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Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button hopeful for Singapore GP

Title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are hopeful of a strong showing at the Singapore Grand Prix.

They believe modifications to their car will improve its pace at the street track after McLaren struggled at similar circuits earlier in the year.

Hamilton said: "We head into the weekend with renewed confidence following some positive tests and some developments in the wind tunnel."
Button added that "a lot had changed" since McLaren's poor race in Hungary.
The Hungaroring, like Singapore, is a low-speed track requiring high-downforce and McLaren were nearly two seconds off the pace set by Red Bull at that race in July, and 0.5secs slower than Ferrari.

But following a controversy over flexible bodywork, teams have been forced to make modifications to their cars and McLaren believe this will hit Red Bull and, to a lesser extent, Ferrari.
In addition, McLaren are introducing some major aerodynamic developments to their car that they hope will make it more competitive.
Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said he was "feeling positive that we'll once again be in a position to race at the front".
Hamilton, who crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, heads into the Singapore race on 26 September five points adrift of Red Bull's championship leader Mark Webber.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is third, followed by Button and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. All five are covered by just 24 points - less than a driver earns for a win.

Button said: "The Singapore Grand Prix will be a very interesting weekend because I think it'll give us a clearer idea of the destiny of the world championship.

"The last time we were at a low-speed, high-downforce track was in Hungary back at the start of August.
"Our car wasn't particularly competitive there, and maybe we haven't had a properly representative view of the top teams' relative pace because we've just visited two high-speed circuits.
"But, equally, a lot has changed since that race in Budapest - not least, some quite hefty revisions to the rulebook regarding bodywork flexibility and, additionally, a lot of work by the engineers at McLaren to ensure our car is now better suited to slower circuits.
"Singapore will be interesting for all of us - we'll not only get an idea of the speed of the Ferrari and Red Bull, but we'll get to see for the first time whether all our efforts over the past two months have helped put us back in the ballpark at high-downforce tracks."

Hamilton, who won in Singapore last year, added: "It's difficult to say accurately how competitive we'll be in Singapore.
"If Monza most closely resembled a track like Canada, then Singapore is far closer to places like Monaco and Hungary, where we've struggled relative to the competition.
"But the engineers are positive that we've made some good progress, so I'm looking forward to getting out on track and sampling the changes for real.
"The race should give us a clearer indication of exactly where we stand as the championship closes down over the next five races, but I definitely want to score as many points as possible in this grand prix."

Andrew Benson blog - BBC

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.”

Hamilton wins Montreal GP

Tire gamble pays off as Brit captures Formula One race in Montreal

Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton didn’t think it was a gamble for his McLaren Mercedes team to start Sunday’s Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on softer option tires.
Few believed him, but at the end of 70 laps at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve it was Hamilton and his McLaren Mercedes team that held all the aces and the giant’s share of the pot from F-1’s only visit to this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
He crossed the finish line a full 2.2 seconds ahead of teammate Jenson Button to give the British-based team a 1-2 result.
Hamilton was 9.2 seconds in front of third-place finisher Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel, who before the race had criticized McLaren’s decision to run the Saturday qualifying laps on the option tires, was fourth for Red Bull with teammate Mark Webber rounding out the top five.
To many among the 110,000 sold-out crowd at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, however, it looked early on as if Hamilton had lost his gamble when he pulled into the pits under green flag conditions to change to the harder compound tires after just eight laps.
But as the race wore on Hamilton reeled in first Vettel, then Webber, then Alonso to take control. It marks the second win in Canada for the 25-year-old Hamilton.
The victory also lifted Hamilton to the top of the world championship with 109 points, three ahead of Button and six ahead of Webber, who had held the lead going into the Canadian GP.
Hamilton called his win the toughest of his career.
“It was the toughest race I’ve ever been in,” he said. “We had great pace all the way through but we had to fight traffic all the way as well. So far this season, I would have to say it was the ultimate challenge.”
There was one moment, however, that could have ruined Hamilton’s day. On exiting after his first pit stop, he came close to locking wheels with Alonso.
“On our in-lap to change tires, I was ahead of Alonso but he had some problems and ended up coming out beside him,” he said.
“He was in my blind spot, but he managed to race us to the end of pit lane and got out in front of us.”
From that point on, Hamilton said, the race was hard fight for every turn on every lap. But he added, the hard fighting made his win all the more satisfying.
“It has been a tremendous weekend, it has been fantastic,” Hamilton said. “I got here on Wednesday and things have gone so well. I’ve had incredible support from the fans.”
Button, the defending F-1 champion, heaped praise on his younger teammate, calling his race phenomenal.
“This guy (Hamilton) was phenomenal,” Button said. “It is good to finish close to (him) and good to get some points.”
Alonso complained, however, that it was the traffic, and not Hamilton’s faster McLaren Mercedes that cost him the victory on Sunday.
“We went from getting 25 points (for the win) to 15 points (for third) because of traffic,” he said.
“Ferrari is moving in the right direction but today we kept being held up (by back markers).”
Late in the race — on Lap 62 — the McLaren engineers were urging Hamilton to ease up in order to save his tires, which were beginning to show some severe wear.
But on the very next tour of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s 4.61 km loop Hamilton responded with a time of one minute, 18.025 seconds — the fastest lap of the day of any of the 2X starters on the grid.
With three laps to go he had increased his lead over Button to 3.5 second before finally heeding his team’s pleas to lift of the gas, at least a little bit.

