Formula 1 Blog - BBC Top Gear

Brazilian GP: as it happened

TopGear.com — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:39:13 GMT

17.38 Hope you enjoyed today’s race, people – we certainly did. Plenty of action out there despite the fact that the rains never came, and in the end the right man won it. That’s it from us – we’re off to throw a massive piece of meat in a sizzling hot pan, snap open a [...]

Brazilian GP: LIVE blog

TopGear.com — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:39:13 GMT

Welcome to TopGear.com’s live blog of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hit refresh to get the latest updates. 17.30 Wonder if Fat Ronaldo’s disinterested son has fallen asleep yet. We certainly won’t be – this has been a throughly intriguing race. And we’re not just saying that because we’re about to collect £30 from the bookies. [...]

Brazilian GP qualifying: record-breaking Vettel does it again

TopGear.com — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:42:24 GMT

Another week another record – 15 pole positions in a season makes Sebastian Vettel the most dominant qualifier in the history of Formula One. The double champion will line up for tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix with teammate Mark Webber alongside him and the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton just behind. It’s Fernando [...]

Brazilian GP preview: time please, gentlemen

TopGear.com — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:56:10 GMT

We’ll be honest – we’ve been more excited about F1 curtain-closers. Last year’s climactic three-way shootout in Abu Dhabi, for example – though ultimately a fairly dull race – brought with it the sort of nerve-shredding suspense that makes Alfred Hitchcock look like whatever idiot it was who directed the Smurfs movie. Still, even though the [...]

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: as it happened

TopGear.com — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:42:14 GMT

14.41 ‘Superbly controlled race, start to finish’ says Lewis’ engineer and we couldn’t have put it better ourselves. He dedicates his win to his mum, who’ll surely have a tear in her eye. And if we’re being honest – we’re welling up a little bit ourselves. Tremendous drive in what the man himself has called [...]

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: LIVE blog

TopGear.com — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:42:14 GMT

Welcome to TopGear.com’s live blog of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hit refresh to get the latest updates. 14.20 Alonso stops for fresh boots, handing the lead back to Lewis who’s now ten laps away from his third win of the season. That’ll be one more first place finish than Jenson’s managed this year, stat [...]

Abu Dhabi GP qualifying: Vettel picks Hamilton’s pocket

TopGear.com — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:24:24 GMT

A dramatic qualifying session for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw Sebastian Vettel pick up his 14th pole position of the season, narrowly pipping Lewis Hamilton – who provoked a second run from the world champion after setting the initial pace in Q3 – to the front of the grid. Jenson Button and Mark Webber [...]

Exclusive: TG.com live from Wales Rally GB

Matthew Jones — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:27:10 GMT

Over the next few days, TopGear.com’s getting the closest it’s ever been to the moist, sideways world of the World Rally Championship. Team Citroen has courageously agreed to let TopGear.com wordsmith and rally virgin, Matthew Jones (that’s me. Hello) behind the scenes as a Junior Beverage Fabricator at this year’s WRC finale – the Wales [...]

Exclusive: TG live from the WRC finale

Matthew Jones — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:27:10 GMT

Indian GP: as it happened

TopGear.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:09:06 GMT

11.02am And that’s it – another absolute motor racing master class from the man who’s smashing F1 records left, right and centre. He’s now led more laps of an F1 season than anyone else, ever. He’s been on pole 13 times and won 11 races this year – including the first ever Indian Grand Prix. [...]

Indian GP: LIVE blog

TopGear.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:09:06 GMT

Welcome to TopGear.com’s live blog of the Indian Grand Prix. Hit refresh for the latest updates. 10.52am Eight laps to go and the gap at the front is back up to 3.5 seconds – looks like Vettel’s cruising home to another victory now. Interesting scrap going on between the two Mercedes, though. Tense few laps [...]

Indian GP qualifying: Vettel nabs another

TopGear.com — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:05:41 GMT

There were no surprises in this morning’s Indian Grand Prix qualifying, with Sebastian Vettel enjoying an untroubled run to take his 13th pole position of the year. Lewis Hamilton kept up his strong Saturday form, clocking the session’s second fastest time, but will start tomorrow’s race in fifth after irking the stewards in Friday practice. [...]

Korean GP: as it happened

TopGear.com — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:51:43 GMT

So there it is – not exactly a classic, was it? Still, with the title sitting safely on Sebastian Vettel’s mantlepiece (which must be something like a mile and a half long by this stage) a little bit of cautious driving had to be expected. There was plenty of potential at the front, but in [...]

