Four hours 40 minutes after the race…

The fastest e-magazine in Formula 1 hits the streets direct from the paddock in Barcelona. This week we bring you all the stories about Fernando Alonso’s fabulous victory in Barcelona, plus…

We look closely at the Gribkowsky Affair…

We deconstruct Dr Helmut Marko…

We remember motor racing’s original coeur de lion…

And we examine how F1 is looking to host races in New Jersey AND Long Beach

There’s nothing like GP+… It is fastest e-magazine in F1 and an extraordinary bargain.

For more information, go to www.grandprixplus.com

Read Full Post »

Mercedes’s flying stars

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton qualified 1-2 for the Spanish GP in their Mercedes, under the watchful eye of company boss Dieter Zetsche, who turned up in Spain to see how the company’s money is being spent. The two Silver Arrows drivers beat Sebastian Vettel, while Kimi Raikkonen was fourth and looks to be a strong challenger for the race. Fernando Alonso was fifth, ahead of Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Mark Webber, Sergio Perez and Paul di Resta.

Read Full Post »

Lewis stays ahead

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of the Q2 session in Spain on Saturday, beating the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus. Completing the top 10 were Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Sergio Perez, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean and Paul di Resta.

Knocked out were Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne in their Toro Rossos, Adrian Sutil’s Force India, the McLaren of Jenson Button and two Saubers: Nico Hulkenberg beating Esteban Gutierrez.

Read Full Post »

Silver service

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg set the pace in the Q1 sessions in Spain in their Mercedes-Benzes, beating Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull, Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus, Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari and Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Dan Ricciardo was next ahead of a disappointing Adrian Sutil, Nico Hulkenberg, the disappointing McLarens of Sergio Perez and Jenson Button, Esteban Gutierrez and Valtteri Bottas. Last year’s winning Pastor Maldonado was knocked out in the session as were the two Caterhams and two Marussias.

Read Full Post »

Felipe Massa sets the pace

Felipe Massa set the fastest time in Barcelona on Saturday morning, beating Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen by a few thousandths. Mark Webber was third fastest with Romain Grosjean fourth and in the hunt. This would suggest that in race trim Lotus has got to be seen as a strong challenger this weekend. Sebastian Vettel was fifth fastest ahead of Fernando Alonso and the two Force Indias, with Paul di Resta ahead of Adrian Sutil. Lewis Hamilton was ninth and the top 10 was completed by Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso.

Nico Rosberg was 11th ahead of Jenson Button, Esteban Gutierrez, Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado and Nico Hulkenberg, with Valtteri Bottas 17th. Daniel Ricciardo was back in 18th.

Further back Charles Pic was 19th ahead of Jules Bianchi, Max Chilton and Giedo Van der Garde.

Read Full Post »

Troubles in Germany?

There are reports this morning in the Süddeutschen Zeitung newspaper in Munich that the Bavarian public prosecutor’s office has completed its investigation into Formula 1 boss Ecclestone and will indict him later this month for allegedly bribing former BayernLB executive Gerhard Gribkowsky.

There is speculation that a court case could begin in July. If this happens there could be major effects in the Formula 1 world, notably in relation to the planned flotation of the Formula One group in the autumn.

Read Full Post »

Vettel versus Alonso…

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of the Friday afternoon session in Barcelona, beating his rival Fernando Alonso by a small margin. Mark Webber was third and right with them, while Kimi Raikkonen was fourth. Felipe Massa was fifth ahead of the Mercedes-Benzes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and the Force India of Adrian Sutil. The second Force India of Paul di Resta was 10th, despite the fact that the Scotsman parked the car two-thirds of the way through the session after the tread came off one of his tyres. Between the two Force Indias was the big surprise of the day, Jean-Eric Vergne in his Toro Rosso. The Frenchman was as happy as the day is long, with the car’s latest upgrades really delivering performance.

The second Toro Rosso of Dan Ricciardo was 11th, ahead of the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, the Williams of Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber and the second Williams driven by last year’s Spanish GP winner Pastor Maoldonado. Esteban Gutierrez was 17th, ahead of a troubled Romain Grosjean and Giedo Van der Garde’s Caterham. Completing the field was the Marussia of Jules Bianchi, Charles Pic’s Caterham and Max Chilton’s Marussia.

Read Full Post »

Ola! Homeboy

Fernando Alonso set the past in the first practice session at a damp Barcelona on Friday morning, with team-mate Felipe Massa second, but the times are not to be taken too seriously. Third quickest in the session was Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso, ahead of Romain Grosjean, Adrian Sutil, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg and Paul di Resta.

Daniel Ricciardo was 11th fastest ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, Esteban Gutierrez, Pastor Maldonado ahead of the two Caterhams – Heikki Kovalainen ahead of Giedo Van der Garde – while Marussia’s Jules Bianchi was a couple of tenths behind. The Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were 19th and 20th and not pushing too hard, while Rodolfo Gonzalez was 21st in the second Marussia. Jenson Button did not set a time as parts for his car were still arriving.

Read Full Post »

The Red Baron is back?

Read Full Post »

Pook joins New Jersey bid

Chris Pook has joined the staff of Grand Prix of America as special assistant to the chairman, Leo Hindery.

Pook joins an established executive team including YES Network founder Hindery, sports and entertainment veteran Dennis Robinson, and sports marketing and corporate development specialist Dick Goldschmidt. Pook will provide consultation with respect to all aspects of construction, planning and execution of the Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial race.

“Chris has a history of great success in Formula 1, which I’m confident he’ll bring to the Grand Prix of America race,” Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone said. “We look forward to working with him to bring F1 racing to New Jersey and New York.”

Pook founded and managed the Long Beach Grand Prix in the 1970s and then went on to develop other races around the country including races in Detroit, Las Vegas, Dallas, St. Louis, Denver and St. Petersburg, Fla. He is the former CEO of the Championship Auto Racing Teams series in the U.S. and a former member of the board of Dover Motorsports, Inc.

The inaugural Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial is planned for June 2014. The race will receive no subsidies from either local or state government and is expected to generate more than $100 million in economic benefits for New Jersey and New York each year. The race will be run on a 3.2-mile course using existing streets in Weehawken and West New York, N.J., along the Hudson River and at the top of the Palisades, with the New York City skyline as the backdrop. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend over the course of three days. Fans will arrive through a combination of NJ Transit, PATH and New York Waterway ferries.

Read Full Post »