Button surprised by 'random' video clip

Posted on 30/11/2010

Jenson Button appears briefly on the youtube clip © youtube

Jenson Button was as surprised as anyone else to find himself on a short Japanese film posted on youtube.

Button appears 1min34 seconds into the clip, which shows him coming through the doors of customs at an unknown airport.

When first alerted to the footage on his twitter feed, The_Real_JB, Button at first denied the person in question was in fact him.

“Defo not me! I always travel with bags plus I've never owned that top... Freaky though!”

On closer inspection however, Button admitted that the mystery man in question was, in fact, his good self.

“Whoops! sorry guys after watching this footage I realised it is me! at 1min34! To me it looks like winter testing in Valencia or Jerez. The short haired guy is Physio Phil with the bags!! Completely random though!”

Ecclestone takes a 'good whacking'

Posted on 29/11/2010

Bernie Ecclestone was knocked unconscious in the attack © Getty Images

Bernie Ecclestone made light of being the victim of a mugging outside his home last week despite being kicked unconscious by his attackers.

Ecclestone was sporting a very badly bruised eye on Saturday after his assailants fled with an estimated £200,000 worth of jewellery from him and girlfriend Fabiana Flosi.

"I'm feeling it now, a bit painful, it was a good whacking," said Ecclestone. "When I was on the ground I could hear Fabiana (Flosi) screaming for help and I took a kick or two in the head and went unconscious. When I came to there was blood everywhere from my head wound but I was lucky.

"It was completely stupid and uncalled for. If they had confronted me and asked for everything we had, I would have handed over everything in my pockets, my wallet, anything."

Ecclestone added that the muggers "ripped" the earrings from his girlfriend's ears but dismissed reports that the Hublot watch taken from his wrist was worth more than $300,000 as "bollocks".

Petrov reveals Alonso fans defaced website

Posted on 25/11/2010

© Sutton Images

Vitaly Petrov has revealed that fans of Ferrari and Fernando Alonso littered his official Facebook page with insults and abuse.

"Many people cursed me, saying I had blocked Alonso," admitted the Russian driver.

Petrov played a pivotal role in the outcome of the 2010 world championship when points leader Alonso could not pass him during the final race at Abu Dhabi earlier this month. Alonso was critical at the time and shook his fists at Petrov after the race, but the Russian rookie can’t understand why he has become the villain.

"It's nonsense, I did nothing wrong,” he told Bild. “For 39 laps I was in front of him but no one told me on the radio that I was helping Sebastian be world champion.

“Even if he had [passed], he also had to pass Rosberg. I drove my own race and Ferrari made a tactical error," added Petrov, who dismissed Alonso's post-race gesticulations as "bad manners".

Alonso's failure to pass Petrov meant that Sebastian Vettel was able to close a big points margin to the Spaniard and secure the 2010 title. "He deserves it," Petrov said, referring to Vettel. "The newspapers said it was a miracle, but it was his hard work."

Bild asked Petrov if the new world champion had congratulated him personally for his role in the title outcome. "He doesn't have my phone number," answered the Russian. "But I saw that he wrote on his website to his fans that he was grateful to me."

'I just don't give a f***' - Foul-mouthed Hamilton on Twitter

Posted on 24/11/2010

© Sutton Images

Lewis Hamilton caused a stir on the social networking website Twitter when he used bad language to defend his writing style.

Hamilton, who has over 53,000 followers, responded to fellow users who were mocking the quality of his tweets by posting: “To those of you who care, thanks for your support, am on here for you. To all you haters… I just don’t give a f*** haha.”

He has since deleted the offending tweet and indicated that the whole issue had been blown out of proportion (which it probably has). He also issued the following apology: “Aight, to my young peeps I apologise for the language. Am not venting, I’m always chill. Was not aimed at u. God bless.”

But even amended that later on: “To my people (I prefer to say that than fans) I've got nothing but love for u guys..to the others...all I can do is smile..picture me rollin!”

Vettel set for big bonus after winning title

Posted on 22/11/2010

Sebastian Vettel is reportedly getting a €3 million bonus for winning the title with Red Bull © Getty Images

Sebastian Vettel's championship bonus tallies a cool EUR 3 million, according to the German newspaper Bild.

It emerged after Red Bull won the 2010 constructors' championship that the team is paying its entire staff - more than 500 people - a healthy monetary bonus. Reports said the bonus is €12,000 each, but Bild claims that only basic employees are receiving the €12,000, with higher-paid engineers all getting up to 50,000.

The newspaper said the bonuses are costing Red Bull millions, "and champion Vettel is getting three of them".

The report added that Red Bull Racing's total championship windfall under the prize-money clauses of the Concorde Agreement is a whopping €73 million, payable in four instalments. Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz told Die Welt newspaper that Formula One team budgets currently range between "probably €100 million and €500 million".

"Our budget is roughly in the lower mid-range," said Mateschitz.

Healthy bonus for Red Bull employees

Posted on 17/11/2010

Red Bull Racing employees turn out to welcome their heroes home in Milton Keynes © Getty Images

Red Bull employees will be celebrating a very merry Christmas after the company announced it is paying its entire staff a healthy championship bonus.

