So here we go again, after a couple of months without major scandal Formula 1 returns to it's favourite past time of dragging its name through the mud. This time it's Renault who stand accused of race fixing at last years inaugural Singapore grand prix by telling there driver NelsonPiquet Jr. to crash, which resulted in a safety car that allowed his team mate Alonso jump from 15th on the grid in to a race winning position.

I first head about this story on Sunday night whilst looking for some race review's for spa so I could relive the joy of Ferrari's first win this season and since then my mind has not stopped thinking about the possible implications this could have if it is proved to be the case.

The first one that jumped to mind would be the effect on last year's championship and after a bit of work I produced a championship table based on Alonso being disqualified.

Official results

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren, 98 pts.)
2. Felipe Massa (Ferrari, 97 pts.)
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari, 75 pts.)
4. Robert Kubica (BMW, 75 pts.)
5. Fernando Alonso (Renault, 61 pts.)
6. Nick Heidfeld (BMW, 60 pts.)
7. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren, 53 pts.)
8. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso, 35 pts.)
9. Jarno Trulli (Toyota, 31 pts.)
10. Timo Glock (Toyota, 25 pts.)
11. Mark Webber (Red Bull, 21 pts.)
12. Nelson Piquet Jnr. (Renault, 19 pts.)
13. Nico Rosberg (Williams, 17 pts.)
14. Rubens Barrichello (Honda, 11 pts.)
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams, 9 pts.)
16. David Coulthard (Red Bull, 8 pts.)
17. Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso, 4 pts.)
18. Jenson Button (Honda, 3 pts.)

Results if Alonso was DQ

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren, 100 pts.) (+ 2 points)
2. Felipe Massa (Ferrari, 97 pts.)
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari, 75 pts.)
4. Robert Kubica (BMW, 75 pts.)
5. Nick Heidfeld (BMW, 61pts.) ( + 1 point)
6. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren, 53 pts.)
7. Fernando Alonso (Renault, 51 pts.) v2 ( - 10 points)
8. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso, 36pts.) ( + 1 point)
9. Jarno Trulli (Toyota, 31 pts.)
10. Timo Glock (Toyota, 21pts.) ( + 1 point)
11. Mark Webber (Red Bull, 21 pts.)
12. Nico Rosberg (Williams, 19 pts.) ^1 (+ 2 points)
13. Nelson Piquet Jnr. (Renault, 19 pts.) v1
14. Rubens Barrichello (Honda, 11 pts.)
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams, 9 pts.) ( + 1 point)
16. David Coulthard (Red Bull, 9pts.) ( + 1 point)
17. Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso, 4 pts.)
18. Jenson Button (Honda, 3 pts.) ( + 1 point)

On the face of it very little has changed but then members of the F1pu started to discuss what effect the safety car had on the race and we realised that without it Massa would never have had that horrendous pit stop that caused him to drop from 1st to last. So had Piquet not crashed who knows how the last few races of 2008 would have played out and whether Hamilton would have become Championship?

Then on Monday an interview with Bernie Ecclestone was one of the first to voice the possibility that this incident could signal the end of Renault's involvement in F1. Given that match fixing has ruined the reputation and Career of individuals in other sports it is a very real possibility that a Manufacture who relies on it's reputation to sell cars may take such a step and although the company recently signed a concord agreement to keep it in the sport until 2012 they may decide it would be easier to go through all the effort required for a pull out rather than risk further scandal. Bernie also speculated that if found guilty they could face a penalty even greater than the $100millon fine issued to McLaren during spy-gate

If Renault is found guilty, even if it is only in the eyes of the fans and not the sports governing body, then it would be a great loss for the sport as a whole. Firstly the fact that the result of the 2008 championship will be, in the eyes of some, tainted and it would be a tragic end to one of the most exciting championship in recent year.
Secondly the possible loss of another manufacture, and perhaps even more importantly engine provider, will probably put off other manufactures from joining the sport, as well as making the remaining ones question there participation

But as I mentioned at I the title every cloud has a silver lining and even if this one only applies to me and a handful of others I'm still going to share it with you. The fact is this story, true or not, could have disastrous effects on Alonso's supposed move to Ferrari. A move that for the past year I have been trying to deny will ever happen.

The reason why is that I am a massive Ferrari fan but I cannot stand Fernando Alonso and I am willing to look long and hard for any excuse to stop the two combining, which is what I am desperately doing with this latest scandal.

