Belgian Grand Prix Preview

After a three-week break, F1 circus is gearing up for the second half of the season, likewise, many of us are looking forward to see the best of the F1 season.  The 12th race of the F1 season will kick off this weekend at a historical & a scenic, Spa- Francorchamps.

The circuit is one of the most challenging & longest circuit on the F1 Calendar, located in the Ardennes Mountains. Overall it's a seven kilometres in length, running 44 laps,  have got flat-out corners & fast straights; the average speed is 230km/h.

Pirelli confirmed  its P Zero white medium tyres as primes and the P Zero Yellow soft as an options.

"With the softer option liable to be the preferred choice in qualifying due to a significant time gap. This is because of the length of the lap, meaning also that strategy is a very big factor in Spa: there is more time to be won and lost by being on the right tyre at the right time than at many other venues. It’s the sort of race where, under the right circumstances, it’s absolutely possible to go from last to first – and that always makes for a very exciting grand prix. Often it can be raining on one part of the circuit but completely dry at another part, meaning that the versatility of cars, tyres and drivers is tested to the limit as well." says Paul Hembery

 The weather is always unpredictable with heavy rainstorms and it's believed that, in the history of the Belgium GP, it has rained for 20 years in a row. And so there is always the rain threat during the race, which raises the chances of a safety car period.

Moreover, the Spa- Francorchamps circuit is all time favourite of most of the drivers on the F1 grid. The unique ups & downs reflects the track so well with it's iconic features and the history involved makes it a drivers delight.

William's Fellipe Massa "I love Spa, it's one of my favourite tracks because of the long straights and high speed corners, and it's a track we all look forward to racing at. The long straights should suit our car and we can kick the second half of the season off with some success."

 What all to look at for the second-half of the season: 1> The aerodynamic developments on the cars. 2> Teams orders. 3> The battle between the top half of the table for championship points and positions.

Above all, I reckon the Spa race will be one the interesting race to watch out. Sebastian Vettel had won the race last year, Who do you think will win the race this year? Will we see another team order between Lewis & Nico as they is only a gap of 11 points in their Drivers' standings? Have your say.

F1 news - 2014

Hello everyone! Wishing you all a very Happy New Year 2014. Hope this year brings you lots of happiness, success & may all your wishes comes true !! 

 It's been a while now that I've been off from here and so would like to apologies all my readers for not keeping you updated with the F1 news, gossips etc.

 Although there are no on ground F1 activities going on now but there are lots of things happening around the F1 world. One of the most important news which is highly been shown in the telly or in the newspapers is on Schumacher's skiing accident which occurred at Meribel on December 29th & how he is battling for his life now in Grenoble hospital. He has undergone two brain operations so far & remains in a medically induced coma.

According to the latest statement issued by Schumacher's wife Corinna on Tuesday, she said "Please support us in our common fight with Michael. It is important to me that you leave the doctors and the hospital so that they can work in peace." 

On the more side on F1 news, McLaren has announced the unveiling of its MP4-29 to take place on Friday January 24 online. Whereas, The Brackley based team - Mercedes will reveal the W05, during the first winter test of the year at Jerez in Spain on January 28th.

 The Enstone based team - Lotus will miss out its first pre-F1 test at Jerez. According to Lotus technical director Nick Chester, said "We're going to keep our car under wraps a little longer than some other teams," he said. "We've decided that attending the Jerez test isn't ideal for our build and development programme. "We are likely to unveil the car before attending the Bahrain tests, and in Bahrain we should really be able to put the car through its paces in representative conditions."

