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From GMM

Max Verstappen has the F1 world at his feet.

That is the view of Daniel Ricciardo, who after rising through the energy drink company's junior ranks is now consistently beating reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull.

"Max won the Zandvoort Masters?" Australian Ricciardo told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Ricciardo is referring to Max Verstappen, the increasingly highly-rated 16-year-old racing junior, and the very same F3 event that Max's father Jos won two decades earlier.

Max Verstappen (Photo: fiaf3europe.com)

Ricciardo said he is impressed at the smooth and highly competitive transition Verstappen jr has made from karting to single seaters.

According to De Telegraaf, the young Dutchman has caught the attention of a number of F1 teams, including Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Ricciardo said the world is at Verstappen's feet.

"For me, I didn't have that choice -- I was approached by Red Bull in 2008, presented with a contract and I was very happy to sign it," he said.

"But if you have more options, like Max does, that's always good," the Red Bull driver added.

"Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are top teams with big budgets. It's a difficult decision that Max and his father have to make, but in the end I don't think you can go far wrong in his situation.

"Although, from my experience, I would recommend Red Bull," Ricciardo grinned.

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has played down suggestions he is set to buy back formula one.

F1 business journalist Christian Sylt claims the sport's biggest shareholder, CVC, is already committed to selling its stake by next July.

"The last thing Donald (Mackenzie) wants to do is to get out," Ecclestone told the Sunday Telegraph, "but I think the way their company is structured eventually they have to move on."

Sylt reports that CVC's memorandum dictates a ten-year term, with three one-year extensions but only if the majority of its investors agree.

Indeed, rumours of CVC's talks with potential buyers abound in the paddock.

One of them could be Ecclestone, even though he plays down suggestions he is looking to up his 5.3 per cent stake.

"I'm not saying it won't ever happen," said the billionaire F1 supremo, "but there's no point in me doing it at the moment."

From GMM

Heidfeld is dating Frentzen.

It's a sensational headline, and nonetheless true -- Sven Heidfeld, the brother of former F1 driver Nick, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen's sister Nicole-Nadine Frentzen, are an item.

"We have known each other from our childhood," 25-year-old Frentzen, whose 47-year-old brother won races for Williams and Jordan, is quoted by the Kolner Express tabloid.

Nicole-Nadine Frentzen (Photo: BMW)

"Sven was more like a big brother to me," she added, "but it sparked suddenly at one of my brother's races."

Sven Heidfeld, 35 and the younger brother of former BMW driver Nick, runs a racing school called Heidfeld Racing.

Heidfeld and Frentzen, both Germans, were F1 teammates at Sauber in 2003.

From IndyCar.com

It had been a long and winding road between victories for Sebastien Bourdais.

Bourdais, driving the No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing car, claimed his 32nd Indy car career win in Race 1 of the Honda Indy Toronto by 3.3408 seconds over championship front-runner Helio Castroneves.

Bourdais broke a tie with Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy for eighth on the all-time win list.

“It's really sweet. We had to fight and wait for it for a long time but today was just kind of one of these days when the stars align,” said Bourdais, who earned pole yesterday.

“I guess I was not expecting it because here I know how things can go. Last year we were second and third and it's great to get this win.”

Sebastian Bourdais, Toronto (Photo: Eric Anderson/IndyCar.com)

Bourdais closed the 2007 season with victories at Surfers Paradise, Australia, and Mexico City - the latter on Nov. 11 -- to secure his fourth consecutive Champ Car World Series title for Newman/Haas Racing.

He moved to Europe to compete in Formula One for two seasons, and then drove in the SuperLeague Formula in 2010.

Bourdais, 35, who resides in St. Petersburg, Fla., competed in nine IndyCar races in 2011 for Dale Coyne Racing, made 11 starts for Dragon Racing the next season and contested his first full season in 2013 with Dragon Racing.

His dominating victory was the first for KVSH Racing since Tony Kanaan won the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

“He dominated from start to finish and we're very proud of him,” team co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven said. “He's had some unlucky breaks but showed today what a strong driver he is.”

From GMM

It's being murmured rather than shouted, but the world of F1 is undoubtedly worried about the looming Russian grand prix.

The sport, scheduled to fly into Sochi for the very first time in October, has been quietly rocked by the news of the MH17 crash, after the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down by reportedly pro-Moscow rebels amid the Ukraine conflict.

"Our thoughts are with the families at this tough time," Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado is quoted by the Spanish sports daily Marca.

"It's not the time to talk about the Russian grand prix."

That is perhaps true when it comes to the public record, but behind the scenes, the issue is a major one for a global sport like formula one.

The route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur is familiar to many F1 figures, and Marca said Fernando Alonso has regularly flown with Malaysia Airlines.

