Alonso and Massa's Ferrari F150 shakedown at Fiorano

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Fernando Alonso got the opportunity to drive the new Ferrari F150 following its launch on Friday (28th Jan'11), while Felipe Massa took over duties on the second day yesterday, around Fiorano circuit in Maranello.

On this second day of acquiring footage of the car?s new livery for advertising purposes, the Fiorano Track opened its gates to a section of the fifteen thousand Scuderia Ferrari Club members. ?I would like to thank all of you for having coming all the way here to give us your passionate support,? said Stefano Domenicali as he got the day underway by addressing the crowd.

?Last year, on the day we won at Monza, feeling this wave of affection from all of you was a great motivating force as we fought our way back and we hope to give you something back this year with a championship title, something that we missed out on in Abu Dhabi by the smallest of margins. This car is dedicated to celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification because it is part of our makeup to feel pride in representing our country all over the world. Even if we have team-members who come from many different countries, starting with a Spaniard like Fernando and a Brazilian, albeit with Italian origins, like Felipe, we have a strong desire to hold high the national flag which is now seen in all its glory on our car.?
-Stefano Domenicali


A day of red hot enthusiasm at Fiorano

"Over a thousand people braved the cold and damp this morning to see the Ferrari F150 and the Scuderia?s full complement of drivers from Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa to Bianchi, Fisichella, Bertolini and all the youngsters from the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The weather was definitely not at its best, with a bit of sleet in the early hours of the morning making the track damp and temperatures were even lower than yesterday, so that Felipe Massa only did just over sixty kilometres at the wheel of the F150."

- Ferrari.com


Fernando Alonso's first laps in the Ferrari F150 (Day 1)


Felipe Massa drives the Ferrari F150 (Day 2)




Ferrari's movable rear wing in action

F1 websites across the web are pointing out the adjustable rear wing in action in the Ferrari F150 shakedown pictures. Have you noticed the rear wing in 'normal' and 'deployed' positions in the above pictures yet?!

The development testing will get underway in Valencia on Feb 1st. For launch and test schedules, go to this post (2011 Winter launch and Test schedule).

Images © Ferrari

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Nationwide Series Joey Logano NASCAR Danica Patrick

Red Bull RB7 launch pictures (1st of February)

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Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel presented their 2011 car, the RB7 to the media at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain on 1 February 2011.

Chief technical officer Adrian Newey explained some of the changes from the championship winning RB6 and the new RB7:

?Preparing for the new season has been an interesting challenge for all of us,? he says. ?There have been a number of changes to the regulations and while they are not as comprehensive as the changes for 2009, the major differences ? such a the re-introduction of the KERS system and the arrival of a moveable rear wing to aid overtaking ? have meant that RB7 is quite different to last year?s car.

?However, what we have done is taken the philosophy of continuing evolution. We have evolved RB6, which itself was an evolution of 2009?s RB5, and this is, if you like, the third generation of a successful lineage.?


Technical specifications
Chassis carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque, designed and built in-house, carrying engine as fully stressed member
Suspension (front) Aluminium alloy uprights, carbon-composite double wishbones with springs and anti-roll bar, push rod-actuated multimatic dampers
Suspension (rear) as front, except pull rod-actuated rear dampers
Engine Renault RS27-2011 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission Seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox with reverse gear Hydraulic system for power shift and clutch operation
Weight 640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel Total
Tyres Pirelli P Zero

OZ Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Link
Red Bull RB7 ? Open Fronted Exhaust Blown Diffuser (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"Despite rule changes Newey has found the loophole that allows exhausts to blow inside the diffuser for more downforce. Although the rules were revised for 2011 to try to prevent double diffuser and openings to allow the exhaust to blow inside the diffuser. The rules did permit openings in the outer 5cm of the diffuser, an area where teams have recently split the floor and created raised lip, coincidentally a practice first exploited by Newey on the RB5."

Red Bull RB7 launch pictures







Photos © Red Bull Racing/Getty Images

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Nicolas Kiesa Leo Kinnunen Danny Kladis Hans Klenk

Mark Webber - Classic F1

Red Bull's Mark Webber is the latest driver to pick his five favourite all-time races for BBC Sport's classic Formula 1 series.

Unlike some of his rivals, our columnist was a fan of F1 before he started racing in it and has a good knowledge of the sport's history.

So it is no surprise that his selection is an aficionado's list of five all-time great races.

Mark Webber

In his 10 years in the sport, Webber has been involved in plenty of classic races himself - but he has not picked any of his six wins, nor great moments such as his pass of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso at Eau Rouge at Spa this year, a move that will go down in the annals as one of the best and bravest there has been.

Instead, the sole race among his five choices in which he took part is one in which he played only a cameo role - albeit an important one. But we will come on to that later.

Webber's first choice is one he remembers watching as a child in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, the 1986 Australian Grand Prix. It is the race that brought to a climax what some have called the greatest F1 season in history.

