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From GMM

New fuel did not give Red Bull the boost it was hoping for in Germany, world champion Sebastian Vettel has admitted.

Pre-Hockenheim, it was reported the new blend supplied by Renault's works partner Total would deliver a 12 horse power boost.

It did not materialise.

"I think it's not the last word on this," German Vettel told Auto Motor und Sport, "as there are reasons why it did not work out.

"Whether we find out in a week, it's hard to say," he added, referring to the forthcoming Hungarian grand prix.

"For sure it was a disappointment, as we had hoped for more. The big step didn't work out," said Vettel, "but I hope that it is coming."

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)

A few races ago, reigning world champion Red Bull looked to have established itself as the first force behind Mercedes.

But Vettel says Williams is now holding that position.

"Absolutely. Their pace in qualifying is outstanding," he said. "But I think we can still catch up. But since Austria they have been right at the front."

Until now, Red Bull has pointed the finger at engine supplier Renault for its lack of pace. But Vettel now suggests Milton-Keynes has some more work to do.

"We have simply lacked grip," he said. "We slide too much. The others are doing better."

From IndyCar.com

British driver Mike Conway earned his second Verizon IndyCar Series victory of the season by holding off Tony Kanaan over a three-lap sprint to the finish in the second race of the Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader.

Conway, driving the No. 20 Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka car for Ed Carpenter Racing, won by 3.5418 seconds following the lap 54 restart after a red flag with 4 minutes, 23 seconds left in the 80-minute race.

Photo: LAT for IndyCar

The race director called for the red flag to freeze the field on lap 52 after a multiple-car incident in Turn 3 the previous lap.

Will Power finished third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car and Charlie Kimball advanced 14 positions relative to his starting spot in the No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chip Ganassi Racing car to finish fourth. Takuma Sato rebounded from 23rd place in Race 1 to finish a season-high fifth in the No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing entry.

Verizon IndyCar Series championship front-runner Helio Castroneves, the pole sitter as the race lineup for the standing start was determined by entrant points, sustained wing damage on the No. 3 PPG Team Penske car on the penultimate lap and dropped to 12th place. He holds a 13-point lead over Power through 14 of the 18 races.

Photo: LAT for IndyCar

Conway was the second to switch from Firestone rain tires to alternate tires on lap 43 as the 1.755-mile, 11-turn street circuit was drying following a light rain that started on lap 12.

He was running third after gaining one position on a lap 49 restart and overtook Justin Wilson and Josef Newgarden - both still on rain tires - for first on lap 50.

Conway, earning his second victory of the season and the third for Ed Carpenter Racing, won the 250th race for Firestone since its return to Indy car racing in 1995.

In Race 1, Sebastien Bourdais, driving the No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing car, claimed his 32nd Indy car career win. Bourdais broke a tie with Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy for eighth on the all-time win list.

From press release

One week after climbing onto the podium in the Tudor United SportsCar Series, the North American Endurance championship, Montreal driver Kuno Wittmer was back in competition again this weekend on the urban track in Toronto.

Invited to drive a brand new Dodge Viper GT3-R in the American World Challenge GT Series, Kuno Wittmer's only goal was to claim another spot on the podium. He successfully achieved that objective by finishing second on Saturday and then winning a spectacular race on Sunday.

In a series that he has won on six different occasions between 2008 and 2010 before moving to the elite of Endurance racing, Kuno Wittmer was anxious to take to the temporary urban track in Toronto that he knows so well.

This year, the World Challenge Series is more highly contested that ever with around fifty drivers entered in the GT and GTS classes. A large number of manufacturers are also involved. Third after the first practice session, Kuno Wittmer then qualified his No.92 Viper GT3-R in the first starting line for the first of two races in the programme.

Kuno Wittmer, SRT Viper (Richard Prince/SRT Motorsports)

During Saturday's round, two collisions in the pack were followed by caution periods, considerably reducing the number of regular race laps, thereby forcing Kuno to be satisfied with second place as he crossed the finish line hot on the tail of the winner.

« During the last lap, I got very close to Englishman Nick Tandy. I was right in his wheels and he was a little blocked by the traffic of cars we were lapping but we were in the twisty part of the track and it was just not possible to overtake him » explained Kuno Wittmer, who added : « for the Viper GT3-R's first World Challenge Series race, finishing second and ahead of Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini, Bentley, Audi and other GT cars is absolutely excellent. For me, my goal was achieved and we proved that the Viper GT3-R is competitive straight away after being built ! ».

Sunday, Kuno Wittmer was starting in second position but managed to take over the lead as of the third corner. The gap to Tandy's second place Porsche was only slight and never surpassed half a second.

