NEWS ARCHIVE
QUALIFYING REPORT - MASSA - BUT ONLY JUST
Felipe Massa took pole position for the French Grand Prix, apparently indicating a Ferrari revival after three races when the cars have been off the pace of the McLarens. The Ferraris were fastest throughout Friday but on Saturday morning Lewis Hamilton popped to the top of the charts with a time that was fractionally faster than Massa's best.
SATURDAY PHOTOS
French GP - Saturday Photos
VISO "CONSCIOUS AND STABLE"
Ernesto Viso emerged from a huge GP2 accident at Magny-Cours "stable and conscious" after a terrifying crash on the first lap of the race. Viso ran over the back of Michael Ammermuller's car and the Racing Engineering car flew and landed upside-down on the barriers.
QUALIFYING RESULTS
French GP - Qualifying Results
PRACTICE 3 REPORT - LEWIS BACK ON TOP
Lewis Hamilton hit back after a Friday dominated by Ferrari, putting his McLaren-Mercedes to the top of the timesheets in the Saturday morning session. The gap was a tiny 0.063s over Felipe Massa, but the margin is not important. The news is that McLaren is still in the game
PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
French GP - Practice 3 Results
FRIDAY PHOTOS
French GP - Friday Photos
BIGOIS TO HONDA!
Williams F1's chief aerodynamicist Loic Bigois is leaving the team and will become the new chief aerodynamicist at Honda Racing F1.
FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
French GP - Friday Press Conference
HEIDFELD TO MISS FRENCH GP?
Nick Heidfeld is in real trouble with back problems and it looks like he may miss the French Grand Prix. A decision must be made this evening so that Sebastian Vettel can take over tomorrow if it is necessary.
PRACTICE 2 RESULTS
French GP - Practice 2 Results
PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
French GP - Practice 1 Results
THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
French GP - Thursday Press Conference
BERNIE GOES TO VEGAS
Bernie Ecclestone may not show up at the French Grand Prix this weekend. Our spies tell us that the Formula One boss is currently on a visit to Las Vegas. The obvious conclusion will be drawn from this, but then that may be the reason for the visit as Ecclestone negotiates with Indianapolis.
THE INSIDE STORY ON THE LATEST 2011 PROPOSALS
The World Motorsport Council has been hearing today about the latest ideas for the rules for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship from 2011 onwards. It is important to point out that everything that is included in these proposals is open to discussion and that the manufacturers are playing an important role in the development of the regulations.
PIZZONIA DROPS OUT OF GP2
Former F1 driver Antonio Pizzonia has hoped to use GP2 to revive his career this year but in the races so far the FMS driver has scored only one point in five races. Pizzonia will be replaced by Adam Carroll, a winner of several GP2 races in 2005, who dropped into the DTM series this year in an Audi run by Colin Kolles's team.
RENAULT HEADING FOR JO'BURG
The Renault F1 Roadshow will be in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the end of July with plans for Giancarlo Fisichella and Nelson Piquet Jr to show off the company's F1 cars on the streets of the city's plush Sandston suburb. Tens of thousands of F1-starved fans are expected to attend the event.
A GRAND PRIX FOR SYDNEY?
According to reports in Australia, Sydney could be lining up a bid for the Australian Grand Prix. The New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma is said to have already had talks with Bernie Ecclestone on the subject and has plans to attract other sporting events in an effort to increase the number of tourists visiting the city.
PAUL RICARD FOR SALE?
Bernie Ecclestone is rumoured to have put his Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track at Le Castellet, near Toulon, up for sale. Ecclestone has owned the track since 1999, through a company called Excelis, which is run by Philippe Gurdjian.
AN INTERESTING TESTER AT SPYKER
Last week's Silverstone test featured Giedo van der Garde in a Spyker. This raised little interest at the time but was a very significant moment. Prior to this test Van der Garde was barred from testing for Spyker because he was under contract to Super Aguri F1 and could not get a superlicence unless Suzuki agreed.
MONTOYA BECOMES A GOOD OLD BOY
Juan Pablo Montoya has had a pretty low profile year thus far in NASCAR with just one fifth place to his name in Nextel Cup races. But put him on a road course and the Colombian was able to walk all over the NASCAR men, who are much more used to racing on ovals.
HERE AND THERE
Although Formula 1 had the weekend off, there was plenty of racing action around the world with Paul Tracy winning the Champ Car race at Cleveland, his first win for two years.
CHANGES AT RENAULT
Renault F1 is restructuring its aerodynamic department as it expands and prepares for a new computational fluid dynamics facility to be built at Enstone. The team's chief aerodynamicist Dino Toso is to move up to a new role.
