Budding Formula 1 tech-journalist Ashwin Issac pens his ‘F1 Midfield Tales’ from the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. ‘F1 Midfield Tales’ will be a combination of data and analysis that will aim to dissect the uber-competitive F1 midfield race-after-race. Preface The Jeddah Corniche Circuit, a fast and unforgiving street circuit designed by Carsen Tilke, was the setting for the second Grand Prix of the 2023 Formula 1 season. After a dominating performance in Bahrain, Red Bull established themselves as the cream of the crop. The likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes have been deemed to be t ..read more

Jehan Daruvala is India’s best single-seater racing driver and we got into conversation with him, ahead of the prep for his fourth season in Formula 2, Formula 1’s official feeder series championship. “I have no regrets. Honestly, it will be disappointing if I don’t race in Formula 1, but it is very very difficult at this stage. But the dream is not over,” confesses Jehan. Continued a philosophical Jehan, “It’s definitely not easy but there are a lot of drivers who have been in this situation over the years. We all set ourselves to achieve things but we don’t always en ..read more

Jehan, whose junior racing record is best ever for any Indian, became only the fourth Indian to drive a Formula 1 car (the Mclaren MCL35M) – and still remains India’s brightest hope to race in Formula 1. I have been working in Formula 1 for many years now and as most of us Formula 1 junkies, I am always happy to talk about the sport with people I meet. The one question I always get from them is. “When do we next see an Indian driver in Formula 1?” The truth is, for a country obsessed with cricket, Formula 1 is a distant fantasy. The recent official links between India and Formula 1 have only h ..read more

Here’s our 2022 Spanish GP preview. A BIG test coming up for the F1 2022 regulations at this weekend’s 2022 Spanish GP. Why? Because the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona has traditionally been a very tough one to overtake at. Will the drivers be able to follow each other better? Will they be able to pull off overtakes with the newly revamped regulations? Historical stat – in the Spanish Grand Prix in 2005 and 2008, there were only two overtakes in the race. Here’s the 2022 Spanish GP Preview on the Inside Line F1 Podcast with Soumil and Kunal. The Inside Line F1 Podcast is brought to you by Eigh ..read more

AWS’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning drives transformation for Formula 1 racing Sports is a fantastic medium to bring the benefits of machine learning to life. Currently, we see various sports organisations across the world, embrace AI/ML technologies to bring fans closer to the game and to all the decisions that their teams, and drivers are making. Until the 1980s, cars were all mechanical. Computers were too large and slow to be used for race cars, so the driver was the only source of ‘data’ for the racing engineer. As good as drivers are at ‘feeling’ the car, it’s difficult for th ..read more

Here is a look at the key talking points to follow through the 2022 F1 season that commences with the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend (18-20 March). It’s easy to agree that the 2022 Formula 1 season is the most awaited season in recent times. After all, the ‘formula’ of Formula 1 has gone through significant changes — the cars, tyres, budget cap and more. Here is a look at the key talking points to follow through the 2022 F1 season: Pecking Order As it is with pre-season testing, the six days on track in Barcelona and Bahrain didn’t reveal the true pecking order of the teams. The first time we ..read more

Jehan Daruvala, India’s most-promising F1 hopeful, will start his third season in Formula 2 in 2022; it will also be his third season as a Red Bull Formula 1 junior. In this interview, he speaks about his extension with Red Bull, Helmut Marko’s influence on his racing mindset and how he plans to get a foot in the door in Formula 1. An eventual seat in F1 has been the ultimate goal through Daruvala’s entire racing journey. However, the road to F1 isn’t easy – and the Indian driver has various smaller goals to achieve before he can prepare for a future in F1. Red Bull renewing his contract ..read more

F1 cars evolve through the course of a full season. In fact, cars have undergone a revolution from 2021 to 2022. Also joining the revolution are AWS’ machines – the ones that helped F1 write the new regulations in the first place. In the off-season of the 2022 Formula 1 season, one of our feature stories focussed on AWS and the good work they’ve undertaken to add to the F1 spectacle. AWS’ involvement goes far deeper than the TV graphics that have been much-discussed since their inception. Their most-recent work has been in helping F1 develop the revolutionary regulations that will define the n ..read more

Apart from being entertaining, the race in Abu Dhabi was mired in controversy, with the FIA’s interference in the race leaving a bad taste in one’s mouth. Max Verstappen deserved the F1 2021 title, did Lewis Hamilton deserve it more? Formula 1’s much-touted season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi lived up to the hype as Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to clinch his first-ever Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship. In a ‘winner takes all’ setting, Verstappen won his 10th race of the season to become the first non-Mercedes driver to win a title in the hybrid-turbo era ..read more

‘Know Your F1 Circuit’ is a new series launched on my F1 blog. The posts under this series will be penned by Saumil Patel, an avid fan of the sport. You can follow the full series throughout the season by using the ‘Know Your F1 Circuit’ tag. This post focuses on the F1 facts, history & stats of the ‘Yas Marina Circuit’ in Abu Dhabi – a circuit that pays extra to host the season finale race every year. The Yas Marina Circuit is located on Yas Island, a twenty-five kilometers square leisure Island built to promote tourism in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Year round it is packed ..read more