These two World Challenge Series races, held as part of the Toronto Indy, were a unique opportunity to see the Quebec driver in this series in 2014.

As of the end of the month, he will continue his Endurance season, where he always remains in the hunt for the victory and the Tudor United SportsCar GT Le Mans class title. The next round will take place on the road course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana on July 25th.

From GMM

Two top Formula 1 teams have admitted they considered lodging a protest against Mercedes AMG at the German Grand Prix.

Hamilton's crash was caused by a failure of the Mercedes driver's Brembo-supplied brake disc, so Mercedes opted to switch the Briton to Carbone Industrie brakes ahead of the race.

Mercedes successfully argued that it should avoid penalty for breaching parc fermé rules because of a clause allowing changes if the new parts are "similar in mass, inertia and function".

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG, Hockenheim. (Photo: WRi2)

Red Bull Racing's Christian Horner revealed that he "absolutely" disagrees, particularly as both of the RB cars were fitted with Brembo brakes throughout the race weekend.

"If you change it like-for-like that is one thing," he said.

"But if you change it for something made by a different manufacturer that has a different characteristic, and as described by the driver himself as something different, it is an interesting precedent."

Christian Horner ultimately decided not to protest, but he is now calling for an FIA "clarification".

"We obviously now need clarification," he said, "because if you can do that, then what else can you change?"

Ferrari's Marco Mattiacci also admitted discussions took place about a potential protest.

"We decided not to move forward on this because I don't think we wanted to get into it," he said.

From GMM

Michael Schumacher might soon continue his rehabilitation at home, according to the Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick.

After six months in a coma, the seven time world champion was recently transferred from intensive care in Grenoble to a rehabilitation ward in Lausanne.

That is not far from the Schumachers' home on the shores of Lake Geneva, but Sonntagsblick claims the 45-year-old German could return home "during the course of the summer".

The report cited sources close to the Lausanne hospital.

Mark Mader, the chief doctor at a rehabilitation hospital in Basel, Switzerland, said that while home care is "difficult" for the family, "it is optimal" for patients like Schumacher.

From GMM

Euphoric at Silverstone two weeks ago when he pulled the gap back to just 4 points, Lewis Hamilton's mood dimmed once again on Sunday as he deficit blew back out to 14.

Hamilton started the race in 20th place and finished third behind race winner Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton thinks a result better than third might have been possible at Hockenheim, after seeing Adrian Sutil's stricken Sauber.

A safety car would have ended championship leader Nico Rosberg's huge race lead.

"I definitely got a bit worried," Rosberg admitted, "because I was sure there was going to be a safety car and that would have obviously made it a lot more difficult."

Safety car at Hockenheim. (Photo: WRi2)

Nico Rosberg wasn't the only one surprised, particularly in a sport that, in the name of safety, is prepared to delay a race for an hour to fix a damaged barrier.

"I was really concerned for the marshals -- really concerned," said Hamilton, referring to the incident.

"It felt like the closest thing I have seen for a long, long time."

He said whizzing past marshals who ran across the racing line to recover Sutil's Sauber reminded him of footage of the 1977 South African grand prix, when a marshal and Tom Pryce were killed in a gruesome collision.

"That was the first thing I thought about," said Hamilton. "I couldn't believe it. How on earth a car can be sitting in the middle of the road for a couple of laps and not come out? I think you know why."

The Briton would not expand on what he meant by his final remark, but there was probably no conspiracy to protect Rosberg's race lead for a sure home win.

Mercedes' Wolff said not putting the safety car out was surely the result of a new effort by F1's authorities to reduce interference in the racing.

"Under the old spirit of the FIA," he told Auto Motor und Sport, "the safety car would have come out. But I think Charlie's decision was deliberately taken not to turn a race on its head with 15 laps to go."

From GMM

Niki Lauda has criticised Williams, in the wake of female driver Susie Wolff's Friday morning appearances at Silverstone and Hockenheim.

Wolff's Silverstone outing was short-lived due to technical trouble, but at Hockenheim the 31-year-old Scot managed more laps and eventually was just two tenths shy of Felipe Massa's best time.

According to F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman Lauda, however, the British team Williams missed a trick in managing Wolff's practice sessions -- the first time a woman has taken part in world championship rounds for 22 years.

"Williams unfortunately missed the chance to do global women's racing a big favour," he told the Swiss newspaper Blick at Hockenheim.

Niki Lauda, who works closely with Wolff's husband Toto at Mercedes, said Williams should have dispensed with its usual Friday practice programme in order to allow Susie to impress the world with a scintillating laptime.

