Allow me to explain. Despite all the jibes about Luca Badoer struggling, it occurred to me that he may now have another unusual record to add to his list. Here is the official lap chart for this year’s Belgian Grand Prix, as published by the FIA. Do you spot anything unusual about it? Despite the […]
The toughest job in F1: being Luca Badoer
In my review of the European Grand Prix, I didn’t mention Luca Badoer, who made his high-profile Ferrari début at the race. It was always going to be a tough ask, because the odds were so heavily stacked against him. For one thing, he had to get used to the car, which he had never […]
Ruby on Rails!
This year’s European Grand Prix was not the best race we’ve seen so far this year — but at least it wasn’t the utter snoozer we had last year. There are at least a few interesting talking points. First, of course, is the performance of Rubens Barrichello, which was truly masterful. For once, the most […]
Yet another McLaren controversy
The story surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix has moved quickly without me having had a chance to write about it yet. There are so many aspects to this story. First of all, it’s worth looking at the role of the FIA stewards here, and the process behind how stewards make their […]
End-of-season driver rankings: #11-6
Better late than never. I have finally got the chance to tap out the final part of my end-of-season driver rankings, although I am currently being distracted by the live web stream of the Race of Champions. Hopefully I’ll stay coherent enough for this section of my rankings to make sense. So here goes. As […]
End-of-season driver rankings: #22-12
Well, the season is well and truly over, and we have now had over two weeks to digest the happenings. It is high time I gave the season a thorough review, starting with my opinion on all of the drivers. First off, I should point out that I think the standard of driving was exceptionally […]
Felipe Massa: A worthy runner-up
I think this year Felipe Massa has converted a lot of people. Particularly, his performance — both on and off the track — were a demonstration on what a true sportsman should be all about. After turning in a perfect performance in challenging conditions, Massa had the World Championship snatched from his grasp by events […]
Welcome to Formula None, where racing is illegal
So another race, another clutch of dodgy stewards’ decisions. During the ITV broadcast today, Martin Brundle got it bang on: we are now watching a nanny state F1 where we are constantly paranoid about penalties. And that was even before the most ridiculous penalty of the lot — to Sébastien Bourdais — was doled out. […]
GP3 due for a 2010 start — but will it support F1?
Well, it is a big day for series announcements. First it was announced that two International Formula Master events will be Formula 1 support races in 2009 — at Turkey and Belgium. The rest of the races will support the FIA World Touring Car Championship as before. I originally thought this had put the lid […]
The return of Hamilton’s impatience
I have been so busy that I have not yet properly turned my attention to many of the notable events of the Italian Grand Prix. Apart from Sebastian Vettel, the star of the show was probably Lewis Hamilton. He was severely compromised by yet another odd McLaren tyre strategy call. Hamilton took a risk that […]