F1
Renault F1 Team launches 2006 championship campaign in Monaco
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January 31, 2006 The Renault F1 Team today launched its 2006 world championship challenger, the R26, in Monaco with the promise of an aggressive defence of the team’s double 2005 world championship. In front of world-wide media and VIP guests in Monte-Carlo, the world champions officially launched the 2006 championship campaign with a clear objective: defending the world championship with an aggressive approach to the 2006 season. “In terms of performance objectives, there can be only one: to be fighting for the world championship in the final races,” explained Renault F1 Team President Patrick Faure. “We enter the year with an unchanged line-up in our management, our drivers and our technical team. Everybody at Viry and Enstone has been working to prepare a technical package capable of keeping us at the top. Complacency has no place at Renault. We are focused on repeating our successes.” Previous 2006 Formula One team launch reports can be found here: Ferrari's 248 F1, Toyota's TF-06, Honda's RA106 and Williams' F1 FW28.
The launch of the Williams F1 FW28
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January 27, 2006 The WilliamsF1 team launched its 2006 season race car, the FW28, at the team headquarters near Oxford this afternoon. The FW28 is a manifestly purposeful race car, its defining visual cue being the aggressive barbed sting on the back of the engine cover. The car is both a response to circumstance, including the shifting technical regulations and the new primary partnerships the team has forged with engine supplier Cosworth and tyre company Bridgestone, as well as being its own clear statement of intent. Clearly the biggest transition is the shift away from 3.0l V10 motive power in favour of a 2.4l V8, and in Williams’ case, the new partnership with Cosworth. With the associated power losses all teams will encounter, all Formula One designers have been tackling a demand for higher aerodynamic efficiency to help compensate. In the case of the FW28, this became a fundamental design parameter for the car and is reflected in many ways across the aerodynamic strategy of the car, visible particularly in the design of the rear wing with its decambered tips. The target in this area was to maintain downforce while shedding drag at the wing tips. Read More
Honda unveils new F1 challenger
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January 25, 2006 The Honda Racing F1 Team unveiled its challenger for the 2006 Formula One season in Spain this morning with the new driver line-up of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. This marked an important milestone for Honda as it is the first Formula One car launched by a Honda works team since 1968. Two identical RA106 race cars were delivered to the launch to enable Button and Barrichello to begin testing at the same time. The RA106 sported its new base canvas of Honda Racing White, a colour which has been synonymous with the Honda motorsport identity since the company’s F1 debut in 1964. The rest of the livery has the more familiar feel of the Lucky Strike brand, which remains as title sponsor for the 2006 season. The new cars and their RA806E engines are the product of a single, unified team which combines the resources of the Honda Racing F1 Team Operations Centre in Brackley, England, Honda Racing Development’s engine base in Bracknell, England, and Honda R&D in Tochigi, Japan. Read More
Ferrari's new 248 F1 - not the end of an era says di Montezemolo
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January 25, 2006 To say Ferrari had a bad year in racing in 2005 is an understatement. Going into the year with six consecutive constructors titles and five consecutive drivers titles, Ferrari finished a distant third in the constructors championship and Schumacher’s claim on being best ever slipped when he too finished a third with Alonso more than doubling his points haul. Ferrari's President, Luca di Montezemolo was very clear in his pronouncement as the 2006 Ferrari F1 machinery and staff were introduced to the media at Autodrome Mugello yesterday: "After having lost two titles at the last round, in 1997 and 1998, and six consecutive world crowns, I don't want the 2005 results to seem like the end of an era. We have lived through some incredible years. Last year we suffered a little from the successive rule changes but now we are looking ahead. We want to get back to winning ways.” Accordingly, Ferrari showed a completely new car. Read More
Toyota discloses unprecedented details of F1 development
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January 23, 2006 There are just two environments akin to the acute excellence required to compete successfully at Formula One level – a space launch and the battlefield. All three areas are so close to the edge of human understanding that the technology developed in their pursuit often filters down to consumer products and introduces a better way. Panasonic Toyota Racing officially kicked off its 2006 Formula 1 campaign with a special event at the Toyota manufacturing facility in Valenciennes, France earlier this month, at the same time as disclosing an unprecedented amount of information about the Toyota production process and how it has been applied to the former art, and now decidedly scientific process of Formula One. Incredibly, the company has applied knowledge developed in manufacturing production cars to improve its Formula One competitiveness . If you’re into car racing or manufacturing, this is a “must” read! Read More
BMW Sauber F1 rolls out in Valencia
