F1 German Grand Prix

Ferrari have been fined $100,000 by the FIA for implementing team orders during today's German Grand Prix.

Team principal Stefano Domenicali, team manager Massimo Rivola and drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were summoned to face the stewards following the race at Hockenheim.
After what appeared to be a coded message from Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley on lap 47, the Brazilian then let Alonso past two laps later, the Spaniard going on to claim the 23rd win of his career.
After meeting with the stewards, Ferrari were deemed in breach of article 39.1 of the FIA 2010 sporting regulations that states "team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited".
They were also charged with a breach of article 151c of the FIA International Sporting Code.
That relates to "any fraudulent conduct, or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally".
The stewards have also referred the matter to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for further consideration.

Ferrari could be banned from Formula One after Sunday's German Grand Prix
The Italian team were found guilty by race stewards of 'bringing the sport into disrepute' for ordering their other driver, Brazil's Felipe Massa, to relinquish the lead to his team-mate.

The FIA hearing is expected to be held in Paris next month, when the range of options open to the Council extends to expelling Ferrari from the world championship.
Although that is unlikely, the sport's most famous marque could realistically expect to have yesterday's result expunged. A suspension for a number of races is another possibility.

Condemnation rained down on Ferrari last night. Former team owner Eddie Jordan said: 'It was unlawful and theft. They stole from us the chance of having a wheel-to-wheel contest between the drivers.Ferrari should be ashamed. This was a team order. For me it is cheating and the two cars should be excluded. It looks as if a young Spaniard acted petulantly and Ferrari have reacted.'
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: 'That is the clearest team order I have seen. It's wrong for the sport. The regulations are pretty clear - team orders are not allowed.'
A Ferrari spokesman said the team will not be appealing the stewards' verdict.

Briatore & Symonds out of Renault F1 Team

Flavio Briatore has left his position as boss of the Renault team after they decided not to contest charges of fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Executive director of engineering Pat Symonds has also left the team.

Renault were summoned by governing body, the FIA, after Nelson Piquet Jr claimed he had been asked to crash to help team-mate Fernando Alonso's race.

An FIA spokesperson confirmed a World Motor Sport Council hearing in Paris on Monday would go ahead.

Renault have been called to answer charges that they "conspired with Nelson Piquet Jr to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso".

The hearing will attempt to attribute responsibility for the Singapore "crash-gate" despite the news that Briatore and Symonds have left Renault.

The FIA could still impose sanctions if Renault are found guilty, including excluding the team from the championship, although that must be considered unlikely given the two people Piquet said were responsible have now left the team.

Piquet crashed in Singapore two laps after Alonso had come in for a routine pit stop.

That meant that when race officials sent out the safety car to clear up the debris from Piquet's car, Alonso was alone among the front-runners in not having to stop for fuel and tyres.

Renault's double world champion went on to take the chequered flag at Formula 1's inaugural night race and claim his first victory in two years.

At the time, Piquet attributed the crash to a simple error, but after being dropped by the team after July's Hungary GP the race-fixing allegations emerged.

The Brazilian has since testified to the FIA that he was instructed by Briatore and Symonds when and where to crash.

Renault's response was to accuse the 24-year-old and his father Nelson Piquet of false allegations and blackmail, going as far as saying they would begin legal action against them.

But on Wednesday the team said in a statement they would "not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix."

The statement added: "The team also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team."

BBC pundit and former team boss Eddie Jordan said he was surprised by Renault's announcement but believes it was effectively an admission of guilt.

"By suggesting they are not going to contest the allegations is in itself an admission," Jordan told the BBC.

"I don't know what goes on in teams and certainly in the Jordan team you would contemplate all sorts of things but you certainly couldn't contemplate that."

It remains to be seen whether this latest controversy, and the departure of Briatore and Symonds, will affect Renault's decision to stay in Formula 1.

Briatore had denied speculation that the French team's future was under threat and the team have signed a new Concorde Agreement to stay in F1 until 2012.

But this latest controversy, coupled with a decline in cars sales, could yet have repercussions for the staff of around 700, who are are employed at the team's headquarters in Enstone, in Oxfordshire, and Viry-Chatillon in Paris.

Former grand prix winner John Watson told the BBC: "The fact that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have left the team was the only solution to Renault.

"A company on the scale of Renault, a world-scale motor company could not afford to have a scandal of this magnitude rattling around in the boardroom."

As it is, Renault's statement draws the curtain on two of F1's best-known protagonists.

Briatore became Benetton team principal in 1991 and when Renault bought Benetton in 2000 to run under its own moniker, the 59-year-old Italian was chosen to lead the team.

Symonds joined the Toleman team, which morphed into Benetton and Renault, in the 1980s and worked his way though the ranks becoming executive director of engineering in 2001.

Briatore was also heavily involved in the teams' association Fota, as it sought to reach an agreement on the future of the sport with the FIA this season.

Renault may quit Formula One over new cheating claim

Nelson Piquet Jr has been accused of crashing his car in the 2008 Singapore race to help team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The FIA examination of last year's Singapore grand prix could lead to Renault quitting Formula One if their team is found guilty of interfering with the result of the floodlit race's inaugural running.

Although not mentioning Renault by name, the sport's governing body is likely to take a closer look at the race following the acquisition of fresh evidence. During the broadcast of Sunday's Belgian grand prix, the Brazilian network Globo TV reportedly said it had received information that Nelson Piquet Jr had been asked to crash on purpose and trigger the sequence of events that led to his team‑mate, Fernando Alonso, moving from the back to the front of the field and scoring a win that went against form in the previous 14 races. A spokeswoman for the ING Renault F1 Team said today that there would be no comment.
Renault have been at the forefront of rumours that they would be the next to pull out of F1 following the withdrawal of Honda and BMW. The French manufacturer was considering quitting last year but Alonso's win in Singapore, and victory at the next race in Japan, secured the team's short-term future. Renault's best finish this year has been fifth place in Spain, an unsatisfactory result that could accelerate the decision to pull out should an inquiry find against the British-based team. If the FIA feels there is a case to answer, Renault could be called before the World Motor Sport Council and, if found guilty, face a heavy fine or even expulsion.

