After being hit with a record fine plus expulsion from the 2007 constructors’ championship, should McLaren lodge an appeal? It’s the only chance Ron Dennis has of clearing his name and the team’s. But it carries enormous risks with it – further unsavoury details of the espionage could come to light and the penalties imposed … Continue reading Debate: Should McLaren appeal against spying verdict?
Debates and Polls articles archive
Debates and Polls
Debate: End of the line for Fisichella?
Posted onWhat next for Giancarlo Fisichella? The man who was once considered the most promising talent not to have a front-line seat has conspicuously failed to deliver since arriving at Renault in 2005. He’s lagging behind his junior team mate in the world championship standings and the team has not yet confirmed his position for next … Continue reading Debate: End of the line for Fisichella?
Debate: Best of the rest?
Posted onThis year’s absorbing championship battle, with up to four drivers still realistically capable of winning, takes attention away from some excellent performances up and down the entire length of the grid. Here are a few of the drivers that have impressed me the most this year. Which driver outside the top four do you think … Continue reading Debate: Best of the rest?
Debate: Rubens Barrichello
Posted onRubens Barrichello should break the record for the longest ever Grand Prix career next year, assuming he starts another nine races. Seeing as Barrichello has extended his Honda contract for another year, it looks as though Riccardo Patrese’s record for longevity will indeed be eclipsed by the Brazilian. He’s been a world championship runner-up twice … Continue reading Debate: Rubens Barrichello
Debate: Will the safety car decide the title?
Posted onSuch a finely poised world championship battle – with four drivers still in close contention with five races left – comes along only once a generation. The slightest misfortune could easily tip the balance in favour of one driver. We saw at Montreal how the dubious safety car rules can easily compromise an unlucky driver. … Continue reading Debate: Will the safety car decide the title?
Debate: F1 better since end of tyre war?
Posted onThe FIA demanded a single tyre supplier from 2008 and they got it a year ahead of schedule. But what has the impact been on the quality of racing? To my mind, 2006 was not the best year for wheel-to-wheel racing in F1 – and this season so far has been even worse.
Debate: 22 best drivers in the world?
Posted onFormula 1 is the number one form of motorsport – but does it also have the best racing drivers in the world? Who would you evict from the F1 grid, and who would you replace them with?
Debate: More street tracks good for F1?
Posted onNext year’s F1 calendar will include three street circuits – the most since the 1991 calendar took in Monte-Carlo, Adelaide and Pheonix. Are you glad to see F1 bringing the show right into the hearts of major cities? Or are street tracks slow and potentially unsafe gimmicks that belong in Champ Car and the Indy … Continue reading Debate: More street tracks good for F1?
Any sympathy for McLaren?
Posted onRon Dennis and McLaren-Mercedes made an almighty mess of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. But even though I think the punishment meted out to Alonso was just, I have some sympathy for them team over what happened. It would be better for the sport if McLaren’s championship points were reinstated at the appeal hearing.
Debate: Has F1 been brought into disrepute?
Posted onSince McLaren escaped last week’s World Motor Sports Council hearing without punishment last week, the war of words between Ferrari and McLaren has escalated profoundly. First Jean Todt attacked, saying that Ferrari would have been punished had they been in the same position, adding there was, “not even a sign of logic in this verdict.” … Continue reading Debate: Has F1 been brought into disrepute?
Debate: Youth vs experience
Posted onWith attention turning to the driver market for 2008, several of F1’s seasoned campaigners have already bagged contract extensions. Rubens Barrichello will stay with Honda – and should surpass Riccardo Patrese’s record number of career starts (256) early next year). David Coulthard is set for a fourth year at Red Bull – when many had … Continue reading Debate: Youth vs experience
Debate: Was Hamilton’s restart legal?
Posted onJenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Adrian Sutil and Scott Speed all found themselves in the gravel on the outside of turn on after a downpour at the start of last weekend’s race. Button, Rosberg, Liuzzi, Sutil and Speed all retired. Hamilton waited in the car with his engine turned on, got dragged … Continue reading Debate: Was Hamilton’s restart legal?
Debate: Postpone energy recovery rules?
Posted onBMW’s Mario Theissen wants the FIA to delay rules planned for 2009 that would require teams to use energy recovery systems on their cars. FIA president Max Mosley is pushing for kinetic energy recovery systems to be mandatory on F1 cars to make them more environmentally friendly and road relevant. Do you want to see … Continue reading Debate: Postpone energy recovery rules?
Debate: Stepney scandal good for F1?
Posted onFerrari-McLaren scandal, Stepney-gate, the Ferrari espionage affair – call it what you will, everyone’s talking about it. Lewis Hamilton may be big news in the back pages of newspapers but the increasingly strange details of industrial espionage between F1’s two top teams is commanding column inches in the front pages. Every top sport from football … Continue reading Debate: Stepney scandal good for F1?
Debate: Predict the champion
Posted onWe’ve just passed the halfway point in the championship and the battle for the title remains as finely poised as ever: 1. Lewis Hamilton 70 2. Fernando Alonso 58 3. Kimi Raikkonen 52 4. Felipe Massa 51 With eight races left, who will be champion this year?
Debate: Should Silverstone allow track invasions?
Posted onSilverstone circuit has hinted that fans might be allowed to come onto the track after the British Grand Prix has finished. The Daily Mail yesterday quoted track operations manager Gary Dearn saying they were, “considering allowing some spectators on to the pit straight at the end.” Track invasions at Silverstone common in the years of … Continue reading Debate: Should Silverstone allow track invasions?
Debate: Will you miss Magny-Cours?
Posted onFormula 1 might have seen the last of the Circuit Nevers. Bernie Ecclestone has made it clear that F1 will not return to the isolated venue in the future. F1 has raced at the track for the past 17 years and has seen precious few great races. So are you glad to see the back … Continue reading Debate: Will you miss Magny-Cours?
Debate: Will Renault win a race this year?
Posted onIt’s Renault’s home race this weekend but it doesn’t look as though a repeat of their 2005 victory is likely. The team lies fourth in the constructors’ championships with 25 points. After seven rounds last year they led the championship with 91, 28 more than Ferrari. Are last year’s champions going to end the year … Continue reading Debate: Will Renault win a race this year?
Debate: Ferrari throwing the championship away?
Posted onWhat on earth happened to Ferrari? At the start of the year it was if the Schumacher dream team had never gone away. Kimi Raikkonen cruised to victory at Melbourne with one hand on the wheel. Despite a hiccup in Malaysia Felipe Massa was the man to beat in Bahrain and Spain. But now McLaren … Continue reading Debate: Ferrari throwing the championship away?
Debate: Is F1 challenging enough?
Posted onIt’s the year of the super-rookies. Seven races in and Lewis Hamilton hasn’t been off the podium yet. Sebastian Vettel just became the first teenager to score an F1 point. Has F1 gotten too easy? Or is it just coincidence?