Korean GP: LIVE blog

TopGear.com — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:51:43 GMT

Welcome to TopGear.com’s live blog of the Korean Grand Prix. Hit refresh for the latest updates. 8.42am Nope – that’s it. No last minute fireworks, no big shocks. The 2011 Korean Grand Prix finishes Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Button, Alonso, Massa, Alguersuari, Rosberg, Buemi, Di Resta. A big shame not to see Lewis rewarded for his [...]

Korean GP qualifying: Lewis causes an upset

TopGear.com — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:08:53 GMT

Nope, that’s not a mistake – Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow’s Korean Grand Prix from pole position, denying Red Bull their Saturday glory for the first time this season. Though he’s been absent from pole since Canada last year, Lewis’ time of 1:35.8 around the Yeongam circuit was 0.2 seconds clear of Sebastian Vettel and [...]

Korean GP preview: so, what’s left to play for?

TopGear.com — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:07:13 GMT

It’s always a bit weird when a Formula One season is decided so early. With the title in the bag, you might expect the remaining four races to be a bit like the last day of school; you know there’s nothing you can really achieve, so, abandoning all pretense of productivity, you and your pimply [...]

Japanese Grand Prix review: welcome to the Vettel era

TopGear.com — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 12:36:26 GMT

Jenson Button took his third win of the season at this morning’s Japanese Grand Prix, leading home Fernando Alonso and – as if it was ever in doubt – record-breaking double world champion Sebastian Vettel. Though he did well to cover a move from Button off the line, Vettel was eventually leap-frogged after the second [...]

Japanese Grand Prix qualifying: yep, you guessed it

TopGear.com — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:32:37 GMT

Having qualified on pole position for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel now looks virtually certain to become Formula One’s youngest ever double world champion. Jenson Button was just a hundredth of a second behind, with Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa filling out the second row. Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber will be none too [...]

Japanese Grand Prix preview: time to make history

TopGear.com — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:44:53 GMT

One point. That’s all he needs. The man who’s won nine races so far this season, started on pole for 11 of them and finished no lower than fourth since October last year needs to take just a single point from this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix to claim his second consecutive Formula One world championship. [...]

Singapore GP review: Vettel awesome again – but does Webber need to go?

TopGear.com — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:48:25 GMT

Sebastian Vettel cruised to another easy victory at this afternoon’s Singapore Grand Prix, enjoying a drama-free night at the Marina Bay Circuit en route to his ninth race win of the season. He’ll have to hang on at least another two weeks to claim his second world championship, though, after Jenson Button continued his strong [...]

Singapore GP qualifying: all too easy for Vettel

TopGear.com — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:37:29 GMT

Sebastian Vettel took pole position at this afternoon’s qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix – his 11th in 14 races. A quiet Q3 saw Mark Webber clock the second fastest time, while on the second row Jenson Button out-qualified Lewis Hamilton for the first time in yonks, after techincal issues prevented Lewis from making [...]

Singapore GP: can Vettel keep his nerve?

TopGear.com — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:09:21 GMT

The brink of making history is a pretty daunting place to be stood, so spare a thought for Sebastian Vettel this weekend. The current world champion is the only man to finish every race so far this season, and all but one of them on the podium. He’s currently running at a staggering 77% pole [...]

Italian GP review: Vettel – the new Schumacher?

TopGear.com — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:31:50 GMT

Once again, Sebastian Vettel made it look easy as he won this afternoon’s Italian Grand Prix – his second victory at Monza and his eighth of the 2011 season. After a nervy first lap in which Fernando Alonso jumped up to take the lead from the second row, Vettel re-took first place with a ballsy [...]

Italian GP qualifying: Vettel chalks up another

TopGear.com — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:08:07 GMT

Here’s one we bet you didn’t see coming – Sebastian Vettel will start tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix from pole position. A fairly straightforward session saw the world champion edge out Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren by half a second, with Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso putting in impressive displays to make the second row. Mark Webber and [...]

Formula One: Italian GP preview

TopGear.com — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:01:51 GMT

Ahhh, Monza – those terrifying straights, the roar of a hundred thousand nutters dressed in red. Along with Monaco, Spa and the Nürburgring, it’s one of the most iconic venues in racing, with a heritage that dates back to a time when everyone thought the world was flat and F1 drivers all had hilarious handlebar [...]