F1 » Hamilton snatches Monza pole.

Another thing - I am amazed that the fast line thru the chicanes means hitting the upper curbs so violently. The cars get totally out of shape - the chassis gets thrown laterally and 1 or 2 of the inside wheels go airborne. How can that provide the grip they need? I'm sure they know what they're doing. But it doesn't make sense to me. Someone explain this? The US coverage said Sutil had a 1.5s advantage? in the middle sector of the track. What's that all about?

F1 » Hamilton snatches Monza pole.

If Kimi was on fire I would put it out. But the contrast btwn him and Lewis is striking. Amazing how close the top 10 are. 1.25s covers the top 10. At Spa 0.48s spread from 1-9 (Rosberg was another 1s back in P10). Fisichella picked the wrong time to switch horses. Even though he is living his dream in a Ferrari cockpit, it could have been a Force-India front row had he stayed. Luca Bad-you-are will now fade into obscurity.

F1 » Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying times.

And another thing... Why is there so much interest in Nico Rosberg, and where he will end up next year? I can see Mercedes wanting a German driver, just as BMW likes Heidfeld and Toyota likes Nakajima, or even Ferrari and Fisichella. But Rosberg has not impressed me as a driver. He gets good times in practices, a little worse in qualifying, and then a few more spots back in the race. Wrong direction. Is it the car? the team? or him?

F1 » Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying times.

Don't forget, the Ferrari engine has been thirstier for fuel than the Mercedes. We saw in Spa that Kimi was heavier at the start, and though we figured him to use that as an advantage with a longer first stint, he pitted on the same lap as Fisichella. But Hamilton looks very light. Once again the Red Bulls are no-shows. Ok they got into Q3, but they are not able to keep pace on the fast circuits apparently. It's too bad. With Brawn folding, a couple of strong races by RBR would have tightened the WDC significantly. Mercedes power in 6 of the top 7 spots.!

F1 » 'Stronger' Massa was one millimetre from blindness

"stronger than ever" is just brave talk, hope. He hasn't even been in the simulator. No one knows what his driving will be like, when he comes back. I'm sure it's a big doubt in his head. We have to wait and see.

F1 » Badoer: It would be absurd to replace me now

Is it a matter of protecting secrets? There were a couple of warm butts to put into Massa's car. Bourdais would have filled in. Piquet would have jumped at a 4-race contract. Coulthard? A temporary relationship with any of these drivers would have been easy to close out at the end of the year. They'd be clear to do whatevevr they preferred wrt Kimi, Massa, Alonso and etc. But for fill in duty this year, Ferrari seems to consider only insiders. Schu or Badoer. Is it because they are worried about protecting team secrets?

F1 » Raikkonen puts Ferrari back on top at Spa.

I gotta agree with rob01, it's big business and if Ferrari believes a driver is fast, they will try to hire him and find a way past all the other problems.

F1 » Ferrari admits push for third car.

Thinking about it just now, though, I can see very clearly why Ferrari wants a third car. Their driver just got injured. Now they have a fill-in driver who would be laughable if he were not dangerous on the track. With Massa out, the $400m F1 team just lost 50pct of its potential exposure. It is a huge loss to Ferrari, from a business standpoint. So I can see wanting to mitigate that loss, somehow. A third driver would do it, though I still believe the disruption it would bring would not be worth it.

F1 » Ferrari admits push for third car.

I think going to three cars is a bad idea. It would be disruptive to the Manufacturer's title, destroy the balance that exists today. If Ferrari needs more racing experience they should consider expanding into other series. F1 has suffered through enough nonsense for a while. And anyway, they have plenty to do on the cars they run today. Rememeber last year? They had the speed, but so many screw ups in the pits, the electronic stoplight release, broken parts. Even now they have fuel consumption issues and Kimi says the chassis is no good when it runs over kerbs, as is needed in Monza. They have plenty of work to do without fielding a third car.

F1 » Raikkonen puts Ferrari back on top at Spa.

I'm not moaning about it at all, I just think he had it planned all along. The more he could squeeze the other drivers to the inside, better for him. He re-enforced the crowding on turn 1, which makes it hard on everyone else. And then he alone among P2-P6 runs clear on the runoff. Brilliant! Nothing wrong with it. Good driving. He outdrove all those other guys. Great to see it. If you think he just "lucked into it" on turn 1, you are mistaken about how savvy a competitor he is. And no, I don't think he is lying either.