The general consensus before this news story broke was that Massa would occupy one seat at Ferrari next year and after paying off Raikkonen and replace him with Alonso. The belief I am holding on to is that a combination of the Fin's upwards turn in performance (culminating in a win in spa) and yet another black mark on Alonso's reputation may makeFerrari think again.

The way I see it is that Alonso attracts scandal, it is widely documented that Alonso provided some of the most damning evidence when McLaren were investigated during the spy scandal, and now he has managed to get himself involved in what could potentially be an even bigger scandal which he is going to struggle to deny any involvement in given that it was him who benefitted from it.

Even if he does move to Ferrari any evidence that he may have cost Massa the championship last year may ultimately cause friction within the team and if he thought McLaren had it in for him in 2007 then he would be in even more trouble at Ferrari who adore the little Brazilian, possibly even more than McLaren support Hamilton.
What effect this incident could have on the driver's relationship is difficult to predict. Massa seems set to return to the cockpit at the beginning of 2010 and having a new team mate, who supposedly cost you your first world championship, may result in tension between the two as well as an even greater effort from the Brazilin to prove himself top dog.

Of course it is still early days and so who knows what could be the outcome of this latest scandal, but if Alonso isn't driving for Ferrari next season because of it at least someone will be happy.

With the end of the FIA Vs FOTA war I haven't had much to rant about for a while, luckily as F1's so called silly season starts up for this season I have been presented with an opportunity to get something off my chest. Below is my team by team prediction of what next year's grid will look like and my opinion on it.

Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen
Felipe Massa

I thought it was best to get the most difficult one out the way first. In a lot of people's mind Fernando Alonso will be occupying a seat at Ferrari next year but a combination of denial on my part and some investigative journalism by those in the know mean there will be no change at the Scuderia next year, unless they manage to get the 3 car proposal through. Putting my own opinion to one side the fact is that both Raikkonen and Massa want to drive for Ferrari next year and both have contracts that allow them to do so. The case against this consist of 2 factors: firstly Massa may not be fit, but given his current rate of recovery that should not be an issue. Secondly many believe Kimi wants to swap F1 for rallying due to a lack of interest in F1 at the moment. But has recent performances coupled with the fact he has stated he feels like racing for at least another season mean Ferrari or another team would have to pay top dollar to get him out of his current contract. My question for you is if you were Ferrari would you pay millions to get rid of the only driver that is currently able to drive for you in the hope the other one recover's ok and your possible replacement has the potential to separate F1's happiest family?

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton
Nico Rosberg

With Hamilton over spygate and tied into a contract for the next few years the only question regarding McLaren's line up is who will partner him, and my money is on Rosberg replacing Kovalainen. Funnily enough I actually believe that BMW pulling out will be the straw that broke the camels back for Heikki's McLaren's career as Rosberg's search for a more competitive team will lead him to choose McLaren over Williams now that BMW are out of the picture. It is common knowledge that Mercedes want a German driver at McLaren in order to improve 'brand appeal' back in Germany and looking at the current crop Rosberg is probably the best man for the job and it also helps his case that he gets on considerably better with a certain Lewis Hamilton compared to a former McLaren driver despite what he may claim. The only sticking point is whether Rosberg believes he will play a supporting role to Hamilton rather than being free to race as an equal.

Brawn GP
Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello

With Ross Brawn at the helm and the helm, a title winning car and the finances in place for next year there seems little reason why either driver would want to leave Brawn. Button should win the drivers title this year and given that he stuck with the team last winter it seems unlikely he would leave this winter. His team mate is unlikely to leave given that Barrichello won for the first time in five years with the team at the weekend and would struggle to get another drive due to his age. With Ross Brawn hinting that he has no reason to change drivers it hardly seems like the Brazilian will be given the push and a couple more wins like last weekend should seal the deal.

Red Bull
Mark Webber
Sebastian Vettel

Already announced for next season so not much more I can add, except it maybe worth keeping an eye on Adrian Newey as recent speculation suggests he may retire at the end of the season and the knock on effect could be devastating for the team if he decides to go.

Renault
Fernando Alonso
Robert Kubica

Many expect Kubica to replace Alonso but I believe that they may end up together for a season before Alonso moves to Ferrari in 2011. On paper this actually looks like a great line up given that the two are both competitive drivers who, more importantly, get on. Flavio is never one to miss and opportunity and given that he has missed out on Kubica twice before this maybe his last opportunity to snag the talented pole. It would also help Renault in the constructors if they had two competent drivers for once. The only question is whether Kubica continues to struggle in an uncompetitive car would continue to plague him like they have this season.

