Latest F1 news in brief
- Newspaper admits Mosley orgy not Nazi
- Ferrari set to race 'shark fin' in Hungary
- Valencia to host spectacular GP – racer
- Montoya has no plans to launch F1 return
- Berger rules out Zuber for Toro Rosso seat
- Ferrari insists Schu did not crash test car
Newspaper admits Mosley orgy not Nazi
(GMM) As Max Mosley's lawyers confirmed the FIA president has launched further legal action against the News of the World, the British scandal newspaper retracted its claim his orgy had a Nazi theme.
Mosley, 68, last week won a privacy lawsuit in the London High Court, following the newspaper's front-page claim he engaged in a "sick Nazi orgy".
But despite defending the Nazi assertions in court, the News International-owned newspaper on Monday agreed with the judge that the claim was proved to be untrue.
According to the news agency Associated Press, News of the World said in a statement that the orgy "was not intended to be, and was not Nazi in character".
Additionally, in a response to the High Court verdict, the News of the World said in a new article: "The judge disagreed with our claim that Mosley engaged in Nazi role-play, although he acknowledged that we had an honest belief that he had."
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| Ferrari tested the ugly fin last week in Jerez |
Ferrari set to race 'shark fin' in Hungary
(GMM) In Hungary this weekend, Ferrari will debut the so-called 'shark fin' engine cover it tested at Jerez last week, according to the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The newspaper said the concept, pioneered by the Red Bull teams and then copied at races by Renault and Force India, succeeded in improving the stability of the F2008, which is raced at grands prix by title contenders Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.
McLaren, Toyota and Honda have also tested 'shark fin'-style engine covers, but there is no indication the teams intend to yet use the innovation at races.
It is understood Ferrari intends to also use the shark-fin engine cover at Valencia late next month, but perhaps not at the following high speed Spa and Monza circuits.
"The fight for the title is still very open and we will leave nothing to chance in pursuing our objectives," Massa, who tested the engine cover last Friday, said before leaving Jerez.
Valencia to host spectacular GP – racer
(GMM) An occasional formula one test driver has predicted Valencia's new street circuit will host a "spectacular" inaugural grand prix next month.
The young Spaniard was among the formula three contenders who christened the urban layout, located around the port city's marina, with races last weekend.
"The circuit is incredible; for formula one it will be a real spectacle," Jaime Alguersuari, who races in British and Spanish F3 and earlier this year did some aerodynamic testing for Red Bull Racing, told the Spanish newspaper Diario AS.
At the weekend, Alguersuari was among the most competitive drivers at the Valencia circuit.
"Urban layouts had never really been to my liking," he admitted, "but with its width and the high speed, it doesn't seem like (a street track)."
He predicted the circuit, which includes an unique run across a bridge, will host plenty of passing moves for the European grand prix on August 24.
"It is not often there are so many overtaking points, even at a permanent track," Alguersuari said.
"Formula one will put on a great show when they come here," he added.
Montoya has no plans to launch F1 return
(GMM) Two years after walking away from formula one, Juan Pablo Montoya still bristles with negativity about his nearly six seasons on the grid.
The Colombian, now 32, has recorded just 8 top-ten results in 56 Sprint Cup starts since switching to NASCAR, but he has no thoughts about returning to grand prix racing.
"In formula one they want you to be a robot," Montoya, who won 7 grands prix in his 95 races for Williams and McLaren, is quoted as saying by Germany's Sport Bild.
"If you have a strong personality, you will have problems," he explained. "I don't regret anything about changing to NASCAR.
"Many people in F1 forget that it is a sport. McLaren for example take it much too seriously.
"With BMW-Williams I had the most fun, with Patrick Head mostly. Patrick always said what he thinks — as I do.
"He always tried with every conversation to be polite but by the end he could never keep it up — that was funny!"
Montoya has less fond memories about Ron Dennis, with whom he fell out prior to his departure from the sport mid-way through the 2006 season.
"With Ron, you have a nice dinner with him one evening and then when you say hi the next day, he is a totally different person," he said.
Montoya said he understands why Fernando Alonso also could not get along with McLaren before he left the team prematurely last year.
"He saw that the future of the team was Lewis Hamilton, not Fernando Alonso."
Montoya has little to say about Kimi Raikkonen, his last F1 teammate and the current world champion.
"With Kimi it is not about whether you get along with him or not, because he never says anything. And it's difficult to know someone who doesn't talk, right?" Montoya added.
He also has little time for F1's latest generation of drivers.
"They complain about everything. Like in Monaco, they complained about reflections in the rear-view mirrors when they go through the tunnel.
"Me, I think: just get on with it and drive!"
Berger rules out Zuber for Toro Rosso seat
(GMM) Team co-owner and boss Gerhard Berger has ruled another possible contender out of the frame for Sebastian Vettel's seat at Toro Rosso next year.
Reportedly among the top candidates for the race ride are Bruno Senna and Sebastien Buemi, with Renault test driver Roman Grosjean as a dark horse.
Berger, who owns the Faenza based outfit alongside Dietrich Mateschitz, has in recent interviews played down speculation that drivers including Salvador Duran and Karun Chandhok might also be in the frame.
Former ten-time GP winner Berger is also unlikely to be nationalistic about his choice, as he tells motorline.cc that no Austrian driver is currently ready to race onto the grid.
"It is really only a question of getting the fastest drivers we can into the car. If that is a Chinese, then we get a Chinese, and if that is an Austrian, then we will get an Austrian.
"At the moment I don't see any Austrians standing at the front of the queue."
The most prominent Austrian in the junior classes of open wheel racing at present is Andi Zuber, who has raced in GP2 since 2006.
"He is very fast but missing a bit of consistency," Berger said.
"What I always say is that someone in GP2 who wants to be in F1 needs to win the championship."
Ferrari insists Schu did not crash test car
(GMM) Ferrari has denied reports that Michael Schumacher was at the wheel of a prototype test road-car that crashed at the Nurburgring last week.
We reported on Monday that Schumacher, the retired seven time world champion, was testing the 430 Scuderia test mule when it was written off at 250kmh against a guardrail on the Nurburgring's infamous Nordschleife layout.
But Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni insists that while Schumacher, 39, was in the passenger seat and had driven the car that day, it was road car test driver Raffaele de Simone who was at the wheel at the time of the crash.
"It is normal that test drivers swap seats to compare opinions," he is quoted as saying by Bild newspaper, which says eyewitness reports identified the actual driver of the car to be Schumacher.
Colajanni continued: "In this case de Simone lost control of the car and went into the guard rail."
He said both Schumacher and de Simone were unhurt.