Recently in Formula One Category

I apologise for the pun, but there has been a lack of joined up thinking from the teams in Formula One of late... This made me smile.

Do you remember that clever Skoda advert? You know - the one where they make a giant cake version of the Skoda Fabia, which actually turns out looking better than any real Skoda we've ever seen? Well, some crazy chefs working for a Singapore restaurant seem to have embraced that crazy (and slightly wasteful) idea by coming up with an F1 car made entirely out of bread.

In our sad little minds, we like to think of Lewis Hamilton driving this in the Singapore night race; pushing the roll-shaped accelerator pedal to the floor, flicking up through the gears using his bagel paddle shifters - taking this bread-made bad boy up to speeds of 200mph and more. But then, can you imagine how soggy the doughy seats would get after a couple of hours out on the track? Yuk!

But there is a positive story behind this, with the chefs creating the car (made from 22 different types of bread) to raise money for a local school - clearly demonstrating that the Singapore F1 race is having a positive social impact on the island city-state, which is always good to hear seeing as the sport has been through some tough times of late.

Via: Orange Cars

I thought this might be handy for some people!

BBC Radio 5 live and sports extra have comprehensive coverage of the 2009 Formula 1 season with live commentary of every race plus coverage of all the practice and qualifying sessions, plus expert analysis before and after each race weekend.

The commentary team is led by David Croft alongside new signing Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson, providing a driver's perspective to events, and pit lane reporter Holly Samos, with all the news and reaction as it happens.

As well as all the action on the track, on the Friday before every race David, Anthony and Holly present 5 live Formula 1 on 5 live sport previewing all the weekend's action. The coverage doesn't stop there; the Chequered Flag podcast will be available for download every Monday after race weekend with expert analysis of the latest race and the big issues from the circuit.

And you can now get F1 on your favourite social network with our F1 widget which can be embedded wherever you want it. It features the Chequered Flag podcast, the latest news from BBC Sport and schedule details for F1 on BBC Radio.

Via: BBC Radio 5 Live

As you must know by now, I am a huge follower of Formula One. I started watching the sport in the black year of 1994 during which Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger died. The injuries caused to them forced the sport to introduce various safety measures over a period of time, the overall shape, styling and safety of the cars now are a world away from how they were 15 years ago, as you can see below. Focus especially on the area around the cockpit and the driver's head.

However, despite all the safety improvements, accidents can still happen. Henry Surtees was killed a few weeks ago when he was hit on the head by a stray wheel from an accident, and Felipe Massa was injured when a spring left Rubens Barrichello's car ahead of him on the circuit. This BBC video excellently explains what happened and shows just how far the sport has come.

Freak accidents will always happen in Formula One, and in any motor sport. The key thing is what is taken away from them, what is learnt. The sport took many lessons from 1994, let's hope it can learn from these two incidents.

This year's Monaco Formula One Grand Prix will mark 70 years since the first race was held in the principality.

For all the changes that have occurred over the decades, however, there will still be lunatics driving cars much faster than you can ever hope for.

Here are two clips of old races in Monte Carlo from 1929 and 1955. Just fabulous.

Now, as you may or may not know, I adore Formula One. I visited the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2004 and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Silverstone has hosted the race regularly since the start of the F1 championship in 1950 and every year since 1987; it alternated with Brands Hatch between 1964 and 1986, and with Aintree between 1955 and 1962.

However, it was announced on 4th July 2008 that Donington Park will be the host to the British Grand Prix for 10 years from 2010.

At first glance, given the geography of our country, I should be delighted by this as it makes it more accessible for me. But the sheer amount of history that has taken place at Silverstone, its wonderful layout and passion that it fills people with will be missed.

Work has begun to alter Donington; £100 million worth of revamp is taking place:

• The pit lane will be moved from its current location to what is presently the Starkey's Straight, with a brand new paddock constructed on the inside of the track at this point and Coppice corner being reprofiled to accommodate the new pit entry.


• The realignment of the straight means that the current Esses will be replaced by a slight left-hand kink, with the Melbourne Hairpin instead becoming the circuit's first corner.


• The track will also be extended, with a new infield loop constructed. Rather than taking the current left-hand hairpin at the end of the Melbourne Loop, the revised circuit will continue straight on into a sweeping downhill left-hand bend and then a new hairpin, before climbing back towards the current pits straight.

Yesterday, the BBC released a simulation of the new circuit created on the racing game, rFactor. It looks like an old-style 'proper' circuit - not a Mickey Mouse one like Singapore, or Bahrain. One that fits into the traditional European view of what a racing track should look like.

You can view the BBC video here.

