Belgium 2008 : Cutting corner proves costly for Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton was sensationally stripped of his Belgian Grand Prix victory on Sunday as the race for the 2008 world championship was thrown wide open.

The British McLaren driver was penalised 25 seconds by the race stewards, which pushed him down to third place, for having cut a chicane in his dramatic, late tussle with world champion Kimi Raikkonen on the rain-soaked Spa track. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was promoted to race winner with Nick Heidfeld, of BMW Sauber, promoted to second place. Massa had originally finished 14sec behind Hamilton, who thought he had claimed a fifth win of the season, with Heidfeld 23sec off the pace. The decision left 23-year-old Hamilton with just a twopoint lead over Massa in the championship with only five races left.

Raikkonen had taken the lead at the start of the second lap when Hamilton spun at the La Source hairpin, but after controlling the race he lost his lead and his title challenge when he crashed out in heavy rain in the closing laps. “It was an experience and a half,” said Hamilton before the penalty was announced. “I could see Kimi ahead and after the second stop he was so far ahead, I didn’t know he had made a gap. I was pushing, pushing, pushing, I was catching him onetenth a lap. I was praying for rain, I wanted the rain to come, I knew how to deal with it and the heavens opened. I saw Kimi about to back off, brake a lot earlier than he did, into Turn 8 and I knew the fight was on. “When I went into Turn 12 I was going reasonably wide, it looked like Nico Rosberg had done a spin and came back onto the track and I nearly crashed into him. I went over the grass, Kimi spun at the exit and I got it. It was incredibly tough.”

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain came home fourth for Renault ahead of German Sebastian Vettel in a Toro Rosso and sixth-placed Pole Robert Kubica in the second BMW. With six laps remaining of the race, the first rain drops began to fall and produced the conditions that created the amazing final few laps when Hamilton regained the lead.

On lap 42, he caught Raikkonen and passed him. As the rain became heavier with three laps remaining the race was turned into a lottery as both drivers spun and soon after Raikkonen crashed off into a wall and out of the race.
In another late development, Timo Glock of Toyota was demoted a place to ninth, with Mark Webber of Red Bull promoted to eighth, following a 25sec penalty for not taking notice of yellow flags.

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Belgian F1 2008 - Qualifying : Hamilton on pole in Spa

World championship leader Lewis Hamilton oozed confidence after he secured pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix with a dazzling lap in Saturday’s qualifying session.

The 23-year-old Briton, in a McLaren, claimed his fifth pole of this season and the 11th of his career with a perfectlytimed lap to outpace Ferrari’s Felipe Massa

Hamilton’s supreme lap lifted him clear of Massa by three-tenths of a second and proved he is fully recovered from his sore neck suffered in Spain two weeks ago.

Finland’s Heikki Kovlainen in the second McLaren was third fastest and starts ahead of defending champion and compatriot Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari on row two. German Nick Heidfeld was fifth for BMW Sauber ahead of Spaniard Fernando Alonso in a Renault.

Australian Mark Webber was seventh for Red Bull ahead of Poland's Robert Kubica in the second BMW, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in a Toro Rosso and Sebastian Vettel of Germany in the second Toro Rosso. Hamilton leads Massa by six points going into the penultimate European race of the year and oozed confidence.

After a morning of heavy rain, the afternoon session was run in dry, if cloudy conditions and Hamilton was swiftly out to top the times after Massa and then Raikkonen had laid down good marker laps.

In the final minute, and as the flag fell, both Massa and Hamilton were pushing as hard as possible and the Brazilian went top briefly before the leader took over again to get the prime grid position.

German Adrian Sutil and his Force India team-mate, Italian veteran Giancarlo Fisichella, were also removed along with the Japanese Kazuki Nakajima in a Williams.

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Europe 2008 : It’s Massa all the way

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa revived his title challenge on Sunday with a convincing victory in the European Grand Prix at Formula One’s newest street circuit.

The 27-year-old Brazilian led a processional race from pole position to beat McLaren’s championship leading Briton Lewis Hamilton by 5.6 seconds with Poland’s Robert Kubica third for BMW Sauber.

The result remained subject to a post-race stewards’ enquiry, however, after Ferrari released the race winner into the path of Force India’s Adrian Sutil during his second pitstop. Massa’s win lifted him up to second in the drivers championship with 64 points, six fewer than Hamilton on 70, with six of the 18 rounds remaining.

It was Massa’s fourth win this season and helped him wipe away the disappointment of his enforced retirement, while leading with three laps remaining, from the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks ago. It was also the ninth win of the Brazilian’s career, achieved in exemplary fashion, and ended McLaren’s run of three victories in a row.

Massa’s Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was involved in a nightmare pitstop, with the world champion accelerating away with the fuel hose still attached in an incident that left a mechanic on the ground.

The Finn, who had started the day second overall in the championship, retired two laps later when his car's engine blew. He fell to third overall with 57 points while Kubica moved closer on 55.

Force India’s Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella finished 14th while teammate Adrian Sutil crashed out.

Kimi runs over team mechanic

A Ferrari mechanic was hospitalised after being run over by Kimi Raikkonen during refuelling on Sunday. Raikkonen was refuelling for the second time at the same time as McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. Under pressure, the world champion took off while the fuel pump was still in his car. He reversed and apparently ran over the leg of the Ferrari mechanic, who was quickly stretched off. The Italian team has not yet revealed details of the mechanic’s condition.

HOW THEY FINISHED
1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1h 35m 32.339
2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) +00:05.611
3. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 00:37.353
4. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 00:39.703
5. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 00:50.684
6. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 00:52.625
7. Timo Glock (Toyota) 01:07.990
8. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 01:11.457
9. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 01:22.177
10. S Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 01:29.794
11. Nelson Piquet (Renault) 01:32.717
12. Mark Webber (RedBull) 1 lap
13. Jenson Button (Honda) 1 lap
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1 lap
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1 lap
16. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) 1 lap
17. David Coulthard (RedBull) 1 lap

Retired:
Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 12 laps
Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 16 laps
Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 57 laps

Fastest Lap:
Felipe Massa, 1:38.708, lap 36

HOW THEY STAND
Drivers
1. L Hamilton 70 pts
2. F Massa 64
3. K Raikkonen 57
4. R Kubica 55
5. H Kovalainen 43
6. N Heidfeld 41
7. J Trulli 26
8. F Alonso 18
9. M Webber 18
10. T Glock 15

Constructors
1. Ferrari 121 points
2. McLaren 113
3. BMW Sauber 96
4. Toyota 41
5. Renault 31

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European F1 2008 - Qualifying : Pole No. 13 for Massa

Brazilian Felipe Massa put Ferrari on pole position for Sunday’s European Grand Prix with McLaren’s championship leader Lewis Hamilton alongside on the front row.

The 27-year-old secured his fourth pole of the season, and the 13th of his Formula One career, with a flying lap in the final seconds of Saturday’s qualifying. Hamilton had already clocked 1:39.199 seconds when Massa roared around Formula One’s newest street circuit with a time of 1:38.989 to push the Briton into second place.

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Hungary 2008: HEIKKI ALL THE WAY

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen celebrated a shock maiden win at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday after Ferrari’s Felipe Massa suffered an engine failure while leading with three laps remaining.

Finn Kovalainen capitalised on Brazilian Massa’s misfortune to finish ahead of podium debutant Toyota’s Timo Glock of Germany with Kimi Raikkonen third.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton stayed top of the championship standings despite a puncture just after the midway stage that saw him finish the race in fifth place behind Renault driver and former teammate Fernando Alonso of Spain. Briton Hamilton now holds a five-point lead over Finland’s Raikkonen in the championship with Massa dropping into third place, a further three points back.

“Of course I feel a bit sorry for Felipe because what happened to him has happened to me a few times this year,” said Kovalainen. “But I’m very happy today, of course, after working through all the hard times along with my team. Massa and Lewis were very fast today but halfway through things were working better for me. I just tried to put pressure on Massa at the end and try to make something happen which it did with what looked like a mechanical failure.”

