Posts Tagged ‘F1’

New AMG Mercedes Unveiled Alongside F1 Car

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

It’s been an eventful day for Mercedes-Benz and fans alike as two new cars have been unveiled in Barcelona. One being the new F1 challenger and the other being the new SL63 AMG. Whilst Mercedes will be hopeful that the MGP WO3 (F1 car) will be a race winner, they are equally hopeful that the SL63 AMG will be a popular choice for petrol heads with deep pockets.

It’s set to go on sale in June over here and was unveiled in front of a crowd of international press representatives in the Barcelona pit lane alongside the new F1 car. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were the lucky pair that set it free from cover.

The new SL63 AMG is based around an aluminium and magnesium structure which massively reduces weight; a whole 125kg has been saved compared to its predecessor. That’s almost two medium sized men!

Under the bonnet you’ll find a shiny new 5.5 litre V8 twin-turbo that delivers a beefy 529bhp. This has been achieved by some careful tuning and tinkering to the engine that was used in the E63, CLS63, S63, CL63 and ML63.

The new performance Merc also looks the part, with an AMG developed body kit that appear to be aggressive and outlandish – if you see one of these in your mirrors you’ll know exactly what it is: a thunderbolt of a machine!

The new SL63 AMG also sports a rather clever, aluminium folding hardtop roof and an extra detail includes the automatically tinting Magic Sky Roof system.

The new model is sure to be popular both while it is brand new and when it is available second hand also. AMG Mercedes’ are always brilliantly ferocious cars both in terms of what is under the bonnet and the way they look. They also sound pretty impressive too with deep burbles coming from the AMG tweaked stainless steel exhausts.

The new Mercedes is to be officially and publicly unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next month, will you be there?

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Posted in Car Manufacturers, Formula 1, New Cars, Stainless Steel Exhausts | No Comments »

Comeback King?

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Those of us that follow all things motorsport will certainly not have missed news this week that a former Formula One World Champion has been settling into his new office – a Lotus F1 seat. Yes, I am of course talking about Kimi Raikkonen’s return to F1 with his new team, Lotus, formerly Renault.

This week he has been blasting around the Valencia test facility whilst he dials himself back into the rhythm of the most demanding motorsport there is. Lotus’ signing of the Finn has excited many of us that follow F1 as we remember him to be an extremely fast talent – one of the quickest over a single lap that I’ve ever seen.

Raikkonen left F1 at the end of the 2009 season, a year where he was driving a Ferrari that was drastically off the pace, yet he still managed to win at Spa, one of the most challenging circuits in the world where the driver can make up for a lack of car performance. Ferrari themselves admitted that 2009’s car was a bit of a dog, however they bounced back with a brilliant machine in 2010 that very nearly won the Drivers’ Championship in the hands of Kimi’s replacement, Fernando Alonso. Maybe Kimi will feel that he could have gone one better than Alonso in that same car?

Well now he is driving for the Enstone based team that Alonso won both his Championships with; will Kimi be able to double up his championship trophies with the newly named and rebranded Lotus F1 Team? It would be a bit of dream story if he did!

When Kimi was at his peak throughout the mid noughties, there were so many occasions where he left the others in a cloud of exhaust gases, and I personally thought Kimi was the most exciting driver on the F1 grid. In 2003, driving for McLaren as a youngster who had replaced the legend that was Mika Hakkinen, Raikkonen went on to win his first race in Malaysia and only lost the World Championship by two points at the final round in Japan.

Then in 2005, still at McLaren, Raikkonen again challenged for the title, this time he went head to head with the aforementioned Spaniard, Fernando Alonso. Raikkonen won seven Grand Prix but still lost out on the title by 21 points due to a dreadfully unreliable McLaren that let him down on so many occasions. He retired from three races, all of which Alonso capitalised on by winning, whereas Alonso only retired from one race that season in what was a consistently strong Renault F1 package.

Raikkonen was rewarded however in 2007 when he finally clinched the World Championship by just one point from his rivals, as Kimi won six Grand Prix in a brilliant debut year for Ferrari.

