Formula 1® Grand Prix special thread

Formula 1® Grand Prix special thread

Massa fearless over racing return

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Felipe Massa believes his life-threatening accident in July will not affect his ability and desire to race.

The Ferrari star's skull was fractured when it was hit by a spring from Rubens Barrichello's car during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Massa told the Guardian: "If I don't drive then I am not the same person.
"I really hope, and expect, nothing will change inside of me when I go back into the car and start pushing to the maximum again."

The accident happened after a spring that fell from fellow Brazilian Barrichello's Brawn GP car hit Massa's helmet while he was travelling at more than 160mph.

Pressure on the brakes reduced Massa's speed to about 60mph when he hit the tyre wall but his injuries were described as "life-threatening" and there were fears for his sight.

Yet the 28-year-old has revealed that the hardest part of his recovery has been his absence from the track and he insisted he has no fears about returning to the sport that almost cost him his life.

"The worst thing that happened was not being able to race. If you can't drive that's terrible," he added.

"My wife has already asked me, at least 10 times, 'Are you sure you don't feel any doubts or worries?' Always, I say, 'No, because this is what I like to do.' Ever since I was a small boy this is my life. This is what I like to do."

Massa had wanted to return to action for the Brazilian Grand Prix, this season's penultimate race on 18 October, but has now conceded that will not happen as his doctors have advised against it.

"It was the race I wanted to come back in," he said. "But it is difficult to say if it would have been possible."

Before a return to Formula 1 is possible for Massa, he will need an operation to implant a titanium-infused plate in his head.

"A normal guy can live like this without any problem but for a driver, if you have an accident and you have this problem, the recovery is more difficult," he revealed.

"That's why I need this surgery to close the bone. I will have it soon because that's the only reason they won't allow me to race now.

"Otherwise I feel the same as before. I'm going to Europe to use the simulator and drive some go-karts and then I will know very well if I am 100%."

Ferrari have predicted Massa will make his comeback in the first race of the 2010 season, which is scheduled to take place in Bahrain on 14 March.

The team have said they are looking forward to "being able to count on Felipe 100% for the start of the next racing season".

As for the rest of this season, Massa will watch the drama unfold with interest - and he feels the title is a long way from being decided.

Brawn's Jenson Button tops the standings on 72 points, 16 ahead of his team-mate Barrichello.

However, the Englishman has struggled to replicate the early-season form that gave him six wins in the first seven grands prix of the season, taking only 11 points in the last five races.

Massa said: "In my opinion, Jenson has gone down because of the pressure. It is the only reason.

"Rubens has five races to close 16 points. It's a big possibility but it depends on Jenson. If Jenson carries on in this way it will help Rubens a lot.

"If Jenson does not cope with the pressure he will not win the championship."
 
Italian GP - Qualifying

  • 1. Hamilton
  • 2. Adrian Sutil
  • 3. Kimi
 
Ferrari kesho tunaanza katika nafasi ya 3 na ya 14, Hamilton amesaidiwa sana na Kers, hali kadhalika na Kimi.

Hivyo kesho itakuwa kazi kubwa hapo Monza.....
 
