Stewart in Hospital

Three time word champion Jackie Stewart has been taken to hospital after complaining of chest pains on a flight from Switzerland to London. A statement said

"Sir Jackie is in Hillingdon Hospital... after a physical setback on a flight back from Geneva to London Heathrow early this afternoon," a statement added.

"He is fully conscious and having precautionary medical checks but we are expecting a full recovery."

His son Paul said

"I've just spoken to him in hospital. He seemed absolutely fine but obviously something happened and we need to establish what," he added.

The Scot was 3 time world champion and even ran his own team from 1997-1999 winning one race. 

Jackie Stewart
A Long Time Ago

Glock In Hospital

Timo Glock is likely to miss next weeks pre-season testing in Barcelona from the 8-11 of March after having his appendix taken out. He had an operation in Switzerland on Monday after a sudden onset of appendicitis. 

Team Principal John Booth today said

"The procedure was routine and Timo is recovering well in hospital in Switzerland, where he is likely to remain for a further 24 hours," said team principal John Booth.

"To ensure a swift recovery, it is unlikely that he will take part in next week's test in Barcelona and that (Belgian rookie) Jerome (d'Ambrosio) will run on all four days instead."

The season starts on March 27th in Melbourne after an outbreak civil unrest in Bahrain following the ongoing revolution in the area.

Timo Glock

Ecclestone Wants Women And Artificial Rain,

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone today announced that he is thinking about using artificial rain to make races more exciting. There has been a number of moves to make racing more enjoyable in recent years like the KERS (Kenetic Energy Recovery System) which is basically a turbo button and the removal of refuelling which make pit stops as fast as 3 seconds. Despite this there is nothing like seeing the rain come down heavy like the 2009 Malaysian GP.

"Look at the races we have now. Overtaking is almost impossible because in the dry there is only one line good for maximum speed because of the rubber on the track.

"You have a completely different picture when it is wet. We always had the most exciting races in the wet - so let’s think of making rain.

"There are racetracks that you can make artificially wet and it would be easy to have such systems at a number of tracks. Why not let it ‘rain’ in the middle of a race for 20 minutes, or the last 10 laps? Maybe with a two-minute warning ahead of it.

"Suspense would be guaranteed and it would be the same for all."

Although everyone is for making racing more exciting  this could be hard to implement, it would make driving in the rain a huge skill. He also went on to say that women could be running Formula 1 within 3 to 5 years and
"I think that women don't get trapped so easily in their own ego. Women don't have to play golf to make deals, they simply have to work harder to get the same acceptance as men. As their egos don't stand in their way they decide things less emotionally and in the end that serves the cause."

Bernie Ecclestone
F1 Gaffer

Daimler AP Buys Mercedes GP

Daimler GP has today announced that it has bought the remaining 24.9% of Mercedes GP together with Aabar Investment PJS. They now have complete ownership of the team which was formerly Brawn GP.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche said

"This majority stake holding demonstrates our determination to build a long-term Formula 1 involvement on an even more successful platform.”

“Our company’s founders invented the automobile 125 years ago and the very first Mercedes was a racing car. These are the reasons why we see our Formula 1 programme as an important element of our brand history. The acquisition of a majority stake holding in our Silver Arrows team sends a clear signal that we intend to achieve technical and sporting success on world motorsport’s biggest and most important stage – and to do so in cost-effective conditions.”

Ross Brawn said

“Daimler and Aabar’s acquisition of the remaining 24.9 per cent stake in Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix will be a further step in the consolidation and strengthening of our team for the future. Motor racing, particularly Formula 1, is a very specialised industry, and we are privileged to have such strong and understanding partners as Daimler and Aabar to support our joint ambitions. I remain fully committed to our team for the long-term, along with the management team and all of our employees. We all look forward to the challenge of making our team successful, and proudly representing Mercedes-Benz and the racing tradition of the Silver Arrows."

Mercedes GP

Testing Summary So Far

So far there has been two major front runners in testing. Ferrari and Red Bull seem to still be one step ahead of the competition. Ferrari have been very consistent so far with little or no problems and always seem to get in a huge amount of laps. Alonso looks very sharp and after driving a poor car to 2nd position last year we know what is capable of . It seems if he can keep his cool and drive like he did last season there will be very few who can stand in his way.
Red Bull still seem to have the best car and one could argue the delay of the Bahrain Grand Prix is doing these two teams a lot more harm than all the other teams. They seem to have a pretty solid car as well and although they have had a few minor problems with Vettel's car it all seems ok. Unlike Ferrari I think Red Bull have 2 drivers who are capable of winning the championship, both Vettel and Webber were in contention for the title and had it not been for the shall we say" incident" in Turkey they would have been further ahead and would have finished 1-2. As far as Mercedes is concerned so far both drivers seem disappointed with the car. One would be forgiven for thinking they are all but hopeless but they are due a "major" upgrade before the start of the season. What this means, it's hard to tell, but after the rear-diffuser debacle in 2009 no-one can tell how aggressively they will interpret the rules. One thing is for sure though, if this season goes as well as last years then we are in for a captivating season

Mercedes W01
My tip for value for 2011

Monday Test Times

1. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 22.625s

2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m 23.442s

3. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 23.550s

4. Nick Heidfeld Lotus Renault GP-Renault 1m 23.657s

5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.003s

6. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m 24.057s

7. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m 24.177s

8. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m 24.515s

9. Jerome D’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m 26.501s

10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 27.079s

Felipe Massa
Ferrari F1

11. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus-Renault 1m 29.992s

Bahrain GP Called Off

The organisers have today said they have called off the season opener due to ongoing unrest in the area.


"The Bahrain International Circuit today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue" said race organisers 


The crown prince said
"We must focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting to a later date.

“At the present time the country’s entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain.

"Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date.

“After the events of the past week, our nation’s priority is on overcoming tragedy, healing divisions and rediscovering the fabric that draws this country together; reminding the world of the very best that Bahrain is capable of as a nation once again united."

Mark Webber had also said that the grand prix should be called off because the people of Bahrain had higher priorities.


The season opener will now move to Melbourne on 27 of March. It is not yet known if the race will be moved to a later date or cancelled completely. The final tests will now be held in Barcaona on the 8-11 or March


Viva La Revolucion

The Revolution Being Seen in Many
Eastern Countries Comes to Bahrain