Latest Formula One News

NEW DELHI (AP) _ India will hold its first Formula One race in 2010, the head of the Indian Olympic Association said Monday. ``Formula One's architects visited New Delhi and saw several sites in the National Capital Region. They did an aerial survey and selected two sites _ in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Sohna in Haryana,'' IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi told reporters. Both areas are suburbs of New Delhi and it's been left to ...

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) _ It seems you need more than three Formula One titles to be considered a good driver in Brazil. Former race car driver Nelson Piquet _ Formula One champion in 1981, '83 and '87 _ is being forced to undergo an intensive driving course after losing his license because of speeding and parking tickets. The 54-year-old Piquet and his wife, Viviane, both exceeded the limit of fines allowed by Brazilian law and must ...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) _ Australian Grand Prix organizers have resisted pressure to stage a night Formula One race next year leading to the event losing its place as the season opener. While ruling out a night race held under lights, which would better suit northern hemisphere television broadcasters, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation on Monday said race will start at a 3.30 p.m. local time _ one-and-a-half hours later than usual. The new start time will enable ...

NUERBURG, Germany (AP) _ The rain that threw the European Grand Prix into chaos at the start gave Fernando Alonso the edge he needed to win at the end. The two-time defending Formula One champion had the better setup for the wet conditions during the final laps of the race Sunday, and took advantage to squeeze past Felipe Massa of Ferrari on the Nuerburgring circuit. For Massa, finishing second eight seconds back left a ``bitter taste'' after an ...

NUERBURGRING, Germany (AP) _ Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were confirmed Thursday as the Honda drivers for next year's Formula One season. Button and Barrichello have earned just one point between them after a series of mechanical problems. Button's best result was an eighth-place finish at the French Grand Prix. Barrichello was ninth at Silverstone.

MARANELLO, Italy (AP) _ Ferrari has fired a British technician following an internal investigation into attempted sabotage before the Monaco Grand Prix. ``All I can say is that Nigel Stepney is no longer our employee,'' Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni said Tuesday. The Italian Formula One team has also filed a criminal complaint against Stepney, who was responsible for team performance. Later Tuesday, McLaren said it had suspended a senior member of its technical staff. ``The team has learnt that ...

MADRID, Spain (AP) _ Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso complained Tuesday that rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton is getting preferential treatment from the McLaren team. Two days after the 22-year-old Englishman won the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal to move into first place in the F1 standings, the Spanish driver sounded off. ``From the first moment I wasn't comfortable with everything,'' Alonso said on Cadena Ser radio. ``It's an English team, with an English teammate. You know that ...

MONTREAL (CP) _ A day after a spectacular crash totalled his Formula One car, Polish driver Robert Kubica walked out of hospital admitting he was ``very lucky.'' Kubica, who suffered a minor concussion and a sprained ankle, said Monday he hopes to be back behind the wheel for next Sunday's race in Indianapolis. ``I feel very good,'' the 22-year-old told reporters as he emerged from Sacre-Coeur Hospital. ``I was very lucky.'' Kubica's car went off the track on ...

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) _ Valencia will stage the European Grand Prix starting next year after Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone signed a seven-year contract with event organizers Friday. The Valencia regional government confirmed that Ecclestone signed the agreement with Valmor Sport, which owns the rights to organize the street circuit race. The regional government has a 25 per cent stake in the private business. The agreement to bring a second F1 race to Spain _ after the Spanish ...

PARIS (AP) _ The McLaren Formula One team is being investigated for a possible rule breach at the Monaco Grand Prix. World motorsport's governing body, FIA, said in a statement Monday that it was reviewing evidence from Sunday's race after Fernando Alonso finished first ahead of McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton. Without elaborating, FIA said Monday that McLaren was being investigated for ``a possible breach of the International Sporting Code.'' The code prohibits attempts ``to prevent or impede a competition or ...

SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ The head of Shanghai's multimillion dollar Formula One auto racing track has been fired as part of an investigation into the alleged misuse of city pension funds, Chinese state media reported Monday. Yu Zhifei, a former city government official and general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit, was also expelled from the Communist Party and handed over for prosecution, the Shanghai Daily and other newspapers said. Yu had been a key force behind Shanghai's ...

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) _ Fernando Alonso arrives at the Spanish Grand Prix in a fight for the Formula One championship. The two-time defending champion will line up on the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday atop the driver's standings, just as he did in 2006 when he easily won his home race for the first time with Renault. Now, the big difference is that the championship race is wide open. And ...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) _ Felipe Massa would like to forget his effort at last year's Australian Grand Prix. It lasted less than a minute. But the Brazilian used that experience as a starting point to go on and become key to Ferrari's resurgence in 2007, even winning two of the last five races. Last year's race was a disaster for Ferrari, when Melbourne was the third race of the season. ...

Alex Zanardi never lost the ability to drive a race car. Zanardi, who lost both legs in a crash five years ago, completed his return to Formula One on Saturday by becoming the first double amputee to test drive an F1 car. The 40-year-old Italian drove 14 laps in a modified BMW-Sauber C24-B car at the Cheste circuit. ``Alex felt comfortable from the word go, which has also been proved by his lap times,'' said BMW Motorsports director ...

Cameras followed Juan Pablo Montoya all across the NASCAR circuit the past three weeks. On Friday, he gave everyone something to watch. The Formula One defector qualified for his first Nextel Cup race, placing him on NASCAR's biggest stage in Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The former open-wheel star could have had a guaranteed spot in the field in Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 Dodge, which Casey Mears has been racing all season. But Ganassi decided to ...

