Hamilton out to finish 'unfinished business' in Valencia

As the driver in-form with arguably now the best car underneath him heading into the forthcoming European Grand Prix, F1 2010 World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton has warned his rivals that he has ‘some unfinished business’ in Valencia – and that he plans to finish it off.
Hamilton has taken the chequered flag as runner-up around the harbourside streets of the Spanish city in both editions so far, even setting pole position in 2009 only to find himself pipped to the highest step on the podium by Brawn GP rival Rubens Barrichello.

Twelve months on, however, and nobody has been able to knock the 25-year-old down from his pedestal since the Turkish Grand Prix, with back-to-back triumphs in Istanbul and Montreal vaulting the 2008 F1 World Champion to the top of the title standings – and he makes it very clear that with his McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 improving by the race and tipped to be in its element in Valencia, he is chasing both a hat-trick of victories and third time lucky this weekend.
“I’m really looking forward to racing in Valencia,” Hamilton confessed. “I had a great, attacking race there last year – but I’ve finished second for the past two seasons, so I feel like I have some unfinished business!




“I also think it’s good for the championship to have a variety of circuits – we’ve just come from a fast, flowing road course in Canada, to a tight street track in Valencia, and next month we’ll be at Silverstone – one of the fastest tracks of the year, and a circuit with incredible history. As a driver, that sort of variety makes the racing exciting and unpredictable, which is all you can really ask for.

“The last few grands prix have had some fantastic racing – it would be great for all the Spanish fans if we can have a great race here too. It’s not a circuit where we’ve seen too much passing in the past, but I think this year could be different – the grid is so tight and there were battles all through the field in Montreal last week, so I think we could have a close and exciting race this year.”
Hamilton’s enthusiasm for what lies ahead is shared by team-mate and title-winning successor Jenson Button, who sits just three markers adrift of his countryman in the points table after finishing a close second to him in both Turkey and Canada. The Frome-born ace’s record in Valencia is on paper substantially less impressive – with a lowly and distant seventh place there last season the highlight – but now fully in possession of the tools to do the job, the 30-year-old expects to put up a strong fight this weekend.

“As a team, we’ve taken maximum points in the last two races and it feels like we’ve really gathered considerable momentum,” the nine-time grand prix-winner underlined. “The team really is functioning as a single unit, so I think we head into Valencia hopeful of being able to once again capitalise on that determination and ambition.

“Even though it’s a street circuit, it’s got quite a different feel to other street tracks like Monte Carlo or Singapore. For a start, it’s quite a bit faster – there are some low-speed corners with some fairly unforgiving walls at the apex, but there are also some high-speed changes of direction and some long straights, so it’s quite an interesting place set-up wise. It’s not as if you completely rely on downforce; there’s a trade-off, and that should suit our package.

“Valencia is also the final race before two important stop-offs in the UK – our home race at Silverstone and, before that, the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Both are events where the British fans will be out in-force, and as world champion, I’m looking forward to them. Silverstone will be an incredible experience, and I get to achieve a childhood dream of driving one of Alain Prost’s classic McLarens, the MP4/2C, at Goodwood. Sometimes, I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

All Teams submit F1 entries for 2010

Team bosses are all now signed up to compete in next season's campaign Ferrari and the rest of the teams in the Formula 1 Teams' Association (Fota) have submitted conditional entries for the 2010 championship.
Williams announced on Monday that they intend to enter next season's campaign. McLaren, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Renault, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso, Brawn GP and Force India have now followed suit.
However, the teams have only signed up to the new season on the condition that they are able to operate on the basis of current technical regulations. The teams and the sport's governing body, the FIA, have been at odds in recent weeks over plans to introduce an optional budget cap in 2010. The teams have tried to meet (FIA president) Max Mosley halfway on this one - it remains to be seen now if he agrees to their terms

Those teams who pledged to keep costs under £40m a season would be allowed greater technical freedom than those outside of the budget cap, but many of the teams felt the cap was far too strict, fearing it would create a two-tier championship.

Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and Toyota all threatened to pull out of the sport if the budgetary restrictions were to be forced through. It prompted a crisis meeting between Fota and the FIA a fortnight ago, talks which failed initially to provide an acceptable compromise. But at a meeting at the Monaco Grand Prix last week, it was agreed in principle to delay the cap until 2011, while motorsport boss Max Mosley has made other concessions to the teams on governance. And it appears enough progress has now been made on that to convince teams to sign up to the new season - on the condition that a new financial agreement with F1's management is reached by 12 June.

"It could be the end (of the budget cap row) but we won't know for certain until the FIA publish its list of accepted teams and drivers for the 2010 championship on 12 June," reported BBC Five Live's F1 commentator David Croft.

"At the moment, it's the current 10 teams plus Prodrive, USF1 and the Campos team from Spain. Those teams will be offered technical assistance from the current entrants who, in return for that, want a sliding scale of cost-cutting. "That means instead of a £40m cap next year, say a spend of around £80m that reduces to somewhere around £40m by 2011.
"The teams have tried to meet Max Mosley halfway on this one - it remains to be seen now if he agrees to their terms." A statement on behalf of Fota said: "Fota confirms all its members' long-term commitment to be involved in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. "It has unanimously agreed further and significant actions to substantially reduce the costs of competing in the championship in the next three years."

The FIA now has until 12 June to confirm its intentions.
Toyota Motorsport boss, and Fota vice-chairman John Howett, whose team has long been rumoured to be quitting F1 at the end of the year, said: "We await a response from the Federation."

