Massa Vows to overcome McLaren

Ferrari star Felipe Massa has vowed to bridge the gap on Formula One frontrunners McLaren, starting at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.

Ferrari won three of the first four races of the season with Kimi Raikkonen taking the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and Massa winning in Bahrain and Spain.

Then the Ferrari campaign hit the skids, with the team drubbed in Monaco as McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton secured their one-two finish.

Then Massa was disqualified in Canada last weekend as the Brazilian ran a red light exiting the pit lane and Raikkonen was outpaced by BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld, the Williams of Alexander Wurz and Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen as the Finn had to settle for fifth behind race winner Hamilton.

McLaren have a 28-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, the sort of dominance enjoyed by the Italian team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2000, with Michael Schumacher winning six of the seven Grands Prix at the venue.

Sebastien Vettel will replace Kubica in US GP

The doctors disagreed with Robert Kubica and disallowed him from competing in the US Grand Prix, giving newcomer Sebastien Vettel his chance for hisfirst ever Formula One race.

Formula One driver Robert Kubica came to Indianapolis Motor Speedway proclaiming he was alert, clear-minded and ready to race Sunday in the U.S. Grand Prix.

FIA, the international governing body of racing, ruled Kubica could not yet climb back into the cockpit four days after sustaining a concussion and spraining an ankle in a frightening crash at Montreal. He will be replaced by Germany's Sebastian Vettel, a test driver for BMW Sauber.

"I felt absolutely ready to race," Kubica said in a statement issued by the team after the doctors' decision. "I respect the decision. It was made because there is too much risk to let me race in this Grand Prix in case I have an impact so soon after Montreal. I will go home now."

Vettel, a 19-year-old rookie, is expected to make his first F1 start Sunday.