Ferrari's Tantrum....

Ferrari threaten to pull out of F1 unless their demands are met

Ferrari on Tuesday threatened to pull out of next season's Formula One championship unless the International Automobile Federation (FIA) backs down on proposals for controversial rules changes.
Following a meeting of Ferrari's Board of Directors, organised by president Luca di Montezemolo at the team's base in Maranello, the team said it would not continue in F1 unless the FIA reverses a decision to set a budget cap of 40 million pounds (44.8 million euros) on teams' spending next season.
"The Board of Directors examined developments related to recent decisions taken by the FIA during an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on 29 April 2009," a Ferrari statement in English said.
"Although this meeting was originally called only to examine a disciplinary matter, the decisions taken mean that, for the first time ever in Formula One, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters.
"The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula One in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari's uninterrupted participation in the World Championship over the last 60 years -- the only constructor to have taken part ever since its inception in 1950 -- would come to a close.

"The Board also expressed its disappointment about the methods adopted by the FIA in taking decisions of such a serious nature and its refusal to effectively reach an understanding with constructors and teams.
"The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula One over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations.
"The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula One are the priorities for the future.
"If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula One World Championship.
"Ferrari trusts that its many fans worldwide will understand that this difficult decision is coherent with the Scuderia's approach to motor sport and to Formula One in particular, always seeking to promote its sporting and technical values.
"The Chairman of the Board of Directors was mandated to evaluate the most suitable ways and methods to protect the company's interests."
Earlier this month Max Mosley, the FIA chief, suggested F1 could without Ferrari, the sport's most famous, successful, and longest-tenured team.

And F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said prior to Tuesday's statement he believed Ferrari would not quit F1, telling the Times: "Ferrari are not stupid. They don't want to leave Formula 1 and we don't want to lose them, so we'll get to grips with it."
However on the controversial budget issue Ferrari are not alone.
Red Bull gave a similar ultimatum a couple of days earlier, and Toyota have also voiced opposition.
"If the proposed rules for 2010 stay unchanged, we will not take part in the 2010 championship," Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of the drinks company which backs the team, told the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper.
"Teams of manufacturers will no longer take part. Of the teams now, only two or three will remain," added the Red Bull chief who also runs sister team Toro Rosso.
Under the proposed voluntary budget cap, those teams who spend below the figure will be able to take advantage of various technical benefits which are currently banned under current specifications.

On Saturday, Japanese team Toyota said they too would consider their future in the sport with many teams unhappy with the two-tier budget cap system in 2010.
"Under the rules as they are published, we cannot submit an entry," Toyota president John Howett said earlier.

On Thursday, Williams technical chief Patrick Head had expressed his fears over the risk of a "two-tier championship".

Panasonic Toyota - Australian GP Preview

Australian Grand Prix - Preview

Panasonic Toyota Racing heads Down Under this weekend for the Australian Grand Prix on the street circuit at Albert Park; the first round of the 2009 Formula 1 season. The new TF109 car has completed 21 test days and around 10,000km kilometres since its first official test on 19 January, including a four-day test with the Australian Grand Prix aerodynamic package in Barcelona earlier this month. These tests produced very promising results so the team makes the 16,000km journey from Germany to Australia full of optimism. Jarno Trulli made his Formula 1 debut at Albert Park in 1997 while Timo Glock's first race with Toyota was in Melbourne last year, the fifth Grand Prix of his career.In 2008 neither Jarno nor Timo finished the Australian Grand Prix so a significant improvement is expected this time around.

Jarno Trulli - Car 9

"Melbourne is a great place to visit and the Australian Grand Prix is always good fun. As a Formula 1 driver you really want to race so I am pleased the season is starting and we can get on with the competition. I am totally fired up for this season and I am feeling very positive about our chances. The TF109 is the best Toyota I have driven in pre-season testing; it feels stable and gives the driver confidence but more importantly it seems to be pretty quick, even though it's hard to make too many judgements based on testing. We made a big step last year, proving we can fight for podiums and finish regularly in the top six so I am hoping for another step forward this year. We have more experience now and the team has worked really hard for a long time on the TF109 - we are ready for the season and I am raring to go."

Timo Glock - Car 10

"It's very exciting to be going to the first race this year because the big changes to the technical regulations for 2009 give Toyota a good opportunity to fight at the front. It's really hard to predict because you don't know what other teams are working on in testing but I know our programme and the results we have seen are very encouraging. Testing has gone really well and I have a good feeling for the new car. It's a different emotion to be starting my second year with Toyota compared to 2008 because now I am much more familiar with the team and I feel I can really start the season strongly. Last year it took a few races to find the right direction for me in terms of set-up but I don't expect that to be a problem this season. Australia is anyway one of my favourite places to visit so I can't wait to get to Melbourne and get the season started."