When Piquet crashed on the 14th of 61 laps and sprayed debris across the track, the incident prompted the appearance of the safety car and caused every team bar Renault to immediately rethink their pit-stop strategy. A period of slow laps behind the safety car is the ideal time to refuel without losing an excessive amount of time. Renault were the exception because Alonso had refuelled three laps before Piquet's crash and rejoined at the back of the field. As the 18 cars running ahead of the former world champion made their pit stops, Alonso moved to the front.
The question is: was Piquet ordered to crash or was the accident a handy coincidence for a team under pressure to score their first win of 2008? If it was the former, then Piquet was either incompetent or extremely brave. The heavy collision with the concrete wall lining the street circuit destroyed the right-hand side of the Renault and risked injury. Had Piquet wished to prompt the safety car, it would only have required a slightly more dramatic version of the incident employed by Michael Schumacher in 2005 when he parked his Ferrari against the barrier in Monte Carlo and hampered the progress of rivals during the closing minutes of qualifying. Schumacher was demoted to the back of the grid. A spokesmen for Piquet said he would be making no comment.

The investigation comes less than two weeks after an angry Piquet referred to Flavio Briatore as his "executioner" after being sacked by the boss of Renault F1 and replaced by the Frenchman Romain Grosjean. Ferrari were accused of interfering with the result of the 2002 Austrian grand prix when Rubens Barrichello was ordered to move over in the final 100 metres and allow Schumacher to win. Ferrari were not reprimanded but the FIA banned team orders. The Singapore incident, if deliberate, is much more serious due to the risk of debris injuring other drivers and, possibly, spectators.

Victory for Raikkonen, glory for Fisichella at Spa-Francorchamps

Kimi Raikkonen became the sixth different victor in six races after putting Ferrari back in the winners’ circle for the first time in 2009, with a finely judged success in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, in which his KERS system played a crucial role in the opening stages. But he was dogged all the way to the flag by a gallant Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India, who kept him honest throughout on the first medium downforce circuit of the season.

Behind them, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel drove strongly for third, closing on them both by the finish. Raikkonen crossed the finish line 0.9s ahead, with Vettel 2.9s behind Fisichella.

Jenson Button’s hopes of adding to his points tally in the Brawn GP ended at Les Combes on the first lap when he was spun out by Romain Grosjean’s Renault, while in a separate incident Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren tagged Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso while trying to avoid the melee. The two incidents are currently under investigation by the race stewards.

After a safety car intervention, Raikkonen, who had sped up to second behind Fisichella on the opening lap, lost no time using his KERS to slingshot by the Italian on the run up Raidillon to Les Combes on the fifth lap, but Fisichella pushed him all the way.Red Bull’s Mark Webber looked strong initially until an unsafe release from his first pit stop nearly put rival BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld in the pit-lane wall. A drive-through penalty subsequently dropped him to ninth.Renault’s Fernando Alonso also seemed on course for a healthy helping of points after running the longest opening stint, but a brush with Force India’s Adrian Sutil in La Source on the opening lap had damaged the left front wheel, and after a disastrously long pit stop on Lap 24 he had to come in again to retire a lap later when the left front wheel could not be secured satisfactorily.

Vettel was able to vault past a fast-starting Robert Kubica after his second stop on the 35th lap and said his Red Bull was perfect thereafter, but the Pole brought his BMW Sauber home fourth ahead of closing team mate Heidfeld. The German has passed Toyota’s Jarno Trulli for second at the start but ran wide and lost ground, allowing Kubica to nip down the inside to run third initially.Heikki Kovalainen did a one-stop strategy in his McLaren to stay ahead of Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello for sixth place. The Brazilian, who bogged down off the grid, was saved to an extent by the intervention of the safety car which enabled Brawn to refuel him for a longer opening stint in a fast first-lap pit stop, but had to back off at the end when his Mercedes engine showed signs of failing. He just made it to the flag ahead of a closing Nico Rosberg, who drove yet another strong race for Williams to score the final point, while Webber just missed out with ninth after a frustrating race.Toyota’s Timo Glock had a fuel rig problem in his first stop which delayed him, and could not better 10th, under pressure at the end from Force India’s Sutil. Behind them Sebastien Buemi brought his Toro Rosso home 12th ahead of Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and an unimpressive Luca Badoer, who was the last finisher for Ferrari.

Besides Alonso and the first lap crashers, the other retirement was Trulli, whose front wing was damaged when he made contact with Heidfeld's BMW Sauber on the opening lap. That ruined the Italian’s race, as did a later refuelling problem, similar to Glock’s. He ultimately retired with a brake problem.

In the title stakes, Barrichello took two more points off Button, who still has 74 to the Brazilian’s 56. Vettel moves back ahead of Webber with 53 to the Australian’s 51.5.In the constructors’ championship Brawn have 128 points, Red Bull 104.5, Ferrari 56 and McLaren 44.

All the F1 action in Spain was off the track

It was perhaps inevitable that the European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia, Spain, was going to be a little flat. Michael Schumacher was there all right, and wearing Ferrari clothing--but not the driver’s suit virtually everyone hoped he would. Michael smiled a lot, and kept wishing Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer well, but that didn’t really help. And as he stared at the timing screens, it was impossible to disguise his frustration at Badoer’s, er, modest pace.
During Friday practice, the hapless Badoer set a record by exceeding the pit lane speed limit on four different occasions-—as the paddock’s razor-tongued observers noted, somewhat cruelly, that no one could accuse him of excessive speed on the race track. In qualifying, the No. 3 Ferrari was dead last; 12 months ago, driven by Felipe Massa, it dominated the weekend.
You had to have some sympathy for Badoer, however, as he had not raced an F1 car since 1999, and though he is Ferrari’s official test driver, has virtually no experience of the F60 now that in-season testing is banned.
Some wondered why Ferrari did not draft a guy such as Sebastien Bourdais, whom Scuderia Toro Rosso fired recently. Bourdais may not have set F1 on fire, but he is at least very much race-fit, and fully conversant with both the Ferrari engine and Bridgestone slicks.
Though Ferrari will not make the announcement before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next month, Fernando Alonso is to drive for the team in 2010, with Massa--assuming he recovers fully from his injuries suffered in Hungary--returning to partner him.
The suggestion in Valencia was that Ferrari reached an agreement with Kimi Raikkonen to end his contract a year early. During three years with the team, Raikkonen, despite nicking the world championship two years ago, has rarely looked anything like the driver he was at McLaren-Mercedes, and it is not known whether he will stay in F1--Renault has been mentioned--or perhaps turn his hand to rallying. During the recent summer break, Kimi took part in Rally Finland--he rolled his car--but not before impressing onlookers with his raw speed.
Given that it is now accepted that Alonso will join Ferrari, the driver market has come very much to life, and of course BMW’s forthcoming withdrawal has contributed to that: Robert Kubica, who has the measure of anyone in terms of natural talent, is unexpectedly available.
Kubica has been linked with three teams--McLaren, Renault and Williams--but the belief at the moment is that current Williams driver Nico Rosberg will join his old karting teammate Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Renault, soon to lose Alonso, is believed to be keen to sign Kubica, but Robert himself is believed to have more enthusiasm for Williams, a team very much on the up at the moment.
Williams’ problem for 2010 could be engines, for it is known that Toyota, which has supplied the team for the last three years, is profoundly displeased by Williams’ stance in the recent FIA-FOTA battle, and may well terminate the contract. Rumors abound that Red Bull Racing will use Mercedes engines next year; if that happens, Williams and Renault could very well renew the highly successful partnership last seen in the mid-’90s.
Quite evident in Valencia qualifying was that McLaren is emphatically back on its game. Hamilton won in Hungary, but perhaps his car wasn’t the out-and-out quickest: at Valencia, though, Lewis won the pole, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen alongside him.
Only McLaren and Ferrari still use kinetic energy recovery systems, and as the teams improve their once lamentable cars, KERS can make a difference: An extra 80 hp for six seconds a lap can come in quite handy. Imagine the advantage it might provide in the next race, at Spa, up the long hill from Eau Rouge to Les Combes. Indeed, Hamilton will not retain his title this year, but he may well have a say in who takes it.

