FanFormula: Week 13. In season testing.

After my crazy hair video of last week. I decided to embrace it by going wild with it and ended up dyed it pink.
I may even start dying it to match F1 teams.
All I will say is that I'm grateful that Jaguar don't race anymore.
Green is so not my colour.

Also in this week's FanFormula video I do a poetry wheel, end up sitting on the fence and I accidentally let slip my F1 perving tendencies.

And so on to this weeks FanFormula questions.

Question One

In-season testing returns this year after being banned in 2009. Are you glad to see an official in-season test return to F1?

Question Two

Do you think it is a mistake for HRT to not attend the test?

Question Three

Do you think that by having the test after only four races in that it makes the test slightly less effective then if it were held later on in the season?

Bonus Question

What do you make of the young drivers test potentially being brought forward and being held at Silverstone this year? 

If you want to get involved with FanFormula then you can, by going to http://fanformula.weebly.com/

Or if you want to hear my daily ramblings you can also follow me on twitter @squiffany 

FanFormula. Week 8. Malaysia.

So this week's FanFormula was one of the most stressful I have ever done.
After THREE attempts. Yes you heard right. Three.
The FanFormula was up.
Though in dodgy lighting.
Because by the time I got to film, it was nearing 8 at night.

Plus I have new hair. (The excitement of my life is up there at the moment)

Anyhoo let's get on to this week's FanFormula questions.

Question One
We saw two incidents involving the HRT of Karthikeyan and a 'front runner' during the race today, none of which appeared to be the HRT's fault. What is your view on these incidents? Do you think that the front runners were over confident that the HRT would be easy to pass and that's what caused the incidents or was it purely driver error?

Question Two
With Perez completing an incredible race and battle with rumoured future team mate Alonso, do you think this adds extra pressure to Massa and do you think we will see a mid season driver change at Ferrari?

Question Three
The mixed weather played into the hands of the constructors with several constructors making up the top ten. Do you think this trend will continue across the season or do you think the 'top teams' will pull away from the pack?

Bonus question
Who was your driver of the day and why?



Don't forget if you want to see the full FanFormula or want to join in. Then you can go to http://fanformula.weebly.com/index.html

Of if you want to hear more of my ramblings, you can also follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/#!/squiffany

FanFormula. Week 6. Spain, Liveries and HRT/Marussia

It's scary to think that I have been doing FanFormula posts for just over a month and a half now but I have been loving every minute.
Plus my confidence at being able to look in to camera has improved as well. Result.
(See how little I look away from the camera now compared to my first FanFormula video.)

Anyway back to this week's FanFormula, which concentrated on 2012 and beyond.

Question One.

HRT/Marussia have finally passed all the crash tests with just days remaining until the start of the season. What do you think of the delayed start and will this have an effect on 2012 and future seasons for the teams?

Question Two

With several teams completing several 'filming days' before the season begins, should this be allowed or is this a way for teams to get sneaky test laps in without being at a session?

Question Three

2012 is rumoured to be the last year on the calendar that both Valencia and Catalunya will feature in the race calendar. What is your view on this and will this bring the end of the European GP?

Extra Question

Now that all of the liveries have been revealed, which is your favourite and which do you hate?

Don't forget if you want to see this week's FanFormula video or want to join in. Then you can go to http://fanformula.weebly.com/2012.html

And if you want to hear more of my F1 perving over the GP weekend. You can also follow me on twitter @squiffany

Testing. One, Two...Testing.

If you didn't know or have never read my blog before.
I love F1.
I pretty much live and breathe it.

Except in one key area.
Testing.
Especially the off season testing before the F1 season officially begins.
Like the testing going on this week in Jerez.


I was sent home from work today. After being poorly the last couple of days.
But when I got on twitter. It was full of testing tweets.
The tweets about seeing the cars on the track for the first time, how many laps cars did or who crashed out. Is totally acceptable.
But to me.
The tweets about who is posting the fastest times.
This is like me posting about my hair colour, David Attenborough Polar bear footage or Katie Price's boobs.
They are all pretty fake.


Of course they exist. (My hair colour is looking pretty marvellous at the moment)
The testing times did happen.

