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The 2008 list was released by the FIA

TEAMS FOR THE 2008 FORMULA ONE SEASON

2008 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

ENTRY LIST

BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM SAUBER BMW

HONDA RACING F1 TEAM HONDA

MF1 RACING MF1 TBA

PRODRIVE PRODRIVE TBA

RED BULL RACING RBR TBA

MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM RENAULT

SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO FERRARI

SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM SUPER AGURI HONDA

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO STR TBA

PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING TOYOTA

VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES McLAREN MERCEDES

TBA WILLIAMSF1 TEAM TBA


"We now have only less than two years to build a formula one team and put two competitive cars on the starting grid"
Prodrive supremo Dave Richards

This decision is likely to hurt Stoddart and Jordan, who had earlier sold their formula one teams and Carlin Motorsport and Jean Alesi's Direxiv outfit, whose bids for a chunk of the Formula One pie were said to be very competitive.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo in an interview to Italian press hinted that Micheal Schumacher may stay on for another two years in Formula One.

"I think Michael wants to continue for a year, but not to find himself in five months' time facing the same questions he has now," Di Montezemolo said.

"It would suit him to sign for another two years, but he is assessing whether he will still want to race in 2008."

"It's up to him to decide and he knows that if he wants to stay for two years in formula one then we will agree. He has to say it," Di Montezemolo said.

"Having a competitive car helps, but Michael had already realised that (was the case before he won the last race at Imola).

"His future depends more on his head than on Ferrari."

"I am of the opinion that one does not have to risk indigestion in life but abundance is always to be preferred. We do not have a driver problem today," Di Montezemolo said.

"We will talk to Rossi in the coming weeks to make a decision. With Raikkonen, there is absolutely nothing other than the fact that we believe he is one of the best three (drivers) at the moment in formula one."

Christian Albers before the start of the race, he suffered a big accident during the race


This year at Imola , history repeated itself, last year it was Micheal who wasn't able to find a way past Alonso despite being quicker, this time it was Alonso on the receiving end. And no surprise that this popular victory led to an outbreak of scarlet fever.

Most Exciting Moment of the Race

In the first lap itself, Yuji Ide scooped the Midland of Albers, making him go into quite a few summersaults before he came to rest.



2006 Formula One San Marino Grand Prix Results

1. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:31:06.486
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +00:02.096
3. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 00:15.868

4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 00:17.096
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 00:17.524
6. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth 00:37.739
7. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 00:39.635
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 00:40.200
9. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 00:45.511
10. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 01:17.851
11. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 01:19.675
12. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 01:22.370
13. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1 lap behind
14. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
15. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
16. Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1-Toyota 1 lap
R David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Ferrari 47 laps
R Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 44 laps
R Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull-Ferrari 40 laps
R Yuji Ide (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 23 laps
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 5 laps
R Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1-Toyota 0 laps


Reactions from Formula One drivers

"We should have qualified harder and we could have raced harder"

McLaren boss Ron Dennis

"I believe our contender for the championship is Raikkonen and not Schumacher"

Renault boss Flavio Briatore

"It feels great, what else can you say - we've had an amazing weekend"

Michael Schumacher

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Formula One has never been better

Scarlet fever was ruling over the Imola circuit in a historic qualifying session which saw a 12 year old record break. Seven time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher will be on pole position for the 66th time in his career at the San Marino Grand Prix. He broke the record set by Senna in 1994 at the same track.

Pos No Driver Team First Time Second Time Third Time

1 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:24.598 1:22.579 1:22.795

2 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:24.480 1:23.749 1:22.988

3 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:24.727 1:23.760 1:23.242

4 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:24.884 1:23.595 1:23.702

5 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:23.536 1:23.743 1:23.709

6 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:24.370 1:23.565 1:23.772

7 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:24.960 1:23.760 1:24.021

8 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:24.259 1:23.190 1:24.158

9 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:24.446 1:23.727 1:24.172

10 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:24.992 1:23.718 1:24.795

11 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:24.434 1:23.771

12 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:25.081 1:23.887

13 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:24.495 1:23.966

14 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:24.849 1:24.101

15 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:25.410 1:24.129

16 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:24.879 1:24.520

17 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:25.410

18 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:25.437

19 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:26.820

20 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:27.088

21 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:27.609

22 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:29.282



Formula One has never been better

Picture By BrianScott Under
CreativeCommonsAttribution2.0

Seven time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher could decide next month whether to retire from Formula One, according to Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn.