FIA-MCLAREN 'LYING' INQUIRY

McLaren will appear before Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, on 29 April to answer charges relating to a breach of the International Sporting Code.

McLaren were found guilty of misleading race stewards following the Australian Grand Prix, which led to Lewis Hamilton being disqualified from the race. Hamilton was awarded third place before being stripped of his points. The FIA will hold the extraordinary meeting in Paris where McLaren will be expected to be present.

"McLaren acknowledge receipt of an invitation to appear at an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on April 29, received this (Tuesday) afternoon," said a McLaren statement.

"We undertake to co-operate fully with all WMSC processes, and welcome the opportunity to work with the FIA in the best interests of Formula 1". The FIA said McLaren knew it was lying when it told race officials that it had not given Hamilton instructions to let Toyota's Jarno Trulli overtake while the pair were behind the safety car.

The FIA also claimed that McLaren had made no attempt to rectify its evidence under scrutiny.
The World Council is the body which disqualified McLaren from the constructors' championship and fined them $100m (£67m) for their role in a spy scandal involving Ferrari in 2007.

There is no limit to the action it could take in this instance if it deemed it serious enough. Hamilton, who issued an emotional public apology after the incident, is expected to escape further censure.

The world champion has said he was ordered to give misleading evidence by sporting director Dave Ryan, who was with him at the hearings. Ryan, who has worked for McLaren for 35 years, has now been sacked.

The two were found guilty of "providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards".
Hamilton finished fourth behind Trulli's Toyota, who McLaren accused of breaking F1 rules by overtaking while the field was under the control of the safety car.

Officials initially gave Trulli a 25-second penalty, promoting Hamilton to third after Hamilton and Ryan gave evidence he had not deliberately let the Italian through, and he had not been asked by the team to do so.

But McLaren's radio communication contradicted this - and after reconvening in Malaysia at the end of last week, Hamilton was disqualified from the Australian race and Trulli reinstated to third place.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh, whose own job is under scrutiny, has admitted the team made serious errors in their handling of the situation. He took over from Ron Dennis as team principal only on 1 March and has admitted he did consider resigning at the end of last week.

"It wouldn't be true to say that it (resignation) wasn't (on my mind) because at a time like this, you think about what you got involved with the sport for, and it wasn't for this sort of thing," he said in Malaysia.

"It hasn't been a great experience for me and it wasn't what I started out 20 years ago to experience. In the longer term, I can contemplate my future. It's not self-determining.

It's for the shareholders of this team to take a view and it's ultimately up to them to decide what's best for this team. I'm not resigning this weekend. We've made commitments to look at how we arrived at this situation. We've got to learn from it and we've got to be better in future."

excerpts from BBC SPORTS

TV crew putting the last Touch beofre the Big Tune-in

TV crew sweat it out to get it right before the eyes of the world tune in this weekend

ORGANISERS expect about 100,000 fans to line the circuit each day of the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.
It is estimated that the global television audience for the Sept 26-28 race weekend will number more than 550 million, validating Bernie Ecclestone’s decision to insist on Singapore hosting a night race.
To ensure the television audience gets the best kind of viewership experience possible, 40 cameras will be located along the 5.1km street circuit in the Marina Bay district.
It is believed that 26 have been permanently installed at various points, while the remaining 14 will be mobile, attached to special cables suspended over the circuit.
There will be a television camera on the 28th floor of the 73-storey Swissôtel the Stamford, which is located at the junction of Stamford Road and Beach Road overlooking Turn Nine of the circuit. Another camera will be on a helicopter to capture aerial shots.
When we visited various sections of the circuit along Esplanade Bridge and Raffles Avenue yesterday, a team from Formula One Management (FOM), the body which controls the rights to media distribution and content of the sport, were seen installing audio-visual equipment.
Ray Ponton, a member of the technical crew on site, explained that 10 days were needed to set up the entire system.

“Because there are no service roads here for us to transport all the equipment, we have to do it in phases,” he said. “We have about five sets of fibre-optic cables spanning about 30km around the circuit. It’s hard work, but we all enjoy what we do.”
Ponton added that they have a crew of about 200 installing the cameras and other audio-visual equipment.
A team of around 30 arrived here on Sept 14 to begin work, and it is expected to be operational by Wednesday, 48 hours before Friday’s two practice sessions.
The first session begins at 7pm, when the 20 cars from the 10 teams on the grid will get their first run on the street circuit.

It will also be the first time the drivers will be piloting their cars on the circuit at night.
They will do 61 laps on the anti-clockwise route, which features 23 turns.
McLaren-Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton currently leads the drivers’ standings by one point from Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and with three races left after Singapore, the outcome here could well go a long way to determining the 2008 world champion.

While Ponton and Co deal with the television equipment, another team from event marketing and exhibition providers Pico Art International will continue to put the finishing touches to the spectator galleries.
By tomorrow, they will complete the final gallery along theSt Andrew’s Road stretch near Turn 10, which can hold up to 1,500 spectators.
Meanwhile, Italian lighting company Valerio Maioli S.p.A. are close to completing tests on the 10,000 specially-designed lamps that will illuminate the race.
We have to clock up to 100 hours to test the system and make sure everything is ready,” said Valerio Maioli yesterday.
I’m very happy we managed to complete all this in such a short space of time.”

