Fernando Alonso, who some believe is the best driver in F1, has seen his name in the news a lot these last few days. First, reports popped up that the Spanish racer has signed a (still unsubstantiated) secret deal that would put him in the seat of a Ferrari Formula 1 car beginning when his contract with Renault expires after the 2010 season. According to the latest set of rumors, Ferrari actually wanted Alonso to break his contract with Renault for the upcoming season, but the driver chose to honor his current deal out of loyalty. If true, Alonso would have taken Kimi Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari, racing alongside Felipe Massa. The starting grid for Formula 1 has always been a bit of a roundtable affair, and these most recent rumors would appear to keep the ongoing soap opera going for the next few years, at least.
According to Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fernando Alonso is the best driver in Formula 1 and would have won the 2008 championship had he been driving a Ferrari. If that sounds like a major slap in the face to current Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, it is. Lewis Hamilton, the man who actually did managed to win last year's title, was voted as the second best driver. It seems worth mentioning that this vote came shortly after the recently rumored secret contract between Alonso and the Prancing Horse. Regardless, the Italian rag does correctly point out that Alonso finished the season in an impressive fashion, scoring more points than any other driver in the series despite being handicapped by equipment that wasn't up to par with the best from Ferrari, McLaren and BMW.
F1 ace Fernando Alonso has reportedly signed a secret, four-year deal to drive for Ferrari starting in 2011. The Spanish driver first made waves in F1 while driving for Renault, during which time he became the the youngest ever Drivers' Champion and added a second title at the expense of F1 legend Michael Schumacher. After a disappointing though lucrative season in 2007 with McLaren, Alonso returned to Renault in 2008 and recently signed a two-year extension through 2010. Once that contract expires, the rumored secret four-year deal with Ferrari will begin. We're told that both Alonso and Ferrari have a number of out clauses in case things go awry, though the unconfirmed deal means that at least one of Ferraris current drivers, Kimi Raikkonen or Felipe Massa, won't be wearing red come 2011. In fact, Alonso could join the team even earlier if Raikkonen performs as poorly in 2009 as he did last year.
With the 2008 championship over with and the year winding down to its final days, Formula One's constructors are preparing to unveil their new cars for 2009. The new regulations for the 2009 season promise to make the new cars look considerably different from the current crop, as we're likely to see when the teams start rolling out their competitors for next year's crown.
Ferrari and Toyota are expected to be the first to unveil their new cars, with a live reveal at Fiorano and an online release of images from Cologne on or about the 15th of January. The next day McLaren-Mercedes is tipped to present their latest chrome-dipped blingmobile at the team's high-tech facility in Woking. Williams and Renault are set to unveil their cars on January 19 at a test session, with BMW Sauber running its first public testing shortly afterwards. With Honda F1's future hanging in the balance, that leaves Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India, which are expected to show their cars in February and March. Stay tuned as we bring you images and details of the latest crop as they make their debuts.
Formula One impresario Bernie Ecclestone's Christmas tradition is to send a mischievous card to friends. The past few years he probably hasn't had to work too hard to come up with something -- in fact, it's probably taken more time to figure out which particular F1 shenanigan he wanted to portray. This year, Bernie looked no further than one of his best friends, Max Mosley. Max was embroiled in an ugly sex scandal earlier this year, and Ecclestone's card depicts Max meting out the same justice to F1 team bosses that a room full of prostitutes did for him while Bernie stands by with the band-aids. The other interesting things about the card: Toyota's manager is writhing in agony and while the other team bosses appear to be watching the race, Toro Rosso's Gerhard Berger is watching... legs.
An historic event will take place at the start of the 2009 Formula 1 season as Italian Ferrari grand prix cars will be emblazoned with the logos of an Indian automaker for the first time ever. Tata Motors, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, has purchased rights to sponsor Ferrari's F1 racing efforts. Details of the duration and the dollar amount have yet to be revealed. This isn't the first time Tata has been involved with F1, however. A few years back, it was a sponsor of both Jordan and Williams' F1 efforts.
The partnership is not as left-field as it might initially seem, as Fiat (which owns the Prancing Horse) has a few joint ventures with the Indian automaker. Ferrari, being a very small manufacturer of roadgoing supercars, requires sponsorships such as this to continue racing in such expensive series as Formula 1. For Tata, placing its corporate logos on Ferrari race cars outwardly associates them with one of the most prestigious marques in the world, a move they doubtlessly see as key in their push to become a global automotive force.
