Formula One is fast, and fast is dangerous. That's the assumption formed on the basis of decades of fatal crashes in the sport when the slow advancement of safety measures couldn't keep up with the ever-increasing speeds of grand prix racing. But those assumptions and those safety measures were again put to the test this weekend in Spain, where McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen crashed at 220 km/h (137mph) into a wall of tires, resulting in an estimated impact force of 26 Gs. The crash, which occurred on the 22nd lap of the race, was attributed to a wheel/tire malfunction, and Kovalainen is expected to return in two weeks to race in Turkey.
As jarring as it was, Heikki's crash was only one of the many times the safety car was deployed in a race that was dominated by the color yellow of the caution flag. The next most dominant color at Catalunya, however, was surely red, as Ferrari dominated the race virtually from start to finish, with Kimi Raikkonen sailing to an easy checkered flag with his team mate Felipe Massa close behind. Towards the end of the race, Kovalainen's teammate Lewis Hamilton was closing in on Massa, but ended up taking the third step on the podium, giving defending champion Raikkonen a commanding nine point lead over Hamilton. The perfect finish for Ferrari likewise gave the team a commanding lead in the constructors' championship, leading 47 to BMW Sauber's 35 and McLaren's 34. BMW, which entered the race with the lead for the constructors' title, didn't fair as well as hoped, with Kubica finishing an admirable fourth while his teammate Heidfeld came in outside the points in 9th after suffering a drive-through penalty. However, that wasn't nearly as bad as second-tier rival Renault did under the Spanish sun, with neither local hero Fernando Alonso nor his teammate Nelsinho Piquet completing the race. All in all, a shocking nine drivers retired before the last lap, including Nico Rosberg (Williams), Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri), both the Toro Rosso drivers (Bourdais and Vettel) in addition to the Renaults and the aforementioned Kovalainen.
Actions speak louder than words. Surely a multiple world champion driver like Michael Schumacher would appreciate such a principal, yet the retired Formula One driver continues to proclaim that he has no intention of competing in MotoGP despite his actions suggesting otherwise. After bringing you previous reports of Schumacher dazzling the crowds at various motorcycle races, comes news that Schumi was called up by the Ducati team to fill in for its injured test driver. The Italian motorcycle racing team was in the middle of a three-day test session when its official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi was injured after falling off his bike, precluding him from continuing with the tests. Rather than call on any of what surely must be a long list of eager and experienced motorcyclists to take Guareschi's place, Ducati called Michael and asked him to step in.
Meanwhile Schumacher's successor at Ferrari, reigning world champion and current points leader Kimi Raikkonen, an experienced motocross rider, uncharacteristically commented at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix that he'd like to follow in Schumacher's footpegs and try out a MotoGP racing bike, however Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali put the brakes on the prospect for the time being by commenting that Kimi has enough on his hands focusing on defending his title on four wheels.
The inability of Formula One drivers to sit still may seem natural, but Fernando Alonso may be taking it to the next level. After switching from Renault to McLaren for 2007 and then back to Renault for this season, the two-time world champion is back at it, fuelling rumors that he could move to Ferrari in another year or two.
Speculation of Alonso's potential move to the Scuderia crew began to circulate when he was on his way out of McLaren, and were furthered when his new contract with Renault reportedly left him with an out after one season. But after two disappointing races for Ferrari pilot Felipe Massa, the rumors are flying once again. Coming rather short of denying the prospect, Alonso told the press in , "I always want to be in the best car in the field... It is clear that Ferrari has one of the best cars already." Despite a contract that ostensibly secures his ride through 2010, if Massa doesn't manage to adapt to driving without traction control, Alonso just might get his chance.
We've seen Schumacher and Raikkonen compete against each other on the race track – they competed for six years until Michael retired in 2006. But notwithstanding a few promotional events, they never had the same equipment, and in F1 that makes all the difference. The two world-champion Ferrari drivers will finally have their showdown tomorrow when they both get behind the wheel of the F2008 at Barcelona.
Although Schumacher has been helping out with testing on a semi-regular basis, the past few sessions had him driving alongside his protégé Massa or old friend Luca Badoer (the team's official test driver). It will also reportedly be the first time Schumacher has driven the new car, having previously piloted developmental versions of last year's F2007, and the last test session before the first grand prix of the season in Melbourne on March 16. We'll be monitoring today's test session to see a frustrated Kimi pretend like he doesn't care and a magnanimous Schumacher lightheartedly agree.
Felipe Massa scored a great debut victory in winning the Turkish Grand Prix on the outskirts of Istanbul on Sunday. He led almost throughout the 58 lap race, held in 36 degree heat to establish himself in third place in the championship, and move Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro to within two points of the championship lead. But teammate Michael Schumacher was beaten into third place by championship rival Fernando Alonso, the pair finishing just 0.081s apart as Michael made a late lunge for the finishing line. The seven time World Championship had been overtaken by Alonso when the leading cars all pitted for fuel and tyres when the safety car came out after 14 laps. Massa came in first, requiring Michael to wait for service which allowed Alonso to overtake. His deficit to the Spaniard in the championship grew by two points to 12.
At the start, Michael’s fears of the dirtier inside line were realised in the charge down to the first corner, allowing Massa to lead although Michael just grabbed second from Alonso who was pincered by the Ferraris. He backed off which surprised teammate Giancarlo Fisichella who spun causing chaos. The Renault driver, Ralf Schumacher, Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen were among those who had to pit at the end of the lap for damage, which allowed Webber up to fourth from ninth on the grid, Jenson Button up one place to fifth, Nico Rosberg up from 14th to sixth, Tonio Liuzzi up from 18th to seventh and Robert Kubica who remained eighth.
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While children ask their parents where people go after they die, gearheads ask what happens to racing cars after they're retired. With a dozen teams on the F1 grid, each building several new cars each season, the retired ones add up quickly. The answer, for all the wide-eyed and curious little racing fans out there, is that most of them remain in the team's possession, either sitting in storage or on display in museums. But once in a while, teams will sell their retired chassis to other teams or to the public. Each one can fetch millions apiece, which can help a constructor generate extra income to help offset its nine-figure annual budget.
They don't come around that often, but for any jetsetters with an extra couple of million burning a hole, try and book next week's puddle-jumper to Zurich, where Sauber will be auctioning off several of its old racing cars – drawn from the team's era as an independent constructor before BMW snatched them up – at the Kloten airport starting February 19. F1 cars with pedigree command serious premiums, and while Sauber never actually won a race, much less a championship, some big names – including Alesi, Salo, Villeneuve, Raikkonen and Massa – drove for the team between 1993 and 2006. The first F1 car which reigning world champion Kiki Raikkonen raced in 2001 is reportedly among those up for grabs, so get your checkbook and call Swiss Air.
Loyalty is not one of the qualities generally displayed in the Formula One circus. The market for grand prix drivers is as fluid as the Mediterranean, but Kimi Raikkonen says he's at home. The returning champion has two years left on his contract with Ferrari, and though he doesn't know what he'll decide to do when his contract runs out, he's declared that he sees no reason to move to another F1 team.
Speaking with the Spanish newspaper Marca while leading the time boards at the official testing sessions at the Valencia circuit, Raikkonen says that at the end of next year, he'll either stay with Ferrari, retire from motorsports or possibly contest a few rallies. One way or another, it's got to be a relief for Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. CEO Jean Todt and team principal Stefano Domenicali says that, assuming Kimi keeps his word, they'll never have to worry about chasing the Ice Man around the track again.