Tan Yo-Hinn- Today Paper

Fancy lunch at the Istana with Alonso and Raikkonen?

FORMULA 1 greats Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda have a lunch date with President S R Nathan on the Istana ( Grand Palace now the President & Prime Minister's Office) lawn on Sept 26.

They are both on the invited list for the official Formula 1 party on the first day of the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix onSept 26, and all the current drivers — including world champion Kimi Raikkonen, 2005 and 2006 title holder Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton — will be there too.

The luncheon at the Istana is open to the public, with 18 tables set aside at $30,000 each and another 12 at $50,000 per table. All proceeds will go towards the President’s Challenge charity programme and the organisers, Singapore GP, hope it will raise about $1 million. There will also be an auction of two Chopard watches — a man’s “Tourbillion” timepiece worth $250,000 and a lady’s “Happy Sport” worth $30,000 — and other F1 memorabilia.

“It is a prestigious event and there will be a lot of stars there, but we don’t want people to get stuffy in their coats and ties,” said Singapore GP chairman Teo Hock Seng. “It will be a smart casual affair.”

The lunch is also a first in Formula 1. Formal black-tie dinners are usually held on the first day of races, but Singapore is hosting the sport’s first night race. Twelve tables have been already been sold. Interested parties can email bj_quah@komoco.com.sg or tracyteo@komoco.com.sg. Organisers also revealed that 95 per cent of tickets for the Grand Prix have been sold. Some grandstand and walkabout tickets for Saturday are still available.

Ian de Cotta - Today Paper

Kovalainen takes first F1 race after Massa bows out

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- McLaren driver, Heikki Kovalainen won his first Formula One race Sunday after an engine problem forced Felipe Massa out of the Hungarian Grand Prix with three laps to go.

Massa overtook Kovalainen and pole sitter Lewis Hamilton at the start and was heading for his fourth win of the season after Hamilton dropped out of contention with a tire puncture. But the Brazilian's Ferrari engine overheated toward the end and Kovalainen took an 11-second victory over Timo Glock of Toyota.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton came in fifth for McLaren and stretched his lead over Raikkonen in the overall standings to five points.

Kovalainen -- greeted by chants of "Heikki" from the large Finnish contingent in the stands -- became the 100th driver to win a Formula One race.

When Kovalainen crossed the line, team boss Ron Dennis told him over the radio: "Welcome to the world of winning. The first of many. Well done."

Kovalainen's win allowed Hamilton, coming off two dramatic victories at the British and German GPs, to stay atop F1's standings -- and eight points ahead of Massa, whose confident start left the McLaren drivers stranded.

Kovalainen said this week that he wouldn't help Hamilton even with his British teammate leading the title challenge, and that showed in his limp start that allowed Massa to pass easily on the outside.

Massa and Hamilton raced side-by-side into the first turn -- Massa even locking up his brakes at one point -- before the Brazilian stuck to his position to pull ahead and nudge out Hamilton around the second corner.

The two were out front on their own. Massa and Hamilton pitted within a lap of each other with Massa enjoying a three-second edge after the first round of stops at the 113-degree track.

Massa's lead was around three seconds as he edged Hamilton over the final two sectors of the twisting circuit before Hamilton's puncture left the race Massa's to lose. Hamilton had most of the 2.722-mile circuit to navigate before a tire change and re-emerged 10th.

Kovalainen, who will partner with Hamilton again in 2009, moved to within 7.5 seconds with laps running down on the 70-lap race.

Glock secured his first podium after overtaking Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber at the start. Kubica, with at least 25,000 Polish fans cheering him on, crossed the finish line in eighth for his worst result of the season to trail Hamilton by 13 points.

The teams and drivers have three weeks before the next race Aug. 24 -- the inaugural Valencia GP.

AP

Robert Kubica Wins Canadian Grand Prix

Robert Kubica made a triumphant return to Canada on Sunday, storming to his maiden grand prix victory exactly a year after suffering a horrific crash on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Pole led a shock BMW Sauber one-two in Montreal after pre-race favourite Lewis Hamilton took himself and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen out of the fray in an early pit lane collision.
Nick Heidfeld took second place and Red Bull's David Coulthard was third but the day belonged to Kubica, now four points clear at the top of the world championship.

"It is fantastic to win for BMW Sauber," he said. "We grew up together and thanks to the team for providing a good car - we managed to do first and second.
"Winning in Canada where I had big shunt last season and achieving the goal to win a grand prix this season... We have done it and I'm leading the championship, so I hope the team will give me 100 percent support to defend it until last race.
"It's fantastic for me, the team, my country and my fans. It was a great race. It is always chaotic here with the safety car and it is not easy. I have never struggled so much before, I was pushing so hard."
The win was the first by a team other than McLaren and Ferrari since October 2006 and fulfilled the BMW Sauber's pre-season ambition to win their first Formula One race.

