Features

Displaying stories 421 - 440 of 908 in total

Technical - All change!

At the end of 1993, the FIA banned driver aids and along with them, active suspension. Driver aids included: traction control, ABS braking, rear-steer and other forms of stability control. To police the bans, they also introduced software inspections and approvals. Over the seven years since then, thousands of hours have been spent by the FIA's software inspectors, led by Alan Prudom, and the teams' and engine manufacturers' software engineers, going through engine, transmission and chassis control code, line by line.Full Story

News Feature - Safety back under the microscope

The tragic accident on the fifth lap of the Australian GP has again focused attention on the need to ensure that race officials and spectators enjoy the same levels of protection as the drivers at F1 races. The death of track marshal Graham Beveridge during the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne has once again placed sharp focus on the safety repercussions when wheels become detached from racing cars.Full Story

News Feature - First impressions

Juan Pablo Montoya got all the pre-race ink, but arguably Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso made more impressive debuts. In F1 the first man you have to beat is your team-mate, and while the arrival of the much-touted Colombian, Juan Pablo Montoya, has clearly had an unsettling effect on Michael Schumacher's younger brother Ralf, the German won hands down when the two BMW Williams drivers had their first moment of truth, in Melbourne. When the chips were down on Saturday afternoon in Albert Park, Schumacher did the business and left his rookie partner a full second behind.Full Story

Big Al - Why we can't take the brakes off F1 cars

When Keke Rosberg surged to pole position for the 1985 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, he lapped the former RAF aerodrome track at a stunning average of 160mph. Forget the fact that he'd just stubbed out a stogie before hopping into the cockpit of his 1000bhp Williams-Honda FW10 turbo, or that he was suffering from a minor setback in the form of a slow puncture in one of his rear tires. He just got out there. And got stuck in. Job done.Full Story

Technical - Circuit and Safety Analysis System (CSAS)

Predicting the trajectory and velocity of a racing car when it is driven at the limit within the confines of a racing track, is now the subject of a great deal of analytical work by almost all teams involved in racing at all levels. However, predicting the trajectory and velocity of a car once the driver has lost control of it has not been something the teams have devoted a great deal of time to.Full Story

Exclusive Interview - Luca di Montezemolo

Luca di Montezemolo is more than just the public face of Ferrari. He is a distinguished personality in his own right in Italian sporting circles, his two spells at Ferrari from 1974 to 76 and from 1992 to the present day, sandwiching jobs with Fiat, Cinzano and running both Italy's first America's Cup yachting challenge in addition to the 1990 World Cup.Full Story

News Feature - Can two ever be one?

They each looked strong at times in 2000, but ultimately both were blown off by their respective team-mates. After a winter of self-analysis, can McLaren and Ferrari number two drivers David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello raise their game sufficiently to mount a genuine challenge for number one status?Full Story

News Feature - Inside the F1 digital television center

Formula 1 digital television is about to enter a new phase - and that could bring millions more dollars tumbling into the business.Full Story

Exclusive Interview - Frank Williams

Sir Frank Williams is an inspirational figure within the motor racing community. American racer Sam Schmidt, who was paralyzed in a testing accident at Florida's Walt Disney Speedway last year, admits that his decision to start up as a team owner in this season's Indy Racing League was prompted by meeting Frank Williams.Full Story

Exclusive Interview - Nick Heidfeld: Will Nick be quick?

F1 is notoriously impatient. If a driver doesn't make it in his first year, it can be the end of the road. But Nick Heidfeld smiled broadly as he faced the media during the launch of the new Red Bull Sauber Petronas C20. It was a sign that he is safe from such problems for at least another season, probably more.Full Story

Exclusive Interview - Jenson Button: Telling it like it is

This time last year Jenson Button was still reeling from his selection by Sir Frank Williams to be Ralf Schumacher's partner at BMW Williams. Now, a year on and already halfway to being a seasoned pro, Britain's great new hope isn't getting carried away by the pre-season hype.Full Story

News Feature - White and Red - All Over?

When it comes to F1 sponsorship, nobody has ever come close to matching the hefty impact made by the Philip Morris cigarette brand, Marlboro. Reports reverberate around the F1 world that Marlboro's time in F1 may be finite. That's a real thought provoker, when you consider it has been a sponsor longer than Arrows, Benetton, Jordan, Sauber, Prost, Minardi, Jaguar and BAR have been in business.Full Story

Interview - David Coulthard

David Coulthard is attacking the 2001 World Championship season with even more confidence and assurance than he has mustered before. This, he believes, can be his season. Yet this mind-set reflects no fundamental change of emphasis on the part of the 29-year-old Scot - nor a strategic shift in his sense of on-track priorities.Full Story

Exclusive Interview - Olivier Panis: Refresher Course

In 2000 Olivier Panis voluntarily turned down a Williams-BMW race drive for a chance to rebuild his psyche and his reputation as a test driver for McLaren. Now, that gamble having paid off handsomely, the winner of the 1996 Monaco GP has his sights set on further race successes as Jacques Villeneuve's partner at BAR-Honda.Full Story

Big Al - The man I admire the most

It's now about three weeks short of 30 years since I first bumped into Niki Lauda. The buck-toothed 22-year old Austrian was in the paddock at Mallory Park, the tight little circuit near Leicester, where he was just about to have his first Formula 2 race in a March 712 he'd leased for the season for the princely sum of 8500 pounds.Full Story

The Youth of Today - Evolution (or growing old gracefully)

Rest assured, dear reader, that not once throughout the coming months shall I bemoan the return of traction control to Formula 1. If I were so to do then I would indeed be the biggest hypocrite since those funny fellows I heard about in my Religious Education classes who went around the Gaza Strip disapproving of Jesus.Full Story

News Feature - Why is Britain the center of the motorsport industry?

Have you ever wondered why Britain is the center of the world's motor racing industry? It hasn't always been the case in fact Britain was a latecomer to the sport when compared to France, which was the cradle of the sport.Full Story

News Feature - Futureworld: Will grooved tires ever be replaced by slicks?

Continuing our look at Formula One in the new century, we ask: Will grooved tires ever be replaced by slicks?Full Story

News Feature - John Cooper - A Very British Marque, A Very British Man

There was something very British and understated about the Cooper Car Company's dark green and white striped livery, quite out of keeping with the magnitude of the stride it had helped F1 to make with its re-introduction of the rear-engined philosophy. But though he was renowned for his party sense of humor, John Cooper CBE was never a man to blow his own trumpet...Full Story

Technical - 2001 Formula 1 Preview

December and January are the months when Formula 1 people are most relaxed and access to the drivers and team personnel is at its easiest. This is the time of year when people are prepared to talk about their expectations for the coming season and to make predictions about their own and other's chances.Full Story

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