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It was a busy fortnight for Formula One, with several teams launching their new cars and the first official test of the year at Spain’s Jerez circuit. We saw Ferrari looking good with their F2008, McLaren looking promising and Nick Heidfeld driving his BMW F1.08 inside. Away from the circuit we also heard of some changes to rules and a possible budget cap for 2009. Finally, ITV received some bad news from their sponsor just two months before 2008 kicks off. Continue Reading

The first official test of 2008 got underway today at Spain’s Jerez circuit. It was the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen who dominated in the new F2008 car, only recently launched earlier in the month. Although Raikkonen set the quickest time by 0.3s, Massa’s day wasn’t without hindrance as he ground to a halt partway through the session. However, from the times set it does look like the 2008 Ferrari, which is still being heavily developed, will surely be able to compete for another title this season. Continue Reading

Ahead of McLaren’s launch in Germany today, Ferrari debuted their new machine - the F2008 - at the teams Fiorano track in Northern Italy this morning. Kimi Raikkonen took to the cold tarmac lined with hundreds of adoring tifosi and will continue to shakedown the car and test systems for the rest of the day, light permitting (Fiorano is currently hiding under light fog). The car will get its first serious test at Jerez next week where both drivers will get a chance to play with the 2008 challenger, said to still be under serious development. Continue Reading

Earlier today Ferrari unveiled their F2008 challenger and distributed photographs and information about their 54th car. Now we can hear from key team personnel who designed and built machine, as well as from the two pilots who will hopefully defend the success of 2007; Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. But first, looking at the car we can see a few changes ourselves that show the impact the new regulations have on the vehicles. The most visually striking difference are the higher cockpit sides, introduced as a result of David Coulthard’s and Alex Wurz’s incident at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix. Continue Reading

An astounding result in Brazil means Kimi Raikkonen has come from third in the standings to first and wins his first championship in style, ending the chances of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso stealing the trophy away to Woking. For Kimi, this title has come after much hard work and toiling away in unreliable cars. In fact, although previous boss Ron Dennis has congratulated his former driver, it must be a bitter pill to swallow for the man, especially after everything that has happened this year. However, championships are for celebrating, and what better memento to mark Kimi’s first title that a 1:18 replica model of his Ferrari F2007. Continue Reading

The possible scuppering of Kimi Raikkonen’s championship has been finalised in the Finn’s favour. Although Raikkonen magnificently won the Brazilian Grand Prix with a little help from his team mate Felipe Massa, the legality of the BMWs and Williams put the celebrations on hold. Their cars were scrutinised with fuel temperatures lower than the mandatory 10 degrees less than ambient temperatures. However, the stewards have announced that no penalties would be handed out, thus confirming Raikkonen as the 2007 Formula One World Champion. Continue Reading

In typical Formula One fashion, the title is not yet over. Despite winning the Brazilian Grand Prix a few hours ago, Kimi Raikkonen may not have won the title yet. The reason behind this lack of confirmation falls to the fuel temperature of both BMWs and both Williams, three of which cars finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the final positions in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Continue Reading

Kimi Raikkonen has become the 2007 Formula One World Champion. In a hectic race where each of the top three could have won it, it was Raikkonen who led his team mate over the finish line to win his first Brazilian race and his first world champion. After so many close attempts, Kimi is a worthy champion, and after his convincing display today around Autodromo Carlos Pace, McLaren will be kicking themselves for letting it slip away. From the first lap, it looked as though Ferrari would dominate, but what happened over the course of the Grand Prix wasn’t what was expected. Continue Reading

With rain falling over Sao Paulo over night, the host to the final performance of the season - Interlagos - was greasy and slippery for the opening practice session of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Because of the track conditions, several drivers did not complete a flying lap in the morning, among those being championship defender Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella of Renault. With Lewis Hamilton only managing the fifth quickest lap, it was Ferrari who were left to dominate the morning session, Kimi Raikkonen getting the better of Felipe Massa. Later on in the day the roles were reversed and with a clearer track, McLaren got straight down to business going first and second with Alonso getting the better of Hamilton. Continue Reading

Just a quick heads-up for regular readers here. Keith from F1Fanatic asked me to write a guest post for his site last week, and today it went up. Keith is running a three-part series where a trio of F1 bloggers were asked to argue why a one of the three championship contenders should win. I got lumbered with Alonso, but all the comments so far suggest there are still a fair few fans of the Spaniard. Yesterday I read with delight Clive Allen’s post arguing for Lewis Hamilton, and tomorrow will see the conclusion with the case for Kimi Raikkonen. Head on over and take a look. Comments are open on F1Fanatic so be sure to leave your thoughts. Continue Reading