F1 Insight
Formula 1 analysis and race pondering
596 posts
- Drivers
Origins and Champions
With Takuma Sato's departure with Super Aguri from the F1 grid, Kazuki Nakajima becomes the sole Japanese representative amongst current F1 race drivers. This has been generally the case with Japanese drivers, their…
- Politics
Fiddling While Rome Burns
"We keep hearing what a great job Max has done and yet the evidence is exactly the opposite. We have boring racing, shrinking grids and no Concorde Agreement in place. Max has proved utterly incompetent. His sole…
- Teams
Toro Rosso and Customer Cars
Scuderia Toro Rosso have confirmed that they will not be using their new car , the STR3, in Turkey this weekend, thanks to Sebastien Bourdais' off in testing. There is some discussion, too, over whether to debut the…
- Regulations
Keeping It Simple
This year should be the last hurrah of the aerodynamic fancy bits, the winglets and protuberances that we have become so accustomed to seeing on the cars over the last few years. For 2009, it is intended that they be…
- Teams
BMW Show the Way
I see that BMW is the first team to admit that they will be evaluating Ferrari's "hole in the nose" innovation on their own cars. If they decide it gives appreciable benefits, no doubt it will not be long before the…
- Regulations
Sayonara Super Aguri
Anthony Davidson has obviously accepted that it is unlikely his employer, the Super Aguri team, will race again in 2008. Reacting angrily to David Coulthard's description of Davidson and Takuma Sato as the "Stupid…
- Races
Barcelona Blues
I really dislike the Barcelona track and have done since its inception. It might be great for testing but, since Nick Heidfeld is the only one able to find a way to overtake on it, we should not really call it a race…
- Races
Friday Practice in Barcelona
Looking at both practice sessions, it seems that most of the teams went for a quick blast in the first, then concentrated on race fuel loads and set ups in the second. Certainly, the first session times conformed to…
- Drivers
A Word on Kazuki Nakajima
Time to take up the cudgels on behalf of F1's current favorite whipping boy, I think. It seems that everyone includes Kazuki Nakajima in their list of drivers most likely to disappear before or at the end of the year…
- Championship
The Year of the Bubble
If 2007 was the Year of The Rookie, this season is in danger of turning into the Year of the Bursting Bubble. Probably the only rookies from last year who continue to deliver according to expectations are Kovalainen and…
- Teams
Pointers to the Championship
There used to be an understanding that the early "away" races of an F1 season were bad pointers to form for the season. Often, it was said of the first GPs in Europe that "the season starts here" - and there was a lot…
- History
Porsche and VW Connections
I see that VW/Audi and Porsche have once again stated their intention to leave F1 alone, citing cost and the Mosley sex scandal as the reasons. Like everyone else, I think this is a great pity, although not unexpected.…
- History
Formula One's South African Secret
I grew up in Southern Africa and so still take an interest in that area of the world. As an instance, I see that I am not the only one to have noticed the parallels between the Mosley sex scandal and Southern African…
- Regulations
Back to the Future
Writing a blog about F1 has taught me a lot about the sport and the fans that follow it. One of the more obvious things that I have noticed is that each of us tends to see the state of the sport when we first started…
- Teams
Ferrari Leaks from the Nose
It seems that Ferrari are a bit annoyed that word of their now-famous "hole in the nose" of the F2008 leaked months ago . The first news of the innovation appeared in the Italian magazine, Autosprint , in February, long…
- Drivers
Thinking About Raikkonen
I have this terrible admission to make. And, seeing that the F1 world has gone dead on the news front, it is as good a time to confess as any. My problem, you see, is a gnawing doubt about Kimi. Kimi Raikkonen Well, it…
- Circuits
The Future of F1 Circuits
Keith Collantine has written a post about the Indy GP's chances of returning to F1 - and this has sparked the inevitable discussion of other feasible venues for a USGP. As the heart of American motor sport, Indianapolis…
- Teams
Renault and J-Dampers
Autosport has an interesting interview with Renault's technical director, Bob Bell, in which he states that the team need "a tidal wave" of change if they are to get back on terms with the top teams. No arguments from…
- Teams
Making Sense of McLaren
The fickleness of F1 watchers amuses me sometimes. Every year it seems that Ferrari are touted as the team to beat - until the first race where things do not go their way. Then McLaren are seized upon as the real…
- Races
Bahrain GP and Monday Musings
Well, I say the Bahrain GP but there is nothing to report that has not been said already, I think. Once Massa surged ahead at the start and grabbed the first corner, the race was as good as won. We hoped that there…