Pedro Lamy's 1994 Silverstone Testing Accident, by Ibrar Malik and Ben Green

This is a special blog to celebrate the launch of the audiobook: Team Lotus, Struggling Beyond The Post Colin Chapman Era.

This blog has been co-written by Ben Green, who is the proud owner of the Lotus Formula 1 car Pedro Lamy crashed during that Silverstone test in May 1994, just prior to that year's Spanish Grand Prix. If you have read the book: 1994 The Untold Story of a Tragic and Controversial F1 Season, you'll know Lamy's crash and its subsequent fallout, was hugely significant to F1 that year. Ben's Lotus chassis is the 107C (chassis no 1).

This is the (restored) Lotus 107C that Lamy almost was killed in during that fateful day at Silverstone in May 1994. Ben purchased the chassis from Team Lotus during 1995, along with a heap of spares.
     
1994 Lotus 107C
At the end of the 1993 season, Team Lotus's finances were in a bad way. The newly released book: Team Lotus, Struggling Beyond The Post Colin Chapman Era details how and why Team Lotus got there by the early 1990s.

Its Chris Murphy-designed 107B was fast but unreliable, while its complex active suspension and customer Cosworth HB engines had drained resources. Along came Honda with the Mugen brand and an updated 1989 ZA5 V10 engine, a no-cost factory option.

New Motorsport Week article: F1 2019 end of season awards - The Golden Grahams

Photo: Octane Photography

We know how the 2019 F1 season ended, but who were the real winners? In my latest for Motorsport Week I again seek to unravel the matter with my annual set of 'prestigious' awards, The Golden Grahams.

Some of it is serious (best driver, best team...); some of it, erm, is less so.

You can have a read of it in all its glorious nonsense via this link: https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/25726

New Motorsport Week article: 1962 - December F1 and the changing of the guard

Bilsen, Joop van / Anefo / neg. stroken, 1945-1989,
2.24.01.05, item number 913-9470 [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en)]

As we creep towards Christmas, imagine that in the here and now the Formula 1 season still had a race to do. Imagine too that the F1 championship had yet to be decided, and it would be resolved in that lingering final round.

And imagine too that the race is to take place between Christmas Day and New Year.

Well in 1962, uniquely, all of this came together. And that was far from the only thing striking about the season, which was one of remarkable change.

For Motorsport Week I look back at the seismic season. You can have a read here: https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/25625

2020 F1 Betting Preview: More of the same from Hamilton and Mercedes?

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes ended another season on top
Photo: Octane Photography

As the sadly recently-departed Clive James once noted, the next Formula 1 season begins at the same moment the previous one ends. Not least for the betting-minded F1 fan, considering where’s best to place their money such as by scanning this Bodog review. Bodog is a big name in the sports betting industry and usually provides great odds for F1 races. So, with the 2019 campaign just finished, minds turn immediately to 2020.

The 2019 F1 season looked more of the same. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes won the titles again, the team winning 15 of the 21 races; Hamilton 11 of them. There are not major regulation changes for 2020, meaning the ‘feed in’ to next year should be fairly direct. And all this is reflected in Hamilton’s odds to be 2020 world champion, just 4/6.

Yet scratch the surface of 2019 and Mercedes’ dominance was not as the headline figures suggested. It often was not the fastest car, and instead relied on consistency, organisation and avoiding errors to beat its Ferrari and Red Bull foes. Hamilton indeed only got five pole positions – two fewer than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari appeared often to have the raw material to challenge Mercedes much more closely in the table. If for 2020 it can sort out its organisational problems – big ‘if’ – titles are plausible. And, with this, Leclerc is a possibly-generous 6/1 to be next season’s champion.

Can Max Verstappen (left) or Charles Leclerc (right)
topple Hamilton in 2020?
Photo: Octane Photography

His team-mate Sebastian Vettel is even longer at 15/2. His 2019 year was trying but he wasn’t outclassed by Leclerc, and is not to be written off.

Neither is the prodigious Max Verstappen, and some rated his personal 2019 as better than Hamilton’s. The key is whether his Red Bull will be up to the task. It often looked that way in the latter part of this year, with its Honda power unit appearing a match for the rest.

