2007 Driver Line-Up - New Twist

Speculation surrounding the timing and appearance of Ferrari's driver line-up for 2007 has taken a new twist, with reports that - at Monza - the Italian team plans to confirm the identity of three racers.

The Guardian in England cited the information of 'sources close to Ferrari' while suggesting that the highly-anticipated press announcement is likely to feature the names Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher.

"But their precise status will be defined later," the report said, "(giving) Schumacher another few months of decision time."

At the same time, the Spanish sports newspaper AS is claiming that Raikkonen has now signed a contract to drive not only for Ferrari in 2007, but also for Renault.

The article explained that the 26-year-old Finn's Renault contract contains a clause that allows him to drive for Ferrari in the event that Michael Schumacher retires.

Similarly, Raikkonen's Ferrari deal would be void if Schumacher keeps racing beyond 2006.

Schumi Promises to Fight Hard

Monday, August 28th: Great athletes are people who can handle set-backs better than others: without this skill, that's no secret, they wouldn't be as successful - and without this skill, they wouldn't be able to turn things around time and time again. And that's exactly what Michael plans to do in the remaining four races.

"Okay, the race at Istanbul didn't do us any good in the fight for the championship. Okay, so it's become a little more difficult now," a determined Michael stated. "But to think we'd give up now would be a huge mistake. It's still possible for us to secure the title, and each and every one of us wants it. There are still 40 points to be scored, so anything is still possible. We will continue to attack and put the pressure on and we will keep on taking risks, because that is the only way to do it. I don't like to make any promises, but I will promise one thing: we will keep going all out to score this title.“

Massa storms to maiden win

Felipe Massa stormed to his maiden F1 victory from pole position in Turkey becoming the sport's second first-time winner in as many races. Fernando Alonso held off immense pressure from Michael Schumacher in the final stages of the race to lead the German home in second and third places respectively.

Massa established himself in the lead ahead of Schumacher, Alonso, Button, Webber and Kubica. Things looked stable until lap 14 when Liuzzi spun under pressure from Albers and stalled his car in the middle of turn one. The safety car was deployed to remove the car from a dangerous position and Massa, Schumacher and Alonso all filed into the pits. Schumacher had to sit and wait though for Ferrari to service his team mate and in the meantime Alonso cruised past into second place. That proved to ruin any chances of Schumi finishing better than 3rd. Schumi now trails Alonso by 12 pts with 4 races left.

Schumi in Top 20 High Earning Celebrities

He can anonymously holiday in the country, but US business magazine Forbes has placed Michael Schumacher inside the top-twenty of its latest list of high-earning celebrities.

Hollywood director Steven Spielberg tops the charts with more than a staggering (US) $330 million for the year, while Ferrari's Schumacher - his annual take estimated at around the $60 million mark - is placed fifteenth.

On Forbes' ranking of 'celebrity power', meanwhile, 37-year-old Schumacher is situated just thirtieth, although he ranks sixth of the athletes, behind names including Muhammed Ali, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

Intriguingly, the magazine also found that Schumacher is the highest paid athlete who is not sponsored by Nike.

In another publication, however, Sport Illustrated said Schumacher topped its recent International Top-20 list, estimating the German's annual earnings at some $80 million.

He was trailed by Valentino Rossi, Ronaldinho, Maria Sharapova and David Beckham, although Tiger Woods topped the list of American athletes with a whopping $97.6m wage.

Schumi - Kimi Lineup For 2007 Looking Very Serious

Yet another racing publication has claimed inside knowledge of Michael Schumacher's decision, due to be publicly announced at Monza next month, about his future in Formula One beyond 2006.

Recent reports suggested that the 37-year-old German was set to retire, but Auto Bild Motorsport - citing 'sources' - now adds to claims in Britain that Schumacher is in fact due to sign a new contract for 2007.

The seven time World Champion's Ferrari deal will also include an 'option' for 2008, the German publication added, with Kimi Raikkonen as his new joint number-one team-mate.

With Schumacher-Raikkonen in the race cockpits, Maranello incumbent Felipe Massa is most likely to slip into a highly-paid role as a Ferrari test driver.

