Renault have made a dominant start to the 2005 season – but Toyota, Ferrari and McLaren are chasing them hard. They need to be, because if they’re not on terms with the regie at this, the first race of the ‘European season’, they can kiss their title dreams goodbye. With the first three ‘flyaway’ races … Continue reading San Marino Grand Prix 2005 Preview
Keith Collantine's articles on RaceFans
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing.
Bahrain Grand Prix 2005 Media Review
Posted onBahrain gave us a cracking race – but what did the wider world make of it? We take a look at the coverage of the Bahrain Grand Prix in the major British papers, in this week’s media review. Most of the Bahrain reactio focussed on the Fernando Alonso-Michael Schumacher battle, surely the first of many … Continue reading Bahrain Grand Prix 2005 Media Review
Editorial: Passion Killer
Posted onIt’s been a fixture for 25 years but the San Marino Grand Prix, the next stop on the F1 calendar, isn’t what it was. 2005 hasn’t been a bad season so far and now, at Bahrain, we have had our first real corker of a race. There was plenty of passing up and down the … Continue reading Editorial: Passion Killer
When they were young
Posted onFour rookie drivers made their debut in last month’s Australian Grand Prix, and acquitted themselves with varying degrees of success. But how well did the rest of the grid fare on their debut races – did they show glimpses of greatness or opening night nerves? 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps Michael Schumacher, Jordan Ford – … Continue reading When they were young
Alonso cruises to victory as Schumacher drops out
2005 Bahrain Grand Prix review
Posted onFernando Alonso again swept all before him to take a second consecutive win – including the new Ferrari F2005s which failed even to score points.
Montoya’s injury
Posted onJuan Pablo Montoya’s indifferent start to 2005 is not calculated to improve with the news that he will not race in Bahrain, still nursuing a shoulder fracture incurred while playing tennis. Frustratingly for McLaren they have still not modified an MP4-20 to fit their taller and preferred third driver, Alex Wurz. Instead, their second test … Continue reading Montoya’s injury
Editorial: Come get some
Posted onPremiership footballers are latest thing corrupting the nation’s youth. Apparently the sight of angry, impassioned sportsmen raging at referees over decisions that have gone against them is warping the fragile little minds of Britain’s junk food-stuffed sprogs. Some teachers and parents are even going so far as to suggest that football be screened after the … Continue reading Editorial: Come get some
Bookshelf Essentials: Formula One Fanatic
Posted onThe majority of books on Formula One are biographies of driver and histories of famous teams. Koen Vergeer’s Formula One Fanatic is something quite different, and an essential book for fellow F1 fans. Koen Vergeer’s Formula One Fanatic is a rare piece in the world of F1 literature – it’s not yet another cash-in biography … Continue reading Bookshelf Essentials: Formula One Fanatic
Bookshelf Essentials: F1 – The Autobiography
Posted onThere are no shortage of coffee-table F1 books, resplendent with exquisitive photography and teeming with statistics. But Formula 1: The Autobiography, though huge, offers something more: The history of F1 in the words of the drivers themselves. Walk into any second-hand bookshop and in the motorsport section you’ll probably find a few dozen different ‘encyclopedias’ … Continue reading Bookshelf Essentials: F1 – The Autobiography
Bookshel Essentials: Villeneuve
Posted onGerald Donaldson’s memorable biography of Gilles Villeneuve is tipped to become a film to hit cinema screens in 2007. It is a classic book on one of the sport’s most beloved drivers, that every F1 fan should read. There have been many Formula One drivers who have impressed, astounded even, and tragically died, leaving behind … Continue reading Bookshel Essentials: Villeneuve
“The Life of Ayrton Senna” reviewed
Posted onYes, it’s just what Formula One literature needs – yet another biography of Ayrton Senna. But Tom Rubython’s biography can make a worthy claim to being the definitive work on one of F1’s greatest figures. The Life of Ayrton Senna is a substantial 600-plus page work, meticulously researched and thoroughly detailed. Rubython is the author … Continue reading “The Life of Ayrton Senna” reviewed
Bahrain Grand Prix 2005 Preview
Posted onAfter a dismal (by their standards) start to 2005, Ferrari have pressed their new car into action two weeks ahead of schedule. Can they close the gap to Renault, or will the technical Bahrain circuit reveal that their true weakness is their Bridgestone tyres? The 2004 Bahrain Grand Prix won the FIA’s award for best … Continue reading Bahrain Grand Prix 2005 Preview
Ferrari offer testing truce?
Posted onAccording to Autosport-Atlas Ferrari have decided to cancel their testing session at Silverstone in June. It is a response to the near-universal criticism of their refusal to pursue cost-cutting reductions in testing. However there is still no sign that they will back down from their two somewhat contradictory stances on testing: that their reduction in … Continue reading Ferrari offer testing truce?
Schumacher drives F2005
Posted onMichael Schumacher has finally gotten behind the wheel of the F2005 and immediately after getting out of the car told the journos from Autosport-Atlas and that this was the super-fact, razor-sharp machine that would allow him to renew his crushing domination of F1: “This car has been driven quite a lot, it’s not as if … Continue reading Schumacher drives F2005
Editorial: So what’s it gonna be this time?
Posted onFerrari are in trouble – there is no doubt about it. They never looked like running with the leaders all weekend long, and by the end of second qualifying Michael Schumacher was four seconds behind, languishing in 13th. After 56 laps he was 1m 20s behind Alonso, and had been lapped at one stage. A … Continue reading Editorial: So what’s it gonna be this time?
Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC)
Posted onDepending on who you ask, the Grand Prix World Championship is either ‘the promised land’ for F1, or an idle threat made by a small group of manufacturers who want more money out of the sport. The ‘GPWC’ acronym has been echoing around the paddock for a few years but perhaps never more than in … Continue reading Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC)
A1 Grand Prix
Posted onSheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum believes he has spotted a gap in the motorsport market, and he may well be right. His A1GP series, due to launch this September, will be of great interest to F1 fans. Maktoum’s vision is of a ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ which will compete during the F1 off-season, principally … Continue reading A1 Grand Prix
‘Group of nine’ write to Ferrari
Posted onFerrari are under pressure on and off the track. On track the F2004-M has not proved up to the job of supporting Schumache’s bid for an eighth title, and off track the manufacturers are blasting Ferrari for refusing to sign up to the testing ban agrred by the other nine teams in Brazil. Of those … Continue reading ‘Group of nine’ write to Ferrari
Malaysian Media Grand 2005 Media Review
Posted onIt’s the Monday after a race, so it must be time for our fortnightly game of “hunt the bits of F1 coverage in the national press.” Or, if you prefer, the Media Review… First up we have to give special mention to Stan Piecha of The Sun for simultaneously aggravating F1 anoraks and belittling the … Continue reading Malaysian Media Grand 2005 Media Review
Alonso dominates at Sepang
2005 Malaysian Grand Prix review
Posted onFernando Alonso staked a claim to the 2005 world championship with a crushing display in the Malaysian heat, while Michael Schumacher could only manage seventh as Ferrari’s poor start to its title defence continued.