Autoblog

Super Aguri announced today that it would immediately be ending its participation in Formula 1 after funding for the team has all but dried up. The news comes not long after Super Aguri was denied access to the Turkish Grand Prix paddock area due to its mounting financial issues. Honda has been Super Aguri's main source of funding, but is apparently tired of diverting money from its own F1 team despite pronouncing as recently as last December that it would fund the Honda "B-squad" through the 2008 season. The Japanese automaker also wasn't keen on an 11th hour buyout offer for Super Aguri from German automotive firm Weigl. The team hasn't been on sound financial footing for some time, and the breakdown of negotiations with the Dubai-based Magma Group in April certainly didn't help matters. This leaves Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato without cars to drive for the rest of the season and narrows down the starting grid for the Turkish Grand Prix this weekend to ten teams and 20 vehicles. Thanks to all who tipped in.

[Source: BBC Sport, Photo by YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty]

Reports are surfacing that the Super Aguri F1 team has been turned away from the Turkish Grand Prix's paddock. The denial of access occurred because of financial complications. Team supporter Honda contacted Formula One Management and informed the organization that they would not be providing any more assistance to the struggling team. With no one left to pay the bills, Super Aguri was left stranded outside of the track gates.

One potential life vest has already been thrown to the Japanese team by German engineering firm Weigl Group. However, their contribution would not be enough to fully support race operations. The Super Best Friends need more investors to jump aboard in order to make it through the end of the season, let alone the next race.

[Source: Speed TV, Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix

Formula One is fast, and fast is dangerous. That's the assumption formed on the basis of decades of fatal crashes in the sport when the slow advancement of safety measures couldn't keep up with the ever-increasing speeds of grand prix racing. But those assumptions and those safety measures were again put to the test this weekend in Spain, where McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen crashed at 220 km/h (137mph) into a wall of tires, resulting in an estimated impact force of 26 Gs. The crash, which occurred on the 22nd lap of the race, was attributed to a wheel/tire malfunction, and Kovalainen is expected to return in two weeks to race in Turkey.

As jarring as it was, Heikki's crash was only one of the many times the safety car was deployed in a race that was dominated by the color yellow of the caution flag. The next most dominant color at Catalunya, however, was surely red, as Ferrari dominated the race virtually from start to finish, with Kimi Raikkonen sailing to an easy checkered flag with his team mate Felipe Massa close behind. Towards the end of the race, Kovalainen's teammate Lewis Hamilton was closing in on Massa, but ended up taking the third step on the podium, giving defending champion Raikkonen a commanding nine point lead over Hamilton. The perfect finish for Ferrari likewise gave the team a commanding lead in the constructors' championship, leading 47 to BMW Sauber's 35 and McLaren's 34. BMW, which entered the race with the lead for the constructors' title, didn't fair as well as hoped, with Kubica finishing an admirable fourth while his teammate Heidfeld came in outside the points in 9th after suffering a drive-through penalty. However, that wasn't nearly as bad as second-tier rival Renault did under the Spanish sun, with neither local hero Fernando Alonso nor his teammate Nelsinho Piquet completing the race. All in all, a shocking nine drivers retired before the last lap, including Nico Rosberg (Williams), Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri), both the Toro Rosso drivers (Bourdais and Vettel) in addition to the Renaults and the aforementioned Kovalainen.

Follow the jump for the full results, current standings after four rounds of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship and a video of Kovalainen's crash.

[Source: Autosport]

Click either image for a gallery.

When the Singapore F1 Grand Prix begins on September 28th, it will feature the first application of Digiflags, 35 large screens that can display the different flag colors, making it easier for racers to know what's going on while speeding down the track. The system will be used in conjunction with traditional flags, but separate track marshals posted through the circuit will control the electronic boards as the race hums wails along. But fear not, the checkered flag remains, and will be waved from a podium on high when the Singapore F1 race ends.

The full press release is posted below the fold.

If you're an F1 buff looking to spend a whole lot of time not doing whatever work you're supposed to be doing, head over to the Monaco Grand Prix Library. The site is the Internet version of the book, The Monaco Grand Prix Library by Belgian author Roy Hulsbergen. Endorsed by the Automobile Club of Monaco, it details everything -- drivers, results, cars, fastest laps, retirements -- and includes photos and commentary from every Monaco GP run since 1929. There's even video, such as the clip from the 1934 GP, won by Algerian driver Guy Moll in his Alfa Romeo B 2.9 in 3:31.31. So it might not be the best thing for workplace productivity -- or even Sunday afternoon productivity -- but this is what the Internet is all about.

[Source: Monaco-Grandsprix.org]

Formula 1 will hit the BBC air waves in 2009 after a long run on ITV. The move will require new figureheads to sit at the desk, and London's Times has said that Top Gear's Richard Hammond is the top man for the job. Economics at least partially drove ITV's decision to withdraw from F1 coverage. The coverage is expensive, so making money is challenging, even with newly rising star Lewis Hamilton making F1 more interesting for UK viewers.

