Hungaroring Preview: The 30th birthday of modern F1

The Hungaroring is important. No, really.

When a sceptical fraternity scanned its eyes across the all mod cons Mogyorod facility for the first time in 1986, perhaps not even they will have appreciated the fork in the F1 road that it signposted. One for the sort of venues the circus would up sticks in at least.

The Hungaroring, now on its 30th anniversary,
represented a big shift in F1 venues
Photo: Octane Photography

As if you were to muse over the sort of track that dominates the calendar these days, particularly the newer events, no doubt a few things would come to mind. Purpose built from the ground up just for F1. Super safe. All clean lines and vast architecture, with an accompanying sense that pretty much everything has been thought of. And all is bankrolled by the national government keen to 'brand' the country. But with it comes an attendant nag that something intangible - the well-worn charm, and much of the challenge too - has been lost in the transition.

Well of these Hungary's Hungaroring, the scene of the latest F1 gathering this weekend coming, was likely the very first (contrary to some belief Jerez which debuted earlier that year doesn't count as it hosted a motorcycle race first). And it's especially important this time, as this visit marks its 30th (gulp) anniversary as a Grand Prix venue. Modern F1 - 30 years young. A disquieting thought.

British Grand Prix Talking Points encapsulate sport’s wider dilemma, by Ewan Marshall

The British Grand Prix always feels like the halfway point in the season, a circuit which lays bare the current pecking order and sets the tone for the remainder of the year. It has often been the scene of great controversy as well as fond memories. Sunday proved no different, providing a microcosm of all that's good and not-so-good about the sport.

The safety car start caused consternation
Photo: Octane Photography

Attending a Grand Prix is not cheap. Therefore, it is always disappointing for fans at the circuit when the start of a race and the hustle of the opening laps are abandoned in favour of the safety car. Unfortunately this is becoming all too frequent in modern day Formula One. Although Pirelli provide teams with a wet weather tyre, these seem to appear more for demonstration than to be driven in anger.

Yes there was plenty of standing water in parts before the lights went out on Sunday, but it was evident after only a handful of laps that the drivers were ready to go racing and that the cross over between wets and intermediates was already starting. Instead, the safety car over stayed its welcome and deprived us all of a chance to see the 'great leveller' bring out the best in the field. The fact that around half the pilots pitted for new tyres immediately after the green flag said it all, with the rest following suit a lap or two later.

The Making of the Silverstone Grand Prix Trophies

After another great Silverstone Grand Prix that concluded with Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen on the podium collecting the trophies we wanted to bring you the story behind the creation of the trophies that were awarded this year.

The four F1 trophies presented on the
Silverstone podium last weekend

The company that was lucky enough to design and create the trophies for this years British Grand Prix was Kent based trophy company Aford Awards. The trophy makers worked hard for nearly four months on designing and manufacturing the trophies to make them fit for the world's top racers.

The Brief 
The process wasn't an easy one, with the brief provided stating that the trophy needed to resemble a cup and be as large as possible, as long as it fitted with the F1 guidelines. There are strict rules within F1 regarding branding on trophies, however, Silverstone were eager to incorporate their well-known logo into the overall design of the trophy.

British Grand Prix review for Motor Verso - Lewis's Home Advantage

Some drivers definitely have it; others definitely do not. As for Lewis Hamilton? He's firmly in the former camp. It's the ability to exploit home advantage that I'm on about. Lewis won at Silverstone yet again. Not for the first time either he looked untouchable for the most part.

Photo: Octane Photography

Not even the worst of the British summer weather could interrupt his march, nor could the stewards - who included his kindred spirit Nigel Mansell among their number - taking a qualifying time off him. The drama instead was behind him, particularly around Nico Rosberg and the plot thickening on the notorious new radio restriction rules. And, oh yeah, that only a solitary point separates the two Mercedes pilots in the table now.

You can read my take on it all in my latest Motor Verso race review, which is here: http://www.motorverso.com/british-gp-2016-review-lewiss-home-advantage/

Do check out the Motor Verso site too; you'll find motoring news, car reviews and features - the team on the site carry out week-long test drives of the latest cars - as well as photos and videos of the machines.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - HAM & VES, F1's Dream Team?

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, what rock stars! Both drivers were on top if their game at the British Grand Prix. Can any constructor manage to pull off the dream team pairing of Hamilton and Verstappen?

Hamilton nearly collided with the Safety Car, clearly he is most susceptible to crash with another Mercedes when it is leading! After Max Verstappen's gutsy overtake on Nico Rosberg, his popularity among British fans has risen exponentially. Speaking of popularity, Verstappen won the 'Driver of the Day' award again - seems Verstappen and his fans outperformed Hamilton and his fans!

The radio ban continues to make news, after Nico Rosberg was penalised for breaking rules. Will breaking the radio ban become the newest strategic weapon for teams? If so, which team will be the first to do so? Rosberg also visited the stewards for the third time in eight days, what’s going on there.

Rosberg was endlessly booed on the podium, revenge for fans or bad sportsmanship? Niki Lauda breached the bro code by trash talking Hamilton and then conveniently 'retracted' his statements. Kimi Raikkonen signed a new contract with Ferrari and happy to have disappointed some people by doing so (this includes Kunal!). Honda finally admitted that no other F1 team wanted to partner with them and we wonder why (not!). Lastly, Formula 1's legendary driver Pastor Maldonado found a way to bring himself in the news again.

Tune in!

(Season 2016, Episode 24)

British GP Report - Après le déluge, moi

It was just like the French revolution in reverse. No really, stay with me.