Held on the Adelaide street circuit, it is famous for the tyre blow-out that robbed Williams driver Nigel Mansell of the title and for McLaren driver Alain Prost's unexpected - if thoroughly deserved - second title, won against great odds. As Webber says: "It was a big battle for the championship and obviously Nigel Mansell had the tyre failure. It was a grand prix packed with great drama."

The 1992 Belgian Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher took his maiden F1 victory on this damp day at Spa-Francorchamps, on the first anniversary of his debut. Schumacher's win actually hinged on an error. He ran off the track and lost a place to Benetton team-mate Martin Brundle. On rejoining, Schumacher noticed that the Englishman's rear tyres were 'graining' so he decided to pit for new ones. The decision won him the race.

There were also starring roles for those two giants of the era, McLaren's Ayrton Senna and Mansell. Webber recalls: "Senna tried to make the slicks work in an inferior car while Schumacher got the tactics right although Brundle was just as quick. As was often the case, Michael made a mistake and ran off the track but managed to get back on to notch up his first race win."

The 1993 European Grand Prix

A favourite of F1 drivers this year - arguably Ayrton Senna's defining performance in the rain at Donington Park. As Webber says: "The original yellow helmet. Say no more!"

The 2000 Japanese Grand Prix

The race Schumacher has said was his best ever - it won him his first title for Ferrari after a flat-out race-long battle with his most respected rival, McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, in which both men operated on a separate level from their rivals at Suzuka, one of the most demanding circuits in the world.

Webber says: "This was Hakkinen and Schumacher at their best. It's only after you've driven this track and competed there in F1 that you appreciate what a great grand prix those two contested."

The 2005 Japanese Grand Prix

"Which is a race I competed in," Webber says - and one, it should be added, that is arguably the greatest F1 race in history. It featured two of the best overtaking moves there have ever been, and it was won by McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen from 17th on the grid, the Finn overtaking Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella for the lead at the start of the last lap.

It might well have been won by Fisichella's team-mate Fernando Alonso, who led Raikkonen in the early laps. But the Spaniard was delayed by a controversial intervention by the stewards, which impacted on his strategy. And when he might have been battling for the lead, he was fighting to pass Webber's Williams for third place.

Alonso finally forced his way past the Australian in a brave move that involved putting two wheels on the grass halfway down the pit straight. But that pass was nothing compared to the one he pulled on Schumacher at the high-speed 130R corner earlier on in the race. Alonso took Schumacher around the outside of the corner, knowing that if they touched their lives would be in danger. Astonishingly, his apex speed as he passed the Ferrari was 207mph.

Webber says: "After a mixed up qualifying, we had some pretty fast guys in the best cars at the back. I enjoyed the race, driving a Williams car that was good in the corners but very, very inefficient aerodynamically and so I had no top speed. I fought for a podium late in the race with Fernando."

We have chosen Webber as our driver this week because he had selected this race, which is a fitting scene-setter for this weekend's action in Japan.

Highlights of the 2005 grand prix at Suzuka are embedded below, while underneath them are short and extended highlights of last year's Japanese race. It was dominated by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, with Webber right in his wheel tracks for the entire grand prix, but unable to get past.

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CLICK HERE FOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

Webber's classic races will be available on the BBC red button on satellite and cable television in the UK from 1500 BST on Wednesday 5 October until 0155 BST on Friday 7 October. Freeview viewers will be able to watch them between Friday's first and second practice sessions, from 0340 to 0550 on Friday.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/10/mark_webber_-_classic_f1.html

Mikko Kozarowitzky Willi Krakau Rudolf Krause Robert Kubica

Vettel underlines title credentials with sublime drive

At Spa-Francorchamps

Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber finished one-two in the Belgian Grand Prix after drives that can compare with many of those that have entered the annals of Formula 1 history from the famous Spa-Francorchamps track.

The two men went into the race on Sunday well aware of their team's concerns that their front tyres could fail.

Red Bull design chief Adrian Newey said it was "one of the scariest races I've been involved in", and the mind boggles as to the bravery of the drivers in that situation.

Spa's high-speed sweeps are arguably the biggest challenge a grand prix driver can face. Although safety has improved immensely at the circuit in the modern age, it remains an old-school race track, on which there are places "you wouldn't want to go off," as Webber put it in his BBC Sport column last week.

The drivers sounded phlegmatic about it after the race, but they were well aware of the potential seriousness of the situation. "We took quite a lot of risk," Vettel said. But, he added, "when there is a chance to win, we go for it".

Of all the many qualities that make grand prix drivers different from ordinary mortals, this has to be one of the most striking.

Call it bravery, call it lack of imagination, but Vettel and Webber went into the race, committed themselves to the 180mph rollercoaster ride through Eau Rouge, having put their lives in the hands of calculations by their engineers about how long their tyres would last.

The height of concern was in the early stages of the race, when the cars were running on tyres that Newey said Pirelli had told them "were very marginal and at five o'clock yesterday they wouldn't say after half a lap or five laps but they were going to fail".

