The trailer for the upcoming Ayrton Senna movie about his life has hit the youtubes!  Check it out below.

The weekend marked the end of the long F1 break and we were long overdue for our fix.  Things picked up at the historic Spa Francorchamps circuit for the 2010 Belgian GP.  The weekend started off with Mark Webber taking control of qualifying and earning pole but Lewis Hamilton was hot on his heels and managed to nab the second spot on the grid.  Sebastien Vettel had a bit of a bobble in his performance and qualified fourth.

When the lights went out the next day Mark Webber fell asleep at the wheel and had a horrible start which Lewis Hamilton was more than happy to capitalize on and that was all she wrote.  While Lewis was running away from the field Sebastien Vettel was trying to fight his way to the front after some bad tire decisions put him in mid-pack.  He actually lost control at one point and slid into the back of Jenson Button, taking him out completely.  Vettel’s car was ok but the stewards didn’t like his stunt at all and smacked him with a drive through penalty which pretty much threw him to the back of the pack.  Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton drove on to his first race win since June and preserving his championship points lead.  While Sebastien Vettel’s championship chances may be totally done all because of a wet track and a bad decision.  Check out a full race report on SPEED’s website.

God I missed F1!

Check out this new gameplay video from F1 2010 by Codemasters.  The new video reveals what “race day” will be like in game at tracks like Suzuka, Melborne, and Eau Rouge at Spa.  The best part is the game is officially available for pre-order now!

In this edition of Codemasters’ F1 2010 development diary we finally get to see part of the F1 2010 game that I didn’t get to show you at E3! Included in F1 2010 will be a mode called “Live The Life” that puts you in the shoes of an up and coming Formula One driver. You interact with your teammates, the fans, the press, even your agent!

Press Release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - August 2, 2010 - Revealing how players will become immersed in the world’s most glamorous sport, the final F1 2010  developer diary, released today by Codemasters©, showcases how the team’s mantra of “be the driver, live the life” has been transformed into an innovative career mode that takes players closer to the sport than ever before.  The video is now available to view at www.formula1-game.com and www.facebook.com/formula1game.

As any F1 fan knows, there is more to being a FORMULA ONE driver than being the fastest person on the track.  Everything in F1 2010 is experienced from the driver’s perspective, from the paddock to the post-race press conference and the team garage. Players will become immersed in the building excitement and drama of a race weekend as they interact with rival drivers, team members, fans and the press, which all affect the way the gamer’s career plays out.  Drivers can use the media to spur on the team, criticize a lack of car development, or even pressure rivals in the hopes that they fold during the Championship run-in.

To deliver the authentic feel of a GRAND PRIX^TM event, F1 2010 recreates the hustle and bustle of the garage and paddock, complete with motion-captured pit crew, race engineers and pit girls.  As a race weekend unfolds, the amount of attention the player receives intensifies according to his or her performance on the circuit.  Expectations vary from team to team, and the driver is always under scrutiny from teammates and the media as in real life.

In the video, former FORMULA ONE driver Anthony Davidson, Technical Consultant on F1 2010, explains the unique pressures that FORMULA ONE drivers must perform under, which includes team goals and intense rivalries that develop on the circuit, as reflected in the game. “The expectations for the driver playing the game are the same as in real life,” said Davidson.  ”At the end of the day, players’ teammates are the only direct competition they will have through the whole season.  There’s a strange balance of having to work together but also this desperate competition. Where it gets a little bit personal is events like qualifying and the race where every driver is just out there to beat the others, no matter what.”

FORMULA ONE fans can view the new developer diary at www.formula1-game.com and http://www.facebook.com/formula1game.  F1 2010 is coming this September for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC Games For Windows®.

Over the weekend the F1 party made its final stop in Hungary before it takes its summer break which is nearly a month long.  Some of the controversy from the last few races died down a bit but Ferrari’s team orders were still fresh in the minds and on the mouths of almost every person on the grid.  However, there weren’t too many opinions shared as understandably all the teams wanted to focus on the race at hand.

As usual the weekend started off with the Red Bull team dominating qualifying and Sebastien Vettel capturing the pole position and Mark Webber qualifying 2nd lining up against his hot shot teammate.  The two Ferrari’s of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa earned their grid spots just behind the Red Bull team and were poised to pounce when the time was right.

