[Dirtycheat]

good news for massa. Raikonen is doing shit, which in a way is good because it takes pressure of massa.


btw, mark, can you please use a font colour that isnt so bright so it works on both skins.

[Dirtycheat]

Massa has finally won again!

he seriously deserved to win the race before this one too but was so unlucky.

I think raikonen's days at ferrari are numbered. Bad performance in races and qualifications mixed with poor decision making in incidents like today's.

Kubica will replace him if not alonso.

If massa keeps these assured performances up then he will be here in the ferrari next season.

[Mark]

yes i surely hope, that if Kimi leaves Kubica to be bringed on as his replacement

as for today's race, GOOD ONE FELIPE, FORZA SCUDERIA!

[Mark]

Massa wins in Valencia

Brazilian takes fourth victory of season

Felipe Massa has won the European Grand Prix in Valencia ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica.

Starting from pole position, the Ferrari driver led from start to finish through the harbourfront streets of the Spanish city, which was hosting a grand prix for the first time.

With team-mate and World Champion Kimi Raikkonen retiring with engine failure on lap 46, the result also moves Massa up to second place in the Drivers' Championship, six points behind Hamilton.

The victory, Massa's fourth of the season, remained provisional for a time after his second pit stop almost brought a collision with Force India driver Adrian Sutil.

Sutil was forced to dart left and scrape the pit wall as both drivers accelerated away out of the pit lane.

Race control then announced that Massa's car was being investigated for 'unsafe release from a pit stop' by stewards.

And, although it was then announced that any punishment for Massa would be meted out after the race, he eventually escaped with a reprimand and a fine of €10,000.

Hamilton's McLaren Mercedes team-mate Heikki Kovalainen finished fourth, ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

Trulli's team-mate Timo Glock finished seventh, with Williams driver Nico Rosberg claiming the final Championship point.


Dominant


Massa gave a dominant display in the heat of the Mediterranean summer, three weeks after an engine failure cruelly cost him victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

But Ferrari's afternoon was nevertheless a chaotic one, with Massa's pit lane infraction being followed by another incident which befell Raikkonen.

Disputing fourth place with Kovalainen, the two Finns pitted in tandem for the second time on lap 44.

However, Raikkonen's eagerness to get away saw him depart with the fuel hose still intact and also drag a mechanic to the ground.

As the mechanic was stretchered away to hospital - having suffered a foot injury and back pains - Raikkonen fell to sixth place behind Trulli.

But his race was soon run - Raikkonen's Ferrari trailing a plume of smoke across the start-finish line much as Massa's had in Budapest.

After qualifying fourth around the 3.380-mile track, it has to be said that, before his retirement, Raikkonen had once again failed to shine.

Massa looks Ferrari's best bet of mounting a Championship challenge on current form, the opening stint alone seeing him build a lead over his team-mate roughly the equivalent of one pit stop.

But it was during the second stint that he really extended his lead over the second-placed Hamilton, with Massa setting successive fastest laps on laps 34, 35 and 36 as he went 10.2 seconds ahead of the lead McLaren.

The race had already lost its biggest draw when Fernando Alonso retired with rear wing and suspension damage after his Renault was hit from behind by Kazuki Nakajima's Williams on the opening lap.


Incident


And it wasn't until lap 37 and Massa's near-collision with Sutil that the processional affair that had developed produced any more genuine incident.

Elsewhere, Kovalainen passed Raikkonen off the line to take fourth, with the next change of track position in the top eight coming when Trulli leapt ahead of Vettel for sixth at the opening round of stops.

Given the newness of the track, teams also were feeling their way in terms of tactics and strategy.

Most drivers elected to make two stops but Glock was among the few to pit only once as he climbed from 13th on the grid to seventh at the chequered flag.

Despite his rather lonely race, Hamilton nevertheless sees his Championship lead increase by one point, with Massa now leading the pursuers.

Raikkonen drops to third place and now stands just two points ahead of Kubica.

In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren have closed the gap to 13 points on leaders Ferrari.

However, after another race for the Italian team not without its difficulties, they at least have the knowledge that they now head to a track - Spa-Francorchamps, venue for the Belgian Grand Prix in two weeks' time - on which they dominated 12 months ago.


Review Here!

EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX images - Sunday in Valencia | MORE HERE!


Valencia Grand Prix atmosphere | MORE HERE!

After 12 races the Drivers and Teams Standings are:


DRIVERS:







TEAMS:

[Mark]

Hamilton fears over boring F1

Lewis Hamilton has bemoaned the lack of overtaking in Formula One after a processional European GP in which he finished second.

Originally Posted by eurosport.yahoo.com

The World Championship leader expressed fears that the sport can be "boring," adding: "We do need to be able to follow closely and do more overtaking.

"Look at the last race in Valencia - there was no overtaking at all - so it can be a bit dull. I definitely support the move to try and make F1 more exciting."

