Like the last few years, the story heading into the Canadian Grand Prix was tyres. This year, tyres weren’t expected to be as much of an issue as the pre-race talk suggested that a one-stop strategy was ideal. It turns out that the winning strategy was two stops. Lewis Hamilton used the fresh tyres from his two-stop strategy to beat the one-stop strategy of Fernando Alonso to the win. Hamilton’s win also made it seven different winners from seven races so far this season. Continue reading
McLaren
F1 Belgian GP: Eyes on the Skies
Two safety cars and intermittent rain made for a very interesting Belgian Grand Prix. Tire strategies were based largely on what teams were seeing on the radar. In the end, Lewis Hamilton didn’t have to worry much about weather or crashes. Mark Webber bogged down on the start and that was all that Hamilton needed to take the win and championship lead. Further down the grid, things were a bit more interesting. Continue reading
F1 Canadian GP: Summer Blockbuster
While Hollywood comes out with movies that are action packed from start to finish and full of crashes and smashes, the Formula One circus decided to stage their own summer blockbuster in Montreal. The Canadian Grand Prix is always a wild affair but this year’s seemed crazier than usual. There was more action crammed into the first seven laps of the race than the first seven races of the season combined. Continue reading
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 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 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
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
Formula One: Barcelona Testing Recap
The final pre-season test was the only one at a track on the 2010 F1 calendar. The Circuit de Catalunya plays host to the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth stop of the F1 circus in 2010, and the final stop of preseason testing. Four group tests have brought us closer to a picture of how the 2010 Formula One World Championship will shape up. The conditions were mostly dry which gave teams ample opportunity to get their cars fine tuned for the first race of the season at Bahrain. So who was fastest in the final test of the year and who looks strong for the season? Times and analysis after the jump. Continue reading
Formula One: Jerez Testing Recap
The spiritual home of Formula One testing was the host to the second week of F1 pre-season testing. It was also host to the first wet weather running of 2010 as three of the four testing days were plagued by rain. While it’s good experience for the teams to see how their cars perform with low grip, it adds another layer of deception to the times the teams lay down. Not only are speeds affected by fuel loads but the track conditions when the time is set. So who is looking good in the biggest test of the winter so far? Times and analysis after the jump. Continue reading
Formula 1: Mercedes To Buy Brawn GP
It was a move that was rumoured to go through for the 2011 season but the executives moved up their plans by a year. Mercedes Motorsports will buy a controlling interest in this year’s F1 World Constructors’ Champion, Brawn GP, and rename the team Mercedes Grand Prix for the 2010 Formula One World Championship. Continue reading
The Lowdown 