AYRTON SENNA WEEK: 2nd qualifying of the 1994 San Marino GP (Imola)

Roland Ratzenberger, MTV Simtek Ford

It's Senna week but let's not forget Roland Ratzenberger who passed away one day before the great Ayrton Senna.

Roland Ratzenberger was a young driver who had been a part of only 3 gp weekends. He had raced in one single race only so it was very sad indeed that he died.

Ayrton Senna's reaction when he saw Ratzenberger's crash:

Here is some footage of the 1994 San Marino (2nd) qualifying session.

Ayrton Senna planned to win the race on Sunday and wave the Austrian flag for young Ratzenberger. They found the flag in Senna's car later on Sunday after he also had crashed.

Rest in peace Roland and Ayrton. You are both missed in the motor racing world.

If you believe in god like Ayrton then you should think about the two of them up there somewhere racing each other.

I am not a religious man but when people die I sometimes like to think like a religious person. It brings a smile on my face for a second or two.

We should not just remember how they died. We should remember how they lived.

AYRTON SENNA WEEK: First Formula 1 Test 1983 (with English subtitles)

AYRTON SENNA WEEK: Ayrton Senna at the 1991 AUTOSPORT Awards

This week is dedicated to Ayrton Senna. 

He passed away 20 years ago in Imola and he is the greatest driver of all time if you ask me and almost anyone else.

I will post stuff about Senna every day this week. Here is the first thing - a video:

De Silvestro makes F1 test debut for Sauber

Former IndyCar racer Simona De Silvestro enjoyed her first day of Formula One testing with Sauber on Saturday, as she completed 112 laps of Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit in Italy. De Silvestro, who joined the Swiss team as an affiliated driver in February, was at the wheel of a two-year-old Sauber C31, without KERS and using special Pirelli tyres.

The 25-year-old Swiss driver, who is undergoing an F1 preparation programme at Sauber with a 2015 race seat in mind, used the opportunity to become familiar with the specifics of a Formula One car and according to the team was able to improve constantly during the day.

“Although it’s something very special to drive a Formula One car, I was not too nervous in the morning,” said De Silvestro. “I was more focused on what my job would be. But, after completing the installation lap, I realised that this was my first lap in a Formula One car, and that this was something really special.

“What impressed me most was the downforce of the car and the braking. When I did my first lap the brakes were cold, but even then the decelaration was beyond what I had experienced before. The g-forces are significantly higher compared to what I was used to in IndyCar. 

“Overall, I’m happy with my first day in a Formula One car. I concentrated mainly on understanding the tyres and finding out how to get the best out of them. And with every outing I learned more about the behaviour of the car. I can feel now where there is more potential and how I can use it. Physically I feel quite good, which is definitely a result of my preparation in recent months. I have been training really hard and this paid off.”

Sauber test engineer Paul Russell was clearly impressed with De Silvestro’s first outing, commenting: “Simona did a very solid job today. It was immediately clear that she is an experienced driver. It was as good a start in a Formula One car as you could hope for, and you couldn’t really ask for more today.”

De Silvestro will continue testing with Sauber at Fiorano on Sunday.

(source: f1.com)

Secret Life Of Formula 1 - Technology Documentary

I had to repost this documentary because the other one got erased from YouTube. I hate it when they do that!

Rossi to drive for Caterham in Montreal and Austin

American racer Alexander Rossi will drive for Caterham in the opening Friday practice sessions of this year's Canadian and United States Grands Prix, the team have confirmed.

Rossi, 22, has been a reserve driver at Caterham since 2012, and is also one of the team's primary simulator drivers. 

While Montreal will represent his first Grand Prix action of 2014, he has previously completed numerous FP1 and test runs, including driving in the same sessions last year. He was 20th fastest in Canada and then 19th in the US, just over seven-tenths of a second slower than the Red Bull of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Rossi, who is also competing for Caterham's junior team in GP2, said: "Each time I step into F1 machinery there is an important job to do. Montreal and Austin are important races for me and I want to thank Caterham for the opportunity to continue my development to a full time race seat in F1. 

"My GP2 program combined with my F1 team reserve driver duties give me invaluable insight and experience for my future. I've built up a lot of hours in the F1 simulator already this year, but Montreal will be my first visit behind the wheel of the CT05 on track. 

"I look forward to a positive run plan for both the Canadian and USA sessions."

Caterham F1 team principal Cyril Abiteboul added: "Alexander will be continuing his development with two more FP1 sessions for us in Canada and the USA. 

"While his focus this year is firmly on GP2 we are pleased to give him more opportunities to play an active role in the F1 team's race weekends and to have him help us develop our car at two races that are very important for us, both in terms of our season overall and with the strong support we have commercially in the North American continent."

(source: f1.com)

The 1991 Grand Prix of Belgium

The quality is a bit bad but the video is pretty cool. This is Michael Schumacher's first race ever in Formula One.

The race is narrated by Murray Walker and James Hunt.