The Formula 1
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Mercedes-Benz confirm takeover of Brawn GP

Mercedes-Benz has bought the Brawn GP Formula One team in a move that could see Jenson Button join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren next season.
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guardian.co.uk

Jenson Button visits McLaren HQ

• World champion given a guided tour round McLaren HQ• Button would share equal billing with 2008 world championMcLaren have teed up Jenson Button to partner Lewis Hamilton in their 2010 Formula One line-up and the world champion could be close to turning his back on the Brawn team for whom he won this year's title. Button and his manager, Richard Goddard, today visited the McLaren headquarters at Woking, where they were given an escorted tour of the facilities by Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal. A contract could be signed as early as next week if terms can be finalised, creating the first team with two world champions competing alongside each other since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were team-mates at McLaren in 1989."As I've said many times before, Jenson wants to drive a car which is capable of winning the next world championship," said Goddard. "We've been talking about possible terms for 2010 with Brawn for months and we're not being difficult or unreasonably expensive in our demands for Jenson. In fact we've given up quite a lot of negotiating ground in our discussions with them."McLaren have made Kimi Raikkonen their second choice if the Button approach fails, with Nick Heidfeld third favourite.Goddard made it clear that Button was not aiming for the £10m annual fee that drivers such as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have under the terms of their existing agreements. But it is clear he wants more than the bargain-rate, reputed £4m deal he agreed with the emergent Brawn team before the start of last season to stay on the Formula One grid in a year when he was almost left kicking his heels in the pits with nothing to drive."I think it's also important that Jenson wants to feel valued in whatever situation he finds himself next season," Goddard added. "He needs to explore all the feasible options." A McLaren spokesman said: "Having just arrived at Heathrow, Jenson made a small detour to Woking to say hello."It is understood that Button has moved to the top of McLaren's wish-list over the past couple of months, with Whitmarsh and his fellow directors impressed by his tenacity in regaining his form to round off the season with two outstanding drives in the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi grands prix.However, Niki Lauda, who won the last of his three world championships with McLaren in 1984, and was paired there with Prost for two years, believes that Button would be best served in the long run by continuing to negotiate with Brawn. "One of the problems faced by drivers today is that there is generally less money around in the business than there was," he said. "So if I was Jenson, I would try to stay with Brawn even if Ross might pay him slightly less than McLaren. Of course, if McLaren are going to pay a lot more, then he must go."But the other thing he must consider is that it is Lewis's team and he needs to be sure he has the confidence to deal with this. It is a tough decision for Jenson and he needs to think it through carefully."McLaren also played host to Raikkonen on Wednesday when the 2007 world champion visited their base with his managers, David and Steve Robertson. The Robertsons – father and son – have an impressive reputation as negotiators, having not only secured Raikkonen an income of around £27m from Ferrari in 2008 but also cleverly inserted a clause in his contract whereby Ferrari were obliged to exercise their option to keep him in 2010 if he scored a certain number of championship points by the middle of 2008.That led to the current situation whereby Ferrari have chosen to pay off Raikkonen's contract for a figure believed to be between £15 and £17m to make room for Alonso. Raikkonen previously drove for McLaren from 2002-06.If Button should eventually join McLaren he would do so on equal footing to Hamilton as the team have always given absolute parity of equipment to their drivers and both would be permitted to race unfettered for grand prix wins and the world championship.Heidfeld, who was a McLaren test driver in the late 1990s, and the incumbent Heikki Kovalainen are also under consideration as potential candidates for the seat alongside Hamilton, although very much as outsiders.Formula OneJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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B.B.C. NEWS Town parade for F1 team success

An open-top bus parade is due to take place in a Northamptonshire town to celebrate Brawn GP's Formula 1 success.
11/09/09
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guardian.co.uk Toyota 'to quit Formula One'

• Toyota president Akio Toyoda confirms team withdrawing• Previous commitment to F1 could raise legal issuesThe financial crisis facing Formula One deepened today after...
11/04/09
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F1-Live.com Toyota ends its Formula One adventure

Over the eight-year span of its Formula One foray, the Toyota F1 team reached the podium 13 times and scored 87 points...  
11/04/09
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B.B.C. NEWS Live - Italian Grand Prix

McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton starts on pole at Monza for what promises to be a fascinating Italian Grand Prix.
09/13/09
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The Sydney Morning Herald Barrichello wins Italian Grand Prix

Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello produced a beautifully-measured drive from fifth place on the grid to win Sunday's Italian Grand Prix ahead of his Brawn GP team-mate Jenson...
09/13/09
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The Sydney Morning Herald Barrichello wins Italian Grand Prix

Rubens Barrichello produced a beautifully-measured drive from fifth place on the grid to win Sunday's Italian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.
09/13/09
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The New York Times

Schumacher Comes Out of Retirement to Challenge Formula One

Michael Schumacher, 41, returns to the track on Sunday for the Bahrain Grand Prix, his first race since 2006.
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cbc.ca

