The Formula 1 Blog

With average speeds of 250 km/h and top speeds of 340km/h, Monza is one of the quickest circuits on the Formula One calendar, as well as one of the oldest. Also home to the Tifosi, the track isn't short on atmosphere either. The drivers and team members explain why they love Monza and discuss their prospects for the Italian Grand Prix…

Next weekend's Italian Grand Prix will see the return of F1 Rocks™ to the Formula One scene with a headline performance from international rock sensations The Stereophonics. The Welsh band will be supported by emerging singing talent Ben Montague at the concert, which will be held on Saturday night. “F1 Rocks™ is undoubtedly the most exciting event platform and could only be possible with the global spectacular that is Formula One,” said Rob Montague, chairman of Enterprise Entertainment, the organiser of F1 Rocks. “The Stereophonics headlining our show is very exciting. Milan's Formula One heritage and status as a fashion and style capital makes it a perfect place for F1 Rocks™.”

Pirelli's preparations to return to Formula One racing in 2011 as the sport's sole tyre supplier continued apace this week, thanks to a successful test at France's Paul Ricard circuit. The firm's official test driver Nick Heidfeld was again on track following his debut outing for the tyre manufacturer in Italy at Mugello last month. Heidfeld spent the two-day test behind the wheel of a Toyota TF109, which was fitted with Pirelli's latest Formula One tyres. The German continued the development programme, working on both constructions and compounds. With the performance, consistency and reliability of the new rubber fully matching expectations, Pirelli were well-satisfied.

Lotus made history on Wednesday, fielding the youngest-ever Formula One test driver. Sixteen year-old Malaysian Nabil Jeffri, who is a member of the AirAsia ASEAN driver development programme, undertook a day of aero testing and pit-stop practice on behalf of the team at Duxford's Imperial War Museum runway in the UK...

Race organisers for the forthcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, have released a draft layout of the new circuit that will stage the event from 2012, when Formula One racing returns to the country for the first time in five years. Working with renowned track architect Hermann Tilke, organisers Full Throttle Productions LP have drawn inspiration from the best circuits around the world, as well as taking advantage of the site's natural topography to include some dramatic elevation changes...

Students from around the world are putting the finishing touches to their model Formula One cars ahead of the 2010 F1 in Schools World Finals, which will be held in Singapore next month. The global educational challenge, which is privileged to have the support of the Formula One fraternity, draws together the best young engineers, business minds and designers, as they compete for the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy as well as Automotive and Motorsport Engineering scholarships to City University London.

He arrived at Ferrari amid much fanfare, but Fernando Alonso has endured more downs than ups during a fraught 2010 season. However, as the dust settles on a particularly tough Belgian Grand Prix, Alonso is determined to stay positive ahead of the Italian team's home event at Monza next weekend - a race he says could prove critical to his dwindling title hopes. After qualifying down in 10th, the Spaniard's Spa-Francorchamps event was further hampered by first-lap contact with the Williams of Rubens Barrichello and then an early tyre choice mistake. When the rain eventually returned, he crashed out of the race on Lap 38.

Petronas have signed an agreement with the Formula One Group to extend the national oil and gas corporation's title sponsorship of the Malaysian round of the FIA Formula One World Championship for another five years. Under the extended partnership, Petronas will continue to hold the title sponsorship rights as well as extensive advertising, branding and promotional benefits for the event until 2015. The partnership will provide Petronas the opportunity to continue leveraging on Formula One's massive global appeal to build and support its international business expansion efforts as well as position Malaysia as a major sporting and tourism destination.

Renault's Robert Kubica is in a buoyant mood after clinching his third podium of the year at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. Although he could have finished in second if he hadn't made a mistake during his final pit stop, Kubica left Spa-Francorchamps feeling pleased with his third-place finish and the performance of his R30, which was running with an F-duct system for the first time. “It was a really incredible race, but also a difficult race because of the changeable conditions and it was very easy to make mistakes,” he said in his blog on Renault's official website. “I didn't make any big mistakes on the track, but unfortunately I made one in the pit lane, which cost me second place.

Students from around the world are putting the finishing touches to their model Formula One cars ahead of the 2010 F1 in Schools World Finals, which will be held in Singapore next month. The global educational challenge, which is privileged to have the support of the Formula One fraternity, draws together the best young engineers, business minds and designers, as they compete for the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy as well as Automotive and Motorsport Engineering scholarships to City University London.