Safety restrictions have made life difficult for track designers who want to create exciting and challenging racing circuits. To make tracks worthy of the best racing series in the world designers have to strike compromises between spectacle and safety – and satisfy the conflicting demands of bike and car racing. Drew MacDonald of Populous explained … Continue reading Silverstone’s architects on making F1 circuits challenging but safe (Part 2)
Interview articles archive
“We need to make Abbey quicker” – how Populous redesigned Silverstone (Part 1)
Posted onAfter years of rumoured development plans which never happened, Silverstone embarked on an upgrade scheme this year masterminded by architects Populous. I spent a morning at their offices in London where their motorsport specialist Drew MacDonald explained how they went about re-drawing one of F1’s most historic venues.
Glock says turn eight is “nothing special” and blue flags need to stay (Interview)
Posted onF1 Fanatic spoke exclusively to Virgin driver Timo Glock ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix. Here’s what he had to say about his team’s closely-fought battle with Lotus, racing with Fernando Alonso in Monaco, and those pesky blue flags.
Lucas di Grassi says Virgin can catch the midfield teams (Interview)
Posted onLucas di Grassi believes Virgin can find much more performance in the VR-01 and expects to catch the midfield teams by the end of the year. In an exclusive interview with F1 Fanatic he also explained why he thinks tracks need to have more quick corners and how he’s improved as a driver since making … Continue reading Lucas di Grassi says Virgin can catch the midfield teams (Interview)
Silverstone boss explains why they didn’t use Tilke for Arena track upgrades
Posted onSilverstone managing director Richard Phillips said they chose rival company Populous to produce their new Arena circuit because they didn’t want to risk someone ‘;wrecking’ the track.
Driving the F1 simulator which gives teams “the best way to cheat”
Posted onF1 drivers will get their first runs in their new cars at Valencia in two weeks’ time. Actually, that’s a lie – they started driving them months ago. The increased use of simulators in F1 means that while the FIA puts ever greater restrictions on testing mileage, teams are relying more heavily on virtual testing … Continue reading Driving the F1 simulator which gives teams “the best way to cheat”
Martin Donnelly on the crash that almost killed him
F1 history
Posted onWhn Martin Donnelly’s Lotus 102 speared off into the Jerez barriers at 140mph it exploded into pieces. Donnelly was thrown across the track with his seat still strapped to his back.
Ari Vatanen: Exclusive interview on Mosley, budget caps and the F1 calendar
Posted onAri Vatanen anounced his campaign to run for FIA president last week. Since then Max Mosley has said he won’t stand but has come out in support of Jean Todt to be the next president. Today I had a lengthy chat on the phone with Vatanen – he gave me his reaction to Mosley supporting … Continue reading Ari Vatanen: Exclusive interview on Mosley, budget caps and the F1 calendar
Exclusive interview: Pedro de la Rosa on F1 2009 and Motorland Aragon
Posted onTurns eight and nine are like the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, it’s quite steep. But for me that is the beauty of it, you know? What’s the point of racing on completely flat tracks? I like Pedro de la Rosa. Here’s what he had to say about Hermann Tilke’s new Motorland Aragon circuit, whether the … Continue reading Exclusive interview: Pedro de la Rosa on F1 2009 and Motorland Aragon
Pat Symonds: exclusive interview
Posted onPat Symonds, executive director of engineering at Renault, was at the British Motor Show yesterday and I managed to get a brief five minute one-to-one chat with him. He shared his thoughts on Fernando Alonso’s return to the team, Nelson Piquet Jnr’s drive to a surprise second at Hockenheim last weekend, and the team’s technical … Continue reading Pat Symonds: exclusive interview
Interview: F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck
Posted onNigel Roebuck hasn’t missed many races since he started covering Grands Prix in 1971, but when he skipped the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos for the first time, he wrote about relieved he was not to be going to Sao Paulo ?σΤιΌΤΗ£ and incurred the wrath of the most powerful man in Formula 1: When … Continue reading Interview: F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck
Murray Walker – the full interview
Posted onLast month I had the opportunity to interview Murray Walker for Auto Trader. I met the legendary commentator at his home in Hampshire and conducted an interview which ran on the Auto Trader website. Here now is the full, unedited transcript of that interview with Murray’s answers quoted in their entirety.
Damon Hill interview
Posted onDamon Hill speaks about Formula One technology, test driving the Williams-Renault FW14B, how to improve Formula One cars and much more. He’s not a fan of grooved tyres… This is the full transcript of an interview that was published in Trackside on Auto Trader two weeks ago (see below). Read on for the full interview.