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.

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.

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 victory was Alonso's 20th career F1 victory but his first since the Italian Grand Prix one year ago.

"It was fantastic," Alonso said. "I'm extremely happy and cannot believe it. I think I need a couple of days to realize that we won a race this year." Alonso started 15th after mechanical problems plagued him during Saturday's qualifying session. He crossed the finish line 2.9 seconds ahead of Williams' Nico Rosberg.

It was Massa's fifth Formula One pole of the season and the 14th of his career.

"The car was just perfect and so nice to drive," Massa said. "I managed to do a perfect lap so that always helps when I have a good car and don't make any single mistakes in whatever corner you go." Hamilton will start on the outside pole after posting a time of 1:45.456.

Hamilton, the current Formula One points leader, appeared before a five-judge panel in Paris on Monday to contest the timed penalty that was assessed to the McLaren driver by race stewards at Spa-Francorchamps after he gained an advantage by cutting a chicane while battling Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the lead in the final laps.

Hamilton was originally declared the winner of the race, but dropped to third after the penalty was enforced.

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.

Vettel recorded his first victory in his 21st Grand Prix start.

Robert Kubica, Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld completed the top-five.

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.

The 21-year-old German recorded a lap time of one minute, 37.555 seconds during the third and final qualifying session to capture his first career pole in his 21st Grand Prix start.

"Unbelievable, incredible," Vettel said. "The conditions were so difficult today, a lot of water. You never knew how much water to expect. Sometimes you were lucky not to lose the car. What can I say, I never dreamt of being on the pole." Vettel also gave Toro Rosso its first F1 pole.

F1's governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), confirmed Friday that the hearing will take place in Paris six days before the Singapore Grand Prix. A decision is expected the following day.

Hamilton and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen were involved in an epic late-race battle that sparked a controversial finish in the Belgian GP. Hamilton was originally declared the winner at the 4.352-mile Spa-Francorchamps circuit, but shortly after the finish, race stewards penalized Hamilton 25 seconds for cutting a chicane and gaining an advantage on then-leader Raikkonen with three laps to go.

"I am happy to be part of this team, otherwise I wouldn't have signed," Raikkonen said. "There's a good atmosphere between us all, and I continue to enjoy the driving. So it was definitely not a difficult choice to stay for one more year. Even in the most difficult moments, we have continued to work hard and now we are moving in the right direction. I am sure the results will also come soon." Ferrari's driver lineup will remain unchanged for the next two years, with Raikkonen's teammate, Felipe Massa, also under contract for the same period. Raikkonen's contract extension ends speculation that the "Iceman" may retire from F1 at the end of the season.

Raikkonen joined Ferrari from McLaren in 2007. After trailing 17 points with two races remaining in the sea