Category: Racing

Racing

Countdown to the first race

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Red f1 on white background

The winter wait between the last Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi and the new season in Melbourne is over. The first three free practice sessions of the 75th anniversary year are complete with qualifying and the race yet to come.  The winter dry spell was made slightly more palatable as we watched three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain, the release of Drive to Survive – Season 7, and the recent discovery of @CadenceBraking, a well-informed female TikTok influencer with a passion for racing, especially F1.

I am pleased with the results of these three practice sessions – McLaren papaya and Ferrari red were fast and, unexpectedly, Williams blue joined the quick queue, although poor Ollie Bearman, in Haas white, crashed not once but twice.

P.S. After qualifying – McLaren locked out the front row with Lando Norris on pole and Oscar Piastri starting second for his home race.

P.P.S. On the podium – Lando Norris as winner, Max Verstappen, second, and George Russell in third.


Racing

20 Drivers & 24 Races – New F1 Season

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red F1 Ferrari in the lead at hairpin corner at the Montreal Gran Prix June 7, 1998
Schumacher wins in Montréal for Ferrari – 1998

In not quite a decade, between meeting Richard (June 7, 1981) and June 1989, I went from watching races only sporadically to track side attendance at the inaugural Formula 1 street race in Phoenix. In my early days of race viewing, the challenge was simply finding a re-play of a race as only the “jewel” in the racing crown – Monaco – might, just might be aired in real time.

Six seasons of Drive to Survive has increased viewership and a variety of streaming services now ensures race coverage with experienced commentary. And, with more viewing my familiarity with tire degradation and slip stream passes also expands. The longest season ever run started this weekend in Bahrain and we will follow this most expensive motor sport from lights out starts to checkered flag finishes all the way to Abu Dhabi.

Bahrain podium finishers: 1- Max Verstappen, Red Bull; 2- Sergio Perez, Red Bull; 3- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari.

Photo details:  Canadian Gran Prix, Montréal, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, June 7, 1998.  Last lap, with Michael Schumacher in the lead and winning the race for Ferrari.

Racing · Travel

Spa

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There are those iconic images that immediately alert the viewer to a special place, maybe a special time and memory as well:  Mount Rushmore when I was seven; the Matterhorn on an early September morning in 1991 or the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium, 2018.

After decades of watching Formula 1 with Richard (free practice on Fridays, Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s race) and attending five race weekends[1] onsite, I recognize a number of international race tracks.  One of the most iconic with homage to a bygone era is Spa where we watched a somewhat less exciting race from the bleachers at La Source in 2018.  My travel journal reports:

Pit lane and the run down to Eau Rouge

As races go, this one was not the most exciting. All of the drama happened on lap one right in front of us. Hulkenberg hit the back of Alonso’s car as they accordioned into La Source, sending Fernando airborne over the top of Charles Leclerc. Very scary.  Race results:  Vettel, Hamilton, Verstappen

Today’s race was viewed in home comfort with large screen details and ongoing color commentary without any of the radical weather changes for which the Ardennes Forest is known.  And, without Flemish Frietes (thick cut, twice fried French fries served with gobs and gobs of mayo.) 2020 race results:  Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen

[1]  Phoenix – 1989; Montreal – 2000 & 2014; Indianapolis – 2005; Spa – 2018