Latest F1 news in brief
- Spy saga still sizzling in Hungary
- No more GP visits for Schu – spokeswoman
- Webber defends Ferrari fury in spy scandal
- Trouble in Hungary for Red Bull teams
Spy saga still sizzling in Hungary
(GMM) A Ferrari spokesman in Hungary did not criticize McLaren for issuing a blanket 'no comment' on the ever-worsening spy scandal.
After Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were pulled from all media engagements in Budapest, Ferrari's media representative said: "We have nothing more to say on this subject."
Luca Colajanni did not even counter McLaren chief Ron Dennis' claim that Kimi Raikkonen won the Australian grand prix in March at the wheel of an illegal car.
He said: "We're not getting involved in a tennis match with McLaren; we've said all we're going to."
Ferrari did, however, allow its drivers to speak with the media on Thursday; a decision given "full marks" by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
"At least (Raikkonen) took his place in the official press conference, which is exactly where Fernando Alonso should have been before being inexcusably pulled by his bosses," journalist Kevin Garside said.
Elsewhere, the only real development in the scandal was Italian motor sport boss Luigi Macaluso's written reply to Ron Dennis, whose attack on Ferrari in an earlier letter was scathing.
No more GP visits for Schu – spokeswoman
(GMM) Michael Schumacher will not attend any more grands prix as a Ferrari 'advisor' this year.
The retired seven time world champion admitted two weeks ago at the Nurburgring that, despite several visits to races in 2007, he still had not found a more specified trackside role to play for the Italian team.
He said: "Already I notice that I am a little bit out of date, and the only alternative is to always be around — and I absolutely do not want to do that."
It was also pointed out recently that, despite winning three times this year, Kimi Raikkonen only seems to climb to the top step of the podium when his predecessor Schumacher stays at home.
Schumacher's spokeswoman Sabine Kehm confirmed that the 38-year-old is not and will not be in Hungary this weekend, adding that he "does not intend momentarily to attend any races" after that.
He is, however, scheduled to help launch a new Ferrari road car in Frankfurt next month, but "his priority is to spend time with his family", Kehm said.
"It is apparent from your letter that there is a distinct difference between McLaren's view of events and that of Ferrari," Macaluso told Dennis.
"It therefore seems appropriate for the matter to be reviewed by the International Court of Appeal as decided by the FIA President, Mr. Mosley."
Webber defends Ferrari fury in spy scandal
(GMM) Australian formula one driver Mark Webber, who races for Red Bull, has defended Ferrari's heated attitude to the spy scandal.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis this week lashed out at his Maranello based counterparts for leaving his team's reputation "unfairly sullied" by Ferrari press releases, leaks to the media and pressure to send the saga to the Court of Appeal.
But Webber, 30, wrote in a column for Eurosport that he can see where Ferrari "are coming from" after hundreds of pages of sensitive team material was found in the possession of McLaren's chief designer.
"From what I've read and what I've been told," he said, "it wasn't just technical design details in the dossier that Mike Coughlan had, it was details about how the team was being run operationally.
"If that's true, and if the dossier was seen by somebody else, then it's a massive deal for Ferrari."
Webber echoed the sentiment of the rest of the paddock, however, by admitting that he would prefer the focus of attention to now return to the on-track action.
He said: "It isn't how we want people to see F1."
Trouble in Hungary for Red Bull teams
(GMM) F1's two Red Bull-liveried teams got off to a disastrous start on Friday at the scene of the Hungarian grand prix.
Mark Webber's works RB3 ground to a halt at the end of the Hungaroring's pit exit an hour into opening practice near Budapest.
A few minutes later, the similarly Adrian Newey-designed single seater driven by sister team Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi also broke down.
The teams have been plagued recently by Red Bull Technology's troublesome seamless gearbox.