Bleacher Report - Articles by Stuart Baird

Mercedes GP Trying To Sign Michael Schumacher

Stuart Baird — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:12:22 -0500

The BBC are reporting that the newly formed team, Mercedes GP, are trying to sign seven time world champion Michael Schumacher for 2010. The new owners of Brawn GP are aggressively chasing Schumacher to join the team.

F1 pundit, and former team owner, Eddie Jordan believes that the German will race for the team.

"The possibility is being actively pursued and I believe it is going to happen ," said Jordan.

"It started with a meeting between Michael, Ross Brawn and Daimler chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. "

Jordan has many close sources within the GP circus, and is usually well informed about the rumours that float around the F1 paddock.

The rumoured plan is that Schumacher would be a stop gap to allow the Mercedes team to steal Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull Racing.

Schumacher's spokesperson, Sabine Kehm has commented on the subject.

"A return would be highly unlikely, but never say never."

Mercedes would have to try and lure Schumacher from the illustrious Ferrari team. Although Schumacher does not race for the team, at the moment, he plays a large role in advising the team, as well as helping to set up the prototype road cars at the factory. Schumacher is still currently linked with Ferrari with a lucrative contract.

But Eddie Jordan also had something to say about that too,

"At the moment, it is not possible for Michael to drive for Mercedes because he has a consultancy contract with Ferrari."

"But I understand he was due to meet Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo with a view to being released - and that it will be approved because it is in the interests of F1."

The evidence that is giving credence to this rumour is that Schumacher would be re-united with technical genius, Ross Brawn, who assisted all of Schumacher's seven world titles.

Schumacher has also previously raced for Mercedes, in his early racing career in sportscar racing, and so has already established a relationship with the company.

Mercedes GP has already said, many times, that the team will be an international team, not a German team, but if they succeed in signing Schumacher, or Vettel, then alongside Rosberg they will have made a German team.

If Schumacher does join Mercedes for a year or two, it would give him the chance to re-sign for Ferrari, bringing a legendary driver back to legendary team.

The F1 community was very excited about Schumacher's return in early August '09, but the plans were scuppered by a neck injury that was aggravated by testing an F1 car. At the time, Schumacher refused to comment on if he would be racing in 2010 or not. This lead to a lot of rumours suggesting that he would return for Ferrari in 2010.

Ferrari president, Luca Di Montezemolo, also added fuel to the fire, by saying that he would love Schumacher to return. The last time Montezemolo said that he wanted something to happen, it was Fernando Alonso to join the team. He also wants the German driver, Sebastian Vettel to join the team in 2012

This also suggested that Ferrari would push hard for a change in the rules to allow the teams to run three cars, instead of two. However, as of yet there has been no signal from Ferrari that it is pursuing this idea.

If Ferrari doesn't push for the third car in F1, then Schumacher may join the Mercedes team in order to get a race seat for 2010.

Kimi Raikkonen Will Not Race in 2010 Formula 1 Season

Stuart Baird — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:55:58 -0500

Formula 1 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen will not be racing in the 2010 Formula One season. The Finn has decided that he will miss the season, as he wanted to drive for the McLaren team, or non at all.

His manager, Steve Robertson, has said they were not currently negotiating with any other teams in F1 and that they were beginning to look at other teams in other forms of motorsport, including rallying.

"The choices in Formula One for the next season were McLaren or nothing. Kimi and McLaren could not reach an agreement so he will not drive on Formula One level for at least next season," Robertson said in an interview with the Turun Sanomat newspaper.

Raikkonen left McLaren at the end of 2006 to drive for Ferrari, as Michael Schumacher's replacement. Fernando Alonso was given his seat at McLaren. After a stormy season, Alonso left at the end of the 2007 season and returned back to Renault.

Alonso was then confirmed, at the end of September, as Kimi Raikkonen's replacement at Ferrari for 2010, even though the Finn still had a year left on his contract.

Ferrari then bought Raikkonen out of his contract, leaving the Finn to find another drive for 2010, or miss out the season altogether. Raikkonen was offered $10 million if he secured a seat at another team for 2010, and $17 million if he opted to miss out the season.

Raikkonen's number one choice was his previous team McLaren, though the team was very unhappy about paying him too much.

Mclaren wanted to pay Raikkonen $5 million, which, combined with his $10 million from Ferrari, would give him a wage of $15 million. Raikkonen's management were extremely unhappy with that, saying that the Ferrari money was additional monies and that it should not be considered part of his yearly wage.

McLaren has since agreed to a deal with 2009 F1 champion, Jensen Button, rumoured to be around $6 million, although they have yet to sign him as a driver.

Although other team's were interested in signing Raikkonen, including former F1 team Toyota, Raikkonen was stalling over money until he could find out what was happening with the McLaren deal.

News that Mercedes buying out Brawn GP and pushing Button towards McLaren has forced Raikkonen to finally reveal his 2010 plans.

Many people are unhappy with the news, and feel that F1will be less of a spectacle without the Iceman—who was widely regarded as the fastest man on the grid when he was on form.

Mercedes Buys Out Brawn: Mercedes GP Is Born

Stuart Baird — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:00:14 -0500

German car giant Mercedes-Benz has bought 75 percent of the Brawn Grand Prix team, with additional backing coming from an Abu Dhabi investment group.

Brawn, soon to be re-branded as Mercedes GP, will lose their current driver line-up if the rumors are true.

With Rubens Barrichello already confirmed as a Williams driver for 2010, the only question left is over current F1 world champion Jensen Button.

Button has been strongly linked with a drive with McLaren, as talks stalled regarding his pay at Brawn. The Briton visited the Woking-based team earlier this week.

This would give McLaren-Mercedes both this year's champion and last year's and make McLaren an all-British team.

Williams hot shot Nico Rosberg will be the Mercedes GP lead driver with Nick Heidfeld lined up as the second driver. This would meet Mercedes ambitions of having a Mercedes-backed team with a German driver. It would also allow Nick Heidfeld to continue his relationship with Mercedes after being overlooked whilst driving for Sauber when Kimi Raikkonen secured Mikka Hakkinen's vacant seat at McLaren.

With Rosberg as the lead driver, it seems logical that Button will be shipped to McLaren, to partner Hamilton, as Mercedes are not interested in paying him extra money.

