Mosley won't stand for another term

FIA president Max Mosley insists there is no going back on his plans to leave office when his current term ends next October, despite calls from figures within the governing body for him to stand again.

Mosley revealed shortly after the controversy about his private life erupted in March that he planned for his current term to be his last.

And although the scale of his victory in an FIA confidence vote in June prompted suggestions he could be tempted to remain on board for another term, Mosley has ruled out such a prospect.

"There are a large number of people in the FIA who are saying that I must run again in 2009," said Mosley this week as part of an interview with this week's Autosport.

"I don't want to, because to be very, very honest, I want to stop going to work every day. It is that thing that every morning you cannot believe how much work there is to do.

"A lot of people with ambitions think all you do is put on a blazer and an armband and you are president of the FIA. You can do it like that, but then you are not the person in control - it is the secretary general. So if you want to have any influence, you have to do an awful lot of work."

Mosley said there were several candidates able to become his successor, although he doubted that former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt, widely tipped as his preferred choice, would be the man to eventually do so.

"I think there are a lot of potential successors and if Jean Todt were interested in doing it, and I am not sure he is, he would obviously be very capable.

"But someone like Jean Todt could command a huge salary in F1. He could go anywhere he wanted, you know he could go into any of those companies to make it work.

"I think he would be tempted by a role other than the FIA because the FIA presidency is an unpaid position. There are several people who, without naming names, would be competent to do it. And the actual president doesn't have to be from the club.

"It is open in the statutes. If there was someone who was brilliantly clever from one of the clubs and there was an outsider, then the club man would have an advantage because of the support of the clubs."

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FIA gives Hamilton's engine the all-clear

Lewis Hamilton's engine has been given the all clear by the FIA following its routine examination prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix.

As autosport.com reported last week, the FIA has begun a series of random tests of the power-units of the car manufacturers in F1 to ensure they are complying with the freeze on development.

Mercedes-Benz were the first manufacturer whose engine was picked to be examined, with Lewis Hamilton's race-winning unit from the German Grand Prix sealed after the race for a detailed examination by the FIA.

The sport's governing body duly conducted an exhaustive test of the engine and its parts, as well as comparing it with the engine that was submitted to the FIA by Mercedes-Benz's High Performance Engines division earlier this year.

The FIA confirmed in Hungary on Thursday that all parts of the engine conformed with the regulations, and there was no disparity between the power unit submitted before the season and the one being used now.

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Mosley to focus on green issues

FIA president Max Mosley has vowed to focus his remaining time in office on ensuring that Formula One becomes cheaper and greener, after triumphing in the first stage of legal action surrounding the publication of details about his private life.

Mosley thinks the High Court's ruling last week that there was no Nazi element to a sex party he had is significant in freeing him up to get on with his job unhindered by the controversy about his sex life.

Speaking at length for the first time since the News of the World's story about his orgy with prostitutes, Mosley has told this week's Autosport that he wants to get on with 'tidying up' Formula One now that he has won his privacy action.

"It is obviously better to win than lose," he said about the court case. "But the key thing was winning the FIA confidence vote because, if you are an elected official and your electorate don't want you to continue, then you have to stop.

"Winning the case was good because it stopped all the nonsense about Nazism - that has now gone and that is the thing that really mattered. Now, as far as doing the job is concerned, with the Nazi thing out of the way, it (the controversy) will have no effect at all on me."

Mosley says that discussions with Bernie Ecclestone and his financial backers CVC Capital Partners about a future framework for the sport are progressing well, despite earlier fears about a power struggle for control of F1.

He also said that he would be 'disappointed' if a Concorde Agreement binding all parties was not signed by the autumn.

He also said that he hopes F1 can move towards a raft of cost cuts over the next few years, which will also help improve the environmental credentials of the sport.

He wants to free up drive train development - in exchange for manufacturers supplying independent teams free of charge.

"It does need a real reduction in cost," he said. "It needs the independent teams to be able to operate profitably and if they can't operate profitably they won't operate at all eventually because they have to run at a profit.

"At the moment, if you're an independent team like Toro Rosso or Force India, you can't run at a profit – you depend on a billionaire to subsidise you. And there just aren't enough billionaires around to subsidise. So that problem has got to be solved.

"One of the suggestions being made is the first thing you do is move the development area essentially into the drivetrain so that you're looking at the new technologies in the drivetrain, things like KERS, things like turbo generators, heat recovery, all those sort of things which are relevant to the road."

And Mosley insists that his ability to do his job and achieve his aims has not been hindered by the events of this year.

"The truth of the matter is this – that no grown up person gives the slightest damn about what other people do in their sex lives. It is not even a subject for discussion. It used to be 50 years ago that if someone was gay then it was a big drama. In England it was illegal and you could go to prison. But all that is now finished – people don't care.

"So as long as it is adults and it is consensual and it is private and, as they say, you don't frighten the horses, then nobody cares. The grown ups simply don't care and the people who do care are not worth talking to."

Mosley granted permission to sue paper

Hayden: Tyre issues a learning experience

Raikkonen more positive after test

Kimi Raikkonen is more confident about Ferrari's pace than he was after the German Grand Prix, following some encouraging results in testing at Jerez in Spain this week.

The world champion was baffled about Ferrari's fall from form at Hockenheim, where Lewis Hamilton was comfortably clear of the opposition to take a dominant victory.

And although Raikkonen remains unsure about where his team currently stand compared to McLaren, he thinks they have got to the bottom of whatever it was that went wrong in Germany.

Speaking about his feelings after completing his running at Jerez, Raikkonen: "We have tried many things and we have a better understanding at least. So the car is better now than it was yesterday, but we don't know if it will be the same thing in the next race. There are many question marks still, but we are more happy and more positive."

Raikkonen would not elaborate, however, on what Ferrari have discovered as part of their post-Hockenheim analysis.

"We were not quick," he said when asked what went wrong. "So we looked to see how we can improve it and how we ended up in the situation in the first place."

McLaren's recent form appears to suggest that the team have edged ahead of their rivals in terms of out-and-out pace, but Raikkonen is far from despondent about his own title chances.

"We are not any more in the lead of the championship, but that's only been for one race," he said. "Hopefully we can get the car back like it was in the previous races and we should be okay.

"There are many races to go, but for sure McLaren have been strong in the last two races. So we need to get the package right again and try to win races. There is a long way to go."

Speaking about Hungary, he added: "McLaren last year were very strong there compared to us, but it is like the Monaco circuit and we were quite strong there this year. So hopefully we can challenge them and try to win the races."

Raikkonen also dismissed rumours that he is close to deciding whether to retire at the end of 2009 or commit to a new deal.

"I still have next year to go," he explained. "I always said I have next year still a contract with Ferrari, and we will see what we do after that."

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Woman E denies Nazi theme

The woman who sold her story about Max Mosley's involvement in an S&M orgy to the News of the World has insisted that there was no Nazi theme to the party.

Mosley won a privacy action against the News of the World over their claims he was involved in a sex party that had Nazi overtones.

The judge dismissed the newspaper's allegations, however, and awarded Mosley £60,000 damages plus costs.

And now the woman who filmed the orgy and sold her story to the newspaper has apologised for her behaviour - and rubbished any suggestion of a Nazi element to proceedings.

"No money is worth the sort of trouble and anguish it's caused everybody," the lady known only as Woman E told Sky News. "I have been stupid, naive and I wish I'd never done it."

She added: "I know for a fact, that it was spoken about, that Max actually found it quite a turn-on to speak to them in German. He liked the German language. It was prison uniforms because we were doing a German prison scene. But it wasn't Nazi."

Woman E claims that she insisted all along to the newspaper that there was no Nazi element to the party - but that did not stop them printing an interview with her that claimed otherwise.

"I constantly told them that I didn't want to put my name to that. I would never have said it was Nazi - I would never have said he was a liar. There was lots in that second article that didn't come from me.

"I signed the article but I was put under massive pressure as I was told I would be put on the front cover and basically they would do a story on me anyway."