Toyota's German Timo Glock took fourth place, the best result of his first full Formula One season and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa did well to claim a highly eventful fifth.
The Brazilian now joins Hamilton in second place in the driver's title race.
Italian Jarno Trulli completed a good day for the Toyota team with sixth place with Honda's Rubens Barrichello and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel filling the other point-scoring positions.
The race started amidst serious concerns over the state of the circuit. Patches of the track surface had crumbled badly during qualifying on Saturday and although running repairs were made overnight, many in the paddock were expecting trouble.
Those concerns translated into a generally cautious attitude amongst the drivers and the start passed without incident.
Nico Rosberg did manage to slip his Williams into fourth place around the outside of Fernando Alonso's Renault at the second corner; but it was a clean getaway for Hamilton's McLaren, Kubica and Raikkonen who started first, second and third respectively.
Raikkonen began to put Kubica under serious pressure, the Finn quickly setting the fastest lap of the race, but Hamilton was moving well clear in front.
His lead was erased though, when the safety car was deployed after German Adrian Sutil's Force India car caught fire.
As the field bunched up, the leaders ducked into the pits to refuel. Raikkonen and Kubica emerged from the garage ahead of Hamilton, but were held up by a red-light at the end of the pit lane.
Inexplicably, Hamilton did not realise that his two rivals were stationary ahead of him and after pulling away from his garage he barrelled into the back of Raikkonen ending his own race and that of the reigning world champion.
"I don't know what happened to be honest," Hamilton said. "I was comfortably in the lead, it was looking like an easy win. Then I went in for the pit stop. It was not a good stop and I saw the two guys in front of me battling in the pit lane.
"I saw the red light but by that time it was a bit late. It was not exactly a racing incident as such, it was unfortunate.
"It was one of those things. It is different to if you crash into the wall and you are angry. It is not like that. I apologise to Kimi for ruining his race."
Rosberg was also caught up in the incident and though he was able to continue after some hasty repairs to his front wing, his chances of a points finish were ruined.
Heidfeld was now leading the grand prix, with Barrichello and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima lying second and third.
Heidfeld, his one-stop strategy working perfectly, soon pitted and could not stay ahead of Kubica who had emerged unscathed from the pit lane chaos. Kubica knew he would need one more fuel stop, so he pushed his BMW to the absolute limit to establish a significant margin between himself and his teammate.
With 22 laps remaining the Pole pitted for the final time, emerging safely in front of Heidfeld.
Scottish veteran Coulthard was now in third place with a mad scramble for points unfolding behind him.
There was no catching Kubica though, and there were scenes of joy in the BMW garage as he crossed the finish line to become the first ever Polish grand prix winner.

Race to the Party

The Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix may be five months away, but already there's plenty of action revving up before flag off

The whiff of petrol and burnt rubber may seem like a distant prospect but most top clubs and bars are already fighting for pole position to throw a string of parties fit for the podium come Singapore's historic Formula 1 Grand Prix in September.

To begin with, Singapore GP — the people behind the inaugural Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix — will be kicking off a series of activities for three weekends starting from Sept 20. Among them will be the Singapore River Festival, which will see our historic waterway turn into a hive of activities including concerts featuring "international and local artistes, outdoor parties and a float parade on the river".
Some key party hubs along the river — including Ministry of Sound, IndoChine Waterfront and Zouk — will be incorporated into the celebrations. Singapore GP is still working out the nitty-gritty behind the events, but the clubs shared their plans with Today.

For instance, if Ministry of Sound has its way, racing aficionados might get a chance to get a piece of the British super club franchise at the circuit itself.
"We are definitely in talks with Singapore GP about possibly having a presence in the circuit itself, like a little outdoor party area, but it's yet to be confirmed," said Bernard Lim, the executive vice-president of LifeBrandz, which holds the local franchise for the club. "We are also planning some parties during that weekend and we are looking at bringing down guest DJs for the club."
He added that the club is in talks with potential partners such as liquor brands and automobile companies and "putting ideas together".
Lifestyle group IndoChine, no strangers to the nightlife scene, also has grand plans. For starters, adding to the growing number of F1-themed parties already being held ahead of the race will be the third anniversary celebration of its Forbidden City club and restaurant at Clarke Quay on Tuesday, which will see VIPs and celebrities galore, said Clementine Rogers, the group marketing manager for IndoChine.
But she said IndoChine's main grand prix party will be the annual 10-day long IndoChine Festival, which will be held this year to coincide with the race, allowing guests who are "the crème de la crème of Asia including the Middle East" to party in style.
She said the group also plans to leverage on its experience hosting parties for teams including McLaren, Red Bull and Toyota during the annual Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang to host official after-race parties here with Formula 1, if not its affiliates.

Another major player on the local nightlife scene, St James Power Station, is in the "final stages" of confirming a couple of events related to F1 teams Ferrari and McLaren. It is also in talks with brands linked to other teams. Andrew Ing, chief operating officer of St James, said: "We are going to transform Powerhouse (one of its outlets) into a Johnnie Walker/McLaren-themed space on the weekend of the race and the week leading up to it. It's in the planning stages."
St James will have replicas of Ferrari and McLaren cars, simulators, giant screens showing live action from the circuit and race queens at the clubbing megaplex.
While not a club, GH Mumm, which is the official bubbly for F1 races, is already revving things up by holding — earlier this month at Zouk — the first of some many parties to be held ahead of the race.
"Fans of GH Mumm and Formula 1 can look forward to more exciting events hosted by GH Mumm as we're looking to hold another six to seven events in the lead-up to the race," said Zhang Liya, a marketing manager for booze distributor Pernod Ricard Singapore. She added that the list of parties was yet to be finalised but assured that they will be "stellar" if past involvements such as the Official Grand Prix Ball, luxurious Paddock Club and Sky Lounges are anything to go by.
Also joining the fray is long-running local superclub Zouk, which is planning to bring down a superstar DJ for its party on race weekend. Tracy Phillips, the club's marketing manager, said tentative plans include one of its regular "Very" theme parties titled "Very Racey", which will see the place decked out in Grand Prix fashion.
Goodwood Park Hotel's Thumper is already fine-tuning its engine. It held a Grand Prix party last month, complete with race queens and simulator racing competitions. One of the club's partners David Chin said that "a host of peripheral activities are lined up for the season" without giving any details, only saying he would like to take advantage of its spacious car park in front of the club to give its parties a unique spin. We are hoping for go-kart racing, at the very least.