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January 18, 2006 BMW officially entered Formula One in its own right yesterday with the unveiling of the BMW Sauber F1.06 before more than 500 journalists and guests in the futuristic Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (CAC) in Valencia (Spain). BMW purchased a majority shareholding in the Sauber Formula One team which became official on January 1. Without doubt the most interesting aspects of the F1 launch season is not the champagne and parties, but the information released by the various camps on their technical development. This year in particular, the reduction of engines from 3.0 litre V10 to 2.4 litre V8 will pose some interesting technical challenges, as explained by BMW at the launch. Read More
Formula One HANS device inspires Renault’s "Sleep Safe" head restraints
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November 16, 2005 Over the last decade, the chance of surviving a serious crash in the front seats of a car has risen dramatically. So much so, that 70% of adult deaths and injuries are now suffered by those seated in the rear and it's not just adults at risk as more often than not it's children that are traveling in the rear seat. Renault has unveiled several new initiatives to improve rear seat safety, including one inspired by its World Championship winning Formula One team. Read More
Renault Wins Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship for 2005
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October 18, 2005 Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix was the last Grand Prix of the season, and with the drivers championship decided, the duel between the two outstanding teams of the season for the constructors crown was the highlight of the event. In the end, the script ran as it had done all season, with the mercurial McLarens failing when it counted and Fernando Alonso performing flawlessly when it mattered most, and the Renault F1 Team winning the FIA Formula One World Constructors’ Championship. A dominant team performance saw Fernando Alonso take his seventh win of the season, while Giancarlo Fisichella finished fourth, only missing a podium finish through a questionable penalty from the FIA late in the race. But the day was dominated by the joy of Renault's win: the constructors’ championship coming alongside Fernando Alonso’s drivers’ championship to leave Renault as double world champions, an historic first for the French company. Read More
F1 Japanese GP: Kimi Raikkonen wins from 17th on the Grid
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October 10, 2005 Having won nine of the previous 12 Grands Prix the team contested, a McLaren Mercedes victory was predictable at the Japanese Grand Prix held yesterday, but in the end the team’s sixth consecutive victory was a complete surprise. Having finished the last Grand Prix in first and second positions, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen were the last drivers in the qualifying order and when torrential rain hit during the last part of qualifying, their qualifying times were so handicapped by the flooded track they began the race in 17th and 18th positions respectively. In a sport where passing is extremely difficult, that gave the team almost no chance of a victory but such is the competitiveness of the McLaren, Raikkonen drove through the field to 12th on the first lap and picked off those in front of him one by one, passing Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault part way through the last of 53 laps to take the win. McLaren must be ruing its early season fragility as this championship is surely one that got away. Read More
Xtreme Gravity Racing: Soapbox Derby meets Formula 1
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October 1, 2005 The 2005 Xtreme Gravity Racing Series has been run and won, with yet another quantum leap forward in corporate support, automotive company participation and global recognition for the sport attempting to bring soapbox racing into the 21st century. Nissan proved to be the ultimate winner of the series from the gravity racers of Volvo and Chrysler and it was also clocked at the fastest speed - 52.38 mph – in the second and final race of the 2005 series at Irvine, california. The two vastly different courses saw five different teams on the podium with Nissan Design America (NDA)winning overall courtesy of the best aggregate time at Jack’s Peak and Irvine where it placed second and third respectively. Chrysler won the day at Jack’s Peak and Audi won outright at Irvine. Most impressive of all was the opportunity to see the exquisite design work of the contenders – see the extensive photo gallery of the racing with close-ups of the Xtreme Gravity Machines inside. Read More
Alonso and Renault take World F1 title
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September 26, 2005 Fernando Alonso today became the youngest world champion in Formula One history, after his thirteenth podium finish of the 2005 season in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Starting from pole position, the Spaniard drove a consistent race to claim third position and a championship lead of 23 points with two races remaining in the 2005 season - he therefore has an unassailable lead in the drivers’ championship. At 24 years old, he is the youngest world champion in F1 history. While Renault celebrated, McLaren-Mercedes wondered what might have been had the team found consistency to match its speed. Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen scored a dominant one-two in the race and last year’s champ Michael Schumacher finished fourth for Ferrari. With teammate Rubens Barrichello in sixth place, Ferrari consolidated their third place in the Constructors’ championship, the lead of which was taken by McLaren, now two points ahead of Renault with two races to go. With the title safe, an all-out fight for the constructors’ crown will be the centre of attention of the final two races of the season. Read More
The first 2006 F1 2.4 litre V8 hits the racetrack
