Kimi Räikkönen Official 2007 World Champion After Mclaren Appeal Fails

Kimi Räikkönen's status as the F1 World Champion 2007 remains unchange as the FIA Court of Appeal ruled that Mclaren's appeal for BMW's Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Williams' Nico Rosberg to be disqualified from the Brazilian Grand Prix after being alleged of having used fuel at an illegal temperature.

Initially, Mclaren had launched the appeal claiming to seek clarity of the regulations, after the two teams were not penalised for using fuel at 10 degrees lower than the ambient temperature. Mclaren's lawyer Ian Mill QC then called for the disqualification of the 3 drivers and a review of the championship result.

If Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg had all been disqualified, Mclaren's rookie Lewis Hamilton would have moved up a few positions and would have won the World Championship.

However, Mclaren, which are fined $50 million and disqualified from the Constructors' Championship, had no better luck in this appeal as the court ruled it 'inadmissable'.

Renault to Attend WMSC Hearing

Renault has been named the latest accuse of the spying incident on Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes.

In the earlier hearings of the spying incident between Ferrari and Mclaren, in which Mclaren was punished and stripped off all their points in the Constructors' Championship, Renault was also mentioned in the investigation results done by Mclaren. While they were not investigated in the earlier stages, they are now being called forth to attend the hearing in front of the FIA World Motor Sports Council (WMSC) on the 6th of December.

According to the official statement released by the FIA, Renault is called to the hearing based on the suspicion of having "unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes". Supposedly, a former Mclaren team member had passed several CDs filled with technical information of Mclaren to Renault.

Over in the Mclaren camp, the MP4-23, which is the 2008 car of the Mclaren F1 team, has began to be subjected to scrutiny by the FIA officials to ensure that the design is legal (and not in anyway based on the technical information that they had from the Stepneygate incident). The results of the FIA's findings will be published on 7th December.

Mclaren Appeal Set on 15th November

The appeal lodged by Mclaren is set to be heard by the FIA Court of Appeal on 15th November.

Mclaren had lodged an appeal against the results of the Brazilian Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton, who finished 7th, lost out on the Drivers' Championship title to Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen by just one point. It was later found out that Williams' Nico Rosberg, BMW's Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld had fuel that was below the allowed temperature (it has to be at most 10 degrees below track temperature), thereby giving them a boost in their performance (lower temperature meant more fuel stored). Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.

If Mclaren's appeal is successful, it could mean that Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld could all be stripped off their positions, thus handing the 4th position to Lewis Hamilton. Lewis Hamilton would then have enough points to beat Finnish Kimi Räikkönen and win the Drivers' Championship title on his debut season.

However, FIA president Max Mosley has played down speculations that Lewis Hamilton could be handed the Drivers' title even if the trio were found guilty.

Certainly, if the FIA decides to strip Kimi Räikkönen of his first title and hand it over to Lewis Hamilton, it would be a cruel blow to the Finn, as well as possibly cause an uproar against the FIA's decision.

Singapore: Permanent Racetrack to be Built

The motorsports fever in Singapore is in fullswing as the government opened up a site in Changi for proposals to build it into a permanent racetrack.

This race track however, will be a Grade 2 racetrack* and will not be able to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Motorsports fans in Singapore can look forward to races like the A1GP, MotoGP, Japan GP, as well as many other races. Testing of cars and driving training courses can also be conducted on the race track.

The race track should be between 2.8km to 3.5km or more, making it one of the most compact and efficient race track in Asia. The government is looking at a seating capacity of 15,000 or more, with the possibility of adding temporary structures to accomodate more seatings.

With the seafront location, the track is set to be one of the most scenic in the region. The estimated cost is set to be around $84 million, with no government funding, and is expected to be completed by 2011.

The government has also indicated their clear interest in pursuing a motorsports industry in Singapore, with plans to not only involve Singaporeans as spectators, but a chance to develop motorsports talent in the Republic. "A chance for a driving school perhaps... some kind of academy that'll give the driver a chance to get on the pathway. It will allow the masses to enjoy this, not only as a spectator but also to drive," said Oon Jin Teik, CEO of Singapore Sports Council.

*Grade 2 FIA-approved motor sports racetrack capable of hosting any motor race for both motorcycles and cars, other than Formula One. Also includes a Grade 1 FIA-CIK-approved karting track.

Singapore Grand Prix 2008: Night Race is On!

Singapore will be hosting the inaugural night race of Formula 1 after the plans for the floodlit plans submitted were approved by the FIA.

The Singapore Grand Prix, which will be held on the 28th September 2008, will be a street-circuit that will feature prominent icons of Singapore, including the Swissotel, the Esplanade as well as the old Parliament House.

The US Grand Prix in Indianapolis will not be featured in the 2008 calendar, while the German race will be in the Hockenheim. Valencia, another new feature and a street circuit concept as well, will be the second of the two races in Spain (the first being in the Circuit de Catalunya) and will be called the Europe Grand Prix.

