Schumi 'bows' to Vettel's talent
Michael Schumacher has heaped praise on compatriot Sebastian Vettel for becoming the youngest driver to win the Drivers' Championship.
"I congratulated Seb just after the race, but I wanted to repeat my congratulations," Schumacher told his website.
"His fighting spirit throughout the season and the way he played his trump card in the last race is deserving of praise.
"I bow to so much talent, persistence and his science of driving. We have been friends for many years and I am happy for him."
Red Bull's Vettel, 23, won his fifth Grand Prix race of the 2010 season in Abu Dhabi last Sunday to win his first World title by four points from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
Having come out of retirement to race for Mercedes this season, the 41-year-old Schumacher had a disappointing return to Formula One as he finished ninth in the drivers' championship.
Vettel and Schumacher will team up next weekend during the Race of Champions to be held in Duesseldorf.
After his first triumph, Vettel has said he has a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as Schumacher, despite several comparisons.
"He's a legend and I'm only at the start of my career," said Vettel.
The Red Bull driver added that he was now intent on defending his title with his team in 2011.
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Ferrari set for changes after 'big mistake'
There will be changes at Ferrari next year, but Fernando Alonso, Luca di Montezemolo and team boss Stefano Domenicali are "safe", according to a report.
The Ferrari bosses are under pressure after their decision to pit Fernando Alonso early in Abu Dhabi backfired spectacularly and ultimately cost the Spaniard the Drivers' Championship.
Italian politicians were criticial of the team's "demented strategy" in the UAE and have called on Ferrari president di Montezemolo to step down.
Di Montezemolo has rejected calls for his resignation while Domenicali has apologised to Alonso and said "a mistake was made, which may yet result in changes within the Ferrari hierarchy and which may yet take a while to forget".
The Guardian reports that a source close to Ferrari said: "There will be changes at Ferrari for sure. What happened on Sunday was a big, heavy mistake.
"But they won't be changing the car, Alonso, the president or Domenicali. Instead there will be changes to the inefficient pit area. It may not even be a sacking. But next season some important people will no longer hold the positions they do today."
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Toro Rosso pick Vergne for test
Jean-Eric Vergne will get his first taste of Formula One action when he takes part in the young drivers test for Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi.
The 20-year-old Frenchman is a member of the Red Bull Young Driver programme and took part in the British International Formula 3 Championship this year.
"I am delighted to be given this fantastic opportunity and would like to thank Red Bull and Scuderia Toro Rosso," he said. "To date, my only experience behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car has been driving the Red Bull Racing car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
"Apart from that, I have spent a lot of time in their simulator, providing feedback during the Grand Prix weekends. I am looking forward to these two days in Abu Dhabi and hope there will be other opportunities to drive an F1 car in the future."
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Nurburgring confident of F1 future
Nurburgring, organisers of the German race said on Friday.
Nurburgring Automotive managing director Joerg Lindtner told the German Press Agency dpa that talks will be held with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and others to renew the contract beyond 2011.
"We believe that Formula One makes sense from an economic point of view and that's why we want to have it here," Lindtner said.
Germany has had financial problems in organising F1 races in recent years with the Nurburgring organisers unable to stage the race in 2007.
The German GP is now shared by the Nurburgring and Hockenheim with this year's race held at Hockenheim while in 2011 F1 will return to Nurburg
.
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Maldonado handed Williams trial
Williams have confirmed they will run Pastor Maldonado in the post-season Abu Dhabi test, fueling rumours that Nico Hulkenberg is on his way out.
Hulkenberg's future is on the line with Williams refusing to confirm the rookie racer, who has scored just 18 points this season, for next year's Championship.
In fact, Williams are reportedly looking elsewhere with Force India's Adrian Sutil and GP2 Champ Maldonado both in their sights.
The team has added fuel to the Maldonado rumours by announcing that he will drive a Williams F1 car in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
F2 Champion Dean Stoneman will also take part in the test while valtteri Bottas will remain as
"We are delighted to have the two reigning Champions of the two strongest feeder series for Formula 1 in the FW32 for these two test days," the team said.
"Valtteri fought hard for his third place in this year's Formula 3 Euro Series, taking two wins and six podiums in a very competitive year.
"He also set a record with his second consecutive victory in the Formula 3 Masters. He has worked hard both on and off the track and learnt a great deal.
