Features

Displaying stories 301 - 320 of 908 in total

News Feature - Lewis Hamilton; fighting for the top

Plenty of young rising stars have been tipped for formula one stardom in the past but all too frequently their careers have foundered after they lost their foothold on the ladder leading to the sport's upper reaches.Full Story

News Feature - The opposing forces in the tire war

One of the most important elements in Formula 1 in recent years has been the performance of the tires and for the last 18 months there has been a gradually escalating battle for supremacy between Bridgestone and Michelin. The aim of both companies is to sell more tires around the world and with market research suggesting that 35% of customers are influenced by success in Grand Prix racing, the battle is on.Full Story

News Feature - Ode to Brooklands

Ninety-five years ago - on June 18th 1907 - the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit was opened in England. Brooklands, in Surrey, was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern age. Today the track is in pieces; the ruins acting as a shattered window to a bygone age. The once majestic banking has been dissected by busy roads, supermarkets and a business park. The people of Brooklands town go about their lives almost entirely unaware of the significance held by the moss-covered monuments, which surround their every waking moment.Full Story
News Feature - Mathematics in Formula 1

People in Formula 1 are always talking about working at 110% in order to be successful. This, as we all know, is impossible but the point they are making is that they are trying to do better than the best and so catch up with the people who are doing the perfect job.Full Story

News Feature - The "Team Orders" Dilemma

On June 26, the FIA must - or rather, should - take a decision vital to the future of Formula 1 as world-wide entertainment: What to do about team orders.Full Story

News Feature - Disobeying team orders at Monaco

Sixty-Five years ago the British journalist George Monkhouse travelled around Europe, reporting on the adventures of Dick Seaman, the English driver in the factory Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix team. That summer Seaman was injured and rather than sit around while Seaman recovered from his injuries Monkhouse decided to go to Monaco for the 1937 Grand Prix.Full Story

News Feature - Formula 1 cars, level crossings and chickens

Pescara is a city on the Adriatic coast of Italy, about 120 miles to the east of Rome, but separated from it by the Apennine Mountains, rising to over 7000 ft, with the lowest passes being at 3000ft. As a result of this progress in the region always lagged behind the northern cities and those on Italy's Mediterranean coast.Full Story

News Feature - A history of team orders

Team orders have existed in motor racing as long as there have been teams involved. Originally they were based on the very simple principle that he who pays the piper calls the tune. The men who owned the cars were rich. Sometimes they loaned out cars to others but they did not want to be beaten and so the men in the other cars accepted that they would give way if the boss wanted to come through.Full Story

News Feature - Speechless

My friends tell me I talk too much. They reckon I never shut up, especially on a Grand Prix weekend. I'll come out with a random fact about the sport which, quite frankly, they didn't really want to know before and are none the wiser for having discovered.Full Story

News Feature - Who is... Peter Sauber

Peter Sauber was trained as electrician but he was always fascinated by automobiles. He came from a wealthy family which owned a successful engineering business. In 1967 Sauber encountered a local racing driver called Arthur Blank and eventually bought a souped-up Volkswagen Beetle from his new pal and started competing in local club events.Full Story

Big Al - Don't even look at the Constructors' Championship points table

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? Give or take a few percentage points, Imola marked the one-quarter distance point in the battle for the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship and already there must be some team principals who must be approaching the point of despair. Their only consolation can be to take refuge in the obvious point that nothing lasts for ever and Ferrari's run of domination is probably not going to endure for more than another five years. So they seek succor from that. Just my little joke, you understand.Full Story

News Feature - Who is... Jean Todt?

Jean Todt is the son of a Polish Jew, who escaped to France at the age of 17. He became a doctor and like many refugees did everything to ensure that his children had all the advantages possible. Jean was born in 1946 and was educated in Paris. He then went on to a commercial school in the chic Parisian suburb of Neuilly where he encountered a fellow pupil who was doing well in kart racing.Full Story

News Feature - Who is... Ron Dennis?

The boss of the TAG McLaren Group, the parent company of the West McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team is Ron Dennis. Now 54, Ron was born and brought up in Woking, leaving school at 16 and becoming an apprentice mechanic at the famous Thomson and Taylor company at Byfleet.Full Story

News Feature - A pause for thought

Call me a cynic but isn't Formula 1 meant to be a sport? The last time I checked, it was the ultimate unison of man and machine, the awe-inspiring spectacle of heroes risking life and limb to prove beyond all doubt that they were the best within their chosen field.Full Story

Big Al - Much talk leads to controversial results

I was once told by Tim Parnell, BRM team manager in the early 1970s, that meetings of the F1 Constructors' Association could be childlike to the point of disbelief. "We spend the first half an hour debating whether or not to have the window open," said Tim, "and then the next half hour arguing over whose pen it is."Full Story

News Feature - Remember when?

Ten years ago a company called Motor Marketing International Inc. issued a press release announcing plans for the Marlboro Grand Prix of New York, the first automobile race to be held on the streets of New York City.Full Story

News Feature - Who owns what in Formula 1?

With each passing year there seem to be more men in suits in the Formula 1 paddocks. Some of them are bodyguards, cruising along become politicians, but most are lawyers and bankers. Now car manufacturers are becoming increasingly involved. But who owns what? And who are the powers behind the thrones?Full Story

Technical - A race against time

As the world slips further into recession, and the bottom lines of the major automobile manufacturers turn from black to red, one question being asked in their Boardrooms is: "How long is it going to take (at $1?2?300m/year, straight out of the bottom line) to win the World Chanmpionship?"Full Story

News Feature - A view from in front of a British TV set

The other night I stayed awake until Stupid O'Clock in the morning, watching a group of women throw rocks down an ice rink. Curling is not usually what I'd class as entertaining television, but the fact that this was a fight for an Olympic Gold Medal made it oddly exciting. Even more of a shock to the system was that, against the odds, Great Britain won and it was only then that the reason for my fascination became apparent.Full Story

News Feature - Renault - 100 years of topline racing

Renault comes back to Formula 1 this season with a full factory team - 100 years after the company's first major victory in automobile racing. And while victory this year may be difficult there is little doubt that the team will be more competitive than was the case in 2001.Full Story

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