F1 - 4 - LIFE

Thursday, April 30, 2015

1976 Monaco Grand Prix - Full race

Reupload because the old video was deleted.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

McLaren: New approach has transformed upgrade success

McLaren's new working philosophy has significantly improved the effectiveness of their upgrade and development work in 2015, according to racing director Eric Boullier.

While the team have not scored points in the opening four races of their renewed partnership with Honda, Boullier says changes away from the circuit are having a marked impact – particularly with regards to updates, which proved hit and miss in 2014.

"There's been a huge change in overall culture and philosophy. At every level of the company, there is clear leadership," Boullier explained.

"We agree the direction we want to pursue, and we bring people with us. The attitude has changed from 'telling' people, to 'asking' people; we've integrated people, and we share opinions and ideas.

"The main outcome of that new approach is that people now have a sense of ownership in the car. To give you an example, I guess about 50 per cent of the upgrades we brought to the track last year didn't completely work; this year, we've brought that down to about five or 10 per cent.

"There's tangible change at the factory, too: we've been able to increase our in-house manufacturing capability by around 30 per cent - which makes our development cycle lighter, faster and more flexible."

Chief engineer Peter Prodromou, who has steered McLaren's aerodynamic philosophy since being recruited from Red Bull, said that McLaren will continue to develop the MP4-30 until the final race of the year, in part to help them hit the ground running next season.

"Over the last couple of seasons, the team slightly lost its way aerodynamically," he said. "It became obvious that if we'd carried on with the previous concept, there'd only be so much we could achieve.

"So we've begun to establish a new aerodynamic concept, and a different way of working, too. That new concept has majorly shaped where the team's heading in the future.

"Next year's car will be an evolution of this year's, so we need to keep developing it right until the final race."

Speaking after this year's Grand Prix in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso predicted that McLaren will make a "huge step" forward at his home race in Barcelona.

(source: f1.com)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Lotus complete landmark Brands Hatch filming day

Former British Grand Prix venue Brands Hatch hosted contemporary Formula One machinery for the first time in seven years on Monday as Lotus completed a filming day at the famous circuit.

Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado and reserve driver Jolyon Palmer were all in action as the team rolled out their 2015 challenger, the E23 Hybrid, and also the iconic Lotus 72E, which claimed eight Grand Prix victories between 1973 and 1974 in the hands of Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson.

Both cars ran together in the afternoon, after Lotus dedicated the majority of the morning to filming duties split between on-track runs, pit stops and practice starts. The team also opened up the pit lane to fans during their lunch break, and conducted a number of hot laps in road-going Lotuses.

The occasion marked the first time modern F1 machinery has run at Brands Hatch since Lewis Hamilton drove his title-winning 2008 McLaren MP4-23 in a demonstration run at that year's DTM event.

The last Grand Prix to be held at the track was in 1986, when Nigel Mansell thrilled the home crowd by leading Nelson Piquet home for a Williams one-two. In total, 14 world championship Formula One races were staged at the circuit, which had a regular biennial slot on the F1 calendar between 1964 and 1982.

(source: f1.com)