WRC Face to Face 2010 Book: Kimi Räikkönen

WRC Face to Face 2010 Book!

Courtesy: sleenster

Kimi staying put

Citroën has been running two teams in the World Rally Championship in recent years: the Citroën Total World Rally Team, which features multiple World Champion Sébastien Loeb and, until recently Dani Sordo, and the Citroën Junior Team, which in 2010 was sponsored by Red Bull and featured drivers Sébastien Ogier and former F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen. This year Ogier has moved up to partner Loeb, Sordo has joined Mini and the Junior Team is being discontinued – at least in name. It seems that the team will continue to exist, under the management of Benoit Nogier. The difference is that the cars will be leased to private operations, although the preparation and rally operations will be undertaken by the team, which has thus become a commercial enterprise, rather than a secondary factory team.

There will still be four cars running out of the team’s headquarters in Satory, near Versailles, but two will be customer cars. One of these will be run for Dutchman Peter van Merksteijn Jr under the Van Merksteijn Motorsport banner and the other will be for Kimi Räikkönen, who will compete under the new ICE 1 Racing WRC Team, which is funded by sponsors. It is expected that both cars will be seen in 10 of the 13 WRC events. Norway’s Petter Solberg was hoping to be involved but it seems that he will continue to run his own operation as and when he can.

There was never much doubt that Räikkönen would stay in the World Rally Championship in 2011, having started down a new career path in 2010, after an unhappy time at Ferrari in 2008 and 2009, which followed his World Championship title with the team in 2007.

The monosyllabic Finn says that he will not rule out a return to Formula 1 one day, but added that if he had missed F1 he would have returned but found that he did not miss it all.

Source: joesaward.wordpress
Courtesy: miezicat

Newcomers and organisational changes

Maranello, 4th January – It had been hinted at prior to Christmas when, speaking to Italian and international journalists during seasonal festivities, Luca di Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali talked of not taking any drastic action, but rather making changes aimed at improving the efficiency of the team in its work, both at the track and the factory. Today came the facts.

Joining the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is the respected engineer, Neil Martin, who takes on the role of heading up the new Operations Research department. A 38 year old Englishman, Martin previously worked for Red Bull and prior to that McLaren and he will now report directly to Technical Director, Aldo Costa.

At the same time, Costa’s deputy, Pat Fry will, in addition to his current role, take on the job of head of race track engineering. Up until yesterday, this position was held by Chris Dyer and his role within the company will be redefined in the next few days.

Source: Ferrari.com

Troubled Lewis looks to get back on track

Lewis Hamilton says problems in his personal life contributed to his failure to recapture the Formula One title and said he is trying to banish "outside intrusions" from his mind in 2011

Reflecting on a tough season that he rated as a six out of 10, the 2008 World Champion gave BBC Radio some rare insight into problems away from the track and said he hopes to "smooth everything off."

Hamilton did not specify what was bothering him, but the McLaren driver's season began in March amid the fallout from the high-profile decision to drop his father, Anthony Hamilton, as manager.

The 25-year-old Hamilton says that "The personal life, the way things have gone have not been as smooth and as happy as they could have been in the past and to do what I do is a combination of many, many things that are surrounding you," said the 25-year-old.

"It's not just arriving at the race track and driving, it's your appearances, it's your mood swings, it's the people that are around you - your family and your friends - and the time that you are able to give to them and the relationship that you have with them.

"As soon as some of those things are off - and you've not got all those pieces of the puzzle in place - then it makes it very hard to do other aspects of your life as easily. The key I think to life is getting all those pieces of the puzzle in place."

Hamilton finished fourth on the Drivers' standings, 16 points behind World Champion Sebastian Vettel, and Hamilton admits it's not a performance he is proud of.

"It's been a long time since I finished out of the top three of a Championship in my career," exlpained the McLaren driver.

"Finishing fourth is not something that I'm not particularly proud of.

"We had a solid couple of bad races where I lost points which would have put me in a much stronger position to compete for the Championship at the end of the year and really just throughout the year in general."

Heading into 2011, the Briton is drawing inspiration from another sporting icon that didn't have the best year - Tiger Woods.

"I look at the likes of Tiger Woods - I see him as the best golfer, he's a complete legend," said Hamilton.

"He's had many, many things that have had an impact on him this year, but he still plays, he still pars it, he still gets birdies.

"But that to him is a bad year, but to other people - I play golf and I'd love to get a par - when everything is right he is amazing," he added.

Source: Planet-F1

The ten most embarrassing 2010 Formula 1 moments

The ten most embarrassing moments of 2010 in Formula One

December is traditionally the time to reflect on the past Formula One season, a season that started with a boring race in Bahrain, but ended on a high with no less than four competitors from three teams fighting for the title during the very last race in Abu Dhabi. German Sebastian Vettel took the crown, and last week the youngest Formula One champion in the 60-year history of the sport collected his trophy during the annual FIA Gala in Monaco. But it was a long an winding road to the title for the 23-year old champion, as it was for the other title contenders: Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Below the ten most embarrassing moments of the 2010 Formula One season. This is not a top ten, the events are ordered chronologically, and the numbers one to ten do not refer to the most or least embarrassing moment.