Massa had looked set to regain the world championship lead after making a stunning start to Sunday’s race. From third on the grid, the Brazilian used the race’s opening turn to surge ahead of his two McLaren rivals before building a comfortable lead.

With overtaking all but impossible on the rest of the twisting Hungaroring track, Massa saw his advantage boosted when Hamilton left the track on the 41st lap before limping into the pit lane with a punctured front left tyre.

Massa then suffered a much more costly problem when his engine died in front of the main grandstand with three laps to go, allowing Kovalainen to wrap up his unexpected win.

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Hungarian F1 2008 - Qualifying : Lewis’ POLE Dance

World championship leader Lewis Hamilton put himself on course for a third successive Grand Prix victory after grabbing an emphatic pole position for Sunday’s Hungarian race.

The Briton powered around the blisteringly hot Hungaroring track in one minute 20.899 seconds, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen posting the second best time of 1:21.140.

“It’s been a pretty decent weekend for us so far and I feel safe with the position we’re in,” Hamilton said.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa had to settle for third place after finishing his last flying lap in 1:21.191. “I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with my laps in Q3,” said Massa, who trails Brit Hamilton by four points in the standings.

Massa’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start in a disappointing sixth place behind BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica and Toyota’s Timo Glock.

Twice world champion Fernando Alonso will line up on the fourth row of the grid for Renault after finishing qualifying in seventh place ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

Jarno Trulli ensured that both Toyotas qualified in the top 10, finishing the final session in ninth place just in front of Nelson Piquet.

BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld, who was a surprise casualty of the first qualifying session, will start Sunday’s race in 16th place ahead of Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, with Force India pair German Adrian Sutil and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella bringing up the rear.

STARTING GRID
1st :Lewis Hamilton (McLaren),Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
2nd: Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)
3rd: Timo Glock (Toyota), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
4th: Fernando Alonso (Renault), Mark Webber (Red Bull)
5th: Jarno Trulli (Toyota) Nelson Piquet (Renault)
6th: Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (Honda)
7th: David Coulthard (Red Bull), Nico Rosberg (Williams)
8th: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)
9th: Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India)
10th: Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso), Adrian Sutil (Force India).

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Germany 2008: LEWIS LEADS ’EM ALL

Briton Lewis Hamilton delivered another massive endorsement of his great potential Sunday when he opened a clear lead in this year’s drivers’ championship by winning the German Grand Prix in thrilling style.

The 23-year-old Englishman, in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz, dominated the early stages and then, after being upset by two Safety Car interventions and some cautious team strategy, proved he could overtake anyone with a dazzling display of passing moves in the final laps. “Sorry about that,’’ said his McLaren team chief Ron Dennis over the radio system later. “We made it much more difficult for you and we made you drive like that in such a great car.’’ Hamilton, smiling afterwards, said: “That’s ok, Ron. Don’t worry about it. We did good in the end, so it is ok.’’

In blistering style, Hamilton had to pass a clutch of drivers in the closing laps to make up for time lost in the pits when he made an out-of-synch late stop. But he showed his true speed and brilliance by overtaking both Brazilian Felipe Massa in a Ferrari and then his compatriot Nelson Piquet in a Renault to regain the lead. Hamilton took the chequered flag 5.5 seconds ahead of Piquet who claimed the first podium of his career while Massa was third. Hamilton now leads the standings with 58 points from Massa, on 54, whose Ferrari team-mate, defending drivers world champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen, is seven points adrift after finishing a disappointing sixth.

Hamilton had dominated the first half of the race after powering away from the ninth pole position of his career.

The Geneva-based driver had built-up a lead of around 12 seconds by lap 36 when German Timo Glock crashed out in his Toyota. Glock lost control of his car at the last corner when the right rear tyre suddenly deflated sending him spearing into the wall. The German, 26, slid backwards down the home straight before his wrecked car finally came to a stop. Glock was clearly dazed after he got out of the Toyota and was later taken to the medical centre and then a local hospital for a check-up, although his conditions was described as ‘fine’.

Hamilton was kept out on the track as all his main rivals made their final pit-stops under the safety car. The Mercedes-powered driver dropped to fifth when he was forced to make his final pit-stop, but soon passed Kovalainen for third spot. Hamilton then hunted down Massa overtaking his rival on lap 57 as he forced him wide at the chicane to take second with Nick Heidfeld having pitted for BMW.

Massa attempted to fight back a couple of corners later, but was again forced into the dirt. Hamilton made the same move on Piquet at the hairpin turn three laps later to regain a deserved lead.

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German F1 2008 - Qualifying : Lewis in top gear at Hockenheim practice

Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton put McLaren on pole position for engine partners Mercedes’ home German Grand Prix yesterday. The 23-year-old Briton will share today’s front row with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, the Brazilian who is level on 48 points with Hamilton and his own world champion team mate Kimi Raikkonen at the halfway point in the season.

Raikkonen, on pole at Hockenheim for McLaren in 2005 and 2006, qualified a distant sixth for Ferrari alongside Renault’s Fernando Alonso. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen will start third, paying the price for some ‘rallycross moments’ in the final session, with Italian Jarno Trulli fourth for Toyota in what amounts to a second home race for the Cologne-based Japanese team.

The pole was Hamilton’s third of the season and ninth in 27 Formula One starts. “My lap was pretty smooth, you know, it was pretty easy going and I’m quite comfortable that we could have gone a little bit quicker if we needed to,” said Hamilton, the runaway winner in Britain two weeks ago.


The changing conditions and swirling wind, with the car buffeted by gusts down the back straight, made life difficult but Hamilton kept it all together to secure his first pole since June.

“I think I just collected all the little pieces that were missing,” he said when asked whether he felt the season had begun to swing his way since the pre-British Grand Prix Silverstone test. “At the test we’ve made a step forward with the car and that’s definitely made us more competitive. I think we’ve improved all round.”

Massa shrugged off his dire Silverstone performance in the wet. “It’s not really a recovery, I know I’m quick,” he said.

“All my career I was quick on the wet, even in go-karts always when it rained I won.” REUTERS

GERMAN GP GRID
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari
3. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren
4. Jarno Trulli Toyota
5. Fernando Alonso Renault
6. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
7. Robert Kubica BMW
8. Mark Webber Red Bull
.
.
.
19. Adrian Sutil Force India
20. Giancarlo Fisichella Force India

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Britain 2008: Hamilton wins British Grand Prix

A MESMERISING drive in the wet at Silverstone saw Lewis Hamilton cruise to a stunning British Grand Prix victory, to the delight of the 90,000-strong crowd.The McLaren driver drove a masterful race, in changeable conditions, with his team making all the right tactical decisions, as Ferrari had a day they would rather forget.

The win means Hamilton's World Chamiponship hopes are now back on track, and sees him in a three-way tie at the top of the drivers' championship with Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikonnen and Felipe Massa.

Nick Heidfeld took second for BMW, with Brackley-based Honda celebrating an excellent third place for Rubens Barrichello. Honda's Jenson Button - one of many drivers who spun off the slippery track - had to retire, but Barrichello used all his experience to drive well in the wet as Honda got their tyre choices spot on. Barrichello would have taken second place if not for a late problem with the refuelling rig.

Hamilton's victory in the rain saw him give a masterclass in skillful driving, making up two places at the first corner from his start at fourth on the grid and taking the lead from team-mate Heiki Kovaleinen on the fifth lap.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen began to challenge, but when the pair came in for their first pit stop on lap 21, McLaren made the crucial decision to replace Hamilton's intermediate wet-weather tyres, while Ferrari deciding wrongly that the weather would remain dry, left Rakonnen's used ones on. The rain came down shortly afterwards and Raikkonen could not get the grip he needed.

