September 7, 2008

Belgian Grand Prix

Hamilton was handed a 25-second penalty after the race

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was stripped of a dramatic victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after stewards handed him a 25-second post-race penalty.

The Englishman was demoted to third place behind Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld.

The move came after an investigation into a late-race battle between Hamilton and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton’s lead over Massa in the title chase has been cut by two points.

Massa’s team-mate Raikkonen 19 points adrift off the lead

Before the penalty, he had extended his lead over the Brazilian to eight points, with Raikkonen effectively out of the running on 23.

More to follow.

August 7, 2008

Andrea’s firm has been hit recently by the economic downturn

Andrea Pininfarina, head of a world-famous Italian car designgroup, has been killed in a road accident.

Mr Pininfarina was riding a scooter which was hit by a car on the outskirts of Turin early on Thursday. He was 51.

He was chief executive officer of the family firm Pininfarina, which has designed sports cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Volvo and Fiat.

He was the grandson of Battista Pininfarina, who founded the firm in Turin in 1930.

Andrea’s father Sergio Pininfarina, 81, is the company’s honorary chairman.

The family currently controls 55% of Pininfarina’s shares, but under a restructuring plan it aims to cut its stake to about 30%.

The firm recorded a net loss of 114.9m euros (£91m; $178m) last year.