In view of the matters referred to above, the stewards consider that not withstanding the presumptions referred to above there must be sufficient doubt as to both the temperature of the fuel actually ‘on board the car’ and also as to the true ambient temperature as to render it inappropriate to impose a penalty. Stewards Statement.

Today is Kimi’s day, and the Finnish driver did well coming from third in the standings before Sunday to first come the afternoon.

Kimi Raikkonen is World Champion.

Formula One, F1, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, BMW, Williams

Original article by BlogF1.

Kimi Raikkonen Is Finally Announced As Champion

According to the rules, the temperature of the fuel onboard the cars must not be less than 10 degrees Celsius of the ambient temperature of the circuit area. Should the fuel be cooler, it means that more fuel can be pumped into the cars, thus giving those drivers an unfair advantage. And post-race scrutineering has found Robert Kubica’s, Nick Heidfeld’s, Nico Rosberg’s and Kazuki Nakajima’s fuel to be irregular in terms of temperature.

The ambient temperature of Autodromo Carlos Pace was 37 degrees Celsius, and during his two pit stops, Heidfeld came in at 24 and 25 degrees Celsius. Should two of the drivers finishing ahead of Hamilton in the race get disqualified, Hamilton would be promoted and thus gain more points. This would make him world champion. And in traditional FIA style, I wouldn’t put it past them to do this. However, with Hamilton’s rule infringement earlier in the weekend (using two sets of wet weather tyres in practice sessions – the scoundrel [sarcasm]), should BMW and Williams be found to be in the wrong, the FIA may just impose a fine.

I will update when more is known and confirmed.

Formula One, F1, Brazilian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, BMW, Williams

Original article by BlogF1.

BMW & Williams May Scupper Raikkonen’s Title Win

And then the hearts of every Hamilton fan sank. The McLaren slowed down the back straight. Seriously slowed. It looked as though Lewis might be about to retire, to pull his MP4-22 off to the side of the circuit. But after a brief period of cruising, he managed to solve the problem, or the problem simply solved itself. His McLaren found pace again, but he was back down in 18th position. Kimi and Fernando must have been thanking their lucky stars.

Lewis then set about picking off his rivals, one by one. Occasionally he would come across a difficult competitor, but he was making headway through the field. Conversely, at the front the Ferrari’s slowly increased the margin over Alonso. The only thing that could have scuppered the hard work of the leading trio was a safety car. When Giancarlo Fisichella skated across the gravel and shot back onto the track, Sakon Yamamoto suddenly came face to face with the rear wing of the Renault. With little being able to do, the Spyker mounted the back of the R27 and both drivers retired. No safety car though, the marshals were too good. Instead,m Lewis charged on while Fernando saw Raikkonen get ever smaller ahead of him.

In fact, Alonso fell so far back from the leading duo that it wasn’t long before Robert Kubica was all over the back of the McLaren, attempting left and right to get by. However, the Pole wasn’t to become too much of an irritance to the championship battle as he was on a three-stopper, much like Lewis Hamilton was now. The contender ad his strategy switched and spent the middle part of the race on soft tyres, each of his main rivals opting the leave the soft option until last. The three stopping formula really hampered Lewis’s chances of claiming the title, despite all the upsets he occurred in between the start and the finish.

After the second round of stops for the conventional strategists, Massa had relinquished his lead to his team mate. All they had to do was run to the end and the title would be Raikkonen’s. And that is exactly what happened. A pretty heavy accident from Heikki Kovalainen could have upset the proceedings a little, but again the marshals were just too quick on the job and the second Renault was removed without drama. Also among the retirees was Adrian Sutil (ending the Spyker team’s contribution to Formula One), Mark Webber (again), both Hondas and Sebastian Vettel.

Of the successes, aside from the obvious, was Kazuki Nakajima. The Japanese driver managed to haul his Williams into tenth, although the route he chose was somewhat interesting. His first pit stop saw to engineers being carted off to the medical centre as Nakajima locked his front right pulling in to the box. Team members were sent flying, but thankfully it only appears to be a minor back injury for one and an equally minor leg injury for another. Nakajima’s second stop went better.

And so, the Brazilian Grand Prix held the finale to one of the most dramatic seasons in Formula One history. Full of controversy and embarrasment, penalties and successes. And on top of the world is a deserving driver who has finally managed to fulfill his childhood dream. I can honestly say I don’t think one driver deserved it as much, despite what I may have been asked to write recently!

Formula One, F1, Brazilian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Kimi Raikkonen Wins Big In Brazil

9. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 10. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 11. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 12. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi Suderia Toro Rosso 14. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 15. Adrian Sutil Spyker Retired 16. Rubens Barrichello Honda Retired 17. Heikki Kovalainen Renault Retired 18. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso Retired 19. Jenson Button Honda Retired 20. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing Retired 21. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker Retired 22. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault Retired

Original article by BlogF1.

Interlagos: Race Result

Mark Webber muscled his Red Bull into fifth, a fine performance from the Australian especially good in comparison to his team mate. David Coulthard could only manage ninth, struggling with his RBR3. The BMWs appear to have lost ground to their rivals as the season has drawn to a close, much of the gap between them and Toyota and Red Bull narrowing. Robert Kubica – wearing a different helmet for this event – completed the seventh fastest lap, just one tenth behind his team mate in sixth.

Nico Rosberg rounds out the top ten in his Williams, although the German had a far better day than his partner, debuting Kuzuki Nakajima, who will start the race from nineteenth. Another team who are split are Honda, a team that must be desperate to turn their back on the 2007 campaign and work towards 2008. Rubens Barrichello managed to get his car in to eleventh, but Jenson Button struggled back in sixteenth.

The only good thing to come out of this is that this is the last time I have to qualify this car. I don’t know how Rubens is getting more from the car, but good for him. Jenson Button.

