The 2008 Formula One season.

[ELEANOR MAW]

The 2008 Formula One season promises to be every bit as close and competitive as the thrilling and controversial battle of last year.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Australian Grand Prix organisers have devised a compromise plan after demands from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone to stage the race at night.
Ecclestone has been pushing for the timing of the season curtain-raiser to be moved in the interest of European television viewers. Organisers initially resisted the move, citing cost concerns. But the start has now been pushed back 90 minutes to 3.30pm local time, which is 0430 GMT. Officials say if it is successful in increasing television ratings they will push the start back another 90 minutes to 5pm (0600 GMT) for 2009.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker told a news conference: "That will mean a 7.00 am start time for the television coverage in mainland Europe, finishing at about 8.40 am. "There will be an afternoon start and finish across the Asian continent where there are potentially hundreds of millions of viewers. "All this can be achieved without any additional infrastructure costs." Ecclestone told the Mail on Sunday discussions with Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had failed to break an impasse over the future of the event, adding the country faced losing it if it did not switch to a night race. "The only way the race could stay in Melbourne, or anywhere else in Australia, is if it is staged during the night so that the public in Europe can watch it," Ecclestone was quoted as saying. "At the moment it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live. That can't carry on. The alternative is to pull the race completely from Australia. "I've spoken to Kevin Rudd and he's told me it would cost too much to re-stage the race so I guess that's it. We won't be going to Australia for too much longer." But Walker believes the planned changes should be enough to keep Melbourne as a regular stop on the F1 schedule beyond the remaining three years of the contract. "We have made a huge compromise in terms of what Mr Ecclestone wants," he said. "I think Mr Ecclestone is probably one of the greatest sports promoters in the world today and he understands how we run the sport." The event is staged in Albert Park on the fringes of downtown Melbourne, Australia's second largest city. And while Walker is not opposed to night racing, he said the existing venue could not accommodate it.
"We've got 300 hectares of land here," he said. "It's just not lighting of the track, it's lighting the whole park to protect our patrons." The Australian Grand Prix has been on the calendar since 1985, moving from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996.

[faithfully]

Bring back Mansell:p

[Paul]

Looking forward to this season, should be a good one. If I can't sleep I'll watch it live.

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44494000/jpg/_44494218_lewis_hamilton203.jpg
Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton won pole position for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix but Kimi Raikkonen must start from near the back of the grid in Melbourne.

Final qualifying times for the Australian Grand Prix
1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren-Mercedes, 1 minute, 26.714 seconds.
2. Robert Kubica, Poland, BMW-Sauber, 1:26.869.
3. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:27.079.
4. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 1:27.178.
5. Nick Heidfeld, Germany, BMW-Sauber, 1:27. 236.
6. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Toyota, 1:28. 527.
7. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Williams, 1:28.687.
8. David Coulthard, Britain, Red Bull, 1:29.041.
9. Timo Glock, Germany, Toyota, 1:29.593.
10. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Toro Rosso, did not start.

Eliminated after second session

11. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Honda, 1:26.173.
12. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault, 1:26.188.
13. Jenson Button, Britain, Honda, 1:26.259.
14. Kazuki Nakajima, Japan, Williams, 1:26.413.
15. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, did not finish.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari, did not start.

Eliminated after first session

17. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Force India, 1:27.207.
18. Sebastien Bourdais, France, Toro Rosso, 1:27.446.
19. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India, 1;27.859.
20. Takuma Sato, Japan, Super Aguri, 1:28.208.
21. Nelson Piquet Jr., Brazil, Renault, 1:28.330.
22. Anthony Davidson, Britian, Super Aguri, 1:29.059.

[faithfully]

Will Lewis win it this year?:D

[ELEANOR MAW]

Will Lewis win it this year?:DProbably :D

[Paul]

DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DONT KNOW THE RESULT, THE HIGHLIGHTS ARE STILL ON...


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Amazing race! I stayed up all night to watch it, if that is the first then bring it on! I'm slightly worried about the traction control being switched off, there were too many accidents, the safety has just gotten much worse. But yes more exciting. Ferrari had a terrible night.

Well done Lewis, a perfect drive! :p

Highlight of the night - When Massa overtook Coulthard and he didn't see him, basically nobodys fault but when ITV were interviewing Coulthard straight after on live TV he said he was going to "kick three colours of s**t out of the little b*****d". :uhh:

But great start to the season, really enjoyed it! I'm going to try and watch every race live, thats my target. :funny:

[ELEANOR MAW]

Lewis Hamilton believes his victory in the opening Formula One race of the season in Australia was the best of his five career triumphs.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44495000/jpg/_44495635_heikkiraikkonen203.jpg


Drivers' world championship 2008

1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes GB 10
2 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber Ger 8
3 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota Ger 6
4 Fernando Alonso Renault Spa 5
5 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes Fin 4
6 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota Jpn 3
7 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari Fra 2
8 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Fin 1
9 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber Pol 0
10 Timo Glock Toyota Ger 0
11 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda Jpn 0
12 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault Brz 0
13 Felipe Massa Ferrari Brz 0
14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault GB 0
15 Jarno Trulli Toyota Ita 0
16 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari Ger 0
17 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault Aus 0
18 Jenson Button Honda GB 0
19 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda GB 0
20 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari Ger 0
21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari Ita 0
22 Rubens Barrichello Honda Brz 0


Constructors' world championship 2008

1 McLaren-Mercedes 14
2 Williams-Toyota 9
3 BMW Sauber 8
4 Renault 5
5 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
6 Ferrari 1
7 Toyota 0
8 Super Aguri-Honda 0
9 Red Bull-Renault 0
10 Force-India Ferrari 0
11 Honda 0


Positions after Australian Grand Prix

[FinnFreak]

All 2½ Finns scored points - not too bad for a season opening race.


John - ;):up:

[faithfully]

Probably :D

Lets see who's good enough to step up to challenge him;) :hmmm:maybe Coultard :funny:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Monday 17.3.2008


Nico Rosberg celebrates career-first podium finish in F1

Melbourne sees all Finns and semi-Finns in the points, but Kimi Räikkönen has little to smile about


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234860497.jpeg
Lewis Hamilton (left), the winner of the crash-strewn
Melbourne F1 race, leads Nico Rosberg, who came in
third, into a few dance steps on the podium after the
awards ceremony.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234860470.jpeg
Kimi Räikkönen had a forgettable afternoon in Melbourne, with two spins hampering
his progress before his Ferrari engine gave out five laps from the end. He picked up
a solitary point for eighth place, and will be hoping for better in Malaysia in a week's
time.


Seldom has there been as much carbon fibre debris on a Formula One track as there was yesterday in connection with the season’s opening race in Melbourne, Australia.

Almost miraculously, no-one was hurt on the Albert Park track in the first F1 event raced without traction control since 2001.

Only seven cars made it to the finish line, which is fewer than ever before in the history of the Australian Grand Prix.

The race was won by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. The Briton, who started from pole position, was able to drive at his own pace and was perhaps least impeded by the chaos on the track.

Hamilton’s teammate, Heikki Kovalainen of Finland, was not equally lucky. On lap 46, Kovalainen was in the lead, when the safety car entered the track and messed up his plans. As Kovalainen still had one more pit stop left, an almost certain second position changed to fifth place at the finish line.

Thanks to Kovalainen’s misfortune, another Finnish citizen, Nico Rosberg, landed the first podium finish of his career in Formula One. Rosberg, the son of the Finnish 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, did the groundwork already on the grid, where he accelerated his Williams from seventh place up into fourth.

After the race, Rosberg, who represents his mother’s home country, Germany, appeared the happiest man in Melbourne.

“I am exhilarated. What an incredible race, my first podium finish”, Rosberg stammered, apparently dazed with joy.

“I could not be sure of my position at any stage during the race. It was such a chaos out there. The safety car at the wrong time would have immediately spoiled everything”, Rosberg analysed.

On their way to the podium, Rosberg and his old carting teammate Hamilton already started to dance.

Otherwise, Hamilton took his victory with a certain amount of routine.

"It's quite different to my first win in Montreal, just because that was really not expected”, Hamilton said.

"This win perhaps feels better than any because I feel I've improved in many areas," the 23-year-old Briton added.

"I wouldn't say it's the perfect win... but I think in terms of managing my tyres, controlling my pace and confidence and being comfortable in the car, it's the best race I've had so far."

The second spot on the Melbourne podium went to Nick Heidfeld, whose BMW team looks to be becoming a serious potential rival for Ferrari and McLaren.

“Our first victory is now much closer”, Heidfeld rejoiced.

One who was not rejoicing much was World Champion Kimi Räikkönen, who made mistakes on the track and eventually retired late in the race with engine problems. Such was the Albert Park carnage, however, that he was officially placed 8th and took a single point with him from Australia, where he enjoyed a win last season.



John - :D:up:

[Paul]

ITV did a brilliant interview with Lewis and Heikki before the race, they seem to get on really well as teammates. Heikki should have a good season.

[ELEANOR MAW]

ITV did a brilliant interview with Lewis and Heikki before the race, they seem to get on really well as teammates. Heikki should have a good season.Yes Paul I saw that interview and it was a lot of fun, I also thought it was hilarious Lewis meeting Rock band Kiss :D

[Paul]

They were huge, I dont know how tall Lewis is but they made him look little.

[ELEANOR MAW]

I think Kiss wear one foot six inch platform boots.

[ELEANOR MAW]

The BBC has secured the television rights to show Formula One in the UK from the 2009 season.
The five-year deal marks the return of the sport to BBC screens 12 years after ITV began broadcasting Grands Prix.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said: "I am delighted to conclude this new deal with the BBC.
"It is an exciting time in Formula One and the BBC has some innovative new ideas to consolidate and expand our UK fan base."
The deal covers all platforms and will see F1 broadcast on the BBC Sport website, as well as on TV and radio.
Dominic Coles, BBC Sport director of sport rights, said: "The biggest motorsporting event in the world is returning home after 12 years.
"We were delighted when Bernie Ecclestone approached us about the return of F1 to the BBC.
"F1 is a crown jewel of sports broadcasting, so to bring the rights back to their traditional home from 2009 is tremendously exciting.
"Fans will be able to enjoy uninterrupted, state of the art and innovative coverage from BBC Sport, across all of our TV, radio and new media platforms, for the first time since 1996."

