Tag: Formula One

Predictions For the 2009 F1 Championship

Posted on April 11, 2023

The 2008 Formula One season has just ended in what can only be called dramatic fashion. Lewis Hamilton rescued his championship by passing a slick shod Toyota in the rain in the last corner of the last lap of the season. It simply does not get any better or crazier than that.

We know that Hamilton has one the Driver’s Championship and Ferrari the Constructor’s Championship this year, but what about the 2009 season. Will it be more of the same or can we expect more changes such as the rise of BMW this year?

The answer is we can expect 2009 to be a very interesting year. Why? It comes down to a simple fact. To save money and …

Renault F1 Crashgate

Posted on March 28, 2023

If you’ve been following motor racing, you will most probably have heard of the latest Formula One scandal, nicknamed Crashgate. Over the 2008 F1 Singapore GP, the Renault team comprising of Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr, qualified in 15th and 16th place and would normally not have any hopes of winning the race. As it happened, Piquet Jr intentionally crashed his car in Lap 14. His purpose of bringing out the safety car worked, as Alonso, having refueled earlier on, went on to take the lead and became the unlikely winner of the 1st ever night race in Formula One history.

But now the truth is out and the fall out over this scandal begins. Alonso has denied any …

Alonso Puts Off Move to Ferrari?

Posted on March 17, 2023

The world of Formula One is all a flutter regarding reports that Fernando Alonso put off a move from Renault to Ferrari out of loyalty to the Renault Team. This is one rumor you really have to question.

Let me start off by saying I am a Fernando Alonso fan. I think he is the most talented driver on the circuit with Sebastian Vettel coming a close second. Alonso’s ability to drive is unquestioned and his duel with Michael Schumacher a few years back was legendary.

Perhaps just as important is Alonso’s ability to develop a car. Is there anyone better? The Renault was laughably bad at the beginning of the 2008 year. It was almost at the level of …

How Your Renault Dealer Will Make You Feel Young Again

Posted on February 4, 2023

Tell you what, being young was brilliant. Yes, I know I’m only 24 now, but I’m talking about when I was six or seven and could play with my toy cars, build vehicles that defied the laws of physics out of Lego and race my dad on Scalextric. Sitting in the cinema recently I watched Speed Racer (I believe I make up exactly 100% of the world’s population that has viewed said film) and I really rather enjoyed it. Set in the future, the crux of the film revolved around a lad handily called Speed Racer who raced around a full size Scalextric track in a futuristic car. Many gravity defining minutes later, with bright neon lights whizzing past my …

The 2009 Pre-Season Formula One Testing Reveals A Competitive Season

Posted on January 23, 2023

The last fifteen years or so has seen Formula One evolve into a sport where realistically only two or three teams had a chance to win each race unless it rained. The 2009 pre-season testing is providing a fairly credible belief that this has changed.

Formula One rarely makes significant changes. Minor tweaks occur all the time, but that is about it. Faced with the “Great Recession”, even the teams and power brokers in F1 have had to reconsider the championship. In a cost cutting move, they’ve slashed the cost involved in going racing in a number of ways in an effort to keep manufacturers and privateer companies racing. This cost cutting seems to have seriously narrowed the gap between …

More Pressure on Renault F1 Team – ING Out As Main Sponsor

Posted on December 19, 2022

There are certain Formula One teams that come with deep pockets. Ferrari and McLaren come to mind. Other teams, however, are always a bit on edge and the Renault F1 team was just dealt a brutal blow.

Formula One is made up of three types of teams. The first one is the privateer. It is a private race team that uses engines and other components that it buys from manufacturers. The Williams team is an example. The second type of team common in Formula One is the manufacturer team. As the name suggests, this team is started, owned and run by a road car manufacturer. BMW Sauber is an example of such a team. The third type of team in …

BMW Sauber Expects Good Showing At Canadian and US Grands Prix

Posted on December 7, 2022

The Canadian Grand Prix is the sixth race of the season and the race will be held on the tenth of this month. As raceday approaches, Formula One teams are already voicing out their expectations for the race which will be held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. One of the teams busy with preparation for the said race is the BMW Sauber contingent.

Robert Kubica, the Number 2 driver for the team, is apparently looking forward to the race and is expecting a good performance from their cars at the Canadian Grand Prix and even in the next race which is the United States Grand Prix. “Montreal and Indianapolis are low-downforce tracks,” said the Polish driver.

“Our …

Formula One – What If the Manufacturers Leave?

Posted on November 19, 2022

In case you haven’t notice, the world is going through a tough period. For Formula One, this means many of the manufacturer backed teams are in trouble as retail car sales plummet.

Honda is already out. Renault just received a total of 4 billion from the French government to stay in business. BMW and Mercedes rely on sales in the United States to fund their operations. Toyota is declaring its first loss as a company in practically forever. Ferrari…well, it is doing okay. Still, the prospect of a severe change in landscape for Formula One is not just a possibility, it is turning into a probability.

It costs a lot of money to be in Formula One. That goes without …

F1 Silly Season Gets Crazy With BMW Withdrawal

Posted on November 5, 2022

As with most forms of motorsport, F1 has its silly season where rumors fly about drivers moving from one team to another. The odd thing about the silly season in 2009 is many of the rumors may come true now that BMW has given up the ghost in Formula One.

BMW will stop participating in Formula One after the end of the 2009 season. That means the two drivers for the team, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, will be free agents and available to any team. While the BMW Sauber Team may be sold to an independent investor, you can be sure both drivers have clauses in their contracts voiding their deals if that happens. Regardless, their availability shakes things …

Renault Reconsidering F1 Effort?

Posted on October 27, 2022

The current financial meltdown has been tough for practically every niche of the economy, but car companies have been particularly slammed. Renault is the latest company in the news and questions are being raised about its Formula One effort.

Renault is a French car company that is the equivalent of GM in the United States. Unfortunately, its current economic condition is about the same as well. The company just reported over a billion dollars in losses for the last half of 2008. Renault’s market is much smaller than most car companies, so these are devastating numbers.

Things are so bad for Renault and other French car companies that the French government has had to step in to help. It is …