Tag: Formula 1

Categories
Formula 1 News

F1 TV Pro online streaming service announced

F1 TV Pro online streaming service

Formula 1 has announced it will be launching an online streaming service called F1 TV Pro. Launching this year, the commercial-free service will be priced at US$8–12 per month, with annual subscriptions also available. This will be sure to create shockwaves among both free-to-air and pay television networks.

Full details are yet to be announced, but we know the countries included in the initial 2018 rollout will be Germany, France, USA, Mexico, Belgium, Austria, Hungary and much of Latin America. A launch date for Australia is yet to be determined. Foxtel currently has an exclusive rights deal running until 2022.

From launch, F1 TV Pro will be accessed direct via internet. While, Apple and Android mobile apps, as well as TV apps such as Amazon will follow.

As well as the live service a cheaper option called F1 TV Access will be launched in conjunction with F1 TV Pro. F1 TV Access will provide live timing and radio commentary as well access to archival race footage.

[Source: Formula 1]

Categories
Caterham F1 in pictures Ferrari Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

2013 German Grand Prix in pictures

2013 German Grand Prix

Here we are with a bumper edition of F1 pics this week. There’s over 100 photos from the 2013 German Grand Prix for you below, there’s some really great images too. We hope you like them.

Continue reading “2013 German Grand Prix in pictures”
Categories
Formula 1 WEC WRC

Fancy some very cool retro motorsport art?

Earlier today we dropped into MotorSportRetro.com and noticed these very cool posters. They’re created by Adelaide-based graphic designer Sean Kane. There’s a series of five posters in total, three featuring Ayrton Senna (2 x Lotus, 1 x McLaren), one with the 1991 Le Mans winning Mazda 787B rotary and one with Juha Kankunnen’s 1986 Peugeot 205 T16 E2 Group B rally car.

They’re very cool. And you can buy them all for yourself if you want!

Categories
Caterham F1 in pictures Ferrari Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

2013 British Grand Prix in pictures

2013 British Grand Prix

Here’s your pics from an epic British Grand Prix at Silverstone. If not for a customary dodgy start we may have been looking at Mark Webber with hands raised in triumph in the photo above. Instead Mark almost won, on the back of a gutsy recovery effort.

Ifs, buts and maybes—as likeable and charismatic as Mark has been during his F1 career—that pretty much sums him up. Now that his Porsche move has been confirmed, we can enjoy the Mark Webber F1 farewell tour. Certainly a win at Silverstone would have been a great way to start the journey, but a win at the Nürburgring, the venue of his maiden grand prix victory would have a nice symmetry to it as well.

Oh yeah, well done Nico Rosberg. A solid win for you. There’s over 90 pics from the British GP ready to be enjoyed after the break.

Continue reading “2013 British Grand Prix in pictures”
Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

Nico Rosberg wins 2013 British GP

2013 British Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG) has won an incident-packed British Grand Prix, just 0.765 seconds from Mark Webber (Red Bull). Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) filled the final podium position.

But where to start with the drama this race contained! Off the start line Webber was slow to move, although it appeared he may have been ever so slightly baulked by Rosberg ahead of him. That put the Aussie in thick of the action going into the first corner and unavoidable contact was made with Romain Grosjean (Lotus). Webber was forced wide, with a damaged front wing, and rejoined the track in fifteenth place. His day seemed over.

Out front Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG) made the most of his pole position to establish a two second lead over Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull). But on lap eight the story of the day, and Pirelli’s worst nightmare, emerged when Hamilton’s left rear tyre delaminated before it spectacularly exploded. He limped back to the pits and rejoined in last place.

Alas that was the first of four delaminations for the day with Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) to lose their left rear tyre in the same fashion as Hamilton soon after. As a result there was debris around all over the place and the Safety Car was deployed to clear the track.

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) inherited the lead from Hamilton and was able to post a small gap back to Rosberg after racing resumed on lap 21. Rosberg stayed in touch with Vettel, but on lap 41 the triple world champion coasted into the last corner with gearbox problems, stopping on pit straight. The Safety Car was brought out to move Vettel’s car out of harm’s way.

Webber, who had worked his way back through the field was in third place after Vettel’s retirement, came in for a final tyre stop coming out behind the Safety Car in fifth place. When racing resumed there were six laps remaining, Rosberg in the lead heading towards his third grand prix win. Webber looked the most likely to challenge, if he could overtake the cars ahead.

