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18th August 2017

Formula Hollywood

“I’m not sure whether I’m an actor who races, or a racer who acts.”

Steve McQueen

Hollywood and Racing. The two things should go hand in hand for action and entertainment, but sometimes the films don’t do the sport of motor racing full justice.

Fortunately, there are those actors who decide that they don’t want the safety of a film set, the inclusion of a stuntman to take their place in dangerous scenes or a scripted way of life in a movie.

These thrill seekers step away from the cameras and they decide to go racing.

PATRICK DEMPSEY

There is not much cross-over these days for famous actors to move into motor racing, the exception to that rule is Patrick Dempsey. He has managed to carve out a very successful career in motor racing. The Grey’s Anatomy star first started racing in the Panoz Racing Series in the GT Class back in 2004.

It was in 2007 that he moved to the Rolex Sports Car Series and made seventeen appearances until 2009 when he entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving a Ferrari. It was from here that Dempsey would over the years grace sports car championships both in America and Europe. He has entered Le Mans four times with the following results:

2009 – Ferrari F430 GT2 – GT2 Class – 30th overall – 9th in class

2013 – Porsche 997 GT3 RSR – GTE Am Class – 29th overall – 4th in class

2014 – Porsche 911 RSR – GTE Am Class – 24th overall – 5th in class

2015 – Porsche 911 RSR – GTE Am Class – 22nd overall – 2nd in class

An accomplished racer who owns Dempsey Racing, he is a racing driver without any hesitation or shadow of a doubt. Before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013 he told Eurosport, “I would like to make that (motorsports) a complete priority and just focus on this full-time. If I could just walk away from acting, I think I could do that very easily, and just focus on the driving. I would love that more than anything else.” Last season he competed in seven races in the World Endurance Championship, showing how much he is dedicated to motor racing.

But before Patrick Dempsey there were a host of famous actors who were bitten by the motor racing bug.

GENE HACKMAN

French Connection actor Gene Hackman took part in the 1983 24 Hours of Daytona, he was co-driver of the a front engine Toyota Celica for the All American Racers team with Japanese drivers Masanori Sekiya and Kaoru Hoshino. They were classified with a 57th placing but did not finish the race due to a gearbox problem which caused a transmission failure.

Former American F1 driver Bob Bondurant said that Hackman was one of the most talented celebrity racers he had ever taught. Hackman also raced at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1984, driving a Mazda RX-7 for Preston & Son with his co-driver Whitney Ganz.

JAMES DEAN

In 1954, James Dean decided he wanted to race cars. Just before he began filming Rebel Without A Cause, Dean competed in his first event, the Palm Springs Road Races between 26th and 27th March.

He achieved first place in the novice class and second place in the main event. It was a month later when he made his way to Bakersfield and finished first in class and third overall. James Dean had been bitten by the racing bug. There were plans put in place for him to compete in the Indy 500, but his acting contracts and schedule made this impossible. He entered his final race in Santa Barbara on 30th May 1955, but had to retire due to a blown piston. Whilst filming Giant he was barred from racing by Warner Brothers. When filming had finished, Dean had already put in motion plans to race.

He had purchased a race ready Porsche 550 Spyder “Little Bastard” car and it was en route to a racing event in Salinas, California that James Dean was tragically killed in an accident after a collision with another vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no doubt James Dean’s hunger for racing would have seen him compete further and higher, but this sadly never happened.

ERIC BANA

Eric Bana made his motor racing debut in 1996, competing in the Targa Tasmania, a week long race around the island state of Tasmania.

In 2004 he purchased a Porsche 944 and competed in the Australia Porsche Challenge, regularly finishing in the top ten and finished a creditable fourth in the Sandown 500. In 2007 he again entered the Targa Tasmania, but this time he crashed his 1974 XB Falcon Coupe. He and his co-driver escaped uninjured.

He is also among the many top stars to have appeared on Top Gear’s A Star In A Reasonably Priced Car.

JAMES GARNER

It was during the filming of his movie Grand Prix that Garner was told by British motor racing legend Graham Hill that he could possibly driver professionally.