Kovalainen takes first F1 race after Massa bows out

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- McLaren driver, Heikki Kovalainen won his first Formula One race Sunday after an engine problem forced Felipe Massa out of the Hungarian Grand Prix with three laps to go.

Massa overtook Kovalainen and pole sitter Lewis Hamilton at the start and was heading for his fourth win of the season after Hamilton dropped out of contention with a tire puncture. But the Brazilian's Ferrari engine overheated toward the end and Kovalainen took an 11-second victory over Timo Glock of Toyota.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton came in fifth for McLaren and stretched his lead over Raikkonen in the overall standings to five points.

Kovalainen -- greeted by chants of "Heikki" from the large Finnish contingent in the stands -- became the 100th driver to win a Formula One race.

When Kovalainen crossed the line, team boss Ron Dennis told him over the radio: "Welcome to the world of winning. The first of many. Well done."

Kovalainen's win allowed Hamilton, coming off two dramatic victories at the British and German GPs, to stay atop F1's standings -- and eight points ahead of Massa, whose confident start left the McLaren drivers stranded.

Kovalainen said this week that he wouldn't help Hamilton even with his British teammate leading the title challenge, and that showed in his limp start that allowed Massa to pass easily on the outside.

Massa and Hamilton raced side-by-side into the first turn -- Massa even locking up his brakes at one point -- before the Brazilian stuck to his position to pull ahead and nudge out Hamilton around the second corner.

The two were out front on their own. Massa and Hamilton pitted within a lap of each other with Massa enjoying a three-second edge after the first round of stops at the 113-degree track.

Massa's lead was around three seconds as he edged Hamilton over the final two sectors of the twisting circuit before Hamilton's puncture left the race Massa's to lose. Hamilton had most of the 2.722-mile circuit to navigate before a tire change and re-emerged 10th.

Kovalainen, who will partner with Hamilton again in 2009, moved to within 7.5 seconds with laps running down on the 70-lap race.

Glock secured his first podium after overtaking Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber at the start. Kubica, with at least 25,000 Polish fans cheering him on, crossed the finish line in eighth for his worst result of the season to trail Hamilton by 13 points.

The teams and drivers have three weeks before the next race Aug. 24 -- the inaugural Valencia GP.

AP

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO EDIT - BRITAIN HIGHLIGHTS

Here comes the Video replay of the British Grand Prix.

Masterful driving by Hamilton and great 3rd Place for Barrichello & Toyota

Watch it Here

French Grand Prix - Magny Cours

It all goes wrong for Hamilton in France

McLaren�s Lewis Hamilton always knew he was going to have a tough weekend at Magny-Cours, after picking up a ten-place grid penalty for his pit-lane misdemeanour in Canada, but he probably didn�t think it would be quite this tough.Even starting 13th, Hamilton was at least hoping for points, but after 70 laps of the French Grand Prix circuit the Englishman trailed home a lowly tenth, thanks in large part to a drive-through penalty for straight-lining Turn Seven on lap one as he completed a pass on Toro Rosso�s Sebastian Vettel.Hamilton - and McLaren - believed he had already completed the pass before being forced wide over the chicane, but the stewards disagreed and decided he had gained an advantage. When he took the penalty on lap 13, he dropped from P9 to P13, effectively ending his chances of a top-eight finish.The only consolation for McLaren was a storming drive from Heikki Kovalainen, who himself had taken a five-place grid drop for impeding another driver during qualifying. The Finn came from tenth on the grid to finish fourth, with only some excellent defensive driving from Toyota�s Jarno Trulli keeping him off the podium.The result means Hamilton drops to fourth place in the drivers� championship on 38 points, 10 behind new leader Felipe Massa, while Kovalainen lies sixth on 20.

Stunning Trulli putsToyota back on the podium

Toyota proved their return to form in Montreal a fortnight ago was no stroke of luck in Magny-Cours on Sunday, as Jarno Trulli secured the team�s first podium for three years. Trulli crossed the finish line third behind the dominant Ferraris of race winner Felipe Massa and second-placed Kimi Raikkonen.Toyota arrived in France motivated by their fourth and sixth in Canada and on Saturday the TF108�s strong pace continued, with Trulli and team mate Timo Glock both making it through to Q3. As Sunday�s race got underway things only got better. After a strong start, during which Trulli was able to pass the Renault of Fernando Alonso, the Italian settled into third, a position he had to work very hard to defend from McLaren�s Heikki Kovalainen late in the race."What a great result and a great weekend by the whole team,� said Trulli. �Today was a great race, hard and tough. We had a good pace, even if we had to battle with some cars that were quicker than us. When the rain came at the end I had to take care because it's always difficult to judge how bad it is when you're in front.�But I got back into a rhythm and had a wheel-to-wheel fight with Heikki, just like in go-karts. The team made no mistakes this weekend, from the people in the factory who made the new parts on the car to the mechanics who did perfect pit stops today. There's still more to do but today we can be very satisfied. The team is doing a great job, the car is much more competitive and everyone is motivated. Things are moving on."Trulli�s podium is the Japanese team�s first since Ralf Schumacher finished third in the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix and the Italian�s first since that year�s Spanish race. The strong result was a fitting tribute to the team�s former principal Ove Andersson, who was killed recently during an historic car rally in South Africa."This is a fantastic day for everyone involved with Toyota Motorsport,� said Toyota team president John Howett. �It was our first podium for a long time so we dedicate it to Ove Andersson, who did so much for the team and will be greatly missed. "Congratulations to everyone involved both at the factory and in the race and test teams who have worked hard to improve the car. Of course we must now keep pushing really hard because our pace is still not matching the front-runners but we can be hugely satisfied with this result."Although Glock eventually finished outside the points in 11th, Trulli�s haul of six extends Toyota's points' tally to 23 and bolsters their fifth-place in the championship standings. The team are now just one point adrift of fourth-placed Red Bull.

