Formula One 2010

[donsaeid]

پس از 8 سال

تويوتا با بلاني قهرمان فرمول يك شد


راننده تيم تويوتا براي اولين بار كمپاني ثروتمند خود را به قهرماني در جام اتومبيل راني نكستل رساند.



به نقل از وب سايت رسمي فرمول يك، ديو بلاني طلسم 8 ساله ناكامي*هاي تويوتا در جام معتبر نكستل را شكست و با كنار زدن رقبايي بزرگ چون شوماخر جوان و هميلتون به قهرماني دست پيدا كرد.

رقيب اصلي بلاني در دور پاياني بيل ديويس بود كه تنها با اختلاف 437 هزارم ثانيه با وي به رتبه دوم رسيد.

بلاني در مصاحبه با مطبوعات گفت: اين قهرماني نقطه عطفي در زندگي حرفه*اي من است و بي*ترديد با تمام وجود براي تكرار آن تلاش خواهم كرد. اين يكي از قدم*هاي من به سمت موفقيت بود

[Rasputin]

Raikkonen revives F1 hopes from French Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen revived his hope of a Formula One title by leading Ferrari to a one-two French Grand Prix win on Sunday.

It was the Finn's second win of the Formula One season, but his first podium finish since Bahrain in April five races ago.

With seven points behind Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa who won the pole position for the fourth time in eight races, Raikkonen who started third, swept past McLaren's rookie championship leader Lewis Hamilton to take second place at the start and then made the most of the pit stop strategy to get past Massa and stay ahead to the chequered flag.

"I think we needed that," he said, "the work starts paying off now. It took maybe longer than we expected, but in the end it is good that we got the win and are back in the right place now."

"I think we are back where we expected to be," added the Finn, still 22 points off Hamilton's tally of 64 but just five adrift of Massa and eight behind McLaren's double world champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

McLaren had won the last three races, after Massa's victories in Bahrain and Spain, but Ferrari showed their form in testing at Silverstone last week.

"Both drivers got great starts, then they drove exceptionally well and fought it out between themselves for the win," said team boss Jean Todt.

"This one-two is crucial for the rest of both championships," added the Frenchman. "There are still nine races to go and everything is still possible."

[Rasputin]

Ferrari's Raikkonen revives his flagging F1 hopes

MAGNY-COURS, France, July 1 (Reuters) - Kimi Raikkonen answered his critics and breathed some life back into his flagging title campaign by leading Ferrari to a one-two French Grand Prix win on Sunday.
It was the Finn's second win of the Formula One season, but his first podium finish since Bahrain in April five races ago.
Raikkonen arrived in France seven points behind Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa and with the media highlighting his struggle as replacement to Ferrari's retired seven times world champion Michael Schumacher.
With Massa on pole position for the fourth time in eight races, while Raikkonen started third, it looked as if the Finn might have to play a supporting role again on Sunday.
Instead, he swept past McLaren's rookie championship leader Lewis Hamilton to take second place at the start and then made the most of the pitstop strategy to get past Massa and stay ahead to the chequered flag.
"I think we needed that," he told a post-race news conference.
"The work starts paying off now. It took maybe longer than we expected, but in the end it is good that we got the win and are back in the right place now.
HARD TIME
"I think we are back where we expected to be," added the Finn, still 22 points off Hamilton's tally of 64 but just five adrift of Massa and eight behind McLaren's double world champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso.
"We had a bit of a hard time but I kind of expected to have difficult times.
"People always think that you've lost it when you don't have good results, but we just work hard and try to get it right and I think we can still improve."
McLaren had won the last three races, after Massa's victories in Bahrain and Spain, but Ferrari showed their improved form in testing at Silverstone last week had translated into race pace.
"Both drivers got great starts, then they drove exceptionally well and fought it out between themselves for the win," said team boss Jean Todt, celebrating the 14th anniversary of his joining Ferrari.
"Only traffic and strategy finally decided which one got the upper hand.
"This one-two is crucial for the rest of both championships," added the Frenchman. "There are still nine races to go and everything is still possible."