1. Only one lap for Karun Chandhok in Bahrain

Karun Chandhok's first Formula One race ended after just one lap, a big bump in the new section of the desert circuit became his Waterloo. "I hit a bump in the new part of the circuit, I do not have too much experience in that part of the track as I had driven only four timed laps over the weekend," the Indian said about his premature exit. But in all fairness, Chandhok was a victim, his Hispania Racing Team (HRT) was very ill- prepared, and even a visit of the Spanish King Juan Carlos to the HRT garage could not change that. The shakedown of the car was done during the free practice sessions, Bruno Senna was able to do 17 laps with his car, but Chandhok's car was fired up for the first time during the third free practice session and he barely managed to drive four complete laps.

During qualifying the HRT's were eight seconds slower than the Red Bull of Vettel, and three seconds slower than the other two rookie teams Virgin and Lotus. When asked if he thought he would last long enough in the first HRT race ever to make a pit stop, Chandhok answered: "I'm not sure, if we do, it will be interesting, because we haven't had the time to practice any pit stops yet." His team colleague Senna did make it until his first pit stop, but after 17 laps a cloud of smoke from the back of his car signaled the end of his race. An embarrassing start for the HRT team, but after a few races they got their act together, and HRT even finished ahead of Virgin in the Constructors' Championship.

2. Ferrari's classic rookie mistake during qualifying in Malaysia

During a rainy qualifying session in Malaysia, Ferrari made a classic mistake during Q1. Both Ferrari drivers stayed in the pit thinking the rain would subside, but instead the rain got worse and Alonso and Massa ended up on 19th and 21st place respectively on the start grid, with both drivers of the Lotus rookie team ahead of them. A major embarrassment for the Italian team, and a very red-faced team principal Stefano Domenicali had to explain what had happened to the media. "We made an error of judgment in trusting the weather forecast: when we went out on track the rain, rather than dying down, suddenly got even stronger. With hindsight, it is easy to say we should have gone out immediately."

Yes, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and can provide a wonderful excuse as well, but a team that has been in Formula One for 60 years and has participated in over 800 Grands Prix, should have known better than to trust the weather gods. Needless to say the race was a disappointment as well for Ferrari as Massa finished in seventh and Alonso in 13th position.

3. Double trouble in Istanbul

During the Turkish Grand Prix Formula One witnessed a classic battle between two team colleagues, Webber and Vettel, but unfortunately for Red Bull, it ended in tears. The clash sparked a discussion about driver rivalry, driver etiquette and who is or should be first or second driver. On lap 39, during a very controversial overtaking maneuver, Vettel collided with his team mate -- the winner of the last two races -- Webber. Vettel had to retire, and Webber had to pit for repairs, and a sure one-two Red Bull victory went down the drain. After the collision Vettel was seen making gestures which indicated he had serious doubts about Webber's sanity, but the man who later won the 2010 title, wasn't entirely innocent himself.

Vettel had caught up with Webber who was leading the race, but was slower because his team had told him to save fuel. Vettel assumed Webber would simply move out of the way, but the Australian did not want to give up his first place without a fight. Vettel decided not to wait until the start-finish straight to overtake him and he got into the inside just before the last corner. Webber gave him plenty of room, but Vettel nevertheless moved to the right and hit Webber's car, both pirouetted off the circuit giving the lead to Hamilton, who was behind the Red Bull pair.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said about the incident, "It's disappointing for the team to have got into that position today. The one thing I always ask the drivers is that, yes, they can race each other, but give each other room, and that's exactly what didn't happen. They didn't give each other room; it's as simple as that." Well, in the end it wasn't as simple as that, both drivers weren't on speaking terms anymore, and the incident had its impact on the Red Bull team for remainder of the season.

4. Webber flies at Valencia

The luckiest man during the European Grand Prix at Valencia must have been Webber. After an early pit stop Webber was told by his team to overtake the slower Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen before the others would pit. Webber didn't waste any time, but he hit the Lotus from behind, his Red Bull was tossed in the air, and after a terrifying summersault the car landed on its wheels again, and helplessly slid hard into the tyre barrier. "I am OK, I hope he is OK, he just had a hardcore flight," Kovalainen reported over the radio.

Webber later commented about the accident, "I have a few cuts and bruises, but otherwise I'm fine. What's frustrating was that this accident should never have happened. I mean, how long was Heikki going to stay ahead of me? Another 15 seconds? He must be asking himself whether it was worth it."

Lotus technical director Mike Gascoyne defended the actions of Kovalainen: "He was defending his line and racing for position, and that's what we will always do in that situation. It's just a great shame, and we're very glad that neither driver was hurt. It's the responsibility of the guy behind [Webber] to make the overtaking maneuver safely. He blatantly didn't." Which means it is still not clear whether this incident was an embarrassment for Webber, or for Kovalainen.