Scuderia Toro Rosso qualified close to one another, Sebastian Vettel getting the better of Vitantonio Liuzzi. Vettel starts in thirteenth with Liuzzi in fourteenth. Ralf Schumacher continues to struggle despite going well on Friday. Fifteenth was all the German could manage, still insisting he will be driving in F1 next year.

Super Aguri and Spyker once again hog the back rows, only Nakajima in the Williams splitting up the party.

Formula One, F1, Brazilian Grand Prix, Felipe Massa, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Felipe Massa Storms To Brazilian Pole

11. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m12.932s 12. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m12.968s 13. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m13.058s 14. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m13.251s 15. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m13.315s 16. Jenson Button Honda 1m13.469s 17. Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m14.078s 18. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m14.098s 19. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m14.417s 20. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m14.596s 21. Adrian Sutil Spyker 1m15.217s 22. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 1m15.487s

Formula One, F1, Brazilian Grand Prix, Felipe Massa, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Interlagos: Qualifying Result

Williams performed well with Nico Rosberg assuming the definite team leader role with his new team mate. Rosberg went fourth in the morning and seventh after lunch. In the second car, Kazuki Nakajima impressed on his debut, finishing in sixteenth before improving to eighth after the midday break. Also performing well were the Toyota’s and Red Bull quartet. Ralf Schumacher drove well in the difficult conditions to finish in sixth, but then declined to eleventh. Jarno Trulli mirrored the pace of his team mate, going ninth and sixteenth in the two sessions.

Red Bull managed a strong start to the final weekend of the year with Mark Webber getting to grips with the circuit with a top-ten finish in P1 and Coulthard in P2. David Coulthard completed the last Friday running of the year with thirteenth and ninth respectively. Also continuing their progress were second Red Bull team Scuderia Toro Rosso. The team have been steadily improving through the second half of the season, and todays running emphasised their competitiveness. Sebastian Vettel got the better of his team mate in the first run, claiming seventh as his, but dropping ten places in the second. Vitantonio Liuzzi also did well in the sister car, finishing in tenth before the break, and fifteenth after.

Helping to prop up the timing sheets in the first half were both BMW drivers, failing to complete a timed lap. After lunch though, Robert Kubica went sixth and Heidfeld did his best to get into tenth.

Unfortunately for Hamilton though, he is currently under investigation for using more than one set of wet weather tyres during the practice sessions. Along with Jenson Button and Takuma Sato, Lewis and team are ruing a silly error at such a crucial stage of the championship. Each driver has been called to the stewards office individually and a verdict will be known shortly as to whether a penalty will be handed to any of the drivers.

Update: Lewis received just a fine. No grid penalty. It was a hefty fine, but really not that much for him – I’m sure McLaren will pick it up anyway.

Free Practice One Times

Free Practice Two Times

Formula One, F1, Brazilian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Interlagos: Practice Sessions

However, at about half-distance and with a dry line emerging around most parts of the circuit, it became very apparent that dry tyres were the way to go. The drying line was causing the tyres on Hamilton’s McLaren to heat up above their normal operating temperature. With more rain forecast in the near future though, the team were attempting to leave Lewis out for as long as possible. On lap 32 Hamilton was called to the pits, but on this final lap of his, it was very clear that his tyres were seriously struggling. The right-rear looked as though it would let go at any moment, and as the Brit entered the pitlane entry road, he simply went straight into the gravel.

Ferrari, on the other hand, enjoyed a much better race, taking a one-three finish and enabling Raikkonen to still be in with a chance of the title, mathematically anyway. Felipe Massa also had a reasonable race, running well in the difficult circumstances and mounting challenges to Alonso wherever possible. Although the win was gifted to Raikkonen after Hamilton’s retirement, Kimi had a great race and seemed to revel on the greasy track.

Scuderia Toro Rosso moved up the rankings today as well. Having lost their point in Fuji, the little Red Bull B-squad leave Shanghai with a commendable eight points. Sebastian Vettel overcame the embarrassment and humiliation of what happened last weekend to finish in fourth place, ahead of Jenson Button’s Honda and team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi in the sister car. This result now means that all teams competing have scored at least one point in the championship, something that hasn’t happened in all the time I have been a fan of the sport.

Nick Heidfeld managed to recover to seventh place after a terrible opening stint, but this will be a race meeting BMW will want to quickly forget. Although Robert Kubica ran well towards the end, the Pole was eventually forced to retire with a mechanical problem on his car. Although this promoted team mate Heidfeld, the result is certainly not on par with the rest of the season. David Coulthard collected the final point in eighth after a great battle with Heikki Kovalainen right down to the final corner of the final lap.

Ralf Schumacher failed to finish again, this time spinning out of the race at the final corner of the lap. Adrian Sutil also managed to visit the scenery, his accident giving a camera operator a shock as the Spyker sent shockwaves through the tyre wall causing the camera to wobble on its stand.

In all the Chinese Grand Prix was interesting, but only due to the weather. It seems that rain really is the cat among the pigeons when it comes to Formula One, and the changeable weather made the teams strategies interesting to observe. A lot will be asked about McLaren’s decision to leave Hamilton out while his tyres were wearing down to the canvas, for sure damaging his title hopes considerably.

Lewis still leads with 107 points, but Fernando Alonso is only four points down on 103. Kimi is right behind with 100, although it is unlikely he’ll be able to reclaim that deficit in one race. Should Alonso win the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton will have to finish second in order to steal the title. It all comes down to the final race and the tension at the Woking team must be unbearable. Alonso recently confirmed how unhappy he is at McLaren, but reiterated his sportsmanship by declaring the best man will win. The Interlagos is unknown to Lewis, but that has rarely hindered the young driver.

