Alonso Returns Home To Renault

Double world champion Fernando Alonso announced his return to the French manufacturers Renault for the 2008 season according to the driver's personal website and an official press release from Renault.

Following months of speculation involving a variety of possible seats, team boss Flavio Briatore confirmed today that the former double champ will drive for the ING sponsored team next to former test driver Brazilian Nelsinho Piquet Jr. The later last raced in the GP2 championship against McLaren star Lewis Hamilton where he just lost out to the British driver.

The Spanaird, Alonso, won back to back world championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006. His experience with the team is vast and Briatore has promised Alonso clear number one status within the team.

Alonso's resigning comes just days after the verdict by the World Motor Sports Council who found Renault guilty of violating International Sporting Code 151(c) but handed out no punishment. The French team was found to be in possesion of detailed plans of the McLaren car, however, the council had no evidence that Renault gained any advantage.

Earlier in the season McLaren lost all constructor's points and were fined $100 million in a similar case. Had Renault faced the same fines it is likely that the French squad could not have swallowed the enormous financial penalty.

The announcement spells uncertainty for Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella who are left without race drives in 2008. Fisichella has tested with back runners Force India F1 and awaits a decision by team owner Vijay Mallya. In 2007 Fisichella was bested regularly by rookie Kovalainen who gave the team consistent points scoring finishes. Kovalainen is linked to possible drives at Toyota and McLaren but now faces an uncertain future in F1.

Heidfeld Quickest On Day 1

The final test of the season is packed with different opportunities and emotions as drivers headed out strapped in tightly for the a final taste of '07.

German Nick Heidfeld drove his BMW fastest in testing at Jerez today after his first taste of slick tires. Bridgestone provided slicks to all the teams for use at this final test. The Japanese rubber manufacture is collecting data in preparation for the proposed switch back to slicks in 2009. Currently the teams all use groved Bridgestone Potenzas and will continue through at least next season.

Behind Heidfeld, who set his time on slicks, was Honda star Jenson Button. The Briton, also on slicks, put his Honda ahead of both McLarens and both Ferraris. He enjoyed the outing as testing day of pure fun.

Day one was also a tryout day of sorts for the newly titled Force India F1 team. Adrian Sutil has been retained from the 2007 season but the seat next to him will host tryouts all week. Today saw Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, an expereinced veteran, push the back marker team to 14th overall. Other vets Ralf Schumacher, Vitantonio Liuzi and Frank Montagny all will have a drive this week in an attempt to save their careers as F1 racing drivers.

Throughout the week many youngsters will have their first tast of Formula 1 equipment. GP2 series champ Timo Glock began testing for his new team Toyota today and will continue this week, though he has had experience as a tester from last season. A1GP champion Nico Hulkenberg gets a test for Williams. Mike Conway, Javier Villa, Andres Zuber, and Marko Asmer will all be on hand this week for various tests for different teams all in hopes of securing a test driver roll or the sights of an F1 team.

A Retired Guy Goes Fastest In Testing

Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher returned to the seat of a Ferrari F1 car for the first proper session since his retirement following the 2006 season.

Schumacher made his return and quickly established that a one year absence has done little to stiffle his talent as a world class driver. He set the fastest time of the day in the F2007.

The German served to test the new regulations which ban traction control and debut a new electronic control system. When Schu began his career the cars featured fewer electronic gizmos to aid drivers on track.

Schumacher has no plans to return to F1 in any capacity beyond this test.

Barcelona hosts the teams this week and many new faces got behind the wheel. Toro Rosso welcomed Sebastian Bourdais, fresh off of a fourth Champ Car title.

GP2 drivers Zuber, Chandhok, and Rodriguez put their stamp on the field but failed to compete with the front runners on the time sheet.

Former Ferrari Joins Honda As Boss

Ten year Ferrari veteran Ross Brawn takes on the role of team principal for the Honda F1 racing team.

The Britain took a one year sabbatical from the Italian team that coincided with the departure of 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher at the end of the 2006 season.

Ross Brawn will take over the role alongside CEO Nick Fry beginning November 26th. Many speculated that Brawn would return to Ferrari as team principal to replace Jean Todt who is now president of the entire FIAT coportation - the parent company of Ferrari.

The announcement today was immediately followed by the announcement of the promotion of Stefano Domenicali to replace Todt beginning in 2008.

Following a terrible season by the Honda team, Nick Fry is beefing up the technical team in hopes to recuperate for 2008 and Brawn is an important figure to help draw more technical staff.

Could this be the final keystone in securing a drive by two time world champion Fernando Alonso in the future? Alonso has yet to sign with any team following the closure of a rocky relationship with McLaren after just one season and the fate of many drivers rests on Alonso's decision for next year.

Williams Announce 2008 Driver Line Up

In a move to quash rumors about the future of Nico Rosberg Williams announced today their driver line-up for 2008. Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima are paired for next season at the Toyota powered team.

Nakajima joins is promoted from team test driver. After a successful season in GP2 he hopes to follow in his father's footsteps as a Japanese F1 star.

The announcement means one option for the future of Fernando Alonso is sussed.

A Glimpse At the '08 Driver Market

At the end of last week the split between two time world champion Fernando Alonso and legendary British performance race team McLaren came to an early conclusion. News is thus far limited as to where Alonso is heading next season and that spells an uncertain future for many of the other drivers in the field.

Here's a list of the confirmed drivers and a list of the possible driver/team matchups for 2008:

Confirmed:
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen
Felipe Massa

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton
???

BMW
Nick Heidfeld
Robert Kubica

Renault
???
???

Williams
Nico Rosberg
???

Red Bull
David Coulthard
Mark Webber

Toyota
Jarno Trulli
???

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Vettle
Sebastian Bourdais

Honda
Jenson Button
Rubens Barichello

Super Aguri
Takuma Sato
Anthony Davidson

Spyker - Force India F1
Adrian Sutil
???

Potential Drivers/Teams:

Renault is the biggest wonderment in the field. With Fernando Alonso's availability now...available, the French team are one of the front runners. Rookie Heikki Kovalainen is contracted for 08 but not guaranteed to race. Veteran Giancarlo Fisichella's job for 08 is up in the air after being outraced by Kovalainen for the majority of the season. Test driver Nelson Piquet hopes to capatilize on Fisichella's closure with the team.

McLaren have a seat to be filled after parting ways with Alonso. Team boss Ron Dennis made it clear that he is in no rush to fill that seat and will the make the proper decision in due time. Front runners appear to be Heikki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg and even Adrian Sutil.

