The debate over who is the most-hyped driver in Formula 1 is a short one. But who is the second most-hyped driver in F1 after Lewis Hamilton? Sebastian Vettel may be a candidate. He arrived in the sport at a rude young age last year and is apparently already being considered for a promotion to … Continue reading Sebastian Vettel: the driver debates
The news that Lewis Hamilton is courting a £10m sponsorship deal with Reebok is interesting not because of the amount of money involved, but because of what it says about his relationship with McLaren. When people started talking about the immense marketing potential of F1’s first successful mixed-race driver F1 fans were quick to note … Continue reading Lewis Hamilton is bigger than McLaren
Bernie Ecclestone has reiterated his desire to see the 2009 French Grand Prix held in Paris instead of its current venue Magny-Cours: We agreed that there would be a French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in 2008 but not in 2009. Prime Minister Francois Fillon told me we would then see if we could have a … Continue reading No more Magny-Cours? Heard it before
The Turkish Grand Prix review video looks at how the teams’ engine development is limited by the engine freeze regulations and reveals just how expensive it is to stay at a hotel in Monaco for next week’s Grand Prix! Plus the usual round-up of post-race news.
A few choice morsels from the world of motor racing blogs including the A1 Grand Prix car based on the Ferrari F2004, the poor crowd at the Turkish Grand Prix and McLaren’s painfully bad PR. Plus a shameless plug for my interview with Sir Stirling Moss and more.
Giancarlo Fisichella reckons Sebastien Bourdais caused him to crash at the start of the Turkish Grand Prix. Fisichella said: I made a good start but then under braking Bourdais changed direction twice and I couldn’t brake in time and went into the back of the Williams Looking at the video it’s hard to agree with … Continue reading Video: Fisichella blames Bourdais for crash with Nakajima in Turkish GP
Something odd is going on with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association at the moment. There have been stories going around since last year about some of its members being unhappy that certain drivers haven’t joined what is effectively the drivers’ union. The driver mentioned most often has been Lewis Hamilton, who over the weekend denied … Continue reading Has the FIA superlicence price hike caused a split within the GPDA?
Nik left an interesting comment in the Turkish Grand Prix Facts and Stats article about how much of an advantage the drivers who started on the clean side of the grid had at Istanbul: Hamilton (third) overtook Kovalainen (second) Kubica (fifth) overtook Raikkonen (fourth) and Kovalainen (second) Alonso (seventh) overtook Webber (sixth) and Raikkonen (fourth) … Continue reading Debate: Are some starting grids unfair?
This is the first picture of Ferrari’s A1 Grand Prix car for the 2008-09 season. View a high-resolution image of the 2008 Ferrari A1GP car According to the A1 organsiers the car is based on Ferrari’s 2004 machine, the F2004. The two certainly bear a close similarity (see below for image and press release).
I’ve had a rummage through the data and pulled out some interesting statistics and facts on the Turkish Grand Prix. Have I missed anything? Post your findings in the comments. Plus the full drivers’ and constructors’ championship tables after round five.
Felipe Massa remains the man to beat at Istanbul after his third win from pole position at the track in as many years.
Three races ago I was wondering if Massa had totally lost the plot over the winter. Now he’s bounced back with two victories and a second place and is only seven points behind Kimi Raikkonen in the championship. Can mount a serious bid for the championship this year?
A mistake by Bridgestone, Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier, created additional problems for McLaren this weekend. Even before the race got underway the Japanese manufacturer was openly admitting it had brought the wrong choice of compounds. It chose the same combination of medium and hard tyres it brought last year, despite the race being much … Continue reading Did Bridgestone compromise McLaren?
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A frantic GP2 sprint race at Istanbul Park saw eight drivers eliminated on the first lap and a safety car period after one car struck and apparently killed a dog. The safety car was summoned before the first lap was completed as Pastor Maldonado, Andreas Zuber, Ho-Pin Tung, Yelmer Buurmanm Andy Soucek, Jerome d’Ambrosio and … Continue reading Grosjean wins as eight crash on lap one and Senna hits dog
The GP2 sprint race at the Istanbul circuit this morning has been disrupted due to animals on the circuit. Halfway through the race a furious Bruno Senna brought his wrecked iSport car into the garage having collided with a dog on the back straight. A second dog was seen running around turn two and the … Continue reading Video: Driver hits dog in F1 support race
Felipe Massa may line up on pole position but if McLaren have paid attention to the starts at past Turkish Grands Prix they’ll know how to exploit any vulnerability he shows on the way to the first corner. Here’s what’s happened in the past – and how McLaren might use it.
Nelson Piquet Jnr is only in the fifth Grand Prix weekend of his career but his performance must be starting to ring alarm bells at Renault. His 20th on the grid at Melbourne and subsequent crash was not taken as cause for alarm within the team. But add his spin and crash at the Circuit … Continue reading Pressure piles on Piquet
Giorgio Pantano took his sixth career win in GP2 with an emphatic victory from pole position in the feature race at Istanbul. He made a perfect start and was never troubled by Romain Grosjean, who spent the race keeping Andreas Zuber at arm’s length. Even a late safety car period failed to shake Pantano’s iron … Continue reading Pantano wins Istanbul feature
Felipe Massa’s love affair with the Istanbul Park circuit goes on. He took his third pole position in a row at the circuit where he scored his first in 2006. It leaves him perfectly poised to turn the trick again in the race tomorrow. Joining him on the front row is McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. He … Continue reading 2008 Turkish Grand Prix qualifying: Hat-trick of poles for Felipe Massa
