Phil: ....as it says at the start/finish line of the circuit which bears his name, in his native Montreal.
I regret being ever so slightly too young to have watched the elder Villeneuve race. Jeremy Clarkson (who whatever you may think of him does genuinely know his stuff when it comes to F1) rates him as the greatest driver ever. I haven't yet watched any of my co-blogger's clips (the roar of a Ferrari V12 isn't really appropriate for work) but if they don't include the titanic scrap between Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux over second place at the 1979 French grand prix then I would urge him to seek it out. Suffice to say today they would both have been hauled in front of the stewards.
When Alain Prost began racing in 1980 his two best mates were his fellow French-speakers Villeneuve and Pironi. Prost's approach to racing was definitely the complete opposite to Villeneuve's - cool, measured, happy to play the percentage game and collect a single point if a single point was all that was needed or could be achieved (an attitude more than likely informed by Villeneuve's death and Pironi's career-ending injuries, both within months of each other in 1982). Prost tells a story that while testing at Paul Ricard, the three of them entertained themselves by taking their hire cars out onto the track, and then deliberately crashing them into a vineyard next to the track.
There's another story that when the Grand Prix Drivers' Association went on strike at some point in the early 1980s and the drivers locked themselves into a hotel near the track until the FIA relented, due to the shortage of rooms Prost and Villeneuve, who everyone knew were the best drivers of the day, shared a double bed. Paddock comedians speculated what sort of super-talented infant driver would emerge from such an unnatural union.
Monday 30 April 2012
Saturday 28 April 2012
F1 Hero Series: Gilles Villeneuve
Justin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3tXJm9tYGM
5 minutes and 10 seconds - this pass tells you everything about Gilles Villeneuve.
The guy just raced. He was a pure F1 racer. He went as hard and fast as he could - end of. If he had to finish 5th to win a world title, he would rather go hell for leather and try and win the race and fail. You could say this was a massive achillees heel - would he ever have won a world title driving like this? Who knows?
He despised politics in F1 and nothing made him more happy than getting in the car and thrashing the hell out of it, at the expense of many fine F1 drivers. He'd usually be driving a bucket of shit Ferrari - the only time he wasn't was 1979 when Scheckter won the title. He was more a tactical driver who went as fast as was needed - team orders helped him win the 79 title too, but thats another story. It's a bit like Hamilton and Button now - Hamilton goes for it (until this year at least) and burns his tyres out, whereas Button has a much more smooth, considered approach.
Gilles Villeneuve was purely a balls out racing legend. He overtook where people didn't think it possible. He won and got good points in a Ferrari that was by no means the best car on the grid (as touched upon in a previous blog...remind you of anyone?).
To put it bluntly - I see Gilles racing and the F1 fan in me just stands on in utter amazement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVyLEM-0wE
This win in Spain in 1981 has to be his greatest. From 2 minutes onwards in the footage....he had a train of cars behind him and didn't put a foot wrong. Lets be clear - it was a train of faster cars.
I delved more into/ got into the legend of Gilles through his son Jacques coming into F1 in 1996 (even though during his career Jacques never spoke about his Father - it's only recently he has opened up about him). Jacques racing style was very much like his Dad's it has to be said - and I'll visit Jacques in this hero list another time.
It seems that whilst many of those who raced alongside him thought he was the most ridiculous talent of the era, there were some who called him reckless and blatantly dangerous. He was always pushing himself beyond what the car was capable of - as Jacques would always do...."exploring the limits of the car".
Those that knew him, and indeed those same colleagues who appreciated his blatant talent, speak of his extraordinary car control - but whilst he'd push the limit, he'd never put anyone else in danger.
I openly admit, as touched on earlier, that Gilles may have struggled to win a title had he carried on at Ferrari - he seemed far too loyal to them. Had he gotten himself into the best cars, as all the greatest generally do, then he'd have been able to drive as fast as he liked, as hard as he liked, as the car would finally have matched his outstanding talents. 1982 was the year that had 11 different race winners, so he may have done it, who really knows?