The best news I have heard for ages, Fans will be able to enjoy uninterrupted, state of the art and innovative coverage :D:D:D:D

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://images.itv-f1.com/ImageLibrary/46759_2.jpg
Lewis Hamilton beat title rivals Ferrari to set the pace in Friday practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Fresh from victory in the season-opening race in Australia on Sunday, the Englishman's McLaren beat the Ferraris into second and third places.
Hamilton was 0.151 seconds clear of Felipe Massa, with Kimi Raikkonen a further 0.222secs behind in third.
Massa had been fastest in first practice, with Raikkonen second and Hamilton down in fifth.
Scot David Coulthard was forced to sit out second practice at the Sepang track after a worrying suspension failure.
He ran off the track when a track-rod failed, and then suffered major front suspension damage when the car bounced over a kerb as it speared off the track.
The team face exclusion from the race after officials asked them to provide a detailed report to the technical delegate of governing body the FIA.
A statement from the FIA said the team must verify that "the suspension is such that the car should not be deemed 'of dangerous construction'" under article 2.3 of the technical regulations.
The article allows stewards to exclude a car if they deem its construction to be unsafe.
Team boss Christian Horner and chief technology officer Adrian Newey met race stewards after the second session to provide an explanation, but officials have yet to release a verdict.
"It was a brand new component fitted after Melbourne," Horner said after the meeting. "You can see that the adhesives failed and it just looked like a human error. So we have absolutely no concerns about the car's safety."
Hamilton's lap of one minute 35.055 seconds in the second session was 0.237secs quicker than Massa had done in the morning session.
The Ferraris dominated the morning's running, and were on top for the vast majority of the second 90-minute session.
But Hamilton pipped with a few minutes from the end.
"It's good to see that we have the pace," Hamilton said. "A few other teams are quite close so it should be an interesting weekend.
"It's very, very close between us and Ferrari so it's hard to say who has the upper hand. I guess it's similar to last Friday [in Melbourne] so we will see if we can challenge for pole [in Saturday's qualifying]."
There was no repeat of the reliability problems that afflicted Ferrari in Melbourne.
Raikkonen did coast to a halt during the first session, but the team blamed that on a miscalculation on fuel, rather than a repeat of the fuel pump failure that stranded the Finn in qualifying in Australia.
Massa said he would have been quicker at the end of the second session, but that he was held up by Hamilton.
"I am very happy with these two sessions," Massa said. "The car proved to be very quick and consistent on both types of tyre.
"It's a shame I was unable to get the most out of the second set of soft tyres, when I found myself behind Hamilton who was going slowly."
Raikkonen added: "The car seems to be going well and I'm pleased with what we've done. It's always difficult to say where we are but I think we can face the rest of the weekend with confidence.
"Probably we are not the strongest over one lap but I think in race conditions we have good speed and good consistency. But for sure we will try to improve on that issue."
Jenson Button's Honda was fourth fastest in the second session, to continue the team's surprisingly encouraging form from Australia.
The Englishman headed Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel and the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.
Button said he was optimistic about the car's performance, but did not expect a shock performance in qualifying.
"We won't be fourth tomorrow," he said. "In qualifying, we're not going to be that quick. I don't know 100% but I can't imagine we'd be that quick. (Sebastian) Vettel was fifth quickest and he was in a Toro Rosso.
"I'm happy with the improvements we made for the car. It's a very interesting circuit and it's very difficult to be consistent around here.
"We've made some good steps forward with the set-up of the car. It's responsive and it's something I haven't experienced for a long time.
"You can work with it and you can see improvements throughout the day through set-up work.
"It was a good day but I don't think it's a day where we can say we are fourth quickest."

Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was third fastest in the first session, ahead of Williams's Nico Rosberg, Hamilton and the Renault of Fernando Alonso.

Double world champion Alonso, who was Hamilton's team-mate in a tempestuous season at McLaren in 2007, could manage only 14th fastest time in the afternoon.
The drivers have been fearing a draining weekend, with the typically high temperatures and humidity in Malaysia taking their toll.
But conditions were relatively cool in the afternoon session after clouds developed over the track - rain had been forecast to affect all three days of the race weekend.
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator David Croft said the forecast for qualifying was for a 90% chance of rain.
"Last year [in Malaysia] was one of the most demanding events that I have ever come across," Hamilton said.
"At the moment it seems to be quite cool, and looks like it may be raining this weekend, so it is a slightly different weekend. But we are here to win."
The cooler temperatures helped with tyre wear - drivers were complaining about how quickly their rubber was degrading when the sun was out and temperatures were at their highest.

[ELEANOR MAW]

BBC editors should have been "probing" their senior managers more about the corporation securing Formula One TV coverage, a Labour MP has said.
Andrew MacKinlay said BBC coverage of the story had been too celebratory and lacked questions about costs.
He said the licence fee should be spent on "real sports rather than the wealthy industry of Formula One", he argued.
A BBC spokesman said managers had been available for interview. He said public response to the deal had been positive.
He said it was "standard practice" not to discuss the value of such deals owing to "commercial sensitivity".
"The public response to the BBC's announcement, judging by our message boards and blogs, has been overwhelmingly positive - and people are particularly pleased about the opportunity to watch F1 live and uninterrupted," he added.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Times from first practice at Sepang track for Malaysian Grand Prix:

1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari one minute 35.392 seconds
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:36.459
3. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.556
4. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:36.578
5. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.626
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:37.022
7. Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 1:37.034
8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:37.218
9. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:37.282
10. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:37.540
11. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:37.649
12. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:37.649
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:37.776
14. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:37.782
15. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.219
16. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:38.232
17. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:38.707
18. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.798
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:39.046
20. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:40.178
21. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1:40.351
22. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:41.269

Second practice times:

1. Hamilton 1:35.055
2. Massa 1:35.206
3. Raikkonen 1:35.428
4. Button 1:36.037
5. Vettel 1:36.474
6. Trulli 1:36.493
7. Kovalainen 1:36.512
8. Kubica 1:36.671
9. Fisichella 1:36.671
10. Nakajima 1:36.838
11. Barrichello 1:36.879
12. Rosberg 1:36.908
13. Heidfeld 1:37.106
14. Alonso 1:37.328
15. Piquet 1:37.331
16. Webber 1:37.346
17. Glock 1:37.512
18. Sutil 1:37.614
19. Sato 1:39.021
20. Davidson 1:39.361
21. Bourdais no time
22. Coulthard no time

[Paul]

Good I'm glad the BBC has the rights, no annoying adverts right in the middle of he race. ITV were ok but you cant just put ads in the middle like that. I wonder if Murray Walker will make a return?!

[ELEANOR MAW]

I loved those Murrayisms that Murray Walker does.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Classic Murrayisms by Murray Walker.

The car in front is completley unique apart from the one behind which is completley identical"

"There is nothing wrong with the car apart from being up in flames"

"...And the first five places are filled by five different cars."

"....And this is Ralf Schumacher the youngest driver in F1 at only 21 years old, and of course he is the son of twice world champion Michael!"

[Paul]

:biglaugh:

[ELEANOR MAW]

Some more Murrayisms

" I don't want to tempt fate but Damon Hill is only half a lap away from his first grand prix win and.... HE'S SLOWING DOWN, DAMON HILL IS SLOWIN DOWN...HE'S...HE'S STOPPED!!"

" ...Cruel luck for Alesi that was the the first time he ever started on the front row in Fromula one, also having done so in Canada"

" And there's the man in the green flag!"

" The Italian GP in Montreal..."

" Ukyo Katayama is undoubtedly the greatest driver that F1 has ever produced"

" As you can see, visually with your eyes.."

" Andrea De Cesaris... the man who has won more GP's than anyone else without actually winning one of them"

" And Damon Hill coming into the pitlane, yes Damon Hill coming into the Williams pit, and Damon Hill in the pit,no it's Schumacher!"

" Into lap 53 the penultimate last lap but one"

" A battle developing between them them, I say developing because it's not on yet."

" And berger finishes his flying lap to begin a quick one."

" and it's something he's been trying to acheive since 1958! ( Melbourne 2000 Murray on Schumacher's fight for the championship).

" unless i'm very much mistaken... I AM VERY MUCH MISTAKEN!!

I'll post some more when i can be bothered There are lots more but i can't post them all now.

[ELEANOR MAW]

and some more Murrayisms

"Coulthard is the only man to hold a candle to Michal Schumacher and that candle is under the ferrari's rear wing because the gap is now only 5 tenths of a second".

" David Coulthard is in his Nuns outfit."

"David Coulthard's engine sounds mre like a zeppelin than a Mercedes."

" Fire!! Fire!! Diniz is in the oven!!"

Murray: " Ferrari won't be developing their car any more this season"
Brundle: "how do you know that?"
Murray: "I was there when I said it!"

"He's going through the field like a hot knife through butter."

"I didn't se the time, largely because there wasn't one" ( murray on Barrichello's pit time)

"I'll stop my startwatch"

" I've no idea what Irvine's orders are but he's following extremely well."

" if I was Michael Schumacher...which of course I'm not....."

" Jean Alesi is 4th and 5th."

" look up there!! that's the sky!!"

" Michael Schumacher has made his final stop three times!"

" Tambay's hopes which were nil before are absoloutley zero now."

" That's history, I say history because it happened in the past."

"The two McLaren drivers are so hot they look like two fried lobsters in silver suits!"

[Paul]

Those are amazing! :biglaugh:

[ELEANOR MAW]

I love Murray Walker, he has bought a lot of fun to F1. he's a great one off.

[Paul]

I know he retired but was that because the BBC lost the rights? Maybe he'll be back. :D

[ELEANOR MAW]

It would be nice.