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Ferrari run shark fin cover at Jerez

Ferrari have become the latest Formula One team to test a shark fin engine cover, with Felipe Massa evaluating the new design on the final afternoon of this week's test at Jerez in Spain.

The Maranello-based team had hoped to try out the extended fin on Thursday, but in the end the team waited until this afternoon so as to conduct back-to-back runs with the old and new design over the course of the day.

Ferrari's move comes just a fortnight after their main title rivals McLaren evaluated a shark fin design during the pre-Hockenheim test.

Although the fins do not create downforce themselves, they do help tidy up airflow to the car's rear wing.

Autosport technical consultant Gary Anderson said: "It's another airflow device. If you imagine the airbox, when you're going at high speed - say over 120mph – it can't take in all the air that is coming at it. So you get spillage around the sides of the engine cover.

"That spillage can affect the rear wing, so you're trying to tidy that up and get it to the rear wing in as uniform condition as possible."

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Hungary preview quotes: BMW

Nick Heidfeld: "I've always coped very well on the Hungaroring. The track suits me, and in the short history of our team I took a podium place there in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 it was the first podium for our team at the end of an unbelievably wet race. In 2007 I started second and finished third again. I also have a lot of positive memories of the Hungaroring going back to previous occasions. In 1999 I took an early Formula 3000 title there and was able to celebrate. The city is beautiful. I just love the historic buildings and its setting on the river. Budapest has lots of charm, especially when the weather is really summery.

"If it's dry the circuit gets very dusty particularly at the start of the weekend. Racing there is exhausting because there aren't any long straights where you can sit back and relax a little bit. I'm looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix and hope we will perform as strongly again as we have done in the last two years."

Robert Kubica: "For sure we can expect a lot of Polish fans in Budapest. The Hungarian Grand Prix is the closest race to my home country, so in some way it is my home race. The Hungaroring is the track where I had my first Formula One race in 2006. As a driver you always have a special relationship with the track where you had your first Grand Prix. However, it is not for these reasons alone that I like this track. For most of the lap you have some steering angle, which means you rarely get a break, and this is made worse by the fact the straights are very short. The Hungaroring is a difficult track, but then Formula One is about challenges."

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director: "In the last two years, the Hungarian Grand Prix was a very exciting affair for us. In 2006 the weather turned the race into a cliffhanger, and in 2007 an offensive strategy really put us on our mettle but rewarded us with a podium place. For 2008 the goal is to make it onto the Budapest podium for the third consecutive time. Our pledge is to get both cars firmly into the top ten qualifiers and take home another decent points haul from the race.

"The Hungaroring makes huge demands on the cars' aerodynamics and brakes. At 58 per cent, the full-throttle percentage is at the lower end. However, temperatures could become critical for the powertrain. It's generally hot in Budapest in August, and the heat tends to build up in the dust bowl of the circuit. Plus the low average speed does its bit to drive cooling systems to the limits."

Willy Rampf, Technical Director: "After Monaco, the Hungaroring is the track with the lowest average speed. Especially in the middle section of the track, it's just one turn after another, and the start-finish straight is relatively short. That calls for maximum downforce. Overtaking is very difficult, and you have to take that into consideration in your race strategy. The track accumulates fresh sand every day, so grip levels are accordingly low, which can lead to understeer.

"In Hungary we use the softest tyre compounds. When it comes to the car's set-up, you have to focus primarily on the middle section, which consists of a variety of corner combinations and the very tight final turns before the start-finish straight, which require good traction. The track layout and frequent high air temperatures mean the cars have to drive with maximum cooling."

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FIA begins random engine checks

The FIA has begun its annual routine random checks on all Formula One engines, with Mercedes-Benz the first manufacturer whose power unit will be examined.

Formula One's current regulations feature an engine freeze, which prevents manufacturers from making technical changes over the course of the season from the specification that is lodged with the FIA at the beginning of the year.

Part of the FIA's regulatory activities includes it conducting a random test on the engines of each of the six manufacturers, to check no modifications have been made.

That process began after Hockenheim, with Lewis Hamilton's engine being the first to be sealed by the FIA so its checks can be conducted. Inspection of other manufacturers' engines will take place over the remainder of the season.

Autosport.com understand that the engine checking process has begun a little later than normal this year because the FIA has introduced some more stringent testing apparatus into the procedure.

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Toyota doubt KERS will be ready in time

Toyota team president John Howett is unsure Formula One teams will be able to have the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) ready for use in time for the start of next season.

The system, which stores energy to be used in the form of a 'boost' button, will be allowed in the sport from 2009, and some teams have already started running with it.

KERS, however, has already caused two known scares, first when it triggered an incident with steam and fumes at the Red Bull factory, and again yesterday, when a BMW Sauber mechanic was injured after receiving an electric shock when touching the team's test car.

And Howett reckons most teams are struggling with the development of the system, which he believes could not be ready in time for the start of 2009.

"The challenges are enormous for everybody," Howett told autosport.com in Germany. "We're all fighting very hard to have a raceable, safe KERS, but whether it is achievable or not has to be seen.

"I think if you read between the lines of a lot of teams I think a lot of people are struggling."

Howett believes most of the problems with the system can be solved, but he is unsure if they can be overcome to a satisfactory safety level.

"Everybody knows that the type of batteries that we're using, and the voltages involved, and the training that you have to go through, for instance, releasing a road car so that when the fire brigade arrives at an accident they know what to do, is very hard," Howett added.

"So I think a lot of these issues can be overcome. Whether they can be overcome to a satisfactory, safe level before the first race, I can't hand-on-heart tell you.

"We're working flat-out to try and do that, or to find alternatives to batteries, but I doubt whether that will be feasible for next year."

Honda team principal Ross Brawn, whose team are believed to be the first ones to have run with KERS, admitted the Japanese squad are unsure if they will start the season with the system.

"I don't know for certain," he said. "We will if it's a performance gain, and we haven't done enough work yet to know if it's a performance gain. We are scheduling to start the season with it, but we will see how it develops.

"It's rather too early to say, but the new car is designed to accommodate it and the day that it becomes a positive, net performance gain we will start to race it."

Brawn also reckons the performance advantage of KERS is currently very small.

"KERS has a performance gain but the downside is accommodating and packaging all the various elements," he added. "I think the performance gain at the moment is possibly marginal, but then we haven't necessarily explored all the potential of KERS, how it can be used.

"None of us have got systems running regularly on the track to learn how they can behave. The other thing that is clear is that the FIA have indicated that they want to increase the value of KERS and of course that for sure will increase the margins."

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Barrichello: Honda updates a small step

Rubens Barrichello says the new updates introduced by Honda Racing at Jerez are a step forward, but not as much as the team had expected.

The Japanese squad are testing a new suspension and a new aero package which was built to wrap around suspension.

The team are also running a shark fin engine cover.

Barrichello said after testing on Thursday that the upgrades were a step forward, but not very significant.

"The new aero package seems to be on the better side of the other one, although it's very, very difficult to understand fully because it's just too hot after the first run," Barrichello told autosport.com.

"The engine cover is just a plus and I think it will work on different tracks. It doesn't mean a lot for certain tracks.

"The new suspension is also an improvement, although not as big as we thought. But everything was a bit better. But slightly, not much."

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Vettel insists he is fully focused on '08

Sebastian Vettel insists his new contract with Red Bull Racing will not distract him from his current role at the Toro Rosso team.

Red Bull announced last week that the German driver will replace David Coulthard next year as Mark Webber's teammate following his impressive season with their sister team.

Vettel admits he is happy to know where his future lies so early in the season, but he makes it clear his mind is completely focused on doing his best for Toro Rosso.

"Obviously it's good to know early in the season what are you doing next year," Vettel told autosport.com during testing at Jerez.

"But all my focus is on this year. The way I approach the weekend, or a single lap, or the race, doesn't change just I know what I'm doing next year.

"I have grown up and learned enough to go step by step and for sure this step is not yet finished. And you can see that our results are getting better, so there's a very good atmosphere, everybody is extremely happy."

Vettel has scored six points so far this season as his team continue to make progress since the introduction of their new car in Monaco.

The German is optimistic he can continue to show good pace as long as Toro Rosso keep up their development rate.

