A lot of articles take a look at how the rookies do halfway through the season, I would like to take a look at those who are racing in their second season in Formula One, regardless of whether they were dropped in last year or not.

Adrian Sutil

Maestro Sutil, an experienced piano player and without a doubt, a driver with potential. He wasn't able to produce the same as his compatriot, Marcus Winkelhock, who had a one-time drive last year at the Nurburgring, and led the race for a few laps, in a Spyker, but he got his team's first and only point that season with a really stellar eigth place finish at the soaked out Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji.

While everyone was focusing on the battle at the front between a rookie, a double world champion teammate and a Ferrari freshman taking over the great one's work, Adrian Sutil was working with an unruly car that would conk out on him. Apart from taking a point in Japan last year, his best moment of 2007 was harassing David Coulthard in the faster Red Bull for 12th place at the Belgian Grand Prix.

This year, with Spyker's new identity of Force India, Sutil is in a bit of a frustrating position. He has been able to produce a few stellar drives, like his very mature run in Monaco, but more often than not, his car would go out on him before he could do anything. Anyhow, he's only in his second year, and once Force India are up to speed, we should be able to see this talented German make some stellar performances.

Heikki Kovalainen

Young Heikki was a test driver for Renault before Fernando Alonso moved to McLaren in 2007 and had some big shoes to fill when it came time for him to drive. Heikki is a very different person than his fellow Finn, Kimi Raikkonen, and it shows in his openness and his ability to use more than one tone when speaking!

He had trouble at first with the Renault and was outclassed by his teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. Once Heikki started getting into the hang of things, he was soon able to outqualify and outrace Fisichella, with many thinking that a retirement announcement is not too far away for the veteran Roman.

Without a doubt, Heikki's best moment came at the soaked out Japanese Grand Prix, when he took the team's only podium, a second place, after being put under immense pressure by his compatriot Kimi Raikkonen in the much faster Ferrari.

After Alonso and McLaren signed their divorce papers at the end of the 2007 season, a lot of speculation was floating around about Nico Rosberg or Adrian Sutil filling the vacated seat at McLaren. However, many were shocked to hear that it was a straight swap with Alonso returning to his beloved Regie and Heikki getting the McLaren with Lewis Hamilton.

A lot of expectations have been put on the young Finn's shoulders, and apart from a third place in Sepang, lady luck just hasn't been on Heikki's side. A combination of bad strategies, engine stallings and first corner touches have not played very well for him. Hopefully he can make something of his season.

Lewis Hamilton

Need I say more? He started his rookie season with a bang and it just got better by taking nine podiums in his first nine races, including two wins in Montreal and Indianapolis. More podiums were to follow and two more wins came about in Hungary and Japan. No doubt that Lewis was a force to be reckoned with, and only in his first year. A top drive in your first year is something that every young driver dreams of, and young Lewis Hamilton was dealt a very good hand.

He lost the championship to Kimi Raikkonen by only one point in the final race, and was equal to his teammate, Fernando Alonso.

In his second year, Lewis has been making some rookie errors, errors that were very few and very far between last year. Although with two wins to his name, the same amount as last year at this point, Lewis has been faltering a bit. It probably has everything to do with the fact that now that he is seen as a viable candidate for the world championship, the expectations are high and he is pushing himself too hard to achieve that.

There is no doubt that Lewis Hamilton can be champion, he just has to be patient and do what he did last year when the expectations didn't really exist for him.

Sebastian Vettel

A young driver that is linked with a drive for the Red Bull team, Sebastian Vettel is certainly showing himself to be talented. In 2007, he was the youngest driver to score a point after replacing Robert Kubica in the US Grand Prix. He was given a drive for Toro Rosso after Scott Speed and Dietrich Mateschitz had a falling out. During his short tenure, he was regularly outraced and outclassed by his more experienced teammate, Tonio Liuzzi.

In the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix under wet conditions, what could have been Red Bull's finest moment turned to disaster after Vettel collided with Mark Webber under a safety car. To add insult to injury, Webber and Vettel were running second and third respectively. A truly low moment, and one that reduced the young German to tears. A week later in China, that all changed when he was able to bring his STR racer home in fourth place. His performance had him both linked to a McLaren seat after Alonso walked away and got him a place in the Race of Champions alongside Michael Schumacher.

2008 had a fresh start with a new teammate, Sebastian Bourdais. Vettel had problems right from the getgo, and wasn't able to finish a race until the Turkish Grand Prix. After the STR3 made its debut in Monaco, Vettel was able to shine, albeit with a five place penalty for a new gearbox and the misfortune of other drivers. Still, Monaco is a track where concentration is key and being able to get through it is amazing. Vettel was able to make two points scoring events after taking an eigth in Canada and holding off Heikki Kovalainen in the faster McLaren.

Overall, the future is looking bright for Sebastian and the other young sophomores of Formula One. Here's hoping that the second year drivers here can all become race winners and add a bit of young blood to the mix that is Formula One.

After the dominance of Ferrari at Magny-Cours last weekend, it would be easy to think that the same could be expected at the British Grand Prix in a week’s time.

Despite the cracked exhaust suffered by Kimi Raikkonen on lap 30, Ferrari still savoured an assertive one-two as Felipe Massa cruised across the finish line to take the lead in the Drivers Championship.

