Alonso and Massa's Ferrari F150 shakedown at Fiorano

Fernando Alonso got the opportunity to drive the new Ferrari F150 following its launch on Friday (28th Jan'11), while Felipe Massa took over duties on the second day yesterday, around Fiorano circuit in Maranello.

On this second day of acquiring footage of the car?s new livery for advertising purposes, the Fiorano Track opened its gates to a section of the fifteen thousand Scuderia Ferrari Club members. ?I would like to thank all of you for having coming all the way here to give us your passionate support,? said Stefano Domenicali as he got the day underway by addressing the crowd.

?Last year, on the day we won at Monza, feeling this wave of affection from all of you was a great motivating force as we fought our way back and we hope to give you something back this year with a championship title, something that we missed out on in Abu Dhabi by the smallest of margins. This car is dedicated to celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification because it is part of our makeup to feel pride in representing our country all over the world. Even if we have team-members who come from many different countries, starting with a Spaniard like Fernando and a Brazilian, albeit with Italian origins, like Felipe, we have a strong desire to hold high the national flag which is now seen in all its glory on our car.?

-Stefano Domenicali


A day of red hot enthusiasm at Fiorano

"Over a thousand people braved the cold and damp this morning to see the Ferrari F150 and the Scuderia?s full complement of drivers from Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa to Bianchi, Fisichella, Bertolini and all the youngsters from the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The weather was definitely not at its best, with a bit of sleet in the early hours of the morning making the track damp and temperatures were even lower than yesterday, so that Felipe Massa only did just over sixty kilometres at the wheel of the F150."

- Ferrari.com

Fernando Alonso's first laps in the Ferrari F150 (Day 1)

Felipe Massa drives the Ferrari F150 (Day 2)

Ferrari's movable rear wing in action

F1 websites across the web are pointing out the adjustable rear wing in action in the Ferrari F150 shakedown pictures. Have you noticed the rear wing in 'normal' and 'deployed' positions in the above pictures yet?!

The development testing will get underway in Valencia on Feb 1st. For launch and test schedules, go to this post (2011 Winter launch and Test schedule).



Images � Ferrari

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Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan - classic F1

Formula 1 branches out into the unknown with the inaugural Indian Grand Prix this weekend, and BBC Sport's classic F1 series is also trying something new.

Instead of one driver picking his favourite all-time races, we have asked two. Those men are India's only F1 drivers, Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan.

As F1 tries to make the biggest splash it can in this new market, both men will be driving on home soil this weekend - Karthikeyan for the whole weekend with HRT and Chandhok in his usual role in Friday practice with Team Lotus.

Both men are fans as well as racing drivers - and between them they have picked a cracking collection of all-time classic races.

Chandhok and Karthikeyan are representing their country at this weekend's inaugural Indian Grand Prix. Photos: Reuters and Getty

We'll start with Chandhok's five choices, explained in his own words.

France 1979

"It's one of those iconic examples of a wheel-to-wheel battle. Everyone sort of forgets that Jean-Pierre Jabouille won the race, and the battle for second place between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux was fantastic, the amount of times they ran each other off the road and all the rest of it.

"Think about all the penalties that are issued today. If it happened now, they would probably both have been penalised about four times a lap!

"But at the same time, they did it in a safe way. They squeezed each other but it wasn't ridiculously dangerous, no sudden moves. You could see it coming and the other guy had time to react. Fantastic wheel-to-wheel racing."

Australia 1986

"Probably the greatest championship finale - and most unpredictable, certainly - and one of the greatest seasons, and possibly the greatest field of drivers.

"If you think of the number of world champions and race winners - Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna; between them that's 12 world championships, between five drivers, that's pretty impressive. Just a fantastic race. I still have the DVD of it and I often watch it because it's one of those unbelievable grands prix."

Mexico 1990

"Prost never had the charismatic personality of Senna and he wasn't as spectacular, so he was less memorable, but he won 51 races - second only to Michael Schumacher. People often forget his great victories; but that was one of them -from 13th on the grid.

