http://www.formula1.com/news/features/ en-GB Formula1.com Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:05:45 GMT Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:05:45 GMT 15 http://www.formula1.com/photos/225x150/sutton/2008/d08brn1528.jpg http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/12/8745.html Robert Kubica (POL) BMW Sauber F1 celebrates his first pole position in parc ferme. Formula One World Championship, Rd 3, Bahrain Grand Prix, Qualifying Day, Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain, Saturday, 5 April 2008 Very rarely do you get what you wish for. But this season BMW Sauber have achieved just that, finishing third in the constructors' championship and scoring their maiden pole and race win. It's a brilliant achievement for a relatively young team, who have finally taken the fight to Ferrari and McLaren and become real title contenders. Over winter matters hadn't looked quite so upbeat, with murmurs that their aggressive pre-season development programme had backfired... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/12/8745.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:08:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/12/8745.html Formula1.com The FIA have made a number of changes to the Sporting and Technical Regulations for the 2009 Formula One season, and the results of some have already been seen in testing. In the case of the Sporting Regulations, the primary aims are increased reliability and further cost reductions. In the case of the technical changes, there are three main objectives - reducing the role of aerodynamics in the cars' performance; making overtaking easier; and keeping lap times in check... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8741.html Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:11:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8741.html Formula1.com One team on the grid has seen more change in the past few years than all the others combined. From Jordan to Midland to Spyker, they started 2008 as Force India. With a new billionaire owner, Dr Vijay Mallya, Ferrari engines, a strengthened technical team headed by the irrepressible Mike Gascoyne, and a driver line-up featuring veteran Giancarlo Fisichella and promising talent Adrian Sutil, it was a fresh start... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8734.html Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:54:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8734.html Formula1.com With just 15 points from nine races, things did not look good for Renault midway through the 2008 season. That was until their unrelenting development work began to pay off, rewarding them with 65 points from the next nine rounds. Fernando Alonso proved why he remains so highly rated, with two wins and another six top-four finishes, while Nelson Piquet came through a trying rookie campaign to score his first podium and keep his seat for 2009… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8717.html Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:40:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8717.html Formula1.com The final third of the 2008 Formula One season had everything - tension, drama and controversy. Sebastian Vettel became the sport's youngest winner, Fernando Alonso scored surprise back-to-back victories, and Singapore awed fans and drivers alike with the sport's first night race. The biggest story, however, was Lewis Hamilton. Stewards penalised him and fellow drivers criticised him, but he fought back to clinch the title in a season finale that kept fans the world over on the very edge of their seats, even after the chequered flag… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8677.html Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:07:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8677.html Formula1.com If there is one person you want to beat as a Formula One driver it's your team mate. When you're both driving the same car, there are few places to hide if you find yourself struggling to match your colleague. So who won out this season? Which world champion was put firmly in the shade? Who was the only man to whitewash his team mate? Find out in our team-by-team qualifying rundown… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8673.html Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:06:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8673.html Formula1.com They'd been threatening to do it all season and in June BMW Sauber finally made the breakthrough. With Lewis Hamilton's wrecked McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen's injured Ferrari sat at the end of the Montreal pit lane, Robert Kubica took full advantage to score his and his team's first win. In the second part of our season review we go from Canada to Valencia, a period that also included a maiden victory for McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and David Coulthard's last F1 podium… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8666.html Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:49:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8666.html Formula1.com Four men quickly emerged as title contenders in 2008, one of them quite unexpectedly. All of them started from pole, all stood on the top step of the podium and all of them led the standings, but only one could be champion. So close was the competition that halfway through the season just two points covered Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica, with three of the four level at the top of the table. We look back on the evolution of a gripping contest… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8660.html Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:31:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8660.html Formula1.com The 2008 Formula One season had a hard act to follow after the controversy and drama of 2007, but it achieved it in style. The emphasis returned to the racing (rather than the courtroom), and a plethora of up-and-coming talent kept fans enthralled. Seven men and five teams won a Grand Prix, five of those for the first time, and the sport crowned its youngest ever champion. On top of that were two new venues, with the inaugural Formula One night race in Singapore providing a spectacle few will ever forget... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8656.html Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:21:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8656.html Formula1.com This time last year Felipe Massa was playing the supporting role as Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen took the 2007 drivers' championship. On Sunday at Interlagos the roles were reversed, as Massa proved he is a nearly man no more, leading Ferrari to the constructors' crown and almost stealing the 2008 drivers' title from under the nose of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Even during a season that saw him miss out on glory by a single point, critics continued to dismiss Massa as an also-ran... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8645.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:18:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8645.html Formula1.com So established is the new world champion, it is difficult to believe that he becomes the sport's youngest ever title holder, aged just 23, bettering previous record holder Fernando Alonso by just over four months. Hamilton has just 35 race appearances under his belt, but from that modest tally has gleaned nine wins and 13 poles. To put those figures into context, Alonso had made 69 starts before he clocked up that number of wins, while Raikkonen has scored only three more poles over his eight-year career... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8641.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:48:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8641.html Formula1.com Lewis Hamilton started the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend as title favourite and duly ended it as champion. Ahead of their showdown, Felipe Massa said the pressure would be on his rival at Interlagos - and that's exactly how it panned out. As the Brazilian romped to the home win he needed, Hamilton and McLaren understandably took a more cautious approach. It so nearly cost them everything, but ultimately gave us the most thrilling season finale in years… http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8637.html Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:38:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8637.html Formula1.com The paddock at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Interlagos always draws in familiar figures, and this year was no exception as former champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet visited. Former March F1 racer and FIA safety car driver Alex Ribiero, former Tyrrell racer Ricardo Rosset and ex-Formula Three star Maurizio Sandro Sala, together with former Formula Two entrant Fred Opert, also made their annual appearances. http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8628.html Sun, 02 Nov 2008 09:35:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8628.html Formula1.com In warm conditions Ferrari's Felipe Massa duly took pole position at Interlagos on Saturday, his sixth of the season and the first time anyone has set three consecutive poles at the Brazilian circuit, to start the race exactly where he needs to. Jarno Trulli sprang a surprise with a late run to second for Toyota, but McLaren's Lewis Hamilton seemed very happy with fourth just behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and really just needs a clean start to keep his title aspirations on track... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8627.html Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:03:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/11/8627.html Formula1.com By and large it was a normal Friday at Interlagos, with all of the drivers working through varying programmes of tyre evaluation and chassis set-up. The sprinkling of rain in the afternoon affected some drivers' chances of setting fast times. Title contender Felipe Massa was happy with his Ferrari's performance, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton described his McLaren as 'blindingly quick', despite a low-key showing in second practice... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/10/8618.html Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:02:00 GMT http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/10/8618.html Formula1.com