أرشيف وسم ‘ battle ’
The Formula 1 community has emerged to send its support to Michael Schumacher, who is in a critical condition in hospital. Schumacher fell while skiing in the French Alps on Sunday and is in an induced coma in Grenoble. Personalities from the sport sent messages of support to the German, who claimed 91 wins and seven championships in a career spanning 19 seasons. 'Following the serious injuries sustained by Michael Schumacher in a skiing accident yesterday in France, the thoughts and sympathies of all at […]
The days of the highly controversial new 'double points' rule for the season finale appear numbered. Many fans and drivers have made clear they are not happy with the change, designed to keep the title alive right to the end by offering twice as many points in Abu Dhabi next November. "I think it's wrong," Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne told Italy's Corriere dello Sport, "because it devalues the work a driver has done throughout the whole season. "As drivers we are not excited about […]
Reviewing the F1 2013 official season review on DVD. Another season of Formula 1 racing coming to an end means that it’s time for the annual DVD review, which has been released just in time for the festive period, giving racing fans the excuse to lock themselves away from the rest of the family to re-live the 2013 season. It’s fair to say that 2013 wasn’t the best year in the history of the sport, but the DVD does a good job of capturing the […]
Formula One's decision to award double points at the last race of the season could be scrapped after next year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, if not before, according to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. The Italian told reporters attending a Christmas lunch at the Fiorano test track that he was no fan of the controversial rule change that has got fans up in arms and been branded 'absurd' by Red Bull's world champion Sebastian Vettel. "I am not enthusiastic about it, because for me it […]
Marussia team principal John Booth has said that progress on his squad's 2014 car is ahead of schedule, with six weeks until the first pre-season test begins in Spain. Marussia finished in 10th place in the 2013 championship, with Booth conceding that his team abandoned their 2013 season early in order to divert resources onto 2014's package. Chilton edging towards 2014 Marussia seat "The problem with a team of our size is that building a 2014 car from scratch has taken all our resources," he […]
Caterham duo Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde say that wet weather would be preferable as they bid to snatch 10th place in the Constructors' championship from Marussia. Marussia has held the position since the first race in Australia but a 13th place finish for either Pic of Van der Garde would result in Caterham jumping ahead of their rivals in a battle that has lucrative financial outcomes. Last season, Caterham overhauled Marussia in the final race of the year in Brazil, one which […]
Sebastian Vettel stormed to pole position in wet conditions during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The world champion set a lap time of 1:26.479 to finish six tenths of a second faster than Mercedes's Nico Rosberg. Fernando Alonso was third for Ferrari. The start of Q3 was delayed due to the rain intensifying but the final qualifying segment of the season eventually got underway after a 40 minute delay. Vettel seized the advantage on wet tyres but the track dried sufficiently for Intermediates to […]
Davide Valsecchi says he is angry at Lotus's decision to overlook him for the vacant seat for the final two round of 2013. Kimi Raikkonen withdrew from the races in America and Brazil to undergo back surgery, but Lotus opted to hire Heikki Kovalainen rather than reserve driver Valsecchi. Valsecchi, the 2012 GP2 champion, believes it's a 'tragedy' that he was not selected. "It’s a huge blow to me. From the sporting point of view it’s a tragedy," he said. "It makes me angry to […]
In a sport where getting around as quickly as possible is the ultimate goal, playing the waiting game can sometimes pay dividends. In a driver market with more fluidity than the River Nile, Nico Hülkenberg’s decision to remain with Sauber, rather than replace the injured Kimi Räikkönen at Lotus, leaves him with more options on the table for 2014. Hülkenberg could have moved teams for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, but opted to stay with Sauber due to reservations over 2014. “Of course it […]
Ferrari stopped Nico Hulkenberg from joining Lotus for the last two grands prix of 2013. That is the hot rumour in the Austin paddock, as the two teams battle over millions for third place in the constructors' championship. The first rumour was that Ferrari, who have signed Kimi Raikkonen for 2014, may have encouraged the Finn to arrange early back surgery and miss Austin and Brazil. Now, it is being reported that Lotus approached Hulkenberg to replace the Finn, only to find surprisingly that the […]
Fellow Finn Mika Salo has nominated Heikki Kovalainen as the ideal replacement at Lotus for his surgery-bound countryman Kimi Raikkonen. The conventional wisdom is that Lotus will simply promote its reserve driver, 2012 GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi, into Raikkonen's seat for the remaining two grands prix of the season. Italian Valsecchi, however, is a rookie, but Enstone based Lotus is locked in a lucrative and - given its financial problems - crucial battle for points and prize money in the constructors' world championship's upper places. […]
Gerard Lopez, the head of Lotus' team owner Genii, might be among the cynics after news broke that Kimi Raikkonen will sit out the rest of the season. The Finnish driver and his management say Raikkonen must undergo back surgery to end a run of worsening pain and ensure he is ready to return fighting fit for the start of his Ferrari return in 2014. The cynics, however, might wonder if the timing of the surgery is related to Raikkonen's pay dispute with the financially-struggling […]