Alvin's Formula One Blog

Lewis will rise to the challenge First included in the Formula One World Championship in 1999, the current Malaysian Grand Prix is held at the Sepang International Circuit at Sepang, Malaysia. FIA-sanctioned racing in Malaysia has existed since the 1960s. But only from 1999 did Malaysia get a proper world class F1 track with the one built in Sepang. The Sepang International Circuit is located near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, approximately 60 km south of the capital city Kuala Lumpur. It is the venue used for the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix and other major motorsport events. The circuit was designed by German designer Hermann Tilke, who would subsequently design the new facilities in Shanghai, Bahrain, Turkey, Valencia, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Korea, India and Austin, TX. The main circuit, normally raced in a clockwise direction, is 5.543 kilometres long, and is noted for its sweeping corners and wide straights. The layout is qui...

Well that not much of a race for me. I switched off halfway as there was no point watching Lewis having to manage his brakes all the way and can't attack. This article reproduced from Planet F1. Original article can be found here . One has to feel for Nico Rosberg. He may have taken the lead in the Championship, but his great performances are never extolled like Lewis Hamilton’s. At the same time, his failings are prodded, poked, studied, and arguably held against him. There was no failing at Singapore in 2016, though. From his outstanding pole lap – more than half a second clear of his nearest challenger – to his perfect race, this was a performance worthy of nothing but praise. Toto Wolff claimed, however, that some perspective was required as Hamilton’s woes in FP2 had set back his race preparations. Would Rosberg have received the same sympathy had such bad luck befallen him? Let’s be clear that there is no suggestion of conspiracy against Rosberg, but the answer is...

The Singapore Grand Prix is a motor race on the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The event takes place in Singapore on the Marina Bay Street Circuit and was the inaugural F1 night race and the first street circuit in Asia. Spaniard Fernando Alonso won the first edition of the grand prix, driving for the Renault F1 team. The Singapore Grand Prix will remain on the F1 calendar through at least 2017, after race organizers signed a contract extension with Formula One Management on the eve of the 2012 event. Singapore’s street race under night lights has been a dazzling addition to the calendar though the track is more a test of endurance than skill. It boasts 23 turns which are almost all slow and the majority of them are right-angled. Like Baku, Sochi and – of course – Monaco, this is more a tour bus route than a track. That isn’t to say it can’t catch drivers out. The combination of frequent bumps and braking zones, unforgiving walls and energy-sapping humidity...

Enjoyed the Italian GP? I didn't. A bad start from Lewis handed the race to Rosberg. "Pure class"? I disagree but I still will post this article just so that we can see at the end of the season how deluded Rosberg was. Of course he has a chance at the title but on pure pace and skills, Lewis wins hands down. Only luck can win it for Rosberg. This article was written by Michelle Foster of PlanetF1. The original article can be found here. Pure class from Nico Rosberg at a grand prix that proved that speed doesn’t guarantee good racing. Rosberg’s got something It was a classy win for Nico Rosberg as he raced unchallenged to his maiden Italian Grand Prix win. Detractors will say it was an easy one, made uncomplicated by Lewis Hamilton’s start misfortunes, but Rosberg still did had to do the work. He still had to lay down the fast laps, build a lead over the Ferraris – and over Hamilton by more than a second per lap in the opening stage – and he had to maintain hi...

Formula 1 heads to the 'Temple of Speed' at Monza this weekend for an Italian Grand Prix where fast laps and low downforce will be key talking points. The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is one of the most iconic racetracks on the Formula 1 calendar. It was built in 1922 and has staged more world championship grands prix than any other circuit in the world. Only once, in 1980, has the circuit not been on the F1 calendar. Up until the early ’60s, racing took place on a fearsome six-mile oval. But the death of Wolfgang von Trips and 15 spectators in the 1961 Italian Grand Prix resulted in future races taking place on a shorter road course, with the last true ‘slipstreaming’ battle taking place in 1971, after which chicanes were installed to slow the cars. The track is still the fastest in Formula 1, with today’s cars exceeding 200mph (322km/h) on four occasions around the lap. The average speed is in excess of 150mph (241km/h), so the teams use one-off low-downforce aerodyna...

This weekend F1 roars back into life after the summer break at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium one of the heritage jewels in the F1 calendar. With 19 corners on a 7km lap, Spa is the longest track on the calendar and one of the toughest on engines, with two sustained periods of flat out full throttle each lap; from La Source hairpin to Les Combes chicane which is around 25 seconds and then later in the lap the run through Blanchimont to Bus Stop chicane. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated with motor sport since the very early years of racing. To accommodate Grand Prix motor racing, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps race course was built in 1921 but it was only used for motorcycle racing until 1924. After the 1923 success of the new 24 hours of Le Mans in France, the Spa 24 Hours, a similar 24-hour endurance race, was run at the Spa track. Since inception, Spa-Francorchamp...

Lewis Hamilton had the measure of Nico Rosberg when it mattered most and F1’s regulations need some serious rethinking… Lewis Hamilton ‘owned it’ Lewis Hamilton put in a measured drive with an engine that may be his last before penalties come, as he claimed a record-breaking fifth Hungarian GP victory. Although Hamilton was told to “pick up the pace” and at one stage found himself just 0.4s ahead of Nico Rosberg as they navigated the traffic of Esteban Gutierrez, there was never the impression that Rosberg would – or could – attack. Conspiracy theorists will be questioning whether team orders were at play or whether Hamilton was trying to back Rosberg up into the chasers. However, the one thing is certain, the World Champion “owned it”, and now also owns the lead in the Drivers’ standings for the first time this season. Best of the rest heats up Sebastian Vettel hunted down Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages of the Hungarian GP while Kimi Raikkonen had a fantastic bat...