Hammond's presence might help broaden the appeal beyond just racing fans, as would guest appearances by Jeremy Clarkson and James May, Hammond's cohorts on Top Gear. Letting Clarkson and May prowl the paddock could offer priceless moments of color commentary that would set YouTube alight. The BBC also plans to update the look, feel and pace of its coverage, and fans will be able to get at the presentation more easily with races going out across broadband digital outlets in addition to the standard radio and television. Thanks for the tip, Eric!

[Source: Times Online, Photo by Getty Images/Getty]

Autocar has listed the top 100 Formula 1 drivers of all time, as declared by British motorsport journalist Alan Henry. We won't spoil the top-of-the-list surprise for you, but of course, as with all of these things, some of the placings could be a little controversial. At least until one realizes that there haven't really been that many F1 drivers in the 62-year history of the sport. Still, Mika Hakkinen at #10 in front of Michael Schumacher at #11 strikes us as somewhat odd. And Barrichello and Button ahead of Bruce McLaren? Hmmm. Autocar has the top 30 listed, you can get the full list here.
Thanks for the tip, Darren!

[Source: Autocar via Bruce-McLaren.com]

If you TiVo'd today's F1 season opener from Melbourne, Australia, don't read any further or it will spoil the race for you. But not to worry, you'd be in good company as the race was spoiled for just about everyone else, too. Everyone except for Mercedes, whose star driver Lewis Hamilton claimed a flawless victory, his new team-mate Heikki Kovalainen narrowly escaping the completion of a one-two finish for McLaren, while spectators at Albert Park saw little else other than the new Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG safety car.

While the McLaren drivers escaped unscathed, the rest of the race was packed with more early retirements than a plant closure. Out of the 22 cars that started the race, only seven finished. At the first corner of the first lap, Jenson Button (Honda), Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India), Mark Webber (Red Bull), Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) and Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) all collided in a spectacular six-car pile-up, forcing each of the drivers to retire one after the other. Ferrari's duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa also retired early after mounting difficult campaigns, with Kimi finally being awarded a point as Honda's Rubens Barrichello was disqualified for a pit-lane mishap. BMW's Nick Heidfeld had a strong race, finishing second behind Hamilton, while Williams' Nico Rosberg claimed his first podium in third place. Perhaps most impressive, however, was Sebastien Bourdais. The four-time Champ Car champion and newcomer to F1 was set to cross the finish line behind the wheel of the Toro Rosso in fourth place on a brilliantly-timed one-stop strategy, only to retire when his Ferrari engine failed three laps before the end. With no one else completing the race behind him, the Frenchman finished his first race in the points, behind Williams' Kazuki Nakajima (the last to actually finish the race) and Raikkonen.

Follow the link for more details on the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, and stay tuned next week as the F1 circus moves on to Malaysia.

[Source: Autosport]

Let's get this straight: we are fans of the Honda F1 team. As cynical as everyone else makes the friends-of-the-earth thing out to be, Honda has put its paint where its money is by excluding sponsors logos from the car. Honda's problem, though, hasn't been its sentiment -- it's been the fact that the Honda team has only won one F1 race, a wet and wild affair in Hungary in 2006.

The team's biggest move in the off-season was to put former Ferrari strategy master Ross Brawn team principal (shown above). In an additional bid to show people they're serious, keep folks at the team, and get everyone on board to win, they're offering everyone on staff -- all the way down to the Brackley factory cleaners -- a bonus of $2,000 for a win. Each win would cost the company more than $1.5 million, a price we're sure they'd be happy to pay for constructor's points, publicity, and the collective sigh of relief that would come with it. The question is, with a 2008 car that is already being described as slow, while Ferrari is breaking the pole lap records at Bahrain... when is an incentive not really an incentive?

[Source: Daily F1, Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty]

click to view in high resolution

Honda Racing is the latest F1 team to officially unveil its new grand prix car with which it will be contesting the 2008 Formula One World Championship. While race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello have been shaking down the new RA108 at official test sessions, Honda left it to its new test driver Alex Wurz to unveil the car in Brackley, UK, at one of the team's three main facilities.

Although like its competitors the Honda RA108 is the culmination of many months of development, it benefits from the vast technical experience of the team's new principal Ross Brawn, former technical director at Ferrari. Brawn points out that the development of the RA108 focused on aerodynamic flexibility that will allow Honda to optimize the car's performance with a constantly-evolving aerodynamic package. In keeping with the FIA's freeze on engine development, the RA808E engine remains largely unchanged, adapting only to the new standardized engine control module while getting a new exhaust system, airbox and transmission.

Not to focus on style over substance, the unveiling also showcased the RA108's new livery, which promotes the renewed "earthdreams" campaign. Evolving from last year's "myearthdream" project, the new campagin has Honda and its sponsors pledging $1.2 million towards environmental awareness. While last year's car was covered entirely with a global motif, this year's livery appears considerably more sporting, with globe-pattern racing stripes and numbers covering the traditional Japanese racing white.

[Source: Honda Racing]