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September 22, 2005 Formula One is set for a major shake-up next year when the three-litre V10 engines of the last decade will be replaced by 2.4 litre V8 engines and the technological prowess of Renault, Mercedes, BMW, Cosworth, Ferrari and Honda will be tested to the max in the most expensive, ongoing, combatitive sport man has ever known. On Tuesday and Wednesday at the Silverstone GP circuit in the UK, the 2006 season Mercedes-Benz Formula One engine was tested on the race track for the first time. Pedro de la Rosa was at the wheel of the interim Team McLaren Mercedes MP4-20B, a modified version of the 2005 race car which has been adjusted to fit the new engine. Pedro completed 38 laps on Tuesday and 40 laps on Wednesday and achieved a best time of 1:22.974. Champion-elect Fernando Alonso in a Renault with V10 engine posted the fastest lap of the test with a 1:17.018. Read More
Belgian F1: Raikkonen wins again, Alonso second again -
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September 12, 2005 McLaren-Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps yesterday, taking his sixth victory of the season and the eighth of his career but moving not much closer to the title many see as inevitably his at some point in the next few years. Raikkonen won the event, but the 2005 McLaren curse struck again with both of the team’s cars safe in first and second place with just two laps to go when Montoya was taken out by a slower driver, dropping the team’s points haul and allowing third placed Fernando Alonso to take second spot and maintain his championship lead buffer at 25 points with just three races to go. Read More
Italian F1 Grand prix: McLaren 1-4, Renault 2-3
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September 4, 2005 McLaren once again showed it had the fastest cars and the worst luck of the leading Formula 1 teams at the weekend when its drivers won the race, but Renault and its champion-elect Fernando Alonso continue to fight an effective rear-guard action – Alonso increased his championship lead while Renault only conceded one solitary point in the manufacturers championship and maintains an eight point lead. The race was only the third time in F1 history that all cars have completed a race, and the first time since the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix. It was also the official end of an era – Michael Schumacher and Ferrari came away without points and neither have any chance of retaining the titles they have owned for half a decade. Read More
Valentino Rossi test drives Ferrari F1 Car
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August 6, 2005 The prospects of the World’s best motorcycle racer switching to Formula 1 Motor Racing were enhanced significantly this week when Italian World Motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi tested the Ferrari F2005 car for two complete days at Ferrari’s private Fiorano test facility, lapping fast enough for former Ferrari test-driver Jean Alesi to describe his performance as “formidable”. Apart from Rossi’s 58.3 second lap of Fiorano (Michael Schumacher's track record is 55.999), further indication of the importance of the test was evident when Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo and F1 supremo Jean Todt were on hand for the drive. Read More
Hungarian F1 Grand Prix: Raikkonen and Schumacher keep the season alive
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August 1, 2005 McLaren-Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen won the Hungarian Grand Prix at Budapest here yesterday. After 70 laps he took the chequered flag 35.5sec ahead of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari, with runaway championship leader Fernando Alonso failing to score points. McLaren continued to dominate races with its results ravaged by reliability issues – McLaren’s other driver Juan Pablo Montoya retired on lap 41 with a driveshaft failure while leading the race. Third and fourth places were filled by Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, putting both Schumacher brothers on the podium for the first time in a long time and giving Toyota a clear fourth place in the constructors championship behind Renault, McLaren and Ferrari. Read More
German F1 GP: Alonso's sixth win, Renault's seventh
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July 24, 2005 Fernando Alonso took his sixth win of the season and the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team took its seventh win of the season at this afternoon’s 2005 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. Fernando Alonso converted his third position on the grid into a comfortable victory after another McLaren DNF led to Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement from the lead halfway through the race. The Spaniard’s run to the chequered flag was uneventful, and he controlled his pace throughout the final stint. Any doubts about Alonso not becoming the youngest F1 champ in history were dispelled with the win – he now leads the drivers’ championship by 36 points with seven races to go. At 10 points for a win and six points for a second place, he could conceivably win the title if he didn’t turn up for the remainder of the season given the unreliability of his main adversary’s car. McLaren has had the fastest car at the last half a dozen races, but has failed to take advantage of its speed. Read More
British F1 GP: McLaren 1st and 3rd but Alonso/Renault extend lead
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July 10, 2005 McLaren’s Juan Pablo Montoya took his fifth career win here at Silverstone, but the real story played out on the lower podium steps where Renault’s Fernando Alonso took second place and extended his championship lead over third placed Kimi Raikkonen. For Montoya, it was his first ever win for West McLaren Mercedes (indeed his first ever podium with the team) since he joined at the start of this season. Kimi Raikkonen put in another gritty drive, overcoming a ten place penalty on the grid due to an engine change after qualifying, fighting his way up from 12th on the grid to third at the flag. Read More
French F1 GP: first French victory for a Renault car in 22 years.
