But despite the troubles, Ferrari kept their faith in Raikkonen and team president Luca di Montezemolo has no doubt that the 2007 world champion will be on top form again.

“I joke that we had Kimi until Magny Cours, then he was busy and he asked a friend of his to drive,” di Montezemolo told selected media including autosport.com at Maranello.

“This friend was a very good driver. He put on Kimi’s helmet, but now we finally have the proper Kimi back again.

“For a while he looked like a centre forward who wasn’t scoring goals, but as soon as he did you knew he will be okay again. We have spoken recently and I think he is very, very determined and in good form.

“Let’s not forget that in his first year at Ferrari he was world champion. He will be back for sure.”

Di Montezemolo has also heaped praise on Massa, who earned widespread respect at the end of the season for the way he drove in Brazil and behaved following the title defeat.

“I was very proud of how he reacted to the situation,” he said. “Proud, calm, sporting, gracious, loyal. I like him very much. It’s a Ferrari face I very much like. He did the maximum.

“We didn’t lose the championship in Brazil but at places like Hungary and Singapore. They were not his mistakes, they were ours. I remember Michael telling me in 2006 that this guy is bloody quick.”

And although Ferrari dashed Fernando Alonso’s hopes of securing a drive there when the extension option in Kimi Raikkonen’s contract was taken up at Monza, di Montezemolo has not totally ruled out a tie-up in the future.

“He’s a fantastic driver, no question. I like him. Particularly in Japan he drove a great race. He’s a champion and a team leader, but for the moment we don’t have any problem with our current drivers.

“That is why we confirmed officially Massa and Kimi until the end of 2010. Life is long and in the future we will see. But for the moment we don’t have any grey areas regarding drivers for the next two years.”

http://www.kimicentral.net/content/view/194/1/
]]> http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/kimi-determined-to-fight-back-in-2009/feed/ 0 yue24 http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/hamilton-wins-in-china-massa-keeps-title-hopes-alive/ http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/hamilton-wins-in-china-massa-keeps-title-hopes-alive/#comments Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:40:57 +0000 yue24 http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/?p=114 ]]> McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton did everything but win the title in Shanghai on Sunday, as he scored his fifth victory of the season in a pluperfect style that left championship rival Felipe Massa floundering in his wake.
The Brazilian ran third for much of the race, astern of Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen as they struggled vainly to keep the McLaren in sight. Then on lap 49 the Finn conceded second place, so that Massa left China with 87 points to Hamilton’s 94 – and with his admittedly fading championship aspirations still alive.

Raikkonen stayed clear of a closing Fernando Alonso, who pushed hard all the way through for Renault, and Nick Heidfeld led BMW Sauber team mate Robert Kubica home as the Pole saw his own title hopes die. His three points leave him on 75, too far behind Hamilton.

The race started with a bang. Hamilton easily beat the Ferraris into the first corner and Alonso finally got the better of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen as they duelled over fourth. Further back, however, Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais tipped Jarno Trulli’s Toyota into a spin. The Frenchman was badly delayed; the Italian made one pit stop at the end of the lap and another a lap later, to retire.

Adrian Sutil and Kovalainen were the only other non-finishers. The Force India stopped on the entry to the pits on lap 13, and Kovalainen, whose McLaren had been smoking on the grid, fell from fifth place to the tail of the field on lap 35 when its right front Bridgestone tyre failed. Later he parked the car in the garage with a mechanical problem.

A one-stop strategy worked well for Timo Glock as he brought the second Toyota home seventh ahead of Nelson Piquet, who had a strong run in the other Renault. There were no points for Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso as they finished ninth, ahead of Red Bull’s David Coulthard and an aggressive Rubens Barrichello who was on good form for Honda. Kazuki Nakajima was another one-stopper, finishing 12th ahead of Bourdais, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Williams team mate Nico Rosberg, Honda’s Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Force India.

