F1 Fanatic Live combines updates from the teams and drivers in real-time via Twitter with comments from F1 Fanatic readers and more.

Launch F1 Fanatic Live

Here’s a quick visual guide to F1 Fanatic Live (click to enlarge):

F1 Fanatic Live Guide

Audi aim to hit back at Peugeot at Le Mans this year

We’re all F1 fanatics here but even with a biggest-ever calendar of 19 races this year that still leaves 33 F1-free weekends.

So what’s the other must-see racing action in 2010 this year? Here’s my top ten picks – name yours below.

British Formula Three, Oulton Park

Rounds one, two and three – 3rd & 5th April

The traditional Easter weekend race at Oulton Park is a must-see for me – the first chance to see the new crop of young drivers fighting it out for honours in the British Formula Three championship.

Two years ago Jaime Alguersuari and team mate Brendon Hartley tangled at the hairpin, leaving Oliver Turvey to win.

Last year got off to an amusing start as Max Chilton jumped the start by a good five seconds and passed my position halfway down the start straight while the rest of the field were still waiting for the green light. Have a look at the video from the race below:

The 2010 British F3 season kicks off the day after the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Formula Two, Silverstone

Rounds one and two, April 16th-18th

The Formula Two championship was re-formed last year and for its second season the cars are being given more power and more grip.

Will this be enough to make a series an essential step on the path to F1 – which it really should be, given its name? We’ll get our first look at the 2010 contenders at Silverstone in May.

Indy Racing League, Indianapolis 500

Round four, May 30th

The Indy Racing League continues to get back on its feet in its third year of re-unification. This year Takuma Sato joins the sport’s former F1 contenders such as Robert Doornbos and Justin Wilson.

The centrepiece Indy 500, held the same day as the Turkish Grand Prix, is essential viewing. Also keep an eye out for the classic Long Beach street race, formerly on the F1 calendar, and the series first visit to the streets of Sao Paolo and Barber Motorsports Park.

Last year’s Indy 500 wasn’t a vintage race but it was a result to remember. Helio Castroneves won the race for the third time having returned to the championship having been investigated for tax evasion:

Le Mans 24 Hours, Circuit de la Sarthe

12th-13th June

Like the Indy 500, a historic race which gets on this list by default. This year’s race is an especially tantalising prospect as Audi prepare to hit back at Peugeot, who finally defeated them last year.

Former F1 champion Nigel Mansell will make his long-overdue first appearance in the race (he originally tried to contend it in the early eighties). And Aston Martin will enter a pair of their gorgeous V12 coupes once again.

Here’s a video of last year’s race getting started. Anyone fancy a 24-hour live blog for this year’s Le Mans?

GP2, Algarve

Rounds seven and eight, 19th-20th June

This year’s GP2 line-up is already looking exciting. iSport duo Davide Valsecchi and Oliver Turvey have shown good form in the Asia series, ART boast Ferrari-backed Jules Bianchi and there’s plenty of promising talent like Sergio Perez and Alexander Rossi elsewhere on the grid.

The championship’s sole foray away from the F1 support schedule takes them back to the fantastic Algarve circuit in Portugal where the series concluded last year. It’s a pity the track hasn’t got an F1 deal, but watching the Formula 1 drivers of tomorrow slug it out over its crests and swoops is the next best thing.

Goodwood Festival of Speed

Goodwood Festival of Speed
2009 pictures

2nd-4th July

Yes, yes, it’s not really a race – but with an entry list the likes of which Goodwood attracts, who’s complaining?

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button both appeared last year and hopefully they’ll turn up again for McLaren in 2010.

Hamilton’s hopes of driving Ayrton Senna’s 1988 McLaren up the hill last year were dashed – will he get the chance this year?

