O, Canada (we don't need you)

So the FIA has released the 18 race 2009 schedule and the Canadian GP in Montreal is nowhere to be found. This only a couple of years after they punted the U.S. GP. I guess F1 doesn't need North America. We only buy most of the cars made by the manufacturers. I'm sure Honda, Toyota and BMW love this decision, to name a few.

By all means, let's give Spain two races but none in the U.S. or Canada. This is not a great way to build a fan base. I suspect it has to do with revenues and the new overseas tracks being more willing and able to line Bernie's pockets.

This is truly sad, because Montreal provided Americans the chance to get the feel of a European GP without the expense. It was also a great track that has produced some memorable results over the years.

At least we still have Spa, Silverstone and Monza, but with the loss of the Nurburgring, the neutering of Hockenheim, and the constant threats against Silverstone, trends are headed a direction I don't like, and it goes far beyond Canada. This is just the latest symptom of the disease. I fear for my favorite sport.

McLaren Appeal Found Inadmissible

McLaren should think about staying out of the courts.  This is their second time to lose an appeal in as many years.  In this case, they were allowed to make a full argument and yet they threw out the appeal on grounds that it's inadmissible regardless of their statements.  It seems that the FIA are wanting to set a precedence  in this matter and by not allowing the argument to even be considered, have stamped their authority on the previous ruling.

During the hearing, Hamilton snapped and made this ridiculous statement when he was questioned about his comments regarding the hearing.

"Are you a racing driver? No. I have been a racing driver since I was eight years old and I know pretty much every single maneuver in the book, and that's why I'm the best at my job.
We're talking about a skilled driver under intense pressure making a split-second decision which no one, unless they are in F1, can comprehend."

It appears that the media hype is finally starting to go to his head.  If Lewis makes it to the end of the season without making even more boneheaded mistakes, I'll be surprised.

Read On

Lewis Hamilton "Deserves" to Win?

Somebody should tell Lewis that the season isn't quite over.  He's already stating that he "morally" deserves to win the 2008 WDC title.  If he doesn't snap before the end of the year, I'll be surprised.  Normally when a driver talks like this, it comes back to bite him.

Read for yourself...

Lewis Hamilton Bias – The First Black WDC?

The latest scandal is yet another example of the uncompromising bias in the media for Lewis Hamilton.  Many people are chomping at the bit to have the first black world champion.  This is a very worthy desire, but I believe it is a bit dishonest to the sport that is Formula One, to push a driver for the WDC title in an attempt for racial parity.  Yes, I know…you’re above all that and you are just supporting Lewis because he is a superb driver and a great racer.  Well, then you’ll appreciate the honest look at the events that took place during the closing laps of the Belgian Grand Prix.

First we'll look at the actual ruling by the stewards and then we'll look at the International Sporting Code.

 

 

This is the text for Article 30.3 out of the 2008 Formula One Regulations:
30.3   a) During practice and the race, drivers may use only the track and must at all times observe the
provisions of the Code relating to driving behavior on circuits.

This is the text for Appendix L Chapter 4 Article 2:
2. Overtaking
a) During a race, a car alone on the track may use the full width of
the said track. However, as soon as it is caught up on a straight
by a car which is either temporarily or constantly faster, the driver
shall give the other vehicle the right of way by pulling over to one
side in order to allow for passing on the other side.
b) If the driver who has been caught does not seem to make full use
of his rear-view mirror the flag marshal(s) will give a warning by
waving the blue flag to indicate that another competitor wants to
overtake.
Any driver who does not take notice of the blue flag may be
penalized by the Sporting Stewards.
Systematic or repeated offences may result in the exclusion of
the offender from the race.
c) Curves, as well as the approach and exit zones thereof, may be
negotiated by the drivers in any way they wish, within the limits of the track. Overtaking, according to the circumstances, may be done either on the right or on the left.
However, maneuvers liable to hinder other drivers such as
premature changes of direction, more than one change of
direction, deliberate crowding of cars towards the inside or the
outside of the curve or any other abnormal change of direction,
are strictly prohibited and shall be penalized, according to the
importance and repetition of the offences, by penalties ranging
from a fine to the exclusion from the race. The repetition of
dangerous driving, even involuntary, may result in the exclusion
from the race.
d) Any obstructive maneuver carried out by one or several
drivers, either having common interests or not, is prohibited.
The persistent driving abreast of several vehicles, as well as fanshaped arrangement, is authorized only if there is not another car trying to overtake. Otherwise the blue flag will be waved.
e) The penalty inflicted for ignoring the blue flag will also be applied to the drivers who obstruct part of the track and shall be more severe in the case of systematic obstruction, thus ranging from a fine to the exclusion from the race. The same penalty shall be applied to drivers who swing from one side of the track to the
other in order to prevent other competitors from overtaking.
f) The repetition of serious mistakes or the appearance of a lack
of control over the car (such as leaving the track) may entail the
exclusion of the drivers concerned.
g) The race track alone shall be used by the drivers during the
race.