At the similarly sweeping circuit of the British Grand Prix, with its long back straights and high-speed corners, it would perhaps be foolish not to favour Ferrari again. Testing at Silverstone this week however, Lewis Hamilton clearly hasn’t read the script.

McLaren and Hamilton in particular, looked to have the perfect set-up as the chrome-silver arrows raced around the track with ease and toppled the time-sheets.

On Tuesday’s day one of testing, Massa had taken his race-winning form into the UK with the fastest lap of they day at 1min 20.1secs - a lap that would prove to be the quickest of day two also.

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen followed closely behind and immediately sent out the message that the Woking-based team would be in good shape at its home circuit.

It wasn’t until day three (Thursday) however, that this signal of intent was well and truly hammered home.

Lewis Hamilton, keen to end his barren points haul of the past two races, demonstrated his talent and slick driving style as he thundered around the 5.1km circuit with lightning pace.

The adventurous, yet composed young Brit put in a series of low 1min 20sec laps and wowed the crowd with his impressive, faultless performances - before setting pulses racing with a blistering lap time of 1min 19.1secs.

Scintillated spectators and pit-lane pundits alike were bedazzled by the lap, which firmly put both Lewis in the ascendancy and Ferrari on the back foot.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of Hamilton had set the fastest pace of the three day test session with what appeared to be relative ease, comfortably beating Massa’s previously unbeaten effort with a full second to spare.

Raikkonen responded with a sustained few laps on track, pushing the ferocious Ferrari through Bridge and Priory, though not nearing the sheer speed of the McLaren and setting a lap of 1min 20.3ses - a highlight for the fearless Finn.

The deep, desirable roar of the prancing horse suggested more to come though, and may yet cause a few upsets through the race weekend in five or six days time.

Something of a troublesome few days was endured for the Renault’s of former double World Champion Fernando Alonso and young buck Nelson Piquet Jr., as the team overcame a series knocks.

Piquet had suffered what seemed an engine failure on day one, a ghost in the machine that appeared to haunt Alonso too - as the Spaniard’s engine experienced a setback on day three at the Hangar Straight and the Renault leaked oil over parts of the Silverstone circuit.

Despite eventually setting the fourth fastest time of the day, the strive for every tenth of a second saw Alonso twice leave the track, running wide at Priory and again having an off at the same place - this time burying the car in the gravel trap and bringing red flags out to temporarily pause the session.

Another team pushing for progression was that of the Honda F1 Team, desperate for any signs of advancement and completing a solid number of laps.

Jenson Button had completed 106 laps on day two (Wednesday) and Rubens Barrichello followed-up the trend on day three with quite a prominence on track - though still a little off the pace and gradually slipping down the time sheets.

Force India was also prevalent on day three, as Adrian Sutil tirelessly completed lap after lap and the team showed signs of moving forward. German Sutil had already racked-up 26 laps by mid-morning and continued to put in the hours while the team made the most of the bright, mild and pleasant, if not blustery, conditions.

Looking ahead to the Santander British Grand Prix next weekend, it appears as though the competition between McLaren and Ferrari will intensify and the BMW’s of Kubica Heidfield could yet enter the fray after a number of testing laps around the Northamptonshire track this week.

Perhaps on paper it should be another race dominated by the Ferraris, but a determined Hamilton may have something to say about that on his home circuit - and the equally resolute Alonso may look to create an upset too.

Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris this week, the FIA are looking at introducing a new feeder series to Formula 1, seen as a low-cost way of breeding new talent to move up to Formula 1.

The series is to be called Formula 2, which seems an obvious name for it, given that it is to be the second tier in the hierarchy, but it’s not really something new. There used to be a Formula 2 until it was replaced back in 1985 by Formula 3000, which was in turn replaced by the GP2 Series back in 2005, but the FIA feel that a new series is needed, and if everything goes well, they hope for the first season to be 2009.

GP2 has served its purpose as a feeder series in its short history. In the three seasons under the GP2 format, all three champions – Nico Rosberg (2005), Lewis Hamilton (2006), Timo Glock (2007) – have secured drives with F1 teams from the following year, while the runners-up – Heikki Kovalainen (2005), Nelsinho Piquet (2006), Lucas Di Grassi (2007) – have all gone on to become Renault test drivers, with two of them subsequently securing race seats, while Di Grassi is combining testing duties for Renault with another season in GP2.

Even going back to Formula 3000, current F1 drivers Sebastien Bourdais (2002) and Nick Heidfeld (1999) are both former champions, as was Jean Alesi back in 1989.

GP2 was designed specifically to allow for affordable racing and to give drivers the opportunities, and with Flavio Briatore’s involvement in GP2, at least one driver a year is going to have a chance to further their career by at least testing with the Renault F1 team.

One of the best things about GP2 is that all of the teams have to use the same chassis, engine and tyre supplier, while many of the GP2 events take place at the same time as the F1 races to allow for maximum exposure to the F1 environment for the drivers – the only variable factors are driver ability and race strategy of the teams.

How the new Formula 2 will work, it’s too early to say, but it would appear likely that it will be very similar to the model of GP2, but independent of Formula 1, racing at different circuits at different times of the year. A feeder series it might be, but away from the glamour of the F1 world. The drivers might get an opportunity to drive for a low-budget team, in a competitive environment, but should be disadvantaged when compared to their GP2 counterparts when trying to make the step up to F1.