Vettel and Webber's one-two in Belgium continued Red Bull's domination of this year's championship. Photo: Reuters

Red Bull's engineers had calculated that they could be pretty sure Webber's tyres would last two or three laps, and Vettel's five - which is when the two men made their first pit stops.

Red Bull were not the only team to suffer blistering, but theirs was worse than any of their rivals.

The situation caused controversy because they were running their cars with a greater degree of camber - lean away from vertical - on their front tyres than supplier Pirelli recommends.

Pirelli motorsport chief Paul Hembery chose his words carefully after the race, but I understand there were strong words between Pirelli and Newey before the race, and that there may be less tolerance of any team who choose to go beyond Pirelli's advice in the future.

It is yet another example of how Newey pushes every parameter to the limit, an approach that allied with his genius for aerodynamic design, has led him to create so many dominant cars, of which this year's Red Bull RB7 is just the latest in a long line.

With everything that was involved - the bravery, the tyre management, racing and overtaking Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, it has to rank as one of the best of Vettel's 17 victories.

Both Newey and team principal Christian Horner described it as a "mature" drive, and, as Newey pointed out: "Mark's race was every bit as good."

Webber was compromised first by a poor start, caused when his anti-stall kicked in, and then by a radio miscommunication that meant he did not follow his team-mate into the pits under the safety car period that followed Lewis Hamilton's collision with Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi.

That committed him to a long middle stint on the slower 'medium' tyre, at the beginning of which he showed bravery of a different but no less remarkable kind.

On lap nine, Webber passed Alonso on the outside going into Eau Rouge, pulling alongside on the hill down from La Source, nosing in front, and refusing to concede.

The two men are good friends, and they always race hard but fair, giving each other just enough room in such situations, but this incident was right on the edge.

"That boy must have some balls to do that - on the outside into Eau Rouge," Horner said. "Phenomenal. Pass of the day.

"Fernando was professional and gave him enough room to work with. Mark was always going to brave it out around the outside. I think we all closed our eyes."

Of course, Vettel and Webber's one-two was facilitated by the huge performance advantage of their cars.

Alonso appeared to be in the running for victory until his team chose not to stop under the safety car, but he insisted that was an illusion, saying Red Bull had a pace advantage of "one second per lap, maybe towards the end of the race even more, 1.5 seconds".

This is quite a turnaround after Red Bull failed to win any of the previous three races, where McLaren and Ferrari both showed Red Bull-beating pace.

Newey ascribes this to the "very cool conditions and slightly abnormal races" in Britain, Germany and Hungary.

"Hungary we were actually quite competitive in the dry and in those early laps on the intermediate tyres we suffered," he said.

"Germany it was exceptionally cold and we suffered in [tyre] warm-up. Silverstone we were compromised because we believed we had cold blowing (of the diffuser) allowed but it was taken away on Sunday morning."

This does not bode well for what were admittedly faint hopes that one of Vettel's rivals might have a chance of stopping his relentless march to the championship.

Although Alonso starred in the early stages in Spa, the car closest on pace to the Red Bull would seem still to be the McLaren, judging by Jenson Button's remarkable drive through the field to third place on Sunday, which was full of clinical and elegant overtaking moves.

As Button pointed out, though, McLaren's weekend in Belgium was compromised by the mistakes that have characterised their season, and which they desperately need to cut out.

In Button's case in Belgium, that was a "miscommunication" over how many laps he had left in the second period of qualifying that left him stranded in 13th place.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, made another of several mistakes by himself and the team this season which have made it impossible to challenge Vettel.

Without them, he would be in the fight, rather than where is now, which is 113 points behind Vettel with only 175 still available, and his title hopes over.

Alonso, who after his fourth place in Spa is in a marginally better position but still 102 points adrift of Vettel, said he would keep battling until it was mathematically impossible to overhaul Vettel.

But even he, F1's most relentless fighter, admitted Ferrari's hopes were "not in our hands, and Red Bull need to make big, big mistakes, and have big problems if we want to win the championship".

Barring a disaster of catastrophic proportions, then, Vettel will win a second consecutive world title this year, and long before the end of the season.

After performances such as that at Spa on Sunday, and many others this year, he fully deserves it.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/08/vettel_underlines_title_creden.html

Derrike Cope Carl Edwards Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet

Ferrari launch their new 2011 car, F150 ( Launch Pictures)

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Ferrari launched their 2011 spec challenger during a media event that took place at Maranello yesterday (28th Jan'11) ahead of a track debut at nearby Fiorano. The wraps came off the F150 ? a tribute to Italian unification and featuring an Italian flag on the rearward-facing rear wing. The team?s new Scuderia Ferrari logo features prominently on the engine cover. The F150 is the first F1 car of 2011 to be revealed.

?As far as the looks are concerned the rules keep them quite unaltered. The cars look like the ones from last year, but from a technical point of view they will be really different,? said technical director Aldo Costa.

?The car?s evolution has been planned with two big stages: one during the winter tests, where we will mainly develop the area of the mechanics, which means that the car?s structure, the chassis, the gearbox and the suspension will remain the same for the first couple of races. The aerodynamics is simplified and temporary for the first tests, waiting for the real aerodynamic development for the first race,?
further explained Costa.

