Seven time F1 champ Michael Schumacher may re-retire at the end of the 2011 racing season, despite a contract that extends a full year beyond that point.

Schumacher first retired in 2006, only to return to the pinnacle of motorsports in 2009, driving for Mercedes-Benz.

“I arrived at Mercedes with a specific task: not winning at all costs but to grow the team,” he said in an interview with Corriere dello Sport. “If anything, I am the problem: it is a fact that I am a bit more relaxed than before and I do not know if my mindset is right for this team.”

Those words seem to speak volumes about Schumacher’s intentions, but no decision has been made yet he insists. “At some point we will evaluate whether I continue or stop,” he said.

If Schumacher does retire from F1, Mercedes is expected to draft Force India pilot Paul di Resta to race along side Nico Rosberg.

[Source: Speed]

Recently, Formula One has take a greener turn, becoming more environmental by exchanging high-revving V8 engines for 1.6-liter turbo sixes in 2014.

In addition, changes to the 2012 regulations now make it mandatory that F1 cars run entirely on electric power for the entire time they’re in the pit lane. Rule 5.19 of the revised technical regulations states that, “The car must be run in electric mode (no ignition and no fuel supply to the engine) at all times when being driven in the pit lane.” To accommodate electric-only propulsion in and out of the pit lane, the new Energy Recovery Systems have been increased in capacity to 120 kW, and the system will also be allowed to recapture energy from exhaust fumes as well.

While a victory for technology in once respect, unfortunately it also means we will no longer be able to enjoy the high-pitched whine of the engine revving as the car leaves its pit stall. And with no sound to notify surrounding pit crews that a car is leaving, there’s certainly a level of danger involved too.

[Source: Pitpass]

Some might know David Coulthard as a DTM-series racing driver, piloting a Mercedes-Benz C-class racer. Some might know him as a commentator for the Formula-One races broadcast by the BBC. However, most know him best as a Formula One driver, who has won 13-races in this elite series, and was once part of the dream team at McLaren-Mercedes with teammate Mika Hakkinen.

Now Coulthard can add another occupation to his resume, brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division.

From now on, the 40 year old Scotland native will be an active member during customer and press days, and his first duties with the brand revolve around the new 557-hp E63 AMG.

At the announcement, Ola Källenius, Chairman of Mercedes-Benz AMG said: “We are very pleased to welcome David Coulthard as a new member of the AMG family. As a fair sportsman and well-liked personality, David is perfectly suited to AMG and its more than 40 years of motorsports history. As an active DTM driver and Formula-One driver of many years standing, David Coulthard has very extensive know-how which makes him a very knowledgeable partner for our engineers when configuring new AMG high-performance models.”

Coulthard, who was also at hand for this announcement said: “I have been a member of the Mercedes-Benz family since 1996, and now I am also joining AMG as an exciting high-performance brand. This is without doubt the perfect complement to my job as a DTM driver, where I already drive an AMG C-Class of course.”

Why is this man pulling an F1 car with a Dodge Viper GTS? Because he just bought it.

The F1 car, not the Viper—though given the funds needed to make such an impulse buy, he probably owns the other as well. A man in England bought Rubens Barrichello’s 2007 Honda F1 RA107 race car, chronicling every step of the purchase and rebuild. He bought it at a Bonhams auction in December of 2010 for £37,000, or $59,600—unfortunately, without an engine or steering rack.

Hence, the towing.

The Viper’s truck-derived V10 makes a perfect soundtrack in towing this Honda F1 car, which—to be fair—doesn’t exactly bottom out any suspensions in the first place. Between the two, the combined horsepower is probably enough to invade a small European nation. I wonder if the Top Gear trio will be as enraged getting stuck behind this convoy as they do behind caravans.

The enthusiastic buyer plans to put a Hartley V8 into the car in lieu of the original Honda 2.4-liter V10, which is an appropriate substitute: two Suzuki Hayabusa engines joined at the crank, good for 500 horsepower and 10,000rpm.

Click the jump to see the video.

[Source: Car Guy Dad]

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Replicating a stunt from back in 2003 when Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Gordon swapped race cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earlier this week F1 pilot Lewis Hamilton and NASCAR racer Tony Stewart made the switch.