However, what stands out most for me was Raikkonen’s die hard attitude towards racing – at the Nurburgring in 2005, for example, Raikkonen led the race as the drivers began the final lap, however he was suffering from a serious problem with his front tyres, and as he braked for the first corner on the final lap, his suspension gave way and he ploughed into the tyre wall, and out of the race. He had the option to come into the pit and change his tyres before the problem worsened however that would have cost him the lead of the race and some serious points in the Championship, so instead he stayed out and took a chance – unfortunately for him, on this occasion, it was not a case of “he who dares wins”.

Raikkonen was also extremely entertaining to watch as he pulled off some fine overtaking manoeuvres during an era where overtaking was fairly minimal. Raikkonen’s return to F1 is a much anticipated one and everyone will be looking forward to seeing the Finn back on the track and competing once again.

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Webber Takes First Win of 2011 as F1 Season Comes to an End

Monday, November 28th, 2011

The 2011 F1 season has been dominated by just 1 man; Sebastian Vettel, who has set record after record on his way to the World Championship. This season, Vettel not only won the championship, with barely a hint of a challenge from the other drivers, but he also became the youngest ever Double World Champion, the youngest ever Back to Back World Champion, the record holder for most laps led in a season and the record holder for most starts from the front row in a season.

It has been an unbelievably impressive year from the young German, and after taking pole position in qualifying in Brazil on Saturday, breaking Nigel Mansell’s record for most pole positions in a season, it looked as if he was going to end the championship in the same unstoppable form in which he has performed throughout most of it.

However, after another blistering qualifying performance for pole position, Vettel came unstuck during the race with a gearbox problem, giving Mark Webber the chance to finally drive out of the German’s shadow and take his first win of the season.

It was a rare performance problem for Vettel’s Red Bull car which has been incredibly consistent over the year, only failing to finish 1 race, but it was enough of a chance for Webber to take, after failing to win any of the previous races this season, despite multiple starts on the front row of the grid.

The win is likely to give Webber a great confidence boost before the new season, after spending most of 2011 behind his teammate, yet it is Vettel’s amazing records and dominant performance that will be remembered as teams try to build a new car that can beat the Double World Champion next season.

Although he lost first place to Webber, Vettel finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in second whilst Jenson Button came 3rd, ensuring he finished the 2011 season in 2nd place in the drivers World Championship standings behind Vettel.

However, Vettel, Webber and Button will soon be forgetting any accomplishments from this season as they look towards 2012, during which we will see a new American Grand Prix, more adjustments to DRS zones and a rule change on the way the drivers use their exhaust to aid breaking and down force.

With Vettel dominating all year, it has not been the most exciting F1 season there has ever been but with the last 2 races being won by Hamilton and Webber it looks as if things might get a lot more competitive next season.

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F1 Arrives in India

Friday, October 28th, 2011

This weekend sees the F1 circus making its first ever trip to India. Year upon year F1 seems to reach new audiences and spread further and further afield. In 2004 we saw the first ever Grand Prix in China and in Bahrain. In 2005 we saw the first ever Grand Prix in Turkey, in 2008 we saw the first ever Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, in 2009 we saw the first ever Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and in 2010 we saw the first ever Korean Grand Prix. This year, India will be added to the every growing list of new F1 venues.

Formula One has always been a global sport, however it has grown exponentially in Asia over the last ten years or so; let’s not forget the Malaysian Grand Prix that was added to the calendar in 1999 of course. Formula One’s expansion in Asia is, at the end of the day, commercial and political, however as an F1 audience we have too benefited enormously from thrilling motor racing and also thrilling spectacles.

Hopefully this weekend will follow suit as we hope for some exciting, wheel to wheel action! The added bonus with an Indian Grand Prix is that we, in the UK, will not even have to get up early as the race will begin at 9.30am. A nice way to wake up on Sunday I think!

The circuit, upon first glance, looks great! It has some fantastic winding corners that first of all look fast! There is also a customary long straight where drivers will really be able to deploy their KERS, and if it is allowed on that particular section of the circuit, their DRS. These two additions to the F1 machines this year has divided opinion, however, there is no denying we have seen some exhilarating action, and there is also no denying that such devices often leave drivers trailing in a haze of exhaust gases.