Touching the sky - Maria de Villota

Retracing the life of Maria de Villota, who lost an eye testing for Marussia F1

Let’s face it. Motorsport is a male-dominated sport. That perhaps holds true more in the world of Formula One, given the way the sport functions. Even though women are involved in F1 in various ways, we barely get to hear about a female driver driving a Formula One car, let alone testing for a team. Since its inception in 1950, five women racers made it to Formula One, although only two have been able to actually race. Maria Teresa de Filippis became the first female racer to make it to the F1 grid when she qualified for the race in the 1958 season, driving a Maserati. But women have been largely absent from the racing in F1, even though lower racing championships have women enjoy reasonable success. As a motorsport enthusiast and a girl at that, I have always wanted women to take up active roles in the sport, and have been particularly excited each time women have taken up a strategic position in F1. I would be happiest though if a female racer makes it to the Formula One starting grid in today’s day and age, giving her male counterparts a run for their money.

I was particularly excited when Marussia F1 had signed on Spanish racing driver Maria di Villota. I was hopeful of seeing her get a chance to race apart from her role as test driver. However, the ugly side of things are known to show up when least expected. In racing it is in the form of crashes given the speeds involved, especially in F1. Any F1 fan worth his salt will never forget the sad demise of Ayrton Senna at Imola in Italy. Ever since F1 has fortunately not seen a single death, but yes, crashes do happen, serious ones sometimes. Unfortunately for Maria, she fell prey to one such accident even before she could live her dream of actually racing in F1. Over the years, the FIA has made advances in terms of safety, but the risk of accidents cannot be eliminated completely. Intrigued by the way her life has changed since the gruesome accident that left Maria without sight in one eye, I was keen on learning about her, and got in touch with her family.

Maria’s tryst with racing began as a kid. Born in Madrid, she is the daughter of former F1 driver Emilio de Villota who raced in the 80s. She started her racing career with karting in 1996. She was very passionate about racing as a kid since her father was an F1 driver. Her dad however never wanted Maria to race. But Maria knew that she wanted to take up racing as a career when she won her first karting race. She went on to race in various single seater and sportscar categories like the Spanish Formula Toyota 1300, Spanish F3, Daytona 24 Hours, the Spanish GT Championship, Euroseries 3000 and the Superleague Formula and so on. Maria was studying sports science at the same time, and holds a degree in the same from the European University of Madrid.

She got her first taste of driving an F1 car in 2011 when got behind the wheel of the Renault R29 at the Paul Ricard Circuit for a test, hoping to secure a seat as reserve driver. A few months later, she was finally taken by Marussia F1 as test driver for the 2012 season. Unfortunately for her, Maria suffered a crash in her very first test for Marussia, at the Duxford Aerodrome, Cambridgeshire, performing a straight line acceleration run. Her car seemed to have accelerated suddenly whilst slowing down, launching it into the rear of a parked truck. She suffered serious head and facial injuries that took a long time to heal, but she lost her right eye in the process. F1 cars and driving helmets are designed to protect the driver from every possible injury, but the eyes generally get lesser protection due to the visors. Her car reportedly was at a low speed but she suffered fractures in her skull apart from losing an eye.

This was one of those unfortunate incidents where the crash took place in the service area where a support truck was parked. The reason for the crash is still not clear but when internal investigations were carried out by Marussia and by a Health and Safety Executive (HSE), they found that the crash was not caused by a technical issue with the car. Once she recovered, Maria wanted to get back in the cockpit, but had to wait for some time before she even got the clearance to drive on the road. When I asked what she thinks about her new life, she told me “I want to focus on my new life, and help promote safety.” She wears an eye patch now, and wants to work on ensuring testing in motorsport becomes safer in future.

October 2012 is when she made her first public appearance after the crash, having spent several months recovering. However, she suffers from headaches even now and has lost her sense of sense of taste and smell. Talking about the difficulties in her daily life Maria says, "After I recovered, even day-to-day activities were difficult. Catching a bunch of keys thrown in the air or getting a glass of water was a problem, but now it’s a lot better.”

De Villota is one of the ambassadors of the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission (WMC) and she says she aims to change the current scenario to open new avenues for women. She took a lot of time to make it to F1 as even a test driver and thinks is it important to encourage talented female racers to try and make it big in racing. She also thinks that road safety has improved a lot but still has a long way to go. She says is not sure if she will ever get a chance to get back into the cockpit of a race car, but looks forward to improve safety. She feels the situation at circuits is under control, but not outside, where other test such as aero are conducted.

