Gland, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Seven-times world champion racing driver Michael Schumacher announced he would stand in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa in the upcoming race in Valencia, Spain 23 August. Schumacher, 40, who lives on the shores of Lake Geneva, retired from Formula 1 racing in 2006 but continued as a team advisor for the Ferrari team where he won five of his seven championships.
Budapest, Hungary (GenevaLunch) - It was just like old times as Lewis Hamilton, current Champion drove an almost faultless race, with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkönen second, and Mark Webber third for Red Bull. It was Hamilton’s tenth Grand Prix win, but his first this season.
Fernando Alonso started in pole position in his Renault but was forced to stop at the pits with tire trouble, and then to retire as a front wheel was not properly fitted and later flew off.
Nuerburgring, Germany (GenevaLunch) – Australian Mark Webber drove his Red Bull team to his first Grand Prix victory after 130 starts, all the more amazing considering that he spent the winter in rehab after a severe cycling accident gave him a badly broken leg and shoulder injuries. His German teammate Sebastian Vettel was second while Brazilian Felipe Massa was third for Ferrari. Nico Rosberg came in fourth for Williams while current leader Jenson Button was fifth ahead of fellow Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello.
Bern, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - Formula 1 won’t have a Swiss venue, the government has decided: it voted to kill motions to allow the race to be run in Switzerland. Several Formula 1 drivers have settled in Switzerland, including Fernando Alonzo and Lewis Hamilton, who are based in the Lake Geneva region.
Istanbul, Turkey (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button drove his Brawn GP car to his fourth consecutive Formula 1 victory. He has now won six of the seven races this season. He then thanked the team for producing a “monster of a car.” Only four other drivers have won six of the first seven, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher (twice).
Monaco (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button put on another faultless display to win the Monaco Grand Prix: his fifth win in the six races so far this season. His Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello took second place with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkönen third.
The Italian car company Ferrari says it may quit Formula 1 racing in protest at new budget and technical rules announced by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, FIA, the sport’s governing body. Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen live in Switzerland. FIA President Max Mosley told the Financial Times two weeks ago that Formula 1 could survive without Ferrari.
Honda announced in December 20087 it was quitting the sport in an effort to save money, and it sold its team.
Barcelona, Spain (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button started from pole position in the Formula 1 race in Barcelona but lost the lead to Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello by the first bend. After the customary mayhem of the opening lap the only real question was which of the two Brawn GP drivers would take first place.
Bahrain (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button lead the Brawn team to their third win after only four races this season with a faultless display in the heat of the desert.
Shanghai, China (GenevaLunch) – The Red Bull team scored their first Grand Prix victory in the Chinese race, and took second place as well, pushing current championship leader Jenson Button into third place. Last year’s winner, Lewis Hamilton, was in sixth.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Lewis Hamilton made the news 16 April in a Tribune de Geneve blog over a car crash in Geneva, with the Formula 1 race driver apparently at fault. The blog post is a tale of lighthearted but high drama, which has the racer nearly in tears and Anouk, driver of the Peugeot 206 that he hit, in a panic after he “ran a stop sign.”
No one was injured in the 14 March incident in Vésenaz, and although the police reportedly were called to the scene, it was insignificant enough not to appear in the daily police bulletin’s traffic accidents. The story has been picked up by other media, including AutoEvolution, a car web site, which reports a slightly different version of the events.
Malaysia (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button won the second Grand Prix of the season to add to his victory in the first, but will only receive half the normal points as the race was halted by torrential rain during the 33rd lap.
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) - The newly formed Brawn GP team, sponsored by Richard Branson’s Virgin, made a perfect start to the season when Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello took the first two places in their debut race: the first team to do so since Mercedes-Benz in 1954.
Brazil (GenevaLunch) - Felipe Massa took the Brazilian Grand Prix from Fernanda Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen but the most important fight was for fifth place.
Japan (GenevaLunch) – Fernado Alonso won his second successive race for Renault in a dramatic contest dominated by a crash involving the two leading contenders for this year’s title, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.
Singapore (GenevaLunch) – It was a disastrous evening for Ferrari at the first Grand Prix race to be held under lights. Felipe Massa started in pole position and looked to have the race under control when the safety car came on after a crash by Renault driver Nelson Piquet.
Monza, Italy (GenevaLunch) – Twenty-one-year-old German Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver to win a Formula One race when he displayed amazing maturity to hold off the pack in a rain-affected race and score the first win for the Toro Rosso team. Read more…
Race stewards stripped Swiss-based Lewis Hamilton of his victory by imposing a 25-second penalty (for leaving the track when passing Raikkonen) that pushed him back to third place. Hamilton took the lead in the closing laps in a dramatic race that was dominated by Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari until the last few minutes. Hamilton had pole position for McLaren but lost the lead in the first lap. It looked like he would have to settle for second place until the rain started and Hamilton, whose McLaren handles better on a wet track than the Ferraris, began to fight for the lead. Raikkonen crashed out shortly after being passed. Felipe Massa came second with Nick Heidfeld in the BWM Sauber third. Hamilton now leads Felipe Massa by two points while Kimi Raikkonen is another nine points behind and probably out of the running to maintain his championship title.
For GenevaLunch by Nick Bates. Details: Telegraph
