The morning of Saturday 20 August 2011 at Silverstone was warm and sunny. It was difficult to imagine that the weather would be a problem. As I was staying in a campsite just a stone’s throw away from the circuit, I thought nothing of just heading there in a t-shirt. The morning was brilliant. As […]
Visiting the village — World Series by Renault at Silverstone
As I described in my previous post, early on Saturday morning we ventured underneath the tunnel at Copse to head towards the World Series by Renault ‘village’. This is where all the bustle is. World Series by Renault is as much a festival of motorsport (or, more accurately, a festival of Renault) as a day […]
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 […]
Why I am finding F1 less gripping in 2011
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. […]
When will something be done about flying wheels?
One of the most worrying trends in F1 is the increasing tendency of wheels and tyres to come loose and fly off. Since refuelling was banned for the start of the 2010 season, the speed of tyre changes has become easily the most crucial element of a pitstop. With the greater number of pitstops this […]
Why is so much bodywork falling off?
While it is by no means unheard of for pieces of bodywork to come off an F1 car from time to time, there has already been quite a lot of it this season. In fact, after one and a half race weekends, I can think of four big bodywork failures. Firstly, there was Kamui Kobayashi’s […]
What might have been for Timo Glock
I wonder what Timo Glock is thinking just now. Following an impressive early career, and after showing flashes of talent at Toyota for two years, Glock faced a difficult decision prior to the 2010 season. Renault or Virgin? Once upon a time it was a tough choice His first option was to take a risk […]
Has Force India peaked?
It is a cliche to say, but it’s true — predicting a team’s performance on the basis of testing form is a mug’s game. Just ask Mr Sniff Petrol. But one thing I am pretty sure of is that Force India have taken a step backwards. Force India’s 2010 was a story of unfulfilled promise. […]
Congratulations to Red Bull Racing — 2010 Constructors’ Champions
This is a post that I should have written at the end of last season, but didn’t get round to before deciding to go on hiatus. Many of these points will have been made before, and it may be a bit past its sell-by date — but here it is anyway. I am in awe […]
Singasnore — What makes a good F1 race?
What do viewers at home love about F1? It is great wheel-to-wheel racing? Lots of overtaking? Strategy calls? Or the venues? Looking at the polarised reactions to this past weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix got me wondering. A few of the journalists were pretty effusive about the race. Will Buxton was particularly euphoric: Epic race. One […]