Williams
Nico Hunlkenberg
Heikki Kovalainen

This really depends on who supplies Williams' engines next year as if they fail to terminate their contract with Toyota they will inevitably end up with Nakajima. They may also manage to hold on to Rosberg so it may not be all change for the team but that seems unlikely. Whether one or both drivers leave it seems likely that Hunlkenberg will be promoted from his current position as test driver given his success in GP2. Kovalainen is a bit of a left field choice but I think he would fit the bill at Williams as a competent and consistent driver who will put a lot of effort into helping the team succeed.

Toyota
Timo Glock
Kazuki Nakajima

With Trulli on the way out and Nakajima's seat under threat at Williams his parent company Toyota may decide to save his career, if only to help there image back home. The fact is that although Glock is a good choice as a solid second driver they really need to get a driver of star quality if they ever want to win a race, but there are none interested Japanese giants, so instead it will be another season of mediocrity until they get there hands on one.

Torro Rosso
Sebastian Buemi
Jaime Alguersuari

Whether this is how they will finish the season is another matter but as long as both the rookie's keep up their consistent form between now and the end of the year then they should avoid another reshuffle at Torro Rosso.

Force India
Adrian Sutil
Vitantonio Liuzzi

While Sutil continues to be regarded as a man who should be at a top team by everyone except the top teams he is likely to receive a new team mate for 2010. In a recent interview with Liuzzi he barely managed to conceal the fact he will be back on the grid next season and this is most likely to happen as a result of a promotion from test driver by Force India.

BMW
Kristian Klien
Nick Heifield

If the team are saved it seems unlikely they will hold on to Kubica or manage to entice Rosberg and so will be stuck with go old consistent Heifeld and will probably promote Klien who, like his old friend Liuzzi, has been speaking out about a possible drive next year. With the main priority being to save the team inside it will be a case of getting what ever drivers they can.

USF1
Insert young American drivers name here
Jacques Villeneuve

Given that Villeneuve hasn't said much about a possible F1 return for a while, as well as being Canadian and an ex-world Champion it is possible he has a place with the all American team. He will no doubt partner a young American driver and although many want to believe Danica Patrick will get a seat her future seems to be in NASCAR so the second seat will be filled by someone who most people this side of the Atlantic will never have heard of.

Campos
Pedro De la Rosa
RomainGrosjean

De La Rosa seems a cert for a drive at Campos next year the team will be hopping he does better than another long term test driver who recently went racing again. With Grosjean still appearing to lack some experience at Renault a drive next to the more experienced De la Rosa in a smaller team could be exactly what he needs and allow him to follow a more traditional progression as a rookie.

Manor
Jarno Trulli
Nelson Piquet

Given how little is known about Manor's plan for next year I've played it safe with two drivers with experience that will probably be available next year although there is every chance Manor will offer a seat to a Rookie who currently drivers for them in GP2

I thought that it was about time I gave something back to the F1 community and so have decided to post a list of my top F1 websites and hopefully some of you will find them useful and will expand there knowledge of the sport. This is why the F1 passion Union does not feature but I would recommend to anyone getting in to the sport.

11. Crash.net
Starting off this list is crash.net, a news focused website which covers a range of motorsports.

When I first started increasing my interest in the sport this was one of my favourite websites, unfortunately overtime I began to realise that a lot of its news articles were either rumour or designed to stoke the flames of anger between fans. The other feature which put me off was the comments that fans could leave which were normally just full of insults and offered nothing to the topic.

10. Gpupdates.net
GPupdates is another news heavy website who's unique feature is GPupdates TV, which is the title given to the various videos they create relating to motorsport.

I started following this website when it was the first to break the news of Honda's withdrawal and hoped for many more scoops in the future, which as yet haven't happened. Gpupdates TV isn't bad although does appear to be aimed at fans new to the sport. As this is still only a one hit wonder I my book it only just scrapes the top 10.

9. ITV.com/F1
The F1 website is a shadow of its former self but credit to ITV for keeping it going even after losing the F1 to the BBC.

In my opinion at its peak the ITV website was probably better than the BBC current offering, with a range of blogs that were more in depth and better written than the BBC currently offer, as well as reasonably up to date news feed and live video during f1 weekends. Unfortunately now it has lost the F1 right the website is slowly falling apart with no more video, a dwindling news service and only blogs from James Allen, half of which are copied from his own website. The only thing still going strong are the race features, such as the grand prix previews and drivers form card.