[Rasputin]

F1: Alonso' rain dance

FERNANDO ALONSO has revealed he will be praying for rain ahead of today’s French Grand Prix as he looks for the clouds to lift from his title bid.

Alonso starts from 10th on the grid after a gearbox problem with his McLaren denied the reigning double world champion a crack at pole.

That honour belongs to Felipe Massa, with Hamilton sandwiching the Ferraris of Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

With Hamilton 10 points clear of Alonso in the drivers standings, the best the 25-year-old Spaniard can hope for is the forecasted rain arrives over Magny-Cours at 2pm today.

I will pray for rain tonight, smiled Alonso, who also suffered a brake-sensor problem in morning practice to add to his troubles.

We know wet conditions are difficult and produce mixed results. But if you are quick in the dry, you can be two or three tenths (of a second) quicker than the guy in front.


If you are quick in the wet, maybe its two seconds so you can make up places much, much quicker.


So I really hope its wet because it might lead to some uncertainties.


If it is a dry race, Alonso knows he could lose further ground to Hamilton if the 22-year-old maintains his record of finishing on the podium in every grands prix this season.

[Rasputin]

I'm still a raw rookie - F1 title leader Hamilton

MAGNY-COURS, France - World championship-leading Lewis Hamilton on Saturday claimed he was still a raw rookie who will make mistakes after a slight error cost him pole position for Sunday's French Grand Prix.

Drivers world championship leader 22-year-old British rookie Lewis Hamilton, seen here, has clocked the fastest time to overhaul his Ferrari rivals the final free practice for Sunday's French Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old Englishman, the first man of Afro-Caribbean descent to reach Formula One and the first black driver to win a race, said that after seven successive podium finishes he believed he was still a newcomer.

But his fellow-drivers, led by Ferrari's Brazilian star Felipe Massa, who outpaced Hamilton to grab pole position, protested that it was not possible to regard him as a rookie any longer.

"No, definitely not!" said Massa, 26.

"You cannot see him as a rookie. No. You never see a guy in the first year leading the championship so, for sure, not. He is no rookie at all."

Hamilton, however, disagreed.

"I still believe it is the same. I am still in my first season," insisted the McLaren-Mercedes driver.

A lot of the other drivers obviously understand that I am still a rookie, but as you go through the season they see that you are doing a good job or you have a close battle with them and they can see you are fair or something like that and they build the respect that they have for you.

"It grows. But I still think they obviously know I am a rookie they expect me to make a mistake at some point, but I am here to prove them wrong."

Hamilton has reeled off record-breaking results to emerge as the youngest title-race leader in Formula One history and on Sunday will seek, from second on the grid, to grab his third straight win following triumphs in Canada and the United States.

A slight braking error on Saturday cost him pole.

He denied that leading the championship by 10 points ahead of his team-mate and defending drivers champion Fernando Alonso was heaping any extra pressure on to his young shoulders.

He said: "I don't feel any more pressure, I just feel that I approach every weekend the same. It is great to be in the lead, but obviously there are ten races left and it is way too early to consider winning the championship.

"We have to keep on pushing to improve the car and to be as consistent as possible and to work on reliability."

Hamilton, showing remarkable aplomb for such an inexperienced and young driver when besieged by the media, said he was enjoying his relationship with his rival drivers, notably Massa.

"We get on very well and a lot of the drivers here get on very well and we have a lot of respect for each other off the track," he said.

"But then, when you get on the track, you are there to do a job and you are there to compete and beat each other and once you know the boundaries and, you know, we've obviously had some close races this year, we know where we are on the circuit, so we have trust.

"It doesn't make it hard to race each other. In the race, you are enemies, well not enemies, but fierce competitors, and off the track you are good friends."

