F1 Insight
Formula 1 analysis and race pondering
596 posts
- Politics
Shame and Max Mosley
When I started this blog, I had no idea that I would be drawn away from the central topic of F1 into matters of conservation, big business, ethics and morality. I suppose that the sport must be viewed in context,…
- Politics
Fingers in the F1 Pie
It is all about money, isn't it? A revealing article in the Guardian newspaper draws back the covers on the network of vested interests and deals behind the show business face of F1. And it turns out that the drive…
- Races
Renault and the F1 Photograph
One of the most important features of this blog has been the selection of a photograph (or painting courtesy of Rob Ijbema ) to accompany each post. Thanks to some artistic ambitions of my youth, I am fairly picky as to…
- Drivers
Another Look at Robert Kubica
At about mid-season this year, Robert Kubica became everyone's favorite for the drivers' championship. It was not that anyone thought he had a genuine chance of taking it at the last (although he surprised us by…
- Teams
Vijay Goes It Alone
Well, nearly. After Force India's announcement of the end of their engine deal with Ferrari, Vijay went on to say that Colin Kolles and Mike Gascoyne are leaving the team . This is not a complete surprise, given that…
- Regulations
The FIA and the Stewards
Maybe they are listening, after all. The FIA has announced changes in the stewarding system for next year, just as they promised. And it seems that they have taken note of the particular aspects receiving the worst…
- Drivers
Renault Stick with What they Know
Renault have announced that their drivers will remain the same for next season. This was largely as expected for Fernando Alonso, whose options became very limited after Ferrari and BMW confirmed their teams for 2009,…
- Drivers
Reputation and Lewis Hamilton
In the comments to my deliberately controversial previous post, it becomes clear that many set Hamilton's allegedly bad on-track behavior against the apparent inability of Massa to accept blame in any situation. Both…
- Drivers
Second Thoughts for the Second Man
In the aftermath of the extremely close finish to this year's World Drivers Championship, I have noticed a huge wave of sympathy for Felipe Massa in the death of his hopes at the last. This is all very magnanimous from…
- Races
A Few Thoughts on the Brazilian GP
The Brazilian GP was almost a microcosm of the championship this year; fate played games, suggesting first one result, then another, with everything being decided at the last corner of the last lap. All good for the…
- Races
Practice Session 1, Interlagos
The big showdown has commenced - in Brazil, the first practice has finished and it is first blood to Ferrari. Felipe Massa put in the fastest lap towards the end of the session, just shading Lewis Hamilton's time from…
- Politics
The FIA, FOTA and Maxwell's Silver Hammer
I have deliberately said little about Mosley's proposed standard F1 engine since he first introduced the idea in mid-September 2008. It was immediately obvious that it was not something that the manufacturer teams would…
- Drivers
Mark Webber in 2009
For every driver who manages to grab a world championship, there must be several who never get a decent shot at it. Many of them could claim to be capable of the feat, if only they could get their hands on a good car.…
- Politics
Has the Power Shifted?
There have been two minor victories for the good guys in the politics of F1 over the last week or so. The first has been FOTA's cutting through Mosley's bully boy tactics of the threatened standard engine so that a…
- Politics
The BBC and the FIA
I may be one, but the Brits amuse me when they get into a froth about the televising of F1. The debate sparked by the transfer of F1 rights from ITV to the BBC has been incomprehensible to most foreigners as the merits…
- Drivers
Bourdais, the Joker in the Pack
With most of the teams having announced their drivers for 2009, there are few imponderables left. So far Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Williams, Toyota and Force India have decided to stick with their present line up, while we…
- Races
Shanghai GP - No News is Good News
I am told the race in Shanghai was a bore, that nothing happened and it was a walkover victory for Lewis Hamilton. And so it was - there is no denying it. Bur it was also a welcome change in that there was no artificial…
- Politics
Alan Donnelly and the Stewards
Alan Donnelly has been attempting to justify the FIA stewards' atrocious decisions this season; Doctor Vee posted a very good article this morning that explains why Donnelly's sole example to counter the accusations of…
- Drivers
The Drivers Debate
In Shanghai, the first two practice sessions have been remarkably similar to those in Fuji - pretty much what you would expect in the first and then a strange mix in the second. With Hamilton comfortably ahead in both,…
- Drivers
Growing Up In Formula One
I was standing outside in the cool, fresh morning, surrounded by the fiery trees of a New England autumn, while overhead a commercial jet drew its arrow-straight vapor trail across a pale sky feathered with wisps of…