Places mean cars, don’t they? Hear the word `Maranello’ and you think of something red with yellow shields on its flanks. Similarly, ‘Weissach’ is synonymous with Porsche, and when I…

He’d nursed his slick-shod car in shine and rain for 54 laps — but now hail was a distinct possibility. “By climbing the pit wall fence you could see the…

How difficult is it to win in Formula 1? Ask Toyota. For the eight seasons and 140 races that the world’s largest car company contested between 2002 and 2009, not…

If Valentino Rossi’s father had been less unlucky as a motorcycle racer Rossi might now be ruling Formula 1 instead of MotoGP. Rossi Sr was a scarily fast though crash-prone…

Ferrari’s F1 Finest 2nd, Ferrari 156 << Ferrari 312T: Central figure >> Ferrari 500: Light fantastic The ‘sharknose’ Ferrari 156, the grand prix car that reigned supreme in 1961, was…

Thank goodness for Jean Alesi and Pirelli. Thanks to that combination, the US GP in Phoenix had a modicum of interest for half its length, even if it was an…

Right from the start, in his own mind he’s a giant. A good giant. And he does things that back up that belief. Regularly. And each time, he turns around…

In the relentless theatre of Formula 1, the members of the complex cast – drivers, team chiefs, designers, organisers, circuit owners, officials – may be liked, admired, respected, even feared.…

Motor racing is essentially a science; it’s supposed to be about nuts and bolts, numbers on lap charts and on stopwatches. But sometimes other, less tangible factors seem to play…