Before They Were Famous #5

RichardsF1    Formula 1     Before They Were Famous

And who might this smiling young boy be in this grainy black-and-white photo, which gives every indication of his ambition to become one of the most-famous F1 drivers of his era, as well as one of the most-acclaimed sports car drivers in history?

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COMING SOON! Our next exclusive interview!

RichardsF1    Derek Warwick, Exclusive Interviews     Derek Warwick

We’re thrilled to announce that our next EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW we publish is with no less than former F1 stalwart, Le Mans 24 Hours winner and World Sportscar Champion, Derek Warwick!

In between his many commitments, Derek kindly afforded the Richard’s F1 team a few hours of his time for one of the most in-depth interviews we’ve published to-date!

To check out our other exclusive interviews – and there are plenty of them! – visit the ‘Exclusive Interviews’ sidebar on the home page or click here.

Teams split on revised Barcelona test dates

RichardsF1    F1 2011, Formula 1, Testing     Ferrari, Force India, Mercedes GP, Sauber, Williams

Up to nine of the grid’s twelve teams are reportedly going to stick with the originally-scheduled dates for Barcelona’s final pre-season test session before the Formula 1 season makes its belated start in Australia at the end of March.

We had recently reported that the fourth and final test session at the Circuit de Catalunya – hastily set up to replace the cancelled Bahrain test session – had been moved to a 9-12 March date period from its original 8-11 March diary booking.

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Top Gear S16E06 Review

RichardsF1    Season 16     James May, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, The Stig

The latest instalment of Top Gear hit the UK airwaves overnight, and this newest broadcast offers fans of the series with a few ‘firsts’ to whet their appetites.

As a child of the 1980s, among my favourite toys cars in my Matchbox collection was my model of the iconic Ferrari F40, which Richard Hammond gets to pair up against the Porsche 959 – the very first supercar to break the 200mph barrier.

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To Infiniti … and beyond?

RichardsF1    F1 2011, Formula 1     Red Bull Racing, Renault

We’re not completely sure how we can insert a Buzz Lightyear joke into this article, but the big news is that Red Bull’s Renault engines look set to be rebranded ‘Infiniti’ for the 2011 season.

Reports from Europe indicate that the name change could be announced as soon as this week’s Geneva Motor Show.

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Massive crowds for Pérez’s Mexican demo

RichardsF1    Formula 1     Sauber, Sergio Perez

An estimated crowd of up to 200,000 spectators lined the streets of Mexican rookie Sergio Pérez’s hometown, Guadalajara, to watch the Sauber driver in action.

Pérez took to the wheel of last year’s Sauber C29 on a demonstration run along a 1.5km course that wound its way through the city’s streets.

Todt visits Kubica in hospital

RichardsF1    Formula 1     FIA, Jean Todt, Robert Kubica

FIA President Jean Todt has paid his first visit to Robert Kubica, as the Renault driver gears up for a lengthy rehabilitation after his rallying accident earlier in the month.

Reports from the Genoa-based Il Vostro Giornale and Italian news agency ANSA reports that the Frenchman visited the Santa Corona Hospital, accompanied by other FIA officials.

After his visit, the Frenchman left the hospital without making any comment to the waiting press.

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Things heating up at Mercedes GP

RichardsF1    F1 2011, Formula 1     Mercedes GP, Ross Brawn, Technical

The apparent lack of competitiveness of Mercedes GP’s W02 challenger are due to urgent modifications having to be carried out to counter a cooling issue, so claims the team’s boss, Ross Brawn.

But he is confident that the team will turn the corner once a more definitive package is installed in readiness for the final pre-season test at Barcelona in early March.

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It’s Pedro Chaves’ birthday today!

RichardsF1    Birthdays, Former F1 Figures, Formula 1     Coloni

Former F1 driver Pedro Chaves is celebrating his 46th birthday today.

Born in Porto, Chaves won the 1986 Portuguese Formula Ford championship before moving to the UK, winning the 1990 British Formula 3000 championship.

Formula 1 was his next stop, and poor Pedro suffered a disastrous maiden (and only) championship season, failing to pre-qualify in each of his thirteen outings in the hapless Coloni before quitting the team in disgust.

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Date change for final pre-season F1 test

RichardsF1    F1 2011, Formula 1, Testing    

The final pre-season test before the Formula 1 season kicks off has undergone a minor date change, with the originally pencilled-in dates of March 8-11 being adjusted to March 9-12.

The Formula 1 teams had managed to secure the use of Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya in place of the Bahrain pre-season test that has since been cancelled due to the withdrawal of its season-opening Grand Prix, which could be rescheduled for later in the year.

The championship season will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix on March 25-27.

[Original image via LAT]