By NIGEL ROEBUCK

Schumacher -Returns

Formula One has produced more than its fair share of shocks already this season but Wednesday's announced comeback by Michael Schumacher surely takes top billing.

The German F1 legend, who will fill in for injured Felipe Massa until the Brazilian is fit enough to return, retired in 2006 as a multiple drivers' world champion.

A man of achievements and unequalled statistical records, he was dogged by controversy fuelled by his most unforgiving critics.

Schumacher was 37 when he hung up his racing helmet having competed in 250 Formula One Grands Prix, 180 of them for Ferrari.

He won 90 races, 71 for Ferrari, took 68 pole positions, 58 for Ferrari, and set 75 fastest laps on his way to seven drivers' world titles, including five for the scarlet scuderia.

He retired having just fallen short of Italian Ricardo Patrese's record of lining up in 256 races.

The man from the flatlands of Kerpen in northern Germany was a Teutonic machine, a human delivery system of speed and points and glory in a sport unused to such high standards of regularity, human reliability and sheer professionalism.

Nobody trained like Schumacher. Nobody was as fit as Schumacher. Nobody raced as hard as Schumacher. Nobody won like Schumacher. Nobody worked on and on and on like he did.

Tributes poured in after he had announced his intention to retire at the season's end.

Some were warm and loving, some were barbed and tinged with envy and some reflected a failure to understand that Formula One was bringing down the curtain on the greatest and most complete driver ever to have raced in a Grand Prix.

Among his critics were 1997 champion Canadian Jacques Villeneuve who claimed he was a flawed champion, a man whose records did not justify a reputation of being the greatest of all time.

Too many controversial incidents punctuated his time at the top, too many accidents, incidents and allegations of wrong-doing, including rumours that in 1994 and 1995 when he won his first titles with Benetton, that the team had an unfair advantage.

His critics talked of his questionable racing ethics, but his admirers spoke only of his virtuoso racing. As a result, his legacy was one of magnificent achievements but with a reputation that divided the paddock.

Purists argue that he should not be included in the pantheon of greatest racing drivers alongside Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina, Scotland's Jim Clark or Englishman Stirling Moss, widely described as the greatest driver never to win the championship.

But the records speak for themselves and Schumacher will be remembered for his competitive instincts, his professionalism, his fitness and his relentless run of successes in the era that followed the 1994 death of Brazilian Ayrton Senna who was, arguably, the man who introduced bruising and aggressive tactics to the tracks of Formula One.

Schumacher's catalogue of alleged misdemeanours included a collision in Adelaide at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix where Briton Hill was forced to retire and so Schumacher lifted his first title, another in 1997 when he collided deliberately with Villeneuve, but lost out and not only failed to win the title, but was punished for it too by the sport's ruling body.

He was also accused of cheating early in 2006 when he left his car on the fast line ahead of Fernando Alonso's Renault in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

In short, Schumacher, though gifted with speed and other sporting attributes, was considered a bad loser but one who had mellowed in his later years.

A family man, he had little to do with the so-called glamour of the sport apart from being one of the drivers' leading spokesmen on safety and playing for their football team.

A great driver, a great competitor then for whom the lure of a return to competition ensures an explosive second half of the 2009 season.

Little did those thousands of red-bedecked tifosi fans standing on the asphalt of Monza to cheer him to the end after his 90th victory in 2006 think they'd have another chance to see their man on the grid again.