The 2008 F1 Drivers World Championship was one of the most exciting in years. Over the course of its 18 races, several drivers and teams had noteworthy performances, with the championship ultimately being decided in the final corner of the final lap of the final race. Those who watched that the race in Brazil will undoubtedly remember the heartbreak of Felipe Massa's family and the jubilation of Lewis Hamilton's girlfriend. While some were quick to blame Timo Glock for his amazing reduction in pace into that final turn, others rightly know that a championship is about the whole season and not just one race. And what a season it was.
For some it was the realization of the promise that Lewis Hamilton showed in his rookie season before his inexplicable late-season collapse last year. For others it was pure devastation at seeing Felipe Massa rise to his own prominence at Ferrari only to see mid-season mistakes rob him of crucial points and ultimately the championship. We just came across a video clip called "Down to the Final Corner." It was compiled by Pistola and it lets you relive the season in about eight minutes. It's a collection of the highs and lows with some of the razzle and dazzle of F1 thrown in for flavor. We've posted it after the jump to remember the season that was. With all of the changes coming to Formula 1 for 2009, we might not see anything like it for a long time to come.
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Honda's departure from Formula One came down to a singular factor: cost. The amount of cash required to campaign a team (or two) in the top tier of open-wheel motorsports has been on an upwards trajectory for as long as we can remember, and combined with the current economic downturn, it was just a matter of time before a manufacturer questioned whether or not it was worth the expense. That's a tough pill for enthusiasts to swallow considering all the knowledge gleaned from F1 -- not to mention WRC.
However, in an attempt to get costs in check, the FIA announced earlier this year that it would pursue a tender to supply an engine and transmission package to teams for the 2010 season and beyond. F1's governing body announced today that Cosworth has been tapped to provide the new "low-cost" drivetrain, that requires an up-front payment of 1.97 million Euros and then an additional 6.42 million Euros each season during the three-year contract. While 20+ million Euros might not seem like a bargain, it's a pittance compared to what automakers invest developing their own engine. If they opt out of the unbadged Cosworth engine, teams can use their own de-tuned version of the current 2.4-liter V8. Transmission choices are still up in the air, as Cosworth negotiates with Xtrac and Ricardo.
Rumors yesterday indicated that Honda would be dropping out of Formula 1 for the 2009 season if a buyer wasn't quickly found. Today, CEO Takeo Fukui has made Honda's exit official. As you would imagine, racing at the top rung of motorsports is expensive, and despite the acknowledgment of such from top F1 officials and the growing sentiment that it needs to get cheaper, that's not going to happen in 2009. With global automotive sales, and therefore profits, down by alarming percentages, Honda can no longer justify its F1 racing investments and believes that the money could be better spent elsewhere. It should be noted that Honda has only had a single Grand Prix victory way back in 2006, so its significant yearly multi-million dollar investment has never really paid off anyway. An official statement from Fukui, who thanks Honda's fans for their support, is pasted after the break.
The Ferrari World Finals at Mugello finished a few weeks ago. But someone appeared to have forgotten to tell the tifosi, as a loyal garrison of the Scuderia's most loyal fans, thousand-strong, came back out last week to the track. After the Challenge series were decided, the 16M Scuderia Spider unveiled, the FXX program ran its laps and the fans celebrated the Formula One constructors' championship, what exactly were they hoping still to see? How about the prospect of seeing an Italian driver piloting an Italian F1 car around one of Italy's most famous tracks? And not just any driver, but Valentino Rossi, a world champion with credentials to rival Schumacher's.
Valentino Rossi is an unassailable legend in motorbike racing, having taken the titles in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc categories in quick succession before moving up to MotoGP and taking the championship five times... so far. Having achieved dominance on two wheels, Rossi has examined the possibility of switching to four. He's competed in several championship rallies, winning the Monza rally in 2006. He initially tested a Ferrari F1 car at Valencia in 2006, where he embarrassed some of F1's most experienced drivers, prompting him to consider a professional switch to Formula One before ultimately deciding to stay in MotoGP. This past week's test session was just for fun then, but Rossi still proved his mettle. He lapped Mugello at 1:22.550 – just a second and a half behind Kimi Raikkonen's time – on his first drive without traction control. Rain interrupted the second day of testing, but while Rossi showed promise, he admits he'd be too old to start in Formula One at this point. Shame for F1 fans, but reassuring for MotoGP aficionados.
