Latest F1 news in brief
- Reporters annoy Button in Belgium
- Massa says vision problem stopped Schu return
- Toro Rosso to keep same drivers, engine in 2010
- Alonso grins at Ferrari rumors at Spa
- Renault puzzled by Vettel's engine dramas
Reporters annoy Button in Belgium
(GMM) Jenson Button came close to losing his temper in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock when meeting with English speaking reporters.
After the championship leader finished just seventh while his Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello won a week ago at Valencia, a brave journalist asked Briton Button, 29, what he thinks about those who wonder if he really wants to win the title.
"I don't think people are saying that seriously," he answered. "Who could possibly say that?"
Button's brow furrowed and he worded the question to himself: "Does Jenson want this title or not? It's a pretty silly question, isn't it? Why the f*** am I here?"
It was explained to the winner of six grands prix this year not that his desire to win is actually in doubt, but that it is good to hear his unequivocal response anyway.
"This is not what I have to say because that is not a question, is it?" Button continued. "In reality, that is not the question — it can't be. 'Does he want the title?' 'No, I want to finish second or third'," he said mockingly, then laughed.
It is reported that Button was overly critical of Sebastian Vettel's driving at the Valencia start last Sunday, and predicted by pundits that his slump in form has a psychological rather than a technical source.
He told the reporters in Belgium: "What I'd like to do now is stand up, walk away, have a good weekend and then we'll talk about it afterwards because there will be loads of silly questions.
"This is not the part of the job I need to be thinking about too much now, I want to focus on the driving," Button added.
Massa says vision problem stopped Schu return
(GMM) Part of the reason for Michael Schumacher calling off his comeback was due to a vision problem, Felipe Massa has revealed in an interview with a Brazilian newspaper.
An article in the O Estado de S.Paulo said Massa, the 28-year-old Ferrari driver, is now basically recovered but that he cannot return yet due to the risk of a secondary head trauma.
Even his vision is nearly back to perfect, the Brazilian said.
"In the first examination my left eye was only 40 out of 100, two weeks after that it was 80 and now we're at 95," he revealed.
Massa also spoke about when Schumacher, Ferrari's preferred substitute, came to visit him recently.
"Michael came and told me about his test at Mugello with the 2007 Ferrari," he said. "He said his neck was hurting him and that he lost a little bit the vision in the curbs because of the vibration.
"He was upset because the doctors said he can not race," Massa added.
Toro Rosso to keep same drivers, engine in 2010
(GMM) Toro Rosso is likely to field an unchanged driver-engine package in 2010, team boss Franz Tost has said at Spa-Francorchamps.
"It is the plan for (Sebastien) Buemi and (Jaime) Alguersuari to race and Ferrari will be the engine," the Austrian chief is quoted as saying on the website of the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Alonso grins at Ferrari rumors at Spa
(GMM) Fernando Alonso in Belgium tried to put the brakes on reports of his impending move to Ferrari.
"Everyone takes it as fact that I am going, but I haven't said anything, nobody has.
"If I don't go to Ferrari I think a lot of people (reporters) will lose their jobs," the Spaniard said jovially at the Spa-Francorchamps paddock in interview with the AS newspaper.
The interviewer asked if any announcements in the forthcoming weeks will mean he can keep his job as a reporter, and Alonso grinned: "We will see."
Renault puzzled by Vettel's engine dramas
(GMM) Renault does not know why Sebastian Vettel has been the victim of multiple engine problems this year.
Four cars in the field are powered by the French manufacturer's V8, but it is 22-year-old Red Bull driver Vettel who was afflicted by two failures at Valencia last weekend, on top of his two problems earlier in 2009.
"There are no objective reasons why the problems have only been with Vettel and Red Bull," Fabrice Lom, in charge of Renault's customer engine program, is quoted as saying by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
"The engines run in Red Bull with the same temperatures as they do in the Renault. And Vettel's style of driving doesn't have anything to do with it," he added.