1998 grooved F1 tyres

Italian GP was the last European F1 race to feature the grooved tyres (not much though due to rain). There are only four more fly-away races left this season and then the grooves (along with other ugly things) will be gone, hopefully for good. Hated by many fans the grooves have been with us for 11 seasons since 1998. Back then in 1998 Goodyear was still F1 tyre supplier and Bridgestone started only their 2nd F1 season after their 20 year hiatus. Now however we are about to see the last of them. Here is a brief look at the short history of modern grooved Formula 1 tyres.

Originally with 3 circumferential grooves on the front tyres and 4 on the rear ones they were introduced in order to slow down the cars. From 1999 the front tyres received the 4th groove as well.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Alonso and Sato, 2004 European GP

This is part 6 of the European Grand Prix mini history series - years 2004 - 2005.

Season 2004 saw some changes in the order. Williams begun their decline, McLaren suffered from reliability issues (especially in the early stages of the season). Their places were taken by BAR Honda and Renault. And Ferraris were running away with the championship from the very beginning. European GP was the race number 7 of the season. Michael Schumacher won the first 5 and was ready to get back to winning ways after crashing out of Monaco race. Schumacher claimed the pole position after running light in qualifying, quick Takuma Sato lined up next to him in P2. Jarno Trulli (Renault, the winner in Monaco) and Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) occupied the second row. At the start Schumacher pulled away with the help of Kimi Raikkonen who jumped ahead of Sato (BAR Honda) and Trulli and held them back. Also at the start, Williams team mates Montoya and Ralf Schumacher touched their wheels and Ralf was out.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

To make it even more difficult to keep the engine statistics up-to-date Red Bull team has decided to keep David Coulthard on the same Renault engine for the third race in a row in Hungary this weekend. Well on paper it is third race in a row but his British GP barely lasted a lap . Here are the reasons behind the unusual decision - Fabrice Lom, Renault, in charge of Red Bull engine supply:

“This is the first time we have taken this decision. First of all his V8 has not done too much running. Plus, having our two drivers out of synch on the engine cycle means that we won’t be putting all our eggs in the same basket. This decision will also help us in the second half of the season in terms of the logistical challenge. And finally, it means that David will not have to use the same engine in Spa and Monza, which are two of the toughest challenges on the calendar.”

In the early days of two race rule there were worries the teams may choose deliberately not to finish the race to be able to run with fresh engine in next one. It actually happened in 2005 when BAR retired both cars (Button and Sato) on the final lap of Australian GP and again in Australia in 2006 when Button stopped his smoking car meters from the finish line. Now we have a team choosing to use the same engine for third time .

Photo: Red Bull/GEPA

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Another look back to the history, helmets of race drivers in 2005. There are few drivers that only participated in 1 race - Wurz, de la Rosa (standing in for injured Montoya), Davidson (standing in for sick Sato), Zonta (standing in for crash shaken Ralf Schumacher). Davidson’s only race lasted all 2 laps (engine). Zonta’s was even better, he only managed the warm up lap before parking the car in the garage at the Indy farce GP… Here are the helmets.

Renault (Alonso, Fisichella)

Read the rest of this entry »

f1wolf

labels: plugin code here