Quotes of the week

"Note to rumor writers. Please note that David [Coulthard] is visiting this event [NASCAR race at Dover] solely to shoot a film for Red Bull, and we would appreciate it if you did not start a load of silly rumors about him switching from F1 to NASCAR in 2009. Yee Ha!" The always humorous Milton Keynes based Red Bull press office cheekily explained Coulthard's NASCAR visit in a press release.

"Well, Charles [Burns] is security. So the primary word being 'secure.' Indy you've got nothing that's a hundred percent secure. It's definitely more scary when your car is uncomfortable at Indy going into Turn One. I mean, I can tell you that I never made a whole lap flat in the race so long as I was in it. When the car is not right at Indy, it's the most difficult track. So definitely Turn One. Charles and I are friends. He was looking out for me. He is not intimidating to me. But I do listen." (Responding to a question asking which was more intimidating: going into Turn 1 at Indy or Charles Burns, head of IRL Security, saying no.) Danica Patrick, IndyCar driver, Andretti Green Racing

"I'll be running, man. I'll be running (laughter). I think if you get involved in that, it can only be bad." (Responding to a question about how he would react if Danica would confront him on pit road regarding a racing incident.) Scott Dixon, winner of the Indy 500, Target Chip Ganassi Racing

"I'd be on the pole [Milwaukee Mile] by about 2 seconds [given the chance to run the Champ Car car that he won with (leading 250 laps) in 2004]. Coming from Indy, you know, it feels like I'm driving around in a Chile bowl." When asked if his previous experiences with Champ Car gave him any advantages, he replied, "No, too different… right now I feel like I'm driving an 18-wheeler." Ryan Hunter-Reay, IRL driver, Rahal Letterman Racing

"It was way too close for comfort, that's for sure. But I knew I had about 2-1/2 laps to go in the race and I had Dixon covered. I knew what I had to do to keep him behind me. My car was getting better as the car got old. And all of a sudden I had these cars wrecking in front of me, and I'm just praying to God that I don't get involved in it. Just hard on the brakes to avoid it. It was close, but thankfully we got through safely and we could bring it home. It was all smoke and I had my spotter who was saying 'stay low, stay low.' And it was tough because my preferred line around Turn 2 was up high so I had to bring it down from up there and get on the brakes and try not to get myself involved in the accident. But thankfully it wall went nicely." Ryan Briscoe, IndyCar driver, Team Penske, winner of ABC Supply/AJ Foyt 225 Milwaukee race

"Getting airborne wasn't that bad; it's landing that causes all the problems." (Describing the late race crash in the Milwaukee IndyCar race when Marco Andretti's car slid up the track and clipped Ed Carpenter. Vitor Meira's car struck the spinning Marco Andretti and vaulted him over Marco and into the wall.) Vitor Meira, IndyCar driver, Panther Racing

"We all lived and died a lot in those years of the split. Thank God — can we please all put this behind us, you know? Put a period on that thing, and let's move forward. You know, we lived during that time, but we died, too. So I would just as soon forget about everything that's behind us in that respect. I'm happy that we're back together. I'm happy there's one IndyCar Series." Chip Ganassi, Indy Car team owner, Target Chip Ganassi Racing

"Of course, there are plusses and minuses to everything, but I personally think we ought to be looking at a small capacity 2.0 or 2.2 liter turbocharged V-6 or V-8 engine. I think turbocharged, small capacity engines are the way to go because that's the way the automotive market is going. It's already there, in fact, and with the turbocharger, especially if it's a one-engine series, you can turn the boost up or down depending on the type of circuit and have varying levels of performance. With a turbo you don't have to worry about the noise issue when you go to street circuits or places like Laguna Seca where increasingly, you have noise limits. Just about every road course in this day and age is facing noise limits and a turbo is the best way to address those. I'd make it a twin turbo rather than a single because it gives better response and better performance. And a V-6 has fewer parts. We did a study some years ago at CART about the difference between a V-6 and V-8 in terms of parts, and it adds up. You've got a smaller crankshaft, two less connecting rods, and eight fewer valves. So it starts to add up." Bobby Rahal, co-owner IndyCar team, Rahal Letterman Racing

"The last thing most people involved in the sport, including the clubs, would want to see is Max in a position where he could be forced to stand down. I don't want to see that. I've been a friend of Max for 40 years. I would hate to see him go in this way after all he has done for the sport. Since the story broke I have been under enormous pressure from the people who invest in Formula One, sponsors and manufacturers, over this issue. They point out that as a chief executive or chief operating officer of a major company they would have gone either immediately, or within 24 hours, in the same circumstances. They cannot understand why Max has not done the same. Max is a strong man. Once he makes a decision he sticks to it. He feels that there is still important work to do at the FIA. But in my view there is a way to accomplish this and retire at the end of the year at the FIA general assembly in November. I would be happy to sit at his side to help him to achieve that. He should stand down out of responsibility for the institution he represents, including F1. Everyone who I speak to in a position of authority across F1 rings me to say he should leave. It is regretful that he has not made that decision." Bernie Ecclestone, President and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Association

"The World Council has unanimously agreed that we should avoid (a) vote of confidence at the Extraordinary General Assembly on 3 June, because if President Mosley would get no-confidence, it would mean disaster to him, and on the contrary, if President Mosley would get confidence, it would mean disaster to the FIA." Setsuo Tanaka, Japanese Automobile Federation chief

"The FIA is in a critical situation. Its image, reputation and credibility are being severely eroded. Every additional day that this situation persists, the damage increases. There is no way back." A letter written by representatives of 24 FIA-affiliated automobile clubs requesting Max Mosley's resignation in reaction to Mosley's rejection of a compromise that would have ensured a positive vote next Tuesday but paved the way for his peaceful resignation later this year.

"Those sort of comments show him [Max Mosley] up. Once upon a time I'd have been horrified by him talking about my dyslexia, but not now. I'm a certified dyslexic — so what? So what if I can't recite the alphabet? I did think about suing him and was told I had a cast iron case, but it was so petty and I didn't want to come down to his level. What it showed was that his decision-making – especially when he's in a rage – is worryingly faulty." (Referring to Max Mosley's comments about Stewart's dyslexia when he ridiculed him as a "certified half-wit" who dresses up "as a 1930s music hall man.") Sir Jackie Stewart, 3 times World Drivers Champion