The Italian press believes Ferrari is set to dominate the 2008 season. Despite officials for the Maranello based team's rivals McLaren and BMW playing down the gap following Ferrari's second consecutive one-two victory on Sunday, the sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport insists that the "dominance" of the scarlet F2008 at Barcelona was "impressive".

"Not a single mistake was committed," - Gazzetta added. "McLaren and BMW are far away. After Spain, the 2008 world championship could be over."

Corriere dello Sport said of championship leader Kimi Raikkonen: "The Finn is objectively the only true candidate for the title. As in the past, this championship could become 'formula boredom'."

The Turin-based national newspaper Tuttosport added: "Raikkonen and Massa conquered Spain and demonstrated Ferrari's absolute power.The advantage over their rivals is almost embarrassing, even though Stefano Domenicali has called for restraint. Raikkonen had the race totally under control, and Massa actively supported him. This is his role, even if he does not want to admit it."

Rome-newspaper Il Messaggero wrote: "The Ferrari conductors are trying to curb the enthusiasm, but it is obvious that Ferrari's lead over McLaren and BMW is great."

And now BMW-Sauber, and probably other formula one teams, will shortly experiment with the new 'nose hole' innovation that featured on the dominant Ferrari cars in last weekend's Spanish grand prix.

Although Maranello based Ferrari insists that the
shark mouth-style feature in front of the driver position may not be used at every race this season, BMW technical director Willy Rampf confirmed that a similar concept will be trialled in the team's Hinwil wind tunnel in the coming days.

"I am almost certain that it would also work on some of the other cars so we will have a look," -Rampf is quoted as saying by Switzerland's Motorsport Aktuell publication.

References:

http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/4/7701.html

Gameloft, a leading provider of mobile games, has just signed a contract with Ferrari and will be providing official Ferrari games.

The first of the many games that Gameloft plans to launch, Ferrari World Championship, is due to be released right at the end of this month. You will be able to race as Ferrari's Finish pilot Kimi Raikkonen or the Brazilian Felipe Massa.

The developer has not forgot the tradition of the Ferrari and the game will allow you to race Ferrari F500 F2 from 1951 - a legendary racing car.

Gameloft has already has some extremely popular racing games. So, let's hope this time they make even better games. Frankly, I am not much in mobile games (prefer my PlayStation 3), but I will certainly try it out.

If I remember correctly, today was the 12th time when the majority of Formula 1 fans in Europe have to wake up early on a Sunday morning.

But believe me, it was worth ruining your peaceful Sunday sleep for such a great race as we saw this morning at the Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia.

The race was probably one of the most chaotic. Although the sun was shining and the temperature was well over 35 degrees Celsius, the race was on par with rainy races.

Unfortunately, 13 cars dropped out and to a great disappointment of Ferrari and its fans, two of their pilots Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen were among the thirteen cars not to cross the finish line. To me, this was a total disaster for the Italian team.

However, it must be noted that despite Räikkönen's quite rear position, he managed to win a number of positions right in the opening of the race and by the end of the race was fighting for the second position. Unfortunately, Räikkönen has made a mistake. I cannot understand why he tried to attack for the second position when he knew that he would have to let it go after going to the pit lane.

After his mistake, Räikkönen managed to gain a position and a two and was leading both Heikki Kovalainen and Fernando Alonso but then he made a second and fatal mistake. Ultimately he had to retire.

The race was not smooth for other pilots as well. Probably the only pilot who managed to avoid difficulties of any sort was Lewis Hamilton and it must be said that the Briton got a deserved position on top of the podium.

The Briton seemed to be very happy. But I think the happiest man on the planet was Nico Rosberg. The young pilot of Williams has made it and put himself on the third position of the podium.

Nick Heidfeld has become quite a frequent guest of the podium. However, the German pilot in the German car is still not ready for the top. Or maybe is? BMW has made a considerable progress. Both drivers of BMW have demonstrated good speed and manoeuvre, but unfortunately Kubica dropped out.

Let's not forget Bourdais. The Frenchman has demonstrated his skill the royal racing sport. If we take into account what car is at Champ Car World Series guru's disposal, then his result shall be very impressive. Unfortunately, the engine of Bourdais failed at the very end but the Frenchmen still got his 1 point.

To sum up, the race was extremely interesting and the season looks to be very promising. Stay tuned, an don't forget to subscribe to our RSS feed.

As expected, Ferrari launched its new Formula One racing car at their Maranello base in Italy today.

I have no idea why, but the new car is codenamed 659. As I have touched numbers, let's mention that this is the 54th single-seater Ferrari have built to contest the Formula One world championship.


Obviously the new car conforms to the new FIA regulations for the 2008 season. The most important new element is the Standard Electronic Control Unit. This is the new electronic system that must be used by all teams.

Another important rule is that the gearbox must last for four consecutive events. There are other minor areas that have been affected by the new rules.

As a result of all these changes, the car has become heavier.

