Andrea Cairone's blog

Winter may be approaching or, indeed in some parts of the country, have you buried already under feet of snow, but that's no reason to just sit inside playing Gran Turismo 5 while pining for the spring thaw.  

Sebastian Vettel became the youngest Formula 1 champion for Red Bull, a team that 14 years ago, when it put Vettel under contract at age nine, did not even exist.  Red Bull has long been considered the party guys of Formula 1, a team born out of Jackie Stewart's old squad.

It turned out to be one of those "if it didn't really happen, you'd have to make it up" stories this past week end in the newest Formula 1 venue in Korea.      A track no driver had ever seen was literally still being built between practice session, followed by a heavy rain on race day: it was total chaos.

In motor racing, perhaps more than in any other sport, we are trained to believe that great action happens only at the pinnacle of the discipline.  I say that's only because cameras are rolling and you get to actually see it.  The advent of inexpensive incar video and its use with online video services has meant that the supply of fantastic racing action available to motorheads has increased tremendously.

Two weeks ago I suggested keeping an eye on the final races of the Formula 1 championship. Things were heating up and heading for the most exciting finish in years, Now, after the Singapore Grand Prix, the championship fight has gotten even better. It's still very much a five-way horse race but with four races to go the order has changed dramatically.

Have you followed Formula 1 lately? If you haven't, you are missing a great show.  Formula 1 is supposedly not popular in the United States, but I'm constantly surprised by how many Americans follow it.  And why not the World's top series which, after a period of relative boredom with one team (Ferrari) and one driver (Schumacher) dominating, has been serving up season after season of drama and "down to the last race" suspense.

A mechanic will replace parts that are broken, a truly great mechanic will tell you why that part is breaking. Let me explain; it's a bit of a long story:

Back in the 1960's, almost anyone who was anyone in motor racing spent some time racing Minis. The cars were great crowd pleasers. Easy to see why when they are driven the right way. You could argue that any clown can drift given enough power but, momentum oversteer, that's another story.

It's summer, the middle of track season. Maybe you like to take your car to the track, or maybe the drag strip or local autocross. Half the fun is bragging about it and showing video of you and your pride and joy in action.

Many now forget, but Italy's most desirable cars were always red,  were built in Milano NOT Maranello, and were badged with a child eating snake rather than a prancing horse. That's right: the Alfa Romeo.