McLaren accept WMSC invitations

Following the FIA's announcement that McLaren Mercedes has been invited to appear before the World Motor Sport Council, the team has replied in the affirmative.

The extraordinary meeting of the WMSC aims at seeing McLaren management answer charges that Lewis Hamilton and Sporting Director Dave Ryan both lied to the stewards investigating Trulli's off-track error and subsequent overtaking of Hamilton while the Safety Car was deployed during the final laps of the Australian Grand Prix.

Trulli was demoted but reinstated a few days later when radio communications evidence proved the contrary to what had been affirmed: Hamilton had purposefully let Trulli reclaim his former position, as he feared his earlier pass of the Toyota driver – when Trulli committed his driving error - might be deemed illegal because the Safety Car was on track.

The discovery of the misleading statements brought about the so-called "Liegate" affair.

Hamilton was stripped of his Australian points and has apologized, explaining that he was under orders from Ryan during the post-race stewards' meeting in Melbourne.

McLaren has also confirmed that the suspended Dave Ryan has now officially left the team.

McLaren statement:
"McLaren acknowledges receipt of an invitation to appear at an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on April 29, received this afternoon.

We undertake to co-operate fully with all WMSC processes, and welcome the opportunity to work with the FIA in the best interests of Formula 1.

This afternoon McLaren and its former sporting director, Dave Ryan, have formally parted company. As a result, he is no longer an employee of any of the constituent companies of the McLaren Group."

Luca di Montezemolo - Ferrari will be back

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is confident his Formula 1 team can respond to its current difficulties, after joining a lengthy crisis meeting at Maranello on Tuesday.

The reigning constructors' champions have failed to score a point so far this season, and di Montezemolo says he has been left unimpressed by the way its campaign has begun.

However, following talks that lasted for two-and-a-half hours at Maranello today, he thinks the message has now got through to team members that the situation needs to be turned around quickly.

"It would be a euphemism to say people here were very angry, but these same people are also very determined to react," said di Montezemolo after the meeting.

"I brought with me a monk's hood to make everyone understand that we have to tackle this season with humility and made the point that I don't want to find us on some sort of TV comedy video programme after each race.

"Joking apart, I know that this group is known for its strong sense of pride and that will help us get out of this situation."

Although Ferrari remains convinced that its form has not been helped by the fact that three rival teams have been using a double-decker diffuser design, the team knows that further aerodynamic improvements are needed.

Di Montezemolo also made it clear that despite intense talks, the team was as unified as it had been under the Jean Todt era.

"Our discussions are held in the locker room, as was the case in the days of Todt and [Ross] Brawn, when we were going through particularly tough times," he said. "The team remains united and I have every confidence in it."

Although Michael Schumacher's role at the team has been the subject of intense speculation over the past few days, it is understood there was no discussion about his involvement during the meeting.

Interview with Timo Glock

Toyota driver Timo Glock made the right call at the Malysian Grand Prix, switching to intermediate tyres and gaining several positions as he overtook the slower cars fiited with wets.

Starting from third on the grid, the German dropped down to tenth before using the early rainy conditions to his advantage. There was some confusion however as Glock thought he was leading the race as the torrential rain began to fall, but he had actually just taken second position behind Jenson Button when the race was stopped on safety grounds.

With the rules indicating that the previous lap before the red flag serves to confirm the final positions, Glock discovered he was officialy third as Nick Heidfeld was just ahead of him at that time.

Nonetheless, is was a very good dribe from Glock during the Malysian Grand Prix, and again the Toyota team stood on the podium once again this season.

You started the race and finished the race in third, but it wasn't as simple as that was it?

"Absolutely not. It was a really tricky race, especially from a strategy point of view and then when the rain really came down it was impossible to drive in those conditions. For me it was really action-packed and a lot of fun. I lost some places at the first corner but on the intermediate tyres I was the fastest guy on the track so I overtook plenty of cars and then I was fighting right at the front. It was pretty unbelievable."

What happened at the start?

"I had a lot of wheelspin so I was quite slow pulling away. Then as I was preparing for the first corner I looked to my left and suddenly Fernando (Alonso) and Kimi (Raikkonen) were there; I couldn't believe it! That meant I was on the outside for Turn One and it was really tricky just to get around without damaging my front wing. So by the end of the first lap I was eighth which was really frustrating and I thought it had destroyed my chances of being on the podium. I was in a group of cars stuck behind Fernando, with Mark (Webber) directly in front. I was quite a lot quicker but I just couldn't get close enough to overtake. I tried once but damaged my front wing; I lost a bit of my endplate but in the end it didn't make much difference in terms of performance."

What were you thinking when the rain started?

"I could see the black clouds coming towards the track after five or six laps so I was asking my engineer when the rain would start. It started but not as heavy as maybe other people were expecting. The team left the tyre decision to me and I decided to go for it and take the risk of putting intermediate tyres on because it wasn't raining so much at that stage.
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I knew a lot of other guys were on the wet tyres so it was a risk but I thought it was worth it."

How was it on intermediates at that stage?

"It was definitely the right call because I was the quickest car out there for quite a few laps. After my pit stop I was out of the top 10 but the intermediates were clearly the best tyres for those conditions and I was a lot faster than the guys on wets. My tyres were going off but the team kept telling me I was the fastest guy on the track so I kept pushing and overtaking people. In just a few laps I went from being outside the top 10 to running second; it was amazing and very exciting but eventually the tyres really did go off so I had to come in to change to the wets."

What was it like driving in the heavy rain? "It was more like swimming to be honest! Even when we were driving behind the Safety Car it was nearly impossible because the cars were just sliding everywhere; there was so much water. It was a confusing situation with everyone pitting and some cars spinning; at one stage I thought I was leading the race but then Jenson Button came out of the pits just ahead of me. Then when the red flags came out I was in second but when I went to the podium I was third!"

