Ferrari has dismissed Rob Smedley's radio message

Ferrari has dismissed Rob Smedley's radio message telling Felipe Massa to "destroy" Lewis Hamilton's race as having been blown out of proportion.

Smedley's message was picked up on by newspapers after it was included in the Formula1.com race edit video, with Massa being told by his race engineer to "Hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can. Come on boy." Following the message there was a collision between the pair, and Massa accused Hamilton of not using his mind after the race.

Now Ferrari, under its Horse Whisperer moniker on the official Ferrari website, has said that while "it might not have been the most politically correct choice of word … it definitely carried no malicious intent," and dismissed the comment:

"Words, words, words...Reading some of the English daily papers, it seems the Horse Whisperer is not alone in having his thoughts turn to William Shakespeare when he stumbled across the polemical mountain made out of the molehill that was the phrase delivered by Rob Smedley during the Singapore Grand Prix.

"It's true that Felipe Massa's race engineer was caught up in the heat of the moment and chose to use the verb "destroy" at some point. It might not have been the most politically correct choice of word, but it definitely carried no malicious intent, especially when you take into account that Rob is a Middlesbrough lad, born and bred! It is also true that this exhortation to Felipe came at the exit to Turn 5 on lap 11 of the race, at the end of which both the Ferrari man and Hamilton were due to come in to the pits together. In other words, it had nothing to do with the collision between Felipe and Lewis that happened on the following lap.

2012 Ferrari 'aggressive' - Tombazis

Ferrari's chief designer Nikolas Tombazis says that the 2012 car features "a more aggressive approach" and that Stefano Domenicali thinks the car has the "wow factor".

 

After a promising pre-season testing Ferrari has struggled to match Red Bull and at times McLaren with the 150th Italia, especially in cooler temperatures. Having admitted defeat in the driver's and constructor's championships earlier this season, the team is now fully focussed on its 2012 car, and Tombazis says that Ferrari has been more open-minded.
"I hope the results will speak for themselves when we launch the car and more importantly, as we tackle the first few races on the calendar," Tombazis told the official Ferrari website. "A more aggressive approach has come about as the result of the analysis we carried out of the defeats we suffered over the past few years. We realised we had been a bit too conservative and had closed our minds to some strands of development. So for next year's car, we have sanctioned a much more aggressive approach on the aero front, which has required a much closer working relationship with those developing the structure of the car.

"It might make it harder when considering other aspects of the car, but it allows more room for aerodynamic development. The other element of the new approach is in how we make use of the wind tunnel: it involves not just developing and optimising what we have, but also introducing to every wind tunnel session some new concepts, which sometimes might not work, but sometimes can produce interesting results."

Tombazis also said that Domenicali had been impressed with the design of the new car, parts of which are already in production, and that he hoped it would translate in to results.

"I think that visually, the new car is fairly different to its predecessor but if it has a wow factor, as our team principal Stefano Domenicali thought, when he first saw the model, then I hope the wow factor will also be evident from the results. We have set ourselves ambitious targets, which we intend to maintain and so, on this front, I am quite optimistic."

Button signs new multi-year contract with McLaren

Jenson Button has signed a new multi-year contract to stay at McLaren after several months of negotiations.

 There was little doubt that Button would remain at the team next year, but the question was whether he would sign to stay at the team beyond 2012 or leave his options open. However, on Wednesday McLaren confirmed that Button will stay put on a new multi-year contract.

 

"I've never felt more at home at a team than I do at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," Button said. "I've won four of the greatest races of my life here, I'm currently lying second in the drivers' world championship, and I feel that I'm driving better than ever.

"You can only achieve that with the right level of support - and I truly believe that the passion and determination to win are stronger here at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes than anywhere else.

"As a grand prix driver, those are incredibly powerful feelings to share and be part of, and they've only reinforced my desire to commit my long-term future to this team. I've made no secret of my ambition to continue winning races and world championships, and I fully believe this is the place where I can achieve those aims.

"We at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes know how to win, and we're busy refining an organisation that will enable us to keep on doing that for years to come."

Although exact details of the contract length have not been revealed, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said Button is one half of "the best driver line-up in all of Formula One" alongside Lewis Hamilton and that he was delighted to secure his services.

"Jenson is a great driver and a great guy," Whitmarsh said. "In fact, I can safely say that he's one of the most capable and respected drivers we've ever had, and I'm therefore absolutely delighted that he'll continue to work with us into the future. He's a considerable credit to this organisation, and I'm proud to be his team principal.

"I feel sure that he'll now build on the considerable success he's already achieved with us, and will be even more successful with us in years to come. I think he and Lewis say it better than anyone. Their comments show just how much they respect and trust each other, and they once again continue to prove what we as a team have always known: that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has the very best driver line-up in all of Formula One."