James Hunt spotted him driving in Formula Atlantic in....76/77 I think, if memory serves, and Mclaren did try to sign him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbRnPwS178g
Another legendary bit of footage - some of his colleagues thought this was dangerous, and you can't disagree with that. However, it's his inbuilt never say die attitude...."Oh I have 3 wheels, lets get to the pits, get another and go racing!"
You can see Jacques was a chip off the old block - trying to go through Eau Rouge flatout (in the days when it was still a big risk) just because he wanted the challenge and excitement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dPJMxJlcr0&feature=related
Of course, one cannot speak of Gilles without touching upon his tragic death.
This absolutely titanic battle (always nice to hear James Hunt go "ooooohhhhhh") completely and totally soured Villeneuve's relationship with his team-mate. Villeneuve believed Pironi had disobeyed a direct team order/ agreement. If you search for the podium footage you can see the hurt in Gilles eyes. They never spoke again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua70zL52pt0
Many people have stated their belief that at Zolder Villeneuve was going absolutely over flat out to beat Pironi, which lead to him crashing.
He was just 32 when he died, 30 years ago.
I'll leave it to Niki Lauda ( 3 times world champion...knows what he is talking about) on ending what has been an emotional blog for me.
"He was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1... The fact that, for all this, he was a sensitive and lovable character rather than an out-and-out hell-raiser made him such a unique human being"
And Scheckter....
"I will miss Gilles for two reasons. First, he was the fastest driver in the history of motor racing. Second, he was the most genuine man I have ever known. But he has not gone. The memory of what he has done, what he achieved, will always be there."
Good news - this blog is officially international with readers from the USA, Brazil, Germany, Latvia...fantastic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3tXJm9tYGM
5 minutes and 10 seconds - this pass tells you everything about Gilles Villeneuve.
The guy just raced. He was a pure F1 racer. He went as hard and fast as he could - end of. If he had to finish 5th to win a world title, he would rather go hell for leather and try and win the race and fail. You could say this was a massive achillees heel - would he ever have won a world title driving like this? Who knows?
He despised politics in F1 and nothing made him more happy than getting in the car and thrashing the hell out of it, at the expense of many fine F1 drivers. He'd usually be driving a bucket of shit Ferrari - the only time he wasn't was 1979 when Scheckter won the title. He was more a tactical driver who went as fast as was needed - team orders helped him win the 79 title too, but thats another story. It's a bit like Hamilton and Button now - Hamilton goes for it (until this year at least) and burns his tyres out, whereas Button has a much more smooth, considered approach.
Gilles Villeneuve was purely a balls out racing legend. He overtook where people didn't think it possible. He won and got good points in a Ferrari that was by no means the best car on the grid (as touched upon in a previous blog...remind you of anyone?).
To put it bluntly - I see Gilles racing and the F1 fan in me just stands on in utter amazement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVyLEM-0wE
This win in Spain in 1981 has to be his greatest. From 2 minutes onwards in the footage....he had a train of cars behind him and didn't put a foot wrong. Lets be clear - it was a train of faster cars.
I delved more into/ got into the legend of Gilles through his son Jacques coming into F1 in 1996 (even though during his career Jacques never spoke about his Father - it's only recently he has opened up about him). Jacques racing style was very much like his Dad's it has to be said - and I'll visit Jacques in this hero list another time.
It seems that whilst many of those who raced alongside him thought he was the most ridiculous talent of the era, there were some who called him reckless and blatantly dangerous. He was always pushing himself beyond what the car was capable of - as Jacques would always do...."exploring the limits of the car".
Those that knew him, and indeed those same colleagues who appreciated his blatant talent, speak of his extraordinary car control - but whilst he'd push the limit, he'd never put anyone else in danger.