5. "OK, so Fernando is faster than you."

One of the most embarrassing incidents for the sport was the Ferrari team order controversy that unfolded during the German Grand Prix. At the start of the race, Massa took the lead after he had caught Vettel by surprise, and he was still leading the race on lap 49 when his race engineer Rob Smedley told him on the radio, "OK, so, Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?" Not only did Massa understand the message, the whole world understood the message which was in fact a team order, and Massa duly let Alonso past. "Good lad. Just stick with it now. Sorry," Smedley said to Massa after he had given up his first place.

After the pair had crossed the finish line, the media stormed to the Ferrari garage to question Domenicali. The words 'team orders' and 'fixing the race' were used, but Domenicali and both his drivers ignored the comments and maintained it had been a great race with a great result for the Italian team. Formula One wasn't happy with the badly disguised team order, neither were the FIA officials, who handed the Ferrari team a $100,000 fine. The incident caused an emotional discussion about team orders, and much to the joy of Ferrari, two weeks ago the FIA decided to scrap the ban on team orders from the 2011 regulations.

6. "If it works you're the king, if it doesn't, you're an idiot".

Those were the words of Vettel after the Belgium Grand Prix, again a race where the weather gods played an important role. The safety car had already been on track for an earlier incident during the first lap when veteran Rubens Barrichello had missed his braking point at the last chicane before the start-finish straight and slammed into the Ferrari of Alonso, and triggered a chain reaction that involved several other cars. On lap 15 Vettel was about to overtake Button at the same chicane, but he lost control of his Red Bull under braking, he went sideways and went straight into the left side pod of Button's car. The impact destroyed the radiator on the McLaren and Button had to retire on the spot. Vettel visited the pits for a new front wing and continued his race.

The FIA stewards gave the German a drive though penalty, which again cost him a number of positions. Vettel regained several positions when he overtook Liuzzi's Force India, but he was a little bit too optimistic and made another mistake. He damaged his left rear tyre when he drove off the front wing of the Force India. He had to slowly drive a full 7 km lap with a flat tyre before he reached the Red Bull pit again. He rejoined the race in 20th position, finished the race in 15th position, one lap behind race winner Hamilton. Not a good race at all for Vettel, and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh later referred to Vettel as 'the crash kid.'

7. Hamilton crashes again at Singapore

Hamilton had already crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, during the first lap he was too optimistic when he tried to overtake Massa. Hamilton got into the inside of the Variante della Roggia, but there was simply not enough room for two cars, he hit Massa, his steering rod broke and that was the end of the race for him. He was criticized for his move and Hamilton later said, "At that moment, perhaps I should have just stayed there for a while. But I put my car up the inside of Felipe into Turn Four, trying to get third, and that was probably a little bit too much."

But although Hamilton had vowed he would be more careful and would in the future concentrate on finishing a race, he made the same mistake again during the Singapore Grand Prix. Hamilton was challenging Webber for third place, when the latter ran into problems overtaking a backmarker. Webber slowed down a little bit, just enough for Hamilton to take advantage of the situation. He pulled alongside Webber, but again there was not enough room for two cars, the pair collided and Hamilton again retired from the race.

But Hamilton refused to take the blame for the accident. "I was on the outside going into Turn 7, and he was in my blind-spot, just behind me. I thought I'd got sufficiently past him, though. I braked, turned in, and tried to leave enough room for him on the inside -- and the next thing I knew I'd got clipped, my tyre was blown, and that was it," a disappointed Hamilton said after the race. Both accidents cost Hamilton valuable championship points, and the Briton later said he needed a major 'miracle' to win this year's championship, which as we now know, did not happen.

8. Ferrari bets on the wrong horse in Abu Dhabi

During the final race in Abu Dhabi Ferrari made a capital mistake, they betted on the wrong horse, the horse however, was Webber's Red Bull. Michael Schumacher and Vitantonio Liuzzi collided during the first lap, and Vettel, who had started the race from pole, was leading after the safety car had left the track again. He was followed by Hamilton, Button, Alonso and Webber. On lap 10 Webber ran a bit wide and his right rear wheel brushed the wall, not much later he reported to his pit crew he was losing grip, and he was called in for an early pit stop to change his tyres. Ferrari made the disastrous decision to follow Webber's strategy, as they believed he was the main threat for Alonso. The Spaniard pitted four laps later and he rejoined the race in 12th position, just ahead of Webber.

That was the moment the other title contenders, Vettel and Hamilton, realized they could beat Alonso and Webber simply by staying on track as long as they possibly could before making their mandatory pit stop. To make things worse, Alonso and Webber got stuck behind Vitaly Petrov, Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg, who had already pitted during the safety car period. After Hamilton and Vettel had pitted, they rejoined the race behind Button, who still had to pit and was not a title contender. Vettel regained the lead when Button finally pitted on lap 39, by then Alonso and Webber had moved up to eighth and ninth position respectively, but were still trapped behind Rosberg and Petrov.

