McLaren, Alonso announce split

Woking, England (Sports Network) - Formula One star Fernando Alonso and Team McLaren have mutually decided to part company, despite two years remaining on the driver's contract.
Alonso, who won the F1 championship in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, joined McLaren for the 2007 season and finished tied for second in this year's driver standings. He won four races and had 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts, but a third-place result in the final race of the year left him one point behind champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.
"Since I was a boy I had always wanted to drive for McLaren, but sometimes in life things do not work out," said Alonso in a statement. "I continue to believe that McLaren is a great team. Yes, we have had our ups and downs during the season, which has made it extra challenging for all of us, and it is not a secret that I never really felt at home."
There were reports during the season that Alonso believed McLaren was giving preferential treatment to teammate Lewis Hamilton, who also tied for second in the driver standings.
"I know there have been suggestions of favoritism within the team and people say a lot of things in the heat of battle, but in the end I was always provided with an equal opportunity to win. Today's decision allows all of us to focus on 2008."
McLaren said a decision to end the relationship was not discussed until after the season.
"He is a great driver but for some reason the combination of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Fernando has not really worked out, and in the end we reached a stage where none of us could find a way to move forward," said McLaren team chairman Ron Dennis. "We all believe that our joint decision to part company is for the best, and we will now continue to focus on our 2008 World Championship challenge."
McLaren has not yet announced plans to find a replacement driver.

McLaren won't appeal spying verdict

Woking, England (Sports Network) - McLaren Racing has decided not to appeal the verdict of the World Motor Sport Council in the spying scandal on the Formula One circuit.
The September 13 ruling included penalties of a $100,000 fine and a forfeiture of points in the constructors' standings for the 2007 season.
"We believe the time has come to put this huge distraction behind us," said McLaren chairman and CEO Ron Dennis in a statement. "McLaren wants to win races and world championships. We are fortunate to have, and continue to receive, unwavering support from our employees, sponsor partners and Formula One fans across the world -- all of whom are equally keen that we totally focus on winning this year's Drivers' Championship and the remaining three races of the season."
Despite the loss of constructors' points, the team's drivers were not affected and can capture the championship.
Lewis Hamilton still leads the standings with 97 points, two ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso.
Last week's penalties stem from an investigation that found a McLaren employee had possession of confidential technical data belonging to rival team Ferrari.
Earlier this year, news broke that a Ferrari employee apparently gave documents to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan. Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, accused of supplying those documents to the rival team, was subsequently fired. Coughlan was suspended.
McLaren has admitted that information from Ferrari was in the possession of one of its employees at his home, but has always denied that the team used that knowledge to gain an advantage.

"It is clear from the full judgment that the World Motor Sport Council concluded that the charge that a McLaren employee had 'unauthorized possession of documents and confidential information' was proven," Friday's statement from McLaren read.

"Despite the existence of no evidence that the information was applied, tested or shared with the engineering team (which it was not), this possession constitutes a breach of the Code. For this breach of Article 151c, a very heavy penalty has been imposed on the team.

"The major principle of the issue for McLaren is: this information was not used to gain advantage on its cars."

Just three races remain on this year's Formula One schedule, starting with next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

Raikkonen wins pole, Hamilton crashes

Nurburg, Germany (Sports Network) - Kimi Raikkonen captured the pole for Sunday's Grand Prix of Europe Formula One race. The No.6 Ferrari circled the 3.217 miles, 13-turn, road course in one minute, 31.450 seconds to edge out two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.
However, the most important fact of the day was not the pole win by Raikkonen, but the fact that points leader Lewis Hamilton put his car into a tire wall. It appears that a right-front tire failure was the cause of the incident. Hamilton was taken to the medical center by ambulance but did give a wave to the fans from the stretcher.
According to team boss Ron Dennis, Hamilton has no serious injuries or broken bones, but will be kept under observation for at least a couple of hours.
Starting on the front row with Raikkonen will be Alonso, who posted a second- best time of 1:31.741.
Felipe Massa (1:31.778) and Nick Heidfeld (1:31.840) will start in row two.
While Hamilton and Raikkonen led all the practice sessions, Alonso was quickest in the first qualifying session that saw the elimination of Jenson Button, Scott Speed, Vitantonio Liuzzi, David Coulthard, Adrian Sutil and newcomer Marcus Winkelhock.
Winkelhock is a replacement for Christijan Albers who parted company with the Spyker team in a contract dispute. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock, a former F1 driver and the team's official test driver.
Massa won the second session. Dropped from the final competition were: Nico Rosberg, Giancarlo Fisichella, Rubens Barrichello, Alex Wurz, Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato.
While Ferrari drivers have won five of the nine Formula One races in 2007 they still find themselves trailing McLaren in every other category.
Hamilton is the series points leader having won twice (Canada, United States) and been on the podium in all nine races. Hamilton's teammate, Alonso, is second overall with two wins and six podiums. As a team, McLaren owns a 25- point lead over Ferrari in the manufacturer's championship (128-103).
Yet there is still reason for optimism at Ferrari. While the Ferrari lacked the speed in the two North American races, when the series returned to Europe their speed miraculously returned.
At Magny-Cours it was all Ferrari as Raikkonen and Massa swept to a one-two finish. The series next went to Silverstone and again Raikkonen led the way.
The pole victory was Raikkonen's second of the season and 13th of his Formula One career.
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 8 a.m. (et).

