At the moment I'm on a lull in my revision just to get my head back together and relax for a while. In a week's time, my exams will start. I will also turn 20 years old and officially leave my teenage years behind me. During the course of my break today, I decided to look on the F1 website to catch up on news before the Mugello test (the first in season test since 2008 would you believe). While looking at the website, one particular article took my eye; Red Bull Racing (my beloved team) are raising money for Wings For Life (a Spinal Cord injury charity) by asking fans to donate 15 euros. When giving your donation, you are asked to upload a photograph of yourself. Why on earth do you need to do that? Well, every photo is going to form part of the RB8's livery for the 2012 British Grand Prix!
Of course, with me being somewhat obsessed with F1 and a massive fan of Red Bull, I couldn't refuse this. So, I duely uploaded my photograph and donated to Wings For Life as an early birthday present to myself. Once the team have received your photograph it goes into the montage, where you will be able to see it and will receive a certificate. Happy birthday to me!
I admire teams which do things like this for charities. Red Bull have also promised to match the amount of money raised themselves, so if everyone donates then Wings For Life will be guaranteed to have quite a donation heading their way! Honestly, I can see no down side to this scheme, and I think more of the teams should get involved with things like this. At what other time will a fan such as myself be able to say 'I was on an F1 car' without forking out hundreds of pounds? So, on donating you get to be part of Red Bull's history and the money you spend goes to a brilliant cause - I suggest you all participate!
www.facesforcharity.com
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/4/13297.html
Monday, 30 April 2012
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Bahrain Blogging
Last weekend I watched the Bahrain grand prix. As you're probably aware, before the race there was a ton of media hype about whether F1 should attend the race given the current situation over there. Arguments against ranged from the political, moral and ethical standpoint to the safety elements of holding the race. Personally, I didn't see exactly why the race should be cancelled providing that the area was deemed safe by the relevant authorities. As much as I agree that the human rights situation is diabolical, I hold the view that Formula 1 is a sport - no more, no less. It has no involvement with the politics of a country, and just because the race is held there doesn't mean that it endorses the political regime of the area. Besides, F1 has held races in several countries with somewhat dubious moral standpoints (China the week before, for example), and yet these races had not been questioned. As such, the only difference with Bahrain was related to safety.
While there were several off-track incidents involving a couple of teams, overall the weekend appeared to go smoothly. There was no interruption to the sessions, and so we could finally get down to watching the racing. Saturday's qualifying session came up with a surprise pole sitter (at least in terms of this year's performance standard). No McLaren or Mercedes this time. Instead, the Renault powered Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel was back where it belonged on the first slot of the grid - much to my delight!
With the grid decided and (as far as I'm concerned) back to where it should be, the race on Sunday was promising. The previous race in China was fantastic, with lots of tight racing. Bahrain to me has never been a particularly thrilling race, however once again the value of DRS was proven and we finally saw an exciting race this year. Vettel got a fantastic start and ultimately went on to win the race. The biggest surprise was who was occupying the second and third place slots. While you'd have expected the McLarens or even the Mercedes' to be near the top, Bahrain was obviously favouring the Renault powered cars as Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean joined Vettel on the podium! If you never watch the press conferences, I suggest you try and catch this one - just to see Grosjean's expression of happiness!
So, the race was absolutely thrilling and great fun to watch. Hopefully, this is what this race will be remembered for, rather than for the political circumstances surrounding it. There was a lot of questions whether attending Bahrain would damage F1's reputation, but to be honest so far I haven't witnessed a lot of backlash - I think those of us who watched the race were just concerned with the racing, as any motorsport fan should be.
Now that Bahrain is behind us, we've got a bit of a break before the European rounds begin in Spain on the 13th of May. For me, this time will be filled with revision and exams, and I have no excuse to be distracted by F1 any more! The return to Europe also marks the countdown to Spa - the race that I will be attending this year. My race tickets were delivered today, and so the excitement begins...
While there were several off-track incidents involving a couple of teams, overall the weekend appeared to go smoothly. There was no interruption to the sessions, and so we could finally get down to watching the racing. Saturday's qualifying session came up with a surprise pole sitter (at least in terms of this year's performance standard). No McLaren or Mercedes this time. Instead, the Renault powered Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel was back where it belonged on the first slot of the grid - much to my delight!
With the grid decided and (as far as I'm concerned) back to where it should be, the race on Sunday was promising. The previous race in China was fantastic, with lots of tight racing. Bahrain to me has never been a particularly thrilling race, however once again the value of DRS was proven and we finally saw an exciting race this year. Vettel got a fantastic start and ultimately went on to win the race. The biggest surprise was who was occupying the second and third place slots. While you'd have expected the McLarens or even the Mercedes' to be near the top, Bahrain was obviously favouring the Renault powered cars as Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean joined Vettel on the podium! If you never watch the press conferences, I suggest you try and catch this one - just to see Grosjean's expression of happiness!
So, the race was absolutely thrilling and great fun to watch. Hopefully, this is what this race will be remembered for, rather than for the political circumstances surrounding it. There was a lot of questions whether attending Bahrain would damage F1's reputation, but to be honest so far I haven't witnessed a lot of backlash - I think those of us who watched the race were just concerned with the racing, as any motorsport fan should be.
Now that Bahrain is behind us, we've got a bit of a break before the European rounds begin in Spain on the 13th of May. For me, this time will be filled with revision and exams, and I have no excuse to be distracted by F1 any more! The return to Europe also marks the countdown to Spa - the race that I will be attending this year. My race tickets were delivered today, and so the excitement begins...
