Monaco's Here!

Let's face it. This Sunday will be a race lover's dream day. Every year we get a trifecta; Monaco in the morning, the Indy 500 in the afternoon, and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 in the evening.

Monaco has always been where the greats shined. Ayrton Senna won here 6 times, with Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher winning 5 times apiece.

This is the greatest test on the F1 calendar, as the drivers negotiate the narrow streets in 750 bhp machines. The roads are slick, and this year there may be rain. With no traction control, rain at Monaoco could result in a wild race result. Remember Olivier Panis winning for Ligier in 1996?

I have a rule for NASCAR races. I never watch until the final 50 laps. Nothing much happens until then, and I can avoid Darrel Waltrip for as long as possible. Indy; watch the start and the last 100 laps. All the action is in the last part of the race.

Massa Hangs On in Turkey

Felipe Massa survived a strong challenge from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to win in Turkey. Hamilton's three-stop strategy nearly worked, and he executed a beautiful pass on Massa for the lead before his third stop. Hamilton drove a very good race, and nearly won, but Massa held on and executed his strategy perfectly to keep the McLaren at bay.

Ferrari looked good all weekend, but Mclaren had great pace in the race. Kovalainen could have contended for the win, as he was on a two-stop strategy, but it was not to be. He finished a lap down, but look for him to be very strong at Monaco.

Kimi Raikkonen drove a steady race to third, but frankly was never a serious contender at a track he seems to dislike. The BMW's of Kubica and Heidfeld were 4th and 5th, followed by a resurgent Fernando Alonso for Renault in 6th.

Mark Webber continued his great season with 7th for Red Bull, followed by Nico Rosberg's Williams in the final points-paying position.

The highlight of the race was Fisichella bounding over Nakajima's Williams at the first corner. Fisi went in far too fast and simply plowed into the back of Kazuki's car, vaulting over the Williams driver. I'm sure Nakajima needed a new driving suit after the race.

Next up is Monaco, traditionally a strong McLaren track, and where Hamilton will be looking to avenge his forced 2nd place last year.

Super Aguri Closes Down

The Super Aguri F1 Team has shuttered its doors, finally succumbing to the financial pressures that have buffeted the team since last season.

New F1 rules meant that Super Best Friends could no longer buy chassis from Honda F1, and meant that the team needed a big infusion of capital to continue.

After a buyout from Dubai fell through, a last-ditch effort to secure funding from the German Weigl Group failed to come through. Honda was unwilling to continue to support Super Aguri, as it needs to focus its efforts and funding on its factory team. And so it ends.

The team was built around Honda's support for Takuma Sato, after he was released by BAR. He was joined by Anthony Davidson, a highly-regarded driver who's yet to get a chance to show what he can do in a competitive ride. They're both now looking for work. Expect to see someone scoop up Davidson quickly. Maybe even Honda F1, who has to be thinking about how to replace Rubens Barrichello. Sato may end up in the US's IRL series, where Honda supplies the power plants.

A sad day. Super Aguri always did well with a budget that was probably smaller than McLaren's catering budget, or Max Mosely's hooker allowance. They will be missed.