But if there is one party that is not to be missed, it would probably be the ultra-exclusive Amber Lounge, which is coming to town just for the race on Sept 27 and 28. Amber Lounge was started six years ago by Sonia Irvine, sister of former F1 racer Eddie Irvine.
Singapore will become one of the five race destinations — the other four being Monaco, Barcelona, Valencia, and Shanghai — to host the party venue in the F1 calendar.
It is where celebrities such as racing legend Michael Schumacher, U2 frontman Bono, supermodel Helena Christensen and actor Kevin Spacey have hung out on race weekends (maybe because the champagne doesn't stop flowing until dawn). There are rumours that the lounge will be housed at the Conrad Centennial Singapore, but no venue has been officially confirmed.
The all-inclusive price tag for partying like an F1 star has, however, been set — and it might make you hit the brakes. The cheapest table at Amber Lounge goes for 3,995 euros ($8,600) while the most expensive is 7,250 euros. Individual passes cost 500 euros a day.

We suggest you start racing to snag an invite — starting now.
Start Your Engines

Asif Ansarasif@mediacorp.com.sg

LEWIS HAMILTON Q & A

What are your aims for the 2008 Formula 1 season?

My aims are to have another fantastic year enjoying my life as a Formula 1 racing driver for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, to score as many points for the team and myself as possible, and try to go one better and win the Drivers’ World Championship.

There will be two new circuits in Valencia and Singapore – both street circuits – are you looking forward to racing on these and visiting new cities?

I am. I have never been to Singapore but I have heard it is a beautiful place so I am looking forward to going there, especially with it being a night race. Valencia is going to be interesting as well. I remember driving in Valencia at the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes launch last year and that was good fun, although very slippery, but of course the actual circuit we will be racing on is in a different location.

2008 will see the inclusion of a night race in Singapore for the first time – what are your thoughts on this?

I think it will be wicked. In all my years of racing I have never competed in a night race, apart from indoor karting, so it will be something new for all the fans to watch and definitely exciting for the drivers.

You get to travel to some amazing places during the Formula 1 season, do you get to see much of the places you stay in?

I do sometimes, occasionally I will travel out early to the long haul destinations to acclimatise and try to take in some of the sights. I never have the time to actually plan any sightseeing as it is all about recovering from the travel, then training, making sure that I eat right and am fully prepared for the race weekend. However, next year I definitely want to try and explore more of the countries we race in.

Was there one main thing that surprised you during your first year in Formula 1?

The response I got from the fans around the world. I was amazed at how excited and supportive they were and I hope still are.

What is the best thing about being a Formula 1 driver?

Literally driving the Formula 1 car, the speed, the noise and the thrill – you cannot beat it! It is the best job in the world.

Favourite film?

It has to be ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’, that’s the funniest film I seen for a while.

Favourite song?

I don’t have a favourite song as such, but I am very much into Bob Marley so ‘No Woman No Cry’ is probably one of my favourites.

Favourite actor?

Denzel Washington is my favourite serious actor and Eddie Murphy is the best comedy actor.

The best dish you can cook?

I can cook but not much, and when I say that I mean literally one or two things. With that in mind I would have to say that I am pretty good at chicken fajitas.

What would you never eat?

I’m fairly open minded about food and I’ll try anything once but I would draw the line at things like frogs legs and horse steaks or anything unusual.

Most embarrassing moment ever?

I don’t remember any as I try to forget them – so nothing comes to mind.

The day you will never forget?

The day Ayrton Senna died – 1st May 1994. I was racing in Cadet karts at the Hoddesdon Kart Club. I remember I was having a difficult day and had not done very well in my races. My dad told me the news and I remember my heart sinking, going behind the trailer and having a bit of a cry.

Luxury you could not live without?

In general I like to have nice things but could live without any luxuries. I’d struggle to live without eating sweets though!

Favourite corner?

It has to be Eau Rouge.

Courtesy of www.mclaren.co.uk

Fernando Alonso in warning to Renault

Fernando Alonso has warned his Renault team that he could leave at the end of the season if the car does not improve.
Alonso returned to the constructor after a tumultuous year at McLaren in which he surrendered his world championship to Kimi Raikkonen and was unsettled by his rivalry with team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso does not expect major improvement
The Spaniard is seventh in the 2008 championship after two races in which the Renault car has been well off the pace set by McLaren in Melbourne and Ferrari in Malaysia.
"I'm at Renault because I wanted to get back to winning, like in 2005 and 2006, if not this year then next year," Alonso said. "But I have an option to leave so I can be in the best possible car, and it is clear Ferrari is one of the best."
Alonso's comments have fuelled the speculation that he could join Ferrari after one season back at Renault.
However, his attempts to distance himself from that theory may have had the opposite effect as he highlighted errors made by Ferrari number two driver Felipe Massa at Melbourne and Sepang.