When the lights went out on Sunday only one Ferrari, piloted by Fernando was able to make a move on Red Bull.  Just as Mark Webber was shoving Vettel out of his way, Alonso took it upon himself to get in between the fight and steal 2nd place away from Sebastien.  As Mark Webber ran away from the rest of the grid we saw a few shocking things happen: first was Lewis Hamilton’s Vodafone McLaren Mercedes suffered a driveshaft failure putting him out of the race and ending his championship points lead.  The next gasp came when Nico Rosberg came into the pits for a tire change when one of his wheels literally came off and rolled through several pit crews before bouncing 20 feet straight up into the air and landing on a crew member.  Luckily the crewman only suffered minor injuries.

Then just a short time later Sebastien Vettel was slapped with a drive through penalty for holding up the field by staying longer than 10 car lengths behind the safety car after an incident.  As I’m writing this I am sure he is still pretty pissed off about it.

While all of that craziness was going on Mark Webber continued one of the best F1 drives ever seen, making a set of soft compound option tires stretch for a 45 lap stint!  Once he built a comfortable 23 second gap on 2nd place he came into the pits to switch to the hard compound tires and finished off the race capping off a dominant performance.  Since Lewis Hamilton suffered a DNF Mark Webber has officially taken over the lead in the championship points!  Check out a full race report on SPEED.

[Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images]

Before the Indy Cars started a boring race that ended spectacularly (you’ll see in the post after this), Formula 1 put on a show in Sebastien Vettel’s hometown of Hockenheim, Germany which temporarily re-named “Vettelheim” in honor of Sebastien Vettel.  The weekend started off dramatically with many drivers crashing hard during a rainy practice on Friday and Sebastien Vettel edging out Fernando Alonso for pole position by just .002 of a second at the end of Q3 in qualifying on Saturday.  To make things even more dramatic for Sebastien, Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa qualified in 3rd position.  This meant Red Bull’s young ace would have to start the race with two angry Ferrari’s right behind him.

It was Ferrari’s performance in qualifying that showed the world that they were definitely not going to lay down and let Red Bull or McLaren take away a championship which they feel is still within their reach.  Despite having only one win so far this season (with Fernando Alonso taking the win at the first race in Bahrain) Ferrari strongly believes they have a fighting chance at the driver’s championship.

As the lights went out to signal the start of the race Sebastien tried to pull a classic Schumacher move and slice in front of Fernando Alosno but he failed miserably as both Felipe and Fernando split him and lead the pack 1-2 into turn 1.  Felipe was actually the biggest benefactor from Sebastien’s blunder as he took first place with Fernando ducking in behind him.  However, things didn’t stay quite in this order for the whole race.

At around lap 19 of the race as Felipe and Fernando weaved through slower traffic Fernando attempted a few moves to pass his teammate but both tries were expertly shut down by Massa.  It was at this point (lap 22) that Fernando got on the radio and expressed his frustration stating that “this is ridiculous” expressing that he has  a faster pace than Felipe and should be let by.  Now, Ferrari can’t simply tell Felipe to “let Fernando pass you” because that would be considered “team orders” which are against the rules in F1.  Instead the team got on the radio to Felipe and said something to the effect of “Fernando has a much faster pace than you, please respond if you understand this message.”  Felipe did not respond but he did eventually and blatantly let Fernando pass him to take first place.

The race ended with a 1-2 finish by Ferrari with Fernando Alonso taking first and his bitter teammate Felipe Massa taking second while Sebastien Vettel landed third place.

When F1 officials learned of the radio transmission between the Ferrari pit and Felipe Massa they were not happy.  They allowed Fernando Alonso to keep his victory however, Ferrari was fined $100k for violation of the “no team orders” rule.  They were also submitted to the World Motorsport Council (WMSC) for further possible penalties.  That is certainly a tough break for Ferrari who fought valiantly to get a much needed win.

[Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images]

Just after the Formula Drift party was winding down the Formula 1 jump-off at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix was getting started.  Silverstone came back this year in a big way.  The entire track was refreshed and extended making the total distance just over 3 miles.  It was also announced that Silverstone just renewed its contract with the FIA and would be on the F1 schedule for the next 17 years.

With all of that pageantry out of the way the grid got down to business and like half the races so far Red Bull Racing dominated practice and qualifying with Mark Webber taking the pole and his teammate Sebastien Vettel taking the spot right next to him.  However despite being next to each other on the front row things were not too friendly between the two Red Bull Drivers.  Webber was put-off when the upper brass of the RBR team decided to take a new experimental front wing off his car and put it on Vettel’s car, leaving Mark with an out-dated piece that reduced his straight line speed.  Although it didn’t seem to hamper his performance all that much since he ran away from the pack as soon as the lights went out.  Meanwhile, in Vettel-ville Sebastian had a major incident at the start and cut a tire.  After the tire was replaced in the pits he emerged at the back of the pack.  Eventually he fought his way to a 6th place finish but it was Mark Webber who snagged the victory.

Mark is now third in points behind Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton while Vettel sits 4th in points.  However the season is only half over so both RBR drivers are more than within striking distance to the points lead.  I can’t wait to see how the rest of this season plays out!

Check out full post race report HERE.

[Photo:Mark Thompson/Getty Images]

Check out the newest development diary from the brains at Codemasters. In this edition they take us through the process of creating authentic representations of all the F1 tracks and each car on the grid for the upcoming F1 2010 racing game. Awesome!!

The F1 grid visited Fernando Alonso’s hometown over the weekend for the 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain.  Since F1 started visiting Valencia the races have always been more than eventful.  This year was no exception!  Things started out normal enough, with Sebastien Vettel on the pole and the McLaren cars not far behind.  However, when the lights went out things immediately got dicy.  First Vettel got into Hamilton at the first corner and damaged Hamilton’s front left tire.  Lewis fought with some severe vibrations until he was able to get into the pits and have his crew address the problem.

The real fireworks came just after the halfway point of the race.  Mark Webber was barreling down on an off-pace Hekki Kovalainen.  Hekki knew that he was off the pace and attempted to make room for Mark to go by but, Mark already picked the path he would take and Hekki crossed it.  The resulting collision had Webber nearly flipping over in mid-air before landing right side up.  Luckily Webber was just shaken and stirred but not seriously hurt.

Mark Webber/Hekki Kovalainen incident:

This nasty incident naturally brought out the safety car and that is when things really got interesting.  As the safety car came out the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felpe Massa followed instructions per the rules and lined up behind the car, slowing down.  Lewis Hamilton actually passed the saftey car which is a big no-no.  As the race went on the race stewards announced that Lewis would face a drive through penalty.  But Lewis’ pace was so fast and he was so far ahead that despite having to take a leisurely cruise through the pit lane he did not lose a single position.  Ferrari was furious about this had have been spouting off about it ever since.

While all this drama was going on Sebastian Vettel was busy putting a 14 second gap on the rest of the pack.  The young German kept things smooth and drove his Red Bull Racing Renault to a victory, making him the third different winner in Valencia in the last three years.  Lewis still remains the leader in the points but with Mark Webber’s accident Sebastien was able to pass his teammate in the points standings.  Good job Sebastien!  You can check out the race re-cap by the SPEED trio.

[Photo: Andrew Hone/Getty Images]

With all of the E3 buzz that Gran Turismo 5 generated with the finally announced release date of 11/2/2010, and the further buzz of Turn 10 Studios creating a Forza 3 one off game with Microsoft Kinect utilization, there was another huge racing game that totally flew under the radar.  Not only that but I totally learned of it by chance myself.  Allow me to tell you the story…

It was the first day of E3 2010 and the LA Convention Center was saturated with thousands of international journalists and enterprising video game enthusiasts who found their own way into this strictly industry-only event.  As soon as I got in I made a bee-line for the Microsoft booth to find any reps from Turn 10 Studios so I can dig up any new developments if any for Forza 3.

As I walked past the various game kiosks within the Microsoft area I was stopped in my tracks by someone playing what appeared to be an open-wheel racing game.  Upon closer inspection I realized the race car that the player was piloting was none other than a McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 with Jenson Button’s helmet just within view!  A glance up at the corner of the flat screen confirmed it; I was looking at a genuine F1 game for the Xbox 360!

