The new Mercedes GP car rendered - Click above to view in high-resolution

Mercedes Grand Prix searches for drivers while dispelling board's concerns originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

2009 Hungarian Grand Prix - Click above for high-res image gallery

Gallery: 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix

Continue reading SPOILER ALERT: Of Champions and Shadows at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix

SPOILER ALERT: Of Champions and Shadows at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading VIDEO: TAG Heuer names a winner in McQueen vs. Hamilton Duel

VIDEO: TAG Heuer names a winner in McQueen vs. Hamilton Duel originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hamilton, McLaren retroactively disqualified from Australian GP? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hamilton "honoured" by the Queen originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Few countries have such unimpeachable car-crazed credentials than the Isle of Man. The semi-autonomous British island has no speed limits, boasts a fearsome TT road course, and is home to a handful of motorbike champions, former F1 world champion Nigel Mansell and even Jeremy Clarkson has a house there. Apparently, the love of motorsports hasn't escaped any crevice of Manx society -- not even the postal service -- which has announced it is issuing a set of stamps to honor Britain's new golden boy, recently crowned Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The six-stamp set, which will be released on January 15, will feature images from Hamilton's triumphant season, and follows the British Racing Greats which the Philatelic Bureau of the Isle of Man Post Office released earlier this year. A set of stamps might not quite measure up against the McLaren F1 LM supercar which Hamilton was promised as a reward for the title, but who knows, maybe letters will arrive at their destination a little faster with Lewis driving. Press release after the jump.

[Source: Isle of Man Post Office]

Continue reading Hamilton gets the stamp of approval from Isle of Man Post Office

Hamilton gets the stamp of approval from Isle of Man Post Office originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Everybody's got their fantasy, but few ever get to live it out. For many of us, it might very well be taking the Formula One world title. That was Lewis Hamilton's dream, and he achieved it this year becoming the youngest F1 champion in history. A huge achievement, but a bubble burst. So Lewis needs a new dream, one that's almost sure to remain purely fantastic. And since he's mastered the crop of grand prix circuits on the calendar, you can guess what his fantasy might be: the ideal race track. And that's just what he's dreamed up.

Like some deranged G.I. Joe villain, Lewis' composite "super lap" takes bits and pieces from some of the world's most fearsome tracks and puts them in succession to make for the ultimate race track. Not surprising for a speed freak like young Lewis, most of the corners are fast and pile on the Gs. The turns are culled from Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, the Monte Carlo street circuit in Monaco, Brazil's Interlagos, the Magny Cours circuit that used to host the French Grand Prix, England's own dilapidated Silverstone, and even two from Suzuka in Japan where Lewis has yet to race. What, no corkscrew from Laguna Seca? No hairpin from Montreal's Gilles Villeneuve circuit? No Carousel from the Nordschleife? Rookie.

[Source: Sky Sports, painting by Rob Ijbema - Car-A-Day.com]

The Turns that Dreams are Made of: Hamilton's fantasy track originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

British racing fans had lots of reason to celebrate this year. Not only did their golden boy Lewis Hamilton win the Formula One World Championship, but their star cyclist Chris Hoy took home three Olympic gold medals from the Beijing Olympics. But the ultimate face-off between man and machine is just gearing up as organizers of the annual Race of Champions have announced the two will face off next month at Wembley.

The race will pit Hamilton in a Mercedes road car against Hoy on his bike on parallel winding tracks. Although Lewis won't be driving his championship winning McLaren, he'll be running a few demonstration laps around the stadium for the fans in his first major public appearance after securing the championship. Since both Hoy and Hamilton will have to rush off to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, scheduled at the same time as the race, the showdown will take place as an opening act. And that's one heck of an opening act. Press release after the jump.

[Source: Race of Champions]

Continue reading Oh, it's on! Hamilton vs Hoy at Race of Champions

Oh, it's on! Hamilton vs Hoy at Race of Champions originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click above for hi-res gallery of the McLaren F1 LM

Now that Lewis Hamilton has secured the Formula One championship, supercar fans around the world are asking when he'll get his hands on that rare McLaren F1 LM. The incredibly valuable supercar - initially reported at $4 million but now apparently worth closer to 8 - was promised to the budding young driver if he won the title. However, the condition was that he win both the drivers title and, together with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, lock up the constructors' title for the team, as well. Although he won the drivers' championship, the constructors' crown went to arch-rivals Ferrari, but since McLaren chief Ron Dennis is such a good sport, he's renegotiated the terms.

If Hamilton manages to repeat his title victory with a hat-trick - that is, take another two championships - he'll get his hands on the bright orange supercar. That's quite a challenge, but Dennis called it a "small price to pay for three world championships." Indeed, but by then McLaren will have a whole slew of supercars on the market for Lewis to choose from. In the meantime, he'd better keep his head down and focus on the prize.

Gallery: McLaren F1 LM

The Fine Print: Hamilton will get his McLaren F1 LM after 3 titles originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

It doesn't get any closer than this. A photo-finish has nothing on the last-minute - make that last-second - end to yesterday's Brazilian Grand Prix, the ultimate decider of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship. Even if you were watching it, chances are you might have missed it. It was that close.

Heading into this final round, the rival pair of young guns Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) were the only two in contention for the drivers' title. But Hamilton's lead in points would mean that Massa would have to win the race with Hamilton coming in no better than sixth place. The win would put the two tied in points, but give Massa the crucial extra grand prix victory to just edge out Hamilton and claim the title. Any less and they'd have to start counting podiums. Saturday's qualifying set the stage: Massa on pole, wildcard Trulli beside and team-mate Raikkonen behind him, with Hamilton stuck in fourth place on the grid. Les jeux sont faites; all bets were placed and the dealer spun the ball. And we wouldn't know who had taken home the prize until the very end. Follow the jump to read how it turned out.

