FORMULA ONE SCHEDULE 2008

Date	Race	Venue
March 16	Australian GP	Melbourne
March 23	Malaysian GP	Sepang
April 6	Bahrain GP	Sakhir
April 27	Spanish GP	Barcelona
May 11	Turkish GP	Istanbul
May 25	Monaco GP	Monte Carlo
June 8	Canadian GP	Montreal
June 22	French GP	Magny-Cours
July 6	British GP	Silverstone
July 20	German GP	Hockenheim
August 3	Hungarian GP	Hungaroring
August 24	European GP	Valencia
September 7	Belgian GP	Spa-Francorchamps
September 14	Italian GP	Monza
September 28	Singapore GP	Singapore
October 12	Japanese GP	Fuji
October 19	Chinese GP	Shanghai
November 2	Brazilian GP	Interlagos

RED BULL BOSS FIRED UP

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has vowed his team will come out fighting this weekend in the wake of a wretched run of form.

Following a strong start to the season, primarily courtesy of Mark Webber, the team has failed to chalk up a point in their last four races.

Red Bull were on course for what would have been a stunning fourth place in the constructors' championship, but have since slipped to sixth.

Somewhat embarrassingly, sister team Toro Rosso have proven a far more reliable outfit of late, with Sebastian Vettel securing a season-high sixth-place finish in the last race in Valencia.

Yet Horner is convinced all is not lost and his team will rise again in the final third of the Formula One campaign.

"After a very strong first half of the season, the team has endured a very frustrating past few weeks," reflected Horner ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix in Spa.

"It is extremely important we reverse this trend and get back on terms with Renault and close the gap to Toyota.

"Over the past six weeks we have analysed our performance in great detail, and that analysis reveals the chassis is working well, and we have pushed very hard in the factory to improve in all areas.

"Valencia did not play to our strengths, but we are convinced we can bounce back.

"The team has worked well together, putting in concerted effort and man-hours to understand and find solutions to our recent problems.

"So we are going to Spa in fighting mood, determined to come away with some points."

Horner claims Red Bull's main issue has been due to tyres, with other teams making better use of the rubber at their disposal.

Believing the problems have been overcome, Horner is now expecting a far stronger showing in Spa.

"We need to go there and attack the weekend, with both our drivers on top of their game, aiming to finish in the points," insisted Horner.

"At the moment, the section of the grid that includes BMW, Renault, Toyota, ourselves, Williams and now, Sebastian Vettel, is extremely tight.

"As we've seen at the last few races, a tenth of a second can make the difference between four grid positions.

"Even with the long lap at Spa, I think we can expect a very tight grid while the early autumn weather and the race taking place a weekend later than usual can add further unpredictability."

KUBICA STICKS WITH MASSA FOR TITLE

Robert Kubica backed Felipe Massa to win this season's Formula One world title at the start of the year - and he sees no reason to change his mind now.

With Kubica's own challenge having slowly faded since his victory in Canada three months ago, he feels the smart money should go on Massa to take the title.

Following his fourth win this year in Valencia 11 days ago, Ferrari star Massa is now within six points of championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

With a third of the season remaining, starting with this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, Kubica feels Massa has the edge on both McLaren's Hamilton and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

"I said at the beginning of the year that if I had to put money on anybody then I would put it on Massa, and I will stick with that," said BMW Sauber's Kubica, who is 15 points adrift of Hamilton.

"I think most people don't realise he is doing a very good job. To trouble Kimi is not easy, but he has done it.

"In some races Kimi has been quicker, but lately Felipe has more often been in front of him, and with quite considerable gaps.

"In the past Felipe has made mistakes, including at the start of this season.

"He has moments when he has gone off, and once that happens you form an opinion and it is difficult to change.

"But he is now doing a very good job. He has made massive progress and he is showing that, in particular in the last six, seven races.

"He is consistent and has been very quick in both qualifying and the races.

"He has everything to fight for the championship, and maybe to win it.

"But everything will come down to car performance and which track better suits Ferrari or McLaren."

Although Kubica's championship hopes are slim, he is guaranteed his race seat for next year with BMW Sauber, should he choose to stay.

That is in comparison to team-mate Nick Heidfeld, who is only 14 points behind Kubica in the standings, but who is again struggling for form.

That has led to boss Mario Theissen questioning the possibility of Heidfeld remaining at the team for next season.

Asked whether he would retain Heidfeld if he were boss, Kubica said: "I'm not the boss, so I don't have this problem.

"But I can appreciate it's very, very difficult. People like to forget what Nick has done in the past.

