It has been announced yesterday that the F1 teams will be testing slick tyres during the upcoming test in Jerez. So the slicks are returning to the place where they featured last time, 10 years ago at the European Grand Prix 1997 in Jerez. And what a race it was… It was the final race of 1997 season, with Schumacher leading Villeneuve by 1 point …

Famous qualifying - 3 drivers recorded identical time in qualifying for the first time in the F1 history - Jacques Villeneuve, Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen

Famous win - Mika Hakkinen won his first F1 race

Famous incident - Michael Schumecher hit Jacques Villeneuve during Villeneuve’s overtaking attempt and later got disqualified from the whole season

The race was won by Hakkinen, ahead of Coulthard (both McLaren) and Jacques Villeneuve (Williams). The 3rd place was enough for Jacques Villeneuve to claims his first and only Formula 1 Drivers Title.

Check the rest of this post for the video highlights from 1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez

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Well, only for the Jerez test in December but nevertheless it is a sign that FIA is seriously considering bringing them back.

Slick tyres were expected to return for 2008 season but the plans were ditched without much explanation. This test will be aimed at collecting the data before the possible 2009 return of slick tyres.

Statement from Bridgestone:

“Bridgestone are supplying these tyres as a response to a request from the teams and the testing committee, as the teams want to gain data as they look to the 2009 season.”

The tyres are believed to be similar to those Bridgestone supplies to the GP2 series.

It is hard to believe that Max Mosley and FIA are actually taking some steps to improve the racing …

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I found this approximatelly 8 minutes compilation of the Formula 3 in Macau 2007. It seems to be showing not only the race but also some of the practice and qualifying sessions. If you are reading this site via RSS or the daily Email delivery and can’t see the video, you may have to come to the site.

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After Kimi Raikkonen screensaver here comes the one with both Ferrari drivers -  Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

2007 Ferrari Screensaver

Enjoy!

More 2007 F1 screensavers with all the remaining 2007 F1 teams will follow. If you do not want to miss out on the new stuff subscribe to F1Wolf. To subscribe to F1Wolf in RSS reader, click here, to get F1Wolf delivered by email click here.

Related:
2007 McLaren Screensaver

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48 hours passed and Flavio still has no news to announce. According to Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad, Alonso will take time before he makes up his time and “will decide when he knows the best option for his future”.

The rumours coming out of Renault suggest that the talks have stalled. While Briatore would be willing to accept 1 year contract with Alonso, Carlos Ghosn, the Renault CEO allegedly says firmly “It is 3 years of nothing.”

In the meantime the Toyota and Red Bull rumours are still alive and kicking and Alonso seems to be acting like he has lots of options to choose from.

The other piece of information that appeared is that Nico Rosberg still may find himself racing for McLaren next year. German press reports that Frank Williams would be willing to accept around US$22 million from McLaren for Rosberg’s release. At the same time, Willy Weber, Michael Schumacher’s manager, advises Rosberg not to do it. He warns “McLaren could very quickly destroy his career, Hamilton is their number one, even if officially they will not say it.”

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This season did not work out the best for the mighty McLaren-Mercedes team. But still, their cars were awesome and the drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton did not do too bad either. For the McLaren fans, here is the 2007 McLaren Screensaver.

2007 McLaren Screensaver

You may download it even if you are not a McLaren fan.

More 2007 F1 screensavers will follow. If you do not want to miss out on the new stuff, you may want to subscribe to F1Wolf. To subscribe to F1Wolf in RSS reader, click here, to get F1Wolf delivered by email click here.

Related:
Kimi Raikkonen Screensaver

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Ferrari have revealed their 2008 challenger earlier than expected. We can now say, that they are sure to rule the pit lane next year. They raised the bar into a new level. It will not be easy for the rest of the paddock to catch up with them. The first image of the new Ferrari machinery are here:

Ferrari 2008 challenger

How will McLaren respond ?

