Fifteen years after his death, the legend of Ayrton Senna continues to grow - he remains one of Formula 1's greatest heroes and books and films of his life are some of the most popular items in the sport's memorabilia.
So it should come as no surprise that a new film about the Brazilian icon is in the pipeline.
A number of Senna documentaries are already available and this new one has some stiff opposition to live up to in the shape of the official Senna tribute and a film made before his death called Racing is in my Blood.
But this promises to be different from anything that has gone before.
Read the rest of this entry
McLaren face Formula 1's disciplinary and legislative assembly, the FIA World Council, on Wednesday to answer charges arising from their decision to mislead race stewards at the Australian Grand Prix - but the sport is braced for other decisions that day that would affect all the teams.
It is widely expected that FIA president Max Mosley will also use this World Council meeting to push through further changes regarding next year's rules - particularly his plan for a budget cap.
Read the rest of this entry
The Mole sent a team to Abu Dhabi this week to check out the site for the city's inaugural Grand Prix.
The GP in the United Arab Emirates is replacing Brazil as the season finale and takes place on 1 November.
The 5.5km Yas Marina Circuit should certainly be eye-catching as it is being constructed just off the coast on Yas Island.
Read the rest of this entry
Jarno Trulli was the out-and-out quickest guy around the Bahrain Grand Prix circuit on Saturday - the Italian won pole position, and he was also fastest of all once the amount of fuel in the cars is taken into account.
The cars in the top 10 shoot-out are not allowed to refuel between qualifying and race, so their speed in the final part of qualifying is dictated by their fuel load. The fuel load also dictates how many laps a car can do before making its first pit stop.
Every extra kg of fuel costs a Formula 1 car 0.035 seconds around the Sakhir circuit, and the cars use an average of about 2.6kg a lap.
Read the rest of this entry
The compelling start to this already incredible Formula 1 season has owed as much to events off the track as to those on it - and it is the backstage intrigue that continues to dominate gossip in the paddock in Bahrain.
Much attention is focused on McLaren's appearance on Wednesday in front of F1's disciplinary court - the World Motor Sport Council of governing body, the FIA.
The team are answering charges arising from the aftermath of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, when world champion Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's sporting director Dave Ryan were found guilty of misleading the race stewards.
Ryan has since been sacked and a beleaguered and haunted-looking Hamilton has admitted his mistakes while blaming it all on being misled by Ryan.
Read the rest of this entry
Sebastian Vettel's victory in China couldn't have been down to luck rather than judgement, could it?
Probably not, but the German - who notched up a first-ever victory for Red Bull and the second in his third full season in the sport - is one of the more superstitious drivers on the circuit.
Read the rest of this entry
The Mole joined the BBC's Formula 1 presenter Jake Humphrey on a trip into the wilds of the Bahrain desert to find out how he plans to bring a flavour of the kingdom to the small screen on Sunday.
Think Humphrey of Norfolk meets Lawrence of Arabia...
Read the rest of this entry
One of the biggest topics of conversation in the paddock at the Chinese Grand Prix is how swiftly the Formula 1 wheel of fortune has cast McLaren and Ferrari on a downward spiral.
The historical rivals and F1's potent forces over the last two seasons are struggling following the major rule changes for the 2009 season.
The paddock is asking - are these famous teams really unravelling?
Read the rest of this entry
With just 12 days rest in between the end of the soggy Malaysian Grand Prix and getting back in the driving seat in China, you would have thought Formula 1's drivers would have been taking it easy.
Think again. These boys are hardcore, especially the Brazilians.
Read the rest of this entry
Toyota's Jarno Trulli is to race for the victims of the earthquake in central Italy, which claimed nearly 300 lives on 6 April, at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.
The Italian was born in the Abruzzo region, the same province where the quake shook the town of L'Aquila, causing devastation across the community.
Trulli has decided to drop a commercial sponsor on his race suit and wear a badge on his left arm in honour of the victims.
