In the F1 world, Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen is also known by a nickname that seems to suit his personality and driving style. Dubbed as the ‘Iceman’ by his peers, Raikkonen’s calculated and unflappable demeanor on and off the track
At this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix, Raikkonen gave new meaning to his nickname, after an overzealous Heiki Kovaleinen drove off his scheduled pitstop prematurely and taking part of the fuel rig with him along for the ride.
With gasoline pouring all over the pitlane, Raikkonen – which was behind Kovaleinen as they were exiting the pits – drove into the fuel and, for a split second, engulfing his Ferrari into a ball of fire. While other drivers would surely have panicked under similar circumstances, Raikkonen merely shrugged off the episode and, as soon as the flames disappeared, went about his merry way back on track.
If that doesn’t define Kimi as one cool customer, we don’t know what will.
Far from the circus that is Formula One, retired-F1 driver David Coulthard recently made the news after he was given a speeding ticket worth over $33,000 for driving a Red Bull F1 car along the streets of India.
Sounds insane, right?
The thing is the whole shindig was part of an F1 demonstration on a closed-off part of a busy road. Apparently, organizers of the event were given strict directives by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation for DC not to exceed the 62 mph speed limit at the Rajiv Ghandi Sea Link. Either DC forgot about the whole arrangement or he was too busy delighting the crowd, but the Scot ended up going 162 mph at the area and, as a result, was unceremoniously flagged for ‘super-duper’ over speeding.
We can’t blame Coulthard for the sudden lapse in judgment. After all, F1 drivers are wired to be faster than fast. But unfortunately, the MSRDC was none too pleased about their warnings going by the wayside.
As a result, the MSRDC will not return the organizer’s deposit of around $30,000 as payment for the super-duper speeding infraction DC incurred.
According to an MSRDC official, "We respect David for helping put the Link on the global map. But he crossed the speed limit and we will have to recover the penalty. We will not return the organisers’ deposit”.
There really aren’t a lot of F1 games available for the iPhone – actually, with the exception of this one, there’s none – so when one becomes available, you take them any way you can get them.
And for just $2, we think the new BMW Sauber F1 game for the iPhone is as good a two-dollar investment as you can find anywhere.
Let’s face it, a lot of people in America aren’t very familiar with Formula One. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy it, even if it comes to us as an iPhone game. The game, by all accounts, caters to a lot of different racing game nuts. Those who want instant gratification can choose to play the quick-race mode in the game while the championship-starved fellows can opt to give the championship mode a shot. There’s also a professional mode, which gives you control of the pit crew and once you’ve gotten deeper into the game, the engineering mode will become available, which, eventually makes you the principal of your team where you will be tasked to make all the decisions for your drivers and cars.
All those talks surrounding Kimi Raikkonen’s move to rally car racing have been extinguished after reports came out that the former World Champion has signed an outline agreement to return to McLaren next year.
Citing ‘paddock sources’, the Mirror was the first to report about Raikkonen’s apparent return to the silver and black after spending three years in Ferrari, including a World Championship in 2007.
Despite being under contract to Ferrari for one more year at around $50 million, whispers are being made that Raikkonen is prepared to vacate his seat in Ferrari if Scuderia will pay him his entire 2010 salary down to the last penny.
In the event that Ferrari does give-in to the Finn’s request, we can all consider it a formality that another former World Champion will replace Kimi at Ferrari for 2010. That ex-champ being Fernando Alonso.
In the event that all of this plays out as anticipated, would we expect nothing less than a return to form from Ferrari and McLaren next year?
At the very least, an Alonso-Massa pairing and a Raikkonen-Hamilton team is pretty much worth watching.
The verdict is out and as can be expected, the World Motor Sport Council wasted little time in banishing deposed Renault Managing Director, Flavio Briatore.
For masterminding the ‘Crash-gate of 2008’, the WMSC banned Briatore indefinitely from the sport, meaning that we probably have seen the last of the stout Italian in any racing league of any format in the world.
In addition to his indefinite ban, the WMSC also noted that anyone who does business with Briatore from now on will not be issued a superlicense, which if you’re curious to know is the license needed to participate in Formula One
Meanwhile, the other implicated individual in ‘Crash-gate’, Pat Symonds – the ex-Renault executive director of engineering – received a ‘shorter’ 5-year ban, thanks in large part to his admittance that he did play a part in the race-fix of Singapore.
