Formula One

F1 Has Blown Up in Recent Years. What’s the Appeal to an Average Driver?

Every driver sometimes daydreams about being behind the wheel of a powerful race car and competing for a trophy in front of adoring fans. While this is certainly not safe to do while in traffic, watching an F1 race provides the perfect opportunity to live out this fantasy. With super-fast cars and flawless drivers, there is plenty to tickle the fancy of a car enthusiast who has a taste for speed and adventure. With this in mind, it’s not a surprise that ratings for Formula 1 race broadcasts are spiking, as more and more casual fans start following this exciting competition. Let’s try to understand some of the reasons why everyday people are so fascinated by this dazzling display of

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#249, Formula 1 US nirvana, muscle cars, surveys

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:44 — 34.0MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreWith the recent announcement of the 2023 Formula 1 schedule, automobile racing’s most lucrative series will have three events in the United States for the first time. The international circuit doesn’t include any drivers from the United States, but enthusiasts in this country can next year travel to Austin, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Miami, Florida to witness the sport’s finest. Formula 1 is expensive for its participants and spectators. A recent article on Robbreport.com detailed one package to attend the new Las Vegas stop on the international circuit for $1 million. Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I discuss the Formula 1 phenomenon as one

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Michael Schumacher vegetative, recovery unlikely

Michael Schumacher, the legendary Formula 1 driver who has been in a coma since a 2013 skiing accident, is in a “vegetative state” and has a minimal possibility of returning. The report came from renowned neurosurgeon Erich Riederer during a documentary on French television station TMC. Riederer said Schumacher, 51, is awake but is not responding. The seven-time World Champion is breathing and his heart is beating, but the physician believes the legendary driver’s condition is “the maximum for him.” Schumacher was in a medically induced coma for six months after the head injury suffered in the Swiss Alps. He returned home 254 days later and he primarily remained there since. Michael Schumacher: Another surgery set? Schumacher’s condition has remained

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Six dangerous race tracks around the globe

SPONSORED POST Driving at high speeds in difficult conditions is hard enough. However, some race tracks around the world take dangerous driving to the next level with their high-speed straights, sharp bends and unsteady terrain. Some tracks are so dangerous many drivers have died while racing. Below is a selection of some of the most dangerous race tracks around the globe: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps In Stavelot, Belgium, this circuit has claimed the lives of 23 drivers since its opening in 1927. The Eau Rouge and Burnenville corners are infamous and present particular hazards to drivers. The corners are fast and filled with hills and twists. The original track layout was deemed too dangerous and was boycotted by the Formula One

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Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Agrees: Formula 1 Too Predictable

The most watched sporting league in the world, the Barclays Premier League, is arguably as popular as Formula 1 because of its guaranteed entertainment and sheer unpredictability. Unfortunately, the same traits are not currently associated with the Formula 1 worlds. Since rule changes in 2014, competition has been limited and even boss Bernie Ecclestone has labeled the sport he runs as “crap”. Periods of domination aren’t always boring in Formula 1. Michael Schumacher’s years on dominance brought relentless excitement. But the late 1990’s were full of competitive races and podiums with new names. A the Mercedes domination at the top of Formula’ 1’s current hierarchy looks unlikely to change any time soon. As such, the biggest questions of the 2015

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Michael Schumacher improving, his $229,000 watch debuts

Like many sportsmen, German race-car driver Michael Schumacher fancies watches. The former Formula One champion was an ambassador for Audemars Piguet, the famed Swiss timepiece manufacturer. Five years ago, Schumacher, who is now still in guarded condition as a result of his tragic skiing accident on Dec. 29, 201, issued a challenge to the watchmaker. According to a recent article the Wall Street Journal, Schumacher said to Francois Bennahmias, the CEO of the Audemars Piguet: “You say you are the world’s best watchmaker. Then make me a watch that times laps one after the other.’ ” Bennahmias detailed in the article that timing consecutive laps was only feasible using two separate chronographs. (A chronograph is a watch with a stopwatch

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Five great cars in five great movies

Cars are movies stars. Who can forget the Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger? How about the 2003 remake of the Italian Job with the three Mini Coopers bouncing up and down all those Italian streets during the heist scenes? Cars scenes are seemingly part of nearly every fantasy movie or a film with a love story theme. A 1962 Volkswagen Bug was the lead character in the Love Bug. A Ford Futura concept was made into the Batmobile in Batman. There are too many great and not-so great cars in movies to count. But here are five famous cars in five famous movies, beginning with TheWeeklyDriver’s favorite. French Connection (1971) The film includes arguably the most intense car chase in

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Michael Schumacher paralyzed, can’t speak, friend says

Philippe Streiff, a former race car driver who has been paralyzed for 25 years following a 1989 crash, said his friend Michael Schumacher is in the same situation and is unable to speak. Schumacher, the legendary Formula One driver, is at home recovering from a head injury suffered in a skiing fall last December in France. Streiff, speaking recently on a French radio station, said: “He (Schumacher) is getting better but everything is relative. It’s very difficult.” According to a report in the Daily Mirror newspaper in England, Schumacher’s family is still confident about the former champion’s future. But the family is providing any new details about his condition. According to the Mirror, Schumacher spokesperson, Sabine Kehm, said: “Streiff’s comments

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Michael Schumacher rests at home with police assist