The Toyota driver also aims to raise enough funds by the end of the season to rebuild a school in the town.
"Being part of Abruzzo, I wanted to do something special," Trulli said.
"Nearly 300 people died and everything is gone, blown away. 100,000 people have no homes or jobs.
"It is a dramatic situation and I just want to let everyone know what is going on.
"I have not visited the town yet but I plan to go back after these two flyaway races in China and Bahrain."
The champagne and showbiz of Leo Sayer, Dannii Minogue and Sir Richard Branson are all just a distant Australian memory now.
Alas, there were no celebrities on hand to toast Jenson Button as he savoured his second straight win at the rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Mole still managed to sniff out the Englishman - literally, those drivers really do sweat hard in humid Sepang - on his victory stroll through the paddock.
Button sidestepped the puddles as he ambled up the paddock, signing autographs and posing for photographs.
Read the rest of this entry
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh served himself up for another thorough media grilling on Sunday morning in Sepang.
He has had the weekend from hell after Lewis Hamilton was found guilty of giving misleading evidence to race stewards following the Australian Grand Prix, and team manager Dave Ryan was subsequently suspended for his part in the deception.
The team bravely went ahead with their regular Meet The Team session with Whitmarsh and Mercedes Motorsport boss Norbert Haug.
Whitmarsh and Haug sat behind a desk at the front of the McLaren hospitality tent with folded arms.
The pair did not duck a single question and Whitmarsh, in particular, was more apologetic than he had been all week in Malaysia.
Read the rest of this entry
Mole thought it was the Brits who were obsessed with talking about the weather.
But here in Malaysia it seems everyone is getting in on the act - and happily when it comes to matters meteorological the normal competitive instinct of the F1 paddock is put to one side.
Everyone, it seems, is happy to share tips on how to beat the heat.
Take Sebastian Vettel. The German driver has a novel technique for dealing with the oppressive conditions - he puts a bag with dry ice in his pants, "so at least they stay nice and cool".
Read the rest of this entry
Kimi Raikkonen performed his best Mika "Flying Finn" Hakkinen impersonation as he was forced to leap out of his Ferrari in the closing stages of the first practice session in Malaysia.
The 2007 world champion said he was struggling to breathe as smoke poured from the side and rear of his car at the Sepang International Circuit.
Ferrari said it was neither the result of the in-built fire extinguisher exploding at will nor a cockpit fire.
The team revealed the smoke was caused by a problem with their battery-operated Kers system, which had short-circuited in the hot and humid conditions enveloping the track.
Read the rest of this entry
It might not have been the best of days for Lewis Hamilton or McLaren, but the team played a blinder when it came to keeping the world champion away from the media melee in Malaysia.
Hamilton was stripped of his third-place finish in last Sunday's Australian Grand Prix and Toyota's Jarno Trulli reinstated after a hearing in Sepang.
The sport's governing body decided to exclude the Englishman from the results for "misleading the stewards" as they tried to determine whether Trulli broke the sport's rules by passing Hamilton when the safety car was on the Melbourne track.
Read the rest of this entry
Malaysia's infamous tropical weather announced its arrival at the Sepang International Circuit with impeccable timing on Thursday.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon and the steamy temperatures had climbed to 31C.
As the drivers sat down for the start of the media conference, the sky cracked and sheets of rain fell to the earth as swirling winds did their best to bend the trees in the same direction.
Jenson Button, winner of last week's opening Australian Grand Prix, nodded to his trainer, who was waiting in the wings, and pulled a grimace.
Read the rest of this entry
Round two of the 2009 Formula One season in Malaysia and time for the 10 teams to get down to some serious business.
Or is it? One team raised a smile at the Sepang International Circuit with a topical April Fool.
Toro Rosso tricked journalists by posting a release in the media centre saying the team will run with the optional kinetic energy recovery system (Kers) this weekend.
Read the rest of this entry