Expect plenty of other appearances from contemporary F1 drivers and teams plus loads of classic Grand Prix cars and racers. If you’ve never been to this before, you really are missing something special. Take a look at F1 Fanatic’s coverage from last year:

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009

• My top 40 pictures from the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009
• F1 cars, post-1980 (Goodwood Festival of Speed pictures)
• Williams F1 cars collection (Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009 pictures)
• F1 cars, pre-1980 (Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009 pictures)
• Life L190 – the worst F1 car ever – to run at Goodwood Festival of Speed
• Non-F1 cars at the Goodwood Festival
• 100+ pictures of F1 drivers and cars at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

American Le Mans Series, Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta

Round nine, 29th September – 2nd October

One of few opportunities to see the best LMP1 racers in action next year. The 1,000 mile/ten-hour race around the challenging Road Atlanta circuit is also one of the rounds which comprise the new Intercontinental Cup for Le Mans prototypes, the precursor to a new world championship for the cars starting next year:

Le Mans Intercontinental Cup

• Could the new world championship for Le Mans cars be a future rival to F1?

DTM, Shanghai

Round ten, 30th-31st October

Increasingly, the DTM is the only touring car championship I bother to follow very closely. The WTCC put me off long ago with its ridiculously short races, poor choice of circuits and success ballasting. I still have a soft spot for the BTCC but there’s no denying the championship is a shadow of what it what in its mid-nineties heyday.

It may only boast Mercedes and Audi as manufacturer entrants but DTM’s cars are more dramatic and they race on some great tracks.

This year the championship is heading out to China once again, to a street circuit in Shanghai. Could this new venue be the future for F1′s presence in China, which has struggled to draw a crowd to the remote Shanghai International Circuit?

Hopefully the DTM won’t suffer a repeat of the loose manhole covers that plagued their 2004 visit to the country, as well as A1 Grand Prix’s attempt at holding a street race in Beijing in 2006.

Macau Grand Prix, Guia circuit

20th-21st November

The most coveted of the big F3 races, drawing the cream of the crop from the British, European, Japanese and other championships. This is a proper street circuit, mixing fast straights, tight corners and unforgiving walls.

GT1, San Luis

Round 19 and 20, 5th December

The entry list for the new FIA GT1 world championship reads like a Top Gear episode: Aston Martin DB9, Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV, Maserati MC-12, Nissan GT-R, Ford GT…

The supercar fun gets started at Abu Dhabi in two months’ time and the season wraps up at the gorgeous Potrero de los Funes lakeside circuit in San Luis, Argentina in December.

Have a look at the gorgeous circuit in this video:

Any more?

These are the ten races outside of the F1 championship I most want to see in 2010. But what other events do you think I should make time for? What are you going to be watching this year?

Should I be getting up at midnight to watch Australian Touring Cars? Which races on NASCAR’s mammoth schedule are most worthy of our attention? Is it time I broadened out from four-wheel circuit racing to take in Moto GP and rallying?

Or maybe for you F1 is number one and nothing else will do. Make your case in the comments for which are the must-watch races this year.

Read more: Watch more than just F1 races in 2010

Few motor sports are covered anything like as well as F1

BBC F1 are doing a marvellous job in their first year back as F1′s broadcasters in Britain. That much is clear on the live blogs whenever fans outside Britain get a glimpse of BBC’s work and comment on how good it is.

But although it’s great to finally see some improvement in Formula 1 broadcasting, it’s getting harder to watch other quality racing series in Britain.

GP2

Before 2009, GP2 spent three years on mainstream satellite channel Eurosport and one year on major British broadcaster ITV.

However BBC elected not to pick up the GP2 broadcast rights, which were instead acquired by subscription service Setanta.

Setanta’s subscription costs are steep, and they aren’t committed to showing all the races live.

But that pales into insignificance given that the company is now teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. If that happens, will anyone sweep in to pick it up? Or will the most popular feeder series for F1 be without a broadcaster?

Indy Racing League

Sky Sports’ commitment to its Indy Car contract has noticeably waned since it started broadcasting NASCAR.

Fewer races are now broadcast live, and those which are shown are often missing replays and other video elements, making following the races much more difficult. This was even the case for the Indianapolis 500.

Given how many British drivers are in Indy Car this year, and how much closer the sport is much to European-style racing than NASCAR, I think Sky have their priorities wrong.

DTM

The German Touring Car Championship, home of some of Britain’s most promising up-and-coming talent like Paul di Resta and Oliver Jarvis, is also lost in the GP2 wasteland.

