Want to do more than just watch races in 2010? F1 Fanatic guest writer Ben Evans shows you how to get involved in motor racing. When you think of getting involved in motorsport, you naturally think of driving. But for those of us who can’t match the elite few at the top of motor racing … Continue reading Don’t just watch – get involved in 2010
Ben Evans's articles on RaceFans
Motorsport commentator Ben is RaceFans' resident bookworm. Look out for his verdict on the latest motor racing publications on Sundays.
Watch more than just F1 races in 2010
Posted onF1 Fanatic guest writer Ben Evans reminds us to take in more than just the 19 race on the F1 calendar in 2010. Over the past few weeks there has been plenty of discussion on F1 Fanatic about going to see F1 races, ticket prices and so on. Nothing compares to watching the Grand Prix … Continue reading Watch more than just F1 races in 2010
BBC F1: a commentator’s verdict
Posted onF1 Fanatic guest writer Ben Evans, who’s commentated on races at circuits and on television, gives his verdict on the BBC’s F1 coverage. Last year I was lucky enough to get to work on TV side of motorsport making some highlights programmes and subsequently commentating live on-site for the World Series by Renault. I’ve learned … Continue reading BBC F1: a commentator’s verdict
Why more manufacturers will follow Honda out of F1 (Ben Evans column)
Posted onEarlier this week I asked if Honda’s F1 pull-out would be a one-off or the first of many. Guest writer Ben Evans sees more manufacturer withdrawals in the near future. So Honda is F1?óÔé¼Ôäós first credit crunch victim having, in the space of 12 months, gone from two F1 teams to none. Surprising? Well not … Continue reading Why more manufacturers will follow Honda out of F1 (Ben Evans column)
The Ben Evans column: 2008 in review
Posted onDrivers, racing, politics, penalties and economics – Ben Evans surveys them all in his verdict on 2008. The final five minutes of the 2008 Grand Prix season were as an exciting few moments as the sport has ever seen, with the destiny of the world championship changing hands three times in as many laps. For … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: 2008 in review
The Ben Evans column: F1 Olympics
Posted onF1Fanatic guest writer Ben Evans pushes the case for motor racing to be part of the 2012 London Olympics. Every four years at some point during the Olympics the debate rumbles around ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ why is motorsport not included? Usually this is dismissed out of hand – the Olympics is a battle of man not machine, … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: F1 Olympics
The Ben Evans column: Donington Park
Posted onStrangely for a year that has been so political (again) most of the politicking has been going on off-track and has had little bearing on any of the races. Apart from the eeny-meeny-miny-mo approach to qualifying penalties. At Silverstone last weekend the two major elements of political discussion were the proposed Formula Two category and … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: Donington Park
The Ben Evans Column: F1 and tennis
Posted onIf there was any doubt before France that Lewis Hamilton?óÔé¼Ôäós F1 honeymoon was over there certainly isn?óÔé¼Ôäót now. In a weekend where the McLaren team was subject to some extremely harsh penalties (why was Heikki Kovalainen penalised but not Kimi Raikkonen during qualifying?) Hamilton?óÔé¼Ôäós race was effectively over midway through the first lap.