8. Formula1.com
The Official Formula One website covers a range of areas from news, to technical analysis and interviews to videos.

I have to say that this is what we have come to expect of FOM and doesn't really deliver given its potential. The first criticism I have is that the news is not kept up to date and also seems to be miss many of the big news stories to the point I wonder if it is worth having at all. This feeling of good idea poorly executed is echoed by other parts of the website. The interviews are pretty unique for a website but they aren't as hard hitting as those in magazines, such as F1 racing. The same can be said for the videos and the technical analysis which just aren't quite as good as you feel they could be.

7. F1-Technical
For those who find the inner working's of the cars more interesting than the drivers this is the place for you.

The technical articles on this website are second to none but the real secret to getting the most out of this website is the forum which is full of lots of friendly and knowledgeable F1 fans waiting to get there teeth into analysing every new update. With dedicated threads to each car full of images and analysis this is the place to find out about the inner working of your favourite car. The only weakness is that activity only really picks up during a race weekend and the news feed, which does a good job of keeping up to date but lacks any real depth about each story.

6. BBC sport/ Formula 1
The BBC completely overhauled there F1 website upon securing the rights to this season but there is still room for improvement.

The BBC website is similar to the old ITV one in that it covers news, blogs and videos. The difference is that some are done better than other. The videos/ live streaming has undergone the biggest improvement as it now covers all three practice sessions and also has commentary and timings which the ITV one bizarrely lacked both of. Unfortunately the news isn't as good as other websites and is stuffed to the right hand side of the page among a bunch of other feature. The blogs are good but could do with more regular features from Ted Kravitz and Lee McKenzie and I still don't like the BBC layout as the articles are full of hyperlinks and the page feels a bit bland.

5. James Allen on F1
The former F1 commentator now rights his own blog, some of which are rather good.

It's amazing how swapping a microphone for a laptop has made James Allen go up in my opinion, maybe it's the fact he can't shout at me across the internet. His blogs are a bit infrequent but his knowledge of the inner workings means that he is one of the best people to go to when getting to grips with F1's latest scandal. My only minor gripe is that he calls his race preview "how the race will unfold" which doesn't exactly make the sport sound a bit predictable and boring.

4. F1 Fanatic
Keith Collantine runs one of the best F1 blogs on the internet with plenty of features written by a man who knows his sport.

I have been following the blog for a couple of months now and it is a real testament to the commitment of F1 fans. I'd say there were on average new 2 articles posted a day which covers a range of matters in the sport. He is also one of the few to use the lap time data in his race features to back up his conclusions. You really have to sample this website for yourself to fully appreciate the range of features on offer here, there really is something for everyone and only the lack of a decent news feed keeps it out of the top 3.

3. PlanetF1
Probably the most complete F1 website on the net, and the only one who seems willing to poke fun at the sport.

This website is probably the one I would chose if I could only visit 1 website. It has a decent news feed as well as an active forum but it's really draw for me is the features. These are some of the best and most interesting articles about F1 on the internet that are not afraid of mocking some of the sports biggest personalities and have brought a smile to my face on many occasions. It also offers plenty of features relating to a grand prix weekend, including: Grand prix Previews, Reports on Friday practice, Qualifying and the Race, A few conclusions about the Grand prix, Winners and losers, What the papers say and Team mate wars.

2. Autosport.com
One of the best website for Motorsport news on the internet that is nearly always up to date, just a shame that you have to pay to get access to the columns.

Autosport.com is a favourite at the F1 passion union thanks to its news feed which always has the latest headlines as well as a well laid out articles making a dream to post. The only criticisms are that it misses some of the smaller news stories and that you have to subscribe to get access to the columns.

1. F1-live
Probably the best F1 site for those who want to say in the know, and offers news for other top motorsport series and there is plenty of extra's available for those who don't wish to pay for membership.

Now I realise that all the criticisms I have of Autosport same here so why is it any better so let me explain. I realise that having a news only site as number one is a bit flawed but this is so good at it I think it warrants the top spot in this list. It is the best at delivering up to date news and also covers the smaller news stories in something called "news in brief" in which a number of smaller stories form one post. It also right a small review of each team after testing and races which contain various quotes from team members. Away from the news side there are tonnes of videos and pictures available as well as live timing screens during race weekends.

I suppose that the main conclusion from this is that there is no one perfect F1 site but that there is something out there for everyone.

If I have missed any sites, or if you disagree with my order, feel free to leave a comment below.