Media reports say the bonus for the workers at the team's Milton Keynes headquarters, estimated to be around 550 people, will get £10,000 each.

"I've had a load of texts saying 'Thanks for the new kitchen'," team boss Christian Horner told The Independent. "Championship bonuses are in every contract. I guess we can afford this."

The bonuses, costing the team almost $9 million, will be paid out of Red Bull's extra FOM prize-money for winning the constructors' world championship.

Branson prepares to clean toilet

Posted on 15/11/2010

© Lotus Racing

Sir Richard Branson left Abu Dhabi on Sunday with an AirAsia stewardess uniform in his luggage.

It was given to him by Tony Fernandes, the owner of the low-cost Malaysian airline and the F1 team currently known as Lotus. At the beginning of the season, Fernandes and fellow airline owner Branson, figurehead the Virgin team, wagered that the worst of the F1 newcomers would host the other on a flight - dressed as a stewardess.

"He'll have to work the whole flight. He'll have to serve, he'll have to clean, he'll have to clean the toilets," Fernandes is quoted by Reuters, after Lotus Racing finished the 2010 season in the coveted tenth place. Virgin finished last, behind HRT.

"Watch out London-KL," Fernandes wrote on Twitter.

Billionaire Branson said: "The only positive thing is we own 20% of his company so I'll be able to get some promotion for a company I have a stake in."

Schumacher shuns photo opportunity

Posted on 13/11/2010

© Getty Images

Bernie Ecclestone was furious on Friday when Michael Schumacher did not show up for F1's end-of-season photograph.

Amid the backdrop of the colour-changing Yas Hotel late on Friday, team bosses and all the drivers were summoned for a photograph with the international media. But Schumacher - as well as Bruno Senna and Timo Glock - did not appear.

Blick reported that Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn tried in vain to call Schumacher on his mobile phone. "Has he retired again?" angry F1 chief executive Ecclestone is quoted as saying.

According to another report in Brazil's Globo, Senna apologised for not showing up, insisting that his team had not informed him in time after being summoned to the stewards to explain his practice incident with Lewis Hamilton.

Two explanations were given for Glock's absence, according to Globo. The first was that he was having treatment for a sore foot, and the second that he was on the other side of the paddock and simply ran out of time to appear.

Rivals wax lyrical about Alonso's legs

Posted on 12/11/2010

Fernando Alonso sporting his smooth new legs on Thursday © Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber poked fun at title rival Fernando Alonso on the lead-up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after noticing Ferrari driver was sporting streamlined legs in the Yas Marina paddock.

"I'm surprised how Fernando was able to take the pain of having his legs waxed," said Hamilton, who was Alonso’s team-mate in 2007. Mark [Webber] pointed it out and was asking how far it goes up. I was like, 'Wow, they're shiny'," said Hamilton.

Despite their well publicised falling out during the 2007 season, Hamilton admitted that Alonso took the jibes in good humour.

"He has shown over the years how solid he is mentally. He just doesn't care. You ask him questions about [the team orders in] Germany and he isn't bothered."

Putin drives F1 car in latest 'manly pursuit'

Posted on 09/11/2010

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who recently secured a deal for a Russian Grand Prix in 2014, has been let loose in a Renault F1 car in Russia.

Putin, who is famed for his action-packed lifestyle, drove a Renault demonstration car on what looked like a very cold and barren Russian airfield. He was joined by the team's majority owner Gerard Lopez, who this season secured a deal for Russian state-owned car company Lada to sponsor his team.

You'll have to make your own mind up as to whether Putin is better than current Russian driver Vitaly Petrov...

Button attack one of many

Posted on 08/11/2010

Jenson Button arrives at the circuit the morning after his attempted car-jacking © Getty Images

Although it was Jenson Button's attempted car-jacking that grabbed the off-track headlines in Brazil over the weekend, it has emerged that this was only one of a number of incidents involving F1 team personnel falling victim to armed gangs.

Three Sauber engineers were robbed at gunpoint after they stopped at a traffic light, a group of photographers had their cameras stolen, a radio producer was relieved of his wallet and car keys, and even local driver Lucas di Grassi admitted to being mugged.

"A guy walked up to the car, tapped a gun in his belt and I handed over the watch," said the Virgin driver.

Sir Jackie Stewart went as far as saying that the attempted Button attack may even have been a kidnapping attempt.

"Drug barons don't go out to kill people but kidnap them because they are linked to rich multinational companies. In Jenson's case that means Vodafone and Mobil," said Stewart.

Schumacher still number one in Germany

Posted on 02/11/2010

Michael Schumacher is GQ magazine's sporting man of the year © Getty Images

Despite his seemingly disappointing return to Formula One in 2010, Michael Schumacher is still the best athlete of the year in Germany.

That is the view of GQ magazine, who awarded the seven-time world champion the title of 'Manner des Jahres' [Man of the Year] in the sporting category at an awards ceremony in Berlin.

The award may have come as something of a shock to Nico Rosberg, who has comprehensively out-qualified and out-raced his compatriot at Mercedes as well as golf’s USPGA champion and world number three Martin Kaymer and members of the German football team who reached the semi finals of the World Cup.

Schumacher, who returned to F1 this year after a three-year absence, accepted the trophy from his former Ferrari boss and current FIA President Jean Todt.