On The Podium

(Just a very basic review, will post another article covering the Indian GP)  Barring all uncertainties, persistent tax issues, and low ticket sales, the Indian Grand Prix was held in a great atmosphere and crowned its very first world champion. Being dominant all season, especially after the summer break were Sebastian Vettel and his team, Red Bull racing. The amalgamation between the two has been a great success the last three years, and once again, it’s Vettel and RedBull winning a quadruple double title. “Driver Number 2”, Mark Webber, who started on an opposite strategy to Vettel, retired due to an alternator failure with more than 20 laps to go. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished 11 th after a first lap incident with Webber. A damaged wing saw the 2 time world champion pit for a new wing and after that, the race wasn’t to Fernando’s appeal at all. His future teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, made a wrong call by not pitting and the ever preposterous Pirelli tire de...

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/10/20/what-does-it-take-to-get-behind-the-wheel-of-a-f1-car/

“All your anxieties about my fecklessness are over. I’m going to be a racing driver. And I shall be world champion” announced, an 18 year old James Hunt to his parents on the eve of his 18 th birthday. At that time, Sue and Wallis Hunt must’ve thought their son had gone absolutely bonkers and had completely lost it. But you can’t really blame them! Because every boy (and in my case, girl) wants to race in the pinnacle of motorsport - Formula One. To be successful in any sport, it takes enormous amount of dedication and commitment, and in case of Formula One, or any motorsport for that matter, it needs colossal financial backing. And considering the competitiveness in F1 today, you’ve got to be at the top of your game, and a step ahead of the others. Most of all, patience is a key factor while working your way up the ‘racing ladder’. Where is the start? All drivers on the grid today have started from the very basics and well known base of motorsport; karting. It is the...

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/10/15/kimi-raikkonen-when-the-golden-silence-speaks/

I remember re-watching the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix. The excitement and anxiousness that went through me when Kimi Raikkonen passed Giancarlo Fisichella on the last lap made me jump and clap. And though it wasn’t live and nor were the results very unknown, I had just seen one of the best possible grands prix of my life.. once again! After the worst qualifying session ever with pouring rain, Kimi and Fernando started P18 and 17 respectively. But a dry forecast on Sunday was a relief for Renault and McLaren, for both their drivers could charge from the back of the field. Alonso, like ton Sunday had a good getaway and was in P8 by the end of the very first lap, but Raikkonen made a small error and let all the cars behind him pass. Making through the field almost twice during the race, this Finn went on to win the grand prix after surviving safety cars, run offs, and by showcasing some of the best overtakes in F1.  And so we saw possibly the most impressive podium –...

Challenge is something all drivers in Formula One seek for. Challenge from his fellow colleagues  challenge from the abiotic components, and challenge from the kerbs and corners. The F1 circus finally arrives at Japan - one of the only places where there's that challenge that all drivers look for. From Fuji to Suzuka, the one thing that's still not changed is the atmosphere in Japan. As Sebastian Vettel puts it correctly - " there is a fantastic atmosphere, crazy Japanese fans. They are very passionate about us coming here and I think all the drivers we do get a lot of respect when we come here but equally a lot of support." As a grand prix preview, the Red Bulls head strong to Japan having won the last 4 races with Sebastian Vettel, and have a possibility of winning the driver's championship too. But their 2nd car belonging to Webber needs some work to be done after it got charred last weekend. Red Bull made a few changes to their set up after FP1 to incre...

Kimi, Lewis and Seb pairing that we've never seen before. Friends in the making Vettel and hamilton? Now we know what Sebastian Vettel meant when he made a rather controversial statement. Champions work hard and smart. Just here we get to see the lightning start that Vettel got off the line. "Are you serious?" moment for Mark Webber as his RB9 atches fire for the second time in consecutive races. Massa running wide, causing a collision and a sudden shuffle in the order. Fans may lack in number at the KIC, but they make up for it with their creativity. This is just one of the many (weird) fan art that was seen. 

Despite warnings of typhoons and got sent disasters, the Korean Grand Prix proved to be one of the most exciting races in the last few that we've seen, for it didn't rain, nor did the so called heavy winds disrupt anything. Sebastian Vettel got a perfect start off the line and though he couldn't build much of a gap, controlled the race flawlessly from the lead. Just behind him though, the precarious third corner caused a lot of mayhem.  Felipe Massa took a risk and went into the corner too deep, causing himself to spin around and a dash on Jenson's front wing and a near miss for his teammate Alonso, who had the worst start of the season. When there was action going on in the midfield, there was a nail biting fight for 2nd between a charging Grosjean and Hamilton, eventually playing into Grosjean's hands. Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified pretty well on a Saturday, didn't disappoint on race day. His brilliant start saw him immediately jump to 4th position an...

The Korean grand Prix is back again! It doesn't have a great history simply because it's been on the calendar only since 2010. But it does have a reputation for bad weather, and for completely digesting the tires. And so it is this weekend too! There's an uncertainty over the weather as meteorologists and teams expect rain from the typhoon Fitow passing through while there are some experts who say there will be very strong winds but will be a dry race throughout. Coming to the tires, Sebastian Vettel said in a post qulifying interview that the tires don't last very long. So, seems like we're in for quite a race! As of today, qualifying session was completely dry and here are the results: Set in Q3 1. Sebastain Vettel -  1:37.202 2. Lewis Hamilton -  1:37.420 3. Mark Webber -  1:37.464* 4. Romain Grosjean -  1:37.531 5. Nico Rosberg -  1:37.679 6. Fernando Alonso -  1:38.038 7. Felipe Massa -  1:38.223 8. Nico Hulkenberg -  ...

There are 7 billion people in this world, and there just 22 grand prix drivers. Out of the 22, there isn’t one female racing driver. This does make you think, why aren't there any women Formula One racers? Sexism in motorsport is not new, in fact, it’s it is as old as the sport itself. In a male dominated field of sport such as racing, women, as a group haven’t made their mark yet. And in F1, there has been just one female racing driver to have scored a single point - Lella Lombardi, an Italian racer who raced for March-Ford in 1974 – 75, scored half a point after finishing a good 7 th position at the Spanish Grand Prix of 1975.  Though the breakthrough for a woman was first given to Maria Teresa de Filippis way back in 1958, she failed to impress as much as Lomardi did. But yet, Maria, the former Maserati driver will be remembered as a pioneer for women in motorsport because of her courage and strength to venture into a sport like Formula One in the age when women were tra...