F1 Report

Monaco's Here!

2008-05-22T17:19:00.003-04:00

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

2008-05-22T17:07:00.004-04:00

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

2008-05-07T10:13:00.005-04:00

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.

Raikkonen Cruises in Spain

2008-04-29T08:54:00.003-04:00

Kimi Raikkonen cruised to an unchallenged victory in the Spanish GO this past weekend, easily extending his championship points lead over McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Raikkonen, who pipped Renault's Fernando Alonso for the pole in qualifying, was never seriously threatened. Felipe Massa made it a Ferrari 1-2, with Hamilton 3rd in the McLaren. Neither Massa nor Hamilton had anything for the World Champion this weekend. Raikkone was totally in charge of the race, and even with 2 safety car periods, he easily opened up a lead and kept his rivals in check.

Robert Kubica continued to be the revelation of the season with strong 4th for BMW, followed by Mark Webber, in an inspired drive for Red Bull. Jensen Button gave Honda some hope with a 6th place finish, by far the best they've done recently. Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams-Toyota finished 7th, with Jarno Trulli in the factory Toyota 8th.

Alonso, who ran a light fuel load to try and steal his home pole, blew up on the 34th lap. His run for pole was amazing, and he showed that Renault is moving forward. They aren't there yet, but Alonso's performance was gutsy.

The main story of the day was the horrific wreck that took Heikki Kovalainen out of the race on lap 21, when he was leading during the pit stop window. He speared off the track at 150 mph when his left front wheel failed. He had no chance to slow the car as is skidded across the gravel into the tire wall. Reports are that he has a mild concussion, and will be OK in time for turkey in 2 weeks.

Drive of the day? That goes to Button, who pulled his Honda from 13th to 6th. He drove a steady, aggressive race and kept clear of the accidents. Maybe Honda will make some progress now. Honorable mention goes to Mark Webber, who kept his head down and gave Red Bull their best finish of the season, and showed that Adrian Newey's newest design is fundamentally fast. Webber qualified 7th, and kept his pace throughout. We've also got to give credit to Nakajima, who took his Williams from 12th on the grid to 7th. A great drive for the rookie.

The biggest question of the day is David Coulthard. He was roundly trounced by Webber in qualifying, only putting his Red Bull in 17th, behind the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais. In the race, we was involved in accidents with Sutil's Force India and then Timo Glock closed the door on him in a turn and punctured a tire. He seemed to be off the pace all weekend.

One pleaing note was that Super Aguri made it to the race. This may have been their last race in F1; if they can't find new funding, they'll likely be done. It'd be a shame, since they've done wonders with a budget that's probably smaller than McLaren's catering bill. Let's hope Aguri Suzuki can find new partners soon and keep them on track.

Mad Max

2008-04-04T08:32:00.004-04:00

Max Mosley, the head of the FIA, has been caught with his pants down...literally!

Max, son of famous British fascist Bernard Mosley, was filmed in a bondage party with a bunch of hookers. He doesn't deny that he is the man in the video, but claims his privacy has been violated.

The News of the World claims the scene is a a nazi death-camp re-enactment, complete with uniforms for guards and prisoners. Max says there were no Nazi connotations, and that he would never do such a thing.

Mercedes, BMW, Honda, and Toyota have all called on the FIA to act swiftly (and boot Max), but so far, the FIA has not acted.

I haven't seen he video, since I have no desire to see a 70 year-old man cavorting with prostitutes, but it's a HUGE embarrassment to the world of motorsports.

While Max doesn't directly oversee F1, his role as President of the FIA makes him the de facto leader of world motorsports, and as such, he's seriously harmed the credibility of the FIA (as if they needed help in that matter).

Max, save your family the extended embarrassment and step down NOW.

I really don't care if he wants to dress up like a chicken to act our his weird sexual fantasies, but anyone with half a brain KNOWS that this kind of stuff ALWAYS ends up on YouTube. Max claims that "persons unknown" have targeted him by taking the video and leaking it to the papers, hinting at some dark conspiracy. Ummm, yeah, Max.

Dude is a freak.

F1 Report is Techno Challenged

2008-04-04T08:30:00.003-04:00

Sorry, readers, but F1 Report has been experiencing technical troubles.

My DSL Internet providor, whose name rhymes with BirthLink, has seen to it that I have no internet connection for the past two weeks.

I'm moving to a cable modem, so this should be resolved on April 17.