Hamilton's comments came after news of design changes to F1 cars intended to aid slipstreaming. Smaller wings will be introduced for the 2009 season, as well as alterations to the rear diffuser.

These changes have been shown to reduce the effect of 'dirty air', which disturbs the aerodynamics of cars following others around corners.

Hamilton said: "You couldn't get close to other cars [at Valencia], which is the same at a lot of the circuits we have.

"I think we put on a great show, but you saw there wasn't any overtaking. I don't know what the answer to that is, but I do know I was working my ass off in the race and doing the best job I could."

Hamilton is not the first driver to discuss the difficulty of slipstreaming this season. Last week, Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel told the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport: "You cannot get closer than about one second behind."

A perceived decline in overtaking has long been a complaint of F1 fans who remember the thrilling races of the 1960s.

Reasons cited for the reduction in wheel-to-wheel action include aerodynamic changes and the removal of overtaking-friendly circuits, such as Paul Ricard and Kyalami.

"The new circuits are potentially just flat and boring," added Hamilton.

Despite these concerns about overtaking, F1 Racing magazine reported in June that there were 270 on-track overtaking moves in the 2007 season. Felipe Massa topped the table, completing a total of 20 overtaking manoeuvres.

Article here!

[Mark]

2008 - Belgian Grand Prix Preview








Race Track Diagram:





Location: Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps

Race Date: 07 Sep 2008

Number of Laps: 44

Circuit Length: 7.004 km

Race Distance: 308.052 km

Lap Record: 1:45.108 - K Raikkonen (2004)



Last Year Table:

f1.com text preview:

Who doesn’t love Spa-Francorchamps? Ask any of the drivers, and they will tell you it ranks at the top, or very close to the top, of their favourite tracks.

Located in picturesque Hautes Fagnes region of the heavily-forested Ardennes, the original Spa was dropped from the calendar in 1970 amid growing fears that Formula One machinery had outgrown its original configuration. Now the dramatically revised track, commissioned in 1979, has successfully retained much of the original’s demanding uphill and downhill swoops while halving the length to a more manageable 7.004 kilometres (4.352 miles).


“It’s one of my all-time favourites,” says championship points leader Lewis Hamilton, whose McLaren team are celebrating the 40th anniversary of founder Bruce McLaren scoring the marque’s maiden victory here on June 9, 1968.

“Even before I first came here, which was back in 2002 for a Formula Renault race, I played it on my computer - it was always one of the best tracks. It has probably the most exciting corner in Formula One, Eau Rouge, and it’s one of the few circuits where you really feel like you’re actually going somewhere; you blast off into the forest and get to the top of the hill and can feel the whole circuit beneath you. It’s one of the best challenges in Formula One.

"I prefer the more historic circuits like Monza, Silverstone and Monaco. You really feel the history of those places whenever you race there; they have real character. Each time they are refurbished, they lose a little more of their individuality - but they are made safer, so we can continue to race on them - so that’s a good compromise."


Both Ferrari drivers love Spa, too. “I have won here,” says Kimi Raikkonen, “and that always feels like a major accomplishment. It is something special at a place like this.”

“How can you be a racing driver and not love this place?” says European Grand Prix winner Felipe Massa, who aims to add Spa to the growing list of venues on which he has been successful.


Over at Renault Fernando Alonso, who won here in F3000 in 2000, admits: “Spa is one of those exceptional circuits on the Formula One calendar. Like all the older tracks, there is always a very special and warm atmosphere. For the drivers, it is an unbelievable challenge and is a very enjoyable place to drive a Formula One car. I have never won at Spa [in F1] and hope that one day I can add a win here to my list of achievements.

“It’s a very long circuit, which generally emphasises the gaps between the cars. It requires a very complete car and so we will have to work hard on the set-up to make sure we are competitive in the quick sections as well as in the slower corners.”


Jenson Button, who has high hopes with Honda if, as seems likely, it is wet this weekend, says: “All the drivers love going to Spa, and for me, it is one of the most beautiful circuits that we race on with fantastically green surroundings. For a driver, the circuit has one of those layouts which has everything and gives you a real buzz to drive, just like Suzuka and Silverstone.

“Eau Rouge is a legendary corner and the feeling when you hit the bottom of the hill, the car touches the ground and you shoot straight back up again is amazing. It's a crazy corner in the dry and even more so in the wet. The weather can play a big part in the race weekend, which is great for us as the car goes well in the wet. It can be raining at one end of the lap but completely dry at the other so you have to be ready and react quickly to whatever the weather throws at you."


The Spa lap contains every type of corner and some long straights, and thus requires a compromise when it comes to aerodynamic set-up. Cars that are quick in sector two, the twisty middle section of the lap from Pouhon to Blanchimont, tend to have an advantage because they can then tune their downforce levels for the straights that dominate sectors one and three. If a car is not so strong in sector two, there is little choice but to put on more wing and that inevitably increases drag and thus affects straightline speed.

