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So far in the Australian Grand Prix, three second drivers have retired either through mechanical issues or through accidents. Heikki Kovalainen was seen coasting back to the pitlane at the very start of the race, his McLaren not sounding entirely functional. On lap 17 of the race, the second retirement of the event went to Kazuki Nakajima, who lost his Williams at the exit of T3. A punt in the barrier brought out the first safety car of the season. Continue Reading

The eightieth photograph to feature in BlogF1’s caption contest. You know the drill, think of something funny and witty to say and leave it as a comment below. Here’s a shot of Nelson Piquet Jr. looking under the rear of his new Renault R29 after stopping during a test session earlier in the year. Can someone please point out to Nelson that… actually, don’t bother. Just let him keep on looking… Continue Reading

Williams weren’t the only team showing off a new car this morning as Renault too took the wraps off their 2009 challenger in Portugal. The Enstone-based team had both Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr. available to do the honours, and as the R29 was unveiled, a new livery could be seen dressing the 2009 car. Piquet Jr. took the machine out a for a few installation laps in the morning, but most of the talk centred around the team’s use of a shark fin engine cover. Continue Reading

As expected, Renault today announced the contract extensions to both Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr. This season has seen much speculation surrounding the Spanish world champion, and while Alonso has been courted by Honda and spoken to BMW and Ferrari, Fernando has decided to remain with Renault and signed a two-year deal. Nelson Piquet has also had an extra year added to his contract, highlighting the faith Renault have in the young Brazilian. Continue Reading

The final race of the season has brought about many special helmet designs and car liveries, each designed to commemorate how important the race is to the drivers and teams. Being the final race of the year, the championships will be decided and for some, it may be the last time they drive a Formula One car in anger. David Coulthard has already announced his retirement, and Rubens Barrichello’s future hangs in the air as Honda wait before revealing their 2009 driver line-up. Continue Reading

Ever since Nelson Piquet Jr. scored a morale-boosting second place in the German Grand Prix, Renault have been taking a slightly different look at the way they use their tyres during a typical race weekend. What prompted Renault to investigate the four boots on their R28 was Piquet’s sudden increase in pace that immediately followed a period behind the safety car. And now team mate Fernando Alonso wants the team to conduct a proper test to hopefully establish some more accurate findings. Continue Reading

The forty-nineth photograph to feature in BlogF1’s caption contest. You know the drill, think of something funny and witty to say and leave it as a comment below. Here’s a strange image from the German Grand Prix weekend. The driver being captured is Nelson Piquet Jr, who would go on to take his first career podium later in the day. Continue Reading

Nelson Piquet Jr. has endured a disastrous start to his Formula One career, especially when his results are compared to his team mate. Heikki Kovalainen last year had a tough time in the Renault, but the Finn eventually got to grips with the car in ended up hauling in more points than his then-team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. While I don’t think Piquet will be able to reign in Fernando Alonso this year, was the French Grand Prix the race that saw Piquet turn his fortunes around? Continue Reading

Renault pilot Nelson Piquet Jr has topped the timing sheet on the final day of testing which was completed on Saturday at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. The Brazilian toured the Montmelo track 112 times, the most of all the drivers present and in the two days of his running, has racked up 141 laps. Piquet’s fastest lap was 0.4s faster than local driver Pedro De La Rosa in the McLaren, who edged out Luca Badoer in the Ferrari, Badoer having driven the F2008 for the whole three-day test. Continue Reading

Day two of testing at French circuit Paul Ricard has seen a change in leader as Kimi Raikkonen powered his Ferrari to the top spot, just ahead of Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren. BMW rounded out the usual top three, with Robert Kubica going marginally quicker than he did yesterday. David Coulthard, Jenson Button and Sebastien Bourdais all ran well during the day, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth quickest respectively. Continue Reading