Before the race started, all Alonso had to do was to finish in second position, and the title was his, regardless of the position of the others. By the time Ferrari and Alonso realized they had made a capital mistake, it was already too late. With Vettel now leading, Alonso had to move up to fourth position to take the title, but it became an impossible mission, on lap 47 Alonso was in seventh position, but with only eight laps to go, he had to overtake Petrov, Kubica and Rosberg. Alonso later tried to blame Petrov for the disaster, who had defended his position fiercely during the last 25 laps. After the race Alonso admitted his defeat, "Everything went wrong today, from the start itself to the strategy. With hindsight, it would have been better not to pit so soon, but it's easy to say that when you have all the facts."

9. Williams takes $15 million and dumps Hulkenberg

Also embarrassing for the sport was the decision Williams made, or had to make, to dump Nico Hulkenberg and 'hire' Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado. While most people go to work to make money, Maldonado will next year go to work and bring $15 million, which equals $750,000 per race, to the Williams team. Although the decision was hardly a surprise, it is certainly a sign of the times, as privateer Williams had problems making both ends meet this season, and was more or less forced to take Maldonado's millions and sack Hulkenberg. But it is also a moral dilemma: should money be the decisive factor, or natural talent?

The FIA has in the past promised cost-cutting measures, but until this day there have been no significant changes, a better 2013 Concorde Agreement in which teams get a bigger share of the revenues could help to solve some of the problems, but as long as teams are allowed to spend 300 or 400 million Euro per year, small teams who want to survive have no other option than to favor a driver with big sponsors.

The grapes are especially sour for Hulkenberg, who is a very talented driver that has won about every race series he participated in, one can only imagine what went through his mind when he heard the news. His manager Willi Weber is doing all he can to get his protege back in a race seat, but even Weber cannot chance the Formula One world, and drivers with a big bag of money are still his main concern. Meanwhile the chances for Hulkenberg are becoming slimmer, as only Force India and HRT have not yet made a decision about their 2011 line-up.

10. Embarrassing return for Schumacher

In this case not just one race, but the whole 2010 season was a major embarrassment for the seven-times World Champion, who had joined the Mercedes team this year after he had retired from Formula One in 2006. Schumacher's 2010 season ended on an all time low during the last race in Abu Dhabi, when he lost control of his Mercedes during the very first lap. His race ended abruptly when Liuzzi slammed into his stricken Mercedes. Schumacher's expectations were high at the start of the season, but the German soon found out Formula One had changed dramatically since his retirement.

Completely different cars, no more in-season testing, no favors from Bridgestone, and to add to the misery, the 2010 cars with the narrower front tyres did not suit Schumacher's driving style at all and from the first race on he was struggling to find the right pace. Although Schumacher insisted his poor performance did not influence his good spirits, it must have been very painful for him to see he was outclassed time after time by his team colleague Nico Rosberg, who scored 142 championship points this season, while Schumacher only scored 72 points.

Schumacher about his season with Mercedes: "We clearly did not meet our expectations. But then, you have to fight for the things you want to achieve, which has always been my credo." About the criticism he said, "I can live with criticism very well, you just have to differentiate it and it can bring you forward as well." And his expectation for 2011? "Fighting for the world championship is still our goal, it can only be like this. We are talking about competing at the absolute peak of motorsport. You cannot just come along, put a new team together and beat everybody," said the German.

2010: A classic season

The 2010 Formula One season was without a doubt a very exciting season, and it will go into the history books as a classic season, perhaps even as the best season of the past 30 years. New regulations, new cars, new teams, new gadgets like the F-Duct and the double diffuser, and the role the weather gods played were the main ingredients for this classic season.

Source: Motorsport.com

Red Bulls on a charge

Although the constructors' championship was glossed over by the excitement of a four-way battle for the drivers' title, it was a vintage year for the teams. Three different outfits fought for wins throughout the season, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and each with very different views on how to approach Formula One racing. Considering all aspects of team management and car design, ESPNF1 asked a panel of 14 observers (including Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart and Tonio Liuzzi) to rate their top three teams of 2010. The results are as follows...

1. Red Bull
One man's name was praised again and again by our panel: Adrian Newey. His Red Bull RB6 was nothing short of a masterpiece in automotive design; breaking from convention and delivering nine victories and 15 pole positions - some by over a second from the nearest competitor. So fast was the RB6 that almost every team copied its exhaust-blown diffuser and some even took to questioning the legality of its design in an attempt to close the gap. Red Bull was also commended by our panel for letting its drivers fight on track, even if that meant a collision. RenaultF1 majority shareholder Gerard Lopez was the only member of the panel who didn't rank Red Bull as No.1 (and before you ask, he put McLaren and not Renault at the top of his list), pointing out that it "had the fastest car and should have wrapped it up far earlier". It's the only criticism our panel could muster and in itself is a backhanded compliment.

