Formula 1 Blog - BBC Top Gear

Variable testing

Jason Barlow — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:27:48 GMT

Man, but next year’s F1 cars are ugly. I’ve been itching to see one up close since the regulation changes were announced earlier this year, and yesterday, at the first full test of the winter ‘off season’, I got my chance as the new breed broke cover for the first time. What can I say? That [...]

2009 F1 starts here

Bill Thomas — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:38:08 GMT

Just seen a pic of the new-shape BMW F1 car testing at Barcelona and I’m not quite sure what I think I’m looking at. What kind of racing car has had a front wing like this? Anyone got any ideas? I’m thinking F3000 car or Champ Car, but not recent. I’m also thinking Russian Monster Truck. But [...]

Vettel vs Webber

Bill Thomas — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:36:10 GMT

Is there anyone else out there really very much looking forward to the clash between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber next year? It’s one that I’ve been thinking about for the last 15 seconds. Webber will finally be put to the test by someone with a proven track record, a proper charger. His team mates throughout [...]

Sore points?

Sam Philip — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:34:41 GMT

How much would you pay for an F1 championship point? Cash up front, for the privilege of having it sitting there on your mantelpiece, to impress visitors and so forth. A tenner? A few hundred? How about $28.5 million? That’s how much each of Honda’s 14 champ points garnered in 2008 cost the Japanese team. $28.5 [...]

Taking the Piquet

Jamie Hibbard — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:57:13 GMT

Is it just me, or is it strange that Flavio Briatore has signed Nelson Piquet Jnr at Renault for another year? Or is it not so strange? Maybe it’s not so strange at all. I usually get too deep into figures in these blogs, but don’t panic, this one has only one figure: 0.513. That’s the [...]

Brazilian GP: F1.com vid

Jamie Hibbard — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:42:26 GMT

Check out the Brazil video on Formula1.com, it’s awesome. And the part where the Ferrari mechanic, after telling Massa’s dad that Felipe hasn’t won the world championship, smashes the huge sign in the garage is classic. You can’t beat a bit of Italian passion. Looky here.

Brazilian GP: Coulthard’s off

Jamie Hibbard — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:08:23 GMT

It was a shame that DC finished his last ever F1 race as disastrously as he did on Sunday - going out on the first corner - but it kind of summed up his career. He always had a lot of promise, but never really delivered. Like when he lead the Oz GP in ‘95 [...]

Brazilian GP: in the Glock

Jamie Hibbard — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:00:50 GMT

I don’t usually agree with reprinting verbatim an F1 team’s press release, but considering all the furor surrounding Timo Glock yesterday, I figure it’s best to get this interview with him up as it is… How did the rain at the end of the race affect your strategy? “In the final laps we saw that we had [...]

Brazilian GP: relive it

Jamie Hibbard — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:38:51 GMT

This is still super tense even the morning after, but it’s well worth another watch (although it won’t be up for long). You’ve got to feel bad for Felipe’s dad: As expected, this has since been taken down, but you can go here to watch highlights and that.

Brazilian GP: thrill in Brazil

Maurice Hamilton — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:14:24 GMT

I’ve been lucky enough to see a few world championship finales but I’ve never before witnessed one like this. After more than 3,400 miles of racing in 18 Grands Prix, it all came down to the last half mile. Quite incredible. I saw Richard Cregan, the team manager of Toyota, ducking the rain and rushing through [...]

Brazilian GP: Lewis is king

Jamie Hibbard — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:06:37 GMT

Lewis Hamilton takes the world championship title. I’m going to allow myself a little ‘hell yeeeeeeah!’ in there. But crikey it was tense wasn’t it? I can’t think how it could have been anymore edge of the seat than it was. Lewis certainly proved he’s learned a thing or two since last season’s finish, and drove [...]

Brazilian GP: pole shot

Maurice Hamilton — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:55:59 GMT

Not great, but no disaster. That’s the best way to sum up Lewis Hamilton’s final qualifying session of 2009. On a day when Ferrari and McLaren tried to outdo each other in appearing to remain calm under pressure (’We’re treating this like any other grand prix’. Yeah, right) it was Ferrari who won out. While McLaren [...]

Brazilian GP: quali

Jamie Hibbard — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:32:38 GMT

Lewis Hamilton’s left himself with a lot to do for tomorrow’s race after ending today’s qualifying session in fourth spot, right behind Kimi Raikkonen and just in front of Lewis’ teammate Heikki Kovalainen. It’s not the ideal place for the Brit to be, but then again it’s not as bad as the ITV crew seemed to [...]