By DEAN MCNULTY

Lewis Hamilton relishes Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton sat shivering in an air-conditioned tent on a rainy, chilly day at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
"I hope the weather improves," the McLaren star said Thursday, a day before the Formula One cars hit the track for practice for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Turkey, won the 2007 race in Montreal for his first Grand Prix victory.
"I love it here," Hamilton said. "I have just always been able to dial the car in here. It has suited my driving style, so hopefully we will see the same this weekend. I'm hoping the car will be quite competitive."
The race at the demanding track is back on the F1 schedule after a one-year absence.
In 2008, Robert Kubica raced to his lone F1 victory, teaming with Nick Heidfeld to give BMW Sauber a 1-2 finish.
"You have to reduce your downforce, but, on the other hand, you have to have good mechanical grip," said Kubica, now driving for Renault. "There's a lot of heavy braking, which I always like.
The 2.7-mile (4.3-kilometer for Canadians) road course sits on Ile Notre Dame, a slender landfill island off the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River. With long straights — favoring low-downforce setups — and slow sharp corners and chicanes, the track will test the cars' brakes, especially early on with full fuel loads.
"It's an extremely fast circuit, but it isn't a place that tolerates even the slightest mistake because of the proximity of the concrete walls," said Jenson Button, a two-time winner for McLaren this season after winning the world title last year for Brawn GP.
Adding to the difficulty, more rain is expected on Saturday and Sunday.

F1: Bernie Ecclestone US GP Q&A

This week’s announcement that F1 will go to Austin, Texas in 2012 came as a huge surprise, even to the sport’s insiders. But promoter Tavo Hellmund had been dealing with Bernie Ecclestone for over two years while trying to put the deal together.
In Turkey on Thursday, SPEEDtv.com’s Adam Cooper spoke with Ecclestone about the race, and while the F1 chief executive wasn’t giving too much away, what he did say was, as ever, fascinating…

Q: Is it fair to say that Tavo’s dad brought F1 back to Mexico in 1988?
“I think together, we did, yes!”

Q: And you’ve been friends ever since?
“Yes, we’ve kept in touch. And with Tavo, I’ve known him since he was born.”

Q: Did the Austin idea come up straight away after F1 finished with Indianapolis?
“No, but we’ve been talking about it for a long time.”

Q: What was it that convinced you to go there?
“Well, it’s a good place. Texas is a great place; it’s something that suits us.”

Q: But Dallas didn’t work in 1984...
“No, but it would have been nice. Dallas was good.”

Q: Had you been to Austin before this came up?
“No, I only went there because of this.”

Q: What were your impressions?
“Good. It’s a nice place. It’s got all the features that we want.”

Q: What is it about Tavo that convinces you that he can get the job done?
“Well, I trust him.”

Q: But it was a difficult job even for Tony George...
“Yeah, but he’s got a different way of looking at things. He knows about F1.”

Q: What’s the biggest hurdle he’s going to face?
“I think he’s going to face hundreds of them. He’ll have to jump over them all as he gets there! Building the circuit, for a start, is not going to be easy. But we’ll get it done, no fear. He’s got a lot of help from the government.”

Q: In that sense he’s got a head start compared with Tony George?
“Tony was unfortunate. It was the right and the wrong place. Right place for the type of racing they have, the wrong place for us.”

Q: I mean as far we know, he never got any government help, did he?
“No, not at all. I think everybody thought that Tony didn’t need any help.”

Q: Even in Texas finding $200m to build a circuit isn’t easy...
“He’s done it, otherwise he wouldn’t embark on it.”

Q: And a permanent track is the way to go?
“This sort of facility [Istanbul]. It’s going to look good.”

Q: It’s a better bet that a street race?
“Yes, sure. I think we’ve got enough street races now.”

Q: Is it fair to say that street races like Phoenix were not the best way for the American public to see F1?
“I don’t know what the American public want to see in motor sport. I think they’ve seen too much oval racing, so I hope we can wean them off that!”

Q: Do you think he can get a crowd?
“Yes, sure. Dallas was good. It was full up.”

Q: In somewhere like Vegas you were always going to get people coming from all over the world. Austin’s not really got the same appeal...
“The difference is that Austin will have a track, and Vegas didn’t have one...”

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005. Check out Adam’s Blog or follow him on Twitter

Jenson Button's Melbourne swap-shop : F1 vs V8 Supercar

Australia may have ceded this season's opener to Bahrain but Formula 1's collective excitement at being back in Melbourne is undiminished.
From Jack Brabham to the Bathurst 1,000 Australians love their motorsport and the city shows it by embracing F1's arrival in a series of imaginative events on and off the track.

Jenson Button had the privilege of being the first driver to taste the green asphalt of the leafy Albert Park circuit on Tuesday.
But the world champion's four-lap spin was a rather unusual refresher for Sunday's race as he swapped cars with reigning V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup.

Button squeezed into Team Vodafone's beefy tin-topped Holden Commodore while Whincup tried his hand at open-wheel racing by borrowing Lewis Hamilton's 2008 championship winning McLaren.

Button and Whincup's racing ambitions began with karting but while Button, 30, forged his way through Europe's single-seater formulas, Australian Whincup, 27, found himself drawn to touring cars.

Over the last two seasons each reached the pinnacle of their sports, with Button claiming the 2009 F1 world title and Whincup storming to back-to-back titles in V8, perceived to be the elite formula in Australian motorsport.
As the pair of champions prepared to enter the unknown at Albert Park by swapping chargers, there was time for a final word of advice.
"Give it hell," urged Button. "Yeah, likewise," grinned Whincup. "Go as hard as you can."

Champions Whincup (left) and Button (right) compare notes before driving one another's cars

Whincup was given a push out of the pit lane and after a sputtering start down the straight he was off at full pelt.
It may have been his first time in an F1 car but an unofficial timing saw the Melbourne-born driver clock one minute, 57 seconds - the same time as his fastest circuit lap in a V8 car.

And if you want to know what it's like to drive an F1 car - even if you are already a champion behind the wheel - Whincup summed it up in a single, breathless word.
"Unbelievable," he said, shaking his head as he pulled himself out of the McLaren cockpit.

"I had half a lap at half throttle but then the car just kicked in and I've never felt anything like it before.

"The car just does everything right, the harder you push the more grip you have and if you hit the brake it feels like it'll stop on a 20 cent piece.

"The strain on my head was unbelievable because I don't get anywhere near the g-force in my V8 car.

"My mate had said to me 'it's going to destroy your life driving an F1 car because nothing else will come close' and he was right. It's just a rocket ship."
The V8 spat and chewed its way around the circuit with Button at the helm, powering along at 650 horsepower compared to the purr of the McLaren's F1 engine, which runs at around a slick 750bhp.