In a world where sketchy characters seem to be the rule rather than the exception, we still find it unfathomable how Flavio Briatore can stoop to that level of indignity just so his team can win a race – even at the expense of the safety of all the drivers who raced in Singapore last year.
That being said, a lifetime ban seems reasonably justified.
Felipe Massa is set to make a return to the tracks sometime in December, although it won’t be in a Ferrari F1 car as a lot of people would have hoped. Massa’s first race back from his career-threatening injury at Hungary earlier this year will be in a go-kart.
It’s not exactly the most resounding of comebacks, is it?
Nevertheless, Massa will be making his racing comeback at the Brazilian Granja Viana endurance kart race in his native Brazil. The race, which will be held in Sao Paulo sometime in December, figures to get a huge boost in publicity in the event Massa - one of the country’s most popular race car drivers – does get the ‘go’ signal from his doctors.
In the meantime, the Brazilian continues to recuperate from the crash that almost ended his life but has made it clear that he’s itching to return to racing, saying that “I wish I could be on the track tomorrow because I’m bored."
We’re all rooting for Felipe Massa to have as fast a recovery as possible because we’d love to see him back where he belongs: on a race track.
Whether it’s behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car or a go-kart is inconsequential to us; we just want him back to doing what he does best.
Ex-Renault bosses, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds could end up in bigger trouble than they had anticipated in light of their involvement in staging a deliberate crash at the Singapore GP last year.
The meeting to determine what kind of punishment the pair will receive from the World Motor Sports Council will take place on Monday, September 21, and speculation is wild that the two could be meted lifetime bans from Formula One.
But apparently, that should be the least of their problems.
In the event that the two are found guilty, they could end up being extradited to Singapore where they will be charged with a criminal act of ordering a dangerous stunt to benefit their own fortunes.
Not only that, the Daily Telegraph also said that Briatore and Symonds could be facing lawsuits left and right from a host of other groups affected by their actions, including their former team Renault.
And to add any more salt to this growing wound, Briatore’s other tie-ups outside Formula One, including the football club Queen Park Rangers where he is a co-owner, could also impose some sanctions on the beleaguered ex F1 chief.
According to a source from the league, “The Football League did not comment specifically, but the competition does not allow the involvement of "anyone subject to a ban from the involvement in the administration of a sport by a sport’s governing body".
We’re reserving our judgments here until the WMSC decides on the fate of both Briatore and Symonds but if we’re to base it on how everything has transpired since this news broke out, then we’re not liking the two’s chances of being acquitted of their misdeeds.
Managing Director Flavio Briatore and Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds have officially left the Renault F1 team.
While the news doesn’t come as a surprise to us anymore, it is curious to note that the decision to leave Renault comes a few days before the team is set to stand before the World Motor Sports Council to answer allegations that they attempted to manipulate the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by telling former driver Nelson Picquet Jr. to deliberately crash his car to give teammate Fernando Alonso better track position.
Even more curious is the statement the team released regarding the accusations laid out by Picquet Jr. The team said: "The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix."
This sounds like Renault is either trying to pre-empt the inevitable or they know something we don’t, but it does raise eyebrows as to how this whole situation has played out.
Briatore and Symond’s decision to leave the team casts a cloud on Renault’s future in F1. Should the team be found guilty, they could face sanctions ranging from a fine to a possible exclusion from the world championships down the road.
By now, you’ve probably heard of the latest scandal circulating around the F1 paddocks these days.
If you haven’t, here’s a brief refresher course. Recently sacked Renault driver, Nelson Piquet Jr. released a statement saying that he was instructed to intentionally crash his car at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix in order for teammate Fernando Alonso to move ahead of the pack and win the race.
Now, a hearing is scheduled to take place on September 21 to determine whether or not Piquet Jr’s statement really did happen. For their part, Renault team bosses Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have vehemently denied any wrongdoing and attributed their former drivers attempt to smear their team as a sign of retaliation after being unceremoniously fired last month.
While it’s been official for a long time now, BMW’s exit to Formula One has hit the nail in the coffin after the German-based automakers completed the sale of its Sauber F1 team to Qadbak Investments Ltd.
If you haven’t heard of this company before, then you’re not alone.
Apparently, Qadbak is a Swiss-based foundation that represents a number of Middle East and European based families.
It sounds to us that this group has got some well-off backers if they were able to buy the Sauber team from BMW. But yeah, when you say European AND Middle East families, then that sort of gives away the secret, doesn’t it?
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