F1: Grand Prix News Briefs (Update 5)

Formula 1

F1: Grand Prix News Briefs (Update 5)

Nico Rosberg says Michael Schumacher hasn't been his toughest teammate in Formula One...

SPEED Staff / GMM | Posted February 10, 2012 GMM Newswire

Nico Rosberg (Left) stands by with team boss Ross Brawn (Center) and teammate Michael Schumacher (Right) at the recent Mercedes car launch. (Photo: Getty Images)

Rosberg Says Schumacher Not Toughest Teammate: Nico Rosberg has named Mark Webber as his toughest teammate in Formula One so far. The German made his Grand Prix debut alongside Australian Webber at Williams in 2006, moving four seasons later to Mercedes. While at Williams, Rosberg also raced as teammate to Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima. Rosberg's Mercedes move in 2010 coincided with seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher's return to Formula One at the same Brackley-based team, where they have been teammates ever since. When asked by Germany's Sport Bild who his toughest teammate has been, he answered: "Mark Webber in 2006, then Michael." And he hopes he will be in front of his famous current teammate yet again in 2012, particularly with Mercedes hoping its new W03 is a race winner. "To be the first German to win in the new Silver Arrow would be an absolute dream for me," said Rosberg, whose father Keke won the title in 1982.

Lotus To Seek Permission For Private Test - Source: Embattled Lotus will ask its Formula One rivals for permission to conduct a three-day private test after it has resolved a chassis flaw. The former Renault team pulled out of this week's Barcelona test after the unspecified problem was identified early during the opening day's running on Tuesday. With preseason preparations limited to just three tests in 2012, next week's Barcelona running will be the last before the championship begins in Australia. F1 race commentator Oskari Saari, working for the Finnish broadcaster MTV3, said Lotus has confirmed to him that it will seek permission to make up for this week's lost running in the form of a three-day private test. "As they are based in Britain, then you would think that it would be at Silverstone," he said. Recently at Jerez, Mercedes departed the opening preseason test a day early and then made up for it with a private day of running at Barcelona on Sunday. But Saari admitted it is possible the other teams will not be keen to allow Lotus to modify its program, given the pace of the new E20 car at Jerez. "However, I would imagine it is quite likely that the request will go through," he said. "Every now and then, every team sometimes needs a helping hand from the others."

Even Teams Can't Trust Test Timesheets - Engineer: Even the Formula One teams do not trust end-of-day testing timesheets as a guide to the sport's likely pecking order. That is the claim of HRT's chief engineer Toni Cuquerella, in the context of Force India and Sauber setting Wednesday's pace at Barcelona, and the grandee Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes runners spread further down the order. So while a full-tanks race simulation versus a qualifying run could make an obvious four or five second per lap difference, the games being played in preseason testing are more complex, he explained. "In Jerez or Montmelo, let's say, all you need is to pop 30 kilos more fuel in and your times are increased by a second on average," the Spaniard is quoted by El Pais newspaper. "In that case, all you have to do (as a team) is refer to your time and add the second. The problem is that only they know that they are doing it," said Cuquerella. "That's why no one trusts anyone." HRT is not running at this week's Barcelona test.

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