With F1 pulling in waves of crowds all over the world, we hope there will be packed grandstands for India’s first every Grand Prix. Question is, who will take the first win on Indian soil, will it be the peerless and unrivalled Sebastian Vettel? Or will we see a British victor? It’s been a fascinating season, and with three Grand Prix to go, including this weekend, we hope that we will see yet more scintillating action.

With the passing of two huge motor racing talents, Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli, the past two weeks has been very difficult for the Motorsport community; let’s hope this weekend we will have something to smile about with some exciting on track action. I think I speak for everyone here though when I say, F1 drivers: please try to keep it as safe as possible!

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A Technical Treat

Friday, August 19th, 2011

Following our recent blog competition we thought we owed you, our faithful readers, an introduction to our winner who has just bagged themselves an incredible track day experience at the world famous Silverstone circuit, deep in the heart of rural England.

The competition included some terrific blogs, Craig’s included of course, that we chose to be part of the final 30 because they were exciting, relevant, and unique. With Craig’s blog, we certainly found a unique entry! We decided it had to be in the final 30 because it was so different, and so technical. Upon visiting the site you are faced with wonderfully in depth articles that discuss topics many F1 fans would not even consider whilst becoming enthralled in the excitement and drama of the sport.

Whilst reading through Craig’s entries it is possible to gain a real education in the technical side of F1. This helps us, as fans, get that little bit closer to the action as we are able to develop our understanding further, and thus we are able to understand what really happens in those pit garages. When we watch F1 on television it is easy to assume that the guys in the pit garages are simply there to change the tyres and clean the drivers’ visors. Of course, this is a slight exaggeration, but you get the point. With Craig’s blog he manages to explain all those details that we, as viewers, may struggle to comprehend, and this then makes us realise that those guys in the pit garage do so much more!

It was fantastic to see a technical blog win our competition, and to also win by such a margin was especially surprising and rather intriguing too. It seems that the majority of Motorsport fans out there are genuinely interested in the technical, intricate, and delicate side of Formula 1. Whilst blogs with fantastic pictures splashed across them, coupled with reviews, predictions, and general news articles regarding Motorsport from all around the world, are great fun and pull in a wide and vast audience, it seems that more and more people have an appetite for the engineering side of things. We at Longlife are, of course, always interested in the way in which road and race cars are engineered, after all we engineer our very own stainless steel exhausts and it is wonderful to see other people becoming more interested in technical details.

Reading the winner’s blog, ScarbsF1, is an absolute technical delight, and it is also, it must be said, a bit of a masterpiece. Well done Craig, keep up the great work, and enjoy that trip to Silverstone!

Regarding future competitions, we will keep you all posted via Twitter (@LonglifeExhaust) and Facebook (Longlife Stainless Steel Exhausts), and of course here on our very own blog. Having given away such a fantastic prize this time around, we will also be looking to give away an equally special prize next time that will get hearts racing, and adrenaline pumping, so watch this space and happy blogging!

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Posted in Best Car Blogs, Motorsport Blog Competition | 2 Comments »

Alonso Charges to Victory at Tricky Silverstone

Monday, July 11th, 2011

The Formula One circus rolled into Silverstone this past weekend, to thrill enormous British crowds. The 100,000+ people in the stands and around the circuit on grass banks, were hopeful of a British victory, and with three Brits starting in the top ten it seemed a real possibility, especially in changeable conditions where we know Jenson Button, in particular, excels. Unfortunately, the highest placed Brit, come the finish, was Lewis Hamilton in fourth place. However, crowds and fans would not be too disappointed considering the excitement they were treated too.

With Sebastian Vettel having won six out of eight races this season, and as he blasted past Mark Webber before even reaching turn one, it looked like we would have a familiar story: Sebastian Vettel wins, Red Bull domination continues. Yet that was not the case. Round nine of this enthralling F1 season threw up great surprise, excitement and great challenges for the drivers and teams alike.