Looking ahead to Sunday's 70 laps race, Hamilton said: "It is always important to get a win -- and not just to continue with the success that we have had this year, but also obviously to score as many points as you can, whether that is ten, eight or six, or whatever.

"It is extremely important that we continue to score points, not only for the drivers championship, but also the teams', and so that is what me and Fernando will be doing, pushing as much as we can.

"We have to see how the race goes. Me, Felipe and also Kimi, we all know where we are on the circuit and we will push as hard as we can to get up front. We will just have to see how it goes."

[Rasputin]

Honda's Nick Fry has defended his team's integrity and honesty after the Formula One spy saga took a new twist.
It has emerged that Nigel Stepney, the man accused of leaking Ferrari secrets to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, also met with Fry in June.

Stepney was accompanied by McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan.

"Honda would like to stress that at no point during this meeting was any confidential information offered or received," said a team statement.

Stepney, formerly Ferrari's head of performance development, was dismissed on Tuesday, followed within hours by McLaren's suspension of Coughlan.

Civil proceedings are active against both men - long-time friends and former colleagues at Lotus in the late 1980s - over the alleged theft of technical information.

Nick Fry informed Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting and has offered to provide any information required by Ferrari and McLaren

Honda statement

A 500-page dossier is understood to have since been discovered at Coughlan's Surrey home, with the two men seemingly colluding from some time in late April.

Fry has confirmed a meeting did take place with Stepney and Coughlan but says it was merely to discuss the prospect of potential employment within Honda.

The statement added: "Given the speculation surrounding the legal investigations at Ferrari and McLaren, Honda would like to clarify that earlier this year Nigel Stepney requested a meeting with Nick Fry.

"Nigel Stepney subsequently met in June of this year with Nick Fry and brought with him Mike Coughlan of McLaren, with a view to investigating job opportunities within the Honda team.

"Nick Fry informed Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting and has offered to provide any information required by Ferrari and McLaren."

There are unwritten limits to which people should adhere, and clearly what has happened here exceeds all previously known occurrences

McLaren boss Ron Dennis

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, like Fry, insists his team are also in the clear and says "the truth will come out".

However, he has been hurt by what he sees as Coughlan's lack of loyalty.

"There are unwritten limits to which people should adhere, and clearly what has happened here exceeds all previously known occurrences," said Dennis.

"For me, this is not a great experience because one of the things I put alongside integrity is loyalty, and that has also been a difficult emotion (to deal with)."

Explaining what has transpired, Dennis added: "The first thing I did when I first learned of this problem was to phone Jean Todt; the second was to phone Max Mosley (FIA president).

"Within one or two hours of this situation coming to light, we invited the FIA to conduct a full investigation.

"From the beginning we have been co-operative, and we immediately brought independent people into the company to analyse things.


Ex-Ferrari man Nigel Stepney is at the centre of the dispute
"I feel as much as the reputation of McLaren has been challenged, and in all instances unfairly challenged, the important thing is to set an example in a very correct way.

"We are co-operating with both the FIA and Ferrari. Any time any information has become available to McLaren, we have shared it with Jean Todt and Max Mosley."

It is anticipated the FIA will act sooner rather than later, and that their investigation will be concluded before the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in a fortnight.

"Clearly, if an individual has access to information, you have to determine for what purpose it is going to be used," said Dennis.

"I can tell you the purpose for which it was not used was to have any influence on our Grand Prix cars.

"I can categorically state there are no developments whatsoever that have occurred on our cars, in the months preceding 28 April or the months following, relating to this.

"I can comfortably say this will not end in anything that causes McLaren any embarrassment."

[Rasputin]

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) -Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen had the best times in Friday's practice session for the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who leads the standings over McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, clocked 1 minute, 21.100 seconds in the morning session at the 3.2-mile Silverstone circuit. Hamilton will try to extend his 8-for-8 streak of top-three finishes in his rookie Formula One season.



