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Ferrari's Felipe Massa and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton kept their Formula One feud simmering Thursday as bookmakers offered odds on them colliding again in Abu Dhabi this weekend
The two drivers have had a magnetic attraction for each other on the track this season, chalking up six incidents in 17 races.
The most recent was in India at the end of last month, with Massa punished by stewards for causing a collision and then presenting himself as the wronged party.
Asked whether he had spoken to Hamilton since India, Massa told reporters at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that there had been no conversation and he was still clearly aggrieved at getting the drive-through penalty.
Hamilton said he felt the whole incident was 'done and dusted' without any need for a meeting.
The 2008 champion denied it was getting harder to mend fences as more time passed.
"Not really. If you want to be a man about it, be a man about it and sort it out," Hamilton told Reuters.
"But it has to come from two people, and if one doesn't want to do that then you just continue going down the route you are going down, and you try to be professional."
British bookmakers saw a commercial opportunity.
William Hill were taking bets at 14-1 on a seventh coming together at the Yas Marina circuit while Ladbrokes offered a less generous 5-1.
Massa was not impressed by either.
"I don't think so, and anyway I will do everything right, which is what I've done all the time," he said when asked if it was a good bet.
"I've not done anything wrong. Even though we've touched this year it has not been my fault."
Source: Reuters Sports
Lewis Hamilton says Felipe Massa did not give him any space as he attempted to overtake the Brazilian at turn 5 in the Indian Grand Prix, with the 2008 pair colliding and Massa receiving a drive-through penalty.
It was the pair's third collision in 2011, having come together in Monaco and Singapore, with Hamilton revealing the Brazilian has not spoken to him "for a long long time".
The McLaren driver apologies to his team as he reflects on a "disappointing day" which ended with a seventh-place finish at the first-ever Indian Grand Prix, won by world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Source: FiveeNil
Felipe Massa slaps Lewis Hamilton on the arm as the Englishman talks to the media after the Singapore Grand Prix and sarcastically says "good job pal" following a collision between the two during the race.
Hamilton received a drive-through penalty as the two drivers came together at Turn Seven and Massa accused the 26-year-old of "not using his mind".
Massa was forced to pit after suffering a puncture, whilst Hamilton also had to stop for a new front wing Source: SixtyBuckss
Ferrari's Felipe Massa says Lewis Hamilton "could have caused a big accident" and "does not use his mind" following a collision between the pair at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Massa was forced to pit after suffering a puncture, whilst Hamilton also had to stop for a new front wing before being hit with a drive-through penalty for the incident.
Source: SixtyBuckss
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is despondent following his collision with Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The British driver believes the crash was not his fault. Hamilton admits that McLaren were struggling with the condition of their tyres before his race was ended prematurely.
UPDATE via Lewis Hamilton on Twitter:
"After watching the replay, I realize it was my fault today 100%. I didn't give Kobayashi enough room though I thought I was past. Apologies to Kamui and to my team. The team deserves better from me. Best wishes, Lewis"
Source: SixtyBuckss
Lewis Hamilton believes his collision with Williams driver Pastor Maldonado during Q2 could have been a lot worse, and is happy to come away unscathed.
The McLaren team were able to repair Hamilton's car and the British driver qualified in second for Sunday's race
Source: SixtyBuckss
In the wake of yet another collision, Michael Schumacher is adamant he is not unfocused or any different than before
The German was handed a ten-second stop-go penalty at the British GP for causing an avoidable accident with Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi.
The crash, which damaged the nose of Schumacher's Mercedes GP W02, saw him drop down the order while the subsequent penalty put him even further back.
The seven-time World Champ, though, did fight back to finish in ninth place.
However, his British GP shunt was not Schumacher's first of the Championship and, unless he finds more speed in qualifying, is unlikely to be his last.
"Each of the collisions this season happened for a different reason," he told Auto Motor und Sport.
"I am no different than before and certainly not unfocused as shown by my overtaking at the starts and the first laps.
"Unfortunately, certain unexpected situations have resulted in some races. Believe me, I found them unnecessary and would have gladly avoided them.
"I've just trying to fight as much as possible to get to the front and for that I must take some risks."
The German, though, is looking forward to a better showing at home as he heads to the Nurburgring for this weekend's German GP, hopeful that Mercedes GP's improving showing in Britain will continue.
"First race with the new exhaust system and the new aero parts was encouraging," he said. "We were satisfied with our performance.