Formula One, F1, Chinese Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Raikkonen Wins, Hamilton Retires, Alonso Still In

9. Heikki Kovalainen Renault 10. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 11. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 12. Alex Wurz Williams 13. Jarno Trulli Toyota 14. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 15. Rubens Barrichello Honda 16. Nico Rosberg Williams 17. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 18. Robert Kubica BMW Retired 19. Lewis Hamilton McLaren Retired 20. Ralf Schumacher Toyota Retired 21. Adrian Sutil Spyker Retired 22. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri Retired

Formula One, F1, Chinese Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Shanghai: Race Result

11. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m36.862s 12. Sebastin Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m36.891s* 13. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m36.959s 14. Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m36.991s 15. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m37.247s 16. Nico Rosberg Williams 1m37.483s 17. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m37.251s 18. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m37.290s 19. Alex Wurz Williams 1m37.456s 20. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m38.218s 21. Adrian Sutil Spyker 1m38.668s 22. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 1m39.336s

*Demoted to 17th after 5-place grid penalty imposed for impeding another car during qualifying.

Formula One, F1, Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Shanghai: Qualifying Result

Toyota were the other biggest improver’s of the day, moving from seventh and twelfth to fifth and seventh for Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher respectively. However, BMW have run into some bad luck with Nick Heidfeld’s car coming to a stop in the morning run with an oil leak from the gearbox. In the afternoon session the German driver was forced to pit with a hydraulics failure. Team mate Robert Kubica showed a less-than-normal form as well, and although there are no reported issue with his BMW, the Polish pilot could only manage sixth before lunch, and fourteenth after.

Free Practice One Times

Free Practice Two Times

Formula One, F1, Chinese Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Shanghai: Practice Sessions

On lap nineteen, Whiting allowed Liuzzi to pass the safety and drive around the circuit to catch up with the tail-enders, unlapping himself in essence. This allowed the teams and officials to gauge what the conditions were like at an increased pace, and with Liuzzi safely back at the back, the safety car was told to pit.

When the safety car eventually pulled in, allowing the cars to race in the treacherous conditions, Lewis Hamilton backed up his team mate as the pair jostled around for an advantage. It was Hamilton who held the lead and the McLarens simply scampered off into the mist, leaving the Ferrari’s to look like amateurs and trailing in the background.

The opening laps of anger in Fuji saw Jenson Button suffer incident as well, loosing his front wing as he slid into the back of Nick Heidfeld. However, the Briton continued, refusing to pit for a new assembly, and somehow Button managed to consistent lap only ~4 seconds shy of the McLarens. However, after failing to stop quickly enough for one of the turns, the team pulled him and he eventually lost out while a new nose was fitted to his RA107.

Felipe Massa continued to skate around the outer edges of the corners, struggling with the control of his Ferrari. Conversely, Sebastian Vettel managed to avoid all opening lap disaster and when he made it around the first tour, he was placed in third and leading Mark Webber in the Red Bull.

The conditions, although possibly better than the morning, weren’t letting up. The rain continued to pour and the cars continued to slide around, more often than not while attempting to move in a straight line. Even the reigning world champion wasn’t immune to the standing water, and Alonso briefly dropped his McLaren at the first corner.

On lap 34, Robert Kubica made a move of Lewis Hamilton going through the tight left-hander. With all the spray in the air Hamilton did not see nor did he expect to find a BMW forcing its way up the inside. By the time Robert had been noticed by Lewis, both cars were pointing the wrong way, and both had sustained minor damage. For his part in the unnecessary incident, Kubica was rewarded with a drive-thru penalty, which he served a few laps later at the 39 mark.

The second safety car period came about on lap 41, but not as you would imagine due to the weather. Driving expert Lammers was called out again because Fernando Alonso dropped his McLaren at turn five and spun around, clouting the wall quite hard in the process and coming to a rest in the middle of the corner. His race was effectively over, and a disconsolate Alonso wandered over the side of the track to view the remaining laps.

Due to the position of the McLaren and the amount of silver debris scattered over the tarmac, the safety car was released and the speeds were reduced. However, despite cruising around at reduced pace, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel still managed to retire from their points paying position. Running into the back of Webber, Vettel managed to get his Toro Rosso back to the pits, but the body language from the mechanics just said turn it off, you’re out. The Australian half of the accident was understandably fuming, but Vettel took full blame for the coming together. The only consolation from the retirement was the promotion of Liuzzi into and Coulthard into fourth.

Further retirements came from Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld, and although Button finished, he couldn’t make it back to the pits. And while Hamilton saluted his team as he took the chequered flag, Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica knocked out a blinder of a lap as the pair shared rubber, collected grass and ran each other to the limit the whole way round. Massa eventually crossed the line first, but the competition between the two drivers was immense. Kimi Raikkonen also showed what a determined driver he is, never stopping in his pursuit of Heikki Kovalainen in second. The trailing Finnish driver refused to relent the pressure, but the leading Finnish driver soaked up the pressure to claim his first podium and a deserved eight points for the team.

Leading Fernando Alonso by twelve points now, Lewis Hamilton has a world championship to lose in the two remaining races in China and Brazil. However, the Ferrari drivers have pretty much conceded defeat, Massa explaining that he is mathematically unable to in, and Kimi is just too far for it be a realistic possibility.

The Formula One circus heads to China next weekend and the Shanghai circuit. It is a circuit that Alonso clinched his first title in 2005, but this year the most he can hope for is an extension to his battle.

Formula One, F1, Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Lewis Races Through The Fog To Fuji Win

9. Adrian Sutil Spyker 10. Rubens Barrichello Honda 11. Jenson Button Honda 12. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 13. Jarno Trulli Toyota 14. Nick Heidfeld BMW 15. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 16. Ralf Schumacher Toyota Retired 17. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri Retired 18. Nico Rosberg Williams Retired 19. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso Retired 20. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing Retired 21. Fernando Alonso McLaren Retired 22. Alex Wurz Williams Retired

Formula One, F1, Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji: Race Result

Japanese Grand Prix Fuji Speedway, Pitlane, Charlie Whiting

Original article by BlogF1.

