Will Stevens to race for Caterham in Abu Dhabi...

Will who?! Yes, suspend your disbelief! Will Stevens will be racing for Caterham in Abu Dhabi...

Full story here.



Who will drive for Caterham F1 in Abu Dhabi?



 

With the confirmation of Kamui Kobyashi driving for Caterham in Abu Dhabi, the question remains as to who will be sitting in the other car over the weekend, with a number of potential drivers displaying an interest or laying claim to the seat.

 

Apparently Andre Lotterer has declined the opportunity, which is quite telling I believe. After all, the team will likely be running on a skeleton crew and the question has to be asked as to how far short of their normal performance the team could possibly perform? I could be doing them a huge injustice but anyone would query what state the team is in after the stories that have been coming out over the last few weeks, from bailiffs seizing equipment to the whole team requesting to be laid off last weekend?

 

I sincerely hope the team can put on a good performance and gain a respectable result by the end of the race. Being fair, the fact that the team will even be at Abu Dhabi in the first place is a huge achievement, particularly noting that their stronger placed rivals, Marrussia, are now part of the F1 history books (or maybe not judging by this article on Sky click here).

 

I would hope that this year's GP2 champion, Jolyon Palmer, seizes the opportunity to grab his first taste of F1 and the chance to get noticed. Although such a move would be not without its risks considering the odds against achieving a decent result. There is a story going about that the fortunate Max Chilton with his financial backing will actually get the seat. Watch this space... 

F1 Season Decider Abu Dhabi: Rosberg or Hamilton?

 

 

So who will be celebrating come the fireworks at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this Sunday? An article I saw on the Official F1 site (click here) confirmed what I spoke about in a previous post with regard to Hamilton's 17 point lead providing little comfort given the double points situation for the last race. Glad to hear that this gimmick is likely not to be repeated next year!

 

There is talk of reliability playing a factor and this would be another sad way to end the championship (unless it was Rosberg's car that was falling out of the race...!) I hope that this does not play a factor in the final result.

 

Ultimately, comfort has to be found in the previous results achieved by the two drivers in Abu Dhabi with Hamilton unquestionably enjoying the better form (winning in 2011 and almost again in 2012 and only failing once to finish outside the top 2 when he has finished).

 

However, on a final note, I had a dream last night in which Hamilton crashed out in the race and Rosberg went on to win the race and the championship - I was very, very disappointed. But then Massa was still driving for Ferrari in the dream so I am hoping it wasn't an accurate premonition of the future... 



New Senna: 'Driven to Perfection' Collection

I was very pleased to find that the official Senna collection of merchandise has been heavily expanded / extended across a number of products which look to be of the very best quality. I am of the opinion that they should have done this years ago but am very happy that this has come through now.

 

Browse the full collection through the link below at Grand Prix Legends:

 

Grand Prix Legends - Full Senna Collection

Magnus Walker's 'Streetable Racecar'



This post is a tribute to Magnus Walker's 'streetable racecar', which I think is a car that is very memorable thanks to a great colour scheme and great decals. As Magnus says on Jay Leno's garage (link below), driving this car for him is like slipping into a pair of comfortable sneakers and given the sheer mileage he has put in the car, it has earned the worn in look the hard way. What I like best is the way Magnus is always ready to take this car to the track, drive it hard once there and then cruise back home after the event. very cool...

YouTube Link: 1971 Porsche 911T - Jay Leno's Garage

Caterham F1 to race in Abu Dhabi!

So, late on Friday, just before leaving work I saw that the crowdfunding effort for Caterham F1 had suddenly ballooned from just over 50% of target (£2.35 mln) to 79%...! An amazing effort and sure enough a review of the latest F1 related news revealed that interim Team Principal Finbarr O'Connell had confirmed Caterham F1 intended to race in Abi Dhabi... :)

Link to the Official F1 site story

Michael Schumacher Website Relaunch



20 years on from his first World Championship, achieved on Sunday 13th November 1994, Michael Schumacher's official website has been relaunched to celebrate this milestone and allow fans to share their messages and memories of Michael's career. Impressive images and even more impressive details of Michael's F1 records litter the various pages of the revamped website (link below). Enjoy!

Official Michael Schumacher Website


Telegraph article on the website relaunch:

Telegraph Article