Briatore and Symonds leave Renault

Eurosport - Wed, 16 Sep 16:19:00 2009


Renault parted company with flamboyant Formula One team boss Flavio Briatore and his deputy Pat Symonds after accepting allegations that last year's Singapore Grand Prix was fixed.
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The two men were due to appear before the governing FIA in Paris on Monday to face charges, unprecedented even in a sport often mired in controversy, that the team ordered Brazilian Nelson Piquet to crash deliberately to help Spanish team mate Fernando Alonso win.
Renault said in a statement they would not dispute the allegations.
"It (Renault) also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore, and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team," it added.
Italian Briatore led the team to two Formula One constructors' and drivers' championships with Alonso in 2005 and 2006 after also winning titles with Benetton and Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995.
A business partner of Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, with the two co-owning Queen's Park Rangers, Briatore is also Alonso's manager.
A familiar face in celebrity magazines, with a jet-setting lifestyle, the perma-tanned nightclub owner is also a leading figure in the Formula One Teams' Association that threatened a breakaway series until recently.
While Briatore focused on business and the bigger picture, Symonds effectively ran the race strategy side and his departure will be a major blow for the team.
No replacements for either man were named.
International Automobile Federation president Max Mosley had already said he considered the case to be more serious than the 2007 spying controversy that cost McLaren a $100 million fine and loss of all their constructors' points.
The FIA's world motor sport council can impose various penalties for fraudulent conduct, including permanently excluding a team from the championship.
Piquet, 24, was dropped by Renault in August after failing to score a point in 10 races and has testified to the FIA that he was told when and where to crash during the night race.
In a statement subsequently leaked to the media, he told FIA investigators he met Symonds and Briatore before the September 28 race in the team boss's office.
"Mr Symonds, in the presence of Mr Briatore, asked me if I would be willing to sacrifice my race for the team by 'causing a safety car'," said Piquet, who was promised immunity from prosecution by the FIA if he told the truth.
The Brazilian added he had been "in a very fragile and emotional state of mind" at the time because of uncertainty about the renewal of his contract for 2009 and hoped his agreement would improve his position.
"Mr Symonds took me aside to a quiet corner and, using a map, pointed me to the exact corner of the track where I should crash," said Piquet in the July 30 statement.
Alonso, who has denied all knowledge of any plot, pitted for fuel on lap 12 and Piquet then crashed at a place where his car could not be easily moved, bringing out the safety car.
The Spaniard went on to win after rivals were penalised for pitting when the safety car was deployed, a rule that has since been changed. The crash caused considerable speculation at the time among rival teams and drivers.
Symonds was evasive in an interview with FIA investigators at the Belgian Grand Prix that was also leaked to the media.
Asked if he had been aware there was going to be a crash on lap 14, he replied: "I don't want to answer that question".
Symonds declared at a later stage: "I have no intention of lying to you. I have not lied to you but I have reserved my position a little."
Renault and Briatore had in turn accused Piquet and his father, a triple world champion and namesake, of false allegations and attempted blackmail and begun criminal proceedings in France.
Reuters
 
we will miss briatore,such a flamboyant character in the paddock-FI wanaiharibu,this sport fouls na team orders will always be part of the game to trying curbing this,will just bring the sport to boredom
 
Kimi hatakuwa tena na Ferrari msimu ujao, na nafasi yake inachukuliwa na Alonso. Kibunango ametaarifiwa hivyo.
 
News bulletins suggest that Renault Team have completely pulled out of F1 with immediate effect!!
 
SteveD said:
News bulletins suggest that Renault Team have completely pulled out of F1 with immediate effect!!
Click to expand...
Naona wapo Singapore tayali, na wameshaanza mazoezi na Romain Grosjean ameshapata ajali...
 
Mbu said:
...duh, haya bana.

Hamilton anauwezo kufikisha points za hawa madereva wa Brawn?
Click to expand...
Hana uwezo wa kufikisha points zao hata kama atashinda mashindano matatu yaliyobaki.

Hamillton ana point 37 huku Button akiwa na 84, na kuna points 30 tu zilizobaki, ambapo Button akihitaji kumaliza katika point huko Japan mwishoni mwa wiki hii, ili aweze kuwa bingwa wa Dunia.
 
McLaren sew up Button deal

Reigning world champion to form all-British line-up with Hamilton


Formula 1 Betting - 2010 Drivers Championship




Button: Multi-year deal with McLaren
​
McLaren have confirmed the signing of Jenson Button on a multi-year deal.
The reigning world champion has ended his association with Brawn GP to join up with fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton from next year.
Despite his individual success, as well as helping to secure the constructors' crown, Button's future at Brawn GP had been in doubt for some time.
The 29-year-old had failed to agree terms on a new contract, while the takeover of the team by Mercedes-Benz earlier this week only increased speculation that he would be moving on.
Difficult decision

"It's always a difficult decision to leave a team when you've been there for so long. But life is all about challenges - and, most important of all, it's about challenging yourself," Button said in a statement from McLaren.
"So, although I won the World Championship with Brawn GP last year, and I'll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges.
"So that's why I've decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. You can't help but be affected by this team's phenomenal history.
"McLaren is one of the greats of world sport, and its achievements and list of past champions read like a Who's Who of Formula 1 - Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and of course my new team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
"I've followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it."
For the first time in F1 history, one team will feature the two most recent winners of the drivers' title, while two British champions have not been paired together since Graham Hill partnered Jim Clark at Lotus in 1968.