German Grand Prix Preview

The real action is in the driver’s championship, not in the corridors of power

LEWIS Hamilton pulled a stunt in front of his home crowd after the last race at Silverstone three weeks ago and the fans went wild. The world champion did a doughnut, rotating his McLaren-Mercedes at high revs around the same spot, until a plume of smoke rose up from his rear tyres. It didn’t matter to his fans that their hero ended 16th out of the 18 drivers who crossed the finish. They had fun, so did the 24-yearold Briton. At Nurburgring for Sunday’s German Grand Prix, the McLaren pilot said drivers should be given more freedom to improve the Formula 1 show — just like in MotoGP, where the speed demons do all kinds of wheelies, stoppies and burnouts at the end of a race to the delight of the fans.
The powers-that-be who run F1 ought to listen to Hamilton. Not that they should push drivers to perform tricks. But they need to understand that fans watch motor-racing for fun. The bickering over the past few months between motorsport’s governing body FIA and the top eight teams has left many disturbed. They sighed with relief when both sides seemingly ended their feud in Paris two weeks ago. It was short-lived. At Nurburgring earlier this week, the eight teams walked out of a technical meeting seething after efforts to sort out rules for next year with the FIA broke down. The breakaway series they had threatened to launch resurfaced, and the mud-slinging resumed. Fans are tired, of not knowing what a bunch of men, who have made discord in F1 their life’s goal, will do next. I know I’ve tired of the off-track drama. We’ll just have to let the demons sort themselves out and not lose sight of the fun taking place between Hamilton and company on the track.That is where the real action is. That is where the grown-ups in F1 are today.
Beware the Red Bulls’ charge
Hamilton is effectively out of the running for the drivers’ championship. The real deal is Brawn GP’s Jenson Button, who has taken six of the eight races so far. But the 29-year-old Briton is facing some real opposition from others, rather than just team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who was the only one pushing him earlier in the season. It came from the Red Bull Racing pair of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, who knocked the wind out of Brawn GP with a one-two finish at Silverstone. They have the talent and now the car to stop the championship leader from taking any more race wins. To do this, Red Bull must come to a bold decision, starting this Sunday in Germany. They must focus the rest of their campaign around Vettel, who is better all around than Webber. The 22-year-old knows how to win races, and his three career wins, including his Silverstone victory, have been nothing short o fGe rman Grand Prix Keep your eye on the tarmac spectacular. In front of his homefans, the German will be fired up to repeat that. Though 25 points behind Button,Vettel has a long shot at the title, and that will require Webber, 3.5 points behind his teammate and who has yet to win an F1 race, riding shotgun. Button’s route to the titleis far easier. All he needs is to register three more wins and be consistently on the podium for the rest of the season.
Ferrari spoilers
The real threat to Button’s bid, however, is from within his camp. Barrichello, second in the championship and two points ahead of Vettel, is in the twilight of his career. At 37, this may be the Brazilian’s last chance to finally be crowned world champion. After playing second fiddle to Michael Schumacher at Ferrari under Ross Brawn, who is again his boss at Brawn GP, Barrichello is not in the mood to be short changed once more. There is no hint that Brawn GP has issued team orders and is forcing Barrichello to give way to his team-mate. But Button must also keep his eye on other drivers such as double world champion Fernando Alonso of Renault and the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and 2007 title winner Kimi Raikkonen. Although out of the championship reckoning, their cars are fast improving and could take precious points off him. They can turn out to be kingmakers and hand Vettel or Barrichello the title. This is where the fun in F1 is, on the track and not off it.

By Ian De Cotta ; TODAY Paper

Week-end Formula 1 News

The Australian Grand Prix will likely be scrapped if leading teams form a breakaway Formula 1 series next year, Australian F1 race chief Ron Walker said on Friday.
Uncertainty continues to surround the future direction of the sport after the eight-member Formula One Teams Association (Fota), including Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes, walked out of a meeting with motor racing's governing body in Paris this week and revived their threat to form a breakaway series.
Walker said he would advise the Victorian state government, which backs the race, to cancel the event should F1's leading teams carry out their threat."The Grand Prix board would probably say to the (Victorian) Premier it's too hard," Walker told a radio station on Friday. "
You can just imagine if the likes of (Roger) Federer and other major tennis players didn't turn up to the Australian Open in January or if some of the best horses didn't come to the Melbourne Cup."
Melbourne has an agreement to run the event until 2015 under a five-year licence extension signed last year

On another note, defending drivers' world champion Lewis Hamilton clocked the fastest time in Friday afternoon's second free practice session ahead of Sunday's German Grand Prix.It was the third time in this disappointing season - for him - that the 24-year-old had been quickest on the opening day in his McLaren Mercedes, having been fastest previously on Friday in Bahrain and China.Cynics, however, may suggest that with his McLaren team-mate Finn Heikki Kovalainen struggling in 17th place on a cool, wet day, Hamilton was running very light on fuel to please the fans sitting in the Mercedes-Benz grandstand.
The Briton clocked a best time of 1min 32.149sec with 6 minutes of the 90 remaining to ease clear of nearest rival German Sebastian Vettel, in his Red Bull, by 0.2sec.Championship leader Jenson Button of Britain was third for Brawn GP, ahead of Australian Mark Webber, in the second Red Bull, with Italian Jarno Trulli fifth for Toyota and German Adrian Sutil sixth for Force India. Button's Brawn team-mate Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello was seventh ahead of two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Renault.

Alonso trades Renault in for Ferrari, say press reports

Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso is planning to switch from Renault to Ferrari next season, Spanish sports newspapers Marca and AS reported yesterday.Negotiations about the Spanish driver's transfer are close to completion and could become official at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza from Sept 11-13, according to the reports which were echoed by Italian media.
The 27-year-old Spaniard won the driver's championships in 2005 and 2006 for Renault and is under contract with the French manufacturer until the end of next year, but with a get-out clause which he can activate earlier.
Alonso, currently ninth in the driver's championship table, has expressed dissatisfaction with Renault's under-performing R29 model, even though engineers say radical improvements are on the way.
Ferrari are believed to be less than happy with Kimi Raikkonen, currently 10th in the table, and could be keen on the idea of Alonso partnering Felipe Massa. But the Italian firm would find it very expensive to buy the Finn out of his cast-iron contract.
According to the Spanish reports, Alonso has secured the backing of Spanish financial giant Banco de Santander to get a five-year deal with Ferrari.

Monaco GP Preview

In a week when budget caps and how best to slash costs are causing all manner of political heartache in Formula 1, it is a little ironic that the championship is about to pitch up at its most ostentatious location: Monte Carlo.
A street race around a millionaires' paradise tax haven, along a harbourside lined with the super-yachts of the world's most wealthy, the Monaco Grand Prix is not just a tribute to excess - it's also arguably the most evocative and historic venue in all of motorsport.
Singapore demonstrated last year that modern street tracks could be a big hit, but it cannot compete with Monaco's incredible 80-year heritage.
Apart from additional safety features, less dust and more advertising, many parts of the course still follow the same route as the Bugattis and Maseratis did in the inaugural race in 1929.

It doesn't matter that the race is inevitably processional, for it's the challenge of threading the cars between the barriers, coping with the constantly mutating grip levels on the treacherous public roads and the unique echo of the F1 V8s screaming off the harbour walls that makes Monaco a joy to watch even if wheel-to-wheel moments are rare in the extreme.
The 2009 regulation changes will not do much to change the latter situation.
Aerodynamic turbulence is not the problem in Monaco - indeed with so many slow corners cars actually follow each other more closely here than anywhere else.
The reasons why overtaking is so scarce are purely because there isn't the space to get two cars comfortably side by side in many places, because the straights are too short to build momentum for a move, and because the track is so treacherous off the racing line.
KERS might help a bit on the brief sprints between the final and first corners, and through the tunnel towards the chicane, but neither the 'boost button' nor an adjustable wing will overcome the sheer lack of space or the dirty surface.

