Next weekend’s inaugural Singapore Grand Prix (26/27/28th September) will present the Formula One drivers with a multitude of challenges. Not only will they be racing under lights for the first time, they also face an all-new circuit and a ‘working day’ that won’t finish until the small hours of the morning.

What makes the next race particularly challenging of course is that it is the first night race for the drivers, which will surely present some unique challenges.  It will be a real test of skill and bravery as they approach the street-based circuit’s corners.

The late race (meaning the drivers will complete it very late in the night) will present some very particular problems that aren’t experienced anywhere else.  Whether this means the race will be more or less exciting remains to be seen.  Below I have compiled some interesting facts on F1 drivers that I hope will inform you a little more on the sport.

* Whilst humidity might be more of an issue in Singapore, for some circuits temperatures can be excruciatingly hot in the small, cramped cockpit of an F1 car.  The Australian Grand Prix can apparently see temperatures of almost 60 degrees Celsius in that small space.

* It is common knowledge that F1drivers have to be fit – though often people don’t know understand why, after all you don’t need to be fit to drive your car.  However, an F1 driver typically has a heart rate of 150-170 beats per minute for the length of the race.  Naturally, this is a massive strain on your cardiovascular system and is accented by massive adrenaline dumps as your brain struggles to compute the corners at 150 miles per hour.

* Following on from the cardiovascular fitness, drivers must be able to have endurance to last the whole race.  This comes from very particular training regimes as it can be hard to replicate the stresses that driving an F1 car put on the body.  Strong neck and chest muscles are important to absorb those G’s, whilst arm muscles help to counter those forces when making difficult cornering manoeuvres.

* Like any sports person, an F1 driver has to be extremely strong mentally.  This is to cope with the physical challenges, but also the mental ones.  For instance, if you lose a few places, then you should never get despondent.  Many will use some sort of trigger motion or ritual to get in the right mindset for the race.

I have a huge amount of respect for F1 drivers – their skills are second to none when it comes to driving vehicles that are pushing the limits of human ability (in many ways similar to jet fighters).  However, I’d love to see the cars being more equal in the sports as I think this would be even more exciting and push the drivers even further in their reaching for racing greatness.

It’s amazing to think that it was way back in 1948 when Colin Chapman built the first Lotus racing car, his talent was so, that he could only be considered to be a pioneer in automotive engineering, this has been proved with the Lotus Formula One team which had such success for many seasons. It has to be said that he was a bit chancer and would take any opportunity to get one up on all of the other teams at the races.

But it was the road cars that really got the company name out there, these cars were innovative and designed with style and elegance. The Elan and Europa being the models that really set Lotus on the road to success.

But there were problems that affected the company in the later years, which in a way actually proved that Colin Chapman was a real person and not some machine set on making money. In celebration of the car and the man, there is to be a landmark event held at the Lotus Headquarters in Hethel, England on 14th September 2008 and will be opened by Hazel and Clive Chapman.

An invitation is extended to all to join Lotus on 14th September 2008 for a day’s celebrations and with it the chance to experience the majesty of the marque and be part of Lotus’ tomorrow.

Source [Auto Spectator]

This top one hundred may raise a few eyebrows; one because Sir Stirling Moss has been named number one and the great Michael Schumacher has been placed outside of the top ten. This is because in he deals with the Ferrari F1 Team, many people claim that he demanded seniority over other drivers.

Clearly Michael Schumacher is the number one F1 driver as he won 91 Grand Prix, while the top four of Moss, Clark, Senna and Prost only won 133 Grand Prix between them!

Anyway this is the list according to Autocar:

