He better.

With one of their former drivers, Kimi Raikkonen, making his return to F1, the pressure is on Lewis Hamilton to get back to championship form this 2012 F1 season.

Yes, McLaren is expecting an intense in-house fight this season as Lewis Hamilton attempts to get back at team-mate Jenson Button for beating him last year.

Last year’s Championship, which was marred by controversy both on and off the track for Lewis Hamilton, was the first in which the Brit had been beaten by his team-mate. And McLaren’s Neale reckons it could be just the spark that Hamilton needs to turn his fortunes around.

“Drivers don’t like being beaten by their team-mate, and world Champions don’t like being beaten by anybody else either,” he said during the Autosport International Show.

“Given the nature of Lewis being a fiercely competitive and driven individual, that was never going to sit easy with him. But it certainly wasn’t an annus horribilis for Lewis by any means because we did win multiple races, but by his standards and ours it was a year for some learning and reflection.”

“A lot of work has gone on over the winter to build a car to enable both guys to come back and get the job done, and for Lewis a chance to reflect on 2011 and come back as the man he’d like to be.”

The McLaren managing director, though, insists…

Read More » McLaren counting on Lewis Hamilton to step up

And as F1 fans, we couldn’t wait any longer.

Fernando Alonso believes F1 could be in for a vintage year in the coming 2012 F1 season.

How come? Well, in case you’ve been living under a rock lately, there will be no fewer than six F1 World Champions on the grid next season, the most in Formula One for quite some time.

You see, this year, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher will be joined by the returning Kimi Raikkonen in what is, at least on paper, the strongest line-up in the history of the sport.

”It is great years we are having,” Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso told the BBC.

”We just need to enjoy because we don’t know how long we can be racing for these Championships and how many times we will see this number of Champions there.”

”It is great and it puts the level of the Championship higher than ever.”

”We will enjoy the Championship, the spectators will enjoy it. We can have some good races with good emotion.”

However, if Ferrari wants to win any of those races and fight for the title, Alonso concedes his team needs to…

Read More » Alonso believes 2012 F1 Season will be the shit

He’ll be lining up back in the starting grid next year.

Former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, 2007 Formula One World Champion, has dabbled in some other forms of racing in the two years since he left F1: he competed in the World Rally Championship in 2010 and 2011, and even gave NASCAR a shot, competing in the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2011 for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

On November 29th, 2011, it was announced that Raikkonen would return to the series of his greatest success in the 2012 F1 season, signing on with Lotus for the next two years in F1.

With all his credentials and his competitiveness, Raikkonen still poses a threat. Even his former McLaren teammate David Coulthard believes so. He has said that Kimi Raikkonen will be better than ever when he returns to Formula 1 with the Lotus Renault team in 2012.

Coulthard drove alongside Raikkonen at McLaren from 2002 to ’04, and reckons the maturity and perspective the Finn has gained since his initial F1 stint will be hugely beneficial.

“I think he’s more worldly now,” Coulthard told reporters at the…

Read More » Can Kimi Raikkonen get his old form in F1 back?

After two world titles, he probably is.

Christian Horner believes Sebastian Vettel’s impressive run this 2011 F1 season has earned him the billing of “the best driver in the world”.

The 24-year-old Sebastian Vettel dominated the world of Formula One on his way to a second Drivers’ Championship title in 2011, winning 11 grands prix and claiming a record-breaking 15 pole positions. And although some detractors will always say it’s the car not the driver, Horner reckons Vettel’s hard work is simply paying off.

“In 2010 he had a tough year. He was publicly criticised for some of his actions, and unreliability cost him three wins. But he never gave up, and it all came right for him in Abu Dhabi,” Horner told Motorsport Magazine.

“Once the Championship was on his CV that pressure was gone, replaced with a new confidence, and he’s stepped up a level this year. Based on 2011, you have to say Sebastian is currently the best driver in the world.”

“He works harder on his own performance than any other driver in the pitlane. He’ll be in the paddock later than anyone on Friday and Saturday night, even if he has pole, trawling through his data and Mark’s, soaking up information like a sponge.”

“He has the speed, the racecraft, the intelligence and the…”

Read More » Sebastian Vettel Best F1 Driver In The World?

Yeah, the fiery Finn is back people.

But there are some concerns that Kimi Raikkonen won’t be as committed as he once was when we kickoff the brand new 2012 F1 season. Well, as far as Kimi is concerned, that just won’t be the case.

Fans who fear that Kimi Raikkonen won’t be 100 per cent committed to Formula One when he returns in 2012 can rest assured that the Finn is fully motivated.

Raikkonen, who won the 2007 World Championship with Ferrari, will make a comeback with Lotus Renault GP next year after spending two seasons in the World Rally Championship.

The Finn’s relaxed demeanour earned him the nickname “Iceman” during his previous stint in Formula One, but not everyone was impressed with his style and he was often accused of lacking enthusiasm for the sport. Raikkonen, though, has been quick to brush aside concerns that he won’t be motivated when he returns, saying he doesn’t “really care about what people say”.

“The main reason was that I never really lost the passion for racing in Formula 1, just maybe for all the other things around it,” he said. “But when I did some NASCAR races this year I noticed that I was increasingly missing the racing side – to race against each other – because in rallying you really race against the clock.”