STEPNEY RESPONDS
Ferrari's Nigel Stepney has responded to accusations of sabotage, telling The Sunday Times in London that he is the victim of a "dirty tricks campaign".
MEANWHILE ON THE RACE TRACKS
While the Formula 1 world has been getting itself involved in a couple of real pot-boiler stories: with the Nigel Stepney story breaking in Italy and Ralf Schumacher's future getting them talkin in Cologne (and Tokyo), the rest of the F1 circus has been busily building new parts, testing them and hoping that the resulting performance will move them up the F1 pecking order.
THE BUSY BOYS OF HONDA
The folk down at Honda have been rather busy in recent weeks and, we hear, will be busier still in the weeks ahead, as they rebuild the technical team at Brackley following the disappointments of the current season.
THE RETURN OF RALF?
It has been common knowledge in F1 circles for the last month that Ralf Schumacher was on the skids at Toyota. A number of very good sources reported that Ralf had been given two races to brush up his act or face the bullet. In Montreal he survived a chaotic race to finish eighth, but he had been lucky and would not have been near the pace if the race had not been disrupted by accidents and Safety Cars.
THE DREAM TEAM IS COMING APART
There is drama going on in Italy at the moment - but no-one seems to be quite sure exactly what is happening. As we reported a few days ago a senior member of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has run into trouble with the team. Nigel Stepney, the team's technical coordinator, is now being investigated by the public prosecution service in Modena.
A MOVE TOWARDS PUMP FUELS IN 2011
There seems to a move at the moment amongst the various parties involved to move the plans for 2011 away from the original idea of diesel turbos, towards a more conventional pump fuel with a percentage of biomass.
FIA LOOKS TO OTHER PLANS AS TEAMS BAULK AT ENGINE RULES
The Formula 1 manufacturers do not seem to be very impressed with the suggestion that F1 should use 2.2-litre turbo-diesels from 2011 and beyond. According to the manufacturers we have spoken to, there is no interest at all in such engines in F1.
FRENCH JUMPING ON THE HAMILTON BAND WAGON
With the British Grand Prix almost sold out thanks to the efforts of Lewis Hamilton, the French are hoping that they can pick up some of the spectators who cannot get tickets to Silverstone.
ONE REASON WHY FERRARI MAY HAVE LOST ITS EDGE
Ferrari's lack of competitiveness in recent races has been a surprise after such a strong start to the year in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain. It seemed that McLaren had improved significantly and that Ferrari had stood still.
RACE REPORT - LEWIS BY A WHISKER
Was there ever any doubt that we would see a McLaren victory? Absolutely not. If the cars were reliable and did not collide with one another or someone else, these were going to be the two cars that would lead the way. We suspected that Lewis Hamilton was lighter in qualifying. But by how much? And could Fernando Alonso use that advantage to grab a victory. There was plenty to look forward to.
TROUBLES IN ITALY
A new storm is due to break this week in Italy where we hear a new espionage scandal is about to break with a former Ferrari team member being accused of having sold designs to rival teams. No more details are currently available but there is expected to be some kind of public statement from Ferrari soon.
THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIAN KLIEN
There were rumours in Indianapolis that Christian Klien may have signed a long term deal to drive for Toyota. Honda sources say that they have not been approached about releasing the young Austrian but confim that he is a free agent at the end of the current season.
RACE RESULTS
United States GP - Race Results
QUALIFYING REPORT - MCLAREN DRIVERS PLAY CAT AND MOUSE
The gamblers in Formula 1 were pretty sure that Fernando Alonso would be on pole position for the United States Grand Prix. Fernando was fastest on Friday morning, on Friday afternoon and then again on Saturday morning.
THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES GP
Bernie Ecclestone and Tony George have spent much of the United States Grand Prix weekend discussing whether or not there will be a race in 2008. "Tony has stressed to Bernie in these meetings that we want to continue the event," said Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Joie Chitwood.
QUALIFYING RESULTS
United States GP - Qualifying Results
PRACTICE 3 REPORT - FERNANDO STAYS AHEAD
Fernando Alonso set the fastest time of the Saturday morning session in Indianapolis but there were some odd times further down the order, suggesting that not everyone was running with the same fuel loads.
PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
United States GP - Practice 3 Results
PRACTICE 2 REPORT - ALONSO STAYS TOP BUT HAMILTON CLOSES IN
Fernando Alonso set the fastest time of the Friday afternoon session at Indianapolis with a best lap of 1m12.156s. This was slightly more than a tenth ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who is getting closer as he learns the Indianapolis.
