I’m going to be in Birmingham for the Autosport International show over the next two days. As usual I’ll be writing about the show for Auto Trader and there’ll be lots of coverage of on the Auto Trader website. I’ll also being putting up F1-related pictures here. I should be talking to Donington Park boss … Continue reading Autosport International starts tomorrow
Bridgestone downplays degradation issues "Bridgestone is confident that teams will quickly adapt to the challenges of setting up their cars to work with the new slick tyres, despite complaints of chronic rear degradation in earlier testing. 'It is still early days for the teams working on their understanding of the slick tyres and the aerodynamic … Continue reading F1 links: Tyre wear concerns
Here are some more (and much better!) pictures from the Donington Park 2010 track simulator that give a clearer impression of what the track will be like in 2010. These images are from a simulation of the track built in rFactor which will be made available next week. They show several parts of the track … Continue reading More pictures of Donington Park 2010
Donington Park’s redevelopment plans will be heard by Leicestershire District Council tomorrow. Circuit owner Simon Gillett is confident his proposals will be supported by the council and one councillor has been quoted in favour of the proposals. Is it time to stop the cynicism about Donington’s plans?
F1 gets hit with the ugly stick In the early part of the 2008 season, I had a conversation with a senior member of an F1 team who said they had already recovered 85 per cent of the downforce the ’09 regs were supposed to lose and that the the fitting of slick tyres meant … Continue reading F1 links: Grid walks and Twitter
Donington Park is beginning to reveal more detail about its plans to host the 2010 British Grand Prix. Here are four images showing an artist’s impression of the pit building on the re-designed F1 track.
How well can we predict what’s going to happen in F1 this year? In this post we’ll put ten predictions for the 2009 season to the vote and see which ones come true…
Sir Jackie Stewart’s interview in yesterday’s Times, spread across the inside back pages, is a must-read. Stewart’s criticism of Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley’s governance of Formula 1 is as rational as it is critical. His message is simple – they have stayed too long, they must be replaced – and it’s entirely persuasive. But … Continue reading Jackie Stewart’s criticism is persuasive but he can offer more than words
F1 Fanatic has been nominated for the “Best Sports Blog award in the 2008 Weblog Awards. (Yes, I know it’s 2009 – they do the 2008 awards in 2009!) Voting starts today and runs until Tuesday 13th January. You can vote once in each cateogry in every 24 hour period so if you want to … Continue reading Weblog Awards: Vote F1 Fanatic!
Michael Schumacher and Honda "One intriguing rumour to surface over the Christmas period is the suggestion that Honda Racing F1's Ross Brawn may have been talking seriously to Michael Schumacher about working together to save the Brackley team. Schumacher has plenty of private money but it is unrealistic to believe that anyone will spend their … Continue reading F1 links: Schumacher and Honda
F1 will not be broadcast in high definition on the BBC in 2009. Director of BBC Sport Roger Mosey said "we’d very much like it to be" but HD F1 broadcasts are not available yet. He also suggested practice sessions will only be available online and ‘via the red button’, and said the BBC is … Continue reading BBC: No HD F1 in 2009
A thread on the Autosport forum about Bernie Ecclestone’s brief racing career caught my eye. Ecclestone dabbled in motorbike racing and Formula Three in the early 1950s. But his only entry in the F1 record books is for the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix – which he failed to qualify for. What’s the story behind the … Continue reading Bernie Ecclestone, racing driver
The archive is never the sexiest part of a web page. But hopefully anyone looking to find a particular F1 Fanatic article will find it a bit easier as I’ve revamped them. It’s now broken down by category with lists of each of the five newest articles in each category. Below that is a simple … Continue reading F1 Fanatic archive revamped
Track’s bid to clear skies 'Councillor Nicholas Rushton, county council cabinet member for highways, said: "As far as I am concerned, they (Donington Park) are completely and utterly bonkers. East Midlands Airport is completely commercially run and I would be surprised if they would agree to stop their flights."' Why Donington might well work "I … Continue reading F1 links: Donington musings
This year I’m planning to visit the Hungaroring to see the Hungarian Grand Prix for the first time. Have you made any plans to go to an F1 race in 2009?
Cake about Ferrari for birthday mmm… Ferrari cake Blundell tips Raikkonen to take title Mark Blundell says Kimi Raikkonen will bounce back in 2009 Times are tough on the circuit, says F1 hopeful "Formula One hopeful Jonathan Kennard believes motorsport’s top teams are worried to invest in drivers following Honda’s dramatic departure from the sport." … Continue reading F1 links: Ferrari cake
Donington Park’s plans to run the British Grand Prix from 2010 have won the support of South Derbyshire District Council. Director of community services Mark Alflat told the Derby Evening Telegraph he is recommending the scheme gets planning approval when it goes before Leicestershire District Council on Thursday: The development offers substantial economic opportunities. The … Continue reading Council backs Donington Park’s Grand Prix plans ahead of application hearing
January and February are the fallow months for F1 fans as we wait for the new season to begin. But with cars to be launched, testing to be done and other events and racing going on, the pre-season weeks needn’t be boring. Here’s a guide to what’s happening between now at the first race of … Continue reading Pre-season F1 launch and events guide
Formula One turning to younger drivers "[Esteban] Gutiérrez easily would have taken my vote for the young talent of the year, had it not been for the final meeting of the Formula BMW series on Dec. 7, an event in Mexico City with the top drivers from the series around the world taking part in … Continue reading F1 links: tomorrow’s F1 drivers
I’ve just updated F1 Fanatic to the latest version of WordPress. The biggest change that means for everyone following the site is that you can now leave a comment next to any comment you choose. For example, if you want to reply to the 12th comment out of 29 you can now click ‘reply’ next … Continue reading Commenting on comments