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July 4, 2005 Fernando Alonso took a dominant victory for the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team in yesterday’s French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours. The Spaniard took pole position and led every lap of the race to take his fifth victory of the season from ten starts, and the first for a 100% Renault car in the French Grand Prix since 1983. In winning he extended his lead in the drivers championship by two points, and now has 69 points, 24 ahead of nearest rival Kimi Raikkonen. All three of the main contenders for the drivers title finished on the podium with Raikkonen scond, Michael Schumacher third and Jenson Button finished fourth, giving the BAR Honda team its first points of the year. Read More
How Renault F1 uses Advanced Digital Manufacturing to enhance competitiveness
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July 3, 2005 Renault’s Formula 1 team has made massive headway in recent years, coming from a distant third place in the 2004 Formula 1 constructors title to dominate the 2005 title to date. Now before you skip over this story thinking it’s about motor racing, it’s not – it’s about Advanced Digital Manufacturing. Renault’s F1 budget is considerably less than Ferrari or Toyota yet it has won six of ten races this year. Earlier this week it was revealed that the team had installed a Sinterstation Pro SLS rapid 3-D printing, prototyping and manufacturing system at its Advanced Digital Manufacturing (ADM) Centre in Enstone, England. This is the first of these systems to be installed in Europe and Renault has found that it has reduced the time taken to manufacture a part for the F1 car by an incredible 90% - quite an advantage in a world where a tenth of a second a lap can make the difference between winners and losers. Read More
BMW to compete in Formula 1 from 2006
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June 23 2005 BMW is striking out on a new path in Formula One. After acquiring a majority shareholding in the Swiss Sauber team, a BMW managed team will be contesting the Formula One World Championship as early as 2006. This was decided by the BMW Board of Management on Tuesday. It means that, for the first time in company history, BMW will be competing independently in Formula One. The principle BMW association in Formula 1 in recent years has been since 1997 with the Williams BMW team with the BMW engines among the fastest, though no championship has been forthcoming. BMW formerly supplied engines to F1 constructors in the mid-eighties, winning nine Grands Prix and a championship with their road-car based turbo engine in Nelson Piquet's Brabham. BMW's participation will strengthen the Formula 1 grid. Read More
Farcical United States Formula 1 Grand Prix
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June 20, 2005 The United States Grand Prix has been run and won with 14 drivers retiring on the sighting lap, thanks to a tyre safety issue with Michelin tyres. The farcical event was contested by the only three teams which choose Bridgestone tyres, giving Ferrari a one-two victory, handing Michael Schumacher his first win of the season and ironically, putting him back into contention for the title that looked lost just eight days ago. Leading drivers Alonso and Raikkonen and their teams Renault and McLaren all lost substantial points leads in the championship, but the biggest loser was Formula 1 which is fast gaining an image problem akin to that of boxing. The problems surfaced when tyres caused accidents for Ralf Schumacher and Ricardo Zonta in Friday's practice session causing the major supplier of Formula 1 tyres, Michelin, to advise that it could not guarantee that such incidents would not reoccur in race conditions blaming the high speed track configuration, particularly turn 13. Read More
F1 - Canadian GP: Raikkonen & McLaren again
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June 12, 2005 McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen won today's Canadian Grand Prix to gain ten important Championship points and move back into contention for the World Championship with 37 points as points leader (63) Fernando Alonso failed to finish. Raikkonen’s win brought McLaren to 63 points in the Constructors' ranking just 13 points behind Renault. It was also a day of the resurgent Ferrari team, with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello scoring strong second and third places and bringing Ferrari into a five way fight for the Constructors championship. Read More