"It's early to talk about moves and rumours, but Massa has had two bad races with mistakes and that has kicked off speculation about me," Alonso said. "It's logical, but it's too early."
Renault managing director Flavio Briatore said it was a "waste of time to get involved in hypothetical daydreams." He said: "Fernando is a great sportsman who will always give his best and rumours I never comment on."
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali defended the role of Massa, who is under contract until 2010, despite the setback to the Italian team in both the drivers' and the constructors' championships.

"Felipe has all the qualities and the capabilities to do well," he added. "The championship is long and the team are united, so I see no worries from this aspect."
The Ferrari team were also running checks on the car to be sure a mechanical failure did not cause the spin-out.
At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Massa retired after a collision and Raikkonen came to a halt with only five laps to race as Ferrari failed to collect any points - its worst start in 16 years. Alonso performed well at Melbourne, moving up from 11th on the grid to finish fourth.
While Alonso said he expected improvements in his car, he also suggested that rival teams would also perform better as the season progresses. "In Barcelona we will have some improvements for the car, (but) the same ones all teams will have, so the championship is going to stay more or less the same.
"We saw it last year and we see it every year. The cars that win the first two or three races stay on top. We are not going to see big surprises during the year."
Briatore, meanwhile, remained optimistic about the team and his star driver. "It does not make sense to judge a car after one or two races. Of course, McLaren and Ferrari have a fast car, but look what happened to Ferrari in Australia," Briatore said. "So we will have to wait and see how it will be at the next couple of races."

Bahrain : A Good Race for BMW Sauber

In what proved to be a somehow boring race, Ferrari got the 1-2 they deserved and BMW Sauber got an excelent P3-4, bringing them on top of the Constuctors Championship. 1 point clear of Ferrari and 2 above McLaren.

Weber and Rosberg both in the points a surprise for Red Bull, catching their 4th point of the season.

Sebastien Bourdais finishing 15th was a disapointement but at least he finished the whole race.

Bothe Force india managed to finished the race as well, so some encouragemnt for a very hardworking team. Who knows they might even catch some points in the European Races coming up through Fisichella.

Mika Hakkinen in Singapore - My personal Video Montage

It might take a while to upload..pls be patient.It's worth the wait.
This videos and pics were taken by my cousin Mira & myself. Editing courtesy of my wife Shatz & Mira.

Will we See a Singapore F1 Team ?

Hey That's me with future Singapore F1 team driver Hafiz Koh ( on my right)

S'pore could field F1 team
SingaPride Racing to field local team for night race

IN A stunning boost for Singapore, we have learnt that a local team could well line up on the grid for the Formula 1 season next year.
Timing the announcement for today, a Singapore consortium led by shipping businessman Helmi Koh announced they had secured a five-year sponsorship deal worth US$400 million ($550 million) per season.
SingaPride Racing has also gotten dispensation from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to field a non-championship team for the inaugural night race here on Sept 28 — a gesture of goodwill for the country's efforts to stage the first Grand Prix under lights.
This will be the first time in 32 years the FIA is allowing such an entry.

In 1976, Kojima Engineering-registered Masahiro Hasemi was allowed to compete in the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Motor Speedway.
Said Mr Koh: "We are getting offers to invest in F1 teams and felt it would be better to run our own team instead. With our connections in racing, we know a lot of people with professional credentials in Europe and Asia who can form a well-oiled team."
FIA regulations allow for up to 12 teams on the grid and after ProDrive's aborted attempt to start the 2008 season, one slot has been made available for a team to apply to compete next year.
Mr Koh, 53, said a decision will be made when the World Motor Sports Council meets in September to confirm the teams and race calendar for 2009.
Mr Koh already runs a successful outfit, Tara-DTM, which competed in the Formula V6 Asian championship and came in second in their inaugural season last year.
With Toyota fuelled annually by US$500 million and Ferrari the second richest team on the grid at US$420 million, SingaPride Racing will become the third most expensive outfit in the paddock if they get the green light.

They have appointed Pesce d'Aprile as team principal and the Italian has been charged with putting together an estimated staff of 500. Mr Koh's son Hafiz, 24, who pilots a car in Formula V6 Asia for Tara-DTM, is expected to step up to lock horns with the big boys.
His team-mate at SingaPride Racing will be rising Singapore star Mohd Nasri Naufal, the 2006 Asian kart champion. But both will be understudies in the team's rookie year.
"In the long term, our target is to get Singaporeans to drive for us, but for us to make any impact, we need to recruit experienced drivers first," said Mr Koh.

****************************************************************************
AS YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED THIS WAS PUBLISHED ON 1ST APRIL, AND AFTER CONSULTATION IT PROVED THAT THIS STORY WAS ACTUALLY A WELL FORMULATED APRIL'S FOOL JOKE.
WELL DONE YOU GOT ME THERE, AND PROBABLY MANY OTHERS TOO.

*****************************************************************************

Lewis Hamilton "His-Story" - Is it Self Indulgence?

Before you start to assume that I dislike the fella ... I don't. The fact that my husband is a fan - and has been talking of the fella even before his F1 debut - got me fascinated with the character. In fact now, I truly respect and admire this young English lad greatly in terms of his achievements at such a young age. A Mclaren F1 Prodigy, he knows how to work the media machine and in his very busy schedule, he finds the time to produce a biography.

