Bahrain Grand Prix

Felipe Massa won yesterday's Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir in the Ferrari. Massa's team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished second, while pole-sitter Robert Kubica finished the 57-lap race in third place in the BMW-Sauber. Other notables included Kubica's team mate Nick Heidfeld finishing fourth, Fernando Alonso finishing tenth in the Renault, Lewis Hamilton finishing thirteenth in the McLaren-Mercedes after a poor qualifying round and an accident involving Alonso, and Jenson Button scoring a DNF in the Honda.

The race was pretty uneventful other than the rear-ending of Alonso by Hamilton. Only three cars out of 22 did not finish the race. Massa's win certainly silences the talk of him being on the bubble with Ferrari at least for the time being. After Kubica started in pole position, hopes were certainly high in the BMW-Sauber garage that their maiden victory was inevitable, but that maiden win will have to wait for another day.

The results give Raikkonen the lead in the Driver's Championship with 19 points, and Heidfeld with 16 points. Hamilton, Kovalainen, and Kubica at 14 points each, and Massa with 10 points. The Constructor's Championship gives BMW-Sauber 30 points, Ferrari 29 points, and McLaren-Mercedes 28 points.

The next race is the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona on April 27.

Malaysian Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen won today's Malaysian Grand Prix in the Ferrari. Robert Kubica finished second in the BMW-Sauber, while Heikki Kovalainen finished third in the McLaren-Mercedes. Kovalainen's team mate Lewis Hamilton finished in fifth, while Raikkonen's team mate Felipe Massa scored a DNF on lap 31 of the 56-lap race at the Sepang circuit in Kuala Lampur. Kubica's team mate Nick Heidfeld finished sixth, while Fernando Alonso in the Renault finished eighth, and Jenson Button finished tenth in the Honda.

The race featured little in terms of lead changes as Massa held the pole position and led the race until his first pit stop, and Raikkonen took over the lead after that until the finish. Unlike Australia where only seven of 22 starters finished the race, this time 17 out of 22 starters finished the race.

The results leave Hamilton still in the lead in the Driver's Championship with 14 points, Raikkonen and Heidfeld at 11 each, Kovalainen at 10, Kubica with 8, Nico Rosberg in the Williams-Toyota and Alonso at 6 each, and Jarno Trulli in the Toyota with 5. The Constructor Championship has McLaren-Mercedes in the lead with 24 points, BMW with 19, Ferrari at 11, and Williams-Toyota at 9 points.

The next race is the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir on April 6.

Australian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won today's Australian Grand Prix which kicked off the 2008 F1 season, the 59th F1 season in the McLaren-Mercedes. Nick Heidfeld in the BMW-Sauber finished second, while Nico Rosberg in the Williams finished third. Finishing fourth was Fernando Alonso in the Renault, while defending champion Kimi Raikkonen finished eighth in the Ferrari. Jenson Button scored a DNF in the Honda.

The race was marred by an early mishap off the start involving quite a few cars and by the end of the race, only seven out of the original 22 cars finished the race. Hamilton led most of the 58-lap race at Albert Park in Melbourne and is certainly the man to beat this season. I will go out on a limb this seson and say that Nick Heidfeld will win his first career F1 race this season. That is simply based on gut feeling.

The next race is next Sunday with the Malaysian Grand Prix in Kuala Lampur.

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen won today's Brazilian Grand Prix in the Ferrari, and with it the World Championship after starting the race in third place in the driver's championship. Raikkonen's teammate Felipe Massa finished second, while Fernando Alonso finished third in the McLaren-Mercedes. Alonso's teammate Lewis Hamilton finished seventh even though he led the championship when he started the race. Nick Heidfeld finished sixth in the BMW, while Jenson Button in the Honda scored a DNF with engine failure on lap 21.

The final championship had Kimi Raikkonen with 110 points, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso both with 109 points, and Felipe Massa with 94 points.

Now on to 2008.

2007 Chinese Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen won today's Chinese Grand Prix in the Ferrari, while Fernando Alonso finished second in the McLaren-Mercedes, and Raikkonen's teammate Felipe Massa finished third. Alonso has cut his teammate Lewis Hamilton's lead in the world championship from 12 points to just four after Hamilton scored his first DNF of the season (and of his F1 career) when he "beached" his car on lap 31 of the 56-lap race. Also of note was 20-year old Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso finishing in fourth place. Jenson Button finished in fifth in the Honda, while Nick Heidfeld finished seventh in the BMW.