European F1: last lap heartbreak for Raikkonen
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May 29, 2005 West McLaren Mercedes’ Kimi Raikkonen looked set to take his third consecutive win of the season at the Nurburgring today, until a mechanical failure saw him crash out on the very last lap when in the lead. With the principal challenger eliminated and the win inherited by championship leader, Fernando Alonso of Renault, Alonso now holds a 32 point lead with one third of the season gone and the championship looks safely in his keeping. Williams’ Nick Heidfeld scored his second podium in a row and Ferrari returned to the podium with Rubens Barrichello third and Michael Schumacher fifth. Read More
Monte Carlo Formula 1: McLaren and Raikkonen win and bring title back to life
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May 22, 2005 MAJOR PICTORIAL COVERAGE OF RACE & FESTIVITIES: McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen drove an impeccable race to completely dominate the World’s most famous motor race, the Monaco Grand prix today, and in so doing, breathed life into the championship race and gave hope to McLaren that it could catch the early season form team of Renault and Fernando Alonso. The Williams of Heidfeld and Webber finished second and third bringing to five the constructors with a realistic hope of winning the constructor’s title though bookies installed McLaren as favourites following the race. Though both Ferrari’s finished in the points, Michael Schumacher’s chances of winning the title for a fifth straight time now look completely gone. Read More
The Star Wars Red Bull F1 Promotion
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May 22, 2005 When it comes to doing things on a grand scale, a strategic alliance between George Lucas and Red Bull’s Dietrich Mateschitz always threatened to be a bit over the top. And so it came to pass. Lucas and Mateschitz partnered for a week of global promotional hype on the Cote d’Azur with stunning success. The tie-up between Red Bull Racing and the latest Star Wars movie finally reached its conclusion on Saturday night in Monaco when the last (and first) film in the series, “Revenge of the Sith” was screened for the benefit of guests from the world of Formula 1. The screening, which took place in the Grimaldi Forum was followed by a party, attended by several stars of the film and its director, George Lucas. There were plenty of sore heads in the Monaco paddock this morning, after a crowd of around five hundred F1 movers and shakers attended the biggest bash of the weekend in the Grimaldi Forum last night. Then the Red Bull pit crew did its stuff decked out as Star wars characters and around 500 million people around the world were reminded about the film’s premier. Read More
Spanish GP Formula 1 Round 5: Raikkonen/McLaren dominant, Schumacher/Ferrari retire, Alonso /Renault closer to title
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May 8, 2005 McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen dominated the Spanish Grand Prix today, ending Renault’s domination of the 2005 season and replacing Michael Schumacher as the man most likely to prevent Renault’s Fernando Alonso from taking the drivers’ title. Michael Schumacher retired from the event, effectively ending his chances of retaining the title and with both Schumacher and team-mate Rubens Barrichello out of the points at the Circuit de Catalunya, Ferrari is now also likely to lose its constructors title with McLaren looming as Renault’s biggest threat. Read More
San Marino F1 GP - Fantastic duel between Schumacher and Alonso
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April 24, 2005 Fernando Alonso made it three wins in a row when he won the 62 lap San Marino Grand Prix at Imola on Sunday, but the real excitement came from his fantastic duel with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari over the last 11 laps of the race, the pair being just 0.2s apart at the end. BAR Honda’s Jenson Button completed the top three to open his score in the championship. Though the RS25 V10 fitted to Fernando Alonso’s car became the first engine in the modern era of Formula 1 to win two consecutive races, the real message from San Marino was that Ferrari is back and that Ferrari and Michael Schumacher now have the speed to fight to retain the title. McLaren Mercedes and BAR Honda have also caught up to the speed of the Renault and the season looks set to be a pearler!