Hamilton still had a huge job to do, but drove the best race of his Formula One career, keeping his head in extremely tough conditions, and finishing over a minute ahead of Heidfeld.

Massa had his worst race of the season, spinning five times on his way to a position as last of the finishers.

British Grand Prix Results
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber +68.5 secs
3 Rubens Barrichello Honda +82.2 secs
4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +1 Lap
5 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +1 Lap
6 Fernando Alonso Renault +1 Lap
7 Jarno Trulli Toyota +1 Lap 14 2
8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota +1 Lap
9 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota +1 Lap
10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +1 Lap
11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari +1 Lap
12 Timo Glock Toyota +1 Lap
13 Felipe Massa Ferrari +2 Lap
Ret Robert Kubica BMW Sauber +21 Laps
Ret Jenson Button Honda +22 Laps
Ret Nelsinho Piquet Renault +25 Laps
Ret Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari +34 Laps
Ret Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari +50 Laps
Ret Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari + secs
Ret David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault + secs

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Britain F1 2008 - Qualifying : Maiden pole for Kovalainen

MCLAREN have claimed pole position for Sunday's Santander F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but it was Heikki Kovalainen, not Lewis Hamilton who took the honours, with a stunning winning lap in Saturday qualifying.

The Finn, who looked faster than his team-mate throughout practice and qualifying sessions, had to battle against spitting rain and high winds which affected the cars on the exposed circuit during the first part of final qualifying on Saturday afternoon, but secured his first ever pole with a time of one minute 21.049.

Hamilton's car was blown into an oversteer which put him on the gravel at Priory on his first lap in Q3, but his second run put him into second, until Mark Webber snatched a surprise second-place for the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull team, and Kimi Raikkonen, for Ferrari, knocked Hamilton down to fourth spot.

BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was fifth ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso.

World championship leader Felipe Massa, for Ferrari, will be desperately disappointed with ninth place, behind Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

Brackley-based Honda endured another dismal qualifying showing, Jenson Button failing to advance to Q2 at his home GP for the third successive year and managing only 17th on the grid, one spot behind team-mate Rubens Barrichello. Silverstone-based Force India-Ferrari also failed to make it through Q1.

There was much discussion trackside on what fuel loads the teams were running, as there was a relatively big difference in times between the top few drivers. Sunday's race is expected to be wet, and carrying more fuel into a rain-affected grand prix can be a good strategy.

Silverstone Grand Prix Qualifying Results
1. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren one minute 21.049 seconds
2. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull-Renault 1:21.554
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:21.706
4. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:21.835
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.873
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:22.029
7. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:22.491
8. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:23.251
9. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:23.305
10. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber no time
11. David Coulthard (GB) RedBull-Renault 1:20.174
12. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:20.274
13. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.531
14. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:20.601
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams-Toyota 1:21.112
16. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:21.512
17. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:21.631
18. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:21.668
19. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.786
20. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.885

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Britain F1 GP 2008 - Testing

IT was even stevens for McLaren and Ferrari after Friday's two practice sessions at Silverstone, ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix.Felipe Massa for Ferrari clocked up the fastest time in the morning session - despite missing the final 30 minutes of the session after crashing at Stowe corner at 180mph when his car hit oil – while McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was fastest in the afternoon.

Kovalainen's team-mate, top British hope Lewis Hamilton, was third in both sessions.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the morning, but struggled in the afternoon, only managing the 12th fastest time.

Brackley-based Honda will be pleased with British driver Jenson's button second practice time, which put him in seventh spot, 10 places higher than his morning session performance. Silverstone-based Force India-Ferrari again struggled to keep pace with the bigger teams.

British Grand Prix Friday practice (morning session):
1. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1mins 19.575secs
2. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.587
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.623
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:19.948
5. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:20.367
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:20.436
7. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.588
8. Nelson Piquet (Bral) Renault 1:20.653
9. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.698
10. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:20.744
11. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.892
12. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.102
13. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.107
14. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.166
15. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:21.265
16. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams-Toyota 1:21.282
17. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:21.901
18. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:22.169
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:22.219
20. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:24.123

British Grand Prix Friday practice (afternoon session):
1. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1min 19.989secs
2. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.520
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.543
4. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.589
5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:20.748
6. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.805
7. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:20.929
8. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:20.943
9. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams-Toyota 1:20.985
10. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:21.002
11. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:21.023
12. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:21.275
13. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.453
14. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.472
15. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:21.511
16. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.520
17. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.634
18. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:21.642
19. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.756
20. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:22.196

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France 2008 : AFTER POLE, IT’S PODIUM FOR FERRARI

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won Formula One’s French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours today to head the drivers’ championship standings for the first time this season.

The Brazilian finished the 70-lap race 18 seconds clear of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, the world champion, who lost the race lead after his exhaust broke. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was third after holding off the challenge of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. BMW’s Robert Kubica, who started as the leader in the standings, was fifth. Red Bull's Mark Webber, in sixth, and Renault duo Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso were today’s other points scorers.

Massa, after his third win this season, tops the standings on 48 points, 2 ahead of Kubica. Raikkonen is third on 43, and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who failed to score a point, drops to fourth on 38 after a second straight disappointing race.
“That was fantastic, I didn’t expect that,” Massa told the post-race news conference. “Today I had a lot of luck with Kimi having his exhaust
problem, but fortunately for the team he could finish, so this was a good present for me.”

Hamilton was penalized 10 places on the grid after his pit-lane crash in Montreal two weeks ago and started in 13th. There was another setback for the Briton today when he incurred a drive-through penalty for cutting a corner in overtaking the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel at a chicane early in the race. The punishment hit his chances of finishing in the points and he came 10th.

Raikkonen and Massa filled the first two places on the grid after dominating in qualifying, and proceeded to take charge in the race.

Raikkonen led in the early stages as the pair pulled clear of the field, and Massa took over in mid-race when Raikkonen — winner of the event last year — had the exhaust problem. Even so, he managed to get the car to the finish line.
“I had a good car all weekend, was easily on the pole, but then I have a problem with the car,” Raikkonen said. “I almost stopped a few times at the end. I’ve still taken eight points and I am in a more comfortable position in the championship,” he added.

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France F1 2008 - Qualifying : POLE NO 200 FOR THE REDS

World champion Kimi Raikkonen handed Ferrari their 200th pole position in a front row sweep for the Italian team at the French Grand Prix on Saturday.

His Brazilian teammate, Felipe Massa, who took pole at Magny-Cours last year, was second fastest to secure the Italian team’s third one-two in qualifying this season. The pole, the 16th of Raikkonen’s GP career, left the Finn perfectly placed to repeat his 2007 victory at the circuit.

Poland’s Robert Kubica, the championship leader for BMW-Sauber after his victory in Canada earlier this month, qualified seventh but will start sixth because of a 10-place penalty imposed on McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, who picked up the punishment after crashing into Raikkonen in the Canadian Grand Prix pit lane, qualified third and will start 13th. His demotion left Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso sharing the second row with Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota.

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen moved up to fifth. Kubica leads Hamilton and Massa by four points in the championship with Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven races. ‘‘It’s the best possible chance to win the race from the first place and the car has been good all weekend, so hopefully we will get some good points here,’’ said Raikkonen. ‘‘It’s going to be a long race. I'm pretty sure we have a good race car but as we’ve seen before, anything can happen.’’ Raikkonen failed to finish in Canada after the pit lane collision and drew a blank in Monaco after running into the back of Adrian Sutil’s Force India while in fifth place. But he has never failed to finish in France.

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France F1 GP 2008 - Testing : Massa makes Ferrari fly

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the pace in free practice for the French Grand Prix on Friday with a time inside the circuit’s race lap record.

The Brazilian, who started on pole position at Magny-Cours last year but has yet to win in France, lapped fastest in the morning with a time of one minute 15.306 seconds.

Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso, preparing for the car company’s home race on Sunday, topped the timesheets in the afternoon with a lap of 1:15.778. Massa was second, a mere 0.076 slower.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who will be penalised 10 places on the starting grid after a pit lane collision with world champion Kimi Raikkonen’s stationary Ferrari in Canada, was second and fourth in the two sessions.

Massa’s best time compared to his 2007 pole of 1:15.034 and retired Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher’s 2004 race lap record of 1:15.377.

BMW Sauber’s championship leader Robert Kubica, winner in Canada, was fifth quickest in the morning and sixth after lunch. The Pole leads Hamilton and Massa, who have both won twice this season, by four points with world champion Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven rounds of the 18-race championship.

However, Kubica could struggle to match the pace of the Ferraris this weekend. The Italian team have won for the past two seasons at Magny-Cours and seven times in the last 11 years. Raikkonen led Massa in a one-two finish in 2007. Alonso, who has scored just nine points this season with Renault struggling to match the pace of the top three teams, had pulled over with two minutes remaining of the morning session with smoke billowing from the engine. The Spaniard was still sixth fastest however.

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Canada 2008: Petronas wins Montreal F1

Robert Kubica made a triumphant return to Canada on Sunday, storming to his maiden grand prix victory exactly a year after suffering a horrific crash on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Pole led a shock BMW Sauber one-two in Montreal after pre-race favourite Lewis Hamilton took himself and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen out of the fray in an early pit lane collision.

Nick Heidfeld took second place and Red Bull's David Coulthard was third but the day belonged to Kubica, now four points clear at the top of the world championship.

"It is fantastic to win for BMW Sauber," he said. "We grew up together and thanks to the team for providing a good car - we managed to do first and second.

"Winning in Canada where I had big shunt last season and achieving the goal to win a grand prix this season... We have done it and I'm leading the championship, so I hope the team will give me 100 percent support to defend it until last race.

"It's fantastic for me, the team, my country and my fans. It was a great race. It is always chaotic here with the safety car and it is not easy. I have never struggled so much before, I was pushing so hard."

The win was the first by a team other than McLaren and Ferrari since October 2006 and fulfilled the BMW Sauber's pre-season ambition to win their first Formula One race.

Toyota's German Timo Glock took fourth place, the best result of his first full Formula One season and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa did well to claim a highly eventful fifth.

The Brazilian now joins Hamilton in second place in the driver's title race.
Italian Jarno Trulli completed a good day for the Toyota team with sixth place with Honda's Rubens Barrichello and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel filling the other point-scoring positions.

The race started amidst serious concerns over the state of the circuit. Patches of the track surface had crumbled badly during qualifying on Saturday and although running repairs were made overnight, many in the paddock were expecting trouble.
Those concerns translated into a generally cautious attitude amongst the drivers and the start passed without incident.

Nico Rosberg did manage to slip his Williams into fourth place around the outside of Fernando Alonso's Renault at the second corner; but it was a clean getaway for Hamilton's McLaren, Kubica and Raikkonen who started first, second and third respectively.

Raikkonen began to put Kubica under serious pressure, the Finn quickly setting the fastest lap of the race, but Hamilton was moving well clear in front.
His lead was erased though, when the safety car was deployed after German Adrian Sutil's Force India car caught fire.

As the field bunched up, the leaders ducked into the pits to refuel. Raikkonen and Kubica emerged from the garage ahead of Hamilton, but were held up by a red-light at the end of the pit lane.

Inexplicably, Hamilton did not realise that his two rivals were stationary ahead of him and after pulling away from his garage he barrelled into the back of Raikkonen ending his own race and that of the reigning world champion.

"I don't know what happened to be honest," Hamilton said. "I was comfortably in the lead, it was looking like an easy win. Then I went in for the pit stop. It was not a good stop and I saw the two guys in front of me battling in the pit lane.

"I saw the red light but by that time it was a bit late. It was not exactly a racing incident as such, it was unfortunate.

"It was one of those things. It is different to if you crash into the wall and you are angry. It is not like that. I apologise to Kimi for ruining his race."

Rosberg was also caught up in the incident and though he was able to continue after some hasty repairs to his front wing, his chances of a points finish were ruined.
Heidfeld was now leading the grand prix, with Barrichello and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima lying second and third.

Heidfeld, his one-stop strategy working perfectly, soon pitted and could not stay ahead of Kubica who had emerged unscathed from the pit lane chaos. Kubica knew he would need one more fuel stop, so he pushed his BMW to the absolute limit to establish a significant margin between himself and his teammate.

With 22 laps remaining the Pole pitted for the final time, emerging safely in front of Heidfeld.

Scottish veteran Coulthard was now in third place with a mad scramble for points unfolding behind him.

There was no catching Kubica though, and there were scenes of joy in the BMW garage as he crossed the finish line to become the first ever Polish grand prix winner.

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Canada F1 GP 2008 - Testing

Germany's Nico Rosberg was fastest in Saturday's final free practice for the Canadian Grand Prix after late crashes interrupted the session.

With warmer temperatures heating up the track and most of the teams working on their fuel strategies for Sunday's race, the times were slower than Friday. The Williams driver, son of Finland's 1982 world champion Keke, lapped the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in one minute 16.555 seconds., a long way off defending race champion Lewis Hamilton's fast lap of 1:15.732 on the opening day of practice.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen was close behind at 1:16.589 in his Ferrari, followed by current championship leader and last year's Canadian GP winner Lewis Hamilton of McLaren third at 1:16.725, Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari at 1:16.787 and Kazuki Nakajima at 1:16.898 in the second Williams.

It was a messy hour. Renault's Nelson Piquet hit the wall and spun twice. And both Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers — Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais — also hit walls as several other drivers bounced off the concrete barriers that line the 12-turn Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The session was halted after Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel crashed into the barrier at the exit of turn nine and his Ferrari-powered car had to be towed away, leaving plenty of debris to be cleared.

The session resumed with just six minutes remaining, the drivers switching to their softer tyres but having little chance to give them a real workout.
The session was again interrupted after the other Toro Rosso driver, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, clipped the wall on turn five and brought out the yellow warning flags preventing any further flying laps.

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F1 2008 - Canada Grand Prix Preview

It’s off to the Canadian Grand Prix and the only stop in North America. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a temporary circuit with a combination of street and track racing. As you see by the track pic, it has long fast straights always leading to heavy breaking where great traction and great acceleration are so important.

Aerodynamics
Not much downforce required at this circuit so a low downforce setup is the package of the day. With a top speed of over 320 km/hr drag is a drivers nightmare, but at the same time, some downforce is required to keep the car just stable enough that when under heavy breaking the car doesn’t get away from the drivers. This means a very twitchy car that can be tricky to handle if not smooth and easy with brakes, throttle and steering.

Brakes
One of the two most demanding tracks on breaks. The other of course is the high speeds of Monza. There are serious demands on the brakes in Montreal which include 4 breaking points from over 300 km/hr and 2 from over 250 km/hr. With this in mind, break wear is the biggest concern to the team and monitoring of them is a high priority throughout the race.

Suspension
The combination of chicanes and slow corners require responsiveness and stability and brake locking is an issue in Montreal. Too much break locking at either the front or the rear of the car is serious time lost.

Engine
When looking at the track map, it doesn’t seem that only 60% of the track is at full throttle, but that is exactly what it is. An over heated engine is not an issue, but the demand on the engine in the longest full throttle section of 14 secs is high. The engine has to be strong to respond to 6 full throttle accelerations separated by the chicanes.

Tires
Green is the word for this circuit by virtue of it being temporary so grip levels on Friday morning will be low, but slowly improve throughout the weekend. Because this circuit is not particularly demanding on tires and the surface is fairly smooth, soft and super soft tires will be used.

Rain can always be an issue in Montreal and the high speed nature of the track poses some risk to the driver if putting a tire off track. We remember Robert Kubica last year with his explosive crash. The walls are close on the street section and many a car have wiped against them exiting corners. I do see that happening more than once this year.

