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Lewis Hamilton has taking pole position for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix, beating a strong attack from Kimi Raikkonen. Timo Glock impressed during the hour and both Scuderia Toro Rossos got into Q3. Fernando Alonso set a fine lap at the end to get into third and Felipe Massa will start in fifth. Red Bull Racing suffered, as did Nick Heidfeld in the BMW. But at the top, it is all about Raikkonen and his sudden improvement. Continue Reading…

It only seems like only yesterday that Fernando Alonso was winning Formula One’s very first night race and Singapore’s very first race ever. But in fact two weeks have passed and now we are about to witness the battle for pole position at Japan’s Fuji Speedway. It is really going to be a battle between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari and McLaren. But in the mix are Renault, Kimi Raikkonen, BMW and any other stray who thinks himself lucky around the Tilke-modified circuit. So join myself and a whole host of other bloggers and fans in discussing the the qualifying sessions of the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix. Continue Reading…

Friday’s running has now been completed and the Formula One teams are undoubtedly pouring over data as I type, trying to understand how to improve their set up before qualifying tomorrow. And the driver who leaves Fuji Speedway this evening with the biggest smile? Toyota driver Timo Glock. The young German set his fastest lap quite early on in the 90 minute session and despite the best efforts of McLaren, Ferrari and Renault, Glock remained unbeatable as the practice drew to a close. Continue Reading…

The first 90 minute session for the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix has come to a close with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton at the top of the timing sheet. The McLaren driver was closely followed by Felipe Massa a little over a tenth behind, while Heikki Kovalainen posted the third best time of the morning 0.2s shy of Massa. Kimi Raikkonen completed the McLaren/Ferrari sequence by going fourth and Renault slotted into fifth and sixth with Fernando Alonso going faster than Nelson Piquet Jr. Continue Reading…

When Mark Webber retired from the Singapore Grand Prix, the team personnel were puzzled as to what caused his RB4 to stop functioning properly. Webber was enjoying a great race until the fabled gearbox gremlins seemed to encroach on the Milten Keynes team again. At the time, team boss Christian Horner could only offer “freak circumstances” as a possible reason for the box trying to select 2 gears at once. But now, they have an even better excuse… Continue Reading…

During the Singapore Grand Prix, a number of teams made a mess of their pitstops and we saw a few mechanics fall to the ground as the cars sped away before they should have done. Most notable among the incidents was Felipe Massa, who was given the green light even though the fuel-rigger hadn’t released the hose from the car. In spectacular fashion, Massa kept his foot planted and ripped the hose from the rig, dragging it behind him and pulling the refueller to the floor in the process. Continue Reading…

Formula One’s very first night race went off without a hitch and the photographs that came out of the city over the course of the weekend were nothing short of stunning. To see the cars reflecting the bright lights that were illuminating the track was certainly quite special and to commemorate the moment, I’ve gathered a few select images from the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Continue Reading…

Shortly after the Singapore Grand Prix, Toyota lodged a protest against rival team Scuderia Toro Rosso as they felt Sebastian Vettel was unsafely released from his pitstop in to the path of Timo Glock. Despite Glock finishing ahead of Vettel in the race - so any punishment to the recent race winner won’t effect Glock’s result - it would have enabled a larger gap between the two teams in the constructors battle. Continue Reading…

Formula One’s very first night race has been a success, with the Marina Bay circuit giving the fans a superb spectacle under floodlights. Although there are still some minor issues to sort before next year, I think it is safe to say that safety cars and great driving have produced a fantastic grand prix. With Fernando Alonso winning his first race in a year and beating the opposition with an interesting strategy, the championship has been turned around for the top two teams and their drivers. Continue Reading…

Double world champion Fernando Alonso has won his twentieth grand prix victory on the anniversary of his last win during the 2007 season. In a sensational race full of drama, Alonso was able to maximise the misfortune of his fellow competitors as well as control a car that has been running very well for most of the weekend. Alongside Alonso on the podium was Nico Rosberg for Williams and Lewis Hamilton for McLaren. Continue Reading…