Garner took this advice to heart and set about getting involved in racing. He co-owned AIR (American International Racers) and made a documentary called The Racing Scene.

His racing team entered Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring endurance races with Garner himself competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona between 1969 and 1971. James Garner drove the safety car at the Indianapolis 500 in 1975, 1977 and 1985.

STEVE MCQUEEN

McQueen achieved a second place and first in his class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1970 with co-driver Peter Revson driving a Porsche 908. They only missed out on first place overall by twenty-three seconds behind a Ferrari driven by Mario Andretti, Ignazio Giunti and Nino Vaccarella. McQueen was also driving with a cast on his foot from a motorcycle accident two weeks earlier.

He is famed for the movie Le Mans and the famous quote that came out of that film, “Racing is life. Anything before or after, is just waiting.” In 1961 BMC competition manager, Marcus Chambers, received a call from an American racing driver who was going to be in Britain and wanted to borrow a car to race in the British Touring Car Championship. That driver was Steve McQueen. He warmed up in an Austin A40 at Oulton Park and went on to drive a BMC Mini in the BTCC at Brands Hatch, finishing third. He wanted to drive professionally, cars or bikes.

He may have owned an array of sports cars, did his own car driving stunts in Bullitt and Le Mans, but the truth is, Steve McQueen’s first love was bikes.He competed regularly in off-road motorcycle racing, normally on a BSA Hornet. He also competed in the International Six Day Trial for the USA. McQueen was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports hall of fame in 1978. McQueen also features in the bike documentary On Any Sunday.

During the motorcycle chase scene in The Great Escape, McQueen not only played the part of Hilts, trying to escape from the Germans, he was also the chasing German soldiers (clever editing) because the film company could not find anybody to match McQueen’s bike skills. Contrary to what is said, McQueen did not perform the fence jump in the film, due to insurance purposes this role was taken by his friend and motorcycle partner Bud Elkins.

He raced bikes and cars, he was an actor, he was handsome and he was ‘The King Of Cool’. Steve McQueen was remembered as much for his racing as he was for his acting. The list of cars owned by McQueen are legendary, Porsche 917, Porsche 908, Ferrari 512 (all race cars from Le Mans film), a 1963 Ferrari 250 Lusso Berlinetta, Jaguar D-Type XKSS, Porsche 356 Speedster, 1962 Cobra and a Ford GT40.

PAUL NEWMAN

Paul Newman was colour blind, but this did not stop him forging a career in motorsport. He was once quoted as saying about motor racing, “The first thing that I ever found I had any grace in.”

His interest in racing came about whilst he was training at Watkins Glen for the 1969 film Winning. In 1971 he hosted his first TV special called Once Upon A Wheel which was a history of motor racing. His first professional event came in 1972 at Thompson International Speedway, when he entered quietly under the name of P.L. Newman. He competed regularly in Sports Car Club of America events during that decade and went on to win four national championships. He competed at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Porsche 935 for Dick Barbour Racing along with his co-drivers Rolf Stommelen and Dick Barbour. They achieved a memorable second place and first in their class. In 2000 he entered the Petit Le Mans. From the mid-1970’s to the early 1990’s, he drove for the Bob Sharp Racing team. He raced Datsun’s (which were later to be re-badged Nissan’s) in the Trans Am Series. Newman had a close connection with the car manufacturer and even had a Nissan Skyline named after him.

Aged 70, Newman became the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned event winning in his class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. He went on to compete in the Baja 1000 in 2004 and again at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2005.

Paul Newman is famed for his ownership of a racing team. It was during 1976 he thought about forming his own team and contacted Bill Freeman. Newman Freeman Racing competed in the North American Can-Am series in a Budweiser sponsored Chevrolet (with a Spyker engine). They won the Can-Am Championship in 1979. In 1983 Newman co-founded Newman/Haas Racing with Carl Haas and entered the Champ Car Series. The team went on to win eight drivers championships, Mario Andretti (1984), Michael Andretti (1991), Nigel Mansell (1993), Cristiano da Matta (2002 and Sebastien Bourdais (2004-2007).