"I asked him about it in Monaco this year and said: 'What was going on?' He said: 'I saw on Friday that we weren't quick enough to qualify at the front, so I spent all of Saturday getting the car dialed in for the race.'

"It was a classic Prost race in that he allowed the car to do the work. He allows himself time to set the car up in the way he wants to get the result where the trophies and the points are, not for Saturday.

"He came through the field. It wasn't luck. He passed people. He passed Senna, drove away, and took the win. Senna dropped out in the end, but anyway by that point Prost was convincingly in the lead.

"And then on the final lap Mansell drove around the outside of Gerhard Berger at (the sixth-gear) Peraltada (corner)."

Hungary '98

"The good drivers are the ones that win races, but the great ones are those who win races they shouldn't win, and Hungary '98 was one of those races Michael shouldn't have won.

"He benefited because Mika Hakkinen had a damper problem and got held up, but it was one of those races he really should not have won in a normal dry circumstances.

"There are very few drivers who can do that - and Fernando Alonso is another one. The Sennas, the Prosts, these are the great drivers who win those races they shouldn't win.

"It also showed to the Italians. That's the sort of race they love. They never really took Michael to their hearts early on in the way Fernando instantly clicked, possibly because of the language thing. But races like that really helped."

Japan 2005

"Just an all-time great race. Where do you start? Fantastic overtaking wthout DRS or any of this nonsense.

"OK, the Renaults and McLarens had a huge performance advantage at that stage with their Michelin tyres, but, wow, Kimi Raikkonen still did the job. Giancarlo Fisichella should have walked that race. It showed the class of Kimi and Fernando.

"Two great passing moves - Fernando around the outside of Michael at 130R and Kimi's move for the lead.

"Fernando on Michael was good but it required Michael to back out of it and you're fighting for fifth or sixth place, whatever it was. But it's different when it's a move for the lead. Kimi's move to get the lead on the final lap of the grand prix. That is hardcore."

And here is Karthikeyan on his top five, in the order in which he ranked them:

Europe 1993

"Senna drove one of the greatest laps in the history of F1 when he went from fifth on the grid to leading the race at the end of the first lap, in wet conditions - overtaking Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, Damon Hill and Prost in the bargain."

Britain 1987

"Mansell and Piquet were team-mates at Williams-Honda, and both were in the hunt for the championship. They had a fantastic scrap for the lead until Mansell finally pulled off an amazing overtaking move on Piquet down the Hangar. He was so marginal on fuel, that he just about made it to the end of the race."

Monaco 1984

"Senna drove another one of his incredible wet-weather displays, almost winning the race in his debut season. The race was halted because of bad weather conditions before the total number of laps were completed. Had the race gone the full distance, it would surely have been Senna's first F1 victory."

Portugal 1985

"Senna's first F1 race victory, driving for Lotus. The conditions were horrible, but his precision and ultimate car control just shone through."

Belgium 2000

"This race will always be remembered for the overtaking move by Hakkinen on Schumacher. It was probably the most incredible instinctual overtaking move in the history of F1."

As always we choose one race to highlight ahead of the coming weekend's action, and this week it is the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix - a fantastic, but somewhat forgotten, gem.

The full 'Grand Prix' highlights programme of the time is embedded below.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

The classic races will be available on the red button on digital television in the UK from 0705 - 0925 BST on Friday 28 October, which is between the first and second practice sessions at the Indian Grand Prix.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/10/karun_chandhok_and_narain_kart.html

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Critics Say NASCAR Diversity Not a Priority

It was always Joe Henderson III�s dream to become a successful NASCAR driver. He entered NASCAR�s Drive for Diversity (D4D) program with hopes of cracking a barrier that remains in place for most African American drivers. According to New York Times article published in 2006, Henderson was under contract from 2005 to 2006 and was used for publicity for NASCAR diversity efforts but was given poor equipment in 2005 and not even provided a racecar in 2006.

As a result of mixed results from the D4D program, many in the minority community doubt if NASCAR diversity is really a priority for those in charge of the lucrative sport.

