After some Monaco drizzle we had the first proper wet to extreme wet race this year. It has provided us with all that can be expected - lots of spins, pit stop and strategy dilemas and some surprising faces on the podium.

It is not easy to review this race without missing something. A lot was happening on the track, the commercial breaks on ESPN Star came always in the wrong moment and Steve Slater did again his best to confuse us all with mixing up the driver names and talking bull while important things were happening on the track. How can someone like this guy keep the job with a TV station that broadcasts all over Asia is a mystery to me. But back to racing …

When we look back at the end of the season for the start of the year then Lewis Hamilton’s start to British GP will be high on the list of candidates. Starting from 4th but almost in the lead after few corners. Only very sharp defensive driving from his team mate kept him in second position. I am not sure McLaren pit wall enjoyed those few opening corners watching both their drivers getting way too close for comfort on the wet and slippery track. Both McLarens pulled away with Kimi Raikkonen in 3rd safely behind (safely for McLarens but safely for Kimi too). Hamilton kept pushing and Kovalainen kept defending. But then on lap 4 all of a sudden Kovalainen let Hamilton pass … TV applauded that as a great overtaking maneuvre from Hamilton, to me it looked like team orders in place …

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F1Wolf

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Lewis Hamilton has won his (eventful) home Grand Prix after taking full advantage of his great start and some very strange tyre decision by Raikkonen’s camp. Nick Heidfeld brought his BMW Sauber home in 2nd place. The Ross Brawn factor came to effect in tricky wet / extreme wet conditions. Right choice of tyres in right time and Rubens Barrichello claimed his first podium since joining Honda … They must have missed Brawn at Ferrari today …

2008 British GP Result:

1. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 1:39:09.440
2. Nick Heidfeld - BMW Sauber + 1:08.500
3. Rubens Barrichello - Honda + 1:22.200
4. Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari + 1 laps
5. Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren + 1 laps
6. Fernando Alonso - Renault + 1 laps
7. Jarno Trulli - Toyota + 1 laps
8. Kazuki Nakajima - Williams + 1 laps

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F1Wolf

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All we need is 2 weeks break between races and the rumour floodgates open. Let’s have a look what’s new since the second edition.

Robert Kubica has been doing well and so it comes as no surprise his future has been talked about quite a bit. Few innocent remarks to Italian paper La Stampa created two contradictory rumours. First linking Rosberg with BMW Sauber (as Kubica’s team mate) and then linking Kubica with a move to Ferrari. Sounds interesting but whom would Kubica replace ? Massa is under contract till 2010 and doing well right now (after shaky start to the season). There has been lots of talking about Raikkonen’s retirement but if I am not wrong that is part of the post 2009 future. All I can say about Kubica and Ferrari is that Kubica’s helmet matches the Ferrari colour scheme quite well as the picture above shows .

Fernando Alonso has dismissed the rumours about him signing for Ferrari, so now it is time to link him to BMW Sauber, now also a race winning car. It may help that Robert Kubica does not seem to mind having Alonso as a team mate. The question for me however is if Alonso would be OK with Kubica in the other car. At the moment all that is sure about Alonso’s future is that he has not made any decision on it, at least that is what he says.

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F1Wolf

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It is Monaco Grand Prix and the Paddock is buzzing with rumours. This brings out the second edition of this series of posts. (See the first here.)

I am not really surprised to hear that “Fernando Alonso has just inked a deal to drive for Ferrari in 2010″. I do not expect anything bigger than this to come out this weekend. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. It may be, remember how Kimi Raikkonen signed for Ferrari. It may also be just a purposely started rumour to unsettle the drivers market. Let’s see what happens next, but I do not expect to find out the truth anytime soon.

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F1Wolf

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Here are the results from the mad race in Melbourne, with only 7 cars finishing the race, and even one of those (Rubens Barrichello) later disqualified for exiting the pitlane under red light:

1. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes– 1:34:50.616
2. Nick Heidfeld – BMW Sauber + 5.478
3. Nico Rosberg - Williams + 8.163
4. Fernando Alonso – Renault +17.181
5. Heikki Kovalainen – McLaren Mercedes +18.014
6. Kazuki Nakajima – Williams + 1 lap
7. Sebastien Bourdais – Toro Rosso + 2 laps
8. Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari + 3 laps

Race report will follow later today.

F1Wolf

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The ING Renault team enters the 2008 season with a brand new line up. OK, not exactly brand new. None of the 2007 Renault drivers has survived Flavio’s winter clean up. However one of the new drivers is recycled, repackaged and more expensive Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso - Spain
Born: 29 July 1981
In F1 since 2001 - 2001 Minardi, 2002 Jaguar and Renault testing, 2003 - 2006 Renault, 2007 McLaren
Best Result: 2005 and 2006 Formula 1 Champion
Career wins: 19
Pole positions: 17
Podium Finishes: 49

Fernando Alonso is the highest ranked active Formula 1 driver when it comes to race wins (19, ahead of Kimi with 15) and pole positions (17, ahead of Kimi with 14). Considering the expected relative strength of Ferrari and Renault in 2008, this may not be so by the end of the season.
The speculation about Alonso’s possible return to Renault began way before his exit from McLaren has been announced. Briatore went public not that long ago, that first discussions about this happened already in Melbourne 2007. Now he is back, the question is for how long. His long term commitment to Renault has been questioned with rumours about future move to Ferrari adding extra fuel to the fire. Recently Keke Rosberg specualted that Alonso may also be eyeing BMW Sauber … The fact is that he is now in Renault and he would need to give the team more than his famed 6 tenths if he is to add to his race wins and pole positions tally. Fight for the title may be out of his reach this season but I would not bet against him scoring some unlikely race win this year. Renault does not look that much worse than their maiden win seeking BMW Sauber. And with no offense intended towards Heidfeld and Kubica, none of these 2 guys is Alonso. Alonso will also likely be able to count on support from Renault’s nuber 2 - Nelson Piquet.

