David Coulthard ahead of the Force India he didn't hit at Valencia

A round up of interesting F1 blog posts and news items from the past few days.

Including rumours of unhappiness at Force India, David Coulthard being urged to quit F1 sooner rather than later, and one fan who really, really likes Peter Windsor…

Tensions at Force India – Problems for Mike Gascoyne at Force India sound rather similar to those he had at Toyota: “The relationships within the team have been deteriorating gradually in recent months and, despite the long-delayed arrival of the team’s seamless gearshift, we hear that they have now got to a point at which action is necessary. It seems that this will boil down to a decision between team principal Kolles and engineer Mike Gascoyne.”

Revenue from F1 puts Hilton out in front – McLaren’s backer Hilton is taking its sponsorship model into other sports.

Lewis Hamilton Takes Second In European Formula One – “There are very few things that will get me outta bed at 4:30 AM, and Peter Windsor is one of them.” A big fan of Speed TV/F1 Racing’s pundit Peter Windsor.

Ferrari F2008 – revised sidepod chimneys and winglets – Kimi Raikkonen’s pit stop damaged the chimey and winglets on the rights hand side of his car. Did that cause his retirement? (Thanks Sumedh)

Ferrari confirm breakage of con rod caused engine failure of Raikkonen – According to Ferrari a con rod failure put Raikkonen out, similar to that which ended Massa’s race at Hungary.

Time has come for David Coulthard to call it quits – The Times’s Ed Gorman thinks David Coulthard should quit before the end of the season.

Dino Vittorio Marcellinus Toso – A fine and moving tribute to the Renault aerodynamicist Dino Toso, who passed away last week (sub. req.).

Massa Finally Showed Some Muscle – “F1 is like a procession of expensive cars. No overtaking maneuvers were done during the entire race except for the one Coulthard pulled over a Honda car and the front runners lapping the bottom dwellers.”

How KERS will ruin great racing – “The teams that were lucky enough to strike on the right technique first time will crush their opponents. Closer racing in 2009? Don’t count on it. Make the most of the great racing of 2008 while you can.”

Hamilton reveals how flu nearly cost him European GP points – “He said the neck pain was so bad that he was struggling to stand, and was forced to resort to pain-killing injections as well as support from his trainer.”

Valencia GP2 race reports from Maximum Motorsport:
Feature race: Title rivals Pantano and Senna stop on final lap at Valencia
Sprint race: Di Grassi lucks in to win as Pantano extends title lead

Brands Hatch has attracted complaints about noise from residents

Donington Park’s planning application is expected ‘within weeks’ but the circuit owners are refusing to discuss their plans for the 2010 British Grand Prix. What’s going on?

Plus as British circuits like Brands Hatch face increasing pressure friom neighbours over noise restrictions one group is petitioning the British parliament to change the law. Read these stories and more below.

Paperwork over race track plans is ‘imminent’ – Leicester County Council claims it is willing to work with the track’s owners over plans to move the British Grand Prix in 2010, but says it has not heard from them yet.

Am I the only one? – Are F1 fans as passionate as football fans?

Photographs – Why Pau is a more romantic setting for a race than Bahrain.

An Olympics motorsports category – A motorsports category might make the Olympics interesting. Maybe.

Speed satisfied with abortive F1 career – Scott Speed practices the “lower your expectations to the point where they’re already met” principle.

Petition to protect motor racing (and other events) from protests from new resident – Support efforts to protect circuits and motor racing events from NIMBYs. In Britain many racing tracks face often onerous limits on when they can be used due to complaints from locals, many of whom moved to the area long after motor racing began nearby.

Is Felipe Massa championship material – Massa – only great when the going’s good?

New rules likely to spread out field – Changes for 2009 should make wheel-to-wheel racing closer but will it also increase the differences in performance within the field?

Shakedown running ongoing – F1 teams doing shakedown tests between Grands Prix .

F1 at Eastern Creek unlikely – Doubt over rumoured F1 move to Eastern Creek.

ESPN continues digital expansion with Racing-Live.com – ESPN buys F1-live.com and sister sites (reg. req.).

Brundle escapes penalty for live gaffe – Ofcom accepts Brundle did not mean to cause offence during the Canadian Grand Prix, only 36 people complaied.

If you want to keep track of what I’m reading and share articles with me you can find me on StumbleUpon. Already using StumbleUpon? You can write a review of F1 Fanatic.