After his rare stint in a closed-top car Button emerged saying: "It's like an oven in there!

"It's so different to driving an F1 car, it's very heavy and there's not a lot of downforce.
"I ran off the tarmac at one point and I'd be closing my eyes at that point in an F1 car, but in this thing it was great. It was very impressive."

So, was it a case of once bitten twice shy or does either driver fancy swapping again when it comes down to business in Sunday's V8 and F1 races?

"It's one thing having a drive but lining up on the grid, well it'd be scary," confessed Whincup. "I'd need a few more miles without doubt."
Button added: "I've always said in the past that after F1 I'm sure I'll look at doing something else - and this could be a possibility."


Watch out Whincup, Button could well be after your title next.

Ferrari Young Guns on the Tarmac

Ferrari got its new Driver Academy young talent programme underway in earnest on Friday when it gave three of its proteges a day of testing in its 2008 Formula 1 car.
The Italian squad has launched its most concerted driver development scheme yet, and has taken Formula 3 Euro Series champion Jules Bianchi, current and past Italian F3 champions Daniel Zampieri and Mirko Bortolotti, and star karter Raffaele Marciello under its wing.
Bianchi, Zampieri and Bortolotti are all set to get several outings in older Ferrari F1 cars this year as part of their training programme, and this started with their day in an F2008 at Fiorano on Friday.
Academy boss Luca Baldisserri said the test had been a culmination of a successful week of working with the Scuderia's young guns.

"Today was the first of five tests this year," he said on Friday evening.
"It's about physical and mental training, but we also made a physical check-up to check the drivers' health and their training level.
"On Wednesday we started working on the track with Raffaele Marciello driving in Fiorano with a Formula Abarth single-seater.
"Today's test was very intense, because three drivers took turns behind the wheel of a F1 single-seater.
"We're very satisfied, because we could see their first impressions and it was very interesting to see how young men, without real experience in F1, were doing with high-performance cars.
"The drivers gave it their all, but also had fun."
All three drivers had already experienced F1 Ferraris before - with Bortolotti and Zampieri getting prize tests after winning Italian F3, and Bianchi invited to last winter's young driver test at Jerez following his F3 Euro triumph.

itv-f1.com

Valencia Test Report - Day One

Michael Schumacher returns to the Race

Morning Report

Felipe Massa recorded the fastest lap time in this morning's session

Sebastien Buemi officially kicked off the pre-season multi-team testing days when he drove his Toro Rosso out of the pit lane at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo shortly after the track opened at 10 am on Monday, February 1, 2010. The Toro Rosso team had worked late into the previous night putting the finishing touches on the car.
Felipe Massa was next out in the Ferrari, followed by Gary Paffett driving the McLaren, Rubens Barrichello in the Williams and Pedro de la Rosa in his BMW Sauber. Massa was the first to complete a flying lap and clocked the fastest time - 1:13.088 - halfway through the day. Lap times and fuel loads will differ considerably during this and all the upcoming test days.
In all, seven teams are in Valencia. Paffett, ironically the only test driver who is scheduled to appear, is handling the shakedown duties for McLaren today.
As for the rest, de la Rosa is driving the Sauber BMW; Robert Kubica is in the Renault; Barrichello is behind the wheel of the Williams; Buemi is Toro Rosso's designated driver; Massa is in the Ferrari.

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher are splitting the shakedown work on the Mercedes today, with Rosberg running in the morning. Although Mercedes had shown its new W01 to the media earlier in the morning, the car was not ready to run until 35 minutes into the session.



This morning the drivers were doing short runs punctuated by long stops in the pits for the cars to be checked over.
"The main target here is to check all the systems," said BMW Sauber's technical director Willy Rampf. "We want to get an overall picture about the car, and where we are regarding weight distribution, for example, because this will be one of the main issues this season. And then we will feed that information back so that in the next tests we can work on set-ups and preparing everything."
Buemi may have been the first out, but after two and a half hours he had only completed five laps. Toro Rosso was having teething problems with its new car, but the team said they had anticipated that.



"I am expecting mistakes because a young team makes mistakes, and this is why we are here early," said technical director Giorgio Ascanelli. "I tried to get the car on the ground as soon as I could so that we would have time to react to the glitches and the problems that for sure we are going to get."
The weather cooperated with it being sunny throughout the day and the air temperature climbing to 13 degrees Centigrade.

Dan Knutson

US F1 allowed to test in America

The first USF1 car will make its debut on an American circuit, it was announced on Friday, 8 Jan. Peter Windsor, Sporting Director of the US F1 Team, has all but confirmed speculation that the new American team will field two rookies for its grand prix debut this March.
Amid constant rumours that the Charlotte based outfit will not make it to Bahrain at all, it has been reported that experienced drivers earlier linked to USF1 - including Pedro de la Rosa, Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Wurz - are no longer in the running.
The Charlotte based team's sporting director Peter Windsor told the official F1 website that the FIA has granted special dispensation to allow winter testing for USF1 away from the normal European group sessions.
"Because we are a new team and start everything from zero the first time we will run the car will be in the United States at the Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama, the circuit that was nominated by the FIA for us," he said.
Windsor added that the maiden test will take place "at the beginning of February", but was not more specific.
He said the FIA dispensation allows for three tests in the US, before the car is shipped to Spain "to do some testing there before we fly out to Bahrain".
It has been reported in recent days that Argentine driver Jose Maria Lopez is close to finalising his sponsorship package for one USF1 race seat, while the Briton James Rossiter is rumoured to be in contention for the other.
Said Windsor: "We are very close to announcing our drivers. We've been talking to some great racing drivers over the last couple of months -- and it is very difficult choosing from the good drivers that are around.
"I think there are still a lot and the difficult thing is to choose only two out of ten that are available. It's a difficult job and I hate having to do that. We have not signed our forward deals yet in terms of the contracts, but we are pretty near to announcing," he added.