"Rather than the same fuel and the same tires as Massa, she should have got soft rubber and low fuel -- and then been a lot higher up. If you do a PR move, then do it right," said the outspoken Austrian. "But I take off my cap to Susie."

Susie Wolff, Williams Martini Racing. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Felipe Massa insists his F1 career is not being put in the shadow by a new star.

The warring Mercedes duo aside, the undoubted star of the last three races has been Valtteri Bottas, a shy Finn who on Sunday completed a hat-trick of podiums.

Former F1 driver Patrick Tambay told RMC Sport he thinks Bottas, 24, is establishing himself as a "star for the next ten years".

"He's a tough competitor," Bottas' Williams teammate Felipe Massa told Brazil's Totalrace, "but I have no reason to fear him -- no way."

Second in Germany, Valtteri Bottas is close to the victory once again. (Photo: WRi2)

The Brazilian, a long-time Ferrari driver until his switch to Williams this year, has had a much lower-profile season of results, including his spectacular rollover crash at Hockenheim.

"I know what I'm capable of, what I can do for the team, my speed," Massa insisted.

"I lack nothing to him. I've done as much as he did in the last few races, or even better," said the 33-year-old, who has scored 61 fewer points than Bottas so far in 2014.

"I have no concern with it," Felipe Massa continued. "I am glad for what has happened to him because he has earned it through his work, but we could be ahead of Red Bull if everything that happened to me did not."

Massa said the situation is not as difficult to cope with as some previous bad seasons with Ferrari.

"It is more difficult when it is an issue about you, or you needing to improve," he explained. "For sure this period will eventually end. I have no concerns with my pace.

"If I was slow and I did not have the results because of my fault, it would be different," Massa added.

Even BMW has to obey the laws of physics: a rwd car that is compact yet roomy is a paradox. But for traditional fans of the brand, the fwd 2-series Active Tourer is nothing less than a heresy on wheels.

Renault is splitting its Asia Pacific region in two to help boost sales growth in India and the Middle East. Renault expects China and India will become the world's two leading economies within the next 20 years.

Renault is splitting its Asia Pacific region in two to help boost sales growth in India and the Middle East.

GM's product cadence has officially escaped the post-bankruptcy doldrums. Now the challenge is to keep it humming.

Automakers see merit in an EPA proposal that would require them to road test vehicles to verify mileage claims, but they are unclear on how the tests would be handled.

The 707-hp SRT Hellcat will generate the most smoke at the drag strip, but it's the rest of the re-engineered Dodge Challenger lineup that likely will fire the interest of consumers.

Automakers are tinkering with a variety of in-car health apps that monitor biometric data such as heart rate, blood sugar, allergies or alertness and relay the information to a driver.

BMW expects that three out of every four buyers of its 2-series Active Tourer minivan will be new to the brand.

Even BMW has to obey the laws of physics: a rwd car that is compact yet roomy is a paradox. But for traditional fans of the brand, the fwd 2-series Active Tourer is nothing less than a heresy on wheels.

From press release

Race 1 of the F1600 Duals presented by Lubrico Warranty was an intense battle throughout the field, and once again, the name DeGrand sits at the top of the results sheet.

DeGrand did not have it easy though. Brandon Newey made the trip north and very quickly let it be known that he was here looking for a win.

The first corner of any street race is always precarious. DeGrand held the lead through the first complex of corners.

Just behind Zacharie Robichon and Michel Bonnet made contact with Robichon getting airborne, causing the field to scramble and Bruno Chapinotti to spin. Robichon sustained damage and was not able to continue.

One of the favourites, Steve Bamford, was hit from behind by Craig Willis and damaged enough that his race was over.

There was more damage at the end of Lakeshore straightaway on lap 1, with Marcel Lafontaine suffering some to his left front suspension and unable to continue. His incident would bring out the first full course caution of the day.

The car of Lafontaine was quickly removed and at the drop of the green DeGrand was challenged immediately by Newey, forcing him wide and allowing a charging Pelletier to also slip by.

Newey opened up a gap over the battling Pelletier and DeGrand, with Pelletier unable to hold him off for long. DeGrand put his head down and chased Newey down, making a bold pass for the lead.

Tristan DeGrand (Photo: Ryan Dupont)

On the final lap Newey was tucked right up under the gearbox of DeGrand and looking to get by.

DeGrand drive down the right side of the long Lakeshore straight and as the two hit the breaking zone Newey made an aggressive move to the left, clipping the left rear of DeGrand and getting in the air. As he spun into the runoff area all of the following drivers managed to miss him.