Time will tell if the alterations take away the character of Doninigton, or whether moving the British Grand Prix can save the famous name in the long run. But Britain, along with Monaco, Italy and France deserve a Formula One race to preserve the heritage of the World Championship, and it doesn't matter whether it is held at a slightly run down, weather worn place or a brand spanking new establishment. It matters that it can produce some good racing. Silverstone has delivered that in spades over the years; can the new Donington do the same?

In a recent edition of Autosport I happened upon an advert for The Guardian's Formula One Preview supplement thingy... and it's amazingly beautiful.

A simple idea, create Britain's biggest and brightest hope for the title out of all 18 circuits currently used in the World Championship, but it's how it's done that really makes it for me.

Click for embiggenation.

Five days to go...

I started writing this way back in December... but totally forgot about it.

And with there being just over 22 days until the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, I thought it'd be a good way to generate a small slice of excitment!

Here, then, are some wonderful photos from the 2007 Formula One season. Not every race is represented, nor every team or competitor.

I've chosen these because they grabbed me. Enjoy.

All copyright remains with their original owners.

Click for embiggenation.

28th April 2007 - Nick Heidfeld drove the BMW Sauber on the Nordschleife at the Nurburgring

27th May 2007 - Monaco Grand Prix, Jarno Trulli, Toyota

May 2007 - Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo at night

10th June 2007 - Canadian Grand Prix: Robert Kubica crashes the BMW Sauber

10th June 2007 - Canadian Grand Prix: Robert Kubica crashes the BMW Sauber

24th June 2007 - Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Masa in a 1947 Ferrari 125 at Fiorano

8th July 2007 - British Grand Prix, A cuddly marshall cheers on Lewis Hamilton leading the British Grand Prix

August 2007 - Hungarian Grand Prix, Peter Besenyei races Gerhard Berger in a classic McLaren

September 2007 - Japanese Grand Prix, David Coulthard ran a special helmet in tribute to the recently deceased Colin McRae

7th October 2007 - Chinese Grand Prix, The start

14th October 2007 - Nelson Piquet Jr demonstrates the Renault in Mexico City

21st October 2007 - Brazilian Grand Prix, Giancarlo Fisichella is rear-ended by Sakon Yamamoto's Spyker

Just when you thought it was over, it looks like there's another twist in the 2007 season.

It may come to nothing, it may change the title holder - but it certainly is confusing to the casual viewer who doesn't follow the sport all the time and may have just watched one race this year, yesterday's Brazilian Grand Prix, conveniently shown at prime time in Europe (for many years Japan, and before that Australia, hosted the final race of the year so that any titles to be decided were shown at daft o'clock in the morning and only people like me watched them live)

Anyway, just when you thought Kimi Raikkonen had definitely won the title because Lewis Hamilton had finished 7th and therefore had one point less, there came the news that the fuel in the cars of Williams's Nico Rosberg and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld were below the temperature they should have been.

The regulations state that, "No fuel on board the car may be more than ten degrees centigrade below ambient temperature." (Article 6.5.4 of the Formula One technical regulations - source: Formula1.com)

FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer said all fuel samples from the four cars showed temperature of 12 to 14 degrees centigrade lower than the ambient temperature at the time. The race stewards have apparently decided not to impose a punishment for the discrepancy because they could not say for certain that the fuel in the cars was below the maximum limit.

The issue is that Formula One Management (FOM) stated the temperature being 37 degrees but FIA and team-contracted meteorologists Meteo France's temperature was a few degrees cooler.

Now, nowhere in the regulations - at least in the versions published on the link above - does it state the next part of the steward's argument: "a regulation stating in clear terms that for the purposes of Article [6.5.5] the definitive ambient temperature shall be indicated on the FOM timing monitors alone."

Two things here, Article 6.5.5 is about using devices to cool fuel, and if the accepted temperature is the one on FOMs monitor (37 degrees) then where's the issue? The fuel is illegal, the teams should be punished.

To me, not punishing them sets a dangerous precedent - one in which it is acceptable to do whatever you like in the final race of the season because changing the result would affect the winner of the championship.

But... McLaren are kicking up a fuss about this. And rightly so, for they were beaten in the race by seemingly illegal cars.

McLaren, not without controversy themselves after being kicked out of the Constructor's Championship for spying on Ferrari (something I haven't written about, but didn't feel the need. See here for details.) and causing the sport to be in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, are considering appealing the steward's decision to leave BMW Sauber and Williams unpunished.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do believe that if you do something wrong you should pay a penalty. But if these drivers are disqualified and removed from the results, the title will be Hamilton's by default. After a season mired by controversy and legal wranglings creating titles that are fairly tainted anyway, this is the last thing the sport needs.

