Ferrari not worried Massa will leave

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali is not worried that the Felipe Massa may turn his back on the outfit in the wake of the team orders controversy.

Although Rubens Barrichello famously ended his Ferrari contract one year early because he was fed up of being treated as a number of the two, Domenicali said in Hungary that he reckoned Massa would view the situation much in differently.

"No, no, I don't think so," he said when asked about the possibility of the Massa becoming disillusioned with the situation. "No, I don't think so because Felipe, as I said, we have always been very happy about Felipe.

"We were helping on the personal side, on the professional side, we are proud of him and we don't change our view. I think that the philosophy of his life is really part of our spirit and we respect that and I think that he also respects [that] too.

"At this moment, when you are surrounded by a lot of people that are pushing you, friends, real friends, friends that are not real friends, people that are saying to you something and when you turn your back they say the opposite. It's normal that you react with this kind of the energy.

"It's important that this energy has to be not negative, but it has to be the positive, positive for him, because that's part of the game, very positive for him once again, as I said, but also positive for the team, because that was also on his statement, so honestly I don't think it so."

Domenicali also reckoned that Ferrari had been unfairly criticised for its treatment of Massa in Hockenheim - especially considering the faith it had put in the Brazilian during earlier stages of his career.

"No one more than Ferrari has supported the Felipe, every time, all the time," he said. "As I said, we go back to short memories. A couple of races ago, a lot of people in this room were pushing us to say what's it all about, what is happening and we always said, no, no, Felipe's a great driver, he's a great man, for sure he wants to win it because what we want and we want to see him as part of the team because we are feeling for him.

"So no one can say Ferrari has done anything to Felipe. We always support him, we feel a lot for him. I don't want to follow this because I don't think it is correct and I don't want that the people have short memories, because that is wrong, in life and in sport."

Jorge Lorenzo’s 2010 season so far

The Fiat Yamaha rider has had an almost flawless season at the halfway point of the 2010 campaign. Leader of the Championship the 23 year-old has been demonstrated a consistency in the first nine races that has made him the favourite for the title.

Smooth like butter, rhythmic like a hammer. This has been the mantra of the Jorge Lorenzo in 2010 – one even displayed on his brake levers – and it has been evident. The young Spaniard has been smooth and consistent in the nine rounds so far, taking six victories and then finishing second on the three occasions that a win has not been possible. Added to that five poles and 210 points from a possible 225 and Lorenzo’s season until now has been almost perfect.

The Fiat Yamaha rider has taken a huge step, not only in the quality of his riding but also in his approach to the races. Lorenzo has learned to read the races differently, knowing when to strike for victory when the circumstances permit but also being aware that second place on the occasions that his rivals have the upper hand is better than a fall.

Looking back to the start of the season makes Lorenzo’s achievements so far all the more impressive, given the fact he started the campaign still now carrying the effects of a pre-season training injury which meant he arrived in Qatar for round one far from being in his best physical shape. Second place under the floodlights was therefore a highly impressive outcome.

The following race at the Jerez saw the best of Lorenzo, as his hunger for a first premier class win on home soil saw him recover an advantage built up in the race by rival Dani Pedrosa to overcome his fellow Spaniard and win. After his first victory of the season Lorenzo used the one-day test to practice his starts, and it was paid off. Victory at the Le Mans in the next round followed (his first back-to-back premier class wins), before the second place at Mugello behind Pedrosa. There then he followed three consecutive wins: Silverstone, Assen and Catalunya. Second at Sachsenring was next as he accepted more the valuable points with Pedrosa winning, and a win at Laguna Seca completed a phenomenal first half of the season for the Mallorcan.

Schumacher tells Mercedes to stay calm

Michael Schumacher has urged his Mercedes GP team to remain 'calm' about its inconsistent form as he hopes for a step forward to perform in Hungary in this weekend.

The seven-time world champion has endured an unspectacular return to the Formula 1 this season - with the team failing to find the form it needed to be battling for the title glory.

However, Schumacher remains focused on driving the Mercedes GP forward and reckons upgrades planned for the Hungaroring can be a big help.

"The German Grand Prix last weekend was clearly disappointing for us but we have seen a variety of the performances from our team over the past few races," he said.