With one race remaining, Hamilton sits at 107 points, Alonso at 103 points, Raikkonen at 100 points, and Massa at 86 points. The last race which will decided the driver's championship will be the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos (just outside of Sao Paolo) in two weeks time.

2007 Japanese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won yesterday's Japanese Grand Prix which returned to the Fuji reacetrack for the first time since 1976 in the McLaren-Mercedes. Heikki Kovalainen in the Renault finished second and Kimi Raikkonen finished third in the Ferrari. Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso crashed out of the race with 26 laps remaining in the 67-lap race and thus scored a DNF. Jenson Button finished eleventh in the Honda, while Nick Heidfeld finished fourteenth in the BMW.

With results of this race and combined with the Italian and Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton has a 12-point lead over Alonso 107-95, with Raikkonen at 90 points, and Felipe Massa in the Ferrari at 80 points and two races remaining. The next race is this coming Sunday with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

2007 Turkish Grand Prix

Felipe Massa won yesterday's Turkish Grand Prix just outside of Istabul in the Ferrari while his teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished second. Fernando Alonso finished third in the McLaren-Mercedes, Nick Heidfeld finished fourth in the BMW, and Alonso's teammate Lewis Hamilton finished fifth after recovering from a puncture on his front tire on lap 43 (out of 58). Other than Hamilton's tire puncture, the race was pretty uneventful.

With the resutls, Hamilton continues to lead the championship race with 84 points, Alonso with 79, Massa with 69, and Raikkonen with 68. Ferrari has also managed to close the gap in the constructor's race with the lead now 148-137 in favour of McLaren. The next race will be the Italian Grand Prix on September 9 at Monza. Don't be surprised if the Ferraris finish 1-2 since that is their "home race."

2007 Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix in the McLaren-Mercedes after a controversial qualifying session the day before which saw Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso initially win the pole only to see it stripped from him hours later due to some tactics he employed which impeded Hamilton. Alonso finished fourth. Kimi Raikkonen finished second in the Ferrari while Nick Heidfeld finished third in the BMW-Sauber. Jenson Button scored another DNF in the Honda after winning the race last year.

With the results, Lewis Hamilton maintains his lead in the championship race with 80 points, Fernando Alonso with 73 points, Kimi Raikkonen at 60 points leap frogging his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa who remains at 59 points after finishing thirteenth. The next race will be in less than three weeks with the Turkish Grand Prix just outside of Istanbul.

2007 European Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso won yesterday's European Grand Prix which was held at the Nurburgring in Germany in the McLaren-Mercedes while Alonso's teammate Lewis Hamilton broke his string of nine straight podium finishes with a ninth place finish. Felipe Massa finished second in the Ferrari, while Mark Webber finished third in the Red Bull. Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen scored a DNF, along with Jenson Button in the Honda.

With the results, Lewis Hamilton remains on top of the standings with 70 points, Fernando Alonso at 68 points, Felipe Massa at 59 points, and Kimi Raikkonen at 52 points. The next race will be the Hungarian Grand Prix in two weeks time at the Hungaroring in Budapest.

2007 British Grand Prix

Kimi Raikonnen won today's British Grand Prix in the Ferrari with Fernando Alonso finishing second in the McLaren-Mercedes, and Alonso's teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing in third. The race was pretty entertaining with a few lead changes and the race also saw Raikkonen's teammate Felipe Massa finish in fifth place after qualifying in 4th place, stalling his engine causing him to start from the back of the grid, and slice through the grid like a hot knife through butter during the race.

With today's results, Hamilton has 70 points after 9 races, Alonso has 58 points, Raikkonen at 52 points, and Massa at 51 points. The next race is in two weeks time with the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

2007 Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won today's Canadian Grand Prix on Ile Notre Dame at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Hamilton became the first black F1 driver and the fourth youngest driver ever to win a race and did it in the McLaren-Mercedes. Nick Heidfeld finished second in the BMW-Sauber with Alex Wurz finishing in third place in the Williams. The race was entertaining to say the least which featured many crashes including one that resulted in a broken leg for Heidfeld's teammate Robert Kubica, two blag flags (meaning that the drivers were disqualified), and other quirky incidents. With the win, Hamilton takes a clear lead in the driver's championship due to his teammate Fernando Alonso's seventh place finish with 48 points vs. 40 points for Alonso.

