Spa Practice 1 - Ferrari First, Ferrari Last

01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:47.339 16 laps
02 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:47.881 19 laps
03 F. Alonso McLaren 1:47.994 17 laps
04 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:48.052 20 laps
05 N. Rosberg Williams 1:48.372 18 laps
06 R. Kubica BMW 1:48.605 20 laps
07 A. Wurz Williams 1:48.920 20 laps
08 J. Trulli Toyota 1:48.994 19 laps
09 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:49.138 22 laps
10 J. Button Honda 1:49.330 22 laps
11 G. Fisichella Renault 1:49.380 25 laps
12 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:49.548 21 laps
13 M. Webber Red Bull 1:49.894 23 laps
14 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:49.931 19 laps
15 R. Barrichello Honda 1:50.264 22 laps
16 S. Vettel Toro Rosso 1:50.482 27 laps
17 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:50.640 16 laps
18 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:50.648 20 laps
19 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:50.768 22 laps
20 V. Liuzzi Toro Rosso 1:51.628 12 laps
21 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:52.379 21 laps
22 F. Massa Ferrari no time 2 laps

-- Felipe Massa crashed into the tires barrier as his car failed to steer to the right at Rivage.

Source: Planet-F1.com

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.

India Commits to Building F1 Track

In a bid to host an F1 race, India has signed a deal to construct an F1 track. However, this deal is conditional on the term that India pays $30 million by the end of September for the rights fee.

While this deal does not mean that India will definitely host an F1 race, it is viewed as a significant step towards their bid to host an F1 race in the near future.

The proposed circuit will be built in New Delhi.

Italian Grand Prix 07 - Mclaren 1-2 despite tumultous week

In the home grand prix of Scuderia Ferrari, Mclaren managed a 1-2 finish, and enjoyed the honour of being the Highest Scoring Constructor for this grand prix.

Earlier, before the qualifying had started, Italian police called upon the Mclaren camp and served 5 writs to top management of the Vodafone Mclaren-Mercedes Team. Those served included team boss Ron Dennis, Martin Whitmarsh, Jonathan Neale, Paddy Lowe and Rob Taylor - all who were the key figures in the design and strategy of the Mclaren team. It all leads back to the white powder found on the cars of Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen a few days before the Monaco Grand Prix, which sparked the spy-scandal of Nigel Stepney - ex-head of performance development for Ferrari, and Mike Coughlan, ex-chief designer of Mclaren.

While Mclaren appeared unruffled by this 'unnecessary visit' (as Ron Dennis calls it) from the Italian police, emotions were frayed and the tv images showed just as much - an emotional Ron Dennis getting a hug from his wife and wiping away tears from his eyes before he went onto the podium to receive the Constructor's Trophy. He denied the rumours of his retirement, which were no doubt sparked by the spy-scandal incident, and his description of this season being "the most extreme" one of his 41 years in F1.

On with the race report, Felipe Massa could only lament on his poor luck as his car failed with what seemed to be possibly transmission problem just after 9 laps. David Coulthard had his front wing disintegrated by what he claimed to be the result of a contact with Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella.

After the retirement of teammate Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, who suffered a huge shunt during Free Practice 3 on Saturday, was able to move up to 3rd place. He started from 5th position, but a great start saw him leapfrogging BMW driver Nick Heidfeld into the 4th place. Going on a 1 stop strategy, he had a brief moment in 2nd place, until Lewis Hamilton, in a desperate attempt, braked late in the first turn and overtook Kimi. As described by Kimi in the post-race conference, he was not able to hold up his neck during braking after the shunt on Saturday, thus affecting his performance during the later stages of the race.

Fernando Alonso then proceeded to win the Italian Grand Prix with ease, while breaking many tifosi* hearts. Lewis Hamilton completed the 1-2 victory by Mclaren in 2nd place, the lone Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen taking third spot. A delighted Nick Heidfeld took the 4th place, teammate Robert Kubica 5th (can anyone separate these two BMW drivers?! Lol!), a strong show from Williams driver Nico Rosberg got him a 6th place, while Renault driver Heikki Kovalainen took the 7th spot with Honda driver Jenson Button completing the top 8 drivers.

*Tifosi - italian word for sports fans. An affectionate term used to call the Ferrari fans in F1 context.

Singapore F1 Grand Prix PR Account Awarded to Fulford

Fulford, a public relations firm which has experience in handling major sports events, have been awarded the PR account for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix. The company will be in charge of promoting the event in the regional markets, which includes Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and more.

Singapore GP handed the account to Fulford based on its track records in handling motorsports events. The company previously handled the PR for team Mclaren F1 for four years. The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, Lexus Cup women's golf tournament, Singapore Swimming Association and the Netball Singapore national federations - all the big names, are currently in Fulford's portfolio.

The exact number of firms vying for the prestigious account was not made known, nor the value of the account. However, it is understood that the contract stands for 14 months.

Construction for Singapore F1 GP Pit Building Begins

The construction for the Pit Building on Marina Bayfront has begun as of 31st August 2007, after a ground-breaking ceremony led by the Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang. In order to be in time for the race next year on September 28, the Pit Building will be completed within 9 months, with the estimated date of completion sometime in the end of May next year.

The Pit Building, which includes the usual team garages, VIP lounges, media centre and other facilities, is estimated to cost about SGD 33 million. With most of the walls made of glass, it provides an excellent view for the exclusive guests to have a bird's eye view on the action in the pits, as well as along the start-finish straight.

During races, pit strategies are critical as a well-timed pitstop could very well leapfrog a driver from the second place to the first place, as Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen had proven twice this season during the French Grand Prix and the Santander British Grand Prix.

The FIA would announce next month whether the night race is approved for the Singapore Grand Prix, but in a similar move in MotoGP, the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar 2008 will be ran on the night of March 9th.