Reports will be sporadic until that time.

WTF was I thinking when I signed up for DSL?

Sorry about Australia

2008-03-19T23:23:00.001-04:00

Formula1Report was dealing with some family business out of town last weekend, and was without cable, or a TV for that matter.

I'll be back with a report on Malaysia next week.

Scott Speed in Car & Driver

2008-03-05T08:34:00.003-05:00

There's a feature on Scott Speed in the April issue of Car & Driver, updating their 2005 story. It's a great read, and tells the story of how one man's career in F1 came to an ugly end.

Back in 2005, they chronicled his rise through the Red Bull Driver's program, and his battle with ulcerative colitis, which nearly ended his career at 21. It's a fantastic read. It shows a young man of remarkable courage, determination, and not a little ego.

The update tells the story of Scott's fallout at Toro Rosso, including the famous fight at the Nurburgring in 2007 with Franz Tost, after Scott crashed out in a deluge. Tost physically attacked Speed in the pitlane and garage. Speed went to Gerhard Berger and let him know that if Tost touched him again, he'd "knock him out".

Peter Windsor, who we all know from Speed TV's coverage of Formula One, rates Scott highly, and says he believes Scott had the talent to win in F1, but never had a chance in a competitive car. Speed ran as high as 6th in that famous race at the Nurburgring, and in the rain at Monaco, he set the fastest practice times. He's very, very good, but in a Toro Rosso, he never could show any real speed, so to speak.

I agree, and it's a shame that there are no more Americans in F1. However, NASCAR is sucking up the talent pool. There were more Indy 500 winners at the Daytona 500 than there will be at Indy this year.

When the new story link is available, I'll post it. In the meantime, here's the link to the 2005 story:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/motorsports/sport_the_fall_and_rise_of_scott_speed_feature

Is Ron Dennis Out at McLaren?

2008-02-27T22:13:00.007-05:00

Motor Authority is reporting that Spanish sport daily Maca is reporting that Ron Dennis has been forced out at McLaren by Mercedes.

If true, it marks the end of an era in Formula One. Ron started as a mechanic at McLaren and rose to become one of the most important figures in motor sports in the past 30 years.

A consummate professional, Ron and his deputy, Martin Whitmarsh, turned a cottage industry into a professional sport. They took F1 out of the garages and into the boardrooms.

BTW, R0n still owns 15% of McLaren, so he won't be on the dole.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/motorsport/report-mclaren-f1-ceo-ron-dennis-fired/#more-4922

UPDATE 2/28/07, 9:03 AM EST: McLaren has denied that Ron is out. Mercedes has said that there's "No change in management" at McLaren. What no one has said is that Ron is still Managing Director at Mclaren. They've left some wiggle room. It could be that Ron's thinking of stepping down, after the SpyGate scandal and the breakup of his 20+ year marriage.

I've never been a Mclaren fan. They always seemed too corporate, too professional. Powered by the insane 1,000 bhp 1.5L Honda turbo, they won 15 of 16 GP's in 1988, leading all but 27 laps through the entire season! It became easy to hate such dominance.

But there can be no denying that Ron is an honorable man, fair and honest. He even turned his own team in over the SpyGate e-mails.

And Ron will always be great because he green-lighted Gordon Murray's spectacular McLaren F1 road car. It will forever be the yardstick by which "supercars" are judged. With an amazing 637 bhp BMW V-12, the F1 was the fastest roadgoing car from 1994 to 2005 at 240 mph. It was finally eclipsed by the 1,000 bhp Bugatti Veyron.

2008 Season Preview Team-By-Team

2008-02-27T21:30:00.006-05:00

Here's a short look at the upcoming season team-by-team, in the order I think they'll finish in the Manufacturer's Championship:

1) Ferrari: Ferrari had a productive off season, and has been very strong in testing. Gotta be the front runners for the Manufacturer's Title. After finally winning a World Championship, Kimi Raikkonen has to be considered the front runner for the 2008 championship. Massa is fast, but inconsistent, but he will bring home the points again.

2) McLaren: Back with two of F1's best young drivers, Ron Dennis has staked the future of the team on 2nd year phenom Lewis Hamilton. If he doesn't flame out, Ron may once again prove himself a genius. The McLaren's been consistently fast in testing, and has to be considered neck-and-neck with Ferrari. They also picked up Heikki Kovalainen from Renault, and he's been highly rated, but until the 2nd half of last season, had not really shone. He may give Hamilton a run or two, but expect him to play second fiddle.