But they aren't a realistic gauge of how things will be in Australia in March.
Yet everyone seems to get super duper excited about who's the fastest.

Last year Barrichello topped the sheets, yet where was the Williams last year?
There it was dragging it's sorry self over the line just before the Virgins, HRT and Lotus.

I'm not saying that if your fastest over testing your not going to do well. Brawn in 2009 had a really good testing session then won the both championships the same year.

I just find it hard to get excited about something that has too many variables.
From now until March. The cars and the drivers will completely change.
Drivers will be fitter and cars will have tried every part/loophole going to get the car to it's full racing capacity.

Yet everyone seems to play the world's uninteresting guessing game of who will be fastest/competitive in March.

I think I know why we do this though.
F1 fans go through nearly five months of no F1 action. By the time we hit the launches and the testing, we know that it isn't too long to wait. So we get excited by any glimpse of a so called race. Mainly because we have been starved for so long.

So even if it's just the race to get to the top of the time sheets in testing.
We get excited.
Cars have moved and it's literally GO GO GO.

Personally I have to wait the extra month (Because we all know that F1 is always worth the wait) and make my own judgements of the cars at qualifying and the race.
Because for me. The first race is the test.
The test of who will be the fastest and who can catch up to them throughout the season.
Plus after five months of being starved. It makes getting up at four in the morning, seem that little bit easier.

Feel free to comment below or you can follow me on twitter @squiffany.

Where thou art Rubens?

It's has come to that time of year when most of the seat in F1 are filled and we end up waiting like lost limpets for the last few seats to be filled.

Now we just have two seats that haven't been confirmed.
HRT and Williams.

HRT is always a hard seat to predict. Mainly due to the fact that HRT are dirt poor and they will literally put anyone in that car. If Luca Badoer is not in the car for 2012 I will be shocked.

Joking a side.
HRT will go one of two ways. An older driver who has either been out of F1 for a while or has been bumped out of a team recently. Or will go for a young driver who has a lot of sponsors.
Rumours of  HRT seat filling have included Nick Heidfeld, Jaime Alguersuari and Karun Chandhok.
We might be waiting a while to find out the result of this one.


The other seat still not to be confirmed is that at Williams.
But only two people seem to be up for that job.
Bruno Senna and Rubens Barrichello.
Now Bruno Senna is the one tipped the most for that seat.

But this is where I get a little bit torn.
Don't get me wrong I know that the Williams at this moment in time is not a race winning car.
But I would love to see Bruno Senna in a car from the beginning of a season for once and actually do well.

But the other part of me would love Rubens Barrichello to have just one more year in F1.
Celebrate 20 years and then leave with a bang.
Rather then how he could leave at the moment.
With a whimper and a backlog of tyre marbles.

Rubens, I admit is not what I would really call an exciting driver anymore, plus he is on a salary and Bruno is not. Bruno will and can bring a lot of money and sponsors to Williams.

But Rubens is and has always been the only constant in my F1 life.
I would love to spend 2012 having a huge celebration.
A Rubens Barrichello leaving do if you would.

So to any F1 team out there.
Please give Rubens a job for 2012.

Because the Iceland party platter needs to be brought out in honour.
True story.

How Cartoons came back into F1 fashion.

It's been several years since I read the Beano or the Dandy for that matter.

But recently Formula One has become famous for it's cartoons and animations.

Who knew that cartoons and Formula One would work so well together. 

The first use of cartoons that I saw was @F1Cartoonz

Word spread from twitter followers about these cartoons and recently F1Cartoonz collaborated with Marussia Virgin for promotion of the British GP Marussia Virgin weekend.

All this in less then 6 months of self promotion. 

Not bad at all.

The next lot of cartoons comes from @cirebox and is being promoted on the Lotus Renault facebook page.

They range from general F1 comedy
(I do love the use of Michael Schumacher's walking stick in this picture)

To Lotus Renault race results.


Even Toro Rosso release cartoon strips has press statements after every race.
Genius.




These are the good/funny cartoons.
Nice to see in the serious F1 world.

Unlike this.
Which, is HRT's attempt at animation.
Now I know that HRT barely have a budget for a car but they should of saved the £5 spent on this to put towards getting some better car stickers.
But bless them for trying.


