Reportages

Retro - 1967 Indianapolis 500

17/05/2012

Building up to the Indianapolis 500 next week, here's an absolute gem from Youtube. Unique footage of the 1967 Indy 500, when the drivers' courage was matched by their personalities and the legendary race attracted interest from the biggest F1 stars. Featuring Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and many other racing legends.

Sauber and Chelsea play ball

12/05/2012

English football giant Chelsea F.C. and Swiss Formula 1 outfit Sauber have officially presented their collaboration during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in Montmelo. The two teams will work together the promote eachother's brands. The venture gives both parties a chance to reach a bigger audience and reinforce their brands. From now on the Chelsea logo appears on Sauber's engine cover, while Sauber's name will feature on advertising panels in Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium. It's the first time two brands and two sports with this dimension come together, an excited Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn explains on BBC Radio 5 Liv...

Vettel goes kung fu

11/05/2012

The luxury car brand Infiniti is trying to build up its image through its partnership with Red Bull Racing. One way of doing that is producing amusing commercials using the status of double world champ Sebastian Vettel. In the latest Infiniti short film, Vettel goes kung fu and teams up with actress/singer Celina Jade to fight off bad guys in true Jackie Chan style. To release the short film, Infiniti threw a rather posh party on Thursday night in a bar on the popular square Plaça Reial in the heart of Barcelona. SebVet himself didn't make an appearance, but after the screening Celina Jade performed a set with a cover band. The film w...

Retro - Gilles, a study in scarlet

09/05/2012

Gilles Villeneuve was a rare thing, a man whose legend began before his death. The same could be argued, one supposes, for Ayrton Senna, another iconic racing driver who lost his life before his time had come. Yet there are notable differences: It can be argued that the Senna legend was exaggerated – some would say created – by his early and tragic death. The same cannot be said of Gilles. To a generation – those who followed Formula One in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s – Gilles epitomised the Racing Driver, full stop. He was a man apart, a different breed, and he remains so. Back then F1 was a differen...

Retro - Montjuïc revisited

06/05/2012

In the buildup to the Spanish Grand Prix, we went for a track walk on the most famous Spanish circuit of all time. Montjuïc Park in Barcelona. Since 1991 the Spanish Grand Prix has found its home at the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona. The track's construction coincided with that of the Olympic park used for Barcelona's 1992 Summer Olympics. The Olympic park was ironically built on the location of the most daunting and challenging grand prix circuits in history, the circuit of Montjuïc. Located on a picturesque mountain just outside the city's centre, the street circuit featured a technical first...

Bike ride of champions

03/05/2012

McLaren star Jenson Button enjoyed an intensive three hour bike ride with Belgian cycling champ Philippe Gilbert. "He's really strong on a bike for an F1 driver," Gilbert is impressed. "I'm not so sure I'd be as quick on a circuit..."

Remembering Senna

01/05/2012

Eighteen years ago today, motorsport lost one of its most talented and charismatic drivers of all time. If you haven't already seen the Senna documentary, you should pick it up whenever you can. In the meantime, here's a great alternative.

A testing co-drive with Damon Hill

27/04/2012

The world's fastest Lotus?

25/04/2012

Frank Profera has spent over six years making his Lotus go faster, stop shorter, and corner harder. Though it weighs just under a tonne, Frank's Lotus makes 680 bhp with a twin-charged 1.8 litre engine, giving it a better power-to-weight ratio than Mario Andretti's Lotus Formula One car. An ongoing project that may never be finished, because of Frank's never-ending obsession with speed. The guys from The Smoking Tire took it out for a spin. From Drive Network.

One on one with Allan McNish

21/04/2012

The definitive Allan McNish interview.