Not a lot changed amongst the top three teams after the Australian Grand Prix. While Lotus struck first blood, Ferrari had a strong team showing with Alonso and a resurgent Felipe Massa. Red Bull also performed well during the course of the weekend with tire struggles hampering their ability to take advantage of their 1-2 start. Williams had a primarily disappointing weekend. While Valtteri Bottas finished his first ever Formula 1 race, Pastor Maldonado looked like a rookie and complained all weekend about how the car was junk. Marussia surprised…
Read MoreFormula 1 – Successful Debut for Rookies
It was a weekend filled with chaos for the newest class of rookies to join the Formula 1 championship. This weekend had pretty much everything! Dry running during Friday practice, torrential rain and an interrupted qualifying session on Saturday, finish qualifying and then start your first round of the championship on Sunday in tricky conditions. At the end of the day however, all five rookies kept the car on the island and finished their first ever grand prix. Both Valtteri Bottas and Jules Bianchi showed a lot of promise as…
Read MoreFormula 1 – Grading NBC Sports Network
The first race of the 2013 Formula 1 campaign has come to a conclusion. Here in the States, it was the first race of the new NBC Sports Network era. After over a decade of the Fox run Speed TV, NBC won the bidding war last season to host the races. For those not familiar with NBC Sports coverage of the IZOD IndyCar Series, it was a pretty big change in presentation. NBC worked hard to keep the core of the broadcast very similar to what we had on Speed.…
Read MoreInside the Helmet – Sage Karam
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode of “Inside The Helmet” we talk with Sage Karam, driver of the #8 Comfort Revolution Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara in the Firestone Indy Lights series, about his move from Andretti Autosport to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. We also discuss the upcoming 2013 Firestone Indy Lights season, his relationship with his former Star Mazda rivals and now teammates, and how to overcome the deficit of tracktime experience he and his teammates will face as compared to competitors such as Andretti Autosport’s Carlos Munoz…
Read MoreIndyCar – Barber Test Wrapup
Any shock at who finished at the top of the speed charts? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Once again, Verizon Team Penske’s Will Power was the machismo of the circuit by dominating all sessions at the magnificent 2.3 mile Barber Motorsports Park circuit. Will finished the two day testing session with a fast time of 1:07.1329 (123.337 mph for you speed junkies.) Power turned a total of 128 laps in two days in the #12 Verizon Chevrolet. Second in combined testing was James Hinchcliffe in the #27 GoDaddy Andretti Autosport Chevrolet with…
Read MoreEpisode 179.1 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast Barber IndyCar Test Special
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOn Episode 179, you heard Kevin Neely give a run-down of the happenings during the Media Day portion of the IZOD IndyCar Series’ Open Test at the Barber Motorsports Park. On this special supplemental episode of the OpenPaddock.net Podcast Kevin fills us in on the on-track action from Tuesday and Wednesday.
Read MoreFormula 1 – FP2 Notes; Vettel Sweeps Practice
Sebastian Vettel stormed to P1 in both practice sessions from Albert Park as the 2013 Formula 1 season kicks off. Vettel’s Red Bull was the class of the field as he and the team picked up where they left off at the end of last season. There was a lot of interesting data collected as the super soft tire compound took center stage. The new Pirelli rubber was due to be faster by approximately a second, but suffered an extremely short life with times dropping almost immediately. The real surprise…
Read MoreIndyCar-Preseason Test Day 2: Driver Talk
Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the #7 McAfee Dragon Racing Chevrolet Open Paddock: Sebastien, how’s the car feeling to you today? Sebastien Bourdais: We’re slowly starting to get some direction, but it’s been a challenging test so far. It’s a really different animal than last year. The track is about three seconds faster. Whether it’s the track, the tires or the combination, I really don’t know what’s going on. It really is a different game and we’re struggling. I’ve never experienced high levels of grip like that, ever! OP: Actually everybody…
Read MoreEpisode 179 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWith rednecks revving their engines outside Mr. Neely’s hotel room and the soft, but ominous, purring of what sounds like a velociraptor every now and then in the background, we present Episode 179 of the OpenPaddock.net Podcast! Kevin Neely and our photographer Brian McKay report from Day 1 of the IndyCar pre-season open test at a very wet and soggy Barber Motorsports Park. Mike Shaw gives us a recap of this weekend’s WRC Rally Mexico in which Ken Block put in a surprising performance.…
Read MoreIndyCar-Preseason Test Day 1: Driver Talk
Interviews recorded on the first day of IZOD IndyCar Series testing at Barber Motorsports Park Will Power, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet OpenPaddock: You were fastest in the morning session today. What have you gathered from the track today? Will Power: I’ve got unbelievable grip right now. These cars are so…. I’ve never felt so much grip in my life. It’s phenominal! I hope they (the photographers) get some good outside shots because I’m sure these things look so fast in the corners. OP: What are you looking for in…
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