Nico Rosberg not happy with his current Mercedes car

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Nico Rosberg believes that everything needs to be improved about the current Mercedes car.

German Driver said that no one can win with the Mercedes GP car he is currently driving.

The team has not secured a single podium this year and once again, both Rosberg and Michael Schumacher are not looking so good as they are driving for a ‘mid-running’ team rather than a top-running team.

“No one could win with my car. There are three teams - Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren - who are ahead of the others. I need to wait to get a better car. Later this year or early next year I will start to think about winning. With this car, to me seventh place is like winning,” Rosberg told the media.

One has to admit that it is getting quite frustrating for the team now as they have tried to become a top running team for two consecutive years now but have failed massively.

They are currently competing against Lotus Renault GP for the 4th place in the constructors’ standings once again similar to their 2010 run which is not what they wanted this year. Either way, the team is still optimistic about its future and they claim that they will keep trying until they get the pace of a top-running team.

The team has given up its hopes regarding this year though and they claim that they have already started to work on their 2012 Formula 1 car.

“Everything. In general it's the aerodynamics, mechanically in terms of reducing weight. The engine is fine, but the blown exhaust system, which is a very important part of the aerodynamics now, can be improved a lot. We're working on it,” he added.

Rosberg is currently in 7th place in the drivers’ standings and he is once again outperforming his teammate Michael Schumacher which is quite impressive. It proves that he has the capability of scoring great results provided that he is given a good and reliable car.

The 2012 Formula 1 season should be the ‘breakthrough’ the team is hoping for but since anything can happen in Formula 1, we should expect pretty much everything.

Three time F1 Champion Niki Lauda feels Michael Schumacher should retire now

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Niki Lauda does not think Michael Schumacher will make a success of his comeback and suspects the Mercedes driver will retire if he is honest with himself about the situation.

Lauda made a comeback of his own in 1982, after two years out of the sport, and went on to win his third title in 1984. However, when he finished tenth in the championship and 59 points behind his McLaren team-mate Alain Prost the following year, he took the decision to retire.

In an interview in the September issue of Motor Sport magazine, Lauda drew comparisons between his 1985 season and Schumacher's current situation.

"I have always been a big supporter of Michael's comeback - because I did it, and I know what it's all about," Lauda told Motor Sport. "Last year we understood he needed time to get used to these different cars, plus the handicap of not being able to test and all the rest of it. I felt that this year was the last chance for the comeback to happen properly if it was going to - and this year is the same as last…"

But after an Italian newspaper reported that Schumacher was questioning his future at Mercedes earlier this week, his manager Sabine Kehm retaliated by saying the German was as committed as ever.

"He is full of passion for the project and regards it as an exciting challenge to build something big together with Mercedes," she told Bild. "That it is sometimes tough only encourages him more. Someone who will soon celebrate their 20th anniversary in Formula One knows that perseverance is what makes the difference."

But Lauda does not believe it will all come good for Schumacher and suspects that he is not as relaxed about the situation as he appears to be.

"I think every sportsman - if he wants to perform as well as Schumacher did in the past - has to be honest with himself," Lauda added. "He has kept saying that he needs more time, blah, blah, blah, and he presents himself as the relaxed guy who's really enjoying it - but inside he's not relaxed at all, because no top racing driver enjoys being beaten. If he really were as relaxed as he claims to be, then Mercedes should tell him to retire!

"You don't do Formula One for fun. In the end he has to ask himself, 'Can I do it or not?' I honestly don't think it will work out for Michael now: when you want to go quicker, you try everything - and when you've tried everything and you still don't make it, that's it. I'm sure he's still trying, but one day he will realise that he can't make it, and then he will take a decision."

Sabine Kehm believe in Schumi

Michael Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm has slammed reports that the 42-year-old is thinking of retiring by the end of the 2011 Formula 1 season.

She claims that the Mercedes GP driver is still very motivated and passionate about the sport and his team and is going to try his best to make them a top running team in 2012.

“Since his return to F1, Michael has not spoken with anyone from the Corriere dello Sport. He is full of passion for the cause and continues to see the task of build something big at Mercedes as an exciting challenge,” she said.

Shakira will Sing at Singapore

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Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira has joined the long list of Singers and Actors for this year Singapore Grand Prix.

Shakira will Sing at year's Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix, race organisers announced yesterday.

Famous for her hits like 'Hips Don't Lie' and 'Waka Waka', the sultry star will perform on Saturday, Sept 24, at the Padang main stage of the F1 grounds.