I would like to show you my attempt at a F1 Cartoon.
But sadly HRT actually did better...Which is very bad times for my F1 artistry career.
Oh well back to the day job.

Diary of an F1 weekend: Australia.

Hey bloggers.

Hope you had a lovely weekend, especially because the F1 season was finally back :)

Here to share with you is my Female Formula Fun Diary of an F1 weekend.

Warning: I'm actually pretty dull....

25th March 2011

It's 12.38am and I am scribbling this on a piece of paper in pretty much pitch black conditions. It's only an hour till Free practice one and I'm pretty excited.

It's been nearly six long months since an F1 car turned a wheel and it seems like six months too long.

I have work at 11am today and for the past few days I have been suffering with fatigue. I just haven't been 100% in weeks. So coping with a different time zone race is going to be even harder then usual.

I'm expecting not to even get the chance to watch some of free practice, I will probably be getting some ZZZ's instead.

1.32am

Karun Chandhok has lost it and ended up in the barriers. We are less then 2 minutes into the start of practice.

It's gonna be one of those seasons.

3.05am

Managed to stay awake for the whole of FP1. I set my alarm for FP2 at 5am but know it's probably going to be too much for me to do. With work and being a bit poorly it's not looking good.

4.55am

Alarm goes off.
I turn it off. Refresh laptop page. Then fall back to sleep.

9am

Awake for work. I knew that I would miss FP2 but managed to read the standings and decide to watch it on Iplayer after work.

26th March 2011

12am

I'm in bed ready for work and GP in the morning. I'm in early 9 till 2, which means that I have to get up at 6.30am anyway so with qualifying starting at 6am it's not so hard to get up.

I decided to miss FP3 mainly so I don't oversleep for work and so I feel more refreshed for quali.

5.50am

I get up and make myself a strong cup of coffee and some toast and sneak downstairs to put on BBC One.

7.30am

I am getting dressed whilst watching the Qualifying, which I can reassure you is a skill.

Gutted that Heidfeld was out in Quali One.

As most of you know I am a fan of Occasionally Quick Nick.

Sadly not quick at the moment, down in a lowly 18th.

The HRT boys failed to qualify for the race at all, this surprised no-one... except for HRT.

9am

By the time I leave for work Qualifying has finished.

Barrichello (The most experienced driver no less) makes a rookie error and ends up down the tail end of the grid along with OQN.

Sutil use of DRS (Or drag reduction system for newbies: Basically it reduces drag and makes the cars faster) nearly costs him a car. He spins but luckily manages to keep the car on the track.

The rookies all pretty much end up in the midfield.

Petrov surprises everyone by being 6th on the grid...Then everyone started comparing how much better Kubica would of done if he was there and in the car. (A post on this coming up later in the week)

Then it was really between the Red Bulls and Mclarens for pole.

Vettel smashed it.

Getting pole by over 8 tenths over Lewis Hamilton.

It looks like Vettel really is going to be the one to beat this year.

27th March

It's 5.55am and I am off work meaning I can get up for the grand prix and I don't have anything to do for the rest of the day.

I get up, with my blanket for warmth. Plus a dog ( My dog always sits with me on grand prix day...mainly hogging the blanket) and make myself some coffee and some nutella on toast and sit down ready for the pre race build up.

Wearing my lucky Aussie T-shirt with no make up on.

I do love the race build up. Mainly for these top gear style moments like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoKD1yw3tn8

7.00am

The Australian race begins.

(Race report to follow)

9.00am

Race has finished and it's time to switch to the forum (The extra wind down for the BBC F1 coverage.)
It's time for me to go back to bed for a few more hours.

The race may not been the most exciting but it did produce the best comedy moment ever in Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard. After commenting on how curtains had been put up around the paddock to stop punters seeing the cars.

EJ- Look here's Red bull

There's no big banner up there, no cloak..

DC- There's also no cars there.

EJ- That's a good point

DC- I thought I would just point out that small detail

....Oh but hold on there is a small fold down chair.

Sometimes F1 is priceless even if ain't always an exciting affair.