On a sidenote, Public Works and Government Services Minister Michael Fortier presented the winner's trophy to Hamilton, Quebec Tourism minister Raymond Bachand presented the race constructor's trophy to Hamilton's team, and Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay presented the second place trophy.

2007 Monaco Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso won today's 65th running of the Monaco Grand Prix in the McLaren-Mercedes, while Alonso's teammate Lewis Hamilton finished second, and Felipe Massa finishing third in the Ferrari. Jenson Button finished eleventh in the Honda. With today's results, Alonso and Hamilton are now tied in terms of points but Alonso is in the lead on the basis of Alonso's two wins so far this season compared to zero for Hamilton.

The Monaco Grand Prix is considered the "crown jewel" on the F1 calendar, and is usually fun to watch even this particular 78-lap dash through the streets of Monte Carlo was pretty uneventful. Celebrities and CEOs of the car makers normally show up for this race as spectators and Jude Law was seen walking around the start/finish grid and pit lane before the race. Watching this race in person is definately something I would love to do in my lifetime. The circus makes its next stop in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks on Ile-Notre-Dame at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

2007 Spanish Grand Prix

Felipe Massa won his second consecutive race by finishing on top in the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona in the Ferrari with Lewis Hamilton finishing in second in the McLaren-Mercedes, and Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso finishing third. With the results, Hamilton moves into top spot in the race for the driver's title with 30 points, Alonso at 28 points, and Massa at 27 points. Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen scored a DNF. Jenson Button finished in twelfth position in the Honda.

Even though the race itself was pretty boring and uneventful, the race for the driver's championship still remains close with a three-way race (perhaps growing to four or five as the season goes along) after four races. The next race will be one of my favourites, the Monaco Grand Prix which takes place on May 27 through the streets of Monte Carlo.

2007 Bahrain Grand Prix

Felipe Massa won today's Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir in the Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton finishing second (the only rookie to finish on the podium in his first three races) in the McLaren-Mercedes, while Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished third. Massa dominated the race from start to finish (he started the race from pole position) and has now created a three-way tie for the championship lead with Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso (who finished fifth), Raikkonen, and Hamilton each having 22 points, and Massa at 17 points. With the leaderboard cluttered up like this, this is the ideal outcome from Michael Schumacher's retirement. Jenson Button was forced to retire in the Honda on the third corner of the first lap after a run-in with American driver Scott Speed in the Toro Rosso.

So far the season has turned out to be entertaining, with at least four legitimate contenders for the driver's title after three races and hopefully the momentum can be sustained as the series moves to Europe. If Lewis Hamilton wins his first race soon, then you can expect more talk about this talented young chap because it's not everyday a rookie finishes on the podium in his first three races. The next race will be in four weeks with the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona on May 13.

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso won today's Malaysian Grand Prix in the McLaren Mercedes, with his teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing second (improving on his third place finish in Australia three weeks ago), and Kimi Raikkonen finishing third in the Ferrari. Even though Alonso wasn't challenged all that much for the lead during the 56-lap race, the race for second place was certainly entertaining as that was close all race and the positions kept flipping back and forth between Hamilton and Raikkonen. Jenson Button finished twelfth in the Honda. It was a shame that Nico Rosberg in the Williams Toyota had to retire from the race with 13 laps remaining since he was having a solid race and was running sixth at the time of his retirement. Hopefully this season will be pretty entertaining for both the driver's title and the constructor's title since it looks like no one driver has been dominant so far. Now it's off to the Middle East for next week's Grand Prix of Bahrain.

On a sidenote: this race was my 250th as an F1 fan and that's a lot of races considering the fact that there are only 16-18 races per season.

2007 Australian Grand Prix

The 2007 F1 season kicked off on Sunday (Saturday night here in central Canada) with the Australian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen won the 58-lap dash through the streets of Albert Park in Melbourne, with reigning world champion Fernando Alonso finishing in second place in his first race with McLaren, and rookie Lewis Hamilton of Britain finishing in third place. Hamilton is also the first black F1 driver. Now that Jacques Villeneuve is gone from F1, my favourite driver is now Jenson Button who returns this season in the Honda. The race also marked the start of a new era with the retirement of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher at the end of last season so this season should be quite competitive and exciting to watch with a lot of drivers switching teams and some new faces as well. Kimi Raikkonen has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the field, can they respond in kind? I guess we'll see in three weeks at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Kuala Lampur.

