Designed to mark six decades of winning in Formula 1, Ferrari is launching a special edition 599, called the 599 GTB 60F1 and here are the first pictures.  Froilan Gonzalez won Ferrari’s first F1 race in in 1951 and 60 years later, Fernando Alonso won Ferrari’s first race of the current season.

Based on the HGTE version of the 599 GTB, visually the 60F1 has styling flourishes inspired by Gonzalez’s 375 and Alonso’s 150° Italia F1 cars. Customers will have a choice of three liveries including: The 375 F1 colour scheme with a scarlet first used back in the 1950s, the 150° Italia hues with the latest-generation rosso paint and white lower bumpers, A-pillars and buttresses and a version of the above but without the bling-white A-pillars. All the cars get 20 inch diamond-finish forged alloy wheels, satin-finish fuel filler cap and scuderia shields painted on the front wings.

The interior showcases Sabelt straps, dark technical fabrics and grippy Alcantara. A numbered plaque on the dashboard will feature the signatures of both Gonzalez and Alonso.

source: Car Magazine

The New York Times recently reported that both Ferrari and Red Bull have withdrawn themselves from the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA). The organization serves as a forum for advancing the goals of the sports teams.

Ferrari stated that the organization had “run its course” having never fulfilling any of the goals it originally set out including installing a cap on spending to level the playing field among teams and increase competition in this notoriously well-funded branch of motorsport. The eleven member FOTA team all agreed on setting a limit on spending but never followed through.

Both Ferrari and Red Bull were two of the largest teams in FOTA and their withdrawal will likely have a significant impact on the organization going forward.

source: Autoblog

Among all the automakers that have supplied engines to Formula One teams over the years, Renault is likely considered the most successful. While the French car manufacturer has seen world champion status with its own team in 2005 and 2006, a significant amount of its achievements have come from its success supplying independent teams.

Renault’s most powerful partnership to date has come from its collaboration with Red Bull Racing. The team is the current world champion in both the drivers’ and constructors’ categories and this is expected to continue with the recent renewed partnership agreement for five more years.

Renault Sport F1 will continue to supply Red Bull Racing with V8 engines and KERS Motor Generator Units for 2012 and 2013 and will then develop innovative technical solutions for the V6-based power unit that will be introduced from 2014.

Bernard Rey, President of Renault Sport F1, stated that “Red Bull Racing and Renault share the views that stability is a fundamental condition to perform at the top levels of competition. As well as being a unique opportunity to showcase the performance of the Renault engines at the highest possible level, it is also a fantastic arena to develop the technology and expertise within the Renault-Nissan Alliance.”

There’s a lot of hoo-ha in the British Press at the moment over Michael Schumacher’s “confession” that he is the problem with the German Mercedes GP team. If you haven’t seen the comments yet, here they are, as reported by Top Gear’s online magazine:

“It is a fact that I am a bit more relaxed than before”, he said, “and I do not know if my mindset is right for this team.”

“At some point, we will evaluate whether I continue or stop,” he added.

“If anything, I am the problem,” Schumacher admitted.

Top Gear has since pulled the article, which I accessed late last night, pretty much ending the debate about whether the quotes were true or not. Apparently, according to forum sites, an Italian magazine attributed the quotes to Schumacher, who’s manager then complained that they were rubbish. The magazine has since pulled the story from their news site, and it seems every one else is following suit.

There is now speculation that the young Italian/Scottish Paul Di Resta, currently having a stunning rookie season at Force India, will take Schumacher’s place at Mercedes GP next year, but I would guess that that rumour was given more credence by the fake comments attributed to the German driver.

The fact of the matter is, Schumacher, at 42, is being consistenly outpaced, outqualified and currently sits behind team mate Nico Rosberg in the driver standings. He admitted earlier that the “big joy” of racing is not with him this year, and he must be speculating about his future.

I always say Formula 1 is like a soap opera, just faster and with better looking girlfriends. It really is anyone’s guess what will happen when contract negotiations kick in towards the end of the season.

Ciro De Siena – OverdriveTV

This high-end vehicle is made in coalition with the famous Italian competition car maker Michelotto Automobili. This all new Grand Am is apparently based on the GT3. It  completely adheres to all the necessary safety and performance regulations for this category of automobiles.

This racing bull extracts its power from the integrated 500 PS (368 kW/493 hp) V8 engine, and comes equipped with a roll bar, a 48 mm restrictor and Continental tires.

What we found missing in the vehicle are the anti-lock brakes and traction control – we guess that makes it somewhat handicapped. But, it’s a Ferrari and we would always crave to drive one.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been pushing hard to drive all the Formula One mean machines into the African terrain for so many years now, and finally is seeing success on that front. Ecclestone believes that the deal is “weeks away from signing”. He has been quoted as saying that a decision might come as soon as F1 “lawyers have a good look at them… within the next couple of weeks”.

This, when it happens, will be Grand Prix’s return to South Africa.  The last South African Grand Prix was run at Kyalami in 1993, and was won by Alain Prost. Treading the path taken byDurban, F1 bosses will look forward to a track similar the one there.

Meanwhile, we also hear Motorsport SA has confirmed that aCape Townconsortium has approached it to run a Grand Prix. However, that will depend on getting the event find a place in the in FIA calendar by Motorsport SA.

The money part is still being debated. It would involve huge amounts of many to get the race going atCape Town. Government aid would have to be sought to make things roll.

Going by current estimates, getting F1 to Cape Townwould incur costs of at least $100-million. Hope Bernie Ecclestone will be smiling in the next two weeks’ time.

Eyewitness News has revealed that F1 Boss Bernie Ecclestone has told them that Cape Town will host a Formula One street race in the next two years.

