We’ll leave it to Coutlhard to tell you about his decision to quit F1 at the end of this season:
“I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in Formula 1 at the end of this season. I will remain actively involved in the sport as a consultant to Red Bull Racing focusing on testing and development of the cars.
“I have an open mind as to whether or not I will compete again in the future, in some other form of motorsport, so I am definitely not hanging up my helmet!”
Grid Crasher previews this weekend’s race at Silverstone
1. It will rain on Sunday afternoon That’s what the expert weather folks say, and who are we to doubt them. A wet GP is an unpredictable GP - but that’s not going to stop us from making another nine rash predictions…
Grid Crasher’s tells you who’s staying, and who’s going…
Now is the time of the season when the F1 rumour mill goes crazy. Will Alonso leave Renault at the end of the year? Will Kimi actually retire? Is Nelson Piquet Jnr history? What is the point of Timo Glock? So many questions, no concrete answers.
Here is our take on what the 2009 driver line-ups will look like…
Looks like Seb will replace DC in Red Bull’s senior team
The longer the 2008 F1 season goes on, the more likely it seems that Sebastian Vettel will make the step up from the baby Red Bull team, Toro Rosso, and into the senior Red Bull team. That would almost certainly see the German take the seat of David Coulthard, rather than Mark “Steady Webby” Webber.
Vettel is getting stronger and stronger, and Coulthard is having a very tough year, despite solid runs in Canada and France.
1. Felipe Massa (1st) Won a race that he didn’t really deserve to win, though that’s no criticism of Ferrari’s No.2, who could yet win the world title - especially if Kimi continues to have zero luck.
2. Nelson Piquet Jnr (7th) Wouhou, at last! Junior brings his Renault home in a points-paying position. Now we could see a totally different Piquet. Or not.
German magazine Auto Motor und Sport claims that only “a miracle” will now prevent Red Bull from starting the 2009 season with its preferred lineup of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.
That leaves David Coulthard out in the cold, and looking very short on options if he wants to stay in F1 for another year. Asked about the mounting speculation, DC replied, mysteriously: “I have plans for the future.”
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari (DNF)
Could do nothing about the incident that led to his retirement, so we won’t mark him down. Until the safety car, Kimi was setting fastest laps and looking like he could threaten Lewis Hamilton. 7/10
Felipe Massa, Ferrari (5th)
An up-and-down weekend for the Brazilian, but he’ll be happy to make a small gain on Hamilton and his team-mate. Qualified poorly, but not to blame when Ferrari forced him to pit twice within two laps. Put a stunning overtaking move on Rubens Barrichello and Heikki Kovalainen. 6
1. Robert Kubica His maiden F1 win had been coming all season, although we doubt he’d have beaten either Raikkonen or Hamilton in a straight fight. But the handful of “on-it” laps when he increased his lead over team-mate Nick Heidfeld to more than 20 seconds - a gap that enabled the Pole to make his second pit-stop without losing the lead - were blistering. He now leads the championship, and if all around him continue to lose their heads, he could even win it.
2. Nick Heidfeld As Martin Brundle pointed out during ITV’s coverage, Heidfeld appeared to be pissed off with second place, because BMW had been threatening to win for ages; when they did, it was Kubica who reaped the reward, not him. Still, second place was a welcome return to form for the under-pressure German.
Former F1 driver, not like other NASCAR drivers
Scott Speed never made it in F1, but then he was driving for Toro Rosso, so we’ll cut him some slack. The eccentric - by NASCAR standards, at least - Californian is currently working his way up through the NASCAR ranks with aim of driving in the series’ premier Sprint Cup. He won the most recent Craftsman Truck Series race, held last weekend at Dover International Speedway, in only his sixth start - which all bodes well for his future in the sport. But there was something you may not know about Speed’s victory:
He had the tips of his toenails painted blue. Yep, you heard right. Toenails. Painted. Blue.
“That’s going to become a tradition,” Speed, 25, said of his pedicure after winning in a Red Bull Toyota.