Michael Schumacher will stay on at Ferrari as an assistant to new chief executive Jean Todt. ``The basis of my future will be that of a super assistant to Jean,'' Schumacher said Sunday at the Ferrari World Finals, the racing team's traditional season-closer. Seven-time F1 world champion Schumacher, who retired from racing last week, did not elaborate on what his new role would involve. The German said he needed to ...

The 2006 Formula One season finish looked just like the beginning: a consistent Fernando Alonso in his Renault and a mishap-plagued Michael Schumacher so quick in his Ferrari. In between, Alonso's early-season streak made it seem the championship would be a rout, but then Schumacher surged, looking for a final parting gift. Instead, Alonso reigned as Schumacher retired. ``We have had a very tough season and a very close fight with Ferrari,'' Alonso told workers at the team's factory ...

Chancellor Angela Merkel paid tribute to seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, calling him one of the ``real greats of German sport.'' Schumacher retired Sunday after finishing fourth in the Brazilian Grand Prix and second in this year's championship. ``Michael Schumacher stands together with the other real greats of German sports: with Max Schmeling and Fritz Walter, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker and Steffi Graf,'' Merkel said in a statement Monday. ...

Fernando Alonso was hailed king of Formula One by Spanish media Monday after winning his second consecutive title. Daily El Pais showed a champagne-soaked Alonso celebrating his triumph over seven-time champion Michael Schumacher with the headline: ``Alonso continues to be the king.'' With Schumacher's retirement from the sport, ABC said Alonso was ``the new boss of F1.'' ``Alonso confirms himself as the only heir of Michael Schumacher,'' El Mundo wrote. ...

Felipe Massa's win at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday ended a decade-long drought for the home crowd. Local fans hadn't celebrated a Brazilian victory at Interlagos since 1993 when three-time champion Ayrton Senna took the checkered flag. ``I'm sure after today's victory my life will change a lot, especially in Brazil,'' Massa said. ``Brazilian people love Formula One, and hopefully I can give them a lot more good results ...

Fernando Alonso won his second straight Formula One championship Sunday by finishing runner-up to Felipe Massa in the Brazilian Grand Prix, a race that marked the end of Michael Schumacher's mighty career. Schumacher, a seven-time Formula One champion, needed to win his final race before retirement to keep alive his remote chance of another title. But he punctured a tire less than 10 laps into the race, dropped out of ...

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher ran out of luck in the final race weekend of his glittering Formula One career. Needing a victory to keep his title chances alive, Schumacher had mechanical problems both in qualifying and in the race at Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix. He still finished fourth. A fuel pump malfunction in Saturday's qualifying sent him to the middle of the starting grid, and a punctured tire moved him ...

Fernando Alonso successfully retained the Formula One championship when he was second to Felipe Massa in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. Michael Schumacher, who needed to win the final race of his great career to keep alive his title chance, had a punctured tire less than 10 laps into the race and dropped out of contention early. The seven-time champion finished fourth, and drove into retirement. Massa, Schumacher's Ferrari ...

Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday, finishing ahead of rival Michael Schumacher. Schumacher, trailing Alonso by 10 points for the Formula One championship, will start the final race of his 16-year career in 10th place after mechanical problems in the final part of qualifying. Schumacher's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, racing in front of his home crowd, won the pole position in one minute 10.680 seconds at the 4.3-kilometre Interlagos circuit. ``It's a ...

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher will be wearing a special helmet for his last Formula One race. The Ferrari driver's helmet for the Brazilian Grand Prix has been inscribed will all of his 91 career victories. The name of the tracks and the year of the victories were painted on top of the helmet. Schumacher, whose 91 victories is the most in Formula One history, has an outside chance of clinching his eighth title. He needs to win the ...

Members of the Toyota Formula One team were ambushed by a group of gunmen near the Interlagos circuit in Brazil, the team spokeswoman said Saturday. ``About 20 teenagers stopped us and other cars as we left the track Friday afternoon,'' Toyota spokeswoman Fernanda Villas-Boas said. ``Some people tried to escape and they started shooting, we lowered our heads and were able to flee. Thankfully nothing more serious happened.'' The incident happened about 3 kilometres away from the track ...

Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello will try to end a decade-long drought for the home crowd at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. Local fans haven't celebrated a victory in the Brazilian GP since 1993, when three-time champion Ayrton Senna won at Interlagos in a McLaren-Ford. Barrichello came closest while driving for Ferrari, finishing third two years ago in his best result in 12 tries. He is not confident about ...

Viso, who was hired as Midland test driver after finishing sixth in the 2006 GP2 series, participated in both practice sessions. He completed 58 laps, finishing with the 13th-best time in the first session and 20th in the second. His best time of the day was one minute 14.972 seconds, nearly 2{ seconds slower than Williams' test driver Alexander Wurz, who posted the fastest time of 1:12.547. The 21-year-old Venezuelan ...

Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher were separated by a little more than a tenth of a second in Friday's practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The duel indicated virtually no difference between the two as the calendar counted down toward Sunday's final race of the Formula One season and Schumacher's career. Kimi Raikkonen, runner-up in Brazil the past two years, was fastest in the first practice session, driving his McLaren ...

And then there was one. One race, this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, the final race of the Formula One season to decide the drivers' title between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. One race to determine the team crown between Renault and Ferrari. And one last race in Schumacher's career. Alonso clinched the title here last year when it was the third-to-last race of the season. This time he needs one point _ or Schumacher not winning _ to make ...