He competed into his 80’s, winning at Lime Rock in a Corvette displaying the number 81, his age and took pole in his last race in 2007 at Watkins Glen. Paul Newman was posthumously inducted into the SCCA Hall Of Fame in February 2009.

Because of the involvement in racing, these actors aren’t just cool, they are just simply ice-cold epic.

See You At The Chequered Flag.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

18th August 2017

One Grand Prix – Stephane Sarrazin

He is currently competing in the World Endurance Championship for Toyota, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Rebellion and has competed for the Venturi and Techeetah Formula E Teams. He has raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans sixteen times and competed at the 24 Hours of Daytona. He has also competed in the World Rally Championship and in V8 Supercars, but Stephane Sarrazin only ever had one Formula One race to his name.

Sarrazin was a test driver for the Prost Formula One team when a chance came to race at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix. Luca Badoer had sustained an injury during testing and Minardi asked for Sarrazin to replace him in Brazil.

Badoer had raced for Minardi in Australia, he retired with gearbox issues. The Grand Prix was won by Eddie Irvine in the Ferrari, he was joined on the podium by Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan-Mugen-Honda) and Ralf Schumacher (Williams-Supertec). Now it was onto Brazil and the call came through from Minardi for Sarrazin to step in and replace Badoer.

“I was reserve driver for Prost and suddenly Minardi called for a drive,” Sarrazin was quoted as saying.

As the teams took to the track for practice it was Ricardo Zonta who would receive an injury after a big crash in Saturday practice that would see him out of the race.

Sarrazin qualified 17th out of the 21 drivers, he out-qualified his team mate, Marc Gene but the Minardi was over three seconds off Hakkinen who took pole. Sarrazin was over a second slower than the next car in front of him, the Williams-Supertec of Alex Zanardi.

It was Hakkinen who went off into a commanding lead, Coulthard stalled on the grid and he was pushed into the pit lane where he rejoined on lap 4. On lap 10 Benetton’s, Alexander Wurz and Jordan’s Damon Hill collided which ended Hill’s race.

Sarrazin entered the straight on lap 31, there two reports that either his throttle stuck or he had a wing failure, but whatever the problem was, it sent him crashing into the wall and this effectively ended his only Formula One Grand Prix.

It was the disappointment afterwards that hurt Sarrazin. After Brazil, Minardi asked him to complete the 1999 season with them. He states they called the Prost team many times but team principal, Alain Prost was adamant that Sarrazin would be driving for Prost. He placed a block on him moving to the Minardi team. Sarrazin decided to be patient.

The following season he finished second in the Formula 3000 championship behind Nick Heidfeld. Prost told Sarrazin, “Sorry, I cannot take you, I have to take Nick for Mercedes engines for the year after.”

Sarrazin was heartbroken. He felt that he should have been stronger and taken the decision to join Minardi when the opportunity was presented. Despite this and the fact he only ever race once in Formula One, Sarrazin has gone on to have a successful racing career in other forms, he has finished 2nd on four occasions at Le Mans.

Just the single F1 Grand Prix but Sarrazin had many other races about him.

See you at the chequered flag

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

7th August 20179th August 2017

Mid-Season Report, Who will Rule Formula 1?

It’s this time of the season, where the drivers and the crews are taking their summer break and enjoying some days off with their families and friends.

For the fans, it’s a good point to see how the Formula One teams and drivers performed during the first half of the season. After eleven races Sebastian Vettel is leading in the drivers’ standings (202 pts) followed by the British champion Lewis Hamilton (188 pts), the gap between the two drivers is just 14 points, Mercedes and Ferrari are very close this season, that can be seen from their results and the points that the two teams have collected.

The Silver Arrows are first, on the constructors’ standings, by 39 points. As it seems the title will be a battle of two teams, but what about the drivers? Will it be decided only between Vettel and Hamilton?

