Teams split on young driver test

With the addition of the Mugello test, it now seems the F1 squads are spoiled for choice with the Young Driver Test venues.

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The teams have split up in regards to the two locations on offer, with an either or system in place. 10 teams have so far opted to test at the heart of Motorsport, Silverstone, while 2 are jetting off to the Arab Emirites to the Yas Marina track in Abu Dhabi.

The return of in-season testing

In-season Formula 1 testing was banned in 2009, but after 3 years the ban has been scraped. The F1 paddock will visit the Mugello circuit in Italy for 3 days of important testing. This article is basically updating you on the driver line ups for that test, a preview of the circuit and what kind of things we can expect from them.

Driver's were outraged when the ban of in-season testing came about, complaining that it will hinder development of the cars. However it was banned for a reason, money. Around this time the FIA set rules to cut costs in F1 and that was one of the sacrifices. This year we return to testing during a season because the pre-season tests have sacrificed a day each to keep the number of test days below 12.

Interview: Will Buxton

Not only is Will Buxton one of the funniest people on my twitter feed, he is also an accomplished Journalist and commentator. With Sky Sports F1 now containing the GP2 and GP3 season, Will's voice can be heard by even more as he commentates on those important F1 feeder series.

Will has worked in motorsport for 10 years now and is a popular guy around the paddock. His knowledge of F1 and GP2 is truly amazing and he has worked hard to get a career in his favourite sport. A life long F1 fan, he was inspired by Ayrton Senna and was hit hard in 1994 when one of motor sports legends died. He went to University and studied the politics of F1, before moving on in his career.

In this exclusive interview, Will describes his journey to his current role as GP2 and GP3 commentator and SPEED F1 pit lane reporter as well as giving me some of his predictions and views.

Dino's Diary, Chapter 1

Here is the first Chapter in a regular feature at JLF1, Dino's Diary. It follows 19 year old, British racing driver Dino Zamparelli.

Dino’s Diary: Introducing An Idea

(C) FIA Formula 2 Website

Hello JLF1 readers. My name is Dino Zamparelli and my goal is to reach the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1. I'm a 19 year old, British racing driver who clinched the 2008 Ginetta Junior championship and the 2011 Formula Renault BARC title. This year I will embark on a new challenge, the Formula 2 series. Throughout the 2012 season I will be taking you on my journey through Dino's Diary, a new JLF1 feature. I will be writing updates on my season and hopefully giving you insight into my career and journey.

Pepe Jeans F1 Competition

Pepe Jeans is recognised worldwide as one of the best jeans retailers. They are also one of Red Bull Racing's sponsors and have teamed up with them to get your butt to F1.

(c) Pepe Jeans

They have devised this cheeky, FREE competition with some incredible prizes. You could win 2 tickets to a Grand Prix of your chosen choice or a signed pair of Pepe Jeans (by Vettel and Webber). One of the hottest denim brands is giving you the chance to see F1 in 1 simple way.

To enter the competition you have to be at least 18 years old and have your own Facebook profile. You then choose the Grand Prix of your choice and upload an image of your butt wearing Pepe Jeans. This will automatically create your own profile and people will vote for you to win. It is so simple and one of the worlds most iconic brands could take your butt to a Grand Prix. You have until Mid-June to get your entries in, good luck!

Click here to enter: ENTER THE COMPETITION
Also check out this amusing promotional video from them: THIS IS MY BUTT
Terms and Conditions: THE RULES
You can also follow them on Twitter: @PepeJeans

It is a really cool and interesting concept for a competition, and entering could give you huge benefits. A great idea from Pepe Jeans here so get involved!

Press Release 23/04/12

JackLeslieF1 presents Dino's Diary

JLF1 is proud to announce an exciting regular feature involving one of the UK's best motorsport talents. Dino Zamparelli is taking in the FIA Formula 2 championship in 2012 as will be sharing his story and journey with the http://www.jackleslief1.blogspot.co.uk/ readers.