[ELEANOR MAW]

McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen have been penalised five grid places for impeding rivals during qualifying at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The pair had been on the second row but Hamilton will now start in ninth, one place behind his Finnish team-mate.
After qualifying they were summoned by the stewards to answer complaints they held others up in the last session.
They ruled Kovalainen blocked Renault driver Fernando Alonso and Hamilton had obstructed BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.
The FIA said Hamilton was "travelling at a very slow speed on the racing line", while Kovalainen was also charged with committing the same offence against Alonso.
Hamilton and Kovalainen had completed their fast laps and were slowing down to conserve fuel.
But Heidfeld complained their actions had cost him vital seconds in the final qualifying session, when 10 drivers go all out for the top grid positions.
"Most of the cars were already very slow when I was on my flying lap, just like they were parked on the circuit," he said.
"Both of the McLarens were in front at turn four, in the middle of the racing line.
"I just couldn't drive on the line that I wanted and, even more importantly, I could not brake where I wanted to.
"If you look at the times, they were very, very close - I lost two tenths and I think that would have put me third."
Hamilton felt he was not at fault, although did apologise to Heidfeld.
"I was pretty much out of the way," he said after emerging from the stewards' meeting. "If I held him up then I apologise for that."
Alonso, who left McLaren after a turbulent season to rejoin Renault, also felt he was denied a quick lap by the McLarens.
"I could have done better in Q3 this afternoon as I was with Heidfeld on a fast lap while the others were going slowly, and that affected me a bit, which is a shame," the double world champion said.
However, the McLaren team defended their drivers and insisted they had done all they could to make sure their rivals were able to cleanly complete their flying laps.
"There was clearly an issue there and it's unfortunate," chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said.
"If you look at the footage, our guys squeezed in as much as they could and slowed and we don't think they impaired Nick.
"I can understand his view that having all of those cars around when you're trying to concentrate on a quick lap isn't ideal."
McLaren accepted their punishment and said in a statement: "We accept the stewards' decision but would like to add that neither Lewis nor Heikki impaired any of their competitors deliberately."
Heidfeld was still not happy to accept their explanation and said: "If they did the best that they could do, they didn't do very well.
"I was approaching my last lap on the option tyre and it would have been my quickest lap if not for the McLarens driving in the middle of the racing line at 80kph."

[ELEANOR MAW]

Final grid positions in Sepang:
1. Massa (Ferrari) 1:35.748

2. Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:36.230

3. Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:36.613

4. Hamilton (McLaren) 1:36.709

5. Trulli (Toyota) 1:36.711

6. Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:36.727

7. Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:36.753

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44509000/jpg/_44509874_raikap203.jpg

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen dominates the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton's McLaren down in fifth.

Results of the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari one hour 31 minutes 18.555 seconds
2. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +19.570secs
3. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +38.450
4. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota +45.832
5. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes +46.548
6. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +49.833
7. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault +1:08.130
8. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +1:10.041
9. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault +1:16.220
10. Jenson Button (GB) Honda +1:26.214
11. Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault +1:32.202
12. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari one lap behind
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1 lap
14. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1 lap
15. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap
16. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 2 laps
17. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 2 laps
R Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 39 laps completed
R Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 30 laps
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 5 laps
R Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1 lap
R Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso 0 laps

[Paul]

Bad day for McClaren, very poor teamwork in qualfying and pitting. Good drive by Kimi.

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44509000/jpg/_44509942_kubica300.jpg
Polish BMW driver Robert Kubica 2nd place, great drive.

Kimi Raikkonen passed his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa thanks to a stunning lap before his first pit stop, after which he dominated the race.
Massa spun out of second place, gifting it to BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, with Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren third.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was held up in his charge from ninth on the grid by a pit-stop problem and ended up fifth.
That was one place behind the impressive Toyota of Jarno Trulli, who had battled for third with Kovalainen, only for the Italian to drop back with an earlier final pit stop.
Mark Webber's Red Bull headed Hamilton for much of the race but the Australian was leapfrogged at the final pit stops by the Englishman and Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber.
Heidfeld took sixth place, ahead of Webber, who held off a late charge from double world champion Fernando Alonso's Renault.
With the four points for fifth added to his 10 for winning the first race in Australia a week ago, Hamilton retains the championship lead.
But Raikkonen is now just three points behind him, and the scene looks set for the intense battle between the two men that was widely predicted before the season.
The Finn buried memories of a chaotic start to the season in Melbourne with a drive befitting a champion.
He qualified second to Massa, with a lap's more fuel on board, and, after pulling out of an attempt to pass him on the run down to the first corner, he tracked the Brazilian closely until he made his first stop on lap 17.
Raikkonen then put the hammer down, setting fastest times for each corner of the lap before coming in for his own stop.
His on-the-limit lap was just enough to ensure he emerged from the pits in front of Massa.
And once in the lead, Raikkonen edged ever further ahead of the second Ferrari to make the race his own.
Raikkonen said: "I got alongside Felipe after I got a bit better start but I thought we don't want to risk between the team-mates in the first corner, and I decided to stay behind and try my move on the first stop and it worked out perfectly.
"We were pretty similar speed-wise, but once he went in my car went better and I was able to go much quicker on my in-lap and pass him.
"After that the car was handling perfectly and I was able to go away.
"It was a pretty easy race from that first pitstop really. "We had quite a difficult weekend in Australia and we were not 100% sure it was going to be any different here. "But everything worked perfectly. This is a good start to the season for us and we're in a pretty good position."
Massa then spun away his chances of second place with an unforced error that left him beached in the gravel trap at turn eight.
He said he did not know what had caused the spin.
Behind the Ferraris, Kubica had a lonely race, not fast enough to challenge the red cars, but well ahead of the rest on his way to the best result of his career.
For a while early in the race it appeared that Hamilton might challenge the Pole for the final podium spot.
The Englishman leaped up from ninth on the grid, to where he was demoted for holding up Heidfeld in qualifying, to finish the first lap in fifth place with some clever overtaking.
He then tracked Webber until the Red Bull pitted on lap 16, but Hamilton's hopes of leapfrogging the Australian in the pits were dashed when his mechanics struggled to get his right-front wheel off.
That delayed Hamilton by about 12 seconds, and he found himself behind Webber again.
Hamilton finally got past into fifth when Webber made his final stop on lap 40 but, although he closed in on Trulli, he was unable to pass the Toyota on the final lap.
"We got off to a very, very good start from ninth to fifth and I was pushing Mark for a long, long time but being behind someone is extremely difficult so it doesn't matter how much quicker you are, it makes it extremely difficult to get past," Hamilton said.
"Then we were in with a good shot for third place and then we had the wheel gun at the pit stop.
"I was very thirsty as my water wasn't working. I pushed hard for fourth but Jarno did a great job.
"The great thing is I was able to drive the race without water and I feel better than I did last year but we just have to do a better job in qualifying at the next race."

[Shannia]

The two first races of the year were exciting, specially the first one with so many pilots out. We will watch new faces at the podium. BMW have improve their cars a lot. Anyway,this year I´ll be suffering with Renault:cry:

By the way, I have heard some rumours about Coulthard withdrawing in 2009. Any news in Scotland about this?

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44542000/jpg/_44542729_kubicahamilton203.jpg
Lewis Hamilton & Robert Kubica.

Saturday: Qualifying in Bahrain:

1. Kubica (BMW Sauber)

2 Massa (Ferrari)

3. Hamilton (McLaren)

4. Raikkonen (Ferrari)

5. Kovalainen (McLaren)

6. Heidfeld (BMW Sauber)

7. Trulli (Toyota)

[Shannia]

Nice to see Kubica getting his first pole. I hope he can win his first race also, although he will have to stand the pressure he has with Massa and Hamilton breathing at his back.

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44544000/jpg/_44544420_massagettycham203.jpg
Felipe Massa

Ferrari's Felipe Massa dominates the Bahrain Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton fails to score and loses the championship lead.

Results of Bahrain Grand Prix after 57 laps of Sakhir circuit on 6 April, 2008:

1 Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari one hour 31 minutes 6.970 seconds
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari +3.339 secs
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +4.998
4 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +8.409
5 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +26.789
6 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota +41.314
7 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault +45.473
8 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota +55.889
9 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota +1:09.500
10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +1:17.181
11 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda +1:17.862
12 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari one lap behind
13 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes one lap
14 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota one lap
15 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari one lap
16 Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda one lap
17 Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda one lap
18 David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault one lap
19 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari two laps
R Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 40 laps completed
R Jenson Button (GB) Honda 19 laps
R Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps

[ELEANOR MAW]

Standings so far

Drivers' world championship 2008
Name Car Nat Points
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Fin 19
2 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber Ger 16
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes GB 14
4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber Pol 14
5 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes Fin 14
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari Brz 10
7 Jarno Trulli Toyota Ita 8
8 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota Ger 7
9 Fernando Alonso Renault Spa 6
10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault Aus 4
11 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota Jpn 3
12 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari Fra 2
13 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault GB 0
14 Jenson Button Honda GB 0
15 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault Brz 0
16 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari Ita 0
17 Rubens Barrichello Honda Brz 0
18 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda GB 0
19 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda Jpn 0

Constructors' world championship 2008
Team Points
1 BMW Sauber 30
2 Ferrari 29
3 McLaren-Mercedes 28
4 Williams-Toyota 10
5 Toyota 8
6 Renault 6
7 Red Bull-Renault 4
8 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
9 Honda 0
10 Force-India Ferrari 0
11 Super Aguri-Honda 0

[Paul]

McClaren are messing about, last time the silly qualifying and pit stop going wrong, now thte crash with Alonso and crash in qualifying. Not sure if Alonso purposely made Lewis hit the back of him but it was dangerous. And Coulthard - wasn't he complaining about Massa and then he did the same thing to Button? He needs to start using his mirrors!

Perfect race by Ferrari again.

[ELEANOR MAW]

It's great to see Kimi Raikkonen in the lead.

[Paul]

I like Lewis but my fav team is Ferrari by a mile.

Especially when they win, we get to hear the Italian national anthem which I love, it goes on forever! :D

[Shannia]

McClaren are messing about, last time the silly qualifying and pit stop going wrong, now thte crash with Alonso and crash in qualifying. Not sure if Alonso purposely made Lewis hit the back of him but it was dangerous. And Coulthard - wasn't he complaining about Massa and then he did the same thing to Button? He needs to start using his mirrors!