There is one driver who seems able to challenge the two champions, he will try to take advantage of their battle and slowly he will try to claim Formula One’s throne. That driver is Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn is third with 169 points, he is 19 points behind his team-mate and 33 points behind the leader, Sebastian Vettel. Bottas, have finished eight times on the podium and have won two races, his first victory was in Russia and his last one in Austria. It is a great achievement if you consider that it’s his debut season with Mercedes and that he is racing alongside a three-time champion who is fighting for his fourth title.

London, United Kingdom.
Wednesday 12 July 2017.
Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso STR12 Renault.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _X4I1034

Mercedes will face a challenge, Bottas is in a good form, Hamilton is desperately wanting to win this season, after last year’s defeat from his team-mate, now their team has to decide if they will let them race or if they will pull the card of number 1 and number 2 driver.

Red Bull Racing is far away from the two contenders, the Bulls are currently third, they have scored 184 points and most of these points were scored by Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian has finished five times on the podium and won in Azerbaijan. From the other hand, Daniel’s team-mate, Max Verstappen is not facing, the best moments of his Formula 1 career. The young driver finished third in China, and retired on five of the eleven races. It looks that Red Bull can secure the third place and focus one the following season, their only threat is Force India.

Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon are doing a good job this season, they have scored 101 points, 72 less of the points which Force India scored in 2016. They both look to be enjoying their season, Perez has finished in the points in nine of the eleven races, whilst Ocon failed to score point/s only in Monaco where he finished 12^th.

Williams is not facing its best season so far, Felipe Massa returned from retirement, in order to give the chance to Bottas to move to Mercedes and try his luck in a better team, was it the right decision? The Brazilian finished sixth in the season premiere in Australia, in Bahrain he also finished in the same position, these were Massa’s two best finishes. Last season at the summer break, Felipe had 38 points, fifteen more points from those that he has now.

Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Sunday 25 June 2017.
World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _54I4953

From the other hand, his team-mate, Lance Stroll crashed or trashed (if you prefer) his Williams with every possible way he could think of. From the pre-season tests the young driver was not looking very “skilful”, his results confirmed that. The Canadian had four retirements in the first four races of the season and one more retirement in Monaco, five DNF in eleven races. He scored his first two points in Canada, where he finished 9^th. In Azerbaijan, Lance achieved the unachievable, after a top drive he finished third. That was the only podium for Williams this season.

Toro Rosso is only two points behind Williams and chasing them for the fifth place in the constructors’ championship. A battle between Williams, Toro Rosso, Haas and Renault is expected for the fifth place. Last season, Williams secured easily the fifth place, but now they are struggling, these four teams are close to each other and all of them have at least one good drive to racing.

Romain Grosjean finished sixth Austria and scored eight valuable points for Haas, a one man show is a good slogan, which suits, to Renault as Nico Hulkenberg have scored all their points (26) so far. Toro Rosso is in an almost similar situation, Kvyat has scored just four points, whilst Sainz is doing all the hard work. Carlos, finished sixth in Monaco, that was his highest finish and until now he has 56 points, eleven less than Max Verstappen.

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada.
Friday 09 June 2017.
World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _ONY2825

McLaren, is the team which impressed me the most in the last race before the summer break. Fernando, was ready for his holidays but he had only one obstacle to face, the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Spaniard, finished sixth in Hungary, scored eight points and then he took his yacht and visited Greece.

Pascal Wehrelin is trying to save Sauber from its disaster, but his results are not enough. Five points for Pascal, he finished eighth in Spain and tenth in Azerbaijan, his team-mate(s) is still trying to figure out if he is racing in Formula One or..

With nine races to go I am expecting a strong fight between Vettel Hamilton and Bottas, don’t underestimate the Finns!

Who will rule the Formula 1 Kingdom?

Have a nice holiday!

Victor Archakis

*Twitter: @FP_Passion

4th August 20176th August 2017

Enzo Ferrari, The Italian Legend

“Aerodynamics are for people who cannot build engines” Enzo Anselmo Ferrari

Enzo Anselmo Ferrari, born in Modena on the 18^th of February 1898, his birth registered two days later due to heavy snow. When Ferrari was 10 years old, his father, took him and his brother Alfredo, to watch a motor race in Bologna. The race is won by Felice Nazzaro and that moment was enough to create a spark and a secret love in Enzo’s heart about Motorsport.