Lotus F1 Racing Revs Up One Week Ahead Of Schedule

Mike Gascoyne hopes the progress made by Lotus on developing their 2010 contender, will allow them to mix it with the midfield runners by the Spanish grand prix. Lotus will return to formula one racing in 2010 with Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes at the helm, after an absence of 15 years, along with three other new entries Virgin Racing, USF1 and Campos Meta.

Staff at the Lotus F1 factory in Hingham, Norfolk, said they have been braving the treacherous weather conditions and battling through the heavy snow and ice that has blanketed the UK over the past week, determined to continue work on their 2010 car.According to the team's technical director Gascoyne, this determination and commitment by the Lotus engineers has paid off, as development of the team's first F1 contender is well ahead of schedule.

A statement on the official Lotus website, quoting Gasgoyne, said: "We had been looking at firing up our engine for the first time on 12th February, but with the efforts everyone's been putting in we have now been able to bring that forward to 5th February.

"This is obviously a great boost for everyone involved in the team, and shows how much hard work has already gone in since we had our entry confirmed on September 12th."With the engine fire up date in the diary, we are also in a position to confirm that we will be on track for the first time at the third official test at Jerez from February 17th, and then at Barcelona from February 25th.

"We are also aiming to run chassis two for the last two days of that Barcelona test."With such a high rate of progress, Gascoyne said he is hoping the team can begin mixing it with the midfield runners at around the start of the European season, when Lotus will introduce its first major upgrade package of the year.

"We have said we are aiming to be ahead of the new teams when we all reach Bahrain, but we would also like to be pretty close to the midfield teams after the first few races of the season," said Gascoyne.

"The update we have planned for Spain will see a boost in performance when we reach Barcelona which will give us the chance to start fighting with the slowest of the established teams which, given progress so far, has to be the next goal for us."Lotus boss Tony Fernandes has been quoted as saying he has faith in Gascoyne and believes the team has a real shot at achieving results in 2010.

In an interview with 422race.com, the Lotus boss said: "Come March, we are on the grid. It's up to us how we'll perform after that."Despite the high rate of progress, Lotus has yet to confirm the date and the location of its 2010 car launch.The manufacturer became the first of the new teams to fill both its race-seats, taking on ex-McLaren racer Heikki Kovalainen, who lost his seat at McLaren to Jenson Button, and former Toyota driver Jarno Trulli.

In an interview with BBC Radio Norfolk, Kovalainen said: "For me my time with McLaren didn't work in terms of results, I didn't feel like I got everything out of the team."But I feel what I learnt from McLaren I will take into my future career and I will start from here."This is a good opportunity for me and hopefully I will be able to get everything out of the team and hopefully the results will show that."
11 January 2010, 12:00

Sebastien Loeb 'denied super licence for Abu Dhabi'

Sebastien Loeb will not be able to compete in next week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, according to reports in France.



The Frenchman, who is attempting to win a sixth consecutive World Rally Championship title at this weekend's season finale in Wales, has not been granted the requisite super-licence by the FIA, world motor racing's governing body.
Loeb had remained hopeful of making a cameo appearance in Abu Dhabi after testing a GP2 car earlier this month and there were rumours in the paddock that Toro Rosso might be prepared to give the Citroen driver a run in place of Jaime Alguersuari.

Loeb, 35, impressed Red Bull in a one-off test last winter but finished last in the GP2 test in Jerez, more than two seconds off the fastest lap.
Alain Prost said that "common sense" had prevailed. "It would have been unique and incredible for all fans of motor sport," said the four-time Formula One world champion, "but such a shame to risk his reputation.
"It would have been absolutely impossible for him to be competitive on a circuit which he doesn't know, when all he has done is rallying throughout his career.
"That is not to put him down, on the contrary, but Formula One is not just any old thing. It is a completely different mountain to climb."
Loeb goes into the first day of Rally GB on Friday trailing Ford's Mikko Hirvonen by a single point in the standings.
Meanwhile, the FIA has confirmed that next year's Monaco Grand Prix has been moved forward by a week to May 16.
The change means that the famous street race takes place one week after the Spanish Grand Prix, and creates a two-week gap between Monaco and Istanbul.
F1 teams had been concerned that it would not be logistically possible to transport their equipment from Monte Carlo to Turkey in the one-week gap listed on the provisional calendar.
The Canadian and British GPs still have question marks over them, with Donington given until tomorrow to guarantee it has the finance for its revamp to go ahead.
The 2010 calendar will be ratified by the World Council in December.

By Tom Cary

F1 Community salutes Jenson Button

The world of Formula 1 has paid tribute to Brawn GP's Jenson Button as the Englishman won the 2009 world drivers' championship in Brazil.
Button started from 14th on the Interlagos grid and weaved his way through the field with a scintillating drive to finish fifth in Sao Paulo.
He now has an unassailable 15-point advantage going into the season's final race in Abu Dhabi on 1 November.
Button also helped his Brawn GP team to become the first Formula 1 team to win the constructors' championship in their debut season.



Former F1 driver and BBC pundit David Coulthard:
"Anyone who doubts he's worthy of being world champion just needs to watch that. It was an attacking drive, a really great drive."



Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello:
"I am pleased for Jenson, as a friend, and as a great champion, and if I didn't win, he should have won it, so well done to him.
"Jenson deserved to do it, but he won it on the first six races, and I think the second half of the championship was mine.
"It is a hell of a team that deserves to win and we will have a great night tonight. I feel part of this, especially the constructors' championship."
Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn: "Jenson's drive today was the the drive of a world champion."
"He's a fantastic racer. Today he had a great race; he knew what he had to do."
"We've lost a little bit of pace in the car over the last few races and he's stuck with it and he's deserved everything he's got."



Red Bull driver Mark Webber:
"JB is such a consistent driver and, unfortunately for us, this year he was also blisteringly quick at the start of the year as well, and he got the results.
"Brawn and Button came out running really well at the start of the season, he was on top of the car and that is where he put a big hit into the championship.
"We pushed hard and other teams arrived in the middle and the back end of the season, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in particular, which made it hard for him to close the deal. But he is a deserved champion."



