Renault's Fernando Alonso took his first pole position in nearly two years on Saturday after a Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session overshadowed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa suffering a heavy crash.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton boosted his Formula One title chances by taking pole position for Sunday's Japanese GP while Ferrari rival Felipe Massa could qualify only fifth. The Briton, who leads the standings by seven points from Massa with three races remaining, starts ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on the front row.
Toyota's Timo Glock stole some limelight from championship leader Lewis Hamilton on Friday with the quickest time in free practice at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton, who takes a seven-point lead over rival Felipe Massa into the weekend with three races left, was third fastest overall for McLaren, behind Renault's Fernando Alonso. Massa was fourth on the timesheets with Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen fifth over the picturesque 4.563km Fuji Speedway circuit.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said the 'circus' track of the Singapore race and the use of the safety car had been humiliating for Formula One.
Ferrari will review their electronic pitstop light system after a human error cost Felipe Massa victory in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix and dealt a severe blow to the Brazilian's championship hopes.
Fernando Alonso won his first race in more than a year on Sunday while Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead.
McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton lit up free practice for the Singapore Grand Prix Friday, as Formula One's inaugural night race officially got under way. With drivers getting their first full-speed look at the city-state's street circuit, Hamilton outpaced the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen to clock the fastest lap of the day in the first practice session.
Lewis Hamilton said he was disappointed but not depressed Tuesday after a court rejected McLaren's appeal to have the Formula One leader reinstated as Belgian Grand Prix winner.
Lewis Hamilton's world championship defence got off to a flying start on Sunday with a crushing victory for Mercedes in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Formula One rivals succumbed to a farcical rash of reliability problems.
McLaren's attempt to reinstate Lewis Hamilton as Belgian Grand Prix winner will be heard by Formula One's court of appeal in Paris on September 22, the governing FIA said on Friday. Championship leader Hamilton was stripped of victory after race stewards at Spa ruled he had gained an advantage from cutting a chicane while challenging Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the lead.
Driver line-ups and race numbers for the 2006 season after the governing International\nAutomobile Federation issued the official entry list.
The 23-year-old Briton will start Sunday's race with Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa, his main title rival, alongside on the front row.
Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher, once brothers in arms but now Formula One rivals, returned to the racetrack on a day of comebacks on Monday. Both the Brazilian and the German had moments when they thought their eyes were deceiving them but the lap times in Valencia were real enough.
The Ferrari driver was fined $14,870 after stewards decided that his release from his second pitstop had been unsafe.
The Ferrari driver finished ahead of F1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica in that order in Sunday's race in Valencia.
Formula One champions Ferrari scored their first points of the year in Bahrain on Sunday despite Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa flirting with disaster on the opening lap. After three races had left the team in danger of their worst ever start to a season and prompted Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo to fly in for a show of support, the champions needed to move up a gear.
Ferrari are having their worst start to a season since 1981 but they are unlikely to make any major improvements to their car until Formula One returns to Europe after next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. The Italian team failed to win a point for the third successive race since the start of the season in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, leaving the champions bottom of the standings and drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen seething with frustration.
Felipe Massa will drive a Ferrari Formula One car again this year as the Brazilian continues his recovery from life-threatening head injuries suffered in July, Ferrari said on Sunday.
Formula One champions Ferrari experienced their worst start to a season in 17 years when a risky gamble backfired at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. The Italian team were left searching for answers after failing to score a single point in the opening race of the championship for the first time since the South African Grand Prix in 1992.
Formula One's post-season shake-up took another spin on Tuesday with Williams announcing the departure of technical head Pat Symonds while Valtteri Bottas moved closer to Mercedes and Felipe Massa's retirement looked to be coming to an end.
Britain's Jenson Button put the new Brawn GP Formula One team on top of the testing timesheets in Barcelona on Wednesday while champion compatriot Lewis Hamilton had a difficult day with McLaren. Button, whose car has been both quick and reliable since the former Honda team's test debut on Monday, completed 130 laps with a best time of one minute 19.127 seconds according to unofficial timings.
Twice Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso made his first public appearance with his new Ferrari team at an event in Valencia, Spain on Sunday.
McLaren's double world champion Fernando Alonso will join the Finn on the front row with Brazilian Felipe Massa qualifying third for Ferrari.
Renault's Fernando Alonso needs one more point to become only the sixth driver to score 500 points in Formula One whereas Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen (currently on 491) needs to win in Monaco.
Ferrari's Brazilian driver Felipe Massa said he felt like his old self when he got back behind the wheel of a Formula One car on Monday for the first time since his life-threatening accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari has ruled out a competitive return this year for Felipe Massa.
Felipe Massa is fit to get back in a Formula One car after two days of neurological tests in Paris had a positive outcome, his Ferrari team said in a statement on Saturday. Tests on Friday showed the Brazilian's vision had recovered fully after he fractured his skull at July's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Felipe Massa will return to a Formula One car for the first time since his serious accident when he tests a 2007 model at Ferrari's Fiorano track on Monday, his team said in a statement on Friday.
Recovering Brazilian Felipe Massa said his dream of racing for Ferrari in the season-ending F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi next month is unlikely to come true. Massa is recovering from a life-threatening head injury he suffered in July when he was hit by bouncing debris in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.
Recovering Brazilian Felipe Massa could be back behind the wheel of a Formula One car in Italy next week despite a ban on testing during the season, Ferrari said on Tuesday.
McLaren can live with Bernie Ecclestone's plan to ensure the Formula One title goes to the driver who wins most races in a season, team boss Ron Dennis has said.
Brazilian Felipe Massa climbed into a racing car for the first time since sustaining a life-threatening head injury at the Hungarian Grand Prix when he drove seven laps in a kart on Monday.
Felipe Massa gave Ferrari's new Formula One car its track debut on Monday and said it felt entirely different to the one he drove to victory six times last year.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa, recovering from a life-threatening head injury, said on Thursday that he will race again at a popular kart event in Brazil in November.
Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheets in first free practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday, restoring pride for Ferrari fans after a turbulent week. Massa ended the opening practice session at Sepang with the fastest time of 1:35.392, followed by world champion Raikkonen 1.067 seconds behind.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Saturday after World champion Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari suffered an early breakdown. The 23-year-old pipped Poland's Robert Kubica to line up a perfect start to his second season in Formula One. Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, in the second McLaren, qualified in third place with Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa alongside on the second row.
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa had successful plastic surgery on his fractured skull at a Sao Paulo hospital on Monday, the Italian team said on their website (www.ferrari.com).
Ferrari would not swap Brazilian driver Felipe Massa for McLaren's Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, president Luca di Montezemolo said. Hamilton, 23, who became the youngest world title-winner after he edged Massa by snatching fifth place on the final bend of November's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, said last week that he would never leave McLaren.
Struggling Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer says it would be 'absurd' for the Formula One champions to replace him ahead of his home Grand Prix at Monza next week. Badoer, 38, has qualified and crossed the line last in the two races he has started as replacement for injured Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Michael Schumacher has been shedding the pounds as he prepares to come out of retirement to fill in for the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari although a pain in the neck is a slight concern, he said on his website.
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