Then again Red Bull has a habit of starting seasons slowly which leaves it too far off the championship pace. Verstappen 2020 champion odds still look decent at 7/1.

And with Hamilton the clear 2020 favourite there’s another tantalising set of odds on offer – who will ‘win’ the drivers’ championship without Hamilton? Those odds look tempting: Leclerc is 7/4; Verstappen 2/1 and Vettel 3/1.

But what about the ‘incumbent’? Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas was a comfortable runner-up behind Hamilton in the table this year. He’s a full 5/2 to be another to deliver more of the same in 2020.

New Motorsport Week article: The 2010s - the decade that F1 tried, but never quite managed, to get it right

By Mark McArdle - originally posted to Flickr as Race Start!,
 CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=10643007

And so the latest Formula 1 decade is (nearly) over.

With that, for Motorsport Week I look back on the F1 decade that was.

It was a decade in which F1 was restless, forever wrestling with how it could be got right. But also never quite managing it.

You can check out my take on the state of the 2010s F1 nation here: https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/25404

2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix review for Motor Sport Magazine

By Jitesh Jagadish - https://www.flickr.com/photos/
jiteshjagadish/5178417174/, CC BY 2.0, https://
commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12075188

Picking a classic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of yore is tricky. Partly as it's been on the Formula 1 itinerary for only a decade. But mainly that the Yas Marina circuit seems to be a place that militates against racing cars racing against each other.

In my latest F1 retro for Motor Sport Magazine I look at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix's most notable moment, which aptly owed much to not being able to overtake. The 2010 championship finale.

I tell the convoluted tale here:
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/alonso-loses-f1-title-vettel-call-was-pits-2010-abu-dhabi-grand-prix

New Motorsport Week article: Why Interlagos is so special

Eduardo Guarizo Pimentel [CC BY 2.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

Circuits come; circuits go. Particularly in recent times.

But somehow among it all Interlagos, host of the Brazilian Grand Prix, has lived on. And done so as a circuit apart.

It's a circuit apart in more ways than you might think too. So in my latest feature for Motorsport Week I explore the many ways that make Interlagos so very special.

You can have a read of my take here: https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/25224

2003 Brazilian Grand Prix review for Motor Sport Magazine

By Marlon Hammes, cropped/retouched by Morio - Interlagos
SP from flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=2751483

Interlagos has good claim to be Formula 1's equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle. Anything it seems can happen here, from the sublime to the - literally - ridiculous.

But no Brazilian Grand Prix squeezed so much craziness in as the 2003 edition - and it did so both into the race and afterwards.

In my latest F1 retro for Motor Sport Magazine I tell the incredible tale. You can have a read here: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/news/f1/rain-fire-and-wind-change-2003-brazilian-gp-may-be-f1s-craziest-race

Race of Remembrance report for Autosport and Motorsport News

Race of Remembrance at Anglesey was once again a motorsport event like no other, as is befitting of a meeting that calls itself 'a Remembrance Service with a race attached'.

The 12-hour endurance race last weekend was its usual eclectic mix of cars and fascinating stories.

And here for Autosport and Motorsport News here is my report on the race: https://www.autosport.com/national/news/147095/race-of-remembrance-lotus-wins-after-late-scare

The top 4 golf courses every golfer should play in their lifetime

Image by rcc-ffm from Pixabay

Golfers should make an effort to play on major golf courses. It will enlighten them to do so as they learn about golf history and enhance their skills too. Whether you choose to play at the old golf course at St Andrews or the Royal Porthcawl in Wales, it is a good idea to play on major courses as it creates memories and allows you to see where the pros play in major tournaments. Major places with excellent golf courses include the US, England, and Scotland. Regular reviews on major golf courses in the world will help you identify the best course to visit.

Here are the top four golf courses every golfer should play in their lifetime:

1.    Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

The golf course is located in South Carolina. The main point of attraction is that it is near the ocean. Most golfers have ranked it as one of the toughest golf courses in the world. It is memorable as it was the host for Ryder Cup in 1991. The tournament is famous as one of the tournaments in which the US won over the European team narrowly. The PGA Championships for Rory McIlroy in 2012 was also held here. Golfers who have been to Kiawah Island Golf Resort conclude that it is a challenging and a good experience for golfers who value rough playing terrains.