Rain turned the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix into a thriller

Here’s a selection of F1-related highlights I’ve found on the web in the past week or so – could we be in for more wet weather action at the Hungaroring?

Plus Michael Schumacher has an altercation with a pedestrian, the strange reason behind Timo Glock’s huge crash in the German Grand Prix, Emerson Fittipaldi on Brazilian drivers in Formula 1 and more rumours about Alonso going to Ferrari.

Unsettled conditions forecast for Hungary – “Thunderstorms are forecast on Saturday and Sunday when it will be 32 degrees again.”

David Coulthard column – Coulthard on Toyota: “I didn’t hear of any investigation into the structural integrity of the Toyota – but presumably that will happen because when we had a suspension breakage in Malaysia we came under the spotlight of the FIA in a way that was publicly uncomfortable for the team.”

Damaged track road caused Glock’s accident – This is strange – I can’t remember the last time I heard damage from a previous incident had caused a failure in an F1 car in a later event after the car had been checked.

A chat with ‘Emmo’ – Emerson Fittipaldi on Brazilians in F1: “It’s time Brazil had more drivers at the top of the sport.” Is three not enough?

Michael Schumacher ran me over… in a van – Seven times champion ‘clipped’ a pedestrian while driving a Fiat Ducato.

FIA give Hamilton’s engine the all-clear – Lewis Hamilton had been the first driver to have his engine subject to new FIA inspections, and it passed.

In defence of the Hungaroring – My latest piece for F1-Pitlane.

Rumours about Alonso – More speculation Alonso could be at Ferrari in 2010 – or even 2009.

The wetter the better – Should every F1 race be held on a wet track?

Is it wheely true? – Bridgestone tyre rules aren’t working, says Alex.

F1 people – Juan Manuel Fangio – Sidepodcast’s latest series on major F1 figures has just finished – essential listening.

Horner fears KERS will halt RBR rise – Red Bull unhappy with cost and complexity of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems.

Mark Hughes unravels KERS – More KERS analysis.

Valencia granted FIA track licence – Valencia gets FIA approval. Also several GP2 driver used last weekend’s GT and F3 races to drive the circuit in preparation. Apparently none of the F1 drivers thought it was worth getting a few reconaissance laps in.

Hamilton expects Singapore to be tricky – Hamilton on Singapore: “what I’ll do is get there early and run around the circuit and walk around it with my engineers. Maybe the street will be open to the public and so we can drive around. Really just making sure I’ve covered everything, all the bumps and curves.”

Heikki faces up to Hamilton’s genius – Alan Henry on how Lewis Hamilton reminds him of Michael Schumacher

Dennis denies Kovalainen support role – Ron Dennis on having two equal-status drivers: “It’s the way everyone goes motor racing these days.”

McLaren confirm Kovalainen for 2009 – Just a one year extension for Kovalainen. See the updated 2009 F1 drivers and teams list.

Want to share an F1 link with me? Find me on StumbleUpon or contact me via the Contact Form.

Nigel Mansell winning at Hockenheim 16 years ago

A round up of highlights from F1 blogs and other sites including: Is Nigel Mansell about to make another comeback to international motor sport? How would the 1994 season have ended if Ayrton Senna hadn’t been killed?

And why is Ralf Schumacher struggling so badly in the DTM?

The encounter down under: An alternative version of the 1994 Formula 1 season – What would have happened if Ayrton Senna hadn’t died? One reader of this blog is writing a book looking at how the 1994 season might have turned out.

An interview with Ana Beatriz and Justin Wilson – Justin Wilson on being in Indy Cars since leaving F1: “I really enjoy the lifestyle and the type of racing over here in America. I find it a lot less politics involved. There’s still quite a bit, but that’s going to be racing no matter where you go. But it’s more down to getting in the car and racing and making the most of it. We all have the same equipment, same engine, the same tires, and I like being able to compete every weekend. So right now, no, I really enjoy it here and don’t miss Formula One.”

A hack looks back – the German Grand Prix – Mike Doodson reminisces about Germand GPs past.

McLaren-Fahrer besuchen das Technology-Center – Excellent video from inside the McLaren technology centre.

BRDC members rebel at Silverstone – British Racing Drivers Club split over future of Silverstone after apparently losing F1.

