Written by Michael Vass

Lewis Hamilton did not win the Formula One championship. Or will he? The final race in Brazil ended with Hamilton in 7th place, much to the dismay of many fans. But as in most auto races there was a controversy.

In this case it seems that the 4th, 5th, and 6th place cars all had issues related to their fuel temperature violating the rules. Initially there was no penalty given to these cars (representing Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld). Now there is a FIA hearing to determine if they should be pulled and Hamilton moved up and awarded 4th. If that were to happen he would then get the championship.

My big question is should he get the championship, and would he want to get it like this? There is no doubt that winning would be a feather in the cap. But I can’t imagine that this is the way any driver would like to get a win. It just seems empty to me.

Obviously the rules need to be followed, and penalties need to be enforced. But when a driver fails to perform well in a race, I don’t think they should be retroactively rewarded because of those penalties being enforced. Penalties and their eventual reactions should be resolved during the race they occur in. In cases where they are determined afterwards, those penalties should apply forward to those drivers next race, or against the team that they drove for.

To give Hamilton the win makes it a hollow victory. It takes away the better performance of the cars that took the checkered flag well ahead of him.

I’m not the only one to hold this view. Michael Schumacher stated,

“But I think there’s plenty of options after this year - if you start to change again the classification, I think it would be bad for formula one because it had been finished fair and square on the track and there’s no need to carry on looking at it.”

Even Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren chief executive, said

“Victory for us would be a clarification of the rationale behind the FIA stewards’ decision at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix - a clarification, indeed, that we regard as essential not only for us but for all our competitors, to enable all teams to race in compliance with the regulation regarding fuel temperatures throughout the 2008 formula one season.”

So this is what the drivers and teams thing. What FIA thinks is as yet unknown. But what to you fans think? Would a retroactive win be good for Formula One? Would you feel as elated for Lewis Hamilton if he wins on a technicality, rather than taking the flag on the track?

I for one have to say no, and I think FIA will agree.

Written by Michael Vass

There are few things in life as good as getting the endorsement and recognition of the recognized and lauded top of an industry. To have say, Bill Gates mention that so and so is up and coming, or Warren Buffett mentioning his admiration of a broker. This is also true of sports, like the comments of Arnold Palmer on Tiger Woods, or Kareem Abdul Jabbar on Michael Jordan. Not to be left out of this is Lewis Hamilton receiving the notice and positive comments from Sir Jackie Stewart.

While out promoting his recent book, Winning is Not Enough: The Autobiography by Jackie Stewart, Sir Stewart was asked about his thoughts on the rookie Hamilton that stands to win his first world championship.

“I won a point in my first race in South Africa and went on to finish third in the world championship. But no one has achieved what Lewis has done this year.”

Now tell me that is not something that would make your chest fill with pride and joy.

Lewis Hamilton has made an impact on Formula One, and his winning the championship would be a feather in his cap that would seal his accomplishments. And he has little fear to worry about in achieving that feather. He currently leads with a decent point spread and a top finish in Sao Paulo virtually assures his place.

But what is next?

I would say that Hamilton must become like Jordan and Woods, in that he must use his win as a stepping stone for his confidence and charge for a piece of history. His rookie year is a great accomplishment, but he should not let it be a distraction from his future performance. So far there is no indication that he won’t continue this streak of performance, but a note of caution never hurts.

So I wonder how many others believe that Lewis Hamilton will become one of the greats in Formula One, like Sir Jackie Stewart? How long will it take him to gather 3 world titles and 27 victories? Or do you believe he can do it?

I think he will, but I honestly can’t say how long it will take. Youth provides energy and time, but it also allows for inexperience and prideful exuberance. We shall see, with all eyes, and those of Sir Stewart, watching each race.

Submitted by Mr. Michael Vass, a contributing author.

Fans of Formula One racing should be very prepared for some excitement this weekend. The last European race of the 2007 season is going to take place at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. The 44 laps across this 308 km race make this course the longest of the season and fans probably missed it in 2006. Elevation changes, a Blanchimont corner, and unpredictable weather all combine in one place and that is a great way to end a season.

The Belgian Grand Prix is definitely something Jenson Button is looking forward to. After the top ten finish at the Italian Grand Prix, Honda is hoping for a good showing, if not the win in this race.

It’s getting interesting as the season winds its way down with the last few remaining races. I can hardly think of anything better than a long course with the chance of weather popping up. It just adds a level of excitement. I suppose this is the time of year to ask who takes it all, how the last races will end and what will be the likely shake-ups for next year?

