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In the first news round-up of 2008 we take a brief look at some of the stories that hit the headlines over the Christmas and new year period. Toyota have dominated much of the media with sponsors moving around, Williams also made news today by opting out of a big launch and Ralf Schumacher remains in the sports shadows, speaking for the first time about his ‘time out’ decision. Continue Reading

Continuing our tour of the Formula One factories, this week we look at two of the sports most successful teams; Williams and Renault. Both squads are based in the beautiful countryside surrounding Oxford, and from these buildings have come many a championship and many a great car. Continue Reading

Even though Fernando Alonso has now officially announced his allegiance to Renault for the 2008 season, the driver market is still not complete with some teams yet to decide on their pilots. Force India are still mulling over their drivers trying to decide between Giancarlo Fisichella, Christian Klien, Franck Montagny and the plethora of test drivers they have on their books. Toyota are still to absolutely confirm Jarno Trulli for the seat alongside Timo Glock, and McLaren are hesitating while they choose from Heikki Kovalainen, Pedro De La Rosa or Gary Paffett. And of course, each team could still throw a spanner in the works and sign another young charger not yet mentioned. Continue Reading

Williams have today announced that Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima will race for the team during the 2008 campaign. The news comes after Frank Williams vehemently denied that his lead driver and son of former World Champion Rosberg could be switching allegiances in the whole Fernando Alonso saga. Nakajima raced for the squad at the final meeting in Brazil, and although he managed to clout two of his pit crew, the Japanese driver did reasonably well. Nakajima was also the highest place rookie in the GP2 series in 2007. Continue Reading

Despite stating that he doesn’t want to win the world championship due to penalties imposed on other drivers, Lewis Hamilton’s team are pressing ahead with their appeal over the lack of punishment handed to Williams and BMW after their fuel was suggested to be outside the regulated temperature range. The stewards decided soon after the Brazilian Grand Prix that there wasn’t enough conclusive evidence to impose a penalty on both teams, and as such Kimi Raikkonen was declared the 2007 World Champion. However, should the result be changed as a consequence of McLaren’s appeal, then Hamilton could be promoted up the points order, robbing Raikkonen of his much deserved title and furthering the damage to Formula One. 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

Following Alex Wurz’s retirement from Formula One, Williams have today announced that their test and reserve driver Kazuki Nakajima will race for the team at this seasons finale in Brazil on October 21st. Nakajima has carried out a lot of testing work for the Grove-based squad this year, running on Friday when his GP2 campaign didn’t clash and helping the team develop the FW29. Continue Reading

As announced on Sunday morning, Williams driver Alex Wurz has decided to retire from Formula One racing, and initial thoughts presumed he would finally hang up is lucky boots after racing in Brazil for the season finale. However, today Wurz confirmed his retirement and has brought it forward - Alex will retire with immediate effect. While not much has been said about why Alex is stepping down now, one can only presume the team were involved and wanted to try out another driver while they have the chance. Continue Reading

Experienced test driver and current Wiliams pilot Alex Wurz has announced his retirement from competitive Formula One, having decided to stop racing after the Brazilian Grand Prix at the end of October. The comes as no surprise as speculation has surrounded the Austrian’s future from pretty much the start of the year. Williams appear to be keen to keep Wurz on as a test driver, but it has been stated by team bosses that the second seat is under contention by a handful of drivers; Kazuki Nakajima, Nelson Piquet Jr and Adrian Sutil. Continue Reading