Inside Line F1 Podcast - With Which Team Will Verstappen Win His F1 Titles With?

Photo: Octane Photography

Max Verstappen is in the form of his life. But with which team will his record-breaking Formula 1 career be with? Will he stay put at Red Bull Racing or jump ship to Mercedes or Ferrari? Red Bull Racing-Honda is exciting, but how soon before it can deliver a championship winning package to Verstappen?

Will Verstappen be as patient with Red Bull Racing as it was with him during his find-my-feet days? Could Mercedes use this opportunity to swoop in and sign Verstappen as Lewis Hamilton's successor?

Yes, lots of questions in this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast as we focus on Max Verstappen and his supposedly long future in Formula 1. We also talk about the Gasly-Albon swap and make a bold prediction of either Grosjean or Hulkenberg not having a seat in 2020. Finally, are McLaren hunting for the Triple Crown themselves? Tune in!

(Season 2019, Episode 30)
Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes, audioBoom (RSS feed), Spotify and Google Podcasts for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour

Retro on Nigel Mansell's best drives for Motor Sport Magazine

There are some drivers that it is almost impossible to be indifferent about. And Nigel Mansell is quintessential.

By Jerry Lewis-Evans - https://www.flickr.com/photos/
figsbury/9350241055/in/album-72157634767569482/,
CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=43891659

But whatever you make of him, almost no driver can drama have followed so closely and persistently as him. And this of course manifested in some of the most thrilling and aggressive drives ever seen.

So to mark Nigel Mansell's birthday the other day, for Motor Sport, with help from Jake Williams-Smith, I looked at eight of the best drives from Mansell's ever-dramatic career.

You can check out the selection here: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/history/f1/nigel-mansells-best-drives

I also for Motor Sport recently marked Fernando Alonso's birthday by looking back at his astonishing win in the 2012 European Grand Prix at Valencia. You can check that out here: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/history/f1/fernando-alonsos-greatest-drive-2012-european-grand-prix

Inside Line F1 Podcast - A Legit Hamilton Beater?

After years of waiting, does Formula 1 finally have a Lewis Hamilton beater in Max Verstappen? Frankly, we don't care who beats who as long as we have a battle to witness for the seasons to come. Sorry, Seb, but the narrative does seem to now be all about Verstappen vs Hamilton.

Photo: Octane Photography

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, we discuss Verstappen's talent, form and his psychological attacks on Hamilton. Is Nico Rosberg the new Jacques Villeneuve? Did Toto Wolff drop the biggest hint yet of his aspirations to becoming the next F1 CEO? Pierre Gasly deserves a hug and everyone needs to stop playing Helmut Marko. And finally, is Captain Planet Sebastian Vettel racing in the wrong motorsport series? Tune in!

(Season 2019, Episode 29)
Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes, audioBoom (RSS feed), Spotify and Google Podcasts for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour

1989 Hungarian Grand Prix review for Motor Sport Magazine

My latest classic Formula 1 race retro review for Motor Sport Magazine is here, and it's for the forthcoming Hungarian Grand Prix.

By Stuart Seeger from College Station, Texas, USA -
Explaining, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.
org/w/index.php?curid=5495613

The Hungaroring round hasn't always been everyone's cup of tea since landing as an F1 venue in 1986. But over time it's developed a knack of being the scene of great drivers putting in great drivers.

And few can have been greater than that of 30 years ago in 1989, when Nigel Mansell for Ferrari defied all odds to come through for victory.

Even for one whom drama followed as habitually as Our Nige, this one has good claim to be his most stunning drive of all.

You can read the tale via this link: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/history/f1/senna-realised-i-was-only-driver-he-couldnt-intimidate-mansells-majestic-1989-hungarian

New Motorsport Week article: Formula 1's Hungarian Rhapsody

By Derzsi Elekes Andor (talk · contribs) - Own work, CC
BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=15965571

The Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring is an interesting one. Really.

It long was dismissed as Formula 1's ugly duckling, 'Monaco without the houses' and the like. Yet there has always been a lot more to it than that.