There was a lot of regal pomp about Lewis Hamilton's British
Grand Prix weekend. Here he greets his subjects.
Photo: Octane Photography

"Après moi, le déluge" ("After me, the deluge") was said famously by King of France Louis XV, or perhaps by his most famous lover, Madame de Pompadour. Meaning probably that after his reign there would be revolutionary upheaval. On which he or she was proved right, in time.

In today's British Grand Prix we started with something like a deluge, but after that it was all about one person. Which was the same one person as it had all been about in the British Grand Prix gathering prior to the deluge too. Appropriately, Lewis Hamilton's home race and weekend had a lot of regal pomp about it. And his amassed subjects seemed pleased with it too.

Not even the worst of the British summer weather could halt him. And we got just the worst, and at the worst moment. After a couple of days of iffy weather and leaks of precipitation over the Northamptonshire former airfield, and just when the consensus had formed that the rain would in fact stay away for the race after all, around 20 minutes before the start there was a very British cloudburst. It meant that for the off the circuit was thoroughly saturated, to the point that puddles gathered and rivers ran.

Silverstone Qualifying - Channelling your inner Nige

We all know about Lewis Hamilton and his Ayrton Senna inspiration. He mentions it often, and even if you had up until now managed to miss it he'd noted it yet again already this weekend, by reciting that infamous "if you don't go for a gap…" line (though don't get me started on that one).

Lewis Hamilton dominated in front of his adoring public
Photo: Octane Photography

Nothing wrong with taking a Senna inspiration of course, it's Lewis's right. But whatever is the case I've long felt Lewis in fact has stronger parallels with others among the sport's revered names of the past. In this brew there's a distinct dash of the later-years Gilles Villeneuve, mixed in with rather a lot of Nigel Mansell.

Now, the parallels may not initially at least seem obvious between the cloth-cap wearing every-man 'Our Nige' and the outlandish and Holywood A-list mingling Lewis. But there are in fact plenty. Uncannily so.

Aggressive racers, astonishingly brave, something of the showman, possessed also though an emotional streak, sometimes manifested in the occasional sulk, and possessed also of a probably related tendency to divide opinion, but with a heart-on-sleeve nature that never seems contrived. And an almost unwavering - again uncanny - ability to attract drama somehow. You could be talking about either of them just as easily.

Ferrari opts to play long game as Raikkonen retains 2017 seat, by Ewan Marshall

There was no fanfare as Ferrari announced Kimi Raikkonen would remain with the team for 2017. No frills. No added extras. What you see is what you get.

To a little consternation, Kimi Raikkonen retention by
Ferrari for 2017 was confirmed today
Photo: Octane Photography

The decision has poured water over recent speculation that the Scuderia was looking to take another direction in its quest to overhaul rivals Mercedes on-track.

While predictable of a team which favours experience and stability notoriously, one could ask why it opted to make the announcement now, with the season not even half-way through.

Since his return to Ferrari in 2014, Raikkonen has only shown glimpses of the form which brought his sole world crown during his first tenure with the Prancing Horse in 2007-2009. Comfortably out-muscled by Fernando Alonso in their brief spell together, the Finn has fared better since being paired with Sebastian Vettel, but not enough to suggest he would ever be champion again.

New Grand Prix Times article: What did Austria’s kerb-hopping tell us about modern F1 drivers?

The single weekend's gathering of F1 folks in Austria's Spielberg region just passed packed in an astonishing number of distinct pieces of drama, perhaps as many as we'd expect across a whole swathe of a season. One of them looked for a time like it would dominate though, at least until Seb Vettel's tyre went pop and certainly until, you know, that on the final lap.

Photo: Octane Photography

That is, yellow 'baguette' kerbs on the outside of many turns and good for breaking F1 cars if you ran one over them. Drivers it seemed were maddeningly reluctant to twig this seemingly basic premise though, and as a result no fewer than four suspension breakages across Friday and Saturday were witnessed.

Many observers were exasperated at this, concluding 'why don't they just stay off the kerbs?' Simples. Some went further and thought it all said something unflattering about the decadent modern F1 pilot. Not like in the good old days.

In my latest Grand Prix Times article though I argue that the opposite is true. That the kerb-hopping showed F1 drivers' fundamental nature, and one that likely has been the way for decades. One that is gladiatorial. You can have a read here: http://www.grandprixtimes.com/news/id/12386

Ferrari Will Be Forced To Re-Sign Kimi Raikkonen, by Kunal Shah

In the last month, three of Ferrari's strongest prospects to replace Kimi Raikkonen all had their extended contracts with Red Bull Racing confirmed. Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will be locked with Red Bull Racing till end of 2018 whereas Carlos Sainz Jr. has got a one year extension with Red Bull Racing's sister team, Toro Rosso. This is exactly why I keep saying that Red Bull Racing is Ferrari's Junior Driver Program! They hired Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull Racing a couple of seasons ago.

What If Lewis Hamilton Raced For Red Bull Racing?

Is Kimi Raikkonen long for this Ferrari earth?
Photo: Octane Photography

Ferrari's decision to wait on Kimi Raikkonen might just backfire. They've issued statements that Raikkonen needs to prove that he deserves a seat at Ferrari and that they aren't in a hurry to decide their driver line-up for 2017. Has Ferrari's patience cost them a shot at signing the sport's best racing talent? I would think so.

Ferrari Should've Signed Max Verstappen

Kimi Raikkonen 2.0 hasn't been the same since he moved to Ferrari. The former World Champion has rarely matched his illustrious team-mates and I will use a phrase that's been overused to describe the Finn - 'a shadow of his former self'. Alain Prost's suggestion to Ferrari to stick with Raikkonen for 2017 to maintain stability might hold some might, but it isn't something I would subscribe to if I were Ferrari.