Dirty Side Deckchair

Red Bull smashing the rest OK, so the title does not really make sense but Red Bull will feature in this blog entry and China kinda does.  Just go with it. Looking at the blog list I realized this is the first entry since the season started. With all the excitement of being back on track and recording the pod, the flow of the blog just came to a halt. Much like Leclerc in the gravel. Sigh. We find ourselves at an enforced break in the season after the cancellation of the Chinese GP due to COVID concerns.   The next time we'll have cars on track will be in Azerbaijan on the last weekend of April. With three races in the bank let's take a look at how they have panned out, what we have learned so far, what has surprised us, and what we think is in store for the remainder of the season. Let's start with some mini-race reviews. 1 - Bahrain Back on track!!! The season got off to a perfect start for Red Bull as they closed out a 1-2 with Max taking the win from Sergio.  The...

Max's secret identity revealed Anyone who watched the Brazil GP last weekend, and maybe some that didn't, will have seen two main stories taking up the column inches.  First up was the superb showing for Mercedes and specifically George Russell as he secured his first victory in Formula 1. Secondly was the murkier side of F1 as we heard Max refuse to follow team orders and give up his place for Checo. For those not familiar with the history of team orders, and maybe for those who want a stroll down memory lane, we have compiled a quick overview of team orders in F1 and also picked out some memorable ones. So, what are team orders? We need to remember that while each driver is trying to win for themselves, they are part of a team and the team wants to maximize it's points total for the constructors championship.   In addition, there are also times when the team might be trying to ensure maximum points for one of the drivers, especially if only one of them is in contention ...

So many lost treasures for Stefano  The 2023 calendar has been the topic of many conversations recently, not just due to the number of races but also concerning tracks that were retained as well as those that didn't make it. It got me thinking about tracks that used to hold races but are no longer a part of the F1 scene. While I knew there would be a large number of tracks to have held a World Championship Grand Prix down the years, I was surprised by the number. Since F1 started in 1950, seventy six circuits have held at least one race.  Seventy six! This will become seventy seven next year as Las Vegas hosts it's first race at it's new street circuit after having held one in the past at Caesar's Palace. There are a large number that only ever held a single race so rather than look at them all, here is a quick review of the 14 circuits that held 10 or more races in their time but now find themselves on the F1 cutting room floor.   The most on the discarded list held...