Monaco Grand Prix Preview: The Five Key Factors

What is there left to say about the that hasn?t been said already? The glitz and glamour, the rich history and controversy; Monaco is a reminder that amidst races held in deserts in front of freshly finished concrete grandstands, the heart of what made formula 1 great in the first ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/zTmkpTeSjDw/monaco-grand-prix-preview-the-five-key-factors

Jack Fairman Juan Manuel Fangio Nino Farina Walt Faulkner William Ferguson

Thought on the Lotus judgement

Group Lotus set out to stop Team Lotus being in Formula 1. It failed. Thus, we are faced with the bizarre situation of Team Lotus and Lotus Renault GP continuing to exist in tandem in F1. Group Lotus is still allowed to race in black and gold in Formula 1, but Team Lotus has the [...]

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/thought-on-the-lotus-judgement/

Olivier Panis Giorgio Pantano Massimiliano Papis Mike Parkes Reg Parnell

Fernando Alonso - classic F1 2011

It is the turn of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to pick his five favourite all-time grands prix in the latest edition of our classic Formula 1 series.

We have asked all the drivers to do the same, and are broadcasting their choices - and highlights of the relevant races - ahead of each grand prix this season to whet your appetites for the action to come. Highlights will be shown on this website and on the red button in the UK.

Alonso follows in the footsteps of Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Buemi and Rubens Barrichello so far this season.

We have chosen Spain's double world champion this time because it is his home race this weekend, and among his choices is a grand prix from the Circuit de Catalunya that has hosted the event since 1991.

That choice is the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix, which Alonso won to become the first Spaniard to win his home race. Of his 26 career victories, and 162 grands prix, the 29-year-old says this one "may be for me still the most emotional race".

Alonso has picked only two races from his own career, the other being his remarkable victory in last year's maiden Korean Grand Prix.

Those who remember his manic cackle over the radio on the slow-down lap - part disbelief, part sheer joy, part cartoon villain - will not be surprised that he has chosen that race. You may, though, be as surprised as I was that he did not choose his superb victory in the Italian Grand Prix last year, in his first season at Ferrari, which he likened to his Spanish victory.

For Alonso, Korea last year marked the climax of a quite brilliant fightback in the world championship battle.

Leaving the British Grand Prix, the 10th of 19 races last year, Alonso was 47 points off the championship lead. His victory in Korea, seven races later, put him at the top of the standings. Of course, he went on to lose the championship by just four points to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel after a catastrophic strategic error by Ferrari in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

In Korea, Alonso was engaged in an intense race-long battle for the lead with Vettel and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton which was finally decided in the Ferrari driver's favour when Vettel suffered an engine failure in the closing stages.

But that was not the only reason Alonso remembers the race so fondly - in fact, he did not even mention that he won it.

He said: "I will always remember the first race in Korea because the conditions were so extreme in terms of light.

"It was completely dark and it was so wet. It was one hour delayed because of the wet. We could not follow the safety car because of the spray.

"There were so many things in one race that it remains quite shocking what we did in Korea."

Alonso's other three choices are ones that have already proved popular among the other drivers.

He has chosen the two notorious Japanese Grands Prix of 1989 and 1990, in both of which Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost collided to decide the destiny of the world title. These were also chosen by Buemi.

And finally there is Belgium 2000, featuring Mika Hakkinen's famous pass of Schumacher, as the two went either side of the backmarker Ricardo Zonta. This race was also chosen by Schumacher.

Alonso says: "One of my favourite races was Senna-Prost fight in Suzuka when in Turn One they finished both in the gravel (1990), and the year before, when one of them (Prost) finished stopped in the chicane.

"I also like, and have seen many times on TV, the race at Spa with Mika and Michael, when they overtook Ricardo Zonta at the end of the straight. That was a super race - from both of them."

An interesting footnote about that weekend in Belgium in 2000 is that it was also crucial in Alonso's career.

He was racing in Formula 3000, the forerunner of today's GP2 feeder series, driving for the Astromega team, who were not one of the better outfits.

In terms of bald statistics, it was not a great season. At Spa, though, on one of the world's great driver circuits, Alonso was in a league of his own, taking pole position, a dominant victory and fastest lap.