The following decade was a tragedy for Enzo and his family. In 1916, the flu killed his father and his brother, Enzo forced to quit his studies in order to look for a job. He found a place as an instructor in Modena’s fire service workshop. The following year, Ferrari joined the Italian army, he became a member of the 3^rd Alpine Artillery Division, but he was seriously ill and after two operations he was honourable discharged.

In 1919, Ferrari moved to Milan to join the C.M.N ( Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali). In his debut as a racing driver, Enzo finished fourth at the 1919 Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb race. On November 23^rd he took part in the Targa Florio but he lost due to a leak in his fuel tank. One year later he left from C.M.N in order to join Alfa Romeo.

Enzo won the Circuit del Savio, in 1923, after his victory, he met the parents of WWI flying ace Francesco Baracca, they suggested him to use the emblem that decorated their son’s plane for good luck. The emblem, which is now known in the whole world, was a prancing horse. In the same year Ferrari married Laura Dominica Garello.

One year later, Enzo Ferrari became a Cavaliere (Knight) for his sporting achievements, it was the first official title which he received from the Italian authorities. In 1925, he made a Cavaliere Ufficiale and his passion about journalism lead him to become the main founder of the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport in Bologna.

The Born of Scuderia Ferrari

In 1929, Enzo founds the Scuderia Ferrari in Modena, the purpose of his company was to give the ability to owner drivers to race. His idea was very successful and after a while he created an official team. Scuderia included both cars and motorbikes. A few years later, in 1933, Scuderia became the official racing department of Alfa Romeo.

Ferrari’s final race as a driver was at Circuito Tre Province on August 9^th, 1931, one year later he became a father, Alfredo or also known as Dino, was born on January 19^th 1932. Enzo had to close his Scuderia, in 1937, because Alfa Romeo claimed back its racing department, five years later he left from Alfa Romeo, but he was not allowed to use the name Ferrari as a racing team, for at least four years.

After his departure from Alfa Romeo, Ferrari had a secret passion, he wanted to create his own racing cars. He opened Auto Avio Costruizioni in Modena, Ferrari forced to move his factory in Maranello, because during the WWII the government interfered with his plans. In his new factory in Maranello, Enzo decided to focus on grinding machines.

At the end of the Second World War, Enzo returned to designing racing cars, the first official Ferrari was the 125 S which was tested in March 1947. Ferrari had to wait a few months in order to celebrate his first victory in Rome at the Rome Grand Prix. A series of great victories were achieved the following seasons. In 1948 Ferrari won at the Mille Miglia, the next year he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in 1951 Ferrari won the British Grand Prix.

Alberto Ascari was signed, in 1951, by Enzo and won Ferrari’s first world championship in 1952. During those years Enzo was also started designing cars for commercial use.

A serious illness cost the life of Enzo’s beloved son, Alferdo. In 1956, Dino died from muscular dystrophy. Ferrari was designing the new 1500 cc V6 engine alongside with his son, the engine made its debut 10 months after the Dino’s pass, all the V6 engines were named in his honour.

It was the hardest years of Enzo’s life, six of his drivers were killed between 1955 and 1965, he was also accused for manslaughter in 1957 as nine spectators lost their lives after one of his Ferraris lost control due to a puncture and crashed onto the spectators.

Some years later, in 1969, Ferrari decided to partner with Fiat Group, he knew that he needed a strong partnership in order to continue developing his company. Enzo, gave the 50% of his company to Fiat Group.

The End of Ferrari’s Legacy

Enzo Ferrari decided to build the Fiorano Circuit, which was officially launched on April 8^th 1972. Ferrari, resigned as a company from his company in 1977, even though he retired, he still had the control of Scuderia Ferrari.

The F40 was the final car which was launched (1987) under Enzo Ferrari’s management. Enzo also received an honourable degree in Physics from the University of Modena in 1988. The August of the same year Enzo passed away in Maranello at the age of 90.