Given the Crimean crisis, many F1 media regulars were already planning to skip Russia long before the Ukraine air disaster that claimed almost 300 lives.

"I decided a few months ago that I am not going to Sochi," an Italian journalist confirmed at Hockenheim.

But Caterham race driver Kamui Kobayashi insisted: "There is plenty of time before we go to Russia, and I think everything will calm down by then.

"I think it will go smoothly," said the Japanese.

From GMM

Fernando Alonso sounds underwhelmed, having been told of Ferrari's bold plans to push him to the very front of the grid in 2015.

As arguably the best driver in F1, Spaniard Alonso is always a centrepiece of the 'silly season', but this year there are real signs his patience with the Maranello team is finally ending.

He has been linked with a move to his former team, McLaren, who are switching to works Honda power next year with the biggest budget in its history.

But it emerged at Hockenheim that, last week, Alonso was shown Ferrari's plans for a major improvement in 2015.

"I hope the presentation I put his way impressed him, but you should ask him that!" said technical director James Allison.

Predictably, Alonso was indeed asked -- and Ferrari might not like the answer.

"I've been in formula one for fourteen years," he said. "I've heard a lot of plans.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14 T (Photo: Ferrari)

"In July and August each team is very strong, in November they're even better and by January they're dominating.

"But only in February are the facts on the table," Alonso insisted, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Spain's Diario AS also quoted Alonso as saying at Hockenheim: "Only two or three teams can win races. You would need a crystal ball to know what will happen next year.

"What Mercedes has shown is that it can be fast and dominant in this new era of F1, while we have not worked well enough with the new rules.

"But it's not like other years where everything was more or less on the limit. I think the step between the cars of 2014 and 2015 will be much bigger than what we saw in the past.

"That is the big hope we have, but everyone in July will have the same hopes as well," said Alonso.

From GMM

Mercedes has slammed as "unacceptable" the failure of Lewis Hamilton's Brembo brand brake disc during qualifying at Hockenheim.

The big crash in Q1, leaving the Briton winded and with bruised knees, further dents Hamilton's championship charge by leaving him well down the grid.

But he will almost certainly fall to the very back at Hockenheim, because Mercedes will need to revert to the maker of Nico Rosberg's brake discs -- Carbon Industries -- for safety reasons ahead of the German grand prix, and therefore fall foul of 'parc ferme' rules on Hamilton's Brembo-spec car.

"It is impossible to determine in such a short time why the disc has broken," said Toto Wolff.

Lewis Hamilton's crashed Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRi2)

In fact, Hockenheim was not Mercedes' first Brembo disc failure in 2014, as it emerges Rosberg had a similar problem in the Barcelona test.

Team chairman Niki Lauda is furious.

"Brembo promised to reinforce this material but that it now happens again, is unacceptable," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"We will not use these brakes in the race," Lauda confirmed.

That is a further blow to Hamilton, with both the Briton and his teammate Rosberg confirming they choose the brand of disc at grands prix based entirely on "feel".

As is fairly standard practice at Mercedes, the Brembo discs on Hamilton's car were changed between the end of Saturday morning practice and qualifying.

"This product (Brembo) is a little more aggressive, but that is no explanation or excuse for something like this to happen," said Wolff.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that other Brembo users in F1 have also had problems in 2014, including Toro Rosso, Sauber, Marussia and Caterham.

It is understood the Italian company has recently had to change one of the suppliers of its materials.

Ferrari, however, has reportedly had no problems in 2014, having stockpiled a supply of 2013-spec Brembo discs.

No matter the reasons, Hamilton has vowed to attack on Sunday, whilst also describing his crash as "another gift" to his title-leading teammate Rosberg.

"With the pace we have, with Nico on pole and he has no one in front of him, by the third or fourth lap he will be several seconds up the road," he said.

From GMM

With Nico Rosberg all signed up for the future, Mercedes' attention is now turning to the occupant of its other silver seat.

"Yes," the Brackley team's boss Toto Wolff told Kronen Zeitung, Austria's biggest newspaper.

"We are already sitting together and negotiating with Lewis Hamilton. About a multi-year contract, even," he revealed.

Wolff said Mercedes is more than happy with its current driver lineup of German Rosberg alongside Briton Hamilton.

"Lewis is a fixed part of the team," he said, "and I would hope for a long time to come."

Will Mercedes be able to keep both Hamilton and Rosberg (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

For the moment, however, Hamilton is keeping a low profile on the subject. There are paddock rumours he might be tempted to return to McLaren, particularly if Rosberg goes on to win the number '1' for his 2015 car.

"My contract ends in a year," said Hamilton, "so I have time. I'm not thinking a great deal about it."

But even Rosberg seems happy for Hamilton to stay, even though they have clashed off the track this year as they fight for the drivers' title.

"I see no reason why it can't work as it has in the long term," he told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper ahead of the German grand prix.

