BlogF1

The qualifying session for the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix threw up a couple of surprises, but I think all the talking points have centred around one driver - Fernando Alonso. The double world champion was able to place his Renault R28 on provisional pole position with his final lap of the day. Unfortunately to the euphoric crowds who stood, cheered and applauded their hero, Kimi Raikkonen followed Alonso over the line with a pole-stealing lap. The Finnish driver simply had a faster car on the day. However, while many expect Alonso is light on fuel, we need to consider Nelson Piquet Jr’s lap as well, the Brazilian managing to get in to tenth. Continue Reading

It was recently rumoured that Fernando Alonso returned to Renault simply as a stop-gap before heading out to Ferrari. The Spanish driver had moved from world champions Renault in 2007 because he felt that McLaren were in a stronger position to offer further titles. However, as the move didn’t go as well as planned, Alonso returned to Renault this year due to few other teams being able to take him at the time. Earlier in the season he was said to be in a strong position with Renault, having managed to get a clause added to his contract which essentially allowed him to leave if he wanted. This sparked speculation that Alonso was in the process of negotiating a way into the Ferrari team, but this has since been quashed by both parties. Continue Reading

Day three at Barcelona saw Renault improve to lead the teams as Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap of the day. His time was set while on slick tyres and was 0.9s faster than Ferrari’s head F1 car developer and former champion Michael Schumacher. Adrian Sutil placed his Ferrari-powered Force India in an impressive third, although like the two drivers ahead of him, he was also on slick tyres and also running the faster 2008 aero. setup. Continue Reading

What do Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Fernando Alonso all have in common? You’d be right to say they’re all Formula One world champions, but for the sake of this post, they all have a connection with French car company Renault. Ayrton Senna debuted in the team that would eventually be transformed into Benetton and then in-turn Renault (and was tragically killed in a car powered by Renault), Alain Prost drove for Renault in the early ’80s, Schumacher, Hill and Villeneuve each won a championship with Viry-Chatillon power and of course, Alonso has won two titles to date with the recent incarnation of the French manufacturer. Continue Reading

Watching Formula One online is something a lot of Formula One fans have asked for in recent years, and just prior to the start of the 2008 season, Bernie Ecclestone reached an agreement with UK broadcaster ITV to show races live via the Internet. Three races into the season I feel it is time to look at the services on offer and give my opinions on online viewing. Continue Reading

Fernando Alonso appears to be getting a case of the Trullis this week. Like Toyota’s lead driver Jarno Trulli, Alonso appears to be shifting his mood each day, going from frustrated on Tuesday to understanding his car’s weaknesses and not being frustrated on Wednesday. Yesterday he was quoted as saying to Diario AS that “I [Alonso] feel a bit of frustration knowing that, more or less, I will be unable to do much else in Bahrain.” But today is a different day and therefore a different mood. The Spaniard either has a genuine short memory, or has decided to backtrack after his day in the media yesterday. Continue Reading

Fernando Alonso let a rather large cat out of his bag earlier today when he spoke about his contract with Renault and the competitiveness of Ferrari, as well as the mistakes made by current Scuderia pilot Felipe Massa. Speaking to the Spanish media, Alonso let slip that he has a clause in his current contract that allows him to leave, although it is unknown how this might come into effect if needed. Likely it is based on the performance of the car, which currently isn’t doing too well. Continue Reading

With just under two weeks to go before the Bahrain Grand Prix, I felt it was time to do another summary of the news. There’s a lot to take in, even since Sunday when Kimi Raikkonen won in Sepang; this season is already shaping up to be busier than most. I wrote a long “News Round-up” article, but then realised there was too much to put in one posting. So instead I have broken them up. Therefore, this and the following three posts may seem to jump straight into the action without much faffing at the start. I’ll be interested to see if you guys prefer this method or not, but needless to say there is a lot to discuss. And it’s not even April yet… Continue Reading

The R25 was a championship winner, as was the R26, both chassis winning numerous races and claiming a drivers title each at the hands of Fernando Alonso. But after the Spaniards defection to McLaren in 2007, Renault produced a bit of a dog with the R27. When the Anglo-French team arrived at the first race, there were many unknowns. Fisichella had only won two races in the last two years and many doubted his ability to lead the team and rookie partner Heikki Kovalainen Continue Reading

As the build up to the 2008 season continues, today we have the the second of BlogF1’s guest post series to enjoy. This time we welcome the thoughts of Sidepodcast writer and podcaster, Christine Blachford. Christine discusses the return of Fernando Alonso to Renault and the pairing of the Spaniard with young hotshot Nelson Piquet Jr. Continue Reading