"I think if we find a good balance, and if I feel comfortable, then we have a very competitive car at this stage of the season," Vettel added. "Last race we were always in the top ten, so it's very good.

"We have to keep this momentum and work hard and develop hard to stay there."

Despite his optimism, Vettel believes Toro Rosso could have a difficult time in next week's Hungarian Grand Prix.

"Hungary is difficult. I think we will be, not struggling, but we will have a more difficult time that we had in the last few races," he said.

"But already in Hockenheim we expected it to be more difficult than Silverstone, and we managed to do quite well. So we will see. Our target is to go into Q2 and from there we'll see. "

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Q and A with Martin Whitmarsh

Conducted and provided by McLaren's press office.

Q. The team was penalised by the stewards for an incident that occurred during qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Can you explain what happened?

Martin Whitmarsh: "During a busy qualifying session, if you want to accurately deliver a small amount of fuel to the car, it is easier to use a small churn of fuel rather than connecting the regular race refuelling rig. Article 29.2 of the 2008 Sporting Regulations states that 'a driver may remain in his car throughout refuelling but, unless an FIA-approved race refuelling system is used, the engine must be stopped.'

"We refuelled Heikki's car during the Q2 session using a churn while his engine was still running but we reasoned - incorrectly, as it happened – that we were operating within the regulations because we were using an approved Intertechnique [the FIA-approved supplier of refuelling equipment to all F1 teams] nozzle to deliver the fuel.

"Having discussed the matter with the stewards, we accepted that we were in breach of the Sporting Regulations. Clearly, though, we received no performance advantage from doing this and accepted the stewards' judgment as totally fair."

Q. On Sunday afternoon, the team admitted it made a strategic error in keeping Lewis out during the Safety Car period – but what was your rationale for doing that in the heat of the moment?

MW: "Generally speaking, when you are leading a Grand Prix and showing good pace, you are more risk-averse than those behind you. The first stint of the race clearly showed we had an inherent performance advantage over the rest of the field – so much so, in fact, that we felt comfortable about bringing Lewis in early for his first pitstop and fuelling him long for his second stint.

"When the Safety Car was deployed, we evaluated the options and felt that keeping Lewis out and running low-fuel on a clear track outweighed the potential difficulties of pitting him; which could have dropped him down the pack and would also have penalised Heikki, who would have been forced to queue in the pitlane behind Lewis. We were also affected by a number of contributing factors that we couldn't have foreseen when we made the call.

"Firstly, the Safety Car stayed out for longer than we had anticipated, which meant the number of laps available for Lewis to pull out an advantage was reduced. Secondly, more cars pitted than we expected – this meant there was less traffic between Lewis and Felipe after the Safety Car came in. Finally, we felt Lewis would have an advantage running on low-fuel with used tyres; in fact, the track evolution shifted to give greater benefit to cars fuelled heavily. That made his job harder."

Q. Is there now a need to re-evaluate how McLaren makes these strategic decisions?

MW: "If you're a leading team and you get it wrong then you're going to face criticism. But hindsight is always 20:20 and we feel we made the right decisions based on the tough choices available to us. Don't forget, too, that it was less clear-cut for Lewis because we had fuelled him longer than the other cars at his first pitstop. We had a bigger fuel window than the other teams, who were much closer to their second pitstop when the Safety Car was deployed.

"Therefore, it was a much easier call for them than it was for us. And I'm sure the decision for Ferrari was far more straightforward: they probably weren't going to beat us. And if the tables had been turned, we'd doubtless have faced criticism if Massa had stayed out, jumped us and then capitalised on his advantage with a late splash-and-dash to the finish. But let's not forget that Nick Heidfeld made the strategy work, staying out under the Safety Car and finishing fourth – so the strategy remained a valid one."

Q. The team recently announced that team manager Dave Ryan has been appointed sporting director – will his duties now change?

MW: "Given his stature within the team, and the commitment he shows to his role, we thought the new title of sporting director best reflected the progressive evolution of Davey's responsibilities within McLaren. Dave has been hugely committed to this team, he joined McLaren in 1974 – and has played a central role in developing the race team into what it is today.

"We all appreciate Davey's contribution: he's loyal, forthright and fearlessly hard working. In fact, he's pivotal to the way we go racing each weekend and thoroughly deserves to take on this broader role. But while his duties expand, he still remains our conduit to the wider world of F1 and will continue to attend the regular team managers' meetings."

Q. There has been some confusion about the way Lewis passed Heikki in the closing stages of the race – can you clarify exactly what happened?

MW: "The reality in that particular situation was that Lewis was quicker than Heikki on the day. When Lewis came up behind him, Heikki was sporting enough to move over – even though it must have been an incredibly difficult decision for him to make in the cockpit. We're grateful for Heikki for showing the strength of character and sportsmanship to make that sacrifice – we're all aware how tough it must have been."

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BMW mechanic escapes KERS scare

Questions about the safety of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) in Formula One were raised again on Tuesday when a BMW Sauber mechanic suffered an electric shock after touching a car fitted with the device during testing at Jerez in Spain.

BMW Sauber were conducting further evaluation of their KERS on the first day of this week's test, with Christian Klien at the wheel of a modified car that featured some 2009-aero concepts and an early version of their energy recovery device.

Klien had just completed a three-lap installation run in the morning when he returned to the pits. After stopping in the pitlane, mechanics attended to the car to wheel him backwards into the team's garage - but the first mechanic to touch the car fell to the ground after receiving an electric shock.

He was pulled to his feet by fellow team members and, after being examined in the medical centre, he was found to have suffered no serious injury.

Klien has not yet returned to the track and is unlikely to do so until the team fully understands what went wrong this morning.

A team spokesman told autosport.com: "During the testing of the KERS car at the Jerez test track today, there was an incident involving a mechanic when the car returned to the pits. He touched it and suffered an electric shock.

"He sustained slight injuries to his left hand and grazing on his left arm. After a brief examination at the track's medical centre, he has returned to the test team. We are currently investigating the incident."

The Jerez pitlane incident comes less than a week after Red Bull Racing were forced to evacuate part of their factory in Milton Keynes after a battery system test of their KERS went wrong.

The issue of KERS safety has been discussed between the teams already this year, but with work now accelerating on getting the devices ready for 2009, there is a renewed urgency to the matter.

Toyota team principal John Howett told autosport.com in Hockenheim: "I think all of these issues have been on the table from the beginning. So you have voltage issues, you have the battery issues; you have the cost of registering the batteries to transport them. People who use high-speed rotating flywheels have also got issues there.

"The perception of KERS is very simple, but the execution is incredibly difficult and the road car applications are completely different from a race car. Whereas the motor, the control unit, the battery, and the basic concept is similar, the actual sophistication and needs of a road car are completely different from what we are having to develop in Formula One. So there is a big difference"

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Q and A with Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet has had a fairly tough time in his rookie Formula One season, but all that was forgotten last weekend when he took his first podium finish of the season at the German Grand Prix.

Although the result owed as much to good fortune as it did to skill, the podium has at least lifted some of the pressure on the Brazilian's shoulders.

Autosport.com caught up with Piquet during testing at Jerez this week to talk about what difference Hockenheim has made for him.

Q. After a fantastic podium finish, it's back to hard work. How has testing gone?

Nelson Piquet: "It feels normal. It's like any other day of testing. Normally this is not the best time of the year to test, as it is really hot and we have the medium and soft tyres here so they don't last any distance. It's difficult for us. Sunday was good but Monday you wake up and nothing changed."

Q. What does the first podium finish mean for you?

NP: "Obviously I was a bit lucky on Sunday, but it's good to finish on the podium in my rookie year. Many drivers have not done that, but I want more. I also think we can do more, so it's good.

"At the end of the day, the numbers on paper that count are the points and the podiums. It doesn't matter if you are very lucky or unlucky; people just look at the numbers. So from that point of view it was good."

Q. Was it a relief after the difficult start to the year you've had?

NP: "Sort of, a little bit of a relief. I didn't do anything different and I just did what I knew how to do all the time. I was just a bit lucky in the race, and the car was good, the conditions were okay. I don't think it will change much.