Dino began racing go karts at the tender age of 7, before progressing up the ranks of karting. In 2008 Zamparelli burst onto the scene in the Ginetta Junior championship, watched by thousands as one of the BTCC support races. He won the championship in 2008 and progressed on to Formula Renault, finishing 3rd in the FR BARC series. It was an impressive feat for someone in the debut single seater season. After missing out on racing in 2010 due to financial restraints he made his racing comeback a year later, winning the Formula Renault BARC title.

Rosberg cleared by Stewards

The stewards have deemed Nico Rosberg's aggressive deffensive moves on Hamilton and Alonso were within the rules.

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They released statements on both incidents, deeming that they were safe and within the rules that they have set. The incidents were both moved to after the race, obviously so the stewards could review the data. They gave these two statements:

Bahrain Grand Prix Race Report

It has been one of the most controversial stories coming out of F1, but the Bahrain Grand Prix is going ahead. After the cancelation of the Grand Prix in 2011, Bernie Ecclestone decided that it was safe to go to the Gulf state, despite the on-going civil unrest.

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Protestors and police have clashed numerous times over the last few years, but the unrest has been turned towards F1. Protestors threatened to disrupt the race and march to the gates of the Sakhir circuit but F1 drivers and Teams are just thinking about the race.

The F1 and Bahraini world collided when a car containing 4 Force India mechanics was caught up in a clash between protestors and police, where petrol bombs exploded near to the car. It forced 2 of the team to head home, read more here.

From Zero to Hero - Ailish Clarke

Here at JLF1 BlogSwap's are a common occurrence. After the success of the swap with Grace Cunningham there is a new one to read, from Ailish Clarke.

Ailish is a massive F1 fan. If you are an avid F1 TV watcher you may of seen her on Sky Sports F1 a number of times. She also writes on her blog, http://ailishcatherine.blogspot.co.uk/ , and also is a common contributor to Fan Formula. Check out her BlogSwap article on Lewis Hamilton.

Also check out my BlogSwap for her about my journey in F1 writing here: http://ailishcatherine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/jack-leslie-aspirations-for-future.html

Interview: Alice Powell

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Alice becomes the first women racing driver to be interviewed here at JLF1. Alice is a rising star, looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow F1 ladies Susie Wolff and Maria de Villota. The Oxford born racer learned to drive at just 6 years old, before joining the karting ranks. She saw success in the Ginetta Junior championship before moving to Formula Renault.

She made history by becoming the first female Formula Renault Championship winner after taking the FR BARC Championship in 2010. Now, in 2012, she is moving to GP3 with Status Grand Prix, setting her sights on a new challenge.

Alice talks to me about her past career and the future.

Force India caught up in clashes

Four of Force India's mechanics were caught up in a violent clash between protesters and police on Wednesday night.

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The team members were leaving the track on Wednesday night in a hire car when they were forced to stop on the main highway to Manama. A Molotov cocktail was thrown and exploded close to the car, it has also been revealed that tear gas had entered the cars ventilation system from the clashes outside. All four members of the team were uninjured and returned safely to the hotel.

Press release 18/04/2012

JackLeslieF1 can officially confirm its promotional tie up with Official Merchandise.

Official Merchandise is one of Motorsport's leading online merchandise retailers. They stock some of F1 and Motorsport's leading team brands like Ferrari, Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. They also stock a number of other Motorsport merchandise, like the Aston Martin Racing team gear.

The brand become the first official partner of JLF1, with both parties hoping the tie up will bring people to both websites and help them grow. Jack Leslie, Owner of JLF1, said in the partnership "It's really exciting for me, getting the websites first partner. It feels really good to get to the stage where brands and businesses are willing to help me. The tie up will be promotional and will hopefully lead people to their site, as well as mine. The Official Merchandise website stocks so many great and iconic racing brands. They have such great quality products and brands, I have been eyeing up some of the Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes team wear already."