2. McLaren
For the first two thirds of the season McLaren was punching well above its weight, with the innovative F-duct keeping the rest of the field guessing and masking a pretty serious deficit in downforce to Red Bull. Inspired strategy decisions delivered two wins for Jenson Button early on, before Lewis Hamilton won in Turkey and Canada on sheer pace alone. However, the team came unstuck trying to mimic Red Bull's blown diffuser and towards the end of the season hit a brick wall with the development of the rear of the car. That, combined with mistakes on track, put Hamilton out of contention, while Button found the car increasingly difficult to drive. The season was a huge improvement on 2009 but the team can't escape the fact that it still hasn't won a constructors' title this century.

3. Ferrari
Ferrari has been in limbo since Michael Schumacher left at the end of 2006, falling upon success from time-to-time, but lacking the leadership and direction that allowed it to paint the sport red in the early 2000s. This year Fernando Alonso has filled Schumacher's void, extracting the best from the team by getting it to orbit around him and in doing so opening a new chapter in Ferrari's illustrious history. The only casualty of this seismic shift at Maranello has been Felipe Massa, whose new role was made abundantly clear by the pit wall during the German Grand Prix. There is no doubt that it was the right thing to do for Ferrari, but it wasn't the right thing for the sport and the obvious flouting of a rule (albeit a dubious one) lost the team votes among our panel. However, the team is still held in huge regard by the F1 paddock and Sir Jackie Stewart and Sir Stirling Moss both ranked it second in their top three, directly behind Red Bull.

4. Renault
What a difference a year makes. At the end of 2009 Renault's F1 future looked bleak with its sponsor portfolio in tatters following Crashgate, its car struggling at the back of the grid and its star driver Fernando Alonso Ferrari bound. In the midst of the recession the Renault parent company was looking for an exit strategy and its prayers were answered by Gerard Lopez's investment company Genii Capital over the winter. Genii took over 70% of the team with a loan set against the factory and its F1 grid slot and set about creating a completely new image, albeit with the historic name still attached. The investment paid off and the steady flow of cash from the loan fuelled a series of significant updates race-after-race, which in turn boosted the team's appeal to sponsors. But the key ingredient was Robert Kubica, whose supreme talent allowed Renault to score three podiums and take the fight to the top three teams on several occasion.

5. Mercedes
Mercedes made it into our panel's top five by picking up the odd leftover vote, but in reality it was a disappointing first year for the German car giant. At the crux of the issue was that Brawn GP - as it was known last year - rather neglected 2010 in the midst of Jenson Button's title challenge, partly to focus on winning the championship but also because the financial future of the team was far from secure. Mercedes and its money arrived over the winter, but by that time the 2010 car was already a long way down its development path and off the pace of McLaren and Ferrari. Michael Schumacher's return helped to overinflate expectations ahead of the start of the season, but when the racing started it soon became clear that the car was only fourth fastest and that the seven-time champion was more than a little rusty. During the season the car lost ground to its competitors and the team got sidetracked by a temperamental F-duct system, dropping it out of the top 10 at times. It was a far cry the ruthless efficiency Sir Stirling Moss remembers from Mercedes in the 1950s, but for the reasons mentioned above, it was always going to be a year of transition.

6. Force India
Although only on the list by virtue of a single vote from -you guessed it - Tonio Liuzzi, Force India does deserve some recognition for its efforts this season. Its breakthrough year came in 2009, but the car was still very primitive and only worked on specific track layouts. The challenge this year was to turn the car into an all-rounder and, after Force India picked up points at 12 of the 19 rounds, it's fair to say it achieved its goals. However, the car's performance trailed off towards the end of the year and the loss of big names in the engineering department - James Key to Sauber and Mark Smith to Lotus - does not bode well for 2011.

Best Newcomer: Lotus
Our panel unanimously voted Lotus as the best new team of 2010. It took the coveted 10th place in the constructors' championship thanks to Heikki Kovalainen's 12th place finish in Japan and won legions of fans by evoking memories of Colin Chapman's legendary team. Next year will be its true test as it targets the established teams and focuses on performance as well as reliability. However, its toughest battle may well come off the track as it fights with Group Lotus for its right to continue to call itself Lotus.

Source: ESPNF1

The Skinny: Highest Paid Athletes 2010

The highest paid athletes 2010 - Some of the world's highest paid professions are held by professional athletes. From brand endorsements, to being paid for their athletic abilities, they bring home the bacon.
Here are the top 10:

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. [34 Million] Dale Earnhardt Jr. made the list because, frankly, he’s one popular guy. He’s won the NASCAR NMPA Chex Most Popular Driver Award for the sixth consecutive time. His sales in the market are twice that of any other competitor, and yet hasn't won a single race since 2008 (which was only 1 race).

9. Valentino Rossi [35 Million] Valentino is an Italian motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP champion. Many consider him to be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with eight Grand-Prix World Championships to his name.