Full specifications of the new Ferrari F2008 car can be found at the Formula 1 official web site.

Today the ITV-F1 web site published an interview with Kimi Raikkonen. It looks like that the Finn is finally really happy and smiles all the time. Finally warm blood has started circulating in his veins. Joking of course.

I think Kimi is quite emotional person. But I guess he is a master of hiding his emotions.

"These were joyful days with many celebrations" says Kimi. "It seems I can't stop smiling. Wherever I go there are people who congratulate me. It seems that everybody in Italy is as happy as I am!

...not only in Italy Kimi. Ferrari fans all over the world are happy. The season had been extremely intense and Ferrari's and Kimi's chances were pretty slim but I believe all of the fans (including me :) around the world still had hopes. Hopes got stronger after the Chinese GP.

Anyway, this season is over and Kimi is a champion. All of us are looking forward to the 2008th season. Literally I'm counting the remaining days.

Photo source: ITV-F1.com

Formula One 2007 championship season had everything. Scandals, spy case, intense battles on the track and in the court rooms, a rookie doing miracles and an experienced driver making maximum from his slim chances. But the question still remains open: Who won the title?

As of now, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen is a winner but there is a chance, at least theoretic, that the title will go to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. The young Briton has declared that he doesn't want a title won as a result of protest. His teammate Alonso has supported the same pathos.

The date for McLaren's appeal has been set. It will be on the 15th of November. If McLaren's protest is satisfied and both Williams and BMW-Sauber get punished, this will automatically push up Lewis Hamilton to the title. In this case I am sure Ferrari will protest the decision and the question who won the 2007th title will remain open for the next few months.

However, I don't believe things will get that far. Max Mosley, president of the FIA said: "For us, the world championship is over, the result is what it is. A team presented an appeal; at the moment, this doesn't change anything - it's up to them to prove they are right."

Thank you Mr. Mosley. The scandals in this season must be over and the sooner they are the better for the sport, drivers, fans and everyone else involved.

Today's showdown race at Interlagos, Brazil has been the best that I have witnessed in my life. I would dare to say that this race has been one of the best for the past two decades. After all, today just a theoretic possibility became reality for Kimi. Ironically, even after he had crossed the finish line, the champion could have changed. But this has not happened.

I've been a fan of Ferrari for many years for now and I'm very happy for the team, for Kimi. It was a pleasure to see all of the members of the team doing their best to achieve the goal. Ferrari overdid it.

Alonso was extremely disappointed and this was more than visible at the post race conference. In my opinion, the very unhealthy atmosphere that is in the McLaren-Mercedes team, was the main reason why neither of the McLaren drivers won the title.

Let's hope that the next season will be more fair, without scandals and the only battles that we'll see will happen on the grid and the competition will be healthy and fair too.

Finally, I would like congratulate every Ferrari and Kimi fan with this fantastic event. Kimi and Ferrari, you've really deserved this miracle!

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa denied rumours about his leaving Ferrari by the end of the season. The Brazilian driver said that his contract with Scuderia is valid up to the end of 2008 season. Moreover, Massa is negotiating prolongation of the contract till beyond 2009.

According to the rumours, the Brazilian driver would move to Japanese team Toyota next year, leaving room for Spanish two season world champion Fernando Alonso to move over to Ferrari from arch rivals MacLaren.

Will Alonso join Scuderia Ferrari by the end of the season?

There are rumours out there that the two-time world champion Alonso has already accepted a $40 million per year contract from the Maranello team. According to the sources, Fernando will replace Felipe Massa who in turn will be heading to Toyota.

To admit, I have not idea whether Alonso will join Ferrari or not, but one thing is for sure that he's stay at the British-German team will not last long.

Ron Dennis, McLaren team boss has extremely cold relationship with Alonso. According to Dennis, he and the driver are not "on speaking terms".

$100 million in fines and 0 points in the 2007 season's constructors' championship is FIA World Motor Sport Council's final verdict for the McLaren-Mercedes team. McLaren-Mercedes drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have not been penalized and are free to continue their fight for the drivers' title.

We expect the FIA to explain the reasons behind the Council's decision today. This should be followed by McLaren's decision to appeal or not.

On the Formula1.com website there is a poll about the verdict. It seems that the public opinion is divided evenly with a slight advantage to those who think that the decision was fair.

Yesterday, former Formula One world champion Sir Jackie Stewart accused FIA of witch-hunting the McLaren-Mercedes team.

According to Stewart, Formula One power people are more aligned to Ferrari than any other team.

Yes, it is true that historically FIA has been quite close to Ferrari. Nobody argues that the Ferrari-McLaren spy case is having extremely negative effects on the sport. Moreover, not only this season may get ruined, but the next season as well. After all, Formula One without the British-German team is a way less interesting. But we, passionate Formula One fans have a right to know the truth. This was clearly conveyed by Ferrari boss Jean Todt, speaking at Monza at the weekend. "It’s a taint on the sport. I think that we are sorry that it is happening in Formula 1, but we want the truth to appear." Mr. Todt, We all want the truth to appear once and for all.

