Formula 1 "BMW to leave"

Lewis Hamilton dominated from the start in his McLaren to beat Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber and Nico Rosberg's Williams.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen threw away a chance to challenge Hamilton with a mistake while trying to pass the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen.
Kovalainen would have been second but for bad luck with the safety car.

Good start for Lewis..

Yes he did well , i was surprised t say the least how many cars flew of the track LOL, i don't know if it had anything to do with the lack of Traction Control this year.

Yes it sure has Digger the lack of traction control showed up for the "Older" drivers who were used to it, the younger drivers who have not ever used it had no real problems with the race

Brazilian Felipe Massa secured pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of world champion team mate Kimi Raikkonen on an all-Ferrari front row on Saturday.
Driving in hot and humid conditions under heavy cloud cover, Massa lapped 0.482 seconds quicker than the Finn with a pole time of 1:35.748.
The McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen and championship leader Lewis Hamilton filled the second row, ahead of Italy's Jarno Trulli for Toyota and Poland's Robert Kubica in a BMW Sauber.
Ferrari have been in imperious form all weekend after suffering a disappointing season-opener in Australia, where neither car finished the race, and their front row sweep is the team's first since last September's Belgian Grand Prix.
Massa, who also started from pole in last year's Malaysian Grand Prix but finished fifth, was delighted with the performance of his car.
"Our championship starts now because what happened in the last race was incredible," he told reporters.
"We did not expect that but we did a very good job during the week and hopefully we can put everything together now to have a quick and consistent championship."
The threat of rain hung over the qualifying session. Sunday's race, with drivers no longer having traction control to help them stay on the track, could prove a real challenge if there is a downpour.

Qualifying is on at 1.40 on ITV today.

Lewis Hamilton Wins Silverstone...

What a race ... He deserves the win

You beat me to it,GD. I was just about to say what a brilliant race it was. Good to see Barrichello back on the podium too.

Ross Brawn did a brilliant job with the Honda strategy. Losing him has really hurt Ferrari on difficult days like this.

The Formula One roller-coaster ride

Here is IDR's "roller-coaster" graphic to help us get in the mood for the next seven races. Who will it be? Lewis, erratic, supremely talented, unbeatable on his day? Kimi, the quiet assassin, the long game player? Felipe, the emotional virtuoso who can play sublimely but who can sometimes look almost like a beginner? Or Robert, the deadpan Pole with raw speed and courage but a car that ain't quick enough?

Foumula 1 1st Nightrace..

Lewis Hamilton believes he is in better shape for the Formula One world title showdown this year than he was in 2007.

The Englishman lost out in his debut season last year despite a healthy lead going into the final races.

"I'm definitely in a different mental state than last year," said Hamilton ahead of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix.

"Last year I was a bit tense and nervous in the last few races. This year I don't have any of that. I understand what I need to do."

Hamilton is one point ahead of title rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari with four races to go.

He would be seven points ahead had it not been for the penalty that deprived him of victory in the Belgian Grand Prix earlier this month.

McLaren failed to overturn that penalty, for gaining an advantage by going off the track while racing Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, at a hearing on Monday but Hamilton said he was not letting that prey on his mind.
Massa says Hamilton's Spa penalty would not devalue a title won by him

"All that is in the past," he said. "Now we're focusing on the next few races. I feel I've got to work hard but I don't feel any negatives about anything else."

Massa said he was not dwelling on the consequences of McLaren's failed appeal and rejected suggestions the penalty would devalue the title if he won it.

"If I win the championship by one point, I am the winner. It doesn't change anything," said the Brazilian.

"We don't need to think about that. We need to think about the championship, which is open.

"When you look at the rules, it was pretty clear the appeal was going to be difficult for them, but you never know until the result comes out.

"I think the result was pretty fair. I am not thinking about that, I am thinking about the race, which is much more important than all the political media pushing." We have the best car for both conditions so whether dry or wet, I'm not bothered

The new Singapore street circuit will host F1's first night race.

The drivers, who are trying to keep their bodyclocks on European time in Singapore because the race starts at 2000 local time, have been exploring the track on bikes, scooters and on foot since their arrival.

They get their first taste of it in practice on Friday and Hamilton believes Saturday's qualifying session could be crucial in deciding the outcome of the race on Sunday because of a lack of overtaking opportunities.

"Overtaking is going to be very tricky, as it is at all street circuits," said Hamilton.

