Reece Yusuf Racing.
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F1 2008 Season
 
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The Formula One 2007 season was an eventful one, to say the least!!! Now that it's all over all the teams and racers will be have a rest, so for now, we have to say goodbye to all the racers and teams and wish them happy holidays. Let's see what team changes the break will bring and hope they all come back rejuvenated and full of fighting spirit!
I will frequently be adding new and up to date information about the forth coming season, such as driver line-up but in the meanwhile, here is a provisional calendar for the 2008 season ad some other bits and pieces to whet your appetites!


The 2008 F1 season.
The 2008 Formula One season will be the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It will begin on 16 March and end on 2 November after eighteen Grands Prix. It will be the first season under the new Concorde Agreement. As it stands, there are a total of seven teams signed up to compete in the championship through an agreement with Formula One Management, with the other four major manufacturers in the Grand Prix Manufacturers’ Association (GPMA) having signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix. All teams in both groups have spots on the 2008 grid.


Race Schedule.
Round Official Race Title Grand Prix Circuit City / Location Date Time
Local UTC
1 Flag of Australia ING Australian Grand Prix Australian GP Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit Melbourne March 16 15:30 04:30
2 Flag of Malaysia Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix Malaysian GP Sepang International Circuit Kuala Lumpur March 23 15:00 07:00
3 Flag of Bahrain Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain GP Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir, Manama April 6 14:00 10:00
4 Flag of Spain Gran Premio de España Telefónica Spanish GP Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona April 27 14:00 12:00
5 Flag of Turkey Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix Turkish GP Istanbul Park Istanbul May 11 15:00 12:00
6 Flag of Monaco Grand Prix de Monaco Monaco GP Circuit de Monaco Monte-Carlo May 25 14:00 12:00
7 Flag of Canada Grand Prix du Canada Canadian GP Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Montreal June 8 13:00 17:00
8 Flag of France Grand Prix de France French GP Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours Magny Cours June 22 14:00 12:00
9 Flag of the United Kingdom Santander British Grand Prix British GP Silverstone Circuit Silverstone July 6 13:00 12:00
10 Flag of Germany Großer Preis von Deutschland German GP Hockenheimring Hockenheim July 20 14:00 12:00
11 Flag of Hungary Magyar Nagydíj Hungarian GP Hungaroring Budapest August 3 14:00 12:00
12 Flag of Europe Grand Prix of Europe European GP Valencia Street Circuit Valencia August 24 14:00 12:00
13 Flag of Belgium ING Belgian Grand Prix Belgian GP Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Spa September 7 14:00 12:00
14 Flag of Italy Gran Premio d'Italia Italian GP Autodromo Nazionale Monza Monza September 14 14:00 12:00
15 Flag of Singapore Singapore Grand Prix Singapore GP Singapore Street Circuit Singapore September 28 20:00[33] 12:00
16 Flag of Japan Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix Japanese GP Fuji Speedway Oyama October 12 14:00 03:00
17 Flag of the People's Republic of China Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix Chinese GP Shanghai International Circuit Shanghai October 19 14:00 05:00
18 Flag of Brazil Grande Prêmio do Brasil Brazilian GP Autódromo José Carlos Pace São Paulo November 2 14:00 17:00


Teams and Drivers'.
Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre No Race Drivers No Official Test Driver(s)
Flag of Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2008 Ferrari 056 B 1 Flag of Finland Kimi Räikkönen 31 Flag of Italy Luca Badoer
Flag of Spain Marc Gené
2 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa
Flag of Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.08 BMW P86/8 B 3 Flag of Germany Nick Heidfeld 32 Flag of Austria Christian Klien
Flag of Estonia Marko Asmer
4 Flag of Poland Robert Kubica
Flag of France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R28 Renault RS27 B 5 Flag of Spain Fernando Alonso 33 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi
Flag of France Romain Grosjean
Flag of Japan Sakon Yamamoto
6 Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr.
Flag of the United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW30 Toyota RVX-08 B 7 Flag of Germany Nico Rosberg 34 Flag of Germany Nico Hülkenberg
8 Flag of Japan Kazuki Nakajima
Flag of Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB4 Renault RS27 B 9 Flag of the United Kingdom David Coulthard 35 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi
10 Flag of Australia Mark Webber
Flag of Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF108 Toyota RVX-08 B 11 Flag of Italy Jarno Trulli 36 Flag of Japan Kamui Kobayashi
12 Flag of Germany Timo Glock
Flag of Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2B
Ferrari 056 B 14 Flag of France Sébastien Bourdais 37 TBA
15 Flag of Germany Sebastian Vettel
Flag of Japan Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA108 Honda RA808E B 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Jenson Button 38 Flag of Austria Alexander Wurz
17 Flag of Brazil Rubens Barrichello
Flag of Japan Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri SA08 Honda RA808E B 18 TBA 39 TBA
19
Flag of India Force India Formula One Team Force India VJM-01 Ferrari 056 B 20 Flag of Germany Adrian Sutil 40 Flag of Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi
21 Flag of Italy Giancarlo Fisichella
Flag of the United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes FO108V B 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 41 Flag of Spain Pedro de la Rosa
Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett
23 Flag of Finland Heikki Kovalainen