Organized by Mobil 1 (which sponsors both racers), the event took place at Watkins Glen, the site of the first Formula 1 race in America. It’s also one of very few tracks to have ever hosted both an F1 and a NASCAR race.

Little more than a marketing stunt, it’s fun to watch and see how the two driver’s compare. Plus, we all know Montoya couldn’t resist the lure of NASCAR. Hamilton… you next?

Watch the videos after the jump:

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Infiniti’s Performance Line (IPL) seems to be a little bit underwhelming right now, but it looks like the luxury car manufacturer is continuing to push forward to prove their IPL G37 Coupe can be a total blast to drive. By teaming up with Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull’s Formula One defending champion, Infiniti is planning to come out with a special edition G37 Coupe that’s inspired by the young driver’s prowess.

Sebastian Vettel is the best driver out there in Formula One right now, and this video shows just how smoothly and effortlessly he commands the IPL G37 Coupe. It’ll be interesting if this partnership really helps influence demand on the IPL line of offerings from Infiniti, but here’s to hoping that it’ll feature some real performance add-ons and not just some special badging and minor accessories.

Check out the video of Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel of an IPL G37 Coupe after the break.

[Source: FastLaneDaily]

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Gymkhana expert, flat-bill cap aficionado and a man who knows the importance of thanking his sponsors, Ken Block, will drive a Formula 1 car.

Wait… what? OK, Block won’t actually race a car, he’s just going to drive one. The car will be the Pirelli F1 test car, and Block will drive it on August 5th at Monza in Italy. The stunt is being arranged through Pirelli, which signed on as one of Block’s sponsors in 2009 and is the current tire supplier for Formula One.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do some pretty spectacular stunts in my career so far,” said the stunt-driver turned WRC pro, “but this is something else! Everybody talks about Formula One being the pinnacle of world motorsport so I can’t wait to discover it for myself. I’m very grateful to Pirelli, which has been one of my partners since 2010, for this amazing opportunity. These cars are so specialised that I need to be realistic about what I can do, but I know that it’s going to be a lot of fun and take hooning to a whole new level…”

The weekend’s Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix had a little of everything. There was a two hour rain delay and even some racing. And we’re not talking about a stupid fast 18,000 rpm parade, but a down-to-the-wire, pass on the past lap, OMG Schumacher might actually get on the podium, oops, no he didn’t kid of race.

It almost also included the near death (or at least severe injury) of a track marshall who perhaps had tipped back a few too many Molsons during the extended red flag portion of the race.

All joking aside, the marshall trips and falls while attempting to pick up track debris and then stumbles again. Missed by one car, he then seems to catch his breath on track, before another driver is forced to lock up the brakes and avoid a collision.

Enjoy the video after the jump. It’s both terrifying and comical:

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Well, they did it. The organizers for the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix have canceled the Formula One race, citing the criticism from fans and teams alike as the catalyst.

“It has been made clear that this fixture cannot progress and we fully respect that decision,” said Zayed R Alzayani, chairman for the Bahrain International Circuit. “We want our role in Formula One to continue to be as positive and constructive as it has always been, therefore, in the best interest of the sport, we will not pursue the rescheduling of a race this season.”

More than 30 people have been killed since February due to the protests in Bahrain, which contradicted the assurances given by government ministers to F1 officials that the October 30th race could still continue.

“Hopefully we can return (to Bahrain) in the future, but of course it’s not on,” said Bernie Ecclestone.

[Sources: USA Today, Biser3a]

Formula One’s governing body is planning to reconsider the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix and cast a revote among all teams, after its former president and one of its top drivers called for F1 to cancel the event among continued unrest.

“The way things are at the moment, we have no idea what is going to happen,” said Bernie Ecclestone, head octogenarian of the FIA corporate machine. Bahrain is slated to pay the FIA $40 million to host the race, but Ecclestone insists it isn’t about the money. “It is whether it is safe and good to have a race, that is the issue. We can change this by October 30 date by having a vote by fax if necessary. It can be done, and fast.”

So did it take Mosley to pipe up about Bahrain for the FIA to act, or was it inevitable all along? Well, head FIA president Dark Helmet Bernie Ecclestone is a buddy of his, and the two have stuck together through times of whips and chains thick and thin, and Mosley defends this new position from Ecclestone.