It will be extremely unfortunate if McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton's dream gets wrecked because of the scandal. But on the other hand, if the McLaren has even slightly benefited from possessing Ferrari's confidential material, then it would be extremely unfair if Rod Dennis team gets away unpunished.

It looks like that in Formula One the battle from the circuit has shifted towards the court rooms and FIA World Motor Sport Council summits.

Tomorrow may prove to be a crucial day for the leading team. If the McLaren-Mercedes team is found guilty, not only does the team face multi-million dollar fee, but potential punishment includes disqualification from this season and from the next as well. Not a promising outlook for the British-German team.

Unfortunately, some sources speculate that McLaren will drag other teams as well in the case and will require adequate sanctions against such teams. According to the sources, Flavio Briatore's team is the one that McLaren will try to drag into the case. But the Renault boss is calm and accuses his vis-a-vis at McLaren Ron Dennis of “throwing stones everywhere” in an attempt to deflect pressure. This might prove to be a good strategy for McLaren to shift attention from the main point but it might turn to be a critical decision as well.

But what do we, passionate Formula One fans gain from this? I have been a big fan of Formula One for many years now and the royal sport is experiencing degradation.

Come on guys, be serious about the sport. Concentrate your resources and energy on your cars, drivers, the team. We like Formula One because of the joy that it brings to us on the grid not in the room. We love observing the battle of your pilots, not the battle of your lawyers.

This post has been featured on BLOGVASION.COM

The International Automobile Federation has issued a statement according to which, the federation had summoned their World Motor Sport Council again for a hearing in Paris on September 13th to consider the development of a Ferrari-McLaren spy case.

The meeting on the 13th is in effect replacing the appeal hearing, which has been filed by Ferrari after the WMSC decided not to punish this year's leading team in July.

The situation up to date is that McLaren was found to be in possession of Ferrari's confidential 780 page material. However, as the WMSC has found, the team has not benefited from it in the championship battle. FIA's representative has mentioned that new evidence had emerged in the spy case but the representative has not made any comments.

The bottom line is that if McLaren is found guilty, the team may get disqualified not only from this, 2007 season, but from the 2008 season as well. So, quite much is at stake for the McLaren-Mercedes team, which at the moment is leading the constructors' championship by 11 points to Ferrari.

Finally, you may like to read the following articles about the spy case:

McLaren face second Stepneygate hearing by Planet-F1.com

UPDATE 1-F1 body says has new evidence in spy case by Reuters UK

McLaren and Hamilton face fresh threat from Ferrari by The Independent

Ferrari say truth will out in F1 spy hearing by GUARDIAN

Hamilton Dream Under Threat by Daily Express

The FIA World Motor Sport Council acknowledged that McLaren had breached the sporting regulations by having unauthorised Ferrari documents in their possession.

I believe this is what every Ferrari fan was expecting. However, McLaren went unpunished. This is almost a comical situation indeed and I am deeply disappointed with the FIA's decision. And this is why.

Formula One is a sport where a verge of success and failure may lie in a thousandths of a second. In Formula One every detail is important. In Formula One there are no unimportant details.

Even if McLaren declares that they have not benefited from possessing the secret material, it might still have an impact on the outcome. If nothing else, it is psychologically devastating realising a fact that your competitor possesses your confidential material.

FIA, please bring justice to this case by imposing appropriate sanctions on McLaren. One of the reasons why we love Formula One is that it is extremely fair sport. Formula One is more than sport. Do not legitimize dishonest behaviour.

Photo by courtesy of www.leblogauto.com

A controversy between Scuderia Ferrari and the McLaren-Mercedes team reached High Court in England this week.

Ferrari are accusing their former engineer Nigel Stepney in supplying the rival team McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan with secret Ferrari technical information in April. It is believed that the 780 page secret material was stored on two computer disks.

Ferrari representative, the lawyer Nigel Tozzi told judge Michael Briggs that the Coughlans should not have had documents which were found during the search.

Stepney does not plead guilty and denies any wrongdoing. But he is facing a criminal investigation under a separate process in Italy where Ferrari is based. Moreover, Stepney says that Ferrari is terrified that what he has in his mind is valuable. "I guess I know where the bodies have been buried for the last 10 years, there were a lot of controversies." continues Stepney.

The FIA is conducting its own investigation into the allegations. According to their representatives, McLaren may face points deduction as a form of punishment.

Ferrari's successful start in this season of Formula 1 World Championship was followed by a series of failures. As a Scuderia Ferrari's passionate fan, I was extremely disappointed by this. But Kimi Raikkonen's success at Magny-Cours last week, followed by today's magnificent victory made me happy :) Ferrari showed that it's way too early to consider this season's fate decided. Both last week and this week, Ferrari showed that their cars were equally fast, if not faster than those of the rival McLaren-Mercedes.