Autoblog

Ferrari announced during the first practice day of this weekend's Monza GP that Kimi Raikkonen's contract has been extended by one year. This mean's he's locked into service with the scuderia until the end of 2010, which is the same time Felipe Massa's contract runs out. Terms of the extension weren't disclosed, but the fact that Ferrari re-signed the Iceman means they aren't nearly as worried about his recent form as the rest of the paddock appears to be. It also means that Fernando Alonso can now decide where he wants to go for at least two years and get the silly season officially over with.

[Source: F1 Live]

Upsets, upsets and more upsets. The Formula One racing world thought it had put the politics between Ferrari and McLaren to rest, but the controversy between the two front-running teams reared its ugly head once more at this past weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. Follow the jump to read how the weekend's events unfolded, and how the race results were turned on its head once again.

The closer we get to the end of this season and to the start of the next, the clearer the picture will become as to which drivers will be where for the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. While his team was undergoing testing alongside its competitors at the Monza track in Italy, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo placed one of the bigger pieces in the puzzle in confirming that Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa would both be back in scarlet for next season. Although towards the beginning of the season it was onto Massa's future which doubt was cast, by now the tides have changed in that Kimi's performance has lagged behind his team-mate and it's Raikkonen's future that was being debated in the press. However Montezemolo confirmed that neither driver would be replaced for the coming season.

While in the paddock, Montezemolo also visited former champion Fernando Alonso and current leader Lewis Hamilton, but insisted that Alonso, who has been rumored to be angling for a seat with Ferrari, would have to wait at least a little while longer. Montezemolo also took the opportunity to express his displeasure with the new tracks being mixed into the calendar, stating that because overtaking is so difficult on these new circuits, the winner is often pre-determined in qualifying.

[Source: F1-Live Image: Andreas Solaro/Getty]

Click above for high-res gallery of the European Grand Prix

There are many grands prix in Europe, but there is only one European Grand Pix. Although the title was originally awarded as a badge of prestige to one race on the continent each year, over the last quarter century the name has allowed a second round in the Formula One World Championship to be held in a country that already hosts a race under its own name. With the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix already behind us, this year's European Grand Prix was held at the new street course in Valencia, Spain.

Not to be confused with the Circuit de Valencia that is often used as an F1 test track, the new Circuito Urbano Valencia was designed by prolific track architect Hermann Tilke and is lauded for combining a highly challenging set of 25 turns with a Monaco-like atmosphere – complete with views of the Mediterranean and a marina – and a unique bridge straight. The new location made for a an exciting setting for this past weekend's race, jam packed with race action to throw this year's championship further into flux. Follow the jump to see how it unfolded.

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]

Loyalty is not one of the qualities generally displayed in the Formula One circus. The market for grand prix drivers is as fluid as the Mediterranean, but Kimi Raikkonen says he's at home. The returning champion has two years left on his contract with Ferrari, and though he doesn't know what he'll decide to do when his contract runs out, he's declared that he sees no reason to move to another F1 team.

Speaking with the Spanish newspaper Marca while leading the time boards at the official testing sessions at the Valencia circuit, Raikkonen says that at the end of next year, he'll either stay with Ferrari, retire from motorsports or possibly contest a few rallies. One way or another, it's got to be a relief for Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. CEO Jean Todt and team principal Stefano Domenicali says that, assuming Kimi keeps his word, they'll never have to worry about chasing the Ice Man around the track again.

[Source: F1-Live, Photo by DIEGO TUSON/AFP/Getty]

An investigation by Formula 1 stewards regarding fuel temperature of the BMW-Sauber and Williams teams initially put into question Raikonen's F1 title. Article 6.5.5 of the Formula 1 technical regulations states that the fuel on board a car can not be more than 10 degrees centigrate below the ambient temperature, and the four cars from the BMW-Sauber and Williams teams were found to be in violation of this rule following the Grand Prix yesterday. Three of those four cars - driven by Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica, and Nick Heidfeld - finished in the top six ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The exclusion of those drivers from the race results would put Hamilton in fourth, giving him enough points to move past Raikkonen in the overall points. However, stewards chose not to punish the teams for the violation and confirmed that the F1 championship would go to Raikkonen. McLaren has notified the FIA that they plan to appeal the decision.

[Source: F1Way.com, Photo by Clive Mason/Getty]

For many motorsports aficionados, allegiance to Ferrari transcends the lines of age and social class. Young and old, from the everyman to captains of industry, on race days the differences are tossed out the window and they gather en masse, a sea of red in the stands, as tifosi. Ferrari knows this, and as a result, its strength as a merchandiser is unparalleled in the automotive landscape. Leveraging its iconic logos, rich history and legions of owners and fans, it has created a machine that churns out collectibles and accessories designed to fit almost any budget.

And now, the tifosi have a new bauble to fight over, and it's priced for the deeper-pockets crowd. In honor of the 1-2 podium finish at the Turkish GP for Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari has offered 50 signed baseball caps. Each lid is autographed by both Felipe and Kimi, arrives in a big red Ferrari cardboard box, has a certificate of authenticity, and costs a whopping €400. On the Ferrari Store website, the conversion to USD is helpfully provided. $526.20 (plus VAT) worth of available credit on your plastic of choice is all it'll take. We don't recommend wearing this one to go out and mow the lawn. For that, we suggest the vastly more economical (yet still pricey at $33 USD) un-autographed version.

[Source: Ferrari Store]

Last weekend's rain soaked European Grand Prix at Germany's Nurburgring saw many of the drivers aquaplaning out of control early on in the event. Rain started in just the second lap of the race and it had to be restarted by the fourth lap due to dangerous conditions. By the time the race restarted the rain had stopped and the track dried up quickly.

Fernando Alonso managed to take the top spot on a day where it seemed that anyone could win, but even he suffered a hitch during the closing laps as he tried to overtake Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who was in first place. Massa's front wheel grazed the side of Alonso's McLaren and this led to a heated argument between the two post-race.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was one of the drivers who slid off the track in the beginning, but he was given a lifeline when his car was lifted by crane back onto the track. A poor decision to switch to dry tires too early after the rain had stopped saw him spin out again. This left him out of contention of a podium finish, and at the end the rookie came at in 9th place.

The major disappointment was pole sitter Kimi Raikkonen being forced to retire because of mechanical problems with his Ferrari. This allowed the competent Mark Webber to cruise into the third spot to gain his first podium finish at Red Bull racing. Another disappointment were the BMW boys, with sixth placed Nick Heidfeld hitting the side of team-mate Robert Kubica and then doing the same again with Ralf Schumacher.

For those who think this is shaping up to be an exciting F1 season, next year should be a stunner. The FIA has confirmed that traction control will not be allowed in 2008. With traction control about to be banned from F1, Formula One Drivers are split on the decision. Most have said they support the move, but most racers will usually say they prefer fewer electronic aids getting in the way of pure mechanical feel and control of the vehicle. At this level of performance, however, the drivers often like to talk a good game and downplay the significance of the devices. It's more driver skill, they'll tell you. But for some of today's drivers, electronics have been fitted to every car they have raced at this level of competition. The aids themselves have been used since 2001.

Follow the jump to see how some of the top drivers feel about this issue.

[Source: PaddockTalk]