Latest F1 news in brief
- Hollywood star-power hits Monaco
- All eyes on silver pair for first corner dash
- Webber refuses to apologize to Hamilton
- Dennis to Haug – 'get out, Norbert!'
Hollywood star-power hits Monaco
(GMM) Half of Hollywood looks set to stroll on the Monaco starting grid prior to the GP this afternoon, according to Sunday whispers in the glitzy Principality.
Millionaire-haven Monte Carlo is, of course, only a dash across the French border from the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, which gives credence to suggestions that Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie could all stop by later today.
Tom Cruise, meanwhile, is a confirmed guest of F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's, sparking rumors that the famous American actor is working on a plot for a formula one movie.
Also spotted in the paddock so far on Sunday have been Star Wars' George Lucas and fellow filmmaker Ron Howard, and some suggest that U2's Bono might also be here.
All eyes on silver pair for first corner dash
(GMM) McLaren's race drivers have contradicted their boss Ron Dennis by suggesting that they will be 'spoken to' prior to the green light in Monaco today.
World champion Fernando Alonso and rookie championship leader Lewis Hamilton, already rumored to be sharing a strained relationship as teammates this year, locked out the front row in Saturday's pole dash.
But even after Alonso's first corner collision with Felipe Massa two weeks ago in Spain, Dennis told reporters that he will not be issuing strict orders for how the silver-clad pair should handle the dash to Sainte Devote at 2pm.
"In Bahrain I had a conversation with Fernando about his expected behavior in those circumstances," the Briton said, "and I have spoken about it with Lewis on other occasions.
"Both of them are professionals and they know how to manage the first corner of a grand prix, so for those reasons I will not be speaking with them about it here," Dennis said.
Alonso and Hamilton, however, told a different story, but they both also insisted that there is unlikely to be trouble at turn one.
"The team will say something to us before the start but we respect each other and we want the best for each other and the team," Alonso, 25, said.
"I don't think there will be problems."
Hamilton agreed: "The team will speak to us before (the race), but we want to do a good job for McLaren.
"We will go into that first corner probably not as aggressively as we would if we were going into it with a Ferrari.
"But if I get a better start and it looks like I can pass, then I probably will, but I won't do anything silly," he promised.
Webber refuses to apologize to Hamilton
(GMM) Mark Webber has refused to apologize after Lewis Hamilton accused the Australian veteran of costing him pole position at Monaco.
"In the drivers' briefing, he was saying 'they need to be hard on us for holding people up' and he came out and held me up," rookie Hamilton, referring to Red Bull's Webber, said bluntly after qualifying behind his teammate Fernando Alonso.
But 30-year-old Webber, a director of the drivers' union GPDA, suggested that every driver has to cope with traffic on the famous street circuit in Monte Carlo.
"I did the best in the situation –- I thought I was as fair as I could be," he said.
"We all had traffic today at one stage, that's the way it is here."
Dennis to Haug – 'get out, Norbert!'
(GMM) Mercedes' Norbert Haug and a triple world champion could soon find themselves out in the cold, if McLaren boss Ron Dennis reads this report.
Dennis left no doubt about it earlier this weekend when he was asked by a journalist why the 'almost independent' humorous paddock magazine 'The Red Bulletin' is not allowed in the Woking based team's motor home.
"It's a piece of rubbish," the Mercedes-powered team's chairman and principal said, "and I don't think it has a place in grand prix racing.
"I have a simple view that if people want to come and enjoy our hospitality, then they should respect the fact that I don't like what I consider to be a controversial document coming into our facility."
Given the strength of Dennis' conviction, then, it was to some observers' surprise on Sunday morning to see Haug – Mercedes-Benz's motor sport boss – giggling with Niki Lauda over a copy of the Red Bull-produced magazine while eating breakfast in the McLaren 'communications centre' in Monaco.
–
Also spotted on Sunday in the Monaco paddock was Australia's Casey Stoner, who currently leads the MotoGP championship for Marlboro-sponsored Ducati