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Super Aguri announced today that it would immediately be ending its participation in Formula 1 after funding for the team has all but dried up. The news comes not long after Super Aguri was denied access to the Turkish Grand Prix paddock area due to its mounting financial issues. Honda has been Super Aguri’s main source of funding, but is apparently tired of diverting money from its own F1 team despite pronouncing as recently as last December that it would fund the Honda “B-squad” through the 2008 season. The Japanese automaker also wasn’t keen on an 11th hour buyout offer for Super Aguri from German automotive firm Weigl. The team hasn’t been on sound financial footing for some time, and the breakdown of negotiations with the Dubai-based Magma Group in April certainly didn’t help matters. This leaves Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato without cars to drive for the rest of the season and narrows down the starting grid for the Turkish Grand Prix this weekend to ten teams and 20 vehicles. Thanks to all who tipped in.
[Source: BBC Sport, Photo by YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty]

Reports are surfacing that the Super Aguri F1 team has been turned away from the Turkish Grand Prix’s paddock. The denial of access occurred because of financial complications. Team supporter Honda contacted Formula One Management and informed the organization that they would not be providing any more assistance to the struggling team. With no one left to pay the bills, Super Aguri was left stranded outside of the track gates.

One potential life vest has already been thrown to the Japanese team by German engineering firm Weigl Group. However, their contribution would not be enough to fully support race operations. The Super Best Friends need more investors to jump aboard in order to make it through the end of the season, let alone the next race.

[Source: Speed TV, Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty]

Formula One is fast, and fast is dangerous. That’s the assumption formed on the basis of decades of fatal crashes in the sport when the slow advancement of safety measures couldn’t keep up with the ever-increasing speeds of grand prix racing. But those assumptions and those safety measures were again put to the test this weekend in Spain, where McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen crashed at 220 km/h (137mph) into a wall of tires, resulting in an estimated impact force of 26 Gs. The crash, which occurred on the 22nd lap of the race, was attributed to a wheel/tire malfunction, and Kovalainen is expected to return in two weeks to race in Turkey.

As jarring as it was, Heikki’s crash was only one of the many times the safety car was deployed in a race that was dominated by the color yellow of the caution flag. The next most dominant color at Catalunya, however, was surely red, as Ferrari dominated the race virtually from start to finish, with Kimi Raikkonen sailing to an easy checkered flag with his team mate Felipe Massa close behind. Towards the end of the race, Kovalainen’s teammate Lewis Hamilton was closing in on Massa, but ended up taking the third step on the podium, giving defending champion Raikkonen a commanding nine point lead over Hamilton. The perfect finish for Ferrari likewise gave the team a commanding lead in the constructors’ championship, leading 47 to BMW Sauber’s 35 and McLaren’s 34. BMW, which entered the race with the lead for the constructors’ title, didn’t fair as well as hoped, with Kubica finishing an admirable fourth while his teammate Heidfeld came in outside the points in 9th after suffering a drive-through penalty. However, that wasn’t nearly as bad as second-tier rival Renault did under the Spanish sun, with neither local hero Fernando Alonso nor his teammate Nelsinho Piquet completing the race. All in all, a shocking nine drivers retired before the last lap, including Nico Rosberg (Williams), Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri), both the Toro Rosso drivers (Bourdais and Vettel) in addition to the Renaults and the aforementioned Kovalainen.

Follow the jump for the full results, current standings after four rounds of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship and a video of Kovalainen’s crash.
2008 Spanish Grand Prix

1. Raikkonen Ferrari
2. Massa Ferrari
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
4. Kubica BMW Sauber
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault
6. Button Honda
7. Nakajima Williams-Toyota
8. Trulli Toyota
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
10. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari
11. Glock Toyota
12. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault
13. Sato Super Aguri-Honda

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:21.670

Not classified/retirements:
Rosberg Williams-Toyota
Alonso Renault
Barrichello Honda
Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
Davidson Super Aguri-Honda
Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Piquet Renault
Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Sutil Force India-Ferrari
World Championship standings
(after four rounds)

Drivers:
1. Raikkonen 29
2. Hamilton 20
3. Kubica 19
4. Massa 18
5. Heidfeld 16
6. Kovalainen 14
7. Trulli 9
8. Webber 8
9. Rosberg 7
10. Alonso 6
11. Nakajima 5
12. Button 3
13. Bourdais 2

Constructors
1. Ferrari 47
2. BMW Sauber 35
3. McLaren-Mercedes 34
4. Williams-Toyota 12
5. Toyota 9
6. Red Bull-Renault 8
7. Renault 6
8. Honda 3
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2

[Source: Autosport]

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FIA President Max Mosely has sent a letter to Formula One teams outlining the plans for phasing in hybrid systems in the sport. Beginning in 2009, the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) will be integrated into the transmissions of F1 cars. The KERS is a mechanical system that captures kinetic energy during vehicle deceleration using a flywheel mechanism. Unlike production vehicle hybrids that convert kinetic energy to electrical energy and store it in a battery, the KERS is far more compact and lighter, adding only about 55lbs to the car. The amount of energy that can be stored is limited but for this type of application it is actually useful since the cars are constantly accelerating and decelerating from corner to corner.

The FIA will phase in the use of KERS over the next four years in conjunction with other changes to reduce the size and output of the engines. A selectable power boost button on the steering wheel will allow the drivers to decide when to use the stored energy for a quick boost in power. New rules that are expected to be enacted for 2013 will replace the current 2.4L V-8 engines with even smaller

[Source: F1-Live]

When the Singapore F1 Grand Prix begins on September 28th, it will feature the first application of Digiflags, 35 large screens that can display the different flag colors, making it easier for racers to know what’s going on while speeding down the track. The system will be used in conjunction with traditional flags, but separate track marshals posted through the circuit will control the electronic boards as the race hums wails along. But fear not, the checkered flag remains, and will be waved from a podium on high when the Singapore F1 race ends.

source:autoblog