"Whether this trend continues we will see at our home race at the Nurburgring." Source: Planet-F1
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso says his collision with Lewis Hamilton may have cost him a podium spot but was "surprised" his car contended with the top two teams as he finished sixth at the Malaysian Grand PrixA disappointed Lewis Hamilton says he had fight his tyres for the entire Malaysian Grand Prix as he finishes seventh for McLarenSource: FiftyBuckss
Despite the setback he suffered in Turkey at the weekend, Sebastian Vettel insists that he - and the Red Bull Racing team - remain focused on the 2010 Formula One world championship.
The German saw a potential second win of the season go begging when he collided with team-mate Mark Webber on lap 40 of the race at Istanbul Park, and came off worse than the Australian by being forced into retirement while Webber salvaged third place behind the two McLaren drivers. Vettel now sits fifth in the standings, 15 points behind Webber after going to Turkey level at the top of the table with the Australian.
Aware that his team-mate closed a far more significant gap with back-to-back victories in Spain and Monaco, helped by the revised scoring system for 2010, the 22-year old is determined to put Turkey - and the similar disappointment of seeing victories in Bahrain, Australia and China slip through his fingers - behind him as quickly as possible.
“I've experienced situations like this many times before, in F1 as well as in other series, including karting," Vettel told Motorsport Magazin, "I've discovered the importance of keeping your ears and eyes open and learning from your mistakes.
“In the past, there have been occasions when I've missed out on a victory that was there for the taking. That put me under tremendous pressure and I'd be telling myself that I had to go all out in the next race. But that's just the sort of situation in which you're most likely to compound your errors and fail to produce your best performance.”
The German was also confident that Red Bull Racing could overcome the problems that have beset the first half of the season - where it has taken just three wins from seven races where it took pole position - and overcome the renewed challenge from McLaren and the latent threat from Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault.
“Admittedly, we don't have a line-up of former champions, at least not as far as the drivers are concerned,” Vettel, who could become the youngest world champion should he succeed this year, "but I'm convinced that we do have a team of genuine contenders.
“Records are there to be broken, and that sort of achievement always looks good in retrospect. But that's not what counts at the moment. The important thing is to secure the title in the first place. And, if not in 2010, then next year - or even the year after.”
Source: Crash
In what is quickly becoming both a racing and public relations disaster for Red Bull, advisor Helmut Marko has once again insinuated that Mark Webber was responsible for the collision with Sebastian Vettel.
The team threw away a likely 1-2 finish in Turkey when Webber and Vettel collided on lap 41 after Vettel appeared to turn into his team-mate as he looked to take the lead.
At the time Vettel had more speed than his team-mate, but making such dangerous move when it was not necessary has seen the German come under heavy criticism from many, but importantly not form his team who have suggested that Webber - who remained on the driving line - was at fault.
When asked by the official Formula One website whether he felt one driver was at fault, Marko replied with a definite 'Yes', adding that Vettel "had no other choice than to act the way he did".
Speaking to Speed TV, Marko once again underlined his support for Vettel, lamenting the German's failure to finish while failing to acknowledge that Webber lost the opportunity to score his third consecutive win.
"Mark for whatever reason was slower," said Marko.
"He was getting lap by lap slower, and Vettel was getting faster and was coming under enormous pressure from Hamilton. So if he would have stayed behind Mark, he would have been overtaken. He had to do something. And Mark knew that he was slower, so he should have let him past.
"It's unbelievable how unlucky Vettel is," he bewailed.
"He showed so much speed, and if you have all these incidents it's unbelievable how strong his morale and commitment still is. To make points in this new points system is the most important thing. And now Vettel has two zeroes," he added.
Source: Planet F1
A crisis meeting will be held in the next few days at Red Bull's Milton Keynes headquarters, in a bid to ease the ill-feeling in the wake of the Sebastian Vettel-Mark Webber shunt.
"The goal is to win the world championship with the fastest driver. Above any individual interest must be the general interest, and that is the success of the team," team advisor Helmut Marko said on Austrian television Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7.
"The two drivers do not need to go out for dinner with each other, but they must cooperate," he insisted.
Marko maintains that, prior to the contact whilst leading the Turkish grand prix, Webber's race engineer Ciaron Pilbeam should have passed on the team's instruction that Vettel was not yet in a fuel-saving mode because he had an extra lap of fuel.
"Why (he did not pass on the information) is still not entirely clear," said Marko. "This engineer simply had a blackout; he did not respond properly."
He insists the turning down of Webber's engine did not amount to a team order.
"The message to Webber should have been 'You're too slow. At this rate, Hamilton is going to be straight past you. If Vettel is faster, don't fight against him, concentrate on Hamilton'.
"That is not a team order," Marko said.
Source: F1 Complete
The two drivers have had a magnetic attraction for each other on the track this season, chalking up six incidents in 17 races.
