Several things happened yesterday that could have changed the podium line up. While Hamilton’s drive through penalty is still one of the talks of the race the opinion of the majority is that the penalty was justified. From what I have seen I tend to agree with that. There were however 2 other incidents that I am not sure were handled correctly by the race control.

Incident one - Raikkonen’s exhaust pipe

If there is a car on track that may pose danger the stewards can call it back to the pits to get rid of the danger. There is even this nice black flag with orange circle for that purpose. When Raikkonen’s car suddenly lost some pace on lap 36, a piece of the loose exhaust pipe appeared to be bouncing arround chassis hanging there only on a piece of wire. It was only matter of time before that piece of car gets loose and flies away. Ferrari were aware of that and based on post race words from Domenicali chose to let it fly away itself rather than bringing the car to the pits and cutting it away. Even when Raikkonen came for his regular pit stop nothing was done with the pipe in order not to waste valuable seconds…

Question: Why was it not possible to remove the exhaust at the pit stop?

Domenicali: It had already fallen off. It was already flying away. There was the cable of the lamda and we decided not to cut that because we were maybe losing more seconds, and we had Trulli pushing behind so we took that into consideration, and I have to say that in terms of strategy, in terms of teamwork everything was done correctly.

So everybody was aware that piece Kimi’s car will eventually get loose and fly off and nobody found that to be a potential danger to other drivers or to spectators ? I am happy for Kimi to be able to finish the race and in 2nd place under such circumstances. But I do wonder why the race control did not take any action to make sure his car poses no danger. After listening to the French GP digest at Sidepodcast I see that I am not alone …

Incident two - Trulli vs. Kovalainen

One journalist suggested at the post race press conference that Trulli and Kovalainen touched the wheels while fighting for the 3rd place with a lap to go. I do not think their wheels touched although they came very very close. It however looked to me that Trulli did make a sudden movement in Kovalainen’s direction when the cars were almost side to side forcing Kovalainen off the track. Was this a display of excellent racing we all want to see or an example of dangerous defensive driving from Jarno Trulli ? After watching the replay several times I do wonder why Trulli’s maneuvre was not at least investigated by the stewards …

At the end no flag to Raikkonen no penalty to Trulli - Was that right ?

F1Wolf

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Monaco GP has some history of special helmets and liveries. Here is recap of four special helmets I noticed this year - the diamond helmets of McLaren drivers, Monaco flag and track map helmet of Nelson Piquet and 200 race anniversary helmet of Giancarlo Fisichella.

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F1Wolf

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If I am to finish this series of posts before I take off for Australia, I need to hurry up. So let’s continue with the McLaren Mercedes team.

Lewis Hamilton - United Kingdom (England I believe)
Born: 7 January 1985
In F1 since 2007, McLaren
Best Result: 2nd 2007
Career wins: 4
Pole positions: 6

This time a year ago few people outside the F1 hard core circle even heard of Lewis Hamilton, several months later he was on the verge of claiming the driver’s title. Not everybody will agree with me, but it was his title to throw away, and that is exactly what he has done. Now he has another shot at it, but it will not be easy. After his pretty much faultless season (bar the last 2 races) the expectations and resulting pressure on him will be much higher in 2008. The British press and media “Hamilton obsession” is something that he probably could live without. It remains to be seen how will he handle all this when he is no longer considerd rookie.

Many consider Hamilton to be the de-facto McLaren’s number 1 driver. I would however be very careful with this sort of claims. Heikki Kovalainen did not go to McLaren to play a support role …

Hamilton does not seem to have much trouble adapting to driving without the electronic driver aids and he will very likely be one of the privileged few to fight it out for the title. He has enough skills to win the title but so have few others. If last season was tough, this one will be even tougher.

It will also be interesting to watch how he handles another season with very competitive team mate. The public blamed mostly Alonso for all the troubles last year, but one should not forget that it was Hamilton who decided to defy instructions from the team in Monaco and then in that fateful qualifying in Hungary …

Heikki Kovalainen - Finland
Born: 19 October 1981
In F1 since 2007 Renault, 2008 McLaren
Best Result: 7th 2007
Career wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podium: 1 (2nd in 2007 Japanese GP)

Unlike Hamilton, Kovalainen’s start to his rookie season was only just short of disaster. Whether it was the lack of F1 racing experience or lack of confidence, his performances early on last season raised some questions about his future. The turning point of his season was probably the incident filled Canadian GP where he finished 4th. From then on he more than matched his team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. He would probably still race for Renault if not for certain Fernando returning home. He was lucky that Nico Rosberg was not available, but he did land the McLaren seat and he looks ready to grab his chance. There are many in F1 circles who consider him to pose a serious threat to Hamilton’s title aspirations and rightly so. He does not go into the season as favourite to win the title and that may be his advantange … I see him as one of the dark horses this year.

