Lewis Hamilton handed Formula One a compelling storyline for the new season from the moment he decided to leave the comfort of McLaren for a new challenge with Mercedes.
Mike Coughlan's arrival as chief engineer at Williams in June 2011 was a crucial step, if controversial given his chequered past, in turning around the fortunes of Formula One's faded former champions.
It's not easy to explain how running 200 km rallies held over a weekend would be more difficult or less attractive for competitors and car manufacturers than cross-country events lasting a week and running over 2,000km. Vinayak Pande reports.
This city is associated with many things. 'Joy', football, cricket and its many eateries. Motor sport, however, does not hold any particular significance for this metro. Seven from Kolkata hope for a memorable, maiden experience.
Vinayak Pande writes.
The Desert Storm | The Riders from BengalSometimes you see stuff in the realm of news and entertainment that seem a little too far-fetched. Like a South Indian movie star/politician/bodybuilder coming to the rescue of his namesake motorcycle racer! HT reports.
Three new motorsport talents have ambitiously trained their sights on glory and fame at the highest level, Vinayak Pande writes.
Reaching double digits in your win column for a particular sporting discipline is a pretty special achievement. Especially since it's something that doesn't happen too often, including motorsport, reports Vinayak Pande.
It all comes down to who a racing driver races at the end of the day. It's fine and good to make a step up to a more powerful, sophisticated racing car, but it's a distant second to getting good competition. Parth Ghorpade has a lot of that to handle in his maiden MRF Challenge season behind the wheel of a Dallara-built, Formula 2000 car. Vinayak Pande reports.
In any sport it is rare to find someone who is not only likeable but a proven winner too. Kimi Raikkonen has proved himself to be just that and his win in Abu Dhabi only cemented this reputation.
Growing the audience for F1 in India is all about giving fans that initial kick of adrenalin, writes Joe Saward.
Former American racing driver, John Fitch, passed away this Wednesday near the Lime Rock racing circuit in Connecticut, USA.
India is a massive potential market for F1 and so having Indians interested in the sport is a great idea. One needs only to look back to see the interest that a successful driver can generate, Joe Saward writes.
Vettel and Webber may have sealed a qualifying one-two for Red Bull, but on a track with many overtaking opportunities it will be an open race, Narain Karthikeyan writes.
The F1 great, Damon Hill, revisits his fiery rivalry with Schumi, holds no grudges. Vinayak Pande reports.
Formula One 2012 arrives with a lot of expectations, but thanks to its solid and true interpretation of the new season, delivers on most fronts. Hemanth Kumar Balasubramanian reports.
You would think three Formula 1 drivers' championships in five years and 27 victories would be Jackie Stewart's legacy as far as motorsport is concerned. However, Stewart's impact on F1 goes beyond just numbers.
Vinayak Pande reports.
Know the flying Scotsman |
Rush hour |
Splash and dashAsked about women in Formula One and most observers would point to the grid girls who pout and pose in short skirts before every race.
Formula One star Lewis Hamilton said mysterious mid-race "thud" fixed his steering problems at the Japanese Grand Prix and kept his faint title hopes alive.
Whether it’s Parth Ghorpade winning two out of three races in Formula Pilota or Jehan Daruvala completely dominating the final round of the British Super One karting series, something is allowing young Indians to go wheel-to-wheel with the best young racers from around the world.
Michael Schumacher achieved more than any other driver in Formula One but the winner of a record seven world championships and 91 grands prix could not beat time however hard he raced.
There probably aren't many 17-year-olds around the world whose diet doesn't include any fried or oily foods. But then again, not many of them are embarking on a single seat racing career. Vinayak Pande writes.
The Tata Group will temporarily increase its sponsorship commitment to Narain Karthikeyan and the HRT F1 team he races for by getting its beverage arm to sponsor them for the Singapore and Indian Grands Prix through its tea brand.
Driving standards in Formula One has been a hot topic over the last two Grands Prix in Belgium and Italy. Belgium saw Lotus' Romain Grosjean force Lewis Hamilton off the track and cause a massive accident at the start of the race.
Narain Karthikeyan recalls all too well the underpowered and not particularly sophisticated single-seat cars he drove in India before venturing abroad to chase his dream of becoming a Formula One driver. HT reports.