Ferrari's president Luca di Montezemolo also attended the media event, and wanted to congratulate Fernando Alonso publicly for his wonderful campaign with the Prancing Horse last year. As far as Felipe Massa is concerned, di Montezemolo called him "our little child" and insisted that it was his brother who drove a Ferrari in these past couple of years, only now the true Massa is back.

Chassis Specification

  • Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
  • Ferrari longitudinal gearbox
  • Limited-slip differential
  • Semiautomatic sequential electronically controlled gearbox ? quick shift
  • Number of gears: 7 +Reverse
  • Brembo ventilated carbon-fibre disc brakes
  • Independent suspension, push-rod activated torsion springs front and rear
  • Weight with water, lubricant and driver: 640 kg
  • BBS Wheels (front and rear): 13?

Engine Specification
  • Type: 056
  • Number of cylinders: 8
  • Cylinder block in sand cast aluminium V 90°
  • Number of valves: 32
  • Pneumatic distribution
  • Total displacement: 2398 cm3
  • Piston bore: 98 mm
  • Weight > 95 kg
  • Electronic injection and ignition
  • Fuel: Shell V-Power
  • Lubricant: Shell Helix Ultra

Link

Ferrari F150 ? Launch detail & Analysis (Scarbsf1's Blog)

"Firstly the front wing is last years; it even has the driver adjustable mechanism which is no longer allowed in 2011. However the nose cone will be fairly definitive, as it needs to match the front of the chassis and being a homologated part, cannot be structurally changed during the season. This front wing may be on the car for the opening test runs, but we will soon see an interim 2011 wing before a final version appears for Bahrain."

Ferrari F150 Launch Pictures



Images © Ferrari, toilef1.com, daylife.com

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Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr

Schumacher of old returns to haunt Hamilton

Since Michael Schumacher returned to Formula 1 at the beginning of last season, he has not provided many glimpses of the man who dominated Formula 1 for so long - but that all changed at the Italian Grand Prix.

It is still not clear whether the German legend has the speed he had in his first career, despite two impressive drives in the last race in Belgium and now on Sunday in Monza.

But it was blatantly obvious in Italy that he is as willing as ever to push the boundaries of acceptable behaviour up to and beyond their limits.

Schumacher's driving in defending his position from Lewis Hamilton will split opinions - as BBC Sport's own experts proved.

"In sporting etiquette between racing drivers," David Coulthard said, "that was right on the line and he had one foot over it. He gave Lewis the chop."

But while Coulthard went on to add that he did not feel Schumacher deserved a penalty for his behaviour, chief analyst Eddie Jordan disagreed: "You cannot move twice. It's certainly questionable. If I was a judge I would have to reprimand him."

Schumacher's defence of the position over 21 enthralling - and occasionally heart-stopping - laps was certainly robust.

But there were two incidents in particular for which many will argue he was lucky to get away without a penalty.

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The first was on lap 16, when Hamilton dived down the inside of Curva Grande - taken flat out at 190mph - and Schumacher pushed him on to the grass.

The second was four laps later, when Schumacher appeared to change his trajectory twice while defending from Hamilton out of the second chicane and into the first Lesmo corner.

Article 20.2 of sporting regulations says: "Manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as more than one change of direction to defend a position, deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are not permitted."

It should be no surprise that Schumacher is prepared to drive like this - after all, he did it so much in his first career that his dubious tactics are remembered just as strongly as his results, which takes some doing when you have won nearly twice as many races as anyone else in F1 history.

What is perhaps more surprising is that he was not punished - particularly for the 'two moves' incident. Although this looked less dramatic, it was probably the one that further exceeded the boundaries of acceptability.

The blocking move into Curva Grande was, as one veteran F1 observer put it on Sunday evening, "a bit naughty but entirely predictable" - and Hamilton was anyway a bit optimistic in trying to go down the inside there from as far back as he was.

Race director Charlie Whiting warned Mercedes about Schumacher's driving - and team principal Ross Brawn was fully aware of how close they were to being penalised. He went repeatedly on to the radio to warn Schumacher to give Hamilton enough room.

Back in Malaysia in April, Hamilton was given a 20-second penalty after the race for changing his line twice while defending his position from Fernando Alonso. Many will look at Schumacher's behaviour in Monza and conclude it was at least as bad, if not significantly worse.

Hamilton himself was clearly unimpressed. "I thought you were only allowed one move!" he said in exasperation over his radio.

After the race, though, he kept his counsel in public. As he had made it clear he wanted to stay out of trouble to try to end the tumultuous run of events that have derailed his season, that is perhaps not a surprise. It remains to be seen whether it stays that way.

Ironically, it was the first of those two incidents that led to Schumacher losing what at the time was third place, a position he found himself in after his customary superb start, and then taking advantage of Hamilton being caught napping at the re-start after the safety car period that was prompted by a first-corner crash involving backmarkers.