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Monaco 2008: Hamilton- The new King of Monaco

Monaco struck and Raikkonen was the prey or should I say Adrian Sutil. Anyway, Lewis Hamilton was the man of the day winning the race in fine style. Ironically it was an early mistake that set the tone for his win. Just a few laps into the race when rain was pouring down, Lewis got out of shape and brushed the wall. Punctured tire was all the damage, but when in the pits, the crew loaded him with fuel to go late in the race and possibly take advantage of the others taking earlier second stops. It did the trick! Hamilton drove quicker and quicker as the rain finally stopped and the track dried out. He switched to dry tires at just the right time and built a lead over Felipe Massa to almost 39 seconds. He then pitted and of course came out in the lead and went on to win easily.

It didn’t seem that this year’s Monaco Grand Prix would be Hamilton’s to win. Qualifying was good, but not good enough and Ferrari looked bullet proof. Last year a little controversy between him and Alonso sealed Hamilton’s fate to second when he felt he could have won the race. This is what you do with a disappointment, you take it and use it to motivate you next year and Lewis did just that.

I thought he drove a great race from his mistake on in. He was fast, on line, smooth and seemed to have little trouble in the changing conditions. He also stayed out of trouble. Love or hate him, he drove like a champion.

Coulthard once again crashed out. It’s a thing with him these days, he either attracts other cars or smacks a wall like in this race. Lap 8 was his bad break when he lost it in the wet and side swiped the wall. That wasn’t all, Sebastien Bourdais did the same thing right behind Coulthard; into the wall and rear ending Coulthard and finishing him off. Bourdais was also gone in the crash. This is probably Coulthard’s last year and I think the broadcasters box may be a bit safer.
Now the first problem for Raikkonen. He was served a drive through penalty for get this, not having his tires fitted before the 3 minutes mark before the start of the race and drove through the pits on lap 13. Not entirely his fault, but he may have asked for a different set of tires too late and got caught. From there on in, Raikkonen wasn’t up to the task and never recovered.

Nick Heidfeld who qualified like an amateur had battled back from 13th to 5th when an over aggressive Alonso tried what I think was the 2nd most stupid move of the race. At the hairpin, he tried an impossible pass on Heidfeld, the 2 tangled with Alonso t-boning Heidfeld causing substantial damage to his sidepod. Heidfeld continued the race, but the car was so out of shape he ended up lapped not once but twice. This wasn’t the first incident for Alonso, he smacked the wall on lap 8 sending him to the pits for repairs.

I didn’t like the way Alonso drove this race. He was too aggressive for the conditions and overdrove his car. The move on Heidfeld was just plain stupid. The opening to take Heidfeld wasn’t there, but he took it anyway and ruined Heidfeld’s race.

Robert Kubica was one of the drivers of the day. After Hamilton had to pit on lap 8, Massa regained the lead and drove well. That moved Kubica up to 2nd. It wasn’t long before Kubica was pushing Massa. Massa made his one mistake of the day at Ste Devote running wide into the run off area and Kubica took the lead of the race. Kubica drove a perfect race and it showed. No mistakes and it seemed he had a relatively easy time driving Monaco in wet or dry. The lead wasn’t to be though as when both he and Massa pitted, Hamilton who was only 16 seconds behind took over the lead he wouldn’t give up.

On to Raikkonen again, at Ste Devote he went off again and damaged his front wing and had to pit once again for a nose change. Raikkonen wasn’t on in this race and hasn’t been on for a while now. Adrian Sutil, yes Force India’s Adrian Sutil started way back and by the last few laps was running in 5th place. A place gained by loads of attrition and solid driving with no mistakes. His lap times were up there with the leaders and was set for Force India’s first points of the season. That is until coming out of the tunnel, Raikkonen behind him loses control and rear ends Sutil. Raikkonen had exited the tunnel all day long knowing what lay ahead on the track, but this time he lost it. This has to be the number one stupid mistake of the race. Not only did he take himself out of contention (he was able to continue), but he damaged Sutil’s car badly enough he had to retire. After the race Raikkonen did apologize to Sutil, but I’m sorry, this was the most hollow apology I’ve heard in a long time. I’m sorry I hit you but, but, but, but. It was almost like he was justifying his mistake. Not the words of a champion.

Sebastian Vettel was another driver of the day. He drove a mistake free day with steady pace. After not having a good time at all with the new car, Vettel’s day looked doomed before it began, but he drove really well and ended up in 5th.
In the end, my driver of the day has to go to Adrian Sutil. Even though he was a ‘dnf’ due to Raikkonen he was set for a great finish and good points. I was sickened when I saw the crash that took him out. It almost seemed unbelievable that it happened.

Another driver driver of the day has to be Robert Kubica. This guy is set to be a real threat in F1. If not for Hamilton’s mistake early on, he could have won the race.

1 L. Hamilton McLaren 2:00:42.742
2 R. Kubica BMW + 3.064
3 F. Massa Ferrari + 4.811
4 M. Webber Red Bull + 19.295
5 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso + 24.657
6 R. Barrichello Honda + 28.408
7 K. Nakajima Williams + 30.180
8 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 33.191
9 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 33.792
10 F. Alonso Renault + 0 laps
11 J. Button Honda + 0 laps
12 T. Glock Toyota + 0 laps
13 J. Trulli Toyota + 0 laps
14 N. Heidfeld BMW + 0 laps

Did not finish
15 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 7 laps
16 N. Rosberg Williams + 17 laps
17 N. Piquet jr. Renault + 31 laps
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 + 40 laps

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Monaco F1 2008 - Qualifying : Massa leads Ferrari 1-2 at Monaco qualifying

Massa by only a hair on his last flier takes pole and Ferrari locks up the front row with Raikkonen second. I must say Ferrari was on a mission to better their cars for Monaco and finally beat McLaren to pole.

Q1 saw the usual strugglers and maybe reality is starting to set in on Force India. After a dream start to the season and maybe some steady improvement, they’ve tailed off and here will start 19th and 20th.Nelson Piquet is looking more and more out of place in an F1 car. Q1 was just too ragged and unorganized to be competitive and he’s starting a flattering 17th. When will it end for Piquet?

Nick Heidfeld was a surprise to me. Both BMW-Saubers started usually late in Q1 and Heidfeld’s times were not particularly impressive. When Q2 came around he remained in the garage until well into it. Knowing he was struggling, I’m not sure why he didn’t take more laps to ensure he’d get into Q3. The result, grid position 13.

David Coulthard on his last flyer in Q2 smacked the wall, big damage and a trip down the run off road. He made it to Q3, but thats all for him and he starts 10th.
Q3 was a great battle between McLaren and Ferrari. McLaren have always been better than Ferrari by a long shot at Monaco, but not today. Hamilton could not do anything about Ferrari speed and loses out to both Ferraris and starts 3rd.

Hey now, look at Felipe Massa. He’s been the best driver since he bombed in the first 2 races of the season and it is starting to look like he is a serious threat to challenge for the championship. Pole in Monaco is gold and he’s got it.

1. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 1:15.787
2. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 1:15.815
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.839
4. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.165
5. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1:16.171
6. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1:16.548
7. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault 1:16.852
8. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota 1:17.203
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1:17.343
10. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault No Time
11. Timo Glock Germany Toyota 1:15.907
12. Jenson Button Britain Honda 1:16.101
13. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1:16.455
14. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1:16.479
15. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda 1:16.537
16. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.806
17. Nelson Piquet Brazil Renault 1:16.933
18. Sebastian Vettel Germany Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.955
19. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Ferrari 1:17.225
20. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Ferrari 1:17.823

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Monaco F1 GP 2008 - Testing

Practice 1
It’s game on in Monaco with Thursday free practice, yes Thursday and no rain (yet). So far after all times in, the leader board doesn’t look all that different than other races. Kimi Raikkonen came out big on top with Hamilton right behind and Kovalainen rounding the top 3. Ouch, it was Jarno Trulli who was introduced to one of the walls first damaging his rear suspension. It was the first day for the new Toro Rosso STR3 and more of a 2nd shakedown than anything with Boardais 13th and Vettel 19th. Tech trouble today belonged to Nick Heidfeld and David Coulthard. Does Nelson Piquet ever need his dad now. If this is indicative of what he will do in the race, he may not have too much time left in F1.