The race did not, in the end, clinch the title for Hamilton, but it did exorcise the ghost of Fuji and it leaves him needing only four points in Brazil. That means he can let the Ferraris and Alonso do what they like, as fifth place will do the job whatever Massa achieves.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/10/8565.html

Polesitter Hamilton was penalised for forcing Kimi Raikkonen wide into Turn One at the start. The Ferrari got a better getaway and was in front when Hamilton jinked right, almost hitting team mate Heikki Kovalainen in the process, and then locked up under braking. He understeered wide, flat-spotting his front tyres and leaving Raikkonen nowhere to go, dropping the Finn to seventh place.

Hamilton also lost places, but quickly resumed his Ferrari battle, this time with Massa for P5. That ended in tears on lap 2, when the Brazilian dived down the inside at the chicane, running over the kerbs and tipping his rival into a spin. Stewards deemed Massa to have caused an avoidable collision and both men subsequently received drive-through penalties for their respective misdemeanours.

That wasn’t the end of the controversy for Massa. He also made contact late in the race with Sebastian Bourdais, just after the Toro Rosso driver had exited the pitlane. The pair went side by side around Turn One, making contact and and putting Massa into a spin, from which he quickly recovered. Stewards decided to investigate the incident after the race.

Speaking to reporters, Hamilton admitted he had been at fault at the start. Coupled with retirement for Kovalainen after suspected engine problems, it meant McLaren failed to score for only the second time this season, handing the constructors’ championship lead back to Ferrari – who saw Raikkonen recover to come home third – and allowing third-placed BMW Sauber to close to within eight points.

The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen Grands Prix. The Drivers’ Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the final race of the season, making Räikkönen the third Finnish driver to take the title.

An appeal by McLaren regarding the
legality of some cars in the final race could have altered the championship standings, but on 16 November, the appeal was
reportedly rejected by the International Court of Appeal, confirming the championship results.Räikkönen entered the final
race in third position in the drivers’ standings, but emerged as champion after the chequered flag, a feat that had been
accomplished only by Giuseppe Farina in 1950.

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (pronounced [ˈkimi ˈmɑtiɑs ˈræikkønen]; born October 17, 1979 in Espoo) is a Finnish Formula One race
car driver, currently driving for Scuderia Ferrari. He is the 2007 Formula One World Drivers’ Champion.
Räikkönen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in 2001. Having previously only raced in very junior
open-wheel categories, he was given his Super Licence from the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) after a
performance delivery promise from his team boss, Peter Sauber.[1] He joined McLaren Mercedes in 2002, and became a title
contender by finishing runner-up in the 2003 and 2005 championships to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, respectively.

Räikkönen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in 2001. Having previously only raced in very junior
open-wheel categories, he was given his Super Licence from the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) after a

performance delivery promise from his team boss, Peter Sauber. He joined McLaren Mercedes in 2002, and becamea title

contender by finishing runner-up in the 2003 and 2005 championships to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, respectively.

Switching to Ferrari in 2007, Räikkönen became the highest paid driver in motor sport with an estimated wage of $51 million
per year,in part due to the fact that the previous highest paid driver Michael Schumacher had retired. In turn his move to
Ferrari saw him secure his first Formula One World Drivers’ Championship, beating McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point.
Räikkönen is known to be very calm, cool, and calculating in his race strategy—prompting the nickname “Iceman”, which is
subtly written on the side of his current helmet design. His other nicknames include Kimppa, Räikkä and Kimster (used by his
mechanics).
In 2008, Räikkönen is one among the two Formula One drivers who made it into the Forbes magazine’s The Celebrity 100 list,
the other being Fernando Alonso. He is 36th on Forbes magazine’s The Celebrity 100 list of 2008, and 41st on the previous

year. On the same list, as of 2008, he is listed as the 26th highest paid celebrity overall and the 5th highest paid sportsman behind Tiger Woods, David Beckham,Michael Jordan and Phil Mickelson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimi_Räikkönen

]]> http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/the-world-champion-2007-formula-one-drivers/feed/ 2 yue24 http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/race-at-fuji-speedway-2008/ http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/race-at-fuji-speedway-2008/#comments Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:31:32 +0000 yue24 http://allaboutf1.wordpress.com/?p=26 ]]> Alonso makes it two wins in a row in Japan

Nobody expected Fernando Alonso to win in Singapore – and for sure the chances of a repeat in Fuji seemed minimal, but the Spaniard took advantage of a chaotic start, passed early leader Robert Kubica in the first pit stops, and was never thereafter threatened.