“And then I got the call from certain people in Formula 1…”

Read More » Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 in 2012 with Lotus

Because the Ferrari driver knows his fellow Brazilian is on the verge of losing his seat in Williams to Kimi Raikkonen next year.

Felipe Massa has some advice for Rubens Barrichello coming to the conclusion of the 2011 F1 season in their home country of Brazil, quit with your head held high instead of becoming a pay driver.

Formula One veteran Rubens Barrichello is on the verge of losing his seat in F1 as Williams are reportedly on the verge of replacing him with Kimi Raikkonen for the 2012 season.

The 39-year-old is determined to remain in the sport and there have been suggestions that he might look for sponsors to help him secure a drive. Felipe Massa, though, feels his compatriot should call it a day and bow out in style at his home race at Interlagos this weekend.

“I did give him an advice: to quit,” Massa said during an interview with TotalRace

“To me, Barrichello had an incredible career in F1: the driver who competed in most GPs and with many wins under his belt. It is a career most drivers would dream to have.”

“He raced for the best teams in F1. I haven’t advise him to…”

Read More » Felipe Massa advices Rubens Barrichello to retire

Can you imagine that?

While the 2011 F1 season comes to a conclusion, it seems business is just starting to pick up, as far as one particular driver is concerned. And a talented one at that.

And in case you missed this article’s headline, yeah, I’m referring to Lewis Hamilton. And yes, the rumors about him moving to Ferrari is starting to become more of a fact.

How? Well, the fact that he had a tumultuous season with McLaren this year, add that to his breakup with his Pussycat Doll girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, everything points to a switch of environment for the former F1 world champion.

Because that will give him the clean slate that he needs.

And if Lewis Hamilton did move to Ferrari, that will reunite him with his former teammate – turned – rival – then – friend – again, Fernando Alonso.

Oh in case you didn’t know, the two exchanged praises this season on more than one occasion, unofficially ending their rivalry that started back in McLaren.

According to some reports, Lewis Hamilton isn’t happy with McLaren anymore. The reason? His teammate Jenson Button’s upsurge in pace and popularity.

Oh yeah, in case you didn’t know, Hamilton developed this feud…

Read More » Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari just started trending again

They want him back in the sport.

So much so that Kimi Raikkonen’s former F1 teams, McLaren and Ferrari, have both urged Williams to bring the Finn back into the sport once the 2011 F1 season is done.

Yes, Williams recently admitted to holding talks with Kimi Raikkonen about a possible return to Formula One next season.

The Finn has been out of the sport since parting ways with Ferrari at the end of the 2009 season, however, Martin Whitmarsh, who worked with him at McLaren from 2002 to 2006, believes the 32-year-old would be a good assist for Williams.

Asked what advice he would give Williams with regard to Raikkonen, Whitmarsh said, ”Try and sign him.”

“We all know Kimi is quick, and people underestimate how intelligent he can be. I hope he is hungry. I’m sure he hasn’t lost the capability to thrill us in Formula One, so I think it would be fantastic for Formula One.”

”I wouldn’t ordinarily presume to advise Sir Frank on who he should sign, but I think it would be exciting if he did.”

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali agrees with Whitmarsh, saying…

Read More » Kimi Raikkonen to return to F1 with Williams?

Well of course he has some confidence after winning in Abu Dhabi.

The 2011 F1 season is about to conclude in Brazil and while Lewis Hamilton haven’t had the best of campaigns, he would love it if he can finish the season strong.

Yeah sure, Lewis Hamilton may be experiencing some ”turbulent air” in his personal life, but he insists he never lost faith in his own ability.

The McLaren driver has endured a troublesome 2011 both on and off the track. While his teammate Jenson Button found himself regularly on the podium, Hamilton was left frustrated by penalties and collisions. He was also heavily criticised by some of his fellow drivers for his aggressive behaviour on track while away from F1 things were also not going well.

The 26-year-old, though, hit back at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday to claim his first race win since July and third of the season. Hamilton says he never suffered from a confidence crisis despite his woes.

“The reason why I have never spoken about [my problems] is because it is personal. It is family-related. But I haven’t doubted my talent. Other people have, but it has always been there.”

“It is just getting through the mess. It is like getting through the clouds. When you take off, particularly in England, you go through all those clouds. Then you get to the top, where it is just clear. I think I have been going through all that turbulent…”

Read More » Lewis Hamilton, confident heading to Brazil

Yeah, they’re probably saying, ”fuck it, we’ll just go for second place.”

With Sebastian Vettel lording over the 2011 F1 season before eventually winning his second straight title, Ferrari have not given up hope of securing second place in the 2011 Drivers’ Championship.

And these guys can probably win it through Fernando Alonso. Alonso is currently third in the standings – 13 points off second-placed Jenson Button – with only the races in Abu Dhabi and Brazil still to go.

Alonso, though, will be up against it given that Jenson Button has been the only driver to really challenge World Champion Sebastian Vettel at the front of the grid in recent races.

“Clearly, we are not pleased (with how the season went), as we have said so often,” team principal Stefano Domenicali said during Ferrari’s World Finals event at Mugello.

“In the remaining two races, we want to try and get on the podium and try all we can to get Fernando to second place in the Drivers’ classification. Meanwhile…”

Read More » Ferrari to settle for second in the 2011 F1 season