2006 Chinese Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher won today's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai in the Ferrari. Fernando Alonso finished second in the Renault, while teammate Giancarlo Fisichella finished in third. Jenson Button finished fourth in the Honda.

With the results, Schumacher moves into the lead in the race for the championship title based on number of races won this season even though both Schumacher and Alosno are tied with 116 points each. Schumacher has seven race wins so far this season while Alonso has six. It seems that since the Canadian Grand Prix, Alonso and Renault have been cracking under the pressure considering all the tactical mistakes they've been making since then with Renault botching up the tire changes during the race being the latest example.

The next race will be one week from now with the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

2006 Italian Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher won today's Italian Grand Prix at Monza (unfortunately) in the Ferrari with Kimi Raikkonen finishing second in the McLaren-Mercedes, and Robert Kubica in the BMW-Sauber finishing in third. Jenson Button finished in fifth place in the Honda.

Michael Schumacher announced his retirement after the race which of course delighted me since I'm not a fan of Michael, never have been.

The next race is the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai in three weeks time.

2006 Turkish Grand Prix

For the second straight race, a driver won his first race with Felipe Massa winning today's Turkish Grand Prix just outside of Istanbul in the Ferrari. Championship leader Fernando Alonso finshed second in the Renault allowing his lead in the title race to increase with Michael Schumacher's third place finish in the other Ferrari. Jenson Button finished fourth in the Honda.

The race was pretty entertaining (a lot like last year's inaugural race in Turkey) with a good battle for second between Alonso and Schumacher with a dozen laps to go. I was disappointed to hear that Red Bull has decided to drop Christian Klien next year in favour of current Williams driver Mark Webber. Sure, Klien hasn't exactly lit up the F1 circuit this year, but Webber is lowsy in comparison. I certainly hope Klien is picked up by another team for next year. I've also heard that he might race in Champ Car here in North America under Red Bull sponsorship.

The next race will be in two weeks time with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

2006 Canadian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso won the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday in the Renault at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (named after the former Canadian F1 driver and father of Jacques) on Ile Notre-Dame in Montreal. Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari finished second, and Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren-Mercedes finished third. Jenson Button finished ninth in the Honda, while Jacques Villeneuve crashed out on lap 60 out of the 70 lap race. It was unfortunate that Villeneuve failed to finish the race because he ran a good race up until his retirement. As for Jenson Button, this year has turned out to be a big write-off, just like last year. It'll definately be a while before he wins his first career F1 race.

On a sidenote: Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon handed out the winner's trophy to Alonso, Quebec Finance Minister Michel Audet presented the constructor's trophy to Renault, and Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay handed out the second place trophy to Schumacher.

2006 Monaco Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso won the 64th Monaco Grand Prix this morning in the Renault. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second in the McLaren-Mercedes, while David Coulthard in the Red Bull finished third. Jenson Button finished eleventh in the Honda, and Jacques Villeneuve finished fourteenth in the BMW-Sauber.

The Monaco Grand Prix is one of my favourite races on the race calendar (the other being the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal) because the circuit is pretty challenging, where one little mistake can cost you the race since there are no grass run-offs where you can recover from mistakes as is the case in other races. The 78-lap dash though the streets of Monte Carlo is always a thrill and look forward to the 65th Monaco Grand Prix next year.

2006 San Marino Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher won yesterday's San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Italy in the Ferrari (boo-urns, boo-urns), with Fernando Alonso finishing second in the Renault, and Juan Pablo Montoya finishing third in the McLaren-Mercedes. Jenson Button finished seventh in the Honda, while Jacques Villeneuve finished twelfth in the BMW-Sauber.

As much as I like Jenson Button and would love to see him win some races, I have my doubts as to whether or not he'll win his first career race this season since he's good in qualifying sessions where he averages second on the starting grid but he ends up running a lowsy race. I just don't think he's got the car to win any races this season. I guess that will have to wait until next season. I'm not much of a Michael Schumacher fan so I didn't care much to see him win the race. They tend to be more interesting and fun to watch when he's a non-factor.

The next race will be in two weeks time with the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in Germany.