The first official entry of the Scuderia Ferrari in Formula 1 championship was in 1950 at the Monaco Grand Prix, since then Scuderia has celebrated 16 constructors’ championships and 15 drivers’ titles. Ferrari has scored 228 race victories and 211 pole positions.

“No one remember who took second place and that will never be me.” Enzo Ferrari

Victor Archakis – @FP_Passion

16th July 2017

British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton the British King

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes-Benz F1 W08 Hybrid celebrates at Formula One World Championship, Rd10, British Grand Prix, Qualifying, Silverstone, England, Saturday 15 July 2017.

British Grand Prix, it was a disaster for Ferrari and one of the best races for Mercedes. The silver arrows secured another 1-2 for this season and Lewis Hamilton won his fourth consecutive British Grand Prix, with this victory the British driver matched Jim Clark’s record (five wins).

Lewis Hamilton showed from the beginning that he will not allow anyone to challenge him, from the pole till the chequered flag, Hamilton was calm and comfortable while he was driving his Mercedes. His team-mate, Valtteri Bottas started the race from the ninth place, after a five-place grid penalty which he got due to new gearbox, but after an amazing drive he moved up to the second position.

Kimi Raikkonen, who was the third person on the podium, had mixed feelings at the end of the Grand Prix. With two laps to go, Kimi had a problem with his front left tyre which cost him time and dropped him out of the podium, because he had to pit for new tyres. A few corners later, Sebastian Vettel suffered a puncture on the front left tyre, the German managed to find his way to the pits and after a quick stop he finished the race seventh.

That incident gave the chance to Raikkonen to finish third and score a podium.

Lewis Hamilton had a quick and clean start, followed by Kimi Raikkonen, whilst Sebastian Vettel lost his position from Max Verstappen and dropped down to fourth. A collision between the Toro Rosso drivers forced the safety car to make its appearance on the track.

At the restart, on lap 5, Hamilton increased his lead from Raikkonen to 3.1 seconds. Sebastian Vettel pressured Verstappen for the third place. Sebastian, took the inside on Stowe but Verstappen managed to hold his position. The German attacked once again on Verstappen on Vale, he took the inside, passed Verstappen, but the Dutch didn’t want to give his position without a fight, Verstappen pushed Vettel to go wide into the chicane and re-gained his position. A few laps later, Ferrari called Vettel into the pits and switched to soft compounds. A lap later, Verstappen pitted, but a delay which caused by an issue with a wheelnut cost him the third place.

Bottas started the race on softs, he was the only driver in the top ten who was on softs, pitted on lap 33 and switched to a fresher set of super-softs. After the pit-stop, the Finn was flying and he was closing to Sebastian Vettel for the third place. His first approach on Vettel was not successful, but one lap later the Finn took the outside after the Hangar Straight and he easily passed Vettel.

A smart strategy and a good drive from Ricciardo moved the Australian up to the fifth place. Daniel, after a series of penalties, started the race from the 19^th place, whilst Max Verstappen finished fourth behind Kimi Raikkonen. Great race for Nico Hulkenberg and Renault, the French lost the fifth place from Ricciardo during the final laps of the race, but he finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Eight double points finish in 10 races for the pink panthers. The two Force India drivers finished eighth and ninth, both ahead of Felipe Massa who scored one point for Williams.

For me Daniel Ricciardo was the driver of the day, even when he pitted for the first time and re-joined tenth, managed to pass the two Force India and moved up to fifth position.

Lewis Hamilton closed the gap on Vettel, in drivers’ standings, to just one point, with one race to go to the summer break. The next race will take place in Hungary on 28-30 July.

Twitter – @FP_Passion

12th July 2017

Silverstone must remain in Formula One

2014 Formula One British Grand Prix, Silverstone International Race Circuit, Towcester, Northampton, Great Britain, 3rd – 5th July 2014.
Flags, Atmosphere,
World Copyright: © Andrew Hone Photographer 2014.
Ref: _ONY9209

Save Silverstone, this must be Liberty’s first target. The British Grand Prix is one of the most historic races in Formula One. Silverstone was an aerodrome during the Second World War, when the war ended in 1945, the Royal Automobile Club decided to make Silverstone the base for the British Grand Prix in 1948.