"For people looking at numbers, yes, but the people who know me won't treat me different because I finished on the podium."

Q. Did you feel your performance this year before the podium was not up to expectation?

NP: "The performance is the same before and after. Each race I'm learning a bit more, but if the car broke down two laps to the end then nobody would have said anything. They would say Nelson hadn't improved and nothing would have changed, so it's a bit stupid to say things have changed because I was a bit lucky. Everyone thinks I've changed and become a good driver, but these things don't happen."

Q. Would you consider Germany to have been one of your best races? You were very strong in the last part of the race?

NP: "It was a very good stint. I was impressed with how good the car was, and how it was on soft tyres because the Ferrari couldn't catch me, so I was impressed. In a normal situation the soft tyres should have had a big degradation, the car would have had a lot of oversteer, and the Ferrari would have got close to me. So I was impressed with how the car handled in the race."

Q. Is it a good omen for the second part of the season?

NP: "The next race I am not expecting any podiums. It's still going to be very difficult and very tough. It's still going to be normal, with a difficult qualifying. It's not going to change much in the next race."

Q. How big is the gap from the Renault to the frontrunners?

NP: "Our gap is still big to them, but track to track it depends. Some tracks are more and some are less. If I can score points in Hungary I will be very happy."

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No animosity between Piquet drivers

Stoner delighted with fifth pole in a row

Vettel sets Jerez pace on first day

Sebastian Vettel kicked off this week's test at Jerez in Spain on Tuesday with the fastest time, as teams split their efforts between 2008 and 2009 developments.

The Scuderia Toro Rosso's best lap of 1:19.844 meant he ended the day more than three tenths of a second clear of McLaren test driver Gary Paffett, with Ferrari tester Luca Badoer third quickest overall.

The Italian spent the day focusing on slick tyre work with 2009-levels of downforce.

"We completed our planned programme," said Badoer. "This morning it was important to go deeply into some technical elements to understand what happened last Sunday in Hockenheim.

"We picked up a lot of data, and that will continue over the next few days when we also test some solutions for the forthcoming races."

Most teams had elected to draft in their test drivers for the opening day of the four-day test, which is the last run before the summer break that takes place following the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Williams test driver Niko Hulkenberg - who caused the only red flag of the day - was fourth quickest, ahead of Red Bull Racing's Sebastien Buemi and Romain Grosjean in the Renault.

Jarno Trulli was the second driver to concentrate on slick tyre work, with his Toyota configured to 2009 regulations.

"We have made a good start and collected some interesting data for the development of next year's car," said Trulli. "Tomorrow I will begin work to prepare for Hungary."

The main talking point of the day, though, was the incident at BMW Sauber where a mechanic suffered an electric shock when he touched the car fitted with their Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS).

Klien did not complete any timed laps and, with the team unsure about the cause of the accident, BMW Sauber abandoned work on KERS for now.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:19.844 94 2. Paffett McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.179 80 3. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:20.697 69 4. Hulkenberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.953 58 5. Buemi Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.997 110 6. Grosjean Renault (B) 1:21.223 71 7. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:21.459 96 8. Wurz Honda (B) 1:21.596 84 9. Klien BMW-Sauber (B) no time 3 All Timing Unofficial

Filippi sets the pace at Paul Ricard

Alonso tops second practice in France

Di Grassi in GP2 return with Campos

Hamilton sets the pace at Silverstone

Hamilton quickest in practice 2 - Canada

Glock to stay in hospital overnight

Timo Glock will remain in hospital overnight as a precaution after his heavy crash during the German Grand Prix.

The German Toyota driver crashed heavily against the pit wall when he suffered a suspected problem with his right rear suspension on lap 37 of the race.

Glock escaped injury in the crash, but he was taken to hospital for a check-up and will stay there overnight.

"Timo is fine, thankfully, and that is the most important thing," said team principal Tadashi Yamashina.

"Obviously it was a heavy impact and he did not get out of the car immediately, so he was taken to the circuit medical centre, as is the normal procedure in these incidents.

"There was no sign of any injury but he was taken from there to a hospital for further precautionary checks, including X-rays. He has now completed these tests and they have confirmed he is fine. He has no concussion."

Yamashina said he was optimistic Glock will be ready to race in Hungary in two weeks' time.

"We are extremely confident Timo will be fit for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Naturally he is a bit shaken by the accident but all the checks have shown he is fine so we are not worried about that."

He added: "At this stage we are still analysing what the cause of the accident was because the car was heavily damaged in the impact. We will have to study the telemetry and look at video evidence."

Yamashina also revealed the team had checked Jarno Trulli's car during the race in order to make sure there was no repeat of the accident.

"As the safety car was out, and we switched our strategy to bring Jarno into the pits as soon as the pit lane was opened, we had the opportunity to do a visual examination of Jarno's car before racing resumed.

"This inspection at the pitstop, as well as all our telemetry, gave no grounds for concern so he continued to race."

Q and A with Timo Glock

Lorenzo to have skin graft on hand

Lorenzo undergoes successful skin graft

Glock thrilled with career-best result

Rossi wants error-free German GP

Q and A with Timo Glock

Hakkinen: Hamilton ready for title now

Former world champion Mika Hakkinen believes Lewis Hamilton has gone through the same learning curve he went through himself - and is now mature enough to go on to win the title.

With Hamilton having banished the memories of his errors in Canada and France with two stunning drives in Britain and Germany, Hakkinen sees similarities between the current world championship leader's recovery and his own career.

"I can relate what is happening now to Lewis to when I was racing," said Hakkinen, who witnessed Hamilton's Hockenheim victory first half last weekend.

"When I was a young guy at McLaren I was flat out, always at the maximum. Sometimes the excitement took over my thinking and there were times when I went over the top, I made mistakes.

"It took time for me to stabilise myself and calm down a little, and then I got the results. That is now the situation with Lewis. He has calmed down and is stable, more mature.

"There is still a way to go this year and a lot of things can still happen, and yes it is a long time since I won McLaren's last title, but I am hopeful this year they can do it."

Hakkinen believes the key to McLaren keeping up their current momentum is in maintaining belief in themselves.

"They just have to keep working, thinking positively," said Hakkinen. "Formula One always changes from race to race, it has always been like that and always will be.

"Drivers are developing all the time. They are improving, getting faster, and if you keep pushing then you get the result like Lewis did here. What happened a few races ago has all changed again and the pressure is on another camp."

Hakkinen has also praised the way that team boss Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief Norbert Haug have moulded the spirit at McLaren.

"What Ron Dennis and Norbert Haug have done is brought together two fantastically talented young drivers. They are fast, they motivate the whole team, and they are getting better, stronger, more solid, more stable - they deliver the whole package.

"I can see right now McLaren Mercedes are a solid team, positive in terms of spirit both behind the scenes and on the track. I can sense that just by being around the teams these days."

McLaren: Win will give Hamilton momentum

McLaren expect more dominance in Hungary

Hamilton missing the winning feeling

Capirossi disappointed by race slump

Germany Sunday quotes: Bridgestone

Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development: "As predicted, today's race was very exciting in terms of tyre strategy, especially after the appearance of the safety car.

"Lewis Hamilton's McLaren Mercedes had a good pace advantage and he made the most of this to score his eighth grand prix win. Congratulations to Nelson Piquet for his performance, he demonstrated good maturity and also the durability and consistency of our tyres by only making one stop to take second.

"We saw many different strategies throughout the field and this was a vital ingredient to a thrilling race."

Pedrosa blames tyres for race slump

Britain Sunday quotes: McLaren

Vermeulen confident of Suzuki race pace

Monaco Saturday quotes: Bridgestone

France Sunday quotes: Bridgestone

Rossi made to wait for bike upgrades

McLaren expect more dominance in Hungary

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has warned rivals Ferrari to expect a repeat of his team's domination of the German Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in a fortnight's time.

Lewis Hamilton was in a class of his own at Hockenheim, despite being forced to stage a fightback through the field after a strategy gamble by his team went wrong.

