The Belgian Grand Prix is one of the most historic rounds on the Formula 1 calendar. Guest writer Journeyer surveys the history of the race, accompanied by a series of videos, in a three-art series starting today. The Belgian Grand Prix is race with a rich and storied history. Those said to be the best … Continue reading Belgian GP history 1954-1978 (video)
Lewis Hamilton is the new Michael Schumacher. I don’t necessarily mean he’s as complete an F1 driver – but he’s already as controversial. No other active F1 driver excites such polar opposites of emotions and opinions. A glance at some of the biggest debates we’ve had on this site makes that clear (have a look … Continue reading Lewis Hamilton: the driver debates
Kimi Raikkonen hasn’t lost a Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps since 2002. If he wins this year, he’ll match the achievements of Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark in winning four times in a row at Spa in F1. But he also hasn’t won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in April. One of those streaks … Continue reading Kimi Raikkonen to win four in a row at Spa? (2008 Belgian Grand Prix preview)
I’m trying out a new section of the site where I’m putting together pictures of every F1 car from each season. It’s not a project that’s going to be finished overnight but I’ve made a start by adding eight years of pictures of F1’s oldest and most historic team: Ferrari. The first batch covers the … Continue reading Ferraris in pictures: 2001 to 2008
Heikki Kovalainen has had an odd introduction to Formula 1. After bagging a seat with reigning champions Renault in 2007, he made his debut as the team hit a slump in performance. He made a poor start to the year but quickly rallied, and beat his vastly more experienced team mate Giancarlo Fisichella on points … Continue reading Heikki Kovalainen: the driver debates
I was saddened to learn today of the death of Phil Hill. Hill, 81, was America’s first world champion in 1961, for Ferrari. Hill, from Santa Monica in California, was the only native-born American to win the Formula 1 world championship. (Mario Andretti, champion 17 years later, was an Italian emigree). He joined Enzo Ferrari’s … Continue reading Phil Hill, 1927-2008
Behind the Ferrari-versus-McLaren-and-maybe-BMW battle for the constructors’ championship is an even closer battle for fourth place in the F1 teams’ title race. Toyota, Red Bull and Renault have been the closest contenders for the honours this year, with Williams falling back and Toro Rosso making a late surge. Which of these five will claim ‘best … Continue reading Who will be fourth-placed team? (Poll)
Steve suggested I write an article about how pit stops have changed in F1 and, following the controversy over Ferrari’s pit stop at Valencia, I thought now would be a good time to take a look at it. When the world championship began in 1950 pit stops were fairly disorganised affairs. But as the sport … Continue reading A brief history of pit stops in F1
Lewis Hamilton got an unsurprisingly hostile welcome from sections of the crowd at Valencia during last weekend’s European Grand Prix. (However there have been no reports of any repeat of the racist taunting directed at him in Spain earlier this year). Hamilton’s not the first driver to have been the target of a hostile crowd … Continue reading Would you boo at an F1 race? (Video)
I’m away on holiday for the next week but F1 Fanatic will continue to be updated with plenty of new content from me, plus a selection of articles from guest writers. And if that’s not enough to be getting on with you can check out the top 100 most-commented F1 Fanatic articles, join the discussion … Continue reading Holiday and Gravatars
The international running-and-jumping festival Olympics finally came to a close over the weekend. As a sporting event it’s not really to my taste as there aren’t any racing cars involved, and apparently never will be. Oh well. What I find just as disappointing is the organisers take the same dim view of victory celebrations as … Continue reading Olympians, like F1 drivers, told to keep their celebrations under control
We’ve approached the difficult question of passing in F1 from several angles on F1 Fanatic. Last night I found a fascinating video from the American TV channel Speed where F1 journalist Peter Windsor and ex-NASCAR driver Darrel Waltrip approach the question from opposite ends of the motor racing spectrum:
Sebastien Buemi will drive for Toro Rosso during their three-day test in September as the team decide whether to give him an F1 seat for 2009.
Lap times don’t lie – so what can they tell us about the performances of the top three teams’ drivers in the European Grand Prix? Here’s a comparison of their lap times at Valencia – Kimi Raikkonen vs Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton vs Heikki Kovalainen and Nick Heidfeld vs Robert Kubica.
A round up of interesting F1 blog posts and news items from the past few days. Including rumours of unhappiness at Force India, David Coulthard being urged to quit F1 sooner rather than later, and one fan who really, really likes Peter Windsor…
Bruno Senna has been linked to at least three different F1 teams for the 2009 season including Scuderia Toro Rosso, BMW and McLaren. The latter is the team his uncle Ayrton Senna won all three of his world championships for. Will Bruno Senna be the next GP2 driver to break into F1? Will he get … Continue reading Bruno Senna – will he be in F1 in 2009?
Felipe Massa had a lot to celebrate after the European Grand Prix after dominating the weekend. So did Bridgestone who marked their 200th F1 race start – regardless of the fact it was actually their 202nd appearance. Plus, which of Ayrton Senna’s records did Jenson Button match? Find out more F1 statistics and facts from … Continue reading 2008 European Grand Prix stats and facts
Valencia’s first F1 race was not a classic. Looking at the rate the race poll it seems most people thought it was as boring as the Bahrain, Spanish and French Grands Prix. But let’s not jump to conclusions about the track. Circuit designer Hermann Tilke is not to blame for the paucity of action in … Continue reading Thought the Valencia race was rubbish? Don’t blame the track, blame the rules
Helio Castroneves headed a Penske one-two at Infineon Raceway to breathe life into his championship effort. He ended a 29-race streak without a win after scoring seven second places so far this year. It came just days after Penske lost both their original race cars when one of their transporters cost fire. Castroneves and Ryan … Continue reading Castroneves takes vital victory to stay in title hunt (Indy Car)
Here are the drivers’ and constructors’ championship points totals in full following the European Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton has 70 points and Felipe Massa has moved into second in the championship with 64. McLaren also made further gains on Ferrari in the constructors’ championship and are now only eight points behind their rivals.