I openly admit, as touched on earlier, that Gilles may have struggled to win a title had he carried on at Ferrari - he seemed far too loyal to them. Had he gotten himself into the best cars, as all the greatest generally do, then he'd have been able to drive as fast as he liked, as hard as he liked, as the car would finally have matched his outstanding talents. 1982 was the year that had 11 different race winners, so he may have done it, who really knows?
James Hunt spotted him driving in Formula Atlantic in....76/77 I think, if memory serves, and Mclaren did try to sign him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbRnPwS178g
Another legendary bit of footage - some of his colleagues thought this was dangerous, and you can't disagree with that. However, it's his inbuilt never say die attitude...."Oh I have 3 wheels, lets get to the pits, get another and go racing!"
You can see Jacques was a chip off the old block - trying to go through Eau Rouge flatout (in the days when it was still a big risk) just because he wanted the challenge and excitement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dPJMxJlcr0&feature=related
Of course, one cannot speak of Gilles without touching upon his tragic death.
This absolutely titanic battle (always nice to hear James Hunt go "ooooohhhhhh") completely and totally soured Villeneuve's relationship with his team-mate. Villeneuve believed Pironi had disobeyed a direct team order/ agreement. If you search for the podium footage you can see the hurt in Gilles eyes. They never spoke again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua70zL52pt0
Many people have stated their belief that at Zolder Villeneuve was going absolutely over flat out to beat Pironi, which lead to him crashing.
He was just 32 when he died, 30 years ago.
I'll leave it to Niki Lauda ( 3 times world champion...knows what he is talking about) on ending what has been an emotional blog for me.
"He was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1... The fact that, for all this, he was a sensitive and lovable character rather than an out-and-out hell-raiser made him such a unique human being"
And Scheckter....
"I will miss Gilles for two reasons. First, he was the fastest driver in the history of motor racing. Second, he was the most genuine man I have ever known. But he has not gone. The memory of what he has done, what he achieved, will always be there."
Good news - this blog is officially international with readers from the USA, Brazil, Germany, Latvia...fantastic.
Tuesday 24 April 2012
The Stat Man
Justin:
Well, I have to say, my ability to quote stats in the world of F1 is bettered only by my co-blogger. The first Lotus podium since 1988 hey? Whilst he has quoted far more in-depth and number related stats previously, and I'm pretty sure he heard this particular one on BBC coverage over the weekend.... (?), it sure is a good one. Technically, they aren't even really Lotus at all now either - after all the wrangling that went on last year, Lotus Group/ Proton has pulled all money out of the team, aside from sponsoring them in name only now until 2017 - so, surely now they are almost "Team Enstone"?
Combine his above stat with the second one about podiums/races/drivers - my mind boggles!
It was a good race in Bahrain. I go with the view that with all the media attention at least the spotlight was on the country and the issues it is currently having - raising awareness of the problems etc. Then again, on the flip side you could easily say that the Silver cars from Woking are half funded by Bahrain money and Bernie was receiving a truckload of cash to hold the race. Then again, he'd probably have got his grubby little hands on the cash race or no race.
I'm going with a few sub-headings yet again!
Vettel
A great win that reminded me of....all of last year. And, as my colleague remarked, of Nico last week in China.
Webber
Anyone else notice Webber quietly creeping up the title standings to third, just a handful of points off the lead? In a year where there is a different winner every race, consistency might very well be key here - wasn't it 11 different race winners in 82, where Keke won the title with just one win?
Button and Hamilton
Oh dear boys. Not the best race there!
Naughty Nico
Whilst the stewards found him not guilty of anything - his defending against Alonso and Hamilton was marginal and a tad rude at best.
Kimi
Great to see Kimi up there fighting for a win - though anyone would have thought the world had ended in his interview afterwards - still, surely thats a sign that he is a born winner and anything less just isnt good enough. The Kimi of old is back it seems!
Forum
Some great forum banter - Jake and DC collaring Brundle! Apparently Sky had cleared away and were going home! Martin told DC not to be late for dinner and Jake pondered where his invite was. Good to see they still have some banter.
