prix.

[Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn] and the team management are trying to work on a solution. She’s assured me [that] she’s working on that and there’s not much more I can say,” he added, refusing to deny allegations that he has not been fully paid.

Sauber have had to soldier on as an independent team after BMW pulled out as partners and from F1 completely at the end of 2009.

Owner Peter Sauber has gradually stepped back from the day-to-day running of the team, leaving Kaltenborn in charge as the only female principal in the sport.

They have never won a grand prix as an independent team having joined F1 in 1993, with BMW-Sauber only taking the chequered flag once in 2008 in Canada with Robert Kubica.

Financial problems during the global economic crisis have dominated F1 in recent years with the HRT team disappearing before this season.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari drivers helmets auctioned in aid of flood victims

At 10 o’clock this morning, an auction, organized by helmet manufacturer Schuberth got underway, to raise funds for those affected by the River Elbe bursting its banks and flooding the city of Magdeburg, which saw around 20 000 people having to abandon their homes.

Schuberth, an Official Supplier to Scuderia Ferrari, was indirectly affected by the flooding, as the access roads to its factory were impassable and for a few days the electricity supply was cut off. The company, one of the biggest producers of helmets in the world, thus decided to do something to support those affected.

Putting their name to this initiative are the drivers Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Jules Bianchi, who all donated a helmet that they have used in the current season. Proceeds from the auction, which is being hosted by “eBayfür charity”

(www.schuberth.com/charity) will go directly to the Mayor of Magdeburg, Dr. LutzTrumper, who will oversee the use of the funds thus raised.

[MIKA27]

Haug not ruling out return to Formula 1 role

Norbert Haug is not ruling out a return to a role Formula 1. After more than two decades in the role, Mercedes replaced the 60-year-old German for 2013 with new director Toto Wolff.

With the ‘test-gate’ pain still fresh, Wolff said this week: “I take my hat off to Norbert, who did the job for 22 years.”

Haug, however, said he has little intention of returning to the days of “150 days in the office and 150 days on the road” per year.

But he also told German newspaper Bild: “I can imagine supporting or helping or advising a small private team.”

Haug did not specify if he was referring to F1, DTM or another series.

He did, however, want to emphasise his role in Mercedes’ current run of success in F1.

“My successor Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda are doing a really good job, for sure,” said the German.

But Haug also hinted that the old guard, including Michael Schumacher, might also be able to claim a slice of the glory.

“The car was made by Ross Brawn and his team of engineers since the middle of last year, as success in F1 has a long lead time,” said Haug.

“For the Silver Arrows it was three years; for Red Bull it was five.”

[MIKA27]

Teams to drop youngsters for Silverstone test and run race drivers

Ferrari looks set to drop its plans to run rookies at the forthcoming young drivers test. Previously, only drivers with little experience were eligible to test at the Silverstone session.

But the tyre-exploding British Grand Prix last weekend changed all that. The FIA has reacted to the Pirelli crisis by allowing teams to run their race drivers for tyre testing.

But only rookies will be allowed to do actual development testing, amid reports that the FIA will have inspectors at Silverstone to ensure compliance.

Nonetheless, Ferrari looks set to run only its race drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa at Silverstone.

“Obviously,” confirmed sporting director Massimo Rivola, “this test will be carried out with the actual race drivers. There would be no sense in trying something new with youngsters at the wheel, who do not have the necessary experience to provide the required feedback.”

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean is also expecting a busy test later this month.

“Apparently, I could have a lot of work to do in the young drivers test,” he admitted to France’s Sport24. ”Nobody wants to see tyres blowing so I know that everyone in the sport is working with Pirelli to fix it.”

[MIKA27]

Lowe says he is proud to work with Brawn

At the very top of the Mercedes team, the so called ‘elephant in the room’ is Paddy Lowe, who surprisingly released early by McLaren, is now attending races for Mercedes, even though many had expected him to arrive to replace team boss Ross Brawn.

But Brawn is quoted on Wednesday by the BBC: “We’re in good shape for next year. I wouldn’t want to miss the fun.”

For fellow Briton Lowe, it’s a slightly awkward situation – not yet in a defined role, and apparently simply waiting for Brawn to quietly step aside.

There have even been rumours that Brawn could return to Honda to lead the Japanese marque’s 2015 reunion in Formula 1 with McLaren, but Brawn insists: “I don’t know anything about that.”

“Ross is currently the team principal,” Lowe told Auto Motor und Sport, “we don’t know how long he wants to go on, but it’s his decision alone.

“I’m proud to work with a man who has beaten me many times in my career,” Lowe smiled. ”In the meantime there’s a lot to do and I’m very comfortable with that.”