"With this in mind, I will still go to Hungary with a positive feeling. It is clear that we need to understand our car better, and the track in the Budapest plus more time to evaluate our upgrades should help us in that respect.

"As I said after the last race, we have to remain calm, look into all the details and analyse our performance in order to learn as much as a possible from such weekends. That is the way we have to go in order to improve our situation which may already be possible this coming weekend in Hungary."

Team principal Ross Brawn has admitted that the team's car is still not been quick enough - but he remains positive for the future.

"The last race weekend in Germany was challenging for us, particularly following the podium finish at the Silverstone, and we were disappointed not to be competing further up the field," he explained.

"The team is doing a good job operationally but we need to find them more pace from the car and we continue to work very hard to achieve this.

"Hungary is a technically demanding circuit and should be a good proving ground for our latest upgrades, providing with a further invaluable track testing time, as we work to find the optimum set-up.

"Our two-week factory shutdown just after the race will be a well-deserved rest for our employees and the chance to recharge with their batteries before the busy final third of the season."

Lorenzo wins US Grand Prix

Jorge Lorenzo took a commanding victory in the United States Grand Prix after Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the lead at the one-third distance at Laguna Seca.

The Yamaha rider's sixth win of the season helped him to increase his world championship lead to 72 points over his fellow the Spaniard Pedrosa.

Pedrosa, who started in fourth, seized the lead into the Andretti hairpin on the first lap after making another of his now customary rocket starts, and held an early advantage of over a second over the Casey Stoner and Lorenzo.

However, he lost the front end of his Honda entering the uphill Turn Five on the 11th lap and slid off into the gravel trap, his machine somersaulting several times before hitting in the tyre barrier.

That left Lorenzo, who had passed through Stoner's Ducati on lap five, with a lead of almost three seconds. He was able to control his pace for the rest of the race and took the chequered flag a similar margin ahead of the Australian, who scored his best result of the 2010.

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi took the final podium spot on what was his second race back after injury. The seven-times world champion passed Andrea Dovizioso's Honda at the final corner with the seven laps left and, after running side-by-side with his rival along the start/finish straight, swept around him before the Andretti Hairpin.

Pos	Rider	Team	Time/Gap
1	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	43m54.873s
2	Casey Stoner	Ducati	+ 3.517s
3	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	+ 13.420s
4	Andrea Dovizioso	Honda	+ 14.188s
5	Nicky Hayden	Ducati	+ 14.601s
6	Ben Spies	Tech 3 Yamaha	+ 19.037s
7	Colin Edwards	Tech 3 Yamaha	+ 40.721s
8	Marco Melandri	Gresini Honda	+ 47.219s
9	Loris Capirossi	Suzuki	+ 52.812s
10	Mika Kallio	Pramac Ducati	+ 52.814s
11	Roger Lee Hayden	LCR Honda	+ 1m14.089s
12	Alex de Angelis	Interwetten Honda	+ 1m14.666s

Alonso unmoved by criticism

Fernando Alonso remained unmoved by criticism of the Ferrari team after facing a barrage of the questions during the post-race press conference in the Germany.

The press conference, was understandably dominated by the questions about Ferrari's actions during the race, to such an extent that the third placed finisher Sebastian Vettel asked if he could get up and leave.

Focusing fully on what he termed the best result for the team, Alonso refused to admit that the team orders had played any part in the result and insisted that he and Felipe Massa had worked together to do the job needed by the Ferrari.

“I think we tried to do our race, we tried to do as good as we can,” he said. “We are professional drivers, we try to work in a team and we had try to do the best we can every day, not only here on the track but also between the races, at the factory etc, preparing the races.

“Again, I think we've been doing a good job over the last couple of the races and finally we got a strong Sunday with a strong result. I think we are happy with this, although there are things which are more for you if you want to write all these things.”

Alonso was then pressed on whether the reality of the race was that he could only win because the team forced Massa to the move over, replying with a simple 'if that's your opinion' the questioning journalist before a simple 'no' was given to the questions asking if it was his opinion and if Massa had to give him the win.

The Spaniard also denied that, if he were to go on and win the title, that it would be regarded as a tainted success and as a result of what happened.