I’m still hoping for dry weather for the race so we can have a good one without millions of dollars of car parts littering the track and at least half the field finishing the race.

1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 01:15.948
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 01:16.216
3. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 01:16.248
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 01:16.292
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 01:16.653
6. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 01:16.834
7. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 01:17.498
8. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda-Honda 01:17.511
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 01:17.798
10. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Ferrari 01:17.835
11. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 01:17.942
12. Jenson Button Britain Honda-Honda 01:18.153
13. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:18.245
14. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 01:18.263
15. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 01:18.274
16. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 01:18.360
17. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Ferrari 01:18.360
18. Nelson Piquet Jr Brazil Renault-Renault 01:18.955
19. Sebastian Vettel Germany Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:19.176
20. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault no time

Practice 2

Both Renaults bit the Monaco wall in the 2nd practice session this afternoon in Monaco. First was Nelson Piquet who half-spun and kissed the tire barrier from the rear. At a slow pace or maybe his normal pace he managed to get back to the pits with a damaged rear wing. It’s not going well for Piquet.

Next was Fernando Alonso who almost repeated the same move Piquet did at Sainte Devote corner but he missed the tire barrier and kissed the wall. Despite Alonso’s brush with the wall, he did post 7th fastest time. That’s both Renaults into the wall and on to the body shop.

Next in line was Jarno Trulli who liked the wall so much this morning he decided to do it again although only slightly at the swimming pool.
Queue up another. Adrian Sutil took the front wing off of his Force India at the famous La Rascasse.

Of those who managed to go it unscathed Lewis Hamilton was tops on the chart 4 tenths ahead of a pretty fast Nico Rosberg. Have to check the fuel load in his car today. Nevertheless a good day for Nico in both sessions. Both Ferraris next in line followed by Heikki Kovalainen.

Jenson Button ran a good eighth with team mate Rubens Barrichello in 10th. Not bad for Honda on day one. Nick Heidfeld surprisingly ended the session with the 11th fastest time, but the ever present Robert Kubica Robert Kubica ran sixth.
Far to the back was Sebastian Vettel who hasn’t come to grips with the new Toro Rosso STR3, admitting that he is a bit lost in setting up the car.

One another note, there is one startled person in pit lane today who was strolling across and was almost hit by Lewis Hamilton as he exited his pit garage.

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 01:15.140
2. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 01:15.533
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 01:15.572
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 01:15.869
5. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 01:15.881
6. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 01:16.269
7. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 01:16.310
8. Jenson Button Britain Honda-Honda 01:16.351
9. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 01:16.372
10. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda-Honda 01:16.418
11. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 01:16.426
12. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 01:16.688
13. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 01:17.094
14. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault 01:17.131
15. Nelson Piquet Jr Brazil Renault-Renault 01:17.246
16. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Ferrari 01:17.251
17. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 01:17.379
18. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:17.581
19. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Ferrari 01:18.176
20. Sebastian Vettel Germany Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:18.225

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F1 2008 - Monaco Grand Prix Preview

On to Monaco! It’s an insane place to hold an F1 race or any race for that manner, but they do and love it.

This is a max down force and grip track, a very green track for the initial practice session, and very twisty with somewhere in the neighborhood of 4000 gear changes for the race. Passing is at a premium in Monaco so qualifying is as important as the race. It is a good bet that the only way to gain position during the race is through attrition.

Aerodynamics
Down force and grip are the words that dominate aerodynamics talk. With so many low speed corners down force has its importance in braking and acceleration. Mechanical grip is the key through these corners much more than down force.

Tires
Monaco is known for a good, easy on tires surface. This along with the low speed cornering makes a tire issue a non issue. The tires from Bridgestone this weekend will be soft and super soft compounds.

Engine
Monaco itself isn’t hard on engines with very little spent at full throttle, but although the track surface is usually smooth, the nature of the roads makes them bumpy, an issue drivers face is over revving of the engine if the wheels leave the ground too much. Taking care of your engine requires a smooth drive with good traction at the very low revs.

Suspension
With the ride height of the car higher than normal due to the bumpy track, teams can play more with suspension which is very important in Monaco. Softer suspension is used to help the car and driver deal with these bumps. Using the anti-roll bars, the suspension can bee loosened to allow more movement of the wheels over the bumps. if teams get this right, their car should be a fairly drivable car.

Steering Angle
Not normally talked about, the steering angle at Monaco becomes important. Front suspension used here is specifically designed for Monaco. This is because of the famous turns like the hairpin at the Grand Hotel and the sharp turn at Rascasse. Using normal steering lock, the car would not be able to negotiate these turns successfully so the angle is 2 times greater than what would be used in Barcelona.

Gearbox
Along with the aerodynamic and suspension requirements for slow speed turning, the gearbox is also greatly altered. Smaller closely spaced gear ratios are necessary for the best acceleration out of these corners. Listening to the car exit a turn you can hear very rapid gear changes; much more rapid than at any other track. With over 4000 gear changes during the race, the gearbox with be punished.

Full throttle: 60%
Brake wear: Medium – Hard
Down force level: High – 10/10
Tire compounds: Soft / Super Soft
Tire usage: MediumAverage speed: 160kph (100mph)

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Turkey 2008 : Hat trick for Massa

This was race that could have been a little boring, but with Lewis Hamilton on a 3 stop strategy and more passing and re passing on the track than usual, there was plenty to watch. In the end, Felipe Massa does own Istanbul Park as he won his 3rd consecutive Turkish Grand Prix.

The race started in typical fashion with the cars bunching up into the first turn. Kovalainen and Raikkonen had a minor touch which slightly damaged Raikkonen’s front wing and punctured Kovalainen’s left rear causing a slow leak. Kovalainen after going in for a tire change re entered the circuit way back. Being loaded heavy with fuel and at the back of the grid, Kovalainen spent the rest of the day fighting hard to move up.

Even though bad luck hit Kovalainen, he put on a good show for us with some great passing. He and Timo Glock went back and forth for a while including a pass and re pass before Kovalainen’s faster McLaren got rid of Glock on the long straight. It was a bitter pill for Kovalainen because in the end 11th was all he could manage.

After Jarno Trulli was almost stopped after being held up in the first turn, Fisichella came storming up behind everyone and before he could even think of stopping his car, he was hard into the back of Nakajima and then up in the air and over top stopping dead in his tracks in the gravel trap. Nakajima with horrible damage to the rear of his car initially thought he could continue, but in the end, both he and Fisichella were the first lap casualties. There was something new however, Sebastian Vettel made it past lap one and actually finished the race.

Fisischella didn’t qualify for the race all that well and couple that with his 3 grid position penalty for running a red in Friday practice and you have a ‘bad’ weekend for Giancarlo.

Raikkonen was never really in this race for a win. Massa had a hooked up car that left nothing for Raikkonen to catch.

Robert Kubica once again had the better of Nick Heidfeld, but BMW-Sauber today looked slower than McLaren. Kubica saying he was a little slower than those in front of him, but faster than everyone behind him. Heidfeld managed to get 5th after starting 9th. Trulli was his victim on the start when he moved to 8th and then 2 more spots through pit strategy was the day for Heidfeld and by later in the race he was racing himself in a pocket all by himself.

Renault was once again led (not surprisingly) by Alonso as Nelson Piquet is looking less and less an F1 driver. In the second race in a row, Alonso pitted first and although not as impressive as in Spain was faster than Mark Webber and did finish in the points again with his 6th place finish. Piquet finished a lowly 15th.