They are, however, in negotiations.

McLaren will be able to offer Button the money he desires, as well as a competitive drive. This could lead to Button to being a multiple world champion, something that may not have been achieveable at Brawn.

He would, however, first have to beat Lewis Hamilton.

The big question in this breaking news is where Kimi Raikkonen will be after his would be seat at Mclaren has been poached by Button.

Button will be noticably cheaper than the Finn, whilst being current world champion.

With the remaining drives being snapped up, could Kimi find himself without a drive for 2010?

Red Bull were thought to have had an interest in Raikkonen, but have since confirmed that they are not trying to sign him.

Raikkonen may even end up at one of the new teams, although they too are already signing drivers for next season and may not have the avaliable cash to pay him.

Raikkonen would not lose out financialy if he did not get a drive for 2010. Ferrari are set to pay him $17 million if he sits out the 2010 season. This would also give credence to the rumors about a future career in rallying under the Fiat banner.

Ferrari Statement: No Return for Felipe Massa in 2009

Stuart Baird — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:40:55 -0400

Felipe Massa will not return to Formula One this season.

After a successful test session in an F2007 Ferrari with Bridgestone GP2 tyres fitted, the Italian team have issued a statement saying that Massa will not return to Grand Prix racing until 2010.

Felipe, 28, said he was "relieved" to be back behind the wheel, and that "it was as if I'd never stopped."

The Brazilian also said this about his horrific accident in Hungary.

"It went very well. What happened last July 25th has not changed anything."

"I didn't manage to do many laps because it was raining but what I understood today is that everything has returned to how it was before the accident. I am still the same as before and that makes me happy, for me and for the team."

Despite this positive showing, Ferrari were quick to issue a statement.

The statement on Ferrari's official website on Sunday night read: "This is in no way a proper test session and looking at the stopwatch will not be on the agenda - there will be plenty of time for that in 2010, when, alongside Fernando Alonso, he will begin development work of the new single-seater."

"It is simply an opportunity for Felipe to renew his acquaintance with his natural environment, namely the race track."

"Tomorrow's event is significant but in no way does it signify a return to competition in the near future."

"Therefore talk of a proper return to Formula One can wait until the start of the 2010 season and only at that time will the medical checks be carried out, as required by the FIA in order to allow someone who has been injured to return to racing."

Ferrari have also said, previously, that Felipe would be present in Brazil this weekend. Its a circuit that Massa excels on, and he would have stood a good chance of winning the race for a second time in a row.

Rumours were rife that Massa intended to return for the final race of the season, in Abu Dhabi. However, this news from Ferrari puts paid to those rumours.

The Abu Dhabi circuit, which features an underground pit exit and a LCD panel covered hotel, is on Yas Island, near to where Ferrari World is currently under construction. It promises to be the largest man made structure on earth.

Soon to follow are a billion dollar "extension" to the Louvre Museum, and a Warner Brothers amusement park.

The whole development is said to cost around $34 billion.

Volkswagen To Enter Formula One?

Stuart Baird — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:44:16 -0400

News has emerged from F1.live.com that German car manufacturer Volkswagen may be looking to enter Formula One, some time in the future. At the moment though, the company feels that, while costs are lower, costs of around $100 million per season is still too high to be worth the expenditure.

Recently though, teams like Brawn GP have proven that an F1 team can be successful on a tight budget.

The VW Group has been very successful in many other forms of motorsport, including dominating at Le Mans under the Audi banner.

VW even won Le Mans under the Bentley badge in 2003.

Rienhold Carl, managing director of Audi Singapore, has been quoted on the matter.

"If costs are lower, then it will be more manageable".

A manufacturer like VW can gain many commercial advantages from being involved in F1. Technology can filter down into their road cars, providing safer, more rewarding driving experiences, particularly in "Halo" models.

It would also build badge appeal, making the VW badge more prestigious by association.

VW is also bidding to become Germany's Green Champion's at the moment by being involved in a technology race with BMW and Mercedes to create much more economical cars.

A test bed like F1 would not only allow the company to promote their actions, but to develop them from within the sport.

VW recently pioneered diesel technology in Le Mans with the Audi R10 Le Mans car. French company Peugeot have followed suit.

Carl has said that IF the company decides to enter F1, it may be under the Audi banner, Porsche, or VW itself.

Massa's Comeback Gets Closer

Stuart Baird — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:03:22 -0400

Felipe Massa's comeback has gained a big step towards reality as he has been granted permission to test a 2007 Ferrari F1 car, at Fiorano, Maranello.

The test session, which is usually banned during the F1 season, has been given permission by the FIA on condition that he uses GP2 spec tyres.

The purpose of the test will be to see how his racing skills are.

He has recently tested a kart, in preparation for two kart races before his possible return in 2010. Initial reports suggest that the test went well, and that Massa is recovering very quickly from his horrific accident.

He has flown to Italy this week to use the Ferrari simulator, in order to asses the effect that the Hungaroring crash has had on his racing abilities.

Massa suffered a fractured skull as a result of a crash during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. His return isnt expected until the 2010 season, but rumours have been circulating that he may return for Abu Dhabi, the last race of this season, on Nov. 1.

Ferrari have recently said that Massa will be present at his home Grand Prix in Brazil.

It will be the first race that Massa has attended since his accident.

There will be a lot of questions aimed at him about if he will return this season, next season or at all. But the majority of questions he will be asked will be about the recent news that his teammate next year will not be Finn Kimi Raikkonen, but instead, Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari have said that they informed Massa about the change in the team, and that he seemed very happy about it.

Finally: Alonso Signs For Ferrari

Stuart Baird — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:13:10 -0400

The BBC have confirmed that double world champion Fernando Alonso will be at Ferrari next season, replacing current Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen.

It is being reported that an announcement will be made within a few days, maybe as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.

The Spanish driver has signed a two-year deal worth a reported $23 million per year. The contract is understood to have extension options written into it.

This gives credence to the rumours that Raikkonen will join Mclaren next year and that Ferrari desperately want Sebastian Vettel driving for them when his contract with Red Bull runs out in 2012.

The rumours have been circulating since last season and have lead to many people to speculate about whether he would join or not.