 

After reading the sporting code, it is pretty clear that Lewis Hamilton was in error.  The question that remains for many though is whether or not he gave back the "advantage" that he gained from cutting the chicane.

Well, lets look at an example...

Two race drivers are on track at Spa.  We shall call them Racer A and Racer B.  On the current lap, Racer A is two seconds ahead of Racer B.  There is a chicane approaching and Racer A negotiates the chicane on the normal racing line.  Racer B approaches the chicane and instead "straight lines" the chicane and continues on so he can get closer to Racer A.  Now the two cars are only one second apart with Racer A still in the lead.

In that example it's easy to see where the advantage is obtained and if it was obvious that the driver cut the chicane on purpose he would be given a drive thru penalty.   What are the differences between this example and what happened at the race in Belgium?  One difference is that Lewis was in the middle of trying a pass on Kimi at the entry to the chicane.  Given the normal racing line, he wasn't going to make it so he had three possible variables to choose from. 

1. He could maintain his line and risk taking them both out.
2. He could lift and let Kimi maintain the lead.
3. He could cut the chicane and take the lead.

If he had lifted and let Kimi maintain the lead he would not have been in a position to pass him on the very short straight that followed and would have to try and pass him later.  Instead, he chose to cut the chicane and take the lead.  After he did this he realized that he needed to let Kimi by.  He did so briefly, but since it was just before a braking zone he took the lead right back and never gave up his advantage.  He knew this would not hold up.  He's been part of the driver meetings where they have discussed the fact that you should wait until the next corner after "giving back" an advantage.  Instead, Lewis plays the victim and acts like the world is out to get him.  This is turning into a common reaction for him and it's not very becoming.

McLaren and Lewis thought they could skirt the regulations this time since they've done so in the past and almost got away with it.  Working in a culture of cheating at McLaren like Lewis has for the past season and a half, I'm not surprised that he doesn't see this as that big of a deal.  Cheating is cheating though, whether it's done by an engineer using a stolen technical manual from Ferrari or if it's done on track by a driver.  Both should be punished.

Now, back to our media bias.  I assure you that if it was another driver that had passed Lewis Hamilton in the same fashion they would be in full support of my analysis above.  But sadly, they want racial parity more than they want a real world champion and will push to a fault to obtain that goal.  Instead, let Lewis Hamilton be the brilliant driver that he is and let him get there on his own merits.  He and the world will be much better off if we can let that happen.

Felipe Massa Wins Grand Prix of Europe

Massa dominated the 2008 European Grand Prix much like he did in Hungary.  Unlike Hungary, he had no troubles at all with his car and sailed into the distance leaving a distraught Lewis Hamilton in his wake.

Heikki Gets His First Victory

Felipe Massa was storming to victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix with 3 laps to go when it happened.  The video switched to Felipe driving down the front straight with a huge plume of black smoke behind him and he came to a stop.  He had driven a flawless race, but racing is a very cruel sport and it was his turn to be dealt the blow.  Hamilton had already been relegated to further back in the field when he had a flat on his front left tire (Possibly a result of his constant locking of his front brakes).   So, that left Heikki free to take the victory with ease.  A great result for a real up-and-comer.  One of the big surprises of the weekend was Timo Glock coming in second.  He had to work for it too, holding off a very quick Kimi Raikkonen who came in third.  All in all, the Hungarian Grand Prix was a very exciting race and I can't wait for the next one.  That's why it hurts so much that we have three weeks before we can see the sights and hear the sounds of Formula One again.