It was poached off Motors TV, which had a great community following for its slightly eccentric style of coverage.

Formula Three

Motors TV’s loss of the DTM to Setanta has also led to the disappearance of the Formula Three Euro Series from our screens.

This has sent many drivers in the direction of F1, including Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil.

Britain’s F3 championship has not been broadcast live in a long time, though bizarrely I managed to stumble across an old race from 2006 being broadcast on Channel 4 a few weeks ago.

World Series by Renault

Renault’s major single-seater championship, which promoted the likes of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, was on Setanta last year.

It has now moved to Eurosport where it may be exposed to a bigger audience, but there’s little point if they aren’t showing the all races live.

What’s next?

Britain is not completely bereft of motor racing coverage beyond Formula 1. ITV’s comprehensive British Touring Car Championship coverage is very good, and Sky do a much better job with A1 Grand Prix than they do with the IRL.

Eurosport are broadcasting all of the increasingly turgid World Touring Car Championship live. More interestingly they’ve also picked up the rights to the nascent Formula 2 championship, which is definitely worth keeping an eye on. And we will be able to see much of the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend.

But if it weren’t for BBC’s exemplary F1 broadcasts, British motor sport fans would be much worse off in 2009 than 2008. If these championships want their races to be seen by British viewers, they need to start broadcasting them live online.

Is motor racing coverage any better where you are? What other motor sports besides F1 do you follow?

Read more

• BBC F1 coverage: your verdict
• What do US F1 fans think of Speed?
• The F1 coverage debates: What do Asian fans think of ESPN Star Sports?

For me, the motor racing season start at Oulton Park with British F3

F1 is great – but it’s only on 17 times a year!

On other weekends I look elsewhere to get my racing fix – whether I’m in the stands or on the sofa.

Here are the races I’ll make sure to see in 2009 – what are you favourites?

British Formula Three, Oulton Park, April 11th and 13th

This is usually the first race I get to each season, at the Cheshire park circuit not far from my northern homeland.

Oulton Park is one of my favourite tracks: fast, undulating, narrow and challenging. From the inside of cascade you can see the cars plunge down the hill and off towards the Shell hairpin where they disappear out of view, returning a few seconds later as they hurtle towards Knickerbrook.

The British Formula Three and GT championships are a great value double bill, and the Formula Ford support race (where Damon Hill’s son Josh makes his debut this weekend) adds to the fun. After Oulton in April it feels like the season has truly begun.

A1 Grand Prix, Brands Hatch, May 3rd

Say what you like about A1 Grand Prix, it’s a fun series and this is a rare opportunity to see full-blooded single seaters racing on the classic Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Plus, F1 Fanatic contributor Ben Evans will be doing the circuit commentary, so there’s two reasons to go!

Indianapolis 500, May 24th

The start of the 2008 Indianapolis 500

The original great American race is not a patch on its former glory, thanks to the suicidal CART/IRL split of the 1990s.

Indy Car, now in its second year post-reunion, may not even manage to fill all 33 spots for the famous race.

But this is still a great race with an almost incomparable history. It always leaves me wondering which F1 drivers could best meet the challenge of covering 500 miles at an average speed of over 220mph?

Le Mans 24 Hours, Circuit la Sarthe, France, June 13-14th

Another of the classic races, though as it’s often clashed with the Canadian Grand Prix I’ve never seen it in person. If I get my act together I might finally make it this year.

Last year’s race was a memorable one, as the Audi R10s kept home favourites Peugeot from finally winning the race they covet the most.

This year Audi are bringing their new R15 out for one of its rare appearances, and Aston Martin are returning to the top class 50 years since their famous victory.

DTM, Norising, Germany, 28th June

I had a strange experience when I first visited Nuremberg in Germany in 1999. Part of a school history outing, we had gone to look at the Nazi parade grounds. But as we stepped off the coach I noticed some unusual marks on the floor – grid hatchings.

I didn’t know at the time that the parade grounds had been transformed into a race track, and the gigantic concrete structures built for hero-worshipping Adolf Hitler were now used to give race fans a good view of the action.

And what action: the tight, five-turn street track is punishing and the brutish DTM cars are constantly jostling for position in among the traffic.