Raikkonen, who won last week's French GP, was the fastest in the afternoon for Ferrari in 1:20.639. In the first session, he was second with 1:21.211, just ahead of teammate Felipe Massa in 1:21.2855.

Alonso, the two-time defending champion with Renault before moving to McLaren this season, had a mixed day. He was fourth in the morning in 1:21.675, and sixth later in 1:21.616. He won last year's race.

Those four have each won two of this year's eight races, as McLaren and Ferrari battle for supremacy.

Hamilton leads the driver standings with 64 points, 14 ahead of Alonso and 17 in front of Massa with nine races remaining.

"To win at this race would be immense, but we have to be realistic with our expectations,'' Hamilton said. "This is one race out of 17, and as with all the Grands Prix, I will do my best to win for the fans.''

There is another practice Saturday with qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday's race is 60 laps.

But that rivalry has been overshadowed this week by sabotage allegations, after Ferrari fired an employee who allegedly sent a package of technical information to a McLaren rival.

FIA, motor sport's governing body, said both teams have agreed to cooperate with an investigation into the incident. Ferrari also filed a criminal complaint against British technician Nigel Stepney.

The allegations involved a third unnamed team on Friday. McLaren boss Ron Dennis said he had a meeting with two other teams Friday at the Silverstone circuit to discuss the situation.

"Over the next 48 hours, definitely more information will be available into insight and into motives and what lies behind some peoples' actions,'' Dennis said. "I am optimistic that some of the things will be established quickly. The first thing is confirmation that no intellectual property is on cars, and never has been and never will be, that belongs to another Grand Prix team.''

Honda later released a statement stating that team boss Nick Fry had met Stepney and Coughlan at their instigation in June to discuss job opportunities at Honda.

"Honda would like to stress that at no point during the meeting was any confidential information offered or received,'' the statement said. "Nick Fry informed (Ferrari boss) Jean Todt and Ron Dennis of the meeting and has offered to provide any information required by Ferrari and McLaren.''

[Rasputin]

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has ruled out staging a London Grand Prix.

Ecclestone said he had spoken to London mayor Ken Livingston about a race in the capital but said it would be "too expensive" to organise.

Ecclestone also felt it would be very disruptive, adding: "The place would be upside down for six weeks. Nice as it'd be, I didn't think it was possible."

Ecclestone said Livingstone was "very supportive" but the mayor was not able to provide enough financial input.

"He happy to support it up to a point," said Ecclestone. "But the amount they could support it by wouldn't have been anywhere near enough to make it viable."

The mayor was happy to support it up to a point but not anywhere near enough to make it viable

Bernie Ecclestone

Ecclestone also ruled out the idea of an "Olympic Grand Prix" to tie in with the 2012 Games, which London is hosting.

"I don't know how it could tie in with the Olympics," said Ecclestone. "The Olympics will stand on its own. It won't need any support. Hopefully."

Silverstone is the current home of the British Grand Prix but its contract to host the race runs out after 2009 and a new deal depends on a £25m upgrade of the track's facilities.

If that does not happen, the Grand Prix could lose its place on the F1 calendar.


F1 staged a demonstration in central London three years ago

Ecclestone has frequently criticised the Northamptonshire track for being out of date and wants it to match the standards set by new tracks such as China and Turkey.

The British Racing Drivers' Club, who own Silverstone, are working on a plan to develop the circuit's facilities to ensure it can fulfil Ecclestone's criteria.

"We are the trustees of a national treasure - the British Grand Prix at Silverstone - and we want to sit down with the people who have the power to make it work," said BRDC president and former world champion Damon Hill.

"That means Bernie. But Formula One Management is also the constructors. They all want a British Grand Prix, so let's get out and do it."

[Rasputin]

It lasted just under five minutes but afterwards my head was pounding and my neck was jarred from being flung from side to side.