DC then lost his man bag. The horror! Though his shirt was significantly better than EJ's range.
3 weeks til Spain now. Bah!
Look out for my next F1 hero soon.
Monday 23 April 2012
Four races, four race winners, four championship leaders
Phil: Yesterday in Bahrain, the race that shouldn't have happened but everyone's secretly glad that it did reminded us yet again how close this season is - and there's every reason to think it will stay that way. As if the stat above wasn't enough, here's another - in 2011, seven men stood on the podium all season, and five of them monopolised it for all but the first two races. So far this season, eight men have stood on the podium, after only four races.
The balance of power in F1 seems to shift on an almost weekly basis. Last weekend in Shanghai, Mercedes were the class of the field. This weekend, Red Bull and Lotus had the advantage, Mercedes were lacklustre and erstwhile championship leaders McLaren really had a race to forget. David Coulthard made a very interesting point pre-race in that this is what you get when you have stability in the rules - each team has time to figure out what makes the fastest teams fastest, and copy it. The result is a very close field, which in turn makes for exciting races.
There's only time to note really that Raikkonen's second and Grosjean's third were the first podium positions for Lotus cars since Nelson Piquet in 1988. There's a great pic on the BBC website of race winner Vettel (oh yeah, forgot to mention, the reigning world champion took his first win of the season) marking the occasion by giving Raikkonen the bunny ears during the podium photo session.
The balance of power in F1 seems to shift on an almost weekly basis. Last weekend in Shanghai, Mercedes were the class of the field. This weekend, Red Bull and Lotus had the advantage, Mercedes were lacklustre and erstwhile championship leaders McLaren really had a race to forget. David Coulthard made a very interesting point pre-race in that this is what you get when you have stability in the rules - each team has time to figure out what makes the fastest teams fastest, and copy it. The result is a very close field, which in turn makes for exciting races.
There's only time to note really that Raikkonen's second and Grosjean's third were the first podium positions for Lotus cars since Nelson Piquet in 1988. There's a great pic on the BBC website of race winner Vettel (oh yeah, forgot to mention, the reigning world champion took his first win of the season) marking the occasion by giving Raikkonen the bunny ears during the podium photo session.
Monday 16 April 2012
Not the new Nick Heidfeld any more
Phil: I agree entirely with my co-blogger that we both knew Nico Rosberg could do it, the only doubt was whether, given the extent to which success in F1 depends on having the right machinery at the right time, he ever would. As my co-blogger has pointed out, Nico took his first win at his 111th race - only Button, Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello have had to wait longer for their maiden victory.
Let's be under no illusions that Nico was simply in the right place at the right time, and took a lucky first win, as plenty of other drivers have done. He was genuinely the class of the field in Shanghai - pole by a margin of half a second, and then the win with a margin of 20s.
Lovers of statistics will note that this was the first race won by anyone other than the Big 5 (Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button and Alonso) since Barrichello won at Monza in 2009. 1982 champion Keke Rosberg becomes the first driver to have won a race himself and then seen his son win one (Graham Hill and Gilles Villeneuve were dead when their sons won the world championship). Nico becomes the first man to win in a Mercedes since Fangio in 1955, and the first German driver to win at the wheel of a Mercedes since Hermann Lang, in the 1939 Swiss Grand Prix - held less than a fortnight before the outbreak of war.
This win should improve Nico's confidence no end, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him take another win before the end of the season - assuming Mercedes continue to have the pace they showed at Shanghai.
One thing is for certain - we are in for a cracker of a season. Three races in, and still no real pattern and no clear favourite. The last six races have been won by six different drivers, and the world championship is currently led by a man who hasn't won so far this season but who has managed three third places. As his boss Martin Whitmarsh said yesterday, 'who would try to predict who's going to win the next race?'
I wouldn't.
Let's be under no illusions that Nico was simply in the right place at the right time, and took a lucky first win, as plenty of other drivers have done. He was genuinely the class of the field in Shanghai - pole by a margin of half a second, and then the win with a margin of 20s.
