Räikkönen's car was fixed quickly

The hydraulics flaw in the differential of Kimi Räikkönen's E20 car, which disturbed his qualification performance, was fixed promptly.


- It wasn't a great problem, and the car was repaired by five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, Lotus team principal Eric Boullier told to Turun Sanomat.

Differential controls slipping of the tyres. Once it has broken down, the slip is not in balance, when the other half works differently than the other.

Räikkönen was praised by the team for his will to fight, but when Finnish driver fell marginally from Q3 stage, starting place is now the 12th, second lowest of the season.

- Differential was not working as it should. It made the qualification so difficult, when lap times are so close to each other. The car was ok, but due to the defect it was difficult to push hard enough. Certainly, time was lost, but it happens. However, I am confident that in the race all is okay, Räikkönen said.

- During the whole season we have in every track been stronger in the race than in qualification and practice. It will be a little warmer in the race than in qualification and it should fit to our car even better. Zero points has yet been lost, but not won either. We try to get a good start, avoid all the hassles at the first cornerss and then see what we can do.

Villeneuve's argument garbage

Jacques Villeneuve, who won the world championship in 1997 with Renault, blamed in Sky TV's interview Lotus' current drivers and profusely praised the car.

- If Lotus had in this car, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel, they would have won all races of the season, breezed Villeneuve.

Boullier snorted to the claim.

- Villeneuve talks to keep warm, what happens when no one else is interested in him anymore, Lotus team boss acknowledged.

Turun Sanomat, Montreal

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: reppo

"Villeneuve pure momentum, Fernando the best of all"

Maranello, 8 May – “Villeneuve was amazing in terms of momentum. But then, his temperament would cost him points and that would affect his standing at the end of the season. Alonso, especially in the races, is the best driver in the world.” This comparison of the unforgettable Gilles and one of the two current Scuderia drivers came from Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo on the day dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of the death of the Canadian driver. “Gilles gave the public what they wanted. And he did not care about the championship, he drove each race as it came. Maybe I was less close to him than I was to my other drivers such as Lauda, Regazzoni or Reutemann.

I recall when Enzo Ferrari told me he’d spotted a youngster with great temperament and talent who raced snowmobiles in Canada. He had a pre-contract with McLaren, but Ferrari wanted to bring a breath of fresh air into the team. He was an extraordinary driver and human being. We must not be prisoners to the past, but if one looks at football, F1, politics, Italy back then, one can see that human relations were different and better. But we look ahead and to have Gilles’ old mechanics here alongside Alonso and Massa shows that Ferrari thinks of the future while looking to the past, which is unique in the world.” Asked about the chances of hiring drivers who maybe lack discipline but have plenty of heart, Montezemolo replied, “With F1 the way it is today, there would be no place at Ferrari for an undisciplined driver,” while on the subject of the team’s start to this season, he did not hide a slight feeling of disappointment. “I got a shock from the way we started, as I was not expecting it. I had in mind a different scenario. There have been four races and we have won one of them. So we are there abouts and now we have to make a leap forward in terms of quality to have a more competitive car. I have noticed the engineers seem more confident and now we will see what happens in Spain. I have said to those around me that maybe we have been too engrossed in ourselves in Maranello, without seeing what is going on around us, without bringing in some fresh air from other sources. These regulations which mistakenly make aerodynamics the key factor in determining who wins or loses, have convinced us to bring into the team some greater experience in this area of aerodynamics to try and change this situation.” Fernando Alonso was a bit more optimistic, going into his home race, which takes place this weekend at the Barcelona circuit. “We have significant updates for Spain, as indeed will our competitors and that means we have to think it will not be easy. We are not in an easy situation and we know we must do our best. However, the aim is to fight right down to the last lap. We will bring new parts, we will never give up and our aim is to win the World Championship.”


Source: ferrari.com

Villeneuve would not take Räikkönen

Jacques Villeneuve dictates in his Raw Neuve -column in F1 Racing -magazine, that if he would be a team manager he wouldn't hire Kimi Räikkönen.

- I have heard more talks about Kimi possibly returning to F1 as a Williams-driver. However they have made some weird driver-choices during the last ten years so I wouldn't be surprised if the same would happen again.

– I myself am sticking to my old opinion that if I would be a team manager and Kimi would turn to me, I would not hire him. Of course it would be a splendid thing for F1 if Kimi comes back but I don't believe that he can stop the down-going spiral in Williams, Villeneuve says.

Turun Sanomat, Abu Dhabi

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Villeneuve: Räikkönen a champion by sheer luck

The 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve made a controversial comment on Kimi Räikkönen: the Canadian states Räikkönen did not deserve his title. Felipe Massa, Villeneuve suggests, did, however.

- If Kimi won the championship, it was by luck, he certainly didn't deserve it, Villeneuve told the Brazilian website TotalRace.

- Felipe was a lot more deserving. He was always more capable than Kimi and it was easy to beat him, he continued.

"I don't get people who criticise Massa"

Villeneuve came down hard on Räikkönen, while having Massa's critics have it.

- He has won races and almost a title, perhaps two. He's a great driver. At the moment he is driving strongly for Ferrari. I don't get people who criticise him, he concluded.