 

Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired
1	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	70	1:37:27.067
2	Timo Glock	Toyota	70	+11.0 secs
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	70	+16.8 secs
4	Fernando Alonso	Renault	70	+21.6 secs
5	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+23.0 secs
6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	70	+32.2 secs
7	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	70	+36.4 secs
8	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	70	+48.3 secs
9	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	70	+58.8 secs
10	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	70	+67.7 secs
11	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	70	+70.4 secs
12	Jenson Button	Honda	69	+1 Lap
13	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	69	+1 Lap
14	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	69	+1 Lap
15	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	69	+1 Lap
16	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	68	+2 Laps
17	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	67	Engine
18	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	67	+3 Laps
Ret	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	62	+8 Laps
Ret	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	22	+48 Laps

McLaren stays on top: Hungarian GP Qualifying

A stunning Q2 time for Felipe Massa didn't translate into the final session, and Lewis Hamilton continued McLaren's recent dominance with pole over teammate Heikki Kovalainen. Massa did snag the third slot, with Robert Kubica wringing some speed out of the BMW to claim fourth. Another recent trend that continued was Kimi Räikkönen trailing his teammate. Kimi could do no better than sixth and faces a tough battle for points on a track where passing is notoriously difficult.

Timo Glock backed up his second best time in Q2 (only 0.2s off of Massa's stunner) with a solid fifth position for Toyota. Alonso, Trulli, Webber and Piquet round out the top 10. It should be a heck of a race. Let's see if Ferrari can reverse trend and find speed to push McLaren.

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	L. Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.899 (Q3)
2	H. Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:21.140 (Q3)
3	F. Massa	Ferrari	1:21.191 (Q3)
4	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:21.281 (Q3)
5	T. Glock	Toyota	1:21.326 (Q3)
6	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:21.516 (Q3)
7	F. Alonso	Renault	1:21.698 (Q3)
8	M. Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1:21.732 (Q3)
9	J. Trulli	Toyota	1:21.767 (Q3)
10	N. Piquet	Renault	1:22.371 (Q3)
11	S. Vettel	STR-Ferrari	1:20.144 (Q2)
12	J. Button	Honda	1:20.332 (Q2)
13	D. Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:20.502 (Q2)
14	S. Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	1:20.963 (Q2)
15	N. Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	no time (Q2)
16	N. Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:21.045 (Q1)
17	K. Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:21.085 (Q1)
18	R. Barrichello	Honda	1:21.332 (Q1)
19	G. Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	1:21.670 (Q1)
20	A. Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	1:22.113 (Q1)

2008 Hungarian Grand Prix - Friday Practice

Lewis Hamilton ended up with the top spot at the completion of the first two practice sessions.  Nelsinho Piquet was the odd ball that pipped his teammate and Heikki Kovalainen for the second spot.  The Ferraris, after leading the first practice session, came in behind the McLarens and Renaults.  I have a sneaky feeling that this is going to be a very interesting and close race.

Practice 1

Practice 2

Hamilton makes it two in a row

Lewis Hamilton followed up his British Grand Prix victory two weeks ago with another win in Germany at Hockenheim (side note - I miss the old track with the massive straights out into the woods).

In a bit of a stunner, Renault's Nelson Piquet took second place with a one-stop strategy. Ferrari's Felipe Massa completed the podium, keeping his championship hopes alive, although Hamilton has broken the three-way tie at the top and also becomes the first to win four races in 2008.

It's going to be an interesting finish to the season, with Kimi Räikkönen still in touch.

More later...

Lewis heads the grid

Lewis Hamilton grabbed the pole position at Hockenheim from Ferrari's Felipe Massa, with Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes teammate Heikki Kovalainen rounding out the top three.

Lewis "Light Load" Hamilton

After setting a fast time early on in the session, Lewis Hamilton fell off the pace until the final closing minutes of the practice when he put in an obvious light fuel run to take P1.  While he was meandering through the rest of the session in the high 1:15s, the Ferrari drivers were consistently putting in the faster times on long fuel runs.

While qualifying will probably be rather close, the race should be leaning in Ferrari's direction.  McLaren may soon be wishing they had someone in the car that was a little more mature and focused on the entire picture at hand.  Throwing in light fuel runs to "puff" yourself up is a rather "Red Bull" sort of thing don't you think?