Adding Alonso to their lineup of star drivers in their portfolio that includes Brazillian driver Felipe Massa, who is expected back in his Ferrari seat for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, will make Ferrari push even more for a rule change to allow teams to run three cars rather than two.

Schumacher has hinted at a return and Luca di Montezemolo is eager for him to retake his throne.

It has also freed up the driver market. A lot of teams and drivers were waiting for Ferrari's announcement so that they could all act accordingly.

At the top of the driver transfer list is Raikkonen, who is currently without a seat for next season, although it is highly doubtful he will remain that way. Mclaren, Renault, Williams and Brawn are all supposedly interested in signing the 2007 champion.

A move to Mclaren is the most obvious, as they are the most well-paying team for him to join.

Raikkonen left the team at the end of 2006 after reliability issues cost him at least one world championship. He won his first world championship during his first season at Ferrari in 2007.

The move of Alonso from Renault to Ferrari will anger a lot of hardcore Ferrari fans who believe Raikkonen is the better driver for their team. However, a lot of fans are very interested in seeing a Raikkonen/Hamilton partnership at Mclaren.

After a very stromy relationship at Mclaren in 2007, we will have to wait to see how Alonso acts as a driver for the Scuderia.

ING Statement: Renault Dropped With Immediate Effect

Stuart Baird — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:55:17 -0400

The Renault F1 teams title sponsor, Dutch financial group ING, have today announced that they will stop their sponsorship of the team with immediate effect.

ING were to end the deal at the end of the season, but have revised their stance following the "crashgate" saga and have decided to end their relationship now.

This means that Renault will be without a title sponsor for the Singapore Grand Prix, and possibly the end of the season.

This may be yet another straw onto Renault's already weak back.

If Renault fail to find a suitable title sponsor for 2010, it may add to there deliberation over whether to leave the sport or not.

ING began their sponsorship of the team in 2007, just as double world champion Fernando Alonso left the team. He later returned for the 2008 season.

ING are also named title sponsors of several Grand Prix's during the season, including the Australian Grand Prix and the Belgium Grand Prix.

In other Renault news, FOM boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that he feels that ex-Renault team boss Flavio Briatore's lifetime ban for fixing the 2008 Singapore GP was too harsh.

Ecclestone, who sat on the panel that passed judgement and sentence on the Italian team manager, has said that in hindsight he feels that he did not deserve a lifetime ban from any FIA sanctioned events, and that he should appeal the FIA's decision.

Hamilton and Raikkonen: Mclaren's New Dream Team?

Stuart Baird — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:33:07 -0400

Paddock sources are reporting that Kimi Raikkonen has signed an agreement to return to Mclaren, if he is replaced by Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, and then only IF he gets his pay for the 2010 season. A reported $30m.

This $30m is allegedly the only thing that is stopping Kimi from moving back to his former team.

2007 champion Raikkonen, 29, has recently stated that he will definitely be on the grid next season.

"If for some reason I am not at Ferrari next season I know I'll have a seat at another team in the paddock," he recently told the British press.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that Raikkonen has signed a deal with Mclaren in preparation for Alonso poaching his Ferrari seat from him. But he will not leave Ferrari early if he does not receive his full pay from the Italian company.

Raikkonen, famously fell out with Mclaren after reliability cost him at least one world championship.

He left Mclaren at the end of 2006, and won the world championship for Ferrari in 2007, beating both Mclaren drivers in the final race of the season.

Mclaren, who won the WDC in 2008 with Lewis Hamilton, want Raikkonen quite badly. They have been looking for a superb "dream team" since 2007, when they tried to pair Hamilton with double world champion Fernando Alonso.

The relationship was very stormy, and Alonso left at the end of the season, returning to Renault.

The Mclaren "dream team" idea has been around for many years, after the successful pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988. During that season, the team won 15 out of 16 races.

Mclaren's engine partner, Mercedes-Benz, are believed to want a German driver installed in the team, and are pushing hard for Nico Rosberg to take up the second Mclaren seat.

This is leading to tensions within the team, as Mclaren want Raikkonen back.

This would add credence to the rumours that Mercedes are looking to take a majority stake in the Brawn GP team, with the interest in making it a Mercedes works team.

South Korea Added to 2010 Formula One Calendar

Stuart Baird — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:03:15 -0400

Having signed the "F1 Act" this week, the South Korean government have secured a place on next years F1 calendar.

The Act, which was signed by both the ruling party, and the opposition, agrees to fund any shortfall in the budget for the construction of an FIA standard race track.

Finances so far have been privately funded, and it is believed that Herman Tilke will be responsible for designing the layout of the circuit.

This could lead to a 19 race season, for the first time since 2005.

The season may be cut to 18 races, if the deal to secure the return of the Canadian GP falls through.

A provisional calendar was leaked during the Belgium GP weekend, but has since been revised. The date of the South Korean Grand Prix, is scheduled for 17 October 2010.

For the first time since 1996, not including 2006, the Melbourne will not be the first Grand Prix of the season. Bahrain will be the season opener, on 14 March.

Formula One 2010 calendar
Mar 14 - Bahrain (Sakhir)
Mar 28 - Australia (Melbourne, starting at 1700 local time)
Apr 4 - Malaysia (Sepang, starting at 1600 local time)
Apr 18 - China (Shanghai)
May 9 - Spain (Barcelona)
May 23 - Monaco (Monte Carlo)
May 30 - Turkey (Istanbul)*
Jun 13 - Canada (Montreal, provisional)
Jun 27 - Europe (Valencia)
Jul 11 - Great Britain (Donington Park)
Jul 25 - Germany (Hockenheim)
Aug 1 - Hungary (Budapest)
Aug 29 - Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
Sep 12 - Italy (Monza)
Sep 26 - Singapore (starting at 2000 local time)
Oct 3 - Japan (Suzuka)
Oct 17 - South Korea (Yongam)
Oct 31 - Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina, starting at 1700 local time)
Nov 14 - Brazil (Interlagos)

* If the deal to secure the Canadian GP falls through, the Turkish GP will be moved to June 6.

FIA Verdict: Renault Banned

Stuart Baird — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:15:48 -0400

The World Motorsport Council, in Paris, has reached a verdict regarding the future of the Renault F1 team.

