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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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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!

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.

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.

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!

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...

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!