In backing off after being forced onto the grass at Curva Grande, Hamilton was overtaken by team-mate Jenson Button, who used his momentum to close rapidly on Schumacher and pass him in a brilliantly audacious move around the outside into Ascari.

Button said his own move on Schumacher was one of the bravest he has ever pulled, but another earlier in the race surely surpassed it - when race-winner Sebastian Vettel passed Alonso for the lead around the outside of the Curva Grande and into the second chicane.

Alonso edged Vettel far enough to the left for the Red Bull to have its left-hand wheels on the grass while flat out in top gear. But Vettel kept his foot hard down, controlled what must have felt like a scary wobble, and nailed the Ferrari down the inside into the chicane.

It puts to bed any unfounded criticisms that Vettel cannot win from behind - and the world champion elect was still a little wide-eyed about it after the race.

"I was on the grass there," he said to Alonso with a smile as they waited to go out on to the podium. "Yeah," the Ferrari driver responded.

It was a heart-in-the-mouth moment, certainly, but was this as bad as Schumacher's chop on Hamilton into the same corner a few laps later?

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Schumacher appeared to turn in early on Hamilton and gave him no room at all, and the McLaren driver had no choice but to take to the grass with at least half of his car. Vettel, by contrast, had the option to back out of the move, but chose not to.

This was almost certainly because - as with team-mate Mark Webber's pass of Alonso into Eau Rouge at the last race in Belgium - he knew Alonso would be hard, but could trust him to leave him just enough survival space.

It was mighty close. "Very hard but fair," was Vettel's post-race verdict

What was particularly impressive about Vettel's decision to commit was that he did not need to - as he himself said, he could easily have waited and got him in one of the zones where he could use his DRS overtaking aid that lap or the next.

Vettel has such a huge championship lead that he does not need to take any risks - and yet his hunger for victories, to stamp his absolute authority on this season that surrendered to him months ago, remains as intense as ever.

This was his eighth win of the year and one of the most impressive, and suitably it brought him to the brink of his second title.
Vettel will be crowned the youngest double champion in history - taking the honour from Alonso, ironically enough - in Singapore if he wins and Alonso does not finish third and Button or Mark Webber do not finish second.

On current form, that is entirely possible, and even if he doesn't do it there, Vettel will certainly tie it up sooner rather than later.

At the age of 24, he has 18 wins to his credit, a second title in the bag, and 25 pole positions. Schumacher's records - 91 wins, 65 poles, seven titles, which seemed unbeatable when he set them - look within reach, unless the other teams can do something about Red Bull's superiority. And perhaps even if they do.

Vettel's remarkable progress prompted superlatives from Coulthard after the race. "Are we witnessing one of the true greats - one of the legends of the sport. It's always difficult to judge when it's so early in someone's career but his results are remarkable."

To truly judge Vettel, he needs to go up against another great - Hamilton or Alonso or perhaps, on current form, Button - in an equal car. But there can no longer be any doubts that he is right up there.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/09/post_2.html

Red Bull Toyota Kyle Busch M and M s Toyota Sam Hornish Jr

Schumacher of old returns to haunt Hamilton

Since Michael Schumacher returned to Formula 1 at the beginning of last season, he has not provided many glimpses of the man who dominated Formula 1 for so long - but that all changed at the Italian Grand Prix.

It is still not clear whether the German legend has the speed he had in his first career, despite two impressive drives in the last race in Belgium and now on Sunday in Monza.

But it was blatantly obvious in Italy that he is as willing as ever to push the boundaries of acceptable behaviour up to and beyond their limits.

Schumacher's driving in defending his position from Lewis Hamilton will split opinions - as BBC Sport's own experts proved.

"In sporting etiquette between racing drivers," David Coulthard said, "that was right on the line and he had one foot over it. He gave Lewis the chop."

But while Coulthard went on to add that he did not feel Schumacher deserved a penalty for his behaviour, chief analyst Eddie Jordan disagreed: "You cannot move twice. It's certainly questionable. If I was a judge I would have to reprimand him."

Schumacher's defence of the position over 21 enthralling - and occasionally heart-stopping - laps was certainly robust.

But there were two incidents in particular for which many will argue he was lucky to get away without a penalty.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


The first was on lap 16, when Hamilton dived down the inside of Curva Grande - taken flat out at 190mph - and Schumacher pushed him on to the grass.

The second was four laps later, when Schumacher appeared to change his trajectory twice while defending from Hamilton out of the second chicane and into the first Lesmo corner.

Article 20.2 of sporting regulations says: "Manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as more than one change of direction to defend a position, deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are not permitted."

It should be no surprise that Schumacher is prepared to drive like this - after all, he did it so much in his first career that his dubious tactics are remembered just as strongly as his results, which takes some doing when you have won nearly twice as many races as anyone else in F1 history.

What is perhaps more surprising is that he was not punished - particularly for the 'two moves' incident. Although this looked less dramatic, it was probably the one that further exceeded the boundaries of acceptability.

The blocking move into Curva Grande was, as one veteran F1 observer put it on Sunday evening, "a bit naughty but entirely predictable" - and Hamilton was anyway a bit optimistic in trying to go down the inside there from as far back as he was.