2006 Malaysian Grand Prix

Giancarlo Fisichella in the Renault won yesterday's Malaysian Grand Prix, while teammate Fernando Alonso finished second, and Jenson Button in the Honda finished third. Jacques Villeneuve in the BMW finished seventh. I was probably one of a handful of people in Canada who stayed up until 4am to wach the entire race, which was pretty entertaining but not as entertaining as the Bahrain Grand Prix last Sunday.

I'm hoping Button wins his first career race this season, but it likely won't happen because his car doesn't seem to have the pace of the frontrunners and his pit stops aren't very crisp and smooth which can cost a driver valuable time and position. Who knows, things can change and the car might be tweaked to give it some pace but I'm not holding my breath.

Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari finished sixth after starting from fourteenth place on the grid due to an engine change penalty. Those of you who are familiar with my F1 allegiances know that I'm not a fan of Schumacher, and as long as he doesn't win, I'm happy. I much rather prefer he doesn't score any points at all, but hey, you can have everything.

2005 Chinese Grand Prix

Today's final race of the season, the Chinese Grand Prix, saw world champion Fernando Alonso take the chequered flag in the Renault, while Kimi Raikkonen was the runner up in the McLaren Mercedes, and Ralf Schumacher in the Toyota rounded out the top three. Jenson Button in the B.A.R-Honda finished in eighth place, while Jacques Villeneuve in the Sauber-Petronas finished tenth. I thought it was great how Christijan Albers in the Minardi-Cosworth rammed into Michael Schumacher on the way to the starting grid. Couldn't have happened to someone more deserving.

There are still a few questions lingering out there such as the future of Villeneuve, whether or not he'll join the new BMW team that bought Sauber, where Button's teammate Takuma Sato will end up, what the new qualifying format will be along with some other rule changes, and what the final schedule will be for the 2006 season. Personally, I think Villeneuve will stay with the new BMW next season to help give a veteran presence on the team.

The fun starts all over again next March down at Albert Park in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. See you then.

2005 Japanese Grand Prix

Today's Japanese Grand Prix saw Kimi Raikkonen take the chequered flag in the McLaren-Mercedes overtaking Giancarlo Fisichella on the very last lap after starting seventeenth on the grid due to an engine penalty. Fisichella's Renault teammate Fernando Alonso finished third. Jenson Button in the B.A.R-Honda finished in fifth, while Jacques Villeneuve in the Sauber-Petronas finished in eleventh (following a review by the judges involving an incident with Juan Pablo Montoya).

This race was really worth staying up for here in Canada since it was perhaps the best race of the season (so far). There certainly was a lot of good, close battles and the Raikkonen overtaking Fisichella on the very last lap to win the race was definately the icing on the cake. There are already rumors that Raikkonen has signed a deal with Ferrari worth US$50 million beginning in 2007. The next, and final, race of the season will take place next Sunday with the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai.

2005 Brazilian Grand Prix

Today's Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos on the outskirts of Sao Paolo saw Fernando Alonso in the Renault clinch the F1 Driver's Championship by becoming the youngest driver ever at the age of 24 to win the title. Congratulations to you Fernando, you deserved to win the title, although my preference was for the title to be decided at the very last race of the season in China.

Juan Pablo Montoya in the McLaren Mercedes won the race (as he did last year), with teammate Kimi Raikkonen coming in second. Alonso finished in third. My favourite drivers, Jenson Button in the B.A.R-Honda finished in seventh place, while Jacques Villeneuve in the Sauber-Petronas finished in twelfth.

The next race will be held in two weeks time with the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

2005 Italian Grand Prix

Today's Italian Grand Prix in Monza saw Juan Pablo Montoya take the chequered flag in the McLaren-Mercedes, while Fernando Alonsoin the Renault finished second, and Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella finished in third. Jenson Button in the B.A.R-Honda finished in eighth place, while my favourite driver, Jacques Villeneuve finished in eleventh in the Sauber-Petronas.

Alonso now has a 27-point lead in the world championship with four races left. I'd really love to see the race tighten between Alonso and his nearest challenger, Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren-Mercedes. Since Michael Schumacher will not be winning the championship this year, having a close race would be the icing on the cake.

The next race is next Sunday with the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa-Francorchamps.

