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F1 Power Rankings: Canadian Grand Prix

And so the Formula One World Championship makes its annual summer pilgrimage to North America for the best event on the calendar. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve may not be the most impressive looking track on the calendar but it does provide some of the most impressive racing on the calendar. And Montreal might not be an internationally renowned cultural mecca but that doesn’t stop the teams from claiming this race weekend has the best atmosphere this side of Monza.

So who wants to let the two Mercedes boys loose on F1’s most exciting track?

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IndyCar – Dual in Detroit: A Penske Shootout

indycar-2014-detroit-helio-fence-climbLove ’em or hate ’em, these street course doubleheaders sure end up with some exciting racing. While we usually dread Formula One street course races, IndyCar street races tend to be the more exciting of the events that require right turns in addition to the left turns.

The one recurring theme this weekend was Penske. It’s Roger Penske’s event with the first race led from the pole by Helio Castroneves in a Penske car. Therefore, it was only fitting that Will Power and Castroneves drove to victory in Penske cars at Penske’s race.

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iRacing Teaming with Users to Sponsor Josh Wise

dogecoin-nascar-headerIt looks like the good people of the Dogecoin community have started a trend and it looks like Phil Parsons Racing and the Doge Driver himself, Josh Wise, will be the beneficiaries. After /r/Dogecoin raised $60,000 to sponsor Wise’s car at Talladega and voted him into the NASCAR All-Star Race, now online racing sim iRacing is getting fans to help out Wise and Phil Parsons Racing.

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IndyCar – Indy 500: A First Time for Everything

indycar-2014-indy-500-rhr-kissing-the-bricksWhat constitutes a family curse being broken? The Andretti family curse at the Indianapolis 500 goes back almost 50 years when Mario won his first and only Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. Neither son Michael nor grandson Marco have been able to win the race since then.

Since 1969, the Andrettis have won the 500 twice… as team owners. Michael’s team won the 2005 and 2007 races but he was just an owner. This year was the closest that an Andretti has come to winning the race but not thanks to Marco’s driving. It was Michael calling the shots on the pit box for race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay who picked up the win with a last lap pass of three-time race winner Helio Castroneves.

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F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Forza Marussia!

f1-2014-monaco-rosberg-victoryLet’s get this out of the way first: Nico Rosberg won the race for Mercedes in an absolutely dominant fashion. However, that wasn’t the real story of the race. The true hero of the Monaco Grand Prix was Jules Bianchi who kept his nose clean through the traffic, crashes and safety cars to finish 9th and score his and Marussia’s first ever points.

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F1 Power Rankings: Monaco Grand Prix

You know, I almost forgot the Power Rankings again. For a self-admitted massive Formula One fan, I don’t do much to prove it. Then again, if TSN didn’t leave promotion of Formula One races to in-program promos on NBC Sports Network simulcasts, maybe Canadians would remember when F1 races are!

Anyway, it’s Monaco time. Monaco is my second-favourite race of the year. Obviously, Canada is my favourite race because it’s the best race of the year. But Monaco starts off the best day in motorsports. From 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM EDT, there’s a solid wall of racing action and coverage. This is Motorsports Christmas. I love Memorial Day and I’m not even American.

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IndyCar – Indy 500 Qualifying: One Run to Glory

indycar-2014-indy-500-qualifying-ed-carpenter-poleOnce again, the bosses of the IndyCar series changed the format for qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. Instead of the top 24 starters locking in on Day One with the remainder of the runners locking in on Bump Day, the drivers had to lock into the field on Day One with the actual grid being set in single-run qualifying on Day Two.

However, the latest change in the qualifying format didn’t change anything from the previous Indy 500 qualifying weekend. When you’re hooked up at Indy, there’s little anyone can do to stop you. Just ask the now twice-defending Indy 500 pole winner Ed Carpenter.

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Formula One: 2014 Barcelona In-Season Test Recap

While the first five races of the season have gone exactly as planned for those who paid attention to the pre-season testing, that doesn’t mean that testing follows the same script. With Mercedes testing the new “megaphone” exhaust and the other teams on various testing programs, there were a couple of unexpected drivers and teams topping the time sheets during the second in-season test of 2014.

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IndyCar – GP of Indianapolis: Go Right, Young Man

indycar-2014-indy-pagenaud-victoryIn the continuing struggle to reinvent the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar decided that the month should open by turning right instead of left. While we can argue all day as to whether IndyCar should have a road course race at the Speedway, if they can put on an exciting event, it’ll quickly become a new May tradition.

This weekend marked the first step in reinvigorating the month of May as the stars of the IndyCar Series drove clockwise around the Speedway. The three-wide flying start was replaced with a two-wide standing start. And the checkered flag was taken by a Frenchman for only the second time in IMS history as Simon Pagenaud took the checkered flag for his first win of 2014.

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F1 Spanish Grand Prix: Gone in 60 Seconds

f1-2014-spain-lewis-hamilton-eddie-jordanOver the last four years, Formula One fans complained about the dull dominance of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel as they won four-straight Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships with numerous race wins along the way. Before that, there was five straight years of Ferrari dominance with Michael Schumacher leading the way.

This season, things are shaping up to be worse than the Red Bull / Vettel years and approaching Schumacher / Ferrari levels of dominance. Lewis Hamilton won his fourth-straight race after retiring from the pole in the other race in what is shaping up to be a dreadfully dull year for Formula One.

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