I immediately interrupted the gentleman playing the game and asked the who, what, when, where, and left out the why because that was the least of my concerns.  It turns out that Codemasters, the creators of Dirt, Dirt 2, and Grid turned their attention towards bringing F1 racing back to the hardcore consoles (Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) as well as the PC and it would be called F1 2010.  After chatting with the man at the kiosk for a few minutes and spending a few more minutes playing the game myself I set up an appointment with the game’s developers to get even more information.

Fast forward a day and a half later and I am in a room with the two leaders of the F1 2010 development team:  Senior Producer Paul Jeal and Chief Game Designer Stephen Hood.  It was at this point that the both of the gentlemen began to blow my mind as they explained what they created.  I will attempt to break down the presentation to you so that you can see why I am so excited about what I saw.

What is it?  As I mentioned before, Codemasters is the team behind the massively popular rally games “DiRT” and “DiRT 2″.  They also created “GRiD” and a long line of racing games before those three.  Paul and Stephan decided that the best game-plan (no pun intended) for tackling an F1 game would be to use the same “game engine” (Google it) used for DiRT 2.  With a solid platform to build on the two focused all of their creative energies to creating something technically, visually, and even emotionally accurate to true Formula 1 racing.

What should you expect?  When you finally get your hands on a copy of F1 2010 I think it will be safe to say we can expect a robust experience.  Paul, Stephan and their entire team spent time with virtually every team on the F1 grid including drivers, team principals, and engineers to make sure they fit every detail, subtlety and nuance into their creation.  Every team on the grid this year will be in F1 2010 including all the new teams such as Mercedes GP, Lotus, HRT, and Virgin.  Each race car for each team is also modeled exactly to aerodynamic spec so you will not see the same tub and wings on every car with a simple livery switch.  If you drive Jenson Button’s MP4-25 you will see the extra air scoop on the front nose and etc.

You can also expect to follow at least most of the major FIA rules when driving and that includes pit stop procedures.  You will have to make sure you get on the speed limiter when you enter the pit lane and you will have to hit your marks or else you’ll run over the jack man.  Also per 2010 rules the pit crew wont re-fuel your car but you will have to look after your tires and make sure that during a dry race you do at least one stint on the option tires.  Also, if you get a little too aggressive on track you better believe you will get a black flag from the stewards.  Oh, one more thing… The rules will still apply when you are racing online.  This means that unlike GT5 or Forza 3 when some jackass decides he wants to win the race by running you off the road you’ll have more recourse than just trying to catch up and spin him out.  The computer will put the hammer down and make sure you get justice.

Now if you scroll down you’ll get to see the part of the presentation that they let me film (more on that later) and hear about most of the features from Paul and Stephan themselves.

 What I couldn’t show you:  When the presentation started I got to see one of the best parts of the game.  As cool as it was, this part was not totally approved by Codemasters yet so I was unable to film or take pictures of it.  However, no one said that I could not tell you about it!  The biggest difference between F1 2010 and F1 games in the past is that in addition to the racing Codemasters wants you to “experience” what it is like to be a Formula 1 driver.  When you are in career mode you start off in a first person perspective view inside your trailer.   Your PR agent is sitting at a table across from you and you’re free to explore your trailer and even go outside to talk to your teammate.  You will even notice photographers and fans waiting behind the ropes in front of your paddock.   That environment will dynamically change depending on how you do over the course of a season or which team you are driving for.  If you are driving for Toro Rosso there may not be as many fans waiting for an autograph.  But, if you happen to drive for McLaren-Mercedes you’ll see a flood of screaming fans and ravenous paparazzi just waiting to get a piece of you.  This part of the game is so deep that I couldn’t possibly explain it all here but trust me when I say it will really make you feel like you have made it to the top rung of world-class racing.

When will it come out? This was the last but most important question I asked the guys from Codemasters.  Based on what they told me, F1 2010 will hit stores in the US by September of this year.  We will try to give you all the latest updates on the development of this game until it hits shelves this fall!