“I don’t think there is the slightest chance the Grand Prix will actually happen,” he said during a BBC radio interview. “Apart from anything else you cannot change the calendar, in the way that is proposed to change, without the unanimous agreement of the teams.”

Bahrain is still facing political turmoil as of recently, with police arresting protestors en masse. A vote to cancel the Bahrain race, currently scheduled for October 30th, would require a unanimous decision from all teams.

[Source: Times of India]

Stupidity knows no bounds. Need an example? Try running out in front of a moving Formula 1 race car… you know, those highest of high-tech race machines capable of hitting 60 mph in under two seconds and speed of well over 200 mph.

That’s exactly what one crazed fan did at a recent Red Bull exhibition in Japan. The F1 car was being driven by Sebastien Buemi and lucky for the sprinting idiot with a vertical leap much lower than he had hoped, Buemi wasn’t going very quickly.

From the video it’s obvious that he managed to walk away from the incident although we’re pretty sure the authorities will be having more than just a few words with him.

Watch the video after the jump:

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Even though the FIA has given the go-ahead to add Bahrain to the 2011 schedule, some aren’t so sure it’s a good idea to race in the troubled country—like Mark Webber, driver for the Red Bull F1 team.

Webber was “disappointed” in the decision. “My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February,” he wrote on his personal website and his Twitter feed. “Even though a decision has been made, I’ll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year. When people in a country are being hurt, the issues are bigger than sport.”

The unrest in Bahrain captured the attention of the world back in March, with protests against the government as part of the “Arab Spring.” The 2011 race in Bahrain is scheduled for October 30th, but the country is still in a state of turmoil, as Webber mentions.

“As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country,” he said. “I don’t understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that.”

[Source: Autosport]

The FIA has just posted its 2012 Formula 1 schedule, and good news to race fans and Americans in general: in the world of international motorsports, our fair nation is once again significant!

That’s right, the 10th round of the 2012 Grand Prix schedule includes a date in Austin, Texas—the return of F1 to our shores since 2007, when the U.S.:  Grand Prix at Indianapolis staggered on for two years after the embarrassing 2005 tire controversy. FIA president and Dr. Evil impersonator Bernie Ecclestone vowed in 2009 to never return to the U.S. again, but last year Austin was awarded a 10-year race contract on a brand-new track, the Circuit of the Americas, to be completed in time for next year’s race.

So mark your calendars for June 10th, for when the F1 circus storms into Austin to continue keeping it weird. Now that America is back on the international racing map, maybe we can embrace soccer next. Nah, one step at a time.

Indefinitely postponed after the March 13th race was canceled, the FIA has reportedly given the green light for the Bahrain Grand Prix to return to the Formula 1 schedule this season.

“Mabrook, Bahrain, will host f1″, tweeted Fawaz Al Khalifa, the head of the country’s information affairs authority, adding that a date is being worked out now.

The news comes after a meeting of F1′s World Motor Sport Council and just as the Bahrain government lifted an emergency rule on Wednesday.

The FIA has yet to confirm these reports, but the race is believed to take place on October 30th (the former date of the Indian GP), which would then be pushed back to as late as December.

[Source: Guardian]

Infiniti might not have their own F1 team, but that little detail isn’t stopping them from helping the Red Bull team with an energy-recovery system for their F1 team. Consider it Infiniti’s foot in the grand prix door.

Infiniti’s and Nissan’s electric car expertise are what drew Red Bull to them in the first place, and Infiniti is helping them develop their Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for their Renault-powered F1 cars, which will help F1 cars recapture energy lost from heavy braking. “There are long-term goals for the partnership to go beyond that of a straight sponsorship deal and enter a sharing of engineering information,” said an anonymous source at Infiniti.

Red Bull is already using the Infiniti badge on their Renault-sourced engines, in order to promote the Infiniti brand in Europe. Of course, the fact that Renault, Nissan, and Infiniti are all under the big happy Ghosn-raised family is making this possible.

[Source: What Car?]

Ferrari launched its first official store in Barcelona, coinciding with Spanish driver Fernando Alonso’s, Formula one contract extension, set to last until 2016.

The store opened at number 44 Paseo de Garcia in the heart of Barcelona with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa hosting the event with a brand-new Ferrari FF. This store joins other prestigious locations such as Rome, New York, Abu Dhabi, London and Johannesburg.

