Pirelli's preparations to return to Formula One racing in 2011 as the sport's sole tyre supplier continued apace this week, thanks to a successful test at France's Paul Ricard circuit. The firm's official test driver Nick Heidfeld was again on track following his debut outing for the tyre manufacturer in Italy at Mugello last month. Heidfeld spent the two-day test behind the wheel of a Toyota TF109, which was fitted with Pirelli's latest Formula One tyres. The German continued the development programme, working on both constructions and compounds. With the performance, consistency and reliability of the new rubber fully matching expectations, Pirelli were well-satisfied.

He's Italian but he's never driven for Ferrari; his first - and only - F1 victory came at Monaco, 2004; he has raised almost 670,000 Euros for Abruzzo since a devastating earthquake hit the region in April 2009; and he owns a vineyard. These are some of the things you probably know about Jarno Trulli. Now find out a few you don't, in the latest installment of our Secret Life series…

Lotus made history on Wednesday, fielding the youngest-ever Formula One test driver. Sixteen year-old Malaysian Nabil Jeffri, who is a member of the AirAsia ASEAN driver development programme, undertook a day of aero testing and pit-stop practice on behalf of the team at Duxford's Imperial War Museum runway in the UK...

Although he almost lost it all after momentarily going off track in the rain, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton eventually cruised to a well-deserved victory in Belgium on Sunday. Added to his 2008 Silverstone and Monte Carlo triumphs, Hamilton has almost a complete set of wins at the calendar's 'classic' venues. Next on the British driver's agenda is Monza. And with the MP4-25 expected to be equally strong at next weekend's Italian Grand Prix, he may not have long to wait, as he explained in an interview with his official website…

Last week, NASCAR fans saw a lot of fresh faces in the Nationwide and Truck series races. In part, that was because the cars ran on the road course in Montreal and the trucks were part of an ARCA doubleheader at Chicagoland.

Race organisers for the forthcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, have released a draft layout of the new circuit that will stage the event from 2012, when Formula One racing returns to the country for the first time in five years...

Students from around the world are putting the finishing touches to their model Formula One cars ahead of the 2010 F1 in Schools World Finals, which will be held in Singapore next month. The global educational challenge, which is privileged to have the support of the Formula One fraternity, draws together the best young engineers, business minds and designers, as they compete for the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy as well as Automotive and Motorsport Engineering scholarships to City University London.

He arrived at Ferrari amid much fanfare, but Fernando Alonso has endured more downs than ups during a fraught 2010 season. However, as the dust settles on a particularly tough Belgian Grand Prix, Alonso is determined to stay positive ahead of the Italian team's home event at Monza next weekend - a race he says could prove critical to his dwindling title hopes. After qualifying down in 10th, the Spaniard's Spa-Francorchamps event was further hampered by first-lap contact with the Williams of Rubens Barrichello and then an early tyre choice mistake. When the rain eventually returned, he crashed out of the race on Lap 38.

Petronas have signed an agreement with the Formula One Group to extend the national oil and gas corporation's title sponsorship of the Malaysian round of the FIA Formula One World Championship for another five years. Under the extended partnership, Petronas will continue to hold the title sponsorship rights as well as extensive advertising, branding and promotional benefits for the event until 2015. The partnership will provide Petronas the opportunity to continue leveraging on Formula One's massive global appeal to build and support its international business expansion efforts as well as position Malaysia as a major sporting and tourism destination.

Female drivers began making history in NASCAR since the day -- June 19, 1949 -- the organization ran its first NASCAR Cup Series race in Charlotte, N.C.

Roush Fenway Racing on Tuesday announced that Erik Darnell will drive the No. 16 Ford in three Nationwide Series races during the 2010 season starting at Richmond next weekend. Darnell also is scheduled to participate in the races at Dover and Texas.

Richard Childress Racing and Morgan Shepherd's Racing for Jesus have formed Shepherd Racing Ventures, a partnership to run the No. 21 for the remainder of the 2010 Nationwide Series season.

Art is about beauty. About finding a new way of seeing something, capturing that moment, and having others see it as well.

Renault's Robert Kubica is in a buoyant mood after clinching his third podium of the year at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. Although he could have finished in second if he hadn't made a mistake during his final pit stop, Kubica left Spa-Francorchamps feeling pleased with his third-place finish and the performance of his R30, which was running with an F-duct system for the first time. “It was a really incredible race, but also a difficult race because of the changeable conditions and it was very easy to make mistakes,” he said in his blog on Renault's official website. “I didn't make any big mistakes on the track, but unfortunately I made one in the pit lane, which cost me second place.

Students from around the world are putting the finishing touches to their model Formula One cars ahead of the 2010 F1 in Schools World Finals, which will be held in Singapore next month. The global educational challenge, which is privileged to have the support of the Formula One fraternity, draws together the best young engineers, business minds and designers, as they compete for the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy as well as Automotive and Motorsport Engineering scholarships to City University London.

With the inaugural Korean Grand Prix just under two months away, race organisers have released a set of images of the brand-new Yeongam track. The Asian country will host its first Formula One event from October 22-24. The Korea International Circuit, which is 90 percent complete, will hold a special event this weekend to mark the 50-day countdown to the Korean Grand Prix. 'Circuit Run 2010' will include a demonstration run by Indian driver Karun Chandhok in Red Bull's show car.

Spa was never going to be Red Bull's favourite circuit, but after clinching their 12th pole of the season on Saturday, things were looking pretty good. That was before Mark Webber's slow start, sporadic showers, a collision between Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button and two safety-car periods intervened. Amidst all the drama it was McLaren's Lewis Hamilton who kept his head to secure his first win since June - and the lead in the drivers' championship. And with McLaren just one point adrift of Red Bull in the constructors' table, the stage is set for a battle royal at the remaining six rounds. We take a team-by-team look at how a memorable Belgian Grand Prix played out...

Boris Said has won the Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, edging Max Papis by a nose on a green-white-checkered finish.

After qualifying, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was cautiously optimistic the Belgian Grand Prix could work out well for him. And on Sunday the dream became a reality, as Hamilton clinched a formidable victory to move into the lead of the drivers' standings. The British driver reviews his Spa race…

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h 29m 04.268s; 2. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1h 29m 05.839s; 3. Robert Kubica (Renault), 1h 29m 07.761s Q: Lewis, brilliant win but not without its nervy moments. Lewis Hamilton: No. It was a great weekend. Very, very tough race for me. I think same for everyone but praying just for a race that went smoothly. But with the tricky conditions when it started to rain, losing temperature in the tyres and not really knowing how much you can push in each corner. I braked quite late and locked my wheel and went wide at turn eight and jeez, the Lord definitely had his hand over me there as I was able to get away with it. Then staid ahead