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Just as the rain stopped, qualifying began around the streets of Monte Carlo, and following on from the practice times set on Thursday, it was clearly going to be a contest between the McLaren drivers of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Saturday warm up though threw up a little surprise, with a wet circuit allowing Adrian Sutil in the Spyker to set a fastest time. For the Dutch team, it was disappointment by the time qualifying began as the circuit had pretty much dried out. The conditions were though, less than perfect, with grip levels unknown and weather reports threatening further downpours. Continue Reading…

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Monaco is one of those special races, a unique and challenging circuit that gets the best of even the greatest of Formula One drivers. It’s a place that is in most Formula One fan’s hearts, and the street circuit has provided some of the greatest Grands Prix in the sports history. Last year I asked what you guys thought about the race, and the responses were great - it seems a lot of you are really passionate about Formula One. I was thinking of asking the same question again, but then had the idea of posting some really old photos of the circuit, and doing a sort of brief timeline. So without any further ado, here are just a few images from Monaco Grands Prix of the past, starting in 1950 and Fangio’s first victory and ending in last year’s 2006 race where Fernando Alonso led all but one of the laps. Continue Reading…

Red Bull Racing have jumped on the bandwagon that Honda started with their “innovative” livery back in February. At the time, Honda said they would be doing away with corporate logos all over the RA107, and instead invite fans to sign up and pledge to do something to help reduce their carbon footprint. In return, their name would be emblazened on the car for the remainder of the year. And today, Red Bull have announced a similar scheme that will hopefully raise a lot of money for Wings for Life - a charity which supports those affected by spinal cord injuries. Continue Reading…

With the Friday practice sessions being moved to Thursday over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, today saw action from Formula One around the heralded streets of the tiny Principality on the Northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. And on the first outing to gauge the grip levels of the circuit, it was McLaren who drew first blood and went first and second fastest, reigning World Champion Fernando Alonso getting the better of his rookie team mate Lewis Hamilton. Fernando managed to set a blistering time in comparison to the other cars, and ended the first 90 minute session almost 0.8s ahead of the sister MP4-22. Of course, the track was improving all the time as more and more rubber was laid, and an accident involving Giancarlo Fisichella and an armco barrier prevented any faster laps in the final moments of the morning. Continue Reading…

With Friday’s practice being moved to Thursday at Monaco, Formula One saw action today on the famous streets. The lap times of each driver will follow later today, but for now here are a few quick snippets of news following on from a busy morning in Monte Carlo. Continue Reading…

As the Formula One circus takes over the tiny principality sandwiched between France and Italy, I thought I would take just five minutes to recap all the news stories that have happened over the last week or so. I’m sure there will be more to discuss closer to this weekend, and undoubtedly afterwards, but for now, here’s how last week went. Continue Reading…

After four days of testing at France’s Paul Ricard circuit for the majority of Formula One’s teams, Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen evened his ego out with Lewis Hamilton, having taken the fastest lap for the second day in succession. The Finn pounded the longer layout of the circuit 101 times, using the ‘Montreal’ configuration in an attempt to reproduce the effects on the car that Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will after next weekends Monaco Grand Prix. Looking at the times and times alone, it looks as though Ferrari could have the upper hand in Canada, while McLaren look strong for a Monaco win. However, as with all testing times, a pinch of salt should be taken when reviewing the stopwatch. Continue Reading…

Kimi Raikkonen set about reeling his opponents in today, as the Finnish driver set the fastest lap of the day on the slightly longer configuration at Paul Ricard. Having ran on the twisty sections for the last two days, Thursday saw practice for Montreal and Indianapolis, which are following Monaco next weekend. Raikkonen breaks Lewis Hamilton’s and McLaren’s dominance of the test so far, and driving the Mercedes today was Pedro De La Rosa. The Spaniard concentrated on tyres and set up work, as well as gaining vital data about the brakes, as Circuit Gilles Villeneuve can be a car breaker. Continue Reading…

For the second day at France’s premier testing circuit, Lewis Hamilton as hogged the top of the timing sheet and gone faster than main rivals Ferrari. The teams ran the tight and twisty ‘Monaco’ configuration again, in preparation for the Grand Prix in eleven days, and focused on car set up and gaining the maximum from the Bridgestone tyres. Continue Reading…