Other acts unveiled earlier Click Here to Read

Tickets are priced from (Singapore Dollar) S$118 for a Saturday single-day Zone 4 Walkabout ticket to S$1,288 for a three-day Turn 1 or 2 Grandstand ticket. All tickets allow patrons access to the Padang main stage in Zone 4, where Shakira will be performing.

More compensation for Noida Farmers

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After a long agitation of Farmers, the Greater Noida Authority has finally managed to strike deal with the farmers of Patwari village by hiking compensation for them by Rs. 550 per sq metre.The farmers were earlier given Rs. 850 per sq metre.

“They will also get 8% of the developed land back instead of 6%,” said Rama Raman, CEO of the Greater Noida Authority.

The extra burden of Rs. 550 per sq metre will have to be paid by all allotters of the land, including developers & individual plot owners after the court’s final judgment.

Officials have acquired more than 3600 hectares of land in and around 10 villages to build the five-kilometre circuit, with seating for 150,000 spectators.

It has cost more than £200 million ($303 million) to acquire the site and build the venue, but villagers say the construction firms have profited from their land.

Virender Tada, a local farmers' leader, said many had their land seized and received £11.65 per square metre in compensation.

Builders later sold on the same land for £70.78 per square metre, he said.This acquisition of land was challenged by famers of village near Noida Extension.

The supreme court in May had upheld an Allahabad High Court order, which had upheld quashed the acquisition of land.

On July 19, the Allahabad High Court had quashed the acquisition of land; ask the state government to return the land to framers.

Later, the court gave an option to the Greater Noida Authority & farmers in Patwari village for an out-of-court settlement in the land acquisition issue by August 12.

The Court will hear the case of Patwari Village & other cases in the area together on August 17.

F1 Pole Guide

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The term "pole position", as used in F1, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing.

In F1, a driver has pole position when they start a race at the front of the grid. After final qualifying session Q3, the driver with the fastest time in the top 10 shootouts is said to attain the pole position or in general is referred to as the "polesitter".

In other words a driver or car that sets the fastest time qualifies at the front of the grid and is said to be on pole position.

NOTE: Different motorsports series use different formats for determining which driver has the opportunity to start from pole position.

F1 Practice Session Guide

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The event usually begins on Friday (except in Monaco where it begins on Thursday) with two free practice sessions, from 10:00 to 11:30 and from 14:00 to 15:30 (except in Singapore where it is 19:00 to 20:30, 21:30 to 23:00), for the drivers to learn the circuit and for the teams to experiment with their cars to figure out the best settings for the particular track.

Third drivers for teams that finished outside the top four of the previous season's World Constructors' Championship are allowed to take part in Friday's free practice sessions.

Another free practice session takes place on Saturday from 11:00 to 12:00 (19:00 to 20:00 in Singapore).

These practice sessions helps teams to build strategies, work on pitstop, drivers testing the new components, learning the track and behaviour on track put into different conditions.

In this season, main challenge for the drivers and team during the practice sessions remains the testing of New Pirelli Tyres, DRS Wing and KERS. Beside that Indian Grand Prix will debut on F1 Calendar whose insight can only be taken through the practice session only.

F1 Qualifying Guide

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For much of the sport's history, qualifying sessions differed little from practice sessions; drivers would have one or more entire sessions in which to attempt to set their fastest time, sometimes within a limited number of attempts, with the grid order determined by each driver's best single lap, fastest (on pole position) to slowest.

On Saturday at 14:00 (usually) the qualifying session takes place to determine the running order at the beginning of the race.

The qualifying hour is split into three sessions of 20, 15 and 10 minutes, with a seven-minute break between the first and second sessions and an eight-minute break between the second and third sessions.

During the first session Q1, all 24 cars run laps at any time. The seven slowest cars are assigned grid places 18 through 24. Lap times are reset for the second session Q2, which sees the remaining 17 cars on track together. Again, the seven slowest of those cars are assigned grid places 11 through 17. The final qualifying session Q3 is the shootout among the final ten competitors to determine the final 10 grid places. The number of laps run during any session is uncontrolled.

In the first two periods, cars may run any tyre compound they wish, and drivers eliminated in these periods are allowed to change their choice of tyres prior to the race. Cars taking part in the final period, however, must start the race with the tyres used during their fastest lap (exactly the same tyres, not just the same compound), barring changes in weather that require usage of wet-weather tyres. With refuelling not allowed during races from 2010, the final session is run with low-fuel configuration and the cars are refuelled after qualifying.

The one who set the fastest lap during Q3 is known as the pole setter.