BlogF1

Following on from Hamilton’s win on home soil, there was much to discuss as drivers endured a difficult British Grand Prix. Mark Webber rued his early spin that cost him dearly, Fernando Alonso ran well despite losing out by remaining on the same set of tyres and David Coulthard departed his last British race early with a coming together with Sebastian Vettel. Rubens Barrichello was over-the-moon at claiming a podium for Honda and Nick Heidfeld hopes his recent lack of form is now behind him as he took second for BMW. Continue Reading

Monaco is considered to be a challenge like no other for Formula One drivers; the twisting nature of the circuit and proximity of the unforgiving barriers heighten the concentration needed of even the most intense of racers. History tells us that Ayrton Senna and Graham Hill are the undisputed masters of all-time, Senna heading the record books with six wins to Hill’s five. In recent times, Michael Schumacher managed to tame the beast on five occasions as well, edging out Alain Prost on four. But of the current grid, who teases and respects the armco in equal quantities? Continue Reading

The fortieth photograph to feature in BlogF1’s caption contest. You know the drill, think of something funny and witty to say and leave it as a comment below. This time we have a shot taken at a recent golf tournament, organised in celebration of Rubens Barrichello’s 257th grand prix start. Here, Barrichello discusses the finer points of golf with F1’s other OAP, David Coulthard. Continue Reading

To celebrate Rubens Barrichello’s 257th race start at the Turkish Grand Prix, Honda have modified the livery that would usually adorn the skin of his RA108. Barrichello also has a one-off helmet design that fits with the logos and colours on the car. 257 races means that the previous record of 256 falls, much to the disappointment of Riccardo Patrese. Patrese set the record immediately prior to retiring in 1993 after the Australian Grand Prix, and has been helping Barrichello celebrate the new record in the past week. Continue Reading

To mark Rubens Barrichello’s 257th race, the most a Formula One driver has ever competed, Honda will give Barrichello a special livery and helmet design to use this weekend at Istanbul Park. Of course, it isn’t entirely clear if this is actually Barrichello’s 257th race start, but the Brazilian has decided to mark the occasion on Sunday. Riccardo Patrese’s long-standing record of 256 will finally fall. For younger fans who may have never seen Patrese, the Italian is pictured in the photo next to Barrichello. Continue Reading

Earlier in the year I posted about Rubens Barrichello becoming the most experienced driver in Formula One, his renewed contract with Honda meaning he’d break Riccardo Patrese’s record number of race starts at some point during the 2008 season. However, after looking at the numbers a little more closely, it became apparent that the number of races Rubens has started is not entirely obvious. For sure, the Brazilian will break Patrese’s record this year, but exactly when was a matter of debate. However, I said in the comments on that post that whatever race Barrichello decided would be the race that he does indeed manage the record. And the Brazilian driver has chosen. The Turkish Grand Prix will see Rubens become the driver who has contested the most grands prix to date. Continue Reading

As the second day of testing got underway in Spain today, Renault and Honda joined in with Ferrari in trying out some interesting new aero parts on their cars. Ferrari yesterday showed off their new nose to the public for the first time, and today Nelson Piquet Jr rolled out of his Renault garage with a Red Bull style fin on the engine cover. Honda got in on the act as well with the re-testing of their Dumbo ears, last seen at a test session in 2007. In fact, it was Rubens Barrichello who went fastest today, driving the updated RA108 and setting a lap time 0.8s quicker than Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India. Continue Reading

Surprise, surprise, following his disqualification from last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello has called for changes to me made to the pitlane signals. The lights are positioned at the far end of the pitlane and signal to the drivers if it is safe to join the track. According to Barrichello, he did not see the red light and believes a new system is the only way to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future. Continue Reading

The 2008 Australian Grand Prix couldn’t have been much better in terms of on-track action and excitement. The drama didn’t end at the chequered flag either, as Rubens Barrichello was under investigation for leaving the pitlane when he shouldn’t have. Also being punished after race is Kazuki Nakajima, reprimanded for his incident with third-place finisher Nico Rosberg. Here are a few more thoughts on the season opener in Australia. Continue Reading

How Honda got 2007 so horrendously wrong is quite simply beyond belief. This time last year, most of us knew and had accepted that the RA107 wasn’t going to be a great car, but I don’t think many of us expected the junior team to wipe the floor with the factory team for most of the season. The fact that Super Aguri led Honda in the championships right up until the Chinese Grand Prix should serve as serious embarrassment for the Japanese car company. Honda absolutely have to improve and return themselves to the regular point-scorers they once were. Failure to achieve this could spell disaster for the future of the team. Continue Reading