Category Archives: Formula 1

Australian F1 Grand Prix

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The new Formula 1 season is finally underway, which means I made my (usually) annual sojourn to Albert Park here in Melbourne but have not been able to go these last few years for personal reasons out of my control. This year however I made a fun return to my favorite spectator sport and it didn’t disappoint in the slightest.

The race was a tightly run thing with even pace amongst the main teams which hopefully means we will have a tighter season this year than last. Hopefully though Mclaren have finally found the pace they’ve been looking for over the last few years. I got myself a few pictures amongst the fun of the race which you can view here.

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2012 Formula 1 Season Draws Near

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After what seems like an eternity to a Formula 1 fanatic, the Formula 1 circus is rolling into action again. With just over a month until the first race of the season here in Melbourne, the teams have hit the track at Jerez for pre-season testing which gives us our first real chance to see the 2012 cars in action. This year the cars look a slight bit different to previous years, the most notable difference is the use of the “platypus” noses due to new chassis regulations. All the teams with the notable exception of the new Mclaren MP4-27 sport this new look while Mclaren are using a more traditional nose and in my opinion is the best looking car in the field.

Will it be the quickest though??

Personally I don’t mind the look of the new “platypus” noses, after all Formula 1 has always been at the cutting edge of technology and it’s interesting to see how each team has adapted to these new rules. Red Bull of course have gone their own way with regards to the new noses compared to the other teams and added an intake above the lower nose, how this will help them performance wise is unknown until we get to the season as testing never really gives too much away as the teams don’t want to show their hand too early. If one was speculating, you would have to give the advantage to Red Bull at this point because the title is theirs to lose, but hopefully some of the other teams step up to the challenge this year like in the 2010 season, the last thing Formula 1 fans want is another season without a cliffhanger ending. Time will tell.

New F1 Film Has A Title “RUSH”

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A little while ago I wrote about the possibility of a new feature film directed by Ron Howard based around my favorite sport, Formula 1. Now word comes that the film is now in production with filming commencing around The Nurburgring in Germany. While details of the script are still a little bit light on, what is known is that the film is a biopic set in the 70′s that revolves around the famous rivalry between Nikki Lauda and James Hunt.

Presumably the film will, or at least should focus on the 1976 Formula 1 season where Lauda suffered a near fatal racing accident at the Nurburgring only to make a comeback later in the season and only lose the title by the the slimmest of margins – 1 point.

While the track record of good Formula 1 films made in Hollywood is shaky to say the least, I remain hopeful that this will be a competent film seeing as it’s in the hands of Ron Howard and Peter Morgan. In fact I’m pretty excited after the brilliant Senna documentary from last year.

Blown Diffusers In F1

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Even if you’re a Formula 1 fan or not, I’m sure many of you would be familiar with the screaming sound of an F1 car in full flight. This year a new technology was implemented by some of the teams called a blown diffuser.

While it’s a very complex operation in how it operates, fundamentally the system blows those exhaust gasses down onto the chassis to allow for extra grip in corners by adjusting how the engine creates exhaust gas. From next year it is banned which in my opinion is a sad thing because it sounds AMAZING!

Like a lot of facets when it comes to a F1 television broadcast, they don’t do these diffusers justice. About a month ago an interesting video popped up on online showcasing the sounds of the blown diffusers in action. Click play and turn up those speakers.

A New Formula 1 Film?

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I love Formula 1. It’s never really been a sport that has had a huge following in the United States like that NASCAR hill billy racing. It’s also a sport that has never really received much attention from Hollywood due it’s it’s highly European nature. The last Hollywood film to cover the sport was John Frankenheimer’s 1966 film Grand Prix. While the film is an excellent example of the sport during that period, it’s still an overly long film that can be a slog for both fans and non Formula 1 fans alike.

In recent years Sylvester Stallone attempted to make a Formula 1 film, but that idea was rightly killed by head of Formula 1 himself, Bernie Ecclestone. That film eventually turned into the terrible Indycar based film Driven.

Recently Universal released the absolutely brilliant British documentary on the great Ayrton Senna which was a searing look at the sport during the time combining poignant storytelling on the life and death of one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1

Now comes word that Ron Howard is working on a new Formula 1 project. European in production, and written by Peter Morgan it will focus on the championship battle between Nikki Lauda and James Hunt in the 1970′s. While not a modern day interpretation, hopefully this will be the breakthrough film that Formula 1 fans have been waiting for a long time.

Personally I’m looking forward to it as Peter Morgan’s previously written films, The Queen, Frost/Nixon and The Damned United were brilliant.The Upcoming Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy looks brilliant also. Hopefully this doesn’t take too long to develop.

Formula 1 Shits Me Sometimes!

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Some people will say that Formula 1 is a boring thing. An endless precession of cars just driving around in circles. But we all know that those people are pants on head retarded because they’re getting confused with that inbred hillbilly sport Nascar. Talk to anyone intelligent and they will tell you that Formula 1 is a far more civilized sport with more civilized drivers and fans.

Formula 1 certainly delivers some exciting action. The race at Spa was no different. In the closing laps the rain set in and cars were sliding everywhere. Raikonen and Hamilton were slip and sliding around one and other jostling for the lead. Finally at the end of it, Hamilton came out on top. But apparently he didn’t because the powers that be have decided to give Hamilton a 25 second penalty for cutting a corner. What a load of crap, it makes a mockery of the race we’d just watched. Hamilton couldn’t avoid cutting the corner due to the rain. But he yielded to Raikonen, let him pass and then retook him again. That should have been that. Sadly it wasn’t. Thanks to the useless efforts of the F1 tribunal, they’ve decided to penalize Hamilton for doing what he’s supposed to do. RACE!

I’m just sick of a committees deciding the result of races when there was nothing that needed to be judged, just so they could justify their existence. Why do they even bother with the actual racing when the result is judged by a bunch of morons who sit in a office.