McLaren's 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton:
"Big congratulations to Jenson, I have to say incredible job to him and I am really happy for him and his family.
"I can't take anything away from Jenson he did the better job this year, but I plan on taking it back at some stage, who knows when, but I really hope that we can give it a good challenge next year from the start."



BBC Formula 1 pundit Eddie Jordan:
"Why should we not be in total homage to Jenson Button?"
"He has the most points and he did that before the end of the season with a race to go, he is a totally deserving world champion, never in question."
Formula 1 legend and three-time world champion Niki Lauda: "When you are world champion there is nothing to criticise. He is one of the world champions now and he did a perfect job.
"He was very conservative in the middle of the season, trying to protect his lead, and he did manage to protect it.
"He drove a really aggressive perfect race in Brazil, so he can do both sides. You have a really good world champion back in England again."



Jenson's mother Simone Lyons:
"I'm just cried out! I was just crying and sobbing as he was crossing the line, and those last three laps were the longest ever. I always believed he'd do it and I expect he did as well because he knows the effort he puts into it."



Prime Minister Gordon Brown:
"I want to send my warmest congratulations to Jenson Button for clinching the Formula 1 drivers' championship today in Brazil, on the same circuit that Lewis Hamilton won the drivers' championship last year.
"We can be proud that Jenson is the 10th British driver to win the title.
"His performances over the season with the new Brawn team have excited Formula 1 fans in Britain and across the world, and we look forward to his continuing success in the seasons ahead."



Sir Jackie Stewart, three-time F1 world champion:
"I know the feeling, and to win your first world championship is always a bigger thrill."
"He came through the field magically actually. I mean, he picked up nine places, there were a few accidents that helped him on his way, but he got through those without a scratch and without damaging the car.
"I'm thrilled for him because it's the first time in 40 years that we've had a British champion back-to-back, first Lewis Hamilton and now Jenson Button. It's great."



Brawn GP chief executive Nick Fry:
"As the chief executive I have to do the tough job of contract negotiating and I think Jenson's share price has gone up a bit today. He is making my life even more difficult!"



BBC F1 analyst and former driver Martin Brundle:
"Jenson answered any critics he might have without any doubt with that drive today. He is the world champion with one race to spare.
"It's a bit of a British thing, we like to knock ourselves, but we should pump ourselves up a little bit. Jenson Button is a very worthy world champion."



Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP race engineer Jock Clear:
"It is all about Jenson Button, and what he did on the track today.
"Everyone complains about not enough overtaking, but Jenson won a championship by overtaking today, and that's what we all want to see.
"It was a brilliant, brilliant drive from him. I take my hat off to him."

BBC.com

S'pore retailers and restaurants hoping to cash in on F1 excitement

The excitement over the Singapore Formula One night race is increasing, with the race less than a week away. Numerous retailers and restaurants are cashing in with attractive offers.

With products from a variety of teams is the F1 Merchandise Shop at the Shangri-La Hotel, where some products are proving more popular than others. "We have a resident customer who is very enthusiastic. And she probably bought half the merchandise that is in this shop. She bought everything in every size," said Shatz Gillet, Public Relations Marketing Officer,
1st-Formula 1.

The Screening Room, an entertainment venue in Singapore, will be holding week-long screenings of Formula 1 Season Review 2008. It will be hosting driving simulation competitions and serving several F1-themed drinks as well. Over at the Fairmont Hotel, F1 fans can opt for an ultimate dining experience for four with a 61-course meal that reflects the 61 laps of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix circuit. The meal which will include a wide selection of seafood, meats and vegetables is priced at S$5,000. With so much action on and off the race track, the Singapore Tourism Board is confident that it will achieve its target of S$100 million in tourism receipts from the upcoming night race.

By Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia

Disgraced F1 pair could face S'pore extradition

This year's Formula One race in Singapore could see more than its fair share of excitement - not all of it welcome.

There's talk that two former Renault team principals could possibly be extradited to Singapore to be charged for their part in fixing the outcome of last year's Grand Prix here.
If so, the resulting media attention and the possibility of a long trial would draw more attention to the disrepute that's already currently associated with this race - an outcome which can't bode well for this year's race, which is already seeing less interest than last year's, due to the dismal economic climate.
The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that Renault F1 managing director Flavio Briatore and executive director of engineering Pat Symonds - who resigned, as the team announced that it would not contest charges of fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix - could face legal repercussions in Singapore.
It said Singapore could possibly request the extradition of the pair and charge them on extradition crimes, related to their involvement in last year's race.
When asked, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry S Iswaran said yesterday that he had not heard any indication that Singapore was seeking the extradition of the former Renault team principals. But lawyers whom we spoke to say an extradition is a possibility.
Briatore and Symonds have been accused by former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr of asking him to crash in last year's inaugural F1 race in Singapore - in order to help his team mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso win the race, which the latter eventually did.
Briatore and Symonds are due to go before the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris next Monday. The FIA (the world governing body for Formula One) could impose sanctions and other penalties on Renault, including excluding the team from the championship, if it finds the team guilty.
And, now, there's the possibility that Briatore and Symonds could face criminal charges in Singapore too.

Lawyers whom we spoke to say it is possible the pair could be extradited and charged here for their alleged attempts to fix the race, but that it would depend on two key points.
"One, are they based in countries with which Singapore has an extradition treaty? And, two, is what they've done considered an extraditable offence?" says lawyer Nicholas Narayanan, who runs his own practice.
Briatore is reported to be an Italian citizen, while Symonds is a British citizen. Singapore has an extradition treaty with the UK, but not with Italy.
As for whether the pair could be accused of an extraditable crime, lawyers point to the list of offences in the Extradition Act in Singapore.
Mr Narayanan says Briatore and Symonds, if they did ask Piquet Jr to intentionally crash his car, could arguably be considered guilty of the following offences cited in the Act:

Malicious or wilful damage to property; Acts done with the intention of endangering vehicles, vessels or aircraft; or Criminal conspiracy to commit a serious crime, where the serious crime is transnational in nature and involves an organised criminal group.