Perfect race by Ferrari again.

On purpose? Maybe Alonso also press Hamilton´s button :funny: Alonso´s telemeter showed he wasn´t braking. Hamilton hit Alonso´s car twice, not only once! And the second one broke the back part of the car.
The career was a bit boring for me. It was only interesting at the beginning

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Monday 7.4.2008


Räikkönen annoyed after finishing “only” second in Bahrain

Felipe Massa restores Ferrari faith after early blunders


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135235367122.jpeg
Kimi Räikkönen overtook Robert Kubica in the BMW-Sauber on the second lap of
the race, but could do nothing about his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa.


The result of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix saw Finland’s Kimi Räikkönen take over the top position in the drivers’ overall standings. But this could not be read from the miffed face of the man himself, after he came home second in Sunday's race, for on the podium the current Formula 1 World Champion looked anything but happy.

Was it the hot Bahrain sun that caused Räikkönen to frown, or perhaps the fact that he was less than able to challenge his teammate Felipe Massa of Brazil in the race?

“This was one of those weekends, when nothing goes right”, Räikkönen commented.

“We could not find the right tunings for the car the whole time. This is how it goes sometimes. But if in such difficult conditions I can still come in second and take the lead in the championship points, then I suppose that’s a pretty good result.”

When asked how it was possible that the car settings were so wrong even though Ferrari had spent six days testing in Bahrain in the winter and that Massa’s car seemed to work perfectly, Räikkönen replied: “The conditions were totally different now. Sometimes to find the right settings is a minor miracle, and when we fail to accomplish this everything becomes a struggle. It wasn’t the first time that this has happened.”

In the race itself, Räikkönen eventually accepted the fact that he could not challenge his teammate.

“It might have been possible, had I managed to overtake him at some point, but every time I got closer to him he somehow managed to slip away”, Räikkönen said. “After the final pit stop I did not even really try any more.”

For Felipe Massa the victory was particularly sweet, as the Brazilian had failed to bring home any points from the first two races of the season. Instead, his mistakes in the races had attracted bucket-loads of criticism.

“The recent weeks have not been easy”, Massa admitted. “I have had plenty of time to reflect on what went on in the previous races. But that is past now, and I believe that this result will help me in the coming races as well.”

For the Finnish McLaren pilot Heikki Kovalainen the Bahrain race was like a rollercoaster ride. The start was a heart-stopper, as his teammate Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain failed to move and Kovalainen had to react extremely quickly to avoid a collision.

Shortly after the start Kovalainen overtook Räikkönen, but already on the same lap he bungled a breaking causing one of his tyres to “turn into a cube”.

“I’ve never felt such violent shaking, but the team assured me through the radio that according to their readings everything was OK.”

Still, Kovalainen had to let Räikkönen and Germany’s Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) go past him, and in the end the Finn was fifth at the chequered flag.

Germany’s Nico Rosberg (Williams), the son of the Finnish 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, secured one Championship point by finishing eighth.

In the drivers' table Kimi Räikkönen now holds the lead with 19 points, followed by Nick Heidfeld in second on 16, and Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber - third on Sunday ), and Heikki Kovalainen are jointly in third place with 14 points each.

Interestingly, the season so far, which has produced three different winners in three races, has demonstrated that it may not be a Ferrari-McLaren procession this year.

The top of the manufacturers' table is held by BMW-Sauber, though admittedly they are only one point clear of Ferrari and two ahead of McLaren. Pole position in Sunday's race went to Kubica in a BMW-Sauber.



John - ;)

[Paul]

On purpose? Maybe Alonso also press Hamilton´s button :funny: Alonso´s telemeter showed he wasn´t braking. Hamilton hit Alonso´s car twice, not only once! And the second one broke the back part of the car.
The career was a bit boring for me. It was only interesting at the beginning

Well he couldnt stop because although Alonso didn't brake he slowed down for no reason, that was a part of the track where drivers should be going full throttle. Hamilton had every right to be accelerating at that point. But thats the way it goes, either one of them could have been out of the race so whatever did happen they are risking it.

I dont know if you drive, but over here there is a new thing where people slow down on purpose knowing the car behind will hit them and the car behind gets the blame for being too close. (They do it for insurance reasons to get new cars etc, idiots. :() In a situtation where you are coming up to traffic lights that would be the drivers fault behind, but when traffic is moving freely it is actually the front driver's fault.

[Shannia]

I know what you mean Paul. I read that english media was pressing FIA to investigate Hamilton and Alonso telemeter ( I don´t know if that´s the word) and there wasn´t anything strange. Alonso did not slow down according to the FIA investigations results. I am sure that Mclaren accelerates quite faster than Renault at this point of the season.

[Paul]

Yes they said they would be looking at the onboard computers to see if there was any braking, I dont think he did brake either. It was probably just an accident, Lewis was accelerating as any driver would at that point and Alonso slowed, I dont even know if Alonso would have known he was there. I think it was a genuine accident, but whenever anything happens involving both of them people start thinking about how they dont get on. Thats probably true that McClaren is a faster car too.

Do you think Alonso will go to Ferrari? There was some talk about it, but to replace Massa or Kimi?

[Shannia]

Do you think Alonso will go to Ferrari? There was some talk about it, but to replace Massa or Kimi?

That´s what Spain dream :funny::funny: It´s good to hear that those rumours are also out of here and they are not spanish journalist gossips. :funny: :funny:
For what I have heard it can be possible, as he doesn´t get on well with Jean Todt and now he´s out of Ferrari but it´s very difficult to see Fernando in Ferrari still. These rumours induce Fernando to replace Massa as Italian media is pressing Ferrari cause they don´t like him for being such an unsteady pilot. And the movement would be easier as Jeand Todt (like rumours said) would buy Toro Rosso and Massa would be his number 1 pilot (cause Jeand Todt´s son is Massa´s manager). But as I said are rumours,unfortunately :cry:

[Paul]

Its a shame Hamilton and Alonso dont get on, they could have been an awesome team. Those two in Ferrari would be great to watch. I think Kubica is a great driver too, if they all had the same car I wonder who would be the best. :hmmm:

[Shannia]

We will see what happens this year. We are watching Kubica has a lot of potencial and BMW is being quite competitive this season. I don´t want Alonso and Hamilton in the same team never again :funny:

[Paul]

No bad idea... :p

[Paul]

Barcelona next. I can't wait for Valencia...it might become the next Monaco. F1 is so exciting right now! And the night race this year too...:D

[ELEANOR MAW]

It all looks much more fun this year, it sorts the men from the boys, now you can see who the real good drivers are now that the gizmo's have been removed from the cars.

[Paul]

It seems the men are the boys and the boys are the men...some of the young drivers are far more mature having heard Coulthard having his tantum...:rolleyes:

[ELEANOR MAW]

It seems the men are the boys and the boys are the men...some of the young drivers are far more mature having heard Coulthard having his tantum...:rolleyes:Coulthard should step down from driving and give another driver a chance :D

[Shannia]

Barcelona next. I can't wait for Valencia...it might become the next Monaco. F1 is so exciting right now! And the night race this year too...:D

Yeah yeah :nervous: :nervous: I can´t wait either. I think Valencia´s circuit is the most beautiful of all, it will beat Monaco´s one.

[Paul]

I'd love to see Monaco but its impossible. F1 is so expensive to go and see. I get REALLY annoyed when celebs get to go on the grid before a race and they dont even care about F1. :( Last time they talked to Macy Gray, what has she got to do with it?! In Australia it was Kelly Osborne.

OMG did you hear about the F1 boss Max Mosely? He is terrible, what a sick guy. Will we ever have a F1 season without problems?!

[Shannia]

I heard that news but I haven´t seen anything cause I think there´s pics about it on the net and maybe even the video?:shocked: Did he know he was being taped? When you have so many money you would have to be more careful cause a lot of bugs appears near you to soak up your money with things like these. The weird thing it´s that most people have not say anything so who knows what the rest of these men do :funny::funny: Ecclestone:funny::funny:

I agree, tickets are very expensive and you should come home deaf. I am very obsessive and as I want to see every minimal detail I would lost a lot of information like time between cars and all those things, while I won´t being home. :funny:

[Paul]

I havent seen it...what an idiot! He should leave now anyway...:uhh:

I'm like that, I think being at the race you wouldn't see what is happening, the TV is the best way to know what is going on. :p

[ELEANOR MAW]

I never did like Max Mosely, what a pervert, he should exit now.
Does he have no respect for all those Jews who were murdered by the Nazis, Max Mosely should face a firing squad or be gassed.

[Paul]

Good point, thats pretty funny. What a complete idiot.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen set the pace during practice at the Spanish Grand Prix, topping the time charts in the morning and afternoon sessions.

Times from first practice for Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:20.649
2. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:20.699
3. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) McLaren 1:21.192
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:21.568
5. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:21.758
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:21.933
7. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:21.936
8. David Coulthard (GBR) Red Bull 1:22.118
9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:22.278
10. Jenson Button (GBR) Honda 1:22.632
11. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:23.002
12. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:23.003
13. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:23.015
14. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:23.141
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:23.153
16. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:23.156
17. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:23.196
18. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:23.353
19. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:23.952
20. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso 1:24.082
21. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri 1:24.278
22. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri 1:25.068

Second practice:

1. Raikkonen 1:21.935
2. Piquet Jr 1:22.019
3. Alonso 1:22.032
4. Nakajima 1:22.172
5. Massa 1:22.229
6. Webber 1:22.238
7. Rosberg 1:22.266
8. Coulthard 1:22.289
9. Fisichella 1:22.383
10. Sutil 1:22.548
11. Hamilton 1:22.685
12. Kubica 1:22.788
13. Heidfeld 1:23.130
14. Trulli 1:23.224
15. Button 1:23.263
16. Kovalainen 1:23.264
17. Barrichello 1:23.415
18. Vettel 1:23.661
19. Bourdais 1:23.684
20. Glock 1:23.883
21. Sato 1:25.110
22. Davidson 1:25.163

[mjp]

Here is some pictures from the last test in Barcelona.
Very clean and nice looking car. Looking forward to the 2009 season, when we get slick tires again and cars should look alot nicer, not so many small wings as they use today.