Who will win Sports Personality? – Hamilton heads sports personality nomination after finishing second last year.

Unstoppable Rafa II – Is Lewis Hamilton ‘privileged’? An interesting discussion.

When team mates fight – Famous team mate rivalries in F1. More here: Ten best team mate rivalries.

The Cahier Archive – Pictures by famous F1 photographer Bernard Cahier who has died aged 91.

T in the Park festial news – Eddie Jordan’s band plays at T in the Park.

Motor racing returns to Morocco after 50 years – The last international motor race in Morocco was 1958 world championship title decider, which went to Mike Hawthorn.

Nigel Mansell considering sports car comeback with sons? – 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell considering a racing return. More from Maximum Motorsport: Ralf Schumacher’s DTM switch isn’t going well.

A quick round-up of intersting articles and features I’ve found on F1 blogs and other sites recently.

Includes retro German backmarkers, problems with next year’s calendar, and gratuitous shots of Dan Gurney getting air at the Nürburgirng.

German Jalopies – An interesting article on Germany’s short-lived F1 teams of the 1980s – ATS, Zakspeed and Rial.

Daily Mail Watch – An interesting cross-section of non-F1 fans’ opinions of the Mosley scandal.

Thirteen ways to spray victory champagne – Champagne-squirting fun!

Anthony Davidson and Felipe Massa – My latest article for F1 Pitlane.

Silverstone weekend – Photo-journal of a weekend at the British Grand Prix.

Planning permission in England – More on the problems facing Donington.

Italian press slams Ferrari after British Grand Prix – “Cold shower for Ferrari. The weather forecasting betrayed Maranello, but McLaren is more reactive and flexible in difficult conditions.” – How often have we seen the names “Ferrari” and “McLaren” reversed in phrases like that?

Teams worried about 09 calendar – Length of 19-race calendar a problem for teams. F1 has only had 19 races in a season once before, in 2005.

On delayed penalties – Clive argues for a re-thinking of the driver penalties system.

Caught in time: John Watson wins the British Grand Prix, 1981 – Flashback to John Watson’s aurprise British Grand Prix win in 1981.

Who do F1 people admire? – Ernest Hemingway and Max Planck are among the heroes of the McLaren F1 team.

Lewis, the media and dealing with fame – Mark Hughes on Lewis Hamilton’s criticism of the media

FIA defends F1 plans amid ridicule – “They’re playing with our lives and our careers” said a GP2 team boss over the doubt surrounding the FIA’s plans to create a Formula 2 championship.

In context from F1 to F3 – Doctorvee makes a brave attempt at disentangling the various routes into Formula 1 from other championships.

Moment Of Zen: All-American Racer Flying Over The Ring – Gorgeous picture of Dan Gurney getting air in an Eagle Weslake at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

A quick round-up of links I’ve bookmarked on StumbleUpon this week including bad sportsmanship in F1, Ferrari building a new simulator, and British winners of their home race. Read on for more.

Top 10 displays of bad sportsmanship – F1 is in the top two places. Still think Senna’s on Prost was worse than Schumacher’s on Hill, but that wasn’t against a British driver was it?

Read more about the 1994 F1 season: 1994 F1 season history

Do you know this man? Max does – Mohammad Bin Sulayem played a big role in Max Mosley’s survival during the FIA sex candal.

The British winners of the British Grand Prix – Excellent new series from Ollie on British drivers who won their home race.

Moog tapped to produce Ferrari simulator – Ferrari to produce a Formula 1 simulator to rival McLaren’s.

Renault R26 Formula One car on video – Sky drive Alonso’s motor.

Blame Whitmarsh, not Hamilton, for recent mistakes – Fifth Decade lies the blame for Hamilton’s disastrous form in the last two races at the feet of McLaren COO Martin Whitmarsh.

Juan Pablo Montoya: NASCAR is better than F1 – The Times is now running free adverts for NASCAR. This story from page 69 of Monday’s newspaper features the phrase “Sky Sports has exclusive coverage of each Nascar race for the next two years”. Sky Sports and The Times are both owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

Trulli stops in at MIS – Jarno Trulli on NASCAR: “It’s not so easy as people think. Juan is having a bit of a hard time. The racing is very tough.”

