Williams driver moans about 2008 car

There is something about the demeanour of Rosberg Jr. that says “Cocky little shit”. We’ve never met the man - it’s just a feeling: there’s something arrogant in his pout, the way he plays with his hair like a girl, the fact his dad was an F1 driver and more besides.

In term of his performance this season, Rosberg has let his team down. He’s been fast here and there, but way too friendly with the crash barriers. He’s also been overshadowed by team-mate Kazuki Nakajima (who by contrast, is as nice and humble a driver as you could ever wish to meet) on several occasions. As the team’s No.1 driver, that’s not in the script.

Rosberg blames Williams for not giving him a competitive car. He told German daily Bild: “The team this year has given me a good car only for the three street races. And for one of those I was on the podium.”

Why do Kimi and co. love Spa so much?

Ask any F1 driver today what his favourite circuit is, and the majority will answer Spa. You can see why. It’s fast, long, scenic, challenging and uncontrived - in short, it’s a stone-cold classic track. Above all though, it has a whiff of danger that so few tracks possess these days - f**k up at Spa and the consequences can be serious. No F1 driver wants to risk his life in a car, but they all love the turbo boost of adrenaline that comes with taking a corner like Eau Rouge flat out.

With the Belgian GP just a few days away, here’s what the key players have to say about Spa. And it’s all good:

Lewis and co. preview Spain’s new street circuit

What do the drivers think about Valencia? Here’s what:

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
“I know Valencia, because we’ve done several tests here last winter, but now we’re racing in the city on a new track: I’m sure it will be a great atmosphere. I’ve seen the new track only from the position of an on-board camera and it seems to be very fast for a street circuit. I always love to drive on new tracks and I am always very quick to know them. I can’t wait to race at Valencia.”

More selected driver quotes after the jump…

The best images from Hockenheim so far

LL Cool L (Ladies Love Cool Lewis) moves in on Scottish “lady driver” Susie Stoddart.

More below…

Nazionale Piloti lose pre-German GP match

The F1 drivers’ football team, the Nazionale Piloti, lost to a German representative XI at the Böllenfalltor stadion in Darmstadt yesterday. The team, which included Schumi, Seb Vettel and Nico Rosberg in its ranks, was on the wrong end of a 6-8 defeat.

Gotta love those 14-goal thrillers, but you know that Schumi will not be happy to lose a game in his native Germany - even if it was a charity game.

Son of Keke could replace Heikki Kovalainen at McLaren

Willi Weber, the alliterative super-agent who once looked after a certain Michael Schumacher, has claimed that Nico Rosberg will be free to leave Williams if the team fails to finish fourth or better in this season’s constructors’ championship. The British team currently languishes in sixth, nine points behind fourth-placed Toyota.

In an interview with Germany’s Sport Bild, Herr Weber predicted: “Rosberg will replace Heikki Kovalainen, who will change back to Renault.”

Nico Rosberg enjoys F1 street demo in Russian capital

“Hi, the name’s Rosberg… Nico Rosberg. You might have heard of my dad, Keke? … Yeah, he was a better driver than me, but that’s not the point…”

Williams and No.1 driver Rosberg visited Moscow last week for a demonstration drive around a temporary, 4.6km street circuit. Rosberg lapped up the local hospitality, as well as performing a few donuts and burn-outs for Muscovite F1 fans.

More photos of the event below:

McLaren prodigy leads the pack for second day in a row

Lewis Hamilton can’t be touched at Hockenheim. He was the only driver to dip under 1:15.00 at the German track yesterday, in a McLaren that featured a new front-wing design. Nico Rosberg put in a solid stint for second place, perhaps a consequnce of Williams now placing more emphasis on this year’s car, rather than the 2009 development programme. World champ Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari, less than half a second off McLaren’s pace.

In a brief interview after Tuesday’s session, Lewis admitted that he was NOT thinking about sacking his dad (despite what Marca thinks), and that he believes the 2008 championship will go down to the last race of the season. The British driver also revealed that after his stunning win at Silverstone, he was in bed by 11pm after a celebration dinner with his family - not exactly the behaviour of F1’s greatest ever playboy.

Full timesheet below…

All the news from the first day of testing at Hockenheim

The biggest news from yesterday’s test session in Germany was McLaren’s new shark-fin style engine cover (see photo). Red Bull, Renault and Force India already use a similar cover, and clearly the designers at McLaren are keen to see first-hand if the fashionable fin can improve the aerodynamics of its MP4-23 car.

A wet grand prix makes it more difficult to judge the true pace of a car, but it was obvious from Silverstone that McLaren has closed the gap on Ferrari since Magny Cours. Aggressive aero developments like this will have Ferrari worried, no question.

Ferrari will also be worried by the form and confidence of Lewis Hamilton, who set the pace at Hockenheim on Tuesday. The British driver outpaced Kimi Raikkonen by almost half a second, with Williams’ Nico Rosberg in third place.

Full timesheet below:

Williams star courted by BMW Sauber

Robert Kubica is playing it cool about rumours that cherubic Nico Rosberg could join him at BMW next season. Paddock whispers - often less effective than Chinese whispers - suggest that Rosberg could replace Nick Heidfeld for 2009.

Kubica says it doesn’t really make a difference to him who occupies the second BMW next season:

“For me it doesn’t change anything if it’s Nick or Nico: my team-mate is just one of 19 other drivers who I must beat,” he told La Stampa.