Before the 2011 Italian Grand Prix (Gran Premio d’Italia), the BBC’s Jake Humphrey did a nice story comparing the cars and driving styles of 1964 F1 World Champion John Surtees and 2005 & 2006 F1 Champion and current Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso. The comparison between the number of team members in 1964 compared to 2011 is astounding.
John Surtees Interview by Peter Windsor
On August - 17 - 2011
The 2011 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is coming up on August 28, 2011. Peter Windsor, back working for SPEED (channel), interviewed the 1964 Formula 1 World Champion John Surtees, the winner of the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix in a Ferrari.
According to Wikipedia, John Frankenheimer used race footage from the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix in his film, Grand Prix. “The live footage shows Surtees, Bonnier, Bandini, Ligier, Clark & Gurney in action. Surtees doubles in the scene for the fictional Sarti while Bandini doubles for the fictional Barlini.”
One of my first “scratch-built” slot cars used a Dynamic Dynaflex motor mount with a brass tubing/piano wire front end and a Dubro Ferrari 312 body that was based on the Ferrari 312 F1-66.
Ayrton Senna Tribute on Top Gear
On June - 4 - 2011
Jeremy Clarkson’s tribute to Ayrton Senna gives my photograph of Senna at the 1990 Grand Prix de Monaco some perspective. (From season 15, episode 5 of the BBC’s Top Gear, original airdate 25 October 2010)
On the show, many Formula One drivers, including Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barichello, Martin Brundle, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli regard Senna as the greatest Formula One driver.
I hope the Senna film will have wide distribution in the US soon.
Bruno Senna Cautions Against Using an iPhone While Driving
On May - 3 - 2011
Bruno Senna, in a visceral driving demonstration in a 2010 Formula One Renault R30, advises against using your iPhone while driving, especially going through Eau Rouge at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The drive (and doughnuts) took place at the World Series by Renault last week.
World’s Top 15 Race Courses, As Seen By Google Earth
On March - 1 - 2009
netgeek06 over at digg writes, “As we stand waiting at the starter tree of the 2009 motorsports season, we’ve let our minds wander across the infinite expanses of Google Earth, finding these shots of the world’s top 15 race courses.”
Number 7 is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, near my house.
The Formula One Spy Scandal
On May - 20 - 2008
Mark Seal, over at Wired, wrote a nice piece from a general interest point of view, Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Formula One Racing World.
He gives a brief overview of the sport and details the industrial espionage, dubbed Stepnygate (after the name of the Ferrari mechanic that passed the information), that took place last year between two Formula One teams, Ferrari and McLaren.
McLaren Race Victory to be Probed
On May - 28 - 2007
“Formula One bosses are investigating McLaren for a possible breach of the rules in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix” (via the BBC).
The rule in question is team orders affecting competition in the race. The rule stemmed from the Austrian Grand Prix in 2002, when Ferrari was criticized when the team ordered race leader Rubens Barichello to slow down at the finish so his teammate Michael Schumacher could win the race.
I just finished watching the race and it seemed at one point that Hamilton was quickly catching up to Alonso. A quick second pit stop would have allowed Hamilton to come out close to or ahead of Alonso instead of the four of five seconds he came out behind.
At the press conference, Hamilton said, “…It was tough, you know. I tried to get as close as possible and tried to get ahead but, you know, next time, I guess…” as he gave a smile and a shoulder shrug that could have implied that he could have won the race.
