Today it was announced that the Asian rounds of Superleague Formula have been cancelled. This is on top of the earlier cancellation of the South American rounds. The original 2011 calendar also contained races in Russia, the middle east, Australia and New Zealand. None of these took place. In the end, the only two races […]
World Series by Renault — the feeder series to watch
There is a surfeit of motor racing championships that aim to usher in the next generation of Formula 1 stars. But only a few are worth paying serious attention to. GP2 — the ‘official’ way to progress to F1 The most well-known by a long way is GP2. Backed by Bernie Ecclestone, GP2 is the […]
Bahrain boring? Blame Bernie, not the refuelling ban
It has to be said that the writing was on the wall for the Bahrain Grand Prix before the teams even arrived there. And it’s not due to the refuelling ban. There are arguments for and against refuelling, but on balance I think banning refuelling is a good idea. The legacy of refuelling Some people […]
Boring Bahrain backlash
I have to say I have found the Bahrain Grand Prix boring — well, the aftermath of it. All the same old whingers keep on stomping their feet about their old hobby-horses. They couldn’t wait for this season to start so that they could claim that Formula 1 has been broken by X, Y and […]
The bad and ugly sides of the new F1 teams
Yesterday, I began looking at this year’s new F1 teams. This was following Ferrari’s controversial blog post and the news surrounding some of the new teams that has dominated the F1 news websites. Yesterday I looked at the good aspect of the process — the relative success of Lotus and Virgin. Today, I turn my […]
Sayonara Toyota
The day after Bridgestone announced that they would be leaving Formula 1, it emerged that Toyota were poised to do the same. This was not as much of a shock as Bridgestone’s exit, but it is nonetheless major news. Toyota are the third major manufacturer to leave F1 in just twelve months, and now rumours […]
Barrichello will be the perfect partner for Hülkenberg
Perhaps the worst-kept secret in F1 this season (apart from Alonso’s move to Ferrari) has been that Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hülkenberg will be driving for Williams in 2010. Today it was finally announced. Historically, Williams has been a team that has been all too happy to dispense with even their best drivers. The fact […]
Brilliant Brazil
I love the Brazilian Grand Prix. It is a unique circuit — not only anti-clockwise, but uniquely short in the same way you might think of Spa-Francorchamps as being uniquely long. It is also special because it has now comprehensively replaced Suzuka as the proper place to settle a World Championship, particularly due to its […]
The Williams F1 simulator and museum
The final part of the factory tour was the chance to see the simulator. It is an impressive piece of kit. The driver sits in a cockpit, surrounded by a massive screen that curves round to take up his entire field of vision. Little wonder it has been known to induce sickness. Drivers are advised […]
The FIA shuts its ears
This week in F1 has mostly been about the FIA’s diarrhoea of the press release. Rather than looking for a compromise, they have instead gone on the attack, launching press release after press release and slamming the door shut on Fota’s suggestions (oh, and saying goodbye to Lola — good work, Max!) This week the […]