Williams have a seat to fill next to Nico Rosberg. Though Rosberg is favored for a McLaren ride, the Grove based outfit insist that he is contracted for '08 and not for sale. Next to Rosberg, test driver Kazuki Nakajima may have a chance. Other rumored drivers are Vitantonio Liuzzi, Nelson Piquet Jr, Giancarlo Fisichella and even Fernando Alonso - though unlikely.

Following Ralf Schumacher's departure from the Toyota factory team a seat is available and likely to go to GP2 Champion Timo Glock pending contractual release from his duties as test driver for BMW Sauber.

Finally, Adrian Sutil is confirmed to driver at Spyker again in 2008. Force India F1 will be the new moniker for the team who was purchased recently by Indian billionaire, Vijay Mallya. Malya has close ties to Ralf Schumacher and potentially could save his friend from early retirement with a race seat. Roldan Rodriquez, no relation to Bender, has a contract with Team Force India F1 for '08 but the capacity of that contract is unknown.

Michael Schumacher To Test For Ferrari

Just weeks after taking the F2007 out at Fiorano to impress members of the Fiat board of directors, Ferrari have announced seven time world champion Michael Schumacher's return to the track for winter testing in Barcelona.

38 year old Schumacher retired following the end of the 2006 season and has kept a low profile since. From time to time Schu attended races in the '07 season as a technical advisor to Ferrari, but this stint marks the first time that he will return to the driver's role for testing next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Schumacher holds the distinction as the most succesful driver in F1 history with 91 wins, many coming from a time when electronic driver's aides were not as prevelant. For '08 on, traction control will be removed from the cars and Schumacher's skill in this situation should prove useful.

Kovalainen Completes ING NYC Marathon

Congratulations to Renault driver Heikki Kovalainen on his completion of the ING New York City Marathon.

The Finnish driver/runner finished the race in 3:36:56 which was good enough for 5370th place. Kovalainen's pace is testament to the necessity of fitness in modern F1 racing as he finished ahead of approx 34,000 other runners.

The NYC Marathon was sponsored this year by Kovalainen's team sponsor, ING.

Kovalainen's future in F1 is cloudy for the 2008 season as several drivers await the news of where former double world champion Fernando Alonso will race in '08.

The Finn outpaced his older and more experienced teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, this season and looks set for a race drive somewhere in the field as a desired young talent.

Breaking News: McLaren, Alonso Part Company

Fernando Alonso is a free agent in the Formula 1 talent pool following an amicable split from McLaren Mercedes. Ron Dennis, team boss at McLaren, promised a decision between the two parties within a couple weeks of the end of the season and has delivered.

Alonso leaves the squad after fulfilling just one of three years on his contract.

It had been speculated that the Spanish driver would only be allowed to nullify his three year contract if he were to join a privateer team but that appears to be false.

Alonso is free to join which ever team he wishes and the rest of the driver market is hinged on his decision.

The likely options on the table for the Spaniard are seats at Renault, Williams, Toyota, and even Red Bull.

One possibilty that shouldn't be overlooked is a drive at Honda F1. Rumors are swirling that the lack of determination from Rubens Barichello may land him a demotion to Jr Honda team Super Aguri.

Honda utilize a humungous budget and despite a horrid 2007 campaign could use said budget to turn things around in '08.

Let the Post Season Begin

Less than a week into the post season and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen is champion... for now. A stunning start in Brazil combined with ill timed malfunctions in his title competitor's car and Raikkonen smiled like the Formula 1 world had never seen.

In fitting form the season ends with a question mark following another legal appeal to change the outcome of events. Banned British team McLaren Mercedes has voiced their desire to appeal on a fuel temperature issue.

Meanwhile, the forces that be in the FIA, World Motorsports Council and Manufacturers have agreed that F1 will freeze all engine development in the years to come.

20 weeks until Melbourne.

Find out the latest in the latest edition of the Rampage Racing Report

Raikkonen Takes Victory and Surpise Title in Brazil

Kimi Raikkonen is the best driver in the world. Fact.

Raikkonen took the world driver's title by surprise after heading into the final round of the season with a seven point deficit behind rookie Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton's hopes all but dissolved after an electrical glitch crippled his car dropping him to 18th position. The McLaren driver managed to claw back to seventh place but it wasn't enough to stop Raikkonen's charge to his first ever title. Raikkonen's teammate and home crowd favorite Felipe Massa made it another Ferrari 1-2 finish.

Spanish double world champion Fernando Alonso who came into the weekend just 4 points back of the title did not challenge the Ferraris after the third lap and ended the season behind Raikkonen and Hamilton in 3rd place.

This may have been the fianl race for Alonso at McLaren at the close of this tumultuous season.

Brazilian Fans Erupt In Joy For Massa

As Lewis Hamilton crossed the line just a tenth of a second off of Felipe Massa's pole qualifying time the Brazilian fans joyously roared their support for their fellow Brazilian.

Massa, now out of championship contention, has only the pride of his nation to race for on Sunday. By contrast Hamilton races to become the first ever rookie world champion in Formula 1 history.

Starting from third is Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen who enters into the race seven points behind Hamilton. Raikkonen got held up in qualifying behind Hamilton as the rookie left the pitlane and wasn't sufficiently clear of Raikkonen who flew by on his hot lap.

Final contender for the championship is Fernando Alonso who could not get his car further than fourth in qualifying and will start the race from the dirty side of the second row.

Australian Marc Webber put his Reb Bull team on the third row ahead of both BMW's.

1. F. Massa - Ferrari
2. L. Hamilton - McLaren
3. K. Raikkonen - Ferrari
4. F. Alonso - McLaren
5. M. Webber - Red Bull Racing
6. N. Heidfeld - BWM
7. R. Kubica - BMW
8. J. Trulli - Toyota

Hamilton Off The Hook

Lewis Hamilton escaped grid and time penalties this evening in Brazil.

The British driver violated sporting code during Friday Practice 1 by using to many wet weather tires during a damp morning session.

McLaren quickly took responsibility for the mix up and Hamilton escaped punishment while his team must now pay a 15,000 euro fine for the error.

The English team was not the only offender. Jenson Button and Takuma Sato both violated the code and similarily both teams received the concurrent fines.

The Ultimate Round of the Season

The 2007 Formula One World Drivers Championship concludes this long year by treating its fans to a three way show down for the title this weekend in Brazil.