It makes you wonder if the reason a new series is being proposed is because the GP2 format was conceived by F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone and Renault team principal Briatore, and at a time when some parties of the F1 circle are in disagreement with FIA president, Max Mosley, the FIA are making moves to protect their own interests.

This is all speculation, of course, but a very realistic possibility given the current tension between the drivers, teams and the governing body.

If the Formula 1 works teams decide to form a breakaway series, Ecclestone is sure to go with them, because it is the big manufacturers that bring the money into the sport. If the FIA lose Ecclestone, they will not only lose F1, but GP2 as well, potentially leaving them with a number of independent teams, or worse no teams at all.

With a feeder series to F1 in place, should a breakaway take place, the FIA feeder series, could become the new equivalent to the current F1 series, in competition with the breakaway series.

As a huge sports fan, we all know that Formula One reigns the sports kingdom as one of the largest spectacles in the world. This 2008 season looks at another domination by Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes, with a shot for BMW Sauber to win the Championship as well. Big names Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, Nick Heidfeld, and Robert Kubica locked in place with these teams for the 2009 season, it will be interesting to see what moves some other squads may make for next season.

With much movement from Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso's teams, including the sale of the latter, there has been much speculation as to who will be testing and who will be locked in place for either in 2009. Good efforts by both David Coulthard, who appears to be heading for the broadcast booth, and Mark Webber, there has been talk of possibly moving up rookie driver Sebastian Vettel to Coulthard's Red Bull Racing seat from the much younger STR program. This leaves an opening at STR for a second driver, with Sebastien Bourdais filling the primary seat.

Many of you have heard some talk and the press releasing possible drivers names that may be testing for Toro Rosso's growing efforts. One big name that has caused much media frenzy has been IndyCar driver Danica Patrick. Whether or not Patrick will be testing in August for the team has not been released, however I have heard that there will be a total of 10 drivers competing for the seat.

Talk of IndyCar rookie Graham Rahal possibly testing for the team has also gotten out, and Nissan Championship winner Franck Montagny is another  possible candidate. American Formula BMW International driver Brook Johnston has also been mentioned as has Alex Lloyd of the Indy Pro Series. It will be interesting to see who will be named in Toro Rosso's driver search to fill their second seat for the 2009 season.

Renault's program may also be looking for a new driver to replace the struggling Nelsinho Piquet, Jr. be a teammate to former world champion Fernando Alonso (that's if Alonso doesn't make the rumored move into Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari, and that pending Kimi retiring to create an opening). Renault has struggled so far in this season, but they keep assuring their success through Alonso's talent and great history with the team.

Much progress is expected from Honda and Toyota's programs and drivers have yet to be announced as to whether they will continue with the teams or not. JarnoTrulli and Timo Glock will most likely remain with the Toyota team next season due to their increasing success and position in the points standings. I would suspect Toyota's high budgeted program to make many improvements for next season and be a large contender in the championship in 09'. Reubens Barrichello is winding down his career at Honda, while Jenson Button is still a viable driver.

We will have to see what moves the teams make for the 2009 season and which drivers will be in contention. New aerodynamic rules for the cars may help level the playing field for some of the second-tier teams as well.

To compete in this day and age of F1, you have to be many things.

 

Ridiculously fit and healthy to cope with the masses of G-Force put upon your body during a race weekend, not to mention a good control over your bladder!

 

You need a strong and consistent mental attitude, focused fully on keeping all four wheels on the track and heading in the right direction.

 

 

Most importantly, however, you also need to have a competitive pace relative to your teammate. Fail and it’s only a matter of time until you’re shown the door.

 

 

Zanardi and the unfortunate, Christian Klien, are names that come to mind; all three drivers who showed promising pace in parts, but never quite got a strong foothold on F1 eventually being shown up by their superior teammates.

 

 

What makes it doubly as difficult to make an impression is if you are a rookie placed in a team with a highly recommended teammate.

 

 

Lewis Hamilton showed last year that it is possible to come straight in and get the job in season one. Villenueve did the same and to a lesser extent David Coulthard.

 

 

A career can effectively be over after just one full season in F1 – or even half a season depending on quality or lack there of – if you cannot show emerging talent or immediate pace.

 

 

It is highly important for any rookies to force others to take note and give their team or other teams reasons to keep them in motor sports elite championship.

 

 

Last year, Heikki Kovalinen was somewhat surprisingly given a seat with reigning champions Renault.

 

 

Early signs throughout the season suggested it was the catastrophic decision made by the team.

 

 

He was outclassed, outpaced and out pointed by his experienced yet diminishing team mate Fisichella and showed very little cause for his place within the sport.

 

 

Midway through the season, however, something happened.

 

 

Maybe it was a kick up the rear that he definitely needed; maybe it just took him time to adapt to the Renault car beneath him.

 

 

Whatever it was, he finished the season strongly, embarrassing his teammate in the process and earning him a place with McLaren for the 2008 season in his switch with former Renault champion Alonso.

 

 

Possibly, Piquet Jr., after his improved performance in Magny Cours will follow suit.

 

 

He can take comfort from seeing Heikki turning a season around, hopefully transferring it to turning his own season on its head.

 

 

Before the French Grand Prix, talks of his impending departure from the Renault team midway through the season must have sent shivers down his spine, alarm bells ringing, and the impetus to improve he desperately needed.