I haven’t made it back there for the race yet, but I’ll be glued to Motors TV for this year’s instalment.

Goodwood Festival of Speed, 3rd-5th July

Lewis Hamilton at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed

OK, you got me – it’s not really a race. But there is no event where you’ll find a more diverse collection of racing cars in action.

I first went in 2006, was bitten by the bug, and will be back for my fourth consecutive year this summer. Among the attractions are Jenson Button in the Brawn GP car and Lewis Hamilton demonstrating Ayrton Senna’s 1988 McLaren-Honda MP4/4. Unmissable.

World Touring Car Championship, Brands Hatch, 19th July

To be honest, I can take or leave the WTCC – similar specification cars to the BTCC (see below) but with less exciting racing, more team orders and way too much politics.

But the new Formula Two series is on the support bill, and I definitely want to see how that’s going to turn out.

British Touring Car Championship, Rockingham, 20th September

I try to make it to at least one BTCC race per year, and I have a huge soft spot for the oddball Rockingham track in Corby, Northamptonshire.

OK, so they don’t actually race on the full oval, but the view from the enormous grandstands is excellent, and the racing is always close and exciting.

What non-F1 racing events are the highlights of your calendar? Which tracks do you head out to the most? Have your say in the comments.

More about going to an F1 race

• Ten ways to pick an F1 race to visit
• Did you go to a race in 2008?
• Fans guides’ to the F1 circuits

Versus seem to be running Google ads using the keyword ‘Formula 1′ directing people to its coverage of the first round of the 2009 IRL season in Miami, Florida this weekend.

Jonathan notes:

There are so many mistakes with this ad that one has to wonder if Versus is staffed by chimpanzees.

First, there is the obvious fact that Formula One is not IndyCar.

Second, “streets” does not contain 3 instances of the letter “E.”

Third, St. Petersburg is not spelled “St. Petersburgh.”

Jonathan spotted one of the ads here on F1 Fanatic.

I like IndyCar a lot and I’ll be watching the race but what a damning indictment of its popularity when its American broadcaster is trying to sucker people in by pretending it’s Formula 1?

You can read more of my thoughts on IndyCar on my other site, Maximum Motorsport.

Thanks to Jonathan for the tip!

Heikki Kovalainen testing the 2009 Mclaren at the Algarve circuit

The 2009-style F1 cars have got a lukewarm reaction from fans – less than half of F1 Fanatic readers thought they looked good when we did a poll on it last week.

To get to the heart of what’s gone wrong with F1 car aesthetics I thought we should compare them to top single-seaters from other categories – and see which, if any, look better…

For me, the GP2 cars are the pick of the bunch. Low, fast, wide – they look sleek and quick.

A1 and Superleague have got good body shapes, particularly the A1 car, which is very similar to the Ferrari F2004 F1 car. There’s some gaudy liveries though, and some of the football strip designs on the Superleague cars look ghastly. Not as bad as the R29′s mind…

I never liked the look of the current Indy cars. It’s such a shame they effectively replaced the handsome Panoz chassis used by Champ Car in its final season in 2008, or the neat Lola that preceded it. The World Series by Renault cars, which ape the design of past Renault F1 cars, suffer from too many ugly aerodynamic protusions.

I’m surprised how good the new F1 cars look by comparison – though the difference in size between the front and rear wings is still a problem for me. What I can’t help but wonder is, if the GP2 cars can serve up great racing without having to use daft wings, why do this year’s F1 cars have to?

More about GP2, GP2 Asia, WSR, A1GP, IRL and Suprleague Formula on Maximum Motorsport

Images (C) www.mclaren.com (x2), BMW ag, Ferrari spa, IRL (x3), GP2 Media Service (x3), Renault World Series (x3), Superleague Formula (x3), A1GP.com (x3)

Felipe Massa broke the rules by picking up a Brazil flag in 2006. Stupid rules

The international running-and-jumping festival Olympics finally came to a close over the weekend. As a sporting event it’s not really to my taste as there aren’t any racing cars involved, and apparently never will be. Oh well.