I had accepted Heikki Kovalainen's invitation to feel the force and thrill of driving around Silverstone, home of Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Scuttling back to the team motorhome after two nerve-jangling laps, what I mainly felt was awe and relief. I'd had no idea what I had volunteered for.

When F1 drivers hurtle around during the race they experience forces of more than 5G - a pressure Red Bull's David Coulthard describes as "being hit on the back of the head with a sledgehammer" - and reach speeds of up to 200mph.

606: DEBATE
Should Brands Hatch host the British Grand Prix?


But Kovalainen was taking me for a spin in his own road car, a tame-by-comparison Renault F1 Team R26 Megane, so surely it was going to be just like a sedate Sunday afternoon drive?

Even better, my superstar chauffeur knew the wide twists and turns of the old airfield circuit well.


It feels a lot more dangerous to drive a road car round Silverstone than an F1 car

Heikki Kovalainen
"I'm pretty familiar with Silverstone," the 25-year-old Finn said. "I won my first Formula Renault and Formula Three races here. Hopefully my first Formula One race, too.

"The lay-out is my favourite thing about Silverstone. It is still an old-fashioned circuit but there are some really high-speed corners."

As we approached the start line, I was calm, reassured I was in safe hands, until he added: "This circuit is still a little bit dangerous.

"It feels a lot more dangerous to drive a road car round here than an F1 car, because the road cars roll more, they slide. It feels like there is more of a chance to have an accident in this car."

Great.

I pulled my seat belt tighter and rued the fact I was not wearing a helmet as Kovalainen accelerated away down the straight and into the looping Copse corner, taken at more than 170mph in an F1 car.

First, he took me on a "slower" lap to explain how he attacks the Silverstone circuit.

My inclination as a solid Volkswagen driver would have been to maintain as straight a line as possible and stick to the tarmac. Not so Kovalainen.

The car groaned and juddered as the Renault man rode the curbs, let the car slide over the apexes, and plummeted over the grass.


Driving an F1 car is a world away from the any road car
"I am trying to find the best racing line," explained Kovalainen. "If you use the kerbs you make the corner as open as possible.

"Overtaking is very difficult at Silverstone because the first seven corners are so fast that you just cannot follow the cars very closely. The only place to pass is at the end of Hangar Straight or into the chicane at turn eight (Vale)."

Distracted by the noise of the undercarriage getting a battering, I asked if he was worried about damaging his car by careering over the grass and curbs.

"No," he laughed. "It's exciting."

I muttered a meek "awesome". But no sooner had we had arrived back at the start-finish line than Kovalainen was roaring the engine into life for the "fast" lap.

"Obviously it's a little bit quicker in the F1 car than in this car," he said, as we hurtled back through Copse and Becketts.

"But we're going quite fast now," I muttered, alarmed by the snaking, grey tarmac rising in front of me as I shifted left to right and back again at each bend.

"No," dismissed Kovalainen. "We're only going as fast as this car goes."

Oh, we only hit about 110-120mph - I was still at half my race speed and not even really pushing at all

Heikki Kovalainen
"But it seems quite fast," I countered anxiously, as we headed towards some workmen, who were on the track fixing a sign to the Hangar Straight bridge.

"Obviously these guys are not usually here," Kovalainen pointed out. Obviously, but let's not hit them now, eh?

We braked and weaved past them, then raced down the straight, where the F1 cars reach close to 190mph. All the time Kovalainen sat relaxed but focused, talking nonchalantly as he crunched through the gears.

"Sharp turn to the right, keep calm with the steering, over to the middle, over this kerb, brake hard here, fourth gear then switch to full power," he explained.

For an F1 driver, speed, motion and thought are perfectly synchronised. As for me, I was just anxious about the speed.

I let out a huge sigh as Kovalainen pushed the car through Woodcote and brought it to a halt.


Kovalainen explains the finer points of taking Copse corner
"I was feeling a bit nervous on that lap," I confessed.