3) BMW-Sauber: With veteran Nick Heidfeld and the brilliantly fast but inconsistent Robert Kubica, BMW looks to be the Best of The Rest this season. If they get some more aero tweaks, they may contend for some wins this season. They are consistely quick on all circuits, and have tested well. The key for them will be reliability. They have to be there in case the Ferraris or Mclarens fail.

4) Renault: With two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso returning after a disastrous season at McLaren, Renault's going to be in a rebuilding mode. Even Alonso concedes that podiums may be scarce this year. Don't count him out just yet. Fernando's a great sandbagger. He and Flavio may have a few tricks up their sleeves yet. They also have Nelson Piquet, Jr., in his inaugural season. Hopefully it will go better than the last rookie Fernando was partnered with...

5) Williams-Toyota: Frank Williams famously stared down Ron Dennis last season over Nico Rosberg, and Dennis blinked. Nico returns with rookie Kazuki Nakajima, who's shown some good testing form. Williams surprised everyone last season with their pace, and while they won't win any races, they may get a podium or two.

6) Honda: Jensen Button and Rubens Barrichello come back for another year of pain. With Ross Brawn at the helm, they will improve, but how much? This year's car was already designed when Brawn came on board, so the best he can hope for is improvement around the edges. I'm a big Honda fan going back to the 1,200 horsepower McLaren-Honda turbos, and their total collapse last year was painful. They can only get better, but the best they can hope for is a freak podium. Wins? Not so much.

7) Toyota: The Team That Couldn't Shoot Straight is back,with another $300 Million or so of Toyota's money to throw away. Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock will be making excuses in many languages for Toyota's failures. Don't read anything into their testing pace today in Barcelona; you can always get good times when you remove the ballast and fuel.

8) Red Bull: In what will probably be David Coulthard's last season in F1, he and Mark Webber will try to make consistent points. The Red Bulls are not bad cars, but they simply lack the resources to compete with the Big Boys.

9) Scuderia Toro Rosso: Red Bull's development team soldiers on with the Sebastien twins, Bourdais and Vettel. Bourdais comes off an unprecedented run of 4 straight CART championships, and is the latest CART refugee (and the last, sine CART folded this past week) to take on the F1 challenge. He has F1 testing experience, and I think Renault made a big mistake not taking him to replace Alonso last season. I think he has what it takes, but can he shine in the STR?

10) Force India: Oh, how far the Jordan Team has fallen. In 1999, Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished 3rd in the World Championship for Jordan. Since then, they've been Midland F1, Spyker, and now Force India. Giancarlo Fischella will be going through the motions, and Adrian Sutil will be trying to impress the big teams. It'll be hard to do.

11) Super Aguri: "Super Best Friends" are struggling to make the grid this year, facing a major financial crisis. Last season, they embarrassed the factory Hondas with hand-me-down 2006 Honda chassis, and that may explain why Honda has cut off their support. A team that consistently overachieves, they deserve better than this. If they can make it, Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson will be driving.

We're Back!

2008-02-27T21:28:00.003-05:00

Fresh from the offseason, Formula1Report is back just in time for the 2008 F1 World Championship!

We're rested, ready, and full of crap once again.

Alonso to Renault

2007-12-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

Fernando Alonso announced he's agreed to a deal for 2008 with Renault, to the surprise of... ABSOLUTELY NOBODY.

He'll be teamed with Nelson Piquet, Jr., son of former two-time World Champion Nelson Piquet (1983, 1988). Piquet leaves his testing role with Renault and moves up to the race team.

Interestingly, Alonso did not say where he'd be in 2008. Rumors have him already signed for Ferrari, but I discount that. Ferrari knows the value of a strong #1 driver, and with Kimi Raikkonen finally having won the World Championship that eluded him for the past three years, I doubt Ferrari is keen to upset the team by trying a McLaren a la Prost/Senna.

All this leaves Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen out in the cold. Kovalainen is high on the list for Alonso's vacant McLaren race seat, and Fisi is on the short list for.....nobody. Let's hope Fisi retires gracefully and goes back to Monaco to count his money. I always liked Fisi, but he never had the killer instinct needed to be World Champion. He never got the Ferrari ride he coveted, and when he had the chance (Renault 2005-2006), he couldn't deliver and was trounced by Fernando Alonso.