Race director Charlie Whiting warned Mercedes about Schumacher's driving - and team principal Ross Brawn was fully aware of how close they were to being penalised. He went repeatedly on to the radio to warn Schumacher to give Hamilton enough room.

Back in Malaysia in April, Hamilton was given a 20-second penalty after the race for changing his line twice while defending his position from Fernando Alonso. Many will look at Schumacher's behaviour in Monza and conclude it was at least as bad, if not significantly worse.

Hamilton himself was clearly unimpressed. "I thought you were only allowed one move!" he said in exasperation over his radio.

After the race, though, he kept his counsel in public. As he had made it clear he wanted to stay out of trouble to try to end the tumultuous run of events that have derailed his season, that is perhaps not a surprise. It remains to be seen whether it stays that way.

Ironically, it was the first of those two incidents that led to Schumacher losing what at the time was third place, a position he found himself in after his customary superb start, and then taking advantage of Hamilton being caught napping at the re-start after the safety car period that was prompted by a first-corner crash involving backmarkers.

In backing off after being forced onto the grass at Curva Grande, Hamilton was overtaken by team-mate Jenson Button, who used his momentum to close rapidly on Schumacher and pass him in a brilliantly audacious move around the outside into Ascari.

Button said his own move on Schumacher was one of the bravest he has ever pulled, but another earlier in the race surely surpassed it - when race-winner Sebastian Vettel passed Alonso for the lead around the outside of the Curva Grande and into the second chicane.

Alonso edged Vettel far enough to the left for the Red Bull to have its left-hand wheels on the grass while flat out in top gear. But Vettel kept his foot hard down, controlled what must have felt like a scary wobble, and nailed the Ferrari down the inside into the chicane.

It puts to bed any unfounded criticisms that Vettel cannot win from behind - and the world champion elect was still a little wide-eyed about it after the race.

"I was on the grass there," he said to Alonso with a smile as they waited to go out on to the podium. "Yeah," the Ferrari driver responded.

It was a heart-in-the-mouth moment, certainly, but was this as bad as Schumacher's chop on Hamilton into the same corner a few laps later?

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Schumacher appeared to turn in early on Hamilton and gave him no room at all, and the McLaren driver had no choice but to take to the grass with at least half of his car. Vettel, by contrast, had the option to back out of the move, but chose not to.

This was almost certainly because - as with team-mate Mark Webber's pass of Alonso into Eau Rouge at the last race in Belgium - he knew Alonso would be hard, but could trust him to leave him just enough survival space.

It was mighty close. "Very hard but fair," was Vettel's post-race verdict

What was particularly impressive about Vettel's decision to commit was that he did not need to - as he himself said, he could easily have waited and got him in one of the zones where he could use his DRS overtaking aid that lap or the next.

Vettel has such a huge championship lead that he does not need to take any risks - and yet his hunger for victories, to stamp his absolute authority on this season that surrendered to him months ago, remains as intense as ever.

This was his eighth win of the year and one of the most impressive, and suitably it brought him to the brink of his second title.
Vettel will be crowned the youngest double champion in history - taking the honour from Alonso, ironically enough - in Singapore if he wins and Alonso does not finish third and Button or Mark Webber do not finish second.

On current form, that is entirely possible, and even if he doesn't do it there, Vettel will certainly tie it up sooner rather than later.

At the age of 24, he has 18 wins to his credit, a second title in the bag, and 25 pole positions. Schumacher's records - 91 wins, 65 poles, seven titles, which seemed unbeatable when he set them - look within reach, unless the other teams can do something about Red Bull's superiority. And perhaps even if they do.

Vettel's remarkable progress prompted superlatives from Coulthard after the race. "Are we witnessing one of the true greats - one of the legends of the sport. It's always difficult to judge when it's so early in someone's career but his results are remarkable."

To truly judge Vettel, he needs to go up against another great - Hamilton or Alonso or perhaps, on current form, Button - in an equal car. But there can no longer be any doubts that he is right up there.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/09/post_2.html

Jonathan Edward Wood Christopher Beltram Hernandez Yeley Nascar

A day in the life of Jake Humphrey

Remarkably I managed to get through the past week in Singapore while tricking my body that I was still in Europe.

It may seem strange that I was eating muesli at two in the afternoon, feeling ready for lunch at eight in the evening and finishing the day by sharing some grub with Martin Brundle at three in the morning but it felt oddly routine.

For a variety of reasons this has quickly become my favourite race of the season. I think it is largely because the drivers, press officers, production team and everyone else are a little wired - slightly giddy because of the time difference. That creates an atmosphere totally unique to the Singapore GP.

The Singapore Grand Prix portrays a beautiful picture under the beaming floodlights. Photo: Getty

This is my working day, Singapore-style...

11am
Sunlight is coming through the curtains, while Beach Road in downtown Singapore is alive with commuters and passers-by. I try to ignore it and carry on dozing.

