Felipe Massa remains the man to beat at Istanbul after his third win from pole position at the track in as many years.
Renault articles archive
Pressure piles on Piquet
Posted onNelson 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
2008 Turkish Grand Prix qualifying: Hat-trick of poles for Felipe Massa
Posted onFelipe 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
2008 Turkish Grand Prix preview: how can anyone stop Ferrari?
Posted onFerrari have a seriously impressive winning streak going at the moment: Race Kimi Raikkonen Felipe Massa 2007 Chinese Grand Prix 1 3 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix 1 2 2008 Australian Grand Prix 8 DNF 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix 1 DNF 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix 2 1 2008 Spanish Grand Prix 1 2 Their off-colour performance … Continue reading 2008 Turkish Grand Prix preview: how can anyone stop Ferrari?
2008 Spanish Grand Prix notes
Posted onThe Spanish Grand Prix was hardly a riot of excitement but it did leave us with a couple of major talking points. I want to have a look at two of them in detail: how significant is Renault’s apparent return to form, and how far ahead of the chasing pack are Ferrari?
Analysis: F1 team mates in qualifying
Posted onThanks to D Winn and David Watkins who sent in further analysis of how each team’s drivers compare against each other in each part of qualifying, in response to yesterday’s comparison of team mates so far this year. If you want to contribute an article to F1Fanatic, have a look at the guest post section. … Continue reading Analysis: F1 team mates in qualifying
Analysis: F1 team mate battles so far
Posted onThere are three drivers who have beaten their team mates in each qualifying session and race so far this year. So is that because they’re much better than their team mates – or some other reason? Here’s a look at the side-by-side comparisons of the F1 drivers so far this year.
2009 F1 drivers – early predictions
Posted onIt’s early days, but Luca di Montezemolo’s comments last week about Ferrari not needing Fernando Alonso started me thinking about which drivers might be on the move for 2009. On the face of it Montezemolo doesn’t seem to want to change his pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. And after three driver changes in … Continue reading 2009 F1 drivers – early predictions
Raikkonen leads crushing Ferrari one-two
2008 Spanish Grand Prix review
Posted onKimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa’s winning margin of 0.9s over Lewis Hamilton suggests the Spanish Grand Prix was a close run thing. It was anything but.
Spanish GP 2008 qualifying: Raikkonen holds back home hero Alonso
Posted onThe big question after qualifying is this: how much fuel does Fernando Alonso have in his Renault? The Spanish driver in his home race sent the crowd into rapture by snatching provisional pole position, only to lose it at the last to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
2008 F1 testing round-up 11: Catalunya
Posted onThe first official test since the start of the season ended at Barcelona today. The four-day test threw up some confusing times as some drivers tried out slick tyres for next year while others stayed on grooves, and today’s running was spoiled by rain. They will be back at the track in just eight days … Continue reading 2008 F1 testing round-up 11: Catalunya
Has Flavio Briatore lost interest again?
Posted onWhat’s the problem with Renault? It was no great surprise to see the champions of 2005 and 2006 lose their way in 2007. There was certainly no shortage of explanations: they had lost their champion driver and talisman of the team, Fernando Alonso. They had lost the Michelin tyres to which generations of Renault chassis … Continue reading Has Flavio Briatore lost interest again?
Flavio Briatore’s risky gamble on Fernando Alonso may not pay off
Posted onAfter leaving McLaren and returning to Renault, Fernando Alonso is a happy bunny now, right. Apparently not – in an interview with a Spanish publication he showed he was already thinking of moving on again: I’m at Renault because I wanted to get back to winning, like in 2005 and 2006, if not this year … Continue reading Flavio Briatore’s risky gamble on Fernando Alonso may not pay off
Ferrari falter and Hamilton triumphs in Melbourne drama
2008 Australian Grand Prix
Posted onLewis Hamilton shrugged off the disappointment of losing the 2007 championship at the final round and started the new season back at the front of the title race.
2008: Renault
Posted onRenault are one of the most fascinating propositions of 2008 for me. As Felipe Massa said yesterday, many expect them to struggle again in 2008: If you have to take on Alonso it’s better that he’s driving for the French team than McLaren because it seems to me that Renault aren’t at the same level … Continue reading 2008: Renault
F1 testing round-up 10: Catalunya & Jerez
Posted onThe final big test before the 2008 season was completed this week and it wasn’t Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen or Michael Schumacher who set the fastest time – it was Jarno Trulli. Afterwards a confident Trulli praised the new Toyota: The TF108 is a completely different car. Last year straightaway I knew we had a … Continue reading F1 testing round-up 10: Catalunya & Jerez
2008: The year ahead in numbers
Posted onBeing a sucker for stats I wanted to take a look at what milestones were coming up in 2008. There’s already been some discussion about Rubens Barrichello being poised to break Riccardo Patrese’s 15-year record as the most experienced driver in Formula 1 – but exactly when will he pass the mark? McLaren have one … Continue reading 2008: The year ahead in numbers
Renault reveals its 2008 F1 car – the R28
2008 F1 season
Posted onRenault has a lot to make up for with its 2008 car. The R28 has to return the team to its race and championship-winning form of 2005-6.
Max Mosley can’t stop talking about spygate
Posted onI enjoyed American political drama “The West Wing” very much before it was cancelled two years ago. I thought of it today, and how the president’s communications experts in the series would earnestly debate the implications of anything he said in public, when I read a new quote from Max Mosley. The same care and … Continue reading Max Mosley can’t stop talking about spygate
FIA end McLaren investigation and publish Renault report
Posted onThe FIA has formally ended its investigation into McLaren’s use of Ferrari intellectual property by cancelling the meeting of the World Motor Sports Council planned for February 14th. However the fall-out from the McLaren and Renault hearings continues. The sport’s governing body also published the full transcripts from the December 6th hearing on whether Renault … Continue reading FIA end McLaren investigation and publish Renault report