 

 

Fail to succeed and improve and most definitely the time were running out before his immediate departure.

 

 

His start to the season was an absolute nightmare, a demoralizing mess.

 

 

Drivers in less competitive cars, Coulthard, Webber, Trulli and Glock, to name a few, outpaced him and he was seemingly stuck in a midfield rut.

 

 

You had to wonder whether he would get the heave ho from his team long before the conclusion of his season.

 

 

After all would Renault gain the expected fourth place in the constructor’s championship, ahead of Red Bull and Toyota if his race weekends yielded very little in manner of points?

 

Piquet’s French performance will do wonders for his self-belief and confidence, and also in turn his immediate career prospects.

 

 

To manage a controlled race, emerging at the finish line just a few seconds behind his gifted teammate will no doubt keep the heat from his doubters off for a little while longer.

 

 

Yes, his first point’s finish of the season by his standards was a massive triumph over adversity.

 

 

The question now is, can he follow the same route Kovalinen paved for himself last season and keep himself within the confines of Formula 1?

 

 

Or will he conclude his career in lower divisions, highly unlikely to return to the top of his field?

 

 

Does he have that killer instinct in him to succeed and continue to close in on his experienced and talented teammate?

 

 

At the moment I still think not.

 

 

He has a mighty climb ahead of him and his inexperience may cause negative ramifications.

 

 

I often wonder whether his introduction to the sport was more involved with his family connections rather than his sporting talent.

 

 

Nico Rosberg was a driver in recent years who followed family into the sport and wowed the spectators with his raw pace and determination. Thus far, he has shown tremendous promise and put away any talk of his place in the sport being advantaged by his bloodline.

 

 

It would seem that unless Piquet Jr. can revitalize his season and gain consistent points finishes, he could come to live with that tag; a nervous son hoping to emulate his fathers illustrious career.

 

A part of me hopes he can show more promise and give the doubters something hard to swallow, but as was said about Christian Klien a couple of years ago, another part of me thinks that maybe he needed more time to mature in lower divisions, before being given a premature advance to the top ranks.

 

 

Such decisions to advance drivers quickly through the rankings has in the past ended F1 careers rapidly because drivers don’t have enough time to adapt and flourish in such a competitive environment.

 

 

Whichever way he will continue to be under increased pressure and a large spotlight as he tries to prove his worth within the 2008 season.

When pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen rocketed down the Circuit de Nevers at the start of the French Grand Prix, it seemed so natural, so easy and right.

Alongside Raikkonen on the first row was his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, who slotted in behind an advancing Raikkonen, seemingly resigned to eat his exhaust.

Ah—Raikkonen's exhaust. More about that later.

No doubt Team Toyota was thrilled to see veteran driver Jarno Trulli zip past Renault's Fernando Alonso, securing third-spot at the start. The team wore black armbands in mourning of founder Ove Anderson, who recently lost his life in an accident during a vintage car rally in South Africa.

Trulli drove with his heart in France, and despite being hounded during the last 12 laps by McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen (who received an "oh-no-you-don't" bump-out from Trulli during a last-lap attempted pass), he displayed a renewed passion for the sport.

Hooray for Jarno Trulli.

Nelsinho Piquet had some of those same fires lit, driving his Renault with the aggression and skill expected of a GP2 almost-champion. One might say that Piquet is "on the bubble" for his drive with Renault, and stepped up to the pressure by passing his teammate (twice-world champion) Fernando Alonso and finishing in the points for the first time this season.

So, back to Raikkonen's exhaust or rather, his exhaust system failure. Something happened to cause the exhaust pipe on the Ferrari to shear off, leaving it flopping about wildly. It was attached to the car by only the temperature sensor cord and was tearing the heck out of the bodywork of the car.

The Speed TV commentators were very concerned that the part would disengage and fly into another driver, and it just so happened that the French-born hometown favorite, Sebastian Bourdais, was right behind Raikkonen at the time. Typical Raikkonen luck. I think someone has found the Kimi Raikkonenen voo-doo doll from his McLaren years.

With no way to expel heat, Raikkonen's car must have been hotter than Max Mosley in a sex-dungeon full of prostitutes in head-to-toe bondage gear.

The Ferrari quickly lost power and Massa took over the race lead and continued on for the win. Raikkonen maintained enough of a lead to keep the rest at bay and grabbed second spot on the podium.

This race was ridiculously well-attended, great fun to watch and made me wish that I had taken that F1 trip to Indy with my husband when I had the chance.

After a spectacular double world championship with Renault, the sky looked like the limit for Fernando Alonso when he moved to McLaren in 2007.

However, 2007 was an unexpectedly turbulent season for Alonso, as problems with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, team boss Ron Dennis and politics broke down with his relationship with the team. His position became untenable and he left to re-join the Renault team he had so much success with.

So far, the season hasn’t gone according to plan and Renault haven’t been able to re-join the battle for the championship. The car is starting to make progress with Alonso’s third place on the grid at Magny-Cours, but it is still nowhere near being a race winner.

You can tell from Alonso’s driving that this is definitely causing him a lot of frustration. He is pushing extremely hard to get results, to the point that he is making errors. 

One example is that desperate move on Nick Heidfeld in the wet Monaco GP and crashing whilst challenging for a potential win in the even crazier Canadian GP.