"There'll be less overtaking than at the other circuits we have. It's going to come down to qualifying."

Hamilton promised to "attack" this weekend.
The Singapore track winds through the centre of the famous city

"I think we can approach these next races with the same confidence we did the last because we have got a great package, we have done a great job to prepare the car," he added.

"I've got great confidence in the car, the reliability is good. I just need to take the right steps over the weekend, but I really feel confident.

"These last four races are like starting from scratch. There's only one point in it and I've got to look at this race the same as I have over the last few races and really try and attack this weekend and get points."

The 3.15-mile track promises to be a test for the drivers with thunderstorms forecast for Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race day, making the unknown scenario of racing under floodlights in the wet a real possibility.

If it rains, Hamilton will be many people's favourite to win given his supreme skills in the wet, but the McLaren driver is hoping for dry weather.

"We are driving at 200mph with lights flashing in our eyes and we will have to see how we deal with that," he said.

"We always hope for a dry race because it is easier, easier to push the car to the limits. In the wet it is different.

"But the fact is we have the best car for both conditions so whether dry or wet, I'm not bothered." (BBC news)

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton shone in the opening practice session for
this weekend's historic night race by setting the fastest lap in Singapore
today. The McLaren driver, clocked a time of one minute 45.518 seconds under the
floodlights at the Marina Bay street circuit. Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who trails Hamilton in the driver standings by a
single point, finished 0.080secs behind the 23-year-old in second place. Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen clocked a time of 1:45.961 to take third
while McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen claimed fourth with a fastest lap of
1:46.463. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica completed the top five with a time of 1:46.618.
Williams driver Nico Rosberg recorded a time of 1:46.710 to take sixth place
while two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who had briefly topped the
timesheets, finished seventh in his Renault. Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber, Renault's Nelson Piquet and Honda driver Jenson Button completed the top 10.

Red Bull's David Coulthard, eager to finish his Formula One career on a high,
will be hoping for better after recording a time of 1:48.517 to finish 15th. All eyes had been eagerly anticipating exactly how the circuit would look under floodlights and, as expected, it did not disappoint with all sections
of the track brightly lit.
The rain and thunderstorms that had lashed Singapore in the morning failed to
materialise in the evening meaning only a small section of standing water
remained at Turn One as conditions were otherwise perfect.
Alonso, whose concerns regarding bumps at Turn 10 were allayed after the FIA
rectified the issue, was quick from the start and set the initial pace but
it did not take long for Hamilton to climb to the top of the standings. Raikkonen briefly usurped Hamilton but the Englishman soon regained his lead, and he stayed there for the remainder of the session.

Mark Webber of Red Bull saw his practice ended early when he ploughed into the
barrier at Turn 18 on only his fourth lap while Honda's Rubens Barrichello
also crashed out when he spun off the track at the final corner.



Looks like an interesting race .

Hope it goes well Digger (Come on Lewis !!)

Great Race... Good old Alonso...

Bloney Frog

Frog ??

Renault

Doh ........Blonde moment !! :)

BMW Sauber will stick with drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld for 2009, ruling out the possibility of Fernando Alonso joining the team.

BMW were among the teams courting the Spanish double world champion but announced on Monday they would retain their current line up.

It leaves Alonso with the choice of staying at Renault or accepting an offer from struggling Honda.

A BMW statement said Kubica and Heidfeld was a "strong driver pairing".

"We are in no doubt that we will again achieve our ambitious aims with them in the team's fourth year," BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen said.

Austrian Christian Klien will also stay on as the team's test and reserve driver.

BMW had been considered one of the front-runners in the race to sign Alonso, and their decision to retain Heidfeld and Kubica will be the subject of much discussion at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. 606: DEBATE
Alonso may as well stay at Renault as they're improving well, and we know he really wants to get into a red car eventually

Kubica, who took his maiden Grand Prix victory in Canada in June, is regarded as a star of the future but Heidfeld is not considered in the same bracket.

Alonso, who ended a season's disappointment at Renault with victory in the Singapore Grand Prix last month, has said he will announce a decision on his future at the end of the season.

Renault had a difficult start to the year, with Alonso struggling even to get the car into the top 10 in qualifying, but have made progress in the second half of the season and are in a battle with Toyota to secure fourth place in the constructors' championship.

Ferrari and McLaren are battling for top spot, with BMW secure in third place.