But then again, I also know he is much too young to come out with a book on err "His Story" - no pun intended. Is it self indulgent? As far as I am concerned, his F1 life has just begun and while it looks very, very promising, the future of where and how he would end up is still unclear. Yes, he was cultivated to work hard to become some sort of genius in the motor racing sports. Yes, he could be the F1 world champion sooner or later. Yes, he could live life to its grandest. My point is personally I think 22 is much too young of an age to come out with such a book with such a title. Simply because his life personally and professionally is inconclusive.

To have Lewis' book up in stores besides the likes of legendary Aryton Senna (I-bow-to-you-cause-you-are-my-all-time-favourite-driver) and nemesis Alain Prost, Messieurs Juan Manuel Fangio , Gilles Villeneuve, Michael Schumacher and Didier Pironi is imbalanced even premature.

Formula One aficionados will be those that are most likely to be interested to hear Lewis' perspective on the controversial 2007 season especially on his very public squabble with teammate Fernando. The book highlights his entire childhood, both on and off the track, his ex girlfriend - Didn't your mama taught you never to kiss and tell ?- and his entire F1 career (all one year of it anyway) in a thick tome. So I can't help but feel it's a little too self indulgent for a 22 year old, even if his debut season was very eventful. It sure sounds that way at times. Not a terrible read for fans of the sport and the driver, although the writing is nothing to shout about and Lewis tends to get a little defensive once in a rare moment. Well I guess it's his book so he can say whatever he wants in whatever tone he likes. However, I still think a biography at his age is way too early.

Bonne Journee, the MISSUS.

You might like to check out Amazon other selection of books On F1 drivers.

Ron Dennis home raid stuns F1 world

McLAREN boss Ron Dennis’ Formula One future was plunged into doubt last night after police raided his Surrey mansion over the Ferrarigate spy scandal.

McLaren’s Woking factory and the homes of several other senior team members were also visited by Surrey police and Italian investigators.

The dawn raid is another destabilising blow for Lewis Hamilton’s outfit with the opening race of the season in Australia just 16 days away.

A team statement confirmed: “McLaren Racing has continued its co-operation with inquiries instigated by the Modena Magistrate.

“The Surrey Police accompanied Italian investigators to the homes of a number of McLaren executives as part of their ongoing investigation.

Dossier

“A similar process has been performed at the McLaren Technology Centre.
"The police are completely satisfied with the co-operation they have received. These actions are part of a normal process and are supported by McLaren.”

McLaren are still under criminal investigation in Italy after a 780-page dossier belonging to Ferrari was found in the possession of suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan.

The team were hit with a record £50million fine, kicked out of the Constructors’ Championship and forced into a grovelling apology after revealing Ferrari data had been more widely spread than first admitted.

Dennis, executive Martin Whitmarsh and two other employees were due to travel to Italy last month to be questioned by a magistrate.

That had to be postponed leading to yesterday’s development just when Hamilton and McLaren were trying to focus on Melbourne as they ended pre-season testing in Barcelona. It will increase speculation whether Hamilton’s mentor Dennis — the man who has funded his career for over a decade — will with him Down Under.

Talks over Dennis, worth around £150m, selling his 15 per cent stake in the team he has led to nine drivers’ crowns and seven constructors’ titles are continuing.
Engine supplier Mercedes were unhappy at the publicity created by the spying scandal and the German car giant are keen to assume control by increasing their 40per cent stake.


Hamilton, 23, was yesterday slammed by Fernando Alonso who claimed his former team-mate only had himself to blame for being on the receiving end of vile racist abuse.
The Spaniard said the incident at the Circuit de Catalunya last month was caused by Hamilton saying Alonso had shown him ‘just how not to behave as a world champion’ during their bitter partnership last season.

Alonso, who has rejoined Renault, blasted: “I didn’t take any notice of what he said, but the very next week they whistled him in Spain for saying that. That’s the other side of the situation.

“If you talk like that, it’s no wonder they jeer you.”

TWO FERRARIS LEAD THE WAY IN VALENCIA TEST

F1.

First official test day for Ferrari today, along with another 10 teams (Super Aguri only one missing) that will take part in the 2008 F1 championship. At the 'Ricardo Tormo' track in Valencia, the F2008 led the way.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa mainly focused on the general set-up of the F2008, and had no technical problems whatsoever. Massa set the fastest lap today, 1'12"182, Kimi followed with 1'12"721.
Just a few laps for the shake-down of the new Williams FW30, with Nico Rosberg taking third, with 1'12"838.
Fourth and fifth for McLaren Mercedes, respectively with Heikki Kovalainen, 1'13"026 and Pedro De La Rosa, 1'13"163.
Sixth place for Fernando Alonso on the Renault R28 (1'13"316 and 133 laps).
Kazuki Nakajima on the Williams FW29 took 7th, followed by Sebastian Vattel on Toro Rosso, Marko Asmer on BMW Sauber, Nick Heidfeld on F1.08, Jarno Trulli on the Toyota TF108, David Coulthard on the Red Bull RB4 and Timo Glock on Toyota.
More tests are due tomorrow. Ferrari will field Raikkonen and Massa again.

Lewis Hamilton signs 5-year contract extension

F1 team McLaren


Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton signed a new five-year contract with McLaren on Friday, extending his total time with the team to 15 years.

Hamilton's original deal was signed in 2006, but McLaren decided on a new contract after the English driver's stellar rookie F1 season in which he finished runner-up to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

McLaren chief executive Ron Dennis said the 23-year-old Hamilton - the first black driver in F1 - had exceeded all expectations and deserved "improved financial terms."