Lovers of statistics will note that this was the first race won by anyone other than the Big 5 (Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button and Alonso) since Barrichello won at Monza in 2009. 1982 champion Keke Rosberg becomes the first driver to have won a race himself and then seen his son win one (Graham Hill and Gilles Villeneuve were dead when their sons won the world championship). Nico becomes the first man to win in a Mercedes since Fangio in 1955, and the first German driver to win at the wheel of a Mercedes since Hermann Lang, in the 1939 Swiss Grand Prix - held less than a fortnight before the outbreak of war.
This win should improve Nico's confidence no end, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him take another win before the end of the season - assuming Mercedes continue to have the pace they showed at Shanghai.
One thing is for certain - we are in for a cracker of a season. Three races in, and still no real pattern and no clear favourite. The last six races have been won by six different drivers, and the world championship is currently led by a man who hasn't won so far this season but who has managed three third places. As his boss Martin Whitmarsh said yesterday, 'who would try to predict who's going to win the next race?'
I wouldn't.
Sunday 15 April 2012
China
Justin: Hmmm, I really should come up with better subject titles!
Anyway....
I think this year will be the closest ever.
We've always known Nico Rosberg was good, but just how good was ultimately unknown. He's a bit like Button in a way, in that he'd always been in non race winning cars. Button took 113 races to get his first victory, Rosberg 110. I've always thought Rosberg was good, capable, but not great. Perhaps now with his first win under his belt he'll mature and improve in the same sort of way Button did.
Give him a race winning car, as Mercedes have done this year, and today shows just how good he is. In fact, qualifying was a blur.....Nico was half a second quicker than anyone else, which is almost unheard of in 2012! You only need to look at Q2 to see how close the grid is this year. Vettel didn't make it into Q3 and the gap between 1st and 10th in Q2 was just 3 tenths of a second. Amazing!
The race in China was frankly frantic, beautiful, amazing and intense. There were so many things going on that it's hard to recall exactly what happened where and between who! Do we need the legendary subheadings system again? I'm going to read over the race report on the BBC website first before proceeding.
Incidentally, I emerged at 6am for yesterdays qualifying show and 7am for todays race. I received a text from my esteemed colleague yesterday afternoon asking if I wanted to watch the race with him as he was back in town. I replied, asking if he meant the live show or the repeat at lunchtime. I suspect he may have watched the lunch version :-).
Race Overview
As already mentioned, it was an utterly frantic race behind Rosberg. There were so many scraps and overtakes along with wheelbanging and sparks flying ( Maldonado and Grosjean...boy those guys went at it tooth and nail!) it was just insane. So much fun to watch and as Button said, so much fun to drive in too! Rosberg dissapeared, Button may have had fun trying to catch him but for a slow pit-stop which fed him into the chasing queue of cars. Near the end Kimi was 2nd, but in one lap he plummetted down to 10th. That will be the tyres then!
Nico Rosberg
Son of 1982 Champion Keke, Nico couldn't have done anything any better for the weekend. The Mercedes has looked fast in quali since the start of the year, more in the hands of Schumi. They have usually struggled for race pace as their car has a small window of ultimate use with the tyres.
Let's not piss around here. Rosberg was half a second quicker than anyone else in Q3! That's a gap and a half.
In essence, he did what Vettel did a lot of last year - get pole then dissapear. Though, it has to be said, Vettel never really dissapeared like Rosberg did today - he was a full 20 seconds ahead at the end!
A beautiful weekend for Rosberg which catapaults him up the driver standings.
JB & Lewis
They now have a championship winning car. They sit first and second in the title race seperated by just two points.
Lewis has clearly taken a leaf out of JB's book by being more consistent this year.
JB is driving absolutely at the top of his game and I suspect he will only get better.
I would put a lot of money on their "relationship" fracturing big time as the season evolves - only one of them can win the title. End of.