Piquet is the real deal. He can drive, and may be another Lewis Hamilton-style headache for Alonso. The difference is that Alonso's contract guarantees him #1 status. Of course, this counts for naught if Piquet is outperforming him on the track.

In related news, Ralf Schumacher has announced that he may retire, after being soundly whipped by Tonio Liuzzi in a test for Force India, the former Spyker team. The Billy Carter of Formula One, Ralf has failed to impress with Williams and Toyota. He really should leave before becoming even more of a punch line...

Renault Gets Off

2007-12-07T08:17:00.000-05:00

The FIA World Motorsports Council has decided NOT to penalize Renault for its possession of McLaren technical data. Actually, 3 CD-ROM's woth of data that was uploaded to their computer system.

The FIA found insufficient evidence that Renault had used or benefited from the McLaren data.

A spokesman said, "Well, Renault sucked this season, and that was evidence enough for us. Oh, and Flavio promised us a date with his wife. Besides, it isn't like they were stealing from Ferrari."

Ron Dennis was in the hospital with a wound to his head, described as the result of bashing it against a wall multiple times.

Sorry, but this is ridiculous. McLaren gets fined $100MM, and Renault gets NOTHING? Word was that Renault had threatened to withdraw from F1 if they were fined like McLaren; maybe the FIA blinked.

I'm no fan of McLaren, but the disparate penalties reek of favoritism.

Look for Alonso to sign with Renault in the next week, now that the threat of sanctions has been lifted. Kovalainen may be headed for McLaren.

Schumacher Comes Back - To Test. For Now,

2007-11-23T16:47:00.002-05:00

Michael Schumacher got back into a Ferrari race car for the first time last week at Jerez, and immediately went .5 seconds faster than Felipe Massa in the same car, and faster than anyone in the test.

This is why he's the 7-time World Champion.

One day, we'll all tell our grandkids that yes,we saw Michael Schumacher race. And he WAS that good.

Don't forget to tell tham that even though he only won 7 World Championships, it could have easily been 9 or 10, had he had some luck in 1997, 1998, and 2006.

SpyGate II

2007-11-23T16:32:00.000-05:00

McLaren has produced documents that show one of its ex-engineers downloaded 33 files containing over 780 technical drawings to Renault's computer system. If true, Renault's protestations that this is much ado about nothing will be proven a bit of an....understatement.

This also casts doubt about where Fernando Alonso will go in 2008. He's been coy about his next seat, but it appears that he's going to bide his time and see where this goes.

If McLaren's penalty for possessing Ferrari's data is any indication, Renault may be excluded from the 2008 championship. If so, Alonso may need to find a seat elsewhere.

Red Bull? Not yet, as they still use customer engines.

Honda? Ummm, with the disaster that befell the team this season, Alonso would be crazy to take a flyer with them. He'd also have to face Jensen Button, a driver who would show him no mercy. Alonso is defuintiely faster that Jensen, but he doesn't want another situation like 2007.

No other teams have open seats, at least none that are publicly acknowledged.

It's been widely reported that Alonso has a signed deal with Ferrari for 2009, but I would discount those rumors. I don't see Maranello putting themselves in McLaren's position by having both Alonso AND Raikkonen, especially since Raikkonen is the new World Champion.

Unfortunately, Alonso's only logical move is Renault, even with SpyGate II hanging over their head.

Prediction: Alonso goes to Renault, AND Renault gets excluded from the 2008 championship. Kavalainen goes to Mclaren.

Todt Kicked Upstairs at Ferrari

2007-11-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

With the breakdown in negotiations with Ross Brawn, Ferrari has moved quickly to reorganize the team.

Jean Todt has been promoted to a management position. He had been under fire from Luca De Motezemolo for the team's poor start to 2007, and although Kimi Raikkonen secured the World Championship in the final race in Brazil, it was mostly because Lewis Hamilton made some rookie mistakes coming down to the wire that handed the cup to Kimi.

Another issue that erupted during the year was the breakdown of the Ferrari wind tunnel, which cost them 3 weeks of development mid-season, when McLaren was beating them regularly. It was believed that poor maintenance was the cause, and De Montezemolo blamed Todt for the failure.

Todt is being replaced with Stefano Domenicali, who was Todt's second in command and Sporting Director for the team. He is very respected, and has been looking to move up in the team.

Todt has been unavailable for comment, which is never a good sign. Look to him to tow the company line for a few months, then retire after the New Year.

