A new feature to Grand Prix DB is our own statistical rating. We have devised our own algorithm to provide each driver’s power rating prior to the start of the race. A rating of 1.00 is the highest possible score. Here are the Grand Prix DB Power Ratings for the Spanish GP:

1. Kimi Raikkonen, 0.94
2. Heikki Kovalainen, 0.74
3. Felipe Massa, 0.73
4. Nick Heidfeld, 0.73
5. Robert Kubica, 0.73
6. Fernando Alonso, 0.72
7 Lewis Hamilton, 0.71
8. Jarno Trulli, 0.60
9. Nico Rosberg, 0.54
10. David Coulthard, 0.53
11. Rubens Barrichello, 0.49
12. Kazuki Nakajima, 0.49
13. Mark Webber, 0.46
14. Nelson Piquet Jr, 0.43
15. Timo Glock, 0.42
16. Jenson Button, 0.40
17. Sebastien Bourdais, 0.36
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, 0.35
19. Takuma Sato, 0.34
20. Adrian Sutil, 0.27
21. Sebastian Vettel, 0.26
22. Anthony Davidson, 0.23

Note that even though Kovalainen has a power rating that places him 2nd, there is a virtual tie among six drivers. In other words, Kovalainen, Massa, Heidfeld, Kubica, Alonso, and Hamilton have close to equal chances of finishing in 2nd place, and it will probably come down to the start and fuel strategy to determine which driver comes out on top. Nevertheless, Raikkonen is the clear favorite for victory. And it appears that Alonso agrees with our power ratings as he tells Autosport.com he expects to fight for sixth.

Enjoy the race!

Although the 2008 Long Beach Grand Prix was not a thriller like many races throughout the history of the event, there was a great deal of excitement in watching these open wheel beasts of cars run in anger for the last time. It is a shame that IndyCar cannot adopt the Panoz DP01 for street and road circuits because this technical package provides tremendous appeal for the fans. The horsepower advantage and lack of gizmos compared to the traditional IndyCar creates an environment where you really get to see the drivers earn their money and show off their skills.

Speaking of which, Will Power had one of the greatest drives seen in the series in recent memory by anyone other than Sebastien Bourdais. It was a commanding performance and a way to close out the history of Champ Car in style. (more…)

There are only two words one can say about Motegi 2008: Danica wins!

I must admit that American lottery-effect open wheel races have less appeal for me personally. But Danica Patrick made a decisive pass for the lead with three laps to go earn her maiden win in the series. It was a job well done.

© Shaiful Rizal Mohd Jaafar | Dreamstime.com

This point has been alluded to in other publications, but an alarming stat for Lewis Hamilton is his lack of productivity in the last nine races. Of course, 10 races ago was the infamous Hungarian GP of 2007. Hamilton may have won that race, but since then he has scored just three podiums. Just three! During this same stretch, Kimi Raikkonen has been on eight podiums, including four wins. The lone race where he did not finish in the top three was the 2008 season-opening Australian GP.

Hamilton seems to have lost the edge that made him such an effective competitor as a rookie in his first half-season. Is he being distracted by all the attention? Are those close to him filling his head with conspiracy theories? The upcoming stretch of races should be good ones for Hamilton. So let’s hope he gets his head set straight and rids himself of some of the bad luck that has also been plaguing him. (more…)

At the height of the Internet fan movement in support of CART/Champ Car, I wrote a crazy article for the former Champweb fan site. Straight up, I argued that the series should adopt a spec V12 engine to power its still-to-be announced spec formula. By and large, the fan reaction was negative. The overwhelming support was for the V8 turbo that did carry on and prove to be such a valuable asset to the series.

However, there is no denying the visceral appeal of a V12 engine. So I was taken back to great times when I read the article on SpeedTV that chronicled the brief development of the McLaren test mule that carried one of the sweetest sounding engines of all time, the Lamborghini V12. Read and enjoy, The McLambo That Never Was.

Hey, better late than never for my comments on happenings from two weekends ago!

With two events in Florida to start off the season, IndyCar gave us fans a great opportunity to see how the ‘08 season will unfold. Ovals will favor the veteran teams while the circuits with more than just left turns will give the transition teams a fighting chance. (more…)