2005 Turkish Grand Prix

I just thought I'd give my two cents on the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix which was held last Sunday at the Istanbul Otodrom on the outskirts of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosporus River. The circuit won rave reviews from drivers and fans alike although the turn number 8 is becoming quite infamous judging from some of the mishaps during qualifying and the race itself. Kimi Raikkonen won the race with Fernando Alonso coming in second and Juan Pablo Montoya coming in third. Jenson Button finished fifth, while Jacques Villeneuve finished eleventh. The race was one of the more exciting ones this season and was called a "Turkish Delight."

The next race is on September 4th with the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza. Ferrari fans will be out in full force that's for sure.

2005 German Grand Prix

Today's German Grand Prix at Hockenheim saw Fernando Alonso in the Renault take the chequered flag. Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren-Mercedes didn't finish the race due to mechanical failure. The only McLaren to finish the race was Juan Pablo Montoya who finished second. Jenson Button in the B.A.R.-Honda finished third while Jacques Villeneuve in the Sauber finished in fifteenth even though he retired on lap 64 of the 67-lap race. As Michael Schumacher didn't win the race, I consider it a nice birthday present.

The next race is next Sunday with the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in Budapest.

2005 British Grand Prix

Today's British Grand Prix saw Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia in the McLaren-Mercedes take the chequered flag. Championship leader Fernando Alonso in the Renault finished second while Kimi Raikkonen in the other McLaren finished in third. Jenson Button finished in fifth in the B.A.R.-Honda while Jacques Villeneuve finished in fourteenth in the Sauber.

With the mid-point of the season also marks the beginning of the "silly season" in F1 where there are all sorts of rumours as to which drivers will stay with their present teams and which drivers will change teams. Some rumours have Jenson Button or other other Sauber driver Felipe Massa of Brazil going to Ferrari, and with David Coulthard re-signing with Red Bull Racing that also opens up speculation as to what will happen with Christian Klien (the other Red Bull driver) and test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi. The future of Jacques Villeneuve has also been up in the air for quite some time and I wouldn't be surprised if he retired or was dumped from Sauber before the end of the season. Another rumour has Nick Heidfeld in the BMW-Williams going over to Sauber because BMW will be taking over the Sauber team next year and Heidfeld is a favourite with BMW. Button is also rumoured to go over to Williams since there is a clause in his contract that says he can go over to Williams depending on his performance this season. More rumours will start flying around between now and the end of the year.

The next race is in two weeks on July 24th (my birthday) with the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

2005 French Grand Prix

After the farce at the United States Grand Prix two weeks ago in Indianapolis, Fernando Alonso took the chequered flag in the Renault at the French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Nevers in Magny Cours about 160 miles south of Paris right in the heart of rural France. Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren-Mercedes was second while Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari finished third. One of my favourite drivers, Jenson Button in the B.A.R.-Honda finished fourth and scoring the first championship and constructors points for the team this season. Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, who is also my favourite driver as many of you already know, finished in eighth place in the Sauber. It was nice to see Button finish in the points because it was looking as if the 2005 season was going to be a write-off for him and the team after an outstanding 2004 campaign.

Overall, it seems like F1 is starting to get back to normal as a whole although the damage may take a while to recover in the United States. I guess it all depends on how the refund plan Michlein (sp?) has works out in order to repair the damage and to make amends to the fans who purchased tickets to the see race. The plan pretty much refunds fans who purchased tickets to the race and to purchase 20,000 seats for the next U.S. Grand Prix (if there is a next race there) and give away tickets.

The next race will take place on Sunday with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

2005 United States Grand Prix

Yesterday's United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a complete farce for F1 and perhaps set back efforts to win over fans of the series in the United States for quite some time. For those of you who aren't aware of the situation, 7 out of the 10 F1 teams boycotted the race due to issues with their Michlein tires with only Ferrari being the major team competing in the race. Michael Schumacher ended up winning the race. Only 6 cars participated in the race and all 6 drivers finished the race. It certainly is a sad day for F1 and for its fans. With yesterday's debacle, the future of the U.S. Grand Prix is in doubt with reports of fans wanting their money back although I don't know how that will be carried out in the end.

The next race is on July 3rd with the French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Nevers in Magny-Cours.