Hamilton also welcomed the deal: "It's great news that Jenson has chosen to stay with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," he said. "Jenson has been a great person to work with, and a genuine team-player, from the moment we welcomed him on board. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is a team with a unique and successful tradition in Formula One, which I'm proud to be part of.

"It was the best moment of my career when I won the drivers' world championship with this team. Jenson and I are as hungry and as ambitious as ever to win races and world championships in the future."

Massa told to 'destroy' Hamilton's race

The simmering row between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa following the Singapore Grand Prix continues to rumble on with revelations in the weekend papers that shortly before the pair collided Massa was told by his team to "destroy" Hamilton's race.

The 12th-lap accident soon after, when Hamilton hit the back of the Ferrari, left Massa with a right-rear puncture and Hamilton with a broken front wing - he also was hit with a drive-through penalty.Speaking over the radio, Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley told him: "Hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can. Come on boy." This appeared to be an instruction to make it as hard as possible for Hamilton to pass.



The recording of the exchange casts a different light on events, especially Massa's post-race comments when he accused Hamilton of potentially causing "a big accident".

But the BBC's Martin Brundle wrote on Twitter that he was sure Smedley wanted Massa to "wreck Hamilton's strategy, not his car". He added: "Why would Massa damage his own car intentionally? [The] real story is Smedley must constantly direct and motivate his driver [and] has done for some time."

Drivers face taxing time in India

While the Indian Grand Prix import duty tax row appears to have been resolved, concerns about punitive levels of tax for teams and drivers have not been so easily assuaged.

Negotiations with the relevant Indian authorities are still ongoing, but the Formula One world is worried that a race in India will see teams and drivers alike paying income tax in India - on a reported 1/19th of their annual earnings - as a consequence of spending less than a week racing in the country.

There has been no mention of similar tax demands on the media or team support staff, triggering the suspicion that the income tax row is merely an attempt to eke extra money out of what will be an expensive event to host. Tax law varies around the world, but it is highly unusual to pay income tax in a country one is simply visiting for the purpose of work.

FOTA chairman and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh admitted to some concerns about the possible tax penalties of racing in India, but was unable to shed any light on the current state of affairs. "There are some concerns, and it's a concern for drivers as well as teams. It's quite a tough tax regime, but I'm certainly not competent to tell you exactly where we're at," Whitmarsh said. "But there is quite a lot of negotiation and discussion going on. I am sure we will race in India, but we need to resolve some of those issues."

Delays cause concerns over inaugural US Grand Prix

A behind-the-scenes power struggle at the USA Grand Prix could endanger the ability of organisers to hold the inaugural race in late 2012.

Coulthard puts the Red Bull show car into what is hoped will be turn two at the Circuit of the Americas

 The Austin Statesman, which has been following developments closely, has revealed work at the new Circuit of the Americas venue has slowed of late as a possible change of promoters and management becomes a possibility. "Construction of the grandstands, paddock and medical centre has yet to start ... [but] developers have maintained they are still on schedule and that building will begin soon on what has grown to a 1,100-acre site."

The newspaper reported race promoter Tavo Hellmund had contacted the Texan authorities - who are bankrolling the event to the tune of $250 million over a ten-year period - to ask if a change of management would impact on the deal.

Furthermore, the paper stated Susan Combs, the state's financial officer, had written to Bernie Ecclestone to warn that major investors have not secured the rights to hold the grand prix. She also raised the possibility of a transfer of the contractual rights from Hellmund to a company controlled by some of the investors.

Webber ready for Suzuka challenge

Mark Webber says that Suzuka requires a car "completely on the limit" and that he is looking forward to the challenge as he seeks his first win of the season.

Webber has endured a frustrating year as team-mate Sebastian Vettel is within one point of securing the World Championship having scored nine wins so far. Webber was a close second behind Vettel at Suzuka last season, but despite his lack of victories in 2011 he says he is relishing the testing nature of the circuit.

"It has a sensational combination of corners; it's very quick in the first sector," Webber said. "It's quite a narrow track, so you have to be very, very accurate. Rhythm is very important there as well; you have to make sure you have the car completely on the limit for all the corners and you have to get certain sections absolutely right. It's a good challenge for the drivers and there are some good elevation changes as well - I'm looking forward to it."

Webber also said he was hoping the grand prix would have a positive impact on Japan after the earthquake and tsunami which struck the east coast of the country.

"After the massive tragedy that happened in Japan earlier this year, it's nice to be part of something that people can hopefully look forward to."

Vettel echoed Webber's sentiments, focusing on impressing the fans rather than his own impending title.

"The fans in Japan are special," Vettel said. "What they have been through in recent times is something I cannot begin to imagine, but they are so impressive. They are extremely patient and always polite and friendly and their stamina is amazing. I hope we can put on a good show for them this weekend."