Given the recent history of the Canadian Grand Prix and the controversy over the Mercedes GP tyre test, one would have assumed that tyres would have played a factor in the outcome of the race. While the tyres were a story, they weren’t the deciding factor of the Canadian GP as Sebastian Vettel stormed off into the distance en route to a dominant win. Don’t worry, though, there was plenty of off-track drama to keep us entertained.
Formula One
F1 Power Rankings: Canadian Grand Prix
The Formula One World Championship briefly interrupts the European portion of the season for a quick fly-away adventure to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. This is my favourite race of the season but not just because it’s my home race. The Canadian GP is famous for scads passing and being nearly unpredictable. It’s easily one of the most exciting races every year. I may have rank these drivers based on how they’re driving now and how they will do in Canada but we have no idea how this race will pan out.
F1 Monaco GP: To Finish 1st, First You Must Win The Pole
The Monaco Grand Prix is absolutely unparalleled in motorsport for glamour and pageantry. Unfortunately, Monaco is almost unparalleled in terms of its ability to turn Formula One into a parade. If it wasn’t for a pair of safety cars and a red flag, this year’s edition of the race would have also been a parade. This year, it was Nico Rosberg who picked up the win in this season’s most prestigious race but is certainly wasn’t without a tonne of controversy for his Mercedes team.
F1 Power Rankings: Monaco Grand Prix
Sunday is the single greatest day of the year to be a racing fan. If you live in the Eastern Time Zone of North America, you can get up at 8:00 AM for the Monaco Grand Prix, fill your afternoon with the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and finish with the Coca-Cola 600. It’s almost 15 straight hours of racing action.
It all starts with the most prestigious race in the world. The Monaco Grand Prix is the crown jewel of the top motorsports series in the world. The only downside is that passing is virtually impossible. As such, qualifying is going to be vitally important to success this weekend.
F1 Spanish GP: Send Them Home Happy
When putting on live events, most promoters and performers have a simple philosophy: “Send the fans home happy.” Well, Fernando Alonso and Scuderia Ferrari certainly did that at yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix as the Spanish driver and local hero took his second career win in the Spanish Grand Prix.
F1 Power Rankings: Spanish Grand Prix
After four flyaway races to start the season, the Formula One World Championship returns to Europe to start the heart of the season. The European season runs from May through to mid-September will separate the pretenders from the contenders. Given that we’ve had a pretty varied set of results for the first four races, a little settling into a groove is probably due.
F1 Bahrain GP: Yes, They’re Still Running This Race
Since the Arab Spring protests that started in 2011, Formula One’s stop in a country with protests has been very controversial. Many think that the race should be cancelled because a Grand Prix is just a way to legitimize the Bahrain government because of the economic impact of the race. Other’s think that making a decision based on political reasoning isn’t something F1 should do because it’s a sport.
Still, the race took place again amid the protests. For the second year running we had an all Renault engine podium and it was actually the exact same podium in the exact same order as last year as Sebastian Vettel picked up his second straight Bahrain Grand Prix win.
F1 Power Rankings: Bahrain Grand Prix
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone likes to claim that the World Championship isn’t used for nor is allowed to be used for political purposes. However, the Formula One World Championship returns to the Kingdom of Bahrain, the land that the press covering the Arab Spring forgot. From the sounds of it, things haven’t gotten better for the people of Bahrain.
I’ll write a bit more about that during my race and news recap. For now, here are this round’s Power Rankings, assuming that this race is allowed to go ahead. Since Bernie appears to be oblivious to how Bahrain’s leadership is using the Grand Prix to portray a positive public image, let’s just assume there will be a race this weekend.
F1 Chinese GP: Time for Tyres
The talk about tyres has been growing since Pirelli took over as the sole tyre manufacture in Formula One. This weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix saw tyres and pit strategy play a significant part. Fernando Alonso won the race but he certainly wasn’t what people were talking about. Even on the podium, the drivers were talking amongst themselves about the effect the tyres had on the race.
F1 Power Rankings: Chinese Grand Prix
After a couple of weeks off, the 2013 Formula One World Championship returns to action with the Chinese Grand Prix. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I really hate the schedule’s two weeks on, two weeks off, two weeks on, two weeks off schedule to start the year. Still, I don’t hate it as much as Adrian Sutil must hate returning to the scene of the crime.
The Lowdown 