Posts tagged formula 1
Lewis and Jenson Shoot Out
Jul 1st
No matter how successful you are, if you are engaged in motorsport, the sometimes harsh reality is that you need sponsors to fund your activities. And the more successful you are, the more money you need, and with that come bigger, more demanding sponsors. Sponsors who want some kind of tangible return on their considerable investment.
Sometimes the sponsors requests are difficult.
Sometimes they are easy.
And sometimes they sound easy…
Vodafone asked Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button to come along for a photoshoot.
What they didn’t tell them was, well… you’ll just have to watch:
Put Together Your Own MacLaren MP4-26
Feb 7th
The F1 season is fast approaching, and all of the teams have been unveiling their 2011 cars over the past few weeks, some we were lucky enough to see at AutoSport.
In terms of imagination and theatre though, the prize probably goes to the MacLaren team who had a pseudo -crowdsourcing spectacle involving ‘members of the public’ carrying chunks of the new MP4-26 to a central Berlin location where it was assembled by mechanics and, of course, the two British former World Champions, Lewis and Jenson.
Their car is also the most interesting visually with some wacky new air intakes and a weird front wing, which the world will be eagerly watching to see how much of an advantage they actually provide.
In the meantime here is the video of the car being assembled:
Along with all F1 fans at the moment, we’d also like to say “Get well soon Robert Kubica.”
A New Era in F1
Feb 15th
The 2010 Formula 1 season will be very different to the last, there are a few new teams, a few new faces but there is also a new set of rules to consider.
I might be getting ahead of myself as the new season doesn’t start for another month but the Formula 1 buzz has already begun with the release of all the 2010 car specs, liveries, teams etc.
There are 4 new teams joining F1, here’s the lowdown on my favourite two:
Virgin Racing
Virgin Racing’s car for 2010, the VR01, is said to be a new breed of racecar as it’s the first F1 car to be exclusively designed by CFD (computational fluid dynamics) computer technology. Virgin have got two very promising young drivers, and old rivals in GP2, Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi. If you want a chance to name Timo or Lucas’ cars, go the website by clicking here.
Lotus F1 Racing
There has been a lot of hype about the return of Lotus to F1, well there’s one main difference… they’re run by a partnership of the Malaysian Government and a consortium of Malaysian Entrepreneurs called 1Malaysia F1 Team. Other than that great racing pedigree, Lotus have another thing going for them and that’s their drivers. They’ve got the great experience of Italian Juano Trulli and the very talented ex-McLaren man Heikki Kovalainen.
Mercedes GP Petronas
Now technically this isn’t a new F1 team, Mercedes took over Brawn GP and this is the result. Although this is obviously a very exciting prospect for 2010, what with Brawn GP winning last years drivers and constructors championships and of course the fact that one of the best Formula 1 drivers of all time has come out of retirement to race. With Schumy being backed up by Nico Rosberg and should still have a great car, they could be realistic title contenders.
Rules
There are going to be quite a few rule changes for 2010, all found here.
The main one I’m going to focus on is the new points system. Now that there will be 26 cars instead of 24, 25 points will be awarded for 1st place, 18 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd and then 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and then 1 for 10th place.
I’m excited already!
Pistonheads Show & Autosport International 2010
Jan 14th
The 2010 Autosport International opens to punters on Saturday and Sunday, but we’re already here setting up, and today and tomorrow are trade and press days. You may have seen the TV ads, but if you were thinking of coming, then I can promise you the show is an excellent day out for any petrolhead.
As well as Jenson’s Brawn, above, and appearances from many legends of racing, past and present, including the aforementioned Mr Button, and our mate Sterling Moss, there are plenty of amazing Cars. Today I’m sharing a couple of cars from the more motorsport oriented AutoSport part of the show, and tomorrow I plan to give you my pick of the roadgoing performance cars from the Pistonheads area.
F1 is well represented, of course, and you can see all the 2009 F1 cars, but also some amazing car of the past, such as Mansell’s Williams and the Benetton above, which was Schumacher’s, of course, both reminding me of long Sundays watching F1 in the pub, and better times for Renault’s racing division. There is also plenty of the awesome John Player Special livery in evidence.
Other racing disciplines and Formulae are also covered in staggering depth, with highlights like the Historic rally cars, including the same awesome T-16 we saw at the French Car Show. Another French Car at the show is the current Le Mans 24 Hour champion, the Peugeot 908 HDi, which really does look stunning, and my photo does it no justice.
Finally, a mystery picture. This is part of a car at the show. Any idea which one? I will reveal all tomorrow…
