Can it really be 19 years since Formula One made its first, tentative steps into the Eastern Bloc? The F1 circus first came to the Hungaroring in 1986, celebrating the spirit of glasnost that introduced the world’s most capitalistic sport into the Communist heartland of Hungary. On that weekend the tiny Zakspeed team even celebrated [...]
Having just spent a fortnight touring round the Midwest of the USA, I managed to squeeze in a couple of NASCAR races and an IRL event on the TV. After all, when you have a 24 hr motor sports channel in your hotel room, Mount Rushmore pales in comparison. Now while I will never be [...]
Since the first attempts at banning electronic driver aids in 1994, the Formula One rules have been in a state of constant upheaval. But by failing to understand its past, the sport’s authorities have misdirected its future. The changes to F1 since 1994 have radically altered the nature of the sport, driven teams to bankruptcy [...]
With time running out until the imposition of new European Union rules governing the display of tobacco advertising in sporting events, BAR claim they have not received an adequate clarification of the law from the British government despite BAR boss Nick Fry insisting they had requested on, “several times.” They are afraid that British teams [...]
The German Grand Prix was not a high point for F1 in 2005. The championship battle more or less fizzled out and yet another McLaren failure gifted Alonso an unchallenging victory. It’s little surprise to see the quality and size of newspapers coverage has fallen this week. You can’t really blame newspapers like The Independent [...]
If Fernando Alonso was cruising to the title before his German Grand Prix victory, expect him to be coasting around the Hungaroring with one hand on the wheel this weekend. Meanwhile title rival Kimi Raikkonen will be flat-out all the way on the off chance that his MP4-20 permits him a trouble-free weekend and maybe, [...]
Kimi Raikkonen’s third successive car failure robbed him of yet another potential victory. That and a qualifying error by team mate Juan Pablo Montoya has given Fernando Alonso an almost insurmountable advantage in the title chase. The German Grand Prix was not the overtaking-fest the media hype promised it would be beforehand. What action there [...]
Much has been made of the FIA survey’s revelation that – shock, horror – F1 fans want to see more overtaking. But one crucial aspect of the survey has gone without sufficient comment – the need for more teams. The FIA survey revealed that 69% of Formula One fans think that there are not enough [...]
The punishing F1 schedule continues with round 12 at the Hockenheimring. Mercedes will be desperate not to see a repeat of the engine failures that ruined Kimi Raikkonen’s last two races – especially not on home ground. How times changes. Twelve months ago the Formula One circus arrived at the Hockenheimring outside Heidelberg with the [...]
“Watch the Ferraris”, everyone seemed to be saying after the United States ‘race’. “They’ve made a big step forward.” Michael Schumacher, unusally bullish, suggested as much after qualifying. But on the track, Fernando Alonso blitzed them all for his fifth win from ten. It was not a thrilling French Grand Prix. Indeed, after the shame [...]
