Formula 1
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The return of Formula 1
Finally! The moment I’ve been waiting months for. Formula 1 is finally returning in 2020. After a long lock down period teams are now back at work in the factories getting their cars ready for the shortened 2020 season. Some teams have taken their cars out for shakedown runs to get the rust off from such a long break for the teams, like Mercedes did at Silverstone on June 10. The drivers are starting to come back as well. The season will kick off again with a double header at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, followed by Hungary and then another double header, but this time at Silverstone in…
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What we can learn from the death of Anthoine Hubert
Following the tragic death of French F2 driver Anthoine Hubert last week at Spa during the Feature Race the FIA has begun an investigation into the causes of the incident. Motor racing is inherently dangerous, although this is something that many of us forget. Driver deaths used to be a regular occurrance back in the 50’s and 60’s. One of the most imfamous incidents occurred at the 1955 24 hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France where a crash sent debris flying into the crowd and killed 83 spectators, French driver Pierre Bouillin and injured another 180 spectators. Since then there has been a much…
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The Rich Energy saga
Sometimes reality is more interesting than anything you can find on TV. Rich Energy and their sponsorship of the Haas F1 team has become a soap opera on the biggest scale. Back in 2018, when the Force India F1 team had gone into administration, a company that almost nobody had heard of submitted a bid to buy the F1 team. This bid was nearly successful but the group overseeing the administration ultimately decided not to take the Rich Energy buy out and instead sold the team to a consortium led by Canadian billionaire, and father of F1 driver Lance Stroll, Lawrence Stroll. Very quickly after that Rich Energy attempted to…
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Did Ferrari push their power unit too far in Bahrain?
Charles Leclerc, the second youngest pole sitter ever, was in total control of the 2019 Bahrain GP. With 10 laps to go it all went wrong after reporting an engine issue, resulting in a loss of power and straight line speed. Immediately Leclerc could see his maiden win slipping away as Hamilton started gained over 6s per lap on him. After a poor start, Leclerc dropped all the way back to 4th place by the fought back by the 6th lap to be back in the lead and ahead of his teammate and running with a Ferrari 1-2. Leclerc then proceeded to push ahead and create a comfortable gap between…
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F1 Testing 2019 – What did we learn?
Never place your bets for Melbourne based on who’s on top in testing. That is the one thing we know for sure. What we don’t know is what this will all mean in 2 weeks when the lights go out at the first race in Australia. The winners It took all the way through to the end of the second week but we finally saw some pace from the top teams when on the final day of testing Ferrari ended up on top, with the two Mercedes cars close behind. I was quite happy to see how well Charles Leclerc handled the Ferrari and even topped the time sheets at…
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F1 testing 2019 – Week 1
Ahhh… Formula 1 is back for another year. This week marked the beginning of the season with the annual testing days at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. So far there has been a number of different story lines being followed. Here are my highlights from F1 testing 2019 so far. Day 1: Laps, laps, laps Day 1 of winter testing is normally not about putting in quick laps, but rather making sure various parts of the car are working. The way to accomplish these tests? Laps. Lots of them. Vettel put in 169 laps and also set the quickest time of the day. Everyone except for Williams put…
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Are tobacco sponsors back in F1?
Tobacco advertising has been banned in Formula 1 since the 2006 season. Up until then the likes of Marlboro, Philip Morris International and Benson and Hedges, among others, were commonplace on liveries throughout the grid. They were also a massive source of cash for the teams who were lucky enough to sign them. Now these companies are making a comeback, although this time they’re pushing ‘potentially reduced risk products’ – largely vaping products and accessories. Today McLaren announced they have signed British American Tobacco (BAT) as a sponsor in a multi-year deal worth an undisclosed amount per year. BAT is the same company the owned the BAR Formula 1 team…
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2019 Formula 1 car reveal schedule
With just days until the 2019 challengers begin to pull the covers off, we’ve included all of the key dates for the next few weeks to help you get excited about the new season! February 7 Haas livery reveal February 11 Toro Rosso launch February 12 Renault launch February 13 Mercedes launch/shakedown, Racing Point launch February 14 McLaren launch February 15 Ferrari launch February 18 Sauber launch February 18-21 First pre-season test February 26-March 1 Second pre-season test What car reveal are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments! Image courtesy of Alfa Romeo Racing
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Will Leclerc upstage Vettel in 2019?
With 41 days until the first race of the 2019 Formula 1 season, and the car reveals set to start within the next 2 weeks, it is time to start talking about the on track battles that will happen this year. Ferrari has under performed for the past 4 seasons since bringing Vettel on, so there is a much higher expectation in 2019 for the team to bring home the championship – something they haven’t done since 2007. With the management and driver changes at Ferrari over the off-season we’re in for a wild ride. One of the most anticipated rivalries in the 2019 season is between Ferrari drivers Sebastian…
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Is Kimi’s return to Sauber good for F1?
After 18 years Kimi Raikonnen will be driving for Sauber again next year. Is this a good thing for Sauber and F1 or is Kimi just trying to hang on a bit longer with whoever would sign him? When Kimi lost his drive at Ferrari in 2018 to newcomer Charles Leclerc many thought that Kimi would retire. Nobody would blame him since he’s had a very successful career in F1. Kimi won the Driver’s Championship in 2007 during his first stint at Ferrari and has spent time at Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Renault. Kimi has been a staple figure in F1 for as long as many fans can remember,…
