This weekend Formula 1 heads to the marvelous Nürburgring in Germany. Pirelli will be trying out a new version of their soft tire compound at the Friday practice sessions. Right now the company does not plan to immediately introduce it, and will work with teams based on how they feel about it. Apparently it will be a bit harder than the current soft tire.

There will be another FOTA Fan Forum this season, this time in Milan at Pirelli’s headquarters, obviously taking place before the Italian Grand Prix. Stefano Domenicali, Nico Rosberg, and Jarno Trulli will be taking part in the panel. Unlike the previous forums in Canada and the UK, this one take place in Italian, but translation into English will be available. If you’re interested and will be in Italy for the Grand Prix, head over to FOTA’s site for details on how to get in!

In other FOTA news, James Allison, Renault’s technical director, has been named head of the FOTA technical group.

Williams’ new chief engineer Mike Coughlan is being sued by Michael Waltrip Racing along with the Williams team. Apparently, Coughlan signed a contract through November 2012 with MWR to work with the NASCAR team but broke the deal in April and joined Williams in June. To be honest, I don’t understand why you would even make a fuss over this dude considering his involvement in Spygate back in 2007, but that’s just me.

Heikki Kovalainen gave a verbal hug of encouragement to his team, saying they should be proud of their accomplishments, despite the high goals they had for this season. They are not quite midpack yet, but they are well on their way if they keep improving.