Another lawyer - who has advised on extradition issues, but asked not to be named - felt, however, that it would be "a stretch" to say that Briatore and Symonds committed the aforementioned extraditable offences, even if they had instructed Piquet Jr to crash his car, and that it would be correspondingly difficult to extradite them to Singapore on such grounds.
Also, even if Briatore and Symonds could arguably be considered to have committed an extraditable offence, it would be up to Singapore to decide if it even wants to have the pair brought here and charged.

Observers have said that Singapore is unlikely to make such a move, given the negative publicity it would throw up.
Mr Iswaran also said that "this is a matter between the FIA and the teams".
"We are a host. Our job is to make sure we put on a good show so that the visitors enjoy themselves, have an eventful experience. In that regard, we did a good job last year and that's our target again this year.

Jet sellers, party hosts try to rev up Singapore F1

The race for tickets and views for Singapore's Formula One grand prix has slowed this year after the country's worst recession, but restaurants along the street circuit are still putting the champagne on ice.
Investment banks in the Asian financial center have scaled back parties for clients for the September 25-27 race after seeing earnings battered by the financial crisis.
Tickets for practice runs and the race have yet to sell out, with the buzz from the sport's first ever night street race in Singapore in 2008 not evident this time, though the event is attracting attention from a scandal over last year's result.
Singapore officials are confident the allegations will not hurt the event, and marketers hope rich fans will still show up.
The Annix Group is organizing an exhibition that will showcase goods including 70 watches worth over S$15 million ($11 million), as it targets 35,000 high net-worth individuals expected to attend, the event's marketing director Prita Leenheer told Reuters.
The F1 will see the launch of a invitation-only club called "O" -- half of whom will be Lamborghini owners and others will be picked from among models, designers, movie stars and royalty.

MillionaireAsia magazine's private aviation show will be returning to Singapore, after $150 million worth of aircraft orders and sales generated by last year's show during the F1.
"As we prepare to exit the economic crisis, we hope that the show will help increase jet sales by at least 10 percent," the magazine's managing editor Brian Yim said.
But banks such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, which sponsors the Williams F1 team and has been part-nationalized by the British government, will be significantly cutting its hospitality this year, said its country executive Muhammad Aurangzeb.
Restaurants in the center of town near the floodlit course, which weaves through the business district and historic landmarks, are ramping up efforts to revive last year's race fever, with F1 themed cocktails, champagne buffets and parties.

Gourmet restaurant Le Saint Julien, located at a bend on the circuit, is again offering a package including free flow of champagne -- but at prices half last year's.

Hotel Ritz Carlton will play host to party The Podium Lounge, auctioning a Fernando Alonso autographed replica F1 vehicle.
Last year's Grand Prix in Singapore, won by Renault's Fernando Alonso after a pitstop blunder finished the chances of rival Ferrari's Felipe Massa, is still a talking point.

The ramifications of the Singapore race fixing verdict

Andrew Benson The decision to give Renault only a suspended sentence for the team's attempt to fix last year's Singapore Grand Prix seems lenient at first glance.

And, all in all, Renault probably will be breathing a sigh of relief, even if they know they will be disqualified for two years if they commit a similar offence in the future.
As their employers, Renault could have been held responsible for the actions of Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds, yet there has been no fine and no points deduction. Looked at in the context of what happened to McLaren in 2007's spy scandal, when the team were thrown out of the constructors' championship and fined $100m (then £49.2m) - Renault do appear to have got off lightly.
But governing body the FIA has obviously concluded that it would have been wrong to punish Renault for something that it seems it knew nothing about, even if one has to question the culture of a team in which this sort of shocking event could be considered.
Assuming Nelson Piquet Jr fulfilled his promise to tell the truth in return for immunity from prosecution, then the guilty parties in this case were not Renault but former team boss Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds, who the Brazilian said proposed the plan.
They have been dealt with heavily by governing body the FIA, with Briatore banned for life from attending race tracks and Symonds excluded from any participation in F1 for five years. Although whether such bans are enforceable under law is another matter
There is, of course, the wider question of Renault's decision to hire Briatore as team boss in the first place.
The company's bosses knew full well his reputation when they took him on in 2000 when they bought and renamed the Benetton team. The Italian's combination of a mysterious past, uber-ruthless business ethic, and the ostentation with which he boasted of his wealth have long made some uncomfortable.
His actions in this affair merely serve to underline the air of amorality that has tended to follow him around.
It can be argued that a company with Renault's global presence should have been less eager to get into bed with such a man. But although Renault were ultimately responsible for Briatore's actions, that is not the same as saying they should be thrown out of the sport because of them.
And Renault, it should also be remembered, have been involved in F1 for more than 30 years, and until now have an unblemished record - which is more than can be said for many people or organisations who spend that long in such a politically charged environment.
In that context, this decision is certainly expedient.
In the wake of the decisions by Honda and BMW to quit F1, the sport could ill-afford to lose another manufacturer and engine supplier.
For that reason, F1 will breathe a sigh of relief that the FIA has not come down harder on Renault. Likewise, few will mourn Briatore's departure.
There has been more surprise expressed at Symonds's involvement. He is one of those super-clever and understated F1 technicians who always give the impression of being straight-laced and above board, even if at the same time they are extremely cagey about giving away any knowledge about the inner workings of their teams.
Those who remember the dark days of 1994, though, would not consider anyone who was with the then-Benetton team at the time whiter than white.
That leaves the drivers.
The FIA has concluded that Fernando Alonso was "not in any way involved in Renault F1's breach of the regulations".
Not everyone will share that view. Some, including it seems Piquet's eponymous father, believe the double world champion must have known of the plan.