2pm
Time to start the day. Mine usually begins with a call to my wife Harriet, or my parents. If there is time, my favourite pastime is Skyping my niece and nephew. On a Saturday we would be gearing up for our qualifying show.

I much prefer writing scripts in the morning, possibly because my brain feels a little more alive at that time. That could be because of 10 years delivering the Eastern Daily Press to the locals of Upper Stoke Holy Cross.

Anyway, I'll start scripting the show and, at this point, I start clock-watching, working out how many hours until I'll be delivering these lines to a few million people. Once I've written a few links and given myself keywords to prompt me during interviews, it's time to get myself sorted.

I go through the running order and think about the guests we should try to get. I have to think what the stories are and the people you guys would like to hear from - plus the locations where we will be for each link. Everything has to be planned because we need permission from the teams to be live in their garages and to tell them the precise time we will be there.

That doesn't mean my ideas are final - the Editor, Mark Wilkin will have his own opinions and might not like my ideas.

Once I've scripted, showered and shaved, it's time to iron my 'show shirt'. I like to do this myself as I hate creases in them. This weekend I even ended up doing fellow presenter Lee McKenzie's ironing - don't ask!

3.30pm
Departure time. In Singapore it was £2 to get a cab to the circuit, which is far more appealing than walking, otherwise you end up looking like you've had a shower with your clothes on due to the humidity.

On Saturday I jumped in a cab with Rebekah, our Production Manager. While we were busy gossiping our poor driver took a wrong turn and we ended up on the other side of Marina Bay, seemingly unable to get back across the water.

On Sunday, I was the fool as I left my shoes in the hotel lobby. To make it worse I was wearing bright white trainers, which isn't very BBC Sport. Production coordinator Louise Elliott went back in a cab for me. I'll say it again - thanks Louise, I am an idiot.

4pm
Myself, senior producer Richard Carr, assistant editor Steve Aldous and film editor Mark Wilkin share our thoughts on the script. Once we've decided which drivers, team bosses and garages we want to get involved with, it's up to Steve to sort things out. With gentle persuasion, the odd reminder of a favour we are owed and some occasional begging, he makes it look easy.

Some people ask why we never speak to certain drivers and if we are biased against them. Often our first-choice driver turns us down, so we have to make a sudden change of plan. Sometimes we ask three or four teams before we get a 'Yes' to one of our requests.

6pm
David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle rock up. DC makes tea the most, Martin is the most punctual and Eddie probably misses one in every three meetings for some reason - but we let him off.

We then watch the various video pieces. Sometimes we collectively decide to make a change to one of them but very rarely is a glaring error spotted.

Once I say, "Ted Kravitz reports...", we usually have to sprint three garages down the pit-lane, find our next interviewee and check they are ready to go live. Mark will update the three of us as to whether we are over or under time - or if there is any breaking news while Richard Carr directs the cameras and Louise lets us know how long is left on the video.

The fact we have already seen it means we can reference back to it, or simply keep the chat along the right lines.

7pm
Out to the paddock to do a tech check with the crew. On Saturday, we walked live into McLaren. One of the crew realised he was the wrong side of the camera and had to make a dash to safety. You can watch the moment on iPlayer and see the flash of white as he athletically sprints out of, or rather into, shot.

These guys arrive days before us, set up the office, the communication links with the paddock, plug in the kettle and make sure that, when us creative types come up with a ludicrous idea to push the boundaries, that it can be achieved.
It hasn't gone unnoticed and no other F1 coverage has ever got so close to the action. You won't find better, harder-working pros.

8pm
Live to the nation! The final few seconds before we are on air never fail to be exhilarating, petrifying and surreal in equal measure.

10.30pm
The show is over and, after pre-recording a chat for BBC News and the trail you may often see on the BBC later that night, it's back to the office to think about the following day's race programme. We always discuss what worked, what didn't and what we could have done differently or better.

Midnight
We go through the video packages for the following day. I love the creativity and madness of the people who create these. The music is an important part of the show and can come from anywhere. I was running the track on Thursday and the Black Eyed Peas song Get Ready For The Showdown was on my playlist. We have now done over 50 Grand Prix on the BBC and these guys certainly haven't run out of ideas - or music.

3am
We have decided on the running order for Sunday, drunk enough tea to refresh an army and, despite how strange it feels, it is actually time to leave the track and head out for dinner.

At this point I usually ring my parents as I still like to get their feedback on the show and find out what's happening in Norwich. Missing loved ones and home is the only real negative of this job.

An average Singapore Grand Prix day ends with the team heading somewhere to grab some noodles and a beer. I wouldn't usually admit to drinking at four in the morning before a Grand Prix, but that's the beauty of this race - in reality it's only nine in the evening.

There are many similarities with every Grand Prix but this one is slightly different. It is more exciting and electric than normal.

