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.

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.