Australian Minister brands Lewis Hamilton a d**khead

Australian politicians are famous for not being restrained by diplomatic niceties in the same way many other country's politicians, but the out burst by Tim Pallas against Formular 1 driver Lewis Hamilton was particularly undiplomatic.

Tim Pallas, roads minister for Victoria, the Australian state where yesterday's Grand Prix was held, branded Hamilton a "d***head" on live radio.

But Aussie hero Mark Webber said his home country's attitude to the incident had "p***ed" him off".

Pallas made the jibe at Hamilton as he was quizzed about a government-backed advertising campaign to educate young people about driver safety, in which
ads feature the slogan: "Don't be a d***head."

Asked about Hamilton's conduct, Pallas replied: "He's certainly a very
silly young man, quite frankly."

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The show host persisted: "Come on, you're the one who's using the language. Is he a d***head?"

Pallas responded: "Well, yes OK, I'll say it. He's a d***head."

The minister also called Red Bull star Webber "irresponsible" after the driver said Australia had turned into a "nanny state".

Webber fumed: "It's certainly changed since I left here. It p***es me off coming back here, to be honest.

"It's a great country but we've got to be responsible for our actions. And it's certainly a bloody nanny state when it comes to what we can do."

Although indignant at Webber's blast, Pallas insisted he was not as big a villain as Hamilton.

He said: "I think what Mark Webber has done has been totally irresponsible. But he didn't display the behaviour that Lewis Hamilton did, and that was to put people's lives at risk."

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Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger's relationship hits the buffers...

Lewis Hamilton and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger have called it a day after two years.

Reports say

The 25-year-old British racing driver and US pop star, 31, said they wanted to concentrate on their careers.

A joint statement from their spokesmen confirmed: ''Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton can confirm that they have decided to go their separate ways.

''The two of them have decided to focus fully on their careers and will remain close friends.''

The pair started dating after meeting at the MTV Europe Awards in Munich in November 2007.

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Former world Formula 1 champion Hamilton said he was like a ''besotted schoolboy'', while Scherzinger, who accompanied Hamilton to Grand Prix around the globe, called him her ''soulmate''.

Reports last month said the high-profile pair were close to separating because of the racing driver's reluctance to settle down.

Hamilton, who previously dated beauty queen Vivian Burkhardt, is hoping to win back his F1 title this year but faces competition from current world champion Jenson Button as his McLaren teammate and Michael Schumacher, who is out of retirement.

Interting how on one hand she is needs to "concentrate on her career" and on the other hand she is leaving because of "Hamiltons's reluctance to settle down"

We Wonder ?

Lewis Hamilton vs Jensen Button - Who's top?

Not as Formula 1 racing drivers, cos to be honest I have no idea and it seems to be as a casual watcher of the sport that who is the best, depends really on who has the best car.

I am interested in the difference in the attention they have got from the British media. This year has been a great year for Jensen Button on the Formula 1 circuit. He is leading the F1 championship, like any self-respecting racing driver has a beautiful model girlfriend, and is British. You would think that would generate acres of headlines for him, but it doesn't seemed to have happened, at least not in comparison to the headlines around Lewis Hamilton over the last two years.



Jensen Button and girlfriend Jessica Michibata

Hamilton won the Championship in 2008 and came close as a rookie in 2007, he also has the glamour girlfriend - Nicole Scherzinger, but over those two years he amassed masses of headlines. This year a dip in form (that should really be a dip in the form of his car) has seen him out of contention for the Championship and the coverage of F1 outside the sports pages has up till now dropped across the board.

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Lewis Hamilton and girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger

Then suddenly at today's German Grand Prix, Hamilton is back in contention at least for this race and even on the weather reports there are references to the German Grand Prix and how it would affect Hamilton's chances, no mention of Button.

I understand there is a fascination with Hamilton's back story, the first black British driver to make it in to F1, a profession that is the exclusive preserve of middle-class white males, the dedication of a dad who gave everything to see his son get where he was, and ultimately victory in only his second year on the F1 circuit.

Good back story, but what about Jensen's years toiling away at the rear end of the championship and just when everyone thought all his career would amount to was a footnote in history his upsets all odds as he roars onto a completely unexpected championship, isn't that news worthy?

Jenson Button : New Kid on the Podium...

Formula 1 is all about speed and it comes as no suprise the speed with which you can go from zero to hero, take the case of Jenson Button. He debuted in Formula 1 in 2000 and over the next eight years he only managed one race win out of the 157 he took part in, not a sterling record by any stretch of the imagination.

While his record on the racing circuit over those years was nothing spectacular, his performance on the party circuit was earning him a lot of attention. Over the years he has been linked with string of beautiful young women including pop singer Louise Griffiths, actresses Florence Brudenell-Bruce and Rose McGowan and most recently lingerie Model Jessica Michibata.

All that changed this year, well at least the racing bit seems to have. As is the case with formula 1 it does not really matter how good or crap you are at driving, get the right car and you are up there battling for glory, and it seems the car lottery came good for Mr Button this year. His Brawn GP car has blitzed the opposition and seen him win the first two grand prix races of the season, effectively trebling his win record.

It also means their may be a change at the top of racing royalty, last year it was all about Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger, this year maybe all about the new formual 1 power couple Jenson Button and Jessica Michibata.

Pussycat Doll Nicole gets to grip with a really long python...

..and it has got nothing to do with boyfriend Lewis Hamilton :-)

Ok, that was corny but we love corny and the pictures of Nicole Scherzinger looking aghast as a python seemily pops out of nowhere at a German night-club has brought the corniest worst or should that be best out of us.

The pictures were taken at a nightclub in Cologne where Nicole was taking a little R&R from the Pussycat Dolls European tour.

Her she is looking suitably impressed as the python slithers all over her.