Combined knowledge

Button, who was given a guided tour of McLaren's factory in Woking last week, admitted he is excited about working alongside his compatriot.
"From a personal point of view, it's also a great pleasure to be joining a fellow British world champion," he added.
"Lewis has achieved an incredible level of success in a very short period of time, and he's a wonderfully gifted driver who has earned the respect of every Formula 1 driver.
"I'm sure there's plenty that we can learn from each other, and I'm really looking forward to using our combined knowledge to push the team forward.
"Also, I think it's fantastic that we'll be forming an all-British line-up.
"I know that we both fly the flag with pride, and I sincerely hope we can make the whole of the United Kingdom, as well as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes fans across the world, proud.
"Nothing means more to me than to be able to represent my country, and I'm looking forward to both of us painting Formula 1's circuits red, white and blue for many years to come."
Team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes McLaren now have the fastest pairing on the F1 grid.

Dedicated drivers

"Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team," he said.
"It has always been our policy to employ the two very best possible drivers - and, in Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid, but also the two most complete, professional and dedicated drivers in Formula 1.
"Moreover, I'm confident that we'll be able to successfully balance and harness Jenson's and Lewis's complementary skill-sets.
"Our engineers are already looking forward to working with Jenson, and I'm convinced that such a strong and dynamic driver line-up will make us an even more complete and competitive operation. Now we have to provide Jenson and Lewis with race-winning machinery."
Whitmarsh also revealed that Button's decision to join the team was not made for financial reasons, adding: "I want to make clear that Jenson's decision to join us was in no way motivated by money.
"We'll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere, and that fact is a reflection of not only Jenson's belief in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season."
 
naona kampuni ya kiingereza imeamua kuwa na madriver wa kiingereza, ngoja tuone watangazaji mwakani watakavyokua wakiipamba Mclaren.
 
Michael Schumacher close to Mercedes deal, say Ferrari

Michael Schumacher has told Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo he is planning a comeback with Mercedes.

It is the first time anyone close to the German legend has confirmed he is actively pursuing a return, which has been rumoured for weeks.

"I spoke to him [on Wednesday] and he told me there is a very strong possibility but that it's not 100% decided," Di Montezemolo said.

He said a return by Schumacher, 41 in January, would be "good for F1".
 
Michael Schumacher signs up for F1 return with Mercedes

_46982164_schumacher466_getty.jpg

Seven-times Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to race for Mercedes next year, BBC Sport understands.

The German, who will be 41 on 3 January, has signed a contract and the deal will be announced imminently.

Schumacher will partner compatriot Nico Rosberg in the team that won the drivers' and constructors' titles in 2009 in its former guise as Brawn.

His spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said she could not make any comment.

The German newspaper Bild is reporting that Schumacher signed a one-year deal and it is likely he will have the option to continue beyond 2010 if his returns goes well.

Schumacher will reportedly earn £6.2m after signing up to reunite with Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, who masterminded all seven of his titles, the first two with Benetton in 1994-5 and the subsequent five with Ferrari from 2000-4.

More at BBC Sport
 
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Ajali hii ndio ilipelekea Micheal kushindwa kurudi kwenye F1 kushika nafasi ya Massa, mwaka huu.
 

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Lewis Hamilton & Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger split

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Lewis Hamilton and Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger have ended their relationship after two years.

McLaren's 2008 Formula 1 world champion, who turned 25 last week, and the American singer, 31, announced the split in a joint statement.

"Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton can confirm that they have decided to go their separate ways," it read.

"The two of them have decided to focus fully on their careers and will remain close friends."

Hamilton and Scherzinger began dating after meeting at the MTV Europe Awards in Munich in November 2007.

A year later, Scherzinger was at Hamilton's side as he celebrated the Formula 1 world title at the final race of the 2008 season in Brazil.

The Hawaii-born singer, who shot to fame after joining the Pussycat Dolls in 2003, has been a familiar face in the F1 paddock and was there to share in Hamilton's wins in Hungary and Singapore last season.

However, there was speculation at the Italian Grand Prix in September that the high-profile couple were close to separating because of Hamilton's reluctance to settle down.

Despite managing the challenges of a long distance relationship between his home in Switzerland and her base in Los Angeles, Hamilton insisted they were still together.

The new McLaren pairing of Hamilton and reigning world champion Jenson Button, with their respective girlfriends Sherzinger and Button's partner, Japanese model Jessica Michibata, had been expected to be the focus of the media spotlight in 2010.

Following his split, Hamilton is intent on focusing on winning back the drivers' crown from his British rival.

Source: BBC SPORT
 
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