F1 2015 | Vettel wins Singapore Grand Prix

SINGAPORE — Sebastian Vettel recovered from a heart-stopping track invasion by an unidentified fan on Sunday as he convincingly won the Singapore Grand Prix and closed the gap on Mercedes.

Ferrari’s Vettel led wire-to-wire for his third win this year, ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, with championship leader Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes forced out with mechanical problems.

But Germany’s Vettel had a major shock on lap 36 when he spotted a man walking on the track, a bizarre incident which brought the race to a temporary halt.

“There’s a man on the track!” he yelled over the team radio, as the safety car came out for the second time in the floodlit night race.

The disruption was the closest Vettel came to an upset and there were echoes of his quadruple world title romp with Red Bull as he calmly won by 1.4 seconds.

source: interaksyon.com

Google, ex-F1 boss Max Mosley settle sex party image row

BERLIN, Germany — Google and ex-Formula One boss Max Mosley have settled a dispute over images from a sadomasochistic orgy he took part in, the US tech giant and Mosley’s German lawyer said Friday.

“The dispute is settled to the satisfaction of both sides,” lawyer Tanja Irion told AFP over the years-long row in which Mosley had sought to stop the search engine from listing online links to the photos.

Irion said Mosley, 75, had commented that “the agreement is confidential… I’m happy and I do not want to jeopardise it”.

Google Germany spokesman Klaas Flechsig also told AFP that “I can confirm that we have settled the dispute to the satisfaction of both sides in all countries.

“Since the agreement is confidential, we cannot provide you with any further information,” he said in an email to AFP.

A court in Hamburg, Germany had in January last year ruled that the US technology firm must prevent the pictures being shown on its Germany-based google.de site, two months after a similar ruling in France.

Mosley, who formerly headed the FIA world governing body of motorsport, early this year also launched a court action in Britain to stop Google from showing the pictures.

His lawyers argued that Google was effectively a publisher — a notion that has been rejected by the company, which argues that its search engine is automated and throws up results based on algorithmic operations.

The German court in January 2014 said the images taken from a video of the orgy that was filmed by Britain’s now defunct News of the World tabloid “seriously violate the plaintiff’s privacy” as they showed Mosley performing sexual acts.

Internet privacy rights

Mosley’s lawyers at the time hailed the verdict as a “milestone for the protection of privacy rights on the Internet”, saying it brought “legal certainty in a blatant case of privacy rights violations”.

Days after the ruling Mosley told news weekly Spiegel that, while Google was “technically… brilliant, sensational”, the multinational was also “arrogant” and “doing whatever it wants”.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, at the time said it would appeal the German court’s decision, saying it sent a “disturbing message”.

The US company had argued that such rulings raised fears over costly and heavy-handed censorship of the Internet.

The Hamburg court had been due to rule on Google’s appeal on Tuesday next week.

The case was one of a string of legal battles waged by Mosley related to the publication of a video, pictures and a 2008 article published by the Rupert Murdoch-owned British newspaper alleging it was a Nazi-themed orgy.

Mosley successfully took the publisher to court over the Nazi claim, winning £60,000 (73,000 euros, $99,500) in damages when the judge ruled there was no Nazi element.

The plaintiff has always insisted the party involving sexual roleplay with prostitutes in a rented London apartment was consensual, harmless and private.

In 2011, a French court fined Murdoch’s News Corp. 10,000 euros after ruling that Mosley’s right to privacy had been infringed by the publication of the images in editions of the newspaper sold in France, which has one of the world’s toughest privacy laws.

Mosley, whose father Oswald Mosley led a British fascist party in the 1930s, headed the FIA for 16 years until 2009.

source: interaksyon.com

Alonso looks for love in cold climate

HOCKENHEIM — Fernando Alonso is hoping that the sizzling heatwave in central Europe is replaced by cooler conditions on Sunday to give his Ferrari team renewed hope at the German Grand Prix.