 

	Driver	Team	Time
1.	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:15.025
2.	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:15.722
3.	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:15.760
4.	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:15.990
5.	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1:16.017
6.	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:16.230
7.	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:16.355
8.	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:16.363
9.	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:16.377
10.	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:16.378
11.	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:16.422
12.	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:16.530
13.	Jenson Button	Honda	1:16.542
14.	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:16.677
15.	Nelson A. Piquet	Renault	1:16.734
16.	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:16.781
17.	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:16.829
18.	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:16.860
19.	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	1:17.008
20.	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	1:17.047

Test Times - Hockenheim Day 3

Name Team Laps Time Gap Massa Ferrari 109 1:14.989 136.443 mph Button Honda 121 1:15.081 0.092 Kovalainen McLaren 123 1:15.289 0.300 Webber Red Bull 117 1:15.378 0.389 Vettel Toro Rosso 106 1:15.556 0.567 Alonso Renault 115 1:15.593 0.604 Nakajima WilliamsF1 118 1:15.759 0.770 Kubica BMW 107 1:15.869 0.880 Trulli Toyota 128 1:16.065 1.076 Fisichella Force India 73 1:16.113 1.124

Test Times - Hockenheim Day 2

Name Team Laps Time Gap Hamilton McLaren 101 1:14.872 136.656 mph Rosberg WilliamsF1 117 1:15.257 0.385 Raikkonen Ferrari 90 1:15.296 0.424 Coulthard Red Bull 42 1:15.767 0.895 Sutil Force India 97 1:15.945 1.073 Vettel Toro Rosso 62 1:15.955 1.083 Glock Toyota 114 1:15.995 1.123 Alonso Renault 106 1:16.141 1.269 Barrichello Honda 90 1:16.144 1.272 Webber Red Bull 70 1:16.217 1.345 Heidfeld BMW 115 1:16.235 1.363 Bourdais Toro Rosso 36 1:16.550 1.678

Test Times - Hockenheim Day 1

Name Team Laps Time Gap Hamilton McLaren 75 1:15.483 135.550 mph Raikkonen Ferrari 63 1:15.803 0.320 Rosberg WilliamsF1 87 1:16.099 0.616 Sutil Force India 97 1:16.516 1.033 Bourdais Toro Rosso 113 1:16.533 1.050 Kobayashi Toyota 65 1:16.570 1.087 Heidfeld BMW 59 1:16.593 1.110 Piquet Renault 111 1:16.856 1.373 Coulthard Red Bull 67 1:17.351 1.868 Wurz Honda 89 1:17.825 2.342

2008 British Grand Prix - Results

Going in to the grand prix, many people had one question on their mind.  How did Heikki out qualify his teammate Lewis Hamilton by almost a full second?  The answer...he was gambling that it would be a dry race on Sunday.  Lewis chose the correct strategy and car setup and left everybody else in his wake.  Heikki, with his dry leaning setup, slipped and twitched his way to P5.

Ferrari as well had two drivers split between setups and it showed as Massa's car swapped ends numerous times throughout the race.  Kimi on the other hand was doing quite well and even cutting into Hamilton's lead until Ferrari made a horrible decision and put him and Massa out on the track with their used intermediates.  The race appeared to be over for both drivers, but Kimi found his way up to P4 by the end while Massa was already too far behind and out of the points.

Nick Heidfeld finally got to grips with his BMW Sauber and came in a distant second to Hamilton.  He drove a very clean race and stayed out of trouble to the end.  Kubica was not doing quite as well, but was quick on track up until he got caught out by the changing conditions and beached his car in a gravel trap.

Rounding out the slightly strange podium was Rubens Barrichelo with an enormous grin on his face.  There may have been a few tears as well knowing Rubhino.  Jenson Button didn't fare as well spinning out on lap 38.  Even though there were mixed emotions in the Honda camp, I'm sure they were very happy with the points Rubens brought home.

Fernando Alonso, Jarno Trulli and Kaz Nakajima rounded out the top eight in what was the most chaotic grand prix of the year so far.  Personally, I can't wait for more!

Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired
1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	60	1:39:09.440
2	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	60	+68.5 secs
3	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	60	+82.2 secs
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	59	+1 Lap
5	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	59	+1 Lap
6	Fernando Alonso	Renault	59	+1 Lap
7	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	59	+1 Lap
8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	59	+1 Lap
9	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	59	+1 Lap
10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	59	+1 Lap
11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	59	+1 Lap
12	Timo Glock	Toyota	59	+1 Lap
13	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	58	+2 Laps
Ret	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	39	Spin
Ret	Jenson Button	Honda	38	Spin
Ret	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	35	Spin
Ret	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	26	Spin
Ret	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	10	Spin
Ret	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	0	Spin
Ret	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	0	Spin

Heikki grabs first pole for British Grand Prix

 

Heikki Kovalainen nabs his first F1 pole with a half second margin over a surprising Mark Webber in second. The usual suspects seemed to struggle a bit, with Kimi Räikkönen third, Lewis Hamilton fourth and Felipe Massa mired in ninth due to a pit problem that prevented a final run in qualy 3. It will be interesting to see the race unfold, especially with the predicted rain.