This round determines which driver has earned the right to call himself the best in the world.

Lewis Hamilton landed in Brazil with a seven point lead over teammate and reigning double world champion Fernando Alonso. Fierce intra-team battle awaits the McLaren duo with the pressure on Alonso to defend his titles against the rookie sensation with just 3 points separating the two.

Kimi Raikkonen on the other hand rides the victory momentum of China in a sport where momentum is the name of the game.

The Final Race.

 RRR 26 - Click here to listen...

Raikkonen Wins On Hamilton Error

A beet red Kimi Raikkonen took his fifth win of the 2007 season for Ferrari at the Shanghai International Circuit after a costly pitlane error by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton shot into the wet pit lane carrying too much speed for a badly damaged rear tire to handle, cut the turn-in and parked the car in the gravel pit-side. The rookie had a 12 point lead over teammate Fernando Alonso; 17 over Raikkonen.

Raikkonen's win brings him within seven points of Hamilton while Alonso closes the gap to four with his second place finish.

Felipe Massa filled out the rest of the podium in third place.

Scuderia Toro Rosso triumphed as 20 year-old Sebastien Vettel brought the team its best finish ever with a fourth place drive. Teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi slotted in at 6 making it another first for the team; first time both cars finished in the points.

The mild rain did its job as equalizer with great finishes for normally slow teams. STR did a great job. Honda brought Jenson Button home with his best finish of the season in fifth.

The most interesting part of the race was witnessing rookie Lewis Hamilton make a driver error. The McLaren driver over-used his tires exposing the inner bands and hit the pit lane too quickly.

Hamilton's impatience gifted Alonso and Raikkonen the chance to do battle for the championship in the final round at Brazil.

Fittingly, the title fight has ended in Brazil in the previous two seasons and will do so again in 2007.

1. K. Raikkonen
2. F. Alonso
3. F. Massa
4. S. Vettel
5. J. Button
6. V. Liuzzi
7. N. Heidfeld
8. D. Coulthard

6th Pole Of The Season

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton added another pole position to his resume in Shanghai.

The Britain narrowly edged out the two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

Teammate Fernando Alonso made his 12 point battle even more difficult by failing to out qualify Hamilton. Alonso needs to score at least two points more than Hamilton this weekend to keep his title hopes alive.

Qualifying took place in dry conditions but the forecast calls for a 90% chance of rain in the afternoon. Teams like Renault and Williams appeared to be good in the corners but slow in a straight line. Results like those suggest the teams are set up with rain in mind and could be kick if it pours like it did in Japan!

1. L. Hamilton
2. K. Raikkonen
3. F. Massa
4. F. Alonso
5. D. Coulthard
6. R. Schumacher
7. M Webber
8. N. Heidfeld
9. R. Kubica
10. J. Button

Hamilton Cleared Of Any Wrong Doing

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton has been cleared of any fault in the crash of Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel last weekend in Japan.

Questions were raised on Friday when a YouTube.com video of the incident was discovered online and submitted to the FIA.

Hamilton aims to focus on qualifying and wrap up the title this weekend.

The Evidence Against Hamilton

He definately slowed excessively, but is it punishable?

Operation Egg Roll Is A Go

Imagine trying to get a good night of sleep when you know that the $450 million investment of the entire team is in the air.

Lewis Hamilton awaits the decision by the stewards at the Chinese Grand Prix about his involvement in a collision in the rain last week.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen looks too far back to be a contender for the title - a 5th place finish for Hamilton takes care of the Finn.

If Hamilton wins the Chinese GP he becomes the youngest world champion in the 57 year history of Formula 1. Oh, and watch out for imminent dragon attacks!

Listen to the podcast - always free!

Hamilton Under Steward's Review

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is currently under investigation for unsafe driving at last weekend's rain soaked Japanese GP.

The McLaren rookie led the field behind the safety car for 18+ laps as the rain poured down on the circuit. Throughout the duration of following the safety car, Hamilton repeatedly drove eratically by trailing the pace car too closely and then compensation by rapidly slowing down drawing criticism from other drivers.

Following a heavy crash by Fernando Alonos on lap 42, Hamilton again led the field behind the safety car. In terrible visibility conditions the cars behind suffered though the downpour.

On lap 46, still following the safety car, Hamilton pulled to the right and slowed down to a crawl. This rapid maneuver caught 2nd place Mark Webber by surprise. The Austrailian promptly braked to avoid overtaking Hamilton.

The accordian effect of the front runners dramatically slowing caught youngster Sebastien Vettel off gaurd and he promptly crashed into the back of Webber ending the race for both drivers.

Vettel had been penalized for the avoidable contact incident with a 10 grid spot penalty for the following round.

Until today no one had any coverage of the events leading up to the crash as the internation feed had not captured the incident. A Japanese fan in the stands captured the slow speed event on tape and it has since been submitted to the steward's who are deliberating on weather or not Hamilton needs to be the one punished for the events that took place. More to come as it breaks.

Ralf To Leave Toyota

Ralf Schumacher announced his departure from the Panasonic Toyota F1 team following the conclusion of the 2007 season. The German declared his intentions via his personal website today.

Schumacher spent the last three seasons in an uphill battle of development at the Japanese team after leaving Williams in 2005.

Speculation of Toyota's plans to renew Schumacher's contract have swirled all season and his departure means the team have narrowed the field of likely candidates.

Rumors link several drivers to the open seat including recently crowned GP2 champion Timo Glock and rookie Spyker youngster Adrian Sutil.

Ralf will announce his plans for 2008 following the final race of the season at Interlagos, Brazil.

Hamilton's 1st Title Within Reach

Rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton continued his trek to the championship with another impressive win.

Round 15 at the Fuji circuit was one of the wettest on record - just the 4th ever to be started behind the safety car.

For nearly 20 laps Hamilton showed supreme skill by following behind the Mercedes CLK 63 AMG safety car and boy was it... boring. Once the pack was finally allowed out on its own the race was kept under control by Hamilton who led his teammate by 2 points in the standings.

When teammate Alonso violently crashed his McLaren into a lovely white wall Hamilton was gifted the luxury of a guarunteed lead no matter what his result.

The rain allows for strange things to happen including a wonderful performance by rookie Renault talent Heikki Kovalainen who took his first F1 podium position with a stunning second place.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen made it two Finnish drivers on the podium for the first time in the sports' history. His podium finish keeps him in third place for the championship but a distant 17 points behind Hamilton.