What I find just as disappointing is the organisers take the same dim view of victory celebrations as Formula 1′s governing body does.

F1 drivers aren’t allowed to celebrate their win with a doughnut, or wave their national flag on the slow-down lap. Why on earth not? It’s time they were cut some slack.

During the Olympics the IOC president Jacques Rogge had a go at Jamaica’s sprinter Usain Bolt for daring to slow down in celebration at the end of one of his races:

That’s not the way we perceive being a champion. I’ve no problem with him doing a show. But I think he should show more respect and shake hands after the finish.

Predictably Bolt’s rivals did not seem to share this view he had been disrespectful towards them. This was a case of stuffy old men in suits acting like stuffy old men in suits.

I have no problem with triumphant sportsmen and women showing off a bit. It adds to the spectacle, it gives their fans something to cheer, and it gives the other guys’ fans something to relish when they get beaten. In short: it does no harm, so let’s not be so uptight about it.

I watched the Indy Racing League round from Sonoma last weekend and Helio Castroneves’ celebration was fantastic. Normally known for climbing to the top of the high crash barriers that surround ovals after winning, Castroneves found no such fence nearby after winning at Sonoma. So he jumped into the crowd instead:

Alessandro Zanardi used to celebrate his CART triumphs with tyre-boiling doughnuts (oh, alright, ‘donuts’). But woe betide any F1 driver who dares to do the same. The FIA Sporting Regulations article 43.3 states:

After receiving the end-of-race signal all cars must proceed on the circuit directly to the post race parc fermé without any unnecessary delay, without receiving any object whatsoever.

The drivers clearly would love the chance to celebrate if they were allowed it. Felipe Massa managed to get hold of a Brazilian flag on the slowing down lap after winning his home race in 2006:

Happily no one punished this infringement of the rules (can’t say I feel the same way about the latest such example of this, however).

Kimi Raikkonen snuck in a cheeky half-donut at Spa last year. There is no slow lap back to the pits after a race at Spa because the track is so long – the drivers instead turn into the support race pits immediately after the La Source hairpin.

Raikkonen spun up his rear wheels to give the crowd a treat as he did the necessary U-turn. I hope whoever wins a week on Sunday does the same – perhaps the instigation of a new tradition might persuade the F1 organisers that a little crowd-pleasing isn’t such a bad thing.

On second thoughts, no, it probably won’t.

• GP2 Feature: Giorgio Pantano wins again in gripping Silverstone race
• GP2 Sprint: Bruno Senna masters wet conditions to win at Silverstone
• Indy Car: Ryan Hunter-Reay takes maiden win at Watkins Glen

A surprise announcement from today’s FIA World Motor Sports Council today revealed the FIA wishes to set up a new feeder series to Formula 1.

It will be called Formula 2, reviving the name used for a similar series until 1984, before it was replaced by Formula 3000 and, later, GP2.

But why is the FIA proposing to create yet another F1 feeder series when there are already so many? Is this a further sign of a developing was between FIA president Max Mosley and F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone over control of the sport?

A new entrant in a crowded market

The new F2 seems to be a direct competitor to GP2, which was formed in 2005. In just three seasons it has brought seven new drivers into Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg, Timo Glock, Kazuki Nakajima, Nelson Piquet Jnr and Scott Speed.

Not only is it clearly succeeding as a route into F1 it’s very popular with fans as well, providing close and entertaining racing that regularly puts F1 to shame.

If F1 sits at the top of the single-seater motor sports pyramid, GP2 is one of several categories beneath it that form a path to the sport. Any new entrant into this arena would be challenging many established championships, many backed by major car manufacturers.

Renault has the Renault World Series, which Fernando Alonso used en route to F1 (when it was called the Nissan World Series) and which Robert Kubica won in 2005 before being pinched from Renault by BMW’s Mario Theissen. Renault also supplies engines for GP2.

At a lower level BMW runs the Formula BMW series with championships operating in several countries. The new European Formula BMW championship joined GP2 as one of F1′s regular support events at European rounds this year. Timo Glock and Sebastian Vettel are among the graduates of the German series.