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Safety First
While browsing the BBC website in between revising for my exams today, I came across this video. For those of you who can't see it for whatever reason, it shows the drag racer of Matt Hagan pretty much exploding on the circuit. The explosion looks horrific, however I'm delighted to say that the driver walked away unscathed.
When accidents like this happen, it reminds everyone just how far motorsport has progressed in terms of safety. Formula 1 was once notorious for fatalities; Jackie Stewart stated that there was a 1 in 3 chance of surviving a race. Today, F1 is lucky in that when accidents happen they are rarely life-threatening. The design and technological advancements in the sport are part and parcel of this fact. The regulations in F1 also aim towards driver safety, and now this is a massive priority when designing an F1 car - unlike the old days when casualties were seen as 'just one of those things'. Items such as the HANS device are also vital in protecting the drivers from injury, especially traumatic brain injuries which are common results of motor accidents on the road.
However, as much as safety is emphasised in motorsport of all forms, accidents do still happen and officials within the sport have to remain vigilant. The deaths of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli last year highlighted this fact.
As well as driver safety, it's important to consider the safety of the spectators in the sport. Rallying for example is renowned for its spectator friendly atmosphere, allowing people to get tantalisingly close to the cars. However, while this is a great spectacle and hugely exciting, this isn't risk free and a few weeks ago four spectators were injured while watching a rally in Scotland. Luckily, the four spectators are now recovering, however accidents like this force people to realise how much risk is involved in a sport such as this.
A subject which has been covered endlessly in the past few weeks is the safety of F1's attendance in Bahrain. In my last post, I stressed how the sport should be removed from the political and ethical motives for not attending the race, and said that the only thing that should be really investigated is the safety at the race. Ultimately, the FIA have taken the decision to stage the race, after being assured that it would be safe and not too much different from normal races. However last night it was reported that a Porsche Supercup team, MRS, had withdrawn from the support race due to their own safety concerns. It was also reported today that team members from Force India were caught up in a petrol bomb incident, prompting two team members deciding to return home based on safety grounds. While the attack was not targeted at the F1 team, it does prompt questions to be asked about how safe people will be travelling to and from the circuit, and no doubt the officials in Bahrain will be forced to step up their security to protect those involved in the race weekend.
So safety in motorsport has a range of facets. Ultimately, it could be argued that the people at most risk are the drivers, and it's down to technology and innovation that they are kept safe. However, there are risks for everyone involved in motorsport, whether you're part of a team of just spectating. Of course, nothing is risk free in life, but for something like motorsport the health of everyone involved should always remain a high priority.
I guess that the danger aspect to motorsport is what makes it a thrill for some people. I posted a while back how I don't like people watching races for the crashes - I stand by this post, as I just don't find it exciting to watch people in that level of danger. As the sport progresses and the great thinkers among those involved look at new ways to protect the drivers we would hope that the risk of injury is decreased. Motorsport's links to the real world automotive industry also mean that advances in safety are likely to be implemented in real cars - protecting ordinary people in their everyday lives - and that can only be a good thing.
When accidents like this happen, it reminds everyone just how far motorsport has progressed in terms of safety. Formula 1 was once notorious for fatalities; Jackie Stewart stated that there was a 1 in 3 chance of surviving a race. Today, F1 is lucky in that when accidents happen they are rarely life-threatening. The design and technological advancements in the sport are part and parcel of this fact. The regulations in F1 also aim towards driver safety, and now this is a massive priority when designing an F1 car - unlike the old days when casualties were seen as 'just one of those things'. Items such as the HANS device are also vital in protecting the drivers from injury, especially traumatic brain injuries which are common results of motor accidents on the road.
However, as much as safety is emphasised in motorsport of all forms, accidents do still happen and officials within the sport have to remain vigilant. The deaths of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli last year highlighted this fact.
As well as driver safety, it's important to consider the safety of the spectators in the sport. Rallying for example is renowned for its spectator friendly atmosphere, allowing people to get tantalisingly close to the cars. However, while this is a great spectacle and hugely exciting, this isn't risk free and a few weeks ago four spectators were injured while watching a rally in Scotland. Luckily, the four spectators are now recovering, however accidents like this force people to realise how much risk is involved in a sport such as this.
A subject which has been covered endlessly in the past few weeks is the safety of F1's attendance in Bahrain. In my last post, I stressed how the sport should be removed from the political and ethical motives for not attending the race, and said that the only thing that should be really investigated is the safety at the race. Ultimately, the FIA have taken the decision to stage the race, after being assured that it would be safe and not too much different from normal races. However last night it was reported that a Porsche Supercup team, MRS, had withdrawn from the support race due to their own safety concerns. It was also reported today that team members from Force India were caught up in a petrol bomb incident, prompting two team members deciding to return home based on safety grounds. While the attack was not targeted at the F1 team, it does prompt questions to be asked about how safe people will be travelling to and from the circuit, and no doubt the officials in Bahrain will be forced to step up their security to protect those involved in the race weekend.
So safety in motorsport has a range of facets. Ultimately, it could be argued that the people at most risk are the drivers, and it's down to technology and innovation that they are kept safe. However, there are risks for everyone involved in motorsport, whether you're part of a team of just spectating. Of course, nothing is risk free in life, but for something like motorsport the health of everyone involved should always remain a high priority.
I guess that the danger aspect to motorsport is what makes it a thrill for some people. I posted a while back how I don't like people watching races for the crashes - I stand by this post, as I just don't find it exciting to watch people in that level of danger. As the sport progresses and the great thinkers among those involved look at new ways to protect the drivers we would hope that the risk of injury is decreased. Motorsport's links to the real world automotive industry also mean that advances in safety are likely to be implemented in real cars - protecting ordinary people in their everyday lives - and that can only be a good thing.
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