Grand Prix Blogger

Well, what a shame. The hopes of a capacity crowd at Silverstone witnessing a superb home victory by Jenson Button have been dashed. Jenson never seemed to be in with a shout from Friday practice, but there was always the hope that he would find a balance that allowed him to challenge the might of Red Bull this weekend. All credit to him though for bagging a few points. Sebastian Vettel was in a class of his own this weekend and many congratulations to him on a superb dominant drive.

A mention must go to Lewis Hamilton who charged as hard as possible to give the home fans a thrill. It will be interesting to see if any action is taken by the FIA over his antics on the slow-down lap where he lit up his tyres and treated the crowd to a doughnut. I have to admire Hamilton for his constant acknowledgment of the crowd throughout the weekend, and he confirmed to all of us what a showman he really is - thanks Lewis. A closer look at the race will follow soon.


Lewis Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes

These are turbulent times in the world of Formula One Grand Prix racing. Currently the stalemate between FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) made up of Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Brawn, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso and the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) has led to the FOTA teams announcing the formation of a new racing series. This will, in their opinion, surpass F1 as the pinnacle of motorsport.

This hugely dramatic turn of events was brought about by FIA President Max Mosley announcing that, for the 2010 Formula One World Championship, we would see the introduction of a £40 million optional budget cap.

The only F1 teams to break from FOTA and sign unconditionally for an FIA-led F1 championship, complete with the £40 million budget cap in 2010, are Williams Grand Prix Engineering and Force India. Their acceptance of the FIA budget cap, and their actions in signing for the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship led to their suspension from FOTA.

There was hope that by last Fridays deadline for the FOTA teams to sign for the 2010 FIA-led chamionship we would see peace descend on the F1 paddock. Instead at midnight on Thursday the 18th of June the FOTA teams announced that they were to form their own championship. This left just Williams and Force India along with three new entrants, Team USF1, Campos Grand Prix and Manor Grand Prix signed up for the 2010 FIA-led Formula One World Championship.

So where does this leave us? What is the future of the Formula One World Chamionship? Could this really be the end? I for one doubt it. As Max Mosley has stated when interviewed by the BBC over the British Grand Prix weekend, it is one thing for the teams to say they will form their own championship but quite another to actually do it. Mosley appears, at least on the exterior, to be confident that most of the current members of FOTA will line up on the grid for an FIA-led Formula One World Chamionship in 2010.

Manafacturers such as Renault, Toyota and BMW have boards of directors that want to see a return on their investment. With a global financial crisis in full swing it is very hard to see them pumping huge chunks of cash into activities such as racing. This alone seems to be a stumbling block for the arguments in favour of the new series.

I for one am with Max Mosley on this one, as the idea of a championship run by the F1 teams seems a recipe for disaster. A sport such as F1 needs an independant party to govern it. The teams seem to find agreeing on anything impossible. Look at the events that led to a four car race at Indianapolis in 2005, brought about by arguments and disagreement amongst the teams. Yes in principle what happened was correct but for the good of the sport the teams could not reach an agreement - so what would an entire series be like?

Make sure you visit Grand Prix Blogger for all the latest developments on this ever-evolving story in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately due to money shortages this year it was not the race I attended but Friday practice. Still better than nothing I say! As most of you are probably aware Friday is split into two sessions for the F1 cars, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. For the first session I decided to sit on the pit straight. One bonus of going on a Friday is that you are allowed access to many of the grandstands with a 'roving' ticket. This meant I could sit right by the pit straight opposite the Ferrari and McLaren garages.

For the second session I walked over to Abbey and was very impressed with the view there. Sitting on the straight is good to see the teams in action but nothing beats seeing the different ways drivers take a corner. Abbey provides some really great viewing and photograph opportunities, and I would thoroughly recommend it if you are planning to visit Silverstone for any racing event in the future.

Here's are few of my snaps that I thought you might enjoy. (To see more take a look at my Flicker photostream.)


Lewis Hamilton is shown his pitboard - FP1


Jenson Button passing through Abbey - FP2


Sebastian Vettel - FP2

Welcome to Grand Prix Blogger. Here I will cover all the latest news in the world of Formula One Grand Prix racing. Join me as I examine and report on events in the F1 paddock and provide you with news and views that I welcome you to comment on.

We will also take a trip back in time to take a look at some of the great teams, drivers and races that have shaped the sport into the global phenomenon it is today. So buckle up and enjoy the ride with Grand Prix Blogger.