grumpyf1

Formula 1 drivers take a huge risk every time they climb into their 200mph missiles. It had been 21 years since a driver died as a result of injuries sustained in a race, until last Friday. Watching the Japanese Grand Prix last year, it rapidly became clear that something was terribly wrong as the drivers returned to the pits, the race having been stopped, due to heavy rain and fading light, following several accidents. The captions on screen had briefly shown details for Frenchman Jules Bianchi and his Marussia car, but the pictures underneath weren’t of either. Drivers pictured getting out of their cars had solemn-faced team members rushing to speak to them, and it was obvious they were being advised of something terrible that the viewers at home weren’t yet party to. Interviewed, Bianchi’s competitors reported only that they knew of the incident. F1 learnt many lessons from the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in 1994, and included in that list was avoidin...

2 races to go, and Lewis Hamilton might be about to become Formula 1 World Champion! All good in F1-land then, right? Er... no. As the teams and drivers prepare for this weekend’s Grand Prix in Brazil, the championship is finely balanced. British hero Lewis Hamilton knows the title can’t be decided at this penultimate race, but will go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi. A great result against his arch-rival Nico Rosberg this Sunday would, in any other year, guarantee his name being added for a second time to the list of World Champions. Unfortunately, someone thought it would be a good idea to award double points in the last race, so he’ll have to hang on for an extra couple of weeks. We should celebrate this – he’s a genuine star, and has even broken Nigel Mansell’s total of race wins to become the most successful British driver ever (even without the aid of a moustache the sporting regulations should probably have deemed “a moveable aerodynamic device”). But other events in...