He said: “It's useless to cry over spilled milk. We are looking ahead, with eight races to go, at the end we'll do the maths. We just passed the half-way point of the season, so it's important to always gain points.

"I was particularly disappointed after Montreal, Magny-Cours and Silverstone. In each one of these races I had the possibility to win, but because of one thing or another, things didn't go the right way and I lost.

"It's still early to make any forecasts for the Championship, considering that the first three drivers are only seven points apart. The positions can change in a single race."

As to his future, he simply said: "Why should I hurry? I have a contract for 2009, which I will fulfill. I always keep my deals."

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JORGE TAKES IT SLOWLY

TEAM bosses normally want to hear that their drivers are pushing themselves to the limit - but not crash-crazy MotoGP rookie Jorge Lorenzo.

He reckons he is scared to race and will go SLOWER for the rest of the season following a succession of huge crashes.

The Spaniard has injured himself in nearly every one of his races since May, including breaking both ankles, injuring his hand, suffering severe concussion and breaking three bones in his foot at Laguna Seca two weeks ago.

He said: "Unfortunately I've had too many consecutive crashes and these have caused me to be afraid of the bike, I'm not the same person I was at the beginning of the season.

"At this competitive level, if you are a bit afraid of the bike and lose just a little bit of confidence, then you are finished. Normally I'm not afraid of crashing and getting injured but now I'm in a crisis and I'm working towards getting rid of this fear.

" I must learn to understand where and when I can risks. I must start going a bit slower.”

Yamaha racer Lorenzo currently sits fourth in the Championship 98 points behind team-mate and seven-times world champ Valentino Rossi who leads the table with a tally of 212.

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TOM EATS HUMBLE PIE

DRIVERS don't often apologise for a racing mistake but BTCC star and hair-gel fanatic Tom Chilton has admitted he screwed-up after causing a huge crash during the final race at Oulton Park.

At last weekend's race the Team Halfords driver rammed into the side of Steven Kane's BMW sending the Motorbase car into a spin and forcing both drivers to quit.

He said: "I put my hands up to that one, I screwed up. It was very close between several of us going down to the chicane and I just hadn't given myself enough room.

"I've apologised and I feel sorry for the team as they've done a great job this weekend and I could have given them another good result."

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NICO GETS COOKING

NICO ROSBERG could turn Masterchef and swap his fire-proof overalls for a fat-fryer after a bet with the four other German drivers on the grid.

At the start of the season Rosberg laid down the challenge to his fellow-countrymen Sebastian Vettel, Nick Heidfeld, Timo Glock and Adrian Sutil that whoever finishes last out of the group will have a forfeit.

If the Williams driver ends up at the bottom of the pile, his task will include cooking for his entire team.

His mechanics are praying the 23-year-old finishes ahead of the pack, not least because he is said to be a terrible cook.

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FOOTBALL SCHU

BORED retired race-ace Michael Schumacher was still the leader of the pack this week as he captained the F1 drivers’ football team for the second game in a row.

Watched by 10,000 spectators the seven-times world champ steered current F1 drivers to an impressive 6-6 draw against a Hungarian all-star team in Budapest.

The ‘Nazionale Piloti' all-star football squad includes Felipe Massa, Jarno Trulli, Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Giancarlo Fisichella with opera tenor Placido Domingo making an appearance as an honorary coach.

Fisichella is such an ardent football fan he has bought into soccer-themed racing team AS Roma.

Already operating a race team in GP2 and Formula BMW, the Italian will also run the football squad's entry in the forthcoming inaugural Superleague Formula series.

Force India driver Fisichella, is a lifelong Roma fan and friend of captain Francesco Totti.

The first race of the European championship takes place at Donington on August 31.

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COULTHARD'S GERMAN DATE

RETIRING David Coulthard may not be ready to become a stay-at-home-dad just yet after being linked with a DTM drive next year.

The 37-year-old RedBull driver has insisted he has no plans to keep racing beyond 2009 but talks in the paddock place him behind the wheel of an Audi in Germany's premier touring car category with substantial backing from RedBull.