That’s according to Gerhard Berger.

Gerhard Berger doubts that Sebastian Vettel is currently the best German driver on the Formula One grid. According to the former McLaren and Ferrari driver, there is nothing now to separate the Red Bull man from his young compatriot at Mercedes, Nico Rosberg, this 2010 F1 season.

“For me, Nico is on par with Vettel. He just needs the right car now to begin winning,” Berger told Auto Motor und Sport.

“He has shown this year that he makes very few mistakes, that his setup is usually right, and that he is mostly ahead of Michael Schumacher. If Rosberg and Vettel were sitting in identical cars, I would not know who to put my money on.”

Another young German to have caught Berger’s eye this 2010 F1 season is Force India driver Adrian Sutil. And it was not something the Austrian expected.

“Last year I was laughing at him. I would never have believed he has this much potential. His speed is tremendous, and his mistakes have reduced dramatically. For me, with Rosberg, he is the surprise of the season.”

Berger also sees a bright future ahead for GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg after a year of learning the ropes in his rookie Formula One season.

“He is in a learning phase. He makes many more mistakes than Vettel and Rosberg did when they began, but Sutil was the same. I think Hulkenberg’s mistakes are normal for a first year. If everything goes right, he is almost at the level of Barrichello – and that’s a compliment.”

“Barrichello is certainly the best man of the…”

Yes, we miss it.

The 2010 F1 season gets back on track with the Belgian Grand Prix in Ardennes at Spa Francorchamps from August 27 to 29. After taking a rather long three-week break – Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and the rest of the field will be slugging it out once again.

20 points separate Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso from championship points leader, Red Bull’s Mark Webber. In case you missed it, Webber took the lead in Budapest where he beat Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton, Vettel and Button round up the top five of the 2010 driver’s standings with 157, 151, and 147 points, respectively.

Webber has already four wins this 2010 F1 season, following him closely are Hamilton and his Red Bull teammate, Vettel. Vettel, topped last year’s Spa race and has dominated his teammate all throughout the season. On the other hand, Hamilton, has performed better over his teammate Jenson Button. Alonso, on the other hand, has also made some strides this season and now would like to carry over his strong performance in the last two races.

Team Red Bull has been consistent all through out the season but will have to muster out another solid performance as the Spa race track is a high speed track with long straights. Ferrari will have a slight advantage with their powerful engines as they have won the last three races.

Mercedes GP is expected to be in the middle of…

I’m rooting for exactly that.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber blitzed to victory at a nail-biting finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix to take a four point lead in the driver’s championship heading to the mid season break of the 2010 F1 season. The Aussie took over from Lewis Hamilton after dominating Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

Sebastian Vettel, the guy who took the wings of Mark Webber, much to his dismay of course, maintained an early lead from pole position. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, was providing a tough challenge for Webber.

A few laps after the Australian took advantage of Vettel’s drive through penalty and held out for a pit stop as he built a lead over Alonso. The strategy ultimately paid dividends with the 33-year-old claiming the first place in Hungary. He is now atop the standings in the driver’s seat.

Alonso’s ferocious pursuit earned him second place, while Vettel finished third. Russian Vitaly Petrov finished 5th just behind Ferrari’s Felipe Massa – the best achievement for the Renault driver this season.

“It was a bit of a gift, but I’ve not had many of them, so I’ll take it. It’s an incredible day for us. It’s nice to have more points than anybody else, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves as there are some big events coming up,” Webber said.

Just 20 points now separate the top five drivers…

And the best part of it all is the fact that they were once teammates in Ferrari.

In case you missed, the 2010 F1 season resumed in Hungary where a frustrated Michael Schumacher put on quite a dastardly move on former teammate Rubens Barrichello after the former seven-time world champion tried to put Barrichello to the wall when the Brazilian tried to get past him.

Luckily, Michael Schumacher failed to catch the Brazilian so instead of keeping the lead, Rubens Barrichello zoomed past his teammate, leaving the once king of Formula One in his rearview mirror.

Fans were shocked of how Michael Schumacher tried to defend his position, calling the move cheap and unfair. Ross Brawn on the other hand is adamant Schumacher was not trying to put Rubens Barrichello into the wall in Hungary, rather he was trying to “discourage him”.

Fighting for the final points-paying position in the Hungarian GP, Schumacher moved across the track, squeezing Barrichello towards the wall, which the Brazilian only just managed to avoid hitting

The Hungarian stewards ruled that Schumacher had “”illegitimately impeded” Barrichello and slapped with a ten-grid slot penalty for the next race in Belgium.

However, his Mercedes GP team boss reckons that was a “tough” call.

“Pretty tough – a tough move by Michael and a tough…”

And rightfully so.

Yep, Mark Webber, the guy who was stripped of the wings of his car in favor of his younger teammate, Sebastian Vettel, and the same guy who his team thought should play second fiddle to Vettel, the guy they think is the future of Red Bull Racing, actually leads the drivers’ championship at this point of the 2010 F1 season.

How’s that for poetic justice eh?

After all his trials and tribulations earlier this year, Mark Webber was delighted to have the Hungarian Grand Prix race victory gift-wrapped for him on Sunday.

The Australian started on the front row of the grid with team-mate Sebastian Vettel, but things went horribly wrong at the start and he dropped to P3 behind Fernando Alonso.

His mood worsened on lap 17 when the Safety Car was deployed and he failed to make his mandatory stop when everyone else made their way to the pits.

However, it turned out to be a stroke of good fortune for him as he was able to stay out much longer and build a big gap over second-place Alonso. When he eventually made his stop on lap 43 he had a big enough lead to come out ahead of the Ferrari driver.

“The start we always knew was going to be a bit tricky on that side,” Webber said.