"Why?" a non-plussed Kovalainen asked. "That was still a slow lap and I was talking to you all the time."

"It was still fast, though," I insisted.

"Oh, we only hit about 110-120mph," he said. "I was still at half my race speed and not even really pushing at all."

On Sunday, Kovalainen will race round Silverstone again, but this time flat-out, and with 21 other drivers all pushing 100% and fighting for the same piece of track.

Storming around in one car - and not even an F1 car - the whole experience was intense enough for me. But what about Kovalainen?

"No, I don't have any fear when I'm driving," he shrugged.

"I had a big accident at the start of this year [in testing at Bahrain] and when I was going into the wall I thought: 'This is going to be a big bang'.

"I damaged the car badly but didn't hurt myself. In those moments, I guess you are a little bit afraid but when I'm driving and I'm in control, I'm not scared of anything.

"Are you going to get out then?" Kovalainen asked, reading my startled expression.

Yes, I think I will.

[Rasputin]

F1 espionage heads to court

London - The British Grand Prix may have ended on Sunday but the Formula One espionage controversy that overshadowed on-track events at Silverstone has seemingly still got plenty of mileage left in it.

The pits drama first ignited when Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney was sacked after being accused of supplying McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan with over 500 pages of secret Ferrari technical information back in April.

Coughlan, their chief designer, was subsequently suspended by McLaren after the Ferrari documents were found in his house.

However, an unnamed source in the McLaren team has said that Coughlan did not know who had sent him the information and Stepney insists he is not responsible for the leak.

"I have no idea how anything came into Mike's possession. If he has some documents, they came from another source," said former Ferrari man Stepney who has left his home in Italy and fled to a secret location amidst fears for his safety.

One potential implication of the leaked data, strongly denied by McLaren, is that the British team benefited from an insight into what made the Ferraris the fastest cars on the grid in the early stages of the Formula One season.

Since April McLaren have out-performed their main rivals, though Ferrari have enjoyed a recent resurgence including a Kimi Raikkonen victory on Sunday.

The whole affair (currently being investigated by the sport's governing body, the FIA) is heading to court in London on Tuesday where Ferrari boss Jean Todt believes the legal process will serve to clear up some of the issues.

"A lot more will become clear on Tuesday in the High Court," Todt said.

[Rasputin]

F1 rookie Lewis looks on bright side

Lewis Hamilton is determined "to look on the bright side" after admitting a lollipop mistake cost him the chance of victory in the British Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old McLaren rookie, who had started the prestigious Silverstone race from pole position, was leading until he pitted on lap 16.

It was then he tried to pull away after the lollipop man had signalled to him to engage gear with the McLaren pit-lane crew still to finish with his car.

And Hamilton slipped down the field on his return to the track before coming home third, behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen while Fernando Alonso finished second to cut his McLaren team-mate's advantage at the top of the World Drivers' Championship down to 12 points.

And Hamilton, who was almost 40 seconds adrift of Raikkonen, who is now 18 points behind him in the standings, said: "I wanted to be on pole - I achieved that - and I felt strongly we could have had a better result.

"This is obviously not the best result for us, but to come to your first home grand prix and still get on the podium, I have to look on the bright side. I've had nine podiums in a row, and I'm very happy with that."

Following his ninth successive podium finish, Hamilton knows he still has much work to do if he is to overhaul Alonso's tally of 15 and Michael Schumacher's all-time mark of 19 as well as become the first debutant to be crowned world champion.

The Briton added: "I need to step up my game, which I intend to do. As a team we need to push, as always, but try to push even more if we can.

"As for me as a driver, I'm still learning and I've still time to find in myself through experience. We're going to a few tracks I know, so it should really make the weekend a little bit easier, but it doesn't.

"I've struggled to get the pace, so it's making sure the car is set up right, that we keep on moving forward with the car - and ideally beat the Ferraris."

