A while ago I asked whether Fernando Alonso or Michael Schumacher’s massive position gains on the opening lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix were anything special – indeed, whether they were worthy of comparison with Ayrton Senna’s at Donington Park in 1993. I was fascinated to see Darren Morgan asked that very question of Autosport’s … Continue reading Hungarian Grand Prix, lap one, revisited
Jenson Button’s maiden win in the Hungarian Grand Prix is currently ranked as the best of the season so far (not including last week’s Turkish Grand Prix). The incident-packed wet dry race displaced the Bahrain Grand Prix as the fan’s favourite so far this year in the post-race popularity polls F1Fanatic conducts on the Autosport … Continue reading Hungarian Grand Prix ‘best of 2006’ – so far
We all have that list of Grands Prix we’d most like to visit – the dramatic Suzuka track in exotic Japan and the hallowed temple of motorsport that is Indianapolis are both on mine. And after last year’s rip-roaring debut race, so was Istanbul Park. So I was thrilled when a Greek mate invited me … Continue reading Escape from Istanbul
Fernando Alonso may have added to his advantage over Michael Schumacher in Istanbul, but Ferrari are almost level with Renault in the constructors’ championship. Let’s take a look at how all the drivers and teams are performing statistically.
We want to know about the Grands Prix you’ve been to. Have you been to a race this year? Was it a good race and did you think you got good value for money? Do you regularly go to the same race every year? Perhaps you’ve been going to races for many years – how … Continue reading Share your Grand Prix experiences
A round-up of Formula One news and comment from around the world this week. (All links external)
In the pre-FOCA years Oulton Park regularly hosted non-championship Formula 1 races and some of these are featured in Peter McFadyen’s book of photography from the time.
What should have been a textbook cruise to maximum championship points for Michael Schumacher fell apart and handed his grateful team mate a maiden grand prix win.
Michael Schumacher is the biggest character in Formula One today. With an unapproachable stack of wins and championship victories to his name, his identity is writ large across the sport. Media fascination with him is inevitable and it’s hardly surprising that, after more than a decade at the top of the tree, what little time … Continue reading “Michael Schumacher: Driving Force” (Sabine Kehm)
The controversial 1994 season provoked at least two noteworthy ‘insider’ books: Damon Hill’s Grand Prix Year and Steve Matchett’s Life in the Fast Lane. Together they tell the stories of the two championship-contending teams that year: Williams (Hill) and Benetton (Matchett). And they make for an intriguing comparison with each other.
“Life in the Fast Lane” is the first of the two memoirs of former Benetton mechanic Steve Matchett. It focuses on the particularly tragic, turbulent and controversial 1994 season which nonetheless eventually saw Benetton’s Michael Schumacher win the World Drivers Championship. Steve Matchett’s book tells the story of a season’s racing from a mechanic’s point … Continue reading “Life in the Fast Lane” (Steve Matchett, 1995)
In this week’s Trackside we previewed the Britcar 24 Hours race on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Also this week we did a feature on the fantastic Donington Grand Prix collection. Related links Autotrader.co.uk – Trackside: Racing ’round the clock (external) Autotrader.co.uk – Donington Grand Prix Collection (external) Tags f1 / formula one / grand … Continue reading Trackside: Britcar and Donington
James Hunt – hedonist extraordinaire. His legendary off-track exploits would more than fill a book – but happily this biography isn’t an overdose of sensation. Gerald Donaldson looks at Hunt from all angles: the consummate professional whose attention would nonetheless wander; the man who accrued vast wealth then carelessly squandered it; the party animal and … Continue reading “James Hunt: The Biography” (Gerald Donaldson, 2003)
Often we are told not to judge books by their covers. With this paperback edition of Robert Edwards’ 2001 biography of Sir Stirling Moss, do the exact opposite. The iconic picture of a youthful Stirling, face blackened by race track filth but for two goggle-sized spots gleaming white around the eyes. It’s all there in … Continue reading “Stirling Moss: The Authorised Biography” (Robert Edwards, 2005)
The predictable confirmation that the FIA’s ban on mass damper systems will be upheld has dealt a stinging blow to Renault’s hopes of retaining both the drivers and constructors championships. Fernando Alonso currently leads Michael Schumacher by ten points in the drivers’ championship and Renault head Ferrari byseven in the constructors’s title race. But the … Continue reading Damper D-Day
Ricardo Zonta lapped the Californian road circuit – home of the daunting corkscrew turn – in 1:06.596 in a TF106. More from this week’s F1 headlines.
Grand Prix motor racing reaches its centenary in 2006 so this retrospective look at some of the behemoth racers from the dawn of the century is well-timed. It may be a little on the dusty side but you don’t need thick-rimmed glasses and an enormous beard to enjoy this book.
We all remember what happened when Michelin turned up at last year’s United States Grand Prix and discovered that their tyres couldn’t withstand the pummelling of the turn 13 banking. Well, just to prove that Formula One doesn’t own a monopoly on sporting cock-ups, a major cricket game has been forfeited and cancelled amid similar … Continue reading Indy ’05, cricket-style
The three-week summer break came at a pivotal moment in the 2006 championship. Fernando Alonso was within 19 laps of dealing a major blow to Michael Schumacher’s recovery in the title battle at the Hungaroring. But an errant wheel nut – the first mechanical failure in a race for either of the championship protagonists this … Continue reading Turkish Grand Prix 2006 Preview
This week’s Trackside was on Nigel Mansell’s much-vaunted return to Silverstone with Grand Prix Masters. It may have been a disappointment for Mansell and fellow British driver Derek Warwick, but the ex-F1 pilots still gave us a fantastic race. Related links Autotrader.co.uk: Trackside – Hero’s homecoming is damp squib (external) Tags: f1 / formula one … Continue reading Trackside: Mansell at GP Masters
