Kovalainen was left without a seat at Renault when two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso returned to Renault (from McLaren) last week.

"We had a number of options open to us and as always we want to make sure that we have the most competitive driver line-up and I think that Lewis and Heikki will be a formidable combination," said McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh. "I am confident they'll work well together." McLaren's 2007 season was filled by a squabble between Hamilton and Alonso that almost tore the team apart and certainly cost them a championship. They were also kicked out of the manufacturer's championship after receiving and using documents detailing Ferrari's race car.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that Franchitti and three-time series champion Sam Hornish Jr.

The Spaniard signed a two-year deal after one tumultuous season with McLaren- Mercedes.

It is rumored to be a $51.1 million deal, however Renault would not confirm the numbers.

"They were found to be in breach of article 151c, but there is no penalty," said an International Automobile Federation (FIA) spokesman.

The ruling, which will be published in detail on Friday, opens the way for Renault to resign two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso to drive in 2008. The French manufacturer is one of three teams interested in having the Spaniard drive next season.

McLaren-Mercedes was fined $100 million and kicked out of the manufacturers championship after they were found to have pages upon pages of Ferrari data in their possession. Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, accused of supplying those documents to the rival team, was subsequently fired. McLaren chief designer Coughlan was suspended.

Further, two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso testified, after given immunity, that the team did indeed have and use the Ferrari data.

Briscoe joins two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves on Penske's two-car.

"The IndyCar Series is where I really wanted to be next year," said Briscoe.

Brawn left Ferrari at the end of 2006 to take a sabbatical.

"I am very excited to be joining the Honda Racing F1 Team, said Brawn. "Honda has a proud heritage in Formula One and the opportunity to help the team to realize its potential represents a fantastic new challenge for me in the sport.

Alonso, who won the F1 championship in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, joined McLaren for the 2007 season and finished tied for second in this year's driver standings.

He won four races and had 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts, but a third-place result in the final race of the year left him one point behind champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.

The victory for Raikkonen, the man who replaced the legendary Michael Schumacher, was his series-leading sixth of the season and 15th of his F1 career. He is Ferrari's 15th World Champion and the first since 2004.

"We always believed that we could recover and do a better job," said Raikkonen.

The pole victory was Massa's second in a row at Interlagos, sixth of the season and ninth of his Formula One career.

Starting on the front row with Massa will be points leader Lewis Hamilton, who posted a second-best time of 1:12.082.

Despite assurances from McLaren that the drivers would be treated the same, the Spanish Motorsport Federation requested the move because of the "cool" relationship between Spaniard Alonso and McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

Hamilton and Alonso have also had a strained relationship after Alonso said earlier this season that the Englishman was getting preferential treatment.

The victory was Raikkonen's fifth of the season and 14th of his F1 career. The win was the 200th for Ferrari.

With rain on the way, Hamilton brought the field to the green flag for the scheduled 56-lap event.

The No.2 McLaren circled the 3.386-mile, 16-turn circuit in one minute, 35.908 seconds to take the top spot.

The pole victory was Hamilton's second in a row, fifth of the season and fifth of his Formula One career.

"Having been a Toyota driver for the past three years, I've decided to look foranew challenge," saidSchumacher.

"I joined Toyota with high expectations.

The victory was Hamilton's fourth of the season.

"A very, very eventful race," said Hamilton. "There were so many times when we thought they should stop the race (because of the conditions)." With the rain pounding the track, the 67-lap event began with the safety car on track. Behind him sat pole winner Hamilton and his McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso.

The pole victory was Hamilton's fourth of the season and of his Formula One career.

Starting on the front row with Hamilton will be Fernando Alonso who posted a second-best time of 1:25.438.

The September 13 ruling included penalties of a $100,000 fine and a forfeiture of points in the constructors' standings for the 2007 season.

"We believe the time has come to put this huge distraction behind us," said McLaren chairman and CEO Ron Dennis in a statement.

The No.6 Ferrari driver crossed the finish line 4.695 seconds ahead of teammate Felipe Massa.

The victory was Raikkonen's third straight at Spa, fourth of the season and 13th of his Formula One career.

The pole victory was Raikkonen's third of the season and 14th of his Formula One career.

Starting on the front row with Raikkonen will be teammate Felipe Massa who posted a second-best time of 1:46.011.

The team has been fined $100 million and has been stripped of its points in the constructors' standings after a ruling Thursday by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC).

"The WMSC have stripped Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of all constructor points in the 2007 FIA Formula One world championship and the team can score no points for the remainder of the season," said an FIA statement.

Franchitti captured Sunday's Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway officially crossing the finish line 1.8439 seconds ahead of Dixon, the only other car on the lead lap. The victory was Franchitti's fourth of the season and seventh of his IndyCar career.

"Some great strategy from my boy," said Franchitti. "The whole Andretti Green team, they are the best in the world." Just three drivers took the green flag with a chance to win the drivers championship.

The No.1 McLaren driver crossed the finish line 6.062 seconds ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton.

The victory was Alonso's fourth of the season and 19th of his Formula One career.

The pole victory was Franchitti's third of the season and seventh of his IndyCar career.

Starting alongside Franchitti will be Sam Hornish Jr.

The pole victory was Alonso's third of the season and 18th of his Formula One career.

In the first 12 events this season, eight have been won by the pole sitter.

The No.11 Andretti Green Racing driver crossed the finish line 0.4865 seconds ahead of Danica Patrick.

The victory was Kanaan's fifth of the season and 12th of his IndyCar career.