There are three races remaining, with China following a week after Japan and the season closer in Brazil on 2 November (from BBC News)

Formula One has been told it needs to implement drastic cost-cutting measures by 2010 if it is to remain "credible".
FIA president Max Mosley told BBC Sport that the global credit crisis had only exacerbated problems for F1 and several teams were now in danger of quitting.
"It has become apparent, long before the current difficulties, that Formula One was unsustainable," said Mosley.
"It really is a very serious situation. If we can't get this done for 2010, we will be in serious difficulty."
Mosley said there was a very real threat that some of the smaller independent teams would be forced to withdraw from the sport because of spiralling running costs.
"At the moment we've got 20 cars," said Mosley. "If we lost two teams, we'd have 16. (If we lost) three teams (we'd have) 14. It then would cease to be a credible grid."

The days when they could just toss out the 100, 200, 400m euros a year, which is what Formula One costs those big companies, I think they are finished Max Mosley

Mosley claimed the smaller teams needed vast sums of money just for the privilege of taking on the big manufacturers like Ferrari, McLaren and BMW.
Even then, he said, some of them were struggling to make an impression at the back of the grid.
"It depends at the moment on millionaires - billionaires, we don't have millionaires now - subsidising it, people like Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher (Force India) or Dietrich Mateschitz of Red Bull (Racing)," Mosley told BBC Sport's Adam Parsons in an exclusive interview in Paris.
"Without them, those teams wouldn't be there."
But Mosley warned that even the major players were beginning to feel the financial squeeze.
"The days when they could just toss out the 100, 200, 400m euros a year, which is what Formula One costs those big companies, I think they are finished," he said.
Mosley, 69, said one of the areas where costs could be reduced was the "drive train", or the moving components of the car.
"If you can believe this, the engine and gear box together for an independent team is upwards of 30m euros a year," he said.
"That could be done for probably 5% of that cost without the person in the grandstand noticing any difference at all.
"Even those big spenders, if they are given the opportunity to save 100 or 200m euros a year will do so."
Mosley warned: "We've got various means of making sure they don't spend that money, but it does mean some draconian changes."
The FIA has given Mosley the power to negotiate directly with the Formula One Teams Association over proposed measures to cut F1 team costs in half by 2010.

The Canadian Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar and replaced with the inaugural race in Abu Dhabi.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) issued a revised calendar with Turkey moving from August to 7 June to allow a summer break for the teams.
There will be no North American round after the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis was dropped this year.
The new 18-race season will begin on 29 March in Melbourne.

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps has moved forward from September to 30 August, the weekend after the European Grand Prix in Valencia.
The Italian Grand Prix has switched back a week to take Belgium's original 13 September date.
2009 calendar
29 March - Australia (Melbourne)
5 April - Malaysia (Sepang)
19 April - Bahrain
10 May - Spain (Barcelona)
24 May - Monaco
7 June - Turkey (Istanbul)
21 June - Britain (Silverstone)
28 June - France (Magny-Cours)
12 July - Germany
26 July - Hungary (Budapest)
23 August - Europe (Valencia)
30 August - Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
13 September - Italy (Monza)
27 September - Singapore
11 October - Japan
18 October - China
1 November - Brazil
15 November - Abu Dhabi

(BBC News)

Ferrari will revert to a traditional pit-stop strategy at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after their 'traffic-light' system caused problems in Singapore.
Ferrari's title contender Felipe Massa lost victory in the last race when he got a green light to exit the pits when his fuel hose was still attached.
The system usually works automatically but was on a manual setting.
"We need to stay calm so we've decided to go back to the old system," said team boss Stefano Domenicali.
The traditional system, used by all the other teams, involves a device known as a lollipop to tell the driver when to accelerate away from the pits.
A mechanic holds a pole with a circular sign on the end - giving it the shape of a lollipop - in front of the car while it is being worked on. He flips it over to show the word go and lifts it up when the stop for fuel and tyres is finished.
Ferrari have been using a light system, which uses red, amber and green lights, and which is programmed to go green as soon as the refuelling hose is detached from the car.

