Fiesta Fernando!!
I love the new Fernando Alonso exhibition currently showing in Madrid. Read more…
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Archive for the tag “F1”
2014: what the drivers will feel
There are a lot of unanswered questions out there when it comes to 2014. We can go on for as long as we like about the technical details but it’s difficult, at this point, to know exactly how it’s all going to settle. The teams aren’t sure, which means the drivers aren’t sure – which means that we, the fans, can’t be sure either.
We can but push, however, and to this end I sat down last week with Rob Wilson to talk about the driving fundamentals that may or not be relevant to 2014. We were joined on line by Tom McCullough, the very talented pit lane engineer who worked in IndyCar and then at WilliamsF1 before joining Sauber towards the end of 2012. Having helped to turn that team around mid-season, and secured some consistently strong results with the driver he first met at Williams – Nico Hulkenberg – Tom is now joining Nico at Sahara Force India for 2014. Here’s how the conversation went:
The final race
I was fortunate to be able to spend a little time with Mark Webber as he prepared for his last F1 race – the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. We met early on Friday morning, at the Grand Hyatt in Sao Paulo, and chatted together en route to the circuit. Mark’s demeanour, I think, said it all: he was happy with his decision to retire from F1; equally, he is looking forward not only to some time off with family, friends and menagerie but also to a new challenge with Porsche in 2014.
Abu Dhabi reflections
In Parts Two and Three of this week’s show – specially segmented for YouTube viewers – we have a look at some of the pits-to-car radio transmissions and what they actually meant for the drivers. Rob Wilson remains in the studio to help me analyse some of the instructions and we’re joined, too, by Giedo van der Garde, the Dutchman who is starting to look very suited to an F1 grid. Most of the talk is directly related to last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but there’s always room for reflection! Enjoy – and remember that you can now see (or listen to) the complete version of Episode 36 as an iTunes download.
How good is Sebastian Vettel?
In Part Two of this week’s episode of The Racer’s Edge I wanted to chat to a few friends about Sebastian Vettel. Where does he sit amongst the all-time greats? What’s he like as a driver and as a person? How much more does he need to prove? And this provided me, of course, with an excellent opportunity to talk again to one of my heroes – to John Surtees, OBE. A lovely man and an F1 icon, John (or “Sir John”, as he would be if there was any justice amongst politicians) spoke with all the humility, knowledge and enthusiasm that befits the only man ever to win both motor-cycle and F1 World Championships. I was lucky to catch Sir Jackie Stewart as he was walking his dogs near Lake Geneva; and the phone connection wasn’t bad to Italy, either, where I tracked down one of the wisest of all journalists – Giuseppe “Pino” Allievi. A Ferrari expert – an F1 expert – Pino did not disappoint. As well as some intelligent thought about Seb and his place in history, Pino also gives us his view of Ferrari’s driver line-up in the medium-term.
RBR-Renault+SV=8
In a slightly-changed format for The Racer’s Edge, and to give you more immediate access to what we’re filming and saying, we’re beginning this week with segmented, advance-view YouTube posts of the show. Whilst the full-length iTunes download version, now watched every week by over 60,000 fans around the world, remains unchanged as an on-demand production available late on Thursdays, YouTube viewers can now enjoy the show as “preview” segments, posted virtually as they happen. And don’t worry about keeping track with the show as it evolves: each episode by Thursday night (UK time) will be archived in “playlist” form on our YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/peterwindsor) for easy, follow-on viewing.
In this first part of Episode 35 we have a lot of fun with Remi Taffin, the Head of Trackside Operations for Renault Sport F1. We caught up with Remi just after he had returned to Viry Chatillon from India and I think the tone of the conversation captures something of what winning a World Championship is all about. In the upcoming segments of the same show, to be posted on Wednesday and then again on Thursday, you’ll also be able to hear from Sir Jackie Stewart, John Surtees (in the studio), the respected Italian journalist, “Pino” Allievi, the GP2 Championship leader, Fabio Leimer and, also, in the F1 Racing studio, from Anthony Rowlinson and Tom Gaymor, the former driver who is now carving a name for himself with Eurosport and as the commentator for F1’s new livesteam, smart-device app.
Here, then, is Part One of Episode 35, The Racer’s Edge. Enjoy. Parts Two and Three will follow over the next 48 hours, together with a YouTube-only bonus Abu Dhabi GP preview video. To stay fully informed about all the new content, remember to subscribe to our YouTube Channel by clicking the (free) subscription widget on the right.
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