Ferrari and McLaren go head-to-head at Silverstone this weekend in a race that may well prove crucial in the world championship campaign of local hero Lewis Hamilton.

The fast Northamptonshire track has recently favoured Ferrari, but McLaren have been happy all season with their MP4-23’s behaviour in high-speed corners and, following last week’s test of new aerodynamic parts - notably a new front wing - specifically for this race, Hamilton was even happier after lapping in 1m 19.1s.

That’s eight-tenths of a second faster than his 2007 pole position time, despite the ban on traction control and automated engine braking.
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In September Singapore will host Formula One racing’s first-ever night race, and with demand for tickets booming, the event’s organisers have organised additional grandstand seating to accommodate 1600 more spectators.

The promoters had already sold 92 percent of the tickets that they had previously made available.

As part of the changes, a new 1,100-seat grandstand will be placed on the city’s Esplanade Drive, while a further 500 seats will be added to the Turn Two grandstand so that it links up with the Turn One seating area. In addition, the Singapore Flyer premier grandstand will also be converted to a conventional grandstand.
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Robert Kubica has spoken out against the proposed Safety Car system that the FIA had the teams test in France two weeks ago. 

This year’s Championship saw the introduction of new Safety Car rules that have proven to be more of a disaster than a help as the pit lane is closed when the Safety Car is deployed. This means that should the Safety Car come out when a driver needs to refuel he is forced to take a drive-through penalty or risk his race coming to an end with an empty fuel tank.

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Felipe Massa seized the world championship lead for the first time in his career after profiting from a broken exhaust on Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen’s car to win the French Grand Prix.

Raikkonen had looked on course for a second successive Magny-Cours victory after controlling the first half of a race dominated by the Italian squad, before the right-hand bank of his F2008’s exhaust broke off and robbed him of horsepower.

It allowed Massa to take the lead half way in and from there he enjoyed an unchallenged route to his third victory of the season, while Raikkonen did well to soldier on to the finish in an increasingly distant second place.

They were joined on the podium by Jarno Trulli, who completed a stunning weekend for Toyota by holding off a marauding McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen in the closing stages for the team’s top three finish since 2006.

Pre-race points leader Robert Kubica could only manage fifth for BMW, meaning he now slips to second place and two points behind Massa at the head of the drivers’ standings.

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Heikki Kovalainen has been given a five-place penalty for blocking during qualifying for the French Grand Prix.

The Finn will therefore move back to 10th on the grid, further damaging McLaren’s chances after his team-mate Lewis Hamilton was hit with a 10-place penalty for his Montreal pit accident.

Hamilton had been third fastest in the session, with Kovalainen sixth, before their penalties were applied.

The blocking incident occurred during Q2, when Red Bull’s Mark Webber came up behind Kovalainen when on a flying lap - although the Australian was still able to make it through to Q3 despite having to pass the McLaren.

This is the second time this season that both McLarens have been given grid penalties, as both Kovalainen and Hamilton were also punished for driving slowly on the racing line at Sepang.