I recently picked up a copy of Nigel Roebuck’s Inside Formula 1, a collection of his columns from the 1980s. He sticks to his usual themes: Villeneuve, Smoking, Villeneuve, evil left-wing politicians and Villeneuve. But as ever it’s worth keeping with it for the nuggets of pure gold. In particular I was drawn to his … Continue reading The Ben Evans Column: Taking safety seriously
safety articles archive
Traction control ban: Better races, less safe, more controversy?
Posted onIt’s been interesting to see how the drivers and teams reacted to last week’s test at which most (if not all) the teams tried running the cars with the standard electronic control unit for 2008 installed and the removal of traction control. Questions have been raised over safety and how hard it will be to … Continue reading Traction control ban: Better races, less safe, more controversy?
F1 teams to test slick tyres for possible 2009 return
Posted onFormula 1 teams will conduct a four-day test on slick tyres in December at Jerez with a view to their re-introduction in 2009. Slick tyres were banned in F1 after the 1997 season as the FIA tried to constrain escalating cornering speeds by imposing the use of grooved tyres. Jerez is the last circuit at … Continue reading F1 teams to test slick tyres for possible 2009 return
F1 07 review: Year in debates p3/3
Posted onThe final selection of great debates from the 2007 season is below. Read from a selection of hundreds of comments including thoughts on where Alonso will be next year, whether the best man won the title, and whether scandal ruined the 2007 championship.
Time for grooves to go
Posted onHere’s proof that the FIA isn’t capable of joined-up thinking. 1998: Slick tyres are banned and grooved tyres introduced to control cornering speeds and make racing safer. 2006: A single tyre supplier is announced for 2008, to control cornering speeds and make racing safer. Does F1 really need both rules? No.
New row over McLaren ECUs
Posted onF1 team bosses are split over the new Electronic Control Units set to be introduced into F1 next year.
Spa acts to stop corner-cutting
Posted onEarlier 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
Debate: More street tracks good for F1?
Posted onNext 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?
Video: F1’s best circuit ruined?
Posted onF1 makes it’s highly anticipated return to the fabulous Spa-Francorchamps circuit next month. But has the great track been dumbed down too far? At Eau Rouge the profile of the corner remains the same but re-surfacing, construction work and the installation of tarmac run-off have made the bend less of a challenge. As this video … Continue reading Video: F1’s best circuit ruined?
Daily Telegraph rates F1 death crashes ‘top video’ (updated)
Posted onThe Daily Telegraph picked footage of crashes that killed two people as the second best video on the internet. This morning’s Telegraph links to a Youtube compilation of F1 crashes that include footage of the incidents in which Paulo Ghislimberti and Garahm Beveridge were killed. Ghislimberti died after a multiple car crash at the start … Continue reading Daily Telegraph rates F1 death crashes ‘top video’ (updated)
Debate: Was Hamilton’s restart legal?
Posted onJenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Adrian Sutil and Scott Speed all found themselves in the gravel on the outside of turn on after a downpour at the start of last weekend’s race. Button, Rosberg, Liuzzi, Sutil and Speed all retired. Hamilton waited in the car with his engine turned on, got dragged … Continue reading Debate: Was Hamilton’s restart legal?
The Ben Evans Column: Rant
Posted onMaybe its because of my bad run of results in Formula Vee, or maybe its because, Canada and Europe excepted, Formula One is rather boring this year, but I have spent the past couple of weeks feeling unusually indifferent towards motor racing. I think partly its because once I start feeling a bit down towards … Continue reading The Ben Evans Column: Rant
Video: F1 tests at revised Spa
Posted onHere’s four videos of F1 cars returning to action on the beautiful Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the first time since 2005. The new track features revised corners at bus stop and La Source designed by the omnipresent Hermann Tilke. Happily one of the greatest corners at F1’s best circuit – Eau Rouge – has been left … Continue reading Video: F1 tests at revised Spa
Debate: Is F1 challenging enough?
Posted onIt’s the year of the super-rookies. Seven races in and Lewis Hamilton hasn’t been off the podium yet. Sebastian Vettel just became the first teenager to score an F1 point. Has F1 gotten too easy? Or is it just coincidence?
Banned: Ground effect
Banned!
Posted onThe last in this series looking at F1 technologies that were banned looks at one innovation that the governing body were surely right to get rid of.
Green F1: Right idea, wrong approach
Posted onMax Mosley is on a mission: F1 must became the vanguard of environmentally friendly car technology. Mosley wants F1 to be a showcase for the world’s car manufacturers to display their environmental credentials. And he wants a radical set of F1 rules for 2011 to enshrine that. It’s deeply divisive and controversial. I agree with … Continue reading Green F1: Right idea, wrong approach
Banned: Active suspension
Banned!
Posted onLotus’ began developing active suspension in 1982. Ten years later an active suspension car run by a different team dominated world championship.
Banned: Traction control
Banned!
Posted onMany F1 fans were pleased to hear traction control is being kicked out of the sport. But this is not the first time it has been banned.
Banned: X-wings
Banned!
Posted onTyrrell created one of F1’s most unusual aerodynamic devices but by the time Ferrari copied it the FIA had decided they should be banned.
Banned: Turbos
Banned!
Posted onF1 turbo engine technology was first dismissed, went through a difficult gestation, and then became ubiquitous – before it was banned.