“I have 19 races to... look at the overall races, there are been a lot of points that we win sometimes and a lot of points that we lose sometimes,” he said. “As I said, today was a good day, some other races were bad days for us, disappointing but as I said before, we need to be remain focused, keep working, keep developing the car, not to be too excited when we win, not to be too down when we lose.

“In November, (we need to) try to be in the fight for the championship, not forgetting that Red Bull has been so far very dominant, not scoring many points on Sunday, or the points that they should have scored on the Sunday, but remain very strong and McLaren as well, leading both the championships, so there is still a long way to go for us.”

Valentino Rossi amazes with 'rehab' podium

Valentino Rossi returned to the MotoGP podium just seven weeks after breaking his leg, with a hard fought third place at the Laguna Seca on Sunday.

Fourth one week earlier after losing out to the Casey Stoner in the final turn of the German GP, Rossi found himself under a similar last-lap pressure for the third in America - but this time was able to fend-off a last corner attack by the Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.

Rossi had been sixth on the lap one, then spent much of the race holding off the Americans Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Ben Spies (Yamaha), before passing Dovizioso on lap 27 of 32. Dovizioso's team-mate Dani Pedrosa had crashed out of the lead on the lap twelve.

"The start of the race was very hard for me because I had a lot of the pain and I was far from the podium. But then I saw Pedrosa on the gravel and I just had to try to catch the Dovizioso!" revealed Rossi.

"I just pushed as hard as I could for a few laps and that has brought me closer to him and then I couldn't give up, somehow I caught him and it was a great feeling to pass him to take the third. It's a great result after my injury and it felt so good to be back on the podium in front of the fans.

"There are so many people I have to thank who have helped me to get back in to this position. I am very happy that we have some time off now because of that I have a lot of work to do on my body to try to be back to my best for the Brno, which I love," he concluded.

Brno, on August 15, had been the original target for the Rossi's return, but he then decided to try and ride at the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca to build up his speed.

"These were supposed to be the two 'rehabilitation' races for the Valentino after his big injury while he just got used to being back on the bike, but he has come to the fourth and then third which has amazed us all," said team manager Davide Brivio.

"This track was very demanding on his body and then he had a hard time all weekend but he was still able to battle for the podium. It was a brilliant and we're so happy now. Everyone is looking forward to a break but also to coming back then strongly in the second half of the season."

Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo won the race, with Ducati's Casey Stoner in second. 

Schumacher hoping for German king

Michael Schumacher has admitted that is naturally hoping that fellow countryman Sebastian Vettel can win this year's Formula One world championship title, after admitting that his own sights are set on the success of next season.

The two Teutons were paired in the opening press conference of the German Grand Prix weekend, along with the Vettel's Red Bull team-mate and title rival Mark Webber, and Schumacher was asked which of his colleagues he foresaw taking the 2010 crown. Although he tried to hedge his bets - and not confine with his views simply to the Red Bull team - the seven-time champion conceded that his heart would always rule his head.

"First of all, it's obviously clear that both of the guys to the left and right of me have a very good package and a very good possibility to the fight and win the championship, but you probably don't have to forget the McLaren drivers, that they're still in the picture," Schumacher insisted, "I don't think it's finished yet, but naturally you sort of get the feelings of your national heart and coming up and, therefore, you sort of have a German tendency. I'm sorry Mark, but I guess that's normal."

Asked what advice he could give those hoping to follow in his footsteps - neither RBR driver has won an F1 title before, and of course - Schumacher admitted that there was no single key to unlocking the door.

"I don't think I can give the answer you're looking for in mentioning one of the particular part, because it's like a detailed or small piece or puzzle of the big picture," he stressed, "You have to have all those little bits together to and finally do it.

"I think from great champions there are always a lot of things you can learn and, also, if you look outside the table of F1, if you look at the others sports, [such as] tennis, golf, there are great players, great individuals," he said, "They're probably all talented, but then there are one or two been popping out, like Roger Federer and Nadal in tennis.

US MotoGP: ‘Big opportunity’ for Roger Lee Hayden

Home favourite Nicky Hayden reckons younger brother Roger Lee has a big opportunity to put himself in the shop window having landed a chance to ride the injured Randy de Puniet’s LCR Honda in the American MotoGP this weekend.