Sebastian Vettel getting an STR into qualy 3 is a mild surprise, as he builds his stock and perhaps looks at Coulthard's ride for next year.

Pos	Driver	Team
1	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
2	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes
5	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
6	Fernando Alonso	Renault
7	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault
8	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari
9	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
11	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault
12	Timo Glock	Toyota
13	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari
14	Jarno Trulli	Toyota
15	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
16	Rubens Barrichello	Honda
17	Jenson Button	Honda
18	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
19	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari
20	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari

2008 British Grand Prix - Practice 2

Pos	Driver	Team	Time/Retired
1	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:19.989
2	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1:20.520
3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.543
4	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:20.589
5	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:20.748
6	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	1:20.805
7	Jenson Button	Honda	1:20.929
8	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:20.943
9	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:20.985
10	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:21.002
11	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:21.023
12	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:21.275
13	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:21.453
14	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:21.472
15	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:21.511
16	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	1:21.520
17	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	1:21.634
18	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	1:21.642
19	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	1:21.756
20	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:22.196

2008 British Grand Prix - Practice 1

Pos	Driver	Team	Time/Retired
1	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:19.575
2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:19.587
3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:19.623
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:19.948
5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:20.367
6	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:20.436
7	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	1:20.588
8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	1:20.653
9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:20.698
10	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:20.744
11	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1:20.892
12	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:21.102
13	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:21.107
14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	1:21.166
15	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:21.265
16	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:21.282
17	Jenson Button	Honda	1:21.901
18	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	1:22.169
19	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	1:22.219
20	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:24.123

Test Times - Silverstone Day 1

Name	Team	Laps	Time	Gap
Massa	Ferrari	71	1:20.188	143.414 mph
Kovalainen	McLaren	90	1:20.477	0.289
Kubica	BMW	82	1:20.995	0.807
Kobayashi	Toyota	82	1:21.335	1.147
Rosberg	WilliamsF1	88	1:21.410	1.222
Webber	Red Bull	94	1:21.565	1.377
Piquet	Renault	68	1:21.797	1.609
Button	Honda	90	1:22.081	1.893
Liuzzi	Force India	108	1:22.250	2.062
Vettel	Toro Rosso	10	1:23.853	3.665

2008 French Grand Prix - Review

Ferrari
Felipe Massa - Winner
Kimi Raikkonen - P2
Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were in their own league during the entire weekend of the French Grand Prix.  As expected, Kimi and Felipe left the field behind when the race began with Kimi setting fastest lap after fastest lap and Massa staying close behind nipping at his heals.  Unfortunately, the reliability bug bit Kimi as his exhaust broke on the left bank of his Ferrari engine.  That decrease in horse power handed the lead over to Felipe Massa and he never gave it up for the rest of the race.

Toyota
Jarno Trulli - P3
Timo Glock - P11
A rare visit to the podium for Jarno Trulli brought an air of relief to the struggling Toyota team.  He qualified very well this weekend putting his car in P4 for the start of the race.  Timo Glock on the other hand struggled throughout the weekend on able to qualify in P8 and finish the race in P11.  Nevertheless, Toyota needed those very valuable points brought in by Trulli.

McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen - P4
Lewis Hamilton - P10
Following the Canadian Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton foolishly smashed into the back of Kimi Raikkonen's car, he was given a 10 spot grid penalty.  Heikki was then given a five spot grid penalty for impeding another driver during qualifying.  McLaren were definitely on their heals for this race and were putting everything they could in to it to bring some points away this weekend.  Heikki did exactly what he was supposed to do and kept his calm racing a very intelligent and skillful race.  Lewis on the other hand, made mistake after mistake.  If he wasn't locking up, he was cutting a chicane.  If he wasn't overdriving, he was throwing a tantrum at the end of the race.  Pressure is something that he's going to have to learn to deal with if he's going to be a Formula One driver.  Note:  Lewis has kept his streak of hitting other drivers from behind alive after slightly damaging his front wing hitting Heikki in the first few laps under braking.

BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica - P5
Nick Heidfeld - P13
After a brilliant win at the Canadian Grand Prix, Robert Kubica failed to impress as he brought his car home in P5.  Nick Heidfeld continues to struggle with this years car and had a horrible race coming across the line in P13.  It is becoming pretty clear that this years BMW Sauber chassis is very dependant on mechanical grip.  The next grand prix, Silverstone, will probably be another difficult track for them.

Red Bull - Renault
Mark Webber - P6
David Coulthard - P9
Mark Webber brought home some well deserved points after struggling with his car and even almost spinning on the front straight at one point.  David Coulthard, on the other hand, lost two positions at the start of the race and was never able to recover from that. 

Renault
Nelson Piquet - P7
Fernando Alonso - P8
Nelson Piquet put in an excellent drive and provided lots of on track excitement as he was holding off the two McLarens.  He seems to be coming to terms with the Renault finally and hopefully will give his teammate a little more trouble throughout the rest of the season.  After qualifying in P3, Fernando Alonso was expecting a different result at the end of the French Grand Prix.  He never could find the same speed that he showed in practice/qualifying and lost several positions throughout the afternoon.

STR - Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel - P12
Sebastien Bourdais - P17
Believe it or not, the STR boys actually battled a McLaren and BMW during the French Grand Prix.  Probably the greatest accolade they could take away from this race, but one takes what one can sometimes.

Honda
Rubens Barrichello - P14
Jenson Button - DNF
Having started from P20 on the grid after an engine change, Rubens did a pretty good job to move ahead six spots.  Jenson had a coming together with Sebastien Bourdais at the start of the race and eventually lost his front wing because of it.  The car started to fall apart after he came in for a new front wing and he eventually just had to bring the car into the pits.  These are not bright days for the Honda F1 team, but hopefully Ross Brawn can turn them around.

Williams - Toyota
Kazuki Nakajima - P15
Nico Rosberg - P16
It's amazing how the tide can turn from track to track.  In Canada Nico was battling with the top runners and here he could barely make it to the end.  Hopefully they can recover from this and put in a better performance at Silverstone.

Force India - Ferrari
Giancarlo Fisichella - P18
Adrian Sutil - P19
It was another difficult race for the Force India - Ferrari team.  They have proven now that their reliability is up to par, now they just need to develop some speed.

2008 French Grand Prix - Qualifying Results

 

Kimi Raikkonen snatched pole with time to spare as he didn't even finish his last hot lap so he could save  a bit of petrol.  Felipe Massa was the fastest man during both Q1 and Q2, but strategy aside, couldn't put in a flyer to take P1 and had to settle for P2.  Lewis Hamilton took P3 which will translate to P13 with his shiny new penalty.  Midfield is not going to be good for him since he has a tendency to drive into the back of other drivers (Example 1, Example2).  Somewhat of a surprise, but not a complete shocker after seeing his form in practice, Fernando Alonso pulled his car up the grid to P4.  However, the "Most Shocking" award would have to go to Jarno Trulli which somehow stopped spinning long enough to finally finish a lap and put his steed in P5.

Pos	Driver	Team
1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
4	Fernando Alonso	Renault
5	Jarno Trulli	Toyota
6	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
7	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
8	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault
10	Timo Glock	Toyota
11	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault
12	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
13	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari
14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari
15	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
16	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
17	Jenson Button	Honda
18	Rubens Barrichello	Honda
19	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari
20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari

Kimi on Pole

...Massa comes in second while Hamilton comes in third...errr...thirteenth.

More to come later...

2008 French Grand Prix Preview

What about Bob? - Grand Prix of Canada

After Lewis Hamilton's stunning mistake at pit out (perhaps he didn't think that the red light applied to him) took himself and Kimi Raikkonen out of the race, Robert Kubica seized the advantage and stormed to his and BMW Sauber's maiden victory.

To make BMW Sauber's day even sweeter, Nick Heidfeld gave them a 1-2, coming from mid pack to the podium, which is almost becoming a tradition at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit. I wonder if Peter Sauber will smile all the way back to Europe.

David Coulthard scored a podium for Red Bull, and Sebastian Vettel came from a pit lane start to the points.