1. Stirling Moss

2. Jim Clark

3. Ayrton Senna

4. Alain Prost

5. Alberto Ascari

6. Juan-Manuel Fangio

7. Bernd Rosemeyer

8. Jackie Stewart

9. Tazio Nuvolari

10. Mika Häkkinen

11. Michael Schumacher

12. Gilles Villeneuve

13. Chris Amon

14. Tony Brooks

15. Carlos Reutemann

16. Achille Varzi

17. Emerson Fittipaldi

18. Jack Brabham

19. Mario Andretti

20. Niki Lauda

21. Jochen Rindt

22. Nelson Piquet

23. Guy Moll

24. John Surtees

25. Ronnie Peterson

26. Hermann Lang

27. Dan Gurney

28. Keke Rosberg

29. Kimi Räikkönen

30. Lewis Hamilton

31. Nigel Mansell

32. Fernando Alonso

33. Rudolf Caracciola

34. Didier Pironi

35. Jacky Ickx

36. Alan Jones

37. James Hunt

38. Phil Hill

39. Damon Hill

40. Mike Hawthorn

41. Giuseppe Farina

42. Jody Scheckter

43. Jean-Pierre Wimille

44. Graham Hill

45. François Cevert

46. Gerhard Berger

47 Pedro Rodriguez

48. Jean Behra

49. Jacques Villeneuve

50. Ricardo Rodriguez

51. Clay Regazzoni

52. Denny Hulme

53. Jean Alesi

54. Juan Pablo Montoya

55. Carlos Pace

56. Louis Chiron

57. Peter Revson

58. Jo Siffert

59. David Coulthard

60. Felipe Massa

61. Froilán Gonzalez

62. Stefan Bellof

63. Elio de Angelis

64. Lorenzo Bandini

65. Riccardo Patrese

66. Patrick Tambay

67. Jenson Button

68. Rubens Barrichello

69. Martin Brundle

70. Derek Warwick

71. Dick Seaman

72. Patrick Depailler

73. Peter Collins

74. Bruce McLaren

75. Michele Alboreto

76. Eddie Irvine

77. Richie Ginther

78. Jean-Pierre Beltoise

79. Johnny Servoz-Gavin

80. Thierry Boutsen

81. Rene Arnoux

82. Tony Brise

83. Tom Pryce

84. Innes Ireland

85. Jarno Trulli

86. John Watson

87. Luigi Musso

88. Raymond Sommer

89. Mike Hailwood

90. Roy Salvadori

91. Ralf Schumacher

92. Wolfgang von Trips

93. Stuart Lewis-Evans

94. Jacques Laffite

95. Eugenio Castellotti

96. Trevor Taylor

97. Piers Courage

98. Stefan Johansson

99. Jochen Mass

100. Brian Redman

Source [Bruce McLaren]

Lewis Hamilton, the Great British hopeful who missed out on becoming one of F1′s youngest ever champions by an incredible one point last year has managed to clinch pole position for this year’s Grand Prix in Australia. This is the seventh pole of his F1 career and should provide an excellent start for the young driver.

Hamilton’s McLaren team mate Heikki Kovalainen (a Finn who previously drove for Renault F1 in 2007) will feature in row two of the grid alongside Felipe Massa – the now Ferrari driver. This should be quite useful for tactical plays between the team-mates, always useful for the early races.

Kimi Raikkonen (not my favourite driver, but someone I have a lot of respect for the skill of unlike Fernando Alonso, who is now the driver for Renault and places at 12th place) has placed all the way down the field to 16th after he came to halt in the pit lane during the qualifier.

Due to the new F1 rule set (something I’ll cover in another post), Raikkonen was not allowed to participate in the second session even if his car was ready to go, due to the help he received from mechanics in the pit lane.

So, how does the grid line up for the first race of the season overall? Well here are the times from every qualifying racer:

Times
01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.714
02. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:26.869
03. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.079
04. Massa Ferrari 1:27.178
05. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:27.236
06. Trulli Toyota 1:28.527
07. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:28.687
08. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:29.041
09. Glock Toyota 1:29.593
10. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari No time
11. Barrichello Honda 1:26.173
12. Alonso Renault 1:26.188
13. Button Honda 1:26.259
14. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:26.413
15. Webber Red Bull-Renault No times
16. Raikkonen Ferrari No time
17. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:27.207
18. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:27.446
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:27.859
20. Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:28.208
21. Piquet Renault 1:28.330
22. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:29.059

Of course, I’d love to see Lewis Hamilton take the win. He seems to be a genuinely nice guy and if his performance on Top Gear is anything to go by, he’s even faster than the mighty Stig. As Anthony Davidson has been on television I’d love to see him win a point in the Super Aguri-Honda car – he’s been claimed to be one of the better drivers on the grid and only a weaker car has slowed him down. I can’t wait to see the season start – it’s sure to be a very strong one this year.