If the afternoon went Renault’s way yet again, it was a disaster for McLaren with Lewis Hamilton penalised for a move which briefly won him the lead after a tardy start but was deemed to have put Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen off the road in the first corner, and later pushed into a spin by title rival Felipe Massa. He finished 12th, out of the points, and only unlapped himself at the very end.

Massa was adjudged at fault for taking Hamilton off on the second lap and also got a drive-through penalty, but a typically feisty drive put him into eighth place with three laps to run, and thus reduced the deficit to Hamilton from seven to six points. The Englishman still has 84, the Brazilian 78 with two races left.

A very aggressive race by Kubica earned BMW Sauber second place and the Pole eight points, bringing his score to 72, while Kimi Raikkonen’s third place for Ferrari brings him to 63 and put Ferrari back ahead in the constructors’ championship. These two staged some of the best racing of the afternoon as they fought wheel-to-wheel over second on the 53rd lap, before graining tyres forced Raikkonen to settle for the final podium position.

In the carnage at the start, as Hamilton outbraked Raikkonen for the lead but slid wide as the cold ambient temperature affected tyre grip, both McLarens tangle with the Ferrari before temporarily going off the road. As they lost ground the Ferraris were delayed, and Kubica was able to squeak into the lead from Alonso.

Behind them, Toyota’s Timo Glock was hit from behind and sustained damaged that rendered him an early retirement, while Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima ran into the back of David Coulthard’s Red Bull. The Scot crashed heavily in Turn Two as a result, the Japanese driver pitted for a new nose and would finish last.

Heikki Kovalainen recovered to third, but was stopped early on by mechanical failure.

Kubica held the lead until his fuel stop on lap 17, then Alonso led for a lap until his. Jarno Trulli then took the lead until his stop on lap 21, whereupon Sebastien Bourdais had a spell ahead for Toro Rosso. When he pitted on lap 24, Nelson Piquet went to the front until lap 28.

Thereafter, Alonso had the upper hand, leaving Kubica to fight off Raikkonen to the flag. Piquet closed in on them for a while until he had a moment in Turn Five, and settled for fourth for the suddenly rejuvenated Renault team. Trulli held on for fifth ahead of Bourdais, who comfortably beat team mate Sebastian Vettel this day. Bourdais made contact with Massa, putting the Brazilian into a minor spin, as he exited the pits for the final time, an incident that stewards are investigating.

Massa grabbed eighth from Mark Webber on the 65th lap in a dramatic move as he squeezed between the Red Bull and the pit wall, and behind the Australian Nick Heidfeld led Nico Rosberg home. Neither Force India finished; Adrian Sutil was in a promising 10th place until debris appeared to burst his right rear tyre down the straight on lap seven, and Giancarlo Fisichella stopped later with a mechanical problem.

Having made a stop for fresh rubber and more fuel on lap two, Hamilton fought back, served his penalty on lap 17, then stopped again on lap 40. But this afternoon there was nothing he could do to claw back the lost ground. He finished 12th ahead of the Hondas of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, and Nakajima’s Williams.

http://www.formula1.com/news/

Super Aguri Base :    Leafield, UK
Team Principa     :    Aguri Suzuki
Drivers                :    T Sato
A Davidson
Test Drivers        :

Chassis               :    SA08
Engine                 :    Honda
Tyres                   :    Bridgestone Potenza
First Season        :    2006
World Championships:    0
Highest race finish     :    6 (x1)
Pole Positions     :    0
Fastest Laps        :    0

2008
Four rounds into the season, financial difficulties force Aguri Suzuki to withdraw his team from the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.
2007
Positive second season for Aguri Suzuki’s men, running development of Honda’s ’06 chassis. Sato qualifies in top ten in Melbourne, scores team’s maiden point in Spain and adds three more in Canada. Ninth overall, just two points behind Honda.
2006
Japanese team’s first season, fronted by former driver Aguri Suzuki. Contest first 11 rounds with modified 2002 Arrows chassis. Performance improves with introduction of SA06 car, taking Takuma Sato to top-ten finish in Brazil.