ALBERS AND MANAGER PART WAYS
The word in Indianapolis is that Christijan Albers has parted ways with his manager Lodewijk Varrossieau. The pressure is on Albers at the moment with Adrian Sutil being quicker most of the team and the Spyker team clearly very excited by the German and not very enthralled about Albers.
PRACTICE 2 RESULTS
United States GP - Practice 2 Results
PRACTICE 1 REPORT - ALONSO QUICKEST, VETTEL STARS
Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap of the first practice session at Indianapolis with Lewis Hamilton learning the track and bedding himself in at another track he has never before visited. He ended up just seven-tenths behind Alonso, although between the two McLaren drivers was the BMW of Nick Heidfeld, nearly half a second behind Alonso.
PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
United States GP - Practice 1 Results
THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
United States GP - Thursday Press Conference
VETTEL IN FOR KUBICA
The FIA doctors have decided not to allow Robert Kubica to race in Indianapolis. His place will be taken by Sebastian Vettel
INDIA CHANGES TACK AGAIN - AND GETS A DEAL IN 2009
India has decided to build a Formula 1 track near New Delhi rather than push ahead with a street race and Bernie Ecclestone has agreed to grant the Indians the chance for a race in 2009 - no doubt with a lot of conditions which will put the pressure to get everything done in a hurry.
ING INCREASES ITS SPEND
ING has taken the title sponsorship for the forthcoming Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutch bank is enjoying a very high profile in F1 despite the lack of success of the Renault F1 team, of which ING is the title sponsor. The company is supporting this sponsorship with considerable trackside advertising and a major print campaign, mainly in the financial press.
THE RISING COST OF CARBONFIBRE
The current worldwide shortage of carbonfibre is going to make it more difficult and more expensive to build racing cars, until supply catches up with demand. Thus far the situation has led to prices quadrupling and there is no sign of any improvement in the situation in the short term.
WILL ROBERT RACE AT INDIANAPOLIS?
Robert Kubica left hospital in Montreal saying that he hoped to be able to race in Indianapolis. The Pole suffered only a sprained right ankle and a slight concussion is his huge accident in Montreal but there are no guarantees that he will race in the United States until after he has a mandatory fitness test on Thursday. The only likely problem will be with the concussion.
FERNANDO IN CONTEXT
There have been some reports in recent days about Fernando Alonso complaining about McLaren favouring Lewis Hamilton and suggesting that Hamilton was lucky to win in Montreal. This needs to be looked at in context.
RACE REPORT - SOME ARE BORN GREAT, AND SOME JUST SURVIVE TO THE FINISH
Ring the church bells. Light the beacons. Britain has found a 19th Grand Prix winner to add his name to a list of the Great British greats. Lewis Hamilton threatened to do it in Monaco and nailed the point home in Montreal.
GRAND PRIX + FROM CANADA
The Canadian Grand Prix was a riot of action and excitement with Lewis Hamilton scoring his first Grand Prix victory in style. Robert Kubica, on the other hand, survived a frightening accident. The entire event was covered by a new e-magazine called Grand Prix +, with the stunning photography of Paul-Henri Cahier and the words of Joe Saward and David Tremayne.
TOYOTA LOSES VETERAN ENGINEER
Liam Flanagan, the head of chassis production at Panasonic Toyota Racing, has been drowned in a swimming accident while he was on holiday in Turkey. Flanagan had been with the Toyota team for more than 25 years, starting out with Ove Andersson's team in rallying.
RACE RESULTS
Canadian GP - Race Results
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FOR KUBICA
Initial reports from team members that Robert Kubica had suffered a broken leg as a result of his accident in Montreal have proved to be wide of the mark. The latest news from the hospital is that the Pole has no broken bones.
MORE DETAILS OF THE KUBICA SHUNT
Kubica is being taken to the L'Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal in the downtown area for tests following his enormous crash in the Canadian Grand Prix.
KUBICA "OK"
A BMW spokesman says that Robert Kubica is "OK"
KUBICA CONSCIOUS AND STABLE
Robert Kubica is conscious and stable after a huge crash in the Canadian GP.
QUALIFYING REPORT - LEWIS ON THE POLE
Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position in Montreal, a circuit he had never before visited. In doing so he became the second youngest driver ever to take a Formula 1 pole position, eclipsed only by Rubens Barrichello, who was two months younger when he took his first pole position at Spa back in 1994.
