2006 December archive
James Hunt: The Worst World Champion? 21st December 2006, 17:33
A feature in Arena magazine listing “The 10 Worst Sporting Champions of All Time” caught my eye, because it included James Hunt’s 1976 championship victory among them. “The annus mirabilis of Hunt’s career was really a bit of a farce,” writes Scott Murray. But was his really the least impressive championship ever won? Share this [...]
The Ben Evans Column: Christmas Cheer 20th December 2006, 19:16
Many of you will have read our recent guide to festive presents for the Formula One fan. Sadly your typical catalogue of F1 presents consists of either rushed biographies of drivers who have retired, or season reviews the remind how many hours in front of the TV over the past year could have been condensed [...]
Top ten… F1 bombshells 19th December 2006, 21:37
What big F1 news story broke one year ago today? Have a guess… It was Fernando Alonso’s shock switch to McLaren for 2007 – a move that caught most, if not all, F1 followers completely unaware. Of course it’s not the first time in F1 history that a shock driver or team move has caught [...]
More overtaking at Barcelona in ’07? 18th December 2006, 19:30
The news of changes to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, home of the Spanish Grand Prix, provokes a mixed reaction. The changes will affect the penultimate bend ‘Europcar’ which is taken at over 200kph (125mph), the intention being to make the corner slower and therefore safer. By doing this the challenging, high-speed turn Europcar [...]
Win Autocourse calendars
There are ten Autocourse 2007 calendars to be won in this week’s Trackside, which covers Mitsubishi’s return to the World Rally Championship with the famed Lancer Evolution. Related links Autotrader.co.uk – Trackside – Lancer Evo returns to rallying (external) Tags: f1 / formula one / grand prix / motor sport Share this article with your [...]
“The Piranha Club: Power and Influence in Formula One” (Timothy Collings, 2001) 17th December 2006, 14:37
When Eddie Jordan was famously outmanouevred by Flavio Briatore in 1991, losing the coveted contract to run Michael Schumacher, McLaren boos Ron Dennis strode up to him and simply said: “Welcome to the Piranha Club”. That evocative phrase is the starting point for Timothy Collings’ investigation of Formula One’s clandestine corridors of power. Share this [...]
F1 in the blogs 16th December 2006, 18:22
F1 bloggers reacted to the sad news of Clay Regazzoni’s death this week. Also in the blogs – more Schumacher conspiracies, photographs from the FIA Gala, and is the sun setting on Rubens Barrichello’s career? Read on to find out… Share this article with your friends: Tweet
F1 in the news 15th December 2006, 21:00
In the F1 headlines this week the grandson of an F1 legend gets his first test in a Formula One car, the Brazilian Grand Prix organisers win a prize for the easiest job in the world, and the pressure piles on Giancarlo Fisichella. Read on for more. Share this article with your friends: Tweet
Clay Regazzoni, 1939-2006
I was saddened today to hear of the death of former Grand Prix race winner Clay Regazzoni in a road traffic accident near Parma in Italy. Regazzoni had a fine Grand Prix career in the 1970s, winning pole position for his fourth race and winning his fifth, at Monza in his home country of Italy, [...]
Supercars outgun F1 in power race 14th December 2006, 20:45
In the 2005 season the top F1 engines were producing in excess of 900 horsepower, with the leading engines believed to have as much as 950hp on tap. But as of this year engines were cut in size from 3.0-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s. And with that drop in size came a corresponding drop in [...]