[MIKA27]

Civil war in Germany as Rosberg takes on Vettel on home soil

Nico Rosberg’s strong recent form and some fighting talk towards his fellow German Sebastian Vettel has increased their rivalry ahead of their home grand prix this weekend.

While Red Bull’s triple champion Vettel has dominated Formula One in the last three years, Mercedes have laboured in their comeback as a works team, hurting their image of German perfection and sending Michael Schumacher back into retirement.

Rosberg has won two of the last three races for the improving Silver Arrows, however, winning in Monaco and then taking advantage of Vettel’s gearbox problem at Silverstone on Sunday to seize victory in the British Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old, son of Finnish 1982 F1 champion Keke Rosberg but born in Germany, is not daring to look at the championship standings yet and has his eyes fixed on Vettel.

“Short term, I just want to annoy Sebastian and Red Bull a little bit race by race, by being ahead of them and that’s the most important thing really,” Rosberg told a news conference with Vettel sat just by him.

Sixth-placed Rosberg is 50 points behind leader Vettel in the standings after eight of 19 races while Mercedes have moved up to second in the constructors’, 48 points adrift of Red Bull.

“It’s too early to say (we are title contenders),” he said. “We’re really focusing on getting our momentum, keeping it going as we have at the moment and just concentrating one race to the next.

“It’s a really nice time in my career at the moment. It’s new. I’ve never had a car as quick as it is now.”

Vettel refused to take Rosberg’s bait and wanted to talk about his own situation after disappointment at Silverstone, despite avoiding the tyre curse which affected other drivers.

“It was quite frustrating to lose the lead due to a technical problem, but as I said after the race these things happen,” he said having turned 26 on Wednesday.

“So I think we’ve understood the problem, fixed the problem, so we move on.”

Vettel and Rosberg have never won their home grand prix and the champion tried to play down its importance despite looking forward to a plethora of fluttering German flags in the stands.

“In terms of the championship points you can score here, it’s the same as every other place but obviously it’s something special to race in front of your home crowd and I feel quite happy to have the possibility to be honest,” Vettel said.

The German race alternates each year between Hockenheim and the Nuerburgring, which has been in financial trouble, prompting F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone to step in and make sure the grand prix took place this year in the famous forested venue.

[MIKA27]

F1 drivers play hard ball after union meeting and threaten boycott

Formula 1 drivers announced on Thursday they will withdraw from this weekend’s German Grand Prix if the tyre blow-outs which marred Sunday’s British race occur again.

During news conferences, drivers sounded confident that tyre provider Pirelli had sorted out the problem by introducing new rubbers for the Nuerburgring race. However, following a meeting of the drivers’ union, the tone hardened.

“The drivers of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) wish to express their deepest concerns about the events that took place at Silverstone,” a statement said.

“We trust that the changes made to the tyres will have the desired results and that similar problems will not occur during the German GP weekend.

“We are ready to drive our cars to the limit, as we always do, and as it is expected by our teams, sponsors and fans.

“However, the drivers have decided that, if similar problems should manifest themselves during the German GP, we shall immediately withdraw from the event, as this avoidable problem with the tyres endangers again the lives of drivers, marshals and fans.”

Five drivers suffered blowouts at Silverstone on Sunday and a piece of tyre narrowly missed the head of Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. Felipe Massa was badly hurt after being struck on the helmet by a loose spring during a race in 2009.

Massa talked of a possible boycott immediately after Sunday’s race, won by Nico Rosberg of Mercedes.

A boycott would not be a first for the sport, which has experienced several walkouts by teams and drivers in its often turbulent history.

In 2005, seven teams pulled out of the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis because of tyre safety fears.

Only six cars started the 2005 United States GP at Indianapolis

In 1985, the French Ligier and Renault teams shunned the South African Grand Prix – the penultimate race of the season – amid mounting international pressure against the apartheid system of racial segregation.

In 1982, only 14 cars started the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola after a boycott by teams – led by current commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone – fighting the governing body in a political battle dubbed the ‘FISA-FOCA war’ within the sport.

That same year the drivers organised a strike before the South African race at Kyalami over restricting clauses in their superlicence agreements. The race went ahead after a compromise was reached.

In 1976 the Austrian Grand Prix was run without Ferrari, whose Austrian driver Niki Lauda was in hospital after a fiery crash at the Nuerburgring and who were incensed at McLaren’s James Hunt having his Spanish Grand Prix win reinstated.

Pirelli are the focus of attention at Nurburgring

After the intervention of the governing FIA, Pirelli has brought upgraded rear tyres to the Nuerburgring for this year’s German Grand Prix with an inner belt made of the synthetic fibre Kevlar rather than steel.