The Ben Evans column: Dallara
Posted onLast weekend I had my first Italian motor racing experience: complete with drivers refusing to leave crashed cars, excessive discussion about every aspect of the weekend, and some absolutely stunning girls in and around the paddock. It is often said that on the driving side Italian motorsport never delivers to its potential. Italy hasn?óÔé¼Ôäót produced … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: Dallara
Might have been Hamilton: Magnussen
Posted onConcluding the two-part series begun yesterday Ben Evans looks at the career of Dane Jan Magnussen (right, with Rubens Barrichello), another ex-McLaren driver who showed great promise in his pre-F1 career but never reached the heights expected of him in Formula 1. In Formula Ford and Formula 3 both McNish and Magnussen were-once-in-a generation fast, … Continue reading Might have been Hamilton: Magnussen
Might have been Hamilton: Allan McNish
Posted onIn the first of a two-part series F1 Fanatic columnist Ben Evans looks at two previous young McLaren drivers and asks why they never scaled the heights Lewis Hamiton has. Watching Lewis Hamilton drive the race of his life on Sunday storming to victory in the Monaco Grand Prix, my mind couldn?óÔé¼Ôäót help wandering to … Continue reading Might have been Hamilton: Allan McNish
The Ben Evans column: Piquet, Moto GP, and the star F1 driver of 2009
Posted onOnly a handful of races into the season and already the doom mongers are out for the scalp of Nelson Piquet Jnr The Renault driver?óÔé¼Ôäós erratic start to the year is, in some people?óÔé¼Ôäós view, enough to cost him his seat should he disappoint again at Monaco. Now, though I have never been the greatest … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: Piquet, Moto GP, and the star F1 driver of 2009
The Ben Evans column: Technique
Posted onI sadly missed the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday because I was racing in the Czech Republic, so I?óÔé¼Ôäóve had to rely on race reports to get a full understanding of what happened. Of all the comment and intrigue from the weekend, the factor that has stood out the most to me, has been the … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: Technique
The Ben Evans Column: Rubens Barrichello and Riccardo Patrese
Posted onAt the Turkish Grand Prix Rubens Barrichello will set a new record as the driver who has started the most Grand Prix, with 257 starts eclipsing Ricardo Patrese?óÔé¼Ôäós monumental 265 races. In many respects Barrichello and Patrese have had rather similar careers. Both enjoyed meteoric rises to F1 courtesy of some stellar performances in junior … Continue reading The Ben Evans Column: Rubens Barrichello and Riccardo Patrese
The Ben Evans column: Driving Dijon
Posted onAt the very moment that F1 Fanatics were tuning in to the Bahrain Grand Prix I was busy reliving one of the greatest F1 battles of all time racing at Dijon-Prenois. Dijon was home to F1 racing on and off from 1972 through to 1984, before falling into an international decline that was completed with … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: Driving Dijon
The Ben Evans column: qualified failure
Posted onAnother week, another qualifying rules change, as F1 strives to create a made-for-TV-extravaganza that also produces a good race. The one-hour, 12 lap, sessions used to be cracking TV and a rare opportunity to see what the teams and drivers could conjure up when they focussed their efforts on a single banzai lap. Problem was … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: qualified failure
The Ben Evans column: ITV aren’t bad
Posted onAnother early start for the UK’s armchair fans unfortunately didn?óÔé¼Ôäót equate to another exciting race last Sunday. Ferrari dominated and McLaren floundered – with Lewis Hamilton struggling get close to Mark Webber?óÔé¼Ôäós Red Bull and Jarno Trulli?óÔé¼Ôäós Toyota, let alone actually make a move. Yes he may have been driving for points (in the second … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: ITV aren’t bad
The Ben Evans column: A race worth getting up early for
Posted onF1 2008 started with a bang in Australia – and as a weekend did more to vindicate the views the armchair enthusiast (you and I) have held about F1 for a long time. Before the action even kicked off, I thought that Bernie Ecclestone?óÔé¼Ôäós comments demanding that Australia move to a night time race to … Continue reading The Ben Evans column: A race worth getting up early for
The Ben Evans Column: A new year
Posted onEarly March rivals October as my favourite time of the motor sport year. October is great because for me there is nothing like watching Formula Ford from Paddock Hill Bend at Brands Hatch sipping a mug of coffee as dusk closes in. All the championships are playing out and the winners and losers of the … Continue reading The Ben Evans Column: A new year
The Ben Evans column: Kiss & make up
Posted onAs is often the way, potentially the most significant motor sport story of the winter has gone largely unnoticed in the UK press, namely the reconciling of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car after 12 seasons of war. There are few more significant motor sport cautionary tales.