http://www.grandprix.com/ The source for Grandprix news en-us Copyright 2007, Inside F1, Inc. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:21:52 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss wswCMS info@grandprix.com webmaster@grandprix.com rssUpdates 60 http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20596.html July and it may as well be October. It is raining so hard here in the Cotswolds that it looks like it’s actually raining upwards and even the cows ambling down the road outside The Amberley Inn, looking for shelter, look totally fed up. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20596.html Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:25:15 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20595.html It's back to Hockenheim this weekend, after a two year gap now that the German GP is being alternated with the Nürburgring. I'm not so sure that this arrangement will be sustainable for much longer, given that Bernie's fees go up every year and the size of the crowd doesn't. That, my friends, is a recipe for disaster, one that the local municipality will not be willing to underwrite for ever. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20595.html Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:09:23 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20556.html Lewis Hamilton wrestled his car to pole position at the 2007 British Grand Prix, and could seemingly do no wrong. Immediately afterwards, as dad Anthony headed down the paddock to congratulate his son, Hamilton senior was swamped by media wanting the inside track on the team's feelings. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20556.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:40:30 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20521.html When you consider how popular motor racing was to become in post-war Britain, it is surprising to reflect that in its 59 runnings as part of the FIA championship, our premier event, the British Grand Prix, has been held at only three venues. Since then, the only other circuits to have promoted the BGP have been Aintree and Brands Hatch. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20521.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:01:46 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20499.html If you had believed what the organisers of the French GP were saying this time 12 months ago, there wouldn't be a race to be writing about this year. Far be it from me to suggest that you should never believe a word a Frenchman says, but I am happy to report that no sooner had we all written the obituary of Magny-Cours and its race than a bout of arm-twisting by local dignitaries unlocked some secret funds, and we're all going back yet again to enjoy the farmyard smells of La France Profonde. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20499.html Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:26:54 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20457.html I cannot remember when I first met Ove Andersson, but I know that we had a disagreement. I had written a lot about the error of Toyota in setting up its Formula 1 operation in Cologne in Germany. It was away from the F1 cluster in Britain, and that made it harder to attract the best F1 people. Ove disagreed. http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20457.html Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:20:53 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20451.html Before starting my usual nostalgic meanderings around Montreal and its Grand Prix, perhaps I might be permitted to reflect on last week's race at Monaco. Far be it from me to attribute great visionary powers to the magnificent electronic organ to which you have just directed your browser, but having warned you all about the rapaciousness of the Principality's hospitality industry it is a matter of record that the number of fans who went there two weeks ago to urge our own young Mr Hamilton to success was well down on the usual attendance. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20451.html Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:34:50 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20408.html The Agence France Presse story this morning about Max Mosley going to court in Paris against the News of the World over its allegations of a Nazi-style sex orgy sums up the problem that F1 is facing with the Mosley Scandal. http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20408.html Thu, 29 May 2008 13:31:45 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20367.html Reading Mike Doodson's article about his first visit to the Monaco Grand Prix transported me back to my first visit to the principality as a motor racing reporter. It was 1984 and I was covering the Formula 3 event. http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20367.html Tue, 20 May 2008 10:28:44 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20366.html So it's Monaco this weekend, and good luck to everyone who's going there. Unless you're one of the fans who come in by train on Sunday and grab the free but rather precarious positions on the cliff face overlooking the exit from the Rascasse, you can be sure that you'll have had your pockets emptied by the rapacious hotel and restaurant owners, most of whom - like all the genuine Mon√©gasque residents - are descended from a long line of Italian pirates. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20366.html Tue, 20 May 2008 07:00:31 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20355.html They were in the middle of their post-Turkish GP briefing when Penelope (Benenden), the quiet one in The Mole's office, mentioned what she had been doing on Saturday night. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20355.html Thu, 15 May 2008 16:15:59 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20348.html This weekend's Turkish GP will be the country's fourth, which seems surprising when you recall what happened after the race two years ago. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20348.html Fri, 09 May 2008 22:02:01 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20301.html With the French doing rather badly in Formula 1, The Mole has not seen much of Isabelle, his beautiful spy within the Renault empire. He thought of her suddenly on Sunday afternoon as he was walking on the grid in Barcelona, glad-handing and checking out the grid girls. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20301.html Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:23:45 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20300.html The Spanish Grand Prix was a bitter-sweet race for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. On the one hand Lewis Hamilton returned to form, finishing third and adding to his score in the Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship, but on the other hand, Heikki Kovalainen crashed heavily. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20300.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:51:54 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20262.html "Right," said The Mole. "Rule number one: we are not going to mention the word Mosley. No jokes about whips, chains, hookers or whatever. We are here to talk about motor racing, and that business has got nothing to do with motor racing." http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20262.html Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:15:32 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20261.html What with Robert Mugabe defying the wishes of the Zimbabwean people and clutching fast to his country's discredited presidency, not to mention Vladimir Putin's dubious plan to stay in charge of Russia, dictators are much in the news right now. A curse on them all. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20261.html Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:14:27 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20256.html Sunday’s during the winter are, it has to be said, generally rather pleasant affairs. They are the high point of the week and during the dark months they usually follow the same pattern. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20256.html Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:02:04 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20254.html There may be dancing in the streets outside the headquarters of the Latvijas Automobilu Federacija (LAF) in Riga as a result of Danica Patrick's first Indycar victory, in Japan last weekend. http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20254.html Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:58:17 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20238.html Miss Pringle-Featherby (of the Berkshire Pringle-Featherbys) looked rather worried. She was holding the telephone a good three inches from her ear and The Mole could hear noises suggesting that someone on the other end of the phone was shouting at her. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20238.html Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:11:17 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20236.html Vijay Mallya says that his mother told him that the first word he ever uttered was not "Mama" or "Papa" like the rest of us. Apparently the bouncing young baby Vijay came up with the word "car". Since his days in nappies, Mallya has been passionate about cars. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20236.html Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:58:56 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20232.html These are exciting times in Dubai. The entire emirate seems to be under construction. Buildings rise from the ground with alarming speed. The more one looks, the more amazing it all seems. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20232.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:26:24 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20164.html So, it's a late start to the season for this column, the first edition of which was written in plenty of time before the Australian GP but somehow failed to get itself published. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20164.html Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:00:17 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20132.html My passport is a bit beaten up. It has done 10 years of hard labour, and has been to almost as many exciting places as I have. Every page is filled with stamps and visas, which is impressive in these days of Europe "sans frontieres". The photograph of me looks like me, but I was just a little skinnier then, without as much grey hair. http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20132.html Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:57:56 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20058.html Churchmen do not always spend enough time on the street with the barrow boys, the dodgy car dealers and the hookers. Their world is too often that of coffee mornings and wealthy suburbanites, pretending to be angelic. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20058.html Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:49:59 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20049.html Penelope (Roedean) likes to make outrageous speeches and The Mole enjoys listening to them. Some of the other girls, notably Penelope (Wycombe Abbey), think that The Mole's deputy should talk less and think more. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20049.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:45:17 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20045.html It has been very quiet this winter in Formula 1 circles, probably not a bad thing given the mess that was last year. It has been so quiet in fact that I decided to do something a little different and ended up writing a book about the adventures of a sea captain. There was no motor racing connection at all - and the whole process was relaxing and energising. http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt20045.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:33:30 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20024.html The telephone rang on The Mole's desk in the Motor Racing and Trade Development Department of the Secret Intelligence Service. It had been a quiet day. The Penelopes were out trying on yashmaks in preparation for their visit to Bahrain. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20024.html Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:56:03 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20009.html Bernard Rey is the chairman of Renault F1, keeping an eye on the team's progress from his position in the top management of Renault in Paris. Flavio Briatore and the Renault F1 engineers answer to him. So he is a man worth talking to. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20009.html Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:21:36 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20001.html The Mole strode into the office and noticed that Penelope (Roedean) was looking particularly attractive that day - in a very English sort of way. She was wearing a jumper, or what the Americans would call a sweater. Her hair was pulled back casually and secured with a pencil. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole20001.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:19:20 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole19981.html "So what happened at that meeting in Paris?" said The Colonel, as they sat in their usual seats down at the village pub. The Mole smiled. "You know that I would have to kill you if I tell you that," he said, taking a sip of his Whisky Mac. http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole19981.html Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:22:20 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft19969.html Recent news that has attracted a lot of attention in the motor racing world is that Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has declared its intention to introduce dramatic measures to reduce costs within the sport. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft19969.html Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:39:40 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft19967.html Pascal Vasselon is the man in charge of chassis design at Toyota. A tyre man with Michelin for many years, Vasselon took over the management of the team when Mike Gascoyne departed. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft19967.html Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:26:38 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole19955.html Back in November The Mole was sitting in his office one day, shuffling papers around, when he heard Penelope (Roedean) talking about having had dinner with his long departed researcher Penelope (Benenden). http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole19955.html Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:49:59 GMT http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole19950.html After the FIA decision in December not to punish Renault F1, The Mole was rather demotivated by the Grand Prix world. It just did not seem right. At the same time the Human Resources people sent him a memo insisting that he had to use up so many days of holiday by such-and-such a date http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole19950.html Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:09:10 GMT