There have been four grands prix in 2011 so far, and they have been widely hailed as a great success. There is no doubt that the races have been action-packed, with something always going on. But I wasn’t feeling it quite as much as many others were. I thought the Chinese Grand Prix was okay. […]
What went wrong with Williams?
I’ll be upfront here. While many like Williams, with their “plucky underdog” status and stridently independent approach, they have never been my among my favourite teams. To the extent that I have ever liked them, it has been as the anti-Ferrari. In other words, I like them about as much as I like McLaren, which […]
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 […]
My name is Duncan, and I am a motorsport fan
This the accompanying article to my contribution to this week’s edition of The Pod Delusion. Here you can find videos and links if you want to delve further into the topic. As you may guess from the title, this article is about motorsport. I do not normally write about motorsport on this website. That is […]
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 […]
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 […]
Belated Budapest thoughts
Yes, yes, I know. This is a race that happened almost two weeks ago. Sorry. You should see the list of articles I still haven’t written yet but need to get round to! In the intervening period I have received an email asking me what I think of Renault’s ban from the European Grand Prix. […]
BMW – Bizarre Manufacturer Withdrawal
The other big news of yesterday was the sudden withdrawal of BMW from Formula 1. This season will be their last. It can’t be called a complete shock. It had become very fashionable in F1 circles to say something like, “I am sure one or two or all of BMW, Renault and Toyota will pull […]
2009 mid-season driver rankings: part 1
I can hardly believe it — this three week break marks the mid-point of the season. As such, it is a good opportunity to take stock, have a little look back and see how the drivers are doing. 20. Sébastien Bourdais Last year he asked us to wait to judge him, and see how he […]