BMW drivers made to look like fools again

What Bobby Kubica really wants to do in preparation for this Sunday’s British GP is help team-mate Nick Heidfeld line up a tricky putt.

God, he looks bored. At least Nick looks semi-interested, for once. We guess that golf is not as exciting as driving a rocket on wheels.

More humiliation below…

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…

The best pics from Magny Cours

Nick Heidfeld and Bobby Kubica enjoy a cheese and wine tasting session. Nick, in particular, seems to be having a fine time. Question (we have asked it before): why do the poor BMW drivers always get to do the shittiest PR set-ups? You wouldn’t catch Kimi Raikkonen sat in a field before a GP, with a wooden tray of brie and grapes laid out in front of him.

More pics this way…

Who got lost in France?

Five winners:

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.

The first snaps from Magny Cours

Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen (back row), Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica (front row) look delighted to be stuck in Thursday’s pre-race press conference.

More below…

McLaren star says he’s feeling the heat

Lil’ Lewis has publicly admitted that he’s having a difficult second season.

“There’s so much pressure, and I can’t begin to explain how much pressure I have on my shoulders,” he said in a BBC interview.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself. Too much. And that led to mistakes, being too on the limit. I wasn’t really enjoying it (at the start of the season), to be honest.”

And having been flavour of the 2007 season, this season he seems to be winning few friends in the paddock. This week, Fernando Alonso, Bernie Ecclestone and Robert Kubica have all had a little pop at Lewis…

Williams star courted by BMW Sauber

Robert Kubica is playing it cool about rumours that cherubic Nico Rosberg could join him at BMW next season. Paddock whispers - often less effective than Chinese whispers - suggest that Rosberg could replace Nick Heidfeld for 2009.

Kubica says it doesn’t really make a difference to him who occupies the second BMW next season:

“For me it doesn’t change anything if it’s Nick or Nico: my team-mate is just one of 19 other drivers who I must beat,” he told La Stampa.

Ferrari test driver leads the way after first day in Spain

Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer (pictured), filling in for Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, set the fastest time on the first day of testing at Barcelona.

The 37-year-old Italian, a test driver at Maranello for almost a decade, set the pace early in the morning and held the top spot throughout the day - rain in the afternoon prevented any of the other drivers from setting a serious time.

Reasons why Polish Bobby won’t go all the way in 2008

Our tipster friends at Chicken Dinner have put together a very interesting list of reasons why the man currently leading the F1 world championship, BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, WON’T win the title this season.

For example, did you know:

* A German team has never produced an F1 world champion.

* You have to go back to 1991 (Ayrton Senna) to find the last world champion who didn’t record a fastest lap in any of his first five races; Kubica still hasn’t recorded one.

Check out our Montreal report card

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