Is Vettel now the most complete driver in F1?

Another grand prix, and another Sebastian Vettel victory. In terms of race results, it is now on a par with Michael Schumacher’s 1994 campaign. Five wins and a 2nd place from the first six races. It is difficult to get much more dominant than that. For the 2010 World Champion, 2011 is looking much easier. […]

Why Vettel should not have been penalised

I have long felt that there have been too many penalties in F1. Many talk about the inconsistency. This is indeed a problem. But the main issue is that they are handed out far too often. Today I feel that the stewards overstepped the mark once again and interfered with the race when it was […]

You can’t make an old dog forget dirty tricks

The Hungarian Grand Prix lived up to its reputation for being a boring circuit in terms of overtaking, but always delivering action of some sort. Hungaroring may be dull as a spectacle, but there is never a shortage of talking points. This year’s was provided by Michael Schumacher. His already infamous move to push Rubens […]

The declining standard of F1 television coverage

In my previous article about the post-Bahrain backlash, I noted that I thought the main reason why people felt that the race was boring was down to something fully within Bernie Ecclestone’s control. It is the most important thing to the vast majority of fans, although in the rush to blame the presence of heavy […]

2009 driver rankings: top ten

10. Timo Glock Timo Glock has started to show real signs of improvement this year. While the Toyota team may have bizarrely liked to have criticised Glock for the car’s poor performance, the fact is that Glock put in some great performances in 2009. Particularly notable was his heroic performance in Singapore, where he finished […]

2009 driver rankings: #25-#11

25. Nelsinho Piquet I don’t think there is much need to justify why I have placed Piquet at the bottom of the list. Suffice it to say that I hope he never races competitively again. 24. Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Bourdais spent the 2008 season explaining that we should wait to judge him until the return […]

Jenson Button: a deserving champion?

Belated congratulations to Jenson Button for becoming the 2009 World Champion. I know it’s long overdue, but hey — that’s what happens when real life takes over (more on that real life stuff can be found here). I have not always been convinced that Jenson Button is a good driver. In fact, the only times […]

Button’s bounce back

This season never ceases to amaze me. The racing hasn’t always been the best, but the outcomes have seldom been predictable. At first, the utter dominance of Brawn, and Button in particular, was unbelievable. They were unstoppable, and it took longer for the other teams to catch up. Then when the other teams caught up, […]

Fisichella, Badoer and the hard-to-drive Ferrari

No-one can have failed to have spotted the irony. Giancarlo Fisichella has realised his childhood dream. Like any Italian driver, the opportunity to drive for Ferrari at all — never mind at Monza — is a real dream come true for Fisichella. But as with Luca Badoer, that dream has not quite gone to plan. […]

Crikeynen! Kimi wins again at last

What a grand prix weekend that was. It just goes to show you what a decent circuit can do for racing. Boy, can Spa do it for racing. It also clearly does it for Kimi Räikkönen, who is always mesmerising in this most inspirational of settings. Räikkönen confuses people a lot of the time with […]