The best thing would be to put the lid on 2007 and concentrate on making 2008 the best it can be.

Now then, to most people, Kimi Raikkonen seems to be a surprise Formula One World Champion... and in a way he is. But, you can also argue that he is the most deserving of the three protagonists going into Brazil - Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and himself. Indeed, a couple of hours before the race I wrote an entry detailing each of their prospects and how likely they were to win. I didn't say, but I thought Hamilton would sneak it.

So, how did Raikkonen actually be in contention for the title in the first place, I don't hear you asking. I'll tell you anyway, race by race in some kind of thought out idea...

Round 1: Australia
Raikkonen dominates, winning from pole position on his debut for Ferrari, Alonso is second and Hamilton third on his race debut.
Raikkonen 10 points, Alonso 8, Hamilton 6

Round 2: Malaysia
Alonso wins, Hamilton secures the one-two and Raikkonen is third.
Alonso 18, Raikkonen 16, Hamilton 14

Round 3: Bahrain
Brazilian Felipe Massa wins, Hamilton is second and Raikkonen finishes off the podium in third. Alonso comes in fifth creating a three-way tie at the top.
Alonso 22, Raikkonen 22, Hamilton 22

Round 4: Spain
Massa wins again with Hamilton second, beating Alonso on home soil. Raikkonen does not finish.
Hamilton 30, Alonso 28, Raikkonen 22

Round 5: Monaco
Alonso wins in a controversial McLaren one-two, with Hamilton complaining that he wasn't allowed to race for victory. Raikkonen gets a point for eighth.
Alonso 38, Hamilton 38, Raikkonen 23

Round 6: Canada
Hamilton takes the first win of his short career. Alonso finishes seventh and Raikkonen fifth.
Hamilton 48, Alonso 40, Raikkonen 27

Round 7: United States
Hamilton wins again from pole position, Alonso is second and Raikkonen fourth.
Hamilton 58, Alonso 48, Raikkonen 32

Round 8: France
Raikkonen returns to winning form in a Ferrari one-two. Hamilton is third and Alonso seventh.
Hamilton 64, Alonso 50, Raikkonen 42

Round 9: Britain
Raikkonen makes it two in a row, Alonso beats Hamilton into second place.
Hamilton 70, Alonso 58, Raikkonen 52

Round 10: Germany
Alonso wins, Hamilton fails to score in ninth place, ending his run of nine races on the podium. Raikkonen fails to finish.
Hamilton 70, Alonso 68, Raikkonen 52

Round 11: Hungary
The big bust-up of the season and where the controversy really began. Alonso was demoted from pole to fifth after preventing Hamilton from being able to complete his final qualifying run. However, Hamilton wins, Raikkonen is second and Alonso fourth.
Hamilton 80, Alonso 73, Raikkonen 60

Round 12: Turkey
Massa wins, Raikkonen is second and Alonso third. Hamilton comes in fifth.
Hamilton 84, Alonso 79, Raikkonen 68

Round 13: Italy
Alonso wins, leading a McLaren one-two. Raikkonen is third.
Hamilton 92, Alonso 89, Raikkonen 74

Round 14: Belgium
Raikkonen wins, Alonso third, Hamilton fourth.
Hamilton 97, Alonso 95, Raikkonen 84

Round 15: Japan
Hamilton gets what will be his fourth and final win of the season, looking to have the title all but sewn up. Alonso crashes out. Raikkonen finishes third.
Hamilton 107, Alonso 95, Raikkonen 90

Round 16: China
Hamilton fails to finish on worn tyres as he pitted for the second time. Raikkonen chalked up Ferrari's 200th Grand Prix win. Alonso finished second.
Hamilton 107, Alonso 103, Raikkonen 100

Which brings us to...

Round 17: Brazil
As it turned out, Lewis seemed to make more mistakes today than at any other race so far - or at least suffer more misfortune than he's encountered before. He dropped from second on the grid to fourth by the first corner, then went off the round under braking further round the opening lap. On lap 9, he lost a huge chunk of time when he a gearbox problem putting him 18th before he could sort it out and remap the settings. He ended up 7th after putting in a superb drive with many outstanding passing manoeuvres.

I'm certain his time to be champion will come.

Fernando Alonso finished the race third having few dramas. Never in the frame for victory, he was lapping around a second slower than the Ferraris, briefly falling as low as fourth when BMW's Robert Kubica passed him. He got his podium slot back when Robert pitted for the final of his three stops. Raikkonen's win was enough to overcome Alonso's three point advantage - third wouldn't be enough.

Final standings
Raikkonen 110, Hamilton 109, Alonso 109

Raikkonen, in my view, deserves to be champion. A McLaren winner would seem to be tainted given all the spying scandal stuff that's gone on over the summer.

