



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.


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.


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.
