Potty-mouthed Lewis forced to apologise
Lewis Hamilton has finally joined the world of Twitter, but he has already found himself in a spot of bother.
The McLaren driver signed up to the social networking site earlier this month, but he was forced to apologise for using foul language earlier this week.
On Tuesday evening Hamilton tweeted 'To those of you who care, thanks for your support, am on here for you. To all you haters... I just don't give a f*** haha' after his writing style was mocked by followers.
He was forced to change his tune and re-tweeted the following: 'Aight, to my young peeps I apologise for the language. Am not venting, I'm always chill. Was not aimed at u. God bless.
'lol is an understatement. This twitter thing is funny. So many people getting all stressed n what not:)'
A day later he had another message to the "others".
'To my people(I prefer to say that than fans)I've got nothing but love for u guys..to the others...all I can do is smile..picture me rollin!'
2010 365 Media Group Ltd All Rights Reserved
Perez: Early running is 'very important'
Sauber's 2011 rookie Sergio Perez says this week's test in Abu Dhabi is vital to his preparations for next season.
Perez climbed into the cockpit of Sauber's C29 on Wednesday, taking part in the second and last day of the Young Drivers' test in Abu Dhabi.
The Mexican completed 91 laps with a best time of 1:40.543, which placed him sixth on the timesheets.
Wednesday's running, though, will not be Perez's only outing in Abu Dhabi as he is also set to run during the two-day Pirelli last this week.
"I think it was very important for me to be here and have this one and a half days in the car," said the 2010 GP2 runner-up
"I can get a lot of understanding of the car and the team - especially the team because it's a lot different to what I'm used to. Also to understand how it works and why they change this and that."
Perez was satisfied with his day's work, although admitted it was a big change going from a GP2 car to a F1 machine.
"It takes you quite a lot to reach the limit of the car," he said.
"You go out and you think 'ah, I'm going quick' - and you are four or five seconds off. Especially because I drove this track in the GP2 car and the limits are pretty different so it takes a bit of time to be up to speed."
He added: "We did quite a lot of aero changes. We were trying to manage quite a lot of different settings in the car for me to get an understanding and a feeling with the car. I think it worked pretty well.
"At the end of the day, we already have the contract so I'm not looking for the lap time and really the most important thing for me is to understand the tyres and the team, and to get into the car. The lap time doesn't mean anything."
2010 365 Media Group Ltd All Rights Reserved
Schumi: Who knows if Seb will be 'fair'
Michael Schumacher is "excited" to see how the title showdown plays out in Abu Dhabi as three drivers have a realistic chance of winning the World title.
Fernando Alonso heads into the final race of the season with a eight point advantage over Mark Webber while Sebastian Vettel is a further seven points off the pace.
The two Red Bull drivers could help each other beat Alonso to the crown, however, it would involve one, most likely Vettel, sacrificing his own campaign.
Asked if he believed Vettel would do the 'fair' thing by his team-mate in Abu Dhabi, Schumacher said: "It depends what you see as fair or unfair.
"Is it unfair to win a race in which you are clearly quicker? I'm not sure you can call it unfair.
"The main point is we will all be very excited to see what's going to happen, even from my perspective, because I don't know what's going through his (Vettel's) mind.
"Whatever teams are doing they have different interpretations of how they want to deal with things. I made a very clear statement in Hockenheim, and I've no reason to change it."
The trio, though, are not the only drivers mathematically in with a shot as Lewis Hamilton is fourth in the standings, 24 points off the pace. That means a victory and nothing less could at least give him a chance of securing a second World title.
And Schumacher, who made his F1 debut back in 1991, says the four-way fight has made for a "very unique, very interesting and very thrilling" end to the season.
"It is a very interesting year for all of us, from very different perspectives," he said. "A Championship like this year, I don't think I've ever seen three main contenders, and mathematically four.
"There have been so many ups and down, so many unpredictable happenings, which is very unique, very interesting and very thrilling, even from my point of view, to watch the last race and see the outcome.
"For me, I can imagine what those guys are going through and how they are feeling, but everybody is focused, experienced and professional enough to handle the situation in a fair racing spirit.
"But as to who will win, I wouldn't want to bet on anybody. I'm just glad we've been able to sort out our car and put in performances I'm reasonably happy with, and I look forward to whatever comes from there on."
2010 365 Media Group Ltd All Rights Reserved
Webber apologised to Rosberg
Nico Rosberg has revealed that Mark Webber apologised to him for the collision that put them both out of the Korean Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
Webber lost control of his Red Bull Racing car early on in the wet race in Korea and, after clouting a wall, he spun back across the track right into the path of Rosberg.
After the race, Rosberg was furious that Webber had not attempted to stop his car from sliding across the track - but says the issue is now behind them.
"He should have been on the brakes," said Rosberg. "It is dangerous to roll back on the brakes like that, he agrees and he said sorry. So to me it is fine."
Rosberg's strong form early in the race meant a podium finish was definitely on the cards for Korea, and he could even have won the race as he was ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the time - who led the event at one stage.
"I was ahead of Lewis, and where was Lewis after the restart?" explained Rosberg. "He was first but he made a mistake, so who knows? It was a big opportunity of course, but if it is was enough to win I don't know because they have better cars. But a podium? Definitely."
Even though Mercedes GP abandoned development of its 2010 car several races ago, Rosberg still thinks that he can do well in Brazil this weekend – especially if forecasted rain arrives.