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Honda

Oh my…. What a season. This is a team that under its old identity BAR Honda finished 2nd in the constructors table in 2004. This is the team that recorded its first race win in 2006. This the team who’s driver Jenson Button finished 3rd in driver’s table in 2004 and scored more points than any other driver in the second half of 2006 season… They hoped for further step up in 2007, if not for a title fight than at least few more race wins… To promote enviromental issues they entered the season with an unique Earth livery, with no sponsors messages on the car. The weight of the whole Earth was apparently too much for them to carry …

The Australian Grand Prix was an eye opener. The Honda cars were solid midfield cars, far behind the leading Ferraris and McLarens. Both cars finished lap down, barely getting out of Q1. The pattern for the rest of the season has been set. The 3 week break before Malaysian GP did not help them much, more the opposite. By the Malaysian GP the main competion for Honda began to appear - Toro Rosso, Spyker, Super Aguri and Ralf Schumacher. Getting to top ten in 2007 meant to the team about the same as getting on podium in 2006. Scoring points in 2007 was on par with race win a year ago. Podiums and wins were totally out the reach for Honda. On several ocassion Honda was outperformed by their baby team Super Aguri, racing more less the 2006 Honda car. That was the clear indication of how bad the 2007 Honda car, the RA107 was.

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After Toyota’s confirmation of Timo Glock there aren’t too many options left for Fernando Alonso. Red Bull rumours still fly around, Toro Rosso’s Franz Tost being the latest one to say Alonso is talking to Red Bull. But Red Bull has 2 drivers with contract and so the only suitable team with an empty seat is Renault.

Today on Italian radio Flavio Briatore hinted the talks are going on and deal may be concluded this week:

“Renault will definitely have different drivers next year. There is a 60 per cent chance Alonso will be with us.”

“We have an advantage because we know him. Between today and the day after tomorrow it will be decided. When you marry, split up and get back together it is not easy. We and he have the intention of finding a solution. This week will be decisive for the marriage. He can choose and he knows us. Last year he chose McLaren and made a mistake. At McLaren he arrived as the world champion and he was put in competition against a rookie driver. That way the relationship inside a team is put in danger. You can’t have two primadonnas inside a team. You need to get behind one of the drivers.”

Not sure whether it was just a slip of a tongue, but by saying “Renault will definitely have different drivers next year” he also suggests that neither Kovalainen nor Fisichella will stay on. At this situation I would not bet against the expected move to McLaren for Kovalainen. For Fisichella the only hope would be Super Aguri or Team India, but none of them looks very likely…

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The 2007 GP2 champion Timo Glock has been confirmed as Toyota’s race driver for 2008 season. He has been connected with Toyota race seat for quite some time. The announcement has been expected after the Contract Recognition Board ruled that Glock was free to leave his previous test driver job at BMW Sauber.

Timo Glock

“It’s a great feeling to be a Formula One race driver again and I am really looking forward to this new challenge. I have worked hard over the past few years to get this opportunity and I must say I am grateful to Panasonic Toyota Racing for having faith in me. From what I have seen of the team at the track I am confident we will be able to work well together to move forward. Even though I have not raced in Formula One since 2004, I have tested quite regularly so I expect it will take very little time for me to get back in the groove.

Of course, to return to Formula One racing as GP2 Series champion is a real honour and we’ve all seen how well Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have performed as champions so that is very encouraging. I hope I can also make a strong impression next season. Now I have achieved my goal of returning to Formula One, my next target is to work towards making 2008 a successful season for myself and Panasonic Toyota Racing.”

Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota team principal :

“It is with great pleasure that we confirm Timo Glock will race for Panasonic Toyota Racing in 2008. I am convinced Timo has the potential to help this team move forward and achieve its aims. Timo has great experience of motorsport in several different categories and he reinforced his reputation by winning the highly competitive GP2 Series, which we have already seen is fantastic preparation for Formula One. He has demonstrated a fighting spirit and good race craft in GP2 so we believe he is the right man for the job.”

Timo Glock raced in 4 races for Jordan back in 2004. Not sure if he is the best choice for Toyota, but he should not do worse than Ralf Schumacher did and he definitelly comes cheaper …

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