F1 rivals defend Badoer's 'good job' in 'impossible' situation

“I think he's done a good job,” defending F1 World Champion and Valencia pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton told international news agency Reuters. “He's not put it in the wall; he's kept it on the track. It's an incredibly tall order to jump into the footsteps of Felipe Massa.

“He hasn't even raced for ten years, so I think anyone who has taken that long out of the car is going to struggle, but instead I think he has done a good job just to keep it on the track and bit-by-bit he will catch up.”

“I don't know what else you could have expected,” McLaren-Mercedes team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. “Sometimes the tyres warm up, or they overheat or they don't warm up, and it's much more complicated than a few years ago where they brought out tyres that worked straightaway in different conditions. I think that knocks the driver's confidence very easily – if the tyres are not working 100 per cent you can't push if you don't feel you have the grip.”

Compatriot Jarno Trulli encouraged the former International F3000 (now GP2 Series) champion to simply enjoy the occasion.

“We are in the business and we all know how hard it is,” stated the Toyota star. “People from the outside would probably expect more, but it is impossible honestly. I think he has to enjoy what he is doing and try to do his best step-by-step, because miracles do not happen like this. If miracles happen then we should save them for much more important things.”

Ferrari: Felipe Massa in excellent form

Ferrari say that Felipe Massa’s recovery is continuing to go ‘very well’ after team principal Stefano Domenicali visited the Brazilian driver at his Sao Paulo home on Sunday.

"Felipe is in excellent form and his recovery is going very well!” Domenicali told Ferrari’s official website, after meeting with his injured driver. "I’m very happy about Felipe’s state.”
"The medical checks which have been carried out over the last two weeks continue to be very encouraging,” added Domenicali. “Now it’s important to be patient and take one step at a time, without any hurry.”

Holiday means different things, depend of the mind set…

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull:

"I haven’t planned anything so far. I am rather spontaneous and don’t book my vacations in January. I like the mountains and as I live in Switzerland you will probably find me up there, maybe for one week. And, of course, I will spend time in my hometown Heppenheim."

Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber:

"I am looking forward to a real family vacation: (wife) Patrizia, the kids and I will head for a Greek Island. Shush! Which island is a secret

! We will build sandcastles, have picnics on the beach, do all those things that other parents do with their youngsters."

Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber:

"I will stay at home during the summer break. I will relax a little bit. I will go karting and work out a bit. That’s all. Doesn’t read very fancy, does it?"

Jenson Button, Brawn GP:

"After the London Triathlon at the weekend I will relax a bit in the South of France before getting into gear again for the European Grand Prix."

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren:

"I will head to New Delhi for a Vodafone promotional event and as I am already far out east, maybe I will find myself a beach retreat for a week. But honestly, nothing definite is planned yet."

Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren:

"After going back to the factory for a debrief, I’ll head off for two weeks into the sunset. Where? That’s my secret."

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari:

"After Rally Finland I will relax with friends, maybe a bit motor biking in Finland and then I’ll head to the beach for a bit. That’s the vague plan for the moment."

Adrian Sutil, Force India:

"I will spend a week at home in Switzerland before flying to Bali for a holiday with my family. Bali is one of my favourite destinations. It’s a charming place. Then I will return to Switzerland again, before heading for Valencia for the European Grand Prix."

Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India:

"I will spend time with my family and friends on board my boat, the Fizzy. The plan is to sail in the waters around Sardinia and Corsica and have a good time."

Sebastian Buemi, Toro Rosso:

"I will spend a couple of days at my parents’ home in Switzerland, then go down to Malaga for one week with my physio for a workout. And for a little extra treat I’m going to fly to New York for four days to inhale a bit of metropolis life."

Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso:

"The weekend after Budapest I am racing in Portimao. After that I will head for Ibiza to work on my fitness - and of course have a little fun!"

""Formula1.com""

Nelson Piquet Jr has announced that Renault has dropped him with immediate effect

Nelson Piquet Jr has announced that Renault has dropped him with immediate effect , and blamed his team boss and manager Flavio Briatore for ruining his career.

Piquet branded Briatore “my executioner” and accused him of breaking a promise that he would get equal treatment to team-mate Fernando Alonso this year.

He said he felt relief as well as disappointment at the end of his Renault tenure, which he called the worst period of his career.

“I have received notice from the Renault F1 team of its intention to stop me from driving for them in the current F1 season,” Piquet said.

“I want to say thanks to the small group who supported me and that I worked together [with] at Renault F1, although it is obviously with great disappointment that I receive such news".

“But, at the same time, I feel a sense of relief for the end of the worst period of my career, and the possibility that I can now move on and put my career back on the right track and try to recover my reputation of [being] a fast, winning driver.”

Piquet revealed that his contract contained a performance clause requiring him to score 40% of the points Alonso had amassed by the midway point of the season.

With Alonso having scored all 13 of Renault’s points to date, Piquet failed to hit that target – but claims he was never given a fair chance since the double world champion did the lion’s share of pre-season testing and was often given a more advanced specification of the team’s R29 car.

“Of the first nine races that I ran this year, in four of them Fernando had a significant car upgrade that I did not have,” said Piquet.

“I was informed by the engineers at Renault that in those races I had a car that was between 0.5s and 0.8s a lap slower than my team-mate.”

Piquet said Briatore had assured him during the winter that he would have the same status in the team as Alonso.

“For the 2009 season Briatore, again acting both as my manager and team boss of Renault F1, promised me everything would be different, that I would get the attention I deserved but had never received, and that I would get ‘at least equal treatment’ inside the team,” he said.

“…Unfortunately, the promises didn't turn into reality again.”

“I am a team player and there are dozens of people I have worked with in my career who would vouch for my character and talent, except unfortunately the person that has had the most influence on my career in Formula 1.”

“I spent one year as a test driver, where I only did a handful of tests, and the next year started as a race driver with Renault,” he said.

“After the opening part of the season, some strange situations began to happen".

“As a beginner in F1, I could only expect from my team a lot of support and preparation to help me in getting up to the task.

“Instead, I was relegated as ‘someone who drives the other car’ with no attention at all ".

“In addition, on numerous occasions, 15 minutes before qualifying and races, my manager and team boss (Briatore) would threaten me, telling me that if I didn't get a good result, he had another driver ready to put in my place ".

“I have never needed threats before to get results.”

“I always believed that having a manager was being a part of a team and having a partner ".

“A manager is supposed to encourage you, support you, and provide you with opportunities ".

“In my case it was the opposite. Flavio Briatore was my executioner.”

"www.npiquet.com"

WILL HE BE THE NEW KING OF THE RAIN?

He did again. As he shown us last year at Monza in the wet for Toro Rosso, Sebastian Vettel has done it in the wet for Red Bull in China. Will he be the new King of the rain? Share your thoughts. Ele fez de novo. Como nos mostrou no ano passado em Monza, à chuva para a Toro Rosso, Sebastian Vettel repetiu outra vez à chuva para a Red Bull na China. Será Sebastian Vettel o novo Rei da chuva? Partilhe os seus pensamentos.