grumpyf1

Poor LewLew. Everything's SO terrible right now... What a difference a few months makes. Lewis Hamilton clinched his fourth Formula 1 title last Autumn. The British driver looked a pretty good bet to make it five in 2018. But here we are – three races in, and he hasn’t won a race yet. If you count the end of last season, he hasn’t won the last six. His arch-rival, German Ferrari ace Sebastian Vettel, won the first two, with Smiley Aussie Daniel Ricciardo bagging the other one last weekend in China. Vettel did have a problematic race there, so Lewis did gain a bit of ground and now sits nine points behind Seb in the championship standings. It’s far from over, though. There are 17 more races to go, and whilst Ferrari seem to have a great car this year, Hamilton’s Mercedes squad aren’t exactly amateurs – they’ve won the constructors championship for the last four years. Lewis is sad though. Poor, gloomy, Lewis. He’s so upset, he’s taken to saying things like “I can’t have ...

It may only feel like last week that the Formula 1 season finished but, after a break so short the engines are probably still warm, it’s back this weekend. Much has happened off-track during the ever-decreasing winter break, including World Champion Lewis Hamilton winning the BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year award and having photos of himself plastered all over his Twitter account looking moody, stylish, and fashionable in shots so posed you could get a couple of quick laps of Monaco in whilst his entourage figured out if the lighting was flattering enough. The Caterham and Marussia teams went bust, got resurrected, went into receivership, were having their assets auctioned off (which sounds painful) , being brought out, saved, optimistic about the future and doomed, and all that before Christmas. The end result is that Caterham didn’t make it, whilst Marussia are now Manor and ready to roll with a hastily altered car from last year. Assuming the paint has dried in time, and...

Having been chucked on the scrap heap by Toro Rosso (which is, of course, Red Bull Jr), Sebastien Buemi has been given the role of test & reserve driver for both his old team AND his employers. Good, right? Nope. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell he'll get a sniff of a run in the Red Bull - Webber and Vettel are highly unlikely to be giving up any mileage, especially during race weekends. And having decided he isn't good enough to race for them any more, Ricciardo and Vergne aren't going to be turfed out of their new seats at Seb's old stomping ground either. Being a test driver means very little nowdays. I suspect his knowledge of the team and how they work will help the Toro Rosso boys understand where they're going wrong with set-up when the newbies won't have a clue. I also expect that's about it. Turn the lights off when you leave, Seb. (Poodle-permtastic '80's rock has me head-banging whilst typing tonight - which ...

Tough gig, driving for Toro Rosso. You just get good, and then you're unceremoniously dumped to make way for the (maybe) next Vettel. Such has been the fate of Jaime Aluersuari (which is bad news for my continuing Alguersuaras joke) and Sebastien Buemi. Both performed well this year, but not (it would seem) well enough to keep their Red Bull paymasters happy. So, like Lotus/Renault/Delete-as-applicable, it's all change at Red Ball Jr, as Daniel Ricciardo joins the team along with Jean-Eric Vergne. Ricciardo we know a bit about, as he was given the chance to have a go in an HRT for 11 races after some fizzy drink money accidentally found it's way into the Spanish team's rather empty wallet. A best result of 18th might not seem that great, but he made his more experienced team mate Liuzzi look pretty shabby, although, to be fair, your average 19 year old in a souped-up Vauxhall Corsa probably could have done that too. Like Ricciardo, Vergne has had an odd route ...