Ferrari's Latest Creation 612 P4/5

Called the 612 P4/5, the amazing creation mixes the artistic talents of legendary Italian design firm Pininfarina with the searing performance of the Ferrari Enzo. The stunning car will be officially unveiled to the public later this month at the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event in California.

A year and a half in the making, the project is the dream of super-rich US movie mogul and Ferrari enthusiast James Glickenhaus. He took his Enzo to Pininfarina requesting a completely new body inspired by the P4 racing cars which competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours back in the Sixties.

The P4/5 is a complete contrast to the sharply styled, Formula One-inspired Enzo on which it’s based. It has more than 200 completely new body parts, including a whole host of luscious curves, from the front wings to the tail.

But the most amazing feature of the P4/5 is the clear glass canopy. It extends from the windscreen over the roof and engine, all the way to the rear, and incorporates a pair of gullwing doors. At the front, the Enzo’s twin radiators have been replaced by a single unit to allow a shorter nose more in keeping with the P4 of the Sixties. In contrast, the LED headlamps and tail-lights, intricate 20-inch alloys and complex reprofiled venturi tunnels which help to provide downforce are bang up-to-date.

The steering wheel features the same paddleshifters as the Enzo on which the P4/5 is based, and they’re connected to an identical six-speed gearbox. Power comes from the same 660bhp 6.0-litre V12, too, but thanks to that glass roof and new bodywork, weight has fallen by 55kg to 1,310kg.

Combined with wind tunnel-tested aerodynamics, that means the P4/5 has a potential top speed of 225mph, up from the Enzo’s 217mph. A wider track front and rear offer even higher cornering speeds, too. It should ensure an incredible response when the 612 P4/5 gets its official public launch at Pebble Beach on 20 August.

Schumi Fails To Finish Hungarian Grand Prix

The weekend started to look good for schumi when Alonso as penalized by 2 seconds in each qualifying session for dangerous driving and passing on yellow flags in the second practice session. Then schumi got the same penalty for passing Alonso on the red flag in practice session 3 which obviously was provoked by Alonso’s sudden breaking.

Then the race. The wet conditions made for a thrilling first lap. Massa struggled despite his front row grid slot but the action was all on Schumacher and Alonso who were fourth and fifth by the end of the first lap.

Alonso was then on the tail of Schumacher at the end of lap three and feigned a move down the inside of the final corner, but Schumacher wasn't about to give up - slamming the door firmly. But it was not enough and Alonso was rampant over the back of the Ferrari and eventually pulled off an audacious move around the outside of turn four to take fourth from Schumacher.

Schumacher was on full wets and struggling. The German dropped a further position as Button slipped through the inside of turn one on lap seven and went on to fall back almost twenty seconds behind Alonso in the next ten laps.

Schumacher's afternoon went from bad to worse as when Fisichella tried to pass around the outside, Schumacher lost grip and slid into the Renault, tearing his front wing off. The Ferrari pitted for repairs and took on intermediate tyres as the rain began to stream down.

As Alonso looked certain to claim back some points on Michael Schumacher his strong race fell apart after his second pit stop when he suffered a rear drive shaft failyre which sent him sliding off into the tyre barrier at turn two.

A dejected Alonso trudged back to the pits as Button steamed off into the lead. The Honda driver pitted for dry tyres on lap 54 and rejoined at the head of the field. Michael Schumacher found himself up in second place after a dramatic afternoon and seemed to settle for the eight points when he knew Alonso was out.

As Button was peerless out front, Schumacher fell under heavy pressure from Pedro de la Rosa and on lap 65 the pair had contact at chicane, Schumacher pushed wide and forced to cut the corner. Schumacher was defiant and would not let de la Rosa past, but the following lap the Spaniard proved too strong and took second place at the same corner.

Schumacher then fell into the clutches of Nick Heidfeld and the pair had contact at the chicane, Schumacher sustaining suspension damage and forced to retire in an epic race that saw both championship rivals suffer the same fate.

There is now a 3 week break and the next race will be on August 27 in Turkey.