Renault's Fernando Alonso refused to rule out a Monaco Grand Prix hat-trick on Wednesday while tipping former employers McLaren as favourites for Sunday's showcase race. Renault have not won a race since 2006 and Alonso has yet to appear on the podium since he left McLaren after one acrimonious season.
Mexican team mate Sergio Perez qualified second fastest in a front row lockout for Red Bull, 15 years after the team took their first win at the Shanghai International Circuit with Sebastian Vettel.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said he is so tied to McLaren that he will never leave the team. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis has had a long-standing relationship with Hamilton and the driver highlighted this as a major reason for his desire to stay at McLaren.
Ferrari agreed on Friday to end legal action against McLaren over last year's spy scandal for the good of Formula One.
A meeting between McLaren bosses and an Italian prosecutor investigating Formula One's spying scandal will not take place on Monday as reported and no new date has been set, his office said on Friday.
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has raised the possibility of McLaren starting the 2008 season with a points penalty if the team's new car design is based on information from Ferrari.
Formula One leaders McLaren escaped immediate sanction on Thursday after a hearing into a spying controversy found insufficient evidence that they had benefited from leaked Ferrari data.
World champion Max Verstappen took the first pole position of the Formula One season in Bahrain on Friday.
His storied career has included 32 wins, 22 pole positions and 97 podiums so far.
Spain's double Formula One world champion left McLaren in a mutual split after an acrimonious and controversial season with the Mercedes-powered team.
Statistical highlights of a Group B ODI match of the ICC Champions Trophy between Pakistan and South Africa in Birmingham on Monday night.
Formula One will have a record 24 races in the season that starts in Bahrain on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix on pole position in his farewell to McLaren, with teammate Jenson Button alongside.
Lewis Hamilton was left feeling numb after failing to finish his final race for McLaren on Sunday despite starting on pole position and leading the race.
Lewis Hamilton has mended fences with McLaren a day after castigating his Formula One team for denying him a podium with their 'fricking terrible' pitstop strategy at the Australian Grand Prix.
Renault have accused rivals McLaren of opening up a Formula One arms race with their controversial rear wing even though it has been ruled legal by the sport's governing body. The McLaren car passed inspections on Thursday at the Sakhir circuit and the team said they consulted the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) throughout the design process.
McLaren have recognised that they do not know just how good Mexican signing Sergio Perez really is.
Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso will race for McLaren in the 2007 season
Formula One leaders McLaren have accused rivals Ferrari of running an illegal car at the start of the season and making 'grossly misleading' statements in a spy controversy overshadowing the championship.
McLaren Mercedes launched its new car for the 2010 season on Friday. The MP4-25 will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the reigning world champion having joined the British squad from Brawn GP, with which he won the title last year.
The Briton, the most experienced driver on the starting grid and 35 years old next January, will partner Spaniard Fernando Alonso in a lineup of champions.
The Colombian will race for McLaren in 2005 after completing his contract with Williams.
McLaren unveiled their new Formula One car on Sunday, certain it cannot be any worse than last year's but still unsure when they might get back to winning ways after their longest drought in decades. The former champions have not won a race since 2012 and finished last season, the first of a new partnership with Honda, ninth of the 10 teams with just 27 points compared to 703 for dominant Mercedes. The three years without a win is the team's longest barren stretch since their absence from the top step of the podium in 1994-96. "As we embark on the second year of our renewed McLaren-Honda partnership, all of us remain united in our purpose. That purpose is to develop our team towards our shared ambition: to win," said McLaren boss Ron Dennis. "We'll make no predictions as to when those wins will come," he added. The new MP4-31 car was presented online in a predominantly black livery with some prominent new sponsors in LVMH's sparkling wine brand Chandon and watchmaker Richard Mille replacing the departed Tag Heuer.
Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen won a US Grand Prix sprint race from pole position on Saturday after an early challenge from Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton.
British teenager Oliver Rowland will have a Formula One test with McLaren after collecting a coveted Autosport award previously won by the likes of Jenson Button and David Coulthard.
Ferrari agreed on Friday to end legal action against McLaren over last year's spy scandal for the good of Formula One.
Formula One leader Max Verstappen celebrated a record-equalling ninth successive victory on Sunday after beating the rain to win a chaotic and red-flagged Dutch Grand Prix for the third year in a row.
McLaren accused Michael Schumacher of using tough tactics to prevent Lewis Hamilton getting past for much of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
FIA said its World Motor Sport Council had agreed to cancel a Paris hearing scheduled for February 14 to assess McLaren's 2008 car.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis called time on 43 years in Formula One on Thursday when he handed complete control of the company's racing affairs to team principal Martin Whitmarsh. McLaren said in a statement that Dennis would become executive chairman of McLaren Automotive, effectively walking away from the world of grands prix to lead the British-based company's new sports car business.
McLaren have formally lodged an appeal against the decision not to penalise three drivers in the Brazilian Grand Prix because of fuel irregularities.
Ron Dennis's revelation will only fuel speculation that the world champion will move on at the end of the season, with a return to Renault the most likely.
McLaren played down reports of a "raid" on their factory by inspectors checking for signs of leaked Ferrari data in the design of their 2008 car.
Former Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher dropped heavy hints on Sunday that he would leap at the chance to fill the McLaren seat vacated by Fernando Alonso.
McLaren are in no rush to sign a successor to departed double world champion Fernando Alonso.
McLaren may be willing to take a $100 million hit in the interests of Formula One, team boss Ron Dennis said.
Dominant Formula One leader Max Verstappen ran away with the Hungarian Grand Prix by a mighty margin on Sunday as Red Bull made history with a record 12th victory in a row.
The Spaniard took pole position alongside team mate Lewis Hamilton in an all-McLaren front row for the Italian Grand Prix.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances