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It seems that attempts to save the Canadian Grand Prix have failed, at least in terms of 2009, and thus we have a World Championship calendar without a single race in North America, for Indianapolis, of course, disappeared a year ago. The manufacturers and sponsors are incensed by this, and…
Exclusive content
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Dear Nigel,
If the Ferraris and the McLarens had swapped places into that first corner at Fuji, would Ferrari have been penalised for messing up McLaren’s start?
Alastair Warren -
Dear Nigel,
What are your memories of Rob Walker? I grew up and still live in Indianapolis, and it was Walker, through Road & Track magazine, who fuelled my love of Grand Prix Racing way back in the late 1960s.
Steve Wyant -
Dear Nigel,
I am a huge fan of Jenson Button, and have been since well before he hit Formula 1. I, like many other British fans, am dismayed at the lack of progress – or even negative progress! – at Honda. I felt originally that Jenson had the opportunity to go to Honda and build the team around him, a la Schumacher at Ferrari, and that they would go on to achieve an immense amount. However, here we are again saying “maybe next season…”I know that they now have Ross Brawn, and the new 2009 aero regs should negate Honda’s seemingly boundless confusion over the science of aerodynamics, but given their inability to maximise their vast resources, budget and knowledge base, can anything help them? I would dearly love to see Jenson win the championship he is capable of, but if not Honda, who now at this stage of his career, and with so many younger drivers out there (Vettel, Kubica, Hamilton) will give him the chance?
Scott Chesney -
Dear Nigel,
What is your opinion about former F1 driver Andrea de Cesaris, especially about the Alfa years of 1982 and ’83?
Goran Manov -
Nov 25 2008
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Oct 24 2008
A world away from where we started
All of a sudden the World Championship calendar is starting to look more than a little unbalanced – and, some would say, unstable. As of now, the 2009 schedule contains 17 races (two fewer than originally envisaged), and for the first time a majority of them will be run outside…
Read moreBy Nigel Roebuck | 27 Comments
Filed under: Exclusive content, Formula 1, Nigel Roebuck's newsletter
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Dear Nigel,
In June of 1977 I was wandering through the paddock of Mont Tremblant when I found myself standing in front the Wolf Can-Am car… These where those modified F5000 cars. (This was the weekend Brian Redman’s car got airborne on the back straight and Brian had quite an accident.) I remember looking directly into one driver’s eyes and he looked tired and frankly a bit scared. The driver of course was Chris Amon and I think this was his last motor race. I had seen Chris race in many Canadian Grand Prix and Can-Am races at Mosport and St Jovite. I had to wonder how such a talented drive ended up in that car. What are your recollections of the latter stages of Chris Amon’s career?
Craig Rowsell
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Dear Nigel,
Not so much a question, but more a thank you.
I found myself at the British Grand Prix in 1984. I watched the cars go off on their warm-up lap and was blown away by the noise and power. They all stopped and went away for real, 20-odd turbo cars, popping and banging, sliding away.
From that moment I was hooked, and found every outlet that could provide me with information about F1. I discovered Autosport and read every article that you wrote. I discovered Gilles through you, bought every book and tape about him, even named a cat after him. I also noticed somewhat that F1 for you died the day he died. In my young mind I never really got to grips with this, just carried on my merry way, though still absorbing all you wrote…
Then for me, on May 1 1994, my F1 world fell apart. Although I was to attend many a race after this, my F1 world had finished. The flame had gone out and I understood what you went through at Zolder. Now I try to watch the races, but they leave me cold. Something that had touched me so deeply no longer has any meaning – it’s just cars trundling round…
Martin Poole
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Dear Nigel,
I’ve been an avid reader of your ‘Ask Nigel’ columns since the Autosport days, so it’s great to see you going strong with Motor Sport. Keep it up. My question is this: following the sad news of the passing of movie and motor sport legend Paul Newman, just how good a driver was he?
It’s obvious he had more than a little natural talent, but do you think he could have become a top-line driver in either F1, CART or sports cars had he decided to hang up the acting shoes in favour of a full-time racing helmet? What did drivers who worked with him, the likes of Mario Andretti, Alan Jones and Dick Barbour make of his wheel skills?
Neil Briscoe
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Sep 26 2008
Is Bourdais as good as his Champ Car titles?
In recent weeks – and particularly, for very good reason, since the Italian Grand Prix – praise of Sebastian Vettel has been fulsome and widespread. No surprise there, for the youthful German has impressed at virtually every race, and as the competitiveness of Toro Rosso has improved (due in no…
