Toyota give Caldarelli maiden test

By Steven English

Toyota gave a first Formula One test to 18-year-old Italian Andrea Caldarelli in Bahrain this week.

Caldarelli has been a member of the Toyota Young Driver Programme since 2007 and finished third in this season's Formula Renault Eurocup.

He completed 128 laps during Monday and Tuesday in the TF108, finishing with a best time of 1:33.170 - two seconds off Jarno Trulli's qualifying time at the same track earlier this year.

"This has been a great experience for me and I have thoroughly enjoyed it," said Caldarelli. "To get the chance to test a Formula One car when I am still only 18 is such a good opportunity and I was determined to make the most of it.

"Obviously, the TF108 is a big step up compared to my usual car. The power is amazing but so are the brakes, and the grip you have going round corners takes a few laps to adjust to. I think I did a good job considering the circuit is new to me and this is my first full F1 test.

"I would like to thank Panasonic Toyota Racing for giving me the chance. This experience gives me extra motivation to fight as hard as possible to one day race a Formula 1 car."

Timo Glock was also testing this week, analysing the new Bridgestone slick tyres with a low-downforce configuration and working on Toyota's KERS development. The team expect to test their KERS for the first time on track in January.

Glock completed 258 laps during the week with a best time of 1:32.090. The team's test driver Kamui Kobayshi completed the team's annual test mileage by running for 33 laps today.

Read More

Formula One News

Read More

LG G5300

Specifications
LG G5300
Network2G
3G		GSM 900 / 1800
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display		106 x 42 x 22 mm (4.17 x 1.65 x 0.87 in)
85 gram
STN, 65K colors
128 x 128 pixels, 8 lines, 1:1 ratio
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot		200 x 5 fields, 7 contact groups
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB		Class 10


Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
v2.1 with A2DP, EDR

microUSB v2.0
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Ringtones
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java

SMS, EMS
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 1.2.1


Mobile hawk, Crazy Race, Othello


Silver, blue, red

- Mini-SIM
- Blue backlight
- Downloadable wallpapers
- 110 short messages
- 10 voice dial numbers
- Predictive text input
- Organizer
- World clock
- Voice dial
- Nokia Smart Messaging
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time		Standard battery, Li-Ion 850 mAh
Up to 200 h
Up to 3 h

Image: http://www.welectronics.com
Read More

Ex-French Open champ Costa is Spain's new captain

BARCELONA, Spain -- Former French Open champion Albert Costa was named Spain's Davis Cup captain on Thursday, a month after the team beat Argentina for the 2008 title.

The 33-year-old Costa replaces Emilio Sanchez Vicario, who stepped down after leading Spain to its third Davis Cup title with a 3-1 win over Argentina in Mar del Plata.

Costa was a member of Spain's first Davis Cup winning team in 2000. He also won 12 ATP singles titles during his playing career, including the 2002 French Open. He is currently coaching Feliciano Lopez.

"I accomplished a lot of my dreams as a player, winning at Roland Garros and now I've managed another one, becoming captain of our Davis Cup team," said Costa, who agreed to lead Spain for one year.

Costa's debut will be a first-round World Group match against Serbia at Benidorm from March 6 to March 8.

"We're very ambitious. We want to keep working really hard and we want to win the Davis Cup again," Costa said.

Sanchez Vicario, who led Spain for three full seasons after taking charge in October 2005, had publicly pushed for the Spanish tennis federation to pick Costa.

Sanchez Vicario announced his retirement after Spain's unlikely victory -- it came with top-ranked Rafael Nadal unavailable due to injury -- against the heavily favored Argentines.

"He did an incredible job and he's kind of left me in a bad spot. It'll be nearly impossible to better what he did," Costa said.

Costa had an 11-8 career record as a player in 13 Davis Cup series.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Source:
http://sports.espn.go.com

Read More

Kimi Raikkonen

Background:

When Kimi joined the Sauber Formula 1 team in 2001 he was only 21 and had raced in only 23 car races in his life. But he had won more than half of them. He raced go-karts until age 19, and was Finnish champion and he also did well in the international series. He began car racing in 1999, and in 2000 he won the British Formula Renault series. He also raced in three races in European Formula Renault, winning two of them. Michael Schumacher saw him testing in the Sauber in 2000 and said that he had a bright future in Formula 1.

His Career Thus Far:

In his first year in Formula 1 Kimi proved that he had his place in the sport despite having so little experience racing cars. Even so, he finished the championship in ninth position with nine points. But his teammate, Nick Heidfeld, finished in seventh position, with 13 points.

McLaren-Mercedes nevertheless decided that Kimi was a driver for the future, and signed him up for the following year. (This was a blow to Heidfeld, who had been nurtured as a Mercedes driver for years.) In his first year at McLaren, Kimi finished sixth in the series with 24 points, compared to his teammate David Coulthard's fifth place finish in the series and 41 points. That was, however, the last time his teammate would do better than him. Raikkonen won his first race in 2003 and finished second in the championship, missing the title by two points to Schumacher. He won seven races in 2005 and again finished second in the series, but this time to Fernando Alonso. He joined Ferrari in 2007 hoping he would finally win the title at the sport's most successful team.