Welcoming all readers back!

Hello everybody, hope you guys are doing great and enjoying 2013 F1 season. I know I've been away since many days, may be a year now but I'm back here on my blog page so that I can share all my F1 updates with you all.
 
Whilst doing my full time job at India's best F1 racing circuit, Buddh International Circuit since September 2011, I have also been featuring some of my F1stories in one of India’s leading automotive publication- Overdrive (http://www.overdrive.in/)
 
Whenever you guys have some time off, check out my few F1 stories and let me know your feedback:

• Dehradun to Formula One - Monisha Kalterborn: http://overdrive.in/details/2170/Dehradun-to-Formula-One

• The Indian connection - Bal Sira : http://overdrive.in/details/2162/The-Indian-connection

• A peek at what went into making the 2012 Formula 1 Grand Prix of India a success- Hetal Mehta: http://overdrive.in/details/2448/What-lies-beneath

 
Hence, stay tuned for more updates!

Cheers,

Hetal

Twitter: www.twitter.com/hetalmehtaf1

 

Love speed? Get behind the wheel at BIC

Do you have a valid car/bike driving license and love zipping through the lane? Then the world's fastest racing circuits is waiting for you.

The inaugural Open Track Day was organised at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) on April 22.

The response? Terrific as car/bike lovers couldn’t stop yelling for more.

Not just this. The Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) organised a ‘Taxi Ride’ for those who wanted to enjoy sitting next to the driver and feel the adrenaline rush.

The inaugural Open Track Day was pre-divided for those who got themselves registered for the first-hand experience.

The car/bike slots were divided into three sessions, of 20-minute each, where fans could either choose to go for one or all three.

The cost for a bike and car (one session) was Rs 4,999 and Rs 7,599, respectively.

Those who opted for all the three sessions were given a concessional rates of Rs. 9,999 (bike), and Rs18,749 (car).

I spoke to a couple of riders after the first bike session and found that at the Turn 1, they found it a bit difficult to balance their machines, but they loved driving through Turn 3 and Turn 4.The maximum speed at Turn 3 and Turn 4was 285 kmph.

After the three sessions, the riders got familiarised with the Turns and the Breaking Points. Rest was sheer thrill!

The excitement was such that several drivers had bought new pairs of bike/cars accessories.

I came across following super-bikes and the cars on Open Track Day:

Bikes: Suzuki Hayabusa GSXR1300, Suzuki Hayabusa / 2010, Honda CBR 1000 RR/ 2010, CBR1000RR-2010, Suzuki Hayabusa, Ducati / Superbike 848 Evo, Honda CBR 1000RR, BMW K1300R, BMW S1000RR, M/V Augusta F-4, Ducati 999, Honda CBR 250R, Ducati 795, Suzuki Hayabusa GSXR 1300, Honda CBR 250R, Ducati 795,Yamaha R15, Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10 R, Ninja ZX 12R, Hyosung GT650R.


Cars: Mitsubishi Lancer Invex, Mahindra XUV 500, Mercedes E270, Jaguar XF, BMW 320 D, Honda City, Honda Civic, Maruti 800, BMW X6, Audi A6, BMW 320 D, Hyundai Santafe, Porsche Panamera 4S, BMW, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai I10, Maruti ZEN,Volkswagen Polo, Maruti Baleno and Ford Fiesta.

Aditi, my colleague, interviewed a couple of speed lovers. Check out what they had to say:

Dr. Arun Theraja, Founder of G.O.D.S. Group: “I drove Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10 R. I hit the maximum speed of 280 kmph on Turn 3 and Turn 4 on my favorite turn.The BIC track is 10/10.”
Harsh Agarwal: “I droveWestfield Sport 2000 and touched 190 kmph on Turn 3 and 4. It was an amazing experience and I look forward to come here again.”

Gurvinder Singh: “I rode BMWS1000RR and my second session was fantastic, at 285 kmph on Turn 3and Turn 4.