Since the introduction of the 2.4-litre V8 engines Eau Rouge has been comfortably flat in top gear for everyone. However, drivers have to be careful not to scrub off too much speed through the corner in order to maintain momentum on the crucial climb which follows all the way up to Les Combes.


Bridgestone are bringing their medium and hard rubber compounds for the race, so graining should not be an issue for anyone. Ironically, given the high-speed nature of the track, it is one of the easiest on brakes, but the engines run at full throttle for 68 per cent of the lap. After their recent failures, that must be something that concerns Ferrari.

Paddok Pics





Weekend weather update - showers likely for Spa race





Welcome to the 13th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.


The chances of a wet weekend look high, which is no surprise here. The forecast for Thursday is for showers and an ambient temperature high of 16 degrees Celsius. That is currently predicted to continue through to Sunday, when a rise of a few degrees is anticipated.


The race will run over 44 laps of the 7.004 kilometre (4.352 mile) track, or 308.052 kilometres (191.410 miles). It starts at 1400 hours local time, which is two hours ahead of GMT.

[JamesRoyale]

if it does rain i think hamilton will win the race.

he looks very good in the wet and the maclaren performs well in it.
if you remember when massa span about 5 times when it rained, the ferrari seems a bit more shakey.

Hamilton to win the championship, he deserves it for being the most consistant and ferrari may loose the constructers if they cant fix thier car problems and kimi's form.

[Mark]

Alonso quickest as Raikkonen crashes

Renault's Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in a rain-affected second free practice at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps while world champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari crashed out.

Originally Posted by eurosport.yahoo.com

The Finn's team-mate Felipe Massa was second only 0.050 behind the Spaniard, while McLaren duo Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton were third and fourth.

Raikkonen lost the Ferrari going into turn nine and rear-ended it into the barriers, smashing off the rear wing. He was able to drive away and back to the garage, but his session was over.

Soon after Giancarlo Fisichella ploughed through a spillage of fluids from the damaged Ferrari and also spun out. He was forced to abandon his Force India while the red flag came out to enable stewards to clear up the mess.

At the start of the afternoon Hamilton had led the way with a 1:48.805, which topped the lists until late thanks to light showers that effectively stopped proceedings on track for 30 minutes of the hour-and-a-half session.

Shortly after the weather struck Australian Mark Webber crashed his Red Bull into the tyre wall at Bruxelles, leaving it to be towed away.

His team-mate Briton David Coulthard then had a wobble but maintained control and led the exodus back to the garages.

Barely two minutes after the rain had stopped and drivers re-emerged en masse, Raikkonen made a mess of his entry into the unnamed corner and brought it to a halt once again.

Nelson Piquet Jr replicated the out-of-form driver's accident after the restart and also dislodged the rear wing of his Renault.

With three minutes remaining the track had dried enough for his colleague Alonso to tear around in 1:48.454, somewhat slower than morning practice, followed closely by Massa and Kovalainen.

Hamilton could not improve and stayed fourth ahead of Raikkonen, with Nico Rosberg in the Williams jumping from 13th to sixth at the death.



Free Practice 1



Felipe Massa led a Ferrari one-two in the morning session.

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, behind Kimi Raikkonen, was over half-a-second off Massa's morning pace. The Briton struggled with steering throughout the hour-and-a-half session.

Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was fourth.

Fernando Alonso, set to decide his future with Renault soon, was fifth quickest ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber, whose final flying lap jumped him up the order. Following the Australian were Toro Rosso duo Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel.

BMW-Sauber had a session to forget, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld down in 11th and 12th respectively.

Raikkonen, who led the timing lists briefly, was three-hundredths of a second behind his in-form colleague. Massa was in P1 for the majority of the session, improving his time twice late on after switching to soft tyres to remain well clear.

WIth 25 minutes left Hamilton lost control of his car at Les Combes and skidded across the grass, back on to the tarmac and into the gravel on the far side. He also improved late on, but remained 0.25s behind the Finnish world champion.

There were spots of rain in the final half-hour but they did not develop into a shower.

Bourdais will be especially pleased with his showing, although he has previously tested an F1 car at Spa so was not entirely new to the experience.

There were several casualties at the turn 11 Bus Stop, ahead of the start/finish straight: Nelson Piquet Jr of Renault and Honda's Jenson Button among them.

Button and team-mate Rubens Barrichello were slowest in the field, while Jarno Trulli also experienced problems with the Toyota - the car spent most of the session in the garage with an electrical problem. He eventually finished in 14th place.



FP1: Times

FP2: Times

Kimi's Light Crash:

[Dirtycheat]

Massa is doing well and the raikonen crash will do him a bit of a favour because there is now more pressure on raikonen than massa.

Its going to be a pretty decent race imo. Hopefully Massa can stay on the front row at the end of qualifying.

p/s please dont use these bright colours, they dont show up on the white skin

[Mark]

i hate that skin, go back on the black one, much better!!