Roger Lee will replace de Puniet at Laguna Seca after the Frenchman suffered a double break to his left leg in a big crash during in last weekend’s German MotoGP at the Sachsenring.

And 2006 world champion Hayden is now hoping his younger sibling can showcase his talent in front of the MotoGP paddock.

He finished tenth on his previous MotoGP ride in the Laguna Seca back in 2008 when he rode a factory Kawasaki ZX-RR.

Speaking ahead of the American MotoGP race, Nicky said: “It is a big opportunity for him and a shame it kind of came then so rushed. Last time he got to test the Kawasaki and he was a little bit more prepared but he goes really good at the Laguna. He was ninth to the last corner when (Alex) Barros passed him and if you ask him he'll let you to know because he's correcting me all the time.

"The Honda's have improved a lot this season and they have made it very tougher, they are getting stronger every week, all of them. I have big expectations because he's my brother and maybe too much because it’s never easy to jump in at this level and on a short week. The Hondas are going good and have some upgrades from the factory and this is a track that Roger loves and I hope he puts on a good show."

Roger Lee currently rides for the Pedercini Kawasaki squad in the World Superbikes and will also compete in the next month's Moto2 race at Indianapolis in a Honda America effort headed by 1993 world 500cc champion Kevin Schwantz.

Di Resta to sit out in practice

Paul di Resta will sit out on Friday practice for the German Grand Prix this weekend after Bridgestone revealed the tyres that will be available for the teams to use at Hockenheim. The Force India test driver has appeared in the practice at a number of events this year but will watch on to allow Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi to secure the maximum track time ahead of the race weekend.

However, in an effort to spice up the racing – as was the case in the Canada – Bridgestone has elected to take two vastly different compound of the tyres to Hockenheim, with drivers having to use both the supersoft and the hard tyres. As a result, the team has taken the decision to give Sutil and Liuzzi the maximum amount of the track time to evaluate the two tyres, with di Resta back in action in the Hungary next weekend.

“It's a shame but I completely understand the decision,” he said. “In Hockenheim Bridgestone are bringing two tyre compounds that are a two steps apart - the supersoft and the hard - rather than just the one step as the usual, so the drivers and the engineers need to understand the performance fully. It's a decision that's been taken relatively late but it's better to err on the side of caution at such a crucial stage in the season.

“The team is performing well but other teams are also making a steps forward so we need to have as much information as possible to get every performance advantage we can. Hockenheim is a track I know well from the DTM and I was looking forward to getting out there in the F1 car, but it's a team effort and I am sure I can put some of the knowledge and I have back into the overall weekend.

“I'll be back in the car in Hungary, replacing Tonio for the FP1, so I'll resume my running there. In the meantime I'll join in the programme as usual - help out with the meetings, on the pitwall and pick up as much information as I can. At this stage and everything is part of the learning process.”

Yamaha stars visit Jay Leno's 'Big Dog Garage'

On their way to the Laguna Seca for this weekend's US Grand Prix, three of the Yamaha's present MotoGP stars - plus some of the past champions - made a detour to the LA suburb of Burbank, home to Jay Leno's famous 'Big Dog Garage.'

Leno, host of the Tonight Show, is a member of the AMA Hall of the Fame and his garage - actually a 70,000 sq. ft. complex with the several full time employees - houses over 200 motorcycles and cars, ranging from the pioneer motorcycles like his 1918 Pope to an 800-horsepower 'Ecojet' car tuned to run on the recycled cooking oil.

The latest addition to the Leno's fleet is an ex-Eric Bostrom 2008 AMA Superbike R1, which was given to Leno during the visit as a surprise gift.

Leno only expected to host a dinner for the Yamaha's MotoGP riders, which includes the championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, Tech 3 riders Ben Spies and Colin Edwards and Yamaha legends Kenny Roberts Sr, Eddie Lawson, and Wayne Rainey.

"There are so many vehicles in here," said Lawson, "that are just works of the art."

When he posed for photos with Lorenzo, Spies, and Edwards, Leno quipped: "Yeah, this is great - I love being the slowest guy in the room."