Kubica takes over the lead in the Driver's Championship, with Massa and Hamilton tied for second four points adrift. Raikkonen is a further three points back.

In the Constructor's Championship Ferrari still lead, but only by three points over BMW-Sauber, with McLaren sitting seventeen points behind.
Points Finishers

1)	Robert Kubica	BMW	1:36:24.447
2)	Nick Heidfeld	BMW	+ 16.495
3)	David Coulthard	Red Bull	+ 23.352
4)	Timo Glock	Toyota	+ 42.627
5)	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+ 43.934
6)	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+ 47.775
7)	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+ 53.597
8)	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Toro Rosso	+ 54.120

Qualifying - Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton takes pole at Canada with a last second flyer that pushed Robert Kubica's BMW to second. Kimi Raikkonen salvages third for Ferrari, which seems strangely off the pace here, especially in the third sector with the long back straight.

It's going to be interesting to see what develops in the race tomorrow. There's a slight threat of wet weather, but even dry conditions promise some mixed up results as the sudden rise in air and track temperatures is creating some slick conditions.

Workers swept the hairpin between each session, and strong cross winds blew vegetation across the track. Mark Webber was one of the victims, tagging the wall on his cool-down lap to end Q2. He'll start 10th.

Here is your starting grid:

1)	Lewis Hamilton	1:17.886
2)	Robert Kubica	1:18.498
3)	Kimi Räikkönen	1:18.735
4)	Fernando Alonso	1:18.746
5)	Nico Rosberg	1:18.844
6)	Felipe Massa	1:19.048
7)	Heikki Kovalainen	1:19.089
8)	Nick Heidfeld	1:19.633
9)	Rubens Barrichello	1:20.848
10)	Mark Webber	no time
11)	Timo Glock	1:18.031
12)	Kaz Nakajima	1:18.062
13)	David Coulthard	1:18.238
14)	Jarno Trulli	1:18.327
15)	Nelson Piquet	1:18.393
16)	Sebastien Bourdais	1:18.916
17)	Adrian Sutil	1:19.108
18)	Giancarlo Fisichella	1:19.165
19)	Jensen Button	1:23.565
20)	Sebastian Vettel	no time

Hamilton wins wild, wet Monaco Grand Prix

In a damp race marred by several crashes, difficult tire choices and two safety car deployments, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton comes out on top and retakes the lead in the Driver's Championship.

The race only went 76 laps as it hit the two hour time limit. Robert Kubica had a sensible drive to second place, with polesitter Felipe Massa only managing third, but that was better than teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who fell to 9th with two unscheduled stops.

Force India had looked set to score its first points with Adrian Sutil in 4th place, but an incident with Kimi on lap 69 in the tunnel ended his day.

Points Finishers
1) Lewis Hamilton
2) Robert Kubica
3) Felipe Massa
4) Mark Webber
5) Sebastian Vettel
6) Rubens Barrichello
7) Kaz Nakajima
8) Heikki Kovalainen

Today's Top News 13/05/2008

Hamilton wants "equality" to remain at McLaren

Teams are planning on avoiding Mosley at Monaco

AMD is letting go of it's Ferrari sponsorship deal.

Hamilton reportedly about to sign a $20m deal with Reebok

Ralf believes that Ferrari have already chosen Kimi as the #1

First Singapore Grand Prix is almost sold out.

Grand Prix of Turkey Highlights

Massa Does It Again!

Felipe Massa wins his third consecutive Turkish Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton comes in second and Felipe's teammate Kimi Raikkonen comes in third.

Top Performers

	DRIVER	ENTRANT	TIME
1.	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:26:49.451
2.	Lewis Hamilton	Mclaren	+3.7
3.	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	+4.2
4.	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+21.9
5.	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+38.7
6.	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+53.7

 

Complete Results

Live F1 Timing on the Go!

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We couldn't pass that up.  Go try it out, we love it!

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Magnificent Massa!

 

Felipe Massa put in a brilliant lap to take pole position answering his critics in his own way.  The brave Heikki Kovalainen thankfully returns after his big accident to out qualify his teammate for the second time this year taking second spot away from Lewis Hamilton who ended up in third.  Kimi Raikkonen made a small mistake in turn one which cost him some top speed and several tenths on his lap only able to place him in fourth while Robert Kubica put in another great qualifying run to make it into fifth spot.  The surprise of the day however was Mark Webber wrangling his Red Bull chassis into sixth position ahead of the rest of the field possibly on a very light fuel load.

