Malaysia�s Fairuz returns to F1 as Lotus-Renault reserve driver

Former Team Lotus F1 driver Fairuz Fauzy has been named the reserve driver for team Lotus-Renault for the 2011 Formula One season.

The main drivers will be Poland�s Robert Kubica and Russia�s Vitaly Petrov.
Eric Bouiller, the team principal, announced and introduced Fairuz to the Malaysian media at the Lotus GP facility here yesterday.
Also present at the announcement were Proton Holdings Bhd (PHB) chairman Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, PHB group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Taher and other PHB board members.
Bouiller also announced that 25 Malaysian engineers would be employed and based at the F1 facility here as part of a long-term plan.
Fairuz said his aim was to ensure that he would be a primary driver and not just a reserve driver for the team.
�I will be racing for the team in the GP2 series and I hope to win some points and medals with the aim of making it to the main team as a regular,� he said, adding that the F1 and GP2 races would run simultaneously.
�The GP2 will also use the new Pirrelli tyres as the F1 and this will definitely help me to get used to the car.�
Fairuz also revealed that discussions for him to join team Lotus Renault started as soon as he left Lotus Racing.
There were also reports linking him with a move to IndyCar racing in the United States.
He said he would do his best to contribute to the team, who have won world championship medals.
�Team Lotus Renault have very good plans and training facilities and I am sure I will benefit from it,� he said.

Sebastian Vettel wins the Malaysian GP for Red Bull

Red Bull overcame their reliability issues as Sebastian Vettel headed a one-two in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Vettel, whose car cost him potential wins in Bahrain and Australia, overtook team-mate and pole-setter Mark Webber at the start and held on to triumph.
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took third while the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were sixth and eighth.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa leads the championship after finishing seventh as team-mate Fernando Alonso retired.
Massa is now two points ahead of Alonso, who is level on points with Vettel but heads him in the standings because of a stronger results countback.
Rosberg and Button are both two points back on 35, four ahead of Hamilton and five in front of Renault's Robert Kubica, who again impressed to finish fourth after coming second in Australia.

Despite losing his position at the head of the grid, Webber drove an excellent race - he produced the fastest lap (one minute 37.054 seconds) - to move up to eighth in the championship.
"The first part of the race is critical and the first sector I had a little wheel spin on the way to Turn One and gave Seb a big tow," said the Australian.
"The spirit and chemistry in our team is awesome and we fought well. Seb got the better of it but it could have gone either way. Great result for the team, we executed a beautiful weekend."
It was a first one-two for Red Bull since the final race of the 2009 season, the team finally getting their reward for consistently being the fastest car on the grid this season.
A broken spark plug did for Vettel in Bahrain and the German had a wheel failure in Melboune, while Webber's engine failed during Friday's practice session for this grand prix.
But they had no such problems on race day at the Sepang Circuit as both cars cruised problem-free and untroubled to the flag.

"I realised straight away I had a good start, I was able to gain, gain, gain and I had a good advantage," said Vettel. "I took the chance into Turn One, it was very late but I took it.
"It's good that we can fight each other but you should keep the respect and I am glad that we have done that, I am sure Mark would do the same as I did.
"After that we had the same pace but I was able to stay in front. We had a magnificent car - I just had to watch the pace and look after the tyres.
"It was a very good result for us especially after two races where we didn't finish where we wanted to be. It was important to stay relaxed and not panic so I am really pleased for me and the team."
The strategic errors made by Ferrari and McLaren during Saturday's rain-affected qualifying meant Alonso and Massa started 19th and 21st respectively, with Button and Hamilton 17th and 20th.
But while Vettel was busy passing Webber on Turn One, all four were making moves of their own and Hamilton, in particular, seemed to be picking off victims at will.

