It’s been a long week for Lewis Hamilton. Last weekend the McLaren driver was supposed to continue to haul back the championship lead of his Ferrari rival Fernando Alonso. Instead, he was forced off at the first corner, thus failing to add to his two victories earlier in the year at Canada and Hungary, and his only consolation came in the fact that he took the Spaniard out of the race with him.

But that doesn’t tell the entire story. Lewis looked to set-up his car in a different fashion to his team-mate Jenson Button and by the end of qualifying it became apparent that he had made the wrong decision, with his fellow Englishman storming to pole position leaving Hamilton languishing in eighth place on the grid.

The 27-year-old then took to twitter to unleash his torment at the way events had transpired and then was asked to take a certain message down by his team as it possessed sensitive information.

But over the last few days rumour and hearsay have started to swirl with an increased intensity over which car the former world champion will be plying his trade with next season.

Former team owner Eddie Jordan insisted that he would be starting 2013 in a Mercedes seat, with Michael Schumacher set to announce his retirement over the coming weeks. Hamilton has since come out and insisted that his plans for next year are still undecided and that all he wants to do is win, he just needs to think where the right place to do so is.

It still seems unfathomable that Lewis won’t be donning the silver suit of McLaren come Australia next year, but the longer his new contract remains unsigned the likelier it is that he won’t be.

Lewis Hamilton’s Future At McLaren Still Remains In The Balance is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Canadian Grand Prix has a champion and its Lewis Hamilton, marking the seventh winner of Formula One’s first seven races of the season, an unprecedented feat for the racing association.

After winning for the third time Hamilton proclaimed:

”I think this mix-up is normal. I think this is going to be normal for this season. I think it’s great for Formula One. It’s great for fans today.”

Hamilton completed the race in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 29.586 seconds Sunday while seated behind his McLaren Mercedes, finishing 2.5 seconds ahead of Lotus’ Romain Grosjean followed by Suaber’s Sergio Perez in third.

Hamilton who used a two-stop attributed his win to “so much traction with fresh tires” while adding ’I wasn’t able to do it a one-stop. I think I would have fallen farther back, as they did. I think a two-stop was just right.”

Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007 and again in 2010.

With his win Hamilton now has a two-point lead over Alonso, of Ferrari (88-86).

In the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix rain-delays pushed the event to more than four hours, the longest race in Formula One history, however this year the safety card didn’t make a single appearance

Hamilton completed his second pit stop in the 50th lap and then ran his fastest in Lap 59 when he passed pole-sitter Vettel in Lap 62 and Alonso two laps later.

In a second marked by a close points standing Lewis Hamilton said of his placement:

”We’ve got a win and 25 points, but we’ve only got a two-point lead. It’s incredible how close it is. I think it will stay that close throughout the year.”

Lewis Hamilton Wins Canadian Grand Prix is a post from: The Inquisitr

A promotional campaign created by Droga5 in collaboration with rapper Jay-Z and his memoir Decoded has won a Grand Prix award in the integrated category at this years Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

Droga5 placed replicated pages from the rapper’s autobiography in various places relevant to Jay-Z’s life such as a plaque at the housing project where he grew up, they then left clues for fans of the rapper to find the hidden pieces of the puzzle, while encouraging participants to share their findings with friends and other participants.

The pages from the campaign were placed in 13 major cities int he U.S. and abroad and Bing users were asked to find clues using features found within the Bing system.

Jury President Bob Scarpelli of the titanium jury said the campaign was “Bold,” “innovative,” “immersive” and “interactive” so much so that it also won the Grand Prix for the outdoor category.

Jay-Z Memoir ‘Decoded’ Helps Droga5 Win Grand Prix Award is a post from: The Inquisitr

Australian Mark Webber has broken through for his maiden Grand Prix victory at the Nurburgring track in Germany in an action-packed race, beating Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel by over nine seconds.

The long-pilloried journeyman Webber survived a collision with Lewis Hamilton at the start, losing his lead from pole position on the first corner to Reubens Barrichello, and a drivethrough penalty during the race to salute the checkered flag and let out an almighty scream of joy through the team audio system which was picked up by race broadcasters.

Webber was beaten to the first corner by Barrichello after winning his first ever pole position yesterday, and had to endure a bump by Hamilton of the McLaren team – though Hamilton came off the worse for wear with a punctured tyre, leaving him a lap down on the field by the time the Briton finished his race.

The Brawn drivers Barrichello and Jensen Button finished sixth and fifth respectively, and it could be argued technical hitches by Brawn handed Webber the victory. A particularly long 11-second second pit stop for Barrichello on the 27th lap when his pit crew had problems with the fuelling rig delivered the lead to Webber, along with some confusion by Barrichello over how many stops he was supposed to make.

Webber is the first Australian to win a GP race since Alan Jones in 1981 and only the third ever behind Jones and Jack Brabham.

Full results

1. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:36:43.310
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)    9.252
3. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 15.906
4. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 21.099
5. Jenson Button (Brawn) 23.609
6. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn) 24.468
7. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 24.888
8. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 58.692
9. Timo Glock (Toyota) 1:01.457
10. Nick Heidfeld (BMW) 1:01.925
11. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1:02.327
12. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1:02.876
13. Nelson Piquet (Renault) 1:08.328
14. Robert Kubica (BMW) 1:09.555
15. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:11.941
16. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:30.225
17. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:30.970
18. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1 lap behind
19. Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) did not finish
20. Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) did not finish

Mark Webber wins German Formula 1 Grand Prix is a post from: The Inquisitr

Mark Webber has taken pole position in a Formula 1 Grand Prix race for the first time at the German GP at Nurburgring, raising Australian hopes that they could boast of an F1 race winner for the first time since Alan Jones in 1981.

Following in the footsteps of Jones’ 12 wins and 14 wins by the legendary Jack Brabham in the 1950s and 60s, it has seemed for many years like Webber would never reach the lofty heights in the sport that those two attained, but his Red Bull team is a major contender this year and Webber currently sits fourth in the 2009 Formula one standings.

Webber complained three weeks ago at the British GP that he was prevented from securing pole by Kimi Raikonnen, a circuit he also finished second in qualifying last year, but this time he managed to hold off Brawn drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, as well as his Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel to post the best time in the third qualifying sesion. Button has won six of the eight races this year with Vettel winning the other two.

Webber has attracted a poor reputation in Australia for not finishing many of his races, something he has been notorious for particularly at his home Melbourne GP. However, he only missed finishing three times last season and has finished every race in 2009 including six in the points and three second places plus a third.

If Webber is to ever win a Grand Prix race it may have to be this year, as his Red Bull team is enjoying a brief respite from the usual team dominance of the sport by the likes of Ferrari and McLaren. With political instability affecting Formula 1 more than ever, the window is likely to close fast on Webber’s chance to shine.

Can Mark Webber actually win a Formula 1 Grand Prix race? is a post from: The Inquisitr