Massa: Poor first half spurs me on

Felipe Massa admits he is not at all happy with how the first half of the season and has gone for him, but says in recent setbacks have given him fresh motivation to turn his fortunes around.

The Brazilian started the year solidly, taking two podium finishes in the first two races and briefly holding the championship lead, but has not all scaled the rostrum since and has been overshadowed by Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso.

After failing to score points in the past three rounds and then slumping to eighth in the standings, Massa feels he is overdue a change of his luck.

“For sure I'm not happy,” he said in an interview with the Ferrari’s website ahead of the German Grand Prix.

“The beginning of the season was not like that I expected. The first two races were okay – we got two podiums – and then we didn't have a good races, especially in the last three.

“When you have three races in a row where something happens in the race and you cannot finish or score the points, and you go from being in a good position to then suddenly being last because something has happened, these things are not nice.

“That was the case in Canada because of the accident at the first corner, in Valencia because of the safety car, and at Silverstone where I had a tyre issue and went from fifth to completely last.

“These things are not nice but they give me even more motivation to keep pushing and I’m looking for a good result in the next race.”

Current team	Ferrari
Nationality	Brazilian
Date of Birth	born 25 April 1981
Car #	7
Races	126 (124 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	11
Podiums	30
Career points	387
Pole positions	15
Fastest laps	12
First race	2002 Australian Grand Prix
First win	2006 Turkish Grand Prix
Last win	2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last race	2010 British Grand Prix
2009 position	11th (22 pts)

MotoGP Victory for Dani Pedrosa in Germany

DANI Pedrosa firmed his grip on the second in the World Championship standings with victory at Sachsen ring in the ENI Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland on Sunday, his second win of the season, as Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo took the second place and Casey Stoner third ahead of a courageous Valentino Rossi in his first race back after the injury.

The original race was red flagged on lap nine when a crash for Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) at turn four brought down both Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing), neither of whom could avoid the Frenchman’s bike which burst into the flames. The top five order at that stage was Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Rossi, and the trio involved in the accident were unable to line-up for the shortened 21-lap new race after failing to return to the Pit Lane with their bikes within the five minutes of the red flag. De Puniet was physically not able, having sustained with fractures in his left tibia and fibula in the incident.

After a 25-minute interval the new shortened version to began, and Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) slid out at turn one in an unfortunate end to his weekend. As he had done in the original race Pedrosa and got his nose in the front on the first lap, but Lorenzo quickly assumed the race lead – that would have change again however.

The top order was much the same as it had been in before the red flag, with the Lorenzo holding off Pedrosa, Stoner in the third, and Rossi and Dovizioso battling for the fourth. The reigning World Champion was in front of his Italian compatriot before too long, and the Repsol Honda man was caught by the chasing pack to shortly after.

The battle between the Lorenzo and Pedrosa was developing into a thriller with the two Spaniards swapping the lead as they constantly looked for ways through on one another, and Pedrosa was at his best as he set a new circuit lap record on the lap 10 and then again on 12, assuming the race lead and breaking his own record from the previous year and consistently riding in the low 1’22”s.

Button chasing easy life in Germany

Jenson Button admits that he needs to qualify better in Germany than he has in the recent F1 races.

Jenson Button has acknowledged that he needs to sort out his qualifying woes if he is to remain in the thick of the Formula One world title battle as the season heads to the Hockenheim this weekend.

Although the German Grand Prix venue hasn't always been kind to the McLaren driver, his form this season and suggests that he should be a frontrunner - as long as he can avoid the sort of the setback that he suffered on home soil, where he failed to make the cut for the Q3. Although he came through the field to turn 14th on the grid into fourth at the flag, Button admits that he cannot expect that to be happen at every race, and has vowed to get on top of the problem this weekend.

“After two disappointments in qualifying at Valencia and Silverstone, my aim for this weekend must be to make life easier for myself on the Saturday afternoon, so that I can maximise my performance on the Sunday without needing to play catch-up during the race," he said, after watching team-mate Lewis Hamilton extend his advantage at the head of the championship standings with twelve points at Silverstone.

Button's cause was not helped by McLaren's decision to ditch its 'blown diffuser' after Friday practice, and the Briton is hoping for better results from the system this time around as McLaren continues to battle with Red Bull.