The media didn’t want to leave former race car driver Michael Schumacher alone in his home near Lake Geneva, so Swiss policemen have been detailed to ensure the legendary race car driver is allowed to recover in peace. According to a report on AutoWeek.com, Schumacher returned home this week after eight months of hospitalization in France and Switzerland following a ski accident. The report detailed that “swarms” of photographers and television crews gathered at Schumacher’s home in Gland, Switzerland. The mass assemblage of media apparently included a Russian news agency seeking to establish a live stream outside the Schumacher’s home. According to Germany’s Bild newspaper, “The police of Gland responded quickly. They patrol Schumacher’s estate on Lake Geneva all night,

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Miracle on Snow: Michael Schumacher out of coma

Michael Schumacher, who sustained serious head injuries nearly six months ago in a skiing accident in France, is out of his coma and has been transferred from a hospital in France to a hospital near his home in Switzerland. Schumacher, 45, the most accomplished driver in Formula One history, has been in a Grenoble hospital since his accident Dec. 29, 2013. He left the French hospital Monday morning. Schumacher “is not in a coma anymore,” his manager, Sabine Kehm, said. Kehm gave no further details of Schumacher’s condition or medical outlook. But she added Schumacher will “continue his long phase of rehabilitation.” Darcy Christen, a spokeswoman for Lausanne University Hospital, confirmed Schumacher was admitted. But she stressed the facility wants

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Michael Schumacher has moments of improvement

Michael Schumacher, the Formula One driver hospitalized in Grenoble since last December after a skiing accident in France, has “moments of consciousness and awakening,” according to his agent. Sabine Kehm, the racer’s long-time representative, said occasions are the most positive message to emerge since the accident. The statement reads, “Michael is making progress on his way. He shows moments of consciousness and awakening. We are on his side during his long and difficult fight, together with the team of the hospital in Grenoble, and we keep remaining confident. “We would like to thank you all for the continuous sympathies. At the same time, we again ask for understanding that we do not intend to disclose details. This is necessary to

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Michael Schumacher: Will he remain comatose?

Michael Schumacher, the most decorated Formula One driver in history, remains in stable but not critical condition more than two weeks after he was placed in a coma in a French hospital following a skiing accident. Schumacher’s physicians have not updated the retired driver’s condition to the public for more than one week. German media is speculating he may not emerge from the coma. “The sooner an artificial coma ends, the faster return usually normal body functions such as breathing,” Heinz Peter Moecke, director of the Institute for Emergency Medicine, Asklepios Kliniken in Hamburg told the German newspaper Bild. Moecke said patients are usually kept in a coma for a few days or at most one or two weeks because

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Doctors say Michael Schumacher ‘fighting for his life’

Michael Schumacher, the retired seven-time Formula 1 world titlist, is fighting for his life, his physicians confirmed Monday evening, Dec. 30, from Grenoble, France. Schumacher, 44, crashed and hit his head on a rock while skiing Sunday in Meribel, France. Although he was wearing a helmet, Schumacher is in critical condition with severe head injuries. Physicians said Schumacher is in an ‘artificial coma.’  The doctors also said they could not provide any further information about Schumacher’s condition. Schumacher’s family, including is wife, Corinna, and his teenage son and daughter, have remained at his bedside. “Unfortunately, he had some lesions to his brain when he came in, he had some diffuse injuries to his brain, but we can’t really say what

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Michael Schumacher in coma after skiing accident

Michael Schumacher, the retired seven-time Formula One champion and extreme sport enthusiast, remains in critical condition after undergoing brain surgery following a skiing accident in the French Alps. Schumacher, 44, who retired from Formula One racing for the second time in 2012, fell while skiing off trail in Meribel, France, earlier Sunday, Dec. 29. He hit his head on a rock, according to a statement from the resort and as reported via major news organizations. According to the resort managers, Schumacher was wearing a helmet and was conscious when rescuers arrived on scene. The Grenoble University Hospital Center said the retired driver arrived at the clinic in a coma and underwent immediate surgery for a serious head trauma. It was

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Formula One racing, Ron Howard directing equals Rush

For the second time in four years, the famed and controversial Formula One race car circuit will provide the subject matter for a major motion picture. This time it will be called Rush. In 2010, it was Senna, the documentary on Brazilian race car driver Ayrton Senna nominated for an Academy Award. Rush is the theatrical portrayal of Niki Lauda and rival James Hunt. For months, Rush, directed by Ron Howard, the two-time Oscar winner for Best Director, the movie has been promoted on social media via YouTube, Twitter Facebook, among other outlets. More recently, network television commercials about Rush are airing with more frequency. Hunt, played by Chris Hemsworth, is the handsome English playboy. Lauda, portrayed by Daniel Brühl,

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Rare Ayrton Senna F1 Toleman set for UK auction

A Toleman TG184-2 Formula One car driven by Brazilian Ayrton Senna in his debut F1 season will be auctioned May 16 at The Spring Sale to be hosted by Silverstone Auctions in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. Senna, who died at age 34 in 1994 while leading leading the San Marino Grand Prix, finished second while driving the same Toleman in the rain-soaked 1984 Monaco GP. Senna, a three-time world titlist, also raced to 3rd in the British and 7th in the Canadian Grand Prix in the Toleman, which has been privately owned for the past 16 years. Senna's life was portrayed in the 2011 documentary, SENNA. A 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 will also be part of the auction. For

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