It may be a bit late in the day but Ferrari have finally realised that the 'traffic light' release system is not reliable

It can be switched to a manual operation if necessary - which Ferrari decided to do in Singapore because a large number of cars were pitting at the same time following a safety car.
They wanted to avoid the risk of a penalty for releasing Massa dangerously into the path of another car.
But the man operating the system pressed the go button too soon and Massa's car tore the refuelling pipe away from the rig and the Brazilian knocked over two mechanics as he pulled away.
The pipe trailed him all the way to the end of the pits, where he stopped and waited for it to be removed.
The incident relegated him to the back of the field and he finished out of the points in 13th place, while title rival Lewis Hamilton finished third in his McLaren.
The Englishman has a seven-point lead heading to Fuji this weekend, with a maximum of 30 still available in the remaining three races. (from BBC News)

I also heard today that Ferrari are now adopting the stop/go lollipop instead of trusting the computer for the next race. This comes after they drove out of the pits with the fuel rig still attached.




You beat me to it GD. LOL

Renault's Fernando Alonso took a superb victory in the Japanese Grand Prix as title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa collided in a dramatic race.
Hamilton made a poor start, ran off the road at the first corner and was tipped into a spin by Massa on lap two.
Both were given penalties for different incidents but Massa recovered to take seventh and cut Hamilton's lead to five points with two races left.
Hamilton, his car damaged by Massa, was 12th and out of the points.
Massa finished eighth on the road, but was promoted to seventh when Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais was penalised 25 seconds, demoting him to 12th, for a collision with the Brazilian on lap 51.
Hamilton is still in a strong position but the Englishman will have to cut out the mistakes that have characterised his season if he is not to lose the championship for the second year in a row.
"What can I say? it was a bad day, I'll move on to next week [in China]," said Hamilton.

I cannot believe it right now and back-to-back wins is a great feeling - it is completely amazing Fernando Alonso

"I went wide at turn one, it was a mistake, and then Felipe hit me off, I went on the inside and he broke left and hit me pretty hard."
Massa is not Hamilton's only title rival. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica is 12 points off the lead and cannot be ruled out.
"Twelve points behind the leader with two races to go - anything can happen," Kubica said.
Hamilton's problems began at the very start of the race as he got off the line slowly from pole position in his McLaren and then went too far in trying to make amends at the first corner.
He left his braking too late trying to prevent Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen taking the lead and, with smoke pouring from his locked tyres, took both of them off the track.
The move would earn Hamilton a penalty for forcing another car off the track, but it also demoted him to sixth place, right behind Massa.
The Englishman tried to pass the Ferrari into the Turn 10/11 chicane on the second lap and the two cars ended up colliding.


Massa left his braking too late trying to fend Hamilton off into the initial right-hand part of the corner.
That put him off line on the outside and, trying to retain the place, he dived over the kerbs through the left-handed part and tipped Hamilton into a spin as he rejoined the track.
Hamilton had to sit and wait for the entire field to pass before he could rejoin the race, and he immediately called into the pits for new tyres to replace the ones he had badly flat-spotted at the first corner.
Massa was given his own penalty for causing that collision, and, once they had taken their drive-through penalties, the two title rivals ended up at the back of the field - with Massa a few seconds ahead.

Massa was penalised for this - but still cut Hamilton's championship lead

The chaos among the drivers of the leading teams left Kubica in the lead but he lost it to Alonso when the Spaniard made his first pit stop a lap later than the Pole.
Alonso said he asked the team to get him out in front of Kubica but doing so meant he had four laps' less fuel than the BMW for the middle stint of the race.
The team lost no time in telling Alonso that he had to "sprint like hell" to win the race.
The double world champion did exactly that, pulling out a lead of more than 12 seconds in his 25-lap second stint.
That put him completely out of Kubica's reach, and the BMW driver was left to fend off Raikkonen.
It was one of the Spaniard's greatest races and secured him and Renault an unexpected second win in a row.
"We were second when we stopped for the first time and I wanted to exit the pits in front of Robert," Alonso said.
"So they had to put less fuel in. I had to open the gap and the car was perfect and I was able to.
"It's difficult to believe as the Singapore win was completely unexpected.
"We had special conditions there with the safety car but today we had nothing and we won again at a circuit which is not good for our [car's] characteristics.
"I cannot believe it right now and back-to-back wins is a great feeling. It is completely amazing."
Raikkonen drove a race that has become typical of him this season - he was anonymous until the final pit stops and then came alive.
The world champion rejoined from his final stop just behind Kubica but, although he pressured the BMW hard for the next few laps, the Pole was able to fend him off and eventually build a small cushion for the last few laps.
Nelson Piquet finished fourth for Renault, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli next, followed by the Toro Rossos of Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel and Massa.
Massa, the fastest man on the track in the closing stages of the race, lost ground in the incident with Bourdais but recovered to grab eighth on the road from Red Bull's Mark Webber on the penultimate lap.