The opening stages were extremely difficult for drivers as a unique situation had developed whereby half the circuit was bone-dry, and half was soaking wet. The intermediate tyre was the only option, and the drivers had to contend with maintaining the tyre durability whilst maintaining enough heat and grip to be fast all the way around the circuit. Vettel, unsurprisingly, did a superb job and by the first round of pit-stops, when the track had now dried out, he had a significant lead. The McLaren’s and Ferrari’s in the meantime were scrapping for position, while the two Red Bull drivers sailed ahead. Button pulled off the pass of the day as he tore round the outside before then diving up the inside of Felipe Massa’s Ferrari. Hamilton also pleased the British crowd with a brave move up the inside of Fernando Alonso as they headed into the famously fast Copse Corner. Alonso would then fight back to re-pass Hamilton on lap 24.

Once everyone had switched to dry tyres we then began to see increased pace from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. He managed to catch Webber in second before then overtaking him with a bold move. Alonso then set about hunting down Vettel in the lead, and as Red Bull, uncharacteristically, had a slow second stop, Alonso leapfrogged Vettel in the next pit-stop phase. We then looked set to have an intense battle between Vettel and Alonso for the victory. However, Alonso stormed away with the lead and went on to win. It was an incredible victory for the Spaniard, and a great day for Ferrari fans the world around. Webber pushed hard to challenge Vettel, however, Red-Bull team orders kept him at bay in the closing stages, whilst Massa and Hamilton fought fearlessly all the way to the finish line with Hamilton coming home in fourth, Massa fifth.

Jenson Button, however, had a weekend to forget as he was forced to retire after a pit-lane blunder from his mechanics. They failed to attach the front right wheel properly and consequently Button was left a dejected figure.

The British Grand Prix, to some extent, had to deliver following the controversy on Saturday surrounding the meetings and arguments over the use of exhaust gases to generate further downforce. Politics and technical jargon aside, the 2011 British Grand Prix was a bare-knuckled brawl between world class drivers, epitomised by Massa and Hamilton trading body parts in the final turns. Bring on Germany in two weeks!

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Posted in Formula 1, Racing | 1 Comment »

Crowds dazzled at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011

Monday, July 4th, 2011

The Goodwood Festival of Speed has become a celebratory weekend of all things Motorsport, and it has seen an increase in popularity over recent years. This may be attributed to recent, British, Formula One World Champions: Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

The festival has become a fantastic opportunity for car manufacturers to showcase new cars and try daring new things. Nissan, for example, were aiming to secure themselves two new records. The first was to record a new track record, in reverse, while the second was to set a new fastest time on two wheels. However, organisers of the festival halted Nissan’s attempts at reversing all the way around the course on the grounds that it was simply too unsafe. Nissan wanted to de-limit the reverse gear of a Nissan Leaf, and thus enable it to travel backwards at around 90mph. This was deemed too dangerous on the narrow Goodwood circuit where spectators can get within touching distance of the cars as they hurtle past. They did however go ahead with the two-wheeled stunt.

There is always a vast range of cars on display. From old racers to new, performance hypercars to family saloons and, petrol guzzlers to hybrid and electric, there really is something for everyone. Perhaps, however, the main attraction was most likely the array of Formula One cars and stars on show. Lewis Hamilton in particular wowed the crowd with his multitude of smoky doughnuts whilst Jenson Button took his model girlfriend, Jessica Michibata, for a blast in the latest McLaren road car, the 592bhp MP4-12C. The Renault F1 team, now heavily funded by Norfolk based Lotus Cars, also played their part in satisfying British petrol heads with valiant hillclimb displays.

Another exciting attraction is the Forest Rally Stage that sees both classic and modern Rally cars tearing up the course as they compete for the quickest time of the three day event. It truly is a magnificent sight to see a full-blown rally car roar up the hill leaving a trail of exhaust gases and dust in its wake; a justly unique spectacle for those lucky enough to obtain tickets to, what is undoubtedly, one of the greatest celebrations of Motorsport.

All in all the Goodwood Festival of Speed has evolved, adapted, and grown over the years. With the 2011 festival being a resounding success, we now eagerly look forward to an even bigger and better 2012 show.

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