Another grand prix another stroll in the park for Sebastian Vettel. At least the photographers were given a tougher ride than Vettel at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, having to contend with twilight conditions before freezing the action under lights. We think you’ll agree they did a fine job, too.
The 12 points Fernando Alonso collected with his fourth place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix a couple of weeks back etched his name into Formula 1’s history books. It took his career points tally to 1571, five more than Michael Schumacher, and he now stands alone as the man with the most career points in F1.
Yes, we know such records are skewed horribly since the switch to the current scoring system in 2010 where a win nets a driver 25 points instead of the nine or 10 under previous systems.
Still, if you had more points than anyone else in the history of F1 you’d probably want to tell the world all about it too. Which is exactly what Fernando will be doing with this special helmet design, to be worn during this weekend’s Indian Grand Prix.
“There’s nothing the world needs less, and there’s nothing I want more. Because it’s the best car of its type I’ve ever driven!”
Yes, it’s safe to say Chris Harris—who is now clearly back in Ferrari’s good books—loves the F12 berlinetta.
Oh, a big pat on the back for regular cameraman Neil Carey, too, this is some of his best work for Drive. Well done all, it’s a great video.
The dude in the middle is Stefano Domenicali, the Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal. You probably knew that. But it’s unlikely you’ll recognise the other two. The guy on the left is Riccardo Verdelli and the bloke on the right is Gian Maria Lamberti.
They’re a couple of regular Ferrari fans who’ve been sticking it to the Scuderia lately via social media. So, Ferrari took the unusual step of inviting them in for a chat, which is where Domenicali stepped in, to play host for the day.
And actually they’ve helped to bring us some welcome insights. You can read Ferrari’s official account by following the source link below, but here’s some edited highlights:
I don’t like it when after a Grand Prix, there are incorrect jibes aimed at Red Bull that then fall apart. And then there’s Alonso complaining about his car after every race. I’d like to see him get his ears pulled about that, but instead you almost seem to share his sentiment.
Domenicali: You are in front of the most sportsmanlike person in the world. In all the races, whether you see it or not, I congratulate our rivals. If I have something to say to him [Alonso], as would be the case with my engineers, I would do it behind closed doors and in a harsh manner. But externally, I will always defend the team. When he crossed the line, president Montezemolo intervened and in private, so did I.
After four years without winning the championship are you still sure about your choice of taking on Alonso?
Domenicali: If in the past four years we have come close to the title twice, it is partly down to him. Unfortunately, we have not been capable of giving him a car that matches his talent.
Was there really the intention to take on Kubica and will he be back in F1?
Domenicali: Yes, we were keeping an eye on him. Unfortunately, I don’t think he will be back, because with his physical problem, he would struggle in certain limited situations which require reactivity. It’s a shame.
Interesting comments on Robert Kubica at the end there, perhaps the WRC is Robert’s best bet for top level motorsport?
As you can the fans didn’t hold back with their line of questioning and kudos to Domenicali for fronting up and providing some level of accountability. Although, we’d love to know the questions and answers that haven;t made it into the public arena!
[Source: Ferrari]
On the surface Sebastian Vettel’s win at the Japanese Grand Prix looked to be a solid victory crafted with determination and a solid strategy. The conspiracy theorists out there would suggest Red Bull’s decision to keep Vettel on a two-stop strategy, while switching Mark Webber to a three-stopper, was all about providing an opportunity for Seb to forge a win from third place, while harming Mark’s chances of a first win for season 2013.
Certainly, Vettel’s own radio calls late in the race asking the team to keep Mark away from him would lend support to that theory. But former Red Bull driver David Coulthard is having none of that, suggesting if it were true that Mark would be telling the world all about it.
All we can do is wonder what would have happened if Mark was able to bully his way past Romain Grosjean with the effectiveness which Vettel did. Instead, it took Mark seven laps to find a way around the Lotus driver by which time any chance of a challenge to Vettel’s lead had been lost.
Which means our regular F1 pictorial update gives us yet another opportunity to look at that bloody finger!