Schumacher's Ferrari Formula One contract is up at the end of the season but he is likely to decide his future before then.

"We haven't given him an ultimatum," Brawn told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung.

Read the rest of the story here

Quotable Quote

"He is incredibly professional. If you had to go for a heart operation you'd want somebody who was the Schumacher of the heart surgery world to do the job, because you can rely on him." (...). He laughs as he considers the dominance of his old enemy. "Fortunately Michael wasn't like that in 1996! The fact he is still winning makes me feel a lot better. It's not so bad to be beaten by the best driver who's ever lived. Nobody really knew that then. I was first into the arena, the first Christian thrown to the lions"

--Damon Hill, former Formula One Driver, The Guardian, 2004

Also dont forget to read our special post on Schumacher and Imola's Formula One stats, just below.

Essential Schumacher Stats

Nationality German
Car # 5
Current team Ferrari
Race starts 235
World Championships 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Wins 84
Podium finishes 143
Pole positions 65
Fastest laps 69
First Grand Prix 1991 Belgian Grand Prix
First win 1992 Belgian Grand Prix
Current Championship position 4th (11 pts)

Original photograph by Chris J. Moffett, under CreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlike 2.0

Seven time Formula One champion Micheal Schumacher is the most successful driver in Imola, 6 wins , with 3 of them coming in the last four years. The one to break Micheal Schumacher's Record was Ralf Schumacher in 2001 , Micheal's own brother. And last year Alonso didn't let Schumi win breaking his streak again, however this year i feel Schumi will be back !!!!

Recent reports indicated that Micheal has no desire to retire at the end of this season. He trains everyday and can't imagine a life without driving.

Singapore will bid to host a Formula One Race in the 2008 season, a government release announced. South Africa, Greece, Russia and Spain are also considering hosting races in 2008. As far as hosting a race is concerned, India seems to have been left behind with no official announcements coming. However with every season increasing in length , it might disinterest audiences around the world to see so many races each year in Formula One.

There has been lots of interest in hosting formula one races by 'non-traditional' Formula One countries. They see Formula One as a means to attract the world's attention and as a source of foreign exchange from tourists which would throng the F1 event city during the race weekend.

Did you know

The top speed of a Formula One car is around 375 kph and Monza is the only circuit where such a mark is likely to be reached.

Forget Blogf1.blogspot.com, use blogf1.tk

Our San Marino 2005 Grand Prix Report

Formula One San Marino 2005 race result

1 Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1hr 27min 41.921secs
2 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 0.215secs
3 Jenson Button (BAR) 10.481
4 Alexander Wurz (McLaren) 27.554
5 Takuma Sato (BAR) 34.783
6 Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber) 1:04.442
7 Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:10.258
8 Nick Heidfeld (Williams) 1:11.282
9 Mark Webber (Williams) 1:23.297
10 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull) 1:23.764
11 Ralf Schumacher* (Toyota) 1:35.841
12 Felipe Massa (Sauber) 1 lap
13 David Coulthard (Red Bull) 1 lap
14 Narain Karthikeyan (Jordan) 1 lap
15 Tiago Monteiro (Jordan) 2 laps

Date: Friday 7th April 2006
Location: Paul Ricard HTTT, Le Castellet, France
Drivers: Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett
Weather: Sunny and warm
Track temperature: High of 31.0 degrees Celsius
Air temperature: High of 17.6 degrees Celsius
Laps run: 283
Kilometres covered: Pedro de la Rosa – MP4-21 – approx. 450km / Gary Paffett – MP4-20 – approx. 620km
Best lap time of the day: Ricardo Zonta, Toyota, 1m04.157
Best lap time of the week: Ricardo Zonta, Toyota, 1m04.157 (Friday)
Total km during test: 2,844
Pedro de la Rosa – MP4-21 – approx. 1,416km
Gary Paffett – MP4-20 – approx. 1,428km
Duration of test: Three days (5th – 7th April)

McLaren.com

MF1 Racing announces the departure of Sporting Director Adrian Burgess, effective immediately, due to planned internal re-structuring of race and test team operations.

MF1 Racing wishes to thank Adrian for his support and dedicated hard work during his time with the team. He has held the position of Sporting Director since May 2005.

