With Formula One’s Canadian Grand Prix taking place this weekend in Montreal, I’m going to catch Canadian race fans up on what will be happening at the track this weekend. The first of the two-part race primer will look at the rules of F1 and strategies employed by teams in the race. Continue reading
Formula One
F1 Turkish GP: Tangled Webb
It was supposed to be fairly academic. Mark Webber would lead away from pole. Sebastian Vettel would take advantage of the clean line from his third place starting spot to pass Hamilton for second. Then it would be a simple Sunday drive to the finish and another weekend of Red Bull domination. Unfortunately for the energy drink brigade, it didn’t go according to plan. While Red Bull’s plans didn’t come together, Bernie’s plan for a return to America finally came together and Pirelli’s plan for an entrance into F1 is all but sealed. Continue reading
F1 Monaco GP: If These Streets Could Talk
The Monaco Grand Prix is the crown jewel of the Formula One season. It’s a race steeped in history that has seen the great drivers take the checkered flag. A win at Monaco will make your reputation as much as a World Drivers’ Championship would. That just adds to the lore that is the race on the streets of Monte Carlo. And now, Mark Webber can add his name to the list of heroes that have won in Monaco as he dominated with his second consecutive lights-to-flag victory. However, it wasn’t a straight-forward cruise on the public roads of the principality. Continue reading
F1 Spanish GP: Red Bull Grabs By The Horns
McLaren led the first free practice and that was the last time that anyone was close to Red Bull Racing all weekend. Red Bull led the way in the last two practices, qualifying and walked away with near maximum points. Mark Webber led from the start lights to the checkered flag while Sebastian Vettel overcame more reliability issues to finish third. Meanwhile, teams used their three-week break to make the first major updates to their cars and Mercedes was the most radical of the constructors with their changes. Continue reading
F1 Chinese GP: Safety (Car) Dance
Safety cars and changing conditions made for an interesting fourth round of the 2010 F1 World Championship. It was a familiar face that took the checkered flag. In a race that was comparable to the Australian GP, it was Jenson Button that took advantage of strategy and luck to pick up his second win of the season. However, this race wasn’t without its share of controversy. Continue reading
F1 Malaysian GP: No Problems? No Problem.
A little bit a rain during qualifying? Not a problem. High heat which makes your engineers worry on the formation lap? Not an issue. Trying to win from third on the grid? Clearly, no troubles there. Sebastian Vettel got the lead into the first turn and never looked back as he had his first trouble free race of the season. The man that led the most laps of the season heading into this weekend finally led the most important one as Red Bull and Vettel scored their first win of the year with a 1-2 finish. The race was actually interesting because there was passing and mechanical failure throughout the field. The former was probably helped by a rain-soaked qualifying session that left some frontrunners starting from the back. Continue reading
Formula One: Italian GP to Run on Full Monza Circuit
In a move to improve the quality racing at the upcoming Italian Grand Prix, Formula One Management and Italian GP organizers have announced modifications to Monza ahead of this year’s race. Instead of running on the configuration used in 2009, the stars of F1 will run on the historic (and dangerous) full circuit at Monza. Continue reading
F1 Australian GP: Praying For Rain
After all the complaining about a lack of racing at Bahrain two weeks ago, the F1 circus didn’t disappoint in Melbourne. Rain on race day mixed things up enough that there was passing, crashing, and folks finishing out of the expected order throughout the field. The passing was better this round but passing isn’t plentiful at the front of the field. On the whole, the weekend was very noteworthy for the McLaren boys but the drivers were on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Continue reading
Formula One: Solving the Absense of Racing
In the week since the Bahrain Grand Prix, everyone has floated their own theory as to why the race was such a dull and dreary affair. The track, deservedly, gets much of the blame. The new refuelling ban and its effect on race strategy takes some of the blame, as well. However, as has been the focus for the last few years, the aerodynamics of the cars is at the centre of the firestorm. Not surprisingly, the advanced aero packages on the cars are being blamed for the lack of quality racing. However, there is already a solution being floated for another open-wheel series that should give F1 an idea of a way forward. Continue reading
F1 Bahrain GP: Header Cracking Fun
For the first half of the race, it seemed as though we were in for a season-long passing of the torch. Sebastian Vettel stormed away from the field in a race that quickly settled in as a procession. Then a funny thing happened. Vettel’s car fell well off the pace and Fernando Alonso charged by to win his first race in a Ferrari. Alonso may have won the day but the big winner was Felipe Massa who finished a solid second in his first race back from injury. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished third but the result wasn’t what folks were talking about. Continue reading
The Lowdown 