Ex-Toyota F1 team principal dies in crash

Former Swedish rally driver and Toyota Formula 1 team principal, Ove Andersson, 70, died Wednesday in a car crash in South Africa's Western Cape province, SAPA news agency reported.
SAPA quoted Motorsports South Africa boss Beaulah Schoeman as saying that the accident happened outside Oudtshoorn where Andersson had been taking part in the Milligan Car Vintage Rally.
"Details of the accident are unclear, but it would appear that a head-on collision took place 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside of Oudtshoorn when an oncoming vehicle veered into their lane," she said.
Andersson died on impact.
"He has had many achievements in motorsport," said Schoeman, highlighting that he finished third in Monte Carlo and in San Remo in 1963 and in 1967 came second in the Monte Carlo and in the Acropolis Rally.
A year later he came second in the Tulip Rally driving a Ford Escort.
In 1971, he won four rounds of the World Rally Championship, driving for Renault Alpine.
He started rallying for Toyota in 1972 and spent the rest of his career with the Japanese firm.
Under his leadership, Toyota successfully competed in the World Rally Championship, winning four drivers' and three manufacturers' championships, a statement on Formula 1 website said.
Andersson, who also managed the Toyota Formula One Team, which made its debut in 2002, moved to South Africa late last year

Another Stunning Race At Sepang - Malaysia

REIGNING world champion Kimi Raikkonen could not have chosen a better venue to spark a fight-back for Ferrari in the F1 World Championships.
It was at the Sepang F1 Circuit in 2003 where Raikkonen bagged his first Grand Prix victory and the Finn repeated the feat by winning the 10th edition of the Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix in commanding fashion yesterday.
While Raikkonen romped to a trouble-free victory, winning the 56-lap race by nearly 20 seconds, his McLaren rival, Lewis Hamilton, endured a torrid afternoon.

Hamilton, winner of the season-opening Australian GP last week, finished in fifth place after a pit-stop mistake by his crew delayed him by nearly 20 seconds.
Polish driver Robert Kubica gave BMW Sauber their first ever podium finish in Sepang in second place behind Raikkonen. He finished the race in 1'31:38.155 and it was his career best performance in F1 thus far.
Heikki Kovalainen restored some pride for the battered McLaren when he fought his way to third place in 1'31:57.005 after starting from eighth on the grid.
But the day certainly belonged to his more illustrious Finnish compatriot, who was in a class of his own.
Raikkonen took the lead after the first pit stop from Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa, who later spun off on the 30th lap.
Massa had started from pole ahead of Raikkonen and was in a position to give Ferrari a 1-2 finish but lost the back end of his Ferrari and spun off into the gravel.
Raikkonen had already built up a lead of four seconds by then and it was just a steady cruise home for the Finn.
Raikkonen�s win cut Hamilton's lead in the drivers' standings to three points after two races and the Finn, who seldom smiled to the cameras, had reasons to flash a big grin after the podium celebrations.
The victory was also Ferrari's fifth in Sepang and the first since Michael Schumacher won in 2004.
More importantly, Ferrari will see it as a boost to their championship aspirations after Raikkonen suffered from engine trouble and failed to finish the race in Melbourne. He was only classified in eighth place and picked up one point after Honda's Rubens Barrichello was disqualified for exiting the pit lane while the light was still red.
�For sure we had quite a difficult weekend in Australia when I didn't really expect to have such difficulties,� said Raikkonen.
�We were not 100% sure that things would be different here. We knew that speed wise, we would be fine, even in Australia the speed should have been fine. But everything worked perfectly here and we took it easy to make sure nothing went wrong.
�We saved the engine. It was a perfect job by the team to come back. But I would have been happier if Felipe got second but things went wrong.�
Massa said that he still did not know what happened to the car and said they would get to the bottom of the matter.
�I just lost the car completely when the rear came round suddenly,� said Massa, who was also on pole in the Malaysian GP last year.
Hamilton was not pleased with the outcome of the race despite finishing among the points. Also not helping his cause was the fact that his water dispenser failed to work during the race.