Source: RacingFlashNews

Sebastian Vettel to win title easily unless 'stupid' says Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve has little doubt this year’s title winner will be Sebastian Vettel.

The 1997 world champion said the reigning title winner, who is 77 points clear his nearest challenger and in the dominant Red Bull, is surely heading for back-to-back spoils later in 2011.

"This year, definitely, the favourite is Vettel. He’s going to win it very easily unless he does something stupid," the French Canadian is quoted by Spain’s Europa Press.

Villeneuve, 40, added that the 23-year-old German’s position at present could be described as being "in the clouds".

"His car is incredible and he has a very strong team; everyone is behind him; the mechanics, the sponsors, a great car. When things are like that, you’re in the clouds - nothing can go wrong," he insisted.

The former Williams and Sauber driver also commented on the recent fortunes of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

"Hamilton is aggressive and that’s good, it’s good to see that, but sometimes you have to know when to go for it and when to use your head," said Villeneuve.

Source: Auto123

Villeneuve doubts Vettel ’maturity’

According to Jacques Villeneuve, one question mark surrounding F1’s new world champion Sebastian Vettel is his "psychological maturity".

"That Vettel is very quick, there is no doubt," the 1997 world champion is quoted as saying by Germany’s T-Online.

"The question has always been his psychological maturity," added the French Canadian, who last year questioned the young German’s reaction to his crash in Turkey with Mark Webber.

Vettel has since won the title, but as for his maturity, "viewing it from the outside, it’s impossible to say how this has developed", said Villeneuve, 39.

Interestingly, Villeneuve continues to back his former championship nemesis Michael Schumacher.

"In the second half of the (2010) season he was really strong," he said.

"He was criticised severely because he didn’t just blow Nico (Rosberg) away. But if he is still as hungry to win as he used to be, then he has the makings to be champion again."

Meanwhile, he is critical of the new adjustable rear wings, designed to increase overtaking.

"2010 was one of the best seasons ever," said Villeneuve, who won 11 grands prix for Williams.

"There was lots of overtaking, so I can’t understand these rule changes," he added. "It might be even easier with the rear wing, but that’s just artificial."

Source: Motorsport

Red Bull admits to ’building team around Vettel’

"Mark is in the autumn of his career"

Red Bull has pledged driver equality for the 2010 title fight, whilst openly admitting that Sebastian Vettel is regarded as the man of the future.

"The main thing now is that we become world champions," said Helmut Marko, who was accused earlier this year of wanting Vettel to beat Australian Webber to the top spot.

But with Webber 14 points clear, and Vettel level-pegging with Ferrari’s chasing Fernando Alonso, the Austrian-owned team must give the 34-year-old an unimpeded run to the chequered flag.

For the future, however, Red Bull’s ambitions are well known.

"I repeat: we are building the team around Sebastian," team boss Christian Horner is quoted by Auto Bild.

"Sebastian has a long career ahead of him and hopefully he will spend it with us," said the Briton. "Mark is in the autumn of his career.

"He wants to retire while he’s at the top, not when he’s past his peak like some other drivers," added Horner.

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, however, thinks Red Bull are making a mistake by giving 23-year-old Vettel so much cover.

"Just look at the differing seasons Mark and Sebastian have had," the French Canadian is quoted by the Telegraph.

"Vettel has shown he has an impetuous streak but if he makes a mistake and the team don’t tell him it was his fault, he won’t learn.

"It’s Red Bull’s fault for spoiling him," insisted Villeneuve.

Source: Nextgen

Villeneuve, Räikkönen talk about Red Bull crash in Turkey

Jacques Villeneuve has become the latest pundit to comment on the crash between the Red Bull cars at the recent Turkish Grand Prix.

The aftermath of Sebastian Vettel's clash with Mark Webber was highly controversial, as most outsiders initially blamed Vettel but Red Bull chiefs pointed the finger at Australian Webber.

It emerged that Webber's engine was in a fuel-saving mode - although team figures initially refused to confirm that was the case - and that his engineer had declined to pass on a radio message advising him to let his young German teammate through.

Then, as the official line became more conciliatory, figures close to team owner Dietrich Mateschitz including Max Mosley and Gerhard Berger renewed the criticism of Webber, before the 33-year-old was re-signed for the 2011 season.

The latest twist is that Mateschitz's right-hand man Dr Helmut Marko says the pair are still free to race, but must not stridently resist each other's advances.

"Both cars were out in the lead, but drivers are drivers and it is always difficult for one to give 110 per cent while the other does not," Villeneuve wrote in a column for rds.ca.

"After the race, the reaction of the team seemed strange -- to assign fault to someone so quickly and categorically.

"But you never know what really happened when you've looked at the situation from the outside as I did," added the 39-year-old French Canadian.

Meanwhile, 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen thinks the only lingering effect of the crash is that Vettel and Webber will from now on behave "a bit more carefully" when they are wheel-to-wheel.

"In a similar situation you would just behave a bit differently so that it doesn't happen again," the Red Bull-sponsored world rally driver told Austrian Servus TV.

"It was just an incident in the race and now it's finished," he added.

Source: Motorsport