Nelson Piquet Jr. - Brazil
Born: 25 July 1985
Rookie, F1 experience in testing only - 2004 Williams, 2005 BAR Honda, 2006-2007 Renault
Career highlight: 2nd in GP2 Championship 2006

Nelson Piquet Jr. is kind of unknown quality. He did win couple of A1 races for Brazil, he was runner up to Lewis Hamilton in GP2 in 2006, but I think that the fact that he is now in F1 has more to do with his name than with his qualities. I am not saying he is not a good driver or that he does not deserve his drive in F1. I am just saying that being Piquet helped him to get where he is now. Now it is on him to prove himself. He for sure does not lack the confidence. A year ago he set his sights on Fisichella’s seat and was open about that, he has got it. But for him to last in Renault beyond 2008 season he would have to find the right balance between his desire to race to win and not causing 2007 McLaren like situation. The sooner he and his father accept that in 2008 Renault is all about Alonso, the better for them. The best opportunities for Piquet to display his skill will be in qualifying. In races he will have to follow what the team says …

F1Wolf’s prediction for Renault drivers in 2008:
No. 1 - Fernando Alonso, with a shot at some lucky win during the season
No. 2 - Nelson Piquet Jr. - one of the few obvious number twos this year

2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Ferrari
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - McLaren
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - BMW Sauber

F1Wolf

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The 2008 Formula 1 drivers preview continues with BMW Sauber team.

Nick Heidfeld - Germany
Born: 10 May 1977
In F1 since 2000, 2000 Prost, 2001 - 2003 Sauber, 2004 Jordan, 2005 Williams, 2006 - 2007 BMW Sauber
Best Result: 5th 2007
Career wins: 0
Pole positions: 1

Nick Heidfeld is the guy who lost the quest for McLaren seat to Kimi Raikkonen back in 2002. After that he spent few years in midfield and lower midfield with Sauber and Jordan. When he finally got his break and moved to a top team, Williams in 2005, Williams was no longer a top team … After BMW left Williams for Sauber, they took quick Nick with them. He might not have expected that at that time, but it looks like he finally found himself in a competitive car. Perhaps against the general expectations he outclassed his team mate Robert Kubica in 2007. Chinese GP was the only race in 2007 he finished outside top 6 (not counting those 3 he did not finish). He is one of the drivers who are happy the traction control is now thing of the past. But the life may be tougher for him this year. BMW may not be the isolated ones between the top 2 and the rest. The competition for 5th and 6th in each race will probably include more drivers than just Robert Kubica. If BMW closes the gap on top 2, with a bit of luck this season may bring a maiden win for Nick Heidfeld. But he may as well find himself outside of points more often than last year.

Robert Kubica - Poland
Born: 7 December 1984
In F1 since 2006 BMW Sauber
Best Result: 6th 2007
Career wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podium Finishes: 1 (Monza 2006)

Robert Kubica jumped into the BMW Sauber race seat with 6 races to go in the 2006 F1 season. Jacques Villeneuve was sacked after 2006 German GP and so only after few months of test driver duties with the Swiss/German team Kubica found himself on the F1 grid in Hungary. He almost scored 2 points on his debut. But his inexperience and failure to “collect” enough rubber on the way back to pit lane resulted in his car being 2 kg underweight. Kubica was disqualified and Michael Schumacher promoted to 8th. His “bad luck” continued in Monza. He scored an amazing 3rd place finish. However nobody paid much attention to him as after the race all the attention turned to Michael Schumacher and his retirement… Many expected Kubica to be the better one of the BMW Sauber drivers in 2007. It somehow did not happen. Nick Heidfeld raised his game while Kubica struggled with the Bridgestone tyres early on in the season. Two highlights of his 2007 season were the massive terrifying crash in Canada and then the great fight with Felipe Massa in Japan. Towards the end of the season however there was not much between Kubica and Heidfeld. Winter tests suggest that may also be the situation at the start of the 2008 season.

F1Wolf’s prediction for BMW Sauber drivers in 2008:
It will be very tight between Heidfeld and Kubica but for no particular reason I think Heidfeld will finish the season with few points more than Kubica.

2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Ferrari
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - McLaren

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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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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I am out of reach of the internet today, so for the regular visitors a pre-recorded message

The best of the rest, third fastest team on the 2007 F1 grid, second place in the constructors table (after McLaren’s exclusion). BMW Sauber suprised many in 2007. Here is the BMW Sauber 2007 screensaver to remeber the so far best ever season for the Swiss based former Sauber team.

You can download the screensaver here: 2007 BMW Sauber F1 Screensaver

Please check the screensaver tag for more F1 screensavers.

F1Wolf

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