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Heikki Kovalainen
3. Kimi Raikkonen
4. David Coulthard
5. Giancarlo Fisichella
6. Felipe Massa
7. Robert Kubica
8. Vitantonio Liuzzi *

*Liuzzi was found to have passed another car under yellow and penalized 25 seconds on his final time. The penalty bumped Spyker's Adrian Sutil to 8th gifting both team and driver with their first ever points scored. Scuderia Toro Rosso plan to appeal the decision.

Hamilton Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is - Gross!

Saturday qualifying for the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix began in a haze - literally. Rain and fog descended upon the Fuji circuit strong enough to cancel Saturday free practice. Initially, the pit lane light shone red and the cars stayed dry and toasty under the cover of the paddock.

A short wait and the drivers were released to begin Q1. The rain became merely a drizzle and as the cars zipped around the dense fog shod in Intermediate weather tires. The fog began to clear, a dry line began to form, and the lap times began dropping.

By the beginning of Q3 the cars qued up at the end of pit lane in typical fashion to begin the repetitive procession of fuel burning laps. The often exciting build up to pole position lacked its regular enthusiasm. The drivers had less need to change the intermediate tires which are better suited to long term runs without the usual degradation suffered by the full dry weather rubber.

As the last man on track, McLaren rookie Lewis Hamilton pipped his teammate for pole and will start at the front for tomorrow's race.

During the unilateral interviews that follow qualifying, the mood of the three drivers varied vastly when questioned about the session.

Lewis Hamilton displayed a smug confidence that seemed to boast his aggressive pre-race comments directed at his teammate and main title rival, Fernando Alonso.

Seated next to Hamilton, Alonso's closed body language suggested a defeated attitude after being unable to best his younger nemesis. Alonso's focus appeared shaken and his eyes tired.

Third place qualifier Kimi Raikkonen put his Ferrari on the second row and remained indifferent about the entire affair - perhaps even indifferent about the entire event in remarkable Raikkonen style.

Weather is likely to play a large role in the outcome of tomorrow's race and anything can happen in a race to the end of the season. Just three races to go!

Fuji Cancelled after 1977 Race

Formula 1 returns to Fuji this year after a 30 year absence.

Following a deadly crash by Gilles Villenueve the Japanese GP at Fuji was cancelled. It wasn't until 10 years later F1 returned to Japan - this time at the Suzuka Circuit.

This video is pretty graphic.

Don't Anger the Volcano

Just two weeks after McLaren and Ferrari traded 1 - 2 finishes the F1 world heads to the big island of Japan - Honshu - to the newly remodled Fuji Circuit.

Round 15 is the first of the 3 final fly-away rounds of the 2007 Formula 1 season. McLaren's rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton leads double reigning world champion Fernando Alonso by just two points and they're headed to a track that neither driver has ever driven.

The tension is palpable at the foot of Mt Fuji this weekend.

The Empty Seat Saga

Rumors continue to swell throughout the media about the fate of Fernando Alonso at the end of his first season at McLaren.

Alonso, just 2 points back in the points from teammate Lewis Hamilton, has been linked with a number of race seats next year outside of McLaren after just one season with the British team.

Leading theories involve Alonso's return to his former team of 6 years, Renault, or possibly a switch to sit beside Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari. The Ferrari move certainly spells bad news for current driver Felipe Massa. Following the Belgian GP where Massa was spotted hanging around the Toyota camp speculation began growing of the likelyhood of Alonso joining the Italian team and Massa getting bumped.

The point that everyone seems to be overlooking is what will become of the vacant seat at McLaren?

Does McLaren put test driver Pedro De La Rosa in for a season before singing new talent?

It would be unlikely for anyone to be brought up from a lack-luster GP2 season. McLaren could field a veteran and wait until the market for 2009 opens up with names like Kubica, Heidfeld and Sutil are all on the table. Regardless of their decision we must first wait to see what becomes of Alonso.

Cool Spa Video

Listen to how the drivers work the corners differently. Taken from the 07 Belgian GP:


Nice camera work, Dabeuss

Sweet!

Thanks for wasting my typing time, McLaren

Contrary to previous reports, the Mercedes powered McLaren F1 team will not be headed to appeal court in Paris on Wednesday.

The team have opted to skip the appeal of the punishment handed down following the qualifying debaucle at the Hungarian GP.

McLaren's constructors' point were stripped in the judgement by the stewards just weeks before the English team was penalized by the World Motor Sports Council for it's spying actions against Ferrari.

The later penalty finds McLaren dis-allowed from scoring constructor points for the remainder of 2007 in addition to a staggering $100 million fine.

Indian Food For Everyone in 2010

The contract has yet to be signed, but India is well on its way to hosting a GP by 2010.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) must secure a $30 million deposit, build a circuit, and find room on the calendar to move the GP along.

Last week Vijay Mallya announced his plans to invest in saving the Spyker F1 team to become part owner. His announcement immediately sparked commercial interest from other Indian business moguls.

Modern track designer Herman Tilke recently visited the city of Dehli and began viewing sites for the track which have been narrowed down to two potential locations.

The Indian GP, which could be on the schedule for an amazing 9 season long deal, looks likely to be held near the opening of the season in the first travel races of the year. The organizers and promoter have at least until the end of September to finalize the deal.

McLaren Back To Court

Following exclusion from the 2007 Constructors' Championship and a shocking $100 million fine, McLaren management return to Paris to settle an appeal stemming from round 12 in Hungary.

The stewards at the Hungaroring stripped McLaren of any points following a bizarre intrateam battle shaped up in the final qualifying session.

McLaren rookie Lewis Hamilton refused to concede his track position to teammate and reigning world champion Fernando Alonso as the two cars left the pits to begin Q3 - the final shoot-out for pole position.

Following Hamilton's failure to cooperate, Alonso struck back. With limited time left in the session the drivers headed to pit lane for a new set of tires and a final run at pole.

Alonso stopped first. Following an unusually long wait for the purpose of sending Alonso onto a track free of traffic the man set to cue the Spanish driver lifted his lollipop pit sign and watched as Alonso - remained still for an additional 10 seconds. The extra 10 seconds effectively squashed Hamilton's chances of putting in a final fast lap.

These actions at the beginning and end of the session led the stewards at the track to believe that McLaren team management had influenced the outcome of qualifying.