No Changes To Fuji Pitlane

Q1 saw Rubens Barrichello fail to make the cut in the revised Honda RA107, and the Brazilian joined the Spykers, the Super Aguris and Alex Wurz in the Williams. And just prior to the chequered flag, Ralf Schumacher appeared to make a somewhat indecisive move up the inside of Sakon Yamamoto, the Spyker driver not seeing Schumacher until it was too late. The Toyota was thrown into the air, landing back down on terra-firma, missing both wings and pointing the wrong way. Although Ralf had managed to get into Q2, his qualifying adventure ended there as he vacated the car and stalked back to the pits, his facial expression only outclassed by the gloomy weather.

The second session started without Schumacher and most remaining cars were on track early to get in a safe lap. This time however, Hamilton had acclimatised himself to the wet track and immediately laid the gauntlet down with a fast time. However, as the session went on, the rain slowed and the surface began to dry. Ferrari appeared to show signs of under-performance in the changeable conditions, finishing in third and fourth behind the two McLarens, and Nick Heidfeld pipped a charging Jenson Button to fifth.

Failing to make the grade this time around were experienced drivers David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella, qualifying expert Jarno Trulli, second Renault pilot Heikki Kovalainen, Vitantonio Liuzzi and of course Schumacher Jr.

The third round of qualifying showed Lewis Hamilton has settled his approach as he soaked up the pressure to post a last-gasp attempt to snatch pole away from Alonso. The spectacular lap, set in the dying seconds of Q3 demoted his team mate down the grid and will give the Briton the best chance of converting his pole in tomorrows race. The Ferrari’s completed the second row, with Kimi Raikkonen getting the better of his team mate Felipe Massa. BMW driver Nick Heidfeld once again took the best-of-the-rest in fifth, while Nico Rosberg did the best he could for sixth, although the ten grid slot penalty for the engine change from yesterday will undo all the hard work. Jenson Button finished in a season-high seventh, and will start the race in sixth as Rosberg moves back. The second surprise of qualifying was the performance of Sebastian Vettel. Having only completed a handful of races, the German rookie made it into Q3 and posted the ninth quickest lap. Not only a personal career best, but also the highest a Toro Rosso will start a race. Vettel was just a fraction behind Mark Webber, and lying in tenth is Robert Kubica.

Formula One, F1, Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Hamilton Storms To A Wet Fuji Pole

11. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m26.033s 12. Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m26.232s 13. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m26.247s 14. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m26.253s 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m26.948s 16. Ralf Schumacher Toyota No Time 17. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m27.323s 18. Alex Wurz Williams 1m27.454s 19. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m27.564s 20. Adrian Sutil Spyker 1m28.628s 21. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m28.792s 22. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 1m29.668s

*Nico Rosberg had his Toyota engine replaced, and will thus suffer a ten place demotion for the grid. Nico will start in 16th.

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji: Qualifying Result

Free Practice One Times

The afternoon session at Fuji Speedway saw a reverse of fortune for Ferrari with McLaren dominating the top of the timing sheets. Hamilton went fastest by 0.2s over his team mate. Interestingly, Felipe Massa went little faster than what he managed before lunch, but still secured third place meaning Raikkonen went slower in his F2007. Kimi actually ended up in fifth before the teams finished for the day, Jarno Trulli getting the better of the Ferrari at his teams home circuit.

Renault improved their lot by claiming sixth and seventh, again Heikki Kovalainen managing to pip his much experienced partner. David Coulthard popped his Red Bull into eighth while Ralf Schumacher completed a good start to the weekend for Toyota by going ninth. Both Williams dropped down the timing sheet, as did the BMWs who appear to be struggling on the new layout.

Adrian Sutil couldn’t equal his morning performance, but still ended up in sixteenth ending a very productive day for the back-of-the-grid squad. Davidson and Sato also dropped down, the Japanese driver finishing in last place while the Briton managing two places higher, finishing in twentieth.

Free Practice Two Times

Formula One, F1, Japanese Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji: Practice Sessions

The team went on to earn fifteen points from the race (Hamilton winning ahead of Alonso in fourth), a princely sum for a weekends work towards the championship, had they been allowed to keep them. But now the team won’t be able to win the title, does it make much of a difference?

Well yes, it actually does believe it or not! Part of McLaren’s punishment from the spying affair is a rather large $100m fine. But the FIA have stipulated that “the team will pay a fine equal to $100m, less the FOM income lost as a result of the points deduction.” This means that if McLaren’s points haul prior to the Belgian Grand Prix is higher that of Ferrari’s total at the very end of the season, the original fine of $100m would be substantially reduced. In fact, many authoritative websites believe it to be around two thirds less, leaving around $30m to pay. As it stands, the $100m will be reduced, but you can’t blame Ron Dennis for trying to minimise the damage as much as possible.

This is all due to the teams earning money from FOM depending on where they finish in constructors. It is based around how many points a team accrue, and also I believe, the difference between the next highest and next lowest scoring teams. Thus, McLaren would like to ensure that their total pre-Belgium score is as high as possible.

McLaren haven’t said much about the appeal, only that they were considering action. And as the FIA are apparently yet to hear from the team, they continue to believe the hearing will go ahead.

At the qualifying session of the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix, the Panel of the Stewards of the meeting found that one of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (“McLaren”) drivers had obstructed another in the pit lane.

A penalty was imposed preventing McLaren from scoring points in the Constructors’ Championship at that meeting. McLaren have lodged an appeal against the decision of the Stewards to the FIA International Court of Appeal.

This appeal will be heard on Wednesday 19 September 2007.

In the interests of transparency the hearing will be open to members of the press. FIA Press Statement.

At the Belgian Grand Prix, team principal Ron Dennis spoke briefly about the Hungary situation, saying that he is weighing up the options in order to best achieve closure on the matter.

I guess we will all know more either tomorrow or on Wednesday.