Submitted from Black Entertainment USA

Recently I was writing the post for Presidential Race Blog about the upcoming Republican presidential debate and I noticed something on TV. It was another item on global warming and that left me with a question. There is now a lot about carbon emissions and carbon offsets and whether global warming actually exists. I am hardly an expert in such matters. So I can’t say whether or not global warming exists (though I tend to think not), but there is a big push to say that it’s true. Either way, I have to wonder how long is it going to be until the global warming movement and the eco-happy individuals target NASCAR, Formula One, monster trucks, and all other forms of auto racing in general?

This may not be an issue yet, but it will be. And once the subject comes up it won’t go away. Considering that, what is going to happen when we start hearing in commercials, reports, and individual pundits on television saying that auto racing, cannot be allowed. So far, the foothold of the global warming fanatics has yet to reach anything to do with the sports but there are signs they are gaining ground. You may have noticed recent commercials from the company E-surance detailing smog monsters and giant robots attacking the environment. That’s a very mainstream statement, tying driving, smog, and the environment together. So far there has been no connection between auto racing, and harmful emissions.

This post may be a bit off the usual topic, but I wonder how the sport will be affected. I wonder how many of the fans are concerned. I wonder what people tell their kids who come home from school where they just learned that the ice caps are melting, because mom drove to get ice cream? Those same kids are bound to start asking about how bad Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Lewis Hamilton are for driving around a race track hundreds of times just to see who comes in first. What do the parents say? What will NASCAR, Formula One, monster trucks, and all the other auto racing organizations do?

I would suggest that if those organizations have not thought about this yet, they start. The reason being is that with the growth of global warming activists, legislation may come out that will directly affect this industry. Mark my words, it is quite possible that one day soon, some green political organization is going to suggest that all cars in the auto racing industry be replaced with hybrid vehicles. Actually, it will probably start with some super green nutcase (like a certain musician, who thinks everyone should use one square of tissue paper only) who will suggest that instead of racing cars fueled with a gas, races should be with solar cars or just bicycles. Imagine a Daytona 500 like that.

It’s just a thought, and it’s going to happen.

This is what I think what you think?

Submitted from Freshrubber.com

Fernando Alonso’s relationship with McLaren suffered another blow this week when he reportedly turned down the opportunity for peace-talks.

According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, Lewis Hamilton and team boss Ron Dennis are currently relaxing in the waters off Menorca aboard fellow McLaren founder Mansour Ojjeh’s 72-metre super-yacht.

While Hamilton has been onboard for a few days already, frolicking in the waves with Ojjeh’s daugher Sara, Dennis arrived earlier this week and invited Alonso to join the party.

The invitation was in the hope of ’smoothing tensions’ left over from the Hungarian GP qualifying debacle and arriving at a ‘pact for peaceful coexistence from now until the end of the season.’

Alonso, though, ‘declined’ the offer, opting to stick to his original holiday plans.

‘The divorce seems definitive and the possibilities of reconciliation, quite distant. The situation of extreme tension between Fernando Alonso and the rest of the McLaren team seems not to have improved in the last week,’ the newspaper said.

Following the Hungarian GP, which saw Alonso penalised for blocking his team-mate in the pits and preventing him from challenging for pole position, the double World Champion has been linked to a return to Renault at the end of the season as well as a move to BMW.

source: planet-f1.com

Submitted from Freshrubber.com

With a brief announcement deprived of the team’s usual irony, Scuderia Toro Rosso confirmed Sebastien Bourdais’ lifelong dream: the Frenchman will have a full-time Formula 1 ride in 2008.

The triple Champ Car champion, currently battling for a fourth Vanderbilt Cup, will be released by his Newman/Haas/Lanigan team by the end of this season.

“It has been a long time coming, but here we are!” the 28-year-old stated. “I would like to thank everyone at Red Bull for believing in me and giving me this long-awaited opportunity to race in Formula 1. I must also thank Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing for letting me pursue my dream and allowing me to test for Scuderia Toro Rosso a few times this year.”

Bourdais will partner Sebastien Vettel at STR next season, leaving current driver Tonio Liuzzi to look for a new ’08 ride.

Submitted from Freshrubber.com

With Canada’s first taste of a NASCAR Busch Series race just days away at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, it’s only fitting we line up the home-grown talent who will take on — and may even win — against the array of NBS and Nextel Cup drivers expected to qualify.