Check out their website: http://www.official-merchandise.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/F1Merchandise 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/f1merchandise 

Button and Hamilton to miss Mugello test

Mclaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will sit out of testing at Mugello in May, the only mid-season test available.

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Senna maturing at Williams

Bruno Senna feels that he is "maturing" as a driver at Williams in 2012.

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Chinese Grand Prix Race Report

After 3 weeks of silence, the F1 cars are roaring back to life. China is the destination for the 3^rd round of the F1 2012 season and if it is anything like the first 2 rounds, we are in for a cracking race.

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China has always delivered exciting races on the 3.387 mile Shanghai International Circuit. However, weather could be a deciding factor in the result, with 4 of the 8 Chinese Grand Prix’s being held in wet conditions.

There is a lot going on in the F1 paddock with Bahrain going ahead, Mercedes “Super-DRS” legalised and a 5-place grid penalty for a gearbox change preventing 3 pole positions in a row for Lewis Hamilton.

Here is my review of the whole Grand Prix race weekend, follow me on twitter @JackLeslieF1 and check out the race review at RichlandF1 and TrackReviewers.

Bahrain: Is it right to go?

It has become the saga nobody ever wanted it to become. Once again this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix is shrouded in controversy with little over a week remaining before the race is due to be taking place. So, what are the problems? Are they as bad as they are being portrayed by the vast majority of the world’s press? And finally, we get the go ahead that we will see all twenty four cars take to the grid of the Sakhir Circuit come the 22^nd April?

On the morning of Friday 13^th April, just before China’s Free Practice 1, the FIA released a press statement saying

“Based on the current information the FIA has at this stage, it is satisfied that all the proper security measures are in place for the running of a Formula One World Championship event in Bahrain. Therefore, the FIA confirms that the 2012 Gulf Air F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain will go ahead as scheduled.”

But is it right for the race to go ahead, Nathan Thomas of “The Write Formula” discusses.

Chinese GP Preview

Sky Sports F1 have revealed their F1 2012 Chinese GP promotional video and we see all of the team discussing what will happen over the race weekend. Then Simon, Martin, Ant and special guest Johnny Herbert.

I was sent the promotional video as a preview, part of my "special" relationship with Sky Sports F1 which I really appreciate, so I'm using it as a little preview. Enjoy the video and take note of those session times.

The Underrated Key to Success - Grace Cunningham

Here at JackLeslieF1, a BlogSwap has not happened in a while. To define the term "BlogSwap", it is where 2 bloggers or writers swap articles and post them on each others websites. I have done this many times before and believe it is a great way to showcase your work and build up contacts and friends with similar ambitions.

So this BlogSwap sees Me and F1 fanatic Grace Cunningham write an article for each others sites. She has chosen the topic of success in Formula 1. Grace aspires to work in PR or Media within Motorsport and has a deep knowledge and passion for F1. She runs the FanFormula project which produces videos with opinions from the fans, including footage and text answers.

Here is Grace's article, The Underrated Key to Success.

Q & A with Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg is one of F1's rising stars. After impressing in his debut season at Williams, scoring 22 points and a pole position in 2010, he was then pushed out of a drive by money maker Pastor Maldonado. He seeked refuge at Force India were he had the role of test driver in 2011, before finally getting a race seat for the 2012 season.

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After a relatively decent start to the year, scoring points in Malaysia and making it into Q3 in Australia, he is looking on to the new season. I got the opportunity to ask him 3 questions and I jumped at the chance. Here they are:

Susie Wolff joins Williams

Susie Wolff, 2012 DTM driver for Mercedes, has been confirmed as Williams F1's development driver for this season.

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Wolff, 29, is a Scottish racing driver who will contest in her 7th season of DTM. Her role in Williams will be to help develop the simulator and other technical tests, as well as also doing some aerodynamic testing for the team in the FW34.