So here is a peek of a the Ferrari can look next year, to bad that the driver who is behind the wheel wont be back, he is missed :)
:bow:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x229/Hindrum/Ferrari20091.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x229/Hindrum/Ferrari20092.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x229/Hindrum/Ferrari20093.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x229/Hindrum/Ferrari20094.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x229/Hindrum/Ferrari20095.jpg
:faint: :bow: :great:

[Paul]

Amazing Ferrari pics!

[ELEANOR MAW]

Thanks for posting great F1 Ferrari photos mjp.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Final grid positions for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1 min 21.813 secs
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:21.904
3. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:22.058
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:22.065
5. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren - Mercedes 1:22.096
6. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren - Mercedes 1:22.231
7. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull - Renault 1:22.429
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:22.529
9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:22.542
10. Nelsinho Piquet (Brz) Renault 1:22.699
11. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:21.049
12. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams - Toyota 1:21.117
13. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:21.211
14. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.230
15. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams - Toyota 1:21.349
16. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:21.724
17. David Coulthard (GB) RedBull - Renault 1:21.810
18. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:22.108
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India - Ferrari 1:22.516
20. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India - Ferrari 1:23.224
21. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri - Honda 1:23.318
22. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri - Honda 1:23.496

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44603000/jpg/_44603182_raikkonen_270.jpg

Reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen produced a blistering final lap to qualify in pole position for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
The Ferrari driver clocked a time of one minute, 21.813 seconds to snatch pole from under the nose of home favourite Fernando Alonso.
Felipe Massa will start third on the grid at Circuit de Catalunya with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica fourth.
Britain's Lewis Hamilton will have much to do after qualifying fifth fastest.

[Shannia]

So exciting! I almost suffered a heart attack when Kimi snatch Fernando´s pole position.:funny: I really hope it´s Renault resurrection but Fernando said he expect to be number 6 or 7 at the end of the spanish GP. :love:

[Shannia]

What a weird race, it´s not very ordinary that we have so many pilots out of the GP. So sorry for Alonso, he was so sad of dissapointing all the people that moved to Barcelona:cry:
I hope Heiki is fine!!:eek:

http://www.marca.com/elementosPortada/fotosPortada/2008/04/27/alonso_coche370x200.jpg

[Paul]

Very strange race, the accident was awful. :( I thought he might have even been killed, thankfully he looks ok. 140mph into a wall...:shocked:

Ferrari look so good right now. I was sad for the Spanish fans when Alonso had to stop, but thats Grand Prix. Lots of racers had to retire from engine problems today.

[SevenUp!]

Very strange race, the accident was awful. :( I thought he might have even been killed, thankfully he looks ok. 140mph into a wall...:shocked:

I saw that too, that was shocking....scary. Amazing he survived at all. Looks like the left front wheel just deflated and he just went off track after that. Thankfully, it looks like he's going to be alright.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Result of Spanish Grand Prix:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari one hour 38 minutes 19.051 seconds
2. Felipe Massa (Brz) (Ferrari) 3.228 seconds behind
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes at 4.187
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber at 5.694
5. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault at 35.938
6. Jenson Button (GB) Honda at 53.010
7. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota at 58.244
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota at 59.435
9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber at 1:03.073
10. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari one lap behind
11. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota one lap
12. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault one lap
13. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda one lap
R Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 41 laps completed
R Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 34 laps
R Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 34 laps
R Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 21 laps
R Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda eight laps
R Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari seven laps
R Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault six laps
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India no laps
R Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari no laps

[ELEANOR MAW]

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen extended his championship lead with a comfortable win at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Finn is nine points clear of Lewis Hamilton, whose McLaren was third behind Felipe Massa's Ferrari. Raikkonen controlled the race, while Massa held off a late challenge from Hamilton, who himself had race-long pressure from Robert Kubica's BMW. Fernando Alonso's Renault, which had qualified second to Raikkonen, retired from fifth place with engine failure. The race was disrupted by two interventions by the safety car, the first on the first lap and the second following a nasty accident involving McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn lost control of his car following a breakage somewhere in the left front wheel area heading into the 150mph Campsa corner. The McLaren speared straight over the gravel trap and was embedded in the tyre barrier. It took the medical team 10 minutes to extract Kovalainen from his damaged car, but he was conscious as he was taken away on a stretcher and could be seen giving a thumbs up to the crowd. It is believed he has no injuries, but he was taken to hospital in Barcelona for medical checks, McLaren believe a stone became lodged between the tyre and the wheel rim, causing a sudden tyre deflation. Raikkonen was in a league of his own at the front, as the Finn built a lead in the first stint and then paced himself to Massa for the rest of the race.

As expected, Alonso was the first driver to pit but his strategy was not as outlandish as some had suspected it could be - Massa came in only three laps later.
Judging by Alonso's pace in the race, Renault appear now to be best of the rest behind the top three teams, which is a huge step forward from their lacklustre showing in the first three races. "We had an engine problem - we blew up," he said. "Unfortunately, it is not the right place as it's my home Grand Prix, but I am very happy.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44605000/jpg/_44605047_alonsogetty226.jpg
Fernando Alonso Renault F1 Driver

[Paul]

I saw that too, that was shocking....scary. Amazing he survived at all. Looks like the left front wheel just deflated and he just went off track after that. Thankfully, it looks like he's going to be alright.

I just cant believe how hard he hit the wall, the front half of the car was just obliterated. They must be so well designed to protect the drivers. F1 might be thrilling but they are brave at the end of the day, not sure I'd want to risk my life every fortnight like that.

[FinnFreak]

They're the modern day gladiators... for a moment, it reminded me of Ayrton Senna da Silva at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola...

At such speeds... things fly. :sad:


Heikki Kovalainen has been released from hospital:

http://static.iltalehti.fi/formulat/juttuheikkikiittaaJOB_148_fo.jpg

How do you feel at the moment?

“I have a slight headache and a stiff neck, but apart from that I am feeling well and in good spirits. My focus is on getting better as soon as possible so I can pass the FIA medical inspection required to allow me to race in Turkey.”

Do you remember anything from the accident?

“I don’t remember anything from the accident or what happened afterwards but would obviously like to thank all the circuit emergency staff, the FIA medical team at the track and the doctors at the hospital for all their efforts in looking after me. Also thank you for all the messages I have received – they all mean a lot.”

What do you think might have caused the accident?

“The team told me that the left front wheel rim might have broken which could have lead to the sudden deflation of the tyre. However we have to wait for further inspections to be able to confirm the exact cause. What is especially important is the fact that the monocoque withstood the heavy impact, so credit should also be given to everyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for that.”



John - ;):up:

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44629000/jpg/_44629224_davidson203.jpg
Anthony Davidson

The Super Aguri team have withdrawn from the Formula One World Championship because of a lack of funding.

The Japanese team have wound up their racing activities with immediate effect and will not compete at this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

Super Aguri have been struggling for survival since the collapse of a takeover deal by the Dubai-based Magma Group in April.

It means British driver Anthony Davidson is now without an F1 drive.

Team founder Aguri Suzuki, who broke the news in Japan, said: "Regretfully I must inform you that the team will be ceasing racing activities.

"The loss of financial backing put the team into financial difficulties.

"With the help of Honda, we somehow managed to keep the team going, but we find it difficult to establish a way to continue the activities in the future so I have concluded to withdraw.

"I have been very happy that I was able to achieve a miracle and become a team owner."

Davidson warned that it was becoming almost impossible for privately-run teams to survive in the sport.

"It was pretty unexpected for everyone to lose this team so early in the year," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"F1 is a strong sport and teams will come and go but they'll be missed - especially the smaller ones.

"It's maybe a sign of the times that privateer teams just can't survive now."

Super Aguri's prospects looked bleak when they were denied access to the Istanbul circuit ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix pending talks over their survival.

Team founder Aguri Suzuki and backers Honda were expected to meet on Tuesday, while the team's trucks and motorhome were not allowed into the paddock.

Super Aguri's car, engine and gearbox - and much of their funding - came from Honda, but the Japanese manufacturers wanted the F1 minnows to start paying for their equipment.

New regulations which come into force in 2010 also mean that F1 teams will no longer be able to make custom cars for other outfits.

Suzuki added: "The change of direction of the environment surrounding the team, in terms of the use of customer chassis, has also affected our ability to find partners."

Super Aguri announced last week an 11th hour deal for Germany's Weigh Group to take a "substantial shareholding" but it now seems likely Honda did not approve that deal.

"We simply ran out of time to put together a deal with Weigl," said Suzuki, who drove in F1 from 1988 to 1995.

"We did reach a basic agreement with Weigl but were always battling against time."

It is understood Honda provided an emergency cash injection which allowed Super Aguri to race in the Spanish Grand Prix on 27 April, but no longer wants to divert cash away from its own racing team.

Suzuki's team, who were based in the factory formerly used by the now defunct Arrows team, made its F1 debut in 2006.

The following season, with drivers Takuma Sato and Davidson at the helm, the team collected four points to finish ninth in the constructor standings, just two points behind Honda.

Super Aguri had not scored any points from four races this season with Sato's 13th place in Barcelona, where Davidson retired, their best placing.

Suzuki, 47, paid tribute to his drivers, adding: "Anthony Davidson has always pushed to the limit despite very difficult conditions.

"Takuma Sato has been with us from the very start and has always fought hard and led the team.

"The drivers have always been so positive and have been fantastic.

"Lastly, I would like to express my thanks to our fans from all over the world, who have loyally supported the team."

Super Aguri's demise is another unfortunate turn in Davidson's career, which began in 2000 when he joined BAR (which became Honda in 2005) as a test driver.

After making his Grand Prix debut in 2002 filling in at Minardi, Davidson finally got a full-time drive with Super Aguri in 2007.

The 29-year-old remains hopeful of remaining in the sport.

"It's a bitter blow but I'll bounce back," he said. "My priority is to stick to F1. It's what I'm trained to do. It's unfinished business for me at the moment for me. I feel it's where I belong."

Sato made his debut in 2002 with the former Jordan team before moving to BAR.

