Lady Luck Shines on Alonso

Fernando Alonso must have done some serious praying on saturday asking the heavens to miraculously disappear the 14 cars in front of him, and the Gods did comply.

From the start of the beautifully lighted circuit Massa opened a comfortable lead over Lewis who didnt look challenging enough. But the whole picture changed when Renault second driver Nelson Piquet crashed his car to bring the safety car on track. This brought about the turn of fortunes for Ferrari. Massa on his pit stop got the fuel nozzle stuck to his car and went off with it almost crashing with a couple of cars in the pits. He later got a drive through penalty for it ending his chances to win the race.

This made it easy for Alonso who had pitted before the incident. he went on to win the race easily.

courtesy: Star Sports

Magnificent Massa Sings in Singapore

With the first ever Singapore GP and the first night race in Formula 1 this weekend bring a double dose of joy for Formula 1 fans. The track overflowing with light would make a person in a plane above believe there is daylight still lingering over Singapore.

The Saturday qualifying show was stolen by Ferrari championship contender Felipe Massa. He dominated Q3 by 6 tenths of a second from his championship rival Lewis Hamilton, who ended up sandwiched between the two Ferrari cars as Raikkonen grabbed the third spot. BMW Sauber continued with its form with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld lining up fourth and sixth respectively with Heikki Kovalainen splitting the two in the second McLaren Mercedes. Monza winner Sebastian Vettel continued to shine for the Toro Rosso Ferrari team as he eased into 7th position. Fernando Alonso who looked god during the free practice could not do the same in the qualifying.

 

Sunday will be the race to watch out for with Massa trailing Lewis by a point. Singapore has certainly made its mark into history.

Monza win gets Vettel to Limelight

The Monza GP had a rather gloomy start in term of the weather and the race which commenced behind the safety car. Pole starter Sebastian Vettel of Toro Rosso was at the head of things right from the start. He dominated the rain affected race on his two stop strategy and raced the Toro Rosso to victory.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen who started the race in second position could not take advantage to gain the track position. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica drove a stunning race on his carefully timed one stop strategy to go from 11th to 3rd. Following the same strategy was Renault's Fernando Alonso who Finished fourth.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa missed out on his golden opportunity to devour Hamilton's lead in the championship as he finished 6th after starting from the same position. Massa could only nibble into Hamilton's lead by cutting it down by a point. The other driver who seemed to be in splendid form was Lewis Hamilton who despite of starting from 15th on the grid drove the tyres off  his McLaren to finish 7th and save his championship hopes.

Now with just four races left in the season and the championship fight still on separated by 1 point the last four races are sure to be a nail-biter. So sit back with your mug of beer and catch the best of the racing.

A Twist in the Tale at Spa

After a Powerful overtaking on the second lap of the race Kimi was all set to make it four wins in a row at the Spa Francorchamps. But the rain gods had other plans. Kimi led the race for the next 40 odd eventless laps when the rain gods came in to crash his party. With light rain on the track and Lewis Hamilton right behind Kimi found himself in a tight situation. With three laps to go Hamilton tried an overtaking maneuver on which Kimi shut the door. But two corners down Hamilton took the race lead. Still battling in rain affected conditions both cars nearly crashed spinning to avoid a spin recovered Nico Rosberg.

But the race was over for Kimi Raikonnen, as the Iceman was not able to control his Ferrari and spun to crash his car. Lewis drove his Mclaren to the finish line to take the chequered flag bagging his ninth GP win.

Yet Spa had more to offer as the drama was still not over. It was still meant to be Ferrari's day not the Iceman but for Felipe who had finished the race in second place.

The stewards made an after race decision on Lewis's Overtaking on Kimi and it was ruled that the former got an advantage by short cutting a corner, he was penalized 25 seconds. Thus the race win was handed over to Felipe Massa aiding his hopes to win the World Championship this year. Lewis's penalty got Nick Heidfeld the second place and Lewis managed to secure the Third place.

Ferrari look to be in a strong position with Felipe just two points behind Lewis in the Championship Standings and Ferrari leading the Constructors. The Italian team now have the next race in their backyard in Monza. Surely expect wonders from them...  

Spa Tailored for Kimi?

Can Kimi make it four wins in a row is the question looming over the Spa GP on Sunday. Kimi who has won the last three GP's at Spa would certainly be determined to win this one and put an end to all the talks about his form.

On the other hand his team mate Felipe Massa is having a good run winning the last race in Valencia and doing competitive lap times in the recently held Monza Testing.

The one disturbing thought on Kimi's mind would be that he hasn't won a race since the Spanish GP in April this year.

It would be interesting to see how he performs under pressure and would he be able to outperform his team mate and the never ending threat from Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari Puts an end to all Rumours

On the last day of testing at monza Ferrari put an end to all rumours with president Luca di Montezemolo making the announcement that Ferrari would retain their present line up of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. Rumours were doing the rounds when Ferrari ace driver Kimi was having a series of bad runs.

This had brought former world champion Fernando Alonso in the limelight with news that he might be considered as a replacement for Kimi for the 2009 season.

On the announcement Kimi was unperturbed. He said that he expected it and was sure for a contract for the 2009 season.

The Ferrari team surely look a planned team and seem a certain contender for the constructors and the drivers championship.

Image: darkmaiden.spaces.live.com

Monza Testing: Heidfeld Leads The Way

On the second day of the Monza Testing Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber bettered on Massa's first day time by nearly a second. The testing where all the manufacturers are making significant changes is getting other teams to the limelight.

The first day ended with the top runners tightly knitted together and Massa leading the list. But with Massa ending his car in the gravel the second day saw Heidfeld leading the time sheets followed by Nico Rosberg of Williams Toyota. Heikki Kovalainen was in third place. Ferrari's Felipe Massa only managed a fifth fastest time.

The day also saw a spectacular performance from the Indian Camp of Force India where Adrian Sutil managed a seventh fastest time.

Although another day of testing still remains. The true character of these teams will only be tested to the limits in the next GP in Spa in a weeks time.

Image:wikipedia