http://www.grandprix.com/ The source for Grandprix news en-us Copyright 2010, Inside F1, Inc. Wed, 16 May 2012 16:33:16 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss wswCMS info@grandprix.com webmaster@grandprix.com rssUpdates 60 http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/first-among-friends.html Whatever anyone says about the increasingly bizarre nature of the 2012 F1 season, not many would begrudge Williams their first win since 2004. You can talk all you want about tyres and windows and falling off cliffs and the result being a lottery but, when the red lights go out, it is what it is. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/first-among-friends.html Wed, 16 May 2012 16:31:39 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/variance.html It bothered me on 8 May 1982 - and it bothers me now - that I was not as devastated as some by the death of Gilles Villeneuve. The terrible manner of it, yes. But not the actual loss of one of the most thrilling drivers it has been my privilege to watch. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/variance.html Wed, 09 May 2012 21:49:29 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/three-halves.html Sauber press release April 30: "Sauber F1Team and Chelsea FC enter into partnership". A hastily convened FIA World Council meeting has presented a daft Code of Conduct to deal with contingencies that might arise from F1's recent connection with championship football. Using the FIA Sporting and Technical Regulations as a guideline, the following helpful suggestions have been made. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/three-halves.html Wed, 02 May 2012 19:48:40 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/vettel-only-winner.html As the F1 teams legged it to Bahrain airport on Sunday night, they left behind the unpleasant mix of exhaust fumes, tear gas and the reek of self-interest. If the events of the previous week failed to flatter Bahrain, they did even less for a sport which came away with its reputation tarnished by world-wide scorn. Whether that was justified or not doesn't matter now. The fact is that it happened. Any idiot could have predicted it. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/vettel-only-winner.html Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:52:51 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/damned.html There are an uncomfortable few days ahead now that the Bahrain Grand Prix has been given the green light. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/damned.html Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:49:47 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/good-to-go.html The trouble with an important issue such as the Bahrain Grand Prix is that it seems to present leading F1 people with the unfortunate opportunity to make themselves look silly. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/good-to-go.html Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:50:55 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/time-to-be-quiet.html Why is it, every time I turn on a F1-related TV programme, I see Christian Horner? From BBC Breakfast to BBC F1 Highlights; from SkySportsF1 paddock interviews to their F1 Show last weekend, up pops the neatly-coiffured Red Bull team principal. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/time-to-be-quiet.html Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:09:19 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/red-alert.html Being the sceptics that some of us are, the Conspiracy Theory Sensor went onto Full Alert - or perhaps I should say Red Alert - on Sunday when Sauber issued an instruction to Sergio Perez as he chased after Fernando Alonso and victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/red-alert.html Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:10:45 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/whose-side.html The power of Twitter is such that you can lie in bed on Sunday morning in Melbourne and be across the global gossip. A quick scan of overnight messages - overnight for us in Oz but daylight tweeting in the UK - showed an interesting comment from the sharp-eyed Mark Gallagher. Being a specialist in the commercial and financial affairs of motor sport, Gallagher had picked up tweets that led him to an explosive story on F1. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/whose-side.html Wed, 21 Mar 2012 05:37:53 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/silverware.html There is a genuine feeling of uncertainty, here in Melbourne. Yes, it's normal for every preview under the sun to claim this will be the best season ever; that it's impossible to say who will win. But, deep down, most informed pundits usually have a feeling that one team will dominate; it's just that they don't want to appear to write off the season before it has started. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/silverware.html Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:04:33 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/fully-enabled.html If you're fortunate enough to have been in a Formula 1 paddock from time to time, you will have noticed Nicolas Hamilton, not necessarily because he is Lewis's younger brother, but more likely because Nicolas is suffering the effects of Cerebral Palsy. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/fully-enabled.html Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:42:24 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/a-busted-hush.html The F1 personnel you see taking part in the final F1 pre-season test this weekend are focussed totally on performance. But what you won't see are the concerned expressions back at base as at least six team principals think about simply surviving this season, never mind winning. Although the bosses won't admit it to your face, their teams are evidence that the F1 business model is bust. Or close to it. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/a-busted-hush.html Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:49:59 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/me-and-my-boy.html Martin Brundle has described the Le Mans 24 Hours as 'unquestionably, in motor sport, the greatest show on earth'. Martin should know. He won with Jaguar in 1990 and also raced in the French classic with Nissan, Toyota and Bentley. And now he's going back. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/me-and-my-boy.html Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:11:24 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/only-in-the-movies.html Just as we were saying how uniformly ugly F1 cars have become, Paul Boggan, a race fan, happened to post this picture on Facebook. Okay, it’s from 1976 when race car design did not need to be as tightly controlled as it is today. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/only-in-the-movies.html Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:36:26 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/worth-talking-about.html The sound of sweet music returns in Spain as F1 testing begins after a mute couple of months following the last Grand Prix of 2011. With the urgent revs of a V8 comes the annual flow of nonsense as the watching media desperately tries to drum up stories from not very much at all. The cars are going round and round. End of story. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/worth-talking-about.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:42:04 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/start-standing-still.html I can't remember my first McLaren F1 launch. And, no; that's not because the power of recall has been dulled by nights in our local pub, the Three Horseshoes. I do remember being at the original small factory in Boundary Road, Woking, in 1981 and having John Barnard, designer of the revolutionary MP4-1, persuade us to pick up a bare carbon fibre chassis to demonstrate just how light this amazing innovation was. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/start-standing-still.html Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:20:00 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-redbull.html If it was last gasp for Sebastian Vettel in 2010 at Abu Dhabi, it was a walk in the park for the likeable young German in 2011. Things went so well that Red Bull Racing will have its work cut out to improve upon their performance next season. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-redbull.html Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:35:54 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/art-of-fibbing.html I had afternoon tea with Sir Frank Williams two weeks ago. We had a long chat about his team, past and present; about F1 and how it has changed. Being Sir Frank, the rose-tinted spectacles were kept at a distance. Yes, he does enjoy anecdotes about the good times but his focus is unfailingly on the future. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/art-of-fibbing.html Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:18:30 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-mclaren.html If you had told McLaren in February that Jenson Button would finish runner-up in the drivers' championship and that they would score six victories, they would probably have taken that. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-mclaren.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:46:28 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-ferrari.html When Ferrari and Fernando Alonso finished 2010 so strongly many assumed that the combination would take the fight to Red Bull in 2011. It's probably fair to say that Ferrari started the new season joint championship favourites. It wasn't to be. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-ferrari.html Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:18:30 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-mercedes.html Mercedes, like Renault, came up with a car concept that was overtaken by events. In Mercedes' case it was a failure to anticipate the evolution and power of the developing exhaust technology. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-mercedes.html Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:46:25 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/racing-oasis.html As I kicked off my sensible shoes last Thursday evening and massaged my feet after a day spent walking the floor of 'Autosport International', it was an appropriate moment to reflect on how what we used to call 'The Racing Car Show' has changed - mostly for the better - during the past few decades. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/racing-oasis.html Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:27:25 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-renault.html One way and another Renault, or Lotus Renault GP to be precise, was very much in the pre-season news. There was the row over the Lotus naming rights, the ground-breaking front exit exhaust, and Robert Kubica's rallying accident. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-renault.html Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:44:49 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-forceindia.html Force India turned in a fine 2011 performance to finish sixth in the constructors' championship, just four points adrift of Lotus Renault GP. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-forceindia.html Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:05:17 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/noise-at-work.html This is not a Health and Safety briefing about the perils of excessive noise in your place of work. Quite the reverse, in fact. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/noise-at-work.html Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:48:48 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-sauber.html Sauber started the year in fine style with a double points finish from rookie Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi at the opening race in Melbourne. Unfortunately, a rear wing infringement led to the disqualification of both cars and technical director James Key was left to contemplate how much that might cost them in the final analysis. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-sauber.html Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:54:15 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-tororosso.html Toro Rosso finished the 2010 season ninth in the final championship classification. Matter-of-fact technical director Giorgio Ascanelli thought that was about right. If they'd been tenth, he said, they should have been shot, and if they'd been eighth it would have been a miracle. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-tororosso.html Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:00:05 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-williams.html For a team that has nine constructors' championships to its credit, ninth place and just three point-scoring finishes in 2011 - in Monte Carlo, Montreal and Spa - was not what the doctor ordered at Williams. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-williams.html Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:04:15 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/old-mos-almanac-2012.html A look forward at Formula 1 in 2012. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/old-mos-almanac-2012.html Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:37:14 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-lotus.html The 2011 season was not Team Lotus's first season, but in many ways it might have been. The team had a new, young design team and it had a change of engine/gearbox. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-lotus.html Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:53:04 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-hrt.html After its hand-to-mouth opening season, HRT continued in similar vein although there was the luxury of a gearbox/hydraulics deal with Williams that addressed a number of reliability issues that had plagued 2010. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-hrt.html Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:43:39 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-virgin.html Statistically, Marussia Virgin Racing finished below HRT in the final championship classification, but in reality, although hamstrung by a disappointing lack of performance from the MVR02 on track, the team made strides operationally. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/f12011review-virgin.html Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:31:50 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/gobshite-2011.html And so, we come to Gobshite of the Year. Just to remind you; a Gobshite is the idea of Hugh Leonard, an Irish playwright who used a column in a Dublin newspaper to distribute his annual awards. Leonard described a Gobshite as being a jackass, often harmless but always hopeless. Actually, 'Jackass' is perhaps too strong a term in most cases here, but you get the general drift. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/gobshite-2011.html Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:37:47 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/lotus-black-gold.html More than 40 journalists from the motor industry and motor racing sat round a long table on Monday for an end-of-year lunch with Dany Bahar, the CEO of Group Lotus. This was the second such gathering and, truth be told, some of us didn't expect Group Lotus to get this far. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/lotus-black-gold.html Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:04:04 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/peter-gethin.html The death of Peter Gethin on Monday has prompted a flood of tributes, all of which mention somewhere along the line that the Englishman won the fastest and, at the time, the closest race in F1 history. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/peter-gethin.html Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:34:30 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/lotus-position.html I get easily confused. For a second or two on Monday, I did think that Lotus - as in the green and yellow 'real' Lotus - had signed Kimi Raikkonen for 2012. My immediate reaction was: 'Wow! What a way to end a great weekend for this team. There's no stopping them now.' http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/lotus-position.html Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:11:40 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/mclaren-mp4-12c.html I'm not into high-performance road cars for the simple reason that I can't afford one. Sure, I'll stop on the street and admire a passing example; I'll grin rather foolishly if it makes a lusty sound as the driver blips the throttle with his Gucci loafer. But I don't devour every written word extolling the advantage of having 592bhp at 7,000rpm, or 600Nm of peak torque at 3,000 rpm (to quote the McLaren MP4-12C macho minutiae). http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/mclaren-mp4-12c.html Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:56:40 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/just-not-there.html I know you shouldn't pay much heed to some of the feckless ramblings you see expressed on forums but I was struck by one comment on the BBC website. Responding to a report on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a correspondent was of the opinion that Lewis Hamilton simply inherited first place (because of Sebastian Vettel's first lap retirement) and that his drive was 'pretty routine and never really threatened.' http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/just-not-there.html Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:18:48 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/after-you.html Doing my homework for this weekend's Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, I came across an interesting clip from coverage of last year's race. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/after-you.html Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:37:29 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/start-from-there.html In India, 71 per cent of the grid was out of qualifying position. The following official bulletin explains why the well-meaning action of a cloakroom attendant, Mahatma Coat, had unexpected consequences for the starting grid. http://www.grandprix.com/columns/maurice-hamilton/start-from-there.html Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:05:26 GMT