Alonso has behaved like a spoilt child recently with his constant whining, even going as far as persuading the Spanish motor sport authority to convince the FIA that McLaren needed a fair-play steward over the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend - all basically to protect his ego and reassure himself he wasn't being screwed over.

Hamilton has a long future in Formula One, and yes, it would have been amazing for a rookie to win the championship, but the weight of expectation really did seem to be too much for him to take in the end. I'm sure he'll go into next year even stronger.

So, while I have my misgivings about the way Ferrari go about their racing and their conduct this year, I pass on my congratulations to them and to Raikkonen because at the end of it all, they've contributed to some wonderful racing.

As I type this, there is just over 1 hour left until the final Formula One race of the season at Interlagos, Brazil, gets underway.

For the first time since 1986, there's a three-way fight for the championship which will be decided today. Now, I find it quite hard to write about Formula One, because I know that some people really couldn't care less about it. I think, though, that everyone should have an urge to watch the race today, which could be the most eagerly awaited season finale for a good while - the last time a championship was decided at the last race was in 2003, also at Brazil where Michael Schumacher finished eighth to take the single point he needed.

Back in 1986 it came down to Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet. Mansell blew a tyre in the waning laps, and Prost took the title.

It could be just as exciting this year with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Raikkonen separated by just seven points - the Rookie, the Champion, and the Most Talented Driver On The Grid Never To Have Won The Championship (you come up with something better...).

Lewis Hamilton, 107 points:

Everyone knows his story by now. First black driver in Formula One. Rookie. Unbelievable talent and seemingly intelligent with it. We’ve waited the entire season for Hamilton to make those first year errors - but he just never made them. He was impetuous in Hungary and overambitious in China, but would you call those rookie mistakes? I don’t think so.

Back in 1998, Mika Hakkinen was four points up on Michael Schumacher going into the final race at Suzuka. Schumacher scored pole, topping Hakkinen by just one-tenth of a second, but stalled on the second restart, which pushed him to the back of the grid. The point is that no drivers make it through an entire season without a few cases of brain fade along the way. 

Fernando Alonso, 103 points:

With another title, Alonso will have won three in a row, something only Juan Manuel Fangio (1954-1957) and Michael Schumacher (2000-2004) have accomplished. Pretty amazing stuff.

Like Ayrton Senna, you know that he has a will to win at any cost - the one man demolition act he's performed at McLaren this year shows that he will do anything to destabilise those around him in order to win.

Which concerns me because if it comes down to a final lap all or nothing effort, I fear Alonso will take people off the track. The McLaren has shown itself to be a very strong, very reliable car this year and I think he will take advantage of that... time will tell. 

Kimi Raikkonen, 100 points:

Down seven points, Raikkonen really doesn’t have a shot, unless the two McLarens take each other out - something that isn't wholly unrealistic.

He is the only driver this year to win 5 races, and in the last seven races since the European Grand Prix in July, he has scored more points (48) than either Hamilton (37) or Alonso (35). 

For those trying to figure out the results combination for this weekend's finale, the BBC offers a summary:

Hamilton will be champion if:

• He wins or finishes second
• He finishes ahead of both his rivals
• He finishes no lower than second if Alonso wins
• He finishes no lower than fifth if Alonso is second
• He finishes no lower than fifth if Raikkonen wins
• He finishes no lower than seventh if Alonso is third and/or Raikkonen is second
• He finishes no lower than eighth if Alonso is fourth
• If Alonso if fifth or lower and Raikkonen finishes third or lower.

For Alonso to win, the Spaniard must:

• Win with Hamilton third or lower
• Finish second with Hamilton sixth or lower
• Finish third with Hamilton eighth or lower, and Raikkonen failing to win
• Finish fourth with Hamilton lower than eighth, and Raikkonen lower than second

For Raikkonen to be champion, the Finn must:

• Win with Hamilton sixth or lower and Alonso lower than second
• Finish second with Hamilton below seventh and Alonso lower than third

If Hamilton wins or comes second, the title is his, but after that there are a number of possible eventualities - and the fact that Alonso will be champion if the Spaniard wins and Hamilton is third or lower emphasizes how close it is. But if Alonso finishes outside the top four his hopes disappear, while Raikkonen has to come first or second to keep his slim chances alive.

I'm going for Hamilton, how about you?

Links and references (all open in a new window):

• Lewis Hamilton photo from F1 Chronicles.com
• Fernando Alonso photo from Fernando Alonso.com
• Kimi Raikkonen photo from ABC.net
• Some text and general idea from The New York Times Blog
• Title showdown summary from BBC.co.uk