Passionate Fans hijack a Grid Crasher poll

You may have noticed that the 22,000-odd votes we have received on our Who is your driver of the season? poll represents an ever-so-slightly higher voter turnout than we are used to. The sudden interest in democracy does not appear to be fueled by an overwhelming feeling that Robert Kubica was the best driver in the F1 2008 season (although he is obviously a very strong contender), but because Polish fans have hijacked the poll. We were aware that Speedway is huge in Poland, but we had no idea Kubica has stirred up such an F1 frenzy in the central European nation.

The Canadian grand Prix winner has confirmed another year with BMW Sauber, but do you think he deserves to be in a faster car? Should he join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren? Let us know below (preferably in English!)…

It’s the highlight of Briatore’s extensive romantic history

Before he married Italian goddess Elisabetta Gregoraci, Renault head honcho Flavio Briatore enjoyed a Playboy lifestyle that saw him entertain some of the finest ladies on God’s green earth. One such lucky lady was German supermodel and current Seal boffer Heidi Klum. Flavio, we wish we knew your secret. What’s that? The secret is having loads of money? Oh, right.

Brazil GP, Sunday, 5pm (GMT), ITV1, Free £10 Bet

The big question in Brazil is what will Lewis Hamilton do if he finds himself behind Felipe Massa in Brazil. Will he sit back and accept being second-best for a day, or will his famed on-track aggression cause a major error chasing victory and throw away the Drivers Championship once again? Here’s some statistics compiled by chickendinner that suggest the Brit is unlikely to win in Interlagos but should still win the Championship:

» Hamilton has followed just one of his last seven race wins with victory in the following Grand Prix.

» More worryingly, only one of the last six have been followed by a podium finish.

» There have only ever been three British victories at Interlagos - the last of which came in 2001. In comparison there have been six occasions where a Brazilian has taken the chequered flag.

» McLaren have won in Brazil just once in the last six years. Over that period Ferrari have been victorious on three occasions, each time with a different driver.

» Massa won this race in 2006 and finished 1.493 seconds behind Kimi Raikkonen. He led for much of the race and may have challenged more in the closing stages were he not doing a job for the team.

» Kimi Raikkonen should also play a part in hampering Hamilton. The Finn traditionally finishes strongly and has taken more points in the last two races than in the previous six combined. He has finished in the top two at Interlagos in four of the last five years.

…but he should win the Drivers Championship

» Despite underachieving in races that follow victories, Hamilton’s

Our chums at Red Bulletin look ahead to the final weekend

Legendary German backs Brit. And everyone else.

In an interview to be broadcast on BBC One tonight, Michael Schumacher says he believes Lewis Hamilton has the skills to smash his record of seven F1 titles. Well, actually he talked a lot about Kimi and Felipe a lot, and said that the McLaren might possibly maybe sort of have the potential to do quite well at some point:

 Schumacher told the BBC’s Inside Sport programme: “I would say, absolutely, yes [Hamilton could win seven titles].

“Nobody thought, even me, that I could beat [Juan Manuel] Fangio. Then I did. Records are there to be beaten”.

The 39-year-old said losing the record would not bother him.

“I’m quite relaxed that one day it will happen - whether it’s Lewis, whether it’s Massa, or whoever.

“It might be someone of the current or of the future that could or will do it. But I’ve got no problem about it.”

Schumi was reluctant to call Hamilton the best driver currently on the circuit, but his sentiments echoes those reported in German tabloid Bild last week: “I hold him in high regard, because what he has achieved in such a short amount of time is unbelievable.”

Catch the full interview on Inside Sport, tonight at 11.20pm on BBC One. If not, it will surely appear on the iPlayer shortly.

Small bespectacled man produces two outrageously good looking daughters

In the billionaire-heiress-with-a-sister-who-is-slightly-more-famous stakes, Petra Ecclestone is certainly giving Nicky Hilton a run for her money. In case you didn’t know, along with older sis Tamara, she is the spawn of tiny little F1 head honcho Bernie Ecclestone. This means she has lots of money, a heavily-stamped passport and the beautiful genes of a former Armani model mother.

More pics and info after the jump…

Chinese GP, Sunday, 8am, ITV1, Free £10 bet here

The common consensus is that Lewis Hamilton is well on his way to spectacularly missing out on the Drivers Championship from a position of control for the second year running. Last year, he suffered his first Formula One retirement in China and many expect another Shanghai nightmare on Sunday. However, the folks at chickendinner have uncovered statistics that suggest the opposite may occur…

» Hamilton’s performances on tracks he won at last season - Canada, Hungary and Japan - have deteriorated but he has improved his performances at the three races where he missed out on a podium finish last year - Europe, Turkey and Belgium - which bodes well for him in China and Brazil:

(It should be noted that the two European races were held at different tracks - Nurburgring and Valencia.)

Even more impressively, Hamilton actually won in Belgium only to be demoted by the stewards, so he has improved notably in all three of his biggest flops last season that he has had the chance to rectify.

» Expect to see Kubica on the podium again though - he’s followed up his two previous second-placed finishes this season with a victory and a third-placed finish.

» Raikkonen is on a run of twelve races

Blimey, well played Ralf

Much like Ashlee Simpson, Billy Baldwin and that fat Gallagher brother who isn’t Noel or Liam, Ralf Schumacher has lived in the shadow of his thoroughly talented sibling. While he could never quite live up to Michael behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, he certainly seems to have trumped him in the WAG stakes. The lovely lady pictured above is former model Cora Brinkmann, who has gone by the name Cora Schumacher for the past seven years.

See what happened when Cora forgot to bring any clothes to a photoshoot after the jump…