grumpyf1

Silverstone - Home of The British Grand Prix after 2019? The Formula 1 motor racing circus pitches up at Silverstone this weekend for the British Grand Prix, and the battles aren’t just between the drivers. Just as the tension of the most exciting season for years reaches a peak, the international, multi-million pound, fast car spectacle rocks up in the UK. It’s a good job F1 doesn’t use a starter’s pistol to get the races underway – The people behind the British GP would have repeatedly shot themselves in the foot by now. The hallowed tarmac of Northamptonshire’s Silverstone circuit will play host to 20 cars and drivers and everything that goes with it, just as the circuit’s owners announce that they’re taking up a get-out clause in their contract after the 2019 race. Despite the staggering amounts of cash sloshing around the sport, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) say they have “reached the tipping point”, and won’t be able to continue losing millions of pounds every...

Being a Formula 1 fan has been tough the last few years. Same team winning all the time. Tyre management. Vettel swearing at everything. Yes, saying you’re a fan of Formula 1 often feels like you’re admitting to stealing underwear off washing lines (that wasn’t me though, honestly). People look at with a mixture of amazement, horror and sympathy. Why would you do that? Surely not for fun? You need some kind of help. The Mercedes team have dominated for the last few years, and whilst 2016 gave us a decent battle between their two drivers, no-one else was really in with a shout. Everyone complained endlessly about having to drive cautiously to stop their tyres wearing out too soon. Former champions were reduced to pedalling cars that were either slow and fragile (Alonso and Button’s McLarens) or dogged by poor strategy calls and a propensity to get into any accident going (Vettel & Raikkonen’s Ferraris). 2017’s season kicks off this weekend in Australia, and there are reaso...