Formula One, F1, McLaren, Ron Dennis, FIA

Original article by BlogF1.

McLaren’s Hungary Appeal Still Going Ahead?

From here on in, the Belgian Grand Prix simply became a tour and ultimately, proved to be very boring. Perhaps the lack of changeable weather (something we have come to expect from this spontaneous track) took the edge off the race. Perhaps it was the sheer dominant pace of the Ferrari’s that led to the race becoming dull, and although there were many other battles down through the field, we really wanted to see a battle between the top four.

Robert Kubica did a sterling job for BMW. Although the Polish driver finished outside the points in ninth, he started back in fifteenth and made most of these places up on the first lap. His electric start and impeccable overtaking moves mean that Robert really showed the maturity of a seasoned racer today, on a circuit that isn’t easy to master. Nick Heidfeld also drove well again, finishing in the best of the rest position – fifth. The German driver had a relatively quiet race, but his regular haul of points means that BMW have pretty much managed to finish the 2007 season in second place, only beaten in points by Ferrari. Although Renault can still mathematically beat the German squad, it is unlikely they will be able to make up the 51 point deficit in three events.

Renault’s race didn’t start off well for Giancarlo Fisichella who had an engine replaced on Saturday evening and thus started the Grand Prix from the very back of the grid. Fisichella’s race then went from bad to worse when he pulled into his garage with only a few laps completed and retired his R27. Heikki Kovalainen, conversely, has found some pace and recently has been outpacing Fisichella on an increasingly consistent basis. Bringing home one point for the team, Kovalainen now sits five points ahead of his experienced team mate.

Mark Webber had a stonking race back in seventh, and although this is exactly where he qualified, the Australian driver defended and challenged well for all the 44 laps and ultimately scored some valuable points for a team that continue to suffer major reliability problems. David Coulthard again pulled his RBR3 off to the side of the track with hydraulic failure.

The other big improvement coming out of the Belgian race is Spyker. They introduced their B-Spec car at the Italian event last week, but it was at Spa Francorchamps that the car really showed its advancements over its predecessor with more significance placed on grip in corners as opposed to outright straight-line speed. Adrian Sutil led the team into as high a position as twelfth. Unfortunately, the rookie German couldn’t keep the pace up but he still managed a much improved fourteenth place finish. Sakon Yamamoto also finished the race which will buoy the Dutch team, the Japanese driver ending up in seventeenth.

Retirements in Belgium include Giancarlo Fisichella, Sebastian Vettel, Coulthard, Alex Wurz and Jenson Button. A considerable increase from the two retirements we saw in Monza, further proving that Spa is indeed a difficult Grand Prix to complete.

Although the constructors campaign is wrapped up, the drivers title is still open, particularly as Raikkonen took the maximum ten points away from the race. Hamilton still leads, but only by two points as Alonso draws in close on his team mate. Raikkonen now lies just eleven points behind, while Felipe Massa is a further seven behind the Finn. From Kovalainen in seventh to Webber in eleventh, just twelve points separate the five drivers. With only three races left the title is all to play for. While the McLaren drivers appear to have it comfortable at the front, but just another win for Kimi with a poor showing from McLaren would bring Raikkonen right into the championship.

A two week interval now allows the teams to ship every thing over to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix at the end of the month.

Formula One, F1, Belgian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Kimi Dominates Spa To Keep Title Hopes Alive

9. Robert Kubica BMW 10. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 11. Jarno Trulli Toyota 12. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 13. Rubens Barrichello Honda 14. Adrian Sutil Spyker 15. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 16. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 17. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 18. Jenson Button Honda Retired 19. Alex Wurz Williams Retired 20. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing Retired 21. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso Retired 22. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault Retired

Formula One, F1, Belgian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Spa Francorchamps: Race Result

11. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m46.618s 12. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m46.800s 13. Jenson Button Honda 1m46.955s 14. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m47.115s 15. Robert Kubica BMW 1m44.996s* 16. Alex Wurz Williams 1m47.394s 17. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m47.581s 18. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m47.954s 19. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m47.980s 20. Adrian Sutil Spyker 1m48.044s 21. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m48.199s 22. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 1m49.577s

*Robert Kubica suffered an engine failure during the course of the weekend and thus suffers a ten place grid slot penalty.Originally qualifying in fifth, Kubica will start in fifteenth.

Formula One, F1, Belgian Grand Prix,

Original article by BlogF1.

Spa Francorchamps: Qualifying Result

Free Practice One Times

Free Practice One Times
The afternoon session saw Fernando Alonso get to grips with the slightly revised circuit layout, and the Spaniard topped the sheets with his McLaren. Alonso managed his best lap early on, but Lewis Hamilton closed the gap considerable over the course of the ninety minutes. Felipe Massa was able to take part in the second session, his Ferrari having been mended, and the Brazilian ended up in third after a spirited run. Raikkonen followed Massa 0.2s behind.

Toyota made a surprising improvement after lunch, and Jarno Trulli popped his Japanese car into 5th while Ralf Schumacher followed suit in 6th, albeit 0.5s down on the Italian. BMW appeared to flounder a bit in the second part of free practice, and Kubica could only manage ninth place while Heidfeld ended his days work in eleventh. The revised Spyker’s appear to be working better as well, with Sakon Yamamoto feeling a little giddy up in seventeenth and Adrian Sutil behind in twentieth.

Formula One, F1, Belgian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Fernando Alonso, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Spa Francorchamps: Practice Sessions

From the start though, the boys in red did well. Initially Kimi passed Nick Heidfeld and more importantly, Massa passed Hamilton. However, not about to give up his place easily, Lewis was able to defend well and little trip over the kerbs allowed Hamilton to re-take P2 to force Massa to go a little wide. From then on the silver cars started to pull out a gap until the second lap two.