Are you happy with third?

"I'm definitely happy with third and my second podium in Formula 1. It's a great result and I have to thank the team because everyone at the track and at the factory has worked really hard over the winter and this is the result. We have finished on the podium in both races so far and we have deserved to be there; our car is really quick and everyone is doing a good job. We have shown what we are capable of so now we have to keep pushing hard and we can continue to be one of the top teams this season."

What are your expectations for the next race?

"We are second in the Constructors' Championship and we have had both cars in the top four in both races so far this season so our aim has to be to finish on the podium again in China. I was in the points in China last year but now our car is much more competitive; it is more stable, you can push more as a driver and it is obviously faster relative to the competition. I'm really looking forward to it."

Schumacher leaves Ferrari ends of this year

Michael Schumacher's manager admits it is "possible" the former seven-time World Champion will finally part ways with Ferrari at the end of 2009.

Since his retirement at the conclusion of the 2006 season, 40-year-old German Schumacher has occasionally tested the Maranello team's single seaters, and attended several tests and Grand Prix in an advisory role.

His latest appearances were in Australia and Malaysia, whereafter Ferrari figures were heavily criticised for making bad strategies and decisions on the pitwall.

"It astonishes me that with such an advisor such a shambles could occur," ex-driver Marc Surer is quoted as saying by the German press.

Elements of the German media were even more critical of the role Schumacher should have played in preventing the messes, including the one last Sunday when Kimi Raikkonen was sent onto the dry Sepang track with full wet tyres.

Schumacher's estimated 5m euro per-year contract is due to expire at the end of this year.

"If the contract isn't renewed I'm certain that the Malaysia Grand Prix will have nothing to do with the decision," his manager Willi Weber told the SID news agency.

He said talks with Ferrari will only take place in the second half of the season.

It has been rumoured that if Schumacher does leave Ferrari, the path will be clear for him to reunite with his former technical director and strategist, Ross Brawn.

Brawn GP driver Jenson Button dismissed the speculation.

"We have been around long enough to know what it takes to win," the Australia and Malaysia winner said.

Honda regret exit from Formula One

Honda is "frustrated" to have abandoned Formula One on the eve of almost guaranteed success, new team owner Ross Brawn insists.

The Briton is now leading the Brackley-based camp following a management buyout, having bought it from the struggling Honda Motor Co. for a symbolic 1 British pound.

"I'm sure they were very frustrated at having to withdraw," Brawn, 54, told the Bloomberg news agency.

"I've had many notes from senior people at Honda, so they are frustrated because obviously the team has moved forward, but it was a necessity for their business."

The team netted embarrassing results in the last two years, but during 2008 invested millions of Honda dollars setting the groundwork for the current BGP 001 chassis.

With Mercedes power, the 'Brawn GP' car collected both poles and both wins from the opening two Grand Prix of 2009.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone is surprised the Japanese manufacturer did not realise it had overseen the design of a winning car before pulling out.

"They'd spent an awful lot of money, hadn't gotten anywhere and probably didn't realise the potential," he said last weekend in Malaysia.

"I'm sure if they had, they wouldn't have gone because all this would have been Honda otherwise."

A Honda spokeswoman declined to comment.

Brawn - Ferrari and McLaren will comeback strong

Ross Brawn thinks it inevitable that Ferrari and McLaren will recover from their disastrous start to the campaign and soon start putting his dominant team under pressure.

Jenson Button has taken victory in the first two races of the year for Brawn GP, with last year's title front-runners McLaren and Ferrari having scored just one point between them.

And although people are hailing a 'new world order' in F1 this year, Brawn is convinced that the current formbook is not indicative of how things will pan out for the rest of the season.

Instead, he believes that what is happening at the moment is simply the result of those teams who switched development onto their 2009 cars early having a head start on those that kept pushing with their 2008 machines until the end of the year.

"It is a reflection on what has gone on in the last year or two," said Brawn. "With such a big change in regulations, McLaren and Ferrari had a championship to fight and I can understand that it was very difficult for them to say, 'look we'll stop pushing this year and put our effort into next year'.

"For us it wasn't even a clever decision, it was a very easy one - we didn't have a very good car so why waste time on it? For them it was a much more difficult decision, but they are both very strong and fantastic engineering companies, so they will sort it out.

"I think they are just paying the price for winning the championship last year. Because normally you develop a car and, if you are fighting for the championship, that same car goes forward into the next championship, so you don't lose things.

"Everything they did last year for the championship was in the bin after the last race, so it was gone. We now have slick tyres and new aerodynamics, so everything they did at the end of last year they could virtually throw away."

Although Brawn is delighted by what his team has delivered in the first phase of the season, he admits the start to the year has been ‘difficult' off track – with the outfit needing to make 270 redundancies.

"It's a very unfortunate process," he explained. "Obviously it has been going on while I have been away so I have not been involved first hand in the process, but it is just very difficult.

"Especially with everyone at the factory having produced such a good car, to say to people 'We can't give you a future anymore' is very difficult. But we had over 700 people and that's not viable for us to continue at that level.

"We have treated everyone with respect and we have done everything that we can to give them a good chance of a future. We have all of our employees on the same terms and conditions as they would have got if Honda had closed the company.

"They were fairly reasonable, and certainly above statutory, but they deserved it. They have done a great job, it is just a shame that we can't justify keeping so many people.

"So it is a very difficult period. Just now try to look forward and put that side behind us and try and build the company for the future. I think in reality if we had kept 700 people we wouldn't have been around very long, it just was impossible."