A break in the weather with storms followed by a cooler spell is needed if the Italians are to shine in Sunday’s 67-lap race, he suggested after qualifying only seventh on Saturday.

Alonso has won three times at Hockenheim, including his last victory with Ferrari two years ago.

“Cooler temperatures this year seem to have an effect on us being a little bit more competitive. We have a lot of tyre degradation, especially at the rear, because we spin the tyres with the lack of down force.

“When it’s hot this effect is a little bit bigger. I think in qualifying with the new tyres you mask some of the problems with the grip of the tyres.

“So I expect tomorrow to be a little bit tougher than the performance we showed today.”

On Saturday, when the air temperature rose to 34 degrees Celsius and track to 55 degrees, Nico Rosberg claimed a dominant pole position for Mercedes.

source: interaksyon.com

New Formula One rules ‘unacceptable’, change needed – Ecclestone

MANAMA — Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone claimed on Sunday that this season’s controversial new Formula One rules were “unacceptable” to fans and changes were needed.

“I don’t think the way things are at the moment are acceptable to the public,” Ecclestone told www.autosport.com ahead of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

“People buying tickets to come here expect to see what Formula 1 used to be,” he said.

The engineering marvels that are propelling F1 cars faster than before, but at a fraction of the noise and with less fuel, have not been widely welcomed in a world that revels in the roar of machinery.

World champion Sebastian Vettel has led the chorus of disapproval against the new quieter 1.6-litre turbo engines, with the reduced noise they make being compared to that of a vacuum cleaner.

When asked if things needed to change Ecclestone replied: “I think we have to, for sure.”

Ecclestone is in Bahrain to discuss the current F1 landscape with the sports chiefs and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

While a big fan of the new engines he felt that they were out of place in F1.

“What is wrong is these fantastic engines,” he said.

“The engines are without a doubt incredible, the amount of power they produce for the small amount of fuel.

“But I don’t think it is F1 business. They should do it in touring cars or something – not in F1.”

He believes tweaking the engines to create more ear-splitting noise and revising the fuel limitations is required.

“I think they can do something about the noise. If they need another 10kg of fuel or something like that then I thin k everyone will agree.”

He believes changes will not count against Mercedes, who have coped best of all their pitlane rivals in adapting to the new rules, with the team’s Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton on the front row in Bahrain.

He commented: “Mercedes without any doubt have done a better job. And they should not be punished for doing a good job – we should not change the regulations to punish them.

“I think everybody is complaining really – even Mercedes. They don’t like people not being happy.”

source: interaksyon.com

Schumacher improving but ‘not out of danger’: doctors

GRENOBLE — Doctors treating Michael Schumacher said Tuesday the Formula One legend has undergone a second operation following his life-threatening ski accident but warned he is “not out of danger”.

Surgeons said there had been a “slight improvement” in his condition and that they had “gained some time” by performing a successful second operation on the seven times world champion on Monday night.

His family is at the hospital in the French Alpine city of Grenoble where the former racing driver remains in a coma after he fell and slammed his head on a rock while skiing off-piste on Sunday.

News of the accident stunned the world and racing stars joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and legions of fans in expressing their hopes for his recovery.

The second operation Monday was to remove a blood clot which was putting pressure on the brain, doctors said.

Surgeons only went ahead with the operation after consulting Schumacher’s family, who took the “difficult decision” to agree to a new procedure.

However, Jean-Francois Payen, head of the intensive care unit, told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that Schumacher was still in danger.

“We cannot speculate on the future,” he said.

Doctors claimed they were “surprised” by the improvement in Schumacher’s condition but he was still “critical” and remained “fragile”.

Doctors have said that Schumacher, who is due to turn 45 on January 3, has age and physical fitness on his side but stressed it was too early to say if he would pull through.

He has been put in a medically induced coma to spur recovery. The coma reduces the patient’s temperature to around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) to reduce swelling.

By being unconscious, the brain is also switched off to sounds, light and other triggers that cause the organ to use up oxygen as it processes the stimuli.

