Posts for 'Formula One Races' Category

Formula One Comes to the United States in 2012 In a recent announcement regarding the 2012 Formula One Championship Season, plans of a race track in Austin, Texas have been unveiled, bringing F1 to the United States after a five-year absence. Inspired by world-class circuits such as Silverstone, Hockenheim, and Istanbul Park, the track is a narrow stretch littered with various twists and turns juxtaposed with lightning stretches, and promises to be an exciting addition to the 2012 season.

The Technical Aspects

Shaped like a joystick, the 3.4 mile anticlockwise circuit has twenty turns (starting with the hairpin at Turn 1), many of them jagged and abrupt. Featuring the work of Full Throttle Productions LP under the helm of legendary track architect Hermann Tilke, the course already shows promise of becoming a distinctive icon of the F1 championship with its complex, yet sleek design.

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The details of a final agreement to bring back the Canadian Grand Prix will be unveiled Friday at 3 p.m, Radio-Canada reported Thursday. The five-year, $75-million deal will reportedly include $15 million in annual government contributions.

That includes $5 million from the federal government; $4 million from the province and $5 million from Tourism Montreal — paid for by a special tax on hotel rooms. The race in Montreal was removed from the Formula One circuit in October 2008 over a contractual dispute, to the dismay of civic leaders and merchants.

Since then there have been signs of progress in talks between government officials and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. In September, officials confirmed the race was on the 2010 F1 calendar, but a final agreement had still not been signed.

The federal revenue ministry had to settle the question of how much Ecclestone would be obliged to pay in taxes. Ecclestone also had to settle his disagreement with former race promoter Normand Legault, one of the major reasons the race was pulled from the schedule.

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BMW is pulling out of Formula One at the end of this season, the second carmaker to leave the series within a year as a severe global economic downturn hits new car sales and forces manufacturers to cut costs. The German company announced the decision at a news conference Wednesday, saying it wanted to use the significant F1 budget in other areas. It will remain involved in other forms of motor sport.

F1 REACTS: Could budget rules have saved BMW? "Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it's a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment," BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer said at the news conference.

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Out, but not down: Martin Brundle crashes out of the 1996 Australian Grand Prix Photo: EPA
Formula One fans are understandably concerned by the Brazilian's accident during qualifying in Hungary.
As Massa's misfortune and the tragic accident that recently took the life of young Henry Surtees have demonstrated, the head is the last relatively unprotected area of the modern single-seater driver's body, and is thus still susceptible to injury.

Massa's injury was caused by what everyone agrees was a freak incident, a detached component that 9,999 times out of a thousand would have bounced anywhere but into the Brazilian's helmet.

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McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won his first Formula One race of the season Sunday at a Hungarian Grand Prix overshadowed by the absence of Felipe Massa, who remained hospitalized with life-threatening injuries from a crash a day earlier.

Hamilton won for the first time since last year's Chinese GP, snapping a streak of 11 races without a podium finish.McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain gestures as he stands on the winners podium with Red Bull's Mark Webber of Australia (R) and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen of Finland (L) after the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring circuit near Budapest July 26, 2009.

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“Following the completion of negotiations with FOA and all 13 Formula One teams by FIA President Max Mosley and FIA Deputy President for Sport Nick Craw, the members of the World Motor Sport Council have been sent a copy of the proposed new Concorde Agreement for their consideration.

“Subject to the approval of the WMSC and on receipt of confirmation that a satisfactory cost-reduction agreement is in place, the new Concorde Agreement should be ready for signature at the end of next week.”

Formula One drivers are a jet-setting bunch at the best of times, but this week a couple of them have been especially busy clocking up the air miles, after taking part in a street demonstration in Russia before heading to Hungary for this weekend’s race. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen and Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima were both in action at the annual Moscow City Racing event on Sunday.

Kovalainen and Nakajima made several runs of the 4.5-kilometre temporary street circuit, which took in several of the Russian capital’s iconic landmarks including the Kremlin, Red Square and St Basil’s cathedral. With a crowd of approximately 200,000 watching the action, both drivers were blown away by the experience.

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Mark Webber won his first Formula One race on Sunday after overcoming a penalty to take the German Grand Prix and give his Red Bull team real momentum in its bid to catch Jenson Button in the drivers' championship.
The Australian beat teammate Sebastian Vettel by 9.2 seconds despite a drive-through penalty for bumping Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello out of the start while defending his pole position.

Webber's euphoric screams were heard over the team radio after he crossed the finish line in his 132nd race.

"It's an incredible day for me. I wanted to win so badly," said Webber, the first Australian driver to secure victory since Alan Jones at Las Vegas 28 years ago. "It was very, very important for me to win because there are not many Australian drivers who have reached Formula One and few have been successful."

Heikki Kovalainen will be in action in the British team’s championship-winning MP4-23 for the spectacle, which will take place on a 4.5-kilometre street circuit right in the heart of the Russian city, with St Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square and the Kremlin all providing stunning backdrops.“I’m really looking forward to the demonstration in Russia,” Kovalainen stated. “Moscow is one of the world’s most magnificent cities and this opportunity to showcase Formula One machinery to so many people, and in such an amazing place, is an incredible opportunity.”“For everybody who attends, this should be an absolutely amazing demonstration of the worldwide appeal of Formula One to a country that is looking forward to hosting its first Grand Prix in the near future,” Kovalainen added. Yahoo! Eurosports.

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This week's Motorsport Monday contains a smattering of local results mixed in with what went on the world of car-racing at the weekend.

In regional news, the Rotary Club of Waitaki's four-wheel-drive mudplug at Gemmells Crossing, North Otago was a slippery sort of success. Check out the story and click through to a slideshow of mud-flinging photos.

Although they were competing away from home, Otago riders Courtney Duncan and Campbell King had a successful weekend in Taupo at the New Zealand Motorcycle TT Championships.

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