Autoblog

We know that McLaren has a sense of humor, we simply never know when it's going to reveal itself. Happily for us, the team has decided it's time to laugh again. The Singapore Grand Prix, on September 28, is the first Formula 1 race at night, and team CEO Martin Whitmarsh gives us a little insight into McLaren's preparations. This is the kind of silly season that makes sense. Follow the jump for the video. Thanks for the tip, Peter!

[Source: YouTube]

With Fernando Alonso officially heading back to Renault, the next question to be answered was who was going to fill the vacancy left at McLaren. Back in October we speculated that anyone from McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rossa to Mika Hakkinen could take the position. On Friday it was announced that Heikki Kovalainen, who was left without a seat at Renault, will join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren for 2008. Kovalainen scored 30 or Renault's 51 points and finished seventh in the 2007 driver standings. The duo will be one of the youngest driver combos, and both will be starting just their second season in Formula 1. McLaren's press release as well as a Q&A with Kovalainen are after the jump.

[Source: McLaren]

Christmas is just around the corner, the shopping season officially kicked off today, and McLaren (perhaps borrowing yet another page from Ferrari?) has come up with some really pricey tschotskes for the Formula 1 fans on your gift list. The team's online store has several items like this hand-painted 1/12 scale replica of the MP4-22's nosecone that shows the car's aerodynamic setup in detail. This little dust collector will set you back $139. If that's no good, (or you simply have a lot more money than brains) you can fork over a certifiably insane $2,500 for a replica steering wheel made of carbon fiber, complete with working buttons and everything. No, it won't work with your car (or even your PS3 for that matter), nor will it make the desk you display it on any faster. If you're itching to rack up some more credit card debt, McLaren'll be happy to help you in that endeavour.

[Source: McLarenshop.com]