Also up in the air is the future of Felipe Massa, who recently re-upped with Ferrari for 3 more years. He is managed by Todt's son, and some speculate that Todt did a deal with Massa without De Motezemolo's knowledge; leading to the break. Ferrari may yet deal Massa to Toyota, as they were not happy with his lack of consistency this season.

Brawn In at Honda

2007-11-12T08:36:00.000-05:00

When he failed to come to an agreement with Ferrari, Ross Brawn wasted no time in accepting the Team Principal job at Honda. It's been widely known that Honda, Toyota, and Ferrari all wanted Brawn's services, but Ferrari failed to close the deal.

Brawn, who came to Ferrari from Bennetton with Michael Schumacher in 1996, was a central figure in the Italian team's resurgence, leading to an unprecedented 5 straight World Driver's and Constructor's championships with Schumacher.

When MS retired at the end of 2006, Brawn took a sabbatical to recharge his batteries. He had been tipped to replace Jean Todt, who's been running the Ferrari team since 1993, but the deal never happened.

Brawn is a technical and organizational giant, credited with bringing discipline to the notoriously unorganized Ferrari squad, and quelling the infighting that marked the 80's and early 90's at Fiorano.

The 2007 Honda was a complete disaster, and their 2008 car is largely finished already, so Brawn will have his work cut out for him. I imagine he will concentrate on reorganizing the team and then start on the car. Button and Barrichello are both ready to leave, but are under contract for 2008. I had thought Barrichello was going to retire, but with his old mate coming in to run the team, Rubens may stick it out one more year.

So What Do We Do Now?

2007-11-05T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hey, it's a new blog, and so you may be wondering that we do for the off-season.

So am I.

We'll keep up with the happening i F1, and there's lots of Silly Season stuff yet to happen. There will also be preseason testing, new teams (Force India, ProDrive, etc.), and other things to report on.

I'll also throw in a few non-F1 things that interest me. Music, the auto business, whatever I feel like blogging about.

I promise I'll try to keep away form political blogging, even though politics is one of my passions. Frankly, it's too polarizing to blog politics; you immediately alienate half your audience. No to mention those who don't care about politics.

Williams Drops The Hammer

2007-11-05T20:45:00.000-05:00

Williams announced that Nico Rosberg (Son of 1982 F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg), widely considered the front runner for the McLaren seat vacated by Fernando Alonso , is under contract to Williams for 2008, and his services are not for sale at any price.

Of course, in F1-speak, this could mean one of two things:

Ron Dennis hasn't offered enough money to buy out Rosberg's contract, or

Frank Williams has Rosberg under contract on the cheap, and Frank LOVES cheap.

Let's face it, Williams and McLaren have a rivalry that goes WAY back, and there's certainly no love lost between Ron Dennis and Frank Williams.

Over the past 5 years, though, the teams have been on very different trajectories.

McLaren has ridden a wave of Mercedes-Benz money and engine development technology to the top of Formula One. They've secured the services of the best drivers in F1, including Lewis Hamilton, arguably the best young driver in a decade (maybe ever).

Meanwhile, Williams has gone the other way, in a big way. Their partnership with BMW was a disaster, and when that broke up, Williams was left without a factory engine deal, which is critical to any success in today's Formula One. They spent a year with Cosworth engines, then moved on to Toyota.

Toyota's engines are highly regarded, but they're not free. This is a financial drain on the team, and Williams has struggled to keep pace with the mega-budgets of McLaren, Ferrari, Honda, and Toyota. As they've fallen off the pace, they've also struggled with sponsorships. History and a famous name only gets you so far, and Williams is trying to stay at the sharp end of the grid and avoid the fate of so many other privateer teams.

So, when Rosberg's name was floated as a replacement for Alonso, Williams again found themselves in the catbird seat. Believe me, Frank loves jerking Ron's chain.

So what will it be? I predicted Rosberg for the McLaren seat. If McLaren wants Nico bad enough, they can afford to make Williams an offer they can't refuse. The money Mercedes can throw at the issue is substantial, and Williams needs the money badly if they want to stay competitive.

And if Williams refuses, they've got a pissed off driver on their hands who will bolt as soon as his contract allows. Rosberg knows that driver only has a few chances to move up the grid, and the opportunity to drive for a team with a real chance to win the World Championship may only come once, if at all. F1 history is replete with great drivers who never had the chance to drive competitive cars (Jean Alesi, anyone?), and so Nico knows he NEEDS this chance; it may never come again. He wants this drive.