Hamilton admitted that his lollipop blunder had left a bitter taste in his mouth but he is determined to learn from the mistakes he makes as he settles into life in the fast lane.

He admitted: "It wasn't my first mistake of the season. I've made others - just ones you haven't seen. But I made the wrong decision with set-up and it really caused me problems during the race.

"Even in qualifying I didn't have the pace I should have had, but it was too late by then to change the car, so I've learned a good lesson.

"Then at the first pit stop I made a mistake. I thought the lollipop lifted and I went. It was a mistake which cost me time. I now have to look forward, and hope to do better in the next race."

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Winkelhock name to return to F1

Markus Winkelhock is to become the latest son of a famous driver to race in Formula One.
The 27-year-old German, whose father was the late F1 and sportscar driver Manfred Winkelock, will drive for Spyker at Sunday's European Grand Prix.

He replaces Dutchman Christijan Albers, who was dropped because of a lack of sponsorship after the British race.

Winkelhock, formerly Spyker's reserve driver, said the chance at Germany's Nurburgring was "a dream come true".

Team boss Colin Kolles gave him a chance because of Winkelhock's knowledge of his home track.

"I was very surprised to get the call from Colin as I did not think I would have this chance," said Winkelhock.

This was the last track on which my father raced in F1 before he died. Now I can make my debut on that track

Markus Winkelhock

"It's now the only German race on the calendar.

"It is also very important personally for myself and my family.

"This was the last track on which my father raced in F1 before he died. Now I can make my debut on that track.

"When I told my family, my mother was a bit emotional. She is very happy I can achieve something I have wanted for so long."

"It's very much a one-off race at the moment," said Kolles, adding that the team had not yet decided who would partner their other driver Adrian Sutil, also a German, for the rest of the season.


Manfred Winkelhock developed a reputation for bravery when he drove 47 races for the middling ATS, Arrows and RAM teams in the 1980s.

He is also well known for doing a 360 degree somersault in a Formula Two March at the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife track in 1980.

He was killed in a crash in a World Sportscar Championship race at Canada's Mosport Park in 1985.

Other sons who have followed their fathers into F1 include the 1996 and 1997 world champions Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, and the current Williams driver Nico Rosberg.

[Rasputin]

F1: Alonso closes on Hamilton

Fernando Alonso closed the gap on Lewis Hamilton to two points in the battle for the world title after taking victory in a stunning European Grand Prix.

Rain at the end of the first lap led to farcical scenes with cars sliding off all over the track, including Hamilton at one stage.

Although the McLaren star rejoined the Nurburgring circuit after being lifted out of the gravel by a crane, his race was ultimately compromised.

The drama continued unabated throughout, though, including pole man Kimi Raikkonen limping out in his Ferrari just after the halfway point.

With just four laps remaining, double world champion Alonso barged the Ferrari of Felipe Massa out of the way to eventually go on to take the chequered flag.

Hamilton admitted finishing off the podium for the first time in his F1 career was something new for him.


Hamilton, who walked away from a crash in qualifying, said: “It has been an extraordinary weekend, but it will be good experience for me.”


He added on ITV1: “Usually when I come in I go to the podium but not this time.”


Hamilton admitted he had changed to dry tyres too early in the race.


He said: “The gamble did not work.”


Hamilton also praised his victorious team-mate, adding: “Fernando drove a great race so congratulations to him.”


Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber completed the podium, but only just as he endured a last lap battle with Alex Wurz in his Williams.


The points scorers were completed by David Coulthard in the second Red Bull, the BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, and then Heikki Kovalainen for Renault.


A brave Hamilton came home ninth, ending his superb run of nine successive podiums, although he may be elevated into the points if race stewards penalise Heidfeld for an earlier infringement.


But it was without doubt one of the most remarkable starts to a race ever witnessed, and Hamilton played his part.


Starting from a season-low 10th on the grid following his 175mph smash in qualifying yesterday, the 22-year-old was up to fourth by the second bend.