Vettel takes pole at Bahrain GP

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull has taken the pole position for Formula One's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, while Michael Schumacher will begin his comeback from a disappointing seventh-place finish.
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guardian.co.uk Hamilton storms to pole for Italy GP

• Adrian Sutil second and Kimi Raikkonen third• Jenson Button to start in sixth placeLewis Hamilton stormed to the 15th pole position of his career ahead of tomorrow's...
09/12/09
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cbc.ca Hamilton takes pole at Monza GP

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren has won the pole for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and Giancarlo Fisichella will make his Ferrari debut from 14th on the grid.
09/12/09
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guardian.co.uk Hamilton storms to pole for Italy GP

• McLaren's Hamilton on front row with Adrian Sutil• Button and Brawn team return to formPolitics ought to be put on hold for at least 90 minutes this afternoon as the...
09/12/09
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guardian.co.uk Lewis Hamilton takes pole position

• Jenson Buttion will start in fifth position• Hamilton finished 0.7 seconds ahead of Sebastian VettelMcLaren's Lewis Hamilton will start on pole position for tomorrow's...
10/31/09
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The Independent Heidfeld lends supports to British...

Nick Heidfeld believes it is imperative Great Britain retains its grand prix as doubts continue to surround next year's race.
10/29/09
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F1 Complete Italian GP Preview: Force India

Following its inaugural points and podium at the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago, the Force India Formula One Team goes to the next round of the FIA Formula One World...
09/10/09
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guardian.co.uk

Alonso wins Bahrain grand prix

• Exhaust failure thwarts early leader Sebastian Vettel• Felipe Massa completes Ferrari 1-2, Schumacher finishes sixthFernando Alonso led a Ferrari one-two on his debut for the team as they made a stunning start to the Formula One season.Alonso produced the defining move of a dull Bahrain grand prix two-thirds of the way through, passing the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, who was struggling with exhaust trouble.Felipe Massa also took advantage, meaning a Ferrari one-two. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton came third but his new team-mate, the world champion Jenson Button, could only manage seventh on his debut. Michael Schumacher finished sixth on his return after three years' absence.Vettel had led all the way until suffering the exhaust problem, eventually finishing an unhappy fourth.It was Ferrari's first one-two since the French grand prix in June 2008, and Alonso's first victory since Japan the same year when he was with Renault.The race was not the spectacle supporters had hoped for, with new rule changes appearing to have done little for the show.In the build-up to the race the drivers and team principals said the sport was venturing into the unknown, that there would either be plenty of thrills or it would be a procession. As it turned out, there was little excitement, save for a handful of moves involving the lower-placed cars.Many had also anticipated mayhem at the first corner, with all cars carrying large fuel loads following the decision to ban in-race refuelling.Instead the field virtually tip-toed their way around the right-hander, led by Vettel. But for his team-mate Mark Webber sending plumes of smoke billowing behind him, the opening turn would have been incident-free.Instead, blinded by white cloud, Renault's Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil in his Force India both spun from their ninth and 10th positions but remarkably neither was struck as the traffic found a way round.The most significant move on that opening lap saw Alonso move past Massa into second, but beyond that little happened up until the first round of pit stops.Formula OneFerrariFernando AlonsoLewis Hamiltonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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The New York Times

Roundup: Ferrari Drivers on Top in Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso passed his teammate Felipe Massa at the second corner and overtook the pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel on the 34th of 49 laps to win the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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F1 Complete Abu Dhabi Preview: Force India

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, from 30 October – 1 November, will be the finale of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. A new venue on the calendar, it’s one of...
10/27/09
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guardian.co.uk Felipe Massa on his near-fatal crash

Exclusive In his first interview since the accident that left him in a coma, the Ferrari driver insists he will return more determined than ever to win a world titleFelipe...
09/08/09
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National Post Hamilton fastest in Australian GP...

McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button set the fastest times in Friday’s rain-affected second practice session for Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix
03/26/10
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National Post Hamilton fastest in Australian GP...

McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button set the fastest times in Friday’s rain-affected second practice session for Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix
03/26/10
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National Post Vettel, Webber on front row at...

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has taken his second straight pole of the Formula One season, besting teammate and local hope Mark Webber in qualifying for the Australian Grand...
03/27/10
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National Post Vettel, Webber on front row at...

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has taken his second straight pole of the Formula One season, besting teammate and local hope Mark Webber in qualifying for the Australian Grand...
03/27/10
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F1 Complete Italian GP Preview: BMW

Munich/Hinwil, 4th September 2009. The BMW Sauber F1 Team is sensing an opportunity as the drivers and engineers prepare for the Italian Grand Prix.
09/07/09
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F1 Complete Brawn GP Review Interlagos + Pics

Brawn GP secured the 2009 FIA Formula One Constructors’ Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos this weekend with Jenson Button driving a superb race from...
10/20/09
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