McLaren now face the task of proving the track officials wrong in Parisian court.

The twist:
Following the conclusion of the season long spy scandal, McLaren will score no constructors' points and thus the battle this week in court seems futile.

The key is that McLaren can still appeal the decision over the spying and thus the 15 points they lost in Hungary could still prove valuable in besting current leaders, Ferrari.

CEO of Ferrari Jean Todt isn't resting until the window for appeal is closed at which time the Ferrari team can let out a sigh of relief and relish a 15th crown.

Breaking: McLaren Stripped Of All Constructor Points

Word has just broken that championship leaders McLaren have been stripped of all their constructor points for the 2007 season and handed a $100 million fine for their actions in the "spygate" affair according to bbc.com.

Though the woking based team have lost their constructor points, neither driver will be penalized and will still battle for the 2007 World Driver Championship.

The whole affair stems from a 780 page technical dossier of Ferrari technical drawings and data was found in the possesion of senior McLaren designer Mike Coughlan.

Initially the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) ruled that although McLaren were guilty of breaking sporting code article 151 by possesing the document that no proof of McLaren gaining an advantage had been presented.

Unsatisfied with the outcome, Ferrari were granted the opportunity to gather proof and make an appeal which they secured before the Italian GP. Upon their findings, an emergency meeting of the WMSC was called for this morning.

Full discloser of the events of today's meeting have yet to be announced.

The Return of Spa

Ferrari have no time to pout about the whooping they took in front of home fans by the hand of McLaren last Sunday.

The entire F1 paddock scrambled to disassemble motorhomes and pack away their equipment in order to make the trek across Europe to Belgium. Numerous trucks in multiple caravans arrive at Spa-Francorchamps prepared to unpack that equipment and reassemble those same motorhomes just days after departing from Italy for the return of the Belgian GP.

Ferrari look to improve their form after failing to bring both cars home in the Italian GP. Felipe Massa's car had rear suspension problems that forced him to retire just laps into the race.

Massa's teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, took the bottom step on the podium. In Saturday practice, Raikkonen had a major crash that left the Finn brusied and suffering from neck pain for qualifying and the race.

McLaren had an apparently flawless weekend that brought the team valuable constructors points for finishing 1st and 2nd and Alonso reeled in points leader and teammate Lewis Hamilton narrowing the margin to just 3 points with four races remaining.

Cram It!

The season is closing out with just five more rounds remaining. The battle heads to Monza, Italy for round 13 - the Italian GP.

Chris has the full scoop on the race and we talk about the musical chair game that is the driver's market for 2008.

Schmacher, Fisichella, and Wurz all have the pressure on to prove why they deserve a seat for 08 while some of the younger drivers shoot to move up on the F1 totem pole.

 Click here...

McLaren Fined Chump Change

Word came down from the stewads in Monza today that the McLaren team has been fined $50,000(USD) following a breach in the sporting regulations article 16.

The article requires teams that make a significant change to the crash structure of a contesting car to pass the strict safety crash tests in order to be legal for racing.

McLaren introduced a new ultra light weight gear box for the Hungarian GP without first testing for safety with the FIA. Following the Hungarian race, McLaren took care of the tests and were found to be within the set limits for safety and thus were not penalized further than monetarily.

$50,000 seems like a fortune, but for a team that spends upward of $200 million per season... jerks!

Spyker Update

Despite driving the slowest car in the field, Spyker F1's Adrian Sutil looks set to have a secure future for at least one more year. Spyker announced that it hopes to retain the young German for 2008, but it swings on the availability of other rides on pitlane and his own commitment to the Spyker team.

Sutil still has time to wait for potential rides forward in the field. Williams have yet to corfirm the status of Alexander Wurz who has under-performed his much younger teammate, Nico Rosberg. Japenese financial powerhouse Toyota have a seat in question. 32 year old Ralf Shumacher hopes to keep his job after an up and down season and questionable mega-salary. If Ralf gets a ride in '08 expect it to come at a big paycut.

A Cow Friendly GP?

Modern F1 circuit designer German Tilke journeyed this week to India in an attempt to lock down the location for an Indian GP. The site will likely be held outside of the capital city New Dehli.

Indian wealth mogul Vijay Mallya joined forces with Michiel Mol this week in an attempt to save/buy out the Spyker F1 team. With an Indian team in mind, Mallya expects a supporting GP to be appropriate.

An Indian F1 team also spells potential good news for Nahrain Karthakeyan who spent one season driving for Jordan and is now test driver at Williams F1. Karthakeyan holds the honor of being the first Indian to compete in Formula 1.

Spyker B-Spec Ready For Monza

Spyker F1 have debuted their heavily updated version of their 2007 car last week in testing at Monza. The team brought the car to last round's Turkish GP but failed an important rear crash safety test and were forced to revert back to their standard 2007 challenger.

Spyker were happy to pass the saftey test after installing improved parts and got to put valuable time into shaking down the car ahead of the Italian GP also held at the Monza circuit.

The B-spec car is a major update spear headed by the work of chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne who joined the Dutch team following the completion of the car that has thus far contested the 2007 season.

To Monza They Go

McLaren rookie Lewis Hamilton took to the Italian track on the first day of testing and was able to set the fastest time of the day. Monza is the track where Hamilton secured his GP2 championship last season before joining the silver arrows of McLaren.

Hamilton just edged out Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and BMW's Nick Heidfeld in a slightly short session that ended in afternoon rain showers.

The teams intend to pick back up tomorrow for more running barring potential day long storms. This year the F1 has introduced much tighter limits to testing and if rain is in the forecast the teams may choose to stay an additional day so as not to waste test time on wet weather runs.

Preceding this weeks test and following race, Monza track officials resonded to long time driver requests to replace the gravel run off areas at the second chicane with ashphalt runoff zones.

The Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) pleded for changes to accomodate safety concerns associated with chance of lift off in the gravel areas. Monza is the fastest circuit of the season and with the guard rails so close to the track great attention to safety detail must be taken.

Efforts of the such help to ensure comfort among the drivers whilst traveling so quickly and with minimal aerodynamic downforce.

Massa Does it Again!

History repeated itself this weekend as Ferrari's Felipe Massa took his second consecutive win in Turkey leading from pole to checkered flag.

Bad luck struck rookie championship leader Lewis Hamilton blew a tire just before his second pitstop dropping him from 3rd to 5th. The tire incident benefited Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso who now is just 5 points out of the lead with 5 races remaining in the season.