Moving through the field, David Coulthard was electric away from the grid slot and made five places very quickly. However, when moving past Giancarlo Fisichella, Coulthard clipped the rear of the Renault and his front wing become damaged. Heading into the Curve Grande, the wing dropped and lodged itself under the Red Bull. With the front wheels raised off the track Coulthard had no way of steering and no way of really slowing the car down. Shortly after the wing dropped David clouted the barrier heavily, but thankfully was able to get out of the car and walk away. However, due to the dangerous position of the RBR3, the race director decided to throw out the safety car and the gap that McLaren were building was quickly destroyed.

Interestingly though, considering Monza is a circuit where the drivers are put through a lot of stresses and the brakes and engines are tested to the limits, there were no more retirements. Out of twenty-two starters, twenty finished. Quite the reliability record, which shows just how much the Formula One machines have come along in recent years.

The second real drama of the race was relating to the strategies of the drivers. Lewis pitted quite early, although in the post-race press conference he explained this away with a flat-spotted tyre and vibrations. Fernando Alonso came in shortly after Lewis but Kimi just kept on going. It very quickly became clear that the sole remaining Ferrari driver was on a one stop strategy. Considered the fastest way to run the race, Kimi suddenly became a player and a considerable risk to the McLaren’s.

When Kimi Raikkonen eventually pitted, he spent eleven seconds attached to the fuel nozzle and as the Finnish driver trundled down the pit lane McLaren’s morale dissipated. Fast forward to lap forty and the Ferrari strategy played its trump card. Lewis Hamilton pitted, but despite the perfect work from the McLaren crew, Kimi Raikkonen sailed past and into P2. Hamilton’s title hopes took a large knock as the Briton followed the rear wing of the Ferrari through the first chicane.

Not intent on giving up easily though, and with fresh soft rubber on his car, Hamilton started the thump in some hot sectors and coming out of Parabolica and starting lap 42, the rookie driver decided to make a lunge on Raikkonen. From a seemingly long way back, Hamilton displayed the kind of boldness that Formula One fans haven’t really seen since Juan Pablo Montoya graced a Grand Prix in a Williams. Hamilton locked his right and struggled to get the MP4-22 down to 60mph. Kimi saw the McLaren at the last moment and locked his left in avoidance. With the McLaren in Kimi’s way he had no choice but to let Lewis though and turn in behind him. A couple of twitches later, Hamilton had regained second place.

Soon after, the pace at the front slowed as the leading trio decided to conserve their engines for next weekends Belgian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso finally wins the Italian race, and Lewis Hamilton keeps his name at the top of the championship table.

Elsewhere in the race, a special mention should go to Jenson Button. For the first stint it seemed as though himself and Nico Rosberg were swapping places each and every lap. Fighting it out for seventh and eighth, the pair of drivers were yo-yoing back and forth. Eventually Button had to concede the position to Rosberg, and the German driver went on to collect three points for Williams and himself from a fine sixth place. Button brought his Honda home in eighth and earned the Japanese team a well deserved point and doubles their haul so far.

Heikki Kovalainen once again outraced his vastly experienced team mate Giancarlo Fisichella, and collected two points from his seventh place. Fisichella, racing at home in front of the Italian fans, could only manage twelfth, but from fifteenth on the grid his performance wasn’t too bad.

The race win for Fernando puts him in a very strong position to take the title lead before the month is over, and with Spa Francorchamps being a circuit that serves the experienced drivers well, the Spaniard is looking very well at the moment at only three points down on Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen did well to finish third, particularly as he has a stiff neck resulting from his shunt on Saturday morning. However, the wheels are starting to come off Ferrari’s campaign a little and they really need to get back to the days of 100% reliability.

Ron Dennis collected the constructor trophy on the podium and his emotion was clear. However, Martin Brundle made a good observation while commentating for ITV.

You know what I find tragic? I don’t see one happy driver up there at all. Martin Brundle.

Referring to the pending case against McLaren and the Stepneygate saga that could see the team thrown out the title race, and of course to Kimi Raikkonen who finished third (the equivalent of last place to a competitive driver). With Thursday approaching quickly, all eyes will be on Paris to see if McLaren will even bother turning up to the Belgian paddock. But leaving that aside for the moment, the title chase is looking healthy.

Fernando and Lewis are separated by three points, and Kimi moves ahead of Felipe, although the Finn is still 15 points down on second place Alonso. Heidfeld is 17 points down on Massa in fourth, and Kubica is in a comfortable sixth. With his three important points gained in Italy, Nico Rosberg closes right up on his Austrian team mate in the tables and sits just one down on Alex Wurz. The Red Bul drivers are still tied on eight each, and Jenson doubles his load, although still remains on half of Sato’s total.

The constructors title is starting to look a little more dominating though. McLaren lead Ferrari by 24 points, and that is without the fifteen they may get reinstated if the appeal is successful. BMW are resting on 86 while Renault sit behind with 38.

Formula One, F1, Italian Grand Prix, McLaren, Fernando Alonso

Original article by BlogF1.

Fernando Alonso Finally Wins In Italy

9. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 10. Rubens Barrichello Honda 11. Jarno Trulli Toyota 12. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 13. Alex Wurz Williams 14. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 15. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 16. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 17. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 18. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 19. Adrian Sutil Spyker 20. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 21. Felipe Massa Ferrari Retired 22. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing Retired

Original article by BlogF1.

Monza: Race Result

David Coulthard was an early casualty in phase one, failing to get ahead of P20 and spinning on his final lap. The Red Bulls have appeared to struggle all weekend, and now David Coulthard will want to get the race over and done with. Conversely, Mark Webber is enjoying a little more luck at the moment, managing to get his Bull into phase two. The straight-talking Aussie managed to get his car into eleventh, missing out on a top ten place by only fractions of a second.

