http://www.formula1.com/news/features/ en-GB Formula1.com Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:02:25 GMT Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:02:25 GMT 15 http://www.formula1.com/photos/225x150/manual/_grosjean.jpg http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8316.html Bridgestone e-reporter finalist Rutger Wuyts with Romain Grosjean, Belgian Grand Prix, 06 September 2008. © Bridgestone Since its inception in 2004, the GP2 Series has established itself as a serious breeding ground for Formula One talent - with the likes of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as evidence. And official tyre suppliers to the series, Bridgestone, are helping to do the same for motorsport journalism, with their e-reporter competition. The nine 2008 finalists will each get to report from one European round of the series, and will be supplying Formula1.com with details of the GP2 action, plus a diary reflecting their experience as a first-time paddock correspondent. For Belgium, it's 23 year-old local writer, Rutger Wuyts... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8316.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:23:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8316.html Formula1.com Rain in Saturday morning's final practice, allied to the usual compromises required at Spa left many teams with mixed thoughts doing into qualifying. Most opted to run Bridgestone's softer option tyre for outright speed, though Lewis Hamilton was second fastest in Q2 with the harder prime offering. And when the championship leader also switched to the white-striped rubber for Q3 there was little Ferrari - nor anyone else - could do to stop him putting McLaren on pole, despite a great lap from Felipe Massa… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8323.html Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:49:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8323.html Formula1.com The first day of practice for the Belgian Grand Prix took place in the kind of varied conditions so typical of Spa-Francorchamps. In the morning it was dry and it was the Ferraris that led the way. However, a little light rain caused some excitement in the afternoon and put the emphasis more firmly on the driver, with Renault's Fernando Alonso setting the pace. The lack of consistency means most teams will now have to complete their Saturday practice set-ups based on pre-event simulations... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8314.html Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:37:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8314.html Formula1.com Spa-Francorchamps is the most complete test of a Formula One car on the current calendar with every aspect of the vehicle's handling tested to the limit. It combines 320 km/h straights with 70 km/h hairpins, with several sixth-gear sweepers thrown in for good measure - and, of course, the unique challenge of Eau Rouge. While this section of the circuit and the fast left-hander at Blanchimont may no longer be as testing as they once were, corners such as Pouhon, taken blind in sixth gear, still allow the drivers to make the difference. And all of that is before you factor in the notoriously unpredictable weather in the Ardennes, which can see the circuit soaked at one end and bone dry at the other. Here Renault describe how they plan to set-up the R28 to cope with the Belgian circuit's demands… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8310.html Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:32:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8310.html Formula1.com Mixing lengthy straights, quick corners and varying gradients, Spa-Francorchamps rates as one of the most technically challenging circuits on the Formula One calendar. Here Honda reserve Alexander Wurz talks us round a flying lap of the track ahead of this weekend's Belgium Grand Prix... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8303.html Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:33:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8303.html Formula1.com Who doesn't love Spa-Francorchamps? Ask any of the drivers, and they will tell you it ranks at the top, or very close to the top, of their favourite tracks. Located in picturesque Hautes Fagnes region of the Ardennes, the original Spa was dropped from the calendar in 1970 amid growing fears that Formula One machinery had outgrown its original configuration. Now the dramatically revised track, commissioned in 1979, has successfully retained much of the original's demanding uphill and downhill swoops... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8300.html Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:09:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8300.html Formula1.com After a year's absence from the calendar to allow for a renovation, all eyes should have been directed towards Spa-Francorchamps in the build-up to the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix. But in the days' leading up to the event, the field were looking in an altogether different direction - towards Paris. It was in the French capital that the World Motor Sport Council was reconvening to discuss the McLaren-Ferrari espionage case and it was at that meeting that the championship could well be decided... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8299.html Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:06:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8299.html Formula1.com Formula One racing is justly famous for high technology, speed and excitement, but it is arguably the progress made in the field of safety which has been the sport's most remarkable achievement in recent decades. Accidents will happen, that is an inevitable aspect of motorsport, but in the past 15 years a concerted effort from teams and the FIA has drastically improved the protection offered to drivers and bystanders when those accidents happen, as Toyota explain... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8293.html Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:57:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/9/8293.html Formula1.com For the drivers in the 2008 GP2 Series, the immediate goal is this year's championship. Beyond that, however, they invariably have their sights set on the highest rung of the motorsport ladder, Formula One. At the European GP2 rounds - they support the Formula One Grands Prix - a 2008 finalist in Bridgestone's e-reporter competition is bringing us the lowdown on the F1 hopefuls. In Valencia, Tabatha Valls Halling caught up with Andy Soucek... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8282.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:10:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8282.html Formula1.com As in Hungary, Felipe Massa controlled the European Grand Prix from the front. But this time he stayed there to win - despite that controversial pit stop - as Ferrari's technical gremlins chose to pick on team mate Kimi Raikkonen. The champions had the pace, but not reliability. Their second engine failure in as many races left McLaren victorious in the numbers game. Lewis Hamilton extended his advantage atop the drivers' standings, while Ferrari's constructors' lead fell into single figures... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8273.html Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:42:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8273.html Formula1.com Since its inception in 2004, the GP2 Series has established itself as a serious breeding ground for Formula One talent - with the likes of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as evidence. And official tyre suppliers to the series, Bridgestone, are helping to do the same for motorsport journalism, with their e-reporter competition. The nine 2008 finalists will each get to report from one European round of the series, and will be supplying Formula1.com with details of the GP2 action, plus a diary reflecting their experience as a first-time paddock correspondent. For Europe, it's 21 year-old Spanish writer, Tabatha Valls Halling... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8260.html Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:12:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8260.html Formula1.com Sir Jackie Stewart, Patrick Tambay and four-time world champion touring car racer Andy Priaulx were among the racing celebrities. Valencia is America's Cup country, so it was appropriate that one of Honda's guests was New Zealander Mike Sanderson. A sailor since the age of five, his successes include victory in the 1993-94 Whitbread Race and the transatlantic speed record onboard Mari Cha IV. The 34 year-old is also an experienced America's Cup competitor... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8267.html Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:38:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8267.html Formula1.com As in Hungary, changing track conditions kept teams on their mettle throughout practice and qualifying for the European Grand Prix. With overtaking an unknown quantity on the new Valencia Street Circuit, pole man Felipe Massa starts as race favourite, but expect Lewis Hamilton to push him all the way. Toro Rosso will be aiming for their best-ever result after a sensational qualifying, and with a high probability of one or more safety-car periods there may well be other surprises on Sunday... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8266.html Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:28:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8266.html Formula1.com The first day of running on Valencia's new track was a matter of letting conditions improve as more rubber went down, tuning the set-ups, and avoiding the offline dust as everyone developed baselines to compare against their simulations. At the end of it all, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen led the way, but only by a whisker from Renault's Fernando Alonso and Honda's Jenson Button. We take a team-by-team look at progress… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8256.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:32:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8256.html Formula1.com The European Grand Prix has featured on the Formula One calendar 17 times since its inaugural appearance in 1983 and over the last 25 years the location of the race has changed a total of four times. This weekend the race moves yet again, from its long-term home at Germany's historic Nurburgring to Spain's brand-spanking new Valencia Street Circuit. Ahead of Sunday's race, we take a look back at the event's previous locations to remind you of some of the highlights… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8255.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:04:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/8/8255.html Formula1.com