"We have difficult moments but then we discuss them together and move on."

GM ordered Cadillac dealers to stop selling some versions of the CTS because the automaker does not have a fix yet for cars recalled in late June over an issue where engines can be shut off if the driver's knee bumps the ignition key.

Japan's government will offer at least $19,700 in subsidies to speed up the introduction of fuel-cell vehicles coming to market from Toyota and Honda.

ZF Friedrichshafen believes buying TRW Automotive would give it a better foothold in the market for self-driving and connected cars, its finance chief told a German paper.

South Carolina became the nation's leading tire producer in the fourth quarter last year with estimated daily output of 89,000 tires, edging Oklahoma's 88,000 units.

The changing perception among some of GM CEO Mary Barra's toughest critics suggests that she is maneuvering GM out of the worst of the recall crisis.

Volkswagen's e-Golf has all the makings of a "compliance car" -- a vehicle whose sole purpose is to satisfy clean-air regulations in California and other states mandating the sale of zero-emission vehicles.

From GMM

Organizers of the Russian grand prix have responded swiftly to renewed doubts about October's inaugural Sochi race.

The Crimean crisis had already created uncertainty about the viability of a global sport like F1 visiting Russia in 2014, particularly with controversial president Vladimir Putin so involved in the Sochi project.

The Malaysia Airlines MH17 disaster is now piling even more pressure on Russia ahead of the grand prix, prompting organisers to react to media reports on Friday.

The Times correspondent Kevin Eason, for one, said F1 is facing a potential "public relations fiasco", with Putin's planned visit to the race maybe "as ugly as the infamous Bahrain grand prix of 2012".

According to the French-language La Presse, Sochi promoters said "all preparations are continuing" at Sochi and "deadlines will be met".

The report also quoted the organizers as saying the Russian grand prix will be "welcoming to everyone".

From GMM

It was, of course, unnecessary for audacious competitor Fernando Alonso to tell reporters at Hockenheim he thinks mind games are "very important" in formula one.

But they might be even more important in 2014, "because it is a very close fight".

The Spaniard is referring to the intra-team battle between his old McLaren teammate, Lewis Hamilton, and championship leader Nico Rosberg, who are driving dominant Mercedes towards a certain drivers' title win.

Nico Rosberg (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Indeed, the identity of the silver-clad champion is still very much up for grabs.

So while the points are won on-track, crucial psychological gains can also be scored away from the asphalt.

That was clear even in Friday practice at Hockenheim, when Rosberg admitted his frustration with tactics employed by Hamilton.

The German's brakes began to catch fire in the pitlane, as he waited for Hamilton's sister car to be serviced.

"My dear teammate decided to box without any warning," Rosberg said, "so that put us all into a bit of a mess."

It is just the tip of the iceberg. Hamilton threw a tantrum earlier this year in Monaco, and then 'joked' ahead of the German grand prix that Monaco-domiciled Rosberg, the son of a Finn, is not even be a real German.

Lewis Hamilton (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Hamilton has also said he is "hungrier" for victory than Rosberg, due to his modest upbringing in comparison to the trappings of being the son of a wealthy world champion.

"Yes, I was very fortunate growing up like I did," Rosberg told F1's official website at Hockenheim, "but don't forget Lewis was a McLaren driver from the age of 12. That is quite something!"

Rosberg, meanwhile, got married last weekend but failed to invite Hamilton, who lives in the same apartment building in Monaco.

The German daily Bild quotes Hamilton as saying ahead of the German grand prix: "There won't be any wedding presents on the track from me."

From IndyCar.com

Nearly seven years had passed since Sebastien Bourdais claimed his last Indy car pole.

That streak, covering 54 starts for the four-time CART champion, ended July 19 as the driver of the No. 11 KVSH Racing car earned the Verizon P1 Award for Race 1 of the Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader.

Bourdais' final lap of 58.9479 seconds (107.179 mph) on the 1.755-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit at Exhibition Place in the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six session supplanted Will Power (59.1025) for his first pole start since Assen on Sept. 2, 2007 in the Champ Car race.

Bourdais celebrates his first pole in 54 starts (Photo: Chris Jones/IndyCar.com)

Bourdais is the 10th different Verizon Pole Award winner in the 13 Verizon IndyCar Series races, and he tied Michael Andretti for eighth all time with his 32nd pole.

Bourdais' next task is to secure his first Indy car victory since Nov. 11, 2007, at Mexico City. He won at Toronto in 2004 and was twice a podium finisher in 2013.

“It's a bit of casino race here. Anything can happen," said Bourdais, whose next win will be his 32nd and break a tie with Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy on the career list.

"But we keep on displaying pace and showing up at the front, so hopefully at some point it's going to break and we're going to make it.”

From press release

Tristan DeGrand, of Eureka, MO continues to re-write the record books in both the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship and the new Super Series.

