The NASCAR ‘Chase for the Cup’ playoff system has been heavily criticised and blamed for a significant drop in spectator numbers. But it could be the perfect solution for F1’s perennial ‘two horse race’. Lewis Hamilton’s fifth World title and his elevation to a position among the absolute greats of F1 has temporarily distracted the…
Category: FIA
Go ahead Ferrari, make my day
The announcement of outline plans for F1’s future engine formula prompted Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne to threaten to pull his team out of the sport. Unhappy with the proposals for greater standardisation of engine parts from 2021 onwards, Marchionne issued the threat to withdraw F1’s longest running team. F1 without Ferrari considered unimaginable Regular F1…
Track limits: drivers not the FIA need to shoulder the blame
Max Verstappen’s controversial move on Kimi Raikkonen during the US Grand Prix reignited the debate on track limits in F1. In the ensuing storm of post-race accusations and social media bitching, blame has been placed variously on the FIA, the race stewards and even track designer Hermann Tilke. Amongst the accusations and finger pointing one…
Bernie’s F1 legacy (from a fan’s perspective)
Many articles have been written recently about Bernie Ecclestone’s F1 legacy. Since the abrupt departure of the former F1 commercial chief much has been said about what he did for the sport. Most articles have been written from the perspective of an F1 insider. But what about his legacy from a fan’s perspective? The people on the outside looking in?…
If I was Chase Carey…
Bernie is out and the new ‘dream team’ heading up F1 is led by Chase Carey and Ross Brawn. Since the shock departure of F1’s dictator last week Brawn and Carey have been on something of a charm offensive. Everything they have had to say has been met with varying degrees of cautious and fervent optimism. As…
Rosberg retires: what happens next?
In a year of completely unexpected results Nico Rosberg’s decision to retire from F1 is one of the more shocking. Less than a week after clinching a maiden F1 World title the German has decided to walk away from Formula 1 and the dominant Mercedes team. Mercedes now have to find a replacement for the outgoing…
A pragmatic view of F1
F1 is tying itself in knots wondering how to be greener, stay relevant to road car technology and prove some sort of value to society. Instead it is time to dispense with the facades and token gestures and take a pragmatic view of F1 and the sport we love. F1’s relevance to road car technology…
F1: German Grand Prix ‘heroes and zeroes’ 2016
As decisions by the race stewards once again took centre stage, I rate the heroes and zeroes from a pretty dull 2016 German Grand Prix. German Grand Prix heroes 2016 Hero – Lewis Hamilton Hamilton was not pressed on Sunday afternoon. After his teammate Nico Rosberg gifted him the lead off the line, Hamilton simply…
F1: the dangerous lack of ‘halo’ criticism
F1 is turning to the halo concept in the challenge to protect drivers in open cockpit racing. Aside from a few drivers voicing concerns, MotorSportNotes considers whether the lack of open criticism of the halo concept is dangerous for F1 and open cockpit racing in general. Simple issue, complicated solution The fundamental issue facing open cockpit…
F1 round-up – 9 January 2015
McLaren’s lack of a title sponsor, the disadvantages of being a Wolff and the FIA’s new super licence points system dominated the week in F1. No logo Eric Bouiller was quoted as saying that McLaren may run without a title sponsor in 2015 – the second successive season. At a time when Marussia are bust,…
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