You would imagine that after winning two championships and going to McLaren he wasn’t expecting to end up in a slow Renault car the season after. This is currently a tough time for Alonso, as he battles to get back in the hunt for world championships.

Alonso now faces the agonizing task of which team he chooses to drive for in 2009 and beyond. He wants to be challenging for championships, and not fighting in the midfield for scraps of the low points-paying positions.

The huge problem Alonso faces when making this decision is the set of new 2009 aero rules. For all the teams, this is like a fresh sheet of A4 paper.

The current developments of this year’s cars have no bearing on the work which will have to be undertaken on the 2009 car, which will be a completely different species.

Big rule changes often make for big changes in the order of the grid, so it is a lot harder to predict who is going to make the most progress and who may plummet down to the wrong end of the grid.

That’s not the only problem Alonso faces when trying to find a world championship-winning seat next season. After his behaviour and reactions to events in 2007, some teams' opinions of Alonso have gone down.

Some team principals have certainly be made a bit wary of him and may think he is too high-maintenance and choose to go for other drivers. However, there will be other team principals who won’t have forgotten about what Alonso has achieved so far in his career and given a fast car and a lot of support and love can deliver a team a world championship.

For a team out there, it could turn out to be a great shrewd move if they can see through what happened at McLaren in 2007 and if they can cope with his demands for high standards throughout the whole season.

Fernando Alonso could end up anywhere on the grid at the moment from staying where he currently is at Renault to moving to Ferrari or perhaps even taking a gamble at an ambitious team such as Honda or Red Bull Racing.

Lets take a look at the possible options and see how viable they are in terms of giving him the car he needs and whether they are likely to want to hire him.

Ferrari

 

Ferrari are the ‘in form team’ on the grid at the moment for Formula 1. Since Michael Schumacher came to the team in 1996 they have consistently challenged at the front of the grid season after season.

Even Michael Schumacher retiring and other key members of the team moving onto pastures new haven’t stopped the team from building very fast competitors. Out of all the teams, Ferrari are the team you would bet the most money on building a fast car year on year.

Despite all their recent success, the hunger for more world championships is very high. Under Jean Todt, Ferrari weren’t particularly keen on hiring Fernando Alonso in the future, but under new management he is seen as a possible option.

The main problem for Fernando Alonso is that Ferrari may be wary of his past behaviour at McLaren and this may persuade them to opt for someone like Robert Kubica who is proving himself to be extremely fast and doesn’t come with some of Alonso’s baggage and demands. He also speaks fluent Italian.

The other problem is that there isn’t likely to be a vacant seat until 2010 if at all. Raikkonen may decide he doesn’t want to leave Ferrari and F1 after all in 2009. Would Ferrari axe Massa for Alonso, and, on Massa’s current form, I don’t think so.

I believe that Ferrari know that an Alonso/Raikkonen pairing could cause a few headaches after seeing what happened the last time Alonso was in a very competitive driver pairing.

Even an Alonso/Massa rivalry has the potential for chaos after two or three wheel-banging incidents they have had together.

So there is a chance of Alonso joining Ferrari but not as strong in my opinion as many insiders in F1 think. Some even say he has already signed a contract with Ferrari for 2010 but in this writer’s opinion that is just pure speculation.

Renault

 

The team all love Fernando Alonso, plus he is always without doubt going to be undisputed No. 1 driver in the team, which seems to be very important to him. Despite Renault’s poor performances recently, the team are committed to F1 in the long term and being successful.

Staying at Renault would offer stability for Alonso and for the Renault team, and they would help each other move forward. Another plus point is that moving to any other team in 2009 as mentioned earlier is a massive gamble.

Maybe its best to stay in the same place and see how all the teams do and if Alonso is lucky, Renault may adapt to the new aero rules better than any other team.

Alonso would be pig-sick if he left the team and all of a sudden, with a blank sheet of paper, the team did a brilliant job. If Renault still aren’t performing, Alonso can try to get a seat somewhere else in 2010, the season Ferrari and BMW Sauber are most likely to have vacant seats.

Staying at Renault would be the safest option for Fernando Alonso at the minute, rather than taking a huge gamble on someone else and it completely backfiring.

 

BMW Sauber

BMW Sauber are a team moving rapidly forward and very committed to their goal of being F1 champions. Their progress season after season so far has always been a big leap forward. Their facilities are top class. They have a very crafty and clever boss in Mario Theissen along with a big budget for their F1 operation. BMW Sauber are sure to be challenging for championships and winning them very soon. BMW are a team Alonso could easily be a champion with. If Heidfeld continues to not get good results for the rest of the season then it isn’t impossible that there could be a vacant seat next season.

I am sure Alonso would seriously consider moving to BMW if he got offered the chance but I don’t think he will be. BMW Sauber could have signed Alonso this season if they really wanted to but they opted not to and stuck with their current drivers, even after Kubica had an average season. I think BMW Sauber more than any other team in the paddock are mindful of Alonso’s actions at Mclaren last season. BMW are used to no nonsense racing drivers who just get on with the racing and don’t take in F1’s politics and work brilliantly with the team. BMW are worried that signing a name and personality as big as Alonso’s could potentially cause unrest in the team. BMW seem very happy to stick with drivers under their management and development programme for the future.