Massa usurps 3rd place from his teammate Kimi Raikkonen by one point but still lies 15 points back. Raikkonen brought home his second consecutive P2 finish in another boring race for the Finn.

Points scorers:
1. Massa
2. Raikkonen
3. Alonso
4. Heidfeld
5. Hamilton
6. Kovalainen
7. Rosberg
8. Kubica

The Only GP That Is Good With Gravy

Following an extended 3 week summer vacation - or Holiday as everyone else in the world calls it - Formula 1 returns to Asia for round 12 of the 2007 World Championship: The Turkish Grand Prix.

Last race the two McLaren drivers left the track not on speaking terms. Over the break the younger of the two took a load off on his boss's yatch and enjoyed spending time with said boss's 18 year old daughter!

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso spent time with his family and partied up by... growing a beard... The two McLaren drivers are 1 - 2 in the point standings and the racing should be brutal for the remainder of the season.

That and some Heidfeld guy got a new contract...

 Click here to listen!

Kubica's 2008 Contract Finalized

BMW Sauber team boss Dr Mario Theissen revealed to the press this week that both of his current drivers will return for the 2008 season.

Though the public has been kept in the dark, Theissen revealed today that Kubica's contract had been inked immdediately following his horrific crash at the Canadian GP in June.

The team offered Kubica the contract as a means to boost his confidence and erase self doubt following the high speed accident he suffered.

BMW have proven strong this season and have a firm grasp on 3rd place in the Constructors Championship leading reigning double world champions Renault.

Heidfeld Stays With BMW for 2008

The BMW Sauber team have revealed that furry faced Nick Heidfeld will continue with the team in 2008. The 30 year old German will race next to youngster Robert Kubica for the teams' third season of F1.

Heidfeld's contract held an option for the 2008 season that the team decided to honor after his 42 point campaign and multiple top five finishes.

Kubica, 22, gained praise from team boss Mario Theissen as a rough diamond that needs to be polished (not Polished). With the proper training and a quality car Kubica can easily become a race winner and that's the type of support that a young race driver needs after just one complete year in F1.

BMW hope to step up development of their 2008 car to rival the top teams for race victories.

Get off the pot!

After 11 rounds of the 2007 Formula 1 season, front runners McLaren and Ferrari are battling to the end with non-stop development hoping to get every tenth of a second from their cars.

BMW have a firm grip on 3rd place in the constructors standings. For everyone else the time has come to decide on the proper course of action for the remainder of the season.

Some teams may continue to develop their cars for a final push at the end. Toyota have slowly improved this season and hope to build upon their 12 points. More points equals more sponsor and television money for 2008.

Other teams will likely decide to conclude further major improvements of their challengers for 07 and begin to focus solely upon their 2008 machinery.

Renault have disclosed their intentions to shift their focus to next year.

One must start to assume that Honda, though not yet openly, have ditched their plans for improving the dismal 2007 car and begun work on recalibrating their wind tunnel for work on the 2008 machine.

Lookout for Spyker F1 this week as they debut their b-spec car in an attempt to close the gap to the back of the pack.

NASCAR Bound Scott Speed?

Recent speculation has linked American Scott Speed with a ride for 2008 back in the USA.

Speed was released by F1's Scuderia Toro Rosso after round 10 at the Nurburgring. The American severed ties with F1 but kept his relationship with Austrian energy drink company Red Bull in good standings.

One thing to keep in mind is that Speed will likely find work in the States but it doesn't limit him to open wheel racing.

Red Bull are the sponsors of the Toyota factory NASCAR team and the wheels may already be turning for his move to a cowboy hat!

Bourdais to Toro Rosso - Harmful?

At the end of last week Champcar World Series triple champion Sebastien Bourdais announced his venture into Formula 1 with Red Bull sponsored Scuderia Toro Rosso. Bourdais is the second driver to be named for 2008 next to 20 year old Sebastian Vettel.

This announcement means two Toro Rosso vets are out next season - Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed. Both drivers have responded to the situation with a surprising sense of relief and seem almost more relaxed knowing their respective fates. The vibe of both drivers seems to reflect that the team is functioning in chaos with weak leadership from team bosses Franz Tost and Gerhard Berger.

The question is now how will the relationship with newcomers Vettel and Bourdais and the team carry on?

Bourdais has little to prove to himself by heading to F1 but does have a family to care for and thus is not solely self motivated. Vettel may have more on the line in the switch from test driver at BMW to full time racer with Toro Rosso. If he doesn't prove himself with this back of the pack team his options could become more limited in the future.

Will the apparent disorder at Toro Rosso be enough to unnerve either driver and perhaps diminish the wonderful opportunities to race in the most elite form of motosport? Other drivers have joined smaller teams and made the world for themselves - Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso are all names that immediately come to mind with teams like Jordan, Sauber, Minardi and more.

The weight falls on Toro Rosso to get their act together and learn to manage a team that now sits on a wealth (literally) of talent that can produce results and help brand Toro Rosso as a mid pack contender - or at the least a viable stepping stone to larger teams.

Scott Speed Back In America?

Following his early departure from the Scuderia Toro Rosso mid season, American Scott Speed is searching out his options for the 2008 race season.

Speed openly hit out at Toro Rosso team bosses Tost and Berger before being let go from the team prior to the Hungarian GP.

According to his website, the American is headed back to... America! He still has the blessings of Red Bull, main sponsor of Toro Rosso, despite the rocky split and the Austrian energy drink company has encouraged Speed to head back to America for a potential seat in 2008.

No mention yet has been made of which series he may join, but in 2004 he tested for the Red Bull Cheever Racing IRL team.

Bourdais signs with Toro Rosso

Champ Car World Series reigning triple champion Sebastien Bourdais inked a drive with Toro Rosso for 2008. The move to F1 comes as little surprise after several successful tests with Italian, Red Bull backed squad.

The 28 year old from Le Mans, France, will be paired with 20 year old Sebastian Vettel in '08.

The news means that now both drivers who started the 2007 season for Toro Rosso will not return for a third season.

American Scott Speed was removed from the team after the European GP at the Nurburgring and replaced by Vettel for the rest of the season while Vitantonio Liuzzi will finish off the season for the Italian team.

Hungarian GP Review - Rampage Racing Report 20

Holy crap the drama is thick following round 11 of the 2007 Formula 1 season in Hungary. Lewis Hamilton scored his 3rd win of the season and increased his lead to 7 points over his teammate Fernando Alonso. The team are furious with both drivers after the disobedience displayed by both in qualifying.