F1Wolf’s prediction for McLaren drivers in 2008:
Very evenly matched pair of drivers, but whether the title goes to Maranello or to Woking, I think it will be in Finnish hands … Ooops

2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Ferrari

F1Wolf

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Some teams will continue testing in private tests next week. Barcelona however was the last major test involving most of the teams. The results and times do not tell much. Few would conclude that Toyota is the fastest car just because Trulli clocked the the fastest lap yesterday . So what Formula 1 drivers and team bosses think after the last test of the season:

Ferrari:
Jean Todt:

“We have two excellent drivers and it looks like the car is good too. We are satisfied and the situation is encouraging. But we need to wait for the races, let’s hope for the best.”

Kimi Raikkonen:

“I think we have a strong package, but we don’t know how fast the others are. We will only see that in the race. We are quite happy with what we have done over the winter so we will see in Melbourne. I think we have good reliability. We had some small things last year that unfortunately stopped the car in the race but it can always happen. We have done everything we can and it will be nice to get back racing again. In Melbourne we will see who is fast or not, because you cannot say from the tests. The times look close. Somebody goes fast one day and another guy another day. We will wait for a couple of weeks and we will know in qualifying. But I think McLaren are for sure strong, so we need to see how good they are in the race.”

Felipe Massa:

“I feel really powerful this year. If we are lucky, we will have a stronger start of the season than last year’s. This year we aim for the same situation we had in 2007, Ferrari was the best team and both drivers were in equal positive conditions. I feel strong to fight for the championship.”

Sam Michael (Williams):

“Ferrari are about three of four tenths ahead of them (McLaren), and seven or eight tenths before the group including BMW, Renault, Red Bull and us.”

Fernando Alonso (Renault) on Kimi Raikkonen

“He has the self confidence and he is obviously very quick, so he has put himself in a very strong position.”

McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton:

“Winter testing has gone really smoothly. We have had steady reliability and the car is feeling good. We have had some great testing days, easily covering the mileage and getting confidence in the car. It has been a good week, in addition to the test development programme we have been working with the race team on getting back up to speed with activities such as pitstops. As I just said, the car is feeling good, but as always we still have work to do. A Formula One car is under continuous evolution, and when you look back at how far we have come since the MP4-23 first hit the track in January, it is encouraging. The work doesn’t stop for anyone just because testing has concluded.”

Heikki Kovalainen:

“We have improved the car, I have improved myself and I have gotten to know the team better. Everything has just very positive; there haven’t been any negative moments. Of course some days are more difficult than others but we are making progress all the time. So overall a very good winter and we have the pace to have a strong year.”

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F1Wolf

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It is funny how different views can 2 former Formula 1 champions have. This is what today’s news brought.

Sir Jackie Stewart for The Herald

“It’s not unusual for a new driver like Lewis to struggle a bit in the second season. He is no longer an unknown quantity. He is in the position where people are expecting him to win every race he starts.

It’s a curious thing: Lewis will think he can nail this year’s championship, because he came so close last time around, but that can make you push too hard, and, before you know it, little things can start going wrong which make the difference.

A lot of factors have changed this season and Kovalainen’s arrival at McLaren could mean that the shoe is on the other foot. Suddenly, here is another bright-eyed, bushy-tailed contender and, if Heikki makes a good start in the first few races, the publicity and press attention might revolve round him.”

He is not exactly writing Hamilton off, but it looks like Stewart has his doubts about Hamilton’s mental strength. The way Hamilton let the 2007 title slip away after mistakes in Shanghai and Brazil may suggest Stewart may have a case.

Now Alain Prost for Autosprint:

“This year electronic aids will disappear so life will get harder for the drivers. But I’m convinced of one thing: contrary to what could be thought, Hamilton will draw an advantage from this change, and you know why? Because he’s phenomenal. Last year he did something exceptional, but not so much for his performances, which were fantastic anyway. He was twice exceptional at a psychological level: first in the way he put up with the pressure of his debut, and then for the way he put up with the ever-increasing pressure for a season that went on until the last GP and with all the mess that had happened.

Can you imagine? A rookie that resisted until the last race before giving up. And after all, let me tell you one thing: before starting winning championships, I lost some too, if you can remember that. But then, when I started…

Hamilton must not be complacent, as Kovalainen will certainly be a very tough cookie. With regards to the championship, the Finn looks definitely dangerous.”