Helmet smashed in two

A source close to the investigation into the off-piste accident at the posh ski resort of Meribel told AFP that Schumacher’s helmet, which medics say saved his life, was smashed “in two” by the impact.

The German newspaper Bild also quoted a rescuer as saying the split helmet was “full of blood”.

Schumacher’s family in a statement expressed their thanks to the doctors who they said were doing “everything possible to help Michael” and to well-wishers around the world.

Damon Hill, who fought several memorable on-track battles with Schumacher, said he was “praying” for his former rival.

Merkel was “extremely shocked” by the incident, her spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.

Formula One quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel, 26, who has said Schumacher was his childhood idol, said: “I am shocked and I hope that he’ll be feeling better as soon as possible.

Schumacher, who won the last of his world titles in 2004, towered over the sport since his debut in 1991, winning more Formula One world titles and races than any other. He had a record 91 wins and is one of only two men to reach 300 grands prix.

His duels in his heyday with Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, fired by an unquenchable competitive spirit, have gone down in Formula One lore.

Schumacher was born in January 1969 near Cologne, Germany, the son of a bricklayer who also ran the local go-kart track, where his mother worked in the canteen.

By 1987, Schumacher was the German and European go-kart champion and was soon racing professionally. In 1991 he burst into Formula One by qualifying seventh in his debut race in Belgium and a year later, he won his first Formula One grand prix.

He joined Ferrari in 1996 and went from strength to strength over the next decade, dominating the podium, before retiring aged 37.

But the father of two could not resist the lure of the track and in 2010 he came out of retirement, signing a deal with Mercedes before quitting for good in 2012.

source: interaksyon.com

F1 legend Michael Schumacher in coma, critical after skiing accident

GRENOBLE – Michael Schumacher, the retired seven-time Formula One champion, was in a critical condition on Monday after suffering severe brain trauma in a skiing accident in the French Alps, doctors said.

The German racing legend, who turns 45 on Friday, had been skiing off-piste with his 14-year-old son in the upmarket Meribel resort when he fell and hit his head on a rock.

He was “suffering a serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation”, according to the hospital in the southeastern French city of Grenoble where he is being treated.

“He remains in a critical condition.”

Shortly after the accident Meribel resort director Christophe Gernigon-Lecomte said Schumacher, who had been wearing a helmet, was “conscious but a little agitated”.

But when Schumacher fell into coma, doctors realised the damage was worse than initially feared.

Two mountain police officers who gave first aid to Schumacher said he was suffering “severe cranial trauma” when they got to him and a helicopter was brought in to evacuate him within 10 minutes.

A renowned Parisian neurologist, doctor Gerard Saillant, arrived at the Grenoble hospital in a police car to help take charge of the famous patient.

Schumacher’s wife Corinna was at his side with his two children, the hospital said.

The hospital statement was signed by the facility’s neurosurgeon, the professor in charge of its anaesthesia/revival unit, and the hospital’s deputy director.

Schumacher a ‘crazy daredevil’

News of Schumacher’s accident stunned the Formula One community and his former teammates joined thousands on Twitter in wishing him a speedy recovery.

“My thoughts are with Michael Schumacher at this tough time.. Michael more than anyone has the strength to pull through this,” tweeted British F1 driver Jenson Button.

Schumacher’s former teammate at Benetton Martin Brundle wrote on Twitter: “Come on Michael, give us one of those race stints at pure qualifying pace to win through, like you used to. You can do it.”

He added that the German was “a crazy brave skydiving/bike racing daredevil”.

Brazilian Formula One racing driver Felipe Massa said he was “praying for God to protect you my brother!! I wish you a speedy recovery Michael”, the former Ferrari driver wrote.

The next update on Schumacher’s condition would be given at 1000 GMT on Monday, a hospital spokesman said.

Police kept guard at the hospital’s entrances as journalists and fans, some wearing the colours of the Formula One legend’s former stable Ferrari, gathered outside awaiting news of his health.