Shortly after the restart Sergio Perez (McLaren) suffered the final tyre blowout of the race, he was narrowly avoided by Alonso who was preparing to pass the young Mexican. Thankfully a Safety Car wasn’t needed and we were treated to an exciting race to the flag.

Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) stood between Webber and Rosberg. Mark was able to quickly pass Ricciardo and Sutil in the chase for the lead and Raikkonen, on old tyres, was also overtaken without too much bother.

Less than two seconds separated first from second and Webber really needed to within one second of Rosberg so he could benefit from DRS. To Rosberg’s credit he was able to fight hard to keep his lead out of Webber’s reach to take the race win. Another lap or two may have seen a fairytale victory for Mark, but it wasn’t to be.

For all his troubles Lewis Hamilton also drove a great race and finished fourth. All of the top four drivers will have been pleased to have made some inroads into Vettel’s championship lead.

Daniel Ricciardo slipped down to eighth on his old tyres. His late fade out will be softened by the fact teammate Jean-Eric Vergne retired at about two thirds race distance.

It was a deserved win for Rosberg as the Mercedes AMGs were fast all weekend. He’ll take renewed confidence into next weekend when the German Grand Prix takes place at the Nürburgring.

Continue reading “Nico Rosberg wins 2013 British GP”
Categories
Formula 1 Porsche Red Bull Racing WEC

Reaction to Mark Webber’s Porsche move

Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Jenson Button

The reaction to Mark Webber’s decision to quit Formula 1 and switch to endurance racing with Porsche has captured the attention of the media across the world.

To be honest we’ve been a little surprised by how much coverage there has been, especially in the F1 paddock. Perhaps that says a lot about the high regard in which Mark is held, where his no nonsense and honest approach is greatly appreciated.

So here’s a grab of some of the comments that have been made since Mark’s move to Porsche was announced, starting with the FIA’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

It’s interesting to note that Mark said his mind has been made up for some time, which adds more weight to the early rumours which first emerged in June last year and again in April this year.

Q: A momentous announcement from you today. Tell us the thinking behind the announcement of your retirement from Formula One. And how significant is the year, 2013 to 2014?

Mark WEBBER: Well, the timing is perfect for me. Very, very excited about my new chapter and the new challenge ahead. One of the most famous and most well-respected brands in automotive and motor racing in Porsche, so that’s something which personally I’m very satisfied about taking on. The decision has been there for quite a long time for me actually. So, I’ve known for quite a while, I’ve had a plan and I’ve stuck to it. But still, in the meantime, respecting the profession that I have now at this level and focusing on achieving very, very strong results in my last season in Formula One.

Continue reading “Reaction to Mark Webber’s Porsche move”
Categories
Formula 1

No changes to Pirelli tyres for next three races

Pirelli Supersofts

Pirelli has announced the tyre compounds it will be bringing to the next three races (British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix). Despite coming under pressure from the teams to change the construction of the tyres, there will now be no changes until at least after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

And the reason for remaining with the status quo?

“This decision is due to the fact that the new tyres, which were brought to the Friday free practice sessions in Canada, could not be tested sufficiently due to rain—and that the teams failed to agree unanimously about introducing the changes,” reads Pirelli’s official statement.

Although, Pirelli says it has made changes to its construction process to ensure “delamination issue has been addressed.”

Continue reading “No changes to Pirelli tyres for next three races”
Categories
Formula 1 News

A look inside the F1 movie ‘Rush’

F1 movie Rush

The official YouTube channel for Ron Howard’s F1 movie Rush brings us a 3 minute long preview. It includes interviews with the noted director, as well as actors Chris Hemsworth (James Hunt) and Daniel Brühl (Niki Lauda).

We’re loving the previews we’re getting—the film looks great—but the more we see the more we want the whole movie. There’s still three months to go!

Continue reading “A look inside the F1 movie ‘Rush’”
Categories
Caterham F1 in pictures Ferrari Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

2013 Canadian Grand Prix in pictures

2013 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2013 Canadian Grand Prix was a pretty easy day out for Sebastian Vettel. Indeed those ‘Mounties’ were as close as anyone got to him on race day. We didn’t want you to miss out on the fun, so here’s 86 images from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that will bring you as close to Vettel as any of his competitors got.

Continue reading “2013 Canadian Grand Prix in pictures”
Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2013 Canadian GP: Post-race press conference

2013 Canadian Grand Prix

Back whenever it was that the FIA started to interview the drivers on the podium after each race (2012 British Grand Prix) we thought it was a clumsy approach. To be fair, there were some teething problems and it did get better. It’s true, also, that fans at the track probably deserve to hear from the drivers they have paid, in many cases, several hundred dollars to watch.