The team had already chosen not to contest the charges of fixing a race, effectively admitting their guilt. They had also sacked Flavio Briatore and Pat Symmonds.

The FIA's choice of punishment is a two-year ban, suspended until the end of the 2011 season.

Former team boss Flavio Briatore has been banned from any FIA sanctioned events and anything to do with motorsport, including managing drivers, for an unlimited period.

Ex-engineering director Pat Symmonds has also been banned from FIA events for a period of five years.

The hearing was about the team fixing the 2008 Singapore GP, allowing Brazilian Nelson Piquet to crash his car so the safety car would be deployed and that Spaniard Fernando Alonso could take advantage of his stratergy and win the race.

This eventually changed the outcome of the championship, as Felipe Massa effectively lost the championship at that race due to a pit stop error while the safety car was deployed.

This may force Renault to leave the sport after 2011, leaving Fernando Alonso without a race seat at the same time that Kimi Raikkonen's contract run's out.

If the team choose to leave the sport, however, then I believe that it will be bad for the sport, the company and its employee's, as many hundreds of people will be left un-employed.

I think that the punishment is just, and that F1 will not suffer too much from the aftermath of the, now infamous, inaugural Singapore night race, in 2008.

Canadian Grand Prix Returns for 2010

Stuart Baird — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:55:46 -0400

The Canadian Grand Prix will return for the 2010 season.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, in Montreal, has been absent from this year's calendar and suffered a lot of criticism during the 2008 Grand Prix weekend.

The poor surface began to break up at the hairpin, causing many drivers to spin off.

The Canadian GP was then canceled because they could not keep up the maintenance and refused to keep up the payments to secure the race in coming seasons.

The circuit, a drivers favourite and notoriously hard on brakes, was the last North American race featured on the calendar, as Indianapolis had also been canceled in 2008.

According to reports, Bernie Ecclestone's previous demands for $175m have been reduced to just $75m, for the organisers to keep the race on the F1 calendar.

Ecclestone is reported to have dropped the price due to continued pressure from the teams and the race organisers.

"I never doubted the Canadian race would regain its rightful place on the FIA schedule, and my discussions with F1 management led me to believe the event would return soon." Said race organiser, Normand Legault.

The circuit became popular with British fans after Hamilton scored his first win there.

An announcement is due in October to confirm the circuits presence on the F1 calendar.

BMW Finally Sells Sauber Team

Stuart Baird — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:10:58 -0400

BMW have successfully sold the BMW Sauber team to a Swiss based company called Qadbak.

The sale comes after months of negotiations between BMW and Peter Sauber, who was desperate to save the team from extinction.

To help make the team more attractive to new buyers, BMW secured entry for the team in next year's championship, even though BMW had already confirmed that they would be leaving the sport.

The Sauber team, based in Hinwil Switzerland, boasts high tech facilities, including a state of the art wind tunnel. The team was sold for around $80 million.

Qadbak is an investment company, of which little is known due to the discreet nature of its wealthy "Middle Eastern and European based families". The company also purchased Notts County, an English football club, earlier this year.

News has also appeared in German publication Sport Bild that the team has secured a deal to use Ferrari customer engines next season.

Sauber have a good history with the Scuderia, having used Ferrari engines for many years, and was widely regarded as Ferrari's junior team, with current Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa begining their Formula One careers there.

The presence of Qadbak-Sauber team on the grid would be the third team to be using Ferrari engines, drawing the Italian team level with Mercedes, who supply Mclaren, Brawn and Force India with engines.

At the time of writing, although there is doubt about whether the Qadbak-Sauber team will be on the grid for 2010, BMW seem confident that the team will be present at the first race of the season.

Mercedes In Brawn GP Buyout?

Stuart Baird — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:32:51 -0400

Motoring giant Mercedes-Benz is set to buy a stake in newcomers, Brawn GP.

The German company already supplies Brawn with engines for its cars, in a customer deal, but now the company looks to be repeating its actions with current F1 partner Mclaren.

Mercedes also supplies Force India with customer engines.

Brawn are in need of a main backer, in order to continue its racing activities. After long negotiations with the Virgin Group came to nothing more than a mild sponsorship deal, Brawn continued looking for another source of income.

A deal with Mercedes, similar to that of Mclaren's, would provide Brawn GP with security needed in order to obtain a title sponsor.

Mercedes bought 40% of Mclaren, in 1999, at a reported cost of £400 million. The two companies have since had a lot of disagreements with regards to Mclaren producing Mercedes' SLR supercar.

Although, unsuprisingly, Mercedes have refused to comment on the matter, a Reuters quote provides some evidence to the rumour.

"Our cooperation with various Formula One teams obviously gives rise to various rumours," said a Mercedes spokesperson.

Mclaren, on the other hand, have been quite vocal about the relationship between Mercedes and Brawn.

"we're supportive of our partner's plans to re-engine supply of other teams in Formula 1 and we were delighted earlier this year that a Mercedes-Benz engine supply deal was able to be done with Brawn, thereby saving that team from likely extinction."

Brawn have remained silent on the matter.

Confirmed: Liuzzi Takes Fisi's Seat at Force India

Stuart Baird — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:05:11 -0400

Force India have confirmed that Vitantonio Liuzzi has been given Giancarlo Fisichella's race seat for the remainder of the 2009 season.

The 28-year-old Italian will be making his debut for the team at his home Grand Prix, this weekend.

Team boss, Dr Vijay Mallaya has said "I’m delighted to give Tonio the opportunity to get back into a race seat, which I know he has been itching to do for the past two years. Force India is now in a very competitive position and we need a driver who can continue this momentum. This will be the chance for Tonio to demonstrate to both the team and the field that he has the commitment, speed and professionalism to perform and I am sure he will seize this opportunity."

Liuzzi made his debut for the fledgling Red Bull Racing team in 2005 at the San Marino GP, after a stellar career in the lower racing categories, and scored a point in his first race. He was, however, dropped after just three races.

He moved to Toro Rosso for the 2006 season, and stayed till the end of 2007, with a sixth place as his career best finish.

"I can’t wait to get back into the car in race trim, particularly at my home Grand Prix in Monza. I really appreciate the opportunity Vijay has given me, particularly now Force India now has a great car that’s performing very well. I am confident I can carry on our progress," said Liuzzi, when the news was broken.