"Definitely if it is wet then I think I will be very far in front for sure, so it's a good chance for the weekend," he said. "We could definitely be right up there, on the second row of the grid or something."
2010 AUTOSPORT.COM
Barrichello wins case against Google
A judge has ordered Google Brasil to pay $118,000 to Rubens Barrichello for failing to remove from social-networking sites fake profiles that mocked the Brazilian.
The judge says Google took too long to remove the profiles after being notified by Barrichello.
Despite a successful F1 career, the Williams driver has always been criticised by some fans in Brazil for the time he was Ferrari's second driver and accepted the team's decision to constantly help then-teammate Michael Schumacher.
The decision by a tribunal court in Sao Paulo was announced earlier this week.
2010 365 Media Group Ltd All Rights Reserved
Prac Three: Kubica tops closely-fought session
Robert Kubica set the pace in the final practice session in Korea, with the top four separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Kubica is the dark horse for this weekend's inaugural Korean GP, proving once again that Renault have the pace to upset the title challenges.
The Polish driver crossed the line with a 1:37.354, 0.048s up on McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
However, Fernando Alonso in third place wasn't far off, 0.072s off the pace while Mark Webber finished 0.087s behind Kubica.
Nico Rosberg was fifth quickest ahead of Felipe Massa, Jenson Button and Nico Hulkenberg.
As for Sebastian Vettel, who is also in the hunt for the World title, he was down in 16th place.
Report: With the sun shining down on the new Korean track, Sakon Yamamoto got proceedings underway in Saturday's final practice, leading out the drivers for their installation laps. However, with a layer of dust again covering the track, it took over 20 minutes before the morning's first lap time was set.
Jaime Alguersuari crossed the line with a 1:45.671, which was soon beaten by his team-mate Sebastien Buemi. Nico Hulkenberg was the next to lead the way with a 1:41.449 while the Force India's of Tonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil lined up behind him. Buemi returned to the front, 0.1s up on Hulkenberg.
With the big names hitting the track in the latter half of the session, Fernando Alonso went quickest with a 1:40.795. Felipe Massa took fourth place, Lewis Hamilton ninht, Jenson Button 11th. Still no times from either Red Bull driver or the two Mercs.
Button improved, taking the P1 slot off Alonso by 0.001s, however, the Ferrari driver came back at him, overhauling Button by 0.852s. Lewis Hamilton was the next to head the field, a 1:39.705 for the McLaren driver while Massa moved up to third place and Mark Webber fourth, just ahead of Button and Robert Kubica.
Button returned to the front before losing out to Hamilton, who clocked a 1:38.540. Webber put an end to the McLaren 1-2, taking second place before he lost out to Kubica. Nico Rosberg, the last driver to set a time, was quickly up to speed, taking second place, 0.026s behind Hamilton.
With just a few minutes remaining in the session, all the drivers barring Nico Hulkenberg were out on track causing a few traffic problems as they put in their final run ahead of qualifying. Alonso was left waving his hands at Rosberg for blocking him while Vettel narrowly avoided a spin after taking the corner hard and touching the dirt on the side of the track.
The session ended with Kubica quickest after putting in purple sector times, 0.048s up on Hamilton. Alonso was third, 0.072s off the pace while Webber was fourth.
2010 365 Media Group Ltd All Rights Reserved
Button: Pressure will test Webber
Jenson Button believes the extra pressure that Mark Webber faces as world championship leader could play a key role in helping the Australian's more experienced rivals triumph at the end of the season.
Although Webber holds the current advantage with an 11-points lead in the title standings over Fernando Alonso, Button believes the Australian will not find it easy coping with the extra strain of being the man everyone wants to hunt down.
Button knows only too well about the stresses of defending a title lead - having admitted that it got to him during the closing stages of last year's successful campaign.
"There are a lot of very talented drivers in F1 and when you feel you are under pressure you can make mistakes, so it could possibly make a difference," said Button at Suzuka.
"We all say that Lewis [Hamilton], Fernando [Alonso] and myself, we have all won a championship, so maybe that is less pressure - I don't really know. But I feel a lot more relaxed this year than I did last year.
"Mark has found himself in a position where he is leading the world championship and has worked very hard for that, but it is a very stressful position to be in. And no disrespect to Mark, he is a very talented driver, but it is a position he has never found himself in before.
"We will see how he copes over the next few races. He has a very quick team-mate as well, and is trying to claw points back on him. So there will be a lot of action over the next few races. It is about keeping your car clean with no tyre marks on it, but also pushing it to the limit and getting the most points you can. It is a tricky compromise but that is what makes it fun."
Although Webber's Red Bull Racing team is favourite for victory in Japan this weekend, Button is confident that McLaren will be in better shape than it was in Singapore a fortnight ago.
"We come here knowing that the Red Bulls are quick on this type of circuit, and Ferrari has improved a lot on low speed and high speed circuits," he said. "In the last two races they have been very strong, but we come here with some upgrades and upgrades that should work very well around here.
"I've driven the car in the simulator as we do after every race and, forgetting the upgrades, I personally feel that I have improved the car from Singapore. I felt we were lacking in some areas and have changed the set-up quite a bit to help that. Putting upgrades on the car we've made a step forward as well.
"I don't know if Ferrari or RBR have big upgrades, but we definitely have an upgrade that will make a difference - you will definitely notice a difference."
2010 AUTOSPORT.COM
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