On the other side of the argument, Frank Williams was stated categorically that he will never sell Rosberg's contract, even to go as far as saying that he's sell the team if he sold Rosberg. According to WIlliams, Rosberg is the key to their resurgence.

The other name being bandied about for the McLaren seat is Heikki Kovalainen. It makes sense for McLaren and Renault to work a deal to swap drivers, but McLaren doesn't want to be seen as taking Flavio Briatore's rejects. Even though Kovalainen has drastically raised his game this season, he remains a second-choice driver for McLaren. However, he's still ahead of Adrian Sutil, the Spyker #1. While Sutil has shown great promise, he hasn't driven for a front row team as has Kovalainen.

So, I have to retract my prediction that Rosberg will go to McLaren. It's going to be Kovalainen and Alonso in a a switch between McLaren and Renault, with Rosberg left at the altar.

Alonso's Out - Captain Obvious Is Unavailable For Coment

2007-11-03T22:40:00.000-04:00

As expected by EVERYONE ON THE FREAKING PLANET, Fernando Alonso and McLaren have agreed to part ways, effective immediately.

It became obvious that Fernando was on the way out when he threatened to blow the whistle on McLaren over the SpyGate e-mails during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying fiasco. He and Ron Denns haven't spoken since, and Alonso had been effectively shut out of the team for the past 4 races.

He's been offered his old ride at Renault, and I expect that's where he'll go. He's been offered rides at Honda and Toyota, but he would be crazy to join either team. Honda has effectively ended Jensen Button's career, and Toyota, despite the largest budget in F1, has not accomplished anything but burning through roughly $1BLN.

Ferrari: Nope. Raikkonen is the new World Champion, and he would hardly want to compete with Alonso. And Massa's just re-upped through 2010.

BMW: Nope. They have some pretty deep talent in Robert Kubica, and some good drivers in development. Could happen, but I doubt it.

Williams: They cold do a swap, since Nico Rosberg is widely thought to have the inside track on Alonso's McLaren seat, but Frank would never spend the money on Alonso. Heck, he may not HAVE that much money anymore.

There are no other teams he would even consider, even if they can afford him.

Nope. Fisi's out, and Kovalainen and Alonso are in. It's all over but the shouting. And a large chunk of Carlos Ghosn's money.

McLaren Pisses Up A Rope

2007-11-03T22:33:00.000-04:00

McLaren has announced that they would challenge the results f the Brazilian Grand Prix after it was learned that the BMW and Williams cars may have had fuel that was too cold, implying a performance advantage.

The FIA tested fuel samples form both teams and found them to be outside the allowable deviation from ambient temperature. However, there's some question as to what the actual ambient temperature was and where it is measured.

Sadly, McLaren is pursuing this. If they succeed and the FIA exclude BMW and Williams from the race, Hamilton moves up three places and would become World Champion.

Not a freaking chance, Ron.

If this happens, I'll never watch F1 again.

McLaren, hot on the heels of embarrassing the entire racing world with the SpyGate scandal and resulting $100MM fine, is now looking to finish the job of destroying Formula One with this idiotic gesture.

Take your lumps like a man and shut the f**k up, Ron.

Jayzas, could this get any more stupid?

Raikkonen Rules the Roost

2007-11-03T22:09:00.000-04:00

Kimi Raikkonen won the Brazilian Grand Prix, and with it, the 2007 WorldDriver's Championship> In a stunning turn of events, Raikkonen came through from third on the grid to beat his teammate Felipe Massa (who engineered his final pit stop so Kimi could win), and Fernando Alonso, driving what is likely to be his final race for McLaren.

And where was Lewis Hamilton, who came to Sao Paolo leading the championship? He finished a lowly 7th after first going off trying to hold off Alonso's charge through at the start, and then he suffered an electronic problem with his transmission that left him limping around hunting for gears. He drove an impressive race to come back through the field, but it was for naught. He finished 1 point adrift of Raikkonen, and tied at 109 with Alonso. Hamilton takes 2nd by virtue of having won more races than Fernando.

Remember, all Hamilton had to do was finish 4th, and no matter what anyone else did, he'd become the first rookie World Champion in he modern age of F1

It was a day that Raikkonen and his fans have long awaited. He's been considered the fastest driver in F1 for the past 3 seasons, but hasn't had a ride that could go the distance. He was robbed of a likely title in 2005, when the McLaren was easily the fastest car on the grid, but the Mercedes engines had a nasty habit of grenading within sight of the finish. Not so this year, as he overcame some uncharacteristic fragility in his Ferrari to win the Championship.