Raikkonen the World Champion:

The 2007 season was a four-way battle for the drivers' title between the two drivers of the McLaren Mercedes team and the two drivers of the Ferrari team. But from early in the season to the very last race, Lewis Hamilton, the rookie driver at McLaren, created the show. Kimi fell behind his teammate, Felipe Massa, for several races and looked out of the running. With two races left, Lewis spoiled his 17-point lead to score only two points, while Kimi won the two races for a perfect score, to win the drivers' title in the last race. In 2008 he won only twice.

Driving Style:

Although Kimi lost the title mostly because of the unreliability of his car in 2005, he has been publicly accused of driving his cars hard. In fact, Kimi's style is marked by such an apparently superhuman and cool, incisive approach that he developed the nickname of Iceman. He is very fast on a single lap, but is also a master of fighting his way up the pack.

Character:

His cool character, light complexion and icy blue eyes also contributed to his nickname, but Kimi remains the coolest of drivers. Whether he wins a race or his car breaks down and robs him of certain victory, the Finn stays cool and detached, showing little emotion of any kind. That he is in fact human is clear in his private life from his occasional, highly-publicized blowouts at parties.

Photo:
http://newsonf1.net

Read More

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher was born on 3 January 1969 in western Germany (in Hurth, near Cologne). As early as four years of age he was notching up his first circuits at the go-kart track nearby where his parents. In the go-kart he was runner-up in the Junior World Championships at the age of sixteen, and two years later he became the European Champion - and go-kart racing remains his great passion to this day. After fifteen years of go-kart racing he switched to racing cars and came out in front in numerous German championships. In 1990, Schumacher became the Mercedes-Benz team driver in the Sports Car World Championship and the German Formula 3 Champion.

In 1991, at the Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher made his debut as a replacement driver for the Formula 1 Jordan team. By the following year he had already won his first Grand Prix, at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, in a Benetton-Ford. After placing third in the World Championship of 1992 and fourth of 1993, he landed the World Title in 1994 and dedicated it to Ayrton Senna - "the man who deserved to get it". In 1995, Schumacher defended his World Championship title in a Benetton-Renault. With a record nine wins out of seventeen Grand Prix races, this was a triumphant season for the German driver.

After four and a half years with Benetton, Schumacher signed a contract with Ferrari, with the objective of bringing the World Championship once again back to Maranello. Under his influence, the Italian team restructured itself. The key positions were occupied by new expert personnel. In 1997 and 1998, he narrowly missed out on the World Title - in each case, in the final race of the season. As early as 1998, he renewed his contract with Ferrari until the year 2002.

The 1999 season was an emotional roller-coaster ride for Schumacher. At Silverstone he suffered the first serious accident of his career. After sustaining a double fracture of the right leg the German driver was forced to withdraw from the Championship for six Grand Prix races. Then in Malaysia he celebrated a glorious come-back and by the end of the season had exerted an appreciable influence on the destiny of the Constructors' World Championship.

In the year 2000 Schumacher done what he promised he would do and brought the driver's title home to Ferrari for the first time in 21 years. Nine race wins in a season dominated by the brilliance of Schumacher was more than enough to secure his 3rd world title. Michael finished the season with 108 points and was the clear winner.

As defending champion in the 2001 season Michael Schumacher simply ran away with the world title his fourth in total and second for Ferrari. Once again Michael won nine races along with eleven pole positions. On his way to a massive winning margin the German re-wrote a number of records along the way, including the highest number of Grand Prix wins, highest number of points scored and the highest number of fastest laps. Schumacher renewed his Ferrari contract until 2004 and looks set to continue winning races and titles for the Maranello team for some time yet.

2002 would see Schumacher further cement his name into the history of the sport. His third successive drivers world championship with Ferrari and his fifth in total was won with commanding performances. Schumacher took 7 pole positions and 11 wins as he cruised to the title, which was won earlier than ever before. Schumacher took the record books apart in a season that saw him finish every race of the season with a lowest position of third! Nothing could stand in the way of his title and he afforded himself the luxury of helping team mate Rubens Barrichello to at least 2 wins.

Schumacher would go on to claim his 6th world title in 2003 but it was not as easy as he had it in 2002. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams took the challenge to Michael and it was a challenge he enjoyed. The new points scoring system had taken the title battle down to the wire in Japan and with perhaps his worst race of the season Schumacher scored 1 point to take the title. Schumacher had once again a great season of reliability and never once retired from a race due to car problems, but other problems including puncture's, pit stop fires and a river in Brazil did cause him some challenging moments, but he emerged victorious once again.

2004 was yet another championship winning year for Schumacher as well as Ferrari as they simply dominated the season from start to finish, mirroring the domination shown back in 2002. Schumacher was never really threatened as he claimed his 7th world title, only team mate Barrichello kept him honest and a slight challenge from the BAR team and Jenson Button, but Schumacher cruised it.