Podium to push Toyota further forward – “It is also a true podium finish – there was no race incident involved. So it was really our position.” I was glad to see Toyota take a podium at such a sad time for a team but let’s not kid ourselves – had Heikki Kovalainen started where he should he would not have ended the race behind Jarno Trulli.

Sebastien Bourdais – Interview with Sebastien Bourdais where he gives a glimpse of how Toro Rosso is different from McLaren.

GPDA: Union or Lobby Group – Drivers’ threat of strike is another sign the FIA’s unilateral power is not good for F1, argues F1 Underground.

F1 2008 – Halfway through the championship, who’s going to win it?

Ferrari launches new magazine, next phase of ‘Formula Oumo’ – Pics of Ferrari’s ultra-exclusive owners’ magazine.

F1 clubs survey – I had an email from Daniel Schaffer asking if I could publicise his F1 clubs survey.

If you want to keep track of what I’m reading and share articles with me you can find me on StumbleUpon. Already using StumbleUpon? You can write a review of F1 Fanatic.

On Maximum Motorsport this week I took a look at the 28 former Formula 1 drivers who are competing in the famous Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend.

Elsewhere on the web changes to Magny-Cours, an top 25 drivers feature with an interesting slant, and 40 years since McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory.

F1 drivers in the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours – The 28 former F1 drivers in this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours including Marc Gene who survived a shocking crash in practice when his car flipped into a barrier (video here).

For more on the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours visit Maximum Motorsport

BMW: Toyota’s worst nightmare – BMW embarass Toyota by becoming a winning team within two and a half years. Of course, they did take over an existing team, whereas Toyota started from scratch.

The final five could all have been No. 1, but only Foyt gets the prize – Attempting to do a top 25 racing drivers across all disciplines is ambitious and the selections in this list by ESPN have quite a heavy American slant. But Dale Earnhardt ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio?

Fox bites – A lot of people on the Canadian Grand Prix Live Blog were complaining about the standard of Fox’s coverage.

Stupidity from Canada does not apply to Hamilton – Grand Prix Diary thought McLaren’s complaint about Lewis Hamilton’s penalty was misguided…

Red lights and safety cars – …and in reaction to the above article Checkpoint 10 argues for the safety car to be dropped.

About that safety car pit stop by Button – Eagle-eyed Sidepodcast spotted why Jenson Button didn’t get a penalty in Canada.

Grand Prix brings human trafficking and sex trade to Montreal: activists – Can’t see Max Mosley having a problem with that. Speaking of him…

How an MI5′s involvement in a sex-scandal led to a high-speed car chase through London – More on the Mosley scandal.

Why Lewis shouldn’t forget his time in Montreal this year – Craig thinks Hamilton needs to learn how to learn.

McLaren’s first GP victory 40 years on – They had little to celebrate last weekend but Monday marked 40 years since McLaren’s maiden victory in F1.

Achitect competition to modernise Magny-Cours – Bernie Ecclestone may be determined to drop it, but Magny-Cours is going to get an overhaul following an architecture competition.

Dennis awarded Prince Philip Medal – Award for McLaren’s Ron Dennis.

A race calendar of old – Article by me for F1-Pitlane on how many races F1 drivers used to do. In 1958 Strling Moss did 10 Gradns prix and 30 other races!

If you want to keep track of what I’m reading and share articles with me you can find me on StumbleUpon.

A selection of highlights from F1 blogs and news sites including speculation on Kimi Raikkonen retiring at the end of the year.

Plus the latest on the new Valencia and Singapore street tracks, Lewis Hamilton samples a hard-tuned Porsche. and Niki Lauda appears on a chat show with a difference.

Kimi Raikkonen to retire this year – There has been speculation for some time that Kimi Raikkonen would not stay at Ferrari if he won a second world championship this year. Following the claims that Fernando Alonso has signed for Ferrari for 2009 these rumours have returned.

Italian press go hard on Kimi Raikkonen – La Gazzetta della Sport wrote: “Raikkonen: slow and dizzy. In some races he is simply not there,” which is not the first time the Italian paper have criticised Ferrari’s world champion.

Good to be King: Lewis Hamilton borrows TechArt Porsche for LA Trip – McLaren’s engine suppliers Mercedes might not be too impressed to see him driving one of their number one rival’s products.

A reflection on test drivers – Should rookie drivers spend time as F1 testers before getting race seats?

