´óÏó´«Ã½

As if the had not already been dramatic enough, 's controversial comments afterwards will ensure it makes even bigger headlines across the world.

The McLaren driver quoted , the original spoof character dreamt up by creator Sacha Baron Cohen, as he railed against the decision by race stewards to call him to explain his part in two separate incidents during Sunday's event.

Hamilton pointed out to ´óÏó´«Ã½ F1 pit-lane reporter Lee McKenzie that it was the fifth time in six races this year he had been called to account for his actions, and she asked him why he thought that was.

"People want to see overtaking and racing and you get done for trying to put on a show and make a move," he continued. "Fair play. If I really feel I've gone too late and hit someone, I'll put my hand up and say I've caused the incident and been the stupid one."

Hamilton described his being called to account for incidents for which he felt was blameless as "a joke", and described the rivals in question - 's and novice - as "stupid".

What was he going to do about the situation? "I'll just try and keep my mouth shut," he said.

It is too late for that, though, even though McLaren went into damage-limitation mode after the race.

Read the rest of this entry

's is the latest driver to choose his five favourite all-time grands prix for our new-look classic Formula 1 series.

For those unfamiliar with the format, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport has asked all the F1 drivers to select their five favourite races and we are serialising their choices before every race this season to whet your appetites for the action to come. Highlights will be shown on this website and the red button on ´óÏó´«Ã½ television in the UK.

So far, we have had world champion Sebastian Vettel, F1 legend Michael Schumacher, 's Sebastien Buemi, veteran Rubens Barrichello and, for his home grand prix in Spain last weekend, double champion Fernando Alonso.

Ahead of this weekend's , we have the man who is standing in this season for , who was and who will be watching the race from his apartment in the principality.

Heidfeld, a 34-year-old German, is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid and his selection is an interesting mix of races from his career and before his time in F1.

Read the rest of this entry

There have been five grands prix so far in the 2011 Formula 1 season and every single one of them, in its own way, has been a cracker.

The introduction of faster wearing tyres from new supplier , the has led to a perfect storm of close racing, overtaking and pit stops.

This has made for an exciting season even though driver is running away with the championship after four wins and a second place in five races.

Yet there is disquiet in some parts of the Formula 1 paddock.

There is a purist view that what the world is seeing is some kind of pale shadow of what F1 really should be. Superficially the racing has improved, some are saying, but is it real? Is this F1 or a tainted, cheapened version of it?

Read the rest of this entry

At the Circuit de Catalunya

Sebastian Vettel had the same question on his lips as everyone else. "We need to see where our pace went," he said.

It is an interesting question. Vettel and his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber qualified first and second in Barcelona, about a second faster than Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button in third, fourth and fifth places. And yet in the race Hamilton's McLaren was at least a match for the Red Bull. Indeed, as Vettel put it, "it seemed quicker".

It is the starkest example yet of a phenomenon that has been apparent throughout the year. For all Red Bull's breathtaking pace on a Saturday afternoon, the races have actually been pretty competitive.

The reasons why are complex, and vary depending on who you talk to. They will be explored in much more depth by my colleague Mark Hughes in his column on Tuesday.
What it means, though, is that a season that on paper looks like a Red Bull walkover is actually anything but.

Vettel might have taken four wins and a second place from the first five races of the season, but he has had to work hard for all of them.

Read the rest of this entry

At the Circuit de Catalunya

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali surveys the Formula 1 paddock through mirrored windows from a scrupulously tidy white office on the first floor of the team's pristine motorhome.

What he could see on Friday morning at the Spanish Grand Prix was a world still coming to terms with the news that rated by many in F1 as the finest racing driver in the world, until the end of 2016.

As Alonso munched his breakfast outside his boss's office, the satisfaction Domenicali took from this development was plain. Yet the genial 46-year-old Italian remains a man with bigger problems to solve.

Read the rest of this entry

It is the turn of 's to pick his five favourite all-time grands prix in the latest edition of our classic Formula 1 series.

We have asked all the drivers to do the same, and are broadcasting their choices - and highlights of the relevant races - ahead of each grand prix this season to whet your appetites for the action to come. Highlights will be shown on this website and on the red button in the UK.

Alonso follows in the footsteps of Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Buemi and Rubens Barrichello so far this season.

We have chosen Spain's double world champion this time because it is his home race this weekend, and among his choices is a grand prix from the that has hosted the event since 1991.

Read the rest of this entry

The 2011 Formula 1 season is not yet a quarter done but it is already difficult to see past ending a second consecutive season as the world champion.

A third victory in four races has given the driver a 34-point lead in the standings and the man in second place, , could finish only fourth in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

There is no doubt that the German is now in total control of this season. The word "domination" is being bandied around and it is easy to see why but, in each of the four races so far, the performance gap between Vettel and his pursuers has not been as great as the stark results suggest.

Read the rest of this entry

If the idea was to attract attention, certainly succeeded. Choosing , one of two men at the heart of 2007's , to spearhead your attempt to reverse a cycle of decline is guaranteed to .

This, after all, is the man who, when he was employed as McLaren's chief designer, sent his wife to photocopy nearly 800 pages of Ferrari technical information in a local shop. Unsurprisingly, the assistant got suspicious, phoned , and the rest is history. were ultimately fined $100m and thrown out of that year's constructors' championship.

Coughlan was banned from F1 for two years and has filled his time since , working in the US-based stock-car series and, briefly, for the still-born team.

Now, though, he is back, following a decision by Williams to employ him as chief engineer in a aimed at recapturing the glory days of the third most successful team in F1 history.

Read the rest of this entry

is the latest driver to choose his five favourite all-time grands prix for our new-look classic Formula 1 series.

For those unfamiliar with the format, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport has asked all the F1 drivers to reveal their five favourite races and we are serialising their choices before every race this season to whet your appetites for the action to come. Highlights will be shown on this website and the red button on ´óÏó´«Ã½ television in the UK.

So far, we have had world champion Sebastian Vettel, F1 legend Michael Schumacher and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi. Ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, we have .

Barrichello's selection of races cover his life both before and during his F1 career. He has chosen three grands prix from his childhood, and two from his time in F1.

He gave his choices in chronological order, and his first is a particularly fascinating one.

Read the rest of this entry