A veteran of both the unique old Hockenheim layout and the more technical and modern variation, Button is looking forward to getting back on the track and taking the fight to Hamilton, as well as to Red Bull duo Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

“I enjoyed racing at the Hockenheim," the Briton claimed, "I miss the long, flat-out, straights that made up the circuit at the start of my F1 career - that was pretty unique - but the current track is better for the spectators and has shown itself to be a very good place for both racing and overtaking.

“My most memorable experience must be back in 2004, when I qualified 13th and raced through the field to finish in second – not too dissimilar to my race at Silverstone last week!" 

Rossi ‘growing stronger every day’

Valentino Rossi says he will only gets the faster as he looks ahead to the United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, less than a week after making a remarkable return to the MotoGP competition at the Sachsenring.

Rossi defied expectations by announcing his racing comeback from the injury a month earlier than originally mooted, but any fears he would take time to get up to the speed were eventually quashed by his run to fourth position in Germany.

Declaring that result as 'more than we [FIAT Yamaha] could have hoped for', Rossi now travels to Laguna Seca eager to build on that result and that continue his march back into full contention.

While it is a race that he has won just once since its return to the calendar in the 2005, Rossi's win in 2008 after an epic battle with the Casey Stoner will nonetheless go down in MotoGP folklore as one of his finest victories. Labelling the California circuit as 'fun', Rossi is looking forward to returning in this year.

"I was so happy to be back in the Sachsenring and to be fighting for the podium, even though I just missed out, was more than we could have hoped for. I still have some pain in my leg but I am growing stronger every day and I hope this week that I will be in a better shape once again and I can try to improve a little bit more.

“Laguna is different to anywhere else we go but it's always have great fun to ride there and the last two years I've had great races."

Friday drive for Lotus's Fauzy in Germany

Test driver Fairuz Fauzy will be back in the Lotus cockpit at the Hockenheim on Friday morning ahead of this weekend’s German Grand Prix. Fauzy, who had been scheduled to participate on Friday practice sessions at the forthcoming Hungarian, Singapore and in Abu Dhabi events, has landed a German practice outing after mechanical issues cut short his run at Silverstone.

“It’s an exciting day for all of us in the Lotus Racing team - being able to tell the Fairuz that he has another Friday run a week before he thought he’d be back in the car is a great way to start the week, and we all know he’ll deliver for us, both on the track and in the feedback he’ll provide the team,” explained the team principal Tony Fernandes. “He’s an inspiration to the young drivers around the world, proving that being determined to make your dreams come true can make very exciting things that happen!”

The Malaysian was a test driver for the Spyker squad back in the 2007. Since then he has competed in the GP2 series, the World Series by the Renault, and the A1GP championship. In addition to his curtailed Silverstone outing for the Lotus, Fauzy also took part in a practice session at Sepang ahead of April's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Stoner happy with German result after fight for third

The Ducati Team rider held off Valentino Rossi for the final podium spot at the Sachsenring to take his third top-three finish in the succession. Casey Stoner said that he felt the benefit of the race restart at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, where he took the third place after a red flag saw the Sachsenring contest run a shortened second race.

Randy de Puniet’s crash on lap nine halted the original race, and the 25-minute interval before a second 21-lap contest began the allowed Stoner and his Ducati team to change the rear tyre he was using, an alteration that the Australian said made a big difference.

“I thought it was going to affect us in a bad way but it was actually helped us slightly,” said Stoner of the restart. “In the first part of the race we had a new rear tyre that wasn’t producing the grip that the tyres had been in all weekend. I just wasn’t able to keep up with the lap times being set by the Dani and Jorge.”

“For the second part of the race we went back to a tyre we were using in qualifying yesterday so it already had laps on it, and immediately it felt better with the more grip and a better feeling in mid-turn. We were able to run a lot faster lap times, maybe three or four-tenths of a second consistently. I tried to chase the top two down but didn’t quite have the pace.”

