Formula-1 news

British racer Sam Bird will drive for Mercedes GP at the young driver test to be held at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit on November 16-17, the team have confirmed. Bird, 23, is currently fifth in the GP2 standings with one win and four podiums and will be in Abu Dhabi for the season finale, part of the support bill for the Formula One Grand Prix…

Pirelli have started their first Formula One tyre development test, with former Mercedes GP reserve driver Nick Heidfeld at the wheel of a 2009 Toyota TF109. Heidfeld is to be Pirelli’s official test driver as the Italian firm prepares to return to Formula One racing in 2011 as the sport’s sole supplier following an absence of 20 years…

Nick Heidfeld has been released from his contract as Mercedes GP reserve driver in order to become the official tester for Pirelli, who return to Formula One racing next year as the sport’s sole tyre supplier.

Heidfeld, who boasts over a decade of F1 experience, will join the Italian company for a series of tests to assist with development of the compounds to be used by teams in 2011…

Michael Schumacher has admitted that his blocking of Rubens Barrichello in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix was

Renault’s Robert Kubica and Force India’s Adrian Sutil on their pit-lane collision; Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on his drive-through penalty; Williams’ Rubens Barrichello and Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher on their close encounter; and Mark Webber on taking his fourth win of the season in Red Bull’s 100th Grand Prix. All 24 drivers, and senior team personnel, report back on Sunday’s race

A pattern finally began to emerge as the track dried out at Hockenheim on Friday afternoon, though conditions were still greasy and challenging.

Fernando Alonso pushed Ferrari to the fore with a lap of 1m 16.265s, but Sebastian Vettel was right on his tail for Red Bull with 1m 16.294s and their respective team mates Felipe Massa and Mark Webber were in touch with 1m 16.438s and 1m 16.585s. Just for good measure, the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were also in the zone, with 1m 16.827s and 1m 16.971s apiece.

Drivers and team representatives: Norbert Haug (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Williams), Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Adam Parr (Williams), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes).

Q: Adam, you have had a new job since the British Grand Prix. How has that changed things for you? How different is it?
Adam Parr: It doesn’t really change anything as it is pretty much reflecting what I have been doing for a little while now…

On paper it was a dream team – the clout of Mercedes backing, the technical and managerial genius of Ross Brawn, the young driving talent of Nico Rosberg and the living legend that is Michael Schumacher. With such expectation, anything less than perfection would have been disappointing, and the reality of Mercedes GP’s first season has been far from perfect.

While fourth in the championship standings isn’t bad going for a ‘newcomer’, and there are still positives aplenty, they have less than half the points of leading team McLaren and have little hope of retaining their Brawn-won titles of 2009. Ouch! Here’s the story of their campaign so far

Mark Webber beat his Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel into the first corner and never looked back in Sunday’s British Grand Prix. Vettel then dropped to the back of the field with a puncture, leaving McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton as Webber’s only serious challenger.

Nico Rosberg was an excellent third for Mercedes GP, with Jenson Button fourth for McLaren after a safety-car period aided his recovery from 14th on the grid….

Red Bull’s Mark Webber turned the frustration following his team’s decision to hand over the upgraded wing from his RB6 to team mate Sebastian Vettel into sheer unadulterated pace at Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

Beating pole-sitter Vettel into the first corner was just the start of Webber’s all-conquering performance, as he led McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg to the Silverstone finish line. We take a team-by-team look at events