Tonio also made comments about the currently injured Felipe Massa.

"Although it’s unfortunate that this came about as an direct result of Felipe’s accident, this is my opportunity to show people what I can do and I’m really looking forward to it."

Liuzzi is keen to add to the points tally that Force India opened up at the hands of Fisichella, with his second place at Spa, and prove his true performance in a much improved car in order to secure a full time race seat for next year.

Giancarlo Fisichella To Drive For Ferrari in 2009

Stuart Baird — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:29:22 -0400

Giancarlo Fisichella, fresh from his magnificent second place at Spa-Francorchamps, has been confirmed as the newest driver to take up Felipe Massa's seat at Ferrari.

The 36-year-old Italian is to replace underperforming Luca Badoer as the stand-in for Massa until the end of the season.

"It has always been an ambition," says Fisichella.

He will make his debut at the Italian GP, on the 11th—13th September.

This breaking news has confirmed the rumours that Fisichella would drive for the Italian team.

He has been released from his Force India contract, despite scoring the team's first points, last weekend.

Force India test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi is favourite to take Fisichella's seat.

Fisichella's performance has been very well received by Ferrari, and it is believed that his performance at the Belgium GP helped to secure the drive.

Can Kimi Win Again at Monza?

Stuart Baird — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:10:26 -0400

As the chequered flag dropped in Spa, Kimi Raikkonen had driven flawlessly to his forth Spa-Francorchamps victory—his first of the 2009 season.

His recent consistency and impressive results, despite a less than perfect car, may have saved his seat at Ferrari for next year.

With an average ranking during qualifying of seventh, and an average race position of fourth, he is making the car work for him during the race, if not during qualifying.

His excellent use of his KERS button at Spa meant that he shot up to second before a crash behind caused the safety car to be brought out.

It was the restart, as the safety car headed back into the pits, that gave Kimi the chance to hit his KERS button out of La Source, staying in Fisichella's slipstream, showing some excellent driving though Eau Rouge, and pass the Force India on the straight.

But this was due to some unexpected qualifying sessions. Because of the apparent lack of grip from the McLaren's, and the distinctive Luca Badoer, in the second Ferrari, in last place.

This meant that Kimi Raikkonen was the only KERS equipped car in the top 10.

Starting from a reasonable sixth place, he looked in a comfortable position for the race win.

Although Kimi did not have the fastest car on the grid, he had made good use of his only advantage. It was clear that the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella were quicker than Raikkonen's Ferrari.

Fast forward to Monza 2009. The McLaren's may well struggle again at the fast and slow corners of the impressive, historic circuit.

And, unless Ferrari have found a suitable replacement for Badoer, Kimi may end up being the only KERS car in the top ten again. If McLaren manage to get through, then Raikkonen has almost no chance of winning.

However, if the lack of grip still plauges the McLaren's, then Kimi could have another very good chance to win.

His KERS button, being pressed at the exit of Parabolica, would send his car steaming down to the first corner, and he would be deadly in another car's slipstream, or out braking into the first chicane.

In my opinion, a win at Monza, in front of the Tifosi, at Ferrari's home circuit would seal his future as a Ferrari driver for the 2010 season.

Michael Schumacher Returning for 2010?

Stuart Baird — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:42:46 -0400

The 2010 season. It's not here yet, but rumours are already circulating about who is going where, and when.

Ferrari are the hot topic at the moment.

Will Kimi Raikkonen still be racing for them? Will he be rallying instead?

Will Fernando Alonso join the Scuderia?

Well, now we have a new whisper to digest. Michael Schumacher may be looking to come out of retirement to race for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in 2010.

News, coming from UK publication Autosport, suggests that Michael is currently training for a return.

During the press conference that he announced that he would not be standing in for injured Felipe Massa, the German continually avoided a straight answer to a specific question that was put to him directly, several times.

Would he be returning to F1 in 2010?

His answer was short and indirect.

"I cannot possibly answer that."

This could mean that he doesn't know, or that he doesn't want to say.

It is no secret that Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo desperately wants the seven times World Champion to return to the race track.

And with the possibility of Raikkonen's seat being vacant, and rumours that while Alonso will join Ferrari, it wont be until 2011, it is looking increasingly likely that the 40-year-old wunderkind will return.

Another rumour (getting lots of these this season, aren't we), is that the FIA would be considering the idea of running three cars per team to increase the numbers, due to BMW dropping out.

This would allow Schumacher to race for Ferrari, alongside Massa and Raikkonen/Alonso.

While I can believe some rumours, this seems a bit far fetched.

Now, there are a few tell tale signs about this Schumacher affair.

The reason he cannot compete this season, is because of the injury he sustained to his neck while testing a Honda Fireblade in Spain. His doctor revealed the extent of his injuries at the press conference.

Schumacher had not just fractured his neck, he had fractured his skull in two places, one of which was a small fracture at the back of his skull. This on its own would not be cause for major concern, but it is part of the skull that supports the weight of his head.

He also broke a left rib.

His neck injury, though, is widely believed to heal within time, and that it was the lack of neck strength that aggravated the pain. Neck strength is something that is very important in F1 as the neck takes a lot of the load and stresses that accompanies driving F1 cars.

Schumacher is currently in an intensive training regime to try and increase the strength in his neck.

As a massive Schumacher fan, I would love to see him make a (triumphant) return, but I'm not sure it's what I really want, or what F1 needs (though it would increase ticket sales and merchandising).

We will just have to wait and see, though this time I wont be holding my breath. I think I might pass out!

It's Make Or Break Time For Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari Career

Stuart Baird — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:20:33 -0400

Kimi Raikonen. Ferrari's star driver and their only world champion driver this millennium, other than The Great Michael Schumacher. Widely regarded as the fastest man on the grid. Also, it is speculated, the highest paid.

So why are Ferrari set to dump him?

Rumours are rife that Ferrari are unhappy with Raikkonen's performances and are offering him half his contractual wage to leave the team at the end of the season, with one year left for him to fulfill.

The main reason is that they are unhappy with his lackluster drives, both this year and last. Add to that the growing whispers that Fernando Alonso is aiming for Raikkonen's seat at Maranello, and these rumours start to assume a little bit of credibility.