Brandon Newey of Carmel, IN quickly adapted to the Toyo R888 tires and lead most of the session. DeGrand waited until the very last lap to jump to the top of the board with a best time of 1:20.159.

Newey will start 2nd, just a tenth off the pole. Michel Bonnet starts 3rd with a lap of 1:20.481. Chase Pelletier and returning Series Champion Jack Mitchell, Jr. round out the top 5

The top 10 were separated by just a second.

“I just love this racetrack,” said a jubilant DeGrand. “I just got more and more confident with the car as the session wore on and everything came together for me on that last lap. I can't wait to race tomorrow.”

The “B” Class has a new man up front. David Graham of Barrie, ON grabs his first series pole with a best lap of 1:22.137. Amy Castell starts 2nd with a lap of 1:22.593.

B Class points leader Connor Wagland came to the pits just a little early and will have to settle for a 3rd place start position with a lap of 1:22.821. Steve Bodrug and Mike Lee will round out the top 5

The first race of the F1600 Duals presented by Lubrico Warranty will take place Saturday at 9:15 pm.

From press release

Nico Rosberg took an easy pole position, Saturday ahead of the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim, as his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the qualifying session.

The two drivers usually have themselves as main opponents in the fight for pole, but this time Hamilton was taken out by a brake failure in Q1. The Brit was going in Turn 13 with his right front disc let go.

He crashed heavily and was sore from the impact. But he will be available to race on Sunday.

Mercedes is investigating what happened, having fitted a new set of discs just this morning.

"It's just not acceptable to have a brake disc fail in that way after we fitted a new set this morning," said Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff. "We have to find out what we do about it. We will assess the car and see what the damage is in the end."

Rosberg, whose Mercedes W05 was fitted with different brake material, is joined on the front row by Williams' Valtteri Bottas.

"The car was feeling great today," said the Finn. "The Mercedes are still a bit quicker than us, but we are going to work hard tomorrow to get in front but it will be difficult."

Qualifying results* - German Grand Prix (round 10 of 19)
1.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1'16"540 - Q3
2.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'16"759 - Q3
3.Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'17"078 - Q3
4.Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'17"214 - Q3
5.Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'17"273 - Q3
6.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'17"577 - Q3
7.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'17"649 - Q3
8.Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'17"965 - Q3
9.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'18"014 - Q3
10.Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'18"035 - Q3
11.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'18"193 - Q2
12.Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'18"273 - Q2
13.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'18"285 - Q2
14.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'18"983 - Q2
15.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1'18"683 - no time - Q2 ***
16.Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'19"142 - Q1
17.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'18"787 - Q2 **
18.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'19"676 - Q1
19.Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'20"195 - Q1
20.Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'20"408 - Q1
21.Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'20"489 - Q1
22.Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - Q1

*Unofficial results
**Three-place grid penalty
*** Hamilton may have to start from the pitlane after his crash

From GMM

Niki Lauda wants formula one to think urgently about what is turning off the fans in 2014.

Big crowds were buzzing in Austria and Silverstone recently, but it was impossible not to notice some almost completely empty grandstands at Hockenheim on Friday.

The sport's reigning champion Sebastian Vettel was born just 40 kilometres away, while another German is leading this year's title in a dominant Mercedes, within memory of the heady Michael Schumacher mania.

"It's not satisfying," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had to admit on Friday.

"We have to analyse the phenomenon. If the weekend continues like it does now, we need to think about it," he said.

Italy's Autosprint quoted a F1 source as explaining that the issue this weekend is that the German public is at saturation point after world cup euphoria.

But Mercedes' F1 chairman, Niki Lauda, has another theory.

"Formula one is seeing a serious cultural change," he told Die Welt newspaper.

"The audience wants to watch sport in a different way than before, due to the rapid growth of the new means of communication.

Photo: Hockenheim-Ring

"It is logical that the young people of today have other priorities. Everything in the world is changing, but only formula one is staying where it was," said Lauda.

The F1 legend, therefore, thinks that one big problem is too many and complex rules, but also the fact that Bernie Ecclestone is steadfastly sticking to the old TV broadcast model.

"Young people do not want to stay at home on Sunday when the sun is shining to sit in the lounge with their father for two hours.

"The problem is that today, there is no alternative. You can't just sit on the beach and watch the race highlights on your smartphone," he said.

Lauda also said F1 has simply lost some of its appeal on the human level.

"We have a generation of drivers that, if they were not wearing their racing overalls, you would simply walk past some of them and not notice," he said, referring to the general lack of "charisma" compared to the past.

"The 'formula one system' is to supervise, monitor, regulate. But we must again have the drivers, not the bureaucrats, in the foreground.

"If we continue like this, no one will be bothered about formula one anymore. It's five minutes to twelve," Lauda warned.