As for the race, Nico Rosberg finished 4th for Williams in what had to be seen as a chance to impress Ron Dennis in case Fernando Alonso leaves, as we all expect he will. Nico was followed by Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld in the resurgent BMW-Saubers. They have come on strong this season, and must be seen a a force for 2008.

As for the rest, Honda's whole season could be summed up by the fact that Super Best Friends again beat the factory Hondas in what has been a disastrous season. In fact, "disaster" almost seems too kind. For Honda, one of the most storied names in F1, this season has been a complete, utter, and total failure. There is not one good thing to be said about it.

So Kimi Raikkonen is World Champion 2007, and the whole of the British Empire lies in ruins as Hamilton has failed to win a Championship that was all but guaranteed.

Kimi Comes Through

2007-10-07T14:36:00.000-04:00

Kimi Raikkonen kept his title hopes alive with a strong victory in China today. Kimi came through when Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes cut a tie while leading, and Hamilton beached the car in a gravel trap on Lap 31. Like Japan last week, the race started in the wet, but the promised heavy showers never came, and the racers finished on dry tires.

Fernando Alonso held off a challenge by Fleipe Massa's Ferrari to claim second. Sebastien Vettel shocked everyone with a 4th place finish for Toro Rosso. Jensen Button showed again he's stronger than the Honda chassis with a 5th place, followed by Tonio Liuzzi in the other Toro Rosso. To say this was a great day for STR would be an understatement. Vettel and the team were going nuts when he crossed the finish line. Good for 'em!

Rounding out the points-paying positions were Nick Heidfeld's BMW and David Couthard in the Red Bull.

Trackside gossip centered on why McLaren kept Hamilton out on worn tires; he had not changed tires on his pit stop, and they were visibly worn when he stopped. By risking a tire failure, McLaren took too great a chance. had they changed tires and Hamilton finished in 4th place, he would have 111 points, and would have eliminated Raikkonen.

More troubling for Raikkonen, Massa failed to get past Alonso and gave Fernando an additional 2 points, which could be the deciding difference for the two-time defending champion.

Hamilton's retirement today was his first of the season. It couldn't have come at a worse time, as he gave Alonso and Raikkonen a chance to pull out the Championship in Brazil. Hamilton leads Alonso by 4 points, and Raikkonen by 7 points.

To win, Alonso must win and have Hamilton finish no better than 4th; for Raikknen to win, he must win the race and have Hamilton finish no better than 5th, and Alonso no better than 4th.

The racer of the day? Vettel, without a doubt. He ran strong all day in changing conditions, and took maximum advantage of his Ferrari power to come through the field and finish 4th, the best result for Toro Rosso ever, and looking back to the Minardi days, their best finish since 1983.

It's still Hamilton's championship to lose, but as we saw in China, anything can happen. We go to Brazil with three drivers in the hunt. It looks to be an exciting race.

Non-F1 Rant

2007-10-05T14:05:00.000-04:00

OK, I sat by when Toyota used The Damned's "What Do I Get".

I remained silent when AT&T used The Ramones' "Blitkrieg Bop".

I even let Jag get by with using The Clash's "London Calling". (They were selling Jags. Why an apocalyptic song about London after a nuclear war is appropriate to sell Jags, I'll never know.)

But now Nissan is using The Clash's cover of the Toots Hibbert classic "Pressure Drop" to sell the new Rogue CUV.

All the cool songs of my youth are being co-opted as marketing jingles.

If they start using The Replacements, somebody's getting hurt.

Silly Season V1.0

2007-10-03T08:39:00.000-04:00

Here is my first prediction of the 2008 grid:

Ferrari:
Kimi Raikkonen
Felipe Massa

McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton
Nico Rosberg

Renault:
Heikki Kovalainen
Fernando Alonso

BMW:
Robert Kubica
Anthony Davison?

Honda:
Jensen Button
Rubens Barrichello

Toyota:
Adrian Sutil
Jarno Trulli

Red Bull:
David Coulthard
Mark Webber

Toro Rosso:
Sebastien Vettel
Sebastien Bourdais

Super Aguri:
Anthony Davidson?
Takuma Sato

Spyker:
Whoever pays them