And with the Briton's pace forcing Kimi Raikkonen to concede that he believes McLaren are now ahead of Ferrari, Dennis is predicting more of the same at the Hungaroring next month.

"I can't see that we'll be any less strong in Hungary," said a delighted Dennis after seeing Hamilton extend his lead in the drivers' world championship. "And the car will look a bit different there, so we'll see."

McLaren are expected to introduce a range of aerodynamic and mechanical updates to their car for the Hungary race - which could include their shark fin engine cover that is set to be tested again at Jerez this week.

Dennis has also dismissed any suggestion that Hamilton was slightly annoyed by the team's decision not to refuel him under the safety car in Germany, which forced him to stage his fightback through the field.

"No, you heard him on the radio," said Dennis. "We were laughing. At the end of the day we are a racing team. In Canada we all took responsibility. We take responsibility for each other's actions and that is being a team. You can't be perfect all the time, but you try hard."

The trip to Hungary also marks a return to the scene of McLaren's troubles there in 2007 – when the qualifying row between Fernando Alonso and Hamilton sparked the beginning of a troubled few weeks for the team.

Dennis says he has no worries of a repeat situation occurring this year between his drivers – especially judging by the way Kovalainen readily moved aside to aide Hamilton's recovery in Germany.

"I think you can see that there is harmony. Sure if you spoke to Heikki immediately after the race he wouldn't have been too cheerful, but he knows he didn't have a particularly good race.

"But if you spoke to him later he was completely comfortable and understands that he has got to raise his game from where he was.

"He has been qualifying very well, he has good race pace most of the time, but he has struggled sometimes a little bit with the balance of the car. He has done a good job though."

Kubica vows to keep aggressive approach

McLaren: Win will give Hamilton momentum

Carroll to make return with FMS

No animosity between Piquet drivers

Chinese Grand Prix future in doubt

Germany Sunday quotes: McLaren

Lewis Hamilton - 1st: "I nailed it this afternoon: when the team told me I had to build a 23-second gap in just seven laps, I knew I had to drive over the limit - and I did. But I knew we had the best car this weekend and felt comfortable pushing hard to make up the gap. In the final stint, I had to work for today's win - when the Safety Car came out, I questioned whether I should pit but I trusted the team to make the best decision on strategy.

"It didn't quite work out - but I knew we had the pace in the car to keep pushing and want to say a big thank-you to Heikki, who realised I was quicker. I was able to slipstream past Felipe and then thought my work was done; then I had to do it all again to get past Nelson. But I made a couple of textbook moves to get past them both. Everybody in this team has worked so hard to make this victory happen. We mustn't grow complacent but must feel assured that our efforts are being rewarded. We couldn't have asked for more today."

Heikki Kovalainen - 5th: "A very difficult race for me. I had a good start and almost managed to pass Felipe but, unfortunately, my speed was not good enough, and I couldn't make the tyres work to their best. The Safety Car period didn't help me either, and I lost positions during my pitstop. Then I lost time behind Kubica. However, I managed to overtake him again two laps later and, from then on, it was a rather uneventful race. Fifth position was not what I had hoped to achieve here, but I am now looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix, where I will try my hardest to fight for a podium finish."

Ron Dennis: "Today's victory topped off another magnificent weekend for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. I stress the word 'team' because our win was very much a team effort. The deployment of the Safety Car presented us with a difficult decision: should we or should we not bring Lewis in for a pitstop? We decided that, since he still had quite a lot of fuel on board, we would leave him out until lap 50.

"We'd expected the track to be cleared of debris a little faster than it was, which would have allowed the Safety Car to come in a bit earlier. As a result, Lewis was unable to rejoin the race in the lead. He responded majestically, however, and scored another fabulous win. Heikki was troubled by oversteer in his first stint, which we attempted to correct at his first pit stop, but he still struggled a little in his next stint.

"That being the case, he wasn't able to match Lewis's pace today. But it's the mark of both his professionalism and his sportsmanship that, aware of his situation relative to Lewis's, he made it relatively straightforward for Lewis to pass him. As I've said before, Heikki's time will come. In difficult circumstances he raced tremendously well today - his overtaking manoeuvre on Robert Kubica was just sensational - and once again he showed a winner's grit and determination. It's a joy to have two drivers who are not only super-competitive but also super-cooperative."

Norbert Haug: "A sensational victory for Lewis with some great overtaking - he was in a class of his own in the team's second consecutive home Grand Prix. His speed was better than I had ever dreamed of. After we let him continue during the Safety Car period we saw two of the most exciting overtaking manoeuvres of the championship. I am really happy about this convincing win - thank-you Lewis.

"I also want to thank everybody in the team for doing a great job; not only in the garage but also to everybody on the marketing, press and organisational side. Finally, I want to thank all our friends and guests who enjoyed a fantastic day at the Mercedes grandstand where they all saw a lot of action and enjoyed the great atmosphere."

Rossi relieved to end winless streak

Britain Sunday quotes: McLaren

Germany Sunday quotes: BMW

No animosity between Piquet drivers

Canada Sunday quotes: BMW

Hayden happy with Assen safety

Germany Sunday quotes: BMW

Nick Heidfeld - 4th: "Coming fourth from 12th on the grid is a great result. Not making it into the top ten in qualifying meant we were free to choose our fuel load afterwards, and so we went for a rather long first stint. That's why I was able to stay out during the safety car period when almost everybody else was refuelling. That was certainly crucial as I was able to pull away as soon as the traffic was behind me. Before that I couldn't show my true speed as I never had a clear lap. The car was good and the fact that I set the fastest race lap proves it. In the end I was very close to Felipe, but still had no chance to overtake him. It was a good home race for me and I'm happy I could give something back to the fans who may have been disappointed by my qualifying performance yesterday."

Robert Kubica - 7th: "It is difficult to be happy after a race like this. During the first half of the race I was able to match the pace of McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari. Suddenly my car's pace was miles too slow. My tyres lost lots of grip, and perhaps this was because my tyres cooled down too much. We now have to analyse the data."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "If you start from seventh and 12th on the grid and end up collecting seven points you can be very satisfied. Of course the safety car period influenced the race quite a lot. Due to that Robert lost his strong fourth place, whereas Nick profited from this. Neither of our drivers made any mistakes. On top of that Nick set the fastest lap, which makes me very happy for him. However, there is some work for us to do to get back to the front of the grid."

Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "This was an exciting and thrilling race for our team! Robert made a good start and was able to move up to fourth in the first corners. He was able to consolidate this position, but in the safety car period his strategy meant we had to bring him in for a pit stop. Nick was on a higher fuel load and, therefore, could stay out.

"When the Safety Car came in again, Nick drove several very fast laps and was able to make up time on his direct competitors. In addition, the pit crew did a perfect job which enabled him to also overtake Heikki Kovalainen in the pits. Robert was struggling with the heavy car and warming up the prime tyres properly, so as a result was not in a position to set the best possible lap times anymore. We can be pleased we scored seven championship points today under difficult circumstances."

Monaco Sunday quotes: BMW

Pedrosa blames tyres for race slump

Germany Sunday quotes: McLaren

Canada Sunday quotes: BMW

Trulli: Fourth shows Toyota's progress

Jarno Trulli believes that his fourth place on the German Grand Prix grid is a sign that Toyota could be quick enough to hang on to their fourth place in the constructors' championship until the end of the season.

The team currently have 25 points, just one point ahead of Red Bull, but comfortably clear of the chasing Williams and Renault.

Fourth in the standings would equal Toyota's best ever Formula One season in 2005, and Trulli is optimistic that the team's recent progress can keep them in contention.

"I'm happy for me, and I'm happy also because the team is putting in a lot of effort," he said.

"All the time we are trying to improve the car and bring some new bits which eventually will help me to perform and bring some more points for the constructors' championship and for me.

"So for the moment the situation is looking pretty good. We are in a good position to score some good points. Probably it will be difficult to fight for the podium like at Magny-Cours, but I'm there."

He believes the next round of upgrades will further cement Toyota's current strong position.

"We are going to test the Hungary configuration next week, which should be a new step," Trulli said.