Two years later, Silverstone hosted the first official Formula 1 race, in history, Guiseppe Farina was the winner with his Alfa Romeo.

The British Grand Prix is now in danger, the reason is simple: money. In our days it is very expensive to host a Formula 1 race. A 17 year contract, between FIA and Silverstone, was signed almost eight years ago, but the extremely high cost does not allow the owners to keep their deal.

In 2010 the cost for hosting a Grand Prix was £12m, this year the price increased to £16m and by 2026 the cost will be more than £25m.

“We have reached the tipping point where we can no longer let our passion for the sport rule our heads, put simply, it is no longer financially viable for us to deliver the British Grand Prix under the terms of our current contract.” said BRDC chairman John Grant.

According to British Racing Drivers’ Club chairman, in 2015 they suffered losses equal to £2.8m, almost £5m the following year, and they are expecting the same losses for this year.

“We have reached the tipping point where we can no longer let our passion for the sport rule our heads. It would not only risk the very future of Silverstone and the BRDC, but also the British motorsport community that depends on us.” said John Grant.

The owners gave a two years termination notice, which means that the final race will be held in 2019, there is only one away to avoid Silverstone’s departure, Liberty Media has to offer an affordable contract to the owners and the two sides must agree and extend the British Grand Prix under new rules and less costs.

“I want to be clear that although we have now activated the break clause, we are fully supportive of the changes the Liberty team are making to improve the F1 experience. Our hope is that an agreement can still be reached, so that we can ensure a sustainable and financially viable future for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for many years to come.” said Grant.

Liberty Media is in talks with Silverstone in order to find a solution and solve the problem between them, F1’s commercial boss, Sean Bratches said on Sky that the “break clause would not represent a black mark for the Northamptonshire circuit.”

Hopefully, the two sides will manage to find a solution and save Silverstone. It is one of the most fantastic circuits on the calendar and Silverstone is the track which must keep hosting the British Grand Prix.

Twitter – @FP_Passion

9th July 2017

Austrian Grand Prix Review, Valtteri Bottas wins like a Bull

Bull Sculpture at Formula One World Championship, Rd9, Austrian Grand Prix, Preparations, Spielberg, Austria, Thursday 6 July 2017.

Valtteri Bottas secured his second victory in his Formula 1 career and he achieved it with the same way as he won his first Grand Prix, by starting from the pole and defending his position from Sebastian Vettel, who finished second.

A perfect start allowed to the Finn to remain first and despite Ferrari’s and Vettel’s acquisitions for a jump start, the stewards didn’t take any further action. After lights out, Kimi Raikkonen had a poor start which cost him two positions, the Finn dropped down to fifth and both Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean moved up one place. Ricciardo had a great pace during the race and scored another podium which gave points for his team.

Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso retired after the start of the race after a collision with the Toro Rosso. Kvyat lost his breaks and collided on Alonso which cost the race to the Spaniard and Daniil had to pit for a new nose.

Lewis Hamilton started eighth, after the five-place grid penalty who received because his mechanics had to change his gearbox on Saturday. The Britt, had a good start and moved up to the fifth position behind Kimi Raikkonen. Lewis was struggling to pass Kimi and remained behind him until the 45^th lap, Kimi pitted and re-joined behind Hamilton.

The three-time world champion lost time behind Raikkonen, Ferrari decided to waste Raikkonen’s chances for a place on the podium as they were seeing that it was very difficult to close to Red Bull for the third place. Raikkonen’s excellent drive didn’t allow to Hamilton to take advantage of his super-softs tyres and forced the Brit to pit on lap 33.

When Hamilton re-joined with the ultra-softs he was struggling with his tyres and could not follow the leaders. Mainly he was unable to close the gap with Ricciardo.

Everything changed during the final laps, Lewis Hamilton closed with Daniel Ricciardo and was looking for a space to make his move. At the same time, Sebastian Vettel with the super-softs was less than a second behind Bottas.