 Click here to listen...

Bourdais to F1

Rumor has it that Champ Car World Series Champion Sebastien Bourdais will sign for his first drive in F1 on Wednesday. The Frenchman is currently tying loose ends with his current team Newman/Haas and is ready to finalize the deal.

Bourdais currently leads the Champ Car standings and is poised to take his 4th championship.

Alonso's future unsure...

Reigning double world champion Fernando Alonso appears to be considering a change for next season away from Mercedes McLaren. Alonso is two thirds into his first season with the British team but has yet to gel with the personnel.

The Spaniard, Alonso, has hinted to the fact that he expected more support in joining the team as a double world champion.

Alonso's teammate Lewis Hamilton joined F1 this season after years of sponsorship by McLaren in lower divisions and has thus far shined brighter than any rookie to date. The relationship McLaren and Hamilton share has helped the new comer adjust to the team quicker than Alonso.

If Alonso wishes to leave McLaren and not fullfill his 3 year contract where will he go? Rumors have circulated that Renault is interested in the reuniting with their former star but team boss Flavio Briatore has denied any such rumors.

After years of grinding their gears, could Alonso go to Ferrari in a deal that would see one of the Italian team's drivers getting sacked? Unlikely. Honda can't beat a Spyker. Toyota have the money but usually lack the car. Red Bull have the geriatrics department in full piloting their cars next season.

The German BMW squad have yet to confirm their line up for next season with Heidfeld waiting on a decision about his option year left on his contract for 2008 - a swap of Heidfeld for Alonso perhaps?

The key to retaining Alonso at McLaren next season is his winning a third consecutive driver's title. Short of that, Alonso's growing unhappiness could be hard to contain for McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

Hamilton Increases His Lead

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton led the Hungarian GP start to finish adding another win to his already amazing 11 race resume. The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen tailed behind Hamliton after a great start from third on the grid.

Raikkonen snuck around Heidfeld, who started from 2nd on the dirty side of the track, and kept his position for the remainder of the race.

Raikkonen and teammate Felipe Massa are now effectively out of the running for the world championship and the battle will likely focus on Hamilton and his double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton extended his lead over Alonso to 7 points following Alonso's 4th place finish. Expect the British press to erupt over the drama between Spain's Alonso and England's Hamilton in the coming summer break.

A final note, the Honda drivers were slower than the Spyker F1! Spyker have been the slowest team on the grid all season until now as the Honda FACTORY team are slower.

1. Hamilton - McLaren
2. Raikkone - Ferrari
3. Heidfeld - BMW
4. Alonso - McLaren
5. Kubica - BMW
6. Schumacher - Toyota
7. Rosberg - Williams
8. Kovalainen - Renault

Alonso and McLaren Penalized

Eight hours following qualifying for the Hungarian GP, the McLaren Mercedes F1 team have been punished for the actions of Fernando Alonso during Qualifying Session 3.

Alonso held up teammate Lewis Hamilton in the pits for more than 10 seconds leaving Hamilton with not enough time to complete a final qualifying lap. McLaren tried to explain that Alonso was held on purpose after Hamilton had disobeyed team orders.

The FIA didn't like the sound of team orders and have stripped McLaren from scoring any championship points in this weekend's event.

Additionally, Alonso is to be penalized 5 grid positions for the start of tomorrow's event. Hamilton and Heidfeld have the front row at tomorrows start.

Alonso does his best Schumacher impression!

Fernando Alonso secured another start from pole today at the Hungaroring but controversy is looming...

In the final tire change of the third qualifying session, Alonso came in for his stop just in front of teammate Lewis Hamilton. When the team released Alonso the driver paused an extra several seconds holding up Hamilton.

The hold up was just long enough to ensure that Hamilton would not be able to put in a final qualifying lap. Alonso's move gained him pole position and was very Schumacher-esque - though - Michael Schumacher always impeded drivers from other teams not his own teammate.

Qualifying Top 8:
1. Fernando Alonso - McLaren
2. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
3. Nick Heidfeld - BMW
4. Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
5. Nico Rosberg - Williams
6. Ralf Schumacher - Toyota
7. Robert Kubica - BMW
8. Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault

Minus rain or mechanical failure, the results should be close to these tomorrow as Hungary is an extremely difficult track to overtake another driver.

I'm from Hungary and you have to hear about it!

F1 teams head to Hungary for round 11 and the championship has been narrowed to just 2 points between McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso with the later hungry for a third consecutive world championship.

American Scott Speed got sacked at Scuderia Toro Rosso this week and is being replaced by 20 year old Sebastian Vettel. Vettel drove in place of the injured Robert Kubica of BMW earlier this season at the USGP and scored his first championship point all just before his 20th birthday.

 click here to listen to our podcast...

Speed gets the boot!

American F1 racer Scott Speed has been removed at Scuderia Toro Rosso for the remainder of the season.

After a violent confrontation with team boss Franz Tost in Germany the American Speed declared that no ammount of money could keep him racing at Toro Rosso.

It appears he was correct! Word just came down that Speed is to be replaced by BMW test driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany for the remainder of the 2007 season and as a full time race driver for 2008.

Where the crap have i been?

From autosport:

2008 Season
16 March Australia
23 March Malaysia
6 April Bahrain
27 April Spain
11 May Turkey
25 May Monaco
8 June Canada *
22 June France
6 July Great Britain
20 July Germany
3 August Hungary
24 August** Europe ***
7 September Italy
14 September Belgium
28 September** Singapore
12 October China
19 October Japan
2 November Brazil

* Provisional.
** Subject to circuit approval.
*** The 2008 European Grand Prix will take place in Valencia.

Winkelhock Confirmed at Spyker!

Spyker will run Markus Winkelhock to replace Christijan Albers who was fired last week following the British GP Round. Albers was let go from the team after a failure of payment by one of his title sponsors.

Winkelhock's drive makes him the 5th German driver racicng at the German GP this weekend: Heidfeld, Schumacher, Rosberg, Sutil, and Winkelhock.

 More German GP info...

European GP and MotoGP USA on the same weekend!?!?

Though we're in California for the MotoGP round in the US, we've had the chance to get you ready for Round 10 of the F1 season.