Before last weekend's JK Racing Asia Series (JKRAS) round at Silverstone, Akhil Khushlani had not been behind the wheel of a racing car for almost a year.
Nico Hulkenberg scorched his way to a career-best fourth place and Paul Di Resta finished 10th as Sahara Force India secured 13 points from the action-packed Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, in Spa-Francorchamps today.
Unlike most F1 weekends this season - when he is busy providing colour commentary from the London-studio of an F1 broadcaster - Karun Chandhok will be racing during the weekend the Indian Grand Prix is held. Karun Chandhok told Rohit Bhaskar.
HT caught up with the 35-year-old HRT F1 driver on the sidelines of the launch of the MRF Challenge 2012. Excerpts:
Many think young, aspiring Indian racing drivers would be itching to leave the country for good. After all, destinations like the United Kingdom, Germany and the U.S. are choc-a-bloc with high-profile and respected racing series and championships that serve as a launching pad for a driver to become a fixture in global motorsport.
Everyone knows motorsport is an expensive pastime and that the annual budget for running a top level Formula One team is in excess of $100 million. Spending such sums may appear crazy but the heavy hitters are able to turn a profit due to the championship's global stature.
Vinayak Pande reports.
ResultsEven if Formula One fans are revelling in the joy of an unprecedented six different winners from six races, some of those closer to the action are beginning to feel uneasy.
At 32-years-of-age, Banajee is no longer a competitor for Rayo Racing, the team he started and used to drive for, but is fully committed to finding and helping the next generation of Indian racing drivers. Vinayak Pande reports.
Reinaldo Colucci has drawn inspiration from the Formula One legend late Ayrton Senna in his bid to become Brazil's first triathlete to achieve a top 10 finish at the Olympics.
Getting behind the wheel of a racing car is a dream come true for any racing fan. HT relives the experience of an incredible day.
Pastor Maldonado's first Formula One victory in Spain showed that the Venezuelan has what it takes to be a champion, according to Frank Williams.
The growing popularity of motorsport, Formula One in particular, hasn't just raised the profile of the country's F1 aspirants it's increased the demand for driver's who've toiled away for years in relative obscurity on the domestic racing circuit. Rohit Bhaskar writes.
Difficult season now seems a world away from the present, with Grosjean finishing third for Lotus in Bahrain last month for his first F1 podium finish and finding himself very much in demand in Spain this weekend.
HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan's 2012 season is frustratingly turning out to be much like his disappointing 2011 campaign. Vinayak Pande writes.
Anyone who reads newspapers and watches television can tell that Indian drivers and bikers have a 'need for speed'. How else do you explain the endless news of mangled cars and bikes after their owners' impromptu and illegal joyrides went horribly wrong. Vinayak Pande reports.
Aditya Patel, the 23-year-old racing driver from Chennai recounts his experience of driving on a racing circuit known as 'The Green Hell'. Vinayak Pande reports.
Carmelo Ezpeleta is to the motorcycling kingdom, what Bernie Ecclestone is to car racing – the ultimate ringmaster. Rohit Bhaskar reports.
The very thought of reminiscing on wasted opportunities is not the norm for racing/rally drivers and this is exactly the case with Gaurav Gill and the Chinese round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in 2010. Vinayak Pande writes.
Indian feels the world champ is frustrated with difficult start to the season and is looking for excuses. Vinayak Pande writes.
Team bosses today balked at the prospect of buying shares in Formula One -- and urged swift cost-cutting reforms to stop cash-strapped competitors going to the wall.
It's unlikely, after an exciting Australian Grand Prix, that F1 fans will be complaining about their weekend fix returning after such a short break.
Vinayak Pande writes.
Photos: Australian Grand PrixThe saying goes that hindsight is 20:20. That certainly seems to be the case in Narain Karthikeyan's assessment of his involvement in Formula One as the HRT F1 driver enters his third season in the sport.
Vinayak Pande writes.
Narain KarthikeyanYou have coaches for pretty much every sport out there. Tennis, cricket, boxing, you name it. But motorsports?
Vinayak Pande writes.
Rob Wilson, the drivers’ coachJarno Trulli and Rubens Barrichello could only commiserate with one another after their Formula One teams replaced them with fresher faces for the new season.