6. Manny Pacquiao [40 Million] is a multi-talented boxer, politician, singer, and actor. Ring Magazine claims that he’s the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world and the Boxing Writers Association claims that he’s the “Fighter of the Decade.”

6. Phil Mickelson [40 Million] Lefty is one of two golfers on this list. He’s amassed about $54 Million in prize money during his career and makes much more in endorsements from Callaway and Rolex.

6. LeBron James [40 Million] The NBA's latest immortal is a two-time MVP award recipient, first in the 08-09 season and then again in the 09-10 season. He's also the lowest paid of the three basketball players in the top 3.

5. David Beckham [42 Million] is one of the best known soccer players on the planet. David Beckham is also one of the highest paid athletes in the world and is the only futbol (soccer) player to appear in the top 10 highest paid athletes of 2010.

2. Kimi Räikkönen [45 Million] nicknamed Iceman, and occasionally described as "the fastest driver on the planet," Kimi won the Formula One World Driver's Championship in 2007.

2. Michael Jordan [45 Million]: Yeah. Seven years after his (last) retirement, we still find MJ here on the list.

2. Kobe Bryant [45 Million] is tied with the legendary Jordan and Formula One driving Raikkonen. He does this by raking in almost $20 mil a year through his NBA contract and more than doubles that through endorsement deals with Vitamin Water, Coca-Cola, and Nike.

1. Tiger Woods [110 Million] is golf's legend and is on track to surpass 1 billion in earnings from winnings and endorsements from his 13 year career.

Source: The Post Chronicle

formula1.ferrari.com publishes Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 2010 Season Review Part III

formula1.ferrari.com publishes the 2010 season review, a "virtual book", which can be downloaded to relive the entire 2010 season, with the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro as a main protagonist in an exciting Championship, with an exceptional recovery and an unfortunately missed victory.

Six chapters around the 2010 World Championship with wins, difficult moments, the epilogue in Abu Dhabi and further sections dedicated to technical in-depth articles. 28 drawings by Giorgio Piola with virtual animations of the F10's various components, four specials about the most important issues of the season such as pit stop and new rules, also explained in a video by Marc Gené, the complicated logistical aspects and the celebration of the 800th Grand Prix for Ferrari. A detailed section with a list from 1950 until today concludes the review, with Formula 1 models Ferrari used in the pinnacle of motorsports since the beginning of the F1 Championship.

Over 120 extraordinary images and more than 25 parts with multimedia content on the different pages, enriching the texts in the sections turning reading into real pleasure. The protagonists statements are combined with comments from the fans, who followed and supported the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro during the whole season in the Communitys forum as well as on Facebook and via Twitter.

After the first and the second part, today is online the third, wich will complete the 2010 Championship review.

Source: Ferrari.com

Alonso and Massa play Santa at Ferrari Christmas party 2010

Source: ferrariworld

Massa's performance substandard - di Montezemolo

Luca di Montezemolo: "I think Felipe got a bit tired mid-season and went home, sending his brother to drive

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo believes Felipe Massa did not show up for the second half of the season, joking that he sent his brother to race instead.

Talking to Italian press over lunch, Montezemolo rated Ferrari's season and revealed that the 2011 car will be launched in the last week of January, ahead of the first pre-season test.

Asked to give a report card for Massa and Fernando Alonso, he answered: "Nine and a half to Alonso. He did not win, but [the score is] from the point of view of results, character and relationship with the team.

"Less than a seven for Felipe Massa," he added. "For some reason we have a problem with the brothers of our drivers arriving during the season. It happened with [Michael] Schumacher, [Kimi] Raikkonen and now Massa. I think Felipe got a bit tired mid-season and went home, sending his brother to drive. He gets a seven minus but he has promised to come back next year."

As for Ferrari: "Eight. You do not get full marks when you don't win, but it was an exceptional year for commitment and determination."

Asked to sum up Ferrari's 2010, he said: "We were disappointed, there's no point denying it. But, realistically, it was more bitter in 2008, when Felipe crossed the finish line as world champion. From 1997 onwards, except 2005 and 2009, we have either won or lost at the last race. The opponents - Williams, McLaren, Renault, Red Bull - always change, only Ferrari is there."

Speaking generally on Formula One, Montezemolo vowed to "fight for common sense, for races on circuits [not streets] and to have not more than 19 races, preferably 18. And to have three cars; it's better to have a third car with a competitive team than a team that cannot even do GP2. I think it's common sense and Bernie Ecclestone agrees. Who [would run the third Ferrari]? A small but competitive team."

As for the possibility of him switching from running Ferrari to Italian politics, Montezemolo insisted: "Let me do my job. I'm so glad we have many, many things to do here at Ferrari."