That was due in part to Heidfeld and Kubica colliding, but within moments Hamilton appeared to have a problem with his car as he soon dropped back down the field.


Then as the first lap drew to a close, the drama really unfolded thanks to the capricious nature of the weather in this part of Germany.


Rain resulted in Raikkonen skidding back onto the track as he attempted to make his way down the lane approaching the pits in a bid for a tyre change.


Behind the Finn, the cars piled in for wet rubber, and as they did so a downpour drenched the circuit, and caused immediate chaos.


At the end of lap two there was the sight of debut-making Spyker tester Markus Winkelhock leading the race as his team had made a superb decision at the end of formation lap.


Starting at the back of the grid, Winkelhock was called into the pit for rain tyres, and at one point he held a lead of 33 seconds.


But his joy was shortlived as because the treacherous conditions the safety car was deployed.


But even so, and with the cars on rain tyres, seven skidded off at the first corner in the space of 30 seconds.


There was the farcical sight of Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil, Hamilton, Rosberg, Anthony Davidson, Scott Speed and Vitantonio Liuzzi all sliding into the gravel.


Liuzzi almost collided with a crane that was trundling across the gravel during his skid, with the vehicle en route to lift Hamilton back onto the circuit.


But the rain then developed into a virtual monsoon, and the race officials were left with no choice but to produce the red flag to bring it to a halt after four laps, and with Winkelhock in front.


Remarkably, the rain soon abated, making way for bright sunshine, and a re-start after a 22-minute delay behind the safety car.


Hamilton, though, was at the back and a lap down due to the time spent in the gravel while he waited for assistance from the crane.


Credit to the 22-year-old because he managed to keep his Mercedes engine running, ensuring he could rejoin the race.


Under safety car rules, Hamilton was allowed to unlap himself, which led to him flashing past the field.


But a dive into the pits to change onto dry tyres backfired as he then tip-toed around a track still wet in parts, while his rivals were all on wets, and before long he was being lapped.


At one stage he even trundled onto the gravel, but before long he was to speed on a drying circuit and setting fastest lap after fastest lap.


He received further assistance by retirements for Winkelhock, Ralf Schumacher - taken out by Heidfeld in an incident to be looked at by the stewards – Sato and Raikkonen.


But it was not enough, not helped by another late burst of rain, which helped team-mate Alonso.


It was wheel-to-wheel racing between the duo on the 55th of the 60 laps, with Alonso eventually bumping into Massa to move into the lead.


The Spaniard crossed the line, but then after the race he was involved in a war of words with Massa who was not happy at his rival’s manoeuvre.

[Rasputin]

F1: Hamilton gets green light

Lewis Hamilton has been cleared to race in today’s European Grand Prix.

The world championship leader was yesterday involved in a 175mph smash in qualifying at the Nurburgring after a faulty airgun led to the front-right wheel working loose.

Following a mandatory medical check today, a McLaren statement read: “Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are pleased to confirm that Lewis Hamilton has been cleared to race in today’s European Grand Prix by the FIA medical delegate Dr Hartstein and chief medical officer of the event, Dr Klaus U Zerbian.”

The McLaren statement added: ``The entire team looks forward to enjoying a competitive race this afternoon for both Fernando (Alonso) and Lewis.''

Hamilton was attended to for 13 minutes by stewards and trackside medics before eventually being lifted into the back of a waiting ambulance with his neck in a brace, while he was also on a drip.

However, Hamilton was able to indicate he was okay as he waved his right arm and gave a ’thumbs-up’ sign before being taken to a nearby military hospital.


The 22-year-old, who leads the world title race by 12 points from Alonso, sustained no injuries, while CT scans also come back clear.

However, after a night’s sleep, he had to be signed off today, and after being given the green light he will now start from 10th on the grid – his lowest qualifying position of the season.


The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen starts from pole, with Alonso alongside him on the front row, while Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari is third.