As with every week, a lot has gone on in the world of Formula One racing.  Here are a few interesting highlights.

•    The Chinese Grand Prix was raced on April 19, and the results were interesting.  Lewis Hamilton ended up coming in sixth, while the top two spots were claimed by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, both driving for Red Bull Racing.  Brawn’s Jenson Button claimed third.

•    The FIA has decided that neither marketing costs nor driver salaries will be a part of their new £30 million budget cap for the 2010 season.  Despite this, some, including Max Mosley, are afraid more F1 teams may leave the sport.  A number of new teams, however, are posed to fight for the three spots created for new teams in 2010.

•    Despite losing in Shanghai, Lewis Hamilton did post the top speed in Friday’s free practice in Bahrain.  His time of one minute 33.647 seconds set the pace for the first day of practices for the Bahrain Grand Prix.  Perhaps he will bounce back?

•    Speaking of Bahrain, the head doctor who is to supervise the Bahrain Grand Prix was suspended from his medical duties due to the inquiry into a patient death.  His suspension, however, will expire three days before the Bahrain race, and FIA officials say he will serve as the race’s chief medical official despite the inquiry.

•    Finally, F1 fans will soon be able to take any of their favorite cars for a spin provided they own a PSP or a Wii video game system.  Codemasters is releasing F1 2009 for these systems soon, and F1 2010 is in the works for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Many exciting things have gone on this week in the F1 world, including a shocking disqualification!

•    Current F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, recently honoured by the Queen, has been disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix.  According to sources, he gave some misleading evidence to a few of the race stewards.  This evidence concerned the race in Melbourne last weekend in which Jarno Trulli passed Hamilton during a safety car period, which is a breach of F1 regulations.  However, it appears Hamilton’s statements have been contradicted by other facts, leading him to be disqualified.

•    But that wasn’t the only newsworthy event from the Melbourne Grand Prix.  Brawn GP, the brand new kid in the F1 world, shocked us all when Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello finished first and second.  The two are two of the oldest drivers currently active in F1 racing.

•    Driver Fernando Alonso spent the Melbourne race battling an ear infection, and he has had a few days off since the race.  However, the Renault driver says he’s ready to hit the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend and has high hopes his team will pull it together.

•    Alonso may not get a chance to race in Malaysia, however.  Nico Rosberg has recently added his name to the list of those concerned about the Malaysian Grand Prix being run late in the evening.  Racing at twilight opens up new risks that daytime racing doesn’t have, plus there’s always the chance that a monsoon will blow in.  Alonso himself had difficulty with the setting sun’s glare in afternoon practices in Melbourne.

Celebrities always seem to attract hot women, and Formula 1 drivers are no different.  Many enjoy relationships with supermodels or pop stars, including current title holder Lewis Hamilton, who is dating Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger.  But he’s not the only one to date a celebrity.  Kimi Raikkonen, the 2008 title holder, is married to a beauty queen, specifically a former Miss Scandinavia. 

Even those who don’t win big, such as Jenson Button, can marry a model.  Drivers for the 70s and 80s also enjoyed marital bliss with hot babes.  James Hunt dated model Jame Birbeck and married another model.  Mike Hawthorn was engaged to a Vogue model before his untimely death, and Nino Farina, the first F1 world champion title holder, was married to a fashion designer.

In today’s world of celebrity fascination, these relationships are almost just as interesting as the races themselves and just as often make the headlines.

On Thursday, Brawn GP once again put up the fastest time in F1 testing.  This impressive feat has the F1 world taking note: Ferrari even dubbed Brawn GP as the surprise contender for the Formula One championship.  The time record was set by Rubens Barichello on the Catalunya Circuit in Barcelona, Spain.  His record of one minute and 18.926 seconds comes a day after his teammate Jenson Button set his own record.  The Brawn GP team only recently confirmed that it would participate in the season following its buyout by Brawn.  F1 fans around the world are suddenly taking note of the team, and many believe that none of the other F1 teams can match Barichello’s time.  Brawn GP will compete in the Australian Grand Prix and, unlike last year in which the team was consistently ranked very low, they’re expecting a win.