BMW Sauber must not forget though that if they were to give Alonso a race winning car, he would get the job done but they would probably have to sacrifice Kubica as Alonso wouldn’t want a team mate as competitive as he is. Something to consider though is if Ferrari opt to go for Kubica in 2010, BMW may be forced to sign Alonso as the best replacement. This is the only way I can see Alonso joining BMW.

Honda

This move would be a big gamble for Fernando Alonso but one, which could prove exceptional. Honda have already thrown all of their resources onto the 2009 car and under Ross Brawn the team is now under much better management and heading in the right direction. Alonso could be the driver to really propel Honda up the grid just like Schumacher for Ferrari in the mid 90s. Ross Brawn knows how to handle big name drivers and I think Alonso and Ross Brawn could work very well together. Alonso needs a big personality and someone of high calibre to work with and get the best out of him both in and out of the car and Ross Brawn is certainly that man in my opinion.

Success wouldn’t come straight away though, despite the fresh sheet of paper all the teams have next season a team currently at the back end of the midfield aren’t suddenly going to become champions next season. It is going to take a couple of years but I could see it working. It all depends on whether Alonso is prepared to go for another couple of seasons of not challenging for the championship whilst he works hard to get Honda up to speed.

Red Bull Racing

 

This would be another big gamble for Fernando Alonso, but, like Honda, one that could pay off. Red Bull have all the ingredients there to be challenging at the front of the grid in the future.

They have the greatest designer in F1 in Adrian Newey and in Geoff Willis they have someone with huge pedigree who has also won championships and Honda took a huge downward spiral after he left them. They have a tremendous passion towards getting to the front of the grid and now a lot of backing from the big bosses at Red Bull.

The 2009 aero rules is the ideal opportunity for Adrian to stamp his authority on all the F1 designers in the paddock again. The main thing of course is that I think Red Bull would be very interested in Fernando Alonso.

They were very keen to sign him for this season but he only wanted to sign a one-year deal in order to keep his options open. If he is now ready to commit to a long-term deal then Red Bull would definitely be interested I feel.

On the negative side though, like Honda, Red Bull aren’t going to make the huge leap to be champions next year, Alonso would have to wait a while in order to challenge for another world championship but all the ingredients are there for a great relationship with long-term success. Alonso could well be the last magic ingredient needed to make Red Bull a front-runner in Formula 1.

Toyota

 

Something that we can have no doubts about is that Toyota would definitely want to hire Fernando Alonso. However what do they have to offer him?

Well, you can be sure that Toyota would be willing to pay over the odds for him. They paid Ralf Schumacher 25 million a year and received very little in return, so you would think Toyota would be willing to pay a lot more for Fernando.

Within the team they would give him everything he wants including undisputed No. 1 status and he would certainly be allowed to call the shots on various things in terms of who he hires as his No. 2 driver and test driver and anyone former colleagues he may want in other areas of the team.

Despite all these features that Toyota may offer Alonso they will never give him the car he needs to win the title. Even the huge rule changes won’t give Toyota the chance to catch up with the front runners since they haven’t got enough capable people in their ranks or the right frame of mind and management.

I doubt even Fernando Alonso can make their fortunes even better. If he fancies a lot of money to take into early retirement, then Toyota are a good option. If he has the hunger to win more races and championships, this would be a suicidal career move for him. Red Bull and Honda show far more potential for the future. I wouldn’t be too sure of Toyota’s long-term commitment to the sport either.

Final Conclusion

 

As mentioned at the start of this article, this is a really important move for Fernando Alonso. He desperately wants to be challenging for the world title again; he doesn’t want to be messing around with cars in the midfield. That is a waste of the huge talent he possesses.

Alonso is partly to blame for being in this current mess. If he had tried harder to make a better relationship with the team and been a bit more mature and reacted to situations better, then, he could well be a 3 times world champion by now and still a driver in a rapid McLaren car rather than in an underwhelming Renault.

The other problem Alonso has created for himself is that the big teams are more wary of him and his behaviour, so they are not sure whether to risk signing him or not. After 2006, Alonso could have walked into any team on the grid.

At the moment, he could still walk into any midfield teams but he is going to have to work hard and perhaps more important, change, if he is to walk into a big team like BMW Sauber and Ferrari. For sure, his manager and advisors will be working very hard to sell him to these particularly teams and see if something can be done.

If I were Alonso at the moment, I would just be inclined to stay at Renault for another year and keep my options open. The rule changes in 2009 are so big you can’t really predict which team is going to get it right. Alonso runs the risk of signing a multi-year contract somewhere and ending up stuck with a poor car if that particularly team completely messes up the adaptation to the new rules.

Alonso could then stick with Renault if they get the job done in 2009 or move in 2010 to a team that has adapted very well to the new climate of F1. I doubt there will be huge movement around the grid next season unless Alonso himself moves as he currently holds the key to the driver market.

If he were to move next season, there would be a huge flurry of movement and good seats being secured. That’s why my advice to Alonso is to stick with Renault for the time being.

Now really is the worst time you can choose in F1 for some time to be making a very big gamble with regards to moving teams. The best thing to do is to hang on.

Whether Alonso listens to my advice is another matter, I rather suspect he won’t take it and chooses to take a gamble on either Honda or Red Bull. This may prove to be the most inspired move he makes or one, which sends Alonso’s career further off course.