Source: ESPNF1

WRC.com Personality of the Year nominees: Kimi Räikkönen

The higher you fly, the further you can fall. And throughout the 2010 World Rally Championship season, the 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Räikönen did something remarkable: putting his hard-earned reputation on the line to start again as a beginner and take on the best drivers in the world, despite

Räikkönen knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but then if it were easy everyone would do it. It took a special kind of unflappable courage to rise to the occasion and not care what anybody said or thought: the sort of resolve that can only be displayed by somebody whose nickname is ‘The Iceman’.

After just three events, he had become the first Formula One world champion ever to score WRC points, thanks to his eighth place in Jordan. His best result of the year came shortly afterwards, when he finished fifth on the all-new Rally of Turkey: a real indicator of his potential.

When things were going well, Räikkönen showed that he had the pace to fight at the front: he was running comfortably in the top four on the opening day of Rally Bulgaria, beating the factory Fords. On Rallye Deutschland in August, he won the Circus Maximus stage in Trier: another first.

But his contribution to the WRC this year goes beyond just his results. Räikkönen proved to be a fantastic ambassador for the sport, creating a huge amount of interest from both media and fans wherever he went.

In Räikkönen’s opinion, world rallying is a lot harder than Formula One. And coming from somebody who built a global following for fearlessly exploring the limits of adhesion, that’s quite an admission. Räikkönen wants to stay in the WRC next year; this is your chance to show just how much the WRC wants him.

Voting for the inaugural WRC.com Personality of the Year starts on Friday. Return to WRC.com soon to find out who our panel of experts have nominated as the next contender for the coveted prize.

Source: WRC

Vauhdin Maailma Book: Long march

by Kari Melart

Michael Jordan was the best basketball player in the world but he came back with his tail between the legs from the baseball-fields with his revolutionary dreams crushed.

What's in common for basketball and baseball is the ball - in a different shape and in a different material.
Rally and F1 are also two sports that differ completely from each other. Like sprint and orienteering.

I doubt it came as any surprise to one single expert that Kimi Räikkönen's debut season in WRC turned into a beginner's learning year even though the F1-champ had the best possible vehicle.

But who wouldn't have started dreaming for a moment about a miracle you see happening in the movies all the time and sometimes even on sport-fields. Räikkönen was afterall just a green fruit as a racing driver when he stepped into the royal class - he only had a fragile stone foundation of about 20 races in the smaller formula series. Yet the open-minded youngster whipped his Sauber into 6th right at his first attempt in Australia 2001.

In F1 Kimi didn't have any limits but in rally, where the top lead is remarkably smaller, he faced them very quickly in 2010. Even though he scored points in his 3rd rally in Jordan by coming in 8th and two weeks later in Turkey by coming in 5th.

Yet it didn't turn out to become a Cinderella story. At least not yet.

Should Räikkönen continue in rally then he has an exhausting long march ahead of him if he intends to satisfy his burning ambition in addition to his passion.

- One has to remember that experience-wise Kimi can be compared to a B-junior who rallies in the national village-rallies. His F1-history has none whatsoever meaning in these circles. A project like this requires an awful lot of work, time and kilometers. It will take at least two-three years at miminum before he even has a chance to rally in the top lead, Kaj Lindström has reminded many times.

And not without a reason.

Switching from F1 to a rally car and from a tarmac track to devious and lingering gravel paths is a challenge that can be classified as a mission impossible.

Fortunately almost anything seems to be impossible in this world...

In the big picture Kimi Räikkönen is a unique phenomenom in motorsport history.

John Surtees won the world championship in both MotoGP and F1. No other driver has ever been able to do that in rally and F1. And probably won't ever be able to do that either.

- Rally is an extremely difficult sport. I have to adopt a completely new driving style, learn to set up the car in a completely different way than in F1 and first and most learn to listen and take in the notes. But if this would be easy then anyone could do it, Räikkönen has admitted.

He has never wanted to be just anybody as a sportsman.

Räikkönen's Citroën has been on it's roof beside the road or in the ditch or in the hill but noble rally champions from Ari Vatanen to Marcus Grönholm have also searched for their limits through extremes.

In Germany Räikkönen got his first stage victory in WRC-level and in France he won his first rally, the Vosgien rally.

Small steps for the mankind but huge steps for Kimi Räikkönen.

Courtesy: Nicole

Video: FIA Prize Giving Gala 2010

Source: ririri074

Photos: FIA Gala Prize Giving Ceremony 2010

2010 FIA Gala Prize Giving Ceremony on December 10, 2010 in Monaco

Source: Daylife, NextgenAuto, Motorsport

Max Mosley happy Ferrari did not win title

Former FIA president Max Mosley says he is happy that Ferrari did not win the championship in 2010.

It was Mosley who banned team orders after the Italian team's rigged Austrian Grand Prix result in 2002 and a similar situation occurred at the German Grand Prix this year when Felipe Massa pulled over to allow team-mate Fernando Alonso past.

"It would have given the world another unpleasant discussion about team orders," Mosley told German newspaper Die Welt. "I doubt whether that would have been good for Formula One. So thank god we are instead talking about the strategy mistake of the last race and not whether Ferrari really deserved the title. That is one less problem for Formula One."