"If you look at how a situation can change from one year to the other, you have to look at the bigger picture, not just at what you want to see.

"Nick is a very good driver, and he has shown that many times. I struggle to find someone who is quicker.

"Nick and I have been team-mates for two seasons, two and a half by the end of this year, and all in all we have had very good moments and worked very well together.

"I don't see why we can't be team-mates again next season, but I would have no problem if there was also a different driver."

TORO ROSSO TRY OUT TWO

Takuma Sato and Sebastien Buemi will go head-to-head during testing in Jerez later this month for a racing seat at Toro Rosso next year.

Sebastian Vettel's departure to Red Bull at the end of the season has left STR with a vacant seat for next year.

Sato has been in the F1 wilderness since Super Aguri folded earlier this year, and he will get an opportunity to prove his worth in testing.

Buemi is a GP2 race winner and also a Red Bull junior driver.

Team principal Franz Tost says Toro Rosso are starting to cast an eye on next year's driver line-up.

"The time has come to try and find a suitable replacement for Vettel, who is joining Red Bull Racing next year," Tost said.

"The Jerez test, the last one of the season, will give us an opportunity to evaluate Buemi and Sato at the same time, as they are both possible candidates for a 2009 seat.

"Buemi is an obvious candidate, because not only is he already part of the Red Bull family, he is currently performing well in the GP2 series.

"As for Sato, he has proved worthy of a place in Formula One and would be a good fit with the Red Bull spirit, while his recent F1 experience would be undoubtedly valuable to our team."

Sato, who also had a spell with BAR, is over the moon to get a chance to test with STR.

HAMILTON FOCUSED ON TITLE CHALLENGE

Lewis Hamilton lived the dream last season in what turned out to be a nightmare for McLaren.

Now, a year on after the team were sensationally fined £50million, a less-stressed Hamilton is determined to turn that dream into the ultimate fantasy by winning the Formula One world title.

It was on the Thursday of last year's Belgian Grand Prix Hamilton found himself in Paris at the headquarters of world governing body, the FIA, rather than preparing for the race in Spa.

The 23-year-old opted to support McLaren in their defence of the spying scandal that had engulfed the team's season from which they came within a whisker of being thrown out of the championship.

Instead, the team were forced to pay a sporting record fine and stripped of all constructors' points, affecting a young Hamilton in his rookie campaign.

This season the pressure is still there, but of a different kind as it is merely a case of handling the title scenario, and not coping with everything else also going on in the background.

The ingredients are there for Hamilton to go on and win his maiden championship, and he knows it.

"There's a huge difference this year compared to last," Hamilton said.

"We've moved on. There's a much better feeling being here, and we are challenging for the world championship, not just trying to stay in it.

"Last year when I walked the track I didn't even know if I would be racing, whereas this year we don't have any of those stresses.

"We're a strong team with a real good atmosphere throughout, and we are 100 per cent committed to winning the championship."

Although Hamilton maintains he personally coped with the maelstrom swirling around him, he felt deeply for what the team were going through.

"I don't let anything distract me," Hamilton explained.

"Mentally I have always been very strong, but when you have that kind of thing in the back of your mind, you worry about your team.

"I'm emotionally attached to my team, and when you see stuff that's going on...I won't go into it.

"We were there to race, but at the time it had all moved out of my path.

"Usually I'm up for a race on the Wednesday night, and then on the Thursday I do my track walk and so on.

"But on the Thursday of last year's Belgian Grand Prix I was in Paris because I wanted to show my support.

"I saw all what was going on, and I thought it was pretty pathetic really. We're here to race, it's motor sport, and it's supposed to be a fun sport."

At one point last season Hamilton even questioned whether he wanted to remain in a sport that was so politically orientated.

Naturally, it was heat of the moment stuff, and lessons have been learned which this year are standing him in good stead.

"Everything was new to me. It was my first time in a Formula One car," said Hamilton, who heads into this year's grand prix in Belgium with a six-point lead over Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

"To be here for the first time, and there are other things going on within the team, you feel bad for the team.

"All you want to do is pull through for them and stay strong for them, and that's what Fernando (Alonso) and I did.

"We stayed strong for the team, and that's why we were reasonably competitive, and why we managed to hold out for the rest of the season."

It ultimately culminated in Hamilton losing the title by a point to Kimi Raikkonen in the final race in Brazil.

But in many respects, it was the penultimate race in China where he blew his best chance, pushing for an unnecessary win on worn tyres and sliding into a gravel trap as he trundled down the pit lane.

On this occasion, Hamilton readily concedes he is no longer a glory hunter, and instead is more points orientated as he chases the main prize.