"We continue to see talent, discipline and dedication and are happy to help foster that further in 2011."
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Heidfeld: Lacking of backing a problem
Nick Heidfeld has revealed that a lack of financial backing is causing havoc on his chances of securing a 2011 race-seat.
Although he returned to the grid for the final five races of this year's Championship with Sauber, Heidfeld will not be retained next season after the team opted instead to sign Mexican driver Sergio Perez.
Heidfeld, though, is determined to find a place on next year's grid with another team, although he admits his lack of financial backing is proving to be a problem.
"There is progress, but still nothing to say," he told ITV-F1. "It could be (resolved) quickly or it could take a while, I don't know.
"I think it will happen but you cannot be 100 percent sure.
"Unfortunately, at the moment in the Formula 1, it's not solely about how you drive the car and what you can bring in terms of talent, speed and engineering skills.
"There are other factors playing a role as well, and some of these things I cannot deliver! I don't have backing like some others.
"It would also be a lot easier once you have signed to say, 'Okay, I have some sponsors who would like to do something'.
"We're obviously speaking to sponsors who are interested but first they want to see where you're going to drive before they jump on board."
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Prac Two: Vettel's unbeatable at Suzuka
Red Bull were in a class of their own in Practice Two, sparking fears that the Japanese GP could be a two-horse race between the two Bull drivers.
For the second time on Friday, Sebastian Vettel claimed the P1 slot at the Suzuka circuit as the German clocked a 1:31.456. However, even his team-mate Mark Webber was some way off from catching him with the Aussie 0.395s down on Vettel's time.
Robert Kubica was the closest to the Bulls, 0.7s off the pace while Fernando Alonso, who had previously stated that Ferrari should expect a bad weekend in the not-too-distant future may have seen his worries realised as he was almost a full second slower than Vettel.
He finished ahead of Felipe Massa and fellow title contender Jenson Button while Lewis Hamilton, who also still has a shot at Championship glory, was P13 as he running was limited to just eight laps at the very end of the session following his accident in Practice One.
Report: The session got underway with Jaime Alguersuari, Tonio Liuzzi and Kamui Kobayashi quick to make their marks on the timesheets with the Toro Rosso driver leading with a 1:35.875. But it didn't take long before they were overhauled with Adrian Sutil quickest ahead of Nick Heidfeld as within five minutes 14 drivers had already clocked times.
Fernando Alonso took over at the top with a 1:33.159 with the Renaults of Vitaly Petrov, Robert Kubica and Williams' Nico Hulkenberg. Felipe Massa and Jenson Button slotted into fifth and sixth places. Meanwhile, Button reported that he's a lot happier with the car after McLaren adjusted the ride-height - which was most likely the cause of Lewis Hamilton's crash and Button own almost-crash in Practice One.
As to be expected it wasn't long before a Red Bull ventured to the top of the timesheets with Webber taking the P1 slot with a 1:32.574. Alonso was second ahead of Vettel and Michael Schumacher, however, that didn't last long as Vettel hit the front, 0.073s up on his team-mate. The German extended his advantage to 0.365s over Webber and almost a full second up on third-placed Alonso.
Problems for Kubica, who narrowly avoided the barriers at Dunlop, after running off the track. He does, however, manage to continue. Moments later Sakon Yamamoto also ran off the track after missing the apex of the hairpin.
Petrov put in a great effort to get within half a second of Vettel's P1 time while Schumacher climbed to fifth place, sandwiched between the two Ferraris. Buemi got it all wrong at Turn 7 and put his Toro Rosso into an impressive spin. Massa was the first of the big-name drivers to venture out on the softer option tyres, clocking a 1:32.519, which put him up into third place. Schumacher took fifth before losing out to Alonso while Webber overhauled his team-mate at the top with a 1:31.860.
His reign, though, didn't last long as Vettel retook the position with a 1:31.712. The German continued lapping and was set for an even faster time before running into traffic in the form of Liuzzi. However, he was able to extend his advantage on his next lap while Kubica moved up to third place, slotting in ahead of Alonso, Massa and Button.
With eight minutes left in the session, Hamilton finally ventured out for his first lap in his newly-repaired MP4-25. The 2008 Champ crossed the line with a 1:34.542, which put him in 18th place. Hamilton then improved to 13th place but still finished the session two seconds slower than P1 holder Vettel.
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