�It�s a sham,� said Henderson�s father Joe Henderson, Jr. �The program is not designed to be successful because, No. 1, it�s not properly funded � They claim that it�s a pipeline. Well, nobody came out of the pipe.�

Despite Michael Cherry, coming from the D4D pipeline, and recently obtaining sponsorship with Nationwide Insurance, many critics including ESPN.com columnist Ed Hinton and former participants in the D4D program believe that the lack of funding is an indicator that NASCAR is continuing to drive, but not towards true diversity.

Hinton, in a recent column on ESPN.com, stated that the problem with the diversity program is the money and the fact that is limited to the developmental stage, not providing a bridge for minority drivers to transition from the small time to the big time. Approximately three years ago, $4 million annually was the budget for D4D, which is �significantly more� now, said Marcus Jardotte, NASCAR�s vice president for public affairs, whose department oversees D4D. However, Hinton believes that even $6 million annually is not enough to fund one decent effort for one Nationwide driver for one season, let alone the 12 that were selected for D4D this year.

However, NASCAR states they cannot fund particular drivers because it would represent a conflict of interest, choosing instead to stop funding drivers once they move up from the developmental level into Trucks, Nationwide or Cup (the top three racing series).

�It would be a conflict of interest for the entity that�s responsible for making and enforcing the rules to also support a particular driver at the national touring level,� Jardotte said.

However, many believe NASCAR diversity could improve if they encourage its many sponsor to seriously get behind a minority driver because that would increase the viewership from various demographic groups, specifically African Americans, who stereotypically do not support NASCAR in large numbers.

�It can�t all be done at the late-model level and then assume that everybody, somehow, can find a couple of million [dollars a year] to run Trucks,� says Marty Buckles, a member of the first D4D class in 2004. �Once you get ready to run Trucks [first level of the major series] you�re on your own.�

However, many potential sponsors say that the reason they have not sponsored many African American drivers is because of the small African American market that watches NASCAR. Sponsors are more interested in promoting their products than promoting NASCAR diversity and if that demographic is watching other sports, companies usually will endorse athletes from the other sports.

That lack of funding has caused many African Americans, including Buckles to place their career on hold. Buckles and Chris Bristol, another D4D participant, have had to take jobs in mechanical engineering. Fortunately for Bristol, his engineering job is in a race-related profession, working for Roehrig Engineering, a manufacturer of racing shock testing equipment.

Bristol was able to continue his career briefly with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), who many credit as being one of few owners seriously promoting NASCAR diversity. Nevertheless, JGR has had a difficult time obtaining sponsorship as well because of the current state of the economy, which many sponsors state is another factor affecting their decision to fund more drivers.

Many drivers such as Marc Davis, 18, and Chase Austin, 19, have decided to pursue their dreams without major sponsorships. Austin is in the Truck series with African American ownership, refusing to enter the NASCAR diversity program because he does not want to be known as an affirmative action driver.

Since there is still no African American or females in the drivers� seats, full-time, in the top three series is an indicator of racial problems in the sport and no sincerity when it comes to NASCAR diversity, according to critics.

�It should not be easier for an African American to become President of the United States than a full-time driver in one of NASCAR�s top series,� wrote Doug Demmons of the Birmingham News.

Preston Miller, project manager for NASCAR at Ford Motor Company for 13 year stated: �NASCAR isn�t stepping up for what they say they want to do. They�re doing it like they�ve always done, putting the onus on the owners of the Cup cars. They beat them up to make them fund everything � They�ve put the load on everybody else to go out and get diversity.�

Unfortunately for Henderson, the lack of NASCAR diversity was a load that he could not carry alone, who experienced angry crowds at races hurling racial epithets in his direction. Hopefully for Cherry, the struggles that his predecessors had to endure may have made the journey a little more bearable for him and those that follow.

Todd A. Smith is the web master for ; Regal Mag The Preeminent Online Magazine for African American Men. For more information on this subject visit our ; Sports Section To read about ; NASCAR diversity

Article Source: Critics Say NASCAR Diversity Not a Priority

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