Tyre performance variation will not be so big a factor either, for Bridgestone has decided to temporarily halt its policy of bringing two very different compounds to each race for Monaco only, instead providing the relatively similar super softs and softs.
It will still be intriguing to see what difference this makes to the outcome, for tyre wear has contributed to some of Monaco's finest racing in recent years.
In 2002 David Coulthard did a masterful job to hold off a growing pack of challengers as his Michelins went through a graining phase that saw even the Minardis out-pacing the eventual winner for a while.
But three years later, during the season when mid-race tyre changes were temporarily banned, the Renaults plunged down the order as their Michelins wilted, losing so much grip that even Monaco's narrow confines could not protect them from being overtaken.
Strategy is always tough to call in Monte Carlo, particularly in the current era of qualifying on race fuel.
Until that system was introduced, most Monaco winners tended to make relatively late single stops.
On paper that tends to remain the fastest strategy for most, but pole position simply isn't going to happen if you're taking 40 or more laps of fuel into Q3.
The pole contenders therefore have to go light, and gamble on being able to pull away sufficiently before their first stop to ensure that they are not then stuck amongst the heavier cars - because these drivers are sure to be going much, much further before pitting, and will be almost impossible to overtake.
With so many cars so closely matched on pace, those qualifying decisions will be tougher than ever.
Logically Monaco should see a continuation of Brawn and Red Bull's ongoing battle, but Ferrari is now also a factor to consider following its big leap in Spain.
McLaren insists it will be in much better shape on the streets - where it has won for three of the last four years - as well.
Recent Williams chassis have tended to suit Monaco well, too (although converting that speed into results has proved harder), and the team could desperately do with getting back to its early-season level of competitiveness - as could Toyota after a poor Spanish GP.
Never count out double Monaco winner Fernando Alonso either, and watch out for a star performance from Force India's Adrian Sutil - who topped final practice here in 2007 and ran an amazing fourth last year until being clobbered by Kimi Raikkonen.
It would now be startling if Jenson Button didn't win the world championship, for his four out of five record so far is just too good a start to be overcome unless something bizarre happens in the remainder of the season.
But Monaco regularly delivers surprises, or trips up the otherwise dominant.
Hence Coulthard and Jarno Trulli's shock wins for McLaren and Renault in 2002 and 2004, both seasons when Michael Schumacher was looking unstoppable, or Williams turning around an anonymous start to the year to take Juan Pablo Montoya to Monaco victory in 2003.
Normally anyone who had won every dry race so far in a season could be relatively confident of success, but there are no certainties in Monte Carlo, so this will be just as nerve-wracking a weekend for Button as it will be a big opportunity for the rivals he has been summarily

dismissing on-track up till now.

Source : ITV.com

Formula 1 in disarray - What will the future brings ?

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso criticised the way Formula One's latest crisis has been handled on Wednesday, saying he feared for the sport's future.
Speaking in the wake of a French court's decision to reject Ferrari's bid for an injunction to halt the International Motoring Federation (FIA)'s cost-capping plan, the 29-year-old Spaniard said he was also concerned for his own dreams in Formula One.
As the teams gathered around their plush high-rise motorised headquarters parked in the famous harbour here on the eve of this weekend's 67th running of the classic Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso, and then Ferrari, hinted that this Sunday's race may be their last in the Mediterranean principality.
For the time being, at least.
"If the big teams and the big manufacturers leave F1, then I don't want to race with small teams because it is not F1 any more - and there are many other categories," said Alonso.
"For me, it's strange that nobody sat down and thought about how much we are damaging the sport.
"To have three or four new teams and lose six or seven of the big manufacturers - I can't understand it. And, not only losing only seven manufacturers, but also losing the 10 best drivers in the world. It means F1 loses everything and is not interesting any more."
Shortly after Alonso had hit out at the crisis that has forced most of the major manufacturer-backed teams to threaten not to re-sign for 2010 before the FIA's deadline of May 29, Ferrari issued a formal statement in reaction to the verdict of the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris.
In this, the team said it would not race in a 'watered-down version' of Formula One, complete with a host of new small-budget teams, and again hinted that it may take part in a breakaway series.
"If it is not possible for all parties to reach agreement, then in line with the decision of the Main Board (of Ferrari), taken on May 12, Ferrari will not enter its cars in a competition that, with the planned scenario in place, would see a watering down of the characteristics that have endowed F1 with the status of the most important motor sport series," said the statement.
It added that the status of F1 had led specifically to Ferrari's uninterrupted participation since 1950.
In a final swipe, the statement said: "In this situation, Ferrari will continue to compete in races of a calibre worthy of the marquee, matching its level of innovation and technological research."

FIA president Max Mosley said: "No competitor should place their interests above those of the sport in which they compete. The FIA, the teams and our commercial partners will now continue to work to ensure the well-being of Formula One in 2010 and beyond."The French court's rejection of Ferrari's bid for an injunction and the continuing controversy over the future of the sport left a shadow hanging over the paddock.
Alonso's Renault team is one of those who have pledged to pull out if the budget-capping plans are not reconsidered and agreed by all members of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA).
Ferrari, BMW, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Toyota have also said they will not sign for 2010 as things stand.

The FIA welcomed the French court's ruling that the team did not have any valid reason to stop the planned budget cap going ahead.
FIA president Max Mosley said: "No competitor should place their interests above those of the sport in which they compete. The FIA, the teams and our commercial partners will now continue to work to ensure the well-being of Formula One in 2010 and beyond."
Ferrari, in an immediate response, said that it was dismayed by the quality of the teams lined up to enter Formula One next year if the budget cap is introduced.
The Italian team believed it had the right to a veto of any technical rule changes in Formula One and claimed that this right, agreed with the FIA, had been breached by the way the budget-cap plan was executed.
"The court believed that the right of veto should have been exercised during the (FIA) World Council meetings of March 17 and April 29," said Ferrari, in its statement.
It said the FIA had drawn up the new regulations (for 2010) unilaterally and without respecting agreed procedures.
It was revealed in court that the teams considering taking up any vacancies in F1 next year include Wirth Research, Lola, USF1, Epsilon Euskadi, RML, Formtech, Campos and iSport.
In a scathing remark, Ferrari suggested this signalled F1 downgrading to become GP3.
Ferrari driver Brazilian Felipe Massa added: "You see many teams trying to get into F1 next year, but if you lose Ferrari and gain new teams, it won't be the same.