DeGrand would bring his car to the checkered as the winner, followed by Jack Mitchell, Jr. and Chase Pelletier. Sam Chastain had a remarkable race to move up to 4th at the end followed by Olivier Bedard. Newey would recover and bring it home in 15th.

“That was an amazing race,” said a jubilant DeGrand.

“I hate it that it ended in tears for Newey because we really raced each other hard but I am really happy to get the win at this event and in front of a large crowd. I can't wait to get back in the car tomorrow and see if we can make it a perfect weekend.”

Race 2 for the F1600 Duals presented by Lubrico Warranty will go green on Sunday at 6:15pm, directly after Indycar race 2.

From press release

Bouncing back from his first retirement of the season in Silverstone, German Nico Rosberg took a dominant home victory in Hockenheim.

Rosberg started from pole and led all the way to the checkered flag to score his fourth win of the season.

Nico Rosberg (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton recovered from the qualifying accident that left him 20th on the starting grid to claim the last step of the podium behind Williams' Valtteri Bottas, making it an all Mercedes top 3.

Everybody expected the Bracley based team to struggle without the "Fric" suspensions, but Hockenheim proved the W05 is still the best car on the grid.

Celebrations after a double podium for Mercedes (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

"Before the race I was worried that without the Fric system the gap in the race would be smaller," said Rosberg. "But we were again the quickest out there"

"I can't be too ecstatic about the race because it has been a tough weekend for me," added Hamilton.

"I've ultimately lost more points to Nico in the championship battle. But I'm grateful that I could limit the damage with a podium finish.

"When you are sitting on the grid basically in last place, with no other cars in your mirrors, it's very hard to imagine that you could be standing up there two hours later."

Race results* - German Grand Prix (round 10 of 19)
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 67 laps 1.33'42"914
2 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 20"789
3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 22"530
4 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 44"014
5 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 52"467
6 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 52"549
7 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'04"178
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'24"711
9 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1 lap
10 - Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1 lap
11 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1 lap
12 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1 lap
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1 lap
14 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1 lap
15 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1 lap
16 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 2 laps
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 2 laps
18 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 2 laps

Fastest lap of the race: 1'19"908 by Lewis Hamilton

Retirements
Adrian Sutil
Daniil Kvyat
Romain Grosjean
Felipe Massa

Drivers' championship
1.Rosberg 190; 2.Hamilton 176; 3.Ricciardo 106; 4.Alonso 97; 5.Bottas 91; 6.Vettel 82; 7.Hulkenberg 69; 8.Button 59; 9.Magnussen 37; 10.Massa 30; 11.Perez 29; 12.Raikkonen 19; 13.Vergne 9; 14.Grosjean 8; 15.Kvyat 6; 16.Bianchi 2.

Constructors' championship
1.Mercedes 366; 2.Red Bull-Renault 188; 3.Williams-Mercedes 121; 4.Ferrari 116; 5.Force India-Mercedes 98; 6.McLaren-Mercedes 96; 7.Toro Rosso-Renault 15; 8.Lotus-Renault 8; 9.Marussia-Ferrari 2.

*Unofficial results

From GMM

As Lotus firms up its plans for 2015, Romain Grosjean's future is looking clouded.

It was already known that, when Pastor Maldonado and his lucrative backer PDVSA switched from Williams to Lotus for the 2014 season, it was the beginning of more than a single-year deal.

"I don't want to give too much away," the Enstone team's owner Gerard Lopez said late on Saturday, "but as it's halfway through the season I can confirm 50 per cent of our driver lineup for 2015 as Pastor is with us for next year."

That is despite the fact the Venezuelan has yet to score a single point in a black and gold car, while teammate Grosjean has eight in his account.

On Maldonado, Lopez continued: "Despite the difficulties we've had so far this season, he recognises our true potential as a team and we recognise his true potential as a driver. We will achieve great things together."

In total contrast, Grosjean's future is uncertain.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E22 (Photo: WRi2)

We reported recently that the Frenchman might struggle to hang onto the seat for 2015.

His manager, Eric Boullier, is now the boss at McLaren, and it is expected that the strongly Grosjean-linked Renault and Total will not be part of the Lotus package beyond this season.

"I've been here for a little bit," the 28-year-old said earlier in July, "and I know the team very well, but I want to win races as well, so things are open."

In a much more comfortable situation than Grosjean is Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who is riding a wave of form and sure to remain with the Grove team in 2015.

"He looks at the moment like he is a future world champion," Williams deputy boss Claire Williams told the Guardian.

Bottas agreed: "As a team, we are on the right road -- that's the goal of us together, to be world champion one day, and it would be really great to achieve it at Williams."