FIA to Investigate Lewis Hamilton

Yet another post-race activity set the F1 world in a frenzy again.

A video taken by a spectator from the grand stand,showed the current championship leader Lewis Hamilton slowed his car down dramatically behind the safety car, which in turn led to Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel pulling up beside him, before the Red Bull and the Toro Rosso drivers collided, resulting in the end of the race for both of them.

Sebastian Vettel was later deemed guilty by the race stewards and will be punished with a 10 place penalty in the upcoming Shanghai Grand Prix this weekend.

Franz Tost, the Toro Rosso team principal, alerted the FIA to the footage in a bid to appeal against Sebastian Vettel's penalty. The incident was not caught on official race footage, but this video could prove to be a key evidence for the incident.

Hamilton was slammed by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, as well as several other drivers down the field such as Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. The lead car was supposed to keep within 5 car lengths from the safety car, but Hamilton, on several occasions, had been braking the car to almost a standstill, resulting in those behind him to bunch up, before zooming off again.

If found guilty, Hamilton could either find his 10 points earned deducted, or be demoted 10 grids for the Chinese Grand Prix, and both are not going to be beneficial in his bid to become the youngest world champion by this weekend.

Post Japanese GP: Mix Ups, Penalties and More

After a weird pit-stop call for both Ferraris at the beginning of the race, all came to light during the press conference when an unhappy Kimi Raikkonen said that both him and Massa were told to come into the pits to have their tires changed. It turned out that FIA's email to the teams telling them to start on extra wet tires for the race did not manage to land in the Ferrari mailbox until late.

As a result, both Ferraris, which started on intermediate tires as they had set the car up for a dry race. Unfortunately, this resulted in a compulsory pitstop for both of them, which might have cost Kimi Raikkonen his Drivers' Championship chances.

Sebastian Vettel was ruled as the guilty party in the collision with Mark Webber, and as a result, he is hit with a 10 place penalty which will be carried over to the Shanghai Grand Prix next weekend.

His teammate, Vitantonio Liuzzi, who scored his first point of this season for himself and Toro Rosso, was unable to enjoy his solitary point for more than 5 hours after he was found guilty of overtaking under yellow flag. Adrian Sutil, in a very much improved Spyker, would be more than happy to score the first point for his team and himself after finishing in the 9th place initially, but would now move up one position in place of Vitantonio.

Singapore F1 Circuit Approved

The revised version of the Singapore F1 Circuit has been approved by the FIA - the governing body of F1. Work has already begun on the major facilities and additional roads required for the event that will take place next September 28.

However, there is still no word from the FIA regarding the proposal for Singapore to have the first ever night race in Formula 1 history.

FIA Ready to Investigate Renault

Renault, which had recently been dragged into the spy espionage by team Vodafone Mclaren-Mercedes which was found guilty of breach of sporting rules, might be investigated by the FIA if Mclaren manage to produce substantial evidence against them.

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore however has insisted that the case brought forward by Mclaren against them was not related to the high-profiled 'Stepneygate'.

FIA president Max Mosley has already gotten into contact with Mclaren team principal Ron Dennis regarding their evidence against Renault, and has promised to take action against the French team if the evidence produced is damning enough. Ron Dennis on the other hand, has decided not to say anything to the press until the investigation has been carried out.

Mclaren Faces Expulsion from Constructors' Championship and Fined $100 Million

The verdict has been delivered - Mclaren will face expulsion from the 2007 Constructors' Championship - but drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton will not get their points deducted from the Drivers' Championship.

Mike Coughlan, the disgraced ex-Mclaren employee, had earlier on Thursday named several Mclaren key figures who knew about the Ferrari information that he had from Nigel Stepney. While he claimed to have merely glanced through the information, the FIA deemed Mclaren to be guilty of a breach in the sporting regulation, and other than disqualifying Mclaren from the Constructors' Championship, Mclaren has also been slapped with a US$100million fine, as well as having their 2008 car design subjected to approval by the FIA.

However, Ron Dennis, Nobert Haug and the Mclaren team have voiced their dissatisfaction over the FIA's ruling, maintaining their stand that the Mclaren team had not used the information in any way.

Ferrari, on the other hand, is very satisfied with the FIA's ruling, and as a result of Mclaren's disqualification from the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari will now lead the Constructors' Championship with 143 points.

Renault Part of Spy Scandal?

In the latest development of the spy-scandal involving Ferrari and Mclaren, the Woking-based team has indicated to the FIA that rivals Renault should be scrutinised for certain undisclosed matters.

Flavio Briatore, team principal of Renault, has denied of any problems with his team. However, he did not have much to worry about as the FIA has told Mclaren that whatever they were reporting about Renault had nothing to do with the hearing this Thursday - which was to be about the spy scandal between Ferrari and Mclaren.