Sports Illustrated» Is Rosberg Better Than Vettel?|Sports Illustrated

Is Rosberg Better Than Vettel?

jaya — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:58:30 +0000

Nico Rosberg of Germany at the British GP.

Gerhard Berger doubts that Sebastian Vettel is currently the best German driver on the Formula One grid.

According to the former McLaren and Ferrari driver, there is nothing now to separate the Red Bull man from his young compatriot at Mercedes, Nico Rosberg.

“For me, Nico is on par with Vettel. He just needs the right car now to begin winning,” Berger told Auto Motor und Sport. “He has shown this year that he makes very few mistakes, that his setup is usually right, and that he is mostly ahead of Michael Schumacher. If Rosberg and Vettel were sitting in identical cars, I would not know who to put my money on.”

Another young German to have caught Berger’s eye this season is Force India driver Adrian Sutil. And it was not something the Austrian expected.

“Last year I was laughing at him. I would never have believed he has this much potential. His speed is tremendous, and his mistakes have reduced dramatically. For me, with Rosberg, he is the surprise of the season.”

Berger also sees a bright future ahead for GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg after a year of learning the ropes in his rookie Formula One season.

“He is in a learning phase. He makes many more mistakes than Vettel and Rosberg did when they began, but Sutil was the same. I think Hulkenberg’s mistakes are normal for a first year. If everything goes right, he is almost at the level of Barrichello – and that’s a compliment.

“Barrichello is certainly the best man of the second league, and with his vast experience he doesn’t make mistakes.”

Courtesy of The Bleacher Report

HAVE YOUR SAY: Berger might think that Rosberg is on par and will surpass Vettel, but we aren’t so sure. What do you think?

Behind The Scenes: Adrian Sutil

jane smith — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:05:52 +0000

F1 driver Adrian Sutil hopes to keep on improving for his team Force India.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil is definitely one of the young hotshots in the F1 paddock, but did you know he’s afraid of spiders and his hero as a child was Arnold Schwarzenegger…

Q: Are you the kind of guy to have a ‘Plan-B’?
Adrian Sutil: Sometimes. I like to do things that are planned and organized properly. But if I want to get a bit more adventurous, I stop following ‘Plan-A’ and move on to ‘Plan-B’. Overall I prefer everything to be very organized and straightforward, with irritations kept to a minimum.

Q: Apart from driving a Formula One car, what is your favourite buzz?
AS: My life is very much centred on cars. Even when I get home I drive my own cars. I am probably a bit of an adrenalin junkie even away from work. Recently I did some skydiving and that gave me a huge thrill.

Q: Who do you most look forward to seeing when you arrive in the paddock on a Thursday?
AS: I always look forward to entering our motor home – especially recently, as the motor home is all new and very chic. We have a laidback atmosphere in there and everyone in the team is like my extended family.

Q: Who is your dream date?
AS: If it is with a female date, I’d say it would be with a good-looking, smart, lovely lady. If it was with someone I have always wanted to meet and speak to, then it would be with Sean Connery! I am not sure if it will ever happen, but if it does I will grab the chance. He was the best James Bond ever!

Q: Which film last made you cry?
AS: I am not a cry baby. For a film to get me close to crying then it would be because I was crying with laughter. It hasn’t happened recently.

Q: What are you afraid of?
AS: I am afraid of spiders. I live in an old house and you sometimes come across them. They drive me crazy, especially when they have long legs!

Q: What was the last book you read?
AS: I am not a big reader. I am a movie guy. The last book I had a look at was about sailing.

Q: What is your favourite way to relax?
AS: To be at home on my own, listen to some music, look out of the window and empty my head. Sometimes I don’t want to see anybody – I just want to be on my own.

Q: Name five things that you hate?
AS: Spiders and insects. Disorganisation and messy places – I cannot live with them. What else? I hate dirty cars. I am a fanatical car cleaner! When I am home alone, and don’t know what to do, I start cleaning my car. Then I don’t want to drive it anymore. Tidiness is very important for me. The shoes at the bottom of the bed have to be positioned perfectly otherwise I cannot sleep. Does that sound a bit mad? Probably. I want everything to be perfect.