"It would be nice to have more sport and less politics - but I am afraid it is not over yet."

FIA Backs down on Proposed Scoring system

Formula 1 has axed plans for a new scoring system in 2009 just nine days before the start of the season.
The sport's governing body, FIA, had earlier this week announced that the driver with the most wins would be crowned world champion.
But following a protest from F1 teams, FIA says it will defer the introduction of the new system until 2010.
The traditional points system will be used when the 2009 season begins on March 29 in Australia.
"The new scoring system has been deferred until 2010, but I'm sure this will be reviewed throughout the course of the season as any new rule changes have to have teams approval before we proceed," an FIA spokesman told BBC Sport.
"We're slightly surprised that the teams have taken this long to come forward as we were under the impression that they were happy with the rule changes."
FIA had argued that the new scoring system would make racing more exciting by encouraging drivers to chase wins.
But after several drivers criticised the change - including defending champion Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso - the Formula One Teams' Association (Fota) claimed the amendment was invalid because the proper protocol had not been observed.
"It is too late for FIA to impose a change for the 2009 season that has not obtained the unanimous agreement of all the competitors properly entered into the 2009 Formula 1 Championship," it said in a statement.
Fota had put forward its own scoring system, with the top three drivers earning 12, nine and seven, rather than 10, eight and six points respectively.
But that was unanimously rejected by the World Motorsport Council (WMSC).
Instead, the WMSC opted for a variant of an earlier idea proposed by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who had suggested an Olympic-style medals system, with the champion the driver with most golds.
The WMSC approved the "race-wins" plan, albeit with no provision to award medals.
Fota, which insists its own plan has widespread backing, hopes common ground can be reached with the FIA.
"The teams wish to reaffirm their willingness to collaborate with the FIA in order to jointly define a new point system for the 2010 season within a comprehensive set of measures aimed at further stimulating the attractiveness of the F1 sport," added the statement.
Hamilton would have finished second behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa had the new system applied last year.

Where will Alonso be in 2011 ?

Fresh reports linking Renault driver Fernando Alonso with a move to Ferrari have surfaced.
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the Spaniard has a secret deal with Ferrari, whereby he will drive for them in the 2011 season.
Following Kimi Raikkonen's disappointing 2008 season it is likely that Alonso will replace the Finn if the reports are true.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was noncommittal, saying: "He's a fantastic driver, no question. I like him. Particularly in Japan he drove a great race. He's a champion and a team leader, but for the moment we don't have any problem with our current drivers.
"That is why we confirmed officially Massa and Kimi until the end of 2010. Life is long and in the future we will see. But for the moment we don't have any grey areas regarding drivers for the next two years."

And in another multitasking world we learn that Fernando Alonso has also inked an agreement with Spain's new formula one broadcaster from 2009.

La Sexta will next year take over from Telecinco in broadcasting the sport within Spain.

Alonso, 27, already had a preferential agreement with Telecinco, involving grid interviews and other special access to the former double world champion. The Spanish sports newspaper Marca reports that the La Sexta deal is for 6 million euros over the next five years, which is a slight increase in the Telecinco deal. Marca said the new contract was signed by Alonso a few weeks ago.

Michael Schumacher had a similar exclusive arrangement with the German broadcaster RTL.

Brazil - The Final Showdown

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa go head-to-head in the world championship title decider in Brazil this weekend, and it is still impossible to predict who will triumph.

The odds favour the Englishman, who has a seven-point lead after winning last time out in China. However, that was what he had over rival Kimi Raikkonen coming into this race last year, and still it all went awry at the 11th hour.Technically, Hamilton needs only finish fifth even if Massa wins, in order to beat him by a single point. However, there is an additional complication as McLaren are still fighting Ferrari for the constructors’ championship, in which the red team have 156 points to the silver’s 145. BMW Sauber are third, but out of the overall reckoning now, on 135. McLaren thus have to push hard and need a one-two finish to have any realistic chance of securing both titles, whereas a third and eighth would secure the constructors’ crown (but not the drivers’) for Ferrari.

"I don’t need to win the race, but that won’t stop me from going into the weekend looking to be as strong as possible," says Hamilton, who will benefit from a new rear wing on his MP4-23. "Shanghai was a good example of that: we hit the ground running on Friday morning and never looked back. Our aim wasn’t to push too hard, but we found ourselves in a position at the front and took it comfortably from there. That’s what I am hoping to achieve in Brazil - a straightforward weekend that allows me to just focus on my car and my driving.

"Ferrari have been dominant in Interlagos for the past two years, when Massa and Raikkonen respectively won. If it is dry that may remain the case, though the signs are that McLaren have made good progress in the latter part of the season. If it rains, however, as is forecast, the odds surely favour Hamilton even more given his wet-weather form in Monaco and Silverstone, where the Ferraris struggled.Massa has been keeping his cool and says that the pressure is off him because of Hamilton’s lead.

He must win with Hamilton either scoring sixth or lower or failing to finish at all. In this respect he may be helped by the Englishman’s need to run his engine for a second time after China."Yes it's true I have a tougher job than Lewis in terms of the points situation, but my own objective for the weekend is much more straightforward than his," the Brazilian said. "I only have to focus on winning the race, hopefully with my team-mate second. The only thing I am thinking about is winning. After that, the matter is not in my hands and we will have to wait and see exactly what and how much we have won."For sure, Lewis will try and put pressure on me, but I have zero pressure, because I have nothing to lose.

In the second McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen must play a key role this weekend in support of his team mate, for Raikkonen will undoubtedly back Massa strongly. The Hungarian Grand Prix winner will have a fresh Mercedes engine in his McLaren. "I want to be able to help the team and Lewis wherever necessary," he says, "but the easiest way to do that is to be running at the front. The team knows I will play my part, but we are also targeting the constructors’ championship."While the fight for the crown will inevitably grab all the headlines, there are plenty of other things to be resolved this weekend. There is still a mighty scrap for third place in the drivers' championship between Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen, who have 75 and 69 points respectively. And Nick Heidfeld’s fifth place on 60 could prove vulnerable if Fernando Alonso wins again for the improving Renault team. The Spaniard has 53 points, but may himself fall victim to Kovalainen who has 51.

Elsewhere, Sebastian Vettel and Jarno Trulli are battling for eighth with 30 points apiece.Besides the Ferrari-McLaren fight for constructors’ honours, BMW Sauber could still snaffle second from McLaren. Renault are safe in fourth and Toyota fifth, but there is a big fight between Toro Rosso (34), Red Bull Racing (29) and Williams (26) for sixth.