2005 Canadian Grand Prix

Today's Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal saw Kimi Raikkonen take the chequered flag in the McLaren-Mercedes while Michael Schumacher finished second in the Ferrari and Rubens Barrichello (also in the Ferrari) finishing in third. Pole-sitter Jenson Button did not finish the race after hitting the "Welcome to Quebec" wall at the start/finish area. Canadian Jacques Villeneuve finished in ninth place (just once spot short of collecting a point). Both Renaults of Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella did not finish due to a crash and mechanical failure repectively. Federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre presented the race winner's trophy on the podium while Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay presented the winning team trophy.

This race was really exciting towards the end since the top two drivers were only 1.3 seconds apart at the end and was really entertaining in my opinion.

The next race will be the United States Grand Prix next Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

2005 Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying

Today's qualifying session of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal saw British driver Jenson Button take pole position for tomorrow's race in the BAR-Honda. Germany's Michael Schumacher took second place in the Ferrari while Fernando Alonso of Spain and Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy (both in the Renault) took thrid and fourth respectively. Canadian Jacques Villeneuve will start eighth on the grid in the Sauber.

I always look forward to the Canadian Grand Prix since it is my favourite race (along with Moncao) since it's always nice to have such a race in your own country. My sentiments for tomorrow's race will be the following: ANYONE BUT FERRARI.

2005 European Grand Prix

Sunday's European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in Germany saw Fernando Alonso win his fourth race of the season in the Renault after Kimi Raikkonen experienced some tire troubles on the final lap of the race in the McLaren-Mercedes. Coming in second place was Nick Heidfeld of Germany in the BMW-Williams. My favourite driver, Jacques Villeneuve finished in fourteenth place in the Sauber. My other favourite driver, Jenson Button finished in tenth place in the B.A.R-Honda. Both Ferraris finished third (Rubens Barrichello) and fifth (Michael Schumacher).

The next race will be my favourite race of the season in less than two weeks time, the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on June 12.

2005 Monaco Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen of Finland won the 63rd Monaco Grand Prix and pretty much led from start to finish the 78-lap dash through the streets of Monte Carlo. I always love watching this race because it is one of the most challenging races of the season in my opinion. Nick Heidfeld of Germany was second in the Williams-BMW and his teammate Mark Webber of Australia was third. Championship leader Fernando Alonso was fourth. Defending champion Michael Schumacher of Germany was seventh in the Ferrari while Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was eleventh in the Sauber. The next race is on Sunday with the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in Germany.

2005 Spanish Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen of Finland won today's Spanish Grand Prix in the McLaren becoming the first non-Renault winner of the 2005 season. Fernando Alonso of Spain finished second in the Renault ending his 3-race winning streak. Jarno Trulli of Italy finished third in the Toyota. Canadian Jacques Villeneuve did not finish the race after his fourth place finish in San Marino two weeks ago. B.A.R did not compete in this race as a result of their 2-race ban for violating a rule concerning gas tanks meaning one of my favourite racers, Jenson Button of Britain, was not able to race today and won't be able to race at the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo in two weeks time.

On a much brighter note, Michael Schumacher of Germany did not finish the race in his Ferrari due to a punctured tire that damaged his suspension. Races are so much more interesting when Michael isn't even involved.

Can't wait for the Monaco Grand Prix (even though Jenson will not be able to compete there) since it's one of my favourite races along with the Canadian Grand Prix (for obvious reasons ha ha ha).

2005 Bahrain Grand Prix

This morning's Bahrain Grand Prix resulted in another victory for Fernando Alonso in the Renault. I was glad that it wasn't a Ferrari 1-2 finish like we've seen quite a few times over the past few years. What was even better was the retirement of Michael Schumacher from the race early on which really made it more enjoyable to watch (as you can guess, I'm not a big fan of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher).

I was disappointed however at the fact that Jenson Button scored his third consecutive DNF (Did Not Finish) but at least it wasn't early on in the race where he had to retire as was the case in Malaysia two weeks ago. Coupled with another DNF in the season opener in Australia, Button has failed to score a point this season and at this rate, will be hard pressed to match his career high total of 85 points he scored last season unless he actually wins some races this season. Button's car has been awful this season and one can only hope the new car coming out soon can turn things around.

Jacques Villeneuve scored another DNF this season (as was the case in Malaysia) and a poor 13th place finish in Australia. I really do hope that Villeneuve turns it up this season because he's my favourite driver and hate to see him do so poorly.

The next race will be the San Marino Grand Prix (at Imola, Italy) on April 24.