The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and Sebastian Vettel
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
For being a pretty boring race, all in all, the British Grand Prix was a real nail-biter. Jimmy Clark would have felt right at home as thousands of Ferrari faithfuls chewed the keratin to the quick waiting to see if Webber would catch Alonso or if Alonso would hold off Weber. [Read more…] about British Grand Prix 2012
Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
Alonso and team manages tires to win Grand Prix of Europe
Valencia, Spain, June 24 2012
What Pirelli taketh away, Pirelli giveth. Last Sunday in Spain, on lap 35 Fernando Alonso took the lead from a confident Sebastian Vettel, whose Red Bull mysteriously stopped on the course. [Read more…] about European Grand Prix 2012: Proper Attire
Williams-Renault's Pastor Maldonado leads Ferrari's Felipe Massa
Copyright Williams F1
By Pete Vack
All photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari unless otherwise noted.
Tiresome and trite, tire degradation issues are degrading our sport.
Alonso’s loss at the Canadian Grand Prix is not just a loss for the Spaniard, but a loss for the Scuderia, the engineers, the designers, the sponsors, Fiat and Formula One. His loss is also our loss, for we are all held hostage to the same idiotic tire game that is dominating, and we think, ruining the sport. [Read more…] about Canadian Grand Prix 2012
Nico Rosberg
Photo courtesy and copyright Daimler Global Media
Managing Monaco
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media, unless otherwise noted
Monaco often turns into a procession, and this year despite the obligatory pit stops for tires, it was nevertheless a long single file march to the checkered flag.
Roughly two hours later and a half a world away, the race at Indy witnessed a record number of racing lead changes (ok, a few were agreed upon). It was superb watching for the entire 500 miles and the finish was heartbreaking.
[Read more…] about Monaco Grand Prix 2012
Fernando Alonso, Pastor Maldonado, Kimi Raikkonen
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media, unless otherwise noted
It was an exciting race and yet a boring race. All too exciting was the action after the race was over when the Williams garage caught on fire. Contrary to early reports, at least nine team members were injured in the fire and one mechanic was airlifted to a Barcelona hospital. Sir Frank Williams was quickly taken from the area and is ok. It was an almost tragic end to a well deserved and surprising victory.
[Read more…] about Spanish Grand Prix 2012
Felipe Massa
By Pete Vack
Pictures Courtesy and Copyright Ferrari Media, Unless Otherwise Noted
French engines dominate at Bahrain
Four races. Four drivers. Four constructors. Racing “F1 wise” seems to be improving. The drivers love it, the fans love it, and it’s great for racing in general.
[Read more…] about Bahrain Grand Prix 2012
Stirling Moss at Monaco, 1955 with the Mercedes-Benz W196. With Fangio, the Mercedes team would win every Grand Prix that year aside from Monaco, where they retired with mechanical problems. Photo from author’s collection.
Chinese Grand Prix by Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media, unless otherwise noted
Mercedes-Benz won their first F1 race since 1955. That in itself is surprising, but the most significant aspect of their victory was the long struggle to achieve a true Mercedes-Benz win. The difficulties in succeeding in F1 today (already noted with great loss of dollars by Toyota, Jaguar, Honda, Porsche and others), demolished the tradition of German engineering supremacy, a shock and awe technique which once caused fear and loathing in its competitors.
[Read more…] about Chinese Grand Prix 2012
Felipe Massa
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media, unless otherwise noted
Recipes and a Witches Wet Brew
First it promised to rain and it didn’t. Then it promised to rain again and it didn’t. In between it rained Malaysian cats and dogs. Grey skies made for an exciting race with surprise outcomes.
Most surprised of all was probably Alonso, who managed to pull off the impossible, winning with a car that everyone says is a dog even in the dry. Or maybe they are just saying that. Or maybe it was so last week but not this week.
[Read more…] about Malaysian Grand Prix 2012
Photo by Andrew Coles.
VeloceToday readers are already familiar with the work of Andrew Coles (see Fiat Nationals, Australia). Coles attended the first round of the F1 World Championship at Melbourne and filed this report for VeloceToday.
Story and Photos by Andrew Coles and Ferrari Media
Formula 1 has always been the holy grail of motorsport. It doesn’t matter if you’re a driver, an engineer, an official or even just a spectator, the FIA’s premiere category has an attraction that no true motor racing fan can deny. It was this magnetic-like pull that brought me to Melbourne for the opening round of the 2012 season. Being there live is a world class experience. No matter how many cameras are used to televise the event, no TV coverage can match. In many respects, TV does a very poor job of portraying what actually makes Formula 1 so special.
[Read more…] about Australian Grand Prix 2012
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
The look in the eyes was crystal clear despite the layers of tinted tear-aways and a full face helmet. “I can’t believe this is really happening…I can’t believe this is really happening, to me..”
The simplest form of immobility ever devised by automotive gremlins, a flat tire, had sidelined the most technically sophisticated car ever to lay rubber on a race track and disabled the hero of the German F1 fans, the kid who could practically do no wrong nor did so throughout an entire brilliant and overly long season of F1 events whose borders now far exceed the reach of the fabled British Empire.
[Read more…] about Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2011
Jenson Button, Adrian Newey, Sebastian Vettel, and Fernando Alonso
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
Bully for India and Formula One
One of our more illustrious Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, was a member of the Bull Moose Party and was given to using the word “Bully” in a positive manner, as in meaning “good”, “great” or “excellent”. Roosevelt also coined the term “Bully Pulpit”, which has an additional meaning here—the “Bully Pulpit” being the ability of the President to use his ‘pulpit’ in an influential manner. And a pulpit is what we have here, what you are reading; a podium, a platform, an opportunity to speak our mind and to have thousands hear it or read it.
[Read more…] about Indian Grand Prix 2011: Bully for Formula One
Fernando Alonso
By Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
Button wins, but it doesn’t matter
Jenson Button tried his best to make the Red Bull cars look beatable, but despite the hard fought win, it was all for naught. [Read more…] about Japanese Grand Prix 2011