This argument says that a driver as intelligent and involved as Alonso would have questioned the strategy devised for him by Renault's engineers for the race in Singapore, so would have had to be told why they had decided on it.
Others are not so sure. The strategy Renault adopted for the Spaniard was sellable without him needing to know about the crash. And if you were to try to pull off something like this without anyone finding out, you would surely want to cover yourself by having as few people in on it as possible.
Having questioned all parties, the FIA's own investigators came up with the second conclusion. And, at the risk of appearing naïve, I have to say I'm inclined to believe that, too.
This morning, I re-watched the tapes of the immediate aftermath of the Singapore Grand Prix, when Alonso is joined by Briatore in an ante-room on their way to the podium ceremony.
It is impossible to hear the entire contents of the brief exchange, but it was the Spaniard who brought up the subject of the safety car and he did so with a sense of what I at least read to be genuine surprise. Sort of: "Wow, that safety car was a lucky break, wasn't it?"
Piquet Jr was granted immunity for blowing the whistle on Renault, and it is perhaps surprising that the man whose actions have been questioned the least in all of this is the man at the centre of the whole thing.
F1 will not miss Piquet. One reason for that is that he did little in his season and a half in the sport to suggest that he deserved his place on the F1 grid. But more importantly, by his actions in Singapore, he has brought shame on himself and his sport.
Yes, he was young, and yes he felt vulnerable that he might lose his job. But possibly the single most shocking thing about this whole scandal is that a man whose job it was to drive grand prix cars was prepared to deliberately crash one at the request of his team.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said that "beggars belief". And it certainly feels as if F1, which is not exactly known for its saintly moral code, has plumbed new depths with this.
However shaky was Piquet's position at Renault, clearly the right action in the circumstances was to refuse the request of Briatore and Symonds.
Piquet, who issued an apologetic statement on Monday, clearly regrets what he did. It's just a shame he was not able to see things as clearly at the time.
Piquet must take responsibility for his actions, and it should be borne in mind that he was put in that position by the appalling ethics of his team bosses. But he was also there as a result of the entire culture of the sport.
There is a climate of fear within F1 - the teams fear the FIA, and the drivers fear their teams. Few people are prepared to speak out when something is wrong, or even express an honest opinion on a matter of controversy, for fear of repercussions from whichever entity it is that holds power over them.
Ultimately, that is what has led to this appalling turn of events and if the FIA wants to stop something similar happening in the future, then it must look much deeper than simply one team's ill-advised actions on the morning of one race last year.

Renault handed suspended F1 ban

Renault have been given a two-year suspended ban from Formula 1 for their role in fixing last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
The team were called before governing body the FIA to answer charges they had asked driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win.
Former team boss Flavio Briatore has been banned from FIA sanctioned events for an unlimited period.
Ex-engineering director Pat Symonds has also been excluded for five years.
Briatore and Symonds parted company with Renault last week at the same time as the French car giant said they would not contest the charges.
The FIA agreed not to pursue action against Piquet in return for his role in uncovering the details of the scandal.

Alonso, who attended the hearing in Paris, was also cleared of any involvement in the race-fixing scheme and the FIA thanked him for "cooperating with enquiries".
The World Motor Sport Council ruled that Renault was guilty of breaking its sporting code, finding; "breaches relating to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to be of unparalleled severity.
"They not only compromised the integrity of the sport but also endangered the lives of spectators, officials, other competitors and Nelson Piquet Jr. himself.
"The WMSC considers that offences of this severity merit permanent disqualification from the FIA Formula One World Championship.

"However, in particular the steps taken by Renault F1 to identify and address the failings within its team and condemn the actions of the individuals involved, the WMSC has decided to suspend Renault F1's disqualification until the end of the 2011 season."
FIA president Max Mosley added: "The blame has been placed where it should be placed and it's the right decision.
"The penalty that we've imposed is the harshest one we can but because Renault have demonstrated that they have no moral responsibility for what took place, it would be wrong in the circumstances to impose an immediate penalty."
The hearing was an attempt to attribute responsibility for the Singapore scandal despite the departure of Briatore and Symonds.
Renault explained that its internal investigation found that Briatore, Symonds and Piquet Jr had conspired to cause the crash with no other team member involved.
After conducting its own investigation, the FIA agreed with Renault's findings and decided to hand the French team a more lenient suspended sentence.
Renault, who will pay the cost of the FIA investigation, as well as contributing to its safety-related projects, said it accepted the council's decision.
Renault's F1 president Bernard Rey
"We are very sad to find ourselves in front of the Word Motor Sport Council," a team statement said.
"We apologise unreservedly to the F1 community in relation to this unacceptable behaviour.
"We sincerely hope that we can soon put this matter behind us and focus constructively on the future. We will issue further information in the next few days."
The FIA imposed further sanctions on Briatore, who ended his nine-year reign as Renault team principal last week in the wake of the scandal.
The Italian has been banned indefinitely from attending any FIA events. A route back into F1 was made more difficult for Briatore as the FIA declared it would not grant a licence to any team he was involved with or renew an F1 Superlicence granted to any driver associated with him.
Renault's double world champion Alonso and Red Bull's Mark Webber are both managed by Briatore while McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen also has ties with the Italian.
Symonds was banned from all FIA events for five years but the FIA noted his communication to the hearing "that it was to his 'eternal regret and shame' that he had participated in the conspiracy".
The fateful conspiracy was brought to light by Piquet after he was sacked by Renault following July's Hungarian GP.
The 24-year-old Brazilian said after the hearing: "I bitterly regret my actions to follow the orders I was given. I wish every day that I had not done it."
During last year's Singapore night race Piquet crashed on lap 14, two laps after Alonso had stopped for fuel and tyres, and a safety car was deployed to control the field while the debris from the accident was removed from the track.
Having already pitted in the race, the timing of the safety car - necessary while Piquet's wrecked car was removed from the track - was critical to Alonso's victory in Singapore.
It meant that when the safety car came out, he was alone among the front-runners in not having to stop for fuel and tyres and it promoted him into a position from which he was able to win.
The FIA's ruling on the race-fixing behind the Spaniard's victory has been reached in the same week that Formula 1 returns to Singapore for this season's race.

