After a three-week break, the Formula One circus returns home to England for the British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone Circuit. The big story over the break was what would happen to Mercedes GP over the Pirelli tyre test. It turns out that nothing happened because the FIA is terrible. Well, we move on to Silverstone and I think that Mercedes isn’t the favourite but they’re in better shape than they were before Monaco.
Power Rankings
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 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 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 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 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.
F1 Power Rankings: Malaysia Grand Prix
We’re only days removed from the excitement of the season opener in Australia but it’s time to gear up for the second round of the 2013 Formula One World Championship. This time, it’s the Malaysia Grand Prix from the Sepang International Circuit. More often than not, the Malaysian round of the championship features heavy rain but will the forecast favour the Mercedes which is quite happy in the rain or the dry Tilke circuit loving Red Bulls?
F1 Power Rankings: Australian Grand Prix
It’s time to start another Formula One season which means that it’s time for the return of our Formula One Power Rankings. Before every round, we rank all 22 drivers on the grid based on who we expect to be quick at the upcoming race. Sometimes it’s based on momentum. Sometimes it’s based on past results at the circuit. However, it’s always about who will be fast.
F1 Power Rankings: Brazilian Grand Prix
After eight months and nineteen races, the 2012 Formula One World Championship comes down to the 20th and final race. Red Bull may have clinched the World Constructors’ Championship in the United States but the World Drivers’ Championship is still up for grabs. Sebastian Vettel leads Fernando Alonso by 13 points heading into the Brazilian Grand Prix but history shows that the battle for the title isn’t over. In 2010, Vettel won his first championship by overcoming 15 point gap to Alonso in the final race of the season. When race wins were only worth 10 points, Kimi Raikkonen came from 7 points back to win the 2007 World Championship.
Can Alonso come from behind to win the title and how does Vettel rate his chances of becoming a three-time World Champion? I examine this and more in this week’s Formula One Power Rankings. Continue reading
F1 Power Rankings: United States Grand Prix
We’ve reached the penultimate round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the championship battle has another twist in store. Formula One is returning to America on the brand new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Sebastian Vettel combined luck and speed to stay on top of the World Drivers’ Championship but Fernando Alonso’s race pace showed he shouldn’t be counted out yet. Who has the upper hand with a maximum of 50 points still on the board? Continue reading
The Lowdown 