Brazilian GP: practice

Jamie Hibbard — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:05:31 GMT

Today’s second practice session didn’t go well for either McLaren, and if this is a sign of things to come in Sunday’s race, then Lewis’ title dreams are in trouble. But, stepping back from tabloid like drama creating for a moment, Hamilton left the pits with only minutes to go, hoping to blitz a quick time [...]

How it ended in 1994

Jamie Hibbard — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:47:53 GMT

This is what’s known as a ‘controversial incident’, although in the old days they didn’t lose points as easily as they do now… Anyway, if you’ve not seen this before, then have a look because it’s a stark reminder of what some people will do to win a world championship: Michael Schumacher got - and still [...]

Brazilian GP: warming up

Maurice Hamilton — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:51:03 GMT

The weekend kicked off with the press conference in a small room - unfortunate as this was the best attended of all 18 Thursday press conferences. The seats were quickly filled with journalists, leaving standing room only, much to the annoyance of photographers herded in at the back. The snappers’ main aim was to have a [...]

Brazilian GP: remember last year?

Jamie Hibbard — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:57:03 GMT

So watch the build up to ITV’s coverage from the end of last season. Similar circumstances to this coming weekend. It was pretty tense wasn’t it?

Schumacher: ‘Lewis could beat my record’

Jamie Hibbard — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:45:07 GMT

Michael Schumacher has told the BBC’s Inside Sport that Lewis Hamilton could beat his record of seven F1 world titles. Or maybe Felipe Massa could. Or Sebastian Vettel. Either way, he’s quite prepared for it to happen. ‘Records are there to be broken,’ he says. In the interview he also says that he highly rates Hamilton, [...]

Max Mosley: ‘It’s a question of who’

Jamie Hibbard — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:12:55 GMT

FIA president Max Mosley did his first proper sit down interview with the Guardian newspaper this week. On the front page was a rather flattering photograph of the man, next to the quote ‘It’s an absurd activity, therefore you keep it secret’ with the strap line ‘Max Mosley on sadomasochism’. Max gives a very full and [...]

Brazilian GP: conspiracy theory

Sam Philip — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:58:10 GMT

Anyone get the feeling it’s going to get a bit JFK at Interlagos in a fortnight? A gunman on the grassy knoll, a sniper in the book depository… someone’s going to be taking a pot shot at Lewis Hamilton, but no one quite knows where it’s coming from. So who do you reckon is going to [...]

Chinese GP: most hated driver, ever?

Jamie Hibbard — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:23:31 GMT

Amazing how everyone has ganged up on Lewis Hamilton in the last few weeks. He’s always had his detractors - both inside and outside the F1 circus - but recently it seems to have stepped up a level. It feels to me that there’s something of a Karate Kid playground gang mentality going on, a bunch [...]

Chinese GP: roll on Brazil

Jason Barlow — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:20:29 GMT

You don’t feel sorry for someone like Lewis Hamilton exactly, not with the salary he’s on, the talent he’s got and the Pussycat Doll he’s, er, courting, but before yesterday’s Chinese GP I was feeling, well, a little sympathetic at the very least. Last week, the media was reporting a whole stream of anti-Lewis invective from [...]

Chinese GP: devastation

Bill Thomas — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:11:18 GMT

I think the Ferrari guys could only look on in awe and respect at the guy I like to call ‘Hammo the Hammer’ on Sunday. In ITV’s post-race interview, Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley wondered aloud how much of the performance was down to McLaren, and how much was down to Hamilton. He pointed out how [...]

Chinese GP: subdued Sunday

Maurice Hamilton — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:19:00 GMT

Subdued. That’s the word that came to mind as I walked through the paddock an hour after the finish. It’s true that the vast acreage of concrete did little to engender atmosphere as the teams packed up but there was no buzz about the place, certainly not like Fuji the week before. McLaren seem to be [...]

Chinese GP: one step closer

Jamie Hibbard — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 08:44:14 GMT

Lewis Hamilton has taken himself forwards another step towards the world championship title with an assured, mature drive at the Chinese GP that saw him dominating the whole race and shading the Ferraris at every turn. But blimey, what a boring processional race it was. Kimi Raikkonen letting Felipe Massa past for second place was almost [...]