Days of wonder: Pheonix getting rooked on the Grand Prix? – Bernie Ecclestone’s indifferent attitude to F1 in America hasn’t changed much in 18 years as this article on the problems faced by the organisers of the race at Pheonix shows.

Kidnap victim hosts talk show – Niki Lauda to be interviewed by former Austrian eight-year kidnap victim Natasha Kamputsch.

La Telemetria – A video that features Pedro de la Rosa explaining (in Spanish) McLaren’s telemetry with some insightful behind-the-scenes footage.

Whiting happy with Valencia street circuit – The Valencia street track gets approval from FIA safety inspector Charlie Whiting ahead of this year’s European Grand Prix.

The F1 world will watch Singapore – Mark Webber enthuses about the Singapore Grand Prix circuit.

Maybe winning is their next task – Christine has a healthy dose of scepticism about Honda’s ‘green’ benchmarking

The tales behind Neil Trundle - A chat with Neil Trundle, former cohort of Ron Dennis

Video: The five greatest Champ Car moments – Featuring ex-F1 drivers Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mark Blundell, Juan Pablo Montoya and more.

Here’s some of my latest picks from the world of F1 blogs and websites, including Mark Webber’s own photographs of his weekend in Monaco.

You can also now follow what I’m reading on social bookmarking site StumbleUpon and share other articles you think I might like using it. You can still email me as usual of course.

Here are today’s picks:

Mark Webber column - Red Bull racer Mark Webber takes us on a photographic tour of his Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

Monn knockoe – No Fenders reports on Peter Windsor’s one-man campaign to bring F1 back to America.

F1 2008: The reason why Lewis Hamilton has been so good lately – Craig reckons Hamilton’s victory in Monte-Carlo owed more to luck than skill.

DC to NASCAR – The press release was published with the warning, “Please note that David is visiting this event solely to shoot a film for Red Bull and we would appreciate it if you did not start a load of silly rumours about him switching from F1 to NASCAR in 2009. Yee Ha!” But Grandprix.com can’t resist having a bit of fun with their headline.

Donington Park race circuit to replace Silverstone? – The Sunday Mirror speculates. When they talk about Donington’s “ease of access” they’ve obviously never tried to get in on a busy day.

2008 Monaco F1 GP helmet specials – F1 Wolf rounds up the special helmet designs for Monaco.

Top 10 F1 technology transfers – How F1 technology has made it onto road cars.

Kubica excels, but where is Kimi? – I’m not alone in wondering what on earth happened to Kimi Raikkonen in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Monaco GP: celebrating nearly 80 years of racing history – Interview with Monaco Grand Prix archivist Roy Hulsbergen.

GP2: Senna and Conway win at Monaco – Just two weeks after his unfortuante brush with a dog at Istanbul, Bruno Senna wins the GP2 feature race at Monaco. It came 15 years after his uncle Ayrton Senna’s last win in the principality where he triumphed a record six times in Formula 1.

Rain at Monaco – Beautiful – This is my latest piece for F1-Pitlane on the drivers who’ve won at Monaco in the wet. You can also read some of my earlier pieces on the Circuit de Catalunya, Rubens Barrichello, rookies, predictions and, er, dogs.

If you want to share something I’ve written on StumbleUpon, Digg or any other social networking site you can use the “Share This” button at the bottom of every article.

Late start won’t save GP says Ecclestone – The Australian Grand Prix organisers offered Ecclestone a compromise on his demand that the race be held at night, but ‘compromise’ has never been in Ecclestone’s vocabulary (just ask Tony George). There is public opposition to the night race on grounds of expense and pollution.

Sean Kelly’s F1 preview – Stats preview of the 2008 F1 season.

Ecclestone has little McLaren sympathy – Bernie Ecclestone questions whether Ron Dennis’s claim Fernando Alonso tried to blackmail the team last year is true.

No spy story effects, McLaren tester says – Pedro de la Rosa sayd: “Now I hardly ever send emails. I prefer much more to discuss things face to face.”

Champion Kimi warns Lewis he has the thirst to be first again – Kimi Raikkonen in ‘interesting quote’ shock: “Anyone who thinks I’m now happy and satisfied is mistaken. It has never been fun to drive for a fifth or sixth place. I’m here to win.”

IHT F1 season preview – A very comprehensive review with thoughts from Joe Saward, Brad Spurgeon and other top international F1 correspondents.