Lago Talbot Formula One Grand Prix Works Racer for sale
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You know the story - only ever driven on Sundays. Original condition. Only four owners. Except this one has all the paperwork including letters from Tony lago verifying its history. Very rare Formula One racing cars don’t come up that often and completely original, never damaged Formula One race cars are much rarer, so it’s astonishing that a car such as this exists. This 4.5 litre 1952 Lago Talbot Formula One Grand Prix Works Racer has never been damaged, was rebuilt at the factory to 1953 specs and sports the 270bhp “twin” plug motor which gives it a top speed of around 175 mph. Prior to being sold by Tony Lago to Australian champion driver Doug Whiteford in 1954 the car was driven by champion French drivers Louis Rosier and Pierre Levegh. The car is beautifully presented and is considered to be the most original Lago Talbot Formula One vehicle in existence. Asking price – US$1.25 million Read More
Formula 1 Round 3 – Alonso/Renault win, Schumacher DNF
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April 4, 2005 Fernando Alonso dominated the Bahraini Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit on Sunday, winning his second race in a row and looking set to end Michael Schumacher’s reign as the King of Formula One. In many ways, there has been a significant changing of the guard, with Toyota’s second and fourth places netting the company’s best points finish ever and putting it in a clear second place in the constructors championship. Ferrari meanwhile is languishing in sixth place behind the increasingly consistent Red Bull. The ever-astute bookmakers now consider Michael Schumacher only 3/1 chance of retaining his title, with Alonso at long odds-on for the title. The stage is now set for an epic battle. Ferrari showed enough with the speed of the 2005 car’s first showing to suggest that it will have the speed to contest the remainder of the season fiercely. It’s now down to Bridgestone to provide competitive tyres for the less extreme temperatures of Europe. Read More
Malaysian F1 - Renault wins again, Toyota shines through
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March 20, 2005 A second win in two races for the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team at the Malaysian Grand Prix was the major news, but close behind Renault’s win at Sepang was the performance of Toyota, which finally appears to have arrived as a force in Formula One. Panasonic Toyota Racing scored its debut podium position after a "Trulli" outstanding drive from Jarno ensured he comfortably ended the grueling 56-lap race in 2nd position. A determined drive from Ralf Schumacher made it two cars in the top five for toyota, a total of 12 world championship points and second place in the constructors' championship. Read More
Vanwall name lives again in a 1950s F1 replica roadster
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March 11, 2005 One of the most famous names in motor racing history is to be reborn in the form of a roadgoing 1950s Formula One racing car replica. The famous Vanwall marque was in existence for just four years during the 1950s but in that time it won nine F1 victories, the F1 Constructors title in 1958 and was driven by the likes of Stirling Moss. Now the name will resurface as a high performance V12, aluminium bodied single seat racing car for the road. And a twin-seater is planned for later in the year.
Australian F1 Grand Prix
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March 7, 2005 The Australian Grand Prix marked the beginning of the Formula One season and once again offered intrigue at almost every turn of the wheel. In the end, the Mild Seven Renault Team had its best result since returning to F1 three years ago and clearly has the speed to be a challenger to Ferrari this season. Renault won the weekend from a team viewpoint, with Fisichella first and Alonso third, though most of the leading contenders could take some heart from the weekend’s proceedings. McLaren is clearly a contender again, Ferrari’s 2004 car was competitive (the 2005 car won’t be ready for several races yet) and Red Bull proved that small budgets and a good driver can get results with two point-scoring finishes using last year’s Jaguars as a basis. Read More
Extraordinary Formula 1 promotional event in Sydney
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February 28, 2005 With the Australian Formula One Grand prix just seven days away, Australian F1 driver Mark Webber was part of one of the most spectacular promotions ever staged for the sport yesterday when the Sydney Harbour Bridge was closed exclusively for his 2004 model BMW WilliamsF1 FW26B. Webber’s five laps of the international landmark closed it to traffic for five hours while a full scale operation was put in place to create a safe and secure ‘field of play’. Webber drove across the bridge ten times, making ten U-turns, a major feat in itself given the car’s extra large turning circle. Read More
Formula 1 drive up for grabs?
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February 19, 2005 Fancy a drive at the Australian Grand Prix next year? BMW has a car waiting for you if you fit the bill. All you need is an international profile and a week spare next March. Each year at the opening Formula One race of the season in Melbourne, BMW puts 26 cars on the grid for the Celebrity Challenge, and each year the line-up puts on a show like no other. In 1986, Dire Straits guitar virtuoso Mark Knopfler hit the concrete retaining wall in this race and the whole world held its breath. Most years at least one celebrity has thrilled the crowd with a spectacular crash after driving beyond their ability and experience. Read More