QUALIFYING RESULTS
Canadian GP - Qualifying Results
PRACTICE 3 REPORT - LEWIS LEADS THE WAY
The Saturday morning practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix ended up a rather scrappy affair after a lengthy red flag interlude after Heikki Kovalainen's Renault blew up and left oil all round the track.
PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
Canadian GP - Practice 3 Results
PRACTICE 2 REPORT - FERNANDO IN CONTROL
An exciting and incident-packed second practice session in Montreal on Friday afternoon confirmed that the McLaren-Mercedes team is still ahead of the game at the moment, thwarting hopes of a Ferrari comeback after the humbling the team suffered in Monte Carlo.
FRIDAY PHOTOS
Canadian GP - Friday Photos
PRACTICE 2 RESULTS
Canadian GP - Practice 2 Results
PRACTICE 1 REPORT - MCLAREN STILL AHEAD
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton continued the McLaren domination that was seen in Monte Carlo in the first practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
Canadian GP - Practice 1 Results
THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Canadian GP - Thursday Press Conference
THE BUSY LIFE OF FB
Being a Formula 1 team principal is a busy life and so it is no real surprise to hear that there are reports in the Italian press that Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore is currently in dispute with magistrates in Milan who want to have a chat with him about David Mills, the English lawyer who is accused of having accepted a bribe of $600,000 from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
WHY A GRAND PRIX AT VERSAILLES IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN
There have been a few headlines today regarding a possible French Grand Prix at Versailles. It is a nice idea. Disneyland pulls in 12.4m visitors a year, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre both claim 6m and the Pompidou Centre (5m) but Versailles requires transportation from the city and so the annual number of visitors is only three million. However there are a large number of reasons why a race is unlikely to happen.
HOLD YOUR HORSEPOWER
The Swiss have a complicated form of government and so reports that motor racing can now go ahead in the country are a little premature. It is true that the Nationalrat, the Lower House of the Swiss Parliament, has voted in favour of a revised version of the Swiss Road Traffic Act to allow for circuit racing, but there is still a long way to go before we see any races.
SCRUM DOWN!
The French Grand Prix may be in trouble but that does not mean that efforts to promote this year's race will be any less energetic than in previous years. After last year's Pink Floyd concert, this year the FFSA has decided to host a Grand Prix de France rugby party, to celebrate the fact that this year France will be hosting the Rugby World Cup.
FISICHELLA OPENS HIS OWN RACING SCHOOL
Giancarlo Fisichella and his business manager Enrico Zanarini have launched the Fisichella Motor Sport Academy, a racing school that will be part of a bigger Fisichella Motor Sport Technopole at the Vallelunga racing circuit near Rome.
WELCOME BACK SWITZERLAND
For many years in the early years of the sport, Switzerland was the home of one of the major Grands Prix of the year, at the exciting Bremgarten circuit, on the outskirts of Berne. But in 1955, in the wake of the Le Mans disaster, in which around 100 people were killed when a car flew into the crowd, the Swiss decided to ban motor racing competitions.
CALENDAR CLASHES
Champ Car had been planning to visit China this year - but problems with the promoter meant that the event had to be rescheduled from May 20 to October 28. Or at least that was what was wanted.
BILL FRANCE JR
Bill France Jr, the man who took over NASCAR from his father Bill Sr and expanded it into the vast business it is today, has died at the age of 74.
HERE AND THERE
There was a busy weekend of racing around the world. At Milwaukee the Indy Racing League teams gathered just a week after Indianapolis and Tony Kanaan gave Andretti Green Racing another victory, heading home his team mate Dario Franchitti with Chip Ganassi's Dan Wheldon third.
FORMULA 1 VERSUS THE OLYMPICS
Bernie Ecclestone has finally come out and said it: he wants the British government to pay for the British Grand Prix. The race could be dropped from the F1 calendar in 2010 if money cannot be found to rebuild Silverstone and to pay the fees demanded by the Formula One group.
HONDA GRABS OWEN FROM BMW SAUBER
Honda has begun the technical restructuring of its Formula 1 team with the news that John Owen, a senior aerodynamicist at BMW Sauber has been appointed as the Brackley team's new head of aerodynamics. There are very few details at the moment but we understand that there will be further recruitments announced in the next few days.
MONTEZEMOLO SAYS NO TO A POLITICAL CAREER
There has been much talk in the last couple of days suggesting that Luca di Montezemolo may be a candidate for the role of Prime Minister in Italy. The Ferrari and FIAT boss has denied any plan to do that, saying that he has no intention to ever go into politics.