Q: Have you ever dyed your hair?
AS: No, not really! Once in Formula Three I had a little blond streak of hair. In those days I thought it was cool – which it wasn’t. But at least I’ve tried it!

Q: What was the first CD you bought?
AS: It must have been a tape, and it must have been Michael Jackson. It was probably ‘Thriller’.

Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
AS: No I don’t like tattoos or piercings.

Q: What did your teachers say about you in your school reports?
AS: I was in trouble with my teachers a lot. I was always dreaming during lessons. I was in my own world. Physically I was in the classroom, but mentally I was miles away. I have achieved my dream so it must have worked well for me.

Q: Who were your childhood heroes?
AS: They were mostly movie stars. They were probably Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, or Sylvester Stallone as Rocky or Rambo. I was into action heroes.

Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures?
AS: When I eat sweets at home I always feel bad. But I still do it sometimes. It makes me happy but I also know that I have to watch my weight. Sweets are on my mind everyday.

Q: Do you collect anything?
AS: Yes, I collect pens and model cars. I only started the pen collection last year because exceptional pens are quite expensive so I couldn’t afford them before. My most exclusive one is called a Taj Mahal. I bought it after my good race in Malaysia as a treat.

Q: What do you miss most about home when you are on the road?
AS: I miss the place where I live. It is very quiet there and green.

Q: What was your worst buy?
AS: I hate to waste money on things that I don’t need, so I am the last person to go shopping without a reason. When I buy things, I buy things that I need, so there is not one big thing that was a ‘worst buy’. It’s probably only when I go to a restaurant really hungry and order too much food. You order three plates and then you can only eat one. That is a waste and I get upset with myself because there are so many people hungry in the world.

Q: How do you take your coffee?
AS: Black with a little sugar.

Q: Your ideal non-race Sunday morning?
AS: Sleep in until ten, have brunch, take my car and drive around in the mountains.

Q: What was your first vehicle?
AS: It was a smart roadster. It was very cool and was the envy of my friends.

Q: What’s the most embarrassing mistake you’ve ever made?
AS: Oh I still remember it very well. There were people just in a street taking photos for a magazine for German teenagers. They asked me if I would mind joining in the photo shoot. I almost immediately regretted it! There was a stupid story that went alongside the pictures and everybody at my school read it. I was a laughing stock for about a month.

Q: What is the best thing you can cook?
AS: I am not bad at cooking pasta. But I’m not a great cook. I can do a really good Kaiserschmarrn, which is an Austrian dessert.

Courtesy www.formula1.com

Lotus Denies Spy Scandal

jaya — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:07:52 +0000

Heikki Kovalainen in a Lotus.

Lotus on Tuesday distanced itself from claims it is involved in a new formula one ’spy scandal’.

It emerged last November that Force India was concerned a wind tunnel model of new team Lotus’ 2010 car strongly resembled its own 2009 racer.

Silverstone based Force India once worked at the Aerolab facility, leaving behind a scale wind tunnel model.

Mike Gascoyne, originally with Force India, now works with Lotus, the Malaysian-backed outfit that also made use of the Aerolab facility.

Aerolab initially hit back at the reports, revealing that it was in fact pursuing Force India in the courts after “serious and persistent breaches of contract”.

And Gascoyne subsequently said: “It is entirely between the wind tunnel operator and the other team.”

It has emerged this week that legal action has been initiated by Force India against Aerolab, with Lotus pulled in as a co-defendant.

“These proceedings do not allege any wrong doing on the part of Lotus Racing,” a spokesman for Lotus Racing said on Tuesday.

“Aerolab … vigorously denies any wrongdoing and has provided Lotus Racing with a full indemnity in relation to the claim,” he added.

Courtesy of Motorsport

VIDEO: Buemi Crash Mars China GP Practice

jane smith — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 06:53:49 +0000

The demolished front wing of Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso.

The McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton set the early pace but Sebastien Buemi’s accident brought a close to the first morning practice session at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Friday morning’s first practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix was brought to a spectacular halt with just over six minutes remaining when Sebastien Buemi’s Toro Rosso suffered a remarkable double front-suspension failure as he braked over the bump for Turn 14 at the end of the main straight. As both front wheels were torn off with the car still travelling in a straight line, the Swiss driver became a passenger as his car tobogganed into light contact with the outer barrier. The left front wheel was tossed into a spectator area, but fortunately nobody was hit by it.

Subsequent investigation by Toro Rosso revealed that an undiagnosed problem with the suspension’s front right upright – a new design introduced in China – had triggered the incident. When the right upright failed, the resulting increase in load is thought to have caused the left upright to fail. The wheel tethers, which are attached to the uprights, were thus unable to do their job. The team will revert to previously tested uprights for the remainder of the weekend on both their cars.

For much of the session the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton set the pace until they were split by Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes, and when the session resumed for a brief few final moments after the Buemi red flag the only leading runner to improve significantly was Michael Schumacher in the second Mercedes.

Thus Button was fastest with 1m 36.677s from Rosberg on 1m 36.748s and Hamilton on 1m 36.775s. Schumachers best, 1m 37.509s, was 0.832s off the top.

Behind them Sebastian Vettel took fifth on 1m 37.601s ahead of the well-matched Renaults of Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov (1m 37.716s and 1m 37.745s), and Mark Webber’s sister Red Bull on 1m 37.980s.

Adrian Sutil turned a 1m 38.008s for ninth for Force India, the German also earning a reprimand from the stewards for setting a fastest sector time under yellow flags, with Felipe Massa completing the top 10 with 1m 38.098s. It was not an auspicious session for Ferrari, however, as Fernando Alonso’s F10 stopped after six laps with suspected engine failure, leaving him in 24th place without a time. The Spaniard was running the same V8 that the team had opted to change after qualifying in Bahrain, following some anomalies in its performance readings.

Jaime Alguersuari was 11th in the second Toro Rosso with 1m 38.161s, ahead of the BMW Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa (1m 38.375s and 1m 38.421s respectively), then Nico Hulkenberg in the leading Williams (1m 38.569s), Paul di Resta (1m 38.618s standing in again for Tonio Liuzzi in the second Force India), Rubens Barrichello (1m 38.678s) and Buemi (1m 38.939s), who was unhurt in his crash.

Then there was another big gap back to the Lotuses, as they led the Virgins. Jarno Trulli took his T127 round in 1m 41.531s ahead of team mate Heikki Kovalainen on 1m 41.779s, then Timo Glock managed 1m 41.830s in the lead Virgin before its front front wing collapsed. Lucas di Grassi was 21st in the sister car on 1m 42.181s. Behind the Brazilian came fellow countryman Bruno Senna in the lead HRT on 1m 43.875s, with team mate Karun Chandhok next on 1m 43.949s.

Courtesy www.f1.com

Surprises At Bahrain GP Practice Session

jane smith — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:02:33 +0000

Adrian Sutil in his Force India posted the quickest time in the Friday practice session.

The most anticipated season of F1 is just two days away – so who looks quick?

With limited practice sessions in the run-up to the 2010 Formula One season, the best indicator of form will be the Friday practice sessions.

And what a surprise it was for F1 fans when Adrian Sutil topped the timing sheets after 18 laps on the Bahrain circuit in the morning’s practice session. The Force India driver posted some solid results last year, and he and the team are looking to continue the improvements from 2009.

Sutil’s time of 1:56.583 was just 0.2 of a second quicker than Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the man all F1 watchers are picking to set the early pace this season.

Robert Kubica in his Renault was third, followed by the second Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, in fourth spot.

Other hot favourites, the McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, posted the fifth and sixth fastest times respectively, with not much to split the dueling British duo.

And where, you’re probably asking, was Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes? The 40-year-old German posted the 10th fastest time, and he was surprisingly pipped by his teammate Nico Rosberg in eighth.

More results are expected in the second practice session.