Quotes of last week

"The race track owners want drivers to do more? Yeah, right. They need to go back to work. They forgot what it's like to sell tickets. That's their problem. They ain't had to sell tickets for a long time and none of them remember how or knew how or ever learned how. They need to get back to working hard and doing their promotions and putting packages together for race fans. They don't want to cut the ticket price but they probably should and get these hotels to quit gouging these people. They can dump that responsibility on drivers all they want but the responsibility really lies in their hands to sell race tickets and they have to get creative in doing it. We already do a lot. We do [bleeping] plenty and they are full of [bleep]." Dale Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR driver, Hendrick Motorsports

"They look like combine-harvesters, with the enormous front sections — especially the Renault. The only one that almost still looks like a racing car is the McLaren-Mercedes." Niki Lauda, 3 times Formula 1 World Drivers Champion, commenting on the aesthetics of F1's class of 2009 conforming with sweeping new bodywork regulations designed to promote overtaking

"In the beginning, when he [Ecclestone] began taking money for the delivery of races, he fought also for Formula One. Today it seems nearly completely about the money." Surer also commented about Ecclestone's recent tendency to replace customary grand prix hosts with those of "sheikhs", and feels Bernie has now passed "his zenith". Marc Surer, former Swiss Formula 1 driver; German-language television pundit and commentator

"I don't think it would matter provided we could lay out a plan for 2010 that makes it possible for a small team to run competitively and do so without losing money. I think the days of the billionaires who piss money away are gone." Max Mosley, FIA President, stresses that should Formula 1 shrink to just 18 cars in 2009, no lasting damage will be done.