Latest F1 news in brief
08/24/07
- Ecclestone slams McLaren Turkey no-show
- McLaren likely to escape spy rap – Bernie
- Rivals comment on McLaren driver absence
- Feuding drivers talking again – McLaren New
- Hamilton has tough start in Turkey New
Ecclestone slams McLaren Turkey no-show
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone in Turkey slammed Ron Dennis' decision to prohibit both McLaren drivers from traveling to the formula one circuit outside of Istanbul on Thursday.
Instead, feuding drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, and other leading team figures including boss Dennis, met at the plush downtown hotel 'Conrad' for 'clear-the-air talks' following their Hungary bust-up.
But their notable absence at the circuit meant that they could not complete ordinary pre-grand prix routines, such as walking the circuit, and it also drew the ire of the attending media who had to make do without access to the two leading title protagonists.
The Turkey incident follows Hungary three weeks ago, when McLaren officials gagged the drivers from speaking to the press.
"I believe that Ron is not handling the fight between his drivers well," F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone told Spanish press, including the newspaper Diario As.
"It is not a good decision to stop them from coming here. I don't know what is going on. It's strange and it is not good for F1."
One of reigning world champion Alonso's only media engagements in the city on Thursday was a karting event for team sponsor Vodafone.
Shortly before a press conference, one of McLaren's PR representatives warned that the 26-year-old would not be talking about Hungary, the espionage scandal or his teammate Hamilton.
In La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ecclestone was also quoted as saying: "I do not understand. If a driver does not want to answer a question, he is big enough to say 'I do not want to answer' or 'I cannot answer that'.
"It would have been better if they had been here today, but tomorrow they must be here and they cannot refuse to talk."
McLaren likely to escape spy rap – Bernie
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone in Turkey said McLaren are not likely to be punished when the spy saga reconvenes next month.
The FIA's International Court of Appeal will hear the case on September 13, where Ferrari will press its argument about a McLaren employee's confessed possession of team secrets.
But F1 chief executive Ecclestone, a member of the World Motor Sport Council that recently found McLaren guilty but did not hand down a sanction, argues that the appeal is likely to produce a similar result.
"Unless something new comes up, there's not an awful lot one can do because you've got to catch the guy with the shooter in his hands, pulling the trigger," he is quoted as saying by The Sun.
76-year-old Ecclestone admitted, however, that a punishment is still possible.
"They can still be in trouble under the different sections in the rules where they should be in control of what goes on in the company.
"But the big thing is, people would have to show that they were involved in the theft and they were using the material -– that's where they would be in big trouble."
Rivals comment on McLaren driver absence
(GMM) A band of formula one drivers in Turkey sided against the absence on Thursday of their McLaren rivals.
Officially, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton stayed away from the Istanbul circuit for reasons of convenience and traffic congestion — more likely is speculation that team chiefs did not want them cornered by the media about various controversies including the spy saga and their tetchy teammate relationships.
Attendance on Thursday is however not compulsory for drivers or team members, unless they are called to appear at the FIA press conference.
At that very media gathering, drivers including Nick Heidfeld revealed that Thursday can still be an important day for the teams.
"We have a couple of things to do," the BMW driver said, "but for me it's just part of formula one, that you turn up on the Thursday, do all your meetings — it's a bit strange that suddenly you stay in the city."
Ferrari's Felipe Massa pointed out that not coming to the track prior to the first day of action means a driver cannot inspect the circuit — something Alonso and Hamilton have usually done on foot in 2007.
"We also walk the track on Thursday," Renault's Heikki Kovalainen confirmed, "that's tradition with our engineers."
Former McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen, meanwhile, said he thought he knew what was going on behind closed doors at the plush Conrad hotel in Istanbul, an hour's drive away.
"I've been to those meetings," the Finn, who now drives for Ferrari, said.
"They stick one driver in one room and the other driver in another and talk to them separately."
Referring to their absence on Thursday, Raikkonen added: "For sure it doesn't help them, but I don't know if it going to hurt. But it doesn't make anyone's life easier."
Feuding drivers talking again – McLaren
(GMM) McLaren teammates Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton patched up their damaged working relationship with a hotel meeting on Thursday, the Woking based team revealed on Friday.
In a statement, Ron Dennis' outfit confirmed media reports that the pair, who left Hungary three weeks ago not on speaking terms, stayed away from the Istanbul circuit so as to patch up their differences in the nearby city.
Alonso and Hamilton met with their bosses "independently" in the hotel, thought to be the five-star 'Conrad', before finding a "constructive way forward" with a separate face-to-face encounter, McLaren announced in a statement issued to the press.
"We are now turning our full attention to the Turkish grand prix and the rest of the season," it concluded.
Hamilton has tough start in Turkey
(GMM) Britons Lewis Hamilton and David Coulthard had a tough start to their Turkish grand prix weekend here in Istanbul.
With just 10 laps on the board for the entire 90 minute opening session on Friday, it is understood that Hamilton's McLaren, confined to the garage for most of the morning, suffered from a technical problem at the rear of the car.
Coulthard managed a decent 23 laps, but his session ended with marshals having to extinguish a fire from underneath his Red Bull.
In hot conditions of 33 degrees, nearly every runner had spins on the slippery track.
The Ferraris emerged with clearly the quickest pace, followed by the two McLarens.