How to banish a demon

The most notorious piece of cheating ever seen in Formula 1 took place on this day five years ago. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Fernando Alonso’s victory in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix raised questions as he began the race using an unusual strategy and benefitted from an early Safety Car period. That was triggered when his team mate crashed, and it subsequently emerged Nelson Piquet Jnr had done so deliberately under instructions from the team’s top management, to help Alonso win. Yet despite suspicions about the race being raised in its immediate aftermath, it took almost a year for the matter to be investigated and the conspiracy exposed. Once it was the ill-gotten victory was not confiscated and punitive action was largely confined to individuals who had already left the sport. Five years on, can it be said the FIA took the Crashgate scandal seriously? Or did it conduct a hasty investigation which unearthed no more than it was supposed to? … [Read more...] about Crashgate’s shadow still lingers five years on

As 2015 draws to a close here’s a look back on the articles which got you talking the most during the last 12 months. Your favourites New superlicence rules would have barred ten drivers in last five years The FIA introduced a complicated new regime to prevent drivers like Max Verstappen from getting into F1 in future. But the original version of its superlicence plan would have prevented many others from reaching F1 when they did. Alonso’s crash not caused by car fault – McLaren Alonso to miss first race of 2015 on medical grounds Steering problem, not wind, caused crash – Alonso One of the most surprising stories of the build-up to the season was Fernando Alonso’s absence from the first race of the year following a crash during testing. He and McLaren gave differing explanations for its likely cause. Cruising Mercedes still 0.5s quicker than anyone Mercedes dominated the first race of the year, setting the tone for the rest of the season. … [Read more...] about The best stories, debates and pictures: F1 Fanatic’s must-read highlights of 2015

Sebastian Vettel announced his arrival as a force in F1 with a masterful win in slippery conditions in the Italian Grand Prix. He led from the start on the wet track and held the lead for most of the race, switching from extreme wet tyres in the later stages. Meanwhile the championship rivals struggled: Felipe Massa finished where he started, sixth, with Lewis Hamilton right behind him having started 15th, and Kimi Raikkonen ninth from 14th. Vettel vanishes The first few laps were tentative as the drivers struggled to get a feel for the conditions. Most of them were very heavily fuelled, but as the surface water washed away and the fuel loads came down the race came to life. Having started near the back, Raikkonen and Hamilton were queued behind David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella in a four-way battle for 11th. Coulthard dropped behind the trio and Raikkonen began attacked Fisichella, finally passing the Force India on lap eight. Hamilton followed him the next time … [Read more...] about Sebastian Vettel brushes title rivals aside to win

Porsche officially joins the band of carmakers that are turning their backs to making diesel-powered cars. The culprit? The significant increase in demand for electrified vehicles, especially in Europe. In an official statement from Porsche, the sports carmaker is going all-in when it comes to e-mobility – six-billion euros (around 5.4 billion GBP) to be exact, which will be projected to take effect by 2022. This will be the basis for sustainable growth into the future, said the carmaker. The increased investment in electrified vehicles has concrete numbers to back it up. Porsche said that 63 percent of the Panameras sold in Europe are hybrid models. At the far end of the spectrum, the demand for diesel-powered Porsches is dropping, in which the sports car-maker cited that the global share of diesel Porsches was only 12 percent in 2017. Porsche and the diesel: Porsche in new Dieselgate recall Porsche wants 'sustainable' petrol and … [Read more...] about Porsche officially says goodbye to diesels

Oyu came out on top in a thrilling end to the Q2 pole shootout at Sugo as he posted a record-breaking 1m09.413s lap in the #8 ARTA Honda NSX-GT he shares with Tomoki Nojiri. The #23 NISMO Nissan Z had been the car to beat up to that point, as Tsugio Matsuda paced both practice and Q1, but in the final reckoning Quintarelli came up just 0.073s shy of Oyu. Last year's pole record, set by Sena Sakaguchi, was beaten by the top three in qualifying, with Nobuharu Matsushita going third-fastest on board the Real Racing Honda despite carrying a stage one fuel flow restrictor. Best of the Toyota GR Supras was the SARD car of Yuichi Nakayama in fourth, followed by Yuji Tachikawa in the Cerumo machine and Giuliano Alesi in the only one of the two TOM'S entries to clear Q1, the #37 car. Completing the order in Q2 were two more Nissans, the Kondo Racing car of Daiki Sasaki and the points-leading #3 NDDP Racing Z that is carrying a nominal 98kg of ballast, including a stage … [Read more...] about Sugo SUPER GT: ARTA Honda’s Oyu pips Quintarelli to pole