Mercedes, Toyota and Volkswagen build engines Formula Three which has long been one of the best routes to F1. Formula Master was started last year plus there are various Formula Renault championships, thew new Superleague Formula, a series for old F3000 cars and more. Even A1 Grand Prix can be considered an F1 feeder championship.

So why does the FIA think this busy market for driver and team talent needs yet another entrant?

The new Formula Two

Although the FIA is supposed to be the regulatory body for world motor racing I doubt they are proposing the creation of Formula Two for the better of the sport.

I think this is a ploy to undermine the GP2 series. Like F1, GP2 is owned by CVC, who purchased it in August last year. Since the revelation of his involvement in a sadomasochistic sex orgy Mosley has accused Ecclestone of attempting to wrest control of the sport from the FIA. Earlier this week Ecclestone denied he was responsible for leaking the details of Mosley’s sordid activities to the press in an attempt to discredit the FIA President.

Rumours abound that Ecclestone may try to lure the manufacturers away from Formula 1 to a new series of his creation, potentially called GP1, according to a rumour on Pitpass. In preparation Mosley is creating Formula 2 as a counterpart to GP2.

According to the FIA F2 will allow teams to compete “within a budget of around €200,000 a car per season.” This seems unfeasibly cheap – GP2 cars cost €1.5m per season to run and even Formula BMW costs 50% more than the proposed F2.

A split?

So what we have here is a proposal that seems completely unrealistic and completely unnecessary.

It seems to have been designed simply to provoke a reaction from Ecclestone. But the longer the FIA goes on making moves like this, the more realistic the prospect of F1 splitting into two becomes.

That would be disastrous for Formula 1. Those who are pushing for a fight with Ecclestone should heed the lesson of the CART/IRL split that left open wheel racing in America almost mortally weakened. Anyone who would risk such a thing happening to F1 clearly is too preoccupied with their own selfish ends to be bothered about the consequences for sport.

Read more about the F3000 champions

• The feeder formula champions part 1
• The feeder formula champions part 2
• The feeder formula champions part 3
• The feeder formula champions part 4

There’s no United States Grand Prix this year so it’s USA Day at F1 Fanatic with a series of America-themed articles.

Which drivers in the American racing scene whould head over to Formula 1? Here are five of the drivers I’d like to see make the switch from NASCAR and Indy Car.

Scott Dixon

New Zealand’s Scott Dixon has an excellent pedigree in Indy Car Racing. He won the Indianapolis 500 this year (above) and is leading the re-united series convincingly.

Dixon came heart-brakingly close to winning the title last year, only to run out of fuel on the last lap of the season.

Kyle Busch

American NASCAR star Kyle Busch, 23, is expected to do a make an appearance in a Toyota F1 car in Japan at the end of the season. Busch drives a Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and leads the championship with four wins at the time of writing.

We’ve seen former F1 cars turn to NASCAR in recent years but I think it would be fasincating to see how a driver who’s spent his career racing almost entirely on ovals would cope with Formula 1. And having one of NASCAR’s top drivers do it would be a huge publicity boost for F1 in America.

Marco Andretti

You can take your pick of the PR-friendly drivers in Indy Car who could make the jump to F1: Graham Rahal, son of three times CART champion Bobby Rahal; Or Danica Patrick, possibly the only professional racing driver who could generate more hype by arriving in F1 than Lewis Hamilton did.

But Andretti, the third generation of the dynasty beginning with 1978 F1 champion Mario, is probably the best bet. He may have looked rough around the edges in recent races, but he showed tons of skill on his debut in the series in 2006 – particularly when he led commandingly at a damp Watkins Glen before being taken out by Eddie Cheever.

AJ Allmendinger

I was hugely disappointed to see Allmendinger switch from Champ Car to NASCAR in 2006. At the time he had won several road course races on the series and looked like one of American’s most promising open wheel racers.

His NASCAR career to date has not been much to write about. I’d like to see him back in a single seater, maybe even an F1 car.

Juan Pablo Montoya

Yeah, I’m still banging the drum for Montoya. He’s wasted in NASCAR, and I think he’d be right at home in the 2009 spec low-downforce F1 cars.

Read more: 10 of the best… American F1 drivers