Gallery: 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

Continue reading Brazil Nuts: F1 title decided on last corner of last lap of last race

Brazil Nuts: F1 title decided on last corner of last lap of last race originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lewis Hamilton does not have good luck in France. Of all the races he's won in these past two seasons, he's yet to take the checkered flag at the French Grand Prix, has had his license revoked by the French gendarmes, and has now had his appeal thrown out of court in Paris.

Following the Belgian Grand Prix earlier this month, Hamilton was penalized by the race stewards with a 25-second penalty (in lieu of a pit-lane drive-through penalty) that bumped him down from first place to third, and allowed Ferrari's Felipe Massa to close the lead down to one single point. The penalty was given to Hamilton for having cut through a chicane on the Spa-Francorchamps track called the "bus stop", which race officials ruled gave him an illegal advantage. Hamilton's team McLaren decided to appeal the penalty in the FIA's court in Paris, however the court threw out the case as inadmissible, quoting sporting regulations that stipulate that drive-through penalties cannot be appealed. McLaren presented precedent from a repealed penalty handed to Toro Rosso in Japan last year, however the court of appeal was adamant in their refusal to hear the case.

A brief statement from the FIA can be found after the jump, and those interested can read the full 8-page ruling by clicking here.

[Source: Autosport | Photo: Oliver Laban-Mattei/Getty]

Continue reading McLaren appeal over Hamilton penalty thrown out of FIA court

McLaren appeal over Hamilton penalty thrown out of FIA court originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SPOILER ALERT

Click for a hi-res gallery from the 2008 British GP

Storms swept through Silverstone this year for the British Grand Prix. First came the announcement of David Coulthard's retirement from Formula 1, which was followed by the announcement that, starting in 2010, the race would leave its historic home at Silverstone and move to Donington Park.

The decision by Formula One Management and the FIA followed years of calls for the ageing Silverstone track -- owned and operated by the British Drivers Racing Club -- to renovate and get itself up to the modern standards set by F1's newer tracks. However, after failing to secure government funding or sufficient private investment, the decision was made to move the event to Donington. So as the storms set in to close two major chapters of British motor racing history, the rain poured down on the penultimate running of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Follow the jump to read how it turned out.

Gallery: 2008 British Grand Prix

[Images: Getty/AFP]

Continue reading Storms sweep through the 2008 British Grand Prix

Storms sweep through the 2008 British Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Dad, I've totalled the (insert name of first car here)." Chances are that even if you haven't had to use that phrase, you know someone who has. But in an unusual twist, Anthony Hamilton may be making the sheepish call to his son this morning.

Lewis Hamilton's dad has put someone's Carrera GT through a hedge just a couple of hundred meters from the family home in the village of Tewin, just north of London. He's not saying who the Porsche belongs to, but it appears to have German license plates, which unfortunately makes it unlikely that the car belongs to new Swiss immigrant Lewis. That would have made the story so much sweeter.

Follow the jump to The Daily Mail's version of events, but we take the tabloid's assertation that Mr. Hamilton "somehow lost control on a straight road," with a pinch of salt. The road is a sweeping right hander and was greasy at the time of the accident. Given the proximity to the Hamilton home and the GT's reputation for snap over steer, it's pretty easy to imagine what happened. Thanks for the tip Robert!

[Source: The Daily Mail]

Hamilton Senior takes a Carrera GT for a spin originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Good to be King: Lewis Hamilton borrows TechArt Porsche for LA trip originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 May 2008 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Favorite: Hamilton U.S. 66 Power Reserve originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lewis Hamilton resigns with McLaren for $138 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Following Mercedes' release of Fernando Alonso from his contract with McLaren and his earlier reported letter of intent with Renault where he won his two world titles, Alonso looks all but completely assured to be leaving McLaren a season early. That leaves McLaren with an open seat, and few available drivers to fill it.

The question no one seems to be asking is who will fill Alonso's seat at the British team next year. Never shying away from the difficult questions, Autoblog looks at the different options available for McLaren for 2008. Follow the jump to read more.

[Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty]

Continue reading Who'll replace Alonso at McLaren?

Who'll replace Alonso at McLaren? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous. Remember the story we brought you a couple days ago about the Mercedes employee in Spain who trashed Lewis Hamilton on Wikipedia? Yeah, pretty ridiculous, we know. But the British media, if you can believe it, is actually taking it seriously.

The Daily Telegraph referred to the incident as a "cheap shot" fuelled by "Spanish paranoia", while the Daily Mirror claimed that "Spain's Fernando Alonso has inflamed home fans".

Daimler said they're investigating the matter, the IP address of the *ahem* perpetrator having been traced back to its office in Spain. Wikipedia removed the edits and temporarily locked the entry. That any newspaper worth its ink is even acknowledging what amounts to no more than one person's fanaticism is just ridiculous. Stay tuned to see what the Spanish papers have to say...

[Source: F1i.com]

Hamilton Wiki-attack: the British press fire back originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Spanish Mercedes employee Wiki-trashes Hamilton originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Current F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso has been stripped of his pole position at today's Hungarian Grand Prix after blatently holding up the FIA's favorite rookie, and reported second coming of Christ, Lewis Hamilton in the pits during qualifying yesterday, in a move reminiscent of Michael Schumacher's "on-street parking" at Monaco in 2005.

The tactic visibly incensed team boss Ron Dennis, who is clean to polish McLaren's tarnished image following Ferrari's allegations of cheating, but could be good news for engine supplier and sponsor Mercedes who has been making the most of Hamilton and Alonsos' intense rivalry.

[Source: Autosport]

Alonso penalized for blocking teammate originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Aug 2007 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.