I do wonder whether further down the line, Alonso will regret some of his actions during his 2007 season at McLaren and the negative impact it may continue to have on his career. Still, he is a megastar and, with careful thought over the coming months can turn it all around.

Deciding the next team to move to can make or break an F1 career.

Hamilton is struggling to cope with all the added pressure this season

In 2007 Hamilton was the rookie punching well above his weight and causing surprises. The pressure was all on Fernando Alonso and he was cracking. There was no pressure on Hamilton at all. Nobody expects brilliant results in your first season.

Hamilton, under no pressure, raced brilliantly throughout the season. If Hamilton made mistakes nobody thought that badly of him, its what most onlookers expected anyway. Alonso could also develop and setup the car. Hamilton definitely benefited from that.

In 2008 it’s now a different matter, Mclaren have made him the team leader and put all their eggs in his basket. People now know what he is capable of and expect heroic performances in every race.

There are the added stresses of being team number 1 such as having to move the car forward and be able to set it up 100% for each race, very hard for someone who is only in their second year. An experienced driver is needed for the role to be carried out successfully. Also there is all the added sponsor and media committements now that Lewis has made a big name of himself.

All these pressures are adding up, errors are creeping in and it’s becoming a very erratic season for Lewis, which risks being derailed.

Ferrari have one hand on the constructor’s championship trophy

 

With Heikki’s spell of bad luck throughout the season and the various penalties Mclaren have been receiving Mclaren have lost a lot of ground to Ferrari. They are now 33 points behind in the championship.

As Ferrari are strong at practically all the tracks now, Mclaren are going to find it very hard to close that gap down unless Ferrari mess up a couple of races quickly. Mclaren themselves need to be a lot more consistent and get their car right 100% every weekend if they are to capitalize when these opportunities arrive.

BMW are still in range but signs are they are falling back and aren’t likely to have multiple wins this season which they need in order to fight Ferrari tooth and nail for the championship.

On a track where Ferrari are strong they are untouchable

 

Magny-Cours is a track that suits the Ferrari brilliantly. On tracks like this nobody can get near them. BMW Sauber fell back dramatically this weekend and Mclaren’s pace was never strong. Yes they were hampered by their penalties but Ferrari would still have dominated.

At tracks where Mclaren can win Ferrari can challenge them and even win. At tracks where Ferrari are great Mclaren can’t challenge them. I think this is a very important issue and the main reason why Ferrari should be able to win both championships.

The FIA are very happy to take every opportunity to punish Mclaren

 

Lewis and Heikki’s penalties in Sepang were definitely deserved, as was Lewis’s penalty in Montreal. However I think the FIA went over the top with their penalties here in Magny-Cours.

Heikki’s penalty was a farce along with Alonso’s blocking penalty in Monza in 2006. Heikki tried his hardest to get out of Webber’s way, there wasn’t much more he could have done. Despite being impeded, Webber still comfortably managed to get through to the next stage of qualifying therefore it didn’t cost him anything. Maybe he needed to have an extra run but Heikki didn’t deserve any punishment.

Hamilton’s punishment is a bit more complicated. Looking at the onboard shots it looked like he got past Vettel before cutting the chicane. By skipping the chicane slightly it cost Vettel the opportunity to fight his position back, which I doubt he would tried anyway as it wouldn’t have been beneficial enough for his race.

A punishment was more acceptable in this case than in Heikki’s case but the FIA need to make sure they punish similar offences consistently. I doubt a Ferrari driver would have been treated the same way for either offence committed by a Mclaren driver this weekend. Lets remember also Schumacher skipping the chicane twice in Hungary 2006 whilst trying to overtake De La Rosa.

BMW Sauber should now concentrate solely on the 2009 car

 

BMW Sauber have fallen a long way back during this GP weekend. However in this writer’s opinion they were already in this position before Monaco. BMW didn’t challenge Mclaren or Ferrari in Turkey. Their pace was ment to be spectacular in Monaco but they were disappointing until the rain fell.

In Montreal Kubica drove well but he was gifted the win by his two main rivals retiring and problems for both Massa and Heikki.

The reality is BMW are going to be challenged by Toyota, Renault and Red bull in future races rather than challenging for more wins and podiums. They have already met their objective for the season so maybe concentrating on the 2009 car is best for them in the long run. They have to make a huge jump (whilst sacrificing work on the 2009 car) to challenge Mclaren and Ferrari this season. Its going to be next to impossible.

Heidfeld’s star is rapidly falling

 

Failing to get into Q2 and only finishing 13^thin the race was a very bad result for Heidfeld. His form doesn’t seem to be getting better at the moment as Kubica is getting better and better. He needs to be matching his 2007 form if BMW Sauber want to keep him for the longer term so if he wants to attract others from top teams or even top midfield teams.

You are only as good as your last few races therefore his work in 2007 is being undone very quickly. There are a lot of young driver in F1 chasing top seats, the rest of this season could be vital for Nick’s career.

Piquet Jnr can driver an F1 car after all

 

After taking a lot of criticism in the first part of the season Piquet Jnr drove a very good race here. As Alonso fell backwards throughout the race Piquet Jnr’s pace was very good. So good that the mclarens were finding it very hard to get close enough to pass him in the early stages.

The best bit came in the latter stages when he managed to pass Alonso who made an error at the hairpin. Alonso wouldn’t have been expecting that after being third on the grid.