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.
Friday 07 July 2017.
World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _ONY0445

Hamilton made his move, took the outside, but Ricciardo defended his place and remained third, it was Ricciardo’s fifth consecutive podium. Sebastian Vettel was on Botta’s tail, but didn’t have the chance to attack.

After 71 laps Valtteri Bottas took the second chequered flag of his F1 career, and scored 25 points. Whilst, Vettel scored six more points than Hamilton and increased his leading on the drivers’ championship to 20 points from Lewis Hamilton.

Very good race for Romain Grosjean, the French passed Raikkonen in the beginning but lost the fifth place a few laps later, at the end he finished sixth and scored crucial points for Haas.

Williams, despite their poor qualification, managed to finish in the top 10, Felipe Massa finished ninth, while his team-mate finished tenth and scored one point.

The next race will take place at Silverstone in one week.

Twitter: @FP_Passion

(Image Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media)

7th July 20176th July 2017

The Spark and the Fire

Mercedes is one of the most successful teams in Formula 1, during the recent years, they have won the constructor’s championship for three consecutive years and Lewis Hamilton celebrated his last two titles with the silver arrows, whilst Nico Rosberg won his one and only world title with Mercedes in 2016 (check out our article about Nico Rosberg).

The Silver Arrows made their appearance in 1930, where they won all the European championships after 1932. Their first official entry in Formula 1 was in 1954 which they were known as Mercedes-Benz. Juan Manuel Fangio signed a contract with Mercedes and moved from Maserati to the silver arrows in order to drive in Mercedes’ debus at the French Grand Prix in 1954. That season Fangio won three races and finished first on the drivers’ championship. The following season, Manuel Fangio repeated his success and with four victories and won his second consecutive championship with Mercedes-Benz. A terrible accident which took place at the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1955 led to the cancelation of the Grand Prixs and Mercedes retired from Formula One.

The miracle and the firework

Rubens Barrichello, Barcelona, Spain 2009. Author: Jose Mª Izquierdo Galiot

There is one specific year which I believe that most of the young and non-young fans will never forget, the year where a team dominated with almost zero financial support, with only the basic crew and with two very experienced drivers which both had a great “coach”. Of course you will know where I am referring to, the name of the team was Brawn GP and the two drivers where Jenson Button and the Brazilian Rubens Barrichello. The master behind the success was Ross Brawn, who believed in his team and led them to the top.

Brawn GP participated in 17 races, won eight Grands Prix, finished 15 times on the podium, took five pole positions and scored 172 points. The team became the first to achieve a 100% championship success rate.

Mercedes played a critical role in Brawn GP’s success as they were supporting them with engines.

That season indicated Mercedes’ return to Formula 1, on November 2009, Mercedes with Aabar Investments purchased the 75.1% of Brawn GP. Mercedes had the 45.1%, while Aabar the rest 30%. The next year the team renamed to Mercedes GP. According to reports Mercedes and Aabar paid £110m for the 75.1% and the remaining percentage remained to Ross Brawn in partnership with Nick Fry. Ross Brawn remained as team principal until the end of the 2013 season.

Michael Schumacher, Sepang International Circuit, Selangor, Malaysia 2011. Author: Morio

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were driving for Mercedes the first three years, they managed to get three poles and win three races. After Brawn’s departure the turbocharged engines returned to Formula 1, Mercedes had an advantage as Ross Brawn managed to improve the team’s power unit.

Mercedes dominated during the first three years of the new turbocharged engines, Lewis Hamilton replaced Michael Schumacher, and both he and Nico Rosberg secured 56 pole positions and won 51 of the 59 races. In all these years the two drivers have scored 2169 points combined.

This season, Mercedes is leading in the constructors’ championship by 24 points and Lewis Hamilton is second in the drivers’ standings, 14 points behind his main rival Sebastian Vettel.

Undoubtedly, Mercedes is one of the strongest teams on the grid, Ferrari looks able to challenge them, but it is still too early to make a prediction.