Maybe Kimi's performance in Hungary was to show his team he is still worth the money. Maybe it was just because he sniffed an opportunity to win and decided to push.

The problem with the Kimster is that too often last season he barely featured in any Grand Prix, yet continually set blistering times on his final laps of the race. This shows that Raikkonen clearly still has the speed required to be a Ferrari star driver, and maybe future World Champion.

It's a simple lack of motivation.

Take Singapore GP 2007. F1's first ever night race. Raikkonen, not doing his best ever, just drove into the wall.

Now I know that even the best drivers have their "off" day's, take the famous Wall Of Champions in Montreal. But this is a continuing theme for Raikkonen, he doesn't seem to finish enough races. When he does finish, he barely scrapes through into the points too often.

Alonso, on the other hand, has continuously shown his true pace, even when in an inferior car. After crashing out during qualifying in Singapore last season, he later went on to win the race, which no-one could have predicted.

Hungary too, he was set for the win until the wheels came of the Renault pit operations. Perhaps, having lost out at the Hungaroring, he will be more hungry for the win at his home race in Valencia.

I feel that a win for Alonso in Spain this weekend would seal Raikkonen's fate.

So what would the future hold for Kimi if he was bought out of his seat and replaced with Fernando? Well, he hasnt been linked with any specific team's on the F1 grid (to the best of my knowledge), although Raikkonen has stated recently that he is not finished with F1 yet.

Yet, Kimi has always insisted that he would never stay too long in F1.

Rallying? Before crashing out in Finland, he was seriously quick. And he has pointed to rallying as a possible future career path.

Who knows what will happen? I certainly don't. But I can almost guarantee that we will all have a better idea by the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, later next month, where Ferrari traditionally announce their driver line up for the next season.

I, for one, shall be waiting with baited breath.

Michael Schumacher Comeback Abandoned

Stuart Baird — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:57:26 -0400

Michael Schumacher will not be returning to F1 this season.

The 40-year-old German injured his neck during a superbike race in February, and has discovered that testing the F2007 has aggravated the injury.

It became apparent that his neck may be a problem during his first test, earlier this month, but seemed to ease off while he competed in two separate karting races last week.

He stepped back into the F2007 yesterday, but was in a lot of pain. The strain on his neck is too much for him to compete.

A statement on his website says that he was "Unfortunately, we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1 day in Muggello."

Luca Badoer, Ferrari test driver, will be standing in for the injured Felipe Massa.

The Story Of Success: Part 3, An Experienced Team Re-Born (part 1 Of 2)

Stuart Baird — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:54:56 -0400

The rumours of Mclaren driver Kimi Raikkonen switching to Ferrari for 2007 were rife throughout the F1 paddock. However, along side those rumours, were even stronger one's about Kimi rufuseing to join Ferrari if Michael Schumacher was still firmly in his seat in the number one Ferrari.

The usual setting of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September was the event that cleared the rumours, seperating fact from fiction.

As Schumacher crossed the line at the historic circuit, a press statement was released announcing Schumacher's retirement from F1. It was a very emotional scene on the podium as Schumacher celebrated the penultimate win of his career.

Within hours after the Grand Prix had finshed, Ferrari released another statement saying that they had secured the services of Kimi Raikkonen on a three year deal (at a reported cost of $51m, making him the second highest paid sportsman in the world).

It had been a long and exhausting battle with Renault driver Fernando Alonso, the current World Campion at the time, and Michael's championship hopes were over as his engine blew at Suzuka, Japan. Alonso had to drive past Schumacher's stricken Ferrari, effectively taking the drivers crown with him.

Alonso was crowned Champion at Brazil, but it was Schumacher that was celebrated.

His last race in F1 was marked by a ceremony at the start where a trophy was given to Michael by football legend Pele. Noticable by his absence during this ceremony was one Kimi Raikkonen, who famously said he was "having a sh*t" when asked why he didnt attend.

On October 26th, Ferrari released a statement saying that Ross Brawn, the team's Technical Director and mastermind behind Schumacher's championship's, was taking a years sabaticle. Ross had interests in setting up a scuba diving resort in Thailand.

A lot of people compared his sabaticle with Mikka Hakkinen's sabaticle, during which he decided not to come back.

The Tifosi were uneasy about losing several members of a proven race winning team.

Among the leavers were Rory Byrne, the chief designer for Ferrari's F1 program, and Paolo Matinelli, head of Ferrari's Engine dept. Jean Todt, the team principle, had also been promoted to General Manager of Ferrari, though he would still play a part in the F1 team, gradually weaning himself away from F1.

Aldo Costa was promoted up to chief designer, taking up Byrne's previous role.

Stefano Domenicali was promoted from team manager to team principle.

The world's media created a storm over the apparent destruction triggered by Schumacher's decision to leave. Would Ferrari be as strong without Michael? How would they function without Ross Brawn? Would Ferrari's design team slip under the newly appointed and less experienced Aldo Costa?

In late October 2006. Ferrari confirmed that Schumacher would continue as a consultant to the team, and act as Ferrari's ambassador to the sport.

2007 would be an interesting season, a test to see how this new team would perform.

With the launch of the F2007 came the first glimpse of the new driver line up.

Kimi Raikkonen and Brazillian Felipe Massa posed for photo's with Costa's first creation.

The first race in Australia was a massive boost for the Scuderia, with Kimi taking his first win for Ferrari at the first race of the season.

Foul play was shouted as it was discovered that Ferrari were using a movable floor system. Although the FIA declared the system illegal, no punishment was handed to them.

The rest of the start of the season did not go as well. Both drivers suffered multiple retirements due to hydraulic failures, which was a shock, as the team had shown nearly infallable reliability in previous seasons.

Due to an accident in their win tunnel, Ferrari spent quite a few races playing second fiddle to Mclaren and their all star line up of World Champion Fernando Alonso, whom they had secured from Renault in a suprise coup, and newby Lewis Hamilton.

The French Grand Prix, which was to be the circuit's last, was the scene of the Scuderia's first one-two of the season, but they were already way behind the Mclaren driver's in the championship. Hope looked lost, and the notriously fickle Italian media began to sharpen their lyrical knives.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone showed the signs of a little ray of hope smiling down upon the Tifosi and their beloved team. Raikkonen won, with Massa having made his way up to fifth after stalling on the grid and starting from twenty second. Kimi had denied Hamilton from winning his home GP in his debut season.