In his latest video Chris Harris shows us how he used his Ferrari 512 TR to buy some bread. As you can see, he even hams it up in a white linen suit to complete the Miami Vice look. Explaining his lack of talking, Harris notes: “When a car looks and sounds as good as this, you don’t need to talk.”
Former McLaren F1 driver and 1974 World Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, gives us a fascinating insight into the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix courtesy of a blog shared on the McLaren website. Of course, the season-ending race at Fuji Speedway has become the focus of mainstream attention thanks to Ron Howard’s F1 movie Rush.
The conditions for that race, the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Asia, were appalling as Fittipaldi explains:
On race day, though, everything we’d learned over the past few days became irrelevant as the heavens opened. Never before or since, in my entire racing career, have I known rain quite as fierce. The circuit was totally flooded, its flat wide asphalt covered in lakes of sitting water. It was patently unsafe. In those days we used to do a morning warm-up on race day—and the accidents that marred the Fuji warm-up made it very clear that the rain had made the circuit quite undriveable.
Fittipaldi goes on to share his thoughts over the decision to start the race, even though conditions had not improved after a 90-minute delay. He also discusses many other aspects about his F1 career and gives a big vote of confidence to Rush as well. We recommend you take the time to read his words (follow the source link below).
[Source: McLaren]
While even his fellow drivers may be booing Sebastian Vettel’s latest win at the Korean Grand Prix, the race itself is under threat. Partly because of poor attendance and also due to the promise of a bumper 22-race calendar that nobody wants. One thing is sure, Mark Webber has plenty of fans in Korea, as you’ll see in the pics below.
GTFO!
A 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis #5111) has sold privately for US$52 million, Bloomberg reports. Unsurprisingly that easily gives it the title of the world’s most expensive car. According to Ferrari just 36 of these were made, which in part explains the high demand for the classic V12-powered coupé.
The buyer of the high-priced 250 GTO remains anonymous for now, but the seller is US-based collector Paul Pappalardo, who purchased the car back in 1974. Pappalardo is keeping tight lipped about the sale. “We don’t confirm these things. I have no comment,” he told Bloomberg.com.
London-based Ferrari dealer Joe Macari says the 250 GTO is the must-have model for mega-wealthy Ferrari collectors. “It’s a cult car,” he said.”If you’re a billionaire, you feel you have to have one. I don’t understand the appeal of them. They’re not very beautiful and they never won Le Mans. I’d rather have a Testa Rossa.”
Quite.
[Source: Bloomberg | Pics: Ferrari]
To help get you in the mood for Ron Howard’s F1 movie Rush, here’s a recap of the 1976 Formula 1 season as presented by Dickie Davies on ITV ahead of the title-deciding Japanese Grand Prix.
After watching this it’s easy to see the appeal for Ron Howard to turn this story into big budget movie. The season had everything, speed, danger, explosions, sex, protests and, of course, an unpredictable climax.
The 708kW LaFerrari is the latest in the triumverate of hybrid hypercars to attack the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
It joins the brief video we’ve seen of the McLaren P1, with a rumoured 7:04 lap time, and the apparently all-conquering Porsche 918 Spyder. Of course, the 918 grabbed headlines recently when Porsche announced it had broken the 7-minute barrier with a 6:57 lap time.
We shall have to wait and see what the Ferrari marketing department deems worthy of publishing in future to see if the 918’s time in the sun is about to be over.
With the movie world descending into the 1970s through the imminent worldwide release of Ron Howard’s F1 movie Rush, Martin Brundle and Karun Chandok have put together a timely feature for Sky Sports where they drive the 1974 Ferrari 312 B3 and the 1977 McLaren M26.
Ferrari and McLaren are two giants of Formula 1. It’s certainly interesting to hear two former F1 drivers, from separate eras, discuss what it’s like to drive these 1970s icons. And to illustrate just how much of a momentum shift the sport has seen in recent years Karun Chandok signs off by saying, “These were the Red Bulls of the 70s.”
Forty years ago, who would have thought the established Ferrari and emerging McLaren would be shown up in F1 by a marketing company whose stock in trade is soft drinks!