Mark Webber is taking the reigns for Red Bull consistently now in Coulthard’s defense he only finished 2 places behind Webber who finished 7th. Another new result for Coulthard is that he finished the race unscathed by a crash or bump from anyone.

Jarno Trulli lost out badly at the start with the chaotic first corner losing 3 spots before the end of lap 1 and never did get them back. Timo Glock was a 1 stopper and the only affect that had was that he spent the whole race buried in traffic.

It was the second poor outing for Honda. The car reminded me more of last years’ car with no pace and giving Button and Barrichello too rough a time to do much the entire weekend. Button may have faired a little better, but a brake problem and a change to a one stopper led to 11th place one lap down. Barrichello in race 257 was lapped as well and finished 14th.

The story of the day was Lewis Hamilton’s 3 stopper. It was strange to see Lewis flying around the track as if he was just trying to get to his next stop. McLaren did give a reason for this by saying it was Bridgestone who advised them that Hamilton was at risk of a tire failure if he ran them for too many laps. Lewis was the only driver warned by Bridgestone and the reason is the extreme loads on the right front caused by his setup and driving style. The strategy recommended was a 20-18-20.

Now, Bridgestone are denying they told Hamilton to do a 3 stopper suggesting only a two-stop strategy pitting on laps 20 and 38, but Instead McLaren opted for three stops, with Hamilton pitting on laps 16, 32 and 45.


BMW-Sauber outscored McLaren for the 3rd time in 5 races. In McLaren’s defense, one race had Kovalainen out with a crash, and this race he suffered from a puncture and finishing out of the points. 3 out of 5 with this info doesn’t really tell too much of a story.
Now we’re onto Monaco and then Canada where traditionally McLaren are better than Ferrari. If this remains the case this year, the battle may just have begun.

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Turkey F1 2008 - Qualifying : “I own Istanbul Park” Massa Takes Pole in Turkey

“I own Istanbul Park” is what Felipe Massa says and so far he’s showing it. Mass claimed the pole for the Turkish Grand Prix in fine style after he really did command this weekend. His final lap of 1:27.617 was best and gives him his thrid consecutive pole in Turkey.

Beside him is Heikki Kovalainen who clearly has bounced back from his crash 2 weeks ago. Kovalainen will start 2nd next to team mate Lewis Hamilton who starts 3rd. At first it did seem strange, the tire choices for Lewis Hamilton was the hard compound which had shown up until that point to be the much slower tire. Hamilton wasn’t happy with how his car handled with the softer and chose the hard for his final flying lap. It was 1 10th slower than Kovalainen, but good enough for 3rd on the grid.

The McLaren still seems a bear to drive especially for Hamilton. Ever lap he was sliding and correcting, pushing, and correcting. The car looked all over the track at times, but Hamilton still managed a pretty good result.

Kimi Raikkonen on the other hand couldn’t get it together and never challenged for pole and starts 4th. He’s not going to like starting behind both McLarens and is going to have to push to get past them before Massa runs away.

Neither BMW-Sauber driver could come to grips with the track in qualifying with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld starting behind both McLarens. Kubica couldn’t do better than 5th and Heidfeld 9th. At one point is was tight for Heidfeld to get into Q3 and his last lap in Q2 was the only lap that got hm into Q3.

Red Bull had a great outing with both Webber and Coulthard getting into Q3. Not bad. Webber should be strong starting from 6th and Coulthard in 10th.

It’s still Trulli all the way for Toyota. His usual top qualifying performance has him sitting in 8th to start. Timo Glock not so good barely getting into Q2 where he ended up in 15th.

It wasn’t the outing Fernando Alonso had in Spain although not bad. No front row for Alonso, but 7th isn’t bad. Nelson Piquet looked like an amateur out there today and couldn’t even manage Q2 starting only 17th. To me, this guy is just not up to the task with Renault.

257 (Rubens Barrichello) didn’t sound too disappointed in his interview after bowing out. He starts 12th and said they just couldn’t get the setup right for today. Button out shined again by Barrichello starts behind him in 13th.3 guys found out how tough it would be now without Super Aguri around to take 2 of the bottom spots. Kazuki Nakajima, Nelso Piquet, and Sebastien Bourdais couldn’t get into Q2. They join Fisichella who qualified better than 19th, but after a 3 spot penalty yesterday, that’s where he starts. Team mate Adrian Sutil takes the last spot. Force India can’t be happy with starting in the last 2 spots.

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Turkish F1 GP 2008 - Testing

Ferrari set the pace in Turkish Grand Prix free practice on Friday, with Brazilian Felipe Massa fastest in the morning and world champion team mate Kimi Raikkonen top of the timesheets in the afternoon.

In a second session halted briefly after Australian Mark Webber crashed his Red Bull, Raikkonen lapped in one minute 27.543 seconds.
That compared to Massa's best time in the morning of 1:27.323.
Ferrari are chasing their fourth win in a row on Sunday.
Championship leader Raikkonen, winner of two races this season already, had completed only three laps before lunch due to a gearbox problem but he made up for the setback with 30 laps in the afternoon.

"Not the best of Fridays," commented the Finn, who also struggled to find the right settings in the afternoon.

"One of the main problems today was getting the tires up to the correct temperature but I think that tomorrow -- partly as the grip level on the track improves and partly as we work to improve the set-up -- it will be a different situation."
Massa, chasing a Turkish hat-trick after winning from pole position at the Istanbul Park circuit for the past two years, was only third fastest in the second session but happier than his team mate.

"Overall, this was a positive day," he said. "I feel comfortable on this track and I think I can be very competitive tomorrow and on Sunday."

McLaren were second quickest in both sessions with Finland's Heikki Kovalainen second in the morning and 23-year-old Briton Lewis Hamilton, nine points behind Raikkonen in the standings after four races, taking that slot in the second stint.
Kovalainen, passed fit to race on Thursday, was making his return to the cockpit after a big crash at the previous round in Spain.

"It was nice to get back in the car again and everything was fine," said the Finn.
Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso was fourth in the morning in another sign that the team were making up ground after failing to win a race last year.
Kazuki Nakajima, now the only Japanese driver on the starting grid after the withdrawal of Takuma Sato's Super Aguri team for financial reasons, finished in the top 10 in both sessions.

Poland's Robert Kubica, third in the championship for BMW Sauber, completed only seven laps in the morning after struggling with a rear suspension problem. He was sixth in the afternoon.

Webber halted the second session for six minutes when his car spun into the barriers with 31 minutes gone.

He said the accident was "100 percent my fault".
"I was a bit too loaded up on the outside of the track, the Astroturf was a bit damp and I went off. It was my fault. I apologize to the guys and we'll bounce back from this tomorrow," added the Australian.

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End of the Road for Super Aguri

Super Aguri have withdrawn from the Formula One world championship with immediate effect, the team announced on Tuesday.

After weeks of speculation about their future following the collapse of a proposed takeover by the Magma Group, a last-minute rescue package by German automotive company Weigl Group was not good enough to keep them racing.

Team principal Aguri Suzuki is understood to have met with the Honda board in Japan on Tuesday, but the outcome of that meeting was that the team will no longer be racing.

"In order to realize my dream to become an owner of a Formula One team, I applied for a grid position in the FIA Formula One World Championship in November 2005," said Suzuki in a statement issued by the team. "Since then, I have participated in the championship for two years and four months as the Super Aguri F1 Team, but regretfully I must inform you that the team will cease their racing activities as of today."

Suzuki made it clear that the current difficulties for the team were caused by the non-payment of major sponsor SS United last year, which put the team on the back foot regarding their financial situation.

"The team competed against the many car manufacturer-backed teams and has succeeded in obtaining the first points after only the 22nd race finishing in ninth place overall in the 2007 constructors' championship.

"However, the breach of contract by the promised partner SS United Oil & Gas Company resulted in the loss of financial backing and immediately put the team into financial difficulties. Also, the change in direction of the environment surrounding the team, in terms of the use of customer chassis, has affected our ability to find partners.