The 2008 champion, along with both Ferraris, was one of the few drivers to start the race on hard tyres but the call paid off as all three put themselves in strong positions.
Reigning champion Button had been sent out on soft tyres but pitted on lap nine for the hard variation and instantly began to hunt down his rivals with several new fastest laps.
Ferrari seemed to be gambling on pre-race forecasts of heavy rain coming to fruition because they kept their drivers out on the hard tyres while most other teams were bringing their men in for a fresh set.
The Italian team's plight was not aided by Alonso's car developing a broken clutch, which produced awkward down-shifts and made braking into the corners tricky and overtaking near-impossible.
With the likes of Rosberg, Kubica and Sutil, who secured an excellent fifth-place finish for Force India, maintaining the pressure up front with some scintillating laps, Ferrari and McLaren acted.
Hamilton stopped for soft tyres on lap 31 and Alonso was the final man to pit on 37, but Hamilton could not make it past Sutil and Alonso's broken clutch put paid to his chances.
The game was up for the Ferraris and McLarens, Button producing increasingly slow laps on ageing tyres and Alonso seeing his engine blow on lap 55 after trying to pass the world champion.

There was more disappointment for Michael Schumacher as the seven-time world champion retired on lap 10 after a nut dislodged itself from the rear left wheel of his Mercedes.
"I lost a wheel nut basically so there was no more drive left," the German, who had climbed from eighth to sixth when he was forced off, told BBC Radio 5 live. "It's very unusual for us to have a reliability problem.
"We were in good position I was pacing myself, and although it is a long race it was all looking OK."
However, Rosberg was understandably delighted to have secured a first podium finish with his new team since joining from Williams.
"It's a great feeling to be back up on the podium again," he said. "This is a great end to a strong weekend for us.
"We're not quite where we want to be yet so we need to push on but I'm confident that we'll get there soon."
Meanwhile, there was an improved showing from the new teams as a Virgin car - Lucas di Grassi's - completed a race for the first while Lotus and Hispania brought both drivers home.
It was also a day to remember for Torro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari and Nico Hulkenberg of Williams, both of whom scored world championship points for the first time.

BBC Sport/formula1

Valentino Rossi Took 9th World Champion as Casey Stoner Won Malaysian GP

Casey Stoner grabbed his second win in succession today with a display of absolute dominance in torrential condition at Sepang, where his Ducati Marlboro team-mate Nicky Hayden picked up a fantastic fifth place. A heavy tropical downpour just moments before the MotoGP riders were due to take to the track for the penultimate round of the 20009 season saw the race delayed by 36 minutes, but once the lights went out Stoner proved once again that he is a master of any condition. After taking the lead on the first lap the Australian opened up an advantage of almost four seconds by the end of the second circulation � increasing it lap by lap to over 17 seconds at one point as he stormed to his fourth victory of the season, becoming the first rider ever to win at Sepang from the second row of the grid.



Valentino Rossi made yet another case for the claim that he is the Greatest Roadracer of all time by taking his 9th World Champion title and 7th Premier class crown today after finishing third, behind Dani Pedrosa who put in a valiant effort in second and looked in danger of being passed by his teammate Andrea Dovizioso before he crashed out at 2/3rds distance.

Nicky Hayden also produced an excellent demonstration of wet weather riding as he guided his Desmosedici GP9 to fifth place from seventh on the grid. The American was involved in a series of breathtaking battles throughout the 22-lap affair, passing Loris Capirossi and Toni Elias with his trademark style and determination and fighting to hold off title contenders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. One round remaining at Valencia in two weeks� time, when Stoner and Hayden will look to be amongst the front runners once again.

A Formula lost

Could the Singapore Grand Prix be collateral damage?

Ian De Cotta

Jun 20, 2009

"SHOCKWAVES from the pull-out of eight marquee teams from next season�s Formula 1 are being felt by fans and race organisers across the world, and Singapore is no exception.In the sport�s biggest upheaval in 60 years, the eight teams including the likes of Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes have begun preparing for a rival series, after failing to resolve their dispute with motor sport�s governing body.While this should not affect the rest of the season or Singapore�s second F1 race this September, it would mean that from next year, much of the race�s glamour would be gone - along with legendary personalities such as Ross Brawn, and champions Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.

The Republic is contracted to host the Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix until 2012, and has invested more than $100 million in fees and infrastructure in the first year alone. The annual returns for the economy is estimated to be just as much.How the teams� departure will affect the numbers or whether courting the new series could be an option for Singapore, no one knows yet - and Singapore GP chairman Teo Hock Seng would prefer, for now, to focus on hosting this year�s night race at the Marina Bay Circuit.