The store will features a section designated to the Scuderia racing team as well as men’s, women’s and children”s clothing. The bottom floor area will feature Ferrari’s GT and F1 section. Historic and contemporary Ferrari art work can be found throughout the store, reminding shoppers of the company’s rich racing history.

[Source: Motor Ward]

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and Exor, the investment firm owned by the Agnelli family, have made public their plan to buy Formula 1, the entire sport—right out from Bernie Ecclestone and his CVC Capital firm.

The two agencies are looking to secure all, if not most, of the commercial rights to the world’s biggest racing league, but even this won’t necessarily come to fruition. Because if it does, it would make for strange bedfellows—Exor is chaired by John Elkann, scion of the Agnelli family and chairman of Fiat…which owns a certain racing team named Ferrari.

The very idea of Ferrari, already the 800-pound gorilla of the room, having a tenuous stake in the entirety of F1, would surely lead to a riot. Some may think it’s bad enough that former Ferrari chief Jean Todt already presides over the FIA, F1′s governing body, but this could mean a new way for Ferrari to dominate the sport. Hey, the whims of the super-rich are not to be trifled with.

[Source: Autoblog]

Renault’s Vitaly Petrov recently made history by becoming the first Russian driver to clinch a Formula One podium finish. Now he’s making history through the Internet with this awesome footage of him catching air at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Going slightly wide on turn 7 of the course, Petrov launched his Renault race car while in eighth place. Unfortunately the landing snapped the steering column, ending his day of racing short. His teammate Nick Heidfeld did clinch a podium finish however.

Check out the video after the break.

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The Ferrari-Ford rivalry is back on! Just in case it was possible to confuse America’s best-selling pickup truck with Ferrari’s newest F1 car, the Prancing Horse has chosen to spell it out painfully and slowly for the rest of us. The two companies have come to an agreement over the name F150, which Ferrari sought for their newest F1 entry.

Ford objected to this, filing a lawsuit and disputing Ferrari’s similar logo. In response, Ferrari added a “th” to the end of the name, for “Ferrari F150th Italia,” in honor of the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification. Ford was ok with this—after all, the 150th anniversary of Italian unification only comes around once.

But Ferrari wasn’t pleased enough at this frankly crass comparison between their almighty racing team and a mere blue-collar work truck! So they tweaked the name further, just to be sure—and the 2011 Ferrari Formula 1 racing car is now known as the “Ferrari F150° Italia.” The symbol is the Italian representation of the “th” suffix, a further change from the name that Ford agreed with, and gives the Ferrari car even more Italian-ness than an entire Olive Garden parking lot of Raptors.

And just to drive the point home, Ferrari issued a sardonic press release labeling the situation “Kafkaesque” and applauding the prevailing of common sense, “order to avoid the slightest risk of anyone confusing a Formula 1 car with a pick-up truck…which should make it clear even to the thickest of people.” Just in case, you know, you do forget.

No word on whether Ford will hire Carroll Shelby to vanquish the ghost of Enzo Ferrari behind the wheel of a Lariat, or if Ferrari will introduce a special Harley-Davidson Edition with a “man step” in the tailgate. What would Hank the Deuce do?

Due to the ongoing protests in Bahrain, F1 officials have officially pulled the plug on the Bahrain Grand Prix, originally scheduled for March 13th.

F1′s governing body, the FIA, and its president Bernie Ecclestone have decided to “postpone” the opening race of the 2011 season, instead starting in Melbourne, Australia on March 27th. A new date is still being considered to the already-full 20-race schedule.

The past few weeks have been full of speculation on whether the FIA would make a statement regarding the humanitarian issue. The deadly protests in Bahrain against the monarchy are still ongoing, and holding an F1 race there after such political upheaval would have been trivial, if not disastrous.

[Sources: The Telegraph, BBC]

Robert Kubica, one of Formula-One’s finest drivers, suffered a terrible crash over the weekend, when his Skoda Fabia rally-car slid off the road and hit a church wall. The crash took place just 4-miles from the start of the Ronde di Andora rally in Italy.

The 26 year-old Polish star has suffered massive injury to his right hand, as it got partially severed in the crash. He has also suffered injury to his shoulder and elbow.