The race will also be notable as David Coulthard’s last. At the same time, venerable race engineer Steve Hallam is also on the last lap as he will be leaving Formula One for NASCAR for 2009.

From a technical perspective, Interlagos poses two main challenges to the teams. It is 800 metres above sea level, so engine power is reduced as a result of the drop in atmospheric pressure. That also has a negative effect on aerodynamic performance.

The other problem has traditionally been the bumpy surface, though a complete resurface for 2007 caught teams by surprise since the tarmac was relatively smooth. However, some bumps remain, particularly in the braking area for Turn 4, Descida do Lago. To avoid bottoming out on these, cars have to run with increased ride heights, which reduces the effectiveness of their diffusers.There are two favoured overtaking points. The first is going into the S do Senna at the start of the lap after a driver has been able to get a good slipstreaming run up the hill from the vitally important final corner, Juncao or Turn 12. The second is under braking for the Descida do Lago left-hander at the end of the back straight.This year Bridgestone are bringing their medium and soft compound tyres after discovering last year that their super-soft was not quite durable enough to suit the track’s unusual characteristics. They are expecting a lot of graining early on thanks to the twisty infield section, and the initial ‘greenness’ of the track before it cleans up and rubbers in.

Lewis Hamilton Q&A: China just another step to title

Coming to Shanghai this weekend must feel like deja vu for McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Like last year, he is just a few points away from clinching the world championship. Will he endure a similar fate to the one that befell him in 2007, or has his time to toast a title finally arrived? And how is he feeling ahead of Sunday's all-important race? We caught up with him to find out…

Q: Lewis, how has your mindset changed compared to when you came to Shanghai in a position to win the title last year?

Lewis Hamilton: Last year I came here on a real high, I was nervous, thinking that I really could win the world championship - that was crazy. I drove well - under wet conditions I was very quick compared to other people. Especially after I did my pit stop I was much heavier than the others and still was able to dictate the pace, but one little mistake can hit home really hard. I came here this year with less hype, humble as can be, with the best kind of approach possible. We are still in the lead and still competitive and tomorrow I’m not approaching it thinking that we can win the world championship, as I also cannot lose the championship tomorrow. But I see it as another step to win the title as there are still two races.

Q: Fernando Alonso’s notion that he will help your rival Felipe Massa seems a bit like psychological warfare. How do you cope with this?

LH: I wish good luck to them both! It does not worry me because if I think correctly this is a two-time world champion and I have to trust that they both respect other people and behave as the professionals that they are.

Q: How important is it from a psychological point of view to start from pole position?

LH: It can only be positive - I can’t see any negatives in it as it is great to know that we are very, very competitive. And to show that we can be on the front row in the last two races is a big bonus for the team, as it shows what a great job they are doing and it will be interesting to see how this affects other people.

Q: How do you see your chances of winning the championship tomorrow?

LH: I haven’t thought about it, as it is not important to me about the championship. Our approach has to be the next two races, where we need to have two strong finishes. For tomorrow we have to take it easy and do our very best to score the best we can.

Q: How much of a concern is it for you that the driver alongside you on row one - Kimi Raikkonen - has nothing to lose?

LH: I don’t think it is something to be concerned about. I think that he will be very competitive but I think our race pace is also very good. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will stay the same, but I’ve heard that there is a chance of rain.

Q: But don’t you think that as Kimi has nothing to lose he will be willing to risk more than you?

LH: I don’t think so. He is the world champion and I am sure he wants to win this race as everybody else does, so I am confident that he will act sensibly.

Q: You described you pole lap as ‘hard core’. What did it feel like in the car on such a lap?

LH: I meant 'hard core' in the sense that I'd not done a great job previously, because it always makes it easier when you do a good first lap as you then can find those couple of tenths on your second lap. But if that doesn’t work the pressure is at its peak - and that is 'hard core'. It is great fun, you are racing hard and you’re really on a fine line throughout the lap.

Q: Both the UK and Brazil have been waiting for a Formula One world champion for quite a long time. How do you feel about that?

LH: My personal feeling is that however exciting, however amazing it could be, it is never done until it's done. I can only dream of how it will be to be world champion so I work every day towards it and just continue to do the best I can. And hopefully one day I will be world champion and I can only guess that my country will be very proud.

Alonso Worried by Bad Luck and Lack of Traction

The Spanish Renault driver did a good job in qualifying, but was unable to sustain his form in the race and fell down the running order after losing most of his key car-to-car battles.
Alonso had notable problems pulling away from the hairpin and said afterwards that this weakness is unlikely to be resolved this year with the current car.

He said he believed that this meant he had an opportunity now to use up all of his bad luck so that he could have a clear misfortune-free season in 2009. "I hope we use all the bad luck in the remaining races of the season and next year we don't have any," he said. "I was very lucky in 2005, 2006 and 2007. This year I'm being very unlucky and you can see it every race. I wish that in Hungary I'm unlucky again -- I'm used to it now."

He added: "The problem we have with the traction is worrying for me. When we are fighting wheel to wheel and we try to pass someone, we just lose too much out of the slow corners and then we can't make up the ground on the straight."

Asked what the solution might be, he said: "Wait a year..." But the Spaniard was happy to see his team-mate Brazilian Nelson Piquet make the most of a one-stop strategy and a Safety Car intervention to finish second, on the podium for the first time. My poor FERRRNANDOH!

The MISUS

French Grand Prix - Magny Cours

It all goes wrong for Hamilton in France

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton always knew he was going to have a tough weekend at Magny-Cours, after picking up a ten-place grid penalty for his pit-lane misdemeanour in Canada, but he probably didn’t think it would be quite this tough.Even starting 13th, Hamilton was at least hoping for points, but after 70 laps of the French Grand Prix circuit the Englishman trailed home a lowly tenth, thanks in large part to a drive-through penalty for straight-lining Turn Seven on lap one as he completed a pass on Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel.Hamilton - and McLaren - believed he had already completed the pass before being forced wide over the chicane, but the stewards disagreed and decided he had gained an advantage. When he took the penalty on lap 13, he dropped from P9 to P13, effectively ending his chances of a top-eight finish.The only consolation for McLaren was a storming drive from Heikki Kovalainen, who himself had taken a five-place grid drop for impeding another driver during qualifying. The Finn came from tenth on the grid to finish fourth, with only some excellent defensive driving from Toyota’s Jarno Trulli keeping him off the podium.The result means Hamilton drops to fourth place in the drivers’ championship on 38 points, 10 behind new leader Felipe Massa, while Kovalainen lies sixth on 20.

