Alonso to Ferrari could herald golden age Fernando Alonso's move to Ferrari, which was finally announced on Wednesday, is the most exciting shift in the Formula 1 fabric for years.
Assuming F1's traditional giants can both get back to the front, with Alonso at Ferrari going up against Lewis Hamilton at McLaren it sets the best two drivers in the world against each other in the two most famous teams.
Think of James Hunt against Niki Lauda, Alain Prost versus Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher taking on Mika Hakkinen. This is the historical lineage in which Alonso and Hamilton are taking their places, and they have all the qualities required to live up to those expectations.
Schumacher v Hakkinen is perhaps the closest comparison.
Alonso's year as Hamilton's team-mate at McLaren in 2007 may have been tempestuous in the extreme, but there is not the personal animosity between the two that there was for a long time between Senna and Prost.
Nor, though, are they exactly the partners in playboy excess that were Hunt and Lauda. Instead, their relationship is based on a deep respect for each other's abilities and a similarly powerful will to win.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2009/09/alonso_to_ferrari_could_herald.html
Hockenheim holds on to German GP
Hockenheim will continue as one of Germany's two Formula 1 circuits until at least 2018 after an agreement was reached over the track's F1 future.
Formula One Administration (FOA) and circuit chiefs have agreed a deal to cover any loss the event makes.
A statement on www.hockenheim.com read: "The FOA and the Hockenheim-Ring GmbH will share in the entrepreneurial opportunities and risks of the event."
Hockenheim, which alternates with the Nurburgring, first held the GP in 1970.
Promoters have predicted a 6m euro (£5.5m) loss on next year's Grand Prix.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8283837.stm