Ron Fellows: The Toronto native will be among the pre-race favourites to take the checkered flag in the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc, Chevrolet. Fellows has three Busch series wins and the No. 33 car knows it’s way to Victory Lane. Tony Stewart won three times with it last season. And Fellows has a victory at Montreal’s Formula One track back when he was racing in the Player’s GM series.

Michael Valiante: The open-wheel racer from Vancouver was passed over for a ride in the Champ Car series in 2004 after winning five races in Formula Atlantic championship but has gone on to a respectable career racing sports cars in the Rolex Grand Am series. The 27-year-old will be driving a Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge from the same garage that prepared Juan Pablo Montoya’s winning car at Mexico City earlier this season. That, and his credentials at turning both left and right, will make him a contender right off the trailer.

Patrick Carpentier: One of the most popular race car drivers to come out of Quebec, Carpentier also knows how to win at the 4.361-km permanent road course that is home to the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix.

– Toronto Sun

Submitted from Freshrubber.com

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso closed to within two points of the world championship lead by beating Ferrari’s Felipe Massa to victory in a chaotic, rain-interrupted, European Grand Prix.

Massa, leading Sunday’s chaotic race after his final pitstop, did his best to hold off Alonso on vibrating tyres but the Spaniard muscled his way past on the 56th of 60 laps with the cars touching. Television showed both men having words as they waited to step on the podium, with runner-up Massa turning away from the triumphant double world champion, who grinned and raised both thumbs to the camera.

When Tiger Woods first became a professional golfer, he was humble, respectful, and took the golfing community by storm. He was the young upstart that shook the whole sport of golf in his debut. He’s never turned to look back.

Now there is another young professional that is taking his sport by storm. Much like how Tiger put golf on the map for millions of Americans that had never noticed it before, an overseas driver is working on creating millions of fans In America and across the world. I’ve spoken about him before, and if you follow Formula One racing you know who I’m talking about. Lewis Hamilton.

He’s already taken the Canadian and American Grand Prix, and with the upcoming British Grand Prix on the horizon, Britons are reflecting the interest that is going where the young driver goes. But the part I like is the message he is giving back to fans.

“When I was just 10 and I’d won my first British championship (in karting), I remember going up to drivers for their autograph, but they never looked at me when they signed,” recalled Hamilton. They just brushed past me. So I said that if I ever got to Formula One I’d always look at the kid, or whoever it might be, I’d be signing an autograph for.”

He went on to say

“Never to give up - under any circumstances,” insisted Hamilton. But it doesn’t have to be in racing. It can be in anything. When the going gets tough, keep on pushing. That’s what I’m like.”

If that hasn’t inspired you to follow what he is doing, what more do you need?

When you think of Formula One drivers you tend to think of great skill and high speeds. It’s no small thing to whip the car around the track without incident at the speeds they reach. It’s also why the cars don’t fare well when an accident does happen.

On the other hand you would not expect go-kart racing to be too difficult. The speeds are lower and you would expect the handling to be much easier. Comparatively you might expect that give the levels of difficultly if you took a Formula One race driver and put him in a go-kart, everything would be alright. That’s what Lewis Hamilton thought as well, I’m sure.

But Mr. Hamilton proved himself as human as the rest of us. He did wind up crashing a charity bought go-kart Thursday. While he has had no difficulty winning from the pole position in an American grand prix, it seems this was more challenging.

Who knew?

Nighttime racing just brings a little something extra to a race I think. NASCAR has proven that it works, and many other race formats already use it as well. But so far Formula One racing hasn’t gone there. But that may soon be changing.

On Thursday of last week, test runs were done to check the viability of Formula One nighttime racing. The test track? None other than Indianapolis Motor Speedway which hosted the U.S. Grand Prix. Mr. Bernd Maylander himself ran a few laps under a few different conditions while being taped.

Already in SouthEast Asia plans are taking shape to set up a nighttime series. This should be quite an event once the details are worked out.

After the incredible crash last week at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Robert Kubica says he is ready for this weeks race.

Considering the terrible wreck that occured to hear that all he recieved was a concussion and a sprained ankle is amazing. The chief medical doctor has not cleared him for US Grand Prix in Indianapolis yet, and BMW Sauber says they will go with whatever they say.

Safety improvements have surely moved along over the years because a crash of last weeks nature surely could have been far worse in years past. We’ll see if they were enough to allow Kubica to get back into the action this week.