Interview: Alex Brundle

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There have been many successful father and son racing drivers, often the later is inspired by the former. We have seen double champions like Graham and Damon Hill, success from Gilles and Jacques Villeneuve and more recently Keke and Nico Rosberg. They all wanted to emulate their fathers success and another one of those is 2012 Carlin GP3 driver Alex Brundle. Alex is the son of F1 podium finisher and current Sky Sports F1 Commentator Martin Brundle.

Alex has gone up the ranks with the support and advice from his father. Finding success in competitive series like F2 and Formula Palmer Audi, he is surely one of motor sports rising stars. Along with his single seater racing, he also raced sports cars and in 2012 will drive alongside his father at Le Mans.

I got the chance to ask Alex some questions, click read more for the answers.

Teams hoping for dry Chinese Grand Prix

2012, so far, has proved not to be as straight forward as the team's would want. Not only have we seen rain disrupt Friday in Australia but we have also seen rain in Malaysia too. It makes predicting a pecking order extremely tricky, but could China be a different story?

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All the teams will be hoping for is some dry running in China, maybe even through the whole weekend if they are lucky, so they can see where they stand. It could all change from what we have seen so far as many of the teams will be bringing upgrades. If it is dry then we could well see the establishment of a true order, but if it is not the teams will be pleading for dry running. Currently we are in murky water, trying to predict something that could inevitably all change.

Interview: Kate Walker

Becoming an F1 Journalist takes alot of work. Someone who knows all about that is Kate Walker. Kate is a freelance journalist who is relatively new to the F1 world after only becoming a fan in 2007. However she was hooked from the get go and this season, for the first time, is flying all around the world covering the sport she loves.

Kate talks to me about the struggles she has faced as she entered the world of F1 writing and journalism, some of her highlights and explaining the journey she took to get there. If you want to become an F1 writer (like me) or journalist then this is a must read.

Click "read more" below to see the full interview.

Argentine Grand Prix set for F1 return

F1 car's have not raced in Argentina since 1998, where Michael Schumacher raced to victory in Buenos Aires, but rumours are circulating that F1 could soon see a return to the country.

Interview: Simon Lazenby

(c) Sky Sports F1

There was a buzz around the F1 Paddock when the Sky Sports F1 line up was revealed. Having nabbed some of F1’s greatest personalities and talents, like Martin Brundle and Ted Kravitz, their team looked ready to take on the brand new challenge. But obviously some new names came onto the scene. These names, like Simon Lazenby, have been Sky Sports regulars for many years.

Simon Lazenby has become the Jake Humphrey of Sky Sports F1. A true F1 fan, he started his career off at Sky Sports in work experience. They were so impressed they kept him on and he has since presented Rugby Union and Cricket. Simon is a good-humoured, sport loving person and sets his sights on a new challenge, as he travels around the world with the F1 circus. Simon answers some of my questions after the first 2 races of the season, and what a few races they were.

Does a good support network really equal good results? by Charli Andrews

While the F1 world quietens down during the break, between the Malaysian and Chinese Grand Prix's, I received an article by Charli Andrews discussing on the rivalry between Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, debating whether a support network can equal good results.

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It was no secret that during the 2011 season Jenson Button had a great deal of support from his close friends, girlfriend and family while Hamilton was forced to look on and wish. Guess who finished the season better off, Button, and now Hamilton.

Click "read more" to see Charli's interesting article.

BTCC, the best alternative to F1

When F1 is on a break, like it is now between the Malaysian and Chinese Grand Prix's, there are many things to fuel your Motorsport needs, with the British Touring Car Championship being one of them.

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The BTCC, currently broadcast live on ITV4 (UK only), is one of Britain's finest Motorsport series. There have been some amazing battles and the tin-top racing creates drama at almost every corner. When F1 is not on our TV screens, it is certainly one of the best alternatives to F1.