�I was very thirsty. We were in with a good shot for third place and then had trouble with the pit-stop. I pressed hard for fourth, I really wanted that point, but it wasn't to be,� said the Briton.
Sebastien Bourdais had some mechanical problems sending him in the gravel at the first lap.
And that concluded another very hot Racing week-end here in Sepang. I will upload my pics later today for your viewing pleasure.

TOYOTA F1 Mail Magazine

New languages live now =================================================================

And today�. �we are happy to announce that the French and Spanish websites are now live. www.toyota-f1.com is the only place to find the latest official news from Panasonic Toyota Racing, direct from the race track or the factory, including exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

Now you can access these pages in French or Spanish, either directly through http://www.toyota-f1.com/public/fr/index.html or http://www.toyota-f1.com/public/es/index.html or by using the language links on our homepage. To receive our regular newsletters in your chosen language please click on the 'Newsletter' link, cancel your current English newsletter by clicking on 'unsubscribe' and enter your email address. Then, click the 'subscribe' box, select your preferred language and enter your email address.
From the next newsletter onwards you will receive the newsletter in your chosen language.

New wallpapers have been uploaded for you; we hope you enjoy them and we look forward to sharing more exciting innovations with you.
From Australia you will also receive our regular race update reports, starting from Thursday, so you can keep up to date with all the on-track action involving Panasonic Toyota Racing.

TOYOTA F1 Mail Magazine

New languages live soon! Buenos dias and bonjour,

The new Formula 1 season is nearly upon us and Panasonic Toyota Racing is delighted to be able to share the excitement in Spanish and French on our official website, www.toyota-f1.com.
A new season brings new anticipation and new drivers, with Jarno Trulli joined by Timo Glock and Kamui Kobayashi, and French or Spanish-speaking fans of Panasonic Toyota Racing can get all the latest official news soon. With 32 nationalities working under one roof at our factory in Cologne, Germany, Panasonic Toyota Racing is truly a United Nations of Formula 1 and www.toyota-f1.com is becoming ever more international.
This latest upgrade means fans can now stay up to date with all the latest press releases hot off the press from the track or the factory, as well as our regular behind the scenes features, in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Apart from those regular updates, our multilingual website also has all the information you need about our team, including profiles of our drivers and top management and details of the TF108, the car which carries our team�s hopes for the new season.
If you would like to receive your regular Panasonic Toyota Racing newsletter in another language, please visit www.toyota-f1.com and click on the 'Newsletter' link.
Firstly, cancel your current English newsletter by clicking on 'unsubscribe' and entering your email address. Then, click the 'subscribe' box, select your preferred language and enter your email address. From the next newsletter onwards you will then receive the newsletter in your chosen language.

TWO FERRARIS LEAD THE WAY IN VALENCIA TEST

F1.

First official test day for Ferrari today, along with another 10 teams (Super Aguri only one missing) that will take part in the 2008 F1 championship. At the 'Ricardo Tormo' track in Valencia, the F2008 led the way.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa mainly focused on the general set-up of the F2008, and had no technical problems whatsoever. Massa set the fastest lap today, 1'12"182, Kimi followed with 1'12"721.
Just a few laps for the shake-down of the new Williams FW30, with Nico Rosberg taking third, with 1'12"838.
Fourth and fifth for McLaren Mercedes, respectively with Heikki Kovalainen, 1'13"026 and Pedro De La Rosa, 1'13"163.
Sixth place for Fernando Alonso on the Renault R28 (1'13"316 and 133 laps).
Kazuki Nakajima on the Williams FW29 took 7th, followed by Sebastian Vattel on Toro Rosso, Marko Asmer on BMW Sauber, Nick Heidfeld on F1.08, Jarno Trulli on the Toyota TF108, David Coulthard on the Red Bull RB4 and Timo Glock on Toyota.
More tests are due tomorrow. Ferrari will field Raikkonen and Massa again.

TOYOTA F1 Mail Magazine

Panasonic Toyota Racing pre-season event to be shown live on-line

======================================================================

Panasonic Toyota Racing is pleased to confirm it will broadcast live coverage on the internet of its pre-season event on Thursday 10 January from the team's technical centre in Cologne, Germany.

To ensure all media and fans do not miss a minute of the official unveiling of the new TF108 car, the event will be shown live on www.toyota-f1.com from 10.30 until around 11.10.
As well as the unveiling of the new TF108, top management from Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic Toyota Racing will be joined by race drivers Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli and third driver Kamui Kobayashi on stage to discuss the 2008 season.

for more information, please visit our website :http://www.toyota-f1.com