http://www.f1.com/teams_and_drivers/teams/186/

2007
Former Spyker team is bought in October by a consortium headed by Indian billionare Dr Vijay Mallya and renamed ‘Force India’ for the 2008 season.

http://www.f1.com/teams_and_drivers/teams/186/

2007
Aerodynamic and reliability problems leave team with just six points from 17 races – 80 less than their 2006 tally. Only their innovative ‘green’ livery makes a splash. Ross Brawn appointed new team principal ahead of 2008 campaign.
2006
After title success as engine suppliers in ’80s and ’90s, return as works team. Promising start, with pole at round three, but race pace fades mid season, prompting staff reshuffle. Strong recovery with Hungarian victory and fourth in final standings.
1968
Two further podiums for John Surtees in France and US. Also scores Honda’s maiden pole in Italy. Team bow out at end of season after Jo Schlesser is killed in innovative RA302 machine during French Grand Prix.
1967
Return to the podium when John Surtees finishes third at season opener in South Africa. Surtees goes on to take debut win for new RA300 car in Italy, helping team to fourth place in constructors’ championship.
1966
Appear in just three races, as team work to adapt to new three-litre engine formula. Fourth place in Mexico their best result.
1965
Team base switches from Tokyo to Europe. Two-car entry in latter part of season. Score first Formula One point at Spa and maiden Grand Prix win in Mexico, both courtesy of American Richie Ginther.
1964
Make Formula One debut with a single car in the German, Italian and US Grands Prix.

http://www.f1.com/teams_and_drivers/teams/186/

2007
The FW29 proves much more reliable than its predecessor, and the team record just seven retirements instead of 20. Alexander Wurz retires ahead of season finale and is replaced by Kazuki Nakajima, who retains the seat for 2008.
2006
Disappointing season sees team finish eighth in standings. Cosworth-powered package shows early promise, including fastest lap at Bahrain season opener, but challenge quickly fades. Twenty DNFs, with best results two sixth places for Mark Webber.
2005
Finish fifth in standings then bid farewell to engine partners BMW and Nick Heidfeld, who, after scoring his maiden pole, misses last five races through illness/injury. Best result Monaco, with both drivers on podium.
2004
Ralf Schumacher misses six races after fracturing spine in Indy accident. Replaced by Marc Gene and then Antonio Pizzonia. Team ditch radical ‘walrus’ front wing after disappointing start to season. End it on high with victory in Brazil. Fourth in standings.
2003
Dramatic improvement in form in the second half of the season with four race wins. Finish second to Ferrari in the standings after losing final-race showdown.
2000 – 2002
Despite winning races, unable to mount a serious championship challenge to the dominant Ferrari team.
1997
Jacques Villeneuve takes his first and only drivers’ championship and Williams take the constructors’ crown for a ninth time.
1996
Damon Hill wins the drivers’ championship for Williams and the team take their eighth constructors’ title.
1994
Williams suffer their first fatality when Ayrton Senna is killed at Imola. In a sombre season the team wins the constructors’ championship.
1993
Alain Prost wins his fourth drivers’ championship and announces his retirement from the sport.
1992
Nigel Mansell wins the first five rounds of the season and he and the team go on to take both drivers’ and constructors’ titles. Mansell then leaves the sport to compete in IndyCar.

http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/teams/4/

Chassis          :    RB4
Engine            :    Renault RS27
Tyres              :    Bridgestone Potenza
First Season    :    2005
World Championships :    0
Highest race finish      :    3 (x3)
Pole Positions  :    0
Fastest Laps     :    0

2007
Tough start with Adrian Newey-penned RB3, recording at least one retirement in each of the first seven races. Mid-season updates improve pace and relieve reliability woes. Record best finish in Hungary, with Mark Webber third and David Coulthard fifth.
2006
Second season more difficult than first, despite Ferrari power. David Coulthard scores team’s first podium in Monaco, but overall amass 18 points less than in ’05 and face growing challenge from junior sister team, Toro Rosso.
2005
Austrian-owned team’s first campaign, following 2004 purchase of Jaguar squad, proves highly successful. Amass more points in the first two races than Jaguar managed the entire previous season. Go on to finish a clear seventh in the standings.

http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/teams/182/