The car/bike riders had a wonderful day and each one of them wanted to experience the thrill again. Well,they are not far from that.

If you want to be part of the utmost driving experience where screeching tyres, burning rubber, no traffic signals and speed-breakers welcome you, then you have to be here --at India’s only F1 Circuit called Buddh international Circuit at Greater Noida.

The next Open Track Day is expected on June 10.

To book slots, e-mail us at bic.timetrail@jalindia.co.in

Mugello test - driver line up 2012

Redbull Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) - Mark Webber Wednesday (2-05-2012)-  Mark Webber/Sebastian Vettel Thursday (3-05-2012)-  Sebastian Vettel	McLaren Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) -  Oliver Turvey/Gary Paffett Wednesday (2-05-2012)-  Gary Paffett Thursday (3-05-2012)-  Oliver Turvey	Ferrari Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) - Fernando Alonso Wednesday (2-05-2012)- Felipe Massa Thursday (3-05-2012)-  Fernando Alonso
Mercedes Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) - Nico Rosberg/Michael Schumacher Wednesday (2-05-2012)-  Michael Schumacher Thursday (3-05-2012)-  Nico Rosberg	Lotus Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) - Jerome D’Ambrosio Wednesday (2-05-2012)- Kimi Raikkonen Thursday (3-05-2012)- Romain Grosjean	Force India Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) -  Jules Bianchi Wednesday (2-05-2012)- Paul di Resta Thursday (3-05-2012)- Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) - Kamui Kobayashi Wednesday (2-05-2012)- Kamui Kobayashi Thursday (3-05-2012)- Sergio Perez	Toro Rosso Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) - Jean-Eric Vergne Wednesday (2-05-2012)-  Jean-Eric Vergne/Daniel Ricciardo Thursday (3-05-2012)-  Daniel Ricciardo	Williams Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) -  Valtteri Bottas Wednesday (2-05-2012)- Pastor Maldonado Thursday (3-05-2012)- Bruno Senna
Caterham Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) -  Rodolfo Gonzalez Wednesday (2-05-2012)- Vitaly Petrov Thursday (3-05-2012)- Heikki Kovalainen	HRT Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) – n/a Wednesday (2-05-2012)- n/a Thursday (3-05-2012)- n/a	Marussia Tuesday ( 1-05-2012) - Charles Pic Wednesday (2-05-2012)-  Charles Pic/Timo Glock Thursday (3-05-2012)-  Timo Glock

2012 Australian Grand Prix Preview

Many of us were waiting for the Formula One season to kick off and so this week for the first time in the history of Formula One, we will see 6 world champions on the grid with their massive 18’000hp.

Welcome to my blog of Formula One and I hope you all will have an amazing time this season. I bet if you will not ;)

As the first round of Formula One approaches to the Albert Park, many of the F1 teams and their respective crew members have started their way to Melbourne. The circuit itself is in the centre of the city around a lake. It is considered that the circuit is one of the first – rate circuit with the best facilities.

With the twelve days of pre –season testing, looks like all the teams are geared up for this season. HRT car failed to do more laps during the testing whereas only last week Marussia’s car successfully passed its mandatory crash tests.

I reckon Ferrari’s are still struggling to know their F2012. McLaren and Lotus car looked smoother. But yes we have to see this Saturday how these car do well in the competition level.

Red bull looks stronger but the question comes here is that: Will Red bull dominate this year too with the Newey’s design?

Sebastian Vettel: "Testing has been busy over the last few weeks and I think we have made a decent step with the car. You never really know where you are until we get to Melbourne and even then you don't really see what everyone has got until qualifying - so I'm looking forward to getting started.”

The track is clockwise with few blind corner, 90- degree corners, 58 laps, 16 turns and with two DRS activation Zone.

Pirelli, the official tyre supplier of the Formula One had announced last month that for the first race, all the teams will be supplied with the soft and the medium compound tyres.

Hence, to sum up, I would say that this GP has to be the action packed.