“I saw Valentino coming and he had a much higher pace than me and I thought he would just take off if he got the past. So I tried to do everything I could to stay with him and when I got an opportunity to overtake him it and came down to the last two laps,” explained Stoner. “We had a few nice passes and I just had to go for it in the last corner, and it worked out. I’m pretty happy with the result, and we managed to pick up the points when we needed to.”

Buemi counters Tost claim, insists no Toro Rosso deal yet

Just a day after Franz Tost had declared in a Scuderia Toro Rosso press release that both the Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari would be retained at the small Faenza-based concern into 2011, the young Swiss ace has now curiously spoken up to deny having yet signed a contract for the next season.

STR team principal Tost had revealed that given that both Buemi and Alguersuari are now 'well-prepared' and perfectly fit the profile for the Red Bull Young Driver programme, it is 'logical' that they will remain on-board next year.

However, the man from Aigle has since insisted in an interview with the Blick newspaper that 'I haven't signed yet' as 'there are some of the details missing, so the driver transfer market is still open'.

That would only add weight to the rumours linking him with a switch to the Renault instead, after the Enstone-based outfit's team principal Eric Boullier admitted at Silverstone last weekend that the 21-year-old 'has a special place' on his shopping list for 2011 – but with Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko dangling the carrot of a Red Bull Racing seat in front of the Buemi for 2012, don't be surprised to see him stay put after all…

Worst Friday of the season for Lorenzo

MotoGP World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo suffered his worst start to a 2010 grand prix by being the sixth fastest at the Sachsenring on Friday.

The Spaniard had previously never been lower than the third during FP1, but finished first German GP practice 0.7sec behind the nearest title rival Dani Pedrosa - and only 0.02sec in front of injured team-mate Valentino Rossi.

Lorenzo, who has won the last three races in a row at high-speed tracks, lacked confidence in the front end of his M1 in the slower of Sachsenring corners.

"Today wasn't a good session for me and I didn't feel so good on the bike," he said. "This isn't one of my favourite tracks and it's very much different to the ones where I've won lately, so I think I need to make some changes to the way I'm riding the bike.

"I was fast at the start but then we didn't improve from the middle to the end and everyone else did. We have some work to do and our goal is to be competitive on Sunday."

"It wasn't a great start for us, Jorge is struggling for the feel and he can't turn so well, compared to 2009 here he's not in such good shape," confirmed team manager Wilco Zeelenberg.

"We need to compare the data and find out the differences, which are only the small, but small differences always matter at this track because it's quite short.

"Hopefully if we can improve the confidence in the front end Jorge will be much quicker, especially on the slow corners of which there are many here."

Lorenzo, who finished a close second to Rossi in last year's race, starts this weekend 52 points ahead of Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa.

Schumacher F1 comeback 'a huge error personally'

Michael Schumacher's much-hyped and celebrated comeback in the F1 2010 was 'a huge error' personally, argues Eddie Jordan – with the man who had first gave the German legend his big break in the top flight just under two decades ago suggesting that the record-breaking multiple world champion is not even enjoying his return like he claims he is.

The tally from the opening ten grands prix of the campaign does not make for pleasant reading for the 'Schumi' fans, with only 36 points, no finish higher than fourth place and two failures to make the top ten on the starting grid at all – for a driver with some seven titles, 91 grand prix victories, 154 podium finishes and 1,369 points from his 'first career' at the highest level from 1991 to 2006, a poor return indeed.

Worse still, contrast that with the 90 points and three podiums notched up by Mercedes Grand Prix team-mate and the compatriot Nico Rosberg – and, moreover, an eight-two qualifying advantage in the younger German's favour – and the generally listless form in battle displayed by the Kerpen native, and many are wondering out loud as to whether he will really carry on into 2011.

Former team owner-turned-BBC F1 pundit Jordan contends that Schumacher badly miscalculated the challenge of rejoining the fray following to three seasons away from active competition, and that as such he always had far more to lose than to gain.

“Michael Schumacher's return was an excellent thing for the discipline, but for him personally, it's a huge error,” the colourful and ever-outspoken Irishman told theGerman publication Sport Bild. “To make a comeback at 41 years of age, to pitch yourself against young men 20 years younger than you, is simply against the laws of physics and medicine. [Doing it] just to feel good is not even the case – do you think that it would please him to be beaten by Nico Rosberg?”