Success denied them at both of the next races, but Raikkonen was generally scoring well in the points, when not retiring from the afore mentioned hydraulic issues.

It was about this time that Ferrari released a statement saying that they had sacked an engineer called Nigel Stepny and had "recently presented a case against Nigel Stepney and an engineer from the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes team with the Modena Tribunal, concerning the theft of technical information. Furthermore, legal action has been instigated in England and a search warrant has been issued concerning the engineer."

It was later found out that Stepney had been handing Mclaren engineer Mike Coughlan sensitive information abut the team, including an eight hundred page document about the inner workings of the team. Everything from the details of the chassis to the inner workings of the pitstop were inside this document.

Mclaren sacked Coughlan after they had presented the FIA with the document, were disqualified from the championship and were fined $100m.

The FIA did not dock the points from Mclaren's drivers in the interest of providing a good, entertaining season.

The battle between the four drivers raged on.

Istanbul, in Turkey, however, had always been a circuit that Felipe Massa excelled on, and sure enough he took pole. Raikkonen had to settle for third, behid Hamilton's Mclaren, but passed him early in the race. Massa led the way for Ferrari's second one-two of the 2007 season.

That season's Italian GP was the first time the "new" Ferrari team had got the chance to race in front of their home crowd. Raikkonen crashed during practice after hitting a bump in the road during a braking zone that then spat him off the track and into the wall. although he was unharmed, the team had to work hard to ensure his car was ready for qualifying.

Race day at the Italian Grand Prix started with Massa third and Kimi fifth. Mclaren had locked out the front row. after starting well, Massa retired with more hydraulic problems, while Raikkonen went on to finish third, behind Alonso and Hamilton.

The Belgian Grand Prix, went well for the team. They scored their first lock out of the front row in 2007, with Raikkonen first and Massa just behind him. they led the race flawlessly, finishing exactly where they had started, and giving Ferrari the Constructors Championship. It was the Scuderia's fifthteenth Constructors title in F1.

But the battle for the Drivers Championship was still to be fought. With Raikkonen trailing in points, and Massa even further behind, it began to look like the Drivers title would go to a Mclaren driver.

A soaking wet Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, started behind the safety car, and stayed that way for nearly twenty laps. Massa, after recieving a drive through penalty for passing Nick Heidfeld while behind the safety car, had an abissmal afternoon, crashing into Alexander Wurz, and spinning off, before finally finishing sixth after passing Rbert Kubica on the final lap. Raikkonen did do better, but had to settle for third place, behind his fellow countrymen Heikki Kovalinen.The race was won by Hamilton.

There was two races to go. Massa was out of the race for the Championship, Raikkonen was five points behind Alonso, and seventeen points behind Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton only needed one more victory to secure the drivers crown in his debut season.

The race in Shanghi followed in similar conditions. The rain poured, effectively turning the circuit into a boating lake. Extreme wet tyres were the order of the day, and Hamilton led most of the way, with Raikonnen trailing in second place.

As Hamilton led, the weather began to clear up, and a white stripe began to appear n his right rear tyre as it began to delaminate itself in the drying conditions. Mclaren decided not to pit Lewis early, but to keep him out on his current tyres for a few laps longer. All the while, Kimi was firmly stuck in second place.

When Hamilton finally pitted, he turned the corner into the pit lane, sliding off into the gravel trap as his tyres gave up on him. He was beached, firmly stuck, and handed the race victory to Kimi.

Kimi Raikkonen was now only seven points behind Hamilton with one race to go.

Brazil was the scene of the following showdown. As much as Raikkonen was on the verge of winning the championship, so were Hamilton and Alonso. Raikkonen had to ensure that he scored more points than both Alonso, and Hamilton.

Massa scored pole, during qualifying, with Hamilton second, Raikkonen third and Alonso fourth.

Massa led from the start, with Raikonnen jumping to second after Hamilton slid onto the gravel. He recovered to seventh, but was pushed further down the field when his gearbox software slowed his car, almost to a halt, for nearly 20 seconds.

Raikkonen passed Massa during the second round of pitstop's, and went on to win the race, with Hamilton finishing seventh. it was yet another one-two victory for Ferrari, and Kimi Raikkonen had won the 2007 world championship by a single point.

He had done it out of regular points finishes, with a few wins scattered through the season, rather than dominating in a Schumacher esque way.

Ferrari proved that even without their star driver, Michael Schumacher, and several other important members that had helped secure Michael's great success, that they were still a team to be reckonned with.

(To be continued in part 2, which will follow soon....)

Lewis Hamilton's Amazing Rookie Year in Formula One

Stuart Baird — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:27:36 -0400

As the third most watched sport in the world, F1 has the capacity to reach millions. And millions watched in awe as British F1 newcomer Lewis Hamilton, finished in third position in the first race of the season.

It was his very first race and his very first season, in which he went on to win four races, score nine pole positions before eventually losing the championship by a single point at the last race of the season. Lewis is also F1’s first black driver.

So how does a rookie, in his first season, get a drive at a top team and end the season contesting the championship against a double world champion? Apparently, by approaching a man like Ron Dennis, team boss of the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes team, at an awards dinner. That’s exactly what Lewis did when he was 9 years old.

After receiving an award for his achievements in karting at an Autosports awards ceremony, he strolled up to Ron Dennis and asked him if he could drive in his race cars. Ron told him to call him in 10 years.

Just five years later, Lewis received a phone call from Ron. He offered to finance his motorsport career with the promise of a race seat in his F1 car. In return, Lewis had to stay at school and continue to work hard.

With his dream in sight, Lewis buckled down and did what he had to do, becoming GP2 champion in 2006.

There were, however, still doubts over his future. McLaren had secured the services of Fernando Alonso, the double world champion of 2005 and 2006, for the 2007 season and there was a spare seat available. The media hounded Ron to put Lewis in the seat, but Ron vowed to wait until Lewis was ready.

Lewis started his first race as an F1 driver on March 18, 2007, at Melbourne, Australia. Ron had spent the last six months intensively training Lewis in preparation for it.