Stunning Trulli putsToyota back on the podium

Toyota proved their return to form in Montreal a fortnight ago was no stroke of luck in Magny-Cours on Sunday, as Jarno Trulli secured the team’s first podium for three years. Trulli crossed the finish line third behind the dominant Ferraris of race winner Felipe Massa and second-placed Kimi Raikkonen.Toyota arrived in France motivated by their fourth and sixth in Canada and on Saturday the TF108’s strong pace continued, with Trulli and team mate Timo Glock both making it through to Q3. As Sunday’s race got underway things only got better. After a strong start, during which Trulli was able to pass the Renault of Fernando Alonso, the Italian settled into third, a position he had to work very hard to defend from McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen late in the race."What a great result and a great weekend by the whole team,” said Trulli. “Today was a great race, hard and tough. We had a good pace, even if we had to battle with some cars that were quicker than us. When the rain came at the end I had to take care because it's always difficult to judge how bad it is when you're in front.“But I got back into a rhythm and had a wheel-to-wheel fight with Heikki, just like in go-karts. The team made no mistakes this weekend, from the people in the factory who made the new parts on the car to the mechanics who did perfect pit stops today. There's still more to do but today we can be very satisfied. The team is doing a great job, the car is much more competitive and everyone is motivated. Things are moving on."Trulli’s podium is the Japanese team’s first since Ralf Schumacher finished third in the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix and the Italian’s first since that year’s Spanish race. The strong result was a fitting tribute to the team’s former principal Ove Andersson, who was killed recently during an historic car rally in South Africa."This is a fantastic day for everyone involved with Toyota Motorsport,” said Toyota team president John Howett. “It was our first podium for a long time so we dedicate it to Ove Andersson, who did so much for the team and will be greatly missed. "Congratulations to everyone involved both at the factory and in the race and test teams who have worked hard to improve the car. Of course we must now keep pushing really hard because our pace is still not matching the front-runners but we can be hugely satisfied with this result."Although Glock eventually finished outside the points in 11th, Trulli’s haul of six extends Toyota's points' tally to 23 and bolsters their fifth-place in the championship standings. The team are now just one point adrift of fourth-placed Red Bull.

Hamilton rules himself out of drivers' strike

Briton Lewis Hamilton on Friday ruled himself out of joining a possible strike by Formula One drivers at next month's British Grand Prix.
Talk of a strike has escalated this week amid rumours that the drivers are concerned at the rising cost of their super-licences, a mandatory qualification for racing at the top level.
But Hamilton, who on Thursday made comments during a news conference that suggested his support for a possible strike, on Friday clarified his position.
Hamilton said: "In the FIA press conference at Magny-Cours on Thursday June 19, I expressed my support for whatever decisions the drivers may take, on the basis that my support could be critical.
"I am not involved in any strike talks; that is not my position. I am here to race; to do my job for the team, for myself and for the fans of Formula One.
"To put my comment in the correct perspective, another driver said, 'I think it will be difficult to get all the drivers to have the same idea, but we're trying to convince the FIA to reduce the cost.'
"I then responded, 'I've always said that they have my support; and it's something I agree with as well.'
"In any case, I don't believe for one minute that the drivers will take such drastic measures. We have the British Grand Prix in a couple of weeks' time and other Grands Prix to follow, and I'm certainly not planning on missing any of them."
Hamilton, arguably the highest profile driver racing in Formula One, is not a member of the drivers' union, the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, though the association has tried many times to persuade him to join.
Earlier this year, also, Hamilton made comments about the steep rise in costs of a super-licence for the drivers.
Two of the GPDA's directors Spaniard Fernando Alonso and Australian Mark Webber played down talk of a strike at Silverstone, but confirmed that they are taking the issue very seriously.
Webber said: "It's absolutely clear that we are not happy with the super-licence situation and how much they charge, but I find it very unrealistic to think that we won't race at Silverstone."
The drivers are angry at the FIA's decision in January to increase licence fees to 10,000 euros plus 2,000 euros extra per point scored. Leading drivers will be paying in excess of 200,000 euros from now on.

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.

Canadian GP Practice two - Hamilton takes his turn at the top

Nobody could get near Lewis Hamilton on the Ile Notre Dame on Friday afternoon as the 23 year-old world championship leader lapped his McLaren in 1m 15.752s to all but match Fernando Alonso’s 2007 pole position time of 1m 15.707s.Robert Kubica pushed Ferrari into third place after lapping his BMW Sauber in 1m 16.023s, and Kimi Raikkonen failed to beat 1m 16.093s on his final runs.

His Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa was left in fifth place on 1m 16.413s after his F2008 rolled to a halt with 15 minutes remaining in the session just past the hairpin.Heikki Kovalainen backed Hamilton with fourth place on 1m 16.331s, failing to improve on Bridgestone’s supersoft tyre. Nick Heidfeld likewise failed to go quicker on the same rubber, and was sixth in the second BMW Sauber on 1m 16.589s.

Despite a spin, Mark Webber maintained seventh place with 1m 16.604s for Red Bull, followed by Nico Rosberg for Williams on 1m 16.767s, Sebastian Vettel on 1m 17.019s for Toro Rosso, Jarno Trulli on 1m 17.068s for Toyota, Kazuki Nakajima on 1m 17.242s for Williams, David Coulthard on 1m 17.334s for Toro Rosso, Rubens Barrichello on 1m 17.462s for Honda, Giancarlo Fisichella on 1m 17.508s for Force India, Timo Glock on 1m 17.549s for Toyota and Sebastien Bourdais on 1m 17.559s for Toro Rosso.

It was a disastrous session for Renault, with Fernando Alonso stranded on 1m 17.644s in 17th place after spinning on the exit to Turn One and stalling, and Nelson Piquet down in 20th on 1m 18.076s after a gearbox failure. In between them came Force India's Adrian Sutil on 1m 17.813s and Honda's Jenson Button on 1m 17.842s.

Besides Alonso and Massa, Glock failed to finish the session after crunching his Toyota’s right rear suspension on the exit to Turn Six, and Raikkonen, Webber, Piquet, Bourdais, Barrichello, Kovalainen and Fisichella all had off-course moments.

Spotter's Guide

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