"Meanwhile, with the help of Honda, we have somehow managed to keep the team going, but we find it difficult to establish a way to continue the activities in the future within the environment surrounding F1 and as a result, I have concluded to withdraw from the championship.

"I would like to express my deepest thanks to Honda, Bridgestone, the sponsors, all the people who have given us advise during various situations over the past couple of years all the Team Staff who have kept their motivations high and always done their best, Anthony Davidson who has always pushed to the limit despite the very difficult conditions, Takuma Sato who has been with us from the very start and has always fought hard and led the team and lastly our fans from all over the world who have loyally supported the Super Aguri F1 Team."

Super Aguri made their debut in 2006, having been formed with assistance from Honda in a bid to keep Takuma Sato in F1. They scored their first world championship points at the 2007 Spanish Grand Prix, and finished ninth in last year's constructors' championship.

The team's withdrawal leaves F1 with only 10 teams now, with the grid originally having supposed to have had 12 outfits at the start of this year before the collapse of Prodrive's entry.

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F1 2008 - Turkish Grand Prix Preview

Let’s proceed to Turkey and on to one of the 2 anti-clockwise circuits on the F1 traveling road show. It is a circuit with a good combination of high speed and low speed corners and once again, passing is at a premium in Turkey. Turn 12 offers the best opportunity to overtake. This hairpin turn is right at the end of the long back straight and heavy breaking to turn 12 at the end offers the classic out breaking turning opportunity.

Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is not quite as critical as in Spain, but is still very important. Turkey is traditionally a medium down force circuit especially in order to carry great speed through the famous turn 8. That’s the most critical area for aerodynamics grip and virtually the rest is a track that relies on mechanical grip, specifically through to turn 5 and 12, 13, and 14.

Tires
Tires are much a part of mechanical grip and in Turkey tires take a beating starting with turn 8. Opposite Spain where the track was hard on the left front, in Turkey the right front gets the most wear. The choice of compounds that Bridgestone are supplying is hard and medium just like in Spain. Previous years saw this race in the middle of the summer with a very hot track surface. Now that the date is in May, track surface is cooler and less demanding on the tires.

Suspension
Being so new, the curbs and pavement are very easy on the car making balance fairly routine (lets c) with a delicate balance between stiff settings for the high speed sections of the track and soft settings for the low speed sections.

Brakes
As I said in the beginning, turn 12 offers the best passing option because of the hard breaking from the long straight leading into it. Good brakes for a late breaking pass are a key. The rest of the circuit is fairly easy on the brakes. This trace however could see some of the same action as Australia with drivers struggling with brakes through high speed turns and I’m sure we will see puffs of burning rubber when drivers find themselves locking their brakes where traction control would have taken over in the past.

Engine
Turn 8 gets mentioned a lot at this circuit along with turn 12. For turn 8, constant good power delivery is important at high revs all through this turn to ensure a fast exit. Low rev to high rev is the key through turn 12. This hairpin will be the hardest on the engine as hard fast acceleration is needed.

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Spain 2008 : Kimi Raikkonen extends championship lead in Spain

Another race of attrition today along with a serious looking crash by Heiki Kovalainen. In turn 9 what looked like a left front wheel rim broke sending Kovalainen straight and hard into the tire barriers. Thankfully he will be ok with what looks like no serious injuries.

Kimi Raikkonen led the race from start to finish with perfect pit stops, smooth driving, and a fast (not fast enough according to him) car winning the Spanish Grand Prix in fine style.


As I said, this was a race of attrition with only 13 cars finishing the race and that’s got to be disappointing to many of those teams. This track has seen kilometers and kilometers of testing by all of the teams including just last week. Brand new aero packages as well as other improvements yet crashes and failures littering the track.

The race started with Massa getting the best start moving quickly past Fernando Alonso and right up behind Raikkonen, but predictably backed off of a pass attempt on Raikkonen.

Heart break kid Sebastien Vettel was again knocked out of the race in a first lap crash. David Coulthard and Adrian Sutil bumped, Sutil spun and Vettel had no where to go but into the side of Sutil. Three first lap dnfs for Vettel is hard to take. Sutil, who had been squeezed onto the grass, but had plenty of room to get back to the track bumped Coulthard, was sent spinning, taking out Vettel. Too bad for Sutil with a dnf as a result, but to me, the crash was his fault and bad luck continues for Vettel.

Early on things were looking very good for Alonso . He was able to hang on to both Raikkonen and Massa ahead of him lap after lap. It was thought that he was running much lighter on fuel than the Ferraris and as expected Alonso pitted first on lap 16, but only 3 laps later it was Massa into the pits for his first stop. Throw the lighter fuel load out and the Renault has improved quite a bit especially with Alonso at the wheel.

This was redemption day for Lewis Hamilton and he really looked good. His car was on par with the Ferraris and after Alonso pitted first Hamilton gained 3rd. From then on, the gap between him, Raikkonen, and Massa never changed much the whole race. Lewis pushed probably the hardest he has so far this season and at one point his apex speed in turn 9 was a full 10km faster than anyone. I give Hamilton a 10 out of 10 for his drive today.

Nelson Piquet and Sebastien Bourdais tangled when Piquet seemed to surprise Bourdais in a pass attempt up the inside and Bourdais closed the gap hard on him. Bourdais said after that he simply didn’t see him in his mirrors. The question of mirrors comes up again. They don’t seem to offer as much visibility as they should as we have heard from drivers in the past few races.

It was a predictable start for BMW-Sauber with Kubica hanging tight with both Ferraris and Lewis Hamilton never gaining any ground, but never losing ground.
when Kovalainen smashed hard into the tire barrier, the long safety car and the safety car rules caught Nick Heidfeld and he had to pull into the pits during pit red or else run out of fuel. This of course got him a 10 second stop and go penalty which ended up sending him to the back of the field. I do hope these rules get changes sooner than later. This rule really ensured that BMW-Sauber would not have any chance at holding on to their Constructors championship lead.

It was the end of the road for Alonso in his Renault on lap 34 when the engine gave up and he parked it onto the grass. 130,000 fans at the track fell silent. This ends a promising weekend for Renault with both cars now out of the grand prix. They had a good weekend with an improved car. One issue Renault may have to address is that this is the second engine failure this year after the Renault engine in a Red Bull blew earlier.

Another good drive for Giancarlo Fisichella who managed to hold off Nick Heidfeld who was trying to move up the field after his stop and go. Fisichella held him off for a number of laps before Heidfeld finally passed him for 10th. I give Fisichella a 10 out of 10 for his drive.

This year Coulthard is a magnet for bumps and crashes. Not one, but 2 in this race, but lucky for him, this race he finished despite a bang with Sutil on lap one and Timo Glock trying too hard on an impossible pass hit Coulthard’s rear left puncturing the tire. A long drive back to the pits sent Coulthard to the back once again, but at least he finished and in 12th.

Take away the attrition and you have 2 Ferraris at the front, Lewis Hamilton 3rd, and Robert Kubica 4th with not much difference between them. The gaps from 1st to 4th were steady and pretty consistent through the whole race. If McLaren have rebounded there could now be a 4 team race for the front every race now. If that’s the case, I love it!

1. Raikkonen Ferrari 1h38:19.051
2. Massa Ferrari + 3.228
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 4.187
4. Kubica BMW Sauber + 5.694
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 35.938
6. Button Honda + 53.010
7. Nakajima Williams-Toyota + 58.244
8. Trulli Toyota + 59.435
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber + 1:03.073
10. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Glock Toyota + 1 lap
12. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault + 1 lap
13. Sato Super Aguri-Honda + 1 lap

Not classified/retirements:


Rosberg Williams-Toyota 42
Alonso Renault 35
Barrichello Honda 35
Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 22
Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 9
Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8
Piquet Renault 7
Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1
Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1

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