And yet, when you read the transcript below, you won’t really get too much of a clue that all the while during Eddie Jordan’s interview with Sebastian Vettel the German was being booed while Fernando Alonso was being cheered along.

To be fair, the transcript does read a little odd and Jordan seems to cut-off Vettel. In fact he did cut-off the race winner mid-sentence partly to stop the jeering from the crowd we suspect. It was a bad look all around and perhaps the FIA may have cause to reconsider the practice of on-track interviews.

For now, we expect the status quo will remain, as it probably should, but as much as we dislike Vettel at times, he deserved better than the Canadian crowd gave him.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Continue reading “2013 Canadian GP: Post-race press conference”
Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel wins 2013 Canadian GP

2013 Canadian Grand Prix

The Sebastian Vettel–Red Bull dominance of recent years was captured perfectly at the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix, as the three-time world champion converted his 39th career pole position into his 29th career victory.

Vettel wasn’t troubled during the 70 lap race and the 14.4 second margin back to Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) in second place flatters the rest of the field. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) rounded out the top three.

Mark Webber (Red Bull) flirted with the podium positions for much of the race, despite minor front wing damage suffered on lap 37 in a collision with Giedo van der Garde (Caterham). Webber was not pleased with van der Garde’s actions either, slamming the 28-year-old as a “a pay driver with no mirrors”.

“I got a sensational start, but I didn’t have too many places to go,” said Webber.”We lost some time with Nico in the first stint, and the car was getting hot behind him in the slip stream. Once I got in free air, the car was handling much better. Then we had the incident with Giedo van der Garde which caused some front wing damage and made it more difficult; the whole top section of the wing was gone on the left hand side, so it didn’t help from then on. I don’t know what he was doing.

“There were some positives from today, but it would have been nicer to have finished a bit further up the road.”

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) finished fifth, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) who finished a career-best sixth.

Daniel Ricciardo was well behind his Toro Rosso teammate and could only manage P15. “I got a really good start, making up two positions off the line,” said Ricciardo afterwards. “I felt we could have a good race, but after just four laps, the car was oversteering like crazy and I couldn’t manage the tyres anymore. As the race went on, we tried to improve the car balance and maybe we improved it a bit, but our pace was really slow.

“We didn’t change so much on the car since Friday, so why we were so slow is a mystery to me at the moment.”

Both McLaren drivers finished outside of the points in P11 and P12, ending McLaren’s 64-race run of at least one car scoring championship points.

In awful post-race news it emerged that a marshal was killed in a terrible accident with a crane removing Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber. The marshal slipped while out of sight of the crane driver and was run over. He was rushed to hospital and passed away last night. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Continue reading “Sebastian Vettel wins 2013 Canadian GP”
Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2013 Canadian GP: Qualifying report

2013 Canadian Grand Prix

Rain and a red flag couldn’t stop Sebastian Vettel from claiming his 39th career pole position overnight. The Red Bull driver set the fastest time (1:25.425) at the Canadian Grand Prix and will start ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, 1:25.512).

Next is a surprise result for Valtteri Bottas (Williams, 1:25.512), who will start from P3, easily the best qualifying position in his short F1 career. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes, 1:25.512) may have started the last three grands prix from pole, but the best the Monaco Grand Prix winner could manage was fourth.

Mark Webber (Red Bull, 1:25.512) will line up on the third row of the grid in P5, with Fernando Alonso (Ferrari, 1:25.512) alongside from P6.

Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso, 1:27.946) outqualified his teammate Daniel Ricciardo (1:27.946) and it’s the first time this year both made it into Q3. Vergne will start from P7 and Ricciardo qualified tenth but will start from P11 (see below).

Felipe Massa again found trouble in qualifying, following up his crash at Monaco with another barrier-finding moment here in Canada. That brought out a red flag in Q2 with just under two minutes left to run. When the track re-opened all the remaining cars lined up in pit lane to chase entry into Q3.

Several drivers were side-by-side in pit lane, leaving some drivers outside the designated fast lane, which is not strictly allowed. However, only Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and Daniel Ricciardo were penalised. Both were given two-spot penalties and will now start from P10 and P11 respectively. In a quirk of process both drivers only move back one grid place, as explained by the FIA.

Continue reading “2013 Canadian GP: Qualifying report”