The 31-year-old was dropped in 2005 and Super Aguri was partly set up to provide a drive for the Japanese racer.

Suzuki remained hesistant about reviving his F1 ambitions in the future, saying: "The past two and a half years have flown past but I have no regrets.

"I'm exhausted. I definitely need a break. It's a piranha club and I kind of feel that I don't want to stick my fingers back in."

[ELEANOR MAW]

Ferrari's Felipe Massa secured pole position at the Turkish GP for the third year running with a stunning lap at the very end of qualifying.

The Brazilian, who has claimed victory at Istanbul Park for the last two years, clocked a time of one minute, 27.617 seconds with his final lap.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen will join him on the front row, with British team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third.

Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari qualified in fourth.

And that will at least please Hamilton, who was left to ponder whether his decision to use harder tyres in the third qualifying session had been the correct one.

"I think we did make the right decision and it was the best tyre I could have used, although at the time I didn't think that," he said, having earlier stated he regretted choosing the tyres.

"I've just looked at the data and it was the right decision. My engineer told me my decision was right."

Assessing his race prospects, he added: "It's better than we've been for the last few races. It's not all doom and gloom.

"We're in a good position to be able to attack on the first lap, and challenge for the win, but it's going to be tough.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Qualifying result from the Turkish Grand Prix:

1. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari one minute, 27.617 secs
2. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:27.808
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:27.923
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:27.936
5. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:28.390
6. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull - Renault 1:28.417
7. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:28.422
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:28.836
9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:28.882
10. David Coulthard (GB) RedBull - Renault 1:29.959
11. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams - Toyota 1:27.012
12. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:27.219
13. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:27.298
14. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:27.412
15. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:27.806
16. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams - Toyota 1:27.547
17. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:27.568
18. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:27.621
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India - Ferrari 1:27.807
20. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India - Ferrari 1:28.325

[canoilers]

Can't wait for the Edmonton Indy. I still find it kind of odd that IRL hasn't put the race on their web site yet.

[SevenUp!]

Yeah that is odd. But then again it is Edmonton....and odd things and Edmonton kinda go together:p

[canoilers]

Must be after all I'm here. :p

[Paul]

The Turkish Grand Prix is so exciting, 13 laps to go, Massa-Hamilton-Kimi...Amazing race so far.

[Paul]

Wow that was one of the best Grand Prix for a while, lots of overtaking...really enjoyed it.

Why is there so much sport on TV when the weather is so nice? :(

[ELEANOR MAW]

Yes it was a great race Paul, it's a good race track that most drivers love other than Fizzy.

[ELEANOR MAW]

The result of Turkish Grand Prix
1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari one hour 26 minutes 49.451 seconds
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 3.779 secs
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari +4.271
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +21.945
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +38.741
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +53.724
7. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault +1:04.229
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota +1:11.406
9. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault +1:15.270
10. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota +1:16.344
11. Jenson Button (GB) Honda one lap behind
12. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes one lap
13. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota one lap
14. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda one lap
15. Nelson Piquet (Brz) Renault one lap
16. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari one lap
17. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari one lap
R Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 33 laps completed
R Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota one lap
R Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari no laps

[ELEANOR MAW]

Felipe Massa took a comfortable victory in the Turkish Grand Prix despite Lewis Hamilton's attempt to take the fight to Ferrari with an inventive strategy.
The McLaren driver passed Massa for the lead in the middle of the race but his three-stop strategy succeeded only in beating Kimi Raikkonen to second place.
Massa, on a conventional two-stop plan like his team-mate, had pace in hand to keep ahead of Hamilton.
But the Englishman did cut Raikkonen's
championship lead to seven points.
And Hamilton, who is tied on points with Massa but behind him in the standings on win count-back, will be encouraged by his McLaren's new-found competitiveness.
"I'm thrilled to have come second from third [on the grid]," Hamilton said.
"We knew it was going to be tough to challenge the Ferraris. We were hoping to get some points and finishing in the top five was good.
"But the balance of the car was good and I kept pushing and pushing, so I'm happy."
Massa, who won for the third time in a row at Istanbul Park, was always out of reach of Hamilton, but even being able to compete with one of the Ferraris was a step forward for McLaren.
Hamilton was in aggressive mood from the start of the race, moving up a place from his third spot on the grid on the run to the first corner and tracking Massa until the McLaren's first stop on lap 16.
That was three laps earlier than Massa's first stop, but what betrayed McLaren's strategy was that the team put only a small amount of fuel in the car at that time.
The thinking appeared initially to be to enable the car to run lighter - and therefore faster - and try to pass Massa.
The team would have known the Brazilian was out of reach, but Raikkonen, having a rare off weekend, looked vulnerable if Hamilton could gain enough time.
But team boss Ron Dennis said after the race that McLaren were forced into a three-stop strategy because of concern about the Bridgestone tyres' durability on Hamilton's car.
Bridgestone said Hamilton's driving style put more load into his right front tyre than any of his rivals.
Whatever the reason for the strategy, the 23-year-old set about his task with vigour.
Hamilton was quickly on Massa's tail when the Ferrari rejoined the race and on lap 24 he pulled off a superb overtaking move at the end of the back straight.
Massa left the McLaren very little room on the inside as they braked for the tight left-hander, but Hamilton was not to be intimidated and he forced his way through.
Hamilton then set a series of fastest laps as he sought to build the advantage he needed to take on Raikkonen.
But after making his second stop on lap 31, Hamilton was 3.2 seconds behind the world champion.
He closed that to a second by lap 43, when Raikkonen made his final stop, and piled on the pressure for two more laps before making his own final stop.
He emerged from that ahead of Raikkonen, and fitted with the softer tyres that he had not been able to get to work on the McLaren all weekend.
But although the Ferrari closed in during the final stint, Hamilton was able to hold on to his position to the end of the race.
Raikkonen said his performance had been compromised by damage to his front wing, caused in a first-lap collision with Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen which gave the McLaren driver a puncture.
Ferrari opted not to change the wing because it would have taken too long, Raikkonen said.
Massa said: "That was just fantastic. It was a very difficult race, with Lewis pushing me hard, but I thought he was light (on fuel) at the start.
"Then when he pitted ahead of me, my team told me straight away he was on three stops. That was a help because he was very strong and I couldn't hold him.
"I knew I had a chance because three stops is optimistic, so it was difficult, but we made it."
The BMW Saubers put in their least competitive showing of the season and could manage only fourth and fifth places, with Robert Kubica ahead of Nick Heidfeld.
Behind them, Fernando Alonso was sixth for Renault, winning a battle with Red Bull's Mark Webber, who continued his impressively consistent season with his fourth points finish in a row.
Kovalainen, who had started from the front row for the first time in his career, saw his chances dashed when he suffered a puncture after his car was brushed by Raikkonen's on the first lap.
He pitted for a replacement and fought his way back impressively from last to eighth place, passing Williams's Nico Rosberg with eight laps to go, before a late stop for a final splash of fuel left him down in 12th.
A safety car was deployed soon after the start following an accident at the first corner.
Giancarlo Fisichella's Force India ran over the back of Kazuki Nakajima's Williams, taking both cars out of the race.
But it had little effect - the caution period lasted only until the third lap.

[Shannia]

Very nice and interesting race:) Althought I don´t like very much when the fuel strategies have so many importance. I don´t like cars being overtaking only because of the stops but that´s how it goes:cool:
It´s a pity that we don´t have so many teams now that Super Aguri left. The worst part it´s that Toro Rosso is also in danger cause they don´t have more money so if anybody sells the team...two cars less at the paddock

[Paul]

Its a shame, its so expensive to race in F1 and its so much more interesting with more teams. I kind of wanted Rubens to win that one because it was the race where he broke the record for most Grand Prix races and he's such a character.

I didn't know Kimi was thinking of leaving Ferrari in 2 years. I wonder who they will get...

[ELEANOR MAW]

I didn't know Kimi was thinking of leaving Ferrari in 2 years. I wonder who they will get...My Husband :funny: Although I would not let him how ever much he was paid :p

[Paul]

Kimi gets more than £1 million per race. :shocked:

[ELEANOR MAW]

Kimi gets more than £1 million per race. :shocked:He's a dam good driver :D Well worth it :p

[Paul]

I'm faster, especially when I have an assignment to hand in. :p Who needs a Ferrari either when you have a VW Polo? :funny:

[Shannia]

Its a shame, its so expensive to race in F1 and its so much more interesting with more teams. I kind of wanted Rubens to win that one because it was the race where he broke the record for most Grand Prix races and he's such a character.

I didn't know Kimi was thinking of leaving Ferrari in 2 years. I wonder who they will get...

Me too but Barrichello is far enough of winning another race with that car:uhh:.
I don´t know if we should believe Kimmi statement:uhh: till 2009!

[Kristian]

Well on Sunday, we will have Monaco GP, it's one of the hardest races of the year. Hopefully another good day for "Il Cavallino Rampante"

[ELEANOR MAW]

I will be quite busy over the weekend, so a lot of my reporting of the Monaco GP will be quite late, if anyone wants to send in the results of qualifying and the race please go ahead, I have some of my family from Ireland calling in so I am sure I will be busy entertaining them.

[Shannia]

Well on Sunday, we will have Monaco GP, it's one of the hardest races of the year. Hopefully another good day for "Il Cavallino Rampante"

Ferrari has not very luck in Monaco, it´s suppossed to be a Mclaren circuit but we will see what happens. Nico Rosberg did great times yesterday at the first trainings.

[Kristian]

Well, last year Alonso won it, and Massa was third, Kimi didn't have much luck, and he started at 16, and he finished 8th, but I think Ferrari will have a better luck this year.

[Shannia]

Weather predictions says that it´s quite probably to have rain on Sunday so everything can happens. But it´s very dangerous for pilots to drive in Monaco with water :help: and in case of any accident the breakdown van has difficult access to get out the cars.

[Kristian]

I just hope Monaco won't become another Australian GP, but if it rains, it's quite possible, now without TC anything is possible.

[Paul]

Ok I hope theres no rain. Monaco always makes me feel like summer is coming, its usally nice weather.