"I'm confident; I just hope that we can keep on pushing and collecting points, because the season is still very long.

"We are fourth in the championship, but there is a long way to go and our opponents are close, so we really have to put in all the effort we can."

But while Trulli is starting ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and both BMWs this afternoon, he admitted that he expects to lose a little ground in the race.

"I will do my race. I don't think I can keep people behind me for 67 laps," he said.

"These are not my rivals. I have to think about Renault, Red Bull. It will be hard to think that we will be able to battle with Ferrari or McLaren. Or even BMW.

"Let's see what happens, but I will do my race and we will see after the race what the outcome is."

Elias targets more progress in France

JiR set top five championship target

Q and A with Jarno Trulli

Lorenzo to have further tests

Massa tops damp first practice - Canada

Germany Saturday quotes: Williams

Nico Rosberg - 13th: "It was all pretty close today and we had a good chance to make it into the top ten but it just didn't play out that way in the end. Nevertheless, I am still quite happy with the improvements in our car and we have taken a step forward.

"Out on track today it was a bit difficult, especially during my last runs because we had changeable conditions, with the wind intensity and direction constantly variable, which seemed to affect the car. Let’s hope that tomorrow we can have a good race and score some points, which from P13 is a real possibility."

Kazuki Nakajima - 16th: "Unfortunately today I don’t think I managed to get everything out of the car in the last lap, especially in sector three where I realised I was being too conservative. Because it was so tight at the end of Q1 today, it cost me quite badly, but with every lap, the feeling I have with the car is improving, so hopefully I will have a better race."

Sam Michael, Technical Director: "We are where we expected to be after the pre-GP test and the practice sessions here. The grid is exceptionally close and being on the bottom end of that tight pack means it will be a difficult race. We had no mechanical issues with the cars today. We will turn our attention to the race and see what we might be able to get out of it with a good strategy tomorrow."

Happy Pedrosa vows not to relax

Germany Saturday quotes: Toro Rosso

Melandri never expected such tough year

Britian Saturday quotes: Red Bull

Britain Sunday quotes: Williams

Germany Saturday quotes: Toro Rosso

Sebastian Vettel - 9th: "I had a very good qualifying and the whole weekend so far has been good too, although it's been difficult to find the right balance mainly because of the tricky wind conditions. Q2 was quite tight and I was pleased to make it through to Q3 with my final lap.

"The fact I know this track so well is helping me a bit, because the characteristics of this circuit are not the most suited to our package. It was nice to see the fans cheering on my out lap and it was only later I realised I was the only German through to Q3. We have a great grid position so now we must see what we can do tomorrow."

Sebastien Bourdais - 15th: "On my last run, I tried to push harder, knowing I was chasing four tenths of a second to get into Q3 and I wanted to get the most out of the car. Unfortunately, I locked up the right front for no apparent reason.

"But given where we were yesterday, when I was in the garage for much of the day, only managing twelve laps and not being able to evaluate a qualifying set-up, it's not too bad. Generally, there is quite a bit of overtaking at this race and it can get pretty hot on the opening laps so I hope I can make the most of any opportunities that come my way."

Giorgio Ascanelli: "I had a feeling in Vettel's second run in Q1 that it might not be enough to get into Q2 and I was proved wrong by seven hundredths of a second. I didn't believe the kid could do it, so I took the decision to send him out on a second set of Option tyres, which we could have done with at the end of Q3.

"It was a very strong performance from Vettel, who in his home grand prix has not missed a beat and I am also glad that Bourdais has found a positive way to move forward. If he had not run wide, he could have been higher up. Also, he suffered from the lack of track time on Friday, which was the team's fault not his."

Turkey Saturday quotes: Toro Rosso

Senna, Grosjean rue tech failures

Vermeulen laments lack of dry running

Germany Friday quotes: Red Bull

Mark Webber - 5th: "We didn't get all the running in that we expected to, as we had an electrical problem with the car this afternoon and were a little bit on the back foot. But, at least we did some testing here last week and we've got some good information to go through. The temperatures are unusually cool this year and that's something we have to get used to, normally the German Grand Prix is pretty hot, but nonetheless we'll be fighting as usual."

David Coulthard - 10th: "A green track means it's more difficult regarding tyres, as the track's rubbering in, which has an effect on graining and things like that. But, it's the same for everyone. Other than that, it was a normal Friday practice for us."

Coulthard apologises after early exit

Coulthard silent over F1 future

Lorenzo rules out fighting for title

Q and A with Lewis Hamilton

Q. How do you cap the last race?

Lewis Hamilton: It was an amazing weekend - or an amazing Sunday at least - I'm not going to say it came as a surprise but it was something which I had worked hard for and was working for. I don't think we can compare any other race for it. It's my home Grand Prix - it stands for a lot and it was a special weekend for me. You have to put that in the back of your mind - it's something I can carry with me for the rest of my life.

But I think there are still nine races and the championship to keep pushing for. I want to win every race - I'm not here to win special races. Every race can be special, it's about how you win it and how you go about doing the business. We are just going to try and focus on building up some momentum and consistency.

Q. There were some interesting comments at Goodwood about pre-race nerves. Can you explain a bit more about what it's like?

LH: I'm human. There's nerves. Nerves of excitement and it's never nerves of thinking you might fail. It's just nerves of excitement and the adrenalin pumping and wondering whether you'll get the start perfect, what's going to happen in the first corner because it's unknown. You have absolutely no clue about what's going to happen - do you go left, do you go right, do you brake early, do you brake late, will you get hit from behind, will you get a flat tyre. There's so many questions and that's the exciting thing about it.

The nerves are how you control all that energy and try and maintain it during the race. That's always the key. I've had nerves since I started racing - every time it's the same before a race, that same excitement and as long as I have that always then I'll keep on doing what I'm doing.

Q. Do you try and keep to the same routine?

LH: No. There's no need for a routine. I'm not superstitious. I get changed when I need to get changed, I wear what I wear. Sometimes I wear completely new stuff for the race, it just depends on what I have in the wardrobe.

Q. Do you get different level of nerves? Before Brazil last year you looked particularly nervous. Is there a way to control it?

LH: I don't think there's a way to control it. It's just the way your body is. It is a state of mind but I have no ways or solutions or methods to deal with it. I've never been trained in it and I don't fell the need to be. That's the exciting part of being a racing driver. I'd have thought by now I'd have a regime and a way of making my mind set. I know how to get myself into the zone, but every time it's a different feeling, a different emotion, a different nerve, a different gut feeling.

It's always different, that's the cool thing. Every race of my life has been different and I've had a lot of races in my life. In Brazil it was another experience - I just wanted to finish the race and sometimes you have a feeling something could happen and go wrong. When it does it's like the whole world has fallen down on top of you.

Q. Was there anything you learned from the end of last season?

LH: Perhaps. I was always positive, but I took the mistakes and the bad weekends a lot more personal. This year, I'm a lot stronger as a person and as a driver I deal with it in a much better way. The bad races I've had this year I feel stronger. I don't feel I have to bounce back or recover - the next race is something different. There's always areas as a driver you have to improve on and you have to work on where they are. It's not always clear.

Q. Was Silverstone your most important win?

LH: It is. Apart from your first win in the sport, to win your home Grand Prix is something so special and so close to your heart it's difficult to explain it all. I had all my family there. My family had never been to a race before so had never heard what a Formula One car sounds like.

Q. Your whole family?

LH: I had all my aunties - the female side of the family! Quite a big group. I knew the whole country would be tuned in and watching to support me. It was just a special feeling. Then listening to the Wimbledon final on the way home - it was just a great weekend!

Q. There are some major regulations changes next year, have you been involved with the new car?

LH: Yes. Of course, I'm part of the team. We have a great team, they don't need to rely on me, but they need to question me and ask me what I think of certain things - pedal positions, steering positions etc.

Q. I'm talking more in terms of simulations from an aero point of view? How will it help you?

LH: I can only guess. When we have slick tyres we're going to get a lot of grip back but I can only say that from my experience of GP2 going from grooved tyres to slicks. Perhaps there'll be more overtaking. But I think we'll be even faster next year, even with the regulation changes. So they keep making these changes to slow us down and make it more competitive. I think it will be more competitive, but we'll be even faster. It'll be more exciting.

Q. Is Kimi's mentality as a Finn different to yours?

LH: The mentality of Finnish people and athletes specifically, there is a difference, yes. You can take something from that. When I go to Finland and see the way of life there, it's a great way of living, it's very quiet. I generally find myself going there and relaxing. It's so quiet by the lakes, sitting by the fire having sausages!

It's a cool way of life and for sure the mentality - I play Heikki at tennis and see the way he thinks and how easy it is for them to keep their minds straight. You can learn from that - it's a bonus for me to have the opportunity to work with a few Finnish people.

McLaren: Win will give Hamilton momentum

Hamilton missing the winning feeling

Melandri never expected such tough year

Q and A with Lewis Hamilton

Germany Friday quotes: Renault

Fernando Alonso - 6th: "It was a normal day without any difficulties. The rain this morning affected our programme slightly, but it also allowed us to run on a wet track which could turn out to be useful for later in the weekend. We must still improve the general balance of the car, but we have already laid the foundations for the weekend."

Nelson Piquet - 15th: "As we drove here last week, we already had a good basis to work from and we have built on that today by driving on a damp track this morning and a dry track in the afternoon. We were able to make good progress and have improved the set-up of the car. We will continue to work on this tomorrow morning so that we are ready for qualifying, but we are certainly moving in the right direction."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "As at the last race, we recently tested on this circuit and therefore the focus of our programme today was mainly to resolve unfinished business. The conditions were slightly different than at the test last week, but it remained cold and the grip level was basically low. The balance of the car is not yet everything we want, but we have done our homework today and are now looking forward to a competitive weekend."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations: "Having tested here last week, we know this circuit well and so today was not about discovering new things. Instead it was primarily about optimising the behaviour of the car based on the data we had gathered last week and to make the most of the three hours of practice that were available to us. In terms of the engine, everything went well as we had worked on various aspects such as the cooling last week. Today was just a case of validating this."

Brazilian Iaconelli joins BCN

Stoner targeting Le Mans fightback

Turkey Friday quotes: Renault

Dovizioso downplays slow start

BMW confirm KERS testing

BMW Sauber became the second team to publicly confirm they have tested a new Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in a Formula One car ahead of the new technology's introduction to the sport in 2009.

The team ran the car for 50km at BMW's private test track at Miramas last without problems.

"It was a shakedown of 50kms," BMW's technical director Willy Rampf told autosport.com. "It was the very first test on the car and overall we were very happy since the basic functions of the system were okay.

"It was very positive."

Team principal Mario Theissen added that there had been no significant problems during the test.

Asked whether BMW had suffered any similar problems to those that caused a fire in the Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes on Wednesday, Theissen said: "No, no serious stuff.

"We tested the KERS on our test track," he added. "We are still looking at various energy storage units, we have done deliberate tests on reliability and safety.

"We have done failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) on the entire system, and tried out different situations in order to assess the risk and take measures against it. We think it will be under control."

Williams test ’shark-fin’ engine cover

French GP test for new safety car system

Ducati confirm 2009 Melandri split

The full letter from Max Mosley

Thursday's press conference - Germany

Participating: Timo Glock (Toyota), Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), Nico Rosberg (Williams), Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso).

Q. A question to you all. What are your feelings about your home Grand Prix and given you tested here last week?

Adrian Sutil: It was quite nice testing. I really like the circuit here. Hopefully we are a bit more competitive here. The testing went well and we found our set-up but again testing is testing and the race is the race, so we will see how we are going to go. I have to stay realistic and I think it is going to be hard to be in the second qualifying. That should be our goal again but it will be difficult.

Q. And it's your first German Grand Prix.

AS: It's my first German Grand Prix. I am happy to be here really, Hockenheim is one of my favourite circuits. I have had many races here and nearly all with very good memories. The lay-out is very, very nice and the special atmosphere in the Motodrom as always is a special thing here.

Q. Sebastian, testing and your home Grand Prix. How do you feel?

Sebastian Vettel: I think for the team and me it is a real home Grand Prix. We came here in just half-an-hour by car. I am looking forward to it, definitely. It is going to be our first home Grand Prix and I have lot of friends and family here, so it will be very pleasing to race this weekend.

Many people often speak about extra pressure on my shoulders or on our shoulders and so on, but I think if anything, it gives us extra motivation. It is very special. I have driven here for a long time. I know the circuit very well, no matter which weather conditions, so I should be prepared. Now we are just waiting for tomorrow and to get started.

Timo Glock: I think Sebastian said everything about the home Grand Prix. It is special to be back home. For me it is only about 45 minutes away. It is not extra pressure, just a really good feeling to race in front of a couple of friends and in front of the family. It is just good fun and testing went not too bad. We did our normal programme at the test and that was good. So far it is quite similar to Canada. Every time I am here I have had a couple of good results, so hopefully we will have the same on Sunday again.

Nick Heidfeld: It is great coming back to Germany seeing all the spectators and all the fans here. I think we will see a big crowd. I am looking forward to the race very much although the conditions are a bit unknown at the moment, but that's exactly what we had in testing last week. It was not dry all the time, so it was a bit difficult to get all the new parts on the car as we wanted to, but we did manage to get them on and have a couple of new modifications which did work and should hopefully put us in a good position here.

Nico Rosberg: I am really happy to be driving here too. I was born 40 minutes away from here and my grandma and uncles and friends still live there in Wiesbaden, so I come here quite a few times and it is nice to be racing here. I started my racing career in Germany and have raced here many, many times and won many races here too, so it is a track that I really enjoy and in terms of the car I think it is a track that should be better for us, so I think we can really look forward to a good result here.

Q. And testing went well?

NR: Testing went pretty well. I was second and third on the two days. I am sure we ran less fuel than the top runners but compared to other people we definitely did better here, so I am looking forward to a good weekend.

Q. Adrian, there seems to have been a lot of development on the car over the last two or three tests. How are you feeling about it and particularly also how are you feeling about the fact that Dr Mallya has now said that is the end of the development?

AS: I am always happy to get new parts on the car. We definitely need it and at the moment we need to find some seconds actually. It is not that easy, but we are doing small steps. There is another update for this race now. It is getting better but at the moment I think a little bit too slow, so we have to figure out where is the main thing we have to make progress.

But everybody tries really hard and also Mr Mallya is really into it and is trying to get us up in the result sheets but it needs some time. We just have to concentrate on the work, always stay motivated and then for sure the success will come soon.

Q. Sebastian, how are you feeling about your move to Red Bull and how are you feeling about the rest of the season and the way STR has come on?

SV: First of all, as you can imagine, I am very happy and I am very pleased that at this time of year I already know what I will be doing next year. So far I have always done things step-by-step and obviously now the most important thing is to focus on the remainder of this season.

Obviously we have only introduced our new car a couple of races ago and we seem to have gone stronger and stronger, so it was a good step forward and a good step in the right direction. Also last week we had a good test, so I am looking forward to the next couple of races. It is hard to give you a number but I have a good feeling and if things go right we should be able to score points for the rest of the season. That's the target.

Q. Timo, an interesting article has come out about you saying you want the title in 2010. Can you explain your thinking about this?

TG: I mean at the end you have to set some targets. If I say I don't know when I want to win the championship, that is not the target, that doesn't keep you under pressure. For sure 2010 will be hard and will be difficult but next year the rules are changing and the cars change completely.

It will be difficult to see where the teams will be next year but you have to set your target and that is my target. If I don't reach it, then I will set a new one and keep working as hard as possible. I saw a lot of people who laughed about it, but I don't care about that as in the end you have to set some target. I set them to keep myself under pressure.

Q. Does that apply to the team as well?

TG: Yeah, definitely. We have to keep the pressure everywhere. The team is focussed on it as well. They want to win the championship as well and we will work together as hard as possible to reach it.

Q. Nick, after Silverstone you said you thought you had your qualifying problems solved. Is that the case and can you tell us how you solved it?

NH: Already in Magny-Cours I made some good progress although I was not quite making it into Q3, I was just a few-hundredths off Robert (Kubica) who obviously gets on with this year's car very well. It has been a process over a couple of months looking at the problem and finding the problems I had, working out with the engineers and doing some changes on the set-up, mainly on the mechanical side actually.

Doing some changes on tyre preparation and changing my driving style a bit. All that has helped me to improve my qualifying performance over one lap. My race performance already worked quite well. The last races have shown that it is probably going in the right direction, having two second places in the last three races. I hope it continues like that.

Q. It was a fairly exhaustive process with lots of different things having to come together?

NH: Exactly. In the beginning I did hope there would be one big thing I would change and suddenly 'Boom' it would work. Unfortunately that was not the case. It was hard with a lot of small things coming together but I think I have not discovered all of them, so I think there is even more potential to make more progress.

Q. Was it fairly depressing during that time?

NH: It was not depressing, that's the wrong word. But it was very hard knowing that we have a very strong car, even better than last year, probably the strongest car I have ever been in and then struggling the most I ever have in F1. I think normally I've most of the time been able to maximise the potential of the car, but then this year unfortunately not. It was quite difficult but it was great seeing the team behind me and it was good finding a couple of solutions and seeing that all the work I've done and we have done as a team started to pay off.

Q. Nico, you were in Moscow last weekend demonstrating the Williams. Can you tell us a little bit about it? What did you have to do?

NR: In general it was a really nice event, especially as I think Russia has great potential for a future F1 race. It would be great if F1 goes there, it is an amazing country. As Frank said it is a very intriguing country. It was nice to go there and really introduce F1 to them and give them an insight to it. Maybe F1 will grow a little bit in the minds of the Russians and also to attract more Russian companies and things.

I think that is an important direction to take. It was a great event and a lot of people turned up. I was literally driving around the Kremlin, so it was literally in the absolute heart of Russia. I am not sure but there were a lot of spectators, really big numbers. It was great fun and I enjoyed it. I also took a few friends along and we had a bit of a night out as well which was fun, so I just had a really good time and I think the event went very well.

Questions From The Floor

Q. (Heinz Prüller - ORF) Gentlemen, can you tell us when you first raced here in Hockenheim, and your best and worst memories here?

NH: My first race here must have been in '94 with Formula Ford 1600, and I think I won that race. It was on the long track, which I enjoyed a lot more than the new one. I think the new one is good but the long one was spectacular. It was great fun, especially in Formula Ford because we didn't have much horsepower, so slipstreaming took ages but there were a couple of overtakings happening on each straight, so it was great fun.

And probably one of my worst memories was in Formula 3000 in '99, I think. I think I already had the chance to clinch the title here – I was lying second, trying to overtake the first placed guy and I think it was on the Ost-Schikane and I was too close in the slipstream and went off. That was my worst memory.

NR: My first race here was actually on the small track, just the stadium and round again, and it was Formula BMW. I actually won both races that weekend as a rookie, which was really a great experience and great fun at the time. Worst experience? I'm not sure, probably two years ago in F1 when I went off the track on the first lap.

AS: My first race was in Formula Ford in 2002. It was quite funny because on the Saturday I did the Formula Ford race and won it, and on the Sunday I got into a Formula BMW car and I won this race as well, so I have good memories of this weekend. The worst one, I think, was in 2004.

It was a good opportunity to get into a Formula Three car in a winning team at the end of the season. I was able to put the car on pole position and I was leading the race for the first time and then I had a technical failure and had to stop, so it was a really disappointing end to the season but one of my main steps in the direction of Formula One.

SV: OK, my first race here was in 2003, so not too long ago, in Formula BMW and it lasted only four laps and then I had a retirement, so very much like this season. I started off with a retirement. The best memory was probably when I won here in F3, so that was quite a good memory. It was already very special at that time with friends and family around, so it was a very unique feeling.

The worst memory was probably when I did a qualifying session in F3, I don't remember which year, and it was raining like hell. We were aquaplaning everywhere. You were accelerating down the straight going to the hairpin and even then you started to slow down, even though you were full throttle, because there was so much water. I think everybody got wet during that qualifying, but I don't think it was only water at the end of qualifying which made me wet! It was quite a unique qualifying session.

Q. Too much detail!

SV: You asked for it!

TG: My first race here was in 2000, Formula BMW as well and the best memory, I think, was over two years: 2003 when we had a difficult year in Formula Three and I won the race when I started from 17th. I think there were three guys on slicks, everybody else was on wet tyres and I was the only guy who survived and I won the race on the last lap at the last corner, overtook five guys on the last lap I think and the last guy, Alexander Margeritis, in the last corner. T

hat was a really good race. Also in GP2 in 2006, the Sunday race, which I won on the last lap against Lopez. I think that was the best memory. The worst memory in a race – not really, because I had really good results here – but a really bad moment was in 2000 when I had to do the Sunday race in Formula BMW and I was a bit late and I woke up when the engines were already started, so that was quite a tough moment. I think I only woke up when I jumped in the car.

Q. (Jürgen Kemmner – Stuttgarter Nachrichten) Nico, it is said that you could join McLaren-Mercedes next year. What about it?

NR: I'm sorry, I don't want to comment on things like that at all.

Q. (Robert Dunker – Die Welt) Sebastian, you said that your move to Red Bull is a step forward, but would it not have been a bigger challenge if you had chosen to move completely to a new team?

SV: You know many people always tend to forget that these two teams work completely independently of each other. We may have the same parents but... each team is trying its best and in the end, when we are racing, it doesn't matter if it's Toro Rosso or Red Bull Racing, they are independent from each other and every team tries to do its best.

So in the end, it's like changing to another team. I'm very happy to stay in the Red Bull family which I've been part of for a very, very long time. They have supported me since karting, so I'm very, very happy to stay with them. I like the atmosphere, I like the people, so it's a very nice working atmosphere and that's why I'm very happy to stay.

On the other hand, for me the most important thing, my target, is to improve, to progress and I think that if you look at the results from the last couple of years achieved by Red Bull Racing you can see a clear tendency that it's going upwards, that it's going in the right direction, so there was no doubt about this change.

Q. (Andrea Schneider – Autosport es Formula) A question to all of you: what do you think about the new circuits like Singapore and Valencia?

TG: I think it will be a really good experience for everybody. Street circuits and a night race will be a good experience. I still remember it from ChampCar and Monaco as well. That it's a good show every time and good for the fans and good for the drivers as well, a really good experience and a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it, definitely.

SV: Obviously no one here in this room and no driver in the whole field has had the experience to drive on these circuits. We've seen a couple of pictures, some ideas, so we are all pretty keen to go there and race there. Personally I like to race on street circuits. It's a different kind of challenge, there is not a lot of room for mistakes but you still have to push a hundred percent. One of the races, in Singapore, will be a night race. That will be the first time for all of us, so it will be quite interesting and a completely new challenge. I'm looking forward to it but I think we can answer this question better after the races in Valencia and Singapore.

AS: I think it's a good idea really. I'm a fan of street circuits anyway, so I think it's a good move because the atmosphere is special, the people like street circuits very much, you can see that at many races, and as I said, the atmosphere is always very different to a normal circuit. The night race in Singapore should be a great party for all the quests and all the fans. I think it will be a good step for this sport, a little bit into another world. In recent years we've always had normal races. Now we are going in a different area; we're doing a night race, we do more street circuits. I think it's very positive for the sport.

NR: Yeah, I'm looking forward to them a lot, especially because I know that our car is going to be very good there, so it's going to give us a great chance to do well, so I think that's the main reason why I'm really looking forward to it. It's always a great challenge, obviously, to start on a street circuit which nobody knows. That should be very interesting.

NH: Two great cities, so it's going to be fantastic to be there, to enjoy the show. We have street circuits on the calendar now and they are all special, so it will be similar there. As we all said, it's always special and spectacular for everybody to drive on a street circuit, especially those two coming new onto the calendar. I hope that we can combine the two things: the thrill of a street circuit, together with the safety standards we have in Formula One nowadays.

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