Raikkonen makes it two in a row

Silverstone, England (Sports Network) - Kimi Raikkonen is beginning to show the world why he was hired by Ferrari capturing Sunday's British Grand Prix Formula One race at the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit for his second consecutive win. The No.6 Ferrari driver crossed the finish line 2.459 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso.
The victory was Raikkonen's third of the season and 12th of his F1 career.
The action started even before the green flag dropped when Felipe Massa stalled on the grid and had to start from pit lane which left in last place.
Local hero Lewis Hamilton, the favorite after his pole victory, had a fight on his hands right from the start. He had to fend off Raikkonen at the first corner of the first lap (Copse). Which Hamilton did.
Meanwhile, Massa was flying and after just four laps had passed eight cars.
Hamilton's lead over Raikkonen was one second after four laps, but the Finn was hanging tough. On lap five he was faster and cut into Hamilton's lead. Raikkonen set "fastest lap" on lap eight to further cut into the Englishman's lead. Lap eight also saw the first retirement (Mark Webber) and Massa, still on a charge, cracked the top-10.
Hamilton reset "fastest lap" on lap 11 to open the lead back up to one second. On the next lap Massa set "fastest lap," but his error on the starting grid left him still 27 seconds behind Hamilton.
Raikkonen closed right onto Hamilton's rear bumper and he shadowed him around the old World War II airport course.
Hamilton pitted on lap 16, a little earlier than normal, probably because he was struggling with his handling. A tiny pit lane error for Hamilton, he almost jumped the gun and left his pit too early.
Raikkonen is really fast and puts up a lap of 1:20.638 to build on his lead. He pits one lap later and when he returns to the track he has done enough to stay ahead of Hamilton.
Alonso pits and he comes out ahead of both Raikkonen and Hamilton. The pit error has cost Hamilton two positions.
All the leaders have made their first stops by lap 22 and Alonso owns a 3.2-second lead on Raikkonen and 6.0 seconds on Hamilton. It seems as if McLaren has short-pitted Alonso to get him the lead.
Alonso's laps are faster than both Raikkonen and Hamilton and he is building the margin on each lap. The race is half over and Alonso holds 4.4 seconds on Raikkonen and 11.6 seconds on his McLaren teammate Hamilton.
Alonso continues to build the margin, but will he have to pit before Raikkonen and Hamilton and can they take advantage when he does?
Alonso does pit first, on lap 37, and Raikkonen inherits the lead. The Ferrari driver has clean air and builds the lead to 27.9 seconds on Alonso which should be enough to make his final stop and keep the lead
Raikkonen pits on lap 42 and his stop takes just 6.6 seconds. He makes the drive down pit lane and returns to the track still in the lead of the British Grand Prix. Only a mental mistake or a mechanical failure could keep Raikkonen from the win.
Raikkonen's lead on lap 50 is 6.4 seconds over Alonso and 36.0 seconds over Hamilton. The Ferrari driver cruises to the win.
Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella completed the points-scoring positions.
A ninth consecutive podium finish for Hamilton leaves him with a 12-point lead in the drivers championship (70-58).
The second half of the F1 season will begin on Sunday, July 22nd at the German Grand Prix.

Massa on pole, Alonso has engine problems

Magny-Cours, France (Sports Network) - Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the pole for Sunday's French Grand Prix Formula One race at Magny-Cours. The No.5 Ferrari circled the high-speed 2.756-mile Circuit De Nevers track in one minute, 15.034 seconds.
The pole victory was Massa's fourth of the season and sixth of his F1 career.
"I think that this is encouraging and we are back to fighting (for wins)," said Massa.
Starting on the front row with Massa will be Lewis Hamilton, who posted a second-best time of 1:15.104. Hamilton has won the last two events and holds a 10-point lead in the drivers championship over two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso.
"The team did a fantastic job," said Hamilton. "I had a car to be pole, I lost a bit of time in turn 15."
Kimi Raikkonen (1:15.257) and Robert Kubica (1:15.493) will make up row two.
In the first of three qualifying sessions, Hamilton was quickest. Eliminated were Adrian Sutil, Christijan Albers, Anthony Davidson, Takuma Sato, Alex Wurz and Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Hamilton was again fastest in the second session. David Coulthard was among those dropped in the second session when he had an electronic problem and didn't post a time. Also out after Q2 were: American Scott Speed, Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Ralf Schumacher.
The final session got underway and Alonso's engine gave off a puff of smoke. He brought the McLaren back to the garage and never returned. The team's first thoughts were engine problem. If he is forced to change his engine, he will suffer a 10-spot penalty on the starting grid.
With just under three minutes remaining in qualifying, Massa held the top spot, but there was time for one last flying lap. Hamilton and Raikkonen took shots at the Brazilian, but came up short.
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 8 a.m. (et).