New Tracks.

It has been confirmed that Singapore will host a Grand Prix from 2008 for the next five years. It will be a street circuit, with the route designed by Hermann Tilke. It has been confirmed that the Grand Prix will be a night race,[38] with a start time of 20:00 local time and run in an anti-clockwise direction to enhance safety.[39]

The European Grand Prix will take place at the Valencia Street Circuit in 2008, changing from the Nürburgring which hosted the event up until 2007. Because both German circuits share the right to host an F1 race, the German Grand Prix will take place at Hockenheim in 2008. It will continue to alternate between these two circuits yearly.

The 2007 French GP was said to be the last to be held at Magny-Cours.Alternatives for the French Grand Prix included Paul Ricard or a new circuit near Disneyland Paris or Charles de Gaulle airport likely to host the event from 2009. However on 24 July 2007 it was reported that Bernie Ecclestone had "agreed in principle to maintain the race at Magny-Cours in 2008, and even 2009, if there were no other alternative."

Speculation continues as to whether the San Marino Grand Prix will return to the calendar in 2008 after being removed in 2007 due to building work. Japan could host a second Grand Prix, renamed the Pacific Grand Prix at the popular Suzuka Circuit, after losing the Japanese Grand Prix in 2007 to the Toyota owned Fuji Speedway. Bernie Ecclestone has suggested that Imola will not return, but Suzuka is likely to return, after concerns with the potential number of races in 2008.

It has been confirmed that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will not hold a Grand Prix in 2008; however, a possible return to Indianapolis in the future has not been completely ruled out. It is thought unlikely that any other venue would be ready to hold the United States Grand Prix this late for 2008.



Rule Changes.
  • will be the official tyre supplier for the 2008-2010 seasons.
  • A standard Electronic Control Unit (ECU) supplied by McLaren Electronic Systems (badged as Microsoft).
  • Gearboxes to last 4 Grands Prix , 5 place grid penalty for a gear box change.
  • Restrictions on the ability of the teams to change their engines during and between the season(s).
  • Rev-limited engines, Limited to 19,000 RPM as per sporting code 5.1.2.
  • Traction control banned along with several other electronic aids including engine braking – though this has been protested against by some drivers for safety reasons.
  • Improved cockpit protection.
  • First part of qualifying lengthened to 20 minutes, and final part of qualifying shortened to 10 minutes, to eliminate 'fuel-burn' phase, and teams taking part in Q3 will no longer be allowed to add fuel back to the car after qualifying.
  • The first unscheduled engine change of the season for each car will not lead to the usual 10 place grid penalty.
  • Fuel of the cars must be made up of at least 5.75% biological materials, for cars to comply with the European law on fuel composition.