Webber and Vettel
Vettel seems generally unhappy with this years car, opting to use a slightly older spec version of the RB8 this weekend whilst Webber had the upgrades.
Webber has gone on record saying this years car feels like a more conventional F1 car as opposed to last years blown diffuser layout which changed the handling somewhat.
So, if we look at last year as a blip for Webber, we can clearly see this year that these two are back to a level playing field ala 2010 when they literally raced each other off the road.
Webber drove a great race today, as did Vettel - but with one lap to go they found themselves 5th and 4th repsectively and line-a-stern. I was half thinking Red Bull would tell Webber to stay behind....They didn't, and he didn't.
To be fair, Vettel's tyres were shot and when interviewed about it neither of them played it up - it was what it was. Doesnt appear to be any bad blood on either side just yet.
We wait until Vettel starts getting rather upset about being beaten by his team-mate. You always need to beat your team-mate first.
DC
Needs to rest his voice after nearly losing it through getting so excited in the race. Are you Murray in disguise??!!
BBC
If you watched the forum, you will know that a lot of people despise Sky Sports. The team's interview with a fan known as Lao was amusing, but at the same time cringeworthy hehe.
Grosjean and Maldonado
What a fucking battle that was! Sparks flew, literally!
Alonso
Back to reality with a P9 start and a P9 finish. Those upgrades cannot come soon enough!
Bruno Senna
Anyone else actually notice him sliding up the field from 14th to 7th? I thought not. Beautiful stuff yet again from this guy.
Actually, listening to the repeat now, Ben Edwards gets just a tad excited and high pitched too. Nice.
Co-blogger, I suspect I have missed plenty. Over to you!
Anyway....
I think this year will be the closest ever.
We've always known Nico Rosberg was good, but just how good was ultimately unknown. He's a bit like Button in a way, in that he'd always been in non race winning cars. Button took 113 races to get his first victory, Rosberg 110. I've always thought Rosberg was good, capable, but not great. Perhaps now with his first win under his belt he'll mature and improve in the same sort of way Button did.
Give him a race winning car, as Mercedes have done this year, and today shows just how good he is. In fact, qualifying was a blur.....Nico was half a second quicker than anyone else, which is almost unheard of in 2012! You only need to look at Q2 to see how close the grid is this year. Vettel didn't make it into Q3 and the gap between 1st and 10th in Q2 was just 3 tenths of a second. Amazing!
The race in China was frankly frantic, beautiful, amazing and intense. There were so many things going on that it's hard to recall exactly what happened where and between who! Do we need the legendary subheadings system again? I'm going to read over the race report on the BBC website first before proceeding.
Incidentally, I emerged at 6am for yesterdays qualifying show and 7am for todays race. I received a text from my esteemed colleague yesterday afternoon asking if I wanted to watch the race with him as he was back in town. I replied, asking if he meant the live show or the repeat at lunchtime. I suspect he may have watched the lunch version :-).
Race Overview
As already mentioned, it was an utterly frantic race behind Rosberg. There were so many scraps and overtakes along with wheelbanging and sparks flying ( Maldonado and Grosjean...boy those guys went at it tooth and nail!) it was just insane. So much fun to watch and as Button said, so much fun to drive in too! Rosberg dissapeared, Button may have had fun trying to catch him but for a slow pit-stop which fed him into the chasing queue of cars. Near the end Kimi was 2nd, but in one lap he plummetted down to 10th. That will be the tyres then!
Nico Rosberg
Son of 1982 Champion Keke, Nico couldn't have done anything any better for the weekend. The Mercedes has looked fast in quali since the start of the year, more in the hands of Schumi. They have usually struggled for race pace as their car has a small window of ultimate use with the tyres.
Let's not piss around here. Rosberg was half a second quicker than anyone else in Q3! That's a gap and a half.
In essence, he did what Vettel did a lot of last year - get pole then dissapear. Though, it has to be said, Vettel never really dissapeared like Rosberg did today - he was a full 20 seconds ahead at the end!
