2007 February archive
2007 testing round-up 5 25th February 2007, 15:00
Testing this week was split between the haves and the have-nots. The richest teams flew off to Bahrain for some hot-weather testing at a circuit that will host a Grand Prix this year. Meanwhile Spyker and Williams took the lower-cost option of returning to Valencia. Take a look at who’s quick, who’s reliable – and [...]
“The Meaning of Sport” (Simon Barnes, 2006)
Here is a very different book to the kind I usually feature on F1Fanatic. The Times’ chief sportswriter Simon Barnes looks at sport in its entirety and asks why we watch and participate in it. It’s a funny question – most people would simply retort that they watch F1 or football ‘for fun’. But there [...]
F1 2007 Preview: BMW
Everything I read about BMW’s 2007 season rotates around the same hang-up. Apparently they are doomed to suffer ‘second album syndrome’, where a team that impresses in their first season struggles in the next. Case studies: Stewart, 1998; Prost, 1998; Jordan, 1992 and so on. But this cuts no ice with me. BMW are no [...]
F1 2007 Preview: The defecting champion 24th February 2007, 12:00
Formula 1 in 2007 is all about change – and the change that I find most fascinating of all is Fernando Alonso’s defection to McLaren. It’s a very rare thing indeed to see a reigning champion switch teams. In the last three decades Alonso is only the fifth champion to make such a change. The [...]
F1 in the blogs 19
With the season getting close F1 bloggers are asking big questions. Like will Lewis Hamilton eclipse Jenson Button as the British media darling? Are there too many young drivers in F1 today? And how on earth does Ralf Schumacher command a higher pay packet than Fernando Alonso? All this plus our most recommended post of [...]
F1 2007 Preview: Honda 23rd February 2007, 12:00
Last year Honda were held to be the ‘winter champions’ of Formula One. Anthony Davidson banged in some rapid laps and put the RA106 top of the time sheets. But close inspection of the lap times revealed the car lagged behind the top teams on long runs – which became painfully clear when the season [...]
F1 in the news 25
Marco Andretti could be making an appearance at the United States Grand Prix. Also this week, Renault make a political move, Kimi Raikkonen gets a slagging and the Australian Grand Prix is set to lose more money. Plus read about the F1 fan who spent £70,000 on novelty number plates… Share this article with your [...]
Indianapolis to axe banking from F1 circuit? 22nd February 2007, 22:53
Changes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road circuit to make it suitable for Moto GP could see the removal of the famous banked final turn. The Speedway has proposed changes to the latter part of the road track, currently only used by Formula One for racing, so that motorbike racers would not have to negotiate [...]
Santander to be British Grand Prix title sponsor
Banco Santander will replace Foster’s Lager as the title sponsor of the British Grand Prix this year in a £6 million deal. Santander bought British building society Abbey (formerly Abbey National) in 2005 but look set to drop that brand name. They are also sponsoring McLaren-Mercedes under the Santander name in a five-year deal starting [...]
F1 2007 Preview: Will you miss Michael?
Thirteen years after he won his first world championship, the Michael Schumacher Show has been cancelled. Many had grown bored of the ceaseless dominance of Schumacher and the Ferrari victory machine. But not his legion of fans, who may struggle to transfer their affections onto another driver. Will you miss Michael Schumacher in 2007? Or [...]