Police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident, the ski resort said.

Schumacher, who won the last of his world titles in 2004, definitively retired in 2012 in the Brazilian Grand Prix, in which he finished seventh, after an abandoned attempt to quit six years earlier.

Since his debut in 1991, the German towered over the sport, winning more Formula One world titles and races than any other. He had a record 91 wins and is one of only two men to reach 300 grands prix.

Schumacher’s duels in his heyday with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, fired by an unquenchable competitive spirit, have gone down in Formula One lore.

Schumacher was born in January 1969 near Cologne, Germany, the son of a bricklayer who also ran the local go-kart track, where his mother worked in the canteen.

By 1987, Schumacher was the German and European go-kart champion and was soon racing professionally. In 1991 he burst into Formula One by qualifying seventh in his debut race in Belgium and a year later he was racing for Benetton, where he won his first Formula One grand prix in 1992.

After joining Ferrari in 1996, Schumacher achieved infamy by trying to ram Villeneuve off the road at Jerez in the last race of 1997, and was disqualified from the championship as punishment.

Over the next decade, he went from strength to strength, dominating the podium, before trying to retire the first time aged 37.

During his retirement he survived a horror accident that knocked him out when racing a motorbike in Spain.

That time he was released from hospital after just five hours.

But the father of two could not resist the lure of the track and in 2010 he signed a three-year deal with Mercedes.

But slower reflexes and a less competitive car meant Schumacher could not reproduce his former glory and he quit for good in 2012. His helmet had a message for fans: “Life is about passions — Thank you for sharing mine.”

source: interaksyon.com

Brilliant Vettel storms to Singapore pole

SINGAPORE — Sebastian Vettel stormed to his fifth pole position of the season at the Singapore Grand Prix Saturday as the brilliant young German stepped closer to his fourth world title in a row.

Red Bull’s German pilot timed a scorching 1min 42.841sec around the spot-lit Marina Bay street circuit to take first place on the grid ahead of Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg.

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean will start third, ahead of Vettel’s Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, second in the overall standings behind Vettel, could only manage seventh fastest ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Gutierrez.

But the evening belonged, once again, to Vettel, who set the two fastest times and will now be favourite to claim his third win in a row in Singapore and his fourth out of the last five races.

Vettel’s final time was so quick that he could afford to return to the garage early and watch the others — but he was a relieved man when team-mate Webber just fell short.

“It’s a great feeling because it could go wrong, but I’m very happy with the result,” said Vettel.

Hamilton topped the standings in a swiftly shifting first qualifying period, ahead of Button, Alonso, Sergio Perez and Rosberg.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa escaped the drop with a late lap which pushed him from 18th to 13th. Paul Di Resta and Pastor Maldonado, and both Caterhams and both Marussias, missed out.

Rosberg was leading Q2 from his team-mate Hamilton with a super-fast 1:43.892 — until Vettel started his flying lap.

The young German, bouncing over kerbs and speeding just inches (centimetres) from the track walls, obliterated Rosberg’s time by nearly a second as he screamed round in 1:42.905.

Vettel, Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton led the cars into the Q3 shoot-out, with Nico Hulkenberg, Ferrari-bound Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren’s Perez outside the top 10.

It was no surprise that Vettel stayed fastest, but he did it in astounding style, lowering his previous time and earning enough breathing space to garage early.

However, there were some nervy moments when Webber threatened his time — and a relieved Vettel punched the air as he watched his Australian team-mate finish in a slower time.

The 26-year-old has a 53-point lead in the standings and victory on Sunday will put him closer to matching Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio by winning four championships in a row.

“It’s one of the toughest races we face all year, I would say the toughest physically and mentally. It’s so long and there’s so many corners, there’s hardly any room for mistakes,” he said.

“Pole is the best position to start from, I’m very happy with that as it’s tricky to pass on this track. But because it’s such a long race I think there’s plenty of opportunities for all of us.”

source: interaksyon.com