As we draw near to the end of another season, let me place on record my thanks to all the guys who have worked on the BBC F1 output this year. I can honestly say that, despite all the well-publicised distractions of the past few months, our team have been as hard-working, professional and perhaps even a little more driven and keen for success than ever.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2011/09/it_worked_remarkably_i_managed.html

Brian Scott BigSpot com Toyota Carl Long Willie Allen

NASCAR Tickets - Labonte to Enter Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame

Bobby Labonte's NASCAR career is far from over, but his phenomenal racing over the past several years has earned him a (perhaps premature?) induction into the elite Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame anyway. On April 1, 2009, Labonte will join the ranks of the top motorsports daredevils throughout the state of Texas in the state's motorsports vault, partaking in an event at the Texas Motor Speedway's Speedway Club to accept his induction into the hall of fame.

Labonte recently made a statement about his entrance to the Texas Motorsports HOF, saying, "I'm honored and humbled to have people in Texas appreciate what I do on the track. I love Texas and will always hold the state and the speedway close to my heart. I was there for the groundbreaking [of Texas Motor Speedway] and have made a few unforgettable career accomplishments there. It's a really nice feeling to know that you've got people behind you in your home state. I've also been lucky enough over the years to have great people behind me; great fans, great owners, great sponsors, great teams. I wouldn't be where I am today without the support of people in the industry and people who love the sport."

The great No. 96 Bobby Labonte is among a celebrated batch of Texans to get the invite to be inducted into the state's motorsports hall of fame, and this Corpus Christi native is among several other racing greats from across the state, including fellow NASCAR drivers A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Lee Shepherd, Kenny Bernstein, Jim Hall, Eddie Hill, Jim McElreath, Mark Martin and, of course, Labonte's older brother Terry Labonte. Bruton Smith will also be inducted into the 2009 hall of fame alongside Bobby Labonte, and other awards given at the April 1 celebration will be given to Rick Hendrick for Legends Award, Scott Dixon for Texas Motor Speedway Sportsmanship and Carl Edwards for Texas Motor Speedway Racer of the Year.

Fans with NASCAR tickets have been cheering on Bobby Labonte since 1990, when he ran a full season with the Busch Series. Labonte won his first Busch Series championship in 1991 and has been a threat to the racing world ever since, making numerous Top 10 Sprint Cup Series finishes in the last several years. While the Labonte brothers packed the one-two punch in much of the '90s and '00s with Terry often overshadowing Bobby in the earlier years, it has been Bobby who has had the more fruitful career recently.

Bobby Labonte finished 21st overall in the Cup Series last year with two Top 10 finishes. The Hall of Fame Racing guru was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 alongside his brother, and the much-respected Bobby Labonte is currently in 23rd place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings after the Bristol race, having finished 22nd at Daytona, 20th at Fontana, fifth at Las Vegas and 22nd at Bristol (and having engine trouble at Atlanta.) NASCAR tickets to see Bobby Labonte whip around the track live are available now online, so come see this racing legend before he decides to retire!

This article is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Labonte to Enter Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/251708/nascar-tickets-labonte-to-enter-texas-motorsports-hall-of-fame

Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous Ignazio Giunti

The Nascar Points Rating System

Nascar uses a points and rating system of rules to award its drivers. Now the prize money is not the only thing that matters. The points also count. Let's now take a gander at the history of the Nascar points system. From 1949, when Nascar began, to 1951, Nascar awarded points on the base of the position in the race. The 1st position got 10 points, the second got 9 points, and so on. These points were increased by the 0.05 race purse. Then, from here until 1967, the winners were awarded points on a linear scale.

From 1949 to 1971, Nascar tried six different point and rating systems before they reached the current rating system. In 1972, Nascar inaugurated a new points system. Then, three various systems were tried for three various years. The systems were strange in some of the cases. Some counted mileage; some counted the finishing position as well as the mileage. There were complaints coming in from fans. The points system was not favorable. There was a Nascar champion that had won just one race in his career. The bigger races had more points. Those who won the bigger races eventually scored more points than their counterparts who had won more races.

The Current System Comes Into Existence -
It was in 1975 that the current points system was developed. Two forms of this system were again tried from 1982 to 1998. In this system, the points were awarded according to the final position and the number of laps covered during the race. There are three scales again for the number of points that a person can receive according to his finishing position. In the current system, the winner receives 180 points, the 2nd place gets 170, and so on, with 10 points separating the winner from the next position. Then, after the 2nd position, the first scale starts. In this scale, 5 points separate one position from another. This scale lasts from the 2nd to the 6th position. Then, from the 7th to the 11th position, the second scale comes into effect. Four points separate one position from another, and in the last scale 3 points separate one position from another.

Other Points -
There are other points also that come into the picture. For every lap that is completed, a racer gets 5 points. There is also an additional 5 points awarded for the most number of laps based on lap leadership. Driver points are also counted. If a driver is replaced during the race, then the points earned by the replacement driver still count toward the original driver's tally.

Owner points are also given to the owner of a car. For every car that qualifies for the race, the owner points given are the same as driver points.

This author is a HUGE fan of NASCAR licensed merchandise

Article Source: The Nascar Points Rating System

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/111187/the-nascar-points-rating-system

Michael Curtis Waltrip Scott Alan Wimmer Jonathan Edward Wood Christopher Beltram