“I knew once I’d got the primes on and these guys had already done 20-odd laps; it was in the bag. It was a bit of a gift for me – but I haven’t had many of them. An incredible day for the team. One-two was our goal but we were unfortunate not to get that.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says they decided to…

They are after all, teammates.

German driver Nico Rosberg has defended under-fire teammate Michael Schumacher as a remarkable reversal of fortune has unfolded within Mercedes this 2010 F1 season.

Despite Michael Schumacher spending three years in retirement prior to his return to Formula One at the start of this season, many expected the seven-time World Champion to dominate Nico Rosberg.

With Nico Rosberg also new to Mercedes following his switch from Williams, and with Schumacher close friends with team boss Ross Brawn, it seemed inevitable the 41-year-old would hold sway.

Schumacher, though, has struggled throughout his comeback and so far has been out-qualified and out-raced by Rosberg by a count of six to two.

In the grand prix in Canada, Schumacher looked at times like a rookie rather than a legendary racer with a host of records to his name. Schumacher’s performance prompted a further wave of criticism that arguably he is now too old and no longer cut out for Formula One. But Rosberg, who celebrated his 25th birthday and so is 16 years Schumacher’s junior, said: “He’s had some very strong races this year.”

“Sometimes I’ve had the upper hand, but in general…”

The Italians are not happy these days.

Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali has admitted that his team are going to have to dig deep to recover from their recent trials and troubles in the 2010 F1 season.

Though he is optimistic that they can turn things around. The Maranello squad have scored just 19 points from the last three races and are currently third in the constructors’ standings, trailing championship leaders McLaren by 113 points.

Despite the F10’s improving pace, Ferrari left Silverstone empty handed, after a problematic start and drive-through penalty for Fernando Alonso and tyre issues for Felipe Massa saw the duo finish in 14th and 15th respectively. Speaking during a conference at the factory, Domenicali urged the team to stay positive and work even harder.

“We are angry that we did not get the results which we were capable of delivering, but this anger must be turned into a positive force,” he said. “We must remain rational. We must not let ourselves be discouraged nor frustrated. We just have to knuckle down and continue with the development of the car, working calmly, with great concentration and determination. Then, the results will come.”

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo, who was also in attendance, is equally keen for the squad to put recent problems behind them and focus on forthcoming races.

“There is no point in crying about it and I want the team to tackle the…”

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) made a bold decision by changing its tire supplier from Bridgestone to Pirelli.

Pirelli will become the next sole tire supplier of the Formula One championship. The Italian company will take over from Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone after the 2010 F1 season and will remain committed to the series from 2011 until 2013 included (three years).

In a meeting set at last week, the agreement for Pirelli to return to Formula One after a lengthy absence was green-lighted by both F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone and FIA President Jean Todt.

“Pirelli has been selected as the single tyre supplier for the FIA F1 world championship for a period of three years, commencing in 2011,” said the FIA in a statement.

The return of Pirelli in Formula One ends months of uncertainty on which manufacturer would supply tires to the pre-eminent racing series in the world. A host of manufacturers, including Hanook, Michelin, and Pirelli all made bids to take the reigns from Bridgestone beginning in 2011. In the end, the Italian tire maker was chosen from the field and will begin its newest stint in Formula One starting next year.

Also, the committee made some changes about the safety of…

Apart from the door opener in Bahrain, we’ve had a few great races, thanks to wet tracks, close racing, tire influence, and a few brilliant and explosive racing incidents.

The 2010 F1 season drivers championship remains wide open, with a maximum of 25 points for first, leaving us with a maximum of 250 points on offer. Despite this, there is really only five who you would consider likely to win from here.

Lewis Hamilton sits atop the Driver’s Championship standing with 127 points followed by Jensen Button with 121 points. RBR-Renault driver Sebastian Vettel takes the third spot with 115 points while teammate Mark Webber and Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso round up the top five with 103 and 98 points, respectively.

Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg are definitely not out of it. However, Rosberg’s Mercedes team will need to storm to an unlikely number of wins to challenge from here.

The main reason Red Bull Racing aren’t way out in front after their early season pace is due to reliability and poor strategy. (And probably because of the dissension between teammates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber too…)

Although McLaren and Ferrari rarely fail to capitalize on an opportunity, Red Bull are one team that can shoot themselves in the foot.

In addition, particularly bad tyre choices at Melbourne, Shanghai and even Montreal didn’t help their cause, as well as the famous coming together of Vettel and Webber in Turkey. It’s very likely that the winning driver will come from the winning constructor, as the teams each have closely matched drivers, which gives teams an equal footing.

McLaren and Ferrari know a lot more about winning, and…

Silverstone is looking forward to welcome the reigning Formula 1 World Champion, Jenson Button and his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

This race of the 2010 F1 season has become one of the sporting highlights of the British Summer. Few sporting occasions match the intensity, glamor and drama of the Santander British Grand Prix and whether it’s a wide eyed first timer or seasoned veteran, the experience is breathtaking.

Nothing beats the atmosphere at Silverstone when a British driver takes to the circuit. This year, both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will be aiming to impress the loyal British fans at their home race, hoping to mount the steps of the Silverstone podium.

And trust me, Lewis Hamilton won’t let his teammate upstage him this Sunday.

Running alongside the thrilling on-track action, spectators are treated to a host of additional entertainment including the ever popular post race party, air displays, entertainment zones and the F1 trade mall.

The 5.42km Valencia street course, located in the port area of the city, is a relatively high speed street course and incorporates a bridge in its layout. Twenty five corners and several sections where speeds are around 300 km/h mean a track where finding a good set-up compromise can be a challenge. The non-permanent nature of the facility means that track surface evolution is likely to be a factor over the weekend.

Hamilton, the 25-year-old Formula 1 star from Herts, has been…