The second part of qualifying saw much of the same from McLaren; Fernando dominating each and every session and setting fastest lap after fastest lap. Lewis Hamilton wasn’t too far behind either, and it soon became clear that Ferrari really had little to answer with. The biggest excitement came from Rubens Barrichello, who while running ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella lost it under braking and spun off. Trundling through the gravel, Rubens was able to rejoin the circuit, but unfortunately for Fisichella who had to take evasive action to avoid the recovering Honda, the Italian lost out out on a chance to run in Q3.

Qualifying three saw Jenson Button in the running, something we haven’t seem too much of this year. The low downforce nature of Monza means that the Honda RA107 isn’t penalised as much for handling as it is at other circuits. Jenson has apparently maximised his chances for tomorrow by filing the car with fuel to hopefully enable him to run long in the first stint of the race. The Honda eventually qualified in tenth, but that didn’t stop a surprised Jenson from beaming with a large smile.

So McLaren have locked out the front row on Ferrari’s home turf, and Nick Heidfeld has managed to put his BMW in between the sacred cars. Things are not loking to good for the Scuderia at the moment, especially as Ferrari president Luca De Montezemolo has instructed the team to get one-twos in the remaining races.

With all the nonsense going on in the background, the success of Monza qualifying for McLaren is quite an achievement. The race will be a different story entirely, and if Ferrari can nab Hamilton and Heidfeld into the first chicane, then they could be in with a fighting chance. But it has to be said that Aonso is looking superbly strong at the moment, and will surely close the gap to Hamilton in the title race even further.

Formula One, F1, Italian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

McLaren Dominate With Alonso On Pole

11. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m23.166s 12. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m23.176s 13. Alex Wurz Williams 1m23.209s 14. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m23.274s 15. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m23.325s 16. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m23.351s 17. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m23.749s 18. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m23.787s 19. Vitantoni Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m23.886s 20. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m24.019s 21. Adrian Sutil Spyker 1m24.699s 22. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 1m25.084s

Formula One, F1, Italian Grand Prix, Fernendo Alonso, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Monza: Qualifying Result

Jenson Button posted a surprise sixth fastest lap late in the session and managed to put himself ahead of the BMWs and Hondas. Rubens Barrichello placed his RA107 in twelfth, just ahead of Takuma Sato’s Super Aguri. In contrast, Red Bull appear to be suffering as Mark Webber went fourteenth and David Coulthard was way down in eighteenth. But pleased with their new chassis, Spyker managed to haul themselves off the bottom slots on the timing sheet, with Adrian Sutil going nineteenth and Sakon Yamamoto twenty-first. Vitantonio Liuzzi occupied the final position in his Toro Rosso.

Free Practice One Times

The second session at Monza today saw another strange mix of drivers as McLaren this time dominated with Fernando Alonso claiming the top spot on the timing sheets. The Spaniard was almost a full second clear of his rookie team mate Lewis Hamilton, who edged out long-time Benetton/Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella by almost 0.4s.

But the Ferrari’s weren’t even fourth. Instead Robert Kubica improved his pace and stuck his German car ahead of Nico Rosberg who finished his day in fifth. It was Felipe Massa who led the Scuderia, but in a distant sixth and 1.5s down on Alonso, something was certainly not quite right. Instead of trying to improve his time from the morning, Massa chose to test out various run-off areas around the circuit and even managed a spin in front of Alonso, causing the McLaren driver to take evasive action.

Kimi Raikkonen didn’t enjoy his post-lunch run either, spending much of the 90 minutes in the garage watching his mechanics sorting out a hydraulic problem. While the fastest laps over the course of the weekend so far put McLaren and Ferrari very close to each other, it seems McLaren, despite everything that is happening in the background, look the more level-headed and composed of the two squads.

Ralf Schumacher improved his lap times to be within 0.003s of his team mate Jarno Trulli, a driver who is probably the master of one-lappers. The two Toyota’s finished up in eleventh and twelfth. Jenson Button couldn’t quite manage to replicate his morning form, but he was for once the lead Honda in thirteenth. Rubens Barrichello finished in fifteenth, Takuma Sato in seventeenth, and Anthony Davidson was forced to park his Super Aguri at the Lesmos corners with an electrical failure. The British driver allowed the Spykers to be free of the bottom of the timing sheets again, finishing dead last.

Free Practice Two Times

Formula One, F1, Italian Grand Prix, Friday Practice, McLaren, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Monza: Practice Sessions

Upon initial inspection, the company have ruled out a puncture resulting from debris as a cause of the failure, and while they are still investigating the matter, Director of Motorsport Tyre Development – Hirohide Hamashima – has suggested that chunking may have led to its collapse.

Chunking, I hear you all question. Well, I hadn’t heard this word before today either, so you’re not alone. According to Bridgestone, chunking happens when a tyre picks up excessive marbles left around the side of the track. Marbles being, by the way, small pieces of rubber that have worn off the tyres and they tend collect into little balls around the outside of corners. You can even see a similar thing on the sides of motorways occasionally (not that I recommend a close inspection, of course!).

Anyway, if enough of these marbles collect on the face of the tyre, they can harden and cause damage underneath. It is thought that this could have happened to Lewis last Sunday, although Bridgestone are still working on it.

The ‘chunking’ got hardened as he braked for Turn Nine. It seems that there was an (unexplained) extra force applied to where the chunk was, and this delaminated the tyre. Hirohide Hamashima.

Apprently other drivers experienced chunking during the race, but only Hamilton’s McLaren suffered a failure of any kind. It is possible that Lewis locked slightly, or maybe hit a kerb a bit too hard. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for the final verdict, but Hamashima seemed quite confident this was the reason.

Formula One, F1, Turkish Grand Prix, Bridgestone, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

Original article by BlogF1.

Chunking May Have Caused Tyre Failure For Hamilton

From the start it looked as though Ferrari would dominate the first half of the race, with both Massa and Raikkonen starting on the soft compound and both McLarens on the hard. As soon as the red lights went out Kimi made up a place on Hamilton and both BMWs shot past Alonso who trailed in fifth. The pace was comfortable though, and Lewis was able to keep the scarlet cars in check while Alonso darted around Heidfeld’s gear box trying to find a way back through.