Despite his sentiments over the destination of the title, Mosley did praise Ferrari for their fightback in the second half of the season and Sebastian Vettel for winning the drivers' title.

"Ferrari did an excellent job from the middle of the season to the end. They were almost out of the hunt and they managed to bring themselves back.

"Sebastian [Vettel] deserved to win and in every respect is an excellent world champion. He is a likeable, relaxed and natural personality so for formula one it's a win as well."

Source: ESPNF1

formula1.ferrari.com publishes Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 2010 Season Review Part 2

formula1.ferrari.com publishes the 2010 season review, a "virtual book", which can be downloaded to relive the entire 2010 season, with the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro as a main protagonist in an exciting Championship, with an exceptional recovery and an unfortunately missed victory.

Six chapters around the 2010 World Championship with wins, difficult moments, the epilogue in Abu Dhabi and further sections dedicated to technical in-depth articles. 28 drawings by Giorgio Piola with virtual animations of the F10's various components, four specials about the most important issues of the season such as pit stop and new rules, also explained in a video by Marc Gené, the complicated logistical aspects and the celebration of the 800th Grand Prix for Ferrari. A detailed section with a list from 1950 until today concludes the review, with Formula 1 models Ferrari used in the pinnacle of motorsports since the beginning of the F1 Championship.

Over 120 extraordinary images and more than 25 parts with multimedia content on the different pages, enriching the texts in the sections turning reading into real pleasure. The protagonists statements are combined with comments from the fans, who followed and supported the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro during the whole season in the Communitys forum as well as on Facebook and via Twitter.

After last week's first chapter, as of today the second part is online, which will be followed by the third and last part, completing the 2010 Championship review.

Source: Ferrari.com

Ferrari Finali Mondiali 2010: grand finale in Valencia

Today, Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit hosted the last day of the Ferrari Finali Mondiali, the special event, which for the past eighteen years has given fans from all over the world the opportunity to see gathered together those involved in all Ferrari’s racing and sporting activities. This morning on track were the F430s entered in the Italian, European and North American Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, fighting it out for the world title. Also in action were the historic cars taking part in the Ferrari Historic Race –Trofeo Shell. The busy programme also featured untimed sessions for the historic single-seaters run by Maranello’s F1 Clienti department and the FXX and 599 XX, entered in the eponymous development programmes.

Once again today, it fell to the runners in the Ferrari Historic Race – Trofeo Shell to get the day’s action underway, taking to the track for the second and final race. Pierangelo Masselli in a Ferrari 308 GTB made the best getaway off the grid, going straight into the lead, which he was able to keep all the way to the chequered flag. Second was Christian Chavy in his F40, while the third step on the podium went to Canada’s Lorne Leibel in a 365 GTB4.

Spectacular passing moves and plenty of action were the key ingredients of the final races in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, to crown the world champion from among entrants in the Italian, European and North American series. The Trofeo Pirelli race saw the title go to Philipp Baron, who was already European champion: behind the Baron Service driver came Max Blancardi (Motor/Malucelli) and Riccardo Ragazzi (Ineco/MP,) while in the Coppa Shell for gentleman drivers, the sought after title went to Flavio Pierleoni, in the Ferrari entered by the Motor/Malucelli team, who crossed the line first ahead of newly-crowned Italian champion, Andrea Rizzoli (Motor/Piacenza) and Aleksandr Skryabin (Ferrari Moscow.)

Once the excitement of the racing was over, it was the turn of the competitors in the GT championships and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro to put on an amazing show: the crowd of around fifteen thousand spectators witnessed Fernando Alonso driving the Monoposta Corsa Indianapolis, which dates from 1954 and Felipe Massa piloting a 1957 500 TRC. These two splendid historic cars were first on track, followed by another jewel of the Ferrari Classiche department, the ’61 250 California, driven by Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, with alongside him, Emilio Botin, president of the Santander Bank. Bringing the first parade to an end were three Ferrari Californias, with Ferrari Managing Director, Amedeo Felisa joined by the drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella, Luca Badoer, Marc Gene and Alvaro Barba.

As is traditional, the key moment of the parade was the appearance on track of President Montezemolo to salute the fans, when he took the opportunity to thank the team and driver for their efforts this year.

Next, the Grand Touring drivers, Alvaro Barba and Pierre Kaffer, took turns at the wheel of the F430 GT2, run by the AF Corse team, which won the drivers and team titles in the Spanish International GT Open series, as well as two more Ferraris driven by Gimmi Bruni, Jaime Melo and Toni Vilander, as used by the Risi Competizione and AF Corse teams in the prestigious LMS and ALMS championships. Bringing the curtain down on the celebrations were Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso at the wheel of two F10s, with Luca Badoer driving an F60, completing several laps of the track, as well as simulating pit stops, prior to the traditional photo with all those who had taken part in the four days of Spanish action, before one final farewell to the celebratory crowd.

Source: Ferrari.com