 Check out the report here...

test

British GP Review - Rampage Racing Report 17

After a long weekend in France the teams packed up and rushed off to Great Britain for round 9 of the championship at Silverstone Circuit. Last weekend Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari proved he had better come to terms with the Ferrari and quickly passed Lewis Hamilton off of the starting line. Raikkonen later passed Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso for P1 and took home his second win of the season.

This week the teams have to get right back at it and apply what they learned by testing at the English track two weeks ago. Expect a full house as rookie Lewis Hamilton races at home for the first time in an F1 car!

Check out the full report below:

 Click here to listen...

Klien to test for Spyker today!

Honda F1 have agreed to release test driver Christian Klien to the dutch Spyker team for testing this week in Belgium. The F1 teams are preparing for the round at Spa-Franchorchamps - round 14, September 16.

Earlier this week Spyker driver Christijan Albers was sacked by the team and a replacement driver is being sought. Klien and India's Narain Karthikeyan are the likely front runners for the race seat.

Spyker have given no indication of when they will make their decision.

Albers gets the boot at Spyker F1!

Christijan Albers and Spyker F1 have formally split leaving a seat open at the back of the pack Dutch Formula 1 team. Spyker made the move to fire Albers after failure of payment by one of Albers' sponsors.

The vacancy at Spyker is effective immediately with two drivers being linked to the seat: Christian Klien and Narain Karthikeyan. Both candidates have driven in full time race seats in the past and are both currently test drivers in this year's field.

Karthikeyan drove for Jordan in 2005 for then team Boss Colin Kolles who is the current team boss at Spyker. The decision may not be made in time for the German round of the F1 calendar on July 22nd in which case Spyker test driver Markus Winkelhock may step in for his home race.

Raikkonen Number 1 Again!

Ferrari brought home the biggest of the trophies again this weekend in England at the British Grand Prix.

Kimi Raikkonen started 2nd and thanks to good strategy and diligence from the driver, Raikkonen brought home another 10 championship points making it two wins in two weekends. Teammate Felipe Massa suffered from mechanical problems on the starting grid and was forced to start from pit lane. Massa drove like he was being held over a fire and managed to shoot through the field to 5th and 4 points.

The English crowd cheered home McLaren British rookie Lewis Hamilton. The 22 year old started from pole but was lighter on fuel than both teammate Alonso and Raikkonen and ended on the podium with a third place finish.

Fernando Alonso brought home his McLaren in second after leading for the 2nd third of the race. Alonso short fueled on his second pit stop, meaning he took less fuel than planned, bringing him out in front of the Ferrari for the second stint of the race. That short fuel brought him in 6 laps earlier than Raikkonen and gave the Finn the time needed to regain first position and later the victory.

Raikkonen is now 18 points behind points leader Hamilton and just 6 behind 2nd place Alonso.

1. Raikkonen
2. Alonso
3. Hamilton
4. Kubica
5. Massa
6. Heidfeld
7. Kovalainen
8. Fisichella

Hamilton Fastest Qualifier!

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton scoring pole in his home race at the Silverstone Circuit in England! Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen starts next to Hamilton. Raikkonen made a mistake in the final turn costing him the crucial time to start from the front.

1. Hamilton
2. Raikkonen
3. Alonso
4. Massa
5. Kubica
6. R Schumacher
7. Kovalainen
8. Fisichella

A great qualifying performance by Ralf Schumacher who out performed his teammate for the first time this season sees Schumacher starting from the third row. Row four is all Renault as Kovalainen once again edged out teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.

Click here to listen...

Ferrari Fastest of Friday

More than just fun alliteration, the Maranello Ferrari squad appeared to have great speed at Silverstone Circuit. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton took best time honors for free practice 1, but the the Ferrari's didn't try out the faster, softer Bridgestone compound. Free practice 2 saw Kimi Raikkonen light up the time sheets as the fastest driver thus far putting up a 1:20.6 besting Hamilton's earlier time by .6 seconds.

Free practice 3 and Qualifying are tomorrow and the competition should be thick. England is the home race for 4 drivers on grid: David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson, and rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton of McLaren who hopes to fight for his third victory this season.

Finally, Congratulations to the Uncle David (Coulthard) who scored a contract extention with Red Bull Racing for 2008!

More info - click here to listen!

Raikkonen Wins in France!

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen led teammate Felipe Massa to a dominating Ferrari 1-2 finish at the French Grand Prix. It marked the final appearance of the Circuit de Nevers on the F1 calendar.

The race was also the first that rookie, and points leader, Lewis Hamilton finished lower in the field than where he started scoring 6 points in third place. Raikkonen finally had a clutch to his liking and made his best start of the season passing Hamilton off of the starting line.

Congrats to Jenson Button from Honda F1 on his first point of the season!

Results:
1. Raikkonen
2. Massa
3. Hamilton
4. Kubica
5. Heidfeld
6. Fisichella
7. Alonso
8. Button

Blazingly fast Massa scores Pole!

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa turned in the fastest time in final qualifying to capture his fourth pole of the season from Magny-Cours, France.

Rookie Lewis Hamilton managed to put his McLaren on the front row next to Massa. Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso will start from a distant 10th after being hit by gearbox problems.

Pole sitter Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen made costly mistakes in qualifying earning him 3rd on the grid. The Ferrari team appear to be bouncing back after 3 rough performances in a row.

Throw Out Your Deodorant - RRR 15The French GP!

This week the super tech cars of Formula 1 head to France for round 8 of the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship. McLaren and Ferrari are still neck and neck, but Briton Lewis Hamilton has a welcome 10 point advantage over his teammate Fernando Alonso. Kubica returns to the cockpit after the horrid accident he survived in Canada. 2007 will be the final year of F1 at this circuit and FIA promoter Bernie Eccelstone hopes to host a race in Paris in the future!

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Hey Vic Garcia - the king's read of lame and lame reminded me of you.

MotoGP - Elias breaks a leg - its only kinda gross

MotoGP - Assen - yeah it's called assen:

Gresini Honda rider Tony Elias had a bad spill in Holland today during first practice for the MOTOGP weekend. He's okay and is expected to miss 3 months of racing at the least.

Take that! For all you beer can hurling NASCAR fans!

Congratulations to Columbian Juan Pablo Montoya on his inaugural win in the Nextel Cup. Riding on vapors, he managed to stay ahead of Kevin Harvick to receive the checkered flag in Sonoma, CA at Infineon Raceway. Formula 1 has invaded NASCAR!

Rampage Racing Report has a new home!

Sweet!