�It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the ongoing discussions between the Formula 1 Teams Association (Fota), Formula One Management and the FIA (F�d�ration Internationale de l�Automobile). The exact contractual terms under which the Singapore Grand Prix is staged are confidential,� said Mr Teo. �But we will continue to closely monitor the ongoing developments regarding the 2010 season.

�Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, speaking on the sidelines of the annual Singapore Sports Awards Night on Friday, said: �This is something the teams and the F1 management will have to sort out. We hope they will be able to come to some agreement for the good of motorsport as a whole.

The teams� split from F1 came after talks with the FIA over budget caps and new regulations for next year broke down, on the eve of the British Grand Prix this weekend.The eight outfits, grouped under the Fota umbrella, are Ferrari - a feature in every season since the start of F1 in 1950 - McLaren-Mercedes, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and championship leaders Brawn GP.In starting a rival series, they would deprive the F1 of US$2.2 billion ($3.2 billion), which industry research monitor Formula Money estimates is their total yearly investment in the sport.

The bone of contention is a voluntary budget cap of US$40 million on technical developments the FIA is introducing for the 2010 season, to put the brakes on costs. The teams� breakaway has escalated calls for FIA president Max Mosley to step down, with former world champion Jackie Stewart saying: �A lot of people are kind of fed up with his dictatorial attitude.�

Will race turnout crash?Fans in Singapore were shocked. Property investor Denis Chang, who splurged close to $2,000 tickets for this year�s race, said it would not be the same without Ferrari and McLaren. �They have a big pull and I can�t imagine going to an F1 race without seeing them on the track,� he said.

But Bruno Gillet ( That's me !! ) , who travels to races in Australia and Malaysia, isn�t giving up on F1 yet. �I don�t know if the teams can set up their own series. It will be difficult. F1 is still the world championship, so I won�t give it a miss,� he said.

Malaysian organisers are worried the split will add to the impact of the woeful economic climate on turnout.�My paymaster, the Malaysian government, is concerned how it will affect the Grand Prix in Sepang,� said Sepang International Circuit chairman Mokhzani Mahathir. �We have a contract with Bernie to hold the FIA F1 race until 2015 and it says he will deliver. �What will turn up on the grid next year, we don�t know, but without the big names, it will definitely affect crowd attendance.�

But Drew Ward, chief executive of Australian Grand Prix Corporation, is not too worried that a Ferrari-less series will upset plans to stage the season opener in Melbourne early next year. They will work with F1 rights holder Bernie Ecclestone to make it a success.�This is not the first time a new championship has been proposed and it is not unusual for threats like this to be made by the teams in F1,� said Mr Ward. Mr Ecclestone has so far refrained from commenting, and could still play a role in bringing the teams back into the fold, thinks journalist Fredrik Petersens, who has attended every race since the mid-1970s.�It happened in 2000 when the same teams threatened to start a new series and then Bernie brought Ferrari to heel, and the rest followed. �Right now, it is all words and posturing, so we haven�t seen what Bernie might do.�";

Red Bull Formula Unas

The world�s first night race on September 28 witnessed many firsts for Singapore, including hosting its very first F1 programme tailored exclusively for ladies � the Red Bull La Formula Una Program.
This annual event that is held exclusively by Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso � the two Red Bull-owned teams, which are the only Formula One teams with a dedicated program for the females. The programme offers a once-a-lifetime opportunity to rub shoulders with the who�s who in the world of Formula One, and to experience the sport in ways that will make the men green with envy.
VIP treatment is guaranteed both on and off track as the ladies, who will be handpicked by a panel of mystery judges, can expect four days of non-stop heady action, access to exclusive parties and glamorous fun. In addition, the agenda includes exclusive access to the F1 Paddock, pit garage tours, photo shoots, media interviews and possibly even the chance to dine with the RBR and STR drivers.

SINGAPORE FORMULA UNAS LADIES

MALAYSIA FORMULA UNAS LADIES

JAPAN FORMULA UNAS LADIES