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Formula 1
The 2012 F1 USGP will see the Hard (left) and Medium (right) tires by Pirelli
The exclusive tire supplier of Formula 1, Pirelli, just announced the finalized list of tire selections for the last three events of the year. For the USGP in Austin, teams will use both the Medium and Hard compound tires during the race. With so much yet unknown about the performance of Circuit of The Americas, this release from Pirelli gives added clarity to the future USGP in just under 6 weeks.
Following a 17 year partnership with Formula 1 as their exclusive US broadcaster, Fox Sport's SPEED network will be replaced by the NBC network beginning in 2013. The SPEED network and their on-air personalities, Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, Steve Matchett and Will Buxton, have been the face of Formula 1 in America, doing their part to connect US fans with the sport since the network started showing F1 in 1996.
Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi takes his first podium at the Suzuka Circuit (Sauber Motorsport AG)
Quick, blink your eyes. Now, blink again. That's essentially how fast the fortunes have changed in favor for Vettel since Belgian GP. Other than the untimely retirement at Italian GP, Vettel has been superbly fast in his Red Bull, so fast that Vettel is now 4 points behind Alonso after the Japanese GP. Alonso should be plenty weary as he watches his massive points lead fade away.
Michael Schumacher takes the Mercedes GP car out for Friday Practice at Suzuka (© activepictures.cz)
It's the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, but before we dive into the race preview, let's spare a minute to talk about the latest shakeup in driver movements. As an F1 fan, you may know by now that Hamilton has made the final decision to depart McLaren and join the arms (or is it arrows?) of Mercedes for a three-year contract beginning in 2013. Hamilton has been groomed by McLaren for the last 13 years, one imagines that a decision like this is made with mixed emotions. In the case of Schumacher, to be essentially kicked out of Mercedes, just seems unfortunate for a 7-time WDC.
While McLaren uses Mercedes engines, McLaren has a noticeably faster car than Mercedes and has won more races this season than the factory team. Is this a wise decision from Hamilton and his management team? Can Hamilton shine at Mercedes? More importantly for this weekend's race, will the dynamic of the team change and therefore the performance of Hamilton suffer as a result in Suzuka?
The Championship title is still an open race at the moment, even with Alonso consistently leading with championship points, the 2nd and 3rd drivers on the leaderboard continue to shift between the top drivers. In terms of the track, it so happens that this year is the 50th anniversary of the famous Suzuka circuit. This classic figure-8 format has a great history of races, most notably the controversial drama between Ayrton Senna and Alan Prost in 1989 and 1990, which lead to Prost taking championship title in 1989 and Senna taking championship title in 1990.
With an abundance of low, medium and high speed turns, the track is quite demanding on the tyres for the duration of the this 53-lap race. Pirelli will be supplying this weekend's rubber with Hard and Soft tyres to help the cars conquer the terrains of this circuit. If the teams manage their tyres well, it may even be possible to do get away with one stop!
Even though Schumacher has won six times at this track and will retire and the end of the season, he hasn't really be able to break through this year except for one podium appearance. The fight may well be between Alonso and Vettel, who both have won twice at the track already. Button, Hamilton, Raikkonen all have won previously here as well, and will be brining the fight to Vettel and Alsonso to do their part to change up the championship scoreboard.
Have you made your predictions for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix? Will you be enjoying the race with sushi and sake?
As we await qualifying to begin later tonight, enjoy this Japanese GP Race Guide video, featuring Jenson Button of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, presented by Hilton HHonors.
Lewis Hamilton at Singapore GPStreet circuit with 23 corners.Night race that needs 3,180,000 watts of power to light up the tracks. Singapore Grand Prix is upon us this weekend. Let me hear you RAWR!
In many ways similar to the Monaco Grand Prix, this 61-lap race is famous for its winding street corners, so winding are these corners, in fact, that the Singapore's Marina Bay Street Circuit has some of the slowest average speed in the F1 calendar. The track (aka the streets) are lit up to the point that it is four times brighter than the lights at a football stadium. Slower speed plus brightly-lit tracks means we see the racing actions clearer than usual as the race cars hustle through the streets of Singapore with a gorgeous city skyline as backdrop.
For this track, Pirelli decided that Soft and Supersoft are the optimal tyres to use, which makes sense considering the conditions of this track. I wonder how the teams will play out their tyres strategy, one-stop may be a very tall ask on this track with the number of laps needed.
As if he needs any more luck on his side, Alonso has won twice at this track previously while Vettel and Hamilton both have won once here. Will Alonso keep up his lead in the championship or will Raikkonen surge ahead to number two spot in the championship, thus closing in the gap to Alonso? Will Hamilton be able to focus and win another top spot on the podium while his future for 2013 is still "under negotiation" with McLaren and/or Mercedes? However this may go down, I'll be glued to the monitor this weekend for the Singapore GP actions!
The race this weekend aside, are there any gamers out there who have played F1 video games? I happened upon a Gamespot video that documented the history of F1 video games. From the hay days with little groups of pixels moving on screen to the real-life-looking simulations that makes you feel like you're on a track driving that Red Bull, it was fascinating to see the evolution of the game and hear from the passionate F1 fans behind building these games. Check out the video below.
Lewis Hamilton snaps a photo from the cockpit of his McLaren for the Zoom Auction (Image Courtesy of Zoom Auction)
Would you like to own a photo taken by your favorite driver or team principal? What if your bid for a piece of F1 history went to help a charitable cause, would you join in to help those in need?
Sebastian Vettel's favorite view in the Alps (Image Courtesy of Zoom Auction)
This is the concept of the Zoom Auction, a competition between the biggest names in Formula 1 to test their photography skills and auction their images to raise money for charity. Over 50 images make up the collection, all taken by the biggest names in Formula , including Lewis Hamilton, Damon Hil, and Sir Frank Williams.
In partnership with motorsports auction specialists, Coy's of Kensington, the Zoom auction will be held tomorrow in the ballroom of the Wyndham Grand London Chelsea Harbour in London, England. The evening event includes a 250 person VIP reception and live auction to be attended by many of F1's biggest names. Though only a small group of Formula 1's fans will attend the event, anyone interested in participating in the auction is invited to bid remotely. More information about remote participation is availible on the official Zoom Auction website.
The auction is a unique concept, offering the chance for fans to obtain a special piece of Formula 1 history and see the world through the eyes of a Formula 1 driver or team principal. All proceeds from the event go to support the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, a favorite of the Formula 1 Group and official charity of the British Grand Prix.
