A website by people with an incurable obsession with Formula One Racing
OK I’ll be honest. We couldn’t come up with anything for 43 and 42. If you have suggestions leave a comment or drop me a line. So instead I’ll post some video clips.
Earlier this week I mentioned Fangio’s stunning drive at the 1957 German GP. Here is some video.
Last week Michael Schumacher set a lap time just 5 seconds shy of the times set by top riders in MotoGP. Schumacher rode Casey Stoner’s Ducati GP7 around the Valencia track just five seconds slower than Dani Pedrosa’s fastest lap during the final race of the season.
Five seconds off the pace is an eternity in any speed sport but think about this;in 2005 Schumacher ran a MotoGP bike at Mugello and was 15 seconds off the pace. Se he’s improved. Now I’m assuming these bikes are hard to ride. For example I know how to drive a car (very well if I do say so myself) but that doesn’t mean I can jump in an F1 car and get within a decade of a race fastest lap. This guy hops on a MotoGP bike and runs within seconds of the fastest lap. It’s not like he is getting out everyday to practice. Anyway I find it pretty amazing and combine this with his recent success at testing the driver-aid less F2007 and I sure do wish he would come back to racing. Watch for yourself.
All credit to the original poster of this video clip.
I haven’t blogged much since the start of the season. I’m certainly following the season just as intently as I have any other season and I haven’t given up on F1 as someone suggested in an email wondering why I don’t post more items on the blog. To be honest I just haven’t had much to say. This has been an interesting season with a tight championship and the intrigue of a soap opera off the track.
I would say the biggest story this season has been the emergence of Lewis Hamilton as a championship favorite. He burst unto the F1 season after a very successful career in the lower formula including wining the GP2 title last year. From the first race in Australia through last weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix I get asked repeatedly by friends and family if Lewis Hamilton is the real deal or is he just another good driver in a great car. My answer is always the same. Look at how he does against his teammate (he has outperformed his double world champion teammate on several occasions) and just look at the way he drives. I think Hamilton is one of the best pure talented racing drivers we’ve seen since Michael Schumacher burst unto the scene in the 90’s. To my friends and family and anyone else that’ll listen I point out his exceptional braking ability as proof of his massive talent. Don’t get me wrong, he is gifted in almost every aspect of driving a race car but his overtaking skills under heavy braking is second to none and that shows not only physical talent but mental toughness as well. I don’t want to post about the Hamilton Effect and all the hype surrounding this young driver. I just want to leave with a small clip of what he did on the track last year in a GP2 race in Turkey. He spun early in the race and fell to nearly last place but he finished the race in second place. Marvel at the skill to achieve this result.
My favourite move has to be the move for second place toward the end of the clip. Look how far back he comes from to make that move. A lesser driver would have ended up off the track!
A few audio and video clips I’ve been meaning to post for some time.
Classic Senna followed by the McLaren team in a candid moment followed by Classic Montoya. Enjoy.
A few days ago Jacques Villeneuve was interviewed on The Hour which is a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. show. It wasn’t an earth shattering interview except that JV made no attempt to hide the fact that he wants to race in NASCAR.
Also I realized tonight that the man has absolutely no charisma whatsoever. I also realized that I’ve been a fan all along because of 1) his father 2) the 96 and 97 F1 seasons. Maybe that’s enough.