Briatore has been banned from any involvement in F1
While the majority of the Renault team flew out to Singapore over the weekend, the long-term future of the French team remains in doubt.
The team's main sponsor, Dutch bank ING, had already decided to withdraw its support at the end of the season while Renault itself reported losses as a result of falling car sales in the first half of the year.
Two major car manufacturers have pulled out of F1 in the last nine months, with Honda quitting last December and BMW announcing in July they would stop at the end of the year.
There have long been rumours that both Renault and Toyota, who have said it will not sign off its 2010 F1 budget until November, could follow them out of the sport.
If Renault and Toyota pulled out, the only two car companies left in F1 would be Mercedes and Fiat through its Ferrari brand.
As the car companies supply engines to the entire grid this year, that could be a major problem, notwithstanding the return of privateer engine company Cosworth next season as supplier to the new teams Lotus, US F1, Campos and Manor.
"Formula 1 can't afford another major manufacturer with such a proud history to walk away," said the BBC's James Munro in Paris.
"So some may accuse the FIA of that having influenced their decision."

88% of F1 tickets for Singapore Grand Prix already sold

The Singapore Formula One race is slightly more than a week away and while it was a sold-out inaugural race last year attracting some 100,000 spectators, that will not be repeated this year.

Organisers are only offering 83,000 seats this year, and as of today, 88 per cent of tickets have been sold.

With the poor economy, race organisers were already expecting slower ticket sales this year. Despite that, they managed to ramp up sales, which are picking up as the race approaches. Five categories, including the walkabout tickets, have been sold out.

Last year, the very last ticket was sold on race day on Saturday and organisers are hoping the same this year.

Tourism is another area affected by the economic downturn, but the authorities are cautiously optimistic.

Lynette Pang, director, Entertainment, Sports & Arts, Singapore Tourism Board, said: "We are keeping our target the same as last year, in terms of tourism receipts, which is really the important key performance indicator for us - as Singapore Tourism Board.

"We are looking at S$100 million in tourism receipts which is the same as last year. Likewise in terms of visitor attendance, we are keeping it the same as last year at 40 per cent of the total attendance of the three-day race."

Actually, tourism receipts hit S$168 million in 2008 and an estimated 40,000 spectators were foreigners.

In absolute terms, the latest targets will still be a challenge due to the slower response. However, the tourism board hopes to draw more foreign fans using targeted marketing and hitting different demographics.

The situation is not common to Singapore, as many races around the world see a decline in interest after the second year onwards.

Similarly, it will be a challenge for Singapore to drive fans to support the Singapore GP, at least for the next three years, when the current five-year deal ends in 2012.

Luca Badoer - Some infos...

Badoer set to race for Ferrari in Valencia

Following the news that Michael Schumacher has had to call off his planned return to Formula One racing, Ferrari have announced that test driver Luca Badoer has been drafted in to race at the European Grand Prix later this month.Schumacher had hoped to stand in for the injured Felipe Massa in Valenica, but neck pain caused by a motorcycle accident earlier this year, has forced him to abandon his comeback plans. "I am very unhappy that a problem means that Michael cannot return to racing," explained Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo. “In the past few days, I have appreciated his great efforts and the extraordinary motivation which had spread through the team and fans around the world. No doubt his return would have been good for Formula One and I am sure it would have seen him fighting for wins again. “In the name of Ferrari and all the fans, I wish to thank him for the strong attachment he displayed for the team in these circumstances. In agreement with (team principal) Stefano Domenicali, we have therefore decided to give Luca Badoer the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver."Badoer has tested for the Italian team since 1998 and last raced in a Grand Prix back in 1999 for Minardi.

Luca Badoer (born January 25, 1971) is an Italian Formula One driver who has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi and Forti Corse teams, and is presently a test driver for the Ferrari F1 team.
Career
Badoer was born in Montebelluna, Veneto.
Prior to reaching Formula One, he graduated through the time-honoured route of karting, in which he was Italian champion. He beat Alex Zanardi in the final round of the 1990 Italian Formula 3 Championship. In 1991 he won four races in a row, but was disqualified after a technicality concerning his tyres. For 1992 he was offered a ride with Team Crypton for the F3000 Championship, in which he emerged as champion.
His debut Formula One season in 1993 was mired by Scuderia Italia's uncompetitive Lola chassis, which, despite Ferrari engines, was the slowest car in the championship in terms of qualifying pace. He regularly beat his experienced team-mate Michele Alboreto, but lost out to him for the second drive when Scuderia Italia merged with Minardi for the 1994 season. He was retained as test driver however, and took over the drive in 1995 when Alboreto retired. In the underfunded team his best results were eighth places in Canada and Hungary and ninth in Japan. In 1996 he switched to Forti Corse, where he was only able to qualify for six of the ten races the team entered, which folded after that year's British Grand Prix.

In 1997 Badoer began his long spell as Ferrari's test driver, a role he continues to perform. He returned to racing for one season in 1999, with the Minardi team. In the July of that season, Ferrari's number one driver Michael Schumacher broke his leg in an accident at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. As Ferrari's test driver, Badoer expected to be promoted to the race seat in Schumacher's absence, but the team opted for Mika Salo instead, prompting criticism from former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi.
Badoer holds the dubious distinction of being the driver who has competed in the most Grands Prix (48) without scoring a single point. He nearly achieved his first points finish in the 1999 European Grand Prix when a strong drive saw Badoer lying in 4th place with only 13 laps remaining. Unfortunately the gearbox on his Minardi subsequently failed and television cameras showed Badoer weeping by his car.

Badoer was unable to find a satisfactory race seat in Formula One after 1999, and he became a permanent test driver for Ferrari. He covers thousands of kilometres at the Mugello and Fiorano test circuits each year and it is likely that Badoer has driven more kilometres in a Ferrari F1 car than any other Italian in history.
At the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Badoer demonstrated one of the team's 2005 cars in the centre of the stadium, revving the engine, and performing several doughnuts, creating a large cloud of tyre smoke, and leaving circular black marks on the white platform. The event was witnessed by millions of television viewers worldwide.