Spaniard Alonso, second in the standings behind Red Bull’s triple world champion Sebastian Vettel, said earlier on Thursday he was reluctant to take part in a test at Silverstone later this month because he feared a repeat of the blow-outs.

Formula One’s governing body responded to the tyre blowouts by deciding on Monday to change the rules and allow race drivers to test revised Pirelli tyres, instead of using young drivers.

“I don’t intend to go,” Alonso told reporters in the Ferrari motorhome. “It’s not a very safe thing racing on the same track with the same tyres. I don’t have the feeling I want to go. But if the team wants me to go…”

Before the GPDA statement, double champion Alonso had put his faith in Pirelli to make this race a safer one, even if cooler rear tyres could benefit Mercedes and Red Bull based on this season’s analysis.

“Pirelli made some changes so we trust them,” he said. “This is the third or fourth change they make in the season already, some were hurting us, some were helping us. I think performance today is the second priority.

“The most important thing is to make it for dinner at home on Sunday. I was lucky… It (the piece of tyre) could have hit my helmet. It would have been like a bullet.”

Vettel said before the GPDA announcement: “Like we said last weekend, it has to be safe. It was not what we want, not satisfactory. It’s good we have a new tyre here.”

Red Bull team mate Mark Webber, who is swapping F1 for the equally dangerous pursuit of Le Mans endurance driving at the end of the season, rejected suggestions that kerbs at Silverstone had ruptured the tyres.

Marshals clear debris from the track during the British GP

“All of a sudden in the race there were landmines everywhere which no one really predicted,” Webber said.

“In the end everyone left there in one piece… apart from the tyres. Pirelli will learn from it, they have to. There’s no issues with the kerbs because the track was fine the last five years. I’m a bit more confident they’ve got more data.”

Pirelli has put some of the blame for the Silverstone blowouts on the teams for the way they managed its tyres. It conducted a “secret” test with Mercedes in Barcelona in May for which the German team were punished by the FIA.

Mercedes have been ruled out of the Silverstone tyre trial this month.

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen: Lauda likes to talk a lot and that doesn’t concern me

Kimi Raikkonen declined to respond to Niki Lauda on Friday, despite the Formula 1 legend making unfriendly remarks .

Told that triple world champion and Mercedes chairman Lauda has been talking about him, Raikkonen said at the Nurburgring: “Huh? To me? He hasn’t spoken to me.”

The 2007 world champion was then told by the interviewer for Tagesspiegel newspaper that Lauda had said that ignoring Red Bull’s offer of a 2014 seat would make him a “wimp”.

“I don’t care what he says,” said the Finn. “He likes to talk a lot and that doesn’t concern me.

“He’s not being nasty, I know him well enough to know what he’s thinking,” added Raikkonen.

The 33-year-old insisted that he only returned to Formula 1 in 2012 to win again, so the interviewer was curious as to why he would apparently hesitate to join Red Bull – the dominant team of the past few seasons.

“There are many reasons,” answered Raikkonen. “Nothing is as clear as it seems.”

“At the moment I have nothing for next year. If there is a decision, I will tell everyone,” he added.

Asked if a great car, lots of money, or lots of free time are most important to him, Raikkonen admitted: “Everything. The whole package. I’ve been in a lot of teams and so I know what I want.

“I’ll make the best choice for myself, and if it’s wrong and I regret it, at least I made the decision for myself.”

Asked if the likely friendly pairing with Sebastian Vettel next year could sway things in Red Bull’s favour, Raikkonen insisted: “That doesn’t matter. I know what you mean, but having jokes and laughs with friends is not why I’m here.”

[MIKA27]

Alonso: Better but still not there

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari have made a step forward in Germany despite missing the weekend's first practice session.

The double World Champion's German Grand Prix weekend got off to a dismal start when his F138 broke down out on track just two laps in.

Ferrari revealed it was an electrical issue that tech director Pat Fry admitted took "a while to work out it was."

Back in action in the afternoon's session, Alonso covered 39 laps with a best time of 131.056, which put him 0.640s short of Sebastian Vettel's P1 time.

"Today went better than last Friday and even if there is still a long way to go, in general we seem to have made a step forward and returned to the level of competitiveness which we had prior to Silverstone.

"One of the positives was the behaviour of the tyres which worked well today and did not create any problems.

"Unfortunately, we lost the morning session because of a programming problem on the electronic control unit, which we then changed.

"That halved our work programme and this evening we will have to do all we can to make up for it, but we already have an idea of where and how to make changes, because Mercedes, Red Bull and Lotus are ahead of us and we want something better than being the third or fourth team in the classification."