In February this year, the Cape Times reported that a local consortium had been invited to picth a racetrack to the FIA that was centred around the Waterfront, Greenpoint and even running through the Greenpoint stadium.

The proposal is apparently weeks away from being signed: ”I’m hoping we can make a decision as soon as our lawyers have a good look at them… within the next couple of weeks,” Ecclestone has been reported as saying.

EWN Reporter Jean Smyth, talking on 567 CapeTalk this afternoon, said he took a few weeks to get some time with Ecclestone. He added that Ecclestone was quite cagey with details, but was confident that the race will happen.

In the interview (recording posted below) a softly spoken Ecclestone said that as soon as there is a contract in place, things will happen within two years, in Cape Town.

Ecclestone would not be drawn on any further details about the track, or placement of the track. He said if the race could be organised in Johannesburg that would be good.

Reporter Smyth asks towards the end of the interview: “According to you, Cape Town has a real chance of holding an F1 Grand Prix in two years?” to which Ecclestone replies: “Yes”.

There is a tonne of paperwork, licensing and money that goes into staging an F1 Grand Prix, so there is much to iron out before this happens. But that sort of answer from that sort of person is good enough for me to get excited.

Listen to the interview here: Bernie Ecclestone on Cape Town Grand Prix

After the almost narcotic high of Shanghai, the Turkish Grand Prix would have had to be absolutely sensational to even compare. While it was without the drama of China, this weekend’s race was certainly entertaining.

Famous for “Turn 8” – a high speed, triple-apex flat-out left hander, in which the drivers have to endure nearly 5Gs of lateral force, the Turkish Grand Prix is one of the most exciting layouts on the modern calendar. It’s a pity the Turkish people don’t think so however, a drastic fall in attendance means the event will probably be pulled from the line up next year. So this might have been the last Formula One GP at the venue for a few years to come.

With a dominating qualifying performance, the Red Bull’s didn’t even bother to see out the final session, choosing instead to keep a set of optional tyres. Vettel’s time was simply unreachable by the rest of the pack, and team mate Webber backed him up in second, with Rosberg in the Mercedes in fourth.

However the clean side of the grid proved to help launch Rosberg, and he easily leapfrogged Webber into the first corner. That was the last time anybody would get near Vettel, as he drove a flawless race to stay out ahead for almost every single lap of the race.

Behind the young German maestro though was an absolute frenzy of overtaking. Button and Hamilton traded places in a few dramatic wheel-to-wheel moves that must have had Ron Dennis clenching more than his teeth. It’s great to see though that McLaren let’s his racers race, there was nothing even resembling team orders for the two scrappy Brits.

It seemed immediately obvious that the FIA had botched at least one of the DRS zones however, with drivers simply skipping past their prey on the outside at the end of the last back straight. Rosberg was victim to just about anyone behind him and minutes later the same would happen to Schumacher, who needlessly turned in once he had clearly lost the place, damaging his front wing and sending him into the pits for a nosejob. That cost him dearly and he looked panicky for the rest of the race.

Kobayashi, who faced a nightmare starting from the back of the grid, was in 5^th by the first round of pitstops. He fought all day and earned a hard fought few points in 10^th place. The dark horses of the sport, in the black Lotus Renaults, had a bit of scrap when Heidfeld nearly pushed Petrov into the pit lane, but resolved their on-track squabble to finish strongly again, in 7^th and 8^th respectively.

The rest of the race was a fairly straight forward affair, albeit with the teams playing a few mind games with their stops, and some fairly tricky stops where wheel nuts were just not co-operating. Essentially Red Bull had to match a charging Alonso for stops, reacting immediately when he pitted, to keep Vettel and Webber ahead. Button’s race engineer chose a three-stopper for him, which cost him two places in the final stages of the race; four stops was definitely optimal.

The circus that is Formula One moves on to Catalunya, Spain in a fortnight’s time, 20-22 May. In the meantime here are all the standings, from Turkish Grand Prix race results, to Formula 1 driver and team standings.

Race Result: 2011 Turkish Formula 1 Grand Prix

2011 Formula 1 Driver Standings

2011 Formula 1 Team Standings

The new car was made by the Spanish team’s own group of engineers and designers under the guidance of Geoff Willis and Chief Designer Paul White. Colin Kolles said that the F111 will incorporate the adjustable rear wing as per Formula One norms.

Daniel Simon (Hollywood and former VW designer) is responsible for the outfit of the car, bringing in a fresh air of exuberance and enthusiasm and perfectly complementing the design and structure of the car.

There are lots of empty slots for advertisers with only Simon’s Cosmic Motors and Tata Motors with the help of Narain Karthikeyan, sharing the spoil.

The Indian driver raced for Jordan back in 2005 and can now look forward to the inaugural Indian Grand Prix this year.

But how long a stint will he get at HRT needs to be seen, HRT tried four different drivers last year and none of them secured a single point.

HRT is competing in its second Formula One season, after finishing 11^th in the Constructors Championship last year.

Officials at Renault have stated that there are technological innovations and that the competition is completely open.

The new formula is aimed at bringing car manufactures back into the F1 field, and the sources have said that they have been mindful that there are precise rules for the costs, the materials, the number of engines per season and the speed limit.

Renault has officially withdrawn from the position of being team owner of the Renault team, based in Enstone, but has affirmed that they will continue to supply engines for the coming three years.

During this period, the V8 engine formula will be transcended and the new four-cylinder turbos will debut in 2013.

Although the new formula was aimed at enticing car manufacturers back into the racing game, BMW will not be joining soon, and Volkswagen is not committed either.

Sources say that that Japanese have been expressing interest in the F1, and that Honda is seriously considering making a comeback.