A beautiful weekend for Rosberg which catapaults him up the driver standings.
JB & Lewis
They now have a championship winning car. They sit first and second in the title race seperated by just two points.
Lewis has clearly taken a leaf out of JB's book by being more consistent this year.
JB is driving absolutely at the top of his game and I suspect he will only get better.
I would put a lot of money on their "relationship" fracturing big time as the season evolves - only one of them can win the title. End of.
Webber and Vettel
Vettel seems generally unhappy with this years car, opting to use a slightly older spec version of the RB8 this weekend whilst Webber had the upgrades.
Webber has gone on record saying this years car feels like a more conventional F1 car as opposed to last years blown diffuser layout which changed the handling somewhat.
So, if we look at last year as a blip for Webber, we can clearly see this year that these two are back to a level playing field ala 2010 when they literally raced each other off the road.
Webber drove a great race today, as did Vettel - but with one lap to go they found themselves 5th and 4th repsectively and line-a-stern. I was half thinking Red Bull would tell Webber to stay behind....They didn't, and he didn't.
To be fair, Vettel's tyres were shot and when interviewed about it neither of them played it up - it was what it was. Doesnt appear to be any bad blood on either side just yet.
We wait until Vettel starts getting rather upset about being beaten by his team-mate. You always need to beat your team-mate first.
DC
Needs to rest his voice after nearly losing it through getting so excited in the race. Are you Murray in disguise??!!
BBC
If you watched the forum, you will know that a lot of people despise Sky Sports. The team's interview with a fan known as Lao was amusing, but at the same time cringeworthy hehe.
Grosjean and Maldonado
What a fucking battle that was! Sparks flew, literally!
Alonso
Back to reality with a P9 start and a P9 finish. Those upgrades cannot come soon enough!
Bruno Senna
Anyone else actually notice him sliding up the field from 14th to 7th? I thought not. Beautiful stuff yet again from this guy.
Actually, listening to the repeat now, Ben Edwards gets just a tad excited and high pitched too. Nice.
Co-blogger, I suspect I have missed plenty. Over to you!
Saturday 7 April 2012
Gilles Villeneuve
Justin: It's 30 years since the death of one of, if not the most, naturally gifted drivers of all time.
Motorsport magazine has this month written a few fantastic pieces on the man and I recommend that my co-blogger pick up a copy - or just read mine next time we meet.
Interestingly, Jacques has started opening up about his Dad since he left F1 - he rightly didn't want to speak of him when he was starting his career as he wanted to carve his own way.
I couldn't help but notice one piece of writing by the editor - He was talking about Villeneuve looking at today's F1 and being unfussed about it, he'd just get on with racing the wheels of whatever he was driving...usually a pig of a Ferrari.
Holding on against the odds in fifth place, a supremely gifted racing driver, grappling with a pig of a Ferrari and scoring points them team didn't deserve. The spirit of Gilles lives on in the pure racer form of Fernando Alonso.
Until this, I'd never thought of those being similar, but when you look at how many times Villeneuve dragged a performance out of his cars on pure driver brilliance, you can start to see the comparisons.
Motorsport magazine has this month written a few fantastic pieces on the man and I recommend that my co-blogger pick up a copy - or just read mine next time we meet.
Interestingly, Jacques has started opening up about his Dad since he left F1 - he rightly didn't want to speak of him when he was starting his career as he wanted to carve his own way.
I couldn't help but notice one piece of writing by the editor - He was talking about Villeneuve looking at today's F1 and being unfussed about it, he'd just get on with racing the wheels of whatever he was driving...usually a pig of a Ferrari.
Holding on against the odds in fifth place, a supremely gifted racing driver, grappling with a pig of a Ferrari and scoring points them team didn't deserve. The spirit of Gilles lives on in the pure racer form of Fernando Alonso.
Until this, I'd never thought of those being similar, but when you look at how many times Villeneuve dragged a performance out of his cars on pure driver brilliance, you can start to see the comparisons.
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