[MIKA27]

Rosberg: Tyres require different set-up

Nico Rosberg says it is "difficult to predict" where Mercedes are in the pecking order after running the revised Pirellis on Friday in Germany.

Fresh from his victory at the British Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver continued to show impressive pace finishing second in both practices.

Just 0.235s down on Championship leader Sebastian Vettel in the afternoon's session, covered 63 laps in total on Friday, giving him time to evaluate the revised Pirelli tyres.

After the Silverstone failures, Pirelli have not only introduced the Kevlar-belted tyres that the drivers tested in Canada but also banned tyre swapping from this weekend onwards.

And the changes took some getting used to.

"It was an interesting day for us as we had to adapt to the new tyres," said the German.

"They are different and require a different set-up, so today was a good opportunity to learn something.

"We want to understand them quicker and better than the other teams."

As for his team's performances, the 28-year-old is not willing to take a guess saying there are too many variables to take into account.

"Generally it seems that we are quick again over one lap and the long run was not bad.

"It's difficult to predict where we are, because you never know exactly about the fuel levels of the others.

"Also it's going to get warmer on Sunday and this could change also the whole picture again."

[MIKA27]

Kimi not interested in boycott

Kimi Raikkonen insists he will race in Sunday's German Grand Prix despite a threat from the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) to boycott the race.

The GPDA issued a strongly worded statement on Thursday evening in which they promise to withdraw from the race if there was a repeat of the tyre blowouts which took place at Silverstone last week.

Pirelli introduced new Kevlar-belted tyres for the race at Nurburgring and not a single driver suffered a puncture during Friday's two practice sessions.

Raikkonen, who along with Adrian Sutil and Valtteri Bottas are the only drivers not part of the GPDA, says he won't take part in a boycott as he learned his lesson during the 2005 United States GP when not all the drivers followed through on their threat to withdraw.

"I haven't seen it, I heard," the Finn said of the GPDA statement. "I am sure it is not going to happen anyhow.

"I was once involved in 2005 and funnily enough there were some guys that didn't stop and they drove, so for sure I will race whatever happens this time."

Asked if he had been invited to the GPDA meeting, he replied: "Yes. But I am not part of it, sometimes I go - but I hear about it as quickly as you."

Pirelli has insisted that there were several contributing factors to the tyre failures at Silverstone and Raikkonen backed them up.

"I would race. The problems are not just because of the tyres - there can be a lot of influence in why it has happened," he is quoted as saying by Autosport.

"We haven't had a single problem all year, so I have no feeling. [Motor racing] is dangerous anyhow, anything can happen.

"The reason why they exploded was that the teams were using them wrong. I am fine with it."

[MIKA27]

Red Bull wary of Merc's qualy pace

Mark Webber has played down Red Bull's chances of getting pole position in Germany, saying Mercedes are the team to beat.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg locked out the front row of the grid at Silverstone last week and the Mercedes duo followed it up with the top two places in Free Practice One at the Nurburgring on Friday morning.

Red Bull, who are favourites to win this year's Constructors' Championship, hit back in the afternoon as Sebastian Vettel claimed P1 with a 1:30.416 on the soft tyres with Rosberg second fastest and Webber completing the top three.

Despite their impressive pace late in the day, Webber feels Mercedes are likely to dominate proceedings during qualifying at the Nurburgring.

"We are not putting our hopes up for tomorrow," said the Australian. "Obviously Mercedes is more than capable of doing a front row lockout which we have seen for the last few races.

"Seb and I look a bit more competitive on one lap today, but Mercedes could put the fuel in.

"We need to keep working hard and it is similar for the race: Mercedes has proved in the last few weeks that it is not slow on Sundays, so there are a few guys that are in contention for the win."

Mercedes' recent impressive form has seen them move to second in the standings and they are now also second favourites in both Championships.

[PaulP]

Times

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m29.398s

2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m29.501s +0.103s

3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m29.608s +0.210s

4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m29.892s +0.494s

5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m29.959s +0.561s

6. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m30.528s +1.130s

7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m31.126s +1.728

8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.209s +1.811s

9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes No time set

10. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari No time set

Q2 cut-off time: 1m30.269s

11. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m30.326s +0.501s

12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m30.697s +0.872s

13. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m30.933s +1.108s

14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m31.010s +1.185s

15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m31.010s +1.185s

16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m31.104s +1.279s

Q1 cut-off time: 1m31.681s

17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m31.693s +1.146s

18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m31.707s +1.160s

19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m32.937s +2.390s

20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m33.063s +2.516s

21. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m33.734s +3.187s

22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.098s +3.551s

[PaulP]

My guess:

Vettel

Raikkonen

Hamilton