Latest F1 news in brief
- F1 too soon for Nakajima – Coulthard
- Williams hopes for long Toyota association
- Teenage Austrian wins F1 test
- Schumacher – 'I miss racing'
- Official hopes Renault path clear for Alonso
- Piquet must beat Alonso in '08 – father
F1 too soon for Nakajima – Coulthard
(GMM) Kazuki Nakajima may have entered formula one with Williams too soon, according to David Coulthard.
Coulthard, the Scottish veteran of 229 grands prix, also made his grand prix debut for the Grove based team, in 1994, but he is critical of the Japanese rookie following his maiden outing in Brazil last month.
Nakajima, who is 22, will graduate full time from GP2 to the pinnacle of motor sport in 2008.
"He passed me on the outside into turn one (at Interlagos), which was fair enough, but there was no need for him to cut across the front of me afterwards," Coulthard wrote in his column for ITV.
The 36-year-old spun as a result of the clash and reported damaged suspension for the rest of the race.
Nakajima, who also hospitalized some of his pit crew after hitting them in Brazil, said of the Coulthard clash: "I was ahead, so I think it wasn't my fault."
Coulthard insists that his criticism of the rookie is not sour grapes about the "old boy getting overtaken by the new guy".
"Driving standards in GP2 are generally pretty wild. My teammate Mark Webber said recently, 'F1 is not a finishing school' and I totally agree," he added.
Williams hopes for long Toyota association
(GMM) Sir Frank Williams says he is hoping for a long-term collaboration with his Grove based team's current engine partner, Toyota.
The Japanese manufacturer has struggled for success since it entered formula one in 2002, but Williams said: "I would be pleased if Toyota reached its goals.
"Hopefully they can be a long term partner for us," the Briton told the German specialist magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
Williams insists that finishing a full ten points ahead of its works partner in 2007 did not damage his relationship with Toyota, whose formula one team is based in Cologne.
"Whether or not we are in front or behind Toyota is irrelevant, as long as we are not right at the front," he said.
Meanwhile, Williams' stance against 'customer cars' was last week cited as a principal reason for Prodrive calling off its planned 2008 debut.
The 65-year-old seems unapologetic.
"I do not want to be suddenly fighting against four rather than two McLarens," he said.
"That could ruin me. So even Bernie Ecclestone's proposal that these (customer) teams get paid less does not interest me," Williams added.
Teenage Austrian wins F1 test
(GMM) Austrian teenager Philipp Eng has won a formula one test drive with BMW-Sauber.
The 17-year-old dominantly triumphed at the Formula BMW World Finals, staged at Valencia in Spain, after starting on pole position.
"To drive a formula one car has always been one of my biggest dreams," he said of the prospect of his prize.
Marco Holzer and Christian Vietoris are recent winners of the formula one test prize, and touring car driver Augusto Farfus also enjoyed a run in the BMW-Sauber at Valencia last Thursday.
Schumacher – 'I miss racing'
(GMM) Little more than a year after retiring from formula one, Michael Schumacher has admitted to missing the competition of racing.
The German newspaper Bild describes the 38-year-old seven time world champion as a 'turbo-retiree' after winning the international kart race hosted by his former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa in Brazil.
Before that, he stunned the racing world by going quickest over two days at the Barcelona test, and he is set to return to the F1 cockpit at Jerez next week.
Later in December, he will team up with fellow German Sebastian Vettel for the Race of Champions at London's Wembley Stadium.
"I do miss racing; the competition," Schumacher is quoted as telling the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"It is only natural. A year has passed even since I raced in karts. I adore it," he said.
Schumacher is understood to have already accepted Massa's invitation to return to Florianopolis for the kart race next year.
He told Bild: "I have always loved racing. And the love is still there."
Official hopes Renault path clear for Alonso
(GMM) The highest ranking Spanish motor sport official hopes the new espionage scandal involving Renault does not affect Fernando Alonso's future in formula one.
Carlos Gracia, also a FIA vice president and member of the World Motor Sport Council that will meet early next month, played down the new spying allegations in conversation with the Spanish newspaper AS.
Alonso is believed to have postponed his decision to return to Renault next year until after the World Council considers imposing any sanctions on the French team in Monaco on December 6.
"I can not say anything about this matter," Gracia said.
"The only thing is that this sort of thing has always happened in formula one. I don't know whether you can call it espionage or not.
"It used to be called exchanging documents and now it is spying, but historically it has always existed in the sport," he added.
It has been suggested that a penalty on the scale of McLaren's $100m fine this year could convince Renault to pull out of formula one.
"Something like that could make Fernando change his mind," Gracia admits of the prospect of a huge fine, "but the impression I get is that he does have other options."
He added: "What I want is that Fernando chooses the best option for him, and I hope that can happen."
Piquet must beat Alonso in '08 – father
(GMM) Nelson Piquet Jr would have no intention of settling for second place if he teams up with double world champion Fernando Alonso at Renault next year.
That is the resolve of the Brazilian rookie's namesake and father, the winner of no fewer than three drivers' championships in the 80s.
Former Brabham, Williams, Lotus and Benetton racer Piquet, who is 55, suggested to the Brazilian newspaper A Tribuna that his son – currently a Renault test driver – would not happily accept a number two role alongside Alonso.
But as part of a rallying call to re-attract Alonso to the team, Renault chiefs Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds recently declared that a driver hierarchy needs to be clearly defined in a modern F1 outfit.
"I think these days it is better to go all out behind one car," Symonds, traditionally an advocate of total driver equality, said.
Piquet Snr told A Tribuna: "It's time for Nelsinho to show how good he is.
"He has to walk (into F1) thinking that whoever's on the other side of the pits will be outpaced. There's no way around it, you're either that good or not," he said.
Piquet said his rookie son's task of beating potential teammate Alonso would begin as early as the opening grand prix of next year.
"If Nelsinho races at Renault with Fernando and is able to beat him in their first qualifying session together, it would be a good start, a way to start demoralizing (him)."