Driver Changes.
  • Sebastian Vettel replaced Scott Speed from the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix onwards at Scuderia Toro Rosso and was confirmed as driver for 2008. Team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi is to be replaced by Champ Car World Series four time world champion Sébastien Bourdais for 2008.
  • On October 1, Ralf Schumacher announced that he would leave Toyota at the end of the 2007 season.
  • On October 7, it was reported that Alexander Wurz had decided to retire from racing. He is staying on as test driver for Honda.
  • On November 2, Fernando Alonso and McLaren announced that both parties agreed to a ‘mutual parting of ways’.
  • On November 7, 2007, Williams announced that Kazuki Nakajima would partner Nico Rosberg for the 2008 season.
  • On November 19, 2007, Timo Glock was confirmed as the replacement driver for Ralf Schumacher by Toyota.
  • On December 7, 2007, After testing for Force India, Ralf Schumacher says it is unlikely he will return to Formula One.
  • On December 10, 2007, Renault has confirmed that Fernando Alonso will drive for them next season. He will be partnered by rookie Nelson Piquet Jr.
  • On December 14, 2007, McLaren confirmed Heikki Kovalainen will partner Lewis Hamilton.
  • On January 10, 2008, Force India confirmed Giancarlo Fisichella as first driver and Vitantonio Liuzzi as a test driver. Adrian Sutil had already been confirmed as the team's second driver.
  • On January 10, 2008, Alexander Wurz was announced as the reserve driver for Honda after leaving Williams just before the Brazil GP.
  • On February 2, 2008, BMW announced that Christian Klien has been contracted as their test and reserve driver for the 2008 season. He will work alongside Marko Asmer who will become the team’s junior tester.
  • On February 4, 2008, Renault signed Japanese driver Sakon Yamamoto as a test development driver for the 2008 season.


Team Changes.
  • Rumours about the possible sale of the Jordan/Spyker team had been abundant in the paddock throughout the last few months of the 2007 season. Only a year after Spyker bought the team from Midland, Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya bought the team for € 88 million, several million more than Spyker paid. On October 24, 2007, Mallya was granted permission to change the team's name to Force India. He also said he would like to keep German driver Adrian Sutil for 2008. Force India had a driver announcement ceremony in January 2008 where it was revealed that Sutil would be second driver partnered by first driver Giancarlo Fisichella and test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.
  • On 28 April 2006, rallying and motorsports technology firm Prodrive were officially granted entry to Formula One when the FIA announced the list of entrants to the 2008 Formula One World Championship. While a total of 21 teams applied for entry, the FIA had always maintained that, only 12 teams would be granted entry, meaning only one new team would line up on the grid in 2008. FIA president Max Mosley revealed that Prodrive had found the finances to support their bid. Also, Prodrive's chief executive, David Richards, has experience as a Formula One team principal". Richards has previously acted as team principal of the Benetton and British American Racing teams. However on 23 November 2007, after lengthy negotiations between FIA president Max Mosley regarding customer cars, Richards announced that Prodrive F1 would not compete in the 2008 Formula One World Championship, as the legal situation left no time for the team to be set up.
  • On December 31, 2007, Toyota announced that they would end their sponsorship deal with Kingfisher Airlines due to the fact that Kingfisher Airliners' owner Dr. Vijay Mallya wants to focus on the new F1 team Force India which was formed after Dr. Mallya's 2007 acquisition of Spyker F1 team. Although the team had a two year deal with the Indian airline company, both parties agreed to terminate the deal by 'mutual consent'.


Rule Changes.
  • It has been confirmed that Singapore will host a Grand Prix from 2008 for the next five years. It will be a street circuit, with the route designed by Hermann Tilke. It has been confirmed that the Grand Prix will be a night race, with a start time of 20:00 local time and run in an anti-clockwise direction to enhance safety. It has also been revealed that practice sessions and qualifying will take place at night.
  • The European Grand Prix will take place at the Valencia Street Circuit in 2008, changing from the Nürburgring which hosted the event up until 2007. Because both German circuits share the right to host an F1 race, the German Grand Prix will take place at Hockenheim in 2008. It will continue to alternate between these two circuits yearly.
  • It has been confirmed that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will not hold a Grand Prix in 2008; however, a possible return to Indianapolis in the future has not been completely ruled out.
  • The 2007 French GP was said to be the last to be held at Magny-Cours. Alternatives for the French Grand Prix included Paul Ricard or a new circuit near Disneyland Paris or Charles de Gaulle airport likely to host the event from 2009. However on 24 July 2007 it was reported that Bernie Ecclestone had "agreed in principle to maintain the race at Magny-Cours in 2008, and even 2009, if there were no other alternative."
  • The 2008 season also sees changes to the race start times for China, moved to 15:00 and Australia, moved from its traditional 14:00 slot to 15:30.





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