After a 7-hour surgery on his hand, the doctors have reported that Kubica is “able to move his fingers” and even “spoke to his relatives” according to a statement released by Renault.

Kubica, who has been the senior driver in the Renault -F1  team, just recently completed testing of the new Group Lotus-Renault R31 in Valencia, Spain. He is known to participate in rallying events, a decision Renault F1 boss Eric Boullier defends.

According to reports, it took the rescue team over an hour to pull Kubica from his wrecked car, because the race car had to be cut open to extract him safely. He was then air-lifted to Santa Corona hospital near Genoa, where the operation took place.

To reduce physical stress, the doctors will put Kubica under gentle medication to allow him to sleep as much as possible. They will operate on his elbow and shoulder in a few days time, allowing his body to recover from the first operation. Professor Mario Igor Rossello, who was part of the surgery team said that Kubica had lost a lot of blood, and when he arrived at the hospital he was unconscious, hence they had to wait before operating on him. However, now “the hand is warm and this means the operation went well” said Rossello.

Due to the injuries suffered in this crash, Kubica will probably have to miss the entire 2011 F1 season, and its too soon to say what lies beyond this year. His doctors however are confident that the recovery should take less than a year.

The newly formed Lotus-Renault F1 team has two reserve drivers, namely Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean who can step in to fill the seat for the 2011 F1 season which starts on March 13.

All of us at the AutoGuide office would like to wish Kubica a speedy recovery and will hopefully see him back in action soon.

(Source: BBC)

With the 2011 Formula 1 season fast approaching, the sport’s various teams are getting ready to unveil their latest entries. One of the most highly anticipated unveilings was that of Ferrari‘s newest machine, the F150.

No, the Italian squad has not taken a Ford F-150 pick-up truck and turned it into a racer. Instead, they have come up with a car so revolutionary, that Aldo Costa, Ferrari’s technical director calls it a “complete rethink.”  ”We had to rethink quite a lot on the car from an aerodynamic point of view.”

The new car has to comply with all the technical changes mandated by Formula 1 for this season, including a ban on double diffusers . For 2011, hydraulically adjustable rear wings are allowed, which the driver can use when overtaking to give more straight-line speed.

The Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) has also been re-introduced, so expect more passing this season. The 2011 Formula 1season will kick-off on March 14th in Bahrain.

(Source: ITV)

Of all the highly touted films screening at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the one we want to see most is Senna, a documentary on the life of three time Formula 1 world Champion Ayrton Senna.

Assembled entirely from previously unseen archival footage from Senna’s career (spanning from his youth karting days until his death in 1994), Senna captured the imagination of millions of Formula 1 fans around the world, leading to a global launch for the film – excluding North America.

Hopefully, the documentary will help Senna find a distributor for this market, as well the strong review in the L.A. Times. Even though Formula 1 is less than popular in the United States, the universal themes of passion, brotherhood and adventure will surely resonate with audiences who couldn’t tell you the difference between Ferrari and McLaren.

[Source: L.A. Times]

Trailer after the jump

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Lotus made a less than successful return to F1 in 2010, after being out of the sport since 1994. However, it seems there will be lots of Lotus F1 cars on the grid for the 2011 season.

So apart from Team Lotus (formerly known as Lotus F1) which is a privately owned team, Group Lotus has bought a stake into the Renault F1 team to create Lotus Renault GP. So while there will be two Lotus F1 teams on the grid, only one will get factory support.

Works team chairman Gerard Lopez said, “We are delighted that we can now go public with the news that we will be racing as Lotus Renault GP in 2011.”

For fans it will be hard to spot which is which, because both teams will be using livery inspired by the JPS sponsored racing cars from the 1970′s, and since both teams are also using Renault engines, their performance should be about the same also. So expect an inner battle between the two Lotus F1 teams.

But there will also be a battle outside of the track. Group Lotus wants to pull the Lotus out of Team Lotus, as it wants to be the only team with this name. Tony Fernandes, owner of Team Lotus, says he will be fighting to keep the name, pointing out that Lotus’ F1 operations have historically always been separate from their road car business.

This matter will be dealt in court next year. Until then, expect a battle of the back markers between these two similar looking and similar sounding teams.