Lewis Hamilton has been forced onto the defensive by the barrage of criticism levelled at him after his performance in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old Briton wasted the chance to extend his championship lead over title rival Felipe Massa at Fuji with another error-strewn race.
He still leads by five points with two races left but admitted: "When you're constantly scrutinised it is difficult.
"I'm only human, and every now and then people make mistakes."
On Sunday, Hamilton lost the lead from pole position on the first corner and then received a drive-through penalty after forcing Kimi Raikkonen off the track in an attempt to regain it.
His botched efforts paved the way for critics to launch renewed attacks on his ability and character, and question whether Hamilton is again starting to crack under the weight of pressure as the title race draws to a close, as many suggest he did last year.

If I could achieve just a small part of what he's achieved it would be a dream for me Lewis Hamilton on Ayrton Senna

Hamilton also raised eyebrows when he accused title rival Massa of deliberately colliding with him on the second lap in Japan and the young Englishman admitted: "It's not easy to always say or do the right thing.
"Recently, there have been lots of different quotes attributed to me.
"Sometimes I've said things that have either come out the wrong way or been taken out of context, so people get a different feeling of what I've said when I haven't expressed myself correctly.
"Communication is so important in life and some of the things I've said were not meant to harm anyone. I don't feel like I've hurt anyone, and my family makes sure that doesn't happen."
Such a comment recently attributed to Hamilton quoted him as saying he felt he was a better driver than his hero Ayrton Senna.

606: DEBATE Hamilton just cannot erase the impression that he is doing his best to lose the 2008 Formula One world championship Andrew Benson - BBC Sport

Issuing a categorical denial, Hamilton said: "I never said that and I definitely wouldn't say it about Ayrton because he's my favourite driver.
"I think he's the best driver there ever was and, to this day, I still don't believe anyone would beat him. If I could achieve just a small part of what he's achieved, it would be a dream for me."
And the Briton also believes the perception of some that he is arrogant is wrong, saying: "I would never say I was better than anyone else, but I am a Formula One driver and all of us have to believe in ourselves to get to where we are.
"You have to have that belief to go out and win, and that's what helps you strive for a better performance and to achieve more in your life.
"I look at the other drivers, I just think all these guys are the best and to be the best I have to beat them. That's how every racing driver sees things."
Hamilton can win the championship in China on Sunday if he scores six more points than Massa. (from BBC Sport)

Next year's French Formula One Grand Prix could be cancelled after the French Motorsports Federation (FFSA) said it would stop financing the event.
A statement from the FFSA said: "After examining the economic situation, the FFSA is to stop being the financial promoters of a F1 Grand Prix."
Unless a replacement promoter is found, the French Grand Prix will not feature on the FIA calendar.
The race is due to be held at Magny-Cours on 28 June 2009.
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone criticised the venue after this year's race but it was given a stay of execution despite speculation of a move to a track nearer to Paris.

Magny-Cours, in a predominantly rural area in the middle of France, has always struggled to provide the facilities expected of a modern F1 venue. (from BBC News)

Force India will retain the line-up of Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and Germany's Adrian Sutil next season.
With two races to go before the end of the Formula One season, the pair have yet to contribute a point but will get another opportunity next term.
"I'm happy with Adrian and Giancarlo and they will continue through 2009," said Force India owner Vijay Mallya.
Fisichella's best finish so far this season was 10th at the Spanish Grand Prix and Sutil's 13th in Belgium.
"I am really disappointed with this season and I think it is just time to finish this season and hopefully we will do a better one next one," said the highly-rated Sutil, 25.
"With Giancarlo I had a good team-mate. He was pushing me all the time and I really saw myself progressing and growing, so right now I am feeling very, very good."
Fisichella, 35, joined the Ferrari-powered team from Renault at the end of last season. He has won three races in 12 years in F1.
Mallya said he had been talking to Mercedes about the possibility of replacing Ferrari because he wants an engine, gearbox and Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in one package from his supplier for next year.
"That's our requirement and we can't do without any one component," he said.
"So negotiations continue and I'm hoping that we will be able to finalise something sooner rather than later because we need to finish this season, get on with testing and be prepared for a significantly improved performance by the team in 2009."