His performance impressed many of those watching the race in the F1 paddock, among them a certain Flavio Briatore, who pretty much immediately signed Alonso up for his driver management business.

The next year, Alonso was driving for Minardi in F1, the year after that he was test driver for Briatore's Renault team, in 2003 he was promoted to a race drive and the rest is history.

In Hungary that year, Alonso's became the sport's youngest ever race winner and two years later its youngest world champion, and a year after that the youngest double champion.

Now, back to classic F1.

In these blogs, we pick one of the driver's choices to highlight. Logically, this time it would be Spain 2006, this being not only Alonso's favourite race but also the one that is most directly related to the forthcoming event.

The victory hinged on a blistering opening stint from Alonso - he was making a first stop much earlier than Schumacher's Ferrari and for a while there some tension about whether he was doing a three-stop strategy to Schumacher's two, and whether he would pull out enough of a gap to make it work.

As it turned out, Alonso did only two stops, with a long middle stint, and while it was a powerful and impressive drive, the race was pretty uneventful. So we have decided instead to showcase last year's Korean Grand Prix, which was completely the opposite.

So, long highlights of that race are embedded below. A link to the short highlights is underneath, along with long and short highlights of Mark Webber impressive victory for Red Bull in last year's Spanish Grand Prix. Highlights of the other races Alonso picked are linked out of the relevant point in this blog.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


CLICK HERE TO WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 KOREAN GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 SPANISH GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 SPANISH GRAND PRIX

On digital satellite and cable television on the BBC red button in the UK, we will be showing short highlights from Japan 1989, Belgium 2000 and Spain 2006 as well as extended highlights of Korea 2010 and Spain 2010 from 1500 BST on Wednesday 18 May until 1200 BST Sunday 22 May.

On Freeview we will be showing short highlights from Japan 1989, Belgium 2000 and Spain 2006 as well as extended highlights of Korea 2010 from 1040 BST until 1250 BST on Friday 20 May.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/05/fernando_alonso_picks_his_five.html

Nicola Larini Oscar Larrauri Gerard Larrousse Jud Larson Niki Lauda†

Chevrolet Corvette C5 by Wittera


We love the Chevrolet Corvette C5 so fiercely that it’s going to take a real good aftermarket tuning program to make us think that it’s going to work on the American sports car. Believe us when we say that the Corvette is one of the few sports cars that looks inherently good by itself and tuning companies often are left with two options for their programs: hit or miss.

German aftermarket specialist, Wittera, came up with a new widebody aero package, to go with some minor performance tweaks, for their new program for the Corvette C5. After looking at the evidence and the numbers involved, we like the smell of what these guys are cooking.

For starters, the widebody kit is being offered with a choice of either carbon fiber or a high-grade glass fiber-reinforced plastic with the latter being subjected to what Wittera calls ’tempering.’ This process means that the parts are heated at 149° F (65° C) before being cooled into a mold for 25 minutes, thereby making the parts sturdier to avoid the potential for cracks.

In addition to the two kit choices, the program also offers fenders on the front and rear end, door and rocker panels, a rear apron, and a front bumper that comes in two options: a deeper set that makes for a more aggressive widebody profile and a flat version that is used for Corvettes that have lowered suspensions. On top of that, Wittera is also offering customers a plethora of wheel choices that include 20 different sets (19" and 20") that customers can choose from.

All told, the whole set-up does justice to the Corvette by enhancing all of its features while also not going too overboard with the details. It’s a program that works excellent for the American sports car and is something that the folks over at Wittera should be very proud of.

Chevrolet Corvette C5 by Wittera originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 May 2011 11:00 EST.

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Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/chevrolet/1997-2004-chevrolet-corvette-c5-by-wittera-ar110282.html

Hermann Lang Claudio Langes Nicola Larini Oscar Larrauri Gerard Larrousse

Aston Martin V12 Zagato racer arrives at the Nürburgring [spy photos]

Our spies have caught the first pictures of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato racing prototype, ahead of its debut at the 4-hour ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN race on the Nürburgring's Nordschleife.

Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/8dGet81vtkI/aston-martin-v12-zagato-racer-arrives-at-the-nrburgring

Mack Hellings Brian Henton Johnny Herbert Al Herman Hans Herrmann