And in my latest feature for Motorsport Week I explore just what it is about the enigmatic Hungarian Grand Prix. Why it's important, why it's captivating, why it grew to be a Formula 1 favourite.

You can have a read of my thinking here: https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/23914

How to Choose the Best Car Speaker Size for Your Vehicle

The car is the next place we get to spend our time after work or if we are not at home. To some, the car doubles up as their workplace. Having to sit alone in the confinement of your vehicle for hours in silence can be boring.

You can solve this by installing a sound system to play music or connect it to the radio for updates and hear the latest news. The sound also keeps you alert, making your ride safer and fun. Since cars take up a chunk of our investment, you should not just install speakers haphazardly.

Make the effort of getting nothing but the best in the market. However, despite knowing the car speakers and even making the purchase, they might not be ideal for your vehicle. To ensure you get the best speaker size, consider implementing the following tips.

1) Know the Type of Speaker You Want

Photo by <a href="/photographer/sardinelly-
64706">sardinelly</a> from <a href=
"https://freeimages.com/">FreeImages</a>

You need the correct information to purchase the perfect speaker. A full range speaker comes packed with the whole system under one system while a component speaker comes separate components.

For DIY projects, the full range one is ideal since it is easy to install. In terms of the quality of sound, consider component speakers since they have proven to be the best.

The size is also a key factor as a speaker too small might end up getting overpowered by the woofer, and the system might not support a large one. Most standard speakers range between 3.5 and 6.5. However, lately, custom made pieces have no limits. The best 3.5 speakers can be installed anywhere in the vehicle, making them ideal for both small and big cars.

1958 German Grand Prix review for Motor Sport Magazine

Terry Whalebone from Bolton, UK [CC BY 2.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

My latest classic Formula 1 race retro review for Motor Sport Magazine's website has landed. That for the forthcoming German Grand Prix.

I look back at a classic. An incredible Nurburgring comeback win, chasing down the Ferrari pair from a seemingly impossible deficit to prevail. But it's not Juan Manuel Fangio, it's F1's forgotten genius Tony Brooks.

Twelve months on from Fangio's finest hour, Brooks took an about-as-brilliant 1958 German Grand Prix victory in his Vanwall.

You can check out the story via this link: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/history/f1/tony-brooks-greatest-victory-forgotten-genius-win-1958-german-grand-prix

Which Nations Dominate F1 and WRC?, by Select Car Leasing

We're all familiar with the greats of the sport, but which countries can boast the best record on the track? Select Car Leasing has analysed how many drivers from each country have taken part in F1 and WRC and compared that total to each nation's population size, per every 1 million citizens. The stats revealed some big surprises.

Key Findings

-       The UK loves the track...with the second-best F1 participation rate, behind only Switzerland

-       Just five nations have won a title in both F1 and WRC... which are the UK, Finland, Italy, Spain and France

-       The UK and US represent almost half of the total motorsport participants since 1950... featuring a combined total of 418 drivers

-       The F1 bug hasn't yet reached China and India... Despite a combined population of 2.7 billion citizens, they've had just two F1 drivers

-       Where winter bites WRC is popular... Estonia, Sweden, Norway and Finland lead the line for participation

-       Estonia falling at the final hurdle... despite huge participation, the country is yet to win a professional WRC title

The Make-Up Of A Formula 1 Winner, by Just Tyres

With Formula 1 kicking off there's an audible buzz in the air that's got us wondering about all the cogs in the machine that turns out an F1 champion. So what does it take to be the best?

Just Tyres has analysed 50 years of F1 tournament data to find out what makes an F1 winner. Take a look below to find which countries have the most F1 champions, which teams have won the most races and what the peak age for winning is.


Source: Just Tyres

New Motorsport Week article: Forty years on - how Williams rose to the top

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item number 930-4115 [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl (https://
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This is a very a special British Grand Prix weekend for Williams. Sir Frank Williams' half-decade as a team boss is being marked, while the race takes place 40 years to the day since Williams took its first ever F1 win, which also was at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

For Motorsport Week I look back four decades to how the team first rose to the top, which - strange as it may seem several championships later - was rather an unlikely rise at the time.

You can check the tale out here: https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/23644