Posts

Norris Silences Critics with Maiden F1 Victory at Miami

Image
Lando Norris becomes the 114th F1 Winner McLaren might have been confident of a strong Miami Grand Prix, bringing major performance upgrades to the event. Even though beating Ferrari might not have been much of a surprise, a win was not on their bingo cards. But, after five years and 110 races, Lando Norris is finally an F1 race winner. Despite coming close a few times previously, the Briton always seemed to miss out on that first win narrowly, most painfully in the 2021 Russian GP where he lost control of his car in wet conditions after leading for most of the race. Following this victory, however, the memories of Russia 2021 are unlikely to haunt Norris and McLaren anymore.  Even though the Woking-based team got lucky with a very cheap pitstop for Norris under the safety car, it is safe to say they won the race mostly on merit. Norris managed the safety car restart fairly well, and kept pulling away ahead of  Verstappen as the laps came down. The Dutchman, surprisingly was struggling

Back on Track: Exploring the Possibility of F1's Comeback in India - In conversation with Soumil Arora

Image
Adrian Sutil driving his Force India VJM04 at the Buddh International Circuit during the 2011 Indian GP Picture by By worldinframes - https://www.flickr.com/photos/subpra/6315503551/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17289123 India is the fifth largest market for Formula 1 across the globe, contributing approximately 31 million fans, an F1 survey from 2020 suggested. The sport witnessed a championship battle for the history books in 2021, and there was a brief but strong fight from Ferrari in 2022 until Red Bull ran away with both titles. This would very likely have boosted the fan figures further over the past four years. So, is it finally time for the Indian Grand Prix to return? I sat for a conversation with Soumil Arora - a sports presenter and the voice of MotoGP Bharat, to discuss the possibilities. The 30th of October, 2011 was a day to cherish for Indian motorsport fans, as the country hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Buddh International

Hamilton’s Shocking Move to Ferrari Stirs F1 Driver Market

  Lewis Hamilton stunned the F1 world on the 1 st of February when he announced his move to Ferrari for 2025. Despite rumours floating around before any confirmation, the official announcement was a shocker, as everyone expected the seven-time world champion to end his career as a Mercedes driver. Hamilton has won six of his seven world titles, and 82 of his 103 GP wins at Mercedes. Having been a part of the Mercedes family in his F1 career so far, 2025 would be the Briton’s first time driving a non-Mercedes-powered car. Hamilton will be partnering Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz Jr. “It’s been a crazy few days which have been filled with a whole range of emotions. But as you all now know, after an incredible 11 years at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, the time has come for me to start a new chapter in my life and I will be joining Scuderia Ferrari in 2025”, Hamilton said, sharing a heartfelt post on his social media handles. “I feel incredibly fortunate, after ach

Madrid to host Spanish GP from 2026

  Madrid is set to host the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix from 2026 until 2035. The news came on the 23 rd of January 2024, following an agreement between Formula 1 and IFEMA MADRID. The 5.47-kilometre circuit will comprise some long straights and 20 turns, incorporating slow, medium, and fast corners. Built around the IFEMA MADRID Convention Centre, the circuit will include both street and non-street sections, with a projected qualifying lap time of 1 minute 32 seconds. The final design specifications of the circuit have not been finalized yet, and are subject to FIA homologation. The circuit is expected to have a spectator capacity of more than 110,000 per day across grandstands, general admission, and VIP hospitality. During the first half of the agreement, there are plans to increase the circuit capacity to 140,000, which will make Madrid one of the largest venues on the F1 calendar. The Spanish Grand Prix will become one of the most accessible races, as 90% of the fans will be

Global NCAP Crash Tests - Should they influence your car purchase?

Image
‘Over 1.5 lakh people lost their lives in road accidents in 2018, with over speeding being the most common reason for casualties,’ a Government report said. An accident might have taken place somewhere even while you are reading this. Across the 199 countries reported in the World Road Statistics in 2018, India has unfortunately topped the list, with China and the US trailing behind. 17 people die every hour in road accidents in India. We often blame the poor quality of roads and people’s carelessness while driving to be the only reasons for the casualties caused post the accidents. However, we tend to ignore the cars that are involved in fatal crashes. A major misconception amongst people is that a car cannot avoid a crash or save people after an unfortunate event. Each car based on its chassis’ structural rigidity and safety features it offers, behaves differently during a crash. While some cars manage to save all the passengers, some are left completely unidentifiable and

AUTO EXPO 2020

Image
The Auto Expo is Asia’s most prominent and the world’s second-largest automobile exhibition held once in every two years. Most automobile manufacturers showcase their products, new launches and concepts at this exposition. This used to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi till the year 2012. The event gathers so much of visitors that the organisers had to change the venue to a larger space at Greater Noida to accommodate all the exhibitors and visitors. Being an automobile enthusiast, I followed my ritual of attending the event last week. The Chinese duo, Great Wall Motors (GWM) and MG (Morris Garages) Motors were the show stealers this time. Unlike other carmakers, MG Motors showcased upcoming launches and not just the products that are currently in the market. GWM set a great first impression with the Haval brand and the cars they had on display. The F7 and F7X SUVs were major head turners. The MG Hector+ and MG ZS EV (Electric Vehicle) garnered a lot of attention too. Look