It paid off, as he overtook Alonso, and a BMW driver, at the first corner to take second position. He kept Alonso behind him for most of the race, before losing out at the second round of pit stops, where Alonso jumped him.

Hamilton finished third, which was a magnificent achievement for a rookie in his first race. He was the first driver to debut on the podium in the sport’s 58-year history.

The second race of the season, in Malaysia, again showed the great skill of the 22-year-old from Hertfordshire. He took second place behind Alonso, but ahead of the two Ferrari’s, both of which he had passed.

The next two races, in Bahrain and Spain, respectively, saw Ferrari driver Felipe Massa win both, with Hamilton close behind in second.

The season was underway, and already becoming a four-horse race between Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, for Ferrari, and Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton for McLaren.

Problems rose at Monaco, when Lewis was held back during the race to allow Fernando the chance gain a lead over the rest of the field. Lewis wasn’t happy about this, as he felt he was faster than Fernando and should have been allowed to race him properly.

As a result, Alonso won his second race of the season, while Lewis finished second. This began a deep, bitter rivalry between the drivers.

Lewis, however, managed to fight back in the next race, with his first win, in Montreal. He qualified on pole and proceeded to lead the entire race. Alonso finished seventh, damaging his championship hopes.

A week later, at Indianapolis, an American showdown ensued. Lewis lined up first on the grid after setting the fastest time during qualifying. Fernando was right beside him, in the second car.

Both McLaren’s raced as hard as they could to the first corner, almost neck and neck, but with Hamilton on the racing line, Alonso had to settle for second place.

Alonso’s resentment of Hamilton and the team grew stronger, every time he was out-performed by the rookie.

France and Britain brought Hamilton third places, as he lost out to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen at both, and the Nurburgring in Germany, the European Grand Prix, produced Hamilton’s first finish off the podium and outside the points with ninth place.

The conflict between Alonso and McLaren reached its peak at the Hungarian Grand Prix. During qualifying, Alonso came into the pits to get fresh tyres. Hamilton came up behind him in the pit box and had to wait.

The seconds passed and Alonso was waved on by his mechanic. But he didn’t move. He held up Hamilton, who missed out on his final lap and Alonso qualified first.

Hamilton, the McLaren team, the press and the public were outraged. The FIA gave Alonso a 10 place penalty. This set the tone for the rest of the season at McLaren.

Fifth place in Turkey, followed by second in Belgium, meant that Lewis was leading the championship with only three races to go. An exceedingly wet race in Japan provided another win. Lewis had two races to go and was 14 points ahead of Alonso, who didn’t finish, and 18 points over Kimi Raikkonen.

Shanghai was the penultimate race of the season. Hamilton was trying desperately to secure his lead. If he won the race, he would win the championship.

As the final quarter of the race began, a white stripe appeared on Hamilton’s right rear tyre. The tyre was delaminating itself due to the conditions. McLaren decided to keep him out for a few more laps, before bringing him in for fresh tyres.

Unfortunately, Hamilton’s lack of rear grip made him slide off into the gravel trap. He beached his car and was unable to get it out. Kimi Raikkonen won, with Alonso finishing in second place.

The final race of the season promised to be spectacular. A three way showdown between Alonso, Hamilton, and Raikkonen.
The race in Brazil started at 5 p.m., and nearly all of Britain watched as Lewis fought hard, before his gearbox software let him down, bringing the car to a halt for 18 seconds.

Kimi Raikkonen went on to win the race, with Alonso in third. Hamilton finished seventh. Raikkonen, the Ferrari driver, had won the world championship.

So how did having a black driver affect F1? The answer is, it didn’t.

Nobody cared that Lewis is black, except some Spanish fans, who were intent on making racist remarks towards him, risking the loss of the Spanish GP if they continue.

Hamilton has sworn to win the world championship this year.

Ferrari: A Story Of Success. Part One. From Enzo To Luca

Stuart Baird — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:45:46 -0400

Silverstone racing circuit, England, 1951. The Ferrari 375 F1 cruises to victory in the new racing series known as Formula One. It was Ferrari’s first ever win in Grand Prix racing.

This success helped the fledgling team from Maranello, Italy, turn itself into the force to be reckoned with, within Formula One.

Victories brought Championships, and Championships bought publicity. In the early days of Scuderia Ferrari, the road car division was there solely to provide financial support for the race team.

Enzo Ferrari used the road car sales to fund his insatiable racing habit.

Enzo Ferrari tried to hire only the very best drivers, such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Nikki Lauda, Tazio Nuvolari, and Gilles Villeneuve.

He often saw many of them die in his cars, as the sport itself was very dangerous and had a near complete lack of safety features.

Ferrari was often seen as a privateer team, due to their lack of adequate funding, and so, were in talks with the automotive giant, Ford, about the sale of the company.

In 1964, Enzo Ferrari backed out of the deal at the last minute because Henry Ford would not allow him full control of the racing department. Ford was furious and swore to hit Ferrari where it would hurt the most.

On the race track.

Two years later, Ford rolled out the mighty Ford GT40 and vanquished Ferrari four times in a row at Le Mans.

Ferrari decided he was in need of assistance to help keep his company going. Approached by the powerful Boss of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli, Enzo agreed to a handsome deal that allowed him to keep control of his company until he passed away.

With Ferrari now secure, he set about winning again, taking Nikki Lauda to two world championship in 1975 and 1977. Both of these were under the watchful eye of a young man named Luca Di Montezemolo, the team manager.

They won again in 1979, but it was their last driver’s championship for 21 years.

Enzo Ferrari died in 1988, months after unveiling the Ferrari F40, built to celebrate the company’s fortieth anniversary. He was 90 years old and had been ill for a while. The company feared it would lose value and slowly go out of business.

However, quite the opposite happened. Their value soared and the F40 became one of their most legendary cars.

Late in 1990, fresh from having been head of Italy’s Olympic committee, Luca Di Montezemolo was named president of Ferrari. He immediately vowed to improve quality and usability, and set a revolution in motion that pulled into the 21^stcentuary.

Within five years, they had produced the awesome F50 which fused F1 technology with a road car.

Essentially, it was an F1 car for the road.

Ferrari had been born again.