Although rain fucks up everything, and the podium was pretty foregone-gonclusion, this was one of the best F1 races I've ever seen. Both Red Bulls dicing for the lead early on, both Toro Rossos in the mix for a podium in the middle of the race, both McLarens and Rossi in the Manor being in the mix for the points towards the end - there was nothing ( Read more... )

Somehow, this turned into a high-attrition Monaco race. I don't remember it being that crashy last year, and reviewing, I note that it wasn't: a Marussia and a Caterham were the only two cars that weren't running at the end. This year? Not so much. Seven cars not running at the finish and a couple more not on the lead lap. Valteri managed to crash ( Read more... )

With the exception of Massa and Ricciardo ruining each others' races at the start, and Nasr retiring the car with two laps left for tactical reasons, this race was entirely free of reliability- or crash-related drama, and as such was probably as good a representation of driver skill and team strategy as we're likely to get. And with the exception ( Read more... )

Surprisingly low-drama for a Singapore race. Anyone expecting kings of speed Mercedes to do well at a track where speed isn't nearly as important as aero and mechanical grip was probably disappointed, but frankly, I think they did surprisingly well, considering. Two items of note: Verstappen stalled at the start, went a lap down, and raced yhis way ( Read more... )

This race had every indication of being a snoozefest of a procession, with the top four spots occupied by Mercedes and Ferrari, and the Renault-powered cars performing dreadfully on top of having to start all the way in the back- ...then suddenly it suddenly wasn't. Unlike most F1 races, which have drama in the first turn, this one had drama in ( Read more... )

It's Speed Month in F1, Spa first and then Monza, which this season might make you think is bad for anybody without Mercedes power. But upgrades by Remault and Ferrari meant that qualifying times between 3rd and 9th on the grid were covered by three tenths of a second, so the first two spots were factory Mercedes to lose, but the third podium spot ( Read more... )

I am impossibly good at remembering where I've been, which is how I can say right now that my life is as good as it has been at any point in the last- ...let's say ten years or so. There are two creatures in my house, a girl and a dog, that both make me want to go there. My job is interesting, in a way that makes me want to go there. My finances ( Read more... )

First, let me say that, if you only watch one F1 race in your entire life, you should watch this one. Set your Tivo, CNBC is re-running it on Monday 27 July at noon ( Read more... )

As I sit here in shorts and a hawaiian shirt, in what looks like the office of the world's worst accountant after a bomb has gone off, I'm redesigning how portions of Medicare work.

Not how it's supposed to work, mind you -- that's purely the province of politicians and bureaucrats -- but how it actually works in the real world, in the software ( Read more... )

Although the finishing order was pretty much like you'd expect (modulo some remarkably high attrition for a Silverstone race) there was an awful lot of drama going on, from start to finish ( Read more... )