"Adrian's experience and expertise were very helpful to us during the team's transition season," said MF1 Racing's Managing Director, Colin Kolles. "We wish him every success as he leaves to pursue other challenges, and we fully expect to see him back in the F1 paddock before too long."

The internal re-structuring plan provides for re-allocation of Adrian's duties among senior team members Andy Stevenson (Team Manager) and Dominic Harlow (Chief Race and Test Engineer).

"Due to a fundamental difference of opinion with regard to the technical operations of its Formula One team, Toyota Motorsport has suspended its Technical Director Chassis, Mike Gascoyne, until further notice," Toyota said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Toyota Motorsport will not make any additional comments on this matter at this time."
He was recruited from Renault in October 2003 to undertake chassis development at of the Toyota Formula One team,and is one of the sport's top technical men.

Micheal Schumacher in happier times, notice the no.1 car, he may never drive it again
The fans keep their expectations up, but one race after the other Ferrari disappoints millions of its fans. Having loved the Ferrari F1 team since the day i watched Formula One for the 1st time, it pains me to see the great team lose its touch. The first race at Bahrain has proved to be a false dawn. ferrari struggle to even keep up with the top teams, let alone win. In the qualifying at Australia, Ferrari's cars failed their rather illustrious drivers. Micheal Schumacher wasnt even able to qualify for the final 10 showdown. if this continues i am sure many more fans like me will think twice before supporting Ferrari.

My message To Ferrari ::
So lets prove the critics wrong , Ferrari should rise like a phoenix from its ashes and dominate like it used to. Let no new rule from FIA stop you. Spread your wings and fly high. Lets show everyone the legacy continues .....

Formula One Drivers' world championship 2006

Name Car Nat Points
1 Fernando Alonso Renault Spa 28
2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault Ita 14
3 Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes Fin 14
4 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Ger 11
5 Jenson Button Honda GB 11
6 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes Col 9
7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota Ger 7
8 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber Ger 5
9 Jacques Villeneuve BMW Sauber Can 5
10 Felipe Massa Ferrari Brz 4
11 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth Aus 3
12 Rubens Barrichello Honda Brz 2
13 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth Ger 2
14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari GB 1
15 Christian Klien Red Bull-Ferrari Aut 1

Formula One Constructors' world championship 2006

Team Points
1 Renault 42
2 McLaren-Mercedes 23
2 Ferrari 15
4 Honda 13
5 BMW Sauber 10
6 Toyota 7
7 Williams-Cosworth 5
8 Red Bull-Ferrari 1
9 Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1
8 Red Bull 1

Well i can safely say that Alonso showed Button his place in what was an eventful Australian grand Prix. Button started on pole position but after a crash at the first corner which brought out the safety car, he was nowhere to be seen. the first lap saw Nico, Fellipe and Klien being involved in an accident. Home hero Mark Webber also retired on lap 23.

Michael Schumacher who was challenging Jenson Button, crashed while trying to push too hard in the on lap 33. His race ended.

And now the Speed and Coulthard saga. Speed got a 25 second penalty after overtaking Coulthard during yellow flags. And then during the hearing he swore at Coulthard and got an additional 5000$ fine.

And in 2007 Formula One 's first race will be held in Australia.

Reactions

The car was perfect - we were not in danger of losing the race at any time

Fernando Alonso

It's clear we have a lot of work to do

Michael Schumacher

Picture from F1live.com

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Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 57 1:34:27.870 3 10

2 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +1.8 secs 4 8

3 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 57 +24.8 secs 6 6

4 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 57 +31.0 secs 8 5

5 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 57 +38.4 secs 2 4

6 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 57 +49.5 secs 19 3

7 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 57 +51.9 secs 16 2

8 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 57 +53.8 secs 18 1

9 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 57 +53.9 secs 11

10 12 Jenson Button Honda 56 +1 Lap 1

11 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 56 +1 Lap 17

12 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 55 +2 Lap 21

13 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 54 +3 Lap 22

Ret 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 46 Electrical 5

Ret 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 39 Mechanical 20

Ret 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 37 Accident 12

Ret 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 32 Accident 10

Ret 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 22 Transmission 7

Ret 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 4 Accident 13

Ret 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0 Accident 9

Ret 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 0 Accident damage 14

Ret 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0 Accident 15

Fastest Lap: Kimi Räikkönen 1:26.045