[Paul]

I saw this picture on the Sky News website, I thought it was pretty funny. As if you would lie there reading a a magazine when F1 qualifying was going on right in front of you!

http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1681883.jpg

[Paul]

Massa grabs surprise Monaco pole

Felipe Massa tore up the formbook to beat his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and both McLarens to pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Brazilian overcame a dislike of the tortuous street circuit to upstage all the pre-event favourites in the most important qualifying session of the season.

In fact Massa topped the times in all three segments, ultimately pipping Raikkonen by 0.028s.

The McLarens, who had set the pace in practice, came up short in qualifying and will share the second row, Lewis Hamilton ahead of Heikki Kovalainen.

Robert Kubica was fifth quickest in the lead BMW, while Nico Rosberg did a sterling job to snatch sixth for Williams.

Monaco GP provisional grid:


1. MASSA Ferrari
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari

3. HAMILTON McLaren

4. KOVALAINEN McLaren

5. KUBICA BMW

6. ROSBERG Williams

7. ALONSO Renault

8. TRULLI Toyota

9. WEBBER Red Bull

10. COULTHARD Red Bull

11. GLOCK Toyota

12. BUTTON Honda

13. HEIDFELD BMW

14. NAKAJIMA Williams

15. BARRICHELLO Honda

16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso

17. PIQUET Renault

18. SUTIL Force India

19. FISICHELLA Force India

20. VETTEL Toro Rosso*



* penalised for gearbox change

[ELEANOR MAW]

Thanks for the latest F1 news Paul, I have only just seen the qualifying.

[dreamer]

neat!!

[Shannia]

Massa flew over the track:o Rosberg got the best qualifying position in this year I think.

[Paul]

Wow crazy race with the weather...good result for Lewis.

http://d.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com//ng/sp/eurosport/20080525/14/2702007814.jpg

Monaco GP result - 76 laps

1. HAMILTON McLaren
2. KUBICA BMW +3.0s
3. MASSA Ferrari +4.8s
4. WEBBER Red Bull +19.2s
5. VETTEL Toro Rosso +24.6s
6. BARRICHELLO Honda +28.4s
7. NAKAJIMA Williams +30.1s
8. KOVALAINEN McLaren +33.1s
9. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +33.7s
10. ALONSO Renault +1 lap
11. BUTTON Honda +1 lap
12. GLOCK Toyota +1 lap
13. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
14. HEIDFELD BMW +4 laps
R. SUTIL Force India +9 laps
R . ROSBERG Williams +17 laps
R. PIQUET Renault +29 laps
R. FISICHELLA Force India +40 laps
R. COULTHARD Red Bull +69 laps
R. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +69 laps

Fastest lap: HAMILTON 1m19.006s

[ELEANOR MAW]

Thanks for posting the results this weekend Paul, I have only just watched the race on the Video. Great Race.

[shadowita]

Eh...
But Paul is not the same...
He hasnt...
Your 'female touch' Eleanor... :p

A day to forget for Ferrari Team...

[Paul]

Eh...
But Paul is not the same...
He hasnt...
Your 'female touch' Eleanor... :p

A day to forget for Ferrari Team...

Whaaaat I even posted a little Lewis pic! :funny:

It wasn't a good day for Ferrari you're right, both started on the front row and didn't win. The stats show that Monaco has only been won about 3 times from 3rd position in 20 years so Lewis did well. His crash early on worked in his favour, he was able to take on fuel which meant he only need one more stop and that was the same stop he had to change to dry tyres, just when it started to dry up. McClaren were very smart - they knew Heike was out of the race so they experimented on him with drys to see if it was dry enough for Lewis to change tyres. I feel sorry for Heike lately he has not much luck, I like him.

[Paul]

Sky Showbiz:

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3179/lwsev4.jpg

Well, well, it appers Nicole's love engine is being revved by none other than Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton. Reports say the pair looked rather cosy at the Monaco Grand Prix.

This isn't the first time they've been linked but this time round apparently Nic also met Lewis' family, and a source told the Daily Mirror Lewis and Nic were snogging up a storm in a club.


I'm definately in the wrong job. :funny: They have such a hard life, these drivers.

[shadowita]

This isn't the first time they've been linked but this time round apparently Nic also met Lewis' family, and a source told the Daily Mirror Lewis and Nic were snogging up a storm in a club.
Sorry, but this info is not true.
:mad:
I dont like Lewis.
W Ferrari!

[Paul]

Haha! :funny: Was that you they interviewed on the grid before the race,? You look different from how I imagined!

She said she was Lewis' "special guest". Whatever that means. But she was there. Don't we wish our girlfriend were hot like Lewis's. :funny:

[ELEANOR MAW]

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in Friday's second free practice session for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
The Briton, who won the Grand Prix last year, set a lap of one minute 15.752 seconds, edging out BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica by 0.271s in wet conditions.
Kimi Raikkonen, second to Hamilton in the drivers' championship was third fastest for Ferrari, while Finn Heikki Kovalainen was fourth.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa finished in fifth place ahead of Nick Heidfeld.
Overnight rain made for wet track conditions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on an overcast morning in Montreal, but Hamilton was able to get close to his pole-winning time of one minute 15.707s set last June.
The 23-year-old, who took his first grand prix win in Montreal last year, lapped fastest with his final effort of the day.
Several drivers span off the track in the opening stages, including Honda's Jenson Button, Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Renault pair Fernando Alonso, and Nelson Piquet.
Massa, meanwhile, did not participate in the last 15 minutes of the session due to a technical problem with his car.
The exit of turn four proved problematic for a number of drivers with Kubica and Toyota's Timo Glock both making contact.

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44725000/jpg/_44725620_hamilton203cred.jpg

First free practice times for the Canadian Grand Prix:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1min 15.752secs
2. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:16.023
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:16.093
4. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:16.331
5. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:16.413
6. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:16.589
7. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:16.604
8. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:16.767
9. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:17.019
10. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:17.068
11. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:17.242
12. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1:17.334
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:17.462
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Ferrari 1:17.508
15. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:17.549
16. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:17.559
17. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:17.644
18. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Ferrari 1:17.813
19. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:17.842
20. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:18.076

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://www.topnews.in/sports/files/max-mosley.jpg
Max Mosley

Radical change and controversy are themes repeated throughout Max Mosley's reign as president of motorsport's governing body, the FIA.
But in his fourth term of office, the 68-year-old came to the wider public's attention and under scrutiny like never before, when the News of the World alleged he had taken part in a "Nazi-style orgy" with prostitutes.
Mosley apologised for causing any embarrassment but denied his actions had any Nazi connotations, and later launched legal action against the newspaper.
He also made it clear, right from the start, that he was determined to continue in his role despite the revelations.
On Tuesday he survived a vote of confidence to stay on as president of the FIA, but it was far from a ringing endorsement as more than a third of delegates did not back him.
A motorsport insider told BBC Sport he felt Mosley's decision not to resign at the time of the initial allegations was "a catastrophic political misjudgement".
And after initially supporting Mosley, F1's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone later declared his friend of 40 years "should go out of responsibility for the institution he represents".
Considering the nature of the allegations, it was pointed out that a senior figure in any other public office - or in a major international company - would have conceded their position had become untenable.
Not so Mosley, who defended his behaviour as "harmless and completely legal".
The allegations had greater impact because of Mosley's background.
His father is former MP Oswald Mosley, who was the leader of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s. And Mosley, born in 1940, was also schooled in Germany not long after the Second World War.
Yet Mosley's stubborn stance was indicative of his character. He had already made many enemies in his 15-year tenure as FIA president with an approach that suggested he felt he was beyond questioning.
Former world champion Damon Hill told BBC 5 Live on Tuesday: "Certainly his style of presidency has a very strong authoritarian streak to it, which I think does intimidate journalists and people who work in the sport."
Mosley - along with his long-time associate Ecclestone - has ruled the sport in ways that have sometimes been perceived as Machiavellian - even if many of the things he achieved have much merit.
Last year, Mosley publicly called former world champion driver Jackie Stewart a "certified half-wit" after the Scot criticised his handling of the "spy-gate" scandal involving McLaren and Ferrari.
The remark was at odds with his undoubted political skills, and gave a glimpse of the ruthless operator lurking beneath the measured, suave exterior.
There are plenty of stories of Mosley's temper erupting behind the scenes, of anger unleashed at those who dared to cross him.
Yet Mosley would have pursued a career in politics had he not been advised against it because of his family history - he was once described as the best prime minister the Conservative party never had.
Instead he chose a career in law, after gaining a degree in physics from Oxford University, and went on to become a barrister.
And it was his legal - as well as political - background that helped him shape the future of motorsport's elite competition.
As Ecclestone's lawyer during a bitter dispute within the sport in the early 1980s, Mosley played a key role in drafting the Concorde Agreement that settled the issue and still governs F1 today.
By 1991, Mosley had become president of the sporting arm of the FIA. And two years later, he was elected president of the whole federation - just as the sport was about to enter a time of crisis.
During qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Roland Ratzenberger smashed head-on into a crash barrier and died from his injuries.
The three-time world champion Ayrton Senna was also killed when he careered into a concrete wall during the race the following day.
Then, during practice for the Monaco Grand Prix - the very next day of competition - Austrian Karl Wendlinger suffered a serious accident which left him in a coma for weeks.
After the tragedies, a headline in French newspaper L'Equipe read simply: Stop this.
As an amateur racer, who had competed in the 1968 Formula Two race at Hockenheim in which double world champion Jim Clark was killed, Mosley had already been well aware of the terrible dangers of the sport.
And so he set about bringing in wide-ranging changes to make Formula One much safer.
These included reducing engine capacity, introducing grooved tyres to reduce cornering speeds, redesigning circuits and ensuring there was more rigorous crash-testing of the cars' chassis.
Through the FIA, Mosley also involved himself in road car safety and takes pride in the part he played in the introduction of the Euro NCAP crash-test standards.
The programme has undeniably improved safety in modern cars and Mosley has stated it his greatest achievement as FIA boss.
In addition he has pushed for Formula One to begin developing environmentally-friendly technology, which can also be applied to road cars.
To this end, Mosley put in place a 10-year ban on engine development, in order to ensure manufacturers spend more of their budget on 'green' issues.
Although the moves are highly commendable, there is some suspicion that his motives were driven as much by the need for F1 to safeguard its future as they were for safeguarding the future of the planet.
Mosley's involvement with motorsport began in the late 1960s when he began racing and reached the level of Formula Two after forming the London Racing Team.
After realising he was never going to be a world champion, Mosley co-founded March - a racing car manufacturer - and oversaw the company's legal and commercial matters.
The company then moved into building F1 cars and built up a dominant position in American Indy Car racing in the 1980s.
Mosley, however, extricated himself from March to concentrate on F1 politics. Despite his abilities in this area, he was involved in a number of spats with F1 car makers over his plans for the sport.
He announced in July 2004 that he intended to quit his FIA role at the end of that season, saying that he found discussions with team owners increasingly tedious.
But he subsequently decided to stay on after the FIA senate asked him not to step down.
Mosley also had public rows with Ecclestone, although many F1 insiders believe these were just part of a well-crafted plan to strengthen their control over the sport.
But whatever team owners, manufacturers and F1 fans may have thought of them, few would dispute that the pair formed a brilliant and powerful alliance.
And when the scandal broke around Mosley's alleged activities, Ecclestone said: "Assuming it's all true, what people do privately is up to them. I don't honestly believe it affects the sport in any way."
Ecclestone also said at that time he felt there was no need for Mosley to resign.
However, he later changed his view, saying: "Everyone I speak to in a position of authority in F1 says he should go. It's regretful he's not made this decision."
Among the FIA's members, significant member countries such as Germany and the US made it clear after the vote they felt Mosley should resign regardless of his success.
And as the dust continues to settle, it remains to be seen whether Mosley will be able to control the damage from a scandal that now seems destined to become the most defining episode of his time as FIA president.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Sky Showbiz:

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3179/lwsev4.jpg
Lewis at work and then on his off day :funny:




Only joking, I just could not resist :p

[Shannia]

It would be great to see Shania going to Montreal GP:p But as we have the same posibilities of Shania going than Fernando winning a race this year, we will have to content with Nicole going to the GP as I can see...:funny:

[ELEANOR MAW]

Lewis Hamilton delivered a devastating last lap to claim a second successive pole for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver clocked one minute 17.886 seconds to better Robert Kubica's mark for BMW Sauber by more than half a second. Kimi Raikkonen lines up third for Ferrari alongside Renault's Fernando Alonso, who did well to qualify fourth. Jenson Button will start at the back after he was forced to withdraw his Honda because of gearbox problems, The Briton will share the back row with Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel, who did not take part in qualifying after ploughing into the wall during final practice. Hamilton topped the timesheets in all three qualifying sessions in Montreal with a characteristic display of attacking but assured driving. Ferrari desperately tried to close down the world championship leader in the dying minutes but, though they were fast through the first two sectors, they could not match the McLaren man's pace. Kubica, who suffered a high-speed crash at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last year, came closest to toppling Hamilton as he clocked 1:18.498 with just seconds left. But Hamilton, who had just started his final hot lap, comfortably eclipsed that mark to take his eighth career pole. "I felt at home in qualifying," said the Briton. "The team did a great job in the early stages of each qualifying session. "I had a feeling that Kimi was hunting me down, so I knew I had to stick it out and make sure I got a good lap. "I think I found six or seven tenths (of a second) there, so I'm pretty happy with it. "It was a bit similar to last year and it felt just as good." Nico Rosberg, who was fastest in final practice, claimed fifth spot ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen. BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Honda's Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber for Red Bull completed the top 10. It could have been so much better for Webber, who qualified fifth fastest in the second period of qualifying, if he had not bumped into the wall at the end of the session. The Australian had to sit out the top-10 shootout because of damage to his Red Bull and he was not the only driver to blame a disintegrating track for difficulties during qualifying. The Montreal track was breaking up so badly that marshalls emerged with brushes to sweep up the circuit, and similar conditions could play a part during the race. "The track surface will make it tricky," said Hamilton, who claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory in Montreal from pole in 2007. "It will be difficult but having the experience of leading last year will help. We will try to do the best we can and get as many points as possible." Kubica, who has two second-place finishes this season, also played down his chances of capitalising on his front row position on the grid. "Looking at practice, Ferrari and McLaren have the better pace and unfortunately I am starting on the wrong side of the track but I will do my best, he said. "It is one of my favourite tracks but I don't think we have the pace to win here."

[ELEANOR MAW]

Qualifying results for the Canadian Grand Prix:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren - Mercedes 1:17.886
2. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:18.498
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:18.735
4. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:18.746
5. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams 1:18.844
6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:19.048
7. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:19.089
8. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:19.633
9. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:20.848
10. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull - Renault 1:17.523
11. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:18.031
12. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams 1:18.062
13. David Coulthard (Britain) Red Bull - Renault 1:18.238
14. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:18.327
15. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:18.393
16. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:18.916
17. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Ferrari 1:19.108
18. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Ferrari 1:19.165
19. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:23.565
20. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari no time

PS, sorry about the late reporting, the race should be starting in an hours time, 6pm British Time. (Sunday 8th June)

[Shannia]

The nicest race of the season in my opinion, very exciting!! :D :D All the pilots who finished the race made a wonderful GP. Go ahead Kubica!!!!!The first BMW Sauber podium and the first dep in their history! :nod:

[ELEANOR MAW]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44728000/jpg/_44728649_kubica270.jpg

Robert Kubica took his and the BMW Sauber team's first Formula One victory in a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashed out in the pits.
Kubica survived an intervention by the safety car and a crumbling track that provoked errors from several drivers.
Hamilton's chances were dashed when he crashed into the back of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn waited on a red light at the end of the pit lane.
Nick Heidfeld completed a BMW one-two with Red Bull's David Coulthard third.
It was the 37-year-old Scot's best performance since he finished third in the Monaco Grand Prix two years ago.
The Toyota of Timo Glock was fourth, ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
The Brazilian passed the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli two laps from the end when the Italian was delayed when his team-mate an error in front of him.
Rubens Barrichello's Honda was seventh - the Brazilian had been running fourth, holding off the Toyotas, when he made an error and slid wide on the slippery track with 10 laps remaining.
Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel took the final points place, holding off Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren in the closing laps.
"I never struggled so much, I was pushing so much to do it and I managed to do it so it was a great race," said Kubica.
"The last laps were very, very difficult. The team was telling me to stay calm and not push too much but I wasn't pushing for 10 or 15 laps, it was just amazing.
"It's very fantastic to win my first race for BMW Sauber, which I joined from the beginning. We grew up together."
Hamilton looked to have the race in the bag until the intervention by the safety car.
The Englishman had built up a 7.1-second lead over Kubica when the safety car was deployed on lap 17 so that marshals could remove the stranded Force India of Adrian Sutil.
All the leading drivers came in for fuel and tyre stops as soon as the pit lane was open on lap 19.
But as they finished their stops, the pit-lane exit was still closed.
Raikkonen, who had entered the pits in third place, and Kubica stopped side by side at the red light, but Hamilton failed to notice in time that they had stopped, and he ploughed into the back of the Ferrari.
The incident broke the right-front suspension of Hamilton's car, putting him out of the race, and damaged the rear of Raikkonen's Ferrari sufficiently for him to be forced into retirement, too.
"I don't know really what happened," Hamilton said.
"I was comfortably in the lead. It was looking like it was going to be an easy win. We came in. It wasn't a great stop.
"I saw the guys in front of me, and all of sudden they'd stopped. I saw the red light but, by the time I saw it, it was too late to stop.
"I apologise to Kimi if I took him out, but that sort of thing happens sometimes."
Hamilton said he had been told by the team that the red light was on at the end of the pit lane, but that the warning came "a little bit late".
The incident cost Hamilton the championship lead, which has now been assumed by Kubica.
The BMW driver, who has driven an impressively consistent season to deliver on promise that has been evident since he made his debut in 2006, is four points clear of Hamilton, who is tied on points with Massa.
Massa's race was ruined when he had to stop twice within a lap because of a breakdown in communication during the safety car period.
He queued behind Raikkonen, only to find that Ferrari could not refuel him, and he had to do another lap.
When he did come in, Ferrari chose to keep him on a two-stop strategy - like Kubica - but the ground he had already lost ensured he was out of contention for a top finish.
Hamilton's exit threw the race wide open, but Kubica always had the upper hand.
Heidfeld led as the safety car pulled off, ahead of eight other cars which did not stop during the caution period, and Kubica in 10th place.
Heidfeld quickly pulled out a huge lead over Barrichello's Honda in second place, and was able to rejoin still ahead of Kubica and fuelled to the end of the race when he made his one and only pit stop on lap 29.
But within two laps Kubica passed him into the first corner in what looked like a co-ordinated piece of team play as BMW Sauber tried to maximise their chances.
Kubica, hailed as a future world champion since he replaced Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber mid-way through 2006, set about building enough of an advantage to enable him to make a second stop without losing the lead.
Heidfeld was left to fend off Fernando Alonso's Renault, which had run fifth from the start and, like Kubica, also needed to stop again.
The German did his job to perfection, and Alonso eventually spun coming out of turn seven on lap 46, possibly because of a glitch in his gearbox.
Kubica lost a lot of time behind Timo Glock's Toyota between laps 38 and 42, but he was more than able to pull out the advantage he needed in the seven laps before his final stop.
His win comes at the circuit where he suffered a huge accident only one year ago.

[ELEANOR MAW]

Results from the Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal
---------------------------------------------
1. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:36:24.447
2. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 16.495 secs behind
3. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 23.352 secs
4. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota +42.627
5. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari +43.934
6. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota +47.775
7. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda +53.597
8. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari +54.120
9. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +54.433
10. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams +57.749
11. Jenson Button (GB) Honda +1:07.540
12. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault +1:11.229
13. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap behind
R Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 51 laps completed
R Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 46 laps
R Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 44 laps
R Nelson Piquet (Brz) Renault 39 laps
R Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 19 laps
R Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 19 laps
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 13 laps

[shadowita]

The first fender bender at a red light I have never see in a GP... :nono: