The FIA demanded a single tyre supplier from 2008 and they got it a year ahead of schedule. But what has the impact been on the quality of racing? To my mind, 2006 was not the best year for wheel-to-wheel racing in F1 – and this season so far has been even worse.
James Allen claims in his new biography of Michael Schumacher that FIA president Max Mosley believes Schumacher would have been stripped of his 1994 world championship under the current F1 rules.
Ricardo Risatti will make his GP2 race debut this weekend, substituting for Pastor Maldonado in the Trident team. Maldonado suffered a fractured collarbone while cycling. Risatti is currently racing in the World Series By Renault for GD Racing. The 20 year-old Argentine has not scored so far this season and has a best finish of … Continue reading Risatti subs for Maldonado in GP2
The battle for the world championship titles enters its final and most crucial phase. The last six races are spread across nine weekends with precious little time for car development. Ferrari are expected to be competitive at the most aerodynamically critical venues – and Istanbul is definitely one of those. But last year Fernando Alonso … Continue reading Turkish GP 2007 preview & TV times
Formula 1 is the number one form of motorsport – but does it also have the best racing drivers in the world? Who would you evict from the F1 grid, and who would you replace them with?
In my Formula Vee adventures this year I have raced against some very good and very bad drivers. Thanks to the heats and finals format I often get to see the slower drivers in action, and believe me some of them are awful. There is one gentleman in particular who went a lap down when … Continue reading The Ben Evans Column – The best of the worst
It stayed dry for the third race of the day at Brands Hatch but it produced perhaps the most exciting race of them all. Fabrizio Giovanardi looked in with a chance of taking a hat-trick of victories until he collided dramatically with Mike Jordan. Meanwhile Jason Plato clawed his way into the points to keep … Continue reading BTCC Brands Hatch 3: Turkington triumphs in thriller
Title rivals Fabrizio Giovanardi started first and second and finished the same way – but Plato had to charge from the back of the pack after an early collision with Tom Chilton. With several cars still missing from the first race including Matt Neal and Fiona Leggate there were hopes for a clean second start. … Continue reading BTCC Brands Hatch 2: Second win for Giovanardi
Open-wheel single-seater racing is, for me, the most exciting sport on the planet. Formula 1, GP2, Champ Car World Series, Indy Racing League, World Series by Renault, A1 Grand Prix, GP Masters – I’ve watched them all. It’s not often that a new racing formula comes along. And it’s even rarer that, when one does, … Continue reading Superleague Formula takes aim at F1
Brands Hatch greeted the return of the British Touring Car Championship for its second event of the year with wet weather. It provoked an enormous crash on the first lap that left two drivers hospitalised, blocked the circuit and caused the race to be restarted. After a action-packed race it was the championship leaders that … Continue reading BTCC Brands Hatch 1: Giovanardi wins through carnage
Past titles with the word ‘Schumacher’ on the spine vary from half-decent to downright awful. But ITV F1 commentator James Allen’s new book on Michael Schumacher took me by surprise. Unfortunately Schumacher has not deigned to be interviewed for the “The Edge of Greatness”. Undeterred, Allen nonetheless collared Schumacher’s former team mates Eddie Irvine and … Continue reading “Michael Schumacher: The edge of greatness” (James Allen, 2007)
Arguments rumble on over the Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso row. Plus speculation over Nico Rosberg’s future – and whether the teams will revolt against the FIA’s decision to let a McLaren Group company produce next year’s ECUs.
When this month’s F1 Racing landed on my doorstep this morning, and I saw that Matt Bishop had done an interview with Ralf Schumacher, there was only ever going to be one article I would read first. It’s a particularly entertaining piece that I don’t wish to spoil for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet … Continue reading F1 Racing vs Ralf Schumacher
The news that Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag is considering investing in Super Aguri could be very timely for young Spanish racing drivers like Javier Villa.
Spa-Francorchamps has acted to solve some of the problems caused by its recent renovation – this weekend’s World Series by Renault round should reveal how successful they’ve been. The British F3 drivers were cutting the track at various places – can these faster, lower, more F1-like cars get away with doing the same? And how … Continue reading This weekend’s F1 alternative: WSR Spa-Francorchamps
The bookies reckon if Fernando Alonso is to storm out of McLaren at the end of the year it will be to return to his former team Renault. Also in the news this week, work set to begin on the Singapore street circuit and a young Canadian scoops the Gilles Villeneuve award.
Earlier this week I wrote about the problems Spa-Francorchamps were having stopping drivers from cutting corners on its revised track. Happily now the track has installed strips of grass between the track and the run-off at the new chicane in an attempt to stop drivers cutting it. They will be tested out at this weekend’s … Continue reading Spa acts to stop corner-cutting
Bernie Ecclestone is looking into buying football team Arsenal – one can only assume it’s because he doesn’t have enough F1 business to occupy his time. Well I’ve got some good news for him! Having sat down and given it some thought I’ve easily come up with ten tasks for him to get on with … Continue reading Ten… Jobs for Ecclestone to do
A new generation of German drivers are following in Schumacher’s footsteps. Nico Hulkenberg is next in line to follow them.
Next year’s F1 calendar will include three street circuits – the most since the 1991 calendar took in Monte-Carlo, Adelaide and Pheonix. Are you glad to see F1 bringing the show right into the hearts of major cities? Or are street tracks slow and potentially unsafe gimmicks that belong in Champ Car and the Indy … Continue reading Debate: More street tracks good for F1?