"Today's announcement will take the length of our relationship with Lewis to a total of 15 years, which we believe is among the longest running associations between a sportsman and a team in the history of sport, particularly motorsport," Dennis said.

"Lewis is an exceptional human being, on both a personal and professional level, and will continue to be a credit to this team."

Hamilton said he would be happy to drive for McLaren for the rest of his career.

"Whilst last year was my first year with the team in Formula 1, I have been connected to McLaren and Mercedes-Benz since 1998 and feel that I could easily drive for this team for the whole of my Formula 1 career," he said.

"I am with the right team to compete for race wins and both the drivers' and constructors' world championships in the future."

McLaren was kicked out of the constructors' championship last season as punishment for possessing confidential Ferrari documents.

McLaren F1 chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said the company turned to a new deal for Lewis once the team's 2008 car had been unveiled last week.

"This was certainly not a discussion that was under any particular timeframe as our previous contract with Lewis was ongoing," Whitmarsh said. "Since Heikki (Kovalainen) joined the team in December, it has become more apparent how well he and Lewis will work together to become a competitive force for the team."

Alain prost Blames Ron Dennis for Driver's Fallout

FOUR-TIME F1 world champion Alain Prost blamed McLaren boss Ron Dennis for last year's bitter fallout between drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

The French Champion said Fernando Alonso had abandoned the team and returned to Renault after only one season because Dennis had not done enough to manage the two drivers.

Prost spent seven seasons at McLaren and won the championship 3 times with the team in 1985, 1986 and 1989. He said the team should have abandoned its tradition of allowing its two drivers to fight for the title.

"I really suffer for them and for the team," Prost said yesterday. "I did not understand why Ron, when he signed the contract, has decided not to have a No. 1 and a No. 2 (driver) and be really clear from the beginning to avoid this kind of thing.

"I think they maybe underestimated Lewis and maybe overestimated Fernando, and the capacity of Fernando being No. 1.

"And maybe Ron is not the best guy to deal with this kind of situation.

"He says he is the best and has the qualities, but maybe not to settle the relationship between the drivers in his team."

The drama between Alonso and Hamilton was a repeat of the intense rivalry between Prost and Brazilian champion Ayrton Senna at McLaren in the late 1980s.

That ended after two years when Prost quit McLaren and moved to Ferrari in 1990.

The Senna and Prost duel is considered one of the most aggressive and controversial in F1 history, with the pair crashing into each other several times. ( refer to my Videos Links )

ALONSO made a perfect start to his return to Renault yesterday with the fastest time in testing at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

The Spaniard did 70 laps with a best of 1min 19.503sec in last year's car, according to unofficial times.

Compatriot Pedro de la Rosa, the McLaren test driver, was second on the timesheets (1:19.650) in that team's new car, with Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen third in 1:19.708.

LEWIS JOINS HEIKKI AT JEREZ FOR HIS FIRST RUN IN THE MP4-23

Lewis Hamilton drove the team’s 2008 Formula 1 car, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 for the first time today at the Jerez circuit. Lewis left the garage at 09:10 and completed over 456kms and 103 laps during the course of the day.

Lewis joined his new teammate, Heikki Kovalainen at the Spanish circuit for the first of four days of testing over the coming week. Heikki also passed the 100 lap mark, as the Finn clocked up a total of 101.

Following yesterday’s session, which saw Heikki and test driver Pedro de la Rosa take both MP4-23 chassis for their initial runs, work at the test saw Lewis and Heikki continue to focus on both drivers and team familiarising themselves with the 2008 challenger. Yesterday was the first time in the history of the team that it had completed two chassis for the first day of testing.

Lewis and Heikki will remain in Jerez for the final day of the week tomorrow, Friday. Pedro and fellow test driver Gary Paffett will take over testing duties on Monday with Lewis and Heikki returning to the wheel for the final two days of the session on Tuesday and Wednesday.

LEWIS HAMILTON

"It was fantastic to get my hands on the MP4-23 this morning in Jerez. I saw the completed car for the first time on Monday at the team's launch in Stuttgart and I have been pretty impatient since then! My first run was at 09:10 and my first impressions are encouraging. I covered over 103 laps, which is 456kms, today. Considering this is only the second day the car has been on track, I am pretty happy with that. We have a lot of work to do, but now we have a real understanding of where we are starting from. I will be back in the MP4-23 with Heikki tomorrow and I am looking forward to continuing the programme and moving forward."

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

"Today was my second day with the MP4-23 and I have now been able to complete over 447kms in total. We are all still spending time learning about the car and starting to get used to it. That we were on track for 204 laps in total today is definitely helping us to learn and progress with the car. For me in particular the car is very different from last year, and I have been focusing on that side of things. Settling into the team has been very easy, and I am looking forward to continuing our preparations for Melbourne next Tuesday."


TESTING DATA

Track Length: 4.423km
Weather: Sunny for the majority of the day, with some cloud over lunch:
Track temperature, 25.2°C / Ambient temperature, 17.9°C
Laps Run: Total - 204: Lewis - 103 / Heikki - 101
Kilometres Covered: Lewis - 456km approx. / Heikki - 447km approx.
Best Lap Time: Lewis - 1m19.132 at 12:11 / Heikki - 1m19.462 at 11:15
Driver Schedule:
Friday 11th - Lewis and Heikki
Monday 14th - Pedro and Gary
Tuesday 15th - Lewis and Heikki
Wednesday 16th - Lewis and Heikki