The 2005 season would not be so great for Schumacher, a raft of changes enforced by the FIA ensured the Ferrari teams advantage was nullified, tyre changes at pitstops were outlawed taking away one of Schumacher's best ability's to pump in race winning laps in and around the pitstops. As it was Ferrari suffered with tyre problems for the whole season as Bridgestone found it tough to come to terms with making a race distance tyre. This handed the advantage to the Michelin shod Renault team and Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever world champion. Schumacher's only win came at the highly controversial USGP when only the Bridgestone teams entered the race. The only other real bright spot for Schumacher was a great drive to 2nd place at Imola.

In 2006 Michael Schumacher would say farewell to Formula One as he brought an end to his illustrious career, sadly he was unable to go out with a 8th title but he went out on a high as he took the title battle with Alonso to the last race of the season. Many questioned if he could go on for a few more years but at 37 Michael declared his batteries empty despite putting in some stunning drives throughout the season. He plans to take a well earned rest and have some quality time with his family before deciding what direction his new life without F1 will take.

Careere Stats
World Championships : 7
Grand Prix Starts : 248
Wins : 91
Pole Positions : 68
Fastest Laps : 76
Podium Finishes : 154
Career Points : 1,369

Schumacher's Records
* Most world titles: 7
* Most consecutive titles: 5 (2000-2004)
* Most wins: 91
* Most wins in a single season: 13 (2004)
* Most consecutive wins in single season: 7 (2004)
* Most wins at the same race: 8 (French GP)
* Most wins with one team: 72
* Most wins from pole: 40
* Most pole positions: 68
* Most front-row starts: 115
* Most podium finishes: 154
* Most second place finishes: 43
* Most points scored: 1,369
* Most points finishes: 190
* Most points in a single season: 148
* Most fastest laps: 76
* Most fastest laps in a season: 10
* Most races led: 141
* Most laps led: 5,108
* Most consecutive podiums: 19 (USA 2001-Japan 2002)
* Most consecutive points finishes: 24
* Most consecutive seasons with a win: 15
* Most ‘clean sweeps’ (pole, win, fastest lap): 22
* Largest points gap between champion and runner-up: 67
* Earliest title winner: 2002 (in July, with 6 races remaining)
* Longest spell with one team: 11 seasons
* Only driver to have finished every race on the podium: 2002

Read More

Cristiano Ronaldo

Name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Birth date: February 5, 1985
Birthplace: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height: 184cm
Playing position: Left/right winger, striker
First club: Sporting Lisbon
Career debut: 1999 vs Moreirense
Current club: Manchester United
International team: Portugal
International debut: August 20, 2003 vs
Kazakhstan

Cristiano Ronaldo started playing competitive football at 8-year-old for amateur club Andorinha, and then for local team CD Nacional when he was 10. He then move to one of Portugal’s largest football clubs, Sporting Lisbon in 1996.

Ronaldo trained in the youth team before playing his first senior game for Sporting in 1999 against Moreirense, and scored a double on his debut.

Ronaldo played for Portugal’s youth side in the UEFA U-17 Championships and drew attention internationally. Liverpool under manager Gérard Houllier back then was reported to have interest in signing Ronaldo, but it was Manchester United that made the move in 2003 to fill the void of departed David Beckham.

Ronaldo’s signature came after Sporting Lisbon beat Manchester United 3–1 in a friendly; on the way back to England the United players spoke enthusiastically about the young winger and suggested manager Sir Alex Ferguson to secure his signature, which they did.

Ronaldo made his memorable debut for Manchester United as a substitute against Bolton. His 30 minutes performances created hype with United fans and the English media with his dazzling dribbles.

Ronaldo’s first two seasons at United received mixed reviews; despite praised for his skills, Ronaldo was often being criticized for lack of consistency and poor decision making on the field. However his consistency level has been greatly since the 2006/2007 season, which saw him becoming one of the best player in EPL.

Cristiano Ronaldo made his senior debut for Portugal shortly after being signed by United in a match against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has become one of the key players for Portugal since then.

The controversial moment of Ronaldo’s career was in World Cup 2006, where he was alleged to influence referee to send off his Manchester United team mate and England striker Wayne Rooney in their quarter finals clash.

Ronaldo was being used as the scapegoat for England’s defeat in the World Cup and the hatred towards him had prompted his intention to leave England and Manchester United. In the end United managed to keep him, and Ronaldo had a wonderful season in the Premiership against all odds.

Ronaldo won both the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year Award in 2007. He is the first player since 1977 to bag the double in the same season. Ronaldo was also voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association for the same year.

Ronaldo’s performance was crucial to help Manchester United securing their first Premiership title in 4 years in the 2006/2007 season.

Ronaldo was the top 3 finalists for both the FIFA World Player of the Year and European Player of the Year awards in 2007. The eventual winner however went to AC Milan’s Brazilian playmaker, Kaka instead.

Ronaldo continued his fine form in the 2007/2008 season, netted in 40 goals in all competition (31 in Premier League), and was again voted as the PFA Player of The Year and Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. His performance contributed to United’s double for the season; winning the Premiership in succession as well as bringing home the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Source:
http://cristianoronaldo101.com


Read More

Archive