Max Mosley’s hopes of remaining FIA president have been dealt a new blow as it has emerged that he will be in delegating his duties as FIA president to someone else at next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix . Monaco’s royal palace do not want him to meet Prince Albert and so FIA vice-president Marco Piccinini … Continue reading Monaco royalty snubs Mosley (Update: Mosley claims conspiracy against him)
Month: May 2008 articles archive
Formula 1 as a spec series
Posted onYesterday I considered what would happen to Formula 1 if the economic crisis caused teams to leave the sport. Before I wrote that reader Scott Newton had sent in his thoughts on how F1 could work with just a few manufacturers supplying all the chassis. My idea stems from the concern that customer cars will … Continue reading Formula 1 as a spec series
Sense of irony failure as Sky slags off ITV motorsport coverage
Posted onRegular readers will know of my displeasure with Sky’s practice of missing live Indy Car racing to bring NASCAR instead. And yet on their motoring blog is happy to knock ITV for the quality of their F1 coverage: Desperate to sponge the most revenue out of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, ITV put an ad … Continue reading Sense of irony failure as Sky slags off ITV motorsport coverage
The worst-case scenario
Posted onCall it the credit crunch, call it the sub-prime crisis, whatever you call it, I call it trouble. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the consequences of the developing global economic downturn will be for Formula 1. But it’s hard to imagine them being good. And to the pessimists it could look very bad indeed.
Sebastian Vettel: the driver debates
Posted onThe debate over who is the most-hyped driver in Formula 1 is a short one. But who is the second most-hyped driver in F1 after Lewis Hamilton? Sebastian Vettel may be a candidate. He arrived in the sport at a rude young age last year and is apparently already being considered for a promotion to … Continue reading Sebastian Vettel: the driver debates
Lewis Hamilton is bigger than McLaren
Posted onThe news that Lewis Hamilton is courting a £10m sponsorship deal with Reebok is interesting not because of the amount of money involved, but because of what it says about his relationship with McLaren. When people started talking about the immense marketing potential of F1’s first successful mixed-race driver F1 fans were quick to note … Continue reading Lewis Hamilton is bigger than McLaren
No more Magny-Cours? Heard it before
Posted onBernie Ecclestone has reiterated his desire to see the 2009 French Grand Prix held in Paris instead of its current venue Magny-Cours: We agreed that there would be a French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in 2008 but not in 2009. Prime Minister Francois Fillon told me we would then see if we could have a … Continue reading No more Magny-Cours? Heard it before
Video: Turkish Grand Prix review
Posted onThe Turkish Grand Prix review video looks at how the teams’ engine development is limited by the engine freeze regulations and reveals just how expensive it is to stay at a hotel in Monaco for next week’s Grand Prix! Plus the usual round-up of post-race news.
F1 blogs review: Ferrari A1GP car
Posted onA few choice morsels from the world of motor racing blogs including the A1 Grand Prix car based on the Ferrari F2004, the poor crowd at the Turkish Grand Prix and McLaren’s painfully bad PR. Plus a shameless plug for my interview with Sir Stirling Moss and more.
Video: Fisichella blames Bourdais for crash with Nakajima in Turkish GP
Posted onGiancarlo Fisichella reckons Sebastien Bourdais caused him to crash at the start of the Turkish Grand Prix. Fisichella said: I made a good start but then under braking Bourdais changed direction twice and I couldn’t brake in time and went into the back of the Williams Looking at the video it’s hard to agree with … Continue reading Video: Fisichella blames Bourdais for crash with Nakajima in Turkish GP
Has the FIA superlicence price hike caused a split within the GPDA?
Posted onSomething odd is going on with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association at the moment. There have been stories going around since last year about some of its members being unhappy that certain drivers haven’t joined what is effectively the drivers’ union. The driver mentioned most often has been Lewis Hamilton, who over the weekend denied … Continue reading Has the FIA superlicence price hike caused a split within the GPDA?
Debate: Are some starting grids unfair?
Posted onNik left an interesting comment in the Turkish Grand Prix Facts and Stats article about how much of an advantage the drivers who started on the clean side of the grid had at Istanbul: Hamilton (third) overtook Kovalainen (second) Kubica (fifth) overtook Raikkonen (fourth) and Kovalainen (second) Alonso (seventh) overtook Webber (sixth) and Raikkonen (fourth) … Continue reading Debate: Are some starting grids unfair?
Ferrari A1GP car for 2008-09 season revealed
Posted onThis is the first picture of Ferrari’s A1 Grand Prix car for the 2008-09 season. View a high-resolution image of the 2008 Ferrari A1GP car According to the A1 organsiers the car is based on Ferrari’s 2004 machine, the F2004. The two certainly bear a close similarity (see below for image and press release).
2008 Turkish GP stats and facts
Posted onI’ve had a rummage through the data and pulled out some interesting statistics and facts on the Turkish Grand Prix. Have I missed anything? Post your findings in the comments. Plus the full drivers’ and constructors’ championship tables after round five.
Massa wins third consecutive race at Istanbul
2008 Turkish Grand Prix review
Posted onFelipe Massa remains the man to beat at Istanbul after his third win from pole position at the track in as many years.
Felipe Massa joins the F1 title hunt
Posted onThree races ago I was wondering if Massa had totally lost the plot over the winter. Now he’s bounced back with two victories and a second place and is only seven points behind Kimi Raikkonen in the championship. Can mount a serious bid for the championship this year?
Did Bridgestone compromise McLaren?
Posted onA mistake by Bridgestone, Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier, created additional problems for McLaren this weekend. Even before the race got underway the Japanese manufacturer was openly admitting it had brought the wrong choice of compounds. It chose the same combination of medium and hard tyres it brought last year, despite the race being much … Continue reading Did Bridgestone compromise McLaren?
Rate the race: 2008 Turkish GP
Posted onn {democracy:15}
Grosjean wins as eight crash on lap one and Senna hits dog
Posted onA frantic GP2 sprint race saw eight drivers eliminated on the first lap and a safety car period after one car struck and apparently killed a dog. The safety car was summoned before the first lap was completed as Pastor Maldonado, Andreas Zuber, Ho-Pin Tung, Yelmer Buurmanm Andy Soucek, Jerome d’Ambrosio and Adrian Valles all … Continue reading Grosjean wins as eight crash on lap one and Senna hits dog
Video: Driver hits dog in F1 support race
Posted onThe GP2 sprint race at the Istanbul circuit this morning has been disrupted due to animals on the circuit. Halfway through the race a furious Bruno Senna brought his wrecked iSport car into the garage having collided with a dog on the back straight. A second dog was seen running around turn two and the … Continue reading Video: Driver hits dog in F1 support race