Renault’s decision to give Piquet Jnr more chances rather than sack him may prove a shreud call.

Toyota are capable of big improvement when they put their mind to it

 

Toyota’s pace was quite impressive this weekend. Trulli finished in third place and even gained a place off the line, something you don’t expect from either the Toyota car or Trulli. Even more impressive was the absence of the usual Trulli train, which is normal whenever he qualifies high up the grid. They couldn’t match Ferrari but Trulli comfortably kept Kovalainen behind him at the end.

The question will be whether this is just a one race special or whether Toyota have actually made some progress over the last couple of weeks.

Its important to have a French GP on the calendar but not at Magny-Cours

 

The French GP is vital to the F1 calendar but I think the French Federation need to find an alternative and more inspiring venue then Magny-Cours. Its not the worse track in the world but overtaking is really difficult and it’s been through a sequence of poor races. The last decent race was probably all the way back in 2000 when DC pulled that spectacular move on Schumacher at the Adelaide hairpin one lap after giving him the finger.

Out of the alternatives a new track at Disneyland Paris seems the best option but is it affordable?

The FIA Weather forecasts are useless

 

All the teams seem to be convinced that rain was forecast for the race but it never really arrived apart from for five minutes near the end, which didn’t affect the race outcome.

The official FIA forecast predicted rain for the first 30 minutes of the race and there was never a spot. Maybe Michael Fish is their supplier for up to date weather forecasts.

Young Brazilian Nelson Piquet finally scored his first points in Formula One at the French Grand Prix earlier today.

The son of three time world champion Nelson Piquet Snr. beat his Renault team mate Fernando Alonso to seventh place to score two world championship points.

Piquet survived pressure from McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton in the opening stages of the Grand Prix. The Briton pushed Piquet hard but could not find a way past the supposedly slower Renault. Piquet was eventually given room to breathe when Hamilton had been handed a drive through penalty for cutting the chicane whilst overtaking Sebastian Vettel's Toro Rosso.

Piquet and second McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen both pitted at the same time, yet for some reason Piquet was slow exiting the pit lane and Kovalainen was able to sneak past.

On lap 69, Piquet was running in 8th place, which would earn him just the single point. However, his more experienced team mate in the shape of two time world champion Fernando Alonso, gets stuck in traffic and runs a tiny bit wide at the Adelaide hairpin, allowing Piquet to slip through and steal P7.

Hopefully this marks a beginning of a turnaround for Piquet who had fininshed no higher than 11th before the Grand Prix today. He said, "It’s the first time that everything has gone without any problems for me. The car and the team’s strategy worked well and I was able to score my first couple of points today. I am happy and I hope that we can continue like this for the rest of the season."

Renault team boss and recently married Flavio Briatore praised Piquet on his performance. "Nelson had a remarkable race, very consistent and aggressive, and I am very pleased to see him score his first points today."

The next race on the F1 calender is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a circuit that Piquet is fond of. Can he continue his run of form and score some more points?

The race started with a Ferrari one-two, and it ended with a Ferrari one-two, the only tweak was Massa finishing ahead of Raikkonen...

There was not much drama to look forward to up front today except for Raikkonen's broken right exhaust which could have ultimately cost him the race altogether, it allowed Massa to cut the Iceman's six seconds lead in almost as many laps and to take the lead from him too.

In the end the only surprise today was Trulli's finishing on the podium. Battle for third place in the final stint was intense with Trulli, Kovalainen and Kubica all fired up for that podium finish, the Italian managed to keep his Toyota ahead, fending off a late onslaught from Kovalainen.

Lewis Hamilton had a huge task on his hands, starting on the grid in 13th place thanks to a 10 place grid penalty demotion as a result of the pitlane incident in Montreal; Hamilton's run with the authority was to take yet another twist, as he was penalised for having run wide on an overtaking maneouvre thus benefiting from it (a tough call to make in my reckoning). Regardless Lewis incurred a drive through penalty which relegated him to 13th, overall he drove very well today however failing to come back towards the front let alone scoring a championship point has not helped him in any respect; he now finds himself in fourth in the driver's championship!

Another disappointment today was the retirement of Jenson Button, how long the Briton will be able to take any more of this only time will tell.

On a positive note, young Nelson Piquet has made some significant improvements, scoring his very first points in formula one today, and most importantly finishing ahead of team mate and former double world champion Fernando Alonso, is all the more significant for the young Brazilian has yet to find his grip at Renault. And on an even more positive note, it was a "trulli" exceptional performance for Toyota to have closed the podiums with a third place finish for Jarno Trulli!

The driver's championship is looking tight at the moment only 10 points separate Massa up front with Lewis in fourth, with ten more Grands prix to look forward to the battle for the world driver's title is going to be open and intense to say the least; what more could any formula one fans really ask for?

1) Massa : 48

2) Kubica: 46

3) Raikkonen: 43

4) Hamilton: 38

However in contrast to the driver's championship the manufacturer's round has been dominated by Ferrari with 91 points in the bank, seventeen ahead of first runner up BMW-Sauber with 74, and relegated Mclarens on 58 points; the Maranello outfit is clearly enjoying a wind of domination reminiscent of the Schumacher era.

So where do we go from here? Does anyone have an answer against Ferrari's amazing display of form, pace and domination in both championships?

Mclaren and BMW over to you comes Silverstone!!!