With the top seven qualifying within less than a second, tomorrow's race is looking to be a great one!

Top Times
Felipe Massa	1:27.617	Ferrari
Heikki Kovalainen	1:27.808	McLaren Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton	1:27.923	McLaren Mercedes
Kimi Raikkonen	1:27.936	Ferrari
Robert Kubica	1:28.390	BMW Sauber
Mark Webber	1:28.417	Red Bull

Full Results

So Sorry...

The F1Geeks family ran into a bit of dark cloud during the last GP.  Some health issues and other distractions kept us from joining you here for all of the fun.

Not to fear though.  We will be here with you for the rest of the season bringing you all of the latest in F1 news and results...maybe a few good juicy rumors thrown in for good measure.

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix

Felipe Massa finally sees the end of a grand prix in 2008, taking victory at Sakhir ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, for a Ferrari 1-2.

With Lewis Hamilton finishing a dismal 13th after losing his front wing in a first lap coming together with Fernando Alonso, Kimi takes over the lead in the driver's championship.

Heikki Kovalainen salvages some McLaren pride by snatching fast lap late in the race, but his 5th place finish puts a point on a horrendous day for Ron Dennis' boys, as they drop to 3rd in the Constructor's Championship. BMW have vaulted to the top of the WCC charts with their 3-4 finish, clinging to a one point lead over Ferrari, with McLaren another point back. It's early days, but BMW look to have achieved their aim to make it a three-way battle. I can't wait for the rest of the season!

Top Finishers
Felipe Massa	1:31:06.970
Kimi Raikkonen	+3.339
Robert Kubica	+4.998
Nick Heidfeld	+8.409
Heikki Kovalainen	+26.789
Jarno Trulli	+41.314
Mark Webber	+45.473
Nico Rosberg	+55.889

Full Results

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying

This is the sort of shakeup the F1 braintrust was hoping for with the ever-shifting qualy format and rules. Robert Kubica snatches his first pole (no puns please) in the closing moments, relegating Felipe Massa to second spot. The next slots also bounce teammates around so the first lap should be interesting tomorrow.

Top Times
Robert Kubica	1:33.096
Felipe Massa	1:33.123
Lewis Hamilton	1:33.292
Kimi Raikkonen	1:33.418
Heikki Kovalainen	1:33.488
Nick Heidfeld	1:33.737

Qualifying Details

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix - Friday Practice

Friday Practice 1

Friday Practice 2

Although it's always dangerous to read too much into Friday practice, since one never knows exactly what programs the teams are running and how they're attacking the race weekend, Ferrari seem to have a lead on the rest of the field, as they did two weeks ago in Malaysia.

Felipe Massa set a blistering time on a low fuel run, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen nearly a second behind. McLaren came next, with Lewis Hamilton coming in 4th behind Heikki Kovalainen after he crashed heavily about 10 minutes before the session ended. Lewis was thankfully unhurt, though the mechanics will have some work to do.

There's still plenty of reason to tune in for qualy and the race itself, though, since the Sakhir track can change dramatically as rubber is laid down, or dust blows back across it...not to mention the million things that can go right or wrong for any driver at any time. Just ask Felipe Massa about the Malaysian race and how quickly things can turn. Or ask MotoGP 250cc rider Mika Kallio how quickly he went from 3rd to a race win in Spain...on the last lap.

Enjoy.

2008 Malaysian Grand Prix

Ferrari dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix with Kimi Raikkonen cruising to a comfortable victory after Felipe Massa lost the car in a bizarre snap over steer.

	DRIVER	ENTRANT	TIME
1.	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1h31m18.555
2.	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	19.570
3.	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	38.450
4.	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	45.832
5.	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	46.548
6.	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	49.833
7.	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1m08.130
8.	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1m10.041
9.	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1m16.220
10.	Jenson Button	Honda	1m26.214
11.	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1m32.202
12.	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	1 Lap
13.	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1 Lap
14.	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1 Lap
15.	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri-Honda	1 Lap
16.	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri-Honda	2 Laps
17.	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	2 Laps
R	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	Hydraulics
R	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Spin
R	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	Hydraulics
R	Timo Glock	Toyota	Damage
R	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	Spin