Quite a different opinion …

One thing however both these guys have in common. They both regard Heikki Kovalainen as a serious contender. Not bad for a guy who was allegedly only McLaren’s 3rd choice after Rosberg and Vettel …

F1Wolf

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The teams keep rolling out their new cars and the F1 drivers are coming up with their 2008 helmet design. Here they are:

Raikkonen, Massa

Hamilton, Kovalainen

Heidfeld, Kubica

Alonso, Piquet

Rosberg, Nakajima

Webber, Coulthard

Glock, Trulli

Barrichello, Button

Bourdais, Vettel

Sutil, Fisichella

Sato, Davidson

Fernando Alonso seems to be getting away from McLaren days and returning to Renault even with his helmet design. Jarno Trulli reduced the shiny silver surface with more red colour over it. Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica keep the designs very close to their 2007 styles.

Kimi Raikkonen’s new 2008 helmet (click here) is very similar to his 2007 one, but the white front has been replaced with some sort of “tribal” drawing. Anyone knows what it means ?

Lewis Hamilton keeps his yellow helmet pretty much unchanged. Heikki Kovalainen had to make changes to accomodate new sponsors the result is Alonso 2007 like helmet. Bourdais keeps his Champ Car yellow and blue with the addition of Red Bull brand.

Both Honda and Red Bull drivers keep the same designs as in 2007. Sutil’s helmet does not look too different from his 2007 one as well. Fisichella is another guy sticking with his traditional colours.

Please check back for updates to this post with more on 2008 F1 driver helmets. It happened before that drivers used different design for the winter testing and came up with brand new one when the season started, so these may not yet be the definite 2008 helmets.

If you come across good pictures of new 2008 F1 driver helmets that are not yet displayed here, let me know. I will add them here !

To see what the drivers were wearing in 2007, check here

F1Wolf

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After Ferrari yesterday today was McLaren’s day. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes presented the MP4-23, the team’s 2008 Formula 1 car, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

Following today’s unveiling the car will be transported to the Circuito de Jerez in Southern Spain, where on Wednesday 9th January Heikki Kovalainen and Pedro de la Rosa will start the test programme with two MP4-23 chassis at a private test. The team will remain at the circuit for five track days, excluding the weekend. Lewis Hamilton will drive the 2008 car for the first time on Thursday 10th January alongside Heikki.

More photos in the article…
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F1Wolf

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Heikki Kovalainen will race for McLaren in 2008 F1 season. The expected straight swap Alonso to Renault Heikki to McLaren has happened. This means McLaren will enter the 2008 season with 2 young guns. The experienced Pedro de la Rosa will have to accept the 3rd driver role again.

Here is the first official photo of Heikki Kovalainen in McLaren Mercedes team:

Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren Mercedes, photo Daimler Media

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren-Mercedes:

“We had a number of options open to us and as always we want to make sure that we have the most competitive driver line-up and I think that Lewis and Heikki will be a formidable combination. Both enjoyed great rookie seasons in 2007 and share a genuine passion for winning and being the best. Heikki made a strong impression and Lewis’ performance so far has been outstanding and speaks for itself. I am confident that they will push each other on track and work well together off track. In addition with Pedro remaining our primary test driver alongside Gary, we really have a strong package and look forward to 2008.”

Heikki Kovalainen:

“I am so excited to join a team like Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. So far I have been blown away by the dedication and commitment to winning which is clear through the entire organisation and I am really excited about our joint future. As a Finn it’s an honour for me to follow in Mika and Kimi’s footsteps. I haven’t really spent a lot of time with Lewis so far but from what I know I think we will work well together and do our best for the team.”

Lewis Hamilton:

“As soon as the chequered flag went in Brazil I began to count down the days until Australia. I am really looking forward to 2008 and working with Heikki as my teammate. Together with the team we will do everything we can to ensure that our Championship challenge is as strong and focused as possible. My first year in Formula One was incredible and I was so fortunate to spend it with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and I hope that Heikki will enjoy his first year with the team as much as I did mine.”

The 2008 Formula 1 grid is almost finalized. Only Force India and Super Aguri are yet to confirmed their 2008 driver line up.

F1Wolf

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Finally the confirmation of the expected came - Fernando Alonso is returning to Renault from next season.

Nelson Piquet Jr. will be promoted from testing duties to race driver. Romain Grosjean will be Renault’s 3rd pilot.

This means both 2007 Renault drivers - Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella have to look for his drive elsewhere. Kovalainen has been connected with the McLaren, Fisichella targets Force India.

Flavio Briatore’s words:

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F1Wolf

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While the “big” announcement on Fernando Alonso is now after the Renault ruling expected anytime soon, there were some other interesting developments elsewhere over the past few days.

The Jerez tests were kind of a shoot out for the Force India seat. There are no clear winners yet, but there is one obvious looser - Ralf Schumacher. Even he himself now admits, the Jerez outing might have been his last appearance in Formula 1 car…

Unlike Ralf, the other serious candidates - Fisichella, Liuzzi and Klien - did not do themselves too much harm.

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F1Wolf

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