It was only in the pit stops that Alonso was able to regain some of the lost track position, but it seemed all afternoon as though the Spaniard had lost some of his sparkle while Massa continued to lead the race from his team mate, ruing the error he had made in qualifying. At times Kimi made a charge and closed to gap to Massa, but each time Felipe responded and extended the gap again. Lewis too also had laps where he appeared to make ground on the Ferrari’s, only to see it disappear again as the leading duo put the boot in.

At about three-quarters distance, McLaren suffered another set back in the race as Lewis Hamilton struggled back to the pits with a flailing right front tyre, shredding his wing as it rotated around. As the British driver entered the pit lane he came incredibly close to binning the car in the wall, but thankfully managed to get to his box where it was changed. It is currently not known what happened to the tyre, whether it had simply worn out or whether it delaminated of its on doing. But irregardless of how it happened, Lewis lost his third place and finished his afternoon back in fifth. His podium spot was eventually taken over by his team mate Alonso who shared the champagne with his rivals in red.

Renault enjoyed a better afternoon with Heikki Kovalainen. The Finnish rookie drove well and ended up in sixth and began closing the gap to the damaged car of Hamilton in the closing stages. Unfortunately for the Anglo-French squad, Fisichella could do no better than ninth, but the three points from Kovalainen is welcomed and they now sit fourteen points ahead of Williams in the constructors, although they are on less than half of BMWs haul.

Nick Heidfeld had a relatively quiet race, although he did manage to get ahead of his team mate. Again finishing just outside of the podium spot in fourth, the German did well to claim another five points for the team. Robert Kubica slipped backwards during the afternoon, but he still managed to take the final point, putting BMW on 76 points in total and in a very comfortable third in the constructors.

Williams had another afternoon where Rosberg drove well and Wurz went backwards. Nico took seventh and two points for the Oxfordshire team, while Alex could only muster eleventh. It seems strange that Wurz seems to struggle during the races, yet he is on more points than his younger and lesser experienced partner. His podium in Canada certainly helped his cause, but one has to wonder about him. Will he be in the car next season? It seems Frank Williams has a secure contract for Rosberg, but little has been said about who will be granted the second seat for 2008.

The Red Bulls had a mixed race, with David Coulthard radioing the team on the parade lap to inform them of a dodgy gear box. The system was reset though, and the Scot drove the car all the way to the finish line with no apparent return of the problem. However, tenth place isn’t where the team want to be, and with Mark Webber retiring in the first stint with hydraulics failure, it wasn’t the best of afternoons for the squad.

Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello did well considering they both started from the back row of the grid. Having both had their engines changed, the drivers did a remarkable job of bringing home their cars in thirteenth for Jenson and seventeenth for Rubens. Although it was a reasonable recovery though, the team are seriously struggling with the RA107 chassis. It almost seems as though they have given up on this year, despite the single point they have so far. The team have announced they are focused on next year, but the remaining races will not do the morale in the green camp any good if they are not pushing to improve. Honda quite simply have to build a decent motor over the winter.

Super Aguri also had a bit of a disappointing afternoon, but after the lacklustre qualifying from Sato his race was expected to be spent holding off the Spykers at the back. Anthony Davidson shone yesterday but could not keep pace with the midfield. The British rookie finished in fourteenth just behind the sister team of Honda.

All in all it was a good race, and it is always great to see Massa win – he has that certain exuberance which comes bubbling out when he jumps onto the podium. However, today’s performance must put Ferrari in a bit of a quandry. Who do the team back in the final few events? Traditionally they have always liked to back one of their drivers, notably the one who is leading the title fight. In days gone by, this has been Michael Schumacher, and the German world champion could enjoy the support he received from his number two. But currently, Massa leads Raikkonen by only one single point. Of course, Massa has proven his loyalty to the team and works hard with the engineers and mechanics to provide a happy place for them to work. Conversely, Raikkonen does less to warm his team towards him, but puts in some mega performances and his probably the better of the two drivers. He also has more experience, having almost won a couple of titles, and moved from Woking to Maranello for the simple reason of winning the championship.

McLaren tend to take a different approach to motor racing and will let the two drivers duke it out just as long as they are set to win the constructors. However, relationships are strained within the team, and although they had a six hour meeting on Thursday in an attempt to sort out the differences, Fernando is developing a chip on his shoulder which will only harm his chances of receiving support from the team. The pair of pilots are being amicable in public, but Alonso is firing off comments left, right and centre at the moment, and this time it seems the team is in the dog house.

Fernando is suggesting that he has bought 0.6s to the car since his arrival late December ‘06 and has received little in return. But while the reigning champion has undoubtedly helped to rejuvenate the squad, Lewis politely pointed out that there are 1000 people back in the factory who have worked day and night to provide the team with the best possible car. Morale boosting is clearly not one of Fernando’s fortes.

So with Fernando’s position at McLaren openly in doubt (he himself has admitted as much), why would Ron put his eggs in the basket labeled ‘1′?

The politics are really getting interesting at the top of tables, and with three races in September, the titles could not be closer. In two weeks we head off to Ferrari territory at Monza, then the following weekend sees the return of Spa to the calendar. In the mean time, McLaren will learn the fate of their suspended chief designer and whether or not they are entitled to the fifteen points they won in Hungary.

Interesting times ahead…

Original article by BlogF1.

Massa Takes Second Successive Turkey Win

9. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 10. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 11. Alex Wurz Williams 12. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 13. Jenson Button Honda 14. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 16. Jarno Trulli Toyota 17. Rubens Barrichello Honda 18. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 19. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 20. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 21. Adrian Sutil Spyker 22. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing Retired

Formula One, F1, Turkish Grand Prix, Felipe Massa, Ferrari

Original article by BlogF1.

Istanbul: Race Result