Chinese Grand Prix, can Vettel stop Brawn ?

The days when the guys in the images above dominated F1 , including the Chinese GP seem to be over. The 2 Brawn pilots and Vettel seem to be the new contenders. Jenson Button had a great seasons start earning 2 wins which now give him the highest odds for winning the 2009 season. But Vettel seems to be in great form. The qualifying session gave him a pole , while Brawn cars start 4th and 5th. Red Bull team's 2nd pilot Mark Webber got a great 3rd place on the grid while Alonso sits between the 2 Bulls. Kimi and Lewis start 8th and 9th, both desperately wanting to get their first podium this year.

Will Hamilton repeat last year's success in Canada ?

After a really crazy Formula 1 race in Monaco, the teams go to Montreal,Canada . Everybody is anxious to see what will happen next. Lewis Hamilton has climbed to the top of the drivers championship with his latest win and will be now racing on a circuit he likes and where he won last year. The McLaren's seem to have closed the car performance gap that seemed to separate them from the Ferrari's of Massa and Raikkonen, but Robert Kubica ,the young polish driver is looking stronger each race and this could be the place where he will grab his first Formula 1 win. The location of the circuit is magnificient as well, but we doubt the pilots will have time to enjoy the view :) .
This is looking to be the most fought season in decades, with no less than 4 drivers from 3 different teams in contention and probably Canada will be another beautifull chapter of this fight.

Could Bahrain give an early title favourite?

After the first 2 races , no less than 5 drivers managed good performances which could make them compete for the season champion title.
Kimi and Lewis each won one race, while the BMW drivers Heidfeld and Kubica delivered convincing performances as well. Allthough he didn't take the spotlight , the second McLaren driver Kovalainen is also among the top drivers, while Massa is yet to finnish one race. The former double world champion Fernando Alonso is strugling with his car , clearly slower than anybody on the top 3 teams.
Anyone of this top 5 winning will surely put his name in as the early front runner now. Bahrain is a rather new circuit,and allthough rain has a 1 in a million chance to appear , everybody is worried about high speed winds which would bring sand on the race track. Also extreme temperatures are something normal here,so we might expect quite a bunch of engines going boom.
The third interesting thing would be who will receive an offer from the sheic of Bahrain this year to live in his pallace as Michael Scumacher hasn't returned to F1 :)

Michael Schumacher back in Formula 1

.... Just for testing :)

One week after making a triumphant return to Formula One testing for Ferrari at Barcelona, it Michael Schumacher will do more tests for the Italian team.

Schumacher, who retired at the end of the 2006 season, is expected to be in action at the next multi-team test which will take place at the Spanish circuit of Jerez next month.

The seven-time world champion will spend 2 days behind the wheel of the F2007 as he continues to assist the squad with their 2008 preparations.

At last week’s test in Barcelona the german clocked the fastest time on both days he was in action. Since his retirement, he has remained close to the Ferrari family and attended several Grands Prix this season as a ‘special advisor’ for the Italian team.

Fernando Alonso leaves McLaren Mercedes

What was expected by many has happened . Alonso and his team McLaren Mercedes decided to separate their paths in the next season. Alonso disagreed the team's attitude of not making him the number 1 pilot ,although he was the defending double world champion while McLaren disagreed to Alonso's attitude towards the team and consider him to be the one to be blamed for the 100 million dollar fine from FIA plus the lost constructors title. Alonso declared that he never felt at home at McLaren ,allthough even as a child he dreamed of one day running for this great team.

Honda tests 3 young GP2 drivers in the next weeks

Honda announced on Monday that GP2 drivers Mike Conway, Luca Filippi and Andreas Zuber will drive at the team’s first winter test, which will be held in Spain next month. All three young hopefuls will get the chance to test the Japanese team’s race car at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya from November 13-15.

Conway has been part of Honda's Young Driver Programme since March 2007, and has worked closely with the squad throughout his debut season in the GP2 series with the Super Nova International team. Prior to GP2, the 24 year-old won the British Formula Three championship and the Macau Grand Prix during the 2006 season. He also won the Formula Renault UK title in 2004.

Filippi, who was Conway’s team mate at Super Nova in 2007, has competed in the GP2 series for the past two seasons. He finished in fourth position in the 2007 driver standings. The 22 year-old began his racing career in his home country of Italy, winning the Italian Formula 3000 championship in 2005 before moving up to GP2.

Zuber has also spent the past two seasons racing in GP2, finishing in ninth position this year with championship-winning team iSport International. The Austrian-born 24 year-old previously competed in the F3 Euroseries and the World Series by Renault before switching to GP2.

First night race in Formula 1's history to be held in 2008 in Singapore

The schedule for next season was just decided and FIA brought into it what many expected with joy : The Singapore GrandPrix. This race won't be held during the day ,but during the night. This will give a different atmosphere to the race , and to the people worldwide watching it on TV.
The Grand Prix of Singapore and the other new track in Valencia are both city tracks and they will join Monaco in the list of tracks in this category. As Monaco is considered by many the most importang Grand Prix of the season, having 3 such races a year will increase Formula 1's intensity and public appeal.
Below is the whole race program for 2008:
16/3 AUS Australia
23/3 MAL Malaysia
6/4 BRN Bahrain
27/4 E Spain
11/5 TR Turkey
25/5 MC Monaco
8/6 CDN Canada
22/6 F France
6/7 GB Great Britain
20/7 D Germany
3/8 H Hungary
24/8 E Europe
7/9 B Belgium
14/9 I Italy
28/9 SGP Singapore
12/10 J Japan
19/10 CN China
02/11 BR Brazil