[Racer Duck]

Onetime aspiring F1 driver Michael Bartels blasted McLaren's choice of Heikki Kovalainen in an interview with the press agency SID.

"I don't understand why a German car maker does not give German drivers a chance," complained Bartels, who failed to qualify in four attempts in 1991, being clearly outpaced by his teammate -- and future McLaren driver -- Mika Hakkinen.

Bartels, who has spent the past few years driving in the FIA GT championship, felt that Mercedes should have used the clout of its 40% ownership in McLaren to force the team to choose a German driver, rather than allowing team principal Ron Dennis to make the choice.

Bartels claimed, contrary to information from most other sources, that Williams could have been convinced to release rising star Nico Rosberg. He also suggested that young talent Adrian Sutil could have been a fit -- and then demonstrated that his opinions of driver talent do not match those of the F1 team principals.

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